Saturday, February 28, 2009

Happy Saturday!

Not much to report right now...no deep words of wisdom either. Just one of those days.

So let's get to the fun part...Birthday Shout Outs!

Happy Birthday Bernadette Peters who is 61 today. She has starred on Broadway, winning a Tony, she has won Grammys for her Broadway Cast albums and a daytime Emmy. She has been nominated many times for various roles.

Ms. Peters has also a movie career that spans decades. My fav of her list is "The Jerk", 1979 in which she played Marie Kimble Johnson to Steve Martin's Navin R. Johnson. My fave line, well there are two actually "The new phone book is here!" and "I finally found my special purpose." Two lines that you can pretty much drop into conversation and most people, well the ones over 35 will still know what you are talking about!

Thank you Ms. Peters for all your contributions to society and Happy Birthday to You!

I could not find the exact clip I wanted to the movie, but here is the trailer!




Enjoy your day!

Friday, February 27, 2009

Of Mice and Men....

Good Morning to all!

I hope you slept well and I hope for your sake that you did not wake to the chilly, icy weather that we have here in the Chicago area! Brrrr. But they are talking 40's next week and no precipitation of any sorts. YEA!!

Look on my side blog and you will see that I have become a Twitterer!?!? Or is it Tweeter? Not sure, but I have joined and to be honest it is sort of cool! So far, everyone can follow the ins and outs of my mundane life, lol and I am following public names I recognized like the President and others. It is just interesting. Do you Twitter? Do you want to follow me on Twitter? Would you like to join Twitter? Just click on the link "Follow Me on Twitter" and it will take you there!

For today's birthday shout out I send my regards to the late John Steinbeck. Today marks the 107th anniversay of his birth. He was a great writer who wrote of the human struggle and all the things that surround it. Amoung all of his works, the book "East of Eden" was made into the movie of the same name that was a starring vehicle for James Dean.

I have spoken before that I consider myself relatively intelligent. I try at least. While John Steinbeck was surely recognizable, I am almost sad to report that I have never read any books by Steinbeck, I think I have only seen a portion of either "Of Mice and Men" or "The Grapes of Wrath", but I know a lot of "things" and dear Mr. Steinbeck was one of them.

I read his wiki page this morning to find a little fact that he enjoyed the works another author who is a fav of mine, O. Henry. That is a cool thing to have in common. (Okay, so sometimes, I am just so shallow! lol)

I love to collect quotes and from my personal collection, I give you thoughts from Mr. Steinbeck:

"A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us."

Thank you Mr. Steinbeck for all you have contributed to the furthering of the human spirit!

Thanks for reading a long and I hope you enjoy your day!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

All Quiet on This Chicago Front

Hello To All,

I hope is everything you expect it to be!

Today, for me, it seems quiet here, I have a lot of work on my drawing board to complete. I have a fabulous idea for party set that I am sure you all will love! A cute inspiration piece is on the boards as well.


Today's birthday shout out is for the late Johnny Cash who would have been 77. "The Man in Black" had a long career, making a huge contribution to the arts in general with his music, his movie and TV parts and his written works. And admit it , he was a bit of a heart throb in a rugged sort of way in that long black coat! Reading through his wiki entry I forget some of the things he did and did not realize about a lot of others. He had a long, eventful career for sure.

When you think of his songs, "I Walk the Line" usually is at the top of the list. Or "Folsom Prison Blues" or "Ring of Fire", the duet that he did with his with June Carter Cash, his wife might come to mind as well. For me, my fav is a song called "One Piece at a Time". I love witty things and this certainly fits the bill. For you today, the video....Rest in peace Mr. Cash!




Have a great day and keep smiling! Look for new things in my etsy shop today!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Follow Up Post

In my previous post I copied a quote from Gov. Bobby Jindal's Republican rebuttal to the President's speech last night. He asked what volcano monitoring is.

You can read about volcano monitoring right here. Overall, it doesn't sound like such a bad thing, it really is more than just employing people.


Have a great afternoon!



A Few Words from the President-Happy Birthday George Harrison

Good Morning to Everyone!

I hope your day is starting well, in a manner that you hoped!

Last night the President spoke and while his message was a lot about a lot of things, he reminded you straight out "We are NOT a Nation of quitters!".

Now, I am not going into a lot of politics, at least not right now. I have my own beliefs. I also know that most of the rhetoric out there is just this side of garbage and it defies logic--on both sides of the aisle. But those simple words from the President have taken us past simple hope that we had. Hope that it was all going to be okay to an elevated level, a battle cry of sorts, a "Go Get 'Em!" as we work together to make it all right.

