Cute little doggie....

My son came to borrow my car for his move tomorrow and brought his little dog, Reese. She's so adorable. I bought this sweater for her for Christmas.

It's kind of weird. I am so anti-pets. I sit on the floor and pet this one and talk to her. We have this little connection, I guess. My son cannot believe it!

There will definitely be some Reese layouts in my future!

IPod Ear buds

A few of my blogger friends asked to see these so I thought I'd post. I actually haven't had a chance to test them out other than putting them in my ears without pain. My Ipod died because I had it on the docking station which was unplugged for the Christmas lights.

Anyway, here is the box and what is inside. I used the smallest ones and they feel good - not at all like those huge buttons that came with it. Thank you, Santa!!

Where the problem began....

Here are a few snow on the roof photos which caused my dh's problem. He's planning on taking my son out through the bedroom window this afternoon to get rid of the rest. We are supposed to get more tonight. Right now it's freezing rain. Just lovely weather!!

A few shots of the gorgeous sb gift...

Here are the front and back covers and a few pages of the scrapbook that my son's gf made me. She was such a doll to put it all together. I am pretty sure it's one of the kits from The Button Farm (side bar) but I forgot to ask her.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

We had a nice day. First my oldest came with his gf and little dog. We all opened presents at the same time which was nice. They headed to ME and we headed to my aunt's house.

I had several cousins in town - one from NYC and one from Washington, DC, and lots from the area. My aunt & uncle came up from FL too. It was so nice to see everyone.

I ate too much and I'm exhausted but it was a really nice day. DH is feeling better but still a little off. He will have to follow up with his cardiologist on Wed.

I got some nice gifts which I did not expect. I got several Giga punches to nest with others that I have, a Tonic guillotine cutter and paper piercer, some Stickles, glue dots, daubers, a scrapbook and several paper packages from CTMH, a SU gift cert., a Take Ten magazine, even a small scrapbook that's all done. My son's gf made one from a Button Farm kit. So cute! I'll have to try and post some photos later.

I also got some nice non-sbr gifts - new ear buds for my Ipod that actually FIT; Bath & Body Works stuff, camera case, jacket, LL Bean fleeces, scarf & glove set, sweater, I can't remember what else, but it was a whole lot more than I expected since we cut way back this year. Some of the above was from my mom & my ds.

I hope Santa was good to all of you!!

No party for us...

DH was feeling miserable after shoveling/raking snow off our porch roof yesterday. Came in to rest and felt worse. He waited for it to pass but it didn't. He said he'd never felt like that before. He was dizzy, nauseous, and had a lot of pressure on his chest & his arms were tingly. I called 911 and they took him to the hospital. The initial tests came back ok but they kept him overnight and they'll do more today before releasing him (as long as the tests are fine).

The head nurse said he'd be lucky to get out at 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve. So....even if he gets home earlier, we won't go next door. He doesn't want to relive the incident and answer a million questions. I still wonder if anyone saw the ambulance, police car and fire truck.

And I still want to know why the fire truck has to go to a call like that. I will ask my cousin, the cop.

Christmas Eve...

Well, I'm having a hard time again coming up with a memory that I can post. So I'll tell you what we have done for the last 8-10 yrs. on Christmas Eve.

Our neighbors have an open house from 4-9:00. We used to take the boys to church, let them open their one gift and then head next door. We haven't been to church in quite a while (sorry) so we head next door around 4 or so.

The boys were always allowed to pick one gift (non-Santa) on Christmas Eve, AFTER they behaved in church. My youngest (17) still likes to do this even though he's the only one. I have no idea what he'll pick this year since there's not a lot under the tree! Maybe he'll wait until the morning. My oldest is having a big party at their apt. so they won't be around.

Anyway, a lot of the neighbors gather to chitchat, have some wine or beer and a ton of appetizers (can't spell hors d'). We have a lot of laughs and it's hard to head out the door at 9. Sometimes it's at 9:30-10:00 for those who don't have wrapping and all that to do. Some have left a little tipsy, only to go home to pull gifts down from the attic in that condition! LOL

I make this appetizer every year. I start with fused oil w/garlic, oregano, and several spices. This is brushed on small baguette slices and then topped with thinly sliced mozzarella and proscuitto. Then it's broiled until the ham is a little crispy. This is a favorite of a lot of the neighbors but the real reason I keep making it is one of the boy's birthdays is on Christmas Eve. I always feel bad for him. His mom always brings a cake over and everyone sings but I still feel bad with it being so close to Christmas. His eyes light up when he sees my app! It's so cute.

What I hate about the app is that I have to buy the baguette at the last possible moment so I have to go to the crowded store either today or tomorrow morning. I am going to one that's not near the mall. I heard the traffic was on the highway waiting to get off the ramp yesterday. Nope, not me.

I wonder if my 17 yo. will come over and visit everyone. They love my boys. They are much older than the other neighborhood kids and they've babysat or done landscaping so they love to see them. They haven't seen my oldest in a couple of yrs.

I will really miss my neighbors when we move out. We have some great traditions like the block party, the Christmas Eve open house, the Super Bowl parties, New Years Eve bash, summer deck party, etc. We are lucky to have such fun neighbors!

What do you do on Christmas Eve?

Guess what?

