JACK IN THE BOX COMMERCIAL

You'll notice there's a new video on my blog (located at the top right). My "boys" just LOVE this commercial! It really is cute, but my husband is about to drive me crazy singing the song! He says he just can't get it out of his head! Ha!

FIRST SNAKE!

Yikes! And it's not even Summer yet!!!!!!! I stepped out on the porch today as my husband talked to two guys in the back yard about doing some work. There was a really nice breeze, and I was just looking around at how yucky things were with all of the pollen, but pretty because of the azaleas. That's when I spotted it! Or was it just a strap laying there. But a strap from what? I've not seen one like this around here . . . it was black with yellow stripes. I wanted to just scream for my husband, but I stopped myself. I tried to recite the safety snake poem . . . red touches yellow, you're a dead fellow. Or is it black touches yellow, you've got to kill the fellow? Of course, I thought I have to interrupt hubby before this thing gets away, but what if it's just a strap . . . he'll never let me live it down! It turned out to be the real thing, it's dead now, and I guess it was a garden variety--I really don't know, but it's not something I wanted to let live. At times like this, I really, really, really wish that I could live somewhere that's not wooded! I can't stand this kind of Summer surprise, and I have many months of Summer left to go. I hope other slithering creatures caught a glimpse of their fate if they come closer! Why do these things ALWAYS want to be by the porch? Geez Almighty! I would look for a picture on the internet so I could show it to you, but I wouldn't want to visit my blog if that thing was here. Time to buy some moth balls!

ALL TUX'D UP FOR PROM

It's prom night! I guess you can tell by the keys in hand that Chadrick really didn't have time for this pose! In case you're wondering about the missing boutonnière, he kind of refused to wear a flower! Ha! He cleans up nicely, huh? ETA: Each prom attendee received a gift, which I thought was a nice thing! When I went to prom (eons ago), there were no gifts--we just untied the horse, climbed into the buggy, and took the dusty trail toward home. Chadrick brought home a glass beer mug and a champagne glass. They were very pretty, but isn't it an odd gift--one that might encourage underage drinking? LOL! I just have to laugh about this! Last year, some students were in trouble for showing up drunk, and this year they received a vessel to hold their poison! If I had given these items, I'm sure I would have been a parent in trouble. During Kindergarten, Chadrick was in trouble for showing his belly button in class. During his senior year, the school gives him a beer mug for attending prom. I'm confused, but I find hilarity in this!

A NOTE FOR AUNT BETTY

Check out this card that I made for Aunt Betty! We have a family reunion tomorrow, and I always send a card to Betty reminding her that I expect to find one of her delicious chicken pies on the table! I love her chicken pie so much that when she shared the recipe in a cookbook a couple of years ago, she named it "Regina's Famous Chicken Pie." How about that???? My mother called to tell me that Betty LOVED this card that she received from me and that it looked "real expensive." Ha! In some ways, it was expensive! Isn't the pink leafy background beautiful??? I used the Cricut to cut it, and it was a ready-made

design on one of the cartridges--a design that I hadn't cut before, but I will surely cut it again! I'm also showing you a picture of the back of the envelope. The front also had flowers, so I mailed this card and envelope inside another envelope so it wouldn't get damaged. I also thought Betty would appreciate not having to tear up the envelope to get into it. ;-)

FRAMED ART CLASS - "SNEAK PEEK"

On Friday, May 1, I'm having a framed art class, and this is a "sneak peek" of the beautiful project we'll be making! I'm so excited to offer this class! This designer paper (Parisian Breeze) is one of my favorites, and it's so perfect for this project . . . a quiet mix of colors with a "romantic" vintage feel. This collection of designer paper caters to masculine and feminine projects--it's perfect!

PEACEFUL BUTTERFLY

Guess who has a brand new network card and is back on the 'net? ME!!!!!! It's great to be back
at my own desk, using my own computer! My husband had a bit of a conniption fit last night and accused me of being a computer killer after the notebook I'd been using r-e-a-l-l-y slowed down, and then getting to my computer required moving a lot of stuff under my desk. Ha! He can't accuse me of not utilizing good storage space, even if it means the computer has no breathing (cooling) room! Anyway, this is a card that I made a week or so ago using "Great Friend" and "Oval All" from the Occasions mini catalog, as well as the Scallop Circle, Scallop Oval, Large Oval, and Scallop Edge punches, and designer paper from the Level 1 hostess pack. The colors on this card are Basic Gray, So Saffron, and Whisper White.

I'M STILL HERE!

