Be Present - Be Real

Favorite Photo Friday

2012-01-27T05:14:00.001-06:00

Here are a couple of favorite photos of mine - I'm not sure who took them or how they came to me - I'm not even sure if I have prints - [if the original owner is reading this - THANK YOU for sharing with us - and if other family members want a copy, simply right click and 'save as']This is my Mama M. and her sister-in-law our dear [great] Aunt Annie -
love that they remained close through the years. There's two things I remember about Aunt Annie - she'd always drink a glass of hot water before going to bed and she slept propped up on three pillows
[could it be that she had a little acid reflux as well?]
And Mama M. - well, she made the best teacakes around and also made yummy popcorn to share while we watched Dark Shadows together on summer afternoons...

OMGiveaway

2012-01-25T05:41:00.000-06:00

I always enjoy hearing from each of you throughout the month and have been trying to respond to comments in the comment section... Thanks so much for taking the time to read my blog!
I love reading each comment and think it's so fun to share together!

Each month I have the Once a Month [old stuff] giveaway - it's a [medium flat-rate] box full of goodies - some stuff may be missing a few stickers, some stuff is brand new that I've realized I'll never use - One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure and all that, you know - if you'd like a chance to win - just comment on this post and check the OMGiveaway page [above] to see who the winner is at the end of the month -

The NEXT winner will be chosen from COMMENTS ON THIS POST.

Deadline to leave a comment: January 3oth

Monday Musings

2012-01-23T05:45:00.001-06:00

Oh my goodness! It's Monday already!
And I don't have any photos to share with you from my week! It's been a laid-back one for me - and oh how I needed a week in town to be at home and sort and clean and cook a little - and paint and play and read a little...
And I'll admit that parts of our house looks like a disaster zone - my sweetie cleaned out the oldest's room and all the stuff he left here when he moved out over a year ago is strewn throughout the living / dining area -- but he's making a dent by coming by every few days and sorting and taking some home... I made crockpot bolognese sauce from here one evening -

[her photo, not mine] and have to say it was better as left-overs once everything 'married' together [chili is that way too, don't you think?] - and I made southwest stuffed peppers from Real Simple magazine [feb. 2012] - both were delish. I also gave the brown betty a go [from The Pioneer Woman's food network show on Saturday] using a couple of apples we had on hand and some leftover hamburger buns [cut the recipe in half, obviously.]
I organized my cricut cartridges a bit and made labels so I can easily find the one I want - like I use them so often - lol... also organized my growing collection of journaling tags in a handy little carrying box, and sorted and organized my alphabet stickers. [Getting ready for a few upcoming weekend crops.] And I've had time to paint a few evenings - using that endless supply of alphabet stickers [it's the ONE addiction that I cave on anytime I'm near them...] as backgrounds - so fun! Here's one and I'll share another one during my next post on my
One Little Word - Inspiration.
[Quick tutorial: I bought this wooden plaque at The Dollar Tree [$1] - love the little iron hanger - randomly covered it in left-over alpha stickers - spelling out peace in the middle; then painted it allover in blue with a green stripe over peace. Dried overnight - scrubbed the alpha stickers just a bit with my sanding block and outlined the word peace; added smaller stickers for the quote. Glued the ricrak with E6000 - then covered it all in glossy mod podge. ]
I also read Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts,

over the weekend [again, her photo, not mine,] - SUCH a poetic writer - and it's a wonderful book - not at all what I was expecting - I'd not read anything about the book, just assuming it was a compilation of some of her best blog posts - instead she takes the reader on a wonderful story of her inadvertent study of thanksgiving and joy. And it's always refreshing for me to see that I'm not the only one who struggles with fear and anxiety. Very good.
And I watched three movies this week - Moneyball [a little slow for me, but I am so not a baseball fan...], Joyful Noise [loved it - great music - want the soundtrack -- can we get soundtracks on pandora?], and Cowboys and Aliens [weird, just plain weird.]
And I went to a follow-up doctor's appointment. Things are good. It's just time to get healthy.
And lastly, we had a raccoon family holding my car hostage last night as I went out to get something -- HUGE raccoons! But quick enough on their feet to scurry off before I could snap a photo...

Freddie the Firefly

2012-01-20T05:13:00.000-06:00

I know I’ve shared before what lovely memories I have of fireflies [lightening bugs to us in the South.] I spent many, many hours of my youth chasing these little bits of light around at dusk. And even now, in my 50s, I still watch expectantly to see the first firefly of the season – usually mid March for us.

I don’t chase them around anymore [could I catch one if I tried?] But I cherish the memories of catching them in mason jars and taking them into the back bedroom with a passel of cousins and telling stories by their light until bedtime. – I’m pretty sure we let them go before going to bed, because I have NO MEMORY of waking up to a bunch of little dead fireflies in our jars, or maybe that’s just too traumatic to remember. LOL.

So I was thrilled when Craig surprised me with a firefly that will live eternally [I’ve affectionately named him Freddie.] So now, every night I can tap on his jar and watch him fly around blinking and blinking – shining his light in the darkness. And isn’t that what God wants us to do?

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16 – New American Standard [Translation]

You know, Freddie can’t light up a whole room – but he does make a difference. He gives me a little happy feeling every time I hear him flutter around and see him blink his light. And we can do that for others – sometimes our purpose is to just shine quietly right here, where we are. We don’t have to wait until we think we can light up a whole room, or until something BIG comes along that we think God is calling us to do – He’s calling us to blink – blink – blink – to shine our light right here, right now, in our little corner of the world. He wants to use us to bring a little happy to the world around us so that others can see His light and live eternally.

Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to bring light – bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand – SHINE! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up to God, our generous Father in heaven. - Matthew 5: 14-16 - The Message [Paraphrase]

2012 Faith Based Pages Challenge

2012-01-18T06:33:00.000-06:00

2012 Faith Based Pages Challenges

All sketches from: Scrapbook, etc. - http://www.scrapbooksetc.com/printables/sketches/

All devotionals from: http://momsoffaith.com/2009/04/names-of-god-series-devotional/

I have a group of friends who have talked for months [years -?] about doing scrapbook layouts based on the theme The Names of God so I’m biting the bullet and going for it – I was so happy to find the Moms of Faith website that had a long list of devotionals based on the names and attributes of God. Love how she breaks things down so that it’s easy for me to understand-

Sketches were chosen from Scrapbook, etc magazine for our Faith Based Pages Challenges this year. I’ll post one with a devotional here on the tab each month. REMEMBER these do not have to be followed literally – you can replace hearts, or snowflakes, or baseballs with any embellishment you want to use. Likewise you can interpret the theme each month however it fits your life – if you want to do 12 layouts on the Names of God then go for it! You could use nature photos that you’ve taken or even pictures from magazines [true scrapbooking!!] OR you might want to interpret the theme by showing how you’ve experienced these attributes of God – how He has shown His character to you. I may do a variety of different things.

January - Names of God – Jehovah Jireh

http://momsoffaith.com/2009/04/names-of-god-jehovah-jireh/

"The first thing I would just like to mention is that Jehovah is not actually a Hebrew word. It came later. The correct word is Yahweh. However, I will use Jehovah for familiarity.

And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. Genesis 22:14 (KJV)

Jehovah Jireh (Yahweh Jireh) - The Lord will Provide

There is one word in the meaning that I would like to really focus on. WILL. The Lord WILL Provide. Not maybe. Not might. Will. The Lord WILL Provide.

Repeat after me: Jehovah Jireh, MY Provider. The Lord WILL Provide for all my needs according to HIS riches and glory. (Philippians 4:19)

We need to really grasp this Character of God. He is our Daddy in Heaven. He wants to provide for us. It pleases Him when we are prosperous. I believe that we are called to prosperity for the purpose of furthering His Kingdom.

God showed me in a very real and personal way just how much He not only wants to provide for me…but how much He already does…even before I ask! Let me share a little personal experience with you…

A few years ago I got pregnant with my second child. There was a 10 year age gap and we had nothing that a baby needs. Plus, we were broke. I know that God would not have blessed me with this baby if He was not going to provide. So I prayed and I trusted Him.

A month before the baby was due, a couple church friends threw me a beautiful baby shower. Ladies, people I never even talked to showed up at this shower. one lady that I was just acquainted with and did not even really know gave me a $75 gift card. It was UNBELIEVABLE! Not only did I get everything that I needed for my little Boo. I got MORE than I needed and then some!

But, God was still not done showing me. He even provided me with personal items like bras that I needed for breast feeding. AND…now this is quite wonderful…He provided over a MONTH of meals. People from the church and our homeschool group just kept bringing meals…day after day…people we hardly knew!

You see, God DOES provide. We just need to BELIEVE His Word and TRUST Him.

The Word tells us in Psalm 37:25; I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Grab onto this Scripture. Own it. BELIEVE it. Trust God and His Word!

Jehovah Jireh – The Lord WILL Provide!

2 Chronicles 20:20b - ...Believe in the Lord your God and you shall be established; believe and remain steadfast to His prophets and you shall prosper.

So, the next time that you are in need of anything…clothes, a job, peace, conceiving a child, rent…whatever the need…Remember this…

THE LORD GOD, JEHOVAH JIREH, WILL PROVIDE!

My God WILL Provide ALL MY NEEDS!

Let’s Pray;

Daddy God, My Provider, thank You. Thank You for all the ways that You provide for me each and every day. Thank You for loving and caring for me. Thank You for the beautiful children that You have given me. Thank You for the freedom to praise You. Thank You for providing me with Your Life-Giving Word. Thank You for never leaving me or forsaking me. Thank You for providing me a way to get into Heaven through the precious shed Blood of Your Only Son. I love You, Lord. My Jehovah Jireh. My God. My Love. My Provider. You are Worthy of ALL Glory Honor and Praise. Blessed be the Name of God. Blessed be Your Holy Name. Praise You. Praise You. Praise You. In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

OK, you have some homework. ;)

I want you to look for Scriptures that talk about what God provides, i.e.; peace, protection, possessions, children, food, clothing, etc. Find the ones that matter to YOU. Write them down. Memorize them. BELIEVE them!

Here are a couple to get you started:

Psalm 37 – The entire chapter talks about provision.
2 Chronicles 31:20-21 – See what God does for obedience."

What can I say?

2012-01-16T04:05:00.000-06:00

– This has just been a ‘normal’ week for me – filled with time at home, travel, shopping at thrift stores, and creating --I’ve been gathering photos to work on in the next few months: I tend to download or save in several different places so I needed to get them off my camera and phone and Craig’s phone, as well as the laptop. [I admit that I am a shameless facebook photo grabber-] I also caught up with a few TV shows – love that we can record them and come back to them when time allows. And I took a recent photo for my CZ class – Move More Eat Well – Actually I took photos on two different days – in the same week [at work where there is a full length mirror - whee] – what a difference [SOC}-

My mom’s been back in the hospital and while she was put in only to run some tests, I am very concerned for her. I didn’t go over because she was only supposed to be in for a day and I’m saving leave for my own little procedure that needs to be done in the next few months. She’s back at her apartment now and doing well. But I’ll just say – it’s no fun seeing your parents grow older and living away from them -

I traveled to Montgomery for a couple of days this week again – it’s my job y’all. [It's a little sad that I know what's available at most exit numbers -- 208 has excellent chicken salad; 282 has MickeyD's, etc.] I stopped at a favorite thrift store on the way home – found a couple of sweaters for less than $2.00 each - Jones New York and Eddie Bauer – who can pass those up? One still had the original tags on it. Yay.

And I enjoyed a day of creating and gabbing with some favorite girlfriends. We really should get a group photo next time! This is one I grabbed off Rita’s facebook a few months ago – [thanks!] I’ve got to say I sure do miss my Bible Study group that decided to disband this year. Am looking for another – anyone involved with our Wednesday night Bible Studies?

Recently I've seen

2012-01-13T05:13:00.000-06:00

several pieces of deco art jewelry that I LOVE but I’m not much of a jewelry person so I’m not sure I’d wear it. Still, I wanted to give it a try. The first time I looked for materials I found some stuff that needs a special light or undisturbed sunshine to ‘cure’ and I knew I couldn’t invest it that just to ‘give it a go.’ But as I looked more, I found this little bottle of special modpodge [in the clay section of HL, of all places!] and thought, ‘bingo!’

I bought the smaller bracelets to start with and created a little Disney-themed one for the oldest’s gal since they seem to REALLY enjoy The Happiest Place on Earth. I used some Disney scrapbook papers and other clip art / photos that I printed & cut out to ½ squares [there ARE larger bracelets available.]

After placing the cut-outs into the bracelet I filled with the podge – I think almost to overflow is best. [Tip: Be careful to not cause bubbles and to remove them if they appear.]

Then I let it dry overnight. CUTE.

When youngest and his gal were home this past weekend we pulled out the other little bracelet.
They searched for clipart and photos and we pulled together an AUBURN bracelet for her; it dried overnight and here you go – CUTE [again.]

AND EASY. I think the next piece I make will be a charm for my work lanyard with my ‘one little word’ on it. It’ll be a good way to remind myself to live with intention each and every day.

Note: I’ve seen these with 1 inch charms that have vintage icons from different cities – VERY CUTE. I’m just not sure I’d wear it. But it might be fun to pull together one for an event [like Spark -?] and hang charms from a swap on it – a fun idea!! Who’s in?!?

Family Heirlooms

2012-01-11T05:38:00.000-06:00

heir·loom -noun \ˈer-ˌlüm\
1: a piece of property that descends to the heir as an inseparable part of an inheritance of real property
2: something of special value handed on from one generation to another

I want to preserve the stories behind the items in our lives that we consider heirlooms. I think most of them will meet this definition from Webster’s. And I have decided the best place to record the information about each piece is right here on the blog – with the greatest intentions of one day printing it all out for a little scrapbook album, of course. So each month I’ll share a little something from our lives and what we know about it. I welcome corrections from family members!

