Getting Happy Mail

 

Is there anything better than getting something handmade in the mail?!?!? Well, maybe sloppy kisses and bear hugs from my kiddos and holding my husbands hand as we sit side by side on the couch....but seriously...this warms my heart.

Thanks Kristy!!!

Lovely Christmas Card

Isn't this card beautiful?!!? My friend, Erica, made it for me and I just love it to pieces. The paper goes so well with how she colored the image. I hope you're all staying warm.

Have a beautiful weekend.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink Post.

Aaron, this morning with a bunch of carrots from our garden, we got a yellow one and as soon as I took the picture he went and ate it! We also got "a fat one, an armed one, and a perfect one" according to Jakob. Danielle's Onsies...so sweet. I love her saying for the air balloon one "High on Milk". Me, sewing Jonah's blanket. I still need to get a pic of the finished project. I love the alien fabric. Another box full of goodies from Kristy! I am in love with that circle unity stamp (so Jakob would say, "Why don't you marry it?"). Yum, yum. Look at these sweet baby boy outfits. Darling package. Awwww, the darn bunny...cost me an arm and part of a leg today. Turns out his teeth are a MAJOR problem and, yeah, they'll need to be trimmed once a month which only costs $15.00. Not bad you say, well here's the kicker...the gas to knock the bunny out to have his teeth trimmed costs $57.00...YUP that's right folks I just adopted us big problem. I have no one else to blame but myself, I am just gullible and love sweet, furry things. The vet also had a second recommendation, surgically pulling the teeth, which would cost between three and four hundred dollars (like my husband would ever let that happen for a $20.00 rabbit). I was suffering over what to do and decided to get his teeth trimmed today so he has at least one healthy month left before we have to make any big decisions. I feel so bad, I just dont' know what to do especially with the little guy coming so soon. Hopefully you have a better day than I did. Take care.

Little Tiger Baby

My friendLaurel is also having a baby...she's not due until late December with her third (our other friend Amber is due in mid November with her fifth) so some ladies got together at church and are throwing us a multi baby shower this Saturday. They're calling it a celebration of motherhood. We're all having boys, crazy huh? It will be nice to hang out and share some time together...when you already have three kiddos I guess it's not about the presents anymore. Speaking of which, a sweetheart from California, Danielle, sent me the cutest little onesies that she decorated herself. I need to take pictures, but my camera battery is dead right now. You all are enriching my life so much, I can't thank you enough.
Take care and have a great day.
Tiger stamp is CTMH, papers are Kaleidascope, Olive Branch glimmer mist on the chipboard.
PS I JUST SAW I'm over 20,000 hits THERE WILL BE SOME Li'l Bucks's BLOG BOOTY!!!!!! Comin' UP!

OH...MY...GOODNESS!

When Kristy started commenting that she had "stolen" something from me, I was like what could she have possibly stolen from me, she lives two states away for Heaven's sake? Thankfully, she spilled the beans and I am so happy, happy, happy to share with you all what the wonderful Miss Kristy stole from me...isn't it just gorgeous. She used the picture I took of Aaron and I off my blog and my journaling for that day and created a wonderful scrapbook page all for me, me, me! Can you tell I'm jumping for joy? Go visit Kristy's Blog for details on this work of art. Oh, her poor daughter had to get eleven stitches, yikes. This layout looks good enough to eat, definitely eye candy! Have a great day. Thursday, I'm going over to my friend Nicole's house so she can help me make a blanket for little Jonah to come home with. Yes ladies it's true...I don't sew...well, except for on paper! Gasp, can you believe it. My mom is an amazingly, talented seamstress, but I suck at it. What can I say, each of us can only have so many talents. Hah! Be good.

What I've been Reading...Blessings Rain Down On Me!

