Just Another Tuesday

These pictures are from two weekends ago when my son Blake was in the play Oklahoma. He had a blast being in a musical, which he thought that over for a while before he committed to singing. The first picture is his really good friend David Shimkis. Blake is right behind him.

Blake as a cowboy.
Ethan in his gown.
Ethan and Blake

Ethan, Jake, Christian, and John

This past weekend was my son Ethan's confirmation. Here are a few photo shots: The first shot is him. The second shot is his big (Little) brother, and then the third shot is his three best friends in the whole world.

Last night I attended the ShowMeEtsy Street Team meeting at Crestwood Plaza in St. Louis. This is a group of artists that all live in the St. Louis area and have stores on Etsy and have lots of different venues for selling their arts and crafts in the St. Louis area. They host several events throughout the year as a group. I am really excited to join the group. The meeting was really fun.

Well I have taken a ton of pictures to add stuff to my Etsy shop so I need to get busy.

Aleece

Boy Have I Been a Bad Blogger

I know it has been nearly a month since my last post. My New Year's resolution was to be a better blogger. Along with many other things like losing weight, (and that has not happened), but we can only look to the future and not dwell on the past. I have been busy around the house, Ethan is getting confirmed in a few weeks, Blake is in the play Oklahoma this coming weekend and I have been re-organized my scrap room. Just getting some much needed things done (like my taxes at the last minute)....... finding a costume, etc...

I do have my Etsy shop filled up with lost of scrapbook stuff, embellishments. I have lots more stuff to list. I will be adding things this week. After I cleaned out my kids closets I have tons of stuff to sell on Ebay. Another day another time.

My cousin Toni, just signed up to be a Close To My Heart Consultant. I just said that I was thinking about starting that around here. I guess I really need to get going on that. Tony, if you read this, call me about signing up. I am interested.

Well I need to get back to my creating, or at least I think that I am creating something.

Aleece

Joined New Craft/Art Site Art Fire

Today I decided to join a new site to try and sell some of my items on. It is called Art Fire and I have added it to my blog. I got a late start, so I only got two things listed. I will get some more things put on. This site is really cool as it lets you promote your other sites like Etsy on that site along with selling on this site. We will give it a try. I don't have much else to put on today. Since it is 2:00 a.m. Ethan has his play at school tomorrow night so I might have some pics from that.
aleece

Fun with Out of Town Family

This weekend my husband's family from the Chicago area was visiting our family. They came to our house for dinner on Saturday. It was so fun to have a few little "girls" hanging around the man cave. Karl's nephew Eric and his wife Lindsey have two little girls Austin who is going to be three and a new baby Addison. Karl's niece Ashley has a little girl Jocelyn who is around one. Their brother Stephen was here along with Karl's brother Keven and his wife Brenda. Karl's other niece Kelsey was also here. It was a really fun evening. Here are a few photos from the night.

I am also adding several things to my Etsy store this evening. Hope everyone is having a happy Spring. Wonderful weather (kind of raining here, but warm).

Aleece

What about this Wonderful Weather

GOTTA LOVE CLEARANCE
This weather is awesome. I want is to stay this way. It is so warm. It is raining now, but oh well. I had to go and get some shorts today for Ethan and Blake. They both have outgrown most of their last years shorts. I think I have outgrown my shorts too. You know what I mean. LOL!!!! Let's not talk about that right now. Anyway, when I went to Hobby Lobby to get some supplies I found these great bargains. If anyone knows me, you know that I love a good bargain:



Anyway, some of these are battered and torn and need to be repurposed and the some of the Aleece magic added to them. The next time you see them they will be fun and funky, fresh and fun with bright colors, glitter, and lots of stuff. And to think that I only paid less than $10.00 for all of them. Bargains, bargains, bargains.






This is what I have been working on and adding to my Etsy site. Well I need to work on a few more things tonight. That is all for now. Here is a neat quote that I came across:

"Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human." - Anthony Robbins

Tuesday Tidbits

After a really fun weekend in Chicago I need to get to work on putting all of the goodies onto my Etsy site. I have some really cool new stuff just waiting to be added. Our weekend was really fun. Even though our team did not fair that well the kids had fun along with the parents (ERIC).

