A quick Birthday Recap

It was the big 35 for me on Friday, it's been a really nice couple of days.

Sort of not being off work and sitting on a beach, my birthday was a great day...I realized how many friends I've made since moving to Colorado...would you believe I had not one but...3 cakes and a set of cupcakes over the past four days, what could be better? My work friend Tina helped get the day of to a great start, surprising me with these gorgeous roses.

Throughout the day my friends from the Two Peas site had a message thread just for me full of great birthday wishes and beautiful cards they made for me. I was able to leave work a little early and headed up to Evergreen to have dinner with Shelley and Troy.

The birthday fun continued yesterday as I got together with my scrapping buddies at Mary Kay's store and we had a great night. Hopefully I'll get some of the layouts posted at some point this week.

Not sure how much I'll be blogging over the next couple of weeks --- we're gearing up for the start of school on the 27th and I'm sure the week will be full of early mornings and late nights.

A Pretty LO...

Here's my favorite layout from this weekend. This cutie is my nephew Grant when he was just a couple of weeks old. Isn't he just so precious.

10 on Tuesday

The latest in our ongoing series of Tuesday lists, this week...

***10 Favorite Things About Where You Live ***

(as always, not really in any particular order even though they're numbered)

1. The mountains (can't imagine life without being surrounded by them)

2. The Aspen trees in the fall

3. Seasons in general

4. Great off leash dog parks

5. Shopping (esp. Target I know my AK friends wish they had one too)

6. Studio C on KBCO (live music by major folks on a local station)

7. My pea friends

8. Family close by

9. Open air/farmers markets with fresh fruits and veggies

10. Red Rocks ampitheatre (no other concert venue comes close)

A New Toy for the Boy

It's a great night for TV --- Broncos first preseason game, So You Think You Can Dance and the finale of Hell's Kitchen. I was relived that the class I had scheduled didn't have any students so I could come home and be a couch potato.

I made a quick stop into Petsmart to get a new battery for Tanner's 'Bad Dog' collar. I hardly ever use the beep or electronic buzz, but he listens so much better outside when he has it on. I overheard one of the trainers talking to another customer about a great new toy 'the everlasting treat ball' and decided to give it a try. Tanner absolutely loved it...the picture is blurry because he was obsessed for an hour and a half when I finally took it away so he wouldn't spoil his dinner. :)

Hooray for Rock! He's been one of my favorites on Hell's Kitchen this season, I think this may be the first time on my favs from the beginning turned out to be the winner. I love how he held up his son at the end and said 'Season 12's Winner right here'. Julia was my other fav, I hope she does go to culinary school and come back in future seasons.

And...the Broncos beat San Fran --- I know it's only preseason and can't erase the horribly beatings by the 49ers in games and superbowls past, but it's not a bad way to start the season.

A Loooooooong Week

but not a particularly exciting or eventful one. It was one of those weeks were I had big projects at both jobs. It's hard to believe school starts in just two weeks. I thought by working in a more traditional k-12 environment things would be slower than at the BGC, wrong! With a charter school that it constantly evolving to make life/the school experience better for students there's a lot to be done in the summer. Not sure if there will ever be a down time here, maybe between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Life on the other side of the brain was busy too. I worked or taught class at the store every night this week. You'll remember (won't you?) my first project awhile back. It debuted to a huge audience of 1 on Tuesday. The second project was a completely different story. Those of you have known me for awhile know I have a passion for altered composition books. It's an addiction to stock up now while there cheap and cover them throughout the year. So this project was an opportunity to get others on the bandwagon. I designed a Back to School Organizer that has a calendar, pockets and lots of places for notes divided into months. A very ambitious project for a two hour class.

(grr...sometimes working with photos on the blog is so frustrating. I uploaded and deleted these 3 times to try and get them in the right place)

The class was a hit, we had seven folks who were wonderful students. I was reminded how much I love teaching adults and kids. Seeing the light come on and individual creativity blossom is such a great experience, it is by far the most rewarding thing for me in the industry.

Needless to say (what a stupid thing since I'm going to say it anyway, right) I didn't have much time for personal scrapping this week which I hope to remedy today...and if all goes well have some new layouts to show tomorrow.

10 on Tuesday...

I'm totally addicted to this weekly thread on the Peas --- such great topics to think about each week. This weeks list 'Top 10 lessons you want to teach your kids'. As you all know I don't have real kids and I thought about making a humorous list for the fur parents out there, but decided against it. Instead since I have devoted my professional career to those children whose parents would never dream of such a list, I used that knowledge to comprise a list of what I wish folks would teach their children.

