Merry Wishes...

Wishing each of you a Merry Christmas.
May the Magic of the Season be forever in your Heart.

Today.

This is what it looked like today, as well as this evening. Snowing, blowing and huge drifts. Snow and more snow. We are going to break record snowfall for Minnesota in December this year. The kids got out of school early today, but not early enough. In my opinion, the schools should have closed at about 10 a.m. It was terrible out and you couldn't see past our property line at about 8:30 a.m. but the superintendent never takes the country roads into consideration. They closed the schools three hours early...

The roads were so bad today that a bus went into the ditch. No one was hurt, but they never think of those poor bus drivers that have to take all of those children home. I have nothing but great respect for every single bus driver out there. The crap they have to put up with, I don't think they get paid enough.

I knew the schools would close early today and I honestly don't think they will have school tomorrow. I also don't think that I can get down my driveway to take the kids to the bus, even if they do have school. It would do no good to plow the driveway now, the wind is to fierce. The drifts are tall and when I picked the kids up at the end of the driveway today at about 1:30 p.m. the drifts were pretty high then and I almost got stuck a few times.

I am thankful I am done with school until January! YAY!! I got all straight A's and am pretty happy with myself. It was a lot of hard work, but it was a challenge that I was/am up for. Just think, I already have one-quarter of my schooling out of the way. Time sure flies when your having fun. :) I am so happy for the break from school thou, I can breath and catch my breath. I was up in my studio playing today. I am making some last minute things for gifts.

This past weekend, the kids and I went to my mom's house, stayed the night and baked our little hearts out. One of my sisters was there with her son as well. We made all sorts of goodies, we even made homemade caramels. YUM! They turned out absolutely PERFECT! Wishing each of you a wonderful week and a Magical Holiday Season. Cheers, Tonya

LUCKY ME!!

I was the LUCKY recipient of the BEAUTIFUL handmade wool hooked rug. I won this Jolly Snowman from Rhonda of "My Glory Stars." Rhonda's work is AMAZING and the colors are so very PERFECT for this rug. I could not believe I won. When I woke up on Sunday morning, I was greeted with an e-mail from Rhonda, stating that I had won. What a great way to start off the morning.

You will have to visit Rhonda's blog, as her work is simply amazing. Besides making hooked rugs, Rhonda also makes needle punched handmades. I adore my rug and will have to find the perfect spot for Mr. Jolly! The colors are perfect for me, as the blue in the background is about the same color as my studio.

I honestly don't think that I can put this sweet creation away for the year, once winter is over with. So, Mr. Jolly will reside with me, in my studio, so that I may enjoy him all year through. Thank you again, Rhonda. I will treasure him always. I adore him!!

I hope you all have a wonderful evening. Have a fabulous Friday. Cheers, Tonya

Random Thoughts...

We finally received some measurable snow on Friday. Not a whole lot, but enough to make it look like winter/Christmas. It had been quite chilly too.

Well, this semester is getting down to the nitty-gritty! Most of my finals are this week and then 2 next week. Wow, how time has flown right by. I am very pleased with this semester (grade wise). And on Friday, I got 94% on one of my tests. I was very happy and pleased with myself. Remember, Grammar and English have never been my strong suite and that is what I got the "A" on, so yes, I was pleased as punch! I was grinning ear to ear.

We take our tests online and once you are finished, you see your grade immediately. I love the fact that you do not have to wait to find out your grade. Technology and what it can do, it is simply amazing, if you think about it.

There is not really anything else to share, except our kitty is doing a bit better, but still not 100 percent. Thank you for all of your kind words. I hope you all have a wonderful week. Cheers, ~Tonya (I will be studying hard all week!)

New listings on Etsy...

I did find some time to finish Sweet Sally Snow Bunny! I have listed her and my hand made tags on Etsy. This is probably the last dollie for the year. My time is very limited in the creating department.
Sweet Sally has lots and lots of detail put into her. I love how she finished up. She has so much class and that black and white together, just so clean and crisp looking together. I even gave her some painted little leggins'.

Here is one set of my hand stamped tags. Is is the only set. Actually all three sets, they are all that is available. I have finished this set in German glass glitter. Pictures do not do these tags justice. It was very cold old, my fingers froze and I did not want to go back outside for natural lighting. In person they are so very pretty...

This set is without the German glass glitter, but still looks just as pretty. It all depends on what "look" you are after for your Christmas packages or your decor. Wouldn't they look so pretty on a feather tree.

And my last set of tags, a pretty reindeer. In person, there is so much detail in the reindeer. Little candy canes and such. Very neat. I have finished off the antlers with glitter, but you cannot really see that in the pictures. Oh well, I tried.

I do hope that you will hop on over to my Etsy shoppe and take a peek. I hope you each have a fabulous week and weekend. Cheers, ~Tonya

In the works...

Yes, I have something in the works. I have been trying to finish it up for a while now, but life just gets too busy. I did get to work on it this past weekend, but with Thanksgiving and such, there just is not enough time in a day.

