Where's the beach?

No stamping today. Just a photo from my PAD collection. This is what my deck currently looks like and it just makes me want to escape to the beach forever! I am craving warmth and sunshine like never before. With the low single digit temps and snow that I am sure won't thaw til June makes me crave sand between my toes.

I am having trouble with this Photo A Day (PAD) thing and I am finding that my oh so exciting life is really oh so boring. What the heck am I supposed to be photographing? Any good ideas on how to make my photo taking more meaningful rather than so random and boring? Who the heck wants to scrap about snow and soup? But right now....that's all I have in my hot and cold life.....soup and snow...snow and soup.

Hey, I have some crafty stuff to give away. I have a ton of those tonic punches that I have never used....not my thing....but I am sure they are a great tool for someone else. They were given to me and I have no use for them. I feel some blog candy coming on....oh and I have some JustRite sets to give away too.....lots of them. Sweet. I'll put it together and post it this weekend.

See ya on the blog.

How Time Flies

Hey there people in blogville. My how time flies these days. So much so that I seem to forget about blogging these days. As I said before I spend most of my time on Facebook because it is faster....more like micro-blogging in sentances rather than paragraphs as I explained to Beth today.

Anyway while I was blog surfing today I came across a post talking about the Project 365 and the blogger asked.... if you could look at old photos what were you doing one year ago? Hmmmm. Well if I look back at my blog posts a year ago I was exstatic to be invited to attend CHA with JustRite. I was off to California and ready to take a huge leap into the craft and hobby industry. A leap that I thought would make all my crafting dreams come true. Wrong.

Fast forward.....it's CHA time again....I am here....thankful, grateful, appreciative, overjoyed..... and any other happy adjective you can stick in here....that I am home, stress free and lovin life. Really....life is good and I am thankful for all the opportunities I have had in my life time. There is nothing I can't do...well except put up with ridiculously stupid people....but who can? So what were you doing a year ago?

I went stamping last night with some friends (Jen, Krista and Ivy) and we laughed all night long. It was so awesome to get crafty for the hell of it. So here is one of the cards I made. Can't show you the rest because they are a personalized gift for someone that reads this blog and then it won't be a surprise. So...you'll just have to wait.

Brrrrr....Baby it's cold outside!

So the Photo A Day isn't going to work for me. I will take the 356 photos but it won't be one a day as some days I will have to snap more than one to keep up. Regardless it will keep me using my camera and that's the whole point...right....to take more pics?

Here is a lovely pic of me running to the car because it was soooooo fricken cold and of course snowing again. I really don't mind snowy cold weather (couldn't tell by all my bitching this week) but I can't handle painfully cold weather and that is what it was this week.

I never knew that the thermometer in my truck would register below zero digits and indeed it does. When I drove to work the other day it said -14 and with the windchill it was -29...that my friends is what I call PAINFULLY cold!!!

So it's just a quick catch up post today because I have not stamped this week. Too busy with my new job position which I totally love and I am quite confident at the end of the 30 day trial period will be a confirmed permanent position. Everything went well this week and both me and my boss had a good vibe at the end of the week. We had a lot of a-ha moments throughout the week and found that we were very much on the same page....which is always a good thing.

This weekend my baby brother Ryan is coming for a surprise visit...he should be here any minute. I am sooooo excited because I haven't seen him in two years...he lives in south Texas. Why the hell he wants to leave the warmth of Texas to visit us now during a deep freeze is beyond me but I will be happy to see him. According to him...he wants to get drunk and go sledding with me. I should have some interesting pictures for you on Monday. LOL I am not sure how well Martinis and sledding mix but we'll find out soon.

See ya on the blog!

Love You

Here is a Valentine's Day card I made. As you have probably noticed in my very slow return to stamping....I am going for the simple minimalistic approach. Hey there is no stamping on this card at all. Can I really call myself a stamper? Anyway, this isn't my usual style but the problem is that my studio has been unused for three months and I can't remember which draw holds which stuff. Guess I need to work in there more so I can know what I have in there....which is way too much crap. I think I need to give some stuff away.

