Weekend Progress

In addition to cleaning my room, I got a little bit of my sewing and crafting mojo back and finished up a few lingering projects and finished up a few lingering swaps:)

Here's some sneak peeks at what I accomplished this weekend:

My layouts for Saturday and Sunday - only 4 more days to this challenge! I can't wait to add up all the pages I have completed. What an awesome experience the LOAD challenge has been! Even if I don't win the grand prize it has ALL been worth it!!


Itty Bitty Valentines - two are heading to my partner and one is heading to the host - I won't say which is which right now:)

Owl covered notebooks for a flickr swap:
I made two extras which may make an appearance in my little neglected shop

Pay it Forward gifts finally done:
Little mini (like 12 x 12 ) quilts - aren't they cheerful???!! These will be mailed sometime this week.

I finished up my Hanging Heart swap too - I'll post photos of that after the package arrives.

Up next on my to do list are Valentine's cards!!! I want to send out a whole bunch this year so if you would like one, please email me your address at raeshadrz at yahoo dot com

Nice Dresser

I deep cleaned my bedroom today - I kid you not, I have not seen the top of this dresser since November. And see those frames on the left? They've been empty for 2 years and I finally put pictures in them! This shot makes me happy, happy, happy and so inspired to keep it this way.

Miss S and I went to see The Game Plan today at the dollar theatre - it was a cute movie and I have to admit I have a tiny little crush on Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson. I loved him in the The Scorpion King.

I'm happy to see that so many of us love Psych:) And I've decided to add one more prize - so that will be 3 prizes - one for each 100 posts I have posted:) For the third prize, just leave a comment on this post and tell me your favorite crafty blog. I'll draw the winners for all three prizes on February 1.

Amor

So who caught tonight's episode of Psych?? Absolutely, frickin hilarious! When they sang the theme song in Spanish I about lost it.

In honor of my 300th post I want to send some goodies to a few readers....tell me which character said these quotes from tonight's Psych and you'll be entered in a drawing for one of two fabulous packages (they are SO fabulous that even I don't know what their contents will be - but they'll probably contain something handmade, something vintage, something new, something sweet...etc...).

And the quotes are.....(insert big drum roll)...
Quote #1 - "You should have a degree in being wrong all the time." (I personally have earned a doctorate in this field of study)
Quote #2 - "Me gusto queso." (Me too...yum)
And here's a hint - both these quotes are from the last 10 minutes of the episode!

Good luck and I'll draw two winners on February 1.

All is Right in the World

Thanks to a new sweet friend a Beatles calendar will be on its way to me:) Thank you SO much Mahala!!!

Predictions

I am happily plugging along with the L.O.A.D. Challenge. I have 19 layouts done this year so far. Some are single page and some are double page layouts. When the challenge is completely done I will stack them all up and take a picture.
This is the layout I did today. I really like it. You'll note that one of my predictions this year for "self" is I will stretch myself creatively and this layout is one of those "stretches". I very rarely do layouts with out pictures and I rarely use such trendy paper...but like I said, I like it. It was inspired by the January issue of Creating Keepsakes and the column "Album in a Year". I'm going to try to complete the whole year of layout ideas. February's layout is "My 10 Favorite Things". That will be fun. This layout is also my first official layout for 2008 - all other layouts I have worked on are for previous years.



I think if you click on the picture you can get a closer look and actually read the journaling.

So Cute I Could Scream

I found a free little tutorial over here and I just knew I had to make one as soon as I saw it. I started him a night or two ago and finished him up this afternoon.

Inducing Harvey the Owl. Isn't he SO cute! He's just a little guy - he can snuggle just right in the palm of my hand. I love love love him! I'm seriously considering making some postcards of him with cute little owl sayings...."Who-ooo loves you" "Owl's it Going?" "Owl Always Love You""I Give a Hoot"

Meanwhile, I've spent the whole week not responding to emails or comments and feeling completely overwhelmed with every thing I need/want to do. This week will be no better as I have commitments on Tues, Wed and Thurs night...most of it fun stuff, but commitments none the less. So please be patient if I owe you an email or a response. And thank you all for the wonderful suggestions to check amazon.com for a Beatles calendar! I am definitely going to do that.

Help!

you know I need someone...help...not just any one...help....you know I need someone....HELP!!!!

Every year for the last 20 years I have had a Beatles wall calendar. Normally I receive one for Christmas...this year I did not and I cannot find one anywhere to save my life. You would not believe how much anxiety this is causing me. I put up another calendar in the office and it makes me cringe everytime I look at it. So this is my plea for help....if someone could please find a Beatles calendar for me and mail it to me! I'll pay for the calendar and shipping too.

