One Stitch At A Time Saturday Challenge #136

Today begins a new challenge at One Stitch At A Time! This week we have Challenge #36: Use A Digi! I was lucky enough to enjoy some digital papers from Panda Bear Designs - Barnyard Buddies AND and image from Stitchy Stamp - Sweet Pea.

I had a green theme going, so I used two green papers from the Barnyard Buddies pack - the green plaid and the more gradient solid green. They were perfect! The more solid paper I embossed with The Paper Studio embossing folder and the cardstock I embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. I also used Memory Box Swirl and Flower Dies, stickles and 3D Paint - Seafoam Green. "Welcome" is from Paper Smooches - Word Salad. I inked the flowers and the edge of graphic square with ColorBox Fluid Chalk - Warm Green.

Copic:
G05, G07, G09, G20, G24, G28, G29
YG01, YG03, YG06, YG09
Hair: E000, E00, E01, E93
White Details: E41
Blender

I can't wait to see what you all come up with for this easy challenge :)

Challenges:

• Flowers and Embossing @ Ladybug Crafts Ink TLT
• Challenge: Your Favorite (My Favorite is GREEN!!!) @ Simon Says Stamp and Show
• Three: Have Three of Something (Flowers) @ Creative Craft Challenges
• Challenge #73: Emboss It @ My Craft Spot
• 4CCC-112: Dry Embossing @ 4 Crafty Chicks
• #81: Anything Goes @ Inspire Me Fridays
• Challenge 57: Flowers @ A Gem of A Challenge
• CCH #130: Handmade Flowers @ The Crazy Challenge
• Anything Goes @ The Poodles Parlour
• Embossing Technique @ V's Sweet Ideas
• Anything Goes @ Fussy and Fancy Friday
• Die Cut Challenge: Pumpkin or Vegetable (Pea) @ Stuck On U Sketches

Have a great day/evening everyone!!!

OSAAT Challenge #134: Boo!

Happy belated World Cardmaking Day! I hope you all had a wonderful day of making cards. I was able to get a couple of cards done. Hopefully I will be able to work on a few more today.

This week the challenge at One Stitch At A Time is Boo!

Image: Celebrating the Autumn
Copic:
Skin: E000, E00, E11, E93
Brown: E43, E44, E47, E49
White: C1 highlights
Gray: C1, C3, C5
Green: G20, G24, G28
Yellow: Y00, Y32, Y35
Orange: YR02, YR15, YR16, YR18
Other: 100 - Black and 0 - Colorless Blender
Flower Soft - Autumn, Twine,Papers: All scraps

Such a cute little image! I popped part of the arms, the pumpkin part of the head, the socks. I did some ink splats/drops on the white background.

Challenges:

• Challenge #139: Colors of Autumn @ Kaboodle Doodles
• PPMC59: Fall @ Paper Pretties
• {PIN}spirational Challenge #27 @ {PIN}spirational Challenges
• Challenge 20: All About Autumn @ Loves Rubberstamps
• Challenge #135: Let's Think About Fall @ Sassy Cheryl's Digi Stamps
• Challenge #104: My Sentiments Exactly @ Crafts and Me
• Challenge #190: Colors of Fall @ Crafty Creations
• Challenge 55: Use Some Texture (Flower Soft) @ Divas by Design
• PPA144: A Perfect Fall Color Challenge @ Pals Paper Arts
• Challenge 115: Anything Goes! @ Papercraft Star
• Challenge 38: Anything Goes @ Peachy Keen Stamps
• Anything Goes @ Pixie Dust Studios
• Challenge #23: Autumn / Fall @ Simply Create Too
• Fall Is Here @ Card Makin' Mamas
• Challenge 153: Autumn @ Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge
• Down In The Garden (of pumpkins) @ Joanna Sheen
• Inspire Me Fridays 79 @ Joyful Stamper
• Challenge #8: Halloween Fun @ QKR Stampede
• October Anything Goes @ Catch The Bug - Bugaboo Stamps
• Halloween @ Crazy 4 Challenges
• Fortnightly Challenge NO 46: Anything Goes @ Forever Friends
• #28: Use A Digi @ The Cutie Pie Challenge Blog
• Challenge 152: Anything Goes! @ Totally Gorjuss
• Challenge 76: Indian Summer (Red, Yellow, Orange) @ Crafty Cardmakers
• Challenge #38: Color Pallete @ Creatalicious Challenges
• Challenge #95: It's Picking Time @ My Sheri Crafts
• Challenge #37: Costumes/Dress Up @ Crafting For All Seasons
• #5: World Card Making Day: Colour It! @ Let's Capture These Sketches
• Anything Fall @ Paper Cupcakes
• #75: Fall Theme @ More Than Favors
• TTT Challenge: Tic-Tac-Toe (The Color Orange, Free, Digi) @ Shelley's Images
• Halloween @ The Poodles Parlour
• Challenge 24: Yellow, Red, Orange / Anything Goes @ ATCs with Attitude
• Challenge #11: Make A Halloween Card @ Broken Box Stock
• Challenge 24: Yellow, Red, Orange / Anything Goes @ Fat Pages with Attitude
• Halloween @ Little Scrap Pieces
• Challenge #3: Halloween Creations or Halloween Colours @ No Matter Which Challenges
• October Card Challenge: Autumn Card @ Bo Bunny
• October Challenge: Anything Goes In Autumn @ The Cupcake Craftroom
• October Spook-tacular Challenge @ Twine-ology

