Flashback Fridays

My first car, purchased by my parents. An Olds. I was a sophomore in college. I was so excited. At the time, I was dating someone who attended a different college, so this provided me with the freedom to visit him and to come home without my parents coming to get me. I felt so grown up and proud. My own car. Wow. What a big moment.

This was a good car to me, for the most part. But as time went on, it posed a major problem. Whenever there was a sizable rainstorm, the floorboards would flood. Good times. More times than I'd like to remember, my Dad and I were sucking the water out. Imagine the smell left from water collecting in a car.

Having this car opened up a whole new world for me. I could make my own decisions. I could visit my boyfriend in another state. I could run errands. My friends and I could go out, could travel to a nearby (big) city. I could visit my sister. This freedom was a gift and I'm thankful my parents gave it to me and trusted me with it.

Ten on Tuesday

1) Last night, I made this recipe. So easy and very tasty!

2) I bought this purse in yellow at Kohl's. I got an even better deal than listed online. I love the bright color and the fun shape!

3) We celebrated my niece's birthday this weekend and I learned a new card game. There's an adult name to the game, but this is a kid friendly blog, so we call it Be Mean to Your Neighbor. It's an entertaining game. Have you ever played?

4) I saw the world premiere of My Antonia this weekend. Excellent. Just excellent. I wrote my English thesis in college on Willa Cather's My Antonia, so it was neat to see it performed on stage. If you're in the Twin Cities metro area, go if you can!

5) I'm almost finished organizing my scrap space. I've purchased several pieces of furniture and I've been putting them together and hanging them on the wall. It's been fun to put everything in its place and I'll be sure to share once it's all done.

6) I finished Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah. I devoured this one over a couple of days. A book about a mother and her relationship with her daughters, how the past will always reveal itself, and the healing power of love.

7) I've been loving the warmer and sunnier weather! Are you there Spring?

8) I'm really looking forward to Marta's "Blog and Business Workshop" on her blog next week. She is generous enough to give the blogging world all she knows free of charge! I can't wait to learn from a woman blogger who I admire and respect.

9) I have been eating a ridiculous amount of sweet goodness as of late. This weekend, I had Red Velvet chocolate cake (my Mom and I split it and it was still way too much!), homemade French Silk pie and Girl Scout cookies. Wow, yum!

10) I'd be ok never again seeing an Olympic skier wiping out going 90 mph.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you're watching on the Olympics.

American Crafts Challenge: Sketches

The challenge on the American Crafts blog this week is to use one of the Design Team member's sketches. I chose to use Danielle Layton's. Check out the sketch here. I am loving sketches and how quickly I can finish a layout using one.

My layout uses product I won on the Two Peas in a Bucket site during their CHA Winter Online Social. It's a bunch of American Crafts paper, Thickers, Flair, etc. What a fun package to get in the mail! Thanks again Two Peas and American Crafts! I can't wait to play more, but for now, here's my layout.

Product used:

Paper from Abode line; Cherryhill Ave and Skyline Drive

Thickers: Flat Patterned Chipboard

Chipboard: My House Abode

Special Saturday Edition

I'm here on Saturday because I said I would post some of the work I completed while having a scrappy evening with a good friend last weekend. One project I (finally) completed was my December Daily album. December Daily you ask? The idea of a December Daily album comes from Ali. You can read more about the concept here.

Christmas is my favorite holiday and I love the idea of documenting each day of the season and by documenting the days, I'm more deliberate about how I spend my time. I try to focus on what makes the season special and try to slow down and enjoy it all.

One of the key differences about this album is creating the pages prior to December, so that when the month arrives all you need to do is put in a picture, some memorabilia, a bit of journaling and you're done! Best laid plans. I finished the pages before, but I didn't finish the pages as I went. I just finished the album last week, but I'm totally ok with this.

I'm very happy with how it turned out! I did an album like this for the first time last year and I love going back and looking through it. I'll definitely do it again this year.

Here are a few pages from the album. I used primarily Making Memories and American Crafts Christmas collections.

Have a good weekend!

This year's book got pretty thick. I think next year I'll use a binder type album to provide more flexibility.

My parents and I saw "In the Heights." Awesome play!

Snapping a shot while driving through a snowstorm during rush hour. Fun times.

Headed home for a weekend, attended a friend's baby shower.

I'm not one of those people that likes to listen to Christmas music before Thanksgiving. I tend to wait until we're well into December, but when I do, I don't listen to anything else. This page lists some of my favorites.

I like the little envelope that holds the journaling for this day.

Sledding! I was the designated picture taker. I wasn't interested in flinging myself off a steep icy hill. :)

This is a few of the things I'd like to do in 2010.

Flashback Fridays

Flashback Fridays is back! Sorry I didn't post one last week. Life got away from me!

This week's picture is of me at age 5. I love this picture for two reasons.

1) I'm holding my most favorite bear in the whole wide world! When I was 5 it was in good condition, but over the years my bear had many surgeries! That was his name, Bear. Creative, right? He was much loved. My mom has since done surgeries on her grandkids' beloved animals too. The care continues!

