The Better Half

Chris- (my dear hubby, my better half- HA and wink LOL)- he made it safely to San Diego. He said the flight was pretty turbulent but otherwise uneventful.
I just hope he doesn't have to spend a small fortune to eat while he is out there. The prices are crazy on the west coast! LOL
He said he expects to be there at least 10 days. Cross your fingers for a safe flight home for him. I know that flying is supposed to be super safe, but I HATE flying and so, I always worry a bit until he is back on the ground.

New Goodies

I finally had some time to work on some new jewelry pieces, so I thought I'd share. I just love pearls. They are my favorite medium! I have uploaded some, but not all of these at my Etsy site. Hopefully I can upload and list the rest of them tomorrow when it isn't too cold to be in my "office." I do appreciate any and all input. :) Thanks for looking. Have a great Wednesday.

Playing in mineral make-up.

So I have a new love in my life. I am loving mineral make-up. I love it because it's 1000X better for your skin than the pore clogging stuff I used to use. Lets face it. I will be THIRTY-FIVE just a little over a month from now. It's time to stop kidding around with my skin. LOL

Ok, so this stuff is too cool but does take a little longer to apply than typical make-up. It also requires a bit of "playing" and experimenting to learn what looks good. Karen was kind enough to be my "guinea pig" and let me experiment on her.


I know that I went a bit too heavy with the white. Don't judge me. I am learning here. ;) At the same time you gotta admit that she looks SO much better in the after picture!


It's amazing how she went from looking totally exhausted
to looking absolutely fresh and bright eyed. Having make up on even made her clothes seem more stylish! It's just too wild what a lil' make-up can do.

Happy (early) Thanksgiving

Chris won't be home for Thanksgiving. He had to leave out last night for Pennsylvania and after a week there he will be flying to San Diego. So, we had our Thanksgiving dinner yesterday.
I stuck to the staple items we have every year and didn't make some of the things I usually do. I was trying to make it doable on such short notice. LOL
We had:
turkey- of course
stuffing/dressing
sourdough roll hollowed out and stuffed with spinach dip- YUM, and sliced veggies for dipping.
mashed potatoes and gravy
corn
crescent rolls
cranberry sauce
dark chocolate fudge
peanut butter milk chocolate fudge
pumpkin pie
and two cherry cheesecakes

Seems like I'm forgetting something but, oh well.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone! :o)

Sweet Dreams, Dear Oreo

Oreo, A.K.A Oreosis, A.K.A Speckles.
Died:Nov. 16th, 2007

A couple of days ago we lost a dear sweet fur baby that we never expected to love.
Oreo originally belonged to one of our neighbors. When they moved away they asked us if we wanted Oreo because they weren't allowed to have pets at the new apartment.
We agreed to take him because he was such a sweet pup and was already extremely bonded to Caleb. In fact, he spent so much time here that he wouldn't go home when his owners called for him. He liked it here.

About a week into our new ownership we learned a lesson that we had forgotten. Puppies that are left alone CHEW stuff up!
Oreo was only 5 months old when we got him. It was easy to forget that he was just a pup, because I am used to pups being small fragile things. lol
The first time we went to town we came back home to a disaster. Oreo had chewed up several of my treasured belongings. I never felt so angry in all my life but I tried to understand that he was probably having a bit of separation anxiety, as well as cutting teeth.

As time passed Oreo finally outgrew the chewing and the good outweighed the bad. He was very loving and affectionate. Just the sweetest dog you could ever want. He chased off strange animals, and alerted us when someone was coming. He did what dogs do.


Sadly, a neighbor came to the house Friday evening to tell us that Oreo had been hit by a car and had died. The only comfort I have is knowing that he did not suffer. He was struck in such a way that death was instant. He never saw it coming, and he didn't lay in pain.

My heart sank because we all had really just begun to bond with him. And to make matters worse he was Caleb's dog. We expected him to be around until Caleb was 30. Now, suddenly, he's gone.
He never had a habit of getting in the street before, but there is a female dog in season and I think he got on the road trying to go get to her. Oreo was scheduled to be neutered in Dec. Too bad the vet couldn't fit him in sooner. He might still be with us today if he wasn't trying to answer the "call of nature."

Caleb and I gathered him up in his favorite blanket and laid him to rest. I know it sounds silly to some people, but I know that he knew he was extremely loved and cared for. We are saddened by the loss. We take comfort in knowing that we did everything to make his short life happy. He was bathed regularly, (he loved baths), and every day he was treated with Beggin' Strips, raw hide chews, or a Milk Bone. Not an evening went by that he wasn't made over and pampered in hugs and love.

It was a short 5 months that we had the pleasure of sharing life with Oreo. He will be sorely missed. Thanks for letting me get this out there and sharing with you these pictures of a really good boy that is gone, but not forgotten.

Fur babies really are an important part our families and their passing is just as saddening as any other death. I know that a lot of pet owners know exactly where I'm coming from and understand.