I hope you all have a wonderful day/evening!! I stayed up way too late last night LOL I don't feel too bad this morning though. I watched Bathurst online last night while Kevin watched on the tv. His favorite race... Now we just need to make sure we can get it over here somehow next year. Hopefully  the online feed will be there again. It was a really good feed! And live too! It was only half over when I finally crawled off to bed though LOL

I need to wake the kids up soon for church. We will go to church this morning and then home. I'm behind on my Thankful list.. I may have to make that a weekly list until I'm less busy at work. So much of my time is trying to get caught up each week.

Alright.. enough rambling :) 

Sunday Morning and a new Challenge at OSAAT!

Happy, Glorious Sunday morning everyone! We will be heading off to church soon, but first I will tell you about the all new challenge being hosted at One Stitch At A Time this week! It is a fun Bingo Challenge!!

For this challenge I used "New Fairy" by Ike. This is Challenge #132: Bingo. I used Sentiment, Digi, Button, across diagonally. To make the background I used my mists and template. The buttons are from my stash :) Cute little buttons.

I colored everything with Copic.. and I didn't save my list so I have no idea LOL The wings are done with a transparency sheet. I printed it out, cut it and then colored with Copic. I've started writing down my supplies LOL so I don't have this problem of not being able to remember.

Challenges:

• Challenge #33: Things with Wings @ Love To Create
• Challenge 18: Make Your Own Background @ Loves Rubberstamps
• Challenge #139: Things with Wings @ Fab 'n Funky
• Challenge #37: Things with Wings @ Charisma Cardz
• Challenge #151: Buttons @ Crafty Catz Weekly

It has been an interesting few days. Thursday I had a doctor appointment. They took blood to do a full profile and she thinks I may have acid reflux. I was dumbfounded LOL I have never had it..why would it be affecting me now! Well... we will see :)  After the doctor appointment I headed into work and was able to get a bunch done.

On Friday I had to take my van into the mechanic. It was smelling like burnt rubber and smoking. They got me in there and took a look. It was an oil leak and they had to replace the gasket. I never like that bill! It is always expensive, but at least it was fixed. The two hour repair turned into a five hour repair though. I had to borrow my mother's car so that I could run home and get on a conference call. In the morning I worked outside the City Hall. I was able to log into the City's wireless and log into work. The connection was slow and not stable, but I was able to get some work done. I also took my mother to lunch. Her birthday was yesterday, but since I wasn't going to be around I took her to lunch on Friday instead. It was a good lunch. Overall, it was a good day, work got finished, conference call was attended, lunch was good, I was able to mail the documents that needed to be mailed to Kevin. I don't think there was anything else, but it felt like a really busy day of running around.Oh! I know what else... I took the bike that was going to bring to Taylor over to the bicycle shop. They did a safety check on it and make some adjustments. It is in good working order now and she shouldn't have a problem. I also got a rack put on it and two grocery type bags that hang off the sides of the rack and a chain to lock it up. It is really great and I hope she gets some use out of it.

