Just Roni's Stuff

2007-10-23T09:23:00.000-04:00

Ding Ding Ding.... yep, post #100!!

Whew, it's been a busy month! I have finished so many crafty projects this month I feel drained! I still have a few more to go though so I can't stop now. So far I have finished 11 home decor projects for the final Ranger call, made 10 notebooks as a thank you/farewell type thing for the other dt members, altered 2 individual letters for a couple of the Ranger ladies and altered 2 names (both only 3 letters) for the other 2 Ranger individuals. Not to mention several ATC's, and a couple unrelated (to Ranger) gifts as well. I still have 2 swaps (both fairly easy), a few lo's for the final About.com DT, and swap out the ATC swap I host when they all arrive.

Besides crafting, it's harvest time here...I took some awesome pics of dh "doing his thing" over the weekend. I also took a pretty cool video but I won't bore you with that, I'm sure nobody wants to see corn being harvested ;) LOL!!

Anyway, I've been thinking...I believe I want to start an art/craft/rubber stamping/scrapbook blog separate from this one. You know, just art, nothing too personal. I hate talking about myself which is why I don't post here too often, sometimes life is just to depressing to talk about. And I LOVE art, crafting and would enjoy it far more than talking about me - LOL!! So what cha think? I need to get some help setting it up but I know some smart people who can do that ;) You know who you are!

I have many projects saved up that I initially made for Ranger which haven't been used elsewhere that I think (hope) people would be interested in seeing and finding out how to make. I know there are thousands upon thousands of blogs out there but well, I'd like to add my .02 to the fray. I would eventually like to have challenges and if interest people posting their creations (or links to them) as well. Maybe even guest designers...not that they would be paid but well, you know, name in lights kind of things (not really but hey, they can talk about their art and well that's cool).

I need a name though, I've been pondering on that subject all month while I've been crafting but just can't think of anything catchy, cool or not already taken. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Well, that's all for now...

2007-10-12T17:53:00.001-04:00

long time no see...so many things going on right now ~ just going to post the highlights.

I had 11 cards published this month, all in Stampington publications ~ 3 in the Oct/Nov issue of Stampers Sampler and 8 in the new Autumn 07 Take Ten issue.

I also had 3 cards accepted by Ranger for use in Septembers call - Ink Blending Tool. At least one of them will be used in an upcoming ad for Ranger in Stamp Vamp News :) I believe it's a Valentines day issue because they needed it ASAP.

Lots going on with the boys ~ not much of it pleasant so I won't go into it. It is times like this that made me realize why some animals eat their young...so they don't turn into teenagers! Damn, if I had only known....

Working on the last months call for Ranger ~ it's home decor items. No particular product line ~ just whatever we wanted to. So far I have finished 3 different coaster sets, a set of wine charms, a cool flower mirror and a tic tac toe game that I changed to the Birds & the Bees. I also made a dress form but I'm not sure if I'm going to use it for the call or not...I love it :) It's blues & purples! Very pretty if I do say so ;) I have many more projects in various states of work. A perpetual calendar that I am waiting on some additional colors of the crackle paint to finish, a bottle cap/utee frame that I need to make UTEE squares, a plaque that I'm not sure where I'm going with it. I have a few more ideas, we'll just see if I have the time.

I am also working on some gifts for the dt...well, actually it's just a small note book for each of them but well, it's all I could think of that everyone could use. It's such a varied group of people, it's hard to come up with something ya know.

I am thinking of decorating a letter for the Ranger people ~ Bonnie, Robin, Jen & Tim. Just as a thanks for everything type thing. I already have the letters, inspiration just has to hit. I don't know, I'm not sure if it's corny or not.

Well, we're getting ready for harvest here. Both beans and corn are ready to go, just have to have time, weather cooperation and everything to jive at the same time. It's finally turned cool here which is nice. We still have cement to pour for the new corn crib so it'll be nice with the cooler temps. We did the first half last week when it was in the 90's! THAT sucked let me tell you. By the time we stopped we were all wiped out.

Well, making home made pizza tonite for supper...better get off this thing and start cooking the meats and mix up the dough.

ttfn

2007-09-06T11:48:00.001-04:00

Here is the results (well, what I got to keep) of the 2nd About.com ATC swap.

To the Left -Top- Jeannie (all), Center - Laura (mocha), Minna (next 2), Bottom - Karen (all)

To the Right - Top - Jen H., Shannon (next 2), Center - Donna, Theresa (next 2), Bottom - Donna, Anja (next 2)

I didn't get photos of most of the ones I made, I never think to scan them when I'm working on them. I usually only make one of each cause I get bored doing the same one over. I did scan a couple so I could show a friend...these are all stamped & etched on Stampbord ATC cards. That stuff is awesome, you can do so much with it and it always looks cool. I love the etching. It really adds so much dimension to the card.

2007-09-03T19:24:00.000-04:00

FINALLY!!! I finally have some pics of the Ranger booth that was up at CHA. The first one is the DT wall...they had 5 lo's for each product line they sold. I had 4 up there ~ Puppy Love, Brothers, The barn one in the center of pic #4 and I also had one other that wasn't pictured.

These 2 pics show a dominoe bracelet I made with AI's. The 2nd pic shows the whole thing but it's way blurry. The first shows a small bit of it on the right side.

This was a journal I made using black air-dry clay, Perfect Pearls & rubber stamps. I love how it turned out. The background on the journal is also made using Perfect Pearls.

From what I understand there were a few more goodies that were on display but I haven't found any pics of them anywhere. If I do I'll be sure to post them.

If you get any rubber stamping mags be on the look out for the Ranger ads, I have a mirror in one of the current ads that's been in several publications for a few months now (it's Distress EP's) and I'm going to have another project in their next add which is supposed to come out starting in next months issues :)

This has been such a fun ride ~ it's sad it's coming to an end!

2007-09-02T11:26:00.000-04:00

My puppy updated pics...
he's growing so fast ~ he has more than doubled in size in about 1 1/2 months. We took him for some shots 2 weeks ago and he was 17 lbs! (he weighed 8 when we picked him up!!)

This is Bob & Cecil last week...they are both pretty good at laying around watching TV

Cecil is pretty good at begging too! His butt is wide enough he can sit up like a tripod and beg. He does this with Eric, he knows I don't feed him if he stand up like that. (not that I don't feed him - lol!)

And finally, do we smell hamburgers?!?!?! Yes, they do love their food! I couldn't believe it when Eric told me to get a picture of this...they stayed out there till the hamburgers were done and I brought em in. I guess it must have smelled pretty good that day. Yes, they did get a couple bites ;)
Anyway, that's Cecil...he's still having potty training issues but he is at least sleeping better at night. I don't get up for him in the middle of the night (just the damn cat) but he is still getting up at about 4:30 or 5:00a.m. Now, that isn't great but it's a heck of a lot better than up at midnight, 3:00 AND up at 5:00. I don't sleep the best anyway with hotflashes & night sweats and all but it was hell when he'd keep getting me up too!

2007-09-02T11:09:00.001-04:00

Today...I go to a b-day party :) Matthew is now 2 years old! Even though he's been with my brother for a short while (about 8months) he has wiggled and giggled his way into my heart. I love that little guy!!! Here are some pics of him I took when he stayed with me for a few hrs. a couple weeks ago...

Pickin Flowers...

Here he was rocking in my cool wicker chair...

NO MORE - LOL!!! He is just so stinkin funny! By the time he left, he was sick of the camera - LOL!!! I think I took like 79 pics in a 3 - 31/2 hr stay! Hmmmm can you say scrapper!

For his b-day we got him the Little People farm set + extra animals. They say they make noises but I don't see where it says how they do it. I can't find anything that says it takes batteries....guess I'll just have to wait till he opens it to see. I checked to be sure, it is NOT on the recall list. Thankfully!

2007-08-23T13:53:00.000-04:00

on this day 21 years ago at approx. 2:30 in the afternoon I got married to my sweetie! Hard to believe it's been that long, time flies when you're havin fun. We've been thru alot over the years and I still love him to pieces.

I was thinkin about this last night (in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep), we have been together for 26 years, 65% of my life! It's wild when you start thinkin about the numbers and all.

Well, we found out that our dr. hurt his back and had to cancel Ben's appt. I wouldn't be upset but he was leaving at the end of the month to move back to his home state. Now, that wouldn't be bad either but due to his accident he won't be back ever :( I'm worried about starting over with a new dr. Dr W. knew the whole background and has been with us since it all started. Just makes me sick...no pun intended.

I found out that I have at least one card in the next issue of Stampers Sampler. I can't remember what all I sent in but I do know that the Tempting Template stuff I sent in should be out in the next issue. It was a purse template, I made a blue one, red & black one and a brown travel one. I'm thinkin it might be at least one of those.

2007-08-17T08:51:00.000-04:00

long time no see...sorry about that but life has been getting the better of me lately. I'm trying to improve my view of the world step by step. Some of the issues going on are out of my hands, others I can change and the rest I'd like to change but can't at this time for one reason or another. It's all too depressing to go into now.

School started this week. I'm thinking that getting into the school year routine will help my outlook some. It's nice to get up at a set time and have everyone gone doing their own thing so I have some time for myself. Anyone who tells you that when your kids get to be teenagers you won't have as much to do is lieing! While it's not a wipe my nose mommy type thing anymore there is still alot to do. It's also nice to have the house stay clean more than 5 minutes after I clean!

Ranger has redesigned their website! Check it out, it's really cool looking... RANGER
I'm a bit sad though, my year long jouney on their design team is almost up...October is the last month but it's been a fun ride. Ranger has decided that they aren't going to continue the Design Team next year. I'm not exactly sure why but I have my own thoughts on it. I am hoping to continue to work with them on some basis. We'll have to wait and see what the future holds. I am going to continue to submit things to mags and stuff...it's pretty fun once you get over the whole nerves of it all.

2007-07-17T17:10:00.000-04:00

I recently hosted an ATC swap on about.com ~ here are the results ~ pretty darn good I think! If you click on the pic it should take you to my flicker acct that will show you who made each card.

these are some I made...some for this swap and a couple from my Ranger swap. I made some other ones but forgot to scan them before they were all gone...

2007-07-17T17:04:00.000-04:00

2 in one week - getting to be a habit ;)

Here are some pics of Cecil ~ our new basset hound puppy. We picked him up on Sat. afternoon. He's been such a good puppy but if you've ever had a dog you know they are alot of work when they are so small. It seems like that's all I've been doing is puppy stuff but hopefully when he gets a few weeks older it'll be easier. Anyway, here he is :)

He's got quite a "ear span" :) Much longer ears than our previous basset Cindy. He is so funny, sometimes he forgets to hold his head up high enough and trips himself by walking on his ears! He is 7 weeks old in these pics (he'll be 8wks on this friday). He gets along great with Fidget (carin terrier) and Lucky (fat cat). He sleeps pretty good and eats great ~ definately no problem there!

Anyway, that's our Cecil :)

2007-07-13T09:38:00.000-04:00

Hi Guys! Here is a cool map thing I found...if you want, you can add your name, and where you're located :) I'll try to remember to pull it up every once in a while but I thought it would be cool to see where everyone is on one map :)

2007-07-12T18:48:00.000-04:00

Yikes...it's been a while huh? I'm not a very good blogger I guess...I just can't keep up with it. I have been pretty much ignoring all blogs lately ~ both writing in mine and reading them. I've not been on-line much as a whole I guess.

What's been going on...well, lets see...graduation went well...it was 3+ hrs long in a very hot crowded UN-AIRCONDITIONED gym. I'm going to dirgress here for a minute...it kills me what people think is appropriate to wear to formal functions like that. For craps sake, there were people there in cut-offs, flip-flops and tank tops for crap sake! It's a graduations for G's sake! Let's show a bit of respect for the kids...it took em 12 years to get here, I think we owe them a bit more than beach attire! Anyway, it was nice. I only cried a bit.

Ben found a "job" - he's working at a dairy...not what I would classify as a job but at least he's out of the house. He got a new girlfriend ~ met her the night of his graduation party and they have been like siamese twins ever since! Not real cracked up about how quickly it's progressed and let me say, I am not old enough to deal with this.

He has an adult attitude ~ you know we as parents don't know shit and he knows it all...he has about pushed us to our limits (Eric and I individually as well as together). I keep threatening him that he's going to be living out here in the office/scrap room and his room will be MY new scrap room ;) I'm only partly kidding...Eric already told me when Ben leaves I can turn it into my scarp room so it's looking pretty darn good - LOL!! I've already been thinking about colors, cabinets, etc. - LOL!! Ben better not piss me off too much or there will be some fun home improvements on the near horizion - LOL!!

We are going to be getting a new puppy next Monday. It's a basset hound boy. We're going to call him Cecil...an old man's name for a dog that's going to look old (you know, all those wrinkles) very soon - LOL!! He is a cutie...no pics yet but as soon as I get some I'll share. It was and wasn't an impulse dec. We've been talking about getting a basset since Fidget (our Carin Terrier) turned one (he was 2 in April) but we'd never found a trust worthy breeder until last week. We went to a GIANT - this is not joke GINORMOUS Farmers Market in Elkhart. There was a western shop that had pics of puppies and a note that said they had some left...well we talked to the guy and he said they were only a couple of miles away and to stop by and take a look. I told him if we "looked" we'd be getting one and sure enough that's what happened. *btw, the farmers market is A-Freakin-mazing!! It was the first time we've been there since it recently opened and all I can say is WOW!! Great place!

Well, what else, have 2 lo's going to be displayed at CHA this next week at the Ranger booth. I've got some cards waiting to be published at Rubber Stamper Magazine (5 I think), a couple altered objects waiting to be published (one Altered Arts Mag and the other a stamping mag). Hmmm, other than that I cant' think of anything.

that's about all that's going on here...sorry for the absense.

2007-05-29T18:24:00.000-04:00

Whew! What a busy weekend! Sat. we went to an antique tractor show in Wapakaneta Ohio ~ it was a nice drive, about 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Just took our time and much of it was thru the country so it was a fun day. We ate at a WONDERFUL buffet - Back 40 Junction...simply the best. All home cooked food ~ everything from appatizers to peanutbutter pie...mmmmmmm! The tractor show was fun, it threatened rain but it held off ~ just a few rumbles of thunder off in the distance and only a few sprinkles on the way back to our car.
Sunday we worked on getting the small door on the shed, grass mowed, taped off the bathroom to paint (took forever, I HATE TO TAPE!!), pulled all the moulding out of there too, and I finished up a few Ranger projects that are due tomorrow. That evening we went over to Mom's for a bbq and to celebrate.....

MATTHEWS ADOPTION!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, that's right Matthew is officially a Vance now :) The judge signed the papers on Friday! My brother is SOOOOOO happy! He's always wanted a little boy to carry on the Vance name and now he has one :) I'm just tickled for them. He is SUCH a sweetie pie. I have a couple pics I'll post later. Anyway, no more wicked witch of the south...they don't have to deal with his rotten bio. grandma any more! THANK GOD for giant favors!

Monday we painted the bathroom, Eric painted the ceiling (white) and I painted the bathroom. Now I normally like to paint ~ I'll paint the fence, the barn, the livingroom, just about anything BUT I HATE PAINTING THE BATHROOM!!! It is a small room but there is so many chopped up spots in there it takes almost as long to paint the bathroom as it does our livingroom & hall way combined!! There is no real "roller" areas. You have to either brush or use a mini roller so it takes so long. I absolutely hate it! Anyway, the paint wasn't a one coat coverage like it says on the can :( I ended up having to paint it twice.
We also went out to E's Mom & Dad's for supper that evening. The food left something to be desired ~ his mom is a terrible cook! Always has been but it's getting worse. After supper we shot handguns...I know, how redneck is that - LOL!! Eric's dad has taken up collecting guns ~ vintage and new guns alike. We shot a 22 magnum...I hit the target like 4 times out of 12 at 50' range which I think is pretty good. I also shot a small derringer - smith & wesson 38. A vintage police gun it was cool...I hit the target 4 out of 4 shots with that one. Much easier to handle but dang it was loud! My ears are still ringing a bit.

So, that's what we did. I'll post pics of the bathroom when I get a chance. It's going to be hectic from now till the party so not sure when I'll get to post next.

TTFN!

2007-05-24T17:04:00.000-04:00

Well, this a.m. was the Senior/Parent breakfast. It was fun to see all of the kids...they are so grown up, it just doesn't seem right. I don't feel old enough to be the parent of a Senior! It's so much fun to see how they've changed. I was a room-mother & volunteered in the classrooms for several years so I got to see them alot when they were little.

My mom knows how emotional I get and what does she do...sends me this poem ~ she said just in time for graduation!

