Smell my feet

Did you ever actually say to anyone, "Trick or Treat, Smell my feet, Give me something good to eat"? I remember always joking about it as a child but I hope I wouldn't say that to anyone. Knowing me and all of my childhood antics, I probably did. I pulled some pretty rotten stunts as a kid that is so embarrassing now. {Turning darker shades of red as I think of them.}

What is your favorite thing about Halloween? My favorite was dressing up. I loved to pretend to be someone else. I remember the year that Cabbage Patch Kids came out, I fell in love. I wasn't a big "dolly" kid, so that's saying a lot! Anyway, I wanted to be a Cabbage Patch Kid for Halloween and I didn't want a cheesy-peasy plastic one from the store when my mom was Mrs. Bernina (that's a sewing machine brand)! She made most of my clothes until I hit the high-school days when I had to have one pair of designer jeans instead of 5 off-brands. So, she made me a cabbage patch costume. It was complete with a cute dress, bloomers, shoe covers, and big chubby hands! I loved it so much that I didn't want to take it off. I think I wore the bloomers (as shorts) as much as I could get away with! Thank you mom for spending time in the sewing room, making my clothes, even when I was ungrateful. It was truly a labor of love, for which I am most grateful now. I love you, too.

Another fond childhood memory is of my mom. My mom is a school teacher and I remember her dressing up one year (when you could still dress up in school). I'm not sure what prompted this, but she dressed up as Pippi Longstocking. I think she made her own costume, as she was an extremely talented seamstress. She was so darling in her freckles, "Pippi dress" (which I think was mostly bright lime green) and tall unmatched socks. But the thing I remember most about that costume was her hair! She had medium-length perm-curled brown hair and she bent a wire clothes hanger to go over the top of her head, braided her hair around the wire, spray-painted it bright red, and covered it with a ton of hair-spray. She was the cutest mom and I loved that she was dressing up! I wish I had a picture of her in that get-up because someday my memory fade (it has already started) and *poof* - it will be gone. But for now, it cracks me up!

I think these fun memories has inspired me to dress Bexar up today. We'll see what he will be...who knows what I come up with. It may be another SuperBex day!

Happy trick-or-treating, dressing up, and pumpkin carving on yet another gorgeous Fall day!

Many wonderful birthday wishes

for my BIL, Joe! Happy birthday, bro. I love you and miss you lots! Congratulations on your new job, too. That's wonderful. Praise God for an extra-special birthday gift!

Max

I have been holding off, but I must post about Max, Matthew's & Mindy's new labrador puppy. He is absolutely adorable. I downloaded and saved the couple of pictures from Mindy's blog. I wish I could see him develop his own little personality. It's so fun! There's something about puppies that just melts my heart...So now, without further adieu....

You can also view Mindy's blog here: www.mmmellowyellow.blogspot.com

Gorgeous Fall Day

I think you may have figured out that I just absolutely am head over heels for Fall! Here are some pictures on this beautiful day that God has given us.

I was standing at the mailbox and I always lay Bexar down and make him stay while I walk across the street and get the mail. This is him...watching me. I just love his position here - so cute. {You can click to enlarge picture.}

I took this on our way back from the mailbox, walking down the driveway. The leaves, although mostly on the ground now, are just beautiful!

Long day

It has been a long and stressful day, dinner was gross, I haven't gotten to stamp/scrapbook all day and I'm ready for the HT!

I started scrapbooking last night after messing with my new printer (which took forever to get the settings correct). I'm not quite done with the page, but I'll post it when I am. :)

Here's a little something I made a while back.

SU! Party Goodies

I finally handed out the orders from the SU! party I had a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to thank people for coming to the party, so I made these cute little boxes with Wendy's Season of Joy set (from the Holiday mini catalog). The sacks were made with a very old stamp set I have that's just 4 stamps of different lines. (I'm too lazy to go upstairs and get the name.) Since the party had a Christmas theme, I filled all of the boxes and sacks with the soft peppermint pieces of long ago. Those have always been some of my favorite Christmas candy! Enjoy!

Sloppy Saturday

We hung around here for the entire day. I really need to grocery shop, but I'm putting it off for another day - tomorrow. :)

We were fairly productive today. Nathan worked outside doing "man stuff" and I worked the better part of the day. I had fun chatting with Ma this morning on the computer and now I can't stop looking at the adorable little Max on Mindy's blog!!! He is so cute and looks so soft and snuggly. I seriously am having puppy fever right now.

