I'm still here!

It's been close to a month since I've blogged. And now I can, because I finally finished a huge project I've been working for almost that whole time. But more about that later...

Spring has arrived here in Ohio, at least briefly. Monday and Tuesday it was 70-75 degrees, and then Wednesday hit and it was back to winter-like temps. But we did get outside those warm days and I got some great pics.

Is this a pose, or what? Gretchen sure knows how to work the camera!

And here's Heidi. Notice how she is standing? I guess all those ballet classes are starting to sink in! LOL

A couple of weeks ago, Rob was out of town for almost a week for a basketball tournament. We tried to plan lots of things to do to keep ourselves busy, since my parents were in Florida at the same time!

The girls got to meet Ronald himself on a lunch outing with my Grandma. Heidi decided that he must be real, since his feet are so big...that makes him a real clown. LOL

Then back at Grandma's place, we built a giant tower with her blocks. Now, these blocks are probably 60+ years old. My dad and aunt had them as kids, and I used to play with them too. Grandma still gets a big kick out of watching us build towers.

The project I mentioned earlier is the school yearbook for Rob's school. I can't show you here, since some of the kids' parents don't want their photos posted on the web, but let me tell you...it was a HUGE job. We ended up having 55 pages total, and I designed each and every one. We did have a group of kids helping out. They were great with Photoshop, but I didn't have as much time as I wanted to really teach it to them properly. Hopefully next year, now that I know what I'm doing, we can make an even better book!

Okay, I'm signing off now and getting to bed. Too many nights of 2:30am bedtimes lately. Later!

Terriffic Tuesday

Don't ya love my original titles for my blog posts? lol

Yesterday's yearbook meeting went well. Rob and I were starting to kind of freak out, since the book is due at the printer the second week of April. We had to crack the whip and really make the kids work, but they did a great job. We printed our first proofs and I think they are impressed with the work they are doing. Yay! We have a long way to go, but we can finally see some results. I'll post some of our pages here so you can cheer us along!

These kids have never seen Photoshop before, and I'm kind of teaching them on the fly. I wish I had the time to really do a whole Photoshop class for them, but they are all way too busy. One 7th grade boy told me that "I'll never know as much about computers as you do!" and I told him "no way...you'll be way past my by the time you get to high school!". But I must admit...I can always use a good ego boost. :-)

~ Funk It Up Bonus Challenge #3 ~
This time the challenge was based on a really cool sketch, and it was perfect for my recent pictures of our walk at the park...

Credits and journaling can be seen here

~ And Another Layout ~
I made this one with Toni Berman's fabulous Linky-Dos Metals...isn't this a fun product?

Congrats are in order for Toni too, since her Linky-Dos Two is being featured on Disc Talk Radio this week...woohoo!

Today it's going to be sunny and 70 degrees, so we'll be outside this afternoon. Yay! Have a great one!

Happy Monday

Today has been a great day so far. I managed to get the girls to ballet class, even though Gretchen protested angrily, and afterward we did a mega grocery shopping trip. They were such good shoppers, helping me fill the cart and actually stayed close to me as I asked! Woohoo! Of course, I bribed them by letting them pick out their own cup of yogurt, and with a ride on the one cent pony right at the checkout. :-)

I noticed something at the store today that just made me sad. On the way out we saw some new grocery carts that looked like cars. Upon closer inspection, I saw that these were no ordinary carts...for just one dollar, you can rent the cart so your child can ride inside at WATCH TV!! I was appalled! I guess no place is safe from the boob tube. I'm certainly not against TV, but in the store? Ugh!

~ Incensical ~
Yankee Candle tarts and tart warmers are all the rage right now, and I do have one (thanks to reading Gina Miller's blog LOL). However, after a bedroom cleaning spree over the weekend, Rob uncovered an incense bottle that has remained unused and dusty on the chest of drawers. He brought it down to the kitchen and we've been burning it all weekend. I love to watch the smoke float around and there's just something about the smell...it's so different. Isn't this a pretty bottle?


~ Perking Right Along ~
Here's another newer addition to the kitchen...a vintage coffee perculator! I accidentally broke the carafe for our automatic drip model, so we acquired my mother-in-law's old, unused perculator. It makes fantastic coffee...better than anything we've tried before.

I also ordered a cute little vintage coffee pot from Ebay, as I've decided to start collect old coffee stuff to decorate the kitchen (thanks to my friend Carrie for the idea!).

Well now we're off to school for another yearbook meeting, and tonight we are on our own since Rob has class. I think we'll make birthday cards for my brother, and play a couple of games.

:-)

Sunshine Day #2

Can you believe it? Two days of sunshine and blue skies in NW Ohio in March...woohoo! All the snow is melting and things are pretty wet and muddy, but I don't care. Just keep giving me that sunshine baby!!

Right now I'm trying to convince the girls to get dressed so we can go over the to park and take a walk. There is a beautiful fully paved trail, so we shouldn't get too muddy, and there is a creek involved too, which should intrigue most 4 year olds, wouldn't you think? They have both gotten a little too comfy lounging around the house, so it's time to change that! Especially after I ate an unnamed amount of Girl Scout cookies yesterday...oh well. Today is a new day!

