Sunday, April 29, 2007

Signs that Summer is just around the corner...

(as told in pictures)

We sure have fun with our neighbors...all of the girls playing in the sprinklers...Maddie and Logan in the pool...the first peony...our hard work of cleaning up the 'beach' area...the neighbors in the hottub...the sun going down on a nice day at our backyard 'beach'...and finally the chance for Lane and I to put up our feet and enjoy our day together...

Enjoy your time together, too!!!

Saturday, April 21, 2007 (again)

Pictures of the new neighbors!!

How cute are they??? I think that if i asked Logan to name them she would say Inga and Flocka...When she was about 5 years old she had these Swedish names that she would come up for all of her animals/babies...Funny. So, they are officially named Inga and Flocka! I think that the names fit!

Inga and Flocka

Take the time to seek out your new/old neighbors! Take time to enjoy them!!

Saturday, April 21, 2007

She's Done!!!!

I finally finished the 'art doll'. I packed up all of my other swaps (delaying the process of course) and even packed up a box for my sister...(to further delay the process). Then, there she was...just sitting on my table staring at me. There wasn't anything left to work on, BUT HER. So, I went to SwapBot.com and read the profile of my partner. She is really into gardening, so...BAM. I started digging through my beads and found a ton of butterflies and some great beads that looked like flowers. I began the process. I kind of decided to use her as a canvas instead of a 'doll-like-thingee'...and it worked. Well, I can't really say if it 'worked' or not, but she's done, packed up and she's got a label on her to find her new home.

Yipee! Anyway, there are no more swaps to work on. I'm taking a break from crafting for a little while - or at least until I'm inspired. So - LET THE INSPIRING BEGIN!!!

I think that I'll try to concentrate on the yard and the house for awhile. I've almost let the weeds win the battle, but I think that I'm going to fight back even harder. We've put so much week killer on that I think that they are immune to it now! We are going for the Turf Builder next...With this crazy weather I just don't know what to do anymore!!

I'm headed to start enjoying the craft free day!!

Enjoy and don't let any crafts get the best of you!!

Thursday, April 19, 2007

I might have gotten a little of my mojo back. I came home from work and started working on my Swap Bot stuff...I got all of my envelope organizers done. They turned out really cute. I was stressing out about the envelope part - I just didn't want to have to make a ton of envelopes out of really cute paper...So, while I was at work today - I found a really cute pack of fun note cards that had really great envelopes! They were blues and greens - ON CLEARANCE and right under my nose!! That's all it took - a little inspiration found in some envelopes at work! Who knew?? Well, I found some great stickers, got them personalized and found a great hot pink ribbon to tie around them. I got them packed up, and they are ready to go to Berlin and one to the UK...I only have one more swap to finish and then I'm going to take a break from it all...Of course I HAD to pick this one called ART DOLL. Didn't I write earlier about how I didn't inherit the 'art' gene? That all I can do is matchy-matchy-happy-color-theme things? Didn't I say that the only gene my family carried on was in my two sisters? Well, for some reason I thought that I could do this one. It is just sitting on my desk staring at me...waiting for me to finish her - it? I just made my own pattern of a happy little dancer and made her outline out of red felt...I am just waiting for that inspiration to keep going with her...I just want my sisters to finish her for me...I'll figure something out. I'll dig out the beads, the wire, the 'words', and we'll see how it all works out. If I get going maybe it'll all come together. I tried viewing 'art doll' on that website FLIKR to see if I could get inspiration...Nothing yet. I just will never learn and accept that I'm not an artist - I'm just a crafter. A happy crafter, a proud crafter, but just a crafter...

Work is going good. My boss reminds me everyday that it's just a job. You work hard, work hard while you are there and then you clock out and go home and play hard. It's funny because my job is usually my hobby. I see it as a game - a challenge. I want to see how much I can get done and how much I can get others to get done...If I can get all of the 'things/tasks' done then it leaves me more time to chat with the customers. There is this one lady that comes into our Copy Center. She owns some sort of bridal business and comes in to make her brochures and things. It's kinda fun trying to figure out how to get them the way she likes and to make them look good. We use the glossy paper, we use the legal size so she can fold it in half to make a nice little booklet...it's fun. The guys that work there (which, again are most of the population of the workplace) just don't get the crafty/craftsmanship of it all...She was glad that there was a lady in the house!! There was a gentleman that came in today that needed a GPS for his trip to TEXAS!! I told him how we use ours to get there to see my family...it was funny to chat with him. He was a retired navy man that was going to see an ole buddy that he was friends with in the military. They both were in communications - he was telling me about the Morse code he would send...How times change. It's really interesting to meet all of the people and what they do in the world (or what they did in the world)...

