Happy Hallo-weenie

He, he, he.

My staff had a Hallo-weenie party today.

You guessed it.
It was a pot luck that featured hot dogs as the main dish.

Have a Halloween LO I'd love to share.
But, Blogger is being RIDICULOUS and won't let me upload.
You can check it out here:
Boo!

Girlie of the Month!

Okay. I know it's not National Barb Month or anything, but I'm a Girlie of the Month at Scrap-tastic and am pretty darn excited about it.

Check out my creations for the Design Team here.

So excited I'm hosting some challenges with RAKs involved!

I'll post one challenge each Wednesday in November.

BOM Challenge # 1: Pencil it In!
Scrap your calendar.
Do it by day, by week, by month, by year. Your choice.


Here's how to play along:
Post your LO in the gallery at Scrap-Tastic.
Link it to the thread in the Forum.
Do it by Tuesday 11/7 at midnight.
Get your name in a drawing for a RAK.

Watch for the next challenge Wednesday 11/8.

Where do I even start?!?

I've been MIA for awhile. Lovin' teachers' convention--it's a great little vacation that I used to visit the Fam.

Here are the highlights. No photos--sorry.

• Dixie Land band at Organ Piper. Where (besides Wisconsin) can one eat pizza, drink beer, and watch a Dixie Land band comprised of men over 60 accompanied by a giant pipe organ? One really needs to see it to believe it!
• Shopping. Holy man was there shopping. Lots of Origins, a teapot and yummy new tea, a great new outfit.
• Scrapping. Got my scrap on with the fabulous Becky (of the awesome Scrap-tastic) on Friday and scrapped the weekend away, too.
• Jelly Belly. These folks have a warehouse near my aunt and uncle's house that we toured. Did you know it takes 7 - 10 days to make a single jelly bean?! The only bummer--we got candy corn rather than jelly beans at the end of the tour.

Brad and Memphis are on a big hunting trip; I've been home alone (a phrase that will forever make me think of Macauley Caulkin) for two nights. Both nights I made dinner and took it on the road. Last night I made chicken and rice for Nicky and Natalie. Tonight I made tuna casserole for Angie. Have food. Will travel.

One last tidbit for tonight. . .

Wednesday starts my reign as a Girlie of the Month at Scrap-tastic. I have a fun series of challenges planned. I'll post one challenge each Wednesday. Please! Play along!

Okay. I lied. All those political ads are a bad influence.

One more tidbit for tonight . . .

The only Halloween costume I've never worn was the princess. Can you even believe that? I've never dressed up as a princess! That might need to change.

Musical Dingbat

I am terrible at knowing who sings a song or the title of a song.
I'm terrible with musical trivia, in general.
I'm terrible at finding new music I want to listen to.

But, I would like some fun new tracks for my iPod. S
She loves living in her little pink case, but her life is just getting too monotonous lately.

Suggestions?

Confession of a Domestic Diva

Okay.

I hate to clean. I hate laundry. I hate paying bills.
I own an apron but never wear it.
I don't even subscribe to Martha Stewart Living.

The one domestic responsiblity I love--cooking!

Tonight's meal was compliments of Giada (a la Food Network)
Shrimp Fra Diavolo (spicy shrimp with chunky tomato sauce)
Ziti with Asparagus, Mozzarella, and Prosciutto

And--if I do say so myself--it was positively yummy! I would have paid money for it (or at least paid money to have someone to clean up the enormous mess I made while cooking the fabulous meal).

Brad had a super bad day at work and forced me to help him drink a bottle of wine.
DAMN that Brad!

Off to watch the Dallas Cheerleader Reality Show.

"It's all a big farce!"

So, as much as I hate it, Sunday usually ends up being our day for chores.

Grocery store
Dishes (Haven't done them since last weekend. YUCK!)
Raking (Blowing actually because Brad bought a fancy blower.
Vacuuming
Laundry

As I'm sorting the clothes this morning Brad just throws all his dirty clothes (he, like a toddler, seems to wear about three outfits a day!) into one basket--the basket with all my whites that have to be line-dryed.

