Thank God I'm a Country Girl !!

Life on the farm is kinda laid back, ain't nothing that a county girl like me can't hack!

I just couldn't resist channeling John Denver. We had SUCH a great time on the farm up in Minnesota. I'll have more later on my niece, Misty's, marriage that took place on this living farm, but here's a couple of shots taken of those from the Omaha family group that arrived early on Friday. My husband, Sterling, and I didn't arrive until noon on Saturday so we missed some of the pre-wedding festivities, but from the sounds of things, a good time was had by all. The weather was cool and overcast, but beautiful nonetheless as the trees in the background were starting to turn - another couple of weeks and their colors will be spectacular! The 59 acre farm is what they referred to as a "living farm", meaning the owners of the farm live off of what it produces from the gardens. They also have a community "pizza" feed every weekend and make these AMAZING fresh pizzas (with homemade goat cheese) which help to supplement the farm's income. There is no electricity, but rather solar panels which heat water for an outdoor shower, lights are from lamps and candles, and wood burning stove heat the house during the winter. It was really an eye opener to see so many on this farm embracing this lifestyle and we were lucky to have them receive us into their home so graciously. They made the wedding events seem effortless and no one went without a chair to sit on or food to to snack on. And the entertainment was provided by mother nature and the animals that also inhabit this farm. It was so much fun to watch my 2 year old grandson and 1 year old grandniece race around the goats, chickens, horses, oxen and kittens and run up and down from the house to the barn and back again. There was also a child's cottage right on the edge of where the woods began - with a creek that ran right behind it. What child wouldn't thrive with this as his daily adventureland.

Juggle THIS !!

Another attraction at the Aquarium in Denver, was this gal who put on a juggling act. She came out into the audience and picked my son-in-law, Jeremy, to come up and help her. It was the MOST hilarious thing and had us all in giggles before she was done. She was juggling a flaming torch, a large knife, and a stuffed teddy bear. Unbelievable!

GLOW FISH !

Okay ... I'll be the FIRST to admit that I have very limited knowledge of the fish world - which is why I don't eat sushi! I would have called these large goldfish. They were part of the Aquarium exhibit that we went to in Denver a few weeks back. When anyone went to take a photo, their eyes would ILLUMINATE and give off this eery result.

Beginnings of Fall

I love the fall. Crisp mornings. Trees turning all sorts of colors in one last burst of beauty before they fall. And when they do fall, giggles and fun from the kids jumping into stacks of raked leaves. And the final harvests, apple orchards, football games (I had to add this for my husband's sake) hayrack rides, and the pumpkin patch. This beautiful wreath was made by my daughter-in-law, Chrysty, who has a talent for taking almost anything and making it beautiful. It's also my favorite time to bake. I love making jars of apple butter, apple pan pies, apple crisp (I'm sensing a theme there - grin). And here in the midwest another tradition is going to the apple orchards during Applejack Days and picking up bags of kettlecorn - there's nothing like it. Just enough sweet and salt to make it very hard to put down before the entire bag is consumed in one sitting. It's my husband's favorite time of year because the he knows grass cutting season is coming to an end, and just possibly that he'll be diving into his favorite baked goodie, apple pie. ENJOY the days of fall, everyone!

Remembering my brother, John.

Today would also have been my older brother John's birthday. We lost him to cancer when he was only 21 years old. Over the years I've often wondered how all of our lives would have been changed had he been around to share them with us. What it would have been like to lean on an older brother, someone to call on when times were good and when times were rough. I miss you, Johnny!

Happy Birthday Sis!!!

Today is also my sister Shari's birthday. Shari - hope your day is filled with all those things you love the most. Happy Birthday!

Happy Anniversary Trisha & Craig

Today is my niece Trisha's wedding anniversary and I just wanted to wish her and Craig a very happy anniversary!

Happy Birthday Hailey Rae!!!