Well, my family is laughing at the fact that I'm typing sooooo fast and sooooo long. Logan can't believe that I'm my third paragraph...Lane is laughing at the keys tapping so fast...So, I can take a hint and I'll head on to bed and quit typing!!!

Well take the time to enjoy the people around you - the ones you know and the ones you don't. They could really surprise you and what they know and can tell you about...

ENJOY!

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

It's funny how I go check out some of my favorite blog spots and when they haven't updated anything or have new pictures it kinda makes me crazy - and now I'M ONE OF THOSE who hasn't updated anything in awhile!!

Well, we have 3 new members to the Sparrow Pointe Family. The birds who return to build their nest in our cat birdhouse have three new little chirpy babies! We heard them in their today just chirping away! Here's a picture of the mama - I haven't gotten brave enough to take a picture of the babies just yet - give them about a week and we'll peek in!

Here is Holly and Jack - the newest drivers in our neighborhood!

Work has been a little weird lately. I've been the un-popular person lately. I've been trying to challenge the schedule lately. We have certain hours that we can use each day and only in certain departments. We get grades (or maybe I should say that 'I' get grades since I'm the Ops manager) on our 'effectiveness' of our schedules. Some of the associates' availabilities fit within those parameters...So, there is one associate that really works hard and is really dedicated to his department and the store. But his availability to work doesn't fit with the schedule of his department. I spoke with him about maybe getting hours from another department since there weren't enough hours in his current department. I really thought that I was trying to help him with his schedule as well as his paycheck. I didn't want him to have to go and find another job or even quit! Well, he went to the other managers and even the district manager telling them that I didn't think that his department was important - that he wasn't important. How was he going to be able to get his work done by himself and with only a few hours per week...He really misunderstood my intentions. And this is one time that I really felt like I was trying to help someone out and they didn't appreciate it nor did anyone back me up. He doesn't speak to me and now I feel like I'm the 'bad guy' - the new manager that has come in and changed everything that was working for the past 9 years!! I guess that I shouldn't really care - that I'm just doing my job - but to me working WITH everyone in the store is my job. Working TOGETHER to get things going is MY job...I guess that it hurt my feelings that no one understood my intentions...I am really trying to bring in a little 'softness' to the group. All of the guys (there are only 4 of us girls) just yell at each other to get things done...Maybe that's the way they work. I just can't work by force...Oh, well. What can you do?? I'll just do my best at making a difference one way or another and then go home to my quiet little neighborhood and family. (I keep telling myself that so that it'll be okay...)

I'm starting to count down the days till June! We are planning our trip to TEXAS!! I'm really excited about taking this trip. Lane, Logan and I always have such fun on the road trips and I just can't wait to see my family!! We laugh sooo much during our trips that I just can't wait!!! Happiness!!

I've gotten into a crafting 'funk'...I told Lane today that I've lost my crafting MOJO. I can't seem to put anything together lately. Last weekend I made this really cute doll - squirrel. His name is Bleak. He is REALLY cute. After seeing a picture I decided that I could make my own pattern and create a really cute mixed fabric softie of my own. I DID IT!

Then after I finished him I made a penguin for Lane. He has all kinds of crazy colors and came out REAAAALLY cute, too!! Maybe they sucked it all out of me...I just can't seem to get started on anything else. I have 3 swaps coming up and I'm almost waiting until the last minute to finish them up. I think that I need to take some time away from the the crafty room and re-energize. Maybe my yard work MOJO has taken over???

(Bleak the squirrel/frog and Pingy the Penguin!)

(MOJO stealers!!!)

Well, here's to heading to bed and trying to retrieve my crafting mojo!!

Enjoy!!

Monday (even though it feels like a Sunday) April 9, 2007

The Sparrow Pointe Easter Hunt was a success. Even though we didn't put a lot of effort into it, we probably had even more fun. (My sister and I always had the philosophy that the amount of effort you put into an event was directly proportional and or equal to the amount of fun you WOULDN'T have.) I think that this philosophy worked for this event, too! Here's Logan and her BFF Savannah being the bunnies of the event. They are now the oldest of the kids so they have taken it upon themselves to be 'helpers' as it is no longer cool to hunt the eggs with the 'kids'. Funny...We do enjoy their help. We can pawn sooo many things off on them now that they are the 'older' ones - helping clean up, babysitting the kids, leading the kids as they find the eggs...

