Lunar Eclipse

So they were making a big deal out of the eclipse and telling us it would be almost 3 years till another one. I guess that's about right, because when I was filing these photos on my computer, I came across the photos I took of the LAST lunar eclipse which was October 27, 2004!
So, here are some of the best shots I got tonight.... Enjoy!

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!

I'M GOING TO HAWAII!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, actually, WE are going to Hawaii! Russ is taking me for our 15th Wedding Anniversary in May. It will be a quick trip, just 3 nights, but IT'S HAWAII!!!!!! We leave May 11th and come home on the 14th. Here's where we are staying. Apparently we had just enough timeshare points left this year for a 3 night stay with a Sunday arrival! WOO HOO!!!!!!! Or, should I say, ALOHA!!!!!!!!

Mojo 22

For Julee's Mojo Monday Sketch #22:





All supplies but the flowers are from Stampin Up!

Paper is Spring Silhouettes, Soft Sky and Wild Wasabi. The flowers are Bazzil and are dyed with Soft Sky and Wild Wasabi reinkers mixed with alcohol. The center is a green rhinestone brad from the Circle Ice brads. The sentiment is from a retired set, Butterfly Happiness.

Swaps are DONE!

I was feeling a lack of stamping desire back in January, so I decided to FORCE myself to stamp by joining two swaps. I was actually invited to join another, but it was a monthly commitment and while I really enjoy the work this particular group of ladies does, I know there are some months when I just could not dedicate the kind of time that caliber of work required. So, I joined a couple of ATC (Artist Trading Card) swaps. They are small, quick and easy to do plus they usually swap in batches of 10 as that's how many you can make from one sheet of cardstock. All supplies used are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.

Cathy Bartlett's February swap theme was "In the Pink", meaning we were to use only shades of pink/red (plus white if we wanted). I had such fun doing the card from Julee's sketch challenge the other day that I decided to try and scale it down to an ATC. I was rather pleased with the outcome! The colors are Purely Pomegranate and Pretty In Pink, and I used the Berry Bliss paper. I just LOVE Clear Rhinestone brads (available in the Prettied Kit) and used them on BOTH swaps, along with silver brads. This one also used my 1" circle and Word Window punches. Stamps used are from Boho Backgrounds and Enjoy Every Moment.

Julie Reynolds' February swap theme was "My Favorite New Accessory". I couldn't choose between the new Boho Blossoms punch and the new Striped Grosgrain ribbon, so I used them both! The colors are Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi, Regal Rose and Rose Red. The stamps are Boho Backgrounds, One of a Kind and Baroque Motifs. Again, I used silver and Clear Rhinestone brads and the ribbon color is the Wild Wasabi.

So, stamping done, I am now ready to eat myself into a junk-food-induced coma and watch the Super Bowl!

Did a little stamping

Julee is having a sketch challenge over at Verve Visual which was just the excuse I needed to get in and STAMP SOMETHING today! Plus the fact that I just got this pretty paper yesterday and wanted to do something with it!

The printed paper is one of the "stack" pads from DCWV - this one is the Old World Stack which uses textured cardstock. The regular cardstock is Stampin' Up! Groovy Guava and Very Vanilla. The "tabs" were punched with the Word Window Punch. The black brads are from an assortment by Making Memories and I used my piercing tool and my distressing tool from the Crafters Tool Kit and the Cutter Kit (respectively) - both from Stampin' Up!. The center image is from One Of A kind and the sentiment is from Blossoms Abound, both available in the current Stampin' Up! catalog and both stamped in Chocolate Chip Craft Ink. I colored the flower in using a blender pen and my Groovy Guava reinker and then added Stickles over that. To give the top panel a little dimension, I used Pop Up Glue Dots. I'm kinda pleased with how it turned out!

I'm Leavin, On a Jet Plane!!!!!

I'll be home in about 5 hours! I'm sure Taz will be DELIGHTED to see me.... yeah. Right.

Flight out of Portland is scheduled for 5:23 PM Departure and a 6:45PM arrival. It is COLD here and rainy and windy at home. Should make for a bumpy landing! Oh well, at least I'll be HOME! Now I'm really glad we got to park so close to the shuttle stop!

I'll post photos later this week of my adorable furry "nephew", Mr. Pants. He is VERY cute!

A fun birthday card!

Birthday wishes to Justin (who probably isn't reading this, but if you are, stop or you'll see your birthday card!)!

