The Gills

Week 4 Continued, Week 5, & Week 6

2011-07-02T08:37:00.000-07:00

Week 4 Continued

CVS: Vitamin Water $5.00/5 - $2.00 ECBs = $0.60 each

Homeland: Gatorade $5.00 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls = $3.00

Silk Soy Milk $2.50 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls = $0.50

Ragu $3.00/2 - $0.75/2 MFQ that dbls = $0.75 each

Jello Temptations $2.50 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls - $0.50 Homeland coupon = FREE!!

Philadelphia Cooking Cream $2.99 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls - $1.00 Homeland coupon = FREE!!

Peaches $0.99/lb.

Walgreens: Gillette Fusion Razor $9.89 - $4.00 MFQ - $5.00 RR = $0.89

Bistex for Men $2.00 - $2.00 RR = FREE!!

Colgate Toothbrush $2.99 - $0.75- $2.00 RR = $0.24

Walgreens: 5 Purex $3.00 each - $4.00 RR = $2.20 each

Mitchum $2.99 - $1.00 Walgreens coupon - $1.00 MFQ = $0.99

Schick Shave Gel $3.99 - $2.00 Walgreens coupon - $1.00 MFQ = $0.99

CVS: Dr. Pepper $10.00/3 - $3.00 ECB = $2.33 each

Zyrtec 5 ct $5.99 - $5.99 ECB = FREE!!

Schick Hydro 5 $8.00 - $4.00 MFQ - $4.00 ECB = FREE!!

Colgate MaxFresh Toothpaste $2.99 - $0.75 MFQ - $2.00 ECB = $0.24

Homeland: Gatorade $5.00 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls = $3.00

Jello Temptations $2.50 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls - $0.50 Homeland Coupon = FREE!!

Silk Soy Milk $2.50 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls = $0.50

Homeland: Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta 2 @ $0.99 each - $1.00/2 MFQ that dbls = 2 for FREE!!

Ronzoni Heathy Harvest Pasta 2 @ $0.99 each - $1.00/2 MFQ that dbls = 2 for FREE!!

Jello Temptations $2.50 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls - $0.50 Homeland coupon = FREE!!

Gatorade $5.00 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls = $3.00

Lipton Tea Bags 2 @ $1.79 - $0.60 that dbls = $1.10 each

Week 5

Homeland: Fast Fixin' Frozen Breaded Chicken Strips $5.99 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls = $3.99

Oscar Mayer Lunchable with Fruit $2.50 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls = $0.50

Snuggle $3.29 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls = $1.29

Powerade 5 @ $0.79 each - $1.00/5 MFQ that dbls = $0.39 each

Activia 4 pack of yogurt 2 at $1.99 each - $1.00 MFQ that dbls = $0.99 each

Pilgrims Pride Chicken Strips $3.32 - $1.00 MFQ = $2.32

Target: Lipton Tea Bags 4 @ $1.79 - (2) $1.00/2 Target Coupon - (2) $0.60 MFQ = 4 @ $0.99 each

Walgreens: G1, G2, & G3 = FREE with my $5 Mail in Rebate.

Gillette Fusion Razor $0.89 with my $4.00 MFQ & $5.00 RR.

Suave Body Wash 6 @ $2.00 each - 3 BOGO Free coupons that rang up at $3.00 off - $3.00 RR = 6 for FREE!!

Finesse Shampoo & Conditioner $7.00/2 - (2) $1.00 MFQ - $5.00 RR = 2 for FREE!!

CVS: Reese's Puffs Cereal $4.00/2 - $1.00 MFQ = 2 @ $1.50 each

Hershey's Bliss $5.99 - $5.99 ECBs = FREE!!

Power Bar Energy Bites $2.49 - $2.49 ECBs = FREE!!

Panteen Shampoo & Conditioner $6.97/2 - $3.00 MFQ - $2.00 ECBs = $0.99 each

Homeland: 5 @ $0.79 each - $1.00/5 MFQ that dbls = $$0.39 each

Homeland: 2 Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Lunch Meat $3.29 each - $1.00/2 MFQ that dbls = 2 @ $2.29 each.

Snuggle $3.29 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls = $1.29

Borden Cheese $1.99 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls = FREE!!

Oscar Mayer Sub Sandwich Lunchable $2.50 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls = $0.50

CVS: Lucky Charms $4.00/2 - $1.00 MFQ = $1.50 each

Powerade $5.00/5 - $1.00 MFQ - $2.00 ECBs = $0.40 each

Heathy Choice $5.00/2 - $1.00 ECB = $2.00 each <

Blue Bell Ice Cream 2 @ $4.99 each - (2) $1.00 MFQ = $3.99 each

Colgate Toothpaste $2.79 - $1.00 MFQ - $2.00 ECBs = ($0.21) Money maker

Huggies Diapers $8.99 - $1.50 MFQ - $1.00 ECB = $6.49

Huggies Wipes $6.00 - $0.50 MFQ - $2.00 ECB = $3.50

Johnson's Head to Toe Wash 2 @ $5.50 each - (2) $1.00 MFQ - $4.00 ECBs = $2.50 each

Johnson's Baby Lotion $5.50 - $1.00 MFQ - $2.00 ECBs = $2.50

Destin $5.50 - $1.00 MFQ - $2.00 ECB = $2.50

Disclaimer: To answer your question before you ask, Josh and I are not expecting. The baby items are for a donation request in lieu of presents for a 1 yr old birthday party that I will be attending today. :)

Kroger: Pineapple BOGO Free reg. $3.99 - $1.25 MFQ =$2.75/2

Kelloggs Special K $2.57 each - $1.00/2 MFQ = 2 @ $2.07 each

Kelloggs Mini Wheats $2.49 each -$1.00/2 MFQ = 2 @ $0.99 each

Teddy Grahams $1.00 each - $1.00/2 MFQ = 2 @ $0.50 each

Trop50 Rasberry Lemonade $2.00 - $1.00 MFQ = $1.00

Kroger Cheese $1.25 each

Quilted Northern 12 pack Dbl Rolls $6.00-$2.00 Kroger Q =$4.00

Week 6

Walgreens: Stayfree Maxis $1.99 each -$3/2 Walgreens coupon = $0.99/2

Carefree Panty Liners $1.99 each - $3.00/2 Walgreens coupon - (2) $0.50 MFQ = 2 for FREE!!

^(I did this deal twice.)

Pringles $6.00/4 - $1.00/3 MFQ - $2.00 RR = $0.75 each

Target: Sobe $10.00 for 10 - $5.00 giftcard for purchasing 10 = $0.50 each

Ortega Taco Seasoning $0.69 each -$1.00/2 MFQ = 0.19 each

Homeland: Hamburger Helper $1.25 each - $0.75/3 MFQ that dbls = $0.75 each

Betty Crocker Cake Mix & Icing - I can't find my Receipt...but I'm pretty sure I got these for less than a $1.00 each with the sale and my coupon that probably doubled.