Got another Christmas cd!!! I'm so excited. One of they guys at work gave me an Elvis Christmas to add to my collection!! Yay!

Believe it or not....

Ok, first off, I have to admit that I lied. I do not have 50 Christmas cds. I have close to 40. I didn't mean to exaggerate.

I found out about the real Santa from my aunt when I was about 10? Not really sure about the age but I remember the conversation in detail. I can picture the apartment we lived in and my mom's bedroom.

My aunt is 9 months older than I am. Yes, my Nana had my aunt and my mom found out she was pregnant with her first at 20 yrs. old, 2 yrs. after she was married. My Nana had 11 pregnancies, 8 children, 7 daughters and one son who is no longer with us due to a motorcycle accident at 21 yrs.

Anyway, I'm rambling. My aunt, Rose, told me that Santa was my mom and how did I think that one guy could possibly get around the whole world in one night?! I was incredibly disappointed but I was glad to know. I told my mom and Rose got in trouble! We were very close growing up. She was always at my house or I was at hers. It was nice since I didn't have sisters, just two brothers. I felt like I did with my mom's younger sisters. Three of them shared a bedroom and that's where I was many weekends for sleepovers.

How did you find out?

Christmas music...

Ok, it's not a memory but I just wanted to talk about Christmas music. I have a collection of Christmas cds. It ranges from traditional Bing Crosby, Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Willie Nelson all the way to Moody Blues, Jon Bon Jovi, Run DMC, Springsteen, Sting, Sheryl Crow, even some Alternative/Punk Christmas songs. Oh yeah, and Transiberian Orchestra.

I think I have close to 50 cds. This is the first year I'm not adding to it. I usually see one or two I just have to have. My dh tells me I have too many but I just love a variety. He likes traditional. I prefer the newer versions.

Some of my favorites are: Sheryl Crow & Jon Bon Jovi's versions of Blue Christmas (Nancy Wilson of Heart also does an excellent version of this); Sarah McLachlan and Bare Naked Ladies, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; (forget the name - maybe Ronnie Spector?) Rockin Around the Christmas Tree; Sarah McLachlan's version of Joni Mitchell's Wish I had a River to skate away on song. Of course, I love Transiberian Orchestra too.

Can you tell I love music? I know I'm missing some great ones but there are just too many to name.

I keep 6 in my car at a time and put it on shuffle. After two or three days, I take the 6 in and bring 6 more out. It's time for a change tonight.

I will try to come up with a memory for tomorrow. My brain is currently fried.

A Philly Christmas....

One year while we were living in PA, my BIL & SIL came to visit just before Christmas. It was so nice to have family with us at that time.

We took them into Philly to tour the Liberty Bell and all of the sights. We took a carriage ride and it was so much fun. The kids got a big kick out of it. The photo is kind of blurry - sorry! It's the only one I have. (I'm on the right)











The other place we went is to Peddler's Village. This was a cute shopping village in the country (15 min. from us). There is an old carousel that is beautiful. It's indoors and they had it decorated for Christmas. I do have pictures of that but they're in my old trunk somewhere or on a layout. I just searched Peddler's Village and found this photo of the carousel.

Anyway, it was a nice time and it was really nice having family with us for Christmas.

Way back when.....

Way back before we had kids, my mom and stepdad owned a restaurant in NH. They were always working so when you went up to visit, you were put to work. My dh always got the dishwasher job. I was put on the ice cream machine, chopping veggies or filling the ketchup bottles. That was a disaster one time! I had a bottle explode all over me. I ran into the kitchen laughing so hard, they thought I was crying and bleeding!

Anyway, back to the Christmas memory...one Christmas Eve we waited until the restaurant closed so that we could celebrate with the family. My two brothers and three stepsisters were there, some with spouses or significant others.

We sat opened gifts, ate and drank all we wanted. It was so much fun taking over the restaurant. My stepdad made the best drinks. I remember one of my favorites was a Bahama Mama. Yum. They used to make fried veggies (mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, onions and peppers). I can't remember what else we had but it was all delish! For dessert we had ice cream sundaes. So we nibbled, drank and opened. What fun!

I still wish my kids could have been around when they had that restaurant. They would have had a blast visiting Nana and Gramps and running the ice cream machine! I wish I had a photo to share but the only one is in one of my scrapbooks.

Blasted with Snow....

We got 8 inches on Thurs. and an additional 10 or so yesterday. I took some photos
from the inside (too cold to go out).





























The last is my favorite. The sun was so pretty but I would have to go out in the snow to get it. I stood on the upper level of my porch and shot throught the window without a screen.

This brings me to my next memory. My dh and I moved away from our families to MI and we were really lonely. I was pregnant with our first child. Anyway, we were dying to fly home for Christmas. We got out just before a huge storm. When we got home, we had to dig our way into the condo! It had been plowed but our walkway was completely covered. I think they had over 2 feet of snow. They were known for having tough winters. We were happy we missed the storm. The rest of the winter wasn't so bad and we moved out the following November, before any storms.

My old life in PA...

I used to have a great job and a lot of work friends when we lived in PA. It was a start-up company and everyone was pretty young. Most of us were in our early 30's.

Anyway, each Christmas the upper mgmt. would let us fly down to Tampa for the Christmas party. First it was just the management team (5 of us). My dh would take care of the boys and household duties for the weekend. We would have a great time socializing with our counterparts who lived in the Tampa area. It was nice to bond with them since we dealt with them daily on the phone. We would jump from nightclub to nightclub. I seriously don't know how we did it.

