So it's been another month.....

It seems like just yesterday I wrote my last post that next week is Christmas. Now here we are on January 20th. Christmas and New Years have come and gone and we are already into the 4th work week of the year.

Work has been quite stressful. Not overly busy, but this is review time and the time of year when I most dislike being a manager. The company announced there will be no raises this year, but we were all pretty much expecting it. I would much rather have no raises and some cutbacks then layoffs - although if things don't get better that will certainly be back on the table as an option. Our business was hit much harder than the company executives thought, so we are all trying to do our part....and do more with less. For now I am just happy to have my job with no immediate signs of change.

Creatively I have been very busy with various assignments. Unfortunatley the box of Christmas gifts that we sent my mother-in-law never made it to her. I am just devistated by this as I had a handmade quilt and my annual photo calendar in the box for her. The store bought stuff can be replaced....but the loss of the quilt is heartbreaking. So I am still trying to finish up replacements for her, and I'm starting to feel the pressure.

Hey Toni, you could quite possibly be the only reader of this post....so I was wondering if you have a facebook account? If so I would love to friend request you....I seem to be spending much more time at that site and update my page a lot more frequently than this blog. So if you have use Facebook can you look me up: Missy Neal - you will see a picture of me sitting with crossed legs looking up into the camera (there are a few Missy Neal's out there).

Hope all is well.

Missy

Christmas can't be next week...

The month between thanksgiving and Christmas is always a busy month, but this year it seems almost like a blur. Between work, home improvement projects, DT assignments, and yard work I got really behind on Christmas this year. I finally got all my boxes that need to be shipped dropped off at the post office today, but it was a frantic week getting there. I still haven't mailed out a single Christmas card and I am not done shopping for DH. YIKES, remind me next year not to let myself get this far behind again!!!

In other news, DH and I are getting ready for a nice trip to New York next week. We have some traditional Christmas visits planned and also an event packed day in the City with my mom. Even though I HATE the cold weather NY City really is the best place in the world for Christmas. Seeing that giant tree in Rockafeller center always puts a smile on my face. I'm looking forward to seeing my family and some friends and just having a nice relaxing break away from work.

Blogger is once again being difficult for me and not allowing me to post picture.....so I will do my best to be back to share new cards and layouts soon.

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

Looking forward to the Thanksgiving break

I simply can't believe how fast this year has seemed to go by. We are one week away from Thanksgiving with Christmas right around the corner. I am taking all of next week off work. My MIL will be in for a few days for the holiday, and I plan to get a lot of Christmas crafting done. I've had a busy few weeks with several magazine assignments and filling up my card rack at the consignment store. So I am hoping to use the long break to finish up those assignments and then do some crafting for my own Christmas decorations.

Here are a few of my recent pages that I tried to post last month. The first one is from my trip to NY earlier this summer. We went on a little nature walk with my mom....when we had to step over a few rocks she asked me if we were "Extreme" hiking. She was so funny. The 2nd page is my youngest niece taken last spring.....I just LOVE that doodlebug flocked paper!!!

Thanks for stopping by and hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Halloween!!!

It's hard to beleive that we are already at the end of October....but here we are on Halloween day. With the rain in the bay area I'm not sure how many kids will be out tonight, but I have a carved pumpkin, and some spooky lights to welcome those that brave the rain.

Things at work have finally slowed down a bit. This has allowed me to catch my breath the past couple of weeks and close on some projects that have been lingering. I am hearing the rumors that once again our department is going to be reorganized....so that is sure to bring some excitement when it comes.

My mom came out for a visit the week before last and we had a fantastic visit. Most of our time was filled with scrapbook shopping and card making, but we also got in a trip to the coast and some of our favorite foods. So that was a bunch of fun.

Craft wise I have been keeping busy. After getting a bunch of new goodies while my mom was visiting I have been doing quite a bit of scrapbooking and cardmaking. Here are a few of my most recent projects:

OK....blogger is not cooperating this morning so I will have to try to load the pictures later...errrr

I finally did it....

I have been himming and hawing for a long time about trying to "sell" some of my cards, handbags, and various paper crafts for quite some time now. I even set up an Esty store many months ago, but never ended up listing anything. But last month I made the decision to once and for all try a consignment store that is really close to my house. So I am now the proud renter of two spaces in the store. One for my handbags, and a card rack for my handmade cards. I busted it pretty good in August to be set up for the September 1st "opening", but was so happy that I had enough to fill both spaces.

It's been almost 3 weeks now and things are going better than I expected....although I admit to keeping my expectations LOW so that I didn't get disappointed. In the end I am more than happy if I just break even on the rent....and if I make any profit I would be extatic.

