A Time For Quiet Reflection

Painting by Swedish artist - Carl Larsson (1853-1919) In The Studio After the Ball

Well, in the last post where I said I had nothing to talk about, that was not entirely true. I had a lot going on, but it was all very unpleasant. So, if I have been absent from your blog or your email, please forgive me as I have been living through a nightmarish period of time in my work life. Suffice it to say that the bad guys won, and I resigned from my position at work, along with two of my friends. It should seem obvious to any workplace that when you have three employees resign on one day that there is something seriously wrong with a situation and the way they have handled it. Lastly, it seems to me that mean and vindictive people are way too omnipresent in this world, and that is why I choose to surround myself with all the good and true friends I have........and, again, I am so thankful for each and everyone of you. So, I am on a job search, and am so happy and relieved to be out of situation that was literally draining my life force away.

I will be taking a mini-blogging break. Possibly only over the weekend. Tonight, I am going to the opera!! The Lyric Opera of Chicago is presenting Dialouges of the Carmelites by Poulenc. This is an opera that was written in 1957 and has such beautiful music. Poulenc is a French composer and his organ concerto is one of my soul pieces. That is a term my Dad started, soul piece, and as you can imagine it is a piece of music that moves your soul and defines your very life. Another one of my soul pieces is A Midsummer Nights Dream by Mendelssohn. Anyway, I am so looking forward to going this evening. My Dad and Mary bought me the ticket for Christmas. It came in the form of a gift certificate and I used the whole amount to get myself a very good seat. So, I am going solo! Which is fine, I can think my own thoughts and people watch and look at a book during intermission. I will be the one with the Mysterior Air about me (and hopefully that will not be a reflection on the perfume I choose, har har).

Then Saturday my friend Trish is coming over to help me finish up some art projects. She could tell that I needed a helping hand and offered to lend it. True friend and soul mate that she is!

Sunday is Oscar day!!!!!! Lots of red carpet watching and fashion talk.......one of my favorite days of the year!

So, I will be back to Maude and Mozart next week dear friends! Although I am a bit nervous about job searching, I am confident that I made the right move for my mental health and can only be made stronger by this whole experience!

I got Nothing!!!!! (in terms of blog material!)

Gorgeous collage by the lovely Heather Simpson-Bluhm! Wasn't she sweet to send this to me because of my love for vintage wedding images!!! This is so gorgeous!


Hey, I have not blogged for awhile! Guess what? I got nothing!! Nothing is going on, except well....we got a new car! That is pretty exciting! Mike got a new job and he now has to drive to work instead of taking the train, so we had to get another car. I finally got my wish of driving "up in the air" and we got a Mercury Mariner. It is pretty luxurious, and the best part is we are going to get a special hook-up so I can listen to my Ipod in the car! How 2007!!! and you know what is sweet? Mike made me come out to the car this evening so he could give me a tutorial on all the buttons on the dashboard. It was cute.

Now, the other thing I am dealing with is the fact that I am behind on every project I am associated with...which causes some panic for me..so if you are in the FFA, or your name is Dorothy or Jill and you are waiting for your stamp, or if you are Nan waiting for a CD, or if you are Beth or Karen waiting for a CD or if you are Dorothy, Carolyn or my Mom waiting for a journal......I am working on it!!!! Slowly, but surely, it will be winging its way to you!!!

Lastly, as nothing is really going on and I believe the winter doldrums hold me in their sway, I will tell you that tonight is all about watching TV with Mike. In fact, this last year has been the best for TV...here are the shows that we watch without fail:

24
Lost
Heroes
Gilmore Girls
American Idol
Survivor
The Office
30 Rock
Scrubs
My Name is Earl
Amazing Race

Beautiful card made by my friend Lorie!

"Friendship is the only cement that will hold the world together." Woodrow Wilson

Hello Friends!!! Isn't this card just aces???? Totally!!!

I am so blessed in my friendships! So many good, dear friends! I would never make it without your girls! Thanks for all you do for me!

Also, please note, I figured out a new feature on my blog.....Currently Reading..... I can post a picture of the cover of the book I am currently reading!! This is so much fun! It is below my about me section!!!

Under the Weather

Here's the scoop, I have been felled by a super duper head cold and sore throat! What a pip! All weekend I was only able to sleep and read, which are two of my favorite things, but I would like to have a choice in the matter. Plus, I was in pain........anyway, today it has all turned into a raging head cold so that is improvement, right?

Anyway, it gave me time to finish The Hero's Walk by Anita Rau Badami. Very excellent book! If you like books set in a foreign culture and a story about a family, then this one is for you.

