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Thursday, March 24, 2011

Totally Stealing from Shaina: 15 Questions

Totally stealing from Shaina who posted her answers to questions from the Marta Writes blog.

these are some cool questions and I want to answer them!

:: no matter what mood i'm in, i can always go for a: coffee...seriously, I should be main-lining this stuff.

:: my favorite go-to outfit would have to be: black yoga pants, v-necked t and flip-flops.

:: a good source of inspiration is: blog-land. there is something for everyone and its WAY more interesting than tv.

:: am so glad my parents taught me: to work hard. I've never been afraid of hard work in my life.

:: a song i like to dance to is: this might be faster if I told you what I DON'T like to dance to...which is pretty much ballet music.

:: i wish everyone knew about: their turn signals...I think turn signals are an endangered species.

:: the best thing in my makeup bag is: toss up: a plum-colored eyeliner pencil (GREAT for blue, 40-year-old eyes to give lift and brightness) and my Laptop Eyeshadow from Bare Minerals

:: my dream spring break vacation spot is: someplace with a beach, margaritas, chips and salsa and no kids.

:: this may be a surprise, but i am passionate about: eating right. Its harder than it seems and there is always something to watch out for in this world. I read labels and watch health magazines and try my hardest to find that balance between being healthy and being fun with food. Not an easy proposition (see my first answer to my first question!)

:: a favorite book that changed me for the better: The Bible...Perhaps you will find this cliche, but until I read the whole darn thing for myself, I had no idea what was really in there. Now I go there first.

:: one of my pet peeves is: dirty dishes

:: my favorite daily ritual would have to be: coffee in the morning. It used to be coffee and design magazines or the paper or my favorite shows. But with children, its just coffee...I rarely get more than that.

:: i am trying to be better at: exercise and eating right

:: the most recent rad thing i found online was: Pinterest, although I can't say I'm all that great at it just yet. I'm learning and building.

:: i can't live without: Jesus first - without Him, I would still be in deep distrust and emotional agony. A close second is my family. They are the best!!

So...anything surprising or revealing here? I don't think I revealed anything earth-shattering.

How about you? What would your answers be?

Peace, ya'll!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Anniversary Wishes

Nine years ago today, I married the most wonderful man in the world:


Happy Anniversary, my amazing, awesome, wonderful, handsome husband!

I LOVE YOU!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

What He Sees - and a BLOG HOP!

If you are here for the blog hop, you probably came from Fabi's Blog. WELCOME to my little piece of the world.

If you are starting here, you might want to go back to Nancy's Blog to get started. You don't want to miss a thing.

Remember the beautiful INSPIRATION kit from SFTIO?


Its SO amazing! You could WIN it! Read on:

My final layout for the Scrapbooking From The Inside Out Kit - INSPIRATION kit is one about my favorite inspiration - my kiddos.

I'm in the habit of handing my cell phone to Jayden when we are in a public bathroom. It keeps him occupied looking at pictures while I finish my business...its a good way to keep him from opening the door and just waltzing out without me and also from crawling on the floor to another stall.

Upon occasion, when he's particularly rambunctious and I have few resources to occupy him, I will hand him my phone to busy himself...like when he's in the cart on a long grocery trip.

In an effort to clear off my phone so that it would cease freezing up, I found some awesome pictures, taken obviously by my son. I was inspired to find HIS camera and take a look as well. I love to see what he sees.

It certainly brought up in me a desire to be better. Better at EVERYTHING...because I know he is watching:


This layout is totally a stretch...I was looking for an alternative to my usual 12 by 12 background...an unsuqare background. I like how it turned out. I might try this approach again.


I'm really a huge fan of those Journal Sprouts from Jillibean Soup. I could think of a hundred ways to use them!

Have you ever unexpectedly come across photos taken by somebody else or a photo you didn't remember and been fascinated and inspired? What about what others see in you inspires you? Did you ever think of Scrapping it?

Now, for the chance to win this wonderful kit. Simply leave me a comment, and then head on over to Patty (aka Colored Sprinkle Girl) for the next step on the hop.

Winners for the kit will be chosen from ALL the comments on each blog. So, the more comments you leave, the better your chances of winning.

