PaperTurtle

Ten Turtles on the Tenth

2012-02-10T11:31:00.001-07:00

Me and my turtles.

They're everywhere, really.

So for Shimelle's "10 on the 10th" I thought I'd share 10 of them with you.

♥

PaperTurtle herself.
{Why the turtle?}

This rustic turtle I bought while visiting my friend, Rinda.

One of my favorite pictures of Carrie.

{Yes, we build snow turtles instead of snowmen.}

This super cool chalk-board-sticker sent to me by the Queen of Happy Mail, Ruth.

My {late} mother-in-law gave me this big guy.

His name is "Chip" because one of his back toes is...
you guessed it - chipped.

When I give gifts I try to include something turtle-y. This one was for my nephew, Stone.

You can barely see it, but that's a turtle tattoo on my right foot.

My sweet little vintage "Timmy Turtle" from my Step-dad, Rod.

My girl C when she was three - sand turtles {instead of castles} on the beach.

And finally, two turtle shells that have been given to me by friends.

I know, they are a little bit creepy, but kind of interesting to have.

♥ ♥

Wishing you a happy weekend,

times 10!

A quick look at my visit with my mom...

2012-02-08T08:02:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!

♥

Thank you for your lovely comments and well wishes over the past week. I've returned from my visit to California where I visited my mom and have a few photos to share with you. Surprisingly, I really didn't take many photos with my regular camera - just didn't get it out much for whatever reason. What I do have are some Instagrams, so I'll share those here so you can see.

I took a walk one morning in my mom's neighborhood and shot the above photo of a huge tree in their neighbor's yard. At the time it represented how cold it was - it was a chilly walk! Might not look cold to you, but for me it still represents chilly!

I attended my niece's basketball game {Presley's the one on the left} and loved seeing her play. She got better as the game progressed as she was getting frustrated. Frustration turns to competitive in a situation like that, don't you know.

Presley came to Grandma's house to hang out for a while after the game.

It's become a tradition {or habit} for me to make chocolate chip cookies while I'm at my mom's house {note her strawberry canisters}. This time I made two batches - one for all of us to eat, and another batch for the freezer for Mom to bake later on.

Even though Mom had received a round of chemo earlier in the week, she was feeling well enough to be out and about on Monday morning {her doctor had prescribed a patch for nausea this time and it was magic!!!}. We went to Starbucks and I just loved their February cups!

We walked around the mall for a little while, and had lunch at McDonald's {a rare occasion for me}.

I love this photo of my mom looking so happy and relaxed!

And before I knew it, it was time to come home. I was happy that my flight let out down this particular wing of the airport so I could jam on the moving sidewalks {LOVE those things!!!}.

And with that, I'm off to get a few things done around my house.

Gosh, can it really be Wednesday already?

I hope you are having a fabulous week so far.

The Butterfly Project

2012-02-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the year I told you that my One Little Word for 2012 is BUTTERFLY. Several of you left lovely comments, and one that really stood out was from Fiona. She wrote: "What a lovely word to choose for the year. It made me think of this project and I wondered if you knew about it."

I hadn't heard of it before, and when I followed her link I was dumb-founded when I read the large caption:

1,500,000

innocent children perished in the Holocaust.

One and a half MILLION innocent children?

~gulp~

I hadn't known that there was a museum in Texas dedicated to Holocaust victims, and they have a project organized to remember the 1,500,000 innocent children who lost their lives.

Check this out! The museum is collecting 1,500,000 handmade butterflies to create an exhibit. Can you imagine? 1,500,000 handmade butterflies?!?! The image alone is just magical in my mind.

Here's where we come in.

:o)

On my birthday this year I will be 51, and my goal is to collect 51 butterflies for this project. The specifics for the butterflies are on the website, as well as the address for mailing them to the museum. There's a slideshow running on the site with photos of butterflies that have been submitted, so if you need some inspiration go there and have a look.

If you'd like to participate, you may either send your butterfly to me before May 1 {my birthday}, or mail it directly to the museum {just please let me know you've sent it so I can count it in my goal}. The deadline for the project is December 31, 2012, and the display is set to be completed in the spring of 2014.

If you create a post with a photo of your butterfly, I would love to see it! Just leave a comment with a link here on my post. In the meantime, I will work on creating a button for the sidebar of my blog to link back to this post {wish me luck with that!}.

Specifics for butterflies are:
* This project may be completed by all ages as individuals or groups.
* Butterflies should be no larger than 8 inches by 10 inches.
* Butterflies may be of any medium the artist chooses, but two-dimensional {flat} submissions are preferred.
* Glitter and all glitter-related products should not be used {Carrie!}.
* Food products (cereal, macaroni, candy, marshmallows or other perishables) also should not be used.

So what do you think? Will you join me?

I can't wait to see what you'll come up with!
If you need some help with a butterfly template, here's a link to a few.

Remember: It doesn't have to be perfect, it just needs to be there.

♥

What's in a name?

2012-02-04T21:10:00.001-07:00

♥

I’m a nickname giver. It doesn’t matter if you are my friend, my child, or my pet - if we spend a good deal of time together, chances are that I’ll give you a nickname – a term of endearment, if you will. I’m big on shortening longer names, so if you are Jessica I’ll make you Jess. Samantha? Sam. Alison? Al. Deborah? Deb.

From the time Carrie was a little girl she had nicknames. The first one bestowed upon her was “Carebear” which was fairly effortless. Care Bears were all the rage in 1988 when she was born, and if I shortened her to “Care” it was just as easy to add -bear. {For the record, she hates to be called “Care.”} When she was a toddler I avoided ever using the word “brat” {which she really wasn’t} and instead would say, “Don’t be a goober” if she was misbehaving. “Goober” morphed into “Goovna” or “my goov” because…well…who knows why?!?! There are a few other random nicknames I still use for my girl C, but I’ll spare you the reading time, and her the embarrassment.

During the time that Carrie was in junior high school, I was a single mom and it was just her and me on our own. I like to think I was a “cool mom” – keeping up with all the current lingo and catch phrases while still maintaining a sense of authority. {eh hm…yeah…} She was about 11 years old at the time, and we were messing around when I called her “Girl-friend...” She responded with “Mom-friend…” and it stuck.

It stuck to the point that some of her own friends called me “Mom-friend” including her boyfriend in high school {who I still secretly wish she’d marry}. In hindsight, I think it was more comfortable for her friends to call me “Mom-friend” than to refer to me “Mrs. _____” {because I wasn’t anymore} or by my first name which sometimes felt too familiar or disrespectful.

I suppose when we make new acquaintances and they hear my daughter call me Mom-friend it’s a bit of a surprise, but for us it’s normal. If we’re out somewhere and I hear a random young person call out, “Mom…” I never flinch - I know it’s not my kid.

My kid learned the art of nicknaming people she loves.

And she learned that from me.

{a book I made for Carrie in few years ago}

I’m linking to Sian for Storytelling Sunday today.

Check out her blog for links to other stories to read on this fine Sunday.

♥

Just a Quote for Friday

2012-02-03T05:00:00.003-07:00

{for my dear friend, Denise}

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal.

Love leaves a memory no one can steal."

~author unknown~

Turtle at the Zoo

2012-02-02T05:00:00.012-07:00

The weather has been so gorgeous this past week and I was itching to be outside, so yesterday I grabbed my camera and spent the morning at the Phoenix Zoo.

You cross a bridge to get to the entrance, and usually there are turtles sunning themselves on these boards. This day it was just ducks in a row.

I'll spare you the names of each of the species because, quite frankly, I don't remember, but this is some kind of vulture:

How do I hate rodents so much, but love these little prairie dogs so much?

Doug says these are golden eagles:

Mexican wolf...

Breakfast time...

Here kitty, kitty, kitty... {I wasn't real crazy about the way he was looking at me!}

Stinky number one:

Just some desert vegetation...

Monkeys are always my favorite, but these guys were boring:

Cool:

You can ride a camel if you want {been there, done that...}

This was a cool exhibit! You have to go through two doors to get into this area, and there are a total of 16 squirrel monkeys in the trees and on the ropes above and around you. I chatted with a zoo volunteer who told me that beads on their necks identify them (by name) to the zoo keepers. She had a spray bottle hanging off her belt that was to be used to squirt the monkeys in the event they come close to the zoo guests.

It was so cool to be so close to them!

Ok, so I come out of the squirrel monkey exhibit and this gigantic bird comes flying over my head and lands on this dude's arm. Whoa! Cool! It's a king vulture and it was flying in a loop - going from the zoo keeper's arm, out and around the lake, and then back again. Of course, once I had my camera ready do you think he'd fly that loop again? Nope.

Desperate for a grandchild, I borrowed these for this photo. {yes, I asked their grown up first}

A random peacock just walking around...

Stinky number two:

And then there was this guy - a gorgeous jaguar who by nature is a ridiculous runner - all cooped up in this cage. :o( It made me sad, but I was pretty excited to be so close to this amazing creature.

eeeeeow!

Hello, friend... {with a really screwed up eye}

Homosapiens - the most vile and disgusting creatures in the zoo {juuuust kidding!}

And speaking of disgusting... There are only two places I ever eat hotdogs - a baseball game, and the zoo. I had a hotdog for lunch and it was really yummy!!!

This was my view while I ate lunch:

After all those photos there's really no need for you to visit the Phoenix Zoo

unless you want a lovely walk in a beautiful setting with some gorgeous sunshine.

{And please take me with you if you go!}

52 Donuts - #5 Cornbread

2012-02-01T05:00:00.020-07:00

I know, I know... I might be pushing it a little with this one, but I had the batter so I decided to pour a little into the donut maker to see how they'd turn out.

Doug scoffed a bit, saying these weren't really donuts, but I beg to differ.

Cornbread made in a muffin tin becomes cornbread muffins, right?

Ok, then.

Cornbread donuts.

The verdict: These were really good, but a little crumbly and didn't hold their shape very well once you picked them up. I hadn't made the cornbread batter from scratch this time - used a Marie Calendars mix which tends to be a bit more cake-like. I thought they were a cute little addition to a bowl of chili.

And besides, it puts me one step closer to my goal.

♥

Pets on Parade ~ Who was your favorite?

2012-01-31T05:00:00.004-07:00

Last week I posted a couple of pictures on Instragram.

I mentioned in the caption that Whiskers just might be my best cat ever.

Then I followed it up with a photo of Fancy saying, "Or maybe this jealous girl..."

~ Whiskers Jay and Fancy Jane ~

Well, that didn't sit so well with my girl C who happens to be Fancy's biggest fan. And she took it a step further and asked about each of the other cats we've ever had in the past, coming back around to wondering how I could claim that Whiskers was the best. Consider this questioning given the fact that Carrie actually witnessed Whiskers being born and gave him his common name when he was about five minutes old.

