To My Friends in Africa

Michael and Joe Joe are missionaries in Tanzania Africa. (You can visit their blog here.)When I heard this group and their version of 12 Days of Christmas I thought of them. So, here's wishing you guys a Merry Christmas and hope everything is going well for you and I hope you are touching a lot of people and spreading the word of God.

How I Got Fat...

DH recently started receiving a subscription to Men's Health. Neither of us purchased it, but there are a lot of magazines we started getting (Outside, Field & Stream and Backpacker) after reserving a campsite at a Corp of Engineer's campground so who knows, it could be from that. Anyway, we both love reading it. It makes J think more about his health and eating better and becoming healthier. (He has gotten healthier since I had surgery as we were each others WORST diet buddies. We would go on a diet together and then cheat together...not a good combo!) It has good articles, and I like it because there is a LOT of eye candy in there. (DH says it's definitely not for married men as they don't want their women looking at all of the half dressed men...all I say is YUM!) OK, focus Kim...

Anyway, we were discussing what we were going to have for dinner tonight. Carryout, as usual. I've learned how to eat much healthier, even fast food, since surgery. So we're trying to find a menu for the new mexican place that is in with Hardee's now called Red Burrito. I wanted to see if there was anything that I could eat and see the nutritional values. I was AMAZED at the values of all of the burgers at Hardees. I asked J what he would get if he went there. Sandwich and fries totaled more than 2,000 calories!! He then asks me if I read the restaurant article in Men's Health. I had not so he went to get it and proceeds to tell me all of the worsts in the article. Half of the stuff was stuff we used to eat on a regular basis. The worst item was a fry appetizer at Outback. We used to go to Lone Star and get their Cheesefries. They had bacon and different cheeses on it served with spicy ranch dressing. The two of us would split one and then get a steak or steak and salmon combo, and potato and salad and eat ALL of it. Probably 3,000 calories or more in one meal. And we did this on a regular basis. I always contributed my weight gain (or maintaining at 359 pounds) to the fact that I ate fast food for lunch and dinner (skipped breakfast regularly...still not much better at that!) and drank sweet tea by the gallons and NEVER exercised. But with dinners like that?? Don't get me wrong, I'd still love to eat that type of food. My brain hasn't changed in the least. That's why I had to get surgery. I have a problem with self control. That's why I had to have surgery impose some self control on me. I'm not proud. I hate it sometimes that it had to come to something so drastic. But, it was the only way. I'm still not changed. I still have head problems that I will probably have for the rest of my life. But I'm a work in progress.

Sorry for rambling so much! It just really had me thinking tonight.

I'm almost finished with my Christmas Cards. By almost, I guess I really mean I'm almost half-way done!! Hopefully I'll get them done by this weekend. I want to make most of my gifts this year as money is tight and I love making stuff for people. I hate going out and trying to find something that I "think" a person "might" like just for the sake of getting someone a gift. I would much rather put some time and effort and give something from the heart. But I guess the person getting it could think, "WTH was she thinking?" I just try to remember that Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus and spending time with those we love. All the rest is minor details. (That was pretty good. I need to tape that to my bathroom mirror so I remember it when I start stressing over the holidays!)

Thanks for listening! Maybe I'll post a craft or card sometime this weekend...who knows! Toodles!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know I did! We went to my mom & dad's house and the whole gang was there. We sat around socializing until chow time. Then, we all got our grub on. I wanted to eat soooooo much, but my little stomach wouldn't allow me to. Dang it! It's days like this that I get upset with myself that I had so little self control and willpower that I had to have surgery to lose weight in the first place, cause then I'd be able to enjoy more food. Of course, that's not really a healthy way to think. Oh well, I'm a work in progress. After everyone ate and all of the food was put up, we broke out the Wii. Jason and I bought one last spring and thought it would be fun for the whole family to play. My mom and dad even liked it. She's talking about buying one for her and dad as their Christmas present to each other! I told her good luck finding one! I had to stand in line for a bit to get mine, but it was well worth it! All of the kids love it, and it was so fun watching them have fun. We didn't get home until after 11 pm. Poor Lucy Dog couldn't wait to go outside. She even skipped her food just to go walk. If she hadn't of been waiting for us, we probably would have stayed longer! Anyway, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Tomorrow is going to be a day of prepping for my day long Stamping/Scrapping/Cardmaking Day. I'm not gonna do much, if any Scrapping, but lots of stamping and possibly some cardmaking while I'm at it! I've got lots of Christmas presents to make. Well, I must go to bed. I's a tired girl! Kim

I'm a Complainer...

