End of the Year, end of a decade..

It's that time. Time to reflect back on the year past and look forward to the new year to come. This year is a little more special because it is also the start of a new decade. Lots of people are reflecting back to what was popular 10 years ago compared to now. It's funny how things change. For me, one year at a time is enough! I can't remember back ten years to reflect on them! LOL! Here's my list of reflections for 2009 and looking aheads for 2010.

As inspired by Ali E. and The Simple Womans Daybook.

Outside my window...Lots of snow and beautiful sunshine! It is winter in Iowa.

I am thinking...about reflecting on the last year and what I can do and will do for the next year.

I am thankful for...my husband, my family, my health.

From the kitchen...nothing today, we are eating out! But, lots of vegies and healthy foods are being served around here.

I am wearing...my hair in curls, make-up, my orange blouse, and my dark jeans! It is New Year's Eve!

I am creating...this blog post! And in general, lots of goodies for my Etsy shop.

I am going...out with my husband!

I am reading...a mystery novel. It is ok, not my usual, but something to keep my mind occupied.

I am hoping...that this next year is filled with lots of goodness for us both!

I am hearing...hubby getting ready to go. I need to get moving too.

Around the house...lots of creativity going on. And some cleaning up. Trying to simplify around here a little.

One of my favorite things...today is my socks! They are new, match my blouse, and they are very soft!

A few plans for the rest of the week(year): Lose weight, eat healthy, be happy, love my husband!

Happy 2010 everyone!

New Photos Listed

Got a couple of new photo prints up on my Etsy Site. Would love for everyone to check them out and spread the word!

Thanks everybody for your support and all your help in this!!

Just in case I don't post again for a few days-Happy New Year!

Awesome blog giveaway

Posting about this totally awesome blog giveaway! Would love to win these goodies!

http://wwscrapdivas.blogspot.com/2009/12/wild-west-scrap-divas-huge-blog-candy.html

What I made my Sister

Just wanted to show a couple of bookmarks I made for my sis for Christmas. I gave these to her along with a book and a Barnes & Noble gift card. Pretty cool if I do say so myself! LOL!

In fact, I like the one with the flower on top so much, I think I'll make a few to put in my Etsy shop!

The first one says Sisters rock! and the second one has her name on it.

Thanks for checking them out!

How was the holiday..

So Christmas is past and we all survived. Did you? Well, I hope so! LOL! It was a good holiday for us this year. We celebrated with my side of the family Christmas Eve as we usually do. Had some yummy soup and chili for supper and shared lots of laughs! Christmas Day was spent with hubby's side. Had a more traditional meal with ham and yummy pie. And, lots of kids and present unwrapping and game playing! It was good.

I received a few really good gifts this year. My sis got me a very pretty necklace! I love it! And, her and my step-mom picked out a nice wallet for me. I've been needing that! Hubby got me a gift card! Awesome! And a lens for my camera. We're still kinda working with that one but I think it'll be pretty cool! Plus, I guess there is another gift coming! So, I get to have a little "after Christmas" gift!

I hope that everyone had lots of fun, laughs, and love during their holiday!

On a side note-I'm working on a few things for my Etsy shop, so keep an eye out for that!

Twitter information

I just wanted to post this link to this website. This is a very informational article with lots of details and links. If you have any questions about Twitter or what to do with it, this article will definitely help you.

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/03/the-ultimate-guide-for-everything-twitter/

Cool stuff that I like

Here's some neat things that I have stumbled upon, come across, seen, and found recently. Thought it would be fun to share.

(Also, Honey, or Santa, if you are reading this, I may like one of these as a last minute Christmas gift or stocking stuffer.)

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Wreck-This-Journal/Keri-Smith/e/9780399533464/?itm=1

http://www.curiosityshoppeonline.com/172thingstodo.html - This is a little quirky, but looks kind of fun and funny!

There was also a calendar/journal that I saw at Barnes and Noble but I can't find it online. I can't remember the name of it and after going through about 500 calendars/planners on their site, I don't see it. Anyway, it was a planner type calendar but it was more of a journal with writing prompts in it and blank pages. Very cool.

Also, there are a ton of awesome things on Etsy! A ton! But here are a few things I have marked fav over the last week or so.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36583623

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28534617

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34988334

Ok, that's a pretty good list for today! Check out this cool stuff and let me know what you stumble across when you surf the web. Link it in a comment here so I can see it too.