The last year I was there they decided to invite the whole PA office to go down for the party. I think there were probably 18-20 of us. We stayed at a nice resort on the beach. The Tampa folks got to stay too. After the official Christmas party was over we went out.

We were up until the early dawn hours just partying away! I remember going to breakfast around 3 a.m. or so. We all crashed after that. On the flight home, it was very quiet because we were all sad to leave and exhausted. Ah, those were the days. Back to reality!!

I decided not to be lazy and post a few photos. Don't laugh too hard!


The two Michelle's (I'm on the right).






The girls on the beach. I'm on the left.

Twinkling lights...

Our neighbors directly across the street in PA were our best friends. We did everything together. Our youngest children were even born on the same day! LOL It was weird because we were due two weeks apart but I had my son two weeks early. It was the talk of the neighborhood. That's another story though...

Anyway, their family adopted us for holidays. Our families were back in MA so we didn't have anyone to celebrate with. We would go over for dinner on Easter, Christmas, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, etc. They were Arabic (the wife and her family). I swear after a while I could tell what they were talking about! I was usually right.

Ok, I'm rambling. The reason I bring up the M's is on Christmas night, we would load the kids up in the van and go riding around looking for the best Christmas lights/display.

There was one house in Northeast Philly that actually lit up their lawn! They had rows of lights covering the entire front lawn and also the house. I wish I had pictures to post!

There was another house not too far from us. It was a million dollar home which was huge at that point (13-14 yrs. ago). Now it's not so rare. They had a walk through display. They had glass cases with beautiful moving Santas or Christmas scenes. Our kids loved this. The house was completely lit as well. They had a little box for donations but it wasn't required.

There was another neighborhood we went to that had a huge amount of lights. I don't know how their neighbors stood the brightness! It was a very posh neighborhood and their house lit the entire street! They had santas and elves who popped out at you and lights that blinked and did all kinds of cool things.

To this day, my kids remember those rides with the M's. We miss them dearly. I wonder if they still go for the ride....

Matching pajamas......

I came across this photo last night and remembered how cute the boys always looked in their matching pjs. This particular Christmas was Dick Tracy. There were many shots like this (Superman, Ghostbusters, you get the picture). It wasn't always easy finding matching ones because they're four years apart.

I really miss those days. The boys would watch Santa go down the street in the fire engine, take a nice bath and get into their new pjs. They'd get to open one present, have a little time to play, and then it was bed time. They were so excited, they could hardly stand it!

More memories.....

When I was younger (actually up until my Grandfather passed away), my whole family on my Mom's side would go to my Grandparents on Christmas Day. There were probably about 25-30 of us. We would all be sitting around the kitchen table nibbling on whatever Nana put in the middle. We all brought stuff and there was enough for an army.

What was really funny is, the majority of us would be in the kitchen. You could barely make it out for the bathroom or to check on the little ones. If you got up, someone would steal your seat. The motto in our family is "Move your feet, loose your seat!" The rest of the house was empty except the finished basement where the kids were.

The adults would all eventually move downstairs for gift opening (sometimes a Yankee Swap). My Grandfather always played the organ and the kids would sit on the bench and around him and sing.

Those were some of the best days of my life, just being surrounded by my family. I seriously missed all that when we moved away. I'm so thankful we came back so that my kids could experience it.

I really wanted to post photos but I didn't have time to dig. (***Edited: Finally got a couple to scan. The first is my grandfather playing the organ and the second is me and my mom sitting at the kitchen table).
Thanks to everyone who is playing along. I just love reading about your memories!!

The stockings were hung, well...not really....

When our kids were little, we started a tradition (or continued one) on the stocking delivery.

Santa always left DH's family stockings at the foot of their beds. The child would have fun ripping through it and playing with whatever they got. That would delay the trip into their parents' room for the rest!

We thought it was a good idea too. Up until last year, we carried on the tradition. It was a completely different year last year....maybe that'll be tomorrow's memory.

Friday's Feast One Hundred Seventy One

Appetizer
What was the last game you purchased?

Gee, I have no clue! Well, I have the game Clue but...I honestly can't remember that far back. It was probably Scattegories many yrs. ago!

Soup
Name something in which you don’t believe.

I'm not a big believer in fortune tellers/readers.

Salad
If you could choose a celebrity to be your boss, who would you pick?

I'd love to work for George Clooney. Of course, I wouldn't get much done, but I know he'd be a nice guy!

Main Course
What was a lesson you had to learn the hard way?

I learned not to steal at a young age. My mom would NOT buy me a pack of gum when I was little. She didn't allow us to chew gum because she didn't want to ruin our teeth. So.....I decided to pocket it instead. When we got home and she discovered it, she marched me right back to the store and made me apologize to the mgr. It was not worth the pack of gum! LOL

Dessert
Describe your idea of the perfect relaxation room.

While not perfect, I do love my porch. It has a nice relaxing watery green/blue color with lots of windows that face the woods. The furniture is really comfy and I love to just sit and read in there during the summer or early fall. It would have been perfect if we purchased the hot tub that the room was built for but now we are moving.

Older memory.....

