Hello

Here is a quick card I made tonight with some fun supplies from i {heart} papers. I was browsing through my blog the other day, and saw a card I made with this same layout a year ago, so I thought I'd try it again because, well, I like it. :) I like how you can really show off a piece of DP on the left there.

Anyhow! That DP I'm showing off is called Carnival Flowers. Isn't it a fun print? I have it paired up here with SU's Garden Green and So Saffron. I love when I find non-SU papers that match SU colors so well. It makes me happy. :) The stamp and sentiment are from the Spring Fling set that I just can't seem to get enough of lately. After coloring the image with my Copics, I added some yellow Stickles to the center of the flowers. Then I cut the circle out using my Nestabilities, and layered it on another scalloped circle also cut with my Nesties. I love those things! They take up so much less space than all of my punches.... and yet, I can't seem to part with my punches. I love those, too. I'm addicted, I tell ya!

I also have to tell you about another book I recently finished reading:

Yes, that's right. I read Hillary Clinton's Living History. All 539 pages of it. Why? Well, first and foremost because I have a fascination with our First Ladies. I have a growing collection of all the books that have been written about them (or that they have written, in this case), and am slowly making my way through all of them. Second, I like her. There. I said it. This moderately conservative right wing blogger has a soft spot for Hillary. Third, I'll be perfectly honest: I wanted to hear (well, read) her side of the Lewinsky thing.

As for the book.... eh. Most of it was fascinating, as far as the stories of where all she traveled and who she met, etc. were concerned. Some of it was long and drawn out. It took me a longggg time to finish this book. I've been working on it here and there for about two years. The problem is I didn't really feel like it flowed. It was almost as if every chapter was its own short story, so when I came to the end of a chapter, I had no overwhelming urge to continue on to the next one, and so the book would sit for days/weeks/months between chapters as I read other stories.

I believe this book was released before she made any announcements about running for President. I had the distinct impression while reading that the book was written in such a way as to shed a positive light on her and set her up for a favorable run. I don't know how to explain it, I just felt like I was reading a campaign pitch occasionally. So anyhow, if you're into history, or even a fan of Hillary, it might be worth the read. Otherwise, you can probably live without it.

Now I'm reading Twilight. I finally got sucked in. HA. Get it? ;)

For My Friend

Here's a card using one of the February new releases from Sweet n' Sassy Stamps. The set is called I'd Pick You, and the main images is of this bunny giving the flower to the mouse, but I saw a card with this layout a few weeks back (thanks, Cassie!) and thought I'd try it on this set. What do you think?

I used some SU! rub ons on the base (which, by the way, I am still not a fan of), and some blue gingham that I picked up at JoAnne's.

I also wanted to share this Pepperoni Bread that I made recently:


Doesn't it look yummy? It was! You can find the recipe >>HERE<<, but I would recommend eliminating the seasoned salt (it was too salty for my tastes), and adding a little minced garlic or garlic powder. You can also experiment with the toppings you use inside the bread. I think our next one will be filled with Canadian bacon and pineapple. Oh, and I'd double the cheese next time, too... Other than that, it's perfect! :o)

Hungry for dessert? Try this amazingly sinful Oreo Delight (scroll to bottom of post for recipe) I made for my Mom's birthday this week!

Pink Cat Studio Sneak Peeks, Day 3

Here are the two new stamp sets from Pink Cat Studio. Tell me they are not adorable! I dare you! If you missed the sneak peeks that the Design Team featured the past two days, you can scroll down to see my cards, as well as the links to the other Team members. All of the creations are wonderful!

Enjoy!

Blog Candy Winner!

Thanks to all who entered! Jen, I'm headed to your blog to leave a comment - be sure to get back to me soon! If I don't hear from you in 36 hours, I'll pick a new winner.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

My mom celebrated her birthday on Monday, so we had her over for some cake and showered her with birthday gifts!

Here she is with her gift from Henry. I helped him pick it out. ;o) He looks very pleased with my decision though!



Great-Grandma and Jack watched from the chair:

Here's mom with the bottoms to the jammies that hubby and I bought her. My mom lives in jammies when she's home, and it's hilarious, because she is so particular about them. They have to be two pieces, and those two pieces have to coordinate. She would not be caught in a red top with purple bottoms. Me? I wear whatever I grab first. Her? Not so much! You can see the coordinating tank top over her knee there. She loved them!

