For Rella

I have been working on this piece for a few weeks with a special person in mind. I have never met her in person, but I felt a need to create something for her after a terrible family tragedy. So Rella, this is on it's way to you if you read this before you receive it. I hope you like it.
This is the back of the piece. I found this piece by Emily Dickinson and thought is was very appropriate.Rella, I am sending you hope, peace and love...

And the winner is...

The red one. That is the dress her boyfriend picked out and here they are tonight at his mom's house before the dance.

I'm in again for First Friday!

Yeah! I got in again for First Friday! I think this time will be alot easier and I will be more prepared!

Up at 1:39am

Here I sit at my computer at 1:39am. I am miserable, I have a cold that is getting worse, I can't sleep even though I took NyQuil. I just kept tossing and turning and I felt bad for my poor hubby. I guess I should have just stayed home today (or actually yesterday now). I know that if I don't rest, I just get worse but I had things to do at work. I just started school on Monday night and I have school again tonight. I don't want to miss it but I can't do both while I am sick...no way Jose! What to do....what to do. My boss hates it when I am not at work....I dread the comments he makes when I am sick or I leave early for something. I know he is only joking around with me but I feel guilty when I am gone even if it's justified. I hate to let people down and that's what I feel like I do. So I guess I will stay up until I am totally exhausted and then see if I can fall asleep then. Isn't it funny how it always gets worse at nighttime...like it can sense the darkness come along and it slinks deep into your body making you feel 10 times worse than during the day.

In Awe

Have you ever seen what you consider truly amazing art and were just blown away by it. Even a little jealous and wish you had that talent? Well here is what I consider to me that art for me. It not only is beautiful but there is so much symbolism and history in this work. Plan to spend some time at this blog, because you have to read the stories to understand the depth of this work. I know...you are waiting, well here it is. Judy Wilkenfeld whose blog is titled Red Velvet. The piece(s) is called Numbers. There are 3 Panels. Here are the links to Numbers Panel 1 and Numbers Panel 2. and finally Numbers Panel 3.

The Sheriff wants to see the incriminating evidence!

My little sister Sammy wants me to share my messy room....so here's to public humiliation! LOL You asked for it Sammy! It was worse yesterday! If you can believe that! You can barely even get to the desk! Yesterday, My work table was covered with all kinds of beads and tools. I put them all away and then during the process of organizing, stuff ended up on top of the table again!

I am such a pile-er I just stick stuff on top of stuff... I guess the first step is admitting you have a problem. Hi, my name is Cindy and I am a Pile-er. LOL

Here is one thing I did yesterday. I hung up my bulletin board and stuffed all my trades that I got from Art & Soul and the ArtNest on it. It is hanging below my favorite clock! I do like the whimsical stuff.
So see Sammy??!! My room is pretty messy! But by the end of today, I should have it all nice and pretty and I can make some art in it again! I think the messiness was stealing my mojo!

The Sheriff is coming to town!

My little sister Sandy finally got her blog up and running and I am VERY happy! Now I get so see little bits of her life! And of course...it is WAY more interesting than mine cause she is in Istanbul Turkey! And I am cleaning my studio/office today as the Sheriff is coming to town! LOL Yes Sammy that is you! She asked me a couple weeks ago if her office is clean! LOL So...gotta go...have ALOT of work ahead of me!

Sisters...know that you are loved!

Tonight, I came up to my computer, just like any other night and checked my email. I get notifications when someone posts a comment on my blog. My sister Lynn had made a comment to my last blog entry. As soon as I saw it I started to have tears in my eyes... It was a simple statement. You are loved..... and then she added the words to the song Message to Myself by Melissa Etheridge. I don't know why I started with the tears. I guess I just miss my sisters. I am so grateful that they are in my life. My parents have never been the kind of parents that...well lets just say they have always been self centered and continue to be to this day. They don't talk to any of their children and that is their own choice. My sister's and I have always relied on one another for that family bond and because of that, we are very tight knit. We have a brother too but my parents booted him out when I was about 10 years old and I have never seen him since. Every once in awhile, he will talk to Lynn but that is about all the contact he has with his "family". I wish he would realize that his sister's would accept him with open arms and come and get to know us. Despite our upbringing and all the instability, each one of us has turned out pretty damn good if I do say so myself! But....if it wasn't for Susie, Lynn and Sandy, I don't know where I would be today. Thru ups and downs and fights and all kinds of stuff...we have become closer than ever. I guess age does that to ya. You start to realize the petty stuff doesn't matter. So here's to my sisters. I found this poem online and thought I would put it here for them to read.

