Happy New Year and Vacation Photos, Volume 4

I hope you all have a wonderful year! My year wasn't too great, but I have faith that next year will be better! :)

In wrapping up my vacation photos, I am showcasing some of my favorite houses in Leavenworth, KS. It is a very old town, with many old and beautiful mansions. Many of these were on the city's holiday home tour that we did not get to go to. Enjoy!

Vacation Photos, Volume 3

These photos are mostly taken on our drive from Lincoln, NE to Leavenworth, KS after the big ice storm that hit the midwest in mid-December. It was so beautiful - like a crystal fantasy land - until you looked closer to see the trees broken. I tried to catch both the beauty and devastation in my photos...

Oh, the story on the big icicle... It was on my parent's neighbor's house, and it took out their gutter while we were there...

Is money really the root of all evil...?

I don't know if all Michael's have such interesting customers, but the one just a block away from me seems to have it's fair share...

I was at Michael's yesterday to see what damage I could do with a half off coupon. As I was leaving, the cashier in the next line was frantically trying to give this woman her $5 and some odd change. The woman rushed out of the store with her full cart, saying she didn't care about the money. When the cashier tried to give it to her in the parking lot, the woman raced away like the devil was after her shrieking that she didn't want the money! I have never seen anything like it!

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I seem to have caught a cold, and the laptop we purchased with Christmas money doesn't have Microsoft Office, so we now have to figure out something to get around the $500 price tag of the software! We could probably download our old version, and then upgrade. I'll leave that tech stuff up to my hubby!

Vacation Photos, Volume 2

Another place we visited was the Victorian Trading Company Store in Prairie Village, Kansas. It is one of my favorite places to shop when I go back, and it's also close to one of my favorite Chinese restaurants! Anyway, back to shopping... there is always so much there, and prices are lower than online or catalog... They also have a wonderful tea room with complimentary tea. I took some pictures of the shop and many of the tea room. Enjoy!

Vacation Photos, Volume 1

Well, we're back in California - I have so much to do before Christmas! And today my husband and son are vomiting all over the place; I hope I don't catch whatever they have!

On a brighter note, I mentioned in an earlier post that we visited the Bingham-Waggoner Estate in Independence, MO, where we were married. I'm going to share some of the photos of the house with you... We did the twilight holiday tour, and every room was decorated for Christmas! It was so beautiful! Anyway, enjoy the pictures!

(by the way, Michelle and Jessi, I'll get your items made and to you as soon as my boys are better... thanks for your patience!)

Announcing...

the winner of my birthday giveaway! I will be making custom earrings for... drum roll please... Jessi! Congratulations! Jessi - let me know what color you prefer, and I'll get them made up for you! Thanks to everyone who left birthday wishes for me! It was not the best birthday I've had, and your comments cheered me up!

It's Giveaway Time!

Tomorrow is my birthday, and if you would like to win a pair of cultured pearl earrings in your choice of color, leave a comment today or tomorrow, and I will pick a winner on Sunday! Color ranges available are pinks, blues, greens, purples, silver, white or ivory.

Birthday Giveaway and Sale!

So, Saturday I turn 41. I still don't think of myself as being old - I just wish I had more energy sometimes for my almost 4 year old...

I want everyone to celebrate with me this year! I am having a 50% off sale in my Etsy shop - just type "41" in notes to seller, and either wait for revised invoice or I can do a refund. Remember, Saturday only!

I am also giving away a pair of earrings here on Saturday. I'll be posting more info soon...

So how is my vacation going, you ask? Well, we are in Lincoln, NE at the moment with my parents. We have a 1/2" of ice on the ground, on top of snow, with more snow coming down... We will not leave the house today, except to go play outside. We are going to be baking Christmas cookies and bread today. My poor hubby is out trying to get the ice off of the car... Colin is watching his icicle melt here in the house... {insert nothing to do in Nebraska but watch the icicles melt here} :)

Hopefully all this fun weather will be going away by the weekend - Sunday we're heading back to Kansas City to visit friends and then Tuesday we're heading home!

5 Random Things...

about myself...

