Happy New Year Card

One of my resolutions is to document things better. I make cards for many occasions and I rarely make one for myself to keep. Starting with the first card of the year, I am going to start photographing each card so I can look back at what I've done. This is my New Years card.





You may recall a post I did last year saying I had ordered a stamp and it never came so they had to send me another one...blah, blah....well, this stamp of the girl with the cocktail is the stamp! I saw it and just had to have it for a new years card. I don't usually boast about my work, but I really like how this one turned out. I was going for a retro feel with the background patterned paper and the offset placement of the teal and white paper...and of course her retro hair :) The string of beads, cocktail sign, asterisks and "happy new year" stamps are all parts of another stamp set I bought to go with my cocktail girl. Don't they look great together? Sometimes things just work out perfectly. It's a good way to start off the year.

Next is Valentine's Day!

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge 21

Here's my card for Dawn McVey's Raspberry Suite Color Challenge.



I made a card like this for my brother-in-law Bob one year for his birthday and I thought it would work well for this challenge because of the colors. I used an actual sleeve for a cup as a pattern for the sleeve on the card. You remove the sleeve and the card opens. The stamp set is one I found recently from Hero Arts called "coffee". Everything but the swirly steam was cut by hand. The steam was cut on my Cricut.

Hope you enjoy!

Love Hard ~ Forgive Harder

That is one of my 101 things to do before I die.

It's said that when you forgive something, you feel a sense of relief because you no longer carry it in your heart and your head. It's also said that forgiving something is one of the hardest things to do.

The true meaning of the word is:

1 a: to give up resentment of or claim to requital for b: to grant relief from payment of
2: to cease to feel resentment against (an offender) : pardon (forgive one's enemies) intransitive verb: to grant forgiveness

I'm not sure anyone really forgives in the true sense of the word. I think most people say they forgive but in actuality they just resolve to be polite and not let it further interfere in things. I'd bet money I am right about that because I don't think we, as a society, have developed in a way that promotes forgiveness. Think about that for a minute. You just really don't see true forgiveness very much. As an example, when you watch the news or talk shows and you see stories of a mother forgiving her child's killer, we are stunned. As a society we see that as an unforgivable act of violence. But even "small things" are deemed unforgivable these days.

I have nothing even close to that example to forgive, but I am getting better at forgiving or "letting go" of the things that I've held onto and also not letting new things bother me. To be honest, I just don't care anymore. And I don't mean that in a bad way. It just means when things happen, I don't feel like giving it any of my time and energy....it's not worth it. I think this is due to age, but not entirely sure.

Now this isn't to say I have written off every single thing and I glow with forgiveness (hee!). But it does mean a new chapter in life and it's all for the better....my better. I don't think I can cross that off my list just yet, but maybe by the end of the year :)

For The Holidays

Having company? Need to feed them something yummy? How about my Outstanding Blueberry Muffins! They really are outstanding. And if for some reason you don't like blueberries, use chocolate chips. Or cranberries. Or bake them plain and break them in half and spread jelly on them. Or just eat them plain. I'm telling you, people are going to love them and you'll be a muffin star :)

Outstanding Blueberry Muffins

4 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups sour cream
2 cups blueberries (thawed frozen blueberries are fine)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Grease 24 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

In large bowl beat eggs, gradually add sugar while beating. Continue beating on low speed while slowly pouring in oil, sour cream and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, salt and baking soda.

Stir dry ingredients into wet mixture.

Gently fold in blueberries.

Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Makes 25-30 muffins.

Why do pro athletes get paid so much money? It's not like their jobs are vital to....anything. I just started wondering why they get so much money and how that whole thing started? I have no idea why I started thinking about it....I just did.

Here is something else I wonder about. Chefs are always taste testing things. Do they keep getting a new spoon? And when they dip their finger in and taste something, do they wash it before they dip it again? And when it's hot in the kitchen, does the sweat running down the bridge of their nose dip into what they are cooking? I know, I should just not wonder about this stuff too much or I will never go out to eat again.

I also wonder about wireless internet access. I work in an IT department and deal with this crap all day and I still have no idea how it is possible that I sit at my laptop in bed....it's connected to nothing and here I am typing on Blogger connected to the Internet. If I wonder about it too much I will get a headache. Computers baffle me with all their magic.

I could go on for pages and pages about things I wonder about. The wondering never stops. I wonder if I will wonder myself right into the crazy house? iCaramba.

One Word Answer

The idea is to answer the questions below with only one word. So I thought I'd give it a try.