Saturday morning I woke the kids up and told them to get busy picking up the house. I did the dishes that the kids never did the night before! and they picked up around the apartment. They didn't have a lot of time, because I wanted to get out the door. We were heading to Dahlonega to bring the bicycle to Taylor. Michael and Bailey had not been to Dahlonega yet either to see where she was going to school. It was a good trip and we did a lot of cadet watching LOL North Georgia University is a military school. A lot of the students that attend there are cadets. We watched them march by for quite some time. There was always a group of them going by. They marched and chanted to the Dining Hall. T-Bone went with us so he didn't have to stay in the crate all day. He was so good! It was a good day, but I was exhausted from all the driving.

And now we are on Sunday! Time for a great morning at church and then home to work on some cards. I love being ahead on all of the DT obligations. It really makes me feel good. I hope you all have a beautiful rest of your weekend and week to come!

Thankful
09/20/2012

1. I am so thankful that I like my doctor, Dr. Odell. I think she is wonderful. She listens to what you say and goes from there. She listens! That is such a big thing for me. I have not always liked my doctors :)
2. I am thankful for being able to deal well with the needle pricks. They can never hit a vein on me and they have to poke and prod.. it is awful!!! She finally got it in my hand... I hate needles! Next time I need to tell them to go straight for the hand.. don't touch anything else!
3. I am thankful for being able to get in to work on Thursday and get some things done. No one really bothered me.
4. I am thankful for the excitement that Michael has for drama. There is a special High School that focuses on the Arts. He really wants to try to go there. He will have to hard at it, but he is excied about something and that is WONDERFUL!
5. I am thankful for Kevin and how his with me. He tells me what I know is right, but I may not be doing so well. For example... Encouraging Michael on this new en devour. He tells me to encourage him.. not discourage.. be truthful, but hopeful. And! He gets excited for Michael.. which in turn gets Michael more excited. I love him so much for never holding something back... I'm so glad he talks to me like that. He is such a great man.

09/21/2012

1. I am thankful for the mechanic who always fixes whta ails the vehicles. I may not always like the bill, but it always gets fixed.
2. I am thankful for the Kennesaw Wireless which allowed me to sit outside at a picnic table on this beautiful day and log into work. I was able to continue work while I waited on repairs.
3. I am thankful that I was able to take my mother to lunch for her birthday. Her birthday isn't until tomorrow, but it was good!
4. I am thankful for my mother allowing me to use her car so I could run home and do my scheduled conference call for work.
5. I am thankful for all of the help and support I get from work and the vendors we work with. It makes everything so much easier.
6. I am thankful for being able to sit down and watch a movie with Michael tonight. We watched "The Help".

09/22/2012

1. I am thankful for the kids getting up and cleaning up the house before we left.
2. I am thankful for the safe drive to Dahlonega and back home today.
3. I am thankful for the bicycle shop across the street that adjusted the bike and made sure it was safe. I gave the bike to Taylor today equipped with a rack and two bags. Now she has some transportation on her own. A lot of students use bikes too.
4. I am thankful for the time we were able to spend at the college campus today and with Taylor. This was the first time Michael and Bailey had been up there.
5. I am thankful that T-Bone was such a good boy today. He was great on the ride up and back home. He was great walking around the square. He was just super today!

OSAAT Challenge #130: Under 18's

Happy Sunday everyone. Today is the start of Challenge #130 at One Stitch At A Time!! The theme this week is Under 18's. I used the "In The Meadow We Can Build A Snowman" image for this challenge.

I used Darice Snowflake Embossing folder. The image was colored with Copic, although I forgot to maake a list! It's such a cute image. I thought she should be in bright pink ;) Since I have such a hard time doing Clean and Simple I tried with this one. LOL Best I could do. I don't know what it is.. I don't know why I have such a block with Clean and Simple! Oh well!!

Challenges:

• Challenge 53: Embossing @ Patties Creations Challenge
• Anything Goes @ Shelly's Images
• Challenge #26: Anything Goes @ The Squirrel And The Fox
• Inspire Me Fridays 75: Anything Goes @ Joyful Stamper
• CFC69: Embossing @ CAS-ual Fridays
• Challenge #73: Anything Goes @ My Mums Craft Shop
• Anything Goes @ Papertake Weekly
• Anything Goes @ 7 Kids College Fund

I finally spoke to my mother yesterday after a couple of weeks. I did this at the urging of Kevin :)  I know he was right too.. the longer I put it off, the harder it was to call. I called and I asked her if she wanted to go to church with us tomorrow. She said yes.. we said see you in the morning and that was it LOL. I figure the whole issue will come up tomorrow and we will talk. Better to do it in person anyway. So that is that.

