Whatcha Reading Wednesday - Yes I know it's Saturday, but I just found this.

Whatcha Reading Wednesday's is hosted by Busy Moms Who Love to Read. This is so for me, you all know that I always have at least one book in session.


RULES for this week:
Pick up the book you are currently reading. Go to page 100 and type that very last complese sentence on the page.

If it is a spoiler at all be sure to put ***Spoiler Alert*** at the top of your comment. (Like if the selection announces the death of an integral character or something.)

"I told you before," Alec said, "half the time it seems like Jace is trying to get himself killed."

Wordless Wednesday

I know there are sites that I should link up to, but I really don't feel like finding them right now. I have a book to read and only 25 minutes

until my self imposed bed time. (I am scheduling this to post in a few hours.)

Menu Monday

Technically it isn't Monday. BUT, I did get the menu for the week together on Monday, so here is Menu Monday...

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Monday

Melissa Chicken, Brown Rice, Shoe Peg Corn in Butter Sauce, Strawberries and Salad

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Tuesday

Lasagna Roll-Ups ala Morgan, Italian Bread and Salad

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Wednesday

Tacos ala Danny, Refried Beans and Salad

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Thursday

Girl Scout Stew ala Megan, Rolls and Salad

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Friday

Digiorno Pizza and Salad

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Saturday

Sunshine Chicken, Pasta Salad and Roasted Asparagus or Steamed Green Beans

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Sunday

Roasted Pork Tenderloin, Garlic and Herb Orzo, Cucumber Salad

KIVA Loans

I just made a loan through KIVA to Marleny. She runs a stationary store. How could I not loan her money???
I have heard about KIVA, and thought it was something worth doing. A small loan from me is combined with small loans from others to help out a motived, hardworker further along their business.

So, I started looking, and found Marleny. She is a mom who is trying to help her husband make ends meet.

I figured that I could give up a few paper items, and help someone out.

Maybe you can too. Check it out. It's worth a look-see.

Doilie Monster

Rosemary has created another Doilie Monster.

(She being the first one that I know, real or virtual.)

She has infected me with her virus. I am now making these little works of art.

This one is framed alone. Because it just feels right.

Frame - Dollar Tree

Background paper - Basic Grey

Doilie - Martha Stewart

Scallop circle paper - ???

SEW HAPPY - DYMO

Label - Making Memories packaging

Lace - Gina's

Chipboard Dress form & Scissors - ???

Buttons - Stash

Now, I am off to create MORE!!!

BWAHAHAHAHA

(imagine this laugh in an evil tone)

Morgan and Me in DC: Days 1 and 2

DAY 1

Yesterday was day 1. We drove up here. Checked into the hotel. Went on a few block walk, had dinner and came back to the hotel to swim for a bit. Then it was up to the room where I showered. And fell asleep by 9pm. No, you can't be me. It's way to exciting. You couldn't handle it.

DAY 2

I had to attend meetings today, so Morgan got to hang out in the hotel room by herself. Yup, she got bored. Thankfully, for her, it's over. I got back to the hotel around 5pm. I relaxed for about 10-15 minutes, then we headed out to Dupont Circle to catch the Metro to the National Mall. She wanted to walk around. We headed toward the Lincoln Memorial, but it's really a LONGGGG way. And we were both kind of tired, so we made it to the World War II Memorial, took it all in and then took this really cool picture. I like the way the National Monument looks like it's lit up.

There would be more pictures, but my phone started to die. I texted Morgan A LOT today. Paranoid MOM came out. Which means she answered me. A lot. So, her phone almost died too. I wasn't going to get pictures at the expense of our safety.

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But, I am charging tonight, so there will be more pictures later. Probably next week.

Wordless Wednesday

Bookmark in progress

Inchie Swap - Realized

O.M.G.

Would you just look at the wonderful tiny works of art that I got to fondle?

The pictures below do NOTHING to showcase the ACTUAL fabulousness of these miniature wonders.

Thank you to all the talented GODESSES that participated.

AMY - Tsuruta Designs

ROSEMARY - Free Advice Worth Every Penny

TRISHA - Easy to Amuse, Hard to Offend

GINA - Tyggereye Arts

LORI - I Been Thinkin' Bout Inkin'

KATHRYN - Paper Matters

ELECTRA - Wishin I Knew How to Blog

Just click on either picture for an enlarged view. The details are amazing.

If you are wondering who made what, just leave me a comment and ask.

AND stay tuned. I'll host another swap in a couple of months.

It's killing me to wait, but I don't want to seem too greedy.

Menu Monday - Returns (cuz it's an easy week)

Monday - Sunshine Chicken, Steamed Rice, Steamed Green Beans and Salad

Tuesday - Restaurant somewhere in DC - Morgan and I are going to spend some time in DC. I have a business meeting on Wednesday, but other than that we are touring around. Woo Hoo. The others are home, on their own for meals.

Wednesday - Restaurant somewhere in DC. Possibly with a co-worker and her hubby.

