Six dolls and counting...

This is Nic's pattern and I just LOVE it!
Check out some of my finished dolls here.

The Song of the Day

We've been enjoying this song today.
Lots of smiles, dancing and clapping going on.
Especially from Mr. Sam.

And I didn't know these existed until a couple of weeks ago. They are cute in a secular-missing-the-point-of-Easter kind of way. To which Allison said "Mom! I didn't know about Peter Cottontail!" And then I had some explainin' to do.

Sample Sale!

*Wow! That was fast, they sold in 2 hours with the "buy it now" option.
So sorry to anyone that missed out!

I finally took the plunge and decided that we can live without my Darla Ducky samples. *gasp* This was a hard decision to make because I love them so. But I also kind of cringe every time I see them since I remember all too well how it felt to be kicked out of the Conservatory where we took photos, all because I couldn't get a certain someone to stop picking the flower petals. *bows head in shame* But alas, I am also comforted by the fact that I know how to make these again. Ya think? So really it should have been an easy decision.

Oh and since my Tuesday didn't come with enough troubles of their own (Emily is sick again, not keeping food down), I thought I'd make this really confusing. The aprons you see modeled below actually belong to the opposite outfits. Genius, I know! The umbrella ducky goes with the dress and the cake ducky with the blouse. Back when I offered these last Easter, I gave the winning bidders a choice for the design of their aprons. Anyway, I think I've made it clear in the auctions about what goes with what. But why, oh why, did I have to go make things so complicated? I may just be losing my mind after-all.

*These are both 5 day auctions, ending this Sunday afternoon.
I will also ship via Priority mail to ensure delivery by Easter.

Jeans, blouse and apron set found {here}.

This blouse actually still fits Emily. The jeans however don't, they are a size 3T.

Jumper and apron set found {here}.

Room Re-do: Part V {From Frame to Jewelry Holder Tutorial}

I've had my eye on this frame at IKEA for a while now.

And thanks to a gift card from a sweet friend, I was finally able to bring her home and...

...turn her into a jewelry holder.

Isn't she purdy?

I'll show you what I did. It was easy-peasy.

Find a frame you love and fabric that compliments your room.

Now get yourself to Home Depot (or Lowes, I'm not picky) and buy the smallest package you can find of the smallest size chicken wire. It will be in the lawn and garden center, outside. This roll was about $5. Pick up some "S" hooks too. I only bought 1 pkg...I should have bought two. If you don't already own one, buy a tin snips too. Or borrow one from your neighbor.

Roll out the chicken wire (ahem...poultry netting) and try to flatten it the best you can. This is no easy task and I didn't try really hard, so mine is still kind of lumpy. But that's OK, it allows you some space to hang the "S" hooks. If it was super flat, it would be too hard to attach anything to it, since you need a little space behind it.

Next use a tin snips to cut the wire to fit the back of your frame. My frame is actually a hollow plastic so I couldn't staple the wire to the frame, but if you can, I think you should. I just had to lay the wire down in there and hope that the fabric piece holds it well enough. Guess what? It does! Whew! *wipes brow*

Next I laid the cardboard backing that came with my frame, down onto my freshly ironed fabric. Once I had it centered just so, I pulled it taut around to the back and secured with packing tape. Nothing fancy here.

And if I hadn't stepped on the glass insert (oops!) I would have put that behind the fabric for more stability and safe keeping. Good thing this won't be used as an actual picture frame. So instead, I just placed the paper that was immediately under the glass, over the back of the fabric panel and bent all the tabs back down.

Next I placed the little "S" hooks I bought, onto the wire, and hung my necklaces and bracelets. Then I hung her on the wall and stood back to admire my work. This took about 10 minutes, start to finish. The admiring...a little longer.

Just wait, close-ups are coming. But first, doesn't she have a nice presence on the wall?

Do you see the little "S" hooks? I still need to ask David to squeeze them closed a bit.
I tried, but my brute strength is...well, non-existent.
Do you see the little gold hook that the floral bracelet is hanging from?
It's a regular old picture hanger, I might actually like it better than the "S" hooks, but the color, not so much.

Earrings just get hung on the wire and sparkly barrettes are clipped right on to it.
A girl can never have enough sparkly barrettes, right?

Maybe walking past these every day will remind me to get gussied up a little more often.

Or not.

See the rest of our room re-do here
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV

Wish You Were Here {And a Prayer Request}

Come on in, let me tell you about my week.





It's one that rivals the 2 weeks we spent in Kauai 7.5 years ago.

Waking up to this every morning.



Two weeks where I was sea sick from two hours of sailing lessons.

While David had six so he could take the cat out by himself. Where he later sailed 3/4 of the way around the island with our instructor, the guys' girlfriend (a priestess) and their friend and paid $50 for the privilege of helping them move his boat. And lived to tell about it. When they weren't back by 10pm (instead of 6pm), I was freaking out in the hotel room, almost ready to call the Coast Guard to look for them. I should have called at 6:15. But. I. Was. Stupid. Turns out the wind just died and they had to paddle most of the way back. A scary, scary day indeed.

But, I digress...

Two weeks where I was sea sick from two hours of sailing lessons.

So I could take this fun photo of my sweet (and daring) Husband. There are sharks in those waters you know!



Two weeks where I got car sick from driving up to Waimea Canyon. The Grand Canyon of the pacific.



To take these gorgeous photos.



Two weeks where I got air sick during a helicopter ride.



To take these gorgeous photos.

With a paper bag covering my mouth. The. Entire. Time.



But that's where the similarities end.

In our two weeks we also enjoyed the beauty of God's masterpiece.

The sunset.



Taken at Bali Hai restaurant. The peak in the background, though it's not a separate island, is what they filmed as Bali Hai in the movie South Pacific. Which by the way, is a pretty risque movie now that I've seen it as an adult.



The view from our table.



And countless waterfalls.

This one was used in the opening credits of Fantasy Island.



Two weeks where I got to lay by the pool almost as much as I wanted (but not quite because I'd still be there).



But that's where the similarities end. Unless you don't find anything similar between a vacation in paradise feeling every possible form of motion sickness and five days at home with all five people in the house contracting the flu. One. Right. After. The. Other.

And feeling nauseous, 24/7. For. Five. Straight. Days.

I guess it's just me.

And I can't trust myself, as I haven't slept in 22 hours.

On a more serious note.

Please pray for my friend Lisa. She wishes she was here too. Instead, she's in a hospital. This sweet wife and mother, about my age, is a young breast cancer survivor. She had a seizure yesterday which led to MRI's and scans that showed a mass on her lung and in her brain. They are awaiting results from the lung biopsy and she will be having a brain biopsy on Monday.

Please, please, please PRAY!!!

For I know that God is able to do IMMEASURABLY MORE than ALL we could ask OR imagine!

Update (7pm) Biopsy of her lung today showed that the cancer has metastasized. Possibly to her brain as well. Please keep Lisa, her husband and their 5 year old son in your prayers. Thank you! She beat this once, she can do it again!