on second thought

I was trying out a few things and made a card then I decided I wasn't done. Ever do that? You find something not quite right or perhaps lacking? Well here is the original card

And here's the updated version
I'm still deciding if I'm happy or not LOL
I used Papertrey Ink's Heart-2-Heart #1 mini stamp set and their Spiral Notebook Die. The papers are My Mind's Eye Lost & Found and that addition in the right hand corner is a stamp from the Fresh Vintage Stamp Set from StampinUp (I think its a Sellabration set).

Oh I've been meaning to mention a few good books I've read lately: The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings (yes, the book from which the George Clooney movie was adapted), The Litigators by John Grisham, and the book I finished yesterday (actually I couldn't stop until I finished - that kind of book) called Defending Jacob by William Landay. Anybody have a book they'd like to share - I need a new one!
Alrighty - this weekend is short enough as it is with it being Daylight Savings Time (waaah) so I'm off to get going for the day. Have a wonderful weekend!

Since I'm on a roll

I thought I'd just check in...
Last night we watched The Help - such a good movie. I really loved the book - was one of my "beach" books this past summer. Right now I'm reading  In The Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. It's really quite good.  I'd read another of his books The Devil in the White City - also a good one. Neither are light reading but fascinating and worth the time in my opinion :-)
Wondering if anyone is watching the Project Runway All-Stars? I only saw part of it the other night and am planning on watching the rest tonight.
Ok... gotta run !

Leave it to your kids (kitties) to make a liar outta you

well it's true
kids - kitties - all furry and non-furry children
they like to make a liar outta you
i said on my previous post that the kitties don't like car travel nor do they like the doctor's office
and indeed this was the case
the last time holly and frankie were in the car was a disaster. they frothed at the mouth and, in general, were flipping out. and when we got to the vet's office, the vet had to shake them out of their carriers - by turning it completely over! they held on for dear life until gravity took over - are you getting the picture?
So yesterday I decided on a plan of attack.
First of all I went to unearth their cat carriers.
I searched high and low and was only able to locate one. The darling husband told me later he'd given one of them away and said don't you remember? I said no.
Regardless that immediately set me to worrying - if you have cats who are flipping out in their carrier what will happen when you put two of them in one carrier? I was concerned they'd hurt each other because they'd be in a panic.
I crossed my fingers (and said a Hail Mary for good measure)
I replenished their "little pink sock" with fresh catnip (yes... I was hoping to dope them up naturally. hey... whatever works right?)
and got a bag of their favorite treats.
Then when it was time to leave, I brought them both to the carrier.
I dangled the little pink sock in front of Frankie's kisser and he walked right into the carrier.
Then I set out a line of treats and miss Holly walked right in and I shut the door.
I thought - hey... that was too easy.
I grabbed the carrier and put it into the car on the passenger front seat.
We left and I couldn't believe it (the beginning of them making a liar outta me) - they seemed quite content. They both sat in the carrier and just sniffed the air (it was kind of a nice day here).
No flipping out.
No frothing at the mouth.
I'm thinking okay but surely things will go south once we arrive and get into the exam room.
I set the carrier down and opened the door - out walks Holly (like she owned the joint) and she proceeds to look all around. Frankie wasn't his usual overly friendly self. I did have to pull him out of the carrier but he did just fine.
Whodathunkit?
Now the reason I brought them there in the first place - Frankie had a small lump on his side. Obviously it didn't belong there and I was concerned.
Holly - she has been losing weight. Also not a good sign. This girl likes her food. One of my nicknames for her is "chubs". She had weighed 12 pounds. She has a small frame. At the doctor's office we weighed her and she came in at 8.9 lbs. See what I mean?
So anyway the doctor and I talked for a bit - they did some tests on both cats.
I got a call from the doctor late this afternoon.
My kids are fine. Everything is looking good for them both and I cannot tell you how relieved I was to hear it. Even the doctor said it was nice to make such a happy phone call. I have to keep an eye on Holly's weight but aside from that ....
all is good.
I finished a book "Running with Scissors" - now that was a bizarre book
I'm working on some cards.
We're going to meet up with our nephew and his wife tomorrow nite in DC for dinner. We haven't been into DC for a bit so that should be fun. (I'm secretly hoping to sidetrack into Georgetown to maybe check out Paper Source but that may not work out. We'll see)

well hi there!

i was planning on posting another birthday queen creation - she's been a busy girl that birthday queen- however i don't wanna post til i'm sure the fille courante d'anniversaire (gosh i hope thats right lol) has seen it!

on to other things - made this card for a college friend of mine. i love this anna griffin stamp! and i love hydrangea.

