What a weekend!

I've had a pretty busy weekend.  Friday Marianne came over after work so we could work on our project for the NC demo Quarterly meeting next weekend in Greensboro.  I signed us up for all the swaps which is stressing Marianne out!!  We are doing 3D (9 total), holiday card swaps (16), 6x6 technique (8) and 30 shoebox cards!  The hardest thing for both of us is deciding on what to do!  We both had decided on our 3D project so we set to work finishing them.  We took a break at dinner to go to the Boathouse for some catfish (well, I had BBQ).  When we returned home around 8:30, the electricity was out.  The sky had looked really bad earlier.  I half expected a funnel to drop down although I didn't mention that to Marianne!  But we really never had a storm - it just looked really bad and their was some wind so we didn't know why the power was out.  I set about finding flashlights and candles.  We worked for a while by flashlight but by 10:30, we gave up and called it a night.  The power didn't come back on until midnight!  We found out the next day that a tree had fallen on the lines.  So we got up Saturday morning, it was straight to work!  We worked hard until about 4:30 - didn't even get dressed all day!!  Sonny and I were going to a friend's home for dinner at 7 so I had to get ready.

Here are a couple of the cards I made that didn't make the cut but that I love anyway!

 I love this card but I was afraid I didn't have enough of the DSP to do 16 cards.  Supplies used are:

Stamp:  Stitched Stockings, Many Merry Messages
Paper:  Certainly Celery, Basic Gray, Very Vanilla, Bashful Blue Dotted DSP (from Patterns Paper pack)
Ink:  Bashful Blue
Access:  Stocking Punch, Big Shot, Snowflake Embossing Folder, Crochet Trim, Bashful Blue grosgrain



The Wicked Witch of the West



This was just a fun card!  I CASE-d it from Michelle Laycock.  Supplies used:

Stamp:  Wicked Cool

Paper:  Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White

Ink:  Lucky Limeade

Access:  Striped Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Black Ribbon, Square Punches, Glitter, Sponge

Sunday was spent watching football.  First off was the Panthers who got their first win of the season.  After that game was over, the station switched to the final minutes of the New England vs. Detroit game and I got to witness Detroit beat New England.  Thought they were going to have to give Brady and Belecheck a crying towel!!  The Sunday night game was Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis .... a game I thought would be a walk in the park with Peyton Manning out.  I was wrong!!  Pittsburgh ended up winning it in the final seconds but they sure didn't deserve it.  They played like crap!!

Obsessions and Forgiveness

Hope you had a great Valentine's Day!  I played bridge at a friend's house and afterwards, met Sonny at the movies.  We went to see a "chick flick" (Just Go With It) which he doesn't usually agree to do!  But, since it was Valentine's .... ain't that sweet??? I actually think I guilted him into it!  He brought me a beautiful card and a heart shaped pretzel!  Yep, the spark is still there!!  The movie was cute and made for an enjoyable evening.

As you can see, I was busy today working on a new blog look.  The title at the top was designed with the help of My Digital Studio.  I have such fun designing something different every few months. (The shamrocks on the sides were a pre-made background from Blogger.)

I have been pondering what to write on my post all day.  I have a few things I want to say and to get off my chest but I am trying to decide the best way to do that.  It started yesterday when I was playing bridge.  One of the gals there is a little (a lot) abrasive.  Shortly after I'd arrived, she turned to me and said "I'm glad the Steelers lost the Super Bowl."  I understand that everyone has a right to his/her opinion but where did that come from?   We weren't even talking football!   I was there to play bridge and didn't even have any black and gold on!!  The season is over and it's time to get on with other things.  She later made a comment that she didn't understand why all the Steeler fans live in Mooresville - everywhere she looks, there they are! Little did she know that the gal whose house we were at lived in Pittsburgh and is a fan of the Steelers as was another gal who was there.  I told her it wasn't just Mooresville.  We have lived in Texas and Washington and there were huge followers of the Steelers there as well.  We have been to Tucson and to other cities across the country and found Steeler bars there as well that were full of the black and gold supporters.  Get over it people .... the Steeler Nation is everywhere!!   I have had someone recently refer to me as being obsessed with the Steelers.  I enjoy the game, support my chosen team and love the rivalry with other teams during the season.  But when the season is over, it's on to something else until August rolls around again.  To me an obsession is when your thoughts and actions are dominated by something 24/7.  So ... maybe I'm obsessed with my stamping?  That's what it says in my blog header - Stampin' 24/7!!   There are a lot of things in this world to be obsessed with - looking pretty, Disney, gambling, revenge, drugs, work, etc. but I'll take stampin' and football any day!

