I'm still here...I think

Just a quick hello to let you know I have not fallen off the face of the earth....just taken an overwhelming dive into a new season of life. My mom is home from the hospital and almost moved into my house...we are bringing things over daily as we find a need or a place for them. I am sitting here sipping coffee almost comotose though, as it seems there is so much more for us to do....not to mention going back to work and making some money to pay the bills....yes, darn it, they still come even when you don't have time to think about them! I really do hope that by the weekend, I will be back to the world of blog and having pictures to post....look forward to catching up on all your latest post and creativity. Say a prayer for peace and calm as we all adjust to the changes that are taking place in this season of life...and that we will continue to see the beauty in it all! -Sandra

~~~Gratitude Galore!!~~~~

What a beautiful Saturday morning here in Texas!! The sun is shining and the skies are blue (at the moment..it is Texas you know)! I feel so thankful just to be sitting at the computer, at home and finally blogging again! So, to start off with, a picture and a big THANK YOU to Kecia and Rosalyn Sue for sending me so many wonderful goodies for Valentines. We had a little swap going, and I promise girls that you will get mine very soon. February has turned out to be a crazy month for us!! First it was the stomach bug, then my mom entering the hospital, then transferring her to another hospital with a respiratory rehabilitation program, then my son gets the flu....thinking maybe I was meant to be a nurse! But thankfully everyone is on the mend! My mom is getting stronger everyday, she looks great, her color is good and she has the sparkle back in her pretty eyes!!! My son is feeling better too, he slept for two days and napped lots on the third...but now is playing games on his computer...so think he is getting over it!! Hooray!!! Combine all that with the sunshine and I am one HAPPY girl!!!

I think when you spend much time at a hospital, you see that you should be thankful for everything little thing. One patient at the hospital has had both legs amputated, is legally blind, suffers from diabetes and has to have dialysis ....bless her heart! Her husband is faithfully by her side everyday, reading to her. My heart just aches for her, then there is the woman that has had bone grafting back surgery and has not had her feet on the floor since December 27th! She just yesterday got to sit for just a few minutes as they fit her for a brace she is to wear. She is so afraid of doing something to injure her back again. When you see all of this on a daily basis, my mom and I agreed it makes you so thankful for the blessings in our own life!!

~Looking for the beauty in all things~

haven't posted in a while...life can get really complicated when you least expect it! We finally recovered from the stomach virus and headed back to work and school for all of one day...when we got the call that my mom had been hospitalized. She has COPD, a pulminary disease that causes her to be on oxygen 24 hrs a day. Well, on Tuesday morning she woke up and was struggling to breathe, my brother was there and took her to the hospital, where she was admitted with pnuemonia. As of today, she is still there, but getting stronger everyday, thank God!!! She finally was able to sit in a chair yesterday and keep her oxygen level at a good place. It is always such a scare when she gets sick. She is absolutely the best mom there ever was ( I know that is what most daughters think!) she has filled the role of both mother and father most of my life and also the role of a dear friend!

NOW, for the beauty in all of this (there is always beauty if you look real hard!!!) I have had the last 7 days to sit by her bed and give her my undivided attention. I have been able to help her when she needed something, which feels so good since she has given her life to giving and doing for her children. And...we got to watch our fill the decorating chanel and play "guest critic", catch up on our magazines and show each other the pretty things in each one...and talk about our dreams and what we want most.....time is a gift, a beautiful gift !!!

Now what is a post with out a picture or two...just thought I would share with you some pictures of a job that I have been working on. It is a little girls room and is in vivid colors of hot pink,spring green and black. I just wanted to share with you the progress and to give a big thank you to Wendy at POPIN http://www.shoppopin.com/....she ordered the adorable bed crown that I painted on to go above the beed! It is so amazing the connections that can be made in the blog world!!! Thank you Wendy...the project is coming together with lots of thanks to you!!! Check out POPIN, if you have kiddos, this is a great site and shop!

Can you hear those little birdies sing???

Yes! here in Texas, the sun is shining and the birds are singing...what a beautiful day!! Especially after the last few days we have had here in our home! The "stomach bug" really got a hold on us!!! First I got sick, days of throwing up ( I know...not nice to talk about it!) and then slept like I was in a coma for two days, finally waking up and feeling better...to face my poor son getting it too! I spent all night up and down with him (so thankful that I was feeling better) trying to make him feel better. Nothing to really do but let it run its course...he is sleeping now, hope he can do that all day with no more runs to the bathroom. Bless his heart! and he was such a good caretaker while I was sick...bringing me Gatorade and checking in on me!

But on the upside...the sun is peeking in my windows and if I just sit here and imagine...I can pretend it is Spring! I can hear the birds...you can't blame a girl for trying! Well, if I study the painting of the little bird in my painting above...I can surely smell the flowers in bloom! As soon as I get my Etsy on this blog, you can see more of that sweet bird as he is available in prints now!!

~~~Oh How Sweet It Is!!!!~~~~

SWEET!!! Oh how sweet it is to have had two days to create and play! The canvas are flying around here! I finished several paintings this weekend and even got started on a few Valentine goodies! Now, it's Monday, a new day and the fresh beginning of a new week! Sooooo....as I promised, here are the last two Meme questions and answers and then...the three people that I tag to do the Meme next (are you ready????).

#8. 4 places I would rather be:

Ohhh, in Italy of course!, or Switzerland...but back to reality, in the kitchen cooking and hanging out with my kiddos or in the studio with my two dogs, listening to music and painting my heart out!!!

#9.4 things I look forward to this year:

Creating...yes! much more of that!!

