A Sneaky Peek ....

Like yesterday I have been a busy bee getting everything ready for tomorrow. Today was grocery shopping, 2 trips. A much needed pedicure, weed pulling and cooking. I'm happy to say I think with the exception of some finishing touches I'm ready to get started! I'm sending a few pictures to give you an idea of what's been going on here!!

Five months ago Longaberger began selling an ornament a month that symbolizes the holiday or event of that month. I have 4 of them  attached to this wreath.

A closer shot of the ornaments ....

The caddy is filled with forks, napkins, plates and drinks. Tomorrow the food will go out and the party will begin!!

 

Has Anyone Seen my Tail??

What a day. I rolled out of bed on the run today and many hours later I have finally sat down.  I will be hosting my Longaberger Fall Open House on Saturday and that always takes a lot of time, energy and brain power to prepare for! Today was pricing day, my least favorite chore, but a very necessary one to do!! Well, I'm done, it took hours, but it's finally done. Along with this my husbands long time law partner dropped by for a visit so there was a stall in the work process and then seconds after he left I had a friend stop by! Tomorrow I head to the grocery store to get that task done then the cooking starts! Oh my goodness, there is still so much to do!

Update on a few items. My friend Kim who is battling breast cancer received some good news! Finally .... she does not have a staph infection! Woo Hoo, she officially has a nasty radiation burn but she is taking care of herself and is on the road to recovery.

My husband had to take a written test at the DMV in order to renew his drivers license. After worrying about it for several days I am happy to report that he passed. He didn't miss one answer just like I predicted. I should be a psychic! He is the biggest worry wart I have ever know and for no reason.

So with all of that being said all is well here in Fullerton. If you are in the area stop by my open house and get a new wish list, a bite of yummy food and you might even win a prize!

Getting the Girls out and About ...

How do you keep 3 women and a 3 year old child entertained for an hour and a half?? Put them in a quilt shop with a nice air conditioner! I introduced Pam, Tanya and little Olivia to Stars and Scraps Quilt shop this morning. We arrived when it opened and by 11:30 we were finally heading out the door. Oh my goodness, such great fabrics and fun things to make for the upcoming seasons.

Tanya's forking over the money to buy her new stash of fabrics. She is planning to make a "fallish" table square for her new antique oak table.

Pam and Olivia! The shop girls were so helpful, they kept Olivia busy coloring beautiful pictures for mommy. That way mommy could spend money on nice Christmas fabrics.

Most of the shop girls busy cutting and folding. Olivia's art teacher is in the back room!

 Can you tell by their faces that the sun is VERY bright??? Since no one can open their eyes! It was a mere 109 degrees as well, yikes!!

We had a lot of fun and we each found something to keep us busy at our sewing machines. Mom had to be on her way to Olivia off the fun Camp and Tanya and I were off the purchase a bag of ratty looking Putz sheep. Wait until you see them cleaned up!

Sometimes there are opportunities that are just to good to pass up and this is one of them! A total of nine color choices for this Longaberger Basket. The set includes and exclusive design, plastic protector and a woodcraft lid with knob! All for only $59.00!! Woo Hoo, it's definitely time to start the Christmas shopping. Email me a baskets4anita@aol.com if you are interested in placing an order!

Asking for Prayers

Several weeks ago I posted a blog about a young friend of mine who had endoured a double mastectomy. Initially she had done very well with her recovery. About a month ago she began her radiation treatment and just as she was entering her final days of treatment she began experiencing adverse reactions to the treatment. She is now bed ridden with a serious burn and an infection. Today she is waiting for the test results to determine if she has contracted a staph infection. This is serious and I am reaching out to everyone I know to pray that staph has not set in. Kim is amazingly strong with such a positive outlook. Her faith has never waivered in God's plan for her life and her church community is with her as well. However, as someone who has witnessed a staph infection first hand I know how serious they can be as well as life threatening. With all of this being said I pray that as you read this you will all say a prayer for Kim to fight this infection and get back on her feet as soon as possible. Fighting the cancer is work enough without any additional issues.