So this morning, I sat down to make his birthday card. He is turning 36 today, so I knew after doing this card for VSN, that I would use the pattern again for his birthday!






The original card used the new Bali Breeze paper on Blush Blossom and was plain inside.





This card used the Creamy Caramel CS and the new Ginger Blossom paper. The paper Flowers are from Prima and the rhinestone ones are from a CTMH customer special.






This is the inside of the card. The butterfly tattoo is one of the new Stampin Up Rubons that will be available during SAB (Sale-A-Bration) and the stamp is from a retired phrase set, also from SAB, I believe.

VSN - the rest of the story!

OK - As promised here are the rest of my cards from this weekend! Actually, there are 2 more, but I can't find the photo of one and I can't post the other one since I am sending the card to someone for her birthday soon and it's REALLY obvious that the card is for her.



Altered Composition Book. Real Red Patterned paper from the Hostess Level One pad, white Taffetta ribbon, Chocolate Chip Satin ribbon, sticky half pearls from Michael's, unknown silk and paper flowers. Sentiment is from Stampin Up.

For the Chocolate challenge. Holds a Ghirardelli Square inside. Like the teabag holder swap I was in a couple months ago. Chocolate Chip, Berry Bliss and Chocolate Satin ribbon with Gold brads. All supplies Stampin Up.

Can't remember what challenge this was for.... Bling It On, I think. Again, all Stampin Up supplies: Soft Sky CS, ink and Patterned Paper, Blue Bayou CS and ink, Happiness BG stamp, clear rhinestone brads, 1/4" square punch, paper piercing tool and craft mat, Zig Painty Pen (silver).


This was for the last challenge I did, called Pack Your Purse. We were given a list of what we had to use to make our card, no more and no less. It was a LONG list! I'm not big on really ornate or busy cards usually, so pulling this off without it looking like TOO MUCH was tough for me! Everything but the Silver ink and the stickles are Stampin Up: Pretty in Pink and Rose Red Patterned paper from the Prints Pads. Pretty In Pink, Rose Red and Whisper White CS. Inks are Pretty In Pink, Rose Red and Platinum Planet (Archival Brilliance). Flower stamp is from Heartfelt Thanks. The silver is the Weathered BG stamp. "Celebrate" is from Wonderful Words. The squared are punched with the 1" square punch and layered on the white panel, then the pink, then the rose. Stickles on the pink layer for added BLING! The white 1/4" grosgrain was then layered on and the brads were set using the paper piercing tool to make the holes first.

Hopefully tomorrow I will find the picture of the other card I did.... it's a good one.

In the meantime, here is a link to the crazy finch feeding frenzy in my yard this morning. If you have your sound on, you will also hear the very sad sound of the neighbor's dog that has been chained on the side of their house in the rain for over 24 hours now. Yes, I have called Animal Control. They said they would send someone out this afternoon. This poor dog has been sounding like this all day yesterday, off and on thru the night, and all day today. It just makes me want to scream..... sorry the video is sideways, but the stupid editing software I bought only 2 months ago won't work on the new (Vista) computer and the company will not give me a free upgrade so I didn't edit! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J63Qoqh8vzE

VSN Weekend!

NOTE: The links to the VSN info over on Splitcoast will only work if you have a user ID there and are logged in, SORRY!

So, this weekend was VSN (Virtual Stamp Night) over on Splitcoast. Of the 18 challenges, I did 9. And I'll upload the photos later, they are on the OTHER computer. So if you are reading this and there are no photos, check back later!

There were 6 Challenges on Friday and I did 3 of those. The first two and the 4th one.

First was "Circle of Friendship" which was to make a friend card using a circle pattern. It was not my favorite of my VSN submissions and is probably the card I will re-make for the bonus After VSN challenge. The cardstock is Ballet Blue, Bashful blue and Brushed Silver. The stamps are Sanded Background, a set from CTMH and I don't remember what set the flower came from! The bling flowers are CTMH asnd the silk flower is from Michael's (Floral dept) with a Circle Fire Pumpkin brad in the center. The ribbon is the new striped Grosgrain in Bashful Blue.

The second challenge was called "Chocolate Shoes". We were to use a photo of some chocolate shoes as our inspiration. The stamps used are all from the CTMH set "Let's Shop". The Cardstock is Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White. Inks are Choc Chip, Pretty In Pink and Rose Red. There are stickles on the shoe and her ponytail band and metallic gel pen for her necklace. The spiral clips are from the Antique Copper Hodge Podge Hardware and the ribbons are Pink 1/4" grosgrain and Chocolate Chip Taffetta.

