Post Christmas Pic Post

Post Turkey Nostalgia

This is how I felt after Thanksgiving. We had SUCH GOOD FOOD! All the girls got together and made their favorite homeade dishes. I made green bean casserole and 4 pies (2 apple, a cherry and a pumpkin). Tiffanie made dressing and gravy and macaroni and cheese and her Auntie made ham and greens. Amber made the turkey with stuffing. Heather made the mashed taters and sweet potato casserole. There was just so much good food and everyone had a great time. We were even able to pass a few extra plates out to some friends and neighbors who couldn't do the big turkey dinner. What an awesome day. Thank you Lord for my many blessings and such a wonderful day.

Halloween Crew

Hello one and all!
I thought I'd hop online and post a few pics from our Halloween. The kids all looked great! I even dressed up like a zombie Mom. We went trick-or-treating and then had the "Stick your hand in the box and feel yucky stuff" game for the kids. They were a little bit nervous about that but did good.

Air Show

Hello one and all!
These are just a few recent pics from the last week. The first one is me and Tiffanie. She's so cute! She's one of my best friends. I just love her to bits. The second is my Josie doing her climby thing. I swear that girl has been climbing almost since birth. Even when she was a baby, she climbed even before she knew how to crawl or walk. The last pic is of the famous "Blue Angels". We went to the air show on Sunday. It was really fun and the kids loved it but got bored. I couldn't use their ATM (no visa) but didn't realize it, yet they still charged me a buck for trying. Scammers! Tiffanie and family and the kids and I then went out to Cracker Barrel. Nummies! Mike (the hubster) had duty so was gone for the night. I have to say, Mike and I are doing really good this refit. Typically we grouse at each other, so it's been really nice because the stress level seems to be staying down longer. I'm sure a week or so before he deploys, things will get nutty but neither of us mind that so much. Mike's been taking a class for teaching firearm safety and seems to really be enjoying it. He likes shooty things. LOL!
Tucker is working on a research paper on...chemical changes of gases in the universe when there's nuclear fission on Tuesday while chewing gum at a 45 degree angle. *huffs* ...Actually he put it off for 3 weeks and sprung it on me a couple nights before his initial index cards with 50 facts written on them were due in. Next day...teacher calls. "Tucker hasn't been taking advantage of the time given him to do the assignment". Apparently it's more fun to read the Guiness Book of World Records 2007 than to work on a research paper about universe gases and particle accelerators. We did get caught up but a great deal of whining silently to myself was necessary in order to get through it. I don't care what ppl say, whining does help! LOL ok maybe not but it was better than thoughts of military school or indentured servitude.
My other best friend, Heather got me flowers for my birthday. They are so pretty. Huge blossoms in fall colors. Then my Hubby sent me flowers from 1800flowers. A dozen roses in red and pink and salmon and white and peach. So lovely. Then my other best friend, Amber (there are 4 of us in our gal pal crew) sent me to candy pink highlighted roses. My art desk looks like a garden. Mike took me out to dinner (oh did I forget? I turned 37 on the 24th). Then I hung out with friends.
I also had a photography gig. I took pics of an author/illustrator at a local school and our charity person and her dog. I'd post pics here but I don't think I have permission. It was cool...channel 4 was there doing a story on it. I'll be working on more illustrations soon. I remember praying when Josie was a baby, that if I ever was able to use my art talents, I wanted to dedicate my first job or the proceeds from it to charity. A kind of "first fruits" in honor of my Lord. So it seems fitting and wonderful that the first opportunity I've had to use my talents is a charity. I'm so pleased. Just dropped in my lap. Thank you Lord.
Well I plan on doing some beads today. I have my new torch but have been distracted from all sorts of stuff going on. I'll take some pics of my beads and post them soon. Well folks...need to get on with my day. Thanks for stopping in and God bless you and yours.

