Thursday, February 26, 2009

it feels like spring...

...but it's just a sick sick joke.  Even though we've had temps in the 40's and 50's for the last three days, and some drizzly rain has melted a lot of the snow...I'm smart enough to know that it's just an little joke Mother Nature plays on us each year around this time.  We'll have more freezing temps and snow soon enough. 

Oh well, I'll play into it.  My windows are open, welcoming the fresh air inside.  I'm starting to get the spring-cleaning bug (and I'm trying to remind that little bug that it is not spring, it is, in fact, winter...and will be winter for some time yet).  And in spite of some recent not-so-happy news, I'm trying to not get mad or frustrated or discouraged and trying to let the warm spring-like sunshine warm my heart. 

So, in keeping with the spring-like weather, here are a few spring pages I made for the Making Memories CHA booth...

  spring_slice_6x6_layout2spring_slice_6x6_layout1

I hope your day (or at least your heart) is filled with sunshine today too! :o)

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

i'm a list maker...

...and when I saw this on Sunday, it made me think about my own lists and priorities.

pajama_comic

Especially with the big kitchen project, a lot of work deadlines, and not feeling so well...I'm sad to admit that my lists haven't been very well-rounded lately.  Need to fix that.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

alive...

Yes, I am.  There were a few days last week that were questionable though, lol.  Yes, we've been buried with the kitchen.  And I've been slowly recovering from my little ice incident.  But that wasn't enough, apparently...because last week I got strep throat.  Fun times I tell ya.  I do have to say, though, I am so grateful for modern medicine.  Especially when it comes in the form of fast-acting antibiotic shots.  (in spite of the sore rump from squishing that thick liquid through a needle and into me)  24 hours after I got the shot, I was starting to feel human again.  Man, it's been a long long time since I've been so fevered I was shivering and my body hurt so badly I could barely move.   oooh, I'm so glad I'm better!  Brad was great to take care of the kids and house - and thanks to my mom, sister, and aunt for bringing us some yummy meals too...they were VERY appreciated!

Enough sick talk.  I'm feeling better, but my house is waiting for some much needed attention.  Mostly, I'm excited to start organizing this room:

022109

Hooray...it's almost finished!  We just need the electrician to come and finish, then we'll be done done.  We have put some items in the cupboards, but it was mostly just putting stuff wherever, just to get it out of the other rooms of the house.  This week I'll finally be able to sort and organize and give everything it's own little home.  I'm so excited with how it turned out - we're already enjoying it so much more than the old kitchen.  Speaking of the old kitchen...it's going to find a loving new home at my aunt's house - so I'll be able to park in the garage again - hooray...win/win! :o)

Friday, February 13, 2009

valentine's day prep...

So today's the big day for the school kids...Valentine's Day parties, woohoo!  Actually yesterday was Seth's big day (since he has preschool on Tuesday and Thursday only).  He wanted to give his teacher a gift...which he informed me on Wednesday, should be something that was NOT candy, lol.  So when I got home from a meeting late Wednesday night, I saw these on my friend, Laura's, blog.  I fell in love immediately, and I thought the idea would be perfect for a little teacher gift...I went to work and finished a fun little set for Mrs. Duke. 

valentines_mrsduke

[please excuse the early morning, badly lit, photos]

valentines_mrsduke2 

When Josh saw this set on my table, he asked me to make a set for his teacher (a non-candy eater) as well.  So, Miss Checketts got a set too.

valentines_misschecketts

Josh picked out some m&m treats last weeks to give to his classmates with a valentine...but we ate some of them during the week...so we decided to give these fun little juice bottles instead:

valentiens_josh

His bag was pretty heavy this morning...good thing he's strong.

valentines_misschecketts2

Meagan is in middle school, so the Valentine's Day celebration is a little bit different.  Her homeroom teacher (who is a fabulous teacher) let the kids choose between bringing a valentine for each student, or drawing names and bringing ONE valentine on Friday (with a $5 limit).  The class chose to draw names.  Boys had to draw girls and girls had to draw boys.  Meagan bought several boxes of theater-size candy and made one of these fun little i-pods for the person she drew.  I didn't get a photo of her gift...not sure how that happened.

rock-candy-photo-180-FF0209VALEN_A13

And of course, there were a few friends that she wanted to make i-pods for as well, so she left with a little bag full of cute candy i-pods this morning.

In kitchen news...we are in the home stretch! 