Target: 5 Edy's Ice Creams @ $2.99 each -$5.00 giftcard for purchasing 5 = $1.99 each

Sobe $10.00/10 - $5.00 giftcard for purchasing 10 = $0.50 each

Sally's Nail Polish $2.04 each - $1.00 Target coupon = $1.04

Target: Ball Park Beef Franks $5.00/2 - $0.75/2 MFQ = $2.13 each

SOBE $10.00/10 - $5.00 giftcard for purchasing 10 = $0.50 each

Clean & Clear 2 @ $3.32 - (2) $2.00 MFQ = $1.32 each

Ortega Taco Seasoning 2 at $0.69 - $1.00/2 MFQ = $0.19 each

Homeland: Kraft Salad Dressing $3.00/2 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls = $1.00/2

Blue Bell Ice Cream $3.99 - $1.00 MFQ = $2.99

Edward Turtle Pie $5.99 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls = $3.99

Sargento Cheese $2.49 - $0.75 MFQ that dbls = $0.99

Oscar Mayer Sandwich Combos Lunchable $2.50 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls = $0.50

Borden Peperjack Cheese $1.99 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls = FREE!!

KC Masterpiece Marinade $2.50 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls = $0.50

Glad Ziplock bags $3.00/2 - $1.00 MFQ that dbls = $1.00/2

****BONUS**** I received a $6.00 off coupon that I can use for my next shopping trip so it is like I only paid $5.00 + tax for all of the above!! I was really excited about this b/c I only expected to receive a $2.00 off coupon. : )

Walgreens: Men's Dove Bar Soap 3 for $18.00 - (3) $4.00 MFQ - $6.00 RR = FREE!!

FINALLY I AM CAUGHT UP!!! ....until tomorrow :/

Have a Happy & Safe 4th of July!!

Couponing Finds Weeks 3 & 4

2011-06-05T23:05:00.000-07:00

Week 3

Buy for Less: Blue Bell Ice Cream Reg. 4.99 on sale 2 for $7.00. I used 2 $1.00 off coupons so I scored 2 for $2.50 each, and since B4L is not like Homeland and you don't get the unit price no matter what quantity you buy, I paid $3.99 for the 3rd one with my $1.00 off coupon. : / (Lesson learned!) Lays were on sale for $1.88. Peaches were $0.99 a lb., and the dressing was on sale for $0.99 with my $1.00 off coupon so it was FREE!!

CVS $10.00 gas card with the purchase of $30.00 worth of select products: Doritos and Tostitos were on sale 2 for $5.00, Palmalive dish soap was on sale for $0.88, Gatorade was on sale 2 for $1.99, Edy's Ice Cream was on sale B1G1 Free with a reg. price of 5.99, and I had a $1.00 off coupon for the "green" bag tag so it was free. I get a $1.00 extra care buck every 4th time I use the tag. Last, I received a $10.00 Shell gift card for FREE!

Walgreens: Complete was on sale (or regularly price, not sure, can't find my receipt) $7.99 and I received $8.00 register rewards so it was FREE!!

Walgreens: 8 ct. pop tarts were on sale for $1.99 each and I had a $1.50 off coupon on 3 so these were $1.50 each.

Items not pictured: I puchased chinet plates for $0.50 and a small dial lotion for $0.09! I also purchased 2 bags of Lays for $2.00 each so we are set on Lays for a while.

Week 4

Homeland had a great sale this week! The cereal and pop tarts were on sale $5.00 off when you purchase 5. The Crunchy cereal and Special K were $0.99 each with my doubled $1.00 off coupon, and the Frosted Mini Wheats were $1.99 because I did not have a coupon. The 12 ct pop tarts were $1.49 each. The pilsbury muffin mix was $0.49 with my doubled $0.35. The Jiff was $0.99 with my doubled $0.50 coupon. The smuckers were $0.69 each with my doubled $0.50 and $1.00 coupon. The biscuits were on sale 2 for $0.88. Lastly, my 3 bottles on KC Masterpiece were FREE with my $1.00 off coupons no doubling necessary!!

Not pictured: I made a second trip to Homeland to purchase another 5 boxes of 12 ct pop tarts for $1.50 each, which is a really good price. Now Josh has a 4 month supply!

Walgreens: Gillette was on sale this week. When I puchased $30, I received $10.00 in register rewards. I used 2 B1G1 free coupons on the body washes, and 1 B1G1 free coupon on the deoderant. I also used a $4.00 off coupon on the razor which comes with 2 blades (a pleasant surprise!) and received $5.00 in register rewards for the razor. So, I got the razor for $0.89 and the body wash and deoderant for $0.91 each.

Also at Walgreens: 1 Sobe Lifewater was $0.99, and I received a $0.99 register reward so it was FREE! The Tide was on sale for $3.99 each. I used 3 $3.00 off coupons and received $3.00 in register rewards for spending $10.00 so these were FREE too!! Then, I purchased an additional Sobe Lifewater for $0.99 and a LaffyTaffy for $0.15 so that I could use the $5.00 register reward from the Gillette transaction.

Homeland: I picked up the wrong Knorr pasta. Only a few of them were on sale, and the manager did not do my return correctly so I paid $0.80 each, but they should have been $0.29. The Blue bunny was on sale for $2.99 and I used a $1.00 0ff coupon that doubled so I scored it for $0.99!

CVS: Crest Pro Health was on sale for $4.50 each. I used 2 $2.00 off coupons and received $5.00 in extra care bucks so both of these were FREE!! The ban was on sale for $2.99. I used a $0.75 coupon and received $2.00 in ECB. So it cost me $0.24! The 8 ct. Excedrine was on sale for $0.99 each and I received $1.98 in ECBs so these were FREE as well! Lastly, the toothpaste was on sale for $2.79. I used a $1.00 off coupon and received $2.00 in ECBs so this one was actually a $0.21 money maker!

Note: In looking back, I should have asked to do two transactions and purchased the Crest pro health first and then used the ECBs from it to purchase the rest. It was early...

Target: I found this file organizer on clearance for $3.38. I am going to file my extra inserts in it. :) The tank top was on sale for $7.00, and I had a $3.00 off coupon so it cost me $4.00. The nail polish is the same deal from my last post so it cost $0.04.

All prices this week are before tax. Time for bed. I'm going to skip the proof reading this week. Hope it all makes sense. :)

Couponing Finds - Weeks 1 & 2

2011-05-20T19:04:00.000-07:00

I've decided to try my hand at couponing and see how much I can save. Here are my first few finds: CVS: Cetaphil face wash Reg. $10.29 Last week it was BOGO 1/2 off, and I used 2 $1 off coupons. So I scored two for $6.72 each. The Carefree liners were free with my $1 off coupon!

Target: This nail polish cost me $0.04 + tax (Reg. $2.04). I used a $1 Sally Hansen manufacturer coupon and a $1 Sally Hansen Target coupon.

CVS (I think can't find the receipt): A lady at work swears by Mitchum deoderant so for $1 each (Reg. $3.99?) I thought I would give it a try. I'll let you know how it works out. :)

Homeland: Ronzoni Healthy Harvest pasta Reg. $2.09 each. I paid $0.04 each using my Homeland card and a $1 coupon that doubled.

Week 2

Homeland: Michelinas frozen entrees Reg. $1.50. I paid $0.60 with a 10 for $10 sale and 2 $1 off 5 coupons that doubled. Softstix cheese stuffed pretzels Reg. $3.29. I paid $0.99 with my Homeland card and a $0.50 coupon that doubled. These are already gone. I've gotta go get some more. They were yummy! The eggs were on sale for $0.99, and we were running low so I snagged this deal too.
Crest: I am not sure what the retail price is of these Lunchables with Fruit, but I got them for free with a 10 for $10 sale and $1 off coupons!

Walgreens: The Airwick refills were 2 for $5 this week. I used 2 $1 off coupons and scored the plug in warmer for free with the purchase of the 2 refills so let's say they were all a $1 each! The Dove deoderant was on sale this week for $3.99 and you get a $3 register reward at check out. I used a $1 off coupon so this deoderant was free!!

