The Mother Tongue

Dad rules the roost!

2009-06-16T17:36:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! I went to Michael's today for a few supplies and came across the gcd studios provence paper collection. I picked up a few single pieces at a local scrapbooking store recently and was so excited to find the whole collection today! When I came home I found the gcd studios blog and was excited to see that they have a Father's Day card challenge right now. I still needed to make a card for my own dad, so I got to work. I thought the rooster paper in the collection was so funny and came up with this card:

I had a lot of fun with this simple card and I think my dad will get a kick out of it!

First ever Dawn McVey challenge!

2009-06-16T17:27:00.000-07:00

I just finished my FIRST EVER Dawn McVey challenge. I've enjoyed all of her color challenges and the awesome creations her other readers come up with. Today I wanted to create a birthday card for a friend of mine. These colors were so elegant together so I wanted to create a more elegant card. The sentiment is heat embossed with black embossing powder. I give Dawn all of the credit for that black embossing powder because I first saw it being used on cards on her blog!

Here is Dawn's challenge photo:

And here's the card I came up with:

The value of vintage

2009-06-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

I've been really enjoying using pages of old books to create repurposed paper crafts. I was especially inspired to the Moxie Fab World's Value of Vintage challenge. I helped co-host a couples' baby shower last night for some good friends of ours. The couple is named Becky and Brandon and they are doing a bee theme in the baby's room. I found the perfect sentiment from a Mother Goose book (published in 1941!!) and designed a shower card for the two Bs and their "bb."

Here are a few of the girls:

(from left to right; Miranda and baby Sophia, Becky, Ellese and moi!)

I wanted to use the nursery rhyme as the focal point of the card and found it a bit challenging to incorporate other design aspects because the sentiment was so large! I heat embossed the "B" with black embossing powder and used some sticky strip and black glitter to create the stripe across the yellow polka-dotted paper. All in all, the theme went together really well with some AWESOME designer burpies and diaper clutch from my super-talented friend, Jenna, and some sweet-smelling baby bath products from Burt's Bees.

Bright and bubbly birthday

2009-06-14T13:09:00.000-07:00

We attended another 5th birthday party yesterday and I once again used Kristina's Color Inspiration Challenge to come up with a fun, boyish card. Here's my card:

I almost forgot the white for the card and the number 5 added just the right pop. Hope you like it!

School's out for summer...

2009-05-27T13:47:00.000-07:00

I'm so sad! My super-grown-up daughter has her last day of preschool tomorrow! We LOOOVVEEE her preschool teachers and wish that they could be her teachers until high school! I made some LARGE cards for them so that all of the moms could sign them in appreciation of everything they've done for our kids. These cards are made with a full sheet of cardstock, folded in half. I used vintage illustrations from a Mother Goose book that was published in 1941! (I am a total book hoarder, so I felt REALLY guilty about defacing this book. It is marked up on a lot of the pages and appears to have some water damage on the bottom of most of the pages, so I wasn't feeling too guilty!)

Kristina's color challenge completely inspired the cards I made because of the bold, primary colors. Seemed so appropriate for teacher cards!

Here are the cards I made:

View #2:

View #2:
Hope you enjoy these cards and thanks for stopping by!

Woohoo and Fathers' Day, too!

2009-05-20T16:51:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! Last week, my 5th birthday monkey card was one of Kristina Werner's top 10 picks! You can see all of the other top picks here.

Now onto this week's challenge:

For this week's challenge I decided to do a fathers' day card. I was totally inspired not only by the colors of the photo, but also the image of the car. I went for a vintage-California-personalized-license-plate-look for this card. (Can you tell I'm addicted to Thickers?!) I stamped the wood-look background with an All Night Media stamp from Michael's and then, GET THIS, I whipped out my dusty paper CRIMPER and crimped that super-cool pearl aqua paper! I really like the texture it created to give the paper a metallic corrugated siding look.

I will be trying to get a card done for another challenge tomorrow...Twilight-inspired! Stop by again and stay tuned!

A little fifth birthday monkey madness...

2009-05-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is, but I've caught the creativity bug lately! We have a fifth birthday party to attend on Friday and Kristina had another new color inspiration challenge, so this card emerged from the crafting madness!
Thanks so much, Kristina, for the inspiration and Amy for the inspiration photo!

Stay tuned for a baby shower invitation featuring a bee theme.

