And we're baaaaaaaack (with an a-load of pics)

First of all, thanks to all of you for your kind thoughts and words. You've all been so nice, and it means a lot to me to know that you care! Secondly, I'm coping fine. I am sad, but functioning. I'm about ready to strangle my oldest child, but I think I might just drug him instead. Ha ha, just kidding. Sort of. He is driving me steadily insane, that much is true.

So, I'm gonna talk about something fun. I'm going to tell you all about the big Cake show we went to last Wednesday night. WOOOO! Holla! Ok, let me preface this by saying that we had a fan-fucking-tastic time... from what I remember. In the hotel room we drank at least two bottles of wine, maybe three (?).

EXHIBIT A:

Me gettin' dolled up.

Mala is totally checking out my rack.

Oh, how we laughed! La la laaaaa!

A three-pack of hotties (this was before Jill arrived).

Hot MILF action!!! AKA: Is that a camera in my pocket or am I just glad to see ya?
Then had two more of the crappiest screw-top bottles of wine EVER, with dinner. That's when things start getting fuzzy for The Bev.

EXHIBIT B:

GULP

I love you, maaaaaaan!

Let me clarify... I love you as a friend, maaaaan!

Celebrity mis-sighting of the night: Laurie kept staring at this dude who was eating behind us, saying he looked like the guy from Grounded for Life. Me, being the encyclopedia of worthless knowledge, pulled that dude's name from my ass with a dexterity that amazed even myself. Donal Logue! Of course! Doesn't everyone know his name? Heh. So, Faux-Donal came and had his picture taken with us, much to the chagrin of his seething Asian wife. WHOOPSIE. Piss-off of the night #1 (that we know of).


Apres din-din... looking a little sassier.
I have vague recollections of the show, and I remember getting super excited when a couple of my favorite songs came on (The Distance, Never There, Stick Shifts & Safety Belts, Short Skirt, Long Jacket, Frank Sinatra), but don't remember actually paying attention to the songs or ya know, listening. (BLUSH)




I do remember that I couldn't figure out how to work my gd camera, so I have a ton of 3 second video clips that were supposed to be pictures. *sigh* I maintain that it was wicked dahhhk in there, but... well, we all know it was alcohol-induced user error. The few video clips I did get are shakey as hell and pretty much un-watchable, and some feature Laurie singing LOUDLY right next to me, and me intoning, "Laaaaaaurrriiiiieeee" now and then. HA! Thankfully for us, but not for those around us, Laurie was snapping pics like nobody's business. Srsly, we got yelled at a few times. Piss Off of the night #2. In retrospect, I'm a little embarrassed... but whatever. We had fun. Those othah suckahs can... well, suck it!



I remember spending a fair amount of time texting another friend, and at intermission I went out to make a call and then things get really fuzzzzzzy. I remember Jill waited in line for a beer, and I somehow convinced her to give it to me. Why? I don't know. Not like I needed that shit! Then, I'm TOLD I went back to my seat, but next thing I remember is wandering around outside in the lobby with no clue where my friends went. Turns out they'd gone down to the stage and Laurie was working her magic on a security guard, trying to get us backstage. HAHAHAHAHA! Mala says Laurie was stroking his face and going all out. All I know is when I checked my texts the next day there were like 10 back and forths between me and Mala, all of them like this:

Me: where aaaaaah you guys?
Mala: near the stage. come down!
Me: wait? what?
Mala: we might get backstage. Come NOW!
Me: Who are you with? What?
Mala: Get your ASS DOWN HERE NOW!
Me: I LOVE THIS SONG!
Mala: BEVERONI, COME HERE NOW!
Me: (crickets)

They did not get backstage. Eventually I found my way back in and Mala found me standing against the back wall, staring at the band with a bemused expression on my face. Doo-dee-dooo... Bev's in LA LA LAND. Pandemonium continued, the band ended the show, and next thing I remember Mala and I were sitting under a street lamp waiting for Jill and Laurie. Don't know how long we sat there, or what we discussed (well, ok, I remember some of that, but that shit's private, yo!), but we did eventually get back to the hotel and reunited with our friends.