Thursday - Restaurant somewhere in DC. Possibly with some friends.

Friday - Restaurant somewhere in DC. This time with Rosemary. YAY

Saturday - Pierces BBQ - I'll stop on the way home and pick some up. It's about an hour away, on the way home. Am I sneaky, er, ah, smart or what!

Sunday - Guess I'll cook, but have no clue yet.

(I'm easing back into this. LOL)

What's Cookin' Good Lookin' - OG #64 & KAH-WINK-E-DINK's Funny or Punny

The challenge at OPUS GLUEI this week is to use food in your project. I can do that!

My first thought was to do a little work on the recipe holder that I started. I used to have my recipe cards in a regular box type holder. But using them was kind of a pain. I had to use a magnet to hold them on the vent above the stove. That doesn't sound bad, but I am 5 foot 1 inch tall. Not ideal for me. But then I saw this photo holder in the craft store. AND I had a coupon. It was meant to be for me.

It holds the recipes up above the ingredients and bowls, so I can easily glance at the recipe without having to crane my neck or move things. YAY.

To further this project along, I started with a digital card, which I printed on regular cardstock.

Then I decided that it needed a side dish. Something a little healthy.

And to finish the meal off, a little sweet pie.


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SOMEONE in my family will complain at EVERY meal. So I am going to try to get them involved in the meal planning. (mostly so they can see that it isn't easy to please everyone at every meal - I want them to feel my pain - LOL - mean? maybe, but it's how I roll)

Anyway, I made these dice in the hopes that this "chore" will be a bit of fun.

There are three of them. To be used either all together or one at a time.

First one (far left) is for side dishes: baked potatoes, flavored rice, mashed potatoes, pasta, steamed rice or fries.

Next (in the middle) is the main entree: beef, pork, seafood, chicken, pasta or sausages (dogs, brats, keilbasa).

And finally (on the right) is the style: Chinese, American, Italian, Mexican, take-out or eat out.

I used square 1inch wood blocks. Gessoed them. Painted them with black and then an antique gold paint. Then used a 3/4 inch punch on the clip-art images and used gel medium to adhere them to the wood blocks. And then used my Copic marker to line the edges of each side with black.

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Last, but not least, I made a card. This was made for Kristen's challenge over at KAH-WINK-E-DINK. Her challenge this week is FUNNY or PUNNY. I chose funny. I love this quote, and thought that this dancer probably had a few margarita's under her belt.

Thanks for looking.

You should check out both of these challenges.

Friday Fill-ins # 185

And ... here we go!

1. This is what life does. It lets you find the rope to hang yourself with. OR not.

2. Am I really supposed to appreciate the moment?

3. Upon reflection I should have asked for salad instead of fries.

4. I could blurf for quite a long time.

5. Later, you wake up and wonder how that "10" from 2am ended up being a "2" at 8am.

6. To bad you can't send him to the far and boundless sea.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to some crafty time in my Studio, tomorrow my plans include cleaning up a bit, playing and meeting up with some friends for dinner, and Sunday, I want to play some more.

Make someone SMILE

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The challenge on OPUS GLUEI this week is "Sending Smiles". Rosemary is my partner in crime over at OPUS GLUEI, and we discuss ahead of time (almost always) what the up-coming theme's will be. When she suggested SENDING SMILES my first thought was to make more cards for OPERATION WRITE HOME. It is such a wonderful cause. So I made some cards.

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I really love making cards. They are little projects that are finished rather quickly BUT bring many smiles. I make more cards than I use, so it was a natural transition to start sending them to our HERO's overseas. My first box was quick to reach 100 with all of the cards I had already made.

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I have decided to send 100 more cards. I sent them a box full a while back, and am now working on filling up another box.

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I'll send an assortment of Birthday, Thinking of You, Miss You, and general cards.

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I think it might take a bit longer to get this box ready to go. I have about 20 made so far.

Let me know if you consider making some for OPERATION WRITE HOME.

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They will accept whatever you can make. There is no minimum amount to send in. The only real rule that they have is NO GLITTER. The glitter makes the service members sparkle at night and are visible with night vision goggles. So, it's a safety issue. Other than that, they will accept any cards. They do prefer 5 1/2" by 4 1/4", because it makes packing in the boxes to send to the service members easier, but will accept other sizes if you send the matching envelope.

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ANSWER:

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PUT A LITTLE BOOGIE IN IT!

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(Click here to see what this is about.)

Friday Fill-Ins # 184

And...here we go!

1. Layers of chocolatey goodness fill my thoughts.

2. Post chocolatey goodness consumption provides for the best insight.

3. I'd be willing to bet my last chocolate bar on it.

4. My morning hair scares the dog.

5. I'm fond of chocolate this week. Does it show?

6. His behavior lately has just been too much!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing, tomorrow my plans include going to my stampin' club and a pool party in the afternoon, and Sunday, I want to sleep-in and play.

Inchie's GONE WILD

I just want to let everyone know that the

INCHIES ARE POSTAL.