This woman at bridge didn't stop with the football talk.  At lunch, we had an interesting conversation about Northerners and Southerners.  Of the 8 ladies who were there, we were probably split between northerners and southerners.  I have lived in the south my whole life but I do not have a problem with most people from the north.  Heck, I've been married to a Yankee for 37 years and my mom still calls him a "damn yankee."  I'll agree that there are some "yankees" who have moved down south that I wish would go back to New York or New Jersey.  But anywhere you live, you are going to have to deal with ornery people - the South has them, the North has them, the West and the East and probably Europe too!  We all have to live together in this world and it would be so much nicer if we could all just get along and learn to accept each other's faults.  I wish everyone would learn to forgive each other for whatever they perceive to be wrong. Everyone has been hurt by the actions or words of another before. These wounds can leave you with lasting feelings of anger, bitterness and even vengeance — but if you don't practice forgiveness, you may be the one who pays most dearly. By embracing forgiveness, you embrace peace, hope, gratitude and joy.   Letting go of grudges and bitterness makes way for compassion, kindness and peace.  The Bible instructs us to forgive as the Lord forgave us:

Colossians 3:13  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Matthew 6:14-16  For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

OK - I'm stepping down off my soap box.  Tomorrow I will be playing mahjong at a friend's house.  Let's hope things go better and I'll be back to sharing stamping projects with you!  Have a happy day!

Congrats to Green Bay

Well, we are back home - disappointed but such is life - can't win 'em all!  As I've said before, I was really surprised when the Steelers made it to the Super Bowl.  With the injuries we've had this year and our quarterback not being able to play the first four games, we were not supposed to even make the play-offs.  I had hope until the very end.  Who would have guessed that with less than 2 minutes left, Ben would throw an incomplete pass at 4th down with only 5 yards to go!   

I've been a Steeler fan too many years to let one loss turn me away.  I'll be watching them play next year (hopefully, if the strike doesn't take place) and biting my fingernails at the very end while I'm waving my Terrible Towel.  I'll watch Big Ben, Troy Polamalu and Hines Ward work their magic on the football field.   And, I'll be going back to Pittsburgh (if I can't get Super Bowl tickets) to watch another Super Bowl with a room full of screaming, towel waving "Stiller" fans!!

Congratulations to Green Bay and their fans.

Here are some pictures I took while in Pittsburgh:

This is the Giant Eagle grocery store decorated for Super Bowl!

 Marianne enjoying a delicious Danny's hoagie!

 Ready for the big GAME!

This is our table.  We had a special place set for Ashley!  We bought the Army material and the Steeler bear to represent Ashley since she couldn't go with us.  We had quite a few people come up and ask us about it.  We even had a young girl who was standing right in front of us who came over and talked to us a while and told us her brother had been with the 101st Airborne in Iraq and didn't come home two years ago.  When the Star Spangled Banner was sang, she and I were both crying. 

 Sonny with his Terrible Towel - ready to wave!

 Marianne and I with our face tattoos

Here we are ... 3 Steeler fans in the midst of hundreds!!

Magical Beard

Pittsburgh likes its athletes to be great, but it also likes them to be humble. I'm guessing the city will make an exception for Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel. "I truly believe I have the greatest beard of all time," he said.  How's that for humility?

He has a  "Respect The Beard, Fear the Deisel" T-shirt. You can see it at brettkeisel.com. You will see a wide- and wild-eyed Keisel and all his hair looking back at you.  A big hunk of the proceeds of the shirts will go to his two favorite charities, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Homeless Children's Education Fund.

