5 Things Friday

It's time again for 5 Things Friday! We are started off each week by Carla at My 1/2 Dozen Daily. For new readers, 5 Things Friday is an opportunity for me to share 5 random thoughts with you! So, let's get started...

ONE...This week I got really frustrated with my mom and very nearly made the mistake of playing "tit for tat". Fortunately, I was able to counsel with some very wise women who helped me to see that 1) Two wrongs don't make a right; 2) My mom is not likely to change at this late stage in her life; and 3) "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Thank you ladies for your help and guidance!

TWO...I am starting to hyperventilate about being ready for Christmas! Slow down, breathe and do the next thing on my "to do" list!

THREE...What is it about men and electronics?!!! I don't think I will ever understand. Do we REALLY need surround sound in our bedroom? I don't think I really appreciate surround sound in the living room!

FOUR...Did you know that vinegar stops itching? I was using an aloe vera based cream that is $50/jar because it made my itching tolerable but vinegar does the same thing at a fraction of the cost. Check out 1001 Uses for White Distilled Vinegar.

FIVE...Is there anything in your house you would change if you had the money to do so? I would enlarge my bedroom/bathroom so I could have a walk-in closet and a big bathtub:) Second on that list would be new kitchen cupboards but I would be totally happy with the closet that would be easier to access!

Well, that's it for me on this fine Friday! Have a great weekend! 

Kat

Thankful Thursday

Welcome to Thankful Thursday! I love being able to share with you the things I am thankful for:)

#1...I am thankful the doctor is getting closer to finding the cause of my horrible rash/hives. Will be sooo thankful when this is all over!

#2...I am thankful for my wonderful Happy Stampers stamping club! We have such a fun time at our monthly meeting and there is so much talent in our group! Last night we made gift tags and they were amazing! I will be showing you the tags next week.

#3...I am thankful for friends who encourage me to be the best I can be. What would we be without our wonderful friends?!!!

Thank you for joining me on this freezing, foggy Thursday (I am not thankful for that!). I will be back tomorrow with 5 Things Friday!

Kat

Snow Much Fun Card Plus

Swap card from Kathy Williams of Kingsport, TN

I decided to participate in Brian King's Holiday One-for-One card swap over at Stamp with Brian. If you haven't visited Brian's blog be sure to check it out. He is VERY talented and his posts can be quite amusing! And if you hurry on over and leave a comment on Brian's Monday post, you could win the new Stampin' Trimmer (Brian's having a birthday that ends in 0)! 

The card I received is the one pictured above from Kathy Williams and I love it! Even my husband commented on what a great job she did! So many nice elements to this card. Check out the beautiful snowflakes cut out of Silver Glimmer Paper with the Snow Flurry Bigz Die. They really dress this card up! She also used the Snow Burst Embossing Folder which is retired. 

Inside of swap card from Kathy Williams

Thank you Brian for sponsoring this swap! It inspired me to start a monthly swap with those on my email list!

Then, look what I got in the mail about a week later...

Brian King sent ME a Christmas card!!! I feel like I got a Christmas card from a celebrity!!! Not really, but I really do enjoy his blog:) This card would be so super quick and easy to make which is Brian's style. Most of his cards are what we call Clean and Simple but that doesn't always mean easy! Thank you, Brian for this super cute Christmas card!

Well, I am off to get ready for my Happy Stampers Club tonight! Tonight we will be making gift tags and each person can go home with as many as they care to stay and make! I have many errands to do beforehand so best get to it! 

I will be back tomorrow with my weekly Thankful Thursday post! Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Kat

Not a Creature was Stirring

I love getting cards that other people make...my Happy Stampers, friends, my downline, swaps...it's just fun to see other people's work up close and personal! Saturday night a dear friend and one of my downline gave me the card above from her two daughters, Mara and Elsbeth. I couldn't believe how incredibly cute it is!!! Mara made the card and she is quite the artist as well as a skilled papercrafter! The big mice were made with the Stampin' Up! Ornament Punch while the small mice were made with the ornament punch from the Merry Minis Punch Pack.

Mara lettered the wording on the card by hand and it is very artistically done. Good job, Mara! In the photo above you can also see how she used one of the shapes from the Itty Bitty Punch Pack to make the little ball on the hat. She also sponged a lot of the pieces to give the card dimension.

The inside of the card (above) and one last photo of those precious little baby mice...

...Nestled into their bed of red felt and white tissue paper. I am saving this card to perhaps use as one of our Happy Stampers projects for next year! 

Thank you Mara and Elsbeth for this adorable card!

Tomorrow I will show you the card I got from Brian King's One-on-one Swap but now I'm off to finish up my projects for tomorrow's Happy Stampers Club!

Have a great day!

Kat

I Flunked Blogging 101

One of the first rules of blogging is to blog regularly whether that be once a month or once a week or daily. I know my readers come to expect a fresh blog post 5-6 days a week. I am really disappointed when I go to a blog that I have enjoyed only to find they haven't updated in several days. So, while I can't promise it won't happen again, I apologize! 

I have REALLY felt like screaming lately! In my heart of hearts I know it could be worse but lately I have just wanted to have a Pity Party! I still have my rash but we are getting closer to the cause--doesn't make me itch less or sleep better but at least there is light at the end of the tunnel:) THEN last week my dear Hubby shared his cold/flu with me so I was doubly miserable! And then the frosting on the cake...our kitchen sink plugged up super bad on Friday. I thought about taking a picture of what my kitchen looked like but then decided NOBODY would want to see THAT mess!!! Took Hubby till today to get it unplugged but at last it is flowing free (insert happy dance here) but spent two days washing dishes in pans on the counter (kinda like camping). Okay so that means two down...cold nearly over and drains unplugged!!! I feel like I am two weeks behind on my Christmas prep but I can only do what I can do.