Cut to later: Laurie decides she needs pizza and goes to the lobby for some reason. And she runs into the band, who are also staying at the hotel. And she somehow gets the guitar player's freaking room phone number?! WTF? Conclusion: Laurie is magic. So she called him, I think, but things were all blurry and shit by then, so I don't think it went anywhere beyond a 5 min. convo. But, still. Gotta hand it to Laurie - when she gets it in her mind to do something, that shit gets D-O-N-E.

We went to sleep around 1ish, and I got the call at 5:15 AM that my dad was having a massive heart attack. This event will forever be known going forward as, "THE WORLD'S BIGGEST MOFO BUZZKILL." So, there's that.

BUT, the night was amazing. My friends crack me up and party like rockstars, and I'm so grateful to them for supporting me, laughing with me, and getting shitfuck wasted with me every now and then.

It happened.

I apologize; I won't be posting about the Cake show as I had planned. That'll have to wait till another day.

My father died this morning. He had a massive heart attack and decided not to go to any great extremes to live; he didn't want to be an invalid, and let's face it, he had terminal cancer, so, that's that. They gave him morphine for the pain and he passed away holding my mom's hand.

I'm numb and teary, but coping. We had a month to get used to the idea that he was dying, and most people don't even get that. I had a couple more wonderful days with him. There was nothing left unsaid. He is not in pain anymore, and he is not afraid of the torture of cancer treatment anymore, and now he is everywhere, just in a different form.

I am grieving over the fact that I can't see him anymore, and can't ask his advice or listen to his voice anymore. I miss him already. My heart is broken, but I will heal. He taught me how.


I love you, Daddy, and I always will.

A slice of pride pie...

So we know you shouldn't brag about yourself, but is it o.k. to brag about your kids? We think of our paper lines as our children so we feel inclined to brag a little. It's been a few months since CHA but the June 2009 issue of Creating Keepsakes had something in it that made us smile. Mimosa was voted CK's #1 Favorite Find from CHA! This was their reason for loving it so much:

"With its warm, pink tones, big flowers
and beautiful, golden highlights, this Mimosa
line reminds us of a splendid summer morning."

We were pretty excited to see that we were given this celebrated award. With summer here and beautiful weather, it's a great time to use Mimosa. Have a tea party, make some invitations, frame some gorgeous pictures on a layout... Whatever your summer needs are, Mimosa can be your best friend.

As promised

I hope I didn't over-hype the tom-foolery, but here 'tis:



Bitches be all up on my behind, yo!

Hrmmm, I really need to clean up my image. You're all gonna think I'm some kind of wild girl who lets her friends grope her when she gets dru... ah, screw it. Even girls can't resist ALL THIS. Yeah. Uh huh.

HEE! Anyway. Here's another cute pic, while I'm at it. Totally forgot to post it last night due to a lingering buzz that reduced my typing to hunting & pecking Franken-fingers.

My kid's the one on the end with chocolate all over his face and a blissed out expression. I am awesome at parenting, clearly. As Laurie put it, the little guy went all "Lord of the Flies" by the end of the party. 'Cause that's how we do it, baby.

Tomorrow night's the big Cake show, and I promise to take lots of pics as usual, and to bore you with them on Thursday. This is my vow to you, loyal readers, and I take this kind of thing very seriously. *hiccup* Scout's honor.

baby blocks

As you might have learned in our introductions last year, Maria really likes babies. To our surprise she announced to us earlier this year that she was having a baby! As soon as we knew, we decided that we wanted to make her something really special. When she found out that she was having a baby boy we knew we wanted to use chick-a-doo.

Chick-a-doo has these great monograms and how cute would they be as blocks? Pia had a an electric saw at home and cut 3.5" x 3.5" squares from wood. There were 4 of us in the art room so we scrambled up the alphabet and each took home 6 or 7 wooden blocks. We decorated them individually with paint, patterned paper, velvet paper and of course the monogram alphabet. Maria was so surprised when we gave them to her and we all loved looking at how each person executed their individual design on the blocks. It's really a simple project (max. time= 2 hours/person) and a fun way to give a group gift to a special friend.

Maria's older boy hasn't stopped playing with the blocks. He's warming them up for his baby brother. Since they're a larger size block, they're really fun to build with. Hope you like this gift idea as much as we did!

