SHE'S HERE

Our family welcomed my beautiful niece 'Sienna Christyn Grice' on Saturday Dec 22nd 2007 at 11:33 am.

She is the best Christmas present ever...as precious as can be.

Second best Christmas present ever I gave to myself a Nikon D40 a wonderful camera to take pictures of this beautiful girl to share with all.

You can see more of the first couple of weeks of her life here http://siennagrice.shutterfly.com

Fashion Cents

So I ventured out in the snowstorm around 11 am yesterday...I should have held out for a couple more hours by 2 o'clock the sun was shinning and the wind had died down (still nippy though).

At any rate I was rewarded for my troubles when I got to Target --- I spent more than my usual 5 min in and out just perusing the aisles. I was so excited to find a cute dress for $14 bucks(on clearance of course).

Next on to the tights section(thanks to Tanner who decided to 'alter' my brown tights to a toeless version) Tights are clearly en vogue this year there were at least 20 different varieties. As a tight lover I personally don't think they should ever go out of style. I couldn't help myself I picked up 5 new pairs.

And just in case you're wondering --- I didn't forget the dog food. Thank goodness!

Don't you just love getting ready for work when you have something fun and new. I am and I guess I wasn't the only one who spied the dress on the clearance rack, one of our temp workers had the same dress on and paired it with the same color top. Imagine our surprise when we ran into each other in the am. Later in the day my friend Tina said she had also picked up the dress. Crazy, huh.

Fall Snow

So it's 8 am on Sunday and I'm excited that I got my fireplace going...I love the gas fireplace! It was one of the things that attracted my to this apartment. I love that I can flip two switches and have a cozy flame and a little bit of heat.

So why do I need a fire so early in the morning on a Sunday? Because outside it's doing this...

Yep it's the annual fall snow storm. They predict 3-4 inches over the day. I thought they were wrong early this morning --- Tanner woke me up at 6:30 and it was only raining. But over the next few hours the rain turned to snow.

It's amazing how fast you forget that snow can be a normal part of life...it is possible to drive and do things. But --- right now I'm content to sit in front of my fire with my cozy fleece blanket and knit the day away. Unfortunately I'm almost out of dog food so that won't be the case at some point I will have to venture out.

The good news is that tom. in true Colorado fashion will be sunny and a warm 50 degrees and that's why I love Colorado.

A Couple of Layouts

Work has been crazy the past month, but hopefully now that the funding count window is complete it will get back to normal.

I've been trying to do something creative everyday to maintain some sense of balance.
Here are a couple of my favorites from the past few weeks.I've had this picture for almost four years and have scrapped before, but it's one of my favorites and I found this quote and thought it would be perfect for the pic.


These are some of the pics I took in Vegas last month --- yes I did glue each of those circles individually. Crazy!

Tanner is...

totally pissed and not talking to me.

Why? Today he spent the day at the vet's getting his teeth cleaned. I dropped his off at 7:15 this am, poor guy had to go under anesthesia. True to his 'charming' self he had everyone in the office falling in love with him. So much so they let him out of the kennel when he was awake and let him have the run of the back office area.

But as for me, none of the charm --- he's sleeping in the other room and avoiding me. It's so strange to have him be so mellow.

Vegas 1

Okay so these guys weren't there...shocking! I think Ocean's 11 is one of my favorite movies. Yes, I know totally implausible which was hammered home while I was in Vegas. Still it is immensely entertaining, so it should be no surprise that I headed off for the Bellagio after checking into my hotel. We stayed at the Stratosphere, much nicer than some of the reviews I read, for $53 bucks a night you can't beat it. The only problem is that it is on the way North end of the strip. I spent a lot of time on the monorail going back and forth. So off I go, the independent explorer as Mary Kay didn't arrive until the next day. I was a girl on a mission! Recreate the ending of the movie for myself. And I was not disappointed...I arrived at the front of the Bellagio just as the sun was setting. Unlike the movie I was one in about a thousand people watching, but I still got a great photo spot. Too bad my camera is really night photo challenged. As you stand there you can see the mechanisms start to rise out of the water and before you know it the music has begun and the mist is rolling off the 'lake'. You can feel the cool air and slight mist on your face --- so refreshing for Vegas.


There is something so mystical about water...soothing and energizing at the same moment. From the misty start the fountains burst out of the water, you can't help but be mesmerized by the movement.

5 minutes later, just as it began the fountains sink into the water and the lake is still again. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip, I dragged MK back after a long day at the show on Monday night just to see it again.

aah vacation!

I just took a short break from the craziness at work to head off to Vegas for the Memory Trends show in Vegas. But before I took off for Sin City, I spent a little time with my parents as they were in town for their quarterly 'Spoil the Grand Children Visit'. Next to spoiling grandchildren, I think my dad's favorite thing to do is shop. Now that Shelley and Troy are expecting they get to be part of the fun and dad has an excuse to do his favorite things at the same time. The day started with a trip to Babies R' Us...it was Shell's first look at the world of baby stuff. I love the look on her face in this pic as she takes it all in and Dad gives his stroller recommendations.

