My! What big eyes you have.....

 .......and those teeth! Isn't he the cutest little jack o' lantern? Halloween creating is a new venture for me and it's been so much fun. This little fella was inspired by a vintage candy holder. I created him using paper clay on an egg shaped gourd so that his eyes and teeth would stand out. I added a star at his base to incorporate the star icon that is our shape of choice this year with AHAO. I also added a hat to dress him up a bit and gave him a bit of shiny black garland as a neck wrap. He's up for grabs right now on ETSY. Thanks to Suzanne, our tireless leader of AHAO I now have my own shop started on ETSY and am excited about the possibilities. 

As an added note, I get to stay home and watch my adorable grandson so that will give me more time to work on my creations. I'm so happy about that, and can't wait to get going...so I'd better go for now. Have a wonderful day!

Alice in Halloweenland Challenge for AHAO on ebay

 TRICK OR TREAT JINGLE BOO SANTA. Who would have thought that Santa would go trick or treating, but why not as he does have a sweet tooth! The elves "belled" Santa so they didn't lose him in the night....lol... so he is ready to see what sort of treats he can find. Oh...look! He's already found some candy corn so he's off to a good start. Happy trick or treating Santa! 

This jolly Santa was created as a prize for our "Alice in Halloweenland" challenge coming up this Fall for AHAO, the one and only premier ornament group on ebay. If you do a search for AHAO on ebay you will find the best in hand created ornaments and shelf sitters. Our artisans are juried into the group and we strive to have the most inventive and imaginative creators with us. I have to tell you that my association with these wonderful folks has helped me tremendously in improving my skills as an artist. The sharing and caring shows up in the type of work you'll find from our group. We hail from all over the USA as well as Canada to bring together a diverse gathering of talent. So if you're looking for a bit of eye candy, stop on by ebay and search AHAO. Oh, and if you are wondering what AHAO stands for, it's American Holiday Artists Ornaments. Creations to be enjoyed year round. Hope to see you around........

There's a new Santa in town....

Well actually there are several new Santas in town..... I had a group of friends in Oregon that wanted to make Santa ornaments for their family members for Christmas so these are what they came up with. I'm so proud of how they did and they are just tickled. Here's a photo of their pre-painted pieces:

The creator of this ornament also created a much bigger Santa which is shown below:

I also have a photo of a grandmother and her 2 granddaughters: 

All three of them did great, but I was especially impressed with the girls. They were so particular about the work they did, and their ornaments turned out fabulously!

All in all it was a very fun adventure, and because we took 3 days to complete these pieces I got help from some of the ladies with painting my house so it was a win win for all! I'm so grateful that I'm a part of AHAO as I was able to teach myself through the resources shared by others in our wonderful ornament group on ebay.

Here's some pieces I sold recently as well:

Here's the 3 I like best.

I will be posting some photos of Halloween creations I've created so check back soon.

A tribute to Ginger........

Okay....this is very hard for me as I look at Ginger's photo and know she is no longer here on earth. Yes I know that she is in a better place with family that have gone on before, but we still miss her and mourn her tragedy. In June her ex husband brutally murdered her and then shot himself. He is still alive........

Why am I sharing this you wonder. Well, I've neglected my blog because of her death because I haven't been able to wrap my mind around a way to honor her memory. Ginger was a very interesting woman, not afraid to try new things. She worked on the Alaska pipeline driving truck, she and her first husband built a gorgeous log home, with stained glass windows that she created at a shop she owned in Fairbanks. She adopted 3 children from Columbia and did her best to raise them. She became a well known real estate agent when she moved to California after her divorce. Everything she tried she made good money at. But unfortunately, like so many women, she fell for a man who was not only abusive, he cheated on her, solicited prostitutes and then threatened to kill her when she had had enough. Well he followed through on his threat and so we are without Ginger here. 

