She's Crafty

I've been wanting to crochet some flowers for a while now. Found some patterns online, hooked 'em up, and what do you know? They actually turned out! I think I'll sew one onto Hannah's hat. I was originally thinking cards or scrapbooking - but they are a bit large. Will work on smaller ones next.









And, some dish towels I stitched with fun fruit/veggie patterns from Sublime Stitching. Yes, the dining room table is under there somewhere.

Sideshow Stamps

I really love Sideshow Stamps...they have some cool, funky stuff! Here's a card I made with their "3 Owl Border Stamp."

Ewww, the scanner bed doesn't look that great, sorry 'bout that. But really, check out Sideshow - they're having a sale right now and I have my eye on some new stamp goodness!

LOL

This spoof of the Man Stuck In The Elevator video made me laugh until I cried...


Trapped in an Elevator...With Diarrhea - Watch more free videos

Go Daddy!

Shane found this pic on the official Reno Riverfest website - it's from last year's festivities, and that's Evan watching him from the bank. Too cute!



Another quake woke us up at about 4:00am - registered a 4.2 on the freak-out scale. I really feel bad for the folks closer to the center of this swarm, as it's called. They are feeling little tremors all day long. How freakin' nerve wracking!

I Think I Like It

I was looking through my closet for a more spring-y purse, found this denim one that I bought last year on ebay for $3. I like the big pockets on the outside, great for my cell - which I can never seem to fish out of my bag in time. But, it was kind of boring and I was feeling crafty so I spruced it up...

The buttons are really a camouflage technique - the embroidery transfer of the third flower got all smudged up so I had to cover it up. Then I put more buttons on the bottom to balance it all out. You know what? It's hard to stitch through denim and purse lining. My middle finger is sore - see?

Saturday

Another quake late last night, this one a 4.9 - shook the whole bed side to side, what a weird feeling! A smaller aftershock a few minutes later, then dozens of others that we couldn't feel. Wonder if there will be more...kind of freaky that they can't be predicted whatsoever.


Check out Jordan's latest creation:

"Frankie" on scratchboard. Cool, eh?

Watched Juno last night, what a great movie! Thoroughly enjoyed it. A solid A!

Dinner with friends tonight...looking forward to that!

Earthquakin'

We had several earthquakes here yesterday afternoon (over 50), and we really felt one of them. It was like a big plane was flying overhead and shaking the house, but there was no sound. Once we figured out what was going on, it was over. Kinda cool. The largest was 4.2. Hannah got a little worried that there might be a bigger one, but it was ok.

More BBQ action, it's the easiest, tastiest, way to cook in the summer! We grilled some asparagus to go along with the steaks - mmmm.

That's a lot of rubber duckies!

Last night we watched The Human Footprint on the National Geographic channel. It was kind of freaky to see how much we consume in our lifetimes all stacked up. Very interesting!

Sweeney Todd

I liked it, didn't love it, but I liked it. Great cast, classic tragic storyline, black humor, pretty much right up my alley. The downside for me was that the dreary sets were kind of boring, and the music at times was really shrill. But the singing...very nice. As for the gore - didn't bother me much. I imagine that's pretty much how it would go if you were to slit someone's throat with a razor. Lots and lots o' blood. I give it a B+.

Here's a clip (don't worry there's no blood):

Kick Back

and relax, it's Friday!

(She's yawning, not roaring.)

Smell Ya Later!

Natalie Cunial, aka The Most Annoying Person To Ever Be On TV, was evicted from the Big Brother house last night. Finally! What is it that makes her so hard to take? Let's see...her voice, her obsession with her own chest, her crazy talk and habit of counting everything, her stalker-love for Matt. Oh and of course, the stripping, the having sexual relations on national TV, the backstabbing and gossiping - followed by the relentless Bible thumping. Am I in to this show or what? Yes, yes I am.

Natty in action:

Craftacular

I haven't been scrapbooking much lately, just not into it for some reason. Plus the camera is broken, the picture printer is broken...this seems to be a theme with the electronics in our house lately! But yesterday I finally made something, this little book from our first family outing to the river this year:

Forgive the horrible pic, the lighting was not good. And look at this little cutie that Hannah made from scraps on my table (and a Reece's wrapper) - she's pretty crafty!