I feel SO, SO, SO blessed. I "met" a wonderful gal online and she asked me if I'd like a CTMH stamp set she got because she doesn't really stamp...now how could I pass up that offer...I jumped for joy and said yes demurely. Heehee. Then the other day this box arrives in the mail and my jaw just dropped. Even Travis was blown away by miss Kristy's generosity. Thank you, thank you, thank you! You know when you just click with some people well that's how it is and I just wish she lived closer so we could do scrappy things together and talk about our Aaron's and our Tessa's. Have a great day everyone! Isn't her card so cute?

Stardust, Neil Gaiman
Book Club
My Grade: B
Super different from the movie it was based on, author tried to end tie up the story way too quickly, I wouldn't have minded 50 more pages if it would have explained things a little better

Savannah from Savannah, Denise Hildreth
Book Club
My Grade: B+
About an angst filled graduate determined to make her own way in the world not off of her beauty queen mother. Personally I thought it was a little boring

Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer
For kicks and because I'm obsessed
My Grade: A-
Last book in the Twilight series. Missed the romantic tension between Bella and Edward that was present in the three prior books. Cool that Bella becomes the super heroine. Not my fav of the series, but I felt the same about the last book of Harry Potter. Not a super page turner for me like the others but enjoyable.

The Giver, Lois Lowry
My Book Club Pick
My Grade: A
Young adult and loved the way the author's "voice" read. Ending a little ambiguous but I will read Messenger soon.

Walkabout, James Vance Marshall
For kicks
My Grade: B-
Odd ending and talks A LOT about native birds of the Australian outback...so much so that I think it distracted from the tale at hand. I kept thinking, "is this a book about survival or a bird watchers book?" Overall an okay read

Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt
For kicks
My grade: B
What is it with these books and their endings. I wanted to know what Jesse thought, I wanted to see him meet up with Winnie again. Great symbolism with the toad, but not enough to push this story over the "B" range for me.

Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson
For kicks
My grade: A-
Good story about the horrors of a high school first year but a little hard to believe that EVERY friend would hate her so much for calling 911 on the party. Overkill on that part...loved the art teacher character...hated the parents. Overall a pretty good read.

Maximum Ride The Final Warning, James Patterson
Because I thought is WAS the LAST book in the series...NOT!
My Grade: D
Don't even bother reading this book, what a waste of time! Doesn't even fit in with the series, no character development...save the planet...oh please...when did this series become a political action committee on the environment. UGH! ( I take care of the planet, but this book was like a bait and switch). HORRIBLE. I do, however, recommend the first book, Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, for young readers. It's a great story line. Even the second and third are pretty okay.

The Tiger Rising, Kate DiCamillo
For Kicks
My Grade: A
A sad story but a decent read. I really felt for the children in this book.

RAK from Kim

I'm so excited to say that I received this little jewel from a super sweet gal I "met" online. These goodies traveled all the way from South Africa!!!! I love the card, especially cuz it has orange in it and that's my fave. I am going to make up some sweet thangs with these primo products. Thanks Kim!!!!! You ROCK!

Raks from Sue Daly

Sue Daly over at StampnDaly created these beautiful cards and sent them my way. It was wonderful to receive such happy mail after being on vacation! Have a great day.

I stink your sweet!

I made this card with my new pun fun set. It's just so cute. I had issues with coloring this little guy because the paper was resisting the ink, darn SEI paper. Sage Shadow ink with silk flower and a button. I also used my spiral punch. Hope you all are having a great day!

I just found out that I won a Cuttlebug from LESLI over at Dragonfly Time you should check out her site! She's got amazing sketches( page plans) for scrapbook layouts and cards. Really fun stuff. So my day is going pretty amazingly. Thanks to all who participated in the blog booty giveaway.

Tzatziki--It's what's for dinner!

Well tzatziki and pita and spinach-feta hummus and lettuce and tomatoes and a little beef. YUM! We layered like tostadas because I couldn't get the wheat pockets to open.

