Hanging with the Fam

Eden and I

My older sister and her "crew" are in town this week :) Her Crew is her husband, 5 kids, and one on the way. They are in the area for a wedding this upcoming weekend, and so they made the trek from central Oregon and will be around for a few more days.

Niece #1 had her birthday a few days ago, and so we had a birthday party for her yesterday. I will post some more pics of the party later (maybe on my flickr account) but for now all I have is the one from above.

Eden is SO adorable- he is always happy, and when ever you say "cheese" he bursts into the biggest grin I have ever seen on a kid. I took the above photo and we were all laughing about how you can totally tell that we are related. He could almost be my kid he looks so much like me (and he is almost a mirror image of what my little brother used to look like). But I am sure that my kids will look almost like this- but with dark hair and probably with dimples of some sort (both john and I have DARK brown hair, and we both have dimples- his are faint, but since mine are crater-sized it will probably even out.)

Anyway- I have not been in the craft room as much lately. I DID do some cleaning in there, but not enough to want to work in there- but I have discovered a new craft that I am working on--- I will have a few pics of them soon, but in the mean time I will have to keep you guessing. BUT, It is a nice change- I can work on this craft while sitting on the couch watching a movie- no craft table needed- so that is for sure a nice change :) And my birds enjoy having me closer to them in the afternoons. I usually hear them cheeping at me from the front room when I am back in the craft room- and now I am a few feet away, which makes the house a quieter place all around :)

Anyway- new craft photos soon :)

Just Sayin'

Howdy!
I just wanted to let anyone who stops by to know what I am loving right now. Have you been looking at Etsy lately? You Should! I adore it! I was web surfing the other day, and I stopped by Shelli's Blog- and it has a AWESOME Idea. How many times do you see a idea in a catalog and wish that you could have that room? (well I do it all the time) and she came up with this mosaic of items that she found on Etsy that would duplicate the room display that she liked. It is a great idea if you are looking to re-do a room, or are just bored and need something fun to do on the PC.
Anyway- I love reading her blog- there is always something fun going on over there. Check it out!
(follow this link- or use the one over there my right side bar) www.studiomelablog.com

She also draws the most adorable pictures and makes prints from them. I am in love with the kitchen line (love your forks, spoons, egg beaters and more!), and the Bird with a french Fry..... One of these days I will decide which one I love best and get a print, but in the mean time I love to look :) AND she is having a huge release today in her Etsy shop with a lot of new prints. You need to check it out and see how cute she is. It will go live at 1PM (EST) so i only have a hour to go before I get to see the new goodies. Here is a link to her shop http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5058797

Anyway- just wanted to throw that out there. She is so cute, and all her drawings are adorable. Check them out!

I Miss You!

This Photo is for someone special- you know who you are!!! :)

I Miss you, and your Mr. (and the yet un-met little one)

Not to get to mushy or sentimental, but every time I smell a Illume Candle, buy a picture frame, use my Burt's Bees lip gloss, make REAL garlic bread (or Guacamole for that matter- since you taught me how!), Watch A&E's Pride and Prejudice, Clueless, or Hunt for Red October, and see or do a million other small things- I think of you guys, and miss you terribly. I wish that you lived closer- or that I was better at keeping in touch. Maybe this summer I can make a road trip and visit for a few days and catch up and meet the E-bear :)

You two made so many wonderful impressions and memories for me and I hope that we can meet again soon :) You Guys are the best! Drop me a Email or give me a call (my number is still the same), I would love to catch up :)

Look who's comming to dinner!

(Update Below)
Well- maybe not TO dinner, but at dinner time.
The IRS decided very nicely today to deposit my Economic stimulus $$$ today in my checking account, and this is what I have been waiting for. After talking about it on and off lately, John and I agreed that the best way to get me to exercise was to follow the following 5 rules:

1. Make it indoors. My bad allergies aside- I am just NOT a outdoor person. And when you mix outdoors with the idea of working out- well... it is really not my thing!