I made this next card for my brother-in-law whose birthday was yesterday - him and Punxsutawney Phil

I hadn't bought anything new paper-wise in a while. I went to a small local scrapbook store (on my way home from chauffering the daughter somewhere) I haven't been to in probably over a year and this creative imaginations paper was screaming out to me 'hey... take me home - and whilst you're at it grab some of those buttons!' I did make a few cards with the CI buttons but this particular card has some buttons from my own stash. Oh and the stamp is from Stampin Up!

Let's see what else have I been up to - reading. I read a book called Escape by Carolyn Jessop (about her escape from her life in the Fundamentalist LDS church. It was a little repetitive - coulda used some more editing in my opinion but) it was a pretty compelling story.

An absolutely brilliant book I recently finished is Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Suggested by my friend Donna. I thought why would I want to read a book about a guy who joins the circus? But knowing Donna wouldn't steer me wrong I got it from the library. Wow. What an amazing book - if you're looking for something to read - run - do not walk - to your library and get it. You will not be sorry.

Lost was on the other night - do you love Lost? I do! Now if you've never watched Lost you can catch up on all the seasons by watching on ABC.com They have all the episodes online! However that's a big time investment now isn't it? Okay. Well you can also catch up by watching this video - Everything you need to know about Lost in 8 minutes

Even if you are all caught up this video is hilarious!

Okay - its Super Bowl Day - gotta get moving - Go Giants!

EDM #7 - Draw a bottle from the kitchen

here's a drawing i did last week. Been doing a little this and that and didn't get a chance to post it or some of the others i've been doing. regardless, i did this in my sketchbook with a Micron 005. That is a mighty fine line (i'm not talkin about the quality of my drawing LOL - but how very fine that tip is) but it seem like a good choice. I'd been doing so much crosshatching and more of a rendering of objects lately - well i needed a break. So i went for more of a simple line drawing. I was thinking about which challenge to try next and was in the kitchen rooting around in the cabinets looking for something that would be interesting to draw. I love this bottle and had forgotten about it. It's one of those Good Season's (salad dressing) bottles - but it's probably some kind of collectors item. Its an oldie (but definitely a goodie). When my mom was preparing to move out of her house in New Jersey, tons of stuff was making its way into the pile for a garage sale. I had to rescue some things :-) Silly things like this bottle - that have memories attached to them - at least for me.

Anyway I'll be posting some more drawings this week. In between reading. As you recall the book (Harry Potter #7 of course!) arrived on Saturday. I gave it to my daughter on Saturday afternoon. She'd finished her school assigned summer book (actually she's got to read another but i wasn't going to be that mean and make her wait to read Harry until after that one too!) and set off to begin Harry. Saturday afternoon I was tormented by her squealing out loud a number of times! She read for about 4 hours and then had to go to the park for the play she's tech-ing for. She didn't get home til about 11:30 pm Saturday nite and I know she went to bed around 2 pm. She is a fast reader - and she had that book finished before noon on Sunday. Really. I thought she was still reading and when i returned from the grocery store Sunday morning she said oh yeah i finished the book and then she got this HUGE smile on her face. and she squealed again. I told her to stop it. She's a cutie that one. Off I go... things to do.

I'm a Rockin Girl Blogger and He's INDAHOUSE!

yes I am - my sweet friend June told me so. She nominated me for this wonderful little award at her wonderful blog Simply Elegant Paper Crafts and i cannot tell you how tickled i am. Looky at this cool icon i get to put on my side bar

It took me a little while to find the source of the Rockin Girl Blogger - but if you're interested check it out - Roberta Ferguson Now I get to nominate 5 of my favorite girl bloggers. Fortunately for me, June already nominated the fabulous Jean (of Snap out of it Jean There's Beading to be done! - once you start reading that blog you'll find it is impossible to not smile or laugh out loud) so that leaves me still with five choices. so here are my five (i know so many more but i only have the five):

