Thoughts of a Grasshopper

So after 4 years, I finally made it to a banquet. I believe a chose not to go the first year, the second year I was sick, the third year he didn't bother to buy me a ticket and this year, although I didn't have much of a voice due to allergies, I made it. I ended up missing most of the main speaker's talk due to a hack fest. I felt so bad for one of the guys. When they were presented their award, they shook hands with the General, had a photo taken and then had to switch hands with the trophy so they could salute the General. His trophy went flying and one of the wings broke off of the eagle. He handled it well but I can imagine the ribbing he will get now. Last week I tried a new recipe. Although I've made it twice now I have yet to take a picture. Envision corn with a white dressing and bacon crumbled on top. I learned a couple of things about this recipe. It is best to partially thaw it if it is going to be a while before you have it. I left it frozen the s

I'm taking a break and came across this site, thanks to a friend. It cracks me up the things you can do. How fun is that? All you do is upload a photo and it merges it with another image that you choose. I cracked up with the super hero one. At one point when I was picking a different picture I had our son in a pink costume w/ bunny ears and a couple of dogs at his feet. I'm thinking a lollipop may have been there too. I didn't want to mortify him so I didn't copy the code.

I love this style of stamp. I usually can resist and not buy them but I do have a few sets on my shelf. I broke my rule of not buying a set unless I can visualize 3 ways to use it. I cleaned off my desk so I could stamp more and I sat with several sets before me trying to decide which one to use. I opted for this but had no idea where to begin with it. My husband liked the words on this stamp, while I prefer the other sentiment. I had to begin somewhere and ended up with this. Stamps: Sense of Time CS: WW, Choc. Chip, Certainly Celery, Delicate Dots Ink: Certainly Celery, Basic Brown Misc: SAB Bundle ribbon, Queen & Co. brads, scallop punch

This has been a huge cooking/baking week for the girls. No particular reason other than having people over, wanting to try new things, using up some things anticipating a move or the girls want to know how to be able to do more on their own. This cake has a 7-minute frosting on it. Between the layers it is mixed with strawberries. I overcooked the frosting. The first night it was fine but as leftovers, not as good. The frosting became more like a meringue as it sat. I have lots of cards to share, just need to snap some pictures. I still have more to go to finish off a present that needs to be in the mail by the end of this week or Monday at the latest.

I'm not a Conan O'B. fan but a friend shared this with me and it cracks me up. I love the part about the "0" on the rotary phone. I was that way. I remember being impatient waiting for it to finish so you could dial the next number.

I took advantage of the sketch challenge on SCS. I love Sugar Nellie stamps and hope that someday they are offered in the U.S. As simple as this sketch was it took me a couple of tries to get it right. Stamps: Giddy Up! CS: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Ruby Red, Watercolor, Western Sky DP Ink: Stazon Jet Black Misc.: Prismacolor pencils & gamsol, dimensionals, rope twine, eyelet, corner punch, flower gems, gems.

I bought a kit called Close to My Heart which was put together to benefit those affected by the bushfires in Australia. It is a great kit with bold, happy colors and who doesn't love this shade of blue with red - kind of a retro feel color wise. Although I think this picture would be better suited to a page where she could be some sort of super hero, I don't have such a kit so we went for bold. This picture was taken Saturday during a water fight with her Grandpa. It has been tradition ever since they were little that when they see Grandpa there is a water fight. In the winter the water fights still happen, just in the house and with the rule that they don't hit certain pieces of furniture. It is easier here to have them outside no matter what time of year, but it was another story in Virginia.

I planned to stamp last night and I knew I was toast before we even studied scriptures. I went to change into my pjs and the bed called me to rest for a few minutes. My husband thought I was toast too and offered to read with the kids and let me be. I couldn't have that because it sets a bad precedent for the kids. I can see one of the kids trying to use that in the future and it wouldn't fly. My MIL's birthday is coming up and I got her a keychain picture display. I think it holds 98 pictures. She loves pictures. I don't think I've seen so many albums in my life. I thought this year I would make some cards to give her too. It has been around 8 years since I did this and she loved them. She loved having them on hand and she thought they were nice and gushed for a long time over them. One thing she has commented on is needing sympathy cards. I thought I would focus on birthday and sympathy with a few others. She doesn't strike me as a "just beca

My commitments seem to be eating up all my time lately. I would like to believe things will slow down but deadlines are hitting all the time and the end right now is May 11th. I need to make time at night to stamp again. Perhaps tomorrow night. Our church held the annual pinewood derby Friday night. After a lot of talk, the kids ended up making a carrot w/ a rabbit on top, a bunny (not bugs bunny), iCar and Wii remote. They turned out pretty well. This is the 7th year for our oldest. He has been able to do his own car for 4 years now. The girls still need a lot of help, of course, the twins require the most help. They basically do their own sanding and painting. Depending on what is being cut, they are allowed to use the saw. The carrot car was originally going to be a turtle and if we couldn't pull it off, it was going to be a s'more. In the end, she opted for something she knew she could do. Another example of my "checking out" because I've been tellin