So that's been keeping me busy for the past month or so. This weekend I am going to start making some Christmas cards, because the store owner said they do 75% of their sales in November and December.

I had to sign a 6 months contract. So I am going to try it out for these 6 months and then see how it goes after that.

In other news....I can finally share one of my favorite layouts in a LONG time. This is a picture of my niece and stepdad goofing around at her sisters birthday party last year. I just love these two:

Cupcake anyone?

OMG, don't these things just make you smile?

I bought a dingbat font of cupcakes and used my pazzles to cut them. For the flowers, cherries, and strawberries I used doodlebug glitter cardstock (that stuff is so YUMMY), and then I added a bit of stickles glitter glue to finish them off. Seriously, they make me happy just looking at them. This weekend I plan to fnish making them into cards.

Saying Something Nice

I was catching up on my blog reads and found a very nice comment about me from my friend Wendy. It totally made my day. Just to think that someone with so much going in her own life not only took time to think of me, but also posted about it was really touching.

So I thought I would share some nice things about special people in my life who I probably think about a lot more than they know. Some of these folks don't even know I have a blog so they wont see my messages....but I still hope they know I'm thinking about them

Robin - My very best friend from high school. We meet in the 7th and 8th grade and were virtually inseparable until graduation. Now my dear friend is a school teacher (something she was born to do), a mother of 2 of the most precious and polite litter girls, building a brand new home, and being a stabalizing figure for her entire family. This woman is amazing and her friendship means the world to me. Even though we only see each other once a year when we get together it is like no time has passed.

Karen - I seriously can not imagine college and the first few years after graduation without Karen. I could quite possibly have an entirely different life if it weren't for Karen. We shared the same brain in college, we were partners on virtually every assignment. I really don't know if I would have made it through engineering school without her support. After college we took jobs at the same company (and both of us still work there), we shared an apartment for 2 years in Albuquerque. Today Karen is a super successful manager with the potential to go very high in this company and a mother of 2 little boys. I haven't seen Karen since her wedding a few years ago but I still feel as close to her as ever.

Wendy - www.fragrantblade.blogspot.com - My first real friend who I meet over the internet. In my early days of scrapping Wendy was my main support and a HUGE inspiration. Always willing to give of her time and help with no expectations in return. Offering up a huge amount of advise and know how on all things crafty. As we got to know each other better we found a lot more in common then scrapping. We bonded instantly, and often referred to ourselves as lost sisters....that is the way it really feels with Wendy. I have never thought of Wendy as an "internet friend" or a "scrapping friend".... no way, there is no qualifier needed with her....she is and always will be my "friend". Wendy is a wife to her high school sweetheart (that still blows my mind), a fantastic mother of two, a professional woman, a community volunteer, an extremely talented crafter, and one of the most generous people I know. I seriously have no idea how she makes the time for it all. Now after writing this I realize that I am in need of a scrapping get away soon!!!

Danea or Zee - www.zeedoda.blogspot.com - I also meet Danea online several years ago. At the time she was living in Canada and dating a guy in "California". I later learned that her boyfriend (who is now her husband) lived right here in San Jose. With a year or so of meeting online Danea had moved to California and now lives literally less than 5 miles from my house. Zee is a character with a wicked sense of humar, and this truely amazing talent for scrapping. I have often said that average scrappers can make BasicGrey look fantastic, but it takes a real artist turn the ugliest paper and stickers into something you "have to buy"....seriously she is an amazing artist. Now this is the kicker....she does all this with extreme arthritis (RA) in her hands. Now a mother of a 1 year old boy (completely healthy and cute as a button) Danea has this amazing ability to stay positive and laugh at herself even with all the medical crap (for lack of a better term) that she has to deal with. She is a true inspiration for dealing with dificult times....but I still don't want to be seen with her in flip flops.....cover those toes girlfriend!

Paula - www.keepitsimplemakeitgreat.blogspot.com - Paula....yet another one of my croppers cottage friends. Paula and I have never been extremely close friends....but I think about her all year long as I wait and wait for the annual Christmas photo. Paula is from the Argentina and has a beautiful family (that seems to be growing up so fast), every year they take a picture with Santa....but the thing that gets me is that December is HOT in Argentina, so her entire family wears t-shirts and maybe even shorts when the sit with Santa. For whatever reason this just makes me smile from ear to ear to see.

last but certainly not least
Toni - www.misteejay.blogspot.com - I don't even really know Toni, but she is from the UK and visits my blog. Even when I go missing for over a month so is always the first to welcome me back with a positive post. It's quite possible that she will be the only one to read this post (hehehe) and I really wanted to thank you for your support and let you know that it means a lot to me.