Thursday, May 28, 2009

Quite a Scare

I just got the CR@P scared out of me!!!  Let me explain.


My husband and I were out at our land in the country transplanting some grass.  He was doing all of the work so I asked if he would mind if I walked along the fence to check for dewberries.  Due to the drought last year, we weren't expecting many berries, but I still thought there might be some there.

So I decided to hike over to the back fence, about 600 feet back from where my husband was.  He told me to take a piece of rebar with me just in case I encountered a snake.  I made it all the way to the back fence and nothing, absolutely no berries in sight, so I decided to trek back.  When I made it back to where my husband was, he said he still had some more work to do, so I told him that I would check the front fence.  I had seen a few berries on the front fence last weekend, but they were still green then.  I tossed the piece of rebar thinking that there was nothing to worry about and made the 300 feet hike over to the front fence.

There is a dirt pathway where the electrical company trenched to place the underground electricity.  Apparently they didn't pack it down after they trenched it and after a heavy rain at the beginning of the year, some sections of the middle part of the pathway had caved in.

I was walking along the side of the pathway and got to the fence.  I had just started to look for berries and was sweeping my bucket along the vines and all of a sudden I heard a noise that I had never heard in person before - a rattle - two feet away from me, coiled and ready to strike was a huge rattlesnake!  It all happened so fast, one minute I had the bucket in hand and before I knew it, I had screamed, thrown the bucket at the angry rattlesnake (in hindsight, probably not a good move), and jumped back as far as my legs would allow.  The snake was huge and it sounded so angry!  I was freaking out and running as fast as I could.  My husband had heard my scream (it must have been loud too because he was upwind of me and heard it).  He looked so worried as he ran up to me.  I was trying to yell that I had not been bitten, but I don't think he could hear me (upwind remember).  I met him about halfway and told him that it was a rattlesnake.  He ran back to where he was to get the shovel as I tried not to hyperventilate.

Let me explain something too, although I live in the city now and this story is really making me sound like a city-girl, I was born and raised in the country.  But the only rattlesnakes I had ever seen were the ones that had already had their heads shot off by my Dad!  This was the first one I had come across that had almost bit me.

Anyways, so he got back with the shovel and we started walking along the dirt pathway (the one that I was telling you about earlier) and he was telling me that we really need to watch out since it had partially caved in, that would be the perfect den for a snake.  Not as soon as those words came out of his mouth, I heard that dreadful noise again!  Yes, another rattlesnake!  This one slithered back under the dirt path, but we could still see its body.  He didn't want to try to get it out, so he called my Dad to bring his gun.  Dad made it out there and got the snake, and so we went over to see if the other one was still there - the one I threw the bucket at.  Unfortunately it wasn't there anymore.  What is really scary is that I had passed the second snake when I was going out to find the berries and then I passed it again when I was running away from the first snake and it was only the third time that I was going past it, when it made its presence known.

I just know that I am going to have rattlesnake nightmares tonight!

We are going to go back out to the land tomorrow so he can get some more work done, and if the snake that no longer has a head is still out there, I will take some pictures so you can see.  Oh yeah, and we both agreed next time we take a trip out to the land, we are going to bring the gun and the camera!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Another Fun Custom Order

I received a request for a custom hair accessory the other day! I was so excited because I have yet to sell one of my hair clips (I'm not counting the ones I have sold to family and friends). The customer needed a hair clip to match her graduation dress and she loves my hair clips, but none of the colors were just right for the dress she is going to be wearing. She ended up sending me pictures of the dress and I created a custom design just for her!





I am very happy with the way it turned out! I just love custom orders because I love collaborating with the customer and creating a design I might not have even thought of without their insight!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Bridal Hair Pieces

I have two new bridal hair combs in my Etsy shop! The first one features two creamy white magnolia blossoms and bright green leaves. It has got to be my favorite hairpiece in my shop right now! It has a sort of vintage feel to it that I just love!





The second hairpiece features three bright white gladiola flowers with light green centers. With its crisp white color, this design would look gorgeous with any hair color, and it would be perfect for a spring or summer wedding!







I will be adding more bridal hair pieces soon, so check back often!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

My Weekend

This past weekend we travelled to my husband's hometown of Port O'Connor, Texas for his cousin's wedding.




