Busy Little Bees

Morning.

It's Tuesday again all ready? Wow. That went by fast.

The weekend was a great one. A 5K walk on Friday in the dark. They lit the path through the trees with candles. Amazing.
A night with my sister.
Yoga.
Another walk on Sunday in the sunshine, even though it was cold.

Now, I am counting days until the break. Trying not to get excited because that just makes the days longer, but I can't wait to stay home in my pj's and drink coffee!!

Today's freebie is for all the busy bees.

I was thinking of them this weekend when I had tea and honey with my sis :)

Enjoy,
Rhoda

Still Fuzzy

It's getting better, that fuzzy, underwater feeling in my head. But not much. I was thinking I had kicked it by Tuesday, but it feels like Velcro. Still stuck to me!!

Tuesday night I managed some Yoga. All on my own. No video. Just memory and a magazine article for prompting. That felt good!!

Last night I walked 3 miles. Tomorrow I am walking a 5K, in the dark. Should be fun. I'm looking forward to the walk and then some time with my sister :)

Also, if you enjoyed the snowman treat from the last post, you are sure to love what Patty has done with it. She is offering a variation of him with word art on her blog. Be sure and stop by and see it :)

Looking forward to Friday!

Rhoda

Holiday Carols...

Morning.

It's that time of year again. You hear Holiday music all around. I even had an impulse buy and picked up the Glee Christmas CD. Love it. Especially "Artie's" version of Little Drummer Boy.

And to celebrate all the festive music:

A caroling snowman :) You can download him here.

Enjoy :)

Rhoda

Sneezing and Sniffles...

It's that time of year. There are germs flying around the room...and I dodge them as best as I can.

I got hit.

I spent the weekend sleeping, sneezing, and sniffling. No fun. I have doused myself in lavender, clove, and tea tree. Burned the diffuser with thieves blend. Eaten tons of vitamin D and C. Hoping to zap this bug as fast as possible :)

Here was the one of the things I managed to accomplish this weekend, in between all my naps:

A fun tricycle to go with the other bike line art. Perfect for Christmas tags or cards.

Stay tuned for tomorrows fun freebie. I did manage to get one drawn over the weekend :)

Watch out for those flying germs. They are a doozy!!

Rhoda

Little Mittens...

I'm not sure where the last week slipped away too. I had so many ideas and plans, and now we are into another week!

We did put up our Christmas tree. Had a fun family evening with my sister.
We decorated the tree, played "Sorry", listened to Christmas music, and ate S'Mores.

I stayed home with the kids on Wednesday. We were all feeling puny, and it felt like it took me the rest of the week to feel normal again. A lot of sleeping.

Saturday, I went to the big city to do some Holiday shopping. Braved the crowds in the toy aisles. Yikes!!

And then, spent a wonderful Saturday night out with the girls. Love it when we have a girls night out!! Sleep over with my sis and a long drive home with a great friend. Coffee. Ahhh.

Now, we are back to a Tuesday. I worked up some mittens just for you :) Super fun, and all you have to do is duplicate and rotate them to have a pair.

Hope you enjoy them. They are perfect for the weather we are having right now. I've even been wearing mine in the classroom. Brrr!!

Stay cozy,

Rhoda

Seasonal Words...

Happy Tuesday!

Are you ready for your next fun treat? I have been having fun with words this week.

It must be all the reading I have been doing. Scrabble that I play. And those 7th grade English lessons.

Doesn't really matter what has caused it. I'm obsessed with words and will be listing a few more in the coming weeks.

Here's the one for you:

You can download your Happy Holidays word art by clicking here.

If you are looking for seasonal stamps to go along with your word art, be sure and check out my shop. I've added these trees, and will be adding some other fun stuff soon.

Happy Holidays :)

Rhoda

A Hunting We Will Go...

Time for a Christmas tree!!

We went into an old burn area, from the fires of 2000, hoping to find a regrowth tree at the right height. There really aren't any yet. Those fires burned so hot that the majority of the burn area barely has shrubs, let alone evergreen trees.

It was a nice day to be out driving and looking, so we just kept on going until we found a few pockets of trees that we could look through.

The kids are super excited to get it decorated. We will probably get it done sometime this week. We are waiting for my sis to come and join us in the festivities :)

Happy Monday,

Rhoda

No Shopping Crowds...

