Today's daily musings...

I've been a real blogging slackard lately, so to make up for it, here is a long post and hope you stick with me until the end.

For Joy, here is my avatar photo, hopefully a little bigger so you can see it better.

My sis-in-law, Patty took this photo of me before I got my hair cut, but unfortunately the photo was a little blurry. It looks ok in a small format but if it's blown up any larger, you can really see how blurry it is. Since avatar are normally really small, this photo works ok for that.

Now on to a RAK I received:

My girlfriend, Becky, sent me the cutest 3-pack of moleskine journals she got at Barnes and Noble. So I took and altered them. I forgot to take a pic of Becky's before I mailed it to her, so you'll have to see the one I made for myself. The paper is by Paper Trey Ink and can be found here. When I have more time, I'll take a photo of the paper trimmer I used to create the scallop strip. It's by Marvy/Uchida I think and has interchangeable blades for different effects. I used the scallop blade, obviously here. The rain dots I found in a little bag at Michael's. They come in a bag of like a zillion for like $3.99. I might've got the idea on Becky's blog, but I can't remember now who's blog gave me the tip. I have some to share. If you'd like to try them out, let me know and I'll send you a baggy of them. I have Blue, Clear, Green and Pink. I used Autumn Leaves swirl stamps and Palette Burnt Umber ink.

Here is my most recent layout:

Here is a layout I did for a challenge at A Million Memories based on a sketch by Valerie Salmon. I did it on the five things I want to do before I "kick the bucket". If you didn't see the movie, "The Bucket List", it's a must see. My list includes:

1. Read the Bible cover to cover.

2. Travel to Europe.

3. Learn the violin.

4. Visit Alaska.

5. Finish my degree.

The third one in the pack I think I'll make for my friend Katie.

On to more happy talk, here is the RAK I put together for Joy and Christine. Can you believe all these yummies came from the Target Hot Spot? I got my Zutter binder out and made a 6x6 mini album for them out of some spare chipboard sheets I got from online kit orders. I cut the inner pages out of Georgia Pacific 110 lb. cardstock I bought at Wal-Mart. It's stiff enough to hold up to altering. Then I took the paper, cut it down to size and included matching embellishments such as little cute spools of ribbon, foam flowers, flower brads, chipboard tags, prima type flowers and rhinestone brads. I just thought the colors were so bright and cheery. It makes me look forward to summer, sunny days soon to come!!

Chris, do you want me to send this to you Dad's or to your P.I. addy?

Have fun with you goodies, girls!

Now for some house pictures!!

Here's the view out our front door. Everything is muddy and sloppy right now with all the rain.

Here is Connor's bedroom.

Here is the Master Bedroom and Bath. There are two separate closets with a jet tub in between the closets. To the right is a water closet (a private room for the stool). We plan to have a double sink vanity and also a separate marble shower. The master features a door out to the patio, coffered ceilings with can lights all around.

Here's a photo of Uncle Allen, Eric and Ryan. Connor is named after Uncle Allen. He is Shirley's brother. He is doing the taping on our home. This view is from the living room looking into the dining area and the fireplace. Off the dining area you can see a slider door that leads out onto the screened back porch.

Here is the view from the dining area looking into the kitchen. In the corner is a pantry. There's also an island in the middle of the room. The kitchen sink will sit right under that arched window.

Here is a photo looking from the dining room into the living room.

As you can probably see, our kitchen, living and dining area is one big open area. Behind where Eric is standing is the master bedroom to the right and the mudroom to the left. Behind where I am standing taking this picture are two separate bedrooms (one being Connor's room and the other a guest bedroom) with a hallway bathroom in between the two bedrooms.

So it's a simple, yet functional home, perfect for the four, soon to be three of us. Down in the basement will be my scrap space and a bathroom and bedroom for Ryan eventually.

If you're still here, thanks for looking!!