I am!!!

My friend Gail of A Dragonfly Garden sent this my way today. She knows how sick I am of this snow!

LOL! That is too funny...and so true!! Thanks Gail...this definitely made me laugh.

I was watching a little bit of the news earlier. The Governor has asked that eight local counties (ours included), be declared disaster areas due to the snow and is asking President Bush for a federal declaration. Apparently we have had 63.4 inches since December 1st, which beats the old record from 1978-1979. I remember that year. Its still talked about to this day, and I'm sure this winter will be remembered as well.

It can stop any time now.

Another Try

Here's another attempt using the flowers and swirls in my most recent set. I pulled out my chalk inks for this one. It was hard to match colors because I don't have very many. I do have to agree that the chalk ink gives a nice look to this set and work well with the clear stamps. Oh, and I LOVE the new Two Scoops line of papers from Basic Grey. I think it's new anyway, but then I wouldn't be surprised if I'm just way behind the times! The colors are absolutely delicious. I picked up a few sheets at Archivers, and I'm already wanting more.


Gail, thanks for the tip on Zindorf's technique. I've never even heard of it! I did a little research and will definitely try it!
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Details:
Stamp: Heidi Grace
Ink: Blush Rose and Warm Green (ColorBox Chalk)
Paper: Cardstock - Archiver's; Patterned - Ice Cream Parlor (Basic Grey)
Accessories: SU! Word Window punch; ribbon; Cuttlebug embossing folder; rhinestone

Flower Issues

I don't know what it is, but I just can't get the hang of flower stamps. I do fine with images I can color in, but when it comes to solid images, I get some sort of mental block. During my last visit to Archivers I picked up this set of clear stamps by Heidi Grace which I thought looked like it held some possibilities. I liked the dandelion look of the flowers (although I do have to wonder how "cake & ice cream" fits in with this). I know a lot of people who could do wonderful things with this stamp set. I am not one of them. I have stared at this set for about a week now and have made one card.


I love the flowers and the swirls, but I just don't know what to do with this set. When I try to just focus on the flowers, it just doesn't look right. I can't get the different elements to fit together to look halfway decent. I tried stamping the flower on white with color, but it wasn't a very strong image. I did some research and someone on Splitcoast said the chalk ink works well with these stamps, so maybe I'll try that. However, I don't think that's going to help my serious lack of flower stamping skills.

Update on Paul's job -- The head honchos found out today where he is going, so they watched as he packed up his desk and then they walked him out. He's rather upset about it because he feels bad leaving his coworkers with unfinished projects and was really hoping to stay through the end of the week and help them get things organized and prepare the person who will be taking over his workload. They were nice about it at least. I think it's surprising to him to hear how well thought of he is within the company and how much he'll be missed. In turn, he's really going to miss everyone he works with. I know how that is. It's the hardest part about leaving a job. It's hard for him now, but deep down he knows he is making the right decision. He wasn't happy with the direction things were going and just needed to move on. So...he has the rest of the week off (with pay nonetheless). Unfortunately, I have to work. I'm jealous.

Speaking of that, I better get to bed. We're getting dumped on with snow right now, and I can already tell that I'm not going to get out of the end of the driveway unless we get out there and shovel. Yippee.

So What's Going On?

Okay, so the last you guys know Paul had an important decision to make. For those of you who didn't call, email, or IM me to find out what the heck I'm talking about, I will now fill you in. It was a work-related decision. He was approached by someone he used to work for to move to another company. He has been really stressed at work and working some really long hours in order for us to make ends meet. New management has come in, and he started feeling not so secure. He's been with the company for 14 years, and even though he was tired of the way things were going, he was comfortable. The new offer consisted of less stress, more money, and less hours. He turned in his resignation toward the middle of last week. I didn't want to say anything "publicly" until he had made the decision if he was going to leave the company or not. I'm proud of him for taking the leap and going in the direction that will hopefully better for him, and us, in the long run.

