I'm still making Christmas Presents . . . YIKES!

Well . . . here it is Saturday, December 27, 2008, and I'm still making Christmas presents . . . my family and friends had liked the beading I had done, soooooooooo . . . they told me what they liked and I'm making more jewelry for them . . . here are some of the samples . . .

They also liked my two first beading projects that were featured in my blog on October 26, 2008 . . .

Happy New Year everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been tagged!!!!!

I've been tagged by Vicki Holdwick on November 19, 2008!!! Hee! Hee!!!!! Here are the rules . . .

1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about these eight things and post these rules.

3. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag eight people and list their names.

4. Don't forget to leave a comment telling them they've been tagged and to read your blog.

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Here goes . . .

1. I'm a short, chubby, old Asian broad with dyed hair who is an actress wanna-be.

2. I am fortunate to have a normal dysfunctional family!! YUCK! YUCK!!!!!!

3. My "smeller" is broken.

4. I love Julian Pie Company's Natural Apple Pie from San Diego . . . it's sweetened with apple cider instead of sugar . . . YUM!!!!!!! Tastes homemade!!!

5. I think retirement is a GREAT INVENTION!!!!!!!

6. I enjoy being mostly a couch potato with dh#2 . . . he watches TV while I do beading in the evening.

7. I don't have to do the laundry ever since I turned dh#2's underwear PINK!!!! LOL!!!!

8. I like station wagons!!!! I am SO boring!!! LOL!!

Here are the eight people I am tagging . . .

1. Gloria Alexander
2. Peggy Gatto
3. Val Foster
4. Cindy Elliott-Park
5. Sharon House
6. Reva Solomon
7. Marva Plummer-Bruno
8. Michelle Secretario

Christmas Gifts to the Neighbors!!!!

We have the sweetest neighbors . . . when we moved here 5 years ago . . . we found little packages on our doorstep during the holidays . . . homemade candy, cookies, etc. . . all from our new neighbors!!! What a warm feeling I feel in my heart when I find the goodies on our doorstep or a child delivering a package from the neighbors!!!!! I decided to reciprocate by making a package of 4 handmade greeting cards wrapped in cellophane bags and a bow . . . here are a few from this year . . .

This one is stamped on K & Company Mira Collection scrapbook paper . . . the stamp is the Michelle Ward Clear Stamp set from Stampington . . .

The second one is also from the K & Company Mira Collection . . . the stamp is from Christine Adolph's line from Stampington . . .

The third one is another K & Company Mira Collection with a Christine Adolph stamp from Stampington . . .

The fourth one is on K & Company Urban Rhapsody Sugar Rush Flat with another Christine Adolph image from Stampington . . . I hope my neighbors like their gifts!!!!!!

Another Blog Award!!!!!

OHMYGOSH!!!! I am SO fortunate to have been nominated for The Marie Antoinette A Real Person A Real Award waaaaaaaay back on November 11, 2008 by Diane!!! THANK YOU so much, Diane!!! I'm trying to catch up slowly after a family illness . . . Diane's blog is AWESOME!!!! Please click on her highlighted name above to view some of her VERY cool artwork!!!

Here are the rules for this award . . .
1. Please put the logo on your blog. 2. Place a link to the person from whom you received the award. 3. Nominate at least 7 or more blogs. 4. Put the links of those blogs on your blog. 5. Leave a message on their blogs to tell them.

My nominations are as follows:
1. Donalda Cox
2. Sherre Hulbert
3. Cassia Maria Nasser
4. Burning Rubber
5. Cynthia Powell
6. Laura Kay
7. Kelly Kilmer

Beading has been my saving grace right now . . .

My beading hobby has been my saving grace right now since my dear 85 year-old MIL#2 fell four weeks ago . . . I was able to take it to the hospital with me while she was there for 10 days and then to the assisted living home to visit with her while she is recuperating from complications of the fall . .

I've also been able to spend more time with dh#2 in the family room watching TV together while I bead . . . it's time that we can spend being supportive of each other especially right now . . .

These beaded cards are projects from my beading class with Sylvia Valle at the Rancho Santa Margarita Community Center where she teaches Adult Education classes . . . the beading has been so therapeutic during the family illness . . . I am so fortunate to have found this additional hobby!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!

Michi's First Two Beading Projects

I started a weekly Beading Class with my wonderful art teacher, Sylvia Valle, former instructional editor for Stampington for 11 years, who teaches at the local community center in Rancho Santa Margarita . . . some of her old (oops!!! FORMER students . . . FORMER students . . . not OLD students!!!! YIKES!!!! MY faux pas!!!!! LOL!!!!) students carpool all the way from Manhattan Beach in L.A. to take her classes . . . here are my first two projects . . . they are both bracelets using cube beads . . . but I decided to make the first one a watch . . .