OK, so after I made my last post...yeah, a few minutes ago, I realized that I was thinking about a bunch of stuff I was gonna complain about as I was making Dinker's card. I hate, absolutely HATE the new stamp cleaner I bought from the local scrapbooking store. I've used up all of my SU! cleaner, and I was impressed by the price of this stuff (less than $4 maybe) and the fact that it had a "bubble gum smell." EEKKK! It doesn't smell like bubblegum. It smells like crap! And it doesn't clean worth a darn! (I'm a little nutty when it comes to cleaning my stamps. I want them to look new...I wish I was this nutty about keeping my house clean!) So, I guess I need to just go back to the SU! cleaner and be done with it. I've even tried rubbing alcohol and I didn't like it either. I do think I'm gonna get some Staz-on cleaner so I can get the white staz-on off my snowflake stamp. That white Staz-on won't come off for anything!

What else can I complain about...stamp cleaner, check. Nothing that says "Happy Birthday," check. Oh, I got something else. I've been trying to make some stamped ceramic coasters. So, on try #1, they looked absolutely gorgeous! I stamped them with Staz-on, colored them with my classic ink spots and sprayed them with ceramic matte sealer. After testing with a glass of ice water, I was able to scrub the image off. Now, I was scrubbing hard. First the color came off. Then the Staz-on came off too. So, try #1, not a success. Try #2, I stamped on the image with black Staz-on, and then colored in with sharpies (as I've read to do that somewhere). Hated the way it looked. Yep, it may be permanent (I didn't do any testing) but it doesn't look anywhere near as nice as the first set did. I haven't done anymore testing as I was frustrated by this point. I need to do more researching. I've read where baking them works, but I'm just afraid that if I use my classic ink spots, whether or not I bake them won't make a difference. If anyone is reading this (other than my non-crafting, motorcycle riding friend Mikey...hi Mikey!) and knows what I need to do before I waste anymore tiles, please let me know. This was gonna be some great Christmas presents for family and friends but now I'm not feeling them at all.

One last thing to complain about. My laptop is dying. OK, so maybe not dying, but something is definitely wrong with it. Something to do with the power supply. At first I thought it was just a faulty plug. It's kinda torn and it seemed I had to hold it in a certain spot sometimes to get it to charge. Well, now that doesn't work. I made an emergency trip up to Radio Shack Saturday night to see if they had a new plug. He tried another plug and it still wouldn't charge, so he said I needed a new battery. They wanted me to pay $150 for a new battery. I don't think so. Especially when I can get it from the apple store online for way cheaper. But I'm not even sure if that's the problem. On Saturday night, it died completely. I plugged it back up and just left it all day. Yep, me, all day without my computer. I didn't even come in the office and get on this ancient desktop that I'm on now (it's not really ancient, just not liking it so much as I can't sit in my recliner and type...plus one of the shift keys isn't working and I'm having problem using caps on my left hand...and yes, I'm so anal that I'm making it work, even using the wrong hand...anal girl here...wow, it just started raining HARD here...) OK, back to topic. So yesterday, no computer until last night. Keep in mind, my iBook was off all day yesterday with the power cord plugged in. I start it up, the battery is fully charged. WTF is up with that? Oh well, I used it last night and part of this afternoon, until it died again. It seems it will only charge if the thing is turned completely off. So, that's what is happening right now. I had started this post around six but as I was laying in bed trying to get to sleep, I realized I had a draft waiting for me. And since I know I have one faithful reader (hi again Mikey!) I wanted to finish it.

We went to my friend's birthday party tonight and had a good time. Her 12 year old was flirting with me like crazy. I didn't realize they started so young! Gave my self confidence a little boost! OK, so I'm old enough to be his mother. I get it! Now if I could just get the college kids to flirt a little...nah, just kidding! I'm perfectly happy with my hubby!

OK, I don't guess I have anything else to complain about right now, other than the fact that I need to go to sleep and I'm not sleepy a bit. I was about to fall asleep earlier but kept pushing myself to read this book from the library because i need to return it, but once I finally woke up enough to read it, well, here I sit! I guess I'm off to look for more ideas for Christmas presents to make since the coasters might not work out. thanks for sticking with me! ~toodles! Kim

Procrastinator's of the World, Unite...Tomorrow

OK, so I admit it...I'm a procrastinator. I've had all weekend to make a birthday card for my friend, but yet, I wait until 2 hours before I need to give it to her. Could I have waited any longer? However, in making this card, I've discovered something. In all of the supplies I've purchased over the last few months, I've yet to purchase anything for birthdays. I've got something that has a cupcake, something that says let's party, but nothing that says just...Happy Birthday or even Birthday Wishes! It was way easier when I had like fifteen of my friend's stamp sets, but I had to give them back (she wasn't asking for them but I was starting to feel a little guilty). But now, since I had to make something other than Thanksgiving or Christmas cards, I realize I need to buy more stuff. Great! (for me, but not for my checkbook!) Here's the photo of the card I just made. Not my best work, but worked in a pinch! (I had the background pre-made from when I had Jessica's stamps...one good thing about making stuff in mass!) Thanks for looking!