A sister's love is special in oh so many ways
Now miles stretch between us and minutes turn to days.
We've shared so much as children the tears, the joys, the pain
A lifetime spent together those memories remain.
In times gone by we've pondered the paths our lives have taken
Knowing that in spite of this our sister love unshaken.
A sister's love is special in ways that are unspoken
Still that binding force exists our sister love unbroken.

I am looking forward to our next adventure together! Italy here we come.

Melissa Etheridge

I am loving her new song "Message to Myself" I am sure my sisters are thinking...that's not a Cindy song! But it is a great message...Listen!

Claudine Hellmuth is on Martha Stewart Tomorrow

One of my favorite artists, Claudine Hellmuth is on Martha Stewart tomorrow. Watch if you can, I know I will be recording it!

Another Mommy & Daughter Day

Today was another mommy and daughter day. Megan and I spent the day shopping. She needed business type attire for a class she has at school. So this is what we ended up getting her. It was hard to find clothes that were within the school "uniform" dress code and her size also. Size "0" to be exact. Tiny thing that she is. She sure doesn't take after me! LOL

After that, we went shopping for dresses for her homecoming dance that is at the end of the month. Not really her schools but her boyfriends. We couldn't decide on the dresses so we took pictures and she is sending them to her boyfriend to help her pick one out. Here are the choices.

1.

2. This one is my favorite.

3. With this one as a close second.

4.

5.

So...opinions? Sisters, I know you will be looking so tell Megan your thoughts. We had fun today. After clothes shopping we went to the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner. After dinner, we played DDR (Dance Dance Revolution PlayStation Game) It was quite the workout. She is going to be my exercise partner we have decided. Not that she wants to lose weight, she wants to build muscle. Tomorrow we are swimming. So...I shall be looking for opinions on the dress. Please comment so we can get a general census.

Miss Kitty's Jeans to Jewels

Last night I went to Miss Kitty's Jeans to Jewels event benefiting Opportunity Village. OV is a not-for-profit organization that serves people with intellectual disabilities by providing them with vocational training, employment and social recreation services that make their lives more productive and interesting. Through Opportunity Village’s programs and services, hundreds of people with disabilities are learning vocational skills and being placed in jobs throughout the community. We had a good time as always. Being at Franks ranch is like leaving Las Vegas.

There are horses and cows and trees and grass and space. Wide open space. That is a rarity in Las Vegas where the homes are usually 6 feet apart on the sides and the back yards are the size of postage stamps.

There were over 1000 people last night at Franks Bitter Root Ranch. Bonnie, Franks' wife, did a demonstration of cattle cutting with her dog. It was fun to watch. Frank and Bonnie compete with their horses all over the US.

Dinner was buffet style provided by Station Casinos. It is amazing how many companies in the valley support OV. It was like a who's who of Las Vegas last night.
They had a silent auction and a live auction. The most fun was when they were auctioning off a puppy. You could see all the little girls looking at their daddies and pleading with their eyes...please daddy please. My boss Ronnow was not their but us girls from the office sent him an email from my work phone asking permission to bid on the puppy with the company credit card. He didn't respond so we sent him another message saying that we won the auction, (which of course we didn't) and that we would take turn taking the puppy home but he could name it. LOL All of a sudden my phone rings! LOL I made Jen answer it. After she got done tormenting him, she handed the phone to me and he said "Why are you messing with my brain?" LOL...and I said... "Because I can!" The saga will continue on Monday I am sure because one of the girls told Frank that Ronnow wouldn't let us get a puppy and Frank sent him an email that said "So I hear the girls bought a puppy for MHBS." LOL Frank is an instigator. He likes to give people a hard time. Great man to work for. So that was it. TTFN

My First First Friday

Love the title...I know it looks funny but it is what it is. It was my 1st First Friday. What an experience. Did I sell alot? No...but did I have fun? Yes! Being my 1st event ever it was a learning experience for sure. I now know what sells for me anyways. My mixed media charms are what sold and if I had more time I would have made more. A ton of people took my cards though so hopefully that will lead to sales on my Etsy site. So...lets see...what were the most memorable parts of First Friday.

The cutest one was were a little girl about 8 years old or so and she was looking over Jen's earrings and her dad was telling her to come on...She looked at us and said "When I get my ears pierced, I am coming back here!" It was soooooooo cute.

