A friend just sent me an email with the differences between Cat Diaries and Dog Diaries. Reminded me of all the cat-talk early this week. Knew you guys would get a kick out of it!

Dog Diary
Cat Diary

When I was making the Forever Flower instruction page, I kept on thinking how cool it would be if I could make a font out of my own handwriting. Lo and behold, Very Big Blog had a link to such font goodness today! It's called Fontifier and I can see many happy hours of wasting time in my future.

What does *your* font look like?

I'm so excited about a new craft group that's starting here in El Paso. The owner of Ya Ya's, a great store in town, is organizing it and asked me to help think of group crafts. We met at a club last Tues, had a few drinks, made a few crafts...there were only a few mishaps with the super glue! I showed people how to make Felt Flower pins and it seemed like everyone enjoyed them.

I think next time we'll tackle Crafty Chica's Microscope Slide Necklaces!

Well, since there seems to be a growing trend toward cat discussions (Fig & Plum and Copacetic)...

Top Five Reasons I Love My Cat
1. He plays fetch with a Q-Tip
2. He's lovable even if he does suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder
3. He doesn't ask for much. His favorite toys are Q-Tips, an old sock, and a fluffy make-up brush.
4. He doesn't like to be alone and will follow us into every room in the house if he has to.
5. He tries to sleep like us, with his head on the pillow and feet stretched out toward the bottom.

Maybe I should make my cat some Sushi toy things. So cute!

Ok, so it's now five months after my surgery and I'm finally back in the same work out routine that I was on before they cut me open (I'm not even going to think about the fact that I have to go through this *all* again later this year...oops, thought about it!). I've been using the same workout clothes for the last year so I think I'm in major need for a Workout Update. Does anyone know of any indie exercise clothes designers? Along the line of yoga clothes?

I wish someone would make cute screenprinted small tees with a vintage-y feel to them. Maybe a woman in different yoga positions or running with stars coming out of her? You know, kinda how Wonder Woman looked when she ran? Hmm, that would be fun to try...screenprinting, that is, not running with stars behind me.

Edit: After perusing links (a favorite time waster) I found these. Woo hoo!:
- Bad Kitty Clothing Yoga Wear : I like the lotus flower one.
- kadorable : looks like the light blue tee with the man fishing is a great fit and thin like I like them.

Ok, was it just El Paso or did every store in the nation have their clearance sales this weekend? Like this blog states, if I'm going to shell out some bucks, I'd much rather support an indie clothing store (Amet & Sasha, Superficial Inc, or Reinventage) than let's say, Express. But would any sane person pass up a cute skirt for 4 whole stinkin' bucks?!@#$

I'm still working on the secret True Love DIY projects and went to Goodwill to pick up some last minute ideas. What did my eyes behold? They were having a 50% off sale too! The thrifty gods were smiling upon me last weekend.

Yay! I finally finished putting The Candy Shop on my website! Whew, now all I want to do is veg out and finally finish some of the books I started during Christmas. I think "Lies My Teacher Told Me" is next on the list.

Don't you love the I Buy DIY site? It's a great place to waste a few hours. I came upon some of the most amazing web businesses there. Jeez, I can't even begin to imagine how many great sites are out there. Down By Vinyl is one of my new favorites! How cute are the dino designs, the bat, and the ant?!@#$ Ten bucks is so reasonable for a great change purse. Hmmm, I think I deserve a little something after working so hard on The Candy Shop.

I am addicted to Burt's Bees Almond Milk beeswax Hand Creme. I have dry skin to begin and with the dry climate here, it's 3x as bad. For Christmas, Jimbo gave me a goodie bag full of Burt's Bees stuff(he made a cute card to go with it that said: "Burt may have the bees but I've got the best honey in the world!" Cute, huh?).

I carry it everywhere now (the creme, not the card), it's kinda big for some of my purses but I make room. I got my sisters liking it too when they were here. Ended up giving the original tub to my older sister as she was boarding (tee hee, knew it would make her cry). Jim came home on Mon. with two new tubs, one for me and one to send to my other sister. It's sitting here by my computer tantalizing me with it's amaretto goodness. Better send it off soon before I can't help myself!