The hop ends at the Scrapbooking from the Inside Out blog, where we'll announce the winner of the kit on Thursday March 24 at 5:00 PM PST.

Happy Hopping and Peace, ya'll!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Spammy Monday

I have a spam monitor on my e-mail account. Who really doesn’t these days?

Sometimes I’m moved to go look at it just to see what’s going on in there. I’m secretly suspicious that the spam account is having a party that I have not been invited to.

Turns out, it’s a party, alright…but its like the one you might find yourself at where you keep asking yourself, “is this real or am I in the Twilight Zone?”

For example, the United Nations is looking for some information from me to release my funds…I wonder what the UN is doing with my money in the first place. I’m not nearly that important.

Just to be fair, I have nearly the same email from the FBI, the national lottery (we have a national lottery?), and from some bank in London. Me and my funds are apparently quite diversified. I’m so lucky to have come into so much money all at once.

The best of these “we have money for you” emails, though, is from JIMMY WANG. Oh, how I want to go get my free money from Jimmy Wang. It’s quite difficult to resist the urge to follow that little link, let me tell you.

I have several offers for Viagra, diet pills, Cialis, Codeine and Xanax….good to know that the illegal drug trade is strong and healthy…and apparently unmonitored by anyone with an email account.

Rolex has assured me that my free Rolex is awaiting me…I have only to enter my address and personal banking information to receive it. I can complete the same offer for several new watches from different swiss watch distributers should I choose.

I can get some designer clothing for greatly reduced prices. Again, I’m wondering where all those knock-off busting officials are at this moment. Don’t they get the internet?

Oh, and there is one for a free power wheelchair…Why I need that I will never know.

I feel a little bit like my email account has been walking the sidewalks of Vegas, accepting hand out fliers for everything from free buffet meals and show tickets to peep shows and strip clubs.

Its somewhat shocking…and, well, makes me feel a little like I need to put my email account in the shower and give it a good scrub to get all the dirty underbelly of humanity off of it.

Do they make internet antiseptic? Or maybe pepper spray…

Happy Monday, everyone!

PS…stay tuned tomorrow for a Scrapbooking From the Inside Out Blog Hop.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

WINNER!!!!!

Well...

I'm a day late...

Well...

Jayden and I are a day late.

It was just SO beautiful yesterday that we spent our whole entire day outside.

But today, its cloudy, so we decided to choose the winner of my Blogiversary drawing.

First, we print out all the names on pretty cards.


Put them into a green bucket and swish them around a bit:


Stir a little with your hands:


Cover your eyes, so there is no cheating.


Draw out a name.


Open it to show Mommy!


Yea!!!! HEATHER is the winner!!! Celebrate by jumping up and down.


Oh, Heather, email me what email address you would like your certificate sent to.

CONGRATULATIONS and thank you EVERYONE for an awesome Blogiversary!!!

Peace, ya'll!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Happy St. Patrick's Day



When growing up, the only thing I could have told you about St. Patrick is that he is most well known for driving the snakes from Ireland. While it is absolutely accurate that there are no snakes in Ireland, there is a strong possibility that there never were...so...there goes my entire education on St. Patrick out the window.

I went in search of information:

First, a little education from the illustrious (I use the term LOOSELY - as LOOSELY as possible) Wikipedia:

Little is known of Patrick's early life, though it is known that he was born in Roman Britain in the 4th century, into a wealthy Romano-British family. His father and grandfather were deacons in the Church. At the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken captive to Ireland as a slave. It is believed he was held somewhere on the west coast of Ireland, possibly Mayo, but the exact location is unknown. According to his Confession, he was told by God in a dream to flee from captivity to the coast, where he would board a ship and return to Britain. Upon returning, he quickly joined the Church in Auxerre in Gaul and studied to be a priest.

In 432, he again said that he was called back to Ireland, though as a bishop, to Christianise the Irish from their native polytheism. Irish folklore tells that one of his teaching methods included using the shamrock to explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity to the Irish people. After nearly thirty years of evangelism, he died on 17 March 461, and according to tradition, was buried at Downpatrick. Although there were other more successful missions to Ireland from Rome, Patrick endured as the principal champion of Irish Christianity and is held in esteem in the Irish Church.