Still no word from Immigration. This is the most long, drawn out process and the worst part is just not hearing anything and not knowing. The attorney said that if he doesn't hear anything by Friday that he will call again. So.. I will keep praying and hoping that we hear something soon. I really want him home by Christmas.

This week.. even though it was a short week (4 days) it was so extra long!! I really thought it would never end! We will see how next week shapes up. The best thing would be to have good news from Immigration right at the beginning of the week.

I have a bunch of images I'm trying to get colored. I have figured out that is what takes me the longest. That and cutting them. And that is only because I love to piece them LOL I have one image colored and pieced and I'm working on two others.. and I have about 5 more waiting. Once I have them colored it doesn't take as long for me to put the card together.. okay, mostly doesn't take me as long. Okay Okay!! I'm slow! I'm slow and everything takes me way too long to finish LOL

September 6th:

1. I am thankful for having an Archiver's right across the street. They have the best selection of papers around.. and well.. I'm just a paper junkie! It is my very favorite thing!
2. I am thankful for the inhaler that was prescribed for Bailey today. I'm hoping it will help her with some issues we have had with constant coughing, tightness, etc. Time will tell.
3. I am thankful for having a good job and a promotion. I am so lucky to be able to go to work each day and get a paycheck.
4. I am thankful for having Skype and Kevin. He was able to show Bailey how to use the inhaler.
5. I am thankful for my bipap which helps me to get a decent sleep each night. Now I just need to get in for a checkup and a new machine. I am definitely due. And I'm not really sure how I ever slept without it.. Oh wait!! I don't think I did LOL

 September 7th:

1. I am thankful for being able to work from home on Friday. This allowed me to actually get some work done and to finish the phone bill which had to be done by 5 pm.
2. I am thankful for Michael who came and filled my water glass while I worked away.
3. I am thankful for the Walmart across the street, which is where I buy most of our groceries. They have almost everything for much cheaper than anywhere else.
4. I am thankful for having medical insurance and dental insurance which helps me afford to take care of everyone and get the medications that are needed.
5. I am thankful for the medical spending account at work which I pay a little on through the year. The card has the entire amount on it at the beginning fo the year. This makes it so much easier to pay for medical and dental exams, medications, glasses, contacts, any procedures that need to be done. It has helped so much.

September 8th:

1. I am thankful when the kids listen to me. It is so nice when they actually do what I say before I have to ask them a dozen times and get angry.
2. I am thankful for Kevin having a good place to live. I am so glad that Vaughn and Karen are good to him.
3. I am thankful that Kevin quit smoking last year. He was so very sick, but he wasn't able to smoke and when he got well he never picked them up again.
4. I am thankful for being able to open the windows for the first time since early spring. It just got too hot too early this year. I love being able to open the windows.
5. I am thankful for Netflix. Where I can watch shows and movies which is exactly what I do each night when I go to bed.

Off to church soon.. I hope you all have a wonderful day/evening. Happy crafting!

OSAAT Challenge #128 - Use A Digi

Good morning Everyone!!! Today is a new challenge at One Stitch At A Time. This is Challenge #128 with a theme of "Use A Digi!". Here is my card for this week using one of Barbara Jensen's images - Little Mermaid.

I should have taken more photos.. There isn't much here that isn't pieced. I handcut and crafted the underwater scene.. just hoping that it looked like a coral reef LOL I used my Copics to add shading and detail to all of the items as well as coloring the Little Mermaid. I added some sand and detail touches with my black millennium. I also added a little bit of stickles to add a little shimmer. For the final touch I added the "Sea You Soon" sentiment.

