Holy Ink Pads, Batman!!!

I stamped! Believe it or not, I made THREE, yes THREE, cards today! I really hate one of them, so I'll just show you the other two! *wink*



This card is for today's Color Challenge on SCS, which was really a challenge! I would never think to use these three colors together!
Paper: Basic Black, River Rock, Whisper White (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Basic Black, Palette Noir
Image: Dog by Judith, sentiment from For a Friend by Stampin' Up
Other: Marvy Giga Oval Scallop Punch & Mega Oval Punch, black gel pen, white brads, Stardust Stickles, Black Stickles, Prismacolor Pencils and OMS


And then there's the daisy. I just got this from The Angel Company. I've admired it for years and finally broke down and bought it!

Paper: Really Rust, Always Artichoke, Whisper White (Stampin' Up), DP from BoBunny Press
Ink: Palette Noir, Stampin' Up markers in Always Artichoke, Summer Sun, and Really Rust
Image: Gerbera Daisy (TAC)
Other: Word Window punch (Stampin' Up), copper brad

Flat Stanley is here!

We have company for the next two weeks - Flat Stanley! Do you know Stanley? If not, check out this link for more info.....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Stanley

So Stanley arrived at our house on Saturday. He arrived naked! EEK! So last night I set to work making him some clothes that suit our part of the country. He's wearing jeans, boots, and a pearl snap shirt! :) He even has a belt and a belt buckle! I haven't managed to make him a cowboy hat yet, but I'm still thinking about it. We had a bit of an accident this morning, and poor Stan now has a black eye. He's forgiven me, and we've moved passed it, so it's all good now. Sorry Stan!

Here is a before pic....



And after...

We're making plans to take him down to the capital in Austin. Would you believe I've lived here for almost 20 years, and I've NEVER been to the capital????? How crazy is that? We'll have to take him on to Fort Hood, too, and have his picture taken on all the cool equipment. We've hosted a Flat Stanley before and the little boy that sent Stan to us just LOVED this!!!! Anyway, Stanley is dressed and ready to face the world. We're staying home today. It's way too windy for a little guy like Stan to go out - he'd end up in Mexico! :)

Sick and Tired

I am sick and tired of being sick and tired! I woke up last Tuesday feeling snuffly and "coldish". Well whatever it was has morphed into bronchitis. Ed insisted that I go to the doctor yesterday, and I'm glad he did! I really didn't think I was "that" sick! I had hoped to have several cards to show you, but I've only made one in the past week and it's not really all that great. I have new rubber to ink, but no energy to ink it! :( Hopefully my antibiotics will kick in in a day or two and I'll have some more energy. Tomorrow and Tuesday I have to spend studying for my first exam (it's on Wednesday morning!), but after that I should be free to stamp, stamp, stamp!

I'm a Thumb!!!

You Are the Thumb

You're unique and flexible. And you defy any category. Mentally strong and agile, you do things your own way. And you do them well. You are a natural leader... but also truly a loner. You inspire many but connect with few. You get along well with: The Middle Finger Stay away from: The Pinky

What Finger Are You?

I think I really have to agree with this. I've always been one to do things my own way, even if it's more difficult than the "right" way. And I'm a loner. There aren't many people that I choose to spend time with. Not because I don't like them, I'm just not a social person. And besides, I'm so much cooler online! (Love that song!) *grin*

Boogity! Boogity! Boogity!

Today is the day! As I type, the boys of Nascar are more than half way to the finish line of the Daytona 500. It's a big day in our house, preceded by a special trip to the store for "race snacks" which always consist of either Doritos or Cheese Poofs. I think Ed is eating both today! And the beverage of choice? Probably Coke, but he might splurge and have a root beer.

I don't follow racing closely, so I don't have a clue who is driving what car. It seems like every year it's a case of "Fruit Basket Turn Over" with drivers and numbers and sponsors all changing. It will take me at least half of the season to figure it all out! I do know that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is driving the 88 car this year, and Mark Martin is driving the 8. Tony Stewart is still driving the Home Depot car, and Jeff Gordon is still driving the Dupont car. Now someone is trying to throw me a curve ball, because Kevin Harvick is still driving the 29 car, but he has a new sponsor - Pennzoil instead of Goodwrench.

My favorite part of the race is Darrell Waltrip's commentary. He's a riot! A former driver, and the big brother of driver Michael Waltrip, he knows what's what and does a good job of explaining things to those of us who aren't as knowledgeable. And his style of commentary is quite comical.

I love the commercials, too! Today we've seen several of the best commercials from the Superbowl, which has been nice, but usually there are special "race day" commercials. They range from just plain silly to truly hilarious. About half way through the race I usually start paying more attention to the commercials than the race. Shhh! Don't tell Ed!