Stepping out of my comfort zone ...to try new things, meet new people, see life in a different view (I promise this is not some new age mumbo jumbo...I really do like to challenge myself to try something new- this year, I would like to serve, maybe as a volunteer at Scottish Rite Hospital or something along those lines!)

Getting more organized-any tips? or maybe a magic wand you want to share????

Being the best I can be, saying no more often, not overloading my schedule, spending more time at home, eating healthier (really!) and getting more exercise...even if it is just walking...looking at the birds, the trees and the flowers!

And can I add one more...no sense following all the rules. I want to be thankful and grateful for all the blessings in my life and follow where God leads me!!!

There!!! That is it. If you want to know anything else about me, you will just have to ask me...questions anyone????

Now for the fun part of passing on the Meme to:

1. Cari at http://www.warehouseartchix.com/

2. Kecia at http://www.lemoncholys.blogspot.com/

3.Hmmmm, Karla at http://www.karlascottage.typepad.com/

if you don't want to participate, then I will choose someone else, but this one is a little easier than some of the tags I have gotten!!! Have a great day and a fabulous week!!!

More on the Meme!

Here it is...a little more Meme...in case you are saying?? huh?? Laura has confirmed it! My definition of Meme was correct (see post below). Sooooo, lets get some more answers to those questions she has asked

#3. 4 Places I have lived:

I am really afraid this is going to be quite boring to those of you who have moved around a bit!

I was born in Irving , Texas.....spent my childhood in Irving, Texas, moved to Dallas, Texas right after college and during early marriage...then moved back to Irving, Texas to raise my family. And this will not surprise you....I still live here!!! But if you are looking for excitement, ask me how many times I have painted the walls in this house...especially the living room. Never a dull moment there!!!

#4. 4 TV shows that I watch:

Hmmmm...just so you know, I really do have morals and values...but I do watch

Gray's Anatomy (last season was better)

Desperate Housewives (dito above)

Brothers and Sisters

But my all time fav is DANCING WITH THE STARS!!! I love it!!! If I could, I would dance like that too!!!....but the only thing I can move with rhythm (to music) is my paint brush!!!

#5. 4 Places I have been outside the U.S.:

I have been to Italy, Paris, Switzerland, Capri (the most beautiful island) and Monaco.

#6. 4 people that email me regularly:

whew! finally an easy one...my dear friends Cari, Deb (both part of WAREHOUSE ARTCHIX http://www.warehouseartchix.com/), my fun friend Gigi and my lovely daughter Syd.

#7. and I promise to stop for today- 4 favorite things to eat:

wish I could say this one was not easy...but it is, in fact I could name many more!

First would be pasta, love pasta...maybe due to all the time in Italy, then I love a good steak (ever so often), hot tamale candies...they are my stress relievers, homemade pancakes or waffles which I often make on Saturday morn for my son and I to share together and of course we have bacon or sausage links with them!

O-key-dokie...that does it for the questions for today, tune in tomorrow to see the last two questions and to see who I tag to do this next!!! Oh! I almost forgot...the pic above is one of my latest paintings I just finished...this seems to be my favorite combo of colors lately...think I might be pining for SPRING !

Tagged for a Meme (?) by Laura...so here goes~~

My friend Laura (http://www.restaurantreviewsbylaura.blogspot.com/ ) has tagged me for a Meme. What is a Meme you may ask??? Wish I knew but I am guessing it is a name for telling a little about Me, and then a little more about me.....did I guess right Laura??? So here goes my Meme!

#1. 4 jobs I have had:

My very first job was at Sanger Harris, when I was 15! I was so excited that I had convinced the personnel manager to hire me a year early (required age was 16). Probably did not hurt that I already looked 20...always grown up! I sold clothing in the Juniors department and the Women's department, but the best part of all, was when the Gift Wrap department needed help! Ohhhh how I loved wrapping those packages and I was good at that! I would make up extra bows for the next shift and tape them to the wall above the colorful papers....still can make those bows and I wrap a mean present!


My second job was as a bank teller while I was in college, I worked the commercial window and loved it! I did that until I left for Europe to study.


Upon returning to the states, my mother and I have opened a retail store (gifts and antiques) that was about 18 yrs ago, the name of the store was Return To Romance . Now remember that was 20 years ago....think victorian and country... ahhh ....now the name makes sense.

After having my first child, I closed up shop and came home to run a handpainted clothing line. I painted clothes, shoes, handbags, socks, jewelry...could paint that stuff in my sleep! I sold the line both wholesale to stores and retail to clients. When the painted clothing thing became outdated, I began painting on furniture for designers, then walls...then faux finishing. This was a natural fit, because my background was in fine arts.



Funny how all of this job experience adds up to what I do now...I have a design firm in Grapevine, Tx called RTR Designs (yes, still using the intials of the original Return To Romance ). Through the years of being in clients homes, I would often offer suggestions and then end up doing way more than just painting on their walls or furniture...wasn't long before I was designing whole rooms and window treatments...then whole houses...etc....What a gift it is to do daily something that I love! I am blessed !

o.k., back on track here~

#2. 4 movies that I have watched over and over:
that's a hard one...


Bambi would be one...my daughter watched it several times a day when she was little.


next...would be Star Wars, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers when my son was little


other than that...I hate to watch movies twice...my son will laugh here though, because lately I have ordered two movies from Net Flix just to put them on and then say "I have seen this one!"...it must be an age thing!


since my answers are getting so long...I will wait till tomorrow to answer more of the Meme questions! See Laura, you may wish you had never asked....no quick answers to these! Loved your answers! -Sandra