Guest Room Furniture

2011-01-23T17:22:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late in writing this post, but I'd like to give a BIG shout out & thank you to Josh's Mom & Step Dad for giving us their bedroom furniture for our guest room.

We were given their sleigh bed, sweater chest, and we were supposed to get their night stand too but there was a mix up so for now we have one of their old end tables. I am hoping to eventally find some sort of night stand that is a little bit taller because the bed sits considerably higher than height of the end table.

Sleigh bed & end table:
Sweater Chest (before):I changed out all of the knobs on the sweater chest to give it a different look, but I didn't take a good before picture. The black knobs on the bottom in the picture above are what was on the Sweater Chest, and here's the complete new look:
Now we just need guests to go along with our guest room furniture :)

Revamped Dresser

2011-01-02T15:30:00.000-08:00

I bought this dresser for $30 off of Craigslist. It was being kept in a storage facility so I think the owner was happy to get rid of it, and I was happy to bring it home with me. :)

She is solid wood with dove tail joints. She had a few rough spots, but not too many compared to other pieces that I have bought before.I decided that I wanted to try my hand at staining this go around, so I decided to try out the "pottery barn" look that I have been seeing more and more on Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Friday.

Here is the final product. I think Josh is really happy with how it turned out. Every time he passes it he says, "Dear, your dresser looks REALLY good!" After the 4th time of hearing that, I began to wonder if was he doubting my mad crafting skills. : ) I am really in love with the final look. After I stained the top of the dresser, I had to just stand back and stare at it for a good minute becuase the stained top turned out so pretty.

I painted the bottom of the dresser with Antique White Valspar from Lowes. I was able to use the oil based primer and paint that I used on my china cabinet that I did this summer so I had no expense in paint! I also already had the Strip-Ease for stripping the top of the dresser.

I purchased English Chestnut Minwax stain and Wipe on Poly for the top, and I purchased a dark bronze Rustoleom spray paint and I already had the white primer for the knobs and handles.

My First My Digital Studio Creation

2011-01-01T20:50:00.000-08:00

I was planning on doing another post tonight, but I got a little wrapped up playing with Stampin' Up!'s My Digital Studio, which is a digital crafting software. A year after our trip to New York, I thought now would be the perfect time to tackle scrapbooking our trip as I learn how to use MDS. Here's my first page. It is going to be the cover page, the first one you will see when you open the front cover.

Michael Buble

2010-12-31T19:07:00.001-08:00

For my birthday this year, my hubby bought me Michael Buble tickets! I was super excited and even more excited when he told me the tickets were 10th row front and center. :) However, being a music concert amateur I didn't think to bring my camera with me, which was really disappointing because I could have gotten some really great pictures, but I was able to snap a few decent pictures with Josh's phone. Here they are:

Shoebox Swap

2010-09-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to share these pictures for a while now. Back in July, Stampin' Up! had its annual convention for Demonstrators. I didn't attend this year due my quick trip to Portland for a very important friend's weddding, but I am hoping to save up for next year's convention as I have heard several wonderful things about it, and all of the pictures that I have seen make it look like the Disney World of Stampers. : )

Anywho, all of that to say that these are pictures of cards/3-D projects that I made at a Non-Convention Go-ers Shoebox Swap.

Hope you enjoy!

Flower Pots Given New Life, Finished Flowerbed, Chair Given New Life, & Finished Purse

2010-08-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

My flower pots that I painted two summers ago (on the left and right) started shedding their paint, so I gave them a new look along with the middle metal container that I purchased at a garage sale for $1.00. : ) I love cheap garage sale finds!

Don't those look so much better. Does anyone know how I can keep my pink hydrangea blooms from turning green like that?

Drum roll please...

Ta-Duh! Here's the completed flowerbed mulched without weeds! I was amazed at the difference the mulch made visually. I didn't expect it to make that big of a difference. It also made a big difference on flower growth and weed and grass control. Josh and I pulled all of the weeds and grass out of the flowerbed before we put down the thick layer of mulch, and I've only had to pull less than a handfull of weeds. My flowers started multiplying and increasing the number of blooms as well.

Do you remember this beauty that I posted a while back?

Well she's finally got her new lease on life too. Here's the new her:

I'm kind of proud of how my first re-upholstry job turned out. It took me a little while, but I really like how it turned out. This is going to be my new craft chair as soon as I get Lance, the mail man to sturdy her frame up with a few additional screws.And last but not least, I FINALLY tackled finishing the purse that I started on my Family Girl's Trip over Memorial Day weekend. It is complete with a inside zipper pocket and magnetic snap. This was my first time to do both a zipper pocket and a magnetic snap, and both were alot easier to install than I had anticipated. The magnetic snap was a little pricier than I expected though.

This Simplicity Pattern (2685) was super easy pattern. I would highly recommend it, and it has another cute purse pattern that I intend on trying out at some point. : )

Happy Crafting!

Wildlife Pictures (from our backyard)

2010-07-26T19:46:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd throw these out there. Here's my cool picture of a not-so-cool colorful spider.And there was a butterfly in the same area, so I took a picture of it too. Much more delightful to look at!

Our New Kitchen Table (Finally!)

2010-07-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

After holding out three or four weeks to find a new kitchen table on Craigslist and me not liking any of the cookie cutter tables and prices of Oklahoma City's furniture row, Josh and I found a table at a furniture store off the beating path for the right price.

We ordered our table and chairs and waited for them to come in a week later. We picked all of them up, brought them home and when we opened the table box, it was damaged. : ( Two of the screws had riased dimples in the table top so josh had to take it back to the store which is 45 minutes away, and then go pick up the new one that came in two weeks later after ours was returned for the new one. He opened the box this time to make sure this one was good before he got it home. : )

SO finally here it is!

Drum roll please...

Our dining room is back to normal! Now we just need to use it....

Refinished China Cabinet

2010-07-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

I have been dying to do this post, but have been running short on time this week working on various other projects so this will be short.

Here is my Craigslist French Provincial Beauty: Look at those curves!

Over all she was in pretty good condition, but she did have a few rough spots.

Nothing a little wood putty and a coat of primer and some paint couldn't fix.

First, I disassembled all of the doors, drawers, and hardware. Then, I sanded the whole piece with a 100 grit sanding block.

Next, I did two coats of oil based primer, but later realized only one was necessary.

Two coats of latex paint and a little distressing (with 100 grit sandpaper) later, and here she is!

I wanted to keep the hardware as is, but one of the door handles looked significantly less aged than the rest so I ended up priming and spraying them with some bronze Rustoleum.

I'm really happy with how my first furniture refinishing project turned out! I have five others lined up ready for their turns....and two more I spotted on craigslist that I would like to snag. : )

Patriotic Cake

2010-07-04T17:22:00.001-07:00

Happy 4th of July!

Hummingbird Pictures

2010-06-21T19:11:00.000-07:00

Tonight when I looked out my craftroom window I saw that one of our bushes was in full bloom so I went out to look at it and was surprised to see two hummingbirds. So, I ran back inside and grabbed my camera! Here's what I was able to capture:

Two Years & Counting

2010-05-16T14:11:00.000-07:00

Josh and I have been married two years today! It's hard to believe what all can happen in two short years.

I have had two different jobs.

Josh survived his racing wreck unscathed, but his car was totaled.

We bought a new house.

We have replaced two heat & air systems.