The third challenge I did on Friday was "V-Neck, Baby!" which was to make a criss-cross card. I really enjoy making these and need to do them more often. It's like an envelope without the flap. The cardstock is Chocolate Chip and Whisper white. The pink used is the new Berry Bliss DSP. That yummy ribbon is the Chocolate Chip Satin from the Holiday mini which can still be found in the Ribbon Originals Theater collection. The scallop punches used are Marvy and the stamps are from the new One Of A Kind set from the new Spring Summer Catalog.

That's all for now. I need to save some for tomorrow, right?

OH! In other news.... WE HAVE A FENCE AGAIN!!!!! The neighbors were out putting up their side fence yesterday and had picked up the one section of ours that fell into their yard, so I sent Russ out to see if they would do our section too while they were at it. $50 cash later, we have new posts and our sections are back up. YAY!

Unfortunately, it seems they were prompted to fix the fence because they apparently added a dog to the household yesterday. It is a German Shepherd and so far it has barked and cried almost non stop since they TIED HIM UP ON THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE LAST NIGHT. Grrrrrr.... Yes, these are the same neighbors that had the chihuahua mix dog tied to their BBQ 2 summers ago. Grrrrrrr.... Poor dog has a section of fence leaned up against the house as a shelter. I don't think it is used to being kept outside because when I was looking at it over the fence, it started to rain lightly and the dog freaked out trying to figure out where the water was coming from. Poor thing. I hope the dog is visiting or they start treating it better or I will be on the phone to SPCA...... sigh.....

A little bit of stamping....

I got my new catalog order from Stampin' Up! on Wednesday evening. Then yesterday, I got my SAB preorder. I haven't had time to do anything but mount my new sets (3) and put away the inks, ribbons and papers. Last night I did take a minute to try the new rubons though. I had bought some rubons last year at Michael's and could not get them to stick to ANYTHING. So when I heard that SU! was coming out with rubons, I really didn't care. Well, the ones that we will be featuring during Sale-A-Bration are just so dang cute, I had to get a set in my pre-order. I tried one on textured cardstock and it came out REALLY CUTE. Then my friend Janice asked if I had tried them on GROSGRAIN RIBBON yet? WHAT WHAT WHAT????? So, I went and cut off a 6" piece of the 5/8" wide Chocolate Chip Grosgrain and tried it..... HOW STINKIN CUTE IS THIS?????

I thought it was pretty cute!

I also had to do another sympathy card..... this one was hard since I actually knew the gentleman who passed on. A dear sweet man. Since I was really happy with the way the card came out that I did for Jan a couple months ago, I decided just to do another one. I did the roses in So Saffron (aquapainter with WaterColor Wonder Crayons) this time, made the Always Artichoke mat bigger and then matted that onto Brushed Gold and only used 3 brads. The images are not Stampin' Up!, but the supplies all are.

I need to make a run up to Lake Tahoe for some Hard Rock pins they've been holding for me since November. I had planned to go up today, but the weather looks like Tuesday will be GORGEOUS and I'm hoping it won't be crowded. Today I imagine it will be a ZOO as some of the ski areas got over 10 feet of snow in the storms this past week and this will be the first CLEAR ROAD day. The weekend ought to be INSANE up there and I think we may even have a 3 day weekend with Monday off for Martin Luther King Jr. for the state workers... Yeah. Tuesday will be better.... So maybe I'll get my new stamps out and see if I can whip something up to post here tomorrow! Wish me luck!!!!!

Aint it PURTY?

Ok, it isn't. But it's functional!

I learned that an 8 foot long piece of 2x6 will fit all the way in my car too!

Glad I did it since the 20-30 MPH gusts we were forecast to have today turned out to be 40MPH gusts.....

Hopefully next week we can get a fence contractor out here to look at all the stuff that needs fixing!

Yeah, it was a DOOZY!

So we spent the first part of this week being told that this storm was going to be BAD. They were right.....

2 sections of fence down....

section on the side leaning (notice that if it falls, it will hit the power box for the spa?)

This section just sheared right off the 4x4 post....

yes, that says 2.5" of rain. Since Thursday.

At least we have no roof damage. All the neighbors have shingles off. When we re-roofed in 2005, we could have done it for about half the cost if we had just replaced it with the same quality that was on there to start with, but after wind damage TWICE, we decided to put a 50 year, 100MPH roof on the house. Apparently a really good move.....

