Stockings Full of...

...Apples.

If you are my friend on facebook, you are surely aware from my status updates I am having computer issues once again.

Yes, once my super computer fix-it guy left the country for a business trip (to Singapore...where it is 80-90 degrees right now...boo hoo for him), my computer died. I did find it mildly entertaining that the computer died-no kidding-2 hours after he took off.

It has been a frustrating 10 days. After numerous emails to Microsoft, they acknowledged that they recent update did mess up my computer. Their thoughts on fixing it...wipe my computer clean and start over...or buy Windows 7. Really? Spend more money? You don't say?

Funny story (well, not really). I went to buy Windows 7 online and they would not sell it to me because they don't sell to military at an APO. The girl told me "yeah, you guys are like Canadians". Ha! And I was not laughing because I found her entertaining.

So, Microsoft, you find yourself on the naughty list this year. My wish is that Santa fills your stocking with coal...or just a bunch of Apples. :)

My 100th Post

I actually wanted this post to be profound.

I started this blog with the intention of sharing some stories about my crazy life as well as some cards and scrapbook pages (with post-it notes substituting as my children's heads; I know, I am weird!). It only seems fitting that my 100th post would incorporate the two. Much to my dismay, I am too tired to upload a "project" tonight. Instead, you just get a story about a guy named Murphy and deployments...

Have I ever told you that my friend Christy's Dad calls me Murphy? Yeah, I am pretty into the whole Irish heritage thing...did the Irish Dancing before Riverdance made it popular, I have a VERY Irish name, I kissed the stone, but I digress...

Murphy's Law of Deployments #113: Your 3 year old will meticulously unroll and layer an entire roll of toilet paper into the toilet, flush it numerous times to get it down in there good, and then turn around and walk away like nothing is wrong only to have to find the little gift by chance.

I have no idea why I know this to be true. I also don't know why we do not own a plunger.

Hopefully I can muster the energy to post a project tomorrow night! I promise, it will have nothing to do with Charmin.

Sweet Kisses

You may have noticed the link I have for Craft Critique on my sidebar. By far, this is my favorite source of unbiased craft-related product reviews. It does not hurt that their writers have an awesome sense of humor as well!

At any rate, they are doing a Valentines Blog Hop! So go check them out and share the love! You just might see a card you have seen before somewhere...hee hee hee.

Hugs to everyone today! XOXO

The Evil Facebook and Sheer Genius

I discovered Facebook 3 nights ago.

I know what you are thinking...something like "Hello! Welcome to the 21st Century!" It's OK. I know.

I have had several persistent friends finally whine just enough so that my Facebook resistance was annihilated. **sigh**

It is because of that evil discovery I don't have one craft project to show you today. Not one. Every minute of my life has been spent reconnecting with people. I woke up this morning to 72 new emails in my inbox. My household chores are not getting done, I have not seen my kids in days, we are eating TV dinners! (OK, that was all an exaggeration, but you get my point!)

With all that said, I think it is my new guilty pleasure! I love that I am able to reconnect with my college buddies and people I have met over the years!

Facebook is genius! Now, just to find a happy medium!

So, in a rare moment I was not glued to the computer, I witnessed sheer genius from my 6 year old daughter.

"Ouch!" my almost 9 year old son exclaimed, hobbling over the couch.

"What happened", I tentatively inquired, hoping he did not do anything to cause a trip to the ER. Murphy's Law would have dictated that, as my DH is out of town and we are having a nice blizzard. A trip out with 3 kids, crappy roads and I am sure a mere 2-3 hour wait in the ER would have been the excitement we were looking for today!

"I hurt my leg," he cried, a bit too melodramatically. The tone was indicative of the one all men use when they have any sort of mild ailment and are "dying".

My daughter, a wanna-be nurse, doctor, or veterinarian (depending on the moon) immediately tended to him.

"Here," she said, "this will help". She then proceeded to pop him in the head with her paperback book.