1.It's ok to be yourself and ok to try out a few different versions of yourself along the way.
2. Be respectful of others as they try to find their way
3. The value of a dollar
4. You are ultimately responsible for your choices
5. Take risks
6. Try new things daily
7. Be active
8. Respect the earth
9. Learn to laugh
10. Be a great team member

Tanner takes over...

'I'm really worried about my mom, she keeps making these wierd sounds and her chest keeps moving up and down. She says it's just hiccups, but it's really strange...It's been going on for a while, I keep looking at her and tried giving her a kiss and bringing her a toy, but no luck. --- when I acted like this she took me to the vet, maybe i should get her in the car. '

A few new LOs

I totally meant to share these earlier in the week, but just never got around to it. I was inspired by scrap store buddy Tara to do some winter photos. The first is my favorite the boys are so cute when they play in the snow.
I also scrapped the pics from the first of three big snow storms. This one was a week before Christmas, so much snow the pics don't really do it justice.
Finally, I had some pics from a trip to the zoo a few months ago.

Thursday fun

I think perhaps I'll start a routine for Thursday and try to find a fun video to entertain us all. This one is especially for my Alaska friends. I was really looking for a bit on Ted Stevens from Tuesday's daily show --- no luck, but this one is just as funny. Who knew the internet is made up of tubes...father Ted saves the day again.

For my non Alaska friends this is Alaska's senator, one of the most powerful men in the Senate who routed millions of fed dollars to Alaskan projects and is now under investigation by the FBI.

PSA --- Lead Paint in Fisher Price toys

Hi folks...came across this news story when I was checking my email this afternoon. I know a few of you may have kiddos the age where these toys are really cool. I guess I find this particularly troublesome since we have known the effects of lead paint and children's health for so long, that it shouldn't be an issue. Hope none of you are effected, but just in case...

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Toy-maker Fisher-Price is recalling 83 types of toys — including the popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego characters — because their paint contains excessive amounts of lead.

The worldwide recall being announced Thursday involves 967,000 plastic preschool toys made by a Chinese vendor and sold in the United States between May and August. It is the latest in a wave of recalls that has heightened global concern about the safety of Chinese-made products.

The recall is the first for Fisher-Price Inc. and parent company Mattel Inc. involving lead paint. It is the largest for Mattel since 1998 when Fisher-Price had to yank about 10 million Power Wheels from toy stores.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, David Allmark, general manager of Fisher-Price, said the problem was detected by an internal probe and reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The recall is particularly alarming since Mattel, known for its strict quality controls, is considered a role model in the toy industry for how it operates in China.

Fisher-Price and the commission issued statements saying parents should keep suspect toys away from children and contact the company.

The commission works with companies to issue recalls when it finds consumer goods that can be harmful. Under current regulations, children's products found to have more than .06 percent lead accessible to users are subject to a recall.

Allmark says the recall was "fast-tracked," which allowed the company to quarantine two-thirds of the toys before they even made it to store shelves. In negotiating details of the recall, Fisher-Price and the government sought to withhold details from the public until Thursday to give stores time to get suspect toys off shelves and Fisher-Price time to get its recall hot line up and running. However, some news organizations prematurely posted an embargoed version of the story online.

Allmark said the recall was troubling because Fisher-Price has had a long-standing relationship with the Chinese vendor, which had applied decorative paint to the toys. Allmark said the company would use this recall as an opportunity to put even better systems in place to monitor vendors whose conduct does not meet Mattel's standards.

He added: "We are still concluding the investigation, how it happened. ... But there will be a dramatic investigation on how this happened. We will learn from this."

The recall follows another high-profile move from toy maker RC2 Corp., which in June voluntarily recalled 1.5 million wooden railroad toys and set parts from its Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway product line. The company said that the surface paint on certain toys and parts made in China between January 2005 and April 2006 contain lead, affecting 26 components and 23 retailers.

"Anytime a company brings a banned hazardous product into the U.S. marketplace, especially one intended for children, it is unacceptable," said Nancy Nord, acting chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. "Ensuring that Chinese-made toys are safe for U.S. consumers is one of my highest priorities and is the subject of vital talks currently in place between CPSC and the Chinese government."

Carter Keithley, president of the Toy Industries Association, praised Mattel's quick response to the problem, and suggested Mattel will use this setback as a lesson for not only the company but for the entire industry. However, he expressed concern about how the recall and other toy recalls will play out in consumers' minds in advance of the holiday season.