And the crashes? WOW! Phenomenal! I never cease to be amazed at how safe these cars are. Too many times I've expected the driver to be seriously injured or killed, and yet they crawl out of the car and walk away. I know that Nascar purists fuss about the safety changes that have been made over the years and how some of the changes have really changed racing and restricts the drivers, but I have to say that I'm all for it.

So that's my take on Nascar. Maybe by July I'll know who is driving which car this year! And in the words of Darrell Waltrip - Let's go racing! Boogity! Boogity! Boogity!

Tagged Again!

Kim tagged me again, so here goes....

1. Stamping Style: Simple!
2. Inspiration: I like to try the challenges on Splitcoast. I get most of my inspiration from there!
3. Color: Blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, red and purple (did I mention blue?)
4. Work Space: I'm taking over the world!!! Not really - just the computer room! I have my desk and file cabinet and shelves on one side of the room, and my 12x12 paper storage in the closet. I could really use a bigger room, but Ed won't let me take over the guest room. *wink*
5. Perfect day: Warm weather, sun shine, light breeze and on the beach! With Ed, of course!
6. First Job: I worked as a tutor when I was 15. I tutored a third grade boy two days a week after school. My first "real" job was at Baskin-Robbins. Thankfully those were the days when I could eat anything and not gain an ounce!
7. Wildest dream: ?????? I really can't think of a thing!
8. Ink: SU
9. Family: My hubby Ed, our dogs Sam and Hank, and our cat Emma Grace(Her Royal Prissiness)
10. Beverage: Dr. Pepper, water, and a margarita on occasion
11. Biggest Challenge: Not spending all day chatting with my LOSTie sisters on SCS!

I don't want to re-tag anyone that has already been tagged, so if you want to play feel free!!!

Excellent Blogger Award

I'm all teary eyed! My sweet friend Kim awarded me an "E for Excellent" blog award! How nice is that????? I'm not an avid blogger, I started this just to keep family informed of happenings with my head injury. It has evolved into more than that, but I'm not one to keep up and post everyday (as I'm sure you've noticed!). :) So thank you, Kim! You're da bomb, girlie!!!!! Go check out Kim's blog over at Sunshiny Days. Her cards are beautiful and she shares great recipes, too!

Thanks again, Kim! :)

I'll pass on the love and award the "E" to four of my favorite bloggers:

Kimberly, who blogs about her life in China. She has a gift for writing and cutest kids ever! ;)

Kimberly's sister Emily, who makes beautiful cards and has wonderful tutorials!

Beate, who just plain rocks!

Ree, who's blog I must admit I sometimes visit just to see her amazing photos! She has great stories, too, though. And the cutest Bassett Hound puppy on the planet!

Valentine for my cowboy

I just finished making my hubby's Valentine's Day card and I just HAVE to share! I wasn't sure what I was going to put together for him, but I knew I wanted to use my new cowboy and cowgirl stamps. This just sort of evolved as the card came together.



Stamps: Cowboy and Cowgirl (Deadbeat Designs), sentiments from So Many Sayings (Stampin' Up)
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Ruby Red, Very Vanilla (Stampin' Up), printed paper by Flair Designs
Ink: Basic Black, Not Quite Navy, Blush Blossoms (Stampin' Up)
Other: Silver Stickles (on the cowboy's belt buckle), Images painted with aquapainter and Twinkling H2O's (Spiced Pumpkin, Rich Cobalt)Cinnamon Brown, Golden Jade, Poppy Red), linen thread, brads and oval punches from Stampin' Up

The linen thread is tied around the cowboy (image is popped up on dimensionals) and adhered to the cowgirl's hand with a touch of Crystal Effects. The end of the thread is also adhered to the card stock with Crystal Effects. After I took this picture I added Copper Stickles to the cowgirl's boots and hat.

Stampapalooza!

I have been a total slouch today. Haven't done anything in the house other than empty the dishwasher. I've spent the vast majority of the day sitting on my backside in the PC/Stamping room. The only thing I've accomplished (other than the dishwasher) is that I made five cards. Yup! FIVE! :) Wanna' see 'em?

Stamps: Hello Chick (Stampendous)
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Rose Red, Cutie Pie (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Black Staz-On
Other: Marvy Giga Rectangle punch, Paper Piercing tol, Stardust Stickles, Wild Wasabi double-stitched ribbon





Stamps: Emmybella (Stamping Bella), Noteworthy (Stampin' Up)
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Rose Red (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Black Staz-On, Rose Red
Other: Marvy Giga Rectangle punch, Rich Regal brads (Stampin' Up)



Stamps: Walkabella (Stamping Bella), So Swirly jumbo wheel(Stampin' Up)
Paper: Whisper White, Old Olive, More Mustard(Stampin' Up)
Ink: Black Staz-On, Old Olive, More Mustard
Other: Ticket corner punch, Earth Element brads, More Mustard grosgrain ribbon(Stampin' Up)



The next two were for today's Color Challenge on SCS.

