A Long Day!

Whew!! Well, we are finally in DC but Thursday was a long day. I started out the day with a trip to the dentist. My teeth were all in good shape, thank goodness. He saw no problem with my gums after my incident with the airplane pressure when we went to Texas. My gums are still sorta numb feeling so he referred me to an ENT doc and gave me some antibiotics since I would be flying again that day. He did say that my sinus area looked a little cloudy and it should look clear. So, when I return guess I'll be finding an ENT Doc.

We left the house about 3:00 for the airport ..... NO UPS man yet! So, I dropped a Priority envie and cash off at Judy's house and will have to wait patiently for the delivery here at Ashley's. (Judy, hope you are enjoying my catalog!!) When we arrived at the airport, we discovered the Long Term Parking area (all 3 lots) were closed and we had to proceeded to the Remote Parking Lot ($6/per day vs about $4/per day). Of course, that would be the way it is when we are going to be leaving our car there for 10 days and not just a weekend trip!! We got checked in at the airport and then of course, had to wait in a long line for Security. We get to the gate about 40 minutes before the flight is to leave and our flight is not even listed! We found out that the plane coming to Charlotte has been delayed making our flight late. No worries .... we knew we had about a 2 hour layover in Cincinnati. Flights all around us are getting canceled because of the weather - Texas flights, New York flights, so I was a little worried. But, I figured it was no biggie - Ashley's promotion wasn't until Monday. We could always go back home (and I could get my cattie!!) and fly another day. Finally, our plane arrived and we boarded around 5:30. Still, plenty of time to make our 8:15 flight out of Cincinnati or so I thought. Well, I didn't take into account that we were going to sit on the runway for over 30 minutes!! Because of the storms in the Charlotte area, Air Traffic Control wanted 10 minutes between each plane taking off. So, after a scary bumpy flight, we landed in Cincinnati with enough time to make a run for our connections .... I thought. But, the jet way was not in place for our flight so we had to sit on the runway waiting for someone to connect the stairs! When we got inside, we asked the ticket agent about our flight (it was about 8:10 at that time!). Instead of radioing down and finding out anything, she checked and said "it hasn't left yet - you might catch it if you run!" We were in Terminal A and had to run through the terminal, down the escalator, catch a tram, run up the escalator, and through Terminal B to Gate 16. Guess what??? No one was in Gate 16!! Duhhh! So we found a ticket agent in Gate 15 who told us there were not any more flights to Baltimore that night. No problem .... we'll take any flight into DC. Luckily, DC has 2 other airports to choose from - Baltimore is just usually the cheapest. Yes, there was a flight to DC National at 9:00!! Yay!! So we headed to that gate and got checked in to that flight. We were lucky because that flight was originally scheduled to leave at 8:00 but because of the weather, it was delayed. So, while waiting for the flight, we went in search of some dinner. Who knew that Cincinnati rolls up the sidewalks at 8:30!! All restaurants and shops were closed. Luckily, I had eaten a bag of pretzels in the Charlotte airport. Oh, and don't forget the 2 little bags of peanuts we got on the flight!! Yum!! We actually didn't leave until after 9:30 and arrived in DC about 11:00. Our baggage was another story. They were short-handed in the ramps at Cincinnati so no one could re-route our bags for us. We arrived in DC with no other problems and were able to hop on the metro right from the airport to Ashley's house. She picked us up at the metro stop which is 2 blocks from her house and took us home! We were in bed within minutes .... at least Ashley & I were. Sonny was eating a bowl of cereal as I drifted to sleep!!

This morning while Ashley was in the shower getting ready to go to work, the doorbell rang. I was terrible afraid it was a realtor wanting to show her house .... at 6:15 a.m????? Remember, it woke me up!! Anyway, surprise!! It was our luggage!! Can you believe it?? So, now I just need to shower and I'll have clean clothes to put on! The sun is shining here this morning although rain is called for all weekend.

Hope your weekend is a good one!!

Chips - good choices and bad choices!

