THURSDAY THOUGHTS - Goodbye to '09

I'm having issues.

I am completely exhausted. So tired, I feel drunk. My dog is sick and woke me in the middle of the night with an ass explosion. Lovely. Needless to say, not only did I feel vomitous after cleaning it up, but I couldn't sleep either. And it was 2:30 in the morning. I certainly regret going to bed late last night. If I am fortunate enough to stay awake to usher in 2010 it will only be because I had a nap first! ;o)

I got some great photos of our Christmas tree, and I apologize for not posting them here. My camera battery seems to have lost it's will to live suddenly and I can only take a small number of photos between charges. I need to buy another...sigh. I will get those pics up here eventually...promise!

Christmas was great though...full of family and friends just like it should be. We had two parties this year, both at our house. It was nice to see everyone but also a lot of work and cleaning went on over that period of time.

The kids were super excited to get a note from Santa again this year, this time written in red marker on a white napkin and sprinkled with red glitter. Katie knows that there is no Santa but Korbin doesn't yet and she's great enough not to spoil it for him.

I heard him wake her up while it was still dark outside, around 6:30 AM and I could hear a lot of whispering. Hubby and I giggled and snuggled while listening to their excitement. Then, it was quiet, so I got up. The kids were looking out our window at the neighbor's house across the street to see if Santa's sleigh had landed there. Indeed, there was sleigh tracks in the snow...h0w exciting!

This year Katie got a bunch of Polly Pockets, Littlest Pet Shop and Webkinz type animals. I bought her a Hello Kitty hair dryer...cute! Korbin got a bunch of GI Joe and Lego toys and he's been quite occupied with them. Hubby got a game called Things that is super fun to play with a crowd. We laughed so hard!

I also got some special gifts, a set of handmade soaps and bath salts along with a pillow for our whirlpool tub. Sounds like some relaxation is in order. I also got a very special gift from my parents, a gold and silver bracelet that contains a bunch of Swarovsky crystals and this saying:

My daughter
When you're sad
I wish you joy
When you're lonely
I wish you love
When you're discouraged
I wish you hope
When your spirit is low
I wish you beauty
When you're troubled
I wish you peace

It is so touching to receive and I have been wearing it a lot since.

I also gave myself a present, a subscription to Studio Calico's monthly kits. I ordered the December and January kits this week and can't wait to get them! I've been kit free for about six months now and I miss them sooo much! I get so much creative energy just from receiving the new goodies each month, and then getting to see what their design team does with the stuff...wow, I just wish I had more time to scrap!!

One of the projects I have in mind is to create a layout that contains a letter to myself. I am going to write about where I see myself at the end of 2010 and attach it to the layout. At the end of the year I will go back and read what I had written. I think it will be a great way to reflect on my progress and has more permanence than a simple resolution. I will share that once it is completed.

One of my hopes was to have a new blog banner ready for 2010 and that is not completed yet. I will have one up soon though so watch for it!

One of the goals I had stated a couple months ago was to have an online shop up and running by the first of the year and that is ready! Go check it out!

Four Eyes Designs

I have some more tweaking to do and want to add on the scrapbooking kits that I've created but the cards that I have at the moment have been listed. Let me know what you like and what you don't, and also what type of cards you'd like to see. Even if you never buy a thing, it will still help me to have the feedback. Thanks!

See you again in 2010...

USE YOUR STASH - Die Cut Monograms, Flowers, Buttons

I used the Tinkering Ink Die Cut Monograms and Prima flowers on this one! Buttons from my stash.

Title: 5th Grade Grad

Supplies:
Cardstock (Bazzill)
Die Cut Monograms (Tinkering Ink)
Stickers, Die Cuts (October Afternoon)
Flowers (Prima)
Stickers (K&Company, i believe)
Buttons: from my stash

The journaling came from my June 10, 2009 blog post.

FRIDAY FAVES - Chocolate

Very interesting chocolate combinations! The french toast and ramen noodle varieties sound yummy. Not so sure about the tortilla but I'd give it a try! Available for purchase here.

USE YOUR STASH - Rub Ons and Label Stickers

I used up several Making Memories label stickers and Tinkering Ink rub ons for this
layout. Of course I had to use some Ranger Distress Ink too. :o)

Title: Heart & Home

Supplies:
Patterned Paper (Daisy D's)
Label Stickers (Making Memories)
Rub Ons (Tinkering Ink)
Scallop Punch (Stampin Up)
Ink (Ranger Distress)
Other: ribbon, pen, cardstock

Journaling:
This was our first year with a hearth and mantle to hang our stockings. 2006

FRIDAY FAVES - Terrarium Ornaments

I'm not sure how well these would hold up over time but thought this was a very creative project. Steps are on the Design*Sponge blog.

THURSDAY THOUGHTS - Silence Again

It has been a long while since I've spent any time reading other blogs. Time has been particularly precious lately. But, I finally spent some time catching up. One of the bloggers I follow is Christine Middlecamp. I came across this post she wrote back in August (yes, it's been that long!) and it brought me to tears.

Silence Again

It got me thinking about all of the little things that get taken for granted. You see, Christine lost her husband to cancer about a year and a half ago. It was a short time between his diagnosis and passing. With a small son to care for, she's had a lot to overcome. When I read her post I imagined what life would be like for me without my family around me.

