Lots a pics-and a long post

We had the best weekend! It was so much fun last week. We packed up a cooler, picnic basket and an extra set of clothes- then off we went.

Our first stop was the tulip festival in Woodland. It was a gorgeous day and we had a great time walking through the fields, browsing at the vendors, and looking in the shop. Of course we took lots of pics. Darling daughter was the real shutterbug!





Our next stop was the Portland Saturday Market. By this time of the day it was a scorching 80 degrees. Can you believe that? It was the hottest day of the year. We got a little color in our cheeks by late afternoon. My favorite find at the market was some cool metal handcrafted hairsticks type of thing. I have fine blond hair so it's hard to keep it in clips and rubberbands break it, so I snatched up 3 of these cool hair thing-ys and LOVE EM! Dear hubby found a cell phone cover he wanted. And darling daughter was stumbling around in a bit of culture shock. LOL! She'd been before but it had been a while. She didn't really remember our past trips very well. We live in a small country town of about 3,000 people. Few of them have mohawks, dress like the opposite gender, smell from lack of basic hygiene, etc. So instead of focusing on the booths and crafts, she was stuck in horrorville. Lol! So on our way back to the car we had to stop and watch this guy juggle and then eat fire. It must be a man thing because my dh was the one all excited to watch and snapping the picture of the "show".



We left the Saturday market and drove out to Lafayette. We rented a hotel for the night and played cards until bedtime. It was SO RELAXING. Although I didn't sleep well that night because of the hard bed, I still woke so refreshed. We couldn't wait to go to the antique schoolhouse mall. It was the most awesome old building- built in 1912. They had keep it in beautiful condition and the coolest thing was this neat slide coming from the third floor on the outside of the building. It was an old fire escape.



Inside they had tons of wonderful antiques and it was an amazing place. We left and started heading home stopping at a few other antique dealers along the way. I told my husband how much I was enjoying our trip. At the next stop we saw a booth with old phones. We both thought these were SO COOL! So he picked one out and we brought it home as a little keepsake. It works too! This gal and her husband own this shop and they love old phones. They had quite a collection. So when she came over to us and was showing us the phones she explained that her husband fixes them. She said if we bought one it was garenteed for the life of her husband. Hehehe.



On the way home as we passed back through Portland, we stopped at the IKEA store. That was a lot of fun too. My head was spinning when left with all the neat storage ideas. I'll be heading back there this summer to organize the house on my time off.

That was our amazing weekend. This weekend is a completely different story. Today it is 30 something degrees and snowing. We are bundled up with the heat turned on and sipping hot chocolate. Looking forward to a nice cozy weekend inside. I feel some scrapping in my future. ;)

Thanks for stopping in and I hope you all have a wonderful wonderful weekend. I'll leave you with the one project I worked on this week. It's a hybrid project using Amanda Heimann's newest kit, MM flowers, Ana Griffen Stamps, VersaMark stamp pad... some buttons, ribbon and such. TTFN!

She's gone and done it!

Last Sunday the kids and I dressed up in our flip flops and sunglasses to head to the beach themed bowling awards ceremony. It was a lot of fun. They blew up some beach balls and tossed them into the crowd, raffled off prizes, and we watched a great slide show. The time came for awards and dear son was called up for a Spirit award. Later darling daughter was called up for Most Improved. I was a proud mom. And as things wound down they were giving out the last few big awards when they once again called darling daughters name. This one surprised us all. McKena was awarded Bowler of the Year. Can you believe it?!? Both the kids were first year bowlers and darling daughter bowled this year in the oldest division so that she could stay with her brother. So not only did she do well, she was 11 most of the season bowling against many 18 year olds who have been doing this since they were 11. You go girl! Here's some pics-



This week has been pretty quiet. The colds are running rampant and I'm hoping that we are on the end of this one. Today is supposed to be the nicest day of the year. They are calling for a high of 76 degrees. I think we are going to get in the car and go see what there is to see. Maybe we'll stop at the tulip festival in Woodland and then head on down to IKEA in Portland, and make our last stop in Lafayette at the schoolhouse antiques. I've been talking about visiting that antique shop for years and we've never made it there yet. Dh mentioned earlier this week about going- and with the nice weather- why not?