Inside:

I won some blog candy!

I received my blog candy yesterday from Nicole! Such a nice candy! And the cards are so cute! Here's a photo that I took from her blog, since (if you look at my other posts you'll see) I can't take up close photos worth a crap! Thanks again Nicole! I won another giveaway during the Fall Y'all Giveway, but I haven't got it yet. When I do, I'll post a photo. It's a beautiful bracelet!

Blog Candy Winner

We have a winner!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

60 

Timestamp: 2007-11-05 02:53:09 UTC

The winner is Emily. Let me know what type of cards you want and I'll get to work on them right away! Thanks for playing everyone!

WOW, lot's of hits and other ramblings!

OK, so I know it's just because of the giveaway, but I've had a TON of hits over the past few days! I hope some of the people who came for the giveaway stuck around to look over some of my random ramblings! Sometimes I actually have something to say. (This isn't one of those posts though! This is an I'm up too late and can't sleep post!)

My nephew is here visiting this weekend. His sister was supposed to be here too, but she had better things to do than gang out with old Aunt Kim. She had a football game to go to with one of her friends. A High School Football Game. She's 10. She said she goes to almost all of the football games, because her friend's brother plays, so they get to go. Nope, it's not about the game itself. It's all about the socializing. I understand. That's not what I did when I went to football games, but that's because I was a band geek and was sitting up in the stands having fun with the other band geeks, or performing during half time. I know I wasn't even AT the games when I was 10. Heck, I don't know if I even wanted to go at that age. But, times are different now. (crap, I sound like my mom) I also can't imagine needing a cell phone at the age of 10, but she's DYING for one. No, not because she needs to make calls or anything crazy like that. She needs it to download ringtones and take pictures. She also wants to add "bling" to it. She even said she couldn't wait until she could get a job so she could buy a contract cell phone, cause they were way cooler than pre-paid phones. whatever. I just think it's ridiculous! Oh well, I guess that's just be getting old and being old. I asked my nephew if he'd rather be at the ballgame and he said no. Too much trouble that he could get into. When I asked further, he said there was nothing to do at the ballgames (I guess watching the game is no fun) but get into fights or get in trouble for making out (ummm, what, he's not even 14 yet!). Now, this really surprised us. He said if you were caught making out at a ballgame, you got 20 days of alternative school! 20 DAYS! Jason said the teachers who made those rules were probably the ones making out when they were in school, then changed it and said they were the ones who WANTED to be making out at ballgames but weren't. Honestly, I don't remember any making out going on at ballgames, but again, I was in the band, so who knows what the other kids did!

Jason took the boy out fishing today. They caught over 40 fish. None of them keepers though, even though they were given specific instructions by me to bring home dinner. (We ended up going out!) They did catch two fish that they didn't know what they were. I asked if they asked the fish what it was, but they didn't think that was too funny!

Well, I guess I'm getting sleepy and should go. Tomorrow is the big draw for the giveaway. I was gonna wait until midnight to draw, but I think I wanna cut it off sooner, so i can notify the winner and get started on the cards. Anything to put off finishing my own Christmas cards. I did a few last night. Couldn't get into it. need. some. mojo. NOW! OK, later! Kim

Fall Y'all Carnival Giveaway!

OK, so I've been spending the past two nights at this website, looking at all of the wonderful giveaways on everyone's blogs and it got me to thinking...I need to have a giveaway myself. So, IT'S TIME FOR SOME BLOG CANDY!

I don't have a picture yet, because I haven't really decided what I want to give away yet. I guess I can give some choices and I'll make the winner exactly what they want.

The first choice is 8 handmade Christmas Cards (Snowmen; Lion & Lamb; Mary, Joseph & Baby Jesus). The second choice is 8 handmade Thanksgiving cards.

For your chance to win, just leave a comment on this post. I'll leave the comments open until this Sunday, November 4th at Midnight CST. Then I'll use a random number generator to draw a winner. It is open to anyone worldwide. You must leave your email address or I must be able to go to your blog or some way to contact you. If I can't contact you, you can't win! :( Sorry!

Get Well Soon!

Below is a card I made for my daddy. He had an accident at work on Wednesday. He works at an outdoors store, and was climbing up to get something down from a shelf. He fell 10 feet onto a concrete floor on his back! OUCH! Miraculously, he didn't break a single bone! He's super sore. And he's got a huge bruise on the back of his head. He's stopped taking the pain medicine that was prescribed because it's making his tummy hurt (anybody that's been on Lortab for any amount of time will know what I mean! I've been on it for the better part of a year and it WRECKED my stomach...but oh, the pain was gone!!) Anyway, God sure was looking out for him.