Next up is this very quick read, Girl with Glasses. I started it today while waiting in the doctor's office and it seems like it will be lots of fun!!!
Okay, I know this is a cheezy entry, but what can I say, I am all fogged up over here. The card above was made during one of our marathon stamping sessions. I would like to point out that the whole background is done with a Tim Holtz stamp from Stamper's Anonymous! Is it not just gorgeous! Also the ink used is Tim Holtz' Aged Mahogany. Get some people!! It is so cool!

STOP, CROP, AND ROLL!!!!

Well, we had to make a Bee Line straight over to Archivers tonight because Beth told us the new Basic Grey paper was in!!!!!!! There is Jane being bowled over by the thrill of it all!!!

We were in a scrapbook store a while ago, and as we were leaving the salesperson said, "Happy Cropping!" Well, that was all it took for us to burst out laughing and making endless jokes about how lame that statement was!!!! It was not a big leap for Jane to take the old fire safety addage and change it to Stop,Crop, and Roll!!! Well, she is a Fire Chief you know!
Above is a piece from one of the four new lines of paper from Basic Grey. I am a big fan of their products, but I must say I did not go ape over the new stuff. I prefer the Blush line over the new stuff. Just one gal's opinion though! It certainly is not ugly that is for sure. Anyway, regardless of what it looked like, we had to see it hot off the presses and we did!

Here is Jane with a deer stamp that I look at everytime I go to Archivers. I don't know what it is about this stamp, I just like it, but obviously not enough to buy it!
Here is Jane with our circle stamps! We saw these used on a sample card and had to have them STAT!!!!!! We ordered them about a month ago. We waited with baited breath until they came in...now they are all over the place, but we had them first people so we win!
Here is a lovely shot of all the Basic Grey new line paper.
Stamps!!!!!!! and Ribbon!!!! Don't you just want to dive in????????

Reading

Beautiful card made by my friend Liz!!!!!
Currently reading: The Hero's Walk by Anita Rau Badami.

Well, actually I just started the first few pages last night, but I think this is going to be a very good book! It comes highly recommended by my friend Anjali! Actually the book itself comes from Anjali who sent it to me all the way from Canada!! This is the Canadian edition too! Cool! Anjali writes the most perfect book reviews! They are very detailed and really give you a feel for the book. Her blog is totally intriguing! Check it out~

Ever since my best friend Noreen gave me Memoirs of a Geisha to read I have loved reading novels about people from different cultures. I find it fascinating to read books set in India or Africa for example. Some of my favorite out of America books are The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahri (although this is really about people assimilating into American culture), The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan, Sister of My Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakurini, Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros, and my all-time favorite book in the world, A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry.

However, the book I just finished yesterday is a total immersion into American pop culture. It is titled Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield. Great book!!! Such heart! So readable! The most amazing thing is, I did not realize it was a memoir until I finished the book and read the acknowledgements. I thought it was a novel. Wrong! There are tons of pop culture references in the book, many of which I did not understand, but that did not stop me from identifying with the characters and becoming totally engrossed in the story. In brief, the author traces his life and loves and heartbreaks through mix tapes he has made through the years. Highly recommended!

I was the victim of a Truncated Template!!!!!

Oh for crying out loud!!! Ever since yesterday my blog has been OOP (out of operation!!) I finally got some information from a blogger person that I had a truncated template!!!! Whatever! How insulting and rude!!! Right during my big giveaway!!! Then to add insult to injury the Bears lost the Super Bowl! I confess I am a fairweather fan, I went up to bed after halftime to read my book, which is Very Good and will probably be on my Top Ten list this year.

AND NOW WITHOUT FURTHER ADO.......The winners of the stamps are:

DOROTHY!!!!!!!!

and

JILL!!!!!!

I will contact the winners tomorrow to get mailing information. It is almost 11 p.m., way past my bedtime, so I must get upstairs to get my ZZZZZZ'ssss!

Again, this has been such a wonderful time of meeting so many new people and visiting so many great blogs!!! Thank you to everyone who entered, and I hope we will have lots more interaction in the future!!!

Since I had the truncated template, I have to add my links again, and I am sure there will be lots of new ones now!

Lastly, thank you to the loveliest of lovelies, Sandy at Art Tea Life for starting this whole giving of the heart!!!! Sandy is such a bright spot for so many of us!! A big wahooo of a cheer is sent up from this house to your house dear!

Valentine Fairy Giveaway

In keeping with the lovely tradition started by Sandy of Art Tea Life I would like to sponsor a Valentine giveaway! I will draw names of participants who leave a comment for me on my blog. To make my day, would you leave the name of one of your favorite books in the comment section? There will be two winners, one stamp to each winner. The first one is a charming little fairy from Stamp Francicso and the second one is a cool word stamp from Inkadinkadoo. Last entry taken at 12 noon central time this Sunday, February 4th.
I will write all the names down on slips of paper and then Mike will pick the winners during half-time of the Super Bowl this Sunday! I hope the Bears are winning at half-time and at the end of the game!