I'll be back...

My house is TRASHED, ok, just the kitchen, but...  I'm a BIT of a neat-freak about my house, I can't stand  when my kitchen is a mess.  I'm behind on everything, I've felt like crap (allergies) and have the droopy puffy eyes to prove it!  I'm on my way to Tuesday Morning... do you have those stores?  They have these giant quilted totes by Marie Osmond for $29.99, they are usually $95, I WANT ONE!!  They are the BIG weekender bags.... I'm not sure if there's a stampede at these things or not, so I can't show up right at the start or it will be like that WHO concert where people got killed under the crush of the crowd!  Oh well, I didn't make the 8 am Open time anyway...

I'm off to get ready NOW, so I'll be back later to fill you in...

TODAY I am going to start my camera manual, so here is 1 more semi crappy picture for you, but isn't this the life??

Lator tators!!

In the meantime... did you see these

 in my OpenSky boutique??

(click on the tab at the top)

AREN'T THESE COOL?!!

Have you met my weird-o friends?

No, not really!  Or maybe... I mean, I never take the term "weird-o" in a negative way, do you? I like quirks, I like unusual people, I like funny, I like creative, I like mischievous!  I like people that can laugh at themselves and I like people that don't have a lot of secrets- hey, I tell mine!!  I don't like boring, I feel the need to fill the space with chatter, wait- I always feel that need, but still, boring people BORE me!!

  Wouldn't you rather hang out with this... guy?

or maybe this one?

or...this cutie?!

maybe all these men would make your husband jealous?!

Perhaps this gal would be better

You could talk about your stuffed animal collection, as long as you don't mind the SMOKE!

I love how the Internet has connected like-minded people...  

Anyway, check out the links below and see 7 things about each of my very interesting pals!!

http://bundlesofblossoms.blogspot.com/2010/08/7-things-about-me-im-sure-you-didnt.html

and

http://inmyminditisfunny.blogspot.com/2010/08/award.html

and

http://melisthepositivepessimist.blogspot.com/2010/08/award-for-me.html

If I didn't include you in this award (AWARD-doesn't that sound prestigious?), don't be insulted, chalk it up to the fact I had a brain fart and just couldn't think of anyone else as I was typing out my list!  If you want to play along, grab the list, add to your blog and type in your own answers... or use mine if you're lame :)

No, I still don't know how to use my camera, I spent the weekend hiding in my studio (the pollen is about to take me down!) catching up on darlings scrapbooks, crocheting, and cutting the fabric for my camera strap re-do!

a little plug about my 

BABY HAT DRIVE

As most of you know, my daughter was adopted from China but there are thousands of children left behind, that will never get their forever-family.  I'm collecting hats to keep the children and babies warm in the winter.  Many live in orphanages that are without heat.

1. make a baby hat, toddler hat, or kid sized hat (you can take the non-crafty way out and buy one... if you must)

2. email me at: chinamommy_04@yahoo.com for my address.

3. I'll take care of shipping them to CHINA next fall.

any questions- please feel free to email me!!

4. I will need the hats in my hand NO later than

Oct. 31st (boo!)

Check out GWCA 

Great Wall China Adoption to find out more about adopting from China!!

http://www.gwca.org/

7 things about ME... cause People magazine was asking!

Sherry over at  "Life, from my perspective"

http://littlebitintexas.blogspot.com/ 

awarded me "The Versatile Blogger Award" I am supposed to share 7 things about myself and pass the award to 7 other bloggers - so here you go! 

1. I'm don't eat hot-dogs or bologna after the tragic "Bologna Puke Incident" of 1979.
Although a big fan of pink, I'm not a fan of hot dogs and packaged meats.
Ewww!

2. God told me to adopt when I was a child.  He reinforced the idea by making sure I was shown a birth movie in 10th grade and again on TV when I was 24.

My daughter was born in China.

3. I've worked in a Spanish pre-school, a dentist office, 2 flower shops, 2  clothing stores, a drug store, de-tasseled corn,  subed for a maternity leave, worked for Kodak, sold carpet and owned a pizza shop.  I hated them all... ok, I didn't hate the flower shop or Kodak, but I love my job now!
"Head Goof-Ball"

4. I've always been a collector of stuff.  As a kid I collected: miniatures, Hello Kitty "stuff", stickers, stickers and more stickers (and still have my original sticker books which include Duran Duran stickers!), and rainbow "stuff". I'm too lazy to go take a picture of all this stuff and yes, I still have a LOT of it!

5. I don't camp.  I don't get it...
Sleep at home in my clean comphy bed,

 sleep in a moldy tent on the ground.
eat and cook at home where everything is clean and neat and convenient,

eat and cook around a campfire where it's a ton of work and theres sand in my food.
Poop and shower at home where 2 other people live

, or where 1,000 other people are pooping and showering in your same spot.  And have you noticed there is always wet toilet paper on the floor and sand on the toilet seat...
I don't camp.

(We stayed at a Hotel, we were visiting a friends campsite...)

6.  I have a BA in Fine Art, but still am not sure what my nitch is.  Maybe when my kiln gets hooked up I'll figure something out.