The second bracelet was a lesson on increasing and decreasing rows . . . I have a feeling that this hobby could be ADDICTING!!!!! LOL!!!!!!

Ciao Y'all #9

Jeanne and Janice at St. Mark's Square . . .
St. Mark's Square . . . during high tide . . . sometimes it floods . . .
Our room at the Hotel Savoia and Jolanda right on the canal a short walk from St. Mark's Cathedral . . .

This was such an amazing vacation . . . it's a special one with all the sights, sounds, tastes, (oh, the food is divine!!!!! LOL!!!!) and experiences!!! I was so glad to experience it with my family . . .

Ciao Y'all #8

Time for a laugh stop . . . I thought we were the only countries with a 99 cent store . . . boy, was I surprised to see this . . . LOL!!!!
Here we are in a water taxi from the train station onward to our hotel in Venice . . . my sister, Janice . . . myself . . . my cousin, Jeanne . . . my sister, Norma . . . my brother-in-law, Bob . . .
Venice is a series of canals and islands build in a marshland . . . it is slowly sinking into the water and can actually have water in the sidewalks and plaza areas in high tide . . .

Lookie how close to the water this door is . . . it is totally amazing!!!!

Ciao Y'all #7

This was a tour to Chianti . . . this building is a former palazzo (palace) which is now a famous winery . . . it really looked like a palace . . .
What a magnificent view from the winery . . .
We were able to sit at tables in the winery to taste their wines . . .
This charming village is Greve in Chianti . . . instead of the town square being open for the public . . . this village has decided to make it a parking lot . . . land is so scarce here . . . the parking lot is very full . . .
This small church services Greve in Chianti . . .

Ciao Y'all #6

Our tour to Siena was fascinating . . . Siena was once a major center of money lending and trade . . . there are still many banking insitutions in Siena . . .
The duomo in Siena is majestic with beautiful gold leafing and sculptures . . .Inside the duomo . . . we were fortunate to have arrived in October when they uncover the protected art on the floors for us to view . . . it was simply fascinating . . .
Beautiful art is everywhere . . . the outside . . . the inside . . . the floors . . . the ceilings . . . the artifacts . . . they even have a space set aside for gifts from those who wish to leave an object of gratitude to the Virgin Mary for saving their lives . . . I even saw motorcycle helmets in that area . . .

Caio Y'all #5 !!!!

This is a photo of my cousin, Jeanne, and my sister, Janice on the long uphill path in the quaint village of San Gimignano . . .
This is my brother-in-law, Bob, and his wife (my sister) Norma . . .
I was totally surprised at my older sister walking straight up to the top of the hill . . . Jeanne and I pooped out and ate a Gelato (Italian Ice Cream) YUM!! YUM!!!

Caio Y'all #4 !!!!

Here's a photo of my sister, Janice, in our room at the Hotel Berchielli on the Arno River about one-half a block from Ponte Vecchio . . . it was very nice . . . one of the cultural differences we noticed was that their wash clothes were made of linen instead of terry cloth . . . something we would not have thought of . . .

We walked to the train station many times to catch our tour buses . . . this time we went to Pisa where we saw the Piazza dei Miracoli . . . construction which began in 1063 . . .

This is only a "fair" pic of me "holding up" the Leaning Tower of Pisa . . . my sister took a better one, but it's still in her camera . . . there were lots of us tourists taking pictures like this one!!! LOL!!!

Caio Y'all #3 !!!!!

The Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace) is the town hall of Florence . . . what a magnificent building . . .
I apologize for the blurry pictures . . . this was at night and it was difficult to get a clear picture of the stores on Ponte Vecchio where lots of jewelry and leather could be found for sale . . .
This is a photo of Ponte Vecchio across the water from the neigboring bridge . . .
My two sisters, cousin, and brother-in-law had lunch in this quaint restaurant between buildings . . . the land is so valuable that so much is built up . . .
My brother-in-law just loves his new BlackBerry phone/text-messaging/internet access/email toy!!!

Caio Y'all #2 !!!!!!

Florence is a city of many narrow streets, churches, and vendors . . . it reminded me of the condominiums and shared wall residences we have here in the cities of the United States, but they thought of it first!!!! LOL!!! There is lots of walking . . . lots of Vespas (motorcycles) . . . and very small cars (Peugeot . . . Fiat . . . Honda Jazzy AKA Fit . . . Toyota Yaris . . . etc.).

The Duomo (cathedral) has a distinctive skyline . . . it was started in 1296 . . . it is fascinating to see the different styles change in parts of the cathedral as the centuries changed from Romanesque . . . to Gothic . . . to Baroque in some of the buildings . . . how totally fascinating!!!!