Back on Track

I made this for the sketch challenge today at SCS. I used a Hanna Stamps set, Pin Up Hanna and a quote from Papertrey Ink. The quote says "Life the life you have imagined." If my mom saw this stamp she would say "What life are you imagining, the life of a hooker?!" Regardless of my mother's opinions, I love this stamp set. I used some paper scraps I had around for the patterned paper.

I have been eager to try the lotion recipe that I found on SCS too. The recipe is: 8 oz Vitamin E Cream, 15 oz. Vaseline and 32 oz. baby lotion. You put it all in a metal mixing bowl and mix it up. Scoop it into jars with a metal spoon. If you don't use metal, you may make your plastic kitchen ware smell like lotion.

Although the recipe says baby lotion, any lotion will work. I used lotion from the Dollar Tree and Vit E Cream from Dollar General. The containers are from Gladware and I put the gingham ribbon around the lid with red sticky tape. I hope it holds, but I think with lotioned hands digging in and out, it may not be the best idea to put ribbon there. The jars looked plain without it though.

I also got some small Ball jars from Marsh, called Classic Elite and holding 8 ounces. They are not decorated yet, but will be cute, too, I think. I used all the non stinky ingredients I could find as I don't like smelly stuff, but it seems to have a light scent anyway, which is not at all overpowering, it is mild and pleasant.

We are going to a friends home for New Years Eve but I don't know if we'll make it to midnight as we really are not used to being night owls, having kids at home and all. Anyhow, I usualy don't like to be out with all the drunks on the road. I hope you all have a fun and safe night.

Stampin Tuesday

It's Tuesday and that means a color challenge at SplitCoast. The colors are Hunter, Burgundy and So Saffron. The hunter and burgundy colors have another name that goes with them, like Harvest Hunter or Baroque Burgundy, but I can't remember what they are exactly. The names that are used are from a company called Stampin' Up, if you have no idea what I am babbling about. The colors are sort of industry standards, or go to colors for the challenges. You can substitute the colors as you wish, as long as you stay in the same color arena. That's what I did, I tried to stay true but used background papaers from my scrap pile instead of SU colors. I added a few dew drops and some gingham ribbom. The stamp is from Jeanne Streiff, who is also on the Hanna Stamps Design Team with me.

Seth's friend Mike is here today. They spent the night at Nike's last night and I took the kids for the day. I fed four of us lunch today at Taco Bell for $14.09. Go me! Noah really wanted Panera, but I didn't want to bust the bank just buying sandwiches.

Thankfully there is leftover meatloaf from last nights dinner, so I am going to chop it up in tiny little pieces and pretend it is hamburger. Which it is, of course. I am going to boil whatever pasta I can find and add sauce and cheese and that will be dinner tonight. I love it when an idea to reuse leftovers makes dinner easy.

I am coming to the end of my cold (I hope) and feel much better today, but I may still lay down in front of the TV for a while.

Hanna Challenge

Now that the festivities of Christmas are over and all that is left is the Christmas explosion that has taken over my home, I thought I would ignore what needs to be done and make a card for this weeks Hanna Challenge over on SCS. The challenge was to use a Moose image with hanna accessories. I chose the Bikini Sophie stamp and the Genie Hanna set. I added a little belly button bling on Sophie but you can't see it very well in the photo.

I woke up on Christmas morning with a sore throat and have been fighting various degrees of a cold since then. I have been drinking juice, taking zinc and sleeping as much as I can. It is one of those colds that is just sloshing around in my head, affecting my hearing and giving me watery eyes and no sense of smell with mild congestion. Too much information? Sorry about that, I just want to share the misery, I guess. Scott went to work today so I am pretty much alone in my suffering.

Well, not really alone, the kids are here. But they don't care how I feel, so they don't count. They are only worried about where their next meal will come from. At this point, I am pretty sure it will come from fast food restaurant or a friend's house. I have a plan for dinner, though. It is meatloaf night. I have the hamburger thawing in the fridge and we'll have mashed potatoes and gravy, too. Mmmmm

Christmas Magic

I feel so guilty about posting a note telling you all about how fun Christmas was, and not posting any photographic evidence. You'll just have to believe me for me, I can't locate the camera.

The kids loved their squirt guns, marshmallow shooters and DS games, but the biggest hit might have been their flannel sheets and featherbed mattress pads. Okay, they aren't real feather beds, because I am allergic to down. I got them some kind of fake poofy mattress pad. The combination of soft, warm sheets and extra soft bedding made them actually WANT to go to bed and try out their new items. And best of all, they slept in till 9:30 this morning, which is unheard of around here.

I got some stamping stuff and Scott got some books and clothes and we had my parents visit for lunch. It was a nice day and I even snuck in a little nap. Then we went out for our traditional Chinese dinner. Mmmmm. I hope your day was as nice and quiet and soothing as mine was.

Oh, I almost forgot....I got a new phone. Yes, my 8 year old phone that does not even have camera capabilities was replaced Christmas morning with a phone that even has GPS and e mail. WooooHoooo!! Now we'll see if I can learn how to use it. I gotta learn to text, too. everyone else is doing it.