Look at that big smile, let's put it back on her face!!

 

Crafting Class #1 - Fall Lanterns!

 Woke up this morning to a day perfect for crafting! This project involved being both in and out of doors so I was praying for good weather and God provided. Today's project was "green" in nature. Instead of throwing away cans and jars we re-purposed them and created lanterns for a table scape, to hang over a patio table or use it where ever you like!

So the cans are frozen and ready to put holes in ....

   

The caddy is stuffed with a great selection of decorative fillers ...

All the jars are washed ....

 

 

Samples,  baskets of spiders and berries ...

Fresh out of the oven homemade boysenberry scones ...

Everyone is busy pounding holes into their frozen cans! Perfect day to sit on the patio.

Barb is spelling out BOO on her can ..

Progress, the jar lanterns are coming along nicely, full of warm autumn colors.

Corinne's Birthday Cake

Ta Da! Look at all those beautiful cans and jars, doesn't it just put you in the mood for fall!

 

We had such a fun time. I prepared a lunch of chicken salad served on croissants with fresh cantaloupe and peanut butter cookies. Each  meal was served in a Small Longaberger Pie Plate. And as a gift to my crafters they got to take their pie plate home!

Future classes ... September is "Paint Your Own Fruit" And October we will be preparing for Christmas by making an "Industrial Chic" Advent Calendar!

Thanks for stopping by...

Answers .... A Winner ... A Wedding ....

Good Evening! As Joe and I sit and watch the Angels Baseball game I said to myself, "self this is a perfect time to blog!" So here I go!

First, the answers to the little game my doggie posted yesterday.

Windmills on Hwy 580 near Livermoore ....

St Helena, Hwy 29 - There are 3 of these in the Napa Valley so this was tricky! Good job Betsy!

This gave EVERYONE trouble, all the small towns look alike! Welcome to:

 

 This is the town the wedding was held in at the Solage Resort. Beautiful place, just ask the dog, she was a guest there. The humans stayed at the Eurospa (absolutely nothing Euro about it either)

This place was another challenge. Located right on Hwy 29 is the West Coast Culinary Arts Institute. One awesome place. You can have lunch or dinner there, prepared by the students. They also offer cooking classes for kids. No Betsy, no dogs are allowed at the cooking school ....

Jelly Belly is in Fairfield, CA. There is also a factory in Wisconsin.

And finally, the Napa Valley Wine Train. We had dinner Sunday evening and it was amazing. I selected a poached salmon with creamy risotto and baby shrimps. This was a 5 course meal and we were all stuffed to the gills when we left the train. This is a must do if you are ever in the Napa area.

A winner ... roll the drums .... she worked very hard finding the answers and came up with 4 of the 6! Woo, hoo Congratulations Tanya Mecham! I hear you won a doll quilt, Betsy will deliver it personally, she's heading out the door as I write.

_______________________________________________________________________

The Wedding 8/18/12

 

We're almost there! I'm driving and taking pictures ... at least I'm not texting!!

This is the official Calistoga Water Truck, I was following him to the Solage!

Grandma and her little man, don't you just love his little ascot?

The Groom

Waiting for his bride ....

The vows are said ...

Our reception room is ready ...

My table ....

My seat (my feet are killing me by now!)

The Bride ... no way-you're kidding me!

 The bikes came with their room, they say just married isn't that too cute!

Very odd looking bride and groom ...

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in our special day.

That Dog of Mine!!!

I have been so busy getting ready for my first craft class for the fall season that I hadn't had a chance to get on my blog. When I finally sat down and logged on I realized Betsy beat me to it! Now I understand why I have received so many questions about where we were this past weekend! I see she has you guys playing a game, she is such a smart dog!

So, now that I'm on I wanted to explain my new blog look. Even though the temperature is still warm and the air is muggy I  can begin to see and feel fall creeping in. Our maple tree in the front yard has begun is transformation to fall colors, the days are definitely getting shorter and the sun just seems to be golder and less bright. I love the fall season so I'm already feeling the urge to decorate! However, I will control myself until at least mid-September!!

