January 24, 2012

10 on Tuesday

Today’s “10″ is dedicated to one little kitty, who it’s looking like we won’t have for too much longer, and we’ll miss very much… His name is Oscar, but we usually call him just “kitty kitty” (in a sing song voice). We had him at the vet yesterday, and I fully expected to not bring him home last night… He’s old, and sick… But, he’s home… We go back tomorrow to the vet again, but I couldn’t get him to eat last night (even the super “yummy” smelly special cat food from the vet)… You never know, maybe he’ll surprise us… not sure how many of his 9 lives he’s used already… Anyway… Here’s our kitty kitty…

2. Oscar is a wonderful kitty, more like a dog in his friendliness… If you ever get the chance to rescue an older kitty, I say “go for it.” He is a very good boy…

3. One of my very favorite stories was when we first met him… In the PetSmart in Nashua, NH, where “Kitty Angels” had several rescue kitties available… Kathryn was not yet 3, and Sean was 5. They took us to a small cramped back area to meet the kitty, and with a squealing 2 year old, and literally jumping up and down 5 year old… When they let Oscar out of his crated area, instead of RUNNING AWAY from the commotion, like any normal smart kitty would have done, he came right over to that squealing 2 year old and jumping 5 year old and purred like he’d been ours right along… We took him home that very day :)

4. Poor kitty had been abandoned (or I guess, maybe lost) with a harness on him, it had been on so long, they they needed to surgically remove it from him… He had had a pretty hard time of it before we got him… But he had a (mostly) happy indoor life for the last 6 years.

6. How young does that adorable boy look? That picture is from when Sean lost his first tooth :) January 2008… A boy and his cat… Looking now for some more pics…

Oscar sleeping in Kathryn’s Princess Chair…

7. Ohhh… I found a very old digital layout…

8. and another…

9. oh, I found one with a “first day of adoption” picture! Do you see that “What have I gotten myself into?” look on Oscar’s face? :)

10. apparently, in ’06, I was in my “digital scrapbook” phase :) I know I have a 2 page paper scrapbook layout as well, but not sure I have an image of it…

We love you kitty kitty…

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January 21, 2012

Upcoming New Class!

I’m so excited to be teaching at the annual “Super Bowl Event” at Ink About It this year!! The event is on Superbowl Sunday, and runs from 10am-3pm (you’ll get home in plenty of time for the big game!!). It’s 4 mini workshops, lunch, prizes and more!! Call the store to get signed up as this even usually sells out quickly!!

Here’s a couple photos of my portion of the day!! This super fun wall hanging will get you through the rest of the winter (as it seems that winter is finally upon us). We’ll be using the Zutter Bind it All, but don’t let that scare you!! I’ll have mine for anyone to use, and will be there to help everyone!!

The project uses the fun Echo Park patterned papers (and faux snow… what could be better???) with 2 places for photos, and also has patterned paper on the back so that it can be hung in a door or window…

Here’s a little closeup of the top so you can see the snow on the letters a little better.

The project will be at the store for you to take a closer look at it by Monday afternoon :) Call the store to get sugned up for this great event!

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January 20, 2012

Faithful Friday

Ok… so, I like alliteration, sue me :) Although, I may need to change my “Friday” title to “Forgiveness Friday.” I’ve been spending an awful lot of time lately pondering forgiveness… We’ll see… I intend to post various faith posts on Fridays, just whatever I’ve been spending the week thinking about…

Forgiveness…

It’s HARD… I’m a fairly difficult person to actually offend… I do get my feelings hurt fairly easily, but those aren’t the things I’m taking about… I mean the big things. The things that come to help define who you are, THOSE kinds of forgiveness. It is easy to “understand” that forgiveness is good, and that carrying around the burden of non-forgiveness only serves to continue the hurt, and also give power to those that hurt you… But ACTUAL forgiveness can be elusive. I can go though several things that I am 100% sure that I have forgiven. Things that I believe I have dealt with and am done with. Then “Surprise!!” some completely random and unrelated comment by a completely unrelated party will bring it all back up again with a fury, and I’m thinking, “Crud!! I thought I was all done with that, and here it is again, I need to let that go”… and yet, there it is.

