Ornaments

 

I am in the ornament making mood and have really been having fun making these little goodies. I have all kinds of ideas for more of them too!

 

I love these little birds- the cardinal is Ohio's state bird- so I'm especially partial to those and have lots of them on my Christmas tree. These ornaments are the first two things I've listed in my Etsy shop. I have finally taken the plunge- constructive criticism is always welcome :)

Glub Blub Glug Glug...

That's the sound a lawnmower makes. At least that's the sound MY lawnmower made yesterday. I was bitching and moaning about having to mow the lawn because my sweetie had a benign lump removed from his ankle and can't do a lot of walking. As I was getting started he asked if I'd remembered to take my back pill- and I hadn't. He went in to get it for me, and as I came around the side of the house I saw him standing on the deck. I stopped the mower and turned to walk over to him and saw him pointing toward the pond. The lovely pond where our mower was heading. It hit a bush and slowed a little as it bounced down the slope- but not enough for me to catch it.

I'm accident-prone and usually don't walk down the slope- and I had no idea I could actually RUN down it. The bubbles and glugging were just getting started as I grabbed the handle that was still above water. I dragged that blasted machine back up the hill with one hand. Adrenaline is a wonderful hormone- it worked well for me yesterday. I'd like to take this moment to give a shout-out to my adrenal glands for not letting me down. Thank you adrenal glands, I've never given a second thought to you, but you were there for me when I needed to drag my fat butt up and down a hill to rescue an off-roading-mower.

I'm also thankful that we went "green" with our mower and use the Neuton, a battery-operated mower. I think having no gas tank, no oil, etc- was helpful in this case of scuba-mower. It's a very nice mower- quieter than a vacuum cleaner and no emissions and no tune-ups. There was water in the battery, but we have a second battery that wasn't dunked in the pond. We sprayed it off and wiped away any pond scum. We left it out in the sun to dry and set-up a fan to blow on it too. This morning it started right up!! WHEW!!! So now that all is well in the world and I've finished mowing the lawn I must admit it's funny. So go ahead, have a laugh, I can take it!

ps- the card in the pic is ooooold, but fit the theme.

All Decked Out

From Deck Progress

Our deck is finished, has been for a couple weeks actually, I just didn't get any photos up. We really like how it turned out. I do think I'm going to see about having more of the crossing-slats across the top of pergola though. It would provide more shade, and the other pergolas on their website show more going across, and another one they built on our street has closer slats as well. Overall I'm pleased with their work though- more photos in this album.

New Purple Onion!!!

I made these first two cards while the power was out. I also was faced with the truth that I get soooo much more done when the computer is off! I like the way the word "witch" shows right next to this witch image her. I used some of the tiny stamps- eek, boo, and the spider, on some little plastic tags. I have a couple more Halloween cards in the works.


I found this dancer on a clipart cd and thought she'd be cute on a thank you card. This is one of my favorite Basic Grey color schemes- an oldie but a goodie. Do you think she needs something in her hand?


I am thinking of using this angel over one of the winter note-block stamps, but for now she's over the POD music background with another POD sentiment. I got this lace in a vintage trims grab-bag at the stamp show last month.

Fits of Fairy Fluttering

I did end up adding a blue card back to the third card here- I guess I didn't re-scan it, but it's cute either way. I love to color the ECG stamps, and I am convinced that I neeeeeed those new fairies from a recent supplement ECG put out. I don't have enough fairies, I am absolutely sure I need more. I must express myself through darling sparkle-winged fairies and that's all there is to it!!!

I am glad that our power is back on- not that I am even going to complain about being without it for around 24 hours. Those in the areas where hurricanes came ashore are much worse off than we were with the 70-80 mph winds. Ohio doesn't tend to see wide-spread winds like this since we are land-locked. When we get high winds it tends to be in the form of a tornado which has a devestating, yet narrow, path of destruction. We have less damage than many of our neighbors- we have no mature trees on our lot, so no down limbs. Several neighbors with the rubbermaid cabinets and sheds had them blown over, trash cans and patio furniture blew around. A few shingles in need of repair, and our grill and chairs flew around the deck. We were out to eat at our favorite Mexican place when the storm hit- they have a large canopy that was ripped from the building and landed in a big mud puddle in the construction site next door. Thankfully no people or cars were hurt. Many parts of our area are still without power- it's patchy. My husband's workplace never lost power, and mine is back online today, so I'm back to work tomorrow. At the end of it all we are thankful to be safe and home!

This is not the card I just made... but I thought I'd show it to you anyway since I seem to not have posted it anywhere yet. More cute Eat Cake Graphics stamps and Purple Onion Designs stamps here. Colored with my trusty prismacolor pencils.

