had an adventure yesterday...

Went to the eye doctor. Got a full battery of tests. including them dilating my eyes...oh, that was interesting. could not focus and lights were very bright...it was my first dilation. he said my eyes, at age 48, are in good shape. just the expected occular degeneration. sooooo, there wasn't enough significant change to my prescription, so I kept my current sunglasses and glasses, just added a pair of reading glasses to my repetoire. Current glasses are tri-focals, just could not get the up close part to work for me.

I've been thinking for the reading glasses, I want something fun. Not everyday normal, but fun...retro horned rim glasses...or a fun color...etched...you know...

I got a pair of Guess glasses...kinda pink/purple in color, with the G bling on the sides. I'm stylin'!!! I'll pick them up in about 12 working days.

I had lunch at El Rosal, very good, but Las Gaviotas in my town is better.

Then I went to Michaels, 'just to get an album with my 40%off coupon'..uh huh.
I have started to get the Recollections albums. Yesterday, it was a pale blue one.
and paper was 30% off. so picked up BG Ambrosia (never had an interest in it before, the orangy-gray combo did not appeal...but...its pretty cool in person.) and My Mind's Eye 29th Street Market..think the blues, browns, grays will work for some pics of a snowmobile trip dh took many years ago. I wanted to find something with wintery colors but not a themed wintery/Christmassy line...does that make sense? The papers were 30% off, but at reg price .99 ea., did not feel like it was a super great bargain.

did I mention I'm on a budget. Actually supposed to not buy. uh huh.

I also picked up a slice cartridge 'chillin' on Ebay. for 29.99 with shipping insurance. so, about $32.

I also picked out my ugly paper to send for the ugly paper challenge on scrapbook.com..teehee. oh, these are ugly. When I first started scrappin' I bought mega packs from Ebay. This is before I learned about lines like BG, MME, Making Memories, DCWV... so, I've got a collection of these to send to my poor potential victim. Can you see the detail in the purple...hey! its kinda like my vision yesterday while my eyes were dilated!!

organize your stuff...Alphas

I like the way my Alphas are stored...I have chipboard, misc alphas in these mixing bowls and brandy glass(well, plastic from W's)..



I have my KI soup on a shelf in my cabinet...



my thickers in a basket on my counter...







and stickers in a bag in a drawer...


as I've been thinking about it, I probably want them closer together. They are kinda spread out in the room. though, I'll probably leave it as is. it works.


kitten news:

oh my, on Sunday, li'l girl was allowed to sleep outside the bathroom, we feel confident that she has been using the litter box...she spent that night on the couch. She was pooped out with all the attention she got from our visitors.

but on Monday...she figured it out...if she follows papa into the purple room and climbs the big thing in the middle...she can sleep between papa and mama.
Does dh kick her off like he did Percy when he was a kitten? Noooooo, papa laid a t-shirt in the middle of the bed for her. (he does not like cat hair on the sheets and pillows). She did sleep on the t-shirt, when she slept. I got up twice during the night with her. does she attack papa's pajama hem and bat at his face...nooooo..she does it to me. Needless to say, I did not get much sleep...and Weds I was a yawning mess at work.

Weds night, same thing, except worse...during her 3:30 am romp..it was like she was on Red Bull!! holy moly, she even woke papa up...we were late to work. My body did not even think of waking up till 7am...dh claims he tried to wake me...but I was sooooooo out. (we usually leave at 7:15)

I don't know how this is going to work out...good thing she is sooooo cute!

work is boring!

pppbbbbbllllt!

well, one more week till the end of the month. AND I have both Thurs and Friday off. Thurs for an optomotrist appt...time to get reading glasses...I'll really look like a grandma, with my reading glasses around my neck with a chain!! and Friday back at the church to write checks...payroll and quarterly taxes. fun, fun.

Charlette is li'l miss entertainment...she is at the 'dink dink' stage. You know, where she is constantly hopping and getting into anything she can? We had friends over on Sunday, and she was a 'hit'.







