Unexpected

We must be willing to get rid of the life we planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. (Joseph Campbell )

well, guess it is time to share a bit more on what i alluded to on a previous post in August.....my darling motorcycle man was diagnosed with cancer on July 10....when he had surgery to remove a lump in his leg...sarcoma.....we were sure that he beat it as they got it all and his CT scans were clear...he had 3 months of radiation which was very rough...but, we were very hopeful that is was gone...the drs even used the "CURE" word.......I did my November shows with no worries....then around the beginning of Dec. Lar was not feeling well...his back hurt and he started coughing.....and also around this time the wedding was ramping up to full speed. we had the bridal shower/party on Dec. 5th...then launched into wedding frenzy.....all the while my sweet man still was not doing so great and finally went to the dr..he said pneumonia....but, just to be sure lets send the xray for a second opinion.......Dec. 17th we got the news the cancer had gone to both lungs.....dec. 18th..wedding rehearsal ..lar could not attend as he was having a PICC line inserted for the chemo..but, he did make it to the rehearsal dinner....I am in total shock by now as we all were...dec. 19th ..me and coral and her bridesmaids assemble flowers and get our nails and toes done.....how did i do it? autopilot i guess. dec. 20th is the wedding day and we had the morning Vietnamese wedding ceremony then off to get hair and makeup done then wedding ceremony downtown at The Crown Ballroom.......it is all so surreal to me......dec. 21 (morning after the wedding) chemo begins.......this is a new journey for my family.......I ask that you keep my sweet man in your prayers. he has always been my Knight In Shining Armor.....taking care of me and the kids....I have truly lived a fairy tale life....now it is my turn to take care of him. I know LOVE...therefore I am Truly Blessed.

Heart Hugs,

"V" is for Ricci's "Vision" and for Viet...Our Future son-in-law!

My sweet daughter-in-law, Ricci, had a vision to transform our home into an Old Hollywood supper club for our daughter, Coral's, bridal shower/party. The theme for the wedding is "Old HollyWood Glam" and we wanted to carry it thru for the party. Ricci is the kind of gal that has decorating magic in her fingertips......we used alot of what I already had. Here she is around 11pm the night before the party putting up the "chandelier"...actually feathered disco ball Christmas ornies! We tuelled the ceiling and sprinkled in the dollar store rose petals.

My son and I created this sign that we had at the entrance....

We thought putting the old glam stars and rat pack pictures up would add to the fun...they even "autographed" them to Coral and Viet!

This is the top of the stairs leading from the front door. We hung a curtain up to give the feeling of entering a club. The frame at the top of the stairs has the movie title "From Here to Eternity" Starring Coral and Viet......battery operated candles light the way on the stairs....

Peeking in thru the archway.... notice the heart that my hubby made!

bar and window seating.... food table is to the right...it was loaded with goodies and heart shaped sandwiches. We twirled black chiffon around the dishes with a string of lights underneath...very festive! Can you see Corals wee doggie..Taj...?

this is the "Lounge" area where we held the shower part of the party..later on the guys arrived and we opened up the bar....this is usually our dining room! We flipped the rooms around.....

Bar area......long table with glasses.....serve yourself!

cozy seating for two in front of the fireplace.......love this shot....Ricci also takes very artistic photo's! We also had a few other "bistro" type tables set up around the room....

another view of the bar area....and tuelle

cutting the cake...good practice!

Viet is laughing cause I told him to put his hand on top of Corals cause that is the very last time he will have the "upper hand"...notice in the above picture that Corals hand is on top!

This was during the shower (pics are a lil out of order!) Coral is wearing the feather wrap that Ricci and I bought for her to wear at the wedding for outdoor pictures......

Me and my darling daughter.......sigh! We had the TV on in the background tuned into old 50 movies........we had the sound to the TV turned off as we had music from that era playing on the stereo...

The ladies!

The happy couple toasting to their future!

I recieved this in my email from my former minister...its on Visioning.......

I invite you to notice what it is you’re thinking about today. Where's your attention? Where's your focus? That's where your vision is.

You have a very powerful visioning capacity.

James Allen wrote a ground breaking book around the turn of the Twentieth Century entitled, "As A Man Thinketh." James Allen said, the vision that you glorify in your mind, either you revere or you fear. That's how you glorify something. You put a lot of energy on it. The vision that you glorify in your mind; the ideal that you enthrone in your heart, this you will build in your life. This you will become. Any thought that is either feared or revered gathers a whole lot of energy around it and becomes the life we build. So today, let's fill our mind and our vision with thoughts that we love, visions of possibility and the life we are meant to live.

I vision my daughter having a very bright future filled with Love! So it is!

Heart Hugs,

"U" is for Unusually Bizzy!"

November was an Unusually bizzy month! But, my heart is so happy!!! The picture above is a steel heart that my sweet Motorcycle Man created for our 30th wedding anniversary. I will cherish it forever. He took a welding class and designed this as a surprise! He will also have some for sale soon,too! ( with my encouragement!) I will post more pics soon!

But, I am getting ahead of myself....the whirlwind began the first weekend in November when I did my first show in Portland at the Convention Center...this was the entrance to my booth.

I had it loaded with faeries and stockings and wee cottages, oh my!

this cutie is off to her new home.....

a vintage wedding couple in a collaged flower pot has many tales to tell.......

This faerie named "Soliel" proclaims "Magic Awaits You"...little did I know, that this was a message for me, too!

I was about to embark on a "Soul Journey"....... finding an inner strength I did not know I had. We all do, sometimes it just waits just at the right moment to appear...

My booth in Portland was pretty bare by the end of the show and i just had 10 days to create before my next show....and in those 10 days we had a birthday to celebrate..(our youngest child turned 19!)...and moved out...well, just down the street...but, still...we had an empty room....to fill!! yippeee......more room for my "stuff"... I also was helping my dear daughter with wedding preparations and dress fittings........so fun!...My feet hit the ground running every morning!.....

We took off for Spokane on the 18th...and as soon a we parked the trailer (after 7 hours of driving) we hit the vintage shops looking for "bling" for our daughters wedding...her theme is Old HollyWood Glam...we scored at a sweet shop named "Finders Keepers"...they were at Farm Chicks,too.....such nice ladies!

The picture below is the entrance to my booth in Spokane, Washington.....

This booth is a bigger one and took us 8 hours to set up.....

The customers came and shopped by the droves......

We were all very happy and very tired.

We got home on the 23rd and the next day was our 30th anniversary...then we had Thanksgiving.....its a blur.....then we started preparing for our daughters bridal shower...it took me a week to shop and shop and shop (I also found my dress to wear for the wedding! Yahooo!!) and decorate the house. I am so glad that my daughter-in-law was helping me..she is a real treasure and super talented. I will share pictures of the "event" soon...it was this past weekend.....

Now on the the next adventure!

What Magic Awaits Us?

Heart Hugs,