Tonight we are going over to Mom and Dad's for one last dinner before they take off for Florida for a month. I'm sooooo jealous. But, I'm trying to figure out how I can have a girl's night out in their house while they are gone. They have about 4 times the amount of square footage in their house as we do, and all the luxuries (like a huge whirlpool tub), so I'm thinking spa night? We'll see if I can convince Mom to let me borrow the house.

~ New Products at Plain Digital Wrapper ~

One new one and one "reworked" item today...

Hand Painted Eggs

Hand Painted Hearts

Well, I have to go wrangle the chillins because I hear banging noises coming from upstairs. It could be bed jumping or just general mayhem. Swan Creek park, here we come!!

Have a great weekend...wishing you sunshine days!

Sunshine Day!

The sun is out the morning. The ground is covered with a fresh layer of powdery white snow. The sky is blue. It's only 19 degrees, but gosh darn it, this is one of my favorite kind of days! Sunshine is just so happy and cheerful. I cherish the days when we see it around here!!

~ Rectangle Scrapping Gallery ~
If you are a rectangle scrapper, I want you to check out my other blog, Rectangle Scrapping Gallery. I'm going to do my best to put up three new rectangle layouts every day, for inspiration. If you'd like to be included on my list of rectangle galleries, please email me at mish dot gasser at gmail dot com.

~ Layouts ~
I made this one with Toni Berman's cool stuff. The layout isn't wowing me right now, but at least I got the photos scrapped!

Journaling:
Who would have thought you could find a place that will have a toy train deliver your food? We have just such a place that just opened here. so one night after swimming lessons we checked it out. I guess is would have been more fun if there had been more people there, because we only got to see the train a couple of times. But still, it was fun, and something to do on a cold, thunderstorming, almost spring kind of night!

Credits:
Toni Berman's Mulberry Path paper, Date Ticket and Recycled
cardboard, packing tape and alpha, available at My Digital Muse
and Toni Berman Designs
Hallway Griffiti glitter paint by Meredith Fenwick
Special thanks to Atomic Cupcake
Font: Michelle Marker

The results have been posted for the Funk It Up challenge #2, so I can show you now. The theme was "Someday I'm going to..."

Credits:
Doodle frame by Ida Rudningen
Paper by Shannon Lee
Staples by Michelle Underwood
Notebook paper by Gina Huff
Flower by Shannon Lee designs
Stitching by Meredith Fenwick
Hand Stamped Alpha by Michelle Coleman
Font: Cathie's Hand

Now it's time to go do some laundry. Have a great day!

My Scrap Space

I finally finished a challenge that Jessica Bolton is having over on her blog...scrap your scrap space. Here's what I came up with:

Journaling:
I have an official scrap space, but you’ll rarely find me there. If I need to use my printer, scanner or external hard drive then yes, I’m there. But for the most part, I scrap any place there is a flat surface, like on the kitchen snack bar or while watching TV in the living room. I can’t imagine being limited to one place...I’d go crazy! I love being able to interact with my family while I scrap; it gives me inspiration. All I need now is a comfortable stool, and I’ll be set.

Credits:
Negative frame and background paper from Jessica Bolton's
Delight In Photographs
Doodle borders by Tracy Blankenship
Soda Pop paper and Hallway Graffiti glitter paint
by Meredith Fenwick
Painted flower by Michelle Coleman
Grunge frame by Nancy Comelab
Font: KGD Mozer Print

~ Infirmary, Part 2 ~
Today both of the girls were sick. Gretchen's fever was quite high all day and she did not tolerate it well. She had a huge explosion during the afternoon over some silly disagreement she and Heidi were having, and once I sent her up to her room, this is what I got to hear: "I don't like that stupid old Mommy...I'm not going to listen to her anymore! I don't want a new mommy but I want a new Heidi! I don't like that! etc..." This went on for about 15 minutes. It always amazes me how much material she has, and how long she can continue at such a high level of furry. Sheesh. I have NO idea where that comes from.... ROFL!!

I'm off to vote in the Funk It Up #2 challenge, and then hopefully get some sleep. Looks like we'll have sick day #3 tomorrow. Nite chicas!

New Products!

I finally got motivated to actually produce something...yay!!


Coffee Talk Alpha was supposed to be part of a whole coffee-themed kit, but I got stuck so I decided to just release this part. Hopefully there will be more to come soon. :-)


And this one...well, I'm not Irish, but I've had these glittery shamrocks in mind for a while and just had to do them! Check them out here.

~ Infirmary ~
Today my house is a sickie house. Heidi had a temp of 104.1 degrees last night (yikes) and is still feeling crummy today, but at least the temp is down to a reasonable number (like 101.2). She likes to sleep on the couch when she's sick, so guess where I sleep too? Good thing we have a sectional with room for several people. :-) Rob has class tonight (won't get home until around 8:30pm) and parent teacher conferences tomorrow night (same time frame), so I'm pretty much on my own. Gretchen has a slight fever right now too, but not enough to get excited about. Hmmm...school or no school tomorrow? Guess we will wait and see.

~ Layouts ~
I'm having so much fun with the Funk It Up contest at Scrap Forums. It's even better to be joining in with my awesome group of scrapping buddies...Melinda, Amy, Cassie and Tania. Since the entries are anonymous before the voting, we have to try to find each other's layouts. It's great learning more about each of these ladies every week.

I can show you my entry for the bonus round. We had to make a layout using the color green. No problem!

