I'M DOING THE BEST I CAN

I'm blessed to the max, but a fairytale??

.......not so much

How do y'all do it??

You make it seem so effortless.

I've come to the conclusion that some of you

might be a wee bit O.C.D.

And the rest of you never sleep.

Me??

I feel like Barbie every minute of every hour of every day.

Did you know that I qualify for that Hoarders show on T.V.?

Yeah, I'm a Mixed Media Hoarder.

It's gotten so bad that I haven't completely unpacked from two art retreats....

both held last year and then there's this year's p.c. retreat...

Oh, and estate sales, flea markets, resale shops, junk shops,

people's trash by the side of the road,

crack house apartments being demo'd - I stopped to see

what treasures I could find.

I found a pick-up load. No kidding.

In an effort to keep up with something,

I made a promise to myself - it was about a week ago -

I was going to keep up with my blog roll.

Then I got this great idea that I would "rotate" some blogs

 off to get the number of blogs I read  I'm supposed to be reading

under 200. It didn't work.

I added six new blogs.

Oh, and my blogging??

I think it's so cute that you feel you have to ask.

I'm about 8 or 9 posts behind.

I plan on catching up.

Surely I can find the time.

The rest of you manage to blog, read your blog roll,

scour estate sales, create!, list all of your many creations

in your Etsy shop,

mail out all of the orders you get "the next day",

host swaps, be in five or more swaps at a time,

teach workshops, attend art retreats,

raise your well-behaved children,

cook well-balanced meals for your well-behaved children

and your darling husband,

and I'll bet you clean your own house, too.

AND, you work.

YOU WORK!...

I don't.

Work, that is.

I will admit that I have a couple of medical adventures

that I deal with on a daily basis, but I DON'T WORK....

Where are you finding the time??

I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't a master plan

of *church lady's voice* "Saaa-tan".

I can hear him now, telling his evil little elves,

"Let's drive Jan nuts. I know just how to do it..."

I see you looking at the picture above of my kitchen

and at the picture just below of our bedroom.

These pictures are a few years old.

I've been pretty immobile off and on for the last six years

and I can assure you that the kitchen doesn't look

like the picture above.

The Tank's had free reign and that speaks volumes.

And the bedroom??

Well, both areas had probably just been cleaned

by my cleaning lady when these pictures were snapped.

That cleaning lady was 'let go' yesterday.

Let's just say I didn't vote for Obama

and we use to have money left over

every month for that cleaning lady...

for the last 25 years.

I'll be doing the cleaning from now on.

Well, all except the Tank's bathroom.

I refuse to go into that room.

There's a reason a man should have his own bathroom.

Oh, and one last special little thing I want to

share with you about my life...

I haven't cooked or baked in years.

Mostly because of illnesses, broken bones,

snapped tendons and leg braces, blah, blah, blah.

I told Frank yesterday that I'd start cooking again.

Yeah.

I think my meds need to be adjusted.

So, here it is, sweet friends.

I'll probably re-read this story and realize

that it's completely disjointed

but, heck, I really don't care.

I have dinner to cook.

And, I'm doing the best I can.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME AND PRESENTS FOR YOU!

I'll be 56 on September 1st. Or, you can think like I do - my 24th birthday is September 1st because I look just like Barbie. Either way, I'M HAVING A BIRTHDAY!

And, what could be better than to gift y'all??!! So, keep reading and you'll see just how you can be the one to receive gifts on MY birthday! This is just so much stinkin' fun!

Oh, my gosh, I almost forgot! The reason you're getting two gifts is because I'm also celebrating the fact that I have OVER 100 FOLLOWERS! I feel like a celebrity. One hundred followers is, to me, a really big deal. I'll probably keel over if I ever get over 200 - that would be rad!

The first lovely gift is a very cool vintage brooch that I bought at an estate sale. In the photo it looks about as big as my bum, but it's really just regular size - about 2 1/2 inches across, I think. It's simply gorgeous - not a stone missing. Just think of what you could use this on!

