For Auld Lang Syne
Thank you to all my readers – I love ya! Have a fun, happy and safe evening. See you after the jump.
portrait by: Red Fish Blue Fish Photography*
*Trav says he’s the Blue Fish, and I’m the Red Fish. No. We haven’t even started drinking yet. 
Snowpidity
Snow has been falling for over a week now and life has become very still. No mail, no trash, no comings and goings; only the occasional burst of sledding breaks the silence draped over our neighborhood.
With only the snow and questionable driving conditions as a constant, I’ve left the house for food or work just twice. Travis drove both times. Because, hello, I am from New Mexico. Where snow goes to die.
Shovelling the driveway, 1/3 done.
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The following video from the Queen Anne neighborhood was taken last weekend. As scary as I thought the roads in Maple Valley were, I see now that it could have been way, way, way, WAY worse.
No news that I have found on whether this guy got caught.
Sketches, #1
Going through a bunch of old draft posts today. Looking at this one, I’m reminded for the thousandth time that I wish I’d kept sketching. And that clearly, CLEARLY, I was a Trekkie beyond my all my understanding, having drawn this using two of my 200+ trading cards. During high school.
My god.
Wading in a Drunken Ocean
One night in the Bahamas, I ‘wrote’ this poem on a beach. After a series of bright purple drinks. Which ended with a shot of tequila. And my falling sideways off a barstool.
There are only a few moments I still recall of that night: John dancing in a style of crazy so joyful it should be packaged and sold; a stranger wearing black with a gold cross necklace offering to sell me weed; they way I glared at him as a figure of all that is wrong with the world.
And the clacking of my blue beaded sandals as I stumbled down the boardwalk, supported by my husband and friend, while gazing at the moon and yammering about god.
———————–
A curtained star
beyond the surf
You are the sun
I am the moon
he is the wind between us
This is the sound and
substance of my soul
within this moment
my life
© Copyright 2004
Jules Jewels #9: Holiday Steals on Stuffers and Supplies
My second cousin, Chase, turned nine this week, and to celebrate his mother threw a Luau birthday party complete with roasted pig cake.
The woman is a baking and party genius. Knowing that many of you are also party planning ninjas, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite online party supply sources:
PaperDirect
These folks have EVERY kind of paper for ANY print project at a FABULOUS price with BEAUTIFUL designs. I keep their catalog on my desk year-round because even if I don’t need invitations or cards for a particular event, they very often have something else that I forgot, or am inspired by.
Holiday cards, invitations, matching envelopes, letterhead, business cards certificates, templates and more; you can find all sorts of great materials for parties, businesses and employee recognition here.
Right now they’re having a 75% sale on Holiday paper, and if I’d be just a little more like my sister, I’d get stocked up now for next year so I won’t be sending out Christmas cards ON Christmas. Like I am this year.
PaperMart
If you need bags, bows, gift wrap, baskets, balloons, packing materials, boxes, tubes, tin cans, shrink wrap or whatever else you might use to carry, contain or decorate – you will find it here for the best discount prices anywhere.
Their Holiday Packaging is always my favorite section – they always have the prettiest things that I want to buy everything just to play with it, even though I’ll never make my own candy or cakes.
Oriental Trading Company
I gleaned this gem from the eBay Event Planning Committee waaay back when. And it’s still my go-to-trinket-store for every event. They’ve got cute merchandise & party supplies for nearly every theme you can think of, and I’ll say it – they’re cheap.
Cheap is good when I’m looking for 2000+ glow-necklaces for the 4th of July. Not so much for candy or bubbles or 40-year-old CSRs who have lost their sense of humor and will to live; but FANTASTIC for free, public events, kids parties and get-togethers where folks are there for the fun of it and not to critique you on how much you spent on the napkin rings.
Be forewarned, mail catalogs arrive just about every two weeks and twenty or so more arrive with every order. But if you sign up for their emails, they also offer free shipping VERY frequently.
*There are awesome deals to be had on Stocking Stuffers and New Year’s Eve favors – and for you scrappy-scrapperson-crafty-peeps, they also offer a ridiculous amount of scrapbooking and beading supplies.
*Be forewarned: OTC is notorious for changing their page URLs ALL THE DAMN TIME. Just to make me nuts. Their saving grace is an easy-to-navigate & search-website, so if you have trouble with the links listed above, just start from their home page.
