It's Alive....Alive!

Is she dead?

Naw, I am alive and now well.
Thanks for all the concerned emails about whether or not I may have fallen off the planet or died...I appreciate it.
Rest assured, if I were dead, I woulda posted on my blog from my afterlife and apologize.

I got extremely sick a week ago and was out of commission for a few days, no work, no cohesive thoughts. Just me, worshipping the porcelain god for a while.
And after I was once again able to consume liquids, it still took me a couple days to shake that walking dead feeling.
Then, when I was back to me, I had to deal with the aftermath of what happens when the mommy and solo employee is dead to the world for a while.
It wasn't pretty.
My house coulda been condemned, easily.
Imagine...an 11 year old boy who suddenly has all the freedom in the world to throw dirty socks into every corner of the house, never rinse a plate and just leave things where they lie for about 4 days.
It was a nightmare.

So, I am still catching up at home and at work.
I am not liking this actually working at work crap, for sure.
And my house is pretty much back to normal, although the black bottoms of Max's socks tells me I need to mop...bad!

Lucky for me, while I was on my deathbed, I got so many presents that really cheered me up.
Some came and I was so sick, I didn't even open them for a couple days.
(that's how sick I was)
But when I did, it truly made my day.
THIS is why I love Halloween so much.
A holiday when people sent me presents I love and I didn't have to make a list for them, tell them what I like, where to buy it and how much it costs.
And when I opened the boxes, it was a surprise and a feeling like, "Wow, how did she know I would like this? That was so nice of her. I can't believe she thought of me."
Maybe your Xmas is like that in your house, but I can honestly say, only Halloween is like this in our family.

So....THANK YOU.
And I promise, pictures are coming of all my wonderful goodies.
Hopefully, it will stay sunny today and I can get some.

In the meantime, I wanted to thank Michelle, for this wonderful card for Halloween.
I was totally surprised and touched that you thought of me.
Michelle has to be one of the nicest bloggers I know, if you don't know her, you want to...trust me!!
And a big thanks to my buddy, Connie who not only sent me this cute card (I love it!) but also a wonderful Halloween package and some envelopes because she knew I needed them.
The envelopes made me cry.
Well...cry dry tears because I had no fluids left in my body.
And she sent Max a little addition to his spooky town. He loves Connie and always tells everyone how "Connie knows me."
Cracks me up every time.
Connie is truly my nicest IRL friend and I am so lucky to call her a friend. I could blab with her for hours (and have!) and we have the same obsessive personality when it comes to crafts.
Again....don't know Connie??? You should!
Check out her blog....HERE.
My Halloween swap package came from Jessica and it was amazing (pictures to come!) and Tracy sent me a package of all things skullz...OMG....loved it so much. I swear I talked about these things for days with everyone.
Most people just looked at me and nodded, not understanding the coolness of great paper or a new stamp.

Oh and
HAPPY HALLOWEENIE!!
(heehee...weenie!)
It is supposed to be chilly here tonight for the tricksters but as long as it is not wet, they should be fine.
I was told that at the ripe 'ol age of 11, the kid is "too old" for that kinda thing and if he wants candy, "I can buy it myself."
Yep, broke my heart this morning.
I trick or treated through high school!
But I guess I wasn't as cool as he is.

So I'm back.

I think the Malaria is over.
I hope. (really hope!!)
And to make it up to all of ya....A giveaway is coming!
And it is a good one.
Let's just say that most of you will find it amusing.

Thanks for sticking with me during my long, long, long absence.
Have a spooktacular day!!

This is ME Journal Pages

Remember how I am working on a This Is Me Journal that has fabulous challenges over on this blog?
Yeah, I didn't remember either.
I always have great intention about following through on things, but my adult ADD always gets in the way.
Especially when the challenges span weeks or months.
I usually forget.
Or get bored with it.
Or distracted.
This time, I am definitely not bored with this project, just majorly distracted, busy and lets not forget....I have a tumor!
(yes, I tend to overreact and dramatize everything...glad to hear some of you do too!)

But I am trying to catch up on the challenges and besides the doodling challenge, they all appeal to me.
So here are a few pages that I have been working on lately and these challenges are at least a couple weeks old (in case you're looking for them).

This page about a favorite quote was the easiest.I knew exactly the quote I was going to use...instantly.
It's my favorite, from my favorite movie.
"There's such a fine line between clever and stupid."
So true, so true!!
This movie has so many more of my favorite quotes as well and if you haven't seen Spinal Tap, you have really been missing one of the greatest movies ever.
I used a Pink Sugar Pop stamp on this page that I love because not only was it a perfect image but it stamped beautifully.
I stamped it here with black Staz On on a piece of clear packaging (my transparency substitute).



