Cold and Tired Friday

Today's challenge at SCS was to make a card that is clean and simple. It is easy to do, but hard to say you are finished. The urge to add ribbon to my card, or dew drops, or pop up the quote is strong and hard to resist. Never the less, here is my offering. I used the paertrey Ink det, Out on a Limb.

And yesterday the challenge was to ue alcohol inks. I broke out the Ranger ink and the StazOn and made a bunch of decorated dominoes. Now I have to decide whether to add necklace bails, or make them into pins or magnets. I love how colorful they are. I used a variety of Stampin Up sets that I have carefully collected through the years.

We had another two hour delay to school today. Scott let me sleep in a bit late and he drove the first batch of car pool kids to the Middle/Intermediate School. God love him.

I recently scored some cake from my friend Nana. You know that favorite neighbor kid you had growing up? Where the parents were nice, the cooking was better than your mom's and you always wanted to play at their house? Everything was just better at your friends' house? That's Nana, she is the keeper of the cool kids' house. She cooks, she bakes, she's sweet, she's the mom of your BFF. She saves a piece of cake or lasagna because she knows you love it. Nana is the best. I recently scored a few pieces of nana cake for my family and it was so good I nearly licked the plate clean. I am so glad Nana likes me, she is the best.

We will be going out of town for a baby shower tomorrow and I hope the weather holds for our day trip. For right now I am home about to snuggle in and have some tea.

Hell

This is one of those days that I dread. School was cancelled. Thankfully I didn't have any big plans for the day, because once the kids are underfoot, any plans for the day go right out the door. The kids woke up as early as usual and were immediately bored upon hearing there would be no school. The roads are covered and Noah especially wants to go to the park to go sledding. Uh, Dude, the roads are barely passable and the park is definitely a last resort as far as snow plows go so I doubt we could even get in. Let's just go check, he says.

A neighbor girl came to play, casually tossing her snow covered boots around the front door. She lasted about five minutes before she headed back out. Then she came back to entice Noah to go out for a snowball fight. I bet he wasn't out there for more than 30 seconds before he came in as mad as a hornet because a neighbor kid had tossed him face first into the snow. Seth is working quietly on transforming a cardboard box into a throne for his beloved penguin, Mumbles.

I layed a towel by the front door so whomever comes in and out can place their snowy boots there to melt. Right now no one is here, but I expect to have a house full of kids before lunchtime again. I am working on all the laundry I could find, which looks like about 4 loads and I have already done dish and trash and dog duty.

Thank Goodness for insomnia. I couldn't sleep last night so I got up and the challenge for the day was already posted so made a card early this morning. The paper is from Making Memories and the Motorbike Riley is from Hanna Stamps, of course.

Christmas Revisited

I didn't feel like playing in the Challenge on SplitCoast today and don't have anything new to post. Showing you pictures of the not yet cooked chuck roast in the crock pot didn't feel all that appetizing so I thought I'd post a never before seen in the blogosphere photo from Christmas.

In the days leading up to Christmas Seth wrote a note to Santa Claus that he left under the tree. He asked Santa to prove that he was real by taking a photo on our camera of Rudolph and Clarice. (Clarice is Rudolph's girlfriend if you don't know your North Pole trivia.) Scott took a photo of the outside of our home and used photo shop to make Rudolph and Clarice happen.

The Clarice in the photo is from Build A Bear and lives in Seth's room. On Christmas morning Seth found both the photo on the camera and the printed photo under the tree. Seth had apparently intended to get a photo of the real Clarice, but realized that his stuffed animal Clarice had been used because "Duh...Clarice doesn't deliver Christmas presents." he was satisfied.

I was more than happy with the effort Scott put forth to give Seth a very happy memory. Dads are so cool.

Today finds me wasting time cleaning and picking up. The kids will just get it all out again, but still, I try. Oh how I try.

Ahhhh, Vacation

I should really think twice before I try to combine challenges. last friday the SCS Challenge was to use the color black as a background color and the hanna Stamps challenge was to create a beach themed card. I made a snow globe so I could dream about warm weather vacation spots. Snow globes don't have to have snow in them after all, they can have sand.

