Ouch!

Last month our van reached 100,000 miles. I was thinking how amazing it was that we had never been in an accident with us. Total jinx. Last Saturday I got swiped by a boat trailer while waiting at a red light. Lina was with me. We had been at her friend, Kalli's, baptism. Lina asked if we could stop for a treat at McDonald's on the way. I thought about it, but then decided we should just go home.

I should have stopped for the treat. We were waiting to turn left at a red light, about four cars back. Around the corner comes a Tahoe pulling a boat trailer with a SWEET boat on the back. As the Tahoe starts turning left behind me, I think "that is awfully close to me". Then, I realize that boat trailer is going to hit me.

Thunk! Thunk! Crash! Drag! "Stop!" I yelled. Of course, they didn't hear me. They continued on into the gas station parking lot. I put on the hazards, hopped out and gathered up the broken shards (I hate driving over those). The woman who hit me was now on the curb apologizing over and over.

I pulled into the parking lot behind her. Reassessed the damage and checked her boat trailer--not a scratch. I took down all of her info--she really was sorry. Then I left to go home, not really thinking that we should have called the police. I called my insurance company and gave them the info. Monday morning I took the van in to the body shop, got a rental (upgraded to a Tahoe--I have FIVE carseats, BTW), and went home.

There was a message from my insurance company to call them. I did and had to go through all of the info again with them and the other driver's company. Thankfully, she accepted full responsibility and her insurance is covering all costs--including my deductible and rental car. Whew!

So thankful that Lina and I were not hurt. And so thankful for such an honest woman who claimed full responsibility!

And just as a side note--I don't mind driving the Tahoe but it sure doesn't have as much cargo space as my van. Note to self: next vehicle will be a Suburban. :)

Farm Fresh Produce

Elle's Studio Blog challenge for July is to have your favorite part of summer captured on a layout. I really look forward to the Farmer's Markets in the area that pop up in the summer. There are vendors from all over the state. Washington really has a wonderful variety of fruits and veggies grown right here in the area. It is so awesome to prepare a meal from a bag full of produce fresh from the farm! I used my May Hip Kit along with Elle's Brights Journaling tags, Candy Shop journaling tags and the packaging for the Candy Shop tags (behind the title).

What's your favorite part of summer?? :)

Clean and Simple with SRM stickers

Over at the SRM Stickers blog, they have a challenge for the month of July: clean and simple.

I like clean.

I like simple.

So I took the challenge and here is what I made:

Love the clean lines. Love the simplicity of these cards. Have you made anything clean and simple today? :)

Products used: Stickers--SRM; Cardstock--Bazzill; Patterned Paper--Echo Park Paper; journaling spot--Elle's Studio; felt heart paper clip--craft supply; felt flower--Basic Grey; crepe paper--Jenni Bowlin; Border punch--fiskars; pen--EK success; ribbon--May Arts

Summer . . .

is here. I sure enjoy the sunshine. DH was gone this past week for a business trip. The kids and I headed over to my parents for a few days. My great-aunt passed away last week and her funeral was on Monday. So thankful I was able to attend, remember good memories about her, and spend precious time with uncles, aunts, and cousins. Just a few pictures from our week:

After we came back home, we still enjoyed visits with Dianne, Verne, and Christie. Such fun!

Off to go enjoy some more sunshine and time with DH--SO glad he is home :)

Double Page layout with the Hip Kit

Because I know you've been waiting (LOL):

This month the Hip DT used a sketch by the talented Sarah Milne:

Instead of using 4-4x4 photos, I filled two of the spaces with four 2x2 photos each. Lots of pics from the zoo field trip. This was a great way to get more photos on the page.

And I did it again--Sassafrass tiles and crepe paper :)

The journaling box is from the Sassafrass packaging (love that lined packaging!).

At the bottom I did a little cluster including each of the flowers types in the kit--die-cut, felt, and canvas.

Since I didn't have a card yet for Bird's birthday yesterday, I made this one up the night before. I was inspired by a card in the latest Scrapbook Trends. Loved the simplicity of it--and the excuse to use more tiles :)That's about it for now. I've taken over the dining room table to work with this kit and it needs to be cleaned up for the weekend.

Just as a side note, we are having a GORGEOUS day here. It's 90 degrees with a light breeze. I'm sitting in the shade in the backyard watching the kids play in the sprinkler. Merek is here beside me (he doesn't like the water) hitting the computer and my hand with his T-Rex (ouch!). I love summer days like this. On average, Seattle only gets three days 90 degrees or above in the summer. Here's number one--whoo hoo! Crazy to think that less than three days ago we were bundled up shivering in the rain watching fireworks.

Enjoy!

Happy 5th Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Bird! I cannot believe my baby is five years old! Well, technically, he isn't my "baby" baby but seeing as how we thought he would be the last I spent the first three years of his life savoring every moment since it would be my last "baby" moment. Now he is FIVE. I gauge our time here in WA by how old he is. I was expecting him when we moved here. I still think of him as my baby.

