Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jog

Well, we finally made it back home.  We left the Mobile, Ala. area around 10 CST Friday morning and rolled in to our driveway a little after 10 EST. Didn't even stop for dinner!!  Not my idea .... I suggested stopping in Greenville, SC for the night but since that was only a little more than 2 hours away from home, Sonny wanted to keep going and sleep in his own bed.  I must say, our bed did feel good!!  The worst part of the trip was that we hit Atlanta at 5:15 so it took us over an hour just to make it through Atlanta traffic.    Yesterday was spent just unpacking and getting caught up on mail, e-mail, phone calls, etc.  Today we headed out to Big Al's to watch the Steelers dominate the Seattle Seahawks.  After last week's devastating game, today's shut-out was quite a victory.  And to make it even better, we watched the Baltimore Ravens get defeated by Tennessee.  (Baltimore clobbered us last week so it was sweet revenge!)

Now I am in the process of getting ready for my stamp clubs Tuesday and Thursday.  I'll be sharing those cards soon.  In the meantime, here a more of the swaps I received.

I can't imagine doing all this cutting for a swap!!  A lot of work. 

This is the card closed.

More Mini Swaps

I retook (is that a word?) the pictures of the card swaps and this time got them to load.  So .... I've got more swaps to share with you from the mini catalog.  (Happy, Margaret?) 

I can't tell you all the stamps that are used in each card because I don't have my catalog with me.  I just tried to download it but it is too slow with the hotel internet connection.  But, I'm sure you have your mini and can tell which set was used!

This one uses Pumpkin Pie, Black (embossed with spider web folder) and glossy white.  The white circle is embossed with the single stamp (Haunted Forest) from the back of the mini catalog.  This is a great way to get a Halloween stamp if you don't need a whole Halloween set.

This is the single Halloween set again with the Halloween DSP.  It is stamped and embossed with black onto Vellum.

Another card with the single stamp .... how versatile this stamp is!  This time the Pumpkin Pie piece is torn into a shape and the Happy Halloween is stamped onto white and torn.  Love the bling on the "o" in Halloween!

A Thanksgiving card this time!   It looks like the rectangle panel was stamped with bleach

We left New Orleans this morning after having our beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe DuMonde - oh so good!!  We only drove a couple of hours to Biloxi and stopped at a casino there.  It's been a long time since we have done that - the economy has not permitted it mostly!!  But, we both did ok in just a couple of hours.  We didn't break the bank, but I sat down at the Black Jack table with $60 and walked away with $90 and Sonny came away making $50 more than he started with.  Not bad for two hours time!!  Our plans were to drive on to Mobile and spend the night.  When we got close to Mobile, we took a little detour toward Dauphine Island thinking maybe we'd find a place to stay near the water.  While the island was picturesque, there weren't any hotels (that we saw).  But then we saw a toll ferry that would take us to Gulf Shores.  That is where I wanted to go anyway.  When our children were pretty little, we took a very memorable vacation there with my sister and her family.  So, we got in line for the 6:30 ferry.  Around 6:10, they informed us the winds had picked up too much and they were canceling the ferry!  So, it was back to Mobile to find a hotel.  After our dinner, we came back to our room to relax.  Well, Sonny did walk over to a bar next door but quickly came back since they were having "open mic night."  This is what he is doing while listening to O'Reilly:





On the Road to Home

We're on the road headed back to North Carolina.  Ashley had to report to work at Ft. Hood on Tuesday so we said our good byes.  Sonny and I stayed an extra day to finish up some work around her place.  Well, actually, Sonny did the work.  I layed out by the pool sunning and being lazy!!  It felt good not having to do anything or be anywhere for a change!   We had our final Mexican dinner on Tuesday night at Tomatillo's.  We spent last night in New Orleans.  Man, is it hot & humid here!!  We got in around 7 pm and walked over to Mulate's for dinner.  We were both dripping when we got there.  I have eaten so much on this trip!  And last night was no exception.  Actually all I ordered was 2 appetizers thinking I'd save room for dessert.  I couldn't even finish my appetizers but ordered the bread pudding anyway.  Couldn't do it .... left half of it on the table!  After that, we needed a good long walk which is what we had.  We walked over to the French Quarter and down Bourbon Street.  We were both pretty disappointed as to what it has become.  It has always been loud and crazy.  But we both thought a lot of changes had happened and not in a good way.  A lot of the little bars seem to have given way to other types of establishments that are not appealing.  Let's put it this way - their advertisement on the building is "whiskey and tiddies".  Not my type of place!!   This may be our last visit to Bourbon Street!!  It was too far a walk to our favorite hang out - Jean Lafitte's so we wandered back down Royal Street looking in the windows at the antique stores and stopping for a glass of wine at a Oyster Bar.  By the time we made it back to our hotel, we had probably walked a couple of miles and you could have rung our clothes out!  This morning, we are looking forward to going to Cafe du Monde for beignets!!  Yumm (although I am still full from dinner)!  Then we are going to drive on - hopefully stopping at Mobile or somewhere on the coast for some salt, sand and seafood.

After giving Ashley's hibiscus plant water last week, it produced some beautiful blooms.  It had the most I have seen when we left - about 8-10 blooms.

The zydeco band that was playing at Mulate's while we dined.

Stamping Queen's Sketch Challenge #4

It's time for another Stampin' Queens Sketch Challenge.  Again, I have done my card using My Digital Studio.  It is so great to have this program so when I don't have the supplies, etc. to do a real card, I can just create one using MDS!!

Here is the sketch for this week:

Lots of layers this week.  Here is my take on it:

Make sure you visit the Stampin' Queens Sketch Blog to check out what the other Queens did for the sketch.  There are some great cards there this week!! 

Why not make your own card using this sketch and send it in.  You might be a winner!!

Still in Texas

I was going to share a few more of my swap cards with you today but for some reason, they won't download onto my blog,.  I keep getting a "server rejected" error so don't know what the problem is.  Guess I'll have to wait until I'm back home.

We are still in Texas.  But the good news is we have air conditioning!  Although truthfully, Ashley and I both agreed that we were cooler when we just had the fans blowing on us at night.  Her bedroom is pretty big and it only has one A/C vent.  The bathroom and walk in closet were add-ons to the house and they do not have vents.  So the A/C is really working hard to cover that whole area with just one vent.  Sonny is still sleeping on the couch!  He said it is comfortable and cool so he is staying there!!  Ashley left today to go back to work at Ft. Hood so we said our good-byes.  There were a few things Sonny still wanted to do around the house, so we are staying tonight (and having one more Mexican meal) and headed out in the morning.  I am hoping that we will spend a day in New Orleans along the way!!

Yesterday was the first day we had that we didn't have to do anything!!  It was so nice to just sit around and not have anywhere to go or anything I had to do.  Sonny and Ashley worked in the yard and supervised (!) the A/C guy while I read my book and sat in the pool all day!  Last night we went to dinner at my favorite San Antonio restaurant, Josephines .... yumm - delicious T-bone steak, onion rings,and  potatoes at a very reasonable price!!

I am ready to leave though and start making preparations at home for Stamp Club and Quarterly which will be here before I know it!  I will miss Ashley though but I am happy knowing she is in the US & I can call her whenever I want to or get on a plane and come for a visit when I want to.  We'll see her again when she comes for a visit Thanksgiving.

Mini Swaps

I actually have a few cards to share with you today!  I participated in a Mini Catalog Swap and had the cards mailed to me here in San Antonio.  They arrived Saturday and I have taken pictures so I could share!  I haven't ordered any goodies from the mini catalog yet and after seeing all these great ideas, I am ready to order, order, order!

This one uses Christmas Lodge stamp set (pg 29) in Pear Pizazz.  There is also a bit of  the new Dazzling Details on the roof of the lodge.  The bottom portion uses the new Snow Burst embossing folder.

