The Answer and Deluxe accommodations

What is that?
It's a loaf of bread
But you guessed that didn't you.
We have yet to eat it. I'm trying to think of what I can cook for dinner that would compliment such a loaf (a nice vegetable soup comes to mind.)

Anywho
I was surfin and came across these Deluxe Accomodations
Don't you just want to bake a bunch just so you can take them somewhere?
This looks like such a great product. Where was it when I was the cupcake-totin-queen (when my kids were in elementary school - the land of all things cupcake)?
I thought i was livin large when i found a tupperware cupcake carrier I still love it but this courier - well thats just amazing.

Post Halloween

ok so here's a picture of the
fastest-carved-jack o'lantern-ever

I'd hollowed him out before I went to pick up DD at the bus. We got home just as it was getting dark. Usually here in Leesburg, trick-0r-treat doesn't start until at least 7pm. Why you say? Well- the Leesburg Halloween parade is the longest running largest parade east of the Mississippi - that's why! And they're mighty proud of that fact. Anyway i'd say anyone who is new to town does the parade - hence the trick or treating starts later. Or i should say started later in our neighborhood until last night.
I carved that pumpkin as fast as i could (maybe 10 minutes) and brought it out to the front step. Ran back in for a tea light to put inside and was just lighting the candle as my first group of kids arrived. They waited while i lit the candle and ran inside to grab the candy. Phew!

Now we'll have a little post Halloween guessing game.
What is this? Can you guess? It was given to me by a customer - well she's also become a friend. She came to the store yesterday with this little surprise for me.
I'll come back later to tell you what it is :-)

Happy Halloween!

here's my card. the stamp is Memory Box and the sentiment is from Purple Onion Designs

anticipation

i love that carly simon song.... anyway
Last nite we were "ghosted". the doorbell rang, the dh answered to find a cute little tin bucket decorated for halloween, filled with candy and stickers and a little poem and a picture of a ghost. We were instructed, via the poem, to copy the poem and the ghost two times then post the ghost on our door - so no one else would ghost us. Then we leave a little something for another 2 neighbors - of course after dark - making sure not to be seen - ringing the bell and running. Very cute. the one who was most excited by the whole prospect - the biggest kid in the house - DH. He couldn't wait. My part - i got the goodies. No problem there - totally my department. After we ate our dinner, DH and DD (a teenager whom I normally wouldn't expect to get into this - but alas, she is her fathers daughter..) set out into the night to deliver their goodies. They were so excited when they returned - got both houses - good neighbor friends of ours with kids. Because of the way their windows are situated - and lights being on in the house - they even saw the little boy bringing the basket into the family room - all big smiles and excitement. Ain't Halloween the best?
we're anticipating tomorrow nite. Big time. i was thinking earlier how i buy the candy. It would be smart to pick stuff i don't like - but i couldnt' bring myself to give out lousy candy.
And there is that anticipation factor.
I anticipate some leftovers...
Anticipation... is making me wait (for my twix, milky ways, butterfingers, pb cups, snickers........)

card for a good old friend

i've been playing around with all kinds of stuff the last few days. Making my ATC's for a swap, the aforementioned Halloween cards, playing with kitchen cleaning products on cardstock (more on that soon) and attempting to get something going with my christmas cards. today i finally decided nothing was happening with christmas cards - so forget it for now and move on. so i did. i made this card for a friend of mine from college. She recently lost her husband. Pretty devastating to say the least - not something we'd expect at our age. Anyway I've been trying to send her a card just about every week to 10 days just so she knows i'm thinking about her. When this kind of thing happens the initial response is to crowd around the person for the first few weeks and then the crowd thins. The person is at the point where they need people more - when the reality of it all starts sinking in. Since i can't be around for her in person - she doesn't live next door- i figured keeping her mailbox busy is something i can do. And i know she appreciates it which makes me feel pretty good.
Anyway gotta run...

