Just Jen

KILLER

Allow me to introduce you to the newest member of our little family, Killer, our goldfish. He (or she - how do you tell for sure anyway?) is quiet, low maintenance, doesn't chew up your favorite pair of shoes or leave a surprise on the living room rug. He's my husband's fish, actually, which means he got to name him, and he gets to feed him and clean out his bowl. We weren't planning on getting a fish until our next door neighbor, Claudia, gave Bret this fancy beaded fish bowl for Christmas. So, of course we had to get a fish to go in it! I got to pick him out. He's gold with black markings - he even has a spot on his mouth that looks like lips! We don't know anything about fish, so we almost killed him the first night. He just kept floating down to the bottom of the bowl - we knew enough to know that wasn't normal. So we called Claudia over, and she put some drops in that takes the chlorine out of the water. Oops. He perked back up after that. After that he spent most of his time swimming in circles around the bowl like he was trying to find a way out...maybe the effects of the chlorine?? Or maybe he just doesn't have anything better to do. Last night I flipped off the light and wondered if fish are afraid of the dark. Or what if he constantly swims into the glass because he can't see it? Maybe I'll get him a night light...

IM in Style!!

I just posted these fancy new IM icons to my website, but I thought I'd make them available here too!
Just click on the links below to download the files.
Download FLOWER.gif
Download FLOWER2.gif
Download DIXIE.gif
Download WALLPAPER.gif
Download HEART.gif

Check out my other free goodies on my website too! http://www.dixiebellegifts.com/funtreats.php

Van Halen Rocks Dallas!

I really love 80's music, but hard rock especially - shocking, I know! There's just something about the sound of that electric guitar... I think I was a teenager in the wrong decade. Fortunately, I married an 80's boy, and he's bringing me up to speed.

We went to the Van Halen concert last night with a couple of friends. The place was packed! It was a great concert, of course. I snapped a pic with my iphone during the concert - the best I could do. They played my favorite song first - "You Really Got Me" and ended with "Jump." I was expecting the place to be filled to the brim with people that looked like they fell asleep in 1984, and woke up last night just in time for the concert. And while there were a few that were still rocking the wavy mullet and leather pants, the general uniform seemed to be a black shirt and jeans. There was this one guy in a Walt Disney World sweatshirt - not really sure what he was thinking. I expected the crowd to be a bit more rowdy as well, but everyone sat down for pretty much the entire concert! Is it even legal to sit down at a Van Halen concert?! We were way up in the nosebleeds, but even the people on the floor weren't getting too crazy. I saw people getting rowdier at the Billy Joel concert a couple of months ago... Is everybody that old all of a sudden, really? The girl in front of me wasn't afraid to stand, though, and "Dance the Night Away," she did. She was polite enough to ask me before the concert started if I would mind if she stood up - that was a first! Right as the encore was about to start, she turned around and started picking a fight with some guys that were sitting right behind us. Apparently, in her drunken confusion, she thought they were throwing things at her. I didn't see anything... Anyway, she couldn't have weighed more than 100 lbs, and the guys that she was inviting to come down and experience her wrath were huge! The guy she was with just kept facing forward and ignored the whole thing - smart man.

Great show. Lots of fun. And now I can say I saw a legendary band in concert!

Bullseye

Today on my way to a long overdue haircut, I passed a white mailbox with a red bullseye target painted on the side. It was noticably dented in that area, as one might expect... Made me laugh. Obviously, the owner has accepted that his mailbox is a target whether or not there is one actually painted there. If we could all deal with the realities of life with this kind of humor, I think we'd all be a lot happier!

Pressed...

My husband picked this flower for me on a walk sometime late last summer. He took it from the landscaping at the front gate of our community. (Nobody tell our Homeowners' Assoc!) I decided to press it in a book on my nightstand - something I never take the time to do. I didn't give it another thought until I found it again just the other day. It was such a beautiful surprise! When I got over the guilt of having not picked up that book for so long, I decided it would go perfectly in this sweet little square frame that I bought a while back but never had "just the right thing" to put in it. I think they were made for each other! I am now obsessed with pressing flowers, or at least I would be if it were not the dead of winter and not a bloom in sight. Guess I'll just have to wait for the new landscaping to go in this spring. :)

For your Sweetie!

I'm so excited about the new Sweetheart pot we just added to my website! I designed it for Valentine's, of course, but it will be a sweet addition to the garden all year long! Visit my site to order. http://www.dixiebellegifts.com/

Pin it up!

I finally finished my bulletin board project. Seems like I say that about all my projects, but really, I've been busy! Finally I have some down time, so I'm getting to finish up all the little things I started before the fall. Once I got down to it, it really only took about an hour and a half or so to complete. It was much easier than I thought, and looks great on the wall in my craft room! I've got kind of a black & white/blue green/red theme going, so it works really well and is now the centerpiece of the room (it's pretty big - about 4'x5'). I can't wait to fill it up with inspiration!

The Quilt is Complete!!

It's finally finished! I started this quilt just over a year ago. I had to put it down for a while when all the pot painting picked up. I made this one just for me! It's my second quilt to actually complete. The first was a baby quilt I made for a friend a few years ago. I decided to make this one throw sized - small enough that I might actually finish it this century! I made it extra long so that when I'm sitting in my big red comfy chair and have it pulled all the way up to my chin, my toes are sufficiently covered! I combined fabrics from my 3 favorite designers - Denyse Schmidt, Amy Butler and Heather Bailey. I just love all the patterns and colors!!

I decided to hand quilt the whole thing, partly because I LOVE doing all that teeny tiny monotonous stitching, and partly because I can't find a walking foot that will fit my sewing machine. It may be time to break down and just get a new one. I put the final stitch in the other night and threw it in the washing machine - which is terrifying!! I found myself standing there watching it go round and round and thinking, "Please don't fall apart, please PLEASE don't fall apart..." It did survive and looks great! It amazes me how washing a quilt will completely change the texture and look. It's the final step that makes it look like a real homemade quilt!
Finishing it is bittersweet because for me the enjoyment is in the process more so than in the final product. Oh well, guess it's time to start something new!!>