{the last supper}

Still in my p.j.'s & packin' the kitchen with my mom. Little Zoey, in the background, has been ready to help in any way she can.

Tonight was "the last supper" with my family. We gathered at mom & dad's & had takeout from my favorite local bbq place. We played a few games of Wii bowling, tennis & baseball & had apple crisp for dessert. And then it was time to say goodbye to my brother & his family. I hugged my little brother & just lost it. I never thought it would be this hard to say goodbye. Really, I haven't had time to even think about the "goodbyes". And it just hit me hard tonight. I hugged him real good & just wailed & bawled & weeped. It just suddenly came over me. But my sweet brother is a sensitive soul. Which meant that he was wailing & bawling & weeping too. We were a pair, he & I. It wasn't pretty at all.

And then, on the sidelines, mom joined in.

♥

{packing shmacking}

I packed my art studio all day today. 15 boxes later, it's still not done. But, I did make a discovery. A GROSS one.

Let me back up....

Yesterday in my bedroom I came upon the BIGGEST spider ever. I could hear its legs as it moved across the surface of boxes & books on the floor. EW! I screamed so loud. And my scream---which is a phenomenon in itself---was broadcast far across our house, our street, our neighborhood, maybe even the universe. Of course I killed the spider. One big WHACK with my shoe did the job. If I had let it live I don't know if I would be able to sleep at night. Oh, & it was so big that it couldn't even move very fast. Double EW!  I don't know where it was going or where it came from, but it gave me the biggest weebie jeebie's EVER!

SO... today as I'm cleaning my art studio I come across the BIGGEST spider hideout ever. It's got this large webby ball thing & webs all over. And, you know how you usually find little dead bugs hanging out in corners with the webs? Well, there are BIG dead bugs hanging out in this spider's corner. Oh, & the funniest thing is that one of my paper circle punches is attached to the web & hanging up like some decor.

I don't even want to get too close to this whole scenario happnening in the corner. Someone is gonna have to clean up that mess. And it's NOT gonna be me. All I know is that I HOPE I already killed whoever was living there, yesterday in my bedroom.

♥

Luckily we've been able to rescue & recycle boxes for packing from dumpsters behind some nearby medical buildings. But those (& other) resources are pretty much nil so we had to splurge today & buy some. I hate having to buy boxes. It makes me cringe to have to purchase a bunch of stupid cardboard. I don't know why, it just does.

I'm hoping all this packing here-n-there will help so that I won't have to stress about packing things up to the last minute in a whirlwind of panic & tears. I'm honestly hoping to be done packing by Thanksgiving so it'll be "a breeze" until we move 5 days later. That is my goal: to have an easy, stress-less moving experience.

But, enough of the packing today. I'm certain you'll get sick of me talking about it. Just so you know, this is like therapy for me. At the end of the day, I enjoy sitting down & just blabbing it all out, even if it doesn't make sense, even if the thoughts don't all go together.

 I'm going to throw my flaxseed & lavender heat-pack in the microwave & give my lower back some relief. I'll watch a movie, sip some hot tea & cozy on the couch as a reward for a hard day's work.

♥

HAPPY ANNI-BLOGGER-VERSARY TO ME!

I've been giving my computer the "evil eye" all day because it has not been cooperating. All I wanted to do was wish myself a bloggy happy anniversary this morning. It's now evening. I'll continue anyway...
Yay! One year! I can't believe I've blabbed for that long. Well, I kinda can believe it. This first blogging year has brought me 10,000 views (I'm sure about 2000 are from me alone...), 260 posts, numerous comments, & several swell friends. Did you know that I had NO IDEA what the heck a blog even was a year ago? I'm serious.

So thanks blog friends & blog lurkers for the occasional chat & drive-by.


My winnings from the One World-One Heart blog event have started rolling in & look what arrived this weekend! Even the OUTSIDE of the package was dripping with crafty goodness! Sandy knows how to rock the mail crafty-style! The packaging was sweet & the card was vintage inspired & awesome. And what was inside?
This cute painted strawberry tray! I think it's for decoration purposes, but I just can't let things sit around. I can't wait to use it & serve sweet froo-froo summer drinks to my girls! Thanks Sandy, it is adorable!





The unpacking is zapping my energy. I even just LOOK at a box & immediately have to go take a nap. It's not THAT bad, really. I pushed my "turbo" button this weekend & got all the boxes unpacked. Now everything just needs to be organized & put away correctly. I had to take a break though & use my button machine--still in the box!--that I got about 2 1/2 weeks ago! I can't wait to show you pics tomorrow!


