THE QUEEN OF QUIRK

reverting to dude

During high school, I said "Dude". I said it a lot. "Dude" was probably in every sentence I uttered. Everyone said it. And now, as an adult, I only say it if I've been drinking. But Colin and I got hooked on the first two seasons of LOST and ya know...Hurley says "dude". He says it a lot. So now it has crept back into my life. I "hear" it all the time so now I am saying it again. I'm saying it so much that people are asking me if I'm drinking. But I'm not. Funny, huh? Now I sound drunk even at 9 a.m. Niiiice.

I was talking to my dad yesterday about the reunion and he made a good point. It's not high school. I can leave anytime I want. In fact, I can walk in there, act like a monkey and sling poo on everyone who was ever mean to me (and run from the apes who have some of their own for me) and then walk out. I can do whatever I want to now. Cuz I wear big girl panties now. Cuz I'm past all that. And because if I don't go, then I'll always wonder...was it really all that bad? So, I've made up my mind. I'm gonna go. Just for the heck of it. But nobody better bring up the snart. Then it'll turn ugly.

In other news, I have a new kit up at Oscraps. I love it and I think it's adorable and I had a lot of fun creating it.

You can snag it here.

So, other than that, not much is going on. I'm just listening to Color Me Badd and having a grand old time. The kids are all at school and I'm bobbin' around in my chair, reveling in one more hour of freedom. The papers are finished for another kit and I'm working on the embellishments. Wanna peek?

Yeah...it's gonna be so purdy!!!
Last night while we were grocery shopping, Colin saw a crepe pan and we bought it. Funny thing is I was already going to make crepes tomorrow morning. This will make it even easier. Hopefully I won't burn them this time. :0) And I'm dead serious on this...listen closely now. If you ever go to Paris, you MUST have a lemon and sugar crepe. Trust me on this. It will change your life. And then you'll find yourself at 8 p.m. in the middle of the super market, holding a crepe pan, and when you get home, you'll be best friends with Nigella Lawson and she'll show you how to make crepes to perfection without a crepe pan and then everyone in your town starts offering to watch your children and to do your laundry and then you'll throw away your pan and move to a castle on Cloud 9 and Johnny Depp will be your next door neighbor.
It happens, dude.

the dreaded thing

There aren't too many things I dread in life. Laundry. Death. Exercise. You know, the 'usuals'. But there is another thing that has crept into my life that I'm not so thrilled about.

I have always shuddered at the thought of going. My saving grace was going to be moving to Europe and by-passing the event with perfumed stationery that stated

My dream has shattered into a million pieces. The awful event has been deliberately planned around my brother's High School graduation to extract maximum participation. Those committee people...they're a crafty bunch.

So, I've been mulling this over...ya know...chewing it...trying to figure out which part of my body will fall off after I go into shock. Those thoughts, of course, sent me down Memory Lane. Let's take a walk shall we?

See what i have to look forward to? Top all that with the countless memories I'm sure I've blocked due to post traumatic stress disorder and you have a fairly icky situation. Top that with the fact that there will hardly be a hundred people there (my class had a whopping 32 grads) and you get a nice cozy little gathering chock full of delightful little morsels. Top that with the fact that I turned into a bit of a witch myself during my latter years and you have a party just waiting to happen! Party people, over here!!

Why does this bother me so much? Why am I gritting my teeth right now thinking about this? These people tricked me, I just know it. And they even turned my family against me. Dave!! You should have dropped out of school!!! What were you thinking, graduating??!?!? See what you've done?

I've really got to lay off the coffee.

the icky sickies

I swear we must all have big red viral targets on our chests. Either that, or we're genetically inclined to get sick all the time..one right after the other...in an endless succession of illness and plague.

I'm so sick of being sick that I don't even want to talk about being sick. And the next person who gets sick in this house is on their own. They can be sick on the patio and I'll pass bread and water through a crack in the window. Ok...not really. But it feels good to say it. Ok...it doesn't. I'm just tired of us all being sick. And you might want to swallow a HUUUUGE grain of salt with all this...