Watch out craft room...HERE I COME!

Kristina Werner's 50th Color Inspiration Challege Extravaganza!

2009-05-02T15:25:00.001-07:00

Kristina Werner is celebrating her 50th Color Inspiration Challenge and I decided to join the par-tay! Mothers' Day is fast approaching and I thought I'd make a card for my super special mother-in-law for the occasion.

Here is the challenge:

Love the colors, Kristina! So cheerful!

Here's my submission:

You'll never guess where I got the felt butterfly from.... Okay, do you give up? I got it from Pier 1 Imports! They have different packages of "table confetti" and the butterflies come in a package of 12 (turquoise and green) butterflies for $3. I felt so cool when I found these neat accents!

A Menagerie

2009-03-17T15:33:00.000-07:00

It was a busy weekend full of organizing, tossing, gunking and spelunking! Our closets are clean, new pictures are hung and the laundry is did!

Our new little art menagerie is awesome. Most of the components have been sitting in our closet since December. Now it's actually fun to stare at the walls! The large, scrolly thingy is from Pier 1. The cool giant star was a steal that I found in Oregon while visiting my aunt and uncle. $7! I love having a big art statement...especially featuring my fave little munchkins!

Vintage Pearl giveaway!

2009-02-27T09:48:00.000-08:00

If you love personalized jewelry, then this is the giveaway for you!

Shealynn Benner's blog is a new find of mine and I am definitely going to ask for one of her camera strap covers for my 30th birthday coming up in about 2 months! She's hosting a great giveaway right now for this beautiful personalized necklace from The Vintage Pearl. I love all of Erin's products, but the handstamped baby spoons are absolutely fabulous. What a great keepsake! I'll be ordering one for my niece for her first birthday.

Go check out the crafty goodness right now!

Canon love...

2009-02-16T09:52:00.000-08:00

I love taking pictures! I have been loving it even more lately with my awesome new camera, the Canon Digital Rebel xSi. It rocks.

I love all of the details of close-up shots:

And I LOOVE the 55-250mm lens that came as part of the package. It takes breathtaking photos of landscapes:

I need to get a lot more practice and become more familiar with all of the secrets of digital photography. I need to do this camera some justice!

Awesome crafty blog!

2009-02-10T14:02:00.000-08:00

I love that Blogger now has the "following" feature. It is so much easier to get a glimpse of my favorite blogs right on my Blogger dashboard. I was starting to get a little peeved about lame-o Feedblitz sending me posts of a few of my fave blogs 1-4 days after they posted and I missed out on some great info. or giveaways.

One of the blogs I discovered is My Lily Eden. Shelly has a really cute Etsy shop called Lemon Tree Studio and she posts some neat-o projects and photos and she also does fun giveaways. Right now, Shelly is having a 7-day giveaway. Head over there and take a look...but don't enter the contests because then I have less of a chance!! Heehee!

Winter hibernation...

2009-02-10T13:36:00.000-08:00

The new laptop is here and UP AND RUNNING! My hubby is handy in many, many ways; however, computers are not his forte. It only took 2 months to get the internet up and running.

I guess I shouldn't complain. Picture uploading and web browsing now moves at lightning speed and makes up for all of the days I spent trying to just check my email.

Here's a photo diary of the events of the past two months.
(Courtesy of my *super awesome new* Canon Digital Rebel xSi):

Kira and Marcus get the ultimate 4xing machine for Christmas.

We take MANNNNYYYY trips to park because (until this week) it's been 75 degrees for the majority of January.

We go to my Aunt and Uncle's house in Bend, OR for the New Year's holiday.

Kira and Marcus help daddy plant their first almond tree at the end of January.

So, that has been a small part of our lives for the past few months.

It feels good to be back.

Jingle all the way!

2008-12-15T21:18:00.000-08:00

If you don't think this ad is awesome, then you can not be my friend.
WARNING: Will be stuck in your head all day!
CAUTION: Will cause spontaneous dance moves including, but not limited to, the sprinkler, the shopping cart, the lawnmower, a few Roger Rabbits and maybe a running man to top it all off.

I'm dream-ing....of a newwww laaaaptop!

2008-12-08T14:18:00.000-08:00

I have been missing from the blogging world for the past month. As you can see, the previous entry was from Halloween and included a clip from The Office, the best show on the planet. My current MySpace profile picture is from our trip to the pumpkin patch. See a pattern here?