And I just had to take a picture of this...

Miss S said "it's Ballerina Bree!!"

Fantastic Goodies and Soldering Adventures

A few days ago I saw on someone's blog (I wish I remembered who!!) that the Hello Kitty sewing maching was on clearance at Target...I asked hubby to check the store on Thursday and they were already sold out. Well Hubby called me this morning from work at about 6:15 am to let me know that he found one!! YEAH!!!! It was on clearance for $49!! Plus we get out 10% employee discount on it too. I was so excited when he brought it home. I told Miss S that this would be "her" machine and I would teach her how to sew on it. I'm afraid to open it cause I probably will want to keep it for myself:)


And my sweet sister sent me a gift card to Barnes and Noble for Christmas. I went shopping Thursday at lunch and look at the goodies I bought! The Japanese craft book on the left has even been translated into English! I'm so excited! The crochet book is super cool and the softie book is even better because....


Look who one of the artists is - Moki! I called to hassle her for not telling me she was going to be in the book and she was not even aware that she was in it!


I worked today on my charms for the Soldering 101 class I am taking from Kerry Lynn. My two pendants turned out really well - I went to the glass store today and bought a bunch of glass scraps in all different colors to play around with. I also made a little collage pendant but I cracked the glass when I was soldering it:( Oh well - that's why I'm taking a class - to learn what to do and what not to do! I will probably wear one of these pendants to church tomorrow.

My soldering iron is not working right though and I had a heck of a time with our second project - a ring. I love the concept of it and I think that next time I will use a darker glass so you can't see the strip of solder behind it that the ring part is attached too. And I will wear it on my right hand, not my left hand....but I could not take a good picture with my left hand: )

Once I figure out what is wrong with my iron I hope to make another one. For now, though, the solder is not melting quickly and it's causing me a lot of grief so I put it away for today. Tomorrow I will try again:)

Crazy Week

Oh man - this week at work has really kicked my butt! It's amazing how cuickly you can get used to sleeping in while on vacation:)
My awesome pal, Moki, is having a photo contest on her website - I'd love it if you voted for Miss S!! (She's #7) Click HERE to vote:)
I am still cruising along with my layout a day challenge - I just finished up the layout for day 10 and I am almost officially done with Miss S's kindergarten pages - I haven't printed the pics from her very first day of school so that page will have to wait for another day.

These are the pages I have done the last three nights...



While these certainly will not win any awards...they are sweet and simple and done:) I don't scrapbook to have the coolest layouts but I do scrapbook to record our memories and pictures - I consider my scrapbooks to be my journal, of sorts, and this challenge is really helping me remember to keep it sweet and simple.

Sunday Blues

I have the serious blues today...I think it's because I have to go to work tomorrow:(:(

Miss S and I went to the zoo yesterday with my sister in law and her kiddos. It was a little chilly, but not too bad. The animals were SO rambunctious!

Sweet cousins:


Flamingo love:


My L.O.A.D. entry for today:
(another zoo trip!! Though this one was Miss S's kindergarten field trip last year)(and no, the sun did not come out today!!)


And a swap:
I recently participated in a needle book swap and these are the lovelies that I received. Aren't they all fantastic! And the styles are so different. I love them.

New Hair and New Layouts

My sweet sister in law cut and highlighted my hair yesterday and as a treat she straightened it - since I hardly every wear it straight. I'm anxious to see it today when it's curly:)


The pictures would have been nicer if I had even a stitch of make up on. I've really been taking advantage of my time off and haven't worn makeup since we went out to dinner on Monday night. Ahh....only one more day of freedom them back to the grindstone on Monday.


I've been cruising along on the L.O.A.D. challenge - these are the layouts I completed for yesterday and today. Again - the pictures suck! It has been cloudy the last two days so I just can't get a good shot.

I did it!!

