10 on Tuesday

So, I've sorted through my 200 or so photos from the 4 days in NYC and tried to pick my top 10 to share here.
1. The Chrysler Building

2. 6th Ave. by Rockefeller Center, love the vibrancy of the traffic and thankful I don't have to drive in it.

3. Looking up at the Empire State Building from Bryant Park

4. The heart of the Garment District

5. Radio City at night

6. Central Park and midtown skyline from the roof of the Metro. Museum of Art

7. Jeff Koons' 'Balloon Dog' also on the roof of the Met.

8. Taxis lined up on 5th Ave.

9. Central Park

10. Times Square

This one's for you mom...

and for anyone else who wants to see the pumpkin hat in action...

A little crafty goodness...

I made it home safely from a great trip in NYC, many photos and ephemera to sort through before a post or two about the trip.

Unfortunately, somewhere between Central Park on Thursday afternoon and my own comfy bed that night I picked up a flu bug that took me out for a couple of days, I'm just starting to feel like myself after lots of extra sleep.

I woke up this morning feeling crafty and decided to get to work on my frenzy projects.

Here's a sneak peek at a couple of my cards...I forgot how pretty this Quickutz snowflake is...made even better by glitter (then again what's not made better by glitter?) This card came together pretty quickly. The next one, not so much...

I really struggled for a bit, AC makes this super cute paper covered with mittens. I tried several different layouts before deciding to fussy cut them and attach with brads.

Hope to see you at the frenzy! Check out the Scrapbook Destination Blog for more info and my sketch for this week --- I cheated just a bit and did a card sketch.

Freakin' Broncos

fumble much? enough about them...

I confess, I didn't really get out of my sweats/pajamas all day. Something about the foggy weather and canceled pumpkin patch plans took any momentum for life outside of the condo today.

I did take the opportunity to finish a couple of crafty projects. I'd been working on this little hat for Sienna for most of the week and put the finishing touches this am, hopefully we'll find a pumpkin patch when we get back from NYC so I can take some photos of her in it.Then I spent some quality time in my scrap space. The fall paper from Crate Paper finally made it to the store and I couldn't walk away from it yesterday. I challenged myself to see how many of the papers(cardstock not included) I could get on one layout. Care to take a guess?
If you guessed 5, congratulations! I don't usually spend a lot of time on the small details, but something about this paper just screamed 'fussy cut me' and you have to listen when the paper talks. Clearly, I should have spent a little more time gluing on the 'o'.

10 on Tuesday

I decided to tag along with Shelley on a business trip to NYC in a couple of weeks. Here's what's on the agenda so far

1. Sleep in...hooray for comfy hotel beds
2. Visit the MET
3. Visit the museum at FIT
4. Visit the MOMA
5. Drool over lenses in person at B&H Photo
6. Take the Sex and The City tour (cheesy I know)
7. Take in a Broadway musical
8. Enjoy the fall colors in Central Park
9. Window shop in the High End shops on 5th Ave.
10. Get lost in Macys

Any tips for a fall trip?

Bonus Round

look what nice things Alisa from PaperCrafts had to say about our store...

http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/content/view/10761/60/#josc38711

A productive day...

I decided to cash in one of the comp days earned over the past couple of months and take a day off.

Well at least a day off from work...much to do on the home front

Cleaned out the fridge --- Yuck!

Tanner got shots and his annual physical...Yay! he's in good shape except for a little tartar buildup

Fall clothes clean and front and center in closet, summer clothes tucked away for another season

Make and Take project ready for Saturday complete

Mini-album class with new Basic Grey paper sample done (photos to come later)

Yummy dinner with Houston and fam

and a few minutes leftover to make another card with my new favorite stamps, I decided to color in the geometric flower stamp from CHF and love the way it turned out...

it dawned on me today that at this point last year I was on pace and doing something creative nearly everyday as opposed to the 'once a week if I'm lucky' pace I'm on now. I'm going to strive to get back to that creative place.