Credits: Doodle frame by Ida Rudningen, Paper by Shannon Lee, Staples by Michelle Underwood, Notebook paper by Gina Huff, Flower by Shannon Lee designs, Stitching by Meredith Fenwick, Hand Stamped Alpha by Michelle Coleman, Font: Cathie's Hand

Okay, Gretchen wants me to come and rest with her...how can I turn that down? Have a good Monday!

A Roller Coaster Week

I should have been in San Diego right now...but, instead I'm here in Toledo. I think the weather today was about as miserable as it gets...35 degrees, raining all day, melting snow, mud all over...yuck! It sure makes me appreciate every dry, sunny day we get here!

I can't complain though...today was a good day. I had lunch with my good friend and we laughed the whole time. It's great to have friends like that, isn't it? Then I took the girls to their first swimming lesson. I was worried they would freak out, but they both did great. Then we took them to this cute little place called 2Toots Steam Whistle Grill for dinner. It's a little diner where a train brings the food to you...very cute. They seemed to get a kick out of it.

After a very rough start to the week (I don't even want to write about it), every day since Tuesday has been good. I was able to meet with our school psychologist on Wednesday, and I think I'm finally going to be able to get somewhere with Gretchen. I'm supposed to keep a behavior journal for the next two weeks, and then we will meet again. Now just watch...she'll be perfect for two weeks and I'll have nothing to report!

I can finally show my Funk It Up layout. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get even one vote, but the layout means a lot to me and that's what counts, I guess...

See it here

This week the challenge theme is "Someday I'm Going To...". I have one idea, but it's not materializing yet. Hopefully this weekend some inspiration will hit me.

Makeover

I took the girls to get haircuts yesterday, and what I intended to be a moderate change turned out to be a major makeover! Check it out...



Now, Heidi's hair was just about what I expected...but Gretchen basically got sheared!! I had to take Heidi to the bathroom during Gretchen's cut (and vice versa later on), so I wasn't right there watching. She reacted fine at first, but later on after we got home she threw a mega tantrum that lasted for two hours...."My hair looks ugly! I look like a boy now! I don't want Daddy to see me!!". It got really ugly. I didn't think that sort of talk happened until later...

Fortunately, things are better today and she seems to be embracing her new look. :-)

~Funk It Up~
I'm officially entered in the Funk It Up contest at Scrapforums. I finally finished my first LO, but I can't show you that. All the LOs are annonymous so the judging is fair. I can honestly say that I don't care how I do...I'm having so much fun trying out this "funky" style. I can show you the card I made for this bonus challenge...

oops, maybe not. Guess I have the Blogger limit of photos for the day.

Tonight we have the Winter Carnival at school. It's for PK - 2 and they have tons of games, snowcones, dress up with photos...should be fun. Right now, I have to go shower and then it's off to Nana and Papa's house. Mom needs more help with her computer. AACK!

Only 6 more sleeps until San Diego....aaaaaahhhhhh.

Another week

~ Drained ~
Here I am blogging again when I should be doing laundry or something. I'm so drained from taking the kids to school this morning that I'm rewarding myself my blogging. I know, I know...not something my mom would have done, and that's why her house is always in perfect order. Oh well.

Gretchen had a major hissy fit as soon as she got up today. Didn't want to go potty, brush her teeth, get dressed...nothing. Heidi of course got all ready and had breakfast before Gretchen came down, in her mismatched shirt and pants along with her robe and slippers. I actually had to carry her to the car, just like that. She even walked into the school building like that, before she realized that the other kids might laugh at her. She took off the robe, threw the slippers down the hallway and gave me the "evil cartoon character face". I so wish I could capture that on film, but everytime I try she covers her face. Anyway, I convinced her to put her tennis shoes on, but had to carry her into the classroom. She ran back out, crying, and I had to do it two more times (picture Super Nanny) before the teacher finally grabbed her.

I am at my wits end with her. She is just so angry all the time, saying nasty things, hitting Heidi, sassing off to me, getting frustrated. A little girl shouldn't have to feel like that. I need help but I don't know where to find it. Please pray that God will lead me to someone who can be helpful with this situation.

~ Valpo ~
At least we had a great weekend. Rob had meetings in Valporaiso, Indiana (about 4 hours away) so we tagged along. Some dear friends from Chicago drove down to meet us, and we all got to hang out in the hotel together. We ate at Culver's, this delightful place with "butter burgers" and homemade custard, went swimming, and got to catch up. They have 4 kids, so the 6 of them together was quite a site. Their kids are 8, 6 and 3 (twins). Here's a layout I did on the way home yesterday:

Credits: Paper, ribbons, heart, staples from Rebel Rock Add-On kit, Sequin strip from Rebel Rock, Embroidered Alpha, Stamp the Day
All by Toni Berman at [url=http://toniberman.com/shoppe]Toni Berman Designs[/url]; Get Reel by Manda Bean; KGD TaraF Script font

The highlight of my day today is that tonight I'm going to get my hair done. I think I'm changing the color and style again...I need a makeover!! I'll post a picture tomorrow of my new look.

Ciao!

A quick peek at my week

This layout pretty much sums up this past week:

See credits here

Tomorrow we are taking off to Valpo (in Indiana) for an overnight trip to see some friends while Rob has meetings on Monday. Should be fun, and you know I'll have lots of pictures!!