Monday-itis

Good Monday morning world!
I am so sleepy. I think I have Monday-itis. Inflamation of the Monday. So I have gotten the kids off to school. They had some homeade oatmeal, egg and toast. I think it's the most effort I've put into breakfast on a weekday in a long time. It actually worked out better this way. They were much more cooperative it seems if I do the "teeth and hair brushing and get dressed" first and after do the "hurry up and eat". Hmmmm *rubs chin*. So now I am sitting here eating my 210 calorie breakfast of cheerios with blueberries and 3/4 cup of 2% milk. Good gravy I hate counting calories! It's getting easier but is still a pain. I'm still on my smokers patch and I'm doing ok. Cheated a couple of times but still sticking with it. *wonders if blueberries have any anti-oxydents* Oh, I've been working on some illustrations. I only posting one because the photo of the other didn't turn out very good. The one up top was my second one. I have to make 2 more today and 2 more tomorrow to be ready for my meeting with the G.L.A.D. ladies. I guess it's a really good thing that I like dogs eh? LOL!
*sigh* I don't wanna go bikeride! I don't wanna! But I gotta. Half hour in the morning and half hour in evening of evil...oops I mean exercise. I can do it but it does help if I whine a bit. Well I better get on it if I'm going to use up my blueberry energy. You all have a lovely day! God bless!

Playing the G.L.A.D. Game

Hello all-
So I'm very excited! I got an art gig! For those who do not know...I am an artsy fartsy thing. I attended Kendall College of Art & Design in Grand Rapids, Michigan (back when it was a reputable college and not just an extension of Ferris State). I also met my husband there. We were both alone, both a 2 hour drive from our families and we made a connection. We became very good friends and after about 6 months we started dating. A few months after that, I became pregnant. Oops. We decided to marry and now almost 12 years later...here we are. The pregnancy and subsequent marriage has been the foundation that has shaped my destiny. (as only a marriage and a baby can). The Lord has used those first pages in the book of "Mike and Sandy and kids" to draw me closer to Himself. Hindsight is 20/20 they say and they are right. I can look back and see the Lord guiding my path and teaching me along the way. I once heard it said "You can move a large door on small hinges." I learned a lot about sacrifice, patience and forgiveness over the years. The one thing I have wished was different over the years is that I wish I had used my artwork to expand my horizons more and maybe even bring in a few extra dollars. I have done some freelance work in the past, but nothing so exciting has what I have had the opportunity to be involved with right now.

From the time I was 13, and the very first time I knew it existed, I have wanted to go to art college...specifically Kendall College. So you can imagine how exuberant I was when I passed my portfolio review and received the financial aid to attend Kendall. I had been going to Baker College (a business college) in my hometown of Owosso, Michigan for about a year and a half, but decided to transfer to Kendall. I was petrified, worrying if I could afford to go and feverishly trying to find a job, scared to death that I wasn't "good enough", and worrying about being alone and friendless. But...I settled in, got a job as a work study for the college, made a couple of friends (I met Mike the first day of school in my first class) and discovered that I was a purty dern good artist. The classrooms were so dynamic and exciting. I learned SO much. I miss that classroom setting. It illuminated a part of myself that had previously always been in shadow. As I said, I learned so much about myself. Well...when I got preggers I realized that some poor choices on my part were now taking prisoners. I would not let my baby take up my slack. He would be afforded the same opportunities as any other child. Time to grow up Sandy. So my art education and that corner of myself had to go back in shadow. I don't regret it for a minute, however. The Lord has such good gifts for His children. Being a wife and mother agrees with me. I am truly blessed. I do miss that lonely shadowy corner. I am eager to light it again.

