Out with 2009....

In with 2010! Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone is safe, warm and happy wherever they are! I can only hope 2010 will bring happiness, health and prosperity for everyone. Watch in the next few days as I will reveal my plans for my 2010 BJP pages. Due to some serious health issues, I have had to make a decision on whether I will continue on this year, but I have decided to on a pared down version. I am still torn between 2 ideas which is shocking since 2 weeks ago I didn't have a clue! I am not sure which version I will choose, but as soon as I figure it out, I will share with you! Hugs to everyone. Be safe!

Christmas Give-Away

Oh how exciting! Kassie is having a Christmas Give-away on her blog. All you have to do is leave a comment and link it back to her blog and you could win a $25 gift certificate for Artbeads. You can also sign up at Artbeads to win a $100 gift Certificate! Happy Holidays! Thanks Kassie.

Out with the "Bun" name and in with Ethan!

He are a couple new pictures of Baby Ethan, who is now 5 days old! Funny how quickly his looks have changed already. He and Mommy are doing wonderfully. Ethan sees his pediatric urologist on Thursday to check his kidneys. Cross your fingers for him (and us) that all is well. He sure is beautiful. Then again, I am kind of prejudiced :)

Announcing.....

Ethan Michael! Weighing in at a nice 7lbs 15 ounces and 20" long. He has lots of dark brown hair under that cap. Jess did an amazing job bringing this little gift into the world at 5:48 am today! We kind of thought he wanted to be here for Thanksgiving and thankfully he is! Almost all day Monday Jess was having pretty regular cramping or mild contractions, but after hours of this they stopped and she went to work that night. Then Jess and Mike were at my house last night helping me cook for Thanksgiving, when about 8:15 Jess started what she thought was more cramping. By about 8:30 we knew this was the real deal. When she went to the hospital she was already 4cm dilated. She was already having contractions 1-2 minutes apart. I am so proud of how Jess and Mike handled themselves during the birth process. My heart is just bursting with love and admiration for Jess! I am so proud of you hon! You really worked hard bringing this beautiful baby boy into the world and adding yet another gift to be thankful for today and everyday.

UGGHHH......

I am so disappointed and frustrated. As some of you know, I have had several surgeries on my neck and back due to a work related injury (neck) and degenerative disc disease in my back. I thought my troubles were over with my neck until late summer this year. I started to have some troubling all too familiar symptoms such as tingling sensations into my fingers, electric pains in my right arm into my fingers etc. I had an MRI a week ago last Friday and finally got the results last Thursday. Not good, seems I have another full herniation of a disc at the C4-C5 level in my neck. So, now what do I do? Well for starters I have an appointment for steroid injections in my neck on December 9th. I will need a series of 3 each 2 weeks apart. If they don't work to calm the injured nerves down, I will need to see my neurosurgeon to find out what options I have. I know what that will mean, more surgery, but I am going to avoid that as long as I can safely. Yikes! I cannot even begin to tell you how devastated I am by this news. I am now wondering if I will be able to participate in the 2010 BJP. I am taking it one day at a time hoping the injections will give me some relief and that I can avoid yet another surgery. I feel I have missed out on so much of my life recovering from these surgeries. The thought of another 6 months in a neck brace is so depressing. I want to be able to be there for little bun and the rest of my family too. Speaking of Bun, hes still with his mommy. His actual due date is tomorrow the 24th. I think he wants to skip Thanksgiving and make his debut after that. Wish Jess luck for a safe and quick delivery. Wish me luck on these injections too! Hugs!

Many Updates!

Hi! Thanks for checking in with me. Once again on the prompting from my daughter Jess, I am updating my blog. Still no progress with my Bead Journals, seems bead work is just too frustrating to try to do with a little one around. Shes just too into whatever grandma is doing to resist "helping" me with everything I do! Don't get me wrong, I love all the attention, but it does get in the way of creativity!

I am so happy and surprised to tell you that Baby Bun has yet to make his appearance into the world. Jessica's Dr said hes just plain too cozy in there to come out, looks like hes gonna stay put for awhile yet. That's such great news since things were so scary in the beginning. Lets hope hes here by Thanksgiving. I think Jess is hoping so!

Here is a picture of Kileigh along with her beautiful mommy Courtney on Halloween this year. She was such a cute little ladybug. She had a blast trick-or-treating. She said her own version of trick-or-treat, said thank you and even blew kisses to some of the people handing out candy! I think she melted a few hearts because she got as many as 4 treats at many of the houses she went too! Such a little sweetheart!

