Snow Surprise

I woke up to this loud scratching noise outside. I cracked the blinds open a little and snow/ice outside! o_0 What? Mmm, yeah, totally wasn't expecting that! Oh well. The road looked a little slushy, but nothing that couldn't be handled through driving slowly. I made it to the last spin class of the year, and the instructor did play my Black Eyed Peas (2 songs!). Now I don't have to feel guilty if I eat pizza or whatever tonight. :)

Instead of making a card last night, I watched "Over the Hedge." I laughed at the same jokes, even though I've seen that movie many times before.

I snapped this picture of the family cat, Ginger. She looked incredibly cozy, I was tempted to poke her, but resisted. My sister and I picked out two 8-week old kitties from the animal shelter about 12-13 years ago, and she's been a part of the family ever since. Her cat buddy, Oliver, died a few years ago. Most orange cats are male, so Ginger's special in that's she's female. She's a wonderful napping and eating companion.

Song of the day: "I Gotta Feeling" - Black Eyed Peas

Best wishes in 2010! Have a safe and happy New Year! Off to a friend's place...byE for now!

Love, Actually- Just Kidding

Today was the last "movie at the office" day of the week (office is closed tomorrow and Friday). I thought we were going to watch the movie "Love Actually," but instead we watched "The Fifth Element." What a weird movie. I only watched the second half and didn't like it. No offense intended for the movie's fans.

I went for a walk around lunch time and stopped by Borders. I figured they might have some clearance items around worth checking out, and they did! I picked up "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein. It was recommended by my officemate and then TWICE (!) by two different people at the Borders when I was looking at the clearance book selection. The paperback book was $3.99 (regular price: $14.99), score! I HAD to get it! I'm a sucker for good sales. I'm looking forward to reading it during the New Year's break. Stay tuned for a review.

Tonight, my family and I had dinner at The Daily Grill. I had a huge chicken pot pie. I highly recommend it (I also heard someone at a nearby table recommend it to their table companion). Their chocolate cake was fabulous too. The reason why we went there was because we had a $20 coupon.

Time for a "Random Act of Kindness" story (but it's not my story...it's really my sister's). We had 2 $20 coupons, but we could only use one, so before we left, my sister went to a nearby table to ask if the couple wanted to use the coupon. They already had one. She approached another table; they, too, had one! The third and last table she approached didn't have a coupon and graciously accepted the one that she offered. They saved $20 on their meal tonight. The end. :)

I made this Valentine's Day card with some cardstock, scrapbook paper, embossing powder, embroidery floss, and buttons that I already had on hand.

Card Specs:
Paper: Stemma- "Roses of Red" and My Mind's Eye, Bloom & Grow
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in white
Ink: VersaMark
Stamp: Studio G

Song of the day: "United State of Pop"- DJ Earworm. Nope, haven't gotten tired of it yet.

Up at the Office

Today's office movie was Disney's "Up." Have you seen it? What did you think? I have to admit that I was like meh about it when I saw it in the theater, but I did enjoy it a lot more the second time around. I think the movie had some important themes- the value of keeping a promise and knowing when to let go. I almost teared up at the end (not going to ruin it for those of you who haven't seen the flick), but resisted since I was at the office.

I went to spin class tonight. I had to go because my favorite instructor was teaching. I find her energy really positive and attitude encouraging. Towards the end, I could feel my upper thighs burning from the effort, but I heard her say "Come on, Tina..." and found myself able to finish the last 15 minutes. Sometimes I just need a little push...I think she knows it. She's teaching on a morning 1 hour Super Spin class on New Year's Eve, and I plan to go. Maybe she'll play some Black Eyed Peas. It'll be a good way to end the year.

Continuing on my effort to use craft supplies that I already have, I made these cute Valentine mini cards with buttons that I found in Mom's sewing box. I used the same heart punch that I used for the origami panda Valentine from yesterday's post. They are 3 inch square so I think the size is great to include in family lunchboxes or use as a gift tag.


Card Specs:
Scrapbook paper: My Mind's Eye, Bloom & Grow

Song of the day: "United State of Pop"- DJ Earworm. What a weird DJ name, but memorable. This is the song that's a Mashup of the Top 25 songs of 2009. I had this playing on repeat at the office (I'm still listening to it as I'm typing up this post). Anyone that walked by my space might have seen me bobbing my head to the music (with headphones, of course). What? It's a good tune! Like you don't bob your head to music. Admit it. ;)

Christmas is over- meh, ok

Despite the slight disgruntlement that I expressed in my previous post about Christmas being over, maybe it's not such a bad thing for several reasons.