A Beautiful Weekend

It was gorgeous here this weekend, high 70's and sunny, almost summery. I got a little yard work done...

I think I need a manicure!

I moved the rest of the rocks off that spot on the lawn, and transplanted the last of the ponytails into the bed at the back. I hope they take. I think digging holes is the hardest work going. My poor back/legs/arms!

So now the lawn is all one continuous area, with the plants in the beds. Remember that project you started while you were here, Mom? Now we just need some fill dirt and grass seed and we'll be croqueting in no time.

The first barbecue of the year!

Shane groovin' to Brett Dennen (couldn't find him on Dizzler so I picked something that reminds me of him. Thanks Kate for the BD hookup!

Dang!

It's Friday already? Where did the week go? The talent show was fantastic! Evan rocked it out, and wasn't even a little bit nervous to be playing in front of all those people. All the kids down in front gave him a high five and cheered, it was so cute. Our camera isn't working so we didn't get to record it - bummer! Also didn't get pics of Shane at the Hometown Throwdown #2, where he competed in the freestyle kayak contest and won himself a new pair of shades. I need to get that camera into the shop, pronto! It's going to be nice and warm here this weekend, up to 81 on Sunday. I am soooo ready!

Restless Brain Syndrome

It is pretty much impossible for me to sit still and do nothing. Even while watching TV, I'm usually doing something - stitching, scrapping, playing Tetris, doing a crossword, something. The past two nights my busy fingers turned out these tassels for some bookmarks I'm making for a swap at SIS.



Tonight is the big talent show at school. Evan is drumming, his big debut. He's pretty excited!

I dare you to take this THINK TEST. Thanks, She, for emailing it to me and showing me how unobservant I am. (I only scored a 14)

This Calls For Chocolate

Typical manic Monday here, lots of errands to run, nothing going smoothly. Evan's shoe had a huge blowout so we ran to Target to pick up a new pair. Hannah got upset that she wasn't getting new shoes too. Very upset. Like stomping her feet, saying "it's not fair" over and over and over, and crying angrily the whole way home. What did I do? I sent her to her room to do her homework and calm down while I made a batch of truffles. She came down later and helped me roll them and we talked about how she could have handled the situation differently. It was like an episode of The Cosby Show, except I was drinking a beer.

*Simply Decadent Truffles*
1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until well blended. Stir in melted chocolate and vanilla until no streaks remain. Chill for about 1 hour. Shape into 1 inch balls. Roll balls in additional powdered sugar, cocoa powder, ground nuts, coconut, or whatever you desire.

Phone Issues

What is it with the phones in our house? They are all banning together to drive me crazy. The home phone (cordless) wouldn't take a charge any more, probably due to the fact that no one ever hangs it up and the battery really and truly died. Bought a new phone, finally, but that one is so static-ridden you cannot have a conversation. I really almost threw it across the room a few minutes ago. It sounds like there is a Poltergeist on the other end. Grrrr.

So, to avoid that irritation, I used the office phone (corded) to place a call. No problem there, except the person on the other end of the line couldn't hear me. What the? Following the KISS rule, I went to Office Depot and picked up a new cord for $9.99. It is working fine now. Guess there was something wrong with the old one:

Also a nice shot of the scanner bed, since the camera isn't here. Ahhh, technology.

So people - if you want to contact us, please use email.

We Don't Need No Water

The kids were playing in their kayak in the front yard - coming up with some cool moves. My grammar is not as bad as the title of this post would lead you to believe - it's a reference to that old school tune, you know the one.

Randomness

Slow down and save $.54 per gallon - dang! I might start using my cruise control. And speaking of handy auto features, why don't more people use the turn signal? It's quite easy really, just a flick of your hand and voila! You are being courteous to fellow drivers, what a concept.

Is "Take Me To The River" one of the greatest songs ever, or what? I love Al Green, and Annie Lennox, The Dead, and Joss Stone all have recorded cool versions too. My fave? The Talking Heads. Found this funky video:

OMG!

$120,444.00!!! Let's pay off some bills.