Wet Oatmeal Kisses "The baby is teething; the boys are fighting. My husband just called and said to eat without him and I fell off my diet. Lay it on me again, will you?" Okay. One of these days you'll shout: "Why don't you kids grow up and act your age!" And they will. Or: "You guys get outside and find yourselves something to do. . .and don't slam the door!" And they won't. You'll straighten up the boys' bedroom neat and tidy. . .bumper stickers discarded. . .spread tucked in and smooth. . .toys displayed on the shelves. Hangers in the closets. Animals caged. And you'll say out loud: "Now I want it to stay this way." And it will. You'll prepare a perfect dinner with a salad that hasn't been picked to death and a cake with no finger traces in the icing and you'll say: "Now there's a meal for company." And you'll eat it alone. You'll say: "I want complete privacy on the phone. No dancing around. No pantomimes. No demolition crews. Silence! Do you hear?" And you'll have it. No more plastic tablecloths stained with spaghetti. No more bedspreads to protect the sofa from damp bottoms. No more gates to stumble over at the top of the basement steps. No more clothespins under the sofa. No more playpens to arrange a room around. No more anxious nights under a vaporizer tent. No more sand on the sheets or Popeye movies in the bathrooms. No more iron-on patches; wet knotted shoestrings; tight boots, or rubber bands for ponytails. Imagine. A lipstick with a point on it. No babysitter for New Year's Eve. Washing only once a week. Seeing a steak that isn't ground. Having your teeth cleaned without a baby on your lap. No PTA meetings. No car pools. No blaring radios. No one washing her hair at 11 o'clock at night. Having your own roll of tape. Think about it. No more Christmas presents out of toothpicks and library paste. No more sloppy oatmeal kisses. No more tooth fairy. No giggles in the dark. No knees to heal, no responsibility. Only a voice crying, "Why don't you grow up," and the silence echoing, "I did."

Now, if you've still got a dry eye, you're a stronger person than I...I can't even look at the thing now but I'm going to use it with his grad. pic. on a lo.

2007-05-22T18:05:00.001-04:00

Here are pics of the back yard....everything needed to be done but we've just been doing it much quicker than we normally would have because of the graduation party.

What we did:

Painted the retaining wall by the deck.
Waterproofed the deck.
Planted flowers.
Took out sand pile & planted grass there and in old garden.
Made 2 new doors for the shed & painted.
Put down weed barrier stuff & wood chips around entire parimeter of fence, deck inside & out. (I just more chips this past weekend cause they had smooshed the grass down and settled)
I made cement stepping stones from back gate to deck.
Cleaned off back porch (gardening stuff, cat house, stuff the guys leave laying there, etc).
Got rid of compost pile.

Things left to do:

Paint around trim by back door & around shed door.
Paint glider & Eric needs to upholster it.
Spray wash the siding.
Refresh the chips the day before graduation.

2007-05-22T17:55:00.000-04:00

Here are the Primas I was talking about.... I just love the Bitty Bags ~ they are an assortment of ALL sorts of colors, sizes and styles. It's wonderful. There is a flower in there for everything you can think of. And not only the cool flowers, these ones came in a GREAT lime green organza bag ;) Don't know what I'm going to use em for but they are cool too!

More than one pic in a day...yes ~ I'm ill! Here is the scaled back graduation invite I made for Ben's graduation. The center strip is Alcohol inks on glossy cardstock with gold metal mixatives. The stamped image has an tiny ribbon I colored in. The inside has a vellum sheet with the info mounted on pp. I had a fancier one made up but Ben thought it looked too girly?!?!? I didn't think so but I'm not going to argue ~ it's his graduation.

I am going to post pics of the work we did on the house shortly. :)

2007-05-21T23:09:00.000-04:00

things last week at the dr. appt went fine! much better than I anticipated. he DIDN'T yell at me (for waiting so long) like I thought he would. He said that physicians have actually taken a new look at pap's in general. He said as long as you're in a stable manogamous relationship you don't really need to have one every year unless you are or have had problems. WHEW! That was a relief :) It was still uncofortable & emb. as heck but well, that's life.

I talked to him about menopause and I am now on calcium and he suggested black cohosh (sp?) and/or soy. He says they work differently for everyone so I can try one if it doesn't work try the other.

I was right about hormones, they just postpone the enevitable. Eventually you're body is going to go thru hormone withdrawls and I'd rather go thru it by myself than put it off for a couple years, still go thru it AND risk cancer! He's not a big fan of hormones either so he didn't push them. TG!

Only one more week of school...well, actually 1 week and 1 day...how stupid is that ~ they go the 29th because of a snow make up day...just nuts!

Next week is also the graduation party! June 2nd... I think I have most things ready except the food. I'll get that next week.

Submitted several cards today to Stampers Sampler...hopefully they will like something!

I just can't get into the Ranger call this month ~ it's cut & dry products (foam, nibs & felt). I don't know if it's graduation, looking forward to next months (stickles - I'm already working on it actually!) or something else. I have a lo and a card finished but I feel I should do more. We're only required to make 2 items but I feel the more I do the better. I have another card I can make but not real enthused about it. We'll see I guess.

Oh!! I have to share...I got 3 Prima Bitty bags today in the mail (off of e-bay) and I dumped them all into one of those old fashion cookie type jars that sits on it's side...it's F U L L !!!! It's so freakin awesome ~ I sat today and just looked at it for a while :) Yes, I have a flower fetish - LOL!!

Well, guess that's all I know today...

2007-05-15T08:40:00.000-04:00

UGH...today I have to do one of the things I hate worst about being of the female sex....yes, that's right ~ it's time for my "annual" exam.

Note - if you don't want to read about that type of thing stop here...this is going to be my ramblings about that subject.

.......

I quoted annual because I have gone less than annually ~ to be honest I haven't gone for about 13 years. No, nothing to be proud of ~ i missed a couple to begin with cause you know the boys were little ~ I didn't have time, not enough money, etc. Well as time passed I never really gave it much thought. In the past few years it had been nagging me at the back of my mind. You know, I'm getting older I really should do it but it's so uncomfortable, embarressing, etc... It's just one of the things I hate worst about being a girl.

I have finally decided to go get one done ~ why after all these years??? Well, several reasons ~

*this year I will be turning 40...the BIG 4 0 !!!!!!!!!

*one of the ladies Eric has worked with for years (she made both the boys blankets when they were born) died this year of some sort of female cancer....she was 44. She had never gotten annuals frequently either. DAMN - now that is scary! Eric insisted that I go and get one ~ he said he loved me too much to lose me to something stupid like that when it could be taken care of.... o.k., I'll buy that one!

*prob. the biggest reason (well this and the last one are tied prob.) is I've started peri-menopause. I wanted to ask him some questions about what I can do about some of this stuff that's going on...hopefully something natural since there is a history of cancer in my mom's family...oh yeah, that's another reason to go. Cancer in the family.

Anyway, my appt. is at 10:00a.m....I've been worrying about this ever since I made the appt. is it going to hurt, I'm goign to be emb., what if they find something, etc. etc. etc.... I'm just about sick over this whole thing ~ I'll be so glad when it's over!!

2007-05-09T16:42:00.000-04:00

Things are progressing in the back yard. We got the grass seed planted last night where the old garden and sandpile were. Storms on and off today so we got it in at the right time. Now if it all grow (and quick) we'll be all set. I just have 2 sections of chips to put down (by the old sandpile) then we should be done in the back yard!!

We have all the food figured out. We're going to do sandwiches (ham &turkey); veggies & dip; chips; potato salad (mom's making it); cake w/ice tea or lemonaid to drink. Eric already said he'd help me make the sandwiches so we're all set there, I am going to make the cakes Thurs & Fri of that week so I think we'll be all set!

Finished the book I was reading ~ a Jonathan Kellerman book ~ one of the Alex Delaware ones. Love the mysteries like that.

Not much else going on ~ just the normal every day stuff!

2007-05-09T16:36:00.000-04:00

I'm a Walnut Tree...pretty scary how right it is!

WHAT TREE DID YOU FALL FROM?
Find your birthday and then find your tree. This is cool and somewhat accurate. Then send it to your friends, including the one that sent it to you, so they can find out what tree they fell from, but do not forget to change the subject line to your tree. Find your tree below and see what you are like...

Dec 23 to Jan 01 Apple Tree
Jan 01 to Jan 11 Fir Tree
Jan 12 to Jan 24 Elm Tree
Jan 25 to Feb 03 Cypress Tree
Feb 04 to Feb 08 Poplar Tree
Feb 09 to Feb 18 Cedar Tree
Feb 19 to Feb 28 Pine Tree
Mar 01 to Mar 10 Weeping Willow Tree
Mar 11 to Mar 20 Lime Tree
Mar 21 (only) Oak Tree
Mar 22 to Mar 31 Hazelnut Tree
Apr 01 to Apr 10 Rowan Tree
Apr 11 to Apr 20 Maple Tree
Apr 21 to Apr 30 Walnut Tree
May 01 to May 14 Poplar Tree
May 15 to May 24 Chestnut Tree
May 25 to Jun 03 Ash Tree
Jun 04 to Jun 13 Hornbeam Tree
Jun 14 to Jun 23 Fig Tree
Jun 24 (only) Birch Tree
Jun 25 to Jul 04 Apple Tree
Jul 05 to Jul 14 Fir Tree
Jul 15 to Jul 25 Elm Tree
Jul 26 to Aug 04 Cypress Tree
Aug 05 to Aug 13 Poplar Tree
Aug 14 to Aug 23 Cedar Tree
Aug 24 to Sep 02 Pine Tree
Sep 03 to Sep 12 Weeping Willow Tree
Sep 13 to Sep 22 Lime Tree
Sep 23 (only) Olive Tree
Sep 24 to Oct 03 Hazelnut Tree
Oct 04 to Oct 13 Rowan Tree
Oct 14 to Oct 23 Maple Tree
Oct 24 to Nov 11 Walnut Tree
Nov 12 to Nov 21 Chestnut Tree
Nov 22 to Dec 01 Ash Tree
Dec 02 to Dec 11 Hornbeam Tree
Dec 12 to Dec 21 Fig Tree
Dec 22 (only) Beech Tree

TREES (in alphabetical order)
*Apple Tree (Love) -- quiet and shy at times, lots of charm, appeal, And attraction, pleasant attitude, flirtatious smile, adventurous, sensitive, loyal in love, wants to love and be loved, faithful and tender partner, very generous, many talents, loves children, needs affectionate partner.
*Ash Tree (Ambition) -- extremely attractive, vivacious, impulsive, demanding, does not care for criticism, ambitious, intelligent, talented, likes to play with fate, can be very egotistic, reliable, restless lover, sometimes money rules over the heart, demands attention, needs love and much emotional support.
*Beech Tree (Creative) -- has good taste, concerned about its looks, materialistic, good organization of life and career, economical, good leader, takes no unnecessary risks, reasonable, splendid lifetime companion, keen on keeping fit (diets, sports, etc.).
*Birch Tree (Inspiration) -- vivacious, attractive, elegant, friendly, unpretentious, modest, does not like anything in excess, abhors the vulgar, loves life in nature and in calm, not very passionate, full of imagination, little ambition, creates a calm and content atmosphere.< /FONT>
*Cedar Tree (Confidence ) -- of rare strength, knows how to adapt, Likes unexpected presents, of good health, not in the least shy, tends to look down on others, self-confident, a great speaker, determined, often impatient, likes to impress others, has many talents, industrious, healthy optim ism, waits for the one true love, able to make quick decisions.
*Chestnut Tree (Honesty) -- of unusual stature, impressive, well-developed sense of justice, fun to be around, a planner, born diplomat, can be irritated easily, sensitive of others feelings, hard worker, sometimes acts superior, feels not understood at times, fiercely family oriented, very l oyal in love, physically fit.
*Cypress Tree (Faithfulness) -- strong, muscular, adaptable, takes What life has to give but doesn't necessarily like it, strives to be content, optimistic, wants to be financially in dependent, wants love and affection, hates loneliness, passionate lover which cannot be satisfied, faithful, quick-tempered at times, can be unruly and careless, loves to gain knowledge, needs to be needed.
*Elm Tree (Noble-mindedness ) -- pleasant shape, tasteful clothes, Modest demands, tends not to forgive mistakes, cheerful, likes to lead but Not to obey, honest and faithful partner, likes making decisions for others, noble-minded, generous, good sense of humor, practical.
*Fig Tree (Sensibility ) -- very strong minded, a bit self-willed, honest, loyal, independent, hates contradiction or arguments, hard worker when wants to be, loves life and friends, enjoys children and animals, sexually oriented, great sense of humor, has artistic talent and great intelligen ce.
*Fir tree (Mysterious) -- extraordinary taste, handles stress well, loves anything beautiful, stubborn, tends to care for those close to them, hard to trust others, yet a social butterfly, likes idleness and laziness after long demanding hours at work, rather modest, talented, unselfish, many friends, very reliable.
*Hazelnut Tree (Extraordinary ) -- charming, sense of humor, very demanding but can also be very understanding, knows how to make a lasting impression, active fighter for social causes and politics, popular, quite moody, sexually oriented, honest, a perfectionist, has a precise sense of judgm ent and expects complete fairness.
*Hornbeam Tree (Good Taste) -- of cool beauty, cares for its looks and condition, good taste, is not egoistic, makes life as comfortable as possible, leads a reasonable and disciplined life, looks for kindness and acknowledgment in an emotional partner, dreams of unusual lovers, is seldom hap py with its feelings, mistrusts most people, is never sure of its decisions, very conscientious.
*Lime Tree (Doubt) - intelligent, hard working, accepts what life dishes out, but not before trying to change bad circumstances into good ones, hates fighting and stress, enjoys getaway vacations, may appear tough, but is actually soft and relenting, always willing to make sacrifices for family and friends, has many talents but not always enough time to use them, great leadership qualities, is jealous at times but extremely loyal.
*Maple Tree (Independence of Mind ) -- no ordinary person, full of imagination and originality, shy and reserved, ambitious, proud, self-confident, hungers for new experiences, sometimes nervous, has many complexities, good memory, learns easily, complicated love life, wants to impress.
*Oak Tree (Brave) -- robust nature, courageous, strong, unrelenting, independent, sensible, does not like change, keeps its feet on the ground, person of action.
*Olive Tree (Wisdom) -- loves sun, warmth and kind feelings, reasonable, balanced, avoids aggression and violence, tolerant, cheerful, calm, well-developed sense of justice, sensitive, empathetic, free of jealousy, loves to read and the company of sophisticated people.
*Pine Tree (Peacemaker) -- loves agreeable company, craves peace and harmony, loves to help others, active imagination, likes to write poetry, not fashion conscious, great compassion, friendly to all, falls strongly in love but will leave if betrayed or lied to, emotionally soft, low self-est eem, needs affection and reassurance.
*Poplar Tree (Uncertainty) -- looks very decorative, talented, not very self-confident, extremely courageous if necessary, needs goodwill and pleasant surroundings, very choosy, often lonely, great animosity, great artistic nature, good organizer, tends to lean toward philosophy, reliable in any situation, takes partnership seriously.
*Rowan Tree (Sensitivity) -- full of charm, cheerful, gifted without egoism, likes to draw attention, loves life, motion, urn! est., and even complications, is both dependent and independent, good taste, artistic, passionate, emotional, good company, does not forgive.
*Walnut Tree (Passion) -- unrelenting, strange and full of contrasts, often egotistic, aggressive, noble, broad horizon, unexpected reactions, spontaneous, unlimited ambition, no flexibility, difficult and uncommon partner, not always liked but often admired, ingenious strategist, very jealous and passionate, no compromise.
*Weeping Willow (Melancholy) - likes to be stress free, loves family life, full of hopes and dreams, attractive, very empathetic, loves anything beautiful, musically inclined, loves to travel to exotic places, restless, capricious, honest, can be influenced but is not easy to live with when p ressured, sometimes demanding, good intuition, suffers in love until they find that one loyal, steadfast partner; loves to make others laugh.