I can't wait to order these stockings!  This stamp is the Stitched Stocking punched out with the new Builder Punch (pg 34).  The colors are Lucky Limeade, Cherry Cobbler and Silver.  There is a cute little jingle bell hanging off the stocking.  You can purchase then from the mini too (pg 30).

This fall card uses the Gently Falling set (pg 16-17) with Concord Crush, Cajun Craze, and Garden Green.  Love the ribbon!!

Another card using Gently Falling - this is a very popular stamp set!  The colors used on this one are Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, More Mustard and Early Espresso.  She also used the Houdstooth embossing folder (inking it).

This card uses Festive & Fun, a very versatile holiday set as well as Every Little Bit stamp set.  The colors on this one are Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, Concorde Crush and the In Patterns DSP.  Such an easy card to make but a great one!

Now I have to make my list!

Where Were You?

Who doesn’t remember where they were when they heard America was under attack? Or when they first saw the footage of the planes flying into the twin towers? We were shocked, confused, vulnerable, and eventually angry. No longer isolated to other parts of the world, terrorism brought itself to our front door. As a nation, we were changed. In the face of such an atrocious act of violence our core beliefs are challenged in ways we perhaps never imagined.

I was living in Grapevine, Texas at the time of the attacks.  I don't usually turn on the TV in the morning when I am getting ready to go somewhere but for some reason I had turned it on that morning as I was getting dressed.  I didn't realize at the time how horrific an attack it was.  I was headed out to meet friends for coffee.  What a somber time as we all watched the news on TV at the coffee shop and were all calling our family and friends around the world.  I immediately got on the phone to call my family.  Ashley was in medical school in San Antonio and Jeff was in Georgia at an Army base.  He had just graduated from West Point in May.  They were both safe but oh how I wished I could hold them at that moment.  I ended up going back home to be with Sonny and could not stop watching the news reports for weeks. 

How has 9/11 changed you?  Think of all the things in our lives that have changed since the attack - for me, both my children had to go to Iraq and be a part of a war that it seems will never end.  Also, think of the hassel we all have to deal with now when we want to travel.  I found this video andthought it was really good.  I hope you will enjoy it as well.

I also made a card in remembrance of that day using My Digital Studio.

Remember Me?

Well, hope my faithful readers have not given up on me and my blog.  I promise I haven't forgotten you or given up on blogging.  We had a wonderful reunion with Ashley on Thursday which I posted about.  Friday we hung out at my neice's house and met some of Ashley's friends and more of our family at a Mexican restaurant in Austin.  We spent the night at a friend's house in Austin (she and her DH were gone for the weekend) and hit the road for San Antonio on Saturday morning.  Ashley had rented her house out while she was in Iraq and it was neat as a pin when she arrived.  You would never have known anyone had been here!  Unfortunately, it was really hot in her house!  The air conditioner was not working in the back of the house where the bedrooms are.  Luckily, she has 2 units and the other unit was working.  With it being a holiday weekend, we were not able to get in touch with anyone until Tuesday.  Sonny had brought his tools and gauges but he has been out of the business too long and did not have any contacts here in San Antonio.  We got someone to come out late Tuesday to check it out.  It needs to be replaced we found out today and he can not get to it until next Monday!!  In the meantime, Sonny has been sleeping on the couch, Ashley on the air mattress on the floor and me on the pull out sofa bed.  Mom was able to sleep in the back bedroom with the ceiling fan going and a couple of oscillating fans.  My back started bothering me from sleeping on the pull out bed so I have moved to Ashley's room.  If I keep the ceiling fan on high, it's not too bad. 

We have stayed busy doing little things around the house that needed fixing and doing after a year.  Her wine refrigerator was not running so Sonny had to order a part.  He installed it yesterday and now it is running.  He also has been working with her pool cleaner to get it going right.  We've all done a lot of yard work - trimming trees and plants and her yard is getting in good shape.  I've actually done more yard work here than I do at my own house!!