Happy Saturday!

Did any of you brave the crowds and shop yesterday? Not me!

Big crowds, long lines, and masses of people in the aisles are not my thing. My sisters always laugh at me because I will skip the Post Office when there are more than 5 cars in the parking lot. "It's just to busy", I say.
They think I'm crazy.
I think its just what you get used to when you live in a small town.
I'm not big town adjusted :)

The kids and I spent a wonderfully lazy day at home instead. There is a huge fort in the middle of my living room, that even includes the kitchen chairs. There is one chair left at the table, the one I'm sitting in ;)
They have "Polly World" in full swing, and I am scared to go downstairs to see what types of messes happened while they were playing school until almost midnight last night. Oh well, we'll clean it up later. They are happy, and that makes me happy!

My plans today:

• workout at some point...might not happen till closer to evening.
• draw in my sketchbook (time for new items on Etsy).
• read a book...I finished one yesterday, but there is always another in the "To Read" pile :)

I listed some new owls this week:

Great fall colors that are a visual treat now that our world has been turned white here in Montana.

Have a great weekend!

Rhoda

Skip the Turkey...

I'm not sure why, but Thanksgiving just doesn't zing me.

Don't get me wrong, I love every chance I can find to see my family. What I don't like is the getting together because of food part. And the having to rush to drive and see each other because we only have four days to fit it all in.

Black Friday...don't even get me started!

So, I'm skipping Thanksgiving. Finding a new way to celebrate. A new family tradition. Not sure what that is yet, but I'll think of something good. It will probably involve a hot springs of some sort :)

To officially start the skipping, here is today's freebie:

These are going to be so much fun to color on a card or a scrapbook page. I wish I were home coloring right now!!

Happy Tuesday,

Rhoda

Sweet Saturday

Ahhh. Saturday!

I was so ready for this day, it was a super long week. And so far, today is blissful :)

Yoga this morning at 9:00.
Coffee and breakfast with my kids.
Hubby is gone hunting. Kids went to play with friends.
I am home ALONE!
Hot shower.
My favorite jeans.
More coffee!
And later, a girls afternoon out to go see the latest Twilight movie.

Couldn't get better (unless I could repeat it a few more time *wink*).

While I was thinking about being thankful for my quiet and relaxing Saturday, I remembered this mini book that I made. It fits the day and the upcoming holiday, so I figured I would share:

It was one of my favorites, and I really want to remake it with some different papers, just for fun. Makes me want to scrapbook. Hmmm.

Have a great Saturday :)

Rhoda

Fun Winter Hats

Happy Tuesday!

It's our last full week before the Holiday weekend. I'm hoping it goes by fast! There are creative plans to be made for the weekend, and maybe a little bit of travel and some family time. Or maybe an adventure. Haven't decided yet :)

Here is this weeks fun freebie:

I thought these would make some great cards, or a fun border on a scrapbook layout. Add your own designs and color in different fun and funky ways. Enjoy!

Rhoda

I'm a Moron...Maybe

It was a busy weekend.

Kyla, a friend, and I drove up to Missoula to make a Costco run...and then have some time to play. We picked up my sister when we pulled into town, so it turned into a girls day. The four of us terrorized the town all day.
Costco.
Lunch at MacKenzie River (yum-o).
Target
Barnes and Noble and coffee. That is always a must!

Yesterday, I spent the day catching up on some Etsy stuff. Did a Zumba workout. I bought the DVDs and have been working my way through them. They aren't nearly as fun as the live class, but I was working on it. And then, I finally made it to the "live" DVD. So much better! I told myself when I started that I would at least make it through 30 minutes of it. It was so much fun that I finished the full 55 minutes!

Then, I started playing with an App on my phone called the "Moron Test". Crap! I'm addicted. And can't stop playing. I'm determined to make it to the end of it...and you can hear me growling often :)

I did manage to put my phone away long enough to draw free goodies for tomorrow. Check back. I'm off to prove that I'm not a moron :)

Rhoda

A Snowman's Heart

Brrr. Baby!!

It's cold outside, and getting colder. If the forecast holds, we might be seeing some snow by the weekend. I'm ready to just cozy up with a blanket and my sketchbook!