I still expect to hear him run in through the doggy door and pounce me on the couch.
I expect to be woke up by a cold nose and wet tongue licking me on the face. I will miss not seeing his eyes light up and his tail wag fiercely when asked if he wants a Milk Bone.

To say you will be sadly missed doesn't even scratch the surface of our sadness today.

Ho, Ho, Ho

LOL. Me and my elf family dancing a lil' jig for ya. Enjoy and try not to laugh too hard. :)

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9531912484

Crazy, crazy, crazy.

(Sensitive topic) look away if you have a queasy tummy!

First off, has anyone ever had the flu for only 4 hours???
I went to bed at 5am- yes I know- bad me! But then I woke up at 9am sick as could be.
I had chills, and burning up all at the same time. I had (the trots), and vomiting. I was super dizzy too.

I was feeling SO sick and thought to myself NOOO please not now. No one ever wants to be sick, I know. But you know how you lay there feeling awful and just imagine how the family will turn your house upside down if you aren't well enough to keep everything cleaned up? That was me.

So, I tried to relax and asked Alex to make me a cup of pine needle tea since it's packed with vitamin C. I figured it might help boost my immune system and fight off the yuckies.
The strangest thing was that about an hour after I drank the tea I was suddenly all better. I don't know what to make of it. Did the pine needle tea cure me? Did I really only have the flu for 4 hours? How is that possible?

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth I guess, but it's very, very strange. One minute I wake sick and could feel myself getting progressively worse. Then all of a sudden it's gone and as if it never happened. Maybe there is some super short virus going around that I am not aware of? All I know is that I am glad to feel healthy again and that I am not laying in bed feeling miserable.

It's Official!

I'm published!

Yesterday I received the book that my jewelry pieces were published in. I can honestly say that I am proud of my pieces. They look every bit as good as the other designs and I think Chris is pretty proud of me. I overheard him telling some of his coworkers on the phone. LOL

This is me in the index. LOL
I blurred out the other names with my computer because I don't have permission of the other designers to publish their names. Better safe...
I'm on page 48. Woohoo! ;)

And this is my contribution. The photo is mine, not the one they took for the book.
This set is called The Christmas Party and I will be listing it for sale over at my Etsy shop as soon as I finish this blog entry. LOL

I'll be in the next Jan./Feb issue with two more entries. Can't wait to see it.

For Ann

This post is for Ann.
She is my stocking swap partner this year and this is my mini introductory to help her get to know me better. :)
This is going to be a bit jumbled and random as I will type what pops into my head as I go along. lol

Where to start? LOL
I've been married for 20 years, have a 19 yo. son (Alex) and a son that turns 14 on Dec. 15th. (Caleb).
I'm a SAHM.

I'm 34 years old --until Jan. 1st (sigh)

I don't sleep-much. I love scrapbooking.
I also make jewelry and have a little online shop: http://www.kristiegk.etsy.com

Sometimes I like to crochet afghans and scarves during the winter months. It's the only time I can stand to have a "growing" blanket on me because I am super hot natured.

I drink coffee about every other day. Collect really old looking unusual wicker baskets and gourds.
My house is in the process of being decorated in all primitive and grubby/grungy style. I find that is what makes me happiest. I collect gingerbread men for Christmastime. My favorite scents are vanilla and especially cinnamon!!! YUM.

I absolutely LOVE Peggy's goat milk lotions and soaps. Right now I am totally loving her caramel lotion. -Hi Peggy!- :)

On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, I'm a bit of a girly- girl. I like my make-up and pretty hair. Although I'm not finicky about my clothes. LOL I like a plain T shirt just fine. LOL
I LOVE thrift stores SO much.

Some people might call me a pessimist, but I think of myself more as a realist.

For three weeks of every month I am the mother and the father at my house.
My husbands job keeps him away a lot. He is a supervisor for a company based out of Knoxville and has to travel all over the country. I don't mind it too much. I think it has helped me be more confident in myself in a lot of ways.

I used to spend too much time on the internet. Now I spend maybe half hour a day. lol

I think that's all for now. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

And last, here is a picture of me and my little crew. :)

Bonfires and SLIM Pickin's

I love this silhouette picture that I got at the bonfire. Far left is Caleb roasting a hot dog over the fire, then there is Vivian sitting on her stump seat, and son Alex is next to her.

Caleb found the gourd he wanted. LOL

Poor Karen looks exhausted. It's partly my fault though. We sat up talking all night the night before and had been running all over town all day before we went to get the pumpkins.

I said I'd share pictures from the bonfire/weeny roast and from our trip to the pumpkin "patch", so here they are.

I know there is a real patch - somewhere, but they don't let the public go in the actual patch. You have to chose one from tarp they're laid out on.

We've had a really bad drought all year and I guess that's why there weren't many pumpkins to chose from. In the past years there were tons of pumpkins, and HUGE ones!
Hopefully things will be better next year.
I did find a few dried gourds that I wanted. Really long curly handled ones. I cleaned them up and put a couple over my kitchen cabinets. One I made into a bowl and did a simple wood-burned design on.
That's all for now.
Happy Fall!