Yay! my favorite kit ever is up for sale

Okay, well it's not exactly up for sale this second, but it will be in a few short hours. I even took a nap today to commemorate the occasion.

Seriously, I've loved working with the kit and I loved all of the 5 layouts I made with it, which is a record for me, to love each and every one.

Hope you like it as well.

CKC Nashville

I brought my camera and everything, but this was the only photo I took at CKC Nashville on Sept 11-12.

I was so glad to meet a fellow-SCer, Karen Malloy. I loved sitting and gabbing with her while I was waiting for the class. I learned so much about her wonderful family, including the fact that her son is a chef and I must have him cook for me sometime :)

The Masking and Misting class was fantastic. All the students were wonderful. We had a blast, and there were lots of giveaways. So, if you're on the fence about taking the same class at CKC-Glendale, jump off the fence and into the class. This time, Maggie Holmes is teaching it, so I know it will be even better.

Speaking of Maggie, I had the chance to eat dinner with her plus her mom, sister, neice, and my mom. We had a great time and the conversation was never lacking. Neither of our moms really understand the scrapbooking world, so it was funny hearing them talk about us. I only wish they lived closer and we could get together more often.

big bang

We were sitting in the apartment and we heard a loud bang.

Greg jumped up and looked out the back porch because it sounded like a neighbor had thrown something over the balcony in anger. But, there was nothing.

A fit of complaining ensued about how tired Greg is of living in the apartment and how glad he'll be to be away from all these loud neighbors.

About 20 minutes later he went to the fridge to grab a drink.


And, then, he felt stupid and apologized for his rant.

In his defense, the night before he had been woken up by a domestic dispute in the parking lot outside our window.

______________________________________________________________

Speaking of big bangs, we've just been introduced to Big Bang Theory. If you haven't seen it, it's hilarious. It reminds me of the nerd humor that kept me so entertained when I went to the Governor's Scholar program in high school one summer. I tried to say it wasn't 5 weeks of nerd camp, but there's no reason to lie to myself now. There was a whole different level of humor...lots of jokes based on science and math.

And, a new show that's on my radar that's equally as funny, Community. I watched the pilot episode 3 times...not by choice, but I wanted my mom and dad to see it, and I happened to be sitting in the room when they watched it at separate times. It has a good mix of characters and Ahbed (sp?) is hilarious.

My favorite line from the show:
Text: "Con-4-s8-tion on field"
"Who sent that text?"
"Someone with a misguided sense of abbreviation."

Ever got a text when you wondered why the person just didn't spell out the word because it would have used the exact same number of characters?

baby calf

Last week, our heifer became a cow.

Luckily she gave birth without a major issue, but there were several problems thereafter:

1. We realized it was premature.
2. The cow's udder hadn't dropped, so the calf couldn't get any nourishment.
3. By that point, it was too weak to even lift it's head.
4. He inherited his mother's bad hair.
   

Poor thing. Not only is he weak, but his hair sticks out in every direction.


After a day of tube-feeding, he was able to stand with some assistance and is learning to suck. Mostly, he chews on the bottle and gets milk that way.



So, tube-feeding is much faster and he's able to get the nourishment he needs.

After 3 days of this, he's able to stand up on his own and take a few steps. He's still very weak and when he can't stand any longer he falls into a pitiful pile on the ground.

We're having to treat him with antibiotics too, because he's got a slight infection.

But, isn't he just so cute?

Lorie thinks we may have to name him and keep him as a pet.

Oh, and one last thing. Did you know calves are born with teeth? A full set. It's very strange, actually.

boston

Overheard last night

Greg to my dad: Have you ever been to Boston?

Dad: Naw (that means "no" if you're in the south). That's one place I've never been. Been lots of places, but never there.

Greg: I almost went to school there.

Dad: Really?

Greg: Yeah, a school for boys.

(long pause)

Unruly boys.

Just so you know, this is the first I'd ever heard of Greg's potential education in Boston.

stories

This month, Scarlet and I were invited to help out at Category Stories. If you haven't heard of this challenge site, please check it out. Every two weeks, they give a journaling prompt, so the style of your layouts is completely open. We had a blast participating and I thought I'd share my layouts with you.