Despite the cloud of doom and grey that hovers over our health, there is at least one bit of sunshine. My friend, Anne, has been wonderful to us. She picked up groceries for me today, she took Mia to school this morning, she is having Mia over at her house for lunch (since Mia is the only one of us who is fit for the outside world). It is so nice to have someone to rely on. She is helping me set up a veritable Krankenhaus. Thank you, Anne! :)

Before my weekend from H-E-double hockey sticks, some really exciting things went down. The ultra secret project now has a site set up and we are slowly getting there...my fabulous partner in crime is a genius with color, and the guest star is literally gonna knock your socks off! Oh, I know I'm being terribly vague...but man, this is gonna be good. And since none of my other confidantes are giving hints, you'll just have to take these delicious little morsels from me. Although....they might start dropping some tasty tidbits of their own...we'll just have to see! :)

And so my parents don't go into withdrawal, here's a photo of Norah...doin' her thang....yelling. :0)

I have this thing for out of focus, off-color photos...they're my warmfuzzies. They make me feel good, too. And isn't that what warmfuzzies are all about? This one is definiteely a warmfuzzy. Definitely.

So, here's to good health, warmfuzzies, and secret projects. Cheers and ciao!

jolly little brolly

I don't know about where you are...but here is is just nasty. Cold, rainy, windy and kinda gloomy. Although, the grey skies sure do make my daffodils pop. :) They look extra yellow lately. Here's a bit of sunshine to chase those clouds away!

I simply love the way this kit turned out. :) Makes me happy! You can find it here at oscraps.com.
I hope everyone has a great weekend! Ciao!

SPD+2

I hope everyone had a great St. Patrick's Day (if you celebrate it, that is!). We managed to get out of the house at a fairly early hour and went on a road trip. we had absolutely glorious weather all week. But the second we stepped out of the house, it turned to crap. Cold, nasty rain, icky wind...it was dark all day. Fun stuff. :)
Before that, though, Colin got up bright and early and dyed the milk green and made green pancakes. When I sat down and saw my plate, I said
"Oh, so mom gets the experimental blob, huh?"
Colin replied,
"It's a shamrock."
Oops. And indeed, upon looking twice, it turned out to be a shamrock. I guess that's what happens when you give me fun-shaped food before my coffee. I get a little crabby. :)
After breakfast, we went to Wurzburg. We had been there before with Drew & Katie last summer and said we wanted to go back. The castle is supposed to be one of the most spectacular in Germany. Full of  Roccoco and Baroque goodness that was at the height of 18 c. Parisian and Venetian style. The murals were incredibly rich and saturated (similar to the Sistine chapel, but with more lapiz lazuli and wine). And the trompe l'oeil was superb. The murals were painted below the highest moulding, so the paintings appeared to be part of the ceiling statuary. My favorite part was how low the ceilings were n some of the galleries. They appeared to be only 20 feet or so...we felt like we could touch the murals. If you ever get a chance, go see this palace. I am looking forward to going back this summer to see the gardens at their height. :)

On Sunday, we were all feeling kinda icky. I think walking around Wurzburg in the cold rain wasn't the smartest thing we could have done. So we were veggin' and watching LOST season 2...(Mandy is so awesome!!) Then we actually went to bed pretty early. I did some scrapping yesterday, though.

This is for Yvette Sanders' ad inspiration challenge at the DigiChick. Layout here.

This next layout is for Rachael Giallongo's sketch challenge at the DigiChick. :) Layout here.

This morning Mia isn't feeling well, so she's home with me and the other kiddos are at their respective schools.Colin just called me and since we're all under the weather, we decided that we're getting Penne Quattro Formaggi from the Italian joint down the street. Can 6 o'clock come any slower!?!?
That's all for us today. I'm gonna go snuggle with Mia and keep her company and watch Sleeping Beauty. Ciao, all! Happy Monday!
Oh! And don't forget about my 2 kits available at Oscraps! 

all free all the time

It's a veritable bonanza of liberty!
Well, not quite...but they are free!
I am happy to announce that my kits will be at www.oscraps.com from now on. And they won't cost you a dime. Not even a penny!

