Greetings from Wisconsin…America’s Dairyland :-) November 2, 2008

Oh, back in the midwest…  Some people call Ohio the midwest but I’m not so sure about that.  The people are nice there. 🙂  I’ve been to Wisconsin several times in the past…mostly with Dean Foods.  I did go rock climbing and hiking in Devil’s Lake a long, long time ago.  I lived in Rockford, IL for several years while working for Dean’s.  Rockford is 10 minutes from the Wisconsin border.

 

I drove up because the flights were astronomical in price!  I enjoyed the drive and listened to Janet Evanovich’s “Metro Girl” on CD.  You can read an exerpt here.  Her books are just plain fun.  There’s usually a mystery to chase down but the characters will make you laugh.  I caught myself laughing out-loud several times.  Ugh, I have heartburn from all the crappy food I ate.  Why is it as soon as I get in a car…it’s time to eat? 

 

It brought back memories driving through Chicago.  Jenn, I thought of you when I drove past Diversey.  Too bad I didn’t go far enough west to stop at Woodfield Mall or IKEA.  It’s been a while since I’ve been up this way.  Anyone want to make a shopping trip to Chicago sometime soon? 

 

Oh, by the way if you’re ever in Wisconsin, try the fried cheddar cheese curds!  Yum!

 

Enough reminiscing…I thought I’d share a layout or two.

Speaking of the midwest and reminiscing.  This is an old layout…no JB Soup paper here.  Just a layout of Grandpa and Leah taking a walk on the farm in Indiana.  There’s that kraft paper again!

This is another old layout.  If you’re ever looking for something to do with all those “left-over” letters…try this.

I will have lots of fun stuff to post this week.  I’ve been gathering more samples of cards and layouts from friends and fellow scrappers.  I’ll be posting more this week! 

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Did Anyone watch “Ellen”??? October 20, 2008

Oh my, Jen and I were shown numerous times…not thrilled about the way I look on camera but it was exciting to see both of us on TV!  By the way, Jen was the one in green right beside me.  It was really different to watch the show from home knowing what I know now.  The set looks so much bigger on the TV than it does in person.  If you can imagine all those people were about 2-3 feet away from me at some point during the show.  I could have goosed Colin Farrell. 😉 

Thanks Judy for e-mailing me – it was fun to know you were watching it while I was.

Ahhh, Back to Reality… October 19, 2008

* Chasing miss Brooke around.

* Poopie Diapers.

* Laundry.

* Jillibean Soup.

* Sick children.

* Watching “Max n’ Ruby”.

* Mom, this and Mom, that…

* Cooking again.

* Homework.

* No more dancin’ 😦 

* And, somehow the temperature has dropped about 20 degrees from last Wednesday.

 

California was good – busy, busy.  Ellen was great!  Somehow, Jen and I managed to get front row seats!  If you watch the show tomorrow (as in October 20th) you should see Jen and I on the right hand side (from Ellen’s perspective looking out into the audience).  Remember the camera adds 10 lbs. 🙂 When Ellen dances through the audience, she passes right by us.  It was almost surreal being there.  Even though she was 3 ft in front of us doing her monologue…it still felt like she was in a bubble and untouchable.  This was my first experience with seeing anything filmed.  I was watching all the cameras, watching Tony (the DJ), watching all the people instruct Ellen and tend to her during the breaks.  One bummer was that I could not take pics of anything. 😦  You know how I love to take photos!  I even tried to take a pic of the set after the show with my cell phone and got busted. 

 

In addition to Ellen, we got to see Colin Farrell, Senator Joe Biden, Tony Braxton and Alec Mazo (from Dancing with the Stars) and a special extra guest…Julia Louis-Dreyfuss.  Everyone (with the exception of Sen Biden) are all so tiny!  Colin Farrell is little as well.  Tony and Julia were both beautiful!  Again, it was just bizarre to have all of them within reach.  I look forward to watching the show tomorrow and recalling what went on.  Even though I was there, I don’t remember a whole lot of what was said.  All in all it was a great show to catch. 

