BIG, BIG NEWS!

HELLO!
It's been so long since I've posted!
Thank you Twyla, for checking in on me during my Blog absence! xox

So much has been happening since I posted last.

First...
I would like to send my thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences, to Marsha Sayler Jorgenson, of TUMBLEFISH STUDIO.
Her father just passed away. I hope you find comfort and cherish precious memories.




The BIG NEWS????
My youngest daughter Allison and her boyfriend Andy,
are ENGAGED!!!!
Isn't that awesome??
They have been together for 6 years, and are a really cute couple. Andy is a great guy, and I will be happy to have him as my son-in-law.
I'm going to be a MOTHER-IN-LAW! wow.

She called me Friday morning, to tell me to check my email. I'm not in the habit of reading email before work, but was too bleary-eyed and half awake. I turned on the computer, then got in the shower. I almost forgot to check the email, then Allison called. So she was on the phone when I opened it. She said she didn't want to tell me in an email, but didn't want to wait and that I was the first person to know..... she attached the (bad) picture.. and I stared at the ring.. kind of stunned?.... "Really?.. is this a joke?".. "nooo. really Mom!!! Andy Proposed!!!!"... she apologized again for telling me in an email.... but I guess that's the world we live in! and it was ok!

I just have to share the proposal with you....
Andy had planned on proposing on Valentine's day, but said he just couldn't wait.
He came home from work, Allison said he was acting a bit odd. She was laying on the sofa.. (recovering from Bronchitis and a cold).... Andy asked if she wanted a glass of wine.. she said no.. then he had a big smile on his face... got down on both knees, took out the ring and said something like " I really love you, would you be my wife?"... as Cody.. their giant Chocolate Lab, started "humping" Andy's leg.. OMG! LOL.. Allison said Andy was so nervous, he didn't even care! LOL.. what a story eh?

So far, they're thinking the wedding will be in August of 2011.


I'm so excited and I'm experiencing so many thoughts I've never had before.
All my kids have said "When I get married...." but it was always something so far away... it was always "one day"...
But it is "NOW"..... now!

I'm excited.. (how many times have I said "excited" yet?...)
To help plan their wedding, and all that it involves.

So....
Since my last post, I had a birthday.. ugh... and I'm 54....
I'm not ashamed to post my age, because I don't believe it's really mine.. you see I'm only 32....................in my mind.

I celebrated with my sisters as always. It was a fun birthday/sister day. We went to breakfast, then to Hobby Lobby... and I used my gift card, from Friend Teri!


Then we headed over to "All Fired Up" a paint your own potter studio, in downtown Medina.
Loved the old Victorian building, with original Squeaky Wooden floors, and exposed Brick walls.
It was lots of fun! It was only my 2nd time painting pottery. It was nice just hanging out with my sistahhs!
I painted a "Cloud" mug. I love clouds and storms (as you are all very well aware!) and I thought it would be fun to have "Clouds in my coffee".. lol
(All the pieces turned out great!...see below)

After that, we headed over to another local place
"Riverstone Tavern" in Valley City... just 5 miles from home.
My friend Gloria suggested it and it was really good! Of course, the place was packed!
We had to wait about 1 hours, but it was worth it. After dinner, we head back to my apartment,
and played "Scene it" Turner classics version.
that was fun too! Even if Susan kept shouting out answers when it wasn't her turn lol!
In the morning I made a big breakfast and Gloria joined us and came bearing Dunkin' Donuts.. yeah!
After my sisters left, Gloria and I were just drinking coffee and eating donuts.. and she said
"Oh crap".. (... not really.. she used the other word lol.. ).. and pulled out a birthday candle from her purse, and stuck it in my now mangled half eaten donut..... lol.. that was priceless.

So...
February is making up for all the snow we didn't get in November, December & January.

I missed work last Saturday, because of the weather. They had forecast 2-4 inches..... HA! Does that look like 2-4 on my back bumper? It turned out more like 8-10.. and with all the blowing and drifting... and no shovel, my car was stuck. I had to make the day up Yesterday.

Last Monday, I was treated to amazing Frost covered Trees and amazing Blue skies. It was so gorgeous, I had to pull over to take a few pics.

There were several other people taking pictures there too!
Hard to hate the Snow when it's that spectacular!

I made a couple pairs of earrings from Polymer clay, but haven't done much art.

Oh.. and my ART friend Teri in Indiana, will be
visiting again in May! I'm so happy to get to see her again and have another fun art weekend!

So that's pretty much it.
It's 2:oo a.m. on the nose...
I'm watching the Olympics and getting that wave of dread washing over me, that another Monday looms.
We've got more snow on the way too... go figure.

I am happy to see some daylight now, when I leave work at 6 p.m.... and I love that the days are getting longer. Spring will be here soon!

Stay warm, stay safe and have a great week!

JANUARY

Hi All,

Just a quick one today.

It's January!