AND, you will also receive the gift of a vintage evening purse! It's made of black velvet and has intricate designs sewn on both sides with seed beads. It's absolutely fabulous! I bought it at an estate sale, also. I bought both the vintage brooch and the vintage evening bag especially for this giftaway. I wanted two very special gifts for you.
See how it opens? Very cool. It opens with some kind of spring thingy that bends in the middle so it's really easy to get into. The lining of the evening bag is black satin. It's just beautiful!
Now, this giftaway is not only for having over 100 followers, it's for my birthday so that I can gift you, my readers.

And, I'll be adding a lot of extras to this giftaway to make it REALLY special!!

I've given so much thought as to how I wanted to do this.....did I want to just take comments as entries since these are being specially gifted to you? Or did I want to have the odds tilt towards the faithful readers that have stuck with me over time?

Let's see what I decided as you read...

rules of the giftaway:

1. Leave a glowing (LOL) comment = ONE ENTRY

2. If you are already a follower of my blog = TWO MORE ENTRIES

That's right - you get two more entries if you're already a follower of my blog.

3. If you sign up TODAY to follow my blog (see the right column of my blog) = ONE

MORE ENTRY

4. If you already follow me on Facebook = TWO MORE ENTRIES

That's right - you get two more entries if you're already a follower of me on fb.

5. If you sign up TODAY to follow me on Facebook (see the right column of my

blog) = ONE MORE ENTRY

6. If you leave an enticing post on YOUR blog about this giftaway = TWO MORE

ENTRIES.

That's right, sweet ones, two more entries.

(BE SURE AND LEAVE YOUR BLOG ADDRESS SO I CAN VISIT IT AND SEE YOUR
ENTICING POST:)

.

7. If you send me a very nice birthday present you automatically win. hahaha

(JUST KIDDING!!)

Okay, that's it, girls! I hope you have as much fun reaching for the gifts as I have had creating this giftaway!

REMEMBER TO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU QUALIFY FOR WHEN YOU LEAVE YOUR COMMENT.

AND, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!

Thanks so much everyone for entering! You know what I always say, the more the merrier - that's what makes a great birthday party!!

XOXO, Jan

WHERE BLOGGERS CREATE - IT'S A PARTY

IT'S A PARTY AND I'M SO GLAD YOU COULD COME!

This is a chance for me, a blogger, to show you where I create.....show you in my own creative way because, seriously, Where Women Create magazine is never going to ask to do a spot on me!

You'll see what I mean in a minute...

When you're finished enjoying my studio, go to Karen's blog and in the right side column you'll be able to pick your next spot to drop in on - everyone has their party dresses on and is waiting for your arrival!

And, be sure and leave a comment that you had been there - makes us all feel special *popular* to know that lots of people came to our party!

Oh, I'm so excited!!! Here everyone comes!

This is why I am being creative in showing you my studio - it looks like a crack house, it's such a mess.

I could have cleaned it all up for you, but then it wouldn't be MY studio. Get it?

This door is the door that goes from my studio into our garage where the "rest" of my studio is stacked!

I have a fabulous pink disco ball hanging from the ceiling in my studio.

THIS is what my studio looks like on any given day.

Thus, the nickname, The Crack House.

Glue on my fingers. . .a common sight!

A row of my wooden stamps...

I have hundreds and hundreds of stamps - lots of wooden and lots of unmounted.

My row of Barbie dresses!

I smile every time I look at them!

I LOVE Barbie!!

A bird caught in a snowstorm...the closest I could get to a snow storm in Texas!

I have this thing for old *and ratty* dolls and doll heads.

I think they're so cool - most people think they're strange and scary!

Cracks me up.

Gesso, molding paste...fun and vitally important items when working with paints!

And, of course, Gorilla glue!

I love to buy big sheets of fabulous papers and I roll them up and store them in this really big glass cylinder.

It looks cool and serves a really important roll in my studio.

