too much in my shopping cart

I have 19 more items in the cart. HELP!!!
I'm waiting until the stroke of midnight to use my coupon code for an extra 20% off.
I should mention that 10 of the items are for Greg.
I also should mention that I'll take back anything that doesn't fit.
This is sad, really sad.

It really doesn't help for me to shop when I'm cold because all I want to do is buy big sweaters to bundle up with.

happy veteran's day

The journaling reads:
In 1944, my grandfather served in World War II as a chief petty officer aboard the USS Alden. Perhaps the most noteworthy event of his service was on D-day when he was responsible for escorting fighter ships to the Normandy Coast.

I regard Veteran's Day as one of the most important holidays, not because my grandfather served, but because I value each serviceman or woman for the sacrifices they have made. Please take today to remember those who have served to preserve our freedom and freedom's cause around the world.

And, if you're in the service or a veteran and are reading this, THANK YOU!!!

a good few days

My backyard on Saturday morning:
Jett and Addy chasing each other like wild banshees.

Fallen leaves + my Kenneth Cole shoes from last season.

A view of one of the trees. Man, we had the prettiest fall this year. I've never seen my backyard so brilliant. It was so yellow (still is, but it's fading fast). Greg and I were just saying it'd be perfect if there was a red tree in there somewhere, but alas, we have these pretty yellow trees to greet us each morning.


Today (Monday) was my final day as District Manager with Sciele Pharma Sales. It's so sad to think about closing that chapter in my life, but my regional manager couldn't have made the transition any better for me. When I first started working for her, we had our share of bumpy moments (but, who doesn't when adjusting to a new boss?). Over the past year, I've come to understand her much better, and she the same. If you had asked me a year ago whether I would be sad to tell her good-bye, I would have said, "Absolutely not!" Fast forward a year, many talks, a lot of maturing (on my part) and the answer is the exact opposite: "Definitely YES!" She has become my friend, advocate, and confidante, and I'm truly going to miss reporting to her. But, I won't miss her friendship because I fully intend on staying in touch. The one thing I learned from her is that we are remarkably similar, and it's difficult to find someone as honest and hardworking as she is, so I know she'll always give me good advice.

Upon leaving, she was kind enough to write me a note and give me a notebook. Even though it's harder for her with me gone (at least for the short term), I do think she's happy for me and the decision I made. What a blessing to have had such a good company and good manager to work for!!!

In other news, Greg was kind enough to take pictures with me (and of me) on Saturday afternoon. I was running out of things to scrap, so I thought it would be a good idea to take the camera for a spin :)

We though it would be fun to do some jumping pics and Greg majorly out-hopped me.



Finally, Addy chasing her frisbee. We later lost the frisbee, so hopefully we'll go back and find it in the winter when there's not so much foliage.

After that, we went to Cincinnati to visit Greg's old college roommate...and I do mean "old." We went there to participate in his surprise 30th birthday party. We had a good time, played some Wii, pool, and had a lively political discussion, so what could be better? The only bad thing was the drive home until 2:00am.....Don't worry about me, I took a 3 hour nap on Sunday to compensate.

Anyway, the reason we drove back so late is that Greg and I both teach (separate) bible classes on Sunday morning and I didn't want to miss that, even though we had subs lined up just in case we didn't make it. I teach Natalee and Carter's class (6-24 mos) and they are a hoot!!! We're on the Moses lesson. The lesson uses a flip chart as the basic outline for the lesson, and each page of the chart has a song + activity to go with it. For instance, the first page is about baby Moses in a basket. We give them baby "Moses's" to rock and to put in a basket.

One of my favorite part's of the lesson is discussing the manna and quail the Israelites ate while wandering in the wilderness. I have a box with a cloud on it, and I drop little styrofoam pieces out of it and sing about the manna falling from the sky and God taking care of His people. The kids LOVE it! Everytime we do that activity, Carter tries to figure out where the manna is coming from. Natalee, on the other hand, surprised me and clearly identified the manna before I stated what it was. I suppose it's an easy word to say, but what 18-month-0ld do you know that can identify manna? Seriously proud of that girl!

I get to take pictures of her tomorrow morning so hopefully I'll have more things to post about this week!

atc swap = good fun

I'm so happy Jenn organized the ATC swap at Studio Calico. I had never made ATC's before, so it was a challenge for me. On the flip side, my swap partners had obviously had experience because their cards were sooooooo cool!!! I got 2 in the mail the same day (I'm still waiting on a 3rd) and it was such a fun mail day. This is what I got:


I think Jenn paired me with the best on purpose ;)

In other news.....if you haven't heard already, the fabulous Claudine Hellmuth is going to be guest designing with December's kit at Studio Calico. Several of you have surmised that perhaps her new products might find their way into a kit. You might be right. Another several have predicted that her new products might find their way to our new supply store. You might be right.