So back to the card. I used the new SU red color as the base and the heard were punched out of the new SU pattern paper with the Nesabilites heart dies. The hearts are pop dotted for a 3D look. The love sentiment is a Sizzix die that I have had forever. Oh and the white was embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder. The ribbon is my fav....May Arts. Easy peasy. I think I could crank out several more of these for teachers and co-workers.

Today I am cooking and baking for no reason other than I want to try new recipes. I am making this pasta salad that has a tomato lime dressing because it sounded different and yummy, an apple maple bundt cake just cause it looked good in the pic and some split pea soup because I have been making a different soup each week and freezing the left overs.

See ya on the blog!

So much SNOW!

It has been snowing on and off for two days! I am so glad it's the weekend and I can just stay put. I was driving in a total white out this morning because it was Bailey's First Reconciliation and we were late. I should have confessed that I was swearing all the way to church. We were late and made it just in time for Bailey to be the last confession of the morning.

Then I came home and the boys (Cody and Amy's son TJ) have been sledding and snowmobiling all afternoon. They are going to be like popsicles when they get in the house. I am going to attempt to attach a video of TJ's first time ever driving a snowmobile and you will hear me yelling because he almost tipped over into the bushes. LOL

See ya on the blog!

Smokin and Stampin

Here is the smokin part of my post....PAD5 is a pic of Bill's cigar collection. Well just one little section of the humidor. I just happen to walk by the humidor and the different shades of brown caught my eye and I grabbed my camera. I just might frame this pic to hang in Bill's future library in the basement. Of course, I'll scrapbook about the cigars too....how they smell so bad and he's only allowed to smoke them in the garage. Blah!


Here is the stampin part of my post....a good luck card that I made for my co-worker that left today. Just something nice to wish her well on her new journey in life. It's also my Random Act of Kindness too because I thought about it and I am acting upon it.By the way, I got the awesome paper from Simone's store Craft Fancy. FYI, I bought it back in October so it is probably on sale now.

I am so happy it's Friday! Bailey is making her first Reconciliation tomorrow and then it's cooking and baking for the rest of the weekend. I have been getting up 30 minnutes early to do the Wii Fit and I have got my exercise in every day. Feels good.

I got some great news at work...it's sort of a promotion. Sort of because I get to test run the new position to see if I like it and if so then I will be the Executive Admin Assistant to the Executive Vice President...and still do my Marketing job too with the aid of an Admin Assistant. Shwooo...that's a mouth full and I am sure a bit confusing to you. I am confident all will be fine and this will be a permanent thing in the near future. I already have an excellent working relationship with the EVP as he was my boss for Marketing and not much should change with the added responsibilites of being his full time assistant. I am excited and just gotta say...I LOVE my job. (Sorry if you are sick of hearing it because I am not sick of saying it.)

See ya on the blog!

Happy Birthday Amy

I have no stamping to show you today. Feel free to skip past the explanation of my PAD4. But before I start I have to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friend Amy. Today is her real USA birthday but she lives in Guam which is 15 hours ahead of us so she celebrated yesterday which was the 7th in Guam. Love you and miss you lots Amy!

This lovely bowl of fruit is sitting on my kitchen table. I just liked the colors and the way the fruit was stacked in the Longaberger basket and the contrast against the black table. Also, I discovered that I actually like Fuji apples. Shut up! I know.

At work we have a large basket of apples on the table for the customers. They looked so yummy yesterday and I don't know what came over me but I tried one and loved it. What's the big flippin deal you ask? Um....I do not eat fruit. I can't stand the texture of it or the flavor of most fruits.....esp bananas and berries. However, if I am eating fruit flavored candy I will only eat the red ones which are usually cherry. Go figure....I freely admit I am a dorkabella.

Thanks for sticking around for that very unexciting post. Tomorrow I will have a card to show you because I am acting on another Random Act of Kindness for a co-worker that is leaving us on Friday. Plus I started working on my Valentine's Day cards already. Wow...I amazed myself too.

See ya on the blog!

Go Jump in the Lake

Here is the card I made for Mary and I gave her the towel too (It's the SU beach towel in the background that I have had forever...unused of course.) This is also my Random Act of Kindness too. Something I thought of doing and actually acted upon it.