I'm here...

just don't have much to say...work's busy not a lot of time to create, but I did manage to finish a couple of cards.

Have you met the Bellas? These whimsical ladies have taken our store by storm, you can't help falling in love with them. Of course they're also flying off the shelves and I can't get the ones I really want quick enough, so thanks to Kelly and Angela for letting me stamp their girls.


I made the one below for Becky's 'Make It Sparkle' Stamptoberfest Challenge on Two Peas...Unfortunately you can't really tell from the scan, but glitter is all over this card, I'm not sure my scanner will ever recover.

Walk with a Purpose

I love this picture of Connor, so typical of a toddler on a mission. and what's not to love about this harvest moon paper from Pink Paislee. {hello!} a scalloped circle and polka dots = scrappy heaven for me. It's a little hard to tell from the scan, but the epoxy letter are brown polka dot too, these were a freebie I wish I could get my hands on more.

On the Move

Sienna is just starting to hit her crawling groove. This was one of her first experiences playing in the grass and she had a ball. Here's a quick peek at the layout I did for the store blog this weekend.
I love this polka dot and scalloped edged paper from Pink Paislee, perfect for my little chica. I thought the bazzil swiss dot was the perfect compliment.

10 on Tuesday

I have a little problem and I know some of you share the same, we just can't say 'No' when faced with a problem or see something that needs to be done. In searching for something else in Internet land, I came across this list of ways to say No. I think I might need to laminate it and pull it out when needed.

1. I'm in the middle of several projects

2.I 'm not comfortable with that.

3. I'm not taking on any new responsibilities (I don't know about you, but this would not go over well at my work.)

4. I'm not the most qualified person for the job.

5. I hate to split my attention among projects

6. I have another commitment.

7. I need to focus more on my personal life. (while this may be true I can't ever imagine using this one)

8. I need to focus on my career right now.

9. I would rather decline than do a mediocre job.

10. NO

You can see more of the list, and get other helpful organizing tips here.

Video Thursday...the Early Edition

ok I know it's not Thursday, but once I saw this little gem I had to post right away. For those of you(like me) who fall asleep long before SNL hits the airwaves, here's a little Monday treat.

Ducky finds the best stuff

How she does she do it? How can you resist a reincarnation placement exam... I know you will all be *shocked* at my placement.

Your result for Reincarnation Placement Exam...

Middle-class America

43% Intrigue, 76% Civilization, 59% Urbanization, 41% Hedonism, 60% Spirituality, 33% Romance.

You were a little difficult to place, but there is a civilization for you. And it comes with all the cable TV a working class hero can eat.

Your answers indicate that you're interested in a peaceful and civilized existence. You like the benefits of civilization and you're willing to pull your own weight, so you will do well in an urban setting. What made your placement difficult for us is this: You seem to be quite fond of humanity as a whole, but you don't necessarily like to deal with them as individuals -- you know, you're not really a people-person. But that's okay! There's an entire civilization set up for working together, and then cocooning into little households at the end of the day. It's called... America.

Well... You're in for a pleasant and predictable life. No adventure for you! Join a union and a bowling league. Enjoy your nuclear family, and give my regards to Norman Rockwell.

Take Reincarnation Placement Exam at HelloQuizzy

I'm a little disappointed I won't be leading a more adventurous life when I come back around.

10 on Tuesday

I love this time of year as fall slowly makes it's way in and summer and her ugly temperatures move along. As much as I love fall, I often look on the backside of summer with some regrets of the summer things I didn't get to do.

