Once a Month [old stuff] Giveaway!

Okay - so I [still] have bunch of stuff that needs to GO -
and I'm really tired of seeing the OMG abbreviation everywhere
[I try hard to make my mind read 'oh my goodness!]
so am hoping that we might also come to think of it as
'Once a Month [old stuff] Giveaway!
I plan to randomly draw a name from the comments on this post and send that person a little bag of goodies that hopefully they can use
[new to them and all, you know...]
Just post a comment about your favorite post this month!
Time's up at midnight [central x] tomorrow night.

Cookie of the Month - August

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

These are the cookies I often refer to as 'the ones that made me fat.'
I went through a period of time as a teenager when I'd make these over and over again. They're so popular with our family that when we published our family cookbook back in the 80's there were three different recipes for this little cookie [also called boiled cookies, or oat candy.]
And I had a former co-worker who had a particular love for them until an unfortunate incident with a client, whom, let's just say, had some problems...
So since I've lost ten pounds this summer and
plan to jump back on the wagon, hmm, treadmill this week -
I made these to celebrate.
I'm sure you'll enjoy them too -
Boiled Cookies[please excuse the deformed tomato on the counter...]
Mix together and boil for one and a half minutes:
2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
1/2 milk
2 tablespoons cocoa
Remove from heat and add:2 cups [quick cooking] oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
Beat well and drop by spoonfuls on waxed paper.
They will harden as they cool.
Oh, and for those who missed it -
the July Cookie of the Month can be found HERE.
haHAha
[I confess, it's just been posted today...]

Faith Based Pages Classes

[So sorry I had to crop our group down to
fit on the layout I'd made before taking the photo.]

We're having a great time sharing our faith
and putting those thoughts
on our scrap book pages over at the
Faith Based Pages Classes Yahoo Group
- come on over and join us [link to the right]!!

Once Upon a Time

[Layout made with the August kit from The Girl's Loft]

Yippee! I finished the scrapbook I started at CKU! It's BIG so I'm not going to post photos here - but it's in the slide show to the bottom right and if you want to see it bigger you can do a click on one of the photos and it'll come up bigger.

This album was designed by Debby Schuh and has lots of fun and interesting techniques! I love it! She'll be teaching this album at other places in the future - keep in mind that I knew I had a lot of stuff to get in so I bought an extra album refill and as a result also used some additional elements from my stash.

A quick summary of the album - It starts with the song "Wide Open Spaces" by the Dixie Chicks - and it's about how I first came to learn of Utah [and the mountains!!] and the Mormon church [through the Osmonds] - my days at BYU as a non-LDS student and how my own faith was strengthened during that time [imagine it being the first week of class and you're surrounded by all the girls on your dorm floor asking about your faith when they believe so very differently...]; the wonderful friends I had in college [both LDS and non LDS], how after I transferred to a school at home, the Lord led me back to Utah to serve on summer mission, and then how Craig and I had the opportunity to go back to the same church and help them double their worship space. Basically, it's about how the Lord directs our paths if we just trust in Him... my story of faith in my late teens & early twenties...

Thanks to my friend Pam Eeeee for the great photo shoot out in Vivian Park - Provo Canyon!

Encyclopedia of Your Ordinary Life - I

A few years ago I had the opportunity to complete this extraordinary scrapbook album designed by CathyZ and based on the book, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Rosenthal. While I still haven't read the book, I love the concept of this album - a random sampling of those ordinary facts about your life [my life.] The homework involves keeping a list, A to Z, of random memories for several weeks and then gathering photos [or not] to support these memories. Love it. The album is really very simple [a la Cathy Z] and easy to put together with only two square photos per page and two to four 'definitions.' Have I said I love this album? And I want to share some of my life with you so I've committed to do just that in 2009 [keep in mind this was completed during the summer of 2007.] I'm going backwards and today I present: I

I LOVE YOU

Our little sign to show that we do indeed love each other, more than words can say. I can’t remember when we started using this little non-verbal [sign-language] cue as a “send-off” when we say our goodbyes. We’ve been together over 27 years now [started dating in ‘80] and I’m pretty sure this started before we were married. We’ve hoped to have our boys use it as well, but this has happened only occasionally when they were younger.