In other news, there is a subject I have avoided blogging about. The Valentine's Day shooting at NIU. The whole community is still in shock. At work we heard of the shooting within minutes of it happening. The husband of one of my coworkers works in DeKalb and was on his way home. He has a scanner in his truck because he was at one time a volunteer fireman. As soon as he heard it come over the scanner, he called his wife. Another one of of my coworkers has a grandson whose girlfriend attends NIU and was in class that day (thankfully, not the class where the shooting took place). As I left work a little while later, I saw one of the helicopters take off from the hospital and head in that direction.
You watch news coverage of things like this happening, but you never think it is going to happen so close. My heart goes out not only to the families of the victims and the students that were lucky enough to be in the classroom and made it out safely but also the family of the shooter. I just don't understand what would make someone do something like that. I doubt we will ever know the motive. What really gets me is that since this happened, there was been a couple of other universities in Illinois where there have been threats made and people arrested, one at our "parent" campus in Chicago. As a matter of fact, we received an email at work on Friday that some sort of threat was made the day after the NIU shootings by one of the employees on the campus where I work. I left at noon on Friday, so I don't know the details except for the fact that this employee has been placed on "administrative leave." I don't know if whatever this person said was a "joke" or not, but it wasn't taken lightly by their coworkers who reported it. All of us had noticed a police presence around the campus in the last week, but we thought it was due to the NIU shootings. Don't you love how they don't tell us until one week later of the threat on our own campus? I'm sure I'll hear more details tomorrow, as there is no doubt the campus grapevine was in full swing all day after everyone received the email.

I don't think anyone is safe anywhere anymore. It's a scary world we live in.

Better Grab Your Sunglasses For This One...

...'cause it's pretty bright!

We went to Algonquin last weekend to have lunch at Cheeseburgers In Paradise, and what is a trip to the Chicago suburbs without running into Archiver's. I always know when Paul's in the mood for a road trip because he asks me if I need any new stamps. How is a girl supposed to say no to that? While there I bought a cute bunny and some some new paper in spring colors. I was inspired this weekend by all the springy cards at A Dragonfly Garden (thanks, Gail!) so I decided to see what I could do with this little guy.

I haven't played along with Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge (#36) for a few weeks, so that's where I turned for help with the layout.

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Details:
Stamp: Spring Joy (Penny Black); Tag Tidbits (TAC)
Ink: Black (Palette)
Paper: Cardstock - Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose (SU!); orange (Archiver's); Patterned - Bo-Bunny; watercolor paper
Accessories: CM circle punch; Mat Pack, Corner Punch, watercolor pencils, blender pen (SU!)

The Fingers are Flying

94 words

Speed test

This is at home on my regular keyboard with hardly any warm-up.
I'm faster at work on my ergonomic keyboard.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
Have you ever played a practical joke on anyone? If so, what did you do and who was your victim?

No, not really. I'm not a big fan of practical jokes.

Soup
What do your salt and pepper shakers look like?

Pillsbury Doughboy and girl. We don't really use the pepper one, though. Paul likes to use a grinder instead.

Salad
Where is the next place you plan to visit (on vacation or business)?

We'll plan to head back up to Door County, WI, around our anniversary again this year.

Main Course
What kind of lotion or cream do you use to keep your hands from getting too dry?

Plain old baby lotion. If it's good enough for a baby's butt, it's good enough for me. I don't use lotion near as often as I should.

Dessert
Make up a dessert, tell us its ingredients, and give it a name.

Take mom's caramel corn, which is popcorn covered with homemade toffee, and drizzle it with chocolate. I'd call it Impossibly Irresistible Choco-toffee Corn.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
Name one thing that is unique about you.

I have a very strong drive to "do the right thing." I could never be a criminal without being overwhelmed by feelings of guilt. About as criminal I can get is going over the speed limit. Today I was parked under a "no parking at any time" sign for probably about 1-1/2 minutes while waiting for Paul to fill up his car with gas, and I was paranoid the whole time.

Soup
Fill in the blank: My favorite _________ is __________ but I like _________ too.

My favorite fruit is an orange, but I like grapefruit too (a lot).

Salad
What type of wood do you have for your home’s furnishings?

