Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Snowy day and paper dolls!

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Yep,,this is what we woke up to this morning. We were suppose to get a couple inches but it blew by here pretty fast and left us with a dusting. We were lucky as our neighbors to the north of us in Kentucky and west of us in Arkansas got a pretty bad ice storm the past few days.
I will take soft, white snow any day. So, yeah, I stayed home today as I wasn't going to wreck my Little Red on the icy, snowy roads. I have pretty much been on my laptop all day. I am trying to enter all the drawings at blogs from the OWH giveaway. Whew,,there are now over 600 and I have made it to 200 so far. I have till Feb. 3, so maybe I can get most of them covered. There sure is some very amazing Artists out here in Bloggersland. So if you haven't signed up for some of the drawings, then its your own fault,,he he!
So, week-end before last when Mom came over we made some Paper Dolls for a swap we are in at one of our Yahoo groups. In fact, my friend Jane who came to visit in November is hosting it.
So, I am going to post the ones we made. Rosie,,I know your in the swap so you may not want to see them in case you happen to get one of us as a partner. Or you may want to look so you will know what your in for,,ha! So here they are in all their glory.
The first set is Moms. Here is Ms. Patty Pinky!
Next is Ms. Lucky Lottie
And next is my dolls. First is Ms. Bethy BlacknWhite


And then of course we have Ms. Lilly Lucky (Lottie Lucky's twin sis)

Yeah,,I know, they look like they are sad. Or maybe they just felt like Mom and I did when we got through working on them. We pretty much decided that we just were not Paper Doll artists.
I hope every one is doing good, and have a Wonderful Wednesday!
xoxooxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxo

Sunday, January 25, 2009

ONE WORLD ONE HEART GIVEAWAY!

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This has now closed! Thanks for entering my drawing!
I finally have my goodies ready that I am going to be giving away in Lisa-A Whimsical Bohemian's One World One Heart giveaway. I am giving away 3 Soldered Pendant Necklaces.
Each necklace has a matching pair of earrings. I will pick 3 winners who will get 1 necklace and 1 pair of earrings each. And some more goodies will come with each package. Here are pictures of the sets. First picture is of all of them together.

The first pendant is of a Fairy with a charm on it that says "Believe". The pendant is also reversible but I will let the other side be a surprise. The earrings are the same home made beads with pewter hearts.
The next set has a dreamy woman on it with the charm that says "wish" and a blue bead also hanging on it. The earrings are spiral wire with a blue bead inside of it.
The last set is a sweet little girl fairy that has a dangling charm that says "Hope" on it. And the matching earrings to go with it.
Again, there will be 3 winners. Also, even if you are not participating in the event(but you really should because there are now over 500 bloggers taking part in this and its a great way to meet new friends) you can still enter my drawing for these goodies.
Last year I won 3 different giveaways and made some new blogger buds. This event was also featured in Somersets "Artful Blogging" magazine this year.
Lisa is so wonderful to sponsor this event for the 3rd year in a row. Thanks Lisa!
I look forward to meeting new friends again this year!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

My new Great Nephew!

Introducing- Mr. Samuel B. He was born yesterday afternoon. He weighed 7 lbs and 5 ounces.

We think he is the Greatest! Welcome to the World Samuel. We Love You! And big Congrats to your Mommy Emily and Daddy Aaron and Grampaw Rick(my brother)!



Wednesday, January 21, 2009

My Children make the 6 o'clock news!

Yes, my children were on the news last night. But it was a good news story. They were going to the Career Center in Nashville in hopes of finding a job. It seems that because of lack of employment and being laid off, several people have been calling the Crisis Center expressing suicidal thoughts. So, the Channel 4 news reporter was at the Career Center interviewing people who were going inside. Kyle and Kalyn happen to be the ones they picked to put on the news video. I Love what Kyle said, and its so true! Here is a link to the video! The first part is a brief commercial and then the clip starts!

http://www.wsmv.com/video/18525187/

Have a Great Wednesday!
xoxoxoxooxoxoxoxox

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Playing with ice pictures!



I have been playing with some of the pictures that I took this past week-end. I did these in my
Photoshop using different filters. Below is the original.
I Love experimenting with photos in Photoshop. I think the first one is my favorite. This is a old railroad bridge. The stone pilings that hold it up are the original ones that were made Pre-Civil War. Here is the Historical sign that tells about the original bridge. Click on the picture to enlarge it and read about the bridge.
Next is a picture of a road that was cut out to go up to a bluff that we took pictures from on Saturday. The first picture is the original and the second is one that I had to play with using my filters.