2. Make it easy on the knee joints. I have a bad knee and so I cannot jog, run bike or hike without major pain (and see Rule #1), and the Elliptical is the ONLY equipment that I have used that doesn't cause me any knee pain.

3. Make it easy to get to. And the Gym at 5:15 pm is NOT easy to get to, get in to or get out of. Plus, I only use the elliptical when I am at the gym, so why not get one for the house?

4. Make it where I can read or watch a movie while I work out- because lets be honest- if I am bored I am only going to give up sooner.

5. Make it where I do not have to get "ready" to workout. And let me tell you, it only takes 1 workout session next to a Size 2 Miss America look-alike to not want to leave the house without a full makeover every time to want to go to the gym. At home, PJ's and a ponytail will suffice :)

Anyway- I think that I will be picking it up tonight at Costco after work. John said that he can be bribed to put it together as long as I bribe him with hot and fresh chocolate chip cookies (with extra chips!), and I think that can be arranged. And as a further bonus, I will make him one of his favorite meals (which I don't like all that much) but whole wheat pasta with red sauce.

Anyway- The deal is this- I can have it in the Front Room (with the TV and DVD's and Stereo and so on) as long as I use it 3 or 4 times a week. If I don't, then it will get sent into our bedroom (the only other room it will fit in, since the office, guest room and craft room are already set up with furniture), and it will sit in the bedroom and I will have to work out in there (where there is no TV or anything but a bed and a window) until I have earned my way back into the front room.
These are not really John's rules, but it will help keep me motivated, and he liked the idea, so that is how it will be.

Anyway- hopefully I will have good things to say about it soon :)

Update:
HOLY MOLY! This sucker is HEAVY. it took 2 burly manly men to load it into my borrowed surburban, and then when we got it home we were not sure what to do to get it out. A Dolly was not even a option. I mean, this thing is as heavy as a fridge, and longer to boot. But we came up with a good idea, and John got it 1\2 way set up last night. More goodness to come after it is set up- but in the mean time- my front room looks like a cardboard tornado hit. No Joke- there was probably 100 pounds in cardboard alone!

wishing for a clean craft room

Short post today, I have lots swimming in my mind and need to focus on getting them down on paper before I forget about them.
I have been looking around at cute childlike prints lately, and I have been excited about "ocean" looks lately. Sea Snails, octopus (octopi?), Lobsters, fish and more. I am not sure why, I am NOT a fan of the ocean itself. I am scared to death of sharks and avoid even going to the beach for any number of reasons (seagulls, sand, sea water in my hair) but I am in love with "Finding Nemo" and all the cute creatures. I have been inspired to paint a "set" of ocean prints in a cute childlike look, and while I have canvas, paints, and time, I do not have a clean craft room (sigh).

Time to dig out the shovel and clear a path back to the craft table......

Here are a few cute things I saw on flickr....


http://www.flickr.com/photos/whatwhat/11174518/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/beneaththerowantree/2324213017/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12103954@N06/1249155757/

Have a great Tuesday!

Chillin' Out

(Photo sent from camera phone)

I have found myself living a quiet and restful life the last week and a half since we got back from our road trip. Taking time to breathe, relax, and re-acquaint myself with being home and back at work.

As relaxing as it was to be on vacation, it was not relaxing to be back home. I had to go back to the whirlwind of activity that includes work, tons of housework, laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, and the other random activities that have occurred this week (Shopping and getting things ready for mothers day, having friends over for dinner, attending a Birthday party for a friend, working on my finances, reading the piles of books and magazines that are new and waiting, and spending time with family).

All of them good things, but I have found myself tired from it all, both emotinally and physically, and so I have been taking a break from anything that doesn't "demand" my attention.

I have not really set a toe in the craft room since we got back, other than to drop off things, (stash things) and grabbing random items that are kept in there. It is also a ROYAL mess in there again, and I have not had the time or energy to try and tackle it, so there the room sits, a wreck and all alone.