Chips seem to be a staple at many picnics and family gatherings and I could easily sit down and eat half a bag of potato chips by myself!! The problem is that most chips are very high in fat and calories, which doesn’t help us lose weight and stay there! There is also the problem that it is extremely hard to “just eat one" (as I said before!)
Below are the calories, fat and sodium of some of the more popular chips on the market. This will help you make the best choice for your fun-filled get-together.
Some of your best bets are:
Snyder’s of Hanover MultiGrain, 8 chips (1 oz) ~ 130 cal/5g fat (0g saturated fat)/110mg sodium ~ 3g fiber makes this a great choice!
Funyuns, 13 pieces (1 oz) ~ 140 cal/7g fat (1g saturated fat)/240mg sodium ~ I love these! Sun Chips Original, 16 chips (1 oz) ~ 140 cal/6g fat (1g saturated fat)/120mg sodium ~ Sun Chips uses only whole grains, which helps keep your blood sugar stable along with helping you feel full.
Baked! Tostitos Scoops!, 15 chips (1 oz) ~ 120 cal/3g fat (0.5g saturated fat)/130mg sodium ~ Half the fat of Fritos and double the pleasure!
Baked! Doritos Nacho Cheese, 15 chips (1 oz) ~ 120 cal/3.5g fat (0.5g saturated fat)/220mg sodium ~ Add 2g of fiber to these and you’ve got a winner!
Que Pasa White Corn, 14 chips (1 oz) ~ 140 cal/7g fat (0.5g saturated fat)/50mg sodium ~ Wonderful plain tortilla chip!

Some of your worst bets are:
Natural Cheetos White Cheddar, 32 chips (1 oz) ~ 150 cal/9g fat (1.5g saturated fat)/290mg sodium ~ Sure ‘Natural’ is on the package but that means nothing in the eyes of the FDA.
Fritos Original, 32 pieces (1 oz) ~ 160 cal/10g fat (1.5g saturated fat)/160mg sodium ~ I love these but they are a very poor choice if you’re watching your weight.
Fritos Pinch of Salt, 34 pieces (1 oz) ~ 160 cal/10g fat (1.5g saturated fat)/75mg sodium ~ These are lighter on sodium but remember that 90 calories are from fat.
Bugles Original, 1-1/3 cup (1 oz) ~ 160 cal/9g fat (8g saturated fat)/310mg sodium ~ Each bugle is almost 50% saturated fat by weight.
Tostitos Multigrain, 8 chips (1 oz) ~ 150 cal/8g fat (1g saturated fat)/135mg sodium ~ Half of the calories are from vegetable oil which supplies each serving with a full gram of saturated fat.
Tostitos Hint of Lime, 6 chips (1 oz) ~ 150 cal/8g fat (1g saturated fat)/160mg sodium ~ Yes, these taste good but they are a bad choice if you’re planning on staying on your Journey.
_{Resource: ~~Eat This, Not That by David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding}

Say a little prayer!

I need you to all say a little prayer for me today that my Stampin' Up order will arrive before I have to leave for the airport!!  I have ordered the new in-colors - stamp pads, paper, reinkers and a few of the ribbons plus the new Modern Label punch.  My new catalog will be in the box too!!!  I'd really like to have that catalog to look at while on the airplane.  Our flight doesn't leave until 5:30 so we'll have to leave the house about 3:30 so there's a chance.  Our UPS guy comes at all different time of the day.  Oh well, if it doesn't arrive, I have a back-up plan.  I'll be taking a Priority Envelope to my good friend and neighbor, Judy, so she can send it to me.  I told her that way, she'll get the first look at the catalog!! 

I have a dentist appointment in the a.m.  Hopefully, I'll find out about my nerve/sinus problems that happened on my last flight.  Let's also say a little prayer that I don't encounter that pain on this flight!

I will be gone until June 22 and I have scheduled a few blog posts in advance.  I'll try to do some posting from Ashley's house.  Ashley will be promoted to MAJOR on Monday and her fellowship (Infectious Diseases) graduation will be the following Friday.  So, we are looking forward to a busy and exciting trip.

Card Makers Series Workshop

I took a card class at Stampers Alley on Saturday taught by the very talented, Debbie Holland.  Debbie started teaching this card series classes several months ago and does them every other month.  We make 6 cards using 3 colors of the month that she has chosen (this month was red, yellow and blue) and 1 basic sketch that she has chosen.  Debbie is the most organized teacher you could ever want.  She has our cards all in a plastic bag and they are each labeled 1-6.  Then she has all the materials to make the each card in a plastic tray numbered 1-6.  So, 2-3 people can work on one card at a time and then just pass the trays around.  It is so nice to take Deb's classes.  Here are this month's cards:

Monday Mailers

Here are a couple of Monday Mailers I received recently.

This one is my last one for May from Tammy.  I love the long card.  I never think to do this size card but it's great and goes in a legal sized envie.  She used the daisy Sizzix die (my fav!)

This is my first one from Karen Culler.  Here is another favorite stamp set of mine because it is just so versatile.  It is so simple but so nice.  The inside says "you, you, you."  (or as my hubby would say, it doesn't say that ... you have to read it!)