Did you wonder if I'd left planet Earth? I think I've set a record for longest time between posts, and I'm not happy about it! Life has been very strange for the past week, and there were moments when my rollercoaster ride took me to hell and back but I held on! I guess the devil will have to shake a little harder to set me loose! I won't go into all of the long, drawn out details, but I hosted my family at a very fun birthday and Easter celebration, and then Chadrick made plans to go to Holden Beach with his friends during Spring Break. It was hard enough to grant permission for that trip, especially when the plans got changed, rearranged, and deranged all in the same day! That was also the same day that my DH flew to New York. I know he struggled with being so far away while Chadrick was going out of town, but I packed my feelings neatly and took a little trip out of my mind. I realized that it had been almost 18 years since I was really alone in the house, and can you imagine how odd that felt? You've heard the question of whether a falling tree makes a sound in an empty forest? Well, my house makes sounds when no one is here but me--sounds that I'd never heard (or noticed) before. And I'm sure I didn't just imagine that someone was standing on the patio looking into the living room through a window that I have never covered! I managed to unfreeze myself to find out if the blinds on that window were still drawn to the top of the window frame, and I was relieved to find that they were. I lowered them quickly, expecting them to be so brittle that they'd crumble! Instead, the only incident was dust! Goodness! Can you imagine how much dust had accumulated on them? Those blinds have been here since we bought the house but, instead of taking them down, I just parked them in an out-of-sight position--forever. Chadrick made it to the beach and home again safely, so my prayer vigils worked! During this weekend, he and some friends decided that they'd be going to the prom. He went yesterday to see about renting a tux, and can you say $142???? Did you flinch when you read that? I think that's normal. This boy of mine has suddenly gotten expensive . . . both to my pocket and my mental health. Oh, and the other "happening" is that my internet seems to have packed a bag and is enjoying some intermittent vacation time. I have a couple of pictures (projects) that I'd like to post to my blog, but the computer that has the pictures is the one that has the vacationing internet. You know, this is not the typical kind of life that I lead. It's been one thing after another, and I have been asking myself how in the world does my sister live like this all the time? Speaking of my sister, she spent the weekend with me and we had fun! She was going to plant some flowers and pull some weeds for me, but we shopped instead. That was GOOD!!!!! I'm pretty sure there is no better therapy than shopping, particularly without a list! So, have you had as much fun lately?

"PEEPS" SUNFLOWER CAKE

You know how you see a picture of a culinary "work of art" and think, "Oh, that's easy! I can do that!"? And you know how your sense of reasoning usually kicks in and says, "Maybe you can't"? I guess I have no sense of reasoning. This is my shoddy-looking sunflower cake! It was easy enough to make; however, I'm pretty sure the Peeps will be laying at the bottom of the plate before long. I suppose I could use toothpicks to keep them in place, but I'd probably forget to tell my guests to remove them. Oh well, I tried. This is probably the second layer cake I've made in my life, and I don't know why my layers don't stack neatly. Why is there a gap between them?????? Goodness! I played around with altering the photo, and it actually looks much better altered!

"CIRCLE SCISSORS PLUS" POCKET CARD

Does this card epitomize Spring or what??? I really like that it's just a Springy burst of happiness, and it all came together quite by accident! In an earlier post, I mentioned that SU now sells the Circle Scissors Plus, and I was "practicing" with mine one day. Being a "gadget ho," I have all kinds of cutters--gadgets--but I really needed to brush up on this one! The pocket card is actually a circle that was scored and folded to form the card and, of course, the green polka dot circle was cut with the CSP. The butterfly image is from SU's level 1 hostess set, "God's Beauty." I heat-embossed the stamped image and then colored it with markers and an aqua painter. Although the paper I used was leftover from some of the baby shower projects, SU products used on this card include Eyelet Border punch, Soft Subtles brad, and "Simple Flower" Embosslit.

BUNNY BASKETS

This Saturday, I'm hosting my family to celebrate my daddy's birthday and Easter. Each time the family comes to my house, I like to have some sort of treat for them. I think that's because my parents usually have a treat for me when I visit them. As a matter of fact, I have a little basket on the countertop by the back door at their house, and it's always fun to enter the house and see what's in the basket. I guess that's the child in me that refuses to grow up. Sometimes, when I'm really lucky, there will be a note telling me to look in the closet--that means my treat is too big for the basket! So, I guess a part of me likes to plan little surprises, too! These bunny baskets aren't anything wowish, but they're kinda cute, huh? My grandmother will love the Lindt truffles--they're her favorite flavor (mine, too!). Each couple will have to share a basket, and the kids each have a different kind of treat. On Friday, I'm going to attempt to make what should be a super cute cake. If the cake turns out like it should, I will definitely post a picture of it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!!!

Daddy's birthday is this Friday and, just like yesterday morning, I needed to make a card but didn't know what to do. This is probably his favorite classic car--one that he'd love to have--so it seemed like a good choice. SU products used to create this card include jumbo brads, "Stem Sayings," Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White card stock, Silver Brads, "Classic Convertibles" (retired stamp set), and "To the Nines" designer paper. The stamped image is attached with Stampin' Dimensionals, and all stamped images are heat embossed.

TRENDY ACCORDION TREES

I had to make swaps yesterday, and I had no idea what I wanted to do. All I knew was that my swaps were late and HAD to get in the mail. From that pressure, this design was born, and I actually LOVE it! "Trendy Trees" is an awesome little stamp set, particularly for occasions when the images you choose are for decoration and no other (real) purpose.

TRENDY TREES

Yesterday was the big day . . . my niece's baby shower! Everything went well, and she received a LOT of nice gifts! It's amazing the amount of square footage that such a small person demands! I'll bet Haley (my niece) isn't even thinking about how frequently those baby things have to be swapped out for bigger baby things. Ha! It's like once the baby leaves the mommy's body, she is thrust upon a fast-moving track of in, out, up, down, spin around, begin again until the day she wonders where the time has gone. I guess it's rather comical that we even wonder where the time has gone! Anyway, I just wanted to show you the simple card that I made for one of the gifts. The tree image has nothing to do with a baby--I just had "Trendy Trees" on my desk and wanted to use it. This little set is going to be a favorite, I already know! Two stamp sets (Trendy Trees and Best Yet), two punches, two colors of ink, one strip of ribbon, two colors of card stock, a stamp-a-ma-jig . . . and my card was made!