The first is a fairly new acquisition. May I present what Craig fondly calls The Singing Mexicans. These little garden statues belonged to his Aunt Thelma who passed away last year. As the story goes she and her first husband traveled a good bit before he passed away and these were picked up on one of their many trips to California over 30 years ago. Soon after she’d re-married, her second husband did some cleaning for a yard sale and included The Singing Mexicans. And, you guessed it, Aunt Thelma was not happy about this – so unhappy, in fact, that she had the husband track down the buyer to get them back. Turns out he had to pay more than he sold them for, but they remained in Aunt Thelma’s garden for the next 20 plus years. After hearing this story Craig loved them even more and they now sit, singing, in our garden.

Monday Musings

2012-01-09T04:56:00.004-06:00

So happy Monday – my goal is to have these pre-posted so they show in the early morning – but I’ve had a busy [FUN!] week and weekend – that started with us getting up at 3 a.m. to see the quadrantid meteor showers one morning – we were able to stay out in the COLD for about an hour and saw just a few; I wonder if we’d waited until closer to daylight if we’d seen more? I have a plan for next year to have an electric blanket set up on our favorite outdoor recliners for a toasty warm viewing. [Yes – we’re crazy like that.]

Even with our cold temps at night – the weather has been mild in our part of the world – something I’m grateful for. I do enjoy a good snow but I really prefer to visit it and not be host to it here at home. I love this sundog I saw out my office window this week – and I know it’s grainy – I have a film over my window and it’s also 11 stories up so it’s not cleaned very often – still, I have a great view.

I had a couple of days travel to the great state capitol for work – so nice that Craig could come along [so jealous that he can work from ANYWHERE -] We enjoyed meals at two delicious places [and this is a treat because when I travel alone I never go out to eat – it’s just not my thing to be sitting at a restaurant alone -] Habaneros [Mexican] in Alabaster and Lek’s [Thai] downtown Montgomery – I haven’t been there for years and years and it was still as delicious as I remembered.

And Craig enjoyed a day or two [I can’t remember] of duck hunting with friends – a fun time for him – lots of walking and visiting with friends in the early morning hours. And while I don’t understand IT – I do understand the desire to just gather with others and share a common activity and fun time – much like scrapbooking, don’t you think?

Speaking of which – the winner for the blog hop has been chosen – scroll on down to that post to see – Congratulations! Send me your snail mail address and I’ll get the goodies in the mail to you. Probably won’t go in the mail until after the weekend since I have a BIG SCRAPPY YARDSALE to attend and I just may find some more things to add to your box as I clean up for it. [Locals – come on over and shop – New Century Church in Hartselle – Saturday afternoon 1/14/2012]

We sure enjoyed having Matt & Stephanie home for the weekend – we had a wonderful time hanging out and visiting together on this crazy rainy weekend. Did a little Christmas-ing [still], a little crafting [come back Friday to see] and a little eating – lol.

New Years Blog Hop!

2012-01-07T00:07:00.003-06:00

CONGRATS TO DanaMK
-winner of the goodies for this post.
Send your snail mail address to me
[is that mail strike over up that way?!]:
Judy-at- faithbasedpages -dot-com
Welcome to our New Year - Use your Stash Blog Hop -

Much thanks to Kathy for putting it all together for us!
You may have started with Heather [http://craftyscrapbooker.blogspot.com]and came to me from Kelly http://blsd2scrp.blogspot.com
but you can jump in anywhere and hop along. The entire list is at the bottom of this post.

Today I pulled out some old tools and technique ideas to share with you:

if you started archival scrapping 'back-in-the-day,' like I did, then I know you remember our patterned scissors from fiskars - they were on the cutting edge [haHAha] and we all had to use them. As the scrapbooking industry continued to grow we had more and more supplies to choose from - including LOTS of papers, and alphabets, and metal charms. After a few years, crafters started re-purposing tools from other areas of the paper and crafting world including charms, sewing trinkets, and even label makers from the office supply store!

And then the industry really got out of hand [my opinion] and went over the top trying to invent supplies and tools for scrapbookers, which included, among other things, the FASTENATER - how many of you bought this? More importantly, how many of you used it for more than a few pages? [And how many of you know that the word, spelled a little differently, actually defines an adornment for you hair in Britain?]

Honestly - I'm not a HUGE shopper so I didn't get this until they were almost giving it away and [truthfully] this may be only the second page I've ever used it on - lol.
[Remember, I'm a pretty simple scrapper.]
So here we go -

[Tip: I cut the center out of the back of my patterned paper so I can use it on another layout.] The fastenater was used to put two decorative staples [that say 'precious'] in the top left corner - I used one to thread my binding tape [yet another crafty thing we've brought into scrapbooking] that holds metal charms - one has the word 'dream' printed on a clear label and the other has a bitsy flower glued down from patterned paper. [Tip: I glued down the charms with adhesive and a pop dot so they wouldn't be moving all over the page; I have to have everything in its place - lol.] I used the patterned scissors to cut out the photo mat [deckled edge, I believe] and tore the bottom edge of my journaling block [a technique many of us used back in the day, and I actually still like on occasion.]

Paper is Basic Grey and Crate Paper [not old since most of my older paper has gone the way of the Once a Month [old stuff] Giveaway -] and alphabets are American Crafts [tip: the large alphabets were off-white so I used markers to color them in - since they are slick I used a tissue to wipe off the excess and had a nice soft pink color remain on the letters] - all from my monthly kits from Paper Posies.

THANKS SO MUCH for stopping by!
The fastenater is up for grabs [if anyone wants it -] along with this lovely photo album that the tiny devil-eyed dog is helping me show. Just leave a comment and let me know which one you prefer [give me your email address as well - thanks!] - and remember to check back on Once a Month [old stuff] Giveaway day for another chance to win some new to you stuff for your crafting enjoyment!

If you started at the beginning of the hop you came to me from :
Kelly http://blsd2scrp.blogspot.com
To continue the hop go to:
Kari http://purplefuntastickcreations.blogspot.com
Or you can start anywhere on the list below:

Heather http://craftyscrapbooker.blogspot.com
Andrea http://creatingwithandrea.blogspot.com
Kelly http://blsd2scrp.blogspot.com
Judy http://bepresentbereal.blogspot.com
Kari http://purplefuntastickcreations.blogspot.com
Jill http://thescrapoholic.blogspot.com
Shirley http://www.momnmescrap.blogspot.com/
Rachel http://thehappyscrappinsquad.blogspot.com
Brenda http://brendasjoy.blogspot.com
Crafty&Green http://craftyandgreen.blogspot.com
Lisa Peters http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/
Adele http://dleebug.wordpress.com/
Scraps to Treasures http://scraps2treasure.blogspot.com
Tabbi's http://stuckonscrappin.blogspot.com
Kathy http://scrapinkats.blogspot.com

favorite photo friday -

2012-01-06T05:19:00.000-06:00

I've recently been gifted some photos of my extended family - and oh how I love them!

I plan to combine these with some I've gathered along the way into a quick and easy heritage album, much like the one I saw during a recent dinner party -
kraft cardstock with green titles and mats for the journaling
- I'll work on it during an upcoming retreat -
Then I'll put each page down to scan and save the photos to disks to share with others.[Much easier to scan a whole page than small individual prints.]Until then, I'll pull the occasional favorite out -
like this one of my aunt and uncle overseas during the 40s.
Family - I'm interested in the details if you know them -
[And please, feel free to double click and 'save as.']

So, my one little word

2012-01-04T06:19:00.001-06:00

for 2012 is INTENTION -

and I hope it helps me to remember to choose wisely
[in both the big and little things] and to live my life with purpose.
Because, as organized as I love to be, there are still areas of my life that I let just slide by without much thought - so this year I hope to live with more intention - to pay attention and take coherent action[s] in those areas -

Monday Musings

2012-01-02T08:07:00.001-06:00

So you can see that I’m moving my weekly update to Monday mornings in 2012. [Please be patient as I adjust to this new schedule -]We didn’t do a big new year’s celebration this year – we had an early dinner with friends at Olive Garden and came home so I could finish up the Christmas stocking while Craig watched the game on television.

I had a few long work days at work as I covered the phone for the big office – one call in particular was sadly amusing – “I’ve moved in with my sister and am supposed to pay the water bill but I don’t have a job. What can you do about that?” I had to bite my tongue to not tell this young person to get out and get a job! But I didn’t. I referred to local agencies that might help on a one-time basis…
We enjoyed some time with our boys as we met for a meal a couple of times this week. Love our traditional Wednesday night Mexican and we had a little lunch stop too.The aunt came through her surgery with flying colors and cancer free – Praise the Lord. Please continue to pray for her as she recuperates and adjusts to the changes in her body. She had pizza the day after surgery and was up making biscuits on post-op day three [maybe two?]
I have another aunt whose health is frail and the family is facing care decisions and a cousin who is actually a year older than my mom who is also in need of long-term care – difficult times as we all make the best decisions we can with the info we have, while trying to help our loved ones maintain as much independence as possible. So thankful Mom is able to make good decisions for herself!And she’s doing great! [Photo from a few years back -] The only thing she can tell that hasn’t fully rec overed from the mini-stroke is her eyesight, and sadly, she’d already lost much of it to macular degeneration. Still, she’s adjusting and sees well-enough to get around and do most of the things she wants to do independently.
We had a good Christmas celebration with my family on New Year’s Day [we’ve done this a few times to accommodate travel and work schedules for different ones of us] – kind of extending the Christmas Spirit a few more days. There’s never enough time to just visit though –
And we got a few more things out of the house. There’s just a couple of more things that I need to get and some papers [my elementary school work – lol] that I need to go through –
And I got all the Christmas packed away – yay. I do enjoy having the house decorated for Christmas but I love it re-stored to everyday comfort too. And the pull-up skinny tree? It’s a winner! It was down and in the box in about ten minutes.
Recipe of the week: Cheesy Shrimp Grits – mix up instant cheesy grits and stir in a ½ - ¾ cup more sharp cheddar. Stir in shrimp [already cooked in olive oil, garlic, and red pepper,] serve with a salad [and for us, leftover prime rib – lol] – Yum. [I’m such a “cook” – lol.]

I wanted to take the time to share

2012-01-02T07:18:00.001-06:00

some of my favorite artsy things from this past year - although, truth-be-told, I haven't taken photos of even half the things I've worked on and played with in 2011 - something I hope to be better at in 2012 --
This is one my favorite paintings - and I know I've shared it before - but I have to say that after I did this I felt like an artist for the first time in a very long time - the assignment was to listen to faith music and paint with black and white only - and this just happened - I love it, and while I've taken it to shows I've over-priced it like crazy, because I"m just not sure I can part with it. It's about 16 x 24 on canvas -
And of course, you all know I love 'my girls' - still so fun to paint and see how each one turns out differently - this was a favorite -
and this one too - she was scooped up by woman who lost her house and everything they owned in the April tornadoes; she planned to hang it in her daughter's new room -
Here's a favorite quick and easy scrapbook technique I used this year - I think I have four or five layouts similar to this - have a collage printed at Walgreens and stick it on the page with embellishments and journaling tags all around it -
I took the time to scrap some older photos with memories instead of just the event - this is a favorite of Matt 'helping' my mom make biscuits at her house. Love this photo that shows the kitchen and her willingness to have little hands be a part -
Another favorite girl - she's on the front of my calendar for 2011 - I'm seriously thinking of tearing her off and framing her for my office - love these round-faced girls!
And another heritage photo - although this surely doesn't seem so long ago - lol - it captures our after Thanksgiving shopping excursions that were such a tradition for many, many years...And another one that captures a memory - I saw this giant picture of an artichoke in Real Simple magazine and KNEW it had to go on a acrapbook page about my college room-mate who taught me all the ends and outs of eating one - lol. I used parts of the magazine article, a photo of Lor, and lots of journaling tags to include my memories - THIS is what scrapbooking is all about - and I can't end this post without sharing Spidey once again - he's as tall as our fire place mantle, but somehow doesn't seem so big now that he's down at the oldest's house. SO FUN to do -- Happy Creating for 2012 -

A Year in Pictures

2011-12-31T04:25:00.000-06:00

[I got this idea from my friend, Bernice, who is one of my artsy mentors - seriously, her work is as beautiful as the life she leads!

Check her out here.]

