Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Today is Tuesday, July 28, 2009

I'm sure no one else is singing my blog title. It's a song I do at work sometimes...stuck in my head this morning for some reason. Here's the last Tuesday 10 for July. Can you believe July is almost over?

1. Working on finalizing my school year schedule. Can you believe school started for some kids this week? Most of my clients start on the 10th...I'm thinking I might need a vacation that week. Back to school week is never good for therapy. New routines, new schedules, new people...not a happy combo for many special needs kiddos. Takes a bit to get adjusted and therapy during that week is almost worthless. Maybe I'll stay home and work on my list....

2. Speaking of the list...I spent last night working on my mileage and created a fancy spreadsheet that should make it easier to track. All I can say is boy do I drive a lot! It's better these days, but there were weeks in 2008 that I drove over 500 miles in one week. Crazy!

3. Eating a lot of this lately:


Yum!

4. Can't wait until the Time Traveler's Wife movie comes out. So looking forward to this. I know it won't compare to the book at all, but it still looks good. Plus I love Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams as the characters.

5. Having dinner with Stephanie, Paul and Amelia tonight. I haven't seen Amelia in awhile and I'm sure she's grown a ton. Can't wait!

6. Having a love affair with spray ink. Bought more Maya Mist from Studio Calico yesterday. I got charcoal and lemon. I really need turquoise, but it was sold out at SC. Orange and Lime are calling my name too....

7. Dreaming of cooler weather and wishing I could just curl up with a good book somewhere over looking water, where I wasn't sweating or melting. I am so not happy with 115 degrees and excessive heat warnings.

8. Speaking of reading, I'm on book 5 of the summer, Belong To Me. I'm guessing I'll be done with it by the end of the week.

9. Looking for more limited cooking summer recipes. It's just too hot to be cooking. We've grilled the past two nights, but it's like a blazing inferno standing around that grill. I'm thinking it will be salads, pasta and sandwiches the rest of the week. I did manage to eat 2 whole zucchinis by myself last night...did I mention they were stuffed with feta and grilled? You must try. It's delicious!

10. More sneaks from the Scrap For A Cure August kit. This first sneak is a totally simple page but I LOVE it!


Monday, July 27, 2009

Monday, Monday

So last night I got a wild urge to purge and reorganize my patterned paper. Ok, so maybe it's been in the back of my head for awhile, because I had tons of newish papers that had not been put away because my paper holders were a tad over full. Plus I had a few too many kits in my kit basket and it was time to dismantle some and add them to the stash. I could actually still stand to dismantle a few more kits, but I wasn't quite ready.

I store my paper in vertical Cropper Hopper holders and only have room for 3...2 for patterned paper and 1 for cardstock. I sort my paper by color, because that's what works for me. I decided to also sort by manufacturer within each color group. I think this will help me find papers a lot easier. Now, I have quite a lot of paper, but here's where I have a little problem...graph/ledger/lined papers. I have a TON. So many in fact that they now have their own section in my paper filing system. See:


I also have a slight addiction to transparencies...now if only I could use them more often....


I do of course have quite the collection of red papers and black/white papers. I did manage to purge a rather large stack of paper. Take a look:


In addition to paper sorting, I've been doing lots of house cleaning and purging in other areas. Up next, the work closet...lots and lots in there that I do not need. Maybe next weekend.

I've also been doing a lot of creating this weekend. Most of which I can not share right now. Here's a little peek at a page using the Scrap for A Cure August Kit.


I've also been playing a lot with spray inks and paint. Need to add photos and a few embellishments to a little mini from Vee's class and then I will share.

Now I'm off to go harvest some of that overgrown basil in my garden and make some pesto. Yummy!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Have You Seen It?

Marking my calendar now....

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

The 10 for Today

1. Loving peaches in my cereal for breakfast.

2. Working on a Photo Editing: Frame Ups and Special Effects at Jessica Sprague's site. I'm a little behind with the class, but loving the things I'm learning in Photoshop. Here's the lesson I did last night on adding text to your photos. I also used a fun texture mask too.


3. Taking Vee's Delight Workshop, where were playing with ink and paint. Totally loving this and wondering why I don't do it more often. We're working on a mini album, here's a bit of what I've done so far:


4. Got totally into the paint and ink playing yesterday and created this canvas. It needs a few finishing touches, but I'm loving it so far. I see lots more canvases in my future....


5. I should be working on this list instead of playing with ink and paint.

6. Made the Catwalk at SIS today with my Me at 31 page. Thanks Jen Jockish, for picking my page.

7. Saw Hangover with Shawn yesterday and looking forward to seeing The Proposal with Michelle tomorrow. Must be the week for movies.

8. Love that I don't have to work until 1 today, that I'll be home by 5:30 and that dinner is already made. That means more paint and ink might be in my future....

