Second project using vinyl

For my second project using the vinyl I dug out an old picture frame and found an SVG file from Craft Bundles.

I applied the vinyl to the inside of the glass and then inserted some scrapbook paper behind the glass. I actually messed up slightly on this one but it's small enough that you can't really tell.

It was hard to get a picture without a glare on the glass.

Use it or lose it

I have a really bad habit of buying craft supplies and then not using them because I have a fear of screwing things up and wasting perfectly good material. However, I fail to see that I'm wasting perfectly good money on the materials that I buy and then don't use.

I've had some vinyl to use with my cricut machine but in typical Ann fashion it's sat because I might mess up. Well guess what? I decided to try a project and do you know what happened? I screwed up the first time. But the world kept turning, nothing crashed down on top of me and I learned a little something in the process.

The plan was to add an SVG file I found on Cutting for business to a cutting board. I purchased a white cutting board from Dollar Tree and this is what I made.

Since this didn't turn out too bad I tried out another idea. I'll show you that one tomorrow.

A little push goes a long way

Since I started giving myself a little push every day to try and get things done around here, I've been accomplishing a lot more than I used to. I may not do a ton of stuff but every day I do at least a little something.

Sunday when I got home from work I went out to the front yard and started working on cleaning it up a bit.

This is around the tree in my front yard.
The before

and the after

You'll notice Gibbs there on the left barking like a maniac at the little boy riding his bike.

When I got that done I moved on to that area between my house and the sidewalk. This is the part I showed a wee bit of the other day.

The before

and the after

It still needs some work but most of the weeds are out of there. If I were to show you the entire front of my house you would see that my house has absolutely NO curb appeal. I'm not good at gardening or landscaping and it's really lacking. Maybe that's something I'll work on fixing in the future.

Happy Memorial Day

(all images in above photo are from snappygoat.com)

On This Memorial Day

by Emily Toma

Remember those who served before.

Remember those who are no more.

Remember those who serve today.

Remembe them as we eat and play.

Remember our protectors-

who are not home today.

Rememer them all on Memorial Day

source: www.familyfriendlypoems.com/poem/on-this-memorial-day

Just because

I like to sometimes do things, just because I can. Like the other day when I was getting pictures ready for yesterdays post I decided I would do a little editing. I started with the picture of the sundial then I added textures and parts of other pictures.

This

Turned into this

A little of this and a little of that

It was a beautiful day yesterday. The temperature was perfect, the sun was shining and I left work with a little energy left over.

When I got home I went out to the back yard with Gibbs and we took care of cleaning up one little area that needed attention. I had a bunch of twigs and things that needed burned so I took care of that and then pulled a few weeds. Still so much to do there.
Next was inside to make some dinner and then I threw in a load of laundry. I also did a wee bit of sorting in the room that I dumped everything from my craft room into. I'm slowly working on putting back what I want and tossing what I don't.

Finally I took my camera outside and walked around the yard. I figured it was high time I did that. I'm pretty sure I take a picture of this sundial at least once every year but it's a good subject.

Around to the front yard you get a small peek into the area between my house and the front sidewalk. It used to contain lots of flowers but now it's mostly weeds that I have yet to pull.

Around the tree in my front yard there are more weeds scattered throughout the lambs ear and these pretty little flowers.

TGIF

For most today is the start of a long weekend. Not for me since I work Sunday but I do have Monday off since it's my regular day off.

The best part is that since the holiday falls on my regular day off I get another day off during the week. This time around he gave me Friday which means that next weekend I have 2 days in a row off. I am very excited about that.
If you live here in the U.S. do you have any special plans for the holiday weekend?  If you live elsewhere, what are you going to do this weekend?

Outta practice

I was originally going to do a post with a bit of a whine and bit of something positive. I changed my mind because I really didn't feel like listening to myself whine so why should I expect you to.
Instead I pulled out a picture of my cup of coffee and decided I would play with it. All I can say is that I am way out of practice with the editing. I'm not even sure what I was doing.

