Sweet & Sinister OH MY! and a NEW SWAP

Sweet is right! I was totally spoiled by my partner Karla of http://sugarbeardesigns.blogspot.com/. I am truly blown away by her creativity and thoughtfulness. She sent this sweet basket of goodies for my kiddos and also made this lovely journal for our family to record our memories...very sweet indeed! Plus there was lots of yummy candy for MOI and some oh SO YUMMY chocolate covered OREOS! Karla you are so my kinda girl!



I am now the proud owner of one of KARLAS famous boxes , isn't that spider the cutest???

Then there is this fun felt BAT hanger and wonderful bottle full of yummy silver glitter! And that's not all folks, look at that cute bat wand!




But wait.....Theres more... a cute Halloween charm necklace and this Tiara that is OH SO FUN! I even wore it to the mailbox...hehe! I couldn't get a good photo of it so its resting on top of my newly painted white pumpkin!

This was such a FUN swap and I cant wait till Karla gets my package, should be soon!
I am enjoying all the swaps I have been joining and they are surely helping pass the time here without my hubby , I can't believe its almost time for him to come home and visit!
Since I love swaps so much I have come up with and idea for a new one I want to Host , come back next week for all the details but in the mean time think DECK THE HALLS.

I can't sing ...

No, I can't sing but still want to wish all my good friends a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

My hubby has a birthday this week ,as well as 3 of my good friends. Happy birthday MARIA , CAMILLE and MOLLY ...love you girls! Hope your day is as special as each of you are!!

Nothing fun for us this weekend. I did get a little shopping in yesterday before Austin came down with a stomach bug that kept us up all night! He seems to be feeling much better right now, lets hope it stays that way!

I found a great deal at Walmart , I had seen these cute Halloween trees a few places and couldn't pass up the price tag on this one!

We picked up lots of other Halloween knick knacks and yard decorations. I figure I better get all of it while I can , not sure how much holiday shopping I will be doing in Japan. I also finished up a couple of things I had started within the past week. I love the way my witch hat turned out. I also glittered up a set of stars like my friend MARIA (The Junk Drawer) was selling on her Etsy. Thanks for letting me use your idea and for the stars friend! Also altered a few candy rolls for my spider web bowl.

Thanks to everyone for the sweet commetns and emails about my parents divorce it means alot to me!

Hope your weekend was a good one!

The blues....

This week has really been a tough one and all I keep wishing is that my hubby was home. After almost 33 years of marriage my mother filed for a divorce. My dad didnt see it coming ,so to speak and it has been very hard to say the least. It has left me with so many feelings and I am sure it is only going to get worse.

On to brighter and better things....


the most adorable nephew EVER started preschool 2 mornings a week at church . He even got a little lunchbox to take his snack in. How cute is that? He also has become quite aware of the camera lately and is going through that FAKE CHEESE stage..lol
I cant believe how smart he is or how fast he is growing up, seems like yesterday I went home to see him after he was born , and turning 2 is all ready right around the corner (March) Here are a few photos his daddy took when he went to school.
I miss and love you JAXSON COLE!!

Pretty things and Holidays

Wow I have been seeing so much cute stuff everyone is making for the holidays here in blogland. Such talent and very inspirational! I have so many ideas , my head is spinning! I have almost finished up everything for ARTSY MAMAS SWEET AND SINISTER SWAP . It had been lots of fun and helped me jump start my own Halloween projects too. Here are a couple more sneak peeks , I will post everything, after I have it in the mail to my partner Karla. Want her to have a few suprises.....

Treat CONE

I took Austin in to the dentist today for the 1st time ever, as crazy as it sounds..he is almost 8 and has never been . I have always FEARED the dentist for him because he has a condition known ad MALIGNANT HYPOTHERMIA..translates to he is allergic to different types of anesthesia . He had surgery a few months ago ,actually he had 5 surgeries all relating to sinus issues. We had one of the TOP anesthesiologist and he was able to help us immensely , we now KNOW of things his little body CAN tolerate. I felt confidant enough to take him to the dentist after that. So I was very happy that he had no cavities between his little teeth only a few on his back molars , but what I found out was that he will be loosing his top 2 front teeth within the next 6 months and behind them he has 4 NEW ONES COMING IN!!! What the heck, he will have to have ORAL surgery to have them removed as soon as they start to come in. I hope I can find a good Oral surgeon in JAPAN, now I am freaked out all over again!Has anyone heard of this or had and experience with it? Would love to hear about it.