It is something to do with snow, of course, and she is so very sweet. I started her quite a while ago and she has been waiting to be finished up. I hope to finish her up this week. I also made some tags and pretty cards, but have not had a chance to get any pictures taken. Maybe I can get pictures in the next day or two...

There is going to be a change in the weather here too. We received more rain yesterday. Yes, rain! Here this is the end of November and in Minnesota and well, it just doesn't feel like Minnesota lately. That is okay, I can handle no snow. I think that is about to change thou. High winds are kicking up and snow is in the forecast.

I thought I would stop in and say HI. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I also wanted to say Thank you, for all of your kind words about my Kitty-Cat Kinko. He is doing better, but he is still on the road to recovery. Have a beautiful day. ~Tonya

A TOUGH week!

This week started out with my beloved cat, Kinko, contracting a disease called Vestibular disease. What is that? Well in humans, it would be like "vertigo". It is brought on without reason or cause and your cat may look or appear to have had a stroke. The cat looses all sense of balance and it so scared, that it cries out loud, with a bellowing cry. Their eyes can move rapidly, back and forth and that is something that I will never forget. To see his eyes dilated and moving as they did, is just something I never want to see again. He could not walk, his neck was turned to the side like it was hinged and stuck in place.

The first 48 to 72 hours are the worst! I had to force feed my poor kitty and he was practically life-less and when he did move, he looked as if he was a robotic cat. A very sad state for an owner and for children to see. With each passing day, he is getting better. They say that 50% of cats make a full recovery. Some never make a full recovery and some will still have a tilt of their head as a result of contracting Vestibular disease...

Kinko is one of the most adorable cats I have ever owned. He is mild mannered and will drop to the floor, with a roll-over, to his back and stretch out for a nice belly rub. He will paw at my arm to have me pet him. He is just adorable! Kinko is still very unstable on his feet, but has started to eat a bit on his own. His eyes are no longer dialated and moving. All very good signs. He have a long way to go, but he is doing better and that is good.

***KINKO is his name because when he found my hubby at his place of employment, he was homeless, hungry, and had a crimp in his tail. Poor kitty. Hence, he became our Kinko. ;)

As if that was not enough--our furnace went out on Wednesday morning! It was out from about 9:30 a.m. until 7:00 p.m., Darrel was working, so I did what I thought was best. I turned on a couple of electric heaters. Well, that was a mistake. I tripped the breakers and reset them. I unplugged one heater, tried the other two again, they tripped again and I could not get them reset. So there we were, without heat in 26 degrees weather. It did get down to 42 degrees in here, thank goodness it was only for a short time.

I am very thankful that hubby is so handy! He got the furnace going and we are warm and toasty again. Needless to say, I do not want to repeat this week again, EVER! I am behind on my homework, so guess what I get to do this weekend? Any guesses? Homework. I am over joyed about that. I will get a little done each day. I am pretty diligent about that. I did want to work in my studio, but as we all know, our best laid plans don't always work out. I hope you all have a blessed weekend. I for one, am glad it is the weekend. I can sleep in a bit and breath. ~Tonya

Thought I would share...

Jenny of ~Wonders of Whimsy~ is having a give-a-way! She just started a SELLING BLOG. In celebrating her NEW sales blog, she is just asking you to "follow" her blog and spread the word. What do you get in return? A chance to win a One of a Kind, beautiful, hand painted notebook.

The notebook is so very pretty (I am keeping my fingers crossed). Jenny has a lot of "eye-candy" to feast your peepers on. There are a few things I would love to have in my home. Go visit her sales blog. Click on either the banner, or the picture, and it will take you there.

It is official, winter is on the way here, in Minnesota! Mankato, (about an hour away from me) is expected to get around 8 inches of snow, by Sunday evening. Yuck! As far as I am concerned, we didn't need to see any of the white stuff this year. *smirk* Unlikely that would happen, but that is what I call "wishful thinking". Imagine this, just a few days ago we were in the 60's for temps. and we were loving enjoying the mild temps. Today, (Friday-still Friday for me, I have not gone to bed yet) it rained/snowed, a nasty mixed bag all day. Tomorrow (Saturday) more of the same. In fact, the news said a 100 percent chance. Fun, fun! Pretty chilly and windy too :(

I did not have school on Thursday this week and I had a day to myself. I loved every minute of it. I forgot what it was like to have a day to myself. I spent some time in my studio, but not working on anything, I cleaned the mess I had created and not cleaned. Now I have a clean studio again and it makes me happy. I am itching to work on something. Perhaps I will have time to start working on something this weekend, we shall see.

Tomorrow the girls and I are going to have a FUN day out! We are going to the NEW Jo-Ann's. Our Jo-Ann's store closed, and a new one opened just recently, about 20 minutes away. They said it was a bigger space, and this store will carry more variety. We are also going to go to a movie. It should be a fun day, if the weather is okay for traveling.

Wishing each of you a beautiful weekend. Do something special for yourself and then sit back and smile. Peaceful Blessings, Tonya

29 Levels...

Have you ever played the game Jenga? Fun game! The girls and I were playing Jenga the other night, and we finished 29 levels, that is quite a lot of levels....and then, it went crashing down! Lots of laughs and a good time. The guys were deer hunting, (didn't get anything, but my thoughts are, that is okay). The girls and I just spent the weekend at home and I worked on my homework.