Next door the wind took the chimney cap/spark thingy halfway off. Of course it is dangling precariously over the property line now.... She also has a section of fence down in back in addition to the sheared off support on our side. Next door on the other side they lost shingles and part of their patio cover. There's two guys on the roof on the house behind us now (in the rain) covering up the bare spots.

All in all, we were really lucky. The biggest piece of my tree that came off was about 2 feet long and only about the diameter of a pencil. Guess that means my tree is healthy! The neighbor across the street had their trash cans blow over, so their recycling is all over their front yard. I remembered to put the bricks on the lids of our cans and they stayed shut. YAY! I don't think there is a leaf left on our block. Russ went down to the corner last night and raked the pile away from the storm drain so we won't get street flooding with the rain today. So much nicer to do that when it's not raining that when you look out and see a lake at the end of the driveway!

So, that's the storm update. Oh, and for the number geeks, we had sustained winds over 40MPH for about 5 hours. The peak sustained wind speed hit 57MPH at one point and our "record" gusts came in at 65MPH at 8AM, but were running over 55MPH from 7AM until 10:30. NASTY NASTY day! These recordings were for the Sac Int'l airport which is about 10 miles away. When you see the news for Sacramento, they usually take the readings at EXECUTIVE Airport which is about 25 miles south of us.

And it's raining again.... hard enough that I can hear it. Wheeeee.......

Greetings from Computer Hell

I bought a new computer. To say the old one has "issues" is a mild understatement. Please bear with me as I attempt to get everything moved. Access to wesites and e-mail is challenging currently.....

Whatever you celebrate....

Happy Holidays! Happy Yule! Merry Christmas! Happy Solstice! Happy Kwanzaa! Belated Happy Chanukah! Did I get everyone? All I know is that the madness is almost over for another year, which, as Martha says, is A GOOD THING! I still have to slice meat and cheese for the appetizer plate tomorrow morning, and before I go to bed tonight, I have one more present to wrap. I'm on the laptop right now... .my PC is doing a full back up and it takes about 3 hours. I always forget to do them until something happens to remind me.....

A gal I know on Splitcoast that I actually met at convention this Summer had her house burn down this weekend. They pretty much lost EVERYTHING. I can't even imagine. They were out of town starting their long Christmas weekend when they got a call at 3AM Saturday. No one was hurt, but the house is a total loss. Her 15 year old daughter is taking it particularly hard, apparently. They also have a 17 year old son. They had taken their dogs with them, so nobody was in the house at the time. Kinda puts life in perspective, doesn't it?

Well, the laptop battery is telling me to log off.... Have a wonderful Holiday!!!!!

Just had to share.....

The closer it gets to Christmas, the more the public drives me INSANE. Saw this shirt and SO HAD TO HAVE IT!





He he he... isn't it FABULOUS??? I do love Happy Bunny!

It's cold and rainy here and will be for the next few days. Hopefully it will be clear next Monday. Nothing like Holiday traffic to start with. Add "road conditions" and it becomes a cluster unlike any other.....

They're done and GONE!

Just put my Christmas cards in the mailbox! YAY! The ornaments are done except for a few that I still have to put the ribbon on them. Shopping.... almost done. Just need to get the list from Russ of what I'm buying his family. Need to put Mom's present together and get that mailed on Monday. I wanted to send Judy her replacement Journal Monday, but I can't find the Michael's bag that has the journal in it. Still looking..... HOPEFULLY I will find it today and get that done tomorrow.

Got my layout for Janice's Circle Journal done and mailed out this week. I had planned to scan the pages and upload them here and then I FORGOT TO DO IT! Oh well.

I've been trying to get a decent photo of Taz to send out in the Christmas cards. No go. Here are the best from this week.... She's just not very jolly this year, I guess. Her response to the collar was to either play dead or look away. Or walk away. Got several of THOSE pix.... sigh.... Don't you love the little tags? "Jingle Cat" (heart) and "Holiday Princess" (snow cat) is what they say.

I am surprised she hasn't pulled the stockings down. They are hanging right over her toybox this year and I thought she might find them too interesting to resist. I know if I had Judy's crazy dog here they would be EATEN within 30 seconds! Judy tells me that Mocha is a poodle, but I think there is some goat in that bloodline somewhere.....

Got my Secret Santa present today.... highlights from that are a YUMMY bottle of wine, some darling wine glass charms and this totally AWESOME travel mug.... even has my name on it!

I think I know who my Secret Santa is, but I'm waiting patiently for the revealing which is later this week.