All my pages in this book use the Scenic Route paper and I can't say enough good things about it.
The arrows....the paper....the embellishments....
All are just AMAZING.
You can get all these fabulous products HERE.
And even better yet, there is a kit available, so you don't have to pick and choose yourself...
AND....her whole store is on sale!!!
Yes, I said whole store!!
7 Gypsies!!
Queen and Co. Felt!!
Stamps!!!
Prima!!

Yeah, she's pretty much insane.
But you have til Sunday to take advantage of her temporary insanity!
Tell Noel I sent ya over for the insanity and all, she'll love that.

RAK- Halloween Penguin

I got this little guy in the mail from my friend Carol, she knows I LOVE Halloween.
Said it gave her an excuse to buy this little guy.
Always happy to enable!!

He is so cute. Stamp from Memory Box.
If you've got a penguin fetish, this is the way to go, they have a whole slew of these little waddling fellows in all kinds of themes.
This is the Vampy Penguin.
See his little cape?
It's a little piece of black velvet paper!
I love the simplicity of the design too, a perfect card!

Scrappin' on the Brain

I've got some kinda stomache thing going on that I have not been able to shake since Saturday.
It's probably a tumor.
Or the stomache flu.

No, I haven't been to a doctor...doctors...phfff!
But I did stop and pick up hot tea this morning.
I must be sick, I paid for hot water!

Stopped at the Starbucks.
"Hot tea please"
"What kind of tea do you want?"
"Do you have Basic Grey?"

Yeah...I was a little embarrassed.

Caught Them!

Opened my medicine cabinet last Thursday and saw this....
Looks like they are closer friends than I thought.
We never pose them in scandalous ways, so they must have been bumped or they could resist each other anymore.
Made me snicker.
They're still like this, I didn't want to interrupt anything.
Everytime I open the cabinet I'm reminded of their forbidden love.
(yes I think like a 10 year old boy sometimes)
Gumby and Blockhead sitting in my cabinet K-I-S-S-I-N-G!
Bwahahaha!

Dude! Check this out.

I realize that I claimed to have made 8 layouts at the SIS crop last weekend and have yet to shown any proof.
So, here's a little.

Total Ali Edwards scraplift from her patterned paper book. It's how I start scrapping most days.

I scraplift the first one to get the mojo flowing and then just keep running with it.

This method has worked for me for years!

See that clear flower?!!

That is my pretend Heidi Swapp flower!

Doesn't it look like hers?!

Well, it's a poor girl's knockoff.

I stamped on clear packaging (yes, I said garbage!) with White Stazon and then cut out.

The packaging from Making Memories products is really my favorite, it's a little thicker than some of the others and less wrinkly.

All the paper is from Dude Designs, love that stuff.

Frame is from Making Memories, got those for a quarter on clearnace about 2 years ago and just now I am getting around to actually using them.

Skull is Martha.

Will try to get my other stuff photographed this week.

It's the gloomy season and the lighting is just not working with me to get great shots, kwim?

But I will try to be a better blogger this week.

Try...keyword there....Try!

Just a little Batty

Super simple Halloween card.
Something about googly eyes that make me laugh.
These were a perfect fit for the stamp and depending on how the card was positioned, the bat had several crazy looks.

Halloween Patterned paper is Karen Foster, I think.
Orange PP is My Mind's Eye.
Stamp by SU!
Black Organza Ribbon.

Let's Go Fly A Kite

After I was told last week that it was gonna cost me $10 every time I took a picture of this little "angel", I thought for sure he wouldn't let me follow him to the park yesterday and snap these.

But lucky for me, the ADD can also work in my favor and he completely forgot he told me that.
This is how we spent our day off school, attempting to fly a kite.
Seemed much easier when I was younger.
And could run faster.
And didn't lose interest in like 5 minutes.


But at least I got the pictures and it looks like he's flying a kite, right?

Sister Crop

Well, I headed north on Saturday in the unseasonably warm midwest weather to meet up with some of my sisters from SIS.
I suckered convinced Michele into going with me a while back and being the pal she is didn't even cancel knowing the driving that would be involved.

Look at us, me with my gigantic arm (man, I need to do a push up or something) and handmade nametag, Michele and her petiteness as usual....good times.