Names

I saw this on Gina Miller's blog and it cracked me up, so I thought I'd do it here too.

YOUR REAL NAME:

Mish

YOUR GANGSTA NAME (1st 4 letters plus izzle):

Mishizzle

YOUR DETECTIVE NAME (fave color + fave animal):
Red Kitty

YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name + childhood street):

Lynn Woodhurst

YOUR STAR WARS NAME (last 3 letters of your last name + first 2 letters of your first name + first 3 letters of Mom's maiden name):

Sermifah

YOUR SUPER HERO NAME (2nd fave color + fave drink):

Orange Capuccino

YOUR IRAQI NAME (2nd letter of your first name + 3rd letter of your last name + any letter of your middle name + 2nd letter of your Mom's maiden name + 3rd letter of your Dad's middle name + 1st letter of a sibling's first name + last letter of your Mom's middle name):

Isyarby

YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM NAME (Grandma/Grandpa's first name + Jones):

Virginia Jones

YOUR GOTH NAME (Black + name of one of your pets):
Black Gizmo

I'm tagging a few people to see what you all come up with - how about Dawn T, Audra, Melinda, Amy, Raji.

Well we've survived most of the day snowed in. We are at a Level 2 snow emergency right now, which means don't go out unless you really NEED to be out. Tomorrow am it will most likely be a level 3, which means you can be arrested if you drive. Crap! I have a hair color appt. that SO needs to happen. Drat!!

Off to have a pizza "picnic" in the living room, on a blanket, while watching a show. :-)

A Visit from Murphy

This is a record...the earliest I've ever blogged. Wanna know why? Because I'm AWAKE ANYWAY!!

It was inevitable. After last night's Valentine card fiasco (which came out fine, BTW), I was up until almost 2am getting the cards done. I couldn't have my girls without cards for their friends! Now, they've been predicting this big "winter blast" storm today, but it wasn't supposed to start until later. Looks like it came early. SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED TODAY!!! *Sigh*

So now I'm home ALL DAY with two disappointed little girls who want to have a Valentine party. I have some ideas for what we can do. I think we'll deliver the Valentine cards to the neighbors, and maybe make some kind of treat to go along with it.

We're supposed to have friends over this afternoon, but I doubt they will come now. And the chimney man is suppoed to come too, but I don't think he's going to want to climb up on the roof with several inches of snow up there.

Hope you have an entertaining day, no matter what you're weather is doing!

Valentine Mania!!!

Apparently there is some force in the universe tonight that doesn't want my girls to bring Valentine cards to their class party tomorrow.

Since I have a new HD, I tried to install my color printer. Nope. Not happening after 3 tries. Fine.

So then I install my little PictureMate printer...it prints 4x6 photos. I put two of my little cards on each page, so they are small and cute and just the perfect size for preschoolers. Install worked. Started printing. Great.

Not so fast. After studying the finished product, I notice the background of the card has MANY quality problems with it. Big chunks of the background color on top of the stickers. Ugh. I emailed the designer and will just see if I get a response.

And now...I'm out of ink! AACK! Looks like I need to put on some coffee and get my paper, glue and scissors out. And...I was actually going to go to bed at a reasonable time tonight. *Sigh*

Gotta go create, and stop blogging! I'll post what I came up with tomorrow. :-)

What kind of cookie are you?

You Are a Chocolate Chip Cookie

Traditional and conservative, most people find you comforting. You're friendly and easy to get to know. This makes you very popular - without even trying!

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

I just saw this on Robin's blog and thought it was so cute. Take the quiz here and tell me what kind of cookie you are!

California or Bust!!!

~ I finally get to go somewhere! ~

Yes, you heard it. For the first time since I was 16 years old, I'm going to fly on a plane ALL BY MYSELF and my destination is San Diego! Woooohooo! Our dear friends from church moved out there this past June, and I finally get to go out and visit. This is such a big deal for me. I get to spend 4 days out there, and hopefully visit the beach and have a really good seafood meal (which you just can't get in NW Ohio). I'm going to be counting the days until March 1!

~ Swimming at the Y ~

Yesterday we took the girls to swim at the newest Y in our area. It has the best kid pool around, with a zero entry area, fountains and a big waterslide. They had a blast, but are still leery of putting their faces in the water. Looks like we will be signing up for swimming lessons next session.

~ Funk It Up contest ~

I decided to enter the Funk It Up contest at Scrapforums, thanks to some urging from Tania. I don't usually scrap in this style, so it will be good for me to try this. I don't know how funky the above layout is, but at least I tried! You can view the credits here.

Okay, I need to get the house together before my parents come over for dinner. Later chicks!

Blue Hair?

Today is such a lovely day here in NW Ohio...bright sun, blue skies and...


15 degrees!! ROFL!!


No, really, it is lovely. I don't care what the temperature is, as long as the sun is out. It affects my mood in such a positive way. I love it!

