What I learned this week

First of all ....

Truth! 

Ok, I could list a LOT of things I learned this week {like .... don't let son park RIGHT in front of your car in the garage, lest he not be able to start his car} but I'm talking paper crafts here. Card making. Stamping. The thing I used to do a lot of but haven't in recent years. 

I had some free time on Monday & made a card. And I enjoyed it. I only was frustrated 8 or 9 times. I felt like I didn't know what I was doing. But I still enjoyed it. Actually, maybe it was the peace & quiet I enjoyed. Regardless, it was fun having time for myself again. 

So here's what I learned: 

1) Everyone was right. Once you are a paper crafter, you are a paper crafter for life. You may give it up for a few weeks or years, but you will always come back to it. I miss it. 

2) A paper crafter can sell 3/4 of her supplies & still have so much that she is overwhelmed trying to find that one "thing" she needs to finish her card.

3) A lot has changed in the last few years. New papers (did you see the gauze paper I used on my card?? Gauze paper!) .... new supplies .... new techniques. I now know nothing about stamping. 

4) I need a new cutter. I have a Tonic, which I love. At least, I loved it until I tried cutting a slab of cork with it. Don't do that. It's now just ok. And I have no idea where I bought it. Heck, they probably don't even make it anymore. But now there are SO MANY cutters out there, I don't know what's good & what's not. 

5) I also need a new Cuttlebug, or something similar. My handle broke. Like, a loooong time ago. When I used it on Monday, I wondered how I dealt with a broken handle for so long. But like the cutter, there are now sooooo many different embosser/ die cutter thingies out there, I have no idea what to buy. I do know it's time to give my Cuttlebug a proper funeral & burial. 

6) It's definitely time to browse the forums on SCS again. The only time I've been there the last few years was to upload my few cards to my gallery. I like to have them all in one place & I love the format of the SCS gallery. So easy to see all my creations at a glance. But the chat boards are awesome too. I learned everything I know knew there. Time to reintroduce myself.

7) Paper crafters are still my favorite people in the world. Well, besides my kids of course. My kids are my favorite people. Most days.

My son & I were discussing redoing the basement so that we each have our separate space. Not that I don't like being practically on top of him when I'm down there. But it would be nice to have my own corner. I took pictures of our basement the other day. Not only am I way too tired right now to load them onto my computer, but I am also a bit embarrassed by the state of affairs down there. It is BAD. The catch all for everything that doesn't have a permanent home. I do have a plan though, & with his help I hope to have it functional & pretty-ish in the next month or so. Paint .... a new futon (the 70's sofa bed has GOT to go) ... some storage .... because now is the time to do it, when it's zero degrees outside & we all just want to hibernate. 

Ok, well I have some searching on Pinterest to do .... hope you all have a great weekend! If you are in the midwest, stay warm!! 

Friday five

TGIF peeps! And bonus -- it is now fall!! Here are my 5 randoms for the week: 

1: In case you didn't hear me, it's fall!! My favorite season ... this says it all:

2: It's Homecoming week! The week where I also dress like a dork. The week that I am full of school spirit, even though it's been 30 years since I was in high school. The week I wear all the blue & gold clothing I own. This year will be the one & only year my son will be going to the dance. He's always involved in everything else .... parade, float, pep rally, bonfire .... but dances aren't his thing. Too bad so sad, this year he has been coerced into going & I can't wait to take pictures! 

3: My first year owning this: 

This is a Blueberry Smoothie Althea, & actually I think I planted it late last year. I thought it was a summer flowering plant, but I guess mine is a late bloomer. Ha!! Late bloomer!! See what I did there?? hahaaaa

4: Avengers movies. I love them all.

My boys & I usually see these movies in the theater, together. With the latest movie, Avengers: Age of Ultron, my older The latest movie however, my older son saw with his friends. Yes, I know ... he's a teenager & teenagers normally DO prefer going to movies with friends. Anyway, my husband just bought the dvd so the younger one & I are watching it this weekend. I can't wait! Did I mention I love these movies??? The fact that Robert Downey Jr is Iron Man does NOT hurt :)

5: I'm sorry, I know this is old news but I laughed out loud when I saw this one:

Hope you've all had a great week! We only have a few more days left with our German student & I am going to lose it when he leaves. I was so worried about him coming here, I wasn't sure how it was going to feel having a stranger in our house for two weeks. Now I can't imagine not having him here. Hopefully he had so much fun he'll want to come back for another visit :)

~ Linking up with ~

High Five for Friday

Five on Friday

Friday Blog Booster Party

Midlifeluv Linky Party

No Friday happiness today

Yes, it's Friday. No, I'm not celebrating with my usual happy Friday randoms.