Lots of Birthdays!!!

September is so full of birthdays that I am not sure if I can get all the cards done! I'll post them as I go over the next couple days. This one was going to be for my sister, but I haven't seen her in a couple weeks- so I'll make a belated one for her and am gong to recycle this one for a friend- shhh... don't tell!!

It's about time

that Annie got a blog! You don't know how much bitching I had to put up with about how she would never do it. Check out Annie's Ponderings.

This Old Man is 80!

 

My dad turned 80 on Memorial Day this year and my brother Gary had a fantastic cookout at his house. We picked up the cake, and decided to do the skinny candles so we could fit all 80 of them. Well, it was windy, so Dad only had to blow out one candle because we couldn't get them to stay lit, but it still counts!

 

 

 

Legacy

 

Over the July 4th weekend we went to my family reunion in Port Austin, Michigan. The Schwanitz farm has been in the family since the late 1800s and remains in the family due to the love and care of my cousin Matt and his wife Monica. They have spent a lot of time and money on improvements and restoration and they have really brought it back to life. I can't imagine how it feels for Dad and my uncles to be able to revisit their childhood home and see things put back to the way they were back then. We had a fantastic time, and even though I took about 300 photos, I wish I had taken more! Blogger only wants to let me show you 4 of them, so here are some of my favorites. I really like the picture of the three nails- not sure why, maybe it's the antique spider web ;)

 

 

 

For Mom

Still not much time to work on anything crafty, but I had to take a break from my school work to make a couple cards for Mothers's day. Nothing fancy here, just two Hero Arts stamps and some rhinestones. The tiny ones are from a snowflake-shaped rhinestone sticker that I cut apart. Happy Mothers's Day to all the Moms out there!

Puppy Tricks

Trixie got her first haircut and I took a little video of her tricks.

I swear this will not become a dog-blog, I just have no crafts to show!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Trixie O'Puppy wanted to take a moment out of her busy schedule to wish you a fantastic day for the wearin 'o the green. I haven't managed to make any St. Pat's cards or Easter cards this year, so this pic is all I've got to show.

Welcome Home Trixie

Here she is- Beatrix "Trixie" the new puppy in the family. I'm working on some new puppy photos that have to be touched up- it sure is tough to photograph a black dog! Anyway- here is one straight off the camera from last Thursday, the day we brought her home. I'm amazed at how much she's grown and changed in just a week! Sweet little fuzz-butt, she's been such a joy to have around the house.

Just a couple more weeks of school, we're having some winter weather, so I'm going to stay indoors and have a homework-fest! I went to my advisor to be sure I'm close to graduation- just one more quarter at full-time, then ONE math class is all that stands between me and graduation! :D

The Language of Love

Our Valentine gifts to each other got me thinking of this book that I read before Jeff and I got married called The Five Love Languages. I was given the book as a wedding shower gift, and it's a fast and worthwhile read. Dr. Gary Chapman outlines the five different ways that people show and feel love. Once you have figured out which language you and the people around you prefer, you can show your love in the lanugage they understand. There is a quick quiz you can take to find out your language, and if your spouse hasn't taken the quiz you can figure out their language by watching how they express love to you. Usually the way a person expresses him/herself when they show love is the way they understand best.

So, since Jeff knows I like a little something to show he was thinking of me, I got a beautiful card and a darling little bear as my valentine and Jeff got acts of service, aka a cleaned up house. I hope your Valentine's day was as lovely as mine! :)

Puppy Love

Awwwwww, sweet little poochie- just an updated pic from the breeder. Little pup looks sleepy here, I wonder if she takes their pictures right after the puppies wake up to cut down on the friskies.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone- I'm bummed I didn't make cards this year- but I'm not going to miss the boat again next year. I've got some new ideas cookin' up for this blog and for my crafting life. If school would just stay outta my way that is ;)

Puppy Update

Here she is folks- a little black ball of fur who probably won't have a name until we bring her home and play with her a bit more. We went today to look at some puppies and had three to choose from. We loved this sweet little girl and she'll be coming home with us at the end of the month. Here are the details- she's a shih-poo like Buckeye from previous posts, a dog that is generally good for people with allergies such as myself. Hopefully I'll have luck with this dog too *knock on wood* and won't be sneezing all day. She was born on January 1st and she'll end up being about 10 pounds. I'm going to take some time off work to get her all settled in and used to life here. It will be a homework and puppy-fest. ACK! I'm excited and nervous at the same time. We have been out browsing for supplies and making notes about what various stores have and the prices. Yes, we really are that dorky. I need to see all my options for puppy stuff before I buy- I'm just that kind of girl.