1. No roadtrips to mountains or other Colorado destinations
2. Didn't visit Alaska
3. Not enough trips to the dog park at Chatfield
4. Didn't go to any concerts at Red Rocks
5. Didn't eat enough fresh in season fruit (with the exception of Cherries, I ate too many on a couple of occasions)
6. Didn't get a chance to go to farmer's and open air markets
7. Missed lottery for O'Bama tickets
8. Never went to the pool (but I did get a key this year which is better than last so some progress was made)
9. Only got 1 pedicure (I realize that this activity doesn't have to be limited to summer, but in thew winter I don't see my toes enough)
10. Missed the Chatfield ball on festival for the 2nd year. (I know a couple of you make this an annual event, so I'm putting you in charge of making sure I don't miss it next year.)

Et tu? What did you miss out on this summer...

How about a few pages...

Not necessarily new layouts, and many have been posted different places at some point. Since not everyone visits everyplace and it's been a LONG while since I posted anything crafty I thought it would be a good idea and something easy to help me get my blog groove back.

This one is from way back on the fourth of July, I love the way the title turned out and what's not to love about teal polkadots.These photos are a few months old, but were perfect for this new paper from October Afternoon. Yummy!

I think this is one of my all time fav pics of Sienna (granted she's only 9 months old, but...)
New paper from Scenic Route...

and finally to prove that I don't just scrap kiddos...


Have a great week!

The iBook G4 gets pimped

I know the day is coming when my vintage iBook will give up completely and I'll have to get a new computer for home. I've been saving, slowly but surely but still have a long way to go before a new macbook is in reach. I started to panic last week when my frayed power cord finally gave up and with a battery that held less than two minutes charge I thought I might have to make different plans (a cheaper PC perhaps). My Mac is over 5 years old and I thought the chances of a new battery slim to none. But with slim hopes I headed out to my local Apple store with no genius bar reservation (dead computers have trouble getting online, you know).
After waiting a bit(in fairness they unlocked there doors early and let people in before they were fully staffed) I got help from not a 'genius', but a knowledgeable 'specialist' none the less. He welcomed my baby with open arms. (as opposed to the OMG, look how old this thing is I was really expecting) And to my surprise actually had a battery and power cord in stock. Yippee! Now, I can once again blog hop in my bed with out worrying that I will fall asleep and the cord will strangle me in my sleep (I wonder if that's how it got so frayed in the first place).

But my friendly specialist went one step further, when he noticed that the 'P' was missing from my keyboard. It has been for about 2 years, something happened in the move I think. Quite frankly, I've gotten so used to hitting the under key that I don't think about it that much. He and another helpful gal set out on a mission to find a new P, when none of the white keys they had seemed to work, they moved on to different keys and finally found a silver P that was the perfect match. Now my book looks like a rapper with a grill.
The 'special' treatment didn't stop there, they installed a new battery (I know, totally something I could have done, but...) and wiped down the entire think with Apple polish. Yay!
So while this baby still lacks a jungle cat version of OSX and a decent memory, I think she'll last until I have enough money for this new friend I was drooling over while waiting.

In the know...

or not so much, I admit that I heard Sarah Palin was on the Republican list for VP and immediately dismissed the idea as internet rumors. The announcement on Friday had folks swinging into my cube and wanting to chat. I was in just as much shock as everyone, at least I knew who she was and who she is not.

I've spent a lot of the weekend thinking about her, scoured the Internet for a chart comparing her side by side with Hillary to post here. A little disappointed, I couldn't find one. But then maybe that's because other than having a vagina and a being politicians there is nothing in common. My skeptic self wonders what kind of skeletons do the other republican women have in their closets? Surely there must be one that has traveled more, has more experience than running a tiny town, anything beyond what Sarah has done. Someone who knew what the VP was supposed to do before being placed on a list. Someone who could break the glass ceiling and really know what to do with the power when they do...

A good pick for O'Bama and Biden for sure, after all if those two can't beat this republican ticket the democrats will have some serious thinking to do about the future of the party.

A bloggie break...

2500 and counting students
+ 60 Learning sites
+ 30 teachers and countless paraprofessionals
+ 2 web-based curriculum platforms
+ 71 courses x 60 sections for each course
+ new authorizing district
+ new student information system
_____________________________________________________

= 12 hour days and weekend work for me for the next few weeks.

