I've Come Back to My Senses ...

At least, temporarily. It was 6 degrees outside when I woke up this morning, to find my husband on the phone with the furnace repairman because our furnace died last night. What? You mean it has a FILTER in it that needs to be CHANGED, REGULARLY!??? Ooops. I'm from California, like, ok? Some people there don't even have and/or use heaters and air conditioners. But now I know. I also know, now, that home warranties don't cover repairs for lame homeowners who don't take care of their stuff. But here is a more positive tidbit that I learned, that you should know too, is even though the home warranty repair guy isn't covered, the home warranty company negotiates a seriously discounted rate, and we get to use that discounted rate even though we're not covered. So if you don't have a home warranty, it's really worth it. I'm really not bothered by the whole furnace drama today. We have a second furnace that works, space heaters, a fireplace and nice warm clothing. How many people don't have those things? I bet there is a family close to me right now that doesn't have any of that, maybe not even a home. So yeah, I'm appreciating everything I have right now.

So the repair guy will be here soon, my house is a wreck, and I finally have gotten my priorities straight. Yes, I'm posting on my blog after a serious dry spell. I should be cleaning. But all these nice blog friends have been stopping by to find out where the heck I am, and I think that is so cool. I have met the nicest people blogging, real friends.

So I thought I would share a few pictures from last month, and then I'll get back to cleaning. And then I have a hair appointment to make a few tweaks to the haircut I got last week. I have had long hair for about 4 years and I chopped it last week. I got a modified bob, and I absolutely *love* it. I'm going back today because I actually want the back a little shorter. I cut 10 inches off my hair people! And my poor honey, he really loves long hair. I didn't tell him I was doing it either. Anyway, I'll show you some pictures after I get it fixed just the way I want it today. I digress.

Here are some clipboards I made for teacher gifts at Christmas. I really love foam stamps lately, and I stamped their initials and some swirls with my set of Heidi Swapp foam stamps.

Here is a gift I made for my sweet mother-in-law Betty. I just used some scrapbook paper and Heidi Swapp rub-ons, and I distressed the edges of the photos. I threw a couple swirly stamps on this one, too. Betty is so wonderful. I need to send her so many more pictures than I do.
And here is a calendar I made Betty. It is on a clipboard, but it fits in the picture frame, too, which would be really cute. I got the templates for this from Shabby Miss Jenn. It was a tiny bit time consuming, but really pretty darn easy.
Here is January's page. Each month is different, and really cute.
I finished the curtains in the living room, and finally realized that curtain rods have no business being right above the window. I think there are a lot of people who don't know this, because most stores only sell 84" curtains. This is a crime! Anyway, I learn all these things the hard way, and my house has a lot of patchwork from holes I've drilled in the wrong place. The curtain hung just above the window just isn't quite as dramatic, and the one hung just below the molding makes the entire room look bigger. What a huge difference. Now I would like to get some bamboo blinds and hang them higher, too. No worries ... this isn't how my living room looks now. I just wanted to show you the difference and I snapped a pic before I fixed the other side.