We decided to get a puppy sooner than later, having Buckeye here really convinced us that we wanted a dog. I'm able to be home a bit more right now because I'm working on school, so I can be here to take her in and out. We also like the thought of having her here for the nicer weather, making housebreaking easier... hopefully. Then, when the winter holidays come around we'll have a pup who is nearly a year old and hopefully polite enough to do a little Christmas visiting. Whew- the countdown begins!

Juror 101

That's my number folks, I have jury duty again. I guess it was a few years ago that I had to serve on a jury, but it seems that this jury duty summons is only for today. The wording isn't very clear, so I guess I'll find out more when I get there. This is just City of Dayton court, so it's not anything big. The last jury I served on was a felony case and was under a different court. I'm missing a doctor's appointment to go to this dang it! Hopefully I will be released this time- fingers crossed.

On a happier note, we have decided that we are definately adding a fur-baby to our family. Having Buckeye here for nearly a week showed us how much we really want a dog of our own. Watch this space for puppy updates- we'll have a little fuzz-butt here sooner rather than later! :)

A Sad Change of Events

Well, I guess I jumped the gun posting good news about puppy adoption. I called today to see when we could go pick him up and got bad news. Seems his first family has changed their mind, so we won't have a new fur-baby after all. I'm very sad- I wanted us to adopt him, and hadn't gotten my heart set on him until she called me Tuesday and said we could have him. Guess it's just another case of not counting your chickens before they hatch. I shouldn't have gotten puppy fever before having the puppy in my house. Looks like birdie is an only pet after all. Kind of a birthday bummer! :(

Waiting

So tired, tired of waiting, tired of waiting for yooooouuuuuuuuu...

This darling little fuzz-ball is Buckeye, and next week he will be adopted by us! A week ago a friend of my sister let us borrow this six-month old puppy because they were thinking of finding a new home for him. Well, he didn't want to chomp our bird, and he fit in here right away. Yesterday Buckeye's family had a meeting and decided that he is indeed up for adoption- and he's going to move in here. We'll be gone for the weekend, but we'll be picking him up when we return.

Who? Me? I'm moving?

He's a shih-poo, and will stay pretty small. I mostly took pics of Buckeye on his own just being cute- but here is one of Jeff walking him down the street behind our house. (I love my 10x zoom!)


Now we just need to decide if he stays Buckeye or if he gets a new identity. He was named for Ohio State University. Living in Ohio, but not having any OSU ties and not sports fans... we might need to think about that. Any suggestions? ;)

The Sweetest Thing...

One of the most thoughtful and amazing things happened to me at work this past week. My friend Angie told me to close my eyes and hold out my hands- and she gave me this basket.

She gave me new shoes- and really cute shoes too. They were in this basket arranged like flower petals, and they're a bit messed up in this pic since I was trying them on for size. Shoes? Yes- shoes- lots of them! It may seem like no big deal to you, but I'll tell you why it was so amazing to me.

You readers in blog-land probably don't know this about me, but I am a large lady. I am 6'2'' I have big feet- size 13 women's shoes, and I'm, how shall I put this so I don't hurt my own feelings... not slim. I was always large for my age, growing up I was the tallest girl in my class all through school. As far as feet go, I've always had whoppers. I wore a size 8 when I was 8 years old, 9 when I was 9, and wore a 10 when I was 10. I held at 10 for quite a while, but slowly went up to a 12- and in my 20s, when my size 12WW shoes were just too small, I finally found a pair of size 13 shoes that were a perfect fit- I'd probably needed them for years and my feet could finally be comfortable.

Growing up I never had the cool shoes or clothes that the other kids had, I was adult sized as a child and they just weren't available. I've been wearing men's gym shoes for years, I also have several pair of unisex birkenstocks which have served me well over the years. I have plenty of work shoes and dress shoes, but was unable to find cute, casual shoes in my size... and then I was handed this amazing gift. Shoes that are exactly what I was looking for, they're in style, they're *women's*, cute, pink- they are something I've never had in my life.

This is the amazing thing about friendship- my friend noticed something that I wished for, and couldn't find, and took the time to go and find it for me. It doesn't have to be a concrete object- friends see the confidence you're missing, the joy, the strength, the forgiveness, the peace, and share their own. My friend gave me something I've wanted since childhood, and most of all, she thinks enough of me to think about me.

Happy 2008

toothpastefordinner.com

Just popping on to say that I'm busy crafting away and making some thank you cards and birthday cards to use in 2008. I'm trying to use up some scraps and make more cards that I can send during the year. I've been slacking on card sending since I went back to school- I'm not sure that I'll graduate this year or not, but I've got my fingers crossed! I hope you're having a great year so far!