I love my husband

So he goes to the grocery store last night, and find my favorite coffee EVER. Tully's Evergreen blend...so freakin' good....and buys some cause he remembers how much I raved about it and how we couldn't find it last time I went.

He's super! 

Vacation recap

This is quite possibly the best photo from the trip...We have lots of good ones...but this captures my husband so well.

We had a great week in Tennessee, back home visiting with family and friends. C and M came up to join us for the whole week - we had so much fun. One night we went camping at Old Forge, which really just meant that we ate really good food cooked over a fire, and that the boys went swimming naked, and no one got any sleep. M and I were convinced (especially having just seen snakes on a plane) that we were going to get bitten by snakes at every turn. But it was fun...perhaps our next camping experience will be in winter or here in WA where there are no poisonous snakes.

Erin came up on Wednesday and we had a lovely visit with her too. Friday/Saturday, several folks from Atlanta (and Chattanooga) came up to go down the river in what's going to be a tradition each summer. Then we had our wedding reception which was fun, but planning for it was a little stressful - although again, thank you M for keeping me sane and putting things in perspective. We had lots of fun and now we're back home, which is nice too. I am so much happier at work - I knew I needed a break :)

Have a great week. I'll post more pics as I get to it. 

Mina leaves for camp

Since we're on vacation next week, we decided that Mina would enjoy a week at a doggie "adventure camp" So she's staying at http://www.doubledogranch.com for the week. She's been there once before but I must admit I was a little teary when I dropped her off today as she's never been away from us for a week (never more than 2 nights)...I know she will have fun, and I trust these folks to take excellent care of her. We will miss her though.

My family doesn't believe it's a little schoolbus that picks them up...
She's happy and ready to go...although after we sat there awhile I think my nerves got to her and she was getting a little apprehensive herself. I should have brought some cheese for Sam to give her. 

Grandma

These pics aren't the greatest but this is another LO I have done this week. Ran out of A's so I thought subbing with the chipboard flowers was kinda cool.

I like remembering my grandma's flowers...she always had really pretty stuff growing. And she was so good at it too. 

silly quiz -answers in bold

YOUR HOME:::
Coffee table or soft ottoman? neither
Flower arrangements or candle-scapes? neither
TV/DVD/stereo black or silver?
Garden annuals or perennials?
Antiques & flea finds or matching sets?
Office or junk drawer?

YOUR SELF:::
Pony tale or butterfly clip?
Make-up or nada?
Cotton or synthetics?
Flip flops or leather sandals?
Silver or gold?
Purse or pocket?

WITH HUBBY:::
Fine dining or picnics?
In jammies or unmentionables?
You click the remote or he does?
Theater or rent?
Lowes or the mall?
House work or hire it out?

Latest works

This weekend I feel like I've moved up to a new level of scrapbooking, albeit temporarily. I did this page for a "Retrospective Challenge" on my friend Nat's website www.scrapbook-trends.com - it's a cool place , she does great interviews with all sorts of scrapbooking 'celebs'.

This next page is the closest I have ever come to "freestylin' " - I love it...but also wonder if this is a classic thing or one that will fizzle out soon. Like my friend Carl and tattoos..this definitely describes the current time in my life (the art, the photos are from 93) , and therefore it's important, as it tells the story of who I am NOW, and what I think/feel/create NOW. Very apt, my friend Carl is...
The last layout mainly to show off these really cool postcards that my mother-in-law sent us in her thank you card for hosting her and my sister-in-law. Not particularly AWE inspiring but a solid LO none the less...

I am feeling so creative - need to go and make more! Goodness knows I have the photos! 

Overtime = scrapbooking tools

With some of the overtime I have been accruing, I decided (with Ben's approval of course, since we share finances) that it was time to try "the Wizard", this fancy die cutting machine that is supposed to work with everyone's dies. I stalked the UPS man until 6:55PM last night for this order... So I immediately had to unpack it and try it out! Well, I read the directions, and it only took me a couple of tries before I got it - which surprised me b/c I had heard there was a pretty steep learning curve on it. I am sure that once I practise more I will be able to use it faster and get the hang of it better, but I did make lots of circles...I am now VERY anxious to get the alphabet dies I bought off a friend :) They're Sizzix and so I'm curious as to how easy they'll be to use on this, as well as how cute they'll look as titles.

I do think this machine is cool - I'm surprised by people who say it's light, because I personally thought it was really heavy - but I also haven't picked up a Sizzix machine :)
 

Birthdays rock!

My birthday started on Friday when my next door neighbor made my favorite snack/dessert, apricot bars. They're so yummy and she brought them over still warm! Friday night we grilled out and several folks, along with their dogs, came over - it was a dog party and a people party. Lots of fun, plus lots of pomegranate martinis, which I HIGHLY recommend.

Ben went against all he believes in and bought me a kickass Apple iPod! It's so cool, and the pic shows the cute and cheesy inscription he made on it. Several friends were so sweet to get me birthday presents as well - a giftcard from Michael's, a leather storage box, a beautiful set of 6 woolen dinner napkins, and some lovely modern-art style home decor pieces...I love birthdays!


 

My two faves

This picture warms my heart - this is back when we still lived in ATL and before Mina's ears would really lay flat....Totally snoozin' - we got her used to cuddling with us early...I even tried to get her to sleep in our bed...that was not a good idea - she wiggles too much, so we didn't do that but once. 

whew

Well, it's August and I'm so glad. Although this month is going to be as crazy as the last one... Ben and I decided that we were OVER July.

My co-worker has had a emergency that requires him to return to India for a few weeks - I am his backup so that means I do 2 jobs this month. Fine by me - I just hope his family gets well. I am also supposed to take vacation one of those weeks - thank goodness my boss says I still can. I am willing to work from TN one or two days but not the whole week, because this is for our wedding reception. So that's kind of more important - so glad she understands.

In other news, we're halfway through obedience class which is nice but it's going by too fast - I guess if I practised more with Mina I would feel like we're getting more out of it... I am having a craft gathering this weekend - hope it goes well. I think it will be fun - I am always impressed by the different crafts that people do. My neighbor makes needle-felted purses, and another neighbor paints watercolor, another one embroiders, and yet another makes bead jewelry. Too cool! And there are a few people who are interested in making a scrapbook for this or that...so I am looking forward to sharing what little I know about it with them.

Yay friends!

Love this pic! And I love my friends!