Here's all my sistahs together on Saturday.
I think they took this picture with Elly's camera and I have to say she must have had it set on the "tan setting" because I look like I just got back from vacation and everyone knows I am jaundice color year round.
But I love the malibu Simone look.
Oh and Miss Sarah Moore was there and let me use many many of her stamps which was awesome.

I had such fun with these girls and blabbed and blabbed all day.
And somehow managed to get 8 pages done as well.
(note to self: take pictures of pages, duh!)

Can't wait for our next one in April.

Randomness

Yep, Friday already and I am soooo ready for my long weekend!


*Did you know that there are some Gwen Stefani freebies on the HP site?
I didn't, til I was catching up on The Office season premiere from last week and saw it.
Seems to be some problems with the site loading, maybe people are flooding it?
But from what I saw there are some cool things.


*The Office is just hysterical, glad I got to catch up on missed episodes, did you know you can watch them online? I may have to do that from now on, permanently. Especially if they plan on running it at the same time as Grey's for the whole season.


*I am loving the sound of this album from the movie, Once, which I have been dying to see for months. Something about Glen's voice that reminds me of Cat Stevens so much and the song Falling Slowly is so powerful to me, I almost bust out in tears every time I hear it.
Key word...almost.
"take this sinking boat and point it home, we still got time.."

*The kid really wants to see the new movie (musical), Across the Universe, it's a musical based on all Beatles songs but looks quite vivid and like an acid trip, really.
But I think it is a must-see for us, anyone seen it?



*Has everyone seen the new Langley Boy design stamps?
The "put your big girl panties on" is so for my buddy Greta, it is like a motto of hers.
I like stamps with witty sayings like those and they are quite a value.

*Working on my Halloween swap this weekend, hope all you other witches are too!!

*Went to the store yesterday and low and behold...Christmas stuff was being put on the shelves!!
No!!!
It's only October...please make it stay away a little longer!
Bah humbug.

*I was putting together a little nametag for the crop I am attending tomorrow and I just had to add skulls.
I have a thing for skulls.
Max came in.
"Why do you have to add skulls to everything?"
"They're cool."
"Oh and you think you're cool?"
"I am cool."
"Says who?"
I was silent for about 30 seconds, trying to think of a great comeback.
"People like me."
That response pretty much squelched all my coolness.


*Max went to a concert last night to see a band he likes, Beirut.
His aunts and uncle took him, even bought him a Tshirt.
I wasn't "cool enough" to go.
After the concert he told me he's done going to concerts, "they're not that fun anymore".
Yeah, at 11 he's soooo done with concerts.
He's just that cool.


*Did anyone see the term sinister cute on the MSN home page today, under the A-list searches?
I love sinister cute and never heard that term before.
Like this ashtray, love it!


Alrighty peeps...have a great weekend, back Monday with tons of stuff that I will be making at my all day crop. (see how I am psyching myself up?!!!)

Hocus Pocus

I am saving all my creative energy for tomorrow's all day crop with SIS.
Yeah, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

This is the only thing I made all last weekend that I even remotely liked.
It was just one of those weekends.

The stamp is from Savvy Stamps, I really love it.
The paper is from the dollar spot at Target, although all the Targets around me seem to be sold out of it now.
I used some glitter on the bubbles out of the cauldron.
Yep, glitter.
And I have been finding it in many unusual places all week, like my earlobe.
Because the Target $1 paper is so thin, I used eyelets before I tied the organza ribbon otherwise it would probably rip.
If I had a glue pad, I guess I coulda used that but I used a glue pen instead.
Those with the glue pads...Is it really worth it?
Do they work the way you want them to?

Yes, I still make stuff!

So y'all don't think I have stop crafting all together...


Images from Michele, so I haven't a clue who makes these stamps, but I'm sure she could tell ya.
Both colored with the 'ol Copics, these were a couple of my earlier trials.
Does anybody else think that giant banana looks...weird?
Maybe I'm the only one with a guttermind...but it made me laugh.

I made some stuff this weekend, but hated it all.
I think all that 6th grade math is affecting my ability to be artsy.
But I spent a lot of time in there telling myself and the kid, "Don't bother me, I'm making something."
All I was making was a mess, really. (it was just a good place to hide)

Wanna a Monday laugh?

Over the weekend, I caught this digital short on Saturday Night Live and was laughing so hard I was crying, if you missed it, you can catch it here...
Iran So Far

If you thought Lazy Sunday was funny, this one blows that away.

EDITED: Stupid NBC...took down the video. Why??
So you can now find it here Iran So Far