Here are some of my favorite photos from the past year [most all are straight-out-of-the-camera] - even in a year with little photo taking, it's hard to pick just one for each month -

January -
it snowed 8 inches and stayed on the ground for over a week. Beautiful, yes, but we grew tired of it too - and no, we didn't hang out in the hammock much - lol.February -
Craig took this photo after visiting his dad in the hospital one afternoon
- a nice little gift to assure that God was with us - and I had to throw this one in - littlest of the clan talking to an older cousin - too cute.March -
going to eat with our boys at a favorite catfish place is always fun - and sometimes you've just got to snap that family photo when you're all in one place - even if you have no idea who the truck behind you belongs to - lol.
April -
Sunrise service with my mom, then breakfast and church with Craig's mother =
lovely Easter Sunday -April also brought storms that resulted in lots of long days and travel for me - loved seeing the sunrise over the lake as I drove out of town
[I know I have a better photo somewhere, but can't find it -]

May -
a little trip to New Orleans that proved to be a nice little respite for the two of us...June - Pauly [originally named Polly]
- just hanging out at home; remember he's poly-dactyl - just look at those paws!July -
love my garden - August -
The World's Longest Yard Sale was a fun get-a-way for us - we saw all kinds of things, and bought a few, but mostly just enjoyed being together - September -
Emma Lou moved in three months before and this was her first trip to Gr-Mommie's. Love the light, and Mama's hands, and of course that cute little AUburn outfit - October -
enjoyed a wonderful art retreat at the foot of some of my favorite mountains.November -
love just sitting out on the patio drinking my [iced] tea as I start the day -and December -
our new skinny tree, in the living room window -Happy New Year's Everyone!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-12-27T04:32:00.001-06:00

So, the first day of winter has come and gone – meaning the days are [[really]] getting longer - yay. I do miss those ‘winter soup nights’ that always started on the first day of winter and went through the first day of spring [monthly get-togethers, at our house, with warm soup and fellowship.] Maybe we can do that again in a couple of years [next year we should be attending a graduation so I know I won’t be thinking about soup – lol –]
And then we were Christmas-ing for the rest of the week – had our family dinner and gift giving on Thursday evening with Matt, Drew and his sweet Haley – SO NICE to just be together. LOVE family time and it’s far too short these days – [We had sautéed shrimp, salt-crusted prime rib, crash potatoes and roasted veggies with salad and rolls. – I’ll get recipes up there after the first of the year – promise!]
Then on Friday we drove up to Tennessee for Craig’s family Christmas – I’ll admit, I was a little skeptical of how Christmas might play out in a hotel room – but we had a huge room and brought in chairs from the other rooms so it was just like sitting in a family den and being all together. We took our little rustic tree [designed for a mountain Christmas] and goodies that included snowflake cupcakes and a crockpot with meatballs, and everyone brought more goodies to share as we enjoyed being together and opening gifts [- they wanted to do something different since this was their first Christmas without Daddy – and while he was on everyone’s minds, I think we had a very good gathering afterall.]
Saturday we shopped a little at Providence and Opry Mills [yes! THREE stores are open now -] and then headed out to the Opryland Hotel – which is ALWAYS gorgeously decorated for Christmas – Love that they make no excuses for the reason for celebrating Christmas with this HUGE nativity scene in the entrance to the hotel. And I LOVE these huge poinsettias made of lights – they’ve been there for as long as we’ve been going to Opryland to see the Christmas lights – OMGoodness – 27 -28 years now?!?
That evening Craig and I decided at the last minute to run down to a local church for their Christmas Eve Service - a lovely little church with traditions unfamiliar to us – communion was done by tearing off a bit of bread and dipping it in a communal cup of wine. Still, it was very nice to be out at midnight and recognize our Savoir at the beginning of His Day –
Christmas Day we headed over to attend church with my sister and her family and enjoyed singing familiar tunes and joined in communion in the good ‘ole Baptist way – lol. Love what their preacher said about God loving us SO MUCH that He would squeeze into an earthly body just to show us his love – by giving the ultimate sacrifice. [AND – it was a treat to hear our nephew playing drums – what a great job!!]
Then it was home to have some of that left-over prime rib with freshly made garlic mashed potatoes – yum – and to unpack the car so we can do it all again next weekend – lol [well, we’ll only be gone one day next weekend to celebrate with my family, and we have a full week of work and activities between now and then -]
We’ve also had a house full of kids a couple of nights this week – and we love that actually – SO GLAD they helped us finish off the sweets we had made!! So glad the youngest and his friends still feel comfortable hanging at our house -
And yesterday Craig was up early to go duck hunting [he brought some home to cook – eek!] and I just had a lazy day of catching up with friends on the internet and television watching and knitting – getting ready for the new year -
– do y’all enjoy opening a new calendar as much as I do?

PS- Be watching for a fun blog hop coming January 7th - with lots of ideas on how to use your 'vintage' [haHAha] scrapbook tools and other supplies!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T05:18:00.000-06:00

Card from Walgreens;

turquoise fence courtesy of some neighbors;

vintage glider - from our collection.
[Thanks Stephanie for taking a great picture!
Edited with picnik, free, on-line]

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T05:14:00.000-06:00

Ten on Tuesday

2011-12-20T05:23:00.000-06:00

Been about as sick as I’ve been in years these last few weeks and finally, Sunday evening, it was enough to make me schedule an appointment with my doctor – luckily they worked me in pretty quickly [without the usual waaaaaaaaait] and after a few days on meds I’m feeling back to my ‘normal’ self again – well, almost. BETTER, for sure.
Good news - Mom is home and doing well. SO HAPPY she’s living where she feels secure and has people she trusts to help her when she needs it -
I made Knock You Naked brownies [used those new caramel chips – DON’T. It’s just not as good – still yummy though!] And red velvet Cake Balls – dipped in white almond bark with red & green sprinkles [thanks to my sweetie for helping me dip them up!] And Mama’s Chocolate fudge – tastes like hers, still, it’s not as firm as I’d like, but I’m so not a fudge eater that I’m not sure how firm it really should be – lol [and I’m VERY UNHAPPY with the marshmallow cream people for cutting an ounce out of the jars they sell these days – don’t they know we don’t want to measure?!?!]
Recipes on the tab above, eventually – lol. I’m not sure I’m loving those tabs – but I really haven’t had time to explore and fill them as I’d like to – [Cake Balls: bake a cake mix and crumble with a tub of frosting, roll into balls and refrigerate, dip in melted almond bark or candy coating - add sprinkles.]
I spent the day at Lowe Mill on Saturday – and came home with about a third less of the stuff I took – yay!! Another artist came by and whispered in my ear that I was selling too cheap – but my goal is not $$$ [I paint / create for the fun of it] – my goal is to not take it home – so, goal met. Even one of my favorite big girls [out front] went home to be gifted to someone - love it.
Lowe Mill is a fun, eccentric place. You see ALL KINDS of people there – and it’s always nice to come home with a freshly baked loaf of Fred Bread. [Cranberry-Walnut is delish.]
AND I finished Christmas Stocking Number 1 – it’s not perfect, but handmade never is, is it? I’m sure the next one will be better…
Working on other crafty things now – this is a quick one that I’ve already shared on FaceBook [come on over and ‘friend me!’] – little glass jars available at Hobby Lobby [mine came from Old Time Pottery] and little clips of winter goodness [spruce – bird – berries] - $1 each at The Dollar Tree [the jars have a ‘handle’ on the lid so these clipped right on,] and big golden jingle bells tied to the jar [The Dollar Tree - $1 for nine of them] Fill with Chex Mix – that, yes, I bought. - And you have some cute little gifts in no time at all.
Craig and I visited a different church this past Sunday – a little [of what we call] high-churchy, kind of a cross of Baptist and Methodist [the pastor and choir director wore robes.] Different, but nice, and special too.
And finally, I’ve sure been enjoying a local radio station [Lite 96.9] that plays non-stop Christmas music from Thanksgiving until Christmas day – love it – fun songs and spiritual ones too – helps keep me in the mood for Christmas - I’ll catch you on the flip side – Merry Christmas everyone!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-12-13T20:48:00.001-06:00

First of all – Mom is doing so well - she is still having some little episodes of aphasia but they don’t last long and she has a good sense of humor about it all. We’re all really praying and hoping that the change in meds will prevent another stroke [mini or otherwise!] from occurring.
Also, please keep one of my aunts in your prayers – she’s scheduled to have a double mastectomy on her 80^th birthday in a couple of weeks. She also has a wonderful sense of humor about it all and is hoping this radical move will prevent any further needed treatment.
I don’t have a ton of news to share this week – Craig has been duck hunting a few more times. They always give them away to others who are willing to clean and eat them – I’m not sure I would even know what to do with duck – but I’m sure there’s plenty of recipes available on the web -
And Emma chased her first RABBIT – it was as big as she was. It would be hilarious if it or some of the squirrels in our yard decided to turn and chase her like Pauly does. Pauly, but the way, is One. Giant. Marshmallow. Now that he’s fluffed out for winter – all 15 pounds of lean, [not so] mean, machine of him. LOL.
I participated in an ornament swap with some of my Spark Sistas and had a lot of fun creating a fun little sparkly ornament [above] and went ahead and made a few more as well -
And I’ve continued to knit some – it’s so relaxing to me, but at the same time I can become so consumed with a project that I can’t get it out of my mind – at all. If you couple that with concern about my mom I’ve not slept very well most of the week so I’ve had to Step. Away. From the Knitting. – But just for a couple of days – haHAha, I can’t put it down for long.
I’ve got a couple of other crafty [dare I say, jewelry] projects I need to get started on before Christmas Day.
And news on The Tinsel Trail – our schedule hasn’t quite allowed us to get by there – and I so want to do this since I now know that seeing them from 11 floors above doesn’t do them justice. [Photos from The Huntsville Times – I work on the top floor of the yellow building to the left -]
My staff meeting in Montgomery was cancelled for this week – we had a phone conference instead, not quite the same, but we still accomplished the meeting goals. It’s good and bad – Good = I really didn’t want to be so far away from Mom this week, and Bad = I have a dirty santa gift and no one to play the game with, and I missed getting hotel points – lol.
And lastly -. I had my hair cut this week - I think it may be the first time since I had to tell the stylist to, " put the scissors down, no REALLY. Put. The. Scissors. Down." I do a decent job of trimming it up, but it's nice to have a professional [?] do it once every couple of years - lol. And while the 1/2 inch I asked to be taken off somehow turned into TWO inches - I'm okay with it, it's a nice shape and the grown out bangs blend in nicely ---

Ten on Tuesday

2011-12-06T21:29:00.001-06:00

Note: I really meant for this to go up late Tuesday night [and will still post it to show on Tuesday, even though it's more than a few days later] but life happens. Please keep my mom in your prayers - she had a little mini stroke this week and is working through some things [a tiny bit of aphasia, and a lot of knowing it could happen again at any time...]

First let me say that I'm more than a little sad that I now have to moderate comments, but I've had some crazy ones showing up with links to not so nice places -- Be patient with me as I remind myself to check them each day.
As a result I'll probably be commenting on comments in the comment section. Does that work for ya'll?It will probably be more timely this way ---
I finished up the Christmas decor - and switched things up a bit, love that most everything coordinates enough to move from room to room. This little snowman nativity is usually in the bathroom - the one awaiting the re-do - so I put it on the table in the dining / living area with a pedestal of ornaments and the jingle bell wreath above. Love that I can combine a little whimsy with the True Reason for the Season.
Note - the basket holds past December albums and other mini albums, the giant glass apple is a favorite of mine that moves around the house, the copper kettle is from my mom's house - they'd save their silver in it and rotate giving it to the gr-sons when it was full - it's Matt's now, and if you look closely you can see our big nativity set on the table opposite this one - my cousin made it for me YEARS ago - still love it. I'll do a little post later on and show all my simple Christmas decor -
Saturday I cropped with friends and we enjoyed a yummy meal together [the green bean casserole in the crockpot WORKS] and then did our tag swap - such beautiful tags! Thanks to everyone who participated!! And we played Dirty Santa - love the crafty stuff I came home with!
That evening Craig and I attended the "Keep Christmas Alive" concert - we've gone a couple of years in the past - and it's just THE BEST way to start the Christmas season -
And an added bonus was that they had Larnelle Harris as the featured entertainer. WONDERFUL. You might remember that THIS is one of my all-time favorite Larnelle songs - not so Christmas-y, so he didn't sing it - but he was great all 'round!
I finally decided to bite the bullet and JUST. DO. IT. -- Knit a Christmas stocking, that is - I know it's far from perfect but I've enjoyed it [LOVE TO KNIT -SO RELAXING] so I'll work on some things and the next one will be better [and hopefully the next next one will be even better - lol.] But I have to remind myself that not everyone cherishes a heirloom stocking - as seen in a recent Goodwill excursion - kind of sad, isn't it?
This week I've watched outside my window [at work] as more than a hundred Christmas trees were put up in the park [I think there's close to 200, but am not sure-] and decorated throughout the week - I've seen them lit from afar, but almost think they're prettier in the daylight - I'll try and get some photos before the month is out.
Late in the week we had a last minute opportunity to sit in on a broadcast of The Rick and Bubba Show. I've listened to this radio show since the early 90s - just good, funny, God-loving guys. So it was fun to see how they pull it all together [and to know that Bubba and Craig played pingpong in-between "on-air" times. LOL - Yes, they have a pingpong table in the studio.] - Much thanks to Allison the Intern [so sorry I can't remember your "on-air" name] who is a good friend of my brother's and worked it all out for us to be there.

2011-12-06T05:32:00.000-06:00

[an edited repeat from past years...]

How do you feel about Santa Claus?

Pere Noel, Christkindle, Father Christmas, Kriss Kringle, Sinterklas,

St. Nicholas

I was first introduced to St. Nicholas as a freshman in college when my dear friend Grace [whose grandparents on both sides of her family came to the US from the Netherlands] put a wooden shoe, filled with candy, outside my door on December 6^th. [Still have that shoe, btw.]

I’ve loved the idea of St. Nicholas ever since!

There’s a lot of fact and folklore about him today, but most believe he was a real person and that the idea of Santa Claus came from the acts of goodwill that he did.

[Random Acts of Christmas Kindness, if you will - more on that later in the month.]

Here’s a link that tells his story briefly.
I’ve always wanted to have “Santa Claus” visit our boys on December 6^th and keep Christmas sacred [or, practically --at least spread out the gift-receiving a little for them], but differed to C’s wishes. So instead, for the last 25 years, our boys have always received a chocolate Santa on December 6^th. [Granted there were some years when I was out at 5 a.m. to get these Santas because of our crazy schedule! – but it was done!] This year we mailed a few to our college boys and sneakily placed one outside the oldest's new home, for him to find this a.m.

So, Happy St. Nicholas Day to you!

At our house Santa has always been pretend.