Originally, the colour associated with Saint Patrick was blue. Over the years the colour green and its association with Saint Patrick's day grew. Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century. He is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish, and the wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs have become a ubiquitous feature of the day.In the 1798 rebellion, in hopes of making a political statement, Irish soldiers wore full green uniforms on 17 March in hopes of catching public attention.

And some interesting tidbits from History.com:

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years. On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink and feast—on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

Up until the mid-19th century, most Irish immigrants in America were members of the Protestant middle class. When the Great Potato Famine hit Ireland in 1845, close to a million poor and uneducated Irish Catholics began pouring into America to escape starvation. Despised for their religious beliefs and funny accents by the American Protestant majority, the immigrants had trouble finding even menial jobs. When Irish Americans in the country's cities took to the streets on St. Patrick's Day to celebrate their heritage, newspapers portrayed them in cartoons as drunk, violent monkeys.

However, the Irish soon began to realize that their great numbers endowed them with a political power that had yet to be exploited. They started to organize, and their voting block, known as the "green machine," became an important swing vote for political hopefuls. Suddenly, annual St. Patrick's Day parades became a show of strength for Irish Americans, as well as a must-attend event for a slew of political candidates. In 1948, President Truman attended New York City 's St. Patrick's Day parade, a proud moment for the many Irish whose ancestors had to fight stereotypes and racial prejudice to find acceptance in America.

In modern-day Ireland, St. Patrick's Day has traditionally been a religious occasion. In fact, up until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17. Beginning in 1995, however, the Irish government began a national campaign to use St. Patrick's Day as an opportunity to drive tourism and showcase Ireland to the rest of the world. Last year, close to one million people took part in Ireland 's St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin, a multi-day celebration featuring parades, concerts, outdoor theater productions and fireworks shows.

While we are not Irish, I thought it would be a good opportunity to teach my 4 year old some interesting cultural things. I presented him with a little rainbow and Pot of God this morning.

Tonight for dinner, we'll be having Irish Beef Stew (because my family doesn't do Corned Beef nor cabbage and Lamb Stew is out of the question) accompanied by Irish Soda Bread.

Are you celebrating this holiday? How are you marking St. Patrick's Day?

Have a BEAUTIFUL GREEN DAY!

Oh! And don't forget to leave me some comment love HERE for your chance at my Blogiversary giveaway!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

That Gets Me

Perhaps above all other things, I'm deeply inspired by music.

I was, after all, an aspiring rock star:






Its not a small leap to from get "inspiration" to "oh, yea, MUSIC!" under these curcumstances.

So, I set to work with my Scrapbooking From The Inside Out Kit - INSPIRATION kit to make a layout about how music inspires me...

But, where to start? With the music that I write? The music I listen to? The music that I go searching for when I need some inspiration? The way I click-click-click through i-tunes looking for something that makes me tingle?

I settled for the music that I reach for when I'm creating, which is surprisingly low key compared to a lot of what is out there today...its kind of a 70's or 70s-inspired, mostly acoustic, highly meaningful lyric, girls who rock and guys with long hair, sing along with me sort of music plus the things I grew up on, like U2 and Aerosmith. I like to be able to sing along, sort of mindlessly, as I work.

I have a radio station on Pandora that is exactly the perfect mix: I call it "Lifes Been Good To Me So Far" radio...you know...after the Joe Walsh song.

Anyway...I've never really thought of myself as a pink and yellow kind of girl, but it all worked out rather amazingly:


That shirtless picture with the guitar slung over her back that Melissa Ethridge put on her cover is so seriously sexy.  I love that shot!

REALLY in love with these pinwheel things...they are just the right kind of playful and fun, I think.


What is your favorite music? What do you listen to when you need to be inspired? Anything fun you want to share with the rest of us!?!!?

Peace, ya'll!!


PS...don't forget to leave me some comment love HERE for your chance at my Blogiversary giveaway!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

WHAT!?!?!? 6 YEARS!?!??!? (a gift for you post)

Its official.

Happy Blogiversary to MEEEEEE!!!



Today, my happy little blog is 6 YEARS OLD!!!

I'll be honest, I blog because it gives me a place to pop off so that my head won't...if you know what I mean.

My own perfect little world...HA!