We have been very blessed and strive to be a blessing to each other. Josh does a wonderful job taking care of me and our house. I am very thankful for him and the relationship that we have. His aniversary gift is case and point. This is what he got me:

A Garmin navigation system. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten lost and had to call him to figure out where in the world I was. Dallas is the worst. One wrong turn and you're completely off track in the wrong direction. Last time I tried to go from my sister's house in Ft. Worth to my grannie's house in Dallas I took two wrong turns that added about 30 mins to my 1 hour trip. I'm really looking forward to using my Garmin on my upcoming girl's trip. Thank you Josh!

Sewing/Craft Retreat with the Family

2010-04-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

I hosted a sewing/craft retreat at my house this weekend for my family. We're a very crafty family. There were a few hiccups (my aunt's car was in the shop and delayed departure time by 3 1/2 hrs), but I think all in all it was an enjoyable weekend. Here are some pictures:

Cousin Holly used her serger to make little girls' dresses out of t-shirts and t-shirt material. Lane , my 2 year old niece, enjoyed measuring squares with Aunt Meagan's ruler.Jennie (sister) re-enforced a baby carrier canopy that she made for her friend, turned Lane's long-sleeved pajama shirts into short sleeves, and made a carring case for her new camera (without a pattern!).Grandma may look like she's asleep but her hands were embrodring away on some cup towels for Cousin Holly pictured above.Lane pushed buttons and supervised as MeMe (Mom) sewed an apron.Aunt Jawana made two whispy summer skirts. Here she is cutting out the black and white zebra print skirt.Cousin Kaylee had an art project that she had to work on this weekend. She sketched a picture of herself. She didn't finish it while she was here, but it was lookin good.Aunt Telia was our Head Chef Saturday night, her daughter Cousin Holly helped too, but I think she was serging again by the time I thought to get my camera! We had Sour Cream Chicken Enchaladas and Soy and Black Bean Enchaladas with guac and chips. Ummm-ummm good! Oh and of course Bentley alwas supervises the cooking and is happy to help with floor clean up. : )

Here are some of the finished projects:Mom's apron using Cindy Taylor's More Retro Aprons book. Super cute! Love the fabric that I picked out for her from Hobby Lobby. : ) I hope to use that fabric in my yellow kitchen in the future.

Aunt Telia made wall hangings out of t-shirts and canvases. This is the back of our girl's trip t-shirt from last year. This year's trip is fast approaching. Memorial Day weekend will be here before we know it! Can't wait. This is Jennie's canopy that she made for her friend and re-enforced this weekend.

Those of you who I missed getting a finished project picture for send me a picture, and I'll add it to my post!

It's Spring!!!

2010-03-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the flowers that we have blooming at our house right now. I was afraid that the snow that we had two weekends ago was going to kill them all but it didn't! We should have some tulips and flowers that start with an h that I can't spell blooming soon as well.Here's another baby gift that I made for a lady at church. I love this fabric. I think it's my favorite baby boy fabric that I've found so far. By the way, this wipe case was a much better experience. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it...maybe. (fingers crossed :))Here are some of the perpetual calendars that my "students" made at my Stampin' Up class this past weekend. I think they all turned out super cute!And finally, I had to share this beauty that I found on Sunday at a local Antique Market. I can't wait to polish it up! It's going to be my new sewing chair. I'll post more pictures after I fix it up.

Tutu Fever

2010-02-22T19:20:00.001-08:00

I made this tutu for Lane weekend before last.I was so tickled with the way that it turned out that I told a lady at church her granddaughter needed one if she didn't already have one, so I made this tutu this past weekend for her granddaughter's birthday, which was Saturday.

They're so easy to make, and they all turn out sooooo cute! I hope Lane likes hers as much as I do!

A Baby Gift

2010-02-16T18:26:00.000-08:00

I made these items for a lady at church, whose husband I help with the accounting and writing checks for our congregation. I don't know her that well, but I work with her husband on a weekly basis so I want to give them a bigger gift than I normally would give. This is an accordian album. I got the idea from my sister, who got the idea from a gift that she received from her friend Ashley. This project was the biggest little booger I have encountered in a while. It looks fairly simple and straight forward, and it was, but it took FOREVER! I thought this would take 30 minutes to an hour....no, it took more like 3 hours. I bought the supplies to make 5 more of these, but I'm not sure that will be happening any time soon.

This is the front view of it open.

And this is the open view of the back, although this could be decorated too and display pictures as well as the front.

I also made this baby wipe case. This was my first try at covering a wipe case, all in all, I think it went ok, and I learned some pointers for the next one that I make. I love this fabric by the way. I found it at JoAnns. It's not the print that I really wanted, but the one that I really wanted was flannel, and I thought that cotton would be better.

And of course as usual, I made a set of burp cloths in matching fabric.

I hope she likes it!

Winter Wonderland Projects

2010-01-31T19:02:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of our iced over tree Friday morning.

And this one is the same picture but with snow falling. It snowed pretty much all day Friday, not sure how many inches we ended up getting. Lately, I've had trouble with losing my work key in the side pocket of my purse between business cards, not good when it's cold outside and my hands are usually full. So when I ran across this fabric key chain tutorial, I knew I had to make it. Now I have one place for all 3 of my keys! I made two, one for me and one for my Etsy.

My nemesis: the brown zebra print curtains. This was a very frustrating project, but in the end, it all worked out okay after several major and minor glitches. I have decided that I prefer to work with fabric one yard at a time. One of the reasons this task felt so daunting was the amount of fabric I had to work with. I had to clean my floor before I could get started so that I could do my pinning and ironing on the hard wood floors. I was really glad that we had these otherwise I don't know what I would have done. I made these lined so that they would have a more finished look and somehow my measurements for my lining fabric came out 2 inches short, so i had to hurdle that obstacle.

The second panel definitely went smoother than the first, so I think in the future should i decide to make these type of curtains again, I could do it more smoothly. But it will be a while before I decide to tackle curtains again, at least curtains this big.

The shears, which are also zebra print, I bought at Target. My friend Karlie has them in her house, and I couldn't resist added them to mine.

This is another tutorial I found online. I thought it was really cute, and it was super easy to make. Literally took maybe 10 minutes to make. I'm going to have to list this one on my Etsy though, because my head was too big for the pattern. It's all those brains I've been blessed with. : )

Recent Projects

2010-01-28T15:07:00.000-08:00

I saw this cute shade idea for the window over the kitchen sink in one of my weekly HGTV emails.
I plan on adding a 2x4 valance in the same fabric at the top of the window frame so that you don't actually see the top and the back of the shade. I didn't think of that until we hung it up though. :)This is a close up of the trim detail at the bottom. If you look close, you can see the white sleet in the backgound on the flowerbed outside. I'm hoping for a day off tomorrow so that I can do more crafting!

This idea I saw in a magazine. I can't remember which one. I was looking at it at the doctor's office.

I found these letters at a local scrapbook store that is going out of sale. I don't have any valentine's day decor, so I thought this would be a good start. I'll have to do Holly's craft along so that my one V-day item doesn't look out of place.

Super Cute Free Give Away

2010-01-19T17:27:00.000-08:00

http:cassieandcompany.blogspot.com/2010/01/favorite-things-friday-vintage-pearl.html

You can enter yourself on my behalf if you wish :)

A New Year, A New Beginning...

2010-01-10T13:45:00.000-08:00

I have received several requests to hear more about my new job, which I mentioned in passing in my last post.