You should head on over and see how cute he is. Her blog link is on the right under "Friends."

I haven't made time to stamp today but here's a card I did the other day: a quick, simple but elegant card, inspired by all of the falling leaves.

Migraine mania

Well, today was no fun as I was down for the count with a migraine. My 2-day headache turned into a migraine last night and I was miserable all day. :( Woe is me. LOL Okay, now that I'm done with my pity party, I heard some fun news today. M & M are getting a puppy!!! They bought him last night and are going to pick him up tomorrow - a 9-week old black lab. I'm so excited for them. It's giving me some puppy fever...

Congrats to the Merritts on their newest addition to their family! Yay! This news brings back wonderful memories of our little boy when he was teenie-tiny. Here are some cute photos of Bex as a baby. :)

Stamping on the brain

For some reason lately, I only have stamping on the brain! I know I should scrapbook my TONS of pictures, but I just want to make cards. Anyway, I really wanted to use some of my new faith sentiments from Clearly Wordsworth, and I can't help but think of some of the places we have seen and pictures we have taken. I think it's fun to combine photos with stamps and I love sharing our pictures! Ranier turned out to be pretty small in the 4x6 photo, but when I cropped it down, it looks perfect. :-) I guess it's all in the perspective.

Yay! Let's Celebrate!!

I can't believe it, but I finally got my first job with my virtual assistance company. I'm SO excited. It's super-easy but just time consuming. I posted an ad on CL yesterday and someone saw it and contacted me. Yay! Time to celebrate...

I made this card a while with more of my Amuse stamps. I just love this frog - isn't he charming?

Stampin' Up Party

Wendy did a fabulous job demonstrating for SU! when she was here. I was engrossed in her presentation most of the time and distracted by cute little Genevieve, but I finally got up to take a few pics. We had such a fun girlie time together! I can't wait to get together with all the girls to do some stamping, now and use all of our new goodies. :D

Melinda the Grouch

I woke up grouchy and in a foul mood this morning. I've tried not to take it out on Nathan or anyone that has called (Dad, Anne, and Mindy). I really hope I will recover by tomorrow. Maybe I just need to count my blessings....

Here's another card I made sometime back. The moon is glittered behind the punched circle. I just love these cute owl and branch stamps from Amuse! The "Night Owl Stamper" just couldn't pass it up! I'm off to bed to sleep off this grouchiness!

Have I mentioned that I love Fall?!

Okay, so I may have said something like that. ;-) Here's another card just for fun!

Weekend Fun

We had a fun weekend with Ivan. I've heard so much about him so it was so nice to finally meet him. Need I say he's a total sweetheart?! He and Nathan took Bexar and went hiking yesterday to Bridal Veil Falls. Because of some sneezing and sniffles, I decided to stay home. Plus, it was an opportunity for me to have uninterupted stamping time! Our SU! order came Friday - SO exciting!! I have already used my scallop and ticket punches A LOT! I have yet to put my stamps together, though. :( Maybe I'll get that done this weekend. Anyway, I called Rochelle and she came over a bit. I designed 5 different monogrammed cards that we made for her daughter to give as gifts. It was SO much fun that I wound up stamping until about 10:45 last night at their house! I'll post pics if I get some of the group of cards we made.

TTFN

Miss Hippo

I did quite a bit of stamping last night and plan on scrapbooking and stamping today! Nathan and Ivan went hiking with Bexar. They've only been gone about 30 minutes and it feels so weird without Bexar by my side! I never knew how relaxing and "normal" it felt to always have him tagging along. Anyway, I colored this hippo when Wendy was here and had fun playing with her watercolor pencils and aquapainter. I think the aquapainter takes some getting used to and I could use a tutorial! Because I wanted stamps and punches, I decided to wait for the aquapainter and pencils since my SU! chalks and paintbrush do just fine. :-) Hope your Saturday is wonderful! I may have more goodies to show you a bit later...For now, I'm off to the craft nook!

Inspiration

As I was walking back in from taking the trash out, I noticed that one of our small maple trees that had bright red leaves on it is almost bare. I picked up several and thought I would send "fall" to my family. My inspiration for this card was as simple as that!