AND we loved watching Design Star...hot pink geese...who'd have thought that was a good idea? I didn't. but I loved the rest of the room. My bedroom is the same purple color and loved that birch tree artwork...

and don't go to Joanne's.com...DCWV stacks half off...also the bead holders...yeah, I could get in trouble.

making progress...

in the kitty world...the big cats no longer growl and hiss at the little one...the still won't play with her. but, hey, its still progress right?

I got to spend yesterday afternoon with Adriana. My perfect day! except, guess what, li'l miss has decided she will no longer take a bottle. Not even with breast milk, no formula...uh uh. She won't take it from her daddy, her mommy or her g'ma. Mom is trying diff formulas, nipples...but nope, she does not want it. She can be hungry...but if its the bottle. no way.

hmmmm...wonder where she gets that kind of pickiness and stubbornness...hmmmmmmm

(its her mom) (Nyki is sooooooooo picky about food. for ex: she hates celery, and claims even if I cut another veggie using the same knife I had cut the celery with...she can still taste it.)

but came home and no internet! boohoo

today should be a leisurely day of internet, tv and scrappin'! ha!!

oh and a warning, don't open your email about 2Peas Warehouse sale, very dangerous....before I knew it, I had spent $52.00!!

some pic of my scraproom organization in progress:

this is my work area. got one of those utility shelves from W..turned it upside down and my li'l dollar store baskets fit in the nook. Its the first thing I see when I walk in...and I like it. The mixing bowls are from T's dollar spot and are filled with alphas..plastic, chipboard.




the challenge blog concentrated on Primas, Buttons, Rhinestones, Brads, Misc Stuff.








here is my flower/button storage, as of yesterday. Bought spice racks from W...I am loving this. Now instead of flowers in 3 or 4 different areas of the room. They are all together.



Bling! love this, ddil gave it to me...it was filled with cookies from Costco, the long packaged bling, like Prima swirls and some Doodlebug are in a magazine holder in front.



Brads and metal...in the baskets and art bin. This may be a 'problem' area as I would do better if I could see what I have. I'm finding I don't use these as much as I should. My most used brads/eyelets are in one of the baskets near the work area in 'pill' type containers. you know the ones that screw together to create a stack. I should think about gettin more of these, that I now have my beads in for my brads/eyelets






Misc:

stickles and smooches...an old desk drawer tray...got from my neice, Sara. its on top of a 3 drawer plastic storage unit dd used for jewelry in college. top drawer, small chipboard..2nd drawer dewdrops..3rd drawer...that would be the junk drawer, business cards and stuff.





and this shelf is all things shiny/glittery...glitters, flocking, glimmer mist, foiling, beads.

dh last night...

"having a new kitten is exhausting, its like having a baby in the house"

Yup...she meows a lot..and she is soooo tiny, you gotta watch out...right now she is 'bouncing' around in the office, looking for something to play with. bites on our toes, try to climb our legs. But, she is sooooo cute! She was born in a friend's garage on his property..I doubt there was litter box training by mom. So far, when she is in the room with the box..she does fine. Last night, she started to go in a corner in the office.


Wasn't Hell's Kitchen riveting? But I am so disappointed in the way the former Marine (Joey)and Texan (Van) are behaving...c'mon guys represent us better!..

I think Gordon needs to fire this whole crew and get a new one.

and yay! I got on the treadmill last night while watching it...2 nights in a row!

This is embellishment week at Organize Your Stuff challenge. Oooooooh, my. Where do I start. The challenge concentrates on brads, primas, buttons, rhinestones, misc.

I like to organize by type. That is how I think of them. I like to leave in packaging...cuz I also think by brand plus in the case of Primas and buttons...I like how the shades are color co-ordinated for me.

I also like my re-purposed containers. I think they add to the decor of my room.

But, I do need to be able to see them to use them. so, I do have some 'problem' areas to think out.
well, I post pics after work...gotta go to work...yucko

look what Michael brought home..

In shock, I asked 'you brought me a kitten?" He said, "Nope this one is mine." That she will be an indoor/outdoor cat...horrible idea, the dogs will shred her. That is what they do. He took her outside with him, to show the dogs that this is HIS kitten. and they were curious, but did not hurt her. Well, they would have had to grab her from her hands to do it... I guess that is his plan. I don't think it will work, so I am trying to convince him not to do it. Let her be an inside cat; spoiled and worthless. DD thought of her name, Charlette.