Challenges:

• Include a Sentiment @ Whoopsie Daisy Challenge
• Challenge: No Rules! @ Simon Says Stamp and Show
• #49: Anything Goes @ Bearly Mine
• Challenge #67: Splishy, Splashy Summer @ My Crafty Spot
• Summer Fun @ Ladybug Crafts Ink TLT
• Color Throwdown #206 @ The Color Throwdown
• Challenge 49: Anything Goes! @ Divas By Design
• DYSU #86: Fantasy @ DYSU Challenge Blog
• Challenge 231: Bling It Up! @ Cute Card Thursday
• Beside the Seaside @ Daring Cardmakers
• Go Fish Challenge #23 @ Go Fish Challenge Blog
• FBC #107: Photo Inspiration Challenge @ Fresh Brewed Blog 

Another week is gone and still no word from Immigration. We will see what happens next week. If we don't hear anything I will be reaching out to the attorney again. I really hope we hear something soon. Today, we head off to church for the 10:30 am sermon. It is the church's 25th anniversary, so I'm sure they are planning something special. We will see soon enough. I hope you all have a wonderful day/evening and may your week be wonderful!

Taylor Off To College... OSAAT Challenge #127

Good morning everyone! Today begins a new challenge at One Stitch At A Time! The theme for Challenge #127 is Back To School. I used Image 'Yo' by Barbara Jensen.

I used several different papers and lettering. I colored the image with my Prismacolor Pencils. The papers are Numbers and Letters by Echo Park, Composition Book by Pinecone Press Papers, I don't know what the grid paper is.. but I love it. The card is made of Kraft. The ruler was on one of the papers and I punched the two holes in it. The "Back" was from some stickers from Michaels Reflections line. The '2' is a Thicker and the School was a random item from my stash. I also used Gamsol on my coloring to help blend. I popped the letters and numbers paper and I also popped the image and then I pieced the hand and popped it out a bit more. I love this image.. I think she is adorable. Thanks for taking a look! I can't wait to see what you can come up with now!

Challenges:

• August Sketch Challenge @ The Craft's Meow
• Challenge #66: Back To School @ Daisy Doodles
• Back To School @ Penny's Paper Crafty
• Challenge #230: Back To School @ Cute Card Thursday
• Inspire Me Fridays 72: Anything Goes @ Joyful Stamper
• Back To School @ Splendiferous Creations
• Challenge #37: All About School @ Use It Tuesday
• Challenge 13: Back To School @ Platypus Creek Digitals
• Challenge #20: Back To School @ Simply Create Too
• Challenge #92: Back To School @ My Sheri Crafts
• Challenge #109: Back To School @ Raise The Bar
• Challenge #28 @ Tuesday Alchemy

Friday morning I took my oldest to college. We went to Walmart to pick up a few last minute things for her and then headed on our way to Dahlonega, Georgia. It was a good ride up. Takes us about an hour and a half to two hours I guess. The school is North Georgia College and State University. They are changing their name to North Georgia University soon I believe. So, she moved into the dorms on Friday. She starts classes either Monday or Tuesday. Her roommate seems really nice. She is from North Georgia and she has some ribbons from showing sheep and cow. She is also good at English, her mother is a high school english teacher, she is a nursing major. Taylor should be able to help her some of the medical stuff and hopefully Taylor can get some help from her on the english/writing side of things. Should be a good trade off. I met her parents. They were very country and really nice. They are all snug and tight in that dorm room! I really hope that she will enjoy her time at school and really focus on doing what she needs to do.

Her friend is up there with her as well as her boyfriend. I'm not really keen on her friend.. never have been. This girl is obsessed with Edgar Allen Poe, she is a very dark person. Taylor and I went to lunch and she said that she couldn't wait to meet this girls roommate. She said if she is a good, god fearing girl (not in so many words) that her friend will go way out of her way to scare her, even bringing out her demonology book. I looked at Taylor and said.. And you wonder why I have never liked your friend. Anyway... God has already intervened in her life and she doesn't realize it. She is in a separate dorm from her friend and her boyfriend. She will be able to get to know new people. She doesn't have the same classes as her friend or boyfriend either. So their schedules will be different and they will not have a lot of time to hang out. God is wonderful. I will keep her in my prayers. I hope that she will do well.

This is Taylor in her dorm trying to unpack and get her stuff where it needs to go.

This is right outside of her dorm; looking at her building.

This is looking right down the middle. They are really crammed in there.

This is Taylor's side of the room.. her bed and then underneath is her desk and the two three drawer dressers stacked on top of each other. They each have a wardrobe too and her roomate brought a futon which is under her bed on the other side. And the little fridge near the door.

