Happy 40th Birthday, Julie!

Last night, I went to a surprise 40th birthday for the most amazing friend I know. Her husband had a gathering of friends and family at Sweet Basil in Fairfield, and while I’m not sure exactly how surprised she was, it was a wonderful and relaxing evening.

I made some favors for people to take home. I wanted to contribute in some way and at the last minute came up with this idea. These are the large chocolate bars and I made a wrapper to go around them. I think it was a hit!

Julie is one of those rare individuals that really knows how to be a true friend. She is warm and understanding, full of great ideas and knows when to play devil’s advocate and when to sympathize. We have laughed together, cried together and share our thoughts and hopes with each other. I am so blessed to have Julie in my life and my only regret is that we don’t get to see each other enough. Somehow, raising a couple of kids has kept us from seeing each other as often. But we both know that as our kids leave the nest and our hair becomes grayer, we’ll have lots of time to hang out together.

Here’s to good friends and good times. Cheers, Julie!

Snowy New Hampshire

Last weekend we went to New Hampshire for a little getaway. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn’t ski, but since my back has been giving me so much pain, I knew I couldn’t handle a day of skiing. Besides, somebody needed to stay home and hang out with Sparky! So, I was elected.

There was a ton of snow up there! And it was really cold so the snow was glistening and oh, so pretty. Honestly, snow just makes me giddy. I love how it blankets everything and makes it sparkle.

Sparky seems to enjoy the snow, too. My sister-in-law, Francine had given Sparky a coat for Christmas. Now, I have to say, I’m not one for dressing up animals. I actually think it’s kind of ridiculous. But, this coat is awesome! Doesn’t he look handsome? And it helped keep our sweet boxer warm.

While I was at the house dog sitting, I had planned to scrapbook. Since I have a goal of completing 365 pages this year, I needed to get cooking. So, in between walking Sparky, I scrapped 15 pages and made my January page goal. Yay! Here are some of my layouts and completed pages…

Here's the first page of our April trip to Colorado last year. Aren't those mountains just breathtaking?!

And here we are hiking at the trailhead just down the road from my parents' house. This is Melissa's favorite activity.

Aunt Nancy and Fran stopped by for an afternoon and we enjoyed visiting with them.

Here is a layout of us skiing at Breckenridge on a spectacular April day last year.

This was a layout of the day after we skied in Colorado without sunscreen and ended up with sun poisoning. Ouch!

And now it's time for me to figure out when I'll carve out some hours to meet my February goal of 28 pages. Thanks to the members of CMOS Club Achieve for keeping the enthusiasm and motivation going!

Wishing you a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It has been a long time since I last updated my blog. So, in the spirit of the New Year and making resolutions, I will resolve to blog at least twice a month!

Sometimes I think life has a way of getting away from us, and that is what has been going on with me since the fall. I was put on a huge project at work that takes me away from home a lot, not to mention I am now doing the work of two people. But I am thankful for my employment and will continue to plug away.

As many of you know, we got a new puppy in October. He is a boxer and his name is Sparky. What a smart dog! We adore him and cannot believe how big he has gotten in just these few short months.

Because Sparky was contained primarily in the kitchen, I was able to get my Christmas cards done this year. The rest of the house fell apart, but my Christmas cards got done… all 145 of them!
I’ve been able to get some scrapping done, and again in the spirit of the New Year, I have resolved to reach my goal of 365 pages completed in 2009. Wish me luck! I’m in a personalized swap and used a new 12” die that was a pain in the you-know-what to use… but here it is. Enjoy!

It feels great to update my blog, and please feel free to leave me a comment if you’d like.

Happy January!

Makin' Cards with Kim

With the imminent tropical storm on the horizon, Kim F. and I decided that a great way to spend the day would be to hang out and make cards ALL DAY LONG. Literally! We started around, oh, 9:30 am and reluctantly pulled ourselves away from all the masses of supplies around 6:00 pm this evening. One word to sum it up would be FUN!

We tried various techniques...

Crystal effects and coffee filter


Wax crayon resist, water colors and shaving cream

I’m so lucky to know people who want to come over for hours on end to make cards, scrapbook, and be silly. Kim and I laughed a lot, especially about the shaving cream… and are already talking about what we can do next time. On that list are ironed wax paper and rubber cement techniques.

But even before that, it’s time to think about Christmas cards and what kind of card I’ll make. So, that’s my priority. After all, I have to make about 125 of them…

Well, I've just finished cooking a nice dinner for the family… I think I may snuggle on the couch now with whoever wants to share the big blue chair with me. My bet would be on Melissa.

Getting Back into the Swing of Things

Well, it’s here. That time of the year where I feel like I can get my sometimes unmanageable life back in order. The kids are back in school and start their full days on Tuesday. Yay! And I can have that uninterrupted time to get my focus back. I know I sound like a scrooge, and I love my kids more than anything. But being a working mom is sometimes hard to balance, and the school year just feels most manageable for me.

The sports schedules are PERFECT this fall. How did I get so lucky?! Both kids have practices on Mondays and Thursdays, so we won’t have to be running around every night of the week like we did last year. Ahhhhh… relief.

So, that is the summarized scoop for fall.

As for scrapping and stamping, I had two friends over last week to make cards. We had such a great time! They were both new to card making/stamping and so I pulled out all of my supplies and we “created” for almost six hours. Fun! During that time, I was able to make my thank you cards for a swap that I’m in. Here is what it turned out to be:

I love that multi-layered look, but don’t always take the time to do it. And that double-stitched Stampin’ Up ribbon is my favorite. I think I need to get it in all colors!! (Yes, AS IF I need another thing.)

That’s my share for today. I’ll be catching up on swaps tomorrow and will surely have plenty of ideas to post after that.

Have an enjoyable, safe Labor Day, my friends. Take care!

A Special Gift-Nantucket Sailor’s Valentine

When the kids and I went to Colorado to visit with my parents, Melissa was given a unique project to work on… a Sailor’s Valentine. My mom’s friend, Susan, sells these online (www.nantucketsailorsvalentinekits.com) and they are stunning once completed.

Did I mention that Melissa is just 9 years old? And her valentine turned out to be absolutely gorgeous! Here’s a picture of Melissa and her completed valentine with Susan. Isn’t it just fantastic?! Her kit was the “Baby Girl” design.

If you are looking for a gift idea (for almost any age), look no further than Susan’s website. It’s a great gift to give to the crafty person who would enjoy putting it together. And it’s also the perfect gift for someone who lives near the ocean, vacations at the beach, or just loves the beach. You could put it together and give it as a completed item.

Here's a close-up of the valentine:

I’m hoping for the “Island Memories” or “White Star” for Christmas. (Mom: Hint, hint!) OK. It’s really pitiful that I’m starting my Christmas wish list in August.

My next post will be scrapping related, so stay tuned…

Oh, to get back into a routine…

It has been a wild few weeks! Traveling for almost two weeks, back to back sure was more difficult than it originally sounded. And to top it off, our second trip was extended by two days. So, when I got home… phew! I didn’t know where to start. I’m just now beginning to feel like perhaps I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

One of my “to do” items was to finish a page sketch swap that I was in. Pressure on! I haven’t done many sketches and found it hard to put this at the top of my list. Getting those done and in the mail to my Canadian buddy, Char, was SO relieving! Why did I wait?? I must not have been up for the challenge. Here's a photo of my winter swap. I was also in a holiday group where I did a Christmas themed swap.

Camps are winding down. Freddie is at Cornell this week for a hockey camp with his friend, Aidan. And Melissa is at Wakeman Boys & Girls club for an all day camp. At least this schedule has allowed me to keep up on work so I don’t feel like I’m driving the kids around all day and working all night. That becomes a vicious and draining cycle QUICKLY.

The countdown until school begins… just 15 days. Yay!! Yes, it’s the most wonderful time of the year… just like that old Staples commercial.

Tomorrow, Fred and I have taken the day off so we can pick up Freddie from camp. I can’t wait to hear about his adventures at Cornell. It’s a beautiful place to be and I hope he had a wonderful experience! While I’m not looking forward to 10 hours in the car, picking up my son is the perfect reward. I’ve missed him!