Twi-HaRd AlErT

so it's not something I created, but OH WOW... what a creation it is!! I became a "twi-hard" last year when my daughter wanted to watch Twilight. Since it's a pg13 movie, I had to watch it first to make sure it wasn't too inappropriate for her. I was hooked in the first 5 mins!!

Yes, she got to watch it, and I imediately bought the New Moon book...

and YES, we stood in line for 2 hours for the opening of the New Moon movie... THEN, all I asked for Christmas was the Eclipse & Breaking Dawn books (and YES, I got them!!!) I even bought the "novella", The Short 2nd Life of Bree Tanner (a very interesting & insightful read)

Soooo... we FINALLY saw Eclipse

and OH WOW... I was totally blown away... LOVED it & now can't wait for the dvd to be released... and waiting ever so impatiently for the 1st segment of Breaking Dawn.

I think we'll go see Eclipse again this weekend. WELL WORTH the time spent in line, the cost of the movie & the higher cost of the consessions!!!! hmmmm... I wonder if they will make a film about Bree's short, 2nd life????!!!!

patriotic kitties

kidding. they have no clue what's coming... all the loud bangs & pops will have them cowering under bushes and inside the openings of bricks, I'm sure!

The kittens are finally 4 weeks old & getting very exciting & so much fun! We love to just sit & watch them pounce on each other & nip ears... and the poor one long tail, she gets picked on a LOT!!

We did lose a kitten a couple weeks ago ~ she developed some kind of infection on her tail... but we still have 4 adorable little ones!! Enjoy the pics & have a Happy & Safe 4th!!

*Just a Peek

Since I haven't done anything crafty or creative lately, I thought I would share some pictures I've taken!
I love... NO... I'm absolutely enthralled... by old historic towns. My preference would be an old New England coastal town... or places like Williamsburg or Gettysburg. Places that just ooze with history. And I LOVE the old brick buildings, especially if they are covered in ivy!!

Photography is one of my creative passions & a wonderful outlet! I always have my camera in tow & tend to take shots of "interesting" things, well, at least I think they're interesting!! Most times, my daughter will ask "WHY DID YOU take 10 pictures of clouds???" or "OMG, MOM... you just took 25 pictures of that flower..."

The set of pictures I'm sharing today are from a local historic river town. Of course, it's a tourist trap, but the old cobblestone roads & sidewalks... the old buildings... the ivy... the street performers ~ this town is AWESOME!!!
Enjoy
**peej**

Kittens!!!!!

Ahhh, the kittens are soooo sweet & cute & just outright adorable! I've never been a cat person, and really only have them because we live in the country & cats tend to be good mousers... but these 5 little kitties just might make me change my mind!!!

Crazy Busy

I know, I know... it's been awhile! Really, when I say "crazy busy", I mean it! So much going on, besides work... home life has been a whirlwind!!

May just flew by, what with chaperoning the class field trip; the awards dinner for my daughter (who won a school district wide writing contest... and she's NINE!!); trying to get my garden to come to life; searching high & low for the perfect "pool book"; flea markets & yard sales...

then, there's a small matter of the stray cat that showed up at my door... then "mysteriously" became pregnant & has adopted US... I'm quite possitive the culprit in this little mystery is my outdoor tom cat... at any rate, we now seem to have 2 outdoor cats & a few kittens! The kittens were born Tues, June 1st & she has them hidden pretty well, so I'm still not sure how many extra mouths we will be feeding in a couple months. *Deep Sigh**

Planning summer has also become quite a chore. Juggling all the activities my daughter has talked me into... and then clearing everything with my ex mom-in-law, who still "babysits" for me... there's tennis camp, girl scout camp, swim lessons, exercise classes, six flags, the local water park, horse back riding lessons... OH... and a trip to Tennessee AND another trip to Mississippi... whew... I'm getting tired just thinking of it all... I'm just thankful for a full time job right now, because #1) she's costing me a ton of money this summer and #2) there's a LOT of running her around from here to there. All summer long.

My saving grace is now that the pool is open, we will continue our summer ritual of every weekend at the pool! From open to close! And she's at the perfect age to let me relax & read my pool book while she splashes away in the water all day!! =D

I'm not sure how often I'll make it on here, and doubtful that I'll do anything creative or crafty for the next couple of months... I hope you all enjoy the summer as much as I will!

