A CRAZY JANUARY

So far, 2013 hasn't been very kind to us.  It started out great with a super fun New Year's Day game day at our home, but then that terrible cold that lasts FOREVER hit!  I was sick for what seemed like AGES and then each member of the family has had their share of it.....Madison has been home from school for the last 2 days.

 

THEN....our computer CRASHED!  So, we have been without a computer for about 10 days.  You don't realize how dependent you are on technology until you don't have it....but you also realize how much time you spend (or waste) sitting in front of that computer screen.  Thankfully my work's computer genius was able to fix it...so we are now up and running again.

 

I will post a stamping project in the next couple of days.

 

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!

Hugs, Cindy

THANK YOU CARD

Today's card was sent to us from a long-time family friend of my husbands, Karen,  after we had her over for dinner when his brothers were here visiting recently.

This cute card was made by Gloria Clet, who is not only Karen's cousin but a follower of my blog!!  Can you believe what a small world it is?!  I have never met Gloria, but I'm looking forward to sometime in the NEAR future!!  Are you reading this Gloria? :-)  We will have to get together and do some stamping!  Maybe we can even see if Karen would like to join in on the fun.

Gloria, Thanks for making such a cute card!!  

To me, receiving this card just re-enforces how important, and special, handmade and handwritten cards are in this techno age of emails, texts, and tweets! 

There's nothing like good old-fashioned snail-mail.

Well, today I start my working all day on Thursdays and Fridays....hopefully I won't come home "punch-drunk" from having taxed my brain almost beyond its ability :-)

Thanks for visiting!!

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!

Blessings & Hugs, Cindy

PS: Gloria: Leave me a comment!

FRIDAY NIGHT PIZZA

Friday night is almost always PIZZA NIGHT at our house.  We have been having pizza on Friday evenings for a few years now.

Here is our pizza for this evening.... ....it has spicy Italian sausage (just a bit so we can cut down on the fat), Monterey Jack cheese, sauted mushrooms, red bell pepper, red onion and chopped basil from our garden.

 I took a picture of it before I cooked it so that you could see the vibrant colors of the peppers, onions and basil....such a pretty thing ;-)

Here's what we devoured....

I'm convinced that good pizzas are made because of good pizza pans....I invested in a really good pizza pan years ago and I don't think I've ever had a bad pizza on it.....also cranking up your oven to about 450 or 475 degrees also makes it yummy!!

Here's what was left.....

 Leave me a comment and let me know what you like on a pizza..... :-)

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!

Blessings & Hugs, Cindy

CRAZY AROUND HERE!!

Well, this is the first opportunity I have had in over a week to sit down and even think about blogging. As you know, my mother-in-law, who is 79 years old, lives with us. Well, last week she fell and as a result of the fall broke a rib and fractured a vertebrae....which is extremely painful. She was hospitalized for a week.....but not because of the broken bones....it was because of her heart.....which is what caused her to pass out and fall. Anyways, we have been trying to make her as comfortable as possible and keep all her medications straight. She is improving each day.

On top of all that.....on Monday my daughter complained of pain in her stomach....by Tuesday morning the pain had concentrated to her lower right side. I immediately think....appendix. Well I took her to her pediatrician on Tuesday morning and he thought the same thing....so he had us hustle over to the emergency room at the local children's hospital. So, Tuesday we spent almost the entire day waiting to find out if it was her appendix. Well, after blood tests and an ultrasound.....it was determined that it wasn't her appendix (yeah), but she had an ovarian cyst! We were told that these usually resolve on their own. She is doing good and is back in school.

So....that's what's been going on here! As far as stamping.....I did complete the matchbox die favors for our church's women's retreat this coming weekend. I took pictures and will post them shortly.....I still need to download them from my camera.

Thanks for visiting!!

Until next time, find some

time for stamping!!

Blessings......Cindy

AWOL.....& the NEW BOAT

Hi Stampers!

I know, I know.....once again I have fallen off the face of the blogging earth!

Each time I do, I feel awful!