I have a few excuses as to why I've been so deficient in the blogging/anything related to computers realm:

1) Our computer has "issues." (This thing is 8 years old. Almost extinct in computer years.)

2) In order to remedy the old computer problem, we had to shop for a new one. Oh, the horror!

3) My poor bro-in-law (our family's techie go-to guy) had to withstand several hour-long conversations with Fred (my hubby, the not-so techie guy) so that we could get the computer of our dreams. (All I want is to have enough space for Photoshop...or even just a photo.)

4) After finally deciding on the 45,000 options we wanted, Fred decided to wait until Black Friday to order it. Because, as poor farmers, we take any discount we can get!

So there you have it. I'm still using this dinosaur for the next few days but believe me I have a date with the internet once we figure out how to get the new thing up and running.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T11:17:00.000-07:00

Hope you have a fun Halloween!

Birds and butterflies and babies; oh my!

2008-10-28T15:21:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share a few pics from the baby shower I hosted for my friend, Megan. As you may remember, we had a birdy theme going on and it was so fun to come up with little birds and butterflies for decorations.

I had nothing to do with this cake (except for the consumption of it..YUM). I added a butterfly and bird from a template I (frustratingly) hand-drew. I used some Stampin' Up! and Amy Butler paper and added a little ribbon to some Wilton lollipop sticks I bought from Walmart.

Isn't she a hot mama?

I bought some flowers and greenery and made floral arrangements in vases from my milk glass collection. I used pink feather boas as table runners and found these cute green flower mirrors from the dollar store to set the vases on. I especially love the bird sticking out of the homemade cheese ball! (My co-host, Alisa, made the cheese ball! DELISH! She used cream cheese, pineapple, red bell peppers and green onion and topped it with almonds. Yum-O!)

Finally, I left all of the guests with a fun little seasonal favor to take with them: a mini white pumpkin. I printed the message, "Thank you for celebrating Megan's little pumpkin!" from my computer and added the bird stamp, clear cellophane, a little ribbon and VOILA...fun little favors.

All in all, we had a awesome time, had great food and even better company. It's always fun to throw in a few handmade touches to make any event even merrier!

Pumpkin love

2008-10-13T15:05:00.000-07:00

We have pumpkin fever at our house!

The kids and I have been pumpkin patch "hopping" (sort of like bar hopping, but not) for the past week. Last Tuesday, we took a trip to our local pumpkin patch and had a great time! My little man is picking up sooo many new words and his two current favorite, fall-related words are "ske-cwhoa" (scarecrow) and "punkin."

My preschooler has had a great time exploring the different shapes and sizes of pumpkins, leaves, walnuts and other natural things on our pumpkin patch adventures.

On Saturday, we went to an apple/pumpkin farm called Abel's Apple Acres in Apple Hill (outside of Placerville, CA). We had an absolute blast with the pony rides, photo opportunities, apple goodies, etc. If you live anywhere in Northern California, go there and have a great time! I would highly recommend taking a trip during the week because the traffic and crowds can be unbelievable!

Prince Charming

2008-10-09T16:15:00.000-07:00

Kristina Werner is a girl after my own heart.

This week's inspiration challenge comes from Ikea. Tomorrow I'm headed to spend some time with my sister and make a trip to this fabulous store full of wonderful things. If you've never been to Ikea, you need to go.....like, right now!

Not only do they have the coolest and cheapest home decor items, but they also have a FREE childcare (for an hour) while you shop. It's the best place ever for moms!

Here's Kristina's inspiration picture:
Unfortunately, I was out of ruby red, so I substituted rose red instead.
Here's the fun card I came up with:

I had fun doing a little bit of embroidery on this card...so simple!

Card ingredients:

Stamps: SU! Unfrogettable and Full of Life

Ink: SU! Craft White, Old Olive and Summer Sun (for contrast on the paper)

Paper: SU! Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Ballet Blue, Cutie Pie patterned paper

Accessories: White gel pen, white embroidery floss

Birdy baby

2008-10-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

One of my good friends, Megan, is due with her first baby in December. I'm co-hosting a shower for her with a birdy theme, inspired by her crib bedding from Pottery Barn Kids. So cute!