021309_kitchen

The countertop is being finished today...and the upper cabinets and the rest of the doors should be done later today too.  We put the fridge and stove in place last night.  That was a tight fit!!  Tomorrow, the electrician should be here to install the new lights.  Then I can get busy cleaning up a very dusty house and get my kitchen in order, woohoo!

Oh, one more thing...a little Valentine's Day goodie tin that I embellished with more Making Memories Love Notes product...perfect to fill full of homemade goodies for the big day tomorrow!

love_notes_slice_project_tin

Thursday, February 12, 2009

speaking of red...

This is a little framed piece I made for Making Memories using the new Love Notes collection (again) and the Slice (again).  The little heart trio is suspended in the middle of the frame (with fishing line, of all things) and looks so fun sitting on a shelf!

love_notes_slice_project_frame

 

Have you been following the Making Memories blog?  They've been sharing a fun project each day all month in honor of Valentine's Day - super fun stuff!  And while you're blog-hopping, be sure to check out Laura's fun Valentine project on her blog too!

 

P.S. The cabinet guys finally showed up yesterday around 11:30.  They started installing the cabinets and will (hopefully) be back today to finish!  Can't wait. :o)

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

red...

Lots of you guessed we were painting the kitchen wall red...and you were right!  We had a red wall in our first home and I absolutely loved it.  I've missed it even.  So we decided to add a touch of red to the kitchen here too.  Here's a little peek at the cabinet door sample, along with the countertop, paint, and layout sketches.

kitchen_samples

We did think about doing a brown paint...and even purchased a quart...but when we put a little on the wall to test it out, we both hated it.  So the red won out, and I am excited to see how it will look once the cabinets are installed...hopefully soon!  They were supposed to be delivered yesterday, but it didn't happen.  When they called to tell us they weren't coming (about 5 hours AFTER they were supposed to be here), they said they'd be here at 10:00 this morning.  It's now 10:16...no sign of them yet.  grrr...  where are those angry eyes when I need them, lol???

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

love and chocolate...

really...do we need anything else???

love_notes_slice_project_candybar

I covered this yummy symphony bar with some of the new "love notes" line from making memories

...and I also used my slice, of course, to create the tag and hearts.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

one week into the kitchen remodel...

I thought it would be fun to document our little kitchen remodeling journey here on my blog, so if you're not interested in kitchen do-overs, no need to read any further. :)

January 29th:

This is how our kitchen looked before we started:

kitchen1

January 29th and 30th:

I spent the majority of these two days removing the kitchen decor, emptying cabinets, cleaning out everything.

(no pictures of the empty cabinets)

January 30th, Friday evening, late:

We put the kids to work (lol). 

Brad removed the pantry door and started tearing out the shelves and wall. 

Of course, the kids wanted in on the action.

013009_josh_pantry 013009_meagan_pantry

January 31st:

Here's how the kitchen looked when we woke up this morning.

Last night, we worked on the pantry, took out a few cabinets, and moved the fridge:

013109_morning 

Here's my favorite handyman, cutting the pantry wall:

013109_pantry 

Is it even fair to call this little thing a pantry? 

It was about 18" wide on the inside and sure didn't hold much...I'm so glad it's gone.

And pulling out the pantry:

013109_pantry2

Here's proof that I actually DID help...and didn't just stand around watching and taking photos.

I know, you're super jealous of my fabulous hairdo, right?

013109_pantry3

Further proof that I was on the jobsite (Sonic Diet Coke with cranberry and lime):

013109_sonic

Sunday, February 1st:

Of course we didn't do any work on the kitchen - we rested.

 

Monday, February 2nd:

Not much happened on Monday either. 

Emptied the last of the cupboards, cooked our final meal prepared in this kitchen.

 

Tuesday, February 3rd:

This is the day I fell on the ice, so I was basically worthless as far as helping with the kitchen went.

I did manage to drive to home depot to pick out paint colors and look at light fixtures.

Brad finished removing the cabinetry and appliances.  I didn't take any pictures.

 

Wednesday, February 4th:

Here's now the kitchen looked first thing Wednesday morning:

020409_earlyam

(ewww...I know)

 020409_earlyam2

020409_earlyam3

and by Wednesday afternoon, it looked like this:

020409_afternoon

No more ugly gray tile!!

020409_afternoon2 

While I was at Young Women's, my Dad and brother dropped by to help Brad put up the sheet rock on the inside of the wall (where the pantry used to be). 