Yesterday I took the girls over to Mom and Dad's for lunch and to spend the afternoon. While we were there, my dad looks at me and says, "What did you do to your hair now?" This is a fair question, because I'm know to change my hair color frequently. I've been brown, blonde and now I'm red. But that's not what he meant. He asked, "Did you put blue in it or something?" AACK!! He was seeing the completely GRAY roots growing out! He didn't realize how gray I am. Thanks a lot Dad! I have a hair appt. next week, but apparently that's not soon enough! LOL

~ 15 Minutes ~
This morning while the girls were at school, I did some crisis cleaning. I set my timer for 15 minutes and worked in one room at a time. Then the next 15 minutes I worked in a different room. It seems to work pretty well, as I don't get bored and distracted. Here's what I got done:

* Rearranged pots and pans drawer
* 1 load of laundry
* Vacuumed and picked up living room
* Cleaned off kitchen counters
* Organized computer area
* Scheduled dude to clean chimney
* Planned dinner

For me, this is a lot. :-)

Well the girls just finished watching Cinderella III, so it's time for me to go get them a snack and cube some pork for my yummy sounding Caribbean Pork dish I'm making tonight...using an Ugli fruit!

Happy Thursday!

Goodies for you!

I'm on my way out the door to take my girls to ballet...but I have just enough time to leave this fun little set of hearts for ya. Grab it here. Please leave me some love if you grab it...thanks!

If you like the pipe cleaners...check out my Pipe Cleaner Alpha at PDW.

Pricey tootin'!

No, it's not the tooting you are thinking of...it isn't about passing gas or tooting my own horn. I'm talking about the flute kind...ya know, tooting a flute? LOL

I was a music major in college (music education, to be exact) and after the first semester, my flute teacher said I would need a new flute. She had referred to my current flute as being good enough to use as a lamppost! So my parents graciously purchased a "professional" level instrument for me. It has served me well over the years, as I've never needed any work done. But I finally decided that it probably needs a good cleaning an adjustment.

Well guess what? It's going to cost a minimum of $260!! AACK!!! When did these kinds of things get soooooo expensive? Back when Rob and I were both working full time, that would have been nothing. But now? That's my utility bill for a month!! Guess my flute is going to have to go on tootin' in it's diminished capacity for a while.

~ CHA Chicago, July 2007 ~
Oh my word...I soooo want to go to this! After seeing the pictures of all the digi girls meeting each other in CA last week, I was wishing I could have gone too. It appears to be a bit of a process to even apply to get in, but it's worth a shot! Lots of people live within a reasonable drive of Chicago, and it would be fun to see everyone in person. Toni Berman thinks she might go, which would be so cool, since I'm on her CT!! And now that we have friends who recently moved to the Chicago area, I could see them too. :-)

~ New Alpha ~


I just put this in my store in PDW...isn't it fun? It took me forever to get this one right...tons of tweeking. It was pretty fun to make though. Grab it here!

~ Weekend Plans ~
Tonight I'm supposed to get together with some girlfriends to celebrate a birthday, tomorrow is brunch with the in-laws and then it's anything goes. It's supposed to be very cold (sub zero wind chills) so I'm thinking we'll be cuddled up reading books and watching shows.

I got it!

~ Mystery Solved! ~

Hi Carrie! I figured you out girl! Fo shizzle!!

LOL

My friend Carrie tried to fool me by posting annonymously...but I got it. Slow, yes, but I got it. Welcome to the blogging world Carrie!


~ Layouts ~


Now how pretty is this little girl?



I haven't finished Heidi's layout yet...but isn't this a gorgeous picture of her?

~ 60 Years ~
My MIL and FIL celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary today. Isn't that incredible? They are both 85 years old and still live in the house they built about 55 years ago. They didn't want to do anything special, since they had a big party for their 50th, so we're having them over for brunch Saturday. I hope Rob and I can make it at least half that long!

It's a Mystery...

Okay...come out, come out, whoever you are!!

Some mysterious person posted this comment for me today, on an older post:

hey, I remember those jammies! i almost bought some too.

very cute page.......can't wait for you to show me how to do this!

do you know who I am?

I probably SHOULD know who you are...but I don't! If you know me IRL, you know that I'm easily confused! LOL

I know it isn't Mom. She would never type in all lower-case letters. And it has to be someone local, who doesn't know how to blog. Hmmm...the plot thickens...

How do you remember my girls' jammies? Was I with you on Christmas? AACK! This is going to drive me crazy! (which I'm sure is your intent...right)

Fess up!

Let It Snow!

Finally, finally, finally...we have snow here in NW Ohio. It's been a long wait. I love snow! My friend Jeanmarie (hiya sis!!) tells me EVERYTIME we talk on the phone about how lovely the weather is out there in southern CA. So now it's my turn to brag...eat your heart out J!!!

Scraplifted from Sara Kratz's "Gorgeous Gabriella" at http://scrapbooklayouts.blogspot.com/
Audra Little's Baby It's Cold Outside, available at Digi Scrap Shak
Font: Michelle Marker, Leaf Queen Script

As you can see we took advantage of the weather and went sledding. This cute little sledding hill is right around the corner from our house. I used to go there as a kid so it was fun to see everything come full circle and go there with our kids. I realized that I need to just have more fun with the girls. So much of my days are filled with chores, errands, discipline, etc. that I forget how to just let loose and act like a kid again. Sigh. Seems so simple, yet it's so hard...

I'm feeling amazing uninspired to blog right now, so I'll end it here. Later chicas!

Jeanmarie!!

Hey girl...can you please email me at mish . gasser @ gmail dot com? My laptop is still down and I keep trying to email you, but I can't remember your address! Thanks!!