2007-04-30T09:13:00.000-04:00

It did stop raining sometime in the middle of the night Friday thankfully! It was a bright and sunny weekend :) We went over to the bldg. Sat. and sewed welt cord...5,000 yds of it. We were going to do it earlier in the week but it was cold and rainy so E decided against it. I worked at it all day, Eric and Bob sewed some on the other machine at various times and together we got it done! E's delivering it today.
Sat. nite we built the new door for our shed out back. The old one was a kit that came with the whole bldg. and was looking bad (15 yrs old). We made it out of the kind of boards that have a groove in the center...looks cool.
Sun. I painted the door, mixed up cement to make more stepping stones, hauled dirt from a compost pile I've had for years and years to my flower bed. That took forever...I had to dig it out by hand, fill 5g buckets then take it to the deck and dump/spread it in my flower bed. Bob helped me part of the time but grew bored and decided I had enough dirt. After he went in I kept going. Got lots of great dirt and many many worms :) They are good for the soil you know. When I got all the dirt moved I planted some daisies and vines. Still need more flowers but not sure what I want just yet.
Anyway, after that Eric and Ben got home and we hung the door on the shed, I moved some sand to fill in a few gaps along our back fence and put more weed block/wood chips down! My back is killing me this a.m. from carrying the buckets of dirt but it's looking good. I only have 2 more areas to put down chips then that job will be done! We're getting a load of topsoil tonite (if it's not raining) to spread on teh old garden/sand pile so we can plant grass. I also have to paint the door a 2nd time and the cement retaining wall by my flower bed/deck THEN we should be finished with the back yard...I hope!

Sooooo, that's been my weekend ~ hope you had a great one :)

2007-04-27T16:18:00.000-04:00

still raining here! it's only been 3 days but it seems like longer. I hate it when it's grey and rainy, makes my mood go in that direction as well.

We're having one of my "comfort" dinners to combat that though.... fresh green beans, red taters & sausage smothered in butter....mmmmmm I can't wait!

I made my appt. last week to go see the dr about all the female stuff going on. I am going to ask about natural things to help with some of the symptoms. I've heard about a soy product, black cohosh (sp?) and a few other things that people claim to be of help. Hopefully he will be able to shed some light on the plus/neg. of each.

Someone reminded me about the 5 good things a day. I won't say I'm going to do it every day but here it is for today!

- Eric understands what I'm going thru! (TG!!)
- I got a definite number of invites for the graduation party out of Ben.
- Bob got a B+ on his autobiography!!
- IT"S FRIDAY!!!
- I'm having a good hair day - LOL!!

2007-04-25T08:44:00.000-04:00

It's raining it's pouring...the old man is at work - tee hee hee ;)

Okok - I'm trying to come up with ideas for Ben's graduation invites. I had one all picked out and even made a few of them but I just don't like them the longer I look. I found another last night while surfing for ideas but I don't know if I like it because it's blue or if I really like it - kwim? I REALLY need to get going on these cause I want to have em mailed soon...like before the postage hike sometime in May. Got any great grad. cards hiding in your pocket????

Bought the decorations & cake pans yesterday. I am making grad. cap cakes. Hopefully they will turn out as cute as I hope they will. Making chocolate, vanilla and ???? Not sure what the 3rd one will be. We're (trans. = ME) doing the food as well. I thought about just having trays made up at the store but damn that is way too much $'s!! I can do it myself for a fraction of the cost. I am cheap and hate to waste money... I can buy twice as much stuff if I do it myself! Ridiculous!

2007-04-22T17:46:00.000-04:00

well, this weekend has been backyard beautification weekend. You might think it's because it was a wonderfully warm and sunny weekend...nope, it's because we are going to have the graduation party here! Long story for another day but anyway, only a few weeks left till Ben graduates and we want the place all spiffed up.

Here was what was on the agenda...

- lay down weed blocker and rouge red wood chips around the fence ~ only partially finished ~ we are also removing the sand pile since the boys don't play in it anymore so that is going to take some time.

- deck cleaned and waterproof courtesy of Thompsons waterseal.

- spray creeping charlie with ortho weed b gone MAX...stuff is amazing ~ put it on this a.m. and it's already wilted and looking very sad - YEAH!! I hate that stuff, it will grow up your butt if you stand still long enough.

- started making stepping stones out of quick crete. I have 6 sitting curing beside the garage. These will go on the new walkway we're making at the back of the house.

- pulled all the dead foliage and debris from my large flowerbed by the deck. It's ready for additional soil. (it settles over winter.)

- Bob mowed the yard last night while the rest of us worked on the chips.

I'm beat! It doesn't look like much but it's taken all weekend. It'll look so good when it's all done. I'll take some pics when it's finished. Now if we only had a nice deck set to go with we'd be all set....ahhh well, someday!

2007-04-18T20:52:00.000-04:00

You have got to try this...This is just too funny!!!

Take 60 seconds to do this on a break I guarantee you will show someone else, it's too funny not to.

1. go to maps.google.com
2. click on "get directions"
3. type " New York " in the first box (the "from" box)
4. type " London " in the second box (the "to" box)
5. click on "get directions"
6. scroll down to step #23

2007-04-18T10:33:00.000-04:00

could it be the big "M"....

I recently realized that I've been isolating myself again...not talking to friends as often as I want, not visiting forums as frequently as I had been, feeling blue, just feeling "disconnected" from everyone and everything.

What the hell? It's not like I set out to do this ~ I don't wake up in the a.m. and say, "I don't think I'll e-mail anyone.", "I don't think I'll check out my forums.", "I think I will cut myself off from the world today." but it happens. Time and time again and I don't know why...

Until this morning...Eric had said something terrible (in my mind) the other day about it was nice not having to put up with my mouth when I was gone! Well, you can bet your ass that pissed me off...so I mentioned it as he was getting ready to leave today. He said yes, it was mean and he did it for a reason. He mentioned that he knew I couldn't control it but it got out of hand at times because I was approaching menopause?!?!?!

Well DUH ~ I hadn't really thought about it in those terms so it got me to thinking and looking around. What I found was amazing...seems I'm not going crazy, there really IS a reason for me acting like an alien!

I started checking out various resources and low and behold it was all there in black and white. The isolation, mood swings, tears, mild depression, not being able to sleep, waking up in the middle of the night sweating my butt off then freezing cold, palpitations & being red in the face (these are both related to hot flashes), acne (I've always had it but it has gotten worse), on and on. I also went back to check and I realized I haven't had a real period since last Nov.

I AM NOT CRAZY AND I AM NOT SHUTTING PEOPLE OUT ON PURPOSE!!!!!!!!!!!! I know it sounds nuts but it really was making me wonder what the hell was going on with me. There are days when I don't even want to LOOK at other people much less talk or interact with them. Eric is constantly (not really but it seems like it) asking me what's wrong cause my face is all red.

Man, it all fits...crapper of it is ~ they say this can last anywhere from 2-8 YEARS!!!!!!!!! If that doesn't suck cow chips! I'm praying for the 2 instead of the 8 let me tell you!

Anyway, if you've made it this far ~ please know I'm not ignoring you cause I don't like you...I do love you it's just sometimes I don't even want to be around myself much less anyone else! It just sucks that it's like this!

2007-04-17T16:28:00.000-04:00

K - I've been tagged...so not good at this kind of thing!! Anyway, here goes...this is for you Shannon :)

Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog! OK, here goes:

1. I've known and loved Eric for over half my life...65% of it as a matter of fact - LOL!! That's 26 of my almost 40 years.
2. I try to create something every day...it keeps me sane.
3. I am NOT a morning person...I don't really get going till about 10:00a.m.
4. I love Malibu Rummmmmm - YUM! Original of course!
5. I have worn glasses since I was in 3rd grade.
6. I like to drive fast with the music up loud.
7. I struggle every day with insecurities.

K - here's the part that's going to get me in trouble. I know I'm supposed to tag 7 people but I just hate putting people on the spot...so if you're reading this and want to, feel free :) JLMK so I can read your answers - LOL!!

2007-04-06T09:39:00.000-04:00

When I was out in NJ it made me realize just how laid back I really was. They are fast, agressive, etc. Sooooo not me. It's a great place to visit but I don't think I could live there.

Here are a couple things that sort of explain where I come from....

This song/video is a good indication of what it was like when I was a teenager ~ I suppose it still is ~ I've just settle down with my truck-drivin guy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiOvK4xwr2U

Here is something I just got from my mom on Tues which is all sooooooo true!

ABOUT THE MIDWEST . .

Because of misunderstandings that frequently develop when Easterners and Californians cross states such as Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, those states' Tourism Councils have adopted a set of information guidelines. In an effort to help outsiders understand the Midwest, the following list will be handed to each driver entering the state.

1. That farm boy standing next to the feed bin did more work before
breakfast than you do all week at the gym.

2. It's called a 'gravel road.' No matter how slow you drive, you're
going to get dust on your car. Get over it! The rain will wash it!

3. We all started hunting and fishing when we were seven years old.
Yeah, we saw Bambi. We got over it. Then we ate!

4. Any references to "corn fed" when talking about our women will get
you whipped... by our women.

5. Go ahead and bring your $600 Orvis Fly Rod. Don't cry to us if a
flathead catfish breaks it off at the handle. We have a name for
those little trout you fish for... bait.

6. Pull your pants up. You look like an idiot.

7. If that cell phone rings while a bunch of mallards are making
their final approach, we will shoot it! You might hope you don't have it up
to your ear at the time.

8. That's right. Whiskey is only two bucks. We can buy a fifth for
what you paid in the airport for one drink.

9. No, there's no "Vegetarian Special" on the menu. Order steak.
Order it rare. Or, you can order the Chef's Salad and pick off the two
pounds of ham and turkey.

10. You bring Coke into my house, it better be brown, wet, and served
over ice.

11. So you have a sixty-thousand dollar car you drive on weekends.
We're real impressed. We have a quarter of a million dollar combine that we
use two weeks a year. Check out the tires on that baby! Oh yeah!

12. Let's get this straight. We have one stoplight in town. We stop
when it's red. We may even stop when it's yellow. If you’re in Polk county,
some places don't even have a stoplight!

13. Our women hunt, fish, and drive trucks--because they want to.
So, you're a feminist. Isn't that cute.

14. Yeah, we eat catfish. Carp, too--and turtle. You really want
sushi and caviar? It's available at the bait shop.

15. They are pigs. That's what they smell like. Get over it. Don't
like it? Interstates 90, 74, 80, & 474 go two ways--Interstates 29, 39, &
55 go the other two. Pick one and use it accordingly.

16. The "Opener" refers to the first day of deer season. It's a
religious holiday. You can get breakfast at the church. The bars open @ 6am too!

17. So every person in every pickup waves. It's called being
friendly. Understand the concept?

18. Yeah, we have golf courses. Just don't hit in the water hazard.
It spooks our fish.

19. That Highway Patrol Officer that just pulled you over for driving
like an idiot...his name is "Sir"...no matter how old he is.

2007-04-05T17:45:00.000-04:00

K - getting caught up on things at home ~ here are some of my pics....

Here are a few pics of me & some people there...Tim Holtz of course - my fav :)

Then Suze (UTEE person),

Jen Starr ~ She's such a sweetie!

Tim demoing an AI tech. (my fav product so that's why I took this pic)

Just for fun stuff....
The Jersey Shore...I got to see the ocean for the 1st time :)

Chopsticks! Our last night we went to a place called Sawa - it was Japanese food that they cook at your table...really cool :) Tim taught me how to use chopsticks and I ate the whole meal using them!! It was so much fun and relaxing if you can believe it. It's an odd thing using chopsticks ~ you have to hold the food gently.

Anyway, those are the highlights. There are a couple other photos on flicker if you want to check em out. I have quite a few other pics of the ladies on the dt and just regular pics ~ lots of me at the beach; me at the bagel place (mmm those were good!) and a few other shots but nothing that would mean much to anyone. I am most definately going to be using several of my pics to complile a little album of the trip ~ it was just way too much fun :)

As far as things to share project wise it was more of a tech. class...very intense 60 different tech in 3 days. Each tech is mounted onto a tag for a giant tag book so nothing to post with regards to finished products ~ sorry!

Soooo, there you go ~ me in NJ...what fun!

2007-04-03T14:19:00.000-04:00

I'm back!!!

I had THE most amazing time at Ranger ~ it was so freakin awesome!!!

First and foremost, my dream since 2003 has been fullfilled ~ to meet Tim Holtz!! I have wanted to meet him ever since I heard (then used) the Distress Inks and Alcohol Inks. He is in a way why I do what I do.

Prior to knowing about him, I scrapbooked but didn't really "enjoy" it the way other people did. I like to craft but I didn't like the color schemes that were popular or the clean look nor did I care for the "cute" stuff...it just sooooo wasn't me. I wanted to go vintage, get all collage-y with it. Most people when they looked at my work doing I "liked" said it was dirty, messy, etc. so I didn't. I figured it was wrong. When I read the first article about him it was like whoa! LOVE HIS WORK!! He did what I wanted to do!!!! Then when Tracey got in his Distress Inks & Alcohol Inks I was in love...they like he so totally rock! NOW I do what I want to do, enjoy and love every minute of it. I'm comfortable with my style and wouldn't change it for what other people think. It's part of me ~ like it or not. So, in a way owe both him and Tracey for that. Finding myself in my art. It's a powerful thing that I feel strongly about.

The best part of all, I got to tell him that! (without crying I might add!!)

Beyond all that deep stuff ;P LOL!! It was an awesome time ~ many firsts on this trip and all of them good. We crammed tons into this weekend (thurs - Sun) and I've got lots to review and new things to try. I'm so excited about it all.

Some of the firsts: first time traveling by plane alone!; first time in NJ; First time to visit the ocean, first time to meet TH (hopefully the first of many!!); first time to take a class (starting off with the best!); first time I tried NY Bagels (man that bagel guy was cute!!) and I also had Bagels, Lox & Cream Cheese (that was pretty darn good!!); first time to eat with chopsticks and I actually ate the whole meal with them - LOL!!; the list could go on but it was freakin awesome!

I think I got about 2-3 hrs of sleep each night cause when we weren't at Ranger we were talking and having a good time. It was just so much fun! I loved it!!!

I ended up spending almost all day at Detroit Airport yesterday cause Newark was fogged in ~ ended up sitting on the tarmack for 2 hrs waiting in line to take off (our plane was 27th in line) so I ended up missing my connection in Detroit and had to wait for an ava. flight. I finally made it back to Indiana at about 7:00pm - home at about 8:30 so I was wiped out. After all that excitment of the weekend, sitting in an airport for 6 hrs was about as boring and mind numbing as it gets!

Anyway, I'll post some pics when I get them uploaded...my fav. of course is the one of me and Tim :) I can see a major lo coming on ;) LOL!!

2007-03-28T15:56:00.000-04:00

ATC holders....here they are! They have 14 pockets inside to hold ATC's. The 2nd photo is my masculine version. I hope it's o.k....it's for Tim Holtz!

Well, I'm off early in the a.m. for Ft. Wayne, Detroit then on to Ranger in NJ!!

See ya all when I get back!

2007-03-27T11:57:00.000-04:00

ACK!!!!!! 2 days!!!

Can you say panic mode?!??! From here out I'm not going to sleep till next Tuesday!

2007-03-26T14:30:00.000-04:00

ATC's - I've never done much with them really...mostly just mess around. I have traded a few but mostly for my own entertainment. I never could figure out what to do with them but for our March Assignment for Ranger they wanted everyone to make some ATC's to trade at our upcoming DT RU.

Here is what I came up with....I couldn't come up with one design I liked enough to make 15 copies of so I made several. I figured they could pick whatever they wanted. I'm not sure which would be my fav. They all of course exclusively use Ranger products and many different tech. I'm thinking the Beauty might be my fav cause IRL it's got a copper shimmer and looks like marble.

Well what do you think? I really enjoy making them. They are quick and easy so it's like an instant art fix when you make them. I think I might host a swap on about to trade them if there is any interest. I've been making some ATC wallet type things too to store them in so might be sort of fun :) We'll see!

2007-03-25T15:24:00.000-04:00

my house is clean!! I started out going over to the bldg to sew some stuff that's due this week but dh yelled at me and I told him if he didn't like it he could do it himself and left ;O Yes, it's one of those hormonal days!!! grrrrr...don't mess with me mister!

So, I came home and cleaned my house! I've got all the laundry done (it's even folded!!), swept, mopped, did the dishes, cleaned the bathroom, and YES, I DUSTED!!! Whew ~ amazing! I hate to dust ~ don't ask me why but I do. I have supper in the oven (lasagna) and I made an apple pie earlier today. I'm so freakin tickled...

It's beautiful here today ~ it's overcast but very warm...prob. close to 70 or so...WAY unheard of for Ind. this time of year but I'm lovin it! I hope it's nice when I get out to NJ....

2007-03-24T22:47:00.000-04:00

Oh yeah ~ forgot to mention that I got my hair chopped off! It wasn't my choice but I"m glad it happened now. I'll post pics when dh takes some. It's around shoulder length and it's flippy and fun.

I had posted a huge long thing about it when it happened but it was negative and other things were going on at the time that made it seem worse. I ended up deleting it cause it just bitching. I'm glad I did now cause I actually do like it now.