My family just had to get away after a week of moving, unpacking, disorganization & disarray. So, Mr. WhiMSy love & I took the girls to Chuck E. Cheese & had a blast eating pizza & playing games. I was bummed that the batteries in my camera died. I only got a couple pics, but the cool flashing lights & crazy colors all over would make for some fun photos!

**Remember!! At 11:59 this evening I'm going to draw 2 names & announce the winners of my ONE YEAR ANNI-BLOGGER-VERSARY!!! You can enter up to the last minute!

Jolly Good Fun! Not.

Mr. WhiMSy love & I had a hot date last night. We spent a couple sweaty hours....cleaning our old house. It was not really fun at all. (Except for the part AFTER cleaning when we went to Zip's & I got a bacon double cheesburger, tater tots with tarter sauce & a butterscotch milkshake!) I hate cleaning. For reals. So, I tried to make it a bit more fun & we decided that we were a cleaning crew & needed a name. So, we named ourselves "The Dust Bunnies". OK. I named us, Mr. WhiMSy love just went along with it.

As we were cleaning I found myself singing a verse from a song in the movie "The Wizard of Oz" & it's called "The Merry Old Land of Oz". I decided this would be our theme song, or at least the verse I was singing would be our theme verse. And it has nothing to do with "dust" OR "bunnies". It goes like this: "We get up at twelve, And start to work at one, Take an hour for lunch, And then at two we're done, Jolly good fun!" I really appreciate the munchkins' work ethic.

We vacuumed. We wiped. We sanitized. We washed. We sprayed. We scrubbed. We swept. You'll never really realize how dirty your house is until everything is empty from its insides. Seriously, take a weekend & just remove all the belongings from your home & then stand in awe at the giant crumbs-n-things you were living with. So gross.

But now that the dirty deed is done, I am happy to come home to my NEW happy little pink house. And I open my door as little friends hippity-hop inside.... Welcome, little crumbs, to your new home.

There's No Place Like Home....

Hello!!!!! I'M BAAAAAAACK!!!! And I am SOOOO gonna make up now for the last few posts without photos. Here's some adorable sparkly shoes my oldest wee one got for Valentines Day. I thought this pic went along well with the title of this post. And then, my youngest wee one wanted her shoes part of it all too. You can totally see their personalities even in their footed attire. I love these feet!

The glass painting last Tuesday at my MOPS meeting went well. I think so anyway. I was beaming with cupcake pride as my original cupcake design was copied as lots of the other moms had trouble coming up with ideas for a design. Yay for cloned cupcakes! I made a plate that, instead of saying "Happy Birthday", said "Sweet Day" so it could be used for more special occasions throughout the year. I gave it to my 3-year old niece for Valentines Day, along with a felt "E" for the firts letter in her name. And, though you can't see it very well in the photo, I also attached a cupcake soap I purchased from Sublime Dragonfly. This scent was Pink Cotton Candy.

I also bought 2 soaps for my daughters: Chocolate Buttercream & Mint Chocolate Cookie. I SWEAR I saw my daughter take a lick of the mint chocolate cookie one. But, she said she didn't. (Said the sneaky little girl with suds on her top lip.) But, the scents ARE amazing! Sublime Dragonfly even has a PB&J cupcake soap. The soaps in the picture are actually in the process of being used. That's why they look so.....used.

My girls even got into the glass painting action & painted plates for their preschool teachers as Valentines Day gifts! I'm actually excited to paint vases, cake plates, cute little saucers & mugs...

Oh, one last Valentines Day thingie! My fam was at our old house & we get a knock on the door. One of the little neighbor boy's was standing there & asked to see my girls. He's 5. He gave my 5 year old daughter this Valentine card....So cute! My daughter made him a card in return & daddy walked the girls down the street to give the midget suitor a cookie, a valentine & a card.

OK, I lied. One more V-Day bit. Here's a pic of a tulip's private parts. My hubby gave me & the girls our very own bouquet of flowers.

I have been showered SO sweetly since moving into my new home. As we were cleaning & painting last week in our new home, a neighbor brought us cinnamon rolls--handmade! I use the canned version, so this was a special treat indeed!
And a couple ladies from my MOPS group (Mothers of PreSchoolers) have brought us meals--unexpectedly! I am just surprised & loving the thoughtfulness! I've never had anyone do this kind of thing for me before. It's sort of weird & cool. These people are definitely seeing me in my raw state. Pajama's all day, no makeup, hair a mess. It's my unpacking attire. Glamour is not at the top of my list this week. Or next. And come to think of it, unpacking's not really up there on the list either. Hm....

