Sally and her Blue Bird

Once upon a time.....






Sally B and I made a little bird puppet together and then had a sweet little photo shoot. Is she precious or what?

In which Aunt Fabulous pretends to be Martha Stewart

I have always wanted to work on a Martha Stewart Living photo shoot. Every recipe, every craft project, every story about organizing your closet contains pictures that are true works of art. The lighting, the color palette, the props- its all gorgeous.

So the other day I decided to make clay and document it "Martha Stewart Style"! Here's my attempt......

Ingredients:
2 cups of flour
1 cup of water
1.5 cups of salt
1 T of veggie oil
1 egg

Pour the flour, water, salt and oil in a bowl and mix it up!

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface

Start creating your shapes. If you want to make ornaments now is the time to punch your holes... Oh, and now is the time to preheat the oven to about 300

Lay out your creations on a greased cookie tin. Brush each with a little egg wash... I don't really know why, I think its something about being shiny or harder.... (I'm not Martha) Bake for about 30mins or until the are hard and very light brown.

Now you can decorate them any way you choose! I chose to paint mine, and to be perfectly honest, I had more fun setting up my photo shoot than actually painting the shapes. I wasn't terribly impressed with my final product- but I think the pictures look awesome!

So. There you have it- My first attempt at telling a story through photos.

Being unemployed has its perks.

FUNemployed

Aunt Fabulous has been laid off. That's right, world wide interweb, I am unemployed. Those two of you who read this blog regularly may be preparing yourselves for another tense and terrified post full of hand wringing and nail biting. Sorry to dissapoint, but thats not what I'm handing out today! Because I am not worried.......(does a double take).......huh? That's right and I'll say it again- I'M NOT WORRIED.

Wanna know why?

Me too.

I have no idea why I'm so comfortable right now. Yes, it was a let down to be laid off. Yes, it was a bad day to be Aunt Fabulous. But today? Today I feel good. Clarke says it's because I'm in the "honeymoon" stage of unemployment. That stage in which one rises with the sun, pens a healthy To-Do list, and prepares breakfast for the spouse. "Have a lovely day at work dear", she sings and, drawing her bathrobe snugly 'round her waist, pads back to the kitchen for another cup of coffee. Its all true- I'm am currently sipping coffee, watching the Today show, and deciding what needs doing and in what order.

A fabulous fact about Aunt Fabulous: I LOVE "to do" lists. I love doing things and checking them off- its SO satisfying! Today, for example, its only 8:00am and I have already crossed 3 things off my list (walk the dog, bathe the dog, blog).... only 5 more things to do and my list is complete!

But one can only bask so long in the after-glow of a completed To-Do list....why am I not concerned about being out of work? How we are going to pay our bills this month? I haven't a clue. We already have a little debt to deal with due to a hard winter and a ridiculous gas bill. (Thank you, Global Climate Change, for 55 nights of below freezing temps in ALABAMA. You owe me nine hundred dollars.) And the bills just keep rolling in! I open each one, look at the total and say, "Hi there, Birmingham Sewer and Water Bill! How badly do you want that $35.47?" But as I file the bill away in the "to pay pile" with all his other friends, there's no noticeable rise in my blood pressure, no sweaty palms, no sick feelings wash over me. What is wrong with me?

Well friends, I think I figured it out. I have faith. A calm certainty is settling around me. This is the right place and now is the right time. I am open to whatever God is preparing for me. I have faith. I have learned from past crises that worrying gets you nowhere, that what first appears to be a curse is usually a blessing, and that nothing is insurmountable when confronted with Faith, Hope, and LOVE.

So....... Today is a great day to be Aunt Fabulous. I'm gonna finish my breakfast now and then get crackin' on that To-Do list. Have a lovely day, Dears!!