Here is the card I made. I patterned it after a card I saw on Michelle's Blog. I wanted to try this type of card as I've got a great idea for a baby shower card for a friend that I think that will look great, but wanted to make sure I could do it first. Enjoy! ~Kim

I finally finished a Christmas Card!

Yep, you read right! I finally finished one. I've got hundreds of cards in the making, but none complete. Last night I had some friends over to scrapbook. I did some stamping, but no scrapbooking. Finally, towards the end of the night, I got my scrapbook out and started sorting some pictures, since the last time I scraped, I threw everything back in my bag and not in an orderly way! So, hopefully today, I'm gonna do either some scrapbooking or some card making. I'm going at 11 to get a massage, so I might not want to do anything but sleep when I get home, who knows!

So, here is the card. I got the idea after seeing a challenge/blog candy that Allison had posted. (If you've never been to her blog, well, let me tell you, you are missing out!!! It is the only blog that I visit RELIGIOUSLY, as she always has links to everyone's challenges, new to her bloggers, blog candy and loads of tutorials, which I LOVE! Anyway, go visit her!) Well, I tried to get it done in time, but had some difficulties. I used SU! White Craft ink on the acetate and the black kromokote paper to begin with, and it would not dry. After 3 days and using a heat gun, it was not dry. So, I decided to throw it away and forget about entering my first challenge EVAH! Well, I just couldn't get the idea out of my head. So, last Friday when I was in Nashville for my Dr. appt., I decided to go to Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's (ya know, just to look!) Actually, I knew what I was looking for. Stazon White and Stazon Brown. So, last night, I decided to try the card again. I was amazed how fast the Stazon white dried! Blew me away! So, here is the card. My photo skills are lacking. (I can take great pictures of anything else, but when I try to take pictures of my cards, they always suck!)





I like the card so much, I might just make a few more and use them for my own Christmas cards. I'm not sure though. I like making one card and then doing them in masses so I know what I sent each year. I don't want someone getting the same card two years in a row! Plus, I'm not creative enough to come up with too many new ideas! Thanks for reading! ~Kim

99% Excess Body Weight...GONE!

I had my 18 month appointment with my surgeon. I've lost 99% of my excess body weight! Woo Hoo! I've lost a total of 217 pounds. That's a whole person...or two skinny ones! This whole journey has been absolutely amazing! I'm now wearing a size 8 in pants and a M in tops. I've learned that it can be fun shopping at thrift stores now. I think I'm becoming a thrift store junkie. I have to go at least once a week, and I'm always coming home with a bag full of clothes. Unfortunately, it's mostly jeans, and I need to stop wearing jeans to work so often. I'm allowed to, but they wish I wouldn't so much. I guess if they'd just tell me, you can't wear jeans, I'd stop. But until they do...

I asked my surgeon for recommendations for some plastic surgeons in Nashville. I'm looking to get some excess skin removed and maybe some other reconstructive surgery (implants). I don't have too much skin to be removed, but I'd probably be wearing a six right now if I didn't have the tummy skin. As far as the implants, well, I guess that's just something I've always wanted. I'm finally thin now, so I'm gonna go for it. Plus, if I get it done at the same time as when I'm having other stuff done, it'll be cheaper because of the anesthesia already being used, or something like that. I've been checking out pics on line of implants and tummy tucks. I'm starting to see what I like and don't like. I've tried to involve my hubby in the process, but I don't think he cares too much. I told my boss that, and he said, find a picture in Playboy that you like, get that done, he'll be happy. Problem is, I'm not sure 18 year old boobies would look good on this 33 year old body. Oh well, who knows!

Hopefully later on tonight I'll post come card pics. I've not made too many lately. I've been working on my Christmas cards and trying to get a big bunch of cards to send to our troops through www.anysolder.com . I want to send a lot of cards for them to send back home to their families. I know I get a lot of joy sending cards out during the holidays and receiving them too, so maybe it will brighten their day to receive some hand made cards to send to their loved ones. Anyway, that's it for now. After my batteries recharge, I'll download my photos and post a birthday card that I made for a friend. Her birthday was last Monday. She still hasn't received the card, cause I had not taken a picture of it. I'm a bad friend. Hopefully I'll take it to her at work tomorrow. Toodles! Kim

ETA: Here is the card for Kara! She finally got it tonight...I finished it off while she was here. We're scrapbooking/card making tonight...we'll, I'm not doing too much yet!

American Heart Walk Fundraiser

For the first year, I've joined a team to support the American Heart Association in the American Heart Walk. I've known and loved several people who've been affected by heart disease, and if I had not have WLS, I'm sure I would have been affected myself, as I was on the fast track to heart disease.