I dug through the pile of stamps stacked on my floor (Bill is putting up my new shelf this weekend) and I was looking for something beachy. But then I came across this stamp and thought it was appropriate for the occasion....jumping in Lake Michigan on New Year's Day.

This is a simple card with a few layers, ribbon and brads. I stamped the image with Versa Fine Sepia and colored it with my watercolor crayons. Such shock...I know....I colored! I already explained to Mary that she is very special because she got a colored card from me. I HATE coloring and rarely do it. There aren't that many colored cards floating around in this world from me. So if you have one you better cherish it. LOL

This photo is also my PAD3. It's a two for one....a random pic and it's actually stamping related. You don't really come here for the stamping do you?

Gotta run. I am baking bread again and it's almost my turn on the Wii. Yes, I have to get in line with the kids or I won't get a turn.

Wii Are Addicted!

Here is my Photo A Day #2 (PAD2 for short). This is what we have been doing since Christmas Eve.....playing the Nintendo Wii (pronounced WE for those of you challenged gamers). This pic cracks me up because Cody and Maddie are playing a fierce game of Playground Soccer. If you heard them from the other room you would think they are beating the crap out of each other but they are really having fun. Love it.

You can see a portion of my new couch in the left of the pic, my green Pottery Barn stacked tables that I got 50% off, my new olive green curtains and the new 50 inch TV and Ikea stand. (BTW, I paid cash for it all...thank God.) Speaking of Ikea, I have been a long time reader of the Ikea Hacker blog where they take Ikea products and repurpose them by combining and building with other Ikea products. My TV stand is actually two Ikea stands stacked on top of each other so I could get double shelves and the TV higher up and more at eye level. Only cost me $140 which is a far cry from the $600 stand I almost purchased from the Navy Exchange.

Today is the last day of Christmas break and I need to get back into the routine of real life....organized chaos is how I like to think of it. Back to the morning rush of getting to school two minutes before the bell rings and trying to remember all the backpacks and lunches. But tomorrow I won't be scrambling at 5:45 pm to figure out what is for dinner because I planned 6 weeks of dinner menus with a coordinating shopping list. How's that for organized chaos!?! And I nominated Bill (my awesome husband) to be the keeper of the coupons.

BTW, I am heavily relying on my non-procrastinating husband to keep me on track with all my great ideas on how to become debt free. That's how it works in the family....I am the great thinker and he is the great doer. The problem occurs when the thinker and doer aren't thinking and doing at the same time. Did you follow that?

Ok off to work on my Random Act of Kindness for the week. I decided that since my co-worker Mary jumped into freezing cold Lake Michigan on New Year's Day it's not too late to congratulate her with the beach towel that I had intended on giving her before the jump. I have a SU beach towel that I am going to present her with a handmade card. Oh my....I said it...a handmade card. So that means I have to actually walk into the studio and use something in that room to get creative. Hmmmm....can I do it? We'll see cause I just might have to document it with a pic.

See you on the blog!

Photo A Day

Since I haven't been stamping or blogging lately I have gotten back into cooking, budgeting and couponing....all things necessary to take care of a family of six which is my main priority in life.

What better way to combine a scrapbooking hobby with my daily life than to participate in the Photo A Day challenge....or as I have seen on Cathy's Z's blog....Project 365. But since I am on a debt diet and using what I have in my studio I will not be purchasing the Project 365 Kit. But I will be using Stacy Julian's 40 Photos in 4 hours template in the December Issue of Simply Scrapbooking. (I got a subscription compliments of Jen. Thanks!)

Anyway, I know I am a few days late starting the challenge but here is my day one photo and I'll make up the other two days later. Today I spent the day searching for recipes online and surfing blogville to find new friends (not that I don't like you guys anymore). I was so incredibly impressed with myself for making these Crusty French Bread Baguette's. OMG....they look and smell like they were fresh from a bakery. I also made a crockpot full of Beef Barley Vegetable Soup. (I doctor up the recipe on the side of the Barley box.)