I love Whiskers. And maybe I feel a stronger bond with him because I've had to nurse him back to health a couple of times during his 9-lives. Once when he was eight weeks old and was first weaned from his momma cat {I carried him around for an entire weekend and forced kitten formula down his throat with an eye-dropper}. And there was the time he ate a yard of ribbon off my craft table and had to endure a horrific surgery to have it removed from his intestines. Ugh - that was awful! Anyway, I love that cat.

Funny how I feel like I have to defend my reasoning, and also that I feel a little guilty saying I have a favorite, because really, I do love our sweet Fancy Jane.

So, I'd like to know what you think. Do you have a pet {doesn't have to be a cat!} that really stands out in your mind as your best-pet-ever? And why was he/she your favorite?

Last Weekend of January Recap

2012-01-30T07:19:00.001-07:00

Seriously?

January is already coming to an end?

~sigh~

We had a really nice weekend, and I have a few pictures to show for it.

♦ ♦ ♦

Mother Nature blessed us with some beautiful weather this past weekend and we took advantage of it by spending some time outside.

We finally gave up on the poor tree in our front yard and Doug spent some time on Saturday cutting it down. Our house sat vacant for a year before we purchased it, and none of the trees were watered during that time. We've been able to nurse the citrus trees back to life, but this poor guy just wasn't cutting it. I sat in a camping chair and watched Doug enjoy his time with the chain saw. {The whole thrill-of-a-chain-saw makes no sense to me, but Doug loves it!}

Doug cut the wood into smaller pieces, stacked it at the edge of our yard, and the next morning one of our neighbors knocked on our door to ask if we were giving it away. He needed firewood, we needed to get rid of it...everyone won {except for the tree}.

I know you're wondering about my garden... :o) We're learning the lay of the land here. Turns out my little garden spot doesn't get a whole lot of direct sun this time of year, but the tomato plants are hanging in there.

My sweet father-in-law loves to go out for breakfast. Doug and I met him at San Marcos Resort Sunday morning for brunch.

This resort is 100 years old this year, and is the oldest hotel in Chandler, Arizona. In fact, the city of Chandler is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

I strolled around the grounds and took a few pictures {with my phone} while Doug and his dad took care of the tab. Beautiful setting!

Our bellies were full from such a large breakfast, but these bananas were calling my name. I made a batch of banana bread {with mini-chocolate chips} and took a loaf over to Carrie's house.

Carrie called to see if I wanted to come over and walk with her and Marcus-the-dog and I jumped at the chance. I hope she posts the photo she took as she got a really cool shadow shot. {My best shot pulls into Blogger upside down, so I'm sharing this one instead.}

And there you have it - a little recap of our lovely weekend.

On the agenda this week:

* Two physical therapy appointments {yes, I'm being a good girl and keeping up with them though it is not fun at all!!!};

* Taking an online skills assessment test for the employment agency I've registered with; and

* Packing and getting ready to fly to California on Friday to spend the weekend with my mom. Thanks so much to all of you who ask about my mom from time to time. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated so much! Team Teal is absolutely awesome!!!

Wishing each of you an amazing week ahead!

Peace out.

♥

Strawberry Fields Forever

2012-01-28T16:40:00.006-07:00

My mom likes strawberries.

{thanks to me, I think...}

♥

Over thirty years ago I made some little stuffed strawberry Christmas tree ornaments for my mom. After Christmas, she tied them in a bunch and hung them in her kitchen, thus beginning the strawberry collection in her kitchen that rivals my own collection of turtles.

When I saw this Doodlebug paper at the scrapbook store a couple of weeks ago, I just had to have it. Along side of it in the store was a cute little embellishment that I initially picked up, then put back on its hook thinking, "Hmph...I could make that." And I did.

I used a heart-shaped punch for the berry, and then I used my 1/2" corner rounder to soften the point at the bottom. A flower punch served as the leaves, and some white-puffy-paint became seeds.

I used these little berries as embellishments on cards - one for my mom and one for Grandma.

♥

So, I wonder, do you use punches very often for crafting? And if so, are there any that you use to make other interesting shapes?

Just a Quote for Friday

2012-01-27T05:00:00.004-07:00

{Strawberry Fields, Central Park, NYC, 2006}

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."

~ John Lennon

Colorful Faces I Love ~ Mini-book

2012-01-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

My blog friend, Mel had the best idea for an art exchange last October. She stamped an image of a woman's face and sent out sets to each participant to color/embellish/make our own. When the face images were completed, we sent them back to Mel, she divided them up, and sent one of each back to all of us.

It was so much fun to open the envelope from Mel and have all these face images fall out! What a beautiful array of artwork, many from women around the world who have become close friends of mine.

I decided to put them into a little accordion mini-book so that the whole thing could be opened to view all the images at the same time. I think that allows one to fully appreciate the difference and beauty of each little piece of art.

On the back I attached a little bio connected with each of the artists - told where they are from, the name of their blogs, and a little bit about the ones I have come to call my friend.

What a lovely little keepsake to remind me of

the endless stream of inspiration and friendship

this little blog has brought into my life.

I love it.

The book,
the blog,

and my life.

♥

PS: A great big thanks to Mel for organizing this fun project! If you were one of the participants, I'd love to see how you preserved your little pieces of artwork. I know Cheri has done hers...any one else care to share?

52 Donuts - #4 Chocolate

2012-01-24T07:20:00.001-07:00

The donut of the week is chocolate.

♥

Are you sick of donuts yet?

Eh-hm.

We kind of are.

Now that I've tried three of the four recipes in the cookbook that came with this donut maker, I've realized that the sweet factor is a bit lacking. And, maybe every one of those recipes is really better if you frost the donuts, adding a little bit more sweet factor.

We were not impressed with these donuts. I think they would have been WAY better if I'd had some mini-chocolate chips to stir into the batter, but I didn't and ended up throwing 80% of these donuts out because neither of us would eat them.

I sent some home with Carrie and she texted me later that night saying that her dog, Marcus, had eaten them. I replied with, "What did he think? Too dry?" {Hopefully the cocoa won't make him sick!}

I'll include the link for this recipe {here} just in case you want to give it a try.

I'm not giving up on the 52 donuts - at least not until I find a

really good recipe that makes this whole thing worthwhile.

Or until that little donut-making-gizmo gives out...

whichever comes first.

Weekend in Turtle-land

2012-01-23T07:35:00.003-07:00

♥

Ah...Monday morning. I woke up with a Beatles' song on my mind this morning and have just listened to Oh-bla-di Oh-bla-da a few times while I worked on my weekend recap post. I'm ready to take on the week! But first, here's a look at my weekend past...

This is always the best time of year for geraniums, and the ones on our patio are so pretty right now.

I rarely {almost never} craft on our coffee table, but I did just that and Whiskers was close at hand {read: being a pest!}. I used left-over-Christmas-odds-and-ends to fill up this adorable little book that Beverly sent me. I love the way it turned out, and am happy to finally have all the Christmas bits off my work table! {Thanks, Beverly!!!}

Saturday night Carrie and I took the light rail into downtown Phoenix {with our friend Janae too} to see my nephew Ryne's band perform at The Hard Rock Cafe. It was a fun night and I was SO proud of him! You can see one of their videos here - Ryne is the cutie in the blue shirt, singing. It's crazy for me to watch him as I can't help but see my brother, Tim {Ryne's dad} in his expressions and talent. Love that!

{I know...poor quality photo...took this with my phone...}

And now, a little out of order...but the rest of my photos

here are a few Instagram shots from the weekend...

♦ ♦ ♦

Doug was camping with his brothers, so Friday night I watched a couple of movies on Netflix. The second movie was booooooring, but Whiskers was settled in and looked so cute that I ended up watching a lot more of it just because I didn't want to get up and lose the cat-on-my-lap.

My SIL {Laurie} came by on Saturday morning to return some things she'd borrowed for her daughters' baby shower. We had a fun time visiting, and I love that she brought my bird cage back with this cute little bird inside. :o)

Make no mistake; I am not great at keeping a poinsettia alive. However, this one has been in our atrium since the beginning of December {I have basically ignored it} and it's still going strong.

And lastly, yes, I made donuts {stay tuned for 52 Donuts #4 this week}.

As of today, I'm no longer required to wear the sling on my arm {my shoulder surgery was five weeks ago today!} and am continuing with physical therapy which I HATE but will do anyway because I know it's necessary. And now that I don't have to wear that sling, my job-hunting-efforts will be intensified.

And with that, I leave you with oh-bla-di-oh-bla-da stuck in your head too.

:o)

...and if you want some fun, take oh-bla-di-bla-da!

Valentine Wood Blocks

2012-01-21T04:50:00.024-07:00

♥

I've had some unfinished wood blocks sitting on my work table since before Christmas when I made the "JOLLY" blocks {see them here}. I wanted to create a Valentine set, and when Rinda recently asked for a tutorial on my altered wood blocks, I knew exactly the direction to take.

Uhhh...sorry about all the kissing in this post. I didn't realize that Doug and I are kissing {all over the internet} in pretty much every photo of this post. It's not as offensive in person.

The blocks I have are cut in random sizes, and for sure Doug will cringe when he sees that I didn't do a great job of sanding them, nor did I coat the blocks with primer before I began. {It's art, Honey. It's art.}

Before I start adhering paper to the blocks, I put a bit of black paint around the edges - just to cover up anything that might peek out later on. Nothing fancy - just slap it on there.

I used strips of book paper that I tore {I think a torn edge lays nicer than a blunt cut} and then used Mod Podge to adhere them to the blocks. You can see that some of the papers wrap around the sides, and some of the sides got a strip of masking tape. {I did use Mod Podge to adhere the tape as it is a re-positionable product and I wanted it to stick for good.}

Before I did a final coat of Mod Podge over the outside, I sanded down the edges of the photo to give it a weathered look. Oh - I printed this little black and white photo onto some plain white cardstock and made sure it was good and dry before hitting it with Mod Podge so the ink wouldn't smear.

Give the blocks a good coat of Mod Podge and let dry completely. I used a Sharpie marker to outline my "X" and "O" then added a few rub-on's here and there for embellishments.

{ Here's what the back looks like.}

And that's it.

So tell me, what are you going to put on a wood block?

♥

PS: We have a bunch of random pieces of wood left over from our recent {ongoing} home remodel so the base part came easy {well...sort of...} for me. If you don't have access to wood blocks, try your local lumber yard or hardware store for scraps. Also, most of those stores will cut the board for you if you buy the piece there.

Just a Quote for Friday

2012-01-20T05:00:00.003-07:00

"The road to success is always under construction."

~ author unknown ~

52 donuts - #3 Buttermilk Spice

2012-01-18T06:33:00.003-07:00

♥

The purpose of this post is two-fold:

1) To share the third batch of donuts in my quest for 52 this year; and

2) To torment Margaret {I'm gonna' add bacon to a batch someday and

really push her over the edge!!!}

I'm working my way through the recipes that came with the Baby Cakes Donut maker before I venture off with any other recipes. This batch of buttermilk spice donuts was loved by some, not-so-liked by others. Personally? I wasn't real crazy about them. The recipe called for a whole teaspoon full of ground nutmeg and I immediately thought it was too much so I used a half-teaspoon and I think it was still too much. The nutmeg was really overpowering.

