August?

I think that Fall is sneaking up on us very early this year! It's freezing cold here today. Okay, well it's maybe upper 60's, but it FEELS very cold! I'm alright with it though, because I am done, done, done with Summer, and ready for Fall! Before you know it, we will all be feeling these blues....

I made a Halloween card and tag today. The tag turned out more black than the card, and the orange scanned ALOT brighter than it really is, but oh well! I think even if the camera was behaving itself, I would not have had enough sunlight today to take a decent photo.




I think that next weekend, I am going to take a little shopping trip (will have to go further than Walmart), and look at new cameras. Also, I think that I need to get some stamps. All of my cards and tags are starting to look the same! Plus, I need some new papers! Woo Hoo! Now I can't wait! I had better read up on stamping a little bit to see what all I should get.

Update on my job for those of you who know that I kind of loathed it awhile back...I tried to quit a few weeks ago (I can't remember if I put that on here or not). They talked me into staying. I moved to a different department...and well...I kind of like it a lot better now. I'm stubborn, and I hate to admit it, but yes, I do like it now. Don't get me wrong....I don't LoVe it! I like it. I mean, you know, I can live it with it!

I hope that you all had a great weekend. It ended way too fast!

The Good Mail!

I received this fantastic, super cute shaker card from the super cool Jeannie from Jeannie's Happy World! Even during my loooooong break from blogging, Jeannie stayed right there, sending me the Good Mail, and emails. I couldn't get my camera to see things my way today, so this scan is the best that I could come up with. No way does it do the card the justice it deserves! Thank you so much Jeannie!



She has inquired about any craftiness that has been going on around here, and really the only thing that I have FINISHED lately is these little Halloween tags. Again, the scanner!

The Plan Was....

...to stick to the plan! The Walmart plan that is. Yep. I did it again yesterday. I went to Walmart, and here is how it went down (imagine the theme song to "Mission Impossible" while reading) and I will warn you now, it is a long story...

Time: 5:30am, Saturday morning, I shot straight up in bed and said out loud, "I'm going to Walmart to get a Cricut". I had a couple of cups of Java and then got ready. On the way over there, (it is about a 20 minute drive), I reviewed the plan in my mind. For those of you thinking..."wow, she makes a really big deal out of going to Walmart"... you are right. I do. I completely l-0-a-t-h going to Walmart!

Where was I? Oh yeah, I drove into town, and BAM! obstacle number one - a farmers market in the church parking lot. keep driving, keep driving, not part of the plan.... I continued on. I pulled into the parking lot, and as planned, I parked very, very, far away. Why? Because when I come out to leave, and the parking lot has become a crowded mess, I won't have anybody pressuring me to hurry up by rudely honking their horn and sitting behind me with their blinker on so that I will leave my nice up-close spot sooner. I will have time to open my soda, open my gum, find the radio station that I want to listen to, put some chapstick on, see how much cash I have for any other stops on the way home, etc, and etc.

Where was I? Oh yeah, I get out of the car and head on inside. The plan is to 1) grab a cart (working wheels or not), 2) take a right and cut through the clothing department, 3) skip across an aisle and cut through electronics, 4) RUN across another aisle and cut across the hunting/fishing mess, 5) make myself temporarily blind and sprint to the dismal craft department. BAM! Vaseline Advanced Healing Lotion-30% free! BAM! Breakthrough technology in colorstay lipstick! BAM! DVD's 2/$10.00! BAM! Candles..pretty smelly Candles! I suck at Walmart! The trick to Walmart is to stay away from the main aisles! That is where they suck you in, and make you pay.