Christmas Joy

Any gift that looks like this:


Should not look like this when it is opened:

Seriously. What is Godiva thinking? I expected a box with perfectly segregated sections, each one softly entrusted to behold its own unspeakable wealth of a perfectly dipped chocolate pretzel. The whole pretzel in a bag thing? I can get that at Aldi Foods!

Poor Scott happened to mention the other day that one of the employees at work came into his office with a box of Godiva chocolates that another company had sent over with Christmas wishes. He sat the box out in a common area to be eaten. I was somewhat shocked that he had not politely regifted and given them to me. Shocked enough that I quizzed him all weekend about the chocolates that were left behind at the office. Would anyone be going to the office this weekend? Does the cleaning crew help themselves to food? How early could he get to the office on Monday to pick up the chocolates for me, before anyone else spied what I wanted him to do?

So, sweet man brought me home the box yesterday. It was a box of 8, and only one had been eaten. Thank God. Today he came home with the pretzels and I was expecting quite a delicacy. I am hoping they taste more appetizing than their initial appearance. I will eat the other box first and open these later, thus insuring optimal freshness.

I have taken the kids to see Bolt, took them out to eat twice in two days, have run errands with them, have been to the dollar store, Archivers , Michaels (twice!) and have now run out of ideas. Thankfully we are going to my parents tomorrow, if we should survive Christmas Eve day at home together.

They made cornucopias for the tree, as one of them read somewhere that it is tradition in some forgotten country and Santa leaves small gifts in them. Then Seth remembered that if you put food for the reindeer in your shoes, you get candy from Santa. The cornucopias will net them oranges and nuts and hard boiled eggs. The shoes will get them regifted leftover Halloween candy that I have around here somewhere. Greedy little boogers, won't they be surprised?! I tried to convince them the sleigh is loaded and Santa is officially closed but they don't believe it and I thought about letting their empty items remain empty, but couldn't be that big of a bitch in the end.

It's a Great Day for a Hot Bowl of Oatmeal

It is below zero here and wouldn't it be nice to wake up and have a hot breakfast? Too bad I used ALL the oatmeal in the house for Homemade Granola. My youngest just asked what we would leave out for the reindeer this year. Uh...well, not the usual oatmeal. I hope Rudolph likes Granola!

I used Ball jars I had on hand, recycled other jars, I even had saved some Prego spaghetti sauce jars this year. Oatmeal for everyone! Here is the recipe if you want it:

3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/3 cup Oil
1/3 cup Honey
5 cups Oatmeal
1/2 cup Dried Milk
1 t. Cinnamon

Mix Brown Sugar, Honey and Oil in a small pan on the stove and cook till sugar dissolves.
Spray a 9x13 pan with non stick spray and put Oatmeal, Cinnamon and Milk Powder in pan, mix.
Add hot syrup to the pan and mix.
Cook in 350 oven for 10 minutes. Mix and let cool. It helps to mix a couple times while it is cooling so it doesn't clump togetehr too much.

Store in an airtight conatiner and it will last a very long time. Seriously, when is the last time you had spoiled granola? You can add 1/2 cup Raisons, Nuts, etc after it is cooled if you wish.

One batch of Granola will fill 2 of the 1Quart size bags or two Ball/Prego jars.

At this point the kids are seriously interested in getting their gufts and Christmas cannot come soon enough for them. As for me, I like the anticipation.

ObamaRama

I have several friends who are Obamaniacs so when I saw the SCS Callenge to make quick and easy gift idea, I knew what I could do. I used the scalloped circle, pre cut, that I got in a pack of 6 at Archivers. I punched a photo of President Elect Obama from Newsweek and punchd out the same sized circle of Adhesive from an adhesive sheet. I attachhed the adhesive to the photo, then the photo to the back of the plastic scalloped circle. I added bling and ribbon, and there ya have it! Tree Art. Super quick and easy.

There isn't much going on lately. I am finishing up Christmas shopping, the baking is done,I have the Christmas ham, and today was the last day for painting with Maria. I guess I can nap till next week.

But then there is dinner to make. I get so tired of it. Today may just be a breakfast night, with waffles and eggs. I am not feeling mootivated to do much else, but I should open the freezer and see what falls out. Maybe there is a better idea in there. Let's hope so.

Last But Certainly Not Least

My friend Stephanie made this for me for Christmas and I have not hung it on the wall yet. I do have the perfect place for it, but I have to remember to get ahold of both a nail and a hammer at the same time. It is too cold to go searching through Scott's tools in the garage, so maybe it is with kindness that the memory fails me when I am in the garage.

Steph made these for us, but personalized them a bit for each of us. Mine is full of bling, which I adore. She does know me well. The colors are gorgeous in real life, it is just my photo taking abilities that look awful.

Today was a quiet day, I crafted a bit, and went to the grocery store. It is hamburger night tonight, per Seth's request. I should not worry about a menu much, I should just ask Seth what he is in the mood to eat. He always has an idea and it takes the weight of dinner stress off of me. I had lunch with some friends and made it home in time to give Noah an afternoon snack . That boy comes in and the first thing he looks for is food. I think he talks a lot and lunch and doesn't eat much at school. The theory is proven by his full lunch bag that he brings homeeveryday.