My mom has a large family and I have a lot of cousins. We're all very close because our mom's (7 sisters) always brought us together. So.....with that said.....

When I was little, we used to go to my grandparent's house for Christmas day. The first thing we would do is run down to the basement. Theirs was finished off. So the reason we ran down those stairs was to see if our grandfather got coal in his stocking.

He would always tease by saying that Santa was a big fat...and then he'd cover his mouth as we all gasped. He wouldn't finish the sentence most times. Once in a while he'd say slob. We just could not believe that he'd say such things!!

Of course, he ALWAYS got coal and nothing else in his stocking.

We still laugh about that with my cousins.

Christmas memories....

I want to be positive on this blog so I'm ignoring the bad stuff for now.

What I wanted to do is post a Christmas memory each day of December. I know I'm a few days late but I thought I'd start today anyway, in random order.

When we lived in PA, the Fire Dept. used to have Santa on the fire engine each Christmas Eve. He traveled throughout the town, waving at the kids as he went by.

I used to tell the boys the could see Santa and then they'd have to get ready for bed because he'd be coming shortly.

So we would get the boys Little Tikes chairs out and sit them at the storm door with coats ready. When we started to see the flashing lights around the corner, we'd put the jackets on and run out to wave. My boys really enjoyed this as they were pretty young (from 4-8 yrs. for my oldest and infant to 4 yrs. for my youngest).

I have photos of them from the back. I wish I had them electronically to share! It was so cute, just the two of them sitting on their little chairs, waiting for Santa. I did scrap this by the way!

Feel free to play along. I would love to read about your holiday memories.

Snow day here....

I was so excited when I called the number to find out if the univ. was closed today. I almost jumped for joy but I didn't have the energy. I was awake most of the night listening for noises or cars coming up the street. I don't want to get into it here (I posted on SBA), but we had someone squirt our cars with lotion and it was a mess. My son was threatened on the phone and we had the police involved. I'm sick to my stomach over it. The only upside to it is I've lost a couple of pounds finally.

I didn't sit down all day. I did at least 5 loads of laundry, cleaned bathrooms, dusted, vacuumed. Then I baked banana bread again & made a no carb meatloaf for dinner. It came out great!

I'm really tired and my back hurts from standing all day. OH yeah, and I baked a batch of cookies for a Christmas party tomorrow night.

Anyway, no sense complaining. I'll try to be more positive tomorrow. Here's the view from my door today.

Friday's Feast One Hundred Seventy

Appetizer
What is your favorite carnival/amusement park ride?

I love roller coasters or that little mousetrap ride that whips you up and down and around!

Soup
How do you react in uncomfortable social situations?

Hmmm...not really sure what you're looking for here but I do blush easily and become very quiet.

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy discussing deep, philosophical topics?

Well, I hate to argue so I never go the politics or religion route. I guess I would say around a 2.


Main Course
Did you get a flu shot this year? If not, do you plan to?

No, I did not. I hate to even say these words because you know what happens....but no, I rarely get a flu.

Dessert
Approximately how many hours per week do you spend watching television?

I'm not a tv person. I only watch 3 shows per week, if that (Private Practice, Greys Anatomy & ER), and about 10 min. of the news each night.

At last count....

After last night, I'm up to about 50-55 Christmas cards. I have to make at least 80. I'm out of paper for my main design and it's a specialty paper that the lss doesn't carry (well, they carry it but not that color). I ordered a pack of 50 from them and used every bit. So I need to come up with a simple design so that I can make up a quick 30.

Do you ever feel like things come in bunches? I know they say they come in threes but I recently had to make a bunch of baby cards. Now I'm on to sympathy!! I've sent out three so far and have one more to go. I want to move onto a new category!!

I'm having trouble posting any photos because I got a new camera and the card doesn't fit in my USB or my adapter. So I need to install the software and hook up with the USB cable and haven't had time. Maybe tonight after yoga.

My new friend....

It's hard to get used to but this is my new friend. It helps my wrist out but I can't type fast yet!

When it came, it was nice and cold. Ahhhhhh......

Piped music...

I heard an interesting question on my favorite station on the way in.

If you could pipe music into the White House for the world leaders to hear, what songs would you pick?

The DJ said one he would choose is Ben Harper's I Believe in a Better Way. Excellent choice!

The only one I could come up with at a moments notice is Waiting for the World to Change by John Mayer. This is from his Continuum album.

Very thought provoking! Do you have any suggestions?

Question for you....

I recently spoke to an online friend for the first time and I was just wondering....

You know how you have a picture of someone in your head and then you meet them and they look completely opposite? How about the voice? Do you have a voice in mind also? Do you hear the person talking online to you? Sounds strange, I know.

This is the second time I've spoken to someone that I only know online. Both times the voice was completely different than I thought it would be.

I wonder if my voice is different than they expected?

And, Kimi, if you're reading this, I'm thinking of you and hope things work out today. Big cyber hugs to you!

I'm so tired...

I guess I had too many days off. I feel like we flew through the weekend though. All of the preparation for Thanksgiving tired me out. Then Fri. I had a Lia S. open house (I baked for that). Sat. we went to a fun wine tasting party at my neighbors and I baked for that as well. Sun. I ended up going food shopping and when things finally settled down, I sat down and made another 15 or so cards. Well, they still need to be adhered but the pieces are made. I ran out of paper.