I will leave you with some more PRETTY LITTLE THINGS

Have a wonderful weekend!


1. new on etsy today ~ sold! ~ thank you, 2. Vintage Inspired Wreath, 3. pumpkin art, 4. Bitty Boo Banner, 5. Bunny Box- altered art, 6. black cat halloween crown side view, 7. Vintage Tiara and Ledger Pages, 8. catty~SOLD!~Thank You Jac!, 9. wish bracelet, 10. halloween box, 11. Boo Banner No. 1, 12. 9-03-07 Auntumn Decor., 13. Halloween inspiration board, 14. Shadowbox "Bird's Nest", 15. The Well Read Raven, 16. Victoria Box, 17. journals 049, 18. Hand Dyed Flowers

Georgia rule.....

Decided after the gym today to relax and just watch a movie. I hadn't heard a ton about this one but I like all the actresses. It was such a good movie. A bit sad, a bit serious , funny and REAL. I plan on watching it at least one more time before returning it. I Guess I can work on a few swap things and turn it on tonight.

I have started on the SWEET and Sinister Swap hosted by Artsymama. Here is a sneak peek for my partner KArla over at SUGAR BEAR DESIGNS . Not saying what it is just a little snippet for you...hehe. She told me she has a SWEET tooth, sounds like someone else I know..lol!

Going back into the gym today was good, always feels great afterwards . I am so full of energy that I get all my errands and things done and it just feels very productive...a good thing.One thing that has not felt so great is our unbelievable HOT weather! I am so ready to say good bye to summer , but I am sure I will have to wait a while for that.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Getting motivated

Feeling pretty blah lately and decided I needed to do something about it and not have more of the same....

So this week Maria and I vowed to get our butts in the gym and really stick with it. Today being day number 2 and I have to say It FEELS GOOD . Some other friends of ours decided we need all the motivation we can get , so on Mondays we are gonna all meet at the gym and weigh ourselves, if we gained weight we will contribute a dollar to a jar and at the end of the month who ever lost the most will get the money(if there is any) and we will all have a girls afternoon of some sort, pedicures a movie or something. Any reason for a girls day out!!!!

My personal motivation is I think a few things. I am 33 and weigh the most I EVER have in my life. Not that I am overweight just not where i want t o be. I remember 2 summers ago(my sisters wedding)o how in shape I was and how good I felt, I want that again and I want it before the HUBBY returns from Korea in December..lol

Short post for the day I have to run to the post office to mail another box to Korea for the hubby and then time to head over to pick up my kiddo from school. I will leave you with a photo form my sisters wedding since I hate to post without photos!

Thanks for listenign to me ramble!

Lazy weekend

Not too much happening around here this weekend. Was awoken pretty early this morning by a MUCH WELCOMED and NEEDED thunderstorm , remnants of hurricane Dean. Always love a good storm here in the desert since they are far and in between.
Hung out with Austin most of the day and spent a little time finishing up my dresses for the swap over at SPECKLED EGG .This was such a fun little swap to be in cant wait to get all the pretty dresses from all you talented girls!

Also been thinking alot about moving lately, I cant believe by this time next year we will be living in JAPAN. Seems so weird but I am sure it is going to be so wonderful. After all we will be a WHOLE family again...right! I can't wait for that day. I bought Ja's plane ticket this week to come home for Christmas he gets in on DEC 17th and stays a month. Counting down the days!

The only thing I am not looking forward to is the fact that we are getting rid of a family member our BELOVED SAINT SOFIE. How could anyone give away this face. I need to get in gear here soon and start looking seriously for a good home. If anyone out there locally knows anyone please pass along the word for me , it would be greatly appreciated!