"What did you hit him for?" I immediately inquired.

"Well, if his head hurts then he will forget all about his leg."

Ah, I see a wonderful future in the caring professions. Hey, at least it would be better than a hobo.

More Prayers

Remember Shawndra, the young Mom I asked for prayers/thoughts for back in Dec? Well, she needs them again.

If you feel so inclined, please include her on your prayer list. Thanks!

The Hunt

It was December 22, 2001. We were living in Utah at the time. I was 8 months pregnant with my second child, had a 22 month old baby running around, DH was living in Egypt for a year (for work), and we had our house up for sale. Yes, life was a little chaotic, but good!

Due to my husband's inability to make it home for Christmas, our dear friends had invited my son and I over for Christmas dinner. Awesome! My son is the pickiest eater EVER, so making turkey and the fixings only for myself would have been depressing.

At 6:30 pm on the 22nd, my doorbell rang. I answered it and was greeted by some overly cheerful people wearing reindeer antlers and Santa hats.

"Hello!" they exclaimed, "We are on a Christmas Scavenger Hunt and hope you can help us!"

"Sure," I said, intrigued by this proposal, "what are you looking for?"

"Well," the lady replied, "We are trying to provide a needy family with enough food for Christmas breakfast and dinner. Do you happen to have some green beans, a pound of bacon, or rolls?"

I excused myself and went to check. Opening the pantry door, I was reminded of the fact I was not cooking anything this year! No green beans...no rolls in the fridge...and no bacon. Darn! This was such a cool scavenger hunt and I really wanted to help!

"Sorry," I sadly said to the cheerful hunters, "I don't have any of those items."

"Oh, that's OK," she gleefully replied. "We are also taking donations to buy the family a gift card from Target so they can do some Christmas shopping. Would you care to donate to that?"

I ran to my purse as well as I could being so pregnant! Opening my wallet I realized I literally had NO money. Nope...not even a dollar. How embarrassing!

I sulked back to the door and had to tell them how sorry I was I could not help. "But good luck to you," I exclaimed!

About 8:45 pm my doorbell rang yet again. Oh my...now it is getting late. Who could this be? I opened the door to see 25 people on my porch spilling onto the walkway and into my front yard. Candles were lit and carols were being sung. Before I could react, they were in my house, delivering boxes upon boxes of toys and food.

"Merry Christmas," the same jolly lady replied, "Part of our scavenger hunt was finding the needy family...and YOU are it!"

I was literally speechless. Of course, being hormonal, I started to cry. What a dismal sight I must have been...BIG pregnant, young child, house up for sale, no husband in sight! All I could do was stand there. There was no telling them to stop! They were SO HAPPY to have found me! I could not bear to tell them I was NOT the needy family!

They only stayed for a few minutes, finishing a beautiful rendition of Silent Night and Joy to the World, ending with a round of hugs from all. After they left, I stood there with a tear stained face just looking at the boxes upon boxes of things, wondering what I should do with it all.

The next morning, I called our church office and relayed my story of the night before. By divine intervention just hours before my call, 2 needy families contacted my chruch asking for immediate help. I quickly loaded my Ford Excursion, which was FULL to the brim with boxes, and drove over to make my special delivery. It felt so good passing this wonderful gift on to someone else who truly needed it.

Our pastor shared this story with each church service that day. It put a smile on our congregation's face and led to many jokes about my "neediness" and inability to keep anything in the pantry or a dollar in my wallet!

I love this story. Whenever I retell it, I get the same feeling in my heart as the day it happened. It is truly a testament to the generosity of strangers and the true meaning of Christmas.

May the joy of the season bring warmth to your heart as it did mine.

Vindication

Oh yeah, it feels good.

My DH called the landlord today and said they needed to come back out. We were NOT going to spend one more night here with the elusive mouse.

They did come out, still saying we don't smell anything!