good e-vening

the last few days i've been busy making Halloween cards. some for family, some for friends. I just kept making them til i'd had enough (well enough stamping and embossing til the point i said to myself - tracy you won't wanna finish these - mat, attach to card backs, stamp the inside - if you don't stop now- hence some friends will probably get cards for thanksgiving or fall or even christmas at this rate - its more about the saying - hi - i'm thinking of you - than making sure i get one to every single person for halloween. i make myself crazy. but i digress)
Amidst this stamping and embossing i'd been emailing back and forth with my oldest child who is away at college. this child - well he is a character. an original if there ever was one. And of late he has a greeting - which he uses when answering the phone, sending emails, or talking to you in person. Whether it be in the morning, the afternoon, the middle of the night or in the evening - he greets you with a "good evening". Like i said he is a bit of character. You cannot help but laugh.
So i was stamping... and i decided he needed his own special Halloween card.

now its not much of a "card" - i was going more for a-muse-ment. I know when he opens it he will laugh. And that, of course, is the point. I used Purple Onion Designs "lizziebelle" alpha stamps (oh... what a surprise.... ) colored them in with a zig marker and put a shadow on them using another zig pen. i'll have to post the other halloween cards on tuesday - Halloween - when i'm sure the recipients have gotten them.

Every Grampa was once a little boy

One last thing for today - i wasn't gonna post it but heck.. why not
its a layout using that Signature Suite line from My Minds Eye. Pictures are of my Dad as a little boy. The most wonderful thing, i think, about having these pictures of my father is that you can see the face of my son in one, my nephew in another and my brother in another still. It is really quite amazing. Daddy (and my brother) would be so happy to know it - the living reminders of them.

Books to read, Books to make

Okay so i've been absent lately. I'll bring a note from my Mom soon.
What have i been doing? Working, Mom-ing, Wife-ing
Today i am home as I'm teaching a class this evening. Its a Christmas Planner. Yegods. Christmas you say? Well if you're a planning type person, this would be just the ticket. (And if you're not - well its can be viewed as another reminder of your lack or organization or an excuse to make something cute :-))
I don't have the actual class sample here to scan for you - I do, however, have 2 versions i made to show my students. The class will be making the planners using composition books - covered in Basic Grey Fusion papers:
specifically Mesmerize http://www.basicgrey.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=36&products_id=314
and Chartreuse http://www.basicgrey.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=36&products_id=324
then add some ribbon, some faux Dymo label letters and you get the picture in general.
I made two - one for each of my sisters (who love Christmas as much as i do).

this one is for my older sister. I used Wild Asparagus papers cardstock stamped with Purple Onion designs Paisley stamps (its hard to see - I versamarked them). The alphas, tabs, and holly and berries are made using Quickutz (the font is Zoe).



This one is for my younger sister. I used papers by Doodlebug. The tabs, tree and alphas are all by Quickuts (font is CK Handprint).

Oh and i modpodged over the entire cover. Each tabbed page uses the same line of papers and cardstock and features a pocket.






Now books to read.
a few i've read recently i've been meaning to share:
Miss American Pie by Margaret Sartor
Very interesting book - its the diaries of the author from the time she was about 12. I suppose i found it interesting because she is approximately the same age as me - although she lived a very different life. But its like a time capsule - brings me back to the same era.

After This by Alice McDermott
A novel about an Irish-Catholic Amercian family living on Long Island - the husband/wife and their 4 children. It spans the 40's thru the early 70's - and the effects really of 2 wars on their lives (WWII and Vietnam). It is like nothing i've ever read. I'm a big "scanner" when i read. I know i don't read every word - but with this book - you must read every word. And it is incredible writing. The story skips back and forth - time wise. One minute you are reading the present - and the next moment the author drops a little bomb about what happens in the future. It is really something to read.

Well enough now. I've got a few things to do before i go to work in a little while.

