SWAP TIME!!
When I got home today, a package was waiting for me. Not a second was lost, as I recognized my Valentine Swap Pal's name and address. I couldn't wait to tear open the package and reveal the contents inside.
Oh WOW! I couldn't believe the wonderful Valentine goodies within!
Let's just take a look at all the treasures that dear, sweet Alice sent to me!
This is the first thing that I saw....I am surprised you didn't hear my squeals of delights all the way from here! LOL Isn't this scrumptious....."Love Shack". Look at all the pink! OMGosh! Alice, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! Thank you so much. You are soooo talented! Look at all the other goodies.....Isn't the stuffed fabric heart just beautiful?!? The sweet card that was enclosed had a yummy red raspberry tea bag inside. Raspberry is just one of my all time favorite flavors! And look at the gorgeous hankie....OMGosh! Who doesn't need a chocolate fix every now and then! Yum-O!
There were a bunch of precious valentine cookies. Too, too cute! The red beaded heart ornament will definitely find a good home as well!
Alice, you have really spoiled me on my first blog swap! I have also enjoyed getting to know you!!
Your goodies will be arriving in a few short days. Thank you once again, and Happy Valentine's Day to you Alice!
Hugs and Blessings,

Day of Crafting & Decorating
Aaahhhhh......My two favorite colors: Pink and Red

I spent some of the day crafting and decorating for Valentine's Day. Here are some pictures I thought I'd share with you.
This is of my dining room table. I made the picture in the center and the candle on the left. The candle is in an enamelware piece. I added vintage valentines, ribbon, lace, pompoms, "love" flashcard, and lots of other embellishments. The cupid picture in the center is made from all kinds of neat paper. I found the little pink heart plate and matching bowl at Hobby Lobby (on sale, no less!) My two little Valentine mice found a home under one of my cloches. The mouse on the right holds her Valentine card while the one on the right offers you her heart. I just love them. Their faces are just toooo precious!
The glitter heart and heart & arrow are from Bayberry Cove. If you haven't visited before, you need to check out all the wonderful artists and all their goodies. Everything is just beautiful!
Oh, there's the happy Valentine couple from almost 21 years ago (photo below)! Wow! Look how thin we were, and Kenny with black hair! Here my antique tin sap bucket hold berries, red glitter hearts. It is accented with my red berries/apples arrangement that I never put away.

I have added a couple little picks that read "Hugs" and "Love". Are they cute?!? I made the Valentine tussie mussie. I think it turned out cute.
Until next time, Hugs and Blessings,

Well, you know me and decorating.....it is always a work in progress!!
Decorating is not just limited to my home and my classroom. It goes to my blog as well. I have made a new Valentine banner. I really love it! I think the colors are so yummy and rich! I'd love to hear what you think!

This one is going to be another short post tonight. If you will look back, I have had several short posts this week. Well, my Mom has had knee replacement surgery, and I have been spending the days at the hospital. She's been at a hospital in Nashville. She is now at a rehab center and is doing as well as can be expected after this type of surgery. I am just glad they didn't send her home today, as they had originally planned, with her having physical therapy here (first at home and then at our Rehab Center). This way she is on site and getting round the clock help!! I am going to take another day or so off next week to be with her, and then a few days hopefully when she gets home. She should be there a week to ten days.

I am ready to get some rest this weekend, so I am going to start now with my jammies, a book, and bed. So, here's Friday's Feast, and then I'm signing off for tonight.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer

Soup
What do your sunglasses look like? They are serengeti, lenses are amber color

Salad
You win a free trip to anywhere on your continent, but you have to travel by train. Where do you go? Boston, New York, Philadelphia

Main Course
Name one thing you consider a great quality about living in your town/city. great school system, hometown hominess

Dessert
If the sky could be another color, what color do you think would look best? pink ofcourse!!
How many times per day do you usually laugh? a lot!

Happy 2nd Birthday Maggie!!

Today is my baby girl's 2nd birthday! Here she is sporting her new girly pink collar with pink heart, engraved with her name and phone number. She also got some yummy doggy treats! Happy Birthday my sweet girl!

Yummies
It's a cold rainy day. It was so yucky and I was so tired when I got home that I put on my jammies but not before I opened my goodies that came through the mail today. Take a look at this pink yummy goodness! I ordered this just the other day, and it was already on my porch this afternoon. I LOVE vintage and pink, and this is BOTH! Go by and check out Ronda at Cherry Blossom Cottage. Isn't this just the yummiest necklace and earrings you have ever seen?!? Tonight, still in a mood for some yummies, I decided to have myself some cupcakes. Ummmmm, now this is a yummy night!!

Baby It's Cold Outside!
Brrrrr! It's another cold one tonight! We had a cup of soup for dinner after church tonight. I just love our Campbell's Kids soup mugs. I have had them for years. When it is this cold, you should have some snow to show for it, don't ya think?! I sure do! However, we need it on a school day, so we can have a snow day.....hee hee! We are due one as we haven't had a snow day in at least three years. Tomorrow the kiddos are out for MLK Jr. Day, but we have an inservice day. It should be really good though as we have one of Debbie Diller's associates coming to do our workshop!! Debbie Diller is awesome when it comes to literacy centers, so I am ecstatic about this workshop!! Then we are going to lunch at Emil's! Yummy!!
Until next time, cuddle up and stay warm!