7. I remember when the internet was 1st becoming popular (thank you Al Gore for a great invention).  I thought "why in the world would I want that?  Isn't it just a bunch of information to read?" 

I seriously thought it was just like an online encyclopedia...

Now, I can't imagine my life without it!!

The inspirations

The friends
The blogs!

The next 7 lucky bloggers are..
Zoe
Chris
Mel
Funny
and anyone else that wants to play!
If you do this, shoot me a message and a link to your blog and I'll feature you here!
Have a great weekend, my allergies are KICKIN' My butt!!....

Workin' for the WEEKEND!!!

Not really, because 

1. I don't work outside the home 

2. I've done NO work this week...well, VERY little!

Last night as I was washing our bedding at 7 pm, the Mister says "what happened to Monday wash day?" 

My reply?....

"Well, I had an appt. Monday, Tuesday we were shopping, Wednesday we hung with our friends all day and so Monday wash day is Thursday this week!"

Darling starts school the day after Labor day and as much as I LOVE being with her, I am VERY anxious to get back to my studio, fill my etsy shops FULL, learn how to work my camera and get caught up on 100 other projects.  I also want to make some changes to my blog.

This summer has given me time to think about what I want to do.  It seems I have my best ideas when I just CAN'T get to my studio, so I've been dreaming a lot this summer.

My baby is 7, she's my only child and I wouldn't trade a second of the time we've spent hanging out this summer!!  There's always the school year for "working" and these days won't last forever!

Yesterday we were running all day and I wanted to show you the fabric I got for my camera strap re-model!

I want to show you FABULOUS pictures of the fabric, but you're going to have to see it with my old camera because... well, you know why!!

Owl Corduroy!!!!

and

coordinating polka-dots!!!

(Jo-Ann's if you're interested)

I  printed out the manual for my camera (which is different from the book I have!!), all 200 pages!!  I ran out of ink once and out of paper.  Thankfully, I still had old 8-1/2 X 11 scrapbooking papers- ha!

No, this isn't intimidating at ALL...

 Have a wonderful weekend!!

We're hanging out with my mom today and then I'm going to study this manual!!!

Make sure you check out my OpenSky tab at the top of my page for some super cute goodies!!

Ummmm... hello, am I a dip?

So I figured out (kind of...) how to use my camera.  

Ok, let me say I figured out how I can push a button and it takes a picture- end of story.

I figure now all i have to do is take that little thingy and plug it into the back of my MAC, so I do and....

NOTHING!

Sooooo...

I pull out

and apparently I am...

I am quite sure I'm going to have to sit down with someone and have them hold my hand while I lay naked in the fetal position sucking my thumb.

I'm visual people... the manual makes my heart beat fast...REALLY fast!

So, I am sorry to inform you that today my blog will NOT have fabulous photo's nor will it become famous (YET!!).

Instead of posting the ADORABLE pictures I took of darling I will do my usual: instead of studying the manual I will make a new (pretty!) camera strap!

at this point if I was young and hip, I would end with

"'cause that's how I roll"

but due to the fact that I am 41 that would be totally awkward and weird.

Go here to see a tutorial on how to make your own:

http://www.modabakeshop.com/2010/04/custom-camera-slipcover.html

It's from Megan over at Brassy Apple

http://brassyapple.blogspot.com/

Check her blog for AMAZING DIY projects!!!

Happy Thursday and a reminder:

IF you are making/buying hats for my baby hat drive, I need them by the end of Oct.  So let's say I MUST have them by Oct 31st- BOO!

My NEW ~*Baby*~

Look what came in the mail yesterday...

I'm hoping these will be the last BAD pictures you will have to view on my blog, but...

there is this:

the manual...or field guild as they call it- less scary than "manual", don't you think?...

see how thick it is?  ALL info about 1 camera!!!

259 pages of reading!

it MIGHT be said that I don't have the best carry through... 

BUT for now I LOVE my new camera!

Yes, I'm hugging my new camera

Yes, those are my PJ's

No, i'm not wearing a bra.

We'll saw how much love there is after I get into that manual, I'm sweating already...

Oh, I'm SOOOOOOO excited!!

Well, 1st of all I want to welcome all you new readers!!

I can't tell you how much I appreciate it and how it feeds my narcissistic soul!

Yesterday my daughter came into the house with a box from SINGAPORE!  Don't you know it was a box full of goodies from the sweetest little girl (who is really a grown married woman, but she is a sweet girl to me!!).  I know she won't mind the term "girl" because I'm pretty sure she (like me) does not ever want to grow up!!

If you don't know sweet Zoe, head over to her blog and check her out...

http://dreamcometruelovekz.blogspot.com/

Darling was SOOOOOO excited to check out all the goodies, read the card and EAT the Hello Kitty marshmallows!

All kinds of goodies!!

Cute t-shirt...I think she gets my style!!

(and so does this girl, head over and check out this post:

http://picklesonpizza.blogspot.com/2010/08/cell-phone-photos.html I guess I'm a bit obvious!)

Cute donut coaters...or fancy eyeglasses?!

and this adorable bunny which went straight to my studio and is hanging right where I can see it everyday!

Thank you Zoe, you're a doll!!