I hardly slept last night. My mind was racing. I'm not sure if it was from zooming through the cards or what! I have a wake to go to tonight and hope that I don't fall asleep on the ride home. I'm getting a ride with someone thankfully. I'm not a city driver and this is right in the heart of the city.

Ok, back to work!

Great news...

I just heard that my cousin is pregnant. They got married last year and then moved to Germany because her dh is a pro hockey player. I just hope they can get home before the baby is born!

Here's the card I made for her. Images, paper and ink are SU.

Banana bread....

I baked banana bread on Sunday. I haven't done this since before my Nana passed away. She loved my banana bread. I would go to the assisted living facility to visit her and I always had a loaf in my hand, just wrapped in foil. The ladies would watch me coming in and start whispering things like, "There's Esther's Granddaughter, you know, the one with the banana bread." It was pretty funny.

I started to show up with the bread in a bag instead, hoping to conceal it. They still recognized me.

My Nana used to keep it in the freezer and dole it out a slice at a time. And she only shared with the ladies she liked. This was her all time favorite thing to eat.

So I took a break for a while because I get sad when I think of it. The other day I decided to go for it and I was happy thinking about how it made her happy.

I think I'll do a layout in the future so I took some photos as I went along.




































I haven't lost my touch. The banana bread was gobbled up fast at work! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

5 Things Meme

Saw this on Stacy's blog Exceedingly Mundane

5 Things found in my room (this is my craft room I'm speaking of)

Bose Docking Station with Ipod ready to rock
Our captains chest filled with photos and negatives
Photos of my boys & my Nana so that I can look up and see them while working
Big comfy chair with ottoman & leather recliner
My scrapbook armoire filled with stamping & scrapping stuff

5 things I’ve always wanted to do:

Travel to Australia, California, Alaska, go back to Hawaii
Go on a cruise
Go on a Hot Air Balloon Ride
Go on the Orient Express (train ride out west)

**Edited: I didn't realize I put four down!
Go on a just girls trip with my bff in MI (to a nice warm island)


5 things found in my bag

Wallet
Cellphone
Lipstick
Reading Glasses
pen

5 things in my wallet

Driver’s license
Debit & credit cards
Insurance Cards
Union card
small amount of cash

5 things I’m currently “in to”

Stamping
Scrapping
Reading
Blogging
Watching Grey's Anatomy & ER

I won’t tag anyone specifically, but feel free to play along. Please let me know if you do!

A little hairy....

We went up to Maine yesterday to visit our land. Sounds funny, I know. We met with our builder to talk about excavating to get a jump on it.

We took a trip to Evan's pass on the way home. It's part of the White Mountain National Forest. It was really pretty. They do not maintain the roads during winter. The gate wasn't closed so we thought we'd give it a shot. We've never been through before.

So....off we go. We ran into a little bit of snow, just a dusting really. Then it got to be very icy where the sun didn't hit the road. Then more snow. We had no place to turn around and it was getting scary. We were worried about having to go down or up a big hill with icy roads.

We stuck with it and it was fine. It was really steep at times but not so much the road, just the cliffs to the side of the road!

The sun was so bright, the photos didn't come out great. Here are a few anyway. I guess I can turn this into a thankful post. I'm so thankful we made it out alive! Can't wait to visit here in the fall or summer.

Friday's Feast One Hundred Sixty Nine

Appetizer
What was your first “real” job?

This is a great one. I got a part-time job in high school at Nature Foods warehouse. I started out as a packer and was promoted to assembler. What's funny is a friend of mine worked at the end of the line and I used to send him down pistachios and carob chips in my bins!! LOL

Soup
Where would you go if you wanted to spark your creativity? Either in my scrap/stamp room or to a class at my lss (local scrapbook store for you non scrappers!).

Salad
Complete this sentence: I am embarrassed when…

I walk into a room and everyone looks. I hate to be in front of a crowd. I like to blend in.

Main Course
What values did your parents instill in you?

Always tell the truth. If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything. And it CAN be done.

My mom's family motto is from the following poem:

It Couldn't Be Done
Edgar Guest

Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe it couldn't," but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it";
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That "cannot be done," and you'll do it.


Dessert
Name 3 fads from your teenage years.

Oooh, they've all made come backs recently! Low rise bell Bottom jeans, pheasant tops and wedge sandals.

Not much....

I didn't do much of anything last night. I made a quick card for our friend. I wasn't totally thrilled but it's a guys birthday card with a guitar on it.

I was too tired to do more. I watched Private Practice and struggled to stay awake for the 10:00 news.

Tonight's yoga-lates class ought to be interesting with this thing on my wrist! I'll just have to pass on the exercises that use hand/wrist strength. That's about half of it! LOL

I made this one last week for my card group. I was sent the image and had to make a card with it and send to my partner. I can't remember the paper manufacturer but the cs is SU. I used that cute little felt flower sent to me by my nice friend, Kimi!!

Ramblings...

Ok, first of all, you ladies are the best! Thanks for the nice comments. I always cringe after I hit that Publish button, thinking my things aren't so great and why publish when there are so many talented ladies out there. So thanks for making me feel ok about it.