And here's mom with the birthday cake I made for her. One of the moms I chat with online suggested Paula Deen's Butterscotch Delight, but mentioned that she'd also seen it made with Oreos, so I combined a few recipes to make this Oreo Delight:

Does it look yummy? Because IT WAS! Holy man... you have no idea. It was soooooooo good! Quite possibly the best tasting dessert I've ever tasted in my entire life!

Here is the (combined) recipe I used:

Oreo Delight

1 (20 ounce) package chocolate sandwich cookies
1/2 cup butter

Crush cookies into bite size pieces. Reserve 1 cup for top. Melt butter and mix with rest of cookies. Press into 9x13 pan.

8 oz. Cream Cheese, at room temp
1 cup Powdered Sugar

Beat these together in a bowl.

3 cups Heavy Cream
3/4 cup Sugar

Whip these together until it forms stiff peaks.

2 - 3.4 oz packages Chocolate Fudge Instant Pudding Mix
3 cups Milk

Prepare pudding according to package directions using the 3 cups of milk. Fold 1 cup of whipped cream into cream cheese mix and spread over crust. Spread the pudding over that layer, and cover the whole thing with the rest of the whipped cream. Sprinkle the top with the reserved crushed Oreos. Chill overnight.

I have to tell you, it is NOT like me to go through this much effort for a recipe. I am the kind of person who will usually only try recipes if they include 3 or less ingredients and 2 steps. I found the Cool Whip variation of this recipe on allrecipes.com, and there was a day when I would have just made that.... but now I know why people go through the extra effort. If my mother's words ever came back to me, it was while tasting this recipe because it's totally true: you get out of it, what you put into it. Although I'm sure it's much easier, I'd lay money on the fact that the Cool Whip version doesn't taste nearly as good as this does!

If you decide to try it, leave a comment here and let me know how you liked it!

Wednesday Weigh-In #10

***Scroll down for my Pink Cat Studio sneak peeks!***

***Don't forget I have BLOG CANDY up for grabs, HERE!***

Another Wednesday, another weigh in! How is everyone doing? I lost 6/10 of a pound this week. It's not much, but I'll take it. I'm proud of myself for basically being on this plateau for almost three weeks and not giving up! There have been so many times in the past when I've hit a plateau and then just called it quits out of frustration. So far, so good though. I decided yesterday that I need to do something else to help me get past this little speed bump, so today I started counting calories. I'm giving myself 1800 calories/day, which is the number recommended by The Biggest Loser book that I'm reading. It's 4:11, and I've used up 1148 so far. 1800 calories seems like a lot, but it's not. LOL. I mean, I'll survive, but I'm pretty sure I was eating more than that before, which could be why I stopped losing. Doh!

So, we'll see how this goes. I'd like to stick with it for a week and see what results it brings. I just want to make sure I lose these last 9.4 lbs before the season (and consequently the Pound for Pound challenge) ends in early May. It's definitley doable, but I need to stay on top of it so the time doesn't get away from me and I'm crashing on an all-watermelon diet on April 25th. LOL. Ok, so I would never actually do an all-watermelon diet, but you know what I mean!

How has this week been for you? How close are you to the goal you set for this challenge? Do you think you'll make it?

Pink Cat Studio Sneak Peeks, Day 2

***Don't forget I have BLOG CANDY up for grabs, HERE!***

Are you loving all of these Sweet Pea baby stamps? I am! I just think the clean lines of the drawing are so cute... and so easy to color!

When I started this one, I pictured it as a pocket card... and that's pretty much what it is, except that after I was done with it I realized there really was no place to write a message. LOL. Whoops! The seed packet is held in place with one mini-glue dot, so I guess the message has to go on the back. Oh well! :o)

Be sure to check the other Design Team blogs for more super cute sneak peeks!

Becky Carafa
Janna Hull
Jodi Ann Lee
Lauren Meader
Lise Roy
Maria Bell
Mariska van der Veer
Nikki Fairbairn
Sparkle Smith - March Guest Designer
Vicki Garrett

If you're wondering about the Wednesday Weigh In post, I'll get it up later today.

Enjoy the day!

Pink Cat Studio Sneak Peeks, Day 1

***Don't forget I have BLOG CANDY up for grabs, HERE!***

Today is day one of Pink Cat Studio's March sneak peeks. This month, PCS is releasing a new line of stamps for this little babe named Sweet Pea. Isn't that baby adorable?! Above you see the baby as a "she" with her cute little strawberry hat and matching diaper. Below you see Sweet Pea as a "he" with his bear face hat and bottle. I love that the stamps are separated in such a way that the baby can be made either male or female, and the accessories in this set are just adorable. They are also big enough to cut out easily, which is a major bonus if you ask me!



