Some old cards...

SEE Andrea! I like putting gingers on cards, too! (hee, hee) This one is from Trina Clark's "Primkins" collection (www.digiscrapkits.com) and went to a dear friend of mine. In fact, I have several from Trina's artwork that I've enjoyed putting together...

Thanks for looking & have a great rest of your day!!

Prayers going UP!!!

I was reading the news on Comcast the other day & was brought to tears. A very talented musician had to have some serious surgery to save his life. I guess it hit me hard because he was born in the same city as me (Tulsa, Oklahoma) AND he's only FIVE years older than I am. I remember being a pre-teen and watching this man when he was playing basketball in college. He was an amazing athlete - I've never seen anything like him. I enjoyed watching him play Bball the way I enjoyed watching Barry Sanders play football for Oklahoma State.

When he started playing jazz music, writing & performing, I was ecstatic! I love jazz (most people don't know that about me - I like a LOT of different kinds of music, but jazz is toward the top)! He plays guitar the way he played basketball! It's a beautiful thing to watch!

The surgery was a below the knee amputation to prevent the spread of bone cancer. They discovered the cancer in the summer of 2007 when he fell down the stairs in his home & broke his leg. He's not letting it get him down, though. He says what happens after this is in God's hands & he will continue with his musical career until the Good Lord says to stop.

I'm so impressed with his attitude & would like to ask that you keep Wayman Tisdale and his family in your prayers. This phenomenal man deserves the best! (you can hear some of his music in my playlist below - he's DA BOMB! Be sure to listen to "Rebound" the CD titled after he discovered his cancer...)

http://www.waymantisdale.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayman_Tisdale

Isn't this the cutest?!?

This is a little booklet kit that I picked up at Seneca Pond (www.senecapondcrafts.com) for next to nothing! I just loved the vintage feel of it. They're really easy to put together too...print the front of the page, run it through again for the "page backing," cut them out, attach with brads or ribbons & fibers & you're DONE! You could glitter them up if you're desperate for some "bling." I also have the kits to make "WITCH" and "FRIENDS." I just had to test out that new HP printer last week & it did so beautifully on this booklet. I'll be making "grandparent's day" cards this weekend, so I'll share what I've done just as soon as the ink is dry! (LOL)

Thanks for looking & have a great rest of your day!!

I needed a laugh today...

Can't really explain WHY, just know that I desperately needed a good giggle. One comedian that I can ALWAYS count on to have me spewin my Pepsi all over my 'puter is the ventriloquist, Jeff Dunham. He's added some new characters - Achmed the Dead Terrorist, Melvin the Superhero, Sweeeeet Daddy D, & Bubba J. I remember seeing Peanut for the first time, back in the late 80s & now have my entire family totally addicted to "Je-fuh-fuh". He has a new DVD coming out in November & we're totally stoked around here. Anyway, I did some YouTube surfing & here are some small clips. Maybe then you'll understand...(if you're offended by a little language, stop here.)

Peanut's Bad Hair Day...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt1mv3-exsw

"Jingle Bombs"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wskT6YfVB6E

America's favorite "grumpy old man," Walter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pulhXWny-E&feature=related

Hope they made you smile, too...have a great rest of your day!

Not much to post on today...

I'm still trying to clean my office, & I'm sitting here at 1 in the afternoon with the windows open (that's a first for AUGUST). They're saying next weekend for Labor Day it'll be even cooler! Totally good with THAT! I'm a spring/autumn girl anyway. I need to get moving a little faster than what I've done so far, but I'm exhausted...this week has just drained me!