Domestic violence is an ugly part of many peoples lives we need to put a stop to it once and for all.  Don't take it for granted that an abuse victim has the strength to get out. Having lived through listening to mom get beaten night after night I wondered why she put up with it, until I was married and my ex hit me. There is a devastating feeling when the one person who is supposed to love and protect you, hits you and blames you for their anger. It can totally strip you of your ability to think and act rationally. So if you know someone who is in an abusive situation, contact the authorities and the local women's shelter and get educated on how to help. This sort of thing should never happen, but it does. Educate yourself and then your youth about what to avoid in relationships and how to tell if someone is a potential abuser. Be pro-active in helping promote healthy relationships, and one thing to think about, teach your sons and daughters to respect themselves enough to wait for marriage before physical intimacy. Teach your daughters and sons to always have a plan when dating, and a set time to be home. Help them stay out of trouble and avoid those who won't and don't show respect for them. 

For anyone on the dating scene, really check out the person you are dating and if they've been married before, make sure you know the truth about why they are divorced. A lot of pain and suffering can be avoided this way. As for Ginger, my way to honor her will be to work with the local high schools to educate the youth on how to stay out of abusive relationships. I want to see if laws can be changed to better protect victims. If you are in an abusive relationship, please get help. As a former child of a woman who was brutally beaten time and time again, don't put your children through that. Get far far away and get help to get your abuser put behind bars.I've posted a link to go to to find out more about what to look for and how to get help.  May the Lord bless you with the strength you need to do the right thing.............

Walking Away From the World

You may be wondering what these images have to do with my thoughts today, or maybe not....lol...but hopefully I can tie this all in.

My struggle to juggle all the responsibilities I've taken on has continued, and I find myself missing opportunities to reach out to my children and other family members, because I've filled my life with too many things. From city council to all the artistic groups I belong to on ebay, plus having a buyer for my ornaments in Houston, and my new calling as Young Women president at church, oh, and the job, I have so little time to even think these days, that I'm getting worn out. I was lamenting my plight to my husband last night to which his response was to just listen. I fell asleep thinking and stressing about all this and praying that the Lord would help me know what I should walk away from.

This morning as my husband was eating his breakfast I noticed an article in the LDS church news that he was reading by Sheri Dew titled "Influence for Good" - 'Lord's Secret weapon'....'Let us be the generation of women that finally walks away from the world'. She talks about the five principles about influence we need to understand, Quote" First, we all have more influence than we think; second, righteous influence is a spiritual gift; third, having influence is not about elevating self but about lifting others; fourth, it isn't possible NOT to have influence; and fifth, women of God have influence that has no limit and no end." close quote. So as I go throughout my day today, and figure out how to best re-organize my life to be in keeping with what the Lord would want from me I will remember these five principles.

One other very important point she brought up that caught my eye and I want to share, and I will shorten this for today is that we should conciously ask ourselves in everyday situations, "Why has the Lord brought me here today?" and then look for ways to build up people and the kingdom of God. It means asking the Lord what He needs me to do rather than feverishly working down my list of To-Do's that may or may not have lasting significance.

So as I go through my day today, these will be my guiding principles and thoughts. I hope by sharing this you too, can find some good in what she said. We as women are here to build a better world and I know that by following certain principles we can have a lasting influence for change.... have a great day.....

He Is Risen!

He is risen! He is risen!

Tell it out with joyful voice.

He has burst his three day prison;

Let the whole wide world rejoice.

Death is conquered, man is free.

Christ has won the victory.

Come with high and holy hymning;

Chant our Lord's triumphant lay.

Not one dark-some cloud is dimming...

Yonder glorious morning ray,

Breaking o'er the purple east,

Symbol of our Easter feast.

He is risen! He is risen!

He hath opened heaven's gate.

We are free from sin's dark prison,

Risen to a holier state.

And a brighter Easter beam

On our longing eyes shall stream.

Mark 16:6-7: Mosiah 16:7-9

A special Easter wish for all of you this season. Let us remember the one who made it possible for us to return home to our Father in Heaven some day. This is a time to rejoice and know that we are all loved by the Savior and our Heavenly Father. The Savior sacrificed his life for us, that we, if we choose to follow his commandments, can have eternal life. So as we prepare to celebrate Easter, please find a way to share the true gift of this season.

