Hey Chick

Good Morning! It's day one of the Sweet n' Sassy Stamps bloghop! Isn't this a fun card? I just love this bandana paper and fun Funny Farm set! I have been kicking myself for ages for not buying that barnyard set that SU used to sell, but this one totally makes up for it. The animals are just too cute. :)

Ok, now it's time to carry on to the rest of the hop!

Wednesday, May 27th: SNSS Blog, Jeanette, Sarah, Chris, Cindy, Ceal

Thursday, May 28th: Sandy, Faith, Courtney, Deb, Deedee, Korin

Friday, May 29th: Teresa, Janette, Suzy, Lorie, SNSS Blog

Enjoy your day! I have another book review to share with you, too, but it will have to wait until next time. The boys aren't being too kind about letting me have blogging time. lol!

Don't Worry, Bee Happy!

Ok, be honest... How many of you are singing that song now? :) You're welcome.

Here's a quick card I made tonight using the Bee Happy set from Sweet n' Sassy Stamps (which, by the way, I just noticed is currently on sale for only $6 something if you're interested!). It's a cute little set... but I love me some bees, so maybe I'm biased? Nah...

So, get this... see the little "buzz" tab? That's stamped on Almost Apricot (or whatever SU's Apricot is called). The DP and the base are both So Saffron. The ribbon, which matches the So Saffron paper PERFECTLY is Almost Apricot. What the??? Isn't there something wrong with this picture?! Anyhow, I thought it was odd, so of course I had to point it out. hehehe.

We've got a big weekend in front of us... Two weddings tomorrow, followed by a two hour choir rehearsal on Sunday for an alumni choir I'm participating in for my high school. At least we'll stay busy. I'd rather be busy than bored... most of the time, anyhow.

Enjoy your weekend!

Thanks So Much

Hellooooooo! I am SO excited to share this card with you. I made these (I actually made three, but could only fit two in my white space) for some of the people that I sing in our local choir with who gave me gifts before our performance (flowers, bread, chocolates - YUM!) on Saturday. We had our annual concert this past weekend, and we had an island theme for the show, so that explains the color combo, DP, and primas! The music clef stamp is by Unity Stamp Co., and was a sweet gift from my friend Lorie a few months ago. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: Thanks, Lorie! The words on the image stamp are pretty small, but it says, "You make my heart sing!" Isn't that sweet? I love it! And holy man, have you been to the Unity site lately? I just looked up the link to add it here, and I think I have to go back and shop now. LOL! :) I love their single sentiment stamps!

Keep a song in your heart!

They're baa-aaaack...

Every year, for about a week in May, our lakeshore area is plagued with these pesky little bugs called Lakeflies. They look like a big mosquito, but (thankfully!) they do not bite. They just fly around in huge swarms, and then die off. It's really all very pointless, and annoying. When I was a kid, we had a TON of lakeflies. I mean, I can remember driving through the park with my mom, and they were so thick at times that we had to have the windshield wipers on! The houses on the lakeshore were totally covered with the bugs - white house especially. There were so many bugs on those houses, they actually appeared grey from the street. Then in the late 90's, something happened, and they were gone. We went through about five years with very few bugs at all. But then they came back, and now it seems to get worse every year (though still no where near as bad as when I was a kid).

Henry and I went to the zoo on Saturday, and the lakeflies were out, but they weren't too bad. They mostly stuck to the bridge and buildings, and weren't really swarming. I knew it would be worse yesterday (Sunday), but decided to risk it, and took my camera with me. The lakeflies were HORRIBLE! The entire time we were there, you could hear a hum in the air around you, because there were so many bugs buzzing around. And before you think I'm crazy for even going, you should know we weren't the only people there! Everyone had their hoods up and their noses and mouths covered (well, except us, because we're strong.... or stupid... lol!). The animals HATED the bugs. They were all hiding in their houses for the most part. Here are some pics of our annoying little friends in case anyone is interested. Here's a close up of a few on the fence. There were literally hundreds on the fence, this just a small 3" square space:


This is what the sky looked like:

I know what you're thinking... why did you go? And I don't know. I didn't think they'd be as bad as they were, so we drove over. When we pulled up, I knew it was going to be horrible, but Henry started to cry at the idea of being there, and not getting out. I tried to bribe him with all kinds of things... ice cream, McDonalds, etc. No luck. He wanted to go in. So, we went. But we went fast! The bugs didn't bother him in the least... typical boy!

