Eleven Years and counting....

That's right! We're celebrating eleven years today! Well...I'm not sure there will actually be that much celebrating, but we'll probably go out to dinner or something. I will admit the eleventh has been one of the tougher ones (moving, health-wise, financially, etc.) But we really do love each other, and I'm looking forward to getting on to year 12! I let Addison pick out which picture to show you. Leave it to my kids to find the one with sweets in it! LOL

I did make a card to give to Carl. You can see it here! I hope he knows that my heart really does belong to him forever. Happy Anniversary Honey!

If you love a good surprise...

and a great bargain, you should check out the Mystery Boxes at {ScrapAttackScrapbooking}!!! I've ordered mystery boxes from Lauri in the past, and I've always loved what she packs in these things!

You can check out the details on their blog!

And Shop Here!!!

Oh....and drop by the message board too! They are one of the friendliest groups out there!

RAK from Bloggy Friend

Many of you know I am addicted to my Google Reader. This RAK came from one of the gals I check on every time she posts. I love her humor, her writing style, and her energy for stamping. She sent this little RAK for commenting on one of her posts a few weeks ago. Thanks Leslie! And make sure you go check out The Crooked Stamper!

I'd appreciate any good stamping vibes for later today. It's been a LONG week trying to meet some deadlines at the office. But I really NEED to ink up some stamps tonight. I'm just hoping I don't fall into the Friday night collapse!!!

MTSC27 for Jen's Blog Tart

Have you seen the awesome giveaway Jen del Muro is having this month? Can you believe how much stuff is included in this blog tart? Have you mailed your card for the international students yet? There is still time to enter this giveaway, but you'll need to hurry.

I used Mercy's sketch #27 to make this card which is heading out to Dallas in today's mail. The stamp is from Inque Boutique. I received the patterned papers (including those little die-cut flowers) in a RAK and I have no idea who makes them. Maybe the fact that I'm loving this color combo is a sign that I'm longing for Spring.

CHA Live!

Did you know Making Memories is broadcasting live from CHA! Go check it out on their blog. They always have lots of spectacular giveaways during the show. If you're not at the show, this is almost as exciting, huh?

2 Fav 4-Letter Words - LOVE and CASE!!!

Yesterday, I hosted my first card class. You can see the projects we made here (and don't forget to enter the giveaway too!). After the class, my friends stayed for supper, and we played in the craftroom for a couple more hours. They were so productive while I was referreeing the hoodlums playing the perfect hostess. However, I did get one project finished during our playtime!

I'm the first to admit that I rarely (if ever) have an original idea. There is so much fabulous inspiration out there in blogland and so many projects I want to re-create....my philosophy is "Why re-invent the wheel?" LOL

Here is an example of a complete CASE of this project on the Shabby Chic Crafts blog. I picked up the square frame on sale, found the patterned papers in my stash, and used some velvet letter stickers that have been sitting around too long! VOILA! A perfect little seasonal wall hanging that now graces our dining room.

So much for...

Friday nights when I used to come home and craft alone!! I have constant company these days. But I'm really not complaining. Ten years from now they'll both be dying to get away from us and spend Friday nights with their buddies....so I'm really just gonna treasure these days where getting to play with momma's paints is just the cat's pajamas.

Okay....it's their bedtime now. I'll get my time in just a little while.

More CHA Goodies

Look at these goodies from Queen & Co. Comment on this post for your chance to win a bucket of your own!!!

Altered Wall Clock

Okay....the title of this post should really be "How my sidetracked mind works!"

I've been brainstorming for an idea to keep the mail from piling up on my desk at home. It's inevitable that I never have time to get through ALL of it every day, so I stop at Office Depot last night to buy this little vertical sorter.


So I can put my mail in file folders that look pretty!


But while I'm at Office Depot, I find this!!


So I spend the rest of the night making THIS....which is now hanging in my craftroom/office!

And yes....I'm rationalizing the whole thing. Because at school, the first graders are learning to tell time, and we don't have any other (working) clocks in the house that are not digital. So see? Makes perfect sense, huh?

Oh my Goodness!!!

You HAVE to see this Sweet Celebration from Bella Blvd!!!

