Halloween cards...

I know it's early but I just couldn't wait to play with my blog candy from Kerry.
Here's my attempt at some Halloween cards. They are pretty simple but I hated to cover the adorable paper by Imaginisce (also the stamps)! I don't know if you can tell but the paper is embossed in areas so I embossed my parts too. I used SU cardstock & inks. Also, in the skull one I added some bling to the eyes and it doesn't show up too well here.

Our ride to the ME coast...

We decided to take a long ride to Boothbay Ha-Ba (harbor spoken with Maine accent). It took longer than we expected and it was smaller than expected but it was a cute little harbor. I would love to have walked around the shops but my dh wasn't going for it.

We thought about staying for the night but just didn't plan ahead enough.

We stopped at a wharf restaurant - nothing fancy, just picnic tables on a wharf overlooking the harbor. I got fried clams and scallops and dh got fried clams and shrimp (so we could share). It was decent but not the best we've had.

It was cloudy at first but then the sun came out. You can tell it was low tide by some of the photos.

There's a footbridge that takes you from one side of the harbor to the other and that would have been nice if I had been able to walk across and shop on the other side!!

Here are a few photos.

Go ahead, make my day....

We went for a long ride today. I'll post about it later. Anyway, when I got home I saw a package and knew just what it was - my blog yummies from Kerry at Three Clover Designs! Check out Kerry's beautiful cards!

Not only did she send me some delicious Halloween papers but also three Halloween stamps and an adorable Amuse card!! Thank you SO much, Kerry, for making my day! I cannot wait to make a card with my stuff!

Finished and unfinished projects...

Well, I had a semi long list to finish during vacation. I got a couple of things done but I never made it to the library, got an oil change, finished cleaning out craft bins.

I did finish the monogrammed cards for a wedding I'm not going to. I need to find more things to monogram. Someone suggested some nice guest soaps. Not sure yet. I can't make it heavy because my df is carrying it to France for me. I so wish I could go.

I did clean out one craft bin but I have two more in my mom's closet that I need to get rid of before we move.

I finished a book, I scrapped, I mailed my dad's bday gift. I don't even remember what else was on there but I ran out of steam.

We may take a ride tomorrow to the Maine coast. We'll see.

Cocktails, anyone?

My day got progressively worse. I can't talk about it but please think good thoughts for my family. I flew through a bunch of easy cards to keep my mind of things.

I started with this little cocktail and enjoyed coloring them in so I kept going. Perhaps this is what I should have had to drown my sorrows?!

I really like this sparkly sugar coated paper from Doodlebug. It's hard to see in the photo but most of the scalloped circles are cut from either orange or teal sugar coated paper. I may have to get more colors. I've had this since CK Manchester and just now pulled it out to use.

The cs is SU and the cocktail & little flower stamps are Amuse. The "enjoy" is a Mike's $1 stamp and the other is Amuse. The ribbon is also Amuse and that little printed card in the lower right is an Amuse note card. The color is really off. I forgot to shut the Ott light off before snapping the photo.

What did I do?...

Today was my first day on vacation alone. I had no particular plans but I do have a list of things to do between today and Thurs. One was to get my Dad's gift in the mail - done.

Another was to get on the treadmill every day. So...after procrastinating online for a while I made myself go on the treadmill. I was going to start with 20-25 minutes but it went by fast so I finished at 35 minutes. I was watching Will and Grace so it was easy to forget what I was doing. Love that show!! Anyway, just as I was getting off the treadmill, I started to get the migraine squigglies in my right eye. It got so bad, I grabbed a few Advil and had to lie down on the couch and cover my eyes. I stayed there for about 20 minutes waiting for them to go away. I slowly got up and took my shower, etc. Now I have a miserable headache that won't quit. I went to the post office to get my mind off it and then I cleaned out a craft bin. It just doesn't want to quit.

I think I'll be logging off and I may put my head down again. So ... I know it's pretty funny that my body can't take the exercise but seriously - what did I do? I'm wondering if the flourescent light bouncing off the t.v. did it or if my body is in shock! LOL but not really funny.

Back from Maine...

We took a drive to Maine today. We drove about 350 miles round trip!

We stopped at our property only to find out the driveway wasn't complete. It's still a little wet up there. They got pounded with rain recently.

From there we headed home the scenic route and stopped for lunch at Long Lake. We got a seat on the deck and enjoyed a delicious lobster roll and a nice view of the water. It was gorgeous and sunny with a light breeze.

Tomorrow we are heading for the MA coast for some tender Ipswich fried clams. Yum! I'll need a serious diet after all of this!

Winning streak.....

I will start by saying I've never been a lucky person with things like the lottery or door prizes. I think my luck is a changin'!!!

I think I posted before about a winning streak I was on when I purchased some chances. Someone I know has cancer. She is very well liked and there was a big fundraiser for her. Anyway, we won three prizes because my mom wrote my name, my dh's, my boys, etc. One was a gc to a delicious local Italian restaurant, the next was a $50 to Longhorns and the third was a big basket of booze! That was my son's gf's prize and they are of age so it worked well. It was huge and had several large bottles of vodka, Southern Comfort, etc. and tons of mixers and glasses.