I am thinking about creating a menu plan for my family and a rotation of meals that most family members will eat most of the time. I still seem to strike out on anything that everyone enjoys, there is always one whiner. Actually I disallowed whining years ago. You don't have to eat it, but you can't complain about it. Just sit at the table and make conversation and maybe nibble on the bread or make yourself a sandwich. I don't care, I just don't want to hear it. Mealtimes are more enjoyable, but still I always feel at a loss about what to cook. Maybe if I can just look at the schedule and say "Oh, crock pot chicken night" that will take the worry out of it for me. Of course, chili night in June won't be great for anyone, so I'll have to rotate it seasonally a bit.

Crafty

Stampotique has the cutest line of goth looking people, the one above is called Crafty. I love these images and want them all. Unfortunately the closest store to me that sells them is about an hour and a half away. Maybe that is good for my wallet, though. The challenge today was to take patterned paper and add some bling to it. I doodled on the circles in the large background papaer and added stickles to the yellow paper. It was sort of a "bling out your paper day."

Yesterday's challenge was to use the sketch provided and I used Travel Hanna on my card. Hanna Stamps is having a sale till the end of January, just use the code word SUPPORT and get 10% off your order. Everyone loves a sale, eh?

I pawned off the rest of the vegetable soup on an unsuspecting neighbor family. Even I did not want to see them on my table a third time. Who says I can't make leftovers disappear?

It is finally above freezing today so I got the car washed and the oil changed and I left the house to run some errands. I am going to sit and knit for a while before I have to go drive car pool.

Leftovers

It has been cold enough that I have not really wanted to leave the house, so I am using


the abundance that we have on hand to feed my family. As a mom I make every effort to supply vegetables to the family at dinner time. I don't know why, as I am the only one who eats them. Scott will occasionally eat a vegetable, but it always seems to me that he does it against his wishes. I save all the vegetables in the freezer and make vegetable soup every once in a while. Last night was soup night. I put all the veggies in the crock pot with some browned beef chunks and tomato juice. It tastes pretty good for leftovers, and if you like soup, you will love my leftover vegetable soup.

I have a great recipe for bread, too. It is good to have the ingredients on hand so you can always whip up a loaf when you need to add something to your meal to make it feel more like a meal. here is the recipe:

3 cups Self Rising Flour

3 Tablespoons Sugar

1 12 ounce can of beer

Yep, that is it. Mix it together and toss it in a loaf pan and cook it till it looks done. It will look lumpy when you put it in the pan, but don't worry. I started keeping cans of cheap beer on hand just so I can amke a loaf of bread when I want. It is similar to Tastefully Simple's Beer Batter Bread at about one tenth of their cost of their over priced loaf.

There isn't much going on with paper crafts at the moment, the kids have been home a couple of extra days from school due to the cold and I have been playing with them. They are at school today, but I am busy with Inaguration festivities (I can't move away from the TV.) The best Obama line from the inaugural speech went something like this " We will extend our hands if you will unclench your fist." Amen, brother. It is so good to have an orator in office, instead of the last guy who spoke English as if it were not his first language, and was always grasping for correct words.

Simple Day

I made this for the challenge on Splitcoast today, make a card as simple as possible for Valentines Day. The idea was to make it posible to replicate the card 20-30 times for a classroom full of kids and to use only the colors Kraft, Black, Brown, and Red. I tried not to add too many embellishments so it would really be do able, and I love it. very simple, yet pretty.

Schools were closed around here today. I really don't get it. I pay great big taxes and expect that the schools can afford to be heated. We are not the rural community we once were, so I really don't envision a bunch of farm kids waiting for bus stops by themselves in the freezing cold. For the most part the buses are fairly new, in good condition and run on time. I really don't want a four day weekend with the kids when it is too cold to send them out to play. School is closed due to the cold weather? I truly just don't understand it.

I delivered a meal to a friend who is having surgery this afternoon and the roads were fine. I even had enough casserole left to feed a neighbor family. I am working on laundry, have made some beds and played with the pets. I don't think the kids will snuggle in for a nap with me (HA!) so I need to go find my next challenge for the day.

Addictions

Although I have been on facebook for about a year, I finally have time to explore the site. This means I now have more than one friend and cannot stop myself from continually checking in to see what everyone is up to. Also, I check out my friends' pages to see what friends we have in common and occasionally "borrow" their friends so I can have even more friends.

Oh my, what a funtastic time suck this is. I am finding old friends all over the world, though. And I do mean THE WORLD.