• No more "Mommy will you tuck me in tonight?" from my sweeties.
• No more homemade hot chocolate waiting for me after a particularly cold and long commute home.
• No more snuggling at night, to keep me warm and to help me sleep contentedly.
• No more ear piercing screams from the kids while they are being tickled by their Daddy.
• No more amazing pot pies lovingly prepared from scratch.
• No more arguing about the little things.
• No more Monday nights anxiously waiting for the family to return home from karate.
• No more snuggling under a shared blanket.
• No more hugs, kisses, squeezes or laughter.
  

Although Christine's life has taken a tragic twist, she also has been given an opportunity to remind others how precious life is. Her emotions are hard to read about, but I am thankful to have read them. Life is so easily taken for granted, and I have so much to be thankful for.

USE YOUR STASH - Die Cut Alphas

I know, I know, again with the die cut alphas! I had a ton of them from Tinkering Ink....totally LOVE them, but I'm slowly trying to use them up. Here's another page using them:

Title: 321 Blast Off!

Supplies:

Die Cut Alphas (Tinkering Ink, BasicGrey)
Stickers (Sassafras Lass)
Rub Ons (Stampin Up)
Felt (Tinkering Ink)
Paint (Making Memories)
Ink (VersaMark)
Other: Patterned paper, tag, transparency, ribbon (sources unknown)

Journaling:
@ the school's playground. 2008

FRIDAY FAVES - Home

I'd love to live in this home. Gorgeous, isn't it? Unfortunately it's about $635,000 out of my price range...ha! A girl can dream can't she?

THURSDAY THOUGHTS - Buried in Snow

Wow...it's been a long time since I've shared my Thursday Thoughts. Hopefully I'll get a little better at it, but it sure gets hard to stay motivated in the winter. I think the bears have it right with the whole hibernation thing. This would be a good time to bury myself under piles of blankets with a full belly! Oh wait, I am doing that right now! Ha! ;o)

Thanksgiving was a good one as we got to see both sides of the family. I don't get to see my sister's kids much since she's been gone but the rest of the family was there. It's what thanksgiving is all about...spending time with family.

We ate at my in-laws again this year. They made a delicious turkey, to-die-for stuffing, the works. We brought an awesome Martha Stewart dish that had sweet potatoes and peaches. Hubby thought I might like it better with the peaches since I do not like sweet potatoes no matter how much brown sugar or marshmallows are piled on top. Very strange, but I just don't like them. I did eat this dish and it tasted good but I'm still not fond of sweet potatoes. He also made a green bean casserole similar to the one with cream of mushroom soup but ours was from scratch. I didn't have to cook a single thing so it was really nice!

We all played the Bop It game before we ate. Addicting! And after we had filled our bellies, we watched the Tale of Desperaux. I slept through most of it.

We had a variety of cheesecake flavors and an apple pie for dessert.

This week we had our first major snowfall and it was major...official total was 17" though I think it might be a bit more than that. Schools and my work closed down so we spent the day relaxing and playing the Wii.
The kids spent a good hour outside as soon as they found out there was no school.
The dog came in with huge baseball sized snowballs stuck to the fur on his underside. I tried to pull them off and probably got a good gallon's worth of snow off of him...and that was only what I could take without hurting him. Crazy!!

Today I had to work and, besides navigating through head high snowbanks, I also had to deal with frigid temperatures. Commuting time for me wasn't bad this morning but tonight my bus was delayed for over 45 minutes. My toes were ice cold and hurting and I was so thankful to get on the bus even though it was standing room only. Because the bus was so full of people we passed three stops with people waiting on the bus. That is the first time I've ever seen that in the 15 or so years I've been riding the bus. I'm sure they were pissed, but the driver had no choice. I finally got home nearly two hours after I left work (and I don't live that far from work...joys of the bus system!) I witnessed a lot of cars getting stuck on inclines near Olbrich Gardens due to glare ice and the outbound John Nolen Drive was shut down entirely...another first that I'm aware of. There was a Badger Bus stuck on ice down by the capitol and lots of other slick areas.

I was greeted with a cup of homemade hot cocoa by my lovely Hubby when I got home and sat under the blankets for a good 20 minutes before I felt warm enough to eat my dinner.

Hibernation still sounds wonderful...

USE YOUR STASH - Glimmer Mist & Paper Lace Borders

First of all, I love supplies that can be used over & over & over again. Glimmer mists are one of those...so versatile and long lasting. I use these a lot. I started with a light grey cardstock and just sprayed red and gold glimmer mists over it. It looks very sparkly in real life.

I had a package of Flair paper lace borders that needed to be used up, so that was the beginning of this layout design.

Title: No Boundries

Supplies:

Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels)
Paint (Making Memories)
Patterned Paper (BasicGrey)
Paper Lace (Flair)
Chipboard (ScrapWorks)
Rub Ons (Stampin Up)

Journaling:
This turned out to be one of my favorites -- a photo taken totally out of the blue just because I thought you looked so darn cute!

FRIDAY FAVES - People, Places, Things

Love these new My Mind's Eye tree die cuts. So cute and cheap too!
The Maya Road mini chipboard houses...
and what went out of stock before I could buy some....the Sandylion People patterned paper.
Hey Santa...I have all three of these items on my Wish List. :o)