Playing With Paint

So I want to revamp my blog, but this time around, I want to create the background myself. The one I have now I did myself, but in a really round about time consuming way. I recently discovered Paint.net. It's a free software that works like Photoshop. I've been reading up on tutorials and playing around with various scrapbook elements, these are all from A Scrap in the Bush.
Look what I've been up to! :o)

This is my 1st attempt: Vintage Brick

I managed to mess up the sizing on my 2nd attempt: Beige Garden

My 3rd, to which I refer to as Marisa. :o) Can't imagine why this reminds me of an elegant snob I know.

And my most recent: Vintage Decay.... See, I'm getting better! Shadows and everything.

I haven't quite figured out my blog's new background yet. So many elements, so little time. But when I've got it, you'll know. :o)

Happy New Year!!!!

YouTube Tuesday

Okay, technically, it's not YouTube (because they're not allowed to show it there) but it's on Hulu and I had to share because I thought it was pretty funny. I also realize it's been about a month since I posted last; I have lots to share, but I've been bogged down with the holidays and I'll have to fill you in when I get a chance.

PS, Personally, I'm Team Volturi, let's put an end to this nonsense. :oP

YouTube Tuesday

I love these Target Women videos. And since one of the items on my "Thankful For" list is birth control, I thought this one was especially fitting to post. Not only do I not have to worry about getting pregnant, but I don't have to leave the family and sit in a hut for a week. Yay!

Mama Drama Mondays

Head on over to The Mama Dramalogues. I posted a few things I'm thankful for. You won't want to miss this warm fuzzy post, because I don't post many of them. :oP

Click here for: Thank Goodness



Also, Santa has made another stop, this time in the Central US. Check out the sales in these Etsykids Shops!

Santa's Sleigh Ride Team Holiday Sale - Fifth Stop

Graphic by Twinkle Star Art

This holiday season, join the Etsykids Team for a ride in Santa's Sleigh! Starting November 1st through Christmas Eve, participating shops will be sharing the holiday cheer with a shop sale of their choice. Santa will be traveling to each shop to take advantage of these great savings and you can come along and perhaps snag a deal of your own! To help Santa, and so he doesn't get lost, we'll be tracking his journey with a new blog post at each regional stop and highlighting the stores he's visiting.

Santa just finished shopping and working on his tan in the Southern United States, now he's moved north into the Mountain West Region. He's stopping in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. Whew!

Click here to check out the shops.

Remember, Winklepots is having a sale too, 10% off and hairbows are 2/$12!

Mama Drama Mondays

Join me over at The Mama Dramalogues today where I'm delving into The Survival of the Cutest. Because sometimes, it's the only thing keeping our kids alive. :oP

Just one of the many "documented examples" of my youngest employing her cute factor.

Before Naptime

After Naptime

The Original Hot Vamp

There's no denying it, vampires are hot right now. And I don't know about you, but it's a trend that can't end soon enough. How many sexy vamp/swooning human girl/doomed romances do we really need? Between The Vampire Diaries, Twilight Saga, True Blood and whatever other show is trying to capitalize on this "beaten to death" plot, none of them can even hold a stake to the original sexy vamp/swooning human girl/doomed romance.


Ah yes, remember Buffy and Angel? The couple who not only started it all, but really knew how the roles should have been played. Vampires are evil, blood sucking demons of the undead and Buffy was chosen to slay them all. And she did it well, for several seasons, in fact. You go girl! None of this damsel in distress crap that those other vamp lovers cling to. Seriously, if Buffy could see how pathetic you all really are, she'd stake all your boyfriends and enlist you in her slayer academy. Except maybe Bella, because clearly, the girl has klutz issues.