The beginning of a New year & my birthday month ( ehhhh)

We'll hopefully we'll have a "January Thaw"... but the way the weather has been going so far...we might not "thaw" till June!

My best friend and I, have those 'in depth" conversations about weather and the seasons.

She would prefer that they did away with January & February all together, and skip right to March.. (ahh wouldn't we all!) But I've always liked January. Not because it's my birthday month, but because it is the beginning rather than an End. The days begin to get longer and SPRING.... is just a few months away.

January let's you "start again".... Make resolutions... (not me!).... get organized... (ehhh, not so much but I try!) and "do it better this year."

If January were a color, to me it would be a beautiful deep Crimson Red. Maybe that idea was planted in my head, because the birthstone for January is a Garnet.

Do days of the week and Months conjure up a color in your mind too? Even some numbers have a color.

January-Red..February-Cobalt Blue...March-Pumpkin Orange...April-Pale Pink...May-Emerald Green....June-Pale Salmon....July-Perssimon...August-Watermelon....September-Heather Blue/Green...October-Carmel Brown...November-Mocha....December Pale Aqua.

I'm sure a lot of the colors are "warm or cool"...which may be the reason why they remind me of each month... .... do you think I'm a bit crazy? LOL..

Okay....enough about this!............. and I promise to stop writing after I've had 2 cups of coffee.

That's all for now.

must get to my art. It's a New Year!.... must post art on Etsy.. must post art on Etsy

Good bye... have a great day!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!!

2010! wow! That looks strange lol.
Me.... yes... in my "50's" photo... and ....seeing that year!
Shouldn't we all be walking around in space suits and driving hover crafts???
A new decade. What will it bring? The new year is always so full of hope and promise laying before us.

I don't make resolutions. I never keep them.
Like most people, I do hope for all the obvious things.
World peace, health, blessings.
I never wished for money. Not that I can't use it.
I guess I'm just used to getting by, and being content,
But if money would like to come my way, I'll be happy to
accept!

New Year's day in Brunswick, Ohio. Brought snow... LOTS
of Snow. "Lake-effect"... a really dreaded work in these parts. It's a rare occurrence, limited to just a handful of places on the globe. Winds sweep off the lake, picking up moisture, turning it into Snow, then DUMPING it!

That's a pretty vague example, but you get the idea. They call it the "Lake Erie Snow Machine" We pray for the lake to freeze over, making the "Snow Machine" not work quite as well.

Nothing like starting the New Year with a lesson in Meteorology!

Okay.. so. I'm making Pork & Sauerkraut.. (look, I finally learned out to spell it correctly!)
They say it's good luck to Eat Pork on New years day. I learned from Facebook today, that "they" say, it's because Pigs are the only animals that "move forward" while eating... thus the "luck" that we will also "move forward" in the New Year.
I probably mentioned this last New Year's day, but my sister Rita, make theeee BEST Pork & Sauerkraut... yes.. the BEST! Ahhh.. it's amazing. She has it every New Year's Day, and invites everyone over. I didn't think I even liked it, till I had hers. Unfortunately, the weather is keeping me away, so I'll have to make do with my own.

My mom, who's family was from Alabama, always made Black Eyed Peas for New Years. It also gave you "good Luck"...... I didn't like the gritty texture, but she always insisted we have atleast one spoonful! lol. Come to think of it, she must have switched off years, because it was her Pork & Sauerkraut recipe that Rita uses now.

I ended the old year, and brought in the new, drawing and watching Dick Clark.
Best friend Gloria was going to come over, but the weather kept her away.

So it was just me. At midnight I waited for each of my kids to call.. ( our little midnight tradition).. and I could begin the New Year!
I finished cleaning the art room and actually attempted to sort allllllllllll my scrapbook papers & pieces. they're everywhere! In baggies, and boxes and totes and bins. That's just the paper! Then there's all the images I've printed, cut and TRIED to organize. All the embellishments.... bits and pieces.... Do I save them?.. or throw them out?..... ugh. All I know is this "trend" better be around for at least another 10 years, because that's how long it's gonna take me to organize and use it all!

I'm enjoying the aroma in my house and watching the "Twilight Zone" Marathon, on the Sci-Fi channel. I can't believe how many I've never seen before! Rod Serling had quite an imagination!

I had to work yesterday....but got out at 1:15!...it was just a little "hiccup" in my 11 day vacation.
I have been off since Christmas eve!.... and the time has gone oh so fast! So.......
I will spend the rest of the evening and weekend... hopefully.......doing art.
and maybe actually posting some new items for sale on ETSY!
Well... that's it. My exciting New Year's day.
I'm off to eat some Pork & Sauerkraut!
I can used all the good luck I can get!

I look forward to a new year... new ART...
your always welcomed visits... and SPRING!

I sincerely hope you all have a blessed, safe, healthy New Year!....and a prosperous one too!

AND A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL...

Hello!
And Merry Christmas. I hope yours was warm and wonderful!