So you can imagine how excited I was when my girlfriend approached me with an opportunity to do my artsy fartsy magic. Amber jumped right in and got involved with this charity, G.L.A.D. (Guiding Light Assistance Dogs...they are canines trained to be gentle and patient as children who need a bit of work in their literacy read to them) and is making their website. She is a true computer geek and quite ambitious. Amber mentioned to the GLAD ladies about my bead making. We met for lunch and they want me to make doggie beads. I had made a few samples for them to take a look at and my little glassy gems were a hit. The interesting thing is, that during the course of our lunch and discussion, the fact that I was an Illustration major in school came up. Immediately I felt that same fearful panic that I felt when I first got to Kendall College. "I never finished my degree! What if I'm not good enough? What if they don't like my stuff?!" I rode it out.

You know...on a side note, I have to mention that I think the Lord has a sense of humour. He KNEW they were going to ask me about this and how I would react. Not a warning? No "Hey Sandy, heads up!"??? What's up with that Lord?! I was so nervous and excited at the opportunity. Man, I hope they like my stuff. Ok....ok...breathe.

The GLAD gals asked me to do some illustrations for some booklets they are giving to some of their sponsors. I ran out and got some watercolor paints and brushes, watercolor paper and a new dry erase board to help organize my thoughts. I made one doggie painting and realized how rusty I was so I have another watercolor paper prepared and stretching on a board now. Weeeee!

So...here I am, this great opportunity to be able to use my gifts and talents and I'm in seventh heaven. My little corner has been promised some open shutter time. My Hubster is very supportive so I feel free to prioritize the time to do this right. Thank you Lord. He must have been up there with the angels..."See what's coming up? Ha ha, I can't wait to see the reaction when she realizes what I lined up for her." So I'm riding it out my nervous anxiety until I get into my groove and I'm enjoying the blessing my Heavenly Father has sent me. I'll post some of the illustrations when completed. Well thanks for sharing in my nervous excitement. You all have a lovely week.
God bless!

Doctor! Doctor!

So...I'm finally going to go to the Doctor to see about getting into a smoking cessation program. I'm not all that excited at the prospect because of the imminent weight gain and craving but I really need to quit. I'm going to be 37 years old next month and looking at the next 20 years of a smoke habit seems even less palatable. I'm also going in to get something to help me sleep at night. I've struggled with insomnia for several years now...ever since Mike joined the Navy. I go in for that appointment tonight. Finally I scheduled an appointment for a weight loss nutritionist through the clinic here on base. I want to lose weight, get heart healthy, quit smoking, and be able to sleep at night. So wish me luck and I will keep ya posted of my progress. God bless!

Just a Lil' Sumthin'

