Treat Yo' Self.

If you're like me (and I'm afraid you may be, just a little), it's easy to get so deeply into the mode of self-sacrifice and serving others and just generally busy with life to the point of sometimes neglecting ourselves, or maybe just being too hard on ourselves because we have faults and aren't perfect, or are simply depressed and sad. It happens. It can happen a lot. So the purpose of this little post is to remind all of us to treat ourselves! Not to go crazy and be irresponsible, of course, but to show ourselves a little love and appreciation now and then for the many things we do for others every day. And we don't necessarily need to treat ourselves with something that costs money. It could just be some time, some peace and quiet, a heart-to-heart talk with a good friend, a long walk, curling up with a good book, making popcorn and watching a dvd, etc. Or we could simply look deeply into those eyes we see in the mirror and say, "hello, I love you!" once in a while.

This video excerpt is a funny reminder of just that... so go and treat yo' self today!

Hugs.

"You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."  —Buddha

Re-post: Hey Girl

So busy lately, on top of being sick last week. Life gets ugly sometimes, am I right? I am so blessed to have a nice patient hubby who is always there cheering for me when things get rough. Rich, you are the best and I LOVE YOU!

OK, so Beki over at The Rusted Chain is awesome. She's someone I hope to meet someday because she's amazingly talented, cute and funny as heck! I couldn't resist re-posting some of her recent "Hey Girls." Here they are. Enjoy! OK - I am off to watch The Bachelor (yes, I know........ it's awful, but if you ask me I think Ben DESERVES Courtney! He's a flippin' genius, as are all contestants on this show, and she is 99.44% pure evil. And will they live happily ever after? Of course not!!!!!!) PS: Kimmie, this Hugh is for you! 

"Life is simple; it's just not easy." —unknown

The Word Is: Happiness

Sometimes happiness comes and goes, and sometimes it eludes us for a while. Life can be extra challenging, and it seems this week is one of those times for me. Just not feeling well. It will get better, I know it. So to help in the process I made some art, and I found a sweet photo to re-post. Hope it cheers you.

"Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections."  —unknown

"Happiness is not the absence of problems; rather it is the ability to deal with them."  —unknown

"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

Thanking God for the Flowers

Goodness gracious... it looks like Spring! There are trees blossoming all over the place around these parts, and I've also seen many daffodils blooming, which I have to say are one of the happiest flowers I know of. While we really do need more (some?) rain here in NorCal, the weather has been stunningly gorgeous and I've really been loving it. The nights are still quite cold but the days... just lovely! In fact I plan to spend several hours this coming week doing some weeding and general sprucing up in my front yard. 

Anyway, I am loving the early Spring, and also loving doing lots of new designing these days! Here is another sneak peek of a couple new designs that should be coming out either this summer or early in 2013. So much fun new stuff!

All right - I'm off to spend some quiet quality time with Rich in front of the TV... movie night! And somebody I know has a big birthday tomorrow... happy 52 to my hubs! Love you forever.

"It takes a long time to grow young."  —Pablo Picasso

"A birthday is the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip."  —unknown

Upon the Housetops...

The title of this post may bring to mind a jolly old elf in a red suit, but that's not quite what I wanted to talk about today. Consider this passage of scripture:

"Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops."  —Luke 12:3

Now think of this scripture with regard to FaceBook, YouTube, Twitter, and other social media. I heard a little lately about a certain ill-behaved "musician" (using the term very loosely) who won a Grammy last weekend and showed further poor behavior when reacting to some things said to/about him by others via Twitter. I read that within moments he reconsidered and deleted his offensive rants, but not before the tweets were captured by thousands; therefore they will live on forever in cyberspace, "proclaimed upon the housetops" if you will. Now consider the following, written by a wise and concerned young man:

"Nowadays, filming something and putting it on YouTube is as easy as taking out your phone, pressing a button to film, then pressing another to post. I predict that this will become an issue as my generation grows up and incorporates into the adult world. How weird would it be to see a video of your young women’s president Jello wrestling at a BYU frat party? Or a video surfacing of your bishop taking a bong hit when he was a teenager? Your wife (or mom) making out with some greasy skateboarder in high school? Will things like this impact you when you are a boss? A doctor? An elementary school teacher? It causes problems today, but I predict that when today’s carefree younger generation grows up, Facebook, YouTube, and other social media permanently floating around cyberspace are going to become extremely irritating. What do you think?"

Just some food for thought on a Thursday afternoon, something for kids and adults of all ages to consider. For the complete article including video, go HERE. 

"Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."  —Plato

A Short Valentine's Day Epilogue...

Just a quick comment... I am sitting here at my computer after a very long, nice day (except for the going-to-the-dentist part). I am thoroughly and completely exhausted, while in the kitchen my sweet husband is DOING THE DISHES. Oh how I love that man of mine. Not just for doing the dishes, but for so many reasons. He is nice, he works hard and without complaint for our family, he keeps getting out of bed every morning, he is honest, he is honorable, and he's also amazingly cute for an almost 52-year-old geezer. Just kidding, sweetie! I love you more and more every day. Forever and ever. Rich plus Kalani. It's true love, man.

