ramblings from the Sick House.

hey everyone.

just sitting here, home again due to this awful cold that has ransacked my house...so i thought i would blog. this has really thrown me for a loop...i haven't been quite this sick in a loooooong time, and i am just miserable. went back to work yesterday, felt 89634252% better...and then WHAM! overnight (as in, 2:45am) it hit me all over again...and despite my efforts to tough it out, an hour after that initial attack (so, now we're talking 3:45am)...i gave in and called the Sickie Hotline, lol.

i did however, last weekend while i was feeling great (because this cursed virus had not yet hit my body)...make this layout for the Lily Bee blog. with the addition of new DT Members (hopefully they will be announced Monday!!) we went with a 'New Beginnings' theme for our layouts. seeing this as a perfect opportunity to document just how crazy scary it was to be a first time mama, i used this old photo of Allie and i with the new 'Lovely' Line from Lily Bee. i printed this photo in a 2x2 size and used my big square punch to cut them out. spritzed the white cardstock with some Lime Maya Mist before adhering it to the pink Lovely base paper and then sewed around the entire edge. i used a couple of chipboard butterflies leftover from my Studio Calico Main Kit that i backed with Lovely papers, but you could easily use either this butterfly punch or even this one as well...i have both in my stash and reach for them constantly. i punched the loopy banner with this punch, and then trimmed it away from the paper so that all i was left with was the loops. that left it flexible enough to kind of shape into a banner, and i used 2 of the tiny chipboard buttons from the Lovely line to anchor it at the edges of the page. i added a few of the tiny staples with my Tiny Attacher to the ruffled piece of striped paper for fun...added my title with the Home Front woodgrain alphabet stickers and then my journaling...voila!!

here is a close-up of the photo...i can't BELIEVE how young i was, lol...what a difference 10 years makes.

in other ramblings:

• i am kind of excited but also a bit nervous about the month of July coming up. we are hoping to go visit Mike's sister in Washington D.C. for the 4th (crazy time to visit there, i know...but she just got her new assignment after her 1 year deployment to Iraq and wants us all to be together.) Mike & i are totally stoked...we both love history and have been eager to see so many things there. i haven't been since i was 12...and i can assure you that i have an appreciation for most of the places we'd like to see that i didn't have at that early age lol. HOWEVER, after we get home from said jaunt to the capitol...Allie will be home for just a few short days before we drive 2 hours and drop her off at a college campus for a 5-day soccer camp. where she will room with one of her buds from her soccer team IN A COLLEGE DORM for the week. she is so excited about it...and am i for her...but things sure will be quiet for that week around here.
• if i lift from this fog, we may attempt to see 'Alice in Wonderland' this weekend. it looks creepy, but we typically love anything with Johnny Depp.
• my living room floor is a haven to Girl Scout cookie lovers everywhere right now. we got all of the orders in a few days ago, and i haven't had the oomph to sit down with Allie and sort them all just yet...but walking through there is like a den of temptation. self-torture abounds, lol.
• poor Lola had yet another laser treatment to the 'hot spot' on her face/head last night. it is healing at least...and they keep reassuring us that the fur will grow back, lol. she is lovable regardless...bless her heart.
• thinking positive thoughts for dear friends who are having a bit of a challenge right now...with sunshine on the horizon. 2 of my favorite people in the world who have so much to offer...love you both, A&G.
• beaming with pride at news from a friend that is well-deserved...it's so dang cool when you can see good things happen for good people, kwim?
• looking forward to a brief getaway with my BFF Jenn later this month to our favorite scrapbook store, Scrappy Chic...stoked to spend the entire day with her, be it in the car on the 2 hour trip there...cropping the afternoon away...and even the 2 hour drive home. always a good time when we get together, and i love her to pieces.
• last but not least, there is an amazing box sitting over on my desk that contains the April Studio Calico kit. it's a bit too early for clues, but let me stress that this one is most likely bumping Times Square out of my Most Fave Kit of all time spot. it is likely to be the one to make people become subscribers, if they haven't already...so consider yourself forwarned, lol!!

hope you enjoy your weekend...whatever you have in store.

i'm just going to try to feel better, and shake this virus.