Tis the Season

Time to get out my Christmas stamps and get to work!

I don't know, maybe I don't have a large enough selection....JUST KIDDING!

Christmas cards have always been the most fun for me to do, so I probably have more Christmas stamps than any other theme. The first drawer on the left, as well as all the drawers on the right, and all of the stamps on top are Christmas stamps. There is a mixture of rubber wood mounted, foam, acrylic, photo polymer and wheels. Some are well loved, others used once and some, not at all (yet!).

There are nativity scenes, baby Jesus, Santa, a whole ton of snowmen, which are my faves along with angels, cats, dogs, mice, birds, holly, reindeer, Elsybelles (adorable little girl), Christmas trees, bulbs, mailboxes, bicycles, you name it!

For the last few years, I have been trying to use only scraps of paper (except for the base of the card) to make my collection. This actually has turned out to be a lot of fun, as it encourages me to be more creative. It is fun to come up with new color or pattern combinations that I normally wouldn't think of putting together, and the nice thing is that the paper is usually cut to size!

Some years, I have mass produced the same card. Other years, I've made variations of a theme or variations to many different themes, and other years I have actually bought cards (YIKES!). But for now, I want to challenge myself to try and use up the trillions of little bits and pieces that I already have to come up with some unique and hopefully cute cards! I'm actually enjoying the challenge!

However humble my cards might be, they are made with a lot of love and thought for the recipient, even if the recipient has no idea what my creative process was at the time!

Part II

I thought that I would finish my post on Sue and Lupe's big day before it is their 1st year anniversary!!!
Well, this is what their guests were treated to, as they walked up the driveway to the "big tent".

I just love those balloons! It just makes the event so special and welcoming for guests!

There were also balloons at the walkway leading up to the barn.

And of course, everyone knows that if there is a horse around, it will draw little girls like magnets.

Emmy was surrounded by little girls most of the day and she seemed to enjoy all the attention!

Sue couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day, even though it was COLD!

The BBQ truck arrived and set up to feed the masses. Please notice the beautiful split rail fence that Lupe put up from logs that had fallen on the property. ***sigh***

I was so happy to see some old friends from our Northwest Reining Association. None of us are showing horses at the moment, and it was fun to talk about the good old times! We are all, including Sue, charter members of NWRA. We have been there right from the foundation of the club and spent many MANY hours getting it off the ground. We are all happy to hear that it is still going strong, as we all put tons of blood, sweat and tears into that club!

Jeannie, Al, Tony and Kim

This is the best shot I got of the toast. There were people crowding all around and I had to do a bit of cropping and editing to lighten the picture. Sue toasted to "the best thing she even won at the Casino!", to which all the women wanted to know which Casino and were all heading there ;)

A good time was had by all......

............................especially Daemyan when he finally go to get into the hot tub!

These were actually taken Sunday morning. I think that by the time he got in on Saturday night, I was not able to find my camera. Well, better than not being able to find my car, right???

Sue and Lupe's BBQ, Part I

One of my longtime BFF's had a wedding reception BBQ at her home on Saturday.
I can safely say that everyone had a great time, including DGS, because he was off with all the other kids playing in the field on their property.
 
I went up to help her set up on Friday and tried to document the process in pictures, but unfortunately, you get busy and forget :-(  so I don't have a lot ...You should be able to click on them to make them larger!

When I arrived, the tent guys were just starting to set it up, so I got to visit with Sue and another one of her friends for a while before actually getting to work. That was kinda nice and involved wine and pizza. ;-)

front view

rear view

So, after much visiting and wine drinking, strategically planning our every move, we started to set up.

This involved laying down carpet scraps in the dirt and covering them up with straw.

angels watching over us , here.

Sue's son, Brandon and his wife Kat were there as well as her other son, Chad, and his girlfriend Leslie. Cool kids!

Even Jack, one of her senior fur babies "helped".

After the straw was spread out, we set up the tables and chairs.

 Lots of them.....

Each table got a red plastic tablecloth, covered by a white linen tablecloth, a mirror in the middle with a candle. We then scattered little red and clear rocks around and atop of the mirror.

Anyway, part II coming up later!

Lipton Noodle Soup knockoff

I tend to really enjoy soup at any time of the year, but fall and winter weather just beg for homemade soup. My clam chowder is "Da Bomb"!
Do people even use that expression any more?
My sister made a wonderful Zuppa Toscana  (Olive Garden recipe) on Saturday when we went to her house for our Sibling lunch and now I am really in the mood for homemade soup.
I am not a big fan of canned or boxed soups because of all the sodium and MSG that makes my heart beat out of my chest, so I have gotten pretty good at making my own soup recipes. I never follow anything to a tee, so they always have a little different twist to them depending on what is in the pantry and refrigerator.
Today, I made my version of Lipton Noodle soup and homemade croutons.



I started with a 7 oz. package of  cut angel hair type noodles and cooked them according to directions. In another pan, I heated a 32 oz. box of chicken broth. When the noodles were cooked, I drained them, put them back in the pan and added 2 generous Tbsp. of  "Better Than Bouillon" chicken base. This gives it a ton of flavor! You can add more to suit your taste, but I was at the bottom of the jar, so I also added about a tsp. of lemon pepper and a pinch of Montreal Steak seasoning, just to kick it up a notch. I added a couple minced cloves of garlic and fresh parsley. I then added the heated up chicken broth to the noodle mixture. You can add more water if you like it more brothy, but then add a little more BTB chicken base.YUM!!!

I threw some of my homemade croutons in there and I was in soup heaven! And it's so easy!

Bon Appetit!

Guess who is 6!!!

JAMES!!!

Time is just moving along too quickly. It was just yesterday when he was a baby, right???

His birthday was actually the 23rd, but I'm just getting around to catching up my blog!



A blast from the past, 2006

James 8 mo., Daemyan 5, Leona 2

October 24. 2011, Jimmy's Pizza

Beautiful sissy Leona, 7, and handsome James, 6

I could be slightly prejudiced, (naaaw!), but those are 3 of the best looking kids I've ever seen!