Happy Birthday Dear

(the aforementioned card - stamps by Purple Onion Designs)
I hope its a wonderful day Annie! Don't forget to wear your crown :-)

i'm getting ahead of myself

and i actually made a card for my sisters birthday - and its not for another week! scarey i know. its been on my brain since i saw that pig. the same pig i used on the card below.
When i saw the pig it reminded me of Green Acres. Remember that show? if you don't check this out
http://www.tvland.com/shows/greenacres/
well my sisters and I loved it. We were particularly fond of Arnold Ziffel. (how could you not love Arnold?) Anyway there was one episode someone was selling greeting cards - i can't recall who - probably was Mr. Haney. Anywho - EVERY card started out with the same phrase - with the recicipient reference changed to suit. Example: Happy Birthday O'Sister O'Mine; Happy Birthday O' Uncle O'Mine; Happy Anniversary O'Wife O'Mine... (the inside of the card would alwyas say "I hope this card finds you well and fine") get the idea? Well, it was hilarious and this has been a running gag for my sisters and me ever since. Hence the following. Having the pig - well it just reinforces the green acres thing for my sister - i know it will make her laugh and, of course, that is the whole point.
The stamps are Purple Onion Designs and I MCPT'd the background and used a pen to draw in the border line.
I have another birthday card to post but I need to wait til the recipient has seen it :-)

a little card

for a dear friend - hope it was a happy one miss B

i've been gone all weekend - so i'm catching up. things have been busy between, work, home, blah blah. hoping to write again soon.

oh the card - the alphas are Purple Onion (natch), the hat was stamped using Michelle Ward stamps, and the paper is MME and Basic Grey and the pig - courtesy of the washington post (an ad i cut out)

talk to you soon

Birthday cards

Its been a while

sorry bout that. you know how it goes.
where did we leave off. Oh yeah
DD and i did go to the Smithsonian Naturalist Center. Bad day to go though. They were gearing up for their annual 2 week cleaning (before the hoards of kids start to descend on field trips). Many of the larger animals were already covered with plastic in preparation (although they told me they'd later remove the coverings to vacuum the fur... sounds icky but ya gotta watch out for bugs i'm told). The employees were very helpful and welcoming but DD and i could not help but feel we were in the way. We stayed for an hour. My favorite sketch was of a stone crab but it isn't anything i want to share here. suffice it to say i'm a bit rusty. DD however wasn't. The kid is talented is all i can say. She sketched in minutes the essence of several animals. i could go steal her sketchbook and scan in some drawings but i don't know if she'd appreciate it. Also, I hate to interrupt her at the moment. She's working on homework - either pre-calculus or chemistry and it took a little prodding to get her going, on a Saturday, with the homework.
Earlier today we went on a hunt for a camera for DD. She's taking photography in school and she needed a manual camera. In my day that meant a 35mm. Now its a bit different. Even the Nikon we finally settled on had auto and manual modes. A most cool camera i must say. Oh whilst i have been away (from you all) i also purchased a new digital camera. i think i mentioned my camera died while on vacation. The new one is quite slim and pretty - has a manual feature which i'm looking forward to playing with - it suits me just fine - not too fancy or spensive.
It seems lately i've only gotten to work on work- related things. I've got a 2 page spread on my drawing table right now that is for a class I'm doing at the end of the month. Same materials as the class dictates with a bit of my own twist - and it has pictures (which the class samples don't have naturally.) i think it helps to see these layouts with real photos instead of imagining how they'll look like when they're finished.
But i stopped working on that because today i needed a birthday card. I'm going to a luncheon for my friend's 40th birthday tomorrow. I'd bought some of my new favorite patterned papers - My Minds Eye Signature Suite. Gorgeous stuff and i know my friend also loves it so...
I used Purple Onion Designs alphas on that card and the one i made for an online friend, Michelle (its supposed to be her adorable beagle, Macy)
well darn. i've been trying to upload the pics of the cards for 20 minutes now. i'm gonna post this and hopefully post the cards later. gotta run

Baking and stuff

Last weekend I baked some brownies (chocolate chip cookie dough thrown in a 9x13 baking pan) for DS. He'd mentioned wanting some before we went off to the beach, then he left for school with no time for me to bake them & send him down the road with a batch.