Saturday night was my husband's company Christmas party. I thought I might need to take DayQuil to make it to the party but thankfully after two days rest I was able to go without it. 

I was hoping to get some good pictures at the party but my head just wasn't in it. The party was at Riverenza in The Dalles. It is an amazing venue and everything about the party was PERFECT...food, games, gifts and best of all the people! I am really glad I got out of bed and went!

A Christmas Party tradition with Hire Electric, Inc.  is at the end of the evening to have the ladies put their names in a drawing...this year they had tickets. When your name is drawn you get to pick on of the table centerpieces to take home. This was my third year to be able to take home a centerpiece and it is very pretty...

Oh Santa, if you're listening, I REALLY need that Light Box for my photographs! I was hunting all over the house for the right light to do the centerpiece justice!

Okay, enough rambling for today! I hope you have all your preparations ready for your Christmas celebrations. I will keep working away at mine. My granddaughter's doll clothes have now moved to the top of my list after Stamping Club on Wednesday. Thankfully two of my Happy Stampers volunteered to help with the projects this month so that takes a load off of me:) Thank you Barb and Kim!!!

Have a great day and wait till you see what I have to show you tomorrow:)

Kat

Thankful Thursday

The new Thankful Thursday button is just about finished so...next week. Also need to finish my new blog header! Although it's still fall, it almost isn't! LOL 

It is so hard to be in a thankful mode this morning as my hives are in full flare-up mode and my head is about to explode with this cold/flu thing I have going on but I do realize it could be sooo much worse!

#1...I am thankful for some cream I bought at the fair in September that has turned out to be the perfect thing for calming my hives when they break out. It's called Corium 21 and is amazing. I purchased it for my eczema but I have gone through almost two jars of it in the last three months with these hives. I mentioned to my hubby that we should buy it by the gallon but at $395/gallon, that's highly unlikely! 

#2...Christmas shopping almost done! That is always something to be thankful for:) I will pick up a few gift cards today and have just a couple gifts to make as soon as I can think again (stuffy head go away!).

#3...I am so super thankful for all my blog readers! My blogging adventure has turned out to be more than I ever hoped or dreamed! 

So that's it for my thankful Thursday! If it weren't that I need to go to the doctor with my son today, I would be snuggled up in bed with a good book! A liberal slathering of the Corium 21 and some DayQuil should get me where I need to go!

Have you read any good books lately? Would love to know what they are!

Have a great day!

Kat

Happy Homemaker Monday...ah, Tuesday

Check out the adorable button Sandra has for us to use for the winter editions of Happy Homemaker Monday. Sandra starts us off each week...on Monday...from her great blog, Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. I am so sorry I didn't get my post done yesterday however, on top of my rash/hives, I now have the flu--sore throat, stuffy nose, weepy eyes...you get the idea! So this morning I decided to drag the computer into bed with me and blog anyway! So let's get started!

The weather...Cloudy, windy and 60 degrees! Hmmm...thought this was December!

Right now I am...Sitting in bed with my itch cream at my side and a cup of detox tea (found the recipe on Pinterest)--the lemon and cayenne are soothing to my throat.

Thinking...of all the things I wanted to get done today if I didn't feel so lousy:(

On my reading pile...Homespun Bride by Jillian Hart and my new Knit Simple magazine. Still doing our Louis L'Amour read aloud.

On my tv...Not sure I can handle the noise.

On the menu for this week...
Tuesday -- Mizidra (if I feel up to making it, otherwise canned soup)
Wednesday -- Tacos
Thursday -- Restaurant meal:)
Friday -- Baked Potatoes, Butternut Squash and Brussels Sprouts
Saturday -- Hubby's Christmas Party
Sunday -- no clue

On my to do list...
Wash a few more clothes with the new laundry soap.
Still need to get some sewing done (Christmas gifts)
Christmas Cards
Get ready for next week's stamping club

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating...Still working on my Infinity Scarf. I need to read less and watch more TV so I can get it finished:)

Homemaking Tip...Have you ever thought about making your own laundry detergent and how the price would compare to what you can purchase on sale? I have been thinking  A LOT about laundry detergent for the last week thinking it just might be what's causing my hives. How great would it be to KNOW what's in your laundry detergent. We did purchase a big bucket of Charlie's Soap on the recommendations of several people online but when it's gone, I think I might just try this recipe from Happy Money Saver. She said it comes out to about 4 cents per load! I don't remember if I shared this tip before but if you have a smell in your clothes that just won't come out, try 20 Mule Team Borax. It even takes out the smell of cat pee!!! Add a little to your rug shampooer the next time you shampoo the carpets! 

Looking around the house...Well, I have a limited view from my bed but I see a pile of clothes that need to be washed and dogs lying everywhere! They follow me from room to room throughout the day--wherever I am...there they are!

From the camera...Nothing today.

On my prayer list...Selfishly, that I will get over this flu quickly and find out what's causing my rash/hives.

Bible verse; Devotional...
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29 (NIV) 

Well, I'm off to take another nap! Have a great day!

Kat