What do you call it...pressed particle board. No, I have no idea. Since our kitchen cabinets are oak, that's my final answer. Wait...that's not really considered furniture is it?

Main Course
Who do you talk to most often on the phone?

Paul. I talk to him almost every day during the week either at work or on his cell phone on his way home from work. I'm really not a big fan of talking on the phone. I actually hate making phone calls and think email is the best invention ever.

Dessert
What level of responsibility do you have in your job?

A moderate amount. There are three levels: I, II, III, and IV. I'm a III. The IV is the boss. I suppose you could say I'm the "assistant supervisor" because I take over when she's not there.

Be My Valentine

I remember how exciting it was to get something in the mail when I was a kid (not like these days when it's all bills, bills, and more bills), so every Valentine's Day I send out cards to the four closest kids in our lives. I cut it close this year and didn't get them mailed out until the morning of the 13th. Hopefully they arrived on time. I kept them pretty simple because I have been in no mood to create whatsoever.





I think all this snow and cold is really bringing me down. Like I said above, I haven't felt like creating anything...or doing much of anything for that matter. I feel closed in by all this snow. The city has done a horrible job on the side streets in regard to snow removal. As a matter of fact, we haven't gotten any mail in a week because there is a big chunk of ice/snow in front of the mailbox that is impossible to remove and the temperature will not rise for it to melt. I blame this partly on the neighbor across the street who parks his big stupid truck in front of our house so the snow plow has to go around--BIG pet peeve of mine (if you have a driveway, USE IT!) and partly on our mailman who is obviously too lazy to reach his arm out of his truck a little farther than normal to reach our box. Can you tell I'm irritated? I wonder if I have a little bit of seasonal affective disorder. Maybe it's just spring fever.

Anyway...sorry I haven't posted in a while. I just haven't felt up to par.

I hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day. We didn't do much. We went out to eat on Wednesday night because we figured it would be too crowded tonight. Tonight we stayed in and I made baked rigatoni and garlic bread...then we both fell asleep on the couch watching TV. How romantic, huh?

Before I sign off, I have a favor to ask. Friday afternoon Paul has meeting to go to and then will most likely be making an important decision, one that he's nervous about making. Right now he's on the fence...weighing the pros and cons. I don't want to say more than that at this point but am just asking that you keep him in your thoughts. Change is a scary thing.

PS - If my regular readers are possibly wondering what happen to last Friday's Feast, there wasn't any questions due to technical difficulties on their end. It should be back to normal this week.

I HATE SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is it ever going to end?!

It's fine when your young and in school and you get a snow day...not when you have go to work and then come home and shovel the stupid driveway. They're calling for 12-14 inches. It couldn't start in the middle of the night like it was supposed to. No. The worst of it had to be delayed so we had to get up and go to work.

Last Friday's Feast And Some Other Stuff

Once again, I'm a little late with the feast. I wasn't feeling too good this past weekend. Some sort of sinus thing going on. I hope to get back to finishing up the VSN challenges in a few days. I still have every intention of finishing. I hardly got up off the couch on Saturday. Sunday I put on a pot of chili early, but then Paul's cousin and his family joined us for dinner. I only caught the last few seconds of the Superbowl...right after Eli Manning threw his game-winning pass. I can imagine yesterday was a proud moment in the Manning household, what with Eli's big brother Peyton winning the Superbowl last year. Congrats to the Giants.

I did watch quite a bit of the fourth annual Puppy Bowl, though, which runs all day on Animal Planet. A bunch of puppies frolicking in an area made up to look like a football stadium. What could be better?

Jackson, the Westie, here won MVP.

Finnigan, the Cavachon, got my vote.
Well, he would have if I knew there was a vote!

Isn't he a cutie!

Appetizer
What is your favorite kind of cereal?

Hot - Chocolate Malt-O-Meal
Cold - I don't really have a favorite, but I like:

• Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds
• Rice Chex
• Honey Nut Cheerios
• Special K Red Berries
  
• Captain Crunch Crunch Berries (totally Paul's fault)
• Captain Crunch Peanut Butter (only dry, though)

Cereals that I dislike are anything with dried up marshmallows in it. I get shivers up and down my spine just thinking of it.