So...here I am making baby donuts with my right arm in a sling. Putting the camera on the counter and using the self-timer worked out much better for my recovering shoulder. {I about did myself in taking photos of Carrie this past weekend. Ouch!}

So, Carrie had an iPhone first, and she's the one who technically owns iTunes on our computer {though I'm pretty sure I've paid for 97% of the tunes in there...}, so when my phone got set up it got linked to hers. That's cool in some ways, but not so in others. Like, whenever I download a new app she gets a notification.

Carrie: "Dude. Why did you download a timer to your phone?"
Me: "Uh...because I needed one?"
Carrie: "Did you know there's already one in your phone under 'clock'?"

Ugh! How did she grow up to be so smart? :o\

But I digress. The first batch got a coating of sugar and cinnamon and were really yummy hot off the griddle with a cold glass of milk. The rest got frosted with some vanilla frosting {canned, slightly warmed in the microwave to make it dipping consistancy} and then sprinkled with some pink and some blue for my niece's baby shower.

There were a few left over that Doug had with coffee the next morning and he said they were still pretty good. I probably won't use this recipe again - but if I do I'd definitely leave the nutmeg out and go a different direction...maybe for donuts #23.

Peace, love, and baby donuts.

♥

My Instagram Weekend Recap

2012-01-16T07:38:00.000-07:00

Ah...it's Monday once again.

I sat down this morning, ready to create my weekend recap post, when I realized that all the photos from the past few days fall into one of three categories: 1) already been shared; 2) promised Carrie I wouldn't share; or 3) being saved for a future blog post.

What I do have are Instagrams.

♥

{geraniums blooming on our patio}

Maybe the reason I'm constantly amazed by technology is that I'm old enough to remember life without computers. {~gasp~ I know, I know. Old.} One of the first things I did when I got my new phone was to download the Instagram app. Seriously? I love this thing.

{hot tea at Wong's Place - lunch with my girl C}

Instagram allows you to share photos you take with your phone with other Instagram users. It's kind of like Facebook and Twitter in that it's a feed concept, but the thing I like the most right now is the ability to enhance the photo with different filters. I try every one and then go back and do it again to find the filter I like the best for the photo I've just taken. I love it.

{On our dresser...Doug's catch-all place}

{I love a double baby shower!}

{baby donuts for baby shower}

{colored pencils at Anthropology with Carrie on Saturday. Love!}

{Yay! They still make peppermint mocha and it's not even December anymore!}

{"Yes!!! The front door's open!!!"}

{Little old lady, Fancy Jane. Watching football with Doug.}

{ugh. one. more. week.}

And there you have it. Another successful weekend.

How was yours?

♥

PS: Do you use Instagram? I'd love to see your photos!

And if you'd like to follow me I'm paperturtle.

A Little Birdie Baby Shower

2012-01-15T07:20:00.007-07:00

A very happy Sunday morning, blog friends.

♥

This morning I'm showing you a few photos that I took at my two nieces' double baby shower yesterday. I thought you'd enjoy seeing some of the sweet little touches my SIL {and the soon-to-be-grandma}, Laurie took the time to put together for all of the guests. The theme was "A Little Birdie Told Me" and she had birds and birdhouses and birdcages tucked everywhere. It was adorable! So without further adieu...

The framed sign under these branches read "A little birdie told me..." and guests wrote words of advice for the two moms-to-be on these cut out birds and pinned them to the branches. It was such a sweet display as soon as you walked into her house. She'll punch a hole and put them on a ring for a mini-book for each of the new moms.

For party favors she had these sweet little boxes with baby's breath seeds inside. The images were stamped and embossed and oh-so-cute!

This sweet garland/banner that read, "Welcome to the nest, little ones" {Cut with "Songbird" cartridge on a Cricut machine.}

There was an outdoor table {in the Arizona sunshine} for decorating onesies with fabric paint and pens:

And the cutest little diaper cakes with these adorable birdhouses that my SIL made. {I have a couple of these wooden birdhouses in my stash and have been wanting to cover them with paper. I just love what Laurie did with these!}

The sweets table {Yes, those are 52 Donuts #3 - more about those later this week...}

Every little detail was so sweet and I spent most of my time oohing and aahing over cute little touches Laurie had created. I loved spending time with my awesome SILs, nieces, friends, and my girl C to celebrate the upcoming births of two new babies in this family.

And perhaps my niece, Bethann said it best:

A lovely afternoon spent with lovely women.

It doesn't get much better than that.

♥

I Love a {double} Baby Shower.

2012-01-14T06:42:00.002-07:00

♥ ♥

Maybe you're familiar with this scenario: You have a bunch of nieces and nephews who are running around, being little kids when all of a sudden - WHAM!!! - they're grown up and getting married and having babies of their own. HOW did that happen?!?!

My SIL Laurie is getting two grand-babies within a few weeks of each other. You know I'm happy for her but I'm not gonna' lie. I'm a little jealous too! Her oldest daughter is having a girl {K} and daughter number two is having a baby boy {J}.

Before Christmas I tried some iron-on-transfer sheets to make some work t-shirts for Doug and I was hooked. I was dying to iron-it-on to something else and had the idea to create these little onesies for my nieces {whoa...for my great-niece and -nephew...}.

Super easy. So tiny. And a little bit turtle-y.

:o)

{The tags were cut with my Cricut using Mickey font cartridge.}

My other contribution for the baby shower this

afternoon is mini-donuts so I'd best get going.

What's on your agenda for this weekend?

♥ ♥

Just a Quote for Friday

2012-01-13T08:51:00.000-07:00

{The quote: author unknown, but seen on Traci's blog.}

Homegrown {tiny} Tomato

2012-01-12T06:46:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've mentioned my little garden here, and I'm sure there are several of you wondering how it's progressing. Right? Well, wonder no more, friends, because I give you:

My first home-grown [cherry] tomato.

{~angels voices sing in unison~}

:o) ♥

In all my 50 years on this planet, I had never grown anything that could be consumed until a friend gave me a basil plant about two years ago. I was hooked! So when Doug and I moved into our new home a few months ago, I quickly claimed a piece of the backyard and popped a few tomato plants in it (along with some basil, a jalapeno pepper plant, and some marigolds).

I was so excited when I discovered some little green tomatoes, that I totally missed the ripening gem at the base of this plant. I was watering my garden a couple of weeks ago when I spotted something red-ish-orange at the bottom. Oh.My.Gosh. I was so excited.

Doug and I shared it and I must say, it was very tastey!!!

{and an Instagram shot}

You know, sometimes it's awesome being a simple soul.

The littlest things thrill me.

Have you ever grown something edible?

♥

Another Mini-book, and Pass-the-Book Winner Announcement!

2012-01-11T06:30:00.002-07:00

Welcome to "Pass the Book" winner announcement post.

♥

But first! I'd like to show you a little piece of the mini-book I made for my SIL {Laurie} for Christmas. I'm only showing a couple of photos because this little book was a personal gift, but I wanted to show the simplicity of the book in hopes that some of you who think "I can't do that" will reconsider!

My SIL has four of the most beautiful and sweet daughters you could imagine - every one is an absolute gem. Their names all begin with the letter K, so the cover of her book says "I ♥ K's."

The cover is a piece of acetate, and I printed all the photos in black and white. I drew a simple line around each page/photo with a Sharpie marker, and used one little red heart on each page. I used quotes about daughters that I found online, and printed the journal strips from a Word document. The pages were constructed using a piece of chipboard (you can use an empty cereal box in a pinch) and held together with a simple glue stick. I did use my Bind-it-all to finish it off, but you could also take your completed pages to your local office supply store and ask them to bind it for you.

Sweet and simple, and my SIL loved it.

:o)

And now, the moment we've all been waiting for,

the drawing for the next recipient of "Pass the Book."

Drum roll please...

Jacky!

Congratulations, Jacky! I know you are going to love this book.

A big thanks to Melissa for sponsoring "Pass the Book" this year,

to Sian for starting it in the first place,

and to Karen for passing it to me.

I ♥ blog friends!

Arizona Road Trip Recap

2012-01-10T07:16:00.000-07:00

Today I'm sharing a few photos taken on our little road trip last weekend.

I'm so excited about this first photo. Now that I know more about my camera settings, I was able to get a photo that really shows the beauty of this spot, with rich colors that really make me feel like I'm standing right there. I have this saved as our desktop wallpaper right now:

At the center/top of the photo you can see Four Peaks, with Roosevelt Lake at the base of the far mountains. And right over the edge where I'm standing is a really deep drop off. Yikes! Don't get too close!!!

See the cliff-face in the next photo? We've seen big horn sheep on it before - and even saw two sheep mating one time! That was a trip!

I look kind of annoyed in the next photo, but I'm not really. :o) The terrain in this area is really different, and you can see the layers of rock all around me.

We discovered this spot several years ago on our way home from our northern property in Young {Arizona Highway 288 between Globe and Young, Arizona}. Doug thought he saw a big horn sheep in the distance and we pulled over so he could glass for a while. Sure enough, they were sheep so we took a side-dirt road and ended up discovering this amazing canyon look out spot. We took my mom and step-dad there one spring when wild flowers were blooming and had a picnic at this same look out. I love the memories from that trip!

Being cooped up in this house without a job and/or the use of my right arm gets a little... well... tedious after a while. This little road trip was just what I needed. {Thanks, Doug! ♥}

PS: If you want a chance to borrow the latest "Pass the Book" don't forget to leave a comment on this post. I'll be announcing the winner tomorrow!

Relaxing Weekend Recap

2012-01-09T08:11:00.000-07:00

Hello, Monday.

Hello, friends.

♥

When I say I need a mountain, Doug doesn't mess around. Here's where we ate lunch yesterday. {I'll have more pictures of our little road trip tomorrow.}

But let's back up to Saturday morning! Santa brought hummingbird feeders for me Whiskers and we spent a lot of time watching them discover the new hang out spot. Whiskers spent most of his Saturday on top of our dresser, looking out the window and enjoying the show. Ahhh...the life of a cat...

{Hi Mel!}

I'll get some better shots once these little dudes are used to the feeders and don't scurry away as soon as we are near.

Doug brought some work home for the weekend. He's refinishing these window-grate-thingys for a client. One down, 59 to go...

And then we took a little road trip yesterday morning. It was the first time I've been to Globe, Arizona in over 6 months and I loved every bit of it! When my shoulder is back in working order I want to go back and just spend a day photographing the old buildings there. The other part about this next picture is that I am officially obsessed with Instagram on my iPhone.

One more Instagram shot:

And there you have it. Other than our little jaunt yesterday, a fairly low-key weekend.

On this week's agenda: I start physical therapy for my shoulder today {hooray and ouch}. Getting ready for a double baby shower this weekend {we have two nieces who are pregnant at the same time!} and looking forward to some SIL and niece time.

Here's to all of us in the upcoming week!

May blessings abound.