I got yer Memorial Day right here!

AKA: I have a splitting headache and am in a grumpy mood. Boo.

Yesterday we went to a BBQ at my friend Sarah's house and had a great time. All of my girlfriends noticed that I've lost weight and told me how hot I am, so that made my day. They lie, but whatev; it's still nice to hear. Of course, that meant they all kept grabbing my ass all day, 'cause as I've mentioned, my friends are pervy like me, but that didn't bother me. I have a really funny pic to share with you, but it'll have to wait since I forgot to upload it and it's on my home computer. That is just how my day is going today!

Moving backwards, on Saturday we went to Vermont yet again. We picked up my dad at the hospital and brought him home, and on the way we stopped by my childhood homestead and I took a couple of pics. This is where I lived from the age of 4 till I was 12:

It breaks my heart -- the place is for sale now and nobody's taking care of it. It's going super cheap now, I think they've lowered the price to the low $300k area, which is nothing considering what an amazing home it is. It was built in 1832 as an inn/stagecoach stop. It has twelve (!) bedrooms, eight fireplaces, and a full unfinished attic. Also, there are two apartments, a garage, and it's on 4 acres, with the Connecticut River within walking distance from the back door. I just love everything about it, and would love to buy it... but I am not moving back to northern VT, yo. Forget it! Couldn't pay me enough. So, I just sigh and gaze at it sadly every time I see it.


My mom planted that Willow tree - it was just a little stalk for so long, and look at it now!


That's all I got. I'll post that pic I told you about later on -- it's a funny one! And I am mulling over taking Steph's suggestion and doing a vlog this week, but no promises. I might even try to convince Mala to get in on that action while we're doin' it up at the Cake show this Wednesday. So, you'd get a two-fer if she says yes! Woohoo!! Ok, mostly, I just have to prove to you naysayers that we don't sound like Bahston-ites. NTTAWWT!

I will leave you with a few random pics from yesterday. Enjoy.
My studly hubby:

Laurie's studly hubby:

Sarah, me, Laurie, and my finger:

LATAH!

Happy Memorial Day

garden anywhere / wicker pot / apple tree / gloves / wind chimes / journal

Did you know that Memorial Day used to be called Decoration Day? I think I like the sound of that better. It's literal and explains it's purpose. I have always really enjoyed Memorial Day. Not only because you get to show respect to those who have passed away but the activities you get to do throughout the day. After you visit memorials or cemeteries, don't you feel reinvigorated to live the life you have? Well my sister and I felt very grateful for life and planted a garden. We're hoping that we're not marching our little plants to a horrible fate, since it's our first year gardening. I found some wonderful gardening items on Anthropologie.com that are all under $25! Maybe if we have the right tools we'll be more successful with our garden... even if that's not true at least we'll have some cute memorabilia. How do you spend your Memorial Day?

Don't forget to check back tomorrow. We have a wonderful gift idea!

Happy Weekend!

Wishing you a lovely weekend filled with fun and whimsical ideas!
Image via fffound, by illustrator Chris Silas Neal.

Thurd Thursday's!

We wanted to give our viewers and especially our Club SEI members a day when additional ideas will be posted pertaining to their upcoming club kit. Thurd Thursday was born! On the third Thursday of every month we will give a few additional ideas on how to use the supplies provided in their upcoming Club SEI kit. These ideas can also be completed at home with other products if you're not a member.

Today's post is spotlighting En Route. Club members will receive this as the June kit. In addition to the projects included in the kit, we came up with Road Trip Games:


This project was completed using the Click and Prints available on the Club Member's website. We also used a few items from the add-on pack. (An add-on is a pack of extra items that can be added to a monthly Club kit.) The Road Trip Games include travel bingo, scavenger hunts, 8 game starter instruction cards and a folder we made to hold them all in.

For all of you travelers out there here are some summer road trip ideas:

• Take small toys that your children haven't played with in a while and mix in a few new toys. Wrap them all up and let your child open one "present" each hour.

• Put together a song book of your children's favorite songs. Sing them in the car as you travel along.

• Get a map of the place you're traveling to. Let the children mark off different landmarks and towns on the map as you pass them.