Starting Friday I will be working for Sunbeam Family Services as a Senior Accountant. I am very excited about becoming apart of Sunbeam. It is a non-profit organization that has programs for young kids and senior citizens. Some of their childhood programs include: various foster care programs, early head start, which is a daycare program, and counseling services. For senior citizens, they provide a mentoring program for those living at home that could use some assistance and a shelter for those being abused. Their web address is www.sunbeamfamilyservices.org if you would like to go read more about it.

The thing that excites me most about my new job is that I will be working for a cause; I will be apart of an organization that is doing so much good. It's not about the money, it's not about tracking your charge hours (for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, charge hours are the time that you spend working on a client), and it's not a ton of hours. I should be working about 40 hours a week, which I am also really looking forward to. I won't be working weekends, which means I won't be confined to the OKC metro during my traditional and sporadic busy seasons so I can see my family as often as I want!

I think it's going to be a good change for me, and I know that Josh is looking forward to it too. He won't have to lose me for months at a time anymore. : )

I Have Been A Sewing Machine!

2010-01-09T18:52:00.000-08:00

With the new year and the excitement of having more time to myself after I start my new job on Friday, I have been re-energized over the past week and have started to put a dent in my project pile. For those of you who don't know what a project pile is, it's a pile in the bottom corner of my craft room closet that is littered with fabric and patterns that I have bought, but have not had time to make. My sister found a scraf similar to this one while she was out shopping one day. She figured out how to make them and gave one to me. My friend Lori, pictured here, saw my scarf when I wore it to work one day. She really liked it, so I made one for her. They're really easy to make, the worst part is the type of fabric that you have to use. I only had to use half of the fabric to make hers, so I might make myself one like this too...that or I'll post it for sale on my Etsy. Although, I haven't had much luck with my Etsy.

These are some insulated flat iron travel cases that I made for two of the ladies at work. The three of us worked long hours mid-October through mid-December, which gave us lots of bonding time. So I made them these as a "we survived" gift : ) As of Friday, we all have turned in our two weeks notice....coincidence?...i think not.

And finally, this is my cupcake apron! I bought this fabric back in MAY, while I was in South Padre with my mom's family. I think it is sooo stinkin' cute! It doesn't really look that way in this picture with my black sweater, but it really is. This was my first time to make something with a ruffle. It was easier than I expected.

3 down 10 to go....along with a ton of scrapbooking...to the tune of about 3 years.

**Special shout out to my hubby for finding me software that I can view and edit my RAW format pictures in so that I could make this post!**

New York, New York!

2009-12-30T15:33:00.000-08:00

Josh and I went to New York a week before Christmas for a get away. Our hotel was 3 blocks south of Central Park and a few blocks from Times Square, right in the heart of all the action! We did all of the major sight seeing things including those that are special to the Christmas season. The few things that we didn't do include: going to the top of the Empire State Building, taking the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, and going for a ride in a horse drawn carriage. Here are a few pictures from our trip in no particular order:

This is the US Stock Exchange building.

A lego Batman at FAO Schwartz

The big piano featured in the movie "Big" featuring professional piano dancers at FAO Schwartz.

New York style Pizza. I obviously forgot to take the picture before I started eating it. Oops!

Josh and I waited in the freezing cold for an hour and twenty minutes to buy half price tickets to the Broadway Show "Mary Poppins," which is one of my childhood favorites! We had really good seats in the orchestra section.

Ice skating in Bryant Park...it was bigger than the rink at Rockafeller Center.

The Christmas tree at Bryant Park.

A nice picture of the New York sky line.

It snowed while we were there. If you look closely, there's a car burried to the left of the big snow pile.

A picture of Times Square.

Josh won us tickets to the David Letterman show by correctly answering what color the announcer's hair is.

A picture of Josh and the Triceratops at the Museum of Natural History.

You won't believe the amount of Christmas decorations that businesses, not just retailers put out during this time of year. This is just one picture of the many different holdiay displays that I photographed.

And finally, you definitely cannot go to New York without having a piece of New York style cheesecake!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of Year!!

2009-11-28T18:49:00.001-08:00

Josh and I put up our Christmas tree after I got off of work last night. Here's a few pictures of us hanging ornaments and a picture of the final product.
Josh actually started hanging the house lights the day before Thanksgiving so that his little sister could see them when she came to our house that night. We have a row of color LED lights and a row of LED icicles lining the front of the roof. Then Thanksgiving night I wraped our mini chrismas trees in the front yard with colored LED lights and put up the white swirl christmas trees. And finally, tonight Josh and I finished off our decorations with the deer in our front flowerbed, which were a black friday purchase from Garden Ridge (the only black friday purchase that I actually made this year since I over slept).This is a picture of our beautiful tree that we have in the front yard. This picture does not do it justice. It's leaves are so vibrant in the fall when it changes colors. When I took this picture, it had a little bit green, yellow, and orange.
I took these two pictures for possible computer background wallpapers.
And finally these are pictures of the flat iron travel case that I made for my sister Jennie for a late birthday present.

Praise God

2009-09-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

As you know from one of my previous posts, Josh and I have been trying to rent out our current house so that we can keep it a little while longer until the market improves. We've had it listed and signs posted for a few weeks now and have had lost of interest but no takers.

We were both starting to stress a bit over needing to find renters since we close on our new house tomorrow morning. I've been praying more frequently about it and trying to remain patient and trust that God would provide us with the renters that we need, and today He answered our prayers and gave us more than we had even hoped for.

Not that long ago, Josh called to tell me that a little old lady was trilled about renting our house. She absolutely loves it. She wants to plant flowers there because she enjoys gardening. She will be moving in the day that we had hoped to have renters by, and she plans on staying there until she dies or her children move her to a nursing home. She said that finding our house was a real blessing for her because she's been having trouble with bad neighbors and our house is in a really nice, quiet neighborhood.

She only had one request...that we paint the final bedroom that needs painting a light yellow....$25.00 for a can of paint, we can definitely handle that!

Josh and I are so excited and releived to know that the financial burden of paying two mortgages has been lifted and to know that God is looking down and taking care of us.

God is Good :)

A Treat for Out of Town Training

2009-09-11T14:57:00.000-07:00

I am going to training in Chicago Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday this coming week, and I thought I deserved a little something special to take with me so I finished up this laptop sleeve that I started a few months ago. It's a quick and easy project that I was able to complete in between packing and moving boxes today while I was off of work.

Baby Gift For Zander

2009-09-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures of the diaper bag and matching burp cloths that I made for my former coach at work, Tammy. She adopted Zander about two weeks ago. He is sooo cute and sooooooo tiny. I had the opportunity to hold him at her shower last Sunday. And just so you don't have to ask, my baby fever is still under control. :) I know of plenty of babies to hold and return right now.

The Big Exciting News...

2009-09-08T19:21:00.000-07:00

Yes that's right....after replacing our windows and replacing our heating and air conditioning system, we're moving!Josh found our new house while surfing the Internet one day. No we weren't really looking to move, but we found a place that fit all of our criteria for a place to stay for a LONG time :)This is the font of the house. You can't see them in this picture, but there are 3 or 4 trees that line the road in front of our house.This is the entry way as you come into the house. This picture was taken from the living room looking toward the entry way.This is the living room. As you can see, it has a fireplace with built in shelves on both sides of the fireplace and nice hard wood floors. It is very spacious.This is a picture of the living room looking the other direction towards the dining room.This is a closer picture of the dining room in the corner it has a small build in desk for your laptop or bills.Here are a few pictures of the kitchen. It has double ovens, gray granite counter tops and newly painted cabinets with an updated tile back splash. We did not request to keep this refrigerator. Josh said that it was noise and it was kind of old and dingy looking so we purchased one at Conn's yesterday during their Labor Day Sale.This is a picture of the bathroom that is close to the dining room, kitchen, laundry room, garage, and what will be Josh's Office (pictured below). His room is one of four bedrooms in the house.