Maddux is continuing to do remarkably well. he is now 10 months fever free! Yippee!

I am still wondering what shape and size piece I want to do for next years BJP. I just cant seem to come up with just the right idea yet. Stay tuned.....

Hello Strangers!

Hi everyone! I hope you have missed me, because I have missed you. We have all been sick here one way or another. 3 weeks ago my hubby Chuck hurt his back. Seems as though he is taking after me and has several bad disc in his lower back. He actually tore some ligaments in his low back and has been basically laid up in bed for all this time. He is finally starting to feel human again and is having some steroid injections in about a week. Hopefully he will be able to get back to work soon. We will see!

Jess is continuing to do well. She is now 35 weeks and off of bed rest. All your prayers for her and Bun seem to have worked! His kidneys still don't look normal on ultrasound, but we will know more about that when hes here. He will be having some tests in his first week of life to determine what needs to be done if anything. Wish us luck!

No beading has been done with everything going on here lately. BUT! I do have a picture of the quilt Jess and I made for little Bun. The walls of the nursery are the same blue as in the quilt. We also made a matching valance for the window with the cream fabric and a thin blue stripe and a wider brown stripe too. The room is adorable! Cant wait to see a little boy in the crib!

Time Flies!

My Daughter Jess sent me a text today that said "Mom, you really need to update your blog" and she was right! Courtney and Kileigh are still staying with us, my Mom has been in and out of the hospital, and I am finding less time for tending to my blog. I have been busy planning for Jessica's baby shower and worrying about her too! The shower went well last Sunday. We had such a nice turn-out. People were very generous to Jess, Mike and Bun. So far, Jess is 32 weeks and still on bed rest. Looks like every ones prayers are working and Bun is staying put like a good boy! His kidneys still don't look normal, but we will deal with that after he is born.

I just sat down and submitted my 8 finished Bead Journal Pages to be posted on the 2008 BJP Members Gallery Page. I still plan to finish the other 4 pages over the next few months. I am excited to tell you that there will be a 2010 Bead Journal project! Registration starts tomorrow go here if you are interested. I know I am going to give it another go! This years BJP doesn't start until January 2010, so please consider joining us! You will get far more out of it that you can believe! I know I sure did.

Life is hectic!

I have no pictures to show today, just a brief update. I am happy to tell you that Jess has reached the 30 week mark without delivering Bun! She is still on bed rest, but her contractions have slowed. If this continues, Bun may make it closer to his due date. All of our fingers are crossed for that. We would really like him to stay put until the 34 week mark for his start in life to be the best possible one.
I have had the unexpected pleasure of having my daughter Courtney and little Kileigh staying with us for the last 2 weeks. It is so sweet having a little one around again. It really makes me miss being the Mother of little ones, but its a close second to that. She is my little buddy and likes to help with everything from cooking to taking care of the dogs. So fun! I am so blessed to have the family I have. I wouldn't trade them for anything. Tomorrow Jess and I are working on Buns quilt. We are making him a Peter Rabbit quilt to match his nursery. I will post a picture when its done. We aren't the most experienced quilters, but it is turning out cute and such a bonding experience for Jess and I. Not that we aren't bonded already, but its so fun to be making the quilt in anticipation of the arrival of Grandchild #2, my first little grandson! Hugs to everyone! I have started my 9th BJP and will post a picture when I get a little further along.

February BJP Finished!!

I am so excited to finally have this one completed. I had a few glitches, mostly in my own mind. I am still not thrilled with the end result, I tried to get too creative on this one and it backfired on me. I had originally wanted to do much more with it, but I am satisfied for now. One thing i am really unhappy about is the back of the "doors" I had planned on covering them somehow with fabric, which I may end up doing yet. I tried several different ways of doing it, and none seemed to work for me. That's why you can still see the outline of letters on the backs of the doors. For now this is how its going to be!

Here is the latest 3-D Ultrasound of baby Bun. Isnt it amazing? Nothing much is different with Jess and her baby. She is still on bed rest. She went to a specialist last week and they are optimistic. Seems as though the little "Bun" has some kidney issues they are watching as well as being in a hurry to meet all of us. Jess is 27 1/2 weeks now and the Dr's hope she waits to deliver until 32 weeks or more. That would be the best thing for Bun. Meanwhile, poor Jess is getting restless just laying around with all of us family bugging her! We all are taking turns cooking, cleaning and helping Jess keep her sanity while Mike is at work. Keep your fingers crossed for them!