I did scrap a lo this over spring break.



And during spring break I worked on another hybrid project. This is done with "What goes around" kit by Amanda Heimann and sold at thedigichick.com.



Well, this is a short post. Darling daughter is pulling her famous oatmeal cookies out of the oven as I type. I am going to go pack up a pic-nic, grab my camera, and hit the highway. You all have a super wonderful weekend too my friends! Thanks for stopping in!

Uhu!

It is the best glue ever! I mean it I use it for all my altered projects and its awesome!I prefer the Uhu Stic color because it rubs on purple and dries clear. ;)



And speaking of altered projects... my latest hybrid project is a food journal. Yes, its to encourage me to track of those calories.



This is a generic spiral type bound book I picked up for a buck at Michael's craft store. I love the type that are bound this way because I can slip the binding off while working on the covers to really give the finished project a polished look once its reassembled.

I've also scrapped a little and this one was inspired by a team challenge. We were to scrap "today" the good the bad or ugly. The idea was to scrap something we might not otherwise scrap. This is what I came up with.



The journalling reads:
After two long months of ear pain and trying one antibiotic after another, my primary care physician finally referred me to a specialist.

Today I had my first ENT appointment. The doctor asked of my problem. I explained my ear hurt and that it was unusual for me to have pain in that ear because I don’t have much feeling or hearing in it. Skeptical, he shook his head and stated that that couldn’t be. Then he sent me off to have a hearing test in another room. I think that was the first hearing test I’d had since I was a child.

It wasn’t a long wait before the doctor returned to my room and said, “I didn’t believe you when you said you couldn’t hear. You cover it very well.” I asked, “How bad is it?” He replied, “The good news is- you have perfect hearing in your right ear. The bad news is - you have 0% in your left.”

After speaking about my medical history with the new doctor, he felt confident he knew what had happened, when it happened and why it happened. I can’t say I was shocked at the news since I knew in my heart it was that bad. I’d been like this since I was 15. I must say… this wasn’t the first doctor to think someone my age couldn’t possibly have such a hearing loss. Although he was the first doctor to really listen to my problem and test my hearing. I left his office today feeling that he really cared and took time for me.

Today I felt validated.
Today I learned I was deaf in my left ear.
Today was a good day!

While trying to post this lo in my galleries I started having trouble posting. Was it a dreaded bug or virus? I have spent hours making sure my computer is clear and yet I still can't seem to post in a few of my regular spots. That is so strange. At least I now know it isn't my computer.

This week we are on spring break and we've had the oddest weather. Thursday last week it started snowing and it's been snowing off and on since. Today is the first day we haven't had snow... yet! lol! I guess its been a good thing because I've been spring cleaning all weekend. Things are just about ship shape here.

Saturday the kids went to their last bowling game for league. This coming Sunday the bowling place rented a convention center to have a big party at for all the junior bowlers. The kids are looking forward to that. This was the kids first year doing this and they really had a lot of fun. It was a long commitment (all school year) but it was good for them. Part of me is glad to have a break from it and part of me is going to miss going in every Saturday, getting my Starbucks and watching the kids.

This morning we were some of the first in line for Alvin and the Chipmunks- were you? lol! Darling daughter has been counting down the weeks until it came out. She's obsessed!

Both the designers I work with have blog freebies up. Karah's was for Easter, plus her monthly template and Amanda is celebrating her one year designing anniversary. Stop by and join in on the fun!

A cool little table

So if you know me you know I love antiques. I was in search of an antique bed frame when I stumbled upon this darling little typewriter table. Its sturdy, in excellent shape and full of charm. It just screamed to me to use it for a scrappy table. So I added a basket underneath to hold my hybrid stuff and it's done. It has been working so well. Both sides of the table lift up so I have more space when needed yet keeps my stuff contained to a fairly reasonable area. We won't talk about the space I used as a paper scrapper. LOL!



