One of these days...

I still have not had a chance to play with my new stamps. I got as far as mounting and stamping a few Bellas and colored in a few but that's it!!

I made a bunch of thank yous and I can't post since there are recipients who may read! I finally got those written and addressed last night. I really hope to play tonight.

Last night as I was writing the thank yous, I realized the one I made to look sort of manly for a guy at work was not really that manly. So....my son's band was recording in the next room and most were sitting around waiting for the drum part. I asked one of them to give me an honest opinion. He looked at two that I held up and said, "I like this brown one but then you throw the polka dots in and it becomes female." LOL I remade the card with just a brown background and some blue and yellow. I showed him and he said, "Now that's nice. It looks like a cigar!!" LOL, gotta love those guys!

The weekend...

What a weekend! First I went to a Lia Sophia party - got a cute necklace and earrings. After gabbing with friends, I didn't get home until 11:30.

At the crack of dawn, or so it seemed, on Saturday I met up with a bunch of family to participate in the ALS Walk. My sweet uncle bought us all bracelets as a thank you for walking. They all had messages on them and mine says, "An act of kindness is never wasted." I just love the guy and it really breaks my heart he has this horrible disease.

So...it wasn't raining when we got there but we were prepared with ponchos and umbrellas. It started to rain pretty hard just as we started to walk. The walk was almost all uphill. It was really rough. There were puddles, mud, crushed apples, potholes, etc. We were soaked right through at the end, sore and exhausted. We headed to Ruby Tuesday for a big lunch and a beer.

The great news is it was the largest walk ever for that location. Over $185K was raised and our little team raised $5K. It was well worth the effort.

Then I had to go home and clean the house to get ready for a Sun. showing. DH and I took off and had breakfast, bought a new wireless mouse, and went grocery shopping during the showing.

TGIF...

Not much going on. Last night I put white paper inside some thank yous and that's about it. I had to make spinach squares for tonight, do laundry so my son could have a clean work shirt, and sit down to Grey's Anatomy at 9. I barely made it. I was up and down during commercials trying to cut the spinach squares after cooling and then packaging them up, cleaning the pan, etc.

I have a busy weekend ahead - Lia Sophia tonight, ALS Walk first thing in the miserably raining morning, clean the house (Sun. showing) and grocery shopping. I hope I can squeeze in some play time because my stamps are calling me!!

Have a great weekend!

Misc. talk...

I'm so excited...I got donations for the ALS walk. I never expected to. I even surpassed and then raised my goal and reached it again! It was so last minute and I'm very happy I could make a contribution to my team. I will have to think of a scrapbook layout for the photos. Someone recently took a photo of my uncle and I and I will include that. It's going to be a tough one.

I mounted the Bella stamp last night. It's my first unmounted stamp. I am placing an order for a few more and now I need a storage system for UMs!! Any ideas?

ALS Walk...

I've decided last minute to do this walk on Saturday. I will take any donation that you are willing to give! ;-)

My dear Uncle Bob is failing fast. He was diagnosed with ALS a few months ago and it's so sad to see what it has done to this fit man who used to golf every day. I'm just pasting what I sent in an email.

Dear Friends,

I am excited to announce that I am participating in the ALS Association Massachusetts Chapter’s Walk to D’Feet ALS® to be held

this September 27. I will be making this 3.5 mile walk to raise funds and awareness for the fight against ALS

(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and am writing to ask for your support.



In order to reach my fundraising goal, I need the help of individuals like you to help sponsor me in my endeavor. Rather than participating in this walk solely for a day of exercise and fun, I have pledged to raise $100 to help aid the ALS Association
Massachusetts Chapter in their fight against ALS. Money raised through registration fees, Walker fundraising, and sponsorship funds helps to support services for more than 250 local patients and families living with ALS, and national research initiatives into a cure for ALS.

Any amount of contribution would be greatly appreciated. You can sponsor me in whichever format is most convenient for you - cash, check (made payable to the ALS Association Massachusetts Chapter), or credit card. Secure donations can be made online

at www.TheALSWalk.org. Just click on the “Support a Walker” link, then look for my name (Michelle Q).