Today is my grandniece's FIRST birthday. We had a family celebration on Sunday and boy did she have a GRAND time eating her THREE TIER cake that her Aunt Gloria made for her. And her dad, Matt, is SUCH a great dad! He is just in awe of each new step this little cutie takes. She won't be spoiled - yeah - not much (grin). So happy birthday, my little grandniece, and may ALL your cakes in life be three layers!!

Finding NEMO

We had SUCH a great time in Colorado last week visiting with my son and daughter-in-law. They have a BEAUTFUL home in Parker, Colorado and they were such gracious hosts to mom and stepdad! Where do I start? Do I tell you about the beautiful weather (only 6% humidity - I'm just sayin!!!) Being born and raised in Nebraska, going somewhere with such low humidity just makes my skirt fly up! And MOUNTAINS - did I mention yet that there are MOUNTAINS in Colorado? Not just the bluffs we have here in Nebraska - no - honest to goodness big and beautiful, snow covered, aspen covered MOUNTAINS! I rode to Denver with my daughter, son-in-law and grandson - Jonas and I had the BEST time in the back seat and he was SSSOOOO good sitting for such a long ride - for a 2 year old! We arrived in Denver on Thursday just in time for Mark to whip us up a fabulous luncheon. We had a great afternoon relaxing and chatting and then Sterling arrived about 5:30 from Salt Lake City and we all went to dinner at Maggiano's (another story for another time - but one word - YUM!). Friday morning we ventured to the Aquarium in downtown Denver. The picture shows Jonas and his dad looking for Nemo! Jonas got such a kick out of all the different sizes and colors of fish, but when he finally found a Nemo and Dora fish - oh my - he was in awe!! Friday night Mark bbq some fabulous chicken brats to go with our MEGA leftovers from Maggiano's and we all had fun watching Jonas' having fun (Uncle Mark Did It!!)! Later that evening we went for ice cream in downtown Parker. Saturday morning Laura, Jeremy and Jonas traveled up to Estes Park to meet up with Jeremy's folks and spend a few more days. We stayed in Denver with Mark and Chrysty. They took us to the Coors Brewery in Golden. Very interesting and free tour, but of course the BEST part was the sampling lounge after the tour was over. Mark and I don't really enjoy beer, so we shared our "free" glasses of ale with Chrysty and Sterling. Mark then drove us up to Black Hawk in the mountains, which was a 40 minute ride covering 20 miles of BEAUTIFUL canyon. We stopped at Ameristar for a couple of hours (what a gorgeous casino!!). Later than night we had a wonderful dinner at On the Border (Sterling's favorite mexican restaurant) and waddled home full to the brim! Sunday morning we got up and went to a farmer's market in downtown Parker and oh did we have fun there. We bought sauces, and baked goods, and produce - OH MY!! The beefsteak tomato we brought home was to die for! Big as your head and as red as Rudolph's nose! We wish we had brought home more than we did, but next time we go we will know what to load up on! I also made a FABULOUS fresh peach cobbler when we got home that was heaven on a dessert plate!

So bottom line, this was one FABULOUS vacation. And for me, just having all of my kids together at one place and time made me the happiest MOM this side of the Missouri River! And a big HUG to Mark and Chrysty for being such gracious hosts and surviving the family invasion! And brace yourselves, as next year we're gonna stay TWICE as long!

Rocky Mountain High

We're getting ready to go and visit my son and daughter-in-law in Denver ... they moved from Nebraska over a year ago and are "living the dream" each and every day in their new mile high environment. Sure do miss them, but knowing that they love their new home and new jobs and new "back yard", can't help but make me happy. So ROAD TRIP here we come!

Check This Out!