2007-03-24T22:32:00.000-04:00

busy busy busy! been getting ready to go to NJ next week~ yes our Design Team Ranger University is in just 4 1/2 days! I leave EARLY Thurs. a.m. from Ft. Wayne - lay-over in Detroit then on to Newark! Scares the crap outta me! I'm terrified of flying to begin with but I have to do it BY MY SELF this time!! EEK! I can think of about 10,000 things that could go wrong...I'm just hoping for good weather (so I don't have delays or flight changes) and a smooth ride. I'm still trying to figure out how to ask a complete stranger if I can hold his/her hand if things get rough - LOL!! (note - I'm only half kidding ;) lol!) I fly back on Monday and get home late.

Yes, I am packed already - LOL!!! I am happy to say that I got all my clothes~ 5 outfits, underthings, 2 pairs of extra shoes, toiletries in a carry on bag! It's not even over stuffed or anything. I could get a few more items in if I wanted to :) I did some creative packing and put lots of things in zip-lock bags so I could take the air out of them and scrunch it all together. Worked great...who says you need those fancy bags air bags or whatever they are called that they sell for 20.00 ;)

Sounds like it's going to be way busy when we do get there. We have a tour & supper that evening then 3 full days packed with classes (from 9:00 a.m. to like 6:00 or 7:00 at night)...I guess it's like all 3 of the regular Ranger U's jammed into one weekend. I'm excited and nervous. I'm thinking we have to come up with a couple presentations to give to the other members (they normally do one in the reg. RU's that I've heard about.). Now, this is scary enough BUT it's going to be in front of some WAY talented worldly amazing ladies AS WELL AS Tim Holtz.... If you know me you know that he has been my idol for quite some time so that makes it like 100x's more important to me to do good... I'm sort of freaking out about this!

Please if you pray ~ please send off a couple for me ~ one I make it thru the flights and one so I don't make a fool of myself when I meet TH - LOL!!

2007-03-15T10:11:00.000-04:00

2007-03-12T19:10:00.000-04:00

oh yeah! I forgot to mention that Ben did very well at his FFA thing. He won the Male Ambassador and will go on to state in June :) I'm not sure what all it entails but he's happy so I guess that's what matters!

2007-03-12T17:22:00.000-04:00

Spring ~ already?!?! Sure looks like it here in Indiana! Wild, cause it's March and we should be butt deep in snow or at least ankle deep in it you know. It's been so warm here lately that today only a couple piles are left! (where it was piled up from our drive way.) It's supposed to be in the 60's tomorrow!! Hard to believe.

We did our 2nd moving of the clocks here in Indiana this past weekend which renewed much "discussion" over the whole deal. There is now talk that in the next election if the Democrats get into power they are going to over turn it and we'll go back to good old Indiana time! Ahhh that would be wonderful ~ not that I'm a democrat (cause I'm not) BUT I do like not having to fool with this changing of the clocks crap! It's the dumbest thing ~ I've got many arguments over this but the thing that makes absolutely no sense at all is it was supposed to unify the state and we'd only have 1 time zone to deal with....UM YEAH RIGHT!!!! We've got more time zones now that we ever had! Each county got to choose which time zone they wanted to be in so it's a hodge podge of zones. You could in some places drive thru one county and be 1:00 and drive into the next and it would be 2:00 then drive thru the next and back to 1:00. It's just stupid! In our local area all of the counties went onto the same time zone but when you go west towards chicago and south towards cinci/l'ville area they are all different. Guess we'll just have to wait and see what goes on with it all.

Boys still have colds but they are getting better...hopefully the weather will stay nice for a bit so everyone in town doesn't get sick again. It's been a terrible winter for colds and flu around here...everyone has been passing the germs around...everyone you talk to has been/is or knows someone who is sick right now. I'm so ready for summer!!

Good thought for the day ~ enjoy the day and take time to smell the fresh almost spring air ~ no matter what time zone you're in ;)

2007-03-12T12:38:00.000-04:00

Whale story....

O.k., I have to say this (it's been bugging me since I first saw it the other day) ~ COME ON PEOPLE IT'S A FREAKIN WHALE!!!!!!!!! Like duh ~ you've never heard of the old saying let sleeping dogs lie....well I'm thinkin that you might want to apply that type of thinking to an animal 1,000x's BIGGER than a dog!

Never fails to amaze me how dumb people can be.

2007-03-09T09:33:00.000-05:00

March 9th...time flies!!

Not sure where it all went but I'm still here and kickin! The boys both have colds again...Bob got it first as it's going thru the Middle School....again! I swear they are germy little buggers at that age ~ almost as bad as elementary school! Anyway, Ben is romancing a girl...scares me - LOL!! He is so infatuated, I'm worried he's going to be heartbroken when she moves on but I guess that's life. He is also going to District Contest tonite in FFA. He's got like 4-5 different areas he's competing it...I hope he does well, last year and all. Bob is bob...just hangin out and havin fun :)
Only 3 more weeks till I go to NJ ~ DT Ranger U. I got my flight plans on Wed and I'm scared to death! I have to change planes in Detroit (no direct flights from Ft. Wayne)...The first flight i have a window seat ~ EEK!!!!!!!! I saw a movie last night with someone in it who was afraid to fly...he was holding the hand of someone he didn't even know....I'm thinkin that might be me ;) LOL!! I don't know if I can do this... wish me luck ~ I'm thinkin I'll need it!!
I'm only doing a carry on bag cause I don't want my luggage to get lost (this has happened before ~ the boys suitcase was lost when we went to WDW!!) so I'm going to do what Shannon did at the retreat and mail some things ahead. Should cut out alot of headaches I think/hope!

I'm starting to feel pretty good again mentally....physically my right leg keeps swelling at night. I don't know what could be causing it but it hurts and swells and my foot gets tingly...I think if it doesn't get better this weekend I'm going to the dr next week. I think I might have high blood pressure as well so I'm thinkin of having that checked out as well. I hate going to the dr since we don't have health ins but I guess you gotta sometimes.

that's life in the fast lane...for Indiana that is ;)

2007-02-22T10:41:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Pres. Washington!

Yes, time to eat some cherry pie (can't chop one down...too freakin cold!) in honor of our very first pres :)

Been a wild week...first we had snow, snow and more snow. We had drifts anywhere from 2' deep in our drive way (eric's mega van blocked most of those) to a 3' one on our front porch to some as high as 4 &5' in our backyard (we have a fence so it gets trapped in there and keeps building them higher). Then the last couple days we've had really warm temps during the day ~ freezing at night. Can you say ICE!!!!! It's windy here today...winds 20-25 mph with gusts in the 30's, close to 40mph. Burrrrr...it's freezing here in the office!

I rec'd a copy of the new Stampers Sampler Take Ten issue ~ I'm in it!!! 2 cards I made for their template challenge. Pretty cool....you never know about that mag(s) cause they don't tell you ahead of time if they are using your stuff so it's a guessing game.

I found out the ad that was featured in the CHA magazine (my mirror & something of Tim Holtz and another DT member) will be in a couple other magazines in one form or another. These are mags ava. to the public so hopefully I can find it somewhere ~ March Vamp Stamp News; May/June The Rubber Stamper; May/June Somerset Studio. Making a folder with all my "publishings" in it - LOL!! Yes, I know it's silly but well...that's me. This has been such a dream come true for me ~ I don't ever want to forget it!

I don't know if you all remember the deal with Isaiah (the little boy my brother is trying to adopt). The maternal grandmother is trying to fight it (the parents are fine with the adoption!!) but she's a REALLY bad person (found out more about the CHINS cases she has against her...that is one SICK family...long perverted story ~ the only reason she isn't in jail is because she testified against her husband!). Anyway, I think I mentioned she got visitation every other weekend unsupervised. Well, he has gone twice now and come back sick both times!!!!!! The first time he came back with a bad cold/URI...to the dr for meds. This past weekend, he came back so sick he's been in the hospital for the last 2 days!!!!!!!!! I am so pissed at the judge, lawyers, that F-ing Damn woman....I could just scream. That little boy has made such advances with my brother and SIL ~ He can walk, talk, eat, etc. now that he wasn't doing before...I am just so mad... If that stupid ass judge doesn't read the freakin files and discontinues the visitation I'm seriously thinking of getting some Italian relatives...some that aren't nice either!!

ANYWAY, Ben had his play...it was great ~ I overheard many people that said they liked him best out of the whole production and he only had a very small part...he was very animated though. He always has been ~ I wish he would have gotten into drama before his Senior year. I think he would have really enjoyed it. No pics, they didn't all any cameras...they are however selling pics for a price ;) Niiicceeeee!

Good thought for the day....just glad I don't live anywhere that's cold for longer periods of time than Indiana ~ I'd freeze!!!!!!! LOL!!!

2007-02-15T14:08:00.000-05:00

We had our blizzard! It started on monday night and kept snowing till wed. a.m.! It is awesome...we have tons of snow, lots of drifts and the boys had 2 days off school (tues/wed).

Dh got me a dozen red roses for V-day :) He's such a sweetie!! I dearly love that man!

We had our last calf yesterday as well...his name is Cupid ;) LOL!! How could we not name him that when he's born on V-day!! Anyway, I have yet to see him. Dh didn't want me going out to the farm since it's so snowy/icy out. He was afraid I'd fall & hurt myself. It's very possible since I'm a klutz - LOL!!

Working on lots of Ranger stuff as usual. Not much else going on...just life ~ laundry, dishes, cleaning...all that yucky stuff - LOL!!

2007-02-12T14:33:00.000-05:00

sorry it's been a while ~ did the About.com Superbowl Weekend Crop then I got sicker than a dog. Dh & the boys had been sick for a week or so and I only had a mild case and thought I had squeeked by w/o it getting me down. I had those thoughts a bit too soon...Monday (5th) I came down with it bad and have been trying to get better ever since. Friday I lost my voice completely and still don't have it back. Hopefully it will come back soon ~ I'm tired of trying to yell at them with no voice - they just make fun of me!!

Anyway, we're hopefully in for a big snow storm tonite/tomorrow! It's supposed to start tonite with 1-2" then tomorrow 6-8 and maybe even more!!!!!!!!!! Woo Hooo...how freakin cool is that - LOL!! Can't wait :)

No news on the calf front...still holding at 5 ~ 2 boys & 3 girls. We have one heifer shut in the barn cause of the impending storm and she's close. We just don't know how close.

Other than those few things, don't know much. Just trying to get some Ranger projects done and hangin in there!

2007-01-28T13:13:00.000-05:00

WE HAVE SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!! Yahooo!!! Freakin finally!

This has been a really wild year for us weather wise so far. We've been in the mid 30's for the most part since late Nov. No real cold temps other than a day or two here and there. The ground hasn't been frozen (so we've had mud!!) and we've had lots of rain. Yeah, we did have a skift of snow here and there but as warm as it's been it's usually been all gone in a day or two.

WELL, today has changed all that!! It started getting cold last night and snowing a bit...nothing much but woke up this a.m. to at least 2" already on the ground and it keeps on coming :) We've also got winds to go with the light dry snow and it's piling up! I think we're up to about 4-5" of snow and lots and lots of drifts. If you've not been to Indiana before, we have lots of rolling ground...not giant mountains like in PA (they call em hills) or anything but enough lumps and bumps that if we get snow + wind roads will start drifting shut quickly!

Dh went over to our building in K'ville and he said one road was already 1/2 was closed and several more had 1-2 foot drifts across them. They are calling for lake effect snows all day long thru tomorrow even! I'm thinkin the boys will be having at least a delay if not a day off school tomorrow.

We also had another baby calf yesterday...it wasn't doing too well at the onset but we worked our butts off yesterday getting it dry, warm and fed.

2007-01-25T13:10:00.000-05:00

Calving time!! We've got 4 babies so far and 2 more on the way...Possibly 3. We have one heifer that doesn't look like she's bred but we'll know this weekend. We've got the vet coming out to check her. If not ~ she's off to the sale barn!

My cow Petunia had her calf 2 days ago ~ A little boy :) He's going to be our next bull so luckily he gets to stick around for a while. This is Petunia's last calf and I'm going to miss her. We've had her for 16+ years. That's WAY old for a cow. Normally farms don't keep them longer than 5-6 years so I've been lucky. I raised her by hand because her mom rejected her so she's my baby...giant 2,000lb baby but still. She never fails to come and see me, want petted, etc. I don't think I'll ever have another like her and I sure won't forget her.

There are several pics in the flicker thing down at the bottom if you'd like to see a few shots of em :)

2007-01-22T10:22:00.000-05:00

first, thanks for all your good wishes and prayers. I really appreciate them!! Things haven't changed a whole lot with the situation (18yr old son) ~ I did get alot of things off my chest and I've been talking to Eric alot about it so I do feel a bit better anyway. I'm **trying** not to worry so much about it so we'll see. I'm thinking that the next few months are going to be a long and rocky road....

some bad news about my brothers attempt at adopting Isaiah. The stupid judge gave his maternal grandmother weekend unsupervised custody...totally sucks. This woman already has to ChINS (child in need of service) cases against her which are pending action. They are basically child neglect or other charges. AND her live in is a convicted child abuser!!!!!!!! Since they aren't married it's "not relevant" to this case!!!!!! Also, they have a place to go in MI so we are worried that the first time they get him they are going to steal him away up there...they have threatened to do so in the past. It's just scary to think about all that's gone on and that he might be back in that same situation. He's such a little sweetie pie...it's just devastating to think of him being gone.

On a lighter note ~ we got snow! It's not much but hey at least it's not muddy and all black everywhere anymore.

The COLTS WON!!!! Freakin amazing - was a great ending of the game...what a come back! Now if they can keep that momentum going it would be awesome! WE'll see!

2007-01-11T10:55:00.000-05:00

depression...it so totally sucks. i hate it when i get like this but nothing i do seems to help. all i want to do is crawl in a hole and sleep. it's wierd, all i want to do is play a stupid came called spider solitair, clean (what the hell is up with that) and craft. i am writing this now cause i didn't want anyone to think i was mad at them so if anyone is thinking that i'm not...

i have so many things i should be doing on-line...visited about.com for the first time today (for about 10 minutes) in over a week, went outside to put something in the mailbox last night and saw a package sitting on our front door step (we don't use it in winter) that had been sitting there for days! i e-mailed the sender about finding it but that's about the only lengthy e-mail i've sent (other than ranger business) in a long time. i really want to talk to another friend but i just can't do it...i know i wouldn't help her situation and she doesn't need any more crap piled on her right now. haven't even talked to my mom since new years. life just sucks right now. like i said...i just want to crawl in a hole.

oh yeah, on the creative front...

one of my projects is on the Ranger site...it's the vintage canvas I made. I'm not sure if the link is working now or not but at least the pic is up there. we also have to submit items to magazine calls in addition to what we make for ranger ~ i recently submitted some things to the people who do paper crafts mag. they are making another issue of stamp it and they are using one of my cards. i am sending it today.

that's all i guess

2007-01-05T13:25:00.000-05:00

One more project to add to my list!! They accepted a tray that I made using their Faux Mosaic Kit . It's realitively new and not many people know about it so they wanted some projects to boost peoples knowledge of it. I had alot of fun playing with it ~ it's cool stuff ~ specially the grout! It's safe and feels like real grout!! Anyway, I made a tray using real postage stamps for the "tiles".

If anyone is keeping score, that's 11!!

Working on UTEE stuff now. It's slow going...i'm so distracted, it's hard to get creative. I've burnt myself now countless times! I wish I'd get my crap together and get it done.

A piece of advice...if you knock scissors or any sharp object on the floor...let it fall! Yesterday my elbow brushed off a pile of stuff (yes I have the piles again!) off the table and I went to catch it...under the papers and things was my micro tip scissors (way sharp) and my exacto knife (even sharper!!). Needless to say I had things sticking out of my fingers I shouldn't!

Did you know that NOTHING sticks to parchment paper???? I found that out first hand ;) I wouldn't suggest your trying to use it for ANYTHING. I did and it looks o.k. but dang it was a pitb to get it on there to stay!

2007-01-04T14:19:00.000-05:00

here we are...happy 007! we went to the arcaide today :) Bob just loves playing those games. we ended up with 210 tickets between us...he played quite a few video games which don't give out tickets but he had enough to get a pretty big bag of candy so he was happy!

nothing much going on besides that...just same ole stuff. i'm sort of in a blah mood...lots of reasons but nothing that you all want to hear about.

anyway, hope you're all having a great new year so far.

2006-12-29T19:32:00.000-05:00

hope you all had a wonderful holiday ~ ours was good but long and drawn out. We had something going on each day from last Friday thru Tues. More than partied out here!
All of the guys have been home this week so we've been doing family things or just hanging out together which we don't do too often anymore since everyone seems to have their own "thing" to do.

