Friday, January 29, 2010

A Little Pick Up

Remember the card I posted yesterday? Well, I gave that card to my friend that gave me the stamp sets. She called me in the evening to say she liked the card so much that she ALMOST decided she should take that stamp set back! LOL.

This card is made with another set she gave me (maybe I should send this card off to someone else!) I found the set a little difficult to work with just because it's a relatively large stamp and I had a hard time picking a layout I liked. I'm still not sure I love what I came up with...but I can at least live with it.



This morning I took a nice long hot shower and discovered a surprise for me after I finished. Apparently my son wrote me a note on the mirror after he took his shower last night...



It says "I love you Mom". So, of course I wrote him a message back for him to find tonight. :-)

Have a great day all!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

A Thanks and a Dragon

My friend, Concetta, cleaned out her stash of stamps and gave me first dibs on the sets she no longer wanted. This card uses one of those sets. I like how it turned out!



And on a totally different note, I thought I'd share something I wrote. My oldest son had an assignment to write an argumentative essay about why he should get a pet dragon. I joked and said I should be able to write a rebuttal. He told his teacher and she said she'd like to see me write one. So...below is my essay...it was fun to write! Enjoy and have a great day!

--------------------

In our household the number of pets outnumber the number of humans. With the latest addition of a ‘robo’ hamster for Christmas I thought we were finally done with new pets. But yesterday my oldest son asked me for another. This pet request is SO unusual that I cringe at the thought of it. Mind you, I am not the typical queasy female when it comes to critters. I grew up with three brothers. I’m used to all things creepy and crawly. But I draw the line at this request. He wants a DRAGON! I love my animals and I can see some value in a dragon. And it would be cool to be the first family on the block to own the rare pet. However, there are several factors we need to consider here.

First, where would we house the dragon? Dragons are huge. It’s not like we can stuff him in the hamster cage or even the larger snake cage. I don’t think he’d even fit inside the house. And if he did fit in the house, I am NOT cleaning up dragon poo when he has accidents! So, I guess that leaves the outdoors. We do have two acres, but even if we added a fence he would just fly over it and escape. Currently, when our dogs escape the neighbors complain. Can you imagine if it was a dragon in their yard doing it’s business instead of a dog? We would be ostracized from the neighborhood!

Second, what about the lifespan of the dragon? Dragons live for a LONG time. If we got a dragon for a pet it’d outlive both myself and the kids. So who takes care of the dragon once we are gone? There are no guarantees that the next generation is going to want to keep a pet dragon.

Third, let’s look at some of the practical issues. Dragons eat a LOT. It costs me $20 a month to feed the five foot gopher snake little frozen rats. Can you imagine how much it’d cost me to feed a dragon? Then there is the whole ‘fire breathing’ thing. There are good practical uses for fire breathing. But what about accidental fire breathing? What if he coughs and sets the house on fire? And what if he gets sick? I don’t know of any vets that can care for a sick dragon. I’m sure we’d have to find a specialist to help care for him and that isn’t going to be covered under my current PPO healthplan!

So, I think I’m going to have to draw the line at the dragon. Three dogs, one hamster, one snake, and two boys is enough of a zoo already!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Snail Mail

I saw this quote on someone elses card and I couldn't resist using it. I knew I had at least ONE snail stamp and I thought I had three. Well, I could only find one and it wasn't the one I was thinking of. Wish he was just a bit bigger! But I made it work for me by using it repetitely to depict SLOW motion. :-)



I think we could all learn a few things from the snail. (And no, I'm not talking about learning to be slimy!) LOL.

The snail stamp is from a Close To My Heart set. I printed the quote using the computer. Enjoy!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Crazy Weather!

Keep in mind these pictures were taken in 'sunny Arizona' this week! Yikes! We had tornado warnings, high winds, and flash flood warnings.

Picture taken from back door:



And the trampoline I bought the kids for Christmas? It USED to be in the backyard. I found it two acres over. It broke our chainlink fence, chopped a neighbors tree in half, went over the next neighbors fence, over their house, and landed in their front yard. It isn't savable. Sigh. There went $160 (and that was black friday special).



On a positive note, my computer arrived for my new job. Now I need to figure out how to get it connected to our wireless network. AND I've now lost over 10 pounds this month! That's been with minimal effort. I still need to add in exercise. But right now I'm just taking it one part at a time and getting the eating under control.

I have plans to help a friend stamp invitations tomorrow and a neighbor wants to come stamp next week. So more artwork to share soon!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Monster Mania!

First off I wanted to mention that today would have been my Dad's birthday. He's been gone now for a few years but I still miss him dearly and I suspect always will. That's the bummer of being the youngest child of older parents. You are still young when they die.

Now on to happier things. I found this stamp set at Michael's for 40% off the other day and HAD to have it.



Then I found this card sketch on Mojo Monday and decided to use it:



Lastly, here is the card I created. I love the way it turned out. I don't know why I had such a hard time photographing it. It's purple and kind of lime green. But the purple isn't showing well here and the green coloring looks all washed out. Sorry...tried taking the photo multiple times and this is the best photo.



Gotta go! Have a great day.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Monkey Love

I am trying to get myself back into stamping after taking a brief break (well...maybe not so brief...sorry about that!). Whenever I am looking for inspiration I start with a sketch. The first place I look for sketches? Splitcoast. They post a new sketch every Wednesday and you can use the current sketch or an old sketch. This sketch (#261) is from a couple weeks ago...



I flipped the sketch and then used my changito stamp to come up with this card:



I love my changitos...except I've noticed the newer changitos are chubbier. I wonder if they now have a different artist? Or if the artist just decided they liked them better chubbier? Hmm...I like them better the old way.