I have however, cleaned and started the "remodel" of the guest room which included changing the curtains, buying and setting up a (super heavy) bookshelf, and I will be working on changing around the whole look of the room. I am not positive what I want it to look like, but hopefully less like it did before (which was a random hodge-podge of left over furniture and extra bedroom stuff) and more like a real "guest room".

I also tackled most of the mess that is my half of the bedroom. Everything looks clean and tidy, and my closet is not a mountain of mess ready to knock over the first unsuspecting person that dares open the door, but a mostly respectable looking area, that looks even more so when I keep the closet doors close. Still- I would still not want my mother to see inside- but that is one of the benefits of being a adult- I can tell my mom to not look in my closet anymore to see if it is tidy or not.

Also- have you seen the new cover of Martha Stewart Living? I scanned it, but the colors are a bit off. But I am in LOVE with the colors on the cover. Bright Blue, Orange and White have been my addiction now for about 3 months, and when I saw this at Borders I had to buy it :) The Blue walls are much more "robins egg blue" when you see it in person, but the scanner doesn't like it I guess.

And as a update, What I am working on:

~ Gathering items and ideas for a Art Journal

~ Trying out some new recipes for the cooking blog- I have had 2 mishaps (tasty but not quite right), and so I need to tweak the recipes until I get it right.

~ Cleaning and purging junk around the house (how DID i get all this stuff!?!)

~ collecting visual ideas for some more paintings

~ Brainstorming some guest room and guest bathroom ideas (they both need some help)

~ Eyeballing a Elliptical for the house (no more drives to the gym and having to wait while "chatty cathy" and her 4 workout buddies get off all the machines!!)

~ Exploring the massive depths of Photoshop- it is SOOOOOO slow, but fun to learn!

Anyway- that is what is new in that area, and I will hopefully have something to post in the next few days--- at the least, maybe a successful version of one of the recipes I am working on.

Have a great day!

Back Home Safe & Sound

Well we are back from our road trip.

We had a blast- it was a LOT of driving, but it was mostly a good drive (on the way back there was a 600 or 700 mile driving day and the whole time it was into a strong headwind) but having a hybrid this time was nice. We got about 46 MPG the whole trip, which beats out the 13 MPG that we got with the Porche last time, and when you are driving 4000 Miles, it make a HUGE difference.

Between the destinations of Georgetown, Texas and back home, we were able to see some dear friends. We met up with our friend Jamie in Tempe AZ for lunch one day. And on the way back we were able to spend the night with our awesome friend John-John. We LOVE to visit him, and as usual we had a great, but short visit. And also as usual, we have lots of tasty food, a "few" margaritas, and some great coffee- all in 24 hours :)

I do not have all of my pictures at my disposal yet to post, (they are at home on a CD) but the one of the train above was taken in New Mexico on the way home.

I will update this again soon, but for now I am still getting back into the swing of being home. It is Weird, for 2 weeks I didn't have to drive, cook a meal, wake up anytime earlier than I wanted to, could stay up as late as I wanted, and my only really chore was to do laundry once..... and getting back to "real life" seems kinda harsh on my relaxed attitude.

But on Sunday I did get up early and went to the local swap-meet and I found some cool things. I also FINALLY ordered the bookshelf for the guest room and in the next few days I will be setting it up and re-doing the look of the guest room- so stay tuned :)

Lauren

Getting Ready to Hit the Road

Well John and I are getting ready to hit the road soon. We are taking a 2 week road trip to go see his Mom (and step-dad) in TEXAS! We will heading to a cute little town called "Georgetown" and it is about 30 or so minutes from Austin.

We drove out there a few years ago, and I am SO excited to go again. There is a whole lotta NOTHING between here and there, but at the same time, so much to see. There is a lot of desert, dirt, trains, cactus and more dirt, but they all hold a certain beauty. John is the best travel buddy you could hope for, and I am excited to start a new trip with him.

I have had the travel bug for a few months now, and it is way past due for a visit to see John's Mom. We last saw them....mmmmm.... at a wedding, and that was 2 years ago this May. So long over-due. I am not quite sure what we will do along the way this time. Last time we stopped at the Grand Canyon, hiked thru the underground Carlsbad Caverns, took a tour of Hoover Dam, and stayed and played at the Luxor Hotel in Vegas. That about covers all there is to do on the way, and the way back. So this time around we are going to try to see some people on the way and way back.

