Blessed with Friendship

I've been moving to my new house since last Friday evening.  The weekend was a blur.  As always, Carl was the main packhorse and got the majority of the stuff done.  But I have to thank special friends who have helped so much.  Raph, for helping put together a ton of Ikea crap and moving big stuff; Dave & Kristy, who showed up without request to help lighten the load; Brian, for blessing me with his patience and meticulous eye for painting; and my dear friend Tracy - for so much.  She found this house for me, helped me through the 3.5 month buying process, put out many fires, and has been my steady-Eddie as pseudo-family.  Today, I got home from work, and walked in to this:

She purchased this set for me and had Brian put it together and set it up while I was at work today.  I left my dining set at home, and hadn't purchased one for Emma and me.  Thank you Tracy, and Brian, for your friendship.  I love you guys.

Lovin' the 3-day weekend!

I mean, how could you possibly NOT enjoy a 3 day weekend?? It's still very rainy and gloomy here in the Pacific NW, in fact, Friday evening by 6:30pm I was in my fleecy jammies and under the covers watching TV. Saturday started out with a massage (now I have a matching bruise on the other hip, last time it was the right hip), and then we spent the day at the Robillard's for a huge celebration: Jim's 50th birthday, Katie celebrating her commission into the Army and college graduation, and Katie's high school graduation! Wow! It was a lot of fun, and there was a yummilicious Mexcican buffet :)

Today started off with bacon sandwiches and coffee for breakfast a la Carl, then a nice walk with my girl and our dog. I even ran a few steps - don't fall over with laughter! Emma says she's going to get me in shape ;) We treated ourselves this weekend with Super Mario Galaxy 2 and just completed an hour of play - it's a really fun game we play as a family - Carl controls Mario, Emma is his sidekick, and I'm the director (yelling instructions!) :)

Tomorrow Emma and I are going to see Alice in Wonderland with Kennedy before it leaves the theater. I love me some Johnny Depp, so this movie is a must-see. Oh, and speaking of must see, SATC will be next weekend if we're not moving!!! Here's a recent picture just for fun - E & K being goofy at lunch :)

Fun weekend!

Boy, busy weekend here - but fun!  We had a neighbor friend, Jordyn, staying with us while her parents enjoyed a weekend away - and she and Emma had a great girls' weekend.  Jordyn straightened Emma's hair for her (much better than my work!) and that started a fun Friday evening "makeover" for them.

Saturday afternoon I took them up to the Family Fun Center for some go-kart riding and video games, then a fun dinner at Red Robin.  Coincidentally, they both recently purchased the same cute shirt at Aeropostale,  so of course they had to each wear it :)  Today we all went to see Shrek 4 and Kennedy joined us as well... fun weekend :)

More photos from the program...

Sorry, I had to create two different posts in order to incorporate the video.  Here's some cool shots of the stage, and the one with Emma in the bottom left corner with the yellow bandana and guitar (dancing around like a hillbilly) at "Splash Kingdom".

Spring Program

Tonight we spent the evening at Emma's school for her Spring Program. No great photos with my phone, but ... here's her solo... our proudest moment... doing the worm across the stage - HA!

BFF Time

BFF time is the best time... today I got to spend my much-needed day off with Kristy.  I picked her up at 10:00 am and told her not to eat breakfast, because I was taking m'lady out for a fun bite.  The next time we looked at our watches it was 4:15 and we had to head home.  When we are together the time literally flies by - we have been known to start at 10:00 am for a visit and come home after midnight.  Isn't that what BFF's are all about?  She knows me better than anyone ~ knows when I need to talk and lets me ~ tells me when I need to take a second look at things ~ understands what I'm saying without an explanation ~ loves Madonna as much as I do ~ loves to dance with me and shake her booty like nobody's business ~ loves my daughter like her own ~ shops for bras with me ~ tells me to stop bossing her around when I need it ~ but loves me unconditionally through it all.  She is my Best Friend Forever.

Tropical Spirit Day

I know, I know... another spirit day picture.  But she just cracks me up that she gets so into these!  And my scrappy friends will truly appreciate this one :)

So Emma had a red t-shirt from Grammie's trip to Hawaii that had some stitching on it - and we added a lei made of Prima flowers, a shell necklace, and check out the flower in her hair:  a layering of Heidi Swapp and Prima flowers (sprayed with some Perfect Pearls) and then a giant rhinestone in the middle - all glue dotted together and then onto a bobby pin!  That was our creativity for the night to get her in the tropical mood.  FUN!

Pink Paislee Inspiration Station Tour

Choooo Choooo - thanks for stopping by!  Pink Paislee is hosting an Inspiration Tour in honor of Mother's Day and National Scrapbooking Day and this is an official stop!  Make sure to leave a comment on my blog for a chance to win the wonderful prize package pictured above - a $25 value of the fabulous BAYBERRY COTTAGE line!  Entries accepted until 6pm PST Sunday, May 2nd.  Winners will be announced on Pink Paislee's blog on Tuesday, May 4th.

