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??!! ;-)

my babies

are so dang cute! I was with them most of yesterday and last night and again this afternoon. I try to wear them out playing, and then cuddle with them and let them fall asleep on me, under me, or wherever near me they want to be. They really like to sleep close to my face, which is ok, until they try to sleep on TOP of my nose. I gotta breathe, KWIM?? A little while ago Henry literally moved inch by inch until he was flopped all the way across my neck - he did try to lay over my face, but obviously I didn't let that happen. They're so cute and loving - it's like they have to touch my face while they fall asleep.

Right now they are in one room, which is recommended until kitties get used to their new home. And I do feel kind of bad about it. But those little monsters {said very affectionately!} go shooting out that door as soon as we open it. MAN are they quick!

The little guys have a parasite called Giardia, so we're supposed to give them pills. Well... the pills are nasty nasty nasty, and we have to break them into little pieces which makes it a zillion times worse. So I did some research last night to figure out how to get them to eat the darn little pill pieces. Gotta love the internet!! Anyway, it seems like our method is going to be to crush the pills and add tuna juice and meat. LOL - tuna smell and taste can cover up just about anything!!!

Henry's the one showing off his acrobatic abilities in this photo, but both of them enjoy running and jumping. They love the feather toys!

finally

we got our babies!! Without going into details, suffice it to say that we would never recommend to anyone to get their kitties from the shelter that we did. It's been over a week, and the only reason we were able to bring them home today was because we went in and I was rather persuasive. They claim that they do what is best for their cats, but I can't believe there is any reason why it would be better for our little babies to sit in a birdcage for nine days when they could have been in our house. But anyway... off the soapbox... THEY'RE SO CUTE!!!

They're sweet and lovable, but also very playful and precocious. I'm just waiting for one of them to get injured during their play fighting or when they run across the room and can't stop before hitting whatever's on the other side!

Alex is the lighter/brighter orange on the left side of both pics; he has some tabby stripes and some calico type swirls. Henry is the darker, definite tabby striped little guy on the right; his fur looks like he ran through some black soot. And they're both little bundles of purr. ;-)

more happy news!!

After I got home from work and shoveled dinner down my throat, Greg asked what my plans were for the evening. "Nothing." "Well, I want to take you somewhere." Sometimes Greg just likes to surprise me, and I knew this was one of those times - no use asking where or why. So we ended up at a kitty shelter.

I'M GETTING 2 KITTENS FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!

I have missed Cat so much... he was only 8 when he died this spring, and it was so unexpected, I wasn't prepared for that. And even now, sometimes I think I see a cat movement and I look for Cat. Cat was always nearby, underfoot more like LOL, a constant companion. Sometimes he'd tell me all about his day, and other times he was quiet. Sometimes he'd rub all over me, sometimes he'd want to play, and sometimes he just wanted to be nearby but NOT touched. But he always loved being around people, always wanted to know what was going on!

Greg had made many comments making me think that there was no way I could convince him to get another kitty. Apparently today he decided that it was the thing to do. Don't know why, probably will never know. Definitely NOT gonna argue!!! Another thing I've learned about Greg - if he makes a decision that I like, I gotta jump on it then and there, before he changes his mind. So I made sure that I filled out all the paperwork before we left the shelter just so he won't change his mind on this one!

The kitty shelter is one that doesn't euthanize, so some of their cats have been there a long time. It was kind of sad, but the cats didn't seem upset or sad. Most were very sociable. I walked in expecting Greg to only be interested in youngsters, but he walked around and petted just about every cat and kitten there. There was an adult he really seemed to like, but it still had its claws. Ok... don't throw the anti-declaw posts at me - Greg insists on declawed cats. And I would never even contemplate declawing an adult cat.

So after meeting all of the cats there, Greg and I ended up back at the little kitten cage. There were 4 kittens in it. This particular shelter requires that kittens be in a home with at least one other cat. Plus a lot of the siblings are required to go in pairs. So we were down to a big decision: two orange brothers or a black/white and tabby brother/sister combo. I think neither one of us really wanted another tabby again so soon - the little girl looked so much like Cat - even tho they were super friendly and energetic. So we opted for the orange kitties!! They're pretty laidback, very sweet, little purring motors.

Another shelter requirement - after you file for adoption, there is a "cool-off" period of at least 3 days. Some folks make a spur of the moment decision and then regret it quickly. And the shelter is only open certain days. So Greg and I won't get new kitties until next week. But on our way home, we bought the stuff we need so we'll be all ready for them when they get here.