Soup
When was the last time you purchased something for your home, what was it, and in which room did it go?

New frying pans for the kitchen sometime last year. That's the last thing I can think of anyway. I'm trying to get rid of stuff...not bring more stuff in.

Salad
What is the funniest commercial you’ve ever seen?

I totally cannot think of any. Since we switched over to digital cable with DVR, we hardly ever watch commercials anymore. Usually all our shows are recorded and we watch them later, fast-forwarding through the commercials. Usually they're too loud anyway.

Main Course
Make up a name for a company by using a spice and an animal (example: Cinnamon Monkey).

Ginger Giraffe

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I haven’t ______ since ______.

I haven't taken a vacation since May.

For The Love Of...Chocolate!

I'm slowly but surely making my way through these challenges. I've been so tired this week that the last two nights I didn't even come up here and turn on the computer. Anyway, VSN challenge #11 was to make a candy bar wrapper. I think this would be cute treat for for kids for Valentine's Day.

Hee hee. I've had this candy bar sitting on my shelf for a week and a half now...just to irritate Paul. I picked it up at the gas station the day I started the challenges. For the first few nights he would ask me every now and then, "Have you used that candy bar yet?" Like he thought he was going to get it after I made the wrapper. I think he's forgotten about it now.

I can hear him downstairs on the laptop playing some game that sounds like the old Pong game....beep....beep....beep...beep...beep. I think he's waiting for me to come down and watch Lost with him. The show starts back up again tomorrow and they're playing the last show that aired tonight to catch everyone up.

The "beeping" is driving me insane. It's unfortunate for him because I might have thought about giving him a bite of my candy bar.

________________________

Details:
Stamp: Great Impressions (turtle), Studio G (sentiment)
Ink: Black (Palette), Pretty In Pink and Mellow Moss (SU!)
Paper: Cardstock - Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, Whisper White (SU!); Patterned - Misc. from scrap pile
Accessories: Prima flower, Stickles (Fruit Punch), Marvy Giga scalloped oval punch, Hershey's Special Dark chocolate bar

Altered Composition Book

VSN challenge #10 was to make an altered composition book. I bought a bunch of these once at the dollar store to alter to include in some Easter baskets. I was pretty sure I had one left, and I was right. I can't believe I was able to find it. The instructions were to make it for ourselves and to keep "girly." I used a Bella stamp and added some Prima flowers for the basket of flowers that she's holding.


I thought maybe I could use this at the computer to take notes instead of having papers and post-it notes scattered all over the place. I added the ribbon and initial charm to hold my place in the book. All paper is by Stampin' Up.

Simple Saturday

No patterned paper. Two stamps. Three colors of cardstock. Nothing fancy.

This also takes care of VSN challange #9...a "Thinking of You" card.

________________________

Card Details:
Stamp: Studio G (Michaels clear $1 stamps)
Ink: Bashful Blue, Almost Amethyst, Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose (SU!)
Paper: Cardstock - Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, Whisper White (SU!)
Accessories: Prima flower, Stickles (diamond), Photo Corner Punch (SU!)

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
How many times per day do you usually laugh?

Probably not as many as I should, as they say laughter is the best medicine. It depends on where I am and who I'm with. Something or someone usually makes me laugh a few times during the day at work. Paul makes me laugh all the time. He would probably be surprised to know that because I know he sometimes tries hard to get me to laugh but sometimes my mood just doesn't allow for it. He's hilarious, though, and can really come up with some funny stuff.

Soup
What do your sunglasses look like?

They're clip-ons that clip on my glasses. Exciting, huh? Hey...they serve their purpose.

Salad
You win a free trip to anywhere on your continent, but you have to travel by train. Where do you go?

Pacific Northwest

Main Course
Name one thing you consider a great quality about living in your town/city.

Ugh. I'm really not a fan of this city and would much rather live in a smaller town. With that being said, I guess one of the better qualities is easy access to everything...shopping, restaurants, etc. You don't have to drive very far. You usually have to wait in line, though, because there are just too many people.

