Today was interesting.

On the way to the grocery store, I heard an ad on the radio for midget wresting, followed by a ZZ Top concert at one of the nearby casinos. (Sorry if you have already heard this, I am still cracking up about it!!!) Yes, it's real.

Two men buying groceries, in line in front of me, spent $727 on food. For a bunch of guys to go on a hunting trip (whatever happened to 'roughing it' or...manly men?). $727! It blew my mind.

I was getting a pizza put together at Papa Murphy's for tonight's basketball game fest, and a father and daughter came in. The little girl was maybe four and had been in a soccer game, still wearing her gear. Her hair bow was still in tact, and she carried a princess Barbie. The guy working greeted them, and she raised that Barbie high in the air and said, "Look what I have!" The guy "ooh"ed and "aah"ed and she laughed, turning to her father exclaiming, "HE LIKES IT!" I laughed and she said, "SHE LIKES IT, TOO!" It was hilarious.

Anyway, not much to report otherwise...except my mom and sister are coming to see us and will be here MONDAY! I haven't seen them since Christmas and am so glad they are coming. I can't wait!

AND UK plays tonight and will beat UCONN to go to the final game. I know it. Go BIG BLUE!!!

But, yeah, life's been the usual. All good. Work has finally slowed a bit and is coming to a good pace. The church work is going pretty well. Spring is here!

Notes:
* Buy a variety pack of daffodils bulbs, plant them in the fall, and it is so fun to see how many different daffodils there are when Spring comes. I had no idea the amazing array of daffodils I could have. AND my tulips have the most beautiful almost-frilly petals, so that they look very rose-like. I love it!
*Do not try to make cole slaw using purple/red cabbage. It will turn your cole slaw a nice, bright magenta color and looks freakish when you try to serve it to company. So, yeah, just ignore that purple cabbage you might have already bought, and go get a green cabbage.


I think that's it.
Have a great day!
I love you.
Bec

Well, my friends, I come posting...mostly nothing.

Life has settled into it's more normal routine after braving the holidays.
Which is good. I can only handle so much.

I have come to realize the holidays take a fire hose to my creative sparks. I am slowly recovering and trying to start making things again. I opened a new shop last September on Etsy.com and really have ignored it ever since. I'm hoping I can be kinda get things moving now. I've also discovered a very wonderful antique shop that might be able to supply some vintage kitchen items for the shop.

A goal of mine is to do a set of linocut prints by April. I haven't done a single print since I graduated WKU. *tear falling* I think it's about time. Before I forget what ink is.

I am on a healthier road now. Walking at work and eating less and better. Did you know my office is in the middle of a warehouse? And the warehouse is about a 1/2 mile long. I try to walk from one end to the other on my morning and afternoon breaks; I get about two miles a day, which is pretty good for the slacker/bum/couch potato/exercise-hater/etc. that I am.

STILL working on Christmas at Hobby Lobby. That is one place Christmas never dies. It's for next year's stuff, and there is a far-off end in sight. The job is going well, though, and I am very thankful to have it. Very thankful.

So...yeah, that's about it. I guess.

Hope you're doing splendid.
I love you.
Bec

It's that festive time of year again! I love the fall/winter holidays. So much more festive and twinkling and fun.

Thanksgiving this year is going to be different. We are too far from family to spend it with them, and even though invited over to a church family's house, Curtis and I are going to spend our Thanksgiving day this year at home together, watching Peanuts, maybe playing Scrabble, eating ribs (who needs a turkey?!) and just doing whatever we want to do. It will be as wonderful a day as we can have away from our family. And I think we'll put up the Christmas tree!