Last week I was lucky enough to win some blog yummies on Kerry's blog (Three Clover Designs) and I was very excited about that.

Today I was sitting down reading and falling asleep (didn't sleep much last night) when the phone rang. It was my lss letting me know that I won the Memory Box card contest! Of course, it was only a random pick, not talent, that got me that one. It made my day though. I went over to pick it up. It was 50 Memory Box cards and matching envelopes. Very nice!!













































This card probably looks familiar. I posted one something like this a while back using a bird stamp.

My question is, do things really come in threes? If so, I'm due for another win. My dad's bday is coming up and I have to buy him lottery tix (that's what he loves). The last time I bought some he won $100. When I buy for me, I win NOTHING. So I'm hoping I can pick a winner for him! I don't want to be greedy or anything! LOL

Nothing accomplished....

I played a few games last night and then made myself go into my stamp/scrap room. I played with my new Martha punch but didn't come up with a card. I'm trying to make a birthday card for someone in my group who is really talented and I'm stuck. I get myself too stressed about making the perfect card!

While I was doing all that, my dh was in the next room playing guitar. I just love his variety of music. It brings me way back to high school sometimes.

Last night there were a few that I hadn't heard for so long. The two favorites were Santana's Hold On and Grand Funk Railroad's (?) Bad Time to be in Love. What cracks me up is he goes from classic rock to blues like Stevie Ray Vaughn and Buddy Guy and then back to some Yardbirds song (yuck). I love the blues but not the really old tunes.

So, enough rambling. I need to get some work done on my LAST day before vacation!! Yay.

All work and no play....

I was really busy today. I'm trying to get everything done before I go on ....
VACATION!!! Can you tell I'm stoked?!! One more day and it's a short one. I have a mammo & bone density test tomorrow and then I'm done.

I don't have plans to go away or anything. We may take a day trip or two since my dh only gets two of the days off. I really hope to take a ride to the ocean and get some fried clams!!

I'd also like to get myself in a routine. They say it takes 14 times for something to be a habit. I was told this by a hypnotist. Anyway, I'm really overweight and I can't seem to stick with a diet long enough. I think I need to start exercising again to feel better and eat less. So I really hope I can make myself walk daily and stick with it when I go back to work. Then I'm going to start walking up the five flights each morning again. My lungs can't handle it at this weight/shape! Boy, when I'm done with the eating I plan on doing during vacation, I will definitely need it.

An award for me?....

Wow, I am so honored to get this award from Jodi







Now, to pass on the award. Here are the rules:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate up to 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated.
(p.s. This post was a LOT of work so feel free just to post your award)

Here are the 7 bloggers I am happy to pass this award on to….

Stacy
Maia
Linda
Theresa
Paula
Gaynol
Kerry

The bagel man...

Just had to share about my ds' new job. First of all, it's very exciting that he's working. He's been looking all summer (not too hard though).

So he walked in the door last night from his first real day of work. He had a huge bag of bagels in his hand and a covered cup. He was smiling when I asked what he had. He got all the bagels they were going to trash and the cup was his share of tips for the day. I asked how it went and he said he drank Coolattas all day! LOL You'd have thought he died and gone to heaven. He's looking forward to today because he works til close again which means....more bagels!!!!!!! I guess I better stock up on the cream cheese! I hope the novelty doesn't wear off too soon. :-)

A new combo....

I just love this combination. It was a SCS color challenge a week or two ago(?). I told you...I never do them on time but I get to them eventually. I really love this one (the colors) and would not have put them together myself. I kind of CASE'd one from SCS and I'll try to find it to give credit.

Here you go. It's by TreasureOiler

Cardmaking machine....

We had a quiet weekend. Sat. I cleaned & then we just relaxed. Sun. I felt so lazy! I played games on facebook, read, sat in the sun for an hour (I know...my bad), stamped, read some more and then stamped again. I almost felt guilty! I was a card making machine though.

I made a few more monogrammed cards for the Sept. wedding. I used my Justrite monogram stamps. I'm doing them all in SU bashful blue cs & dp with black. They are very plain but I think she'll like them that way. I stopped making them because I ran out of black. I have some coming in my next order..















I made a bunch of other cards that I can't really post because they are for my bloggy friends! ;-) I'll post this one because I don't think this online friend visits blogs (or I hope she doesn't). I love surprising people with mail!!

In the dead of summer....

This is the first weekend we have absolutely NOTHING going on. I'm not really stoked about it! I do have to give the house a good cleaning but I don't know what for. We haven't had any showings for a while. Watch, the phone will ring now and I'm not ready.

My ds starts his job today. He has tried half heartedly all summer and this is the first he's gotten. I'm worried, nervous and excited. I just want him to do well (and his using my wallet as an ATM could stop too!!).

What's up for your weekend?

Another birdie....