I was working on my assignment in for my computer class, Access - Database Management and just finished up with Excel and spreadsheets, a couple of weeks ago. Not my most favorite, but am doing good in that class. I am learning a lot, much more than I ever imagined! I had another test on Friday, it was in my Business Communications class, but more like an English Grammar class and I got an A!!

I was doing the happy dance, because even in High School, English and depicting sentences was always very difficult for me. We take our tests on-line and when you are finished, you hit submit and it tells you your grade immediately. I was just grinning and grinning ear-to-ear.

Today, was THE MOST BEAUTIFUL day! It was in the 60's, calm and just PERFECT! You could not ask for a nicer day, in November, in Minnesota. The sunset was gorgeous and for some reason today, the girls and I seen a rainbow, but there was not any rain. I thought rainbows were normally seen after rain? This weather could last for the rest of year. I don't need snow and cold weather.

I have not had time to create, but I have been studying and spending time with my girls...which is always a good thing. I also worked on the hallway today....a never ending task. I will just keep working on it there and there and eventually get it done. Have a peaceful Sunday night. I must go and finish up some homework. Blessings to you and yours, ~Tonya

~Happy Halloween~

Happy Halloween from the "Little SpoOks"! Although they are not very spooky *smirk* We did have fun picking things out for their funky costumes thou...

Here is my little Ninny...awww, a Sweet Little Witch and accented with her favorite color, purple. She makes an adorable little witch...

Look at those cool stockings! We purchased three sets of them, different colors of course.

And here is Courtney. I thought she looked adorable! You can see her teenage side here...meaning, she is getting older and wants to be a bit different. Yes, she wore this costume to school on Friday and everyone thought it was neat!

And look at those stockings. They didn't make things like that when I was a kid. Just wanted to show you the kiddies. Yes, I am still alive and kicking (screaming all the way). I just get a bit busy and don't always have time to do all of the things I would like. That is okay for now, I am working toward a goal and will have plenty of time later.

I wish each of you a grand All Hallow's Eve. We will be out Trick or Treating later. Toodles for now! ~Tonya

A Break??

So today MEA break started! Yeeee haaaww! I needed a break, don't get me wrong...I love school and love to learn, but a break is surely what I needed! My break officially started after school yesterday (that was my thoughts any way). All week long, I stayed after school, daily to get all of my homework done for the week. I wanted to be done with everything, so that I would be able to have a weekend without any homework. But (and that is a an awful BIG but), I thought to myself, we have lived in our home almost 8 years and I have yet to repair, prime and paint our hallway.

This isn't any ordinary hallway mind you. This is one GINORMOUS hallway. One small hallways leads up the stairs, into the stairwell and up to our second floor GINORMOUS hallway. It is a like a large room, within our hallway. I have wanted to paint if for so long, but have been procrastinating because I haven't quite figured out how I am going to become spider man (spider women) and scale the walls above the stairs! I still cringe every time I think about that area. I figure one way or another, I will get it done! I have procrastinated long enough...

This is the question I am asking myself thou...why the heck would I beat feet all week to get my homework done, just to work even harder at getting the plaster walls repaired (most likely three coats of joint compound, sanding in-between each coat and then priming) and painted? I must be a complete fool!

I tell you, I do think I am a fool, but once I am done, I will be a HAPPY FOOL! Is there such a thing as a happy fool? I like to think so.

As of now (mid-semester) straight A's for all 6 of my classes (a couple of straight A's in there actually). I am happy with my grades thus far. If I go down a bit once am I finished with this semester, that is okay. I know that I am doing my best and that is all I can do. After being out of school for 18+ years, I think I am doing pretty good! After all, I am full-time with 16 credits, juggling my life, having three children to tend too and everything else that goes along with it. I do get tired, but more mentally, than physically. But I am happy! And that is all that really matters.

I think I have rambled quite enough. I hope each of you have a pleasant weekend. I know it isn't the weekend, yet. But for me, it is! Toodles for now, ~Tonya

~Sweet Anna Angel Bunny~

The cooler temps in the evenings here in MN, got me thinking about Christmas (not to mention the dept. stores are already putting Christmas things out), so I thought I would bring a little bit of Christmas Magic to Life....hence, Anna Angel Bunny was born! She is so very pretty. I enjoyed creating her, although there is never enough time in a typical day or week...

I have listed ~Sweet Anna Angel~ on Etsy. I had to take pictures of her on different backgrounds, due to her white angel wings. She has tons of detail on her, I always have fun with that!
I made for Anna Angel a banner that reads BELIEVE, not only during the Christmas Season, but ALWAYS! I know I have received some emails from some of you wonderful gals and I thank you for thinking of me. I am going great and school is going very well for me. I enjoy getting out of the house and learning. I did always enjoy school.

Have a fabulous Sunday. Thanks for stopping by to visit. Peaceful Blessings to you, ~Tonya