Lotus Paperie & a GutterGirlz Sneak!

Hey, I haven't been doing a very good job of keeping you updated on my various blog challenges, have I? Just for future reference, new Lotus Paperie challenges are posted every Friday, and new GutterGirlz challenges are on the 15th and 30th of each month. So mark your calendars, people. Now here's what I've come up with.....well, wait, first things first....wanna see my new phone?? (Or, more accurately, a stock photo of my new phone.)

Isn't she GORGEOUS?!! I used the Christmas money from my grandparents to upgrade my cell and add unlimited texting to our plan....now this beauty is my new favorite toy! Rachel and I can send video and pics back and forth for FREE, whenever we want! The two of us may make Verizon reconsider the whole "free in-network calls" thing. Got Verizon? Got texting? Email me your number (latte_grande921 AT hotmail DOT com) and we can get jinky with it! (Also, I haven't thought of a name for her yet, and I'm taking suggestions.)

Okay, NOW I can share my new pages with you! This one is for the current sketch challenge over at Lotus Paperie:


And here's a sneak peek of the GutterGirlz prompt that will go up tomorrow!

Hope to see you there....have a happy Monday, the last one of 2008!!

Merry Christmas!!

Well, we braved the bitter cold and crazed, last-minute shoppers to go see Santa at the mall for our traditional Christmas Eve picture of the children....only this year, Alex decided he was too old to sit in a photo with jolly old St. Nick. I still love how this came out!

And I figured I could just get the four of them to sit together for a picture amid the Christmas scenery at the mall. It didn't have to have Santa in it to be a good picture, and I could do it myself, right?

Hmmm....for some reason, I can't get all four of them to look at me at the same time...

Man, the lighting in here is awful! I'm using the high ISO setting on my camera, and everything!

Okay, guys, now this is just ridiculous....

Ah, forget it! Merry Christmas, anyway! :)

We're Ready!

We've decorated, we've visited with family and have plans to do it some more, we've done our shopping, we've made snack mix and buckeyes.....

....today the kids will see Santa (a Christmas Eve tradition), I'll get the presents wrapped, and we'll make some more cookies to set out for Santa by the tree! Along with a note for Santa and some carrots for the reindeer, of course. I can't believe it's finally Christmas Eve!

This is my newest project that I'm planning to work on over the Christmas break...

...a new quilt for Maggie's bed! She doesn't want flowers, no rainbows or unicorns, no pink....no, my little princess/future zoologist wants an animal-print bedspread. So I've been looking for fabrics that won't make the finished product look like something from the set of a jungle-themed porno (a difficult task, let me tell you). And after much searching, these are the fabrics I found. Thankfully, she LOVES them. Can't wait to get started....but first, we need to get this Christmas thing out of the way! Hope your holiday is happy!

Fa la la la LAAAAA!!!

Just wanted to share a few pics with you before I scoot out the door...

Maggie on "Wear a Silly Hat" Day:


Jack and his cousin Ethan (we had some friends and family over for dinner this week):


Jacob and Jack sporting their fabulous new hats at the Dollar Tree:


This is the oven mitt and cookie-in-a-jar I made for each of the kids' teachers:


And my little brother Mark stopped by to say hello yesterday! I love that crazy kid! (Notice how Jacob is still wearing his silly hat? He and Jack are nuts about those things!)

It's almost Christmas...only five more days, if you've lost count. And today, I get to do some last-minute shopping! Keep me in your thoughts, would you? Maybe say a prayer that I don't get knocked down by some crazed lady making a desperate grab for the last lion Webkins.....oh wait, that lady might be me. :) Happy Saturday!

In the Mood to SEW!!

Oh, yeah, BIG time! I've been totally addicted to my sewing machine for the past week or so. I'm still taking pictures each day for my December Daily album, and I'll post pics of my progress on that soon. But mainly I've been staying away from the computer, and....sewing! I finished the baby quilts I started last summer (!) and gave them to B & K when we babysat them last night. Don't they look so thrilled with their new blankies?!!

I already have the materials I need to make Christmas gifts for the kids' teachers, and I've been finding all kinds of cool fabrics while out thrifting for yet another exciting sewing project. I'm so freakin' stoked, I just can't wait to show off the finished products!