Of course no stroller purchase can be made with a test run. So off they go, having stroller races around the store as mom and I watched and tried to keep other shoppers safe. After the stroller choice was a traveling crib set and the ever important swing. Finally a trip wouldn't be complete without picking out a few outfits...make that a few wardrobes when Dad's at the helm. Sadly, I had to leave them after a quick lunch at Cheesecake Factory. Tanner needed shots before he could go to Camp BowWow while I was in Vegas and then the parents were off to the Pueblo kids.

I just downloaded my Vegas pics tonight a whopping 80 pics for 4 days...I'll try and pick out my favorites and share them over the next few days. Man, Vegas has changed since the last time I was there about 10 years ago. I actually enjoyed the city much more than I was expecting too.

A few new layouts

Even though work has been super crazy, to keep balance I've been trying to do something creative as often as possible. Here's some of my most recent work...

A Little PSA...

saw a quick blurb about this on the news last night.

Doctor warns consumers of popcorn fumes

Consumers, not just factory workers, may be in danger from fumes from buttery flavoring in microwave popcorn, according to a warning letter to federal regulators from a doctor at a leading lung research hospital.

A pulmonary specialist at Denver's National Jewish Medical and Research Center has written to federal agencies to say doctors there believe they have the first case of a consumer who developed lung disease from the fumes of microwaving popcorn several times a day for years.
"We cannot be sure that this patient's exposure to butter flavored microwave popcorn from daily heavy preparation has caused his lung disease," cautioned Dr. Cecile Rose. "However, we have no other plausible explanation."

The July letter, made public Tuesday by a public health policy blog, refers to a potentially fatal disease commonly called popcorn lung that has been the subject of lawsuits by hundreds of workers at food factories exposed to chemicals used for flavoring.

In response to Rose's finding, the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association issued a statement Tuesday recommending that its members reduce "to the extent possible" the amount of diacetyl in butter flavorings they make. It noted that diacetyl is approved for use in flavors by the federal Food and Drug Administration.

One national popcorn manufacturer, Weaver Popcorn Co. of Indianapolis, said last week it would replace the butter flavoring ingredient because of consumer concern. Congress has also been debating new safety measures for workers in food processing plants exposed to diacetyl.
The FDA said in an e-mail it is evaluating Rose's letter and "carefully considering the safety and regulatory issues it raises."

Fred Blosser, spokesman for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, said it is the first case the institute has seen of lung disease apparently linked to popcorn fumes outside the workplace.

The occupational safety arm of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is working on a response to the letter.

William Allstetter, spokesman for National Jewish Medical, confirmed the letter was sent by Rose, a specialist in occupational and environmental lung diseases and director of the hospital's Occupational and Environmental Medicine Clinic.

"There have been no other cases that we know of other than the industrial occupational ones," Allstetter said.

Rose acknowledged in the letter that it is difficult to confirm through one case that popping buttered microwave popcorn at home can cause lung disease.

However, she said she wanted to alert regulators of the potential public health implications.
Rose said the ailing patient, a man whom she wouldn't identify, consumed "several bags of extra butter flavored microwave popcorn" every day for several years.

He described progressively worsening respiratory symptoms of coughing and shortness of breath. Tests found his ability to exhale was deteriorating, Rose said, although his condition seemed to stabilize after he quit using microwave popcorn.

She said her staff measured airborne levels of diacetyl in the patient's home when he cooked the popcorn. The levels were "similar to those reported in the microwave oven exhaust area" at the quality assurance unit of the popcorn plant where the affected employees worked, she said.
David Michaels, of the George Washington University School of Public Health, who first published Rose's letter on his blog, The Pump Handle, said the finding is another reason for federal regulators to crack down on diacetyl exposure by workers and consumers.

"This letter is a red flag, suggesting that exposure to food flavor chemicals is not just killing workers, but may also be causing disease in people exposed to food flavor chemicals in their kitchens," Michaels wrote on his public health policy blog.

Then and Now...

Life is starting to get back to normal, I don't anticipate any more 12 hour work days, at least I hope not.

I was thinking this morning that I have been back in Colorado 1 year today. Time marches on so quickly as an adult, it's hard to keep up sometimes. New location, new life? Not so much...

Lots of things are the same with just a couple of tweaks...

• I still hate to laundry and procrastinate doing it for as long as possible, but at least now it's on the same floor as the bedroom and I do sneak in a load at night every now and then
• I still live less than 10 minutes from work, but now I take advantage of it and come home for lunch a few times a week.
• I still buy lots of groceries, but now I cook less...it's the multitude of take-out options that's so tempting
• I still spend lots of time surfing the net, but now I've made some friends and my scrapbooking is really developing in a more true expression of my style
• I still work for an organization that serves kiddos, but now I am learning how to balance work with the rest of my life and leave at 4:30 most days without feeling guily
• I still spend lots of time with my fur baby, just a different one

• I still shop to make myself feel better, no buts here unfortunately

The biggest difference is that I have a more positive outlook on life, I still get sad and scared that if I start crying I won't be able to stop, but I do and I move on.

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.