Have you ever had those times when this happens, then that happens, then more of that happens .... & you could deal with each of these by themselves ... but when they all happen at once you just want to crawl into bed for the next few weeks?? That was my week this week. Don't worry, I won't go into specifics .... & I probably won't post again until things are better .... because this is supposed to be a HAPPY blog .... not a crabby patty blog. Let's just say it was a week of car repairs (x2), a sick kitty & some medical issues. A cruddy work week, too many bills, too much unfun stuff to do. 

So I am simply spending my weekend drinking coffee .... cuddling my very old kitty, who will probably not be around much longer .... finishing up Breaking Bad (does it count as binge watching if it's taken you 9 months to watch all 5 seasons?).... continuing to declutter & organize .... oh, & of course, laundry. Lots & lots of laundry. Always laundry.

I hope you've had a better week than I. Here's to a better one next week!

Friday randoms

Whoaaaa I'm slacking! But I couldn't let Friday get by without my weekly post (especially since most time it's the ONLY day I post LOL)

1: Just got home from a yummy fish fry with a good friend. My friends are the best therapy out there ....  the adult beverages that are consumed during our dinners help a little bit too.

2: When I am done posting this, I am GOING TO MY CRAFT TABLE TO FINISH THAT CARD THAT I STARTED 2 MONTHS AGO!!! Yes, I am yelling! It's the only way I'll listen!

3: Tuesday was registration for the boys. Can I just say I am really glad I have boys?? Adding an extra $50 to the back-to-school bill in order to pretty up a locker is not my idea of fun. But apparently all the girls do it. 

Yep. Wallpaper. Where the heck to they put their books? 

4: In exactly one month, our exchange student will be coming from Germany! He will stay with us for 2 weeks, then he goes to Chicago for a few days & New York for a few days. When my son is a senior, he will go to Germany & stay with this same student & his family. So excited for both kids to have this experience! 

5: This....

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Linking up with: 

High Five for Friday

Five on Friday

Friday Blog Booster Party

Midlifeluv Linky Party

Friday randoms

Hi everyone!! Happy Friday to all!! I'm posting this earlier than usual because I have off today!! #vacationdaysrock

Here are my 5 random happenings/ thoughts for the week:

1: It's my birthday today! Yes, that's part of why I took off. It was also my son's 13th birthday on Wednesday, so we are co-celebrating. The highlight?? Seeing the Minions movie with my boys today. Can't wait!

2: It was also this fluffball's birthday yesterday. Lots of birthdays this week! 

Elwood just turned 20 years old! Can you believe it?? He definitely got the good genes. 

3: I did a little shopping yesterday. Since I don't get presents I thought I'd get something for me, from me. I found something at Hobby Lobby. And Charming Charlie. Oh, & the thrift store. Aaaaaand Target. What can I say, I'm generous like that.

4: When I was at Hobby Lobby, I strolled through the paper craft aisle. I do that every time I'm there, even though I've only made one card in the past year & a half. I kind of feel obligated - I waited so many years for there to be a Hobby Lobby near my house! And now they're building another in the next town over! I miss crafting, & am really feeling the need to do something. Especially now that my boys are older & have their own lives. I did start a card about a month ago, maybe I'll finish that this weekend to get the creative juices flowing again.

5: It was a day of epiphanies, because when I was at the thrift store I also realized how much I miss selling on Ebay. I know Ebay isn't that great a place to sell anymore. Lucky for me there are many sites available know. I may even give Amazon a try. I'd love to fund our Disney trip next year solely with side gigs .... whether it be blogging, selling on Ebay/ Etsy/ Amazon, or selling through the online rummages on Facebook. I have so much crap nice stuff to sell, someone should really have the opportunity to buy some of it :)

Linking up with: 

High Five For Friday

Five on Friday

Friday Blog Booster party


Hope you have a super weekend! 

Friday randoms

Ok, it's Saturday & I'm late .... but that's because my computer/ internet/ router has been giving me fits. My son thinks it's the router & I do think he's right, because instead of 2 stories up in my room, I am now in the basement RIGHT NEXT to it & my computer is fine. Although, I still can't seem to get the pictures I wanted to post. Guess my phone pix will do.