Need to bake some cookies to send in Mom's package. Need to get the last presents for Russ' family so I can get the wrapping done. Ten more days..... LOL!

Packages received! Now I can post!

So for my group of friends that I affectionately refer to as "the Spammies" or my "Spamily", I made some cute little altered domino Christmas ornaments.







I would love to tell you who makes the stamp I used, but it has LONG been buried in the Christmas avalanche of projects and will likely not be seen again until Spring! I sanded the blank side of the domino and then stamped the image in Black StazOn. The red and green are colored with Sharpie Markers and the grey is silver glitter pen. The beverage is Dazzling Diamonds glitter sprinkled over glue from a Quickie Glue Pen. The ribbon is from Michael's (it was wired, but I pulled the wire out) and is secured around the domino with 1/8" super sticky tape or "red liner" tape that I get from PennyWise Arts. They have an AWESOME selection of widths of this indispensable adhesive, reasonable prices and ship FAST! I added beads at the top and bottom for a little more "bling" and dabbed a little Crystal Effects around the holes for added measure. The numbered side of the domino is covered with a piece of patterned paper. This is my first time altering dominoes and will not be my last. They are a fun fast project.

Of course, now I needed something to put them in..... I scored some little tins at Michael's this summer on clearance for some ridiculously low price and they have been sitting, waiting for me to do something with them. (All papers, ribbon and inks used to decorate the tin are ©Stampin' Up!, as are the rhinestone brads.) I painted the tops white and then dusted them with Dazzling Diamonds while the paint was still wet for some added BLING!



I wrapped them in Always Artichoke Prints Designer paper and added 1/4" Real Red Grosgrain for the trim. Using my Crop-a-Dile I punched a hole through the tin and added a Fire Rhinestone brad through both the tag and the tin. The tag is from one of the retired tag sets and is stamped in Real Red craft ink on Whisper White and then layered onto Always Artichoke.

The Star on the top is done using the Large and Small Tag punches, vellum and a Quickie Glue Pen. You really need a fine tip glue applicator for this - makes it sooooo much easier! Here are instructions on how to make one. Searching the SCS Gallery, a lot of folks have done these with a double star, but since I was making 10 of them, a single layer was all I could muster! The center is a glass pebble using Gold Stickles to glue it down.


I filled the tin with shredded paper fill (WalMart) and then topped a little York Peppermint Patty with the scallop circle punch layered with Garden Green and Real Red circles as a gift card. The scallops are accented with a red glitter pen.



So that was my big project I have been working on for a while. The family ornaments are almost finished... I decided to add some little flat back rhinestone crystals to them... 4 on the snowflake side (1 in the center of each of the small snowflakes) and then 2 red ones on the sentiment side on the center of the little swirls between the words. It was a nice touch, but now I have them spread out all over my table again while the glue dries since I can only do one side at a time. SIGH. Maybe tomorrow I will actually get the Circle Journal done. I'll save the tale of today's embellishment odyssey for then.....

I've been busy.....

Working on Christmas projects. And no, my cards still aren't done. They are semi-started as in I've got the medallion piece done for 18 of them.... Yeah, not much progress. I got my packages out in the mail on Monday to the SPAM Ma'ams. Can't post a picture of that yet, as they haven't all been received, but when they are, I'll add a blog about them.


I *can* post this year's family Holiday Ornament (finally!).





The porcelain ornament is from Michael's. The snowlfakes (large ©Stampin' Up!; small ©Verve Visual) are stamped in StazOn Hydrangea Blue and the sentiment on the back ( ©Stampin' Up!) is stamped in StazOn Forest Green. These ornaments are glazed, so it's a little challenging stamping on such a slick surface, but fortunately, mistakes are easily removed with rubbing alcohol! After they hang to dry overnight, I heat set them with my heat gun, just for added measure. I plan on gluing a rhinestone or two to a couple of the snowflakes for some added "bling".


Still working on a photo of Taz with her FESTIVE holiday collar on. Not getting much cooperation. She doesn't seem to mind this collar I got, but it's just not in the holiday theme.....


Isn't she pretty???? She thinks so! Maybe I'll try the holiday collar again later this evening.... Wish me luck!

Everyone around me has had it.....

