NO PICS, NO CARDS, NO NOTHIN...OKAY, MAYBE A LITTLE RANTING

Well, today was the first day of my four-day packout. Yep, four days. It has NEVER taken four days before and I was wondering why the difference. Well, if you count the five 15 minute breaks, the 1.25 hour for lunch, and the leaving at 3pm, that would be why!! Sheesh!! I worked harder than they did today!! Now, I have moved my whole life - my dad was career military and I have moved 13 times myself in the last 24 years so I consider myself pretty seasoned at the moving thing. I always have water on hand, and usually have sandwich fixins and chips for lunchtime. It seems like the nice thing to do since they USUALLY are working so hard packing my stuff and you want them to do a good job....anyway, I digress! So, they show up at 0830 in the morning and I am drinking my coffee. The first thing the lead guy says to me is "I hope you plan on making another pot, because I need a cup". Hmmmmm....not sure what to do so I make a pot of coffee and he says, "Oh, I don't take it black, I need cream and sugar." Hmmmmmm.....again. I only use hazlenut coffee creamer which he proceeds to drain and drink my entire pot of coffee!!! ( I had to run to the store and get some more for MY coffee in the morning, maybe I should hide it??!!) You would think this would make them work faster, but nope, not at all. Then, the other two inform me that they don't feel they should have to take things off the walls (spoke to the moving company about that one, and yes, they have to take it down!). Then, the lead guy asks me if they can take a break at 1230 and watch my TV while eating lunch because they want to watch the Young and the Restless - YIKES!! So, I politely say that I am not a big soap opera fan and leave it at that, and they take the hint and eat outside listening to their soap on the am radio. Then, at 3pm they announce they are leaving for the day and will be back at 9 in the morning. I feel like I am in the twilight zone. They have left little things lying around unpacked in each room but have managed to pack the one thing I specifically set aside and asked them not to - the book I am reading!!!! *sigh* - it is going to be a looooooonnnnnnggggg week!!! At least I can still browse blogs to keep me sane - at least until Thursday when my computer goes away *sniff, sniff* I guess I should get ready for bed - not sure what I will do since I don't have my book to read which is my nightly ritual.....

DID I MENTION I HATE MOVING????!!!

Hi all! I thought I would give you a quick update on the move progress. I have found every muscle in my body - and they hurt!! I have made seven count them SEVEN trips to Goodwill, trying to purge what we don't need in our new home. I also cleaned out all the closets and got rid of clothes and shoes that none of wear anymore, is just plain old, or does not fit (I seem to have a lot in the last category :-( Both attics have now been emptied and everything gone through, sorted, and put away in plastic bins for storage on the other side since most of it is seasonal stuff. Today I had the dubious pleasure of cleaning out the shed outside - yippee!! This entailed all of the lawn equipment having the gas AND oil siphoned out, each machine washed and dried, and then stored neatly in the garage for pickup. Ugghhhh!!! I was saying unkind thinks about my DH, I tell ya!! My deep freezer has been cleaned out and is defrosting as we um speak! So, you all are thinking about now - wow! you are done! Hah!! Don't I wish!! I still have to figure out what is going in the car with me and set that aside to include enough dishes and cookware to see us through the next 3 or 4 weeks. I have to finish sorting my SU! supplies into indestructible bins that I purchased so nothing gets damaged. I have to take down the trampoline out back, get the car weighed both empty and full, AND go to the post office - whew!! THEN, I will be done - LOL! Anyway, enough ranting. I did want to share some pics from the dinner theater the other night. My good friend Vicki and I went to see Steel Magnolias which has always been a favorite movie of mine. Well, let me tell you, we both laughed all the way through the play - it was sooooo awesome!!! They did a wonderful job depicting the movie very accurately and yes, we had wet eyes at the end since it does have its sad parts. It was a great show and we wanted to go before I left. It was last Wednesday but this is the first time I have had the time to post about it. Here are some of the pics of our night out! This is where we went to see the show. It has a fantastic buffet that is included in the price of your ticket and the food is actually pretty good and there is lots of variety. Here is Vicki and I standing outside the big red doors leading to the box office where you pick up your tickets. It was a beautiful evening, nothing like the four days of rain we have had since! Once inside, it is decorated in the theme of whatever show is playing at the time so Vicki and I had our picture taken at the pretty setup they had at the entrance to the theater itself. Isn't it pretty?! The last picture is of us sitting at the table inside the theater. You can't get a great shot of the theater itself because of the funny low lighting they have in there, but here we are! We really really enjoyed ourselves and I cannot wait to have some time to scrap our night out! Well, I have to get back to work now or I will never get it all done before they show up on Tuesday to take all my stuff away! I have to call tomorrow and have the cable shut off so I will be without my computer come Friday - sniff, sniff!! No blog browsing, no posting, no nothing!!!