It is a beautiful day outside today. Around 70 degrees. Spring is near. Although tomorrow it is suppose to be 40 degrees. The little glimpses of Spring help get you through the end of winter.

I need to go and pick up my Blake from school. Ethan is at play practice.

Aleece

I Haven't Fallen Off of The Earth

Tonight I got an email from my cousin Toni who said that she started a new blog. I looked at her blog and I thought to myself, I have not wrote in my own blog for a good month. I also thought, I wished that Toni lived near me because she loves all of the same things that I do. She loves to scrapbook, do artsy things, shop.... she is just like the daughter that I never had. Toni, if you read this maybe some day we will live closer to each other and can scrapbook and shop together. Anyway, I have had a cold and near pneumonia for about a month now. I am just now starting to feel better. After finally getting through some antibiotics from the doctor, I think I will live. Maybe warm weather will arrive and things will start to be like spring.

This weekend we will be leaving on Friday to go to Chicago, because Ethan's basketball team made it to the Lutheran State Basketball Tournament. How exciting for him and his class. They did not have a great season so they are going in the underdogs, but it will still be fun. I am going to try and get a bunch of new stuff on my Etsy site this week. I have lots of stuff done and many projects nearly done. I would not be normal if I did not have 20 or so projects started and not finished.

Thats all for now

Weekend Festivities

Here is a picture of my son Ethan's basketball team. They won their conference basketball tournament 3rd place game on Saturday with a victory over Bethalto. They have played this team four times this season and have lost previously three times to them and finally came out on the winning side this time. All of the boys are in eighth grade and will be heading off to high school next year. How exciting. I can't believe my little baby will be going to high school. He is the small number 12 in the back row. About six foot tall. I am blogging right now because I went to put a few new items onto my Etsy shop and my camera battery was dead. Then I could not find my new battery charger. This took about 1 hour. Finally found it. Now I am charging my battery so I can upload my pictures.

Year of Color Valentines Swap

I finally completed my YEAR OF COLOR All That I Love Swap. It is in the mail and on its way to my swap partner "CAT". She has been wonderful and I am so glad that I have the opportunity to get to know her long distance. I received my wonderful package in the mail today and I was so excited to open it. I loved every single thing that I received. Thank you so much. What a great way to start the week with a lot of pink goodness. I think that there is no better way. Well here are a few peeks are what is on the way to Idaho:

I am so awful at putting things on this blog. I guess practice makes perfect, and I need much more practice. I have been struggling first of all with a new camera, and now with this blog tonight. Give me paper, glue, and paint and I can roll. Give me technology and I can't deal very well. That is because I live in this house with all these men and soon to be men and I am not allowed to use much technology and when I am faced to use it alone, I don't do so well. I will survive and learn.

I must get back to make some new things for my Etsy store.

Aleece

My New Camera

Today I bought a new camera, but I can't upload any pictures because I don't have enough battery. I will test it out tomorrow. Anyway, I am sitting here with nothing to do at 1:30 in the morning because my son has some friends over and I am waiting for a few of them to leave so that I can go to bed. Kind of like babysitting all over again. Oh well at least I know where they are at.

I have added a lot of new things to my Etsy and Lollishop. Sales have been slow. Hopefully with my new camera it will make my art look a little bit better. I continually get comments back from people who have purchased stuff from me that my items look much better in person that they looked on the computer. I also just finished totally revamping my craft room and craft storage area. This should also help to get some more work finished in a timely fashion.

I am looking forward to better weather. On Monday I am back to Weight Watchers. I am going to start walking but I guest I must go to the gym as it is too cold outside. Must keep up with those kind of New Years Resolutions.

I also need to work on my valentines swap stuff that I need to have in the mail by February 1st. I have everything in order, just have to put it together. Should not be a problem. I will post pictures before I through it in the mail.

Must get some sleep.