Inspired to Unplug

2012-01-08T05:00:00.002-07:00

Isn't this the greatest ad ever?

When I saw it I loved it instantly.

Of course, I loved the great shot of the turtle on the right,

but the message was awesome too.

I had to visit their website to get a copy

of the ad, and it's for a great cause.

Check it out!

DiscoverTheForest.org

Doug and I are taking a little road trip today...I need a mountain!

♥

Photo Cube with a Twist

2012-01-07T07:56:00.002-07:00

Holla, blog peeps!

We're well past the holiday season

{is it me or does Christmas seem like it was forever ago?}

and now I can show you the gift I made for my

awesome step-dad, Rod for Christmas.

♥

I saw this idea in a scrapbook store over three years ago and loved it so much that I bought the photo cube right then and there. The store that held this inspiration didn't allow photos, so I pulled out my little notebook and sketched the basic design so I'd remember how it was assembled. All I needed then was a good set of photos to put inside.

Rod and my nephew, Stone have the sweetest bond I've ever seen. This boy LOVES his grandpa! From the time Stone was a little baby he would have nothing to do with anyone else if Papa Rod was around. At the age of three he's still that way.

When I took these photos of Rod and Stone looking for snails in the backyard I knew I wanted to display them somehow, and I knew that I'd finally found the perfect photos to go into this cube.

Blogger is being temperamental about photo positioning, but I'm using this next photo to show what the cube looks like from the top. I printed the sheet of words to use for the bottom of the cube onto Kraft cardstock, then stamped some random stuff on it to distress it a bit. The photos are mounted on cardstock that was cut to the same width as the diagonal measurement of the cube. I cut three identical pieces - left one flat, and then folded the other two which I glued back-to-back. Then I added photos and sentiments and popped the cube back together.

My step-dad loved his Christmas gift,

and the added little surprise was that Stone loved it too!

♥

Just a Quote for Friday

2012-01-06T05:00:00.005-07:00

{The Sunday Tree - a juniper tree near Young, Arizona}

Today's mighty oak is yesterday's nut that held its ground.

~ author unknown

52 Donuts - Numbers 1 and 2

2012-01-05T11:49:00.001-07:00

You thought I was kidding about the 52 donuts?

:o)

I had myself so pumped up over this mini donut maker before Christmas. Truthfully, I've had visions of making adorable little donuts tied up in bags to use as party favors, gifts, I don't know...just because. I half-jokingly boasted that I should make a different donut every week this year, but then I thought, "Sheesh. That's an awful lot of donuts. And there's only Douglas and me in this house...and on occassion Carrie. Not like I have any co-workers to share them with right now...and I don't want to seem like a crazy woman always carrying treats across the street to our still-fairly-new-neighbors..."

I suppose that's my little disclosure just in case I run out of steam on the lofty donut goal {and/or none of our clothes fit us anymore, whichever comes first}. Not to mention that this is no simple feat with my right arm in a sling {three more weeks!!!}.

Anyway! For now we'll just trudge forward with my 52 Donut project and see what happens.

♥

The donuts shown above were made with a recipe that came with the donut maker {Sour Cream Donuts - recipe here} and I rolled them in a sugar/cinnamon mixture while they were still warm. Taste test = yummy when they are warm. Just so-so when cold, although I know they'd be delicious along side a hot cup of tea. {Edit to add: Doug said they were delicious with a cold glass of milk. I think that's what he just had for lunch.}

And just for the record, we'll backtrack a little here and talk about donut #1. I had this idea to try pancake batter in the donut maker and then top them with a maple glaze. I used this recipe {increased sugar to 1/2 cup} and they cooked up really nice and golden. Again, really good warm, not so much cold. In fact, I ended up throwing most of these away. Hey - you win some, you lose some.

But they're cute, eh?

PS: Don't forget to put your name in for the drawing for Pass the Book in my last post! I'll be drawing a name on Wednesday, 1/11/12

I ♥ Mini-books {a Pass the Book post!}

2012-01-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

♥

A few months ago I was the lucky recipient of a pass-the-book giveaway from Karen at Random Reflections {that had originated from Melissa}. At the time I wondered how I would find the time to even look at this book, much less be inspired to actually make something.

Haha, well, turns out I made some time! I counted up all the mini-books I've made in the past two months and came up with a whopping 12 of them! TWELVE!

I've had these photos to share, but Christmas is oooooverrrrr so I thought I'd toss them here in the mix. {I have a tutorial on how these little babies are made right here.}

...and you've already seen this one:

...and this one:

I also made a mini-book for my SIL as a Christmas gift which I will show a little piece of when I announce the winner of this round of Pass-the-Book.

You know the drill. If you'd like to be put in the drawing for a chance to borrow this book for a while, please leave a comment on this post. I'll draw a name from the mix on Wednesday, January 11, 2012.

♥

One Little Word 2012

2012-01-03T07:35:00.001-07:00

This is my fourth year choosing one little word to represent my focus for the year. Looking back, I can recognize the power that these words conjure up. They somehow turn into a little piece of something solid to hang on to - something more tangible than a resolution or a goal. It's a word to live by.

The first year I chose a word I lamented about it for weeks. When I finally announced to Carrie what my word was going to be {I don't even remember it now} her response was, "Dude. Your word should be CHILL." She was right, so I took that word and made it my own that year - used it as a reminder to let go and relax.

The second year I chose the word JOY as a means to remind me to find the joy in simple pleasures all around me. It worked, and I loved that word {and that year} so much.

This past year, and my third-word-year the choice was THINK - not as in "do a lot of it" but more as a means to remind me to watch how I think. The what-I-think-about-I-bring-about type of THINK.

Which brings me to the current year and my one-little-word choice. Last weekend Carrie was over and asked what my 2012 one-little-word was going to be. I told her that the word "GROW" kept coming up for me, but that didn't feel quite right. I told her I'd seen the word "EVOLVE" on a blog and liked that better, but I wanted something that represented a butterfly coming out of a cocoon. I looked at her and said, "BUTTERFLY" and she smiled that awesome smile and said, "Perfect."

So that's it. Butterfly. I have the blessings of my sweet sage {she didn't suggest "calm down"} and I am quite frankly, ready to go with it.

I once read a quote that went something like:

"The cocoon to butterfly theory only works for caterpillars"

but I beg to differ. Just wait till you see where this BUTTERFLY goes this year.

♥

First Weekend Recap of 2012

2012-01-02T08:48:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year, blog friends!

Thanks for reading my lengthy story posts over the past couple of days,

and many thanks for your amazing and sweet comments.

How about a little lighter reading today with some

photos of my weekend?

Cool.

♥

I seem to manage at least one thing to ask Santa Claus for each year. Usually that thing is poo-poo'd by Doug and Carrie, combined with rolling of eyes and a bit of "what would you do with that?!?!" mixed in. This year's thing-I-wanted was a mini-donut maker. {Who's rolling their eyes now, eh?!?!}

I have been going crazy wanting to make donuts since I opened this package but it didn't seem doable with my right arm in a sling. I couldn't stand the waiting anymore, and busted out these bad boys yesterday. {Confession: Since Doug was away on a hunting trip, I had donuts for dinner last night.}

I'm so excited about this goofy little thing that I'm thinking of doing a donut feature on my blog and making different donuts every week. I'll call it: "52 Donuts." {LOL... Check in with me one year from now and see if I weigh an extra 52 pounds!}

This sling I'm lugging around? Totally.Over.It.

I see my doctor for the two-week follow-up tomorrow morning and I'm really hoping he'll have good things to say about my recovery progress. More specifically, I really hope I can at least get rid of the foam block underneath the sling. It's bulky and hot and stupid.

Carrie's sweet friend, Lindsay had a housewarming party that we attended on Saturday. I made this little card for her...mostly with my left hand...

And last, but certainly not least as it was a big part of my weekend: my new iPhone.

I asked Santa and he delivered. Proof that I was a very good girl? I think so. ;o) Anyway, I swore I wouldn't be one of those people with my nose stuck to the phone but I'm there. Hoping that it's a phase and will wear off soon, but this phone is amazing and probably deserves its very own blog post in the future.

On the agenda this week? Continuing the practice of driving a mouse with my left hand, I'm looking for a job and doing lots of online reading. I finally figured out a way to tie my own shoes which means I can resume my daily walk around the neighborhood. Getting out of the house is huge for me right now. And my mind is swirling with potential blog posts...

My 2012 is off to a fabulous start!

How's your year so far?

Her favorite color was red.

2012-01-01T09:41:00.000-07:00

My grandma, Bessie was different, and in hindsight that might be the reason I felt such a bond with her. She was a bit eclectic, maybe a little on the wacky side, and even a bit rebellious when compared to her straight-laced-sisters.

I once asked my grandma what her favorite color was. "Red" was her immediate response. I remember thinking at the time how odd that was - I thought everyone's favorite color was blue. No one would ever admit to red being their favorite color. And somehow, my young teenage self thought that it was, in a way, inappropriate to admit to loving the color red. But that was Grandma Bessie. I told you, she was different.

When asked "What's your favorite color," what do you say? I have a tough time with that question. I think it's safe to say that I love them all, but when pressed to choose just one, I'd still be inclined to say blue.

However, I've come to realize that my favorite color is...well...RED. I notice that this color shows up a lot in my photography, in my home decor, my wardrobe, and on my blog. :o)

My grandma Bessie loved me in a way that no one else ever will. I was her first-born grandchild, and she thought I was perfect. Not that I was or am, but in her eyes there was nothing about me that was anything less than perfect. I'm quite certain that she is smiling down on me as I type this blog post, more proud of me than she's ever been.

Our favorite color is red.

♥

{Linking to Sian's Storytelling Sunday today}

Dear 2011, I have some things to say to you.

2011-12-31T05:00:00.001-07:00

~ Memorandum ~

To: The Year That Was 2011
From: Deb @ PaperTurtle
Date: December 31, 2011
RE: Year-end Performance Evaluation

Dear 2011,

I’ve been thinking about this letter to you for a few weeks now. I had formulated all the things I wanted to say about how much you totally sucked. Yes, sucked. But then I felt bad about blasting you because I certainly don’t want to seem ungrateful for all those amazing lessons you provided for me. Oh, let’s see… there was a father-in-law with throat cancer and months of horrendous treatments {he’s fine now}, financial challenges that were beyond us, a weekend in the hospital for Doug, the ‘letting go’ of our beloved northern Arizona property, a move to a…well…fixer-upper-house, ridiculous personal health issues for me, the loss of my job {and even worse, a friendship}, my mom’s ongoing battle with ovarian cancer, and my right arm in a sling to complete the year. Gosh, 2011, are you proud of yourself for all of that?

You know, 2011, I had to really dig deep to find the blessings you provided. Amidst all the aforementioned junk, you did offer up some good times in the mix, and I credit my trusty camera for capturing moments of joy that make me reconsider labeling you, 2011, as The.Worst.Year.Ever.

