Soul soothing & senseless...

It's been a good week for my sanity, but not a very sensible one (in some respects). Last week wore me down a bit, so this week I've been "treating" myself. This is what I've been doing to soothe my spirit:

• spent more time in the evenings talking to/cuddling with Matt
• spent the commute home on the phone with my bff Angie (btw, happy birthday Angie)
• bought really good tomatoes, mozzarella and white balsamic vinegar and made insalata caprese for lunch a few times
• ate popcorn a lot (cheddar, light homestyle & kettle)
• met Ashley, Kate, Beeper & Rachael after work for girl time
• read 3 books in 3 days (this is the senseless part - reading til 1 or 2 am each night - but they were really funny)

It was a good week. Now I'm ready for a good long weekend.

On the Radio...

I was on World Talk Radio on the Diva Craft Lounge show today with Danni & Rayme (what hoots!). If you missed the interview, you can click the "listen to archive" button for 8/29. I love the show and if you're not a regular listener you should be.

Now, if you're like, my dad or a stalker, and you only want to listen to my segment tune in from 23:04 to 38:24.
(love you dad!)

Breathing in books...

I read in cycles. Sometimes I can go weeks without picking anything up, other times I drink books in like water. My mom always said "I was the only child she knew for whom breathing was an interruption to reading". (Just typing that...wow. I miss her so much.)

I've read some good ones in the last two weeks & thanks to the commute I've added audio books as well. I read The Ivy Chronicles in about three days and loved the dark humor. I polished off Vince & Joy in an afternoon & late night and loved every minute of it. Today the next round of fun begins - I got the MaryJanice Davidson series. Ever since I read the premise of this series I've been determined to pick it up. "The death & adventures of a 30-something New York native single, shoe-obsessed vampire. This is where Sex and the City meets Shopaholic meets Dracula." Obviously, I'm not looking for a thoughtful, provocative read to change the world, but loving the 30-something wit of Sex and the City and vampire lore as I do, I couldn't pass this up!

As for the audio books I've been downloading from audible.com and really like their site & selection. Recently I've listened to Stranger in a Strange Land, The Jane Austen Book Club and I am currently rotating between Blink and Pride & Prejudice. So what are you reading?

Well, if you're around your computer tomorrow I'm going to be interviewed on the Diva Craft Lounge on World Talk Radio around 12:20 Pacific time. Follow the link to tune in & listen via the internet!

Birthday season...

It's birthday season in over here...so HAPPY BIRTHDAY Ashley (last week), Kate (yesterday), Matt & Rusty (today), Elizabeth (tomorrow) and Angie (Friday). Happy, happy birthday to you all!

Off to Nashville...

It feels like I just did this. I'm headed home to do laundry & pack tonight, this time off to Nashville for CKU! I've given both of my classes and the make & takes a Luxe-urious facelift & wanted to debut the projects before I left. I hope you'll be in my classes there because we're gonna have a blast! If you'd like to see more images of the CKU Nashville classes and make & takes click here.

Back from Ruban Rouge...

Back from Florida & prepping for Nashville...I posted some pics from this weekend over on the Luxe blog. Jen & I had an absolute blast at Ruban Rouge. If it wasn't so late I'd tell tales. But it is & I should turn in.

On my way to Ruban Rouge...

Well, I'm off to the airport to Tampa & Ruban Rouge for the weekend. We'll be doing a fun little project at the crop tonight & hanging out and teaching back to back classes tomorrow. I'll be missing Matt's family reunion this weekend, but luckily his family is quite close and they do a couple each year so I'm sure I'll see them all soon. I'll blog from Florida if I have a chance, if not it won't be long - this one is a whirlwind. I'll be back Sunday.

Little things that make me happy...

