I've given hints here and there in the past but I am now fully proclaiming that I am an Oprah fan. I'm not saying I always agree with her or drop everything for whatever person/place/thing she is promoting at the moment (I have some self respect - I only obey her command 99% of the time :)). Hey, love her or hate her she is a force to be reckoned with. I for one feel that she has opened my eyes to a great many things and has helped me to see the world (specifically the immediate world around me) in a different, much improved light.
I have to say that I have never gotten into her book club - I don't buy the books or purposely read them. After hearing about A New Earth I did the opposite and immediately went to the bookstore. I haven't gotten all the way through it yet but it is a very fascinating and eye opening read that I highly recommend. It talks about the ego and how we mistake the ego as our true selves and how to separate the two. As you may know, Oprah is conducting a 10 week online class with the author. The first class was last night and was very enlightening (when the feed wasn't stalling on my screen that is!). I look forward to continuing on this journey and seeing where the road takes me.
While I'm promoting others - I also want to again give a shout out to Bill at Loving Her Beautiful. Bill lost his father this past week and I know he would appreciate hearing from supportive blog friends. I want to also remind everyone that Bill is putting together a publication entitled I Never Got To Thank You. You can read all about it here. Bill is in need of 100 thank you letters by March 31. To date he has 5. Let's all help him out! He has wonderful charitable intentions with this project. It doesn't have to be a three page letter - my letter was actually very short. And it does not have to be something that you actually send to the person (just send it to Bill!). I wrote my thank you to a retired soldier that I began writing to during Desert Shield. This is what I wrote:
Dear Fred,
Thank you for taking the time to indulge a young girl. I thought I was doing a good thing by writing to the troops during Desert Shield/Desert Storm but you showed me. From the first vile of Saudi Arabian sand to the handmade cartoons and all of the letters, you became a father figure. You welcomed me into your family though you were a world away and we would never actually meet. I so looked forward to receiving your letters and would check the mail box each day. I want you to know that I still have all of your letters, drawings, and cards. They are all neatly tucked away in a box, a snapshot of history I would like to think.
Much love,
Karla
See - short, sweet, and to the point. Consider sending your contribution to Bill today!
And now back to our regularly scheduled programming - I'll post some mail goodies and lovelies I've been working on later this week.
Cheers!
Hello dear friends. It is beginning to look a lot like Easter around my house. I'm slowly pulling out the decorations and plan to finish it up this weekend. It's right around the corner! I definitely prefer an April Easter as the weather is usually warmer and it just feels more spring like but hey - I guess that is just something I can't control right? This sweetie above is by the very talented Lori and looks just perfect in my kitchen window. Lori is a fellow member of the Etsy Cottage Style Street Team that Sadie Lou has so lovingly put together.
A frilly and fun initial badge and ledger paper tags also from Lori. 
This is a necklace I made for a friend. The butterfly was originally an earring and had sentimental value to my friend. I wanted to incorporate it into a new piece for her but it didn't have a ready made area for me to easily string it onto wire and my soldering skills are not that fabulous figuring I haven't soldered since middle school! I decided to try making a pendant and then using epoxy to affix the butterfly. It seems to have worked well for my first try. Now I just need to keep my fingers crossed that it stays put.
Have a wonderful weekend!
