it worked!

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Puzzle tables: www.edessedesigns.etsy.com.

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Shop 'til you drop kids' play market. (www.amazon.com)

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Another cold day. Another day at home. Going a bit nuts but I'm keeping myself busy by playing with Sienna (well duh!) and...

www.sansku.etsy.com

I started it. It'll take me awhile to set up my shop but I'll let you know when it's up and running. All that whining about not getting things done worked. Now I'm too embarrassed NOT to do this. :) This is the last thing I'll do for my patterns though. If they're not going to sell on Etsy, they won't sell anywhere.

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ps. My flat iron broke and it's too cold to go and buy another one. I ain't looking in the mirror until I get one. :)

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dreaming

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Blame it on the cold weather. The multiple postings that is. :) But what's my excuse on an ok day... :) All of the above projects are done by CPalmer/www.simplescrapbooksmag.com.
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I'm dreaming of a spacious art/crafts room. Lotsa natural light, everything organized and in it's place, lotsa table space, everything you need in one room... You could go and work there whenever you have a moment. If you don't get things done, oh well, just leave it right there on the table and close the door, come back when you have more time. A girl gotta have some dreams, right.

*sigh*

summer in the middle of winter

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It's still freezing cold here (-30C) so I decided to enjoy the outdoors virtually today. One of my favorite things to do on a vacation is to enjoy nature in one form or another. Wading on the beach, hiking in the mountains or canyons, walking in a forest, visiting a botanical garden... Or this cactus garden at the Paul Getty art museum in Los Angeles. Jay and I were lucky to be able to visit this place some years ago. It's a wonderful place. Gorgeous modern building on top of a hill overlooking Los Angeles. You see all the way to the ocean. Beautiful art, cool gardens... One of my many favorite places I have had a chance to visit.

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Who wouldn't want to see the amazing lavender fields in France...

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I love, I love, I LOVE nature!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Who said you can't have summer in the middle of the winter. Ha!

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talents or the lack of it

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I'm a bit green today - from envy that is. Ok, not seriously but...

(Picture illustration by Steve Mack.)

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There are so many talented and energetic people out there. One of them is Rebecca Cooper. She is an amazing photographer/scrapbooker. These pictures are from her blog:

www.rebeccacooper.blogspot.com

*sigh*

To be so talented and to have the energy and resources to do it all...

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As I was browsing through Rebecca's blog today, I kept wondering how on earth people accomplish so much in their lives. I have always fought against such things as low energy, lack of faith in my own skills or the inability to stick to goals/plans. I do feel that I have been blessed with some talents. I just don't seem to get much done with them. A bit here and there but nothing really concrete. So many of my big dreams stay just like that - big dreams. I get so frustrated with myself at times. Wish I could do better in my life in so many areas. I'm grateful for people like Talia, Karly (I haven't mentioned it much but my friend Karly is a very talented person as well, she does amazing embroideries, cooks delicious foods and keeps a spotless home) and Rebecca who inspire me to push myself a bit further.

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How to become perfect in a second? That's my dilemma. Said the impatient me. :)

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brrr!

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Lotus firebowl.

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Vintage fanny square blanket. Mettes Pottery.

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Can't remember where I found this from. Probably from Print & Pattern blog.

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Kimb James' owls.

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Meilla on niin alyn kylmaa! Tuulen kanssa eilen oli -46C!!! (Siis oikeesti on noin -30C mutta tuntuu tuolta -46C:lta kun on ulkona tuulessa. Taalla raportoidaan noin eli "milta tuntuu".) Tanaankin on tosi kylmaa (-30C) mutta onneksi ei nayta tuulevan. Tiet on jaaratoja. Tasta tulee taas sisapaiva. Eiliset suunnitelmat mulla meni melko myttyyn. Oltiin nukuttu tosi huonosti edellisena yona (tuuli piti hereilla, Sienna jopa nukkui meidan sangyssa vahan aikaa, sita pelottaa kun koko talo ratisee ja kolisee) joten energia olikin tosi alhaalla. Sienna oli kankkarankka/vaativa paljon joten oli tyolaista viihdyttaa neitia taalla kotona vaan. Jay tyoskenteli kylpparin laatoituksen parissa oikeastaan koko paivan. Sahasi laattoja ja siita oli arsyttavaa metelia. Rasitti muutenkin olemattomia hermoja eilen. Vahan yli viiden kun sitten lopetti kylpparissa, mina olin aivan toot. Menin makkariin ja laitoin korvatulpan korvaan ja hengahdin vahan aikaan. Aloin olla itsekin jo niin kankkarankka paalla etta tarvitsin time out:n. Sitten se olo helpottikin taas ja pidettiin kiva perheilta. Mutta ei todellakaan ollut mikaan "ihana paiva sisalla" mita olin suunnitellut. Pannarin sentaan sain tehtya illalla myos.