I had all that drama with KODAK on Tuesday; Wednesday was just a busy day all the way around - I took my little one to the doctor to follow up on his ears (their much better now), had back to school night with my two older boys (what an event!), & immediately after that went to my first Stampin Up! card-making party (a LOT of fun); Yesterday was spent shoe shopping with my oldest & returning clothes for my middle boy that I just bought him less than a month ago - he'd outgrown them already (thank goodness they still had tags on them), then I took the little one to meet his Kindergarten teacher. He was so cute, thought I was leaving him there for school & told me I could leave now. Then when they tried crowding 52 students (AM & PM classes) WITH their parents into one room, he went into panic mode (he can't stand crowds). We ended up leaving before the principal even got to her welcome speech. {sigh}

Now I'm listening to the dryer signal, the boys are "starving" & ready for lunch, and all I wanna do is crawl back into bed for a NAP! Since hubby won't be home till nearly midnight tonight, that's not gonna happen, so I guess I need to drag my tukus out of this chair & get on it. I'm hosting an artist trading card swap on a message board that I belong to, so I've got to start making my cards and I've got to shop for a birthday gift & make a card for the neighbor boy's birthday party tomorrow...my list keeps getting longer - scratch off one item, four more take its place!

Y'all have a great rest of your day!

I'm boycotting KODAK!

From this...
To this...

As soon as my Easy Share camera bites it, I will NEVER, as long as I live, own another KODAK product!!! Strong opening statement, I know, but let me now explain WHY...

Last year, for my birthday, DH takes me to Office Depot for a new printer. I wanted several things from my new one, after having suffered at the hands of DELL for sticking me with a crappy, POS Lexmark for 4yrs. I wanted: (1) good print quality, (2) something that printed fast, (3) ink that lasted through more than 3 print jobs, (4) inexpensive ink replacements, (5) a company that stands behind their product. I honestly thought that I was going to get that with the new line of KODAK printers. After all, KODAK has been around for nearly 100 years, they offer good customer service (on their cameras anyway - my Easy Share has not given me one lick of trouble {knocking on wood here}). I should have known...

I should have known when I was offered the demo model because the stores within 30miles were all out.

I should have known when it took me 11 hours to get the firmware installed from the internet.

I should have known by October of 2007, when they had to replace the first printhead after only printing on the machine for a month.

But NO! I stuck it out, like an idiot! I chalked it up to me maybe not knowing how to install the new printer. Then I chalked it up to maybe it being a demo, the public wore out the first printhead. And so there I sat, in my she-cave on the 15th of August...just 3 weeks away from the one year mark on owning this little gem.

I hit print, it goes through just like everything's fine, but when I look at the paper, all 12 pages to be exact, there's no text & half of the colors are gone. What the?!? That can't be...I just replaced the color cartridge last night, because the warning light said it was low on ink. I ran the print job again (only 1 page). Same thing, but only more color was missing from the images. So I go online to the KODAK website to do some troubleshooting. Took three hours & they have me jumping through all kinds of hoops.

The entire time I was online troubleshooting, I:
1) installed the new firmware update (took 1/2 hour even on my high speed cable connection - I feel bad for folks on dial-up with this problem!)
2) checked my cartridges to see if they were installed correctly (twice)
3) pulled & reinstalled the printhead (three times)
4) ran a demo print (twice)
5) performed a printhead cleaning (twice)
6) ran a calibration (three times)

None of those things worked & the troubleshooting steps suggested that I may have a bad printhead. GREAT! Two bad printheads in less than a year -- not good odds. So I link over to customer service & fire off an e-mail. Next morning I have a reply & this gal is wanting me to perform all the steps from the night before AGAIN. Are you serious?

I replied that I'd already done these things several times, I wasn't going to do it again & that KODAK had 2 options - they could: (a) go ahead & send me ANOTHER printhead, even though I think 2 in less than a year is stupid or (b) refund my money so I could buy a Canon, Epson, or HP that would be more reliable. I felt that 2 printheads in a year told me that I had a lemon & would not continue to go through this. I wait 3 days...no reply from this gal. Suffice it to say that by now, I'm a little more than irritated.

2pm on the 19th...I start calling KODAK's customer service for printers (each product has its own customer service # - I'm now assuming it's due to the massive volume of calls they receive on their garbage that they sell). Screw fixing the problem, I want my money back! I have this guy, that I can barely understand because his English is so crappy, telling me that he needs to patch me over to the Assistance Team for a refund & can I hold? Sure.