Most of the back and forth of the two parties overall, makes me crazy. I consider myself a relatively well informed person and lately I feel as if I should close my eyes, cover my ears and sing la-la-la-la until they all finish speaking. It's just too crazy!

Take Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana. He gave the Republican response to the President's speech. Here is the quote that disturbs me the most:

"While some of the projects in the bill make sense, their legislation is larded with wasteful spending. It includes $300 million to buy new cars for the government, $8 billion for high-speed rail projects, such as a magnetic levitation line from Las Vegas to Disneyland (NYSE:DCQ) (NYSE:DIS) , and $140 million for something called volcano monitoring."

What's wrong with these things? As long as the cars are Ford, Chevy or Chrysler and it keeps people on the assembly line employed, what's wrong? Do you know that a spin off of GM/Chevrolet is a company called Delphi. They make a lot of parts for GM vehicles, right here in America. More cars, more jobs! The high speed rail system, if it constructed by Americans with materials from here, keeping people employed, what is the problem? BTW, People commute from different parts of California to Las Vegas, so if we had a quicker fuel efficient system to get them there, what is the problem? And the volcanoes, well scientists need jobs too. I am sure they have bills to pay!

Also note to Bobby Jindal, as long as parts of your state still look like a hurricane hit it almost 4 years ago don't shoot your political star up in the national universe. It doesn't belong there and it is an insult to the people of your state that just put you in office in 2008! Now to poke gentle fun you must take a look at this Huffington Post piece about him..it made me laugh out loud!


Now onto my favorite part of the day...My Birthday Shout Out!

Happy Birthday to the late George Harrison, who would have been 66 this year. They called him the quiet Beatle. I did not realize until recently that he was quite a song write. I knew of the song "My Sweet Lord" and the whole lawsuit thing with the Chiffons, but I did not realize he wrote a lot of Beatles tunes including "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". The lyrics:

I look at the world and I notice it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps

So simple yet so deep. Thank you George!

So today, I leave you with a video of this very song!






Have a great day!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Happy Birthday Steve Jobs

Good Morning to All!

I hope that you are having a wonderful!

Today I am going right to my Birthday Shout Out. Happy Birthday Steven Jobs who is 54 today. If the name sounds familiar, but you just cannot put your finger on it, touch your, mac computer or your ipod or your iphone or go watch Cars the movie, you have had some related interaction with Steve Jobs since he had a hand in all of those items. He with Steve Wozniak (who will be on Dancing with the Stars this season), started Apple Computer in a dorm room and it grew into the what it is today.

Instead of a picture, I have included his famous Commencement speech from Stanford in 2005. Watch it, if you have not seen it, listen to his words, it is quite moving. I have the text version printed kept in my book of quotes and inspirations and truly my favorite quote is:

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

Lately Mr. Jobs has been in the news as he is suffering from some additional health concerns. I send my thoughts and prayers for your comfort and speedy recovery.

Happy Birthday Steven Jobs!



And on that note, have a great day everyone!

Monday, February 23, 2009

Look Here!! and Happy Birthday Peter Fonda?

Hello out there! I hope you are enjoying this fine winter day.

Exciting news, there is finally items in my etsy shop! You can see some pictured over here---->
You can click on any picture and it will take you right to the place to peruse more and perhaps purchase an thing or two. Who knows?

Remember any card you see in the shop can be sent out to another recipient on your behalf. There are instructions on the shop's site.



Today's birthday shout out belongs to Mr. Peter Fonda of the Hollywood Fonda. He is the son of Henry, brother of Jane, father of Brigit and the father-in-law of Danny Elfman the composer.
Mr. Fonda turns 69 today and through that time he has had a long and illustrious career that started with television in the early 1960's. There are a few movies that stick out in my mind. "Easy Rider" 1969. I have never seen the whole thing, but it is famous and wasn't there some infamous scene in a diner with him, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson? The second movie that comes to mind is "Dirty Mary Crazy Larry" 1974. I have vague memory of that movie, lots of car chases and I think it ends with them trying to beat out a train. My final Peter Fonda movie contribution is "Ghost Rider" 2007 where he plays Mephistopheles. He was a pretty scary guy! He list of movies are long, and he is a great actor. Happy Birthday Mr. Fonda!

Remember, I do birthday shout out requests. Just email me to let me know!

Did you see the Oscars last night? I have to say that was the best Oscar show that I have seen in a long time! Not too out of line, very respectful, very entertaining. Two thumbs up!!