May BJP is DONE!!

Well! After a month (or more) of teasing you about my May BJP, I can finally show the end result! I wanted to do this page about my beautiful daughter Jessica and her pregnancy. This pregnancy so far, has been a difficult one with many trials and tribulations. I know in the end, it will all be worthwhile, but its been tough on Jess and Mike and the extended family as well! I don't want to go into too many details here, but Jess is at the 26 week mark and on bed rest. Little baby Bun thinks he needs to come into this world to early, and we want him to stay put for another 6 weeks or so! We are all doing our parts with keeping Jess company while Mike is at work, doing housework and cooking too. That's what families do when the going gets rough right?

So now about the page for May! I wanted to test myself a bit on this one. I wanted to learn how to set a cab in beads, so I set both a "Bun" cab face as well as one to represent Jess. Then the problem was how to sew it onto my page. I also wanted to use a color I don't normally use a lot of - purple! Jess has always had the nickname "J of the B" since she was a little girl. When she asked what the "B" stood for, either her dad or I said "butterflies" so I wanted to represent this in her page as well. I looked through my stash of beads and found these really pretty butterflies in purple and the color palette was born! I wanted the background to be soft and unobtrusive, so I picked this palest of gray color and for drama, selected the dark oily purple tones in the leaves and flowers. I used a dark grape for the vines, and some swarovski crystal flowers for some sparkle. The only time I strayed from this color palette, was when I used the baby blue around the bun cab (because hes a boy after all) and to represent Jess's beautiful auburn hair. The quote at the bottom reads "Mothers and daughters are closest, when daughters become mothers" Very fitting, dont you think?

Update, Elvis and a WOW!

What do all 3 of these things have to do with each other? Why, beads of course! I have been plugging away at my Starry Starry Night tapestry. I have 8,000 beads into it now. It is so slow going because there aren't any big groups of any one color. Its so easy to make a mistake and believe me, I have made more than a few. Its no easy task ripping out 94 beads in a row! Yikes! I have also done a pattern of Elvis for Suzanne Wester for sale at beadcoop. I don't have any updates of my latest BJP as it is still a secret for my daughter Jess. Stay tuned though, its coming right along!

Now for the WOW! I rarely am impressed enough by a business to brag about it, but cannot deny the service I recently got from Terri at Foxden. I ran out of a crucial color for my May BJP. It was a size 15 Japanese bead called Dusty Orchid. I went to the Foxden on Friday at 12:52 pm and placed a small order of size 15's. Would you believe they were in my mailbox the NEXT day? I was in shock! Her prices are great and she carries all the sizes of Delicas along with other types of beads including a mouth-watering selection of little size 15's. They all come in fliptops too, which I love. As I said before, WOW! Thanks Terri Ann! Check out their site for some beauties!

Carol asks "Where the heck are you" Well, I am here - sort of! I have a HUGE bead fairy project that is consuming all my time! It is a bead version of A Starry Starry Night. Suzanne Wester is the pattern maker. This project done in peyote is 10" wide X 7" long and contains 58 colors and 18,000 beads! Yes, I said 18 THOUSAND! I had to come up with a way to contain 58 different colors. This is what I came up with. I took 2 pieces of thick foam, cut 60+ little holes in one piece approximately 1" X 1". I then used double faced tape around each square to seal the edges so no beads could sneak out. I also double face taped all around the whole piece of foam. Then I stuck it to the other uncut piece, had hubby cut a thin piece of plywood, sand the edges for me. I also taped this to the plywood and had a workable bead holder! Its shallow enough to be able to bead right out of the depression, yet just thick enough to hold the little buggers where they need to be. I labeled each depression with the corresponding chart number. So far so good. I have almost 6,000 beads done. Its so neat watching this one develop. Stay tuned! Sorry to have been MIA. Thanks Carol for the kick in the butt! Hugs to All. Hi Kara!

Guess What??

IT'S A BOY!!! My daughter Jess and her hubby Mike just found out this morning that we are adding a little boy to our family! The due date is 11/24/2009. It will be another first for us, the first boy. Our family has lots of girls, so we are happy about little "Bun" being a boy, but we would have loved him/her either way! Isn't the detail of this ultrasound incredible? What a beautiful baby. I can just picture Kileigh and Bun running around playing with each other. Its so nice they will be close in age. Congratulations Mike & Jess!