What a sweet boy this little one is! He tells me at least a dozen times a day, "Mom, I love ya." He always wants to be near me. I cannot change levels of the house without telling him. If I forget, I hear, "Mom, where are you?"

Reading is his passion. He spends at least two hours a day absorbed in books. He also enjoys listening to books on tape (well, CD) and music. Oh, how he loves music! His current favorite is The Lion King soundtrack.

It's great to hear him putting letters together into words. He can read the BOB books and is starting to read other basic level books. He likes playing his Leapster games and searching through "Where's Waldo" books.

Tonight he helped DH make the salad for dinner. He was so proud to tell me, "Mom! I can cut!"

His requests for the day:

1) French Toast breakfast in bed (he is the first of my children to request breakfast in bed--it may become a birthday tradition)

2) peanut butter and honey sandwiches for lunch

3) marshmellow sticks for snack

4) Got Rice for dinner

5) a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate ice cream. He would like sprinkles and pineapple (he thinks this sounds like a good thing to try) on top of the cake. And some of his animals for decoration (don't worry--you'll get a picture).

Oh, I hope you have a wonderful day, little Bird! :)

More Hip 2-b Square projects :)

This month I asked the Hip DT to make a small altered project with their June Hip Kit. Here is what I put together--a little notebook for my niece, who turns seven this month. She loves to write her own stories. Her big sister said they find post-it notes all over with Sari's stories on them. I thought it might be nice for her to have a notebook to write down her stories in.

My nephew, Hans, turns ONE on the 9th. Here is the card I made for him: (Just as a side note: remember how I was having sewing maching trouble last week? Well, the SewMini finally gave up and isn't worth fixing. Definitely got my money's worth from it. So I pulled out my regular sewing machine to work on the June Hip kit projects. With this card for Hans, though, it started having issues. The top thread keeps breaking about 4-5 stitches into the sewing. I've tried adjusted the tension. Any ideas??)

I made this next card for a friend who is having a baby next month. No, not a baby kitten--but I used the tile because they don't have a name yet. I'll put the initial there instead. (Although I do think that kitten is kind of cute).

I love this series of shots showing Merek helping me unload the dishwasher. He loves to do this!

The Sassafrass tiles, Apple Flag banners, and Jenni Bowling crepe paper may be my favorite products right now. I seem to be using them on every project in this kit. :)

I pleated the crepe paper on this page, but you can't really tell since I covered most of it up. Oh, and that blue lowercase "y" is actually a lowercase "g" with the top cut out. I wanted "Mommy's" to be all blue but there wasn't a blue lowercase "y". Resourceful, right? My two-page layout should be done in the next day or two. This kit is so awesome! There is still plenty left for me to scrap more pages or make more cards with it.

ps--Addie, I used the Sakura white jelly roll pen (medium).

Happy Independence Day!

Take a moment to be thankful for your blessings and all those who have given us the opportunity to live in such an amazing country. Have a wonderful day celebrating your freedom :)

June Hip 2-b Square Kit

Sunshine. Color. Happiness. FUN. My goodness, the June Hip 2-b Square kit has it ALL! I love this kit--it may be my favorite so far :)

Of course, I had to do a SUMMER layout:

Behind these adorable Sassafrass tile letters, I gathered crepe paper. Just ran two strips of it (straight sides overlapping) through the sewing machine and then pulled the bottom string. Mom--you'd be so proud!Loved the bright orange in the kit and used some yellow floss to thread through around the edge.

For Favorites at Pike Place, I went crazy-busy. Pike's is so stimulating I wanted the layout to reflect the busy-ness of it, to be bright and cheery.

Again, the Sassafrass tiles make an appearance along the bottom. It was fun to use the food ones for this layout.

Lots of layers for the title box. I stitched around the edge of the Lilly Bee paper instead of inking it. Like that technique.Just a little extra stitching for detail. Um, it's kind of hard to stitch in circle so I did several to hopefully make it look ok :)Father's Day was the first layout I made with the kit--went for a monochromatic look.

The Sassafrass banners are a great addition--and they are actually 12 inches! It really bothers me when "borders" aren't the full 12.

The last little detail--a big button with thread. I still feel like this layout needs something by the title but couldn't make anything look right. So I left it.

This kit really is amazing. Kimberly did a great job putting together several manufacturers.

Echo Park Summertime AND Walk in the Park

October Afternoon Fly A Kite AND Farm Fresh

Basic Grey Oliver

Lily Bee Lovely papers

Sassafrass Apple Flag Banners AND Beatnik Buds

My Mind's Eye So Sophie

Jillibean Soup Canvas flowers

I have three more layouts sketched out, some cards to make, and a little altered item. Check back next week to see them.

And, OH--we are doing another DESIGN TEAM call at Hip 2-b Square! Check out the details here.

Have a fabulous day!