A few favorites

I taught a journaling class over the weekend. What a treat! We laughed, we cried, we hugged...Hands down, journaling is my absolute favorite topic to teach. That's because I believe it is so vital and liberating for each of us to tell our stories. I love helping people learn simple techniques to do just that.

As part of the class, we talked about using quotes, poems, lyrics, or book excerpts on our pages -- as a supplement to personal journaling, or as the journaling itself when we lack information about the photos. Today I thought I would share a few of my favorite sites:

Quotes

http://www.simplescrapbooksmag.com/quotes/

http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/peasoup.asp

http://www.quotationspage.com/

http://www.quoteland.com/ -- my favorite

http://en.thinkexist.com/

Lyrics

http://www.lyrics.com/

http://www.lyricsmania.com/

Book excerpts / quotes

http://www.litquotes.com/

http://www.literary-quotations.com/

Poems

http://www.netpoets.com/poems/

http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/

Cat Show Prep Underway

It's been a busy few days at our house. In the midst of everything going on around here, it is also time to begin Lily's beauty routine for the cat show, coming up this Sunday, October 5!

First, Daughter and Boyfriend trapped Lily in the laundry room and clipped her nails. Boyfriend poked food morsels into her mouth (Lily's mouth, I mean) while Daughter operated the nail trimmers. That process went pretty well.

Next, they shut Lily in the bathroom and put her in the bathtub. As you might imagine, this part didn't go quite as well (refer to above photo). They shampooed Lily with Pantene (yes, I know we should be using cat shampoo, but that's all we had on hand), rinsed her off, and toweled her dry. I believe Daughter and BF were actually wetter than Lily by the time they finished.

Once out of the bathroom, Lily set to work on styling her own hair. She does a pretty good job with this part. We all agreed that she looks slimmer when wet.

Still to come are a few more thorough brushings and an ear cleaning, then Lily will be ready to go! Since kitties are judged on grooming, health, and behavior, and we all know how she'll rate in behavior, we hope to score brownie points for Lily's attractive appearance and pleasant, just-shampooed scent.

Anything to distract the judges.

Card for a friend

A friend of mine was in Texas recently and brought back some chipboard owls for me. It was so sweet of her to think of me! This is a little owl note I made to say thank you.

Font: Coaster; stamp: Sassafras Lass; felt flower and ribbon: American Crafts; cardstock: Bazzill; other: brads, button, ink

Chipboard flower mirror

The store where I teach hosts an annual holiday open house with lots of samples of projects that customers can make as gifts. This week, I've been pulling materials and planning out a few projects to make for display. As you can imagine, this is a very fun job! :-)

This mirror/frame is the first project I've finished so far. I am envisioning it as an accessory for a girl's room. Of course, you could use any color scheme you'd like to match the decor.

When I started this project, I didn't know if it was going to be a frame for a photo or for a mirror, because I wasn't sure I could find a mirror to fit the 5" square opening. Happily, I found one at Hobby Lobby which fit perfectly. The nice thing about the frame is that it allows a photo to be slipped in and out from the side, if you choose to use it as a picture frame instead.

For this project, I used a 12x12 BE frame and a set of Rusty Pickle chipboard flowers. I painted the chipboard pieces with acrylic paint and let them dry, using Doodlebug's glitter on the white flowers. Meanwhile, I cut and adhered the cardstock and paper background to fit over the frame. Finally, I layered the chipboard pieces around the opening, using foam dots under some for dimension. Once everything was in place, I used a brown pen and Stickles to add detail to some of the pieces.

This project wasn't difficult to complete, and I still have plenty of chipboard flowers left to use on another sample. Hmmm....what to make next? :-)

Feline Friday: TV Time with Lily

It seems that every time we start the DVD player, Lily comes running: She thinks it's time for Video Catnip. So last night, I started it up for her, placing a stool in front of the TV for optimum viewing.

But when I came back to the family room, this is what I found:

Yep, in true couch-potato fashion, Lily had moved to the recliner and was chillin' to the sights and sounds of perky birds and squirrels.

Yum! Those birds look pretty tasty!

Soon, a little grooming was in order...

...followed by the splits. Not really a ladylike position. But who cares about being a lady when you're in a recliner?

Pass the popcorn, Mom!

Recipe: Campfire Scramble

Here's a great recipe for a cool fall evening, or even a cool fall morning, for that matter. This recipe originally came from Midwest Living magazine. I have the recipe somewhere, but I never follow it anyway, so I'm going to share it the way I usually make it. Campfire Scramble is one of those recipes that you can add most anything to and it will still taste good. Plus, it has a fun name.

My food photography leaves a lot to be desired, but you'll get the idea of what it looks like when it's almost done cooking:



And here it is "plated up", as they say on The Food Network. (This is NOT The Food Network, by the way. Just in case you were wondering.)