A good friend of mine has moved to Phoenix and we will try to see her on the way out. And then on the way home we will try to visit our one of our favorite people in the world, John-John. He lives in Vegas, and we will try to see if we can see him on the way back. If you are a regular reader, you will remember our trip to see him last year. But he is hard to get ahold of, and travels around alot, and so we will keep our fingers crossed that we will be able to see him.

As far as craft room progress goes- I have finished the 2x3 foot canvas, and 2 of the 8x8 inch ones. I will have to let you know what I do with them- that should be a week or 2 after we get back :)

In the Studio Again

Photo from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blockpartypress/2210303986/

Well I am finally back in the Craft Room after a bit of a break. Sometimes I just get.... well... bored is not the right word, but sometimes I need to get out of the craft room for awhile. So instead of spending the evenings and weekends in the craft room, I have been curled up in one of the armchairs in the front room, reading books and drinking tea. Lots of tea! I drink a custom blended "Rose Petal" tea. Loose Leaf black tea, with rose petals & rose oils. It is a dainty, yet refreshing blend. Over the last 3 weeks or so, I think I have gone thru almost 2 pots a day, every day. (Along with a dozen or 2 books, and a few plates of scones).

But I was not feeling the "urge" to go into the Craft Room, and even trying to "make" myself create was not working. I would spend a hour or so reading thru craft mags, or browsing blogs and Flickr, but nothing was inspiring me. I think that I just needed a break, and reading is a good relaxing escape from having to really think about anything in particular.

But on Friday afternoon, I found myself wandering in there, (book abandoned mid- chapter, which when you consider that I read a book about every 1.3 days it is saying something that I could walk away so easily!). I spent some time picking up in there, moving around some stuff to make my desk look cleaner ( I am not sure if it IS cleaner, but it LOOKS cleaner) , and by Saturday afternoon, I was back in the mood to create.

It was nice, it was easy, and I didn't have to force myself to think about what I needed to do- it just flowed. And flowed quickly- I think that I finished a painting in about 2 hours from start to finish- I usually hem and haw over it for hours or DAYS at a time trying to be happy with it. I just put in "Casino Royale" and by the time that James had his heart broken, my painting was drying, and I called it good.

I have not taken any pictures of it yet, but I will post it when I do. I am now officially out of Canvas, so I have all this creative juice ready to flow, and I am empty handed. ARG! And let me tell you, after the cheap, ugly, hard to paint, flimsy, flat canvas that I got from Aaron brothers last time, I am not touching those. At $8 (on sale) each, for a lousy little thing, I think that I can wait 2 days for Dick Blick to deliver my high quality, nice and thick canvas (at $3 each!). So for the next day or so I will have to cap on the creativity and wait for my Delivery.

Also- I ordered a 3x2 foot canvas! I think that I will be a bit scared of it (the biggest that I have ever painted is a 8x8 inch). I am going to try to make a painting to hang over John and I's bed. Our house is SO lacking in any kind of art. (At least outside of the front room and guest room anyway.) Our Bedroom consists of a bed, a nightstand (which is really a pine-wood tv tray) with a clock radio, a lamp, and a silver tray with my perfumes on it. That is it. No Photos, no dressers (we keep those in the closet), no art or anything.

We have painted the room so many times in the last 2.5 years (white, to a soft mocha, now to a cream- with many coats of each) that we have never really put anything up.
I would love to have a mirror on the wall behind the bed (to reflect the light from the window on the wall across from it- our room is kinda dark before the sun shines in there in the late afteroons) but John has a "thing" about hanging a mirror over our heads. I think he has images of a huge "crash, glass everywhere, sliced heads or necks, and trips to the ER" in mind, so hopefully a canvas will not scare him.

Oh well- my canvases will be here in a few days, I already know what I want to do with the big one for the bedroom, and I will go from there.