Love This Picture!! :D

For the Love of Cupcakes and Aging

Today is my birthday... yay. I'm officially heading down the hill, of course, I've been on a downward spiral on this hill for several years now!! lol ~ I don't expect much in the celebration department... a cake at work (German Chocolate) and a gift or two... extra hugs from my daughter... and you know, that's enough!! I dont' want too much attention... infact, I've decided this year, to go backwards ~ I don't look my age, I don't act my age... so I'm changing my age!!!! Today, I think, my gift to myself... I will be 37... no... 36! Maybe 35... Happy Birthday to me, and a pretty cupcake for you...

It's Been Awhile

Oh the woes of being a single mom. So much has been going on these past few weeks, too much to discuss here... in one sitting, at any rate!
The worst part of this new single life is yardwork. UGH. I spent the whole weekend outside, wasting beautiful spring weather on yardwork. Did I mention I live on an acre?! My lawn mower wouldn't start... and the weeds are HORRIBLE... after pulling a billion weeds by HAND & dragging a ton of brush to the side of the road (hopefully the trash guys will pick it up...) I finally invested in a weed eater! Of course, I can't weed eat the entire yard, but I got a few key places... like the walkway to the house & around the edge of the gazebo and the hillside...
My neighbors took pity on me & promised to mow for me this week!! God Bless them...

During a break in the work, and looking around my vast barron wasteland...

I've decided to try planting flowers. A LOT of flowers. Wildflowers. I hear they take little care and don't mind sunny, dry areas!!
I've never been a green thumb & everytime I've tried to plant flowers, they never grow. I claim it's the clay soil... or the mole that has destroyed most of my yard... but I know it's ME!!
This time, I bought that Roll 'N Grow stuff... it's supposed to be idiot proof. We'll see... in about 8-10 weeks...
I also bought some containers & easy growing seeds (or so the packages say)... and some viney stuff... vines grow really well, right??!!
Hopefully by the end of summer I will have some pretty flowery pictures to share... wish me luck!
xoxo Peej

Éirinn go brách

My 2nd fave holiday!!!

Spreading Joy Around the World

Last night I was going through my ATCs & decided it was time to part with a few. I spent 2 painstaking hours sifting through them all (with the exception of my Paris ones) and finally found the perfect ones to share with my friends. I placed them in my handmade envelopes, found some pretty notecards & began addressing, all the while imagining my friends' faces as they opened such a sweet & unexpected gift! Thinking of the joy that this little gesture would bring them is heartwarming! And it's enough. NO thanks are necessary, although, I'm sure my phone will be ringing off the wall in a few short days... of course it will take a bit longer to hear from Nikee, in Hawaii and even longer for Liz, in Australia ~ it will definitely be wonderful & worth it to hear my friends' voices!! Happy Spring!! xoxo

Step 1~ check; Step 2~ 1/2 check...

There are 4 easy steps to any project.
Step 1~ planning. I'm REALLY good at planning. I can plan for days... sometimes months, even!! lol
My kitchen project is planned...that was the easy part! Just had to stand in the middle & jot down everything I don't like & everything I wanted to change... which was pretty much everything! lol

Step 2 ~ buying materials. I'm on a limited budget for this project, so I can only get a little at a time. I now have brushes, gloves & painters tape. I think I'll start with the floor, it's going to be the easiest & cheapest... all I need now is the paint & glaze.

Now comes the 2 hardest parts. Steps 3 & 4... preparing the surface & actually PAINTING the floor. These steps take TIME, which I have very little of...
I will have to "lightly" sand each peice of flooring that I will be painting... uhm... down on my hands & knees after a long day of work is not exactly sounding pleasing, but I will have to do a little each night or this will never get done. And then a light dry mopping to remove dust... and then, oh joy: back to my hands & knees to tape off each sqaure to be painted...

Then, comes the fun part... on my hands & knees painting an entire floor. Ok, NOT an entire floor... but 1/2 the squares on the entire floor. I'm making my daughter help with this part!!! lol

But, I'm almost there. Over the weekend I'll get the paint & Monday night, we will begin preparing the floor. That will take a couple hours each night after work but we should be finished by next weekend. Then we can move on to step 4... wow... I can see a new kitchen floor in my near future!!

{{**Welcome, Ellen**}}

I'm so glad you're here... procrastinating on crafts & projects... just like me!! lol

Just for you, I thought I would share a few more ATCs that I made when I had

some major creative juices flowing!! =D
hugs & loves xoxo

To Do Something or Not to Do Something... I Should DO Something

Spring is finally in the air! At least during the day... the nights are still cold & frosty. You know I've been itching to get started on some major projects, but I haven't had the time to do much more than just plan it all out.

