Good morning. It's COLD here in Northern California! I realize this is a relative term, but right now it's 44 degrees and with the wind chill it feels like 36 (and for these parts that's downright frrrrrigid). And the weather folks have predicted that it will only warm up one more degree today (if any), and it may in fact get colder and perhaps SNOW in San Francisco. It's been a crazy winter! On days like today I am especially thankful for a cozy home and my sweetie to keep me warm!
The image above is from THIS new set of mine from Impression Obsession. It's a Christmas-themed set but with weather like this we can still get use out of some of these stamps before we put them away for Spring...
OK, gotta run. Busy day! Wind almost always gives me a headache so I'm gonna put on a hat, stay indoors as much as possible, and hope for the best, although I do need to venture out some. David is playing bass in two jazz combos in a concert at Sacramento State University later today - can't wait to hear my boy get his groove on!
Stay warm...
"Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories." —from Sleepless in Seattle and An Affair to Remember
"One kind word can warm three winter months." —Japanese Proverb
In my reading today I came across a common phrase that I have heard/read many times before, but for some reason it stuck with me and I started wondering about the various different meanings of it. Sometimes that happens to me, you know, sorta like when you type or write a word that you've typed or written a thousand times and all of a sudden you can't remember how to spell it, or you look it up and it's spelled correctly but for the life of you it looks wrong. And the more you look at it the more wrong (wronger) it looks.
The phrase I read today was: "She marveled at how little things had changed." And I wondered, was she marveling that everything had not changed much, or was she marveling about all of the little things that had changed? Think about it. Makes me go, "hmmmmm." It's one of the many reasons why I love and adore the English language, and how words mean things, sometimes different things in different contexts. It's delicious.
Another one of those phrases that blew my mind recently was "make believe." Think about it. MAKE BELIEVE. Really — think about it. Incredibly awesome... or am I just a little bit nuts?
The image above is from one of my new clear stamp sets by Impression Obsession. The set is called Read This and the SKU number is CL305. Click on the image for a link to see the whole set and how to order it if you're interested. Lots of other great designs in this set as well... and as always they all are also available as individual cling or wood-mounted rubber stamps.
Anyway, let's all thank God for our powerful minds that let us appreciate and understand language and communicate with other people on the planet through little squiggles on a screen or a page. It's a wonder. It's full of wonder. It's wonder-full. Wonderful.
"Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow." —Oliver Wendell Holmes
"It's a strange world of language in which skating on thin ice can get you into hot water." —Franklin P. Jones
Here's another reminder. I need lots of reminders. Let's make it a good week!
"A thing o
f beauty is a joy forever;
Its loveliness increases;
it will never pass into nothingness;
but still will keep a bower
quiet for us,
and a sleep full of sweet dreams,
and health, and quiet breathing." —John Keats
"Think of all the beauty that's still left in and around you and be happy." —Helen Keller
"Beauty is the promise of happiness." —Stendahl
I needed this reminder (and maybe a kick in the butt) today...
"It isn't what you have, or who you are, or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about." —Dale Carnegie
"Some pursue happiness; others create it." —unknown
I've been under the weather this week. It started as a little head cold then progressed to where I was just completely out of it yesterday. I had to just lie down and sleep it off. That's hard when there's so much to do but I had no choice. Feeling a little groggy but much better today. The weather yesterday was the poops - cold, rainy and VERY windy, so it was a good day to hunker down anyway. Hopefully things will improve from here.
Thought I'd share some more cards from the Impression Obsession design team, using a few of my new designs that were released at CHA last month. Card Number One, "2011," is from Laura Fulcher, and it uses my CALENDER NUMBERS set. Click on the photos for for more info. Card 
Number Two, "Time Began in a Garden," is from Jenny Gropp and uses a stamp from my IN A GARDEN set, and Card Number Three, "To Love and be Loved" is from Deborah March and uses an image from my A LOVING HEART set. And as always, each of these stamps are also available individually, either as clings or wood-mounted. Thanks ladies for the beautiful cards! Lovely!
That's it for today - toodles, and I hope you have a nice long Presidents' Day holiday weekend!
"A faith like Lincoln's would transform the world!" —James Oppenheim
"George Washington is one of the beacons placed at intervals along the high road of history." —Orestes Ferrara
"I would rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world." —George Washington
February Fourteenth: Happy Day of Love to you all! I am blessed to have Rich as my every-day Valentine! We've been married for almost 23 years now, and I am so thankful for him! I was mostly an idiot in my 20's, but one good choice I did make was to marry that man. What a treasure he is to me! Rich, I love you. You are my eternal sweetie. Here's our wedding pic, taken on one of the three happiest days of my life: April 29, 1988. Don't you just love my poofy 80's hair? Oh, good times...
Here's romantic: Rich and I are going to spend the evening at Home Depot and Lowe's looking at stuff for our kitchen remodel! Don't be jealous, ladies! But seriously, there's nowhere else I'd rather be than with my hubs. He's awesome!
