Rick got one

this morning... he knew he had hit it, but it tried to fly away. Didn't get far though... we found him lying in the middle of the street a few minutes later. Rick went out and disposed of him like a good little hunter.

And still the birds watch us.... with those eyes..... those beady little orange eyes............

They are becoming more aware of what we do when we are out there. As soon as I cock the gun, they are flying away. With Rick all they have to do is *see* him and they take off. Maybe all I need to take care of the problem is a cardboard cutout of Rick. I'll just stick it on the rooftop. It will look simply lovely!! ;)

Bird Hunting

So, I have taken up bird hunting. Got myself a bb gun and an endless supply of $%#&! pigeons on my rooftop. Including a mama with babies. GREAT. Rick's been shooting them the last few days, but this afternoon was my turn. They were taunting me... daring me to shoot. With a little coaching over the phone from Rick (how in the heck do I work a pellet gun, anyway??), I aimed, shot, and (I think) got one. There was a puff of feathers that rained down, but it flew away, so I thought I might have missed. Later on, though, I did miss... no feathers... just a bird flying away, probably sticking its little tongue out at me. I'll get 'em, though. Just you wait.

Should I feel remorse for trying to kill the little rats with wings? Maybe. But I don't. I am obviously heartless. That or fed up with the bird crap on my house, car, and driveway. As long as I never have to wring any pigeon necks, I'll be fine.

CKU

So I was at CKU last weekend.... WOW! What a great time. If you are an avid scrapbooker, or aspire to be, I definitely recommend it!! I was part of a "dorm," which was very fun. It was a group of us who got together and signed up as a group with a theme, costume, and "cheer." Our theme was "Prisoners from Tracy's PENitentiary." Tracy is Tracy White, editor of Creating Keepsakes magazine and author of The Journaler's Handbook. Our "crimes" were bad journaling and other silly things. We were rough. We were tough. And we were hysterical.

From the rap song we composed to the tune of "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (which we performed on stage and WON the competition), to our costumes, table decorations, and overall bad-ass-ness, we were the coolest group at CKU. We made a name for ourselves. And the best part was that all of us were from different places. We didn't really know each other before the event, but we are such close friends now. I love that.

Here are the lyrics to the song... in case you were wondering.... ;)

Prisoners at Tracy's Pen
{sung to the tune of "Fresh Prince of Bel Air"}

Now this is a story all about how
Our scrappin got flipped turned upside down
And I'd like to take a minute so that you know when
I'll tell you how I become a prisoner at Tracy’s Pen

With tons of photos I was born and raised
In my scraproom is where I spent most of my days
Chillin' out cuttin’ pastin’ all cool
And usin’ my square punch outside of the school

When a couple of guys saw my books and did shout,
“How do I know what all this stuff is about?”
I wasn’t journaling and you know that wasn’t right-
I got jailed in the big house of Tracy White!

With Alana, Suzi, Amy, Allison and Jessie,
Hall of Famers Leah and also Kim Kesti
This was gonna be tough working day after day
Learning journaling techniques it’s all work & no play

My first class... yo, this is tough!
My writing style certainly ain’t up to snuff
Is this what scrapping’s supposed to be like?
Hmmm... this might be all right!

Tracy made us cry with her incredible words
We realized journaling isn’t just for nerds
I’ve just got to say that Tracy White rocks
My pages are now full of journaling blocks

Well we all paid our dues and when we came out
We had to keep in touch with so much to write about
So we banded together and made a mini book
About what we learned here-yeah it was off da hook

I whistled for a cab and when it got here
The license plate said Scrap and it had dice in the mirror
If anything I was like could this be true?
And so I just said it, “Yo homes to CKU!”

I pulled into Anaheim 'bout 7 or later
and I yelled to the cabbie-gimme my Navigator!
At CKU Masters I’m here tonight
thanks to the chicks from the Pen and our own Tracy White!

{adapted by Jessie “Birdie” Baldwin}


Here's the run-down of my classes I took... all were excellent and all provided me with some great creativity jump-starts. I am so stoked to get back in my atudio and CREATE. Isn't that what it's all about??

FavorArt Things with Sara Tumpane: OMG I had a FABULOUS time. We played with all sorts of artistic media - some old, some new - but it was so fun because there was no pressure to create "something" with it. Instead it was a very hands on - try this yourself - type of class. Really this was very much what I wanted because I would rather do this than spend an entire 90 minute class making a layout I likely wouldn't use. I was so happy to use stuff I had always meant to try but didn't want to spend the money on the product if I wasn't sure about it. AWESOME prizes and giveaways too. I went home with the new sponge stamps *and* the plastic letters.... SO GREAT!!