I finally customized my blog - I think this layout is much easier to read and I get to finally feature the fabulous header that Moki made for me. I'm still slowly adding all my links so if you don't see your link yet, give me a few days:):)

8 Things

My friends, Raine and Paula, both tagged me for a meme - I haven't played along in a long time so here goes:

8 Passions in my life:
Crafting
Scrapbooking
The Beatles
Jimmy Buffett
John Steinbeck
My faith
and the two most important passions:
Hubby
and Miss S

8 Things to do before I die:
Go to Liverpool
Be a stay at home mom - at least for a little while
Take a cruise
Travel the world
Buy something from Tiffany's (yes, I do have my shallow moments:))
Live next door to my sister
See Jimmy Buffett in concert again
Declutter my house

8 things I often say:
Gawl dangit!
Awesome
I'm sorry
What?
I love you
Not tonight
F**k (yes, I know, the "good little girl" image I project is just a facade)(I hope I spelled facade right)
What the heck

8 books I’ve read recently:
I have read almost nothing this year but I just found a little notebook of the books I read in 2005 - 19 total - that's pretty good! So I'll share 8 that I read in 2005
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
Riding in Cars with Boys by Beverly Donofrio
Sea Glass by Anita Shreve
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Rumors of War by Dean Hughes
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio by Terry Ryan
She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

8 Songs that mean something to me:
Something - The Beatles
One Particular Harbor - Jimmy Buffett
Don't Rain on My Parade - Barbara Streisand
I Don't Know How to Love Him - Jesus Christ Superstar
Maybe I'm Amazed - Wings
Allison - Elvis Costello
The Dance - Garth Brooks
Not Ready to Make Nice - The Dixie Chicks

8 Qualities I look for in a friend:
Honesty
Compassion
Humor
Charity
Loyalty
Uniqueness
Silly
Loving

8 people I will pass this on to:
Monica
Mary Ann
Mary Ann
Dawn
Moki
Kerry Lynn
Vallen
Kelli

Crafty

My layout for day 4 of the L.O.A.D. Challenge. I am finally starting Miss S's school scrapbook!

And look what I finished a couple nights ago! A knit scarf for me. Super simple - I cast on 10 stitches and knit away until the yarn was gone. A luscious baby Alpaca in a color called "blue lake" - it reminds me of Russian Blue kitties. And for how simple it was, guess how long it took me to finish it? Oh, about 5 months. I bought the yarn when we were in Durango in July! Yes, I am the world's slowest knitter.

On the schedule for today - getting my hair cut and highlighted and then to see Bee Movie with Miss S!!!

My Brother in Law Rocks

My one and only brother in law, Rick, is one of the coolest men I know. He is an awesome dad to his 7 kids and an awesome husband to my sister, Ryalin. Aren't they SO cute together:):)

When I firmed up plans to go to Vegas for Thanksgiving there was one thing I HAD to do...visit Quiltique! I've been dying to see some Amy Butler, Denyse Schmidt and Heather Bailey fabric in real life and I was not disappointed. Rick graciously drove me there and waited in the car with the 6 kids we had with us while I shopped like a madwoman for 20 minutes. He deserves a gold medal for that:)

Next to the Heather Bailey display.

And my purchases - two yards of Amy Butler fabric (I think I'm going to make myself a skirt with it) and assorted fat quarters from Heather Bailey and Denyse Schmidt and a few other fat quarters I fell in love with. I wanted to buy every single one of Amy's patterns and I couldn't decide on just one so I didn't buy any. Any good recommendations on the perfect one to get? I have her In Stitches book and I love it.

How in the Heck Did it Get to Be 2008...

doesn't it seem like it was just 2000???

Our New Year's Eve was low key - a delicious dinner at PF Chang's with a friend, then lounging on the couch watching the Jon and Kate Plus 8 marathon, then to bed at 10:30 p.m. I spent the first day of 2008 almost finishing my overhaul of the computer/craft room. What a transformation! I can see 80% of my desk and about 90% of the floor. Even Hubby was amazed. There are a few file folders to still go through but the change is awesome! I should have taken before and after pictures.

With all my wonderful newfound desk space, I created this layout as my first entry in the L.O.A.D. challenge - I hope to post a lot of my layouts here as well as on the challenge website.


So here's to an awesome 2008 filled with love, laughter and crafting. I look forward to spending this next year with all of you!!!

Fun News

Go HERE now:) The lovely and talented Miss Moki is featured on the CRAFT blog today!! How awesome is that!!!

On my first day of vacation (yesterday) I got up at 6:30!!!! Doesn't my body know that I get to sleep in for the next 8 days! I got tremendously far on my list of chores to get done though so I am all that much closer to being able to craft and work on getting my scrapbooking stuff organized for the L.O.A.D. challenge I am participating in.