But I feel like celebrating...because I LOVE you, my readers...I love that you take the time out of your day to see what little bit of something I come up with to post here.

Monday Muses.

Heard at Our House posts.

My scrapbooking.

My personal explorations into faith and life and the universe and everything....

It seems like JUST when I need you most, you come through for me.

You leave a comment or praise a post or give me your precious thoughts on some subject I'm wandering through.

I've learned how to eat vegetarian, how cyber-friendships are just as rewarding (and sometimes MORE rewarding!) as face to face ffriendsships, how to clean green, how to make my own wrapping paper, what Etsy is and lets not forget pinterest.

Its been a rewarding and wonderful journey!!!

So...I was thinking I'd like to give a PRESENT to one of you for my 6 year blogiverary...

How about a little gift certificate?

I'm thinking $36 (for my 6 years!!!) to Amazon.


Sound like fun?

Just leave me a little comment love and I will draw a winner on SATURDAY, March 19.

Peace, ya'll!!!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Monday Muse - The One with the Green and Pink Room

Ok, I'm not entirely sure I could live here, on a full time basis, with that color all the time every time...but OH, what a ROOM!!! And those FLOOR TO CEILING CURTAINS! I could just die right there its so beautiful:

Houston Estate eclectic living room


Just so you know the WHOLE estate is like that. You can see it all HERE

So, why this muse?

Impact.

Spring colors.

High contrast (in an unexpected way!)

Contemporary and antique side by side in an eclectic way.

Those curtains.

What would you do with this muse? Could you create an amazing painted pot for a new spring sweet pea to grow in?

How about some cupcakes with green frosting and hot pink flowers...

Maybe repurpose a piece of old furniture with a coat of lively green paint?

Tell me...How could you use this muse?

Peace, ya'll!!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Oh, the Places I'd Go

One of the things I find most inspiring is the idea of travel. I watch tons of National Geographic specials on the beauties of the world and I'm literally glued to Anthony Bourdain and No Reservations when I get the chance to watch.

And remember THIS POST about my fascination with the Great Wall of China? I knew I would be scrapbooking this part of myself that sort of wanders the world of my imagination.

When my Scrapbooking From The Inside Out Kit - INSPIRATION kit arrived, it seemed like the perfect kit to explore my desire to travel and how inspired I am by this wide wide world we live in.

Since Dr. Seuss's book Oh, The Places You'll Go is one of my favorites, I played on that title a bit...it was purely serendipitous that his birthday is also in March.

I'll be honest...I had TOO MANY PICTURES for this layout...but editing the layout hasn't one bit dampened my dream:


LOVED the American Crafts paper with these little balloons...I wanted to use it so badly, but when trying to space the pictures over that paper, they all got lost...so...I cut them out and popped them up.


Are you inspired to travel? Have you ever taken a dream destination vacation to some place that has long held your imagination? Where would you like to go if only you could???

Peace, ya'll!

Friday, March 04, 2011

ITS PARTY TIME!!

What better a day to have a party than a FRIDAY!!!

HAPPY 1000th POST to Nancy Doren and her blog Paperview:


Head on over to NANCY's BLOG and lets get this party started!

Peace, ya'll!

Thursday, March 03, 2011

Speaking of Inspiration - Nancy's Turning 1000!!

So, you know its INSPIRATION month over at Scrapbooking From the Inside Out. What a fantastic month to be inspired, don't you think? For my Southern Hemisphere friends, autumn is upon you, right? All those amazing, bright oranges and reds...CERTAINLY inspiring. For my Northern Hemisphere friends, the earth is waking up from a long winter and gently robing itself in the delicate color of spring flowers.

Speaking of flowers, this is one of my layouts from the Inspiration kit at SFTIO:


SO SO SO much fun to cut out all those little circles and layer them to create a gorgeous bouquet. I punched some with my circle punches, but honestly, cutting some of them by hand was the best thing because of size - and the fact that I love the imperfection.

Then I boosted them up with three different heights of dimensional adhesive:


Speaking of INSPIRATION, remember yesterday when I mentioned Nancy Doren? WELLLL...she's going to be posting her 1000th post on Friday.

And she's having a PARTY!!!

