Another day with all my lessons cancelled. There's a chance of a bit more tonight, but then it'll be out of here. I made ornaments for my choir members. I didnt personalize these. I used a texture stamp cookie cutters and pearlx powders. These went very smooth. I did have to laugh because most people I know are spending time baking cookies and treats for the holidays. My oven has been on for 2 days almost constant and I havent made anything edible. I am working on another cool clay project I'll hopefully post tomorrow. So far its looking like its turning out. Hooray!

So my tub wasnt delivered today. I got a call to say they were loading up and on their way and then about 10 minutes later I recieved another call saying the tub was delivered in the wrong color (I need bone and they sent white.) I used to work from the plumbing shop doing the install and they were very apologetic and all. The warehouse didnt have a bone in stock so they were pulling all kinds of strings to take care of me. I talked to them this afternoon and the tub will be installed tomorrow. I'm ok with this whole thing but I'm not looking forward to my hubby coming home. Its kinda weird that little things can throw me into such a tizzy but something like this I can pretty much take in stride today. (I'm not PMSing anymore which surely helps) Sometimes I cant even understand myself.

Thank you to everyone who is stopping by. I am loving the Glitter Power Sisters. All of you are so talented and inspiring. I hope that you are all having a spectacular holiday season with plenty of time to embrace what each of you holds dear.

We had a bit of an ice storm here Sunday and into today. All the schools closed which means my lessons get cancelled too. My mom was borrowing my truck so I had no temptation to go anywhere. I worked on the Christmas ornaments I'll be giving to all my students. They're polymer clay. I made a piano keyboard cane to use on part of the music note. I used some leather crafting tools to make impressions in the clay in a few designs. I wrote each students name and the year on their ornament. Then the fun-I pulled out my pearlx powders and made everything shimmer. I love those powders. The pics are bad because of the glare, but I hope the idea comes thru.

I'm in a much better frame of mind today. I'm still fighting off the depression that is looming, but at least I'm trying. I've got lots of ideas brewing in my head that I'd like to work out in my art. Some ideas for gifts and others just to try and see what happens. To be honest the unexpected free time I had today really helped me not get that overwhelmed feeling I was bordering on for homemade gifts.

Our new bathtub will be installed tomorrow. I wont be able to use it til Christmas eve but I'm still super excited to be rid of the old yucky one. No amount of scrubbing could get it clean and it had a low spot where water collected and never drained properly.

I thought I was helping. Doing a little bit to ease anothers load. I just didnt do it right. Feelings of incompetence and frustration fill me but the overriding emotion is sadness and I feel the depression enveloping me once again.

Happy Friday everyone. My house is Christmasied up. I love it. Unfortunately, I keep wanting to add more but I'm not sure where to put anything else. Can you see my error on the tree? I went out yesterday specifically to buy more garland for the tree. I got it, came home and put it on the tree and THEN realized its not the same. Bummer huh. So, I guess I'm going back to the store today. Miss Winnie looks kinda pissed at the tree doesn't she. Funny, its Fozzy who really doesnt like it.

I got new boots yesterday and wore them on my walk this morning. They are super warm and cozy. Really comfy for a real walk too. Its funny how excited I am about them really. They're pretty cute too!

I really need to get some Christmas shopping done. I didnt find anything while I was out yesterday. I actually got pretty freaked out at the mall yesterday. I was walking past the center of the mall and could hear people yelling. As I got closer I could see security pulling people away from each other and the yelling continued. After what happened in Nebraska the day before it really disturbed me. I pretty much ran to the store to get out of there. What is the world coming to when you cant even Christmas shop without being fearful? It makes me very sad. I just cant comprehend what gets into peoples minds and to be honest I dont want to understand it. I yearn to live in a more tolerant, compassionate world.

One of my younger piano students got a rock tumbler and this is one of the first rocks she finished. She wants to give it to one of her school teachers so her mom asked if I could make it into a pendant. I used 22g sterling square wire. I like how it turned out. I cant wait to see how the student likes it.

I need to do some errands this morning. I'm hoping the crouds and traffic arent to bad on a Thursday morning. I'm such a "people person"-nah, I'm not even close. I'd be happy if I could avoid everyone and just exist in my own little art-filled world. That certainly isnt going to happen this close to Christmas. At least I'm able to try to do this on a weekday and not Saturday morning when everyone is out.

Its cold here this morning. At the end of our walk it was 10 degrees. Theres still a dusting of snow and patches of ice, but it was a beautiful walk. My walking buddy and I laughed most of our 4 mile route. Its always good to start the day in that manner. We're supposed to get 1-2" of snow tonight. I should probably look for better boots when I'm out today. The ones I wore today are only shoes really with a bit of fur trim to make them a bit warmer, but they're to short for much more snow. Maybe I'll make that my goal-To find nice boots today or at least narrow it down better. Have a wonderful day.

We got our Christmas tree decorated last night. I have to go get another thing of garland but its really beautiful already. I've been busy the past few days. Christmas in Ida was great as usual. It snowed on the parade and was really pretty with the lights. We had a great time. Sunday we went to our nephews band concert and then went to a Messiah concert later that evening. I really enjoyed the Messiah. This is the 2nd year I've gone to this groups concert of it and I think this year was better than last. Very beautiful and a wonderful way to get me in the Christmas mood. Monday night I went to a bar with a friend and listened to a jazz group from a nearby college. They were good and the evening was relaxing and nice.

My teaching was horribly hard yesterday. I have most of my younger students on Tuesdays. I really wasnt thinking when I put the schedule together. They are all so hopped up on Christmas stuff that it was nearly impossible for me to finish a sentence without them tangeting off into some activity that they're going to be doing soon, or anything else besides piano. I dont know how I'll get through that for the next 2 weeks.

I think this might be my last fairie for awhile. I gave my sis a copy of her fairie and my niece said "where's mine". Well, this is hers although she's not getting it til Christmas. This time I tried using only watercolors. I'm not very good in this medium, but I think it turned out ok. Its not my favorite. Her dress is wrong but I'm not sure how to make it better.

Tonight is our first Wednesday night Advent service of the year. I love these services as they truly allow me to slow down and meditate on the incomprehensible act of God sending us his son knowing he would be a sacrafice. Christmas truly is love.

Just keep swimming... I loved parts of the movie "Finding Nemo" I think my favorite character was the hippie like turtle. I sketched my turtle when I was stuck in the pit of the musical I worked on. I actually used the quote of "just keep swimming" on that page. Yes, I know that the fish Dori actually said that, but I was hanging on by a thin thread and needed to keep swimming. The rest of the fish were sketched within the next few days. I actually did all of the sketching without a visual. I drew from memory. I was pretty happy with them. I copied them, painted a watercolor background, markered the fish and cut them out, cut out leaved and glued them all to the background. I of course added glitter bubbles to. I'm not real thrilled with the positioning, but I glued the first fish down in the wrong spot.

Christmas in Ida is today. Its a huge festival for our small town. We have a light parade and lots of craft booths and have a blast. We walk to my aunt and uncles house to watch since the parade route doesn't go past our house. We have a big potluck and then watch the parade. I look forward to tonight all year. I hope each of you has a special activity that really defines the holiday season.