Happy Monday!

How is everyone? I feel like I am neglecting my blog (and my beadwork) so I thought I would post a couple of teaser pictures of my may BJP. As I said in a previous post, I don't want my daughter Jess to see this page until it is finished, so that's all I can post for now. At least you have a taste of what it looks like for now!

We had a wonderful weekend this past weekend. On Saturday we had a family cookout at Mike and Jessica's house. My sister Kim and her husband Alex were visiting from Texas so we all got together to celebrate seeing them. Her daughter Kara and hubby Adam and their 2 little adorable girls were there, My hubby and I, Jess and Mike, daughter Courtney and grand-angel Kileigh, my Mom and dad were also able to come for the cookout. It was nice catching up with everyone. I wish we all got to see each other more. Its so hard having family out of state. We just have to make the most of it when we are able to get together! HI KARA!! I am so happy to know you check my blog every week! Love you all!

3 Dogs and a Cat!

Well, not really! That is just what I have worked on this week. The Siamese cat pattern I cannot take credit for. It is a pattern by Deb Moffet-Hall. The Dalmatian and Samoyed patterns are my own though! I cant seem to get away from making these pins. Someday I hope to do each breed recognized by AKC. That would be an accomplishment since there are currently 150+ breeds recognized by AKC. Yikes! May need to rethink that idea huh? I am still plugging away on my May BJP. I am not ready to post it though. I have more work to do before I will show you. Sorry! I want it to be a surprise for Jess when she sees it, since it is all about her! I know you are looking Jess...I can just feel it! Take care everyone!

My Goodness!

I just came upon a blog giveaway and HAD to post about it here. You wont believe what shes giving away! Check it out for yourself: http://silverparrotdesigns.blogspot.com/

HI!

I am still alive and kicking! I have gotten a decent start to my May BJP, but I don't want to post any pictures of it for now. I am doing my May page to honor my daughter Jess, and I know she pops on here to check my blog everyday. So, I am not going to be posting pictures quite yet!

I have also been doing some beadfaerie work for Suzanne Wester. She sells her patterns at the beadcoop, and has been wanting her patterns beaded up to be sure they will turn out. I have done several pieces for her over the years. This is my latest work named "Leader of the Pack" I like how it turned out. I am going to frame it to hang in the computer room. You should check out her patterns, she does a bit of everything including some gorgeous loom work. Take care everyone! Look for more updates soon!

She Holds Her Little Girls Hand....

Like I once held hers. My youngest daughter Courtney turned 21 today! Happy Birthday Co! I cant believe you are 21, seems like just yesterday you were born. I took this picture yesterday, when Courtney Kileigh and I went to the park. It was such a beautiful day, and we had lots of fun. I love you very much. MOM

Circle of Life.....COMPLETE!

I am so happy to tell you that my April Bead Journal Project is complete! I am very happy with how it turned out. I love the simplicity of the piece with only 3 colors of beads. Well actually 3 colors but 9 varying shades of the 3 colors. I know the background looks like its gray, but in actuality its a color called Opal Lilac. I love it. I knew when I started, that I wanted a fairly neutral background color, When i saw this color, I knew it was perfect. I also knew I wanted to use the trees I used, but not in their original state. My hubby spray painted one black and another white as they were brown to begin with. I wanted a very graphic piece, different than the colorful pieces I usually do. I think I succeeded! I am still rather behind, but hope to work lots this next couple of weeks and my husband is working quite a bit of overtime. We will see what the next couple of weeks brings. Hope everyone out there is happy and healthy! Everyone here is doing great. We spent lots of family time this past weekend and I loved every minute of it.

Progress on my Circle

I have had some time lately to work on my April BJP called Circle of Life. I am working on filling the background in of the circle. It is slow and tedious, but I love the effect you get when you use the one bead at a time method I am using. On the black half, I used 4 shades of black, shiny, matte size 11's, hematite Delicas (DB0001), and shiny size 15's. On my white half, I am also using 4 shades of white to include White AB finish Delicas (DB0202) white lined crystal and matte white 11's as well as white size 15's. As I said, tedious but worth the effort! I am not going to share with you at this time my plans for the rest of the page. You will have to wait and see!