AND THE WINNER IS.....DRUMROLL PLEASE

Good morning and happy Friday everyone!! Well, today is the day to pick the blog candy winner. First of all, congratulations to Cheryl over at Engineered Expressions. She was the first to post for the blog candy so I have something special to send to her. Cheryl, send me your snail mail addy and I will get that right in the mail for you!! And, using Random.org to pick my lucky poster, the winner is Debbie aka StudioBeeCreations! Debbie, please send me your snail mail addy and I will get your goodies in the mail to you! Here is what Debbie had to say: "Whoo whooo...awesome & yummy candy Alex!!...and so wonderful to offer while you are going thru your move, etc!....I totally enjoyed ready everyone's stories....As for me, I don't have a memory worth telling...but...this year, my hubby & I are going to a Halloween Party...I am going to be the Queen Bee( what else?)....and as for my hubby, he is going to be........THE STINGER!!!!.( can you picture this ?)..gotta LOVE this man!PS....Way to go Cheryl for being FIRST!!!" Okay Debbie, I want to see pics of these wonderful costumes, it sounds like they will be a hoot!!! And, for everyone, please go check out these gals blogs as they are both very talented!! Thanks to everyone for playing along, I really enjoyed reading all of your stories - I actually got to laugh out loud quite a few times this week! And a special thanks to those of you who come and visit me faithfully and say such nice things - you make a girl blush, ya know!! I will have another blog candy drawing at 7500 hits so keep your eyes peeled!!

LOOKEE WHAT I GOT - I AM SUCH A LUCKY GAL!!

Hi all! I have been super busy preparing for the movers to come on Tuesday and I still feel like there is soooo much to get done! I have met with the movers for the preliminary walkthrough, got my car all ready for the trip, got the dogs some meds for the car, starting packing my stuff for the long trek, etc. Plenty more to still get done so probably not much stampin going on around here but I will try! Today I wanted to share with you what I got in the mail - yep, I received a beautiful bag from Kat aka Doodles and Dragonflies in response to a special post she had on her blog. Kat's sister was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and Kat was doing a cancer walk in honor of her and their mother who is a survivor. So, I sponsored her and she sent me this beautiful bag made by her sister - how cool is that! She was very thoughtful to offer anything for the donations - I would have done it anyway because this is such a good cause to help out with, but I do love the bag! Isn't it gorgeous!!! Please get on over and check out her blog, it is fabulous! And, as if this were not enough, I got the most beautiful RAK from Shannon McGann aka Stamp Till You Cramp. She is a mega talented gal and you should run not walk to her blog and see what wonderful creations she has posted there! Shannon sent me this card as a thank-you for some blog candy she recently won on my blog! Her card is really gorgeous and in one my favorite colors (purple - sorry, Beate, LOL!). I love this card - it is very elegant! So, thanks Shannon and enjoy the blog candy!
Well, that is all for tonight everyone - I am pooped from hauling everything out of the attic and now I have to go through it all - ughhhh!!! Don't forget, tomorrow is the drawing for my blog candy so check back to see if you are a lucky winner! We already know who the first post winner is *wink* Night!

WITCHING YOU....

A Happy Halloween! Yep, another Halloween card. I wanted to try out my new set that I received right before my trip and had not had a chance to ink up yet! It is dang cute and I think I will use this one a few more times before the season is over *wink*. It is called Haunting Halloween and you can find it in the Fall/Winter Collection of the SU! catty! So, on to the card! I decided to use the leftover cardstock from the last card I did so that I would not have a bunch of half cut cardstock. I tend to do this and never go back to it so I am trying to do better. Anyway, the base of this card is garden green which I then layered with cameo coral and creamy caramel. These colors scream fall to me and I love them together! Anyhoo, I used my paper piercer and faux stitched around all three layers and then used the stars stamp and stamped in creamy caramel ink on the background. I used the other star stamp and stamped on the cameo coral background in the same color. It added some whimsy to my card. I also used my ticket corner punch on all layers (surprised - LOL!) I stamped my main image on whisper white cardstock which I sponged with mellow moss to tone down the white a little bit. I also distressed the edges. The cute little kitty is stamped in brown stazon and colored in using my stampin write markers. I added some photo corners using my punch and topped them with some copper brads (oh, how I wish SU! would not have gotten rid of these as I am almost out!) I then added some handsome hunter and garden green brads to draw out those colors. And, there you have it! Hope you likee! Have a great night and if you have not done so, make sure you post for my blog candy - the drawing is Friday!