Thanks for letting my share my fun with you. The filters are really fun and I Love the way they can change the photos.
This week-end I will post my Give away for Lisa's "One World One Heart" blogger's give away.

Click on the link below to read about it. Its hugh and I won several wonderful prizes last year. So please try to participate if you want to be part of a wonderful experience and meet new blogger friends!
PhotoHave a great rest of the week!!!
xoxoxooxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxo


Sunday, January 18, 2009

Winter fun!

I had a great time yesterday! Jess(Jess in Focus) and I got together to do some winter photography.
We went to a park close to where I use to live. Its right by the river and has a bluff that has a small waterfalls on it. Brrrrrr,,,it was pretty chilly, wind was blowing about 20 mph but we were bundled up and didn't get to cold. It was so much fun and Jess is a GREAT Photographer. She also has an excellent camera. The photo above is one that she made of us with her tripod and timer. We went to several locations in the area and made some really good photos! Here are some more pictures of the Frozen Falls.

We climbed up closer to get some better shots. The next pic is of the frozen water going into the frozen pool underneath the falls.
I had to get a pic of Jess in her Photographer mode!
She really has an eye for great photographs! We have made a promise that we are going to get together one Saturday a month and go to different places to take pictures.
I hope I can learn to take as good of pictures as she does! I felt so good when I got home yesterday. We did a lot of walking and the air was cold, perfect cure for the cabin fever that I have had all week during this cold snap. They are still predicting some snow for us for later tonight, tomorrow and tomorrow night. Its not as cold today but another front is headed this way to cool us down again. I would like to see one good snowfall! I will post more pictures tomorrow as I am off for MLK Birthday.
Its been a really nice long week-end for me. Our school system shut down on Friday because of the bitter cold weather. We got down close to Zero Friday morning. That's cold for the South.
I hope every one has a great Sunday!

xoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Cold cold cold



Brrrrrrrr,,we are in the deep freeze zone tonight. Its a balmy 10 degrees outside now. Its suppose to get down to zero by the early morning hours. Thats pretty darn cold for us Southerners. And most of our schools are going to be closed tomorrow. Yep, we close our schools when it gets too cold that our children might get frost bite waiting on the bus. Oh well, I am not complaining cause I am going to take off tomorrow too. That gives me a nice long 4 day week-end. Off Monday for MLK day.


I have been playing around with my Photoshop lately. I sure am getting into digital scrapbooking and doing some digital collages. Here is one that I did of Daniel and I.



And then I did another one tonight that was fun to do. So addicting playing with these brushes and other elements that I have downloaded for free on the net.
Wow,,,wasn't that scary about the Plane that crashed in the Hudson river in NYC today? That Pilot was a real hero because that could have been a major castrophe if it had crashed in the city. I think if that had been me in that plane I seriously doubt I could fly again. Yikes and a flock of birds was the cause of it. I didn't know they could cause a plane's engine to blow up.
Hmmmm, I hope I forget that part the next time I fly some where.
I hope every one is staying warm as its suppose to be pretty chilly for the next few days, at least on the East and Southeast. I am ready for Spring!!!!
Have a great Friday too!
xoxooxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Monday, January 12, 2009

Me at work

So yep,,the 3 days before New Years eve, I was pretty much by myself at work. I just got my new little Fuji camera for Christmas so I whipped that baby out and took some pictures of my office and what all I see there. Ok,,first of all, here is a pic of me sitting at my desk, Ha!

Ok,,this is a really good pose to use if you have a double chin, like I do. My dear friend Jane from NY taught me this pose and it really hides the chin,,lol. I had my coat on because we have those old boiler heaters at the school and it takes it awhile to warm up in the morning, but when it gets going it will melt you in there.
The next picture is of my puny house plants that I brought up there. They sit on one of the tall file cabinets next to the window. They get some sun and the florescent lights but they are not happy. But they will survive till they get to come home to their deck in the spring.

Next picture is of the bulletin board that I made last year. It show pictures of our Graduates that we had in Dec. 07 and May 08. We have 2 graduations each school year. I have to update the board with the new grads that we had this past december.
Its really not as crooked as it looks,,I just didn't crop the picture very well. The next picture is of my desk. Its really old desk as thats about all we have at our school. And it doesn't look very tidy in this picture but oh well,,this is where I spend 40 hours a week.
If you notice my file cabinet on the left side of my desk you will notice my nice collection of my "banana stickers". I always take the stickers off my bananas that I bring to work and stick them on the ugly gray file cabinet. I intend to completely cover it as I am just crazy like that,ha!
Ok,,the next picture is of my "trash to treasure" art work. I found these lovely prints by
Marjolein Bastin in the trash bin at work. They were in perfect condition and I had a big blank wall to the left of my desk so they now reside there in all thier glory and they brighten up my area quite well. Plus, I Love Marjolein Bastin's art too! Who would have thrown those lovely prints out? Oh well, they are safe now.