I have also worked out 2 new dog patterns in Delica beads, a Yorkie and a Pug! I love the challenge of working in such a small space (22 beads wide) and trying to produce what actually looks like the dog its supposed to look like. What do you think?

A Hunting We Will Go....

Asparagus hunting that is! Before my hubby went to work today, we went looking for asparagus. We didn't have lots of success, but we did manage to find a couple spears. I think we must be a little late because much of what we found had gone to seed already. The largest spear in this photo is a whopping 26" tall! I have never seen one that tall before, then again I havent looked for asparagus since I was a teen. All I know is that its going to be part of my dinner tonight. Hopefully its yummy!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mothers Day. I sure did. My girls came over, Jess, Courtney and Kileigh, along with Jessica's hubby Mike. Courtney's hubby Brandon called too. I was surprised about that since he is in the process of being deployed. Courtney gave me a lovely card and Mom plaque, Jess and Mike gave me a beautiful slate stone for my garden and a coffee mug (love my tea) and a sweet card too! We had dinner and a jello cake for dessert. YUMMY! I love spending time with all of them. Its gift enough just to have them here. Hugs to everyone!

The Circle of Life...

I have lots for you to see today! As I said in a previous post, my April BJP is called The Circle of Life. I decided to do this topic as my April page for a few different reasons. My Maternal Grandmother passed away 24 years ago April 21st. I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with my daughter Jessica. My Father passed away when my daughter Courtney was 8 1/2 months pregnant with little Kileigh. My daughter Jessica's Father-in-law passed away 1 week before his first grandchild was born. The Circle of Life continues....

So on to a happier example of this circle. This photo is a copy of an ultrasound Jess and Mike had done today showing little "Bun" in his/her debut! Hard to believe, but at only 11 weeks the baby has hands and feet, a visible heartbeat, a little tushy, spinal column, eyes and lots of other distinguishable body parts. We don't know if its a boy or girl, but its 1 1/2" long and active! Have you ever seen a cuter Bun? We cant wait to meet you little one!

Also, I am showing a few pictures of the beginnings of my April page. You can see the "circle" as well as the entire background is done. I wanted the background to be simple and neutral, so the actual circle will pop - hopefully! Look for more in a couple days. Congratulations again to Jess and Mike. You are giving this family another blessing, and I for one cannot wait!

Well Hello There!

Yes, I am alive and kicking! I hope I am kicking some serious virus butt! basically I have been sick since late February with about a 1 week break. My poor lungs have been seriously ill. Once again back to Urgent Care last week and 6 days later, to my Family Dr. Seems I had some fluid in my lungs which was causing a high fever and general sick feeling. I am hoping that I am finally getting over the worst of it! I have so missed being able to look at every ones pretty creations, as well as doing some creating of my own! Finally yesterday I felt well enough to give it a go. I am still waiting on the final components of my February page, so I decided to set it aside and start work on another month. I have started on my April piece. I am calling it "The Circle of Life" and you will see the beginnings soon. I think its going to be lots of fun.

Also, for those of you who asked to see Kileigh in her sweater and cap - here you go a little baby cheesecake! Enjoy!

Happy 15 month Birthday today little Ki, your Gammy loves you!

Up Up and Away!

I just got home from seeing my youngest Daughter Courtney and our little Grand baby Kileigh off to Texas. They are flying out to see Courtney's Husband Brandon off to Iraq. His squadron is deploying This week. I am really nervous about the 2 girls flying, even though they are in the company of another Army Wife and Daughter. I don't think Moms and grandmothers ever get used to their loved ones being out of the state (and our vision) I guess it comes with the territory of loving someone. I am always happiest when I know right where my children and grandchild are!

Good news is, I managed to get Kileigh's sweater done for the trip. I hear its still a little chilly in Texas at night, so I am hoping she will wear it on her trip at least once or twice and know all the love her gammy put into it for her! I learned so much making this sweater. I learned I CAN do whatever I set my mind to. I learned how to pick up stitches for buttonhole bands and collars. I learned I do not like doing buttonholes and then trying to line up the holes evenly spaced and then manage to have the buttons sewed on in the right place! All in all, I am fairly happy with the end result. I am proud of myself for sticking to it even when I wanted to give up and that's what its all about right? Hopefully tomorrow I will get some time to work on my Bead Journal since I am now almost 3 months behind! Actually a little over 2 since February's is almost done. Still waiting on the final piece to finish it off. Hopefully this week. I want to start on things for the new Grand baby on the way! Hugs to everyone!