Our boys were never taught he was real, but more just a character of the secular celebration of Christmas [kind of like Mickey Mouse – celebration of magical place] who left gifts for them on Christmas morning. They’ve always known that Mom and Day were “Santa.” We’ve had a few Santa photos through the years [we have those Mickey ones too!] and we’ve had fun with it, but have always, always tried to help our boys see that
Jesus truly is the reason we have anything at all to celebrate in this life.
We hope that in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the Christmas Season you can take the time to see a tiny baby lying in a manger who died so we might live eternally.
What a hope we have because of Him!

2011-12-04T05:54:00.000-06:00

Christmas waves a magic wand
over this world,
and behold,
everything is softer
and more beautiful.
- Norman Vincent Peale

Ten on Tuesday

2011-11-28T20:05:00.002-06:00

This has been One. Long. Week. It feels like we’ve packed two or three weeks of stuff into it – but it’s all good. [Really Good. – We. Are. Blessed.]
Emma Lou [aka Squiggles] went to The Shoals with us on Saturday and Sunday and even though she wasn’t out and about with all the activity -- she was worn out and went straight to bed when we got home Sunday evening – lol. We wanted to also! But stayed up to watch The Amazing Race – which came on MUCH later than usual due to the ballgames [Live! – no dvr – weird.] This is her new winter parka - lol
It was a short work-week for me and I enjoyed having Wednesday at home to just ‘be’ with the youngest a bit and make Craig’s favorite cake. We also went to the visitation for friend’s mother that afternoon. What a gift they gave her when they brought her home to their house since she did not want to pass away in the hospital.
Thursday we hated for our moms to be alone so Craig, youngest, and I drove over to The Shoals to have dinner and a little visiting time with each of them. We had a semi- celebration for his birthday that night when we enjoyed a bowl of that yummy cake together!
I also braved the ‘Black Friday’ sales to run down to Sam’s to pick up a skinny ‘pull-up’ Christmas tree – and I’ll concede that it’s not half as beautiful as my post-prison Martha Stewart tree that is GORGEOUS but is heavy as a log-wagon and takes up a ton of space [we all know her best designs have been since that time.] Photo taken with my camera - not the best , but you get the idea of the size and shape -
I had the new one up and lit [all by myself!] in about 15 minutes [yay!] and I think once it’s decorated it will be beautiful in a different way.
We had our family dinner that afternoon and I have to say that I love Aunt Betty’s Sausage Dressing – DELISH. We also had salad with cranberries and walnuts, roasted chicken, green bean casserole, veg-all casserole, mac & cheese, and pumpkin roll to end the meal – so good. I love to cook when I have lots of un-hurried time to do it [Recipes on the tab above.]
Saturday we went back to the Shoals [minus youngest who went ‘home’ to AU for The Game – exciting to be a part even when we know the expected outcome] to be with Craig’s extended family and enjoy a non-traditional – YUMMY meal of enchiladas with all the fixin’s, layered dip, and chocolate and pecan pies. Again, delish. Spent the evening visiting together. The next day his sister was taken to the ER where she was treated and released for complications of her illness. Please join us in prayer that she can have continuous days of wellness.
And Sunday we were supposed to be together with my extended family – but alas, they all had the crud and couldn’t make it [we’re extra careful about exposing Mom to any wayward germ.] And since she didn’t feel great herself we sent oldest and his gal on home and gathered Christmas decor from the house to take to her apartment. She was able to eat some crackers and soup while we were there decorating her door with the candles [big and plastic] that have been a part of their Christmas décor since the first gr-son was born. So sweet to carry on traditions even when circumstances change [I know the photo is horrible - but I just cropped one down form a photo of a scrapbook page - lol. I'll find a print and scan it in later -]
Before heading home Craig and I enjoyed a very relaxing [birthday -?] meal at our favorite place in the area – we were so hungry by that time that I ate my entire meal [and I’ve never – ever done that there.] I always get the Chicken Ricatoni – grilled chicken with goat cheese, steamed veggies, and garlic mashed potatoes – yum. It was nice to have some unhurried time to re-group together before our upcoming work-week; a good way to end our very busy week…

Birthday Boy -

2011-11-27T06:54:00.000-06:00

Well, some of you know that I’m married to a ‘turkey-baby’ – born on Thanksgiving Day – and this year we celebrated that evening with his favorite cake [Tres Leches – recipe in the tab above,] and a special gift – a little something I’ve been planning for a while now. Craig is the world’s best gift-giver [something to do with his love of shopping, I think] so I have to work hard to think of something that he’ll love [and hasn’t already bought for himself!] But I love this – and I think he does too.

First, I gathered photos of the official Shrimp Festival posters from past years [note – since 1983 we’ve been to this event more years than not, it’s practically a family tradition.] Then I pondered how to pull them all together in a neat way - settled on working in photo-shop with a poster to drag and drop them into, all the same size and coordinated. [but, honestly, I don’t work in photo-shop enough to just be able to open it up and go for it – would have to pull out my cheat cards to get it done -]
Then I thought of the collage prints at Walgreens and checked to see if they did large sizes. Bingo. Love that you can rearrange your photos to highlight the ones you like best [and strategically offset the white backgrounds with colored ones.] LOVE that it helps you know the best size to print when your pixels might be smaller than normal [without this I would have messed up, big-time.] And loved that Walgreens printed it without a hassle [was concerned they’d get all copy-right on me…] and I especially love that I was able to surprise Craig with it.

Favorite Photo Friday

2011-11-25T07:05:00.001-06:00

A family tradition for years and years.

Mama, sister,* and me leaving a store with Christmas decorations on
Thanksgiving afternoon several [many -?] years ago.
- Yes, even then there was one little discount store in the area that opened at noon -
* She has a name, but I'm not sure she'd want me to share it here, and even though many people call their sister 'sister' here in the south - I'm not one of them - lol.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-11-22T06:25:00.000-06:00

The week started with travel to Montgomery for staff meeting. I chose to not spend the night – making it a 14 hour work day – yippee. And of course it was a rainy messy day – Craig and I have decided that we can almost predict the weather based on the days I plan to travel. LOL.
And the next day was a little worse with storms south of us for most of the day. I had a little ‘come-a-part’ when I couldn’t reach the youngest after hearing of the tornado in Auburn . I’d talked with him minutes before and he was in a basement at the BCM where he lives [so much safer than the 3^rd floor apartment they lived in before – although, I did love that little apartment.] And finally reached him afterwards to learn that all was well. [Thankfully, no lives lost, although there was substantial damage in some of the student trailer parks.]
Craig and I went to Turkey Toss the next morning – had a lazy [comp-time using] morning with my favorite sausage and tomato biscuit and then we went on over to hang-out with the boys of the show – and watch people toss those frozen turkeys! It was fun to see some of the ‘behind the scenes’ stuff that goes into a radio show [I'm not sure this photo is fixable -lol.]
And low and behold later in the week a former pastor said hello to me while walking past me in Wal-Mart – this is the same pastor who would walk right past me over and over [and over again] and never even give me a nod when I was a member of his church – in a teaching position with Craig as substitute music director. Go figure. I’ve always tried to be benevolent and say that he’s just not an extrovert – but still….
I worked on my little ‘30 Days of Thankfulness’ book this week – made from a hardbound library book I picked up a thrift store [with 30 numbered pages, how fun is that?!?] I put some pumpkin paper down on the front, painted the edges, and then finally decided to try this iron-on [for fabric] that I’ve had for a while – and it worked well enough. Used alpha –stickers for the title. I’ll try and remember to share photos of the inside before the end of the month.
It’s been an honor to prayfully walk along side some close friends who said good-bye to a loved one this week. It’s always hard – even when it’s not unexpected. Please keep them in your prayers in the coming days and weeks. LOTS to take care of. Love you guys.
Had a routine doctor’s visit this week, took care of some insurance requirements [whew!] and talked about some things that need to be scheduled during the new year. I’m ready for it. [Nothing serious – I’ll share more later on.]
Youngest is home and we enjoyed the traditional $1 Night Sushi with oldest and his gal. Nothing says family time like raw fish – lol.
I went to Lowe Mill Saturday to sell my wares. Surprised to find that there were less vendors than the last time I was there. And I LOVE my new cart to carry things in /out on my own. – Also still love the set-up that my sweetie designed for me using old shutters.
Today is the last work-day of the week for me as we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving – it’s a favorite holiday for me – with the only expectation being to enjoy family time. And THAT we will – lots of traveling over the next few days. And cooking, something I really do enjoy when I’m not rushed to get it done. Hope you all have a wonderful day – remember your blessings – the greatest one being our Savor who loved us enough to provide redemption.

Felting - a new obsession -

2011-11-18T04:34:00.003-06:00

I wanted to take a moment to share about a new obsession of mine – one that requires so much more time than I want to give to it!

But I love it –

FELTING

I shared a bit about the delightful class I took with Emily Falconbridge during Spark and how we felted soaps – so easy [relatively quick] and just plain fun! I’ve followed Em’s blog for years and it was such a pleasure to learn from her IRL – so of course I jumped at the chance to take her on-line [wet] felting class at BPC. My first dilemma was finding roving that was easily available and wouldn’t break the budget. [We have a historical hardware store downtown that has it – it’s pric-eeey,] but there’s this Yarn Shop

that I’ve been wanting to go in - not too far from work, so I headed over there during lunch one day. And wow! Wish I’d taken a photo of the walls of lovely wool that she had! Delicious! She has just about anything a person could want! Most of her wool is from sheep in Tennessee, and she also has some alpaca [sooooo incredibly soft – although, I don’t think it felts so well] and she’s dyed it in just about every color imaginable. I pulled out basket after basket to choose my colors. Since the ones I chose were dyed straight off the sheep [lol] she put it through a ‘carding’ machine

[she called it something else] to comb it and separate the fibers a bit. Love how it goes in as a rope and comes out so ‘flat’ and usable.

At the end of my hour there [yes, I had to take a little extra lunch leave that day] this is what I ended up with: 4 glorious ounces [a plastic grocery bag full] of roving for about $10.

[She gave me a discount on one ounce.]

LOVE IT. And while I’m also loving the idea of all the projects in my class I’ll admit that I’ve only had time to execute one and I think I’m addicted to these flowers.

So easy to make [although they do take a little time.] I’ll be making lots of them throughout the winter months. [I put a pin on the back so they’re wearable.]

I’m happy that BPC now allows their classes to be accessed forever once you’ve taken them. No more printing of all the instructions and finding a place to store it all – now I can just click on the site and bring them up whenever I’m ready to work on something.

And working with all this wool is making me itchy to get my needles out to knit once again [not that I’ve ever knitted with wool – I’m just not that good. LOL]

Ten on Tuesday

2011-11-15T05:13:00.001-06:00

It was mostly just a normal week for us – temps are cold and warm, like a southern ‘fall’ should be. I harvested the last of the peppers and gave them away. Still have some tomatoes ripe on the vine as I type this, and am contemplating if I should try to save the last basil plant that’s still living by bringing it inside for the winter [LOVE the idea of fresh basil through out the winter – caring fro the plant, not so much.] Brought the bougainvillea in and hoping it can winter over inside…enjoying these little mums that I planted last year…
I’ve had this urge to do a cartwheel for a few weeks now – strange? Perhaps. [Many] years ago my sister and I made a semi-pack that we’d do a cartwheel every year on Thanksgiving – but who can remember the last time that happened? Still. I kept thinking, I want this 50+ year old woman to give it a try – thinking that I’d probably break a leg or something… so one evening this week when I was out in the backyard with EmmaLou I just went for it.
Wow. Wasn’t expecting the WRISTS to be weak. Ha. I made it all the way through, but, wow, the wrists hurt. LOL. And sadly, that may be the last cartwheel this old woman ever does. SO glad I didn't break my wrists.
We went down to see our city’s new veteran’s memorial after church on Sunday – it’s so very nice and respectful. Gives a great history of the USA ’s defense of our freedom and honors those from our area who have lost lives fighting for our country.
Enjoyed dinner with good friends on 11-11-11. So fun. We’ve tried to get together each year on these ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ dates. But as life has gotten busier we’ve missed a few years. [Missed our boys – had them text me a photo at 11:11 a.m.]
Here’s a quick [?] run-down: 01-01-01 – Disney; 02-02-02 – bowling; 03-03-03 – Pizza Hut; 04-04-04 – picnic on the mountain; 05-05-05 – Cinco de Mayo potluck; 06-06-06 – cook out; 07-07-07 – The Melting Pot; 08-08-08 – we moved both boys to Auburn; 09-09-09: who knows? I have one photo taken that day of a scrapbook frame I completed and other photos that month included Drew's birthday and mine and Craig's trip to the sunflower field; 10-10-10 – Mentone antiquing; 11-11-11 – Macaroni Grill; and 12-12-12 –? We’re hoping to do a progressive dinner all together – but we’ll see what the next year has planned for us.
Cropped with friends on Saturday – so thankful that I have a group close-by to get together with regularly. And it’s so fun that we’re different in lots of ways and yet still find so much in common while sharing this love [addiction - ?] of paper crafting. And I say that because everyone had different projects to work on – cards, and mini-books, and vinyl lettering on glass jars [fun!] and scrapbook pages, – and I finished up 24 tags for a swap [did two pages too!].
I’m taking a couple of on-line classes right now – I always think its great to try new things. One is [wet] felting which is so fun, but I’m not sure I have the patience for it – lol. Still – I’m loving the projects, the flowers in particular. The other is a Christ-based creativity / art class. I’ve done one painting from that class that I’m happy with, but I love the way it stretches my thought process. And Craig and I worked on a little ‘trophy’ project for a friend at work who’s retiring; should be fun – we enjoyed putting it all together.
I’m also enjoying discussing Mama’s homework with her as I type it up for the class she’s attending [via DVD] – ‘Jesus and The Gospels” with Dr. Luke Timothy Johnson from Yale and Emory Universities . Love seeing her involved in so many things in her new community.
And lastly, praying for so many I know who are dealing with illness – their own, and that of their loved ones. Praying God’s peace will be felt as they walk through these days.