9. Booked tickets to visit Chicago over Labor Day this morning. Can't wait.

10. This video, which makes me smile:

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Cooking and Crafting

Today was spent cooking/baking, crafting and doing laundry. About a week and a half ago, I got a Boxed Greens produce box. I figured I'd eat off this while Shawn was gone on his backpacking trip last week. Well, I ended up going out the first two nights he was gone and then getting sick and eating not much of anything for several days. So, now I find myself with tons of produce that must be eaten (and some I had to throw out). Now it's time to get creative with the cooking. Which is fine, because I was getting bored with our meals lately anyway.

Last night I created a "fly by the seat of my pants" meal for dinner. Shawn wanted a steak, so I got that going, sliced up some red potatoes (from the produce box) and got them sauteeing. Hmmm, now I must use these yellow squash, so I added them to the potatoes along with some garlic, salt, pepper and a little paprika. I still had no meal for me, other than the potatoes and squash concotion, so I kept thinking. Ok, I'll add a zucchini...hmm here's a can of chickpeas...toss in some cinnamon and oh yes, cook some couscous. Perfect. A little veggie and couscous dish for me/crazy side dish for Shawn. It was actually really good.

Today, I knew I had to use up the bananas from the box. First I made some banana pancakes (before you get all excited about my new found banana love, I had mine sans banana slices). Next up, banana bread. Good, bananas used. Now which vegetables to use for dinner. I decided broccoli and tomatoes were up for tonight and cooked up some Spicy Broccoli Pasta, a recipe from my Willamette Bistro cooking days, which I modified a bit. It was pretty tasty. Here's the recipe:

Spicy Broccoli Pasta

1 lb bowtie pasta
1 large bunch broccoli, cut into pieces
5-6 green onions, slicecd (you could also use white or red onion...I went with what I had)
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cup red wine or rice wine vinegar
1/4 c olive tapenade (you could also use chopped olives)
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t red pepper
2 T olive oil
1/2 c breadcrumbs
asiago or parmesan cheese for garnish

Boil water for pasta and cook as directed. To save time (and pots), throw broccoli in for the last 5 minutes. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a saucepan and saute green onions. When onions are soft, add diced tomatoes, olive tapenade, vinegar, oregano and red pepper. Simmer. Cook breadcrumbs in saute pan with olive oil until crispy. Toss all ingredients together and serve with a little asiago or parmesan cheese.

I still have to use up another tomato, bunches of swiss chard, one more yellow squash and some mango. Dinners will defnitely be veggie heavy this week, which is fine by me, but Shawn might protest a little.

As for the crafting end of the day, I spent some time organizing a bit in my scrap room, purged a few supplies, then got down to business. Created this page, using the pictures from 07-08-09 and the Playground kit from Studio Calico.


Also worked on this page full of American Crafts goodness:


Here are a few pages from the past couple weeks that never got posted on the blog:





Now I'm off to water plants and put sheets on the bed. Hoping for some more crafty time tomorrow. Happy Sunday!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Because I Really Should Blog Something

Haven't been much in the mood for blogging lately. Spent several days this past week with a yucky tummy bug. Ick! Totally ruined my big plans for having fun with the girls and getting things done while Shawn was away. I had to cancel dinner with Steph, dinner and a movie with Michelle and did not get anything done. Well, unless you count catching up on Army Wives and reading about 300 pages in my 900 page book while lying in bed with a tummy ache.

Since I can't think of much to blog about, I have lifted this "Firsts" idea from the Bride to Be, who lifted it from Facebook. So here goes:

1. Who was your FIRST prom date?
Yarrow Banko, junior prom. I wore a super cute peach silk dress my mom made (later worn to prom by one of my sister's friends) and Leslie Criger did my hair. It had like 700 bobby pins in it and was a little over the top.

2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love?
I could be snarky like Nicole and say my first love was a pet or my teddy bear Bialoski or Wesley from the Princess Bride.....

3. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink?
I certainly had sips of beer and wine as a kid, but ick, I didn't like it. In New Orleans, where I was legal to drink at 18, I mostly drank Ameretto Sours, ameretto and 7, vodka and cranberry or Screwdrivers.

4. What was your FIRST job?
Babysitting was my career for a long time. My first paycheck job was at Lerner New York (now called New York and Company) at the Arizona Center.

5. What was your FIRST car?
I've only had 2 cars ever. The first one I bought while spending a brief semester at home and attending ASU my sophmore year. It was a red Dodge Neon. Poor baby got totalled by a red light runner almost 7 years ago.

6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today?
Ally

7. Who was the FIRST person you thought of today?
The mountain man next to me in bed this morning.

8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher?
Mrs. Summers (I think). I can see her. I can visualize the classroom. I know I got moved to her class after the first day of school. I did my first report on a Blue Jay and had feather that were brought to me from Minnesota.

9. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane?
I may have flown sooner, but I know my mom, Kellie and I flew (while my Dad drove the U-Haul) when we moved from Merced, CA to Phoenix when I was 2.5 years old. Kellie was only a few weeks old I think.

10. Who was your FIRST best friend and do you still talk?
The first best friend I remember is Jenna (she was Jenifer than) and we met at The Growing Tree preschool. I haven't seen her in a couple of years, but we still talk on FB.

11. Where was your FIRST sleepover?
Probably at Jenna's.

12. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today?
Shawn

13. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time?
I was a flower girl in my Aunt Martha and Uncle Michael's wedding, I think, with my cousin Shauna. As far as friends weddings, I was Maid of Honor in Jenna's wedding.

14. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning?
Went to the bathroom, took my medicine, grabbed the laptop and headed to the living room so I wouldn't wake Shawn...he got up about 15 minutes later.

15. What was the FIRST concert that you ever went to?
I'm pretty sure I went to a concert (probably more than one) in utero. We got dragged to all kinds of concerts and events as kids. I don't remember my first concert without the parents. Probably something at the State Fair....it may have even been Milli Vanilli, but I'd like to forget that one! I was performing in band concerts and recitals by 9, does that count?

16. FIRST tatoo?
First what? Are you crazy?

17. FIRST piercing?
Ears.

18. FIRST foreign country were in?
Mexico, Puerto Pinasco (Rocky Point)

19. FIRST movie you remember seeing?
not sure. I remember older Disney movies like Snow White and Lady and the Tramp. I remember lots of Wizard of Oz. I also know that Whitney Fulton and I watched either Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory or Splash virtually everyday after school in the first grade.

20. When was your FIRST detention?
Are you serious? Me get detention?

21. What was the FIRST state you lived in?
Born in Tucson, Arizona

22. Who was your FIRST roommate?
My sister. We shared a room until we lived on Edgemont (4th grade or 5th grade). My first roommate away from home would have been like 6 girls at camp in the Catskills in New York when I was 9. They were all girls from back east and thought that Arizona was the wild west. They actually asked me if I rode a horse to school. Our cabin was called Susquehanna...I still remember the song, tune the tune of Lone Ranger..."with an S and an S and an S-U-S, an S-U-S and a Q-U-E, an S-U-S and a Q-U-E, H-A-N-N-A, Susquehanna, Susquehanna that's our village name, Susquehanna, Susquehanna we have all the fame...."

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Music 10

Came home early today not feeling well and promptly climbed in bed with the laptop. After my usual surfing, I hopped on to itunes and amazon music looking for a few new songs to download. Found a few good free tunes on amazon and checked out genius recommendations and imix's on itunes looking for some new stuff.

So, since it's Tuesday, here are 10 downloads from today. Eclectic as usual.

1. Fireflies--Owl City (this is the free song on itunes this week)
2. Frank's Tavern--Calexico (free on amazon)
3. If You Leave--Orchestral Manoevers in the Dark (a classic I can't believe I don't already have on my ipod)
4. Don't Mess with Me--Big Pete Pearson (a local blues artist--another free amazon download)
5. Perla de la Medina--Javier Ruibal (a little flamenco music--free on amazon)
6. All of Me--Billy Holiday (free on amazon)
7. It Don't Matter--Donavon Frankenreiter
8. Rainbow--G. Love featuring Jack Johnson
9. The Guy That Says Goodbye to You is Out of His Mind--Griffin House (officially the longest song title ever)
10. Have It All--Jeremy Kay

Got any songs or artists I should check out?

Monday, July 13, 2009

Sunday Adventures

Yesterday was a fun day. I spent the morning putzing around my house, checking in online, doing laundry and a little scrapping. In the afternoon, Kellie and I had a little photo shoot. She needs some pilates/yoga pictures of herself for work, so we spent about an hour and a half shooting about 300 pictures. She must be sore today, because she did a ton of teasers and splits for the shots.

After we were finished, we headed back to her house to get dressed and wait for mom to arrive for dinner and Wicked. We ate a yummy dinner at Los Sombreros, including my 2nd mojito of the weekend, and headed to the show. Wicked was amazing. I loved it. Totally different from the book, but really entertaining. The cast was wonderful. I think it's now among my favorite musicals ever. I would highly recommend seeing it if you get the chance. After the show was over, we raced to the Gelato Spot, arriving just before they closed, for a little late night treat. It was a really great day.