The first prompt of the month was "Saturday Morning Cartoons." At first, I was stumped on what direction to take because I wasn't allowed to watch a lot of TV anytime, let alone Saturday mornings....but then I thought that was the perfect thing to write about.


The journaling reads:
Only 30 minutes a day to watch TV. So, as you can imagine I got to watch one show on Saturday morning. I chose "Saved By the Bell." Screech kept me giggling and I was oh so envious of Kelly and Jessie. I just knew high school would be just like that show!

Supplies:
Lemon Maya Mist, Studio Calico & Sassafras patterned paper from August kit, Bazzill Dotted Swiss, Basic Grey Brad, Making Memories Alphabet, Studio Calico Stamps, Pin from stash at home.

To get the pinked shape, I used die cut paper by Collage press, sprayed the lemon mist a few times, then outlined with a precision pen.

Now, for the prompt this week: "As Far As I Can Tell."
I made this layout before I knew I had miscarried, but I still love the thought and wanted to share it with you. I still believe every statement on this layout and I hope that it's something I look back on in time with happy memories instead of sad ones.


The journaling reads:
You love making children laugh.
You are determined not to spoil our child.
You will not enable bad behavior.
You understand training a child takes time and effort and you are willing to make that commitment.
You have already begun reading parenting books about training children.
You have been praying for the wisdom to make the right spiritual decisions for our family.
You will appreciate the value a child brings to our family.
You coached a 5-year-old soccer team - TWICE!
You are willing to take feedback and implement change when necessary.
You want to learn.
You are not selfish.
You place more emphasis on a spiritual education than secular education.
You realize that our relationship as husband and wife comes before your relationship as parent child.
You love to teach.

AS FAR AS I CAN TELL
You will be a great dad.

Supplies:
All items came from the April kit, Jack & Jill.

To make the background to this layout, I cut a piece of 12x12 paper into 4 strips. Then, I punched circles using the mega circle punch by Marvy. I stitched them onto the cardstock, then cut the page in half so I could put it through the typewriter. After typing, I adhered the two halves to another sheet of cardstock and added the embellishments.

I love the idea of making lists this way and ya'll know how much I love circles.

Please take advantage of this challenge, it's a great way to use up your kits so you will need more supplies in October :)

Sneaks of my favorite kit ever

No kidding, October will go down in history as my favorite kit ever at Studio Calico. I love this kit. Funny because although I liked it as Scarlet and I were putting it together, I didn't think it would grow on me that much. But, boy has it ever!

2 things that inspired me this month:

• Purchasing a sewing machine. Yes, I'm channeling my inner Martha (or Lisa Truesdell) this month. I sewed on 3 of the 5 layouts I made this month and I'm proud of 'em. They're by no means perfect, but I'm learning. Add to that, I now know how to make a bobbin, and I'm on cloud nine!
• Finding my old typewriter. Last year, sometime, Greg's parents found a typewriter they were going to sell in a yard sale. Thankfully, Greg rescued it and we got a ribbon off ebay and she works pretty good. The "o" gets stuck sometimes, and the "l", I've practically got to beat into submission, but she gets the job done. In our move, I decided to pack her up for storage out at the farm, but when I was out looking for floormats for Greg to use in his shop, there she lay. I grabbed her up and never did find the floormats. Oh well.

So, here are my sneaks:



This is made using PP from the main kit and the ribbon & glittercut are from the Fall Festival add-on. I also added cream mist after I journaled. The cream is a must have, I believe.



For this sneak, I used all items from the main kit. I fell in love with these envelopes by Maya Road at CHA. It's been forever since we included envelopes in the kit and there's all sorts of neat things you can do with them. Nicole Harper made a great mini out of hers....I can't wait to see her gallery, but I decided to use them sealed on a layout. My main goal was to type on them, but my typewriter was being finnicky and wouldn't progress with the thick envelope. My solution was the cut the top flap off and an inch off the back, feed it through the typewriter, then glue it directly on the page. It worked and if you wanted to put something inside the envelopes, that would work, too. I didn't have anything profound to say in my journaling, so I just sealed mine.