And the first cold of the season finally caught up with me! Oh well. Maybe I'll actually get some stamping done since the idea of actually getting out of sweats and putting on real clothes and shoes and leaving the house is just totally unappealing. Bubble bath, pot of tea and magazines. Now that's more like it. Sweats, space heater, stamp room. Perfect! Unfortunately, I didn't get the last string of lights up on Friday and now it's too cold and windy (especially when I'm not feeling great to start with) to put it up, so the 3rd section probably isn't getting done. Oh well. When the wind dies down, I'll hang the snowflakes and take a photo and post it. Hopefully we'll have a nice day later this week...

My goal is to get one of my projects done today and get them packaged up and mailed tomorrow. Yeah. We'll see how THAT goes.... I NEED to get Christmas cards done too otherwise it's gonna be a Hallmark Holiday.... bleh.

The Stampin' Up!® retired list was posted yesterday. Other than the six hostess sets I accumulated (which retire forever with each catalog now), I only had six sets retire and one of them I got at Regionals last year, so only five technically. The dormant list gets posted on Wednesday. We'll see if any of what I have left goes dormant. They only retired 2 sets from the last dormant list, the others carried over to the new catalog (or stayed dormant, I suppose). Of course one was a set I wanted, but my dear sweet friend Janice (aka Mama of THE HERD) is sending me hers.... YAY! I transferred my retiring sets to the other shelf today. I have WAY TOO MANY retired sets.... me thinks I need to list some stuff on ebay after the new year.... I only have 3 sets from the last retirement that have been taken off that other shelf and used in the last 6 months. Putting them over there helps me see what I really need to keep and what can go.... and I have a LOT that can go.... (Sorry Russ.... You probably shoulda stopped reading at the beginning of this paragraph....). Hoping to hold out on ordering TOO MUCH from the new catalog until February 1 when Sale-A-Bration starts. Mmmmm..... earning free stamps.... It's a good thing! I already have a list of cardstock colors I am running dangerously low on, so I KNOW I *will* place an order in January, but I'm hoping to keep it small.... yeah. We'll see how that goes.... LOL!

This summer when the current catalog came out, they shipped first to demonstrators who had ordered more than one box and I ended up getting a catalog from another demonstrator in town to mail to one of my customers. With catalogs shipping out at Christmas (they are aiming for 12/28 delivery), I decided to piggyback my order with another demo in the area who ordered 18 boxes last time so if they do the same thing and ship hers a day ahead of mine, I'll get them a day sooner. Those of you reading who get catalogs from me should expect that they will get mailed around the 31st. Trust me, you'll KNOW when I have them.... LOL!

Well, I'm off to make a bowl of soup and then head for the stamp room!

More useless fun and diversion!

You've Changed 28% in 10 Years

Ah, the past! You may not remember it well - because you're still living in it. While you've changed some, you may want to update your wardrobe, music collection and circle of friends.

How Much Have You Changed in 10 Years?

Video proof....

...That my cat is not a TOTAL psycho.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ujbfCBsexA

LOVE how the random characters they named her video have the word "sex" in it... sheesh..... Trust me, it is TOTALLY SAFE FAMILY VIEWING.... LOL!

A few photos from yesterday.....

The kids are getting veggies now. They really like their carrots! Abigail's hair just gets longer and keeps going straight up!


YUM!


Aren't their matching outfits CUTE?????


Have I mentioned what a HAM Gregory is turning out to be???


My favorite photo from yesterday... I call it "Three Generations". That's my Mom-In-Law, Sis-In-Law (Barb) and Abigail. TOO CUTE!!!!!


Can't leave they guys out.... Here is Russ and his father.

At Christmas, I'll be a little more organized and get true generation photos... I'll get Don & Gregory in with Russ & Dad and I'll get Patty in the "girls" photo.....

Mmmmm.... TURKEY.....

Yes, I have survived Thanksgiving. Fun and TASTY! I'll upload a couple photos of Abigail and Gregory later.

Also survived minimal Black Friday shopping, although I am headed out again in a few minutes. I went to BestBuy at around 7 this morning, went it, got the item I went for, they were out of the second thing I was looking for, got in the MIRACULOUSLY short line and left. 20 minutes, tops. Went to go to Fry's Electronics and the LINE OF CARS *TRYING* to get into the parking lot was backed up ONTO THE FREEWAY EXIT!!!! What the heck????? So I'll try there later. Now I'm off to Kohl's (excellent deals on bedding before 1PM!).

Tomorrow I'm doing a turkey for us since we all know one of the best parts of Thanksgiving is LEFTOVERS!!!!! YUM!

Every once in a while.....

Someone says something to me that is so OUT THERE, all I can do is laugh......