I felt very puny Tuesday night and retired to bed early. Perhaps it was that I had homemade granola for breakfast, a snack of grapefruit, then a salad with grilled chicken for lunch. My body was obviously in revolt over the lack of fat added to it, and rather than use the fat I have so amply stored for just such an occasion, it sent me to bed until I could update my daily fat totals. I had some pizza last night and feel much better, thank you.

For those who don't live here, the weather said it was minus 4 this morning. the windchill was minus 29 and the high is expected to be zero. The wetaher report added that this was the coldest day of the year. I love stupid information like that, as the year is only 15 days old.

School started on a 2 hour delay, which oddly, means I only get one extra hour of sleep. I have to drive the morning car pool on delay days as Scott is already at work. Seth was not ahppy about the car pool issue but I bought his silence with a couple pieces of sausage and some OJ from McDonalds. That's right, a good mom has just the right bribe handy when needed.

As for Noah, gambling is all the rage among his fellow 6th grade clasmates as they have taken to playing Texas Hold Em on Indoor Reccess days. We have cards at home, but I have to go get some poker chips so he can get his own game set up. I hope his early gambling skills will help pay for college later.

Knitting Day

After a busy time of working on cards for Release Week for Hanna Stamps, I turned my attention to finishing the knitting I had started. The first hat I made (with Boku brand yarn found at my local yarn store for only six bucks) was claimed by Noah. I had some trouble finishing it as I had to alter the end of the pattern I used. Since I don't read patterns well, altering them is a challenge for me. The end result made the hat a bit too pointy at the end, but once on the head, the flaw thankfully diminishes although it does not completely disapppear.

Seth wanted a blue hat and again I used Boku. The yarn has a long color streak which allows for great stripes which softly flow together. The blue has just a hint of purple stripes in it, and since seth has a purple winter coat, it matches nicely. The yarn also has some green and brown and is very lovely. It is a shame that few people chose to wear hats as they are such an easy knitting project. Seth is also sporting his new glasses, which he LOVES.

I made this desk top set for the challenge on SplitCoast today. I used the appointed colors, Not Quite Navy, Bahama Breeze and Kraft. The stamps are from Papertrey Ink: Trajan Alphabet, Boreders and Corners Monigram Edition and Birds of a Feather. The box is a template from Lauren Meador and while I did not quite get it put together perfectly, I can call this a great learning experience for the next box I assemble. This will go to my mom for her birthday in March. She will neither notice nor care that it isn't exactly right. This is one case where it's helpful that she is not a crafter.

Happy Friday

Hanna Stamps released their new sets last night and one of the new releases is a bug set. It has a spider that will be great for Halloween, but for now I decided to stamp them onto some ecru dominoes I found a while ago at Dollar Tree. They make cute little nature magnets. Dominoes and Timber Brown StazOn, it couldn't be any easier.

The Hanna Challenge today is "Pink Banana Burgundy" which only makes sense if you know how Stampin Up labels their colors. Please don't make me explain. I used the Skiing Riley and added him to Ahoy Hanna for a long card. I wish I knew how to download the Kid Rock song about spending summers on Lake Michigan because this card brings that very catchy song to mind. Not so catchy that I ever learned the name of the song though.

I hope you all have a great weekend. We have nothing planned and do not expect to be eating any strange Ukrainian food. Seth is going to a knitting class tomorrow and I hope he catches on. he wants to knit so badly and I am not a patient teacher.

More of the Same

The challenge today was to use stars on your card. I went crazy. Mostly I make cards for women so once I broke out the stars today I couldn't stop. The image is Motorbike Riley and I put him at an angle like he is Evil Kneivel.

I used the Ahoy Hanna set for the lighthouse on the tile. In real life the ink is really black and not a shiny gray. I colored it in with copics and used a quote from Rubber Stampede. Even though the Release Party is 9 PM, I will have more Hanna creations for you tomorrow. Hanna has a card challenge on Fridays and I am ready!

It is beautifully snowy here today.It is the very light and fluffy stuff and it isn't sticking much. I love days like today. Seth wanted Wendy's for lunch, so I have to make a run to school today. Other thna that it is the same dinner/laundry/dishes/pick up around the house routine.

I had lunch with friends yesterday and my friend Steph said she did not like the Twilight movie, and said of the lead Vampire "He sucks as an actor." I thought she said "He sucks his own nectar." We laughed till we cried. I nearly fell off my chair I laughed so hard. I am sure that belly laugh added years back to our lives.

