Where has the last week gone?

Oh my goodness! The last week is just a blur. As usual, I left for my parents' later than I'd planned. That meant that the laundry didn't get done until late. (Hey, I'm not proud. You do what ya gotta do sometimes.) Mom and I stayed up talking until 1:30-ish. We got up and were out the door by 6:45 to go to the Vera sale. We had loads of fun. It wasn't elbow to shoulder by any means, but it was pretty busy. Everyone was very polite, though. Mom got most of her Christmas shopping done. After we left the sale, we went to Red Robin for lunch. That was the first time I had eaten at one. I had the Santa Fe burger - Wow! was that a good burger!! At my request, we stopped at Archiver's. They were out of their exclusive QuicKutz dies. Bummer! That was really the only thing I was looking for that we don't have at Pages In Time. I guess we're pretty spoiled. Anyway, we left Glenbrook and went across the parking lot to the new Super Target to shop for my goddaughter's birthday present. From there, Mom left for Berne, and I left for home. What a busy morning!

The lack of sleep started to take its toll on the drive back. It took every last ounce of energy to stay awake. On my way to pick up Heather for our weekend crop, I had to make a detour through Meijer to get a venti at Starbucks. That really hit the spot! We loaded up my car and headed off to Nappanee.

We got to the b&b, The Olde Buffalo Inn, and were greeted by Freida, Brenda, and Janelle. Tobi and Heidi got there a few hours later, and Jeri and Fran arrived Friday afternoon. We had a blast! Janelle is absolutely incredible! She made toosh cooshes for our chairs, and there were 13x13 storage bins on each of our beds. They were tied with a bunch of ribbons - and full of goodies! She also planned two classes for us. One was an altered recipe box, and the other was a summer-themed acrylic book. They were amazing! At every meal, she had a "little" giveaway session. Everyone won a prize. She also gave away little goodies at several meals - an altered clipboard, a little water bottle with embellishments in it, and an altered placemat that she made into a purse. I feel like I'm forgetting something. It was all a little overwhelming. Unfortunately, I was battling migraines all weekend, so some of the details are a bit of a blur. Sunday afternoon came, and we had to pack and leave. The weekend didn't seem nearly long enough.

I dropped Heather off, and then it was on to Paige's birthday party. I can't believe that she's already three. I know that I've said it before, but where has the time gone? She has gotten so incredibly independent. She wants to do everything for herself. Right before dinner, the girls went outside to play. The next thing we knew, Paige was making mudpies in the backyard! hehehe! Of course, I had to take pictures. (Perfect excuse to play with the settings on my new camera, right?) She was having a grand ole time - much to her mother's chagrin. (Lisa doesn't particularly care for dirt.) So little Paigie had to jump in the tub before dinner, which she didn't mind in the least. Tony made ribs and bbq chicken on the grill. With that, we had Lisa's homemade potato salad (mmm!), corn on the cob, and baked beans. Yummo!!

All-in-all, it was an absolutely superb weekend. I got to spend time with most of my favorite people in the world. What could be better than that? =)

So much to do, so little time...

It occured to me last night that I have tonight and tomorrow to plan and pack for my scrapbook retreat next weekend. Why? Well...this Sunday I have a crop/jewelry party at the store (and I have to prep for my monthly card class), Monday night is the card class, Tuesday night is the photography class that I'm taking, and Wednesday night I drive down to my parents' so that Mom and I can go to the Vera Bradley sale early Thursday morning...then, I'm driving back here to pick-up Heather and go to our retreat in Nappanee. Super-busy week, but I can't wait!!

Monday, Monday (insert la-la's here)

Woke up with a screaming headache - so bad that I couldn't tell whether it was a migraine or the worst sinus/tension combo-headache known to mankind. Thought I grabbed the Tylenol sinus on my way out the door this morning. Guess not - must have missed my purse when I tossed the box. Crud. No meds in my desk at work. No meds (except Prilosec) in my purse. Luckily, I was able to track down some ibuprofen. (Thanks a million, Connie!!) That took the edge off. I slept at my desk through lunch - with my sweater over my head to block out the light. Felt a little better after the nap. I came home after work, ate, and took another "nap." (Basically, this means that I fell asleep and woke up about 3-4 hours later, around 10PM...That's why I'm still awake now.)

When I woke up, I remembered that I still needed to make prints for my photography class tomorrow night. Downloaded to SAM's - check. Below are a couple of pictures that I took Sunday evening (around 7:30). This tree is near the entrance of my apartment complex. Isn't it gorgeous? I'm still learning to play with the settings on my camera. This first picture was taken in AV with a 5.6 f-stop. Not bad, but...The one below was taken in the same setting, only I adusted the white balance for sunlight. What a difference!