Parent teacher conferences are today, so it's going to be another busy day. I did find some time to draw last night, and I made a fun treat for you all:

You can download it here: Snowman with a Heart I'm hoping to have some new and fun things in the shop this weekend. We'll see how the schedule goes :)
And maybe some time to play with my markers!!
 Happy Thursday,
 Rhoda

One Crazy Week...

Morning All,

I was hoping to have a new digital goodie for you today, but unfortunately, there has been no time to draw.
We spent the weekend visiting with family and driving (a lot of driving...the family is spread out!). We had fun, but by the time we made it home, we all just found a place to fall and stayed there.

It's the end of the quarter at school. Grade need to be entered into the computer and posted. That is a chore in itself. New assignments to start. Parent teacher conferences. Oh My Goodness!!

My two highlights for the week:
Yoga last night. She challenged us. By the time I was done I had jelly arm. Had to start quoting Open Season :)
And tomorrow I have Zumba!! It's the last class, which makes me sad. I bought the videos. I'm hoping to get that workout in tonight too...but it just popped in my head that I have to clean a house still too (and not even my own...grrr).

I promise to come back with a goodie. Stay tuned :)

Rhoda

Ready to Fall Back

I can't believe that it is already the 4th of November. I wasn't ready for this month, and it is already flying by. This is the weekend we fall back, I usually anticipate the time changes, and this year it slipped my mind. Crazy!

I'm looking forward to those slow, lazy, cold days of snow. Not sure if things will slow down the way I want them to or not, but I can always dream.

I had a few minutes to make some new digital stamps this week.

The fit the Etsy themes for November, since everyone is loving mustaches right now, it is Movember...

So I gave this little guy a mustache...

And I made this set of latte cups that I have been thinking about for awhile now...

It's going to be another crazy busy weekend. We are going to see family, maybe take the kids swimming, and then we will lose that hour on Sunday. Here we go....

Happy Friday,

Rhoda

Something to Crow About

Happy Tuesday,

It's that time again. Where do the weeks go?

Today, I figured something that could be used for Halloween or Fall would be fun. The time of spooks and spells has past, but we can still celebrate fall and harvest, right? You can download these fun goodies here. Enjoy.

We had snow this morning. The weather forecast says "winter" before the end of the week. Yikes! That came around fast!

Happy November!

Rhoda

Happy Halloween...

It's time for ghost and spooks. Freaks and fairies. Oh...and don't forget the super heroes.

An interesting day of school. We really shouldn't even have school today, they are so hard to focus and get on task. They think it should be a free day, and will even say so. I'll be wiped out by the end of the evening. :)

The good thing, is they will all crash tomorrow, when all the sugar wears off. Makes for a quiet day!

I had minute to make a new print:

A fun compilation of coffee goodness. That's a Latte Love.

Hope you all have a festive, fun filled day.

Rhoda

A Fast Week

Sheesh.

It's been quiet here on the blog. Not around the house and in our daily life, but here in this little corner.

I swear I didn't forget about it. And tried not to be neglectful :)

It's not even possible to begin to tell where the last three days went. I don't have a clue!

But, now it's Friday. And we have plans for date night tonight and then a quiet weekend. I'm so ready. There are so many things on my "To Do" list that when I think of where to start and what to do, I just draw a blank. I'll start somewhere, and then it will all fall into place. It always works that way.

Tonight:
Yoga.
Take the kids to the neighbor for a night of playing and fun.
Dinner with friends.
A birthday party for big kids.
And then maybe an episode or two of Glee, on Netflix.

I finally found time to post the cards from the October swap on Just Cards. I joined every swap this month, and even a youth one for Ky. Hers isn't pictured here, because she has already stashed it away in one of her treasure troves. I'll not be seeing it again for awhile :)

Each one is so unique and fun. Love them all :) Thanks ladies for a great swap!

I'm off to play. I promise, I'll be back...

Rhoda

Stop and Smell the Flowers

Sometimes, you just need to stop and smell the flowers.
Or spend a day being creative.

Here's another fun free digi stamp for you to add to your collection. I'm hoping to find some time to stop and smell the flowers myself...after I catch up on some chores :)

Happy Tuesday,

Rhoda

Back to the Real World

I'm home.
I could have used a few more days of fun, but I'll take what I can get :)

The adventure weekend started at my dad's, with my sister and my kids. Dinner out. A movie.