Anyhoo, here are my randoms for the week:

1: Despite the computer issues, I've had a good week! Last week Saturday was especially fun. My older son & I trekked to Milwaukee {where it's been construction season for the last year} for Brady St Days (an east side festival) & German Fest. I enjoy both, but I don't think he loved either. The east side is too ... east side-ish for his taste, & I think he thought they were going to recreate an entire German town for German fest. Basically though, it's Summerfest with Amercanized German food LOL.

Brady St Festival - whole street blocked off & filled with music, crafts, food & drink

German Fest, on the Summerfest grounds by the lake. Here my son is eating the best. pretzel. ever!

2: Since we did go to two different festivals that day, my final step count on Fitbit that day was 18,406 - I believe that's a record for me!

3: Next week is both my & my younger son's birthday. He was born two days before my birthday. Talk about a great birthday present! Well ok, the c-section was kind of un-fun .... but well worth it :)  I took Thursday & Friday off so we could have a 4 day celebration, can't wait! 

4: I got my hair cut & highlighted on Wednesday. My "summer" highlights, even though summer is more than half over. Even though this is not me in the photo (although it could be, my hair is the same length & styled very similar), it's the photo I sent to my stylist & the result is EXACTLY the same. Love her!

Source

5: I don't know if this is national news or not, but it seems there is some kind of lion running around the streets of Milwaukee. There have been many reports & sightings, & just a couple of days ago police also spotted it but weren't quick enough to catch it. Of  course, there are all sorts of funnies about this situation floating around the internet.

all about Wolski's

I hope you all have a super fun weekend!! It's August already!! Yikes!!! 

Linking up with: 

High Five For Friday

Five on Friday

Friday Blog Booster party

Friday randoms

TGIF! It has been a loooong week! Mostly good.... just long. Here are my 5 random tidbits for the week:

1: Baseball season is over. Sad .... but I think it was just long enough. These poor kids were rained out so many times, so we had to squeeze in make up games whenever we could. They lost their last game, but they fought hard & ended up in 2nd place. So proud of my boy!

2: Our reservations for Disney have been made for next year! I can't wait, we went 3 years ago & had the best time ever. I'm especially excited to visit Universal again & spend some time at Diagon Alley (or is it diagonally? LOL)

3: I've really been into makeup the last couple of years. I spent 11 years at home with my kids, & I went with the natural look more often than I probably should have. Since I've been working I've slowly gotten back into actually caring what I look like. This includes make up, hair & clothes. In fact, where I used to follow just crafty blogs, these days my favorites are all about beauty. One thing that's been on my wish list for a long time is the Urban Decay Naked Palette. However, I am still very frugal & just couldn't justify the price tag. I've been searching for a good dupe & I think I found it. These palettes found their way into my home this week, & I'm thrilled! 

I used them the past couple of days & I love them. I had done some research before buying, & I didn't read too many negatives so I went for it. The less-than-$10 on Amazon price tag didn't hurt. If you're looking for some UD Naked dupes, give these a try!

4: Speaking of work (I think I briefly mentioned work in #3), I celebrated 5 years at my job this week! Wow, that went fast! I love my job & I love my co-workers & I'm so happy to have found my forever place. 

5: I didn't gain weight this week. Since I've been rapidly gaining the last few months, I'm happy to get through a week without gaining any more. Yes kids, this is what working out 3-4 times a week will get you. #itsnotmuscle

Linking up with:

High Five For Friday

Five On Friday

Friday Blog Booster Party


Hope you have a spectacular weekend!! 

Friday randoms

Hello & happy Friday!! Better than a regular Friday .... a 3-day-weekend Friday! 

Here are some little tidbits about my week: 

1:  Today was beautiful. About 70 & sunny. So was yesterday. You know what wasn't beautiful? The 3 days before that, when it was about 45 degrees outside. My son has his final track meet on Monday, & I wore a scarf & mittens. I like winter, but not in May. 

2:   These shoes:

Aren't they adorable?? I looove polka dots. I saw them at Target a couple of weeks ago, but held off buying them. Went in last week .... they were on sale ... & they had ONE PAIR left. My size!! It was fate! 