Go and check out Jenni's blog Wee Memories for some great fun and she's got a giveaway this week too!

http://suchins.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my dad's birthday. I adore the "smirk" of a grin in his graduation photo - just makes me laugh. He is the foundation of our family and I am so proud to call him my dad. He's taught me to have a sense of humor (his favorite line to us kids growing up was "pull my finger"), to help others (he never turned anyone down that needed his help), and a sense of family (he was an only child and loved that he married into a large family - my mom was the youngest of 7 children). He provided us with such a great childhood. We went on family trips to Disneyland in California and fishing trips up to Okoboji and Minnesota, and I'll never forget the roadtrip to Niagra Falls. He took us on our first airplane trip to visit our cousins in Anaheim, and also my first train ride, again to California. He LOVES the ocean and deep sea fishing, and has made many trips with his group of buddies over the years on fishing adventures. He is a Master Plumber, and I don't think he has ever really "retired" to this day, as he will jump at the chance to help anyone out with their plumbing problems. He worked hard all his life and provided his family with all that we ever needed, and especially his love. Happy Birthday, Dad!!

Chugging Along!

Okay ... I had way too much fun making this card! I just freehanded the train template and punched out 2 large circles and one small circle, then added the sentiments from the SRM sticker packet I won several weeks ago. I added a Hero Arts flourish for the "steam" at the top. What do you think? Check out the SRM Blog here:

http://srmstickers.blogspot.com

Crafty Saturday

In between loads of laundry this morning, I've been in my craft room creating cards. I'm trying to use up scraps of paper (I have a ton) before I buy anymore. My camera isn't the best for capturing the distressing or grunge on some of these cards, but I'm really happy with how they turned out.

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad

If ever there was a couple to take example from, it’s my mom and dad. They were married in 1950. And while disagreeing is a form of communication for them sometimes, they have a very solid and loving relationship. Here’s a card I made for them. It’s hard to tell from the photo, but I printed out their wedding photo onto some vellum for a more vintage look. I wonder if they knew starting out that they would be raising FIVE children (grin). Thanks for a terrific childhood, mom and dad and have a fantastic anniversary today!

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorda

My son, Mark, and his wife and her family were in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park over the weekend. Here's a pic of my son. What a beautiful vista it is. He and Chrysty are loving their new environment and having so many fabulous vistas within a few hours drive from their home makes them VERY happy indeed.

Happy Birthday Trisha!!

I meant to get this post up yesterday as my niece, Trisha, had a birthday. Happy Birthday, Trisha - hope your day was extra special.

Here's a pic from over the weekend of Trisha and her new baby daughter, Avyln, together with her mom, Gloria (my sister) and our folks, John and Pearl.

Timeless

My good friend, Marcia, is a Stampin Up demonstrator and at a recent monthly card party, we made this fabulous card using the Sense of Time stamp. The chain is from Hobby Lobby. This is such a great masculine card or a graduation card. I met Marcia several years ago at an Archiver mania, along with her sweet sister-in-law, Bunny, and another wonderful woman, Joyce. The four of us became fast friends and get together at least once or twice a month to share in our passion for cardmaking and scrapbooking.

Rosenblatt Stadium

This weekend we're attending my company's summer family event at Rosenblatt Stadium (home of the College World Series). This is a photo from last year's event. My grandson, Jonas, is on the right (the one with the cookie in his hand), and his best buddy, Ryne, is on the left. This photo really captures the excitement of America's favorite pasttime - BASEBALL.

Pacman Lives

I recently won a packet of stickers from SRM (http://www.srmpress.com). Here's a card I made today using one of their sentiments. I love pacman! We used to play for HOURS back when this came out in the 80's.

Everybody SALSA!

I love this time of year. Tomatoes off the vine means fresh salsa, which my family loves to put on EVERYTHING! This recipe is one I've used for years and we love it. The cornbread recipe is a MUST when we make Mary's enchiladas as well. It's give a bit of sweet to all the hot stuff going on with the other foods and it is SO simple to throw together and a definite crowd pleaser. Now somebody pass me a margarita!

Butterflies

Here's another card I made using the same techniques spelled out below. I just love the shine of the dabber paints together with the black stamps.