The ignorant bliss of good health was turned upside-down all around us. Thank you, 2011 for helping me to appreciate the gift of good health and the ongoing desire to maintain it. Thank you for showing us what it’s like to love someone with cancer and to cherish every moment and say all the things that need to be said. Thank you for keeping me humble in terms of where I live, and for proving to me that walls and location do not make it home.

Thank you for all those trips to California to be with my family – four of them in one year {when the norm is one or two}. And if it wasn’t for you, 2011, there wouldn’t have been that awesome road trip with my girl C to meet up with three different blog friends. Amazing. Oh! And what about that trip to Tennessee in May to witness the fairytale wedding of my brother Ron to my sweet new SIL, Ryann? Yeah…that was really cool.

I turned 50 during your reign, 2011. Carrie gave me the most amazing gift of love and friendship and surprise I could ever imagine. And the incredible gift that is “Team Teal?” Words just can’t express! I made new friends, reconnected with old friends, and really appreciated all those in between.

So you see, 2011, while you were busy doling out all those lemons, I came back at you with some darn good lemonade! Gosh, 2011, come to think of it, you really rocked in terms of friends and family and love and laughter this year. Maybe I’ll reconsider the “you sucked” part.

Respectfully {and with gratitude},
~ Deb

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

~ Memorandum ~

To: The Year That Will Be 2012
From: Deb @ PaperTurtle
Date: December 31, 2011
RE: Welcome!

Dear 2012,

Hello new friend! You are a sight for sore eyes, and not a tough act to follow given the talents of your predecessor. It is with hope and eyes-wide-open that I welcome you. I understand there are some amazing things in store for us during your tenure!

Let's do it!

Peace and love,
~ Deb

♥

Christmas Weekend Recap

2011-12-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

♥

Greetings, dear blog friends! Thanks so much for your well wishes. My shoulder surgery went well and I am recovering nicely. I'm getting better at doing things with my left hand, but have safely determined that I am definitely not ambidextrous! Doug has been a huge help, and I'm sure he'll be just as glad as I am when my arm is out of this sling {another 5 weeks...ugh!}.

We had such a great time with family on Saturday - we do Christmas Eve and a gift exchange with Doug's family. Christmas day finds Doug and I on our own {Carrie goes to her dad's that day} and we really took it easy this year. We had my mom's annual pumpkin bread for breakfast, and drank coffee from our cool new coffee cups from my sweet SIL {Meta}. Then we spent the afternoon on the couch watching John Wayne movies.

Doug cooked a prime rib roast and we kept things simple. It was awesome that way.

Taking photos is not so easy for me at this time. Typing with my left hand is slow and not-so-accurate. I've been reading blogs here and there and leaving comments as I can. It seems to take me forever to get the message across! I just wanted to do a quick post to send my love and gratitude for your friendship and kindness.

I hope each of you had an amazing Christmas!

I'll be seeing you around...

xoxox!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

2011-12-24T11:57:00.001-07:00

"Joyful all ye nations rise!"

~ Charles Wesley

Just a Quote for Friday - the book.

2011-12-22T09:14:00.002-07:00

A gift for my grandma.

♥

If you're a regular reader around these parts, you know I do a Friday feature where I post a quote and a photo {Just a Quote for Friday}. 99.9% of the time, the photo is one that I've taken.

Every year I'm challenged with what to send my grandmother for Christmas. She's 91, folks. It's hard. This year I decided to give her a little book containing some of my favorite photos and quotes from this past year, and I just couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. {For this one I used Shutterfly and was quite pleased with the quality.}

I added the yellow ribbon - and I ended up ordering a few extras to give as gifts to other people...and one for me to keep. Since Grandma doesn't read my blog, this will be a brand new set of photos she's never seen before. I'm not sure she'll understand that I've "blogged" each of these, but that's ok.

I know her sentence will start with, "That Debbie..." when she opens it.

And that's all I need to know.

:o)

Lights! Camera!

2011-12-20T15:11:00.020-07:00

Just a few random photos of lights today.

Peace.

{I used Bokeh Masters Kit for the shapes - but you could easily make your own!}

Totally accidental shot, but cool:

Shot at f22 on a tripod to get the star effect:

Shot at f5.0 with a piece of metal screen webbing held in front of the lens to get this star effect:

~sigh~

By the time this post publishes I'll be recuperating from shoulder surgery...

taking it easy for a little while.

How's you Christmas shaping up?

Twas the weekend before Christmas and all through the house...

2011-12-18T18:26:00.144-07:00

Greetings, merry blog friends.

Welcome to another exciting edition of what went down at my house this past weekend.

:o) ♥

{recipe here}

I'm pleased to announce that I am officially ready for Christmas! Oh, you might be really jealous right now. You might be thinking, "Ugh. That DebTurtle is so dang organized." Well, yes...but I had to be done a bit early this year to allow for the shoulder surgery I'll be having tomorrow morning. {Hm. The life of DebTurtle doesn't seem so awesome now, does it?!?!}

Anybody want a cat? Part II:

At first I thought it was just that big lug of a cat Whiskers Jay. Never would my sweet little Fancy Jane be so naughty as to mess with my little Christmas kitchen vignette. Turns out that this little tree is made of plastic which is exactly what Fancy loves to eat, so I've been cleaning up plastic-pine-needle-laden-cat-vomit for three weeks now. And Whiskers has been a monster where this tree is concerned. So when I heard the crash and found my vignette in this shape I was officially over it. I took the tree down. {That'll teach those cats!}

And the exciting news from our backyard is that Doug and I are the proud growers of the cutest little tiny baby tomatoes you've ever seen. :o)!!!

~sigh~ ♥

I made some more white chocolate goodness for a friend who is gluten-free {found the recipe here, but I used popcorn, M&M's, and cashews in the mix}:

Had a fun time shopping with Carrie on Saturday afternoon,
and we had lunch with our dear friend Janae too.

Planning ahead because of my surgery, I've spent the past few weeks baking mini-loaves of nut breads and freezing them to use as Christmas gifts. I've made banana-chocolate-chip-walnut bread, my grandma's zucchini bread, and I tried a new recipe for orange cream cheese bread that is a real keeper! {Stirred some chocolate chips into a few of the loaves because I LOVE orange and chocolate together. It was a huge success as far as Doug, Carrie, and I are concerned!}

I put together a bingo game for our upcoming Christmas gathering. I used all the names of our family {we were one short so I included "a guest" - someone usually shows up with a friend in tow...}. As each person arrives you check off their name... {Note from Uncle Doug: You can't check off a name until that person is in the house.}

I made a spreadsheet in Excel and just moved the names around, sorted them, copied, etc. until I had 16 unique cards. I'm excited to see how it goes.

I finished up all the rest of my wrapping, including this one for my SIL {don't look, Laurie!}. Isn't that deer just the cutest? {It was a free printable I got here.}

Phew. Glad that's all done!

♥

So, I've been nursing a tear in my right shoulder rotator cuff for about a year and a half now and I'm finally getting it taken care of. I will be oh-so-glad to have that behind me! I've been crafting like there's no tomorrow these past few weeks, and my shoulder is paying the price. After tomorrow I'll be out of commission for a while - not really sure what to expect in terms of recovery but you can bet I'll be chomping at the bit to be back in the game. I have a few posts scheduled for this week, so until I return:

Wishing each of you an amazing Christmas time full of

love and laughter and surrounded by people you love.

~ ♥ ~

Before, During, and After - The Kitchen

2011-12-17T08:35:00.002-07:00

Thought I'd take a break from Christmas posting and give you a tour of our kitchen.

:o) ♥

Before: Here's what the kitchen looked like back in August - the first time we looked at the house with our realtor {too bad the photo doesn't reflect all the grossness of this room...or does it...}:

During: We'll eventually replace the cabinets and counter tops, but for now Doug did a lot of painting and making them look good...

After: :o)

And here are some before, during, and after shots taken from the other end of the room:

Before: {first time we looked at the house...}

During:

After:

Here's a list of what went down:

- popcorn/acoustic ceiling in dining area removed

- all walls retextured and painted

- new base boards

- linoleum floor replaced with ceramic tile

- cabinets painted

- fluorescent light fixture replaced with can lights

- ceiling fan/light fixture in dining area replaced

- new blinds

- new door for pantry {forgot to photograph that}

- incorporated some antlers into the decor :o)

* * * * * *

I still need to figure out some window treatments,

but for the time being I think we'll just let it ride.

What do you think?

Wanna' come over for a spot of tea?

Just a quote for Friday

2011-12-16T07:00:00.002-07:00

"For fast-acting relief, try slowing down."

~ Lily Tomlin

{Virtual} Christmas Cookie Exchange

2011-12-16T03:00:00.002-07:00

♥

If you like your cookies soft and chewy - and easy to make - this is a recipe for you!

1 box of cake mix {I used a German Chocolate cake mix I had on hand}

2 eggs {room temperature}

1/2 cup melted butter {cooled so it's not hot when you add it to the mix}

1 cup chocolate chips {plus I added some M&M's and sprinkles to the top for color}

Mix it all together, roll it in 1" balls, bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes.

Yum-a-licious!

Want some more great cookie ideas?

Head on over to BEglorious where my friend, Beverly

is hosting this virtual cookie exchange.
♥

http://BEglorious.blogspot.com

Candy-Covered-Candy-Canes

2011-12-15T08:00:00.053-07:00

~ ♥ ~

Every year I make little sweet gifts to hand out to our nieces and nephews at our annual Christmas gathering. It might seem kind of silly at this point - they are all grown up now and a few of them are married with babies of their own in the making.

Oh well.

I'm Aunt Deb.

It's what I do.

I saw this idea a while back and thought it would be an easy treat to put together. Turns out it was easy, but a bit messy and didn't really turn out the way I'd expected. Ugh. Anyway, I salvaged them and am fairly happy with the results after all.

I have to laugh when I see these little stryofoam balls between my cooling racks. I needed something to support the candy canes while the white-candy-coating dried so I rigged up this contraption. All was fine until the weight of about 15 candy canes caused it to shift, leaving me with white-candy-coating all over the place and calling "Doug!!! Come help me!!!" like the house was on fire or something. ~sigh~ He's used to it.

So anyway, pretty basic: melt vanilla candy coating, dip the candy cane in it, sprinkle with some pretties and let dry before tying them up in individual bags. The result - if/when they are eaten - is like peppermint bark. Yum!

How about you?

Do you do any assembly-line treats like these?

I made 23 of them.

♥

White Chocolate Chex Mix {aka White Trash}

2011-12-13T05:00:00.017-07:00

Or, I like to call it "Reindeer Munch"

♥

I know what you're thinking. Yeah, yeah, we've all had Chex mix, but let me tell you! This stuff is the bomb!

It makes a whole bunch and I like to tie it in bags, put it in pretty containers and give it away as soon as possible! It's highly addictive and you cannot have just one bite!

I'll give you the recipe so you can try it yourself...

one bag of mini-pretzels

5 cups corn Chex cereal

5 cups Cheerios cereal

2 cups M&M's

2 cups salted peanuts

2 16-oz. bags white chocolate chips

2 T. vegetable oil

* Combine first five ingredients in a very large bowl.