Anyway, if anyone would like to make a donation to this worthy cause, I'd greatly appreciate it. I know times are tight for everyone, and if you are not able, I completely understand. Just trying to get the word out as I'm joining late, and want to be able to say I tried to raise some money. Next year, I'm starting early.

Thanks for taking the time to read. Here's my website.

Thanks!

PS...for anyone who makes a donation, I'll send out a goodie to you if you PM me your address. Could be paper, could be embellishments, could be a warm and cozy cornbag...who knows! Could be a bunch! Just trying to raise money so I can help out as much as possible. Plus, I know a lot of people want to get something for their money. This year when I was raising money for Relay for Life, I was selling Corn Bags. It took very little time to make, I had the supplies anyway, and that way, the people who bought them helped a worthy cause and got something in return. Thanks again for reading!

Back from Vacation!!!

I am finally back from vacation!!! WOO HOO! I can't believe how much I missed my home! Florida was so relaxing! I did not have any connection with the outside world (other than my cell phone and I didn't use it much at all) and I missed it! But it was nice not spending all my time on my computer! Here is a photo of me and hubby on the beach!



So, maybe not the best photo, but I was sunning and searching for shells! Jason was busy fishing!



Yesterday, we had my aunt take pictures of us for our Christmas cards. I'm not sure how they all turned out, but here's my favorite so far.



And here's one of just me...goofin' off!



Here is the last photo from this morning...a perfect ending to a perfect vacation! We had packed up all of the stuff in the car and was just checking through the condo and I looked out the balcony and this wonderful rainbow is what I saw!



As I was uploading photos from my camera, I found this card that I cased titled "Hope Leaves by Gem". I loved the way it turned out! I sent this as a RAK to Maddy Mason.



I hope everyone had a wonderful week. Since I was away from the computer and TV since this time last week, I've got tons of stuff to catch up on. But, since I wasn't reading everyone else's blogs, I was able to do some stamping myself. Once I get photos, I'll post them soon! Thanks for reading!

Blog Candy Winner!

I've got a winner! Rebecca is the winner! Please email me your snail mail address and I'll try to get the package out before I leave for vacation on Saturday!

Check out this blog candy from Leslie

Continuing to Create

She is getting together a list of must have's for beginning stampers. What a great idea!

Vacation Blog Candy

Yay! We just got home from the in-laws in the greater Cincinnati area and I'm glad to be home! I've truly become my mother! She is such a homebody and so am I! I love visiting family and getting to shop at places that we don't have here in Western Kentucky, but I missed everything about home...my bed, my wonderful, comfortable leather recliner and my DVR. (Having fibromyalgia, having a soft spot to relax in is mucho importante! And being addicted to tv, I'm really addicted to my DVR...I was having Hannah Montana and That's So Raven withdrawals...and no, I don't have kids!) Anyway, yep, I'm a homebody! I had my computer with me, but my internet connection wasn't the best, so I did a LOT of coloring (I stamped a lot of images before we left so I wouldn't have to take as much with me) and finally finished the last Harry Potter book! (It made me cry too, but it was a good cry!) Of course, you're probably thinking, "Why did you bring stuff with you to do when you were going to visit family?" Well, they (my hubby and all of his immediate family) are early morning risers. They get up super early (well, to me it's super early!) and I sleep as late as my body will let me, let's say noonish whenever I don't have to work. So, when everyone else is going to sleep, I'm wide awake, looking for stuff to do! I shouldn't blame it on the sleeping habits of his family though! Last time we went to my mom and dad's, I took my clipboard and pencils and colored the whole time I was there. Basically because it was 100 degrees outside and there was NO way I was going outside!

Anyway, back to this weekend! I went to a place called Stamp Your Art Out. I had been there five or six years ago, but that was WAY before I'd ever really thought about stamping and it was really overwhelming, so I didn't buy anything. But evidently I did sign up for the mail list cause they had me as a customer! So, me and my MIL went there on Saturday. Now that I enjoy stamping, I loved it! I only bought one stamp, but found two other things that I've been looking for ever since I started stamping! Marvy Giga Scalloped Circle and Oval punches! WOO HOO! I've found them online, but once you add shipping onto the price, they were close to $30 each and I just couldn't justify spending that kind of money on punches! So, I am finally a proud owner of those punches! I'm so excited! I just can't wait to use them!

So, if you've read this far, congrats! I'm not a writer by any stretch of the imagination. I write what comes into my head and I do not have much of an internal editor. I get off track very easily and usually have to re-read what I've written to get back on track! So, thanks for sticking with me. Now, on to the good stuff...CANDY! I'm calling this my vacation candy. I bought most of it while on our Labor Day vacation, and will hopefully get it sent out before we leave for our Florida vacation! (We leave for Florida in two weeks!! WOO HOO!!) It consists of:

• 3 clear stamp sets from the $1 bin at Michaels
• 25 sheets of 10" x 7" cardstock (100# Classic Laid Cardstock) with 25 matching 5" x 7" envelopes in Classic Crest Solar White
• 10 scalloped circles in various colors
• 10 scalloped ovals in various colors
• random diecut shapes in various colors
• and whatever else cool stuff I find between now and closing!

