Holy Schmoly!!!!

Okay, I probably don't know how to spell Schmoly, but you get the idea. Look at the stuff on the table. I'm taking a Donna Downey class at Paper Vineyard tomorrow and this is what we need - not everything, but almost. We are making a 20-page album and the technique is painting on fabric. I am very excited about it because it is a new technique for me. Donna creates absolutely gorgeous art. Check back tomorrow night and I will put the finished product on my blog! Have a great Saturday!

Fun filled night...

After work, I sat down on the couch and didn't realize how tired I was. Before I knew it, I was dozing, so I was scrambling for time. My book club was tonight - by the way, I finished my book. So on the way, I stopped at Paper Vineyard to see what was going on. Meet Krista! She is a vender rep and the one coordinating the Stamp, Papers, Scissors Crop Hop - an event where scrapbook/ craft stores create events to encourage customers to visit their stores. Krista is doing a demo on a fairly new product called Chip Art. It can make chipboard look like leather and it is very cool. I then left there and went on to my book club.

Now meet the ladies in my book club: Claudia, Michelle, Donna, Cathy, Susan, and MaryAnna. I'm behind the camera, of course. They thought it would be better if they were holding this month's book. All of us really enjoyed it - The Space Between Us. I talked about it in another of my blogs. Next month is The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. Read along if you want. We started this group about 12 years ago with many more and it has dwindled down to 7 members, but we kind of like it that way. Not only do we discuss the book, but we also...

EAT! Tonight was coconut creme pie or chocolate creme pie. You can see the coconut pie was more popular tonight.

I'm still working on my project, but I really don't want to share it until I get it finished. You'll understand why.

What the heck is that?

What is in that big box, you ask? Well, it's a surprise - for me! It took three of us to dismantle the box, carry the pieces inside, and set it up in my room. You can see by the size of the shipping truck that this is a very big box. Here are some hints:
1. It came from Utah;
2. It is black (although other colors are available);
3. It will be part of my "after" photos;
4. There are lots of screws;
5. I will probably use it 5+ days a week;
6. I am going to love it!
Can't wait for you to see it!

Such creativity...

Once a month, there are a group of 11-12 women who get together and do a card exchange - it is the same idea as a cookie exchange. You make 12 cards (all the same) and we meet, do a little chit-chat, then share the techniques, products, and tools we used to makes our cards. Here are the eleven cards we made this month. The theme was "girlfriends." They are all so different and all so cute! It is always fun to see what other people do and to try new things. Have a great evening. More tomorrow.

Okay, already - I'm a few days behind

Yes, I am a few days behind, and I want to bring you up to date about what I've been doing. Paper Vineyard hosts a Friends and Family crop once amonth. On a Friday night, we get our friends and family together to do whatever craft project we want, and just have a good time. We catch up on what's happening in each other's lives, share stories, make fun of each other, have a lot of laughs, some dinner - a late night out with the girls. It is what I call good, clean, fun! It doesn't get much better. Here are some pictures of the group. These are my good friends Diana, Janie, Nicole, and Cindy. Everybody's smiling! Notice Cindy's bag - it is almost as big as she is! You can see into the other room; we had a good turnout this last Friday night.

This is the project that I was working on - correction - Cindy was working on (for me). Those are her hands. She was water coloring the design on the front of my cards. Thank you, Cindy! I couldn't have finished without you.

Isn't this a great picture? These are my friends, Lois and Cher. They met in one of my card classes - a day we were a little crowded. Cher was new to the store and taking classes, so I put her by Lois (since she's been around since we opened.) Guess what? They are now the best of friends. My class was large and I was hoping Lois would help me with Cher, but it turned out to be an even better deal for everyone. I'm off for now. I have something else I want to show you!

Today is a day that is full of surprises...

Nobody knows what's gonna happen. Remember that song? Here in my office, we've recently "rediscovered" that song (well, not everyone - just my immediate peers). Working in a law office, your day always turns out to be something different than what you had planned. So let's just make it that kind of day! Go with the flow, embrace change, move forward, and walk on the wild side! I just had training for our new document profiling software, so I am going to go in with a good attitude and expectations of constant change.

I am also changing some things in my home, which I plan to share with you later - when it's all done. I do have before and after pictures to share as well. Have a great Friday!

Oh The Places You'll Go

If you could go anywhere, where would it be? For me, I would go just about anywhere. If I ever get to retire, I want to see the world - and all parts of the U.S. This picture is my screensaver simply because I think it is absolutely gorgeous and totally unique. It is a constant reminder that I want to get there some day. It is part of Cinque Terre, Italy and it is one of five towns along the Italian Riviera. It looks inviting, relaxing, quaint, refreshing, and personal. I would love to hear your dream destinations.

Back to Second Grade...

Today I went to Kate's (my oldest daughter) second grade class and helped with their "End of the School Year Party." I brought pizza and donut holes and then we played games. They are all excited about only having two more days of school. My youngest daughter, Kimberly, also went along and the kids absolutely loved her. I think they just enjoyed having guests in their classroom. They asked us questions like (1) how old are you? (2) do you have a boyfriend? (3) do you have a car, (4) do you own a pit bull or a chihuahua? (5) do you work? They were impressed with my working for a lawyer, but then said "what's that?" There is a lot of energy in that room. We had a good time and it was nice to finally put names and faces together after hearing about the kids all year. I am looking forward to meeting her kids next year.

