Clean, Organize, Create

We had a wonderful day yesterday with the kids. Gifts were exchanged, lots of food was consumed and lots of wii was played. We had a great bowling tournament...and I'm telling you...you can really work up a sweat playing those games. I counted that as my Friday workout!

Everyone stayed over night and they were all quite slow getting up this morning. I already had my workshop cleaned and reorganized before any of them were out of bed! My understanding is that the wii playing went on until around 4:00 a.m. and for Michael and Matt, that was the second time this week that they went to bed shortly before the sun came up.

Once everyone headed out, I am working on my new decoupage items. It's going really well and I can't wait to get some of them done and listed in MyOtherShop on etsy. I might be able to post a couple pictures tomorrow if they are dry enough.

Matt decided to head into the city (Chicago) tonight to have dinner with Tresa and Chris and to visit with some of his high school friends that live in the city, so the house is very quiet.

It has been raining...yes raining...all day today. Our snow that I just wrote about and posted pictures of is just about gone. Rivers and streams are flooding and there are tornado watches and warnings not too far from here. This is really the strangest December I can ever remember!

Irv just headed to town to get us Subway and some fries. If you recall from previous posts, I start my new food sensitivity diet soon, so I am consuming everything I can that is on that list before I have to give it all up....cookies, bread, sugar, fries....all of the good stuff!

I have been off work since the 19th and sure am enjoying this. I can't believe I have to go back to work on Monday. What a bummer! At least I have Wednesday and Thursday off next week....I could really get use to this!

Merry Day After Christmas

We are actually celebrating our Christmas today with our kids. I am busy making some goodies for this afternoon, gluten free peanut butter bars for Tresa and an eclair cake for Michael and Matt. Irv just ran out for some last minute things. The gifts are all wrapped and we are ready to go. The kids will be here around 1:00 and I think everyone is staying over night, so I don't think I will get back to blog tonight.

I hope everyone had a great day yesterday and that you are able to rest and regroup today. I know many people are working today and that is not cool! I took this whole week off to spend time with Matt, and we are having a wonderful time.

I am so sore from all of the wii bowling yesterday, but I am the champ for the moment with a big 265 game! Woo hoo! I know everyone will be out to get me today though and I don't think I like that feeling.

Have a nice day today and I will be back tomorrow to let you know how the day went. I also started on my decoupage items yesterday and they are lookin' good! I'll post some pics soon.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

White Christmas

Woke up to more snow this morning. This has been a really snowy December. Most years we keep our fingers crossed for a white Christmas....we didn't have to this year.

Irv and I ran a couple of errands this morning in the snow. On the way home, the snow started falling in gigantic clumps. It is so amazingly beautiful when it does that. Big huge bunches of snowflakes. When we pulled up, Matt was already outside shoveling. He had his dog, Luna out front with him and our dogs were in the house. Wrigley tends to wander when she is out front and Sparky doesn't go out in the winter unless you pick her up and throw her out the door. She prefers to be curled up under an afghan from about November 1st until June 1st.

I went in and grabbed my camera and let Wrigley out in the back yard. I snapped a few pictures and then threw some snowballs for Wrigley to chase. It is so funny to throw snowballs for the dogs and then watch them digging their heads in the snow looking for the "ball" you threw! I added a short little video at the end of the post.

The rest of the day I spent baking and getting things ready for our trip over to Irv's nephew's house. We had a nice time. It's fun to watch the little kids open their gifts...each with their own special style. We got home around 10:00 p.m. Matt went out with a friend to try to find somewhere open to have coffee and chat. Irv crashed on the couch, and here I am typing away.

Tommorow will be a very quiet day here. We are celebrating our Christmas on Friday so the kids don't have to chase from house to house. I have about a dozen gifts left to wrap and then I'll spend the rest of the day "playing" in my workshop. I'm looking forward to a whole day of organizing and creating.

I hope everyone had a wonderful day today.

Major Meltdown on the Way

Okay, so I am a great multi-tasker. I do not get rattled. I do not get stressed. I don't fret over things I cannot control. I'm pretty good at staying in control. My workshop is usually pretty tidy, because I like order in my workplace. I go with the flow. I always get things done well in advance of when I need them. So, why on earth do I feel like I am about to have a major meltdown??

Just kidding!

I will say that things are piling up a bit, and tonight I really don't give a care. I have tons to do and I'm thinking that tonight I just might not do a darn thing! I went to the dentist today, and it left me with an aching jaw and a nasty headache.

What do I need to do? Well, let's see....tomorrow is Christmas Eve, but we go to Irv's nephew's house and I have the gifts for the little kids ready to go. Tomorrow I need to make shrimp dip and a cake that I have never made before, but no big deal.

I do have gifts that are not wrapped yet that I need on Friday...so those will need be done soon.

Let's see...I have to finish and mail the invites to my daughter's wedding shower, but I am waiting on the confirmation from the restaurant so I can hand write the insides. Don't want to start writing until I know we are good to go. They need to be mailed by the weekend.

Sitting in a little plastic storage bin are the favors I am making for the shower guests. I have 5 done with another 15 to go. Hmmmmm.....the shower is on January 25th. That gives me a month to finish those. No sweat.

I have some thank you cards I need to finish for gifts I received the last day of school. Those I need for Monday.