Hearts and Cherubs!
I just LOVE Valentine's Day! Not only is it the most romantic day of the year, but it is my anniversary too.....the big 2-1 his year! I LOVE hearts and cherubs, and this time of year, I start pulling out all my yummy Valentine jewelry! I had to take a shot of this for you so you could see some of my favorite heart and cherub goodies I love to wear. The puffed heart on the right was a present from my hubby when we were dating and planning our Valentine's Day wedding. The silver cherub is on a vintage spoon, which I wear on one of my silver choker necklaces. It was a sweet find at the Nashville Flea Market a few years ago.

The music box doesn't have hearts or cherubs, but it does represent love. Not only are the couple on top in love, but this was given to my Mother from my Daddy when they were first married. She gave this to me because I have always loved it. As a child, I spent much time winding it up and listening to the beautiful music. And it still plays to this very day. What a treasure!

*Here's my Saturday Special*

~My Personal Preferences~

1. Quiet evening at home or Out on the town?: Quiet Evening at Home
2. Watching a movie or Reading a good book?: Watch a Movie
3. Ordering a meal or cooking one yourself?: Order a Meal
4. Going for a walk or taking a ride in the car?: Go for a Walk

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
What is your favorite beverage? cappuccino
Soup
Name 3 things that are on your computer desk at home or work. camera, papers, wacom
Salad
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how honest do you think you are? 9
Main Course
If you could change the name of one city in the world, what would you rename it and why? Sheesh, I have no idea on this one! LOL
Dessert
What stresses you out? What calms you down? Stress: being late -- Calm: pixeling, crafting

First Snow of 2008
Well, it finally started to snow! We had a late night meeting at school. Someone came running in the library to let us know it was snowing! Yippee! By the time we left, HUGE flakes were coming down! When I arrived home, Maggie was waiting on me to go out to play. She loved it! Here she is licking her lips at the snow. LOL
Unfortunately, soon after, it began to rain. It is slushy out there and still drizzling a bit. So much for the snow and the prospect of a snow day. Oh well, we can hope that another snow will follow soon.....one that will bring a snow day with it!! Until next time, stay snuggly warm!

Hugs and Blessings,
Rebecca

End of the First Week Back.....

It's the end of the first week back to work, and all went well! It is always hard to get back into that routine after being off so long, but we managed once again. My students were anxious to tell me all out their break and what they got for Christmas. However, on the whole, both Monday and Tuesday they were unusually quiet!! I think they had stayed up late a lot over break, and were having a hard time adjusting to the routine again. By Thursday, they were back to their old "chatty" selves again! LOL

My Camera.....

I usually have a camera within arm's length just in case I need to snap something. Well, I haven't posted any pictures lately because of my camera. Actually it is the card. All of a sudden it comes up with "card not intialized" everytime I turn it on. I have researched on my camera and how to troubleshoot. I could only find a couple of entries on what to do, and both said to just replace the card. So hubby went online and found a card at a great price! When I first got my wonderfully awesome camera a few years back, the card was around $100. Yikes! Now, they have come down considerably, and he got it for $30'something. Wow! So, I should have it some time next week so I can snap some pics that I have been longing to post! Ok, here's my
FRIDAY'S FEAST

Appetizer
What is your middle name? Would you change any of your names if you could? If so, what would you like to be called? My middle name is Rose. I never really liked it when I was younger, but I like it now. I wouldn't change my name at all.

Soup
If you were a fashion designer, which fabrics, colors, and styles would you probably use the most? Reds and Pinks would be my choice of colors! I like the vintage/retro look.

Salad
What is your least favorite chore, and why? Laundry.....because I seem to always be doing it! How do we wear sooo much?! lol

Main Course
What is something that really frightens you, and can you trace it back to an event in your life? Heights frighten me--I don't think of anything that occured to make me feel that way.

Dessert
Where are you sitting right now? Name 3 things you can see at this moment. Uh, at the computer. LOL I can see the tv, my phone, and my puppy dog.

Valentine Blog Banner

Well, I thought it was time to get to decorating for one of my favorite holidays, Valentine's Day. So this afternoon, I made a new Valentine banner for Our Back Porch. Since I am in a couple of Valentine swaps and I have been busy crafting some Valentine goodies, I thought we needed a decorative banner here too. Thanks to Tender Teddy Tags, Graphic Delights, and Completement Blinkies for the wonderful tubes I used in my banner!!

Wow! It's been a busy day. I have been trying to get the rest of my Christmas stuff put away. The house is pretty much back to normal, whatever that is. LOL!
I have also been crafting some today. I made some really cute Valentines crafts, but I can't post a picture or tell you about them, because you might just end up getting them if you are in one of the swaps I am in.

This is a short one as I am pretty maxed out now. Have a beautiful evening and Sunday!

