my ticker...

I went to a cardiologist today to talk about the results of the echocardiogram and holter monitor that I wore last week. The news is good. I am fit as a fiddle.

My sweet little heart is just adding in an additional beat every once in a while. Also, it appears that one of my valves has a little leak. Neither of these are of any particular concern to my doctor. They don't sound good to me, especially the leak, but I guess it happens all the time. And you always knew I was quirky, right?

Bestill my quirky little heart when I spied this....



at my Target. I bought it immediately in celebration of my good ticker news.

And I bought these...



to further the celebration. I'm wearing them now and they make me so happy. Cherry happy.

i've got a case of the gimmees

Do you know how children sometimes get the gimmees when they are out shopping...I want this...give me this! And it seems to be at its worse when they are used to getting something everytime they go out.

Well, today I have the gimmees. I want these suitcases. They are pink and I need them. I want them. I need them. Gimmeeeee.

Reality check: $500 for one suitcase? For someone who rarely travels?

But it's so darned cute. PINK for heaven's sake...and did you see inside! Oh Mama!

tag, I'm it!

I've been tagged by the fabulous Foofala creator,
Teresa.

The rules for this one are to remove the top name from this list and add yours to the bottom...so here we go:

Amy
Becky
Marilyn
Teresa
Amy (me)

and bump up everyone else's name.

Then add names of the people you are tagging.
1. Alicia
2. Speckled Egg
3. Sharyn

Lastly, answer the questions below:

What were you doing 10 years ago?
My sweetie was busy finding a ring so that he could ask me to marry him on Valentine's day, 1996. I was busy pretending not to notice so that it could be a surprise. Stealthiness is not his strong suit.

What were you doing 1 year ago?
I was preparing to go to the nygif to shop for some glorious new things for you.

Five snacks you enjoy (in no particular order, as all snacks are created equal)
Planters Select Nuts in the Cashew, Almond, Pecan combination
Bread and butter pickle atop a slice of sharp cheese on a triscuit
Cheetos (I keep thinking it would be good idea to eat them with chopsticks!)
A fig stuffed with bleu cheese
Banana pudding snack with a 'nilla wafer

Five songs to which you KNOW all the lyrics:
Everybody Loves a Lover (My secret theme song)
My Blue Heaven (My second secret theme song)
At Last
American Pie (doesn't everybody? I learned it when I was about 14 and I remember looking up the word "dirge" and this was way before googling so I had to rewind and listen and listen and listen)
You've Lost that Loving Feeling (Same sort of thing...my best friend Tonya and I learned this word for word after we saw Top Gun and then we recorded ourselves singing it. I'd give anything for that tape!)

Five bad habits:
1. Coca-cola
2. Going to bed without flossing
3. Not saying No enough and then getting mad when people take advantage (happens way too much!)
4. Not cleaning up after myself
5. Procrastinating

Five things you like doing:
1. Going to the movies and eating movie popcorn
2. Hanging out with my sweet friends and dreaming up big plans
3. Making things and having them turn out better than I dreamed
4. Sitting at my parents' kitchen table and talking
5. Playing with Seth and Maggie, especially when they are getting along

Five things you would never wear, buy, or get again:
1. Liquid makeup (it's bare escentuals all the way for me!)
2. Subscriptions to magazines I don't read
3. Pants with pleats and/or tapered legs
4. Fake eyelashes (even though Oprah told me to)
5. The wrong size bra (I just got a fitting last month and found out my true size is very different than the 36C I thought I was!)

Five favorite toys:
1. My laptop
2. Betterpak 333 (made my life infinitely easier!) and my printed packaging tape
3. Rich's cute little car especially on a warm sunny day
4. My Cocomotion (thank you, Christine!)
5. My gas range with 5 burners

delivering happiness...

Words can do no justice to all the wonderment I have to share with you, compliments of Little Melfred and Doojies, Inspire Company's newest artists in residence...Besides I am too tired to think straight. So without further adieu (always wanted to say that) I present to you...



and



and



and



and

so

much

more.

Click here to see it all and to claim yours. Everything is one of a kind and it's all first come, first served. In fact, my lucky sister Jessica has already taken the gnome.

You won't believe your peepers...

I have just returned from visiting my newest sweet friends, Stephanie and Melissa. And let me tell you that you will L*O*V*E all of the exquisite things that they sent me on my way with--two whole big boxfuls.

Because I can't stand to wait I decided to give you a sneak peek by snapping a couple of photos in my dark kitchen. They aren't the best photos...I'll have better ones tomorrow, I promise. But until then, here, my dearies, is your preview...





Don't ya love?

King Kong & Matt

Way back before Christmas I'd promised my favorite little friend, Matt, a trip to the movies. One morning last week sweet little Matt awoke with these as his first words of the day "Amy's never going to take me to the movies." His mother told him not to worry about that and being the very good mother that she is, she called me right away.

On Saturday afternoon, Rich and I took our little friend Matt to see King Kong. Did you realize that King Kong is a three hour movie? Did you know that you don't see King Kong at all until the second half of the movie? Matt was just as excited as he could be but I do think some of the excitement waned as he watched the very slow first half (which could have been a feature length movie in itself).

