Authentique's February Challenge

I finally have some of Authentique's paper and really wanted to try a challenge using this sketch.

Here's my interpretation of it!

Garnet #8, #9 and #10

Here they are .... Garnet #8:  My Guy

Garnet #9:  Fireworks

And Garnet #10:  Sierra

MCM #68 (2) - Cuz I love the layout!

Made some cards for a friend ....

It all started with a faucet ...

 Yes - It all started with a fauced that needed to be replaced so that we could once again take a shower in this bathroom.  So my wonderful husband started by taking the faucet off.

This was no easy trick as the screw holding the silly thing on - was right up against the tile.  Noticing that the tile was a bit warped and yielded to a bit of pushing, my cutie pie then realized that we needed...









To take the tile off and that's when he discovered that there was a bit of water damage on the side wall.  So - what started off as a new faucet has turned into a total make-over for the bathroom.  Which I am proud to say - my honey is very capable and willing to do.

Happy Valentine's Day (Part 3)

'Twas the night before Valentine's Day and all throughout the house ...
 - the doggie was sleeping as quiet as a mouse!
 - the Daddy was snoring with dreams of getting home early
 - the kids were tossing and turning waiting for the big sugar rush.

And I at my crafting table churning out gifts!

***************************

After all of the Valentine's I made with the kids and then several for my co-workers and my honey, my most wonderful honey turned to me and said, "Hey - if you have a minute or two, would you make me a few?"  With love in my eyes, I jumped up and gathered my supplies - "How many my sweetie-pie, I've got time on my hands!" (now that the laundry is finished, the dishes are done, floors are swept and my outfit for tomorrow is chosen) - "How about 15 or so?"  "Wonderful!"

And that my friends is true love, making Valentine's for the biggest, best Valentine that there is so that he can give them to his friends, too.

Sleep tight!

Take 12 on the 12th for Feb.

I took more than 12 photos - now I'm waiting for the store to open so that I can go and get the photos (far cheaper than printing off of my computer!) and then I've got a layout brewing in my head.  I really like the idea of making the effort to document at least one day a month.  Last month was all about William as he was in a wrestling conference and this month is all about Victoria and her Valentines and car racing.

Well - here it is - a day in the life of the Johnson family.  We spent the day cheering for Victoria's car at the Awana races and of course sampling heart-shaped brownies and getting our craftiness on!

Awana Racing

Saturday was a sensational day - even though Jeff had to work most of the day, we made it an astounding day!

Cleaning, ironing, walking the dog and making heart-shaped brownies were on the docket for the morning.

Just before lunch, Victoria and I finished up her Valentine's then she packed up her AWANA car and made a lunch for her Daddy.  We were ready for RACE DAY!

Victoria's car won in the first heat and then went into the consolation bracket after that.  We had far too much fun playing with our friends, enjoying a BBQ, and sharing in a glorious day as a family.

Chicken Pot Pie

I really love this recipe from Everyday Food magazine (October 2009):

4 Tbspns unsalted butter
1 med. onion diced
1 large carrott diced
1/2 c. flour (plus a bit more for workspace)
coarse salt and group pepper
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 cups cooked chicken cut into 1" cubes
1 cup frozen peas
1 1/2 tspns chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 large egg yolk

1.  In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium.  Add onion and carrot and cook until onion softens, about 6 min.  Add flour and 1/2 tspn salt; cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is pale golden, has a slightly nutty aroma, and is the texture of cooked oatmeal, about 5 min.

2.  Whisking constantly, add broth.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently until mixture thickens, about 8 min.  Reduce to a simmer and cook 10 min.  Stir in chicken, peas, and thyme; season with salt and pepper.  Divide mixture among four 12-ounce baking dishes, refrigerate until room temperature, about 20 min.

