Watching hockey and doing challenges!

While watching the Pittsburgh Penguins tear up the ice .... and the Philly Flyers for the Stanley Cup (right now it is 5- zero!!) The Flyers should be embarrassed. Anyway, I have been working on some challenges.

Here's a new site, Stamp Something, I discovered that is giving away Blog Candy for their challenge. I needed a thank you card anyway plus I am doing this card for a swap. So I am killing two birds with one stone. (Yes, Ashley, I got that saying right!!) I used my favorite background stamp from Stampin' Up - Riot of Petals, this time just highlighting one of the flowers. I "coluzzeled 2 circles - one in Soft Sky and the other in Chocolate Chip. I stamped the flower on the Soft Sky (In Color) circle in Chocolate Chip ink. Then I rubbed Groovy Guava around the edges and matted it on the Choc. Chip circle. The card is made from Choc. Chip and layered with Groovy Guava textured cardstock. Then on top of that is another piece of Choc. Chip with a piece of designer paper from our mini catalog - Tea Garden. This paper is just gorgeous! I used my Corner Rounder to round the corners. I stamped "thank you" (from All Holidays) onto G.Guava and used my oval punch to punch it out and mat onto a Choc Chip piece punched out with the large oval punch. In the bottom corner I stamped "Love ... Laugh" (from our Hostess set - Make It Count) and matted it onto a Choc Chip circle. To finish it off, I doodled all the edges with a white gel pen.
Sharon

Challenge Card

I was surfing last night - no, not on the lake, but on the computer. Found Sharon Johnson's blog and with a name like Sharon, had to check it out. I have admired her work for a long time on Splitcoast Stampers. She is very talented. Anyway, she had a challenge this week to create a trio of panels on a card and to keep it simple. So here is my take on the challenge.

I used the simple flower from Embrace Life (SU) which I think is one my favorite floral stamp sets. I watercolored the flowers and matted them with Regal Rose. The card uses Pretty in Pink and is embossed with one of my new Cuttlebug folders. Then I just weaved a ribbon - lime organdy - behind and on top of the flowers. Pretty simple!

Beautiful Days on the Lake

Well, it's finally warming up here. Enough for us to take a short ride on our boat Saturday. We took a short ride down the lake (Lake Norman) to enjoy lunch. There is a little restaurant that opened up last year and you can sit outside enjoying the view and the lunch. Plus .... they have the hard cider that I like (Woodchuck Amber). After lunch, we just took a little ride - me singing to my IPod and Sonny turning up the radio on the boat to drown me out!! What fun. We were only out a couple of hours but enough that my nose was red last night from the sun.

The dock where we keep our boat is just 2-3 blocks from our house There are some beautiful flowers blooming at the dock area. Last year we enjoyed watching the birds that had built a nest in the power pole. All summer, we were able to watch the momma bird protecting the nest. Then we heard the chirps of the baby birds. By mid-summer, the babies were sticking their head out and finally, took the leap and flew away. Well, this year, looks like we might be seeing it again. Yesterday I saw a bird up in the nest which I assume is the momma. Guess it's just a matter of time until we'll hear the babies chirping away. Good cheap entertainment!!

Watching the Sunrise

Speaking of Mother's Day, I received a unique gift from my son and daughter-in-law. It is a game called LIVING LIFE - The Game About YOU. Only one player is needed. What you do is play one card per day to "spice up your life" and add adventure. My daughter-in-law, Darcie, is great at finding unusual gifts and games for people. Unfortunately, I have not gotten far with this game this week. My first card is "Watch the Sunrise". Well, folks, I do not get up that early - there is just no need for it!! When you get to my age, it is my perogitive to sleep in (at least until 8:30!!) since I don't usually go to bed until after midnight. I hate it that my husband sets an alarm clock and I fuss about it at least once a week. I think when you are retired you should be able to sleep as long as you want. My body tells me when to get up and when I have had enough sleep. I like my 8 hours each night. Unfortunately, unless Sonny sets the alarm, he would sleep until noon so I put up with it. Truthfully, I usually get up right before the alarm goes off anyway. I agree with the card (from the game) that a sunrise is one of the most beautiful acts of nature and most people never see it because they are sound asleep. (yep, that's me!) Another drawback for me getting up to see the sunrise is that I would have to get in my car and drive somewhere. Our house is surrounded by trees and woods, but we are just a block away from the lake. Maybe this summer, I'll get up early and go out on the boat and view the sunrise. Until then .... I'll enjoy this picture.