Aleece

background

This is a picture of my youngest son Ethan who is fourteen with his new favorite hat that he got for Christmas. He wears that goofy thing all the time. He will need it the next few days because it is really cold here. Oh my gosh, it is so cold here. Our kids do not even have school tomorrow because of the forecast of cold temperatures. My oldest son's school did not call off school as it is a private high school and they do not have buses , so they will have school. He was not very happy that his little brother will be able to sleep in and he has to go to school. I told him to think about this spring when they have the school days to make up and you will be getting out of school earlier than they will. I can't believe that my first born son Blake will get his drivers license in May. What a

milestone for a boy to turn sixteen. I am excited also as he is going to get my car, and I am going to get a new car.

I also have two older grown step sons that are twenty six and twenty four. They do not live at home any more. They are on their own. These two younger boys still keep me busy enough. I always thought that maybe I would go back to work when they got older, but I don't won't to enter back into the work force. I love staying home and being able to be creative.

My 2009 word that I came up a little late is GIVING. I saw this saying and though it has a lot of meaning for me and it is this: You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that your truly give. I think that I will use this as my word for the year. I just fits me.

ALEECE

P.S. I got my person for the Valentines Swap for the Year of Color and I can't wait to contact you.

Aleece

Today I finally added some more items to my Etsy and Lollyshops. I have lots more to load up. It takes so much time. I love creating stuff, but I am bad at getting it put into my shops. I always want to quit and work on another project. I am pretty sure that when I was small that I had ADD because I can never finish one thing before I start something else. My creative mind seems to never stop. I am so excited for the Lisa Pace Valentine Workshop to start. I love her workshops. It really gets your creative juices flowing.

I am looking forward to this weekend as my son is playing in a basketball tournament and we are staying the weekend. The only downside is that are dog is not doing well and our older son is going to have to stay with her. She is a retired greyhound and her back is ailing her. She is 12 years old and has been having a hard time that last few weeks. We will miss her if she does not get better. It is just too sad to write about. She and I are the only girls in the house. If she goes, I will be the only girl with all the boys.

It is soo cold here. The temp outside is suppose to get really cold tonight and colder in the next few days. I think I need to create some Springy thingy's to make me feel not so cold.

That's all for now. Need to work on some unfinished projects and finish watching the Housewives of Orange County. They are really mean women on that show, but somehow, I still watch them each week.

Aleece

Just another Sunday. I have been neglecting to post to my blog once again. I am best at creating and always lacking on the back end of things. So I am going to post this blog and add some new goodies to my Etsy and Lollishop tonight. The cards and the lollipop bouquet are some of the new things I will be adding. So pink and red and fun. I just love Valentines Day. My family is made up of four boys and my wonderful husband, so I have a great time with my art creating pink, red and whimsical things as I am the only girl in the family.

I need to get back to my posting onto Etsy and Lollishops so I must close. Hopefully this week, I will begin a new chapter of posting.

Aleece

Finally getting back to working on a daily or near daily shout out on my blog. I want to start out the new year right and one of my resolutions was to do this more faithfully. I have been working hard on getting some new Valentines stuff in my Etsy store and in my Lollishop. I am hoping to load them up in the next few days. It seems kind of hard to get back in the swing of things. Everyone is off to school and work and the decorations have been taken down from the holidays. I guess we need to reflect on the wonderful things and talents that we have been given and try not to listen to the doom and gloom about the economy and the world around us. Sometimes when times are not the best I think we come to appreciate the smaller things in life instead of everything that we think we might be missing. That is another of my resolutions for this coming year along with the following:

1. Work at completing more projects that I have started.
2. Work at finding family time as my children are growing up fast.
3. Stick to my Weight Watchers plan and go to the gym on a regular basis.
4. Keep to my blog on a daily basis because I have wanted to this for a year, finally started it, and want to continue with it.
5. Help others more often then less.
6. Be thankful for everything I do have and have been given.

Another few things of interest that you might want to join. I have joined the Cupids Workshop at http://www.lisapace.com. I did the 12 Days of Christmas before the holidays and this is a wonderful workshop with awesome ideas and crafts for the upcoming holidays. I also joined a year long blog called a Year of Color. You can join for $12.00 for the year through this blog http://www.artsymama.blogspot.com/. You pay through her Etsy as it is listed on her site. There is a link on her blog. Lots of great crafty and fun inspiration for the whole year.

Well I must work on posting stuff to my Etsy store so hope to create and get lots of stuff done.