"Can't help lovin' that man of mine!"  —Oscar Hammerstein

One Hundred Hearts

Happy Valentine's Day to all you lovers out there! Me? I get to spend my afternoon at the dentist - sounds like fun, am I right? Oh well, that's how life works out sometimes. But I have goodies for my family and a yummy dinner in the works and I've already given and received several hugs (with more to come, I'm sure!), so it's gonna be a good day, dentist and all...

Here's a new as-yet unpublished design from my super-secret new Valentine Collection, which will be available late in 2012. I have so many new things coming and I am so excited! OK, time to run. Enjoy your day!

"I don't pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what it is for me: love is knowing all about someone and still wanting to be with them more than any other person. Love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself. including the things you might be ashamed of. Love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still feeling weak in the knees when they walk into a room and smile at you."  —unknown

Spring Blossoms & Love

So they say that Spring is the time for love, or at least I think that's what they say! Anyway, this weekend we've been seeing trees in blossom all over the place here in NorCal! We have not yet had much of a winter, and it's hard to believe that mother nature is now pushing Spring on us... hmmm. Feels kinda strange.

And tomorrow is sweetheart's day, so I have some things in the works for Valentine goodies, a special dinner and I-love-you messages for my hubby and kiddos, as well as my brother, who is staying with us temporarily. It will be a fun day - can't wait!

OK, more later. Time for dinner! Here's hoping we all have someone to hug and love tomorrow.

"Oh, if it be to choose and call thee mine, love, thou art every day my Valentine!"  —Thomas Hood

"Who. being loved, is poor?"  —Oscar Wilde

A Little More CHA Love...

I'm always looking for inspiration of all sorts, and I carry a notebook around with me at all times because I never know when I will encounter some inspiration: a recipe, some wise words, a good book, shopping destination, restaurant, or whatever. Well, the CHA trade show last week was chock-full of inspiration of the creative type. Just amazing stuff everywhere. The photos here show some of my favorites, although most of what I saw I failed to take photos of. Fail! And I swear that I am gonna work on my picture-taking skills: better photos, and more of them, that's my goal.

It's another busy day today, and I'm already a few hours into it so I gotta run. The sun is shining here in NorCal after a grey and rainy day yesterday. Hooray!

"Live so your actions inspire others to dream more, do more, learn more, and become more."  —John Quincy Adams

There Are No More Teenagers Here.

David, our baby boy, is 20 years old today. It was February 6, 1992, and we had been at the hospital since early the previous morning. The baby was two weeks overdue, there were complications, and when at last we were able to bring him into the world he weighed almost eleven pounds and was delivered by Cesarean section. After all we went through I cannot begin to express the joy and gratitude we felt when our boy was (finally) born. He was big and gorgeous with amazing blue eyes and he stole our hearts and it's been that way ever since. Well, except for the big part. He's now 6'2" and 140 pounds soaking wet, but he's still gorgeous and he steals hearts wherever he goes. And talented? Don't even get me started. David, we are so very proud of you. You are just beginning to find your way on your "grown up" path and we know you will go far. Your passion, your diligence, your focus, and your dedication are awesome. And you make your mama proud with your courtesy and good manners. What a joy you are to us.

David has a full day today with school, work, and a trumpet lesson, so we had his special-request birthday dinner last night. I made teriyaki chicken, rice and steamed broccoli, along with cream cheese brownies for dessert. Thank you Rich for the beautiful photo of the brownies (because as we all know I can't take a decent picture). I'll post more about the brownies on my food blog when I get a minute...

Happy birthday David! We love you!

"He who is a good son will be a good father someday."  —unknown

"Giving your son a skill is better than giving him one thousand pieces of gold."  —Chinese proverb

CHA Update

CHA was a blast. We got home from Anaheim late Wednesday night and life has been a whirlwind ever since. But what a great week we had! I learned so much and am so very excited about some new prospects in the works. I have pages and pages of notes, not to mention all sorts of information gathered from various sources. If I play my cards right 2012 should be a year of great development and growth on the business front. So many new ideas and I am so very inspired. This is such an exciting industry with so many wonderful people and I am thrilled for the opportunities that are on the horizon. The future looks bright!

 

OK, and I am also sorry to say that I just may be the worst photographer ever. Here are a couple of shots of Impression Obsession's CHA booth that are supposed to show my new stamp releases and the make & take table where I ran my demos. Can you say over exposed and fuzzy? Oh well, I tried and you can get the idea. I definitely need to spend time having Rich teach me how to take a decent photo (or maybe bring him with me next time so he can man the camera)! I stink...

In the next couple days I will post photos of some of my favorite things from the show. SO much good stuff and so many great new products! And ideas galore. I was amazed.

Thanks again to my pal Diane for being my traveling buddy and sharing the CHA week (and her birthday) with me. Diane, you are a sweetheart and I love ya!

Ok, time to get back to the family. Busy weekend, and my baby boy's birthday tomorrow! Hugs to all.

"Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can. There will always come a time you will be grateful you did."  —Sarah Caldwell

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."  —Seneca

"Opportunity is missed by many people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."  —Thomas Edison