I am coming up with lots of fun projects to work on. Time is going to fly to Christmas, and I won't get to do them all, but I want to:
--make all sorts of little baked goods and Christmas candies. It's so fun giving edible gifts...
--make these adorable pine-cone elves I found in the Martha Stewart magazine from last year.
--can some more salsa. We go through that stuff in no time! And I can't eat store-bought salsa anymore. Spoiled on the home-made.
--maybe can some other things. I started some simple canning this past August and love it...
--make plans for my Etsy shop; I've sorely neglected it, being far too busy already. I hope to give it some special attention after the holidays. Even though the holidays are a wonderful time to sell...too late at this point:) Check out what I have at: www.rolloverbeethoven.etsy.com
--finish the little snow village I'm making for Michal and get it sent in the next week, week and a half.

Oh, I have lots more. I am overly-ambitious at planning and not so ambitious at the execution. But it's all fun.

Work is going okay. I miss ink.

Saw the Barenaked Ladies at the beginning of the month = awesome!
I recommend their newest album, "All in Good Time."

Hope you are all splendid.
I love you.
Bec

It's officially Autumn, but as of yet, there is no sign of it here in our part of Oklahoma! I can't wait for Fall weather.

Since my last post, I've started working for corporate Hobby Lobby. I got sanctioned off to the Card & Party department, and in the last two weeks have been thrown into the fray of designing and editing holiday gift wrap. I am already sick of seeing red and green and am considering not wrapping Christmas presents this year...But otherwise, it's been a really great job. People are really friendly. I love having a regular work schedule and having the weekends (every weekend) off! I am located in a really cool space built inside a warehouse. I even like my little cubicle. Never thought I would say those words, but there you have it. I have littered it with concert posters and other random objects that make it endearingly mine. Sitting at a desk all day kills me, but I press on, making hourly get-up-and-walk-around-and-perhaps-get-more-coffee breaks.

The church here in El Reno has been so good to us. They are making us feel right at home. There is a lot of work to do and I only hope we don't fail the task.
We live less than half a mile from the church building, in a adorable little rental house that belongs to one of the members. Some of the men from church are about to start working on the garage to turn it into the laundry room/office/extra bathroom. Can't wait till it's finished! I know Curtis will be glad to have his office and I will be glad to have my craft table back...

Speaking of crafts, I am opening a new shop on Etsy.com that will just sell kitchen items; right now, I am working on recipe boxes, which will be the primary focus of the shop. Trying to find time to take some photographs and get them posted up and ready to go, and then I'll have a grand opening. Counting down the days till then...

And Guster's new album arrives in stores October 5th! I am so excited. It's been almost two years since they first announced a new album was in the works and I am more than ready for it. It's available in cd form AND vinyl. I'm torn; I really want the vinyl, but the cd is more versatile. Maybe I'll get both...

I think these are just about the same things I mentioned in my last post, so I guess I live a pretty routine life. I don't mind.

Well, that's about it, in a nutshell.
How have you been, old friends?

Have a splendid day.
I love you.

Well...I am sitting here trying to gather all I have for a job interview tomorrow. For a "real job." Never done that before...I'm a little nervous. Hafta sit before five members of the creative board and present Me! as wonderful. I hate it. I don't like drawing unnecessary attention to myself, especially before strangers. And job offering strangers at that!

Curtis and I are pretty much all settled in here in El Reno. Just a few boxes labeled "junk" and all of Curtis' books. The garage that is being turned into another room hasn't gotten that far yet, so he is stashed into the spare bedroom for now. We are liking it here. There are trees, and yet it's not nearly so humid as Kentucky! Hooray! The church has been just great and so friendly and I can tell we are going to love them.

Meanwhile, I am enjoying a bit of time off. While I look for a design job and keep Starbucks waiting on the backburner, I have time to do stuff around the house. My parents are visiting soon! and then I will be off to Kentucky for a couple weeks. Excited. I was hoping to get some recipe boxes cranked out for Etsy this fall, but we'll just have to see how things go. Maybe a bit of time next week? Perhaps.

I am curious to explore Oklahoma City. It's just a hop, skip and a jump down the road, especially in Texas terms. Perhaps some nifty bookstores await me? A local scrapbook store? Art? Print shops? Who knows, but I shall soon find out...

What are you up to, friends?

I love you.
Bec