Jeff and I took our first trip to Las Vegas this year at the beginning of March. It was absolute sensory overload! So much so, that I don't think I can even cover it in just one blog post, so prepare yourself for a Vegas series. Not to mention that I took tons of cool photos that must be shared. I have never been in a place where there was so much to see and do!
Jeff had originally wanted the trip to be a surprise, but he is historically a horrible secret-keeper, so before the day arrived, he had given in and let me "guess" where we were going. It wasn't hard to guess since we had both said we'd like to make Vegas one of our next trips. He did maintain that he had a surprise planned, which turned out to be the Cirque du Soleil show "Love" featuring the music of the Beatles. If you ever make it to Vegas, and have the means, definitely see a show.
We also got to tour the Bodies Exhibition at the Luxor, which I thought was really interesting. I think Jeff could have done without seeing fully preserved skinned humans in various poses, but it was a truly educational and unique experience. I would not recommend this activity for the weak of heart, or more particularly, stomach.
The other show/exhibit we attended was the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay. This activity would be great for all ages from baby to gramps. There were all sorts of aquatic life to watch. They give each person a handheld listening device and each exhibit had a number that you entered that explained what types of fish/mammals you were looking at and a little bit about them. It was nice not having to stop and read a placard at each tank. It allowed us to just enjoy watching while learning a little bit too. The high points for me at the Shark Reef were the room that had the jellyfish tank and the touching pool, and the final shipwreck underwater room to view the sharks. The jellyfish were just indescribably beautiful and graceful, although they did not photograph well. The touching pool looked like a lot of fun for the kids. I did reach in and pet a stingray and then wondered what to do with my wet hand. Thankfully they had some hand sanitizer and papertowels available. The underwater viewing room was a little trippy, especially for anyone who has watched the scene in Jaws where the shark busts through the underwater glass walkway, but it was all good. We managed to escape unscathed!
Here is my latest tasty, yet non-edible creation. This was fashioned from a pair of "magic gloves" into an adorable chocolate bunny. He is my newest listing in my shop. I'm very ready for nicer weather; a chance to get outside and do some digging in the ground. I can only tolerate rain, wind, sleet, and snow for so long!
I had a bit of a shock today when I arrived home in my email. After a weekend of creativity, I had posted my 3 newest towel designs on Etsy with 2 of them featuring designs of something that resembled a beloved Easter treat made of white squishy fluff covered in colored sugar in the shape of a woodland creature (see pic in post below). This email stated that Etsy had been contacted by an individual regarding these 2 aforementioned items and due to copyright infringement, they were removed from the site. I searched for other similar items on Etsy the night I listed, and there were a few items that featured these yummy treats, but all of those listings were gone today! How rude! I never in a million years would have thought that something that has been around for so long would cause such a stir. I guess I thought wrong!
Valentine's day has flown past! I hope everyone had a great day with their sweetie. Mine got me a gorgeous onyx-tipped crucifix on a silver chain. It definitely was quite the surprise. I got him a rockin' tie from Cyberoptix Tie Lab on Etsy. Their tag line is "Ties That Don't Suck" and I'll tell you that that is certainly true. With Jeff's new job at the university, he has cause to look dashing each and every day, but I felt this would remind people that he is still a young 30something. I spent part of the day working on some new creations for the spring/Easter season. Marshmallow peeps are for most people a love/hate relationship. I personally don't like to eat them, but they are quite adorable, which is why they are featured on 2 of my newest towels. I also had a need to make some little chickees with funky hair-dos. I think I have accomplished that with this towel, but I'm thinking that each and every one that I do is going to have to have different coifs. I'm thinking an Elvis hair, bald on top with hair on the sides...you get the idea.
Yes, I have been noticeably absent in the blogging world lately, but there have been some stressing issues in my life. I blogged about my experience briefly with my bout of appedicitis back in the middle of December. Then the holidays descended upon us all, which is a "get out of blog free card" in my book. The holidays lasted longer than normal due to my illness and having to reschedule Christmas with my family out of town.
