Valenties Day--Lucky N Love!

I just listed this in my Etsy Shop today.  I made this this morning and this product is devine!  Its a sugar/salt body cleansing scrub with the Lucky n Love Scent.  I'm really enjoying this new scent for the month of Romance.  I also made this in Soy candles, shower gel, body lotion and body spritz.  If anyone is interested let me know!  The scent is made up of Wisteria, Greens and assorted clovers, you wont be disappointed!

Well now that the holidays are over, life is slowing down somewhat.  There really isnt much to do in the colder months so its a nice time to fluff up your home, relax alittle more, and for me experiment with new products.  I'm also beginning to plan our vacation.  We would like to park our camper on the ocean somewhere warm, so if anyone has some tips on beautiful places to park your RV ON the ocean send em my way.

Next month we also anticipate the arrival of the twins!  My oldest son and his wife will be expecting the twins, and they are girls towards the end of the month.  Its a very exciting time.  Its strange to me that I had twin girls and now my oldest son is having them.  I'm just secretly glad its not me, lol.  It was a great experience, but not something I would want to do twice!

I hope your all enjoying this winter time of year and i'm sure most of you just like me are eagerly awaiting Spring!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone in blogland!  I wish everyone a safe, loving and peaceful Christmas.  I said Happy Holidays to someone the other day and i felt immediate sadness.  It wasnt intentional at all, it just came out, but the pain I felt of not saying "Christmas" was swift.  It is Jesus's birth and thats the most important of all in this special day!  Soooo, Merry CHRISTMAS to all of you!

I know I've posted this before...but heres another one!

This is after I attempted to resize them.  Looks like crap lol.  I"m  trying to learn all this for Etsy and I'm finding I'm NOT good at all at this type of thing.  I cant even figure out postage lol.  I think my mind is in to many places at one time.  I'm trying to balance full time work, family, grandchildren, marriage, my business and I'm thinking I"m sinking.   My goal was to be out of my full time time soon, but to be honest since some recent changes happenned at work, I'm not feeling so frustrated and so I'm going to continue on.  I do like what i do overall,,,and i LOVE my business but fact is--I am still putting into the business and not making anything.  Its done mostly out of love and joy of what I do.  Besides I have some personal goals I want to meet.  

One good thing --I've received my new sofa from Pottery Barn!  First time ever hubby and I custom ordered anything and waited 2 months for it!  We love it, and I stepped out of my comfort zone and went with RED!  I will post pictures after I get it all set up.  Right now its got funny tiny pillows on it and its not flattering at all.

My soaps are in a store now in my little town and so far doing very well.  I'm excited about that.  Once I get this Etsy thing figured out I will work on that also.   Anyhow, I hope everyone is having a great winter so far and looking forward to the approaching Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

glitter-graphics.com 

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving with your loved ones!  Good food, good company and so many reasons to be thankful!

Shooting Star

Last year I came across this Christmas Shooting Star in the Grandin Road Catalog from Martha Stewarts Collection.  I decided not to buy it because its kinda of pricey but also because I wasnt sure of where I would put it or if I wanted one more thing to put out!   This year when I saw the Catolog again, I decided to go for it.  It came the other day and baldyman put it out back in between our trees.  I think its well worth the price, it shines very brightly and its quite a nice size.   You can see it from our bed at night and also it lights the backyard very nicely when sitting in the hot tub.

I've got about half of my Christmas Decorations up.  This year I'm going for a more elegant festive look.  I've redone what I've done on the fireplace mantel for years.  I would really like to hire someone but its not in the budget.  So, I've been doing alot of magazine reading, and checking out what is out there and then just being brave and going for it.  I will post more pictures later once I'm done.  

I'm off to visit the blog land and catch up with all of you!

Fixed, well almost fixed!

Here are pictures of the new Refridgerator, sure looks nice dosnt it?  I like it just as well, maybe more. I dont have all the fancy stuff on the outside, but this one has more room on the inside, an icemaker and water dispenser on the inside of the fridge.  

Okkk, now for the almost fixed part!  When they delivered it, they cracked the freezer door handle AND dented it above the freezer door.  The NEW one is on order and wont be here for a couple of weeks.  Sooo, once again we will have to move everything out and re do it--this will be our 3rd time.   What a mess.  Anyhow, I do like it, makes the kitchen look nicer and its very nice having more fridge room, less freezer room.