To have a chance to win, post a comment on this post telling me your favorite lazy day, easy read book. Our Florida vacation is going to consist of laying on the beach, reading a good book, while soaking up the sun, and not doing much of anything else! I want to check out some good books to take with me, so I need some advice. Of course, I'll be taking some stamping stuff too. Who knew that coloring/watercoloring was so therapeutic?!

I'll be taking comments on this until September 11th and then will pick a number using random.org to see who wins! Please make sure I have a way to contact you to notify you if you win! Feel free to link this candy on your blog to direct others here so everyone can have a chance to win! I'm relatively new to stamping and blogging, so I'm hoping this candy will help people to find me! Thanks for looking, and if you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Finally...I finished my gift!

I finally finished making all of the cards that I put in that neat little card holder for my mom's best friend who was nice enough to give me some clothes on Independence Day. Yep, almost two months later, but still done, none the less! Now I just need to deliver it!

Here is one of the cards in the bunch:


I put a total of 12 cards and envelopes in there. Some are really cute cards. Others I'm not as fond of, but who knows, she may love them! '

DH and I are heading to Cincinnati tomorrow for Labor Day weekend to visit his parents. I'm too excited. I miss living there and really enjoy the visit. Plus, I get to go shop at Archiver's and now that I'm into stamping, there is a store I want to visit called "Stamp Your Art Out". I want to see if they have any kind of watercolor crayons or pencils. I have some cheapo pencils from Wal-Mart and a set of SU! Bold Bright Watercolor crayons. Unfortunately, I really need the Earth Elements to color my Thanksgiving cards. And I hate to spend $10 just for shipping something so small. :( So I'm just gonna take my Christmas cards with me to keep me occupied. Yep, I have to be entertained at all times!

Here's a couple of cards I made (maybe I'm a bit scatterbrained too!!):






This one I made for my aunt for her birthday. We are going to Florida for vacation with her and her partner next month, so I knew she'd enjoy a card with a beach scene on it!



Sorry the color on the photos aren't that great. I tried to set up my own photo box (wasn't exactly like the instructions said and I think that was the problem) but it didn't work too well. Maybe some time I'll follow the directions and the color will come out better!

Hope everyone haves a safe and Happy Labor Day!

It's Official...I suck!

OK, so I thought this blogging thing was going to be easy. See, cause I'm ALWAYS on my computer, and I'm ALWAYS doing some kind of craft. So, why wouldn't I be making LOADS of posts? PURE LAZINESS! It's much easier just reading everyone else's blogs and getting great ideas and signing up for some wonderful blog candy. So, here is my resolution. Tomorrow after work, I'm going to come home and take photos of the latests cards that I've made (could be quite a few!) and hopefully get them posted before I go volunteer. (I volunteer at The Angel Clinic. It is a free clinic for people in my county who are employed but have no health insurance. I work in the pharmacy filling prescriptions. It gets pretty boring, but it's such a worthwile cause. I haven't been in several months, but need to get started again!) Anywho, I will get those photos posted before I leave, and then once I get home, I'll either try to create a card, or possibly put up some goodies...Can't decide whether or not I've got some good stuff for candy...Keep checking back! Toodles! ~Kim

Check out this blog candy!

Rings Like a Bell.com is giving away some candy! Here's the link:

http://www.ringslikeabell.com/2007/08/09/give-me-some-candy/#comment-223

Today, I was notified that I won some blog Candy from Crafty Engineer. Her blog is here:

http://papercraftingengineer.blogspot.com/

This blogging thing is so cool! I just wish I'd make my self craft some more. I made two different cards tonight, but haven't taken pictures yet. I'll do that tomorrow and post them!

Happy Birthday to ME!

So, today is my 33rd Birthday. WOW! Who'd of thought I'd live that long? Not me, that's for sure! But this has been one of the best years of my life! Yesterday, I went to my hometown to visit all of my grandparents and my mom. The first person I went to see was my Nanny! I haven't seen her since Christmas, and it was good catching up. Here is a photo of Nanny and Me.



Then it was off to Grandma & Grandpa A's. I haven't seen them since Christmas 2005. They have not seen me since surgery. My grandpa didn't recognize me! I do get that alot, so it wasn't unexpected, but it was funny. Here's a picture of me, Grandma & Grandpa!



Then I went to see my PawPaw. He lives next door to my mom, so I see him pretty often. I didn't until he moved down to this house. I don't have a picture of him and me from yesterday, but here's one from Memorial Day.



