Still busy, but here!

I know you have been missing your Shelby updates right?

Well, princess Shelby is doing just fine.

She found this sheet on the floor yesterday.
It was hastily thrown there by my husband as he was heading out the door for work, as it was a... please don't freeze beautiful new flowering plant which I can't remember the name of right now...covering.
She managed to contort her body to fit it so that she was lying on something special, not just the same old carpet.



Do you realize you have to lay full out flat on the floor to get a photo like this??

My sacrifice for your pleasure!!

She is such a happy subject, so ready to jump right in there when the camera comes out.

I really like a good sparkling in the lights christmas ornament picture don't you??


And, these non traditional colors...I like that too!

Have a great Friday friends.

Please forgive my absence.
I see no end in sight of my busy-ness.

I am way overdue for a visit to the grocery store.
Way!!

I had to put cannellini beans in my pasta sauce to get a vegetable in my families life today.

Cannellini beans are rather large.
There is no hiding them.
I am just gonna have to fess up right off the bat.
No subterfuge.

I actually think it will be kinda great, beans in my pasta sauce on a whim.

Well, it isn't actually a whim, now is it when it is the only vegetable type thing in my house.
Well, that is not counting the whole package of floppy celery which I never got wrapped up.

Floppy celery is not a good thing...ever!!

I did make homemade beer bread.
It is all wrong though.
All I had was my pumpkin ale.
So wrong with pasta.

Pasta with random beans and pumpkin ale beer bread.
Not a combination on any menu in any fine restaurant!

But here, tonight...

...that is what we got!!

Sigh, off to feed my family!

Later!

Look, look!

Woo Hoo!!!! Success!!

Now that is a bear paw!!

Lots to do today, gotta run!

I am in my blue phase.


I like how it looks cold and icy!


I have always really liked snowmen, but this blue thing is pretty recent.




A dash of red every so often to keep my family happy!


Christmas decorating time is upon us!
Go!

Thanksgiving Day 2010

Happy Thanksgiving blog world!

I have no recollection of ever reading the official "Thanksgiving day proclamation" given so very long ago. I don't remember it being presented in school, or driven home in history class. I bet you remember the same things as I do....Pilgrims and Indians, maize and vegetables, cornucopias and large crowds gathered 'round tables.
Now, I realize those things are all a part of it, going way back into our nations history, but....

Apparently Pilgrim Edward Winslow was present at the first Thanksgiving Festival and had this to say after listing out the sparse bounty that they had in those days of celebration.
"And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet BY THE GOODNESS OF GOD WE ARE... FAR FROM WANT." December 1621

Here is a little history lesson which gets us from that December to the holiday becoming national.
from the Christian Answers network.

"Much of the credit for the adoption of a later ANNUAL national Thanksgiving Day may be attributed to Mrs. Sarah Joseph Hale, the editor of Godey's Lady's Book. For thirty years, she promoted the idea of a national Thanksgiving Day, contacting President after President until President Abraham Lincoln responded in 1863 by setting aside the last Thursday of November as a national Day of Thanksgiving. Over the next seventy-five years, Presidents followed Lincoln's precedent, annually declaring a national Thanksgiving Day. Then, in 1941, Congress permanently established the fourth Thursday of each November as a national holiday."

Stick with me just a little while longer I know this is a wordy post.

Please take time to read this short proclamation put forth by Washington in the year 1789. It is so heartfelt and beautiful.

By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.


Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor-- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be-- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interposition's of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war--for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted--for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions-- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually--to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord--To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us--and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.


I have for all these years missed the significance of this day.
I am a grateful person.
I am a thankful person...and by default this thankfulness always goes to my God.
Who else am I gonna thank for all the wonder in my life?

But the default button was not pushed when it came to setting up this day.
It was pure and true acknowledgment of God and being thankful to Him that this day is to be about.
Specifically setting aside time for thanks to God.
I know for me....in the past I have spent my thanksgiving days trying to be thankful, have a thankful spirit, say thankful words etc.
Having a spirit of thankfulness but not directing that thankfulness to God, just being thankful generally...not specifically. There have been times in my life when there was a certain hollowness to my thankful attitude, a shallowness because that thankfulness did not intentionally go to God.

Maybe having that default is a strength and not a weakness, but I want my acknowledgment of God to be more than just one of those things I do because it is what I have always done.

This my 40th year of life is where I raise my Ebenezer.

This is the year when I say with intention and purpose,
God...it is all about you and how you bless my life and my country and my family.
It is you who controls the ebb and flow of my life and in you I wholly trust in all of those times.

This is the year I mark this spot and say "here by thy great help I have come".

Take time today to raise your Ebenezer, your open dedication and thankfulness for God's faithfulness in your life.

The insanity of the bead!

Beads, beads, beads!
Wow, this bead making thing has taken up a huge portion of my days lately.

I am hoping to make lots and lots of earrings and pendants which can be sold to people who will enjoy them...and in the process make some spending money.

I began this process with the abject failure of my first bead.
It was supposed to be a bear claw but looked more like some foreign cryptogram word.