* In a separate bowl, microwave white chocolate chips and the vegetable oil for 1 minute. Stir. Continue to microwave at 15-second intervals until chocolate is melted.

* Pour melted white chocolate over cereal mixture and toss to coat all pieces.

* Spread coated mixture onto waxed paper and allow to dry before storing in an air-tight container.

Enjoy!

♥

A Very Christmas-y Weekend

2011-12-12T08:33:00.000-07:00

Hello, blog friends!

~ It's a dark and rainy morning here in Arizona ~

{That makes the Christmas lights look even better, don't you think?}

♥

We had a busy weekend and I took a lot of photos, but I'm only posting a few here today. I'll give you the rest during the week. ;o)

I got a start on some candy cane treats I saw a while back. I totally should have done this project before I mopped my kitchen floor.

And on Saturday afternoon I took a drive across town to see my niece, Savannah perform in The Nutcracker ballet. This year she had some solo parts and I was super proud of her talent! Her brother took a few pictures of us after the show, and this was the best one {with his artistic tilt}.

We finally figured out why there were so few ornaments on our tree. Turns out we are missing a Christmas box filled with tree ornaments and most particularly, all our angel ornaments. O:o\ With the move last year it must have been stuck back further in the storage unit than the other boxes. We'll find it by next year!

Fortunately, we do have plenty of other angels hanging around.

♥

PS: So, this week it's game on for me. I'm scheduled for shoulder surgery next Monday (the 19th) so I can finally get that over with! That means I have to have all my Christmas stuff done before next Monday. I think I can do it! I think I can...

PSS for Team Teal: My mom {Marti} is having minor surgery tomorrow. Please hold her in your thoughts. ♥

Christmas Mini-book ~ 12 Days of Christmas

2011-12-11T19:10:00.042-07:00

Welcome to Deb's

December-Daily-Journal-Your-12-Days-of-Christmas

~ ♥ ~

I have been on a mini-book roll lately and loving every minute of it. I made this one to document the 12-Days-of-Christmas photography class I'm taking, generously offered by Cheryl Johnson. I have loved this class! The daily prompts seemed to fit me just right, I met some nice people, and I learned a lot of fun techniques.

As a way to document something this month, I vowed to print each day's assignment photo and pop it into this little book. I'm a few days behind on the printing part of it, but I'll get there! Here's a look at what I have so far:

The Christmas tags I used are from the same template that I created for my Thanksgiving favor tags last month. If you'd like a copy you are more than welcome to print them {click here}. {And I also made a blue set that you can print by clicking here.}

Oh yeah! How the book is made... I've used this design a lot over the last few years - it's quick and easy to assemble and you can find my original tutorial here.

How about you?

Are you a fan of mini-books?

♥

10 Things I Love About December ~ on the 10th

2011-12-10T06:20:00.001-07:00

1 - Sugar cookies {December really is the only time I ever eat a sugar cookie!}

2 - Tall skinny peppermint mocha thankyouverymuch

3 - Christmas photography

4 - My holiday purse {Let me see... What was the word Carrie used... oh yeah. Hideous.}

5 - Christmas attire {Yes, these are Santa Turtle socks. Note Whiskers in the background. :o)}

6 - This pin. Forever known as "The Toilet Pin" because 5-year-old Carrie dropped it in the bowl. {For the record, the water was clean and it was my favorite pin so I rescued it.}

7 - Lights!

8 - Pretzel treats {last year's photo}

9 - Wrapping presents. {It's paper, tape and scissors. What's not to love?}

10 - Christmas morning chocolate pancakes

Just ten of the many reasons to love December.

Did I miss any that are favorites of yours?

~ ♥ ~

Linking to Shimelle's 10 on the 10th today.

:o)

Rudolph is {was} a 6x6

2011-12-09T08:00:00.003-07:00

♥

This is how I spent my day yesterday.

Very productive, wouldn't you say?

This idea came from a Pinterest pin that my friend Cate showed on her blog. I did a little searching and came up with the original pattern found here. I enlarged the pattern myself, found some cardboard in the garage and started cutting.

If I didn't already need shoulder surgery, I do now. This was some tough stuff to cut! Normally I would ask my oh-so-strong hubby to cut it for me, but it was a surprise for him so I did it myself.

Once he was cut and assembled, he hung out in the kitchen while I made cookies {should have cleared some clutter before photo shoot...} then in the living room while I figured out how I was going to get a wreath around him. {Fancy Jane was curious and/or waiting to eat the fake evergreen.}

I wasn't sure how this would be received by Doug. I hoped he'd get a kick out of it, but wasn't sure how he'd feel about me using my unemployed status to work on a cardboard cut-out that took several hours / most of the day.

Well, he loved it. :o)!!!

When the laughter subsided he took stalk, as any respectable hunter would, and said, "Hm...he's a six-by-six" {referring to the size of the antlers}.

He's good for some laughs and keeping things merry and light.

And that's what I'm aiming for from here on out.

Merry and light {hearted}.

♥

Just a quote for Friday

2011-12-09T05:00:00.009-07:00

"I've learned you can tell a lot about a person by the way they
handle a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas lights."

~ author unknown

Santa made me do it.

2011-12-07T14:39:00.000-07:00

A holly jolly hello, blog friends.

~ ♥ ~

{Accidental self-portrait in the mirror at the kitchen door...
And yes, it's December 7th and I have the front door open.}

Honestly? I would have been just fine without a Christmas tree this year. It's just where I am with things right now. My sweet hubby wouldn't hear of it though. And since he's the king of the castle, we got a tree. That I decorated today. :o) ♥

Fancy Jane was unimpressed with the whole process. She's old that way. She decided to take advantage of the fact that The King had left his quilt out. Whiskers, on the other hand...

I probably could have taken all the boxes out of the way before I took the final photo, but oh well... You get the idea.

It's Christmas at our house now.

How are things shaping up where you are?

A very happy half birthday...

2011-12-06T07:02:00.000-07:00

To my sweet baby girl C.

♥

A grainy photo, but it warms my heart.

My little Gemini ~ loves her birthday, celebrates it twice a year. One of our Carrie Christmas traditions is that I give her a little gift (usually a tree ornament) for her half-birthday. We're meeting for lunch today, and I'm ready with the little gift.

Happy Half Birthday, Carrie!

XOXOXO!!!

My wild and crazy weekend

2011-12-05T06:55:00.006-07:00

Hello and happy Monday to you, my dear friends.

I was left to my own devices this past weekend while

Doug and Carrie were living it up in Las Vegas.

{Don't feel sorry for me - I do not like Vegas.}

♦ ♣ ♥ ♠

Carrie had a bit of car trouble just before the trip, so they ended up taking my car. I could have driven Carrie's car or Doug's truck in a pinch, but didn't have any real need to do so. So I stayed home and took care of a little Christmas business. Like cards:

And a photography class assignment:

And some wrapping:

Got ready to make a trip to the post office. I'll still have one more trip in a week or so when my mom's package is ready to be mailed. Or, maybe I'll sweet talk Carrie into mailing it from her work...

The Santa belly card shown above is a design I've been seeing all over the place lately. I made two to use as notecards for Mom and Grandma this week.

I finally broke down and turned the heater on. Last year I made it till December 3rd. This year December 2nd. Our air conditioning unit runs constantly from May through October. Once that's over we like to leave our unit turned off for as long as possible. It's just what we do...

I stayed in my pajamas all day yesterday. I seriously can't remember the last time I did that! I watched a little Indiana Jones with a couple of furry friends:

Why, yes, as a matter of fact, that is a plastic ram by our TV - courtesy of my late mother-in-law, PJ. PJ was random - I loved that about her. That's why when I came across this ram recently I knew we had to display it this year.

Fancy Jane likes Harrison Ford too.

Good kitty.

♥

On the agenda this week: more Christmas prep!

Ready.

Set.

GO!

Anybody want a cat?

2011-12-03T18:15:00.002-07:00

So, just for the heck of it, I put up this little tree in our kitchen.

{pause}

Oh, isn't that cute/nice/fun....

Yeah.

We heard the sound at 4:15 a.m.

Fancy Jane is my favorite cat right now.

She would never do something like this.

And Whiskers won't do it again...

Don't even think about messing with me right now, Whiskers Jay.

Bad kitty!

{♥ him anyway}

PS: Thanks to Doug who immediately went for the broom, but understood when I asked him to leave it until the sun was up so I could get some photos. Good hubby!

PSS: Thanks to Sian for encouraging us to tell stories! Her Storytelling Sundays have been a true inspiration this past year. I'm linking to her today! Good friend!

Being Jolly

2011-12-03T05:00:00.004-07:00

♥

Yes,

that's me.

Jolly.

;o)

Just a quote for Friday

2011-12-02T06:15:00.000-07:00

"Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love,

the things you are, the things you never want to lose."

~ from the television show The Wonder Years

December Shenanigans {and a tutorial thrown in}

2011-12-01T07:00:00.013-07:00

All bets are off, friends.

It's December and time for some Christmas blogging.

And photography.

♥

Santa with mascara.

Shocking, right?

I can explain...

One of the perks of being me is that I'm unemployed at the moment which means I have time to devote to a free-12-day-online-photography-class offered by CJ. {Not that being unemployed is a perk, but I'm dealing with it...} Assignment #1 was to post a festive self-portrait. I originally just took a photo of myself wearing a Santa hat {see profile picture} but when I saw what some others were posting {over-the-top-clever-and-funny} I knew I had to step it up.

I searched the internet for a Santa beard pattern, and the rest is history...

The whole DebSanta thing was a little weird, so I called on Doug for some help. {I know, I know, poooorrrr Doug...}. As soon as I put the Santa beard on him I started laughing. Oh my gosh. I'm laughing just typing this. His body language was screaming "I DON'T LIKE THIS..." Ok... ok.... his voice was saying he wasn't real crazy about it either, but he's a good sport and he accommodated me.

I could go on about the quality of the photos not being what I'd like it to be, but these are some really fun photos so I'm going to post them anyway... {BTW, I uploaded them to Picnik and did some basic editing and they are much better. Thanks, Carrie!}

This next picture totally cracks me up. It's like I'm all excited and giddy because I'm next to... well... SANTA!!!

Ah! Just couldn't help myself...

♥ !!!!!

Ok, so here's the tutorial part. I got the pattern here and changed it up just a little - made it about an inch longer and added some curves around the bottom edge.

I used two layers of white felt, traced the pattern using a disappearing ink pen, sewed around the lines and then trimmed the pieces out cutting close to the stitching. Carrie will argue about pinning every time {she hates it}, but it really makes a difference in your finished project.

I hand-stitched the moustache in place, and used a 9" piece of elastic to complete the beard.

Even if you just print the pattern and cut it out of paper, this is a really fun piece to have around. I made a couple extra for some little people in my life, but I'm keeping this one:

♥

Weird.

Santa with girl eyes again.