Greener pastures

Glittery, colorful Amuse cows on the loose. Guess he was looking for greener pastures. :-)

Discipline and Obedience

I have once again begun to read Discipline: The Glad Surrender by Elisabeth Elliot. There are many areas of my life where I could use more discipline, so this book can only help me. Today as I was reading the 2nd chapter "Discipline: The Answer to God's Call," I was struck by what she said regarding discipline and obedience. Here's what she said:

"We might say that discipline is the disciple's 'career.' It defines the very shape of the disciple's life. Obedience, on the other hand, refers to specific action."

So the question I must ask myself is, "Am I obedient?" This is a very tough question and one that I must mull over and pray about. May God show me my disobedience this very day so I may repent and enjoy a wonderful life in obedience to him. I can see now how discipline is a glad surrender.

Happy Birthday, Matthew!

Oh my goodness...Although I've had it on the calendar for a year (and it's the same time every year), I completely forgot to make a card for Matthew. :-( So...

Happy Birthday Matthew!!

We wish we were with you to celebrate another year. We love you and miss you so much!

Wendy is coming

And she'll be landing in 3 hours and 13 minutes. :-) I'm SO SO SO excited to see her; we have so much to catch up on (although we talk almost daily)!! It's just not the same over the phone. I wish my close girlfriends could all be here together for one big girlie weekend. What a fun idea...all of my closest friends (including a handful from TX, a couple in TN, and one in CO) all in one place to just have fun. I may have to try to get an excursion going...hmmm. Trying to get everyone together in one place will be challenging, though. I can dream, anyway!

In lieu of a very happy Friday, here's another card made with my Amuse stamps...I think it's my favorite!

Glorious Galettes

My adventure today was cooking/baking. I've been enjoying cooking a little more lately. This seems to go in cycles like stamping and scrapbooking. I picked up the Better Homes and Garden Holiday Baking magazine in Costco the other day and just had to try these galettes (gu-lets)! If you're thinking sweet...don't. They're a savory delight. :) The one I attempted today had leeks, smoked ham, and gruyere with a few spices. It was yummy! :) I wanted to try it before making it this weekend for my SU! party. I think it will be delightful. Here are a few pics to entertain you. (This was a half-batch for testing.)

ONE MORE DAY...

Until my sweet pK (Wendy) gets here! You know I'm going crazy waiting....just waiting...

We'll explore downtown and of course go to Amuse & Ben Franklin on Friday, stamp and have the SU party on Saturday, and Sunday & Monday are up in the air!

I can't wait...25 hours and 22 minutes until I see her!

Spreading more Fall cheer

This is the entrance to our house. I just love the cute little scarecrow. :-)

A quick detour

I took Bexar with me to Monroe for a couple of things at the grocery store. It was a very cloudy and drizzly day, with a complete downpour for about 20 minutes...the typical October day in the Northwest. As you well know, this is my favorite time of year, and I finally remembered to grab the digital video cam on the way out the door. On our way to Monroe, the foliage was beautiful, so I pulled over and snapped a couple. THEN, since we were going to the other side of Monroe, near a park that we discovered when BA was here, I decided to drop by and shoot some more pics. Bexar would enjoy the detour and I am always game! Click on the picture below to visit my zoomshare page, where all of the pictures from our "detour" are. I hope you enjoy it as much I did. (Disclaimer: This camera is best for video recording and not still shots.)

And now for the goodies...

I finally took some pictures of my goodies from Amuse. I will definitely be back to the store...and that's a great thing for stamping but not so great for my pocketbook. I'll have to put myself on a budget everytime I walk through those doors!

The little square pebbles, reigndeer stamp, and "Happy Birthday" stamp were all in my goodie bag, which I received for spending over $40!! I absolutely love everything and have already used a lot of the stamps. :-) The Amuse stamps lend themselves to simplicity, and that's what I've returned to...for now! The animal set is a clear set. I have found that I'm using more of my clear stamps because I can position them exactly where I want them, which I love! Unbelievably, this set of 19 stamps was only $14.99. They are small (and the same size that's on the package), but they're all so cute!

Here are some fun cards I've made with the whale. I haven't added any sentiments, as I can use the "You're a ton of fun" or use them for baby boy cards.

(**Click on the pictures for a larger view.)

Enjoy!