Went to see Night at the Museum ~ man was it good!! The stupid critics only give it a C but I think it rocks. We like Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson so that's a plus. We all had our fav. charaters that came to life ~ my fav. was Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams) and the Egyptian guy but I can't remember his name. Anyway, it was alot of fun :) My fav. line in the whole movie has got to be when Larry says Freakin Awesome - LOL!! I say that ALL the time!!!!

I found out yesterday that Ranger wants 4 of my Perfect Pearls projects!! Woo Hoo!! that makes 10 so far in 2 months :) How freakin cool is that - LOL!! I am just so excited about it ~ there is another deadline tomorrow and even though it wasn't my specifically assigned call I still made 3 projects for it ~ with any luck they'll want one of those :) We'll see! Prob. won't find out till next week though because of New Years ~ dang it! I'm really stoked about these ones ~ I love how they all came out. It was Faux Mosaic and man is that stuff ever fun! I really enjoyed using it. I'd never tried it before now. I can see LOTS of cool gifts to be made with it though. I'm way getting another kit (comes with 3 different components) SOON!

2006-12-24T09:26:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to pop in and say hi to all and wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Hope you have a wonderful holiday with your friends and family :)

2006-12-21T18:44:00.000-05:00

oh man...i tell you, it's been one of those days. I just spent the last 1/2 hr typing up everything that happened today exp. what an awful day it was for crafting in my world and wouldn't you freakin know it...I just get done typing the "good thought for the day" and hit the spell check button ..................... it all disappears!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, the long and the short of it is...there are several people who were going to be getting a hand made binder from me that aren't ~ it's not worth my sanity.... Sooooo, they are going to be able to decorate their own.

oh, and there will be no good thought for the day....it was here, it's gone, that's it!

2006-12-20T14:39:00.000-05:00

Gosh 4 days in a row, I'm on a roll ;) Not much going on today since I haven't been home. Dropped off the material, went shopping and made it home in one piece...the traffic is terrible! O.k...it's prob. nothing like some of you guys deal with day in and day out but for us it's bad. I don't know how you do it ~ I would go bonkers if I had to deal with that crap all the time. There were a couple of accidents...I think people just getting in too big of a rush.

I hope all you folks who are facing that terrible storm out west are prepared and stay safe. I would love to have a white Christmas but I certainly don't envy you this time. Sounds like it's pretty dangerous already and it's only just begun. Take care out there!!

Well, guess I better get going ~ have to wrap a couple gifts for the boys FFA teacher. She's off on maternity leave so the boys are going to stop by her house tonite and drop it off :) Her family and her dh's family are big into hogs so she collects pigs. I found her a ceramic pig figurine and a pig dish towel holder...hope she likes them.

Good thought for the day...slow down and enjoy the ride ~ better to get there in one piece than in lots of little ones!!

2006-12-19T16:33:00.000-05:00

Feelin' Good!!! It was a great day today ~ I got tons of cards addressed and sent, some of my far away gifts sent, my laundry mostly done and the kitchen looks 1/2 way decent! I've made my shopping list for this weekend/next week so I'm all set to go tomorrow (have to deliver material tomorrow so I'm stopping on the way home). Any last gift requests before I go - LOL!! ;)

Holidays on Mondays shouldn't be allowed....it's a pitb cause Dad has to work :( Soooo, we're moving our holiday sched. around so everyone can do what needs to be done ~ we're having my Mom & Dad's family (my family, my brothers family & M&D) on Sat, my Dad's extended family on Sun (Christmas Eve) at noon for my side then 2-3 different times on Christmas for Eric's parents (they're wierd...long story).

Since it's spread out over so many days this year we're having to rethink what we do for our own personal family time. Normally we spend Christmas Eve home alone and do holiday things...watch movies, have a huge array of finger foods set out to snack on all day, etc. So since we're going to be at Mom's for lunch (never a shortage of good foods there) instead of our normal outlay of food we're going to do desserts Christmas Eve! We're going to have 3-4 diff. types of pie, a pistachio cake (mmmmmm!!!!!!), eclairs, monkey bread, christmas cookies, etc. Bob is thrilled...he's our sweet tooth and cannot wait :) He's thinkin this is going to be wonderful - LOL!! Do you get a theme here...we love to eat ;) LOL!!

Still don't know what type of food I'm taking to Mom's. We normally have finger foods for Christmas there since we have several people who have to be other places. It works out great cause people come and go as they please and can eat whenever they need/want to. I've got to figure it out tonite cause I have to buy whatever I need tomorrow so I can bake/make it on Sat. to be ready for Sunday.

guess I should really go and start working on the rest of my gifts I have 1/2 made sitting on the desk waiting to be finished. Maybe if I'm lucky I can get one or two of them done to be shipped before Christmas. While I was at the PO today the postal lady said that they were actually delivering on Christmas! I've never heard that before...blew me away! Bummer to be them!

Good thought for the day ~ enjoy the sunshine while it's out :) (been cloudy here for days so today was a nice change of pace!)

2006-12-18T16:39:00.000-05:00

I AM FINISHED!!!!!!!!! Woo Hoo...I'm all done with my shopping :) I'm so happy!! Dh took me to Mishawaka today to finish up and I found most everything I was looking for and got sales on almost all of it!! How cool is that :)

I got THE BEST buy at Hobby Lobby....they have started to get their spring garden items out and would you belive they had a dog statue that looked just like our carin terrier!! (just a bit of info ~ there is virtually nothing for Carin Terriers out there...for whatever reason they aren't too popular in the mass merch. industry.) They had 4 of them and they were 25.00 each ~ well, we got one for dh's parent's cause they also have a CT and I asked Eric if he minded if we could get one for me for Christmas ;) He said I'd have to act surprised when I opened it since I know most everything I'm getting - LOL!! You can sure bet I will be surprised BUT the biggest surprise was when we went to the check out lane...we got 50% off of them so we bought one and got one for FREE!!!!!!!!!!!! How rockin is that - LOL!! I would have been happy to pay full price for the darn thing :) I'm just so tickled!!!

We also went to my fav. sb store and I was very good...I got 1 set of stamps (AL's - Christmas circles) and a few other things but most of it was for Christmas gifts I have yet to finish.

I am behind on sending out gifts.... I just hate that ~ I used to be so with it and get things out at least 2 weeks before the holiday if not 3. Now I'm lucky to get the darn things sent BY the holiday to arrive after Christmas. Pisses me off and I just don't understand why it always happens. I think I have loads of time but then things pop up that don't take a whole lot of time but little by little eat away at my free hrs. I guess that's my problem, I can't say no to anyone. People are always asking me for a little favor and I do them. I hate to disappoint I guess. Anyway, behind again ~ I know it's the thought that counts but it still bothers me.

I am going to send the majority of my cards out tomorrow so I feel better about that!

2006-12-17T08:05:00.000-05:00

another busy couple of weeks...I just get so involved in projects I forget where the time goes. between making several items for calls and trying to keep up with the guys and household chores seems like i'm not on the computer much at all.
I have in the last 2 weeks finished up 8 projects for Perfect Pearls, 3 Faux Paper Mosaic projects (well, one is drying and the other I may add some flourishes but for the most part done) made 22 of the 50 christmas cards and 3 of the too many to think about gifts for christmas that should in reality be going out tomorrow but won't....so that prob. means they'll be late again this year!! I don't know why I can't seem to get with it and get em out on time. I guess the holidays just seem to come far too quickly anymore. You know time really does fly by...I know it's a silly old saying but I'm finding the older I get the truer it becomes. We all get so wrapped up in day to day life that we forget to take a few minutes and really enjoy life.
My good thought for the day....slow down, take a few minutes to enjoy the holiday season....look at the Christmas lights, smell the scent of a pine tree, enjoy a cup of cocoa and a Christmas cookie :) For my non-christian friends, Happy Hannukkah!!! I hope you're having a great time this season as well!!

Lots of love to you all...

2006-12-05T23:50:00.000-05:00

OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just found out that Ranger wants not 1 but 3 ~ yes THREE of my projects for the November calls!!!!!!!!!! HOW FREAKIN COOL IS THAT?!?!?!? YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!! Whooo hooo whoo hooo...ROCKIN!!!!!

I'm the only one up so I have to scream and shout in silence here - LOL!!

I so cannot believe this ~ that makes 6 in the last month!! I am just sooooooooooo excited!!! These items will be used at the Winter CHA in January as well as in sales literature and possibly on their web-site as project "to do's". When they are, I will post a link here so you can see what I've been up to. That's the only disappointing thing...I come up with things I love but can't share until Ranger makes them public. Oh well, it's still fun anyway - LOL!!

Something I didn't know until now...you prob. know that I suck at spelling and when I remember (hit and miss at best) I use the spell check. Tonite I found out that it is recommended to replace "freakin" with "foreskin" - ROFLOL!!!!!!! O.k....let's just say I'm tired ;) tee hee hee!!!

2006-12-05T18:21:00.000-05:00

Perfectly dusty...not what you might be thinking...Perfect Pearls dust! I'm covered in it...been playing with the stuff all day and having loads of fun :) I've got a pretty floor too....as I am a very messy scrapper, it gets all over the place. Oh well...at least I have fun.

I cleaned up my piles and so prior to my beginning today my desk was actually somewhat clean! Of course it's not right now but I've got like 4 projects in various stages ~ some drying, others waiting for this or that. I wish I could share this paper mache box I decorated. I just love how it turned out. I used a "non-SU" stamp (tee hee hee) for the image and added a touch of stickles! It looks so pretty.

I am now officially on the Ranger site!! They posted the dt bios on the 1st :) YEAH...I'm famous...well, semi famous but still more than I ever thought I'd achieve beyond my dreams.

The Christmas shopping front is depressing...the boys can't think of enough items for Christmas!! Can you believe it ~ first time in ever they can't think of things they want. Oh well, going to keep working on it.

Good thought for the day....Thank God for Furry Friends!! Figdet keeps me very warm at night and good company during the day :) Gotta love the little bugger!!

Hope you're all having a wonderful week!

2006-12-04T09:26:00.000-05:00

Hmmmm, no snow ~ someone stole it :( It all went north of us so we just got a very light dusting. Stinks! Sure is cold though ~ in the teens this a.m. - burrrrr!

Anyway, this weekend was good...finished all the cards as well as some cards for the substitutes and got them all sorted, packaged and ready for mom to pick up! Whew...100+ cards later, I'm sick of em - LOL!!! I get to play with perfect pearls this week so that'll be fun. A nice break from the cards ;)

Ben is better but Eric had a touch of something this weekend. I *think* he's better but you never know. I don't know if he's just saying that so I don't worry. He still looks pale so I don't think he's as good as he says he is.

I was thinking something this weekend...I am going to be buried under projects by prob. March...not things to make mind you but things I have made for Ranger/mags. I don't know where I"m going to put it all. I think I am going to have to start giving things away or ditching them. I don't have all that much extra room for things like this and what I do have is mostly already filled. Gotta think about this a bit more.

I need to be getting rid of some alpha stamps too. Not my clear ones...they'll have to pry those out of my stone cold fingers but the red rubber ones. I am so not using them...actually I opened the folders I have em in for the first time in over a year this past weekend. I just love the fonts but do not use them. I hate not being able to see where I"m stamping cause I'm not all that good at getting things even to begin with. They are all UM so I don't know if that makes em better or worse. Anyway, they gotta go. I need the space.

Stamps are another issue. You wouldn't believe all the stamps that I have no idea who made them....I didn't even give this a thought when I UM them...mostly cause I didn't ever submit anything. Now that I do, I have to know who's who. AND another problem I have is Stampin Up....I can't use ANY of their stamps for stuff for Ranger which is total bull shit! I paid out a heafty amt. of money for those freakin things and I can't use em! It makes me so mad I'm half tempted to sell em all just out of spite. Just gripes my butt when I think of all the $'s I have wrapped up in them just to sit on the shelf. Now, granted, I can use them for things I submit to mags but still...if I come up with a great idea or whatever for Ranger and already have a SU stamp, I have to go and find a comperable one in some other line so I can actually make it....grrrrr. So, next time you place a very expensive stamp order and are even considering being on a dt...make sure you think about it long and hard....you might just be throwing money out the window!

2006-11-30T21:59:00.000-05:00

o.k. o.k...I'm still here! I actually started a post last week sometime but since Ben got sick I haven't been on the comp. much (you'll read about that later). I want to post it soon cause it's about his senior pics (or will have...that's the hold up) and I'm pretty proud of them :)

What I've been up too....

On the creative front ~ I finished 4 Ranger calls (4-5 projects each) ~ one due on the 14th, 3 due on the 30th but I got those finished last week. I made & submitted 6 cards for 2 different magazine calls that were due on the 27th/28th. Since Monday night I have been working on some of the 120 cards I have to make for my mom's euchre club (10 holidays x 12 people....all have to be different styles since they will all be together when they exchange them!) I have all but 12 finished!!!!!!! I also made 5 cards that I have to submit tomorrow. Next due date...Dec 11th so I have a couple days to start working on those things ;)

On the home front ~ well, Thanksgiving day was pretty good...I got to play with my little nephew ~ he's such a sweetie!! I just love him so much. I hope that the adoption goes thru quickly and without any hitches...I'd be devastated if he went back to the bag that had him! Friday, Ben got sick...the flu!!! Without being too graphic, lets just say it wasn't pretty! I was really worried about him ~ not much to do but keep pushing liquids. He was sick up till yesterday and today was his first day back at school. I was worried we were all going to get it and we did in varying degrees...none as bad as he did so that's a plus. I don't think I could have stood a house full of really sick MEN and been ill myself....I'm thinkin I'd have run away screaming! There are a few other things up with him but well...I'm not even going to go into it. It's far too taxing on my brain right now. Let's just say I've been really worried. Hopefully things will work out soon....

On the Christmas front ~ well, I hadn't done much shopping...neither of the boys could tell me a thing they wanted...highly unusual! Anyway, they finally gave me some ideas so Eric took the day off and we went and shopped all day! Shannon called while I was at Hobby Lobby...it was a mad house in there and I only heard part of what she was saying. I tried to call you back woman but Geo said you were resting and I didn't want to disturb you...Lord knows you need all the rest you can get right now!!! I am going to try again tomorrow...I'm worried about you woman!

On the Weather front ~ we're supposed to get SNOW!!!!!!!!!! POSSIBLY 6"+!!! Woo Hooo!!! Can't wait ~ we haven't gotten a significant snow this early in YEARS...I don't mean one or two, like 15 or 20 years!

Hmmmmm, It doesn't sound like much but that's about it...hopefully I can finish the cards for Mom up tonite so I can sort them tomorrow and get them all packaged up ready to go (for Monday) Then, *maybe* I'll have some time to clean up my "piles"....Yes, they have returned with a vengeance. I just can't seem to get rid of those darn things. I've got to clean as well...with everything that's been going on the housework has been suffering but hey, I figure, it'll wait and still be there when I get the time. At least I've kept up with the laundry and dishes...yippie!

2006-11-16T09:52:00.000-05:00

has anyone been watching GMA's new 7 wonders of the new age world? yesterday's (I think it was yesterday) was the internet!! I think that's very true. It's amazing that all these things can be going on at once and we can meet, get to know, become friends and even more.

Now, granted, there are some down sides to the net...people who lie about who they really are, stalkers, perverts, chain e-mails (UGH!!! a pet peeve of mine)....I mean really, how many people ever do REALLY get that free dinner at Applebees or have a body part fall off because they didn't send it on to 10 friends or who died because they took a dimeatapp pill that had a bad chemical componet in it that was actually taken completely off the market 5 years ago and the damn WARNING e-mail is STILL going around?

Anyway, I am so thankful for the net and all it has brought into my life... A hobby I couldn't do without, friends and accqaintences that mean the world to me and someplace where I don't have to worry about buldges that I have here and there, if my cloths are of the proper and up to date fashion, no make-up needed, etc. I can sit here in my bathrobe, slippers and drink my diet coke and nobody will mind one bit cause they very well may be doing the same thing.

Age isn't a factor either ~ I have found friends of ALL ages on the net...from teens who share common interests to grandma's! Time has no meaning either...you can get on the net and there will be someone there...I sometimes forget that the people I'm talking to aren't on "my time" ~ it's so easy to do...it's almost like they are just a few miles away sitting in some room in their house typing away just like me.

One thing I do dislike greatly about the internet is that no matter how much time you spend on-line with people you can't reach out and give them a hug or pat on the back when they really need it. If they could only figure out a way to incorporate a real ((((((((((((HUG))))))))))))))) or let someone feel my shoulder when they need to lean on someone and visa-versa it would truely be the best. I would so love to jet here and there across the country and spend time with all my "friends" but for now....