Moving along or Close, but no cigar!

Not quite as far as I would like to be, but I am showing some progress I guess! I feel as though I will never be done with this piece. I am definitely feeling the pressure of being behind. I am quite happy with the way its turning out so far. I will be posting a teaser picture in the next couple of days though! See if anyone can tell where I am going with it.....I love to keep it entertaining!

It seems as thought I have developed yet another hobby...just what I need! I started a sweater for little Kileigh quite some time ago. Well, to make a long story short, I am FAR from an accomplished knitter. I found a pattern that said Easy. For me, it was not easy! I really thought I could do it, but quickly found myself lost in mumbo-jumbo language that may as well have been Greek. I put it aside and really completely forgot about it. With the news of another Grand-baby coming, I again went to the thought of I should make him/her something. While digging around in my front closet aka the Black Hole, I came across the afore-mentioned sweater in progress. For some reason, I felt compelled to finish it or at least give it another try. I am now almost done with it! All I need to do is pick up some stitches to finish the collar, sew it together at the seams and sew on the buttons! I am so proud of myself. I have no idea why I was so overwhelmed before that I gave up on the sweater, only to be doing just fine with the same pattern as before. I will post pictures of the finished sweater when I get it completely done. I had plans on finishing it up tonight, but had to do yet another Shar Pei beaded pin, so had to do that instead. Maybe tomorrow? Wish me luck! I then already have the yarn to make another surprise for Mike and Jessicas little one. I LOVE Grandbabies!

PS. 3 months today Maddux has been fever-free!! YAY!!

What??

Hmmm....I seem to have developed a hole in my heart??!!?? What could this mean I wonder? I don't know, but I do know if you want to see where this piece goes, you will have to stay tuned! Aren't I such a tease? I know, but I cannot resist! Its just too much fun. There is also a bow that appeared in the middle of the heart, most of the background of the area surrounding the heart is getting filled in too. I think I like it! I am flying by the seat of my pants here, making much of this up as I go. I have a vision....Not sure exactly what it is, but a vision none-the-less. We shall see. As I said before, it could be good, but also could be a disaster! Time will tell. Stay tuned. I am hoping to be done with this one by the end of the month. That may be a bit of wishful thinking on my part. Optimism is a good thing, but sometimes life gets in the way! Hugs to everyone. Have a wonderful, beady weekend!

Coming Along!

My February page is moving right along. I am pretty happy with how it is turning out. Once again, its been a learning experience. I used the prettiest shade of Burgundy in this piece. BIG mistake! Just the moisture from lotion I used on my hands made the color bleed off on my page. I was so mad! I had to tear a bunch of it out and redo. I did leave very small amounts of the offending color on my page. I hope it will be ok. Yikes! I know, test for colorfastness. Lesson learned which is what this process is all about right? RIGHT! I wont be making that mistake again. So, you are probably wondering why I haven't started anything in the center of my heart, right? Well, you will have to stay tuned to see as Lynn said "What fills my Heart" It could be interesting, or could be a huge flop. You never can tell. Stay tuned for the plan....

Some news...

Little did we know when we had that last family picture taken that I posted, that there were actually 6 of us in the picture! Yes, it is true! Mike and Jess are expecting! They are giving us the gift of a new life and addition to our family. I am so happy for them (and us too) Do you think this baby stands a slight chance of being cute with the looks of these two? We love you already "Little Bun" funny how he or she already has a nickname given by Auntie Courtney on the day we got the news. Again, Congratulations Mike and Jess! Grandbaby # 2! I cannot wait!

A rare event indeed!

You are about to witness the occurrence of an extremely rare event! I am posting a picture of myself on the web for all to see!! As I posted a day or so ago, my oldest child Aaron is here for a visit from Texas. I wanted a picture of the 4 of us and Kileigh to commemorate the trip. Here it is, from left to right: Aaron, Me holding Kileigh, Jess and Courtney. I am so proud of each and every one of my children. Each in their own way. Aaron is 32, single and is the Store manager of an Aarons Rental in Texas. Jessica is an RN, and works in the nursery and sometimes labor/delivery. She is newly married to Mike who is a Probation Officer. Courtney is an excellent mother who plans on returning to school when Kileigh gets a little older to do something in the medical field. Perhaps become an Ultrasound Tech. She is married to Brandon, who is currently serving our Country in the Army. Kileigh is my first Grandchild, who specializes in being the cutest thing in the world. Do I sound a little proud? Well, I AM!