Once a Month [Old Stuff] GiveAway

2011-11-13T05:37:00.000-06:00

Thanks so much for all of your comments throughout the month!
I love reading them and think it's so fun to share together!
I appreciate each of you taking the time to stop by and visit!

The winner of this month's OMGiveaway is

bfran55 :Enjoyed your blog. Looking forward to visiting again.

Send me your snail-mail address: Judy@faithabsedpages.com and I’ll get a box in the mail to you!

And remember that the NEXT winner will be chosen from COMMENTS ON THIS POST.

So comment away on any of the posts from the last month!

Deadline to leave a comment: November 30th

Check back with me at the end of December to see if you won!

[I’ve been cleaning out stuff from two big events this month and my give-away box is over-flowing! ]

I look forward to getting together and ‘talking’ with each of you then!

favorite photo friday -

2011-11-11T06:28:00.001-06:00

So here's one of my all-time favorite photos

- love that it's [somewhat] not posed
- love that we're all enjoying being together!

Taken at the San Diego Zoo a few years back.
Those little feet refreshers ARE very nice after walking the hills of the zoo.
I was still recovering from an untreated torn meniscus cartilage
[yes, I'm stubborn like that -]
so it wasn't my feet that were hurting so much as my WHOLE LEG.
And those hills just about killed me...
Still, I do love that zoo --
And seeing the koalas up close and personal was worth any pain I had...

Spidey --

2011-11-10T05:41:00.000-06:00

is without a doubt the biggest piece of art I've ever done -

When the oldest moved into his own place a while back - he bought a quirky little [?] house that has [extremely] tall ceilings running down the middle – and I wanted to do a HUGE piece of mixed media art for his living room wall – and as with most of the stuff I do, I had to ponder it in my head a bit before I took the first step. First I had to have a general theme to think on - he’s into comics [the weird ones – ha; the ones I’m unfamiliar with] so I asked what his favorite comic might be and he surprised me by saying Spiderman. I asked about an appropriate quote for this and without hesitation he stated, “With great power, comes great responsibility.”

Love it. So I started the mulling process in my head with Spidey ---

Then I had to consider the background – I wanted it BIG – but all the things I was considering were also HEAVY and I didn’t want it to be too difficult to get up on that wall --- so I’d almost settled on using a piece of paneling with some hangers on the back [loved the idea of the grooves going horizontally] when I was at our local Re-Store and saw this HUGE office white board [$10] and immediately called my local pick-up and delivery guy [aka my sweetie] to come haul it home for me.

I decided to hang it upside down and then if oldest wants he can add little led lights underneath the over-hang so it looks like a miniature billboard.

First, I painted the silver edging black. Then he pulled out all of his old calculus homework / tests and I mod-podged those to the back. I added strips of cardboard and tissue paper, etc. to give it a little texture.Next I painted and painted and painted some more. I used three – four different shades of both yellows and greens [cheap paint form Hobby Lobby.] This thing is bigger than our dining room table and took hours to dry between coats. Another coat of podge went over it all [I make my own, non-glossy, podge: 1 part water to 3 parts white glue {a gallon was $10 at home Depot} that works well.] Then I struggled a bit with whether to stamp on it or not – and finally settled on using my rolling stamp from Fiskars with stars on it. I also used a small print texture stamp and then rubbed the stamp pad over the top of the entire thing to catch the ridges and bumps of the base layer.

Next step = Spidey. I used a BIG old cardboard box cut open and flattened; it has different heights depending on the packaging. I had a great desire to decoupage him out with wrapping papers of patterned reds and blues – but I finally decided that painting was the best way for me to go. I’d purchased several Spiderman decorative pieces [invitations, party bags, etc.] and scanned the one I like best. Then I projected it on a wall where I’d taped the piece of cardboard and traced him on it. I took him to an all-day-crop and settled in on the floor to paint. I have to admit that at the beginning, when I was painting the reds on, I just wasn’t sure he was going to turn out like I was hoping. But as I added the blues and then lastly, the black, I was so surprised to see what I had created. [I used several shades of blues and reds to give him a little dimension and shading, and I used a black pen to define his eyes a bit.] I coated him with glossy mod podge and he just popped with color! [I’d forgotten how much I LOVE glossy!]Next, I cut him out using a craft knife [I found that holding it up a bit helped cut through the layers of cardboard more easily] and then trimmed with scissors. I positioned him on the background and started working on the quote. And let me just say – do as I say – not as I do – lol. Start small and cut bigger if you’re not happy with it. [I started with 4 inch letters and then moved down to 3 inch and then down to 2.5 inches and then down to 1.5 – lol – and as a result, I have LOTS of red / blue alphas in the above quote that I’d love to give away – if you can use them – just let me know! So glad I got THAT paper on sale at Hobby Lobby.] And in the end I decided I liked the black letters better with a little hint of red behind the focus words [which are also a bit larger.] – I used the Superman cartridge [cricut] for the alpha and was pleased to hear someone say, ‘Oh, you used the comic alphabet too!’ when they first saw it. –It’s all in the details, y'all. Fun. Another coat of podge sealed it all in -

And then I glued Spidey down – I used my E- 6000 glue and he’s been propped against the fireplace for a few days now and he’s still holding on! I sure don’t want to get it up on the wall only to have him fall off, so I may go back and add some hot glue around the edges that are off the base a bit.

Oldest thinks it’s neat and I’m looking forward to getting it to its new home. [we’ll have to transport as Spidey won’t fit in a car -] But for now – I’m glad it’s off the dining room table.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-11-08T05:30:00.001-06:00

LOVING this fall weather! And I’ll surely miss the view from my office once we’re moved to the new building!
And I so enjoy having time to [just] sit out on our patio [at home] to enjoy God’s creation.
I took some time this week to get all the scrappy – creative stuff unpacked and sorted [for give-away] and put away. Between the two events in October – there was a lot of STUFF.
And I’m taking two on-line classes right now so I also have a lot STUFF out for works-in-progress. I’ll share them soon.
Soooo happy to report that little Emma Lou has [for the most part] gotten the hang of house-training. Something just clicked during the weekend she traveled with us to Atlanta. Sooooo happy to have the doggie gates down. [Of course – she’s crated when we’re not home.]
It’s hard to believe that there’s only a few weeks left in 2011 – in some ways it seems like it’s gone in a flash and in others, it seems time has lingered on. I usually pre-post the monthly quotes when I work out / town in January – and there’s only one pending now. Wow.
So I’m making plans for blog changes for 2012. I want to be mindful about my posts. One category I’m hoping to add: family heirlooms. As we’ve been going through things in Mama’s house it’s clear that the BIG things aren’t always the most meaningful.
Sooo fun to have youngest and his gal home for the weekend – love that our boys enjoy spending time together. And this is another one of Craig’s toys that he’s enjoying tinkering with –
We enjoyed a nice steak dinner before THE GAME on Saturday – and I made this little dish to go along with it. YUM-eee. It was an attempt to be healthy, but then we finished the meal with these. LOL. Warning: Apple Dumplings should only be made when you have a group of people to share them with –
And lastly, I must say once again, how thankful I am for multi-symptom cold meds – lol. It reduces the swelling and takes care of clearing the sinuses all in one [well two] little pill[s]. Yay. Because of them [and the zyrtec I take nightly] I have not been to the doctor since January –

2011-11-06T05:45:00.001-06:00

Imagination is the true magic carpet.
- Norman Vincent Peale
[Photo: Utah 2011 - From my friend Nancy -]

Ten on Tuesday

2011-11-01T04:47:00.001-05:00

In the past 14 days I’ve been away from home for nine days - in five states and traveled [most of the day for] six days – and I’ll admit – I’m VERY HAPPY to have a week with no out / town things on the calendar!
The travel’s all been for good things [well, one day was work related-] and as you know I had a blast in Utah – but also enjoyed seeing family in Knoxville as one of the youngest members of our family celebrated his 6^th birthday.[Photo taken by his mom-]
We also decided to carry-over a work trip into a quick overnight in Atlanta to pick up THE BATHROOM SINK. Guess which one we got? [Hint – it’s been discontinued and we had to get it quick!] We also enjoyed a delish meal at a favorite place – Pappadeux – where Craig had craw-fish ettouffe’ and I had the most delicious cheese grits – ever!
We took EmmaLou along and we both agree she won’t be a constant traveling companion – but she did SO WELL – it made us very happy.
LOVED seeing the beautiful fall colors as we traveled –
Had time with my sweet Mama on Sunday as we went over to ‘help’ her sort through some of her clothes [in quotes because my sister did most of the helping there-] and gathering of things from the house. Mom has never been one to hold on to things – but there’s still lots of ‘stuff’ to make decisions about.
We’ve decided to finalize some of those when all the gr-sons are there for Thanksgiving. There’s already a ‘for sale’ sign up in the yard – change is hard, but good too.
Missed the mark on my goal of completing the HUGE mixed media project for the oldest – I had hoped to have it done by the end of the month – it’s SO CLOSE – lol. Hopefully I’ll be sharing photos of it NEXT week.
But THIS ONE is coming home for the weekend, so who knows – yay. [Yes - the kangaroo -]
Can you believe the holiday season is fast approaching? [It happens every year – lol] The cooler weather we’re having is really helping to set the mood!

Halloween Blog Hop

2011-10-28T21:24:00.005-05:00

Welcome to Scrappin' Kat's Halloween Blog Hop!
You probably came here from Adels's blog - http://dleebug.wordpress.com/
I'm happy to share some of my Halloween ideas with you -

This is one of my favorite pieces of wall-art, or mixed media, if you want to call it that - I picked up the frame at goodwill and painted it a rich ornagey-red color [the mat was included] and printed the photo at poster size and cut it into a silhouette. I placed it on a large piece of white paper [from Hobby Lobby, my go-to store] and framed it. 'Halloween' is a piece wooden letters cut from seasonal decor, again from HL, and 'happy' is cut from cricut - both of these are glued to the outside of the frame. Love it. Especially now that our boys are in their 20s.Here are my pumpkins - made of foam! I'm not sure where the jack-o-lantern came from he laughs and flashes when activated by motion. The other pumpkins are from Michaels - I've had them for years. I cut a hand-drawn star out of paper and used it as a pattern to randomly draw stars all over the pumpkins. Then I used a regular knife to cut them out, stuffed them with Christmas lights, voila - fall pumpkins! These actually stay out front until after Thanksgiving.
And last, but not least are these little vintage goodies. I searched 'vintage halloween' and saved the images in a file then printed out my favorites and put them on pieces of black card stock and tied them on ribbon around half-pint jars filled with candy corn. [How's that for a run-on sentence? LOL]Quick - easy - fun gifties!

I'd love to see what kinds of Halloween goodies you've created - please share a link so I can see them! Also, be sure to scroll [waaaaaaaay] down to my Once a Month Giveaway post to leave a comment for a flat-rate box choked full of fun!

Now it's time to continue the Halloween fun as you hop on over to Kari's blog for more fun! http://purplefuntastickcreations.blogspot.com

The complete list for this blog hop is below -
if you get lost, just check here and you can find your way!

Kathy - http://scrapinkats.blogspot.com

Heather http://craftyscrapbooker.blogspot.com

Andrea http://creatingwithandrea.blogspot.com

Kelly http://blsd2scrp.blogspot.com/

Adele http://dleebug.wordpress.com/

Judy http://bepresentbereal.blogspot.com

Kari http://purplefuntastickcreations.blogspot.com

I'm not sure where to start

2011-10-27T19:43:00.009-05:00

in sharing with you about all the good things at I've enjoyed 'knowing' Margie since I first met her at CKU - Atlanta in '06 and have followed her blog ever since - enjoying her creativity from 'afar' - and also seeing her at

