Holiday Market

Diddi has taught Robin and I many lessons over the years. These lessons ranged from minor to monumental and some we accepted and others we balked at until we conceded a loss. On Monday, Robin and I used one life lesson we learned early...pack like rats and stuff where you cannot stuff anymore.

We had a Holiday Market on Monday and Tuesday of this week. This market was a venue for tons of holiday shopping with Christmas music, oversized decorations, tons of color and lights and shoppers...oh my! Getting to the show was a most interesting event and our stringently honed packing skills came into play. It was flooding while we packed up and we had to stuff things in places we didn't know existed, made it to our destination, unpacked (with the gracious help of kind people who seemed very apprehensive as we looked like drowned rats), and got started working magic. We needed some decorating magic as our space was horrible, like a budget hotel room from the 80's horrible...grey and maroon and navy (seriously).

As for one of my favorite things: vendors who share (and our neighbor did...thank you iron works lady) and zip ties. Another favorite: gossamer and tulle they covered more than ugly this week. Our space was transformed into a precious shop full of all things boutique for girls, babies and even some funky fashion minded women!

I will post some pictures later, but we had fun...laughed a great deal and realized that even when they bring their husbands, ladies love to shop! We are very thankful we have jumped into this venture as it was a stress relief even when we were stressed.

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

For the approaching holiday season, I always created a bulletin board outside of my classroom door titled with this theme. Teaching 4th grade allowed for so much creativity and I usually got right in the middle of the madness when it came to decorating. It has been several years since I was able to use my holiday season theme outside of a classroom for all to see. So, this year I want to express a few of my favorite things.

Despite the obvious things we should all be thankful for and love...A few of my other favorites include:

1. Big and bright green and red Christmas decorations (if it looks like Dr. Suess' "The Grinch",
I'm loving it)
2. Zip ties and shop owners who share (more on this in the next post)
3. Gossamer and tulle (covers a multitude of ugly)
4. Watching ladies shop while their husbands try to look as equally enthused
5. Sunday Football
6. Cooler (not colder) weather
7. Halloween parties (when they are over and the kiddos take a nap)
8. Birthday dinner (on time or late...yummy)
9. Finding my shoes after the dogs hid them
10. County fairs

My favorite things will change...but two things will never: wonderful family and super special friends!

Catch Up

It seems like forever since I last posted and well....I guess it sort of has been forever. After many sleepless nights and long days, we completed another year of our local fair and rodeo. The livestock show went off without a hitch...until the last day. That is what happens when you think you are on the home stretch. However, this one minor problem will not set us back. We can celebrate many and I underscore MANY laughs, tons of hilarious conversations, many visits with old and new friends, some karaoke, and crawfish pies and funnel cakes to boot! It was really awesome and although we are all still so numb...I am sure we will begin generating the ambition for a new year and new preparation for another show. Many thanks to all who helped make this show a success. And for the last call, "Happy Birthday to Me" rendition courtesy of too late of a night and too much adrenaline and sugar!

Before the rodeo came to town, we had a show of our own in a large city fairly near us. We, me Diddi and Robin, headed out to the big town and we had many laughs ourselves. Our Doodle Designs store was totally funky and won rave reviews from many visitors and vendors alike. We had a tremendous time and sold tons of goodies throughout the evening. A Ladies Night Out is never dull and the evening ended with some older versions of dances I cannot even name. We were able to show-off some of our most precious products and got tons of wonderful feedback and met some really great new friends. Thanks to "Dirt Road Divas" for loaning some awesome equipment that saved the day! These girls are funky and fabulous.

What is next...catch up. I hope our friend Amanda is loving her Las Vegas Wedding shoot...roll one time for me and hope you and Josh are having a fabulous time~can't wait to catch up!

Rodeo Time

We have worked all year long for this event...this culmination of meetings, phone calls, preparation, work days and everything else that goes into putting on a huge event is finally here. Our small town and adjoining communities look forward to this event and it has continued in various capacities for 101 years.
This is not just an event it is a week long celebration where you see friends you haven't seen in exactly one year. It is a venue to eat the most delicious foods that you indulge in just once per year, a place to watch surprise and anticipation on the faces of every small child when they descend upon the fairgrounds, an arena filled to capacity with rodeo enthusists and a carnival with all the bells and whistles to delight those from one to one hundred.
This is truly a special event that could not happen without hundreds of volunteers and gracious donations. We love our small community and love this time of year. This one event promotes agrigulture and its importance in all of our lives, community, responsibility, whymsical fun and most of all a sense of place...our place and oh, it feels good to have a place to call home because even if you leave...you always come back for the fair!