M.I.A.

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I just cant seem to kick this darn bug I have. I finally broke down and went to the local Urgent Care on Monday. Seems I have Sinus infection, the starting of an ear infection, bronchitis which is bordering on pneumonia. No wonder I have felt so bad. I am just plain worn out and tired. My Son Aaron is here from Texas for a visit too, and even thought I am feeling poorly, I am trying to spend as much time as I can with him before he goes home tomorrow. I have had little energy nor time for beads this past week, so not much in the way of an update except the bit I got done last week before I became really sick. I hope everyone is doing well out there. I have seen some gorgeous work and I hope to pick up my beads and needles and get to work soon myself. I feel so darn behind and so frustrated with not feeling myself. BLAH!!

Arggg.....

Not to much progress on my February BJP. I have been bitten by a sucky bug! Sinuses are working overtime, headache, body aches, cough etc..... I was in bed almost all weekend, sapped of any strength I have at all. Not conducive to beading, for sure. I hate being sick. It is not for me! Here is the little bit I got done before it hit me full-force. I know, its not much but its something right? I think everyone I know is sick right now, just getting over being sick or just starting to get sick. It started last Thursday for me, and isn't showing any signs of going away....boo-hoo! See where the left side grommet is? I forgot to put the grommets in before I started on the left side, I really got lucky because I couldn't have gotten the beads any closer to where the grommet was supposed to go, without planning it! I wonder how I did that? When I realized I needed to get the grommet in, I was sure I would have to tear some beadwork out to fit it where I needed it to go. I guess the bead gods were watching out for me and guiding my needle to the right place!

PS. Maddux update! As of today, Maddux is 2 months fever-free!!!! YAY! I am so happy and praying that he continues to improve. He is back to his old self, playing, eating, drinking, sleeping and enjoying life like he did before his kidneys started to fail. His weight is great 72 lbs and holding. He started doing his "mad-dog" circles in the livingroom again when hes super excited. I am loving it! Wish us continued luck! For those of you who don't know about it, Maddux was experiencing 2-3 fevers a month of sometimes 107+ degrees due to Shar Pei Fever syndrome/ Renal Amyloidosis. He is on an experimental protocol and continues to improve. read my older posts to follow along if you are interested!

I survived turning 50!!

YAY! I did it! I am now 50 and completely over it. I don't know why I had myself all worked up. I feel the same today as i did Tuesday when I was 49. Crazy woman! I had a wonderful day. Lots of calls, text messages and cards. Heard from my 2 nephews in Texas which was great. Courtney and Kileigh spent the day with me. We had ribs and baked potatoes which was a treat since I have been dieting since November. It tasted like a million bucks. Now back to reality and eating healthy. I actually bought a small Birthday Cake and am very proud to say I ate maybe a 2"X2" piece and am going to throw the rest away. Wasteful, yes, but I needed something sweet and I had it and am done with it. I would rather have a big piece of fresh pineapple than another piece of cake. Maybe I am finally getting it about eating healthy and your body being a temple and all that gobbildy-gook!

Anyway, still have my December page set aside for decisions at a later date. Here is the progress on February. I am doing this piece in all Pinks, Raspberries, gilt-lined opal type colors. I am adding a splash of gold too! So far, so good. I have big plans for the inside of the heart...stay tuned for that! I hope to keep moving along on this one because I have plans in mind for March and am chomping at the bit to get to work on that one! First things first though. One bead at a time! Hugs to everyone and thanks for all the well-wishes and Happy Birthday wishes too!

I am Lost!

I am not happy with my progress on my December page. I have decided to move onto February instead, and possibly re-think December! I just am not enjoying the process of my December page. It is hard to make yourself work on something you just aren't enjoying! maybe if I set it aside and work on something different, I will feel differently about it. SO.....here is the progress so far on both my December and February pieces. I love pink and raspberry tones and that's what I am going to use on my February page. This is a huge month for me. On February 25th, I will be 50 years young! I can hardly believe it myself. Some days I feel every bit 50, other days I don't. When I look in the mirror, I don't see someone who looks 50. I see someone who still feels 25. I know age is just a number, but this milestone is bugging me!