And for those of you that got a copy of our family newsletter....I alluded to a new calling at church and today it is official. I was released as Relief Society pianist and called to serve in the Cub Scouts as a den leader. My co-den leader is my dear friend Carla so that is going to be really exciting. I know nothing about scouts, other than occassionally going to a scouting function with my little brothers so we'll see how this goes! I have my first official meeting on Wed night. I still have my calling at Ward Music Chairman too.

I mentioned quite a while ago that I did a gift exchange for Christmas with my local ATC group - here are the gifties I received.

A tortilla warmer, fortune cookie coasters and lavendar sachets from sweet Louise:


Ornaments and magnets made from Raine's awesome photography, two charms from Leau - I hung one on the tree and I am going to put the other on a necklace, Christmas earrings from vintage postage stamps from Donna and a really cool bird ornament also from Louise:

A handpainted silk scarf also from Donna and two fabulous quilted hot pads from Colleen - I told her they were too pretty to use as hotpads and I am going to instead hang them on my mini quilt wall (which I haven't put up yet - but it's on my to do list):

These ladies just ooze talent!!! I am so happy to be able to associate and be inspired by each one of them.

And be sure to leave Moki a comment at how excited you are that she is famous!

Scrappy!

Yes, I am still a scrapper....very rarely though! But I am going to get my butt in gear cause I signed up for ScrapHappy's L.O.A.D. challenge - read all about it here:):)

I also made a layout a couple days ago that I am really happy with:)

This is the picture we sent out in most of our Christmas cards this year - I ordered 100 and ended up with over 120 on my card list this year so not everyone got one:( Next year I will order more!!!

Cold

It's 7 degrees outside....do I really have to leave the warm cozy house to make the trek to work??? Luckily, only for one more day. I have the next 9 days off but today is going to be a real humdinger trying to finish up a bunch of projects so that I can actually relax and not worry about work.

Miss S

I find it so cool that Miss S got 7 comments on her 7th birthday post!! Jacki and LauraJ guessed right - the post title was inspired by Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band - "It was 20 years ago today, Sgt Pepper taught the band to play" - so keep your eyes on the postman ladies:) A little goodie will be heading your way soon:):)

Merry Merry Christmas

We had a delicious ham dinner last night with two good friends, then we spent the evening walking through Old Town Albuquerque to see the luminarias. It was beautiful! There was no way I could capture it with my camera, so here's some photos I lifted from an Albuquerque website and a little of the history of luminarias.



"The glowing brown sacks that adorn Albuquerque walkways, churches and homes each holiday season are called luminarias and date back more than 300 years. The New Mexican tradition began when the Spanish villages along the Rio Grande displayed the unique and easy to make Christmas lanterns, called luminarias to welcome the Christ child into the world. A traditional luminaria is a brown paper bag, which has been folded at the top, filled will a couple cups of sand and a votive candle."

There are literally thousands of luminarias lining the streets of Old Town and the adjacent neighborhood. It was very cool to walk around and see them.

Then when we got home, Miss S opened up some new pajamas and we set out a plate for Santa:) Then off to bed!! I couldn't believe that it only took Miss S about 5 minutes to fall asleep. Must have been all the walking in Old Town:)


Some of the Christmas loot!! We had a fabulous time opening presents! See that Widmer box? Hubby's best friend from work bought him a mini keg of Heineken and it was in that box - I seriously think that was the hit of his Christmas:) What cracks me up is he was excited about beer and I was excited about the new scripture markers I got in my stocking:)

Miss S was again totally spoiled, as was Mom and Dad too:) We have lots of fun gift cards to spend next week too! I have Dec 29 through January 6 off and I'm looking forward to going to the mall and spending some of our gift cards:):) Thank you everyone!


Now we're off to do a little gift exchange with some dear friends, then to my brother's for a steak and shrimp dinner - YUM!!!! Hubby does not like to leave the house on Christmas but it wasn't hard to convince him with a steak and shrimp dinner on the menu:)

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!!! And remember that the true meaning is not the gifts, though they are nice:), it is the time spent with family and loved ones and the remembrance of our Savior's birth.

It was 7 Years Ago Today*

December 23, 2000

December 23, 2007

Happy birthday to my sweet Miss S!!

*Name the song this title was inspired by and you'll be entered in a giveaway of "a little something handmade" - I haven't decided what yet:) - in honor of Miss S's birthday.

Success

Miss S's birthday party was a smashing success! I was telling my sister tonight that Miss S made out like a bandit! She sure has some generous friends:)



Look at all the cuties in their pjs.