Percy and Cassandra are not happy. But hopefully they will adjust. I am backing off, let Michael bond with her...so he won't send her outside. And so Percy won't feel threatened...but he is in a 'snit'. She has spent the morning next to Michael's feet.

I told Michael to get another of her littermates; that having a companion would help with the transition. He said 'if I do, they will definately be indoor/outdoor cats.' does that mean he is rethinking it for Charlette. Hopefully. So, I told him
'forget it. I want her to be indoor only'

Last night she was in a box next to his side of the bed. She was 'crying' and he put a pair of his used socks in there. So his scent could comfort her. she did get quiet...or maybe she passed out! ha! She is so tiny, right now her 'litter box' is a gladware container!

I did do a li'l scrapping yesterday. Just 2 quick layouts. The big project was the start of my layout idea notebooks. While shopping at Staples, I bought 3 spiral notebooks...one for 1 picture layouts, one for 2 picture and the other for 3 pictures and more. I cut up my old CTMH catalogs for the pictures. I think I need one more for cards. but, I got started.

The organize your stuff challenge this week is embellishments. yikes!

a couple of layouts...

I had posted these pics on facebook,so, did a layout for Adriana's book. The top pic is me, middle is my ds and bottom is my li'l cupcake.


Also did this one, loosely based on the Thursday Sketch challenge.

and this was fun:


from an 'ugly paper' challenge on Scrapbook.com. first time making lollipop flowers..I like them!

have a couple more challenges to do this weekend. As ya'll can tell, I love them, they get me moving and helps me create out of my 'box'.

morning of the dogs..

I was awakened @2 am by the sound of a coyote..so I got up to check out goodreads, I had signed up for it a while ago, but never really looked. Its a cool site, interviews with authors, reviews by other readers and the interactive function of creating your own bookshelf. If you look at mine, I have a lot of older books, most of them are sitting next to my bed...waiting. ANOTHER goal.

So, went back to bed a li'l after 3:30 and the coyotes were in a full blown frenzy. I hate coyotes. A lot of people leave their unwanted pets in the country, thinking they will find homes. They don't.

those sounds just break my heart. Then they were followed by dogs yelping and barking...allllllll morning....

dd says I should write a letter to the editor about this...ya'll have any ideas? dh does run a screenprint shop..maybe he can make some signs we can put up...ask neighbors to put up along our fences.

I love country life, but yeah, people dump their garbage, unwanted furniture, appliances, their pets...
the worst is when goat parts are dumped ...guess 'barilla' only requires certain parts...ugggghhh!!!

test at 2:30am...wish I could sleep!

kits...

at the end of the day, I remembered I hadn't taken any pics for P365, so I stepped outside...and Percy very kindly 'posed' at the door for me.

With the organize your stuff challenge being about kits...it got me thinking about my kits subscriptions...

Right now, I subscribe to ...

I am a Scrapaholic, @$35 per month, I really enjoy these kits. Lynn is very good at getting us the latest and greatest and thru her, I have tried out things I may not have picked up on my own. She has a fun sense with her embellishments. So often, I will hunt down a line, only to get a kit of it...I've been subbing for a couple of years now.


Stampin with Steph, Stampin Up kits, @$23 per month. I do love Stampin Up products, this way I get to play with the papers without having to buy a whole pack. I first 'met' Steph thru the 2 peas blogs, she was selling a sampling pack of Stampin Up embellies, so I signed up for that. I am very happy with these kits.


I used to subscribe to Bad Girls, @ $45 per month. I loved these kits. They were my secret weapon...dd thought scrappin was a li'l silly, but while creating my scrap corner in her home, I left a couple of 'bad girls'. She decided to do a couple of pages for her office...found the kits, and now she scraps.. a little. Not a full blown scrapper, yet. But, Wendy, decided to go a different direction than scrap kits...and I am a scrapper, not an artist...so decided to allow the subscription to drop during the change. But I still go back to the site to drool.

I also love Noel Mignon kits...though I'm not a subscriber but everynow and then there is a kit I cannot resist like the Eyes of Blue. and Jenni Bowlin, another every now and then when I cannot resist and am on time, cuz these sell out.