This is the hallway bathroom. It also connects to what will become the guestroom. This is the master bedroom. This is a picture looking into the master bathroom. To the left is the toilet and shower, and to the right is the walk in closet (pictured below).

This is a picture of the covered back patio. Josh and I are hoping to use our patio furniture more often this way since we'll have a shady place to sit. We'll just have to figure out how to keep the mosquitoes away!

Lastly, this is a picture of the back yard. Our house sits on a 1 acre lot. There is both this back yard and there is also a huge side yard.

We are set to close on the 18th of this month, so I am using a little time off of work this week to pack and get ready for the big move! Also, we are trying to find renters for our current house. We want to rent it out by October 1st. Josh made a sign for the front yard that we've gotten several calls off of and a few tours, but no definite renters yet. We're praying for someone to rent soon!

New Post

2009-08-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

See the second post below under Monday's date. I started it on Monday, but was too tired to upload all of the pictures.

Great News!!

2009-08-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

I passed my final test of the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Exam :)

That means no more studying (after I do my self-study ethics coure). And no more having to miss out on activities.

This also means more time for doing the things I enjoy like spending time with Josh, scrapbooking/card making, sewing, and cooking. Also, I will be getting more invoved at church, which is something that I miss.

Thank you for encouraging me along the way and keeping my success in your prayers. I am blessed to have such a wonderful and supportive family and group of friends. : )

PS - There is much more news to come....hopefully soon. I wish that pictures loaded faster on here.

CKC Scrapbook Convention

2009-08-24T20:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Jennie and I went to the CKC Scrapbook Convention in Tulsa, OK. We had a blast. It was just the break that we both needed. Here's a picture of us in one of our classes at the convention.Below are pictures of the project that we did in our first class. The title of it was "Just 2 Easy Acrylic Albums." One of the most helpful tips that we learned in this class was to start from the back when you are designing your acrylic album that way you can see what it will look like as you are flipping through it. Also, you should lay everything out before you adhere it.This was our second class titled "One Stamp, 10 Techniques"...Jennie and I never quite figured out what all 10 of the techniques were. This class was jammed packed. We didn't actually finish everything in class...I don't think I finished anything in class, but we finished it later. I think these layouts turned out pretty cute. Now I just need to find the right pictures.And this was our final class that we took, "5 Cards in 5 Steps." This class was very enjoyable. We finished all 5 cards before the end of class and learned some basic designs that can be used over and over again and can be used with different sentiments. The card on the left in the first picture was actually apart of the class above

And what did we do after the convention you may ask...scrapbooked of course. We had to finish the scrapbook pages that we didn't finish in class, and we worked on a page kit that we purchased from Technique Tuesday. Here's a picture of Jennie working on hers and the final product.

I really wish I would have taken a picture of the vendor fair. There were people EVERYWHERE. It was impossble to walk arround without bumping into someone or being bumped into.

Stay tuned....more posts coming soon!

PS - Can't believe that I beat my sister blogging about this! Kudos to me :) Do they still make kudos granola snacks?

Please Say A little Prayer For Me

2009-07-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to solicit prayers from my family and friends. I take my CPA test tomorrow at 12:00pm so if you could say a prayer for me tonight and tomorrow afternoon, I would greatly appreciate it becuase at this point I feel that is the only way I will have a chance at passing this test.

It's not that I haven't studied my butt off because I have...twice actually for this test. There's just alot of information to get confused about and half of it I don't and possibly never will use. :/ That is my frustrated face.

Thanks in advance for your prayers.

A Crafting Kind of Post

2009-07-12T14:10:00.000-07:00

This is the coolest thing....something that every sewer needs. My uncle made this spool holder for the silent auction that my family did at our Christmas get together to help out one of our uncles that needed surgery and would have to take some time off of work. I know, I know, I got this at Christmas, and I'm just now posting about it. Sadly, it took that long for me to get it hung up on the wall. Anyway, The reason why this spool holder is so neat is because you can hide the spools by closing the door to the box and it looks like a pretty picture frame. (see pic 2 below. As you can see, I have a ways to go before I get this completely filled up, but it's always nice to have room to grow.

This is a picture of one of my favorite flea market finds. It's an old Dr. Pepper wooden crate. I got Josh to hang it up on the wall for me, and as you can see, I am using it to store crafting items such as my scrapbooking embellishments, ribbon, and paint. Neat idea huh?!! I can't say it's original :)

This is my other favorite flea market purchase. It's an old chest of drawers that have been refurbished with a hint of a distressed look. I have it in our living room as sort of an end table. (It's the only room in the house that there was room, but it fits it nicely.) It has been a wonderful addition to our home as it has provided additional storage, which unfortunately our house lacks.
And since I seem to be on the theme of favorites and the flea market, this is one of my favorite friends Karlie, we went to the flea market together, which was a good time. Much better than going to the flea market with my husband who discourages me from spending money. (Love you Josh!) It was nice to hang it; it's something that we don't get to do all of the time.Here are some cards that I made last weekend. Just thought I would share them.

Below is the inside of this card. It says "Hoppy for you!" Finally, this last picture doesn't have much to do with crafting, but it's something I'm proud of. It's a picture of my marigolds that I grew from seed that mom gave me! I normally don't try my luck with seeds becuase I don't have quite the green thumb that my mom does, but I had them and thought I should give it a try and not let the seeds go to complete waste. They've gotten a lot bigger since I took this picture.

Have a good weekend!

My Etsies

2009-06-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

Hey all you faithful viewers. Just wanted to take a post to point out my mini Etsies on the right side bar of our blog. Baby Bug Nugglet is my newest Etsy. As you may be able to tell from the name, it specializes in Baby Items.

Some may question how I came up with this name...so I'll just take a moment to explain. I actually had to have it explained to me recently too. Bug Nugglet was my grannie's nick name for me growing up. I asked her last week how she came up with that name. She said that when I was little I LOVED chicken nuggets, only I couldn't pronounce nuggets so they were "chicken nugglets." Cute huh? So that's how she came up with nugglet. As for the "bug," her nickname for my sister was "Jennie Bug" so it's only fitting that she call Jennie's mini me "Bug" Nugglet. I think I may have overused the quotes, but you get the point.

Right now as you can see I only have sets of burp cloths listed, but I do plan on listing other baby related items such as fashionable wipe cases, nursing covers, diaper bags, etc. SO if you are planning on becoming pregnant or know of people who are pregnant or will be pregnant that you would like to get a gift for, please keep Baby Bug Nugglet in mind.

Also, I have my original etsy Meagan's Creations, which features jewelry items: earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and right now there's also a bookmark. In the future, there is a chance that I may add other items such as laptop sleeves, tote bags, etc. (You can go to Jennie's blog to see a laptop sleeve that I recently made for her.)

Lastly, if you would like to request an item, I can do custom orders. You can tell me exactly what it is you are wanting, what color, and how much you are wanting to spend.

Thanks for reading my sales pitch. Have a good weekend!

Miscellaneous

2009-06-15T19:04:00.000-07:00

For some reason not all of my Girl's Trip pictures downloaded from my camera. Luckily I realized it before I deleted them from my memory card. SO here are a few more pictures from that:

This is the original Iwo Jima in Harlingen, TX. Aparaently one of the men who raised the flag was from Harlingen.