Happy Olympics Eve

Good morning everyone.. or evening for those of you going to bed soon. And Happy Olympics Eve! The opening ceremonies are tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited. I just LOVE the Olympics. The games have already begun; there have been some events that have been going on. Kevin and I were talking about that this morning... and he makes so much sense ;)  I was surprised that they were going on before the opening ceremonies, but when he said that the team sports take more time because they can only play a game a day.. well.. doesn't that make perfect sense LOL  Just things that I don't think about. The U.S. Women's soccer team played and won... that is all I've heard so far. I will have to do some snooping around today to see what is going on. I also need to find out when the opening ceremonies are tomorrow. I love to watch the opening ceremonies and everyone trying to outdo the previous years LOL It is always a lot of fun.. Okay.. except when all the countries walk in.. because it just takes so long and I lose interest really quickly LOL

What else has been going on? I have been training a temp to help out in another department.. and I hate training people! I've been back and forth and feel like I haven't gotten anything accomplished really this week. Today I'm not going over there so I will just focus and try to get a bunch done.

We have been home since Tuesday... Wow!  That isn't very long is it LOL  No wonder I haven't recuperated!  I feel so worn out, but at least I was able to work on a card last night for OSAAT and I'm almost finished with it. I worked on it some more this morning and when I get home I will put the last touches on it. I am also going to print some images here at work... better printer! I brought my paper and that will give me some images to work with this weekend.

Night before last I was watching Netflix in the bedroom.. dozing off, when all of a sudden I heard a 'POP' and a big flash of light which woke me from doze. My DVD player was fried! I have been having some trouble with that thing for a little while now. I stopped by BrandsMart and picked up a new DVD last night... making sure I got one that I could connect to Netflix. Wouldn't you know!! I paid attention to the Netflix part, but failed to pay attention to the WiFi part. Ughhhh.. so I packed it back up and I'll return it today. I hate when I do things like that. I get in such a hurry that I don't pay close enough attention. Or, I don't read something carefully. This is really a bad habit of mine.. I need to slow down and pay closer attention. i got annoyed when I went in there, because there were about five salesmen just standing around talking. So, I grabbed and ran.. My fault! I should have paid closer attention! I knew what I needed. Tonight I will stop back by and exchange it for the correct DVD on my way home.

Here is a card for today:

The stamps are from Stampin' Up. Its just pretty simple. The square is covered in Diamond Glaze and then I cracked it. I love Diamond Glaze!

Challenges:

• Challenge 18: Anything Goes @ ATC's + Cards With Attitude
• Challenge 26: Color Challenge @ E.A.D Designs
• Clean and Simple @ Paper Pretties
• Challenge # 94: Anything Goes @ Crafts and Me Challenges
• Day 140: Layered Stamps @ 365 Cards

How the World Is...

I was driving into work this morning, I tend to reflect on things in the car and this is where I pray. I try not to focus on the dumb drivers out there and getting angry, which is easy to do. I try to think about other things, just reflect on things in the world and going on in life. Keeps me much more calm when I'm driving.  I also find that if I listen to the local Christian station I tend to be more calm  and slow down. If I listen to the other local station I normally listen to, I tend to really get a lead foot, I speed and I get angry at the people around me! LOL I'm so quirky I know!

I was reflecting back on the Sunday service at church. I was talking to Kevin about it when he woke up on Sunday evening.. his Monday morning. They read a passage in Revelations. Now, if I would have read that passage on my own I would have closed the bible and not known what the heck I just read. I would have thought of horror movies with monsters and dragons and 666. But instead, they really break it down and allow to make so much sense. They really go into the history of the writing and break it down so even I can understand. Then after delving into the history of it, they bring it back to today and it all becomes relevant.

So, what did I learn? I learned that the visions of the beasts coming out of the earth were representative. They represented the different Caesar's; and there were two different Caesar's that they represented. I couldn't tell you the first names of them because.. well... I'm just old and can't remember things like I used to LOL! I also learned that back in those Roman times they used Cryptogram type writings often and that 666 really represented the name Caesar back then. Caesar (whichever one it was) had people stamped with 666 on their foreheads and hands in order for them to be allowed to buy and sell. So, he was pretty much marking them as his property it seems to me. I found it really interesting listening to the history of it all. The service was on "Your Focus" so it talked about how the Caesar's manipulated the people and they lost focus on the Lord. Then they switch it around to today and how we can lose focus on all that goes around us. Anyway.. I thought it was really great and I always learn so much.