*Get it??? "roll" in my studio? That was a joke. LOL*

Paint brushes and bling. Who could want anything more? Heehee

I utilize every space in my studio. . .this vintage lamp shade and bird cage are hanging from my ceiling.

A vintage typewriter, vintage silhouette tray and a couple of vintage dance cards.

Every mixed media artist has lots of vintage papers!

A stack of finished tags just waiting to be uploaded into my Lollishop and Etsy shop.

Oh, would you look at the time???

You best hurry on to your next party!

I'm so, so glad that you took the time to visit my studio and come to my party!

I hope you had a good time - tell me what you thought in your comment!

And, to my faithful, bestest readers in the world, a special THANK YOU for coming!

XOXO, Jan

A LATE THANK YOU IS BETTER THAN NO THANK YOU AT ALL.

What I'm talking about is a "BLOG thank you". I've done the personal thank yous and I keep thinking about doing the blog thank yous and, FINALLY, I'm getting them posted! Whew. It's like a ton of bricks have been lifted off my............what is it? shoulders? head? back? bum? I don't remember the right word, but you know what I mean.

I'm sure I'm not alone in celebrating my "half birthday". Now, in my family and actually, when I think about it, among my friends, I do seem to be the only one who does celebrate their half birthday - you know, that day six months after your actual birthday and six months before your next one - your half birthday.

I love celebrating it. I get presents.
Sometimes I get half of a present - we all have those kind of friends. LOL
And sometimes I get the most wonderful presents I simply must blog about them even if I'm a month late! My half birthday is on March 1st.
(If you have a calendar, you might want to make note of that and see if you can beat what you're about to see. hahaha. Oh, I think you should! ROTF)
My sweet friend, Mija (fairemaidenmija@yahoo.com) sent me the most amazing large mailer stuffed full of wonderful ephemera! I was so surprised! Not that she sent it (she is so, so giving), but that she would celebrate my half birthday with me! I met her in person at the Art n Soul retreat in Portland a few years ago after meeting online. We hit it off immediately - she is a hoot, I adore her, and I'm so blessed that we are friends.

Here's what she sent to me!:

I adore this box. Look at those precious girls - they melt my heart.

Wonderful pages from vintage books. Mmmmmmmm.

I thought these stamps were really cool.

Everything she sent me was wonderful. Thank you, Mija, my dear friend. I love you.

And just when I think it's all over and life is rockin' along as usual, my precious friend, Tina, knocks my socks off with a half birthday present that is nothing short of glorious.

Her presentation was precious, she included lots of "confetti" and a darling accordion card that she made, all that lead up to her gift.

She is an amazing artist and an even better friend. She used her gift of soldering to make me a necklace that was all about me. She covered everything - my Barbie age of 24, the fact that I live a Christian life, and as one friend put it just last night when I wore the necklace to a party, the necklace is so me because it's so eclectic. I'll accept that! LOL

Check this out!:

The wee bitty ceramic doll from Germany is the center piece. Tina put her in a matchbox, collaged the inside of the box and then soldered the glass to the front. Isn't it awesome???
My favorite part of the right side of the necklace is, of course, the arm. It's the piece that gets the most comments! And, it rocks!!
See the tube below? It has a piece of long paper in it among the glitter that says, "the Christian life". It's very special to me.

So is the game piece that shows my Barbie age of 24. A true friend recognizes my Barbie age.

That's Tina.

And here's a picture (a rather large one! LOL) of the clasp. I love the heart way up there by the clasp. I feel like it represents her heart and my heart joined in friendship.

Oh, my gosh, that sounds so sappy!

Well, it may sound sappy, but it's what I think!

Tina and I met online. We hit it off right away and have become good friends.

She and her husband have ridden their Harley's to the ranch while on a road trip and we had such a good time at lunch. It was our first "face to face" meeting but you would have never known it! We talked like there was no tomorrow. LOL

And, then last year we got to experience the Paper Cowgirl retreat together. (And, we're looking forward to being together during it again this June. YOU should try and come - it's a HOOT!)