I think about how I should take pictures of what I'm creating and then blog about it....but it just gets shoved to the back burner. So.....SORRY, please bear with me!!!

I have been working on making favors for our church's upcoming women's retreat.....they are similar to the Valentine's from this post, but I used sea shell images. I have quite a few of them to make.....so I will definitely take a picture of them when I get some done. I have made a sample and I'm in the process of putting them together in "assembly-line" fashion. So when I get my act together I will dig out my camera and take a few pictures.

I will share with you a couple of pictures of our "new" boat.....it's an older model MasterCraft. We had a boat almost exactly like this a few years ago.....we're pretty excited about this coming summer!!! We do LOTS of waterskiing on our waterski lake that has a slalom course....but we are looking forward to taking the boat out on a "real" lake and doing some tubing and wakeboarding. Slalom course skiers usually don't spend much time tubing......it's seen as a waste of "good" water ;-)

Although, we're trying to get Andy and Madison to get serious about waterskiing.....we tell them that skiing might be their ticket to a cheaper college education! There are still a few universities with waterski teams.

Here's the gang getting the boat ready to launch.....it was kinda chilly that day...but the sun warmed us up! We brought blankets just in case.

Here's a picture of the kids having our "Jenkins Family Traditional Picnic Lunch".....we ALWAYS have salami, Ritz crackers, cheese, and stuffed green olives.

YUMMY!!!

Well, I better get going......I will try and be back REALLY SOON because about a week or so ago, I was emailed that I was given a "Stylish Blogger" award....anyway, I need to read about what I need to do and thank those kind bloggers for thinking of me!!!

Until next time, find some

time for stamping!!

Blessings......Cindy

MOVE IN DAY

Well....the addition is FINALLY done and this weekend we were MOVIN' Grandma into her new digs!!! Yeah!!! I think we were ALL ready to have this thing done.....especially Grandma!!

First off....here is how our home has looked for the past few months.....

This is the family room....poor Andy has been "camping out" behind those bookcases and Grandma's belongings are in the right hand corner. It makes our house look like one of those homes they feature on the TV program "Hoarders".....yuck!!!

Now, here's our normally wonderful patio all junked up with building supplies and stuff that came out of the garage. Good thing Jesse, our lab, is so good natured.....she hasn't minded her patio being taken over by junk.

Here is where the garage is going.....which won't be built until Spring now since the ground is so wet and the cement truck can't drive in the back for fear of getting stuck!

OK, so that is a pretty good picture of how things have been.

NOW....here is what Grandma's digs look like....We are still waiting on window coverings, which are to be installed on Wednesday and a couple of other super minor things.

Here's her bath....She put a shower curtain up for now.....we had purchased the wrong shower doors and they are being special ordered....so they still will need to be installed.

When Grandpa was alive, he was an air traffic controller and so he and Grandma moved quite a bit because of his job.....and she said that every time they moved the coffee pot was the last thing out and the first thing in....so here is Grandma moving in her coffee pot first thing....

Next, the refrigerator was delivered......it's a cute little thing....just perfect for Grandma!!

Then came unpacking all the boxes.....Grandma worked and worked!!!

Movin' the big stuff in....

After a busy day of moving.....here's Grandma all snug in bed in her new home!!

And here is the family room.....not arranged....but cleared out!!!

Well....that's what has been shakin' around here!

Better get going.....thanks for poppin' in!!!

Until next time, find some

time for stamping!!

Blessings......Cindy

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Hi Stampers!

Just wanted to wish you all a very blessed

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Here is a Thanksgiving card that I recently made for a club swap card.

Until next time, find some

time for stamping!!

Blessings......Cindy

I'M STILL HERE!

Hi Stampers!

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth.....just a bit busy these days. Like I've said before, blogging is about the first thing to be eliminated from my schedule when life gets busy.

Last Thursday, we went with the kids to the Jr. High Group at church....they were having a "Boys Night Out" and a "Girls Night Out" and parents were encouraged to attend....so we did. Anyways, the girls stayed in the church's dining room and began to play some fun games.....like trying to eat an Oreo cookie without any hands after it had been placed on your forehead (yeah....not easy!). The boys on the other hand, went outside to play touch football in the parking lot.