Campfire Scramble

a big skillet with a lid
3/4 package of frozen hashbrown potatoes (I use the bagged mix with green and red peppers)
Cooking oil
Eggs (1-2 per person)
1/2 cup (or so) milk
Shredded cheese -- mozzarella or cheddar
Deli ham or turkey -- as much as you'd like, approximately 3/4 cup
Salt and pepper to taste
Parsley for garnish

• In a large skillet, brown the hashbrowns in oil. This takes 10-15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, mix the eggs and milk with a whisk. Add salt and pepper. Add more milk if needed. (This should be the consistency of scrambled eggs. Actually, it IS scrambled eggs.)
• Chop up the ham or turkey and throw it into the milk/egg mixture. Stir it up.
• When the hashbrowns are cooked, pour the milk/egg mixture right over the top of them in the skillet. It will look completely disgusting, but not to worry!
• The eggs will start to cook around the edges. Let the mixture cook and if you are brave, you can attempt to turn it as it sets. (You can sort of cut the mixture into smaller chunks for easier turning.) It looks messy at this point...hence the name "Scramble".
• When the eggs are cooked, sprinkle the mixture with shredded cheese and parsley. Cover pan and let melt. Do not forget it on the stove! :-)
• Serve with sausages. Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheat well in the microwave. YUM!

Wordless (or Watch Out!) Wednesday

Over our heads?

So last week, the registrar for the upcoming cat show called. I sort of expected it.

Cat Lady: Hello, this is “Mildred” from the cat show. We have a few questions about your registration. What is your cat’s name?

Me: It’s Lily. I’m sorry, I didn’t see a spot to write her name. (Actually, I was GLAD I didn't have to write her name. If anybody happened to recognize it, she'd surely be rejected!)

Cat Lady: Well, you’re supposed to list her name with her ACFA number.

Me: Ummm....she doesn’t have an ACFA number.

Cat Lady: That’s fine for this show. If you enter another show, you’ll need to register her with the American Cat Fanciers Association. Also, about her color....

Me: Yes?

Cat Lady: There is no such thing as a gray tabby.

Me: Excuse me?

Cat Lady: It doesn't exist. Gray coats are referred to as blue.

Me: Oh. Well, she’s blue with a little bit of tan and white, then. And some stripes.

Cat Lady: I see. (Lengthy pause...) Well, the judges will have to take a look at her and determine exactly what she is.

Me: Oh, good. (Pause, gulp...) You know, I hope we haven’t gotten ourselves in over our heads with this show.

Cat Lady: Oh, we have many household pets entered. It’s our largest category. What is your concern?

Me: Well, I’m a little worried about her behavior. (I tried to suppress my vivid mental image of Lily lunging at the State Fair Judge #3)

Cat Lady: Oh, I have had problems from time to time with some of my purebred Burmese males. At breeding time, they don’t like to be handled.

Me: We will do our best but I just do not know how she will perform. (This was a bold-faced lie! I am pretty darn sure of how she'll perform, and it's likely to be BAD!)

Cat Lady: (Pause, shuffling of papers...) Ma'am, since this is your first show, I’m going to give you a double-wide cage. Normally that would cost extra, but I’m going to give it to you free. And I'm putting Lily at the end of the row.

Me: Thank you. That’s very kind. We'll see you at the show.

Lily, what have we gotten ourselves into?

Lighten up -- no pun intended!

I'm making some progress (albeit slow) with clearing out some things around here. I'm a firm believer in keeping stuff out of the landfill: I will not toss something usable, even if it is ugly or out of style! To that end, I've listed a few things on FreeCycle and had great success finding new homes for everything.

You may recall that we recently replaced our light fixtures. For a long time now, I've been tripping over boxes of chandeliers and globes. They did not sell at my garage sale back in May, nor will consignment stores take them. Before listing them on FreeCycle, I posted a message on Two Peas asking for additional suggestions, and someone suggested donating them to Habitat for Humanity's ReStore.

Duh! I've driven past that store a few times but didn't even think of it. This place accepts donations of household/building materials of all kinds, including out-of-style brass light fixtures! And it's tax deductible. Anyone can donate or shop there, and the profits benefit Habitat for Humanity.

So I dropped off my light fixtures, picked up my receipt, and took a look inside the store. Wow! Sinks, carpet, tile, wood flooring, cabinetry...they have just about everything you need for home improvement. If you have a store in your area, check it out -- for donating or for shopping. It's definitely a win-win kind of place!

Getting to Know Your Friends

Playing along with my blogging friend, Sarah C, in this 2008 Edition of Getting to Know Your Friends...

Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your Friends. Copy and paste this in a new blog post, then change all the answers so they apply to you! Leave a comment for me if you do this!

The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:30am

2. Diamonds or pearls? neither

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Baby Mama, maybe?