Christmas is coming

I haven't done very well at getting stuff on this blog like I want to. Oh well. I have good intentions which means something right?! We did our Christmas shopping this past Sunday. We hadn't started at all and we got almost all of it done! And, it went pretty well! We went into the stores after making a pact with each other to remain calm and patient, take our time, and not expect to get done fast. This really helped our attitudes I think and we just slowly made our way through the stores and the crowds. Like I said, it ended up well. We have just a couple more little things to finish up and I think that's pretty awesome!

I did add a couple of new colors of tags to my Etsy shop today if you want to check them out. I am also going to offer a few vintage pieces. Looking to put those up later today or tomorrow.

Here is one site I found awhile back that is dedicated to Christmas organization and getting ready for the holiday. Has lots of good pointers, ideas, and references. Also, I think a lot of these things would be useful all year round. In organizing our lives in general and getting ready for other holidays or events.

http://christmas.organizedhome.com/simplify-your-holidays

That's it for me for now. I have some pics of something I made that I want to post but I don't have them edited yet. Hopefully later. Have a good Wednesday everyone!

Another show

If you want another chance to check out my MIL/SIL jewelry and some of my crafts, they will have a table at a show in New Hampton on Sunday. I'm not exactly sure if this is a craft show, or what it is. But, they will be at the community center in NH from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Sunday the 13th. They will have a nice selection of jewelry on hand for you to look at and probably some soaps and bath salts. I plan on having some Christmas gift tags available also. Feel free to stop by!

Prima goodies

It's that time again. Prima is displaying a nice collection of their goodies. By posting this display on my blog, I have an opportunity to win some of these goodies! Oh, how I wish!

I have A LOT to say

So, prepare yourself! Sit down, get comfy, grab a drink or a snack and get ready because this is going to be a long post! As you can see, I haven't posted since Thanksgiving and I have some stuff to talk about. Ok...

So, first off, the reason why I haven't posted. I have been sick! It all started the day after Thanksgiving with swollen glands and a stiff neck. I spent the next couple of days on the couch with a sore neck and throat and absolutely no energy! Then the cold symptoms really started kicking in. Sore throat, sneezing, nose blowing and even a couple of days with no voice! As if that wasn't bad enough then I got a cough. Now the crappy thing about this cough is the fact that it seems to hide all day and then in the evening and at night when it's bed time I cough and cough and can't stop! It really sucks and I am still experiencing it! And the worst part is not being able to get to sleep at night! I have had this cold for 11 days and it doesn't seem to want to go away. I'm better then I was, but definitely not 100%. If anybody has any sure ways to get rid of this cough and tickle in my throat, please share!

This past Saturday was the craft show in Fredericksburg. My MIL and SIL had a table there with their jewelry and soaps for sale. They did pretty well I guess. I was really impressed by the show. I didn't expect too much for a small town, but there were a lot of sellers and also a lot of people there shopping. It was a really good turn out and that was pretty awesome. Josta & Co. (their company name) had a nice looking table. Unfortunately they probably needed another table and weren't able to get one. But, their products were well displayed and looked really nice! They had some new jewelry pieces that I hadn't seen and they were really beautiful! Like I said, I guess they did pretty well on sales so that was good. Since I was sick all week I didn't get as much stuff made as I wanted. But, I did have some gift tags and some photos for sale at the craft show. Unfortunately I didn't have any sales but that's ok. Hopefully I got my name out there a little. That leads to my next story...

I made my first Etsy sale!!!! Today! I am so excited! I was posting my Christmas gift tags in my shop and I was in the process of putting up the second item when I noticed I had emails. And, the emails were a sale on the first set of tags I put up! This was in less then five minutes! OMG! I'm still bouncing off the wall about this! Hopefully this is the first of many sales! Not only on Etsy but in general. I actually had Denny put up a flyer at his work advertising my tags. So maybe that will bring me some sales too. Please check out my site and see my new tags that are for sale. Also, they can be custom made to any color/pattern so let me know if you want something different then what you see.

www.posdesigns.etsy.com

Let's see...what else? Christmas is coming and we haven't done a darn thing yet! LOL! I think we'll be doing some shopping this weekend. Just in time for all the snow and really cold weather! Great timing. But oh well. In fact, maybe tomorrow we'll set up the tree and some decorations since it's a blizzard outside and Denny will probably be home all day.

I've been checking out a lot of different Christmas related stuff online lately. Thinking to post about some of the best stuff I've seen. Maybe save that for tomorrow or another day soon. There's a lot of great ideas out there so if you need some ideas check out the web because you're bound to find something to help you!

Ok, so, that's probably enough for today. Hopefully got you all caught up on things in my life. Remember to check out my Etsy site and Josta's site too! Enjoy the blizzard and check back here soon!