Polymer Clay

So I started playing with polymer clay. I have had these crosses sitting around for a few months. I fell in love with them when I saw them and knew that I would figure out something cool to do with them.

What do you think?

It's Recipe Thursday!

I am going to try to post a new recipe every Thursday.

Interstate 45 cake

Preheat oven to 325
9 x 13 Glass cake pan, buttered or greased

1 box yellow cake mix (I use the Pillsbury)
1 stick of butter - melted
1 egg

Mix together (it is dry, so you do end up kneding it)

Layer this evenly on the bottom

1 package of Cream Cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 cup of Powdered Sugar
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
Pinch of Salt

Pour on top of the 1st layer.
Bake for 45 minutes
Sprinkle Powdered Sugar on top.

Let cool before cutting.

My house looks like a tornado hit it!

By day I am a Travel Agent. There are tons of different types of travel agents: leisure, corporate, groups, missionary and incentive. I deal with groups and missionaries. Yes there really is a need for travel agents that specialize in Mission Travel.

We live in a really big world. If you walk into a normal leisure agency and ask the person behind the desk for a flight to Ouagadougou (it is the capital of Burkina Faso which is located in Northern Africa in case you are curious) they are going to look at you like you have three heads. If you go to an agent that specializes in Africa or in mission travel they are going to tell you that currently the best way of getting there is on Air France.

My original background was in leisure travel- so I do know alot about the more popular travel destinations out of the North Texas area. In fact that is part of the reason I was added to our group and missions department. I had dealt in large groups, had extensive leisure knowledge and also had with more visa applications that the others that had applied for the job. My first day on the job someone called and asked for a ticket to the above mentioned Ouagadougou. I had not clue where on earth that was. For goodness sakes I could not even say it. Of course I put the person on hold, looked at my boss like she had three heads and asked her if she had ever heard of it and of course she rattled off the Air France info.

These days I don't get stumped much and I love it when I do get stumped. Google and the World Atlas are my best friends. With out them I would not survive. I have learned how to pronounce the names of cities in countries I did not even knew existed. The best part about the job is that I never get bored. Overwhelmed, yes. I spend a lot of my time feeling like I need to clone myself.

So from time to time I think I will share some of the more interesting things that happen at my day job. A nice break from some of the shameless promoting that I plan on doing.

Under Pressure

My daughter, I am going to call her Ky in my blog, is 11. She currently stand 5"41/2' (to her the half is very important) making her ALMOST (my mother is not happy about this little fact) as tall as her grandmother. She has always loved sports and has been good at them, just never great. That is until she found volleyball at the end of third grade. She is not the star of the team but she more than holds her own and she loves it. So much so that volleyball has pretty much become our life.

She has dreams of college ball. She really even has dreams of the Olympics one day. I have dreams of winning the lottery to pay for all of the lessons and club seasons its going to take to get her there. The sport of volleyball has become just as competitive and popular in North Texas as soccer and football. When I was her age girls did not pick up a volleyball for the first time until Jr. High or High School Tryouts and if they were lucky they had enough girl show up to cut one or two. The Jr Highs around this area have so many girls show up for try outs that you could make two or three teams and still have to cut some. Then there are the clubs- where you pay to play and have to try out. If you are really good you get the honor of forking over $2500 to $3200 a season (luckily there is only one season a year). And if your team is really good and makes it to Nationals add another $2000 to $2500 to that figure. Yet if you want to ensure you spot on a JR High or High school team and are not just naturally fabulous at the game this is what it takes. Back to that dream of playing in college that my wonderful Ky has- that means making it on a National level team her JR and SR years of high school.

Here is where the pressure comes in. Volleyball has been great for my daughter. Although I never would have classified her as obese she did carry a few extra pounds before she started playing. Not anymore. She has more self confidence since she started playing and she really has learned a lot about team work. I have more than got my money's worth and would not regret a thing if she turned to me tomorrow and never wanted to touch a volleyball again. I am starting to feel a lot of pressure about club tryouts - which are not even until November. Money is always an issue in our house- $50 per try out plus a $500 to $700 deposit if she makes a team is really weighing on me. Not to mention the decision on which teams to try out for. Or to start our own team with our Rec girls. An awesome idea if we can find the right coach, practice facilities and the right club to sign up through. Huge weight off of my shoulders money wise. But what is the best decision in the long run for her "game".

Why with an 11 year old am I already having to make decisions that really may shape the rest of her life? This is insane. WHY!WHY!WHY!

The thing that I hate the most is that I keep wanting to push her. I try very hard not to, I really do just want her to be a kid for as long as she can be. But in the back of my mind I am constantly thinking- how many privates should we be doing over the summer, do we need to add in Pilate's and yoga, do we need to go ahead and start doing plyometrics. How many camps do we need to sign up for. Finding the right balance has almost driven me insane. How much practice is she doing at home. AUGHGHGGH.

I will admit- I love this game. I love to watch her play. I do not want to wake up one morning and realize that she is doing this all for me. I ask her ever time we go to sign up for another session - is this really what you want to do. I hope that is enough.

I am finding this parenting thing to be very stressful.

These are my two favorite new items in my shop. I just love walking through all of the scrapbook papers in the store, looking for just the right piece to bring to life!

Etsy Texas Crafters First Monday Sale!

Don't forget to check out all of the great sales that the Etsy Texas Crafters are
having today.

for a list of participants:


http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6208880

Happy Shopping!

Papa Turns 90

Tomorrow my grandfather turns 90.



Wow- that is hard to believe. He does not look or act like he is 90. He still does all of his own yard work and works on various projects. Every time any of us call over to talk to him my grandmother has to go and find him. He gets less done these days than he did in his 20s but he still stays just as busy. I hope I have the same amount of energy that he has at 90.

My Papa has always been the person I turn to when I have a problem, especially if it is car or house related. He is always the one that pulled our cars out of the snow, fixed our flats and our fences. He has built (or at least fixed) all of our decks and patios. He was the one to walk all of us (daughters and granddaughters) down the aisle.

He fought proudly in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. He has helped me teach my daughter what it means to be an American.

So happy 90th Papa, I love you!