Because of a friend, you know your name Ashley, I also now subscribe to the SEI mega kits. They are sent every other month. She would bring these to crops..and I got hooked. When they had the kit with Lovebirds back in Feb...well that was it for me.

so, those are my consistent kits...you can understand why my kit storage is a bit of a problem area...but one I LOVE!!

happy, happy mail day...

a while ago, I got picked for a RAK of Early Bird papers from Mandie's Blog and it arrived yesterday!!
happy dance!! I've been so admiring/wanting these papers!! THANK YOU Mandie!!


I also got my Stampin Up order...love the new incolors...and the fact that the stamps are pre-cut for ya.

I'm off tomorrow and Monday! 4 day weekend for me!! tomorrow the kids will be here..I get the whole family...ds, ddil, the cupcake, and 2 grandkitties...they are having the Clark Guy spray the inside of the house. yooooohooooooo!

(guess there have been nasty spider sitings)

Yesterday was actually a good day at work..the other co-worker on maternity leave, stopped by with her baby, London. so, I got to hold 2 babies in 2 days at work.












but I did get in a li'l trouble, don't worry, nothing I can't handle. You see, I sent dd and dsil a box of stuff..included was a 'crinkle cave' for their cat. I get a phone call on the way home from work "You HAD to get him a crinkle cave"...teehee
Colby was making so much noise with it, guess they were going to lock it up at night, so they can get some sleep! teehee...that's what g'mas are for...right?

attention everyone...

this was announced by me, this afternoon at work...'attention everyone, in about 15 minutes we will have a very special visitor. I get to hold her first...I call 'dibs'" general grumbling...'ah, that's not fair. you see her all the time"
"nope, I haven't seen her since last Weds"...

and she showed up...grandma's li'l cupcake...



now in the pic, A.J a coworker is holding her, so I can take the pic.
what can I say, it was the highlight of my day!




When she first arrived, a coworker, Francine was speculating as to whether or not she will keep her blue eyes. They do seem to be getting lighter. and Nyki's eyes are a very baby blue color. Anyways, she told Adriana, "I think you are going to keep your blue eyes" and Adriana started to cry..."what, you don't want blue eyes"...I told Francine, "of course not, she wants green eyes like her auntie" ha!! Actually, Nyki said she was probably crying cuz it was close to time to eat.





it was over 100 degrees today. so, when I got home, I watered down the golden (the doberman doesn't like water) anyways, it was fun...running water over him and rubbing him down. and when he was done, he shook his fur, getting water all over me too! nice of him to share.


came home and took pics of my kit/project organization for the Organize Your Stuff challenge thread on 2peas.

so, here they are...


large projects in progress, in the iris boxes.. right now...dd's performance stuff, her Europe Sem for book, her Europe for her journal book and my Europe trip



kits divided by seasons in Cropper Hoppers. and the last one is my Stampin with Steph Stampin' Up kits. I tend to think of my pps by manufacturer, but kits are different cuz they are generally a mixture of manufacturers. I find dividing them by seasons...spring, summer, fall, winter is helpful for me...like over the weekend wanted to do a pic from Florence Italy, thought fall colors would look good and found an old I am a Scrapaholic kit. perfecto




and my problem area 1 - those kits that don't fall into seasons...one of the gals, suggested I organize by primary colors...and that could work. guess what I'll do is spread them out on the floor and see if there is a 'pattern' for me...hmmmmmm



and problem area 2 - brought up by another gal, what about all the memorabelia we are saving for future projects..right now they just take up my bottom shelf in the pink see-thru bin and the cookie tin...siiiiiiigh...no ideas there. I just throw them in as I get them...stuff from graduations, weddings, events...do I even know what is in there anymore?

ya'll have ideas for my problem areas, let me know..

another monday...

but got some 'happy' mail.

1. my ugly papers arrived, I joined a challenge on scrapbook.com...not too bad, not something I'd choose, but..okay.


