Easter Blessings ...

Tomorrow will be hectic ... mass in the morning, breakfast and Easter treats followed with dinner. Joe and I will be having some friends for dinner along with my daughter. Shawn, her fiance' flies to Dayton, Ohio early tomorrow morning for his job so he will miss our Easter celebration! With so many activities I may forget to wish you all a very Happy Easter! Our savior, Jesus will have symbolically risen from the dead ... let us rejoice and be glad!

 

 

 

 

Snipits of Easter ...

I met with some sewing buddies the other day and the topic came up of Easter decor. We all agreed we didn't really do any Easter decorating this year. I attributed it to a very early Easter this year. After I came home and looked around I realized I had done a bit more decorating then I thought ....

My heard of Putz sheep ....

This is Louise and her Sheep buddy Lulu!

Baby Peep, Longaberger eggs and my crafty ribbon eggs!

My most recent addition is my bunny! I had intended to fill him with eggs but as you can see it hasn't happened as of yet!

 Enjoy your Easter celebrations

Super Savings Has Begun!

Our Savior Arrives ....

Today, in all Christian communities we will be celebrating the arrival of our savior, Jesus to the village of his birth, Jerusalem. Coming into town riding on the back of a small burro Jesus was greeted by cheering followers waving fronds of palm cut from their local trees. In the days that followed he was quickly transformed from a man who was cheered to one to who was crucified for our sins on a cross. I cannot imagine anything so painful as having nails driven into my hands and feet. At this time of year I am reminded of the pain he endured for my sins and I am quickly reminded of those I have hurt and ask for his forgiveness. Before entering into this week of solemn reflection and prayer my craft class met to create a beautiful egg to display on Easter morning as we celebrate Jesus' rising into the heavens to be with his father.

The craft table is set up and ready to go!

The ladies are working hard ....

All done! Once they completed their eggs they were placed inside a little felt basket with the chocolates and a Longaberger Easter Egg tie on. This is Corinne's, I think she did a fabulous job!!

 May your week be filled with reflection for your blessings and prayer for those of us less fortunate ....

I Love Sparkle!!

Spring is here and I can FEEL it in the air! Last Sunday my friend Tanya and I took a little road trip to Balboa Island in Newport Beach. It's a quaint, very crowded Island community nestled in the heart of the Orange County beach community of Newport.

The little island is filled with quaint shops, family owned restaurants, the original "Frozen Banana on a Stick" and DOGS! Yep, the city of Newport allows dogs into all the shops and dining establishments! They even provide fresh water and treats for these very pampered canines.

The actual purpose for the trip was to select a pair of Lori Jack flip flops. I purchased my original pair three years ago and I have worn those poor guys to death. This year I decided a black pair adorned with "Volcano" crystals was just what the season ordered!

OHHH, here they are! The camera can't capture just how sparkly they really are. The color changes every time you move your foot like a prism!!

On my feet!

Another angle. Just love them!!

  So, since we were there and ohhing and awwwing over all the pretty colors Tanya decided her feet needed a pair of sparkly shoes as well ....

Out of all those beautiful colors she bought WHITE. Aren't they beautiful!!

She's not here, Tiffany and I picked them up today so I get to wear them first!! Hehe, keep this our little secret!

Ying and Yang - Happy shoes for happy ladies!

Happy Birthday Dustin

31 years ago I gave birth to an 8 lb 12 oz baby boy. In these thirty one years I have made numerous trips to the emergency room to deal with asthma attacks, stitches and broken collar bones 

(3 times!)

I spent hours on a soccer field, a football field, bike racing tracks and listened to an amateur rock star in an upstairs bedroom. Those wonderful teen years were filled with many sleepless nights, smelly boys taking over the family room to play Nintendo and of course girls ... lots of girls! 

Now a man, he has blessed me with three beautiful grandchildren, a wonderful daughter in law and years and scrapbooks full of memories. My hope is for many, many more.

Happy Birthday Dustin ....

A tired birthday boy! Napping with the new family puppy ... Ruby! She's a little French Bulldog, so darling!

 

A Little this and a Little of That ....

March has been a difficult month. It began with the 10th anniversary of my mom's death quickly followed with the stomach/intestinal flu. Which has not been in any hurry to make it's exit. I spent yesterday and a portion of today getting my papers in order to visit Brad, my tax guy. Yuk. Just like Christmas, tax season rolls around far to fast!

However, I have had some time to finish some quilts to take to the long arm quilter next week. Visit Balboa Island to buy some new sparkly flip flops and to take a few snaps around the house.

I found this very cute set of children's bowling pins and ball at the 1840's blog. LOVE them they are so cute, Audrey has the best stuff for sale on her blog! To give you an idea of their size they are standing in front of a Longaberger medium market basket! I really adore old children's toys ....

Longaberger has introduced their new Wish List and along with many beautiful baskets, pottery and wrought iron pieces we also have a few new home decor items. These beautiful wooden stars for example! They also have notches drilled in the back making them easy to hang on the wall!