Enter the vampire with a soul, Angel, and though there are centuries of angst and broodiness, he's a vamp who's been around long enough that he's not going to waste his time repeating high school for the umpteenth time or play the "woe is me card" either. In fact, he'd rather spend his time helping others fight their demons, so he ends up with his own show, doing just that. Sexy, strong and clearly not hung up on himself, Angel can bite me anytime. No really, Angel, if you're reading this, my address is.... And as far as a duel between Angel and twinkly Edward? Really, is it even up for debate? Hands down Angel/Angeles would kick Edwards sparkly @$$ any day of the week. Because it's really hard to fight when you're pre-occupied with which broody face is less stalkerish looking or which hair gel will give just the right "I feel out of bed" look.

Those other shows and movies can certainly try, but it's already been done, and it was already done really well. So please, can't we just stick the wannabes in a coffin, nail it shut and call it a night? Or at least bring Buffy back armed with lots of pointy sticks.

Santa's Sleigh Ride Team Holiday Sale - Third Stop

Graphic by Twinkle Star Art

This holiday season, join the Etsykids Team for a ride in Santa's Sleigh! Starting November 1st through Christmas Eve, participating shops will be sharing the holiday cheer with a shop sale of their choice. Santa will be traveling to each shop to take advantage of these great savings and you can come along and perhaps snag a deal of your own! To help Santa, and so he doesn't get lost, we'll be tracking his journey with a new blog post at each regional stop and highlighting the stores he's visiting.

Santa's last stop was the Pacific Northwest and now he's made his way to the Pacific Southwest. He'll be stopping in California and Hawaii. Don those sunglasses and check out these shops....

View Here

Don't miss it, Winklepots is having a sale, 10% off any order and 2/$12 hairbow sets (cannot be combined with 10% off).

How Was Your Day?

If it hadn't actually just happened, I wouldn't have believed it. Today started out like any other day, just me and the girls and a trip to the grocery store. Peri didn't have any school today, but shopping had to get done, so I reluctantly took both girls. As we put on our coats, before we left the house, I reminded the girls that they had to be good in the store. They assured me they would so that they could stop by the bakery and get a free cookie.

Before we even got through the automatic door, they started acting up. I'm one of "those" moms who gets the ginormous shopping cart with the car attached to the front that the kids can sit in. But I'm doing it to save your sanity and mine. And it usually works. But not today. After getting them in it, they almost immediately start whining with the whole "she's touching me" bit. Okay, girls, knock it off or no cookies.

We zig-zag through the aisles and the girls get increasingly more annoying and no longer want to stay in the cart. Every time I stop to get something, one of them climbs out. Why don't they install 5 point harnesses with a freakin' lock on these things? "Mommmmmeeeeeeeee, I want a cookie." "That's nice Peri, you have to be good or you won't get one." "Mommmmmeeeeeee, I don't like this. Mommmmmeeeeee, I want a cookie. "And I want you to stop whining and be a good girl." "But Mommmmmmeeeeee..." "Words cannot express how much I don't care right now. Sit down, be good, or no cookies." We have this conversation at least five times.

I eventually have to separate the two and put Ryah in the front of the cart with me. Once we get to the bakery, I have every intention of not giving either of them a cookie. I just want a loaf of French Bread and I will be on my way. Unfortunately, once I get it, the gal working in the bakery says the C word to the girls. Damn.

As if shopping with them isn't bad enough, they keep at it. As soon as we get home, both girls go to timeout. Peri to her bed and Ryah on the stool with her nose in the corner. There's no talking in timeout, but Ryah keeps repeating, "Mommmmmeeeeeee!" I move the stool to four different locations, so she won't open doors, bang on walls or whine at me. She ends up in my bedroom and proceeds to dump all of the dirty clothes out of the hampers while I'm gone. Um, apparently you never want to get out of timeout.

My girls are lucky to survive long enough to have lunch. Then I hear it, a bus out front. Wait, what? I look at my calendar, so sure it's Veterans Day. OMG, are you kidding me? You mean I could have sent Peri to preschool this morning and only dealt with one child?!!!! ARGH! "Hurry, Peri get out of your leotard and put your clothes back on, you're going to school." I apologize profusely to the bus driver, for not being prepared, and send Peri on her way. Well, at least I only have one child left. One who has just locked me out of the house! Is there a kick me sign on my back? "Open the door Ryah.... Ryah!" Grrrr. I have to go through the maze in the garage to get back inside. "Straight to bed with you, child!"