((((((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))))))))

and

THANKS FOR BEING YOU!!!!!!!!

will have to do! So, even though they aren't real and in person...please know that the feelings are all the same! I love you guys ~ you and your e-mails mean so much to me!!!

Oh btw, I'm not getting paid by the internet to say this ;) and you don't have to forward it and your body parts will all continue to hang where they should and I'm not going to give you a free dinner or car or airline trip but if you stop by my house I'll surely feed you, chat with you and give you a great big (((((HUG)))))!

2006-11-15T21:04:00.000-05:00

hump day ~ dang, time flies when you're havin fun! LOL....actually, I've been creating up a storm ~ Ranger projects...got another box from them ~ my DT box. Not only did it have all the goodies I "bought" (we get an allowence each month) but it also has "scratch & dent" items ~ things they can't sell because of a cracked case or whatever as well as some new chipboard goodies from a company that wants us to use them in our designs AND something else I can't talk about just yet ;)

I am also working on a couple card challenges a friend and I are going to submit to. Wedding, Mothers Day and maybe Fathers Day. At first I couldn't think of anything but now I've got loads of ideas...Just need some time to do em.

I had fun at the girls night out. had something she was calling a martini but I don't think it really was. It had malibu rum in it so I don't care what it was called...it was still good - LOL!! Bad thing about the whole night...the lady that hosted had sick kids so just when I get over a cold & sinus inf. I get another!! Sucks! I even take vitamines and everything :{

Off to go play some more :) Hope you're all having a wonderful week!

2006-11-10T16:02:00.000-05:00

Friday already!! Can't believe how quickly the days are passing. It's unreal to think of how close Christmas is and how much I have to do between now and then. Oh well, lets not think of such things - LOL!!

Still have the sinus infection but I'm trying not to think of that either. The meds have my sleeping screwed up but hopefully it will be gone soon.

We have our beans (soy) almost done. The ones we have out at Dad's are finished and the guys are working on the ones at the school for the FFA right now! We're trying to beat the rain/snow storms that are coming our way. I guess from what the weather channel is saying they are going to be nasty! Over 1/2" rain tonite turning to snow at some point then back to rain and back to snow. (rain in the day and snow at nite). Sounds like a right nice mess - LOL!!

Girls night out tonite. I get together with my Mom and 2 of the ladies she works with. We eat, play games and they bitch about one of the lawyers that works in their office and drink - LOL!! So, late night tonite...I'm designated driver for Mom... Her boss was running for prosecutor and lost so they will be talking about that too I'm sure. Sucks, I NEVER get into this political stuff but I did for him...parades, fliers, stuff in our yard and he lost :( He did better than most thought though so I suppose that's good.

Good thought for the day....inky fingers are a good thing - LOL!!

2006-11-07T08:43:00.000-05:00

colds & sinus infections should be outlawed! Bob brought home a cold from school and it's been kicking all our butts for the last 2 weeks. I've had both well, it started out as a bad cold and went into a sinus infection. I'm tired of having snot run down the back of my throat, tired of the headaches, and just plain tired!! Hopefully it will leave our humble abode soon...I'm ready for some health people to hang with ;)

election day ~ hope you all go and cast your ballet...remember, if you don't vote, you don't have any right to complain down the road ~ that's a Roni Law...no vote, no bitch!

been working on various projects...one item is really cool...and finished. One lo is almost done ~ I want to add a few details to make it more me. One is so WAY not me on initial look but then once you take it in a bit it is me. It's somethings I got for my b-day ... Bob rec'd one as well and if he's not careful, I may end up stealing his when he's not looking - LOL!!! I wish I could share them but they are for Ranger so it's like a mums the word kinda thing.

went to a very not so local sb store yesterday. man has it ever done some changing around!! It's awesome ~ less stickers and alot more alterables!! VERY cool stuff. I got a couple of those new dress forms from CI ~ not a good pic but if you go here you can see it. (it's near the bottom). I also picked up one of their words as well...I got the "family" one. It has BOTH the pos. and neg. letters!! I'm very excited. I don't know what for sure I'm going to do with it but it's going to be fun to mess with :) I tell you, I'm so glad I'm a pack rat...I've kept so many "things" to alter I have a nice little stash. It's all coming in so handy now. See Mom, sometimes keeping everything under the sun is a good thing ;) (just a note, she brought home a broken clock from work last week...she told her co-worker not to toss it...she could use parts of it in her sb - LOL!!! She mentioned she's getting as bad as I am....I prefer to think I'm learnin her right!!)

Good thought for the day....I'm glad to be American ~ I have the right to vote!! You do to ~ so use it :)

2006-11-02T22:17:00.000-05:00

Gosh it's Nov. 2nd already...doesn't seem like the year should be going so quickly but it is. We got snow today...quite a bit and it's still here! We live in an area that gets "lake effect" snow off of Lake Michigan. It's somewhat unpredictable and it sure was today...none of the Ft. Wayne channels even mentioned precip much less snow! It's pretty but dang it's cold! Gotta figure out how to get the fluff w/o the cold!

Knock on wood...one whole week and only good e-mail :) Let's hope it stays that way!

I got my new "assignments" for the Ranger DT...this month I am creating things with Adirondack Dye Ink Pads and AI's ~ YEAH!! LOVE LOVE LOVE the AI's! I am also working on something with AI's for the winter CHA. Gotta have both done before the end of the month. Next month sounds like fun too...either perfect pearls or mosaic kits ~ we'll see who has what and that determines who does what. I am having fun playing. I've got one project finished and several more in the idea stages. This is going to be SUCH fun!!! Assignments motivate me to actually do something. I sometimes have a problem with motivation when I'm left to my own devices. I can easily get lost in the net or messing around the house...like actually cleaning - eek! That's no good ;) LOL!!!

Tomorrow ~ groceries I think...gotta stock up before the weekend. It's amazing, I can eat left-overs all week for lunches but man when the guys are home I have to actually cook each and every meal! Sucks! Trust me, that's not going to change...we have a very traditional household...I cook, they eat, that's it. I normally don't mind too much but I've been having a hard time trying to figure out things to cook. I hate it when I get into slumps and they are so not adventureous. I could make a list of the things they eat and we eat them over and over...just gets old.

2006-10-31T09:05:00.000-05:00

it's hard to put into words all that's going thru my mind right now...there's just been a whirlwind of things going on and it's all mixed up. I so wish it were a perfect world and people could all get along. I know it's not, never has been and never will be but it's still disheartening.

some recent events have alienated some people who I thought were good friends... It's so very hard for me to make friends cause I'm so very shy and when things like this happens it makes me all the more apprehensive to go out and try to make new. anyway, thought of the day...be truly thankful for my "bra" friends...they support me no matter what - LOL!!! I have some rubber stamps with something close to that type of sentiment...it's got cute bra, panties & hangers and says, thanks for the support ;)

Going to work on some cards to submit to a couple mags today. One of the req. for the Ranger DT is to submit to at least 2 mag. calls a month. It's sort of fun, helping me get over the fear of rejection thing. We will be getting our new Ranger challenges soon. I'm so excited, I can't wait to get going on them.

2006-10-30T16:43:00.000-05:00

Thank the Lord it's Monday...that was the longest worst weekend I've had in a long time....I am so ready to get on with things and stop worrying about other peoples crap!

I had so much fun playing with my new nephew ~ Isaiah (think that's how you spell it) anyway, he remembered me from my visit last week :) He came right to me and hugged and loved me up. He doesn't talk much yet cause he's still little but he sure did like Bob AND he can say his name... It was so funny, Bob went downstairs to get a pop and when he came back up into the living room Isaiah heard him speak, looked over and said plain as day BOB! and wanted down so he could go see him - LOL!! Bob enjoyed it as well....he asked me if he and his brother were that cute when they were little ;) Of course they were... He also remarked on how tiny his fingers and toes were. I reminded him that Isaiah was 14 mo old and that he started out even smaller. He was amazed! Little kids are so much fun when you can give em back before bed time - LOL!!!

I am feeling good about my scrap area ~ I cleaned it all up Thurs/Fri and I can acutally see my desk almost everywhere now - LOL!!! I have a bad case of "Piles"....I tend to pile things up instead of putting them away when I'm finished with em. It's so nice to be able to strech out and have a place for everything. Any bets on how long it will last?!?!? LOL!!!

2006-10-29T12:28:00.000-05:00

sometimes...life just sucks!

2006-10-26T13:12:00.000-04:00

Still chilly here but not cold enough for snow so it's rain today. Kitty is doing fine out at the farm so I'm not too upset about that anymore. I was worried about her but like Eric said, she's a cat and she has sense enough to eat when she's hungry and find shelter/warmth when she needs it.

I am finishing up some items for the first mini Ranger challenge ~ embossed items. I'm really liking what I came up with and I hope they do to.

Tomorrow is my 39th b-day...it's odd, I sure don't feel like the numbers. I guess I don't feel like any particular age. That's what I like about the net...age is not a factor when you're talking to someone on the net...things like that just aren't important to "net" friends as opposed to IRL friends. No need to worry about fashion, weight, is this or that good enough, etc. I can just be me. I think that will be my good thought for the day.... I have loads of great friends whom I love and respect...on the net :) That makes me a VERY lucky person!!

I will be alone tomorrow. Eric and the boys are going to go to the FFA National Convention down in Indianapolis. Normally Ben goes with his FFA advisor & their group from school but since his advisor had a baby in early Oct. that's not happening...she had made lots of big plans that she was going to go and take the baby and her dh along ~ how easy it would be! It was her first child and she had NO CLUE!!!!!!!!!! She found out in VERY short order just how hard it is to have a child and it's not something you just toss in the back of your SUV and drag all over hell's half acre. Anyway, since it's Ben's last year we didn't want him to miss out so instead of going down for all week he's only going for 1 day but at least he won't miss out completely.

2006-10-24T09:30:00.000-04:00

We have snow and it stayed!! It's not much but hey, it's snow ;) This is so very early for us to have snow, it's just unreal! I wonder if this means we're going to have a longer/harder winter this year!?!?!? I know they "said" that when there is an El Nino the winters are mild but makes me wonder...doesn't seem very mild to me - LOL!!

Bad news about Kitty...she's going back out to the farm to live. All the meds and stuff she had didn't work. She still has the same problem. We thought it was clearing up but guess not...another terrible accident this a.m....all over Eric no less!! He was NOT pleased and said she's going out tonite. I don't feel too bad about it cause she's old and strong enough to stick up for herself now. That was the biggest reason we brought her up cause her mother abandoned her at such an early age.

We are getting ready for the hog roast on Sat!!! I can't wait, it's going to be so yummy...I haven't had any roast hog in such a long time and this will be the first we've ever had for ourselves. YEAH!! Sounds like it's going to be inside though...not sure where Mom is going to put everyone so we'll see...may be a bit crowded but at least we'll all be well fed ;) I had planned on taking marshmellows to roast but I guess that's out...have to think of some other sweet treat for afterwards.

I've also decided that I'm going to have a positive thought each day. I get so blue during the winter sometimes and it seems to be coming so early this year I figured I better do something now before it got out of hand. Anyway, my good thought for the day...my dh really really loves me. Makes me so happy I have someone who cares so much about my thoughts and feelings. Even when I feel like the world hates me he's always there ready to give me a hug.... I hope everyone is lucky enough to experience being that loved at some point in their lives.

2006-10-23T16:44:00.000-04:00

ever feel like the odd man out no matter what you do? Damn I hate that feeling...it's like HS all over again! I love the fact that I made it to the Ranger DT but I feel like such an outsider there...most of these ladies know eachother either from Ranger U or some other affiliation. They all teach at WAY lots of stores. They all go to CHA shows on both ends of the country. Etc. I feel like a F--king country bumpkin here.

For example....Everyone is talking about getting together at the Winter CHA (in CA)....ummm nope, no way I'm going to be there...for many reasons...first dh would have a fricken cow if I told him I was going to go on vacation w/o him. I know it is odd this day and age but we have never taken a vac. w/o eachother. We just don't do that. We don't have the money for me to go jetting here and there...we have 2 teenage boys, a farm and own our own business. We don't have any $'s left over for things like that! Not to mention the 300.00 (approx) for me to sign up and just get into the damn place... AND...a GIANT AND if I were going to CA I'd be going to see Shannon no a bunch of people I didn't know!

Next, I try to be nice and post nice replies and compliment people on their projects, achievements, etc. and hardly anyone ever seems to talk to me. Do I have some sort of giant X by my name?!?!? I suppose it doesn't help that so many of them know eachother already...it's just so uncomfortable ~ I'm shy anyway so this is like hell...walking into a group of people who know eachother and are super talented and and and....well, you get the pic.

I must say though...I was beginning to think that I was outclassed in talent but everyone has posted their dt projects. Mine ranks right up there with 'em (o.k. with most of them) so I don't feel so bad in that respect - LOL!!!

On a totally different topic, why the heck are cloths so expensive? Bob is going to Eric & Ben to the National FFA Conv. on Friday (yes, my b-day) so he needed to have "official dress" uniform. Nothing out of the ordinary ~ black pants, white shirt, black tie, black shoes. $100.00 later he is prepared to go!!! Granted, he'll be able to wear it at other "official" FFA occasions but dang it's just so freakin much money!! If you didn't know it by now, I'm cheap...I buy clothes for myself when they are threads falling off my body or they stop covering the important parts...whichever comes first.

2006-10-22T09:59:00.000-04:00

it's sunday already! i'm not sure where the weekend went to. the boys are on fall break (fri & mon off) right now so we've been working on some stuff around the house. we started on ben's disaster area friday. UGH!!!! I'd like to string him up...i guess it's a guy thing but man I can't stand the mess! anyway, didn't get far on that matter...just the bookshelf cleaned & sorted. he's had to work (milking) this weekend so that was that. he's only home a few hrs in between milking and he was out at the farm with Eric & bob the rest of the time.

I "tried" to come up with something for a challenge...everything I wanted to do didn't work. soooo, starting with a fresh pallet this a.m.....maybe I'll figure it out. I hate it when I can't make my ideas work...well, they would work if I wasn't trying to do it on canvas. I want it to be unique which it would be but the @(#*$& canvas isn't cooperating!! I'm ready to scream!

kitty is doing better....she's on her last days dose of antibiotics and seems to be doing really well...she was active before but now she's a little hellion! she loves "playing" (more like attacking) with the dog and she's racing around here like she owns the joint ;) I did get some nasty scratches on my forearm last night though. She misjudged distance and instead of landing on the arm of the chair, her paws found my nice soft flesh....which isn't strong enough to hold 2lbs of wiggling kitty dangling by 3 claws.

2006-10-19T13:13:00.000-04:00

LOTS of great news....I'M AN AUNT!!! for the 2nd time that is. My brother called me out of the blue Monday night and said...you're an aunt again! Well, that's wild cause my SIL can't have any more children...what the heck? Then I asked if they got another dog...they have 2 chi's that are spoiled rotten. Nope, they are going to adopt one of my SIL's relatives child. It's a VERY long and sorted story that I won't go into but here he is....Isaiah Matthew. He is almost 14 mo old and he's a sweetie... His cheeks are so chubby, just darling!! He says mama; bah (bye) and that's about it right now. He LOVES to toss things with you and it doesn't matter what it is...from balls, toys, shoes, pillows - LOL!! He likes it all ;) He found my hair interesting ~ it's longer than my SIL's is so it's something new. He has a mouth full of teeth (it's been so long I don't remember when they get em in) and he is a very good kiss giver :)

Got the Ranger goodie box yesterday! WoW is there ever a lot of cool goodies in there!! Several of the dabbers, various ep's and inks; a mosaic tile kit; all of the new GA's including the original; a large craft mat (I had the small one); mini misters, glossy black & white papers; and a few other things. I can't wait to start playing with it all!!

I made the About.com DT...I knew I was going to be on it but it was just announced on Monday. It's turned out to be a stick situation...most of the ladies on the team don't frequent About.com's forum so it pissed quite a few people off. Which I can understand ~ I would have thought it would be more balanced. I've gotten a few e-mails and posts on the forum about it. I feel awful ~ I didn't have a thing to do with it but I feel....oh hell, I don't know ~ guilty Catholic conscience doing it's thing I guess.

Eric and I finished up cleaning the garage out and we also re-arranged the shed yesterday...man was I pooped when we finished. The garage wasn't too bad cause I had it mostly done but the shed was a bit more involved. I'm glad it's done! Next is going to be Ben's room...18 and his room is worse now than when he was little! Drives me nuts!!!!