Scarlet and I fell in love with Claudine's products at CHA Summer. Here we are (including the DT) playing with her sticky-back canvas, paint, and paintbrushes.



If you don't already own a good set of brushes....please wait until November 28th. That's all I'm saying.....my lips are sealed. (Claudine's are amazing and they're so cost-effective!!!!)

My sister also fell in love with Claudine and her artwork. This is the only "celebrity" Amber took a picture with at the whole show. She plans to commission Claudine to create a work of art with she and her dog, Holly.
Just to give you a visual, this is Holly. Remember last post, I told you about my lazy eye? Well, Holly has a lazy ear.
Thanks for reading my blog today!

yes, I wear glasses

Sorry, I've never shown my glasses before. I've worn them since I was 3 years old (no, not this exact pair).

I was blessed with the lazy eye, so I got to wear big plastic 80's frames along with an eye patch for a while. The good thing about wearing the eye patch, was that for every 30 minutes I wore it (and my glasses), I got an M&M. You heard me right ONE M&M. At least it was a full-size M&M, because if they had made the mini-ones back then, I'm sure I would've gotten that instead. I guess my mom was thinking a lazy eye coupled with rotten teeth wasn't such a good thing.

Then, when I was 11, my parents allowed me to get contacts. What a relief! So, I basically wear my contacts all the time. Especially with my pharma job, I was on the road so much, I could see better when wearing my contacts, and then I could add sunglasses when needed. Whatever, the case, the day I gave my notice that I would be resigning from my pharma job, this is what I looked like. So, I just wanted to document it.

I've never had a panic attack, but I came pretty close to having one that day. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. (I know, I know, I live a pretty sheltered life.) But, if you know me, you know that I give my all to whatever job I do. I loved my job, I loved my reps, I loved it all (well, except for the travel). It just came time for me to make the right decision for our family. And, so it is finished. Monday is my last day.

To make things better, I did some shopping therapy. Our guest bedroom needed some work, and I was really proud of myself for picking out this combination....none of which came from the same collection. (all from Target at various times)


Then, later that night, this is what came hopping up my sidewalk.

Inspecting her goods.
There were lots of mini-M&M's in there and I bet her mom allowed her to eat a whole package!
Since I knew she wouldn't be eating all that candy in one night, I wanted to get Natalee a more enjoyable gift, so this is what I bought:


It's a book that has moveable parts and all kinds of fur to touch and feel. She loves our dogs, so it was a fitting book. I mainly bought it because one of the pages has a tab that when pulled makes the pug lift his leg and you can see a stream of pee. Call me crazy, but I thought that was funny.
Natalee, on the other hand thought this page was funny. Lorie said she cackled so loud when the she would make the dog on the right shake his head.

Books are fun....too bad they're so stinkin' expensive!

Happy belated Halloween to you!
Happy early retirement to me! (just kidding, I'm plenty busy)

my first ATCs

I must admit, I've been afraid of ATCs since I first read about them. But, Jenn's gorgeous ATCs in the October gallery at Studio Calico inspired me to try to make them....along with the swap she organized.

To make 4 ATCs, I used the JACKSON'S ORCHARD add-on, which is still available, if you need some enabling. First, I measured my vintage wood veneer and cut it to 2.5x3.5" using a rotary cutter by Olfa. It worked beautifully, no splitting of the wood or anything.

As you can see, after I drew my lines, I still held the ruler in place as my guide for cutting.

VOILA!!!! 4 perfectly sized cards from one strip of the veneer.
To decorate one of the cards, I punched 4 circles using my new Martha Stewart punch, from a sheet of scrap paper. Notice how I let the circles hang over the edge of my paper?
Using a foam brush and some gold acrylic paint, I painted the circles, using the scrap paper as a stencil. I waited for the paint to dry, then re-used the "stencil" to draw a black border using a fine point American Crafts Slick Writer.

Finally, I embellished using paper from the same add-on and the NOAH alphabet stamps. It's sold out now, but we're making more, so look for them next month, if you missed out.

For the lettering, I stamped on the green Making Memories paper in that add-on in brown ink. Then, I hand-cut the letters and applied glossy accents.

One more thing to add, to make sure my ATCs were durable, I cut a 2.5x3.5" piece of kraft cardstock and adhered it to the back.

If you'd like to read more about ATCs, click here.

a good day

That's what yesterday was.

Lorie and Rich were gracious enough to let me tag along on their family outing to Jackson's Orchard. I loved watching Natalee's reaction to all the new things: the pumpkins (which she called "apples"), the feeling of hay, and all the farm animals.

After we returned home, I had the chance to play around with these photos. Let me know what you think.




Don't forget to go to the Studio Blog for a chance to win one of two Becoming Green collection packs.

lots of pictures to share

This past week has been jam-packed with activities. Last Saturday was my 10 year high school reunion. I went to North Bullitt High School, in a suburb of Louisvlle, KY -- very middle class. I loved my high school and I've been anxious to go back to the reunion this whole year.