I can't wait!! My little babies are so cute!

more blog world fun

JANUARY
1. Did you have a new year's resolution this year? No
2. Who kissed you at midnight? Greg. We were in North Carolina - we attended a cool outdoor party in downtown Charlotte.
3. Did it snow where you live? Not sure if it snowed on NY day, but I'm sure it snowed sometime in January - it would be very unusual to not get snow in Wisconsin in the winter.
4. Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop? No
5. Big January Events: We visited North Carolina to see if it was a feasible location to move to. We had a couple realtors check out our current home. And I went to a couple weekend crops (scrapbooking).
FEBRUARY
1. Who was your valentine? Greg, of course.
2. What did your valentine get you? A card... ??? We generally don't celebrate days like that.
3. When you were little, did you buy valentines for your whole class? Oh, yes. Those little tiny cards, and I think I put the little heart candies in each envelope.
4. Big February Events: Mexican Riviera cruise on the Carnival Pride!! And a weekend skiing in the U.P.
MARCH
1. Are you Irish? not that I know of.
2. Did you wear green on St. Patty's Day? I usually do, just for fun, but I don't think I remembered this year!
3. What did you do for St. Patty's Day? nada
4. Big March Events: A weekend in the Dells for our bike club's winter getaway, and a weekend in Madison for a scrapbook convention.
APRIL
1. Do you like the rain? As my close friends know, I hate getting my face wet. So I'm not fond of being out in the rain, but I don't mind when I'm snuggled in the house. I actually love to watch a big storm roll in!
2. Did you play an April Fool's joke on anyone this year? no
3. Big April Events: two more weekend crops (yahoo!) and a friend's wedding
MAY
1. What's your favorite kind of flower? Love the smell of lilacs!
2. Do you like the spring? YES - summer is on the way!! And I like the smell of spring, and the warm breeze, and sunshine on my face.
3. What would you think of as a spring color? yellow, pretty much any pastel
4. Big May Events: I started playing volleyball weekly again, after a hiatus to improve my back. We also got the bike (motorcycle) out more often for longer rides, including a long weekend in northern Wisconsin. And I registered for CKU - I got all the classes I wanted!!!
JUNE
1. What year did you graduate from school? H.S. - 1985, Undergrad - 1989, Masters - 1994
2. Did you go on a vacation last June? no - we don't have to take vacations around school, since we are child free!
3. Big June Events: My CKU yahoo board logo was chosen as the winning entry! - the crazy scrappin' gals bought all sorts of things with my logo on them: shirts, mousepads, clocks, pins, magnets, mugs, bracelet charms, etc. Also - I started at a new client - a change of pace.
JULY
1. What did you do on the 4th of July? We took another weekend bike trip to northern Wis and to Door County.
2. Did you go on any vacations during this month? see #1
3. Big July Events: Summerfest and getting ready to attend CKU.
AUGUST
1. Did you do anything special to end your summer? just the usual ;-)
2. What was your favorite summer memory of '05? CKU Provo - OMG what a phenomenal time, great memories!!! Absolute best? - our CKU dorm was one of 3 chosen to perform in front of the entire student/teacher body - and based on audience applause we won hands down - we rocked the place!
3. Did you go swimming a lot in the summer? no
4. Big August Events: Obviously - CKU. Also a weekend bike club trip to Munising U.P. Michigan. Oh, yeah, and state fair and Renaissance Faire.
SEPTEMBER
1. Did you attend school/college in '05? no
2. Who is/was your favorite teacher? probably my 2nd grade teacher.
3. Did you like fall better than summer? NO - it means winter's back on its way
4. Big September Events: Our big 2 week bike trip out west: Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, etc. We celebrated our 11th anniversary on the 24th.
OCTOBER
1. What was your favorite halloween costume ever? Boy George - I looked AWESOME!!
2. What's your favorite candy? I love chocolate in general, but I really love Skor bars.
3. What did you dress up like this year? I didn't.
4. Big October Events: Another weekend crop. Seeing cousin Tom Wopat perform in Madison - added bonus: it was Halloween weekend, and State St, Madison is absolutely crazy, fun to watch!
NOVEMBER
1. Whose house did you go to for Thanksgiving? My sister Bonnie's.
2. Do you like stuffing? yes, if it's moist. Sometimes it's dry - yuck.
3. What are you thankful for? Husband, family, friends, relatively good health, financial stability, ability to do what I/we enjoy.
4. Big November Events: Our bike club's annual fundraiser - this year we tried something new - a murder mystery lunch - Greg and I both had parts, and I had a BLAST!!
DECEMBER
1. Do you celebrate Christmas? yes, but not so much the religious aspects. It's more of a celebration of family and friends, and of course giving and receiving!
2. Have you ever been kissed under mistletoe? yes
3. Do you like cold weather? NO NO NO
4. How would you rate your year on a scale of 1-10? 9.5
5. Big December Events: holiday party at our house, another weekend crop, family get-togethers. Lucky Greg went to Vail skiing!