Our landlord, on the verge of tears, said that the workers told her boss that we were just smelling things that were not there.

I can't tell you how good it felt when they cut a huge hole out of my hardwood kitchen floor, peeled back the insulation only to find...a 6 inch mouse. Dead. Smelly.

HA! I have never been happier to see a dead mouse in all of my life!

All I Want for Christmas

About 3 weeks ago my Golden Retriever, Sami, was going crazy over by her food bowls. Now I know what you are thinking...define crazy. Contrary to what you are probably thinking, she did not put on a grass skirt, grab a lei and ukulele and start singing, rather she was obsessed with watching the wall and pawing at it.

Yes, I was thinking the same thing you are...there is a mouse in there!

Thankfully we never once saw little poopies or other evidence that is mouse ever set foot on the interior of my house. When a week went by and my Golden finally stopped her obsession with my wall, I thought perhaps Miss Mouse went to find another warm place to hunker down for the winter.

Last week I noticed a lingering unpleasant odor. Humm...sometimes Japan does kind of smell funny, but nope, this was different. Oh my word...I bet Miss Mouse died in my wall!

So, on Wed I phoned our landlord who honestly thought I was off my rocker. The conversation kind of went like this...
Hi! I am pretty sure there is a dead mouse in my wall. No, no...never saw the mouse alive, but I am pretty sure I had one because of my dog. Well, I know this is strange, but you need to come out here to look.

She shows up and claims to not smell it. By Thursday I was about to die. DH says I have a "dog nose"...I can smell things a mile away. At first I thought it was just his excuse to claim he did not know a kid had a poopy diaper, but now I do think I just might have super-human sniffing ability. Honestly though, I think this thing could wake the dead.

At any rate, after many calls and threats to move out of the house, they came out and literally tore out 2 sections of my wall. Thankfully they did find a nest and poopy...but no mouse. Where is that dang thing???

They removed the insulation and were going to see if that helped. Maybe it buried itself in the layers. Ummm...NOPE! I am sure it is still there.

It is Sunday here and I have to wait until tomorrow to call them again. We have company coming out for Christmas. Our tree is near the stench.

All I want for Christmas is an exterminator!

Thanks theneon!

Oh, you are too kind to me! Thanks theneon so much for the award!! :) You really did make my day!

In order to be award worthy, I better get myself creating!! I actually have been up to stuff...a friend asked me to color 40 Bella images for her. You know me...can't just color it regularly! I have to use my Copics to give her "that" shading, thus it takes me like 7 minutes to get one image done. **sigh** Sometimes being Type A is annoying!! :)

Again, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!

Now, for the fine print...
1. The winner may put the logo on their blog.
2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Put links to their blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees

My nominees are:
~Connie
~Bonnie
~Rachel
~Becki
~Louise

Now I have the Last Laugh!

A few weeks ago, I won some Blog Candy from Jane!

I had the pleasure of "meeting" Jane on SCS; ironically enough, she lives where I grew up! Additionally, she is a SUPER talented stamper, so go check out her blog! Her projects are absolutely amazing!!! And she has an adorable family as well. :)

So, my "candy" arrived today! Much to my surprise, there was crafty candy...as well as REAL candy!! No kidding, Jane sent me See's Candy! An entire box of Scotchmallows!

I know...it is my second chance!

Luckily, DH was not home when I opened my box! I promptly opened the candy box, got rid of the identifying black and white houndstooth paper (I actually took the trash right out to the curb!), tried one (because again, it was long trip over...had to make sure they were still good!), and HID the box.

Oh, this time I hid it well! I do learn from my mistakes, friends!

I just hope I don't get caught with chocolate on my mouth...

THANK YOU JANE!!!!!!

Now who has the last laugh? Muhahaha!

Last Laugh

Remember the friend I made the Cowboys card for? Well, she is such a doll...for my birthday she sent me a monster care package, full of all the things a crafter loves...embellishments, punches, stamps...and chocolate!