After the service I grabbed one of the newsletters they had in the pews. It was about the missions that the church works with. I read the stories and learned things that I just never knew or paid attention to. The church really does some great things. They feed pastors in poor areas of Cuba so that they can reach out to their communities without having to worry about how they are going to fee their families. The one that really stuck out to me was China. Now, If I'm correct, China is a communist country. I know that the government rules over pretty much everything there, but I never knew you couldn't be a Christian. There are a lot of Christians in China, but they are all underground. It is so hard for me to comprehend that you can not choose, because that is all I've ever known. Mount Paran North went to China and taught bible study there to the underground churches. Apparently, there is bible smuggling into that country like smuggling drugs. It really touched me when I read that.

Okay.. enough of my reflecting LOL Too Deep, huh? What's going on? Yesterday I started working on my first card for One Stitch At A Time.. which you won't get to see until August LOL! I also need to work on another design team card that will preview on Monday morning. More to come on that :) And just work work work! Oh! And the kids tend to drink milk like its going out of style! So I have to stop on the way home to pick up more milk and get gas. Exciting days aren't they? LOL

I'm sharing a layout with my youngest.. She will be 11 on the 24th of this month.. this is back when she turned five! I believe the papers are from Club Scrap, but I can't be sure. Have a great day everyone!!

Where Oh Where Did My Weekend Go!

Can you believe its over? Where do the days go? The week seems to just drag on, but get to the weekend and its gone in a flash. I really think we should be off five days and work two. I think that seems much better! But, we still should be paid like we worked for five LOL! Hey.. its my dream.. It should be how I want it :p

So, today I went through a bunch of challenges.. put them in an excel spreadsheet so I could sort them by date. That way I know which ones are going to be done and I can keep track better. That will work much better.. I will stop working on challenges that are already finished LOL! I might actually get more of them completed this way.

Just said goodnight to Kevin. We had our nightly, his morning, Skype visit. He has to see about a front tire issue on his motorcycle. He hasn't had that tire very long at all... it was after March when he got back! And the tire is dry rotting on the front. There is something seriously wrong with that. I hope the guy doesn't give him any problems and replaces it like he should. He gave him a bad tire. We will see what he says in the morning.

Now I'm just waiting on the kids to get home. They are on their way. I'm ready for a shower and to crawl in bed. That's when I turn the television on and watch a little Netflix before bed. I'm watching "Brothers and Sisters" right now. I never thought I would like that show, but I was wrong. I'm really enjoying it. I love the close knit, dysfunctional family dynamic LOL I love Sally Field too.. I think she's great. Oh... And Rob Lowe.. wow.. he's a good looking man.

I do have some news.. I applied for a couple of Design Teams and I was accepted by One Stitch At A Time! I couldn't be more excited to join them and I look forward to creating and learning along side them all. I hope to see you all join in on the fantastic challenges there! And be sure to check out the shop for tons of GREAT digis!

I did manage to work on a card today.. I rally don't like how it turned out LOL, but that's me.. picky. Too simple or something.. I don't know.

Again.. using all scraps. I used Maraschino and Denim twine from The Twinery! .. gotta love that stuff! Die-namics dies for the flowers... Botanical Beauty, Prima Donna Petals and Mini Royal Roses. Inked with Walnut Stain Distress ink.. The middle circle is from Spellbinders. Oh.. and the USA was from a Sizzlit - Bounce. And I inked the roses on the edges with red. I think that's it.

I'll be putting this into these challenges:

• Challenge 10: Fabulous Flowers @ LEJ Designs
• Tuesday Morning Sketches #153 @ Twisted Tuesday Challenges
• TPE155 - Photo Inspiration @ The Pink Elephant
• Inspiration Challenge @ Skipping Stones Design
• Color Throwdown #199 @ The Color Throwdown
• Die Cuts: red, White & Blue as Main Color @ Paper Playtime
• Red, White and Blue with Coordinating Trendy Twine @ Trendy Twine
• Day 110: Round @ 365 Cards

Oh.. and the kids are home. They haven't stopped talking since they came home; especially Michael. My gosh!! I think my sister loaded them up with sugar before they came home! I'm off to shower and head to bed.