At our last Parish council meeting, we had a discussion of The Rule of St. Augustine, Chapter 9: Reconciliation. This line in particular struck me… “Whoever has injured another by open insult, or by abusive or even incriminating language, must remember to repair the injury as quickly as possible by an apology, and he who suffered the injury must also forgive, without further wrangling.”

First… I need to incorporate the phrase “without further wrangling” into my regular vocabulary… It’s a great line… :)

But seriously, I believe that I’m “ok” at apologizing… Maybe not great, but I do try to sincerely apologize when I need to, even if it was something said unintentionally… BUT “and he who suffered the injury must also forgive, without further wrangling.” Now, THAT (in my opinion) is the hardest part of the equation… And forgiving yourself for things may be even harder…

Something to think about and work on…

and a photo from my phone (my current phone home screen) from band camp last summer…

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January 17, 2012

10 on Tuesday

Happy Tuesday, which feels very much like a Monday :) Loved having that extra weekend day this week!! Here’s my 10 for today…

1. Christmas is finally put away, decorations down, and tree put away for another year…

2. Everytime I think Christmas is put away, I turn ar0und and find yet another decoration that we missed… This morning was the Santa door hanger… it’ll all be found and put away by Easter :)

3. Today is the start of our second semester at school, what that means for me is all new students… and the “big boring rule speech” today and tomorrow… My voice is already tired!

4. Random discovery… Laptops are MUCH more expensive than I thought they were… Yesterday we went to look at them, because between the children and my husband, I can never get to use my own computer… and my only 2 “requirements” were that I wanted it to be small (I don’t need a big screen and I want it to be portable) and have a hard drive of at least 500 g. ummm… all the ones that had what I wanted were over $500, so no new laptop for now…

5. “My” china has been discovered!!! I sent an email to www.replacements.com with the pictures I posted last week, and in 2 days got an email reply with the name and pattern of the china that belonged to my grandmother!!! Yeah!! They say that it was actually “Blue Brenda” by Sovereign Potters… They didn’t have any in stock…

6. After a frantic search of the internet, and my mad googling skills, that actual pattern can’t be had anywhere… BUT I went back and re-read the email they sent me, and the pattern was also made by another company!! Taylor Smith & Taylor made the same pattern, and it’s called “Silver Mist” AND even better, you can find some!!

7. I thought about it, and decided that I don’t really care which one I get… either way it’s a replacement, but makes me smile when I think about having the pattern… I can’t wait to get them in the mail!!

8. 2 teacups and saucers, along with the covered sugar bowl and creamer are on their way to my house as I type :) I love ebay :) There’s a pickle dish up for sale too… I might “need” to get that too…

9. I put together Kathryn’s new desk this weekend… I think it’s been sitting in her room in its box since October… I honestly never want to put together another piece of IKEA furniture… What a pain in the neck… Nice desk, will be great for her, but ack… putting it together was NO FUN at all…

10. It’s not too late to sign up for my Christmas Card book this Thursday at Ink About It… So, gather up all your Christmas Cards, and give the store a call if you want to come!!!

Happy Tuesday Everyone!!!

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January 11, 2012

Annual Christmas Card Book

It happens every year… You pack up all the holiday decorations, and have a pile of beautiful cards that you don’t want to throw away, but really have no place to keep… Here’s the perfect solution!!! Take them with you to my next class at Ink About It in Westford on Thursday, January 19. Call the store to reserve your spot, and we’ll bind your own beautiful cards together in a book and you’ll have them to look through for years to come!! Here’s a preview of the book, it uses BEAUTIFUL SEI patterned papers that are foiled and glittered. We’ll make the covers in class, and then use the Zutter Bind it All to punch and bind all of this year’s cards into a wonderful keepsake!!