After all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I planned on things getting back to normal, but my grandmother unexpectedly had to have a quadruple bypass. That ended up going very poorly and, very sadly, she passed away on January 15th. I spent the first three weekends in January traveling back and forth between WV and PA to be with my family during that difficult time.
While all of the medical issues with my grandmother were going on, my husband's grandmother was also in the hospital. She had a stroke back in November and was in a nursing home/rehabilitation center. She went into the hospital on January 5th for respiratory problems, was diagnosed about a week later with colon cancer, and had a bowel resection that was thought to be successful. This Friday, however, she had to go back into surgery where her bowel had come apart at the incision and is currently totally out of it on a ventilator in the ICU. We're not really sure what is going to happen with this situation, but she has been through a lot. We'll just keep praying that whatever is best for her is what happens.
Earlier in the year, I posted about giving 2008 a stink eye due to all of the crappy events that had occurred. Little did I know that I was only jinxing myself by posting that back in.....June?, I believe. 2008 continued on the path that it had set for itself during the 1st few months, going out with a bang on December 14th, when I required an emergency appendectomy spending 5 days in the local hospital. Not a great Christmas gift, if you ask me, but at least I won't have to worry about my appendix every again as long as I live.
So for 2009, I have decided a few things.
- I will not have any unnecessary surgical procedures requiring time off of work. Total time off work in '08 was 6 weeks. Four when I had my foot nearly chopped off for a plantar wart issue, and then 2 for the appendix going rogue.
- I am going to continue to move toward my goal of being more healthful by renewing my motivation in my Weight Watchers group and being more active.
- I am not going to dwell on negative situations or people and strive to be happy with my life and my choices every day.
Okay, so I realize this is a super serious, semi-sappy post, but everyone is entitled to one once in a while right? I should be posting very soon with some fantastic Christmas and New Year's pics.
I found an awesome tutorial for felted candy canes at the feltcafe blog. I have been wanting to
try to make felted items for a while, but just hadn't found quite the right project to inspire me to do so. Everything I saw just looked a little too over my head as far a beginner for felting went. This tutorial looked to be right up my alley ,and the perfect chance to make little package embellishments for the all the wrapping for the holidays.
After some searching on Etsy, I found 2 sellers to purchase small amounts of wool roving from to get started. I purchased my white wool roving from 7 Yaks Designs and a crimson pink roving from Wind Rose Fiber Studio. I was able to pick up all of the supplies needed for a little bit of nothing.
The process was very easy and only took me about 15 minutes to make 3 candy canes. I think if you wanted to produce a ton of them, it would not take very long at all. I've included a few pics, although I admit, they aren't the greatest. I may try a felted heart outline for the upcoming Valentine's holiday using the same materials and technique and tie a ribbon to use as a valentine's ornament. Happy crafting!
A few weeks ago while doing my daily cruising at Etsy, I came across these fantastically altered vintage flocked reindeer (seen in 1st pic to right) from Magpie Ethel's shop. After inquiring if she planned on having anymore available, I happened upon two of the unadorned treasures at one of my local antique shops, Fairmont Avenue Antiques, in Fairmont, WV for a very meager $3.oo each! (seen in pic to left)
I quickly snatched them up and set off to beglittering their antlers and hooves.
It was a very easy process using Martha Stewart's glitter and glue that I picked up at Wal*Mart for about $6 if I recall correctly. It was a very easy process that took only about 15 minutes to complete both reindeer.
So next I had to decide how I was going to display my fabulous new "flamboyant" deer as my husband put it. Little did he know that there was much more to come! I ended up ordering a couple of adorable handmade pink bottlebrush trees from Magpie Ethel's shop as well. She graciously offered to make necklaces for my deer to make them as sassy as the ones she had done. I found the last piece of my vintage puzzle at another local antique shop, Sweet Memories, also in Fairmont, WV....a set of 5 pink glass ball ornaments. I took a strand of white lights and laid a blanket of glittery snow over it, at the advice of a good friend. Also you can see our ceramic lighted Christmas tree in the background that we purchased in Gatlinburg, TN last year at their giant craft show.