Bad news....Kitty has some sort of intestinal problem right now...went to the vet yesterday and now she's on antibiotics. Hopefully it will clear her rear end problems up and soon...other wise she's moving back out to the farm. I have washed the same blankets every single day this week...it's getting old to say the least!

that's basically what's been up around here!

2006-10-16T09:35:00.000-04:00

wow it's been crazy here....we DID get some snow!!! It was awesome ~ we had so much so quickly that it covered the trees & ground :) It was so pretty but alas, we weren't home...so no pics. We were over at the bldg sewing an order for Eric to take on Friday. The snow didn't last long though and it turned out to be pretty warm most of the weekend ... well, that's if you call the mid 50's warm ;) This time of year that is warm here.

Eric, Bob and I spent Sat sewing as well...we got an order for 6,000 yds and got 5,000 done! That's pretty dang good but we did spend all day on it. Ben wasn't there cause he was taking a hunters ed. class...he wants to become a great white bow hunter....ummm, yeah right! He'll be lucky if all he catches is a cold ;) Anyway, he passed so he can officially hunt now. We'll see how long this lasts ~ he gets bored so easily, I can't imagine him sitting out in the woods for hrs. at a time doing absolutely nothing at all...

Today is a grey rainy day BUT, shouldn't be all bad...I've heard Thur the Ranger DT group that 2 of the "welcome packages" have arrived on doorsteps!! They are coming Fed Ex so mine (crossing fingers) might be here today!!!!!!!! I can't wait to see what all is included...Going to play play play ;)

Yesterday I spent most of the first part of the day doing laundry, dishes and cleaning...you know from 2-6 Midsomer Murders is on ;) Can't do a whole lot during that time frame you know - LOL!! Then it's on again at 9:00pm. Just LOVE that show! I think it's tied with CSI for my fav!

Today I'm working on some cards for a call that ends on the 1st. Need to make up a few more designs then I'll send em off! Wish me luck :)

That's about all I know...which isn't much is it - LOL!! Ahhh well...

2006-10-11T10:38:00.000-04:00

I got 2 coats of paint on the garage door, entry door and the porch poles! It looks great ~ paint matches perfect :) Eric won't let me paint everything I wanted to. The flashing around the roof top is a bit faded too but he says I don't bounce and will break my ass ~ told him it was already cracked but he didn't find it too funny!

Raining today but temps are supposed to fall...SNOW tonite!!!!!!!! I'm excited about it on one hand...I love snow but on the other I am not excited about turning on the heat. Up till now I've been able to give Eric the evil eye when I've caught him checking out the thermostat...don't think it will work any longer though.

Took Ben for his Dr's appt...upped his dosage to 2 pills a day ~ hopefully it will help with his mood swings. I never know if it's depression or just being an 18 yr old of the male species. Guess we'll find out.

Off to the po and **hopefully** finish a project that's been setting on my desk for a week! I so need a few more hours during the day!

2006-10-09T21:24:00.000-04:00

I don't know how we got onto the conversation about vasectomies tonite on the way home from the bldg. but we did. Bob (youngest ds) piped right in asking what it was...we told him it was a guy "being fixed" Eric went on to explain how they do it and why guys should never have it done Anyway, Bob says that after he has like 2 kids he was going to have his wife neutered....on wait, that would be spayed cause she's a girl - ROFLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's quite the kid!

Well, today was a busy day...went with dh on his calls & stopped at Applebees for lunch...mmmm :) Then off to Wally World for paint and groceries. Arrived home and started painting the shutters and door frame trim. Tomorrow I'm going to paint the porch poles and garage door. It's been a while since we painted and stuff had that "chalk-y" look....you know that white film things tend to get over time. I'll post a pic when I finish...it's going to look so nice when it's all done ~ I can't wait!

Mom and Dad are back from WDW ~ they had a great time...of course ;) How could you NOT at the greatest place on Earth!! Welcome Home Mom & Dad!!

2006-10-07T17:58:00.000-04:00

Just got back from the skill a thon ~ whew...is my ass ever draggin...I am SOOO not a morning person. It was fun though...the other parent I went with turned out to be someone who I had gone to school with...it was alot of fun to catch up with her and hear about what she's been up to. We also got wrangled into being group leaders during the first session. We took a group of kids around to each of the testing stations...answered ?'s and gathered up their test sheets. It was pretty cool. I'm glad I went :)

2006-10-06T09:27:00.000-04:00

Well, mom and dad's cat finally came home!! Whew ~ what a relief...they are in WDW this week for their anniv. (not really till Dec 31st but wanted to go now) and I'm taking care of their animals. Their male cat likes to come and go...well he went on Sunday evening and hadn't been back till last night!! I was really sweatin it...I figured for sure the A-hole ran off. I felt so bad about it yesterday when I talked to Dad in the a.m....then he shows up that same night! Oh well, at least he's back. ~ WHEW!

I'm going to an FFA function tomorrow...a Skill-a-thon. It's where the kids are tested over a variety of things...sort of giving them a taste of all of the more specific contests/judging teams out there. The FFA director is preg. and due on next Wed. so she didn't really think she should be going 3 hrs. south sooooo...without really thinking I said yes when she asked. Now I realize we have to be at the school at 5a.m.!!!!! Holy shit...that means we'll have to get up and start getting around at oh...3:30 IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!! Shit...remind me to do the math next time...I so don't function well before 8:30-9:00. Now ask me to stay up late, I can do that ;) Sooooo, we'll see how it goes!

Mindy got the Halloween plaque I made for her so I can share it now.... I designed each letter with a different theme in mind. Witches, mummy, vintage little girl dressed up; ghost; pumpkin with a wild little black cat; skeleton and some fall verses pp & leaves. That was alot of fun to make...I think I may have to make one for myself!

Things are really slow over at about.com right now...not sure what's up with that. It's been slow for quite a while now and doesn't seem to be picking up. I thought it might have been last minute summer stuff/beginning of school stuff but it's not Oct. and things are still dragging. Well except for the OT section....that seems to be moving right along. Wish I knew what to do to kick things up a notch. The SS/ML thing is over which is prob. for the best ~ people were starting to get bored with it I think...it was taking longer and longer to get the finished products returned...I hate to bug people but oh well...that's done. 65 kits in all though!! Quite an accomplishment even if I do say so myself! Bet CK hasn't even done that many in a year much less in just 9 months!

K we've had storms for 4-5 days NOW it's freezing here!! Literally...it was 32 last night only 62 for the high today. Hard to believe just a couple days ago it hit 79 ~ course we did have thunder & lightening to go with it.... Ahhh....fall in Indiana...Never know what type of weather you'll have from one day to the next. I'm really hoping that the el nino they are talking about out west brings us some major snow storms this year. It's been quite a while since we've had a really good school missin', ass deep to a giraffe storm. Last one was 1999/2000 ~ it started snowing on NYEve and didn't stop for a whole week!! It actually stopped snowing on the day the boys were supposed to go back to school after Christmas break. The snow was so bad they got a whole extra week of school off!!! Almost a MONTH with no school ~ whooo hoooo!!!!! What fun :) We'll see!

Off to go over to Mom's & take care of her animals then work on something for Ms. M ;) Take care guys!

2006-10-05T20:27:00.001-04:00

Things you may not have known about me.....

A)Four jobs I have had in my life

1. Babysitter
2. Insurance Claims Processor
3. Receptionist
4. Secretary

B)Four movies I would watch over and over

1. Meet Joe Black
2. Das Boot (I've got a thing for submarine movies)
3. Pirates of the Caribbean
4. Anything with Mel Gibson

C)Four places I have lived

1. Sagertown PA
2. Avilla In
3. Hicksville OH
4. Albion In

D)Four TV shows I love to watch

1. CSI - Original
2. Midsomer Murders (BBC America)(Inspector Barnaby ROCKS!!)
3. Clean Sweep (makes me feel so good to watch that...my house looks spotless compared to those places - LOL!!!)
4. Boston Legal (WS is SOOOOOO funny....)

E)Four places I have been on vacation

1. WDW - THE BEST!!!
2. Kentucky (all over...far too many to list)
3. Wisconsin Dells (ahhh tourist trap heaven...gotta love it!!)
4. Camp One Way - (About.com retreat ~ the only vac. I've taken w/o my dh)

F)Four Websites I visit daily

1. Blogs (mine, friends, scrapbook ones, etc.)
2. About.com
3. Ranger DT Yahoo Group
4. Not much time for any others...things have been wild lately!

G)Four of my favorite foods

1. Mexican (Don Pablos pref.)
2. Bread ~ good bread, not sliced bread.
3. Mashed Potatoes
4. Peanutbutter...mmmmm

H)Four places I would like to be right now

1. CA
2. MO
3. WDW
4. Right here...I love my home :)

I)Four friends I am tagging

1. From what I've seen most of the people that I know who have blogs have done this...volunteers anyone - LOL!!
2. ???
3. ???
4. ???

2006-10-03T10:25:00.000-04:00

I slathered on the make-up today and finally took some pics for the Ranger DT bio.
Ick I so hate pics of myself. Here is one I took...don't think it's appropriate for the dt pic but it's the only one out of 25 or so that I actually liked - LOL!! Still debating on which one of the "proper" pics I want to use. I don't much care for any of them...took both b/w & color. They will all need some definite tweaking...

I did some playing with some of the new Ranger Dabbers yesterday. These are white mum petals that I was playing with. I dabbed on the paint (a light coat), misted with water and heat set. I love how they came out. I'm thinkin you could really do some cool color matching for photos and such. My fav. is the blue/green one of course. The others are o.k. but a bit bright for my taste. I think I'll use them on cards or something. I layered more mum petals, primas and KF biggie brads to finish them off. I made a fall one (the one in the pic above) but Kitty got ahold of it and ended up poking holes in it with her teeth ~ little brat!

Speaking of Kitty...she thinks her name is Fatso Catso....Eric's doing! When she first arrived, she had the typical round kitty belly, short legs and lots of fuzz. Well, she looked like a little barrel on legs...hence the Fatso Catso remark... I kept telling him not to call her that cause she'd think it was her name and sure nuff...she does! I'm still calling her Kitty in hopes she will recognize it as her name...we'll see!

This a.m. it's finally sunny! It's been storming like crazy here lately ~ LOTS of Lightening and Thunder going on. I hate it!! I know a lot of people like storms for whatever reason but not me...scares the crap outta me. Anyway, yesterday our power went off for a bit and was basically yucky all day. It's not over...we just get a small reprieve this a.m. It's supposed to start up again this afternoon and be even worse than it was yesterday. Our temps are going to be in the low 80's (first time in weeks it's gotten that warm) so I'm sure that's why they expect them to kick it up a notch. Yippie...not!

2006-10-01T11:08:00.000-04:00

October 1st...sure doesn't seem like time should be going this quickly. I hardly remember summer it went by in such a blur. I think we need to slow down some but not sure how to go about it. I REALLY want to enjoy fall since it's my fav. time of year...I just need to figure out how to make the hands on the clock not move quite so fast. Last fall went so fast I didn't even have a chance to get any really "good" pics. Mom gave me a pile she/I took (dups) with her camera so I may just dig those out and scrap them this week.

I just got some of the new ranger dabbers too...going to play with those as well. I think I'm going to paint some silk flowers! I bought a bush of white mums at JoAnns last week so I'm going to mess with those.

We've been cleaning around here in prep for winter. We all cleaned out the garage...moved some things, sorted & tossed...it's about 1/2 way done but the rest is mostly me except for dh putting up some cabinets & shelves on the one wall. After that, we can start on our shed out back and a barn out at the farm. Alot of work but I'm ready to have it done...I can't stand things just being tossed here and there...it drives me crazy....well, unless it's my scrap desk - LOL!!! ;)

Hope you're all having a great weekend!!

2006-09-29T09:01:00.000-04:00

It's such a great feeling when you find something you've been searching for!! I had that happen last night :) I have been looking for a particular item for a friend and FINALLY found one!! It's of course not going to work out with my time-line but at least it's mine now!

I also got my paper order for a swap I'm in...the only one I'm in right now actually. It cost some big $'s cause I never quite know what I'm going to do or how much paper I'll need so I always order extras. This swap will be worth it though, I'll have 2 complete 8x8 guy themed books in the end. One for each of the boys :)

I cant' wait to get started on it...I'm chomping at the bit to get working on something specific. I am so ready to get going on the Ranger stuff but we don't know what we'll be working on yet so I need something to take up my time until then. I know I know...I could scrap any of the 100's of pics I have laying around here but I do so much better with a challenge, assignment, etc. than I do as opposed to just here are 10 boxes of pics...do something. I like specifics, details. Guess I'm a bit anal that way.

I do have to come up with an acceptable picture for the Ranger web-site though ~ yuck! I knew they would ask for one eventually and I was dreading it the whole while. I hate most all of the pictures of me...my face is shiny or red...I'm fat (I have real issues with this but that's an insecurity for another day)...I have a turkey neck...on and on...sucks! I'm going to try to get a good one this weekend...I think I'll wear a blue sweater I just got :) Big surprise huh? LOL!!

2006-09-28T12:59:00.000-04:00

As promised...here's Kitty :) She's a little cutie pie. Very ornery though. She LOVES to tear the heck outta things. She is starting to get used to Fidget and sort of wants to play with him. She's still fat as a tick ~ loves to eat. I guess cause she was so hungry before.

Well, off to do more laundry!

2006-09-28T09:06:00.000-04:00

laundry day on the home front. While it's doing it's thing in the Duet, I think i'm going to be able to finish up a few things I've had sitting on my desk for a bit. I need to get some pics of a lo i finished last night and send it as well as a couple paisley ones off to Rebecca for the about.com challenges I mentioned. I will post on LS as soon as she's got them up in her gallery.

I also need to get some items packed up for a friends b-day that's coming up very quickly.... I'm still waiting on an item that's somewhere in transit...I hate waiting on things like that. At times I wish I lived in a more metro. area so I could get these things in person but I guess net shopping will have to do.

hopefully after I get the lo's finished I will get some good pics of Kitty to share. I'll post later if I do :)

2006-09-26T15:57:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been an eventfull few days...Sat. I went to Ft. Wayne with mom and dad... Mom and I went to the mall to check out the new Archivers while dad ran some errands. I must say, I wasn't terribly impressed with Archivers. It was a let down after all the hype I've heard everywhere about the stores in general. It was very spacious, looked great but the content just wasn't there. I mean they did have alot of "stuff" but it wasn't the newest nor did they have a whole lot of selection as far as brands go. They had just a few embellishments, lots of paper but much of it was so themed it wasn't very useful for anything other than one subject. I hate that...one of my pet peeves... It's o.k. if you have something specific in mind but I like to create my own feel on a lo, not have it dictated by the pattern papers. My favorite store is just Pages in Time in Mishawaka. It's HUGE!!!!!!!!! They have TONS of pattern papers from all sorts of mfg.'s, loads of brand new items ~ they are always keeping up with the trends & newest releases, many many embellishments ~ anything from flowers, paints, metals, acrylics, on and on. It's GREAT!!!
So after that, a few more stops, dad took mom and myself out to eat at Logans for ribs & chicken :) YUM! Stopped at the stamp store and told her about making the DT!

Sunday was totally uneventful but I was really busy. I wanted to catch up on housework and other things that had been sitting while I was off messing around. I got everthing finished and was able to watch most of all 3 of the "Midsomer Murders" that were on...gotta love Sunday's if for that reason alone - LOL!! I LOVE that show...Inspecter Barneby is awesome...

Oh yes, Ben broke his nose on Sunday as well....he usually goes to milk around 3:30 and gets home about 7:00p.m. well, in he rolls as we were getting ready to eat supper?!?! He was rushing around and ran smack dab into a bar...bar connecting with nose ~ hit it so hard it slammed him backwards into another bar on the back of his head!! He was more shaken up than anything ~ no black eyes, a bit of swelling and a nice little crook in his nose now. It makes his nose look much better I think. It was so straight before it looked like those olympic ski slopes they ramp off of - LOL!! I told him so and he just shook his head at me ;)

Anyway, yesterday was spent running errands, and I gave Kitty a bath ~ she had fleas ~ eew! I went to the vets office and got some of that oil you rub on their neck and she seems to be much better now...no scratching at all today! Spent the rest of the day doing some preventative measures so Fidget didn't get fleas (he got some of that oil too) and vacuming, washing, etc. everywhere she might have been just in case! We haven't had fleas in the house in a long time and I plan to keep it that way!

Today Eric took me to Mishawaka to celebrate the DT thing....we ate at Don Pablos (my fav!) then hit several sb stores :) YEAH!! I found lots of cool goodies I hadn't seen anywhere else and found some of the Lil Davis outline letters that are quickly becoming extinct! I was really excited about that. Got a few sheets of paper, some of the "Bookworks" items to assemble a couple books I want to work on (one for fidget and one for ben about the civil war museum we went to last year).