I am also starting to plan for our road trip. We are driving to TEXAS in a few weeks. It should be tons of fun- but we leave in 2 weeks. Time to get the outfits, luggage, pets, maps, plans all worked out. That should fill the time until I write again :)

Have a great day!

Back in Action

Hello!

I have been MIA for awhile. I had this issues with my back\shoulder area last week. It was itchy and stinging and just really hurt. I was going nuts because nothing was working- Aveeno Lotion, Neosporin, lots of other kinds of lotion- and nothing was fixing it, adn to top it off- there was nothing showing on my skin. It looked perfectly normal. Then some bumps appeared (like spider bites) and after a few days of it getting more painful, I finally gave in and went to the Dr to see what he had to say.

Well turns out that I had Shingles! Which I think is kinda weird. I mean I had them when I was really young (which is REALLY odd- kids normally never get them) and then to have them again before I even hit 25 is weird (IMHO).

For those who don't know what Shingles are: When you get Chicken Pox the virus lives in the base of your spine for the rest of your life, and can resurface at any time it pleases in the form of Shingles.

They are really really painful. It is one of those things that you cannot SEE, but your nerve endings are basically going nuts and it feels like you have a sunburn and someone is scratching it with needles. And it also itches (like a sunburn) but the goal is to not itch it- because even having your clothes touch it means that you are in pretty bad pain. Even a breeze that touches your skin can cause pain (because of the over sensitive nerve endings under the skin).

They are not "catchable", you cannot get them from anyone, but since it is the same virus as ChickenPox, you can give CP to someone who has not had them (like little kids). As a matter of fact- that is how my little sister got CP when she was young- she got them when I got shingles.

Shingles are normally brought on by lots of stress- and the last month has been one of the least stressful that I have had in a long time. I was missing quite a bit of sleep lately- but I have not been stressed out about it- just tired.

So the worst part is the pain, but coming in close second was the cost of the pills (which doesn't cure them- shingles just go away after a week or so- or when ever they feel like it, the pain can last for months if it feels like sticking around that long- but the Meds try to rush the process and pain to finish a bit more quickly) but the cost of meds for a 7 day rounds was $216! YIKES! and that was WITH Healthcare and going to Wal Mart to get the best price. OUCH! (sigh) It seems to be my lot in life to get odd illnesses and then have to pay a bundle to fix it.

But I will be back in the Craft room this weekend, and we will have to see what pops up. I may do some painting, but I may just clean up. No matter how much I clean in there, all it takes is about 2 hours of creating, and the whole thing is a mess again. But last weekend I did manage to go thru some of my stuff and I took a stack of things over to a friend who also loves to get crafty. She got "new" free stuff, and I was able to pass along things that I didn't think that I was going to be able to use, and I freed up some space in my paper bins :) Everyone wins that way!

I am also REALLY wanting to buy a sewing machine. Not a nice one- just the bottom of the price range from wal mart sewer (like$75). I want to use it to be able to sew on my projects, and to be able to make some things for around the house. do you know how long it takes to HAND SEW a pillowcase, or a curtain panel? I do- and it takes forever and still looks funny. Hey, I can hand sew, but I never said it was pretty. So I may get one, but we will have to see. I spend almost $300 in heathcare last weekend(not including the cost of insurance, which just went up almost 45% this month! ouch!), and I was not expecting that expense, and so my money fund for the next month is smaller than I would have expected.

Oh well- enough chit chat! I have to get some lunch and then back to work for me!

Have a great (and Shingle-less!) Day!

New Painting

I was really inspired by the cover of the March 2008 Better Homes and Gardens Magazine. I was not sure what I wanted to do about it- (paint, scrapbook, cardmaking?)- but I decided to do another painting using the shapes and colors of the cover photo.

My last one went over pretty well- but I wanted to change up the shapes of the flowers to give them a more soft and flow-y feel (like Peonies have) and so that is what I made. The colors for some reason are not as true as they are in person- the soft green is kinda muted in this photo- it almost has a yellow look to it- but in person it is much more soft mint green. In real life it stands out a bit better, I think my camera doesn't like that color (I have had issues in the past with it).

