Halloween 2012

At the office: The Federal government had an unscheduled telework/leave option today, so I decided to take it (even though I wasn't experiencing any storm damage).  I woke up this morning and didn't feel like getting out of my pajamas.  Plus, I had my work computer, so there wasn't anything that I needed to do at the office that I couldn't do at home, e.g. working on session proposals.  I even had my weekly call with my boss in Colorado to talk about the drafts that I wrote.  Last week, we divided up the session proposals: I somehow ended up with 6 to do and she had 3.  Even though the office was closed on MON and TUES, I took the initiative to do work anyway.  "Tina, you had office closures MON and TUES and you managed to get your work done.  I didn't have an office closure and I didn't get my work done," she says to me.  Yep, that's me.  The model employee.

Halloween: I'm not sure what was up with the trick-or-treaters this year, but I didn't get that many or what seemed to be fewer than last year.  I even went to Target to buy more candy after my call!  I am debating on whether or not I should donate it to the office kitchen.  Maybe if I put it in the cabinet on top of the fridge, I'll be less likely to reach for it because it'd require a chair.  Cute costumes this year were an elephant, Sleeping Beauty, G.I. Joe, and Spider-Man.

Post-Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy: I made it through Hurricane Sandy just fine, whew!  I was worried that I was going to lose power during the night and have no electricity for a few days like what happened this summer.  I feel so fortunate because many people in this area and along the East Coast have not been so lucky.  Hopefully everything goes back to normal pretty soon.

Work: Because I had internet, I was able to get some work done, even though the Federal government was closed.  The session proposals for next year's Annual Meeting are due on Friday, so I wanted to make sure that I got drafts completed (I have 2 more to go) and allowed time for others to review before I submitted them.  I'm going to be happy when Friday rolls around because it'll be one last thing to stress about.

Card: Here's the festive card that I made tonight.  I wanted to use some Die Cuts with a View cardbases that I bought a few years ago and use some newish stuff that I bought at the rubber stamp yard sale last Saturday.  Christmas will be here before you know it!

Card Specs:
Card Base: Die Cuts with a View
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird. Stampin' Up in Garden Green
Stamp: Stampin' Up- Northern Hearts, Inkadinkado- Holiday Expressions
White Gel Pen: Uni-Ball Signo Broad White Gel Pen
Baker's Twine: We R Memory Keepers Sew Easy Fancy Floss in Candy Stripe, Liquid Pearl in Rouge

Moo Nails

What a yucky day outside.  For the most part it was rainy and slightly windy, but then the wind picked up around 8 PM and it's wooshing around outside my window.  I'm currently blasting music to drown it out, so that I can ignore it and not be so freaked out.  In an effort to pass the time at home today (aside from doing some work), I did my nails this morning. I call them my moo nails.  Base coat: Revlon in White On White (2 coats). Black: Konad Special Polish in Black. Bundle Monster plate #222.

Please, oh please, let the power stay on! 

Stay safe, East Coast folks!

Chinese Food and Casino Night

Casino night: Last night was "Robyn and Tina have Chinese food" night...otherwise known as "Meg's out of town this weekend."  On the Maryland ballot this year, there's a question about gaming expansion in Maryland.  I was on the fence about the issue, and Robyn suggested that we go to a casino to check it out and do some "research."  Upon arrival, I was immediately bombarded by shiny lights and lots of noise.  I can see how it'd be appealing, but I quickly became over stimulated.  We each put a $5 limit on our gambling: I lost all of it and Robyn made $0.11 (she gave me a nickel when she cashed out, ha ha).  There were slot machines as far as the eye could see, and even the table games were run by a computer. 

I looked around and saw a ton of people gambling and felt uncomfortable supporting an establishment like this because I think it encourages bad habits.  The shiny lights and fun games encourage people to stay, which in turn, makes them gamble more and I don't think that's a good use of money, but that's just my opinion.  It was fun for the 1.5 hours that we were there, but I don't think I'll be going back any time soon.

Robyn took this picture of me and I sent it to Meg saying "This is what we meant by Chinese food."