Last Friday we went to the daughter's schools carnival. It was fun and we got to meet lots of people at the new school. McKena even won a pet basket in the raffle. Owner of five pampered pooches... it still came in handy! ;)

THE BIGGEST weight was lifted off my shoulders this week after thirteen very long and stressful months. I posted about this over the past summer I think... the bank that financed our car made TWO ENORMOUS mistakes on our account thirteen months ago. We have been going through all the motions and fighting this tooth and nail. Anyway, after a long and windy road, we finally have the credits back to our account and a letter stating that we had in fact MADE OUR PAYMENTS and ON TIME through the duration of the loan. This has been a daily struggle for much of the last year so *deep sigh of relief*. It's finally over.

I have been crafty since the last post however I only have one lo to share today. This is a lo using Karah's new kit. I scrapped pics of last Easter.



We are looking forward to Easter this year too. I should be a nice quiet day at home. We colored eggs the other night which was fun as always. Still not quite sure what'll be the main dish but I always enjoy being in the kitchen because we each have ways of contributing to the meal on the holidays. Even the kids have their favorite dishes they've mastered preparing. After an early dinner we sit around the table and play our favorite family games. It's nice to unplug for a day and really just enjoy one another. What are some of your traditions?

I hope you all have a most blessed Easter.

Egypt

I've learned a lot about Egypt this week helping darling daughter with her social studies. lol!

Beyond that... well, this weekend darling daughter and I went shopping. She had quite a nice chunk of moolah she had saved up and got for her birthday. We had so much fun. In the end the little penny pincher bought herself one shirt and matching bracelets all of which were on sale. Then she came home and had me order online for her some puffles that she'd been wanting since Christmas. I bought some makeup at Macy's that I needed and was excited it also came with a free gift. Love those makeup testers! And I also bought myself new PJ's which are heavenly and so so comfy... I confess- I didn't want to get out of them on Sunday. Heehee. Then I purchased some goodies online at WST too...

Once upon a time I was a paper scrapper. A few years ago I stumbled into digital scrapbooking and it fit so well that I boxed up A LOT of my paper supplies and sent them off to a friend. In the last few months I find myself wanting to tackle a few projects and so... hybrid... I've gone hybrid with one of my scrapbooking designers. Here is my second hybrid project -



And here is one lo that I've done of the kids trip to Disneyland/California Adventure. This picture my darling daughter took... not bad, eh?



That's about it for this evening. Thanks for stopping in and have a great weekend my friends!

New Attitude

Yes. I've adopted a new attitude. I thank you all for your kind words and thoughts posted and emailed to me and the family! I'm truly grateful!

Here are pictures of the coffee table that I took a while ago but didn't get posted. The frames I used here are from Catrine at Catscrap. :)



I have a lovely 4 day weekend because it's "mid winter break". Since I'm just starting to feel crafty again I hope to play this weekend. Today I worked on a lo and a hybrid project. Also I've been giving the blog a facelift. I couldn't get the banner up though... I'll try again in the morning. :)

My poor baby Harry (my Pomeranian) had such a tough night last week. I ran him into the vet and found he had a collapsed trachea. They put him on a prescription that seemed to do the trick but boy was I worried. Poor little guy. Luckily he's doing much better and acting like himself again today.

The kids participated a few weeks ago in the Pepsi Bowling Tourney... it seemed to be quite the experience for them. I felt bad because they are both new to bowling but at this tourney it was clear most of the kids were seasoned and my kids found that very intimidating. It was still a good experience though.

Here are the few lo's I did since Christmas...







My darling daughter had a birthday this month. It was really nice. She's such a sweetie!! I plan on scrapping a lo this weekend about it. She got a Wii and our family has really been enjoying it. It's so FUN! Did I say ... I cannot believe my baby turned 12?

Well, there are some highlights of February. Thanks for checking in on me! I hope you are all well! Have a fantastic weekend!