So, after an hour or so, I make it back to the craft department to find the Cricuts. Oh they have 'em all right. They have them all wrapped up in cord, with an alarm on it, and is ticking with a flashy little light. I mean seriously, It's a big butt box. How in the WORLD would you even begin to think about stealing it! So I heave it into the cart, throw in a spatula (because they say you need a spatula), and try to scope out the cartridges. TRY. They are hanging on those long peg things, and they are locked on there somehow. You can't get them off of there to look at the backs of the boxes to see what the biz is all about. So after some impressive Yoga style moves, I was able to twist my head around and check the backs out, and picked out the one that I wanted to buy. Off to the fabric cutting table to ring the bell, as I have not seen a worker since I set foot into the store! The tween that responded to the bell, had no idea how to get the cartridges off of the wall. She said that she would go get the camera lady, she might know. In the meantime, a couple of scruffy looking worker guys (I believe from automotives) came to check the situation out. They stood there contemplating all of the possibilities. Eventually the photo lady arrived. She held in her hand, this thingy. Apparently the thing that would free the cartridge, and let me be on my way. "This one, right here" I said. Did she jump into action? NO! Her, automotive dudes, and tween began discussing what the cartridges are for, and why they were under lock and key. Then they began pointing out other things that were nearby that were more expensive and were NOT under lock and key! "This one, right here" I said again. Two seconds. No lie, that is how long it took photo lady to release me from the hell that lies in the craft aisle at Walmart!

Away I went. I had wanted to get something else, but at that point, I couldn't remember what it was! I was heading to the checkout and BAM! I smell food! I went over and checked out the hot food counter, and it looked good (saucy chicken things) but it was only 8:30 in the morning. I skipped it. I had to get out of there! BAM! Country Sampler, Get Set for Fall edition!

Back to the checkout. And when I say checkout, I mean the one and only checkout out of what, like 20 that was open. A Harley Davidson couple was in front of me. Buying roughly a 1/2 dozen cases, of each liquid, sold by the case, that Walmart has to offer. In the speedy lane, or whatever it's called...the 6 items or less lane. Wait. Wait. Price check on a case of water. Wait. OOh, my turn. Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep. I'm done. Heading for the finish line..... "Please stop, and return to the store. You have stolen something. You are a criminal". Okay, the alarm thing may not say that, actually I have no idea what it was saying, but I knew that it was saying it to me. Greeter lady meandered over, and by the time she got there, I had the cartridge out. As she approached, I said "it's either this (pointing to the Cricut), or this (jabbing the cartridge at her)". At this point, I would write...to make a long story short....but if you are still reading this, I'm guessing trying to shorten this now will not make one bit of difference!

Where was I? Oh yeah. She shuffled over to the wall and picked up this scanner type of gun. I'm guessing to demagnetize whatever set the alarm off. She waved it over the bar code on the Cricut, then waved it over the bar code on the cartridge. Each time, saying it's not that. I asked her if she needed my receipt. Okay, she said. (WTH!, Wouldn't you have asked me that immediately if you were "head security" at WalFART!) So I gave it to her. She looked it over. And she pointed to the figure that represents last weeks paycheck and said is that for this thing? Yes, that is the big electronic gadget that is taking up the whole inside of the cart. And this (pointing to the $60.00 that was listed next to the cartridge)? I waved the cartridge in her face again. Then, she opened my bag, took out the $2.00 stickers that I had bought, and waved the magic wand over it. I kid you not. She looked at me and said that she didn't know what was going on, but I could go ahead and leave. "Are you sure, I don't want this thing to be broke or something and me try to return it, and not be able to because the stupid alarm goes off! Write it down! Write these two things down, on your clipboard". I told her. I told her good! She wrote it down. And I left. Two blocks later, I remembered: Tamales. I wanted to get some Tamales. Crap.

I have no little crafty thing to show yet, because I spent the whole day and night cutting stuff out! I haven't assembled anything yet, because I love cutting the stuff out! I'm happy that I got it. I'm pretty sure that I will have alot of fun with it!

I have no style!

Well...not just one style anyway! That has always been my decorating problem, I like too many different things!

I really love this dish set! I like the theme, because well, I like just about anything that relates to the ocean, but I LOVE the colors too!

Problem is...... I love these too! And why?....because I love the colors! I think that I am done, done, done with Summer. I am ready for Fall!

And let's not leave these out! Now, I am not a big "rooster" person. However, I am a "Fat Chef" kind of person. Who knew that this kind of goodness could come out of combining the two! I love these dishes (again, could be the color....)!

