Michelle Legler

Chit-Chat

Hello Girlfriends (and guys, if there are any?)!

I have to tell you that I had the BEST massage of my life yesterday!!! I felt sooooo good when I walked out of there that I almost starting skipping to my car! (lol...now that would've been a sight!) Anyhoo, this was the 3rd massage in 3 weeks that I've had (can you say Expensive!). Now, before you start saying wow, must be nice, let me explain myself. Due to my physically labor intensive job, my right shoulder and my neck and my back have suffered greatly. Last week and the week before, I was in so much pain, I just wanted to start crying. I was taking so much Ibuprofen that it was making me sick AND I know, I know, it's not good for you to take too much of it. But, Hello, remember I said crying?  Anyway, the first massage I got did not help and I was not familiar with the gal. While complaining to my hairdresser about my pain, she asked me why I wasn't going to Becky who used to do my massages years ago. Well, Becky had moved and I didn't know where she was. Vanessa (hairdresser) fixed that and I made an appointment. Well, let me just tell you, Becky fixed me!! (Yay!!!) But not before telling me that I was.......Toxic???!!!! What??? I showered!

I LOVE this drawing of myself......look how skinny my waist is!! (LOL!!!) Okay, back to the story. Becky said that I'm carrying stress in my body and it's basically making a home in the right side of my back! How dare it! She says that I need to find a Yoga class. I guess they're good at teaching you how to breathe and meditate and relax. I thought I knew how to breathe (or wouldn't I be dead?) but come to find out, most people only breathe with the upper part of their chest instead of breathing deep into their waist area (see above-hehe) and filling up the lungs which helps to put oxygen into the body which helps to rid the body of toxins. I also need to drink more water to flush my system and I'll be getting a massage at least once a month in order to keep my muscles in check. I think I'll be happier if I follow her instructions and I'm sure my family will, as I am one grouchy be-otch when my back hurts like that!

On to other chit-chat.....The hubby and I spent last Sunday cleaning up daughter #3's room. You might remember from an earlier post that I said she was moving out. Well that happened at the end of December and even though she said she cleaned her room......well, let's just say NOT! I think the hubby counted 24 empty water bottles that we put into the recycle and the magazines filled the entire back of my car!! However, I can't complain about this one, because she gets the magazine addiction from her mother! The guy at Goodwill gave us an estimate of $500 on the bags of clothes, shoes and puses we brought in.

While visiting her at Ikea (she works there) shortly after she moved out, we spied the sale of the day and we couldn't pass it up! Daybed frames for $30???? We bought two and the mattresses to go with them and we finally got them set up this last weekend. Here's the room now.

No sheets or comforters yet. I want to paint first. The last time I painted this room was about 7 years ago. She liked pink and yellow and cherries. Can you tell?? There was also black and white toile everywhere and I painted the dresser black and then painted the inset with roses. It was beautiful, but it's time for a change.

This chair has also seen better days.

I really like the look of these beds!

I'm thinking of doing the room in a shabby chic blue color scheme. However, first I need to finish up some of the other projects I have going.....some of which I haven't even told you about! They'll all get done....they always do, but it would probably be easier if I started one and finished it before I started the next one! I call it OCD!! :-)

Remember that big mosaic project that I told you I had almost finished??? Well, talk about giving a girl stress! I am edging the piece in a dark brown vitreous glass that I left over from another project and I thought I had enough for this project but NOPE, I didn't, and do you think I could find it anywhere??? Nope Again!! I don't have the time to wait for it to be shipped so I did find these mixed packages at Michaels which gives me about 20 pieces per package.

So, I bought all of them in two Michael's stores. More Expensive?? Yes! So, the next time I post, I'll share my mosaic project with you. I promise, it's worth the wait!

Lastly, you know how we know it's winter in Arizona??

When the lemon trees are filled with ripe fruit! I still have lemon ice cubes left over from last year. I'd love it if anyone has any lemon recipies that they'd like to share.

Until next time!   Peace out!    Michelle

New Cupcakes and looking for frogs

Hey Everyone!! I hope you had a fabulous weekend!!! I had a very busy one. I'll share more about that later. Here's some pics of a couple new cupcakes. I haven't posted them to Etsy yet, but they are posted on my website here.

Oh, and I added this stuff to the website also. :-)

Now, about looking for frogs...... Last summer, my hubby brought home a bucket full of little mini frogs that he had gotten from a guy that he does business with. They were soooo cute and only about as big as a pencil eraser! We put them in the pond and watched them as they jumped back out and into the grassy areas. We were like "what the heck"? After a few days, we couldn't find any of them in the yard or pond, so I pretty much forgot about them. Well, months went by and as I was walking on the path to my studio, I noticed something about the size of a quarter moving. It was one of the frogs! I was so excited! Maybe they didn't get eaten by birds or by the Koi or whatever. The little guy jumped into some of my plants and couldn't see it anymore. So, a few more months went by and I was digging up the vegetable garden and in the ground was a HUGE frog! He was about the size of my hand! Thank goodness I didn't hurt him with the shovel while I was digging, as he was actually underground! I picked him up to make sure he was okay and then I put him back into the hole and covered him up. Come to find out the little frogs that the hubby brought home were actually Spadefoots. They live underground and only come out when it rains. Then they'll grab some food and do some mating and then go back underground! Isn't that just crazy?! Now, it doesn't rain here very often, but everytime it does, I go looking for them. Why?? I don't know, I just want to look at them.