Not that I'm doing all of the work myself, but we are thin, thin, thin on the administration side so there's only a few folks doing a lot of work to get things off to a smooth start tomorrow.

It will probably be after Labor Day before you see this blog return to lists, videos and the randomness that you usually see.

A special thanks to all who helped my birthday extra special, including mom who sent evidence that 'she does read my blog'. :)

10 on Tuesday

My brain is so focused on work as the countdown to the start of school gets shorter and shorter, I'm a little stumped on a list for this week. But, I am a creature of habit and routine so...since I have a birthday coming up and my family harasses me about being hard to shop for (so I'm a little picky, what's wrong with that? they would say I'm the worst kind of picky since I never tell them what I want, but pout if it's not the right thing) So on the off chance they'll read the blog between now and Sunday, I thought I would make a little list.

• Panera gift card
• Jewelry
• Starbucks gift card
• tickets to a Broncos game
• a new george f. grill (boring I know, but I really need it)
• Scrapbook Destination gift card (then maybe I could save money I make instead of spend it, sorry MK)
• A Kindle (yeah right, but I covet MK's so it had to go on the list)
• This 50-200mm lens

• or this one (another in the highly unlikely category, but a girl can dream)
• flowers (yep just a beautiful bouquet of flowers, I'm cheesy that way)

What's on your birthday wishlist?

Video Thursday...Girl Power Part 2

A campaign ad for the millenials, thank goodness Paris stepped up and responded.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

You've got to hand it to the girl she really knows how to work her 'celebrity' status.

If this video is coming out of left field, you clearly have TIVO and are fast forwarding through commercials or are living under a rock.

10 on Tuesday

I came a cross this cute list in Becky Fleck Page Maps sketch book, she scrapped a layout with her dogs and used this as journaling.

'A Dog's Pet Peeves about Humans'

1. Blaming your toots on me. Not funny, not very funny at all
2. Yelling at me for barking. I'm a friggin' dog you idiot!
3. Taking me for a walk, then not letting me check stuff out. Exactly whose walk is it anyway? huh?
4. Any trick that involves balancing food on my nose.
5. Any haircut that involves bows or ribbons. Now you know why we chew your stuff when you're not home.
6. The slight of hand, fake fetch throw. You fooled a dog! What a proud moment for the top of the food chain.
7. Taking me to the vet for the 'big snip', then acting surprised when I freak out every time we go back there.
8. Getting upset when I sniff your guest's private parts. I haven't mastered the handshake thing yet.
9. Dog sweaters. Haven't you noticed I have fur?
10. How you act disgusted when I lick myself. Look- we both know the truth---you're just jealous.

I'm guilty of number 6, I don't know if I'll ever think of it in the same way again.

100th Post...this year!

I seem to have hit my grove and got the hang of this blogging thing. To be honest it's a little intimidating, I think this occasion calls for something deeply profound...alas, I'm just not that kind of writer so I thought I would borrow from one of my favorite quotes.

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.

Did you think this was an Emerson quote, me too until I looked it up and surprise it's not. It appears to have been written by a woman named Bessie Stanley. You can learn more about her and the quote here.

I hope this blog is a bit of me leaving the world a little better whether it be through Art, Laughter or random trivia. I love the fact that I can connect with kindred spirits all over the globe from my little spot in cyberspace. And it is so gratifying to know that others are discovering this little place and taking away thoughts or ideas. I read and treasure every single comment. So thanks from the bottom of my heart to all you readers out there who make my day every time you take a moment to leave a comment. It really does mean a lot!

Counting the days...

until all of the stuff MK bought at CHA makes its way to the store. Thanks to my swift [yes swift] feet and quick move to the BG booth, our rep got this email straight from the BG folks

has one of the very best and first wristbands so we shouldn't be starting before too long.

