Why I don't get many cards published...

D's new faux hawk:

{for grandma - I told her he had one, and she expressed some shock at the thought, not realizing just how popular they are here. Yes, we are hip sometimes... heehee}

And darn it, for some reason, I don't get many cards picked up! I personally think it's because I make my best ones for friends in need. Then they are {gasp} put in the mail and sent to spread a little cheer to them...




Just finished reading this last night. I absolutely fell in love with the voice of Charlotte Bronte, and was a little sad to see it end... the inner dialog was especially moving. You utterly sympathize with the character, understand the war within her... the fact that I read a battered copy from the local library only added to it's charm... My mother-in-law recently asked me how I had the time to read with everything on my plate. It's really one of the ways I relax, so I try to set aside a bit of time each day. :)

Hope you're enjoying your week so far - it seems to be going really fast here!

Playing with bokeh...

{giggle}
Yes, I got what I asked for for Christmas...


my very own, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens for my rebel. I'm in love. I just took these playing around on Christmas night... still hoping to get some lovely holiday shots around the place before all the decorations are packed away. Definitely will be practicing, but loving the results so far. :D
Oh, and in case you're wondering what bokeh is, it's that lovely blur you get in the background when you have a lens with a wonderfully large aperture. Yummy.

Sorry no posts for Christmas day - I was, um, exhausted. In a good way. The kind of way that means you're surrounded by people you love, and love you, and you're all doing lots of things to make each other happy. We may not have the spendiest Christmas, but, I think we have one of the best. :D

Which also meant, I completely dropped the day after Christmas. Ran around in sweats all day {rare for me}, let the boys watch movies and play with toys, and just hung out myself.

Oh, and started reading Twilight. And finished reading Twilight. Of course, I devoured it, once it was begun. Totally lived up to the hype. {sigh} Yes, I was Bella at that age. Awkward, never fit in, wise beyond my years, etc. Good thing I have the rest of the books waiting - I know I'll be reading them more than once. And I'm a tough critic. ;) Ironically enough, that's the one and only name I ever discussed with hubby if we were to have a girl - before having ever even heard of the books {the last time, before we found out he was a boy...} :D

{I'm rambling - 'tis the season, I suppose.}

I should have some more scrappy projects to share soon. Hopefully you're not disappointed - I've been doing the life thing lately, and not so much on the project end - which means, I have many deadlines this week! Ack! Oh well, I know it'll all get done. Helped along by the fact that school is out, and the kids are still supremely happy reveling in all the new toy goodness around here.

Hope you had a wonderful holiday! :D

The best gift...

Sunday we celebrated my birthday at our weekly family gathering...

My birthday's actually the 22nd. ;) Of course, he can't keep a straight face for a photo! Bwaha!
After he was out of the picture, he grabbed the camera, and I had to tease him about snapping away with my camera...


Anyway, we have a tradition of going around the room, and mentioning what you appreciate about the person who's birthday it is. Well, as they went around, I felt my face going bright red... {it's not an everyday thing to hear people say such nice things all about me - I usually try to be on the giving end of that sort of thing...

A. went last, and He brought up how everyone had mentioned creativity, etc., but he felt there was something more. He said, as boring as it sounds, nothing is left undone. I feel that she's balanced. She sets goals, and works hard toward them. If there's a deadline, she tries to be early...

I was a little overwhelmed by that - it's the biggest thing I try to keep in mind in life. Balance. Not too much of one thing or the other. That said... it's not something I discuss much - just do what I need to do! It was nice to see that the person closest to me has noticed. :)

in other news... we finished the Christmas shopping today!! yay!! I'm so late this year. Not like me. :P I'm still finishing a few handmade things, but I should be fine. Planning to do a little baking tomorrow - all in all, having fun getting ready for Christmas!!
Oh, I also just had to add - I finally picked up the book "Twilight." No, I haven't read it yet, and yes I've been holding off. I'm so not a bandwagon person. It's about time, though - since that's really my genre. I haven't picked up anything new since Brisingr. {Which I really enjoyed, and in fact, am reading through for the second time, slowly...} Anyway, hoping to get to Twilight over the holidays - not sure how that's going to happen, but we'll see!!

Hope your holiday plans are going great!

ACB Card Sketch Challenge

Gin was up for the sketch challange this month, and this is what she came up with:


Here's my take:


I know, I know. I'm so bad about the whole sketch thing. My projects really don't come out looking much like the original sketch!! Bwahaha! I really never used sketches much before, though {In my defense!!} You can check out what some of the other DT girls did with the sketch here.

I'm having a bit of a blah week. A little tired I guess. I did enjoy teaching my class last night though! I started a series of classes on design principles... the original class ran early September, but I had a couple of ladies request that I do it again, so that's what I did last night. We covered some basic rules of composition. I just love seeing that aha! moment when the ladies discover some of those things. I know it changed my scrapping forever when I learned that stuff! ;)

Found this recipe for snickerdoodles this morning. Been thinking about making these for a while and finally looked up a recipe! Yummo! I've been hungry for them forever, but the only recipe I had around was the one I used when I was a baker. Call me lazy, but I just didn't feel like breaking it down. There's a whole formula and trial and error with that stuff. :P I'll probably try to make 'em today! :D I usually bake once a week since our litle guy can't have any kind of store/bakery bought goodies. He's got a severe nut allergy and it's just not worth the risk. ;) Yeah. I say that's a sign God does things for a reason. I've spent time in commercial kitchens under a couple of different talented and well trained chefs - so I can whip something up fairly quick.

Hello! Have I totally babbled today?! Another sign that I'm just avoiding the work I should be doing... laundry anyone? Or perhaps bathrooms? Blech. I need to make a run to the store, too. And get the big guy's schoolwork done.

Oh, and I finished Brisingr last night. Probably why I'm tired? LOL. Anyway. Excellent. His writing is only improving as he gets older. Now I'm looking forward to the 4th and final installment. Maybe I'll finally cave and read the Twilight books while waiting...

Bored you enough for now... ;) Enjoy your Wednesday! The week's half over, right?

Some ki memories

Just playing with some papers from my stash...





And yuck! We were having A/C issues today, and I finally called the A/C people. Well, at least it's fixed now, and they gave me some tips on trying to keep this same problem from coming up again. Let's just say a good bit of my day was spent checking on things, and soaking up water... :P

I've been inspired by this book lately. Really about following your dreams and the way you feel the Lord's leading you, in spite of seeming failures along the way. I still can't believe that he was born not far from where my family lives...


You can find it here. :)