THANKS

I recently submitted our Thank you picture to the Gratitude Project and wanted to share our experience. My daughter had a slumber party for her 8th Birthday. So we had all the kids and their friends make our letters and we headed to the park for a photos shoot. I am pleased that the kids were all so excited to be a part of this, it is important that they support the soldiers, even if they don't understand or support the war. We had a lot of re-takes, keeping 6 kids in sync for a picture is harder than you think. I think it turned out nice and the kids were having fun, being silly. I know we are part of something much bigger and that makes me feel good! Please show your support anyway you can too. It will bring happiness to you and the soldiers!
February 13th, 2010 Eve, Devon, Lorraine, Max, Kaitlyn and Zane.

Thank a Soldier

Today I want to post about something that is dear to my heart...Thank A Soldier. There are many different opinions about war and people's beliefs during wartime, but no matter what your feelings are about war & wartime one thing must ALWAYS be clear, your support for the troops. This is not just for the soldiers of the USA, but ALL soldiers in every country. The least we can do as civilians and as kindred spirits is show our appreciation for the soldiers that give up their freedoms for ours. They are doing a campaign right now through the 28th of February to memorialize our thank you's called the The Gratitude Project.

If you have a moment stop by and show your support, maybe even submit a photo, just let them know they are not forgotten or condemned for what they do, but praised for their courage and thanked for the sacrifices.



If you think you'll make a difference and Thank a Soldier let me know, I am interested in your entries and unique ways we can come up with to thank them. I will be posting my submission soon, stay tuned...

GO...BE...CREATE...BELIEVE!!!

So I 've been feeling like lately I have no *purpose*...what will I bring to this life...leave this life when I am gone?

Yes, I have 4 beautiful children that I have instilled with love, compassion, empathy and good morals that we pray, will give them all a purposeful life!

!

But as a single person, WHAT am I going to do that is Spectacular, Phenomenal, Fabulous?!?

I have dreams of becoming an accomplished artist and be well known in the Arts community, but is it enough? Is what I create the things that people want? Is how I feel about art how they will feel about it? I often have the horrible *what if's* in my head that are always negative and make me second guess my work...I'm not good enough to BE an artist!

I find myself always derailing my create time by puttering in the studio, organizing and re-organizing ribbons and papers and stickers and such...only to sabotage my time so I won't create, then I feel guilty for NOT creating, WHY do I do this???

So as fate would have it...blog hopping I came across this awesome video at Whatever, the fun and very colorful blog I now love.

I think it's a sign...I will get over my issues and CREATE art, but more importantly, I will BELIEVE it is worth it! And as for my purpose, well right now my purpose it to make MYSELF happy...then maybe I can make others happy. I'll keep dreaming of that famous Artist I want to become...but first, I need to take baby steps...won't you baby step with me?

If any of you have had struggles and triumphs to achieve with your art, please share the love, I have a felling a LOT of us have the terrible *What if's* that keep us from our creating!

GO...BE...CREATE...BELIEVE!!!

~a peek at my ever changing studio~

p.s. I was looking for the *What ifs* poem and found this on youtube, Shel wrote *Boy named Sue* for Johnny Cash, they sing a cute duet and Shel sings a song about a father and a son.

Birthdays ROCK!!!

I have so much I wanna share...first, I celebrated my 29th Birthday (for the 9th time) on Wednesday and was so overwhelmed by my family & friends...they all made me feel sooo special. I got everything that I wished for...

Gwen Stefani's perfume Harajuku Lovers *G*

Ooo and the website is fun too..go play!

She looks so cute in my perfume bottle collection...I'll post pics later after I dust o_O

These Adorable deer earrings from BeeLoveLee.

She has sooo many cute lil bags, I'm especially fond of the hedgehog on the faux boiu background...

too cute!!!

Thanx for making me feel like a PRINCESS!

*kisses*

...the lucky 3...

It is time to draw are 3 lucky winners for the Halloween giveaways...yeah!!!

I rounded up a few of the usual suspects...but wait, they don't seem very menacing...

ahhh...that's better...now let's set the mood...

...What a host of gloomy recollections will ever and anon be awakened in the mind of genius and imaginative contemplation, especially of a genius doomed to the everlasting and eternal, and continual, and, as one might say, the -continued -yes, the continued and continuous, bitter, harassing, disturbing, and, if I may be allowed the expression, the very disturbing influence of the serene, and godlike, and heavenly, and exalted, and elevated, and purifying effect of what may be rightly termed the most enviable, the most truly enviable -nay! the most benignly beautiful, the most deliciously ethereal, and, as it were, the most pretty (if I may use so bold an expression) thing (pardon me, gentle reader!) in the world -but I am always led away by my feelings. In such a mind, I repeat, what a host of recollections are stirred up by a trifle!... Excerpt from A Predicament ~Edgar Allan Poe (to continue reading go here).
...enough stalling...head roll please (get it, head roll instead of drum roll)...