Of Bunnies and Babies and things

Bunnies and babies....what do they have in common? They're sweet, soft, cuddly, and loveable! Around here we have have all sorts of new life popping up! From hand sculpted bunnies and other Easter creations, to daffodils, herbs and baby animals. This is a wonderful time of year. A time to greet new life, a time to start fresh, a time to get out and enjoy the warmer weather....well at least some days :-). I am starting to pop our bedroom window open a tad so we can have fresh, cool air at night. I certainly sleep better and the room smells so nice in the morning.At work we can tell Spring is almost here as the students are getting antsy, and if there's sunshine they quickly shed their coats as soon as they hit the playground. There's lots of tag games, and soccer, and basketball and they run, run, run as if they've been cooped up for years. It's fun to watch them as they exercise their imagination.Up above you see a sneak preview of my newest sculpting creation. He will be up for bidding on ebay starting on Monday the 1oth of March so check him out please. You also see my one and only grandson, who loves to be in front of the camera. When I saw these ears at the store I couldn't resist and doesn't he look absolutely adorable? He's crawling and terrorizing the house now but I'm so glad he's here! And yes, he is a very happy baby most of the time.Hope you are having a wonderful weekend, and come back soon.....

Priorities and Art

David O. McKay once said that no success can compensate for failure in the home. I was reminded of that as I read a post on a discussion by a young mom who was lamenting the lack of time she had to work on her crafts because her 3 year old got into everything when she wasn't looking. She has elderly family members living with her that are invalid, she has young children, and a working husband.
As I ponder her situation I think back to my children and their toddler days and am so glad I was home with them when they were young. Do I regret not spending a lot of time with my art back then? No way! I had opportunities to share my talents by creating illustrations for programs and Cantatas we performed at church. I created a logo for a famous dog musher, and did other such illustrations that I never got recongnized for in a big way. Does that matter? I had great fun taking old jeans and turning them into the most adorable overalls for my son. I loved making all sorts of clothes, toys and household items such as curtains and so on, knowing that we saved so much by my doing that. It was great fun to go shopping at thrift stores and find like new clothes at really great prices. I loved raising a garden, and the chats my youngest daughter and I had as we chopped veggies for canning. Of course my children thought I was torturing them when they had to go weed, but now they appreciate the fresh food we had.
Now, when we get together for turkey dinner, the children can share their experiences with our "free range" chickens and turkeys. Like the time a state trooper friend came over to rescue me, a soon to be single mom. He brought his young son to help get our 30 chickens ready for the freezer, so while he chopped heads and gutted, and I peeled and cleaned (no way was I going to pluck!), the kids ran through the woods with a butterfly net capturing the runaway hens. Or the time we looked out the window to see a friend who had rode over on his bike, surrounded by chickens there to greet him, or the time a girlfriend and I took off jogging only to turn around and see a flock of chickens following us down the driveway.
Our lives should be intertwined with the people we know and love, as they are the only thing we will have with us in the eternities. No public recognition, no fame or fortune will follow us as we move into the next life, but how we loved, and who we loved, will be our shining glory. So as I take each day, and the little challenges that come, like a half a bottle of detergent spilling on the carpet, oh yes, that just happened and I'm letting towel soak it up....lol... I take a step back and remember that time is what you make of it, and if I don't get to make that wonderful painting, or start on that sculpt I've been trying to get to, it can wait until tomorrow. And if tomorrow brings a sick friend, or broken heart that needs cheering my way, well, that is my creative muse for the day.