Multiple Techniques

On this card, I used a Hero Arts handwriting stamp in the background on cream colored card stock. I then cut out a flower from a piece of old book paper and attached it with removable glue. I then used Tim Holtz' dabbers in bronze, gold and rust and randomly inked over the entire card and diecut. I removed the die cut and then added the stem flourish in black and a birthday sentiment. And finally I added a button with a piece of embroidery floss tied into the holes.

Big Wishes

I won a set of Unity stamps from Maren Benedict's blog (http://zanynotcrazy.blogspot.com) a few weeks ago and thought I would make a quick birthday card with one of the sweet sentiments from the set It's Your Day. The photo doesn't pick up the distressing very well, as the card is a bit darker and grungier in real life. Thanks again, Maren!

Behold the Power of Cheese

Here's another page from the family recipe scrapbook I made for the girls several years ago. Laura's favorite dish was mac and cheese. But it had to be KRAFT mac n cheese. It's about the only thing I could get her to cook when she was growing up. Even now she says she only has a kitchen because it came with the house. It's not that she can't cook, it's just that she chooses NOT to cook. Her son, Jonas, is following in her footsteps as his favorite dish is also mac n cheese!

What a Charmer!

Would you just LOOK at this face??!! I'm the luckiest grandmother EVER! My grandson, Jonas, turned 2 in May and is our source for laughter and entertainment. He loves EVERYTHING and ANYTHING with wheels!! My daughter is bringing him over tonight for our weekly "dinner at mom's". Jeremy is taking classes and doing homework at night so this gives him some "quiet" study time and gives us some "FUN" time with my daughter and grandson.

Christmas in July

I've seen so many blogs this month hosting Christmas in July creativity, so I thought I would share a holiday card using one of my FAVORITE Santa stamps. I did resist embossing in the background with a snowflake stamp, then added some additional snowflakes using white craft paint. I also added embossing powder to the image, though it's hard to tell in this photo. Simple but I love the results.

I had dinner with a very dear high school friend this evening. Pam and I have known each other since Jr. High and it's always so much fun getting together for some fun conversation. She has promised to giving "blogging" a try and I am looking forward to seeing her blog up and running real soon.

Kids Having Fun!

Here's a recent pic of my grandson, Jonas, and my niece, Danelle, having some comfy reading time on top of our toy chest. Jonas got the biggest kick out of getting his blanket out and having his cousin read to him.

Happy Birthday, Son!!!!

Today is my first born's birthday! I remember vividly when he was just a few weeks old, I was rocking him after a 2 a.m. feeding and wondering what kind of man he would grow up to be. The man he became just makes me so proud! I love you, son! Have a great birthday!

Happy Birthday Renee!

This is a pic of one of my best friends, Renee. She and I met MANY years ago when I was living in Tucson, Arizona. Her sister and my sister were best friends and that's how we met. We hit it off IMMEDIATELY and it's been a great sisterhood ever since. She makes me laugh, she makes me think, she makes me look at and appreciate the world around me. She is a force of nature to be reckoned with and brightens up any room just by walking in. She's one of those people that EVERYONE wishes was their best friend. Thanks for being mine, sweetie! Happy Birthday!

Bittersweet Memories

I was responding to a post for vintage photos (http://www.heartwarmingvintage.blogspot.com/) and couldn't help but stop and reminisce for a while looking at this family photo in my archives. This picture was taken on my aunt's front porch back when big rambling wrap around porches were so popular. The young boy in the bucket is my brother, John, when he was about 2-1/2 years old. We lost my brother John years later when he was only 20 years old to cancer. So to see this photo just brought back a plethra of emotions of both smiles and sadness.

Key Lime Poke Cake - Oh My GOODNESS!!

There is NOTHING I've had lately that is as good as this luscious cake. Just enough tart and sweet and it literally melts in your mouth. I found this recipe and shared it with my friend, Joyce, who brought it to potluck party last night. All I can say is WOW !!

Just go to bettycrocker.com website and search for Key Lime Poke Cake. You won't be disappointed. GREAT summer dessert! ENJOY!!