Right On!

In the meantime, I thought I would share some more photos from the Maya Road booth. I'm not usually one who's into altering and working with chipboard, but after seeing this booth I may be converted.

Video Thursday...The Morning Train

Another video from Improv Everywhere group, admittedly not quite as dramatic as previous videos, but still pretty fun.



I've been on the 6 Train a number of times and can imagine how strange this must have been for fellow riders.

10 on Tuesday

I was listening to the radio on the way to work a few days ago, I caught the tail end of the story about the worst song lyrics of all time. What's a girl to do, research on the Internet of course. Here's what I found from Spinner mag, and a few opinions of my own (imagine that)

1. "Lucky that my breasts.Are small and humble So you don't confuse Them with mountains"
--Shakira's 'Whenever, Wherever'

2. "There's an insect,In your ear,If you scratch,It won't disappear"--U2's 'Staring at the Sun' Can you say sellout?

3. "There were plants. And birds.And rocks.And things"--America's 'Horse With No Name' too bad these guys didn't have access to a random word generator back in the day.

4. "Coast to coast.L.A. to Chicago" --Sade's 'Smooth Operator' oops looks like some one struggled with geography in school.

5. "Like a rock . Chargin' from the gate" --Bob Seger and Silver Bullet Band's 'Like a Rock'

6."He was a boy. She was a girl.Can I make it.Any more obvious?" --- Avril Lavigne's S8tr Boy Gee, I don't know COULD you?

7. "I am ... I said, To no one there, And no one heard at all,Not even the chair" --Neil Diamond's 'I Am ... I Said' I for one am glad, the couch doesn't listen

8. "If I was a sculptor,But then again, no" --Elton John's 'Your Song
I think this one is #1 on my list...it's always made me crazy

9. "My panty line shows, Got a run in my hose,My hair went flat,Man, I hate that"
--Shania Twain's 'Honey I'm Home' Yes, but must you share with all of us?

10. "I love you like, A fat kid loves cake" --50 Cent's '21 Questions' Admit it, you laughed, this would be perfect on a greeting card.

What would you add?

A Creative Day...

I'm a little sad that this is the last free Monday on my great summer schedule, it's not going to be fun to go back to a 5 day work week.

This week kicks off the back to school craziness that happens every year, I need to gear up for long days and weekend work for the next few months. So I made the most of today, took care of several errands, cleaned the fridge, a couple loads of laundry and several hours of crafty time.

I made this layout for the Journaler's Junction Challenge, how could I not participate in a challenge that incorporated statistics.
I'm in love with the glitter paper from Doodlebug, I've been ogling it since it made it's way to the store a few weeks ago. I finally broke down and bought some and used it on a few projects this weekend.

First this layout for my weekly sketch post for the Scrapbook Destination blog. It has lots of dimension with velvet die cut strip, buttons, primas and bling...my poor scanner had a heck of a time.

Then I made a card for my fabulous friend Becky whose birthday is tomorrow. I liked it so much I adapted the design for one of my Make and Take projects for the next SD Frenzy.
I even used my ever growing stash of quickutz dies, including a new 12x12 border. I used my Crop-a-dile eyelet setter to emboss the purple flowers with a polka dot pattern (learned how to do this at the super cool Maya Road booth at CHA)

Video Thursday...Reality Recap

ok, I know it's not Thursday, but still pretty close.

I was a little distraught after So You Think You Can Dance last night, so I wasn't in the mood to find a video.

As with every reality show, there comes a time when a favorite/the best person gets voted off. I thought perhaps David Cook winning Idol might have broken the curse. Alas, the curse continues and last night my lovely Will was voted off SYTYCD...I nearly cried. He was the best this season and dare I say ever (Yes, Heather I think he's better than Danny).

I blame myself, I never vote and I'm sure there are millions of other Me's at home on their couches thinking a contestant is so good, there's no way they won't make it to the next round and inevitably they get knocked out.