Calling all AHAO STARS Valentine Challenge

Just a quick note before I dash off to work to tell you about our AHAO Star Valentine Challenge. We have so many talented creators in our group, with such a diverse approach to creativity that we wanted to give a challenge that perhaps would catch a spark in all our artisans creative fire. So rather than be too specific we are challenging all who want to, to come up with a Valentines ornament that has a star somewhere in the design. There are those who can do cross-over pieces with such flare, that though say, they mostly do Halloween creations, they know how to tie that into say Christmas or Easter and so on, so it will be fun to see what happens. To see all the niffty and just way too cool art from our group just go to ebay and search AHAO. All the challenge pieces are due to be posted on the 3rd of Feb so stop on by.

My First Large Gourd Santa

I finally took the leap and sculpted my first large gourd Santa. When I found this gourd at a yard sale last summer I immediately started thinking blue, and snowflakes. So while all was quiet after Christmas I sat down and went to town. Each snowflake was handcrafted except for the handpainted ones. I really had fun making this fellow and I hope you enjoy him too.

Love is in the air

Around here, Christmas is year round. Whether I'm creating Santas or coming up with something new, most of my creations are geared towards Christmas. I loved creating this little bear as he can also be used to give as a Valentines gift. I can see an anxious suitor giving this to his sweetheart with a diamond ring and a proposal tucked inside. The little paper mache box is useable to tuck all sorts of tiny treasures and has a pillow inside to keep those baubles nice and shiny. Now I'm off to play tag.......

Angels we have heard on high.....

An angel is anyone who gives of themselves. Do you know an angel in your life that has made your days or weeks better? There are many people we may look at as angels, such as the dear sweet lady who was my..
attendant on the train I took to see my daughter and family this Fall. She was a Katrina victim who had lost all and had to move from New Orleans to Chicago to make a fresh start. She has worked for Amtrak for 28 years, seeing to other peoples comfort. She is sweet, and gentle, and attentive and I think her presence gave me inspiration to create this joyful angel above. I did this while on the train, trying to use my time to play with my colored pencils and pastels. I love Victorian ephemera so I used a picture I had as a model for this sweet face. I never try to make my faces exactly like my models as I want each piece to be my own, that is unless I'm doing a portrait for someone. This angel I will name Paulette, after my dear new friend who gave more than she needed to while doing her job. I hope to hear from her as I promised to do a couple of portraits for her. Well it's off to get some cards finished so I can get to the post office and to work.....have a wonderful, joyful day!

The First Day of Christmas.....really!

Okay, so I jumped the gun...today is really the first day of Christmas. You would think that since I work at a school I would know how to count better.....lol. So we really are on our way now to that very special day we all anticipate each year. A time of gathering with family and friends, sharing gifts, food, love and hopefully much laughter.
As promised in the previous post, here is how I display my small but growing Santa collection. Most of them I've created myself, but I am starting to add some very cool Santas, such as the tall gourd Santa in the middle that I got from Linda Kennon of Natchez, MS. You can find her creations on ebay by searching "gourdqueen". She has some fabulous creations so I feel lucky to have one for my collection.

In the next photo you can see a tall Santa with a fluffy beard





and fur ruff. He is also sporting hand made snowshoes, and a real lightable coleman lantern. He was made by a very dear friend from North Pole, AK and I got him as a gift when I opened my Anchorage apartment up for the North Pole ladies from church, who came down to the Anchorage temple one weekend. We had such a good time and this was a wonderful thank you gift.
The skinny red Santa was made at a church craft night, the framed Santa is done with a brown bag cookie mold and paper. I hand painted him and the backround he is mounted on. The birch Santa I will detail later in this post.








Here is a better look at the gourd Santa, who is surrounded by a fencerail Santa I hand painted, plus my little textile bobbin Santa, and a driftwood Santa. Don't you just lvoe the sunflower and long flowing beard on the gourd Santa?





The textile bobbin Santa was created using paperclay on a bobbin, hand painted and antiqued.
The driftwood Santa is one I created last year and couldn't part with as I really love how his bag of toys turned out looking all lumpy and full. This next set of Santas were all created by me. There is a scrapwood Santa, tall and funky.
My first paper mache Santa and a counted cross stitch Santa.


Well, I can't seem to add any more pictures for now
as there seems to be som technical difficulties here.