4. What is your favorite TV show? don’t have one, but I like a few programs on HGTV

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? varies – sometimes Kashi cereal, sometimes oatmeal, sometimes an English muffin, sometimes nothing, but ALWAYS coffee with crème brulee creamer

6. What is your middle name? Le

7. What food do you dislike? cheddar cheese! (sorry, Wisconsin friends!)

8. What is your favorite CD at moment? not new, but I love ColdPlay’s Rush of Blood to the Head

9. What kind of car do you drive? Honda CR-V

10.Favorite sandwich? none in particular

11.What characteristic do you despise? unreliability

12.Favorite item of clothing? my Born sandals

13.If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? so many places...back to Paris, for sure

14.Favorite brand of clothing? I’m not brand sensitive!

15.Where would you retire to? coastal northwest, if I’m lucky

16.What was your most recent memorable birthday? The year we were in DisneyWorld on my birthday was great. My bd is in December, and it’s always cold here, so it was fun to be someplace warm on that day!

17.Favorite sport to watch? marching band and show choir! :-)

18.Farthermost place you are sending this? n/a, since this is a blog post!

19.Person you expect to send it back first? n/a, since this is a blog post, but I hope some blogging friends will play along!

20.When is your birthday? December 9

21.Are you a morning person or a night person? Night

22.What is your shoe size? 9

23.Pets? Two cats – Tinsel (7) and Lily (2)

24.Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? umm...I made a couple of beaded bracelets this week!

25.What did you want to be when you were little? a teacher or an artist

26.How are you today? not too bad

27.What is your favorite candy? dark chocolate or caramel

28.What is your favorite flower? lilacs

29.What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? none right now

30.What are you listening to right now? crickets chirping outside

31.What was the last thing you ate? a soft-shell taco

32.Do you wish on stars? sometimes, yes

33.If you were a crayon, what color would you be? purple, my favorite color

34.How is the weather right now? cool

35.The first person you spoke to on the phone today? my dad

36.Favorite soft drink? Diet Coke

37.Favorite restaurant? No real favorite, but I really like the Flying Mango, a local Cajun place.

38.Real hair color? auburn

39.What was your favorite toy as a child? my Barbies – and I still have them all, of course!

40.Summer or winter? fall

41.Hugs or kisses? hugs

42.Chocolate or Vanilla? chocolate

43.Coffee or tea? both, but only hot tea

44.Do you want your friends to email you back? Please post on your blogs!

45.When was the last time you cried? about an hour ago

46.What is under your bed? rolled up posters, some empty boxes, lots of dust!

47.What did you do last night? went out for a quick dinner

48.What are you afraid of? serious illness

49.Salty or sweet? Both

50.How many keys on your key ring? I have no idea!

51.How many years at your current job? 7 years teaching scrapbooking classes

52.Favorite day of the week? Depends on the week, but usually Friday

53.How many towns have you lived in? 7 maybe?

54.Do you make friends easily? Yes

Feline Friday

cool days...
warm towels...
burrowing kitties...

fall is in the air!

It's official...

...I have mailed in Lily's entry form for another cat show -- this time a REAL cat show!

And the truth is, I'm filled with a peculiar combination of excitement and dread. In considering this opportunity, I made a list of the pro's and con's (Daughter says I'm the only person she knows who actually makes such lists):

Pro:
1. Lily is such a pretty kitty! She's in great health and her coat is beautiful!
2. Lily has a pleasing purrr-sonality (at home)! She is so purrr-sonable and loving (at home)!
3. We have a colorful cage cover ready to go!
4. We have a small litter pan and a fan for her cage!
5. We have a rabies certificate all printed and ready to go!
6. We have a pocket first-aid kit!
7. Lily has experience -- she has been in two cat shows at the state fair, receiving 10th (ahem...last) place once! (Click here, if you missed it the first time.)
8. There could be fabulous prizes! ;-)
9. The judges at the last show encouraged Lily to enter! They must think that she has potential (or they're desperate for entries)!
10. We had a coupon for a discounted entry fee!

Con:
1. Lily turned into a hissing, biting, nasty lump of gray fur at her previous shows!
2. Lily could not be handled by the judges!
3. Lily lunged at the judges and tried to bite one of them!
4. There is no contest for "Best Decorated Cage" at this cat show!
5. This cat show will be an all-day affair, not just two hours like the other shows she has attended!
6. Since this is a REAL cat show with "professional" cats, Lily could actually get kicked out for bad behavior!
7. Lily is just a tiny bit plump!
8. Daughter will not be attending, so I will be on my own!
9. There will be other cats at this show!

See how there are more pro's than con's? :-) The choice was clear!

So now our Lily is in full training (read: weight loss) mode for the show, coming up on October 5.

Watch for updates and wish her luck!