Are you kidding me?

A certain silly someone said she had nothing to blog about today. I say to silly someone "What do you mean? Didn't I just let you take pictures of me out on the deck the other day?"

Silly someone realized the error of her ways and that I am the best subject of all to blog about.

Do you prefer the original me which I think fails to highlight my beautiful eyes..

Or do you prefer the sort of sepia toned me?

Or the jazzed up full color me?

I realize that was a silly question because it doesn't matter what me you see, I'm fabulous.

Tis the season

But not the one to be jolly.

This season is for headaches, coughing and runny noses. Oh and little blue pills.

Getting old really stinks. When I was young I never had a problem with sinuses and allergies.

Pardon me while I go blow my nose

Monday fun day

Mondays are turning in to good craft days. I had another fun day in the craft room. I made some more of the folios but didn't take pictures of them. I figured by now you would be thinking "What the folio, how many of these is she going to show us." I will say that I made 2 more small ones and 3 large ones.

Aside from that I started working on making more of the post it note clip boards since I sold all of the ones I had. For some reason I think I may have made them a little bigger this time but I'm not sure since I don't have one of the old ones to measure. They are all the same since I wanted to use up the whole sheet of scrapbook paper.

Finally I made some kitchen angels. These are made from 1 dish towel, 1 pot holder and a wooden spoon. I seen angels like this before where you could take them apart and use the seperate pieces but these are glued together.  I was thinking of finding a kitchen angel poem to attach to them. I'll have to look and see if I can find one.

And that was how I spent my day off. Gibbs was not the least bit impressed and found the whole thing rather boring

Birthday

On yesterdays post Sandee asked if it was my birthday. Nope, mine is in March but today is Wade's birthday.  I decided I would take him out for dinner to a place we've never been before.

It's called Lorie's Wildridge Restaurant. The food was fabulous and the inside is really nice especially if you're fond of a more rustic atmosphere. I made a little collage of the really bad cell phone pictures I took.

Top left is a fountain they have out by their front door. Top right is the mens room door. The ladies room had the same moose design. The food was so good I forgot to take a picture until we were both half done. Wade ordered prime rib and I had liver and onions. They had a counter you could sit at instead of a table or booth and the stools from the back looked like trees. Some had carvings in them. I would definitely go back there again. One of the guys from work who told me about it said that they have an excellent perch dinner

This is going back a few years. This was me, half a century ago

My Younger Days

by Maya Angelou

When I was in my younger days,
I weighed a few pounds less,
I needn't hold my tummy in
to wear a belted dress.

But now that I am older,
I've set my body free;
There's the comfort of elastic
Where once my waist would be.

Inventor of those high-heeled shoes
My feet have not forgiven;
I have to wear a nine now,
But used to wear a seven.

And how about those pantyhose-
They're sized by weight, you see,
So how come when I put them on
The crotch is at my knee?

I need to wear these glasses
As the print's been getting smaller;
And it wasn't very long ago
I know that I was taller.

Though my hair has turned to gray
and my skin no longer fits,
On the inside, I'm the same old me,
It's the outside's changed a bit.

A bug a bloom a banana and a bomb

This seriously ugly and large guy was spotted on my deck. I took his picture and then sent him on his way

These blooms are from last month. Most of the flowers on the hydrangea are pretty much done for. I look forward to their return next summer

I had a banana at break time. It hit the spot even with all those brown spots on it's peel.

As for the bomb, that would be my post yesterday. Couldn't resist that one.

How easy we forget.

Monday I wrote and scheduled the post that you read yesterday. Had I not done that, there wouldn't have been one yesterday.

Tuesday we had lots of rain and at work the lights flickered on and off a couple times. When I got home we had no power. It wasn't long after that it came back on and it was business as usual. Or so I thought. I went to the living room and turned on the tv. I got some weird message on the screen. Same thing on the other tvs. No problem I'll get my tablet and catch up on email and blog reading. I sent 3 emails and then started getting messages that delivery failed. On further inspection there was no internet. I called Spectrum and found out there was a problem in the area and they were working on it.

