I don't like CRAP!

Last time I wrote about pets, I didn't have anything other than two cannibalistic fish (read about them here). But, as some of you know, shortly before Thanksgiving 2010, my husband gave in to our wildest wishes and let us get a dog, Xanny.

Xanny is short for Xanadu. Xanadu is the 80's movie with Olivia Newton-John... you know, where it's like a fantasy and awesome place, and just a great movie in general... Xanadu is also a legendary, ancient, heaven-like Chinese city, pronounced Shàngdū, once visited by Marco Polo. It has a lot of history and even more meaning.

So, we call our wonderful miracle that we ever got her Xanny, pronounced Zan-nee. She embodies all that we have ever wished for and suits her name, as it is as close to anything heavenly will see on this earth. It was also better than the girls' other choice, Odette, as Xanny looks nothing like an "Odette." And so her "look" chose the name.

But... if you read my previous post (the one mentioned above...), you know I have issues. With Xanny, some of my issues have been taken care of.

She is a poodle mix. Aha! Yes! You can have a dog without fur issues! Hahaha! Neener, neener! And you all thought it wouldn't happen. And so, our dog barely sheds. She sheds MUCH less than us girls and is small and furry and cuddly and all that. She even listens to me ramble and loves me unconditionally, like every daughter dog should. She is one of my best friends and stays quiet for my our walk in the mornings. And I like it like that.

Oh! You remembered I have other issues? Oh shit crap! That's exactly what I'm talking about... C.R.A.P., POOP, that is. And that's the question, if you could change anything about your pet, what would it be? I would either make her crap smell like roses... well, not roses, because those really don't smell very well and can be totally overly pungent and leave me with a heady-passing-out-type of feeling. So... let's go with honeysuckle. I'd like her crap to smell like honeysuckle, which is mild and slightly sweet to the nostrils.

And if my doggy's crap smelled like honeysuckle, then maybe I wouldn't have to hold my breath and puff out my cheeks when I picked it up, because... like my other post said, you knew the kids weren't going to do it.

And another thing... I'd make those little shitty crappy useless organs that dogs have (renal glands) gone... POOF! There you have it. A completely gross thing that needs to be done every couple of weeks... expressing the renal glands... Do you really want to know? Then go here to see a video on youtube... It's pretty gross!

But, no matter how her crap smells, and what glands I have to express, I will continue to do what I need to do for her, because I love her... unconditionally, just like a mom owner should love their daughter dog.

Rockin' On...

Whew! I almost didn't make it. But, here it is! The Jingle Belles Rock 4th week challenge... to use Pink and Green. Uh... yeah... not my fave of color combos, but here goes...

Here's my card. It's a HUGE conglomeration of all kinds of things... there is chalking, stencilling, flocking, glittering, daubing, etc.

First, I subtley chalked the background in an ultra-light pink and blended it with a makeup sponge... (I wanted it to look light and ethereal... hmm... not sure if I got the effect I wanted...

Then!

I used one of those Michael's sets of stencils that's kinda been sitting around forever... I ink-daubed to fill it in with Direct Memories ink daubers. The colors used were neon green, forest green and pink. So... by now, my stencil is a gooey mess, but heh! I'm not done with it!

Ha, ha!

Grabbed me some Stickles (gotta have the glitter!!!) and stickled-stencilled in the star in silver. I put in glue in the snowfall drops and let it all dry a tad.

And then... the FUN-flocking began. I'm tellin' ya! It was snowing in the craft room (in 76 degree weather!!!). I flocked the snowy-balls and the the tree base in white, then I flocked the little squiggly-lines under the pink rick-rack a nice bright pink (Studio G).

All in all? It's ok... like I've said before, pink is NOT my color, but hey... someone must like it somewhere...

And... I still got to use up stash and do some things I hadn't done in quite a while. (Refresh your skills and techniques, people! They tend to get a little rusty... Trust me - see all that excess chalk, flocking and glitter on my mat? I'm just sayin'...)

And don't forget! You can still be part of the Jingle Belle's Challenges. It's never too late... or too early to start making your Christmas cards. Check it out at...  http://jinglebellesrock.blogspot.com/

Wordless Wednesday: Take THAT!

I'm a Junkie. I'm Pathetic.

If you look at the right-hand column, you will see I tape/watch a heck of a lot of television shows. I am guilty. I am an addict. And I'm not proud. I'm not ashamed, either. But... I am pathetic.

I have got to be the worst tv-watcher ever. I have/had a couple of months' worth of certain shows to catch up on. And I "tried" to do that last night. Only... I didn't set the TiVo correctly or didn't watch them soon enough, as there were only 5 episodes of certain shows left... not all of the episodes that I needed to see, as it is my crack... well one of the forms of my mental crack, anyway.

