My new creating space....

I met...

Simon Cowell several years ago; we were on the same flight as him from Glasgow, Scotland to London Heathrow. We saw his girlfriend in the first class lounge but didn't think too much about it; then when we boarded we saw him with her. At that time Nattie had just started to watch "American Idol" with me, and she was quite smitten with Simon :) So when we got off the plane in London, Nattie and I left Iain and Jamie behind and followed Simon to baggage claim; by the time we got there, a small crowd had gathered but Simon was such a gentleman about it all. He took the time to chat to everyone; when our turn came, Nattie told him that we lived in California and that she had just started to watch the show. He said "thanks so much, sweetheart!" and gave her his autograph :) He was such a nice guy!

I also met Sir David Frost in an elevator in the London Heathrow Marriott on that same UK trip. Some of you may know him as a respected British journalist/writer/broadcaster. He was also extremely polite and chatty!

Have you met any celebrities? And was it a positive or negative experience?

Thankful :)

I hope that everyone had a terrific Thanksgiving, wherever and however you spent it. We spent our Thanksgiving at home, just the 4 of us. Jamie wanted a "real" (read: traditional) Thanksgiving this year, so I even cooked! Those of you who know me will know what a big deal that is - I'm not a huge fan of cooking, I do it because I have to, and I usually steer clear of big, multi-step dinners at all costs :) But I did it! I made roasted turkey breast, cranberry sauce (with fresh cranberries!), yams with marshmallows, stuffing and gravy. Nattie made turkeys to put next to our plates, and we all wrote down what we were thankful for :) The kids' lists even included pumpkin pie, which we had after dinner while watching "Shrek". Amongst other things, I was thankful that I was able to pull off dinner and give Jamie his "real" Thanksgiving :)

Here's what else I am thankful for this weekend:

• My hubby, our kiddos and pets
• Our good health
• Our safe, cozy home
• My new creating space down in the basement!
• That I was able to get a hair appointment on Wednesday to have my gray covered :)
• The beautiful town where we live
• That I will be finished with my degree by the end of next Summer
• All of our family back in England and Scotland
• Our friends and neighbors
• My job and the super kids and people I work with
• My blogging and online friends and their support
• My dishwasher (it worked overtime yesterday!)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone :)

Things I Have Done

I found this list on Heather's blog and thought it would be fun to play along, so here goes. If you want to play, just copy the list and highlight or underline the ones you have done :)

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Fostered a rescue animal

Tagged!!

This is a fun tag from Heather , Janet and Benita! It's all about 4's :)

To complete the tag, you go to the photos folder on your computer, open the 4th folder and post the 4th picture to your blog....

The one I found is actually a scan of a photo from when Iain's mom and sister came to visit us in CA in 2003. This photo was taken at Newport Beach - Nattie was just 6! Iain's sister, Helen, is watching Nattie play in the sand :)

Now I have to tag 4 friends to play along: so here you go Sue, Darcey, Patti and Lisa. Enjoy!

TCP Tuesday - Sketch Challenge

Hi everyone :) Leigh has an awesome sketch for us all to work on this week for TCP Tuesday! I used one of the new TCP stamp sets, "Elegant Christmas" for my card, along with the "Wassail" line from Basic Grey :) The dove image is embossed with silver embossing powder.

My basement workspace is getting there, slowly but surely! I'm hoping to get it finished by the end of Wednesday. Everything is down there, it's just not organized in the best way right now :) Back to work....

Have a great Tuesday!

Happy Monday!

Hi all :) How was your weekend? We had a busy time; the 4 of us moved my craft stash down from what is now the guest room to the basement...I knew I had a lot of stuff - but - yikes!! :)

We bought some new 6-ft tables and put together all the containers from IKEA. There are a couple of things I still want to do that will require a trip to the Container Store (yeah!), and I also have to rearrange all the drawers of stamps to make it just how I want it, but for the most part it looks awesome! It'll be a great layout for the school fundraiser class on the 6th :)

At the sign-up night at the school on Thursday, my class filled up - so there will be 10 ladies coming to make the projects, with 75% of the cost going back to the school. I also sold a lot of my Hershey Snowmen and Peppermint Patty candy projects that night, and the proceeds of that are going to the school too (over $100!). Thanks everyone!!

Today's card is made with a combination of stamps from Hero Arts (tree) and The Cat's Pajamas ("joy" sentiment). And isn't the pink and white paper fun for a holiday card? I believe it's by October Afternoon. The only "coloring" I did on this one was with some different colors of Stickles :) The tag is a Cuttlebug die.

Have a fabulous week ahead! Come back tomorrow for TCP Tuesday - it'll be a sketch challenge!

More candy treats

Yep! Two more candy treats to give you some ideas for easy gifts this holiday season :) I found these ideas on a fabulous blog: Impressions by Rochelle - in addition to the candy treats, there are other awesome project ideas over on Rochelle's blog. Take a look over there if you have time! Thank you, Rochelle, for letting me show these on my blog :)

Here's a link to the Hershey Sticks holder, and here's a link to the Peppermint Patties (yum!). And - the "Give Thanks" sentiment is from The Cat's Pajamas. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that the leadership group at the school made the peppermint patties to sell for their community service project, and they sold out so quickly!! Wouldn't they be fun to use for your holiday table?

Snowman Hershey Bars

I saw these snowmen candy bars (great job, Monica!) on Two Peas in a Bucket last month, and decided to adapt the idea for the school fundraiser tonight :) Instead of printing the snowman's face, I just drew the mouth, used google eyes and cut the carrot out from an orange scrap of paper.

I am very proud of these! I think they turned out really well!

And talking of winter themes, Jamie and I got to stay home from school today - the ice up here on our mountain was too dangerous to drive on, so when I called the school (from the car after gliding along my "glass" driveway), I found out that they were telling those of us who live up at the higher elevation that we should stay home and be safe.

The two of us came back inside, watched a couple of episodes of SpongeBob, got some laundry going, did some craft projects upstairs, and now we're about to do some reading. A nice cozy afternoon! As far as I know, the fundraiser is still going ahead tonight, though :)

It's Tuesday!

And that means it's time for another TCP Tuesday challenge :) I'm hosting this week, and we're doing a stamp challenge: I'm challenging you to make a card using any TCP stamp that includes a CAKE :) And there are a bunch of them you can choose from over at The Cat's Pajamas!

For my card, I used the "Mod, Mod Wedding Cake" stamp - isn't it fun? And I think it's a great match with this new stack from Die Cuts with a View - it's called the "Sweet Stack" :)

To play along, post a link to your card in the comments for this post! If you upload to Splitcoast Stampers, please use the keyword TCPTUES34 so that we can find your fabulous work! And remember, all the entries will be featured in Alma's "Holey Moley Monday" slideshow next Monday, November 24th. There's also a chance for you to become this month's Swanky Stamper - but you have to play along first! Have fun!