I chose to use the Bayberry Cottage line to make this gift bag - to hold something special for your Mom, a special girl friend, or make one with other Pink Paislee lines for any time of year!

This shopping bag was my inspiration.  I love all of the gorgeous gift bags you can buy, but they can be very pricey!  I *adore* the Bayberry Cottage line and with just 4 sheets of patterned paper, a few Bella Brads, a snippet of Ribbon Pleat and Artisan Tape, and a Cork Button - this is a very economical and beautiful alternative :)  *** just a note for previous commenters... you are NOT recovering the existing bag, just recreating it with scrapbook paper ***  I deconstructed the bag in order to make a template of each side.

1.  Cut the following dimensions from two sheets of Gazebo patterned paper:

     10"W x 12"L -  mark paper from both bottom corners at 3" both horizontally and vertically,
     cut diagonal line from each corner between marked points.

     Score along width of paper 1" from top.  Fold.
     Score along width of paper 3" from bottom.  Fold.

2.  Cut the following dimensions twice from one sheet of Picket Fence patterned paper:

     5"W x 12"L

     Score a line 1/2" lengthwise, from outside edge on each side.  Fold.
     Fold paper in half lengthwise, with Picket Fence pattern face to face (green on outsides) to form
     inverted pleat.

3.  Use Scor-Tape or other strong adhesive to assemble bag.

4.  Cut 10"W from corner of Porch Swing patterned paper - attach to front of bag.

5.  Attach handles of choice - I deconstructed my old shopping bag and used the existing handles
     (the grey color was perfect!) - cut a slit from top fold and slip handles through, adhering
     each side with Scor-Tape to bag.

6.  Form flower from black Ribbon Pleat, attach Bella Brad to Cork Button and adhere to flower.
     Adhere ribbon/cork embellishment to center point of Porch Swing paper.  Add rhinestones/pearls
     as desired.

7.  Attach strip of Licorice Artisan Tape to top front of bag to cover cut edges.

8.  Create layered ribbon decoration for handles using Ribbon Pleat and Artisan Tape, secured with
     Bella Brad.

Voila!  Now chug along to the remaining stops and enjoy the amazing talent of the following Pink Paislee Creative Team members! (and leave a comment on each blog for an additional chance to win!)

Danielle: http://www.danielleflanders.blogspot.com/
Ania: http://www.aniia.blogspot.com/
Stacey: http://www.staceymichaud.blogspot.com/
Leena: http://www.findingnana.com/
Jana: http://www.frommyfeatherednest.blogspot.com/
Amanda: http://www.amandamuirhead.blogspot.com/
Kristen: http://www.scrapinkris.blogspot.com/
Tina: http://www.tinaalbertson.blogspot.com/
Jen M.: http://www.jenniferann75.blogspot.com/
Erin: http://www.erinterrellclarkson.typepad.com/blog
Kayla Aimee: http://kaylaaimee.typepad.com/

And don't forget to go to Pink Paislee's blog for an additional stop as well!
Pink Paislee Blog

Gorgeous day here!

Interesting weekend, weather-wise - and pretty downright relaxing I'd say.  Emma went to a school friend's house for a sleepover on Friday night, and was gone before I got home from work.  I packed up my stamping supplies and headed over to Tracy's for the evening, and churned out a batch of birthday cards for boys.  FUN!  Saturday started out with an 8:00 am massage (deep tissue... ouch!) and then I came back home and went back to bed.... until 11:37!  Then I stayed up til about 12:17, and went back to bed... until 2:00!!  Then went for a haircut - what a day - that's what I'm TALKIN' 'BOUT!  Emma came home mid-afternoon, repacked, and went to a friend's house for a birthday sleepover.  Back to Tracy's, held a 3 week old baby for the evening, and life was good.  Today I met my friend David for lunch at Zoopa (seriously... it's like his favorite place - I can't get him to go anywhere else!) and then hit Kristy's on the way home.  Good girl talk with the bestie, a little shoe and scrap shopping, and we called it good.

Friday night thru Saturday night - blustery wintery rainy weather.
Sunday - beautiful clear skies, and a little warm for us Seattleites!
Here I am on the way home today, and the beautiful view on my
freeway offramp home:

Spirit day

Is there anyone who has more spirit than my daughter?  I think NOT!  It was "color" spirit day... and of course, Emma used every bit of color she could think of: each fingernail was painted a different hue, at least 3 colors sprayed in her hair, colored hair extensions/clips, you get the picture.... She is darn cute though :)

Best.Concert.Ever.

Wow.  That's all I can say, just truly amazing - and for all you naysayers, there was not one foul word uttered throughout the entire concert - completely appropriate and uplifting for our girls - "feel the love ya'll".

Ludacris opened with a fun style and got the group going, and then the Peas took the stage for almost 2.5 hours!  It was a robotic theme in conjunction with their album "The End", totally cool.  Very glitzy and sparkly, and silver!