That is just the cutest stuff I've seen yet! Just perfect for all those birthday cards and invitations and party favors. Oh the ideas are just endless!

Check out their blog for more peeks of CHA Winter releases.

From the words of a Kindergartener....

Happy Mark & Luke or King Day!!!

Resurrecting this post from last year just 'cause it's one of those "little things they say" I never want to forget. Enjoy your day!

End-of-the-Weekend Ramblings

How are those New Year's Resolutions Goals going? I found a cool tool on Beth Dargis's blog called Don't Break the Chain. Go to Beth's blog to read how this started, but after using it for exactly a week I can say that I look forward to marking off another day and NOT breaking the chain. One of daily habits I'm trying to get back in the swing of is a load of laundry a day. I know from experience that (barring sickness) one load a day is enough to keep us all in clean clothes and clean towels in the closets. Nine days out of ten, I'll have a full load of any one type (whites, darks, towels). On the rare day that I don't have a full load, I'm committed to another laundry type chore like ironing or straightening dresser drawers. So far, this nifty little gadget is motivating me to keep it up 'cause I don't want to break the chain!

On to Project 365.52.12:

If you're not using Becky's kit, Meridith is sharing free weekly templates for digi scrappers. I'm printing these off to use as sketches for my paper scrapping. And even if you're not doing Project 365, these are great designs for any layouts with lots of photos.

And a couple of pics....

Saturday night - I take a pizza from delivery guy and set it on the table right inside the front door then step back to the door to pay him. When he leaves and I turn back around, this is what I see:


And for Sunday -
We had more firewood delivered yesterday, but this guy didn't stack it for us. This is what it looked like right before church this morning. I took this so we'll remember just how much we're loving our woodstove. It reminds me so much of my childhood since the woodstove at my parents' house is always burning. My hubby wasn't feeling too well today, so late this afternoon I decided to go out and spend five minutes stacking it up. I didn't want to do more than that given all the back problems I've had. But every hour or so, I'd go back out and stack for another five minutes. Let me tell you---that brought back alot of childhood memories too! Anyway, four trips outside and that pile is now neatly stacked taller than me!

Speaking of which, I better go check the fire then head to bed. The alarm is going to be blaring before I know it. :)

Shout Out to SheetLoad

Have you ever tried SheetLoad of Cards? It's a FREE downloadable monthly e-zine with a great card design. You all know how much I love sketches. AND they give you the instructions for mass producing. So you can save paper AND get a stash of nice-looking cards in hardly no time at all! There is a different design each month...and did I mention it's FREE???

Using the January issue, I made this cute card in no time flat. I definitely recommend that you go check it out every month.

Shout Out to Simply Cardstock!

Wanna see what was in my mailbox this afternoon?





Ready to ooooh and aaaah and drool?






Is this a cardmaker's dream or what???? 50 sheets of 8.5x11 Bazzill textured cardstock!!! And, oh my goodness, it's already sorted in ROYGBIV order!!!! LOL

I was the lucky winner of a giveaway on the Simply Cardstock blog. I know I've posted about Simply Cardstock before, but that was before Vicki took the reins. Let me just tell you, I think Vicki is just as sweet and customer-service oriented as Renee always was! She even sent this adorable little card with my package.

I loved the days when I had my Simply Cardstock subscription....however having two kids and, now, two mortgages has prohibited that luxury lately. You should really go check out them out at www.simplycardstock.com.

And now, just an update on my goals posted at the beginning of year----SIX handmade cards sent out so far in 2009, and one more going in the mail tomorrow.

And a picture for Project 365! This is my new "scrappy" outfit. New pajamas given to me for Christmas. They're so warm and cozy and the colors just scream at me to go play with all my fun stuff. So I don't dare put them on until all the daily chores are done. KWIM?

Saw this on Allison's blog and had to give it a try:

Your Word is "Love"

You see life as possibility to form deep connections with a few people. Relationships are the center of your world, and you always take time to bond with those you love. You are caring and giving. You enjoy helping those you love. And when it comes to romantic love, you feel passionately ... even in a very long term relationship.

What's Your Word?