But this is the one I used for my photo

assignment self-portrait so I had to include it.
:o)

Get your jolly on - apparently I have.
* * * * * * * *

Also linking to Vintage Gwen - "A Special Christmas Soiree"
:o)

So long, November.

2011-11-30T09:25:00.000-07:00

♦ ♦ ♦

You may recall that at the beginning of November I made some little tags for our Thanksgiving favor treats. I had an extra set left over, so I turned it into a little mini-book that I promised would be filled with photos by the end of this month. Well, I did just that, so I'll share just a few of the pages for you to see. :o)

My sister, Valerie and me:

My mom and Carrie:

My brother, Ron and my SIL, Ryann:

My Douglas and me: ♥

Got thanks?
Yes I do!

Plenty of it!

November Attitude of Gratitude:

* I'm so grateful for my collection of scrapbook supplies - it allows me to create little books whenever I want.

* I'm grateful for the inspiration to build this little book early in the month, as putting the photos into it this morning took about five minutes and it's done!

* I'm so very grateful for this little blog where I can show gratitude not just in November, but all year long! ♥

Thanksgiving / Weekend Recap

2011-11-28T05:00:00.032-07:00

Thanksgiving at my sister's house was wonderful!

We are still feeling the glow of some great family time.

Wanna' see a few photos?

♥ ♥ ♥

On Friday, Presley and I snuck off alone for a walk through the p-a-r-k {we do a lot of spelling around little brother...}

After taking a bunch of photos of her, Presley asked if she could take some of me.

"Put your hands up in the air, Aunt Deb!" {haha!}

It's true.

I'd do just about anything for that girl.

♥

November Attitude of Gratitude:

* I'm so thankful for a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with my family.

* Oh so grateful for safe travels!

* Thankful for a home to come home to with two cats who were very glad to see us.

Rocks I Walk With {Project: Spread the Love}

2011-11-27T05:00:00.001-07:00

Some of you may already know that I'm a daily walker.

But did you know that I walk with rocks?

* * * * * * * * * *

I love rocks, and many times I'll find a smooth one at the beginning of my walk and carry it with me during the course of my travel. I like to hold it, rub it, turn it over and over in my hand, and use it as a meditation tool while I walk. When I walk I'll usually find a smooth rock to pick up at the beginning of my travels, then toss it back to the ground with gratitude when I'm close to home again. Last week, I picked up three rocks and brought them home with me.

Since we moved to our new neighborhood I've been faced with a couple of challenges. Challenge #1 is finding my way around and then back home again. One day last week I ended up walking in the wrong direction and missed my mark {home} by a whole mile. :o\ {Follow the sun, Deb, follow the sun...}

Challenge #2 is that this new neighborhood isn't...well...as pretty as the old one. It's an older neighborhood and has no homeowners association and therefore no regular upkeep of common areas {i.e. sidewalk sweeping, grass pulling along fence backs, etc.}. I suppose that's not really a "challenge," but I must admit it makes me a little bit sad that people don't take more pride in their surroundings.

I'm on my own personal mission to make a little difference in this here older neighborhood, so when I saw this idea I knew I wanted to copy it.

I had so much fun painting the three rocks I had collected, so I went out for more!

Disclosures:

* I am not a painter. These simple designs were painted on with acrylic paint then outlined with a Sharpie marker.

* It's difficult to draw a smooth line on a not-so-smooth rock.

* And, I was supposed to spray these with a coat of polyurethane to protect the design before I released them, but I just couldn't wait to put one out on the sidewalk in hopes of brightening someone's day.

I put this rock out and watched for a while, hoping I'd see someone pick it up.

I missed that action, but it wasn't long before I noticed that the rock had disappeared.

I imagined the person who found it thinking, "Hey! Look what I found!"

Or maybe a child thinking, "I'm gonna' give this to my mom!"

:o)

Well, the process and the idea of putting these silly little rocks around

our neighborhood makes me happy. Here's hoping that my little painted

rocks will make someone else happy too!

November Attitude of Gratitude:

* I am so grateful for healthy legs and feet that allow me to walk every day and even get lost in the process from time to time.

* I'm so grateful for this sweet older neighborhood we live in - it's been loved a little longer than the last one.

* I'm so grateful for the opportunity to help brighten someone's day.

Just a Quote for Friday

2011-11-25T06:26:00.002-07:00

"Each problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful

that it literally dwarfs the problem. The greatest success

stories were created by people who recognized a problem

and turned it into an opportunity."

~ Joseph Sugarman

The definition of "almost packed"

2011-11-23T19:30:00.000-07:00

My idea of "almost packed" =

Doug's idea of "almost packed" =

♥

Happy Thanksgiving to my local {USA} friends!

Wishing each of you a very happy holiday

filled with love and food and fun with family.

November Attitude of Gratitude:

* I'm grateful for a vehicle that is great for road trips.

* And grateful that Doug and Carrie will do most of the driving.

* And so very grateful for all my amazing blog friends. Love!

Last minute flower containers

2011-11-22T06:15:00.003-07:00

Please ignore the crazy-daisies-not-quite-complete-flower-arrangement.

These will look a whole lot different with a full fall bouquet.

♥

I'm not a fancy-schmancy flower arranger, but I'm gonna' give it a try this Thursday at my sister's house. When she asked if I would do the flower arrangements I offered to make the containers to put them in as well. I'm always bothered by tall centerpieces that block the view of the person sitting across the table from you, so I went with something low profile to keep the arrangements below eye-level.

I used empty cans and squished them straight down into the floral foam, then eased it down into the can just a bit so it wouldn't be right up along the top of the rim. I used paper from a large roll of kraft paper because, wouldn't you know it? These cans measure 12-1/2" around. My original plan to use scrapbook paper had to be reconsidered.

I stamped a design on the kraft paper before wrapping it around the can, then wrapped a 2" wide brown grosgrain ribbon around them, tied with raffia and they're done.

All in all a fun and simple and cheap project. These would also work for Christmas or any other party, covered with wrapping paper to match the occasion. I'll show you photos of these with the real-deal flowers next week!

♥

November Attitude of Gratitude:
* I'm oh-so-grateful for my sweet blog friends who left me so much love and encouragement in yesterday's post with regard to my employment status (or lack thereof). ♥ ♥ ♥
* I'm so thankful for my lovely family that I will be spending the next five days with.
* I'm thankful for my sweet mom who insists on making dinner for us after our 11-hour drive tomorrow. {Not sure why CARRIE gets to pick the food choice, but whatever...}
* I'm thankful for my mom's awesome Grandmothering to Carrie. ♥

Well, it was a weekend.

2011-11-21T07:02:00.001-07:00

Greetings, blog friends.

It's Monday morning alright.

Here's a little weekend re-cap, if you'd care to have a peek...

♦ ♦ ♦

I watched my garden grow. :o) Looking back through the November photo file in my computer, you'd think that this little garden of mine was a new grandchild that I just couldn't stop taking pictures of! Fact of the matter is, I do love it. My basil is going crazy, and my three tomato plants are tall and have sweet little blossoms on them. I'm wondering: Will I really get tomatoes off these plants this late in the year? I've never grown tomatoes so I don't know...keep in mind I live in the desert so we still have some warm weather on our side...

I did some crafting. I'll show you that tomorrow.

I spent some time at the park on Saturday afternoon with my friend Janae and her twin littles. I shot 168 photos before we gave up. Truth is, I did get a few good ones, but the ratio of all three looking at the camera versus not was pretty bad. I just love this photo - it sums up our happy frustration of a photo session with two two-year-olds.

I'm just gonna' say it: this past week I became unemployed. Don't fret. No need to worry. I'm ok, and Doug and I are not freaked out {yet}. But Saturday night found us at our backyard fire pit pretending that we were camping - beer and all.

I'm going to be doing the floral centerpieces for our Thanksgiving tables at my sister's house, so I put together some containers - simple empty cans covered with paper and ribbon. {I'll show you those in the future too...}

We had breakfast Sunday morning with my father-in-law and I was up early enough to bake a batch of pumpkin coffee cake. He was the happy recipient of a mini-loaf.

And there you have it - a fairly low-key weekend around our place.

This week we'll be traveling to California to spend time with our family

and we just couldn't be more excited about that. :o)!!!

It's Thanksgiving week!

Bring it!

♥

November Attitude of Gratitude:

* I'm so thankful for my sweet little garden. I have my own space and my own dirt to nurture.

* I'm so grateful for my friend Janae and her littles - they make for a very fun Saturday afternoon.
* I'm so grateful for the amazing opportunities that are opening up for me right now!

Manly Hand Scrub

2011-11-19T07:40:00.015-07:00

I love a man who's not afraid to get his hands dirty.

♥

Many of you know that my husband, Doug, is a painting contractor.

Let me tell you, his hands get dirty during the course of his day.

Doug's paint sprayer sprung a leak the other day and he came home with [more] paint on his hands [than usual]. I handed him a tube of my apricot face scrub and it did the trick, but I'm not supposed to tell anyone that he used a girlie product.

I was inspired by an idea I saw here for this easy sugar scrub and I couldn't wait to make a manly version for Doug.

I've had this juniper scented body wash for the longest time {Carrie, I think it was yours...} and decided to use it to make the scrub. I just combined it with sugar, stirred it up, and it was done. I really liked this recipe because it's the first I've seen that didn't call for some sort of oil to be added. Oil can make for a very slippery shower/bath tub floor.

Some things to note about this process:
* I found it difficult to stir this stuff in the jar, so I ended up dumping the whole thing into a bowl to mix it.
* You need way more sugar than soap. It seemed like it wasn't going to combine well, but the longer I stirred the better it got.
* I used this plastic flip-top container {See? I knew there was a good reason to save it for all this time!} because he'll use this in the shower and I didn't want a breakable jar.
* I used soap I had on hand, but next time I'll probably invest in a more masculine scent.
* This would be a great gift-idea for crafting friends who end up with lots of glue and paint on their hands - tied up in a pretty jar... The possibilities are endless!

Lastly, I labeled it so there would be no question about it being manly.

♦ ♦ ♦

November Attitude of Gratitude:

* I'm grateful for the endless stream of inspiration that comes from this crazy blog world.

* Love my man with the dirty hands. ;o)

Just a Quote for Friday

2011-11-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

{My family ~ Thanksgiving 2009}

"The waiting is the hardest part."

~ Tom Petty

Hey, Doug, it's your birthday!

2011-11-17T06:48:00.002-07:00

Happy birthday to the best guy on the planet, my husband Doug.

♥

Before Doug met Carrie and me, there wasn't a whole lot of fussin' made on his birthday.

Well, I suppose his mom made a fuss when he was a kid,

but Carrie and I get to fuss over him as an adult.

He'll say he doesn't want us to make a big deal of it.

He'll say, "Oh, you don't have to..."

But we know he loves it when we do.

So today we celebrate Doug being on the planet.

Hooray for all of us!!!

♥

November Attitude of Gratitude:

* I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I'm so very grateful to have Doug in my life. The angels were really looking after Carrie and me when he entered our lives!