I decided to make the invitations with the bedding in mind because a baby bird theme is so fun and birds are so hip right now. I'm going to use feather boas as table runners and make some paper butterflies to hang around. I have a ton of milk glass vases and cups to fill with fresh flowers. Here are the invitations I put together:

If you have any ideas on birdy decorations...let me know. I'm still on the hunt for some birdy party supplies (plates, napkins, etc.)!

Finally feeling like fall...

2008-10-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

I have been in a crafty slump lately...until this week.

The forecasters have been predicting rain for Friday and by golly, they got something right! It's FINALLY feeling like fall and there's nothing better than a rainy day and a Kristina design challenge to get me into the fall spirit! Here is Kristina's challenge:

And here's my dual-purpose design challenge and wedding card creation:

This was quite the conglomoration of supplies (don't you just LOVE the word conglomoration..it rocks!) but I got a design challenge and a wedding card done all in one afternoon! Go ME!

Stamps: Studio G $1 stamp from Michael's (WOOT!)

Ink: Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip

Paper: SU! Very Vanilla and Pumpkin Pie and K & Company Amy Butler patterned paper

Accessories: SU! Twill tape, Self-adhesive die cut from SU! Tie the Knot Simply Scrappin' kit, wired seed beads, and pop dots

Summer "kleaning"

2008-06-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

Oh my, where to start?! I've been on a bloggy hiatus for the past month. So many things have gone on and I just didn't get around to my blog and I definitely missed it (AND you)!

Last weekend was the Green Baby Expo in my area. I had my own craft booth and sold some handmade cards, art display boards and some retired Stampin' Up! stamp sets. My Etsy shop is coming soon! The expo was a really great experience and I learned about a lot of cool, local products. My friend, Jenna, had a gorgeous booth and sold handmade nursing covers, diaper cloths, fun onesies, diaper bags, key fobs, etc. If you are looking for boutique-quality, stylish and super-functional baby items, check out Jenna's Sweet Baby Creations shop!

One other product I was dying to get my hands on at the expo was a Klean Kanteen! These awesome bottles are founded from a local company and are responsibly made in China. If you haven't jumped aboard the BPA-free water bottle train, you should. Here are a few facts about them (from their website):

•Better Health: Klean Kanteens are made from #304 stainless steel, the material of choice in the food processing, dairy, and brewery industries. Stainless steel is easy to clean, durable, inert, sanitary, toxin-free, and non-leaching.

•Hydration: It’s vital for life.

•Environmental Responsibility: Klean Kanteens are the stainless steel alternative to plastics. Plastics in landfills and oceans are one of the most alarming of today’s environmental stories. (They are also recyclable.)

This is the Klean Kanteen I bought (but a 27 oz. one, with a sports cap top) and I'm excited it will fit in my car's cup holder and it will fit ice inside for a trip to the gym! In addition, I'll be saving a lot of money in the long run AND not filling up a landfill with more of those plastic water bottles.

What kinds of local products are you excited about? Give your local companies a "shout out" and post something on your blog. Go local!

Wilson's Heart

2008-05-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

I have been haunted for the past week by these scenes:

This is the season finale from the Fox TV show, House. I've never cried during a TV show as much as I did when I saw this. It was so brilliantly touching and heartbreakingly real. My eyes teared, then cried and I finally just sobbed. The writers outdid themselves with this episode. Every word was perfect. Perfect.

Sometimes life feels so random and cruel. And sometimes we feel as if nothing "bad" will ever happen to us.

But such is life; we lose loved ones. And no matter how random or cruel it may seem, it WILL happen to those we love. We must love with all we have and make each day count. Stop regretting. Love ourselves. Laugh. Make memories. Be in the present. Accept difficulty and surpass it.

If you don't watch House, you should.

This was me yesterday...

2008-05-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

It's tag and I'm it!

2008-05-21T10:09:00.001-07:00

I feel sorta popular right now! I was tagged by Domestic Accident to complete the following tidbits about me. Wait a minute, this is starting to feel like homework...or worse yet, housework!

4 Things I was doing 10 years ago (1998)

1) Taking finals at the end of my freshman year of college!

2) E-mailing and calling my new "love." (Guess what, he became my hubby!)

3) Working at a local body and bath shop. Pumping lotion and cutting soap...no brain activity required.

4) Walking and biking everywhere because I didn't have a car!

4 Things I was doing 5 years ago (2003)

1) Getting a new job at a wireless phone company.

