PAPER COWGIRL IS BACK FOR YEAR THREE!!

I am very excited to tell you that the third annual Paper Cowgirl Art Retreat is being held June 24th - 26th, in Waxahachie, Texas, which is off I-35 south of Dallas.
And it's not called the Best Little Art Retreat In Texas for nothing!

It is an amazing weekend with the choice of different classes using different mediums, wonderful teachers and the best Texas (and a few other states will be represented - word has spread!!) artists/women/old friends/new friends that you would ever want to associate yourself.

Dale of Sea Dream Studio will be returning

as a teacher simply so she can strike her diva pose.

The above photo is a picture of the "Crown" swap at the 2009 P.C. Retreat

(Any one of those crowns would make Marie Antoinette beg)

Art + Laughter = peeing your pants Texas fun!! (Photo 2009 Retreat)

Most of you will remember my dear, sweet friend, Tina Wright, a woman loved by many, that passed this last January after a valiant battle with cancer. She was the co-founder of the Paper Cowgirl Retreat and she, along with Cindy Mayfield, co-founder, worked their bums off to make the retreats the best they could be. This year, after much prayer and thought, Cindy decided that Tina would want the retreat to continue on, so she *along with some little elves* have been working very hard for months! And the retreat just keeps getting better!

Sweet, wonderful Tina - she'll be there this summer, don't you doubt it.

If you're looking for a Texas retreat to attend, with very reasonable class costs, give-aways, fabulous swaps, wonderful sponsors (WHERE WOMEN CREATE and T.J. DESIGNS are two that I know of:), amazing food, shopping at antique/junk stores, the BEST scrapbook store I've ever been to, vendor's night *if you can't attend the retreat you are more than welcome to come to Vendor's Night*, and the most amazing women to spend a weekend with, then go to the P.C. blog and check it out!!

Vendor's Night - This is Texas, don't steal or we're gunna hafta shoot ya. Bring $$$

And, you can ask me any questions if you want. If I don't  have the answer I'll find it for you or direct you to the place your question can be answered.
I promise that if you come you will be blessed.

A girl geriatric attendee. We do not discriminate; we are Texans.

Oh! Oh! One more thing.
Geez, this is such an important part of the retreat, I can't believe I almost left it out! Whew *wiping my brow*.
One of the highlights of the weekend is when we have shots. You know, like at a bar? (I keep tellin' ya, this is Texas) Only ours are even better...................we have Frosting Shots! (haha - fooled ya) Homemade Frosting. Oh, man, I have to be rolled to my room every year!


On another note.....
Readers, y'all have been an amazing blessing to me these last l-o-o-o-ng weeks and I want to sincerely thank you. I'm working my way through all of the comments left on my last post and I will get to you eventually because I want to thank each of you individually for your support and kind words. I am so blessed.....

y'all are a blessing to me,
Jan

PARTS OF THIS POST MAY BE DISTURBING TO MORE THAN JUST ME

Hello, my sweet friends!

This is Part 2 of the "IT SUCKS TO BE ME" post of a few weeks ago. You'll recall that I fractured four of the metarsals in my right foot and received a spiral fracture of the tibia (the smaller bone that runs the length of your calf located next to the larger fibia) just above the ankle on my right foot.

Look, a diagram for you:)

If any of that interested you, you're ready for vet school or even med school. Give it some thought - you should see how much the surgeon made to put me back together...Oh, wait. Never mind. Obama. Yeah.

Okay, let us move on to the more fun aspects of my stupid injuries...Just below is a picture of the historic Nix Hospital in downtown San Antonio, built in 1930, where I had my surgery and where my surgeon's office is located. You can't tell, but it only has three sides!! It is so cool looking!

This is a close-up of the outside of the building.

I took the picture below while we waited for the valet to park our car.

Oh, this picture is so cool - it's a picture of the elevators in the lobby of the 'we're really expensive because we're a historical' hospital.

You can see the amazing brass relief in the elevator doors. These doors are the original ones. Isn't that something?

'

P.A. Ryan and Doctor Casillas' partner (can't remember his name - he filled in for the picture because Dr. C. was MIA) Check it out - both docs wear a suit and tie every day.

Oh, you'll love this. The guy on the left is James. He always does the casting. So, the first time we met, we were talking, and I was being congenial and asked him what his title was and without missing a beat he said, "housekeeping". ROTF!! We do have fun!

The guy next to him is Dr. C.'s other P.A., Pat - he's the one that keeps telling me I can't walk yet. He is mean and uncooperative.

I thought the stitching on my foot was interesting and though it's not my nature to look at things icky, I took these next two pictures to give you an idea of what went on. See the pins sticking out of my foot? I did throw up a little in the back of my throat when I focused in on those - Woah!!! And you can see some of the staples that run up my leg where they went in to fix the spiral fracture on my tibia. There are pins, screws and plates in my foot and leg.

No more polka for me.

If you are finding this fascinating rather than a wee bit disgusting, I would get an application for vet school.

These are the stitches on the inside of my foot (and my swollen ankle). Yeah.

James from housekeeping getting my foot and leg ready for my RED cast. ...Did you know that they don't make casting in pale pink? I even looked on the internet; just neon pink which is for someone other than me.

I'm James' favorite as is evidenced by the purple band at the top of my cast.

My mom is my #1 nurse and I couldn't have gotten along these last 6 weeks without her. The Tank would have been in charge *shudder* lol. #1 nurse has a nurse's aide, Sister Mary Tina *she's Catholic*, and she is a huge help to #1 nurse. Not.

But she's really cute:)

Instead of crutches I have a red scooter just like the one pictured below. And, trust me, I am cuh-yut steering it around!

Now you know as much as I do (don't you love being in the loop??). I see Dr. C. on Monday. I will most likely be re-casted for two more weeks:( If I am, I sure hope I'll be allowed to put my foot down - not weight bearing, but at least down! OR, Dr. C. could agree with me that it's time for the Darth Vadar boot and some walkin'). Uh, yeah, that's gunna happen. LOL

Thanks for sharing in my recovery process by reading about it and leaving a comment that will make me smile. (The little things really help while I'm sitting here!)

I LOVE my readers!!

Be blessed, Jan

I'M SO EXCITED TO TELL YOU THAT I HAVE A WINNER!!

All parts of having a giveaway are fun for me.

....the entries....counting up the number of entries.....going to RANDOM.ORG for a fair pick of the winner....and then telling everyone who the winner is when I don't even have a clue at this point! It's just so exciting.

Okay, RANDOM.ORG was fed the number of entries and it picked #12!! So, I'm going over to my blog post to see who #12 is....back in a second....just hold on....

............AND THE WINNER IS....................

YVETTE from THE CHARM HOUSE!!

Congratulations, Yvette!! Just email me at polkadotbarn@gmail.com and give me your mailing address and I'll get the book and the other loot in the mail to you!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE OF YOU

that took the time to read my post, leave the sweet comments, and pray for me. This giveaway just gets me so excited. It's April, the tulips are blooming and I'm feelin' pretty darn blessed!

XOXO,
Jan