The next one was a woman was looking at one of my charms and kept going back and forth and then her boyfriend (I think) came over and she was showing him "how cute" it was and he looked at the price and said "That's it?" and threw the money on the table. LOL Then he said "I'm getting laid tonight!" and thanked us! LOL It was sooooo funny.

Everybody that was around us were so nice to Jen and I. They gave us newbies all kinds of tips for next time. I guess I am a lucky one because we were told more than once by other people that it took them 2 or 3 times of submitting their art to get in and I got in on the first try. I am blessed! I don't know if First Friday is going to be good for sales yet, but for the exposure it is a great event. Lots of fun and very interesting. And when I say interesting....I mean...interesting people! Check these out:

So that was it in a nutshell. I am hoping to get in to next months First Friday too as it will be a very big event because it is the 5 year anniversary of the event.

I will be listing some of my items on Etsy later today or tomorrow, probably tomorrow as I have another event to go to tonight. I am going to the owner of the companies I work for, ranch for Miss Kitty's Jeans to Jewels event benefiting Opportunity Village. I will do a post on that tomorrow. TTFN

For Lynn

And Lynn...this is one of my favorites of you! Look at that curly hair! So cute and innocent! Love ya!

For Sammy

Just thought I would post one of my favorite pics of me and my little sister. I'm the blonde one and she is the little mouse....so very cute....look at that face! Love ya sis...can't wait to see ya in a few weeks!

This is what I know....

Today I am 42 and my daughter is 16. Yes we share the same birthday. It was a very special birthday present 16 years ago today. One that keeps on giving...or taking, LOL, depending on how you look at it! I wouldn't trade it for the world. My daughter wants to try (when she is older mind you) to try and have a baby in September. The 4th to be exact. She thinks that would be so cool to have 3 generations with the same birthday. Me too. So as another birthday comes and goes, I reflect on my life so far and this is what I know for sure as Oprah would say.

1. I have a great husband. He is a good soul and I am lucky to have him. He the yin to my yang and my rock.
2. I have great kids. Kind hearted, loving and just good.
3. I have 3 wonderful sisters! I don't know what I would do or be without them. They have ALWAYS been there for me through thick and thin and no matter how bitchy I get...they still love me and I them. Cause believe me....they can get bitchy! LOL (Susie, Lynn & Sandy---you know you are giggling right now as you read this!)
4. I have a few TRUE friends besides my sisters. They are the ones that love me even though I can be quite odd. LOL And of course, they have to be odd themselves to hang around me! Maybe a better word would be UNIQUE. That's it...unique.
5. I have been blessed with a good life and I thank God for it everyday. I am starting to realize the things that really matter in life and they aren't material things. What I want now is connections. Memories to look back on. Pictures to reminisce over and stories to tell and laugh about. I watch the video that my brother in law took of me and my sisters when we were in Turkey and I laugh when I hear my little sister Sandy yelling bee's....and we are all laughing and scrambling for the deeper water to get away from them. I want to spend more time with the people that matter in my life and less time with the people that drain it.
6. That things are not going to come as quickly or exactly as I want them to and that it is more about the journey than the actual destination. So...I am starting another year of my life with no set destination in mind. I do have goals, but I am going to enjoy the journey and not try and force things along to reach the end so fast. This will be extremely challenging for me...I am impatient. I want it now! I can hear my sisters collective voices saying "Ya Think?" after those last sentences.

With that said....42 is going to be a good year....I deem it so. (Knock on wood) LOL I am superstitious too! LOL

Peek a Boo, I see you!

Tonight as I was folding clothes from the dryer, I heard a familiar moan. It was the stretching moan that my little Missy makes when she stretches. But I didn't know where it was coming from...until I saw this little head peeking out.

I started to laugh. She loves to be UNDER anything. Under the bed, under the covers, under, under under.
She gets all nervous when I take pictures of her but I couldn't resist. By the way....please ignore the blue bra...my daughter would be horrified that I took the picture with it there, but I didn't want to disturb my little princess and it serves her right for throwing her blue bra in the whites!

My display table

Isn't it cute? Very festive and bright. Hopefully it will bring people over to look and buy!

New Blog Banner and I am super busy!

I bought a new blog banner from Sam I Am. Isn't it cute! I have been working away getting ready for First Friday. Today I worked on my table cover. I love it! It is way cute. It took me ALL DAY but it was worth it. It is too late to take pictures tonight, but I will be taking pictures and posting later. I hope Jennifer is getting her stuff ready! Hint Hint Miss Jen!