Inspired & CKU-Nashville & CKU-Provo thorough the years,
but the truth is - I haven't been to a BIG event since '09
and I really was looking for one that had
teachers I admired and respected in the crafting industry.
And I found that at Much thanks goes to Nancy who kept all of us Sparklers on track in the months and weeks leading up to the event through the [sparksisters] blog and facebook group.The pre-event dinner and swap was a blast and I so appreciate all the work she put into everything to help us feel well-prepared for the MAIN event!And since I went 'solo' it was so nice to have a chance to meet some other sparklers before we walked into the crazy creative connection the next day!It was so fun hanging out with Erin and Barbara!
From the moment I drove up I could tell THIS was different from any event I had been to - everywhere you looked there was creative goodness sparking our imaginations!HUGE THANKS goes to all of the teachers
and behind the scenes planners [Meghan and Amy you know who you are!]It was all so lovely and almost too much to soak in!The day started with a short welcome from Margie and
a little pep talk [and beautiful songs] from Mindy Gledhill.I loved having my apron signed by teachers and classmates throughout the weekend. SO FUN. And easy - I ironed the logo on a baker's apron [$5 at a restaurant supply store] and the ruffles came from a thrift store. A great memory all in one spot!
And then we headed to our classes - and I'll be honest, I chose Spark over another event this weekend [CKU-Reunion] because of the teachers, pure and simple. Some I've learned from before and some I met for the very first time and I was not disappointed!
We made this darling nest necklace with Cathe Holden [I put mine on my name tag - isn't all just cute as can be?!?]- the first time I've EVER made a piece of jewelry and while I may not have understood the terms she used the sparklers at my table helped me out and I *love* how my little nest turned out!And then we headed into another class with April Meeker to do stamp carving - I'll admit that somehow this class was never on my radar screen - I was unprepared and had no idea what we were doing. I walked out thinking - never again - but then as I pondered it I thought of all those potato Christmas tree stamps I've made through the years and I just may give this more intricate technique a try in a few weeks.
From there went to Jen Jensen's class on Junk Journals - this was sooooooooo fun! I loved learning how she took an old book and transformed it into a special scrapbook. It's multi-layered and we didn't finish it in class - but I'm looking forward to completing it with heritage photos of my mom and her nine sisters. [I actually found a japanese book on flower arranging at DI thrift store the day before and used it. - but I have another old book that I'm using for my Spark scrapbook as well!]
[[photo coming!]]
I finished that day by learning how to do reverse applique with Amy Tan[gerine]!! This was so easy! I love my bag and will add to the quote in either embroidery or just plain ole pen. Either way - I know it will be fun to use and I can say that I have a partial Amy Tan original because she sewed one of my letters and helped to cut them out. So fun.
Throughout the day we had the opportunity to shop at the Artist Market - a couple of rooms FILLED with hand-made creativity. I wanted it all! But airplane travel can put a little squash on that... I did buy a beautiful bead & wire tree necklace, a blue hair pin, and a donna downey apron. Love it all.
That evening our hours were filled with make'ntakes and I so enjoyed having the opportunity to see new products and give them a try before buying them. Flowers, flags, and butterflies seemed to be the order of the evening and it was fun to see different takes on each of them.We also embossed with the Letterpress and made earrings too.
The next day I was giddy with excitement because of the classes and teachers!
Donna Downey is soooo inspiring and I was thrilled to be in class with her showing us how to use pan pastels - love the way my project turned out and I'm sure I'll have some pan pastels on my wish list soon! I've had classes with Donna in the past - at a crop in D.C. and a couple of shops over in Georgia. She's as fun as she is creative. Loved it.
And this view from some of our classrooms - wow!Next we went into Christy's classroom - and y'all already know that I love these girls!
Christy Tomlinson's a great teacher on-line and even better IRL - loved having the opportunity meet her and play with some of her artsy stuff. - And I loved using that ranger Heat It too! That and some of those faber casteel markers will be added to the ever-growing wish list! lol.I have to say that it worked out so that I saved the best for last -
soap felting with Emily Falconbridge!I've followed Em's blog for years now - through two pregnancies and a move to Australia and back for sure... I promised her I wasn't a stalker - but I was over-the-top thrilled to meet her in person and soak up her crafty goodness! I loved this class!! It's unbelievably easy and everyone's little soaps turned out so great!
[Mine had a pink heart on it until my little Emma Lou - chihuahua ate it - lol]
If you ever have a chance to take a class from her - do it. She is so calm and easy-going and just
an all 'round great teacher!So let me take a breath and share a little about the food. Gladys [aka Amy] did a TERRIFIC job coordinating our meals and snacks and extra goodies - giant cinnamon rolls, chicken salad crossaints, grilled chicken and roasted veggies, and cake balls, and truffles [I just ate the last of mine as I typed this -lol], and cookies, and candies, and cupcakes - Oh my!
Everything was delicious!
We ended the event with music from Sara Sample - and I can say she is just the sweetest girl [she was our table-mate] and does a great job entertaining! Afterwards may of the sparklers went up to the soiree at Dear Lizzy until midnight- I passed on that one since I had a 4 a.m. wake-up call.
I could go on and on --- and will shop up my photos and get them on facebook eventually --
But I'll end with encouraging you to start saving your pennies now so that you can
attend SPARK 4
- many girls shared rooms and ended up paying only $20 /night -
[I stayed at a different hotel and used points.]
Or plan on attending any crafty event of your choice - going outside your comfort zone into areas you're not familiar with really does give your creativity a SPARK that will carry over into the crafts that you love.
I hope to see you there next year!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-10-25T05:49:00.003-05:00

I’ve had a really enjoyable week that started when I hopped out of bed at 4:30 Wednesday morning, drove to Nashville, and caught a plane to Utah –
You may have noticed those USA Today articles that tagged our little town as the most expensive in the US to fly in / out – so it’s worth the drive [and parking] to fly out of Nashville – although, we’ve been known to get a deal now and then down our way…
It was an adventure since it’s the first time in a long time that I’ve traveled so far alone. Craig was doing his own thing with some fishing buddies and would have been left on his own for HOURS if he’d gone with me, so it worked out okay – we’d plan things a little differently if we had it to do over… but we both had fun [I’ll share more on my reason for going in a few -]
LOVED seeing the first glimpse of mountains when we were about 160 miles out of Denver – whether I’m driving or flying – they always look like clouds on the horizon when I first see them… LOVED that they had snow on them already!
And I love Utah. Some may [or may not] know that I went to school out there my freshman and sophomore years – I can still sing most of the Cougar Fight Song [Rise and Shout! The Cougars are out and on their way to fame and glory…] so it will always be a special place to me. Would I want to live there? Maybe, -- probably not - but I do love being there on occasion!
My first stop was IKEA – and I wanted to BUY so many things but had to keep weight [for luggage] in mind… I did pick up some of those cute pedestal photo frames… but I was really there to look at the bathroom sinks again to make a final decision on what I want for our [ever] upcoming re-do. And while I took photos of three different bases I’m still undecided… the sink-top is for sure the Lilla’ngen because it’s only 16 inches deep --- love it. Which do y’all prefer? One - Two [different sink - but I love the base] - or Three -
I shopped a little on Thursday, but am so NOT a buyer that I only picked up a new purple scarf. [Oops – can’t say that – I *DID* pick up a few things at the Deseret Industries Thrift Store!] And I sure enjoyed driving up [& down] State Street from American Fork to Orem . I shouldn’t be surprised to see how whole communities have overtaken the farms and rural areas... I can remember getting a speeding ticket out on I-15 near Lehi [years ago] and having to go to someone’s HOUSE to pay for it – now Lehi is a little city of its own. Wow.
I stayed near what used to be the only Orem exit [near Utah Lake ] – now Orem ’s expanded northward so that there are 3 or 4 exits – lol. It was nice to be near University Mall and things that are still familiar – drove down the hill to Provo, out the canyon a bit, around by our church [and noticed that the Community Church that served us non-Mormons dinner on First Sunday evenings is still there,] and had lunch at In and Out – oh my! I’d forgotten how truly GOOD that place is!!
I was sad to see that the [really] old Provo Tabernacle looked like it was being torn down – I always thought that was such a beautiful building – and that each time I visit there are more modern buildings being built in the little downtown area, and I have to say that I’m still a little disturbed to see a HUGE empty field where our dorms were, but there is still SO MUCH that is the same around campus. And mostly, I just enjoyed being in the shadow of those wonderful mountains of Utah.
Starting Thursday evening the crazy – creative – artistic – extravaganza began. I was busy from early morning ‘til late at night soaking up all the goodness of Spark [3] – The Event. And then I was back on the road to the airport at 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning to see my sweetie. [And I saw a shooting star come over the mountains -] It was One. Great. Trip. FULL of creative goodness – I’ll share more in a few days – after I catch up on some sleep – lol! But I’ll leave you with this - It's so FUN to attend artsy weekends where I can TRY new and different things –

Once a Month [Old Stuff] GiveAway

2011-10-23T05:04:00.000-05:00

Thanks so much for all of your comments throughout the month!
I love reading them and think it's so fun to share together!
I appreciate each of you taking the time to stop by and visit!

The winner of this month's OMGiveaway is

SusieScrapper said...: Saw your post on the Fiskateers and will be sure to follow you. You have been a busy lady and thanks for the chance to win some goodies! :) [September 26, 2011 10:58 AM]

Send me your snail-mail address: Judy@faithabsedpages.com and I’ll get a box in the mail to you!

And remember that the NEXT winner will be chosen from COMMENTS ON THIS POST.

So comment away on any of the posts from the last month!

Deadline to leave a comment: October 30th

Check back with me at the end of November to see if you won!

[I’m pretty sure there’ll be some extra-special things in THAT box

and I'll share WHY in a week or so -- ]

And I look forward to getting together and ‘talking’ with each of you then!

Favorite Photo Friday

2011-10-21T05:42:00.001-05:00

This is a favorite photo of mine – and a favorite memory as well! First – here’s the photo untouched – straight-out-of-the-camera – from my dad’s slides.

LOVE that it captures me and a neighbor friend sitting on our back stoop with the little wire fence that surrounded our yard. LOVE that is has one our favorite family dogs [Nora – we learned a lesson in genetics with that one, didn’t we? LOL] and LOVE that we have on similar [‘matching’] parkas – all the rage that year, I’m guessing! If you look closely you can see that there's also one of my little black kitties sitting with us. So Sara Lou and I shared many – many childhood memories and one of the favorites was preparing for and doing Halloween together!

We would plan for weeks how we were going to dress, draw walls full of murals [on butcher paper] with witches and jack-o-lanterns and grave yards and have fun going to the school carnival and trick-or-treating on our street! Yet, somehow I can’t find even one Halloween photo of us together! So as you can see I just cropped and enlarged the photo [using picnik - above], found some clip-art witches hats and re-created my own memory.

Love the journal strips that quickly tell the story of our childhood Halloween fun [an idea from Stacy Julian a few years back-] – and I love the giant title that overlaps the photo. Note: her hat does go off the page a bit, but the rest is nice and straight to satisfy my ocd - despite how the photo looks - lol] I’ll be honest – this was WAY OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE – but now it’s one of my very favorite layouts – and it comes out year after year to be displayed during October.

What have you done outside your comfort zone?

I’d love to see it - post a link in the comments so I can take a look!

Emma and Pawley

2011-10-20T05:19:00.000-05:00

Just a quick share of some photos of EmmaLou [who weighs about 4 pounds now]

and Pawly [who is a good 10 pounds of serious muscle.]

We so enjoy watching them together! It’s a far cry from their first meeting back in the spring when Pawly was having nothing to do with this little rat-like dog that was visiting his space! Now they take turns running and chasing each other and ‘pretend’ attacking.

And Pawly is always game for this –

except for the occasional times when EmmaLou barks and chases him

[and yes, he runs from her, a little frightened that this little thing has the audacity to attack HIM.]

And of course he takes swipes at her [you can see that we barely caught his paw in the photo of them on the pumpkins a few weeks back]

- He's quick! – But doesn't seem to have the intent to really harm her [but they’re never left unsupervised either, so who really knows – smile.]

So funny, because we all know that Pawly could easily take EmmaLou down any time he wants. Afterall, he’s ‘harvested’ squirrels that are bigger than she is ---

Ten on Tuesday

2011-10-18T05:17:00.000-05:00

I worked in Montgomery and Birmingham a couple of days this week [had the opportunity – lol- to attend a workshop from 5 – 7:30 one evening.] And we celebrated ‘Bosses’ Day a bit early – gave them some HUGE mums [so gorgeous!] from the Montgomery Farmer’s Market [downtown.] This is such a fun place to browse through – check it out if you’re ever there! But be careful if you’re hungry – those caramel cakes and fried pies will call your name!
Did the Ghost Walk downtown on Friday evening – and let me say that I believe spiritual warfare is REAL [I’ve been in its midst and know firsthand how draining it can be!] but at the same time I can do the ‘pretend’ thing and enjoy a good ghost story now and then [afterall I was trained early with these stories being told by a kerosene lantern out in my MamaM's storm cellar!] – We *never* expected these little ghost walks to be sponsored and guided by people who are members of a ‘paranormal’ society and believe it’s all real… As a result we listened to the historic parts, enjoyed seeing the older homes up close, tuned out a lot, and just enjoyed being together with friends we’ve hung out with for the past 20+ years.
Okay – should I even talk about this here? When I was having my eyebrows done the other day I was persuaded to let her wax my upper lip and chin area too – I don’t have a lot of stragglers there – but I have a few that can drive me nuts [you younger girls will know what I speak of soon enough- lol] And the verdict is still out on whether I’d do it again – I think I notice a few little pimples – small and barely noticeable -- this week [in-grown hairs maybe?] Have any of you done this? What did you think?
I’m still picking peppers and tomatoes! And basil! Enjoyed a fresh pasta sauce one evening this week. Yum.
I also enjoyed a day of crafting on Saturday with ‘Scrapping for a Cure’ – a charity event for cystic fibrosis. Watching Rachel [the event coordinator] watch the video about her little girl who is diagnosed with CF always brings tears to my eyes. What a burden this young family bears knowing the reality of CF and hoping desperately for a cure within their child’s lifetime. She works tirelessly to get everything donated for these events so that every dollar that is given goes directly to CF. Go HERE to see this sweet video and contact Rachel about donating –
I was there for about 12 hours and only completed 2 pages and a couple of cards on my own – lol! We had lots of cool classes and I did a couple of cards, some embossing [fun!], a mosaic layout [tedious, but I *may* give it another try-], and the cutest little notebook during those! But I mostly worked on THIS – it’s a part of the HUGE piece of art I’m working on for Drew’s living room. I hope to have it completed and ready to share with you by the end of the month!
Sunday afternoon I did some straightening and cleaning and re-painting of the kitchen table – we’ve had what I call an old ‘farm table’ for 20+ years [LOTS of dents and marks from being used for anything and everything through the years – LOVE IT.] We painted it black a few years back – and who knows why, the kind of paint, maybe – but it’s been so yucky / sticky since then. And I was TIRED OF IT and wanted to take care of it on my own – got new paint – and I ‘think’ it worked. Yippee!! Time will tell…
Well now Craig has TWO new toys [but he’s such a savvy shopper that I can’t complain-] After some repairs he and Drew had a fun time checking them out on some trails – and came home with just a few adjustments planned.
I was so disappointed to find that the little diner on our courthouse square has closed. It’s been there since we moved to Huntsville and one of our earliest memories is stopping in after the Christmas Parade when Drew was two years old and having a homeless guy draw a beautiful Santa for him – I still have that drawing in a scrapbook somewhere –
Ahh – but life goes on, doesn’t it? Speaking of change – Mom called me the other day asking that I pick up an Auburn outfit for her. [What?!?!] She’s never been one to follow football – but apparently her new group of friends all dress to show their allegiance to another team each Saturday and she wants to show her support for the school her grandsons attend[ed.] FUN.