It's getting late, so I'm going to try to go "back" to sleep. Later, gators!

I'm baaack!

My goodness, it's been a long time since my last post. Sorry about that. I'm going to try to be better, honest!

Let's see...What's new? Not much, really. Still working a lot. Still scrapping and crafting whenever possible. I recently bought the A&E/BBC production of Pride & Prejudice. It's 5 hours long, but worth every minute. One of my favorite actors, Colin Firth, stars as Mr. Darcy. I've watched it 3 times already! My other favorite purchase is my new digital Rebel. Yep, that's right. Until a couple of weeks ago, I was still shooting with a 35mm. Everyone, welcome me to the 21st century! I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it is to not have to shoot an entire roll of film to get a few pictures for a project! And, I really love being able to see if my pictures have "turned out" when I take them rather than when I pick them up at SAM's photo lab. Below are some pictures I took of Ian with my new digi. I'm still playing with it and learning how to set all of the bells & whistles, but I'm loving every minute of it! =)

Have a super weekend!

Sneek Peeks

I'm so excited about my upcoming February classes at Pages In Time. Here are some sneek peeks of both my Special Edition! Valentine's Card Creations on Saturday, February 9th and my monthly February Card Creations on Monday, February 25th.

I can't wait for this weekend. Not only do I have the entire weekend off, but it's a 3-day weekend! Heather and I are also attending the Power Crop at the store this weekend. Imagine...13 hours of uninterupted cropping time! Yippee!! Only 4 days to go...

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, all! I hope that each of you had a wonderful time with your loved ones.

I finally finished the last of my gifts Friday night. Yippee!! Saturday, I started to feel sick (headache, fever, nausea) and actually left PIT halfway through my shift. (Thanks so much, Heather, JoAnna, and Julie!) I went home with the hope that I would feel well enough to drive to my parents after a long, much-needed nap. No such luck. I slept for about 5 hours and woke up with a low-grade fever and a still-thumping headache. I wrapped the remainder of my Christmas gifts, then went back to bed. Sunday, I slept in, took another nap, and finally felt well enough to drive to my parents by Sunday night. The weather decided to get nasty - from no-snow to white-out in a snap. I finally made it to my parents' house and was greeted at the door by Boots, our cat, who hasn't left my side since. Unfortunately, my late departure meant that I missed Christmas with my dad's family. Missed you guys!

Yesterday, my cousin, Chris, and his wife, Jennifer, hosted Christmas in their new home. In attendance: my mom's side of the family, Chris' dad's side of the family, and Jennifer's family. The food was incredible, and we had a lot of fun during our ornament exchange. After we got back to my parents' house, we had our family Christmas exchange. My mom liked her birdhouses, and my dad like his calendar and photo cube. (Yay!)

My mom and I got up early (5:30) to go shopping. Unfortunately, the store we wanted to go to, Swiss Plaza, didn't open until 8AM! So, we went to McDonald's for breakfast then went back home for a little while. We went back to the store, hoping to get some Hallmark ornaments at 50% off. We found out that they didn't carry this year's collection, so there weren't any ornaments to be had. (Just our luck!) We then went to a couple of small shops downtown - The Gathering House, Eidelweiss, and Faith and Life Bookstore - to see what treasures we could find. Neither of us bought much, but we had a good time together -- and that's all that matters! =)

I packed up the car and was ready to head out, when Eric decided to check my car for an antifreeze leak. (We had noticed a small puddle in the driveway the day before.) Sure enough, there is a small leak in my radiator hose. So, I won't be leaving until tomorrow afternoon, after Eric fixes my car. Thank heavens that I have a brother who's a mechanic!

Well, it's late, and I'm starting to ramble, so I'm going to go now. If I don't see you before then, have a Happy New Year!

Where's the JOY?

I've been reminded that It's been a while since I last posted. Here's why: As Christmas draws nearer, the more stressed I get. Too much to do, too little time as usual. I had the best of intentions. I was going to make heartfelt gifts for my friends and family. I was going to make my Christmas cards and mail them by December 1st. (Since you haven't gotten one, you can guess how well that has worked out.) It's now the 20th of December, and I still have several gifts to finish and holiday cards a la Hallmark (sorry, Alice) to address and mail. I'm beginning to feel like the characters in all of those TV movies who hate Christmas. I don't really hate Christmas, but I hate that I've allowed the hustle-and-bustle and shopping and commercialism to take the JOY out of the season for me this year. I honestly can't wait for the 26th so I can relax. So, I apologize for the late cards, gifts, and lack of posting. I promise to do better in 2008.