Here is one of the zoo buildings, and more of the fence. All of the little black spots are lakeflies:

The cafe (appropriately named) was open... Blech. Who wants to eat with all these things flying around?! All of those black spots on the sign are lakeflies:

Look at all of the dirt on the side of the road....

But guess what? It's not dirt. It's dead lakeflies. They live for about 24 hours, then die, and collect in the side of the road (and smell like fish - it's fabulous). When I was a kid, they piles of dead lakeflies were so thick you had to shovel them to clean up. Nasty. This is nothing compared to what it used to be like!

So, I don't think we'll be going back to the zoo for about a week. They only stick around for about 7 - 10 days, then we'll be in the clear again. :)

Aren't you glad I shared?!

Baked With Love

The last time I posted a card using this Changito the Baker set from i {heart} papers, one of my blogger friends left a comment saying it would be cute to use for gift tags on baked goods. Right you are, my friend! In fact, the stamp set actually comes with this perfect little tag stamp, and you can stamp other images inside of it however you'd like. So, I used it to help decorate this box of cookies. These are my Mom's all time favorite cookies... Grandma's Peanut Butter Cookies. I found these cute Wilton cupcake boxes at Hobby Lobby (3 for $5, I think - maybe a little less), and picked them up hoping they'd work for cookies too, and they do! Just leave out the cupcake inserts, and you're set! I made a double batch of the cookies to give to her as part of her Mother's Day gift today. Henry is very excited to go give Grandma her cookies after nap time. hee hee. I *think* he might be hoping to score one or two for himself, but I can't be sure. :o)

Here is a close up of the tag:

The tag is colored with my Copic markers, and tied on with some 5/8" Pink Twill Ribbon. The ribbon is PERFECT for this kind of project because it's a sturdy ribbon (and, it matches!) and really works well to help hold the box closed.

There's a little sad news though..... :o( .......... This is my last "official" post as an i {heart} papers Design Team member. My term ended, and it's bittersweet. Bitter, because I love Kate and the whole IHP team, but at the same time sweet, because I know summer is going to be super busy, and I probably shouldn't be spending as much of those beautiful summer days locked up in my stamp room! I will miss everyone though!

I also have another book to share with you! I just finished Jennifer Weiner's Certain Girls last night:

Weiner (pronounced Wine-er, before you start giggling too much!) is one of my favorite authors. I've read everything she has written, and have enjoyed all of it. Although I enjoyed this book, I have to say it was one of my least favorite by her. Not because it wasn't a good story... it was... it just took me a long long time to really get into it. In fact, while I was reading the book, I was thinking about blogging and decided that from now on I'm going to share my "point of no return".... meaning, the page I got to when it became nearly impossible for me to put the book down. For this book, sadly, it was page 245. That's a whole lot of reading to go through before being really sucked in! BUT... the interesting part is that not only was I totally hooked from 245 to the end, I also found myself crying through most of those final 100(ish) pages. So it's not that I didn't like the story, and it's not that I couldn't relate to the characters, it just didn't really draw me in like some of her previous works have. I would still recommend it if you enjoy Chick Lit... but maybe start with one of her earlier books like In Her Shoes, or Good in Bed (which, by the way, is not as racy as the title implies!). OH! Actually.... do read Good in Bed first, because it's something of a prequel to this novel. Same characters.... :o)

Happy Mother's Day!

Goal #1

I just wanted to give a little update on the Pound for Pound challenge. If you remember, I pledged to lose 28 lbs between January 5 and May 5 this year as part of the PFP challenge that was hosted on The Biggest Loser. I was doing really well until I hit a plateau mid-April and couldn't get past it for the life of me. I finally did end up breaking through the plateau, and just in the nick of time, too!

I am so proud of the work I've done in the past four months, and feel sooo much better! I have way more energy, am winded a lot loss frequently, and don't have ANY of the pains I had been having in my heel, knee, and back! I am planning to continue losing weight and exercising (Bob Harper kicks my arse on a nightly basis via DVD!). Click the pictures to see a larger image... and ignore my eye in that bottom pic. It looks like I have a black eye, but I don't! It must have just been the shadows... I now weigh less than I did when I got married almost 10 years ago. Another 5 lbs, and I'll weigh the same amount I did when hubby and I met back in early 1998. So, that little (or not so...) five pounds is my next goal. Then I'll set a new one from there and see where it all takes me.