Okay, now it's off to work! Make it a great day.
"Love is what you've been through with somebody." —James Thurber
"Bart, with $10,000, we'd be millionaires! We could buy all kinds of useful things, like... love!" —Homer Simpson
One of my new favorite blogs to stalk: REMODELAHOLIC. So many great ideas here! I am hunting for new ways to decorate while spending little to no money. It's fun! I am really loving all of the painted surfaces and the French-Farmhouse-Cottage look, with lots of natural fibers, brocade prints, and ticking. And old chippy garden ornaments. And big candlesticks. And glass cloches. And old botanical prints. And lots of lamps and pillows - I love lamps and pillows! And of course I need plenty of inspirational quotes around, on the walls, on pillows, in frames, etc... Can't wait to see how everything comes together here in our new-old house. It will be work in progress for a while. And always changing, of course... gotta keep it fresh!
Just got hom
e from a Friday night date with my hubs. Went to Green Acres nursery to look at grape vines and fruit trees, then had some yummy pasta, soup and salad at Noodles & Company, then wandered around The Fountains, which is an amazing shopping center just a ways down the street from our house. Rich bought me a new white ceramic mixing bowl (a big one - love it!) at Sur la Table, and Rich scored himself some brown rice miso paste from Whole Foods so we can make more soup this week. Now it's home to relax before we tackle more organizing and unpacking projects tomorrow! Pretty exciting life, am I right?
OK - that's all for today - time to put my jammies on and my feet up... good night!
"A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams." —unknown
"At home find comfort and rest." —unknown
Good morning. What a beautiful day it is here in Northern California! We have a sparkling blue sky, and just the smallest amount of frost on the ground which will melt away soon. Daffodils are blooming, birds are singing, and life is good!
The cabinets for our new kitchen island are being delivered today (these are the ones that I get to sand and distress and paint black — the rest of the cabinets will be a natural hickory with a clear glaze), and we'll be placing the order for the rest of the cabinets tomorrow. Next week is demolition time! Should be fun taking a hammer to those awful 80's tile countertops! We have not done an extensive remodel like this before, so hopefully it will go quickly and smoothly and we will live through it. I hear they can be stressful... don't need more of that! My goal is to keep my mind and heart set on the end result and to stay positive. Exciting times!
I thought I'd share one of my new "love" stamp designs with
you today. "When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive — to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love." This is one of my favorite sayings — so positive and life-affirming! You can get this stamp individually here, or as part of this clear set (Impression Obsession CL315). In fact, I love this clear set so much I've included a picture of it here. It's a great set if I do say so... lots of possibilities with this one!
Well, it's time for me to run. So much to do these days it makes my head spin. Moving, working, remodeling the house, getting organized... but it's all good!
"The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in." —Morrie Schwartz
I did not get a post done yesterday. I started one then the phone rang and then I started doing the cooking for David's special-request birthday dinner (whole-wheat penne pasta with vegetarian marinara sauce, corn, garlic bread and chocolate-chip cookies), then a migraine started coming on and by the time we finished eating I was on the verge of being completely incapacitated so I headed straight for my mattress and that was all she wrote for me yesterday.
I love David. What a special blessing it is to be his mom. David is an AMAZING young man. So talented, self-disciplined, and just a great guy. Happy birthday to my boy. David, I hope you enjoy your 19th year on the planet, and that you achieve your goals. It will be a big year for you. You are awesome and I love you.
"The mother loves her child most divinely, not when she surrounds him with comfort and anticipates his wants, but when she resolutely holds him to the highest standards and is content with nothing less than his best." —Hamilton Wright Mabie
"When a woman is twenty a child deforms her, when she is thirty he preserves her, and when forty, he makes her young again." —Leon Blum
I am tired. I can't find things. My back hurts. I miss Folsom. Rich feel the same way. And David. BUT... We are now living in our "new-old" house and I can just barely start to make out the pin-prick of light at the end of the tunnel. I think we will like it here. It will be a long and slow process, but there is hope. The mov
e was difficult and exhausting and yes, I hurt my back because I am impatient and I try to do too much and my body does not cooperate, but THANK HEAVEN for Rich and for David and for all of the so-nice people from our church at both ends for helping load and unload multiple U-Haul loads. We literally could not have done it without you! And the sweet ladies of the Folsom 3rd Ward Relief Society who helped me clean the Folsom house last week when I could barely move or walk - you gals are angels!
When I am feeling better and I get myself a little organized I will post more. That's it for now, but stay tuned to hear about our exciting kitchen remodel in the works! Fun times!
PS: HAPPY 19th BIRTHDAY to my baby boy David! On February 6, 1992 at 4:51 a.m. after nearly 24 hours of labor, David Michael Allred came into the world. I love you David! You are my boy. Forever.
"A baby is born with a need for love, and never outgrows it." —Frank A. Clark