Thank you in advance for all of your support and generosity. Regardless of my excitement to embark on this adventure, I realize that I could not do this without your help.



Sincerely,

Michelle

Pond smoke....

I took these photos on the way into work yesterday. I go by three ponds on my way to work and I'm amazed at the way they look in each season. This time of year it is so cold at night and nice during the day so I guess that's why you get the smoke effect. I call it pond smoke.

Let me out.....

Here's some of the stuff I bought on my shopping spree. I got another card yesterday with cash in it and one with a master card gc so I'm going to be doing a little more shopping...

I still need gamsol & stumps (I know, that sounds really weird if you're not a stamper) and a tan pad for my Nesties. And I just may get the Pandora bracelet my mom was going to get me but gave me cash instead, just in case.

I hope to play with some of my new stamps tonight! They are just yelling to get out of the package!!

Monograms, schmonograms...

Ok, I just love my JustRite monogram stamps but those little tiny letters are tough to work with!

I was making some thank yous for a friend (wink, wink, you know who you are) and I did the outside ring for the first time. Those little things kept popping out and flying across the room. Then I'd have to get down on my hands and knees to find them on my GRAY burber carpet, not easy!!

Once they were on, it was so easy to stamp a bunch, but when I decided to change ink colors, I spritzed my SU stamp cleaner, rubbed into it and a lot of my little letters fell out! Grrrr.....so I proceeded to pop them back in, got my nails all navy blue and decided the best way to clean them is by stamping on a baby wipe and then stamping off on a scrap piece of paper. Something to file away for the future.

I never got to play with my goodies from the shopping spree. I'm hoping for tomorrow night. Tonight hubby is taking me to dinner.

Busy weekend...

Wow, it turned out to be a busy weekend! Fri. night we went shopping and then out to dinner. I actually stuck to the diet at Chili's. I skipped the margarita and had a low carb beer and I had ribs and steamed veggies.

I went shopping with some stamping friends today. It was a lot of fun! They took me to a store that's about 30 min. away. She had some stamps that my lss doesn't carry and she was really nice. I got some cute stamps and I finally bought my first Nestabilities in classic scalloped rectangle. The only problem is that I didn't buy the mat yet. I might try to put some kind of block on there to see if it will cut.

We stopped at a brand new Mike's on the way back and then to ACM. I bought a really cool guitar stamp that my son is going to LOVE! It also has a drum set so my other son will be happy too.

So....I was just about to either nap (I didn't sleep last night) or sit down and play with my new stuff. My cell phone rang and it was the realtor asking for a showing tomorrow morning. UGH!! I ran around crazy cleaning the house because I will have to be out early in the a.m. I'm meeting a friend from way back who I haven't seen in about 24 yrs.!!! I'll try to post later about my purchases or maybe I'll make some cards but I doubt it.

Tomorrow night I have my son and his gf coming to my house for a bday celebration. Whew, I am wiped out.

Food 4 Thought

Got this from Stacy @ Exceedingly Mundane.



Food 4 Thought Friday


It is generally the same idea, with just a little twist. Feel free to play along for some yummy fun! I will post a new one each Thursday afternoon for those that are on a different time zone. JOIN IN!!!

Food 4 Thought Friday ~ This week's questions

Breakfast
What is one thing you look forward to each day? Each week? I really look forward to 5:00 each day and then getting into my pjs and heading to my stamping room after dinner. I also look forward to Saturday each week. Nothing complicated here!

Lunch
Are you a hoarder or a chucker? Oh, I hate to say it but I'm a major hoarder, especially when it comes to my sb/stamp supplies.

Dinner
Do your dinner meals consist mostly of home cooked meals, convenience foods (i.e. boxed, frozen, heat & serve, etc.), or fast food? Who does most of the cooking in your home? Well, somehow out of three adults, I got the job of chef. I hate to cook and I hate getting home after work starting from scratch when two others are there before me just waiting. I typically have home cooked meals but they're simple meat & veggie type meals. They have to fit the South Beach diet when I'm on it.

Midnight Snack
Has the rising cost of gasoline caused you to restrict, limit, or alter anything in your life? If so what? Well that's not all that has changed me from a shopaholic to a spend thrift. I don't make unnecessary trips any more. I used to go out for a ride every day during lunch. Sometimes I just bring a book and sit in the parking lot. So, yes, it's definitely restricted me from excursions.