"The beard is powerful," Keisel said. "It has magical powers. Hopefully, it'll create some magic on Super Bowl Sunday."

 

Win or lose Sunday night, Keisel said the beard will come off next week. "We'll do something fun with it for charity." Obviously, everyone involved will have a lot more fun if the Steelers win and Keisel gets his third Super Bowl ring in six seasons.

Tomlin, offensive coordinator Bruce Arians and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger aren't leaving anything to chance. All have followed Keisel's lead and grown postseason beards.  But theirs is just hair.  Keisel's beard is the greatest of all time.  Just ask him, he'll tell you.

 (excerpt from Ron Cook at Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

Steelers Are Going to the SUPER BOWL!

Knock, Knock, Knocking on SEVEN's door!  Pittsburgh will be advancing to the Super Bowl to try and get their seventh Super Bowl Ring!  Unbelievable!  I have not been a believer this year.  All season I told Sonny there was no way Pittsburgh would make it to the playoffs much less the Super Bowl.  Well, let me be the first one to admit that I was wrong.  They beat the Jets tonight in a great game.  We have some very good friends - ex-neighbors - who are die-hard Jets fans and I offer my condolences to them.  We texted each other all throughout the game - nothing mean spirited - but they did admit at the end of the game that they were bad losers and were not happy.  I'm sure I would have felt the same way.  We went over to the sports bar around 3 pm to watch the earlier game - Green Bay against Chicago in which the Packers won.  So it was a long day spent sitting in a bar watching football!  Now, we hope to get tickets to Steel City Bar in Pittsburgh for the Super Bowl game like we did a few years ago when Pittsburgh played Arizona in the Super Bowl.  That was a fun time!!  

Here are a few action shots I took during the game - 

Our friends - Mike & Barbara - who just moved to NC from Pittsburgh in August.  We met them at the first game of the season and have saved seats for each other all season.

Marianne & Sonny - yes, she is that short!

Marianne & Me geared up for the game!  Me in my Terry Bradshaw jersey - Marianne with Polamalu jersey.

 Sonny is stripping off the first shirt and getting down to his "rally shirt"!  He had another one under that one "just in case."  The blonde lady behind him became his new best friend during the game.  Mike thought Sonny would move over to their table after the half!!

 Marianne was sending Ashley messages all during the game on the internet.  The game didn't come on until 2:30 AM for Ashley but she's a fan and stayed up all night to watch the game.  We talked to her when we got home after the game - 7:00 AM her time and she was going to try and get some sleep.

 This is our Knome Mascot.  We won him at the first game and he has set on our table during every game.  That is a "Bad Call Brick" on his head that we bought when we went to Pittsburgh.

Sonny - intensely watching the end of the game!

Go Steelers!

I'll be pulling on my Steelers this evening!  Ashley sent us a comic strip that was in her paper that she thought described her Dad's superstitions pretty well!  (you can click on it to make it larger - just remember to arrow back here!)

If you'll recall the last time we had a game, Sonny wore three shirts.  He ended up taking off the jersey that he had on because we were losing.  We ended up winning when he had on the "right" shirt!   Don't know what he'll be wearing tomorrow but none of us will be moving his beer, that's for sure! 

January Stamp Club Coaster Calendars

I just have to start off by saying .... GO STEELERS!  What a great game!  Sonny was a doubter going to Big Al's on Saturday to watch the game, but his team pulled through for him.  Of course, he had to do a little clothes alterations for that to happen.  He wore his jersey that we had won a couple of weeks ago to the game.  When we were losing 14-0, he pulled it off to wear the tee shirt he had worn when we won the Super Bowl a couple of years ago.  He had another shirt on under that one - I don't know which one it was - but he was prepared to make another change if he had to!  Yes .... he is superficious when it comes to football!  And then yesterday!!  The Jets beat Tom Brady and his New England Patriots!  That was the icing on the cake.  Now Pittsburgh gets to play the Jets in Pittsburgh!!!