Artistic Effects with Tracy White: GREat class. Tracy is such a wonderful teacher. She really does an excellent job of drawing you in and giving all sorts of great inspiration. And the layout we created was very cute and had lots of room for personal "interpretation" of the project, so I felt like I could make something that was totally my own. And Tracy is just so cute. She gave away as a prize a whole set of these new CK books that inspired the class. Very nice.

Rustic Recipe Book with Teresa Collins: LOVED this project. Great one and another that gave me seriously tons of freedom to alter at will. Made a gorgeous bound recipe book that i will be giving as a bridal shower gift. It was that good!! Teresa was so cute and sweet and loved encouraging us to be creative. She gave away great prizes, too!

Expressions on Canvas with Tim Holtz: By far and away the most amazing class I took at CKU. In 2 hours I used at least 5 new techniques and created a double spread canvas work of art that is my favorite piece I have ever made. We used inks, beeswax, collage techniques, painting techniques, layering, multimedia..... incredible. Tim is so encouraging and fun. I won a GREAT prize and I also got super great goodies.... paints, glazes, inks, glass tiles, etc etc etc etc..... very cool.

Here's my canvas:

It's a 2 piece, hinged 8x8 piece that stands alone. Obviously looks better in person, but this will do for now! Tim loved this project so much he even emailed me on 2Ps to tell me so. Talk about cool.

Colorful Memories with Tim Holtz: Another great class, but the title is a bit deceiving. The project, a tag book, is very cool - but not very colorful at all. Shabby and distressed, using ephemera and photo tinting techniques. Several fun ways to use inks again, but I was expecting something more colorful (hopefully using the adirondack paints) but it was still excellent and Tim was very entertaining. More great giveaways (everything we used was ours to keep at the end of class!!)

Are We There Yet with Karen Foster instructors (can't remember their names): OH MAN!!! This project ROCKED!!! I loved everything about it. Very fast paced but we did a TON of stuff. Very little room for changing up the projects, but I didn't care. The whole concept (creating a travel book for your kids that includes games & ideas for enduring a road/plane trip) was so flipping fun it didn't matter. Lots of amazing giveaways too!! More than I could imagine!!

This was my first CKU and I was not disappointed AT ALL. Like I said, it's a great time of fun, friendship, and learning. If you go into it with an open mind and the desire to learn, you will come out of it recharged adn ready to be creative!

From the mouths of babes...

Violet:
"Brothers.... they can be SO MUCH WORK."

"Mom, when's 'Brother's Day?'"

Riley, after I handed him a plate of cantaloupe:
"I no like can-a-pope, Mommy."

Hey Tisra

Found this site and thought of you... cool hand-dyed yarns made by a friend of mine in the scrapping community. This is her family business. Very cool.
http://needmoreyarn.com/

What kind of American English do you speak?

My Linguistic Profile:

75% General American English

20% Yankee

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Dixie

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Take this test and post your results! :)

evidence

of my son's eating habits...

In case that link didn't work for you...

Here's what my new camera looks like:


It's the Canon Digital Rebel XT - 8.0 megapixel SLR.
This thing is so rad!!

I *heart* the UPS man

I get so excited about hearing the UPS man coming down the street. Kind of as excited as teh kids get about the trash men. When I hear the squeal of his brakes as he comes around the corner, I get giddy with anticipation, hoping that he will stop by my house with a package. If he does, it's usually stuff from Memory Makers or ome of the other magazines. But not today. Today I was awaiting my Canon Rebel XT... and when I heard the UPS man knock at my door with the box, I could barely contain myself and make it all the way to the kichen counter without opening the box.

This camera is so rad.
Seriously, it rocks. Just the little bit I have playing with it has been great. Tomorrow will be the test... I'll take it with me when the kids go play and try and get some action shots. :)


On another note, Riley got a hold of the hot dogs - still in plastic - in the fridge, and gnawed a chunk right out of them. This boy and his eating habits... he eats right through the plastic with everything: string cheese, hotdogs, fruit snacks, raw ground beef (that one was gross), and now the hot dogs. Really... if he'd just ask us, we'd give him the food. But this is his way of doing it on his own.

