Prayers for Rain...

Not just a good song by The Cure, but seriously, WE. NEED. RAIN. North Carolina has been in the middle of a drought since I left...LAST AUGUST! It has been cloudy and cold for the last couple of days, but only a few drops of rain fell today. What a tease. You should see me lawn. Drop a match on it, and the whole thing would go up in flames in about 2.3 seconds. The clouds also explain my no-show around here yesterday. I could never get good enough light to photograph my handiness around the house. Today wasn't ideal either, but I just made due. So, here's my 4 hour project from a couple of days ago (excuse the tool box on the floor):



That lovely little glass cabinet back there behind my couch (been wanting it from Target forever)...the instructions say "simple, and quick to assemble". Ha! And, I'm good with furniture assembly. Oh, well. It made good use of my sick kiddos' extensive nap time. Now, I just need to fill it up. And, once I pick up one of these, my entryway will be done.

And, I finally finished up with my dining room:



Painting, curtain hanging, and decorating...DONE. Well, the decorating is almost done. The walls are a little lacking in the prettiful department. And, I'm thinking that little wine rack on the wall is looking awfully empty. ;0) I might need to buy it some friends next week. And, that candlescape thingy in the middle of the table...L.O.V.E. I found it at Pier 1 the other day. I was actually hoping to find a wire bird cage to put candles in, and use as a centerpiece. But, the branches on this thing are cool enough. I'm thinking of buying some of those chipboard birds from Maya Road, altering them, and wiring some on the metal branches. I'll take pictures if I do. I think they would make cute accents to the bird curtains (yep, those are multi-colored birds and cute little wire cages on the curtains...very 1950's-ish). I got those from Urban Outfitters a couple of months ago, but they don't carry them anymore. :0( They're much cuter in person. I guess I should have taken a close-up of the actually print on the curtains. Oh, well.

Crafty-wise, I haven't accomplished much. I still need to put the finishing touches on my daily cards (need to go buy a new office date stamp), and then I'll post them. But, since I signed up for the "Birthday Girl RAK List" over at PI, I was under a little pressure to get something churned out. I wanted to make something handmade for all of the birthday girls, but the first girlie's big day came just a little too soon after my return home, and smack-dab in the middle of my unpacking. So, I bought her a little something instead, and made her this card:



To give credit where credit is due, this design is not completely my own. Although, I can't remember where I saw the original card (in a magazine probably...or online?), I am fairly certain it was by Jennifer Pebbles. And, who doesn't love her work?!? So fabulously inspiring! Of course, my card uses totally different colors, and has a few of my own touces (LOTS of glitter and bling because, well, because it's me, and I love SPARKLY things). I don't usually "lift" from other artists. But, her card was one of the most beautiful I had seen in some time...I couldn't resist!

And, sweet Nicki...she didn't think it was fair that I had to wait so long to get my surprises on my birthday RAK day (Dec 26th). Plus, she wanted to send me a little belated 30th birthday giftie. So, I got her lovely little package today...all the way from Australia!



Thank you, Nic! You totally made my day! Gotta' love some happy mail...especially when your kids are STILL sick, and your sanity is hanging on by a thread. I have a sneaking suspicion that another trip to the doctor is in the cards for tomorrow. Both kids still aren't feeling well. Luka barely wants to eat or drink a bottle, and they both just want to sleep ALL DAY. Better to be safe than sorry...I think I'll be calling my army health clinic tomorrow for some appointments. Ugh. But, I will also be back tomorrow with some exciting news (nothing scrappy related, though), and a fun little surprise. ;0)