 

I’m sure I’ll have some pics to share soon!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

A whole lotta Pumpkin… October 6, 2008

Emily and the girls made these fun construction paper pumpkins the other day.  You can find the instructions here on the “Hostess with the Mostess” blog.  Even if you’re not looking for pumpkin crafts, check out the blog for some great hosting ideas.  Thanks for sharing Emily.

Check out these awesome pumpkins from Country Living…  Love the designs.  Fancy, smancy. 

Cool, huh?  You can see more fun designs here.

How about some yummy gingerbread pumkin bars.  Love these!  Yum!  You can find the recipe here.

Check out these pumpkin sconces from Martha Stewart.  You can see more fun stuff from Martha here.

How about these fun pumpkin crafts from Family Fun.

Did you know that the Irish brought this tradition of pumpkin carving to America?
The tradition originally started with the carving of turnips. When the Irish immigrated to the U.S., they found pumpkins a plenty and they were much easier to carve for their ancient holiday. 

You can check out more fun facts about pumpkins here.

Enjoy!

Random Thursday… October 2, 2008

Happy Thursday!

As you can tell from my lack of posting that it’s been a busy week!  I’m excited to say that Jillibean Soup should be showing up in more stores (yes, that’s plural) soon!!!! 

If you saw Jana’s comment in my last post then you know that the Columbus Scrappers will be doing a card swap in October with Jillibean Soup products.  Thank you Jana and the Columbus Scrappers!!!  I’m going to get in on the action too!

There’s still some time to get cards in for the Cards for Heroes drive.  The date was extended to Oct 15th.  Karen has graciously offered to have her youth group make cards for the soldiers – thanks Karen! Also, thank you Missey for donating cards as well.  I will be sending everything out the early part of next week.

Saturday is World Cardmaking Day!  In order to celebrate, I will be doing a giveaway…check back on Saturday for details!

I have a couple of prayer requests…one is for a friend who recently received some scary news concerning her 10 month old.  Please keep baby Henry in your prayers.  Also, I would like to ask for prayers for hubby – lets just say he could use them right now. 

Have a great day!

Lone shoe no more… September 30, 2008

Congratulations! You committed to buy the following item:

Infant Toddler Airwalk Clogs Sandals Shoes Pink Size 4 Sale price: $11.99 Quantity: 1 Subtotal: US $11.99 Shipping and handling: Calculate Shipping Sales tax: (none) View item | Go to My eBay

Look what hubby bought for Miss Brookie!  Thanks Nadia for the link!!

What’s your color? September 23, 2008

There are so many great blogs out there…one I like to visit is “How about Orange”.  Jen and Jenn – you both will love this site with your love of orange. 

If you’re not familiar with graphic design, then you’ve probably never heard of the Pantone Matching System.  It’s color system used to communicate colors between artists, graphic designers, printers, fashion designers, interior designers and many others.  It’s a great way for everyone to be on the same page when it comes to color. 

Jessica (from “How About Orange”) recently posted a link to Pantone’s Colorstrology.  I invite you to check it out and see what your color pallete is.

Here’s mine…

January is Caramel Color…how appropriate is that!  Here’s the description for people born on January 15th (my bday)…

YOU have a very strong will and are determined to get what you go after.  The challenge here is to know what really gives you pleasure.  Although monetary worth is very important to you, it is not the end all in regard to contentment.  Try to develop a strong belief system and practice faith whenever possible.  You are capable of many things.  Your personal color helps you stay true to your inner self.  Wearing, meditating or surrounding yourself with Cedar Wood can help you stay uplifted. 

Wow.  For those of you that know me, you know I wear a ton of brown.  My home is decorated with all shades of brown.  And….of course, Jillibean Soup and the whole brown kraft thing.