Happy Holidays Out of my Comfort Zone

Happy Holidays!!

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving.

I spent the weekend in Dallas with my brother's family and my mom and even my sweet son. 

Me with my mom and brother.

Growing my bangs out...ugh.

Nothing worse. 

My absolute favorite picture of the weekend.

My great nephew playing Pokemon with the Big Guy. 

Also had the chance to see some friends so it was a pretty perfect time. The icing on the cake was I got to get on a plane- not much makes me happier- and on the return trip I spent a night in Denver with my friend Diana and her very sick daughter and her not sick son-in-law.  LOVE having a place to stay in the Mile High City as the drive to and from the Denver airport is the pits. 

And now I'm back at the cozy cabin in the woods, watching the snow fall outside my window. Don't think the temp has been above freezing at all today. The pellet stove is blazing and there is chili in the crockpot for dinner. 

Mina on my lap, fire in the pellet stove.

Cozy in the woods.

Need to put the Christmas tree up.

And last week I really got out of my comfort zone. The hospital had a craft fair which I went to last year...but wasn't brave enough to sign up for.   Cheryl, the nurse I work with, does beautiful photographs that she puts on cards and canvases. She sold things last year and encouraged me to try it this year. And then she reminded me and nudged me just enough that I turned in my fee and committed.   

Honestly, selling stuff I make has always intimidated me. Lots of doubts of  it "doesn't look professional enough", it isn't "creative enough". Whatever. Lots of excuses to not try. 

So with a shove from Cheryl, I tried.   I made some beads...necklaces and earrings and fun wrap bracelets. Then I made some banana bread and apple pies. And then I made some seasoned salt. My fabulous nephew, Andrew, who is über creative and much better at computer design than I, offered to help me with a label for the salt. I had a basic idea- he cleaned it up.   So it was an interesting table of items for sale. 

Andrew's improved version of my label.

After setting up, I wandered the other tables and despaired a bit that I was not as organized, creative, professional and then decided "F*@k it. I don't care."  This was an experiment. Would anyone buy anything? Would I take everything I came with home again? 

Lots of little salts. 

And some earrings. 

Needed a little work on the display but o well.

Well, guess what?  I sold half my salt, most of my bracelets, all of the banana bread, all but one of the pies (Fools. I should have sold all of them as they are really yummy.) and some  earrings and necklaces.  I probably made a $120 profit, which, considering I had zero expectations 
and I only started working on things November 1, was not bad. I had someone come up and tell me they had bought one of my bracelets for her daughter for Christmas. Really?? I made a Christmas present?

Would I do it again? Sure. But I would plan a little more- my presentation needed work-and start creating a little sooner. 

So. If you create, share it with the world. There will always be people that are more or better but there are also people willing to spend cold hard cash on your ideas and creativity. And that is such great validation. 

Put yourself out there.   And have a wonderful holiday season. 

No. 33: Send flowers to a friend that needs them

No. 33: Send flowers to a friend that needs them....


Well, this seemed like an easy one.

But then I realized, EVERYONE needs flowers. Seriously.

Flowers get sent for funerals and births and ailments and weddings.

They get sent for birthdays and new houses and anniversaries.

So those are the expected reasons to send flowers.

The unexpected?

For a divorce.  Because it's been a bad day. Someone is feeling overwhelmed?

Lots of reasons to send flowers so to figure out who to send flowers to just because they "needed" them. Well, that wasn't so clear cut.

But last week I was in Texas and I made the most of it.

I started off with dinner at a friend's new apartment.  Recently separated, new high rise apartment and she was fixing me dinner.   Sounds to me like she deserved flowers if not needed them.

So a quick stop at Whole Foods Market and an orchid accompanied me to my dinner.

A little orchid.

The perfect flower. 

No care required. 

My mom had a heart valve replacement which was the reason for my Texas trip.  Amazing what doctors can do now through laparoscopy. Surgery was on Monday, she came home on Thursday. Seriously she did not look or act like she had been operated on in the last month, much less the last week. 

Did she need flowers?  Probably not.  But she certainly deserved them.  And I know she and my dad both love having flowers in the house.   So I picked up some flowers for my dad to give her.

Grocery store flowers.

Beautiful.

And finally on Wednesday night I went to my Bunko group.

The hostess definitely needed flowers. And deserved them.

So I sent them.

Proflowers arrangement. 

Looked a bit better online 

than in person, unfortunately.

But they were still nice.

And I think they were really appreciated. 

Which was the whole point. 

No. 33 is done. 

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!!


A Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.

A super special shout out to MY mom.

Me and my mom. 

Sadly I had to go back to 2008 to find a picture of just the two of us.

But I guess that's okay- we both looked pretty good six years ago.

You've got to give her credit. She had two boys and still had the nerve to have a third kid. (Which makes me the baby. Gotta love me! )

She wins the zookeeper award for allowing more pets in our house than even I have.  

My brothers had snakes. And turtles. An opossum. Fish. I had an alligator.  Small furry animals.We had a goat. In the backyard. In the middle of Houston. A dog. Some cats. 
(But never a horse. I REALLY wanted a horse. Got one now!!)

She sewed.
Doll clothes.
I had the BEST dressed Troll dolls ever.  Nobody else's dolls had a real fur coat.
Me clothes.
My prom dress was conveniently crafted to disguise the hip to toe plaster cast I was sporting at the time.

My prom dress, made by mom.

Back in the 70s, pre-PC, I believe the Robert E. Lee HS 

prom theme that year was "The South Shall Rise Again".

I was a Southern Belle.

My girls would slit their throats before they put on a dress that I had made.

And for the bravest mama prize, she and my dad allowed me to go 1000 miles away, to another country, for art school when I was 18. This was before cell phones and Internet and there wasn't even a land line to keep us connected. It took a minimum of two hours just to get through to an International operator. A letter took two weeks.
None of that bothered me in the slightest but I imagine it was a bit of a challenge for them. 

I look like my dad but I've got a ton of my mom in me.
My kids say they feel sorry for people that cross me....I think I might have gotten that from my mom. Nice as can be, but don't try to screw with us.
And it seemed she could do, make, create anything, something my kids have said about me.
That is, when they aren't telling me that I don't know how to do anything.
Although she can cook.
Me, not so much. Or maybe it's just no one likes any of the stuff I like to make.
Something like that. 

So happy mothers day to my wonderful mom. 

And happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. 

Hugs and kisses. And flowers.



And a special get well/speedy recovery/Happy Mother's Day wish to my mother in law.
Poor baby fell and is now in re-hab recovering from a broken leg and a shattered shoulder.
Ow.