INTERNET

Impossible to explain system that keeps us connected and gives us the world at our fingertips. [My definition.] At the risk of sounding like my mother did when I was a teenager / young adult –“My how things change!” I can’t help but think how different my life would have been if I’d had access to all of the technology available today when I was in college! [No electric typewriter and white-out, no waiting for the mail for special letters, and no worry about long distance calling…] So – we really do love being connected to others, having knowledge [so] easily available, and living in this ever-changing world. – Yes, I love technology….

Tending to a little business ---

I wanted to recap my Weekly Old Stuff Give-a-Way for July. Thanks to everyone for sharing such great birthday memories! Congrats to: Lauri, Tracy Bzz, Kim B, Anita H, and Vicki Mc!! If you haven’t already, please be sure to send me your mailing address. I plan to get these boxes in the mail this week! Most are addressed and should be on their way tomorrow! Yippee! Look for the next OMGiveaway at the end of the month -

I also wanted to mention that we still have a few Faith Based Pages Monthly Kits available from past years. Each Kit has a faith-based theme and the kits usually contain up to six sheets of cardstock, 10 -12 additional papers [sometimes double-sided], and coordinating embellishments! Everything on the website has been discounted [some more than others] and if you order before the end of the year then we’ll throw in an additional kit [our choice] for each one ordered. Can you tell I’m ready to clear the inventory?! Go on over and check it out – www.faithbasedpages.com You can take a look at the kits and how the design team used each one - I think you’ll be happy with what you get!

And lastly - if you want to get involved and do some layouts that refelct your faith come on over to our Faith Based Pages Classes Yahoo group and join the fun! Kim is doing a wonderful job summarizing and teaching us from Courtney Walsh's book and I'm seeing some amazing layouts showing what our faith beliefs are. I'd love to see you join in!

Crafty Goodness

This is made with papers from Imaginesce -and other goodies from my stash [Making Memories and Rebbeca Sower, I think. ]
This is for the August Challenge on the Faith Based Pages Yahoo Group -
come on over and join us!
[Click on the left to find us.]