1. I worked from home today.
2. The cable company finally came out and figured out why my internet service has been so intermittent - I needed a new router & they gave me one.
3. I started and finished The Ivy Chronicles last night. Dark humor - two thumbs up.
4. Pam told me the easiest recipe ever & I made it & I just tasted it and OH-MY-GOODNESS-IT'S-GOOD: 1 pot roast rubbed with black pepper & garlic, 1 jar of pepperoncini peppers with juice, cut in chunks (stems removed), 4 beef bullion cubes + a smidge of water OR a can of low sodium beef broth. Crock pot - all day. WOW. This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship... am going to serve with mashed potatoes & a salad. Am feeling very domestic.
5. Jen & I leave for Ruban Rouge on Friday & am so excited to teach there!!!!!
6. Meg made me get a facebook account & I'm really liking it - much better than myspace. Lots of good scrapbooking groups!
7. Have a new obsession with Simply Limeade.
8. Found itty bitty cake mixes at the grocery store. They are so new, I could not find an image of them online. They are 150 calorie cakes about a third of the size of the regular warm delights and come in Molten Caramel Chocolate & Chocolate Raspberry Decadence.
9. Read the update on the Bunny Theater Library & found out she was animating Kill Bill for release later this year.
10. Realized it was less than a month before season three of The Office comes out on video, and a little over a month before season four begins!!!

Meg's transformation...

Meg has always been a pretty girl, but she seems to have passed through "that awkward time" as teenager and has "swanned out" on the other side. She got a new "do" and I took her for a makeover at MAC then we went on a little photo shoot through Northpark Mall. I loved all the photos & I did some neat filters that she liked - it really puts me in the mood to scrapbook! Here are just a few of my favorites...

Top PRIORITY...

I wanted to share a class I've created that I'll be teaching in Florida at Ruban Rouge next weekend and that Jen will be teaching at Windy City in Chicago Labor Day weekend. This one is called PRIORITY MAIL and I hope you can join in on the fun!

It's going to be a fun card class with lots of ideas and ledt over goodies where we'll make cards, gift tags, a fun gift card holder and more.

She's in the army now...

She is strong. She is brave. She represents and protects an average of 200 Americans. She is only 18 but she is so amazing. We are so proud of her.

My cousin Amy joined the army yesterday. I went to her swearing in ceremony at the federal building and was able to share a last few moments with her before she "shipped out". She's in basic training now half way across the country. God bless her....I already miss her so much!

happiness, thy name is Sonic...

Fried jalapeno season in Texas is officially open! The crispy strips are back on the menu along with their heavenly spicy southwest supersonic burger (with chipolte sauce, pepperjack cheese and fried jalapenos). I drove by Sonic this morning and was so excited to see this on the sign I actually drove around to make sure it was re-added to the menu...life is good!

Jen's challenge...

Jen is playing a get to know you better game on her blog...you tell her a random fact about yourself, then she asks each participant 5 unique questions and then you have to answer them on your own blog...so here are my answers:

1. Describe your dream kitchen. Ummmm, wow, I could go on & on....of course, lots of room. At least one big comfy chair and a nook where I could read while I was baking or where a friend could curl up and talk to me while I was cooking. I need a warming drawer and a TV with a DVD player so I could watch dvds while I prep & cook. Extra large fridge & freezer, the stove from Rachel Ray's show kitchen (love it's retro-fabulousness) - as a matter of fact kind of the look and feel of the kitchen in her 30-minute meals show...I'm gadget & appliance obsessed. And as long as I'm living the fantasy I'd like a professionally tended kitchen garden out the side door.

2. If I could have one last "amazing" meal in life, I would eat ______ cooked by ________ because ________.
I might be "playing this wrong"...but for me it's more about the memories than the combination...
- Porcupine Meatballs made by my grandfather - because he made the best ones I've ever had and the recipe died with him when I was 14 years old.
- Orange jello with shredded carrots in it - not because I like it, but because I associate it with my uncle & it makes him happy.
- I would make chicken cacciatore & bacon cups - because that way I can guarantee my whole family would show up.
- My aunt Carol's creamed spinach; Amy's pastas & Meg's deserts.
- Sharon's wonderful pea salad (a requirement for every holiday).
- My dad's one eyed Egyptian sandwiches - because he's the coolest!
- Matt's grilled cheese or bacon & eggs, because he the master of those foods in our house.
- My mom's angel food cake - because it was the best I've ever had and I miss her so much and it was her specialty.
I would choose to eat with my family and if I could turn back time I would want it to be amid the clutter of my mom's old house, squeaky chairs and all, because that symbolizes to me.