Club Member's, click here and sign in to download your Click & Prints. If you're not a Club SEI member, this is a wonderful month to join!

Enjoying a Given Day

So, yesterday I spent the day in VT with my Dad, and it rocked. We laughed, we cried, it was better than Cats. I mean it, I saw Cats on Broadway and yesterday was totally better, and included less make-up and more ballads under the spotlight. What? That's just how we hang in my fam. So?

I got there about 20 minutes late because I inexplicably drove towards the wrong highway and found myself in bleeping Concord for no good reason. Mala, I think I really just wanted to hang with you, so my car steered itself in your direction. Bear in mind that there are only TWO highways heading north, and I drove 10 minutes out of my way to get on the wrong one. FML.

When I got there, I was fully ready to get my Farm Girl on. My parents have a couple of horses and make their own hay, and they used to be dairy farmers before I was born. Plus, it's Vermont, yo, so it's all rural and shit. I grew up there, but was never all that "into" it. My dad loves to tell people that I'm the farmer's daughter who once asked him if butter was a dairy product. Yeah, I rule! Anyway, I get there, and the blacksmiths are already working on the horses' hooves, and I'm cursing myself out for my little detour because I had meant to get there before they arrived. My whole purpose today was to help out Dad, because he had some fonked-up shit done to his brain yesterday in the form of a medieval torture device/screws in his skull/gamma knife thing. Yeah, no shit.

I go out to the ring and Dad's standing there with two total V-Monty characters, a man and a woman. She's all tough as shit and is filing down our big Quarterhorse's dinner plate-sized hoof, and I find out her name is Sloane, which does two things to me: 1. makes me wish I had a cool name like that, and 2. think of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Meanwhile, Dad is standing there all casual-like, but he looks like Dr. Frankenstein just removed his bolts and he's wearing a little Tractor Supply hat perched on top of his humongous bandage/turban. HEE!!! I know it's wrong to laugh, but come ON! He looked really, really bizarre. Also, he looked like he'd been in a bar fight because his eyes were practically swollen shut. Wicked cool.

They're all talking, and the smithies ask Dad who his vet is. Dad can't remember (can't blame him - again, BRAIN work), so they start tossing out truck colors. As in, this vet drives a blue truck, that vet drives a red one. I'm barely containing my giggles at this point. I mean, for real? We can identify people by their trucks 'round these parts? Jebus. After a while, Dad sends me down to the lower pasture to wait for some chick who's supposed to buy some hay. I'm like, great, I get to load hay today. Suh-weeeet. So I go down there and sit in my car, and the whore never shows, but it turned out to be my MOMENT OF ZEN for the day:


The birds are singing. There is a babbling brook to my right. There's a farmer working a field just over yonder. I'm feeling VERY peaceful and very much at one with nature and the universe and all that nice stuff, and all is right with the world.... Good stuff. Side note: one thing that I love about Vermont is that everyone waves at each other when they pass in their cars. Everyone. It's so goddamn friendly, I can't stand it.

Later on, I helped Dad put in his air conditioners, and darn it if that guy wasn't swingin' a hammer and handling a drill like he hadn't spent yesterday in a hospital with metal screws holding a steel cage on his skull. He is amazing. We went out to lunch, and he even drove. There's something about bumping along in his big ol' Caddy (yeah, Dad always drives a Cadillac, always has, always will), talking to him like nothing is wrong, that puts the happy back into my soul. We've always had very deep philosophical discussions, and some of our best talks have been in the car. In Vermont, it takes a while to get just about anywhere, so we spend a lot of time driving along, shooting the shit, laughing, and talking about life.

After lunch we went grocery shopping and I chuckled at what a little old man he has become. I also realize that I'm totally not as frugal as I pride myself on being; if I want something and it's not on sale, I buy that fucker anyway. Dad? No way! However, he bought my mom a dozen roses... just because. *sigh*

On the way home we took a detour and he showed me his friend's dairy farm. He spends a lot of time there, helping out, because he just enjoys that type of work. First of all, I have to say that I have seen the Rocky Mtns (magnificent), and I have seen the Swiss Alps (stunning), but there is just something about the gently rolling green hills and valleys of the Northeast Kingdom that inspires awe in me like no other place. Maybe because it's home.

