Studio Calico's National Scrapbook Day festivities!

hey everyone!!

just a quick little blurb to give you the 411 on a few things happening over at Studio Calico to celebrate National Scrapbooking Day, next Saturday, May 2...would you like to win this... the Peter Piper add-on?! i mean honestly, i am in luuuuu-uh-uh-ove witih that Cosmo chipboard! let alone the Jenni Bowlin ledger stickers...

wait.

did someone say ledger?

indeed they did!

so here's my challenge...i want to see your layouts using...LEDGER OR GRAPH PAPER!!!

big surprise, right?

it could be something like this...


or even like this...

no limit to the amount you use, i just want to see all of that ledger and graph paper glory floating about the SC gallery! next Saturday, May 2, i'll start a new post here for you to link your layouts from the SC gallery...easy peasy lemon squeezy!!

we wanted to give everyone time to get hoppin', but please make sure you wait until i start a new post NEXT SATURDAY...HERE ON THIS BLOG for you to link your work to! each DT member has a different challenge...so see everyone's names there on the right side of this blog?? click around and check each one out...no limit to how many you may enter!!

oh.

and there will also be a few other giveaways at SC next Saturday.

but i don't think i'm supposed to talk about those just yet.

;)

here they are, here they are, lol!!

sneaks for the May Studio Calico kit.

but be warned.

they just may push you into a sing-songy, dance-around-the-room kind of mood...the colors are so HAPPY!!

i will also warn that what is perhaps my fave SC exclusive paper EVER is in this one...here, you see glimpses of the front side... and here, the back of the paper, in all of it's wonderful ledger/graph glory.

a layout inspired by someone...

and one where i just played around and had fun.

thanks for all of your well wishes...i am feeling WAY better after finishing up my antibiotics. side note: a Zithromax Zpack is like the nectar of the gods...if you ever find yourself needing one, just know that in a few short days, you will be back on your feet and singing the happy dance!

off to lunch today with my mama and my BFF Jenn...and then home to play with some Lily Bee goodies!!

have a great day!!

=)

feeling human again.

well...after 2 weeks, 1 bag of cough drops, 1 box of kleenex, 1 prescription for a 5-day Zpack, countless Advil from headaches attributed to coughing, a potential hernia from coughing so hard that it has me feeling stabbing pain when i do cough and approximately 6 sleepless nights i am starting to feel human again.

but yesterday was my last dose of the Zpack...so we'll see, lol.

haven't left the house in about 2 weeks other than to go to work, pick up cold medicine/supplies and a quickie trip to an antique show yesterday with my mama. kind of bummed that i was sick for Allie's Spring Break, as we had a few fun things planned, but god bless her...she did her best to take care of me when i was down and Mike was at work. so it was kind of cool, also known as perfect timing, when the mail came on Thursday with something i had ordered from Etsy for myself...and when i opened it, this was inside, all wrapped up and addressed to her... to say i was surprised would cover it.
to say she was surprised would be a gross understatement.
here is what i had ordered...

aren't these fun?! i am never disappointed when ordering from the Funky Bag Lady, aka Ann Marie...how fun are these little zippy pouches for just about anything?! i asked her to make the damask one to compliment a few tote bags that are headed my way...she actually went and found the dang fabric just for me. conclusion?? she rocks. and the rulers one?? uh, hello...it has numbers on it, which are kinda my thing, lol. i'm thinking it may find a home in my scrap tote. bottom line...Ann Marie, you are a saint. i adore your craftiness, and you made Miss Allison's week by sending her that owl pouch. she positively beamed...and then started filling it with about 18 lip balms and 3 packs of Juicy Fruit, lol.

this is all i bought at the antique show...and to the untrained eye, it probably doesn't look like much.

heck, to anyone, it probably doesn't look like much, lol.

but to me, it is a bevy of tidbits.

i have a hard time passing up anything old made from this crinkly wire, so you can imagine my elation when i saw this double decker letter tray for my desk...TWO LAYERS?!

nirvana.

add to it the old store signs, a couple of tiny flower frogs and that itty bitty tomato emery/pin cushion for my collections and i was one happy gal.

plus, i got to spend a beautiful spring day traipsing about with my mama...we laughed an awful lot and had a blast.

and on top of it all, i'm starting to feel human again.

what more could i ask for?

under the weather.

hey there.
i have officially been run over by a truck.
ok, not technically.
but this cold has me zapped.
i'm on day 8.
so i gave in and called my doctor.
who was kind enough to call in a prescription for an antibiotic.
so then i went back to bed and got up at 4pm.
so hopefully i'm on the mend.

in the meantime...
Lily Bee is having a really fun contest that you can check out HERE.
cash prizes.
a guest DT spot.
sound good?!
go check it out...you have plenty of time!!

and i'll just keep coughing.
and sleeping.
and trying to feel better.

well, now how awesome is this??!!

an invitation to design for this awesome new company...Lily Bee Design!!

also excited to be working alongside these gals...