As for my accomplishments for the day, after work I took a quick nap. It was a quick one because some puppy didn't feel that it was necessary. After that I proceeded to pack up most of Wades clothes. I'm donating them to a local church who takes in used clothes. I believe they do a clothing giveaway every so often as well as collect for people who have had house fires.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life

First let me start by saying thank you to all of you who left me such encouraging comments yesterday. That's why I love all my blog pals. You lift me up when I'm feeling down and remind me that everything is going to be just fine.

Yesterday I started my day with a bright and sunny attitude. I had an extra spring in my step as I made it through the work day. I was talking to the girl in the deli and I was saying I should go home and mow since it was going to be a cooler day than what today is supposed to be. By the end of the day I was making excuses saying that I couldn't mow because I had used the last of the gas the last time I mowed.  Now I bet you are wondering what that has to do with anything. Why not go out and get more right? Well my excuse has been that once I get home and let Gibbs out I hate to have to pen him back up again to go get the gas. So I get home prepared to blow off the chore and then I gave myself a little kick. Reminded myself that there is no reason why Gibbs can't ride along to get the gas. I grabbed the can and his leash and off we went. Then I came home and got the mowing done. My lines look a little crooked.

Would you follow this path?

This is what my shaggy Mr Gibbs has done. He goes out the basement door and takes off running around the side of the house. It looks horrible but it is what it is.

After mowing and a few pictures we went in to have some dinner followed by a shower for me and bath for shaggy boy.

Baby steps

Lately I've been feeling like I'm falling short in a lot of things. I've been a bit of a disappointment to myself but I suppose I've had a rather distorted view of  how things should be.

So I've decided to look at life through rose colored glasses and reward myself for every small accomplishment instead of beating myself up for not completing an entire project.

Yes, ok, I did take a nap on my day off but I also filled a box with stuff to go out with the trash. Now I need to find a way to encourage myself to lose all the weight I have gained. It's gotten to the point that aside from the people I see every day at work, I'm embarrassed to have anyone see just how much weight I've put on. I know I need to start exercising and I keep telling myself that today is the day. Unfortunately when I get home from work I sit down and then I'm done for.

Winging it

After coming home from work yesterday I think I may have fallen down a rabbit hole because time seemed to disappear. Although that could have something to do with the naps that I took. I decided to just pull an old photo out of the archives for today.

While I was looking through all these old pictures I kept thinking to myself that I need to get back into going out with my camera and really making an effort to take more pictures. Then on top of that I need to spend time editing. I used to really enjoy that and I've gotten away from doing much of it.

Sorry Charlie.

If you like tuna, you just might like this quick and easy tuna pasta salad.

 The recipe makes 2 servings and I had it for dinner 2 nights in a row. I really liked it. I suppose you could eat it hot or cold but the first night it was warm because I had just cooked the noodles. The second night I put it in the microwave for a minute and it was just as yummy.

I found this recipe in a Woman's World magazine

Zingy Tuna Pasta Salad
4 oz penne pasta
3 Tbs olive oil
1Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs shallot (I used red onion because it was all I had)
1 5 oz can tuna, drained
2 Tbs sliced olives
Basil leaves

1. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water. Drain; reserve
2. In large bowl, whisk oil, lemon juice and shallot; season to taste with salt and pepper. Add pasta, tuna and olives; toss until well coated. Divide pasta salad between two individual serving bowls. Garnish with basil leaves.

I'm sure this will be a regular over the summer since it's so easy to put together. Perfect for those nights when you don't feel like doing much cooking..

Going green

Or maybe this is turning over a new leaf. Either way it's the result of me walking around the yard with my camera looking for green leaves.

I don't know what this is. A neighbor gave it to me when she was thinning out her flower beds. She told me at the time but I haven't a clue now.

 

This one is easy. I tried for years to get hostas to grow in my yard with no success. These were transplants from the house Wade lived in before we were married.

 

It might be a weed but I liked the look of the leaves.

Years ago, my dad gave me some lupine seeds. Because of something viney that is growing in the same area as these, fewer and fewer come up each year.

I can't believe I'm going to show you this

I'm really going to embarrass myself here but I found this while I was looking through some files. If you can't handle bad singing then just skip watching.

This was back in 2014. Me having fun and being silly. I hope it at least makes you laugh.