This little green Santa was created from egg cartons, paper and flour over a vanilla bottle. He is so cute I couldn't let him go. He was my first paper mache Santa. You can see another Santa with a blanket and lantern that I call "Sleepytime Santa". He was a lot of fun to do.

Well I'm off to the post office since I can't put up more photos right now. Thanks for stopping by. I hope your real first day of Christmas has been wonderful!

On the first day of Christmas......

Here it is, the first day of Christmas and I'm still waiting for my partridge in a pear tree.....lol. A pear tree would be very nice for our home in Oregon. It would go well with the plum and apple tree we already have. I have most of my decorations up, and almost all the gifts ready to send. Now it's on to cards, and perhaps the staff gifts for hubby. We got a beautiful grand fir tree this year and the house smells wonderful. I finally, after 20 some years, made a manger for my nativity set. I'm posting some pictures to share some of our Christmas decor.

I took the plunge and tried my hand at making an angel tree topper this year. It must be the year of "finally" for my decorations. She was created using paper clay over a styrofoam ball. The hair was stitched onto a piece of nylon and then glued in place. The dress was added over a paper mache cone with wire through it for the arms. The arms have tiny clay hands. She was fun to do and I look forward to making more next year for sale.

Here is a Nativity set I hand painted. I bought pieces at a ceramic shop in North Pole, AK way back in the late 80's. I cleaned and smoothed them for firing; then had them fired to the bisque stage and tried to get them painted right away.

Well it took me until 2 years ago to finally finish all the pieces. I still didn't have a manger so last Saturday I got out some scrap lumber and tried my hand at construction. It's nice and rustic as the larger pieces were nicely weathered cedar fencing scraps. The roof is a temporary one made out of cardboard and dried moss but you can't tell the difference by looking at it. I love

how it turned out and can't wait for the extended family to see it. The set sits on a buffet in our tiny living room. I tried to get good pictures of the whole set up and will have to retry later.

Here is a gathering of Santas I have created over the years, at least all except the one on the far left which was a gift from it's creator and some friends at church. I have more and will post tomorrow. I got on the Santa kick in North Pole and haven't stopped.

While you are here take a peek at my new Christmas youtube video I've posted.

I hope your first day of Christmas is pleasant and enjoyable!

Warm Christmas Greetings!

Counting my blessings this morning......

I'm counting my blessings this morning as I have much to be thankful for. I'm in Missouri visiting Stephanie, her hubby and my granddaughter. Kent was in an accident last night that could have killed him. He was on his way home from work meetings in Tooele. A cow had wandered on to I-80 between SLC and Wendover. Someone had just hit it before him and as he rounded the corner he saw two cars stopped on the side of the road so he swung around them only to hit the cow head on himself. It was night time and the cow was black so he didn't see it until it was too late. His car rolled several times and slid several yards before coming to a stop. He doesn't remember getting out of the car, but he did on his own and wandered into the middle of the road where someone grabbed him and wrapped him in a blanket. He was given a ride home by a friends husband, who happens to be a trooper. He refused to go to the hospital as Annie was home and by herself. I know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers as my husband was spared last night. I-80 is a very busy freeway, with many semi trucks traveling at night. I still don't have the full story as Kent was still slightly in shock when he called last night, but needless to say, I'm so grateful that he is still alive.
This brings me to a reflection on this time of year. I love the Autumn season with all the glorious colors and the excitement of the upcoming holidays. The one thing I really wish we would all take time to do is take time to truly enjoy Thanksgiving, and not rush headlong into Christmas right after Halloween. The stores have already put up Christmas decorations which makes me feel pressured and pushed along to just get Thanksgiving over with. I think I will start a movement to push Thanksgiving to the fore front so that we can get back to normal. So I will have to post another thread on that topic.
For now, lets take time to mentally list the blessings this year has brought to us.
Here's my list:
1. I'm grateful for my grandparents generosity in leaving us a trust. It has helped me be able to afford to travel to see my children, and be able to bring them to see me. It has helped us be able to make some improvements to our home in Oregon without going into debt. Because my health is keeping me from being able to work full time, their foresight has blessed me to be able to do all this. I was also able to go to my neice's wedding which I might not have been able to do otherwise.
2. I'm so grateful that my husband survived his crash last night! The car is totalled and he is still alive and well.! He has been a blessing to my family and I don't know what I would do without him.
3. I'm grateful that my son and his little family want to move closer. I have waited for years to have my children close to me again and can't wait to spoil my grandson.
4. I'm grateful for the time I've been able to spend with other family members, and that I feel closer to my Aunt Patti.
5. I'm grateful for all the new friends I've made this year through my art and creativity plus my work. They are an inspiration to me and give me an incentive to be better at all that I do.
6. I'm grateful for my little Primary class and the sweet spirits they are. The best way to feel closer to our Heavenly Father and the Savior is to teach little children about them. The insight you can gain as you view the gospel through the eyes of a child, is priceless.
7. I am grateful for the talents that I've been blessed with and the opportunities to share them with others.
So dear friends, don't forget to count your blessings each day and remember where they come from. Feel free to add your list here because I'm sure your list will help us add to ours as well.