-Brenda Hurd

-Lori Gentile

-Stephanie Howell

-Katrina Huerta

please check out the Lily Bee blog (you can also click on the image in my sidebar over to the right)...lots of exciting things to come!!

WOOT!!

sunshine on a cloudy day.

does anyone know who this girl is??

because she looks an awful lot like my Allie...only last evening, she aged about 3 years.

or maybe i'm just sensitive, lol.

she decided to finally cut off some of that hair (see last post), and get this...she wanted layers.

so Maureen hooked her up last night with what i would consider a fabulous new 'do.

only i guess i wasn't expecting her to look so darn mature...can you tell i'm in complete denial that she will be 10 next month??

but she looks awfully darned beautiful to me.

*sigh*.

so i'm sick.

and it's snowing here.

and it's April...??

but i'm off for two days, so hopefully i'll suffer here at home instead of at work, lol.

did i mention it's snowing here??

and that it's April??

you have to laugh at Cleveland weather.

Lola is doing great...getting all kind's of kitty love here at her new home.

looking forward to my new Studio Calico kit that should arrive later this week.

and other than that, things are pretty quiet here.


sometimes i wish things were a bit more exciting, lol.
but quiet can be good...right??

we must be doing something right.

because wednesday evening she made me so proud.

every thursday is the day she attends a different school (for the accelerated stuff)...and they get to do some cool activities. there is a nursing home nearby, so they often walk over and do projects, etc. with the residents...and she has made friends with 2 ladies in specific this year.

Bev and Muira.

henceforth known as 'my girls'.

when i came home from work wednesday evening and saw her favorite dress laid out with nylons and her fave shoes, i wondered what was going on. then i saw that she was arranging some of those school fund rasier pre-formed cookies onto a cookie sheet and pre-heating the oven. so i looked at Mike with my 'puzzled' look, and before i could ask, this is what she told me.

'hey Mom...how was your day? i'm just getting some cookies made for my girls, because we're having a GrandFriends Tea Party tomorrow at GATE. i just want to get these in the oven so i can go write them each a note.'

me: 'Allie? who are your 'girls'??'

'oh. that's my name for my friends Bev and Muira. they live at the Senior Center, and they're my guests tomorrow for tea.'

'oh. so why didn't you tell me you needed some cookies for them? i could have made them for you yesterday while i was home.'

'ummm, Mom? that wouldn't quite work. i wanted them to be from ME...you know, like i made them? i think it would mean alot to the girls.'

wow, lol.

so at a time when i frequently find myself doubting that i am doing alright in the guidance/do the right thing department, an incident like this comes along as if to let me know that i am in fact doing pretty darn good.

because i'm thinking not everyone at school was as excited about GrandFriends Day. but she was. and it warmed my heart to see the genuine care that was oozing out of my daughter for these 2 ladies who, 6 months ago, were complete strangers to her. here is what she wrote to Bev...

Beautiful
Enteresting
Very smart

Dear Bev,
I have enjoyed spending this journey with you.
I learned to never give up and to reach for the stars.
Enjoy this wonderful tea we have worked oh so hard on.
I will never forget you.

Sincerely,
Allie Harper

I’ll miss you very very much!!!!!!!!!!

**note the cute way she assigned each letter of Bev's name a word that describes her, lol...even if she spelled interesting wrong, lol. Muira got one just like it for herself.

so it would seem that this party signified the end of their school year relationship.

and Allie was a bit bothered by that.

so she gave 'the girls' her email address.

does anyone else find that significantly funny?

these 'girls' are both in their 80s...i'm guessing they don't email very often, lol.

but that doesn't change the fact that i am so dang proud of who MY girl has become.

and i'm writing it down today for future reference...for one of those days where i doubt myself as a mama.

thanks, Allie.

you have no idea how happy you make me.

and i'm more proud of you than you could ever understand.

xoxo