Still weeding through all the pictures I took of Kellie. She's going to have to go through them and critique. I know she'll be super critical about her form and the lines of her body. Here are a few of my favorites:













Thursday, July 9, 2009

07-08-09

Where was I at 10:11:12? Just leaving Central Music (where I purchased some piano books) and heading off to my next client. I took a quick series of photos before leaving the parking lot. Not terribly exciting, but hey, it's my typical day...from client to client to client I go....


I'm loving the sunglass image of how I'm taking the shot:


Playing with angles:



Just for fun. Enjoying some Orbit Citrus Mint gum:


Planning on scrapping these photos just for fun this weekend. Thinking another series will be in order on 09-09-09 at 9:09. What do you think?

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

10 Again

The Tuesday 10 is back:

1. Split a chocolate milkshake with Shawn at lunch today. Yum!

2. Love this idea. Will try to play along tomorrow, though I'm going to be driving at 10:11 am and that doesn't make for the most exciting pictures.

3. Can't wait for this movie. The pictures are so incredible!

4. Scrapping after work tomorrow with this girlie.

5. A little obsessed these days with Bejeweled on Facebook. Not really helping the "get it done" quest.

6. Looking forward to enjoying my mom's Mother's Day gift with mom and Kellie on Sunday.

7. I've been on a bit of a reading kick lately, having read 3 books in the past 3 weeks. I'm currently reading this book which I accidently grabbed at Half Price Books instead of the Studio Calico book club selection for this month. It's been on my to read list anyway so I dived in this weekend. I'm about 1/4 the way through and loving it so far.

8. Shopping for patio furniture, which is luckily starting to go on clearance at several places. Most of what I want is still pretty pricey. Trying to decide how much I can/should spend.

9. Enjoying lots of this:


LOVE summer fruit. Yum!

10. Looking for new music to download. Any suggestions? What are you listening to?

Happy Tuesday!

Monday, July 6, 2009

The Get It Done List

Awhile back, I declared this "The Summer of Getting Things Done." I have quite the list of to do's and in progress projects. The idea is to use some of my free time this summer to finish some projects and cross some items off of my list. Luckily, with a lighter work schedule, less to watch on TV and no desire to go out into 110 degree heat, I actually have more time to devout to projects for the next couple months. Now I just need to actually use that extra time to "get things done."

I've decided I should create a master list. Now, there's a pretty good chance I'm not getting all of this done this summer. In fact, I can pretty much guaruntee there will still be plenty of things on this list come September. I will do my best. Here's the list so far:

Taxes 08--only mileage left to do
Get up to date with Taxes 09 spreadsheets--done :)
File/Re-Organize household and business paperwork--in progress
Get up to date with SRG Paperwork
Purge MT bookshelf and supply files
Purge closets and donate--just need to donate
Paint bathroom baseboards
Hang new bathroom hooks
Assemble and hang shelf in blue bathroom
Touch up paint in blue bathroom
Sand and paint hallway
Sand and paint wall outside of kitchen
Patio furniture
Clean up back patio
Deal with boxes from storage
Read and purge magazine stash
Organize magazine tear outs
Organize loose recipes
Back up photos and work files
Print photos once a month--done so far
Week in the Life album--done
Hawaii album--in progress
England album--in progress
Wedding album--in progress
Finish knit tunic--about halfway done
Add a foot or two to knit blanket
Pay it Forward gifts
Use up a couple kits
Attempt a sewing project

I'm sure there's more, but that's quite a list already. There are also things I have on Shawn's list...like tear out carpet, clean and organize piles, get rid of stuff.....hopefully I can help him along with some of those things too. The idea is to get things to a point where we can hopefully do more work on the house in the fall. That's the plan anyway. I've always got big plans....

Wish me luck and stay tuned for updates!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy 4th!


1. "Keep The Torch Lit", 2. American Flag, 3. day 307/365 (bokeh), 4. Nocturnal Art @ Pasadena - 4th of July, 5. Capitol Fireworks 7.4.2008, 6. 4th of July, 7. 4th of July fireworks, 8. Reflections of the Fourth, 9. Pink American/POW flags

Thursday, July 2, 2009

July Galleries

It's July already, can you believe it? Wondering where the year is going. The start of a new month means new scrappy goodies and galleries though. Jenni Bowlin is our manufacturer contest this month at Scrapgal. I just love to play with Jenni Bowlin goodies. Here's my JB page:


I've had this Scenic Route Sonoma line in my stash for a while. I just love the rich colors and the mix and match patterns and prints. Unfortunately, the photo is a bit blurry, but I love how this page turned out.


This month at Scrapgal we're also hosting Christmas in July on the galblog. Starting next week you'll get a month's worth of Christmas inspiration. You'll definitely want to check it out.

The July Scrap for a Cure kit went live today after a few site glitches. I worked with Pineapple Smoothie, this month's mini kit. It's a fun kit with great papers and embellishments to play with. Here's what I created.





Happy July!

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