A week of sad tears and happy tears.

What a rollercoaster week. You know my sister’s doggie, Lola that I’ve been blogging about for the past ten years? She became very ill out of the blue last Friday night. I went with my sister to the emergency animal hospital in the middle of the night and Lola got progressively worse by the end of the weekend.

She had a herniated disc in her neck and became paralyzed. We had to put her down on Monday. We cried soooo hard. It was so unexpected. Lola was the happiest dog I ever knew, and it is because of her that I overcame my fear of dogs and eventually ended up the mommy of my five Chihuahuas. She was my dad’s favorite, so I told my sister that my dad missed us and decided to call Lola with him. So Lola is up in heaven, right at my dad’s side and they are both very happy and pain-free.

Here are a couple of my favorite Lola stores. Poo Friday and Puppy Paw Protectors.

Saturday morning Maya and I demoed how to make a duct tape dress form on channel 12, to promote my new book. I’ll post directions soon!

Right after that, we had a vendor booth at a local arts festival called M7, where I saw this adorable teacup Chihuahua! My dear friend Meghan Olesen organizes this event every year and it gets better and better!

Straight from the event’s end, I raced over to my sister-in-law’s birthday party! Shemade her own birthday cake – a gluten-free Oreo cheesecake and it was beyond a chubby girl delight’s dream. Girlfriend even put edible glitter on top!

The next day I had my first book signing. I made Miss Scarlet’s Lint Brushes to give away to each person who bought a book.

It was awesome because I had a really big crowd! Here are more pictures from the event. I cried on the way over to the event out of anxiety. Once I arrived to my signing and saw that the staff had to hurry to add extra chairs because they filled up so fast, I knew everything would be fine. The highlight of the week was when I went in to Barnes & Noble to buy a copy of my book, to find my sister there doing the same thing!

Tuesday came around and I did a TV segment on Good Morning Arizona on channel 3 to promote Miss Scarlet (click to watch segment). I showed how to make purses inspired by Daisy de la Flora, one of the characters in the novel.

Wednesday night came and I did a live video chat with the Fiskateers. I gave out some business advice, if you want to watch the show, you can see it here. I was super nervous because I had to host it myself and I look like a complete NERD because at times I didn’t know the camera was on! Please keep in mind that there is a live chat happening at the side of the screen, so I had to keep the show going while reading the chat questions at the same time. I look like I have serious ADD – and I have two sets of glasses on my head. It’s actually kind of scary to watch, lol. OK, don’t watch it, nevermind! On to the next day’s adventure…

These are a pair of Converse sneakers that I decorated for a local charity event. I had so much fun with them. I used my Crafty Chica® Tango Permanent Fabric Markers™ and the new Tulip Shimmer Fabric Paints that come out in stores next month. I outlined all the doodled designs with my main staple of life – 3D Black Slick Fashion Paint.

At the last minute before the shoes were picked up for the professional photographer, I decided to add some Crafty Chica® Charms™ for good luck.

By the end of the week, Theresa adopted a new doggie. Here is Scout. Say hi!! She is sweet, calm, relaxed and ready for a life of love. We babysat her already and she was so kind and full of licks and cuddles, just what my little sister needs. This picture is priceless, the smile on Theresa’s face says everything.  Doesn’t it look like Scout is hugging her back?

Last night I had my Uncle Frank’s birthday party and then today we leave at 6 a.m. to the Tucson Festival of Books.

– Saturday: Solo Presentation / Sat 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM/workshop 11:30-12:30
Nuestras Raíces Performance Stage
– Sunday: 9-9:30 am signing, Las Comadres booth/ 11:30-12:30 Maya in the Moment Workshop Nuestras Raices Stage/ 2:30-3:30 Breaking into the Business: From Writer to Author (Integrated Learning Center, Room 119)

March 19, VELMA TEAGUE LIBRARY (Authors @ the Teague), 7010 North 58th Avenue. 2 pm