Melissa also has a little contest going at the moment. Find all the details, and enter on the Pink Cat Studio blog >>HERE<<. Check back tomorrow for another day of sneak peeks! You'll be glad you did. And while you're at it, click over to see what the other Design Team girls have come up with: Becky Carafa
Janna Hull
Jodi Ann Lee
Lauren Meader
Lise Roy
Maria Bell
Mariska van der Veer
Nikki Fairbairn
Sparkle Smith - March Guest Designer
Vicki Garrett

April Is A Promise

**Don't forget I have BLOG CANDY up for grabs! Enter HERE!***

Ok, show of hands... who subscribes to Papercraft Magazine? Did you happen to see this super cute card in there this month? ACK! I did! And I loved it so much I had to case it! So yeah, this is a shameless case. The only thing I changed was adding the canvas background stamp to the blue, and using a sentiment rather than just the word "hello".

This sentiment is from the His Eye Is On The Sparrow set by Sweet n' Sassy Stamps. Y'all know how much I love that set! Really though, any of the SNSS sentiments would work with this design. It's totally versatile!

Here are a few close-ups. This one is of the sentiment:

I thought that was perfect for the apple tree, no?

And here are the "apples":

The green at the top and bottom of the card is all raised up with dimensionals.

What do you think? Don't you just want to case it yourself? lol! :)

Nekkid Bebe!

When it's time for a bath, we've always undressed Henry in his bedroom and then let him streak down the hall to the bathroom yelling, "Nekkid Bebe!" as he goes. Today he had a little accident (explosive diaper - damn antibiotics!), so I had to strip him mid-day. He really could have used a bath then and there, but I didn't have anywhere to put Jack that he would have been content, so I had to do the best I could with cleaning him up. Anyhow, after I put his diaper on, I went to get him some clean clothes and he ran after me shouting, "Nekkid Bebe!" over and over. tee hee. :)

I had to grab my camera and snap a few pictures.

BLOG CANDY!!

** $25 BLOG CANDY Gift Certificate Give Away! Scroll down for details!**

First, I have to share this sketch challenge that my fellow i {heart} papers design team member, Kendra threw down for all of us DT members. Here is her sketch:





And here is my interpretation:

The card base is SU's So Saffron, topped with this Anna's Bananas paper that I LOVE. The Easter basket is a stamp in the Spring Fling set that I've used a few times before, and I prettied it up a little with some stickles on the eggs and a cute little pink beaded daisy. I also used my scalloped circle Nestabilities to cut out the semi-circle. I think I said the same thing the last time I used it, but I love that this soft paper has a little black in it. I just think it's such a cool touch.

NOW! On to my BLOG CANDY!

Do you love all of the CUTE i {heart} papers products I've been using? Well, you're in luck! I have a gift certificate up for grabs! Kate (owner) is sponsoring this giveaway for a $10 gift certificate to her store. And because I love you all so much, and appreciate all of your wonderful comments, I'm going to add $15 to it myself, so that means you have the chance to win a $25 i {heart} papers gift certificate!!! WOOOOT!

SO!! How do you win?? Here's the scoop:

1. Visit the i {heart} papers website, and check out all of the fabulous papers, stamps, and embellishments. Then come back here, and leave a comment on this post telling me what you would spend the $25 on if you win (you can change your mind later, and use it however you like, I'm just curious to know what your favorites are!).

2. Spread the word! If you have a blog, please post a link back to this info so as many people as possible can have a shot at this. I'd love to see 100+ entries!

3. Make sure that your comment includes a link back to your blog or an email address or some other way for me to contact you. If you are chosen as the winner, and do not make contact within 36 hours, another winner will be chosen.

Edited to add: A winner will be chosen at random on Wednesday, March 25.

GOOD LUCK!!

Wednesday Weigh-In #9

How is everyone doing this week? I apologize for the late post. The day just totally got away from me. I've been on a cleaning kick lately, and have been spending all of my free time cleaning the house. It's unusual - trust me!

About the weight, well, I stayed the same this week... which is fine with me! Better than gaining! :) I had a few bad days over the weekend, but I'm ok with that!

I'm going to keep this short and sweet so I can get to bed before 1am, but let me know how you're doing.

