A TASTE OF MY FRIDAY THUS FAR!!!

i took today off of work to spend the day finishing up odds and ends for tomorrow.









okay, off to some french bread pizza and more ornaments.

I'M IN LOVE!!!

it has arrived. the new love of my life. my camera. a canon rebel xt. i love how professional it sounds. even though i had to wait a whole extra day to get it, it was completely worth it. i love the way it feels in my hands. i love the way it sounds when a picture is taken. i love the way it feels to hold the lense to put it in focus. i love that i can take a buncha pictures back to back without waiting for a green light. i love the fact that my hubby already knows how to use it so he can teach me without having to read the manual. i love my husband for buying it for me.

i just love this damn camera!!!

A-Z!!!

found this over at blythes wide shut. if you decide to play, please drop me a comment and lemme know so i can check out your answers :)

A is for age of first kiss: peck kiss: 6...kindergarten with michael murphy; french kiss: 6th grade with joey thomas

B is for booze of choice: crown & coke

C is for career: executive secretary to the major of a police department

D is for your dad's name: Mark (aka asshole)

E is for essential items to bring to a party: something delish to eat

F is for favorite song at the moment: geesh...this changes based on my mood, but i would have to say addicted by kelly clarkson

G is for favorite game: rummy 21

H is for hometown: i was born in cincinnati, but despite all the moving we've done, i have lived here the longest

I is for instruments you play: i can't play any instruments...hell, i can't even whistle :(

J is for jam or jelly you like: i'm not big on jelly/jam but i guess i would have to say strawberry or raspberry (of course i basing this mostly on thumbprint cookies :)

K is for kids?: abso-friggin'-lutely...mikey and bella and prolly one more in the near future.

L is for last kiss?: this a.m when i kissed the bug-a-boos when i dropped them off at school.

M is for mom's name: Julie

N is for name of your crush: Patrick Dempsey (swoon!!!)

O is for overnight hospital stays: 2 c-sections and my tonsils removed when i was lil.

P is for phobias: heights, snakes, dying, small, small spaces (not necessarily in that order)

Q is for quotes you like: "when you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everyone will respect you."-lao tzu (one day i will truly live by this. and another one "you can learn more about someone in one hour of play than a year of conversation"-plato (i believe and this is so friggin true...you see the real person when you play a board game with someone :)

R is for relationship that lasted the longest: the hubbers...6 years of marriage but have been together for 8.

S is for sexual preference: men...unless they are asking for a position here ;)

T is for time you wake up: 5:03 + a snooze button

U is for underwear: yeah, i wear it, but i have been known to go commando ;)

V is for vegetable you love: tomatoes, cukes, broccoli, carrots, i really luv it all.

W is for worst habit: over reacting to things

X is for x-rays you've had: teeth, knee, ankle, neck

Y is for yummy food you make: all sorts of yummy stuff...just check my archives.

Z is for zodiac sign: pisces...tried and true


your turn...

AWWWW SHUCKS!!!!

"I swear I am so proud of you....you're gonna do great"

-sent to me in an email from my bestest buddy greta in regards to the craft fair this saturday. i luv ya girl :)

A PINK SUNRISE & A TURKEY IN DISGUISE!!!

i just love when i wake up in the a.m. (very early a.m....5:03 + a press of the snooze button to be exact), have my morning coffee, get ready for work, and open the front door to this:





this was the beautiful view that i was graced with from my front porch. you know a day shouldn't go wrong when you start it off like this.


then once we got home and me and the kiddos got settled in and ate, me and mikey tackled his first homework project. mikey received tom the turkey in his usual get up (feathers and a red thing that hangs from his chin) and tom the turkey begged mikey to give him a disguise so those awful hunters wouldn't catch him and serve him up on a platter.

so mikey decided that he wanted to dress tom up like a soldier.

and that we did.


how tom was given to mikey (we added him to some festive thanksgiving scrapbooking paper).


mikey working on tom.


tom getting some shiny, black boots.


tom all dressed up like a soldier.

i definately think that tom doesn't have to worry about becoming a turkey sandwich this thanksgiving :)

A DAY OF SCRAPBOOKING AND ANOTHER DAY OF SEWING!!!