( Image Source: Rosemary's Inchies for the swap. Aren't these great. I love her cheeky humor.)

These are some of the fabby inchies in the swap. I'll post more pictures later, but I don't have them with me at work. I was in too big a rush to get the packages out to sit and fiddle with the camera and the computer, etc... Plus, I kinda got up a bit late this morning...OOPS!

Woo Hoo!

I got the last batch in the mail yesterday. Finished distribution and packaging last night.

And got them to the post office before lunch today. Hopefully you will get them really soon.



I really, really, really enjoyed hosting this swap. The works of ART are amazing. I am so impressed. And honored to know you talented ladies. PLUS, I didn't know that you get goodies. And extra inchies. And it's great getting to fondle them all before sending them off to their new owners. (Sorry for all the fingerprints. LOL Just kidding. I wiped them all off. No. Really. There weren't any fingerprints. No inchies were harmed during the making of this swap.)



I will do this again. Sometime. Maybe with twinchies, moo's, postcards, skinny's or recipe cards.



Hmmmm..... The gears are turning.

To-Do List this week

Here's a brief list of things outside my normal duties that I would like to accomplish. Maybe with a bit of accountability, (getting embarassed) I will actually finally get them DONE. (List is NOT in any sort of order.)

1. Pack gift and books in boxes for my sister. (her b-day was in Feb.) I'm bad.

2. Pack box for mom and dad. (Mother's Day & Father's Day) I'm really bad.

3. Mail above boxes. This might start the redemption process.

4. Update my Inspiration List on blog.

5. Fill up a bag with clothes from my closet I won't wear again.

6. Take bag to thrift store.

7. Update reading list on blog.

8. Clean out wallet/purse of ALL the receipts I have gathered.

9. Clean out the laundry basket of the items I threw in there from the counter. Come on, you know you do the same type of thing. Throw crap into a basket to clear up before a party.

10. Paint my toenails. Geesh this really looks gross in type. Pedicure sounds so much better, but I won't be getting one, so, (insert BIG SIGH) I'll just have to settle for painting my toes. Er, ah, toenails.

Wish me luck.

Far Out - OG #62

Believe it or not, my card took me all friggin day, last Saturday, to make. Don't be alarmed, I am not posting an imposter. My card, the card that took forever, is posted a bit further down. I know it isn't overly decorative. It took me so long Not because it is so complicated, but rather because my 10 year old came in to ask a question when I had first started to make the card, and then she wanted to make a card using the same set of stamps. She wanted me to "help" her. (translation - Watch me.) So I watched as she made this card for her father.

She used every stamp, save two, in this set. (She didn't use the "FAR OUT" or the lone star.) Every image was a different color too. So I had about 8 ink pads open, spread out on my tiny little work area. So even if I had wanted to work while she did, I couldn't have.

Anyway, back to the card I made in record time. LOL.

I can't remember what the background paper is, but it was part of a Christmas stack of photo mats. The planet is from a Dollar Store set of paper. The stars are dew drops. I stamped the spaceship onto white cardstock. Then used some rub-on glitter paper for the stars. And rub-on foils for the ship. The monkey is colored with copics. And I Diamond Glazed the cockpit. Then fussy cut and popped it up. The letters are Making Memories.

I got the stamps as part of a major score from Michael's the other day.

I love this little monkey. He gets to do so many different things.

I got all this stuff for $35. Pretty cool, huh?

Grab a napkin, and wipe that drool off your chin...

FETA FRIES - recipe here

Don't these look yummy. Kevin at CLOSET COOKING posts wonderful pictures of food, with recipes.

Did you get that? WITH recipes. How cool is that!!!

Kevin lives in Canada. He decided that his food life was boring and now seeks out wonderful recipes and shares them on his blog. Lucky us.



GO. NOW. CHECK OUT HIS FOOD.

Friday Fill-Ins #183

And here we go:

1. When it's quiet someone is up to something that isn't good.

2. I haven't blogged in what seems like a month.

3. My heart is sometimes too big for my own good.

4. I can't believe it's already July.

5. In the town where I was born I really couldn't tell you anything about it as I haven't been there since then.

6. His sense of humor is something I really love about my significant other.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting out of the office, tomorrow my plans include an early movie, crafting and Sunday, I want to make sure that Danny has one of the best birthday's ever.

Bloggy break-over. Back to reality???

I took break. I hope you didn't miss me too much. But, life took over and the inspiration to blog just wasn't there. I am back now. Good, bad or indifferent, I'm back.

You can take the girl out of California, but you can't take the California out of the girl. Work was delayed until 9am this morning due to a planned power outage. So, hubby (who works in the same building) and I went to breakfast after we dropped the kids off. (Megan had to work at 8, so we didn't get to sleep in.)

Doesn't this look delish. It's a veggie omelet, fruit and hashbrowns w/onions. Oh, yeah, and Iced Tea. A sure sign that I have been living in Virginia for quite some time now... but, NOT too long.