So Starbucks has all their Holiday stuff out, including these REALLY STINKIN CUTE holders for their gift cards (which I have several already purchased for gift giving this year, so I got to take a few).

Now, I know the folks at my Starbucks PRETTY WELL as I am in there just about every day and I sit and read my paper when I'm there, so I've had the chance to chat with most of them. The gal who rang me up says to me, "Aren't those mittens the CUTEST? You should take a set home and PUT THEM ON YOUR CAT! Wouldn't that be DARLING?". Uh..... yeah..... Darling. That's the word to best describe the BLOOD BATH that would ensue if I even THOUGHT about putting those on her.... They are cute tho.... wonder if I could get them on just the front feet???? They'd make a dashing accessory to the little jingle bell collar.... If I haven't blogged again by the 27th, you'll know that I tried it and you can read all about it in the news... just Google "Woman slashed by cat while attempting to put mittens on her".... he he he.....

Last night she was sitting on my lap and just started growling. I don't know if she was having a bad dream or what, but it was dang funny. She could have left at any time, but instead she sat there growling and if I pet her, she would scream and at one point she even hissed. Psycho..... I was even able to record it on my digital camera.... what a nutcase.... she truly has a kitty screw loose.....

I did some stamping this morning, but I can't share what I did as the person getting it reads my blog. Off to start another thrilling day of errands and housework.....

Taz is NOT amused.....

PetSmart has all their holiday stuff out. I couldn't resist this cute collar. Taz, however, CAN resist it. I will be trying for a better shot, but this was the best one of the 3 she "let" me take this afternoon. Can't you just SEE the LOVE in her eyes????

PetSmart had a little Santa sweater thing too, but I was afraid it would be the last thing I would attempt to do in this life to try and get it on her..... OH! And the little purple "jacket" with the fake fur trim that reverses to a pink plaid..... WAY CUTE! I would have to have blood donors lined up before I try to put something like that on her though.....

At least I didn't get the hat or the reindeer ears. Been there, tried that. Not gonna try THAT again! LOL! I am still trying to get a picture of her in the Minnie Mouse pink princess hat I bought her at Disney World 3 years ago.....

A quick upload

I stamped this tonight for Julee's Mojo Monday challenge this week. You can find it HERE. I had to flip the corner the circle went in since the position of the bottle did not allow for the sentiment panel to go on the left.



The base of the card is called Lightspeck Gold. Sorry, I have no idea who makes it, I've had it for YEARS! Same goes for the burgundy ribbon. The patterned paper is by BoBunny. It's iridescent and I think it's called Holiday Wishes. The gold is Stampin' Up!'s Brushed Gold. The brads and sentiment are also from Stampin' Up!. The wine stamp was acquired today and is by Inkadinkado. I stamped it on Beckett Iceberg cardstock in Chocolate Chip and colored it with my Dewernt Watercolor Pencils and used my Aqua painter to even up and highlight the colors. Thanks for the sketch, Julee!!!!!

When I'm BAD, I'm REALLY BAD!!!!

OK - so one of my errands today was to go to Target and get the cute little step stool that was on sale in their ad this weekend. It's for Taz to help her get up onto our bed; it matches my Pergo flooring and looks a whole lot better than the Sterlite storage bucket at the foot of the bed now. Well, while I was there, I thought I'd go check out the Christmas decorations.... BAD IDEA.....

Russ - stop reading NOW.......

Seriously.......


So I go wandering through Target Christmas Land and see THREE FULL AISLES of Halloween candy marked SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT OFF!!!!!! That's 57¢ a bag.... Let's just say my super-secret-candy-stash is FULL. Bad Lisa.... bad, bad Lisa.....

So since I had a LOT of chocolate in the car, I skipped my second errand which was to look at microwave ovens at Best Buy.... didn't want my treasure to melt... it was 75 and sunny out! LOL!

So I guess I get to go back out this afternoon and look at the microwave. We have one over our stove that is starting to show some signs of not being long for this world. It was here when we bought the house and according to the label is about 9 years old. Also, the former residents took the probe with them when they moved, so I've never been able to use the sensor cook feature which I have missed on a few occasions. So I told Russ I want a new microwave for Christmas.

After checking Consumer Reports and then reading a bunch of actual consumers' reviews online I know which one I want (he's lucky I read all the consumer reviews... the one I wanted was $700 and well rated by the testing at CR, but real people rated it VERY BADLY) and the one that scored well with both CR and real people is only $300. YAY! So I just saved him $200 (Yes, I know it's a $400 difference, I have points at Sears that I was gonna cash in for $200 off the Kenmore $700 model, but they don't carry the one we will end up getting.... oh well, I get to keep accumulating my Sears points!). Ain't he lucky to have me???? LOL!