I woke up early this morning at 6:30 am to the sound of the alarm clock and my husband dragging his body up out of bed. He checked his phone messages and discovered that he didn't have to be into work until a couple of hours later than his usual time. He is a Navy Submariner and usually gets up at the crack of dawn. Sometimes he gets up at 5:30 am to go PT, only to return home briefly to shower and change and then back to work he goes. So I was grateful and pleasantly surprised when he told me I could go back to sleep, that he would take the kids to school for me. Ahhhhh! I slunk back under the covers and only stirred slightly to the sound of a clunking music case thumping down the stairs. My son is learning how to play the trombone and the case is almost as big as him.
I let my mind return to sleepy distraction and dozed off again. I finally got up at around 10:30 am. I felt so refreshed. It's the most undisturbed sleep that I can remember having in a long time. The dozy day carried on with a bit of TV and a cyber-trip to my email box, myspace and YouTube. Nothing eventful there. Hubby returned home early at lunch time and didn't have to return back to work. We went outside on the patio and chatted about this and that. It was nice.
Then my girlfriend Amber arrived with good news. She had become involved with an organization called "GLAD". It deals with training dogs in search and rescue. They also work with children and literacy and such. She said they may be interested in some dog beads if I made them. I was tickled. I have never made doggie shaped beads so I was excited at the challenge. Amber jetted off to her next obstacle of the day. I secretly covet her ambition although the thought of keeping up with her makes me tired. I really can't keep up at her pace.
I felt old for 2.3 seconds as she briskly flip-flopped her way back to her place but distracted myself with the thought of a new doggie bead challenge.
I quickly tromped up the stairs with towel and clothes for a quick shower as Mike took off in my car to pick up Josie from school. I squeaky cleaned and was ready for my bead challenge.
Clearing my work station, which is in a perpetual state of disarray, I fired up my kiln and donned my cool diddy safety classes. The torch puffed into action and I shook my jar of bead release with such ferver that my upper arm skin flapped with joy.
First mandrel, in the flame....pffffffffff pop! The bead release cracked. Not good. It has to have full coverage over the wire mandrel or the glass will stick. I discarded the mandrel, the lil' wire thingy to wrap the molten glass to, to the side of my work station. Second mandrel......dip...in the flame....pffffffffff pop! Grrrrrrrrrrrr! Third mandrel......pfffffff pop! Expletive!
Fervant arm flapping again.....dip....pffffffffffffffff...ahhhh that's better!
I grabbed a white glass rod, noting it was one of the "cheap" whites and wasn't as rich a tint as it probably should have been. I slowly melted the glass in the flame, began to wrap it around the mandrel when I noticed it was scorching. Grrrrrrrrr! Another...the same. At this point I'm getting really irritated. I swap the rod out for better white and start again. All is going quite well. I form a blob around the mandrel, let it gather and smooth in the hot blue flame. Heating more from the rod I drag a bit on the bottom of the bead and smear it to form the upper part of a doggie leg. Gooooood.....gooooood. I continue to form all the doggie except the face and tail. RING RING!
The one thing you do not want is distractions when your behind the torch. You need both hands for turning the delicate glass in the flame and holding the glass rod. It's a two-hand job really. The phone ringing is an unwelcome sound. I had to answer it. The specific ring told me that it was Mike calling. How unusual. Mike knows I'm beading.
"Hello Honey, what's going on? I'm BEHIND THE TORCH."
"Oh I'm sorry Honey....Does Josie have her Science Club tonight?"
"Um...I don't know. It'd be her first one. Oh crap! I don't know. Let me try to look on that paper."
I give my "almost puppy bead" a quick bath in blue flame and rush over to the fridge to look for the paper that has the Science Club dates on it. No paper. Crap!
"Um Um....crap! I can't find it baby. I'm sorry....um...(looking around)...I can't..."
"It's ok, I'll run up front to the office and find out".
"Ok sorry Honey. Bye".
He returns the goodbyes and I rush out to the torch, praying to God that the bead didn't get too cool and crack. Temperature changes in the glass can cause cracks in the bead quite quickly and pieces have a tendency to fly off and land in ones cleavage when this occurs. Do you know how hard it is to retrieve a tiny piece of orange hot glass from ones cleavage? Any amount of time it takes is TOO LONG! Bad scene...SO....I was not eager to have one of said pieces of almost puppy bead lodge itself in my boobies. Luckily, it made it on one piece and my bazooms remained untoasted. I finished the puppy bead, giving it a black tail and front paw and spot around it's eye like the doggie on the Little Rascals. I continued on and made a doggie bead that was black with pointy puppy ears and a long fluffy tail curled under it's body as it lay resting.
I put my treasures in the annealing kiln and went outside to smoke a cigarette. The kids got home and I started a casserole.
Amber returned to touch base with me. I was to accompany her to Jax to get an MRI. She's been having some fainting spells quite a lot lately and has gone in for some testing. I can't really say here what is going on but it's my understanding that she will be just fine. Another girlfriend of ours, Tiffanie came with us. I chatted with Tiffany and crunched down Doritos and slurped on a Diet Coke. It was a nice quiet evening, cool and slightly breezy. The sound of tree frogs and bugs decorated the evening. Amber exited the MRI office and hobbled out to the parking lot. The MRI office was actually a semi truck trailer. We could hear the whirring sound from our seats in a nearby gazebo. Poor lil doped up Amber was escorted under the gazebo to wind down and smoke a ciggy with us. They had given her something to calm her as she is clausterphobic. MRI machines are like long tubes that swallow up dainty lil Navy wives. MRI machines are known for collapsing on the less vigilant observer....apparently. LOL! Anyway, the poor clausterphobic thing finished her ciggy, waddled over to the car, slithered finally into the back seat and Tiffanie drove us home. We made a stop at Taco Bell to eat some very unruly tacos with very round tomato pieces that liked to eject themselves from my taco and into very dark crevices in Amber's car. Last seen, Amber was consuming a little bowl of icecream and praying to God that she doesn't have nightmares tonight about chomping, devouring, evil MRI machines. And now I am pecking away at my computer after a very nice and eventful day. Thank you for reading today's episode of Up Sheep's Creek. Apparently the creek flows down to Jacksonville. God bless.

