Hi all! I've been putting off journaling and I'm not sure why. It could be that there are several things I wanted to write about and couldn't choose...so, I'll just cover everything...maybe not in this post, but sooner or later. I'm just wrapping up my printing and packaging of my first, official, public sale. Katy and I went to Goodwill on Saturday and I bought three awesome pieces of furniture....a very well made vintage desk, (solid, dovetail, gorgeous hardware), an inlaid wood side table and a very comfy, newish, overstuffed chair. I'd been on the lookout for the chair because I was itching to make a shabby chic slip cover. I bought all three of these for less than $60. Since money was tight...~christmas & all~...I had this wild idea to host a 24 hour collage sheet sale (I could only do this because I'd finally rebuilt the last of my 100+ different collage sheets after a computer crash deleted them all). I felt certain this would allow me a few extra bucks to buy some great fabric for the slip cover. I posted the sale on my site and via my email mailing list. 60 orders & 535 collage sheets & transparencies later, I'm wasted. My original goal was to have all the 24 hour sale orders sent by Tuesday morning...It's Thursday night and my trusty epson is still on it's no stop print job. I've mailed out the first 47 orders and am finishing up the last 13 as I type. I'm NOT complaining, mind you...just so happens, hubby's new year's eve kiss was filled with contagions that didn't rear their ugly teensy heads until around 2am. (We had a wonderful NYEve with our friends and culdesac neighbors at our annual Progressive Dinner. There are 7 couples who have gotten together for 4 years in a row...the last house is always at the Packens'. They're the family with the awesome game room..(where I kicked hubby's @ss during a mean game of pin ball). I didn't have to "host" one of the courses at my house, but participated during the second house...the "soup & salad" course...I made my mom's famous cheese soup recipe...(it was a hit, mom!) So, the ball drops...hubby kisses me and a couple of hours later, we walk home with him croaking like a frog. The next morning...he's a drama queen...he spends the next 2 days flat on the couch being pampered by moi. Tuesday, my throat starts to hurt...the last two days...death bed material but HELLO??? do the Moms/Wives EVER get to lay flat for two days and recover while being pampered? Last night during an Alias commercial break, with hubby's feet in my lap...(I'm in my second and killer bronchial day)...hubby's asking for his feet to be rubbed...and I just tell him that I'm a little pissed at the double standard when it comes to men and women being sick......hmm...I'm jumping all over the place here. See, this is why I've put off posting. I just have too many rants, etc.
So, next topic, or should I say, back to the first one....
Now that I'm finally getting caught up on commitments...(still working on the chunky books, girls...I need 3 of me, I'm telling you)...I've been counting the days to when I can actually work on art and start focusing on decorating my house. I have 130 or so chunky books to finish binding/packaging/mailing, finish writing an article for Somerset Studio on how tos for making my little funky beeswax houses, create art for selling at Art&Soul...not to mention gathering all my supplies, etc for the workshops I"ll be teaching there....after all that is DONE!...I get to play house!!!
You want to see the projects that are really getting my creative juices flowing??
I will be making a headboard for our bed using doors...how cool is this?? and much cheaper than the headboard I found and wanted for our room.
Next...I have visions for our guest room...there's a worthless
but fun closet that I am planning on turning into a little retreat, reading nook. 
This is from a new issue of BHG Simply Perfect Storage ~ spring 2005.
There are a million other ideas crowding my brain....I want to do a plaster paint technique on my kitchen walls as I'm going for a Tuscany styled kitchen.
Have I lost you yet? can I keep rambling? There have been some very fun net places I've discovered while pulling 4 all nighters in a row, printing collage sheets.....here are some:
Here's something spooky!
Something silly and fun.
Inspirational...yummy...interesting...eye opening 1 & 2...beautiful...neat.
I could go on and on....but I'll spare you and jump right on to the next thing I wanted to share. I mentioned that hubby bought me a wedding ring for xmas. We celebrated our 4 year anniversary last august. When we got married...a second marriage for both of us, we were being very wise and frugal. I insisted (what an idiot I am) on using a channel set diamond chip :) band I owned as my wedding ring until we could afford one in a year or so. Well...a year or so has passed. I started getting a little testy...had been asking for a ring for a couple of years now...when hubby said he was saving up for a new set of golf clubs...well, let's just say, I insisted on the ring before the golf clubs. It was a good move on my part, I must say, as he REALLY wants new golf clubs. I'd decided during my girlie weekend with my bestest friend, stacie, in centralia, that if I didn't get a ring for christmas, I was buying my own. That night, in the hotel room...(for those of you who don't know this, Stacie lives in Seattle, I'm in Portland. We drive half way to Centralia Washington....the greatest little antique shop city...stay a couple nights at the holiday inn express...shop all day, mexican and margaritas for dinner...(actually, we had dinner and a movie that night at McMenamins...Alfie was playing...hubba hubba)...art in the room until we collapse. Well, instead of art, we worked on Stacie's Website..(not really, but played around)...and then, I went on the ULTIMATE wedding ring search and found the ring of my dreams...honestly, I fell in love. I got home, heard the "new golf clubs" wish....and went to my computer, printed out my ring...handed it over...told him that it was ALL I wanted for christmas. So there. My sweet, dear hubby...knowing we could NOT afford a ring like this without going into debt....was stuck between a rock and a new set of golf clubs. He went shopping a few days before xmas...(I went on christmas eve, so I'm not complaining)...found me a ring...(I didn't know this, but assumed), then spent the next three days with nervous stomach. I won't go into details, but lets say he did a lot of bathroom reading. I was clueless...thought he was just stressed because of work. (The girls had gone to their dad's for christmas eve night and would be coming home christmas afternoon...where we would open gifts and then pick up the boys (two step sons, ben & alex), for gifts and then on to see A Series of Unfortunate Events at the theater). I knew something was up on xmas eve because hubby had champagne chilling...was cooking my favorite dish, a french, red wine marinated beef tenderloin, garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus...I knew he'd gotten me a ring. I also knew it wasn't my dream ring...I was so afraid to see what he'd chosen...afraid of not liking it. Well, I loved it...it's so me... 
It's late and I've got to run....of course I have more ramblings, but they'll have to wait. Thanks to those who stuck with me! I'm impressed. oxox
Posted by: Faith | Jan 07, 2005 at 11:38 AM
Posted by: Judy Wise | Jan 07, 2005 at 09:49 AM