a new home

I moved :)

I've been pondering Typepad for awhile now and I figure the new year was a good excuse to move. See you there.
Tina

cool beans.

New Years was quiet for us....just the way I like it. Ate a nice dinner which included black eyed peas, an ode to my Georgian grandmother. It's suppose to bring you good luck for the year. Watched the cheesiest of cheesy movies and that was HotRod. Wouldn't recommend it. It was crap after watching Superbad umpteen times. Close to midnight, we bundled up to watch the fireworks from our deck. It's really the only time of year we can actually enjoy them since the sun's not out until 2 in the morning.
I spent the first day of the year in bed with the sickies. J kindly passed on his coughing nastiness to moi and now I'm nursing chloraseptic drops which, in my opinion kick Halls bootie. I did manage to get a little scrapping in. I liked Elsie's challenge on how you've evolved in 2007. I personally didn't have any dramatic life changing events but a good learning year.

I'm also jumping the Blogger ship soon. I'll have a Typepad blog up shortly....just trying to figure out banners and what not. Hopefully by my next post, I'll be up and running there and maybe spill a little guest DT news ;)

One last thing, my Christmas tree is STILL UP. Yes I am lame....and a little lazy. Ok, a lot lazy.

Tina

This weekend....

*I took Holly to Benihana for her birthday.*Purchase new 2008 desk calendar and wrote in birthdays. Also dug out some felt hearts I started last Valentines day and never finished.
*Still trying to polish my sewing skills with these some what beginner pincushions. It's the blind stitching at the end that I screw up. One ended up being the shape of a football.
*Deciding on paint color for the craft room. Think I'm leaning towards a blue...thinking vintage map ala Martha Stewart, robin's egg blue, Tiffany's blue...something blue.
*Ate half a chunk of brie with crackers for dinner tonight.
*Finishing up the last few pages of my Christmas scrapbook/journal.
*Purchased 2 more vintage relish trays to hold my ever-growing stash of old buttons and ribbons.
*Drank 3 cups of coffee this morning.
*Dinner with Jeff's parents at Club Paris on Friday. It's a popular, spendy restaurant here in Anchorage that everyone raves about. I was surprised to see how huge my cut of prime rib was. It didn't even look like I put a dent in it by the end of our meal.
*Watched Superbad 3 times in the past week. I love the very beginning when they're dancing. I want that as a screen saver.

Overall a good weekend. Glad it wasn't one of those rush around town, spending money of gifts kind of weekend. The Christmas decor is slowly coming down although I'm thinking of a way of shrink wrapping my tree so that next year, I can just unwrap it and it's all decorated and ready to go. :) :) ;)

Happy New Year friends.
Take care,
Tina

holiday recap.

The January Studio Calico goods are up and....well...they have already sold out of one of their add-ons. I'm telling you ladies, you've got to be quick. It's not like there's just 10 of these kits. April and Scarlet work so hard and I know they plan on increasing quantities. This kit was a lot of fun but did take a lot of effort on my part. Not because of the kit itself but working around the holidays and the many other craft projects made it hard. Now that things are slowing down, I'm going to pull out the extra stuff I have left over and get to makin'. Collage Press is so beautiful and it's on my top 10 scrap list. Love it.

The project kit was amazing!! I plan on hanging this in my studio with some other artwork. Did you Celine Navarro's calendar?????
Christmas was fabulous. I couldn't of asked for anything more....not speaking of gifts, just the overall mood and being with my family. Watching my by baby niece, Reagan open up her first Christmas gift was my very favorite moment. She knew exactly what to do and looked at everything with such amazement. She likes to say "oohhhh" when she gets something new. She also celebrated her 1st birthday on Christmas day.

Christmas day was relaxing and quiet. We watched Elf and Christmas Vacation and hung out next to the fire. I stayed in my pj's and underneath my new fleece heat blanket most of the day. It was lovely and I wish it could last another week. But the holidays are over and I'm ready. So ready for a fresh start, for new beginnings and adventures. My resolutions have been made and I'm ready to GO as Kal would say.
Well, thought I would have more to write about but my mind has gone blank. There may be some changes to the blog here soon. Part of my fresh start :)

Hope you all have a wonderful Holiday!