Anyway i baked the brownies on Sunday nite so i could send them along with some books he'd ordered that were due to show up probably Monday or Tuesday. Well the books finally arrived today (Friday). the brownies have been sitting here all week screaming (at anyone who will listen) to eat them. We don't like to ignore such screaming and so the brownies have diminished substantially... ahem. Enough to send DS a small portion but i decided i needed to send him some other goodie. So this afternoon i baked up a batch of his favorite cookies (oatmeal chocolate chip). I have them all bagged up and ready to mail in the morning - even if they don't quite survive the trip - the crumbs will be delicious. :-)

Project Runway - i knew as soon as they said the designers would be dressing moms/sisters there was gonna be trouble. I loved the idea - imagine creating clothes the real world can wear? What a concept.
I was pretty sure Vincent would do ok - only because he had some experience having his own company and perhaps because he's older and the reality of selling clothes requires realizing you need to design for someone other than a perfect 2. I didn't think he'd win but was quite happy he did. He isn't my favorite, he's a little quirky for sure - but gosh - anyone who cashes in their life savings and puts themselves out there like that - well i wish him well - how's that?

I felt sorry for Robert early on - he looked so lost. Vincent's sister was no Barbie doll - his usual client LOL. I was sad to see Robert go - i didn't think his was the worst. (the red was a great color on her - and i can't imagine any woman who is bigger wanting to put on some print like the judges suggested - obviously they've never had a weight problem)

Jeffrey's behavior - well you just wanted to slap him one. Be a big boy and do your job. I think he was more ticked off at having to design for someone who wasn't young and pretty with a tiny little figure and then to get Angela's mom on top of that - well you knew there was gonna be trouble. I was hoping his own mother would go in there and give him a talking to - tell him to grow up. Oh well. He would have been my choice to go this week even though there's something about him i like (and its not those neck tatooes i assure you). His design - well yuck.

Tomorrow DD and me are going to try and hit the Smithsonian Naturalist Center - a small hands on extension of the Smithsonian Museums. http://www.mnh.si.edu/education/naturalistcenter.htm
Our intention is to go there and draw.
Years ago i had to take DS there to work on a school project and found the place fascinating. All kinds of stuff - from insect collections, to shells, to stuffed polar bears (for heavenssake) - they've got it all (including some creatures in jars - things like octopii... ewwww) I got to talking to one of the people who works there and she told me they have many artists go there to just draw. So i filed that in my scarey little brain and knew eventually i'd go back with sketchbook in hand. The best part is its right down the street - literally a minute in the car - or a fine little walk. DD and i have wanted to go there all week - she's only got one week left of vacation - something always seem to get in the way. Their hours don't leave much time after work for me so tomorrow seems to be the best bet this week. Here's hoping we have some great sketch time and good mom/daughter time.

I just realized

its Project Runway tonite! Yeah .... love that show.
i remembered it was on earlier and thought i would throw my two cents in on last weeks elimination. Sorry but i'm the only one i guess on the planet who liked Vincents dress. I know you're thinking i'm crazy. i didn't love it mind you but i think there were several a lot worse. I looked at the show more than once (passing thru and saw it was on again) and i loved the silouhette of the dress with all that junk on it. If you can stay with me on this - and check it out again on the replay tonite - there was one shot of the dress with the girl coming down the runway and the pieces on the dress kinda reminded me of beading and things. Whatever.... I'm sorry but Kane's dress was hideous. And even though i loved her, Alison's dress was not up to her usual. I wish she'd stuck with her original idea. Anything woulda been better than the poofy thing she came up with. i really loved Jeffrey's dress (when i was watching and realized he was working with the newspaper i was hoping he'd paint it up with some PearlEx since they were allowed to buy some art supplies... wouldn't that have been pretty?)
In general i don't like the judges. Michael Korrs and Nina (whoever) were a little skitzy in their critiques. They want inovation but they drooled all over Laura's dress. Sorry - i saw nothing innovative in the dress. I loved the dress but for me it didn't fulfill the challenge. Kane - they went on and on about how hideous it was but MK said somethig like - he can sew a dress. Well again... where was the innovation and they just finished saying how awful it was. So they're allowed to base their choices on past weeks? if so why did sweet hip little Allison go home??? He shoulda gone home. Alison at least tried and hers wasn't theee most awful thing. And Vincent - well- they carried on about how the model couldn't walk in the dress. Hey - she made it down the runway just fine and are they saying that coutoure is always easy to wear? I can remember tons of coutoure that number 1 never was gonna make it into a store and 2 plenty that wasn't easy to wear or walk in (take a look at a few awards shows with these women in tight full length gowns and they can barely walk up or down stairs) Even Heidi conceded the dress was innovative.
ok... done with my rant. We'll see what they come up with tonite... can't wait.
oh and my class... they were just the best bunch of women - so fun and worked like mad - and they were newbies too. Caught on real quick and just were so happy to be there. Made it a total pleasure to go in and work.. doesn't it figure? I spent time whining and it worked out so nice in the end. i hope i see them again real soon :-)