020509_newwall

nevermind the gap on the back, there will be a beautiful wood pantry covering it very very soon.

Thursday, February 5th:

Another early morning photo from the hallway:

020509_tilegone

The plumbers were here to move the water lines from the old sink to the island area, where the new sink will sit:

020509_plumbing 

Friday, February 6th:

The tile is set...

020609_tile1

Saturday, February 7th:

As I type, the tile guy is here adding mocha grout between these babies:

020709_tile

Brad and I painted a coat of primer on the walls early this morning.

We also painted the first coat of the paint that will be between the upper and lower cabinets (and behind the fridge).

It'll look great when we get another coat or two down.

So, here's a b&w of that wall...anybody want to guess what color we're painting it?

020709_paintcoat1-copy-2

More to come...

Thursday, February 05, 2009

abc book and a warehouse sale...

I love when my scrapbook supplies can do "double duty."  I dug out some of the older die-cuts from O'Scrap and made this fun little ABC book.  I used the frames, added a letter and a die-cut picture on one side...the other side has letters to trace and space to practice writing or draw a picture.  The entire book is laminated so dry-erase markers work well.

abc_book

You can find the die-cuts here but I can't find the little frame things on the website.

If you are a fan of these cute-never-out-of-style-for-kids items, and you are local, you might be interested to know that O'Scrap is having a huge warehouse sale.  Their sale will be tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday from 12-6.  The address is 1798 Sandhill Road...which is about a mile south of the Orem Wal*Mart.  I bet they'll have lots of good stuff for a great bargain! :o)

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

ice + me = not good...

So I had a little run-in with a patch of ice yesterday.  It's actually quite embarrassing...I was picking up Seth from preschool and STANDING on the ice, talking to his cute teacher...somehow my legs came right out from underneath me and I hit the ground (HARD) flat on my butt.  Now I bet you're thinking I hurt my tailbone, right?  Not at all.  I actually heard/felt a popping sound in my chest.  At first, I felt like the fall had knocked the air out of me...but then I realized I was breathing, but my chest hurt really really bad.  It took a while until I felt that I could take a deep breath and simply moving hurt so much.  After doing a little bit of internet research (I know...) I decided it probably wouldn't be worth a visit to urgent care.  This was confirmed when my mom called to tell me she was visiting with her TWO nurse friends and they agreed that it was likely a cartilage injury and all I can do is take ibuprofen.  Can I tell you how much Ibuprofen is my friend today?  I could tell a difference late last night and this morning it feels much better...as long as I don't twist or pick up anything or put my arms straight out in front of me, lol.  I'm sure in another day or two I'll be right back to normal...and not even have a good excuse for being cranky. ;o)

The worst thing about getting hurt was the timing.  We were planning on taking out all of our base cabinets and appliances last night because the tile layers are coming this morning at 10:00.  I felt so bad about not being able to help Brad with anything...except taking out a few screws and moving a few light-weight items.  It was truly a blessing when our brother-in-law, Brian, knocked on the door to see if we needed any help.  The ironic thing was that Brad had taken out everything he could do on his own.  We only had the one long run of countertop (with the big heavy sink) and the heavy appliances.  Brad had just said "Now this is going to take some power."  He looked up and me with a grin and said, "Besides brain power..." (lol)  And then we heard a knock on the door.  What a blessing.  Thanks, Brian! :o)

So today the tile guys should be here so they can rip up the old tile and get started on the new tile.  It's exciting to know I'll have a new kitchen soon.  In the meantime, the family room is full of appliances, the entry is full of kitchen chairs and a table, and my bedroom is full of kitchen cupboard contents!  I guess the best thing is that we don't have to go far to grab a midnight snack!

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

a couple of layouts...

3prodchal_lemonhead 

This layout was published in the January 09 issue of Creating Keepsakes.  I was invited to participate in a challenge where they gave several designers three specific products (the patterned paper, the blue cardstock, and the felt accents) and we were allowed to add ONE additional product to create our pages.  I chose the fun red puffy letter stickers by Making Memories.

3prodchal_lemonhead_detail

And here's a little peek at the journaling.  I love hand-written journaling on layouts and I try to do it whenever I can. :o)

3prodchal_lemonhead_journaling

This layout appeared in the February 09 issue of Creating Keepsakes Magazine.

grid_mm_layout

Can you tell how much I love the red puffy letter stickers?

grid_mm_layout_detail2

...and hand-written journaling...

grid_mm_layout_detail1