Needless to say, she's a winner. A dear friend and someone I simply adore.

Both of these friends, Mija and Tina, made my half birthday so special.

They make every day special in my thoughts, though, not just that one day. I think of both of them often, pray for them always, and love them dearly.

And, you, my sweet readers, well, you know how much I adore y'all.

You also make my day EVERY day!

XOXO,

. . .Jan

DO YOU STILL LOVE ME?

I wonder.
Do you still love me?
I haven't posted since last month and every day that goes by without me posting,
I go to bed wondering if you'll still love me in the morning.
Aaaaaa! (as in "cat")
I try so hard to get everything done every day so that in the evening I can post,
but LIFE keeps getting in the way and I seem to stay behind!
Take yesterday for instance.
Phone calls to the pharmacist, the dermatologist, and my internet provider.
The call to the internet provider necessitated a house call *which will cost me money* to switch me from wireless to DSL because our renter's Direct TV non-English speaking idiot (did I say that out loud?) of a satellite man TOOK OUR HIGH SPEED INTERNET SATELLITE DOWN and used that bracket for a new satellite for the renter.
WHO HIRES THESE PEOPLE???
We finally discovered our stolen satellite sitting in the garage AFTER we had switched to DSL. (Trust me, this is not over. There's a phone call to Direct TV in my future and I'm afraid my nice voice is going to give away to my frustrated voice. I just hope that when I call that I'm not routed TO INDIA!)

Is it any wonder that I'm bald, have wrinkles, puffy under eyes, constipation, dry skin, weeds, a husband who can eat 1/2 of a 9 x 13" casserole in one sitting that was going to be tomorrow's leftovers, a studio that looks like a crack house, a dog that sheds, another dog that derives great pleasure in licking her privates in my presence, no ice cream in the house and hate to cook???

I'm so behind, and so afraid that you'll leave me in the morning without even a note on the pillow, that I'm going to post a fascinating group post here to get caught up.
Then, after I'm sure y'all have had time to read this amazing post, I'm going to post the next giveaway.
Oh, my gosh. You aren't going to believe what I found to give away. It will probably cause you to tinkle just a wee bit because you're going to be so excited!

So, on with the photos of my latest (even I can't remember what they are).......

First, let me mention once again that we are going to have the best little art retreat in Texas in June! And, boy howdy, would I ever love to see you there!!
On the trip down here from Kalamazoo in February, I kept my eyes peeled for these kind of soft serve ice cream dives. They have the BEST soft serve!
Did you know that ice cream "parlors" up north close during the winter?
What's with that???
We stopped in some town at the most precious shop as is attested to by their parking sign! Isn't it the best???

Another stop that I always make if I happen to be on I-35 in Ardmore, Oklahoma, is The Cloverleaf...mostly for ideas...they're a wee bit expensive!

If it was for sale, I'd probably have to rent a U-Haul and buy it. I know just the place for it...

I'll never understand why everyone doesn't drive the back roads when traveling.

The photo ops...........see the swans? I think they're real.

I love, love, love taking pictures of old buildings! ...The texture!

A PINK TRAILER with all of the amenities!! I'd almost live in it!

Have I showed you this yet? ...A HUGE Barbie tote! ...Still trying to decide if I'm going to keep it or sell it! I'm always amazed at how much I look like her...

Oh, these vintage hankies! I love them - check out the one with the lovely lace edging. Amazing!

A corner of a fabulous photo I found in Noblesville, Indiana. Look at those precious kiddos!

A whole bunch of vintage patterns and all were simply darling!

I've started collecting Bobbsey Twins books! They were one of my favorite series when I was a kid and I thought it would be fun to try and collect all of them. I'm well on my way - this is the first one.

A 1910 dance card! You don't find these anymore! I was thrilled to find it.

Okay, y'all, that's it! Whew! I'm going to look over at the pillow next to me and am hoping to see your head lying there! LOL

I love my readers - y'all are the best to stick with me when I'm lame! hahaha

.

XOXO,

. . .Jan