2011-10-17T05:24:00.001-05:00

I love a little Halloween fun - and had the time recently to pull some of my favorite things out - and I added a few new things too. So here's a little walk-thru:
First up is our drop leaf table that we use as a sideboard in our dining area. It has my favorite glass pumpkin [love it!] and wooden vase of fall leaves and flowers [silk, of course] and the little mixed media piece I did last year - a frame from a thrift sotre painted black + old dictionary pages + vintage Halloween art [off the internet] + glittery pumpkins cut in half and glues to the outside. SO fun. I went to The Dollar Tree and picked up the little tree, tombstone, and crow [oh and the frame too.] And I created the subway art from this link [I cropped it down, printed it on a transparency, put it over some favorite green paper from My Mind's Eye, and then put it in the frame that I had painted black with purple glitter. Fun.

Next is our old wardrobe that sits in the corner of the living room - I know I've shared this before - but I love this piece of furniture because my grandmother had one just like it - so glad I found this several years ago! I left the spray paint art, moved the leaf garland forward [it stays to the back most of the year] and moved the candles from another spot. I added the --foam-- pumpkin and metal basket full of --silk-- leaves and the purple metal pumpkins. I picked these up at Goodwill for a couple of dollars each. They looked like this before I embellished them a bit: This will stay put through November. So fun!

And lastly is the old dresser and mirror right inside our front door - I put the little tree garland up again this year, added my witches hat [got the hat at a deep discount store last year -- seriously - Halloween stuff was 10c an article-- and used a child's costume for the flowers and decor' around the top,] and wooden bin, as well as this framed leaf print I picked up at a Thirft Store [already framed] for a dollar. I'll move the hat and the rest will stay through Thanksgiving.

Oops~! It's changed already!I found this vinyl cling at one of our all-time favorite discount stores for a quarter! So I rushed home - pulled out this frame [and mat] that I got at a Thrift Store for $2.00 and put some scrapbook paper in side and the vinyl cling on the outside of the glass - so cute! It'll stay out 'til after Halloween and then the pretty fall leaf print will come back out - lol. [And I love those pumpkins with a little purple glitter on them!]I love to add a few happy things each season. And I know you probably do too - would love to see some of your ideas. And as you can see, I always decorate in a thrifty way - that way I can change things in and out each year without hurting the budget!

Some friends and I were talking the other day

2011-10-13T05:24:00.002-05:00

about our crafty organizing and how our ‘systems’ tend to evolve as the way we craft changes from time-to-time. Have I shared this with you already? [Hope not!] I think I’ve alluded to the fact that I have slowly pushed Craig out of the upstairs office as my crafting *STUFF* has grown. [But that’s okay because he’s taken over the oldest’s deserted bedroom and is making it into a mighty nifty little home office of his own. [Lucky dog can work from home!] I've always had the window alcove as my scrappy space - and love it still [some of the organization has changed but you can see the foundation of it in the post list to the right.] We also have a little niche that holds our computer armoire perfectly and a couple of nice bookshelves and a futon on opposite walls. So now I will share that this is the where I paint:

I’ve moved some things in and out [and returned storage options to the store] as I’ve found what works best for me right now – I’ll divide it into thirds and share a little more details:

First off, the computer sets to the right so I tend to use the rolly computer chair for ‘puting and crafting. So there's a chair to the left that holds a bin [formerly above the scrapbook desk] with patterned papers that I use for backgrounds or clothing for my girls [sorted by color and divided with chipboard, of course!] My aprons hang over it when not in use. To the left of the desk I've placed a TV tray behind the door to give ma little more extended space and I have a little bookshelf that I got at the ReStore [Habitat for Humanity] for $5 - already painted that gorgeous green! It holds old dictionaries, hymnals, and project bases. On top is a large basket that has files full of ideas in it and in front is a big basket with all my [cheap] paints - divided in smaller baskets by colors.

The middle of the desk is where I work - it's covered in layers and layers of newspaper so that I can just lift off a layer when I need a clean surface. You can see that most of my materials [including stamps and inks] are divided in those little green bins I picked up at Old Time Pottery. I have shoe boxes with drawers to the right and some of my larger stamps and extra supplies are in those. The panels behind have screws to hold recent work [but I did the Artist Market the day these photos were taken so they were still packed away.] This is a folding screen that I've used on top of a table in shows - love it [also from the ReStore - $12 - I painted it at home.

To the right you can see how I have the shoe boxes stacked to give a little more storage room - There's a couple of baskets that hold pens and brushes, my green pedestal bowl full of nick knacks, some notebooks that hold notes from art classes I've taken and a cake pedestal I got at Hobby Lobby a few years back for 80% off - love it too. It has a giant teacup on top that holds additional 'extras.' In front of it is another of my favorite things - the old train case I picked up at an estate sale - it perfectly holds my CTMH stamps sets and other various stamps that I use occasionally. It's so easy to throw some ink in on top and take it to a crop with me!

So this is what works for me - right now... lol - I still have plans to take the closet doors off [they are just behind the train case] and put shelves in it. I'd love to have my sewing stuff in this room and also some of the other crafty stuff that's stored elsewhere. I know my organization may not work for everyone - but take what you can use and who knows? I'll probably be changing it again as time goes by --

Ten on Tuesday

2011-10-11T05:18:00.000-05:00

I had a couple of early mornings working out of town this week - and so enjoyed the gorgeous view of the foggy lakes and mountains as I drove. I love living in our little neck of the woods!
I'm still picking tomatoes and peppers from the garden and had time to give the back yard a good clipping - wondered if this was the last cut of the season? - I love the mindless task of mowing lawn, where it forces me to slow down a bit, and has built-in time to think about things...
Craig and I had a 'dinner and movie' night one evening - ate at The Olive Garden - the new mushroom sauce is so delicious and watched Soul Surfer and something with Reese Witherspoon and Owen Wilson [How Do You Know - maybe?.] Good, in different ways...
And I worked on some blog posts for the coming weeks. AND one day I wasn't on the computer AT ALL until the evening - nice.... [I sometimes think I spend a little too much time just surfing through when I could be using that time in better ways. It's not that computer time is BAD - it's just not always THE BEST.]
I enjoyed being a part of the Artist Market at Lowe Mill Saturday afternoon. It's a free venue that promotes local artists. I wanted to check it out since I hope to participate several times before Christmas. And while Craig helped me get in and set up - I was able to get it down and out in two quick trips just using my rolly cart.
It's such a fun place - a renovated [cotton-?] mill with these HUGE windows letting in wonderful light throughout! And let me just say that it's a different community than I usually hang out with [are these *real* artists? - some of you know what I'm talking about] but fun, still!
I was complaining about my [drive-thru] breakfast one morning this week [honestly, I only drive-through a few mornings a week - lol] - it took them an few extra minutes to get it to me, and it was 10c more than the regular price, and the bacon was curly - not flat [I get bacon and egg on toast] - then Craig reminded me that our immigration law had gone into effect the day before....
Hey! what do you think is fast becoming my new favorite color? I happened to notice one afternoon as I was getting ready to leave the office - ha... even the clip board matches.
It was a 'long' weekend for us and I enjoyed having time to 'play' too - I worked on the BIG piece that's still covering our dining room table, I got all of Halloween out - and made a few new little things [will post more on that in a few days] and played with photos too - a big THANK YOU to all our boys' friends who so generously post photos of them on Face Book. This Scrapbooking Mama loves you.
Lots going on in the next few days - my minds' whirling with things that need to be done - and I know I won't meet all of my self-imposed deadlines, but at least I will have a plan - let the list making begin!

Cooking Light [on-line] Supper Club

2011-10-06T05:00:00.000-05:00

Summer Squash and Corn Chowder

Time: 40 minutes

Serve with Tomato Bruschetta: Preheat oven to 425°. Arrange 12 thin baguette slices on a baking sheet; bake at 425° for 6 minutes or until toasted. Rub toasts with cut sides of a halved garlic clove. Combine ½ cup finely chopped tomato, 2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil, 1½ teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, and ⅛ teaspoon salt; top toasts evenly with tomato mixture. [Me: Of course I love this!!]

View Recipe: Summer Squash and Corn Chowder

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

· Calories: 285 - Fat: 9.4g- · Saturated fat: 3.9g- · Monounsaturated fat: 3.4g- · Polyunsaturated fat: 1.2g- · Protein: 13.3g- · Carbohydrate: 37.8g- · Fiber: 5.4g- · Cholesterol: 20mg- · Iron: 1.3mg- · Sodium: 605mg- · Calcium: 260mg

Ingredients

· 2 slices applewood-smoked bacon

· 3/4 cup sliced green onions, divided

· 1/4 cup chopped celery

· 1 pound yellow summer squash, chopped

· 1 pound frozen white and yellow baby corn kernels, thawed and divided

· 2 1/4 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided

· 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

· 1/8 teaspoon salt

· 1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

Preparation

· 1. Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings in pan. Crumble bacon, and set aside. Add 1/2 cup onions, celery, and squash to drippings in pan; sauté 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

· 2. Reserve 1 cup corn; set aside. Place the remaining corn and 1 cup milk in a blender; process until smooth. Add remaining 1 1/4 cups milk, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to blender; process just until combined. Add pureed mixture and reserved 1 cup corn to pan. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/8 teaspoon salt. Ladle about 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 4 bowls; top each serving with about 1 tablespoon bacon, 1 tablespoon remaining onions, and 1 tablespoon cheese.

Kathryn Conrad, Cooking Light
AUGUST 2010

My take: I made this quickly for a scrapbook gathering last week and since I wasn't able to get to the store until the last minute I couldn't find fresh squash [unbelievable!] and forgot to get celery. So I bought frozen squash and used celery seeds instead. I also substituted [real] bacon bits for the bacon and added a tube of the fried corn [so popular in the south] and some potatoes [frozen french fries cut into cubes since I couldn't find the cubed hash browns I usually use in soups.] I just kind of think chowder calls for some potatoes, don't you? I did cook the veggies in some bacon grease I had on hand. And I also upped the spices a bit since it didn't have long to cook. I also served it with our standard french bread and butter since I didn't have time to make the bruschetta.

The verdict - I could hardly taste the squash and when I did it kind of made me think of squash casserole [which I love] so I might make it again. I think it needed a bit more salt - but others didn't necessarily agree - and the crock pot was half empty before the night was over so that's always a good sign. [Note: I cook my soups on the stove and transfer to crock pots to keep warm.] I didn't like the cheese on it. And I had some the next day and thought it was better [but as a rule - I feel that way about most all soups / stews /chili that I make.]

What do you think? Does this sound like something you'd enjoy?

Ten on Tuesday

2011-10-04T04:51:00.000-05:00

Okay – finally! A ‘normal’ week where I was ‘mostly’ in town… my sinus cold is ‘mostly’ gone, and I’m loving this ‘mostly’ cooler weather! Love {{LOVE}} fall in the South with mornings in the 50*s and afternoons in the 80*s! We’ve added extra quilts to the bed, but we haven’t turned on the heat yet!
Enjoyed dinner with oldest and his gal friend. They’ve been to Disney with a group of friends – and I’ll admit, I’m a little jealous…
My regular scrapping group held a 24 hour crop and my hat’s off to those who met this goal! I never intended to stay up all night – I made it ‘til midnight and then went back for a bit Saturday afternoon. And I completed a total of THREE pages – ha.
But I did a little clean-out of my ‘basic tool kit’ and found MY FAVORITE STAMP that I’ve not seen since a class I took in 2009 and have secretly been accusing class mates [or worse, the teacher who complimented it] in my head for taking it… whoa.
THANK YOU LORI for showing me how to use the Close To My Heart circuit cartridge – which choices to make to get the shapes I want. I’ve printed off the guide sheets and copied them on transparent overlays so I can easily use it. [Again, thank you!]
I attended the free [pressure cooking] class at Williams-Sonoma Sunday afternoon. It’s really more of a product demo – Craig had purchased a little pressure cooker a few weeks back from one of his favorite discount stores so I found it interesting to see how these new ones work. They’re sure different from the one my mama has!
And I tried a new craft this week – jewelry. I’m doing a pin swap with some girls before an event later in the month and I’ve never done anything like this before. So here’s what I did: I found some earrings on sale and took them apart and built a pin from them [glued the pin back on the largest part.] It’s two of my favorite colors and since it’s made from earrings I went ahead and made two. Still debating if I’ll buy some alcohol ink to spiff it up a bit more. – I’ll share photos soon!
By the way speeder in my parking garage – I don’t appreciate the beep-beep you gave me as I was TWO STEPS from the building’s entrance – not my responsibility to get out of YOUR way – SLOW DOWN.
And I’ll admit I’m listening to the Michael Jackson doctor trial on XM radio on my way home each day – VERY INTERESTING. I believe he’s guilty of something – just not sure what I would convict on yet… what do y’all think?
And finally, I got the Halloween décor out – I’ll show you more later in the month -

2011-10-03T05:47:00.000-05:00

A vacation spot
out of season
always has a very special magic.
- Max von Sydow

Craig and I had the opportunity

2011-10-02T05:37:00.001-05:00

to be a part of the live audience for this webcast [info – below] scheduled to show on the 4th. I don’t know how much we will be seen - although Craig did ask a pre-programmed question. And you might hear me strategically coughing during the clapping – ha. It was so interesting to be a part of this and see all the ‘behind the scenes’ things that happen to bring together a webcast of this caliber. We were in the room for about an hour and half. The last 15 – 20 minutes were spent filming the audience ‘laughing’, ‘listening seriously’, and ‘clapping enthusiastically’ – it’ll be fun to see how they pull it all together for a 30 minute video clip.