Not too long ago, Josh and I bought new energy efficient windows for our home. Here are the before pictures:

Don't you love those screens?!?! Ummm, maybe not so much. Here are the new ones:

SO beautiful!

I went to a flea market at the State Fair with my friend Karlie two weeks ago and found this dresser. Isn't it so stinkin cute!! I love it. I didn't buy it right away but snagged it literally as we headed home for the day.

And as you can see from the picture below, my living room is the only room in our house that had open space. I think it fits nicely in the space though.

Shortly after being re-energized by my refurbished finding at the flea market, I finally finished up my window that I've had sitting in the garage for several months. I preped it and painted it antique white with chocolate brown crackles.

This is what it looked like after I finished all of the painting.

Here is a close up of the crackled detail. I still have a few things that I need to do to it. If you look closely at the picture below you will see that I broke one of the glass panes. My sister cut me a new piece of glass to size this past weekend so now I just need to redo the caulking so that the glass doesn't fall out. I plan on having Josh cut me some etched vinyl frames so that the glass will looked frosted and I need to decide what pictures I want to place behind the frosted frames. My sister also suggested that I incorporate some vinyl wall art, so I'm still throwing that idea around. I'll be sure to take a final picture after I get everything done and hang it on the wall.

Finally, I wish I could claim the flowers below as my own, but I can't. These are pictures of Mom's flowerbeds in Mission, TX. She always does a wonderful job corrdinating and upkeeping her gardening.

Have a good week!

Fun at the Lake

2009-06-01T18:51:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Josh and I went with our friends Scott, Ginger, and Amelia to Lake Arcdia which is just a few miles down the road. Here are some pictures that I enjoyed taking with my new lens that Josh got me for Christmas!Getting ready for take off.Nice close up shot. Looks professional huh? j/kCatching some air....just a little bit This is Scott riding the wave
I love this picture because of the water in the bottom of the frame. I think it looks really cool : ) Scott doesn't look bad either....great form.

This is Miss Amelia riding a few feet behind the boat at a steller 5 mph. She had a great time in the water.Here's some more pictures of Josh. He had a wild ride on the intertube.

I also rode the intertube, but I only had my fancy camera so you'll just have to imagine how good I look holding on for dear life with my eyes squinted to keep some of the water out of my eyes and my mouth closed so that I don't get a mouth full of fish pee water if I happen to fly off. :) It was a great time!

I hope you get the opportunity to enjoy the lake too sometime this summer.

One LONG Post

2009-05-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

Josh and I had our 1st wedding anniverary on the 16th of this month. If you click an enlarge this picture you can see me wearing my anniversary gift. Or you can see a picture of them in the box below.

This is the gift I gave Josh. It's what he gave his best men, but he forgot to get one for himself.

My wonderful husband installed the falcet and soap despenser pictured below one weekend while I was in Texas, which is why I don't have a before picture. It was a nice surprise to come home to, and it looks soooo much better than the one that we had!

These are pictures of our newly trimmed shrubs. Really wish that I would have taken a before picture for this one too so that you could appreciate how much they all needed to be trimmed.

I bought this onesie from walmart with the embrodery around the neck already intact, but I added the ladybug. I found a clipart picture on the internet and afixed the fabric with double sided adhesive and stitched around the edge. If you look closely, you will notice that I used buttons for the spots and the ends of the antenas. This was my first experience with sewing on a knit fabric. It was interesting. I had to seam rip quite a few times.

This is a bracelet that I made for my adopted mom at church. I made it to match the necklace pictured below it that she bought from a local craft show I believe. I thought it turned out nicely. She will be wearing it to her youngest son's wedding that will take place next month.

And lastly, I just returned home from South Padre Island, TX where I had my girls trip with Mom's family which included, Grandma, Mom, my aunts, female cousins, and our Louisana bunch, which included Grandma's sister and neices.

Playing catch-up

2009-05-06T18:50:00.000-07:00

So I know that it's been a while excluding my jewelry post that I did a few nights ago. So here's a couple of things...

This is Lane's birthday present that I didn't finish until March. It's a ladybug blanket. Bentley was testing it out for me before we gave it Lane. It got his stamp of approval.
Allyson, Josh's little sister had her 5th birthday in March. After her party that she had with all of her family, Josh, Shannon (Josh's friend), and I took Allyson to Incredible Pizza. She had a really good time. Here's a few pictures from that....

Finally, in April, I went to the Heart Walk with my friend Lori from work. I decided to take Bentley with me at the last minute despite the fact that I thought I would have to carrry him half of the way, since a mile of walking is more excercise than Bentley normally gets in one day, much less 3 miles, but he did great. He was soooo excited! He led me the whole way pulling me along. Below is a picture of just that.This was the end of the walk.

And here is a picture of Bentley completely pooped on the ride home. Yes he was trying to fall asleep sitting up. I guess so that he could still feel the air conditioner. Silly dog.

That's all for now.

Jewelry Post for Karlie

2009-05-04T17:07:00.000-07:00

My Etsy posts have expired because it's been six months. So I am posting these pictures for my friend Karlie who is interested in possibly purchasing something. Happy looking! E-mail me for prices if you find something you like.

This one is a book mark.

This one is a bracelet.

Sorry, some of these pictures aren't that great. If you want better pictures of a particular item, let me know.

Baby Gift for Dyllen

2009-03-23T20:08:00.000-07:00

My best friend Heather who lived down the street going up had baby Dyllen in December. I finally got around to making her a gift which are pictured below.

I made this diaper bag for Heather, but added the blue ribbon so that it had a hint of boy to it.

I personalized these burp cloths for Dyllen. His room has a sports theme so I thought my fabric choices would be fitting. : )

A quick post..

2009-02-22T19:50:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd do a quick post since it's been a while. I was uploading some of my pictures earlier today and apparently it's been a while since I downloaded pictures because I still had pictures on on my camera from October. All that to say this is a picture of Josh and I at my work Christmas Party. I think it's a nice picture of us.
On another note, I have my 4th CPA test on Saturday, so please pray for me extra hard this week. I am still waiting to hear if I passed my 3rd test that I took in January.

Update - It's official!

2009-01-16T18:34:00.000-08:00

Hey, just wanted to let everyone know it's offical on paper I passed my 2nd test that I talked about in my last post.

Please keep me in your prayers as I do my final studying this week and take my 3rd test next Saturday.

YEAAAA!!!

2009-01-09T14:44:00.000-08:00

Ok so this isn't offical until I receive it in writing in the mail, but I found out today while at work how to look up my CPA test scores online. I've been DYING to know what I made on my last test that I took right before Thanksgiving even though I was sure that I failed it miserably.

Anywho, I found out from a fellow test taker how to look at my scores online, which come out quicker than the offical scores in the mail, AND I PASSED!!! With flying colors at that!

All praise and glory to God who I now know was looking down smiling on me. He knew how hard I worked to prepare for that test and how I relied on the talents that I know He has blessed me with. : ) Thanks Big Man.

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-29T19:53:00.000-08:00

Some pictures from our Christmas holiday...Bentley, curled up close to the Christmas tree on his red blanket.

Lane's first fish...a gift from her Grandpa.Josh opening his electric blanket. He's laughing because I wrapped the electric blanket inside of the gift bag in wrapping paper in case he decided to snoop one day while I was at work.

Allyson sporting her new Minnie Mouse Necklace with an interchangeable Cinderella charm.
Josh and his Grandma Jackie.