Well, about an hour into the evening, I was called out by Steve....who told me that while he was playing, he had taken a fall! This wasn't just a scraped knee....we're talking a fall that required an emergency room visit. Long story short.....he has a separated shoulder and is going to be off work for 6 weeks!

So, with all that said.....that is why I have not been blogging. But he is getting better and adjusting (or rather resigning himself) to being at home....so I'm hoping to get to some stamping really soon!!

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!!

Blessings......Cindy

OWL CLASS CARD #1

Hi Stampers,

Today I spent the morning with my friend and fellow demonstrator, Gloria, where I was able to put together an entire 6x6 scrapbook album in about 1-1/2 hours! I wanted her to show me how she did it, because I want to offer a class where you could do the same! I was even thinking of making mine a Christmas album! Wouldn't it be great to already have an album all made and ready for your Christmas pictures?!

Then this evening, I made a sample card for my upcoming Owl Punch Class on October 4th. At the class we will be making 4 projects using the new Owl Punch.....cost is only $25 and it includes all materials and the PUNCH!! Deadline for signing up for this class is Sept. 27th.

Well, here is one card that we will be making......

These owls are just tooo cute!!!

Now before I close....I just HAD to show you the most darling picture of the kittens. If you'll remember our cat, who we thought was deceased, had SIX kittens! They are now 5 weeks old and so adorable it makes me crazy!! Anyways....we have a small fountain on our patio that doesn't have water in it right now....well the kittens have begun playing in it. Here they are.....I guess they got tuckered out and decided to just take a nap.

Shhhh.....don't wake them!

I just love them!!!

Until next time, find some

time for stamping!!

Blessings......Cindy

ARTISTIC ETCHINGS

Hi Stampers!

Thanks for taking the time to pop in!

Last night we had almost 30 Jr. High boys here from our church for a "Boys Night Out". They did LOTS of swimming, eating, and just "boy" stuff. Only 1 bloody nose, which considering how rowdy they got is, to me, pretty good! They were a riot to watch.....I think they had a pretty good time.

Well, since I was DEFINITELY outnumbered by all those young men (Madison was at a "Girl's Night Out"), I squirreled away in my stamp room and played with my newest set....Artistic Etchings.

Artistic Etchings is the set that I will be giving away for FREE in a drawing on August 1st. To enter the drawing, just place an online order, no minimum required, through my Stampin' Up! website. Once you place your order....I will put your name "in the pot" and if your name is drawn I will send you either a wood or clear mounted Artistic Etchings stamp set for FREE....Pretty Cool!!!

Well, here is what I came up with......

I also used my new Square Lattice embossing folder and all new colors! The card's base is Soft Suede (not a totally new color....but new to the core color palette), on that I layered a piece of very vanilla that was embossed using the Square Lattice embossing folder. Then I took another piece of Soft Suede and layered that with a piece of textured very vanilla on which I randomly stamped images with the colors Soft Suede, Baja Breeze (a returning In Color), Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight. The ribbon is 5/8" very vanilla satin ribbon. The word is punched using the large oval and the scallop oval punches....VERY EASY!!! I think I had as much fun as those boys!!!

Well, that's it for me today.....don't forget to place your order so that you will be eligible for the FREE STAMP SET DRAWING!!!

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!

Blessings......Cindy

AWASH WITH FLOWERS & KITTENS

Hi Stampers!

I hope your week is going well.....we have had a GREAT week.

Last week I went to my upline's for a demonstrator meeting.....we discussed many things about our SU businesses including the recent Color Renovation, etc. We also made a Make-n-Take using the set AWASH WITH FLOWERS, which will be available in the new 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog ....where is what we made.....

What is cool about this card is that the Top Note portion is what opens....this is what the inside looks like....

We used the Color Spritzer tool.....this has become one of my favorite tools!!! It just adds that special "zing" to whatever you spritz!