We're enjoying a lot of good Mexican food while we are here!  Some of our good friends from the Dallas area drove down on Tuesday and we met them last night at a good Mexican restaurant.  Tonight we all went over to the Riverwalk and sat outside at one of the restaurants.  I put Mom on the plane for Charlotte today.  She really enjoyed her visit with Ashley and of course, cried when she had to leave.

We have not had internet service or cable TV until today either!  I felt like I was in the stone age!  How did we ever survive without all the amenities we have today?  Every night we would all just sit in the den reading.  Mom almost finished reading The Help and I only have a few pages left in my Jodi Picault book.  I think Ashley has read at least 4 books this week and Sonny a couple!  It was nice but I was sure glad to get the internet hooked up today as well as the TV!

Ashley had to go to Ft Hood on Wednesday for some briefings.  She drove there on Tuesday night so I got her to post my Stampin' Queen's challenge card for me on the internet at the hotel.  I did the whole card with My Digital Studio since I just haven't had the chance to make a card while I was here.  I brought a bunch of projects to work on while I was here, but it just hasn't happened!  We've been lucky - Ashley has only had to go to work one day so far.  She will have to report back to Ft. Hood next Tuesday and start working more so we will probably start our trip for home Tuesday or Wednesday.  Hopefully, Sonny will take it as slow going back as we did coming here but I sincerely doubt it!!  I'm pretty sure when his foot hits the pedal, we'll be back in NC in a day or two!!  He's a basic home body and does not like to venture away from his home turf for too long!

Here are a few pictures from out trip:

Ashley (on right) with her best friend and college roomie, Lisa who had twins while Ashley was in Iraq!

Me and my brother, Jim

My neice, Melinda and my nephew's wife, Katrina

Sonny & I on the Riverwalk

Sonny & his best bud!

Sharon & Sharon!

Ashley and her Grandma!

Sonny & Ashley on Riverwalk

Stampin' Queen Sketch Week #3

It's Ashley, posting for Sharon...she is stuck at my house with no TV, no internet, and no A/C (in half of the house anyway) while I am back at Ft. Hood taking care of post-deployment stuff.  I am posting her Stampin' Queen Sketch made on My Digital Studio -- she will outline more of the details once she is back online!  

Reunion

Had a great reunion today here in Texas with Ashley.  She landed about 3 pm and they advised us to be at the parade field by 3:30.  So, we were .... we sat outside in the 100+ heat for a little over 2 hours.  Luckily, they had a covered area for the bleachers but by the time the ceremony started at 5:30, we were all dripping!!  My mom actually looked like she had wet her pants!  The buses - all 7 of them - rolled up and the soldiers got off behind the buses where we couldn't see them.  The Honor Guard was there as well as two calvary soldiers on horseback to welcome them.  We all yelled "move the buses" and the buses drove away and we were able to see our soldiers!  What a sight!  They marched onto the field.  Ashley was on the front row - second from the left end so we were able to get a good view of her.  Only a handful of the soldiers had kept their Stetson hat out and hadn't packed them - Ashley was one of them - so they put them on the front row!  After a brief address to the crowd, they announced that you could all rush onto the parade ground to greet your soldier!!  Two of the guards helped my mom make her way onto the field while Sonny & I ran ahead to hug her.  We were all crying but it was a happy cry!  She looked so good and we were all so happy!

Tonight we are staying in a hotel on base.  We will drive to Austin - a little over an hour south to see her cousins.  She is going to surprise her cousin, Melinda's son at school at lunch.  He is in the 2nd grade and last year, he sent her his Flat Stanley so his class should be impressed!  We are having a little party for her tomorrow at an Ausin Mexican restaurant.  Saturday, we are on the road to San Antonio.

It has been a long day.  Ashley & Grandma are sleeping in the bed beside me so all is right with my world!