3.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  On a lightly floured work surface, roll pastry to an 1/8" thickness.  Cut into 4 equal squares, 1" larger than dishes, with the tip of a sharp knife, cut vents into pastry.  In a small bowl, lightly beat egg yolk with 1 tspn. water, top pot-pies with pastry and brush with egg wash.  Refrigerate 15 min.  Bake until pastry is deep golden and juices are bubbling, about 35 min.

YUM!

Happy Valentine's Day (Part 2)

Several years ago, we started decorating the outside of the house for different holidays.  One year it was paperbag turkeys that the kids made with "Aunt" Pat for Thanksgiving.  Another year is was cut out carolers for Christmas (until some ding-dongs stole part of our display).  Jeff cut out hearts for me and then I painted them with a little help from William.

My Girl ... as a cute little

Garnet #7 Sketch from Scrapbook Steals

And this is how it turned out:

All I can say is, "Awwww!"

MCM #69

Using a sketch from ScrapbookSteals

Here's a Valentine for the special people in my life ...

And one for the special DUDES, too!

Flute!

Last night, Victoria performed for the first time in public on her flute - not bad for a kid who doesn't seem to practice as much as mom would like to hear!

Anyway - she performed perfectly with the rest of the flute players and then one entire piece as a 5th grade band.

(Yeah - the photo is a bit grainy - but she still looks beautiful to me!)

Happy Valentine's Day (Part 1)

We've had these hearts to decorate the outside of the house for a few years - so I decided that it was time to decorate the decorations:

 William saw that I was painting in the back yard on the "Be Mine" heart, so he did the XO heart for me - how sweet is that???

Another Minute to Win it

http://courtneywalsh.typepad.com/telling_stories/2012/02/a-sweethaven-summer-online-launch-party-huge-giveaway.html

Check out this website - Courtney Walsh has written a very interesting sounding book.  If I don't win this one - I'm going to find it at the book store.

Movies with My BOY

Last night, we went to the movies - yup - just me and my boy (and two of his friends) to celebrate his 13th birthday.  We watched "Red Tails" and I have to admit that the movie was VERY good - Dad had planned to go but sadly wasn't feeling well so I was the pinch-parent for the night.  Daddy stayed home with little girl, played games and then made brownies.

Great night!

Minute to WIN it!

http://www.websterspages.com/new-release/everyday-poetry

Is offering a chance to win the ENTIRE collection of Everyday Poetry (around $82.00) - so - here's hoping!!!

Its FRIDAY!

Its Friday and I am really thrilled to be here!!!  (At FRIDAY that is!!) - its been a great week of crafting, learning, snuggling with the kids and just being around my family.  We are planning on heading out to the Glendale Chocolate Affair and then William has a birthday party on Sat.  He is taking two of his friends to see a movie with dad.  Its a GUY thing!  That's cool - then Victoria and I can have some GIRLY time - which I totally treasure, too!

Last night, Victoria and I were busy working on her Valentine's for her class.  We saw heart-shaped crayons in one of my scrapbook magazines and that was it - we HAD to make them.  Gotta say - they are very fun to create and we had a blast peeling crayons, chopping them up and then baking them.  (posting a photo later today).

And - we were able to chat with my sister about stamps and other fun stuff.  What a fantastic day!

SuperBowl Sunday is quickly approaching and as a family, we break our No-TV watching streak for just that one day - to share in a tradition of having a SuperBowl party - complete with little smokies!

Well.....gotta run as the sun is just starting to peek out over the horizon and I want to get a short run in.

Have a FANTASTIC day

Week #1-4 of 52

I've been trying like CRAZY to get these photos to "work" seems that I have been having some "issues" (I'm saying this very sarcastically!) with my iPhoto and camera - camera takes pictures, iPhoto edits, FB publishes for all to see and then corrupts the file during uploading - back to iPhoto edits, etc. ... Kinda like "lather, rinse, repeat".

Anyway - here are Weeks #1 - 4 of 52 weeks worth of sketches:

Week #1

Week #2

Week #3

Week #4