Here are a couple of my most recently received Swaps. One came from Finland (the matchboxes) and one from Portugal (the crocheted purse). Wow - who knew that there really are all kinds of crafters all around the world. The purse is beautifully made with a little crocheted flower and all on it. The matchboxes and crafts were decorated and filled so uniquely. Just some fun crafting that makes me happy. It's interesting to see what the mailman will bring next... I'm working on a couple of swaps now. One has an Ocean theme - I received a little crochet octopus from my partner on that one. I made a felt dolphin and a cute little jelly fish. The jelly fish was made from felt with all kinds of ribbons hanging down as his tentacles...All mixed/matched and cute! I made a couple of drawstring bags and filled them with shells, too. It really turned out cute!

I'm going to have to remember my hydrangea bush like this - in this picture. We had a crazy frost over the weekend and even though I covered them all with trash bags, they now look as if they were boiled cabbage...SAD!! This picture was taken Saturday!! Our news forecast said that it was colder yesterday (26) than it was on Christmas!! We set an ALL TIME record - not just for the day, month, year - ALL TIME!! The peonies survived and the Gerber daisies were saved by putting them in the shop, so we were able to save a few!!

Now this plant defies everything. Lane sent this plant (a much smaller version) to me at work about 5 years ago. It just won't stop growing! It LOVES this corner and seems to just want to take it over! I think that it's a begonia - the prettiest pink flowers you've ever seen. It will sit out on the porch during the summer and just keep blooming and blooming!!

Well, we are all heading back to work and school tomorrow. I've been off since Saturday and so has Lane. Logan had spring break last week and today is her Easter holiday. I'm ready to get back into a groove. I'm starting to feel a little lazy! I'm looking for a reason NOT to take a nap and screw up my sleeping pattern - to work by 5am tomorrow!!

Well, happy Easter to all! I want to say happy spring, but it just doesn't seem like it when it's 40 degrees outside!!

Enjoy the cool weather - we'll be belly-aching about how hot it is soon enough!!

Monday, April 2, 2007

This is a really old picture - Lane and I went to Charleston for a day. We try to always take a picture by holding up the camera and snapping a shot. We didn't do that this time when we went to the mountains...Hmmm...So, I'll use this one!

Well, it's the second of April already. This month and all of it's holidays (April fools and Easter) really snuck up on me this year. Logan and I usually plan for MONTHS what we are going to do to Lane for April Fools day. One year we sewed all of his underwear together, one year we put his car keys in a huge bowl of jello (in a baggie of course)...but this year, we really thought about it around 9pm the night before. So, in the short amount of time we had to plan, we decided that we weren't going to do anything, we were just going to make him crazy by making him THINK that we were doing something. We kept telling him that we couldn't wait until he found 'IT'...We taunted him all day long with that! It worked! He was crazy by the end of the day! It was funny because Lane tried to get Logan by setting her alarm really early - but she caught him and turned it off!!! A really silly day!

Now, usually we have a big Easter Egg hunt here in our circle. We have about 20 kids, and all bring goodies to share. The night before a neighbor and myself hide about 200-250 empty eggs (you never want bugs or runny chocolate) and a few 'golden' eggs. We start the kids out by age and we give prizes (that we've collected all year - 1$-5$ goodies) for this and that. (each kid will end up with a prize of some sort - even if we have to make up a category for them!) Well, we sent out invitations and wanted to get some RSVP's since a lot of the families were going out of town next week. I haven't heard a thing...Maybe it's sneaking up on all of us!

I haven't even decorated the yard - except for the Easter flags!! I have these really cute wooden bunnies that I put out every year and little blow up eggs that we put in the trees...I think that if I get in the mood, I just might do it on Wednesday...I'll get the lawn mowed (a jungle of weeds and that crazy stuff that grows under the bird feeders!) and maybe the bunnies will make a short appearance...We'll see. If it does get done, I'll post pictures of the proof...

Swap Bot sure is going good. My sister is even playing on there now! I got the cutest little 'softie' in the mail. Her name is Gertie. She came all the way from Spain. I'm not sure what 'it' is that makes her sooo appealing - it's something, though. She really has personality!

Logan even hosted a swap. She had a 'kids only' swap with an Easter ATC theme. She got hers from a little boy in California. He did a great job! He also sent stickers and an Easter Bunny 'jacks' game complete with ball! It's really been a fun hobby!

Well, find some time to enjoy your hobby - or just enjoy trying a new one out!

Enjoy the day!