2) Reapplying to college after taking a 3 year break. All those essays can wear a woman out!

3) Having fun living with soon-to-be hubby and another great couple.

4) Dreading summer because the A/C was broken in my car! 102 degrees...#@&@^#!

4 Things I did yesterday

1) Took Kira to preschool.

2) Got to have a peaceful lunch out with the hubby and Mr. Marcus Man!

3) Bought some new underwear...ooh-la-la!

4) Went to a friend's Tupperware show....no longer a virgin in this department! Yikes! I'm broke! (And now officially a housewife!!)

4 Shows I like to watch

1) THE OFFICE!!!

2) Scrubs

3) House (I am emotionally scarred from the season finale!)

4) 24 (January seems very far away!)

4 things I like to do

1) Have date nights with the hubby.

2) Go to the park with the kiddos.

3) Eat ice cream.

4) CRAFT!

I'm tagging Jenna, Morgan, Lynda and Shauna. Have fun!

Simply quoting Amy...

2008-05-20T16:22:00.000-07:00

I am currently experiencing a fetish for all things Amy Butler.

She is a fabulous designer and some of her fabrics have been made into patterned paper for scrapbooking/cardmaking and other paper crafts. I want them all!

I've also become obsessed with quotes... Actually, I guess I've always been in love with quotes. In high school and college, I always tried to use a "famous" quote to kickstart most of my essays and papers. I've incorporated quotes into a lot of the cards I've made lately.

These are two VERY simple cards I made using Amy Butler paper. I think the embossed sentiments go hand-in-hand with the simple beauty of the paper. Patterned paper can be such a great focal point on a card. I love that the sentiments can be used for many occasions: wedding, anniversary, thank you, new baby, etc.

"The grand essentials of happiness are something to do, something to love and something to hope for.--A.K. Chalmers"

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy - they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. --Marcel Proust"

"Slow down everyone, you're movin' too fast..."

2008-05-16T17:59:00.001-07:00

Title provided by Jack Johnson's "Inaudible Melodies."

Things have been going by too quickly lately:

My "baby" is one.

My firstborn is four.

I've been married almost five years.

In a relationship with the awesome guy for TEN years!

On this earth for 29 years.

Where is the time going?

I heart you, Kristina Werner!

2008-05-14T16:13:00.000-07:00

I have been stalking Kristina Werner's blog for a long time. 'How long?' you ask. Trust me, you don't want to know.

I really DO have a life and I DO spend lots of time with my kids. I'm serious...don't laugh!

Kristina is a Stampin' Up! designer and she has the most FAN-TA-BULOUS blog...full of clean, simple, but wonderful card-making ideas. PLUS, she loves The Office. For these two reasons, I'm sure we could be BFFs if we lived in the same state!

Anywho, Kristina hosts weekly design challenges on her blog and I'm constantly drooling over the gorgeous designs of all sorts of bloggers out there.

Here is this week's design inspiration (via Martha Stewart's home decorating section on her website):

Here's what I came up with:

My photography skills are *terrible* less-than-stellar. Thanks to the economic stimulus check we should be getting soon, I'll hopefully have a new computer and Photoshop to edit my pics!

My new best friend

2008-05-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

I'm cheap. I'm a stay-at-home-mom. I can't help it.

I despise renting a movie for almost $5 when I could practically buy it for the same price. Netflix sounds fabulous, but sometimes we just don't rent all that many movies in a month because there isn't anything good out there.

Enter my new best friend, REDBOX.

Redbox is every mom's dream...you rent a movie at the (literally: RED BOX in the) GROCERY STORE for ONE DOLLAR. Return it the next day by 9PM, otherwise it's another dollar. We just watched Juno last week FOR ONE DOLLAR and then I took a peek at the Redbox website and saw that if you signed up for updates that they would send a code for a free rental to your email. So, we got to see Dan In Real Life for FREE! (Both great movies, by the way!)

Check out Redbox and find out where they're located in your area. I know you could use a night in with the hubby!

Summoning my inner Taintorette...

2008-04-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

Mom and grandma. circa 1958. Taintor fodder in the making.

As you all know, the lovely Shauna redesigned my blog a few weeks ago. When I contacted Shauna about the design, I asked for something Anne Taintoresque because I knew that was the style I was looking for. Sometimes I feel like a sassy, modern mama with an affinity for all things vintage. *Or my family's pee-on.* Well, voila...enter Anne Taintor and her fabulous Taintorettes! Sounds like a new Vaudeville show, dontcha think?