An elephant in my kitchen!

I should have taken a photo of before so you could see what a mess we have going on right now.  We had a small white refridgerator that came with the house 8 years ago.  We decided we wanted a new fridge, complete with all the bells and whistles and one that belongs to us.  So what did we do?  We went shopping, after going to 3 stores, opening up everyone and then some, we both opened this and we heard the angels sing.  Sooo we bought it.  Come home, and waited for delivery.

Heres the delivered fridge!  It dosnt fit.  I have an elephant in my kitchen.  Neither of us thought to measure.  All i knew is that we both loved it.   I also know i want a freezer on the bottom and a larger space for everyday things.  

Well, we had to call the store--go back to the store which where we live is a distance.  We werent even smart enough to buy locally.  Anyhow, we measured this time...and the new one comes tomorrow.  For now, I walk around this HUGE item.  I'll post another picture once the other one is in and hopefully it will all go well.

Its not to soon!

This is my Table Setting for Christmas 2 years ago...I loved it! Yesterday I bought my first Christmas gift, I was so excited. I saw something, knew it would fit a person in my family and bought it. I'm thinking I'm going to wrap it, and begin placing gifts around the house. After all, right after Halloween, I begin decorating for Christmas..its really not to soon!

My Day Off!

I have the next 3 days off, just about the last of my vacation time. I'm spending it at home. The UPS arrived today with my newest ingrediants for a new project I'm wanting to try. I wanted to make soaps for boys with toys embedded in them..perhaps a Christmas Gift. Anyhow, here is the result! Now only does he have an alien in him, he glows in the dark. Its just a clear based soap, scented in Buzzy Bee fragrance and I think he turned out really well.
You can get an idea of how he glows from this picture. It actually glows very well. I dont have any products for kids really, so I'm working on learning soaps because that seems to be becoming quite popular. The soaps I've made so far last very long and are very soft for the skin.

I plan on making more Fall and Christmas candles as well as continuing to decorate my house in more elegant and deeper tones. My decluttering is going well. I'm not missing anything and I'm enjoying the "sparseness" around the house.

Monday and Tuesday I worked 18 hours, and I was thinking if I was only part time--I'd have all this time each week. I'm praying "hard" God provides me with a part time job after the 1st of the Year. I really need the income but I also really want the time at this point in my life. Not sure I've mentioned it yet,,,but March 8th, my oldest son is expecting twins. That will make me a grandma of 7 at 52! I really want to help them out as well as enjoy being a Grandma and also catch up on things like lunch with freinds, and who knows maybe even alittle show in the afternoon. Today was so nice, the time didnt zoom buy like it does at work and I had time to smell the roses. Full time work is just not for me anymore!

Farewell to Summer

I got to see alot of this, this summer. My husband Baldyman bought this little boat from one of our neighbors and the grandkids used it in their pond. The dog (Phoney) lives in that pond literally from Spring until the water is to cold to go in. He is in it so much, he's not allowed in the house until Frost. They have a sofa and place for him to sleep in the garage where he comes and goes. He chases the fish all day long and never tires of it.

I asked the girls yesterday if they've been swimming and they said they tried to on Friday but the water was already to cold for them. September here in Wisconsin, came in with a roar,,the temp change was immediate. Its time to put away the rafts, swimming toys and get ready for the ice skates!

Alittle early, but BOO!

Yep, it got chilly here in Wisconsin and I got happy! I dug out my Halloween decor and started decorating! Also, I made Apple Crisp, Chili, lit the fireplace, it was all good. At night we've hit the 40's already and thats low considering only a couple days ago we were well into the 90's.
This is one of my new Halloween monsters this year. Mr. Bones. I placed him at the table, he's waiting for someone to feed him. The broom on the table plays witch laughs and scary music and goes around the table and when it reaches the edge it goes back. I cant get enough of that "fun" stuff this time of year.

I've got the "itch" to move., to look for a house to buy. This one is to small and I feel overpriced. I've been blessed to live here for 8 years but I'm feeling like I need to begin searching for a place that gives us more room, maybe more privacy and quiet. We looked at one today in the country, but its more pricey than we can afford also. Its a hard time of life, kids are grown, yet we are still young enough I dont feel like going into a condo or anything. Hopefully something will come up that fits my needs and wants and also the budget.

