The one about the ice

The one about the ice started last night.
In no time at all, the sleet covered us up.
Luckily, we kept power all night.
And fortunately still have it.
Unlike many, many of our neighbors who have the same electric co-op.
this is also the one about me and my boots and sweats (always fashionable!)

braving the weather to grab some pictures of the damage.

Also the one about Angus braving the weather to find a place to do his business.
(I won't post those pictures, kay?)

See this pine tree limb?
It normally is above my head,
not mere inches from the ground.

and see that squirrel?
No?
look right in the middle there.
normally, I would not be able to hear him jumping from limb to limb.
Today, he sounded like thunder...crackling and popping with every step.

See this net-looking thing?
I have no idea what it is either.
It has no significance.
But it looked real cool covered in ice.
Hubs said it some kind of covering off of something or another.
It was laying on the ground by the shop....and a gas can.

Pretty much everything is covered in ice around these parts.

See these pretty little buds encapsulated in ice?
Aren't they pretty?
They make me sad though.

They make me sad because they are attached to this broken branch.

That means they will die a slow, cold death.

The ice is so pretty and sparkly.
But so destructive to our beautiful timber.

Okay, that was depressing.

And I cannot end this post on a depressing thought.

So I leave you with this:

Now I know it has nothing to do with ice.
But doesn't it make you smile?

....to be continued.

under the weather

is where I have been.
YUCK!
I was down all weekend and finally broke down today and went to the doctor.
That is a rare event with me.
I never ever go to the doctor.
Anyway, it's an upper respiratory infection and I am now on a Z-pack.
Hope to feel better.
I pretty much lost my voice over the weekend.
Today I just sound like a big ole toad.

Not only am I under the weather...I'm also waiting on the weather.
Evidently we have a huge ice storm heading our way.
Must be, because every single human being was in Wal-Mart.
They (whomever "they" are) say we might lose power because of ice on the power lines.
I am pretty sure I might go insane without internet or tv.
Might do us good to have to entertain ourselves.
Game night maybe?

On a crafy note:

Here are some ATC's I did for a Valentine/love swap that this fly diva is hosting. Made 35 of these babies. I wanted to keep it simple so I used my favorite: kraft cardstock, some Hambly, glimmer mist and white pen. I just cut out a heart to use as a mask and glimmer misted my heart out! I kept thinking I would add more, but I just thought the simplicity was pretty cool.

It will be fun to get them all and hope we don't have any flakers!

okay, I'm getting back in my pj's now and finding a quilt...brrrrr.

day in history

regardless of how you feel about him.
regardless of how you voted.
regardless of your race, color or creed.
January 20th was a historical day in the life of the United States
and each and every citizen.
The day Barrack Obama took the highest position in our Country's government: President.

I spent the day in Ash Flat
at work.
However, I watched as millions of others watched.
I watched on the good old laptop.
Live feeds via CNN and Facebook.
It was cool.
Decided....as others did to capture the images.

This is when the Obama's got out of their heavily armored car
affectionately named "the Beast" to walk in the parade.
(notice my comment on the right)

I decided also to capture myself in the moment.
Used the Mac's built in photo booth for this one.
I forget about that cool app.

I pray for Obama and his leadership abilities.
It is not going to be a picnic or walk in the park by any means.
I also pray that the unity that seems to have taken over much of our country continues.

On another note.
My workplace is going through a similar leadership transition.
One president leaving.
A transitional leader.
And a new president will take office eventually - at some point this year.
I pray for leadership abilities for each of them as well.
and for unity for my colleagues.

wow 2 in one day

had to come back to direct you to a little project I may participate in.
sounds fun
and it's free!
did you hear me?
free, I said.
but more important, I've heard fantastic things about her classes.
if you decide to participate, let me know.
maybe we can encourage each other and keep the motivation alive.

check it...
shimelle

neglect

yes I know I've been a bad blogger this week.
sorry for that.
just not in the mood I guess.
and nothing much to talk about.
it's been flippin cold
that is about it.