I thought I would be able to start something this weekend ~ my daughter would be going to her first non-family sleepover & I should have been able to at least paint something...

BUT... my friend called me Friday to go on a girls night & see Alice in Wonderland. Ok. So. Johnny Depp?? FAVORITE ACTOR of ALL TIME... FAVE! Since 21 jumpstreet... I've seen every depp movie but 2 (Secret Window and Sweeney Todd)... own all depp movies but 2 (Sweeney Todd & Dillinger... yes, I OWN Secret Window, but it's still neatly wrapped in the plastic it came in... I just can't bring myself to watch it for reasons I may or may not discuss at a later time)... soooo, YES, I took a break... went to see Alice & WOW ~ LOVED It!!! I know the critics have not been kind, but really ~ what do they know???!!!

I digress... Saturday I should have been able to do something. But instead, I went to work for a few hours (overtime is extremely important at the moment) and then came home and... took a nap! I haven't napped in months & it felt great!! I slept 2 hours... got up in just enough time to get my daughter from the sleepover & have a quick dinner at Dairy Queen (bad unhealthy mamma)... and took her... to see... Alice!!!!! lol (yes, I think it's THAT good)

So, here we are. It's Sunday morning... we just had breakfast & now she's watching cartoons, waiting for her dad to call & get her for the day. So... what am I going to do???? hmmmm... I have endless possibilities... I COULD go see Alice again, but really, that would defeat my purpose for needing the overtime money... lol... so I think I will start a project ~ but which one??!! At any rate, I WILL DO SOMETHING!!

{{ Musings of a Jumbled Mind }}

ARRRRGGGHHHH. What to think about FIRST??!! So much going on, so many things to think about. I often find myself, mid-thought, stopping to think of something else... then stopping THAT thought & trying to remember what I was thinking about first. **deep sigh**

Right now, with spring on the way & feeling a deep urge to start my redecorating projectS & wanting to create more ATCs & the hockey play-offs on the way & St Pat's Day (my 2nd fave holiday) & the New Moon dvd soon to hit the stores & Paris (always Paris) & my daughter & work & pets & this & that...

There really isn't enough time in the day for each direction my mind wants to take. I can imagine what the brain waves in my head look like right now... like a traffic jam??!! a train wreck, perhaps??!! Even my dreams have taken the same route ~ jumping from one scene to the next, without any rhyme or reason ~ I wake each morning feeling exhausted from the many adventures I "took" during the night.

What I need is ORGANIZATION. HA HA. Don't think I haven't tried THAT! It goes pretty much the SAME way my mind does. Organization only works if I can keep my thoughts straight...

Meditation, maybe??!! Yeah... right... been there, tried that... doesn't work for me either... LOL

SOOOOOO... the best I can do is write it all down in my trusty & somewhat abused notebook... you should see it... page after page of STUFF. Thoughts, pictures, reminders, lists, ideas... oddly enough, it seems to resemble the traffic jam in my head!!

It's Almost Time for Painting

The weather is warming up & I'm itching to start painting! I went to the store to price paint & pick out my paint chips! I have a really sweet light aqua, called "water dance" for the living room with accents in an even lighter shade, called "seacrest spray"; How perfect for that beach cottage I'm trying to achieve??!!

For the foyer, I've picked out a really light green shade called "sweet pea", which will also go nicely with my Paris "shrine" (see earlier post)!

My kitchen/dining will be a bit more challenging, as I've decided to paint my counter tops (I found wonderful directions online) and all the cabinets. They are going to be in 2 different shades of off white; one is called "vanilla creme" and the other is "cashmere white"! So beautiful! I'm still not sure about the walls in that room, but I will probably go with the "sweet pea" green... I already have a shabby chic theme in there, complete with Rachel Ashwell's shabby chic linens & tablecloth, so I think the green will give it just the right touch!

BUT, also in the foyer & kitchen/dining... I decided to paint my linoleum floor... yep!! Just squares of black, to make it checkerboard... and yes, found those directions online too!! ;)

I can't wait, now I just have to decide which project to start first!!!!

Well, Well, Well

I was sadly mistaken thinking that I could actually be creative during Olympic hockey!! The hockey games have taken precedence over pretty much everything, even getting my daughter to bed in a proper way last night... how dare she think that I would miss any of the action in the Canada/Slovakia game???!!! The nerve of some kids!! lol I'm pretty sure, that with my other weekend chores & errands and hockey games, that I won't be making anything this weekend!



