Rachel's random thoughts...

happy independence day

to you and yours.  enjoy a safe and happy holiday!

a gypsy review...

home again, home again...and it was FANTASTIC!

HUGE thanks to carol and steve for hosting me in their lovely store, the scrappy moose, and in their home, chalet jones in delta, colorado.  two of the sweetest people you will ever meet.  extra kudos to mr. steve for helping out with the punched pages - WHEW!

it was a lovely experience.  i taught two classes and did 3 make-n-takes - a very busy 7 hour day and it was all worth it.  the students were fantastic, gave a lot of input and tips and we all had a great time.  thanks to all of you if you are watching!

my busy week really started on thursday, first up, a conference call with 7 gypsies to be invited to join the 7 gypsies creative team - GULP!  I AM BEYOND THRILLED.  it's still surreal actually and i'm still celebrating the news!  thanks to everyone for the support and the awesome sentiments you have sent my way, it means a lot to me.

after the call, i patiently waited for 'mr. brown' to arrive with supplies for kits and they finally came shortly after 6pm.  i failed to mention, i was leaving the very next day to teach class in delta.  well, it all came together thankfully.  the hubby went outside to pick this for me and placed it in the mound of supplies while i was making kits:

it made all the difference, really it did!

the scrappy moose sits on an amazing 'main street' setting in delta.  it is lovely.  and carol and steve sure know how to make a gypsy welcome.  i had never been featured in a store front display.  it was a perfect start after a long drive to get there, thank you carol and steve!

right next door is a coffee shop that oops, i forgot to enjoy.  carol had starbucks at her home for me!

come inside the scrappy moose.  this place is awesome!  they renovated a 1924 (is that right steve?) building and made it into this amazing happy place.  the lights are from an old texaco gas station.  that's mr. steve in the classroom back there.  and they even have the place next door that they are going to expand into for weekend getaways, stay tuned for that - it's going to be great!

hey, lori:  check out the cloth on the table for the display i did at the store - HUGE thanks again for letting me borrow it. it worked perfectly!  carol stocked her store with 7 gypsies goodness for the students to shop their little hearts out.

pretty packages for my students.

cupcakes that a student made me - HUGE thanks carol and kathy - YUMMY!!!

students from my 1st class:  back row:  becky, meghan, me, christine, carol (store owner).  front row: katherine, marcy and kathy (cupcake goddess).  and cheers to meghan, she had just had 4 wisdom teeth pulled but came to class anyway - OUCH!

students from my 2nd class (minus 3 students):  back row:  candace, colette, becky, kathy, me, carol.  front row:  carol, christine and marcy.

ladies, HUGE thanks for being so nice and hanging in there the entire day, you are all so lovely.  i can't wait to see all of you again!

have a great week everyone!

♥ rachel

p.s.  i treated myself with a visit to carlson vineyards in palisade on my way home.  and thanks meghan for suggesting the chocolate/cherry wine combination - genius!

that lovin' feeling...

*photo above:  me in the foreground at glacier national park - thanks hubby for capturing this*

i've lost it.  i can't find it.  if you see it, will you please tell it to come back to me?  *sigh* 

that's what it feels when you have been gone for 11 days on a road trip.  wishing you were back on the road.  sleeping on the ground.  in a tent.  yes, really.  waking sometimes before the sun came up to start the day.  seeing a million stars at night.  being with the ones you love most.  yes, all six of us - ha!

trip stats:
11 days
3147.2 miles
1395+ photos
4 states
4 national parks
2 national monuments

having said that, the trip reports/photos/etc will have to wait.  there are a LOT of photos.  and right now i am prepping for yet another road trip (this weekend) to visit some lovely folks about a moose.  i leave on friday to teach all day on saturday and return on sunday.  busy is a GOOD thing...

have a great week!

♥rachel

DOG tired, literally....

*NOT our dog - google image search - it fits this post perfectly though*

WE ARE HOME tonight - 8:30 MST. 

11 days and 3000+ miles...SO happy to be home!

i have 740 emails in my inbox upon return.  i'm going to work hard on getting them answered but priority will go to business email first.  IF you have sent me an email and it is urgent, it might be buried by now, please feel free to send me another one so it will be more recent, thank you!

otherwise will catch up with everyone by at least monday or so as time/need for rest allows.

miss all of you dearly and look forward to catching up with everyone!

look for photos and trip reports in the week to come AND as time allows....

AND OH!  the winner of my last drawing, the apron is:

Random Sequence Generator

Here is your sequence:

 5
 3
10
 4
 2
11
12
 9
 8
13
 7
14
 1
 6

Timestamp: 2009-06-21 03:57:49 UTC

KRISTINA, you win!!!  please send me your mailing addy to:  rachelincolorado@yahoo.com

miss you all...

♥ rachel

the HIGH cost of good junk?

and other random rambles...

it's been a long week i guess.  i've been busy with things so the blog has not had much attention.  it's good to be away at times.  being disconnected and unplugged is a good thing right?

this past weekend sure was eventful to say the least.  went to market on saturday - paris street market - my favorite of them all.  i had canceled something else for another thing but didn't even get that far as market day was super short-lived.  we started around 9:30am or so - thanks lawren and terry for meeting me at the new time!  it was a VERY windy day, WINDY.  we felt so bad for the vendors.  treasures were flying off tables, broken glass could be heard from items breaking and the white booth tents were acting like kites ready to take off.  we did notice that some vendors were taking the tops of tents off, a smart thing in my opinion. 

and then the accident occurred...

i was bent over in a booth admiring a stack of wooden soda crates.  i had been searching for a 'dr. pepper' one for a few years now.  it 'had' to be a dr. pepper one though.  no exceptions.  i had a limit of $10 and the crate was $16.  earlier i had spent $8 on an awesome glass/silver wire ring that i found in the bargain bin of jennywear jewelry.  so yeah, i had $2 left, i was not getting that wooden crate...or was i...

as i was kneeling on the ground reaching for the crate, my friend lawren kneeling right next to me, an iron canvas privacy screen decided to fly INTO my head.  this is where you wish you weren't surrounded by people so you could scream as many profanities as you wished without notice.  and then the tears/sobs came, it's weird how those come on their own.  i think i was more embarrassed from crying than anything.  the canvas on the screen acted like a sail on a boat and the wind picked it up and slammed it on my head.  OUCH.  and then the little stars came, the kind that dance around your head, weird that really does happen.  and then the knot on my head formed.  and then the dizzy spells and blurred vision.  great.  luckily there was a nurse nearby that ran to get me some ice that was put in a plastic glove.  nice.  there i sat with two very sweet friends that took such good care of me.  lawren drove me to her house to collect myself (4 hours or so) before driving home.  had i not been where i was, lawren would have suffered a very severe face/mouth injury.  poor terry was hit in the knee/shin area but not with the force of the first contact on my head.

*ETA:  check out lawren's blog for an oh-so flattering photo after the accident - ha.

the screen looked something like this:

and you're wondering how much that wooden crate (in photo above) cost me aren't you?  you guessed it, the vendor felt so bad she gave me the crate for FREE.  she was ready to give me so much more i'm sure but the crate was all i wanted.  to me it cost A LOT!  healing now.  the knot has gone down but the pain is still there. 

in other news:

trying to ascertain what kind of spider bit me.  nice huh.  it's on top of my left hand and both forearms.  it sucks not to have medical insurance.  i'm watching it closely.  PRA (public rachel announcement):  do NOT ever do research on spider bites.  EVER.  eeew, ick, gross.  enough said.

now reading:

IF you have made it this far, good for you because this is where you leave me a comment on this post to win a very cute apron that i sewed by repurposing a vintage fabric valance.  i've given one to a friend already and had enough to make more. 

it's a hostess apron really, nothing too fancy, just fun to wear.  i might add a pocket to this one though.  don't forget to leave me a comment and tell me how you will be spending your summer days.  i'll leave the drawing open until friday, june 19th.

and finally, we are heading on a 'much needed' road trip early wednesday morning. 
the 'proposed' travel agenda looks like this:

steamboat springs
dinosaur national monument
jackson hole
grand tetons
yellowstone
western montana
glacier national park
idaho
bitterroot mountains
salt lake city
arches
grand junction
colorado national monument

ROAD TRIP!!!

have a fantastic week everyone...

♥rachel

7gypsies: come see what we're up to...

uh huh, look at that lovely binderie punch looking all pretty and innocent...just you wait!  we were all invited to show our binderies some good lovin' and flair - you know i don't like talkin' about my flair - tee, hee.  but THIS flair is worth chattin' about!

AND during the month of june we are giving away some gypsy love...

please join us for the ultimate binderie giveaway on the 7 gypsies blog - you will not want to miss it.

make note of these dates:

june 10th:  3 binderie punches will be given away on the 7 gypsies blog - just post a comment from the aforementioned link for your chance to win - good luck!

if you're one of the lucky winners OR if you already have a binderie punch to decorate, get busy uploading your photos in the gallery for your chance to win the ultimate prize package!

june 30th:  deadline to enter your binderie punch photos into the gallery.

the gallery can be found here:  gypsy gallery - check out all of our binderies - free to join gallery.

it was so hard to cover up my favorite colors red/black - photos above.  but check out the rest of our gypsy friends and gypsy artists binderies, WOW:

binderie punch artists' series - eye candy awaits you - click away!

don't forget to catch up on our gypsy gossip too - what DID they say...

thanks for letting me share all the gypsy love with you.  hope your week has been as creative as mine.

♥rachel

happy june, time to usher in summer?

but spring has only arrived oddly.  colorado welcomed spring a little late and it's okay by me if it stays a little longer.

early summer non-stop reading, book 3 meet rachel - rachel meet book 3.  last day of work on friday last week.  lots to consider.  busy working on projects for upcoming classes, etc...

more updates later....

have a great week!

♥rachel

cheers to a LONG weekend...

*google image search

and it can't get here quick enough.  we are heading out for FOUR days of camping after i get off of work today.  i can't be more excited.  much needed time away.  looking forward to it.

and cheers to the google doodle winner today:

seems fitting for several days of nature, the great outdoors, etc. 

best wishes for a fantastic holiday weekend!

♥rachel

fascinating...

since i might have let some of you down on mother's day with the missing google image, i had my reasons.  but check out today's google! 

scientists unveil fossil of 47 million-year-old primate, darwinius masillae.  check out the stories by heading to google today and simply clicking on the image.  grab a cup o' joe and settle in for some good reading before you start your day. 

fascinating.

happy friday, happy weekend...

thanks for sharing all of your weekend plans with me.  ev, i'm so jealous and thanks for the drink in my honor, not good enough for a bribe though - tee, hee.  anisa, i'm so bummed i'm missing the shower.  disa, oh my, HUGE healing hugs to you friend.  love you all!

SO happy that i can use random generator to pick a winner, WHEW.

and the winner is:

Random Sequence Generator

Here is your sequence:

3
2
1
5
6
4
7
8

Timestamp: 2009-05-16 04:09:22 UTC

NUMBER 3 - which means that SHAWN, you are the winner!  how exciting.  i met shawn a few years ago online.  i've never met her in real-life.  i hope to meet her at some point though, she is such a sweet person.  shawn, please email me your mailing addy so i can get this pretty in the mail to you!

this is shawn, how cute is she:

shhhhh:  photo stolen from her facebook profile - do you think she'll notice - tee, hee!

we had an awesome long distance hike on the colorado trail today - AWESOME!  so tired though.  off to the land of slumber now.

♥ rachel