Second, my wrist is hurting but just an annoying ache. I have an appt. with a hand specialist on Tuesday because I wanted to go to their office near my house. I'm sure it must be a ganglion (sp?). It looks and feels like bone. My ds' eyes popped out of his head when I showed him last night. He's the one who has been to that specialist's office several times for broken bones.

I'm really looking forward to next week. I only have to work Monday. Tuesday I have my dr. appt. and then I have to take my mom to the airport. She's going to her sister's for Turkey Day. I decided I'd take Wednesday as well. I have the vacation time and my dh won't get any this year with the new job. I plan on doing more Christmas cards, layouts and also getting ready for Thanksgiving. Can't wait!

p.s. I've added a new link to the side. I saw on someone else's blog that Tim Holtz has a new blog and you all know how much I love Tim Holtz!!

My weekend projects...

Just in case I don't have time to post in the a.m., I thought I'd share what I did this weekend. I stamped & bleach painted 25 images. Then I cut and mounted several of them, stamped the sentiments outside and in. I ended up with 18 finished cards. It's an Outlines stamp. I got the idea from their site and added my own little twist with a sentiment and brad.













I also did two 2 pg. layouts for my Hawaii album. I had a great time reminiscing. I want to go back with my dh some day.

I cut the edge of this one! It says Wailua Falls. I used Basic Grey paper and letters and the green paper is CTMH. I found the leaves from an old stash of Sizzix die cuts.









I used my new Fancy Pants stamps on this one. There was a corner scroll that looked like a sun so I stamped away. It's not the best but I had fun and learned for next time.

Babies.....

I've made a couple of baby girl cards because two coworkers have had them, one a first grandchild and another a second daughter. So they were pretty simple because I had to get them right out. I used the Mike's $1 stamps.




p.s. Not too sure I like the peek-a-boo photo of myself. It's showing my laugh lines!! Yikes, and I thought I didn't have a lot of wrinkles....

Friday's Feast One Hundred Sixty Eight

Appetizer
Which snack do you like to get when you go to the movies?

Let me first say that I never go to the movies for one simple reason....I fall asleep. So the last movie I saw was The English Patient. When I used to go to th4e movies with my kids, I would always get popcorn. I always had a hand full of mini reese's cups or swedish fish in my pocket for dessert!

Soup
What year did you start using the internet? Oh boy, my memory is bad. I will guess at 1998? It could be a year earlier but I honestly don't remember.

Salad
What is your first name in Pig Latin? (Here’s how to speak it if you don’t already know!) Ichellemay, I think!

Main Course
Name something you are picky about.

This is a toughy. Let me first say that I am a Virgo and one of the pickiest people around. I am picky about how clean the house is or where something is placed, I'm picky about the messy office if someone has left a mess, etc. I'm also picky about how perfectly straight things need to be on my cards and layouts. I am picky about how my laundry is done. I could go on and on. Wait - I already did!!! Let's just say, I love things to be just perfect.

Dessert
Fill in the blanks: I did yoga-lates yesterday and I am sore today.

Thanks for stopping by!

Back to work...

I can't say it's good to be back. I'm pretty tired still and not feeling 100% but the sore throat and headache are gone.

DH's job seems to be going well so far. We haven't had a lot of time to chat about it but he's coming home smiling and has a lot of energy. I want the paychecks to come in!! hehe

After being out for 1 1/2 day you'd think I'd be full of energy!

I totally forgot to bring my camera card to post a card I made the other day. Tomorrow is another day....although we may have a wake to go to. I need to check the obits for my dh's uncle.

more later...

quick post...

I'm home sick today and my mom is too. She has a bug. I think mine is allergies but can't tell (sore throat, headache, tired). My mom is NEVER sick so I was worried until she came down today. She didn't get out of bed from 11 a.m. until this morning. I asked if she wanted anything to eat or drink but she said no. She is starting to feel a little better today.

Here's a get well I made for my uncle after his surgery. I hope I didn't already post this!

IS the rotten egg!!!

This morning my dh's alarm went off at 5. I thought it was early but I know he had to drive pretty far today. He's like a bull in a china shop. He's getting ready, tosses his belt on the bed, it bounces, sits down on the bed and it bounces, puts his shoes on, you get the picture.

So it's now 5:30 and he says, "Oh, I cannot believe what I did. I set my alarm an hour early!" I'm ready to strangle him at this point. So he left the room and I tried to sleep until my alarm went of at 6 but that didn't happen. Oh well...we will get it right one of these days! :-)

Last one out...

DH is off to work once again after a long 6 months. I finally get to be the last one out in the a.m. I thought it was nice....

I ended up having to empty the trash & take out dinner for tonight. So...I was finally heading out the door...you know how us women are, always multi-tasking. I grabbed my Macy's bag (return), work bag, lunch bag, purse, coffee, and the recyleables (sp?) to put out on the way through the garage. My hands and arms were completely full and my cell phone started playing, Love Me Do by the Beatles. This is my dh. I quickly tried to put my coffee mug down (spilled a little) and two bags so that I could search through my purse for the cell phone.

Finally answered and he asked me if I hit something with his car. NO, I told him. So apparently my ds hit something and didn't realize it or just kept it from us. He said it's a scrape below the driver's door which looks like it was from a curb. Grrrrrrrrrr.....this kid needs a car he can beat up, not my dh's one year old car which now has a scrape and a dent on the back fender (someone else did this in a parking lot).