Tomorrow I am driving to Phoenix to meet my new boss. Yep, have a job and have yet to actually MEET anyone! Isn't the world of technology amazing? In some ways I find that scary. By the time my kids reach adulthood...are they going to just stay in their houses 24/7? You can order pizza, groceries, clothes, etc all via the internet. Now you can also work a lot of jobs remotely. As much as the flexibility is nice, I do miss the interaction with coworkers and can't image never having had that experience. I don't know...just seems like too much of today's world is 'virtual' and I wonder what the future holds.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Clean and Simple Challenge

This week's Clean and Simple Challenge at Splitcoast was to do a Valentine. Only requirement was to keep it (yep, you got it) clean and simple. I actually CASED (Copied) a card that was created by another stamper. I used different stamps, a different embossing plate and added a few embellishments. So I guess I didn't copy hers...I used hers as an idea springboard for my card.



So...how often do you go to Joann's or Michael's with a 40% coupon in hand and not get to use it because it seems EVERYTHING is on sale? I went to Joann's today. Got 8 sheets of cardstock (on sale 4/$1), a pair of scissors for rag quilting (on sale 40% off), 4 fat quarters of fabric (clearanced for .50 each), and a package of basic color threads (also on sale). Didn't get to use my coupon at all. I need to get more denim and more batting so I can start my rag quilt but the cutting line was HUGE so I may go back later in the week and use my coupon on that. Also, as an FYI, all quilting books were 40% off. There were several I eyed but couldn't bring myself to spend the $.

Hope everyone gets tomorrow off for MLK day. Honestly, I'm not sure if tomorrow is officially a holiday or not at my new job...but since I still don't have a laptop or access...it is still a day off for me. :-)

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Thank You Cards

These are the cards I sent out this year. Well, at least most of them looked like this one. I tried to keep them pretty simple yet with a little bling.



I tried to take the picture at an angle that shows the embossing. The bottom of the card is white with snowflakes dry embossed on it.

I made a couple cards today so will be sharing those in the days to come.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Guess what I did????

I am SO proud of myself (yes, it's the little things that make me happy!)

I am so NOT electronically adept. But the DVD player in my bedroom had died a while back and I really wanted a new one so me and the boys could do our 'picnic and a movie' routine on my bed. So I went out to Target and picked up an inexpensive DVD player (wow they have gotten small and cheap). Then I brought it home and easily hooked it up myself. Easy peasy!



I think I will go rent Aliens in the Attic and surprise the boys!

I apologize that I haven't been posting much artwork. If you are close to me you know I have a lot of personal stuff going on right now and not a whole lot of time for creating. I did make my Christmas thank you cards but don't want to post a picture until the recipients have received their cards. But those will be coming soon. I promise!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

First Week at New Job

Guess what I've accomplished this week since starting my new job?

Did a zillion loads of laundry
Did a zillion loads of dishes
Cleaned toilets in both bathrooms
Started reorganizing bedroom to make space for a small desk
Read two books and started a third (Janet Evanovich)
Went for a mile walk
Started Weight Watchers
And did this...



I think the dogs ate one of the pieces because it's a brand new puzzle. Either that or $1 store puzzles come with missing pieces! LOL.

I am waiting for my company laptop to be delivered. Until that happens I can't do much actual work. I did have a team meeting via telephone and filled out some HR paperwork. They hope to have me set up to do some of the trainings next week that I can do with my home computer. But actual work has to be done with their hardware.

So I am sticking close to home (or trying to) in case the man in brown shows up and trying to stay busy doing housework/organizing/etc at the same time. I am already feeling a little stircrazy so have gone out to lunch a couple times this week with friends to get some adult interaction.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Wacky Wednesday

A friend of mine does a post every Tuesday where she posts anything she did that week that was a 'screw up'. Some aren't a big deal and some are. I guess it is a way to acknowledge mistakes and laugh at yourself and keep life light.

So, I thought I'd share a screw-up that I did today. And since it's Wednesday I'll call it Wacky Wednesday.

Can you guess what this is???



I washed a load of laundry. When I went to transfer the laundry from the washer to the dryer I noticed some bits of cardboard. The more I looked the more I found. I dug deeper and started pulling out dryer sheets. IN THE WASHER. I'm like "What the heck?" Then it occurred to me. When I was putting the pile of clothes into the washer I must have knocked the WHOLE BOX of dryer sheets INTO the washer. So, not only were there like 100 dryer sheets mixed in with the laundry but there were bits and pieces of the cardboard box that had disintegrated. What a mess! I had to shake out all the clothes to try and get the bigger chunks and dryer sheets out. Then wipe out the washer and reload the clothes BACK into the washer and rewash them again. Hopefully all the white comes out of the clothes and they aren't ruined from the sheets.

Sigh. Calgon...take me away!

Monday, January 4, 2010

What are YOU working on in 2010?

I have been keeping busy...

making Thank You cards for holiday gifts
cleaning and reorganizing at home
starting back on Weight Watchers

And of course there is always the regular housework, laundry, dishes, bill paying, playing with the boys, taking care of the pets, etc.

I bought a new needle for my sewing machine (used the other one to sew on cards and got the needle all gummed up from the adhesive). So I want to get started on my next project soon. Probably a denim rag quilt.

What are YOU up to?

I will make sure and take pics of the thank you cards soon.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy New Year!

As I enter 2010 I feel very blessed with my life. I have family who love me. Friends who support me. Kids who keep me laughing at the wonderment of life. Enough animals to start my own pet shop (3 dogs, a snake, and the new robo hamster).

I don't have a lot of material 'things'...but I have hobbies I love. And I have a job that pays the bills and puts food on the table with a little left over. In today's society that is something.

I start a new job this coming week which will allow me to stay home with the boys. No more 3 hours of commute time. No more wear on the car (that now has 97,000 miles on it).

I am excited about what 2010 holds.