Airing out

Mah tummiez so fullz I has to air it owt!

New Craft Store!

We Finally have a Hobby Lobby on the west coast of FL!!! I've been driving 1.5 hours north to Ocala for 3+ years and now I've got one that's 10 minutes from home! They had their "soft" grand opening today, and of course I had to go check it out. Soooooooooo much better than Michael's and JoAnn's! They have their "official" grand opening on Monday morning at 9 AM, so I think I may have to go back and see if they are giving anything good away! I got some things today. New "B" plates for my Cricut that I've been having to order online and pay ungoldy shipping for. Some t!m stuff that I'd not been able to find anywhere else. Thanksgiving AND Christmas craft stuff is already at 40 and 50% off, so I got some things to put up for next year since I'm done with this year's crafts. One of the employees I was talking to say they are expanding their footprint in FL and have plans to go into Tampa next year when they find the right existing storefront that they can remodel. (This one's in an old closed down Winn Dixie store.) She said they will move further south into FL as they find the right places to fit their needs.

Now all I need is for Trader Joe's to move closer than Hotlanta!

Num num!

John came home yesterday with a present from the Pepperidge Farm bread guy. They are always "horse trading" product, so it doesn't surprise me. This is a limited edition, for the holiday season only Cranberry Swirl bread. It's soooooooo good toasted with butter! He says it's available nationwide, so look for it in your neck o' the woods!

Paper Flower Wreath

Fellow CTMH sister Aaron has a great tutorial video on her blog for this wreath. I have nothing to add other than I had no acorns, so mine is plain. But I like it! I used CTMH Olivia paper pack and various buttons, string, raffia and Waxy Flax from my stash. Oh! And I did sponge some Brown Bag ink along the outside edges of the flowers before I folded them up.

http://http//aaronsbooth32.blogspot.com/2010/10/quick-and-easy-folded-flowers.html

This is sister Kathy's birthday gift. We are meeting them later for some BBQ and a beer or twelve! Yummm!

Thanks/Joyful

We have a new item in the Fall/Winter CTMH Idea Book called the Mix and Mingle album. You get 3 clear and 5 white chipboard die-cut shapes along with jump rings to attach them. I've seen different people do different things with them and "borrowed" ideas from each of them to make 5 of these. I've given them to people already as an early Christmas gift. I wanted them to have them to enjoy this holiday season. I didn't want them to hang like my Sue's World Famous Coaster Hangings do, so I used the jump rings to attach them so they can be placed on a table. Once Thanksgiving is over, all they have to do is flip it around and they have a Christmas decoration. And in a nod to sister Kathy who likes "flat" things that store easily from one season to the next, they fold up pretty flat!

I used CTMH Olivia and Mistletoe paper packs along with CTMH Solo Alphabets. There are three or four different leaf stamp sets, which were a major PIA to cut out! I stamped all of the images and cut them out over the course of a couple of evenings watching TV! I used up lots of Christmas themed stuff from my stash as well.

Redneck hedge trimming 101

In addition to the bed weeding, we've pressure washed the pond waterfall rocks, pressure washed the driveway, started replacing the screens, replacing landscape timbers...you know...generally making the outside of the house look like people live here! Things that get neglected during the oppressive summer heat. Temps have started to cool off a bit. We are seeing highs in the mid 80's instead of 90's, so that's a start!

The front hedges needed a trim and since we leave them a bit on the high side, John can't reach the top of them standing on the ground. It would take a year of Sunday's to do it with a ladder, so we came up with the brilliant idea of him standing in the trailer while I move the mower ever so slowly down the hedges! Today he will pressure wash the siding on the gable side of the house and the storage shed out back while I keep watch on the burn pile that we will set ablaze.

On a slightly different note, the Rays lost last night to the TX Rangers 5-1. Such a sad ending to an otherwise great season. Carl Crawford, Rafael Soriano and Carlos Pena will most likely be gone to free agency next year, along with some others whose options will not be picked up. It may be a long time before the Rays have another chance at post-season play.

ALDS Playoff game

A friend of John's called yesterday about 10 and said he had 2 tickets to the Rays/Rangers game at 2:30 that he couldn't use because he had to work. John was done for the day, so did we want the tickets? For FREE?! Ummm...does a bear...oh nevermind! OF COURSE we did. Problem was, he couldn't meet us to give us the tix til after 1:00, so with a 2:30 first pitch, that didn't leave a huge window. Traffic on 275 south was horrendous. We were in stop and go traffic from the Gateway area all the way to the Trop. John reclined his seat back and took a nap while I drove. We finally made it to the main parking lot ($20) and were directed to the very last row. The meter maids were out in full force all around the stadium, giving tickets for not parking in authorized spots. This mornings paper said some fines went as high as $286. OUCH! Woulda been cheaper to just pay the $20 to park legally! We got to the nosebleed seats up in the 300 section moments before FL Gov Charlie Crist threw out the ceremonial first pitch. It was a wild pitch and he was wildly boo'd! I think the Rays found the most undamncomfortable seats they could for the 300 section! OMG there was NO way to get situated in the seats. So small and no leg room. If someone in the center had to get out, everyone had to leave their seats to let them out then back in again. Beers were $10 each, up $2.00 from the regular game price. Scorecards were $3.00 each and they are normally free. And the game? Rays lost. 6-0. Rays manager Joe Madden got thrown out in the 5th arguing a controversial call. All the more reason to bring instant replay into baseball. Rangers need only win the Sat game at home and they are in and the Rays go home. Evan Longoria opened his mouth about fan support, or lack thereof and no fans in the seats last week. The Tampa area still has double digit unemployment. The Rays TV revenues were one of the highest in baseball this season. Fans can't afford a $200+ night out on a regular basis. So we watch from home. The Trop was packed Thur afternoon and for the Wed game also. 35,000+ fans both days. Ben Zobrist (mah boy Ben!) had the only run, a solo homer in Wednesday's game. So my thought is, Evan you need to put up or shut up. The fans were there. And you didn't produce. You're the one with the huge contract. It's not nice to bite the hand that feeds you. I love my Rays. I will continue to be a fan and proudly wear my gear and support the team win, lose or draw.

Maginfique

I am loving the new t!m Holtz paper rosette die! Decided to use it on Tami's sketch for this week at http://www.cardpositioningsystem.com/ !

This uses CTMH Magnifique paper and one of the new Shimmer Designer Brads. I made two rosettes, cutting one into 1/4's for the corners.

Delight

The making of Christmas gifts has gotten in the way of my card challenges. And I've missed them. So today I am changing that!

Michelle had a great sketch at http://www.cardpatterns.com/ this week. And I got a new toy yesterday! This card highlights it...the NEW

t!m Holtz paper rosette die. And it is totally cool! I can see lots of uses for this already. Almost makes me sad that I've got the vaycay album done!!

I kept the background pretty simple, using CTMH Olivia paper pack and the small leaf in the Timeless stamp set. The paper rosette takes center stage on this one.

AL East Champs!

The Tampa Bay Rays are the American League Champs. And why wouldn't it take to the last day, and a game that went into extra innings to decide it?! We knew we had won the title when the Yankees lost to the Red Sox (the ONLY time I will ever cheer on the Sox!), but we wanted the best record in the East. We trailed the KC Royals for most of the game, coming back in the top of the 9th to tie. Then it took til the 12th for Rocco Baldelli to score the winning run and then closer Raphael Soriano came in for the save.

The Rays will have home field advantage throughout the Playoffs. We face the Texas Rangers starting Wed afternoon at 1:30. Should be another nail-biter of a series!