***WARNING! WARNING! PICTURE OVERLOAD HERE! PICTURE OVERLOAD HERE!


us working hard


cheesin' for mike (actually we made mike take pictures of us. i mean, we both need to post about it right? this was right before greta was leaving, we almost forgot).

well i think i mentioned before that greta came over on friday and we got some scrapbooking done. i haven't scrapbooked since greta was on maternity leave with melana (melana is now 20 months old...lol).

i got a good bit done, i think though i was too busy thinking about the things i need to get done for next saturday.

but we had loads of fun and i hope that we will do it again really, really soon (ya hear me greta? maybe we can get together thanksgiving weekend since we are off for four days and we only eat on the first day off ;)

here are the pages i did:
sorry for the bad picture quality..lighting was baaad!!














then on saturday, we got up and got and went to a birthday party. after the birthday party, we drove all over the place looking for some bags that i need for next saturday (i swear guys, eventually i will talking about "next saturday"). needless to say, i didn't find what i was looking for exactly. once we came home, i got busy working on the owl cards that i posted last night. then me and mike stayed up to 3-friggin'-o'clock in the morning watching some of the 2nd season of the l word while i worked on some felt flower pins.

ya'll don't even wanna know what time i was up this morning and after i got some coffee, fruit, and a veggie sausage sandwich, i sat down at the studio (aka dining room table) and hung out with ms. sewing machine.

this is what we came up with today





























WHEW!!! so that was my weekend. now i am about ready to sit in front of the tv for desperate housewives and grey's anatomy (of course while i work on more felt flower pins (like the one sitting on the orange/green/yellow coin purse).

hope ya'll had a good weekend and i will keep you posted in the final details for "next saturday".

HOOT HOOT!!!

just a quick break from the studio (aka dining room table) to show you a couple of things that i am working on for next saturday.


owl pin cushions


owl cards


tomorrow i will spend the whole day with ms. sewing machine (and hopefully we will get along). i only have 7 days to get everything done that i need to get done and i'm not freakin' out as bad anymore (okay, so that's a lie, but at least i still feel a lil bit in control).

hopefully when i am done, i will take pictures of the rest of my cards, scarves, pins, pouches, etc. that i have made.

i also need to make my etsy shop. this of course is mostly a note to myself so i can remember.

my head is swimming right now with ideas and things i need to get done. i really need to wear a pen and notebook tied around my neck...lol.

A GOOD MAIL DAY!!!

after a day at work of sitting around waiting for the day to end, i came home to a happy mailbox.


first i opened the package containing the beautiful postcards from hillary.

lemme just say that these cards are so much better in person. i don't wanna use em. thank goodness i have four of each design :)


my second pkg. was a silkscreened (i believe) owl from lisa. this owl is amazing. i am thinking that it is going to turn into a bag. however, i'm not sure yet. i may just frame it.


beautiful way it was wrapped



okay, now back to all the craftiness i need to do :)

I'M STARTIN' TO FREAK OUT YA'LL!!!

okay, the craft fair is next saturday and I.AM.FREAKING.OUT!!!

i don't have near as much done as i think i should.

i have so many fears:

*what if i don't sell anything?
*what do i price everything?
*will it be too high? too low?
*do i need to make up business cards with information on it?
*is what i am selling going to be sold at another booth?
*do i set up and etsy store so i can put the information on the card in case someone wants to buy something at a later time?
*how am i going to package my cards?
*what about bags?
*i'm not a people person at all, how am i going to talk to these people? (thank God my mom will be there with me).


deeeeep breath

i need to chill.

what do i have to lose?

i think i'll be okay :)

WHAT KINDA DIVA AM I???

You're Part Diva

You know that a girl's gotta work it to get her way in the world. And while you aren't about to throw a tantrum at every turn... You do amp up the drama when you know you need it. You mix charm, honesty, and kindness to get ahead.

