Getting Ready

Hmmm... I can't seem to get the scanner figured out! I'll have to ask Kat to troubleshoot for me. Sorry! Those layout shots will be up soon, I promise. Just don't get your hopes up for something "wow" 'cause like I said, they're very minimalistic -- just a whole lot of photos and very little of anything else, ha ha! While I'm thinking about Bo, I thought I'd post his Christmas photo here for your viewing pleasure. That's his new Elf costume that Kat just couldn't resist getting (and at only $5, how could I refuse?)!

Oh, I'm so excited! I've ordered the Curly Punch Bundle from Stampin' Up!'s Holiday Extravaganza!! It's a splurge for me, and an early Christmas present. I can hardly wait 'til it gets here... Just got notification that it shipped yesterday morning. Yay! Splurged a bit for Kat, too, getting her a little webcam. She's quite the entertainer, so I hope to see some fun video blogging from her in the weeks to come!

I've been pulling out my stamp-and-scrapbook supplies, trying to get a creative space set up in my room so I can soon begin the pre-Christmas crafting frenzy. That's my biggest project right now. It's hard, because I keep wanting to stop and play with my stuff! But I'm holding that out as a carrot at the end of my nose so I'll get done sooner. So far, it's not exactly working, ha ha... I've stopped to stamp a cute little mini pizza box for a friend of mine already. Photos to come soon -- I know the camera works! For now, here are a few photos of projects from my not-so-distant past. And please forgive the hodgepodge look of this entry... I'm still trying to figure out how to put photos exactly where I want them!

Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving with your families and friends. My Kat and I spent the holiday quietly at home, relaxing with Bo and watching a few DVDs. Such a nice change from all of the running around we've been doing lately, between her new internship at the humane society and my crazy busy work schedule! I can't tell you how much we've been enjoying sleeping in... at least as late as Bo will let us... :)

So tomorrow begins the Advent season, the weeks in which we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ and look toward His second coming. Wow, the year has simply flown by! We'll be pulling out our Christmas decorations today and then looking for a tree in a couple of weeks. We get a real one this year! Time to start on those Christmas cards and gifts, too. I love this holy season!

Park Day

Sunday brought us some crisp Fall weather (FINALLY!), so we celebrated by taking Bo to the park. While the day started out grey and chilly, it was only about an hour before it got sunny and hot again. Gotta love Southern California weather! Still, Kat and Bo had a good romp in the coolness and very much enjoyed themselves.

Bo is such a silly guy; he's huge (just under 90 lbs) and fierce looking (well, okay, maybe not in these pictures!) so he tends to scare people when we're out walking him, especially at night. But once we introduce you as a friend and he gets to know you ... he's a real lovebug and so playful! He leaps and bounds like a deer when he's excited and rubs up against us like a cat when he's happy. He's the perfect guard dog and companion for Kat: giant teddy bear most of the time and a valiant protector when needed.

I made a little 6" x 6" layout yesterday, so as soon as I can figure out how to get my scanner working again I'll post it. It's really a very simple 2-page spread ('cause I had a lot of pictures to put in there!) but I think it turned out nice. Will post as soon as I can!

Thinking Christmas Before Thanksgiving, Just This Once

It's coming up on the Advent season (wow, end of this week... time flies!) and I'm beginning to look toward Christmas so I thought I'd do this Christmas meme:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper with pretty ribbon and cool gift tags!

2. Real tree or artificial? We had an artificial tree for years (much more convenient), but this year we're going real (love the fragrance!)

3. When do you put up the tree? Around the 2nd week of Advent. No particular reason, just happens that way.

4. When do you take the tree down? Epiphany!

(Where'd 5 go...?)

6. Favorite gift received as a child? A Winnie the Pooh stuffed doll. I still have him... he sits on my bed. :)

7. Do you have a Nativity scene? Oh yes, a few. My daughter has her own, we have a family set that we've had for about 20 years, and I inherited my grandmother's set when she passed away in 2005.

8. Hardest person to buy for? My brother. He's got everything already!

9. Easiest person to buy for? My eldest daughter. She loves anything with Sleeping Beauty on it! Did I mention she's 22 and in the Navy?

10. Worst Christmas Gift you ever received? No such thing, as it's the thought that means a lot to me.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Snail mail, definitely.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? This year, it's The Christmas Shoes (a Hallmark movie).

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Around Thanksgiving time is when I start really thinking about buying things, but mostly we make our gifts so that's an Advent project.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I honestly can't remember!

15. Favorite things to eat at Christmas? Honeybaked Ham, Yams, Mashed Potatoes, Turkey with Gravy... pretty much the traditional stuff

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Depends on the year.

17. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Depends on the year and our budget. All our family lives several hours away, so sometimes we make the trek but we've been known to stay home for a quiet Christmas as well.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolf... did I get them all? Had to sing the song in my head!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Mother Mary cradling Baby Jesus in her arms.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning (I don't know why I can't "unbold" this answer....)

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? People getting pushy and irritated at the stores. Gosh, that's not what the season's about.

23. What is the “silliest” family tradition you do, or miss doing? Taking the kids' Christmas pictures by the tree: after they did the "posed" shots, I let them pose themselves and the result was always a series of hilarious, fun photos that we used in our cards! Three are grown and moved out now, sigh...

24. Ugliest Christmas Decoration ever invented? Don't know.

25. Which looks best, theme trees or homey trees? I like both, though my tree is always decorated with the Christmas ornaments that my kids made and collected as they were growing up.

26. Gingerbread or sugar cookies? Sugar cookies all the way!

27. Do you like Fruitcake? Not particularly.

Well, that's it!Big thanks to Corinna for this meme! You can check out her way cool blog here: Corinna's blog

Have an awesome day!

Passion For Crafts

Fellow stamper Debbie has some awesome blog candy to give away! Check out her way creative blog and the "yummy candy" here: BLOG CANDY!

When I Grow Up, I Want to Be Like You!

This is a card that I made for my Kathi last year. I don't tell her ENOUGH how much I love her (even though I tell her every single day... that doesn't feel like enough to me!).

So this card has pull outs that have little things I love about her. I think it turned out cute! I used the "Just Delightful" Simply Scrappin' set from STAMPIN' UP!, Delight in Life stamp set (also from SU!), some Prima flowers, ribbons, and brads. Inside the card it says, "When I grow up... I want to be like you!" from a retired SU! set.

Kathi is so courageous and willing to be silly and ready to love everyone and very compassionate and caring. I hope she never loses that. I really do want to be like her!

What's in a Name?

What's in a name? I don't know, but names have always been important to me. I am very particular about getting someone's name right. I'm intrigued by the origins of people's names, and why they were give the names that they have.

Nicknames? Very cool! How'd they get those? What's the story behind them?

Pictured here are just a couple of the name frames I've made for people. My daughter Kathi made the "Neveah" frame for her cousin's birthday. She did a really nice job, yes? I wish I'd taken pictures of the others. And I still need to make some for my kids.