argh - got tagged again! ;-)

Emily, my dear good friend tagged me with another blog challenge. So here goes:

WHAT SCRAPBOOK LINES/PRODUCTS/ETC DO YOU DISLIKE?
Most stickers - I seldom use stickers besides alphas.
I'm also not a big fan of traditional rubber stamps - I can never get the image right where I want it.

WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING YOU HAVE EVER HAD TO SCRAP?
I still need to do the toughest one - when my dad died. I have scrapped some pages about him, but not "the one."

WHAT TECHNIQUE DO YOU USE MORE THAN ANYTHING?
Is scraplifting considered a technique?? I really can't pick out any one technique that I use most!

WHAT'S THE SMALLEST SCRAP OF PAPER YOU SAVE?
Yikes - probably 1 x 12 or 3 x 3, but only if I have more than one piece.

EVER HAD ANY SCRAPBOOKING-RELATED INJURIES?
Paper cut?

FINISH THIS SENTENCE, "IF I WASN'T A SCRAPBOOKER, I WOULD SPEND MY MONEY ON:
I don't "take from Peter to pay Paul" - meaning that I don't use money on scrapping that I would use on something else. If I want something else, I buy it. :-) The question as I see it is what would I do with my time if I didn't scrap? Well... I actually don't spend a lot of time scrapping, and have no clue what I would be doing instead. So I guess I just can't answer this question.


GIVE US YOUR BEST STORAGE OR ORGANIZATIONAL IDEA:
Vertical paper storage - got the idea from someone on twopeas - take several (many!) stackable paper trays, tape them together, put them on a shelf so that the open side is in front, up and down. woohoo! Ain't it purty?!

YOU JUST WON A WEEK LONG SCRAPBOOKING CRUISE FOR 5. WHO'S GOING WITH YOU?
I'm making the assumption that all the cool celebs are already going, so I get to take my scrappin' buds:
Amy - she's scrapped with me the most - puts up with me! And we get along great; we room together and don't have any problems (as far as I know!).
Bobi - she's been my scrappin' bud the longest. It's too bad we don't live closer to one another, we only see each other a couple times a year. Miss ya, Bobi!
Emily - we have so much in common and get along SO great! I think the planets, suns, etc. were all aligned just right the day we joined forces in our Provo 2005 Scrappin' Biker Babe dorm. Sometimes things are just meant to be.
Gini - my sister. She keeps saying she wants to scrap. She has some supplies. But she hasn't started. She needs time away from her 4 kids (ok, 3 kids and DH) to get going.
And if the 5 doesn't include me, my fifth guest would probably be Annie. My brother's gf. Nice fun gal. She dishes it out as well as she takes it. And if she can put up with him, she can easily put up with me for a week! In fact - she has. The two of them took a week long cruise with DH and I in 2004, and we're going together for another 15 days this May.

Okay...now this is where I'm not going to follow directions. Per instructions, I'm supposed to tag 4 more ladies. But I don't know lots of folks who blog, so I'll just say that anyone who scraps (or stamps or any other hobby that this can be modified for) should feel free to try out this challenge!

another blog challenge

Another challenge from twopeas: list some fun facts about myself. This is a kewl challenge!!

1) I'm 38 yrs old, an aunt to 16 kids and a great-aunt to 19 kids. 4 of my nieces and nephews are older than me. (yes, I'm an oops.)
2) I do something "new" each year. Some things I've done:
skydiving
hot air ballooning
ridden highest ride in the U.S.
cave tubing
polar bear club (jumped in Lake Michigan on New Years Day)
parasailing
glider ride
held a sting ray
snorkeling
ziplining
3) I love to travel. I have a HUGE list of places I want to go!
4) DH and I opted not to have children. We enjoy our life and lifestyle as it is.
5) I love kitties/cats!!!
6) I'm a creative soul stuck in an analytical job/world.
7) I was a social work major until the middle of my junior year of college. I switched to accounting and still graduated on time.
8) I really want to move away from Wisconsin - way too cold for me!
9) My fave Halloween costume was Boy George - that was a long time ago!
10) I played trombone through middle school, high school and college. I'm short (aka vertically challenged), and had to turn slightly sideways to extend my slide to its furthest position. The most memorable performance - in college, 10 trombone players all standing on stage - me in the middle of 9 men, mostly tall and big.
11) I was a bit of a loner in grade school - high school; very unpopular because one of the popular girls decided she didn't like me. When I went to college where no one knew me, I was popular, a partier, a joker.
12) If I could get a good paying job third shift, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I am SUCH a night owl!!!
13) I used to dislike beer. Now I love it, especially dark beer - the kind you can chew. I had some dark beer in Prague, and mmmmm, it was good! And I became hooked.
14) My trip to Europe with Dad, Mom, one brother and one sister, along with a big tour group, was my most memorable vacation-to-date. We visited Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria. That area is "the homeland" to us, so it was very very neat to go there with family.
15) I've always been fascinated with Greece, as long as I can remember. I think that if there is such a thing as reincarnation, I lived in ancient Greece as someone relatively well-to-do.
16) When I was young my Mom worked out of the house, so I was with Dad every day - he farmed, so I could be with him most of the time. I remember sitting on the tractor, visiting the little boy next door, going to the coffee shop daily. :-) I've been told that he read to me, but that he didn't like children's books, so he read out of the encyclopedia!