Ashley had a bit of excitement this weekend also although it was not a good type of excitement.  Some soldiers on her base (not in her battalion) were conducting a training exercise with the Iraqi soldiers teaching them how to launch attacks, etc.  One of the Iraqi soldiers opened fire on the US soldiers, killing two and wounding a third.  You can read about it HERE.  It certainly brings the fact that she is over there in the midst of a WAR to front and center.

My Stamp Club starts back this week.  One of the members has requested that we make a coaster calendar so that is what I have been working on.  I plan on putting mine on display but letting them make theirs any way that they want to.  It has been a while since I made one of these calendars.  I tried to make it a little different - by putting the month on one coaster and putting a stamped image on another coaster and putting them together with a 2" piece of ribbon.  But after I finished the whole year, the thing just wouldn't stand up properly and it was more trouble than it was worth.  So, I proceeded to take it all apart and remake it!  Here is the finished product:

Valentines for you

Well, we still have snow and ice on the ground and school was out for the FIFTH day in a row!!  Marianne's son has been able to go to school yesterday and today since they live in Mooresville city school district.  The main roads are fine.  It's just our neighborhood and Island Point Road which is very shady.  I actually ventured out today to go play mahjong.  Sonny was going to drive me but I ended up just following him part way through the bad parts.  He was headed to Davidson to do some work.  He had to pull my car out of the driveway for me - it was pure ice.  But, after that, I did ok.  I didn't have far to go and it was nice to be out of the house!  

I have been waiting for a couple of UPS shipments this week.  One was due on Wednesday and the other was due Thursday.  I checked the UPS site yesterday and they posted something about Weather Conditions Prevent Delivery.  Well, today the UPS man called me and said that he had left my packages up by my mailbox.  See .... even he wouldn't come down our driveway!!

So that being said, I have a couple of Valentines to share with you.  One of them I stamped in the traditional way and the other I made in My Digital Studio.  

 

This card I used my new Valentine Bundle stamp set, Filled With Love and the Designer Paper that comes with the bundle for the scallops.  

 

This is the MDS card.  The stamp can be purchased from the Occasions Mini catalog - it is a mini stamp on the last page of the catty.  This is what I love about MDS.  I can just download this stamp for a couple of dollars and print it out when I want to and I don't have to worry about storage!!

I've still been working on my stamp room - getting it into shape.  This week, I took most of my non-SU DSP bits and pieces that I had stashed in every crevice of my room and threw away pieces that weren't any bigger than about 4"x 4".  I've got it corralled into one large plastic bin now.  My club ladies are going to make coaster calendars next week so we'll be using up a lot of the bits and pieces.  I've also been working on organizing all my 12" x 12" DSP.  My friend, Judy, gave me a couple of plastic paper organizers for Christmas so that has been my motivation!

Tomorrow is our big football day!!  For those of you who aren't on Facebook, this is what I posted last night:

*****WARNING***** The national weather service has issued a falling bird warning for Pittsburgh next Saturday starting at 4:30 and continuing until the end of the fourth quarter. Falling birds could be heavy at times especially around the Heinz Field area. Heavy accumulation is likely.  

We'll be heading to Big Al's for the game and hopefully, we'll be happy when we come home!!

January Monday Mailer #1

Our Monday Mailer program has started back up.  I am glad!  I missed receiving a card each week.  I love seeing what other people make.  So if you ever want to make a card and don't know who to send it to, just send it my way!  My partner this month is Carol and she made the prettiest thank you card - although it would be easy to add another sentiment and use this card for a birthday or "thinking of you."

 

The card base is Crumb Cake (or Kraft if you prefer!)  She used the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder on the Pretty In Pink piece.  This is about the only folder that I don't own.  It just may be on my order form next time!  I had to thumb through the catalog to find which stamp set she used since I didn't recognize it.  It is from Printed Petals (pg 106) and is really pretty!  Only $15 for the clear set .... maybe that one will be on my list too!  It looks like a very versatile stamp set.  