Cleaning Day

Okay, this is what our bedroom looked like before four years of cat fur and clutter overtook it. Today I'm doing some MUCH needed spring cleaning. Although it'll probably take me a week if I'm going to do it right. So far I've cleaned ONE window/blinds/curtains. I've cleaned the floor on my side of the bed and had to empty the canister already. I've got the linens in the wash and am thinking about tossing the pillows you see here on the bed. If I actually knew how to sew I would make new slip covers, but since that would take more time and energy and knowledge than I possess, I'l going to opt to watch for a sale at JCPenneys and get something new. I'm taking a quick break to make this post then I'm heading back into the vortex and start on my chest of drawers and going to TOSS a lot of stuff. Maybe I'll have two empty drawers by the time I'm done. I've also got two bags of clothing ready for goodwill from the closet. WOOHOO ... somebody stop me!

Card Creations

I love stamping on old book paper for a shabby chic look and it's a great way to use up scraps of paper.

Using a scrap stamped image that wasn't perfect, I added several layers of UTEE and then "cracked" the image for a distressed look, and then used some scrap papers I had. I was actually very happy with the end result.

Again, using some scraps and I came up with this card creation.

My brother and I used to play hangman during church services in order to keep quiet, so I thought I would make a card with the hangman game theme.

I was playing with my Ranger distress inks to make a colorful "sun" in the background and then just added a tree image and sentiment.

Here's a card I made over the weekend using scraps. It's hard to tell from the photo, but I added several layers of UTEE to the heart to give it a high gloss look.

That's it for my FIRST "public" display of my card art. Let me know what you think!

Stormy Weather in the Heartland

We had quite the storm system tear through town last night. It got pitch black around 7:30 and then winds in excess of 70 mph downed trees and power lines as a line of storms roared across the city. I stood watching the shelf cloud approach and it went from calm to crazy in 5.8 minutes! Me and our three cats ran to the basement seeking shelter while hubby watched the storm from the front porch blow through the neighborhood. Surprisingly, our subdivision didn't lose power, but there were lots of neighborhoods that did. We got over an inch of rain within the first hour of the storm system before it finally tappered off. You just gotta love Nebraska weather - kind of like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates - you just never know what you're going to get.

Bathing Beauties

The photo on this page is that of my Grandma Ellie and my mom, Pearl, taken back around 1950. The recipe is one my grandma would always bring to our family picnics, which we had several of every summer. My grandma came over from Denmark by herself when she was just a young girl and had lost her parents. My sister, Gloria, has been able to find both a photo of the boat she came over on as well as the manifest she signed at Ellis Island. Simply amazes me how someone so young could make such a trip. I sure do miss her, but have fond memories of her teaching me how to crochet AND how to play poker.

Sisters ... Sisters

Here's a page from that same family cookbook. This photo is my sister, Gloria, and her daughter, Trisha. Gloria makes this tater tot casserole often ... as in, A LOT. But it is crowd pleasing and easy to make AND a family favorite. Note: Trisha recently gave birth to her first daughter, Avlyn Pearl! (congrats Trish and hubby Craig!)

License to Steal My Heart

Doesn't this pic just make you want to smile out loud? Although I probably wouldn't advise driving with your eyes shut! But we'll work on that. This is my grandson, Jonas. He got this nifty little mini cooper for his 2nd birthday in May. His face shows his uninhibited GLEE during his very first driving experience.

Tuna Casserole

Who doesn't remember how popular tuna noodle casserole was in the 1950's! I don't think it has ever lost its popularity as I remember making it for my inlaws just shortly after my first marriage in 1972. I remember thinking I should double the recipe so there would be enough ... but the only thing I doubled was the amount of noodles. The dish turned out so dry you in was like sawdust in your throat, but no one said a thing. I do remember being so embarrassed and was thinking that my mother-in-law probably thought her poor son would starve to death with a wife who couldn't make a simple casserole.