It is cold and snowy now, so I am going to make some hot chocolate and wait inside for Seth to arrive.

Christmas Glory

I am busy with the full swing of Christmas in all its glory. I have been shopping and wrapping and baking. Oh, and creating. The necklace and bracelet set are a new idea that I have been playing around with for a couple of weeks now. They are more organic than planned out. You pick a couple of opaque colors and nice dark ivory and swirl the colors together with the help of gravity. The set is going to Mary, who is Scott's Sunday school teaching partner. For years he has had teachers assigned to him who don't show up, don't care, don't want to do it. But Mary comes, and leads and is relieable, lovable, and happy to be there. Her husband is a full time artist (painter) so I think she will really like what I made for her. Plus, I sure don't want to teach Third Grade Sunday school, so I think Mary deserves a great present.
This Obama card and Christmas tree ornament are for my friend Stephanie. Sorry about the glare, I cut the photo out of Newsweek and they use glossy paper, so it shines a bit.

Mr. Obama looks good in real life in my ornament, even if he doesn't look clear in the photo. It's caused by the reflection and of the glue tape on the back of the clear acrylic. I made the ornament out of a clear acrylic block (think clear stamp holder) and a piece of an adhesive sheet. The gingham ribbon also frames the outside of the ornament. Seth was with me when Steph got her gifties today and he asked me "Mommy, did you see when Miss Stephanie got her gifts that she did a happy dance?" She sure does love our President Elect, as well as surprise presents.

Lastly, this ornament was a gift from my friend Rebecca in our Homemade Christmas exchange. I have never seen this done before, so you know I want to try it. She explained that she used a regular round ornament and put Sculpey clay around it. She added the face, made also from Sculpey and cooked it in the oven. I am amazed, and have been thinking of the possibilities ot ornaments I can make now. She also gave us some yummy Sugar Cookie mix, which I used before I took any photos. Whoops!

Tell me what you are making for Christmas. Or what you are giving, if you have something fun or surprising on your list for someone. I could still use ideas. I am never realy ready to stop with Christmas till Dec 26th!

Homemade Christmas

Look, I made a card this week....Really I did. I haven't fallen off the card making wagon all together. This was for a sketch challenge at SCS. The igloo and quote are from Amuse and the Penguins are from Memory Box.

And below is a canvas my friend Stephenie made for me last year for our Homemade Christmas exchange. I loved it so much I have been begging for more all year. Sorry about the glare, I really need better photography skills.

So when my birthday came, she said she would make me another. But then she didn't get to it. I was hoping for another canvas for Christmas. Instead I got two! I got so lucky this year. And I am very, very happy.

One is for Christmas and one is for my birthday. Now the pressure is on for Stephenie, because one season is still missing and I need it. I have the perfect spot where I want to hang them all. I hope she feels the pressure is on and gets to creating. i don't want to wait another year. Maybe I'll tell her Valentine's Day is a perfect day to show your friends how much they mean to you.

Scott laughs because I call them "the Stephanies and Rebecca." But what is a girl to do when she has two friends who have the same name? Well, almost. One is Stephanie and one is Stephenie, but they pronounce their names the same even though the spellings are different. Our circle expanded when Katie moved here from Maryland this year. She and Stephanie have been friends since Kindergarten and she is a mad crafter, too. I feel so lucky to have such skilled friends.

(And Lynn, I am still waiting to see what you are making me. Christmas is coming!)

Great Gifts

It is apparent to me that I will have to showcase just a couple of items at a time for you from the Homemade Christmas Exchange. If I show everything at once, I'll have a very photo heavy post and nothing to write about for the rest of the week. You, my dear readers, will have nothing to read for the rest of the week. Nothing to comment on when you come here. No small doses of daily inspuration. Yes, it's much better if I tease you with a small glimpse at a time.

I am posting gifts in no particular order. Well, some of the gifts do require an appropriate place on the wall. That means I can post their photos when I get to them. This item, up first, is crying for a place in my purse. I needed to take a photo of it, before I put it away and it gets lost forever in the bowels of my black handbag. That's not exactly true, I am a minimalist and carry very few items along with me. I have a trial size hand cream, some lipstick, a green bag, a wallet. And coupons. Always coupons. And I am always losing them, and searching for them. But not now, Dear Friends!

Katie made me this great holder for my purse. I plan to use the clear side pocket for my coupons. I can put hand cream and lipstick inside the carrier so they don't roll around and get lost or hidden in the depths of the blackness of my purse. And the little clip on the side?! I just love it. I can clip it in place and know immediately where my beloved essentials are. WoooHooo I love ths gift! You can visit Katie at Blue Kitty Designs to order one of these, or one of her other designs. Look her up, she's got really cool handmade gifts, and you know you want some.


This card is from Stephenie. She is such an original artist and her designs always blow me away. She can always come up with things I would never think of on my own. I just love this design. It is so perfectly Christmas. Steph also gave me some handcrafted wall art that I will showing off later in the week. I cut and measure and match everything to a fault and Steph just crafts away, very out of the box to my thinking and comes up with some of the best designs ever. Prepare to be very impressed as the week goes on.