Yesterday I felt like all I did was eat and drink!  I rode with Sonny up to Hickory.  He had to get a part to fix my mom's fireplace.  I needed to go to Hobby Lobby to return something, but half-way there, I remembered the Hobby Lobby bag was still hanging on the door in my craft room!  Oh well - another trip, another time.  While we were there, we had lunch at the Mellow Mushroom which is fairly new to Hickory.  We've eaten at the one in Savannah and really like it.  So lunch with a couple of brews and we were headed home.  Just in time to wash my hair and get dressed to meet some friends in Statesville for dinner.  Not good planning!!  We met them at a favorite Mexican restaurant - really, about the only good one we have found here.  But neither one of us were very hungry - plus, by the time you eat a bowl of chips and salsa and have a couple of margaritas, you're definitely not hungry!!  It was fun anyway. 

This weekend will be a lazy one.  I am going to a jewelry party this afternoon.  But, after that, I'll have my comfy clothes on and settled in to watch some football.  There are two play-off games today and two tomorrow.  After the weekend, we'll know who Pittsburgh will be playing next weekend.

The weather is supposed to get bad early in the week.  High's today just barely above freezing with snow on the way.  Monday and Tuesday are supposed to be snow days.  We'll see!  I'd love more snow as long as I don't have to drive in it.

Got my Mojo!

I forgot to mention our good Steelers news yesterday.  We always go to a local bar to watch the game with a bunch of other Steelers fans.  They do raffles during all the games of some great Steelers stuff.  At half-time, they draw 5-6 names and at the end of the game, they do one final raffle and it is always a authentic Steelers jersey.  The very first game, we won one of the prizes at half-time - a tee shirt and a Steelers gnome.  Well, yesterday we won the Steelers jersey!!  It was from the 1970's team (Steel Curtain) and was of Mel Blount.  I didn't even get to try the jersey on - it went straight to Sonny.  It still had the price tag on it - $300!!  Pretty cool, huh?

Today I made a card using the Mojo Monday sketch.  It's been a while since I did one of their sketches.  I had picked up this stamp a couple of weeks ago at H. L. and hadn't inked it yet.  I think it worked very well in this sketch.

 I turned the sketch on it's side so I could fit all my elements in there.  The ovals and rectangles are cut from Nestabilities.   The DSP is from a retired SU stack that was in last year's catalog.  I used my nifty Imaginisce tool to melt the bling onto the flower stem and in the center of the flower in the circle.  I wrapped the brown grosgrain ribbon on one side and used sticky strip to adhere it to the card.  I used the bow maker to make the bow.  Don't you love the saying?  Guess who I'm sending this card to!!

I bought a new laptop today and I'm so excited!!  There was a really good price at Best Buy but of course, when I got there, there were none left.  So, we had to order it.  That's ok - I can wait.  I have been using the Newcomer's laptop for two years while I have been Secretary/Newsletter. but I will be giving up that position at the end of the month (YAY! ) so I wanted my own laptop.  That's what I spent my first Social Security check on!! 

Getting down to Crunch Time!

Wahhhh - my Steelers lost today.  I thought they were going to pull out the win but time ran away from them and they didn't get the win.  They played the Jets and both teams were fighting for playoff berths.  We play Carolina on Thursday who should be an easy team to beat considering they have only won 2 games all season, but you just never know with football!  Anything can happen - and usually does!

We're entering the final stretch for Christmas.  This is the last week to get your shopping done, bake those cookies, wrap the presents and get your singing voice ready for Christmas carolling!  I only have a couple more presents to buy; haven't made any cookies yet; haven't wrapped the first present; and don't have a singing voice!  I did make some tags tonight so I can do my wrapping tomorrow and finally put something under the tree besides dust.  What about you?  Are you ready for Santa?

I had a great time this weekend making digital calendars!  I am just so proud of them.  I subscribe to a monthly on-line magazine, Paper and Pixels.  It is fairly new and is free.  They have some really good articles and ideas.  If you are interested, here is a link to them - ( http://www.papersandpixels.com/).  Saturday, I was reading the magazine and they had information about a CD calendar.  There was a download of the calendar template and several other links to the calendar.  I downloaded all of their information and opened up My Digital Studio and that's all it took.  I created three different calendars using parts of their download and a lot of the paper, stamps and embellishments from Stampin' Up.  What fun I had!!  Here is a peek at a couple of the pages.