2. got my package from my sis, Brenda..I had left my tennis shoes behind when I visited last month..man, I missed those shoes. Being overweight, only very good tennis shoes are okay for my back. Eventually, even those Keen sandals can leave my back achy by the end of the week. not out and out pain...just achey. but, I've found that these tennies don't leave my back feeling that way. Even cheap tennies tend to hurt. so, I have missed those shoes.

Also in the box were the goodies I bought for her and her daughters from GASC.
Prima tubes, thickers, fancy pants chipboard, heidi swap photo corners and clearstamps...I figured, okay, they can go in my stash. but, I asked her about them.

Bre: "those are ours? I thought you left them behind. I was going to take them, but thought 'that would be bad'. well, send them back, nooooooow.."

me: "um, Bre, UPS has already picked up."

her: "send them FedEx, I'm worth it."

No, they'll go out tomorrow, with some of mom's mail that has been stacking up.

I was scrappin dd's Europe semester over the weekend, but noticed a lack of pics taken in Florence..only 3 pages worth...so I was looking in her Facebook for some. Did not find any, so decided to use one of mine, a panoramic view from Michelangelo's Square. I got a call from her and asked her why no pics? "by that time we were so tired of taking pictures of everything' WHAT!! tired of pics in FLORENCE, I T A L Y!!!

anyways, looking thru her pics on Facebook, reminded me of how much I miss her. They are coming out in Dec for Christmas...but...only being able to see your dd twice a year..SUCKS!!! But, I remind myself, this is what we raise our kids to do, to go out and make their own lives. and she is happy, and in love with the Okie (my dsil)...so what more can I ask...hmmmm, that they live here in our small town!!



here's a simple layout I did of her in Venice...at least they took quite a few pics there!! I rarely do the matching the picture thing...but like how this turned out.



this is more like me, she is wearing pale blue, I'm gonna use pink!! teehee

sorry mom,

we've taken over. Percy and I spent the day in mom's old suite area. Dh took over the other room to watch tv and take naps...he was a li'l worthless today. (But that's okay, we all need days like that. don't we?)

first order of business was a nice nap on her couch...she has the softest blanket you can imagine, that the kids got her for Christmas.









followed by scrapbooking on her coffee table, I am finding I like to scrapbook in front of a tv. I did a few challenges then spent time finishing the layouts from some of the classes I have taken over the years. Got kinda hard, finding pictures to go with someone else's paper choices. I did throw a couple away. or pulled the cool embellies off for a future project. The one on the table, was from GASC, I don't have any surfers in the family...but did find some pics of dd at the pool at the old house. Sometimes, I miss that pool!!

I actually finished a book. One of ds's childhood/high school/pre Marine Corps. Just had 3 pages in there to finish.

and while I was scrappin' Percy was taking a nap on her bed.




Now, DH wants the room open to the cats...though mom hates cats and their fur, but we live in the country and dh want them to have access...for in cases rodents decide to visit. So far, knock on wood, we have been rodent free in the house...though not anywhere else. But my cats are so fat and spoiled, I think its the scent of them more than the actual cats that keep the rodents away.

I think I'll be scrappin' tomorrow as well. Not sure what I'll be doing..but have a couple more books that just need a 'couple' more pages...ya know?

ps..looking at that pic of Percy on mom's bed...what do ya'll think of the curtains? I got them on Ebay and love the vintage-ness of them...but don't know what bedspread to use. I'm kinda 'eyeballing' a Paprika set at Target...what do you think? What color would you use?

off today, yay!

but I have a hacking cough and drippy nose...which is good, right? It means my body is expelling the crud that has been giving me the headaches all week! (is that TMI?)

While mom was living here, she used to complain about dh's laundry..that he produced soooo much of it. So yesterday morn, I started to sort them for today..
I last did laundry last Thursday, so in one week, 7 days, he had 12 button down shirts to wash. I asked him, "how many shirts do you wear in a day?" "only one" I started pulling them out and counting..."do you want to rethink that?"


He used to wear 2 pairs of socks at a time. At least he is down to one pair!

today's goals, laundry, reconcile bank statements at church, drop off paper packs to a couple of the gals in the scrapbook group, start an idea binder (re the Organize your stuff challenge)...scrapbook...I might have a couple of weeks of P365.