Trying to find them all last night (online) was a tv-crack addicts dilemma. Did you know... that if you are watching regular cable series, you only get a certain few episodes to watch online? Uh... yeah. That is, if you want to watch them for FREE! And so... since I only had 5 epi's of each of the following:

Burn Notice,

Terriers,

and Sons of Anarchy

(which if you watch anything on FX, you know that some of the "episodes" are 3 minute replays... waste of an episode taping!), I was on the search for freebie episodes.

Didn't get to watch them. Except for 3 Sons of Anarchy and 4 Terriers episodes, the rest is unavailable, unless I want to pay premium fees. Or watch them on Amazon at $1.99 or $2.99 each episode. Burn Notice is all paid.

And these aren't even for paid channels!!!! I'm not talking about Showtime or HBO series! I'm talking about FX and USA channels! WTHeck?

So, as a junkie... I guess I'm not truly a junkie, because I won't pay for them. First off... I can't afford to pay for them. Secondly... I'm not that addicted. At least I guess I'm not. I won't pay to feed my habit. So... what am I to do?

Uh... note to self: Change the frickin' TiVo setup to KEEP all episodes until deleted. AND watch them on a more regular basis. If it's a cable channel... watch QUICKLY! they might disappear!

As for my other crack-habits... I'm still a-craftin' and computin' away... Dunno what to do about those...

Once again, as a junkie... in anything, I'm pretty pathetic. There are just some things I refuse to pay for. What about you?

18? Already? And Testing Out Adulthood...

2 weeks ago, my oldest bio-child (you know... one of the ones I actually gave birth to... one of the ones that caused me great pain pushing through the you know where region...) turned 18. OMG! I am the mother of an ADULT! No friggin' way! But yes... I am.

The problem with that? Nothing really, except... she's still in high school. And an adult in high school is not a good thing. Especially when adult high schoolers think they know it all and try to re-structure their schedules (that you've been fighting with the administration for, that you've been keeping the administration and doctors and everyone and everything on the same page for), thinking they know what's best for them, because... you know... that's not what they want to do and so... they won't.

Kids! I believe they are more problematic when they turn into adults... adults, that are still in high school. She wants to stay out late on school nights. Um... no.  She wants to do this... do that... and pretty much do what she wants. Um... WRONG!

Don't get me wrong. She's a totally good kid, but... she doesn't get it sometimes. Kid... your schedule was created to be the very best for you. It was created to help you transition into college. It was created with all of your teachers and counselors, so that that we, together, can get you through high school, and help you with your disabilities, problems, and life (in general). We did this because we care. We all care. We all worked together to get you here. So please, please! Don't go ruining it. Just follow the schedule and all will be well with the world.

At least... my world. Because, seriously! Those little yellow pills that I only take when my heart is pumping really fast, when I feel like I'm about ready to pass out, when things aren't on that schedule I so much need to depend on, when life throughs me massive loops and feels like I'm hanging upside-down (like now!)... those little yellow pills are something that I really don't want to take, so I'm hoping she gets it soon. I'm about to explode. I'm trying not to... that's how much I love her.

Kids try to make their mark. I get it. They think they know it all, but when you have parents and professionals aiming for the same goal, and it is all set... stick with it. Their (the parents' and professionals') experience and understanding is what is going to help get them (the kids) through it. So... explain to them (the kids), they can make their mark, in a different way. It shouldn't be on your nervous system...

They need to do it elsewhere. Find a different way. A good way? Check out: DoSomething.Org and make your mark in the world... not on your parents!

* A SPECIAL NOTE: And YES! I do know my "audience" changes several times... this is how affected I am by all the goings on right now, so forgive and don't judge... it could happen to you one day...

Catchin' Up on JB01 AND! JB02 - Jingle Belles Challenges

Last night I was so tired. Had to get my sleep on. Had to get up and walk the dog (our most loveable family member... she deserved that extra quiet time, and so do I!). Now I've woken up most of the kiddos and am sipping my coffee... So, here's the little bits I promised last night.
Let's go backwards...

Last week's challenge (JB02) was "inchies" (from "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" [GET IT? I do... lol!]).  Now some of you might not know what "inchies" are literally an inch. It is art in a box... a one inch box. Some of you may call them deco squares, but most people call them inchies, and they are super popular right now. FYI... if you have lots of scraps around, use them to make these simple items and decorate your borders, your ATC (artist trading cards), your regular cards and other things.

Here's my take:

My "Inchie" Card

I don't usually make square cards, but I was feeling a little square after making all these inchies...

(I know the background is a little busy [see all the craft crap?] but forgive, as I was busy!)

