Friday, December 27, 2013

Happy Holidays!

Update:  OKAY!  Went to see what was up with no comments and realized the post hadn't posted or linked as I thought it would.  Sorry about the lateness of the holiday wishes!

Just wanted to take a few minutes to post a holiday message to friends and family that are near and far.   Hope everyone has had a happy holiday and is looking forward to the new year.  Christmas has become such a secular holiday and everyone participates in their own ways as do we here at the Doswell house.  We have (in alphabetical order!)  Atheists, Agnostics, Baptists, Catholics, Humanists, Jew, Protestants and whatever else you would like to throw into the mix so we celebrate what I call Snowman Day here!  It starts at Thanksgiving and it goes till I get tired of all the decorations and take down the tree (and a few years ago it went on till February!) It is a time of year where we all celebrate our lives, family, and friends without malice or hatred towards any person, race, culture etc.  We loves one another...:-)

So from our house to yours...

Happy Snowman Day!


Looking forward to seeing and visiting with everyone in the new year!  To my friends at WOYWW I hope everyone has a great holiday and I am looking forward to seeing those desks in the new year.  To find out what WOYWW is click on the link on the right side bar! 

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

WOYWW

Another busy week has just flown by and I am wondering if it is ever going to slow down again!  Welcome WOYWW friends hope that you are having a great week also.  If you would like to know what WOYWW is and what it is all about you can click on the link on the far right or you can click here to visit Julia at Stamping Ground who will tell you all about it!

My desk this week is an absolute mess and I am ashamed to show it but that is a continual condition lately.  I still haven't moved rooms so everything is a clutter and it takes forever to find anything.  I think I will forgo showing a pic and just show you what I made as a gift. 

I had a lot of fun at a Christmas party and a Secret Santa/Sister swap at my local scrap book store on Sunday.  Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to share but a group of us got together and spent several hours just visiting, eating, and enjoying one anothers company.  I had a blast and think everyone who attended did also!
I made my secret sister a box made from a tutorial I saw on the Grapic-45 blog that Clare Charvill created for the 12 Days of Christmas Day 5.   There is a video tutorial that makes it all seem so easy peasy and it was...mostly!  I really enjoyed making the box cause it is something I hadn't done before so it was a challenge of sorts.  Go check out Clare's blog and see the other fun things she has made.

Graphic 45 12 Days of Christmas paper, stickers and chipboard pieces


The box holds a pillar candle that I altered with some of the Graphic 45 12 Days of Christmas Stickers.  I made the box topper from a wreathe and small tree from the Tim Holtz alterations trees that I sprayed with Dylusions ink and made 'balls' with Stickles glitter glue.





My daughter Heather and I made a whirlwind trip to Dallas today to do some Christmas shopping and to pickup some things we can't find around here and Oklahoma City.  We left Norman about 0800 and made it back home about 2130 after traveling a total of about 6 hours and visiting IKEA, Container store and several other stores.  WOW!  I am one tired puppy and I am off to bed after I show you a few pictures of some of the lights we saw at a Festival of Lights in Ardmore on the way home!
over 20' tall display of lights
 I loved this next display because it was animated and had a cowboy lassoing the straw of a drink and dripping soda into Santa's mouth!



Santa scores some soda!
 Reindeer riding a whale while the blow spout spouts water!

 and lots of stationary do nothing but look awesome lights.   Most of the light displays were between 10-20 feet tall.
20' tall letters

Santa's workshope

Arch across the road

Snowy village
Anyway that is it for me!  Hope you have a great week and if I don't talk to you before next week have a Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

ooooopppppssss....WOYWW

Nope I didn't fall off the face of the earth, no I wasn't gobbled up by a Purple Haired People Eater,  and I wasn't abducted by aliens and had thousands of unmentionable tests done on me...I have no excuse!  I really don't know what happened I just seemed to fall out of the crafting and blogging scene for awhile here.  Healthwise I haven't been feeling well but I have had worse bouts of feeling unwell.  I went to the Doctor this week and she is running a bunch of tests so maybe they will find out what is up with me again.  I was also started on another type of medication for my ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia called Lyrica.  Suppose to help with the headaches and muscle pains I have been having...maybe give me a little more energy to do more.

I wanted to get back into sharing with WOYWW and I have been doing a few crafty things but haven't taken the time to photograph them or my desk this week! I do have a picture of some tags I made recently for a class I am going to be teaching this Thursday at Scrap That.   I really have a lot of fun crafting but seems like a lot of things keep getting in the way! 

If you would like to know more about WOYWW check out Julia's blog Stamping Ground for more information.
so excited!

Heather and I took a cruise from Barcelona Spain to New Orleans on Carnivals latest fun ship the Sunshine.  I have always wondered what a transatlantic cruise would be like and thanks to Michael and Heather generosity I now know.   16 days about a ship with only 4 stops was an adventure to say the least.  We stopped in Palma de Mallorca, Malaga, Spain, Las Palmas in the Canary Islands and Grand Turk in the Caribbean...the Caicos or Turk islands.  




 I think Heather is awesome subject to photograph and look at these 2 photos of her side by side...
24 hours and no sleep!



The first one was at the airport in Oklahoma City waiting for our tickets and the second photo was after we had pretty much been up 24 hours and been in airports and on airplanes the whole time.  I am sure I didn't looks as good and she was still full of energy!  We didn't stay in Barcelona any time we flew in then caught a bus to the docks to get the ship.  Next time.  Barcelona is a beautiful city and I have been there before but unfortunately Heather hasn't.


Our first port of call was in Palma de Mallorca where we walked around town a bit, looked at the cathedral and had coffee with some friends.
A nice passerby took a picture of Heather and I together
Steps up behind the palace leading to the cathedral
looking out to the docks from the cathedral
Friends Alan and Fabris  




I heard that Malaga, Spain was a beautiful city but unfortunately I had fallen ill with a sinus and respiratory infection that kept me from getting out of my bed.  I don't remember having an upper respiratory tract infection like this in a long time I am so thankful I wasn't forced to get out of bed because I wouldn't have made it!  I saw the inside of the ship's infirmary to purchase decongestants but luckily didn't see the doctor.  I heard that they set a record for numbers of patients seen because of this virus!

In Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Canary Islands was an interesting town to visit.  Unfortunately I was still under the weather and didn't go anywhere but to a pharmacy and grocers before having some paella with Heather and heading back to the ship. 
Our boat is the one with the blue smoke stack

Heather posing for me!

Yummy Paella!
The next 6 days were "at sea days" and I was ever so grateful.  I began getting over the crud and poor Heather and 1/2 the ship came down with it.  Laying in bed at night I could hear people moving about and coughing in the halls...lovely stuff we brought back to the states with us!

During our sea days we spent a lot of time on deck sitting and reading, walking about the ship,

our favorite spot!

My favorite view!
Front of the ship from above the lido deck
The adults only deck

Back of the ship see the funny looking brown pods?  Most uncomfortable place to sit ever!
 We had 6 time changes during the crossing and luckily the weather change from cool to much warmer was easier to handle.   Our last stop was in the Caicos or Turk islands at the Island of Gran Turk.  Smallish size and from the top of the boat you could see water surrounding the island on all sides





Water water everywhere!
I was a hot day and I thought I was melting...
I think Heather was getting embarrassed when I ordered my 3rd margarita at Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville....They don't skimp on the Tequila either!
made a purchase of 2L tequila while on the island...too cheap to pass up! No I didn't have any difficulties getting back on the boat! 

We had 3 more days at sea in the Caribbean before we made it to New Orleans and home. 
Happy Campers...we had a blast!