They had hired violinists to play all of the beautiful wedding and mass music.



This is my husband and I outside of the church.



One of my husband's cousins and her family.


My sister-in-law and brother-in-law - aren't they cute (she totally doesn't know I took this picture - it was a quick candid shot!)


Another one of my husband's cousin's two kids - so cute with their blond hair and blue eyes!


The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was held in a massive white tent on the beach. In the forecast was rain, but miraculously the rain passed just north of us leaving nothing but cool, perfect weather for an outdoor wedding.


As we approached the tent, tiki-torches lined the way to the entrance. The cake was a four tier creamy white masterpiece complete golden sand dollars. The grooms cake was in the shape of a crab - so cute!







The table arrangements were stunning, consisting of orchids, hydrangea and bells of Ireland, to name a few of the flowers. The caterers had prepared roast beef, shrimp, couscous, a green bean and squash medley, and a baby spinach and strawberry salad.







After dinner, we all danced the night away! The band was amazing - SkyRocket from Austin, Texas.








And finally to see the bride and groom off, we stood outside the tent with glowing sparklers! It was by far one of the best weddings I have attended!






***By the way, I just figured out how to link to view larger pictures - okay so my husband figured it out and told me what to do.  So you can click on each picture for a larger view!

Friday, May 15, 2009

Birthday Party Pictures

I finally have pictures of my birthday party.  My parents actually had a joint birthday party for my sister and I on Saturday (her birthday was on May 7th).  It was a lot of fun.  They barbecued steaks and we had baked potatoes, pinto beans and a salad!  My Mom also made two angel pies which were delicious!  The food was great and the company was even better!  We sat outside visiting and I got to snap some great shots with my camera - have I told you that I love it!


My brother and his fiancee.

The awesome steaks!

My sister and her boyfriend.

My sweet husband!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Under Construction

If you click on my blog and it looks all wonky, it is because I am playing with new backgrounds.  And new potential followers, please don't decide not to follow me because my blog looks a bit crazy right now - it is nornally all in order.  I just want something a little more bright.  I promise I will change the text color when I have settled on a background that I like (and it will all match).  I hate when the colors don't match!


Thanks for being patient with me and my need for change!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

It's My Birthday!

Today is my 25th birthday!!!  It's too bad I have to go into work today, but maybe when I get home I will have some sales to greet me!


Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Feathers, Feathers and more Feathers

Look what I got in the mail the other day...


Okay I know that a bag of guinea feathers is not the most exciting thing in the world, but they are just so bright and colorful!  I am going to design some new floral hair clips using these feathers and I am super excited to get started!  I will post the new designs as soon as I finish them!

Oh, and by the way, the hair clips class I taught went really well.  There were nine people that showed up and I think they really enjoyed it!  The hostesses (okay my sister-in-law and cousin-in-law) told me that if I ever wanted to demonstrate how to make the floral hair clips again, I was more than welcome!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Teaching a Class

My sister-in-law has invited me to teach how to make my floral hair accessories at her monthly scrapbooking class!


I am so excited.  The class is tonight and tomorrow night!



Last Christmas I taught a wreath making class for seven people and it turned out to be so much fun!  I'll have to keep you updated on how this one turns out!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Book Sale



I love reading books!  I love to escape deep into another world, one so different from my own.  Four times out of the year our local library hosts a book sale that runs a whole week - and I am in heaven!  All of the books on sale are donated.  They have paperbacks on sale for $.50, hardbacks for $1 and then "special books" (usually the newly released books) for a little more.  The prices are unbelievably low which is why I usually end up with 50 or so books after the week is up!


My Mom and I always go together.  The book sale started yesterday and I was able to meet my Mom up there after work!  I ended up purchasing five books yesterday - I probably would have bought more, but I was so tired from work that I wasn't putting 100% into searching. I'm going to try to go one more time during the week and then definitely on Saturday.




Saturdays are the last day of the sale and they kind of want to get rid of the books that didn't sell during the week, so you can buy one of their "Friends of the Library" book bags for like $5 and fill it up with as many books as you can shove in there for only $1!!!  How awesome is that?!  You can dump your books in your car and come back as many times as you want filling the bag up for only $1.  I bought one of the bags a couple years ago, so I just take it along with me on Saturday!