Sneek Peek at this year’s cover…

I had the last 3 year’s worth of books on the coffee table this year, and it was so much fun to look through all the old cards, and expecially the photo cards!! Here’s the details on the older books…

The 2010 Christmas Card Book

The 2009 Christmas Card Book

The 2008 Christmas Card Book

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January 10, 2012

10 on Tuesday

So… Today’s 10 is part of my new found obsession… Replacing my Grandmother’s china… Which would be easy, right? well, yeah, IF I knew the name or even maker of the china… If, for example, some family member had the china and could read to me what it says on the bottom… Unfortunately, all I have is a vague memory… Until… Well, Here’s my Ten for Today…

1. I have no idea what happened to the vaguely remembered china… Kinda grey flowers, maybe silver trim… in the old hutch, which all seems to have disappeared when the old hutch was replaced in the 80′s…

2. Message all my friends and relatives on Facebook to see if I’m crazy and the china was a figment of my imagination… and some remember it… but no one has it…

3. Spend literally hours googling “White china, silver rim, grey flowers” Do you KNOW how many china patterns fit that description?? ummm, about a billion!

4. THANK YOU Kathy for the suggestion of looking through old pictures!!! I found some, and have emailed Replacements.com to see if they can figure out the pattern…

5-10 Look at just a couple of the cool photos I found while looking for china :)

Hmm… See that tea cup? That’s the back of the pattern :) This is my Grandmother on the right, I think my Grandfather’s mother in the middle, and his younger sister on the left… Could be wrong on the left…

So, my Dad in the middle (photo dated 1962, long before he was my dad :) and my Uncle Dave on the far right… Not a clue who the other 2 people are… but that’s “my” covered sugar bowl and creamer on the table! Look familiar to anyone? I’ll take any suggestions… If anyone has one in their hutch and can just look at the bottom for me…

Pics of the teacups and another shot of the fabulous sugar bowl!

And, here it is… the dinner plate… That’s right… I did remember it… now if I can only get my xray scanner to work so that I can read the back… :)

OK… last 2 have nothing to do with my global search for the china pattern, but, honestly, I HAD to scan them too… Who wouldn’t want matching crocheted vests and skirts for Easter… circa 1975-ish :) Kathryn’s already lobbying me to make her one… Me and my sister :) We’re pretty cute!

Oh, look! Who’s that adorable baby? Oh, me!! and my Gram. January 1970… So I was about 8 months old… Kathryn thinks Gram looks exactly the same as she remembers, but with brown hair!

Hope everyone has a fantastic week… I’ll be searching for china!!

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January 3, 2012

10 on Tuesday

Happy New Year!!! I’m very excited about starting a new year!! There will be a new look on the blog, a little new year spruce up… And a new theme for the year. Last year’s theme was “Blessings” as in, count them… This year, hmmm…. I had settled on “Grace” I was pretty sure that was going to be the theme… But now I’m thinking more on an “Embrace the Everyday” kind of theme… I really would like to focus on stopping the running race that I feel like we’re constantly running, and taking time to realize just how lucky we really are. Nothing is “perfect” but we can stop to find the good in every day. Which may kinda tie in to my original “Grace” idea.

And, adding a new feature… 10 on Tuesday… Not original, I know… but I like the idea. So, (hopefully) every Tuesday, I’ll be posting a list of 10 things… sometimes random, sometimes themed. Today’s 10 on Tuesday is themed… My 10 resolutions for the new year… Here we go!

1. What would a new year’s resolution list be without “I want to lose weight”? but it’s 20lbs that I would LOVE to see go… I joined Weight Watchers online just before the holidays, and now that the holidays are over, it’s time to dig in and do something!

2. Clutter… I need to purge it. I started about mid-year, and it’s going pretty well. I don’t mind getting rid of things, but it’s finding the time to really go through things that is the hardest part… So, this year I’m going to really clean out those kitchen “junk” drawers and find real homes for the objects, and if I don’t NEED or LOVE them, they go…

3. Daily Audio Bible. Just like it sounds, it’s a podcast (or app) that reads the bible through in a year. I love Brian, who reads it… and I made it through til July last year before I got sidetracked and then got too far behind to “catch up…” this year, I’m going to make it through all year, and not worry so much about catching up…

4. House… Kinda goes with the clutter, but I’d love for the downstairs to be “drop in” ready… If someone stops by, the house doesn’t look like a bomb went off, and I don’t have to be heinously embarassed… So, downstairs should look decent…

5. Church. Another from last year… I just want to continue… I made it last year, I went to church most weekends, only a few did I miss, and they were because we were away, or I was sick… So, pretty good last year, I just want to continue this year!