So yesterday, we got a ton of rain! I took these pics this morning and as you can see, the rain is still standing on top of the ground.

I look for holes that the Spadefoots may have come out of....maybe here??

No Luck! I couldn't find any. Maybe when it warms up. My garden is LOVING this rain! I LOVE the smell of my Rosemary bush when the rain hit it.

Maybe the frogs are hiding under my Chards? These Chards are tasty and Good for you.

The Hollyhocks that I planted last season now have buds. Yay!!!

This Hollyhock plant is a bit older and it decided to do a little blooming. I noticed that it has a lot of seeds on it, so if anyone is interested in this color of Hollyhock, just send me your email and I'll send you a few seeds to plant. :-)

Okay, that's it for now. I've got to get back to work and I want to see if there are any Spadefoots out yet! :-)  Hugs!! Michelle

It's a small world and a wedding

Hello Everyone! I hope everyone is having a good week!

So, I've decided that the internet has made our world a very small one. I've sent mosaic cupcakes to Singapore, Australia, England, Canada and now I'm sending this cupcake to Germany. Is that sooooo Cool or what!!?? My cupcakes are traveling to places that I've never been to. I wish they could write to me and tell of their adventures. :-) Diana from Diana's Zeug is one talented mixed-media artist!! I can't read a word of her blog since I don't speak German, but I do appreciate her art! She has one piece of art that reads "you need no language to understand". Perfectly said!

In other news, daughters #3 and #4 and myself, attended a wedding last Saturday and it was at the coolest place. It was at a castle! Go here to see a picture of it. I didn't even know this place existed until we got the invite and it's about a 6 minute drive from my house! There is soooo much new construction here that you can literally not recognize a street if you've not been down it in a month or so.

The wedding was in the courtyard and it was a perfect day for it. The weather really cooperated. I think the temp was around 64 degrees.

 

Dinner and dancing was inside.

There were Chandeliers!!

Mother and Grandmother of the bride. (relatives of my husband)

My girls......so cute! I forgot to have my pic taken, but I wore the cutest black dress with a leopard print sweater. I bought it that day, as I had nothing to wear and the invitation said Cocktail Attire Preferred. ooh~la~la

The cake. Each layer was a different flavor.

It was dark when we left, so these pics are a bit dark. Here's a picture of the front door of the castle and a big beautiful fountain that separates the front door from the parking lot.

What a Beautiful Place to have a wedding!!!

Another little announcement.....I'm going to try to post more often. I know......What????!!!!! :-)

So hurry back to see me! Hugs to you all!!!!!!  Michelle

FINALLY!!!!! Etsy uploaded!!!!

OMG!!! It's a good thing you couldn't hear me today!! Because my words were not pretty! I've been struggeling all day long to get my Etsy pics added. When I had almost given up, I decided to restart my computer and voila! I was able to finally load my pics. Yay!!!! Now, where's that wine??? LOL!!!

So, here's one pic and go here to see the rest of what I've added. I have more coming! While working on these cupcakes, the ideas just started flowing!!! I LOVE when that happens!!!!

 

Okay, back to work and I'll be back soon to add more. Now, I've got to figure out how to add the Etsy banner to the side of my blog. Wish me luck! Hugs!!! Michelle

Much lighter note today

Okay, time for a much lighter note. Here's some pics of the pugs and my fish! :-)

Here is Emma and her famous grin. This pic was taken last year.

Here is Emma now. Now you see why the doc says she needs to diet and exercise! What a chunky Monkey!

Here is Trixie, also known as Miss Rashy and Miss Whiney! She's allergic to everything and breaks out in rashes often. She also has a tendancy to whine about everything. She's worse than a toddler, but I adore her anyway!

Here's the fish in my pond. I took this pic in October. Right now they're kind of semi-hibernating because it's a little chilly here. By the beginning of March, they'll be begging for food every afternoon and I'll be watching for the Heron that wants to make them his dinner!

I apologize for my ranting the other day. When certain things upset me, I tend to get on my high horse or soap box or whatever you want to call it. Anyway, I deleted that post because I don't want that monster's face messing up my blog and I definitely don't want to be reminded of it when I come here. So there you go!