For lunch today I sat outside because it was just so beautiful. The weather was 89 degrees (but only felt 84) and was actually quite windy. I sat on the rocks by the fountain in the plaza right outside my office building. What a view! The only issue today was that it was so windy, I felt like I was taking a shower. I ate my sandwich and tried reading my book but decided it would be a whole lot less windy in my office. The book I am reading right now is called The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. It is set in modern day India and I am enjoying it. My book club meets once a month and we take turns selecting the books we read. This forces me to read books outside of my normal selections. Overall, I enjoy that. This book club has been meeting for about 12 years. We started out large and now have about 7 women that attend regularly. If you have any suggestions of a great book we should read, just let me know. More tomorrow.

Move over, Tim Allen

I just have to share this tool with you! Here's what happened: We had corn on the cob and one of the plastic holders fell down in the disposal - unknown to me. Of course, I turned on the disposal and immediately knew I had a problem. I'm sure you know that sound. My first thought was to get a strong magnet to pull out the metal prongs, but I had nothing at home. When I went to Home Depot, I picked up a couple of magnets, but then they showed me this telescoping mini-lite with a magnetic tip. It is made by General Tools. It's for picking up screws, etc. But it worked great for my home repair project! I am trying to figure out how I can use it in the craft world. Any suggestions?

Check Out My Toes!

I'm not sure where to start tonight because I've been running like crazy today. I did accomplish a great deal and was even able to work in a pedicure - not just ANY pedicure but "the works." That included callous removal, the super duper massage, masque, and hot wax. I have to say my legs and feet feel really great. I tried to take a picture of my feet and you might think that would be an easy task, but it actually took me 19 tries before I felt comfortable flashing my feet on my blog. On my camera, they looked like what I call "old lady feet." Here's the one I ended up with. I've decided I would probably never be chosen to be a hand or foot model.

I want to show you a few photos from my "Happy Camper" altered mini book in which I used the Cosmo Cricket "Mr. Campy" paper line. I think this line is just so very cute. These are copies of the first one I made, but my friend, Lindsay, at Cosmo Cricket, has the newer, better version.

I can't get the photos to line up perfectly, but you get the idea. Have a great week. Back tomorrow!

Happy Birthday, Gail!!!!

Happy Birthday, Gail! I'm blogging early today because I want to wish my sister, Gail, a very happy birthday! It seems we shared everything when we were kids - even through high schoool, we shared our clothes. Gail lives in Florida with her family and is a grandma three times over. I found a picture of the three girls in my family (Susan, Gail and myself) probably taken on Easter in 1964. No boys allowed in this picture. Gail is the one with the booptie-boop curls. Susan is the oldest child. There are five kids in my family and Gail is the middle child. She took a lot of razzing about that. The picture to the right is a more recent picture of Gail and her husband, Rudy, on a day trip we took to Punta Gorda, Florida to see my uncle. Anyway... Have a great birthday, Gail!

Movie Night at Paper Vineyard

Every Wednesday night, Paper Vineyard plays a movie while we work on projects. Tonight was "The Blind Side." I have to really pay attention to what I am doing, or I could spend my entire time watching the movie, and not completing my project. If it is a movie I've already seen - even better! Tonight I sat in a corner by myself and worked on bookmarks I am making for my oldest daughter's (Katie's) 2nd grade class. Next Tuesday I am taking her class a pizza lunch, dessert, and I also want to give them each a handmade bookmark. These were all made out of scraps, so of course, they are all different. Using my Cricut, a caterpillar was the closest diecut I could find that resembled a "bookworm." I have had a lot of fun making these and it just makes me want to play with my Cricut even more. If you're following along, I would love to know your favorite movie.

What's for dinner a/k/a Can you say CHEESE??

I decided tonight to try a new recipe from the A Taste of Home cookbook. Check out the picture. This is called Beefy Noodle Bake submitted by a lady from Pennsylvania. The recipe looked good, kind of comforting, like something you would want on a cool evening. Well, it is somewhat cool here right now in Phoenix (I am NOT complaining), so I decided to turn on my oven and give it a whirl. Once I got it all put together, it looked questionable. Kind of a tomato base beef stroganoff dish. I still had hope, though. The real test would be getting it past my oldest daughter. As she gets older, she is definitely more open minded about foods. Turns out, it was actually very good. I think I would add a couple of garlic cloves when browning the hamburger, because it did need a little more zip. I think my camera enhanced the cheese.

Thanks to everyone who viewed my blog, became a follower, and/or left a comment. I love that you took the time.

What made you happy today?

Let's see... for me I would have to say singing in the shower. I don't know why I do it, and who knows why I pick a certain song, but I think it really does set the tone for the day. The songs I sing just pop in my head and are almost always "oldies" maybe because I know most of the words. Sometimes it is John Denver - I know, I need to buy some new CD's. I have never owned a John Denver CD!

More happiness: I teach part-time at Paper Vineyard in Chandler, which is a paper craft/scrapbooking store. That job is fun and makes me happy. I really do enjoy making homemade items and giving them away. I recently made (for my sister, Susan) a pencil cup and memo pad using my Bind-It-All Zutter. I have to say, I was happy with how they turned out. I've added a picture above. I used K & Company's Wild Saffron line, which is one of my favorite paper lines.

If anyone is reading my blog, let me know what makes you happy! :)

Under Construction

Okay - this whole blog thing is new to me. Clicking buttons, selecting pictures, writing about me, my family, whatever ... let's see how it goes. Please remember I am under construction, but I am excited about trying something new!