"We are worried about the public feeling," said Keithley, adding he observed how toy companies are embracing strict controls during a recent toy safety seminar in China. "We have thought all along that (consumers) can be confident in the products," he said. "But if companies like Mattel have this, then you have to ask how did this happen?"

Owners of a recalled toy can exchange it for a voucher for another product of the same value. To see pictures of the recalled toys, visit http://www.service.mattel.com. For more information, call Mattel's recall hot line at 800-916-449

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On a lighter note(ok lighter, if you don't take politics too seriously) the next story on the wire is Gonzales admits testimony 'confusing'. Gee, ya think? I think confusing is putting it gently.

10 on Tuesday

This week's topic: What do you do to get the creative juices rolling

1. Go shopping/work @ Scrapbook Destination (Mary Kay's fab store)
2. Blog Stalk my favorite folks
3. Just start on a page (I usually do 2 LOs at a sitting, usually not in love with the first, but the second usually makes me happy)
4. Surf the galleries
5. Surround self with people that make me streeeeeeeeeech my boundries
6. Paint
7. Challenge myself to make something out of the scraps on my desk
8. Organize my space --- finding forgotten goodies is the best
9. Look through cookbooks (hey a girl's got to eat and the styling usually gets things rolling)
10. Turn up the tunes

Peace of mind...

is priceless --- or if your a crazy dog mom $85 for a trip to doggie er at 9:30 pm.

So my little buddy found a plastic frisbee in the field and we played with for awhile. Soon after we come inside he starts to pant heavily, gag and this wierd hiccup like thing. I let it go for about 30 minutes and then started to get really worried. What if a piece of the frisbee broke off and was lodged in his throat?

Fortunately there is a 24 hour pet emergency clinic about 5 minutes from the house...so off we go. By the time we get there he stopped panting and gagging and only did the hiccup thing a few times. We waited about 30 min to see the vet --- as usual Tanner made quick friends with everyone. The vet could feel something small, but nothing major and gave him a treat. She was so nice, I felt like an overreacting mommy...but I had visions of a pieces of plastic stuck in his throat and there was no way I would have been able to sleep. But once the all clear was given we had a peaceful, restful night.

My Scraproom...

is just about done, here are a few pics...The first is what you see when you walk in the room, even Tanner is in his typical place in the middle of the room. Then I have my little sewing station. So nice to be able to leave my sewing machine out and have space when the mood strikes.

to the right of the sewing machine is the 'Walmart' special bookcase with all sorts of goodies. I filled it up so fast I really need another one, but don't know where to put it. I have another small work station that's holding the mess of ribbon I have. On the opposite side of the room is my main work station and the altered kitchen cabinets that hold the computer equipment.

Just a few more things to make it 'perfect'--- shelves for either side of the canvas work, an area rug and a small bookcase to hold paper instead of the dog kennel.

A Quick Post to make you smile...

This is really for my mom, but I thought others might get a kick out of this joke someone posted on the message board this am

He was just in the postoffice and this little ole lady walks in with a small dog.

Postmaster: You can not bring a dog in here.

Little ole Lady: He's my seeing eye dog.

Postmaster: You have a YORKIE as a seeing eye dog??

Little ole lady: Oh my gosh! HE'S A YORKIE???

More Layouts

I left work about an hour early today and finished up these layouts. One is for a challenge at Two Peas

and the other is a store sample with some new goodies from one of my favorite companies --- Scenic Route. Isn't Tanner the cutest?


Speaking of Tanner --- poor guy was so scared this afternoon. We had a serious thunderstorm roll through, he tried to hide under the bed.

A Little Thursday Fun

Fun Cards

Here are a few quick cards I made over the weekend. Can you tell I am in love with this little Quickutz dress die? It's so much fun --- it reminds me of my friend Charlene who is a total QK junkie. (yep I totally outed you girl, no more hiding in the closet ). It also reminds me of this great 'toy' I had as a kind some sort of Barbie pretend designer gizmo. It had several different rubbing plates that you could mix, match and color to create endless fabulous outfits. So I'm trying to think of ways to use this little dress like that. Mary Kay and I brainstormed a whole 'Sex in the City' card set with it. Stayed tuned for that.

Speaking of MK, I'm headed over to the store to see all the latest goodies she picked up at the show. After a month of seeing 'sneak peeks' online, I finally get to see and touch in person. Ooh La La!!

***10 on Tuesday***

Ok I know it's Wednesday, but I thought I'd sneak it in. Plus this week's topic required some serious thought and I'm not quite done. It requires digging a little deeper and those who know me well know I block and compartmentlize just about everything that involves real emotion --- the problem is to be really successful (and I'm one of the best) you have to block the good with the bad.