I convinced my daughter Sarah to participate in the Project 365 as well. She has a great eye when it comes to taking pics and catching the moment. I think she is going to start a photo blog too. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks to everyone that welcomed me back. It's nice to be missed. I think I am going to do something crafty before I go to bed.

See ya on the blog!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2009 to everyone! I am totally looking forward to ending 2008 and moving on with a much happier and healthier 2009.

As the subtitle of this blog says, Stamping with a Slash of Chatting. Um yeah....neither have been going on in my life. Basically, I have not stamped or chatted since I quit JustRite back in October. Life happens and priorities are brought to the forefront and my eyes were opened that my life was totally out of balance. It was time for a much needed break and reality check.

So what have I been doing? Spending time with my neglected family and my best friends in the whole world. I did blog a bit in November that Amy came here from Guam for a two week visit. So I asked Jen, Beth and Mary to come over for a girls night "in" and we had a feast of Chicago foods. It was so awesome to see everyone together and just sit and chit chat about everything and of course lots of giggles and laughs.

Life wouldn't be complete with out some bumps in the road and I have had my fair share with my teenage son. Without getting into too many personal details I will just say therapy, therapy and more therapy. We have along road to go and after many tears and many more prayers I just hope that he will come around and get that we care about him and only want what is best for him. And no this is not drug or alcohol related.....teenage know-it-all-ism is a huge factor here.

Going to work each day is a sanity saver. I have unofficially started working full time. I just have a lot of marketing project on the horizon and don't mind putting in the extra time. It'a great feeling to know that I do the marketing for a community bank....of all places in this economy.....that has a billion dollars in assets and was recently ranked #1 by the FDIC. People ask me all the time if we are in trouble and we are definiately not part of any economic crisis. As a matter of fact, we are growing and hiring. Yes, when people are losing their jobs daily and banks are closing left and right my bank is hiring and secure. I've said a million times here and I'll say it again....I love my job.

So that is a briefing of what I have been doing up til now. And now......I have been addicted to the Wii game system. OMG....I have played so much that my body has been sore since Christmas eve. But it is a great kind of hurting. LOL Jen has come over and we now have her addicted to Rock Band and We Cheer. So much so that we gathered "the band" at her mom's house last night and jammed all night long. Sooooo much fun.

We also have the Wii fit and I have the high record on the Ski Long Jump and Super Hula. After the kids go to bed I play and bust into a sweat. It's great exercise and I am totally addicted. Hopefully it will help me lose some weight and win the Biggest Loser competition at work. We are doing it for 12 weeks and we pay each week if we lose, maintain or gain. Winner will get the pot of money at the end of the 12 weeks. I hope to lose 20-30 pounds and I'll be happy.

And finally, my New Years resolution is to get back to stamping and blogging. I have eliminated all the clutter from my life and now have time to get back to some fun things that I like to do which will also coincide with my other resolution.....acting upon my kind thoughts....performing Random Act of Kindness. What does that mean? Well I am always thinking about doing kind deeds and just never act upon them. Like my co-worker Mary is jumping into Lake Michigan today and I thought about giving her a beach towel and of course didn't do it. Just little gestures of kindness that run through my head and never happen because I am too busy and too forgetful.

Oh....one more resolution.... Bill and I are going on a debt diet. I have been reading all these blogs and newpaper articles about cutting back and living within your means. Needs over wants is the goal for us. Only spending money on needs which should be much easier now because I was able to pretty much fulfill all my wants for the house over the last few months...and paid cash for my kitchen remodeling and new living room furniture. I don't need any craft supplies and I am an avid collector of papers and all things stamping, scrapbooking and die cutting. I just want to use up what I have and scrapbook!!!

So you are all caught up on my oh so exciting life. Thanks to all of those that have been emailing me and checking in on me. I figured Beth was the only person that read this blog and cared about my personal life crap. Apparently, others like to read my soap opera too and don't just look for the cards and pics.

I have been on Facebook too if anyone is looking for me on the internet. Ah....Facebook....the place you can say what you want and not be under the microscope of certain eyes and easier to figure out who is not my "friend".

Happy New Year and see you on the blog!