Random Thoughts on CKU – Provo 2009

- It ain’t over ‘til the scrap ladies BLING!
– love the t-shirt from the Yahoo Group!
[And my apron - all spiffed up with ribbon -hand-dyed by Margie, I might add - and buttons from my Girl's Loft kit!]
- Utah weather = fabulous!
- Meeting new friends
– girlfriends from Nebraska! Mother & daughter from Vernal! And friends who have ties to Thiokol and rocket motors much like we do here in Huntsville!
- Touring Product Warehouses!
Cosmo Cricket, SEI, and Adorn It -soooo many goodies! And soooooo much fun!!!!
- Food poisoning
afterwards [?] – Not so much…
- Inspiration Stations
– lots of cute 6x6 pages that I plan to incorporate into 12 x 12’ or 8.5 x 11 layouts…Margie is always a hoot [recession toes and all], Making Memories gave us an entire package of flowers, and Rusty Pickle – cute project, but as usual – very ‘off the cuff’ directions…
- Once Upon a Time
– Debby Schuh’s album class – THE BEST!!! I love her style and the techniques she comes up with! The variety of product was awesome and the dimensional album [chipboard-acrylic-felt] is wonderful! I bought another album filler to supplement it and am looking forward to telling my story of faith through my college years. Learned: duck will adhere to felt – who knew? And the Binderie [?] is a fun little automatic hole-punching tool!
- Only two dorms performing
– really only two dorms period – but they were cute.
- Lisa Bernson
and her two girls for the key note. She seemed fun when she was relaxed with people she knew. Heard she’d been in a car crash earlier and she was pulled together enough that from the audience we never knew.
- Margie and Tim
giving out door prizes – they obviously weren’t DE-nied!
- Class Day!
Busy and Fun!
- Wild Things
– Imagenisce - since I was the TA in Nashville, I didn’t rush to get to class on time, and once there they said my class track was the largest one and asked if I could help demo the I-Top tool [it’s pretty neat little brad maker] so I helped out and everyone was able to make a couple of brads to go on their page.
- Captured Memories
- Tim with Ranger Industries – great projects as always! I’m pleased to have four [not so] little charms to use as jewelry, embellishments, or to hang on my work ID. Learned: Glossy Accents is a great little liquid adhesive! While I’m not a big fan of ink, stamping, etc. I do think Tim Holtz is a fabulous teacher and fun to be around. He makes learning new things fun.
- Documented
– Teresa Collins – we created a wonderful 12 [tall] x6 chipboard album that I really do look forward to completing. [Maybe about my Fabulous Life at Fifty?] I really enjoyed having a class with Teresa – while I know she’s been in the biz for a while now [and it’s her JOB], I do believe she has the ‘everyday’ person in mind when she designs her products – which I’ve always loved even before she opened her own company.
- My Love Bug
- Piggy Tales – end of the day class and waaaaay too much cutting and trimming with the craft knife. It looks like a fun inter-active album that I hope to complete for a little girl in my life, using different papers, of course. [I went in the lobby and had fun working on my TC album during this time…]
- Candice Stringham’s
photography mini-class – great tips and great photography!
- Little Yellow Bicycle Travel Album
- Too cute! I stayed in the crop long enough to have this one almost completed [it’s apx. 6 x 11.5 long] and can’t wait to fill it up with stuff / photos from our trip last week! – Great for those panoramic shots of wide open spaces! Or the Vegas Strip…
- Goodies Galore!
We were given free stuff at each warehouse, and I received three different goodie bags filled to the brim with sponsor / ck stuff! Plus all the extras we received in the inspiration station / classes / album track – and, of course, purchases made! [Some of the warehouses really had some great deals, others – not so much.] We ended up shipping a HUGE box home. My goal is to get all the stuff I never plan to use OUT OF THE SCRAP ROOM before the box arrives on Friday…
- Cost-cutting measures:
We got a new and different [and very cute] CKU tote. But instead of a CKU ruler – we got a plain colored one; instead of a CKU pencils – we got one from oriental trading company; instead of shakers for everyone at the pep rally – there were just a few randomly colored ones on some of the tables; instead of caps on the tables for commencement we had CKU stickers and zipper pulls that have been sold in the store for the past few years…And of course, no printed booklet – they had changed that practice a few years back.- Teacher interaction
– it was fun to hear them reminisce about past CKU experiences [I’m thinking they said there had been a total of 45 CKUs in that past 8 years.] And it was a little sad to think that we might not ever have the opportunity to learn from this same core group of teachers at one event again. Although…

- Lots of Talk –
about re-grouping and planning for another major CK Event in 2011…

Free Faith Booking Class

Our class has started over at the Faith Based Pages Classes Yahoo Group! - Click the link on the left to get to the group. Kim has wonderful lessons planned and it's going to be a great series to help everyone learn ways of putting their faith on their scrapbook pages! I"ll be working along with you as we complete a new project each week - Hope you'll join us!

packing and weighing..

- having a blast at CKU- Provo -


and there's still classes tomorrow!