I even still have my holiday-ish banner.
just have not done any new "banner-worthy" photos
lately.
I'll get on that.

I'm doing a fun little creative project that I've mentioned before
with Mandie

diptych

you know what that is?
look it up.
I'm lazy I tell ya!

you can check out our diptychs on my flickr page.
there is also a flickr group for Art Slam that features diptychs.

I've had a blast doing them.
and have made a great new friend in the process!

I will try to update better this week.
although not much going on.
There are some challenges I've been wanting to participate in here, here and here.
Actually there are many others, but I've narrowed it down to these in particular.
we'll see how that goes.

Oh, how could I forget the one thing that happened this week:
AMERICAN IDOL!
so excited for the new season.
If you are a fellow AI fan, I encourage you to check out my
cyber friend, Stacey's (spasm's) blog dedicated to all things Idol.
she's an AI expert I tell ya!

I did scrapbook and will post when I get the photo taken...
but before that I will have to actually finish the page.

have a lovely week.

Elvis is in the building

as promised, I am posting in honor of The King's birthday this week.

I have blogged many times about Joe and Jake, my little cousins.
Joe is the oldest and is quite talented at the ripe old age of 7.
He has been performing for a couple of years now locally...churches, fairs, and other events.
His two main things: Gospel & yes you guessed it, Elvis!
This kid has literally studied Elvis.
Watching movies over and over.
Listening to CD's
Reading and investigating.
He has long since outgrown this particular outfit, but this was last summer at our county fair.
He has the moves down and can sport the look.
But he is missing something.
It is obvious is it not?
I mean the kid is a toe-head!
He desperately needs Elvis hair!
So, now I ask you 'oh avid blog readers'...
How many 7 year olds do you imagine had an Elvis wig on their Christmas list this year?
I would not even venture to guess.
However, I do know one....
Well, that meant "Aunt Cousin Kim" (as Joe & Jake call me) to the rescue.
Yes, that would make me "Super Aunt Cousin Kim"
I should probably have a cape or something, don't ya think?

I digress...
Anyway, I scoured the world wide web in search for the perfect Elvis wig.
I found several...but mostly they were minus the sideburns. (purchase separately - what a rip)
Until, I came across My Costume Wigs.
I hit paydirt!
They had a whole entire Elvis section!
I found one in my price range and decided to email them to make sure it would fit, etc.
The nice folks at My Costume Wigs emailed back the sweetest email.
I received the parcel and it was so nicely packaged.

I would highly recommend this site for any wig or costume needs.
I perused some of their other selections and they range from celebrity styles to geisha, mullet and clown styles. They even have mustaches and fake eyelashes.
Check them out.

I was so excited for Joe to unwrap his new Elvis wig.
Here is his reaction when he first saw himself:Okay, I'll admit again, I have never been a huge fan of Elvis, (sssshhhh don't tell Joe).
but I am huge fan of Joe; therefore, I will love Elvis as long as he wants to perform his songs...and his moves!
So here's to you Elvis Presley!
Happy Birthday - if you are in the building.

in honor of Elvis Birthday

Dang it I missed it earlier this week.
Elvis would have celebrated his 145th birthday this week (not really, but I don't honestly know how old he would be, so this is my attempt at sarcasm)

Anyway, I will be back later with a post about Elvis, a wig and a 7 year old.

Mind you I am not an Elvis fanatic - at all.
But I adore the 7 year old.

Right now, I am going to shop for a few bargains at Goody's.
They, like so many other companies are folding.

Hate it - it only means more people will be jobless.
Plus, I've become an Ashley Judd clothing line addict.
Hoping to find some super good markdowns.

on my way home from work

I cannot possibly look at these pictures and not KNOW that God created every bit of it.

How fitting it goes with part of my Sunday School lesson last week:

Psalm 19:1
from The Message:
God's glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.
and NIV:
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

I love this site for reading so many different translations of the Bible.
My Bible is NLT (New Living Translation) which is easy to read and fairly simple (which I am!), but I also enjoy the King James, after I understand what it is trying to say of course!