We are doing a new challenge for the local scrap group. A couple of years ago I had bought a Rob and Bob stack. So, I seperated them by color group/theme and each of us took one. The girls picked theirs sight unseen, I took what was left. 3

I got the pink family. so, this month we are going to use them for a project/layout. I'm thinking with my pink family, I'm going to tackle some of the old black and whites of my mom's family in Japan.

Through another challenge, I've started some layouts of dh's family.

and of course, have those pics from my dad's family...so, I'm starting to think 'heritage' these days.

I'm almost done with dd's Europe album..a couple more countries...so I guess its time to start thinking of the next big project. Of course, I haven't started my own Greece/Italy cruise yet.

Oh, its official, I'm cool!! Though one niece, the 13 year old de-friended me on Facebook, (poo-ey) the other niece, the 16 year old friended me this morning! whoohoo!

okay, the machine is ready for a new load...
(what do you think, should I attempt a trip to M's for those $10 sizzlets?)

so tired...

but tomorrow is my day off! though I have things to do..but I'll be able to nap in the afternoon!

I've been taking benedryl and tylenol sinus all week...can't figure it out, don't think its allergy season, but feeling miserable.

One good thing, this past week, chocolate has been tasting HORRIBLE! I put one in my mouth and it felt like I put insecticide in! YUCK!! even my M&M's are not tasting that good. But my English Tea Cookies have been WONDERFUL!

I had a donut on Sunday and it was NASTY! hmmmmm, maybe I should just use this to stop eating that stuff...hmmmm...not!

Got an Adriana fix last night, we stopped by with Chinese food to celebrate J's birthday. He was working on Tues...so last night was good.

DDil broke down and got him 'guitar hero' or 'rock band'...so dh played a round with them...oh my...if I'd only had my camera. the looks on their faces, so intent, so entranced..geeee...BUT gave me more time to hold Adriana..I probably had the same look on my face while looking at her...teehee

Happy Monday to youuuu....

This week's organize your stuff challenge is ideas. Here is my baker's rack filled with my books and magazines. It is now in my mom's suite area; I'll be in trouble if she decides to come back.

Right now my fave layouts are simply in the magazines with the page open. Guess I should start a binder...or something.

Tomorrow, my baby boy turns 25!! Wow! I'm an oldie!! teehee.



Happy Birthday!!

it's done...

finished the photo organization yesterday...


from multiple boxes and baskets scattered about the room...





to piles on my coffee table....(and this is just dd's piles)



to this!! the bin is organized by category..in the box are the smaller holders organized by books/layouts.

It does feel good!

the weekend has been pretty mellow, we did have one couple stop by for dinner. And the kids, and Adriana...but most of the day was spent taking naps on the couch and finishing the photo organization and scrapping. Just one more day...then its back to the old grind. oh well, I hope to be able to spend today...just like yesterday!! teehee

yay!! no work today..

and no plans, except to babysit Adriana while the kids go on a shopping trip.

Been working on my Texas Travelogue swap...finally scanned photos for my cousin Aimee...and organizing my pics for the Organization challenge #6.

wow, what a job.

but sooo worth it, right?

Layout RX please

here are a couple of the layouts I struggled with during the crop:



this one I feel okay about. I liked separating the one pic with the pigeons and surrounding dd with them...as that is why she was carrying the umbrella. (she has a fear of birds and their pooh) I like the trim...the paper is 7Gypsies Marketplace, I don't often work with such 'serious' paper...but feel like the lo not quite finished...I know I need to add a title in the block...but any other ideas?



this one I really struggled with at the crop..but when I got home and added the alcohol inks and the quote...it came together, kinda.


Now, this is more like it...fun colors...Prima Papers and flower...I like this one

The past couple of nights have been pretty mellow around here. Monday, dh had dinner with an out of town friend and last night he had his Tues night meeting. I like having the house to myself. Monday, I had a bowl of cereal with bananas for dinner.

Then it happened. As I opened the new milk gallon, I almost reached for the ring under the cap. You see, Marshall loved to play fetch with them. And it hit me, how different the house is without him. How Quiet...he would meow loudly as soon as you got home..for his dinner and yours. And how loud even his purrs were. Sure do miss that boy...