Shoe Shoppin'!

I must give a disclaimer here: I am not a shopper. I don't spend money on clothes, shoes, makeup, nails, jewelry...any of that stuff. But let me tell you...today I DID and it was so much fun!

Over the weekend Rob and I got away to Chicago to visit some dear friends. Ted is a pastor, and he was being installed at his new church (they just moved up there from Texas). In the Lutheran church Missouri Synod, being installed is a big deal. Pastors from all over the area, and personal pastor friends come for the occasion. All the church's musical groups played, and during the service all of the pastors gather around the pastor being installed and give their blessings, laying their hands on his head, one at a time. It's really something. We were so blessed to be a part of it.

I hadn't seen their family in about 5 years. We got to know them when Ted and Jacquie lived here, and he was a pastor at our church. It was the first time that I realized pastors are just people!! We have missed them so much, and it's so great they are now only about 4.5 hours away from us, rather than 24 hours!

Anyway, my friend Jacquie is one of those people who is just so classy...in her looks, her actions, her words...everything. Jacquie's friend Laura was there too, and she's just the same way. After being around the two of them, who always look so put together and nice, I knew it was time to do a little updating. Laura is a buyer for JC Penney, and she suggested that I shop there. I never think to shop there, as it's across town from me.

So here's what I found...

Worthington "Marie" boot - orig. $80.00, marked down to $23.99!

















Shucks...I can't find pictures of the other two pairs! They are both brown: one pair is casual...good with nice slacks, and the other pair is like a funky brown tennis shoe.

I'm going to have to learn to walk in heels again...those boots are not the most comfortable things in the world, but I don't care!! LOL

Now I better put my feet up and relax for a while...

New gallery: Rectangle Scrappin' layouts

I just created a new blog to function as a gallery for cool rectangle layouts that I see. I like Tenika's multi-photo gallery very much and I visit it often, but she very rarely has rectangle layouts. So...we need a place for inspiration too, right?

Check it out here!

We had a fantastic weekend! I'll be back later to share.

Princess purses

I just bought the most stinkin' cute purse ever! Wanna see?

The cute side:


The quirky side:



Want one? Go to www.paperprincess.com

We made it to church today and to breakfast afterward. It was there that I made a complete fool of myself. We've been going to this little place almost weekly for about 5-6 years now. We got to know the owners, who are just the nicest couple. They have two grown children, a daughter who lives in town and a son in the military. Mrs. Owner talks about them all the time and I feel like I know them.

Anyway, today she tells me that her daughter got a ring for Christmas. I was excited for her and Mrs. Owner says, "Well, she's over there finishing breakfast...I'll send her over when she's done". I say, "Oh, good. I don't think I've ever met her.". Mrs. Owner gives me a strange look and so does Rob. I insist that I haven't met her.

A gal walks up to the table and starts chatting. She's a waitress at the restaurant so I think nothing of it. As she is talking, I notice an engagement ring. It dawns on me. The waitress IS the daughter!!! So I say, "You are so and so?" and she's like "uh...yeah....". I felt like SUCH an idiot! After all these years, I never put two and two together. Ah well...at least I'm consistent. I saw this same girls while out shopping yesterday and didn't know where I knew her from. Sheesh!

Please tell me this has happened to you too! At least 10 or 12 times??? Please??

Hybrid Scrapping: The Next Generation

Ever heard of it? I'm so excited having just finished this layout...that I simply must show it!

Credits here

Isn't that cool? Yes, it took some work and I normally wouldn't spend this much time on a page, but my Christmas album is special so I put some extra effort into it.

I tried to give myself some more energy today. After dropping the girls off at school, I headed to the park to walk 1.5 miles through the woods. It was a lovely sunny day, about 45 degrees and just brisk enough to make you walk a little faster to keep warm. I didn't take my iPod or anything. I needed some quiet time with God to just pray and then to just...listen. It was a wonderful mind-clearing experience.

Tomorrow the girls go to gymnastics, so I'm planning to walk on the treadmill during their class. Wish me luck!

My get up and go...got up and left!

At least that's how it feels this week! I just can't seem to get back in the groove! I was all ready for school for the girls on Tuesday, so we get up and dressed, breakfasted and out the door, only to realize upon arriving that school didn't start until WEDNESDAY!!

Now, Rob kept telling me that school started Wednesday. I mean, he TEACHES at the darn place! But I kept telling him he was wrong. I managed to convince him too. Oh well! He was ready for his classes a day early and we all got a practice run for tomorrow. Oh, how I crave routine!!

Our Christmas extravaganza went very well. We actuall had four Christmasses (as Heidi will be glad to tell anyone who will listen!)...#1 on Christmas Eve at my parent's house, #2 at our house Christmas morning, #3 at BIL's house on Christmas day afternoon, and #4 with the fam damily at the "Christmas House" on Catawba Island (about 1 hour east of here). Hmmm...is it any wonder that I'm a little out of sorts?

Christmas #1: This pretty much sums up how each girl was feeling...

Christmas #2: Aren't the girls cute in their new PJs?


Christmas #3: Oma's getting a big hug from Heidi!


Christmas #4: The girls with cousin Rebecca watching some very interesting out on the playground! Thanks goodness for that playground!!! 24 hours in one house with 18 people (12 adults, 6 kids ages 9 months to 5) can get a little crazy!