I proceeded to pick up the recyleables and toss them, picked up my bags and purse and got in the car. I hope tomorrow morning is a better last one out!!! :-)

Friday's Feast One Hundred Sixty Seven

Appetizer
How much money do you plan to spend this upcoming holiday season? Not a whole lot! My dh was unemployed for 6 mos. and is starting a job next week. We are keeping it low key this year.

Soup
What was the last television show you watched, and was it good? ER - it was great! Love that show.

Salad
If you had to paint the walls of your living room tomorrow, what color would you choose? Hmmm...I really like what we have now so I guess I'd do it over. It's kind of a light khaki color. It looks olive-ish at night and buttery yellowish during the day.

Main Course
Name something clever or practical you have thought of that should be invented, but hasn’t yet. I'm at a loss here but I'd love a cell phone that shows a live video of what my son is doing when not at home! Then I wouldn't worry so much....or maybe I would!!

Dessert
List 3 things you would like to receive as gifts this upcoming holiday season. I need some stamping things so I was going to make a list of SU & CTMH and let dh contact my reps. He asked if they do gift cards. So...I may be getting gift cards and that's fine. I don't have much else on my list since we're keeping it low key.

So sad....

First about Halloween and my trick-or-treaters - I had 34 if I remembered to count all of them. I had some with manners, some without and some who were nasty! One kid talked about a "weinus" (his sword) if I didn't give him candy. His older brother was completely embarrassed to be with him. I told him it wasn't very nice and he ran off. Another two kids came up and sang the song (Trick-or-treat, smell my feet) with an ending of "I'll pull down your underwear". NOT nice.

Then I had two trick-or-givers or whatever you want to call them. They came to the door dressed as Santa, said, "Merry Christmas" and tossed some Dum Dum lollipops my candy basket. I said thanks and asked them if they wanted candy. They said no, it is better to give than receive. I thought it was really sweet but my paranoid dh looked at the Dum Dums and thought they were tampered with. I was going to toss them anyway, no one eats them at my house. So we tossed! Weird.

One more thought and I'll stop rambling. My dh reminded me that this will be our last Halloween in the house. It made me so sad. We live in a small neighborhood and I will really miss my neighbors and my house. I love where I live. So now each holiday will be "our last". On a positive note, it will also mean we will have a vacation home.

Happy Belated Halloween...

This is what I did while waiting for kids to come to the door. The photo is really blurry(updated with better photo). Oh well, you get the idea. I used the Splitcoaststampers color challenge (so saffron, tempting turquoise and real read. I like the combo.

Brrrrrrr...

It was a brisky 34 degrees on my way in today. Tomorrow it will get up to 67. Go figure. Crazy weather.

Yesterday I drove home and thought we should hurry up and take a photo of my house with the leaves (we plan to sell in the spring). When I got there, I realized most of them are rusty colored now. I waited too long! The burning bush is really pretty right now against the gray house though! I'll have to take some tomorrow.

Got in the door and my dh told me some shocking news - our realtor passed away! I feel so bad. She was so nice and very successful in my area. It was very sudden, pneumonia & congestive heart failure. I will miss working with her on the sale of our house. I didn't know her other than as a realtor but I'm sure she will be greatly missed. Her husband passed away 6 wks. ago. I don't think she was even 60, unless she looked great for her age.

On to my work day.... I'm so happy I have tomorrow off.

Two yahooos!!!

I forgot to say, Yay, Red Sox!! I'm so happy the won the World Series!! I did not stay up for the game. I was way too tired and knew my dh would update me in the a.m.

Another yay, it's official now - dh has a job!!!!!!!!!

It was an uneventful weekend....

and I'm not complaining. Fri. night dh and I went out to dinner and then went food shopping. I know, we are so exciting, aren't we?!! LOL

Sat. I went to the bank with ds finally to open an acct. for him. DH and I went to the mall to buy my ds a shirt for the wedding this weekend (my niece). Luckily we found pants and shoes to fit him in his closet. I only had to buy a shirt and belt. My dh was looking for .... are you ready? .... work pants. I'm hoping to say he's employed after this afternoon. It's been a long 6 months. We still will be scrimping though. The salary isn't great but hopefully he'll make a bundle in commission (in my dreams).

Sun. I made some cards for my France friends. I met them in Hawaii and they are two of the sweetest girls you'd ever meet. One is engaged and the other graduated and got a job in t.v. I made them fairly simple so they weren't too bumpy to mail.

You can't see the shimmery hanger and flower middles in this photo. The dress is an SU stamp.



















This one has a sparkly glass of champagne you can't see. I'm trying to use my stash with the SEI paper here!

Friday's Feast One Hundred Sixty Six

Appetizer
Name a great website you would recommend to others.

Well, of course, I'm going to recommend scrapbookaddict (side bar). I spend half my life there! LOL But it's only if you're a scrapper. Otherwise, you may not like it.

Soup
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how often do you dream at night?

Oh I would have to say about 9? I have the weirdest dreams and they are so vivid!

Salad
Did you have a pet as a child? If so, what kind and what was its name?

I'm not a pet person but we did have a cat or two and one was Put (as in Puttie Tat). We had a miniature daschund (sp?) and his name was Budweiser, Buddy for short. My dad was a drinker. Nice huh?!! When he died, we got a replacement who was called Oscar (Meier Weiner).