Welllll, after Shauna got my new and improved blog up and running, I happened to pop over to her page and find ANOTHER blog *because I have nothing but time on my hands* called, She Couldn't Help Herself...She Just Had To Say It. Shauna had created another great layout for "Soliloquy" *witness protection name* and it was Anne Taintoresque to boot! Soliloquy's writing is hilariously real and I'm loving *jealous of* it!

Soliloquy joined the Bloggy Giveaways prize patrol and because I'm posting this shortly before her contest is over, you probably won't win all of the Anne Taintor gloriousness *neiner, neiner.* But I might. Or one of the other 126 people might. Or Soliloquy might keep all of the goods and change her identity. Again.

Spring is here!

2008-04-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

Poop on croup!

2008-04-22T18:01:00.000-07:00

I definitely lack in the Take-Care-Of-Me-While-I-Cough-And-Sneeze-All-Over-Your-Face part of Mommyhood.

I love my kids to pieces and I would do anything *no ice cream sharing here* for them. Sometimes I wish that when baby #1 was born, I would have developed the DUN-DA-DU-DUNNNN....MOMMY SHIELD *instead of saggy boobs*. This fantastic contraption would be an invisible shield from all of the bugs, viruses, bacteria, crud, vomit, phlegm, poo, *insert any foul noun here* crap that might come my way.

Seriously.

There is a vacuum that can clean your ENTIRE house BY ITSELF AND put itself away. Am I asking too much?

Little Mr. Bubs got croup this weekend. He WAS crawling on the floor at Round Table while I attended a local Mothers' Club meeting...coincidence??? I should be glad that he's still alive. Although my tough guy's spirit hasn't been weakened too much, he has contracted the ability to bark like a seal and wheeze like the Marlboro Man himself. Although these sounds may be music to a chain-smoking carnie's ears, they make me cringe.

The Mommy Shield in non-operational.

Resistance is futile.

My throat hurts!

"Does a seal sound like THIS?"

Just a card a day...

2008-04-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

...keeps Mommy's creative juices flowin'!!

I thought I'd show you a few cards I did last weekend. My beautiful friend, Windy, placed an order with me for 3 sets of cards to give as gifts to friends. These are just a few I've done...I'll post more later!

1st Birthday Fun!

2008-04-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

I've recently subscribed to a fun blog called Seven Dogs and A Baby. Angela is a 29-year old mama to almost-one-year-old, Connor. If I met Angela at a park somewhere locally, I'm sure we'd have some stories to share because I am also 29 and my little *almost* birthday boy will turn one on May 3rd! Since Connor is turning one, Angela is throwing a blog party with fun and prizes galore! Head over to Seven Dogs and A Baby and join in the fun!

(I did not make this cake. Alana Hodgson did.)

See her designs!

2008-04-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

This past week has been a little crazy in our lil' household. My "little" girl turned four on the 6th and we had a birthday bash for her on Saturday (the 12th). She kept asking us all week, "Is it my birthday again today?" It's nice that birthdays only come once a year or we'd be broke!

Last week, the amazing Shauna from See My Designs created a new 'do for my blog! I love it! Shauna is so speedy and can practically read your mind. *remember: never play poker with Shauna* I highly recommend her for your blog design needs. Shauna, you rock!

They've still got...THE RIGHT STUFF!

2008-04-02T17:14:00.000-07:00

I tend to have an interest in annoyingly trivial celebrity gossip. BUT...I don't have a subscription to US or People, which makes it okay because I'm not spending money on it. When I logged onto my email earlier, there was a ginormous headline about New Kids on the Block and their first picture together in 15 years. NKOTB and I go waaaaayyyyy back...I'm talking 5th and 6th grade here! I even had an orange NKOTB lunchbox and of course, all of their TAPES! HA! (My Ipod is laughing at me!)

Of course I had to check it out for myself and see if they still "got it."

Well, ladies, check it out for yourselves:

I think the past 15 years have been good to them! *MMMMmmm, Joey* Part of the article listed their ages and they're all between 35 and 40 years old...and talking about a REUNION! I'll be really interested to see if they have turned all soft rock on us, or if they'll be marketing themselves to the Generation Xers. Emo NKOTB?? NOOOOO!