Friday Sketch #44 and Project 365.52.12 Update

I used Amy's sketch and my Treehouse Stamps to make this quick card. One of the girls in our neighborhood turns 11 this week, and I wanted to make her a fun card. I love how easily this sketch pulls together.

I saw there's a free download on Becky's Blog in case you weren't able to get one of the Project 365 kits. And here's our picture for Sunday, January 11. My kids have taken to building forts underneath the folding tables in my craftroom. I think they have been in here constantly since we got home from church except for the three-hour nap Clark took. :)

WooHoo!!!

My long-time (and I'm talking like since we were 5-ish? maybe 6? LONG TIME!!!) friend Kana has recently joined the blogosphere. You'll love her stuff! Drop by and show her some love!

Project 365! (or Project 52....or even 12!!!)

It's the scrap world's buzzword right now, isn't it? Project 365? Even if you didn't get the kit (and I didn't even try), reading about it has encouraged me to keep the camera out more the past nine days. So far, two days in 2009 with no shots were taken. But in my busy world, that's not unusual. I'm just committed to not let too many days (or even weeks) go by without snapping the shutter or focusing in on what really goes on in our day-to-day lives.

So whether I call it Project 365 or Project 52 or even Project 12, I will be documenting our life in pictures this year. During my craft room re-organization project last weekend, I ran across this album and little kit from Creative Cafe.
It was one of projects at Scrap Etc last April. I didn't even attend that class and haven't done a thing with the kit. But the little album has 12 tabbed sections which I'm thinking will be perfect for my 2009 photo journey. I'm going to have to start printing smaller sizes (which is an option at scrapbookpictures.com) or leaving the zoom alone so I can fit more pics in this album (measures approx. 7 x 5.5)

If you haven't heard about Project 365, follow the links from Jolynn's post to learn more. Then tell me....are you doing it? It's only the 9th....definitely not too late to start. I'm sure you have something in your stash you can use to pull this together! And if you don't...I'm sure I have something in MY stash you can use. LOLOL

Oh....and here is my picture for today! Playing Sorry on a Friday night.

Addison is SEVEN!!!

How did that happen? LOL It was also the first day back at school for her, so we really couldn't celebrate until last night. Thanks to Crystal, we were able to take advantage of this special deal.

Dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory:

Opening Presents:

Cake:


You can see the card I made for her here!

Love you sweetie-pie! And I'm glad you had a Happy Birthday!

My weekend project

I was lucky to take a four-day weekend and warned my family before it started that my focus was going to be getting the craft room/office organized. We moved here seven months ago, and there were still several too many unpacked boxes sitting around. It's technically the formal living room so what a mess on the rare occasion that someone comes to the front door. I'm not even going to show you the before pics...they are embarassing!!! Plus I have plenty of AFTER pics.

I can actually craft in any 12 inch square space, but finding what I knew I had somewhere was, on occasion, a hindrance. This room is also my office for our personal finance stuff and where I work when I need to work from home. With tax season approaching I'm sure there will be more and more of that activity here too!

Looking in from the foyer:




I got these white cubes at Michael's and I LOVE them. Patterned paper and cardstock are stored vertically on the left half. And yes...that pink bag holds my unfinished projects from Scrap Etc. Someone please make me finish them soon, okay???


Almost everything else is in one of these drawers.

Alphas, ribbon, large embellishments are sorted by color. Here's a view of the pink and red drawers.

Unmounted stamps are stored in CD cases. These drawers are the perfect size and each drawer will hold about 30 stamps sets!!!

There are also drawers for rub-ons, for chipboard, for stickers/transparencies, and a few for specific themes like Baby, Christmas, Birthday, etc.

And here's a pic once we moved the school desks back in after my cleaning frenzy. These desks were left behind by the previous owners and my kids LOVE them. They sit in here with me and draw/cut/color or just watch tv. Guess I never should have worried about separating the playroom and craftroom combo we had in the old place, huh?

A Batch of Cards and A Haircut

Remember Toni from yesterday's post? I used this card of hers as inspiration for a batch of cards to add to my stash. The stamps are TAC and Inque Boutique, paper is Three Bugs in A Rug - Tickled Pink, and some ribbon from my stash. The sentiment is embossed with white embossing powder. I'm feeling good about having a couple to stick in the mail and a few more to have on hand when I need one but don't need to take the time to make one. KWIM?

