IT'S A GOOD THING....

*my exceptionally fabulously good mood today (hence the list)

*wearing my comfy jeans at work

*being told I look like a rock star today. Now this came from my kare*bear who doesn’t have a lick of sense, but I’m accepting the compliment anyway. I think it’s the glasses.

*my yummy cuppa coffee I’m currently drinking and the brownie I’m about ready to break out

*a co-worker who calls me “sunshine”

*getting along really, really well with a co-worker I’m up and down with

*not feeling sleepy

*the brown and yellow bangles I’m wearing today

*feeling inspired

*the Chinese food leftovers I made the other night that are waiting for me to gobble them up for lunch

*the homemade turkey pot pie I made last night (first time I’ve attempted that). delish!!!

*the homemade caramel corn I made for a treat that is like crack!

*even though I’m stressing over all the holiday gifts and Christmas cards to make, I can’t wait to get knee deep in making them

*tomorrow’s Friday

*we’re finally getting a target!!!

*the uber closeness that I have been feeling with bella lately

*excellent bloggin’ buddies

*cooler weather

*a well stocked fridge and two freezers (yes, I’m a freak like that)

*excellent blogs


What’s making you happy today?

JUST DON'T BURN YOUR FINGERS :)

this was the tutorial i did for noels tips and techniques blog. if you've never checked out that blog before, seriously you must. there are some excellent ideas over there :)


Like many scrapbookers, I enjoy creating all sorts of crafts. Which means that I have a ton of supplies lying around that I try to incorporate on my lo's.

About a year ago while garage sale-in' with my mom, I bought more glue sticks in more colors than any one person needs....lol. So I decided to come up with a way that I could scrap with them.

That is when I decided to make my own lil embellies with them.

To get started you need just a couple of supplies.



1. A glue gun

2. Glue sticks in any color you want. You can find colored glue sticks at any craft store.

3. An acrylic stamp block


After you have decided what you want to "draw", let your glue stick warm up a lil bit in your glue gun and then go to town.






Once you've gotten as many as you can fit on your acrylic block, just wait a second for them to cool off. Usually by the time you are done with the last one, your first one should be cool.

After they are all cooled, gently peel them off the acrylic block.







Create as many embellies as you want.

Once they are all done, adhere them to your lo's or cards using any type of glue (I used fine line glue and of course it worked like a charm...I love this stuff!!!)


product used: Sassafras Lass Owl Pals Collection Kit,American Crafts "Giggles" Thickers in Brown from the Noel Mignon Debut Kit ,fine line glue, and misc. ric rac.

VOILA!!

A lo using your very own handmade embellies!!!!

Some ideas using this technique would be to:

*Add glitter, seed beads, etc. to it before it dried

*Print a word or a dingbat out, place image underneath acrylic block, and then "trace" it with the glue



Hope ya'll have fun with this technique and remember: DON'T BURN THOSE FINGERS!!!

THANK YOU*AND SOME SCRAPPAGE!!!

thank you all *so* very much for the well wishes and the suggestions to feel better.

simone, i loaded up on vitamin water and it helped. i'm anxious to try the energy water tomorrow a.m. :)

big hug to ya'll.

now on to the scrappin'. since i was off today, the plan was to scrap. when i started to feel like shit on friday i thought my plans were going to be ruined.

but i was wrong.
really, really wrong.

these are the lo's i got done this weekend.

enjoy :)


journaling: "i about died laughing the day you walked out in the living room in this gettup. *howdy pardner*"


its hard to tell, but the word "ring" is covered in silver micro beads
journaling: "on our 5th wedding anniversary in 2004, michael surprised me with a new, gorgeous wedding ring. the ring is even more special because the middle diamond was in his mom's band. god i love that man."


journaling: "oh, my lil bella*boo!! you are quite the performer. whether you are signing & dancing or watching your face in the mirrow while you cry, you are always "on". i just hope that you thank me in your speech when you win your first academy award"


journaling: "bella is notorious for walking around with a plumber's crack. we are constantly behind her to pull up her britches. hopefully we won't be hikin' em up forever."


journaling: "look at you! always wantin' to ham it up for the camera. i {heart} these shots anyway."