I always thought Fergie was the big draw to this group - but not anymore.  will.i.am is AMAZING!  He is truly a freestyle rap artist!  He worked "Washington" and "Tacoma" into almost every song, every break that he spoke, he even rapped the texts on the large screen from fans into about a 10 minute masterpiece - so cool.  Each Pea had a solo performance, and Fergie sang "Fergilicious", "Big Girls Don't Cry", and "GLAMOROUS" with a live cameo of Ludacris... FUN!  And then will.i.am took the stage.  I didn't know he started out as a DJ along with rapping, but he created a nightclub in the Dome and scratched and rapped to songs of all genres for about 30 minutes.  Michael Jackson, Nirvana (local band), Journey, Run DMC, so old school, so fun.  The audience sang all the words - incredible.  Here's a few shots:

Mia, Brianna & Em

The Mamas who shook their money makers!

A Date with my Girl :)

We are off to Emma's end-of-season soccer pizza party - and then we are seeing the Black Eyed Peas at the Tacoma Dome!  A fun little date night for my girl and me :)  She asked if she could wear just a wee bit of mascara...

Happy Easter

We colored some eggs last night (still love to do that) and Emma used her plastic bunny tongs to take the eggs out of the coloring cups, like she has done for 10 years - so cute.  My craft friends will notice that we used the Ranger craft mat to maintain the drips and spills... genius! :)  Today we are going over to a friend's house for an early Easter buffet, she just had a baby on Thursday and we're all going over to fawn over her.  I'm bringing Lauri's famous potatoes and a caramel apple cake - smells deee-lish in the oven!

Yesterday - Ikea $$$ and the Coopmeister

Just a few quick pics from yesterday - Coop and his eye (looking good, don't you think?), and when the hair is a bit longer it just looks normal - like he's winking ;)

 I also met D & D at Ikea yesterday, for 2.5 hours of shopping fun, and this is what I purchased for my new den/craft room (minus a few of those white doors):

I can't wait for Carl to put it together in the new house.  Lots of purging will be going on, it's long overdue but a good time to do it!  Also bought some closet organizers/drawers for both Em's and my closets, and a few Ikea-priced doo-dads that we will need = translation: CHEAP!

What a week - and weekend to come!

We've had the best of both worlds this week - gorgeous skies and sunshine, and horrid downpours all night long.  How does that happen?!?  Today's a good day :)  Emma and I did some shopping for the new house last night, we need some curtains right away and a few other necessities - and she's already asking about when we can paint!  I negotiated within 30 days of moving in, she drives a hard bargain :)  I'm taking my friend Tracy out for birthday dinner and drinks tonight, Emma has a State Cup game to get through Saturday morning (lose and we're eliminated - win and we play again on Sunday), I'm meeting some cousins on Saturday night, and then scrapbooking galore on Sunday!  Oh, and I'm picking up Coop at lunch from his day at the salon - hee hee :)

Look what just arrived on my doorstep!

April's kits from Coordinates Collections - Flowers and Showers!  These are some of the best work we've done in creating kits with coordinating manufacturers, just wait until you have them in your hands!  Basic Grey, Crate Paper, Pink Paislee, KI Memories and more!  Fun things await you too, like a Ranger Mini Mister with Perfect Pearls inside and new Pink Paislee Ribbon Pleats!  Now get on over to CC and get it pre-ordered while you can!

Did you wear GREEN today?

We did :)  I had to dig deep in the closet, but I found a shirt - and Emma found LOTS of things (earrings, bracelets, necklace, hairband, dress, you get the picture).  Love it.  Love the holiday spirit.  Also, I had a meeting at the senior center today, and loved how it was decked out for their feast of Irish stew ;)

State Cup starts today! **Update - tied game - GREAT game!**

Two soccer games this weekend in the State Cup Challenge - we drive to Kent today, and Gig Harbor tomorrow.  (Nothing compared to Arlington last Sunday - I should've brought my passport and hopped over to Canada for the day!!!)  Stay tuned for the update this afternoon - should be a tough game, but we are FIRED UP!

In other news, Emma is working on her powerpoint presentation this weekend for her state report, in addition to her 15-30 minute oral presentation that goes along with it, ALONG with making her way through Little Women (550+ pages!) for this month's book report!  Whew!

Poor neglected blog.

February passed me by with personal stuff, lots of soccer, an intense month of schoolwork for Emma (which Carl and I helped with), lots of stuff.  My poor blog has been neglected, so sorry.  I'll try to be better about posting.  Here's a few miscellaneous things:

A fun project created for Coordinates Collections using Donna Downey's canvas/iron-ons/quilted words along with some favorite Pink Paislee letters and new ribbon pleats (Emma picked out bedding in these colors for her new room, and I made this little piece for her to hang)

One crazy girl in the backseat of my car on the way home from soccer - entertaining herself with my phone's camera :)

Another layout for Coordinates Collections this month using the "Charmed" kit - a really fun time last summer at a Seattle Sounders game - love all these pics ;)