Beginning this Saturday I will be hosting three monthly craft classes. August will be fall lanterns made from jars and cans! I'll post the completed projects and my students Sunday. It's going to be a lot of fun and I'll be getting everyone in the fall decorating mood!

They didn't photograph very well but here are a few samples!

 

Travel Log by Betsy ...

Whew! I'm pooped out. All the traveling can really wear a little doggie out! Just wait until you see and hear about the wedding trip from my point of view.

Hi! It's me, Betsy! And here's my best friend Joe, he's also my pop! He doesn't look to happy, he's not, he just found out I've been evicted from our hotel. Yep, Mr. Bill said NO dogs! So I showed him, I told mom to call my bro Dustin (the groom) and see if I can bunk with him. She did and yeseree bob he said yes!! I was allowed to stay at the 5 star Solage resort!! Woo hoo, had my own private yard, spa, bottled water, kids to sleep with, it was awesome!!!

Now we're going to play a little game ... where am I??? Cuz I really don't know and I could sure use some help here!

These are the weirdest birds I've EVER seen! Any idea where they were???

Now this place smelled really good! I hung my head out the window for a sniff or two. What town are we in?

Cute car, I'd look really spiffy sitting in it don't ya think? Tell me where I am so I can go see it again!!

Ohh la la, this place is HUGE! Do you know what or where it is?

This is my bro Shawny (he lost his tooth, hehe)  Mom and the kids went to eat Jelly Beans ... I didn't get ANY, they're not for dogs I was told. What town were they in??

Another place I didn't get to go inside of, looked like fun though. Where or what is it??

NO DOGS allowed at the wedding. Bummer, this looks like it would have been so much fun and so many people to lick! Mom will blog about all of this tomorrow ... Yikes, here she comes and she hates it when I sneak on the computer. Gotta go! Oh, I forgot, name all 6 places and who ever wins will get one of moms doll quilts sent to them by me!! I stole one when she wasn't looking, there are so many of them around here she'll never miss it! Leave your answers in the comment section below! Toodles for now....

A Day to Celebrate ....

We arrived in the beautiful Napa Valley on Friday August 17. It was absolutely beautiful and the temperature was just perfect for a wedding. At the time of check in we hit a snag. My family was staying at the Eurospa in Calistoga, a village famous for it's health spas and mineral waters. At check in I notified the Inn Keeper that I had to being my small dog ... NO dogs he barked. No dogs at any hotel in Calistoga and you have a two night minimum that can not be canceled! Yikes, now what do I do. I called my son and ask for his advice, his luxury 5 star spa will allow dogs and it's also in Calistoga. So now Mr. Inn Keeper is a fibber as well as a meanie. I will post more hotel nightmares in the next few days but lets get married!!

I made the decision I was not going to cry ... ya right, I was the biggest cry baby there.

Dustin walking me down the isle, I was doing OK at this point ....

Lacey's mom Jan walked her down the isle. Lacey's dad passed away 9 years ago from cancer. OK, here is where the tears begin ....

The wedding monkeys. L to R Lia, Lille and Cameron are cousins and Austin and Karlee are my grandchildren. They were all in the wedding!

Mr and Mrs Dustin Gipson, I cried a bunch here ...

The bridal party .... such a beautiful group of young people!

Shawn and my daughter Tiffany leading in the bridal procession ...

Mrs. Dustin Gipson - I think she is just stunning!

Mother, son first dance ... I cried, then he made me laugh!

The beautiful glitter balls on the ceiling made by Lacey and her family ...

Me and my sweetie Joe, not too bad for most of my make up missing!!

Their first dance as husband and wife ...

Tara, Tiffany, Lacey and Bria in the photo booth! This was all new to this old gal but what fun it was, when I find my pics I'll post them too!

I think he's pretty smitten with his bride! 

 Tomorrow's post .... where were we????