The dairy farm was cool. I don't think I've set foot in a working barn in about 20 years, to be honest, and it was nice to see it all again, even if it does totally gross me out on many levels. And, I don't like that I got cow poop on my favorite sneaks, but I can deal with that. It was cool, and I love a good slice of life. Also, I'm a sucker for accents, and I totally DIG the Vermont accent. It's not like southern NH (which is sort of like Bahston, but not quite), and it's certainly not like Maine, which is just totally effed up. It's just this way of speaking that makes 1 syllable words into 3 syllable masterpieces of sound, and it is so down-home and so comfortable; well, I just dig it. Example: the word "cow," is pronounced, by the thick-accented natives, as "key-ow-a." Rock the fuck on! Dad gets a kick out of "harrow," which they pronounce, "herw." FYI - we don't really have accents; we're from New York/New Jersey originally.

Ok, I'm babbling. Suffice to say that it was a lovely day, and having a chance to spend time 1:1 with my father is something I'd never trade for anything. He is one of my favorite people on the planet, and he always will be.

Giveaway Winner! (+ something for the non-winners...)

I'd like to say congratulations to our winner... Lorraine who said:

We used random.org to configure the winner of our En Route giveaway. Lorraine, please email us your shipping address to seiblog(at)shopsei(dot)com. Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to enter our drawing. Heather had a lot to teach us, so I think we're all walking away with great ideas.

So here is my consolation prize to the people who weren't so lucky to win. I think it's amazing. I was visiting my friend Rachel's blog and she had the funniest link. It's a link to an ad campaign for Volkswagon's new car, Routan. It's called the Routan Baby Maker 3000. It's just what it sounds like. You can put in two people's faces and it will predict what your baby will look like. It's so much fun. Mandi and I decided to experiment to see what happened and this was the result:


It was just something funny that we found and thought we'd share it with you. So, we were wanting to see your creations. Click here to create your own baby and when you're done, email us your result. The person with the most creative looking child will be posted on the blog. Remember celebrities and animals are not discouraged from being parents.

Alliteration be damned!

I know it's not Thankful Thursday, but I'm feeling thankful today, so suck it. :) I say that in the nicest way possible, like when I jokingly tell someone to "shut the fuck up." I hate it when they think I'm being serious. Especially my boss. Kidding, kidding! I never say it loudly enough for him to hear me.

Anyway!

I would like to send out a big THANK YOU to the nice man who flashed his lights at me this morning so I would know to slow down because there was a cop behind him. YAY, for random acts of kindness! You see, my street is hilly and windy and the speed limit is 30 MPH, which is pretty near impossible to maintain without riding the brake the whole time. 40 MPH is pretty comfortable, and that's just coasting! So, I've been pulled over twice since we've lived at this house (almost 8 years, so it's not like I'm a total speed demon), and one time I got the mutha of all speeding tickets for going about 52 mph. Ooops. Whatever, I had a pizza in the car and I was hungry, Occifer, so screw off. Ok, I didn't say that to him, but I definitely thought it.

I even have a stupid radar detector now, thanks to my FIL who loooooves gadgets. It has saved my ass a few times, I'll admit it. The last time I got pulled over it was about a week after I got that ticket, and the cop let me off... I'm pretty sure because I was wearing a low-cut top and I cried a little. STFU, I'm not too proud. Tickets suck!

Getting pulled over this morning would have totally ruined my day, so I just want to throw the THANKS out into the universe and I hope that the guy in the red jeep has a fantastic day and maybe even gets laid or something. GO, DUDE! You've earned it.

What else? I'm also thankful because I'm back into my "skinny jeans," but don't get too impressed because those still aren't tiny; it's not like I'm gushing over being a size 6. HA, no. But, when I got on the scale for my daily slap in the face (yes, I do it daily, don't judge... if I don't I find myself struggling to button my pants by the end of the week, for reals), I was hoping to see 1_9, but instead I saw 1_4. That middle digit is private, so don't be nosey. :) In fact, I was so convinced that my scale had broken that I made my kid get on it, too, and it was actually accurate. Huh. So, today is a good day, and all of my pants are too big, and I'll fucking TAKE IT. Thank you.