Dessert
If the sky could be another color, what color do you think would look best?

Weird question. I guess I would have to say the colors of a sunset with the beautiful pinks and purples. If we had that all the time, though, it would become not so special and we wouldn't have anything to watch and appreciate.

Let's Do Our Nails...Well, Sort Of

You have to paint your nails for girls night out, right?! This technique is kind of like painting your nails. It's called Polished Stone, and it was VSN challenge #8. It's a way to make your own patterned paper using re-inkers, rubbing alcohol, and glossy paper. It has a marbled appearance. While I think it is a gorgeous technique, I really think it needs to be used sparingly, as I have seen many cards overwhelmed by this type of background...especially if the colors used don't coordinate very well. I did a whole sheet of glossy cardstock so I would have it to use in the future, but I only used a tiny bit for this card.

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Card Details:
Stamp: Sidekick Sayings (SU!)
Ink: Brocade Blue and Mauve Mist (retired color) re-inkers, Pretty In Pink and Mellow Moss markers (SU!); Sterling Frost re-inker (Opalite)
Paper: Cardstock - Brocade Blue, Bashful Blue, Whisper White ((SU!)
Accessories: Metallic chalks

PUNCHie Animals Challenge

VSN Challenge #7 was to use punches to create an animal or bug.

Oh boy.

I had no idea what I was going to do when I started digging out all my punches. I lined up every single one across my desk. The good thing about that is that I realized I had some interesting punches that I had totally forgotten about. I thought about doing a ladybug or maybe a caterpillar...something easy that I have seen done before. I also had images of bunnies, chicks, and frogs floating through my mind's eye. I reached for some paper, which happened to be pink, and just started punching, and by the time I finished, this is what I had...

Is she not the cutest piggie ever?!! I am so proud of her because I really didn't have any confidence that I could do this challenge and actually come up with something that halfway resembled some kind of animal! Here is the breakdown:

Body = Giga scalloped oval punch
Head = Circle punch
Feet = Heart punch cut in half
Ears = Heart punch cut in half
Snout = Balloon punch with bottom rounded off and then punched twice with tiny circle punch
Eyes = Pieces from a fancy border punch
Tail = Swirl punch

Oink! Oink!

________________________
Card Details:
Stamp: Loving Hearts (SU!)
Ink: Pretty in Pink (SU!)
Paper: Cardstock - Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose (SU!), black (TAC); Printed - Misc. from scrap pile
Accessories: Punches (as listed above), pop dots, computer-generated sentiment (font = MT Curlz)

Nail Polish, Mud MASK, and Lotion

All part of getting ready for girls night out, right? My gosh, I haven't used what you could consider a mud mask in ages! It would probably do me some good.

VSN challenge #6 involved making a card using the masking technique, which is just basically a technique using something like a post-it note to overlap stamped images so they look like one is in front or behind another.

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Card Details:
Stamp: Loving Hearts (SU!)
Ink: Black (Palette); Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, and Pretty In Pink (SU!)
Paper: Cardstock - Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, and Pretty In Pink (SU!); Printed - Just Delightful (SU!)
Accessories: Grosgrain ribbon (SU!), Cuttlebug ribbon sliders, Cuttlebug embossing template (swirls), glitter

She's Got A Ticket To Stamp

VSN Challenge #5 involved making a card that has something to do with a ticket. That could be either an event ticket, using wording of a ticket (admit one, etc.), or simply using the the SU! Ticket Corner punch. This was a tough one for me, but since this past Sunday was the NFL championship games, this is what I came up with.

It's a little too red, white, and blue, isn't it? I can't help it if that's both teams' colors! I have to be honest and say there is no stamping on this card whatsoever...all images are computer generated.

GO PATRIOTS!

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Card Details:
Stamp: None
Ink: Inkjet printer
Paper: Cardstock - Night of Navy, Real Red, Whisper White (SU!); Printed - misc. from scrap pile.
Accessories: Computer, printer, brads, ticket corner punch (SU!)

Annie

This is Annie. She seems pretty proud of what she can do! What a sweetheart!