Good thing I had my digital camera... got some great shots of him with the 'dogs.

Feeding my addiction

So the most recent Albertson's ad has a coupon for a free tall Starbuck's drink. It came out on Saturday and is valid till Thursday of this week. I decided to treat myself to an iced mocha (don't worry Mom, it was nonfat...) on Mother's Day morning. I went into Albertson's and they had a sign up: The Espresso machine is down. :::sigh::: I didn't get my coffee. That evening as Rick and I were painting the bedroom furniture, I thought a coffee would be a great little pick-me-up (and, heck, it was FREE), so I went to the Albertson's off Ann Road, about 2 miles away. It was 8:30 p.m. and I walked in the door and the Starbuck's stand was already closed. I couldn't believe it!! The one by my house is open till at least 9 p.m.!

Monday I tried again... and the espresso machine was still down at the Albertson's by my house. FINE. No coffee.

Last night was my scrap night. I like to pull late-nighters (I seem to do my best work after 1 a.m.), so a coffee was definitely on the menu. Valerie and I headed out at 8 p.m. and went straight to the Ann Road Albertson's. As we walked in, the light was still on! Hallelujah!!! We went up to the counter and the girls behind it said, "Oh, sorry! We just closed at 8:00! We just forgot to turn off the light!" Grrrrrrrrrr. "But if you want, you can go to the one off Craig Road (one more mile south) because they are open till 9!"

FINE. I wanted my dang free coffee!!!

Val and I drove to the Craig Road Albertson's, but as we walked in, it didn't look good. The light was off. But I asked the guy behind the counter anyway. He pointed me to the sign on the counter that says they close at 8. GREAT.

We decided to just pay for a freaking coffee at the stand-alone Starbuck's in the same shopping center (why there needs to be a stand alone AND one in Albertson's in the *same* shopping center baffles me). We pulled up to the front and got out of the car... the counter light was on, but the table lights were off. Maybe they were trying to conserve energy. I walked to the door and tried to open it... but it was LOCKED! LOCKED!!! At 8:30 p.m.!! Where were we, Utah???

By this time I was reeeeeeeeeeally frustrated. Of course there are those that would argue that maybe God didn't want me to have that coffee. And then there's me. I saw it as a challenge - how far would I have to go to get my stinkin COFFEE?!?!!!?

We went to the stand-alone Starbuck's by my house. It was open till 9, that I knew. My heart leapt when I was ACTUALLY ABLE TO OPEN THE DOOR!! And there were PEOPLE inside, working!! AND THE LIGHT WAS ON!!! I was going to FINALLY get my stinkin COFFEE!!

I walked up to the counter and told them my sad, sad story. They laughed. They cried. They made our coffee. For free :)

Soccer Superstar!

Violet is on a soccer team of 4 and 5 year olds. The Fireballs. They are so cute in their little soccer outfits. She is a great little player out on the field and tries really hard. The only problem? Our team has no skills. We had yet to even score a goal - all season - until Saturday.

We arrived as the game was starting (bad mom, I know, but really... our son has reached the Terrible Twos with a vengeance and there was major meltdown happening at our house right when we were supposed to leave), and Violet sat the bench for the first couple of minutes, watching the team play. Then Coach Patty called her on the field. She went RIGHT OUT THERE and started KICKING THE BALL! HARD!! She was playing GREAT defense and even working with her teammates to pass the ball to them.

If you've ever watched 4 year olds play soccer, it's hysterical. They are all just a little amoeba roaming the field, following the ball, and every once in awhile someone will have a breakaway and you just pray that it's your team and that they are heading in the right direction when it happens. Because what they do is run. And kick. And they do not stop. Sometimes (usually) they run faster than they kick. Sometimes they keep kicking and running right off the field and, well, keep going. And they never, ever hear the ref blow the whistle. Of course it could be worse. There's always the couple of kids who are playing with the grass, looking for ladybugs. THERE'S A GAME HAPPENING right around them, and they have crouched down in the MIDDLE OF THE FIELD to rescue the precious little beetle from being trampled.

So anyway, we were on the field and the opposing team (undefeated, by the way) had already scored a goal, but by some miraculous feat the Fireballs were surrounding the other team's goal and closing in - just when we thought we would lose it, Violet got the ball, broke away from the group, and KICKED IT INTO THE GOAL!!!!!!! The entire sideline ERUPTED in cheers for our team and the whistle blew for the end of the first quarter.

