WHO IS THAT GIRL????

Well Girls....I have never in my life had hair as straight as this!!! I haven't put a blow dryer or curling iron to this hair in about 15 years!!! But because of the curiosity of all of my friends I decided to let my friend and the best hair dresser in the world (not to mention the most patient), Valerie Casares flat iron it today when she came by to revive my color. Is she good or what!!! I haven't ran my fingers through my hair in decades!!!

I know I'll only keep it for a few days, just to shock everyone and because of the fact that there is NO WAY that I would ever take this much time to work on my hair in one day!!! But I want your opinions, ok. Good or Bad!!! Be honest!!!! Straight or Curly???? Do I look older???

I actually have to go out and buy a brush, I don't own one!!!

A Place for Inspiration......

Here are some pictures that I keep for inspiration....

















These are just some supplies for my stained glass/dirty job workshop....





















This is a night light that I made with scrap glass...
















I recently was introduced to making junk jewelry by my friend Tina and was inspired to make one myself. This is a necklace made of sentimental items from my past. It contains a watch face that was given to me by my grandfather when I was about four or five years old. I remember him tying a ribbon on watch and then he put it on my wrist. I don't think it ever worked but I cherish it.




The necklace also has a ring that I had made at Knott's Berry Farm when I was 16 years old and dating Kim. It says "Kim" on it. Also, my first earing is on the necklace, and a silver dutch shoe that was given to me a long time ago.......Lots of Memories.
I guess I should call this my Memory Necklace....

My Stained Glass Workshop...

I have a room in my garage that I have taken over as my stained glass/dirty jobs workshop. It has two large work benches that I am able to do my stain glass work and I also love to do wood working. This pathetic looking rose is the very first piece I made when I attended a stained glass class several years ago. It is sentimental to me. I recently decided to decorate this area because I have so many pretty things that I want to start making things with so why not decorate with them while they are taking up the space anyway!

I also recently went to a yard sale and purchased a box full of old bottles for $3.00 so the Ja Ja Sisterhood Crafters can someday do a class for the bottle stoppers and we can decorate them.....We are waiting for Tina to direct us!!!! O.K. Tina, it's on you now!!!!

This is a cement vase that says Kim and Donna on it. My husband actually made this for me in his art class when we were dating in highschool. That was 35 years ago!!!! I'M NOT THAT OLD!!!!!

I'm Sick and Bored !!!!!!

We had such a wonderful time at the circuit assembly this weekend with all of our friends and family.














And then I started getting that sore throat that I've been resisting for the last two weeks....you know the one that everyone has gotten and then it turns into a full blown flu!!!!



Oh yes, I got it and I got it good!!!
I've been in bed since Monday. Fever, Ears Aching, Chest feeling like someone is sitting on it, Cough... you name it... I've got it!!!!
I HATE GETTING SICK!!!!!









Now, I'm at the boredom part. Well enough to get out of bed and go into the other room but not well enough to go out..... Did I mention I HATE GETTING SICK!!!!.......

Reflections of the many District Conventions...

Kim and I have been to many District Conventions in the 32 years that we have been married not to mention all of the ones attended during our courtship. But one that stands out with us is the Special Assemby that we attended three years ago in Frankfurt, Germany. In preparation for our International Convention that is coming up in June 2009 I thought that it would be fun to think of the gifts that we could give to the many delegates that will be coming to our convention. As you scroll down this blog you will be able to get some ideas of gifts that were given to us at the convention in Germany and share some wonderful pictures of our trip to the convention. You could just feel the love that was there and how we had a taste of what life will be like in our new paradise with our many brothers and sisters. I hope that this will inspire all of you. And remember it is not the gift that counts it is the thought behind it......

What Can We Make????

No matter what we decide to make, it doesn't have to be expensive or elaborate. It's the thought behind the gift that counts. The important thing is to let these friends know how much we appreciate that they are here with us! This was written on the back of a picture of two sisters that came to the convention.
We receive a lot of little bags of candy that had a ribbon attached to it with a card of the person who handed it to me. Also, small tins containing mints and on the tin contained the name of the brother and sister.

Here's a creative idea, a package of seeds was given to me with a sticker picture and the name of the congregation that they attended. Very creative and useful.

Here's a beautiful bookmark made by a Japanese sister.

And why not get our children involved! Here is a beautiful bookmark that was handed to me by a young german brother. He was so proud to let me know that he made it himself. I will cherish this especially since it was handmade. I love it!!

Gifts We Received....

This postcard was being handed out with the picture of the congregation on the front and on the back was the name of the brother or sister that gave it to me.