The moving went well though. I am super tired. And there are boxes everywhere. Sometimes I know I SHOULD be unpacking, but I just walk by the large mound of boxes that I'm sure really do create some sort of hazard & just shrug & say, "Eh" & keep walking by. But, there is a sweet note on each & every box in our house: At our old house, I would pack up the boxes & when I was finished my 5 year old would write "DONE" on the top of the box. HAHA! If the closed box with the tape sealing every opening might not have given me any hint that the box was ready to go, the word "DONE" sure helped! And the backwards "D" is just precious.

And here's my art studio! This is the "BEFORE" & "DURING" shot. The "AFTER" shot is still to come. The walls & ceiling are painted in the same color & it just looks TONS better! I'll be unpacking this week & figuring where things go. I'm excited to have a place ALL to myself! I'll make sure to get pics of the progress.

I used my dishwasher for the first time last night & the girls & I shouted "Hip Hip Hooray!" like a million times because it is so fun to have dishwasher. I love my new home SO much. It has lots of cuteness potential. OK, I better go & [not] unpack. Goodnight! I love being back! I've missed this LOTS!!!!

Moving sucks.

I am writing this from a lone computer in a remote location. My computer & TV got turned off yesterday (by accident from the cable company!!) It'll get turned back on tomorrow in our new house tomorrow late afternoon. Life is lonely without you, my blog friends. I have already set up an appt. this evening to watch Project Runway at my parents house while they sleep. haha! I guess my mom & dad aren't the party animals I thought they were. Am I pathetic? Look, it's my escape. I need it. I am about to fall over from exhaustion. The move is sucking the life out of me. The shop is closed until Monday morning, the 18th. I'll be back to normal by then.....I'm hoping. Is this all blurred together & mushy? It is. It's a reflection of how I am existing at the moment. The downstairs room in our new house is officially painted "classic taupe". It looks kind of fleshy colored. And this room is now gonna be my art studio. I look forward to setting up my creative space soon!
I WILL be on here tomorrow morning to announce the winner of my contest though! YAY!

I'm One Pooped Mover. And It's Only Just Begun...

I've got a lot of bits of something's & nothing's to say.....

I'm so excited about the "One World One Heart" Blog Event. I've found a few blogs that I might just have to call "favorites" & I do hope I get some new stragglers peeking in more often now too! That would be fun! And, if I don't win something I will throw a tantrum. I'm serious. I have entered almost every one of the 300+ drawings. I'm a sucker for a prize. (I think the fact that I'm in "limbo" between houses helps me escape in the evenings & have lots of time to play the role of "the contestant". ) I can't wait to have MY drawing on Valentine's Day too! Check it out HERE to enter, in case you haven't already!



Oh, & the move? I'm already overwhelmed. Why does moving have to be so overwhelming? And stressful. And emotional. Why can't moving be like a carnival? I'm not looking so sassy these days.


We'll officially be in the house next Saturday, the 16th. But we've already begun taking boxes of stuff-n-things when we can, cleaning the kitchen & bathrooms, laying shelf paper in all the cupboards & drawers (holy poo that takes a long time), painting (ugh) & making sure the girls have enough of their own "stuff" in the new house to help them not feel lost. It's not like we finally OWN our own home. It's still a duplex, still a rental, but it's bigger & I'm excited & I can't wait to make it mine.
The two pictures above are where Mr. WhiMSy love & I will be living. It's what the owners of the house (who lived their for 18 years) called "the wife's walk-in closet." I need to make it fabulous somehow because it is really ugly. So, this is the "Before" shot. I'm pretty sure the "After" will look a lot different.
Here's the girls eating on our dining room table shaped like a floor.





The girls & I HAD to take a break with all the serious moving rig-a-ma-roo so we took some photos with my camera to pass the time....That's me doing a headstand against the wall with my baggy paintin' clothes on....& here's Zoey jumping up & down. She looks like a ghost...

I call this next photo "Lonely Bruised Banana In An Empty Fridge"...

The whole "in-between" two houses sucks. I haven't even been able to crack open my brand new still-in-the-box tecre brand button maker!.... I'm STILL waiting for my packaging to arrive so I can put my cupcake paintings in the shop..... I've not been able to create stuff & put new & exciting things in the shop either.... I'm complaining a lot right now which sucks too.... But, I'll look on the bright side: I get to create a whole new art studio soon & have all my things in their rightful places instead of scattered around the house in several seperate locations. YAY! And a coolness fact I forgot to mention: The new house is PINK! HAHA! Love it. It was SO meant to be. Oh, & I do think I found a proper spot in the new pad for my "Monsieur Cupcake" painting. He's so cute. I love him.

On top of all the moving biz, I have TWO days to make 35 of these little cupcake treasures AND figure out a little treat to put inside of them today for the ladies at my MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers) group. Our theme of "Birthdays" should be LOTS of fun! I'm totally excited to show them how to paint those birthday plates I showed you a few days ago. The cupcakes in the picture were made by a cupcake swap partner, Jeannie, last year. She made them & filled them with goodies for my girls! Wasn't that sweet?