 So, here's a closeup of my inchies...

I actually did the background (shadow) of the inchies in 1 1/4"

Then I cut white cardstock into inches and Glimmer-Misted them with English Ivy

And then... I used my stash! Those green-glittered pieces? are the leftovers off my Cricut mat

from my Scrolled Christmas Trees (Christmas Noel Cartridge)

that I just.couldn't.bare.to.part.with.

I prefer the phrase "frugal crafter", people... NOT!

Hoarder...

You see this? This is pleated ribbon. I totally tried to give credit where credit was due,

But, CRAP! I can't find the blog or the video where someone did this!

I used Tim Holtz's Tiny Attacher to pleat the ribbon, folding it this way and that as I stapled

teeny tiny little staples all over that card. Yes... I worked it. (and caught up on some TV while doing so!)

If you know where the video or blog is, please leave it in the comments and I'll hook it up. Thanks!

On to the first week's card (JB01)... The challenge was "Something Old, Something New". Um... yeah. I'm old, so I'm puttin' that up there! I pondered and thought, thought and pondered. And so... I was looking through all of my accumulated stash (once again, people... NOT a hoarder!!! Frugal crafting is the correct terminology here...). I found all kinds of stuff, but nothing that really inspired me. And then... I started going through my sewing stuff. I found some super old lace and went off that!

I had some ribbon that is fairly new that I would never even use so... yeah... don't know why I even had it... because, well... pink is just NOT my thing. But... I decided to go with the flow (and it was flowin'!), and I came up with this:

I used my Fastenator for the two sentiments.

Tip? Um yeah... make sure you have the correct "word" and facing the right way before you push down!

 See the ribbon? So not me, but oh so very cute... AND! It is self-adhesive,

so it saved me some of my own...

(and btw... this is the "new" because everything else was "old"!)

 

And, I used beads from my stash, buttons from my stash,

cool green lime chalk (for the background) from my stash,

and awesome chunky red glitter from my stash.

Can I get a "WHOOP, WHOOP!"? I did it... all caught up and cleaning up to do! Woohoo, woohoo!

Jingle Belles ROCK! (and so do I!)

Yeah, I know... it's WAY either past Christmas or way too early to start. But Phsshh! to you!

If you know me... I am a total bargain hunter. I begin my shopping for Christmas AND the year's birthdays to come the Day After Christmas! That is the best day... sales galore!

And so... those ladies over at the Jingle Belles have begun an awesome thing. Because, heh! They must've known that I was coming. AND! They must've known that procrastinating is my profession. Because... well... I'm SO good at it.

But they decided to create/make a different Christmas card every week, with unique challenges put up on Fridays to do it. And I... since I just found it last week... decided to join in. Now... they were on WEEK 3 for the challenges, but yeah... I decided I could try to catch up. So... I'm posting not one... not two... BUT THREE CARDS!!! Omgosh! Can you imagine that? Whelpers, neither can I... but here ya go!

Let's begin with this week's challenge - to use acrylic paints. But that wasn't the whole challenge... the challenge was based on UPC (Use, Practice, Create!) and that I did!

I created a simple card. And I seriously thought (in my head, of course!) that it would be simple to make. Easy peasy, right? Uh... whatever...

It took me a total of 3 tries to get it close enough to the way I had envisioned it, but here we are:

Attempt #1:

I brushed white acrylic paint over a Cuttlebug folder,

thinking the image would be impressed into the dark blue cardstock.

The Verdict: FAILURE #1!

Attempt #2:

I brushed white acrylic paint over the other side of same Cuttlebug folder,

again thinking the image would be impressed (but) onto the dark blue cardstock.

The Verdict:  FAILURE #2!

AND! The Final Attemp (#3), for Jingle Belles Challenge #3

(hmm... do you see a pattern with that number???)

The trick? Since the other attempts were blotchy and soaked into the cardstock upon pressing... I chose to brush the whole folder with white acrylic paint... and then... I LET IT D-R-Y! Yep! I did... and then the emulsion was pressed through the Cuttlebug onto the dark blue cardstock and very carefully, strategically, even... the blue cardstock was peeled off the folder. I kinda like the end result.

I'm kinda pleased... I then painted glitter glue on the snowy rooftops and glittered the whole night sky. Because... I kinda like glitter.  "Twas the Night Before Christmas" (Studio G stamp) was heat-embossed in opaque white (Ranger embossing powder).

Whew! That was a lot! And so... since it's so late... and I still have to link up to their post, I am retiring for the night and will post the other two cards tomorrow. G'Nite all...

Oh yeah! And if YOU want to participate (or just see what others did for the challenge)... go check it over at the Jingle Belles! Rock on!