Bloggie Bloggerson

Another Sunday is clocked by and it's now almost bedtime for the kiddies. I'm sitting here with friends after feeding them a lovely meal of Kogel hot dogs (ummy) and beans with bacon and veggies. We are all relaxing and computer working.
The family and I went to church this morning and watched a couple of baptisms. It was so moving. I teared up a few times. I love watching baptisms. You get to hear some pretty amazing testimonies. I then drove down towards Jacksonville to look for a place I could buy fabric. I want to make a beaded tapestry type hanging banner for my wall. I think I'm gonna attempt to make a personalized family chrest. Something with dolphin fish and christian theme. I have a beading loom that is sitting and waiting for me to work on. I'm going to teach Josie how to sew seed beads on her lil piece of fabric swatch. She can make pretties.

The kids are now getting ready for bed and the whining and interrupting with silliness is reaching a highpoint so I need to wrap it up here. I'll be back later. God bless folks.

Friday with Mike

Hello all-
I wanted to shoot out a quick blog. I am going to lunch with the Hubster. We have had such a nice morning together. We went to the gym to do our tandem elipticals and are later going to get new stickers for my car to get on base. We shall then go to "Dick's Wings" where I shall enjoy a chicken sandwich and Mike shall enjoy something infernally hot. He is never truly content unless his mouth is ablaze and sweat is pouring down his forehead. Ahhh me... I will be back to post something interesting and uplifting later this evening. Love to all!
Sandy

First Post

Hello...
A little about myself. I'm sure my short bio on the front page is obvious enough so I won't bore you with repetitive info. I did want to mention my deep love for making beads. Called "lampwork", it's basically melting glass around a narrow metal rod using a propane torch. These to the left are a short sampling of my earliest beads. I have much more now. I am grooving on the transparents lately. I think I want to hone my encased flower skills though. The encased flowers are so pretty. I recently made some bug beads and fall leaves shaped beads. Too fun. I love making my beads, reading, seeing new places, going to the pool (too many nawnee jellyfish around here for frequent beach visits...although no one I know has ever been stung. Paranoia)....watching GOOD movies (if I see one more lewd early twenties movie I'll spit twice and die)...flowers, my birds outside (hummingbirds and cardinals love me), my birds inside (3 parakeets) and hanging out and talking with my sweet lil patio pals. Daily I see my friends. They are also Navy Wives and are wonderful. I have one friend "casualty". My girlfriend Arika had to move far away and I miss her terribly. I am hoping we can connect again before Hubster retires. I'm pretty laid back and sometimes a bit silly but my Hubster loves me that way. He's a good compliment for me. He can be serious with everyone else but let's me see his fun silly side. He got me flowers twice this past week. A few days back he got me lovely HUGE daisies and today He bought me dark peach roses and small purple white and green iris's. I am also very artistic. I stop short of calling myself an "artist" but I do love painting, drawing, pen and ink, beadwork (lampwork, bead artwork etc...) , stuff... LOL. I also have an account with YouTube.com and MySpace.com. Both accounts my nickname is Sheepinarowboat. I post family updates and bead and bird videos and the like. Well I guess that's it for now. I'll post again soon. GOD BLESS!