However, given the outcome of last night's game, it's appropriate to share THIS project. I made these wall plaques several years ago; my dad is an avid wood-worker so he cut the shapes out & I painted & distressed them. I've always been a big fan of hockey (since the 1984 Olympics) and have a special place in my heart for my Northern neighbor! It's sad to say that I will have a hard time being a true patriotic American tomorrow... I will be happy with the winner, regardless. Go USA. Go Canada!! lol

{{ Fairies & Angels }}

It seems like light years ago when my daughter was constantly inviting the *Tooth Fairy* over for visits. A plain envelope or plastic baggie just didn't seem appropriate for so much company, so I got to work on the box pictured below. Unfortunately, all my hard work was wasted on a whiny little girl who didn't appreciate the gesture. **heavy sigh**
So, back to the drawing board... a simple little envelope for her precious little teeth! Through the years, the box has disappeared (no doubt in her collection of stolen goods) but the envelope is still being put to use ~ she should be losing her molars soon!
I was commissioned to make the 2 boys boxes for co-workers & they are also still being used! I think with more appreciation than my sweet child shows!! =D

As for the Angel book ~ a few years ago, my daughter was having problems sleeping. Somewhere she had heard that angels were ghosts & she was afraid they were going to get her in the night. I found this Guardian Angel poem on the internet & made this book out of it. This gift was very much appreciated by my lovely girl, and we still read it nightly before prayers! I've had to re-glue some of the images, but other than that, it's held up quite well over the years!

My Angel Paperbag Book

My Tooth Fairy Boxes

It's Been a LOOOONGGG DAy

Yes, a long day, but I will still go home & make some ATCs while watching the Canada/Russia hockey game on the Olympics tonight!

I had an idea, and I'm going to play around with it tonight. I follow so many awesome blogs that offer free images & backgrounds, so tonight I'm going to create some cards from the images of one blog. When I'm finished & ready to share my little works of art, I will share them here while highlighting that blog at the same time! Next week (or whenever) I will do the same with a different blog site! This could go on forever, with as many sites as I follow!! =D

*A Few More of My ATCs*

Is It Spring Yet??

Every Jan/Feb I say the exact same thing... I'm sooooo tired of winter. This winter seems worse: more cold, more snow, more dreary gray days than usual.

I'm getting geared up for spring and have great hopes of finishing my living room this year... I started this last year, changing the color scheme & decor to a shabby beach cottage! Last spring I changed the curtains out for a "breezier" looking style and added a few cheap accents in greens, blues & browns... light aqua being the main color inspiration.

In a few short weeks, I will be painting the walls & shabbying up all the wood furniture with white! I have a dream... a goal... I want an inviting & soothing place to relax after a long day of work. A place where I can feel as if I'm in Cape Cod ~ which is where I truly want to live! I think most people dream of retiring to a warm climate ~ but me, I'm going to retire on the Cape!! I even already have a town in mind... =D

Yay! I'm Being Followed!

I guess normally, that wouldn't be a good thing... but in this case, it's way cool!! Welcome to my very first follower: Carmelina (http://creativecarmelina.blogspot.com/)... so glad you decided that I seem interesting enough to keep tabs on!

I checked your blog out as well, LOVE the paintings & sketches. I can't do either, to save my life! I noticed we have a lot of similar interests... including... dogs!!

I love your Rat!! I have a Rat, too... and a Jack Russell. They are pictured below! I've had my Rat, Gunner, for 6 years... infact, it will be exactly 6 years this Wednesday! I got him when he was 5 weeks old & he's my baby boy!!

My Jack Russell, Chloe, came along a little over a year later ~ she was 3 months old when I got her! She & Gunner are, of course, the best of friends & worst of enemies... depending on the day, the hour, the minute... and if Gunner tries to steal Chloe's bone! lol

For the Love of Paris

j'taime Paris. Always have! Since my high school French class and upon meeting the French foreign exchange student that stayed with my friend, Beth, for a year! Number 1 on my "bucket list", Paris is the one place I must see before I "kick it". My niece, who is studying to be a criminal law doctor, tells me her first big paycheck is funding our trip... even my daughter tells me she will take me when she's rich & famous!!! For now, I have to just stick with the dream ~ well, and the shrine in my foyer!! lol I'm constantly searching for new pieces for the display, with money tight, I have to get creative. A lot of these little Eiffel Towers were gifts and eventually the bird houses will be replaced with Paris souvenirs!! My mom owns an antique / resale shop & I have her on the lookout for more trinkets!! I made the ATC display last weekend.