Clark has been in dire need of a haircut. I gave him his first two haircuts almost chopping off his left ear the second and last time I did it. Then I handed haircut duties over to the sitter he went to before he started preschool. I hated to bother her on a holiday weekend to see if she could cut it, so we headed to Uncle Classic Barbershop just a mile or so from the house. Clark was a real trooper and sat very still for his new cut. While we were there he told the gal cutting his hair that he was going to go home and just look in the mirror.

And yes....I do still have a daughter....she's been unusually out of proximity from the camera lately. Her week is coming up though. I've been on a card-making frenzy this weekend and she is a little put out that I haven't started her birthday card yet. She doesn't understand yet that if I NEED a card on Tuesday, I'll probably make it Monday night. LOL

TCP Tuesday 39 Challenge

I needed a card for the birthday party Clark went to this morning. When I saw this week’s TCP Sketch Challenge, I knew this was the perfect chance to pull out my Smells Like Cake set again.

Right before my blogging hiatus this fall, I won this fun set as blog candy from Toni Armstrong. Toni is such a sweetheart and even sent this adorable card using another TCP set along with the stamps.
I have several friends who can definitely identify with that sentiment. LOL

Even though I haven’t acknowledged it here on the blog, I have inked up the Smells Like Cake stamps several times the past few months when I needed a fun birthday card. I’m finally getting around to showing you how great these stamps are. I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. The paper is some Polar Bear Press that’s been sitting in my stash way too long. Hopefully Clark’s three-year-old friend liked the little penguins.

We sure had fun at the party. This was Clark’s first time at one of the big “party places” with inflatable bouncers, slides and obstacle courses. I am exhausted since he insisted that I do everything with him. I’m thinking that naptime can’t come soon enough for BOTH of us!

What we've been eating!

I'm posting a link to a couple of recipes so I'll be able to find them more easily next time I need them. LOL

This is the second year we've made these yummy cinnamon rolls for Christmas Day AND New Year's Day so I think it's become a tradition. Just wonderful and so easy!
Christmas Eve Shortcut Cinnamon Buns

Then for New Year's Eve, I tried this recipe. Something I love to order when we go out to eat. Took a little time to chop all that spinach, but it turned out great!

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

It's TIME TO SHINE in 2009!

Happy New Year!!!

Do you pick a word for the year (a la Ali Edwards)? I typically choose phrases instead of words, and I've been doing this since 2003. I remember that clearly since that was right after I found Flylady so it was "Clutter-Free in 2003!" LOL

I went through lots of words for this year..... mine, divine, whine, and finally settled on SHINE!!! So this year is TIME TO SHINE!

It kind of covers everything for me like making the house shine which is certainly high on my list, but more importantly letting my spirit shine. You know the spirit that is the REAL you...not the one that gets bogged down in all the details of daily life and fatigue that comes with it. The one that remembers to do nice things for people and pursue the passions that are important to your heart.

I'm sharing pics of two people who truly let their spirit shine ...my Dad and my son:

My parents have been visiting and Clark wants to do everything Poppy does...especially as it relates to any outside activities.

Here is my 84 and 1/2 year old father riding one of the scooters down the driveway. This is a man that definitely does not let his age define what he can or cannot do. Those of you that know him know how much I love him. I'm truly a Daddy's girl, and I am so thankful for his shining example.

And here is the little guy. One of his favorite things to do right now is get up on the hearth and have a little show. He sings all the songs in his repertoire - in this picture he is singing "This Little Christian Light of Mine -- I'm Gonna Let it SHINE."

I haven't set many specific goals other than making sure that I'm living my life in a way to let the priorities SHINE through. The only objective goal I have set is to mail a handmade card to everyone in my address book sometime during 2009. If you don't think you're in my address book and you want to be on the list, click the email link in my profile and send me your snail mail address. :)

I hope you're having a wonderful day to start off the New Year! We're fixin' to go to Target -- Clark needs to buy a birthday present for one of his buddies and Addison is determined to help pick it out.