Dosnt feel like the end of summer.....

Here is a picture of the Mississippi River we took while we visited one of our State Parks a few weeks ago. I believe its Wyalusing State Park. The views were unbeleiveable.
This picture shows a neat cloud that just took my breath away. Sometimes the sky is so pretty all you want to do is capture it and stay there forever!
And this.....I'm going to get this enlarged this afternoon. This is a photo of my grandson Karson's hand and mine. I love it! He is 1 now. My summer has gone fast like they always do, but yet I'm ready to say goodbye. Its been HOT, HUMID and a Mosquito Summer here in Wisconsin. I've gotten bit so much you would have though i should have lost weight. The humidity and me dont get along...I dont like feeling and looking like a drowned rat. Hopefully next summer--I will be either not working or working part time and can get back to things such as this...I really miss blogging. I hope your all doing well and its time to check out a few blogs!

Karson's 1st Birthday and the Beach!

This is one of our twins Elisa with Karson who turned 1 yesterday. He sure enjoyed his cake and it was delicious!
If you look at the post below with the dogs swimming, this is the same pond but a few days ago our son had it dug out alittle and then added a beach area. The water is like bath water. Everyone has been having a blast enjoying the little area.
I cant believe only a few weeks ago it looked like my post below and now this. Unreal what a few things can do! I'm back to work tomorrow, vacation is over. I have mixed feelings, because the core of me is a homemaker and I never tire of being home.

Summer Livin

This is early Summer at our sons house. If you look close you can see Pheney and Bugsy romping in the pond. Pheny is out here all day long until night and I'm not exaggerating. This dog swims all day, barks at the fish and then just enjoys the wildlife. Its so fun to watch him. Bugsy our other sons dog comes out to visit and then swims with him.

Today for the first time I went swimming in the pond. It dosnt look anything like this picture now, and this was taken just a few weeks ago. Since this photo, our son has had a beach put in, filled the pond with some sand and then colored the water. I will take some photos tomorrow when we go back. It really looks like a beach now. He has umbrellas, chairs, sand toys, its just beautiful. The only thing that hasnt changed is Pheny! I had my grandaughters racing tonight and Pheny was swimming right next to them and of course I didnt have my camera but what a picture that would have been. I'm not much of a water baby, I dont even know how to swim. I brought a raft and enjoyed that. The fish come up and nibble at ya which is pretty strange.

Tomorrow our grandson turns 1 and they are having a party, fireworks and all. Should be nice and i will bring my camera and get some good photos!

Ready or Not, Fall will Arrive!

Dont be shocked but guess whose back? YEP,,little ole me. I'm on vacation this week and decided to stay home. No exotic vacation this summer.

To say I've been busy would be an understatement. Our daughter got married last month. That went well, but you all know how that takes time. (and money)

I'm just to pooped when I get home from work. I hope to change that soon also...but for now--I'll do my best to get back to blogging. I really really miss it and I really miss visiting so many wonderful blogs.

My little business is doing well. I'm getting great feedback and steady happy customers! This is what I've done this week. I'm like a store..I think ahead! Sooo, I"ve gotten my Fall candles DONE! I have Spiced Apple in a pretty Apple jar and then my favorite is the Pumpkin! Pumpkin Scented, with a happy pumpkin face and the tin hat. If you look at the hat it has sun, moon stars cutouts so when lit it should show a pretty pattern thru the hat. Since these candles are 100% Soy, you can wash the jars out, fill em with candy or other Fall pretties. I think these will do very well.

Something new I'm starting to work on tomorrow, I will be making candles for Christmas with the wooden wicks. They are rather new on the scene but the customers who buy them like them. I've boughten candles with the wood wicks and i like the crackle so I thought I would give it a try.

So, thats what I've been up to..just family life, work and then my business. We've been camping and thats always fun. I didnt get to plant flowers like I wanted to this season. I've just been to busy. I think this is the worst year for my flowers and I'm not happy.

I'll be around to check your blogs out!

