A Team Player

For a little while now, I've been wandering the web, meandering through message boards and stores, trying to find an inspirational and welcoming new home on the internet. A few weeks ago, I found Serendipity Scrapbooks. And it just so happened that they had recently posted a design team call! So I got busy creating a couple of new pages, sent my application in for the team, and anxiously waited for word. Word came! I am happy to report that I was offered a position on the team, and can't wait to start "working" with my other very talented team members. Yippee!

Serendipity is a rocking place, with daily challenges, monthly contests, special event crops, and more. Join in the fun and sign up for the House of Serendipity Event. You won't believe where we're staying:



Edward, the butler, has been preparing the house and stocking the fridge with Chocolate and the bar with plenty of drinks to go around. Bo, the Pool Boy, has been cleaning the pool and hot tub and making sure that all there is plenty of tanning oil by the chairs so he can help the guest get a perfect tan. The house has everything that a lady could want!

I am so there! Won't you join me?!

Spread the Word

Are you drooling over all the new products being presented at the Winter CHA Show? Well, guess what! Products from Basic Grey, Cosmo Cricket, Sassafras Lass, Pink Paislee, and Tim Holtz are now available to pre order in the Serendipity Scrapbooks store!! And best of all, you can get 15% off these pre-orders by entering the code: Winterchagoodies in the code box at the very bottom of the shopping cart.

[Please review the info on how to order pre-ordered items. Also note that some papers and embellishments will be in future Serendipity kits. If a product line is slated for use in an upcoming kit, it will be mentioned on the main page for that line.]

HERE IS HOW YOU CAN WIN PRODUCT---- Post this on Facebook, Twitter it, blog on it and share on any board that doesn't have a store. Get your name entered into the Crop drawing for the Kit for each place you post, then link back HERE.

WINTER CHA 2010-Cosmo Cricket & Sassafras Lass Open thru Jan. 30th (Ships in February)
WINTER CHA 2010-Pink Paislee & Basic Grey Open thru Feb. 15th (Ships in March)

His Bucket List

Kevin: "Mom, do you know what I want to do?"
Me: "No. What do you want to do Kevin?"
Kevin: "I want to go through a car wash."
Me: "A car wash?"
Kevin: "Yeah, I've never been through one."
Me: [shocked silence]

How did that happen? In all his life, we have never taken him through a car wash!? Some kids yearn to see a professional football, basketball, or baseball game. Others desire the newest video game or gaming system. Others still will plead for tickets to see their favorite music star in concert. And what does Kevin want? To experience a car wash!

I remember when Laura was little, going through the "Big Bird car wash" was a favorite activity. (She named it after the lovable Sesame Street character whose feathers reminded her of the big plumes of cloth that whirled and scrubbed the car clean.)

So we did it. Julie's car had been showered with dirt when she parked in an area that was undergoing construction. It was in bad need of a bath. I grabbed my camera for this momentous occasion:







Looks like the ELMO Car Wash to me!

SWEEEET!

It was a great day for a birthday. The treats began after the 9:30 AM Mass with the Men's Club Donut breakfast. A favorite lunch was to follow, meatballs and spaghetti! Then the piece de resistance, the Saints defeating the Vikings for the NFC Championship and a trip to Miami for the Superbowl!



At some point during the 4th quarter, we stole a few minutes away from the game to celebrate Kevin's birthday with the most delicious King Cake from Randazzo's. No more single digits! He's ten years old!

What a Crock

First there was The Julie/Julia Project. In the book (which I am currently reading), Julie Powell gives herself a year to make every recipe in Julia Child's cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking".



365 days. 536 recipes. Did she succeed? I might just have to finish the book to know for sure, but I do know this. She succeeded in turning her cooking blog into a best-selling book, and that best-seller into a movie. Julie (and Julia's) style of cooking? Very odd French recipes. Extremely labor intensive. Not. For. Me.

Ahhh...but here's a cooking blog I find so much more appealing! In A Year of Slow Cooking Stephanie O'Dea resolves to use her crockpot EVERY... SINGLE... DAY in 2008 and shares both her recipes and her family's verdict. Dump everything in a pot and cook it all day. THAT'S my kind of cooking.

My cooking resolution: to expand my crock pot repertoire.

In 6 hours we're having beef stew.

Can't wait!

Party In The MIA!

It's going to be a long week until that NFC Championship Game on Sunday! But I believe!

Playing With Paper

Bits and Pieces

These are a few of my favorite things! Music, books, foreign films, paper arts, photography, family and travel. All done with a favorite color combo of red, black and kraft. And a few of my favorite supplies: pretty patterned paper, lace, and chipboard. I love the fleur-de-lis...and the scissors...and the "potty" person. Fun stuff.

And a few peeks at what I've been working on lately: