Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Yesterday I taught the Thanksgiving ATC class at Paper Vineyard. The class was small but lots of fun. The ladies finished in record time and walked out with completed projects. Yahoo!!

Next is the Christmas "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" ATC class. It will be held on Dec 5th from 10-2. Looking forward to this one too. Although that means we are that much closer to Christmas. Just so hard to believe. I don't know why I am surprised each year when it creeps up on me. It is the same time each year, right. So I should be prepared. No....I am not. But that is OK. It always comes together. :) I am one step ahead with my Christmas family photos taken and chosen. That is a big step right there. Last year was the first year in probably 24 yrs that I did not send out Christmas cards. We had so many family things going on with my dad and with my son that I just couldn't bring myself to try to explain it all or feel very cheerful. So I am looking forward to this year with lots of gratitude in my heart.

Again this last week has been a crazy one. My middle son called Friday night to tell us that he had been rear ended on the freeway. So thankful that everyone was OK. There were 5 cars involved and he was right in the middle. Just sandwiched in and crunched from both sides. Poor kid. The on ramp at the particular location is under construction and you have about 2 car lengths to merge or you come to a dead stop. That is what happened. The first car stopped, the second car stopped and then my son stopped...followed by the fourth car that hit them all. Then a second accident happened when a 5th car hit them all again. The last two cars are the ones that received the tickets. So my son didn't do anything wrong. That is a relief. But we do feel bad for the poor girl stuck in a very bad situation. The city just needs to close that on ramp until the work is complete. Just too dangerous. Overall we are grateful that no one was hurt. So begins the process of replacing a car that he had for only 2 months!

So...on to another week and I am praying for boring. That's OK, right! :)
Happy Sunday!

Growing Dim

While cruising through some blogs this morning, one struck me! I absolutely loved the words she had shared. They touched my heart. She spoke about worship and why we do it. Why it is good to turn our hearts to Jesus and concentrate on His love. At the start of her blog she said that the reason we worship is "so that the things of this earth would grow strangely dim". Wow...I had never really thought of it that way before. But it is so true. As we put our focus on Him and His truth our world grows dim. Our struggles and minor complaints seem less important in the light of His love.

So today I'm looking for a dimmer view of this earth and a bright and shining view of His promises! It's gonna be a great day!


....turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace

Creativity in Bloom

So...no photo to post as I didn't take my camera. But what a fun time at "Creativity in Bloom" yesterday! I so enjoyed getting to meet some amazing teachers and see the fun projects that the ladies got to create. The event was put on by Sandy & Michelle and they did a wonderful job. Everything looked great and the ladies had a very full day of project after project and lots of good food in between. :) I was so happy that I was asked to help out. I thoroughly enjoyed my day! Thanks Sandy & Michelle

Finished Product

A few photos of the final Thanksgiving ATC class that I have been working on. The class is set for Sat. Nov 7th at Paper Vineyard.

On another note...this weekend I am helping Michelle at "Creativity in Bloom". I am so excited to help out and grab a peek at all the wonderful goodies that the teachers have in store for everyone. I am sure it will be a wonderful day for all the ladies attending. Thanks to Michelle for letting me assist.

Sneak Peek!

Here is a little sneak peek of a project I am working on for Paper Vineyard. It is a continuation of the Halloween ATC class that we did last month. The one coming up is a "Thankful" ATC class....set for Nov 7th. With my favorite fall colors and lots of fun techniques, this should be a fun class! I am looking forward to it. Plans for a "Christmas" ATC class are in the works also. Even though it is still hard for me to believe that Christmas is right around the corner. OK...I can't think of that yet. :)


Anyway...enjoy the sneak peek!!

Saturday's Class & Hawaii 5-0!

What started out to be a slow sign up for the Halloween ATC class certainly spiked at the end. I was a little concerned at first as there are so many small pieces in this project so the kits took quite a while. But we didn't want to leave anyone out. In the end it worked out great! I am so glad the gals enjoyed themselves. It was a wonderful group of women. Oh and special thanks to Charmagne who brought some yummy snack mix for us to share. I tried to slip the cute little pumpkin bowl that she brought it in into my purse but she wouldn't have it. :)
We are definitely going to offer another ATC class....Thanksgiving, Christmas or both.