3. I've always wanted to travel to these five places....
Japan, Greece, Italy, France, Brazil
close runners up: Germany, Russia, Spain, Scotland, Australia

4. Television show that people would be surprised to know you like.
Southpark - I'm a diehard fan.

5. Desert Island or Guilty Pleasure? (Oh wait, scratch that....)REAL 5. The book I've always wanted to read but haven't gotten to yet is....
Gone With the Wind. I've never read it without taking significant breaks (stopping and reading something else in between) - I want to read it straight through.

Tokyo...here I come!!!

I'm really excited to add two new dates to my calendar for next year & wanted to share! I will be teaching in Tokyo at CKU Japan in the spring and then I will return to Tokyo in the summer when we will exhibit at the Scrapbooking Fair (like CHA for the Asian market)! I love Japanese design...I'm determined to go off & find the Harajuku district and check out the japanese punks & lolita goths while I'm there (man, if I was 20 again...). I'll also be on a mission for as much ephemera as I can gather. Jen brought me a bag of random pamphlets, postcards and flyers from her last trip - just looking at that stuff makes me happy.

Going & going & going...

Wow...so much has been happening. I'll catch up. Last week I spent a lot of days feeling kind of blah & sure enough...I just needed to write it down to start feeling better.

Thursday we stayed late (I was up there til 9:40 PM & Jen & Julie were still going) and packed all the orders from CHA. My back hurt for the first time, but I got over it fairly quickly and was 100% the next day. It was awesome to pack up a couple of hundred boxes and see them towering over you at the end of the day.

Friday I went over to my aunt & uncles to start prepping for Amy's going into the army party (yes, she leaves Thursday & yes, I'm crying a lot). We grocery shopped and headed up to the church & cooked all day...breakfast casseroles, hundreds of pigs in a blanket, biscuits, dump cakes (5), fruit salad (so much fruit), etc. I got home around 9PM & decided to make Amy a book for her guests to sign in that had envelopes incorporated into it for cards and notes she received...I got a little carried away, but it was so special I didn't finish up until 2 AM.

This morning Matt & I set out for the church around 9 & helped until the party started at 11. The turn out was fantastic...she got so many cards - there's no way they'll fit...I'm going to have to make a matching box. It was so lovely to visit with so may family friends and see how genuinely proud they are of Amy & her choice. After basic she'll be going through some intensive language training to be a translator.


After the party Matt set out for his uncle's in Bonham and I headed home to fall asleep! Thank heavens...I slept like a rock from 3 to 7:30 and woke up feeling fabulous! So....I went to Michaels for a 11x14 frame (I just got this Warhol print for my office - pictured right). And since Matt is out of town I went for my usual no-husband treat - Chicken Pad Thai with extra tofu & a vanilla chai iced tea from Pei Wei. Since I'm feeling so energetic I've decided to catch up on blogging, do some decoupage & throw myself a little Kill Bill marathon.

Wiped out..

This is totally boring, but I'm completely wiped out. No energy, kind of icky feeling, allergies gone wild - I just feel blah. It's not the best way to blog so excuse the lack of pictures & banter and hopefully I'll be back up to my regular blogging par in a day or 2.

Meanwhile be sure to shop etsy and go over to the Luxe blog - we're still having our grand opening giveaway sale for the new Luxe online store, there's a prize up for grabs with a game of Luxe trivia (go ahead and guess - you might win!) and all my remaining blogging energy is pouring out over there as we launch our new format this week!