I finished a couple of layouts too, but I better not push it...Blogger has at attitude, you know...

Time for a new look...

Maybe I will be more motivated to post here if I jazz the place up a little! So, give me a few days and I'll be back in business. Happy New Year!

A blessed day

Today started out as "one of those days". Now I admit that phrase is one of the most over-used phrases around, but truly...this day was extra special! Everyone woke up in a good mood (which is unusual around here, as none of us are morning people and usually someone is crying. So I'm thinking, "Great! We are off to a happy start". Rob was kind enough to start my car for me so it would warm up. We had coats/backpacks laid out, breakfast eaten...and we were out the door on time.

So I go to open up the van door and...it's locked. And the van is running. I call Rob and tell him to come home (good thing we live close by). In the meantime we walk up and down the sidewalk trying to keep warm, since it decided to get cold this morning. It occurred to me that I hadn't tried the driver's side door. Well guess what? It was open!!! I quickly called Rob and told him to turn around. We arrived at school at 9:05am (which is the first time it's happened this year).

Next I quickly designed/printed a sheet of Christmas cards for the kindergarten class, at Rob's request. When you know Photoshop you get volunteered for all kinds of things! But I like doing it, 'cause it makes me feel useful.

Then I ran to grocery store to pick up supplies to make porcupine balls for a funeral meal at church. It's pathetic. Every time I do a love meal, I end up making these. I'm not much of a cook, and they are so easy. Want the recipe?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mish's Porcupine Balls

1 pound ground chuck
1/2 cup rice
1 can Campbell's tomato soup (15oz can)
1 can milk
salt and pepper

Mix meat, rice, salt and pepper in a bowl and set aside. Empty the soup into another bowl and fill the soup can with milk. Combine the milk and soup; mix well. Add 6 tablespoons of the soup mix to the meat, mix and form into balls (should make around 8 or 9).

Put the meatballs into an 8x8 baking dish and pour the soup over the top. Cover with foil and cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and cook another 15 minutes.

Serve with a salad and/or a baked potato. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, back to the saga. I didn't have enough time to finish cooking these, so I ran to school to pick up the girls and ran back to grab the food. On the way back to church, the sauce spilled all over. BUT...I had the pan inside a quilted cozy-thing, so it didn't mess up the car. Yay!

Next on the agenda was a trip to the downtown library. A friend of mine plays in a group called the Moody Flutes, a flute choir, and they gave a little free concert at lunchtime. I had packed peanut butter sandwiches and apples for lunch (I'm cheap!). We made our way to the second floor, which overlooked the concert. We found a table but realized that area was reserved for a business luncheon. The waitress let us sit there anyway. I kind of felt stupid...here I was with my jeans, fleece vest and unwashed hair (which desparately needs a color job!) and my little sweeties in the midst of a bunch of well dressed business people. I even saw an acquaintance of ours who has a high-level job at a big company here, looking really important. But you know what? I was eating lunch with my kids, listening to the beautiful Christmas carols and watching their joy...and her kids are in school/daycare. I think I'm the lucky one.

The frosting on the cake was when the waitress came over and asked if the girls could have cookies. She returned with a big plate of cookies and brownies. Wasn't that sweet? And we weren't even supposed to be there!!

We found some Christmas books and were on our way. Oh, I can't forget the "angel in disguise" man. Heidi had left her Cinderella doll sitting on the table downstairs. While we were browsing in the children's area, a man asked me if we had lost a doll. He had tracked us down up there to make sure we got the doll back. Now, how many people would go to the trouble of doing that?

All in all, it has turned out to be "one of those days"...but it's the kind of day when you know God is here, working through people doing the smallest kindnesses, just to make your day a little brighter.

I hope you are having "one of those days".

Long time, no blog...

...at least it feels like it. Dawn, are you still reading? Or did you think I fell off the planet? LOL

I am doing okay on my list of "to-dos" so far. I still need to:

1. Wrap presents
2. Finish shopping
3. Make arrangements for Christmas schedules (ugh)
4. Make little treats for neighbors...he he

Not bad, eh?

I have managed to do a little scrapping and a little designing in the past week.

Credits: Christmassy Templates 1, Page 1 by Mish Gasser at 1HourScrap
Figgy Pudding kit by Iron Orchid Designs - DST December Exclusive Kit
Alpha by Robin Carlton from Tis the Season at The Digi Chick
Font: Kingthings Christmas, Century Gothic

Toni Berman's Holiday Sparkle kit and Painted Flourishes, both available at
Plain Digital Wrapper
Template by Danni R.
Font: MA Sexy

I made the second one to frame in an 8x10 frame for our Christmas decor. I think it turned out really cute!

I must confess that I have become involved in a ... hold your breath now ... paper scrapping group! I was invited to join Scrappin' in Toledo and it is so much fun! I attended their annual Christmas crop and let me tell you, these girls can scrap! It was 12pm - 10pm on a Saturday. They had tons of food, games, prizes...what a blast. I took my laptop and never even opened it.
But don't worry, I'll never give up digi. I think maybe I'll end up being a hybrid scrapper, adding real elements to my pages.

Oh, I can't forget to share this:

This one was actually a refrigerator magnet swap for Digital Art Quirks. Check out the gallery of awesome magnets here!

Well I better get back to my list. I need to go to UPS...wish me luck!