Now the problem is what to do. I had already finished reading a book and my kindle was on the charger. I had my phone and could get online with that but don't use it for anything other than facebook. I checked that out, then went and played some solitaire then made another altered filed folder folio

Front

Inside

It's so easy to forget what it was like before cable tv and internet came along. How did I manage to entertain myself so much or was I always bored?

If you were without tv and internet what would you do to keep yourself busy?

Another craft day

Monday I had another crafting day. I made a smaller version of the altered file folders that I showed you HERE Thelarger ones measured 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 and the ones I made this time measure 5 1/2 x 3 3/4.

First I made these 5

 The one on the far left was made with all the smaller bits of paper left over from the two next to it. On those two I used stickers. The ones on the right were made with patriotic papers that I forgot I had.

This is the inside of the 3 on the left.

The inside of the two on the right.

I thought I was done after that but then I decided to do a couple more. This time using some purple. Here is the outside.

And the inside. These even have a purple colored note pad in them.

The larger ones are made from a file folder but these are made from an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of cardstock. Once I figured out exactly where I wanted to make the cuts and the folds I was able to go through them pretty quick

That's just me

I apologize for the disappearing act the last couple of days. Even though I attempt to come off as happy and carefree on the blog it doesn't always work out in real life. I was having a wee bit of a meltdown and when that happens it doesn't make for great blog post writing.

What can I say that's just me.

Just a little something

Well Thursday night my computer went all the way through it's updating and everything seems to be working ok. I guess I lucked out.

The other day while I was out walking I stopped to admire some of the flowers in front of the funeral home. I have always liked black eyed susans.

I took the picture and then I noticed a rock leaning up against the sign post. I left it there for someone else to find.

Do they paint and hide the rocks in your neck of the woods? If they do have you found any?

well that's a fine how do you do

Wednesday when I went to use my computer it said it was restarting. No biggie. I waited a bit but since I already had a post scheduled I got tired of waiting and went about my business. Yesterday I go up to do a post and it's still sitting there doing the same thing. I pulled the plug then turned it back on. As I type this it's saying installing updated do not shut down your computer.  Oops!

So now I'm hoping it updates everything ok and maybe tomorrow you'll get the post I was planning on today

How about an extreme blast from the past today

 

 Don't worry Gibbs said it was ok to post Duke so long if I used an old picture of him for the big finish

For the record  I don't like trying to  do a post from my tablet. It's a bit frustrating

Easy peasy greeting cards

I had a bunch of plain greeting cards that have been sitting far too long. I also had some assorted cards for putting together quick albums. 

I simply adhered the journal cards to the card blanks and instand greeting cards.

9 quick all occasion cards

Maybe not the best layout but I sort of liked them

Altered file folders

With a few simple folds and cuts you can turn an ordinary file folder into a handy note pad folio. I used the tutorial I found HERE but made a few adjustments on sizing to better suit what I had.

For the first one I used a fancier folder. I could add additional decorating to this or leave it as is. Not sure which I'll do yet.

The outside

The inside. On this one I used a bit of velcro to keep it closed. The left side is a pocket for storing notes or whatever else. I also used a piece of the folder that had been cut off to top the note pad to coordinate with the folder.

For the second one I used a plain manilla folder and decorated with scrapbook paper

Inside.I didn't add the velcro on this one.

And those are my altered file folders. I'm thinking about making these in a smaller size as well. These are a 5 x 7 tablet but if I make the smaller size you could easily fit one in your purse.

Too bad I have to go to work today

If I could stay home again I could have another good crafting day like I did yesterday.  Since I have such a hard time lately coming up with blog posts I'll spread it out over 3 days.

What all did I make? I mainly played with paper. I decorated a simple gift bag to put that plaque in that I made the other day. I also put together 9 really simple cards using things I had in my stash. Finally I made 2 altered file folders. That will make more sense when I get to the post about those.

Today I'll just give you this sweet little gift bag. I already had the plain brown bag. I added some stickers and stamped a sentiment. Unfortunately the stamping didn't come out real great but in person it's easier to read.

It's the perfect size for the plaque.