Not in the Mood

for work.LOL i know how pathetic am i?
i went to work yesterday and found out my class tonite is on. Before i left on vacation no one had signed up for the class (zoo pages... actually very nice class - if you like paint & chipboard - which i do) and i thought well fine. I'll have an entire day off after i get back from vacation to catch up on things yaknow? Well yesterday i looked at the schedule and three people had signed up for the class. It surprised me for some reason - i mean no one had even commented on the samples in the store (we usually get a feeling for how the classes will go just by the comments people make - if they get lots of good talk - the class will fill up nicely). Since i'd mentally decided the class wasn't taking place i had to totally shift my thinking. I had to reacquaint myself with the whole thing and get some more samples done. Last nite i ordered from photos from Costco and i picked them up this morning. (love Costco photo developing for just that). Early this afternoon i created 2 more 2 page layouts for the class with pictures. And although they came out quite nice (nicer than the "class" ones if you ask me) i just wasn't into it. It was such a chore and i hate feeling that way. Know what i mean? Well off to the orthodontist with dd.

Beach Books and DVD's

I read only two books while on vacation (i should've brought a few more)
12 Sharp by Janet Evanovich - if you haven't already read any of the Stephanie Plum novels - do yourself a big fat favor and run out and get all 12 (this series is numbered - for example: One for the Money, Two for the Dough, three to get Deadly and so on). They're hilarious reads. I literally laugh out loud reading them. I've even got my mother reading them and she laughs out loud as well.
Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani. I think I've read all of her books - i especially the The Big Stone Gap books. This one was very good, if not a little sad. I loved the time frame in which the main story takes place - the 1950's in New York City. A good part of the story takes place at B.Altman's. If you don't know B. Altman's i can only say how sad. A wonderful store that no longer exists - a favorite store of my youth. It was a favorite of my grandparents as well as my parents. When i was a child my grandparents would sometimes have us stay with them in NYC on weekends. We'd go all over the city (museums, the UN, Radio City) and 5th Avenue was a frequent destination being not that far away. We'd shop at B. Altman's & Saks. Anyway - I loved the characters and the way the author tells the story.
When i'm picking books i want to be entertained - and both these books and authors know how to do that.
DVD's - I'd heard a lot about a series on Showtime called WEEDS. when we went to the Blockbuster at the beach i saw the first year on DVD and thought why not try it.
OMIGOSH... If you don't have Showtime (we don't) you must rent the first season. Of course if you can't imagine being amused by a comedy wherein the main character is a newly widowed mother of two who sells weed - don't rent it. It's outrageous - we loved it. It's not for children thats for sure. And since we watched something like 10 episodes i have the theme song stuck in my head - it is a brilliant song - actually each episode has music that is quite the coolest bunch of tunes i've heard in a while. But the theme song is something of a 60's protest tune and its just wonderful - called Little Boxes. I shall be purchasing the cd shortly. Here's a link if you want to hear what i'm talkin about http://www.sho.com/site/weeds/music.do just click on the link for the music and listen to Little Boxes.
time for bed - i have to work tomorrow. ugh...