* I'm thankful for a daughter who bakes an amazing German chocolate cake every year for Doug's birthday {he's pretty happy about this one too}!
* Also thankful for same said daughter for writing such a sweet tribute for Doug on her blog today. :o)!

Thanksgiving Tags Mini-book

2011-11-16T06:40:00.001-07:00

Greetings, Friends.

{and hi Mom! ♥}

When I printed the tags to use on my little cornucopia favors for Thanksgiving, I ended up with an extra sheet of tags. I knew two things: 1) I wanted to turn them into a little mini-book; and 2) if I didn't do it now it would never get done.

I created a simple little book using scraps I had on hand {I'm on a mission to use up a bunch of my supplies this holiday season!}. I left a space on each page for a 3"x 3" photo that I promise to print and slap onto these pages the week after Thanksgiving!

A little note to my family members: Yes, I will have my camera, you will smile, and you will like it. :o) {thank you}

We are so looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with my family next week. I always feel a bit melancholy after a family gathering, but I always look forward to uploading photos of happy faces afterwards. And now I'm kind of excited to add photos to this little mini.

It's always good to have something to look forward to.

♦ ♦ ♦

November Attitude of Gratitude:

* I'm grateful for my never-ending supply of scrapbooking stuff.

* So grateful to have something to look forward to {spending time with my fam!}

* Road trip!!!

And now it's Christmas? GO!!!

2011-11-14T19:45:00.001-07:00

How crazy is it that Thanksgiving is next week?

And I saw Christmas lights on my way home from work tonight!

And the radio station we listen to at work started its

continuous Christmas music today at 4:00 p.m.!!!

What the...?!?!?

Is it just me?

I'm not ready for Frosty the Snowman on November 14th

for Pete's sake.

{and I won't be putting that blog banner up top until after Thanksgiving!}

November Attitude of Gratitude:

* Thanks for letting me vent!

* and something totally non-blog-post related, but I'm super grateful for Doug. ♥

A Cornucopia of Flavors...and favors.

2011-11-14T05:00:00.023-07:00

Hi Blog Friends!

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I had volunteered to bring favors to my sister's house for Thanksgiving this year. My original idea to make little jelly bean filled pumpkins didn't work out like I'd planned {plus I decided that making 24 of them wouldn't be that much fun...} so when I saw this idea on my friend, Mary Lou's blog I quickly changed directions!

* * * * * *

To create the cornucopia, I steamed sugar/waffle ice cream cones over boiling water to soften them, then curled them up at the end to create a cornucopia look.

Some things to note:
* I steamed three cones at a time because it was hard to keep up with them once they're steamed - they start to harden up right away.
* It took at least 90 seconds before the cones started to soften up enough to become pliable.
* The molding of the cones/cornucopias is grown-up's work - let the kiddos help you fill them once they've cooled.

I filled the cornucopias with Reeses Pieces, candy corn flavored M&M's, candy corn, cashews, and pretzel sticks. Oh yeah, and love. ♥

I made these tags to tie on by using Microsoft Word and the pre-set template for business cards - shaded in the background and used a white font. Easy! {If you'd like a copy let me know and I'd be happy to email the file.}

And that's it. I ended up making a total of 28 favors and I'm so excited to share them with my family!

Next week!!!

:o)!!!

November Attitude of Gratitude:

* I'm so grateful that Doug, Carrie, and I get to spend Thanksgiving with my family this year.

* I'm thankful for a sister who is hosting T-giving at her house!

* And thankful for same said sister who gives me creative license on favors and flowers.

Linking to Skip to My Lou - Made by You Mondays

Never give up.

2011-11-12T07:30:00.001-07:00

Ok, dramatic blog post title, silly little blog post subject:

The ocotillo plant in our front yard.

♥

Our sweet house had sat empty for a year before we bought it. By the time we got our keys the house needed some love, and oh did the plants in our new yard need some serious lovin'!

I really should have taken some photos of our ocotillo {and other plants/trees} when we first moved in. In hindsight I suppose I didn't because I really wasn't sure we could save some of them. However, the ocotillo {pronounced awk-o-tee-o} has come back to life and is even sporting some blooms at the ends of its stalks - something that is rare for autumn. :o)

Now, the tree right next to our blooming ocotillo {we think is a cottonwood tree} is a different story. It's struggling, and I initially thought it should be taken down, but Doug has managed to squeeze a few fresh new leaves out of a section of the tree. I suppose this means we'll wait until spring to see what else pops out - fingers crossed that it will mimic its neighbor {Mr. Ocotillo} and be healthy once again.

Last weekend we had a bit of a storm blow through, and one of the flower pieces fell off {possibly knocked off by Doug's struggling cottonwood tree?}. The buds weren't open yet, but I thought it was cool to see one up close.

And according to Wikipedia, the flowers can be "used in salads and have a tangy flavor."

Hm.

Who knew?

I'm thinking we're going to find out one of these days...

November Attitude of Gratitude:

* I'm grateful for a husband who doesn't give up easily - not even where ailing plants are concerned.

* I'm grateful for ocotillo blooms in autumn!

* And if plants can be grateful, I know the plants in our yard are glad we moved in when we did! ;o)

Just a quote for Friday

2011-11-11T05:00:00.016-07:00

In honor of Veteran's Day

A photo of my father-in-law, Dave

Vietnam, 1968

He's the handsome guy standing up...

"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern.

Beautiful people do not just happen."

~ Elizabeth Kubler Ros

Before, During and After: The Living Room

2011-11-09T05:00:00.014-07:00

:o) ♥

If you're a regular around these parts, you know that Doug and I purchased a house a few months ago that was a true diamond in the rough. Here's how things went down in the living room of said diamond...

♦ ♦ ♦

When I look at this picture now I think, "Eh, it didn't look that bad..." but trust me, it was bad. Maybe because I remember how dirty it was to begin with, and the sliding glass door that was broken and couldn't be easily opened and didn't have a working lock. And did I mention dirty?

The man. My man. This is what the room looked like within two hours of us getting our keys!

A few days later: walls and ceiling retextured and painted, old light fixtures removed, new base boards...

A few weeks later: new ceiling fan/light fixtures, replaced the broken sliding door with French doors {my BIL Don did the install}, stuff starting to land in place...

The floor in this room doesn't look too bad in these photos, but it does have some flaws. To date we haven't done anything other than clean it, but we will eventually replace it with new flooring...someday...

Still a few decorating issues to address, but we do love it.

Cool, eh?

♥

November Attitude of Gratitude: Where do I even begin with this one?

* I'm so grateful that I have a husband who knows how to fix/repair/replace stuff!

* I'm grateful that he fixes it and then lets me have creative license for where to put stuff.

* Even though we seriously downsized, this place is definitely us!

A story about cotton {A Tale for Tuesday}

2011-11-08T05:00:00.051-07:00

{cotton field in Scottsdale, Arizona}

November 5, 2011

I grew up in a small town in California's San Joaquin Valley - a vast agricultural utopia. My uncle was a cotton farmer, and most of the kids I went to school with were farmer's kids. Me? I just grew up there.

♦ ♦ ♦

When I was young, we lived on a country road that faced a large field. Crops in the field would rotate from year to year, and my favorite was always cotton. I loved the color of green on the fresh stalks, and then - as if it were a miracle every time - cotton. I was always amazed at its organic awesomeness - the way the seeds were wrapped tightly inside that soft natural cotton ball growing right there on a plant!

At the end of our road, right on the edge of the cotton field stood an old shack - a small building where Hiawatha Jones lived. In hindsight I realize he was a farm hand - he tended the field and looked after irrigation and the likes. My younger siblings and I were goofy little white kids, and we were in awe of Hiawatha, an old black man with a swagger {read: drinking problem}.

One of the things we loved to do as kids was to fish for crawdads in the irrigation ditch at the end of the road, past Hiawatha's home. Our great-uncle Homer would tie a piece of liver on a string for us, and we'd sit on a board that was perched across the irrigation ditch and dip the strings into the water. Slowly pulling the string up after a minute or so would result in a crawdad (or two or three) hanging onto the bait. We'd collect the crawdads into a bucket and exchange them at the local liquor and bait store for 2¢ a tail. That traded for a lot of penny candy back then!

One day while we were crawdad fishing, minding our own goofy business, along stumbled Hiawatha Jones. He wanted to cross the ditch so we accommodated him by stepping off of the board and allowing him to walk across. Well, his balance wasn't all that great and he fell off the board and into the ditch water! My younger sibs panicked, but [being the oldest] I took charge. From the ditch bank I held out my fishing stick to him, allowing him to steady himself and helping him out of the muddy water. Now, mind you, the water in the ditch was merely waist high on Hi, yet to this day my brother Ron still tells this story and starts, "Remember that time you saved Hi's life?" We laugh every time like it's a brand new tale.

These days when I think about Hiawatha Jones I wonder what his life must have been like in that little shack at the end of that road, right on the edge of that cotton field - with goofy neighbor kids who stared at him wide-eyed and feared him for no reason other than he was different. And my elderly great-aunt Floy, who knocked on his door from time to time to deliver plates of food for which he was always grateful.

And I wonder if I'll ever see a field of cotton and not think of Hiawatha Jones,
Aunt Floy and Uncle Homer,
and crawdad fishing with my sibs.

♦ ♦ ♦

I'm late to the party.

Sian's Storytelling Sunday

on Tuesday.

:o)

November Attitude of Gratitude:

* I am thankful that I grew up in a rural area and share these zany memories with my awesome siblings.
* I'm also thankful for the same rural area, and the opportunity to experience cotton growing in a field.
* ...and crawdad fishing.

Gobble It Up - Turkey Wine Gift Bag {and cards}

2011-11-07T05:00:00.008-07:00

At our recent get together, my SIL Laurie re-gifted this wine gift bag to me - one that I had made and given to her a few years ago. I was happy to see this turkey again - I remember making him and smiling about his little heart shaped feet.

He's pretty simple, really. Just two circles (mine are 5-1/2" and 3-1/2"), two hearts for the feet, 1/2 of a heart for his ~~red-hanging-down-thingy~~ wattle {ew}, an orange triangle for his beak, and five teardrop shaped pieces for his tail feathers (mine are 7" long).

Oh yeah. And two googly eyes!

I used pop-dots to adhere the body, feet, and head to the front of the wine bag, and craft glue to stick the feathers to the back of the bag.

I had some scraps left on my work table and decided to whip up a few cards while I was at it. I made this turkey guy on a smaller scale and put him on three card fronts.

{stamped the insides of the cards with "Happy Thanksgiving"}

Thanksgiving is just around the corner!

I can't wait to share these little turkey guys with my friends and family.

♥ ♥ ♥

November Attitude of Gratitude:

* I am grateful for the means to craft on a Sunday afternoon - I just love my craft space and all my supplies. I made these turkey goodies using supplies I had on hand. {See? It's a good thing I save all that stuff!}

Linking to Skip to My Lou - Made by You Mondays