Five on the Fifth (published on the 13th)

Okay....this is starting to become a little insane. I mean....couldn't I get it close to the 5th? In fairness, September 5th was my birthday and I was in Arizona at Creative Escape..the scrapbooking mega adventure....so I have some excuse. Still, my public awaits. So, without further ado, drum roll please..

Five on the Fifth
5. Birthday Texts ...beginning at 5:30 a.m. (Yes, Amy was thrilled about these..)
4. Cupcakes from Sprinkles..Vanilla, Black and White, Chocolate Marshmallow...YUM (thanks Christa Flook!)
3. Crafting Nirvana..an array of classes including pages with Kelly Goree, an acrylic album with Jessica Gutherie, a cool planner with Heidi and an amazing Gratitude book with Kolette Hall. Paper, scissors and glue rock!
2. Birthday Cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory!
1. Turning 48..clearly I need to go back to the gym but at least I am here and loved!

Thanks to all who were a part of this!!

Five on the Fifth

I think I am actually hitting new lows with this adventure...I almost ..okay actually did ..totally forget about August 5th. This month has been such a blur..I was sitting at my desk at work and suddenly I looked at the calendar and it hit me!! No five on the fifth!! I hate missing those things. Fortunately I took good notes all week so here are my 5 on the 5th (working on the photos..)

5- Dinner at Pappadeux -- I have the greatest friends...two of whom spontaneously invited me to dinner and drinks at Pappadeux. No camera but amazing crab legs, shrimp, pasta and creme' brulee..and fab conversation. Tired, full and happy!
4- Insane Crazy Work -- the dinner and whatever forms of stress relief are needed because work is truly stretching me mentally ...but is also exhausting me. We're working 11-12 hour days plus I have about a hour to an hour and a half total commute. Loving it...and tired.
3 - Day After the Storms -- so to add to our excitement we have had a week of storms here. One during the night and one in the morning. Black skies, lightening, wind, power out, etc. Rita hides in the closet and occasionally comes out...
2- A mess -- all of the insanity means clothes still in the rocker, dishes in the sink, a coffee table full of papers and mail. No idea where things are..very unsettled. Definitely needing a weekend at home with no agenda (not likely to happen for awhile..)
1 -Sleep - or lack thereof. The good news is when I fall into bed I do sleep and sleep like a baby. The bad news is that it is not often. Nice cool evenings, windows open, nice soft sheets...now if only it could be more than a few hours :-)

Still got it

Had a fun experience this morning. Last night we had a big storm...one of those storms that comes through and kind of cleans everything up. This morning, I rode in on 1-90 in traffic a little heavier than usual. Making me realize that the summer is slipping away. (For whatever reason, probably kids out of school, vacations, etc) traffic is significantly lighter on my commute during the summer...)ANYWAY.....
So, I was driving in this morning. The sun was trying to shine. I had my coffee and my new Sugarland CD. I'm tooling down the middle lane..and this shiny black mustang convertible drives by with some cool countryish music rocking out...
I turn my head ever so slightly and make eye contact with a dark skinned hottie boy toy...ooh mama! Unfortunately this incident occurred right around Barrington so our little slow down and speed up and look over and check each other out game only lasted for about another 7 or 8 minutes. Mr Hottie COnvertible got off on I-355 heading off to work and probably a hottie girlfriend (or wife and hottie kids for my luck.) Plus he may have been 30 and I know that whole cougarish thing is very cool right now but well, honestly, he was only a dream boy toy...but darn cute and a fab way to start my morning. When he veered off to I-355 he looked over one more time and I coyly waved as I drove on to work, laughing away. Hey...maybe I still do have it (or maybe it was just the SugarLand music and my dirty SUV...
So, here's to the boy in the convertible...thanks for making my day!

The Charm's in the Mail

Woo hoo!! 75+9=2 charms are in the mail!! Pink and green and black and white and ALL DONE! I may never win an award for them but hey I learned things....so......without further ado...here they are!

Charmed I'm Sure,....

I'm a bit of an overachiever. In fact I am essentially a five year old in a 47-year old body (!!!) running around thinking about all of the fabulous options that are open and available to all of us everyday.
So...in that whole..."Won't this be fun!!!" five year old spirit I signed up to do a charm swap for Creative Escape in September. Now, to get this in context, you have to realize that Creative Escape is like the nirvana of over achieving, scrapbook and craft loving five year olds. It's like 600 Martha Stewart five year olds. Or rather 599 Martha Stewarts and me..sort of like Paige from Trading Spaces who tries but does not quite make it...has the vision does not always have the execution.
ANYWAY..I signed up for this charm swap along with 75 of my other best friends and now we are on deadline to make 75 charms + 11 charms for the teachers + 2 for auction, add clasps, bag them, identify them and box them and send them to Phoenix for re-bagging and distribution.
I'm a bit intimidatd (really?!??!? Like I took Pele' around the country for six months and making a charm scares the crap out of me...this makes no sense..but it is me talking..)
So, I am in the final stages of my charm makng and bagging. The end result is...well not Martha Stewart but hey..in the scheme of things...pink and green (Which are the theme colors of Creative Escape and which make all scrappers a bit faint) and well...kind of cute. I'll let you make the final decision. You and 85+11+ 2 of my best friends.

Five on the Fifth

It's been many, many Sundays since I have had the luxury of getting up in my own bed, making coffee and reading the paper with Rita snoozing on the couch beside me..after her paper tearing, nails clicking on the hardwood check of the house walk. Today is delightful. Not that June and being with various sets of family and friends was not delightful. Quiet Sundays at home, though, are what keeps me energized and sane. Lots to do today...just nice to do it at home. First on to our monthly slice of life...five on the fifth. On the fifth I was at my dad and anne's home....

1 - Morning light -- I'm a sucker for early morning light and it's beauty on the side of houses or in the windowns. This morning I had the early morning light filtering through my window and then in the sunroom where Ann and I had our cereal. Awesome start to the morning.
2- Scrapbook happiness -- going home let's me stop in to my favorite scrapbooking stores including Michaels with a 50 percent off coupon. I scored a stamp I was looking for plus some beautiful new Basic Grey and vellum adhesive.
3- Burgers with the Boys -- cheeseburgers and fries with my brother and his son and my dad...and Ann and I as the token girls. Watching everyone laugh and watching bad tv....
4- which turned into an afternoon of Lawn Work -- my dad had surgery on his shoulder so we spent the rest of the afternoon doing lawn work for him, weed wacking, sweeping the deck and admiring Dad's new taped stitches.....
5- Sleeping with my doggie in my own bed - Nothing better than to spend the weekend with family and end up in your own bed with your own doggie snoring by your side.

Life does not get much better than this.

Happy Fouth of July!

Happy Fourth...Hope it was happy and festive for everyone!