Supposedly they'll be addressing the reunion rumors on the Today Show on April 4th.

You'll catch me Hangin' Tough 'til then.

Pure awesomeness!

2008-03-28T13:09:00.000-07:00

The guys over at JibJab have created one of the funniest sites I've seen! You can create your own e-cards in their "Starring You" section. I just did a free one for the moment, but I'll be back again soon! The daughter and I were laughing like crazy when I finished this masterpiece! Enjoy!

Don't send a lame eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Workin' at the car wash...whoa-oa-oa-oa...

2008-03-24T21:23:00.000-07:00

It was 79 degrees here this weekend! In MARCH, people! Gotta love California! With this weather comes extreme changes in wardrobe (if you're a local college student: wedge sandals, shorts with some annoying logo on the rear, skin-tight tanktops, windshield-sized sunglasses). As a mama of two, I prefer more realistic garb for these abs-of-flab: t-shirt that was cool a few years ago, worn flip-flops, and tired capris that hold up the mommy muffin oh-so-wonderfully! This was my outfit of choice for one of my favorite &$%*!@# weekend activities: washing the family car.

My hubby and I like to spend as much time together as possible...best friends normally do. But when washing the car, I just grin and bear it (and roll my eyes and kick tires when he's scrubbing the roof). You see, the captain of Analville is my husband. He washes the car BEFORE long car rides through dusty and bug-ridden areas, scrubs and rinses every square inch of the car (more than once), will only use warm water from the garage sink at his parents' house, parks the car in the shade so that no water droplets will cause water spots, etc., etc. All of this is annoying, yes. The clincher, however, is when he asks, "Did you just clean this spot?" and then proceeds to clean it anyway when I say, "Yes. Can't you see the soap all over?!"

I've decided that this is one more project that he can do himself. I'll stick to eating bonbons and sipping margaritas by the pool!

******

(A perfect illustration of the hubby and his car washing logic, courtesy of The Mr. Men Show. Picture him as Mr. Persnickety, without the British accent...I'm the Little Miss at the end...mwahahaha!)

Tea for two and two for tea!

2008-03-19T12:49:00.001-07:00

<----- Tea bag holders by Stampin' With Linz

The fun mommies at Mommies United have cooked up a little tea party for mommy bloggers. My daughter is currently whipping up a batch from the bathroom sink (pictures to come)! In addition to my love of Mexican food, wakeboarding, and writing, I have to add stamping to the list! I've been a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for almost 3 years and am in love with all paper crafts. In fact, some of the awesome ladies at Splitcoast Stampers inspired me so much with their awesome blogs, I just had to join the blogging club! One of the cutest (and most time-saving) projects I like to make are tea bag holders. These are great little goodies to make for teacher gifts, shower favors, Valentines, Easter, Mothers' Day....you name it! I found these two awesome blogs by fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrators and wanted to share these cute tea bag holders with you in honor of the tea party! Pinkies up to you, ladies!!

Tea bag holder by New England Stamper---->

Mommies Unite (for a party)!

2008-03-18T15:58:00.000-07:00

I've found another party to crash! Mommies United is having a launch party through March 31st and it looks to be a good time to meet other mommy bloggers. I had so much fun last week, I thought, why do laundry this week when there's a party to be had!? The creators of Mommies United are moms themselves and have great blogs as well (be sure to check them out while you're there). I'd lu-hu-huuuve to receive free baby/toddler/mommy gear in trade for some product reviews...these mamas have the right idea (need a fifth partner, let me know)!!

Introductions, ladies:
I'm Erika...an almost-29-for-the-first-time mommy to two lovely munchkins and wifey to an extreme-sports-lovin' hubby. We love to wakeboard, hang out at our cabin, eat Mexican food, meet fun people and get in lots of quality family bonding time. I got a degree, became a mom and haven't worked since! Someday I'd like to invent some sort of new writing genre or become the new (and less bitchy) Martha Stewart. You know. The usual stuff.