Beautiful Wednesday

I have very little time for chatter today. Noah forgot his homework and I have to run it to school for him. I was debating about letting him suffer through the day without it, but he called and asked for it, so I'll take it to him. I don't know how many times we tell him to put his homework away, he does not do it. Apparently Scott doesn't think to pack it, even though he sees it on the table, he just leaves it. Which suddenly makes Noah's homework my problem, and adds an extra errand to my day.

I wanted to finish this card for the SCS challenge of the day and I had another cow card to post. Someone stop me, the cow puns come so easy to me, I don't know if I'll be able to stop making cards with cows. The garden card is from Garden Hanna and the Cow is from Hay Hanna, which will both be available Friday from Hanna Stamps. Thursday night if you want to come to the release party on SCS. Don't forget the 10% off sale Hanna is having till Jan 31st., just use the code SUPPORT when you order.

It is a beautiful day here with a light snowfall and my friend Rebecca is taking the day off work so we are hanging out together. We are hoping to catch up with Steph for lunch. The West Wing is on, I catch two reruns every morning while I craft. I do love the West Wing, crafting and watching the snow fall. All that is missing is a steaming cup of hot chocolate. I could sit here and be happy all day, except that I have to run to Noah's school..but then I get to see friends and the fun really starts.

Cow Pokes

These cows are from a new Hanna Stamps set, Hay Hanna, which features sweet farm images. I couldn't resist the cow. I used the reversing block to make an extra cow so they could look at each other. I don't know who made the quote stamp, I picked it up at a rubber Stamp Show a few years ago. Don't forget to stop by the release part on SCS for free fun and prizes...Thursday 9PM.

Hanna Stamps is having a sale in the store till Janusry 31st. Type in the code word: SUPPORT and you can get 10% off your entire order. How cool is that?!



These little sweeties? I love their matching shirts. The smallest child belongs to my friend Steph. At first I thought we just shop at the same WalMart, then I realized my boys used to wear a lot of matching shirts and as they outgrew them the shirts got handed over to Steph's son. A few weeks ago I was babysitting Griffin and he and Seth just happened to have matching shirts on. I couldn't resist lining them up against the wall and getting their mug shot.

Dang

This is a Hanna Stamps Release Week so you will be hearing a lot from me this week. The challenge on SCS today is to add glitter to yur creations. Technically, I was supposed to do that in strips. I used a small label die to cut the blue background shape and I added sticky tape to the edges of the brown paper. I then added glitter to the brown background. I also added green bling to the corners, because it still felt like it could use just a touch of something else. I also added ribbon, dew drops, and a charm. The paper is from Scenic Route. There are a couple of glitters in the center of the flower, too.

The stamp is from a new Hanna's Garden set that will be released on Thursday night at the Hanna Stamps Release Party on SCS. It starts at 9 PM if you want to join the party.

I amazed by the number of you who had remedies to help get blood out of the carpeting. Please, don't tell me how you know so much about blood removal. I am a little bit scared.

The kids are back at school today. I had no problem packing lunches and kissing them goodbye.

Peace and Quiet

I made this for hand cream, and I like it better than what I made previously. I was unsure about these ball jars, Classic Elite. But they decorate easily and look pretty, too. The penguins are from memory Box and the words were made with a small SnapStamp set from Karen Foster.

I also made a Hanna card for the Friday Challenge. I followed part of the instructions and made it humorous, but I used the wrong sketch. I suppose I made it 50% correct, but that score is still an F no matter how kindly your grade. Oh Well. I tried and that is good enough for me today.

I was busted out of the shower this morning after Noah jumped on Seth (while still in bed) and Seth kicked Noah out of the bed. Noah was bleeding and left a bloody trail from the bedroom to the bathroom and I have been unable to get the blood out of the carpeting completely. I did what I do best and e mailed Scott asking him to get out the steam vac this weekend and work on this problem. I suspect he'll get right to it, like when I asked him to bring in the boxes so we could get the tree put away. Yeah. It is still up.

Tonight we are going to our Ukrainian friends' home for dinner. I made chocolate cake. Something didn't work right and it is one ugly misshapen cake, but I hope I iced it decently enough. The crumbs tasted good, so as long as it tastes good, we'll all be happy. I have yelled at the kids enough today that they are playing in another room, thus giving me some peace for the moment. School starts again Monday. WooooHooo!!