So that is one thing that I worked on this weekend. I ended up having a pretty full weekend- there were fun things to be done that I had forgotten about- but I will post about that soon :)

News From the Craft Room

Ok- my mother of all people chided me about not updating my blog often enough, and so I thought I better do it before another weekend creeps up and passes me by without posting. (and Due to bad weather I plan on spending the weekend in the craft room creating, and not on the PC)

Above is one of the painting that I had been working on that I finally finished last week. I thought it was pretty cute, and I posted it on Flickr, and it has been getting pretty rave reviews- I feel so flattered. Someone (who knows what they are talking about since they are in respected scrapbook\art kit as a designer) said that they loved it and that I should be Designing Scrapbook paper. (!!!!) I nearly died! To have someone mention (even loosely) that I had any kind of skill and say that I should do something that I have as a dream, well- that was life affirming! It was a good day :)

I like the photo that is posted above- but it is this one that is getting the better views and comments- so I will post it too. It is the same pic, but from a different angle and you can see around the other side.

I am not quite sure what I am doing in the craft room this weekend. I am out of canvas- and I order mine from Dick Blick. They are SOOOO nice and SOOOO cheep compared to what is to be found around here. I went to Michaels the other day, and a 4x4 canvas was 7.99 and it was totally cheaply made. At Dick Blick a 4x4 nice canvas is about ohhhhhhh $2 or less. How can you beat that! (except I have to actually ORDER them and wait for UPS to show up.)
I may check out Aaron Brother's and see what they have. They will have good stuff if they have anything, but I only need 1 or 2 to tide me over until my UPS man shows up during the week.

I also want to start sewing- but I still have no machine. And I should probably not spend any more money this week, so maybe not this week. Oh! I bought the most amazing "quilt stack" at a fabric store last weekend. The prints are all amazing- they remind me a bit of Amy Butler, but it is a touch more cute, and a touch less formal looking, but it is adorable. I will post picks of the fabric when I figure out what to do with them. I wanted to scrapbook with them, but they are so cute that I will probably kill myself trying to make my first sewing project a quilt. :)

Oh well- I am still rambling about nothing. I have not slept very well lately. I was really tired all of yesterday, and it was a LONG work day. Got to work at 7:50, didn't take a lunch, left work at 4:15, went to my parents house and got dressed up, and then went to the place where my work gives a Monthly presentation, and I was there from 5:00 to 10:00 last night. Went home and got in bed by 10:30, but I could not fall asleep. I was TOO tired to sleep, and I tossed and turned forever it seemed. And we had a 10am appt this morning, and so I had to be perky and happy and not tired looking when I got to work at 7:50 again this morning. Ugh- I think that I may need a nap today :)

Anyway- I Hope you have a great weekend!

Well Hello My Pretty!

This is my New Phone- The LG Voyager.
Cute huh? It is the "other" iPhone. The front has a full touch screen, and it also flips open for keyboard use ( I still use the touch outside for all of my Texting). It is a Full MP3 player, has US navigation abilities, voice recondition (which works really well) and it Also have a pretty decent camera.

I am now a "Verizo-ian" and this was my fave. I have big thumbs, and honestly- I needed a phone that I could Dial and Text with that was not going to get messed up by my thumbs (hitting 2 or more keys at a time). And the Buttons and touch screen buttons are really easy to use.
John (who had the same phone since 2003) also needed a new phone (both our phones had charging issues and also had a hard time keeping a charge)- and he also decided to get one. We have spent the last 2 day messing with them, and they are awesome :)

I did finish one of my painting this weekend. It was 7:15am on Monday morning, and I was awake, showered, dressed and about to finish getting ready when I got a call from my boss and he informed me that it was a holiday and we were going to be closed today- so to take the day off and enjoy:) So I decided to make some tea and go into the craft room and finish my painting. It turned out ok- I was pretty happy with it.

It was a "copy" of something that I had seen at Borders, and I will post the Painting and the inspiration sometime later today.
I hope your weekend was awesome!