Get up early and enjoy a sunrise and comment here to tell me about it!

Sharon

True Friend Mother's Day

I just received a great Mother's Day card from my daughter. She's a great stamper and creates some great cards. This card is such a change for her. She never uses pastel colors - a more Earth Elements and Bold Brights kind of gal! But this card is using Soft Subtles Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery. The stamp set she used is True Friend, which pretty much sums up our relationship. She is my best friend as well as my daughter. It is stunning! Thanks, Ashley!

Cards I've Received This Week

I've gotten a couple of really cute cards in the past few weeks. Thought I'd share - that's what good friends do, ya know???

These two are from my Secret Sister in my NCSU group. I don't know who she is but she is very talented!!

I've just joined a new Stampin' Up group, VC Rocks and received this card as a welcome to the group. The colors used are not what I would have used, but I really like how they look together!

And the winner is .... DAVID!

Well, one thing we know for sure. American Idol's winner will be named David! Now, which one??? What it will come down to will be the writers song that the producers choose. Last year for example, "This Is My Now" was definitely chosen for Jordin. Blake sounded ridiculous singing it. It will all boil down to the song that was chosen and right now the writer of that song already knows their song was chosen and they know who it will be best suited for. If a ballad was chosen or a pop style song, it will be David A's night. If it's a rock song it will be David C's night. They know who they want to win who will sell the most CD's. Hmmmm, let me see .... thousands of little girls asking their moms to buy David A's CD - they ought to make a mint on that bet. So we will all have to wait and see what happens. But I bet they already know who is going to win given the history of the past years! Just hope I am wrong!

I wasn't an Idol fan when Fantasia won but OMG what was she doing? I could not understand a single word! Thanks to Ashley for calling and telling me not to fast forward through her song (she knows us well!), I was able to see the judges reactions. After watching Fantasia's atrocious performance - not to mention the dress, hair, dancing, screaming, etc - I think this picture says it all!

Countdown for American Idol

Well, it's coming down to the nitty gritty! Last night's show was just O.K. to me. In case anyone missed it, these are the songs that the final three sang:

DAVID ARCHULETA
''And So It Goes,'' Billy Joel ''With You,'' Chris Brown ''Longer,'' Dan Fogelberg
SYESHA MERCADO
''If I Ain't Got You,'' Alicia Keys ' 'Fever,'' Peggy Lee ''Hit Me Up,'' Gia Farrell
DAVID COOK
''The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,'' Roberta Flack ''Dare You to Move,'' Switchfoot
''I Don't Want to Miss a Thing,'' Aerosmith

My take on it is that David Cook is "da bomb" as Randy loves to say!

In the first round of songs which the judges picked, I really liked all three about the same. None of them made me jump up and down. David A. still had the squinty eyes - maybe he thinks they are "bedroom eyes" but he is just too young to pull that off!! I thought Syesha looked fabulous. The stylists have really made her shine. David Cook's rendition of "The First Time Ever..." was good - that is one of my favorite songs. (Interesting choice that Simon would pick that for him though but maybe because his discovery, Leona Lewis, also recorded it.) So the first round was a tie for me.

The second round ... poor David A. is trying to be hip. The little Utah kid just doesn't pull it off, ya know "my boo"???? But the little teeney-boppers in the audience loved it (or just him!) I didn't think Syesha's rendition of Fever was as bad as the judges did. I think her niche is going to be Broadway and that is what she was trying for. But, again, she looked great - just glad she didn't try to sit in that chair - don't think her dress would have covered up all her parts, ya know?! The song David C. sang I had never heard of or the band. It was all right to me. So, again, no clear winner on round two for me.

Now, the third round ... David did a good job with Dan Fogelberg's ballad. (Actually when they said what had been picked for him, I thought they meant Dan Fogarty - I was waiting for the rock and roll to begin!!) If he would just open his eyes!! Poor Syesha - a song from Happy Feet??? I didn't know that song and I don't think she did either. Do you think the producers had already written her off and so didn't try too hard to find a good song for her? It sure got Simon's knickers in a twist! He thought she was singing about penguins!! Then, in my opinion, they saved the best for last. David Cook! He was great with Aerosmith's song. It just ended too quick. I could listen to him the whole show.