Also, the big news around our house is that our cat, which we thought had vanished (we live in the country where our cats are here one day and gone the next) came back.....and she had had 6 KITTENS!!! We didn't know exactly where at first, but after searching we found them in a wood pile in the back of our property. The kids brought them up to the house and they are now living under our BBQ....they are ADORABLE!!! Here's a couple of pictures that Madison took of them....

ANYBODY WANT A CUTE KITTY???

OK, well, that's it for me today.....until next time, find some time for stamping!!!

Blessings.........Cindy

CARD FOR BONES

Hey there Stampers!!

Hope your week is starting off wonderful.....mine certainly is!

Today, I wanted to share with you a card that I received from my blogger friend Lisa....she sent it a week or so ago when I shared with her about Bones (we are also chat buddies on Facebook). In fact, it was because of Bones' mother that we meet.....she has a cat that looks just like her! Thanks Lisa for being such a sweet friend!!!

Also, Lisa has a blog, Inspired By Purple, that is really good and chuck full of great ideas. So, click on her link and check it out!

Well....until next time, find some time for stamping!!!

Blessings......Cindy

SOME SAD NEWS

Hi Stampers!

I've been putting off writing about this because it makes me so sad to think about.....but I thought it was time. At the beginning of April we went on vacation for Easter break and came back to learn that Bones, the kitty that we had nursed with a bottle, had been hit by a car and died. Very very sad for all of us.

Here is picture of him when he was sooo small......

Here's when he was a bit bigger......

And here's a picture of him a couple of weeks or so before we left on vacation.....

He was a great cat and will be missed greatly!!!!

Blessings........Cindy

WINNERS!!!

Hi Stampers!

Today I don't have a card to share with you.....but I do have some GREAT NEWS!

Today was the Ranchos Middle School Science Fair. Madison and two of her friends started their project over the Christmas break.....their experiment had to do with which liquid would rust a paperclip the quickest. So for almost 2 months I had cups of different types of liquid (bleach, water, pineapple juice, etc.) sitting on my kitchen counter.....and it paid off for her and her friends. They won THIRD PLACE for the 7th graders!!! We're so proud of her!! Here's a picture of her beside their display.....

Here's a picture of her certificate....

There were about 100 displays.....

Here is what the multipurpose room looked like.....rows and rows of display boards. The 8th graders also had displays.....I was one of the judges for the 8th graders. Those kids are way smarter than me!

Andy had a science fair display too.....he did well....but he didn't win :-( He had another wrestling match again tonight....and unfortunately he didn't win that either :-( What he did win today was this giant kooky looking phone in a special drawing at school.....

He was thrilled with his new and fantastical phone, as much as I think he would have been to win at the science fair. Although, I think winning his wrestling match would have trumped winning the phone.

Believe it or not.....this phone actually WORKS!!! He wants to make it our main house phone.....whadda think? He has been wanting a cell phone.....maybe this will work for him :-D

Well, that's all for us today! Never a boring moment around here!

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!

Blessings........Cindy

GOSH....ANOTHER WEEK IS PAST ??!!!

Hey there stampers! I just looked at my blog and realized that a week has past and I haven't posted anything! I have LOTS of cards made....but I need to take pictures of them. Sometimes just taking pictures and uploading them to the computer seems like such a pain....and when I buckle down and do it, I'm done in hardly any time at all. But, alas, I haven't done that.

Although here is a card from a stamp class a couple of weeks ago (when I last took pictures). It is an easel card. You can see a tutorial on how to make this card here on Splitcoast.

It's pretty straight forward....I'm thinking of making a card for my upcoming stamp club based on this one. Valentine's Day is just around the corner, so I need to get my cards made....and this is an easy one which looks great.

