i won! i won!

yay me!

i just received the most delightful package from

AUSTRALIA!!!

a while back, i entered a giveaway at

talk to the wind and sun.

the most delightful handmade stamps were the object of my affection, 
riyo was just GIVING them away!
(hence the meaning of a giveaway.)

i just had to have them!

and wouldn't you know it?

I WON!
isn't this the sweetest packaging?

very nice...
and i am completely in love with her handiwork!

you should travel over land and sea and pay her a visit...
here.
or here. 
and even here.
she loves visitors.
tell her i said bon jour!  and wave...

inspiring treasures, part duex....

here

here

here

here

a moment of serious...

a few weeks back, i was mentioning to the lusty woodsman that it was rather unsettling how our news media here in the bible belt was still covering disasters of one nameless country and yet, there was no mention of the disaster in another.

i found no article in the sunday bundle,

saw no coverage on the local telly,

nothing.

not that i remembered...there may have been one story the first day it occurred.

i can't recall.

because it wasn't given the coverage it deserved.

 Erik Vekland

i have bloggy friends in Australia.

wonderful women, creative women.

my heart was heavy looking at pictures of the devasting rains and flooding.

 Vekland 

 so many of my friends were affected, so many of their friends and family members lost everything.

 photo

after reading one of my favorite blogs this morning, i thought to myself:

self, this number could have been so much more.

but the fact remains...it was BIG.

the monies raised by the creative people around the world,

by the women (and two men, according to toni and carli) all over the world who opened their hearts (and their pocket books!),it was phenomenal!

i was stunned.

 photo

 photo

this little world of bloggyville is rather amazing.

a link here, a link there, and soon....

incredible things happen.

this internet community has become family to most.

lots of families.

photo

it has connected people from oceans apart.

the fundraiser that make it perfect held renews my hope in humanity.

we're imperfect....but when our friends are in need, 

we come out the door running, with cyber shovels, cyber buckets,

 photo

with our hearts open.

i wish i had unlimited funds...i have none to give.

but i do have my words and my heart.

i don't know where this post was supposed to go, i just had to say SOMETHING!

maybe a little thank you to the women and two men out there who were able to give more than love this time.

the numbers could have been higher...but they were jaw dropping nonetheless.

my thoughts are with my Australian friends.

speedy recovery.

whew...

it's been a long weekend with the trolls,

(lots of math to catch up on)

a long weekend with the horse,

(ran out of food and needed those pesky vaccinations)

and a very long weekend with this crick in me wee little neck...

but, all in all, it was a success.

little man put those fractions in their place, 

little lady and sweetie pie had their room spotless by sunday night,

the moose will live to see another day,

and i have new toys...

 

 

i refuse to put these in any of the cupboards here in this nasty little kitchen, so my lusty woodsman is crafting me a temporary board to hang them on.

yes, it will look odd...

yes, it will turn heads...

yes, it will most likely make this kitchen look that much more hideous...

but, hey, my toys are too nice to not look at.

kitchen remodel in T-minus 20 (or so...)days.

hangover...

and here it is...friday.

it's the last day of emily's party,

we've danced,

 we've sang,

buried our heads in the sand because of our dirty little party secrets,

our heels broke,

the lipstick wore off,

and it's time to go home.

sniff.

i had such FUN!

as much as i wish i could stay, 

i just can't bring myself to sit around in my messy house.

it must be cleaned.

(i started cleaning wednesday, i'm sorry, but all the physical photos of my house being in such disarray really kinda sorta made me blush!)

i shall start with myself.

feeling a bit funky after partying all week long.

but not until i share with you what's left of my wee little "double wide"..

here are the last couple peeks at my stellar mess:

(had to sneak in little man's room whilst he ate his honey nut o's...

hee hee)

Nerf mod-ing is his thing.  

i know i already showed my little storage facility room, but i was inspired to clean it wednesday.

seems pushing the big girl bed from one side of the room to the opposite had very little effect.

it still looks like a storage facility. 

::facepalm::

 

sigh.

thank you, my dear emily, thank you for making me feel better about my home.  by inviting all these fabulous people with all of their creative and amazing talents to show the world that they,too, are completely human, it just makes me breathe a sigh of relief.  why, there is hope for me yet!

cheers!

happy thursday...

just thought i would share a little happy with everyone.

the acronym for today is:

S.H.I.T.

(so happy it's thursday)

so here it it, my little happy that i found on OhDeeDoh this morning...

Handmade Felt Trees by Intres

these are so amazing...and sweet.

i must have one...i shall start looking around this tiny little "double-wide" and find a spot to put it that the moose can't reach.

::blink::

::blink::

on second thought...maybe i'll just pine over it for a little longer.

there really isn't anywhere that the beast CAN'T reach.

sheesh!

come back tomorrow for my final installment of dirty little party secrets!

i have a couple more rooms to share.

(i've been waiting all week, but something got into little man and he's cleaning!!!  what???!!!  

i know, right?)

i don't have any heels to speak of, but i did find my lipstick!

come join me at emily's party! 

parties and previews...

good morning, mon amis!

and what a morning it has already been.

not bad, just a morning.

ever have one of those dinners that fill your home with wonderful foodie aromas, mouthwatering tempting smells that make you drool at the thought of dinner?

especially if it's a bacon-y goodness, dripping with butters and garlics and onions and...(i'm hungry, damn)

 photo courtesy of epicurious

now, imagine that smell at 6:30am the next day.

sigh.

ew.

just as bad as when i was preggers with all my trolls and had to smell the lusty woodsman's coffee brewing at 5am.

ew.

it's a wonder i only hurled twice with all three.

so, that's my morning.

on top of that, there was only 1/2 cup of java for me this morning.

i despise brewing coffee.

i'd rather someone else just make me some 

(hence the single cup of elixir of the gods for me, made with love and haste by the lusty woodsman **posing as iron man most mornings**)

so here i sit,

at my messy desk,

smelling last night's dinner,

out of java,

staring at the kitchen from hell.

which brings me to my point that i neglected to tell you...

kitchen remodel in T-minus 29 days.

so, in conjunction with our little party with emily,

here is the before:

yes, i'll admit it...i took AAAAALLLLL of the cabinet doors off my cupboards...the lighting in here is so awful that i couldn't see ANYTHING, so i burned them out back with delight.

dishes, awful tile backsplash with grout dried onto the trim and counters, the garbage can where the dishwasher once stood, and yes, the moose's water dish IS inside the vittle vault...just no vittles in it, only a 5lb bag of baking soda 

(i love costco).

 the wallpaper, the shoe basket, the towel...yes, we keep a towel at the back door...have you seen the size paw that the moose doth has?  the mud from that creature alone, along with three trolls and the lusty woodsman **posing as iron man with concrete all over his boots** 

is enough to warrant a wash station, but a towel will have to suffice.

 and here we have my FAVORITE side of the kitchen...i really don't have to say anything about it...a picture is worth A THOUSAND words....

this is my tuesday mess.

this is my every freakin' day of the week mess....

take it all in, my friends,

study it hard...for it will all be gutted...

iron man said i could use his crowbar!  yay!

until next time...keep it real.

visit emily's place and grab your heels, it's the greatest party of the year!