If I'm lyin, I'm dyin, 35 minutes of sitting on hold, the SAME guy picks up & I can hear him say, "She's still on there!" then the line goes dead. Little Pakistani B@*%!#D hung up on me!!! {grr!} {this would probably make great material for Jeff Dunham & Walter!}

So I call AGAIN, sit on hold waiting for an "available agent"...5 minutes later I finally get one & he tells me that he can't help, there's no such thing as an Assistance Team & that I need to talk to Technical Support. So I sit on hold for another 15 mintues while he throws me to them, and finally after 10 minutes of explanations & discussions later, they're telling me that I need Online Ordering Assistance because they're the only ones that can issue refunds for purchases & gives me their number (no they can't patch me through, sorry).

I call Online Assistance & they want an order #, even though I've just finished explaining less than 2 minutes ago that I bought it in September 2007. They really don't pay attention, do they? So I say it AGAIN...I already have the product in my posssession, it's failing from the same problem as in October of last year & I just want to return the unit & get my money back.

His answer: "We don't do that. You need to call Technical Support."
I say, "I don't want Technical Support. They told me to call YOU for a refund of my purchase. They didn't even offer to help me fix the darn printhead!"
He says, "We don't do that."
I say, "You mean you don't give refunds there."
He says, "No. We don't give refunds at all. You need to take it back to the store where you bought it."

Well CRAP!!! So here I sit, madder than a wet hornet, 4 phone calls & over two hours of my time WASTED, ready to reach through the phone & wring someone's friggin worthless neck, only to be told to take it to the store. FINE! God help the idiot at Office Depot that answers & tells me there's nothing they can do!!!

I call Office Depot & ask for a manger. I tell the assistant mgr my lengthy, horrible tale. They take some information from me & told me that they'd call me right back. Ten minutes later the store manager calls back & says that he tried talking to the extended warranty company & I was right...till the day after my birthday the extended warranty won't take effect & I really needed to call KODAK. BUT...knowing how my experience had already gone with them, they weren't going to make me take that route (thank GOD!). So my heroes at OD told me to bring in my old KODAK printer, the CD with my extended warranty on it, & an idea of what I want my printer to do for me.

By the time I was done, I walked out with a Hewlitt Packard OFFICE inkjet printer, the black one pictured up top here (straight across trade because the new one was on sale!), an extra black ink cartridge, and another 2yr extended warranty for $96. He even told me that Office Depot (Corporate) quit carrying the KODAK printer for stores to sell, because KODAK wouldn't back up their product with the dealers. How pathetic is that?!?

For those that I might have inadvertently talked into buying a KODAK printer over the last year...I'm deeply sorry & I sincerely hope that yours works for at least 4 yrs and isn't a LEMON like mine was!

Thanks for reading my rant. I'll be back to crafting later this weekend after I spend a few days doing some much-needed filing & getting rid of these mounds of paper -- I'm determined to see my carpeting by Sunday! (LOL)

My box/bag (finally!)

I told ya that I'd get it done! I had set it in my mind to do today, but actually did it last night in about 40 minutes. Yeah, only 40 minutes! That includes taking the time to read & refer back to the instructions as I went along! DH said that it took longer to print the instructions than it did for me to make the bag! (ROFL) The next one will be a bit better thought-out...this one is another "scrap box" diving expedition - bits of paper from my altered file folder project, a sheet of 8.5 x 11 cardstock, my Martha Stewart lace border punch, my Giga circle punch, some ribbon, lots of Terrifically Tacky Tape, & Cuttlebug embossed flowers.

Gotta go ~ crafting table is calling my name...thanks for looking & have a great weekend!

altered file folder

I haven't made my box/bag like I wanted to (MIBAD!), but I'm setting aside some time this weekend to do it (HONEST!). I did manage to get in some crafting time, though, and altered a manilla file folder. I've been wanting to do this since PCCrafter hosted a Challenge back in February. Well, here are the results of my first attempt:

File folder closed (first finished look)

I decided that I didn't like all the "froufrou" on the binder clip, punched a hole in the back "cover" using a Stampin Up! slot punch & ran the ribbon through it instead.