The Advent Season

This is for a Hanna Stamps Challenge, to make card with Hanna dancing. A couple of the more recent releases lend themselves well to Hanna being a dancing lady, so I decided to be different

and use an older set, Rainy Days. I decided Hanna could be dancing in the rain. Can you tell I am tired of cold weather and ready for Spring?

Yesterday we started with a trip to "early church", which means going to the 8:30 AM service. It was a Communion service and the kids were well behaved, which made it wonderful. I felt relaxed and rested and ready for the week. That's a good thing as we rushed home after Sunday School so I could cook lunch for some of my best girlfriends.

I made chicken tettrazini (so very yummy if I do say so myself!) and spinach salad. My friends brought cheesy bread and chocolate cheesecake. We had our Homemade Christmas gift exchange. This is my favorite day of the year! I really look forward to seeing what everyone makes. I'll have to post photos of what I recieved later. Let's just say I was thrilled! We all got lots of good things and I loved every last bit of it. Usually we meet at a restaurant, but we decided to do it at my house this year. It was nice and relaxing and non-rushed.

I ran out the door afterwards to go back to church for the Advent Party. It is a pitch in, so I took more salad and the kids played games, did crafts, saw Mary and Joseph, and sang Christmas Carols. I am in a festive mood, now. Watch out everyone, I may just carry some mistletoe in my pocket and give everyone a big kiss when I greet them. Christmas is coming and I say, Bring It On! I Am Ready!!

Bling Brings Me Joy

I used stamps from papertrey Ink this morning to creat my challenge card. I haven't posted it over at SCS though. I keep thinking I can do something better with this. The challenge is to make a monochromatic card using only snowflakes for embellishments. No patterned paper, and the sentiment can only be one word. This card is full of bling, which looks good in person but looks like a cheap prostitute once photographed for the internet. You can barely see the word, Joy. The paper is from Doodlebug Designs and has snowflakes embossed on it.

Today will be a fun day. The kids have a half day of school and I am meeting my friend Rebecca for lunch before the house fills with children. I have some painting set aside to work on, but I don't know if I'll get to that. We'll probably go out for dinner as Noah has a friend spending the night and we like to take him out. He is a gracious and kind child so we like to spoil him a bit. I did give the Guinea pigs a bath. Scott found a video on bathing them on YouTube, so I tried it out. They did well and are squeeky clean fresh today. Maybe next time I will use the blow dryer (on low) as they stayed damp so long I thought the little sweeties might catch a cold.

A Much Quieter Day

The challenge of the day was to incorporate an envelope into your card/project design. I took the challenge quite literally and decided to showcase the happenings of two envelopes if they are interlocked together. The front (above) is made to open when the ribbons are untied.

Once you open the project you will find the two envelopes have created pockets inside the card. If you want to make a matching set, once you decorate the front you can put matching smaller cards an envelopes inside. I put a Hanna Card on the inside to show how the pockets look, but I plan to make little coupons for my husband for Christmas. The Hanna card is coming out from the right side of the holder, the left side is slightly hidden, but is holding envelopes.

Join us for the Release of new Hanna sets tonight on SCS at 9PM and you can see what the other Design Team members have made, too.

Today was quiet, I started with painting at Maria's house, which is always nice and relaxing. Before I knew it, we'd left the house and were out shopping at Costco. I got some gift cards there which helped cross some people off my Christmas list. Who knew Costco sold discounted gift cards? It was like discovering something new and wonderful in the universe for me.

I also had lunch with Scott and I am hoping I do not still smell like the Indian buffet. He loves to go there so we go a lot for lunch. Me? I like Max and Erma's across the street. I just prefer to sit down and be waited on, I guess. Dinner will be easy tonight as I am only warming up Ravioli that I got at Costco. I wrapped some presents today and the kids are playing nicely in the house. Okay, there are 5 kids in the house, but they are not near me, so they must be doing okay.

Whirlwind

Whew. I made this card for the challenge of the day. It's a sketch challenge on Wednesdays so I had to go by their example and see what I had to work with. I used a combination of the two new hanna sets, pin Up and Belly Dancer. I would give this card to my husband, but I just don't feel like it right now.

I had a busy, busy day. I got up early to get this card made and ran out the door as soon as Seth got on the bus. His school has a public forum to celebrate the kids who are on Honor Roll and who have won a Guiding Principle Award. You have to embody one of the five Guiding Principles which are Honesty, Respect, Hard Work, Responsibility, and something else. I never can remember them all. He won for Hard Work. He also got a pencil for having perfect attendance. It's all craziness to me, but the school does it, and as long as Seth gets some award, I try not to mind sitting shoulder to shoulder with other parents in a hot packed auditorium/cafeteria.

Then I had to go meet my mom for some Christmas shopping and lunch. I got home right before Seth got off the bus. I let her drive, which I may never do again. She tried to pass a big truck on the right side just as the lane merged, then she gave a lecture about his bad driving. I am alive, and it was her money spent shopping, so once a year the kids can get gifts from "Santa."