An Early Autumn Morning ........

This is a journal entry from 10-16-07.

As I leave my in-laws home this morning to go for a walk, I wonder momentarily if I look silly in a headband and fleece jacket. The thought evaporates quickly as I spot two women jogging; one bundled up just like me.

The air isn't as cool as I'd hoped, but cool enough to keep my ears covered. I love an early walk on a brisk Autumn morning, when all is quiet except the whisper of the breeze and the skittering of dried leaves as they scatter across the street. I see the evidences of neighbors who are remodeling, and improving their properties. A welcome change from the eye sores these places were before. There's a grey cat peeking out from between living room curtains, surely longing to be outside. Up ahead I see the pink and peach of the sunrise that glows over the mountains. Layers of slate grey and lavender clouds are moving in; the front runners of a fore casted storm. The hills are draped in the soft folds of a russet, camel, sage and gold patchwork of foliage. As I pass my favorite home, I peek through the trees surrounding it, trying to imagine what the view from their picture window is like. I would have a home that faced the mountains too, if I lived here.

On my way back down the hill I see that the clouds are sporting Santa like beards as their moisture trails across the sky. I spy a pile of crispy golden leaves down on the other side of the street so I cross in order to crunch through them, kicking and scuffling as I go. I'm thinking that when I get back to my in-laws, I want to rake a huge pile of the leaves in their yard and play with them. My father-in-law beat me to it though because he is already outside and has half of them raked up. My mother-in-law is watching him from the window, afraid I think, that Dad will have another heart attack. I'm torn between helping him so she won't worry, and letting him do this, as he needs to feel like he can still do something. I help for a little bit, by sweeping leaves on the sidewalk, a compromise so Dad can still get a little exercise. Mom can't see me though as she is almost blind, so she comes out on the pretense of checking the mail, and dressed in her slacks and pumps starts putting leaves in the trash can for Dad. It's a sweet sight, as I've never seen her help him outside before. They always do dishes together, but she stays indoors while he is out. All in all, it's been a wonderful morning.

We will be heading to Arizona for a few days to see my new grandson. When I get back I hope to have lots of photos, and I will have a few new creations to post. Have a great week!

A Mothers Influence.....