we''re baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack

well we got back yesterday afternoon. a long delay on the approach to the bay bridge and another delay due to a terrible accident maybe half a mile in front of us on the beltway but we're back. we were trying our best to get home before ds left for school. we thought he was returning on Sunday but he wanted to get going on Saturday. Fortunately he was still packing his car up when we arrived home. Its funny how the first year they go off to college you go with them and its a big dramatic thing. This year (the third year) i think i was the only one who was feeling it. I miss him already. Despite the fact he was rarely home more than a second any day during the summer - barely time to shower and change clothes - i still miss him. oh well.
The rest of yesterday was taken up with doing laundry (piles and piles) reading 100 emails, and unpacking various and sundry items.
We had a wonderful vacation. I shall fill you all in later but i will mention the one bad thing now. I am camera-less.
We were on the ferry to Cape May and i took several pics with no problem. We got off the ferry and started walking about. I saw a house - gorgeous Victorian - tons of gingerbread and it was - pink! - and it practically screamed "take my picture". So i pulled out my camera and took a shot and looked at the review - nothing - black screen. I tried repeatedly to no avail. i thought perhaps when i get home and upload the photos (i took a few more just in case) they will be there. Perhaps something was wrong with the review portion of the camera. Everything else seemed to be working just fine. Last night i hooked it all up and uploaded and still black.
The rest of the vacation i was camera- less. it was like having my arm cut off. At one point, on the beach, i pulled out my phone, forlordssake, to take a pic - i'm that desperate. bereft.
tomorrow i'll be calling the repair company the manufacturer recommends to see what it would cost to repair it. Of course i'm thinking already it may be cheaper to just buy new.
We shall see.
gotta run for now

well thats weird

i uploaded the ocean city pic and its no where to be found. hmmmm
lets try one more time

ah now there you go

and whilst i'm at it a few close ups

See you next week

we are heading out

in the morning for the beach.
de- laware
i plan to :

• do beach (dh's family's way of saying going to the beach. when i was growing up in NJ we said we're were going "down the shore" - so...when in Rome and all that..... )
• read beach books (aka - trash; also semi trash and maybe a little jane austen)
• eat beach food (in these parts that means CRAB. CRAB and more CRAB. did i say CRAB?)
• play skee ball (why i love skee ball - i cannot define it - i could say its because you get tickets and then trade those in for prizes that are total trash which makes it all the more wonderful - but then when i played skee ball as a kid "down the shore" we never got tickets and i STILL loved it... go fig)
• play putt putt (again.. NJ we said miniature golf... but i am in another land - not even that far away - but it might as well be Mars - regardless its got a stick and a ball and its toooooo fun and it is our tradition. And i love traditions.)
• walk every morning (we have taken this up at the beach the last few years. we get up, put on something not too hideous and walk at a good fast pace for around 45 minutes. i like to think of it as an antidote to the ice cream with chocolate sprinkles i will eat later in the day. )
• eat ice cream (with chocolate sprinkles - a major dose of those please) - see above
• see at least one movie
• go to the dollar store for something we forgot. the dollar store is up the street from the house. makes for a nice walk in the middle of the day.
• walk on the beach at least one evening. it is so pretty at night
• draw in my sketchbook every day. i plan to share that here next week.

the skee ball we'll probably play in Ocean City - thats the OC in Maryland not the OC in New Jersey (and certainly not that "other" OC) And on that note - i'll share a photo of a most cool place in OC, MD. We went there one day during last years "beach week". its a short ride from the house in Delaware. everything is a short ride from Delaware (right Lindalou?) Anyway i took my camera (as i'm known to do - i'm no photographer and don't plan to ever be but i like recording for the scrapbook or just to be able to look at things later or refer to the pics for drawing) and snapped this pic of a most cool place on the boardwalk.