Sadly, I was not able to get my roots dyed before the occasion....lots of white hair poking out all over the place, but oh well, I had fun anyway.



This is us before the event courtesy of mom:



and the shoes I wore....(also courtesy of mom)

Tiffany, the homecoming queen and class president, put the event together. I have to admit, I wasn't sure she'd pull it off, but in the end, she did a wonderful job.

(tiff and myself)

I forgot to mention that Amber wasn't able to make it because of her tonsillectomy. There were 3 sets of twins in our class of 150 (crazy, huh?): myself and Amber, Samantha and Jessica (below), and a set of boy twins (I can't remember their names).

Samantha, Jessica, and I talked about how strange it is that all the "bad" things seem to happen to one of them. Jessica has to have surgery on her left eye, she had a tonsillectomy and several other things. Amber seems to have drawn the "bad" card as well. She had to wear braces a second time, had surgery for a deviated septum, and just last week, her tonsillectomy.

A group picture of 38 graduates. I really expected more to show up because our class was so active. And, I was also surprised at who showed up....like some of the most popular kids didn't come even though they still live in Louisville....not sure why.

And, finally, this is who I wanted to see: Rebecca, my best friend in high school. We went to WKU together, but then lost touch. Now, she's a teacher at North Bullitt, and we have each other's email addresses and we've promised to stay in touch :)

Rebecca, Tiffany, me, Pam, and Andrea (I didn't hang out much with Pam and Andrea in high school, but it was still fun to see them and catch up on old times.)

When we arrived at the reunion, Tiffany had name tags made for us with our yearbook picture on them. YIKES!!! I kind of wish I had saved the name tag for you to see (I can't seem to find my yearbook), but here are some pictures that I had in a scrapbook back in the day....
I'm second from the left and Tiffany is a couple over from me. If I remember correctly, this picture was not from Halloween. The week before homecoming, we had different ways to dress each day. The student council took a count of the number of people from each class who dressed up and the class with the most students at the end of the week won bragging rights. I think this must have been "decade day." Other days were SPIRIT DAY, or PAJAMA DAY, or a day you could wear a hat. It was fun, don't knock it. (BTW, notice the scalloped scissors and page corners....see I was rocking the scrapbook supplies)

A photo from homecoming (were flannel shirts really that popular?). I'm 3rd from the left and Rebecca is on the far right.

ahhhh....graduation day. Didn't we all look good in yellow? (gag me)

And, my favorite of all....wasn't this clever? I'm the "O", Amber is the "N" and Rebecca is the "I". (This must have been SPIRIT DAY). We're standing in front of our hall decoration. Each class got a large section of a wall to decorate and we were given a theme. This theme had something to do with mystical characters because that's Hercules behind us. Anyway, as a class, we would cut, paste, glitter, and paint paper that would be adhered to the wall. Then, the teachers would judge which class was the best. From our Sophomore year on, our class won first place every homecoming!!!

As you can see, my scrapbooking skills have improved, as has my hair-do and my fashion sense.(I hope)

People kept saying, "You haven't changed," and I was thinking, "I really hope I've changed....."

You be the judge :)

All week long was work, work, work.

Friday night we went to a wedding down in Nashville and afterwards, we went to eat downtown at Jack's BBQ. If you are ever in Nashville, go!!!! It's on 3rd street (I think)....whatever the main drag is. The best brisket ever, cooked just like they do in Texas! Rich, Lorie and Natalee went with us and we made plans to attend Jackson's orchard the next day.

The 5 weekends before Halloween, they have a petting zoo, horse rides, a hay maze and playground set up.

and pumpkins of course.....

which Natalee called "apples" (we must have corrected her a thousand times, but in the end, we did see some apples)

I'll have more pics from our excursion later, but until then, check out the studio blog. Lorie is going to post some more pictures from the event as part of her history lesson :)

more sneaks + a talk with mom

I discussed in my last post about secrets, but I must say after talking with my mom later that day (Monday), it's good to get some secrets off your chest. You know, the kind that weigh heavy on your heart and the kind that just need to be told.




I love my mom and I can't imagine being raised by someone else. She was the mom that lived to be a good mom and do her job well. The kind that's always volunteering for everything, at school, at church, in the community. The kind that constantly evaluates what she says and does to make sure it's the best for the family. The kind that values her marriage and who values my relationship in my marriage.

So who better to share a secret with?

Since many of you out there are just like my mom, why not share a different secret with you? Some sneaks of November's Studio Calico kit.
Papers from the HOBSON GROVE add-on. Stamps...you'll just have to wait to find out :)
All items above in the main kit except the BG alphabet which is in the LOST RIVER VALLEY add-on.
All items from the JACKSON'S ORCHARD add-on.