So here's to Will...

Note: this video is not his best in terms of showing talent, but my personal fav...how can you not love the James Brown groove.

Ooh La La...

a new bloggie banner for me. Yippee!!

As I said yesterday, meeting Heidi Grace was one of the highlights on the show for me. In my minute long chat I confessed that I was using an electronic version on my blog header. I think she may have thought I was a little crazy and while didn't say no outright, she did remind me that those designs are Fiskars and they have a little department called 'Legal' that might not appreciate my use of the paper in quite the same way I do. So...time for a new plan. She said come back later in the day and she would draw me a personal piece to use on my blog. How cool is that? I was feeling pretty special, even if she was drawing for anyone willing to wait in line...I'm guessing mine was the cutest. Come on, look at my cute long legs and Tanner's happy face.

O'harrowing Experience

United Airline + Chicago O'Hare + Me = Bad Combination

When our outbound flight took off on time, I thought I had broken the curse. Really what could go wrong now? Yes the plane seemed a little loud, but it was a small commuter plane so I didn't really think too much about the noise...it's been awhile. In hindsight, I realize it was really loud, even more so than a bush Cessna. After we were flying for a bit the noise stopped, I remember thinking at that point we must have reached the magic altitude and all was quiet and aligned for a good flight home. That's just about when the captain came on the PA, to be honest I was not really paying attention, I thought he was saying something about flight time, weather, the glorious plains we were flying over, yada, yada, yada...then I heard 'shut down the right engine' he assured us that he prepared for this in simulation lots of times, ok great no worries we'll just keep going then the really dreaded words --- we are turning around and going back to Chicago...WHAT! Why? we were due for a stop in Lincoln and we had to be a good way there already why must we go back to Chicago...not that I really wanted to be stuck in Lincoln, but visions of O'Hare sleepover were dancing in my head. This is United after all and I wasn't expecting much in the way of customer service once we landed. Flight Attendant A did not help increase positive outlook, upon landing she said something like 'We've landed safely and that's the good thing, the crew really has no idea what will happen with you all now, but someone should meet the plan and give you further instructions...pause...good luck. ' Not much in the way of reassurance, I'm guessing she didn't vote for the negotiated contract.

I'm happy to report that United proved me wrong and by the time we landed, was actually prepared with a plan that didn't involve hotels and stand-by flights . In a mere 30 minutes we were reboarding a new plane and underway. I got home about midnight and am whipped today.

Despite the ending, it was a great trip...I'll be sorting through my 200 or so photos and post more about it tom.

Video Thursday

Go figure, I head to CHA on the same weekend Denver FINALLY gets it's own music festival with big names. Not that I'm pouting, but I'll admit to being a little bummed to miss this great event. So, for purely selfish reasons...here's a little Dave to get me and anyone else by until next year.

10 on Tuesday...Fraidy 'Dog'?

It's true, I think I live with the most senitive dog. Here's a quick list of some of the things Tanner is afraid of(yes some)

1. Thunder
2. Fireworks
3. Wind
4. Sprinklers
5. Window blinds
6. Kids on bikes
7. N. Turkey Creek Rd. (for good reason he fell out of the car while going along this road)
8. Some tall men
9. Automatic doors
10. Vacuum

The Case against Evolution

Sometimes when you read stories like this, it has to make you wonder if there might be a flaw or two in Darwin's theory...

POTTER VALLEY Woman tries to kill mice, shoots self

Published: Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.

A Potter Valley woman wounded herself and a man July 3 while attempting to kill mice with a .44-caliber Magnum revolver, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.

The woman, 43, had drawn the gun from a holster under her left arm, intending to shoot mice scurrying across the floor of a small travel trailer on Highway 20 in Potter Valley, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The revolver instead slipped from her hand and fired as it struck the floor, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The bullet went through the woman’s right kneecap, then hit keys hanging on the belt loop of a 42-year-old man in the trailer, officials said. The bullet glanced off the keys and tore a hole in the man’s pants.