Now for the views that I see when I look out of the big windows that are behind me and my desk. I have our wonderful flag that is right out of the window that waves mightily in all its glory on windy days.


And the Park that is right across the street from my office. You can even see my "little red" car sitting there.
And then look whats across the street from the park,,oooohhh la la,,,some Thrift stores,,and yep,,I have been in them several times.
And behind the Thrift stores is Interstate 40. And no,,the bright blob in the picture is not the sun,,its my flash bulb on the camera reflecting on the window.
So now you have seen where I spend my days. Its not bad at all. I just hope I don't have to leave this wonderful place. They are looking to cut 11 million dollars out of our school's budget this year. They want to cut 5 % off of our school budget and they are questioning my position there. Not good. But my Principal has told me that he will go down fighting for me as he said the school could not make it without me. I actually do 3 jobs in one. I am their Registar, The Guidance clerk, and I also do all the data entry there too. If I do have to leave this position I am sure they will find another position for me and they will have to pay me what I make now. But, it could be all the way across town and I might have to drive 100 miles or more a day to work and back, I drive 70 now. I also might be extremely unhappy too. So I am praying that I will get to stay were I am at as I am very happy there. I should find something out this week as my Principal is having a meeting with the higher ups to see what they will do for me and my job.
I hope every one had a great Monday! We might or might see some snow tonight but we are definetly going to have some bitterly cold weather coming our way. I am ready for SPRING!!!
XOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXXO





Sunday, January 11, 2009

Bummer for the team!

Yes,,my fave team lost yesterday. Such a sad day for us Titan fans. But it was still a nice day. Mom came over and watched the game with me and so did my dear friend Rosie. She brought some more of those yummy cupcakes from GiGis,,darn those babies are delish!!! So even though the team lost, it was still fun being with Mom and Rosie.
Today I spent most of the day in the Art Room. I have been so into making jewelry lately. I made a ring, a necklace, and some really cool earrings. I will post pictures of them sometime this week.
Since I got my new laptop I keep forgetting to not cut and paste all my pictures on my camera's memory card on to the desktop. So thus I have no pictures of Mom and Rosie and I watching the game. I will have to e-mail them to myself and post them later too.
I hope every one had a great week-end!!!

xoxoxooxoxoxoxoxox

Saturday, January 10, 2009

My Favorite Team GO TITANS GO!!!!

Thats right,,,they are playing their first play off game today!!! And they are playing right here in their own stadium. We are playing the Baltimore Ravens and we are going to cook some birds today!!!! GO TITANS GO!!!!!
Have a great saturday!!!!

Sunday, January 04, 2009

Elvis and I


I was looking at the last date I posted and it was a week ago today. I really have been a slacker lately. But I really do have a good excuse. I have tried to spend as much time as I can with my daughter while she has been here. We have watched alot of great movies, had alot of wonderful late night talks and also morning coffee chats. We have had several friends over and my other children have been here alot too. We also have gone to a few places too. Its just so wonderful having her here. But it will all come to an end on Tuesday night when we put her back on a plane to Idaho. Its going to take us some time to get use to having a empty house again. I really don't like January,,its always a kind of "let down" month. Holidays are over and its back to work again. Also we don't really have decent weather here either in January. Its usually cloudy, dreary, or cold rain. Every once in a while we will get a little snow but most of the time it misses us. So, I am going to quit whining now and show off some fun that we had the other day when we took Allison to downtown Nashville. It was a nice sunny day and the weather was warm. We went down to the touristy part of downtown, lower Broad. This is where the little souvenir shops are and the little honky tonks where alot of Country musicians have been discovered. Our first stop was to visit with Elvis and have our picture taken with him.
And then,,guess what? We saw him up on the roof of one of the buildings,,along with Santa.


And I had to take a picture of my fave Football team's home. LP Field.

The picture above is of our Riverfront park and the red steel structure across the river next to the stadium is a piece of architectural piece of art that was placed there. Its pretty cool looking too.
Then I had to snap some photos of the Hard Rock Cafe.


We had a really fun afternoon and Allison loved seeing all the sites. I am enjoying my new camera that I got for Christmas too. Its so small and its easy to tote around in my purse.
Well, I am off to visit some blogs and then head to bed. Back to work tomorrow.
I hope every one had a wonderful beginning of a New Year and I promise I will be posting alot more in the up coming weeks.
XOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOOXOXO