A "Thriller" of a Project

I have always said that the only way to make a good grade on a school project is to spend at least $40 on materials. (It could have to do with the mother of my sons who has her own ideas of how to improve upon their project; just a thought!)

Anyhow, Project #3 for Connor this year is for Spanish class. They will be learning about the "Day of the Dead" celebration in the Spanish culture. He will be making a Calaca, which is a skeleton doll the size of a Barbie that represents a famous person. The clothing and accessories are the key to this because that is what will identify his Calaca.

Guess who my son chose to make a Calaca of??? Michael Jackson...

We sat down and made a list for my weekly trip to Michaels and/or Hobby Lobby. The main ingredient being Crayola Model Magic Clay so he can shape the doll. "Mom, you need to get a mixture of black, white and tan so we can get his coloring right." Okay...

My main concern was how we were going to dress him. Surely there is a doll out there.

So the Day of the Dead project brought out my first bidding wars through E-Bay. I spent one day bidding and loosing these Michael Jackson dolls -- are you kidding me -- they want HOW MUCH for a Michael Jackson doll?!? Chris finally told me to pay anything because it would be totally worth it for me not to buy the fabric and try to make something that resembled Michael Jackson's costumes -- I think he just didn't want to deal with a stressed out wife!

I successfully got a doll on Tuesday night and was so excited!! (That bidding thing could be addictive!)

I got back from the mailbox today and guess what was in there?
Yeah!!

All I can say is that Connor should get an A+ on this because we've exceeded my $40 project budget!!

What a Difference a Year Makes

This past week marks one year that my mom had a Stem Cell Transplant which allowed her to come to Texas and celebrate her 1-year birthday of being "cancer free".

My sister and I went to Albuquerque to help her and my dad the first weeks after she got out of the hospital. I will honestly say that when I left, I wasn't sure how she would ever manage on her own. She had no energy, was forgetful, and felt awful.

However, if you could have seen her this weekend, you wouldn't believe it was the same person. Time has given her her strength back, her memory has gotten a bit better :), and she feels great. She can also shop 'til she drops now -- which was important this past weekend!

My sister, mom and I decided we needed to celebrate her health by going to Canton, TX. Canton is in East Texas and is a small town that hosts the First Monday Trade Days -- I believe the largest one in the U.S. There are three separate sites that range from flea market junk, to adopting animals, to home decor and lots of "bling"! We shopped for two straight days and still didn't see all the home decor and "bling", although we tried our hardest!! In fact, Saturday night we were the only ones left out of the thousands that were there that day!


We took this picture after we had already made one trip to the car (AND it was the second day to shop!) and to prove we really DID close the place down that night! Yes, we shopped 'til we dropped.

It was also raining outside for most of the afternoon on Saturday. When we had arrived that morning, we had to park way out in a field at the front gate. The last thing we bought was, of course, on the opposite side of the place. So we walked with all this stuff, through the rain and dark and emptiness for at least a mile or more while laughing hysterically and having to stop because we needed to go to the bathroom so badly! Good memories!

I have spent the last three days finding places for all of my new treasures. I have decided I can't go back to Canton until I move into a bigger house!! Thank you, Mom and Danette for a fun-filled weekend and thanks to our husbands for letting us go and for "holding down the forts" while we were together!!