Stamp Up Club Cards

My good friend, Marsha, has a monthly stampin up cardmaking event, and here are three cards we made.

Holiday Cardmaking Post #2

Okay, I figured out how to do more than one, so here's two more.  The first is using a Unity cup stamp in red and green, and the second uses a mask technique and a Flourishes tree stamp image.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I've started my holiday cardmaking.  For some reason I can only upload one card at a time, so there will be several posts one after the other until I have them all on here.  This is one of my favorite holiday stamps and I used black stazon ink on top of an acrylic card and then backed it with holiday green dotted paper. I also used a rub-on on the silver star.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy thanksgiving holiday.  Hope your day is relaxing and filled with all things yummy!  We're celebrating over at my sister, Gloria's, home. There will be 25 of us!  I made two pecan pies yesterday and this morning I have an apple crisp to make. Sterling smoked a turkey yesterday and will be making a pan of stuffing to take as well.  So everyone enjoy your day and know that I am thankful to have all of YOU in my life!  And a special holiday wish to my son, Mark, and his wife, Chrysty, who are at home in Denver enjoying a mile high thanksgiving.  LOVE YOU and wish you were here, but we'll see you at Christmas!!

Illuminations

I think I'm one of the original "grobanites".  I remember discovering Josh on an episode of Ally McBeal over 10 years ago, and my musicial exposure was immediately enhanced by this young man's beautiful, flawless lyrical baritone. Josh co-wrote the majority of the songs on his new album. Here's a commentary I saw on Amazon that really sums the new album up perfectly:  This album is a bit different for Josh, as he parted ways with producer David Foster (Celine Dion, Barbara Streisand) and hooked up with legendary rock producer Rick Rubin (Metallica, Slayer, Red Hot Chili Peppers). This album is different than his previous outings, but that's not a bad thing. The songs don't have that "over-produced" sound, with lots of vocal reverb and bounding orchestrations and vocals in the background. Many of these songs are just Josh, a piano, and the occasional subtle violin or guitar in the background. No backing vocals, no blazing productions, just Josh, and his amazing voice. You can even hear the slight imperfections in his voice, and even though subtle, provide for a very real experience by a very talented individual. Josh wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on this album, thus why most are in english. But the non-english songs are fantastic! Very flowy, musical, and very, very good. There actually isn't a single bad song on this album, but highlights include "Hidden Away", "Au Jardin Des Sans-Pourquoi", "Bells of New York City", and the phenomenal "Higher Window", which was so good it may make you cry. So go now ... right now ... and buy this album!
You can hear the album here:  http://music.msn.com/music/listeningbooth/?GT1=28102

Turn up the volume, close your eyes and get ready to be transported into a musical utopia!

There's a Fog on my Blog!

Sometimes Mother Nature has such a sense of humor and beauty. Here's a photo taken this morning from the 29th floor of the building I work in by my sister (who also works in this same tall downtown building). Had I thought quickly, I would have had her come up to the 37th floor where I work to witness the spendor of this fog cover, as it was a complete cover from up here, but I do like how the industrial images fade into a sea of fog and the bluffs in the background look like little islands in the distance.

Behold the Power of Phlegm

Which came first? The cold or the chicken soup?

It's not (say that real fast and you'll know what I'm dealing with) been a very productive weekend as both Sterling and I have been suffering with head colds. I used up my "extra" hour of sleep already this morning, and even after my first cup of joe (with a touch of Baileys Irish Cream) my head is still in a fog. And I haven't had any cardmaking mojo this week either, which is really the test for how I'm feeling.

We did slip away for a bit yesterday morning to see my grandson at his swimming lessons. They started him three weeks ago. First lesson he pretty much wanted nothing to do with this foreign concept of a large bathtub and getting water in his face. Second time was a little better as he realized everyone else in his class had to take a large bath too. And this time he actually willingly got right into the water and allowed his head to be taken under, although he complained of the water in his eyes. He wouldn't let them put the goggles on him, but that's another hurdle for the next time. He did, however, LOVE going down the slide, as long as he had a toy on the journey with him. His favorite was a big yellow school bus that the instructor used to tempt him into the water and she would toss it to where he had to swim with her in order to retrieve it (smart teacher!) And through all three lessons that is his security water toy and he doesn't let go of it willingly. All in all, he's doing swimmingly!

And it's November! Yeah, I know, I'm a few days behind - that's what a fog I've been in. That means only seven more weeks until CHRISTMAS! But I'm NOT ready ... are you? Last year I swore that this year would be different. That I would have all of my holiday cards done by July, and that I would MAKE all of my gifts this year starting in February, and that I would save dollars throughout the year so that shopping would be a breeze! (buzzer) Wrong. I didn't even accomplish one out of three. Does anyone have a name for the phenomenom? Can anyone tell me if I even spelled phenomenom correctly? Does anybody really know what time it is (queue song by Chicago).

