A REALLY HOT GUY, GUNS AND TOILET PAPER

When you have

a really hot guy, guns and toilet paper

you have a really fun wedding shower!

Hostess, Hannah Jones Brown, and

her mom, Annette Jones, gifted

Brat this amazing *grace* cross.

During all of the fun, I forgot to take

a photo of the gorgeous table

that Hannah and Annette laid out.

The red velvet cake was the

crowning glory!

"Did I forget to mention that you would be
the only guy here today, Blake??"
(That's so unlike me)

...This is Blake, my son, and
Brat's best friend, so it only made sense
for him to come.
And, I knew the ladies (and young ladies)
would enjoy having him there.

He really likes my best friend, Annette.

In fact, I think this might be his new fb profile pic.

Phyllis Fischer, Betty Harris and Kim Bolin
all delighted us with their presence
and delighted Brat with their presents.
(Oh, hush)

Jeanette Ricks and Rudy Shepherd...

I can only assume that Taylor has

walked into the room.

Yep! I was right!
Here's Brat's sister, Taylor, with her
most precious little boy, Skilyr.

"Blake. Stop.

I KNOW I told you there would

be toilet paper involved."

Groups of 3 with one of the group

being the BRIDE.

In this group, that'd be Blake.

(...the reason I wanted him to come...)

The wedding dress is made of,

you guessed it, *shhhhh* toilet paper.

Does anyone else think he's enjoying this just

a little bit too much?? Bwahahahaha!

(He was such a good sport!)

The stand out part of Amanda's

wedding gown was the sleeves.

Gorgeous.

However, I did hear some whispers

about a mummy. Just sayin'.

Some women were just born to be a bride.

Ginger's gown had a heavenly look.

So much so, that she reminded us of Mary.

You know, Jesus' Mary.

Remember, his mom??

Stay with me here.

Every bride needs bridesmaids!
And, Ginger's bridesmaids are
stinkin' beautiful!!

A sneak peek for all of my blog readers

of Brat's wedding dress.

Okay, not the real dress,

but it is the back up dress in case

something happens.

Good thinkin', huh.

Brittany is trying to look like one of those
professional models in the bridal zines.
You know, when they push their
shoulders forward? It's not a good look
on anyone.
I'll talk to her.

I'm as proud as a mom to tell you that

Abe, age 5, and my model,

came in as runner up.

His mom was my co-designer

and responsible for the shoes.

I'm thinkin' it was either the shoes

or the eyebrows (look closely)

that pushed him over the top.

Good lookin' bride, Abe!!

I think another element of Abe's bridal attire
that pushed him up to 2nd place was
his floor length veil.
(That was my idea. Is that bragging?)

I know you've been waiting for this moment
and may have even scrolled forward,
to see the Bride of the Shower.
Taylor Stone won the title.
She's a vision, isn't she?

I would be remiss if I didn't introduce you

to Taylor's designer, Elyce.

Where would a bride be without her designer??

I'm sure it's the camera man's fault
and Brittany isn't really sneaking in a nap.

Dig deeper!! There has to be wine in here!

No wine, but some fabulous placemats!

A darling Lucille Johnson creation,

an apron perfect for backyard bar-b-ques.

 The picture tells the story.

I'm a firm believer that the best gifts come
in the smallest packages.
That would be because this smallest of gifts
is from mwah.

Oh, real nice.

Brat couldn't read my handwriting

so Hannah had to help her.

It was offensive in so many ways.

(I'm kidding, ya'll:)

Abe kept telling me that THEY brought the BEST GIFT.
I think Brittany would agree!

And, to end the party,

some of the little faces that were there!

(There's a couple of big faces, too:)

And, last but not least..........I promised you some guns!!

The shower was a scream

with really good sports,

fun people,

cute kids,

great cake,

fabulous presents,

high fashion,

a really hot guy,

guns

and toilet paper!!