Is anyone watcing The Biggest Loser? Some of those girls are pushing 100 lbs already! I totally know losing 100 lbs in 10 weeks at home is unrealistic, but could you imagine what it would be like to weigh 100 lbs less today - March 18 - than you did at Christmas? That's about 10 weeks ago... I can't even wrap my head around how amazing that must feel for them.

I Want To Believe...

Ok, so maybe I've watched one too many episodes of The X-Files, but I love this Changito in Space stamp set by Stampendous from i {heart} papers! I matched him up with one of my favorite papers of all time (you may remember me using it heavily back at Christmas) called Hickups. Back in December, I thought it looked like a snow flurry. Now I think it looks like a super cool galaxy. :o) Could it be any more versatile? hehehehe. I punched a 1/4" hole at the end of the space ship and threaded three pieces of metallic silver string through it, then adhered that to the paper using Crystal Effects in a smoke trail pattern. I also added blue and white stickles to the blue and white dots on the paper for a little more dimension and sparkle. Voila! It's very simple (again!), but I thought it would make a cute kid's card.

I hope you have a wonderful Sunday. We're still fighting the sickies here, but at least the weather is improving!

A Constant Friend

I just love this new set His Eye Is On The Sparrow from Sweet n' Sassy Stamps. I know I just posted a card using the set not too long ago, but I had this idea in my head to use the main image as a background, and I had to run with it. I pulled out my mulberry papers for the first time in I don't know how long (years!), and pulled this together. What do you think? It's very simple, but I like it. I used to love using mulberry paper on nature-y cards, because the texture in it reminds me of wood fibers (maybe it is wood fibers?).

And I love this sentiment. The words are lyrics from one of my favorite songs of all time. Not familiar with the tune? What? Have you never seen Sister Act? :o) My favorite version is by Lauryn Hill (surprise!). Check it out HERE, if you're interested.

I haven't been posting much lately because we've all been sick here. By the time the boys are in bed, all I want to do is veg in front of the tv. My mind has been mush at night from the constant running during the day. Thankfully we're all on the mend now, and I'm back in business! I would normally get another card posted at naptime tomorrow, but instead I'm leaving the boys with their Papa and going to see a local production of Jesus Christ Superstar with some friends. :o) I love that show. This is the second or third time I will have seen it.

Enjoy the day, and look for more cards from me soon!

Down Time

Jack started running a fever last Wednesday, and it continued through Monday, when he also started to develop a bad cough and was gasping for air. We took him in, and he was admitted to the hospital for a day with croup and stridorous breathing. He needed several treatments to get his breathing back under control.

The following day, Henry also developed a fever, and was diagnosed with pneumonia when we took him to the pediatrician. This pic was taken on day 1 of his sickness as he snuggled with Grandma.... on day 2, he was flat on his back on the couch for 14 hours straight, and absolutely refused to move for anything (this was the day I took him to the Dr., which he fought... "I no like my dotdor.... I not feewing so good.... I no like my dotdor"). The Dr. gave him two shots of antibiotics, and by this morning (day 3) he was up and about again, and thankfully feeling much better.

I will be so glad once the sickies are out of the house for good!

Wednesday Weigh-In #8

Well, we are about 2/3 of the way through our Pound for Pound Challenge period. Are you 2/3 of the way toward the goal you pledged at the beginning of the season? I'm happy to say that I'm on target so far, assuming I keep losing like I have been. I lost 2.2 lbs this week, which brings me up to 18 lbs so far. Not too shabby... especially since I've been sick all week! I really wanted to go back through all of the comments and tally everyone up for this post, but I've been so out of it lately with all of this congestion that I just didn't get it done. Maybe next week...

Meanwhile, check out these yummy recipe links I got in a recent email from The Biggest Loser:

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

Asparagus and Tomato Pasta Salad

Spinach Artichoke Dip

If you click on any of the recipes above you will find a link to even more low fat recipes. Some of them look pretty tasty, too!

How are you doing this week? I hope you've at least managed to stay healthy!

Contest & Closure...

First, the contest.... Did you see that Pink Cat Studio is having another contest where you can win a FREE stamp set? For all of the info and details, check out the PCS blog HERE. All you have to do is think up a name for the baby. It really couldn't be easier! Now... Don't, I repeat - DO NOT, leave your contest entry on this post! You need to comment on the post linked above on the PCS blog to be entered. So, finish reading and then head on over!