I haven't mention our kitty, Bones, in a while.....so thought I would show you a picture I took of him last week. For those of you who don't know or remember......our cat had 7 kittens and "Bones" was the runt (we called him Bones because he was skin and bones for awhile...and the name stuck). He was being pushed out by the other kittens and was about to die....so we took him and fed him with an eye-dropper and then a bottle, along with allowing him to nurse by holding back his brutish brothers and sisters. Anyway....he survived and is THRIVING!!! He is now quite spoiled....but also the SWEETEST cat I have ever had. He is very much a people-lovin' cat and likes to be the center of attention....sometimes he even gets in the way. But we love him dearly....even Steve, who isn't much of a cat lover, loves him.....in fact, he gets to stay in the house most of the time (I'm talkin' about the cat, not Steve :-D ...although, Steve gets to stay in too!!!). For those of you who know Steve....this is HUGE!!!

Anyway.....here's a picture of him.....He's not a runt anymore! He jumped into the box while I was unpacking a Stampin' Up! order

Isn't he a cutie??!!

Well....I will work on taking a bunch of pictures of all the cards that I've made, and plan on making this weekend, and posting them.

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!!

Blessings to you..........Cindy

SORRY FOR ABSENCE

Sorry I have been absent from blogging.....time just gets away from me.

The kids were suppose to go to our church's junior high winter retreat last weekend, but due to the weather it was canceled....which threw off my schedule. Last night Andy, our son, had his first wrestling match of the season.....he will have matches every Monday and Wednesday until March....with a tournament and championships (we're crossing our fingers on this) after that. Anyway.....toss in some everyday living with all the school stuff and the days just zip by.

I will be back later this afternoon with something that we created in stamp class yesterday.

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!

Blessings.........Cindy

BIG BUBBA'S & MADISON'S CARD

Hi there!

Well, just in case you were wondering....we had a very FUN time at dinner for my mother's birthday. Here's a picture of my mom with her official Big Bubba's birthday sticker....

We went to Big Bubba's Bad BBQ....the ribs tasted great and the kids had a good ol' time when they finally mustered up enough guts to ride the mechanical bull. At first, they didn't want to ride, not because of the ride itself, but because it's announced (very loudly, I might add) and broadcast throughout the entire restaurant on closed-circuit tv.....they were a bit embarrassed. But Andy was the first....he manned-up and then the others followed. Here's a picture of him sitting on the bull......

This was not him "officially" riding the bull.....he just jumped on so I could snap his picture.

Since it was a celebration.....we splurged and ordered these incredibly yummy onion rings....boy, they were worth every calorie too!!! You can tell that Andy is using every ounce of self-control in his little body not to devour them all.

We had loads of fun!!! Big Bubba's is definitely a place to go for special occasions.

Ok, before I forget, I wanted to show you the card that Madison made the other day......I think it turned out very cute. It looks like she combined the get well cards that we made on Monday and by doing so made this darling Friends card. All I did on the card was tie the bow......She did a GREAT job!!!!

Well.....that's all for today. Tomorrow I will show you what I did Sunday afternoon just havin' some fun.

Until next time, find some time for stamping.

Blessings to you.......Cindy

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Happy New Year stampers!!! Hope you all had a fun New Year's.....we had a very quiet one!! I can hardly believe that a year has come and gone.....and that I have been blogging all that time....not very good at times, but I haven't quit!

With the new year....comes a time for hind sight......So......Here's a look back over some of the projects I posted in 2009.....

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

This is the month that my camera had gotten broken......so I didn't have any stamping projects posted at all this month.

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

Hopefully my stamping has improved over this past year.....I know that I have a tendency to get into ruts and do the same thing over and over. This next year, I would like to become a better and more detailed stamper.....like trying new techniques and actually using my embellishments instead of "saving" them.....because isn't that why I buy them in the first place ....duh!!!!

Finally, a big THANK YOU to all of you who take the time out of your busy day to read my little blog......I have appreciated your comments and getting to know a few of you who consistently keep coming back for more "punishment". I will try and make it worth your valuable time!!!

I pray that this year brings many blessings and wonderful opportunities your way......and because God is faithful in all things, I am looking forward to this new year with much hope!!!

Until next time.....find some time for stamping!

Blessings to you...............Cindy