The owl earrings go to Jaime from A Forest Frolic...thanx for the twitter follow, by the way, ❤❤❤love your stuff ❤❤❤

my little goblin reaches in for lucky #2...

...and the Batty necklace goes to Kristal @ Bella Grace!!!

reaching in for lucky #3...

the cat ornament goes to PIXIE
I'm glad I got your name off the tag before it caught on fire!!!

So there are the lucky 3...thanx ladies...I hope you like your goodies!!!

A Fanciful Twist Halloween party...

~~~I've had lots of comments on the skeleton riding the bicycle, the cemetery, the spiderwebs and this creepy critter living in the webs.
They are pictures from a Halloween Train ride in Nevada City, CA. We have family in Northern California and went there a few years back. It is a fun ride, if your in the area, check it out...It's spooktacular~~~

***all other pics are from our house, or past Halloweens***

Greetings fellow trickters...

I am a bit late to the party, blame the evil Strept O. Coccus

He does look quite menacing huh?!? I will not surrender, I have a party to attend {cough cough}

A windy tale
the west winds blow,
in this heat of hell
no one would know,
the wicked hour
be upon us soon
in 13 risings, 13 moons
we will be witches
and pirates
and sinners
and saints,
too bad 'tis only for one day!

~the Wicked Witch Rowan Willow

{me, Max & Eve}

{Eve, Zane & Max}

{SpiderMax}
...you're never too old to dress up...

{Paige}

~The tragedy of Macbeth~

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot.

Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and owlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Witches' mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock digg'd i' the dark,
Liver of blaspheming Jew,
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Silver'd in the moon's eclipse,

Nose of Turk and Tartar's lips,
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,
For the ingredients of our cauldron.

~play by William Shakespeare~
~photos by Rowan Willow~


In celebration of the most wonderful holiday Halloween, I am having 3 giveaways. All are handmade by me.

An adorable pair of owl earrings...
\

A Batty necklace...


and a Cat ornament...
{very hard to get a pic of}

All you have to do is add a comment to this post.
If you would like a second chance to win, you can follow me on twitter, then tweet the giveaway on your twitter.
If you like your odds to be even better you can sign up for my mailing list, just send me an email at taleah@me.com with your info and keep your eyes out for specials coming in the near future.

I will pick the winners next Sat. the 24th so you can wear your festive jewelry on Halloween.


Make sure to check back soon...
I will be posting more pictures of my Haunted House...
but first, I must battle this infection...before I end up like him!!!

Tea Party with Alice and the Mad Hatter!

I am so excited...the High School where my oldest daughter was inducted into the Thespian Society is performing one of our favorites Alice in Wonderland!

We have also been invited to attend a special tea party with the cast. We get to decorate tea cups, have a bite to eat, meet and get our picture made with our favorite character...hmmm I wonder who we'll choose?!? I can't wait, I miss the days of my daughters performances, she is such a joy to watch! I'll post more after the Tea Party!!!

Vacation ~July 2009

I love smilebox... please enjoy our lil' scrapbook!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Pomegranate petals, pink tomatoes & a pretty new blog!

I've been a busy girl setting up my "new & improved" blog, twitter & tumblr. I learned a lot, and got frustrated a little (ok...a LOT), but I think the hard work was well worth it! I couldn't have done it without Shabby blogs, they make so many cute templates it was hard choosing. Go check them out if you've yearned for a new look, they won't disappoint. What do you think?
Now...off to dreamland...zzzzz

Freedom...fireworks...food...freinds...ahhh the 4th of July is awesome!

I watched the flag


Pass by one day,


It fluttered in the breeze.



A young Marine


Saluted it, 


And then he stood at ease.



I looked at


Him in uniform


So young, so tall, so proud,


With hair cut square


And eyes alert


He'd stand out in any crowd.



I thought how many men


Like him 


Had fallen through the years.


How many died on foreign


Soil


How many mothers' tears?



How many pilots' planes


Shot down?


How many died at sea


How many foxholes were soldiers'


Graves?


No, freedom isn't free



I heard the sound of Taps


One night, 


When everything was still,


I listened to the bugler



Play


And felt a sudden chill.



I wondered just how many times



That Taps had meant 'Amen,' 



When a flag had draped a 


Coffin.


Of a brother or a friend.





I thought of all the


Children,


Of the mothers and the wives,


Of fathers, sons and 


Husbands


With interrupted lives.



I 
Thought about a graveyard


At the bottom of the sea 



Of unmarked graves in 


Arlington.


No, freedom isn't free. 



Enjoy Your Freedom 


& God Bless Our Troops