My daughter Tiffany happened across these little bracelets at Nordstrom one day and they were calling my name. They are from Alex and Ani. They are made in Rhodes Island and their designer promotes positive energy. I was originally drawn to the St. Christopher bracelet ... the quote "Guide my Path" really hit home.  I have felt at a loss and in need of guidance so this found it's way to my wrist! My most recent purchase is the gold tone Mother Mary bracelet. I love the shape and she reminds me of my mom. As a child all the women in my family wore "holy" medals, usually if their patron saint. If you see these in a local shop stop and check them out, they have zodiacs, initials, sports teams etc.

Each bracelet had these 3 little tags attached. One is a made in America tag, Alex and Ani tag and a recycled tag. The 3 of them make a nice little jingle when you where them!

And what do we have here!! This is my Origami Owl necklace. I love how the trend has shifted to mixing all the metal tones together. My Living Locket is gold, the chain is silver, the charms are a blend of both and I also have a crystal bauble!! So much fun the mix and match. More on Origami Owl later.

And finally ... tomorrow is craft day with the ladies. We will be making ribbon eggs for Easter. The table is ready with their supplies and a little chocolate ....

All I need to do now is make their lunch!

Have a wonderful weekend! 

A Loose Leprechaun ....

I love the holidays ... all the holidays, even today, St. Patrick's Day and I'm not even Irish, well I am a tiny bit Irish on my paternal grandma's side. However, I think I have met my match on celebrating the holidays!! Yep, my daughter in law Lacey has done the absolute cutest thing to celebrate St. Paddy's day.

This is their bathroom!! Isn't this just too cute? Lacey did this early this morning so when the kids get up they will see that a renegade leprechaun visited their house!! I just love it! She has glitter floating on top of the water because after all leprechauns are magical! 

 I can hardly wait to see what happens with the Easter bunny! Enjoy your day and wear some green or you'll get pinched!

Easter Candy Making with Judi!

I have been battling a flu bug for the past week but decided today was the day to get out of the house and breath in some fresh air! My Longaberger branch meeting was this morning then followed by chocolate candy sucker making!! I have never made chocolate suckers and have always wanted to learn so we rolled up our sleeves and dug in!

Aren't these so pretty! These are all melted pastel chocolates, we used them to "paint" flowers, bows, bunny ears etc!! The caramel looking one is peanut butter flavor, so yummy!

Our big boss Debbie is putting the final chocolate layer on her Easter basket suckers ....

The tiniest chocolatier is Mr. Ben! Ben is our teacher, Judi's grandson, he's 6 and was my assistant painter. Let me tell ya, for a 6 year old he stuck with us the whole time, painted all his bunnies and all his baskets, quite the little trooper! He gave up going to McDonald's and shopping with his mommy to stay with the old ladies and make suckers. After all, we are a charming fun loving bunch!

Amy and Marty, they are all finished with their chocolates, just waiting for the to firm up to apply the finishing touches.

The gang ... yep, Mr. Ben is still with us, so cute and so noisy. How can one little 6 year old have so much to say? He just cracked me up.

First set of lollie bunnies out of the fridge!

My bunnies! We added their eyes and wrapped them up, all ready to go. Judi gave us our molds and we each took home 8 suckers! It was a lot of work, I have so much more appreciation for candy makers.

My peanut butter Easter baskets!! Love how they turned out. They look so Longaberger-ish, don't you agree? 

 

See that little foot in the upper left corner? Yep, it belongs to Ben. He thought it was so funny that my feet were in the picture that he wanted a pic of his in there as well. Kids are so funny.

 After I was all done Ben wanted to show me his room and all his Lego's. My grandson is also a Lego lover so Ben thought it was pretty cool that I knew all about Lego stuff. After sitting together all afternoon he finally asked me my name. I said I'm Anita, my grandkids call me Far Away Grandma because I live so far away. He said "can I call you far away grandma too?" Oh, that little guy is a heart stealer ... 

Fun day Judi, Thanks for the class!

A Little Glimmer ....

I posted a few days ago that my daughter got engaged! So many friends have sent emails, made phone calls and posted kind messages on Facebook. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I finally saw her last night and took a quick picture of her wearing "the" ring!

So pretty! She was in town to have her nails done with the Angels team logo before she left for Spring Training!

It Finally Happened ....

My daughter, Tiffany is a mere 34 years old. She has never been impulsive by nature. She thinks things through before making a purchase, selecting a job, planning a vacation ... ask Ms G, our common friend! So it has taken her many years to select a partner. Tiffany and Shawn met in April almost two years ago, just that alone speaks volumes!! Tiffany would date a fella a few months and poof, he was gone. This my blogging friends went on for years and then came Shawn. I just love this kid, he's wonderful to everyone, he will do anything we need, let's Betsy the blog master walk all over him and best of all, he genuinely loves my daughter. Flaws, faults and all.

Shawn had an idea in mind about how he wanted to propose and asked for my help. So off we went to the bridal shop to look at wedding shoes. This is important since my daughter makes Imelda Marcos look poor when it comes to shoes. She LOVES shoes!