A Day Off of Work And Nothing To Show For It!

Well, today I am off of work. I work this coming Saturday, and when that happens, I get a day off during the week. I got up bright and early and was dead set on going to Walmart (a.k.a. the Devil) to purchase a Cricut or whatever they had. Unfortunately to go Satan's Store, I have to drive over to the neighboring town (7 miles one way) which is where I drive everyday to go to work. I thought long and hard about it this weekend, and I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I had to have a Cricut. I drove the seven miles in a thunderstorm (because I had to have a Cricut). I circled the parking lot 3 times (because I had to have a Cricut) looking for a space up close so I wouldn't have a long walk back to the car with my new purchase in the pouring down rain, and deadly lightening. I dodged the "greeter", grabbed a broken, germ infested cart, and made a mad dash to the dismal crafting section (because I HAD TO HAVE A CRICUT).

There they were. Two different sizes (each with two very different prices). There were two of the BIG boxes (with the BIG price) sitting there. Only one of the smaller sized contraptions were left, and it had most definitely been returned. It was all beaten up, and it had this anti-theft thingy all wrapped around it. I lugged one of each out to the middle of the aisle and began reading what little there was to read on the outside of the boxes. I stood back up and saw that they had about 10 different "cartridges" that you could purchase (maybe not even 10). You could not take them off of the thing-a-ma-bobs that they were hanging on without some super secret Walmart key or some crap. As I stood there looking down at the Cricut machines, then up to the cartridges, I realized...I have no idea what the hell these things really do! If I buy one, will it do anything at all without the million dollar cartridge? Will I plug the thing in, just to have it say "insert _______ now to begin enjoying last weeks paycheck"?

So I stood there, thinking....surely some fabulous crafty person will come along and tell me everything that I need to know about this thing. I waited. I waited. I lugged the two machines off of the floor. Put them back on the shelf. Threw some Martha Stewart corner punch thing in the cart. Grabbed 3 little things of ribbon that were on sale, and headed for the checkout.

So...I still do not have a Cricut or anything else. I would have gladly gotten something else, but the Cricuts are all that they had. What to do, What to do! What DO they DO!? Anybody out there have this thing? Do you like it? If I get one, will I need to drop another couple hundred bucks just to get a circle or a star out of the dumb thing? GRRRR!

Hello Everyone!

It's been so long since I've posted, I have almost forgotten how to do it! Same thing, different day....so not much to talk about! Let's see, what is new.... Well, I quit my job last week...but they talked me into staying. It really has turned out to be a miserable place to work. Everyone is in a really bad mood because we are apparently busier than ever before, and it is not letting up. The moment that you walk in the door, you are defeated. It's a bummer, but the owner does seem to be trying to help the situation. We seem to be the only gig in town that is hiring right now, and believe it or not, we do not get many applicants! If it wasn't for our ads in the "help wanted" sections, there would not be a "help wanted" section!

I was going to to set sail down the Mississippi River at the end of September with my Aunt on her sailboat. We were going to take a couple of months and work our way down to the Florida Keys. Plans have changed though. We have decided that we are not giving ourselves enough time to prepare for that kind of journey, so we are going to re-evaluate the situation in one year. It makes sense to wait, but it was a cool idea while it lasted. There is a lot of preparation and planning for a trip like that, and we were only giving ourselves 6 weeks to get ready. Most people take at least 1 year to plan this sort of thing!

I am looking at Cricuts and Cuttlebugs online, and thinking about heading out to Walmart today to get one. Any suggestions? I don't have a clue how to use either one of them, or which one is better...Or what they even really do! The weather here has seemed very "fall like" lately, and it has me back in a crafty mood! I woke up today with a touch of the Halloween Bug. I have vowed to not buy a single scrap of new paper until I use up what I already have, but I need new inspiration! I think I need one of these machines...I think...Do I need it?

Anywho...thank you to everyone that has sent me emails during my very long absence. Although I have been gone, you all have not been forgotten! I am trying to get some catching up done today as far as blogs go. I have missed out on so much!