But all that excitement came back when the ship reached Skull Island and when everyone in the theater (except those who fell asleep) knew that we'd see some scary things and soon.

Boys love gore. They cheer it on and their eyes light up when they see it. It's built into them, saved from the caveman days I'm sure. There is plenty of gore in the second half of King Kong. Dinosaurs trampling people. (Don't ask me how dinosaurs made it into the King Kong flick but they were there and as real as Jurassic Park, for sure) Dinosaurs eating each other. King Kong flinging people around like rag dolls. Skulls and bones of people who were flung years ago. Worms and roaches as big as people sucking up whole people.

So in the middle of all of this gore and general scariness, I looked over at my sweet friend who was covering his eyes with his hand but still peeking through his fingers. I remembered that at this fancy new theater the arm rests can be raised to make more of a loveseat of two chairs. I decided my little friend might need some comforting and reassurance. More than anything, I wanted to scoop my scared little friend up and hold him in my arms. So I do think this need was more selfish than anything else.

With the arm between us raised, I motioned to Matt that he could move in closer to me if he'd like. The look he gave me made me realize how ridiculous the offer was. Next thing I knew, the arm was back down (I didn't put it down).

i love my friend...

Can you keep a secret? I can't. I don't think my friend reads my blog (she's so dang busy) so I think it will be safe for me to show you what I bought her today.



Can you get over how cute it is? Oh I can't wait to give it to her. She's such a good friend...the best I ever had. I know she'll love this little creature just as much as she can. I think she'll probably carry it with her from room to room. That's what I'd do if I had one. Wouldn't it be nice if the Valentine fairy read my blog and hooked me up with one?

This is what I showed Rich that I would like for Valentine's day...



but I think it's a no-go. Too bad. It's a necklace with heart charms. You get 7 charms to start with and then every 8 weeks you get two more. Oh that would make me so happy. Truly.

dark and dreary day

It is truly one of those mornings that are so dark and dreary that you really just want to crawl back into bed and sleep until the sun comes up the next day. Maybe I'll be able to take a nap in the middle of today. I never, ever do that but just the thought that I could do it makes me feel really happy.

I went to the doctor yesterday about my heart's little fluttery feeling that I get most evenings and mornings. I'm going in for more tests but until then the doctor said that I should cut down on caffeine. I only drink one cup of coffee and about one coke a day (which I didn't think excessive at all) but he said to be safe I should cut it down even more. So I'm drinking decaf tea this morning. I bought Red Rose tea (mostly because it came with a little premium inside and I'm a sucker for free gifts). Oh it made me so happy to open it up and find this little ducky. I immediately placed him in the kitchen window with all of my other miniature treasures. Oh I love him.

As soon as I get the energy (maybe I'll have another cuppa) I am going to head to the space where I put your orders together and I am going to tidy with abandon. Maybe I'll take ducky with me and he can be my tidying mascot.

update, part 1...

I've finally updated the site. There are more new products coming this week but I just couldn't wait any longer. Wanna see?

















Isn't that a whole lot of new? Visit the site to see for yourself Hope you find something you love.

four things...

Alicia just tagged me. So here I go...

Four jobs you've had:
Barrista, Nanny, Receptionist, Graphic Designer

Four movies you would watch over and over again:
I don't usually watch movies over again but I'd love to see Neopolian Dynamite again and I can't turn off any Doris Day movie even if I've seen it a million times

Four places you've lived:
all in Virginia...West Point, Staunton, Alexandria, Centreville

Four TV shows you love to watch:
Keeping Up Appearances, Oprah, Mary Tyler Moore, The Office

Four places you have been on vacation:
Prague, Killington, Nags Head, Cancun

Four web sites you visit daily:
Just My Cup of Tea, Cute Overload, The Bliss Guild, All Sorts

Four favorite foods:
Gingerbread, Bbq Ribs, Crabcakes, Cheese

Four places I'd rather be:
At my mother's house sitting at the kitchen table while she cooks something good, In the same room with Oprah, Doris Day's Cypress Inn in Carmel, People-watching at a cafe in Paris sipping on something delicious

looky here...

I've been busy...so busy! I'm trying to get everything ready for you to see all the new. Soon, I promise.

Until then...here's a little eye candy.


made by Little Melfred


made by Stephanie

Dontcha just love? and the best news is...these fabulous artists are busy making things for me to share with you. Isn't that swell?

I was a sick chick...

Where've I been, you ask? Sick. I've been parked on my sofa and sick for days and days. I still managed to get orders out, two at a time with rest between.

When I was searching the over-the-counter pharmaceuticals in desperation for relief, I happened upon these...



They are like alka-selzer tablets that you place on the floor of your shower, releasing a vapor of eucalyptus and menthol. I tried it and it really seemed to make me feel better for about 2 hours. Next time you're feeling under the weather and can hardly breath...give it a try.

I think I'm nearly fully recovered. I have so much work to do. Keep checking because one day soon you will see lots of new things and a freshly designed website.