About now about phlegm - what was God thinking when he created this? The amount I've produced this weekend could hold several bricks together. But that's probably more information that you want to hear. Phlegm is actually good for you. Well, not the thing itself, but what it represents. Phlegm is mucous that becomes congealed and visible. It's almost always a sign of your body fighting off whatever infection is wreaking havoc on your respiratory system - which is actually a good thing. Phlegm is primarily composed of mucous, dead bacteria and virus, dead white blood cells, and various tissues and cells. So now if you're ever asked what phlegm is, you have your answer. I never knew my blog would be a place for answers to health questions, but there you have it.

It's supposed to be a beautiful fall day today with a high of possibly 70 degrees! And the Huskers won in Ames, Iowa yesterday so everyone is in good spirits. But for me, my adventure today will be to complete a load of laundry and sneeze through a box of kleenex. Hope everyone else has a fabulous day!

I Want A Hug

So last night my daughter and grandson came over for their weekly "dinner at mom's", which gives my son-in-law, Jeremy, time at home to do his homework and other chores. I do so love Tuesday nights as it gives me a chance to not only bond with my daughter, but quality one on one time with my grandson, Jonas. So the door opens and Jonas runs in to the living room and smiling he stops and announces "I'm here!". That just had grandpa and I in a fit of giggles right from the start. How does he know that our world revolves around him already? He then proceeds to tell us about his day. He told us that he went to church and that he "voted" and got a sticker. It was only a few short months ago that he was just beginning to stringing words together and now he's not only talking in full sentences, but understanding concepts as well. Laura said that at the dinner table the other night, she and Jeremy were chatting and the weather channel was playing on the t.v. in the background. All of a sudden Jonas spoke up and smiling he said "He's talking about sunshine" referring to the weatherman on t.v. Laura and Jeremy just shook their heads in wonder trying to figure out how he picked up on something like that.

So we sit down to dinner and Jonas looks over at grandpa, who is wearing a baseball cap and says "Grandpa, hat off." Laura and Jeremy are teaching Jonas all about manners and he makes sure that everyone follows the rules. After dinner I went over and sat on the couch and Jonas gets up and says he wants to sit next to grandma, which of course is what every grandma wants to hear. And then, out of the blue, he looks straight at me and says ... "I need a hug" ... well melt my heart and call me done. This is love in its purest form coming from a 2-1/2 year old. How could I know that this one simple statement could be so powerful. Forget that I have bills that I can't pay, clothes than need washing, dust bunnies building armies under my bed ... I have a grandson who loves me unconditionally. I am still riding on this emotional "high" and had to share it with all of you. So my wish for all of you today is that you be lucky enough to receive a hug from someone you love - or better yet, go and give someone you love a hug and see the love shine back at you in their eyes.

A Haunting They Did Go!

What a delightful weekend it was. The weather was perfect. Sunshine and mild temps and the rain they were forecasting never happened so the little treaters last night had a beautiful evening to go door to door. Here's a pic from our annual family potluck party on Saturday night. Left to right is Matthew (my nephew) with his little gal, Hailey - just prior to this photo she had slipped and banged her head AND she was so tired, so the combination of the two had her in tears. But Matthew said that she was fast asleep before they even got out of the neighborhood and slept until 8:30 the next morning. Next up is my daughter, Laura, and JONAS! He had SUCH a great time this year and really got into the whole "spirit" of the holiday. He loved scaring everyone with spiders and would laugh with glee whenever someone jumped and scream - that's my boy! (grin) And then we have my niece, Trisha, and her new little one, Avlyn, who is just the most darling little one - she had nothing but smiles for everyone all evening. And on the right we have my sister Shari and my niece Danelle. My sister took several photos and in all of them Danelle had this "I'm not very happy" look on her face. Not sure what that was all about as she is normally a ham for the camera.

And I must say that my daughter is really getting into the whole "mom" thing now as she made THREE different spooky treats for the potluck table. Eyeballs made out of little white hostess donuts, some red gel frosting and M&M's. Then she had make some spiders out of pretzels (legs) and crackers put together with peanut butter and then faces made out of candies. And for her third creation, she added frosting to those nutter butter cookies and chocolate chips for the eyes. She said Jonas helped by dipping the pretzels into the frosting and eating them. :0)

And a HUGE thank you to Jeremy's folks for hosting this annual family event - they had us singing to a rendition of the 13 days of Halloween (sung to the tune of 12 days of christmas). We were all giggling by the end of the song. Then they had treat bags for every family to take home. Sterling and I got this ADORABLE halloween cat - which is perfect for our house of 3 felines!

We had about 150 trick or treaters last night, including Danelle and Jonas, who were more excited about the kids in costume and handing out candy than actually going out to get more candy in their buckets. Jonas got into the house and immediately took off his costume and wanted to play with his cars and trucks that we have set up for him. He didn't understand that this was just a "drive by" grandma visit and wanted to stay and play. But eventually they got him packed up and off to the next house to visit.

I did make just a couple of cards over the weekend, but didn't have a chance to take any pics to upload onto my blog.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Halloween, and hold onto your hats because the rest of the year is coming at us at HIGH SPEED!