You can get both kits HERE.
I hope everyone is having a fabulous friday and I hope everyone has a wonderful St. Patrick's day! I think we are going out of town tomorrow to see the castle in Wurtzburg. Should be loads of fun! Ciao and happy scrapping! :)

happy tuesday!

I hope everyone's Monday went well!
Ours was a bit chaotic, but we still managed to get s lots done. I'm really missing my sleep, though. But yesterday I got to talk to my bud Liz on the phone. Man, I missed her!!!

So let's see what's going on...I have 2 finished kits and then I'm going to start revamping older ones...repackaging and whatnot. Something really really cool is happening on Friday. I can't wait to spill the beans!

Other than that, it's same old same old around here. A few days ago we bought our tickets and made hotel reservations for our big vacay this year. SO excited to be going back to the States! I miss it and a couple weeks in Vegas and with family should be just the thing we need!

Have a happy Tuesday! Ciao. :0)

double blech

Apparently we're just gonna be sick for a while and I'm just going to have to accept that. Noodle is on and off constantly, now I feel crummy, and I just know that as soon as Noodle and I feel better, then Colin and the girls will get sick.

I didn't get anything done this weekend. I feel like we have a newborn all over again because we wake up so many times during the night, and deadlines are rapidly approaching and I have no mojo. I sure hope things turn around cuz right now it's pretty hairy. I'm working on getting emails answered, so please bare with me.
We did manage to get a little exercise and fresh air in yesterday. I was so sick of being inside and of sniffly noses, so we went on a 3 mile walk to a park that we like and then had a picnic and blew bubbles. Normally, I would have more photos, but my battery went dead. :0(

And notice the photo of my newly 20 pound less man...doesn't he look good!?!? I'm so proud of him! :0) So even though Noodle felt better and had a blast at the park, she was still very fussy and cranky the entire night. After the third time she woke up crying, we just brought her in bed with us. I miss sleeping through the night. I know it's mostly because we share a room with her, but Lara and Mia were never like this. They slept through the night at 4 months and have been doing it since. Not Noodle. She's got her own plan and it's definitely been hard for Colin and I to adjust. I guess we were spoiled with the first 2. :0)
But right now she's sleeping so I'm going to get some work done. I hope everyone had a great weekend! Spring is definitely in the air here and I'm loving the sunshine! Ciao!

blech

Mia woke up this morning crying, saying her tummy hurt. So while I was comforting her, Lara bolted past me and into the bathroom. The poor kid has been vomiting and dry heaving all morning. Mia turned out to be fine, though. And Norah has a cold...it's gone from her eyes to her nose. Right now Lara is sleeping. I hate when she has days like this...she just wakes up feeling terrible and then dry heaves til dinner. She can't keep down water or anything else and just suffers. I just don't understand why this happens to her.

So I'm still in my pajamas and I can't do much today...when Noodle is sick, she wants to be held. So we're all piled on the couch...coughing and sniffling and being generally icky. Although Lara has to claim the spot closest tot he door...that way she came make it in time to the bathroom...sigh...

Update: Lara is feeling better and she managed to keep down some toast and water. But now Mia is acting super cranky and I'm hoping it's not because she's about to start, too. And Noodle is good...she's walking all over the place, so that must be a good sign. :0)

Update: It's like a yo yo roller coaster around here. Now Mia is fine, Lara just had a nap (self-induced...practically never happens) and then said she wanted toast and wants to go to bed, Norah is going bonkers and now my tummy feels like junk. Fun fun. :0)

that free kit...

Sorry to those of you who didn't get a chance to download Memoire07. My bandwidth has been exceeded and that's all she wrote. I only planned on allowing 400 downloads, but after reaching 400, I decided to see how many I would actually get. You know how many I got? 1,391

That's insane. But I haven't heard great things about other sharing sites...and the lack of security isn't very comforting. So, I'll stick with yousendit for now and I'll actually probably limit the downloads. But Memoire07 is done done done-sky. Maybe he'll be back sometime in the future. :0)

A new kit is almost finished and I just adore it...I'm not going to share it just yet, though....it may be destined for a very special "grand debut"...more on that later. :0) Here's a bit of a peek, tho...

Not much else to report for today...I have a ton to do and work on...so ciao, all! Happy Wednesday!