One of the new sb stores we went to was in a house built in 1836! It was so cool...all wood floors, very cool scrap area (the owner had the most awesome sb area set up for herself ~ something I want some day!), lots of vintage things setting around... her shopping baskets were actually black metal pails!! It would be what I would envision if I owned a store.

Anyway, that's what I've been up to...need to put some finishing touches on a couple of travel lo's I'm working on for one of Rebecca's page calls on About.com. I am trying to get better about working on more of them but some just aren't me...we don't do b-day pics real big, we don't camp or do lots of outdoor photos other than farm stuff so it's been tough trying to find ones I CAN do. Oh well...the next few are pretty cool and I'll be doing those :)

2006-09-24T10:53:00.000-04:00

YES!!! ~ just got the new issue of the Stampers Sampler yesterday and 2 of my altered slide mailers are in there AND one of them was used in the Table of Contents beside the article description!!!!!!!! Woooo Hooooo!!!!!!!!

I am so excited...I knew that my red School Days slide mailer was going to be included but I wasn't sure about the other. I was hoping the blue one would be included...out of all of them I made (5 total) it was my fav!!! It's blue first of all ;) and I used a vintage photo of my grandma & grandpa and some of their friends on the inside!! My mom was thrilled when she saw it...she goes ~ There's my Mom and Dad!!! :) If you happen to have a copy of the mag, it's the Oct./Nov. issue, pages 63 & 66!

They still have 2 of the mailers I altered so maybe with any luck they will be included in a later addition or one of their other magazines. They have what's called the "Catch Up" magazine. This mag comes out the other 6 months that Stampers Sampler doesn't and contains the overflow.

The kitten we brought home from the farm is doing well...she's gaining weight, is very frisky and is getting used to Fidget. I need to get some pics of her...she's adorable! We decided on a name finally....it's real original.... you ready for this.... Kitty - LOL!!! Yeah I know but it does fit ;) We tried lots of other names and nothing sounded right so Kitty she is!

2006-09-21T11:02:00.000-04:00

OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!! I GOT THE CALL!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't believe it, I just spoke with Tim Holtz and he's been trying to call for 2 days! We kept missing connections! This is just unreal ~ it's like a dream!

I MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-09-21T08:42:00.000-04:00

Ever feel like crawling in a hole and not coming out? That was yesterday!! The day started off crappy (with the NO DT news) and went down hill from there. Maybe that was in part due to my attitude or maybe it was just my turn for a shit shower...

First I find out that I didn't make the dt I was really trying to tell myself that I didn't have a chance but then I made it to the next round of 24 people...wow, that's amazing...I MADE IT...so then I get a glimmer of hope but still try not to get too excited but that's all a lie I was telling myself ~ I would have LOVED to be on that team...their products are wonderful, I used them all the time and I love Tim Holtz... So I see on the Ranger Yahoo group about all these ladies that "got THE call"...bull shit, wanna crawl in the hole right now.

I realize I am getting a sinus infection...first of the season...yippie! Our dr doesn't believe in giving meds for SI's...which I don't mind too much other than the fact I'll be walking around with a sinus headache for the next 2 weeks.

Then I find out that one of the families who used to be heavily involved in the FFA was planning on stepping in on the shower I had planned for the advisor and take over?!?!?! WHAT?????? They aren't even involved in FFA anymore (big farming family in our town who think they own/rule the world).

Next I find out that we STILL didn't get our checks from this one company who used to be so good at paying...we are self employed and when the check don't come and the bills still do it ain't no fun! Tried calling the guy (and have for the last month) ~ he's still in a meeting (always is) and never returns my calls. (dh is going there today to find out where the Heck our money is). Wouldn't have been so bad because dh was supposed to pick up a check yesterday for some machines we sold these other people but the motor locked up on one of the machines and he didn't feel right taking the check when the one machine wasn't up and running.

Had a delivery of thread...425.00...and remember no money ~ so hopefully dh gets the check today!

During all this, I wrapped all of the gifts for the shower last night and cut my finger.

The cake I was making stuck to the bottom of the pan and was an involuntary layer cake ~ I had 2 can's of frosting and "pasted" it all back together... Ben said it looked like there was more frosting than cake...I think he was right.

Then I get a call from Bob ~ they were out at the farm...I had to come out right away. Oh shit now what?????? I get there and dh says we need to take the tiger kitten home.... well now that's odd...why? The mother has abandon them (2 left of 3 ~ one died last week) so they were wandering around by themselves... One got into the pig pen and the pigs ATE it!!!!!!!!! So, we have one kitten left, a female black tiger kitten who is now here at the house.

We did have the shower last night and the family didn't show up...only one girl and she was late so it all went off without a hitch! The advisor was surprised and happy...she NEVER cries but she did last night so I count that as a success...At least the day ended on a good note!

I hope the shower is over and today is better...I seriously will crawl in a hole if it's not!

2006-09-20T09:03:00.000-04:00

hm well, guess I didn't make the DT...looks like Ranger made the calls last evening (tim holtz no less) :( sometimes life just sucks!

2006-09-19T08:50:00.000-04:00

Well, today's the day...Ranger folks start judging the 24 entries for their new DT....my stomach hurts! Think I'll go with dh today on his calls to keep my mind off.

Have you seen the new Tickle Me Elmo TMX? OMG ~ he's so freakin cute...he laughs so much he rolls on the floor and pounds his little fist!!!!!!!!! I was laughing so hard, he's adorable! I'm thinkin I need of those little critters to keep around when I need a spirit lifter :)

Finished a project for a friend last night...I'm lovin it ~ hope this person does too! I can't post cause she peeks in here and I don't want to spoil the surprise - ;P

Have to wrap gifts for the shower today but I need to either make or buy some baby paper...maybe if dh goes by a WM or something I'll get him to stop ~ I don't feel like putting the energy into something that's going to get ripped to shreds in seconds.

2006-09-18T14:45:00.000-04:00

YEAH!! My felted purse is done....I made this for short trips or when we go out and I don't need everything that I normally carry. It's knit then felted... I was surprised that the ruffle around the top stayed! You can't see the different stitches though but that's o.k., I'll know that next time and won't bother to do it.

This is so much fun!! I'll need to get more wool and try a few more things but not for a bit. I found out this weekend that the shower I'm hosting is going to be on Wed. instead of Thurs. like originally planned! I need to kick it up a notch and finish up what I had planned.

2006-09-18T09:24:00.000-04:00

well, it's a rainy Monday a.m....laundry and creating on the menu today :) went campaigning for mom's boss again, this time distributing door hangers in our town. of course it was hot ~ in the 80's. as luck would have it, the only really warm day in 2 weeks!! oh well, we got all of the town covered and just have Skinner Lake to go. we'll hit that sometime this week one evening. mom wanted to finish it yesterday but it was getting warmer as we went and I was wiped out!

i wanted to share an altered letter I made for a friend...i made it last week but just got the pic posted at LS. It's chatterbox paper ~ BOTH paisley!!! I love how it turned out ~ dh said it looked like a Dr. Seuss letter - LOL!! Not sure what's up with that but it is my own funky design ~ I hope it's not too funky and the recipient likes it. Her colors were denim, sage, butter yellow and a deep red. The upper paisley had all of those colors incorporated into it ~ lets just hope they were the right shades. Oh yeah, it's about 8" tall and almost 10" wide.

Working on something for another friend today...I thought of it while out walking this weekend...I'm very excited about it and hope it all works out like planned. We'll see!

2006-09-15T19:20:00.000-04:00

waiting is not one of my best attributes. the longer time goes, the less sure of myself I am. I have just about talked myself out of getting on the Ranger DT. I heard that some of the ladies over at 2P made it to the final 24 so I went to check out their stuff....while it doesn't do much for me it is more "mainstream" than what I do. again, my different style may be my downfall....i applied to another other dt earlier this year and was turned down so it's not like it hasn't happened before....have i mentioned I HATE rejection? well I do, it sucks! i am so insecure about myself to begin with....it's just like verification of my personal thoughts about myself....

DAMN I hate waiting!

I was reading on a blog I like to check out every so often that you should talk about interesting things on your blogs...you know, think up some great comment or question and then offer up your feelings on the subject....don't think that's gonna happen here...

2006-09-15T09:50:00.000-04:00

Since this is Roni's stuff I should actually be putting some of the stuff I've made on here....

This is what I've been working on for the last couple weeks....the first few items are things I've made for my boys FFA Advisor (first baby) ~ baby booties & cap...I made both on a knitting loom ~ very easy on the wrists, quick and I think they turned out pretty cool looking. They are made with one strand of regular yarn and one fancy fiber that M & K gave me (gotta love freebies!!).

Then this is the blanket I made to match... It's all single crochet with 2 different colors of yarn...one a variegated baby yarn with blue, pink, green, yellow and white the other type of yarn is all white but with strands of colored fibers running thru out. Both are VERY soft & fluffy...I used a huge hook (dh says it looked like something ...oh well, never mind about that ;) lol!!) to make it very puffy & loose.

This last item is an experimental pair of slippers/socks for a friend. I say experimental because I've never made a pair before so not sure about the sizing and all. It's again, knit on a loom (gotta love those things) with a variegated yarn called Lava...no it is so way NOT neon like it looks in the picture. It's reds, orange and a bit of yellow. The top, rolled section of the slipper has an additional yarn incorporated again from M&K ~ it's a very fuzzy, soft black fiber that's great! I made these for a friend who's asked about them a couple times since I learned how to knit/crochet. I had the looms for a while but never did much with them cause they are originally used to make hats. I don't wear hats so they just sat in the closet (my grandma gave em to me...she thought besides all the other things I do ~ scrapbook, card making, altered arts, book making, etc... that I needed something else to fill my time!) anyway, never did much with em till I did a search for patterns on the net ~ wow, turns out there are tons of things to make other than just hats!! Anyway, these are for my friend...if they fit her I'll know how to size them...if not, back to the drawing board!

My next project is going to be a felted wool purse on the largest loom. I'm felting a piece of knitting I did this a.m. as a guide to how much it shrinks vs. starting size. I'm a bit excited about it...I really want to get started on it. I've been "itching" to felt something since M told me about how to do it and showed me before & after pics! That is just the coolest thing...I'll be sure and post before and after pics when I finish it :)

2006-09-14T17:31:00.000-04:00

Freakin' Yeah!!! I'm not as blog challenged as I thought I'd be!!
I actually figured out how to get the Flicker thing on here as well as put in some of my fav. links without having to bug anyone to help me - LOL!! I'm sure M is glad about that. She's my computer guru...if I have a problem or need a siggy made I beg her to make something or help me. She's the one who made the rockin' topper for here and she makes most all of my siggies I use various places.

Anyway....YEAH FOR ME :)

2006-09-14T17:02:00.000-04:00

Shopping day! Went to get groceries today...finished up the shopping for the baby shower next week. The parents, namely the father (yeah for him...I just don't get everyone having to know months and months in advance...this is one of lifes ultimate surprises and everyone wants to spoil it!) doesn't want to know ahead of time what it is so it's made it hard shopping...Do you know how hard it is to find non-gender specific items now? Dang, everything used to come in blue, pink, greens & yellow...not now, most everything is pink or blue! I had a heck of a time finding anything that would work. I never did find any onesies that fit the bill...ended up just getting white ones. I did have fun shopping though ~ got lots of cute little items!

Also went with dh to look at an old tractor...it's like one we had a long time ago that was my tractor. 1937 Allis-Chalmers WC...I'm sure that means nothing to most people but I really like them. They are cool tractors ~ lots of fun to drive...powerful devils!! The one we saw today wasn't in the best of shape...it was actually pretty sad. It's not been taken care of...it's only $200.00 but I'm thinkin it's going to take at least $1,000.00 to get it running. Sucks ~ I really would like to have another!

M decides to tease me with a great e-mail from Scrappin' Deals!!!!! The new Dabbers from Ranger are in...those things look so cool! AND new chipboard goodies! She's so evil sometimes...but she'll be happy she tempted me this time ;)

2006-09-13T10:00:00.000-04:00

Here today ~ gone yesterday ;) One thing I love about having our own small business is that I can go with dh when he's got some errands to run or a light day. Yesterday was one of those days. He needed to pick up a delivery of tubes that we use in the slitting/sewing end of our business. We custom sew binding and hyda-welt for a couple places and need to tubes to roll the material onto. Anyway, it's nice to just hang out with him w/o the boys. We can talk without being interrupted, eat what we want and not have to listen to them bicker...they are both teenagers ~ 4 years apart ~ and they like most brothers disagree with eachother just to start something. Drives me nuts at times...

It's still raining here...no thunderstorms today like yesterday though so i'm pretty happy about that. I hate thunder and lightening. scares the crap outta me and fidget...he doesn't like it anymore than I do...prob. because he catches my nervous vibes.

Last night, I make a monogram letter for a friend. I like how it turned out ~ it's not your normal font so it's a bit unique as far as that goes and I love the papers I used. paisley(!!!) and blues :) Doesn't get much better than that - LOL!!! Anyway, it's starting it's journey this a.m. to it's final destination. I hope she likes :)

Yesterday I did mail off some items I created for a Design Team I applied for!!! I'm so excited about it ~ I only applied to it because M told me she'd kick my butt if I didn't.... I really didn't think anything would come of it because it's for a mfg. DT. I only had a week to get my items made but I love their products so it went far quicker than I thought it would. I liked what I had come up with and they must have as well because out of 80+ applicants they chose 24 people who's creations they wanted to see in person. :) Amazed me...I couldn't believe it but I have a hard time with things like that. I don't look at someones work as being better/worse...it's all just different. What I might like someone else might not. I've been turned down by a couple web-site dt's in the past and I don't take rejection well so I normally just don't submit. I bypass the waiting for someone to tell me I'm not good enough and just tell myself before hand and save the time and/or postage. Same with submitting lo's & stuff to mags. I did submit some altered slide mailers to Stampers Sampler at the urging of a web-merchant. She really liked some mailers I had made up/shared with her and told me about the call. I made 5 and rec'd one back immediately (not enough stamping on it) but I believe 2 of them are being published in the Oct/Nov issue. I know at least one is but it may be 2...I won't know for sure till I get the magazine. They still have the other 2 mailers I made so maybe they are going to use those at a later date or in a different mag. Would be cool!

2006-09-11T10:06:00.000-04:00

I'm doing this because my friend explained that it would be a good way to keep in touch since we live on different ends of the country. We don't get to chat as much as we once did so this should help.

Not so sure about the whole blog thing though for several reasons...

*Initially, my life is pretty boring (imo).
*I suck at spelling.
*I don't know what to write.
*and well, just not good at change.

We'll see how it goes and if she or anyone else reads it.

I guess I should write a bit about myself...

I'm a 30 something wife and mother living in NE Indiana. My dh and I run our own small business (he repairs industrial sewing machines, I do the office stuff). In addition to the business, we have a small farm outside of town where we have some beef cows (herefords), a few pigs, lots of barn cats and Margret a chow mix farm dog. Dh also has all his tractors out there...at present he's got I believe 9...he uses them all...i call em toys he calls em tools ;) I am Mom to Ben (18) & Bob (14)...you'll prob. read lots about them later.

We also have a Carin Terrier friend - Fidget ~ named that not because he never sits still but named for the peg legged bat in the movie ~ "The Great Mouse Detective"....just a goofy critter my dh loves. He's my buddy...initially I didn't want another dog (we had 2 black lab pups at the time ~ another long story for another day) so I didn't go when they picked him out from the litter, didn't go when they went to visit him but I did happen to go when they picked him up. It was love at first sight for both of us and we've been pals ever since. He follows me everywhere, sleeps with me, protects me. My bestest friend in a dog suit!

All that's great but none of it's really about me right? Well, I like to think I'm a nice person, boring huh? I like to help others when I can ~ sometimes to a fault...I never say no ~ I feel bad if I do. I LOVE to craft ~ I've tried mostly everything out there from wood working, metal working, dryed flower arrangements, basket weaving (love this but we ended up with a house full of them), but most of all paper crafting...it's a generic title for things I love...by this I mean, scrapbooking, card making, altered arts, etc. I've always been doing something hobby wise but this is more of a way of life now. It's therapy for tough days and an outlet for all of my creative juices. It's been a little over 6 years since I was first introduced to scrapbooking and I've grown so much since then (more on that later too).

Hmmm look at that would you ~ didn't think I'd have anything to write about ;) LOL!! I guess I like to type more than I like to write...

oh well, enough for now. Have to go spread some news I got yesterday! VERY good news...