Have you been to The Body Bakery? They have all sorts of lotions and body stuff that smells like something you might have just taken out of the oven. I'm totally craving their Whipped Butter in Dutch Chocolate Cake...mmm. They even have roll on perfume. Wonder what it would be like to smell like a Snickerdoodle.

Agggghhh! So busy with trying to get the Valentine's edition of Gerbera up and finishing stuff for The Candy Shop (new jewelry line for Gerbera). Add having to still put away Christmas decorations, a number of purse orders, and dreaming up new bags for YaYa's and you've got one stressed out gal on your hands. To make matters worse I just found out we're going to have to seek legal advice for a certain medical procedure. Humph...should have just stayed in bed.

I should do some Yoga. Maybe it'll make me feel better. Which reminds me about Jessica's Fig and Plum blog. She's got instructions on making a Yoga Mat Bag. Very fun site, even if you're in the kind of foul mood I'm in.

A couple months ago, my husband and I got in a heated debate about fashion and the fashion industry. It all started over an adorable pair of pointy red sling backs I was wearing. He absolutely hates them and has told me on numerous occasions. Does that stop me from wearing them? Absolutely not! The discussion began with us commenting on some wretched 80's fashion and somewhere between stonewashed jeans and jellies...he mentioned that I shouldn't talk because ten years from now I'll be making fun of my pointy shoes. Grr.

It got us thinking about the never ending cycle that is fashion. In the 80's I was stylin' in my long sweater with leggings and in the 90's I was unconcerned cool in my flannels. Hell, I think my red shoes are snazzy but am willing to agree that they will go out of style. Who the heck cares? This isn't a matter of national security. You wear what you wear because you want to wear it...nothing more. Fashion or no fashion, life's too short to care about how your actions will be perceived in the future.

"That's it...I'm wearing my pointy red shoes out, honey!"

How do you feel about New Year's Resolutions? I remember going through a phase where I adamantly refused to write any resolutions as a way of rebelling against society and the restrictions placed on the individual (Whew, you gotta love Political Science students). Now I think that resolutions fall along the lines of constantly trying to be a better "me." Resolutions probably say a lot about the person; who they want to be, what they want to do, how they want to live. The New Year is exactly that...new and my resolutions, whether they're kept or not, lead me in the right, self-aware direction.

I hope your year is one filled with happiness, discovery, creativity, and joy.

My New Year Resolutions (hope this isn't like telling a birthday wish):
1. Take healthy commitments from last year one step further = Increase workout, decrease Nachos (maybe a small exception for Alex's Cupid's Arrow on Valentine's Day)

2. Actively pursue that which creates happiness = Our energy interacts with the energy of all that surrounds us. Be aware of how negative situations and people effect our positive energy.

3. Demonstrate daily the love for others = Being kind and temperate with the homeless man on the corner and the late night convenience worker as well as family and friends

4. Further explore and nurture artistic and creative talents = Step outside of comfort zone to explore new creative means

Whew! The holidays are over...have you caught your breath yet? As with every other indie shop owner, I'm already going crazy over updating my site for Valentine's day.

I know, I know...Valentine's day is just another day that Hallmark has commercialized to increase sales on cards, stuffed animals and chocolate. Personally, I like Valentine's Day. A day devoted to the love we're so lucky to receive and share doesn't seem too bad to me. My husband and I usually start out the night by cooking dinner together (usually a new recipe we've been wanting to try forever) and end up cuddling in each others arms while we watch a movie or read a book together. Man, I sure am lucky.

I think I just might try to make Valentine's cards this year. I'm still recovering from printing out our Christmas cards but a little itty bitty Valentine's Day project won't send me over the edge...I think. The stationary section over at Morning Craft is adorable (as with most everything else on the site!). The Cocktail Party invite is quite innovative. You can find some of my favorite indie designers there and a few more I had never heard of but am quite thankful I stumbled across.

I love creative people!