The next morning, I delivered the kids to their grandparents (Chris' parents).  Cyra and I started our drive. The plan was to meet my sister Fauna by 4 in Southern Idaho.

We were ahead of schedule, so along the way, we stopped at a hidden hot springs. My dad used to work on the property when I was very little, and we used to swim there through the years. It's been so long that Cyra didn't remember being there. It was a perfect day for it! We even had coffee!

Then, we kept driving. And driving.

We met Fauna at Barnes and Noble, had our coffee and then found a hotel and some dinner. The next day, we shopped, the girls got their hair cut, and then we drove some more.

Our final destination was Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. Perfect. We spent two days, playing, swimming, relaxing, and just being sisters.

It was hard to come back to reality. We eased into it. A few stops along the way. Tea. A walk in the cemetery in Pocatello (one of my favorite places to walk when I lived there). Pizza and some catch with dad. And a new pasta hair style:

Now we are home. Back to reality. A day at school. Chores. Yoga. The usual :)

Happy Monday!

Rhoda

It's a Sister Thing!

Hi All :)

I am off on a sister trip. I will have some pictures to show soon.

Hot Springs with the little sister.

Hot Springs with both sisters.

Shopping.

Adventure.

More to come!!

Thanks for staying tuned :)

Rhoda

Not the Dentist

The kids and I have dental appointments today.

Ugh.

Definitely one of the things I do not like. Do NOT like. Even thinking of the sounds and smells gives me shivers. I hate metal on my teeth. Do my best to avoid it, and then you pay to go sit in a chair to be tortured. Where is the sense in that? I'm trying to not push my dislike off on my kids. I don't say anything. Just shiver on the inside.

The silver lining? We get the day off school. All three of us have appointments, so we will hit the dentist. Have lunch. And then spend the rest of the day together.

It's also the Montana Educators Association weekend this weekend. They do workshops on Thursday and Friday. If we do two In Service days during the summer, we can turn those days into free days. I did my time during the summer, so a 4 day weekend is just around the corner. My sister and I have a trip planned.
Just the two of us.
No kids.
No husbands.
No dad (he usually gets to join us on sister trips, but not this year).

I'm so excited!!

Since I will be off playing for the weekend, I figured today would be a good day for a free treat. A couple of birdies. Cute little chirpers to decorate any of your projects.

You can download them here: Free Birds.

I think they would be fun to color in Christmas colors and put on a project with pine trees, or even a Christmas tree and snow. Might have to find some time to play with them...after my weekend away :)

Happy Tuesday,

Rhoda

One Happy Dog

Happy Sunday!

I found some time to draw yesterday. It has been a rainy rainy weekend. At one point,  I almost thought it was snow, it was coming down so thick and sideways. It had that slow heaviness that snowflakes have. Might have been part slush. It's definitely cold enough!

We are having a lazy day. Everyone has found something to keep them entertained. Hayden is rearranging his bedroom (and hopefully cleaning some things up while he is in there). Kyla is under a blankie, watching a show on the iPad. Chris is somewhere in the basement working on a project. I've done a load of laundry and listed a few new animal digi stamps, and had to many cups of coffee, but they were so yummy!

This Happy Dog just makes me grin. He is so silly, and so happy, how could you not?

I made this moose, and another with a hat. Moose are one of my favorite forest animals. We don't see them often, but when we do, we watch them for as longs as we can.

And a sheep. I had sheep in 4H. They aren't really my favorite in real life, but they are cute when they are illustrated. Silly looking animals!

I'm off to drink some more coffee and find some other fun things to draw. Thanks for visiting :)

Rhoda

October Card Swaps

Spoiler Alert!
These are the cards I made for the October swap on the Just Cards Yahoo group.

Kyla made one too, for the youth swap. She was pretty excited about it, and went on to make a few more cards. One for each of her Volleyball coaches, one for her dad, and who knows what else. She just pops into the craft room and whips out another...

She even decorated her envelope. All of the graphics are my own. I printed and colored them using Copic markers (except the owls, they are computer colored clip art that I made).

It's a rainy Saturday. I plan on watching a movie and drawing. Hubby and I had a short date in town for breakfast and some shopping. Wonder where we could ship the kids off to now?...

Have a great day,

Rhoda