Scott came home early, which NEVER happens, but it was just to complain about work and employees. We ate a fast dinner and I am off to Stamp Camp tonight. I hope I get to sit down tomorrow.

When Moose Hit The Road

Today the color challenge at SplitCoast is to use Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla and Black. Not quite Christmas, but it works for me. The van and RV stamps will be released Thursday night at the Hanna Stamps Release Party. I added a little to the two stamps, a golf club tied to the top of the van, a martini in hand of the moose, some clouds in the sky. This should be a reminder to all of you who camp, don't leave your vehicles unlocked, you never know what might happen.

Scott worked hard to get outside lights up for us. I found Seth in the living room putting up the Christmas tree. He said Dad was too tired to do it, so he decided to do it himself. He did it right, too.When I went to look for Scott, this is what I found. Yep, he was laying around while his kid did all the work!

The house is decorated inside and out. Now, if only we could get some shopping done!

Self Portrait

This is a new set from Hanna Stamps. Doesn't it look just like me?

Okay, maybe not. But many of you who read my blog don't know what I look like in real life. A girl can dream, can't she? Hanna Stamps will be releasing three new sets and two new Riley Moose stamps on Thursday at their Release Party. This is just one os the sets to come. You have to admit it's fun. Maybe I'll make Scott a little card with it. HeeeHeee

This is a real picture of my house. I woke up for church yesterday and we had gotten a light dusting of snow. The snow was still falling when I took the photo. Actually, the snow is still falling right now, but it is not giving us more than just little fairy like flakes with little accumulation. It did put me in the Christmas spirit. I went out to shop at Target. I came home with mostly nothing once again. Unlike my friend Lynn, I did not lose that lovin' feelin while standing in line, and I came home happy to have hot cocoa and watch the snow fall.

Seth made a snow dog and insisted that I post it on the blog. We are proud of his crazy little artistic self.

Since this is release week, I'll be updating a lot, so I'll see you soon.

The Christmas Scrooge

I made this card for a sketch challenge a few days ago for SCS. Everyone over there is worried about getting started on Christmas cards. Me? Not so much. But this will put me ahead of the game for Fourth of July preparation. The image is from Inky Antics and the patterned paper is from Paper Source.

I did venture out to Michaels today. I had a coupon for 25% off my whole purchase, including sale items. Unfortunately, very little was on sale. I did score some Boku yarn at my local yarn shop. Now I am all ready to knit hats....if only they could find the hat pattern I want. Seriously, they have a cool hat on display, but no one seems able to find the pattern and I have been asking them about it for a week now.

Scott spent the day putting up outsode lights. I just don't get it. It's a lot of work in cold weather and you can't see them from inside your own house. I guess the neighbors enjoy them. I don't know, the closest neighbors to us don't decorate so it isn't like this is reciprocating action. I have always felt pretty good if we get a tree up. The kids love to decorate the tree and see the lights both in and out of the house. As for me....well, Christmas has just never been my thing.

Don't get my wrong. I love the love and kindness of the season and the highlight of the year will be exchanging homemade Christmas presents with my favorite girlfriends. I like Christmas carols, too. I even love to bake. Maybe it's the excess of the season I don't love.

Noah is of an age where he is hard to please and that will make him much less pleasant to be with this year. Maybe I will just give him money and gift cards, which is what he is asking for. But I have to be able to come up with a few toys or items he'll love. There has to be something the boy wants and I hope like hell I can find out what that would be.

Anyhow, it's the official start of the Christmas season and Scott is doing what he can to make my home a festive place. He is a good man who tries hard. I should be much more appreciative.

The Good Wife

Before I dazzle you with my life story: Look! I made more art! This was for the Hanna Stamps Challenge to make a bookmark with Read My Tee Hanna. I made one earlier, but really didn't like it. Not only did I improve on the bookmark, I used the color challnge colors at SplitCoast, so more people would pull it up and see it. If you compete in one of the challenges, more people are likely to view your work and comment on it. This makes me feel like at least somebody saw what I did and I am not in this world alone, holed up in my basement/cave creating alone.

My kids went to see the Lion King last night. It was one of those Broadway on tour shows that costs an arm and a leg. My mother bitched and moaned at me for a while to get tickets, as she knew the boys wanted to see it. Unfortunately, my kids want a lot of stuff they will never get, and this was one example. We did look for tickets, but we needed reasonably priced tickets for a night that was not a school night and that just never happened. So my mom broke down and bought the tickets and took the grandchildren (the boys have two girl cousins). Everyone had a great time.

Scott and I had dinner out at Red Robin. Neither of the boys really likes to go there. We don't know why. Then we went to the new James Bond movie. I don't know what possessed me. I hate James Bond. Always have, probably always will. But Scott wanted to see it, and I hated to go home and just watch TV of our choosing, instead of some cartoon channel. I had "Date night" and didn't want to waste it. I did not enjoy the movie, but complained NOT ONE BIT. I am after all, trying to be a good wife. Scott enjoyed the movie and I enjoyed the scenery of the places Bond travels to.