Long Time no Post!

Howdy!
It's been awhile since I posted last. I'm not sure why, but I am guessing that the 8 hours a day I spend working with a PC may be the reason I am not jumping for joy at the PC when I get home.

I have been spending a lot of time in the craft room latley. I am working on a painting right now- well 3 of them really. one of them is going well and should be done today. One of them is stumping me- I cannot figure out how I want to finish it- and the third? Well I may have to just give up on that one. You can only repaint and paint over somthing so many times before you just are over it. Maybe I will use that canvas as my "Paint Board" and so after I make a few more paintings it will have some random paint blob affect going on.

I am also thinking about making some 4x4 canvases. Dick Blick has great prices on them, but I may pick one or 2 up at the local art store and see if I like the size before getting a shipment of them..... we will see.

Sorry for the random rambling. I have had trouble sleeping latley. I had a bad 2 weeks, then 4 or 5 nights of great sleep, and now I am going to bed at 9:30\10 ish and I wake up at 4:30ish and cannot fall back alseep. So this morning (and on a Saturday too!) I woke up about 5ish and by 6:30 I was sick of laying in bed trying to not wake John up. So I have been web surfing for a hour, and am finally ready to leave the office and start my day. It is still early, but maybe I will go into the kitchen and make some "saturday morning Cinnamon rolls" for John as a supprise :)

Have a great day and I will post some pics in a day or so :)

Gettin' Crafty and Other Stuff

Hello :)
I hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine was pretty good- cold and rainy- but good.
Saturday I spent the morning playing in the craft room (with lights, DVD’s and space heater all running and making me happy) and sipping my Rose Petal tea (Yum!)... hmmm now that I think about it... I might try making some of my own rose tea-hmmmm.... but that is for another post- and most likely a post for my cooking blog).

Anyway- Saturday night John and I went to the Symphony at Cal Poly. As usual, we were in our favorite seats, and the music was amazing! They played Debussy, Tychoskhy, and A wonderful piano sonata4 by Beethoven. The Pianist was the most amazing musical thing that I have ever seen. She played the entire piece by memory (blending in and out of the orcustrha flawlessly), and her hands were really amazing. The piece was fast and complex, but her hands flowed like liquid silk and was smoother than seemed humanly possible for such complex music. It was amazing :)

The next morning (the 3rd) was John and I's 3 and half year anniversary- and so we went out to the Apple Farm for Brunch (our favorite place to get breakfast) and it was Cozy and fun.
We spent part of the early afternoon doing our own thing (me reading with some tea- him with his laptop) and then we headed over to my parents house to watch the Super bowl. (Random fact: we have been dating for 42 months, and it was the 42 super bowl- and meaning of life of you have read hitchhikers guide to the galaxy)

It was not a overwhelming weekend- but we will do something more "special" for our anniversary in the next month or so- this month is just so busy already with the weekends already half full of plans.

Well, as promised, here is the project that I was working on for John. The PDF of the pages are available from Ali Edward's site (see link on my sidebar) and I put it together a bit different than she did. She used a sewing machine (which I still don't have) and red felt (which I have but am using for another project).I made mine in more of a "board book" style.


Here are some of the photos from the book. It was about 10-12 pages long. Each page got something different done with it. Some had longer writing, some had just 1 sentence, some had just a touch of embellishments, and some were more elaborate. Each page had a photo that corresponds with a reason why I love Him.


(We are in the Jelly Belly Factory getting a Tour- Because I couldn't just drive by the factory without a tour!!)

(BTW: those are NOT my kids- they belong to my sister!) lol




It was a bit harder than I first thought it would be. I had to cut and measure all the pages and in essence- make a book, and then figure out the best way to attach it to the outer binding, and how to make it close properly. (A "hanging inner hinge" bind worked pretty well- as you can see in the above photo- the spine of the book is free floating and keeps the spine from cracking when you read the pages).

Anyway- I need to get back to work- but I hope you enjoy the pics :) I will try to show more projects later :)