We cruised around the shop looking at several styles of shoes, I expressed my likes ... which looked nothing like Shawn's choice I must add.

The store did not have "the" shoes in her size so they needed to be ordered. They arrived Monday and the plan was to take her to dinner on Thursday to a favorite place, give her the box all wrapped up and once she saw the shoes he would pop the proverbial question.

They leave Friday morning for a trip to Spring Training in Arizona to watch the Angels get ready for their baseball season. So much for Thursday night dinner ... I just received a phone call from an excited daughter, she got her shoes. Shawn couldn't wait, he picked up the shoes, tied her ring onto the shoes and was ready when she came home from work. No fancy dinner, nobody watching to document the moment, no pictures ... such a guy! I love so much that he knew exactly what he wanted to do and he went with it! 

Congratulations to you both ... Joe and I are thrilled!

If you knew my daughter you would be giggling, she loves sparkle and bling and these shoes have it all! Can you see the ring tied to the shoe???

     PS  She LOVES her shoes, he knows her so well!

Valentine Angel is Done!!

I have finished the Valentine Angel quilt and the matching pillow kit that was sent to me by my wonderful friend Paula. I received a walking foot for Christmas and decided to jump in and quilt this little gem as well! I was very pleased with the final outcome!

The pillow ....

And the matching quilt! 

Thank you Paula and Penny for making this all happen!

Such a Wonderdul Day ....

What a busy day! What a beautiful day! I hosted my Spring/Summer open house today for my Longaberger business and it was such a fun day. So many old familiar faces and several new ones made for a wonderful combination of women. Shawn, my daughter's boyfriend made his day available to me to BBQ delicious slider style hamburger's seasoned with out new Bacon Cheese Hamburger seasoning! Oh my, they were so yummy. Tiffany was head of finance taking charge of my cash and carry and guest sales ... the three of us made a great team. Thank you both for making my day so much easier.

I took just a few pictures prior to my guests arrival. As much as I plan and have great intentions I just seem to get pre-occupied and forget to take pics of my guests!

My theme this year was Welcome Home ... Longaberger is beginning to bring our pottery line back to America for production and I wanted to make this my focus.

Gifts and 2013 Wish Lists all wrapped and ready for the girls!

Cash and Carry pottery priced and ready to go ......

Baskets ....

Quilts made by me .....

Baskets, quilts, etc....

Booking gifts for Home Shows ....

 Everything is ready! The food is prepared, drinks are on ice, BBQ is hot .... Let's Party!

A Bit of Quilting .....

Since my return home from Atlantis I have found myself staying home and nestled in my sewing room. I finished a few projects, started a new one and made a cute little heart pillow to accompany a small quilt.

This beautiful quilt is called "Tobacco Rose" I had it custom quilted and I love how it turned out. I have made numerous quilts in the past 6 years and this is the one my husband is in love with. Finally! He claims it's all the brown that he likes .... oddly enough his son flew in for his Spring break from teaching and he's liking it a well. Hummm, must be a man thing!

A new doll quilt kit from Country Sampler in Spring Green WI. I love the grey and red combination it has. My Santos angel loves it a well!

A cute little pillow is made from the scraps of another small quilt kit! The quilt is completed, just not "quilted." This is part of my turning 60 gifts from my sweet friend Paula! That about does it for this weekend!

 

A Long Farewell ....

3:00 AM, March 2, 2003 my mom took her last breath in this world and began a new life with our savior. Not a day passes that I don't think of her, when life hands me a challenge I wish she was here to work it out with. Mom was my best friend and loved me and my children without conditions. It feels like only yesterday that she was here, giggling in her room with her grandson Dusty's friends when they would stop by to say "hi." She was an amazing woman, mom and Mimie. 

On the 10th anniversary of her passing I want to thank those who have helped me in my saying good-bye. Friends like Penny, Debbie, co-workers, family and my loving husband Joe. You have all stood by my side for so many years, wiped my tears, given a much needed hug and simply loved me. 

Dorothy Jean Pritts March 16, 1927 - March 2, 2003

 

Atlantis ... My Final Post

It's been two weeks since our trip to Atlantis and I'm finally shaking the rotten cold from HELL! My poor husband is now the carrier and I feel so bad for passing it on to him. I told him I could have stayed in the Bahamas until it was gone from my body but he wasn't too excited about that option!

I have just a few more snaps to share and then I will move on to another adventure ... I promise!

A new visor to wear to the water slides ....

A view of Nassau from our room.

Our West Tower at night, so beautiful!

Tiffany and I in our First Class seats heading to the Bahamas!

SHARK tank! If look carefully you will see a tube running through the tank, this is the tube we went through at the water slide and visited the sharks! So cool!!

The White Nite dinner table decor.

Tami Longaberger, Me and Amy

Amy and Tiffany at the White Nite dinner.

Lobby on our final day ...

Day 5, ready to go, waiting for the airport shuttle ... wearing my $$$$ sweatshirt ....

Tiffany's luggage weight, it's gonna get on the plane!

Almost to Los Angeles, final approach .....