Back side of album when opened.

Inside the album/folder (before the tags).

Inside of folder WITH the finished tags.

The tags - there's one for each "pocket" in the folder.

2 of the tags

The last 2 tags.

I used a pink pastel manilla folder & followed the directions from TayloredExpressions (http://tayloredexpressions.blogspot.com/2007_09_01_archive.html) - it was a LOT easier than I thought it was going to be. If you didn't have to stop for feeding kids, answering phones/doors, & doing laundry, then you could easily do one of these in a day. Think of the possiblites - photo albums, greeting cards, thank you gifts...the list goes on and on!

For this one I used more of my "bits n pieces" stash - leftover bits of lace; some cute K&Co stickers; vellum stickers; Ranger's Stickles in "frosted lace"; linen thread, antique buttons (thank you, Sharron!); a swirl paper clip; rub-ons from Making Memories; scrapbooking papers from ATD off of their "vibrant" paper pad (got a HUGE pad of 200 sheets for less than $10 at my local Wal-Mart); some stickers that I cut & embossed on my Cuttlebug; an ordinary binder clip that I covered in a 1 1/4" x 2" scrap of coordinating paper; Stampin Up!s retired inks in "soft sky" & "purely pomegranate"; one of SU's constants, "ballet blue"; & finally, some Ranger Distress Inks in "mulled lavendar" & "tattered rose."

I really like the way it turned out & I'm already looking at future ones - Halloween, maybe a "thankful" folder for Thanksgiving, one for Christmas memories, and one for the family to put New Year's resolutions in.

Thanks for looking & have a great rest of your day!!

I'm Disgusted!!

One of my favorite blogs, Raspberry Road Designs, was hacked into recently & they took EVERYTHING from Susan! It just breaks my heart that there are cowards in this world that are so jealous of one person that they have to be so petty and maliciously destroy something that doesn't belong to them! But Susan is more of a survivor than victim & I just know in my heart that she will bounce back.

I hope she is able to track down whoever did this to her & I'm a firm believer in "what goes around, comes around." They'll get theirs. In the meantime, if you could lend her some support -- whether it's the purchase of one of the sets she's managed to save or just some kind words -- I know it would mean the world to her. You can visit Susan at www.raspberryroaddesigns.blogspot.com.

Thanks & have a great rest of your day!

As promised...pumpkin pie with gingersnap crust!

This is one of the yummiest pies I've ever whipped up & is right up there in my top 5. I got this from my Health Insurance provider's monthly mailing, if you can believe that.

PUMPKIN PIE WITH GINGERSNAP CRUST

Crust Ingredients
16 reduced fat gingersnap cookies
1 Tbsp light stick margarine, melted

Filling Ingredients
1 quart vanilla low-fat frozen yogurt, softened
1/2 15oz can solid pack pumpkin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Process cookies in blender to fine crumbs. Slowly add margarine, processing (or blending) until well combined. Press mixture into 9 inch pie pan.
2. Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool.
3. In a large bowl, beat filling ingredients until well combined. Spoon into cooled pie crust. Cover with plastic wrap & freeze for 4 hours or until firm.

Per Serving:
Calories - 136
Protein - 5g
Carbohydrates - 26g
Fiber - 1g
Total Fat - 2g
Saturated - 1g
Polyunsaturated - 0g
Monounsaturated - 1g
Cholesterol - 1mg
Sodium - 133mg

I can post more of my "top 5" as the week progresses. OH! Before I forget...Andrea -- in answer to your question -- my clothes are shrinking again!! (LOL) I was working on the Big Blocks most of last week. I really need to find an alternative to my choccies for stress days (gasp! Did I just say that aloud?!?) Now I need to jump on my AbLounger before I REALLY start paying the price!