In closing, I will leave you with one of my favorite sketches from the now-defunct Canadian comedy troupe, The Kids In The Hall. It's amazing, they've been gone for over a decade, but I still find myself quoting them all. the. time. From this clip, I have been known to throw out my favorite line, "You just blew my mind!" and Jim will respond with, "Our minds have been blown!"


"He's really light, too!"

Paisley & Petals Ideas

(Don't forget today is the last day to enter the guest blogger En Route giveaway!)

We promised all of our newsletter recipients the how-to's on the project ideas above. This week our newsletter is spotlighting Paisley & Petals and reducing the prices. It's sad to see this member of our sei family leave. Once these products are gone, they're not getting reordered so make sure to pick up Paisley & Petals before it's too late. To read our newsletter, click here.

The 3 products on the left side of the picture are just simple cards and layouts. There's really no instructions for these but let us know if you have any questions.

• The box in front is made from a simple box template. A similar template was used on the Mimosa Mother's Day ideas. You can just adjust the size to what you need and take off the scalloped edge. What I thought was really cool about this box was that Maria curled paper to create a bow. I always hate having to find a matching bow at the store for a gift box but with this idea you'll always have a bow that matches.

• The folded frame behind the box is a twist on our Mother's Day goodie bag idea. The difference is that Maria made slits and wound a piece of paper through the top rather than punching a hole.

I always think it's fun to see similar projects done in different paper lines. When you add unique details, it looks completely different.

Goodbye

Warning: This post may be a downer for some. Skip it if you want; I won't be offended.



My last living grandparent passed away today at the age of 93. Here I am at my college graduation with my two grandmothers. Grandma S. (above right) died two years ago, after living with dementia for the past five years or so. She lived independently well into her late 80's, and I loved that woman silly. Grandma C. (above left)) was as mean as a wet cat and maintained her faculties until about six months ago, when she went crazy like someone switched an "off" switch in her brain. Maybe someone did. She never recovered her senses. She'd been ill for a long time; bedridden, blind, bad heart, diabetes... you name it, but she was always a razor sharp lady, right up until recently.

In short, we've been expecting her to die for a long time, and nobody was particularly sad because she was old and ill and wanted to die. She was mean to just about everyone in her life, but she was always nice to me and my sister. I don't know why, maybe it's because we lived 8 hours away from her and only saw her a couple of times a year. At any rate, we got off easy. Plus, she liked me a lot because I was into theatre, and that was her thing in college and later with my grandfather in community theatre.

She lived to be 93 years old; she saw my whole childhood, my Jr. High, High School and college graduations, my bridal shower, my wedding, my children born. That's a pretty good fucking run, I'd say. Ninety-three is a good long life.

Seventy is not long enough.

Since I've been listening to a lot of Cake recently, this song has been speaking to me:

"End Of The Movie"

People you love
Will turn their backs on you
You'll lose your hair
Your teeth
Your knife will fall out of its sheath
But you still don't like to leave before the end of the movie
People you hate will get their hooks into you
They'll pull you down
You'll frown
They'll tar you and drag you through town
But you still don't like to leave before the end of the movie
No you still don't like to leave before the end of the show


Sure, life sucks sometimes, and bad shit happens, but you still don't want to die before your story is done. Right on.

I'm so sad that my children won't have a picture like this that includes my dad. I'm so sad that my dad is being ushered out of the movie when it's clearly not finished yet. I'm so sad, and I'm getting really pissed off.

Rest in peace, Grandma. This quote's for you:

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts

From As You Like It, by Wm. Shakespeare. Incidentally, that was the very first production I was ever a part of, at the tender age of 14, and I didn't have any lines at all.

Just because I can.

Friday night blogging action, yo! I'm kickin' it at home, drinking a lovely glass of cab, reading a chapter or two of my book, and scoping out the gossip sites I somehow managed to fall behind on during the work week. Happy Gilmore is on, which isn't one of my favorites, but I won't kick it out of bed, either. So I'm on Perez Hilton and what do I find? Only the best piece of media I've seen all week!

A few of my favorite things, all wrapped into one 4 minute clip.... Weezer covering MGMT's "Kids," (love that song, don't know why... just do) AND busting out some mad GaGa halfway through for no good reason!

