Another Wednesday

It's a kind of blah day here, overcast and chilly. Yesterday was so gorgeous...sunny and about 55 degrees. The girls had school in the morning, and then we headed out to the park in the afternoon. Things got pretty crazy there after school let out, so then we headed to my favorite produce market, Monnette's, to get some HEALTHY food.

Can I just say, as an aside, that there are a lot of complete idiot parents at a playground? There were quite a few sitting around smoking, talking on their cell phones and generally ignoring their kids. One kid was even taking his dog, who was on a leash, down the slide! I should have snapped a picture but didn't want to seem obvious.

I did get a bunch of cool nature photos, which I'm going to use for textures, etc. Fun fun!

Okay, back to the healthy food business. We are *trying* to start eating more natural food around here...some organic things, soy and rice milk, and generally nothing with added color or preservatives. Let me tell ya...it's a challenge, especially do to on a budget! After getting our fresh produce, I made a yummy dinner that was really well received by the whole family - Thai Pork Burritos. I used ground turkey instead and it was delicious!

After dinner I ventured out to the natural foods store in town. We are making our own bread too, and Rob wanted all kinds of wacky things. Here's my grocery list, which set me back over $100 - ouch!!

Soy milk
Rice milk (which is quite tasty, I've discovered!)
Almond butter (a treat for me and the girls)
Toasted almonds
Organic cereal
Rye flour
Gluten flour
Date sugar
Cane sugar
Soy yogurt
Water buffalo milk yogurt (I know, I know, but it made me laugh!!)
Arthur shaped mac and cheese
Kid's vitamins
Frozen spinach and garlic pizza
Burt's Bees orange facial cleanser (mmmm, it smells sooo good)
Mothering magazine

And...

Are you ready?

ONE WHOLE FROZEN CHICKEN!!!

Now, if you know me IRL, you know that I am tragically afraid of touching chickens, turkeys or most other raw meats. But, free range chicken is so expensive that I decided to buck up and by the darn thing, roast it, and then maybe it won't be so gross to touch. However, somehow the chicken got left at the store! Oh darn, I'm so upset [insert sarcastic snicker here]. They did call me and will be crediting my store card. So, I got out of it this time...

~~ Contest Winner! ~~
Okay, enough about chickens. We have a winner! Muka received my Cosmic Wonders Paper Pack after leaving a comment and being randomly chosen. Enjoy Muka!

~~ New Products ~~
I just finished up another set of templates...Rectangle Quickies Power Pack 2 and
Square Quickies Power Pack 2. They are on sale right now at PDW for just $3.50!

Cosmic Wonders freebie

I just put a really fun and funky new paper pack in my store at Plain Digital Wrapper. I think this is my all-time favorite product I've ever made! Just click the preview to check it out in the store.


Here are a couple of layouts using this paper pack. The first one was created by the fabulous Jessica Bolton. Be sure to check out her awesome store at Scrapbook Graphics!


By Tracy Blankenship, who gives away the coolest freebies ever!




And here is one I did:


Now, for the freebie. I had an extra paper that wouldn't fit neatly into my preview (LOL!), so I thought it would make a great freebie. Please leave me some love if you download. :-)

Everyone who leaves a comment before Wednesday, April 18 at 12:00am will be entered into a drawing to win the paper pack for FREE! I will post the winner here sometime Wednesday afternoon. Be sure to PUT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR COMMENT so I know how to find you. :-)

DOWNLOAD HERE

Enjoy!

A very long Saturday

Today has been a really long day. Rob had to work today, to continue rebuilding all the stuff he lost when that virus took the network down at school on Thursday. I wish I could understand why someone would want to spend their time writing a program that could be so destructive. If these people would put that knowledge to good use, they could make a lot of money!

We are supposed to go to a hockey game tonight, but I'm not really in the mood.

The girls did some cool art projects today to pass the time. This morning we painted with the new paint we got last night, and this afternoon we made flowers:


Did you ever make these as a kid? You take wax paper, shave crayons onto it, put another piece of wax paper on top, and then put a cool iron on top to melt the wax. They look cool in a window, because the sunlight (or at least daylight, in this case!) comes through. It is a bit messy, but no matter. One tip though...don't do this on a vinyl tablecloth, because it's easy to melt a hole in it, like I just did! LOL

I tried out a different kind of scrapping style last night:

Credits:
3 Slide Frames by Doris Castle, from True Love
Distressed frame by Jessica Bolton, from Home Life
Background paper by Lisa Whitney, from Easter Sweets
Flower Hook-Ups by Donna Rafferty
Dotted ribbon by Michelle Coleman
Pink trim by Bren Boone, from Hip Chick
White stitches and embroidered alpha by Toni Berman
Hand Stamped Alpha by Michelle Coleman
Paint splatters and painted frame by Doris Castle, from Art Strokes

This will end up being a two page layout. It was fun to make though!

Okay, I guess I should go take a shower, and the girls need a bath too. :-)

Another digi student :-)

It has been my goal of late to try to get a couple people I know IRL to start digiscrapping. And guess what? It worked! Yesterday my good buddy Carrie brought her kids over to play with the girls, and she brought along her picture card from her camera. Check out her first digi layout ever!

Credits: Template by me, Home Life by Jessica Bolton, available at SBG, Fonts: Michelle Marker, Old English

I'm so excited to get someone else "addicted"! LOL

The girls had spring break this week, which doesn't amount to much since they are only in school two mornings a week, but it's enough to change the routine. Rob took the day off Tuesday and we went to The Butterfly House...it's so cool there!

Credits: Paper, frames, binder clip, bow, star brads and journaling
paper from Toni Berman's Debutante kit, available at [url=http://www.mydigitalmuse.com/boutique/product.php?productid=417&cat=0&page=1]My Digital Muse[/url]
and [url=http://toniberman.com/shoppe/index.php?main_page=product_dnld_info&products_id=60]Toni Berman Designs[/url]
Painted butterfly by Michelle Coleman
Clay butterfly by Amy Knepper
Silk butterflies by Christina Bartholomew and Eve Recinella

Rob had a very late night last night. The church/school network got a virus yesterday afternoon, and he was there trying to get it up and running until 4:30am (with the exception of a one hour break at home). I feel so bad for him, because he had to get up and go back in this morning. No rest for the weary. But at least he was able to get it working. Sometimes those viruses can destroy entire systems.

I don't think we have much planned for this weekend. Rob is going to a hockey game tonight, and we are supposed to go together to a game tomorrow night (it's playoff season for the Toledo Storm). In our former life (before kids, that is!) we had season tickets to the games, and Rob was the webmaster for the team for a season. Ah, the good old days.

Well, we are off to go to the natural foods store in pursuit of some rice milk and soy milk. Gretchen has been experiencing tummy aches after just about every meal, so I'm wondering if it could be a dairy/lactose problem. Maybe this will help her constant attitude/behavior issues? We can hope!

Have a great weekend everyone!

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...