Here is another card with a picture of the friends that gave it to me and their information.

These little pouches were handmade by a sister from New Mexico and they contained spices. Very creative!

Beautiful handmade bookmark from a Japanese delegate!

A brother from Paris gave me this beautiful Eifel Tower. It also lights up!!!

More Creative Gift Suggestions...

This is a beautiful bookmark that was embellished with pressed flowers and then laminated. Wooden beads were then attached to it. The bookmark has a scripture on it and the name of the person and congregation they attend on the reverse side.

I love how creative the brothers and sisters were in Bethel at Selters. This is a handmade wooden miniature of a wood plainer made by a brother in the wood shop. He used scrap wood to create these for the delegates.

As I was walking around the stadium in Germany, a sister noticed that I was a delegate and she handed me this beautiful hand cross-stitched hankerchief. This must of taken alot of time. I will always cherish it.

Kim and I needed to bring something that wouldn't take up too much room because of the limitations with the luggage, so we had bookmarks made up with our congregation name on it. As a result of handing these out we have had so many wonderful emails from our brothers and sisters all over the world. We still have kept in touch with many of them.

This is a beautiful silk book cover that was given to me by one of our Japanese sisters. It holds my daily text and reminds me of the dear sister that made it everyday....

The International Convention Is Coming.....

These are some beautiful friends from the Special Assembly we attended in Frankfurt, Germany.


Yes, it's that time again! The summer convention is coming. And it's an international convention!!! I look forward to greeting our brothers and sister's from all over the world just as we were embraced by our friends in Germany!

Kim and I were showered with many great experiences and we brought home many gifts that were given to us from the friends. I'm preparing now so that I will be ready with gifts in hand for the friends that are coming a long way......These sisters were very excited to receive their new release of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in Croatian.

I this a precious face or what!!!

Special Assembly in Frankfurt, Germany

Kim and I were given the privilege of going to the Special Assembly in Frankfurt, Germany three years ago. What a beautiful experience! We were greeted by our dear brothers and sisters in Frankfurt and in Paris at the airport. They were there voluntarily with signs and gifts to make us feel welcomed.
These brothers and sisters of course did not know us, but we were all brothers and sisters. You would have thought that we knew each other all of our lives! It was great! And I can't even tell you how heart warming it was to embrace all of them!

This sign was also displayed at the convention for everyone to see. It just brought you to tears because of the love that these friends had and because of their gratitude to all of the friends who came to their convention from different lands. We were there to encourage them and yet I think we went away with all of the encouragement.

There were many mixed marriages at this convention. Here is a German brother and his beautiful family.

And this precious little girl

just won the heart of Kim....

"A Tribute to The Elderly"

I have been spending the past two to three weeks of my days off with my mom and her brother, my uncle "Ducky" as we call him and we have been redecorating his home. He lives alone and his home needed some sprucing up. So I did what I love to do....decorate!!! He has a wonderful collection of so many things that we were able to decorate with all of his collected items and we just added fresh paint and new draperies. He now has an updated looking bachelor pad. I enjoyed the time that we were able to spend with the "Ducks" especially when he would make us our afternoon tea when we were taking a break.

Old people facinate me! They are so full of knowledge and they have experienced so much more than we have. Have you ever wondered where they have been in their lives. What hardships they have had to deal with. What they looked like when they were younger? Were they rebels? Did they do well in school? How many children did they have? Did they marry?

My uncle is in his 70's and up until three years ago he was a very vibrant man who loved to dance. He was able to dance for hours at a time at weddings and he would put all of us young ones to shame. He has an obsession for collecting things that are very interesting. He also has many pictures with the beautiful Marilyn Monroe. Yes, he is full of many stories of when he was younger and when he would go to the studios to see her. I think when she is ressurected Uncle Ducky will probably marry her (Ducky has been a bachelor all of his life). Ducky has a zeal for life and we often could find him at the local shopping center offering the Watchtower and Awake to passersby. Yes, three years ago he suffered a stroke at my sons wedding and although he has recovered greatly, it has taken that sparkle out of his eye. There is definately a different person that looks back at me now and even though he has slowed down extremely he is still very zealous in his ministry and you can still see him walking over the freeway over pass in Sun City, California to share his hope to others at the local shopping center that may need encouragement.

Let us never forget our older family and friends. They are so precious to us and we don't know how long we will have them with us so lets all try to do our part to let them know that they haven't been forgotten and that we love them.

This piece is dedicated to my "Uncle Duck" whom I love very much.....