Thanks so much for the encouragement here and on my other blog, and a big thanks to all who joined the challenge with me. You guys rock!

As a side note... I actually weigh 70 lbs less right now than I did at my highest (albeit during pregnancy) weight... and 28 lbs less than I weighed before I got pregant (both times). Woot!!

We're Having A Picnic!

Ok, seriously, how fun is this card!? I love it! That red gingham paper (found at Hobby Lobby) is just perfect for a picnic card! The images on the card are from the Sweet n' Sassy Stamps set called Summer Fun, and the sentiment is from Summer Sentiments. The sketch today is from Card Positioning Systems. Have you seen their blog? They have some super cute sketch ideas! Click over and take a look at some of the other samples this week.

In my last post I mentioned that I'd finished another book, and said I'd talk about it here.... so here you go! The last book I read was The Shack, by William P. Young. You can learn all about it on that website, if you're interested.


The book was recommended to me by a friend, and I'm so glad I read it! The story centers around conversations the main character has with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit over the course of a weekend. I absolutely loved the story, and the refreshing take the author has on faith as a whole. There are lots of people who are unhappy with the book, citing heresies and what have you, but to them I say lighten up. I really think the book is worth reading, and then you can form your own opinions. Let me know if you read it. I'd love to know what you think!

More Changito

Here is another fun card I whipped up using Changito the Baker by Stampendous, from i {heart} papers. This would be such an easy card to mass produce - perfect for a swap, or a gift set! The ribbon is also from IHP, and can be found HERE. It's hard to see in the picture, but I also used Star Dust Stickles on the candle flames at the bottom of the card, and Angel Wings Shimmerz on all of Changito's pink accessories. I also globbed a little bit of stickles on the end of his spoon to make it look like he was whipping up something yummy!

I also have to take a minute to talk books. The last time I posted about a book was when I finished the Twilight series, and I'm on my third book now since I finished that! Once I finished that series, I moved on to this book, The Widow Of The South, by Robert Hicks.

Although it is a fictional novel, it's based on the true story of a woman named Carrie McGavock who lived in Franklin, TN during the Civil War. The story revolves around her house being used as a hospital during the battle in Franklin, and details the work she did to preserve the bodies of the fallen men, contacting their families to let them know where the boys were, etc. It really is quite fascinating, if you are interested in that era of history like I am. Her home, Carnton, is still standing as a historic plantation in TN. I would love to visit it some day. I've been to TN so many times... I wish I'd known about this a few years ago. I guess I'll just have to make another trip!

That's all for now. I'll write about the book I read after Widow in my next post. :o)

Enjoy the day!

Wednesday Weigh-In #14....on Sunday

Hi friends, here I am... late again. I'm happy to report though that I have finally met and exceeded my original PFP Challenge goal! I pledged to lose 28 lbs in this challenge, and to date have lost 30, so I'm excited about that! I went to the PFP website and reported my weight loss. Even if you didn't meet your goal, be sure to log in over there and do the same... every pound counts! May 5 is the last day to submit your information...

Since the PFP Challenge is over, I'm going to make this my final Wednesday Weigh-in post. If you're interested in following my progress, you can continue to click over to my blog periodically and look at the side bar... I'm going to find a new image to replace the PFP image, and update my progress there as time goes on. I'll probably also mention some milestones in random blog posts as well.

If you do decide to pop in every once in awhile, you will probably notice that my # of pounds to lose goal will continually increase as I meet each goal. For instance, my sidebar currently states that I've lost "27.4 of 28 lbs". My next goal is to get to the weight I was at when I met my dh, which isn't really that far away.... so after I finish typing this, I'll be changing that area to, "30 of 33 lbs lost"... Then once I hit the 33 lb goal, I'll set a new one, and adjust the numbers again. Make sense? I hope so!

Thanks for playing along with the PFP challenge, or supporting me while I worked toward my goal! All of your comments have been more helpfult han you realize.