The bullet grazed the man’s groin before stopping in his coin pocket, where it was recovered for evidence, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The names of the shooting victims were not released.

Video Thursday

I'm not sure if this is from the same group as the food court musical, but definitely along the same lines.



What would you do?

Just keep swimming...

I can't remeber which character(yes I know it's not the turtles, but they're my fav characters) in 'Finding Nemo' says this over and over, it's become a little motto to me. Right now in my head swimming has been replaced by voting. Today is the last day to vote for my layout at BHG. Huge thanks to all who have voted so far!

10 on Tuesday...Staples

10 things I need to have in Pantry/Refrigerator at all times

1. Eggs
2. Butter
3. Tortilla chips
4. Garlic
5. Pure Vanilla
6. Cheddar cheese
7. Egg Noodles
8. Salsa
9. Strawberries
10. Olive oil

What's in your fridge?

Party in Pueblo...

Finally Sienna, got to be with all of her Pueblo cousins at the same time. We headed down mid-day and enjoyed a great day at Brian and Julie's GORGEOUS new house. Here a few of my favorite pics from the day...Sienna's first dip...

Ben getting ready to 'water' the deck
Yum! Popsicles...Grant was kind enough to share his with me.
Splash!

admittedly not the best shot, but you try getting 3 toddlers and a baby and their parents to stay still for more than 15 seconds. At least Sienna knows who 'her photographer' is. :)

By the way...have you voted today? Still need your support, I've fallen in the ranks just a bit. This round ends on Wednesday so pretty please keep voting and thanks for all the positive messages you've sent my way.

Happy 4th!

Important note to self: Do not go to Starbucks on a holiday and expect the same service and drink as you get on normal days. Alas the poor 'low on the totem pole, have to work a holiday' ladies really have no clue what an 'extra caramel' caramel frap means.

I'm off to Pueblo to celebrate the holiday with fam...hope you all have a wonderful holiday.

Thanks to all who have voted so far. It does my heart good to see that some have you have left my little site via the link. If you have time, would you please vote again today...I'm holding steady at 3rd place with would make me ecstatic, but #4 & 5 are close on my heels. I'm trying to figure out how the top two LOs already have over 100 votes, must be nice to have that many friends.

Not to Proud to Beg

Guess what? BHG doesn't send an email to let you know that you've made it the semi-final round. Crazy...the good news is that I made it this week! Thank goodness I checked...now the hard part I need votes, lots and lots of votes. I've already begged my core group of friends, co-workers and family. But I know there are a few blog lurkers around or maybe you just stubled upon my little space here on the World Wide Web in either case would you PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE vote for my little layout. You can VOTE HERE once a day until next Wednesday. Thanks for your support...

Think I forgot about Video Thursday, not a chance...

In the spirit of competition, I bring you this gem from the world of Japanese games shows, gotta love them

Something New

I'm sure that when Houston challenged us to do something new, she wasn't thinking what I was. Inspired by my colorful friends, I decided it was time for a change in the hair department.

Here is me before my little adventure yesterday...
Ta Da this is me now...
Short and red...haven't been this way since college. I'm still in shock mode just a bit, staring at the mirror and wondering who the person looking back is. Or running my hand through and not having much in the back.

10 on Tuesday

Summer is in full swing and lots of folks are traveling and reporting back. Little me is staying put for now, but I wanted to join in the fun with a list of some of my favorite places I've been to in the past.

1. St. Petersburg, Russia
2. Stockholm, Sweden
3. The Grand Canyon, Arizona
4. Mt. McKinley, Alaska
5. Copenhagen, Denmark
6. Cozumel, Mexico
7. Yellowstone National Park
8. Washington DC
9. New York City
10. Killarney, Ireland