Are You a Diva?

actually i am a lil surprised that i am even a part diva. i didn't think i was very diva-like at all :)

A LIL MEME!!!

i snagged this meme from amanda and thought it would be great to talk about me again ;)

2 names you go by
*lucy
*liz

2 parts of your heritage
*italian
*irish

2 things that scare you
*dying (either myself or anyone close to me)
*snakes (despite conquering this fear last year.

2 of your everyday essentials
*music
*perfume

2 things you are wearing right now
*cute black skirt
*long sleeved white tshirt

2 of your favorite bands or musical artists (at the moment)
*dave matthews band (ALWAYS)
*damien rice

2 favorite songs (at the moment)
*addicted by kelly clarkson (i can totally relate to this song).
*the theme song to languna beach (okay, these two songs are completely different than what i listen to. i am a classic rock/80's kinda gal. really. i am.)

2 things you want in a relationship (other than real love)
*romance
*laughter

2 truths
*i really do know that i am a bitch
*i express my feeling entirely too much. i need to learn to keep my mouth shut (okay is that 3 truths?).

2 physical things that appeal to you (in the opposite sex)
*gorgeous eyes
*nice hands (strange i know)


2 of your favorite hobbies
*reading
*crafting

2 things you want really badly
*our new house to be built and moved in to.
*inner freedom

2 places you want to go on vacation
*italy
*ireland

2 things you want to do before you die
*travel
*accept myself inside and out 100%

2 ways that you are stereotypically a dude/chick
*emotional basketcase
*luv, luv, luv skirts and shoes

2 things you are thinking about now
*shoes now...lol
*the other is a secret ;)

2 stores you shop at
*walmart
*old navy

2 people i would like to see take this quiz
*greta
*robin

HOMEMADE GRANOLA!!!

thanks to the wonderful allison, i have found yet another breakfast that i will be addicted to.

her homemade granola. i adapted the recipe to fit what i had on hand.

here's mine:




2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup maple syrup (aunt jemima's)
1 cup or so of cherry flavored craisins

1. preheat oven to 300 degrees. in a small sauce pan, combine oil and maple syrup until combined.

2. in another bowl, mix oatmeal, coconut, and nuts together.

3. pour oil/syrup mixture on oatmeal mixture and mix until completely covered.

4. pour mixture on parchment paper which has been placed on a rimmed baking sheet.

5. bake for 20 minutes and stir.

6. return to oven and bake for another 10 minutes till golden brown.

7. take granola out and mix in craisins.

8. slide parchment paper, with granola on it, off the pan and place on the counter until cool.

9. once cool, break up and store in an airtight container.

voila!!!

i have another batch in the oven that has chopped walnuts in it. what i love about this is you can add whatever you want to it. you should smell how yummy my house smells right now. like the microwave oatmeal in maple and brown sugar.

yum!

A NEW TOY!!!

i almost forgot to mention my early christmas present!!! i've been wanting a new camera for quite some time, and new my hubby would be excellent at helping me pick a new one.

after much research on his part, he found all of this. isn't it just dreamy? i can't wait for it to arrive. and fortunately i don't have to wait until christmas to use it.

isn't my hubby the best?

i also almost forgot to mention the new and exciting thing i did this week.

i developed a picture from a negative in the hubby's dark room at work. you wanna talk about fun!!! i was a lil nervous about messing it up, but it came out pretty good (despite the fact that the chemicals were a lil old). so me and the hubby are going to buy us some new chemicals and of course we need to buy more paper. we went through almost a whole pack just playing around.

this has definately got us thinking about whether or not we want to put a dark room in the new house.

here is the picture that i developed. its mike's boss (who recently retired). this pic is circa late 70's very early 80's. i wish it would have came out better. i really wanted to frame it and give it to him as a present. however, due to the age of the chemicals, instead of black and white, the picture is actually a rose color and the image is not as dark as it should be. i still may give it to him. i think he would be pretty impressed that i developed it myself.