Tomorrow we will be home all day, while we await going to my parents for 5PM dinner. It's late to me, but that's the way it is. I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving Day as well.

Guinea Pig Fun

Noah wanted a guinea pig and we were lucky to find Steph's sister in law Alaina, who had 2 who could go to a good home. Above is Pearl and below is Emerald.

This little piggy is so stinkin cute and the photo does not do her justice. Noah has renamed her Emily, and she loves to cuddle. Actually they both do. These two are the loves of Noahs life and I don't know when they sleep, hopefully when Noah does, as he often has one or both with him around the house. He even picked up some poo today. It's a small vistory for me, but a happy one.

I survived Noah's birthday party and about 10 12 year old boys who came storming through my home. We made flubber, we buried treasures in plaster, opened presents and had cake and ice cream. That was the first hour, and we had planned on the kids being here for two hours. The second hour they just played with the piggies. Thank God for small favors, because I was all out of ideas!

I finished the Hanna I started for Hanna Challenge #44 over at Splitcoast. The challenge was to make a scene card. I made Hanna in her kitchen. This is really me, whenever I am in the kitchen, my dog is underfoot. I really like the monogram I addeed to her apron, it's so Bree Van de Kamp-ish. (Forgive me if you don't watch Desperate Housewives and understand the reference.) The paper is from Flair Designs and the punch is from Martha Stewart, appropriately enough.

Happy is she who knits

I have to hope you didn't come here for the knitting pictures. I could give them to you, but they are unfinished projects and not that interesting to show off. Having unfinished socks going did not stop me from going to my local yarn store today. I went in search of a certain yarn for a scarf project. They lead me astray by showing me the perfet yarn for a hat. And I bought it. Anybody else got ADD and the attention span of a gnat when it comes to crafting? How that happened to me, I'll never know! But I have to finish the sock before I start the hat, so my knitting will all get going again.

It all started with these cookies this week. I made five dozen Snickerdoodles. I fell like if it is worth doing, it is worth doing big, so most of my cookie recipes I make in triplicate. I kid you not. We gave some away and the kids ate most of them. Look what's left, only five.

So yesterday I made Apple Pie. Yeah. It's one of those frozen ones, but I had to thaw the Dutch Crumb Topping and add it all by myself.

S we ate almost half a pie last night. But tomorrow we are celebrating Noah's birthday and a bunch of 12 year old boys are coming over. That calls for cake. Chocolate Cake. Homemade. MmmmmGood.

So if you don't hear from me this weekend, I'll be here, just sleeping off the sugar coma.

The Christmas Creep

We are all experiencing it, Christmas is creeping up and I know of no one who is prepared for it this year. Want some homemade granola? That's all I got for ya so far!

Tomorrow is Twin Day at school and Seth has no one who will dress like him, so he is worried/bothered/freaking out. You also have to send in two cans of food for Dress Up days. I wish I'd been prepared and bought something the food pantry could actually use. So far it's beans and soup from my house. I learned long ago not to send in food in boxes, like mac and cheese, because it gets crushed under the cans.

I have no plans for dinner and wish I did, I usually have something cooking or thawing or preparing at this pint, but today my mind is empty. Maybe it will be pizza night. Everyone here loves the delivery of pizza and breadsticks.

I have been painting with Maria this week and last, but don't have anything back from the kiln to show you. Painting takes many layers and coats of paints. so it feels like it takes forever to finish any project.

I am looking for a giant jug of Elmers Glue. Noah is having a birthday party on Saturday and wants to make goo/flubber. Don't even get me started on why the boy had a birthday in August and is only now having a party. Flubber only takes borax and glue. I have the borax. I thought I could get glue at Hobby Lobby, or WalMart, or Michaels, So far, no luck, only small containers. Joann's tomorrow is my only hope or I will be going door to door in the neighborhood borrowing everyone else's glue. If I happen to contact you, know I am not sniffing the stuff, I really do have craft plans.

Dear Auntie

Dear Auntie,

No, I am fine, thank you very much. I just don't have much to say. My arms are so tired from carrying other people's purchases. I think my left arm is still longer than my right one. I did reply to your email, but I used your work address, even though I shouldn't. I don't trust that you check your home address daily.

And after NCIS there is nothing good on TV tonight. I don't like Tuesday nights.

I made pot roast and gravy and mashed pototoes for dinner. I put roast in the crock pot and cook it all day long so at dinner time it is so nice and juicy and fall off tender. MmmmMmmmmmGood. Then Seth needed to go to WalMart and get "Baby boy item" for the Giving Tree at school. We chose a nice warm outfit and then stopped at Dunkin Donuts so the boys could pick out some breakfast items. If I were ever going to eat myself sick it would be on Apple Cinnamon and Bavarian Cream donuts. Oh so delicious! And they have a very tasty Pumpkin donut right now, Oh My Goodness, don't get me started on the delicious flavor and real spices I can taste inside every moist mouthful.

The sad news is that the father of Kristi, the owner of Hanna Stamps, passed away today. He had a massive heart attack on Friday and could not recover from the time without oxygen. They had a Priest come this moring, then they removed life support. Our hearts are breaking for her, and we hope that anyone who has an order to be sent out will understand she is a one man band with her small business.