3:  2 1/2 weeks of school left. I think I'm more excited than the kids! When they don't have school, I can get up an hour later. Right now I have to get up between 5 & 5:30. Ugh. Have I ever mentioned I am NOT a morning person?

4:  I managed to work out 4 times this week. 2 times at the gym, 2 walk/ runs (more walking than running, lol) around the neighborhood. Tomorrow I will be doing  yard work. I must be losing so much weight! 

5:  In the 4 months since I've joined the gym, I've gained 3 pounds. 

How was your week?

Linking up to:

Building Blocks Blog Booster Party

Freedom Fridays

That Friday Blog Hop

Welcome to the Weekend Blog Hop

Happy Frigid Friday!

Well this has definitely been the coldest week of winter so far this year for us. Yesterday my car registered a balmy -17 degrees as Michael & I were waiting for the bus. That doesn't take into account the wind chill. I love Wisconsin ...... I really do ....

I am excited because today I'm headed to Madison to visit my brother & his family! I haven't seen them since October which is just way too long. If you don't know the story of my brother, you can read all about it ** HERE **. Trust me, it's not your average sibling story ..... I've only ever seen it happen on tv. 

So ....  to get ready for my jaunt, I took off of work today. And ..... I just might be spending some time at my craft table, as soon as I clean off the 5" of dust. I have a niece now, & I want to make her a little something. I missed the holidays with her, & now I feel the need to make up for it with a little handmade gift. Details to follow ........

I hope you all have a safe & happy weekend. Stay warm!! 

Fab Friday

Happy Friday to all! I hope your week was great! Here are some of my random happenings this week:

1: Sunday was the last day of our County Fair & I'm happy to report we had beautiful weather all 5 days. That never happens! I'm so proud of my kids and the projects they completed. And we got a surprise when we went back after the judging had been complete - Michael earned a purple Champion ribbon for his Peanut Brittle! 

It's extra funny because the recipe is so ridiculously easy - that's why I picked it, I figured he could handle it. And I'd never tried it, so I kind of took a chance with that one. Guess I'll be sharing that recipe with you all soon! 

2: It was a yummy food-filled day at work today. Popeye's Chicken is one of our accounts, & a few of their peeps were visiting our office today. So .... we had a catered Popeye's lunch! AND one of our vendors sent a HUGE Edible Arrangements fruit basket! AND a co-worker brought in doughnuts for her birthday. AND another brought brownies ... just because. Yep, I think I'll need to go for 4 walks tonight.

3: Speaking of walks, my son & I had been going for walks almost every night since about May. We had gotten up to almost 3 miles. Then I got sick. The walking stopped. I was lucky I could get myself to work. Whatever I had lasted over 2 weeks. Then with baseball & getting ready for the fair .... there was no time & we totally dropped the ball. Happy to report, we went for a walk last night & I almost died. But I didn't!!! We were a bit slower than the last time we walked but we made it!

4: My flowers are doing fabulously!! Usually by mid July we've had a ton of heat & no rain, & I get tired of watering every day so my flowers start to look sad. Not this year!

5: My son is all signed up for Driver's Ed *** sniffle *** Time really does go fast. When he was born, I remember thinking "Gosh I hope they raise the driving age to 18 by the time he's 16". That hasn't happened. And while I'm happy for him that he'll have the independence that comes with driving, I'm not happy for me. I foresee lots of wrinkles & gray hair coming my way! 

How was your week? 

 *** Linking up with Lauren Elizabeth ***

 

High Five for Friday

Ok, let me explain....

It's summer.

I was sick for over 2 weeks. 

We've been UBER busy. 

It's summer.

It's hard to believe I actually had *more* spare time when I had little ones running around. Everyone told me I'd get busier as my kids got older. Didn't think it was possible. 

It's possible.

I'm going to have to rename my blog. There is no such thing as "mom's time". Moms GET no time! 

But I wouldn't have it any other way.


So .... kind of half "High Five for Friday" & half "what have I been up to since my last post" ..... in a nutshell:

1: A trip to Legoland Chicago. A separate post about this fun day will happen as soon as I get through all my pictures :)

2: Our County Fair is going on right now. We are in 4H, which means showing projects & working at the fair. Thankfully, for the first time since we've been doing this it is NOT in the triple digits this week! 