1. Donna at Under the Red Roof


2. Barbara at Smith411


3. Sue at Wandering Star


4. Michelle at So Listen Up!


5. Joan at Drawing on Nature

All you ladies can now nominate 5 Rockin Blogger Girls whose blogs you love to read

oKAy - now onto other big news - he's indahouse

My husband came up the stairs and handed this to me and we both smiled - REAL BIG! The final Harry Potter book - arrived just as Amazon promised. My daughter and I decided we wouldn't be going to the Borders to pick up our copy of Harry this year. We read an article in the Washington Post a few weeks back. The article said it had become some people's idea of fun to go past book stores upon the release of the newest book and shout theeee most important revelation in the book at the folks waiting in line to purchase the book. We figured we weren't takin any chances! We love these books. We're both hoping things work out the way we want them to. We both have our theories as to the outcome of Harry and friends. Anyway, the book arrived and Eliz and I just had a little ceremony of sorts - opening the box etc. She gets the first crack at the book. She's finished reading her assigned book for the summer (As the Future Catches You: How Genomics and Other Forces are Changing Your Life, Work, Health & Wealth

that sounds like fun doesn't it - well i told her she had to get on that this week or I was getting first crack this year! She didn't let me down LOL!) so now she's got it and she never reveals anything until I've finished reading. Right now I'm re-reading HP and the Half Blood Prince to refresh myself of all things Harry so i'll be prepared! Okay i really gotta move on for the day!

wanna read a good book?

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
its just a great read. I picked it up from the library on Monday and have been reading it all week - finally last night i couldn't stand it any longer
( i was trying to stretch it out - the reading - i tend to read fast)
and i finished it.
If you liked Steel Magnolias or any other books that focus on women - this is the book for you.

Check it out on Amazon or at either of the two related websites.
http://www.fridaynightknittingclub.com/
http://www.walkeranddaughter.com
Oh i hope they do a movie about it!

wednesday whatever

i'm still getting used to this not working thing. of course it won't last long but it still is a little odd. I'm trying to enjoy it. I'm doing things when i want to for the most part - which is pretty nice. For example, i could run a bunch of errands this morning and not have to stop on the way home from work. In those last few months working i rarely had a day off - which is when i would normally do all those things that need doing dontchaknow.
Now - well i'm a lady of leisure - well sorta. I've taken up knitting as i mentioned previously. That's fun.
And i've been able to read more - a lot more. When i was working i still read. Picture me cooking dinner and my book on the island (centrally located in the kitchen natch) - reading whilst i flipped a burger or mashed potatoes. Ok. I was a little crazy but i love to read and it seemed like a perfectly fine time to fit in a chapter.
I like to read in chunks. i cannot read a few pages then go to bed. I have to read maybe 50 pages at a time to fully digest the information. If i only read a few pages i seem to have to go back and reread it all.
So, one of those errands this morning was to go to the library. Drop of 2 books i finished and pick up another. I still have yet another book i haven't begun. The pick up book was one i'd been on the waiting list for: Plum Lovin by Janet Evanovich. I love the Stephanie Plum books. If you haven't read them you should treat yourself. They're laugh out loud funny. I like funny. The main character, Stephanie, is a bounty hunter but she gets herself involved in all sorts of trouble. And then of course she is from New Jersey. SOLD :-)
I would suggest reading the Plum series from the beginning - the first book is called "One for the Money" followed by "Two for the Dough" and so on.
So i will be reading Plum Lovin today. its a pretty thin volume so i doubt it will take too long.
Then i will get back to reading that other book i have by one of my other favorite authors, Rita Mae Brown. Rita Mae writes some fun stuff - she has just the most wonderful wit. I started to read the books she co-authors with her cat, Sneaky Pie Brown. What i love about them is that the animals in the books are characters as well - have wonderful little personalities and are very endearing. The Sneaky Pie books are mysteries - i love a mystery. They are all set in a town in Virginia - not really all that far away. She mentions my town occasionally due to the fact its has a very famous equine center as well as being the center of county government. Rita Mae also has written some other wonderful novels - my most favorites are named "Six of One","Bingo" and "Loose Lips" - get them if you want a fun read. I just brought back two books called "Outfoxed" and "Hotspur" and last week i returned "The Hunt Ball". All three of these are part of a series she's written where the setting is once again, Virginia but it is all set with a backdrop of fox hunting. Wonderfully entertaining mysteries and interesting as i knew little about fox hunting.
ok... i've bored you all enough. Go read something.