2) I'm riding my awesome bike with a cool banana seat. Don't you love the basket too? So cool. The bike stayed in the garage all these years and several years ago, my Dad took it to a bike shop and got it spiffed up and ready for my niece to ride. It's been such a joy to see her get so much enjoyment from the same bike I loved. A reason not to throw anything away! :)

Also, I noticed I'm wearing red tights with white sandals. Classy.

Ten on Tuesday

1) I saw a good friend for a quick visit before she needed to catch a flight. It was wonderful to see her and her growing belly! Congrats E!

2) I attended my niece's orchestra concert. She plays the viola, which is what I played in school too. So fun to see her enjoying music.

3) I'm watching the Olympics. I don't often get the nuances of many of the sports, but I admire the fortitude of the athletes! So far, I've enjoyed the moguls, the nordic combined and the pair skating.

4) I caught up on sleep this past weekend. Feels good.

5) I started reading "Winter Garden" by Kristin Hannah. My reading pile is growing!

6) I wish we had had a big snowstorm. Although, we would get that amount of snow and still make our way to work and school. We're crazy like that.

7) When the heck does Glee return?

8) I Skyped with my niece and brother. I love this technology and it's free! Amazing!

9) I stopped into JCrew and wow! what a beautiful spring collection. I love all the ruffles and flowers and pale colors. I restrained myself though...for now.

10) My key card wasn't working yesterday and I couldn't get into my garage. I need to remedy that in short order. Not a good start to the week.

Happy Birthday M!

To my oldest niece, who loves to read, is an excellent writer and musician, a happy, happy birthday to you!

I sent my nieces and nephew Valentines this year. I don't usually collect holiday specific product, so I had to make other product work for this, and I think they turned out well. I have been putting the faux stitching and the twine on a lot of my cards and layouts lately. I hope they have fun getting "real" mail. Stay tuned this week for more projects that I finished this weekend.

Ten on Tuesday

1) A good friend had a baby boy on Saturday! I'm so thrilled for her. She is going to be an amazing mom.

2) I bought boots. I've never owned boots as an adult. I know, I know. How did I do that living in Minnesota? And to top it all off, I forgot I bought them and didn't wear them to work yesterday, the day we got 5 inches of snow. I guess I need to write myself a reminder!

3) My Dad has been working on our genealogy for years and this weekend we organized all the information. He has done so much work and it has yielded such rich information. He plans to write our family story, which I can't wait to read!

4) I didn't watch the Super Bowl. Apparently, I was the only one.

5) I bought one of these mini books. I can't wait to fill it up.

6) I enjoy the (very short) moment when all my laundry is clean and folded.

7) I'm looking forward to my scrapping evening with a friend this week. I hope to get a lot done!

8) I've added The Senator's Wife, by Sue Miller, to my reading list.

9) I rocked out to the Glee soundtrack on my road trip home. I love that CD!

10) After the season premiere of Lost, I'm still thoroughly confused about what's going on. They said they will be providing us with answers in this last season, but I'm sure I'll still be confused.

Flashback Fridays

Bandit. My sweet, sweet puppy.

She joined our family in the summer of 1988. It's probably obvious, but we named her Bandit because of the black around her eyes. We had such fun together; playing with toys, taking baths, taking walks, and cuddling. She loved to cuddle.

She was so small. Looking back at these pictures, I can't believe how small she was. She went through an obedience training, but I don't know how much it helped. :) One thing I remember is she used to love to break free from us. We would let her out to do her business on the cold days and she would bolt. This always made me so nervous because we lived next to very busy street, but she always came back, thankfully!

She was such a cutie when she was wet. All her black spots showed up beneath her fur. After a bath, she would always shake vigorously and get all of us wet. She was also a barker. She barked at everyone and everything! She was very energetic and passionate.

Bandit was such a God send. She helped me, and I imagine my parents too, through a very difficult time. She became a very special part of our family. She was a loyal, loving puppy, and I miss her.

A couple layouts

Last November, I kept a gratitude journal, writing at least three things everyday that I was thankful for. I wanted to document a collection of what I was thankful for that particular month. I want to try and do this on a more regular basis throughout the year.

I also made my own flower embellishments. I got the idea from an article in the January issue of Creating Keepsakes. You will probably see more of them on future layouts, as I really had fun making them.

Here is a close up of the flowers.

The next layout I created from a sketch from the Studio Calico blog. I love this sketch because the photo is off center, but still prominent. I love this photo from last summer. It was the best water fight ever!

Ten on Tuesday

1) I saw "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" with my niece as part of her day of fun birthday present. I have to say it wasn't one of my favorites of all time. :)

2) If you have kids, grandkids or nieces and nephews, here's a gift idea that was a big hit with my nieces. Prepare a certificate that says they can choose how to spend a day with you, which includes choosing lunch, an activity, and a book.

3) The Lost season premiere is on tonight. I can't wait!

4) I went a little crazy at Archiver's this weekend.

5) I got my completed Shutterfly 2009 Year in Review book. I love how it turned out.

6) I did one of my favorite activities this weekend; organizing photos. I'd love to help anyone wanting to tackle theirs.

7) I enjoyed turkey dinner with all the fixings this weekend, made by my sister. Delicious.

8) Life is hard sometimes. I'm hoping to make the right decision.

9) Didn't get to all of my fun to dos in January, like ice skating. It's on the top of my list for February.

10) Praying for a speedy recovery for a friend recovering from surgery.