This is one of my favorite layouts from the kit. All the items here are from the main kit except for the stickers in the Science Fair add-on and the little gems in Pep Rally. I threw together this page really quickly plus I did some neat typing on it, which you can't see yet. ooooh....just you wait.



Lastly, this layout is about Natalee, Lorie's daughter. Loved the photo and it reminded me we need to have another photo shoot :) I sewed on this one and used the numbers from one of the SC exclusive patterned papers along with the Storytime Numbers stamp set, which if it isn't already back in stock, it will be soon (as in the next day or so). I also used misting with 3 different colors on this layout.

Now if I could only find a way to stamp, mist, AND type on a single layout, I will have hit the trifecta of Scrapbooking Goodness!

If you haven't already thought of this and if you're not a paper junkie and don't usually order extra patterned paper like me, let me advise you this month. First, we produced more of it knowing that these papers would be well-liked. Second, you will like the FRONTS AND BACKS of both sheets of SC paper and it's not the kind where you think, "Oh, I can just use a strip from the front and a strip from the back and be okay." This is just incorrect and you'll see why. So, let me be the first to tell you that I (me the person who only uses a strip of PP here and there) is telling you to plan to order the MORE SC Patterned Paper or the More Patterned Paper add-ons this month, BELIEVE ME! That's your fair warning and you know I haven't ever cried wolf.

Lastly, I had my D&C this morning. Other than crampiness, loopiness, and otherwise strangeness, I'm doing well. I'm glad we made the decision to do the procedure. Thanks again for all your well-wishes. Love you all.

i'm okay

Just wanted to make a quick post about our miscarriage and let you know Greg and I are okay.

Obviously, it's terrible news for us, especially considering our struggles with infertility.

We will get through this and are already talking about the next steps we want to take.

Our friends, family and faith have gotten us through a very trying year and we will continue to be strong. Many people have been through things more devastating than this and we are thankful for all the blessings we do have. We live in a time and country where medicine has progressed to a point where we can have the possibility of having a family. Sure, it cost a small fortune (or about 15 cows) for us to get pregnant in the first place, but I can't think of anything more important to spend our money on (or go in debt over).

Like I said, we'll get through this and I appreciate all your well-wishes. I waited until tonight to read all my facebook comments and I can't thank you all enough. You are so sweet and kind and every word was greatly appreciated.

Lastly, in a bit of good news, our lone heifer became a cow today. Yep, that's right, she graduated to motherhood, and we're waiting for her utter to drop. Never thought I'd say something like that, but why not?

Hope ya'll have a good night.

19

Who would have thought I could get all 19 of my kiddos in a family photo?

This was taken from the loft in the barn. I just looked up and they were all posing for me, so I snapped their photo.

Disregard the trench that's running across the yard into the driveway. We had to lay some type of wire to another electrical box. The joys of remodeling........

oh, brother

I am now the proud owner of this Brother sewing machine.

I've been wanting one for awhile, mainly for stitching on layouts. Which, by the way, did you see this awesome tutorial by Lisa Truesdell posted just an hour after I bought this bad boy. It's a sign. I'm sure of it.

I also plan to use it to make a baby quilt. The quilt I'm working on now, I've made entirely by hand. I started a year ago to give me something to do while I was staying in hotels 4 nights a week on my previous job. When I left that job, my quilt sat by the wayside, but lately I've been working on it as time allows. The top is completely pieced and now the 3 layers are pinned together waiting to be quilted by hand. I plan to have it completely quilted and finished by the end of October. Ambitious, I know. But, I will also have 8 days to work on it almost solid. I'm visiting my grandmothers in Texas and there's nothing better to do there but sit, visit, and keep my hands moving or else boredom will set in. You know what they say about idle hands......

Just kidding. But, I do get stressed if I have nothing to do.

Anyway, my motivation is set because I want to begin working on the baby quilt in November. I want to piece it using the machine, then quilt it by hand.

Wish me luck in meeting my deadline!