Mirror Lake State Park, Camping

Saturday we drove to Mirror Lake State Park, one of my new favorite places to camp. I decided since I take such crappy pictures I needed to print off the instructions for my camera and actually spend some time reading them and learning how to take the best picture this camera can. Here is a shot of our motor home--its very dark out and I think it came out pretty well.
This is a shot at the same time of night without the flash,,so you can see just how dark it really was.
Baldyman, after a few drinks wanted his picture taken. He really wasnt in his right frame of mind.
And this is at dusk. This little table fire lamp was given to me by my future son-in-law and daughter for Christmas. I couldnt wait to see how it works. It actually is VERY pretty, romantic. We used it for Table Centerpiece. The shoe next to it contains a flower I planted that I carry with when we go in the motor home. So far, we have not been able to find an entire weekend to go camping,,we can only get a day. We love it enough, we take it!

Before & After, my new car!

Ok so I dont have any new decorating going on in my house BUT I do have something new to share with ya! Last July I turned in my Pontiac G-6...it was leased for 4 years, I loved it, but then decided I didnt want to buy it and I wanted a break from payments. Our son had just bought a new car himself and gave me his old one...which is this black Taurus. Its rough looking, drove fairly well and I loved not having any payments. About a month ago-it started sounding like it was gonna blow up. He couldnt figure out what was wrong and I decided its time to get a new car again and know that while I'm out there working I'm going to be safe. I drive alot on side roads and highways and dont like feeling like i might be stuck out there. I also know I like cheaper payments and for me, leasing is the way to go.
I got this car just like the G-6- we called someone Baldyman does business with, told him our payment range-etc..he called us back told us about this car--and thats the one we got. No test driving--got it sight unseen. Drove 2 hours to pick it up. I love it! Its a Kia Forte 2011. I have it 3 years, by then I'll be ready to say goodbye to it. Its got that neat feature where you just talk in the car, you dont have to use a phone AND I have Sirius Satellite Radio. The salesman said I wish there were more like you--just call up--say ok, come on and sign and drive off. Well, I'm not a shopper so this works for me, and I also dont get attached to things or have preferences over types of vehicles..I just want something that will be under warranty, is comfy and lower payments!

So, this is what I do have going on thats new in my life...AND I will do my best to keep this one clean.

Spring is here!

I got home early from work today and decided I need to get back to blogging. I walked outside to take a picture of my few daffodils and standing out there is Ms. Ellie! This is our 3rd grandaughter. She lives on the same street we do. Lately, she has a habit of just "showing up" lol. I dont mind,,,BUT I do worry because there are so many sickos in the world. I've been asking her to call Grandma first, see if I'm home and its ok to come over and then I will watch for you. Well, so far its not working....I will keep trying!

We dont have many daffodils but the few we do have I love. Notice all the yellow spots on the lawn from Genie fertilizing it all winter. I wonder why some lawns dont get bothered by their pets and some do...anyone know the answer to that, share it with me!

We have decided to sell our permanent trailer site..long story but after getting the motor home--thats where our heart is plus with all the flooding in recent years our sons have gotten tired of redoing their sites and also the expense is just to much...sooooo we are all saying goodbye this spring to our trailers. We will be driving to ours today to clean it out--and put it up for sale. If all goes well--that will be our Las Vegas money for vacation in July!

Other than that--work is keeping me on my toes as well as my business. I've made several more new products and the feedback is EXCELLENT! I also had my first home show and it went awesome. I just have to keep finding time to do it.

I hope to get to everyone's blogs this weekend and my goal is to get back to it regularly!

Hello!

While I see no one has been around inquiring if I'm alive or not (lol) I just wanted to let anyone know--that I am! I've been overwhelmed lately....but I do hope to get back here quickly! I'm trying to make some personal changes in my life, I miss having time. I also miss reading blogs....I hope everyone is well and soon I will get my buns back here!

Easter Already????

Boy its been awhile since I've been on here! I cant believe how fast the weeks go. I was going to make one post a week thinking I can handle that and poof I think I'm going on 2 weeks now.

I have to tell ya, I'm tired of winter. It can end right now. My biggest fear is that of falling. There is so much ice around here. Its been a pretty cold couple of months and with fresh snow--there is all that ice lurking underneath!

I wanted to post my newest Easter Decoration. I found this bunny at Pier 1 Imports. I could NOT leave him there. I brought him home and right after Valentines Day I put him on the fireplace. I placed some Easter candy in his little basket. I'm thinking I might add one of those tealights that is lit by a battery so that he has a soft glow. I cant believe I'm thinking of Easter already but hey, it will help me think of warmer temps!