Emily - you've been tagged!

layouts of our 2005

Mexican Riviera cruise. We spent one night on the Hotel Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA and then we left for a 7 night cruise to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. The ports provided nice variety, but the weather was too chilly for sunning onboard. Bummer!

see??? I do scrap

once in a while... Actually, these are some of the pages I have done the last couple of months. I haven't figured out how to take good photos of my layouts yet, so I procrastinate on posting pictures. These are miscellaneous pages: the intro to the 2004 album and a volleyball team page.

The 2004 intro page was mostly done electronically. I found a monopoly board jpg online that didn't have the text in the play squares. I added text and pictures so that if you start at GO and go around, it follows the highlights of 2004 in chronological order. I think my favorite play square is the one that is supposed to be jail - I labeled it "work work work work." LOL After printing the board on a large format printer (thanks Annie!) I just adhered it to black cardstock, added the stickers at the top, and adhered multiple orange and yellow cards stacked up to give depth.

The volleyball page is from a few years ago - I'm trying to finish up that last one or two pages in each album that I hadn't done yet. This is a 12 x 12 page, yet I printed directly on the background with my normal size printer. heeheehee No, ain't gonna tell ya how - if you can't figure it out, well... my secret! I've never been into circles before, but I thought it fit the theme of the page. And I think it looks kewl!

love my picture

that I currently have here on my blog. It makes me think of summer, warm(er) days, sunshine.... I'm already tired of winter and it's not even the middle of December yet!!!!!

happy marcia

I keep thinking... "I gotta get back to my blog." "I should take pictures of some of my latest scrap projects and post them." Etc., etc. But it just doesn't seem to happen.

But tonight I'm bursting with happy news. Ok, it's great happiness for me. I'm all registered for CKU-Albums Chicago. WOOHOO!!!! Now.... I can see y'all asking "what's that?" and "what's the big deal?" Well... let me tell ya.

CKU = Creating Keepsakes University. In basic terms, it's scrapbook school. Three solid days and nights of classes and working on projects. You ask, "And this is fun?" Oh, yeah, baby. This is WAY fun!! Learning new techniques, working with new product, being with 700 people who are as crazy about scrapbooking as I am, meeting some of the celebs of the scrapbook world. Yes - we have celebs that we "know" by first name or by initials. That's how you can tell a serious scrapper from a beginner - talk about BH or Lisa or CZ - if they know who you're talking about, they're definitely seriously into scrapping! {oops - got a little sidetracked there....}

Why the big deal?? Registration opened at 7pm CST tonight. 18 minutes later, registration closed. Finis. The end. No more. Within 18 minutes, approximately 700 crazy scrappers registered for CKU Chicago. Yowza - that's the quickest sellout yet for CKU. We get to choose classes - I managed to get into every class I want at the time I wanted it. That's pretty amazing. However, I was done registering by 7:02 - I was speedy gonzalez! The more popular classes started closing after about 4 minutes because they were already full. It's completely overwhelming when I think about more than 700 people, all sitting at their computers, hitting the F5 key over and over and over until the registration button shows up, then typing like mad to get paid and get their classes asap. I know I was very very anxious, nervous. And now I'm in. Yahoo!!!

This will be my second CKU - I went to Provo this past August and had an absolute blast! I originally thought that I'd just goto one, and that would be enough. But it's coming to Chicago! - how can I not go when it's so close?!