Have a great rest of your day!

What a week!!

I had planned to make a few posts this past week, but I've had issues with my littlest one that kept me quite busy. A couple of weeks ago, he woke up with some sort of bloody wax coming out of his ear. It only happened for a day then went for a week with nothing, so I brushed it off as maybe his ear tube finally came out after nearly 3 yrs. Well, Tuesday evening after his bath, I was suggling with him & noticed an odor coming from that ear. When I cleaned it out, I got swab after swab of that same bloody wax. Freaked me out!! (those of you that know me, you know I don't freak out easily)

Took him to the doctor Wednesday morning, & he has a middle ear infection. He had no pain with it or fever, so we had no idea that it was like that. I also had to take him in to the ENT later that afternoon, because his pediatrician said it looked like the skin of his eardrum was growing up through the tube & making a flower shape that would have to be surgically removed. The ENT said he couldn't see anything through the blood & the infection and to come back in 2 weeks after the antibiotics did their job. So for now I've got to convince a 5 1/2 yr old with severe ADHD to lie still for 1/2 an hour, twice a day while the ear drops do their thing. What a chore!! I'll know more about what's going on with my little guy's ears closer to school.

I had to take a short crafting break, as a result of the drama of this last week, so I thought I'd show you the recipe card I made last month for the Halloween/Autumn Swap over at PC Crafter. These are half page recipe cards - I used a cardstock called "caramel" for the base (looked more punkin to me, tho); the textured avocado green is from "Die Cuts with a View" & I sanded it down a bit to get a more "worn" look (it looked too new for this shabby chic girl); I used a dioxiazine purple ribbon down the side of the green; the recipe - Pumpkin Pie with Gingersnap Crust - is printed on a cream cardstock; the leaves are different solid & pattern paper bits that I cut out using my Cuttlebug & maple leaf dies. It was the first swap I'd ever entered & it was an ambitious one - 37 people entered & we each made 3 extra for the hostess, for a total of 40 recipe cards.

I also entered a sympathy card swap at PC Crafter. Not nearly as large - only 9 of us signed up for this one. I picked up a couple of rubber stamps for 50%off at Hobby Lobby on Monday - a floral background & "you're in my thoughts & prayers"; stamped them on the 4x4 square card bases and envelope flaps in Stampin Up!s retired color "Wild Wasabi" & finished them with a sheer green ribbon that was an almost identical color match. This is what I ended up with...

Thanks for looking! I'll try to post the Pumpkin Pie recipe for y'all tomorrow.

For those that like FAST...

This is just one of the photos that I took Saturday. These Harleys are running on Nitrous Methane (aka Nitro) & man oh man, are they fast! I haven't been to the drag races in almost 15yrs & it was SO MUCH FUN!!! I've got this video for you so you can see & hear how fast these Harleys are on Photobucket...here's the link: http://s225.photobucket.com/albums/dd80/NLR_bucket/?action=view&current=100_1539.flv

It was hotter than Hades (about 103 F with 13% humidity) so we were slammin water every time we got our hands on a bottle. Met a really cool family from Hooper, Utah which is about 20 minutes NW of where I live (gotta do a quick shout out to them--HEY Y'ALL!!) - they were a blast to hang out with. I love makin new friends! Lemme see...what else did we do? Oh, yeah! We rode in this really cool 4x4 1956 Chevy school bus - what a trip! I have a video of it, too & I'll post a nighttime race video tomorrow. I was waiting for the kid from New Zealand to come back up, but it started raining just as he pulled into the waterbox & they shut down the track. His car had the entire place vibrating on an earlier run - he was incredible!

I still have some crafting that I'm trying to get done - I have some cotton vests that I want to show y'all real soon, too. I promise I won't forget! I've also entered another swap - this time for sympathy cards (there's only 8 that I've got to make for this one, instead of 40, so I think I'll be okay). Now it's off to get some laundry going...doggone magic hamper (wish my WALLET was like that!).

Have a great rest of your day!!!