From class I rushed home to have lunch and change and I was off to a big birthday celebration for a dear friend. It was the scary one....the big 5-0! Her husband planned the party with the help of a few of us girls. Turned out beautiful! He even arranged for Hawaiian Hula dancers from the ASU Hawaiian Club to perform. There were about 15 kids in full Hawaiian dress and they put on a 1/2 hr show. They did a great job! The evening was a lot of fun and I think my friend really did enjoy herself despite the 5-0 thing. :) Her hubby did a great job pulling the party together.

On to another busy week....thanks for stopping by.

Celebrating!!

Happiness

Highly happy people all share happy habits. It’s as simple as that. The happiest people I know share 7 very obvious habits. If you’re looking to expand your general happiness you may consider adopting these habits in your own life.

Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
-Abraham Lincoln

1. Be a Part of Something You Believe In – This could be anything. People may take an active role in their local city council, find refuge in religious faith, join a social club supporting causes they believe in, or find passion in their careers. In each case the physiological outcome is the same. They engage themselves in something they strongly believe in. This engagement brings happiness and meaning into their lives.
2. Share Time with Friends and Family – A happy life is a life shared with friends and family. The stronger the personal relationships are and the higher the frequency of interaction, the happier a person will be.
3. Reflect on the Good – Quite often people concentrate too much of their attention on negative outcomes and leave no time to positively reflect on their successes. It’s natural for a person to want to correct undesirable circumstances and focus closely on doing so, but there must be a healthy balance in the allocation of personal awareness. It is important to mindfully reflect on the good while striving diligently to correct the bad. A continuous general awareness of your daily successes can have a noticeably positive affect on your overall emotional happiness.
4. Exploit the Resources You DO Have Access To – The average person is usually astonished when they see a physically handicap person show intense signs of emotional happiness. How could someone in such a restricted physical state be so happy? The answer rests in how they use the resources they do have. Stevie Wonder couldn’t see, so he exploited his sense of hearing into a passion for music, and he now has 25 Grammy Awards to prove it.
5. Create Happy Endings Whenever Possible – The power of endings is quite remarkable. The end of any experience has a profound impact on a person’s overall perception of the experience as a whole. Think about reading a fairly well written, thought provoking novel. Now imagine the ending totally sucks. Even if the story was captivating up until the ending, would you still be happy recommending the novel to a friend? People always remember the ending. If the ending is happy, the experience creates happiness. Always tie loose ends, leave things on a good note, and create happy endings in your life whenever possible.
6. Use Personal Strengths to Get Things Done – Everyone possesses unique personal strengths. We all have different talents and skill sets. Emotional happiness comes naturally to those who use their strengths to get things done. The state of completion always creates a sense of achievement. If this achievement is based exclusively on your own personal ability to get the job done, the physiological rewards are priceless.
7. Savor the Natural Joy of Simple Pleasures – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the best things in life are free. They come in the form of simple pleasures and they appear right in front of you at various locations and arbitrary times. They are governed by Mother Nature and situational circumstance and captured by mindful awareness. It’s all about taking a moment to notice the orange and pink sunset reflecting off the pond water as you hold hands with someone you love. Noticing these moments and taking part in them regularly will bring unpredictable bursts of happiness into your life.

The above is taken from this blog. I first saw it on Amy Tangerine's blog. To celebrate my birthday today I thought it was fitting to look at "happiness"! After all what better day to be happy than your own birthday. :) Really not a day different from any other but a great chance to look at your own life and be grateful. Grateful for all the family and friends that have come along for the ride. People who come in and out of your life and touch your heart. There is so much ugly news out there these days that sometimes we all need to take a moment to step back and focus on all the good things that are in our lives. Today I'm going to do that. So if you are reading this right now...thanks...thanks for taking a peek into my life and sharing the ride with me. Enjoy your day!!!