Stamps: Palm trees (Deadbeat Designs), sentiment from Stampendous
Paper: Whisper White, Kraft, Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore(Stampin' Up)
Ink: Black Staz-On, Tempting Turquoise
Other: Marvy Giga Oval scallop punch and mega scallop punch, Cuttle bug circles folder, Bold Brights brads (Stampin' Up) and Tempting Turquoise ribbon (Stampin' Up)




Stamps: Palm trees (Deadbeat Designs), sentiment from A Muse
Paper: Whisper White, Kraft, Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore(Stampin' Up)
Ink: Black Staz-On, Tempting Turquoise
Other: Marvy Giga Oval scallop punch and mega scallop punch, Cuttle bug D'Vine Swirls folder, Green Galore ribbon (Stampin' Up)

The Week in Review

Alright, I realize it's Monday. So why am I doing a week in review? Well, I'm reviewing LAST week! I was too tired this weekend to even consider blogging and I had to get a good bit of homework done, too. I'm up and dressed early this morning and have even made a card already so I thought I'd pop in here and blog a bit. So here goes....

Last week was a busy week. Good, but busy. The weather was wonderful for the most part. We finally saw some much needed sunshine and the end of the week was gloriously beautiful - 60's and 70's, and I wouldn't be surprised if we hit the 80's on Saturday. I'm suffering the consequences of having the windows open several days in a row, but allergies aren't too bad a price to pay for enjoying the fresh air!

I had an embarrassing experience on Thursday. Emma had an appointment at the local Doggie Day Spa (we call it the Kitty Day Spa!) to be groomed and have her hairy hiney clipped. Well I dropped her off a little before 1:00 and they said it took a while to do cats so they'd call me later in the afternoon. I came home and took a nap (I'd gone to Killeen w/ Mom & Dad that morning and was tired). The phone rang at 2:00 and it was the groomer. They pretty much told me to come get my cat. Uh-oh! Apparently she had managed to bite through the muzzle, get out of the muzzle, and proceeded to eat the two groomers alive. I was SOOOOOOO embarrassed! I've never had a kid expelled from anywhere before! I went down and picked her up. She didn't make a sound all the way home - usually she meows constantly in the car - and she ignored me for an hour after we got home. She's back to her normal self again, just as sweet as can be. As least they managed to shave her hiney and trim/clip three of her feet! I guess I'll have to see about having her sedated next time we try this - at another groomer! :)

Friday Mom took me over to Salado to me one of my super sweet Lostie sistahs, Kim. We had a great time in the little stamp shop over there - Stamp Salado. It's a little house FULL of stamps! We spent almost 1 1/2 hours in a little four room house looking at all of the stamps! *grin* Kim lives about an hour from me, and I can't wait until I can drive further by myself. We definitely need to spend more time together. She's just the sweetest person you could ever meet!

And that's all that really happened around here last week with the exception of the creation of a couple of cards (which I haven't taken pics of yet!). I'll post my cards later - I'm off to create more and then go to school!

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning???

What Suzanne Means

You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. You are a very lucky person. Things just always seem to go your way. And because you're so lucky, you don't really have a lot of worries. You just hope for the best in life. You're sometimes a little guilty of being greedy. Spread your luck around a little to people who need it. You are incredibly wise and perceptive. You have a lot of life experience. You are a natural peacemaker, and you are especially good at helping others get along. But keeping the peace in your own life is not easy. You see things very differently, and it's hard to get you to budge. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Middle Tag!

My sweet LOSTie sistah Kim tagged me!

You must list one fact about yourself for each letter of your middle name. Each fact must begin with that letter. If you don't have a middle name, just use your maiden name. After you've been tagged, you need to update your blog with your middle name and answers. At the end of your post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. Be sure to leave them a comment telling them you've been tagged and need to read your blog for details.

Now I get to cheat a little bit. I actually go by my middle name, and I'm not about to tell you what my first name is! :)

S: Sawyer fan! He's my favorite character from LOST. Soooooo easy on the eyes!

U: Unusual. Yes, in SO many ways! I'm the only member of my family not born in Mississippi (I'm a TEXAN!!!!). My entire family has red hair. My mom's oldest brother is two years younger than my dad's mom. (That should keep you thinking for awhile!) I come from a strange clan, but we're good people! :)

Z: Zzzzzzzzzzz... I love to sleep! I don't function if I don't get at least 7 hours every night.

A: Academia. I love going to school. If I had an endless supply of $$$ I'd be a professional student!

N: Nuts. I guess if you combine with the above, I'm an Academia Nut! (That's Ed's bright idea, not mine! *wink*)

N: Not nocturnal. This goes along with the zzzzzzzz's! I'm not a night owl or a morning person - just a middle of the morning kinda' girl!