I asked him to kindly remove his red t-shirt from the basket containing my ivory cords and sort his clothes. His reply?

"It's all a big farce!"

He went on to explain that he's never sorted his laundry and, in fact, does not believe in the sorting step of laundry-doing.

WHAT? Dudes just have it all wrong sometimes.

Anyway. As soon as I finish the dishes, I'm off to do some fall baking--oatmeal raisin cookies and apple crisp.

Then, I will work on my November project for Scrap-tastic. I'm one of the Girlies of the Month for November. Hooray!

Things I've Been

Which of the following did I never dress up as for Halloween?

Cheerleader
Giant Green Dinosaur
Gumball Machine
Playing Card
Princess
Prisoner
Witch

I've not the biggest Halloween fan. Honestly? It just seems like too much effort to get all dressed up. Not sure what I'll do this year.

Any brilliant costume plans?

I'll never be . . .

a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.
Watched four episodes of that reality show last night on CMT. Those girls have some serious issues!

someone who loves to work out (or a skinny girl).
I can drag my big butt there with the best of them, but I can't even pretend I enjoy it. After two straight weeks of making it four times a week, I totally fell off the wagon. I haven't gone at all this week, and tonight I polished off half a large pizza.

someone who takes friendship lightly.
Sorry. Once you've got me as a friend--you're stuck with me. I'm definitely one of those people who has just a few very close friends rather than a lot of acquaintances. Also means I don't take it real lightly when friends take our friendship lightly.

mellow.
I'm a brooder. I can't just let it go. Whether it's something at work that's wrong, but completely beyond my control or something someone said to me or something that happened in my life that I have no control over, I just can't let it go. A major personality fault.

a mini-van driver.
Even if, due to some freak birth control incident, I end up being a crazed soccer mom, I will never, ever drive a mini-van. Nope. I'm much more of an SUV girl.

a contestant on the Family Feud.
I love game shows and used to love Family Feud--when Richard Dawson hosted it and kissed everyone. Now Al (from Home Improvement) hosts the show. He's a big improvement Louie (the large man who used to host it). But, the show just isn't what it used to be. Plus, there are very few members of my family that I would trust enough to take on Family Feud with me.

Hmmmmm. . . .

Found myself wondering today what kind of a sickness I could get that would require me to sit on the couch for several days and not talk to anyone or do anything. I, of course, wouldn't want to be in serious pain or actually feel sick at all. Hmmmmmm. Could someone arrange that for me?

I am not Ms. Scrap-tastic. But, this fabulous scrapper is. I have to admit--I'm a little bummed. Maybe not so much that I didn't win, but that the contest is over. It was lots of fun and the suspense at the end was intense. Hmmmmm. What should my next scrappy project be?

Brad proposed today that he would make the entire mortgage payment each and every month if I was willing to do all the cooking and cleaning. Hmmmmm. Is that a fair trade?

Was talking about blogging today and someone said, "I can't believe people actually write about the details of their life and expect that someone else wants to read about it." Hmmmm. Do I babble too much about minute details?

Pink, Pink, Pink

This weekend was a big weekend for pink purchases.

I got a fun new pink phone.
My old phone stopped charging and hardly ever got reception.
It was time.

I got fun new pink rubber gloves.
I lied to myself and told me that these gloves would make me want to do dishes.
Um, yeah.
I haven't done dishes since I bought them.

Must go now.
Brad has seized control of the remote control and will, inevitably, force me to watch baseball, football, or racing. Or worse yet--a show dedicated to talking about baseball, football, or racing.

Done!

I just finished my last LO for the Ms. Scrap-tastic contest. No one else has posted theirs to Scrap-tastic, and I don't want to be the first one. But, I can't bear the thought of not sharing it at all. So, I'm sharing it here.


The task was to create an All About Me LO that features some kind of a technique and includes a list (of at least three things).

Photo credit to my Aunt Amy (thank god she carries her camera more places than I do!).