Recipe for this Week (instead of your recipe for life - what is it for just this week?) Be nice to others even if they're not nice to you. They may come around!! (found this out today)

PLEASE PLAY !!!! Come on you know you want to!
To play along go here

Secrets.....

I love secret image challenges. I always get a few adorable stamped images from one of the moderators and previous owner of the card group I belong to (thanks, Kristen!). Here's my version. I think the paper is Heidi Grace but I've had it for a LONG time so I have no idea. The cs is SU in certainly celery and bashful blue. The ribbon is Mike's and I do not know who makes the stamp.

Wellllll......

I had to do two sketch cards for my card group. I had a hard time with one (#2). I don't know why but I did. I finally gave up and decided to send them anyway. So last night I was packaging up the cards and decided I REALLY don't like the card and tried for another. The card came out decent enough. It's much better than the first card. I forgot to bring my camera so I'll have to upload later. Here are the sketches and one of the cards. I guess I better add that I used: SU cs & dp and Eastern Blooms set. The Thinking of you is CTMH, flower brads by MM, ink - no clue.










































I also had an image challenge. It's a cute stamp and I had the right papers and all. I just whipped that one up and was as happy as I can be with any of my creations. Of course, that'll have to be posted later too.

I finished....

I wish I had taken more time to make this gift. I finished the monogrammed cards and made this cool holder/box for them (lower left in photo). I used a tutorial from splitcoaststampers.

I ended up finding a brag book and a scrapbook in my stash in the wedding color that I will never use. I put those in the bag along with some other things. I should have taken the time to complete the pages but she's a scrapper so she'll do it to her needs which will be better.

p.s. Don't mind my stained art desk. It belonged to my son and this is my temporary space while showing the house.

Another kind of a CASE....

This is a sentiment challenge for my card group. It's only supposed to have a sentiment stamped on it and this is all I could come up with. I liked this card on Splitcoaststampers . I just tweaked it and came up with my own version. Of course, hers is much better but mine isn't bad.

I used white background paper which I never use and SU real red dp, tempting turq. cs & ink, real red ink, Martha Stewart lace punch, Hero Arts flowers. I think the stamp set is from Wordsworth(?).

Blah......

I am a lazy lump on a log today. I was up really late at a neighbor's house. We had a fun time, kind of a girls night, but the guys came over for a bit. It was like a camping trip but in someone's back yard. We sat around the fire and cooked steaks over the wood (on a grill rack). We had shrimp cocktail, lobster dip, crab dip, salad, baked potatoes, sangria, cosmos, you name it. I didn't sleep in the camper because I had to wake up my son for work. That's when the fun ended. It was an early wake up call (6:30) and he didn't rush to get up so I got out of bed at least 5 times to get him moving. I'm wiped out. All I've done today is some laundry, played some FB games, finished some monogrammed cards and made a quick cocktail card. What a wasted day. I hope to be more productive tomorrow night after work. It's only 6:30 and I'm ready for bed!

Fill 'er up...

I just filled up with gas at 3.51/gallon for FULL serve! Gotta love it. The station is right down the st. from me and they are so good to us. They used to let my son fill up and I'd stop by on my way home to pay them. Now they let my youngest take dh's credit card and fill up. So, all that to say I support them whenever I can and I love it when I don't have to get out of the car and pump my own gas!! Their prices are beating some of the self serves. I hope the prices keep coming down.

Anyway, I had nothing else to blog about so there you go. I hope to make some decent cards this weekend and post. I haven't been happy with mine. I'm in a slump. Have a nice weekend!!

Ask and you shall receive...

Ok, too funny. I almost never go out for lunch any more. I occasionally sit outside and read but hardly ever shop these days due to lack of cash. So today I decided to take a run through Walmart just for yucks. I ended up buying some white chocolate Reeses cups - NOT good for my diet. White chocolate is my favorite.