Cranking it up!!

It's been a while since I've had time to update my blog and I miss it!!

December has been amazingly calm...and I don't know why. It's almost eerie. I sent out my cards last week, have most of my shopping done (except for Rob (DH) but that's another story...) and am in good shape on my homemade gifts. WHAT is going on?? LOL

I've also been busy designing. I figured since it's Christmastime I should step it up and really try to get some products into the store.

Grab it here!

I also have a couple more that should be in the store by Monday. Woohoo!

In other exciting news, Toni Berman asked me to join her CT! I love her stuff...she has some fun, different products. Check her out here.


We finally had to have our big old maple tree cut down. I was so sad, but it had to be done as it was mostly rotten and we didn't want it to fall on our house!






And there are a couple of the girls doing their thing at gymnastics...




Well we are off to go grocery shopping now. Happy week!

Speed Bumps

I think I have finally recovered from Thanksgiving. It was really that stressful, but just busy. Thursday we hosted dinner here for Rob's family (7 adults, 2 kids...not bad). We got to cook the turkey, much to Rob's delight, since he loves to wake up to the smell of the baking bird in the morning. Yes, we cook the thing overnight...his family has always done it that way and thus, we do too. Everything came out great and tasted even better! I forgot to take pictures of the whole event though. Oh well.

Saturday was our second dinner at my parents' house. It was also good, although later I got to hear comparisons of "their food" vs. ''our food". Who cares? It's all good in my book.

I mention speed bumps because that was the theme of the sermon at church yesterday, which is something I'm going to remember all through the Advent season. Things get so busy this time of year, and going to church is a sort of "speed bump" to slow us down and help us to reflect on the season's true meaning. It may sound cliche, but I do think it is necessary. Especially after I venture into a store and come out feeling comatose. Do they pump something into the air to make you completely veg out while you are in the store??

We got our tree up last night, and will decorate it tonight. I highly recommend an artificial, pre-lit tree. Up and beautiful in 30 minutes or less! I have my card designed too, and the photo taken...now I just have to put the two together and we'll be in business. I'm going to try WinkFlash this year and see how it goes, on the recommendation of about 100 of my closest digiscrapping buddies. LOL

I'll post pics when I get motivated enough to unhook my computer from my new kick butt setup and hook in into my printer so I can download them. And maybe one of these days I'll make a layout...

Walk Slowly, Stop Often

Have you ever heard such a profound quote before? I certainly hadn't. I didn't realize that my dear friend Nicole was so full of wisdom. It's funny what you learn about people after a bunch of beers! LOL

We had a gathering for the biggest football game of the year...the Ohio State vs. Michigan game. The rivalry is one of the biggest in all of college sports, and living in Toledo is a blast during this game because it's in between Ann Arbor and Columbus. Unfortunately, I was the only Michigan fan in our house. But, I had fun anyway, as you can see...

Aren't we a cute looking bunch of girls? Sometimes I still feel like I'm 16.

The guys had a good time too, but they had to sit down for it. They just don't have as much energy as the girls do!

See what I mean? What's a football party without a little bit of ballet?

I should elaborate, but I need to go to bed now. My parents kept the kids overnight (lucky us).

Bye now!

I didn't realize it had been so long since I've updated this blog! Guess that means I've finally gotten a life, eh? LOL

Halloween was a blast. We did more that day than I can believe.

Credits: Doodles by Melissa Renfro, Orange paper by Audra Little, Striped paper by Melany Violette, Plaid paper by Kim Smith, Black glass and antique paper alphas by Meredith Fenwick, Date stamp by TMARU

Credits: Fall Day QuickPage by Mish Gasser, available at 1HourScrap; Stamped Alpha by Lisa Whitney; Cardboard Leftovers by Melinda Staley; Font: Accoustic Bass

After the Halloween festivities died down, I got sick...with my quarterly case of bronchitis/sinus infection. Yuck! Fortunately, my doc gave me some antibiotics and I'm feeling much better. That cough still wants to hang on though...same thing for Heidi. Guess we better drink more orange juice!

Yesterday I had the chance to go to Ann Arbor with my friend who plays in their community band and hear their concert. They performed in an old, renovated theater downtown. It was just gorgeous…navy blue, crimson and gold color scheme, and very ornate décor. The band played my all-time favorite band piece – Lincolnshire Posy by Percy Grainger – and performed it very well. Afterward we had dinner and a local pub (yes, I did order a local beer, and boy was it good!). What a nice getaway it was. The kids went to Mom and Dad’s, and Rob FINALLY got our bathroom walls sanded and primed. Funny how having a party will make you finish projects in the house.

Oh yeah...party. Did I mention we are having a huge football party on Saturday? Ohio State is playing University of Michigan, and in my neck of the woods (which is about 1 hour south of Ann Arbor, home of U of M, and 2.5 hours northwest of Columbus, home of OSU) it is always a big deal. We even have a store here in town called "Buckeye and Wolverine Shop" (the mascots of the two teams). Our neighbors are having a party too, so the fun is bound to burst out of the two houses and become really crazy. :-) I don't ever remember the game being THIS huge, since both teams are undefeated and ranked 1-2 in the national ratings. This event should make for a great layout.

I forgot to say that I'm a huge Michigan fan and DH is an OSU fan. Makes this interesting!!

Until next time...