Here in Brunswick, Ohio, Christmas Eve. was in the low 40's... and only "leftover" Snow clung on the grass. Over night, the rain came, and the wind picked up. Christmas Day was "green." Every speck of snow had melted, and the sky was shades of grey. The wind whipped all day. I love a White Christmas like everyone, but was glad the weather was not an issue for my kids driving.

I had a most enjoyable Christmas, spent with my kids, and best friend Gloria.

Our family, has traditionally celebrated on Christmas Eve. When I was a child, Christmas Eve, meant Family and friends, "traditional" food, and midnight mass. Then opening presents! Christmas day, was a day to relax, eat and play with all my new toys! Then visiting friends.
When I had my own kids, We still celebrated by visiting the grandparents on Christmas eve, then home to put the little darlings to bed. And presents Christmas morning.

I remember one Christmas eve. staying up to 3 a.m. wrapping gifts... lots of gifts for my kids. they were small, about 4, 6, & 8 years old.

I finally got alllllll the presents & toys under the tree.. sat down.... and here they came! "Santa was here!".... I couldn't get them back to bed.. so... They started tearing into them....barely wrapped for 1 hour.. oh well. They had a ball!
This year as always, I made our traditional family pizza, Breaded Pork Cutlets and my favorite..... Christmas cookies. These foods are a lot of work... but truly a labor of love, when I see my kids faces, like an old friend has just showed up!
The table was full. Also including Italian Sausage & Peppers, and a Ham.
Gloria brought some yummy Christmas cookies and "the dip"... (my most favorite dip in the world, and simple: 1 pint Sour Cream, 1 Cream Cheese and 1 envelope of Lipton's "Beefy Onion" soup mix..... This dip is delicious! great with vegetables, and assorted chips, pretzels & crackers. Try it, you'll like it!)
Allison brought homemade meatballs, Jamie brought "Polish Lasagna"
We "feasted" till we could feast no more!

We played the "Family know it all" game I created last year. For the 2ND. year in a row, Eddie was the winner.

Allison and Andy brought "Rock Band" Beatles edition...... What fun!!!! We all took our turn playing each of the instruments, and even singing.

It was hysterical to watch everyone "jammin"... and their intensity, trying to keep up!

We laughed a lot, ate some more!

The kids all made themselves a "goodie bag" .. and They left around 2 a.m.

Even Gloria left "early" We are famous for hanging out and drinking coffee till the wee hours of the morning, but she was wiped out!

I was wired from the coffee, and didn't get to bed till 6 a.m. And slept till 2.... oh.. shame on me!
I got up and "grazed" alllll day... Cookies... Potato Salad, Ham.... REPEAT...

So it was another great holiday with my favorite people!

The last picture is of my daughter Allison wearing... (trying to steal)... a gift from my friend Teri.

The most gorgeous, colorful hand crocheted scarf! That happens to go perfectly with my Red coat!

Thanks so much Teri....I wrestled it back from Allison.. Fewwh!

I am off for the next 5 days, work New Years Eve. then off for 3 more days. So including Christmas Eve & Day... I will have a total of 10 days off.. AHHHHH BLISSSSSS!

I am trying to get my art room cleaned up, so I can actually sit and do art during my "vacation".... and be creative!! As I wrote earlier, my "MOJO" has been missing. I'm hoping it will show back up, and I'll have something wonderful to show you all next time.

It's a beautiful sunny day, and I'm enjoying the "cloud show" out my art room window.

I better get to gettin'....and stop "playing" on the computer!

Enjoy your weekend! and

I wish you all a very Happy, Healthy NEW YEAR!

love, MaryEllen

T'was 2 nights before Christmas....

....And all through the house, I'm the only creature stirring with my computer mouse.

LOL.

Well.... here we are 2 days before Christmas. I've got things to do that can't be done till Wednesday. Cooking. Making homemade Pizza, our family tradition. Mmmm.. I haven't had any since last Christmas! and I can't wait!

I got out of work early both Monday and Tuesday. I tried to take advantage of the extra time, and I got some things done at home.

I'm absolutely thrilled, that we haven't had any substantial snow!! This is sooo rare!...

I think I may have mentioned that in my last post.. but still worth mentioning again.

Yayyy! We've dodged quite a few "bullets".. Like the fierce storm that hit NY, last week, and the storm that went North... and side swiped Ohio. fewwh!

It wouldn't bother me if I never saw another flake!

the forecast for this Christmas.. RAIN!.. and highs in the low 40's... I love it.

So... I will be celebrating with my kids and friends on Christmas Eve. I'm going to give the game I made last year, "The Family Know-it-All".. another go.. it was a great success last year.

I'm working on new questions!

I'm just passing time right now.

I love the holiday's but I'll be happy when they're over.. and things go back to "normal."

Wishing Twyla, Lindsey, Marsha and all of my blogger friends, a wonderful Christmas!