Thanks, y'all, for taking the time

to read my blog.

PLEASE leave a comment at the

bottom of the blog so I can get

an idea of how many are reading -

a lot of you send me emails or

comment on facebook, and that's

great! I'd just like an idea of

how many people I'm reaching.

I love you!! 

              Jan                         

also made of toilet paper



                                                                          

A LITTLE ABOUT BRITTANY (BRAT)

MY BRAT, MY BRITTANY, IS A  FIRST YEAR TEACHER

AND COACH.

SHE WAS ON HER WAY TO SCHOOL

LAST WEDNESDAY, THE 9TH, 
AND BECAUSE OF THE ICY ROADS

SHE LOST CONTROL OF HER CAR.

SHE CROSSED OVER INTO THE ONCOMING TRAFFIC.

BUT, MOST OF YOU ALREADY KNOW THAT

BECAUSE THIS IS MY 3RD POST ABOUT BRAT

AND ABOUT THE ACCIDENT.

I THOUGHT I'D TELL YOU ABOUT SETTING UP

HER FIRST CLASSROOM LAST AUGUST

BECAUSE THAT WAS A REALLY FUN DAY.

WHILE SHE ORGANIZED

I DECORATED.

WHAT A SURPRISE.

ABOVE ARE PICTURES OF ONE OF THE

BULLETIN BOARDS.

BRAT STAMPED THE MUSLIN TRIM.

(I'D BE IN TOTAL DOO IF I DIDN'T MENTION THAT)

WE TOOK SOME OF THAT STAMPED MUSLIN TRIM

AND TAPED IT ANOTHER WALL

FOR THE ENGLISH THEMED BANNER TO HANG.

IT'S FLASHCARDS I MADE

WITH ENGLISH TERMS.

SHE TEACHES 9TH GRADE ENGLISH IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.

I COVERED THE FRONT BULLETIN BOARD

AND THEN (THIS IS OUR FAVORITE PART)

I USED MY SEWING MACHINE TO GATHER

BLACK CREPE PAPER FOR THE BORDER.

OH, YEAH.

THERE WAS THIS BIG  BLANK BACK WALL

THAT WAS SCREAMING FOR SOMETHING.....

SO I CREATED A BULLETIN BOARD.

WE'RE HOPING THAT THE SCHOOL

THINKS THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN ONE THERE.

THIS IS WILL, BRITTANY'S FIANCE -

HE WAS THERE MOST OF THE DAY.

HELPING.

HE PAINTED THE HONKIN' HUGE WALL

CHERRY RED, THE COLOR OF MY CONVERTIBLE.

IT LOOKED SO COOL.

FOLLOW MY LEAD....I. SIMPLY. ADORE. HIM.

HE IS AMAZING AND I'M GLAD

MY LITTLE GIRL IS MARRYING HIM.

DID I MENTION THAT HE'S A LOT OF FUN??..............

AND, HE PUTS UP WITH ME FAMOUSLY.

MEDICAL UPDATE ON BRAT:

She is healing.

After she gets her pain under control

and starts eating better,

she is going to be moved to a rehab facility.

She'll probably meet some famous athlete there.

She's different than me - she'll know who it is.

Will is still off shore but will be home in about 3 weeks.

And, this part makes me sooooo happy.............

TOMORROW I'M GOING TO THE HOSPITAL TO SEE HER.

I KNOW!!

I'm going to spend the night in her room and will come back

home on Tuesday. (Remember, my mom is still here:)

I'm just so excited to be able to go now

even for two days!

Then, when I get back from up north (mom has to go back 'til next time:)

I'll be all Brittany's!

That's after April 11th, but the time will go by quickly.

And, there's phone calls, text messages

(you should see me text - I'm lightning quick.),

emails.................

I'm so grateful that she's healing and that she's going to be alright.

I love her so much.

She really is my little girl.

In my heart.

In my soul.

I feel her.

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