I've been working really hard on some cupcakes......oh, did I say, Valentine cupcakes??? Well, Yes I did! They should be done soon. I've also been working on some cute little Spring time mosaics that are turning out to be sooooo CUTE! I'll be sharing them real soon also. Then there's the Biggy.......yep, a giant task of a mosaic that I've been working on for what seems like forever and it's almost done. It's hopefully going to be going to a gallery......(keeping my fingers crossed) with some other Biggy items that I've yet to start, but are hurting my brain like you wouldn't believe! Okey-Dokey, that's it for today. I'll be back! hahahahahaha!    Hugs, Michelle

The Birdhouse is mounted!

Holy Cow!! This has been a crazy week! I had to rush my little black pug, Emma, to the Animal Hospital this week. She was having problems breathing and when we arrived at the hospital, they rushed her immediately to the back to put her on oxygen. I broke out into the "ugly cry" and I'm sure the hospital people thought: Calm Down Already Lady! But you see, what they don't know is that my black pug, Zoe, died at this hospital just 2 years earlier from an untreatable disease (pug encephalitis) and she was just 14 mos. old! So, when they grabbed little Emma and said she needed oxygen right away, well, it scared the ba-jeebers out of me! Well, $600 later and some antibiotics, it looks like little Emma was just suffering from bronchitis (sp?).She seems to be doing much better now. She also has a high count on her pancreatic enzymes, so we have to keep an eye on that. Oh, and she needs to...............Go On A DIET!!! Because of her pancreatic problems, they put her on a special "Bland" dog food. Well, this caused another problem, but this was with my other pug, Trixie. Because both dogs eat at the same time, I gave her the bland dog food too and she had an allergic reaction to it and broke out into a horrible rash. Trixie has the worst allergies and when she breaks out, it takes me a week to get her healed up. Like I said, Holy Cow!! I have been one busy Pug Mama!

So, finally today, I was able to get the birdhouse mounted on it's post.

And for all of you that have inquired about its size, it is 24 inches tall and 46 inches round at its biggest section. I told you it was HugE!! Okay, that's all for now. I'm headed back into the studio to work.......YES!!!! I hope you're having a Wonderful Weekend!!!!

Hugs!    Michelle

p.s. Winter in Phoenix, Arizona....Aaaaaaahhhh! :-)

New Mosaic Birdhouse

Yahoo!!!! It's finally done......except for getting it mounted on the post. I am very proud of this birdhouse, even though it took me a couple of weeks to finish. It is HUGE! I am also proud of the fact that I am helping to make the world a "greener" place by recycling junk. The items used to make this birdhouse, were headed for the landfill. I have repurposed the junk into something of use. I used a discarded parking lot lamp cover for the main base and there are hundreds of different kinds of old plates (possibly a 1000!) used for the mosaic. I have 5 more lamp covers (and a lot more china), one I'm keeping for a birdhouse for the front of my house, but that leaves 4 that I can make into a birdhouse for anyone that is interested. I'm asking $400 and BELIEVE ME when I tell you that the labor pay I'm making is less than what they're paid in other countries to make the stuff we buy here that says "Made in ........" (you know what i mean). Also, if you're seriously interested in one and just can't afford it right now, I'll do a Lay-away plan for you. Just email me.

I'll post more pics when I get the birdhouse mounted on it's post.

In other news, I'll be opening an Etsy shop by next week. I'm working on items to put into it, such as cupcakes and some other little new things. I'm so looking forward to doing this, as updating my website can be a BIG PAIN in the Booty!

Anyway, I hope all is well with all of you! I, once again, need to caught up with me blog visiting!

Hugs!!!    Michelle

It's a New Year!

It seems that every year about this time, I feel the NEED to get organized and that my house must be scrubbed beyond clean. I'm not sure why, because I always seem to get unorganized as soon as I start working on a project  and I must admit that 2007 was definitely my slacker year when it came to cleaning the house. So, you know what I did all day yesterday?? Yep, I scrubbed and organized AND I'm doing more of it today. This is stressing me out, because as I said in an earlier post, I have several mosaic projects in the works. My goal is to finish it all today and get back into the studio ASAP! I have so many plans for the very near future and I can't wait to share them with you all. In the meantime, I'll share a few pics of some yummy hand-made presents that I purchased for myself BEFORE Christmas.

My first purchase was from the most talented and lovely Vanessa from A Fanciful Twist. If you have not visited her blog before, you must GO immediately! You will be addicted.....I AM!!! I bought this awesome print for my kitchen re-do, which YES, I'm still working on. I've been looking for a very whimsical frame for it, but have not found one. I know what I want, so I guess I'll get the saws out and make my own.

Vanessa won a cupcake from me awhile back and here it is:

I picked up a copy of one of the Somerset Magazines and saw the cutest little birds made with junk. I love birds and nests....they're all over my house. So, I went to the website of this artist, Jeanette Janson, and purchased one. Here it is.

AND then, another purchase for the kitchen re-do from my very talented friend Lisa Kaus. Oops! I couldn't copy the pic and I haven't taken one yet, so go here if you want to see it. It's #728.

Okay, time's a-waste'n! I've got to go finish up those chores so I can get to the real important work!

Hugs to you!!

Michelle