We were elated!! The game was tied, and VIOLET SCORED THE FIRST GOAL EVER FOR THE FIREBALLS!!!! All the moms and dads and teammates congratulated her. We were so excited and proud and thrilled.

The second and third quarter were tough - both teams tried to score, but the goalies played excellent defense. Right at the end of third quarter, the opposing team got a goal. It was now 1-2. Coach Patty yelled to the team as the fourth quarter began, "First person to get a goal on our team gets a quarter!!" Violet must have heard that one, because the Fireballs took off running... right down to the goal where Violet passed it to Kaden, who kicked it into the net! We were tied, and Violet got the assist!!! YEAH!!!!! The sidelines, again, erupted. What were the chances that the team who hasn't won a game yet would score their first goal of the season with the team that was undefeated in the league?? Well the game wasn't over yet...

The kids ran hard... the other team almost scored another goal on us, but Tristan was masterfully defending the goal. He got the ball and threw it - HARD - toward the Fireballs. Ryan kicked it downfield and got tangled up in the ball and lost it... but Jesse was right behind him. He pulled it away again - but this time the other team was there to get the ball back. It was a tangle of legs and feel and a ball somewhere in there, when Violet pulled away fro the group with the ball - just 15 feet from the goal... ten feet, and a HUGE KICK RIGHT THROUGH THE GOALIE'S LEGS!!! It was pandemonium on the sidelines! Coach Patty was screaming, moms and dads were cheering, the team was high-fiving, and Violet was jumping up and down, hands in the air, celebrating the thrill of victory.

What a game.

And afterward, a blue and red Slurpee for the best soccer kicker the Fireballs have ever known. :)

If you are bored

Here are a few blogs to visit...

Threadbared.com
I could not stop laughing. It's now one of my favorite blogs. (warning - a bit of grown-up language)

design*sponge
Loving all her finds. She updates several times a day with all sorts of cool home decor discoveries.

Zach Braff
Cause he has a blog. ;)

She did it!

After months of trying, it finally clicked for Violet and she blew her first bubble with Bubble Yum original flavor gum! She practiced and practiced in front of her mirror, trying to get the gum just right, when FINALLY, after about half an hour, she got it! She's not consistent, but she can produce a bubble now. What a cutie ;)

I'll post pictures when I get them developed!

My Scrap Room

Here's where I do all my creating...


From the doorway


Rick's corner (or what he has till I kick him right out)


TV corner - the large wardrobe holds albums, paints, and other supplies


My computer area - I used those giant clothespins as a sort of valance. I may hang stuff from them, just haven't figured out *what*, yet.


My main work areas - I go from the computer desk to the work desk constantly


I have miscellaneous supplies organized in the labeled boxes (adhesives, colored pens, tools, cardmaking supplies, stamp supplies, etc)


My work desk - where all the creating takes place


My inspiration - the studio sign I created one night to remind me I am an artist first. Hangs over my work area. The knob on the bottom right holds little hanging signs like "the artist is IN" or "QUIET - artist at work"


My first, and so far, most favorite, purchase from IKEA - these buckets hold my creating essentials. Left to right, pencils/pens, scissors/cutters, adhesives, tools


Stamp storage - I got this from Wal-Mart for 9 bucks. I love it. Especially that it is red. My letter stamps are arranged alphabetically, with miscellaneous patterns and extras in the larger drawers in the bottom.


My paper is stored vertically in the Cropper Hopper holders. I love this system. Takes up very little room and the papers don't get dusty. Everything is arranged by manufacturer. The black boxes have embellishments organized by manufacturer.


A full view of that shelving unit that holds my papers. Would you believe I have an entire shelf worth that needs to go on the bottom? I just haven't loaded them in the holders yet. I have so much paper.


The tackle box on top holds metal embellishments and other small things. This is great for everything that just doesn't fit anywhere else. The IRIS carts below hold paper scraps, sorted by color, and other flat embellishments... letter stickers, rubons, quotes & definitions, vellum & transparencies, etc.


The messy closet... the last place I need to organize before this room is perfect. I'll probably never get to it. hahaha

And now that I have stalled long enough, time to get to work...

my dog

is on probation, according to the paperwork I received from the Association.
I think when you capitalize Association it makes it seem much more threatening. Like the Illuminati.
Anyway, our "violation has been put on hold" and if we get another call on our dog WITHIN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS, we will be automatically fined. GREAT.