And YOU and ME and ALL OF OUR FRIENDS are invited...there will be PRIZES...(imagine me saying that in that tempting voice...the one I use when I'm trying to get you to eat chocolate with me!)


Its going to be SO much fun!!

So...what do you find inspiring in nature? What speaks to you? Is it birds? clouds? flowers? mountains? water? Let me know!!!

Peace, ya'll!

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Learnin' Some Stuff

Inspiration is everywhere, literally. Most especially on these amazing little blog things.

Bloggers are sharers, always willing to give you something to think about, something to create, something to cook, something to discuss at the dinner table, something to inspire.

For example, my sweet friend Kai has shared an award with me. (THANK YO SO MUCH KAI!!!)


You have been TAGGED and want to participate? Then create a post where you post the 'LOVE BLOG' image. You should also blog the person’s link that gave you the award and inform her/him that you accept the award. You then choose 3 - 5 favourite blogs which you also link in your post, then inform each blogger that they have been tagged.

Dear bloggers: The aim of this action is that we bring unknown, good blogs to light, so I would ask you not to blog fellow bloggers that already have 3,000 followers.

I would give a speech, but honestly, I've not got enough interesting things to say in a speech.

Kai has told me I don't have to participate in the traditional way, but I do want to share some of the things I've gotten from the blog-sphere lately. Some of these blogs have a bunch of readers...and others do not. I'm just content that they share their knowledge with me and I get to learn a few things.

(To get to the tutorial mentioned, just click on the hyper-linked name of the blog.)

First up, learn how to make a gift bow from magazines or maps from How About Orange. This blog always has interesting things to share. I'm very much in love with her style.


Learn how to frost a cake from Whisk Kid. Whisk Kid assumes I know NOTHING about baking and presents lots of luscious ideas in a way that I understand. Its so appreciated! And I'm also amazed at that fact that she's young enough to be my child, er....neice.


You can learn how to make these ADORABLE Turtle Ice Box Cookies (or Lions or super cute purple penguins) from Diamonds For Dessert. I'm particularly entranced with her drawing the steps instead of showing in photos:



American Crafts has an awesome tutorial on how to make headbands using some of their excellent products. I'm thinking of branching in this direction to make a gift for a friend who's having a little girl very soon.


Studio Calico, always a great source for tutorials on craft and scrapbooking products, has this amazing tutorial on how to put sparkle in the eyes of your photos. THIS I found supremely useful!


Nancy Doren, who is a super-duper sharer, shares some of her best-found secrets for paper crafting. Nancy, does LOTS of awesome informational posts for lovers of paper craft, fashion, music and graphic art. Her blog is a plethora of inspiration.


And most recently, I've been super inspired to create my own paper for crafting using the tutorial on water colors by Patti, aka Colored Sprinkle Girl. She makes me want to dump every product in my studio and just use white paper and water colors!


in other news, I've felt the urge to purge - unnecessary stuff, that is. As a first start, I've purged all blogs that have 1) not posted in 6 months (or more!) or 2) no longer inspire me. The result is that I've purged 39 blogs from my reader. I'm not sure if I'm done, but I've gone as far as I care to today.

BUT it makes me wonder...what good blogs are out there? Do you have any recommendation for blogs that are inspiring you? Music, writing, crafting, scrapbooking, art, movies, whatever...what'cha looking at these days?

Peace, ya'll!!

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

INSPIRATION

Here it is...magical March 1!

I am so excited to reveal the new Scrapbooking From The Inside Out Kit - INSPIRATION.

Its so bright and gorgeous...it just makes me happy:


Just look at all that color! I've seriously not even BEGUN to explore the possibilities of this kit and this theme.

You can check out all the goodies in the kit by going HERE.

My first layout is about CUPCAKES...they are the perfect little edible canvasses. Its a little treat that Jayden and I like to make. We can pick the cake, the frosting, the sprinkels...its like a little mini-art project.

I tried to simulate the tops of cupcakes looking down from above:


Remind me some day to tell you how I simulated that sewing..because, while I have a machine to sew on, I don't actually have it out right this moment.

REALLY got into making these rosettes. They are particularly fun in the bright and sunny colors of this kit.


So, what inspires you? What are your muses?

Peace, ya'll!