1. Where is your cell phone? desk
2. Your hair? Medusa
3. Your mother? grumpy
4. Your father? grumpier
5. Your fave food? asian
6. Your dream last night? dancing
7. Your fave drink? soda
8. Your dream/goal? happiness
9. What room are you in? cubical
10. Your hobby? papercrafting
11. Your fear? oecan
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? retired
13. Where you were last night? home
14. Something that you aren’t? singer
15. Muffins? Yum
16. Wish List Item? iMac
17. Where did you grow up? Cali
18. Last thing you did? email
19. What are you wearing? jeans
20. Your Pets? lots
21. Your Life? good
22. Your Mood? content
23. Vehicle? Buffy
24. Something your not wearing? socks
25. Your fave store? craft
26. Last time you laughed? earlier
27. Last time you cried? forget
28. One place that I go to over and over? work
29. Fave place to eat? Panda
30. Facebook? Nope

MERRY CHRISTMAS COOKIES

1 cup of water
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup of brown sugar
lemon juice
4 large eggs
1 cup nuts
2 cups of dried fruit
1 bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila

Sample the Cuervo to check quality. Take a large bowl, check the Cuervo again, to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.

Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the Cuervo is still OK, try another cup ... just in case.

Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit, Pick the frigging fruit off floor. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the Cuervo to check for tonsisticity.

Next, sift two cups of salt, or something. Umm, oh, check the Jose Cuervo! Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find. Greash the oven.

Turn the cake tin 360 degrees for equally tonsisticity. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Finally, finish the Cose Juervo and make sure to put the stove in the dishwasher.

CHERRY MISTMAS
HOW YOU DOIN?

Creative Sleeper

I've noticed that when I sleep or just rest, my creative mind comes alive. As I drift to sleep, images and ideas come to me....really good ones for all kinds of things....cards, photos I should take, recipes. Sometimes I will wake up and go right to my craft desk and jot down some notes, but more often than not, I just roll over and tell myself to remember that idea. Well, that never happens. I usually have some kind of vague recollection of things, but the details are not there so I miss out on the idea :-/

This also happens with ideas for stories. I like to write as a hobby and my best ideas come from dreams I've had. I can usually remember those when I wake up, but if I don't make notes right away, I will forget the dream in a day or so. I think if I were a writer, brainstorming would require a lot of napping. And I dream every time I sleep so I would not be lacking material. This has now become my dream job....get it....dream job? Laughs!

If I just didn't have this pesky day job that requires me to get a good nights sleep, I could get up in the middle of the night and write or craft and not have to worry about getting up at 5:45am. But you know....need that pesky paycheck to pay the pesky mortgage and feed our 4 pesky varments....one of which just jumped on my desk and is chewing on my colored pencils!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Time

Time is a funny thing. And I don't mean funny "haha".

Sometimes time is not our friend.
Like when we see wrinkles or are being punished.

On the other hand, sometimes it's our best friend.
Like when we are on vacation for 2 long weeks.
However, it sucks when it's time to go back to whatever you were getting away from.

Time is the cure for broken bones. And broken hearts.
Time also helps kill us....durgs, alcohol, disease.

Time can be stressful.
Like being in traffic when you are supposed to be at jury duty.
Actually, I think time in general is stressful when the government is involved.

Wasting time can be fun.
It can also be very boring.
Running through the tide on a beach is a perfect waste of time.
Reclining in your chair counting ceiling tiles is less ideal.

With time, emotional pain can become more....bearable.
It can also be unbearable.

There is also:
Time for action.
Doing time.
Curtain time.
On your own time.
For the time being.
Double time.
Time of your life.
Time bomb.
Make time.
Ahead of time.
Many a time.
Behind the time.
From time to time.
Lunch time.
Time for bed.
Dinner time.
Bath time.
Out of time.

There is a short span of time each day when something amazing happens that many of us do not take time to witness. It's a golden time. Sometimes pink and blue. Sometimes silvery white. It's called sunset.

Time makes you think about your actions.
Like after you leave the party and realize you made an ass of yourself.
Or, maybe you're just an ass all the time.

Time can lead to change.
Hair color.
Skills.
Growth.
Income.

Time alone can be a blessing.
It can also be a curse.
We can sit alone in an ugly bathrobe with bed head and be perfectly happy.
On the other hand, the fact we are sitting alone in an ugly bathrobe with bed head can make us cry.

Most of all, I think time is a teacher.
Time has taught me things that can't be found on the internet....and that's hard to do.