While there are so many FANTASTIC prizes to be had, here are a few of my fave items:
1) Baby and Me Boutique $100 gift certificate: I don't think $100 will be enough for me...The Petunia Pickle Bottom bags are calling my name and the Recaro carseats are right up there, too! Hmmm form over function, perhaps?
2) Splat designs blog design: You're looking at it. It's mint. It's an eyesore. It's hideous. I.need.a.new.layout.period. I love the gallery at Splat designs...it makes my eyes happy!
3)Hipster Tots scrapbook: I love to be crafty. But me+crafty=not enough hours in the day. I think it's great that Hipster Tots has a fun, retro look and that they will do it for me. (Must remember to look for a maid, nanny and personal shopper when done typing.)
4)ImagiPLAY wooden puzzles: You have to see these puzzles to believe them! These are eco-friendly, rubberwood 3D puzzles. The animal alphabet, counting penguins and Dachshund family are my personal favorites. I need a few more toys with small parts around my house.

A big thanks to the ladies at Mommies United! I can't wait to party with some new mommies and have a good time!!

I heart Target!

2008-03-14T17:01:00.001-07:00

I'm officially coming out of the closet:I am in love with Target!

I'm sure if I perused the blogging community, I'd find a 'Target Obsession Anonymous' or 'Target Lovers Unite' group. *mental note: search for said groups!* When balancing our online bank account, the hubby is constantly making comments like, "We need to own stock in Target," or, "Why are there 20 items on this receipt that cost a dollar?!" I can't help myself! If Target were a food; I'd eat it. If it were a song; I'd sing it. Seriously, moms, what did those frontier women do without Tar-zhay? It is a haven for the bored house frau, a kiddie playground on rainy days, a 5-star restaurant for picky toddlers and a one-stop birthday shopping extravaganza!

Here is something I picked up today (go get yours, you ladies of the 80s!):

Do you remember the paint with water books? I LOOVED these growing up and as a mom to a very artsy Goofy-lover, I'm so excited that there will be no messy paint to get on the dining table. Basically the "paint" consists of little colored dots on the page that take on watercolor form when you add a wet paintbrush! Genius, I tell you! (A mom invented these, I'm SURE!)

Blog PAR-TAY!

2008-03-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been uber-procratinating my bloggage lately but there's nothing better than an awesome contest to get my rear in gear!! I came across the 5 Minutes for Mom site and I was thoroughly impressed! They have been having a blog party since March 7th and it looks like such a fun time for socialization-starved mamas out there in Webland! Who doesn't LOOOOVE a party, ESPECIALLY when you don't have to vacuum, dust, or scrub anything ahead of time?!

Let me introduce myself:
I'm Erika, an almost 29-year-old SAHM to Kira and Marcus (and wifey to my fabulous, farmin' hubby, Fred). I'm a complete newbie to the blogging community and am constantly awestruck by the amazing words, photos, and crafts I see on some of my favorite blogs. I love being a mom but also wanted to maintain a piece of myself by getting some thoughts down in this little electronic world for posterity. My mom died a year ago and made me realize that I want to leave some words for my children and all their kiddos and so on...

With that said, I'll leave you with my MUST-HAVES from the prize list!!
1) A Blog Makeover by Shauna for See My Designs (#67). As you can see, my blog is PBLTHHHT!! in the beauty department...a little pick-me-up would be nice and I LOOOVE Shauna's simple but fun style!

2) 50 Cards for Any Occasion by Polka Dot Bumblebee (#78). WOWZA! I love these designs and they are very reasonably priced. Already thinking about Christmas cards...YIKES!

3) 12 x 12" Custom Wall Canvas by JuJu Beane Boutique (#14). Welllll, my son is almost a year old and he still has nothing on his walls...sad, sad, sad! He has a surfer theme in his room and I am loving all of the surf-related prints at JuJu Beane!

Other really great items (in order of dying-to-win-this urgency!):
#7, #137, #117, #119, #96, #87.

Now I'm off to meet some new mamas in Blogsville...THANKS to 5 Minutes For Mom for their great site and blog party. Time to get the PAR-TAY started!!

I've arrived!

2008-01-31T22:54:00.000-08:00

After birthing two 8-pound children and changing a truckload of toxic diapers and wearing spitup as a perfume and surviving playdates from H-E-double hockey sticks and sharing every snotty cold that dares to glance in our direction, I'm HERE! Can you believe it?! I've nearly survived Toddlerhood once and will be doing it once more in, oh, about a year...and I've made it online with my very own blog to document the struggle *ahem* beauty of the whole process of my mommy journey.

I hope you're ready to read about all this because I really need to VENT!

<----"I'd just like the Cliff's Notes, thank you!"