Quick Update

Can we say DUST STORMS - anyone?
We've actually had some beautiful weather while here in the Provo Valley - We enjoyed driving up through Logan and visiting some product warehouses - AdornIt / Carolee'sCreaions; Rusty Pickle; SEI; and Cosmo Cricket. Northern Utah is a green and pretty place
- especially compared to the desert to the south...
and the road through Brigham City into Logan has been COMPLETELY re-done
- a beautiful drive through the mountains instead of the winding two lane road I remember
[as equally beautiful, I might add.]
We also took a day to drive through Provo Canyon [Bridal Veil Falls, above...]
and out to Heber City - and again, wow! what changes - the narrow two lane road we used to drive along the river has been replaced with a giant [sometimes] two level four + lane... very nice and scenic drive when you're not thinking you could go off into the water at any time [like before.] the other little road is still there for river access and the water is gorgeous!
Craig spent the day fishing yesterday on a float trip and had a blast.
In other news, I've been sick as a dog [just how sick IS THAT exactly?] for a couple of days - bad food [let's just say, those little tests I had last year? I could've done them all again by Wednesday at noon! And... i doubt I eat mexican for a while...]
but am finally feeling like I might be able to eat a real meal today...
And yes, we've had dust storms that look like rain until you're in the middle
[We couldn't even see the Y or Timpanogoes from our hotel at all - and those that know , know these mountains are so in-your-face that it's hard to miss them...]
- and fires all around us [part of Zion was closed while we were there, and now parts of the interstate near the Salt Lake Airport are closed.]
Guess it's that time of the year...
CKU has been a blast for me! So fun - and yet a little bittersweet.
Small crowd - but people from all over...
fun projects and classes - I'll be doing my album today...

Encyclopedia of Your Ordinary Life - J

A few years ago I had the opportunity to complete this extraordinary scrapbook album designed by CathyZ and based on the book, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Rosenthal. While I still haven't read the book, I love the concept of this album - a random sampling of those ordinary facts about your life [my life.] The homework involves keeping a list, A to Z, of random memories for several weeks and then gathering photos [or not] to support these memories. Love it. The album is really very simple [a la Cathy Z] and easy to put together with only two square photos per page and two to four 'definitions.' Have I said I love this album? And I want to share some of my life with you so I've committed to do just that in 2009 [keep in mind this was completed during the summer of 2007.] I'm going backwards and today I present:J

JUICY FRUIT CHEWING GUM
This was our favorite gum that was given to us during church services – to keep us quiet, I assume. I can remember Mama always had some in her purse along with Certs [breath mints.] We were given only a couple if we would sit still during worship. Even Mrs. Duke [pastor’s wife] gave them to Johanna and me when we would sit together on Sunday evenings.

JEWELRY
Baubles and gems – I don’t wear jewelry much [other than my wedding rings, blue diamond ring, and hoop earrings,] but I am particular about having the real thing – and I LOVE my Sweet Baboo! [Sabu]

JUNE BUGS
I’ve since learned these are called Japanese Beetles and many people HATE them, but during my childhood they were a special treat to play with. On warm summer days when all the cousins were sent outside to play at Mama Moland’s we would catch June Bugs and the uncles [who were also banned to the outdoors] would tie strings to their legs so we could hold onto them while they flew.

JOE
Our father, who has never been called that, or Daddy, or Dad. Everyone in the family says they tried to get Lorna to call him “Daddy” when she first began to talk, but I think she must have spent so much time with Joes’ brothers and sisters when she was a baby and toddler that “Joe” is all she ever heard. So, Joe – it’s always been.

Drove back up through

the virgin river gorge [really beautiful!] and then through the desolate southern Utah area - We're in Provo - and wow! have things changed! Not only is the house I lived in gone [campus has crept south a bit!]
but they've torn down my dorms as well! - re- building something there...

We're off to Logan tomorrow - should be beautiful up that way...

Choice

Chooses what feeds your mind, heart, & soul.
What goes in will closely reflect what comes out.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh - we made it and after waiting for our car [and getting nice upgrade] we headed south, soon realizing that being up at 3:00 to catch a flight can catch up with you fast! What fun to pass a cherry orchard with a store to boot! I love fresh cherries!We drove on through the desolate areas of the west

[and I could almost hear Joe say it was God's-- forsaken-- country...]
Saw lots of dust devils along the way and we ended the day with a trip to Zion
- truly God's workmanship! We missed the boys and sure wish we could've shared this majesty with them.