E: Ed's! My heart belongs to my hunny - Ed! He's the best husband on the planet and I wouldn't trade him for anything, especially since he tolerates my Sawyer obsession!

I'm tagging:
Chris
Kris
Melissa
Stacy

Maybe this will get some of you to update your blogs! *hint! hint!* :)

You Say Goodbye and I Say Hello!

Gotta' love the Beatles!!

We said goodbye to a family member this week and welcomed a new one. On Wednesday Ed and I drove down to Houston to buy a new car. Well, it's actually an old car, but it's new to us! And on Thursday one of Ed's coworkers came buy and picked up our little truck. Only now it's HER little truck, or actually her son's! So welcome to the car and goodbye to the truck.

What did we buy? A 1994 Geo Prism. I know! I know! You're thinking "A WHAT? GEO???? Who in their right mind buys a 14 year old Geo?????" Well, actually the Geo Prism is a Toyota Corolla and those things run forever! It only has 75,000 miles on it and is unbelievably clean. And it has power everything, leather interior and the ever important COLD a/c! It also has an automatic transmission, which I need since my head injury. That's one of the main reasons we sold the little truck - I couldn't drive it any more. Takes too much brain power to switch gears! :) We named it George.





That's Ed's monstrous truck in the background! Huge, isn't it?

Weekend Stamping Challenge

My LOSTie sistah Cindy has started issues weekend stamping challenges. This weekend she challenged us to make either spring cards or Valentines. I opted for Valentines!



Stamps: Time Well Spent (Stampin' Up)
Paper: Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Old Olive
Other: Stardust Stickles, Purely Pomegranate satin ribbon




Stamps: Inkadinkadoo heart, So Many Sayings (Stampin' Up)
Paper: Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink, Old Olive
Ink: Purely Pomegranate
Other: Stardust Stickles, pink grosgrain ribbon, paper piercer, scallop punch, circle punch





Stamps: Inkadinkadoo heart, So Many Sayings (Stampin' Up)
Paper: Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink
Ink: Purely Pomegranate
Other: Stardust Stickles, pink grosgrain ribbon, ticket corner punch

January Reads

I've been a bookworm again! And I fudged just a bit - I just finished the last book! :)

Dead Giveaway by Leann Sweeney
Third in the Yellow Rose Mystery series. PI Abby Rose is hired to find UT basketball star Will Knight’s birth parents. He was abandoned on the doorstep of Verna Mae when he was just a few weeks old. But just days after meeting with Abby, Verna Mae is murdered. Perhaps she knew more than she let on to Abby…maybe even enough to upset someone with big money and even bigger secrets.


Keepsake Crimes by Laura Childs
On the fringe of New Orleans’s French Quarter sits Carmela Bertand’s little scrapbooking shop, Memory Mine. Her estranged husband, Shamus, is being investigated for the murder of a community businessman, but Carmela has her doubts. She finds an unusual clue in one of her customers’ scrapbooks. Great book! I’m looking forward to reading the rest in the series. A quick read, too!


A Good Yarn by Debbie Macomber
The sequel to The Shop on Blossom Street. Lydia makes three new friends with her new sock class, Elsie, Courtney, and Bethanne. She also deals with her ailing mother, her brother-in-laws unemployment, and struggles with her relationship with Brad and Cody. Another good book by Macomber!


Murder of a Small-Town Honey by Denise Swanson
Skye Denison returns to her hometown of Scumble River after many years away. As the new school psychologist she faces many roadblocks in her job. Of course it doesn’t help that she discovers a dead body soon after her return, or that her brother is the only suspect. She manages to solve the crime and save the day, but I have to say that this book wasn’t a page turner. I felt that the setting should have been Bumble River. The story just sort of drug along and other than just wanting to know “whodunit” it was not a compelling read. This is the first in the series, but I won’t be reading any more!


I Heard That Song Before by Mary Higgins Clark
Having read all of Mary Higgins Clark’s books, I can say that most of them follow a set pattern and after awhile that pattern can get old. I was not overly pleased with her last novel, but I held out hope that this one would be better. I was not disappointed. In my opinion this is the best novel she has written in quite some time. Unfortunately there were a rather large number of punctuation errors in the book, and I did see one misspelled word, but I doubt many readers would notice. I’m just uptight about that sort of thing! :)


Shoot from the Lip by Leann Sweeney
Fourth in the Yellow Rose Mystery series. Abby is hired to assist a young woman find her sister and mother. The woman and three younger siblings were abandoned at a young age, but the whereabouts of an infant sister that disappeared just days after birth remain a mystery. The family is the recipient of a new home and lifestyle makeover and things go from bad to worse when the bones of an infant are found during the demolition of the existing home. I think this is my favorite story in this series so far.