With one of my new "resolutions" being really reading my Bible, meaning studying my Bible, this site comes in handy. I had signed up last year for it to read my Bible through in a year, but I fell off the wagon on that one and once you get behind it is discouraging and I always felt like I was catching up. When I was catching up I really wasn't taking in everything I was reading. So this year I have opted to simply read more & study more. :)

ReCap of 2009

Not much to recap I suppose since it's only been 4 days, but anyway, here goes...

NYE a/k/a Alex's Birthday was fun - a small gathering of friends in our shop.
The guys shot pool and us girls just sat around and laughed and conversed.
Alex and company just had fun hanging out.

They had bought the cute New Year headband/crown thingies and the girls made a quick trip to Wally World for some for the guys...they were good sports wearing their yellow-New-Year-too-small-top hats!Prior to the hats everyone seemed to be sporting this red bow from one of Alex's gifts...Here is Matt being a REALLY good sport about it....bless his heart!

Tracy wanted them to Walk Like Egyptians...yes, just like the 80's Bangles song.
Colby looking adorable!
The infamous chocolate chip cookie pizza that Alex requested instead of a cake...don't ask about what my oven looked like after. I'll just say there is a pan under that cookie somewhere.
Hello lovelies!
I just had to include this picture of Tracy and Charlie because this face the Tracy is making cracks me up! I've seen her make this face more than once.

I include these pics because this soiree lasted until after midnight...those kids were wound up and I didn't think they would ever wind down!

okay, onto to the first official day of January - I pretty much was worthless!
nuff said.

The second day of January I spend getting all organized for the new year.
Planner in order,
Bill & receipt files cleaned out,
some crafting,
and I did laundry and such.

The third day was a little shopping trip to Melbourne...hit the scrapbook store that is closing.
40% off everything...including Thickers...who can resist???
I also began the Team Diptych project with this lovely chick, Mandie
Our word for the day was "change"
Here is what we came up with...
I'm on the left...I took this because of the wacky change of temperature we've been experiencing the last few days. Mandie did this cool ATC card.

Check out other diptychs on the Art Slam Flickr Pool.
I do love me some Flickr!
Thinking of doing the Pro account.

Brings me to today...the fourth day of January.
Church and a little scrapping and art journaling.
I did this page from Jann's Stash Diet challenge.
The idea is to use what you have in your scrapstash.
The theme was "this time next year" and extra points for a handmade title.
I cut mine out of woodgrain contact paper...man I luff that stuff!

Okay, so there is my recap of the year so far....

I still need to post some Christmas pics...I'm just so lazy and there are just so many!

Back to work tomorrow. ugh
I'm a little excited to see all my friends and colleagues but not looking forward to being all structured again.
It will be difficult to get my buns #1 in bed at a decent hour and #2 even harder to get them up at 6AM!

over and out.

December Daily 2008

As promised I am going to post my December Daily mini album a la Ali Edwards.

WARNING though: This will be a long and photo heavy post.
I will not repost the first few pages that I did posted earlier, you can find them here

Also, please note that this book has lots of transparencies and odd sized pages so it may look weird or confusing in places. If you are interested in seeing each spread you can refer to my flickr

Another sidenote: if you read my blog regularly you will recognize a lot of this. I have posted many of the photos throughout the month, and quite a bit of the journaling is straight from my blog. I found if I got behind a day or two with my book, I could refer back to my blog for the stories & details I wanted to tell.
Whew!
I'm worn out just posting all of these.
And if you have made it this far...congratulations!

This back cover (under the thick x-ray film transarency given to me by my sweet DIL Amy) is a piece of vintage wrapping paper...isn't it awessome?

There are tidbits throughout my book from magazines, junk mail, vintage goodies, and lots of new stuff - some given to me as birthday and/or Christmas gifts.

This book is a true treasure for me and I will definitely be doing one again next year for the holidays.

Heck I might do one for July!

I would encourage anyone to try this....use a blog, do a digital scrapbook, a notebook, journal, or scrappy products.