So now I'm off to Best Buy and Fry's (who also carries the microwave brand I'm looking for) to see what their install and delivery prices are.... Catch ya later, peeps!

They're turning into little PEOPLE!

Russ & I went to visit his sister, her DH and the babies yesterday. The babies will be 6 months old on the 15th. The last time I saw them, they had just turned 3 months old. WOW, WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!!! Here are my two fave photos from yesterday:






Do you not LOVE Abigail's HAIR????? What a hoot! Gregory likes to "stand" when you hold him and will do this little "marching" thing. That kid is going to walk EARLY..... Abigail (being a girl) likes to "talk". She giggles easily. Gregory normally doesn't like being put in his car seat, apparently, but he didn't mind yesterday, did he? LOL!

Stressin, stressin, stressin......

OK. Don't get me wrong, I *LOVE* Christmas, but there is little in this world that can stress me out more than walking into WalMart on November 1st and seeing their HUGE FREAKIN COUNT DOWN TO CHRISTMAS SIGN UP!!!! (53 shopping days left, by the way) Anyone have a paper bag I can breathe into?????

Let's see.... I have ornaments to make, cards to make, presents to buy, decorating to do. And then there's the baking. And the travel scheduling. And the inevitable guilt trip coming from the north even though I TOLD her we aren't coming up there for Christmas EVER AGAIN after the travel fiasco last year.

What do I have done so far????? I have one card tentatively designed. I have no clue what I'm doing for ornaments. I have a couple Starbucks gift cards bought (those $5 ones you always seem to need to give someone at the last minute). I measured the new gutters to see how many feet of lights I need (now I need to get the lights out and see how many feet I *HAVE* and if I have gutter clips). We won't discuss shopping/gifts. I have an inkling of an idea of what I'm getting Russ and Justin's family. I have a mental budget of what I *plan* to spend. I have money set aside in savings. That's it. No clue where to even start for my Mom. As usual. Ugh.

I remember when I was younger, my shopping was DONE by Halloween (except for stockings and last minute things like edibles) and my cards were addressed and ready to mail the day after Thanksgiving. In recent years I have used the Thanksgiving weekend up at Sea Ranch to stamp my cards. Don't know what I'm doing this year. We still aren't sure when Russ will be done with Vegas, but I may go up to Sea Ranch by myself after Thanksgiving if I don't get some progress made SOON.

I had a couple sketches done last night for the "mailable" Christmas card, but wasn't really HAPPY with either of them. Sat down in there again this morning and made a couple tweaks and I *think* I like it. Unfortunately, I don't own one of the stamps I need for it yet, so it's on order. It will be 7-10 business days before I can see if I *really* like it. Haven't a clue what I'm doing on the "special" cards.... (Special cards go to the friends who get packages from me so they don't need to fly under the new postal regulations that keep me from using embellishments and layers to my heart's content!). I *do* have one batch of ornaments that I did about a month ago for my SCS "Spamily" that are about half done, but I have no clue what I'm doing for our family which is the big batch of ornaments I do every year. Sigh..... Lots of little fragments of ideas, but no real progress. The story of my life.... LOL!

Today is being spent on laundry and errands. Russ is working from home this morning and I helped him get his travel reservations all done for his trip to DC in April.

I decided not to go. I did negotiate him picking up the airfare for my trip to SLC next July for Convention. That ought to be a pretty big PAR-TAY.... it will be Stampin' Up!'s 20th anniversary and if THAT wasn't big ENOUGH, they are going back to a SINGLE SESSION for Convention next year which means probably over 5000 crazy, jazzed STAMPING WOMEN taking over downtown Salt Lake City for 4 days!!!! Should be interesting!

Later we have plans to make a run over to Costco. Russ' new glasses are ready to pick up and I need to hit Petco which is nearby for their HUGE 3 day sale on cat food. Grab a little lunch then come home and do more laundry! The weather is STUNNING, so I picked up some steaks last night to BBQ tonight. Tomorrow we are going down to San Jose (yes, Judy - where the earthquake was this week) to see Russ' family (including the little munchkins who turn 6 months in about 2 weeks). Then on Sunday the whole packing cycle begins again. At least I get an extra hour of sleep Saturday night.... don't forget to set your clocks back!