I haven't totally abandoned scrappin', of course. I don't think I have it in me to take a break from that! Here's the page I did for the current challenge over at Lotus Paperie:

If you haven't gone over there to check out their challenges yet....well, why on earth NOT?? First, let me know so I can smack you upside the head with a rubber hose. Then, get on over there and participate! There are PRIZES to be won, people! Prizes!! Plus, they have some really awesome kits for sale in their etsy shop....and I just happen to have a Lotus Paperie coffee mug on my Christmas wish list (located in the sidebar for your convenience, lol)!

Okay, I'll try to be less scarce now that I've temporarily kicked my winter funk. Stupid winter already giving me the blues and it's not even officially arrived yet! Stay tuned........hope you had a wonderful weekend! :)

Happy Weekend!

This has been such a long week....I just haven't had a chance to update my blog! I'm FAR too busy playing Mobsters, Vampire Wars and Mob Wars to involve myself with time-intensive efforts such as blogging. I HAVE been keeping in touch via twitter, so if you're not yet following my tweets...well, what are you waiting for? If you had been in my small, very exclusive (yet open to just about anyone) circle of twitter friends, you would've already heard about: the spaghetti bake I made on Monday, Alex puking on Tuesday night (uh, not because of Monday's dinner), my secret mission (having flowers delivered to Rachel on her birthday), my awesome thrift store finds, and my plan to spend this evening at an Archiver's crop. See all the wonderfulness you've missed? All right. Twitter. Be there or be square.

One other thing, don't forget to check out the new prompt over at Lotus Paperie! This time, instead of using a sketch, the prompt is to use lots of buttons. And I'm ALL about the buttons! Here's what I came up with:


And finally....my new sweater!

I got it for $3.50 the other day at the thrift store, and I LOVE it. Plan to wear it every day. LOVE.

All right, I HAVE to get ready for the crop tonight. I've got my pictures edited, I just need to print them and pack my stuff. Oh, and shower. I should probably do that, too.

New Gutter Girlz Prompt and Other News

Just a friendly reminder from this dirty girl....Challenge #12 is UP over at Gutter Girlz! And I am SO stoked to announce that the amazing Linda Woods joined us this time as our first EVAH honorary Gutter Girl! Check it out and play along! We love to wallow in the gutter with company. It's so much more fun that way! :) Here is what I came up with:

And Rick wasn't even surprised to see me photographing myself hanging upside-down off the edge of the couch. Apparently I do things like that pretty often. Hey, I'm an artist. We're supposed to be eccentric, right?

And speaking of art, I finished my December Daily Album over the weekend. I used an old hardback book, cut it apart and covered the outside with fabric. Sorry for the crap picture...I took it at night, so the light was bad. I'm pretty dern excited to fill this with pictures and notes from our month! Stay tuned for more updates on this project.


Okay, one last thing....over the weekend, Jacob and Jack decided to slather Jacob's head in Vaseline. Just one more reason to be suspicious when the two of them are quiet for more than 5 minutes! I took this picture of Jacob after I had washed his head with Dawn THREE times...and he STILL has crazy greasy hair. So, to recap: Vaseline + hair = NOT GOOD. Also, getting Vaseline in your eyes is apparently not a good thing and makes for one grouchy baby. Especially after having your head vigorously scrubbed and being forced to hold still by an overly caring mother who doesn't want to get dishsoap in your eyes. *sigh* I think this pic says it all.

Oh, Yeah.

So my best friend Rachel was telling me about her WAY full sink and overflowing trash can, so I challenged her to a "Worst Mess" photo comparison-a-rama.

And I have to say....

My mess is TOTALLY worse.


This is what happens when I take the weekend off.

I really need to see about getting a raise for all this pending overtime.

Fun with Crayons

Last night, Jack had on his Thomas tool belt filled with Crayolas....he was ready and equipped for some coloring ACTION! And he was super cute, too.


Today I was able to distract the boys (long enough for me to take a shower) by giving them some cardboard to color on! I guess it was kinda like coloring on a wall, so it was quite an enjoyable experience.

