Back in the Saddle

It rained most of the night... what a great way to wake up on Sunday morning! We really needed the rain so I'm enjoying it plus I have plenty to keep me busy at home today.

I had a great time at the Scrap etc. crop at By Design yesterday - met some new people, and saw some friends from CE and MIT. Creative Cafe is in the house - which was fun to see. Lots of great Hambly too. There was a birthday party going on, along with our SE crop and it was a great combination - fun to see everyone's projects. I really enjoyed visiting with Kristin F and Heather from Geismar - even though they were across the room. We had lots of laughs about BFFs and BFTs with Cindy and Laurel (it was Laurel's birthday). It was such a relief to be out and about and playing with my stuff. It has been so hard lately to get dressed so more than anything I enjoyed just being out of the house and being with scrappers was a total bonus!

I couldn't sleep last night so I watched Oprah on tape - the second show about hoarders. It was really interesting because I think its intrinsic to store your stuff (like the cavemen) -it's human nature. Of course, the couple they showed was over the top but it made me think about my buying habits of scrapbook stuff. My first inclination was to go cold turkey and yet after reading ScrapScene I realized that was a bit unrealistic. I'm going to think about it further and put some limits down because I have more than I'll ever use and I think it is preventing me from finishing projects. I have tons of good ideas but I get bogged down by the buying so we'll see what happens. And then I'm off to thinking about another project. I'll give a think about it over the T-giving holidays.

Last weekend was the Nutcracker Market, which is my favorite event in Houston and though it wasn't a typical year for me this year, it was still fun and I enjoyed the shopping. I found this vintage hankerchief hanger from a local store, Embellishments that's probably 3 miles from my house. Crazy, huh. They are holding my Glimmer Mists for now, I'll add more to the top and bottom pockets. Isn't it a beautiful, vintage look! I'm lurving it. I love the possibilities of having such a beautiful piece and yet storage too! Win-win for me.

Silver Bella - wow. I have enjoyed the eye candy from various blogs about the event. It will definitely be on my "to do" list for 2008. I'll have to work out an arrangement with Nutcracker (their 2008 dates are Nov 13-17) but I want to be a Bella in 2008 - that is for sure! I was fortunate enough to order (I know what you're thinking!) the kits from Kimberly Kwan that should arrive this week. Can't wait! It looks like such a great event and I am moving more towards vintage creating so it especially speaks to me.

Hey, did I mention that I'm in assisted living? Yep. I'm getting assistance with the yard and housework, with car cleaning, nail polishing and dry cleaning... you name it, I'm going to get some assistance if it keeps me from enjoying my life and creating! (I heard that from some comediane and thought it was just hilarious and have now made a marked effort to get as much assistance as I can afford. )

The new banner photo is of my sweet mother holding the prettiest baby evah (moi) and my older brothers and sister. You can see there was a run on pea coats at K-mart that year and all the Nelson kids were stylin. Some of my most favorite photos in the world are of my brothers and sister when they were children. So adorable. My sister passed away two weeks ago. I appreciate everyone's kind words. I'm not much for PDG so trust you'll understand the silence.