One of the most fun parts of CKU is the social life. And I was VERY into the social life at Provo. I was part of a dorm, a group of 10 women who participated in the dorm contests: cheer/song, costume, name badge and table centerpiece. Dorms are totally voluntary and arranged on your own - not thru CKU. We were the Scrappin' Biker Babes - and quite awesome SBBs we were! Only three dorms are chosen ahead of time to perform at CKU, and we were one of the three! and even better, we easily won the cheer/song contest! We rocked the room that night. It was great because people recognized us for the remainder of CKU - "hey, you're one of the biker babes, aren't you". Yeah, baby. I'm a scrappin' biker babe. The only sad part for me is that I wasn't really in a costume - I was pretty much in my normal biking gear! LOL

So anyway, 5 of our 10 SBBs are going to Chicago, and we'll be doing a dorm again. It'll be fun to see what theme we come up with, and how we work the theme into all of our contest entries. And I just can't wait to see my dormies again!

oh so busy

We (ok, I) decided rather last minute to have a holiday party this weekend. Invites went out with less than 2 week notice. I've been a bit rushed this week - had to decorate, plan the menu and shopping list, and shop. Now I still need to clean and cook. Not that bad, I guess. Of course my tendency to procrastinate isn't helping! But I'm looking forward to tomorrow, to see some good friends. We don't have people over nearly as much as I would like.

Hmmmm... am I seeing a "New Years Intention"? btw - a nicer term for NYs resolution is NYs intention. Doesn't it sound better? Less like "I have to" and more like "I want to" - the difference between resolve and intend. Anyway, perhaps my NYs Intention should be to invite people over more often...

well... enough time spent at the computer. Off for party prep!

meme challenge #17

One of my favorite online boards, twopeasinabucket.com, has a weekly meme challenge: a meme is an idea that is shared and passed from blog to blog, like a question posted in one blog and answered in many other blogs.

This week [Nov 28th] we are taking a cue from Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way exercise for recovering a sense of identity. Our exercise this week is to list 20 things you enjoy doing [rock climbing, roller skating, baking pies, making soup, bike riding, horse riding, shooting baskets, running, reading poetry, etc.]

So let's see, what would be on my list???

Off the top of my head and in no particular order:
reading
traveling
surfing the internet
hanging with friends
playing volleyball
scrapbooking
new activities/experiences
watching tv (multiple channels at once!)
getting manicure/pedicure
getting massage
motorcycling
being with my honey
dancing
visiting with relatives
sleeping late
photography
cruising
driving my vette (silly boys try to race me!)
downhill skiing
seeing/hearing live entertainment (theater, concerts, etc)
watching xtreme motocross
holding/playing with kittens
being creative
singing along with fave songs
drinking a good latte
cooking a nice meal for guests
smelling lilacs
seeing ancient ruins
learning about other cultures
goofing off

Hmmmm.... well.... my list is well over 20, and I could probably keep on going, but I'll just stop it right there.

So what would you have on your list???

the beginning of a new season

Well, today was the day. The "real" end of autumn, the beginning of winter. Yes, we had snow today. Not just the kind that melts right away. When I woke up and opened the curtains, there was measurable snow on the ground. They were plowing and salting the roads.

I always have mixed feelings about winter. This is the fun part, the exciting part. The beginning of winter. A little snow here and there. High temps still mostly in the 30s. The holiday season on its way. Oooohhh - I LOVE Christmas time!!!

But after that hard core winter sets in. Yuck. Weather so cold it hurts to breathe. Blizzards making it darn near impossible to get anywhere, yet we still have to get to work. And no holiday time off seemingly forever.

But even then, there's fun to be had: a cruise or other warm-weather vacation, the annual U.P. ski trip, the bike club's winter get-a-way, a Madscrappin' Diva weekend crop, the annual scrapbook convention....

I guess it's a love/hate relationship! ;-)

bad, bad, bad

I, along with many other crazy scrappin' gals, have been eagerly awaiting the class schedule for CKU-Albums Chicago. And today the list was finally made official. That doesn't mean it's complete and correct ;-) but it is close.

And of course, I already had most of my classes picked out. By following the naming convention CKU uses for its webpages, many of us have been checking daily (or several times each day!) for updates - meaning, we cheated the system. We've watched as the webmaster updated the webpage, so we could see new classes being added, descriptions being changed, photos being deleted and added. And as the webmaster worked, so did I. When I saw new classes added, I researched the sponsoring company and the instructor to check out the typical product of the company, the scrapping style of the instructor and reviews on any classes they have taught before.