See, it is not just chocolate she sent, but See's Candy! For those of you who have yet to have a piece grace your life, well...all I can say is heaven! At any rate, Lisa even sent me a full pound of my very favorite candy, the scotchmallow. Imagine marshmallow atop creamy caramel coated in a nice dark chocolate shell. I know!

DH had not "experienced" See's prior to meeting me. Needless-to-say, he is also now a fan. Unfortunately for me, he also enjoys the scotchmallow.

Thankfully the day my birthday package arrived, DH was at work. I thought I was so sneaky...I hid it immediately in a place where my kids and dogs would not find it (well, after trying a piece of course! I mean, I had to make sure it was still good; it had a long trip here!). Additionally, I kept moving its location in case one were to find it...heh!

Apparently the last laugh was on me. Dang DH! (Victoria, you are so laughing right now, aren't you?)


**In case you cannot read the note, it says, "Did you seriously try to hide this from me"

Life Lessons, Part 1

Never take your heat tool and turn it on directly over your embossing tray that still has mounds of loose EP sitting in it! UGH!

For those of you non-crafters, this would be equated to taking a hair dryer, pointing it at a bowl full of lets say, sugar, and turning it on.

As if that was not bad enough, that lesson was learned TWICE tonight. Obviously, I am not a quick learner, Jenny.

Oh yes, it looks like ol' man winter came can vomited on my craft table!

Off to grab some Windex, paper towels, the vacuum and my brain. Maybe tomorrow I will make a Scarecrow card...

Very Hungry Caterpillar

You might recall a recent post where I shared an ad from our Craigslist equivalent. It was the one about the free piranha that tickled my funny bone. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we have one to top the free fish! I really did not think it was possible, but we do! And I must thank my friend Jill for alerting me to the ad...

Without further adieu, here it is:

There is a giant dead moth that died behind the screen to my front door. (I live in H-style housing so it is fairly well preserved). I would just go and throw it away, but I am terrified of it. My irrational phobia of insects makes me think that if I were to try to sweep it out the door, the chances that it would reanimate and fly at me are fairly high. However, common sense tells me it is very dead and has been sitting in the same place for over a week. I asked my husband to get rid of it, and he flat out refused, I think he is afraid of it too, though he insists he just doesn't like insects.
I thought I might try to give it to someone on here. Maybe you have a kid who is fascinated by these things, or maybe you disect insects for fun and pleasure. If so, I have the giant dead moth for you.
thank you for your time, at the very least, I hope you were amused by my posting.
first email gets it.. get it before it's gone.

Hope this made your day! I really could not begin to make things like this up!

I must add, it is very ironic that my youngest is studying caterpillars and how they grow up to be beautiful butterflies...or enormous moths that scare the bejeeses out of unsuspecting people just wanting to open the windows for some night air!

A Little Adult Supervision, please

Everyone else is doing it, so why shouldn't I? :) Seriously though, all of my virtual "friends" on my favorite message board, splitcoaststampers, seem to have their own blogs. I thought I would give it a try as well.

How hard can this be?, I say with a snicker and sense of sarcasm. Surely, I can figure it out!

First off, as my dear husband would tell you, I don't know squat about computers. Funny thing is that I do actually know a little! I have gotten really good at being able to google whatever hole I need to find my way out of! So see, I know how to google!

Secondly, if my 8 year old son can figure out how to reformat our hard drive in 2 seconds, then I am sure I can figure out this whole blog thing! (Ok, my son did not really do that, but he is pretty darn comfortable on the ol' computer...scary, actually...which is why he is not allowed to be on without adult supervision!) The sites he "knows"....like iTunes...YouTube...Google...should an 8 year old even know those yet? Begads! How times have changed...

Let's see how this whole blog business goes...I have a crop tomorrow so perhaps I will take some pictures of my creations and try to upload them! Maybe I can even do it without adult supervision!