Thoughts on the Amish

(image from Snappygoat.com)

We have a lot of Amish customers come through the store where I work. I've noticed that while some of the women are friendly and will chat a bit, most of the women are polite but only will speak to you when necessary. The men are way more friendly than the women. And then there are the children. I am amazed at the difference in the way they behave compared to non Amish children. Not only do the they walk and stay right by the parent, they are quiet and well behaved. Even babies are good. I don't think I have ever heard any of their babies crying.
I was kind of disappointed though the first time I saw one of the Amish women buying a cake mix. I was under the impression that they baked everything from scratch.

Through the window

It's still cold and gloomy around here so I've got more through the window shots.

This tree in one of my neighbors back yards is so pretty right now.

This is in the front yard of the neighbor across the street.

I'm hoping that when I get home from work today it's dry enough and I have enough energy to mow. We shall see.

Rainy days and Mondays

I haven't been very good at blogging lately. I write my posts the day before they publish and then schedule them to publish at 12:30 a.m.  Since Sunday was a rather busy day, I just never got around to putting a post together.

I worked until 1:30 and then shortly after I got home my son and his family came over. After they left I was chilling for a while and then my daughter came over to hang out. By the time she left I was ready for pajamas and some snoozing on the couch.

Monday was cold and rainy. The song may say that rainy days and Mondays always get me down but I don't feel that way about either. Of course if it's days upon days of rain then I'm not quite so happy. I may not have gotten outside but I did point my camera out the window. The tree in my next door neighbors yard is looking quite pretty.

Just look at all the green we have here now.

I want to thank you all for all the Mothers Day wishes on Sunday. I hope everyone had a great day and here's to a wonderful rest of the week.

Happy Mothers Day

Today we celebrate moms everywhere. I didn't have a close relationship with my mother and for all my efforts I can't say that I was that much better at being one myself but I tried.

Happy Mothers day.

Something old

At one point I decided that I wanted to try digital scrapbooking. It was cheaper than the real thing and no mess to clean up when you were done creating a page. It didn't take long for me to decide that I wasn't all that good at it and I moved on to other things. I do have lots of pages saved though and today I'm sharing a couple.

This was a two page layout that I did using pictures of Wade, Duke and Pringle the cat.

In case you can't read the text it says

Wade was having a morning cup of coffee. Pringle being curious as cats often are wanted to know what was in the cup. Duke being the ever jealous one couldn't stand by and see the cat getting something that he wasn't. Duke licked the cup dry demonstrating that Folgers just like Maxwell House is good to the last drop.

Difference of opinion

While I was out and about on Monday I happened to see a woman with a child on a leash. I never used one and have always hated seeing them being used on a child. So then I come home and I see this on Facebook.

I found it funny and shared it. Apparently it struck a nerve with someone though because this is what she had to say
 You find that funny? At fairs, carnivals, I used a leash on my kids when they were little..It's a safety issue in crowds and NOT to be made fun of. One woman confronted me once. I asked her how old her kids were; one was 6, the other 8. Then I asked her where they were.. Oh, somewhere around here, why? I responded that mine were "right here.....safe."

My reply was that yes I did find it funny and that I have never liked leashes on children and found them to be a poor substitute for a watchful eye. OOPS!! I guess that was the wrong thing to say also. Her next response was

when I used them - was 50 years ago. I was watchful and I resent the implication that the leash means a parent is not. I used them at places where there were large crowds. We are each entitled to our opinion I suppose.

I replied that there was no offense intended and it's just a difference of opinion. What I wanted to say was that the parents I've seen using them are not paying any attention to the child. Even in a large crowd someone could unhook them and snag the child while the parent is paying attention to something else. In my opinion a leash is not the best way to keep your child safe. Hold their hand, carry them, put them in a stroller. 

So tell me what is your opinion about using a leash on a child? 

Green and yellow

Growing up, I remember hearing the saying "Green and yellow, catch a fellow". Not sure where it came from or why I remember it but it goes with my post today since it's about the yellow dandelions that were mowed down yesterday. Now my yard is more green than yellow.

Oh and in case anyone is wondering, the answer is no, I am not in search of a fellow. 