I decided to go next door to a nice Hallmark gift shop because they just remodeled. There at the door was a bin of books for a BUCK! So I browsed through and bought two of them. One is L'Affaire by Diane Johnson (I think I read L'Divorce and thought it was funny). The other is Emily's Reasons Why Not by Carrie Gerlach. It sounded like a funny one. Maybe not the best choices but I needed a cheap break from mysteries.

Quick question and recommendation request...

I usually get my books from the bin at work. I have several women who usually pick National Bestsellers and then they share with others. Very nice. My mom has been getting a few here and there from my aunt and she shares them with me.

The ones in the bin are not new to me. I either read or gave up on them. I am at a point where I need to buy or borrow a book. I have put off going to the library because I haven't been in years (since my boys were young). I found my card and wonder if it still works. I would have to go to my town on my lunch hour and it'll take me 40 min. of travel time total so I won't have long to browse.

I hate to buy them because then I'll just have to turn around and donate to the library when I move.

My question to you is:

1) Where do you get your books?
2) Any recommendations for me? I have a few on my list (Jodi Piccoult, Harlan Coben, Stuart Woods). I like mystery and I like humor.

Kind of a CASE....

Well, I got inspired by a card toward the back of my SU catalog (P. 137). It was orange using the same stamp set. I changed the sentiment and a few other things. I also came up with my own color combo. Maybe it's not perfect like the ones in the catty, but I did it by myself! I used Eastern Blooms, Regal Rose, Blue Bayou and Baja Breeze cs. I used Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette & Blue Bayou ink and pink pirouette ribbon. The sentiment is CTMH. I just love my new scallop punch, by the way!

Metal Heads...

We survived the heavy metal concert the other night. It was good to see my son and the guys up there. It was pretty loud but not half as loud as in the other area. It was really heavy music and I felt weird in a crowd of metal heads. They all had black on with lots of silver chains, piercings, tattoos, etc. I did see a couple of older folks there and assume their kids were playing as well.

I tried to get photos but I'm just not a good photographer. It was so dark but yet there were lots of lights - mostly colored. My camera didn't respond well to that. Not only that but the kids got right up to the stage so I had heads in the way. Don't be alarmed by the tattoo faces. It just looks that way. Must be the grainy photos that I had to lighten up.

Anyway, we hung out while they were loading the cars up in the pouring rain and we talked to the guys. They told us we would miss them now that they have a practice space. We'll see...I won't miss the noise but I really will miss seeing all of them twice a week. My dh said he hopes they make it big and mention us as it all started in our basement...

The ride home was awful with the pelting rain and flooding on the highway. We had to go about 40-45 miles an hour. I was so nervous that the guys would have some issues. I was very happy to hear from ds that he was home safe. The sweetest thing was the text message that said "Thanks again for supporting us."


Here he is setting up. They had 7 minutes to get on the stage and 7 minutes to get off!


























He has a pick in his mouth for some reason. His beautiful gf is to the right. We just love her!!

Food 4 Thought

I saw this on Stacy's blog over at Exceedingly Mundane (ok, the name just doesn't fit, Stace!).

Food 4 Thought Friday

Breakfast
Do you use a day planner, calendar, notebook, computer program, PDA, lists on some random piece of paper, or just totally wing things to stay organized? Well, let's see...I use a paper calendar at home, a paper calendar at work, a Palm Pilot and Microsoft Outlook Calendar. Am I organized? YES! It just my personality.

Lunch
What is something that you have too much of? That would definitely be printed papers that are now ugly and a bunch of stickers from the CM scrappin days!!

Dinner
What is one of the most important qualities you need in a friend? Someone who is trustworthy and can have fun & laugh with me.

Midnight Snack
Describe yourself using only three adjectives.

Honest, friendly & picky (again, it's my Virgo personality).


Recipe for this Week (instead of your recipe for life - what is it for just this week?)

Eat, exercise and be happy! (ok, I did the eat part so far)

Let me know if you decide to play!

Bzzzzzz....busy as a bee....

Nothing new to post. I made a quick card last night while my son's band practiced in the room next to me for the last time! I'm very excited they'll have a practice space that suits them and us much better! I will miss seeing their faces though. And now I have no excuse for the treadmill during the week.

I'm busy as a bee at work and I hardly have any time so I may be MIA for a bit.