Stampin 411 Challenge

I just heard about a new blog - Stampin 411 - that was started that will have weekly sketch challenges. I love sketch challenges so I thought I would participate in this one. This card has taken me a couple of days to finish. I started it Saturday morning; then took a break when my hubby took me out to breakfast. When I got home, I worked on it a little more until I had to go to Mooresville to take a class at Stamper's Alley. When I returned home, I had a little more time to work on it; then we went over to friends for a cook-out. Fast forward to Sunday am. .... I was able to finish it before we went out on the lake in our boat. Now, I'm back home from the lake and able to post it!! Whew!!!

I really like the way this card turned out. The card base is Baja Blue (sure gonna miss this color!) with DSP from Parisian Breeze. The stamp set is Organic Grace which is a retired hostess set that I never even inked before. A lot of cutting went into this card - the flowers, the fern and the little wildflowers! I sponged Baja Blue on the white square and backed it with Kraft.

Card Shares

Just a few cards to share with you today.  These are a few of the ones we made last weekend at Quarterly.

Lisa Tedder taught us this one.  It is brayered onto glossy card stock.  It was amazing how different they all turned out.

That is a piece of brown grosgrain ribbon for the butterfly middle.  We pierced a hole at the top and bottom and threaded the ribbon through.  Cool, huh?

 

This is the card opened up.  The frames makes a little box so the card doesn't fold totally flat.

This is a hinge card.  They were all the rage a while back.  The top of the card hinges open where the brad is and the square the butterfly is on is only adhered to the blue part of the card.

 

I made this card last night for my nephew's birthday.  He'll be 32 today.  Wow!  Hard to believe he's that old ... same age as my son almost.  Jeff will be 32 in November.  How time flies!

New In Colors for 2009-10

Well, the new Stampin' Up catalog is out.  I don't have mine yet .... just couldn't see paying an extra $35 for Expedited Shipping to get it overnight!!  If yall would order more stuff from me, maybe I could!!  (Just kidding - I wouldn't!!)  I hope I have mine next week before I leave town (again).  I have ordered all the stamp pads and paper of the new In Colors and a few of the ribbons.  I can't wait to see them.  It's always interesting to see what names they come up with for the In Colors.  Ashley said she thinks they must have a whole department just dedicated to naming them!!  They are stretching the names this year!

  Anyway .... here are what the new colors look like:

CRUSHED CURRY (as compared to Yo Yo Yellow on top & Summer Sun on bottom)

DUSTY DURANGO  (as compared to Pumpkin Pie & Really Rust)

RICH RAZZLEBERRY (as compared to Bravo Burgundy and Elegant Eggplant)

MELON MAMBO (as compared to Pink Passion and Rose Red)

SOFT SUEDE (as compared to Kraft and Chocolate Chip)

THE NEW CATALOG STARTS JULY 1.  Contact me if you want a catalog and/or to place an order!!   Your first order of $30 or more will get you a free catalog!!

Red and Black Frame

I found my "mojo" today and had fun making a couple of frames. I had plans to go to our neighborhood pool and "veggin" while tanning and reading my book, but got carried away instead in my craft room.

About a month ago, I shared this baby book with you that I had made for a friend who had a baby girl in early April. Well, today I finally finished the "name frame" I wanted to give them too. It turned out pretty cute, I think. Now I just need to get it in the mail! I bought the frame at the Dollar Store and the animals are cut from the Designer Paper I used in the baby book. I used a retired SU alphabet set for the letters and stamped them in Regal Rose Craft Ink and embossed them. (click on picture to see full image)

After I finished that, I made another picture frame for our Newcomers Bingo Auction next week. I had seen a similar one on Splitcoast a while back in blues and browns and had been wanting to create one. The squares are punched with my 1 1/4" Square Punch from Red, Black. various Designer Papers and some are embossed in white on red and black with the Baroque Motif stamp. I used a variety of ribbon, stamps, Daisy Die (Sizzix), Dew Drops, buttons, prima flowers, brads, and Hodgepodge Hardware. I adhered a piece of white cardstock to the glass and adhered the squares on top of the cardstock. I couldn't put the glass on top because of the raised items. I used Red Line Tape to adhere the squares to the white paper.

Top Note Box Instructions

Several of you have asked about instructions for the Top Note Box (seen HERE).  I made eleven of them for the Quarterly Die Cut Swap and they seemed to have been a big hit.  I am sorry - I thought that I had already posted the instructions.  Anyway, here's the pattern (thanks to Kerin at stampsppaperglitter.com)
Cut out the dark gray areas, score on the dotted lines and cut on the solid lines. Once you've got it cut and scored, you'll be able to see the shape of the box come together...you don't have to use anything super strong for adhesive to hold the sides together if you're going to wrap it in ribbon. You can round the corners if you want it to fit a little better in the box.   When you're done making your box, just close up the box, put sticky strip on the top and bottom, and adhere it onto the Top Note shapes you made!
Now you make one and send me a picture & I'll post it on my blog.