Has someone surprised you with a wonderful gift or a thoughtful gesture this week? Have you done something special for someone else?

I like to think I'm doing my part by feeding my daughter and catering to her every whim... 

School? YES, please!!

(she goes back the day AFTER labor day)

I am always amazed at the kindness of other and the friendships that can build over a computer and spread all around the world!

I really hope this is my last day of icky photos...

this baby is suppose to arrive: TODAY!

IF you're interested, I got the Canon EOS 30D.

People tell me I will NOT be disappointed!

I bought it used from ebay and hope it works perfectly?!  I communicated a bit with the seller and feel good about it.  I just didn't know that I wanted to commit to over $1,000 for a new one... plus the Mister wasn't up for that!  We'll see how this goes.  If it makes my blog famous and my etsy store a million dollar success - I'll go for the newest model (and a house on water and a white Range Rover....).

Happy Day girls!

Monday...

I'm sure that exciting title sucked you right in, didn't it?

Well, it IS Monday :)

I'm so excited because tomorrow, my new baby arrives...

(No, not THAT kind of baby- although if you know of one that needs a family, I would LOVE another baby!!)

I'm already getting nervous thinking about the users manual...

I'm sure it's 9,857 pages long, full of words like 

Mesopotamia and medulla oblongata. 

Are you like me, you just want INSTANT knowledge?!  My friend "C" and I were talking a while back about having a chip of knowledge just put in our head, how lazy are we?!

I'm going to buckle down and learn this baby because my point and shoot is just not up for the challenge of making my blog famous!

This weekend I felt rotten, the pollen is kickin' my butt, so I hung out in my basement studio away from the ragweed!

No matter how much STUFF I have, I am ALWAYS short of something for my jewelry!  I got a lot of stuff started though and am really excited about my birdie necklaces, which need a better name!

See the pom-pom balls?

I'm working on some really cute cuffs!!

I hope I can get my sewing machine to work with me today so I can get them done!!

All this space and I am always bunched up at the end with the entire counter COVERED with stuff I'm not using... I REALLY need a storage re-do!  

Have you seen the magazine "Where Women Create"?

I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be featured... until I get the Mister to build me that cute little cottage studio in the back yard!

A girl can dream, right?!

Baby Hat drive

A Little Plug about my: BABY HAT DRIVE 

As most of you know, my daughter was adopted from China 

and I left a little piece of my heart there.  I'm collecting hats to keep the children and babies warm in the winter.  Many live in orphanages that are without heat.

1. make a baby hat, toddler hat, or kid sized hat (you can take the non-crafty way out and buy one if you must)

2. Send to:

David Shellenbarger 

Attn: chinamommy

46 East Main St.

Caledonia, MI 49316

(this is my husbands work address, you know, so I'm not putting my personal address on the INTERNET!!!)

3. I'll take care of shipping them to CHINA next fall.

any questions- please feel free to email me!!

1976 called, it wants its toys back!!

Oh girls, we met my parents last night and they brought 2 HUGE boxes of my childhood toys!

You can imagine the JOY and HAPPINESS on the Misters face!!!  He could hardly contain his EXCITEMENT!!! 

When I met the Mister his home was the picture of perfection, everything in place and not a bit of "decoration" sitting around, it kind of had that "no one lives here" look.  You can imagine how our home has blossomed since we got married!!  I, like some of you out there, believe that more is more (Oh, thank you Danielle for that quote:)!  I'm sure when he saw the boxes,  he was mentally putting everything away-- deep in a closet!!

Let me tell you this post is pretty photo heavy, so get ready....

Check out that groovy case!!

Some of my favorite outfits for Skipper!!

That pink coat with "fur" trim!! The corduroy skirt and jacket in the groovy stripe, the yellow ski jacket, the yellow and blue felt outfit... Eeek!

This is Mrs. Happy, Skipper and Holly Hobby + some babies and a velvet cat!

Anyone else remember The Happy Family?  I told my mom they must not have been too happy, cause the Mister is GONE!

The BARBIE DREAM SHIP!!!!!!

I forgot I even had this!!!!

hours and hours were spent playing with this!!

Below are some cardboard room scenes... check out that decor'! 

Remember when those fireplaces were "the thing"?  I remember a bright burnt orange one somewhere when I was a kid and dreaming of the day I could have one of my own in my 

A-frame house!!

An entire plastic canvas house my Mom made for me...

with FURNITURE!! 

Mom and baby are here, but I noticed her husband is gone too!!

Maybe her husband ran off with Mr. Happy family?...

Scandalous!!

Drowsy... 

How I loved this doll, can you tell?

have I ever mentioned I wanted to be a hairdresser?

a face only a mother could ❤love❤!!

I have some Raggedy Ann and Andy "stuff" I'll share with you next week...

What were your favorite toys as a kid?  Anyone else have any of these?

I must admit I shed a tear when I realized, I'm now VINTAGE....

Hope you enjoyed traveling back in my time machine!!

Have a GREAT weekend!!

We're headed over to the beach at Lake Michigan today.
**edit: after a kindly shout-out from Momof5, I realize my Happy Family is actually
 The SUNSHINE Family**