My technique was stolen from Elsie in a CK Tips and Techniques column. I painted shapes on PP and then cut around them.

Contest ends on 10/13. Can't wait to see what the other Girlies come up with. Super cool stuff so far!

Things I Love Today

1. Fall.
Sweaters. Quilt at night. Crunchy leaves on the sidewalk. Fall food.
2. My job.
It's so hard to remember that I'm working toward something part of a bigger vision and that it's my job to help others see that vision. But, I think I'm making progress. Baby steps.
3. My parents.
My crazy dad called on Friday morning to get my thoughts about teachers carrying guns to school. He knew this was just the kind of thing that would get me all worked up on a Friday morning. My mom called with a follow-up phone call (same topic) on Friday afternoon. Plus, they're coming to visit next weekend.
4. Brad
Has been a total sweetie this week. He started getting up earlier, so I could sleep later and take the second shower. He bought me a cute little stand for displaying cupcakes! He grilled some killer steaks last night. He loves Grey's just as much as I do. Okay. So maybe not just as much as I do, but he does look forward to watching it.
5. Scrap-tastic
Never thought I'd be a Beauty Queen, but you heard it here first. I'm in the finals for the Ms. Scrap-tastic Beauty Pagent. There are six totally talented ladies left. I'm guessing we'll know the winner by the end of this week. We still have one more LO to post.
6. Grey's
Is it wrong that the first words out of my mouth when I woke up on Friday morning were, "Brad. Do you remember if Meredith had sex with Finn? Seriously. Did she have sex with Finn?!?" I totally got sucked in by the teaser for next week that mentioned a pregnancy scare.

What do you love today?

WWJBD?

What Would Jack Bauer Do? (beep, beep, beep)

If given:
1 role of plastic sheeting
5 blue hand towels
1 scissors
1 role of duct tape
What would Jack Bauer (action hero of the hit terrorist drama, 24)?

He'd secure a classroom in case of a chemical terrorist threat.
DUH!

So, today our janitors came through the building with an enormous Rubbermaid tubs filled with the above supplies. One for every room. And I mean every single room. My tiny office included.

I am not making this up.

Inside are specific directions about how to use the supplies in case of a chemical terrorist threat.

The maintenance staff will secure all incoming air supplies (to be sure no more chemicals enter the building), and we are to seal off our classroom using the provided supplies. Then, we sit in the room and hope that someone can help us before we run out of oxygen in the room.

I'm just disappointed there wasn't a giant, white, one-size-fits all biohazard suit included in the kit!

But, seriously. I can't believe that this is what modern life has come to. I think we need to be far more concerned about the recent surge of gun violence in schools. Seems a little more practical.

Grocery Store

I know I shouldn't sweat the small stuff, but grocery shopping today has me way stressed out!

First, this whole spinach crisis is beyond annoying. No bagged spinach. STILL. No fresh spinach not in a bag. STILL. Not even any frozen spinach. STILL. Really! How long does it need to take for the US (one of the world's super powers) to figure out what the problem is and fix it!?!?! I really want to eat some spinach without having to worry about getting e coli. Really, spinach is one of the few healthy things I really love to eat.

Next, the meat department. They had no ground turkey. They had none of the chicken that is on sale. DUH! These are both things people need. Get enough to stock your shelves.

Third, Copps stopped carrying Canola Harvest. It was time to get a new tub, as the old one is invested with crumbs and running low. No Canola Harvest to be found! Had to get Brummle and Brown instead. I'm a little leary of the fact that it's made with yogurt.

And, the Lean Cuisines were all on sale. Except for the one I bought! Full price. Normally, I would have waited in line at the service counter to return or get a price adjustment, but a little family of goth followers were buying like 10 gallons of milk and checking out at the service counter.

Finally, two White Helmets almost crashed their Lexus and Cadillacs in to each other in the parking lot. I was busy waving my arms around trying to get the bees (which seem to have infested their parking lot) away from my purse, groceries, and self when I heard the horns blaring.

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! The stress of grocery shopping.