Here's a photo of me and mommy! She was a trooper. After visiting everyone, I drug her around to Michaels, Hobby Lobby and World Trade Market. She hates shopping, but since I was driving, it was either go in or sit in the hot car, and she didn't want to do that. She told me as I was leaving that she had fun and next time we'd have to go shopping for clothes. I need all the help with clothes that I can get! I'm not used to being able to choose what I want to wear. When you're fat you pretty much have to take what you can get!



Hope everyone is having a great weekend! UGH! It's almost over...boohoo! Toodles!

Random Creations

So, this card making thing is pretty relaxing. The mess I've made in the process, however, is not. I was going to post pictures to get my point across...however, I'm slightly ashamed! I started to clean up and then got distracted and well, nothing got done. No cleaning, no card making...nada! So, here are a few items I've made over the past few days. It seems like I can only come up with one design at a time, and then, I tend to make three or more at a time, so I have a few. That really came in handy when I had two of the hoppy birthday cards left over and two birthdays that needed to be sent out! My main project has been to make 12 different cards to fill up this wonderful card holder that I made to give to a wonderful person who was very generous to me recently. I've lost over 200 pounds in the past 16 months and have been going through sizes like crazy. So on her annual 4th of July pool party, she gave me a bag full of pants. 8 pairs of capris and two pairs of pants. One are some kick ass jeans that make me look skinny and make my legs look super long. I'm loving them. Oh, and they are all size 10. Never wore that size...ever. So, I wanted to make a special gift for her. I decoupaged this "paper mache" bag from Hobby Lobby, then added ribbon. Not sure how I feel about the ribbon, but it's staying for now. I think I'm gonna add more to it...eventually. Here are two cards that are included in the set. Let me know what you think of these projects.











It holds cards and envelopes that are 5" x 7". I'll be glad when these envelopes (bought a box of 250 from work) are gone, and I can just make 5.5" x 4.25" cards like everyone else! It will simplify everything!

Latest Card

Here is a card that I made today. I cased it from someone...not sure who. I've looked at so many people's ideas that they all run together! I used paper and ribbon from Walmart. The brads are making memories, the black ink is Staz-on. The colored pencils are Kimberly Watercolor Pencils. I like the way it turned out. I made it for a couple of friends who are leaving for Africa on a mission trip in a couple of months. They are home for the week, and then leaving to go train in Virginia for two months and then off to Africa for two years. I'm best friends with Joe Joe's sisters, and work with one of them, and I know they sure are gonna miss them. It was bad enough when they just lived in Lexington! I told them if they let me know what they wanted, I'd send them care packages, as I love sending care packages!

So, here's the pic. It's blurry, as I didn't take a pic at home, and realized as Joe Joe was about to leave, that I didn't get a photo, so I took it with Jason's camera phone!! It looked much better in real life! So, here it is!

Goal

So, with all of the excitement of the big fall on Friday, I forgot to mention...on Friday, I met my weight goal of 150! Woo Hoo for me! And Friday was my 16 month anniversary since WLS. I cannot believe how blessed I am! So, in 16 months, I've lost 209 pounds! My next goal is to wear a size 8. I am currently wearing a size 10 and L but it's probably closer to a M, except I haven't tried! I started out wearing a size 30 and a 4XL. Wow! Anyway, enough bragging about me. I've got some photos to post, but don't have them ready yet. I'll post them sometime, if anyone cares!

I fall down and go BOOM!

So, yesterday started out good enough. It was Friday, getting ready for the weekend. I love Fridays, even at work, cause I know the weekend is coming. And all day Friday, I was looking forward to the weekend. I was going to Paducah, to get a massage from my aunt who just graduated from massage school and go pick up my 10 year old niece to spend the weekend with me...she's my mini-me or my sister from another mother. For the first 7 years of her life, my mother called her Kim so much and then said her name (Sami) she finally said, "Nanna, my name is Sami, not Kimsami! Anyway, I went to Paducah, and got my massage. It was very good! Very relaxing. So, I'm leaving my aunts and as I'm walking to my car, I trip on the sidewalk and fall. I do believe in the phrase "The bigger they are, the harder they fall" because it wasn't as bad as it could be. But it wasn't fun either. I trip, try to catch myself. My left elbow, right knee, right shoulder and left side hit the ground, but not before my face (right side, cheek and forehead) hit the tire of my car and the pavement. As I'm falling, I'm cussing, way too much. My keys fly out of my hand, under my Explorer and across the other side of the car. Finally, after all of the commotion, I roll over and start to cry a bit. Yep, I'm a big baby when I get hurt. The first time I ever hurt myself in the presence of my husband, he looked at me really weird and said, "I've never seen anyone cry when they get hurt." He's seen it happen enough now that he's used to it, as we've been married now for seven years. Anyway, my aunt's neighbor comes over and asks if he can help me. I tell him I fell and he said he heard me...must of heard me swearing! So I ask him to go get my aunt. She comes out, freaks a little bit and wants to take me to the ER. I go get cleaned up, and realized I'm ok, just shook up and feeling a bit stupid and REALLY clumsy! So, here's the pic. It doesn't do my face justice though, as the flash isn't capturing all of the bruising and scratches. My glasses nearly broke on my face. I think the scratches on my cheeks and eyes are from my glasses. I have bruising on my forehead from the tire. I've got a skinned elbow and knee and a bruise on my stomach and shoulder. And I felt like a mac truck ran over me. So much for the benefits of the massage!