I am going to fight this, yet again. I made freaking PEACE with the neighbor!! It's ONE neighbor that hates the dog!!! If he hates him so much, he should just call animal control and let THEM deal with it, not the Association!

::::sigh:::::

baby gumball

Violet and Riley love searching our neighborhood for little yellow air gun pellets left over after a neighbor has finished shooting the pigeons that plague our homes. They are usually in the rocks or the gutters. Violet has a few of the bb gun balls in her collection, and yesterday Riley found one and was carrying it around everywhere, putting it in his belly button, hiding it under the table, and generally having a great time with it. He took it in the car, but dropped it when he was in his seat. He kept asking me over and over, "where's my baby gumball?" and I was, of course, puzzled. When I figured out he was referring to the little yellow pellet, I told him, "Honey, you know that's not gum, right?" and he said, "I know! It's a baby gumball!"

And then it hit me.
Not baby gumball.
BB gun ball.

hahahahahahahahaha

Old Friend

Eric Fadely is in town this week and we got to have dinner with him on Monday night. We went to Mimi's Cafe and had a lovely dinner (tho' the "Arnold Palmers" the guys drank were little more than weak tea with a lot of lemon water and really not worth drinking... of course they kept getting refills and kept drinking them... hmmm). But the food was great and the sitting around the table, reminiscing with an old friend was lots of fun. The guys laughed and joked about how "musicals DO happen in real life!" and how much better their lives are since having kids. We discussed the houseing prices and I am tempted to move to Tennessee now (I am still thirsty)... After dinner we decided to go to the brand new Cold Stone Creamery that just opened in the same shopping center... only when we walked over there we found out it really *hadn't* opened yet. So we headed back to the house instead and talked a bit more... then Riley had a huge poop in his diaper and that was Eric's cue to leave... I hope he made it back to his hotel okay... :)

Cinderella

Mama Lali had a great idea the other day... she thought it would be lovely if four generations of princesses went to see a princess show in the theatre. So last week, Abu, Mama Lali, Violet and I went to the Summerlin Performing Arts Center and saw Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella. It was a lovely evening! First was dinner at Tenaya Creek Brewery (food was "eh...," although the calamari was yummy), and then we went to the show.

The show was very well done. The set was amazing - it totally reminded me of one of those kiddie Disneyland rides (like Alice in Wonderland) - bright, fluorescent colors, curved lines, every shape exaggerated & silly. This extended to the costumes of the stepmother & stepsisters. AND OH MY WORD were the stepsisters not COMPLETELY hilarious!! Maybe it was because they were both MEN! They were certainly ugly...

The funniest part of the show was when Abu turned to me about halfway through the show and said, "one of the stepsisters is BLACK!" LOL

At the end of the show, Violet, who was completely mesmerised by the Fairy Godmother's magic, talked to her for awhile about it... and the Fairy Godmother gave Violet her email address so that she could find out just how she did one of her tricks. It was so cute, and Violet was beaming that *she* had the FAIRY GODMOTHER'S EMAIL!!

Here are a few pictures from the show...


Violet and Mommy


Four Generations... waiting for the show to start


Jessie & her wicked stepsisters... ;)


Mama Lali and Evil Stepmother (Melinda - this is Leslie Fotheringham!)


Violet with Cinderella (Kelly Fotheringham) and Prince Charming


Abu and Fairy Godmother


Violet getting Fairy Godmother's autograph


Fairy Godmother telling Violet to email her

Just for fun...

I painted this at artpad.
Then I did this one.

So much fun. You should try it. ;)

potty training...

Riley has been doing *kinda* well with it. It depends on the day, LOL.

He had been doing really well with pooping on the potty lately, but today wasn't a great day. First he comes up to me... "Mommy, I do pee" and I watch the wetness form on the front of his shorts and on the floor. Huh??? So I check in his pants (because he *was* wearing a pull up) only to find he had pulled his little riley OUT of the underpants. So he's kind of getting the hang of it... kind of... I just need to get him closer to the potty and teach him to pull down his pants completely. We changed him into a new pull up and I told him to tell me when he needs to go potty.

Not ten minutes later he came up to me, "Mommy, I do poop." But I could already smell it was too late. So as I changed him we talked about pooping in the potty.

Does poop go in your diaper?
"no."
Does poop go on the floor?
"no."
Does poop go on the carpet?
"no."
Where does poop go, Riley?
"outside!"

O-kay. Not quite grasping it just yet.