Traditional Christmas family photo in front of the Christmas tree even though you can't really see the tree...it's there.
My largest gift this year....55-200mm Nikkor lense for my digital SLR camera from Josh.

My gift from Jennie, Brandon, Lane, Donte, & Zoe, a matching Coach wallet to go with my Coach purse.

Christmas Time

2008-11-29T18:24:00.000-08:00

I love decorating for Christmas! Josh and I put up our outside lights late this morning into the early afternoon. We only had enough lights to outline the outer edge of the roof, not the peaks, but we plan on purchasing the extra strands that we will need after Christmas to do the peaks next year. This isn't the best picture, but it's all I've got.

Then tonight before watching the bedlam game (OU vs OSU), we did the indoor decorations here's some of those pictures.

Well this one's actually outdoor, but I wanted to include it because I revamped my weath this year since Josh and Jennie both thought it was a little lack luster last year. What do you think? Does it need more?
This is part of the Christmas gift that I received from my cousin Cassie last year at Mom's Family Christmas.
Instead of hanging our stockings by the chimney with care, we hung them by the window because we don't have a chimney.
And after finishing the indoor decorations I made a pot of Mom's chili recipe, and we had that for dinner while watching the game.
Mmmm Mmmm Good!

Finally, just wanted to share the good news with everyone. I received a notice in the mail yesterday that I passed the first CPA test that I took. : ) Which is exciting!

My Bernina

2008-10-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

For everyone who wanted to know, I got the Bernina Activa 220. I really like it alot. I'm a fan of the need stop up/down option instead of having to do it manually. I'm hoping that I will have my class on all of it's features soon. I tired to figure out how to do the monogram letters on my own, but I couldn't figure out from the manual how to make them bigger.

Just because I like posting pictures on my blog here is a picture that didn't make the cut on my previous post.

Bentley likes to "closely supervise" my work. This is a picture of him laying on my fabric while I was trying to cut it. I lost count of how many times I had to scoot him out of the way so that he didn't get a hair cut or a straight pin in his tail.

My New Sewing Machine & First Completed Project

2008-10-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks before my birthday Bernina had a good sale on their sewing machines, so I bought myself an early birthday present. It stayed in the box for 3 or 4 weeks before I had time to get it out and enjoy it. Here's my first completed project using my new sewing machine.
This is a diaper bag that I made for the Assistant Manager that I had at Bank of America. The pattern that I used was for a purse the size of the patterned fabric at the bottom and I added the solid black on top to extend it into a larger bag.
I added 5 pockets to the inside. Two large ones and three smaller ones.This is the matching make-up looking bag that I made for the Mommy-to-be.

The Music Builds Concert

2008-10-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

For my birthday, Josh got us tickets to the Music Builds Tour this past Sunday when it came through Oklahoma City. The concert benefits Habitat for Humanity and features Jars of Clay, Switchfoot, & Third Day. Of the three I enjoyed Third Day's performance the most. I know you can't really see anything from these pictures because they're so little, but I'll pretend that you can. : )

Jars of Clay

Switchfoot

The crowd...lots of people were there.

Third Day

Josh's Crap Box Is No More

2008-10-02T16:39:00.000-07:00

Big thanks to God, he took care of my hubby this weekend while I was away (Thanks again God I was not at the track to witness his wreck). Josh's car ran into the wall Saturday night while he was drag racing at the track in Tulsa. He is very blessed to have walked away with only a sore neck and foot after having hit the concrete retaining wall going approximately 115 to 120 mph. Here are some pictures of what is left of his car...

Additions Around the House & My Sewing Disaster

2008-08-31T18:57:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the little homey touches that we've added around the house...

Our engagement photo gallery in the living room above the couch.

My fabulous garage sale find last time i went to Texas. I paid five bucks, and I got something for our entry way!

Alas, my cross wall has begun. Of course it's in my craft/futon guest room because Josh wasn't too keen on the idea.

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So I've decided that my sewing machine is junk!

One weekend earlier this month I was trying to make a weekend canvas tote bag out of some material that I had bought a while back, but I finally had to stop because I got to a point that the horrible stitches were no longer decently camouflaged. Here are some pictures of my problem.

My stitches are loopy. I've had problems with the tension on my sewing machine so I took it to get it tuned up hoping that would fix my problem, but obviously it hasn't. Jennie even gave me the recommended tensions from the manual (we have the same model) and after I adjusted it my strait line stitch looked like a walking stitch leaving footprints, which is also a problem that I've had before. It did help the tension problem a little though.

So, I've decided to ask for a new sewing machine for my birthday or for Christmas, and that I'll have to put down my sewing projects for now. It's too frustrating.

Scrapbooking...the hobby that i love

2008-07-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy scrapbooking. It seems that I never have enough time for it though. Right now I think I'm about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 years behind on scrapping my pictures. Here's a few pages I completed the weekend before last from our hunny moon cruise. These pages are of Grand Cayman.

My New Daily Driver

2008-07-22T19:05:00.000-07:00

Josh sold my car a few Sunday ago so I had to get some new wheels. We bought me a brand new 2008 Glacier Blue Metallic Honda CR-V EX from a friend of ours that works as a salesman at one of the local dealerships.

It comes complete with steering wheel volume controls, iPod plug in, and wheels that are not hideous like the base model. I really like it and am looking forward do jamming out to my iPod as I cruise-control my way to Dallas this weekend!

OH YEAH, and I can’t forget to mention how nice it was of my husband to clean out part of the garage so that my new car has a home away from the elements.

4th of July weekend

2008-07-12T05:44:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a pretty eventful weekend around our house. Friday morning, Josh and I began working on replacing our flowerbed edging. We chose an 8”x 8” cobble stone rock. We only had enough time to start one side of the flower bed. Below is a picture of the progress that we made:

That afternoon, our friends Kyle and Kayce arrived from Tulsa to celebrate the holiday with us. This is the 3rd year that we have spent the holiday together watching fireworks in Edmond. We had a good time grilling steaks for dinner and then watching the fireworks afterwards. Here are some pictures from that:

And a video of the Grand Finale:

Saturday, I finished up 1 side of the flower bed and worked on assembling the cubes for my desk. Josh helped me pick out wood and hardware for making a desktop and shelf to complete my desk. We actually assembled the desk on Sunday here’s a few pictures of my new scrapbook haven:

I'll try to post some better pictures after I get it all filled up.

All in all I think it was a fairly productive weekend. Hopefully today we will be able to finish up outlining the flower bed. Stay tuned for more exciting posts coming soon...this was an eventful week. : )Enjoy your day!

Making My Mark

2008-06-24T19:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend I made my mark on what used to be Josh's house and is now our house. I did a little planting to make it look a little more like home. Below are some pictures....I've had this barrel for about a month and a half now, and I finally got around to planting something in it this weekend. And just look at that beautifully mowed back yard. Josh does a great job keeping the yard trimmed usually every Sunday.

These flower pots turned out really good I think. The colorful flowerpots that I liked at the local greenhouse were $70-80 a piece, so I opted to buy some interesting clay pots at around $15-20 a piece and spay paint them ($3 a can).

I had to get a hybiscus plant. It runs in the family. (Mom and Jennie both have one.)

I'm tired of waiting on mom's starter plant from some of her hydrangeas so I purchased my own, in purple...not quite the color of my wedding flowers though (these are more of a lavender color). (PS-Mom, I still want that starter plant...I didn't purchase pink on purpose.)