SU! markers vs. Copic/Prismacolor

I have been checking into getting Copic or Prismacolor markers because I love the watercoloring technique and shading. I still have a long way to go, but I really enjoy the challenge. It's somewhat therapeutic to color and shade. :) Anyway, I was doing some catching up on my blog reading last night and was excited to read Julie's post on her "Paper Pleasing Ideas" blog yesterday. I have Fabrico markers from SU! but I've never tried the watercolor effect with them. I always use the SU! chalks, a paintbrush, and water. I guess I'm a little old-fashioned, or maybe it's just plain cheap! Hubby is rubbing off on me a little. :)

Anyway, I thought it was a great post and her shading looks fantastic! Go Julie!

Totally Amused!

Where do I start? I was so giddy all morning while browsing the Amuse store. I was there for almost 3 hours along with tons of other women. The anniversary party and celebration of world card making day was a blast! I got to meet Linda, who is absolutely adorable. Her daughter, Hayley will be in the Nutcracker on Christmas Eve. Congratulations, Hayley! I am still on my "stamping high" and it's been almost an hour and half since I left the store. Their Halloween display was so cute but it was sunny, so the picture didn't really come out very well.

In the back of the store, they had a table set up to make a "Card for a Cause" with Amuse Designer Melissa. (I can't find her link on the Amuse website, so maybe she was an older one or is a newer one?) We made these cute little ice cream and "you're cool" cards to be sent to St. Jude Children's Hospital. What a fun contribution! I was SO excited to try the Copic and Prismacolor markers for the first time! Also in the back, set up with another designer, Novell, (with the long dark hair below) was a sour cream container "Make-N-Take." I had always wanted to learn to make one, so I was excited to see that. In between the two tables was another table set up with retired stamps at a special discounted price, along with $1 stamps. Finally, at the very back, were cute little pink cupcakes. So cute and tasty!

I'll have to post a picture of all of my goodies sometime tomorrow. I drained the battery dry with the Amuse pictures and all of the filming tonight at our "Heidelfest."

All I can really say is that I'm sold on Amuse stamps!! And I can't wait to go back next week with Wendy. :-)

Amusing

Oh my goodness. I'm so excited, that I haven't been able to go to bed yet. Only 8 more hours until I leave for the Amuse store in north Seattle. I've been stamping a little tonight, but it's part of some Christmas presents, so I can't reveal. :-)

I hope I'm not too tempted because I can't afford to spend a lot of money right now...but I'll have fun looking through the store and just perusing. Maybe this will help jumpstart my creative juices. :-)

Ode to the Western Hemlock

We didn't want to do it

But you left us no choice;

You were hanging over our garage

And eroding at your roots.

LOL - So I'm not the poet in the family, but I'm in a funny mood!

New Toys for Nathan

The little booger ordered these online and didn't tell me until a couple of days ago. The UPS man just left and he couldn't wait to finish eating his lunch to check them out! These babies have extra "floaters" to add to the backs of them when walking with your backpack on to support the extra weight, and they even move in the middle to dig into the snow when walking up steep embankments. They're awesome! Now all he needs is some snow for his brand new snowshoes.

Warm floors = Easier to get up in the morning

Last night, it was quite chilly in the house so Nathan turned on our radiant floor heat. We woke up this morning to a warmer house and nice warm floors. It was nice to be able to go to the bathroom without having to tip-toe across the tile! :) Praise God that they work; I love them.

Today was a pretty day between the raindrops, so after my dreaded dentist appointment, I took Bexar over to Marymoore. I wanted him to run a lot, but he poked along at a slow pace with his nose to the ground. I guess too many wonderful smells to pass up...We also saw two other male rotties today. That was so fun, as I usually don't see many. :-) One was 7 months old and the other was the same age as Bexar. Both were very playful, but Bexar was in a pokey mood this afternoon, so he didn't really chase them much. He trotted along after them, waiting for them to turn around and come back the other way, but he didn't seem interested. Oh well, he was very good behavior wise, of which I am always thankful!

Now off to the HT to soak in 102 degrees of warm bubbles while sitting out in the 46 degree drizzle! I love the covered hot tub. :-)

I can't believe it's already October!

It seems that time is just flying by. I cannot believe it's already October. I've been spending most of my time working on my business today, doing a wee bit of housework, and running a couple of errands. Where has all of the time gone today?

Anyway, happy October! Wishing you many blessings for a beautiful Fall!