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I ain't going out today either. Toivottavasti tanaan olisi kivempi paiva. Ainakin nukuttiin tosi hyvin kaikki. Mulla taitaa olla silti univelkaa kun oon vasy tanaankin. Hiljaista hissuttelua tiedossa kai nyt sitten... Onneksi sentaan ei ole sahausaania hermoja viemassa ja Siennakin on aurinkoisempi taas tanaan.

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cool stuff and sad news

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Art school in Singapore. Amazing!!

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Low-energy prefab designed by Eric Wuilmot.
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Single Hauz.
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Cool design stuff I found from www.inhabitat.com.
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It's so freezing cold here right now!!! And it's only supposed to be getting worse. The wind makes it feel like -40C. :(
My plans for today: organizing, playing with Sienna, cuddling with Jay (he has a day off), make an oven pancake (pannaria mansikkahillolla, mmm!), testing the PhotoScape program some more, watching some tv or a movie... I ain't going out!!! :)
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Sad news is that one of my favorite people in the world passed away yesterday evening: our church's leader, President Gordon B. Hinckley. I truly LOVE him and will miss him immensly! He is the sweetest, kindest, gentlest, funniest man. I loved hearing him speak. He always had such a quick wit and such a good sense of humor. He was a picture of optimism. When 9-11 happened, it was his speach that gave me the most peace and hope. And the way he always spoke about his sweet wife Marjorie! She passed away in 2004 and even though I'll miss President Hinckley like crazy, I'm so happy for him that he gets to be with his dear wife now. One of his last speaches to the church in general was about being slow in anger. This is a quote from that talk:
"I think of my own marriage. My eternal companion passed away three and a half years ago. But we lived together for 67 years. I have no recollection of ever having a quarrel with her. She traveled with me and spoke on every continent, pleading for the exercise of restraint, kindness, and love."
You could totally tell about them that they were so in love after all those years. They had so much respect for each other. I have faith in my marriage largely because of him and his wife. Desire to do better as a wife. Anyways, I could go on and on about him but since this is basically just affecting my life (not yours) I'll just end by another quote from the talk I mentioned:
"...I plead with you to control your tempers, to put a smile upon your faces, which will erase anger; speak out with words of love and peace, appreciation, and respect. If you will do this, your lives will be without regret. Your marriages and family relationships will be preserved. You will be much happier. You will do greater good. You will feel a sense of peace that will be wonderful. May the Lord bless you and inspire you to walk without anger, without bitterness of any kind, but to reach out to others with expressions of friendship, appreciation, and love."
President Hinckley practised what he preached. I love you President Hinckley! I will miss you tons!
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ps. No need to comment on this stuff. I wrote about Pres. Hinckley mainly for myself.

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sansku osaa

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Learned something new today. :)

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Jay found a free photo editing program that does all kinds of cool stuff (including photo collages). It's called PhotoScape. Download your own program from here:

PhotoScape

If you like this software, you can thank them by sending in a donation. This allows them to continue to develop and support this awesome software package.

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garlands and ornaments

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If anyone wants to start making crafts early for next Christmas Becky Higgins has instructions for these cute photo ornaments in her blog (made with wooden cubes). Just do a Google search and you'll find her blog. She's very well-known in the scrapbooking world.

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I searched for some other ideas for garlands after I saw the beautiful celebrate garland Talia had made. This tree one for Christmas is from www.familyfun.com. The stars are buttons.

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I love this Halloween garland. The googly eyes on the bat are so cute.

Garland is from: http://www.mamaurchin.com/.

The Halloween stamps are from http://www.stampinup.com/.

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Martha Stewart Crafts sells garlands. Here are just two that are available.

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I love the colors in this picture. Fall colors are so "me".

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There are various leaf garlands you can make for Thanksgiving. This one is from Family Fun again and is made out of cardstock and people can write on the leaves what they are grateful for. Templates are at their web site. I'd use cute scrapbooking paper in fall colors. I think I'd also use some family photos and cut them into leaf shapes to add in the garland.

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You can also make the leaves out of thick material. Love it. The fall season is so "me". :)

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I know, I know... Instead of posting ideas here on my blog I should be spending the time making one of these cute garlands. :)

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it's party time

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We went to Payton's Ballerina Birthday Party today.

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Celebrate garland detail. Talia is so talented!

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The girls got cute ballerina tutus.

"Ring around the rosie..."

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I had to take a picture of the birthday cake. It was so pretty!

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The girls decorated crowns and wands for themselves.

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Swish, swish...
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Our sweet little Princess.
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Sienna got really tired at the beginning of the party. It was actually pretty funny... She stood there in the middle of the floor while the other girls danced and ran around her. She looked pretty grumpy. :) (The party delayed her nap time quite a bit.) Then she had some cake and ice-cream (=sugar!) and found some happy energy again. :) At the end of the party Sienna saw Payton's little sister who had put stickers all over her face and said worriedly "Oh no!!". :) I'm not sure who enjoyed the party more - Sienna or I. :) The little girls were so cute!!
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the ultimate gift

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The Ultimate Gift - an excellent movie!

We really enjoyed this last night.

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