Let's hope next week they are given better material to work with. I think this week they did the best with what they were given, but the songs they were given weren't for their individual strengths. I'm wondering if David A. was purposely given some weak songs for him so he wouldn't shine - then the producers won't have to deal with his father if he is voted American Idol. Evidently, David's dad cost the show quite a bit of money in royalties when he switched up some lyrics last week after he was told not to. Daddy Dearest was booted off the set this week.

What will tonight bring? I'm sure it will just be a formality when Syesha will be packing her bags. She's had a good run and she will do fine on her own. She just needs to go to New York and get on Broadway. I think David Cook is the winner of American Idol but I don't know if I really want that. I almost think he would do better for himself as runner up and not have to get tied into the American Idol contract and lose his originality. Doesn't seem like those winners do well (except of course, Carrie Underwood and a few others). But, look at how well Daughtery has done on his own. I think that could be David Cook's future also. David A. could use the shelter of American Idol to groom him into a star. Right now, he's just a kid who has an amazing voice. But who knows what surprises may await us. Could David A. get voted off tonight??? That would be a shocker, for sure!!

Stay tuned!

Spam in Hawaii!!

Well, think I've recovered from my trip to Hawaii. It was fabulous. My daughter, Ashley, and I laid on the beautiful sands of Honolulu sipping Mai Tais and soaking up the rays!! My first day out I got a little burned (as usual, my hubbie would say). Ashley was at her convention and I ate a leisurely breakfast and went out to the beach about 11:00. I had some of that spray-on suntan lotion and thought I did a good job of spraying. But .... it's kinda hard to get your back by yourself. Plus, I had forgotten my Clinique face protection lotion so I sprayed the suntan lotion in my hands and rubbed it on my face. Thought that would do the trick. Well, not so good!! After a couple of hours, my back was feeling funny so I went inside to shower and get ready to meet Ashley for lunch. About the time I got out of the shower (reddness on my back and face!!), she called and was coming back to eat lunch and hit the beach!! Well .... she was not real happy with her Mom!! So, what's a girl to do??? Right .... go shopping!!! Never fear.

We got to Waikiki and what did we discover but a festival being set up. And not just any festival, but The Spam-Jam Waikiki Festival!! And I don't mean spam like you get in your internet inbox. This was the real stuff that comes in the little blue can. I don't know about you, but when I was growing up .... and when my kids were growing up .... it was a staple in our house!! We usually had fried spam with mac and cheese (of course, the Kraft boxed kind!!). Jeff and Ashley loved the stuff but I'm sure now they wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. But, back in the "old days" it was great and cheap! (Can't you hear those arteries thanking us now?) If you are interested, Spam has a website and even a Fan Club!!! There is also a Spam Museum in Minnesota. When Ashley and I were driving cross country from Tacoma to D.C., she wanted to stop and visit the Spam Museum. We didn't - wonder what we missed!!

We did go out on the beach or the pool all the following days so we got plenty of sun. And, I bought more sunscreen - 50 SPF this time. My days of laying in the sun without any protection are long gone. I remember when I was a teenager and we lathered on the baby oil, sometimes mixing it with iodine (what was that all about???) Don't risk skin cancer - lather up!

Here's a picture of us on the beach.

Happy Mother's Day to all Moms

Happy Mother's Day to you and you and you. Today is a day to celebrate Mom's. It should be a day for Mom's to relax and enjoy their families. My plans for today are not much different from other Sundays since my children are far away. My husband and I will take my brother in law to the airport, probably stopping for lunch before we put him on the plane (Cheeseburger in Paradise is our planned destination hoping to avoid a crowd.) Then we will go to my Mom's house where one of my sisters is planning a spaghetti dinner for us all. So, at least I won't have to cook!! I waited this morning for my hubbie to fix me breakfast but finally gave up and made myself some toast. I should know better - he's always told me I'm not his mother. And after 35 years of marriage, it's too late to change him now. My daughter will be calling me later and I am hoping to also hear from my son. I just spent a week with my daughter in Hawaii and she bought me a gorgeous bracelet for Mother's Day to match the earrings and necklace that I hadbought at the International Marketplace in Waikiki. It's a silver version of the beautiful plumeria flower that is my favorite!

So .... here's to you Mom - HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!