Random 5...

...Friday

Hello Friday...I love you so (big puffy heart)

I'm linking up with Nancy over at A Rural Journal today.

I've been suffering w/allergies for several weeks now and darn it all if I didn't get a sinus infection from it. I took Mon. & Tues. off from work, popped some aspirin and dragged myself to work on Wed. until my Drs. appt at noon. Can I just say how happy I am that we have antibiotics? 

And why is it we women (or maybe it's just me) can't be sick without all the guilt? HMPH!

The critters are big and a few have already transformed into chrysalis'.

I got home from work today and dog on it...this critter was two days into the metamorphosis and some other creature took a bite out of the chrysalis. Grrrr. I buried it...sad the world is short one less butterfly.

This one is ok...

My daughter, Jamie, gave me the cutest Eiffel Tower cookie cutter a while back. I'm scouring Pinterest for ideas on icing and decorating them. I envision pink icing with black and/or white girder piping. 

This is my last week with hair before I shave it for the big St. Baldricks event. I've been touching, twirling,  and stroking my hair WAY more than ever.

I ordered new glasses. I get them on the 23rd...2 days after my head shave. As I was trying frames on for size, I was pulling my hair back off my face to simulate no hair. Frankie helped me pick out the perfect pair. I love getting new glasses...these especially!

Happy (cookie eating) Snapping!

xo

Kelly

My Participation Page for St. Baldricks

 Thank you

(Emoji smile)

Friday...

...finds 

with Kim Klassen

mixed with

Random 5 Friday with Nancy

(Welcome back Nancy...you've been missed)

and a pinch of

Brave the Shave chronicles #3 

If you know anything about me, you'll know I'm a sucker for anything French. I literally just swoon at the very idea of a white shabby chic room that has hints of a French countryside. So imagine my excitement when I struck up a conversation with Angela, a vender I visit monthly at the Vintage Faire, when she told me about Little French Flea Market! Basically it's a smallish warehouse full of French themed items that the owner, Ann, opens to the public once a month. It's jammed packed from floor to ceiling with stuff. I found these two adorable spoons digging through a basket full of silverware. 

The wooden pinch bowl is from Cost Plus World Market. I'd rather not shoot glass items so when I found it, I snagged it like it was the last wooden pinch bowl on earth!

The vintage towels were found at a French flea market last month.

Now let's talk Chocolate! Found gluten free cupcakes at Trader Joe's and they are so indescribably delicious with a moist chocolate cake and all that pink butter cream frosting! {THUD}

Frankie & Austin have ganged up on, convinced me that if I'm going to do something crazy,  brave, I might as well go all the way...soooo before I go bald for St. Baldrick's , I'm getting a mohawk. Maybe even a green one!

I've raised $1,115.00. so far and I am just filled to the brim with all the love, support and donations ya'll have given me so freely. I have an IG/ blogging friend, Chelsea Chamness, who is a childhood cancer survivor and I've asked if I can shave in her honor...she said YES! Not only that, she only lives about an 1.2 hrs. away and I've invited her up for the event. THAT would be amazing. 

I'm baking Chicken for dinner tonight and I've made Bisquick Granola Bars for the kids' dessert!

Happy (cupcake eating) snapping!

xo

Kelly

Sunday...

...sundries

Hello March!

You certainly know how to make an entrance. We're being treated to rain...lots of rain and a bit of thunder too-which might not be a big thing in your neck of the woods, but here? Thunder is a stranger and I'm always happy to welcome it's familiar rumble. With February's departure it left a path of all good things for me. I entered a "Mardi Gras" themed photo challenge over at twenty/20 not expecting anything. Just the experience of entering challenges. Other users vote on photos on any given theme, which are announced on IG.

 Well, wouldn't you know...I made top twenty with my interpretation of Mardi Gras! Believe me, I was just as shocked as anyone...

...so I entered another one. This theme is "Vintage." That's my photo of the LP under VOTE. Again, I don't expect anything but as you can see by the screen capture, there are 1,147 entries. I came in at 1,021 and as of right now, I'm 186th with 2 days left in the voting. I'm not sure where all this new found competitiveness is coming from, but I seem to be making up for lost time...like 40+ years of hating competing for anything.  

You can download the app for your i-phone and upload photos to sell, buy and have fun entering challenges. BTW...you can order canvases from them. I think the company changed from Instacanvas. I cried the first time I saw a photo up on a 12x12 canvas.(I know, I'm a nerd... but I've been telling you that for years now!) It's all good and fun.

I've got critters again. It's awfully cold and wet for them but it is what it is for now. I have about 10 little ones. I've moved them from direct weather elements to potted milkweed under our front porch.

Cutie bug! I love my critters. 

I love this...I'm a Shavee.

As of today, I'm 50 bucks shy of $1000...and in exactly 21 days I will be bald, smooth shaven, chrome domed, hairless. However you wanna call...all in the name of pediatric cancer research. Have I mentioned that I'm beyond excited? The wait is killer. 

UPDATE:

 As I went to copy the donor link...another $15 has been donated...if my math is correct...that's $965.

Yes...March is going to be exceptional. My heart is full.

Happy (almost spring?) snapping!

xo

Kelly 

https://www.stbaldricks.org/dashboard/participant/754780/2015

I'm celebrating, playing & linking up over at Barb's today.  

Brave the Shave...

...chronicles #2

What an exciting week of fund raising & sharing my shavee story for St. Baldricks.  

On Friday, I chatted with a 3rd grade teacher that takes a worthy cause & gets her students involved in community spirit and giving back. Interestingly, my head shaving coincides with a language arts story they're reading about a bird who gives away his beautiful feathers and is afraid he wont be beautiful on the outside but the moral of the story is the beauty on the inside. I'm fired up to see what they do after she told me what the class did last year! I'm 25% away from my goal & I'm thinking of upping my target. In fact right now, Austin is urging me to! 

Making a Donation Page for the teacher's lounge!

I'm humbled and grateful beyond words at friends and family's pure generosity. I was standing in line at JoAnnes yesterday & it dawned on me that I'll be out in the public, with no hair in less than a month, people are going to stare...What do I say? Do I say anything? I was sharing this with Frankie over a FaceTime call & he made me aware that I'd be essentially walking in someone who is going through Chemo's shoes. Talk about an aha moment. But then I get another donation, with a cancer story behind it and I know with every fiber in my body that the time is right for me to do this. Friends ask if I pull my hair back to get an idea of what I'd look like, I'd be lying if I said no! I wake up dreaming about the event too. I'm pretty sure that's normal...well, for me anyhow! 

 Until next time...

Happy (brave the shave) snapping!

xo

Kelly

Linking up with Barb over at

 Keeping with the Times 

with her Sunday sundries

My Participation Page at St. Baldericks

Sunday...

...sundries

Barb over at keepingwiththetimes usually has a linky party today to chit chat about this & that-but I do believe it's her birthday weekend and family will be helping her celebrate-so there's not a link up...yet. For now though I wanted to pop in and say hi and give a run down on my week.

Hope you had a beautiful day of love. Frankie & I don't do anything for V-day. We believe in doing little things for each other everyday and we don't need a day "to make up" for missed opportunities to show how we care. It just works for us. The last time we actually went out to eat on Valentines Day-the service was horrible and the food was less than stellar. We were not impressed. Maybe it's the area we live in, but I'd much rather order a pizza, open a bottle of wine and watch Netflix.

My St. Baldricks fundraising kit came Friday. Frankie actually surprised me with a donation and said he couldn't wait to feel my bald head! That's saying a lot as the thought of shaving your head is not his thing-so his words speak volumes.
This is a shameless plug-but I am trying to raise $500 for pediatric cancer so if you are interested in donating here's the link to my participation page...
https://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/754780/2015
I still have no quams about shaving my head...I just think the time was right.
Thank you in advance (insert happy face)

I'm fighting crud again. The kids at school are just so germy-it's no wonder once a week a feel yucky. So I took my Emergen-C suck on cold-eez and popped some Aleve, took a nap. We're off to see
50 Shades of Gray. I started the book, but it was during the time when my mom was sick and I just couldn't get into it-so I'm happy to just watch the movie. Have you read the book? Seen the movie? What did you think? I'd love to hear.
It's crazy to think we're in shorts and sandals here in CA and the East Coast is getting hammered with snow...again.
I've got a few caterpillars. One egg and a critter disappeared and I'm pretty sure something ate 'em. Not sure what...maybe a lizard. I'm keeping an eye on the 2 little ones that I know of. I'll be posting the progress of the critters growth on IG.

Ok my friends, we've got a 3 day weekend so I'll be around to visit your blogs tomorrow.
Oh how I love 3 day weekends.

Happy(I'm gonna be bald) Snapping!
xo
Kelly

Brave the shave...

...chronicles 

 no.1

 Sarah over at 

Paisley Rain Boots

has a delicious segment, "The Coffee Shop Chronicles" over on her blog and I hope she doesn't mind if I borrow her idea of a "chronicle" format...but just temporarily. If you read THIS POST then you'll know I've been thinking about braving the shave for the St. Baldrick's foundation. I had a few responsible details to clear with my principal, Victoria first before I share the news. Can I just tell you...not ONLY is she completely onboard and supports me 100%, but the idea of getting dialog started about pediatric cancer among our 700+ families was also met with enthusiasm. If you haven't figured it out yet...

YES! I WILL BRAVE THE SHAVE!

The first thing that will be done is an article in the school paper will be written up about St. Baldricks and what I'm doing. It's very important to let the kids know I am not sick. So often, it is automatically assumed that if you don't have hair, you're sick. I've been at this school for 12+ years...I know a lot of kids and their families. 

Next, I had to tell Frankie! I was actually really nervous about telling him. True to himself, this is not something he would do but is happy that I'm excited about doing this. I asked him if would please stand with me and I'd even let him take a swipe with the razor!

Last, I'm registered!

St. Baldricks

 I'm participant #754780

It all happens March 21st!

This video make me cry...every time.

Until next time...

Happy (head shaving) snapping!

xo

Kelly

Friday Finds...

...& bravery

I discovered a French flea market through a gal's booth I visit monthly at a Vintage Faire.

I fell in love & bought several items at the flea market (wanted to take the hydrangea home!) but saving them for another FF. Today though, I wanted to share my beautiful new/old music book and a pair of scissors I found.

I have a bit of a scissor fetish right now!

The photos are the perfect lead into something I'm weighing...a lot.

When was the last time you did something really brave? I don't consider myself a brave person and  I've never done anything that I would consider brave. Every year there is an event called
BRAVE THE SHAVE
with St Baldrick's Foundation,
 a volunteer organization that raises money for children cancer research. 175,000 kids are diagnosed with each year. That number is just too high. Austin braves the shave and actually looks forward to it each year.

That's Austin on the right.
(2014)

Austin is already collecting money for this years event. I had the itch to brave the shave last year. It was just an itch because of the whole bravery thing. This year is different. I keep thinking, how and when did hair get so much power? When I cut my hair pixie short, I'm always telling people, "it's only hair, it grows back." Kids with cancer don't get a choice wether or not to shave their heads.  It's not that I'm not brave, vanity is not an issue. I want to be a part of something bigger than myself. Right now it's more of a courtesy situation-I work in an elementary school. It would be a total disruption of instruction time if one day Ms Kelly had hair and the next day...oops...bald Ms Kelly walks into class. 

So today I'm having a meeting with the principal. I'm going to ask her thoughts. Then my really big idea is to get the school involved somehow! 

Shaving my head and raising money for children's cancer research would be the bravest thing I've ever done. 

What's the bravest thing you've ever done?

Please share.

Happy (brave the shave) snapping!

xo

Kelly