I just love these guys! I was trying to do a "use your scraps" card and ended up using a SCS sketch from a couple of weeks ago. I never do these on time! LOL

I used SU cool caribbean and CTMH pp and yellow cs.












Here's the one I ended up sending to my partner. Jeez, it almost looks Eastery here! I hope it's not!

A few of my favorite things...

We had a big storm last night. It was kind of bright out front so I looked out the front window & door and saw this. It was a double but you can't see it in a lot of the shots. I had to take my umbrella outside and I could barely fit the rainbow in. That's why the flag is in some of the photos (oops - also my for sale sign). I also heard rumblings of thunder so I didn't spend much time out there.

I have to ask my photographer friend why rainbows are so difficult to catch in photos. They were so vibrant in real life! Rainbows are amazing, aren't they?

Weekend and wedding...

Had a good weekend. The cookout on Sat. was fun(the person did NOT get married!). I had a great time catching up with all my cousins - one was in from Oregon. Sun. I went to my future SILs Silpada party and that was nice too. We ended up with two gorgeous days. Sunday was supposed to be stormy but it held off until much later in the day and then it was nasty.

I finally sat down and made a wedding card I need for Sept. I won't be going to the wedding because it's in France. I toyed with the idea but I just can't spend that much money right now. I met her in Hawaii. She was one of my favorites of the group of 8 women I vacationed with. She is much younger than I am but we had a lot of laughs and we really connected. I would have gone for her if it was less expensive.

Here's her invitation. I had to have someone interpret! So I copied the theme for the card. I used SU Bashful Blue cs & dp, a cuttlebug background and some old CM silver paper. I think the pearls are Hero Arts. I love them! I forget who makes that ribbon but I love it. I think I have it in every color.

08-08-08

Sorry, Maia, I had to steal your title! It's too much fun to type!

So what is up for you on this supposedly lucky day?

I heard there's a possibility of someone in my family secretly getting married. Shhhh...

As far as my house, there's nothing happening. I will have my usual boring Fri. night by starting with food shopping. After that sometimes dh and I go out to dinner. Tonight I have to make a dessert or two for a cookout on Sat. I think I will make lemon lush. My family are big into lemon flavored anything and spinach! I usually get asked (or told) to bring spinach squares. During the summer they ask for lemon dessert. It's easy to make and nice and light and delish. Here's the recipe: (ok, this is a little different than mine. I use confectionery sugar - is that what they mean? I found this on allrecipes.com. Can't find my own!).

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup butter, softened
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant lemon pudding mix
3 1/2 cups milk
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, combine the flour and butter using a pastry cutter until a ball forms. Press into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.

Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth and well blended. Spread evenly over the cooled crust.

In another bowl, whisk together the lemon pudding mix and milk for 3 to 5 minutes. Spread over the cream cheese layer. Chill until set, then top with whipped topping.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyhoo, Sat. we have a family cookout and Sun. I have a Silpada jewelry party at my future SIL's. We are finally meeting her family. Should be fun!

Neglectful blogger....

I just got slapped in the butt by Theresa for not updating. I know...I've been very bad. I don't know why. I usually make it my first task in the a.m. before I start work.

I was going to do a piggy back on Stacy's, "Well, I never" but forgot. It's a fun post though. Check it out! I have two more to add:

I've never worked retail.

I've been been divorced (thank God!!).

I've never driven a riding lawn mower (and don't plan on starting).

I think what's happening is I'm spending too much pre-work time playing games on Facebook. hehe I just can't seem to beat my dh!! I haven't even been reading blogs. Weird.

Thanks for the nudge, Theresa! I will try to be better.

p.s. I must have been worn out from the scrapping! LOL I had stampers block last night and played games instead. I see a pattern developing here....

I did it....

I finally scrapped!!!!!!!!!!! Speaking of which, I have to ask....if you are making cards, do you consider that scrapping? My son's gf told me to have fun scrapping as they were leaving. I was making some challenge cards. I've seen others post on SBA that they scrapped but it was cards that they made. I usually say no to scrapping but yes, that I made cards. I guess it doesn't matter as long as I was creative, right?!

Ok, so I'm not the greatest scrapper in the world but here it is. I used my 1.99 Daisy D's paper and diecuts to do this lo that I have been putting off forever. It makes me cry just thinking about it. I used to make banana bread for my Nana and she bragged to the whole group she lived with at an assisted living facility. They used to watch for me coming in the door. I started to hide the breads in a bag so she didn't have to give it to those she didn't like! LOL She was very generous to the nice ones though. Anyway, it meant a lot to her that I would bake her favorite bread and visit. It meant a lot to me that she loved it so much. We used to sit and have a cup of tea and a piece of banana bread.

I'm so happy I finally sat down to do it. I've had the pictures for at least 2 years and couldn't bring myself to scrap it. I also did one titled, Legal, for my son's 21st birthday. I used that black and silver rock star paper. Fun!

Now on to the next wayward lo that has been sitting forever in my stash. It's a picture of my favorite sign in Maine. It's one photo and I always have trouble with that.