HOLD ON TO YOUR PANTIES GIRLS - I STAMPED!!

Happy Monday all! I know it has been awhile since I posted anything creative, but the last 10 days were so much fun hanging out with my family. I am not sure how much stamping I will get done in the next month or so either because of the packout, move, and unpacking on the other end but I promise I will do the best I can. So, I actually DID stamp last night and I used a stamp that I found at Michaels (shhhh, don't tell anyone) and fell in love with because of it's coloring potential. All other products used are SU! though - promise! Anyways, here it is! I decided that I need to keep with my theme of fall and Halloween, especially since my new property is full of trees that are starting to turn all kinds of beautiful colors, and there is a crispness in the air that you just do not find here in Florida. In fact, it is still soooo very hot here!! But, I digress! I loved coloring this image because it provided me the opportunity to use several different shades of my Stampin Write Markers and I got to do a lot of shading. I love to color, it really relaxes me so this was a lot of fun! I love the way this card came out! I hope you do too!
Card Recipe:
Cardstock - Cameo Coral, Garden Green, Creamy Caramel, Whisper White
Stamps - Inkadinkadoo
Stamp Pads - Brown Stazon, Creamy Caramel (used this to sponge background)
Accessories - Stampin Write Markers, Wild Wasabi ribbon (it works), Photo corners punch, Ticket corner punch, Copper Brad, Mat Stack and paper piercer, Handsome Hunter buttons, sponge

BLOG CANDY WITH A TWIST

****THIS POST WILL REMAIN ON TOP UNTIL 10/5 SO SCROLL DOWN FOR NEWER POSTS***

Okay, I know I promised so I am going to deliver! I have Blog candy to celebrate my 5,000 hits - I know it's kind of funny when you compare mine to some blogs BUT this one IS mine, and this is exciting to me! So, I want to reward those faithful blog readers who visit me and say such wonderful things in their comments. Look at what I have got for you!! The winner will receive three different sets of DP paper, 4 6x6 sheets of each, four sheets of fall chipboard, some fall three dimensional stickers, a fall stamp, two lengths of fall ribbon, and four sheets of fall vellum phrases. Do you see a theme here??!! Yep, it is all fall related in keeping with the approaching Halloween/Thanksgiving season. Click on the pic if you want a closer view. So, what do you have to do to win? You MUST post here telling a funny favorite Halloween or Thanksgiving story. I will tell you one as well! My FIL used to tease my MIL about their Thanksgiving turkey because she only bought the breast and therefore obviously was legless. So, he called them Kesterson birds after the power plant located nearby. This always had worried me a bit as I knew there WAS a turkey farm out there. Well, a couple of years ago, we spent Thanksgiving with the in-laws and everyone was there so it was a houseful. My MIL showed me the turkey and I tried very hard to show no reaction - see this WAS a full turkey - it had SIX LEGS and I was not quite sure how that had happened. I looked closely and all the legs were attached to the body, but I still said nothing. So, the turkey was done, and it turned out beautifully but I kept thinking about that power plant. When she set the turkey on the table, I could not help myself, I had to ask "why does your turkey have six legs??" And, my MIL said, "well, the turkey farm is located close to the power plant and sometimes this happens but I got a good deal on it and since there was so many of us, I figured more legs would be better. I was mortified and totally did not want any of that turkey. I looked around the table and everyone was perfectly satisfied with her answer and were digging in so I decided not to cause a scene but had a very little piece of turkey. As we were nearing the end of our meal, my husband asked me what I thought about the turkey, and the look on my face must have said it all! They all busted out laughing and so I looked at my MIL who said GOTCHA!!! See, she bought extra legs and sewed them on because she knew I had always worried about that power plant and told everyone else what she was doing! Aahhhhh, I was very relieved, but embarrassed that I fell for it. However, I DID go back for more turkey!!! Now, it is your turn. And, I am sure you are wondering what the twist is: well, I have noticed with all the contests and drawings, most people use random number generator to pick the winner. I do this too. However, I have NEVER seen the first post win so I have decided that I will send a surprise blog candy to the first poster here! What do you think about that!!! Pretty cool, huh?! I will draw the winner on Friday afternoon so I can get it shipped out before the movers come. I can't wait to read your stories and have some projects to post in the morning! Till then!