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(My husband Kevin, who is currently deployed in Afghanistan. Miss him terribly but so very proud of him.)

Happy Memorial Day everyone. Here's to the wonderful service men and women past and present. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

In loving memory of the best dad in the world. I love and miss you so much. 

May 22, 1944 - Jan 29th 2010

Happy New Year everyone. I hope this is a healthy and prosperous year for all of us.

Here are my 10 for 2010.

• Learn Corel Painter. I have no idea where this will lead  but I am feeling like I need to explore this program.  
• Pursue writing again. I really let this go by the wayside in 2009. I know my dream is to write and illustrate my own books so I need to work towards that.
• Explore art licensing. 
• Make time for more crafting/decorating/gardening.
• Release control. 
• Take each day one day at a time.
• Slow down and listen to that little voice.
• Be a more active blogger. 
• Just be without putting too much pressure on myself.
• Finally shed these dumb 10 pounds!

And so the countdown begins! This is my favorite time of year and I want to savor every moment of it. Christmas day always comes too fast. This year especially my heart is needing joy. My dad was diagnosed with terminal brain and lung cancer a couple of months ago and it has been a roller coaster ever since. He was doing really well on the steroids (to reduce brain swelling) but he has had a set back. Now I'm just not sure that my Christmas wish of having him here with me will come to pass. Please pray if you are so inclined. 

Around the same time as my dad's diagnosis, we had the traumatic experience of having to put our beloved Valentine to sleep. It has just been too painful to talk about, she was such a lovely girl and I miss her so much. 

I don't like using my blog as a place to share sadness so I won't be bringing it up much but I want devoted readers to know what is going on behind the scenes.

So for the next month you'll probably be seeing things here that make me happy. It helps.

YAY! The day is finally here.  Emily and I took a ditch day to see it , hoping to miss the lines and the plan worked. I did schedule a dental appointment to at least validate a day off of school but really it was a ditch day all the same. =o)

If you are a Twilight fan you will enjoy it, they stayed true to the book again which is always great. 

What made the first movie really work for me was the soundtrack so I was praying they'd pull it off again with this one, and they did for the most part. Not as much of a moody, ethereal style that appealed to me in the first but enough to make me want to get the soundtrack.

Anyway, it was a fun girls day out for sure!!!!  

* OH! Don't know if any of you have read, "The Lovely Bones" but I was so surprised and excited to see that it has been made into a movie (they showed previews today). I enjoyed the book -except one area that I thought was totally unnecessary and took away from the story for me personally- but I'm hoping they'll omit it from the film version. 

Have you noticed how we have completely skipped over Thanksgiving and are already on the countdown to Christmas?  It's crazy but I have to admit all the subliminal (and not so subliminal) advertising is working because I've already started my wish list.

I thought I'd share what is on the top.
I tried this at  Brookstone last weekend and just fell in love with it. It massages your neck and shoulders and really hits the spot. It's called the , Ineed neck and shoulders massager. I didn't want to take it off.  Kevin wanted me to get it but I balked at the price and asked for it for my Christmas gift. But now I regret it because I don't know if I can wait that long! 

Anyway, I just wanted to share in case you are looking for gift ideas. Brookstone is in our local mall and maybe it's in yours as well. If so, go in and give it a try.

That's not me but that was definitely my expression when I had it on.

Just a quickie post to say I'm still working away here. The summer was a blur with the kids starting school the end of last week. When I was in school,  we started after labor day. This just seems way too early to be going back. Aw well.

Illustration work is clicking along.  One job that was only supposed to be a 3 page brochure turned into 9 pages which added to the workload considerably. That along with a tight deadline for 4 board books, I am working around the clock  which is doing a number on my shoulders.  I mean, I am in excruciating pain here.  I'm not sure how to remedy it because I am so focused on getting this work turned in asap. I think I have about another week before I can take a break from the computer.

Anyone else experience this shoulder muscle pain?

The GREAT news ,however, is that my new wacom tablet has been invaluable. I never dreamed that I would be using the pen so much.  I thought it would hurt my wrist but the opposite has happened. I can go for hours and hours vs using a mouse. Thankful for that!

Okay, back to it. Happy illustrating everyone.

Happy Friday to all.   I thought I'd share my girls and what they've been up to this week. First the "good girl", who is doing what she loves best. Sorry Val, didn't mean to wake you with the flash. 

Then here is little bit showing off her new trick.

This morning she is trying to cute me to death so she won't get in trouble for digging.

Yes, it worked.  =o)

Every winter I get the urge to crochet and this year is no different. This time last year I was coveting this scarf and I've been wanting to make one ever since. A little ambitious so I decided to do something simple to get the ball rolling (or should I say unraveling?). I chose a traditional granny square and had Emily choose 3 colors that she'd like for her scarf.

I have really enjoyed working on this in the evenings. So relaxing. .She wants a very long scarf so I have quite a few blocks to go. My goal is twenty. Then I'll "block" and join. I'll be sure to post the finished version if all goes well.

UPDATE!
The scarf grew into a hat and embellished gloves. Emily was very happy with it and it was a ton of fun to make.

Artwork: Emily Fulcher

Happy Halloween!

We are home in Illinois! It's our first time in the midwest and it sure is a lovely part of the U.S.A.

 We literally moved into our house today. It feels so good to be back with our things again. I can't wait to sleep in my own bed tonight.  And what a fun day to be moving in, a great way to meet the neighbors. Obviously we didn't have much time to prepare but we did manage to find our little sign to let them know we had candy. =o)

My baby is growing up. He just passed his driving test!
Here he is with Kevin and my dad who went with him to the test.
Jess- we are so proud of you!

xo

 Emily has been asking to see "Phantom of the Opera" for a couple of years now so this weekend I surprised her with a girls night out at the Venetian to see it for her 12th birthday. She absolutely loved it and I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting that is looking for a show to attend. The music and constumes were fabulous.

This is something I'm really going to miss when we leave...the shows.

Happy Easter

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas!.

My parents are here and the kids don't go back to school until the 7th of January so I'm still caught up in the cocoon of family time.

But I did want to make time and wish you all a very happy new year. I hope this year brings us all good health, prosperity and great experiences with our loved ones and friends.

Cheers!

Blessings to all of you this Christmas.
See you on the other side.

xo

Lily is officially 3 months old today! . Pomeranian's experience a few months of the "puppy uglies" where they lose their puppy coat and the adult coat grows in. (She should be through this process by 10 months.)
I didn't realize she was going through the 'uglies'. When I first picked her out she was a fluff ball with lots of hair on her face. When she was able to come home at 9 weeks, it looked like the breeder had trimmed her muzzle and eyes.
I asked her why she had done it and she assured me she hadn't. It's part of the growth process. They call it "monkey face" but I think she looks more like a cute hedgehog than a monkey.

House training is coming along. She will "go" outside but teaching her to ask to go out is proving a challenge. I was spoiled with Valentine who has only had one accident in the nearly four years that we've had her. I'm not exaggerating! I didn't get her until 16 weeks old, though. I think that made a big difference.

They are doing great together! I love how much they play and I can tell that Val really enjoys her company. She does let her know when she's had enough of her hyper puppy-ness but I think she shows a lot of patience with this little fireball.

Val you are such a good girl!

How can that be comfortable?
Actually it does look like it could. =o)

Say cheese Everyone! Umm, where's mum?

Oh wait, we're still missing someone.

There we go. CHEESE!!

We're back from our week in California and I'm not quite ready to be off vacation. Had such a great time and having my parents with us this year was such a great treat!

Although, I think Valentine is happy to be out of the Kennels.