About a half hour later I get a phone call, "Peri isn't feeling well. You need to come and get her." Ah man. I go get Ryah, who not only hasn't stayed in her bed for naps, but she's under Peri's bed and has pulled out all of the storage items underneath it. Don't have time to scold her now. Gotta go get Peri.

She has a headache and moans and groans on the couch, but only when I look at her.
Let's turn on a movie, The Nightmare Before Sanity, er, Christmas.

And here we are. I'm counting down the minutes 'til bedtime and I may have to send them to bed early. Jim has school tonight, so it's just me and the girls, no breaks. Someone please pass me some alcohol stat!!!! I need a timeout. How was your day?

This Is It

I went to the movies today (I know right?) and saw the new Michael Jackson documentary This Is It. I didn't really have any expectations and I wanted to see it mostly because I was curious to see what MJ had been working on prior to his death. Let me tell you, if you get the chance, go see it. It's only out for two weeks, so hurry!

It really doesn't matter what you thought about him as a person, Michael Jackson was a performer. An amazing performer. The real tragedy is that all of the effort put into creating his final show was never fully realized. All of the costumers, pyro technicians, sound operators, dancers and singers put in so many hours to create the perfect show, and they never had the chance to perform it. And boy was it going to be one amazing show.


Saying Michael Jackson was talented is a gross understatement; the man was a visionary. His latest take on Thriller, 3D awesome; costume for Beat It, it was going to be incredible; and his army of dancers for "They Don't Care About Us", wow just wow. Visually stunning and to top it off, MJ was in top form. That was not some 50-year-old has been, he was singing and dancing like I always remembered him. I could only hope to be half as spry when I hit 50.

This would have been an incredible show and while the world won't get to see it the way it was originally intended, at least we are able to get a small glimpse of something that can only be described as greatness personified.

Santa's Sleigh Ride Team Holiday Sale

Graphic by Twinkle Star Art

Kick off the holiday shopping season with Santa's Sleigh Ride, a team wide sale hosted by the Etsykids Team. Starting November 1st through Christmas Eve, participating shops will be sharing the holiday cheer with a shop sale of their choice. Santa will be traveling to each shop to take advantage of these great savings and you can come along and perhaps snag a deal of your own! To help Santa, and so he doesn't get lost, they'll be tracking his journey with a new blog post at each regional stop and highlighting the stores he's visiting.

This week, he's starting his journey in Canada. And those Canucks know how to craft. See for yourself...

Stay tuned, Santa will be visiting a new region on Thursday!

Just a Little Crafty

I didn't do a post on the Mama Dramalogues last Monday, so to make up for it, I did a crafty tutorial today. Check it out! :o)

PS. Happy Halloween!!!

YouTube Tuesday

Okay, I may very well be the last person on the planet to see this (based on the number of views) but I just found it yesterday and I thought it was pretty cool. One amazing singer (who better to harmonize with you than you, right?), some very cool video editing and voila', love it! If you're a fan of the show Glee, you'll really like this.

Mama Drama Mondays

I'm over at the Mama Dramalogues today. I'm honestly surprised I was even able to post at all, seeing as how I was called to jury duty this morning. Federal jury duty. And I was found guilty.

Ugh.

Creating a Moment of Zen

You may find this hard to believe, but I used to be one well put together cookie. Before kids, even before marriage, I was organized, sharp and well rested. Now I’m as organized as the city dump, as sharp as a spoon and I might as well blame it on the fact that I haven’t slept in five years. My life is chaotic and I feel like I’m grasping at something, anything, that will help keep it all in check. Or at the very least, give me a few moments of Zen.