Lexi, my cousin's fur baby

3: I had my new brother & his family over July 5th. It was part birthday celebration for him (his birthday was a few days prior), part July 4th celebration & part meeting more family members. I ended up having about 15 people & it was a blast. Thankfully no rain! Having that many people in my house would make me break out in hives lol....

4: Baseball, baseball, baseball ....

5: Annual picnic at the Zoo for my husband's work. Unfortunately it wasn't the best weathers, but we still had fun. How can you not have fun when the animals pose for the camera & say "cheese"?

Hope you all are having a great summer! I think I actually have some time to do a little blurfing tonight - I need to catch up!!

*~* linking up with Lauren Elizabeth *~*

Weekly random 5

Ok, I usually do this on Friday but the day got away from me. Here are my Saturday random thoughts about this week: 

1: A new Hobby Lobby opened near us a few weeks ago. I wish it had opened a few years ago when I was into paper crafting. I'm so glad they waited to build one until I no longer participated in crafts. Saving me lots of moola! Well, except for the home decor. My son & I went the other night (yes, my 15 year old son *willingly* went with me to Hobby Lobby. What a trooper!) & I bought this for my kitchen wall:

Adorable, no? It will look even better if I ever get around to painting my walls, right now they are white & definitely need some color!

2: What's up with American Idol? They are totally sending the wrong people home! I know, it's up to the voters. I've been voting like crazy, yet Sam is still there :(  I really wanted Caleb to win the whole thing, but I really wanted Dexter to stick around a bit longer. He's WAY better than Sam. And yes, I did vote for Dexter! 

3: What a crazy spring we (& everyone else) are having. I was not happy with the temps this week - 40's, after a few days of 60's the week before. HOWEVER - my in laws, who live about 4 hours north of us, received about 16" of snow the other day. That would be on top of the 12" that was already on the ground. Yeah, 40's aren't so bad ....

4: I bought my son a new amp this week. It. Totally. Rocks! We were at my cousin's house a couple of weeks ago, & he has this one. Matthew loved playing around with it, & it just so happens his old amp died so he HAD to have this one. It's got dozens of effects right on the amp, but it also has software that you can download for even more effect using your computer. Totally fun! Here he is rocking out ....

5: Tomorrow is Easter, the first major holiday without my grandma. There are going to be lots of tears. I edited my pictures from Christmas the other night so I could get them ordered & be able to give them to my uncle & cousin. I was bawling. It's not going to be a fun day. I will need chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. So glad the Easter Bunny is visiting, I'm sure he'll leave me lots!

Hope you all had a good week, & that you have a great Easter Sunday.  ~~ linking up with Lauren Elizabeth ~~

Friday Five

TGIF! Gotta say, not a fun week. Let's get right to my random 5 thoughts for the week:

1: It's cold. 


2: Too much snow. 

3: I'm sick. 



4: Because I'm sick, I'm way behind on laundry & cleaning. 


5: When will spring be here?



** disclaimer: I like winter, I really do. However, I also know when enough is enough. Who invented the phrase "polar vortex" anyway?


~ linking up with A Rural Journal & Lauren Elizabeth ~

Friday Five

I could NOT be happier that it's Friday! It's definitely been a rough 2 weeks for me & my family, & I'm trying very hard to get back to some kind of normal around here. A new normal. A life without my beloved grandma. 

Ok, this isn't supposed to be a sad post - it's supposed to be a happy Friday post! Here are my 5 randoms for the week:

(Sorry, for the so-so photos, these are my Instagram photos)

1: It's pretty much looked like this every day for the past 42 days. Winter in Wisconsin, I'm used to it. 

2: Oh wait, the sun came out for about 10 minutes the other day! I took this as I was leaving my subdivision on my way to work & I'm glad I stopped to take it - by the time I got to work it was gone. 

3: Target + Starbucks = HAPPY

4: Sunday I was cleaning the basement & found my Rubbermaid bin of school memories. I had fun posting a bunch of photos on Facebook & reminiscing with school friends. Here is one photo I posted:

How fun that I went to a Rush concert! I love Rush!! However, I have no recollection of this concert. I don't remember who I went with or anything about it. Nobody on Facebook owned up to going with me. I hope I had fun :)

5: Tonight is a dance at my son's grade school. Hmph. WE never had dances when I was in grade school. I'm happy to be going - it's always fun & let's face it, it's as close to a night on the town as I'll get these days. 

~ linking up with A Rural Journal & Lauren Elizabeth ~


<