(Don't ask me why, but they've both been removing their shirts lately. I'm just as puzzled as you are. Hopefully, they'll remain clothed at our family's Thanksgiving get-together! I may sew their shirts to their pants, just to be safe.)

DONE!

Her name is Gwyneth Anisa (which means fortunate companion, blessed and faithful friend), and I absolutely LOVE how she came out!



I'll be making another one of these soon, but I'm in a scrappy mood lately....already finished the Tally Survivor challenge that isn't due until the Thursday after Thanksgiving! Whoot! :)

Last Night's Dinner Experiment...

...was a success!! SO much so that I just HAVE to share the recipe. And I wrote it down this time! With measurements, and everything! The basic idea for this stew came from a Gypsy soup recipe, but I substituted and added so much that the finished product is totally different.

Christi's Sweet Potato Stew
2 lbs ground beef
2 small onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 stalks celery, chopped
5 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
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2 tsp paprika
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp basil
1 tsp cayenne pepper
32 oz carton chicken broth
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 can chili beans
3 Tbsp brown sugar
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1. Brown ground beef in a stock pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, celery, sweet potatoes and carrots and cook with beef, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft. Season with paprika, cinnamon, black pepper, basil and cayenne pepper. Stir to blend, then stir in chicken broth. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
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2. Add chili beans, green pepper and brown sugar to stew. Simmer another 10 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender.
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Makes 10-12 servings

Our family LOVED this, and it's a great freezer stew if you want to make extra. Enjoy!

Well, I haven't had a chance to work on my doll yet today, but I DID finish my Survivor layout for Tally and the sketch challenge over at Lotus Paperie. All in all, I'd say it was a pretty great day! Hope your Tuesday was happy!

Houston, We Have Snow...

So, I guess this means our Indian Summer is officially over, huh?
NOW I'm in the mood to decorate for Christmas.

For those of you who asked about my pumpkin pancake recipe...uh, I really don't HAVE one. I plopped a can of pumpkin into a bowl of Jiffy pancake mix, added water until it was the right consistency, then some allspice just for fun. I had to use a much lower temperature on the stove to get them cooked all the way through without burning the outside (thanks for the tip, Rachel!), and in hindsight, I probably should've only used 1/2 a can of pumpkin. I'm kind of an experimental chef...usually what I try works. Sometimes it doesn't. The Pumpkin Pancake Experiment went well, but I can tweak it and make it better next time, kwim? Um, does that help you at all? lol

I'm scrapping today, getting a few required pages knocked out so I can work on my folk art doll.....finally! My goal is to get her started tomorrow. Wish me luck! Hope your Monday is happy!

Gutter Girlz and Random Miscellany

The new Gutter Girlz prompt is UP!! If you haven't stopped by to wallow in the gutter yet....well, WHY NOT?? We'd love to see you there, and there are great prizes to be had. But you have to PLAY to WIN. If you're on the fence about it, or you've been MEANING to try one of the challenges, stop putting it off and just jump in! We'll keep a spot warm for you. :)
Here's my layout for the new challenge:


And now for the miscellany...
Pumpkin pancakes. Mmmmm....SO good. Hey, now that I can make them myself, who needs IHOP?


Check out this amazingly awesome fabric I scored at the thrift store! It's going to make such a fabulous dress for my doll....I can't wait to show you!


And finally...

Jacob is going through a very, um, expressive phase. It's hard to capture ALL of his different faces, but here's one of my favs. Not sure what this one means. To me, it says, "I have to poop." Makes me smile.

Recent Scrappiness

I finished this layout last night for the Survivor challenge over at TallyScrapper. We had to use a poem for our journaling (hey, I like poetry), follow a Tim Holtz distressing technique (right up my alley), and use a frame around our pic reminiscent of vintage photos. Um, am I crazy or was this challenge MADE for ME?!!! Seriously! I LOVE how this one came out. Love it.


This layout is my first EVER 12x6! I followed the sketch from Challenge #97 at Lotus Paperie (where I believe they're introducing me today, yay!). These pictures are from 1999! Recognize them, Miranda? ;)

I figured I can include it in Alex's baby album pretty easily since the album is 12x12. I may even get crafty and sew down the approximate middle of a page protector, essentially resizing it. But that's not happening on THIS day. No, THIS day I have a headache. I'm pretty sure I've gone so long without my allergy medication that the sinus pressure has built until it's finally unbearable. I'll be going out today for drugs. Hopefully BEFORE my head explodes.