I have some funny Valentine's Day cards started that I would like to get done and listed soon....

I bought the unfinished wood things and haven't even had a chance to start sanding the rough edges yet. I really need to get some of the pieces done since that is what I intend to open MyOtherShop with in a few weeks.

Oh, and then there is the file folder that is overflowing with FourDogDay receipts...none of which has been recorded or added up. I've been avoiding it. I really don't want to know what I spent to get this business started in comparison to what I made this year. I do need to get that done though. I like to give our stuff to the tax guy as soon as I can. If we get something back from the wonderful IRS, we might drive out to Telluride this summer, and that would be fantastic!

In addition to those receipts, I need to go through our personal tax things and get those in order for the accountant too.

Now, looking at all of that....I keep thinking I really should be on the verge of some kind of breakdown. Maybe the fact that I am not is an indication of my metal state?

Well the boys just got back from doing their Christmas shopping and Michael already asked if I could wrap Bernadette's presents for him..."Please, please, please Mom. It will take me an hour to do it myself." Geez, how can I say no? Just add it to the list....he needs those by 3:00 tomorrow.

In order for me to really not have a meltdown, I think I need to prioritize some of this stuff, have some dinner and then I need to dig in and at least get something done, but instead, I think I might chill out this evening and start fresh in the morning!

Have a great evening and a lovely day tomorrow!

Changing Gears

How good are you at changing gears? No, I don't mean the stick shift in the car...I mean to be going in one direction and all of a sudden you realize you need to go a different way. That's where I am right now. I am changing gears.

I opened FourDogDay on etsy the end of July of this year. I started with photos and cards. Even though it has been fun, I don't want to just make cards and tags and paper things. I want to do other things, and I think I need to do other things to be successful.

My Fun and Fancy Serving Plates have started out nicely, and I think it is time to reopen MyOtherShop and move them over there. I would like that shop to be all home decor....so, today Matt and I went to Hobby Lobby. He needed some frames for the Christmas gifts he made all of us and I wanted to look at unfinished wood things.

Our Hobby Lobby is rearranging their store and I swear that each of the last three times I have been in there they are working on the aisle I need to be in! Today it was the unfinished wood aisle. It was crowded and disorganized, but everything was 30% off and I bought nine pieces. My plan is to paint and decoupage them. Have you ever done decoupage? I did years ago and I really enjoyed it. I like taking something plain and turning it into something kick-butt! I also like "messy" work. I like paint and glue and cutting and pasting.

Oops, I did it again. Change of topic for just a second. Did you see the post in the etsy forums yesterday about the website that ranks the readability of your blog? Hmmmmmm.....mine was rated at a Junior High Level. Click here if you are interested in rating the readability of your blog. I think I need to stop saying things like woo hoo and kick-butt and Mr. Bah Humbug...........not a chance! Anyway it was interesting.

Back to changing gears. I really have no problem with change, in fact, I love it and I look for things to change. I can change gears at the drop of a hat and not grind the gears at all.

My thought is this....a revamped FourDogDay that will be all paper and photos, and then MyOtherShop (which I closed right before the holidays) that will be all home decor, including my Fun and Fancy Plates, and all of my new decoupage items. I might even do some picture frames which would work in both shops. I still have tons of old jewelry that I love to take apart and make into things. Who knows, I might even do some sewing...napkins and placemats anyone?

What do you think? Too much change or do you think two shops is a good idea? I value your opinion. If you have any suggestions on how to make the transition and how to equally promote two shops, I would love to hear from you as well!

Matt is Home

Well Matt is here! He left Telluride early Saturday morning and drove 19 hours before getting a motel for the night in Iowa. I don't know how anyone can drive 19 hours on 3 hours of sleep, but I guess I'm not 25 years old either. Then he left there at 5:15 this morning and headed home. The weather is awful here. It is so cold and we got a little snow. The winds are blustery and we had a blizzard warning all day. Matt hit areas where there were two foot snow drifts across the roads and one lane was completely closed. It was a mess....but he finally made it! It is so good to have him home.

Do you have family coming in for the holidays, or do you travel yourself? We have always been home for the holidays. I'm not sure how I would feel about not being here.

Matt dumped a number of bags and backpacks on the living room floor, (of course) along with a large bag of dog food for his border collie Luna who came along with him. His snowboard is on the bed.

We had a nice chat, he showed me a video of avalanches....just what the mom of a snowboarder wants to see. Actually, the video was amazing, beautiful and terrifying all at the same time.

Michael came over around noon and it's been all football, laughing, wii, arguing, laughing, fierce competition, and more laughing. Right now Matt is in the kitchen cooking us some kind of pasta dish for dinner. I could get use to this!

I sat in my workshop this afternoon working on the invitations for Tresa's wedding shower next month. I could hear the boys in the living room talking and laughing. It was such a wonderful sound. We have been empty nesters for about six years already. It took me a while to adjust to the quiet, and each time they come home, it takes me a while to adjust to the noise....but what sweet noise it is!

With that said, I am going to go help with dinner. He informed me he isn't very good at timing pasta and could I be in charge of that. So, I am off to tend to the pasta. I think it could be a late night tonight unless he runs out of steam after that drive.

Tomorrow we are baking cookies.....Matt and mom. =)