The game of life

Yesterday it consisted of accidentally staying a half hour over at work. I got home and attempted to take care of some household chores and failed. I was however successful at paying some bills. I also excelled in couch lounging.

Today I get to do it all over again. It's like one never ending boring loop.

What a pita

Who knew that trying to make your very last mortgage payment ever could be such a PITA (and I'm not talking about the bread)

The payment was due on May 1 but I have until the 15th to pay without getting a late charge. I went online to make the payment on Thursday May 2. I got a message saying that they were unable to process my request and to call the 800 number for assistance.

May3, after work I tried one more time to make the payment online. Still got the same message so I tried the 800 number. The person I talked to said that I needed to get a payoff statement and then send a certified check for the last payment. She also told me the payoff amount and the escrow balance amount. She informed me that my taxes had been paid but that I would have to pay the homeowners insurance but the current policy was paid until October. She said that I could go to a local branch to get the payoff statement or they could mail me one. I figured going to a branch was easier and quicker so I would do that.

May 6 was the first opportunity I had to go to a local PNC branch. I got there shortly after opening and went to the teller and informed her of what I needed. Between her, the person on the phone and another employee who was standing there, they informed me that they were not able to provide an accurate payoff and that I would need to call the 800 number.
Back home I get on the phone again and talk to another person. This one apparently had more knowledge. She told me that since I had a higher escrow balance than principal balance they could take the final payment from that and then send me the remainder. They will also mail me a copy of the payoff. The information also goes to the county who will then in turn release the deed.

Long story short, I no longer have a mortgage payment although I haven't gotten the official paper work. Would you like to do a happy dance with me?

Am I blue? Or maybe just old.

Don't worry, I'm not feeling down and that isn't why I didn't post yesterday. I'm just getting really lazy about coming up with stuff.

I put out some flowers (cheap fake ones but they last longer than real ones)

Then I remembered this bird that I've had for a while and since it matched I set it next tot he flowers

Saturday while I was out and about I discovered an antique store that I didn't realize was there. I went in and browsed. Can't say that I really saw anything that caught my eye.

More errands to do today and hopefully I'll get something really big taken care of before the day is over.

With a little help from Facebook

I'm cheating today and posting a few things I found on Facebook.

I could use this at work. There is one person in particular who wears her pants way too low and her shirts aren't long enough so every time she bends over there she is. I just want to know why I always have to see it.

YES!! All you have is my word that I never did anything stupid back in the day.

Darn. Maybe next week.

Big vs Little

Yesterday at work I was pulling the frozen dough that would be used today. I pulled out a new case of petite cinnamon rolls and opened the box. This is what I found in there.

The one on the left is the size the rolls should be. The box had a lot of rolls that looked like the one on the right. In the past I would get this kind of inconsistency in size and when I questioned it I was told that the company says they are withing specs. 

I decided to see how much difference there was in weight. The one on the left weighed .09, the one on the right weighed .05 

I made a call to the warehouse and told them about the issue. I was told they would issue a credit. I asked if they needed me to return the case and I was told no. Looks like some of us are going to be getting some baby cinnamon rolls for a treat this morning.

Test run

Since mother's day is getting close I decided I needed to come up with something special to do at work. I searched pinterest and came up with my own version of something I saw there.

I took a 1/4 sheet cake which is a 13x9 size cake and cut it in 4 pieces and I also used 6 cupcakes.

In case you aren't sure it's supposed to be flowers in a vase. The one I saw on Pinterest used cupcakes for the whole thing but I chose to use the cut cake instead. Of course when I do these for mother's day they will say something different but I put the hello spring on this one so I could put it out in the case now.

Baby leaves and yeah me

Oh my it's May 1st already. Time sure does fly.

So I shut my computer down and restarted it the other day and now it will read my SD card again. I took this through one of the bedroom windows on a less than sunny day but baby leaves make me happy.

And here's a collage of some of the pictures I posted the other day.

So what's the yeah me part of this post? I had almost forgotten about it until I looked at the calendar yesterday. Then I realized that it was 6 years ago yesterday that I smoked my very last cigarette. It was my third time quitting but this time I think I can safely say it's for good.
So the question for the day is Are you a smoker, ex smoker or have you never tried it?