Main Course
If you had the chance to star in a commercial, what would you choose to advertise?
It would have to be some sort of stamping or scrapbooking tool.

Dessert
What is your favorite kind of hard candy?

I'm not a big fan of hard candies. Every once in a great while I'll eat a butterscotch or a Werthers.

Off to a busy day...

I'll be swamped today. We have a big meeting here tomorrow with some important outsiders. Vrrrrrrrrrroooommm......I'll be flying around.

I started my day with a few great songs and just had to share. One of my all time favorites is Dave Matthews Band/Best of What's Around. I sing that to myself when I'm stressed or scared about something. Crazy, I know, but it calms me.

Then I heard Corinne Bailey Rae (sp?) - Put Your Records On. She has a great voice. Also heard a nice one from The Fray - I'll Look After You. Great start. Then I got to work and my network was down. Ugh...I got on my broomstick and it was fixed. People around here will be hating me today. Very stressed....I'm going to try to be nice! ;-)

p.s. Stacy - I read more last night and liked S. Plum a little better. Must be the mood I'm in! LOL

Vacation day?

Ok, took yesterday off because my dh scheduled car service and I didn't want to deal with car issues. Besides that I have a ton of vacation time left (15 days) and my dh won't be taking any once he starts his job.

I woke up with a major sinus headache, woke my ds up and went back to bed after taking medication. When I got up, I felt horrible so I took some Advil. Felt a little better and washed the bathroom floors and kitchen floor. Showered and went up to the mall to find a dress for my niece's wedding.

What is with all of the 70's fabrics in dresses?!! Very psychedelic. I found one $79 later. Not too happy with that. The first problem is that I'm too chubby for anything. Ugh.

Got home and thought I'd play in my sb room. NOT. I started seeing the squiggles. I had a major migraine so I was done for the afternoon. I felt a little better last night and tried to make a card. I didn't even finish it.

Back to work today. So I can't call it a sick day since it was scheduled and I shopped. I guess I'll chalk that one up.

I am such a Bozo!!!

I totally forgot to pass on the award below. Believe it or not, I woke up at 4 a.m. thinking about this. Anyway, I'd like to pass it on to Maia at Iannosphere. She always gets me giggling with her cute posts about her son and his funny sayings and such. Very sweet!

Sorry for the delay!

Wow! An award for me?!!

I was so excited when I read that I had been awarded the Sweet Treat to Read blog award. This was given to me by Theresa at the link above. How sweet!

I wish I knew how to link it with Theresa's name. I hope the link above works! I'm not the most knowledgeable blogger! LOL

Thanks Theresa!! I really enjoy reading your blog too!

Friday's Feast One Hundred Sixty Five

Appetizer
If you were a dog, what breed would you be, and why? Ok, first I want to say I'm not a dog lover but I warmed up to my son's new minpin, Reese. I guess I'd be a Golden Retriever. They're very calm and friendly and blondish.

Soup
What does the color purple make you think of? The movie...hehehe! I love the color purple. It actually makes me think of eggplant.

Salad
Approximately how long does it take you to get ready each morning? I get up at 6 and leave just before 8. Not all that time is for *me* though. I wake my ds up, boil the water for my mom's tea, make the coffee, make my lunch, etc. too. I can get ready in about 40 min. I if I have to.

Main Course
How many cousins do you have, and are you close to them? Oh my! I have so many cousins. I think it's 21 first cousins and 32 second cousins. Yes, I'm very close to my cousins. We are spread all over the country and still remain close (CA, OR, NY, MD, DE, MA). We have the best times together!

Ooops, I realized after reading a few posts that I completely forgot my dad's side. I'm obviously not close to them! I think of my mom's side only. I guess that gives me another 8 or so. NO, I don't ever see them which is why I forgot about them. My parents divorced when I was in high school.

Dessert
Take your initials (first, middle, last) and come up with something else those letters could stand for. (Example: SFO = Sweet Funny Otter) MLQ- My Little Quahog (UPDATE: NO ONE KNOWS WHAT A QUAHOG IS? It must be because I'm from the Northeast. It's in the clam family. It's a little tougher and people usually grind and stuff them.)

It's always something...

Ds came home last night from a place my dh and I don't like him at with a dent in the fender of dh's car. He said someone hit and ran in the parking lot. He was outside skateboarding and the car was fine. Went back inside for a while, came out and saw the dent. Grrrrrrr....we do NOT have the money to fix it right now! My dh told him not to take the car back there. He'll have to get his own ride if he decides to visit his friend.

On the good(?) side....his hand is just a contusion. There's some bruising and swelling but no broken bones. Another $75 down the drain for the specialist. That's why I waited but his regular dr. said it should be xrayed. Oh well...better to be safe than sorry, right?

My new Granddawgter....

Hehe...I keep telling my son I'm too young to be a grandmother. This is what he and his gf brought by last night. Her name is Reese (she looks like choc. & pb and it's his favorite candy). She was very well behaved and laid back. Apparently she came from a neglectful home so she's really loving the attention.

I cannot believe I warmed up to her. I don't really like dogs or cats. She was so cute and jumped up on the couch and snuggled up to me. I think my ds was shocked! My dh was petting her too.

She has a couple of sweaters and fleece jackets already and a Halloween costume. Can't wait to see that!