• I can watch movies at work. Yep, no joke. Like last year, during the week between Christmas and New Year's, we got to watch a movie at lunch time in the conference room. Today's film was "Iron Man." Super cool movie. Can't wait for the second one to come out in 2010.
  


• I can get back into the spin of things. Ha ha, get it? Ok, lame-o. But seriously, I'm hoping that the avalanche of holiday food temptations will be gone and I can get into my regular routine of going to spin class. I haven't gone in 2 weeks. 2 WEEKS! I don't even have a good excuse, and now that I think about it, I don't know how not going to spin class is related to the holidays. I've just been a lazy butt, but today, I made my conscience feel better by going to a super spin class (1 hour!).


• I can work on cards for the next holiday, Valentine's Day. I worked hard on making Christmas cards to prepare myself for a craft show in early December, and I'm definitely ready for a new challenge. No more origami Christmas cards for another 10 months or so. Bring on the hearts and lovey-dovey stuff!

I made another Valentine's Day card. This time, it's with one of my favorite origami models- the panda. Anyone who's seen my Etsy shop has probably seen the origami panda birthday card with a paper punched cupcake. Similarly, I used a paper punch to create the heart.

Song of the day: Hmm, I don't really have one. HOWEVER, I did hear this Mashup of the top 25 songs of 2009 on the radio this evening on the way to spin. I thought it was rather creative. You can check it out here on YouTube. Happy Jammin'.

Christmas is over, cry cry cry

Yep, it's true. Christmas is officially over. Cry cry cry. You know how I know? 2 clear signs.

• I saw a Christmas tree on the street curb. My sister informed me that this is not such a bad thing because dry Christmas trees can be quite the fire hazard. Our Christmas tree is fake, so it's going to stay up until after the New Year. I can enjoy the lights for another week.
  
  
• I went to A.C. Moore today, and I saw that they were putting up all the Valentine's Day goodies. Onward to the next holiday, I guess. I can't blame them for being prepared.

Another change I hope to make in 2010 is actually use the craft supplies that I buy. Whoa, what a concept right? Do you ever get that urge to buy something that catches your eye as your wandering the craft store? I do. Heh. Darn you, awesome packaging! Why must you cast your "buy me" spell?? Well, we're going to change that. In 2010, I will make more of an effort to use what I buy. And if I get the urge to buy something "just because," I will run like crazy to the nearest exit.

Well, even though it's not officially 2010 yet, I did succeed in not buying anything on today's trip to A.C. Moore (even though I had a $20 gift card!). I, instead, used paper and white embossing powder that I already had and broke out a brand new VersaMark inkpad that I got months ago to create this Valentine's Day card.

Card Specs:
Paper: KI Memories holiday fun paper pad
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in white
Ink: VersaMark
Stamp: Studio G

Song of the day: "Defying Gravity" from the Wicked Soundtrack

Mini Flood

With Snowpocalypse 2009 hitting the Metro DC area last week (see reference picture on the left), today was the Great Melt. It rained most of yesterday and today, and 21+ inches of melted snow is now in the basement. Periodically today, we had to manually scoop the water into buckets and toss down the drain. Yep, we're THAT old school.

So you've heard of Spring cleaning? Well, I did some Winter cleaning today. Getting my room in order, and random stuff in their rightful places. It was a rather cathartic experience. I also bought another light for my light box in hopes of taking better pictures for my Etsy shop. With a little Photoshop magic to brighten things up, I was pleasantly surprised with what a difference a $11 light and $9 light bulb bring. I tested out the new set up with these new Valentine matchbook notepads. Cute, no? :)

Welcome to my blog!

Thanks for stopping by my new blog! 2009 was filled with new adventures, such as...

• participating in craft fairs as a vendor for the first time ever...I did 3 this year!
  
• going to spin class...killer workout for my legs and butt
• cooking up new things...peppermint marshmallows, pumpkin chocolate chip pound cake, stuffed mushrooms
• wearing contact lenses...I didn't like how my glasses kept fogging up at the gym, and I thought it was also time for a new look.
  

As the 2009 quickly comes to a close, I wondered what new adventures 2010 could bring and the thought of starting a blog crossed my mind. Even though 2010 hasn't officially started yet, I figured "Why do I have to start on January 1? I can start right now!" I hope you come by regularly as I blog about my life through mostly baking and crafting.

Oh, and by the way, Merry Christmas! :)