The girls had so much fun!! The party went a little like this:

Story time (The Mitten)
Breakfast: OJ and French Toast Sticks
Activity: eye masks (made from patterned fun foam) and a scrapbook page signed by all the girls
Presents
Cake
Activity: Nail painting

We got Miss S High School Musical 2 as one of our gifts to her so the girls watched part of that while they took turns getting their nails painted and waiting for their parents to pick them up.

I've gotten away from doing the traditional goodie bag (a bunch of stuff that ends up getting tossed anyway!!) so for the last couple years we've been giving away books as a little thank you to the guests from Miss S. I did that again this year, and I had little Hello Kitty notebooks for the older girls that came. So each guest went home with their crown, the eye mask that they made and a book or notebook. I buy the books throughout the year through Scholastic - each month they have one or two books that are on special for $1.00 so I buy several of those every few months. I'd love to hear any great ideas you have for "goodie" bags:)

Slowly but surely...

the kitchen is almost back to normal. Moki's brother-in-law is my new hero. Mark came over Tuesday night and fixed the cabinets for us and tonight I put the last few things away. Just in time for Miss S's birthday party tomorrow:) We're keeping it simple and low key this year. She wanted to do a sleepover but I think she is still too young for that so we are doing a "Sleepless sleepover" - the girls will all come in their pajamas and bring their sleeping bags and we will have breakfast together (OJ and French toast sticks), a couple craft projects, a game and cake.

Then I hope to spend the rest of the day finishing up the last few packages that need to go out by Monday. Here's a peek at one of the presents that I made for my BFF, Tammy. A simple shell stitch scarf. I made it extra long so she can wrap it around a few times.

Chaos

Last month our microwave quit working, and about 2 weeks ago our oven stopped working. When I got online to schedule a service call I learned our dishwasher had been recalled. Why do bad things always happen in threes??? Today the repairman came and fixed all three...the bill was $342 for the microwave and oven and I guess I should be thankful that the repairman waived the $75 service call fee...and I'm extremely thankful to have a fully functioning kitchen again. I was getting sick of pasta (the stove top still works) and heating up stuff in the little $30 microwave we bought at Target to get us through until we got the microwave fixed.

While the repairman had the microwave taken down from above the oven he commented that our cabinets were coming apart from the wall...and he was right. There's a good two inches between the tops of the cabinets and the wall - I've got a kitchen full of leaning tower of Pisa cabinets. Hubby unloaded almost everything in the cabinets and then promptly left for hockey.

This is the kitchen that I came home too - the rest of the dishes are stacked on the table. What a sight. Just when I was finally conquering some of the clutter around the house, this happens. I have a church get together tomorrow night so we probably won't get the cabinets reinforced until Wednesday. Then I've got two days to clean everything up before Miss S's birthday party on Saturday morning. Holy cripes almighty, I think I'm going to have a panic attack. Please send me calm thoughts to help me get through this week!!

Production Line

I finished my ornaments for Amy's Ornament Exchange...sweet and simple crocheted flowers. I love how they turned out, but I hope the recepients are not disappointed with the simpleness of them. I had wanted to do snowflakes but after three failed attempts, I fell back on my little flower.


My ATC trade group met yesterday and this month we added a little gift exchange for those that wanted to participate. 7 of us did. I made these scarves (the cream is a linen blend) for the other ladies and I came home with some awesome presents. I have so many pictures to take and post!

These were so easy to make and they have such a wonderful Japanese vibe to them. I bought enough linen to make 6 more so that is on my to-do list this week:) I sewed all yesterday afternoon and had a wonderful time until I ran out of every lick of cream. white, and light grey thread that I own. I seriously have emptied 5 spools this last week with all the sewing that I have been doing. So I might have to make an emergency run to Joanne's after church for thread.

I love Santa!!

Especially our local mall Santa - the beard and the hair are the real deal. He's been working at our mall for the last several years and you can tell that he just adores the children. Each year the mall hosts a breakfast with Santa - there's donuts and juice, then Santa mingles, and takes the time to talk to each child individually and pose for a photo. He is exactly what I picture in my mind when I think about Santa. Miss S's requests were "I want a Barbie and a new puppy"....I'm pretty sure she will get a Barbie:) but the new puppy will most likely be a stuffed one:)


I love this little girl so much...she is growing up so fast!! She'll be 7 in exactly 19 days (December 23) and tonight at dinner she picked out her guest list for her birthday party on the 14th. She cracks me up....she had at least 20 kids she wanted to invite and I made her pare down the list a little bit. Hubby already said he's going out that night:)