But first.....COFFEE! It just finished brewing, thank heaven. Have a happy Thursday!

Still in shock...

I still can't believe it....I made the Design Team over at Lotus Paperie!! They made the announcement yesterday and I'll be introduced tomorrow!! I am just SO stinkin' excited! They're a challenge blog where you can find a new challenge every Friday.....here is my take on #96! My term will run for 6 months, from Dec-May, so I'll be getting a LOT of scrappin' done!

PS~The current challenge over there is #97, and it's a 6x12....I'll be working on that today with my layouts for the Survivor challenge and for Gutter Girlz. That's why I'm up so early, lol!

Before I go, I'd like to share a story with you. Last weekend I went to a crop with my friend Miranda, and somehow convinced her to go to the thrift store with me afterword, with the promise that we would NOT look at clothes. Because then we'd be lost in the racks for hours, and we were both kinda anxious to get home. Well....while browsing through the "junk" shelves, I found the most BEAUTIFUL vintage baby scale! My breath literally caught in my throat, and I'm pretty sure my heart stopped for a moment. Unfortunately the price tag was a bit more than I was willing to spend. So with a heavy heart I left it on the shelf, thinking there might be a small chance it would still be there when the store had a 50% off day. Imagine my surprise when Miranda, after asking me several times if I were crazy for being so head-over-heels in love with a slightly rusted and dusty old scale, decided she wanted to buy it for me! So THANK YOU, Miranda, you are my HERO! I cleaned up my beautiful treasure, and it's currently holding some of my craft books. Isn't it beautiful? *sigh*

Saying goodbye...

Today was the day we saw 2 more brothers-in-law off to their training for Iraq. The local news was there, and AJ made the cut...you can see our little nephew Elijah in the video, too. HERE is the link. And in case the video isn't working, HERE is a link to the story. Be praying for them, okay? Ross, Emily, little Hunter and new baby (due this winter) and AJ, Vikki and baby Elijah. Thanks. Your thoughts and prayers mean so much.
ETA: Okay, they changed the video, so AJ's interview isn't in there anymore. (Probably because he wasn't crying.) But you can still see him hug Vikki and lean down and give Elijah a kiss in his stroller, and Ross is one of two guys they show at the front of the indoor formation. Rick and I think they missed out on a big story with Vikki's husband (whom she met in Iraq) going back over in the same unit as her brother.

Just in Case You Forgot...

In my neck of the woods, the polls will be open for another half hour. That means that those of you on the west coast still have over three hours to get out there and VOTE if you haven't already. I'll be watching some of the news coverage tonight. Finally, after all these months, the payoff.....we'll get to see someone give their acceptance speech! May the best candidate win!

PS ~ Thank you to Rachel for the "I Voted" button! :)

And the Blog Candy winner is.....

Heehee, sorry for my tardiness....there's a good reason, I promise! The winner of the drawing for a fabulous PINK prize in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month is:

vannasmom said...
wow , love all the pink on your blog!! go boobies!!
And I am also going to put that on my blog!!
are you also saving the little pink lids on yogurt??

Congrats, Dawn!! You were picked by my husband, using my oh-so-technical style of asking him for a number between 1 and whatever. :) I'll get your prize mailed out to you right away!

Now, the reason I was a day late, besides my addiction to Mob Wars (I'm level 11 now, by the way, lol) is that I've been working with the amazing Happy Holidays Card Kit from TallyScrapper! You'll be able to get your own on the 7th, and you won't want to miss out....here's what I've made so far:



...and I've still got a TON of stuff left to make at least a gazillion more cards! In case you don't hear from me for awhile, it's probably because I'm shaking my Christmas groove thang.

Oh, and better late than never.....here's my layout for the current GutterGirlz prompt:

Stop on over there and check it out! You have until the 14th to link up your creation.

Okay, I've got some cleaning to do before our company gets here....hope you all have a fabulous Sunday, and don't forget that Daylight Savings ended this morning.....set your clocks back!