Now, the closure.... The owners of the Bellaholics Anonymous Yahoo Group have decided it is time to close the group. If you are a member of the group, you've already seen the messages, and if you're not you probably don't really care one way or another. lol. At any rate, the group will close on March 15th, and therefore I will not be hosting my final sketch challenge for the group on the 13th (I was given the option to do it or skip it, and I chose the latter). I really enjoyed working with the other Challenge Queens and doing the monthly sketches, but I TOTALLY understand where everyone is coming from and why things are coming to an end. Anyhow, I just wanted to let you know in case anyone who follows my blog, but not the group, is wondering what's up come Friday.

So, there you have it!

Earth Laughs In Flowers

Isn't this such a sweet image? It's from a newly released set called His Eye Is On The Sparrow, over at Sweet n' Sassy Stamps. Technically, in this card, his eye is on the bluebird, but whatever! hehehe. I just really felt like those birds needed to be blue today. What can I say?! The background paper is by Basic Grey.

How do you like what I did with my ribbon? I crossed the ends and secured them under the button, then I left the ends of the thread that I used on the button out too before attaching it. It's a look that Anna Wight uses on her cards quite a bit, and I just love it. I'm still perfecting the art of course, but I love it when she does it (go to her blog and scroll down... you'll see what I mean!).

This reminds me - I got a handful of comments yesterday from people saying they liked how I made that bottom DP diagonal. It totally wasn't my idea. I meant to share this link in yesterday's post but totally spaced it. I got the idea from this card that was recently posted on Jen Muraoka's blog (LOVE her blog, btw! She always does such cool layouts.).

I also want to share another book that I finished recently:

This is a true account of the world's fair that was held in Chicago in 1893, and it is absolutely fascinating. There are so many things we use and say today that came from this time period - from this particular event - it's just amazing. Here is a brief synopsis of the book:

Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America’s rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair’s brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country’s most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C.

The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his “World’s Fair Hotel” just west of the fairgrounds—a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium. Burnham overcame tremendous obstacles and tragedies as he organized the talents of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim, Louis Sullivan, and others to transform swampy Jackson Park into the White City, while Holmes used the attraction of the great fair and his own satanic charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths. What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake.

The Devil in the White City draws the reader into a time of magic and majesty, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others. In this book the smoke, romance, and mystery of the Gilded Age come alive as never before.

If you're looking for a new book, I would highly recommend this. It's one of the best I've read in a long time!

Enjoy the day!

What do you see?

Here is a short video of Henry looking at one of his favorite picture books. For as long as we've been reading together (basically all his life), I've asked him what he sees on every page of every book. I'm trying to get him to notice the little things in the background in the hopes that he will grow up to be more observant of the things around him than some men I know (*ahem* lol!).

The theory doesn't really apply to this book since all that's there are pictures... but at least I explained my title. ;o)

You Rocket!

Here's another fun card using the Changito in Space set from i {heart} papers. It was soooo hard for me to step outside the box and not color my rocket grey! I don't know why I think all rockets should be grey, but I do. Hmph. Go figure.

The two DP's in the background are both from Basic Grey's 6x6 Cupcake Paper Pad. I think this might be my favorite BG pad EVER! I love the whimsy in these papers. They're wayy fun! The ribbon is the 1/4" Glimmer White - the same as what I used on the Changito frame last week (scroll down to see that if you haven't already). I love the shimmer (or I guess I should say "glimmer") you get with the ribbon. It's subtle, but pretty.

I colored the image with my copics, and added a few little star buttons that I picked up around Independence Day. I thought they were a nice addition.

Enjoy the day! And yes... I still need to get rid of that blasted snowflake in my signature. lol. One of these days....

Wednesday Weigh-In #7

It has been seven weeks since we started our Wednesday weigh-ins! How are you doing? Have you tried any new recipes? Had any successes (or drawbacks) that you want to share?

I lost .8 lbs this week, which brings me to 15.8 lbs total. I've been trying to follow some advice I got recently that said one should "eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and supper like a college student on a shoestring budget." LOL! I'm sure you've all heard (as have I) that breakfast should be your biggest meal of the day, but I've never really made it happen. I've been trying to make it a point to always eat breakfast, then have a good sized lunch, and a small supper meal. So far it seems to be working for me (what you don't know is that I was up almost 3 lbs by the end of last week, and have lost all of that plus the .8 on this new system). So, we'll see how long this lasts... It's hard to not snack at night, but I'm trying my best!

I really want to reach the goal I set for myself by the end of this season of The Biggest Loser, so I need to stay on top of things.

I hope you had a good week! Tell me about it... :)