Oh, yes. That's me. Overresearch, overanalyze, overprepare. Anticipation is the name of my game.

holiday folk fair

Mom Miller called up recently and asked if I would be interested in going to the Holiday Folk Fair with her. I'm usually game for something fun like that - my schedule was free, so we went yesterday. We watched a few groups do their ethnic dances, some played music. We walked through all the neat shopping booths - lotsa kewl stuff. Then we thought we'd see if we could find the "main stage." Come to find out there were actually 3 different stages for dancing and music. Yowza! We saw some really awesome acts!! The best was the drum group from Japan - they kicked butt - three rows of different drums, perfectly choreographed with exaggerated, stylistic movements - WOW! They got a standing ovation, not once, but TWICE!! But wouldn't ya know, we were trying to enjoy some of the wonderful ethnic cuisine during that act, so altho we tried to get a couple pics of them, they just didn't turn out. It's really hard to juggle a purse, two plates of food, purchases and camera all at once. ;-) Bummer!

In any case, pictures wouldn't do them justice anyway - pictures didn't do justice to ANY of the really great dances or outfits we saw. But here are a few pics anyway... maybe they give just a little glimpse into how neat the event was. I would DEFINITELY go back!!!

whodunit

Our bike club had its annual fundraiser this past weekend. This year, however, we tried something new - a murder mystery. And WOW!!! I had an absolute blast! Greg and I both had roles - we had told the organizer that we would be in it "if they needed somebody." Guess they did... :-) Greg was a bit typecast - the bad biker dude. I was a cocktail waitress, aka the town tramp.

The participants each had a little booklet that described their role and gave the info necessary for that person. We had our booklets a couple weeks in advance, so we could try to learn our parts and get a feel for the role. We didn't practice or anything ahead of time, so it was really interesting during the event to hear all the other info that we weren't given in our own booklet.

OMG, it was just SO much fun. I guess I got pretty much into it. As you can see, I had a bit of cleavage and leg showing - nothing embarrassing - I had a swimsuit top under my shirt. We were supposed to be in Cactus, Texas, so I had a pretty good southern drawl going. And because southern folk are supposedly so much more polite than us northerners, I said ma'am and sir alot. But the best part was my stroll/strut/whatever you wanna call it... LOLOL. I sure wish someone had been videoing the event - I would LOVE to see myself! Anyway, I only broke character twice - both times were for very specific purposes, and only for a couple people. The majority of the people saw me slowly strolling along, swinging my hips, throwing my hair back off my face, etc., at all times. Apparently I played my role TOO well - someone said something like "the girl who's playing the slut is really good - or is she actually like that?!" LOL - the best part - Greg was standing right behind the person at the time!!!! ROFLMAO Someone else came up to me and said VERY tentatively "Our table was talking, and, well, please don't be offended, we think you play a slut really well." bwaaahaaahaaahaaa

I've been thinking about this quite a bit. I think I enjoyed it so much because I was able to act outside of socially accepted behaviors, and it was ok, because I was just "playing a role." Most of us mold ourselves into "correct" humans who behave "correctly." "Correctly" for a married female in her mid-30's, particularly in the good ol' Midwest, is pretty conservative. And I was far from conservative as Crystalline Daniels!! Having a southern drawl seemed to provide me the split I needed to "be" Crystalline vs myself. Both times I broke character to talk to someone as ME, I felt almost naked, overexposed, because I was showing a little cleavage. But as soon as I "became" Crystalline again, I didn't feel that way. Sounds kinda weird, I know. But really, I don't have a split personality. LOL

Anyway, I feel that portraying someone else was really liberating for me, as it allowed me to "safely" and appropriately exhibit some characteristics and traits that would be frowned upon in the real world. I can see why actors seem to get lost in their own little worlds when filming - the more you get into character, the more realistic the role seems, and the less realistic the outside world seems.

my latest scrappin' obsession

Ahhhh..... yes..... ribbon. Ever since the Scrapbook Convention this past spring, I've been into ribbon. Just a bit at first, I kind of dipped my toes into the water gradually, buying one or two, only those that matched a specific layout. Then I got into a ribbon swap at CKU where I ended up with 80, yes EIGHTY, different ribbons. And now I can't seem to get enough. More colors, more combinations, more textures, more designs. When I hear those two words uttered in the same sentence: sale and ribbon - OMG!! it's like I can't control myself. LOLOL



I just expanded my ribbon space to full capacity. Well... ok, I have no more space to hang ribbon rings. So now I am limited to the space I have on the current rings. And this is a good thing..... right??!!