Autumn.

Can't believe that summer is gone. My last post was summer. Now it's autumn/fall. What happened???

Well, honestly, not much of anything. Not much craftiness. More home/work stuff. I did make something for my office, but I don't have a picture to share. Basically, I did this.

One acrylic stand up photo frame for a letter

Cut out lovely letters that will spell something - I spelled "LEARN". I used a pretty font on the cricut, so it was easy peasy.

Apply a co-ordinating color behind the cut out letter. Slip it all into the frame. Wahlah!

I'll post pictures as soon as I take them. I also have something else brewing up too, but can't post it here, as it might get to the person that it's for!!!

Happy Crafting!

Summer time fun!

Well, I am officially off work! Whoot! That means, time to play catch up - if I haven't mentioned that already. First up, office clean up.

5 bags of shredded documents.

I took a picture but then deleted it. It made my OCD go overdrive. We also put together our gazebo on the deck. 4 hours later, it looked like this. We had to take a trip to Geneva, IL for the rest of the parts. They only gave us the big pieces. FUN.

We also took in a Cubs game - we went to Cellular Field (sox home) where you can't get AT&T reception on your phone. Seriously. What a scam. Anyway, we had great seats, and Zambrano got kicked out of the game for fighting Lee. Good stuff!

So what if we lost? We haven't been doing good for 100 years.

In between all that, I managed to whip up 2 batches (that's 24 in 2 days) of Pancake Muffins. Can you say YUMMO? My fam LOVED them. The recipe (and my daughter helped me spell that, the little friggin' genius - she's 7) anyway, can be found here.

Also, I finished my beautiful basket. Now to put plants in it. BBQ is in T-minus 15 days. Lord help me.

Re-cap from 365 post

Yeah! I got my new card reader - that was fast, huh? So, here's a recap of this week. We had AWESOME storms this week - another trip to the basement bathroom - this time eating dinner by the toilet. Lovely.

See the wonderful power lines that are right beside our house? So pretty.

My fav. flower has started blooming in my garden.

After the storms, came a rainbow, but somehow, it came out darker than I thought. I really need to read the instruction manual on my camera and spend a few hours playing. Yeah, I have that kind of time.

And...last but not least, I actually got down to biz and got some craft on. Can you guess what I'm going to do with this old, ugly basket that I scored for a BUCK at a garage sale?

Ideas abound

So I have seen quite frenquently the whole 365 photo idea. I brought it up with Mr. I, and he laughed. I know that I need to start taking more pictures. Starting today. And I was GOING to download the pictures I took today, but my Dazzle card disk reader isn't working!!!! So, you'll have to wait for pics.

Father's Day weekend was loads of fun. We're in high-gear for BBQ. Plants are planted..and we spent the better part of the day in the heat sweating setting up a big gazebo. Also realizing that it requires 4 people to help instead of 2.

The children fought. We saw Karate Kid (very good). We cooked dinner. And here it is, not even 7 and I'm wiped out.

Does anyone even read this? I'm thinking that this whole blog thing isn't really for me. I don't know if I'm even wasting my time.

Summer...Ahhh...

Been very busy here with baseball, crafty-ness, getting ready for our bi-annual BBQ...etc.

Here's what's been going on...1st up, baseball. Jake's team is well...they try.

And the BBQ...well, let's just say that there was a reason that we skipped a year. Between flowers, gazebo's, hanging lights, cool cups, burger cupcakes...wha? Yes, I said Burger cupcakes.

And these cool cups that I'm SO very excited about...

At the end of the school year, I always give the teachers a gift. Last year I made pails with goodies in them. This year, I found this somewhere in this wonderful blog-o-sphere...

Oh, and I found a new blog I ADORE. Ree has been around forever, and I know I'm slow to discover her and her wonderful-ness. Check her out over here.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/

I've been tinkering with the idea of switching either to Typepad, or some other bloggy place. I've been trying to plant a bug in Mr. I's ear about him creating my very own space. After all, that is what he does for a living...if that doesn't pan out, I suppose I'll do the switch. Any suggestions?

Happy Passover and Spring!!

Spring has FINALLY sprung here in Illinois. We were able to enjoy the Flower and Garden Show downtown. The kids and I had a blast, and they enjoyed seeing downtown Chicago. I am SO grateful for the wonderful weather, spring break, and flowers attempting to pop up. Since I work at a school, I have spring break off too, so we've been busy with playdates, errands, going downtown (tomorrow) and Passover!!

This year, I revived my Peeps for Passover (see these Pics..... http://www.flickr.com/photos/stylecouncil/441046093/in/set-72157600038845249/) and also, we are inviting new friends to our Seder. A Seder is a ritual meal shared with family and friends saying blessings, and eating and drinking a lot. We hide the Afikomen, (which is a piece of matzoh) and the children run to find it and get a prize). Instead of toys this year as prizes, I've bought each child - including my nephew who is a Freshman, magazines to the tune of their tastes. Who knew "Bop" was till out there?

I made this a few years ago, and it hangs in our foyer.

Bad Blogger.

Thanks Michele for the kick in the ass (by linking me) that I so needed to update this joyful, yet neglected spot. Since January, this has occured.

• I finished the Ipod Valentine's. The kids' friends loved them. One even thought it was real! Yes, I bought 48 Ipod's. Ha!


• I realized that my paying job isn't all that it's cracked up to be. People are not what they seem (waving of hands in mysterious manner)


• My nanny up and quit on me. Poof. Gone. All during my supposed relaxing weekend scrapbooking in WI.


• I found a cheaper alternative to childcare.


• I shoveled more than I've ever shoveled in my life. Damn Chicago winters.


• But, on the flip side, Spring is here, and I'm seeing tulips sprouting up.

So - re: Scrapbook weekend. (we'll skip the nasty nanny story. It involves a lot of tears, drama, throwing up, and general bitchy-ness. You wanna skip that mess, trust me.)




Mmmm. A candy cart.

The weekend warmed up a bit, notice the lack of snow on the driveway. What a great house.

Michele stitching again. That girl can sew her papers like no one's biz.






















And I actually got 10 layouts done. Even with the drama.

We are going back in October. Even though it is 8 months away, I can't wait. Good friends, awesome host (Thanks Karen!!) and too much food.

I'm back on the blogging trail - watch out!!!