1. I love big, old houses! (Coming soon to this blog - some awesome house pictures from KS, MO, NE...)
2. I love to spend time with my husband and son
3. In California, I need a jacket when it's in the 60's... In Kansas, I can wear short sleeves and no coat when it's in the low 40's
4. I love to cook and bake from scratch, but HATE to do dishes!! (I don't have a dishwasher other than myself...)
5. My maiden name is Napier

Ok, now I'm tagging 7 others: Kecia of Lemoncholy's Flight of Fancy, Sue of Signature Sterling, Sarah of Simply Said, Nita of Red Tin Heart, Marianne of Memories Couture, PhonyArt Custom Design , and, Andee of Celtic Goddess Jewelry.

Have fun!

SNOW!!!

We just got in from playing in the snow! It started out so pretty, like white feathers floating to the ground... Colin had a blast! Now it's hot cocoa time! :)

Fun Day!

We are in the Kansas City area today, and we had a great day! First of all, we were driving around Leavenworth, KS, and decided to go to the carousel museum. They were having something called "small mall", where for an extremely small amount of money ($1 - 5) kids could go shopping with an elf to pick out gifts for friends and family. They also got a free carousel ride. Colin had a blast, and picked out extra gift for grandparents!

This evening we went to Independence, MO, and visited the Bingham-Waggoner Estate, where Chris and I got married on Valentine's Day almost 10 years ago! Every room, from the main hall to the walk-in icebox, were decorated for Christmas! They also had carolers, a harpist, and a pianist for entertainment. We took lots of pictures, and will be posting some of them when we get back. It brought back lots of memories, and it was fun trying to figure out what rooms we used for what back in 1998.

Upcoming this week: a trip to the Country Club Plaza to see the lights, a trip to the Victorian Trading Company outlet, and a few other places to be determined. I'd really like to go visit one of my past haunts, the Nelson-Atkins Museum. They've added on since I lived here, and would like to see it.

I'll post more of my adventures when I have time!

CCCOE November Challenge Voting!

I entered this challenge - the theme was birds. Please vote for your favorite! (And don't feel you need to vote for me!)

End of November Giveaway Winner(s)!

Since only two people were interested in the giveaway this time around - they both win! Let me know which item you want from my shop! :)

30 Days of Thanks, Days 29 and 30

I was ill yesterday due to stress from trying to do to much before our trip... so I am thankful that I now have many days to relax!

I am also thankful for the rain today in SoCal... The air has been awful with fires here and there - we really needed this to clean up the air!

Pity we now have to travel to Kansas where you would think there would be clean air, but people smoke like chimneys, even in restaurants! I have stocked up on allergy meds for my family, and asthma meds for my son...

I'll be somewhat sporadic in blogging until after the holidays. I'll be picking a giveaway winner tomorrow, and look for another giveaway mid month in honor of my
41st birthday!!!

End of November Giveaway Update...

I am extending this giveaway through midnight on November 30... winner picked early Saturday morning!

30 Days of Thanks, Day 28

Kind of a repeat of a previous post, but I'm thankful that my son is now completely potty trained - he wiped his own butt today!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been waiting for this moment for almost 4 years now!!!!! (if you're a parent, you'll understand my glee!!!)

End of November Giveaway!

Leave a comment on my blog now (Wednesday) through tomorrow (Thursday) for a chance to win an item of your choice ($15 and under) from my shop! I'll pick the winner early Friday morning, and get it mailed out on Friday!

30 Days of Thanks, Day 27

I am EXTREMELY thankful that Colin has finally wanted to poo in the potty for the last several days! Does this mean potty training is over? I sure hope this is it!!! :)

30 Days of Thanks, Day 26

In a previous post, I mentioned that I am thankful for my "post-Colin" friends. Now it's time to be thankful for my oldest friends, a few of whom I get to see very soon! I may not be in contact with them much, or see them often, but I know they are always there for me, and I hope they know I'll be there for them if they ever need me!

So very unhappy....

Where is the advertising police when you need them? (see 11/23 post)

A few months ago I paid to advertise in Renaissance Magazine Directory. I sent in artwork for the ad, and never heard back from them. I received the directory today, and not only did they completely disregard my logo and ad altogether, they put in my home address! What the hell!?!?! I e-mailed them, and have not heard back yet, but I'm sure there's not much they can do about it at this point. I'm so unhappy with this!!!! Chalk this one up to live and learn, I guess... Unless anyone knows what action I can take against them...

So, here's the ad I sent them, followed by what they did...



UPDATE: I just spoke with them, and they will be refunding the money. I guess there was a breakdown in communication, and the graphic designer doing the layout did not receive my ad, and they just threw something together. Lucky me! (Still pissed about the home address, though...)

30 Days of Thanks, Days 24 and 25

Last night we went to Travel Town to do the train to Santa. I'm thankful Colin asked Santa for what we already got him! :)


We are leaving to visit family next Saturday, and today I'm thankful I finally started figuring out what to pack! We have suitcases in the house, so I can start packing as well! I also got Colin some hat and mittens today to wear on our trip.

Advertising Police

So, I didn't do much Black Friday shopping today... I got up to go to Michael's with their 25% off entire purchase coupon... They opened at 6, and I left home about 5:55 since they are only a block away. I was about the 30th person in line or so, and everyone ahead of me wanted the Cricut machine they had on sale. Turns out, they only had 5 in the store. People were annoyed, but the crowds in the store thinned after they sold out, and I could really look at stuff. An hour later, when I was ready to pay for the few things I actually purchased, an assistant manager was being badgered by a woman who claimed she was the advertising police and that Michael's was committing fraud by having just of few of the Cricuts in stock. According to her, they should have had 20 of them to sell per hour for 8 hours. I wonder if she tried that crap at Best Buy earlier when they sold out of the cheap laptops that they had limited quantities of... :) Anyway, it made me laugh, and I thought I would share!

30 Days of Thanks, Day 23

This may sound silly, but I'm thankful that there is a new vampire show on tv. I love vampire movies and books! I just finished watching "Moonlight" - and it's just starting to get good! With the writer's strike, however, who knows what will happen...

30 Days of Thanks, Day 22

I am EXTREMELY thankful that I have most of my gift buying/making done, and I don't have to go out tomorrow morning for anything... On the way home from Thanksgiving dinner with friends, we drove by the Best Buy by our house, and the line of people camping out stretches halfway around the building already... I thought it would be humorous if the end of the line went all the way around to the front doors by morning... I will probably head to Michael's to see if there is anything for my crafting that need to buy - I'll go ahead and go at 6, but hopefully no one will be there because they will all be in line at Best Buy!!! :)

30 Days of Thanks, Day 21

I am thankful for my husband's co-workers! I know that sounds strange, but he's been training a class for a few months now, and today was their graduation. Chris did an outstanding job training, and to show their appreciation, we got $100 in gift cards to Black Angus, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and AMC Theatres. We were very touched by that, and can't wait to use them! :)

I will cut this very short, as it's getting late and I promised I would go to bed at a reasonable hour... I have to get up to make pumpkin pie and green bean casserole to take to our Thanksgiving dinner with friends. Happy Thanksgiving!

30 Days of Thanks, Day 20

Today I am thankful for Red Lobster! :)

Good Morning!

I just played around with Treasury West on Etsy.com! Check it out - I featured two friends, Michelle and Laura!

30 Days of Thanks, Day 19

I am thankful for the roof over our heads. I know this is pretty basic, but here in SoCal we see lots of homeless people. We've had some rough times in the past, but we've always managed to have a place to live that wasn't a car or cardboard box. Our apartment is small and we have way too much stuff in it, but when you stop to think that some people don't even have that - we're pretty lucky...

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30 Days of Thanks, Day 18

I'm thankful for my "To Do" list! :)

New Treasury on Etsy!

Please check out the new Treasury featuring the CCCOE November design challenge - the theme is birds!

Sale!

I will be having a shop wide sale over Thanksgiving weekend, November 22-25, in my Etsy shop. All items will be at a 10% discount! Happy shopping!

30 Days of Thanks, Day 17

I am very thankful for Disneyland! It is my special happy place, and I never want to leave! We went last evening, and had a wonderful time! We watched Sleeping Beauty Castle transform to a glittering snowy castle, reminisced about our younger years while listening to the 80z All Stars at Tomorrowland Terrace, and watched the fireworks while riding Casey Jr. To top off the night, Colin played in the "snow" before riding the holiday version of Small World. It was a very fun and relaxing night!