Hurricane Sandy: Julie almost got stuck in Chicago on Sunday because of the approaching storm.  I was supposed to pick her up tonight really late, but fortunately, she was able to make it out of Chicago this morning.  The office is closed tomorrow (we follow the Federal operating status), but I foresee myself teleworking a little bit as not to hold things up.

Rub-ons and Rubber Stamp Yard Sale

Rub-ons and Rubber Stamp Yard Sale: I came away with tons of goodies today...all before lunch time!  The first yard sale that I went to was a regular yard sale, but this lady had a ton of rub-ons. I'm talking like a trunk full of them.  I only picked 15 sheets (3 for $1) because a lot of the other ones were really for scrapbooking, given that they were very long and said things like "Princess".  I was looking for the ones that card makers could use.  Then I went to a rubber stamp/scrapbooking yard sale that was about 25 minutes away from my house.  I got there right at 9 AM and found some awesome deals on new and used rubber stamps and ink pads from Stampin' Up.

Card: This is the last of the card bases that I messed up on and repurposed.  I used the border punch to punch some cardstock to cover up the bad spot. Here are some of the other card bases that I repurposed...this one and this one and this one.  I wanted to use as many of my "new" crafty goodies as I could, of course!

Card Specs: 
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Pumpkin Spice,Warm Green.  Stampin' Up in Riding Hood Red.
Stamps: Inkadinkado- Tree Clear Stamp Set, Hero Arts- Envelope Pattern, Stampin' Up- Definitely Decorative Ferns, Stampin' Up- Lovely as a Tree
Rub-On: Karen Foster Design- Thinking of You
Punch: Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

Refinance Closing and Card

Vacation Days: These past few days off work have been amazing.  I have to confess that I did do some work email and one work related call so that things didn't lag behind, but overall, I have been pretty good about staying away from my work computer.  It's been nice to wake up when I feel like it and do whatever I want!  I've been reading James Patterson's Private Games, hanging out with my sister, and taking lots of naps.  Today, I went to the real estate attorney's office to close on my refinance (4.625% rate down to 4%...30 years down to 25 years).  I went to a bunch of stores afterwards in that area (Michaels, Ross, Tuesday Morning, Marshalls, Joann's), but didn't find anything that I liked enough to spend money on it.  Shocking, I know.  However, tomorrow will probably be a different story since there's one yard sale that will have scrapbooking stuff near my house and then there's rubber stamp/scrapbooking yard sale about 30 minutes away from me.  I hope to get a lot of loot by lunch time!

At Real Estate Attorney's Office: (Story #1) The guy that did my closing paperwork with was the same guy that I did my closing paperwork with the first time, when I bought the house last year!  He asked if I had been there before.  Yes, good memory.  "You looked familiar."  If he was telling the truth and not just saying that, I'm impressed because the office must have seen lots of people coming in and out over the past year.  (Story #2) One thing that I remember about this office is a wall full of snacks and candy.  I made a mental note to myself to grab some on the way out.  The receptionist asked if I wanted a bag.  "No, thanks.  I'd probably grab more than I should if I had a bag." She laughed.


Card: I got a letter from Suzie this week, so I owe her a reply letter.  I figured I could use another one of the card bases I messed up on and cover up the part where the ink didn't hit the paper.  (Here are some of the other card bases that I repurposed...this one and this one).

Card Specs: 
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Pumpkin Spice, Blackbird. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Vintage Photo
Stamps: Studio G (sentiment), Hero Arts- Envelope Pattern
Paper: Chatterbox, American Crafts- Botanique
Brad: American Crafts
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Foliage, Sizzix- Tim Holtz Alterations Tattered Flowers
Other: Brown Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

Halloween Nails, Part 2

I decided to redo my nails today because the ones that I did on Friday were chipping like crazy.  The Konad polishes that I purchased last Friday from WowSoCool also arrived today.  I love prompt customer service!   I do have to say that black special polish is more opaque when stamping than my regular black polish.  I need to practice with getting the image one straight, but I wasn't going to waste time and polish to do it all over again.  No one's going to look at these nails that closely anyway.  While I could have done the pumpkin image again, I wanted to try the snake skin pattern on.  Snakes and Halloween.  They're related, right?  Base Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Heat Flash (2 coats). Black: Konad Special Polish in Black. Bundle Monster plate #215.