Oh, & dad was totally surprised by the king cake! He thought I made it. How sweet. My dad thinks I can make anything. And mom got the baby hidden inside.

Thanks for letting me just talk randomly. Ahhhhh....all better now.

Tutorial...or NOT Tutorial? THAT is the Question.

This is not the key to my heart. I'm MOVING! My fam has lived in our current house for 4 years, since we moved up to Washington from Arizona. We're getting cramped & need space. I'm so excited! We'll be able to take things over in a leisurely manner. It's only 5 inutes away & it's a house that our landlord just moved OUT of. There's a GIANT room in the basement that will serve as my art studio, the office & the girls' playroom. I've always pictured a space where I can be creating....my girls are in the same space doing their thing....we're all happy, singing lovely songs in 3-part harmony.....flower petals are falling from the sky.... HAHA! Anyway, the only MAJOR sucky thing is Mr. WhiMSy love & my bedroom. It's in need of some love. I'm on a makeover mission. I'll totally do a "before" & "after" picture thingie!

Now for my tutorial...or not...thinigie. I totally didn't intend for this to be a "how-to", but after I realized how many pics I took I realized that it sorta looks that way. It's that time of month again (no, not THAT time of month) when I need to prepare crafty goodness for my MOPS group--a gaggle of about 35 ladies, all mommies. I really do enjoy this because it gives me a chance to try new things & that's what this project is--new. I'll be glass painting, something I always thought would be fun to try. In fact, I believe I saw a blip in the most recent issue of Country Home magazine with drinking glasses painted with sweet flowers & filled with fresh picked blooms.

The picture above is pet peeve #1. Woops, I mean STEP #1. One down, 34 to go... You're supposed to wipe them down with alochol & THEN wash. But I forgot the alcohol part. Great start Nikki.

These are the paints. I did a lot of running around today to Craft Warehouse, Michael's & JoAnne's Fabrics (**hi reindeer!....Sorry, inside joke.**) to find what I needed. These were bottles of paints for $1.99 at JoAnne's. The other paints I saw required ventilation--which we don't have in our facility, OR they required 2 coats of paint with an hour dry time in-between each coat--& I have barely an hour to do the craft. So this was MY best choice. And you can mix colors, which is nice. UPDATE: Several people have written to ask about the paints so I thought I'd provide a close-up of the bottles. They look EXACTLY like acrylic paints, but they're made for glass & ceramics. A little goes a loooong way! And don't get the paint too thick or you'll just end up with a design full of unattractive bubbles. The paint is waterbased & non-toxic. It is not meant to come in contact with food, which is why I painted the design on the BOTTOM of the plate. I've used mine & washed it & is still perfect!! For other MOPS Creative Activities Leaders, I would suggest also providing the moms with magazines, or, print out birthday clip-art to give them ideas of what to paint.

One tiny bit of info that is important is that these paints are not food safe. And, we're painting those fun "birthday" plates used for those special days. My idea was to paint the BACK of the plate. I don't know if the surface will get scratched or what. My cool-beans idea of the day was to use a dry-erase marker to draw my design on the FRONT of the plate. I'm fine with painting freehand, but when writing letters backwards, NOT so good. I ended up wiping this design completely off because I realized that I should have done the fine little details first, as in this next picture...

Cute polka dots, cute cupcake trim & I painted cute dark brown lines on the cupcake "liner".

Everything else was painted in after the small details dried. The photo doesn't show so well, but there are streaks in the paint--for that "handpainted " look.

The final details were the large yellow ("lemon custard" to be exact) polka-dots. The back doesn't look so pretty. But no one will see that. Well, I guess they will--YOU just did.

Set in a cool oven, bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, let cool in oven & then take out. Or you can air-dry for 3 weeks. Isn't it cute?? It is hand-washable (although I have not washed it or used it--I'm kinda nervous!) & is dishwasher safe on the top rack. My girls LOVE it & want to use it right away. I guess I should make an UN-birthday one so we'll get more use out of it.

*To see the "Sweet Day" plate I made my niece (which looks exactly the same, except for the wording, click HERE.)

Geez. Another late night post. That's how I roll most of the time. And what a LOOOONG post too! I'm out of blog breath. Tomorrow though I'm going to reveal my dad's super surprise for his birthday. I'm excited for him to get it! Oh & I can't wait to buy cute things for the house tomorrow while the girls are in preschool & I have mommy time! YAY! No more blabbing. I gotta go!---Project Runway is starting soon!