GREEN DAY?!?!?!

mike came back from picking up pizza and i was serving the kiddos their's when a conversation started.

it went something like this:

mike: "the son working there had green hair".

me: nothing, but a sideways glance at him.

mike: "but then again, he was wearing a shirt that had green day on it, so i don't know".

me: i look over at mike and start to laugh. i then said "where's a pen & paper? i gotta write this down".

you see, mike couldn't tell ya who green day was if his life depended on it. that is just not his cup of (green) tea ;)

CARDS, RIBBON, AND HINGES!!!

well, since 10:30 this morning, i have been making cards for the upcoming art n craft fair that i am going to participate in.

the past week i have been exhausted, so the only thing that i have been working on is scarves. so it feels really good to get these done. i don't exactly know how happy i am with all of them, but i got 64 done so far. i will prolly take a picture of each individual card (except for the scrabble letter cards) tomorrow.



i finally got the ordered that i placed last week with qvc.


isn't this ribbon delicious??? oh, i don't know i if will be able to use it. they all look so pretty in the white box. yum!!!


these are stickers that look like actual vintage hinges. they also came with title cards. i believe its a set of 196 altogether. i cannot wait to start using these hinges.

all of this will definately come in handy for when greta comes over next friday so we can scrapbook all day. its been quite some time since we have had an all day scrap-a-thon (and a long since i have scrapped at all). i am going to work on some albums for christmas gifts.

A READING!!!

the card picked for me...queen of wands


today, i finally had a tarot card reading. last summer, while we were in milwaukee, greta had her cards read by a very good friend of a co-worker (i won't mention how i cussed my girl out for doing it without me :) the stuff she told greta was right on. and i mean this was stuff that this lady could not have known.

so for over a year now, i have been trying to get my cards read and today was the day. the stuff that was said to me after a simple introduction was mind boggling. things were said that put my mind to ease. normally the reading is taped, but due to the storm, she had lost pretty much everything and didn't have her recorder. i was able to right things down which i did.

during the reading, i asked her how she started reading cards. i mentioned that i had a deck, but never used them due to not understanding. she recommended a book to read and to start sleeping with my cards under my pillow. i don't know exactly what mike would think about this.

i know there are sceptics out there (waves hands wildly at non-believing husband), but really, this was amazing.

i would definately do it again (but by her only).

here is what is said about the queen of wands:

A lady of the manor either living in or loving the country. A very generous, capable and fair person especially in her dealings with people. A woman who is both fertile in mind and body and a homemaker. She enjoys social ease due to her charm and is protective towards those in her circle. The card may also indicate the success of a project.

yes, i live in the country
yes, i am generous (if i do say so myself)
yes, i am fertile in mind
yes, i am very much a homemaker
yes, i am protective of my circle of friends

DROOL!!!

i am currently drooling over these two library card catalogs on ebay.

since i was little, i have loved these cabinets. i loved opening the drawers and thumbing through the cards trying to find the book i was looking for. it breaks my heart that libraries use computers now. PHOO-IE!!!

wonder if i can convince mike its a good idea to bid on these.

prolly not. he does not share my love of the catalog. but damn, either one of these would look great in my new house.


aunt madelyn, if you are reading, you wouldn't happen to have any old ones sitting in the basement of the library that work at huh??????

:)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN (A DAY OR TWO LATE)!!

the manna's 2005 halloween card
move mouse over card to see inside...cool huh?

halloween started off with both the kiddos have parties at their classes (mikey at school and bella at daycare). i wish i would have been able to go, but i couldn't. i bet i missed some wonderful photo opportunities. they both acquired a ton of candy from these lil parties alone.

halloween evening, after i got off of work, i picked up the kiddos and headed over to mom's house to go trick or treating. we were all kind of wondering how many houses would participate and how many children would stop by. halloween was kinda cancelled in a sense by the local cities due to debris still on the side of roads and of course neighborhoods being completely demolished.

once we arrived at mom's, we at pizza, changed the kiddos into their costumes, and waited for daddy to arrive so we could hit the streets. the kids had so much fun walking from house to house. this was bella's first year to walk and did suprisingly well (until her basket got too heavy).

all and all, halloween was wonderful this year. the kids racked up on a ton of candy and loved dressing up in their costumes.





**i hope to have the rest of halloween 2005 pictures uploaded to flickr by the end of the week.