Top Ten Nicest Things Anyone has Done for You...
(in no particular order, gosh it was hard enough to think of these)

*When I was about 4 or 5 my mom bought me my first 'big box' of 60 crayons, I often wonder if that was where my love of color began. It's also one of only two memories I have of myself before age 10 so it must be pretty special.

* My dad who bought me my first horse --- a beautiful white arabian named Rosie. She helped me survive some tough early teen years.

* Random strangers who bought gas for me and my Freshman roomate after her jeep ran out of gas and neither of us had any money. Denverites will especially appreciate this moment to know that we ran out of gas on I-25 by the old Mile High Stadium. A questionable at best neighborhood

*Mr. Jorgenson, my AP history teacher who when handing back a research paper thanked me for taking the class and let me know I was the only one who received an 'A' .

*My sister and her hubby, Troy for letting me live with them for 6 months rent free while I got my life back together a little.

*Same aforementioned Troy for giving me the time to come to the decision myself to let go of Abby even after she attacked Lindy for a second time.

*My good friend Carol, who gave me my start in the Scrapbooking industry, always allowed me to express myself and provided endless positive feedback --- taking me on a scrapping cruise to the Caribbean ranks high too!

*My mentor Margaret, who gave me a strong foundation and belief that while the old saying 'change a child, change the world' may be corny it is the truth.

*Emily, Mary Kay and Vivian who welcomed me with open arms at the first pea crop. It was the first time I thought I hadn't made a major mistake in moving to Colorado.

Ok, I know that's only nine, but the others all run together into a bundle of memories that make up life.

Presto Chango!

Wow the weekend went fast --- as usual, but this weekend seemed even more so. Maybe because I was fairly productive --- at least by my scale.

Shelley and I spent the day together yesterday --- we hit the farmer's market in Highlands Ranch. I'm hoping to make this a regular habit. This time I picked up some gorgeous tomatoes, a cucumber, some cherries and a little kettlecorn, Yumm-O. Shelley splurged on some delicious looking apple strudel. We laughed and debated whether she would save some for Troy when he comes home from fishing trip tom or if she would eat all of the evidence on the 'eat for two' excuse.

Then off to Park Meadows for lunch and some maternity clothes for her. I wish I would have known that's how we would have ended up so I would have taken my camera and had some pics for the baby book.

Speaking of being productive...I finished a home project this weekend. Finally I made pillow covers for the couch and love seat. The couches came with this...




Which is a fabulous fabric if your into contemporary styles, strong graphics and bold colors. Me? Not so much, although there are times when I find those things very appealing. For my day to day life I am a Classic Girl. Plus the only things I have of artistic value in the living room have none of these colors. So what's a girl to do? Crafty girl to the rescue --- find great fabric and cover the cushions of course. About a month (ack maybe more) I found this fab silky stripe on sale at Jo-Anns and bought three yards. An hour of focused cutting, pinning and sewing time and voila 'new' pillows
.

New Layouts

My closest scrapping friends are all at CHA --- the vendor show for the crafty set. There getting a sensory overload on all the latest and greatest of the scrapping world. The two peas gang decided to host a 'CHA in spirit' day full of challenges to scrap. I played for a large part of the morning yesterday and finished two layouts. So the first LO it is from my trip to Disney (well the hotel at least), if you remember(yes, I do expect you to remember everything I write, there will be a quiz at some point.) from my post a few weeks ago I was intrigued my the number of images of Mickey that surround the area. Here are a few that photographed reasonably well. When I got home I learned that there is a whole sub-culture of Disney elite that look for and report the hidden Mickeys from the various properties and resorts. Check out some more places and see Disney from space here.


The next LO was a challenge to use a 'scrap' from your life on a page. I am totally addicted to this yummy organic raspberry lemonade. How lemonade is organic is really beyond me, I guess the lemons and berries could be grown organically. So I combined the label with a couple of pics from the farmer's market last week and a pic of the bag from the new grocery store just down the street from my house. I love the Sunflower market --- my kind of organic grocery --- cheaper than Whole Foods or Wild Oats one of the first things you see is a row of bulk chocolate and candy. Luckily the fruit looks even tastier than the candy so I don't go crazy. So I'm being successful at buying the healthy stuff --- now if I would just eat it before it goes bad.


The good news is that I won a prize for this LO in the challenge, not based on it's merits as a great page, but that a little boy picked my name from the list of entries, but I'm not picky. I love prizes any way I can get them.

Today is cleaning with cramps day and hopefully a trip to the farmer's market with Shelley.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!