Tina

Birthday love

1. Birthday Gift, 2. Creative Slump, 3. Queen Marie's crown, detail, 4. Burning Birthday Candles, 5. happy-birthday-balloons, 6. birthday cupcake

Happy Birthday Holly!

I wish I had a river.

1. peace_20509, 2. And then there were hearts...., 3. i heart my christmas tree, 4. Christmas Heart

It's been a hectic work week and I'm now just catching up on some reading. I have come across so many blogs that have touched my heart to the very core. I have been stressed out this entire week about this upcoming weekend. My family will be over to celebrate tomorrow and I started to wig out about it. I planned for a chill, easy going Christmas afternoon with some simple nibbles. I didn't want to worry about a huge formal dinner. But it's funny how easy turns into stress, not to mention the millions of other things on my to-do list.
So today, I took an early lunch and did my grocery shopping. I had to honk at some one who came so close to hitting my tail end, I then rushed through the supermarket with a list in one hand, cell phone in the other to keep track of time. I pulled up with a cart full after only 20 mins feeling accomplished. As I stood there, a women in from of me asked about a ham that came up full price when it should of been half. This caused a huge hassle among the people behind me. They huffed and grumbled and got loud. It was ridiculous and I thought, I'm not going to allow myself to get like that. I smiled at the cashier with empathy because I have been in his shoes. Working retail has to be the hardest job during the holidays. So be patient folks. Everyone is in a rush right now.
I came back to read this post from Rhi. It sadden me but also made me realize what Christmas is truly about. My mind started to ease about my family gathering tomorrow. So my house isn't perfect and I got store bought cream puffs instead of baking. Let it go.
And this blog. It brought tears to my eyes about her beloved furry friend, Merlin. I've been snuggling my old friend a lot more this past week.
So the combination of grumpy holiday shoppers and the heartache of losing loved ones has gotten to me....has made me realize it's not the perfect gift or glitz and glamour that make Christmas what it is. It's in our hearts and it doesn't cost one cent. Hug your loved ones a little tighter, make that kiss under the mistletoe last a little longer, laugh until eggnog spits out of your nose. Enjoy the true, simple meaning of Christmas this year.

Be safe everyone and Merry Christmas.
Tina

I don't hear any yuletide songs dude.

Yes, my banner needs something else. I'll change it tonight.

It's almost here!! Can't believe it's all going to be over 7 days! I'm actually kind of glad. I'm starting to get burned out on all the holiday events and shopping. And I am so ready for the new year. 2008 is going to be a do it now year. I'll be turning the big 3-0 in March. If things go my way, I'll celebrate 30 in Seattle.

So this is really the only time I wear this much make-up. My everyday make-up is Aveda tinted moisturizer, concealer, mascara, and lip balm. My Ter-bear does such a fab job with make-up and hair. She's always so trilled to do this for me every Christmas and I greatly appreciate it because if she didn't, I'd just do my everyday thing. It's nice to get all dressed up....makes me feel all special and jolly. Oh, and the party was a blast. Good food, good wine, good conversation and dancing. No karaoke for me though, I'd probably clear the room out. And I did have to fight for my pick in the Chinese gift exchange. I chose a little clutch that had the Japanese Cherry Blossom from Bath&BodyWorks, something you can't get up here....well, if you're in the military and shipping is ridiculous because they can't ship chemicals here. Apparently 2 other women wanted it too but my J won it back for me. What a guy.
Something I made for a friend. The idea was from Sarah Bowen's 12 Days of Christmas class. I'm so addicted to these little houses. I just kept making them one night and now I've got a neighborhood of them. I think the houses themselves would make fabulous ornaments *making mental note for next year*
And J was so tickled with himself. He put a string of lights around our deck. Yeah, that's it. He's so funny. We don't normally do a whole lot on the outside and I'm not one to plaster my home with decorations and lights so simple is good for me.
Allison Clem, to answer your question about printing photos, I'm an Epson girl. Love it. I purchased mine a few years ago so it's an older model. I use cheapo heavy weight matte photo paper and I've learned to NOT use any other ink cartridge than the one's that are meant to go with your printer. I tried to use the cheaper Office Max ones and ended up with a big mess. And I love Picasa. That's how I print all my different size photos. Hope that helps! :)

Well, that's it for me friends. I did promise a few more sneaks and I will post them here tomorrow. Take care, and get the last minute shopping done!
Tina