Fuckin' A, man! Yes, and yes. Oh, and HELL yes. Bring. It.


DAMN, I wish I'd been at that show. Weezer freakin' rocks. They're good musicians, they're funny & quirky, they are self-deprecating, they appreciate all musical genres, and they totally rock it out in concert. And that's not just the glass of wine talkin'.

PS) I would also like to thank whomever shot this little ditty for our viewing pleasure. Next time you all make fun of me for being the "stalkerazzi" at shows, just remember that without us camera-wielding dingbats, YouTube would not exist.

So suck it.



Goodnight, sleep tight, and get lucky.
That is all.

Oops

Looks like I might've dumped the whole contents of my brain yesterday, so now I've got nuthin' for today. I shot my wad, if you will. So I'm going to be uber-lazy and throw up this little gem that Harmony sent me today. Btw, doesn't Harmony rock the hizzouse? I can see you all nodding your little heads and saying, "Why yes, Bev, she certainly does rock the hizzouse."

Good readers. **pat**pat**

Without further ado, I give you the Robin Sparkles hit "Let's go to the Mall:"


It's no "Sandcastles in the Sand," but it'll do, and brain hurts when try think good today. Wait, what? Did I just have a tiny stroke? Eh, whatever. Have a good night, everyone. Tomorrow is another day!

Giveaway...

We sent Heather some product from our En Route collection to show us how she would display her beautiful photographs. Her idea was to make a quiet book for her baby. So in honor of having Heather as our guest blogger this week, we are giving away all the materials to make the same quiet book. Here is a little explanation and photos from the finished product from Heather. Aren't the photos beautiful? Not to mention the scrap booking (it was Heather's first time, amazing huh?).

The idea behind this project was to make a quiet picture book for Cole (the baby) for Church. He could look at his family and extended family and see where they are around the US! I really LOVED the En Route line and there were endless possibilities with it!

(I give props to scrap bookers and their creativity! It was SO fun creating this, but it was a bit difficult too just with so much fun stuff to work with. How could I choose which paper to use where, what embellishments to use...etc. I was a little intimidated knowing that "real" scrap bookers would be looking at this!) Thanks again for letting me be a guest blogger this week! I had so much fun coming up with posts and ideas. Oh, and I really love everything you sent me from the En Route collection! I'm seriously OBSESSED with those clear stamps! I feel like a kid in a candy store!

The giveaway includes the following products:
• En Route Assortment Pack
• En Route Chiplets
• En Route Stamps
• En Route Rub-On Words
• En Route Ribbon
• 4" x 6" Black Preservation Album
• Blueberry Alphabet Stickers
• Clear Stamp Block
To enter the giveaway, let us know which one of Heather's post was your favorite and why by Monday the 18th at midnight! Simple as that and good luck. Thanks again Heather for the lovely week full of ideas and inspiration!

DIY Housewarming Gifts

I love making treats look pretty and then giving them away. The process and assembly of projects like this are very therapeutic to me, and also extremely satisfying. And who doesn't like to get cute treats? I've compiled some of my favorite DIY projects so hopefully you'll get into the giving spirit and make something for that neighbor that you haven't met yet!

• Homemade Bread and Jam



• Chocolate Bark and Candied Pecans




• Planted Banana Nut Bread

Brain dump

I am feeling very goofy and very random today, which will either mean that this post will end up funny or bizarre or a little bit of both. I'm just gonna download the contents of my brain for you to make fun of, 'cause that's how I roll. Speaking of that - I'm so over that expression, but I can't seem to drop it and I can't seem to replace it yet. Highly annoying.

Ok, in no particular order, here are today's random musings:
(that one was for my friend MOFM... b/c I know she just loves that word!)

I've lost 10 lbs since I found out my dad has cancer. Woo-hooo...? Turns out it was easy to do; all you have to do is stop eating. Who fucking knew? Not me! 6 small meals a day? Eff that! All I did was give up a few luxuries like breakfast, snacks, and desserts, and what do you know? Sure, I'm hungry all the damn time, but I've kind of gotten used to it. Even more strange? I kind of like it. I wonder if this is how skinny people feel?

Yes, I know my metabolism will crash and burn eventually, so save your comments! I will resume my usual feeding schedule at some point when food becomes more appealing again. Except for snacks and desserts, because apparently once you hit your mid-30's you just can't have those every day. Again, who knew? I never get too skinny; for one thing, I'm just not put together that way. I'm built for comfort, not speed, baby! For another, my man likes my curves and might not be as "warm for my form" if I lost 'em all.

Funny thing about that. Jim's family is very weight-conscious, which is just a trifle annoying when you're, ya know, making babies and watching the scale go up, down and all around every couple of years in order to do so. His mom is one of these very pretty, very skinny, very popular girls. I actually love her, and how often do you hear someone say they love their MIL? Anyway, she's always dieting & only eats like once a day. His dad is always onto some new fad diet or exercise program (currently it's yoga... so he's always pulling out downward-freaking-dog in the weirdest places... it's all kinds of wrong). Anyway, he struggles with his weight quite a bit, but is the first one to notice if you put some on or take some off. Jim and his brothers are all very tall and well-built guys, and maintaining their weight isn't an issue for any of them, the bastards. What's intesting is that all three brothers picked girls who are not super-skinny stick figures. Not that we're fat, but we all definitely have curves. Actually, I think the common theme among us is big boobs, now that I think about it.

Next subject! The new Sookie Stackhouse novel is just ok. I'm not lovin' it. I haven't had much time to read lately, so maybe I'm just in a funk? But so far, it's a little dull, and there isn't nearly enough sex. Boo.

What else? Hmmmm.

I didn't make plans for this weekend, which is a little unusual. I really need to get my house under control. Working and being away so much lately have really taken a toll on my already sucky housekeeping skillz. We have 4 ft. clean laundry piles in the bedroom. At least it's clean, but rooting around up to my elbows looking for matching socks every morning is really getting OLD. I always keep the kitchen and living areas clean, because, I mean - I'm not a total pig, but the upstairs is a wreck. So, that's my plan for the weekend. Try not to be too jealous of my exciting life, ok?

Lastly, I'll leave you with a little video that's been on my mind a lot lately. I remember when it first came out, I was driving in my car and I was so taken by the words that I had to immediately rush home to try to find it online. It just strikes a chord with me, because it's pretty much exactly how I feel about aging, and you all know how much a pasty chick like me needs sunscreen. :)


And that's that. Oh, one last thing. Does anyone ever catch the Ellen Degeneres show? It's on here at the office, and I mostly tune it out, but there's this one segment that KILLS me every time they do it. They give random people in the audience microphones and put on a popular song, then they play it back with just one person's mic on so all you hear is them warbling along, not knowing all the words and stuff. I just about cry with laughter every time I see it. I'd find an example of it online for you, but I'm too effing hungry, so you'll just have to take my word on it that it's hysterical. Latah!

Spicing Things Up

The baby tie tutorial was so much fun that I almost feel bad posting something new today. Trust me though, I think this tutorial from Heather is worth it. Maybe we can all become fabulous photographers... or at least improve. Thanks Heather! (P.S. Visit Heather's blog to see what else she's been up to this week.)

I've compiled some easy ways to get fun, candid, unique photos! I'll just jump right into them:

Capturing Their Personality:
The BEST way to get great photos of your child is to just let them be themselves! I think that candid photos are the best! Try to pick out their happiest time of day to bring the camera out. Try not to get too pose-y with them because most likely they'll get bored and not cooperate with you. Try to capture you child expressing their unique personality. Follow them around the yard, or put a fun toy by a window inside, let them go at it, and shoot away (with your camera, of course).




What To Wear:
I'm always a big fan of color! Bright, bold colors are always great, especially on kids! If you want to go for a print, choose a large print. Sometime small, detailed prints are too busy and don't look the best in photos. Accessories and layers add a lot to a photo, too. Scarves, fun shoes, hats, and bracelets are just a few ideas.





Props:
A great way to get fun photos is spice things up a bit! I always encourage clients to bring props to use in their shoots. I think it adds dimension and zest to the photo and just brings in the "wow" factor. I've used couches, a big sucker, picture frames, brightly colored chairs...the options are endless!