Some may call me a control freak, but if I don’t have control over my life, then who has the reigns if I don’t? So, in an effort to get things back on track, I’m trying to lose weight to be in control of my body, sorting through the clutter to keep the house under control and get back into doing the things that I love so that the part that makes me me is not on the back burner. I’m more than a wife and a mother, I’m still me. And that person likes to be fit, organized and in control of her life.

I’ve started to sort through all of our belongings and have begun to purge. And I must say that once something leaves this house, never to return, it is incredibly satisfying and I feel like I’ve accomplished a great feat. Also, now it’s someone else’s clutter and not mine. Neener neener. :oP If you haven’t discovered it yet, you should check out Freecycle.org. It’s a Yahoo Group and you sign up for specific to your county. Members list items they are getting rid of, need or want. Just email the person and schedule a pick up. And since it’s free, you can always leave the items on your porch and not even be disturbed when someone comes to claim the item(s). I’ve found quite a few things I wanted/needed and have gotten rid of plenty. It’s a wonderful resource. One man’s trash is another’s treasure.


I’m also participating in a huge children’s consignment sale, starting next weekend. Take all of your old, good used condition baby items, tag them with a price and take them over. Do NOT hold onto baby items unless you’re planning to have another one in a year or two. Of course, keep the staples like the crib and primo stroller you love, but get rid of those baby clothes! If you do decide to have another child a few years from now, the odds are, the clothing you currently have you either won’t like or it’s out of style. So Freecycle the items that are stained or not worth selling and make a few dollars to add to your rainy day fund with the rest. Think of all of the extra storage space you’ll free up.

If you’re house looks anything like mine, you’ve “binged” on things for years and never purged and now it appears to be a daunting task. But it’s not hopeless, I promise. Pick something small, like the hall closet, the tote of baby things or the junk drawer in the kitchen. Spend an hour going through it and getting rid of the things you no longer use/need then organizing it so that the things you are keeping are easy to find. If you don’t remember the last time you used it, you don’t need it. Then don’t wait to get rid of the things you don’t need, just list them, take them to Salvation Army, whatever. You haven’t accomplished anything until they’re gone and you’re missing out on the gratifying Zen moment.

It doesn’t sound like much, but do the closet today, the bathroom tomorrow, the pantry the next day, etc. Eventually, you’ll have cleared out so much stuff, it will almost feel metaphoric. You’ll weed out the clutter from your life, so that all that’s left is the necessities, organization and maybe a hint of your former, put together, self. And that’s definitely worth the effort.

A Feature and a Smile

Hello fabulous readers! I'm being featured over on Tic Tac Dough's blog (which is super cute, by the way). There's also a special sale for her readers, so if you love korker bows, check it out! :o)

A Mad Hatter of a Tea Party

I've posted some photos over on The Mama Dramalogues today, but if you just couldn't get enough of this super cute party, take a look! And if you'd like ideas on throwing one yourself, you can read my how-to's in Part 1 and Part 2.

Super cute, super fun and really easy. No really! Have I ever lied to you? I mean on purpose. :oP

Welcome to Wonderland...

Running through the rabbit hole so she won't be late!

A tea party that's "Just the right size."

Alice enjoying the decor.

Painting the roses red.

"Eat me? Don't mind if I do."

"Hahahaha, eat me!" and repeat a few dozen times. Ryah took a liking to that saying.

"And always say, 'Yeessss, your Majesty!'"

How could you not follow a white rabbit as cute as this one? ;o)

One more thing to note, the next time we do this, I'd like to throw an official Unbirthday Party. Boys can even be invited to this one since there's no princess theme. Everyone brings a gift and since it's everyone's unbirthday, each child will exchange with someone else and take a gift home. We'll probably play croquet next time too. Just a fun afternoon in Wonderland. :o)

Son of a @#$%!

We had just returned from Peri's ballet class and the girls insisted we get the mail before going inside. It's a daily ritual and each girl claims a colorful piece of junk mail that will soon be recycled.

