thing i've learned...

in the past twelve hours...
1. puppies pee a lot
2. and poo
3. baby bullies try to hog the bed
4. how much i miss daisy
5. lily is not a fan
6. puppy teeth are sharp
7. sixteen pounds is heavy
8. puppies do not sit still for photos
9. there's nothing quite like a puppy falling asleep on your shoulder
10. i am obsessed

be brave, friends...
<3 anna

merry christmas...

my wonderful friends! may your day be filled with joy and hope that is found in Christ! love you all!!
be brave...
<3 anna

a few things you should know...

i do think about you, my dear readers, even on the days when i don't post...
i sew barefoot...
i had birthday cake for breakfast today...
i am mad at my sewing machine because it went kooky right in the middle of the make it work challenge. thank God i had hello kitty to save the day!
i am dying to post a picture of what i made...
i still don't feel like it is christmas...
i do not think that lost should make us wait so long for the new season...
i want to travel to africa...
i am getting impatient for my new bulldog to come home...
i miss my besties in colorado and think they should move to virginia!
i am looking forward to christmas eve midnight service - one of my favorite of the year.
i love this photo...

i know it is blurry and the quality is horrible, but that is lily's first time walking in the city and the one in green is one of my favorite people on the planet...

distance makes the heart grow fonder...

at least that is what i am counting on... my dashboard says that i haven't written on here since the tenth, but i refuse to believe that. so, here i am eight days later with a bundle of things in my head to tell you. i must resort to a list. but mel took my camera to work with her so i don't have any pics to put up here... sorry.
1. today is my birthday.
2. we had such a great time with friends in richmond. there is a beautiful area called the fan where there are all these old restored houses. they opened them up for a holiday decoration tour. it was so beautiful! there was a tree that was nine feet tall and had over 2000 christopher radko ornaments. you couldn't even see tree. but best of all it was a great time with great friends.
3. today is my birthday
4. our church had our annual "talent or lack thereof" show on sunday. it was hilarious as usual, but next year i think we need to just leave out the word talent...
5. today is my birthday
6. a box for one of my swaps got lost in the mail - or at the mail store, actually - so i had to put together a quick swap and now i am working feverishly on an additional gift.
7. oh, yeah... today is my birthday!

be brave...

one spoiled girl...

i had such a wonderful time with these folks! she gave a bit of a wrap up already and i will soon...
but, i came home to loads of good mail, not the bills and jury duty notices but fun, happy mail... a box of heather bailey fabric that i ordered, the package for my calendar swap (way to go, ladies!) and my goodie bag swap. well... katherine spoiled me rotten.

as you can see from the picture she sent me tons of stuff! it is so wonderful! i can't wait to play with all my new things!!
oh, yeah... come back tomorrow and i will introduce you to the new man in my life... photos and all!
be brave...

one of those days...

today is one... when i stick my foot in my mouth more than once, when i yell at someone and immediately regret it, when i feel a bit overwhelmed, when i want to crawl in bed and read a book, when all of my art would be black and grey with a little red, when i think about running away to an island, when i wish i could start over...
i think i will make a t-shirt that reads "leave me alone, i just got back from vacation..."
be brave...

what did i get myself into....

so... you might remember that i was excited about this. for a few reasons... one, i love project runway and always think i could win. let's not mention that i have never made a piece of clothing... and two, i love fabric bliss and the weenie who runs it.
i got my package in the mail and when i opened it i was thinking, okay... i can do this. then i saw this material...and the black lace... i am thinking she wants us to keep it g rated... but that lace only makes me think of sexy underpants. or maybe it is the victoria's secret fashion show that my MOTHER is watching as i am blogging and keeping her company... so, yeah. i am gonna "make it work", but i am not sure how pretty it will be.
cross your fingers for me...
i will be brave...

crazy busy...

i wonder where that expression came from... "crazy busy"... did i make it up? do other people say it? i think it is a great description of me this week - crazy AND busy. when usually i am just crazy... so, we are headed to denver to see this amazing woman, try to convince her amazing husband that squirrels are not the devil incarnate and play with her amazing kids. and we will probably get some germs and freeze our butts off. not to mention the swelling and headaches we will get from the altitude... but it is still worth it to see these faces

and laugh until we pee our pants.