Well, that is all for now, unless I think of something else later. Please keep checking back to see what's new. Your comments are always welcome as well! Make sure that you visit my other blog It's A Fairy World. The fairies seem to be dishing out lots of wisdom lately.

Have a great evening!

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Sunny, Snowy Saturday

Well, as predictied we have snow, about 4 inches so far and more to come this afternoon. When will winter end?

Today's birthday shout out is to the late Erma Bombeck. Born in 1927 she would have been 82. Now, those of you who might not be familiar with Ms. Bombeck's work, she was a really funny lady. A satirist, talking about the life of the average American family. I remember her spots on Good Morning America when I was a kid. (That was in the days of David Hartman and Rona Barret with Hollywood gossip). But she was always funny, my Mom would chuckle at her humor. She wrote books like "The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank" and "If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits". She was a quick with and gave us a chance to laugh at ourselves. May she rest in peace.


Remember I can do shout outs for anyone. Just let me know in advance!

I am sure that I will have more to add later...stay tuned!

Friday, February 20, 2009

Blog Candy Alert!

Well this is a bonus post for this evening!

Jacqui over at Cat's Whiskers is have a celebration to marker 54,000 visitors and her birthday. You have to check it out! She is being just so generous, you have to go and celebrate with her!
Cat's Whiskers

A Lazy Afternoon

Good Afternoon to all,

Today we are home, taking it easy, anticipating the great snow that is supposed to be on it's way. Looking out my window the sun is shining and there is not a cloud in the sky, how can we possibly get 4-8 inches of snow by this time tomorrow? Though my husband is looking forward to plowing, I certainly hope this one blows over too. I am soooo tired of winter!On to better things. Today we give a birthday shout out to Ivana Trump. The first wife of "The Donald" is a glorious 60 today. Aside from her life with Mr. Trump and being the mother of his first three kids, she owns businesses and has made a name for herself alone for being tenacious. Good for her! Happy Birthday To You!


I will be giving birthday shout outs daily. Soon, I will be sharing with you daily, a special item that I have created from the inspiration of the birthday person. Then, that special item will be available in my etsy store for sale. I generally work in quantity of two, so there will probably be two of each item available for sale. Though they may look alike, each one will be slightly different. That is the nature of handmade goods.

Also, I would be happy to shout out to anyone on their birthday and even create a special item for sale in their honor. For shout outs, please email me 5 days in advance with the person's name, age, a special thought and who the shout out is from. To have an inspiration piece created, please email me 15 days in advance with the person's name, age, special thoughts about them, a favorite color or hobby and who the shout out is from. I can also do this for anniversaries as well! ***Please note that there is no obligation to purchase the inspiration pieces, but they will be available that day in my etsy shop.***

This should be fun! I like fun and different and exciting and seeing how we all will participate with each other will be fun!

Okay I am off to the salt mines, better know as my design desk. I have the cutest set of captured fairy cards that I have to finish so they can make their debut this weekend.

Speaking of Fairies, do you love them? Then you should be reading my other blog It's A Fairy World. Daily I interpret a message for fairy oracle cards and talk about my take on that message. There is a little fairy dust and you never know where it is gonna take you! Also my Mom Irene is creating these delight fairy treasures that I am sure you will just have to have. Check it out!

I hope you enjoy the rest of the day


Thursday, February 19, 2009

Hello To Everyone

Hello to everyone in blog land. I am Julie and I will be bringing you my creations and well, some of my thoughts as well. It would be no fun if it was all just info, would it?

I am a designer of fine things, I keep on trying on the "Artist" title, but I am not quite there yet. I think my items are great and soon I will show them off with my newly filled etsy shop. Til then..

Let me tell you a little about me. I am married to a wonderful man for almost 13 years and we have 3 great kids, 12, 10 and 3. I know that in the future you will be hearing about my familiy's adventures! We live west of Chicago, where we seem to be having perpetual winter.

I am paper obsessed and thus my dream work, selling the wares that I have designed.

Two little shop ideas that I will preview now...First any greeting card purchased can be sent directly to the person on your behalf for the same shipping price. And second, I love working with any organization to do fund raising. I will offer that any group that approaches me will get a special code assigned to them. When people are checking out with me, in the message to the seller box, if they put your code, 10% of that sale will be forwarded to your organization. Also, one designated person from your organization will be given a guest blog entry spot to introduce their organization to my regular readers. Of course I will have monthly themes that will be special sales.

So I am very excited to be here! I am even more excited that you are reading this and I hope that you bookmark me and check back often to see what's happening!

Have a great one!