Well... I'm thinking that's all for now. This is a challenge I might revisit soon!!!

yet more

photos of my babies ;-)

Henry in the kitty condo. When we first let the kitties have run of the house, Henry was a bit scared of the big open spaces, and he really liked the kitty condo because it's more enclosed for him. Even tho he's used to and enjoys the house space now, he still likes "the box" as we call it - it's comforting to him.

Alex on the recliner chair. Good thing I put a blanket on it - that chair is his fave place to lay/sit/sleep. Cleaning kitty hair off furniture is no fun! It's also his fave place to cuddle with me. YAY!!!!! I got a lap kitty!!!!!

latest blog challenge

from twopeas, one of my fave boards...

10 Things You Love About Your City / Where You Live, which in my case would be Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
1) Summerfest
2) nice size, not too big, not too small
3) downtown has an eclectic mix of styles and ages of buildings
4) rush hour traffic isn't horrible, like LA or Phoenix
5) good selection of ethnic restaurants
6) on Lake Michigan, nice beaches, views, etc.
7) festivals every weekend all summer long
8) near Bristol Renaissance Faire
9) beer and brats, what more can I say?!
10) the world-reknown Calatrava building that houses the art museum

I've been tagged

thanks to Emily, my fellow Scrappin' Biker Babe. That's ok, tho, 'cause these are usually pretty fun!! Carrie - you're tagged! I don't know where you're gonna post, but lmk so I can peek!!!

Four jobs you’ve had in your life:
1. accounting analyst / financial analyst
2. waitress at pizza joint
3. combine driver - for you city folk, that means that I drove a big honkin' tractor with an even huger piece of equipment behind that would pick up pea vines that were already cut and then it would separate the peas from the vines and the pods.
4. ok... can't remember the official title of this one, but this was probably the best - I worked on a crew of people who surveyed people in various parts of Wisconsin. No biggie?? - yeah right. We actually stopped people while they were driving on state highways to ask them questions like "where are you coming from" "where are you going to" etc. Wanna talk to someone who's really po'ed? just stop someone on their way to work!

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. Lord of the Ring trilogy
2. Twister (not stellar, but brainless fun anyway- "we got cow" "we got two cows" hahahaha)
3. Shawshank Redemption
4. ???

Four places you have lived:
1. Lodi, WI
2. Waukesha, WI
3. Wind Lake, WI
4. Oak Creek, WI (yes, I've been boring, living only in Wisconsin!)

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. Project Runway
2. Stargate SG1
3. That 70s Show
4. CSI

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. Europe (Greece, Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Hungary)
2. Mexico (Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo, Cozumel, Cancun)
3. Caribbean (many of the islands)
4. U.S. (most of our wonderful states!)

Four websites you visit daily:
1. various yahoo groups
2. twopeasinabucket
3. my own blog
4. cruisecritic (when we're planning a cruise)

Four of your favorite foods:
1. chocolate!!!!! especially dark
2. beer, again especially dark
3. pasta
4. a good latte or mocha

Four places you would rather be right now:
1. New Zealand
2. African safari
3. Mediterranean cruise (going in May!)
4. warm beach anywhere with foofoo drink in hand

the kids

are doing mostly better. YAY!!!! We think that all the "illnesses" are gone: the parasites, upper respiratory virus, tapeworm and fleas. And they're fun and sweet and sometimes a royal pain! But overall - having new kits is a VERY good thing!!!

a couple more pix of my sweet

not-so-little babies

I've been ignoring the world...

can ya blame me??!! ;-)