This weekend was a time to reflect on the importance of women, especially those who are mothers. We celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday, along with watching the LDS church semi-annual conference. The over-riding theme besides God and family was a mother's influence. The importance of the role of a woman in the home, and how she can build a strong family and community by fulfilling her role as a mother was greatly stressed. I know that today the worlds views of motherhood are in conflict with the past. A stay at home mom is considered old fashioned. I am grateful that my mom was there to teach me those things that made me a better mom and artist. She taught me to love God, nature, people, good music, art, literature and a lovely home. She got on the floor and colored with me, teaching me shading, contouring and how to create shape and depth. She taught me the basics of sketching people so that while she was good at landscapes, I surpassed her in drawing people. We would cook together, rarely using recipes for our sauces, but with heads together, we would season our concoctions with a pinch of this and a dash of that until we had the taste we desired. Cake baking always meant licking the beaters, and using the extra frosting to make graham cracker sandwiches. Baking pies meant making cookies dredged in cinnamon sugar from the leftover pie crust. One of my childhood friends recently relayed to me that she appreciated the time mom took to show us how to can peaches or make jams, and other heavenly delights; something her working mom never had time for. She said she was glad mom was there, and that she enjoyed how we would talk an laugh. Mom taught me to value honesty, modesty, and showing love to others. Her methods were sometimes subtle but she knew each one of us well, and how best to handle us. Take for instance the time I let a classmate talk me into taking a pair of sunglasses from the local drugstore. We would go down there each day during school lunch time for a hotdog and soda. My "friend" had a habit of shoplifting. Well about a week after I took the glasses mom had taken us to the city park for a picnic. As we sat there on the blanket she shared with me that the lady behind the counter at the drugstore said I was the most polite, nice, and sweet teenager she had ever met and she appreciated me. Well mom knew that I never wanted to do anything to make her or the family look bad or dissapoint my Heavenly Father so she appealed to my concience through this story. I suspect that she and the clerk talked about this and figured this was the best way to keep me from becoming a habitual thief like "Debbie". She was right....I felt so awful I never took anything again.

Mom has been gone for 34 years but her influence is still strong in my life. Now that I have more time to devote to my art I hope I can share my values and beliefs through my creativity. As I do this I hope that my mothers love can shine through as well. I hope that you can be uplifted, and find a bit of gladness as you stop by and see what is happening in my world. Feel free to comment and share....

Above are a couple of pictures of mom...the second picture is with my younger sister and I. I'm the curly top moppet standing.

You never can tell......

I woke up at 3AM this morning and never really got back to sleep. I ended up getting up at 4:30 to work on a design for a Folk Art angel I want to create for my yearly Christmas Card design and ornament for our AHAO group. I mulled over the design as I lay there unable to sleep; thinking I was going to go in one direction but you never can tell how these things will end up.
As it was, I got called in to work as a sub in P.E., but after a couple of hours they cancelled that to pull me into a regular classroom to take the place of a teacher whose baby is ill. During my break times I continued to work on the angel design and by the end of the day it was quite a bit different.
I have also been mulling over whether to take a job at hubby's school or re-up my license to work where I am right now and I think that decision was made for me today. I would have to go to Reno to take the tests and we don't have the money for me to go 360 miles, (one way), stay in a hotel, and pay to take tests for a license.
So today has been one of those ....you never can tell days, where everything ended up quite a bit different than I thought.
I will be finishing the angel design on Friday and will post pictures hopefully soon. I'm working tomorrow, chasing 1st graders around, and getting lots of hugs while trying to read, teach them Math, how to spell, and not whine. It's a blast, no matter what age level you work with. One of the neat things about working with children is that you can view the world through different eyes and there again....you never can tell what they will say or do.....

Fragmented Day....

Too many ideas, and demands on my time lately; which really showed up today. This time of year I'm always excited......the leaves are changing color, the air is cooler, harvesting is almost done. I love to create anything with a Christmas theme, but this year Halloween has been haunting me too....lol. I also have 2 schools calling me to sub, and 2 different sets of tests to study for that relate to working at one of the 4 schools in our area. My husband is principal of one and would like me to work up at his school. I love the freedom of subbing though, because I can create when I want rather than be on someone else's schedule. The house needs to be squared away before winter hits, and the garden needs to be put to bed for the year. So excitement over the ideas running through my mind of creations I want to bring to fruition, household chores, phone calls and emails, studying.....church stuff....yipes! These are all happy situations, well okay maybe not the cleaning part, but even that can bring peace of mind. So....I'm off to clean and make time for creating!