Homecoming

I was out of town this weekend with my friend Jenny. Her sister Susan had a birthday and wanted to go outlet shopping so we went to Ohio and shopped all day Saturday. Let me tell you, those ladies can shop! I got some nice warm socks, some pajamas for Seth, some gloves for me. Sad as it may sound to some, I am so happy to have some new warm socks. Usually my socks are a bag of 6 for five bucks at walmart-or some ridiculous price like that. This time I bought pretty socks. The kind you pick out one pair at a time. Oooohhh La La. I am a a simple girl and easy to please.

Mostly I carried people's bags. Jenny said "You know, I never spend money like this." But really she does. I have seen her shop before, and if I am never going to let myself spend money with wild abandon, at least I know someone who can! She taught the boys at their local elementary school, and her husband will soon be a doctor. She deserves to spend all the money she wants. I did have a good time and we spent the night at a hotel and came home Sunday. It was nice to eat out and not have kids around. But, I did not read or knit as much as I had hoped. I was a team player.

I came home, and no one seems to have noticed I was gone. The house was clean enough and the kids were fine. The dog and Seth did miss me, and that was nice. I did call on the way home and ask Scott what kind of shape the house was in. I don't enjoy a messy home and really don't want to come home to one.

The card above was made for the Friday Hanna Challenge at SCS. It was sketch challenge, and I used paper from Basic Grey. The man is "Anthony" and the dog is from one of the dog sets, I can't remember which one. Well, there are three dog sets, how can I remember? I am getting older everyday!

I did buy a couple of surprise presents for friends while I was gone. Lynn, did you hear that? Something is for you, and it's not homemade. Get your smile on. You are going to pretend to love it.

Slump

Maybe I am in a slump. I haven't stamped much lately. I do a little something everyday, but some things are for holiday presents so I cannot show them.

Mostly I am wishing Seth realized he has two parents. He keeps tracking me down and asking me questions, when I am clearly busy/preoccupied and his dad is sitting right next to him upstairs. I keep sending him away to ask his dad. Seriously. I know he likes me, but I am not the only capable one in the house.

I am just checking in so you know I am fine. The stamps above are from Rubbernecker and the paper is from a DCWV pack.

Normal Day

There's just not much happening here. It is a nice quiet day. The weather went from warm and hospitable to cold. Overnight. We usually have some cooler days move in and let you know that winter is coming. We had none of that this year. Just all of a sudden. Bam! It's freakishly cold! I don't like it so much.

I did get a scarf at a friend's jewelry party though, and have been wearing it ever since. It matches my coat and makes me look like I have some style. At least till I take my coat off and you can see I don't. It's only a little silky thing, but it sure does help keep the cold out. I guess my mom was right. Is it too late to call her and thank her for her advice from 30 years ago, which I have just now found to be true?

But I can't call my mom right now. She is in Paris. My afraid to fly mother (seriously afraid, she took classes to overcome her fear) drugged herslf up (I'm just guessing, she said she would) and got on a plane with my dad to Paris. My dad gets in one good trip a year, always by himself or with a group. For the first time EVER my mom decided to go. They fly into our brand spankin' new airport tomorrow and I will hear about the good and the bad soon after that.

The top photo is of a bookmark I made for a Hanna Stamps Challenge. We are to use this set, Read My Tee, and make a bookmark. Bookmarks are not my thing, so by being one of the first to show what they have made, I have ensured everyone else that they could be winners, because it sure would not be me.

I made a little Riley Moose pendant to wear. I saw a tutorial on SplitCoast and thought I would try it. On SCS they melted ultra thick embossing powder and glazed the stamped image. I didn't have a melter thing, so I used a couple coats of clear craft varnish. I decided it would not be thick enough so I then coated it in Glossy Accents, front and back. I coated one side and waited for it to dry before coating the other. Still not sure, I sealed it with Krylon Triple Thick Spray. I added a pin to the back with glossy accents and plan to wear this on my coat till thanksgiving.
Despite the fact I made this harder on myself than I had to, I like it, and it is thick enough to wear. I may make a variety of moose for the holidays. I do like how it turned out.

Misery

Tonight finds me recovering from food poisoning so this will be a quick post before I go back to bed. Seth wanted to go to Fazoli's for lunch yesterday and I have spent the last 30 hours or so paying for it. I am better now and no longer praying for a quick end to the misery.

I thought I would divert your attention to two Hanna Challenges I posted on Friday at SCS. Above is an answer to Candice's sketch challenge and below is an entry to the non traditional baby card.

See? Baby Moose is sick so his friend Bedtime Moose packed up a bunch of toys and brought them over for a visit with his friend. The toys and wagon are from Hanna's Vintage Toys set and the birdie is the parrot from Pirate Hanna. I stamped them and cut them added and put them together and popped them all up on pop dots. The white paper is scored to resemble wall board, you just can't tell in my photo but it is a cute room scene if you see it in person.