I feel okay sharing this image with you again though I do feel shame at the results I know they were made in ignorance! (Please notice also...photo taken with old camera...
I was feeling pretty down about that and sat back down at the computer with some time for reading with my trusty google friend.
There is so much information out there, that we can get within seconds...how amazing is that?

I found a polymer clay cane making professional who was kind enough to photograph her cane making process.
I made another go at it and had mild success, but know I have quite away to go before being truly skilled at this process.
There are few things in my life that I feel pressure to be a perfectionist about, my artwork is one of them.
So, of course I am harder on myself than you would be.
...photo taken with new camera!!!)

My first, 2nd attempt was to try to make a cute little gift box. FAIL!!!
I turned this into what I hope is a mildly successful "plaid."
See all the tiny sideways gift boxes? Ughhh!

Next attempt was a snowflake.

I wish I had taken the time to make this more intricate.
Next time!
Forget that, there will be no next time, only other designs.

I took a huge portion of the FAIL gift boxes and squished them in my hands.
I was frustrated and just wanted them to go away!
They made this fun swirly design which I decided looked a bit like some of that mixed up yarn people work with.



I am not sure what people would wear this with, but I have lots of 'em to work with.
Blue jeans, everyone wears blue jeans, right?

Since I felt a little success with those mittens I decided I would step up my game.
I approached my next project with boldness that can only be born out of ignorance.

Ha!

This is my oldest sons taekwondo school patch.

Each school has their own patch designed especially for their school, so that it is unique.
I asked the school owners if I could pursue the idea of a bead with this design on it and got an enthusiastic go ahead.

I learned from the cane making lady to work on top of a design filling in the pieces with clay as you build the design. I finally broke out my camera to record the action about 2 hours into the process.

Yes, my friends this is 2 hours of work. Cutting every piece to the exact(ish) size and shape needed and placing it with its friends in such a way that they get along.
This is about an inch and a half tall.
Can you tell I am working on a color copy of the jacket patch? I think it looks a bit confusing.

It doesn't get any taller until later, but does get wider and wider as I fill in the design.
There was NO WAY I was even going to attempt those letters, no way no how!!!

At this point I was finally starting to breath a bit, but got immediately nervous again because I knew what had to come eventually!!

Ahhhhh, finally I finished the overall design.

Next up, reducing it.
It is a good idea to run screaming 'round the room waving your arms wildly in the air. This will cause the children to come running and the dog to start barking and chasing you, but it will relieve some of the tension associated with the next painful part of this process.
The part I so totally need more practice on!!!!

You must take the design that you have poured hours into and squish it.

Squish it and squish it and squish it down to a "cane".
There are people who have been doing this process for sometime and can actually keep the ends from going all crazy wonky!


I am not one of those people. YET!!!
This creates a LOT of waste!

I began cutting here, and still didn't come across the intact design.


Oh, see...not there yet. No red square.


I cut and cut and cut until finally I came across the design as it was meant to be!!!

It is a good idea at this point to again run screaming 'round the room waving your arms wildly in the air, this will cause the children to come running and the dog to start barking and chasing you, but it will let everyone know how excited you are that all your effort has paid off!!!
Be careful if you decide to do this...remember I still don't have any furniture in my living room and can do this freely.

The next step is to slice pieces off in the desired thickness.


Next, put them in the oven to bake per the instructions on the package.


And, then there you have it...a days worth of work for a bead.


I supposes I will still put another hour or more into these when I put the wire on and hang them on a necklace for wearing. So, an investment of about 6 hours time total. I think that is kind of insane.

But will I let that insanity stop me???
Of course not.
Right now in my little pea brain is a steaming mug of cocoa begging to be squished into a bead.
A tiny turquoise mug with hot cocoa and marshmallows (homemade of course).
See ya later world, beads I must make!

First photos!

Woo hoo, I had a few moments to take some pictures today!

Man oh man do I have a lot to learn!

But, just for fun I will share some with ya.
In case you haven't noticed...I don't post pictures of my kids on this blog, (just don't want it to be that kind of blog), so pictures of my dog is what you will get!

Oh, and of my fish.
Let's start with this yuck shot this morning when there was no light and I didn't know how to take a picture without the flash. I still don't know how to take a picture without the flash. I have too much else to do right now though to read the manual. Ha!

Look at those awesome tail fins though!!
MMMmmmmm such possibility!

Oh, yes and the hamster, we must have photos of the hamster.

This is storm, he is well loved!
And will be oft photographed, mark my words.


And now on to the puppy pictures.

Shelby loves her green blanket which she snuggles with in her crate starting at like....7 o'clock at night. She really goes to bed early. We call it her nap before bedtime.

From this point on she got very wary of me and that black thing that shines bright lights in her eyes!


She here she is innocently looking out the window....

Notice her ears are back. She is refusing to look at me because she knows I have that "thing".

Come on Shelby, I just want to take your picture over and over and over and over again.
Why does she have such an issue with this??










She is quite patient. But has got a few disgusted looks down pat.





Yes, disgust mixed with disbelief I think.
This is my favorite.
It says...really?
Sigh, really.







Seriously Mom, please put that thing away, sigh!
Sorry Shelbster, we are just getting started!