So I go to my mom's and pick up my niece. My mom is worried and thinks I need to go to the ER. The only reason I would even THINK about going to the ER is so I could get some good drugs! But, I didn't really need any, so I said no way! Then, Sami and I went to Hobby Lobby to start our weekend of crafting! We've had a good weekend so far. She's busy playing the Wii right now. We've gone out to eat twice today. I was good both times, as we shared a meal each time. We went bowling tonight, and she just can't get enough. She did some scrapbooking this afternoon, but I was hurting too bad and wanted to sit on my corn bag, so I just talked her through some stuff. She's scrapbooked before, so she didn't need much help! I think she's having a good time.



At the bowling alley, they have these machines that have stupid stuff in them. I found one that had "Hillbilly Teeth." After I got a super cool pair, Sami decided she needed them too. She is, after all, my Mini-me. Jason's getting tired of both of us, especially with the teeth! He finally said, "Take the teeth out if you're both gonna talk!" We just laughed!

It's Share Time

OK, so I've finally taken the time to download my photos of the cards I've made so far. I've made a total of five. The last one, I've made four times, because it seems I work better by mass producing. I've made a list of everyone I want to give a set of cards to, therefore, they're all going to get the same cards until I get inspired to do something else! So, without further ado, here they are. Since I'm new at this blogging thing, I haven't kept up with what I've been using. The stamps are all Stampin' Up! The paper is either Creative Memories, something from Walmart, or some random paper from work (working at a printing company does have advantages!) The tools I used were my CM 12" paper trimmer, my personal cutting tool (also CM), my CM tape runner, my CM corner rounder, my Making Memories eyelet setter and I think that's it. (I'm a Creative Memories Consultant, in case you couldn't tell by all the CM stuff I've got! I love it! Now if I could just get back to scrapbooking!) The glitter is something I found at Walmart, along with the flowers on the one card. Who knows where the eyelets came from. I've had them for a long time. The adhesive that was used for the glitter was Zig two way glue from Walmart, the ink pads I used were black Staz-on, Bordering Blue by SU! and Versamark. OK, I'll shut up now...here they are!











The only original idea was the "Thanks so Much" card. Everything else was ideas I got from Splitcoast Stampers. Unfortunately, I was scribbling on a notepad the ideas, and didn't write who they were from. Sorry if it was you!! Let me know!

Here's one more thing for me to share...my puppy dog Lucy. She's the best little girl a family could have.



Well, I'm not sure if anyone will read this, but if you did, I hope you like it. Send me links to your blog and I'll list you as blogs I visit. I love looking at ideas and techniques that others use. The only disadvantage is that I look too much instead of creating! Happy crafting!

First Post

OK, so I didn't really create this blog to be anything about reality shows...more about me and my obsessions. Once upon a time it was reality shows. I've dreamed about being on a reality show ever since the first Real World came out in the 90s. I've even applied to a couple of reality shows...only to be...wait for it...Rejected. Right now, my current obsession is rubber stamping. It should be scrapbooking, because I have a ton of photos to scrapbook, I have all of the supplies I could ever need. I'm just not inspired to scrap. Unfortunately, I'm wanting to stamp. I do not have the inspiration or ideas to stamp, nor do I have all of the supplies to stamp. I have a ton of paper. I have a ton of embellishments that I've bought for scrapbooking to use. However, I have 3 sets of rubber stamps, along with some misc. stamps I've bought at Michaels. Ok, I can work with that. I have three...count them...three stamp pads. Staz-on Black, Bordering Blue from SU! and some cheap brown stamp pad from Wal-mart. I do have some watercolor pencils from WM that I'm learning to live with until I can get me some Watercolor Crayons. I told my husband, if he really loved me, he could, for my birthday of course, sign up as a Stampin' Up demonstrator so we could get the products at a discount. Why my hubby? Well, I'm a Creative Memories Consultant, and I don't think you can do both. BooHoo! I shouldn't be stressing out over making cards, but I have been! Arghhh! Time for bed! Goodnight, anyone who reads this! I'll post tomorrow the cards I've made. (Total of four! WooHoo!) ~Kim