Tomorrow Scott and I are both getting our teeth cleaned so I don't know if I'll have time to create anything in the morning before I go. Normally before I go to the dentist I am really good about flossing for weeks in advance so it's not so obvious that I forget to do it most of the time. Not this time, the visit sort of snuck up on me and I am sure I will get a lecture about my poor dental hygeine habits.

Reality Bites

I made this with my Riley and Sophie Moose collection. Can you tell I have been married for nearly 20 years? I used the words before and after from the Hanna Stamps Thansgiving set. I stamped my moose moose, colored them in, then cut them out. They are attached to the card with pop dots to add some dimension and life to the poor moose.

I have ironing to do, mainly because I never get anything out of the dryer in a timely fashion. When I get to the dryer, it all cold and crumpled in there. I am torn between turning it on and heating it up to get some wrinkles out and realizing what a waste of energy that might be. Someone please tell me that the extra time in the dryer uses the same amount of energy as a quick steam with the iron.

Today is all about cleaning. Laundry, Kitchen cleaning, vaccuuming. Most of all clutter busting. Where does all this paper come from? Egads! I have piles all over the house. I will take a break for the Hanna Release Party at 9PM on SCS tonight. Come join the fun and see if you can win prizes.

The Winds of Change

This is a new Riley Moose from Hanna Stamps available tomorrow at the hanna party on SplitCoast. I made the card for the Sketch Challenge today. The quote says "Chocolate is the answer" and is from Amuse. I love the little quote stamp so I am sure you will be seeing it everytime I have some a chocolate themed card. It just makes me smile.

Today though, democracy is the answer. Except in Alaska, where I hear they re elected convicted felon Ted Stevens. (Is that his name? It suddenly doesn't seem right.) Having been to Alaska I can only say, people there certainly are their own breed. Years ago there were lots of news stories that there were a lot of single men available in Alaska. When I was there I saw T shirts that siad "The odds are good, but the goods are odd. Never were there truer words. Scott loves the Alaskan wilderness. He longs to go back. Me? Leave me on a Hawaiian beach.

Let's just say the last two states added to the union give us both reasons to be happy. Was it Eisenhower who brought them to us? Best thing a Republican President ever did. They are both great vacation destinations.

As for lunch yesterday, it was decent. The other ladies claimed to love it. Love it very much. It was resonably priced and I had chicken. There was no red meat to be found on the menu. Mrs. Ukraine ordered soft shell crab. I had bever seen anyone order it before so I had to watch her eat. You just put the whole crab piece, shell and all in your mouth and chew. Hmmmm. I was born and raised here in Indiana and we are not known for seafood. I am very willing to try new food places, mostly so I can see what other people eat. Me? Not so adventurous about food really. I blame my upbringing, which I am in no real hurry to overcome.

Follow Your Destiny

This is my offering for the daily SCS Challenge. The colors to use today are : Kiwi Kiss, Red Riding Hood and Pixie Pink. I used paper from Daisy D's and Stampin Up. The image is from Hanna Stamps, a new set called Read My Tee. I added some images from the Travel set, the Eiffel Tower in the background and the camera in her hand. The blueish paper looked like sky to me so I used it in the background. The Hanna in this set looks like Kristi to me, the owner of Hanna Stamps and seeing her smiling face will make me want to use this set all the time!

I feel like I should mention that it's Election day. I voted last week so after I got Seth on the bus I went straight back to bed. Now I have to go meet friends for lunch at a sushi place. My friend Mrs. Ukraine wants me to meet some people she knows. I put on my prettiest shirt and have to find some jewelry to add bling to my ordinary-ness. After all, I am making a first impression and I know I can spice up whatever I am wearing.

The weather is beautiful and I am ready to go out and see the world. Though I am praying for some real meat on the menu besides sushi. It's just not my thing. If I have to get dressed up and go out, I better find some red meat!

Flurry of Activity

This is the start of anew Release Week over at Hanna Stamps, so you should see a lot of new posts and cards from me this week. I am starting with Get Well Hanna. I love the little accessory stamps so I had to incorporate them as well. This will be one of those great sets that I will love having on hand. I am deficient in Get Well stamps so this will see a lot of use. I colored it with copics and used a sheer ribbon, so as not to cover up too much of the design.

Seth was Elphaba from Wicked for Halloween. You may know her by her other name, the Wicked Witch of the West. His nails are still green and he is quite happy about that. He got quite a lot of candy even though he was out with Scott who did not feel well all weekend. He arose from the half dead and was able to make it to work today.

Noah was Obi Wan Kenobi. I think I counted seven Star Wars lasers in my house, so I know I am safe from an enemy invasion. Look out Storm troopers! Noah hit every house in the neighborhood, despite the fact he felt two hours was not long enough for Treak or Treating. He even had time to stop and make S'mores at a neighbors home, they had their fire pit out and were cooking up a storm for the kids.

I am babysitting my friend Steph's kids today and as an added bonus, made a batch of Turkey Tetrazini, half of which will go to her house for dinner. I even baked a cake so I can get the kids high on sugar before sending them home. Don't worry though, it is only a cake from a box but it does have some kickin' sprinkles all over it!