What to do

When I sat down to prepare a post for today I had absolutely no idea what to do. When in doubt start searching through the pictures. 

I came across a couple pictures I took with my cell phone in the early morning hours when I was headed to the craft show.I was the only one on the road in either direction so I stopped right in the middle of the road to snap some pictures. How often can you do that in the city?

I narrowed it down to just one and started playing. 

This is the original picture taken off my cell phone. Can't really see much.

After playing with the levels and shadows a bit I got this

And you know me, I have to add textures to a picture.

I finished it

Yesterday after I got done with my weekly grocery shopping I headed to the craft room to work on that plaque I said I was going to make.

Now I know most of you will look at this and think "why did she use such dark colors" My reason was because I asked her brother what her favorite color was. He said it changes all the time but right now her room is dark gray and burgundy.

I think I would have liked it a little lighter and brighter but this is what I got and this is what she'll get. I don't think it turned out too bad.

I was too chicken to do the writing right on the wood so I cheated and wrote it out on tissue paper then glued the words on.

Nightly indulgence

Last year when I was doing really well with healthier eating and losing weight I got hooked on popcorn. I started buying Orville Redenbacher smart pop. It comes in either kettle corn or butter flavor. I've tried both and prefer the kettle corn. I buy the single serve bag at a mere 100 calories. I got way off track with the eating, exercising and losing weight but I still have my bag of popcorn almost every evening. What one thing do you indulge in on a regular basis?

Not your typical blonde

The pictures today have absolutely nothing to do with the story I'm going to tell but I didn't want to hit you with a wall of words.

I'm going to tell you about a girl at work. She started as a cashier when she was in high school. She'll be starting her second year of college this year and only works during the summer or when she's home on break. To describe her best I would say she is spunky, witty and full of fun. This summer she was moved back in to the deli and it's been a pleasure to work with her.

(insert random picture)

Not only is she friendly and funny but she is an amazing worker with such a good attitude. That's very rare these days. I gave her the suggestion the other day that she should give up her schooling to become an art therapist and just make our deli her lifetime career. She didn't care for that idea. Imagine.

(insert another random picture but this time it's Gibbs so it's awesome random)

To wrap this up, whenever this girl comes in and you say hi how are you, her response is "Livin' the dream" I totally cracked up the first time she said it and I love it. Her last day with us is next Wednesday and I want to try and make her a plaque with that saying on it.  If I get busy this weekend I shoudl be able to finish it.

It takes a lot of gall...

...to post more gull pictures. Truth is I have a lot of gull pictures and nothing else. I promise, just these last two and I'll move on to something else.

Very fowl

This one is dedicated to Sandra I hope she doesn't find this too fowl.

I took pictures of some seagulls on Saturday monring then I went to goo-gull to find some puns and jokes.

I found out that gulls just want to have fun

Why  do seagulls fly over the sea?

Because if they flew over the bay they would be bagels

About the weekend

Today I have a little more time to tell you about the weekend. I didn't take a ton of pictures but after I got all my stuff out of the vehicle and put away yesterday I sat down and got them off the big camera.

Like I said it was a great day. Saturday was the best day as always. Sunday's aren't very good for sales but I did better this year on Sunday than I did last year.

Remember all those plaques I made for last years show? I had them at $5 last year and I only sold a few. This year I had them priced at $3 and they sold like hot cakes. Another item that I didn't sell any of last year was the little post it note clipboards. They were $2 last year and $1 this year. These also sold well. Last year I also made some containers out of the small pringles cans. The outside was covered with clothespins that had been taken apart and they resembled a barrel. Didn't sell a single one at $5 last year but they sold at at $3 this year.

Look at all those shoppers

Debbie in the red jacket manning the booth while I'm out playing with the camera.

This was a tent set up near us. Those horses are all hand carved. I don't know how much they were asking for them but they were awesome. I didn't care for the hobby horses as much but the carousel horses were amazing. They didn't come back for the second day

As usual there were lots of canine shoppers. This one in particular I thought was so cute in his stroller. There were lots of dogs in strollers too.

But wait, the one above gets even cuter because there were two of them in there