TZATZIKI

1 pint sour cream (I used plain yogurt instead with a little sour cream added in.)
· 1 English cucumber , peeled, grated on a box grater, salted lightly for 5 minutes and squeezed between the hands to remove extra water (the long, thin, almost seedless kind)
· 3 garlic cloves , mashed to a paste
· 1/2 cup olive oil
· 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
· 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill (optional)
· to taste salt
Directions
1. Just mix everything up together until it is all blended and the oil has emulsified into the yoghurt/sour cream. Taste for seasoning, and add salt if you think necessary. Put in a resealable container.
2. Allow to 'sit' in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours before using to allow the flavors to come out.

We made the hummus from scratch too but I have to warn you. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of crushed red pepper flakes, we only used one Tablespoon and it was still WAY hot. I would ommit altogether next time or maybe only use a tsp otherwise super yummy. My dh said he would eat it as a chip dip.

SPINACH FETA HUMMUS
1 can garbanzo beans/chickpeas (15 oz), drained
1/2 cup fresh spinach
3 oz, crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cups red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon roasted garlic
PREPARATION:
In a food processor combine, beans, spinach, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice. Blend well. Add cheese and red pepper flakes and blend to a smooth and creamy dip.

And I just wanted to say thank you to Samantha at Living Creatively for sending me this beautiful Valentine. So appreciated.

Have a great day.

Making Brian's Day!

FIRST Check out this post on Lisa Bearnson's blog and see if you can help... I have SO many stickers that I just threw a whole bunch in an envelope and mailed them off with this card to Brian Nashimoto (he's a major sticker fiend). Lisa's hope is that he gets them for V-day! I wish I could see the look on his face as he receives tons of stickers and I hope he has fun with them all.

Again, I used Julee Tillman's Honored Guest sketch, can you tell I'm trying to become the honored guest?!?!?! The heli stamp is from SU Going Somewhere (retired). Stamped in Taken with Teal. The tab sticker is from SEI. Have a great day

Zoofari anyone

I received this card in the mail a while ago and am now just getting around to posting it. MJAlbright made a bunch of these and sent them to whoever posted a comment on her blog. I believe it's 4x4 and it's gatefold. Made with Stampin' Up's Zoofari set. I love how she colored the images and popped up some of their heads. The smallest piece of artwork...I love it.

This week is shaping up to be totally crazy. I came down with this weird cough yesterday. I feel like someone is steppin on my chest. The odd thing is that I was fine in the morning, but by 5 o'clock I was done for.

Thanks for all the support on potty training. My other two were EASY, two years old, BAM, potty trained...not my little guy though.

Have a great day and I'll be posting some projects I've been working on soon.

Amazing Jill and Little J man

I was so excited to get home and be back in my own bed. It was really nice to see my family but I got a really sore throat while we were there and I just wanted to be home. When I got home, this little treat was in my mailbox! Thanks Jill, you're so sweet. So glad I ran into you on the web. This card is awesome, so detailed and a total inspiration.

Now on to a more serious topic. Remember how I said my friend, Michelle's, son was sick. Well, he was hospitalized on Wednesday and he remains there with Pneumonia. He hasn't been progressing as much as the doctor's would like and so we're asking for you prayers. We love you Jamuson, get better. Jakob misses you. I hope you all have a great day and I'll be back to creating soon, I hope. Take care.

RAK and Wall Canvas

First off I just have to tell you how much it means to me to receive a personalized envelope in the mail! Not junk mail, not a bill, not a statement, no... just a simple little piece of paper that lifts my mood and puts me in a delightful mood for the day. Thanks to my wonderful friend, Michelle, for making my day. I love it Sista'! That ribbon stamp is amazing!!!!

And guess what!?!?! I actually finished my wall canvas from CK PHX. I really didn't like the papers they used in the class so I bought my own and finished it up. ANOTHER huge thank you to my sweetie for making the gorgeous frame for it out of a strip of molding. I just need to add pictures and journaling on the tag and wahlah, a masterpiece. FYI, I found some similar thin canvas boards at Hobby Lobby for so cheap you wouldn't believe it. I think that you could get like four almost 12x12 boards for under five bucks and then add a smaller like 3x5 board to it raised up like the "family" block on mine. The canvas is inked with a quick quotes, mocha, chalk ink pad. Have a great day!