6. Blog… Another from last year… Again, I made it through the summer then slowed down… Hoping to post at least once a week this year.

7. Cooking… Yes, I’m cooking challenged… I used to be a pretty good cook, before life got so crazy busy with the kids and the husband… So, now that we’re not eating in the TV room anymore and we’re eating at the big kids’ table :) , I’m going to cook more. Maybe with practice it’ll be better!

8. Craftiness… I made a lot of projects last year because I had to… They were assignments, well, this year, I’m hoping to make more crafty projects just ’cause I’m feeling crafty and inspired.

9. (Craftiness part 2 ) This year I’m going to actually FINISH some of those projects I got started on, but then didn’t finish, like those quilt tops and other half finished fun projects!

10. Fiber… My OCD craft of choice at the moment is knitting :) I don’t go anywhere without my needles and at least 2 different projects… Having fun with fiber is going well… My Gram would have loved some of the Christmas knits I made… Hoping to finish a few more projects (and remember to post them here!!).

Well… There it is :) Happy New Year!!!

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December 17, 2011

The Christmas Book is Here!!

Well… the only thing “Christmas” about the Christmas book is that it’s given as Christmas presents for the family… It’s really a “year in review” book that I make. I use digital scrapbook materials, create all 50 pages (plus a cover) with Adobe Photoshop Elements 9, then create the book using Word, turn it into a PDF and upload it to an online publishing company (I use lulu.com). It sounds MUCH more complicated than it is, as long as you know how to use Photoshop… HERE’S a link to last year’s cover…

The printed books arrived in the mail today!! I’m so excited, and can’t wait for everyone to see it… If you’re one of “those” people :) and don’t want a sneak peek… don’t look below!! But, if you’d like to see this year’s cover… Here it is!! The digital pages and elements that I used are from Shabby Princess, I use her digital elements for my books almost every year, she’s a wonderful digital designer (my header and other blog elements also use Shabby Princess digital elements, with permission).

Anyway… Here’s the cover of the book… (remember… don’t peek if you want to be surprised!!) The book certainly doesn’t cover everything that we do all year, it’s “only” 50 pages, and I took 1400 pictures during our summer trip alone!!! But it’s pretty representative of what we do through the year… This year, we took a Wild West Vacation… and so there are lots of pictures of that!! It starts in January with snow storms and Kathryn’s birthday… goes through the spring with Easter and Mother’s day… through various summer fun, the big trip and Sean’s birthday… through the fall with Halloween and ends with Thanksgiving!! I love the “excuse” to spend several hours looking through all my pictures of the year!!

Well… without further adieu… The cover…

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December 16, 2011

Zutter Wallhanging

I was so excited to teach this class last night at Ink About It in Westford!! It is a quick and easy project that comes together with some pretty papers, and makes a great decoration for yourself or a gift…

Materials:

Chipboard (cut into 1 6×12, 2 4×6, 2 2×6 pieces)

Fancy Pants patterned papers from the St. Nick line (OMGosh, don’t you love those trees??)

Love that May Arts ribbon!!

Zutter Owires in 3/4 inch Antique Brass

The snowflake and stars are both old school Sizzix :) cut with chipboard and paper to make them stand up a bit.

There are also patterned papers on the back side, incase you want to hang it on a door or someplace where both sides are visible.

And we made a little bonus surprise :) a fun little post it note holder… Same papers and wire… Hang the wall hanging and then put the matching post it note holder next to the phone…

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November 18, 2011

Holiday Planner Class

Holiday Planner and printables… The pictures aren’t the best… Have I mentioned that I hate having it be dark when I get home from school??? These pictures will at least give you an idea of the last Ink About It class I taught… A fun holiday planner… How fun are those Imaginisce holiday papers???

At the bottom of this post are the printable pages for the inside… they’re currently word docs, let me know if you have problems printing them… I can change them over to PDF’s, but didn’t want to go up to the big computer upstairs if I didn’t have to :)