Seriously – let me share a little about Boundaries [and beyond]- if you’ve never read it, go out and see if you can find a copy! [Or Boundaries in Marriage, Boundaries With Children, etc] I’ve been a ‘fan’ of these books for a while now and have always said Boundaries was one of the best books [ever!] out there to help guide our way through the relationships of life. I listen to Dr. Townsend on the web and on xm in the car on The New Life Radio Show and always enjoy their ‘take’ on life situations as they do Bible-based counseling.

During the filming we talked through some of the basic principles of the book and I just kept thinking of all my Brave Girl Club Sisters out there who are searching for a way to find their voice. And while Melody [Ross] has helped guide some to a new way of thinking we need to remember that [even she admits that] she didn’t come up with these ideas on her own – there are many – MANY self-help books available – and as a social worker and someone who desires to grow to be the best I can be – I’ve read A LOT of them. So I just have to say, again, that Boundaries is one of THE BEST books I’ve read [ever!]

Boundaries helps us learn how to say no to the unhealthy things [and people] in our lives. And believe me, doing that helps us lead a more calm and satisfied life! The overview Dr. Townsend gave of Beyond Boundaries during the taping shows that it’s the perfect follow-up book to the Boundaries series. It answers the question of ‘what do we do now?’ I loved one of the audience questions when she said something to the effect of “I’ve found my ‘voice’ and sometimes it might sound a little more harsh than I mean for it to sound – how do I find that equal balance?” And again, I thought of my brave girls club sisters as so many navigate standing up for themselves for the first time in their lives. So I encourage you to take the time to watch the webcast even if you don’t read the books. – I think it will touch your heart. [And not just seeing our smiling [or serious listening faces – ha.] And I’m sure Beyond Boundaries will be a great read – and since we each got a copy the other night I have one to give away – just leave a comment here if you’re interested and I’ll randomly choose the winner within the next week.

Dr. John Townsend’s “Beyond Boundaries” Webcast Launches

Webcast To Be Filmed Before Live Audience

Nashville, Tennessee – Dr. John Townsend will launch his latest book, Beyond Boundaries: Learning How to Trust Again in Relationships (Zondervan, available September 27, 2011), via a worldwide webcast which goes live at 8 pm ET on October 4. Filmed before a live audience, the webcast will feature Dr. Townsend presenting the basic principles of Beyond Boundaries and answering questions from audience members. The worldwide 30-minute webcast will be hosted at Dr. Townsend’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/drtownsendspage). Fans can visit the page now to pre-register for the webcast, which is accessible at no cost to all viewers.

Drs. Townsend and Cloud co-wrote Boundaries in 1992, which has sold more than three million copies and has helped millions of readers establish personal boundaries within difficult relationships. Dr. Townsend penned this “next step” book to help readers discover when and how to connect at a deep level with much less risk of hurt. The foreword to the book was penned by his longtime friend and frequent co-author, Dr. Henry Cloud.

Dr. John Townsend is a psychologist, popular speaker, co-host of the nationally broadcast “New Life Live!” radio program, and a cofounder of Cloud-Townsend clinic and Cloud-Townsend Resources. His best-selling books include the Gold Medallion Award-winning Boundaries, which has sold more than three million copies to date. The entire brand line of Boundaries titles has sold 4.4 million units. www.drtownsend.com

Zondervan is the world's leading Christian publisher of books, whose authors are noted for their excellence in the craft of writing as well as their worthy contribution to the ongoing global evangelical conversation. Visit Zondervan Books on the Internet at www.zondervan.com/books.

Beyond Boundaries: Learning How to Trust Again in Relationships

By Dr. John Townsend
Hardcover book available from Zondervan: September 27, 2011

International Webcast Launch: October 4 at 8 pm EST
To pre-register or view the webcast, visit www.facebook.com/drtownsendspage
For review copies and interviews: pamela@mmpublicrelations.com, 615-595-8321

Yay!

2011-10-01T05:28:00.000-05:00

I'm blessed to have had another of my layouts chosen for the latest addition of Hobby Lobby's Stamping - Stationery - and Scrapbooking Magazine!
[I have layouts in six of the last seven issues - yippee! But I'm not scrapping as much as I used to, so I'm running out of stuff to submit... we'll see if I can get enough done to send good stuff in!]And while I've heard from friends in other parts of the country -- and yes in the southern part of my state -- who have already seen it - it's supposed to go on sale TODAY.
So go on over and pick one up - there's lots and lots of inspirations for paper crafty creations!
This is my layout in the magazine - it's one of my all-time favorite photos from my dad's slides. Taken in the 50's in the rural south. Love the colors [photo is not re-touched] and the young love they show!
Products: My Mind's Eye paper; crochet trim from the sewing aisle; and a mini rose [bought on a stem] from the floral section that I took apart and layered again with a brad in the middle.

Yes - I've turned into one of THOSE people ---

2011-09-29T05:41:00.002-05:00

You know - the ones who dress their dogs and carry them around in a bag...

it started innocently enough - the occasional outing with EmmaLou in the bag over my shoulder [she's so quiet -- surprisingly-- that no one even notices her.] And then I saw this:

And since we had a planned outing with her I suddenly knew she needed to be dressed CUTE.
So [yes] I bought the sock monkey just to get the hoodie - and she tolerated it:

But we thought it might be a bit small so I added some side panels
and a little skirt around the bottom [too cute!]

I'll be honest - SHE HATES the process of putting it on -
but manages well once it's there.
So I'm re-thinking it again and will probably add a
velcro opening to make it easier for her
because she's going to need a little hoodie on these cool nights...

Ten on Tuesday

2011-09-27T05:06:00.003-05:00

Well – you know you’ve got way tooooo much on your mind when you go through the drive-through for breakfast, pay for your food, and then drive away without it… About four blocks away I reached down to get my coffee – and it wasn’t there! LOL. [And yes, I went back to get it.]
Traveled to Montgomery for work this week [and that’s a whole other story!] – Here I am standing in one building looking out at my office building – those big windows on the 2^nd floor are our break room – it looks out to the State Capitol and really is a pretty view. And no, I'm not one of the precious few who gets to park in THAT parking lot [actually our building has parking underneath - but I don't a spot THERE either -] On a good day I get to park a couple of blocks away - on a bad day I find a spot a few blocks DOWN A HILL further away... so there's no doubt that when I'm down south I need to have my walking shoes on!
Craig has taught EmmaLou to twirl ‘round on her hind feet when she gets her treat – so funny. I think she might need a tutu now --
We did the Fourth Thursday sidewalk sale over in Tuscumbia this week – and had mostly lookers – only a FEW people even walked closer to show interest. But! I sold my booth fee [$10] haHAha.
And I LOVE the way our little vendor area looked! These are the same shutters [from the Re-Store] we used when we had booths at scrapbook conventions – we re-vamped them to showcase the art a bit better. LOVE the lights Craig configured for it.
I have a sinus cold [yuck] – and was hoping it was just the changes in the weather – which have been so refreshing, btw, but alas, I think it’s the normal-got-to run-its-[7 day]-course thing… So I’ve basically spent two days in bed…[could be that all the going-going-going has caught up with me - ]
I did gather enough energy to put away the summer fun fiskateer party stuff, clean up the craft area, clean out the garden a bit, [Is this the last harvest? –I sure hope not!] and make some pumpkin bread Time to get ready for the busy fall season.
We also had the opportunity to be a part of the live audience web-cast recording for Dr. John Townsend’s newest book, Beyond Boundaries up at the Opryland Hotel. I listen to him as often as I can on this radio show. They’re just great Christian Counselors who give good Bible-based encouragement and advice. [I’ve been listening to them for over 20 years now! Wow. Thanks Lisa B. for introducing them to me!] I’ll share more about this experience in a few days.
This is the third time I’ve been to the Opryland Hotel since the great flood of May 2010 – and, oh my goodness, they’ve done such a terrific job getting everything restored, you’d never even know it was all under water before! [And isn't THAT unbelievable?!?] It is just as beautiful as ever!
I also took some time to be creative this week and used some chipboard butterflies on smaller canvases – love the way they turned out! I also worked a bit more on the large [HUGE – it’s bigger than our dining room table] piece I’m doing for the oldest. – It’s taken me a bit to work it all out in my head before getting to the actual paper and paint … and it’s coming along nicely now.

Once a Month [Old Stuff] GiveAway

2011-09-25T16:28:00.004-05:00

Thanks so much for all of your comments throughout the month!
I love reading them and think it's so fun to share together!
I appreciate each of you taking the time to stop by and visit!

Soooooo – I know I’ve been a little lax about the ‘ole Once a Month [old stuff] Giveaway lately– truth is I haven’t been scrapping as much as I have in years past so it takes me a bit longer to fill up the box [and the stash leftover from our kit club days has dwindled down as well.] Maybe it should be re-named the Once [ever few] Month[s] Giveaway – lol - NOT YET!!

Truth is – I live a very [cRaZy] busy and blessed life. As I’ve already shared – I’ve traveled more days this month than I’ve been home and already every weekend in October is full of fun plans!

And as result, I’ve neglected parts of the blog – but I’m trying to get back on track!

Don’t worry Kristen – I have your box ready and on its way!!

I must admit that I miss interacting with each of you so I’m changing things up once again! Starting this month – I will again randomly choose the OMGiveaway winner from the comments on THIS post.

And I’ll take the time to comment on comments, if you will – something I’ve so enjoyed in the past, but have [also] neglected these last few months – So bare with me as I ramble on – First off – THANK YOU to all of you had such sweet comments on my Summer of Color Projects [and a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to Kristen for hosting this summer fun event!!] It was a blast and kept me crafting throughout the summer months! Michelle Rayburn, thanks for the comment and the how-to’s of the plastic peony – you know I love your blog [so much!] And Gloria, my friend, I sooo agree with you! TWO seasons would be perfect! Spring and Fall – lol. And a friend here in town said my hair looked more ‘golden wheat’ than red – lol – you might be able to see it in the Fiskateer photos.

LindainNCToo – yep, Craig and I really do enjoy doing things together. But as we've become empty-nesters we have branched out into some separate activities as well. I love how we work together on a common goal [like the new and improved vendor display I’ll show you guys soon – so fun to see both of our ideas meld into one.] You know you're in my prayers!!

Marianne [fiskateer #6701] – I had no idea when I did the fiskateer survey that I’d actually get the punch if they chose my name – SO FUN! I think they go with the name that they hear the most because someone else also got the double-bubble punch… and as of right now I think we’re in the glider ‘admire’ not ‘acquire’ stage of life – lol. We’re so very happy to have the wedding ring pattern – it just completes our ‘collection.’

Ahh, Bernice – I almost went to panera again this week. That mozzarella - basil - tomato paninni [sp?] is calling my name!Maybe you’ll try one when you’re back in the states!

LinhC [it was so nice meeting you!!!] – thanks for the comment on the printer’s tray – I just measured and cut up photos of flowers in our yard and pushed them into the little sections. I’m thinking of changing it up a bit to make it a little more full family memories – I’ll post photos if I do.

And NOW: The winner of this month's OMGiveaway is Gloria!!

[I know I should have it – but send me your snail-mail address: Judy@faithabsedpages.com and I’ll get a box in the mail to you!]

And remember that the NEXT winner will be chosen from COMMENTS ON THIS POST.

So comment away on any of the posts from the last month!

Deadline to leave a comment: September 30th

Check back with me at the end of October to see if you won!

[I’m pretty sure there’ll be some extra-special things in THAT box.]

And I look forward to getting together and ‘talking’ with each of you then!

Happy Fall Y'all!

2011-09-23T08:40:00.000-05:00

My {{absolute}} favorite time of year!!
And for once the weather actually FEELS like fall on this first day of the season!
But, alas, I'm too sick to enjoy it - maybe tomorrow...
Today I was in bed 16 hours dealing with the sinus pressure
that comes along with changing weather...
Looking forward to sitting outside and drinking my morning coffee --
tomorrow!
[Photo is of a tree on my drive to work - taken last year - later in the season.
Y'all know our trees won't turn until October down here in the South.]
Enjoy!

Fiskateer Fun!

2011-09-21T05:06:00.001-05:00

A fiska-what?!?

Go HERE to find out more about this crafting group sponsored by the wonderful folks at Fiskars [you know - the orange scissor people!!] I've been a fiskateer for a few years now [#5798] and enjoy the blog - forum - challenges - etc. Go on over and check it out!
This fall Fiskars hopes to gather fiskateers together in every state of the USA!
And Alabama was thrilled to be a part of the kick-off weekend!
Lesa [#5200] was a wonderful hostess!!

We had a 'Goodbye to Summer' theme and I was happy to assist with the palm tree and flamingos and crafting challenges.
Attendees enjoyed make 'n takes , sketch challenges, and games.
[Thanks to Julia and Lesa for assisting with prizes!]
We had fun fiska-themed goodies --

[Lesa made these adorable cupcake toppers and table decor!]
It was so fun to meet my fellow fiskateers!

I love getting to know other crafters from all walks of life!
And I look forward to getting together again soon!

If you're on FB - you can find all of my fiska-fun photos here.
[Feel free to download if you want them -]