January - everything came downloaded on the page except - the snowflake at the top, the brads in the middle of the snowflake, the skaters (which I colored after printing it out), and the big snowman.

 February - Again, everything printed out as is.  I just added from MDS, the items in the 3 boxes and the heart stamp on the calendar.  After I printed it out, I added a real pink corduroy button where the rhinestone is.

The more I use My Digital Studio, the more I really love it!!  It really got a work out this weekend!!  I ended up printing the calendar pages on some glossy white paper that I had and they turned out super.

Oh - by the way, I didn't wake up yesterday to snow!  I never saw any snow at my house although a few areas around us got snow - just no accumulation.  My mom called in the afternoon to say she had seen some really big flakes at her house.  Oh well - maybe for Christmas!

Our Pittsburgh Trip

Are you getting ready for Thanksgiving .... making the pies, thawing the turkey, getting ingredients together for the stuffing?  I've been to the store and gotten most of what I need.  I'm sure I'll be making another run to the store later today (or maybe talk Sonny into it!)  We always have Thanksgiving at my house with me doing most of the salads, veggies, pies and cooking the turkey.  But, Marianne usually comes over a day or two before Thanksgiving and spends the night so we can get started on our preparations.  She makes the sweet potato casserole and dressing each year.  She arrived late yesterday afternoon and we  played in my stamp room most of the night while watching tv (Dancing With the Stars).  She's making calendars and I'm trying to finish up my Thanksgiving cards  I was really pulling for Brandy but she got eliminated last week so my next favorite was Kyle.  I really figured Jennifer Gray would win but I was not pulling for her.  I was pretty sick of hearing her whine and cry every week about her injuries.  But, of course, she was the winner. 

I realized I hadn't shared my pictures from my recent Pittsburgh trip!

Don't these look yummy?  We went shopping down at the Strip District and these were for sale.  Can you believe I didn't even buy anything???

At the Steelers game all decked out in my black and gold.  It was raining a little bit when we first got there but it quit before kickoff.

This is the doormat that is now at my front door!  This is how the Pittsburgh'ers talk!

 Isn't this gorgeous?  This is Franco Harris'  Super Bowl Ring from the 70s!! 

Mr. Rogers!  We went to a History Museum while we were there.  Mr Rogers was from Pittsburgh.  My kids loved his show.

This is how Sonny would like to fix his car up!!  This was actually someone's car and he donated it to the museum.  Ain't it cool?

Sonny at the Consol Energy Center where the Penguins (hockey) play.  Unfortunately they lost in overtime but we had fun anyway!

Busy Weekend

I've had a busy weekend.  Last Thursday was my nephew, Harrison's, 16th birthday.  We celebrated his birthday on Friday night at JJ Wasabi in downtown Mooresville.  It was pretty yummy!  Saturday Sonny and I went to the movies to see Secretariat.  It was a really good movie with a good story.  Then Saturday night, we drove to Matthews for my Aunt Sally's 70th birthday party.  She's just moved into a new home - 3 weeks ago - but you couldn't tell it.  There was a tent set up outside for the party with a full bar, wonderful buffet (prime rib, salmon, chicken cordon bleu ...), a dance floor with a great DJ.  He played a lot of beach music and I was able to get Sonny up on the dance floor a few times.  This weekend was my high school get-together at Ocean Drive where there is always a lot of beach music.  Since I decided not to go, I was able to get my "beach music" fix at Sally's party.  What do you think .... she looks pretty good for 70 years old!

Sally with my Mom - my mom was married to Sally's oldest brother

One of Sally's daughters - she put the party together for her mom.

 My mom, Angela & I put together a basket to take to the party for our gift.  We bought some wine, glasses, kitchen towel, candy, crackers and cheese in the basket.  At the last minute, I decided it would be nice to include a few thank-you cards so she could send them out later.  I put this card (and 3 others just like it) together in about 15 minutes using My Digital Studio.  It is so easy!!!

Of course, today we went to our Steeler bar and watched some football.  Big Ben returned today and we won!  It wasn't the blow-out I was expecting, but it was still a great win.