Peri set hers on the table and as Jim and I sat down to eat, he glanced at it and said, "What's this?" Then he started to chuckle. It was addressed to me: United States District Court. GAH!! Dagnabit! Not just a County Court, oh no, Federal, this time around. I was summoned a couple of years ago to the County Court and fortunately, after calling the night before, my number was not included in the list of people who actually had to show up. Dodged that bullet, but it doesn't look like I'll be as lucky this time.

Yet again I'm kicking myself for registering to vote. The reason I hadn't registered in the past is because I never wanted to be called to jury duty (and let's face it, you're always voting for the lesser of two evils anyway), then I was misinformed that registering to vote had nothing to do with being called for jury duty. Um, yeah, not true because I've been called twice since then and in the first letter, it informed me that my name was chosen using DMV along with Voter Registration Records. Damn.

I'm not interested in politics and local government; it's the only class in college that I got a C in, and that was by the skin of my teeth. Thank goodness for essay homework to offset the F's from the quizzes. Yes, I understand it's my civic duty, but it doesn't mean that I have to like it. On the one hand, I've always been curious about what serving on an actual jury during a trial would be like, but the "I just want to congratulate you again on being selected" at the end of my letter, is going a little overboard and somehow mocks my pain.

Mama Drama Mondays

I'm over at the Mama Dramalogues today. It's part 2 of planning a Mad Hatter Tea Party. Don't miss the fun! Check out some of the super cool decor and ideas. :o)

Down the Rabbit Hole Part 2

m.i.a.

Sorry, I've been m.i.a lately. Or maybe you didn't even notice; yikes! :oP Lots has been going on lately. Last weekend I did a craft booth at the local farmers market, last Monday we had to put our dear Lhasa Apso down and this weekend is my daughter's 5th birthday party. Just a tad overwhelmed.

The Good News....
The booth went pretty well. I only sold about half of my booth fee, but that's better than nothing and it was well received which gives me the confidence to do it again. I believe in the power of three: people see you the first time, recognize you the second and buy from you the third. I think people are leery of vendors that are here and gone but unfortunately, I was unable to do three weekends in a row. Hopefully this fall/winter I'll be able to do it. I was also approached about doing a bazaar at a local elementary school in November. Sounds perfect! We'll see how that pans out. But check out my booth, pretty cute. :o)

I wish you could see my banner a little better (too much glare from the sun/camera). It turned out really nice and I highly recommend the shop who made it for me: WilsonGraphics

Korker Bows and ElegantSnobbery Cards.

ElegantSnobbery Prints

The Bad News....
For some strange, flukey reason, our Lhasa Apso, Charlie, got a ruptured disc in his neck which occurred about two weeks ago. This ended up pinching his spinal cord and leaving all four of his legs paralyzed.
We adopted Charlie from the local humane society about 4 years ago. He was 2 years old at the time and we found out he had a grade 6 heart mumur. That's as bad as it gets and the vet was surprised that he was even still alive. We came to an arrangement with the humane society that we would keep Charlie for as long as he had so that they wouldn't have to put him down because they couldn't legally adopt him out. He continued to surprise us year after year with his puppy-like energy and you'd never have known he was even terminal.
Due to his heart condition, and the few thousand dollar non-guarantee surgery option, we made the painful choice to put him down, but not before spending the weekend showering him with love and affection. His body gave out, but his heart never did. We'll miss him.

The Sanity Saving News....
Two stressful things and I desperately needed an escape, enter my daughter's 5th birthday party. As I had mentioned on Monday, I'm throwing Peri a Mad Hatter Tea Party. All of her friends, from preschool, will come dressed in their favorite princess outfits and Peri will be dressed as Alice. I'm transforming my house into a Wonderland and it's been a fabulous distraction. I really needed something to take my mind off of everything else. It's been a lot of fun though and I'm anxious to share the final result once the party is over. I'll be posting on The Mama Dramalogues several how-to's and sharing my tips and ideas for throwing a really fun tea party on a budget. So stay tuned!

Down the Rabbit Hole (Part 1)