for this is me journal



for this is me journal



for this is me journal






journaling: "whenever i try to get a decent self portrait shot of me and michael, the first 2 or 3 pics end up like this. grrrr!"




and these last two lo's i did using the scenic route salem line that i got from noel mignon. i absolutely love this kit and the plan is to do all my 2007 halloween pics with it :)


journaling: "the kiddos & i were quite surprised when we opened mikey's pumpkin to discover a coupla lil sprouts growing"


journaling: " when you said you wanted to be elvis for halloween i was floored! how do you know who elvis is?? you were really into it too! you decided that you would say hap*pay, hap*pay halloween in your best elvis voice"

whew!!!

AAAAAAA*CHOOOO!!!!

yep.
i'm sick.
well i've got a bad cold. you know the kind. you're all stuffed up and can't breathe. you keep coughing. and you walk around in some kinda daze. your head feels like it weighs 100 lbs. you're nose won't stop running. you sneeze like a mad woman. you just wanna crawl under the covers and sleep it away-cold.

i've kinda been expecting it and it certainly explains a lot.
the past few nights i have been utterly exhausted.
last night i was in bed at 630 and didn't wake up until 1-something and didn't even realize that i had fallen asleep.

of course i'm at work today but hopefully drowning myself in hot tea and honey, tomato soup for lunch, and some crackers will make me feel better.

anyone out there have an super*dooper remedies aside from medication????

hope ya'll have a happy friday and send me get well soon vibes b/c tomorrow we're supposed to go to the scottish games.

hugs!

I KNOW, I KNOW...

...i said this post today was supposed to be about how thankful i am about all the goodies that i have received in the mail lately and to make all ya'll uber jealous, but there's been a lil change of plans.

today has been a really shitty day for me, so you'll have to forgive me if i don't feel like posting all those pictures and links.

i know those that have sent me something probably feel like i'm a really ungrateful bitch, but i do plan on posting them tomorrow. plus, there is still one more pic that i need to get that is really gonna turn you guys green :)

on a side note, i will show you something that is making me very happy with anticipation.





the upcoming winter noel mignon kit. this one is going to be a fab*boo one for sure and just looking at these pictures gets me in the mood for christmas.

it should be released on the 15th of this month.

oh and i also got my lo done for the adverb challenge.



hope ya'll are having a much better day than i am.

GOODBYE RELAXING WEEKEND!!!

{deep sigh}

i had quite the relaxing weekend of doing nothing.
absolutely nothing and it was nice.

i did get up early and do my grocery shopping on saturday morning (love to grocery shop) and did some cooking but other than that, it was perfect.

yesterday mom came bearing donuts, a vcr, and some lifetime movies on tape and we vegged out on the couch watching that.

michael and i caught up on the second season of weeds and i absolutely cannot wait until the 3rd season is released.

the cooking i did was absolutely delish.

saturday night i made easy cordon bleu with baked potatoes and broccoli and then banana cream pie for dessert. i got the recipe for the chicken from the kraft food and family magazine they send ya.

here's the recipe:

2 cups STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken in the Canister
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)
4 slices OSCAR MAYER Thin Sliced Smoked Ham
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 Tbsp. GREY POUPON Dijon Mustard
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Swiss Cheese



PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Prepare stuffing mix as directed on package; set aside.
PLACE chicken in 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with ham. Mix soup and mustard; spoon over chicken. Top with prepared stuffing.
BAKE 25 min. or until chicken is cooked through (170°F). Sprinkle with cheese. Bake an additional 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

super easy.
super delish!

then yesterday i cooked a pot of sauce all day so we could have manicotti with french bread. again, got the recipe from kraft and it was very, very, very good. but i have to say that my sauce made it the best ;)

baked manicotti

2 cups spaghetti sauce, divided
1 egg, lightly beaten
1-3/4 cups POLLY-O Original Ricotta Cheese
1-1/2 cups KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup pesto
12 manicotti shells, cooked, rinsed in cold water



PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Spread 3/4 cup of the spaghetti sauce on bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish. Mix egg, cheeses and pesto until well blended. Spoon cheese mixture into large resealable plastic bag. Using scissors, cut off small hole from one of the bottom corners of bag.
FILL manicotti shells, one at a time, squeezing cheese mixture into both sides of each shell. Place manicotti over sauce in baking dish; pour remaining 1-1/4 cups spaghetti sauce over manicotti. Cover with foil.
BAKE 40 min. or until heated through.


and there's the recipe for that!


then this a.m. i followed tradition and after i dropped the kids off at school i came home really quick and sat outside with a cuppa coffee and noticed what i thought was a wood pecker. it was high up in a tree and couldn't really tell. i was going to get my camera and thought that the bird would be gone by the time that i got it. after it stayed there for awhile i ran inside to get it.

i don't know what the hell kinda birds they were but they were gorgeous.

and i have to give myself a big ol pat on the back b/c i used manual and i usually steer clear from manual b/c i feel like i don't have time to capture the shot by the time i fool around with it.

but these pics came out fabulous (imo ;)









i'm thinking in the near future that these pictures are going to become a craft project so be on the look out for that.

and it always cracks me up about how interested in am in taking shots of birds b/c anyone who knows me knows that i am terrified of birds. i'm afraid they are going to get me like tippie ;)

well i guess that's it.
hope ya'll had a fab*boo weekend and be on the lookout tomorrow for a post devoted to all the lovelies i have received lately.

CANDY HANGOVER ANYONE????

well another year of trick or treating is now behind us and i must say i'm kinda happy about it.

shocked?!?!

don't get me wrong, i love, love, love halloween (despite the fact that my decorations this year consisted of a candlabra and bent bone candles b/c i left them in my car too long....lol) things have been majorly crazy and i have been non stop every weekend since....well...i don't know how long.

so i welcome today, the first of november with open arms b/c it feels fresh and i feel free.

okay, enough of that babble, onto to the pics right.

well remember i mentioned that mikey was going to be elvis. how the hell he knows who elvis is is beyond me, but he has been excited about this since he discovered what he wanted to be.


"thank ya. thank ya very much"


"happ-ay. happ-ay halloween".

these of course were things he said he was going to say during trick or treating, but i guess he chickened out. have to say the boy takes after me :)



my beautiful lil butterfly.

even though i didn't realize until the night before halloween that we had thrown out her butterfly wings that she did have and also realized that neither one of my kids had shoes for their costumes, that was all quickly put to rest after a trip to walmart yesterday at lunch.


the kiddo's with melana and mason getting some loot from maw-maw.


me and the hubbers while walking the street.


mikey already has his candy in his secret stash which is located some where in his room...lol. i'm totally okay with this b/c i don't agree with taking all the candy and putting it in one bowl for everyone to take from. c'mon i know how it feels. mikey worked hard for his candy. its his. i guess i feel this way b/c that's how i was...hell that's how i still am....lol.

on a side note, i must share a recent obsession.
and an obsession it is. quite frankly i can't believe that i am taking time away from it to blog.




this beautiful book is currently being devoured by your's truly at ground breaking speed. there's actually a funny story about this.

two weekends ago while we were at barnes and noble, i noticed this book in a stack. i was completely drawn (and i mean drawn) to the cover. look at how beautiful it is. so anyway, it was over in the entrance to the kid section and i thought nothing of it. i read the flap and read the preface and thought, this looks good. turned it over to read the back and noticed that teen people said it was a "hot list" pick.

wtf!?!?!?!?

a book this beautiful for teenagers. it can't be. i can't get it. i turned it over and over in my hands and even talked to michael about it and then put it down. i did however return to it again and fondle it even more and put it down.

we left barnes and noble without the book in my hand.

then a few days ago i stumbled on this happy lil place and noticed she had mentioned the book too! so i thought well if someone my age thinks its great then maybe i had a bad opinion about it.

so while i was picking up shoes and butterfly wings at walmart i picked it up.

ummm...can you say pure addiction?

if you guys are still reading at this point, which i would be surprised if you did b/c you prolly think i have completely lost it by now, this book is really, really, really good! its not teen-bopper-y at all. you'd never guess that they were teenagers by the way they speak.

but yeah, i can't put it down.
as a matter of fact, i'm ending this post just to pick it up again.

hope everyone had a happay, happay halloween {said in my best elvis voice}