Here's my Saturday's Special

~It's Dinner Time~

1. Standard Oven or Microwave?: oven
2. Fry or Bake?: bake
3. Cooking or Fast Food Meals? Why?: My New Year's resolution is to have more home-cooked sit down meals as we are always going in different directions. Unfortunately, we have gotten into a bad habit of the dreadful fast food meals.
4. Sit Down or On The Run Dinners?: Well, I think I just covered that one in #3. LOL We are going to try to do better with more sit down meals!

Happy Saturday!!

Hugs and Blessings,
Rebecca

Happy Friday Everyone!

This is my last day (except the weekend) until I head back to work. I know my students are going to be sooo excited to tell me about their Christmas vacation. I have missed them a lot, but have really enjoyed my time at home these past two weeks!

Well, I am gearing up for Valentine's Day. This is one of my favorite holidays, as it is my Wedding Anniversary as well!! This will be our BIG 21! Woo Hoo!!
I remember last year, my hubby had 20 red roses delivered to my classroom. My kids (and I) were ooohing and aahhhing all afternoon! You would have thought I had never received any roses before the way I was carrying on. *hee hee* I do LOVE roses!! This is a picture of them. You can also see our wedding photo on the table. Wow! So young and thin! *hee hee *


I have just joined a Valentine's Day swap hosted by Jenn and Cheryl. I am soooo excited as this is my first online swap. I have swapped a lot before, as I have had pen pals, but haven't done an online blog swap. I can't wait. My craft table is already filled with lots of goodies just waiting to be used in a fun Valentine creation! So if you are interested in joining, you might want to head on over before the spots fill up!

Here's another Valentine Swap that I joined today as well.

This one is hosted by Dolly at From My Cherry Heart. I am soooo excited and have already started making some goodies for these! Yay!






So, here's Friday's Feast.

Appetizer
When was the last time you received a surprise in the mail, and what was it? My sister sent me some goodies that she knitted for me.

Soup
If you could have a summer and/or winter home, where would you want it to be? Summer: on a beach anywhere! Winter: anywhere there's a lot of snow! I love both!!

Salad
Pick one: pineapple, orange, banana, apple, cherry. Apple: decorations Banana: to eat

Main Course
Describe the nicest piece of clothing that you own. My wedding dress ofcourse!! Also, a beautiful Jessica McClintock evening dress that I wore to my sister's wedding.

Dessert
If you could forget one whole day from your life, which day would you choose to wipe from your memory? the day we heard that my nephew had passed away

Hugs and Blessings,
Rebecca

Sit Down Dinner

Well, we are off to a good start. We had our first family sit-down meal tonight. It was really nice to be back to semi-normal after the Christmas holidays. I prepared a simple meal, so we would have time to sit and chat, and not be stuck in the kitchen. I made one of our favorites, Pork Fried Rice. Yum! I have not made this in a while, so we all really enjoyed it. For dessert, I made a creamy coconut cake. It was the first time I had tried this cake recipe, and it was yummy. Ok, so I'm not off to a great start with not eating sweets, but we did have a GREAT sit-down meal together.

Out With The Old, In With The New

I wish you all a Happy New Year!
As I thought back over the year, I went down my list of last year's resolutions. Did I accomplish my resolutions or not?
Well, let's see......

I will lose weight.....Ok, I am pretty sure I didn't do this one. Actually, I gained a little.
I will have to regroup on this one. I am NOT letting this one go! LOL
I am going to get organized and stay organized......Nope, didn't totally happen even though it was a bit better.
I will dedicate myself to my pixel site.....Oh, Yeah! I did this one VERY well!
I will learn to create my own pixel drawings.....YES, YES, YES!! I surely did! I taught myself and I think I did an awesome job on this, if I do say so myself.

Ok, so I have thought this through.

1. Losing weight is still on my list for 2008. I am going to make a resolution to think about what I eat/drink. Sugary drinks are going to go. I have done this in the past and it has really really worked, so I need to go back to that, and not give in.

2. Get a plan for organization and stick with it.

3. Have more sit-down dinners. Since the guys have gotten older, we are all going in different directions! This will require all of us to be committed to this though, so we will need to get a plan.

Ok, that's all that I am going to make this year. I don't want to make a long list that I will only get overwhelmed with. With this in mind, I have just chosen three. These I deem very important, so that is why I chose them.

Now, we have already started on the organization part. I have been reorganizing my craft area in the office.....oh, and the office has now been moved to the little room that has a brick wall. If you remember quite a few posts back, I wasn't sure what we were going to do with this room or even call it. Now it is the office/studio. Kenny has his area for his business, and I have a small area for my crafts. I have been regrouping and organizing my craft supplies and area and that has taken shape. The old "office" is now a music room. Kenny and the boys have been busy organizing and building storage for all the guitars, amps, drums, and music paraphanalia. It is starting to take shape as well. So, we will see how it goes.

Do you have any New Year's resolutions that you would like to share?

Also, new year, new look. I made my new banner for my blog. I think I like it. *smiles*