Christmas Questions

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
BOTH and I love wrapping
.2. Real or artificial? Real this year after 6 years of fake. It sure was easy to put up and take down though. Love the smell of a real one though!
3. When do you put up the tree? 1st of December
4. When do you take the tree down? As late as possible!
5. Do you like eggnog? Yummmmmmy!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? A cardboard put together kitchen with plastic dishes.
7. Do you have a Nativity scene? I collect them and have about 50 from different friends and different places.
8. Hardest person to buy for? My son, Ryan and the other important MALES in my life!
9. Easiest person to buy for? My Mom and My daughter Kelli Sue. They love anything that is a gift!
10. Worst Christmas present ever received? Not a clue!
11. Email or Christmas card? I do both and I like to receive both.
12. Favorite Christmas movie? White Christmas and Elf
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I shop year round if I see something I think someone would love! Just have to remember where I put it when Christmas rolls around!
14. Have you ever recycled/regifted a Christmas present? No
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Mrs. Claus Favorite Cookies
16. Favorite Christmas tradition? Making Gingerbread houses
17. Favorite Christmas song? *White Christmas* We Three Kings* Baby, It's Cold Outside*
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home!
19. Can you name Santa's reindeer? Sure! Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and of course Rudolph.
20. Do you have an angel at the top of the tree or a star? We have a KOALA in a Santa suit, my sister in law sent it to us for our first Christmas and we have put it on top ever since!
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? One on Christmas Eve after church and the rest in the morning after Santa visits!!!
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The traffic and the lines in the shops!
23. Best thing about Christmas? Being together!

Caught Up in the Holiday Rush!

Ryan came home from U of A on the 15th! We are all sooo excited!

Here are 45 (Self-realization), 48 (Ideas), 49 (Time Flies), and 50 ( Best Gift).

Working and playing daily on "Journal My Christmas", will post pictures at some point soon...I hope!

Went walking 3 times last week and loved the Alaskan scenery each and every time!

Happy Holidays!

2nd Sunday in Advent

The tree is up, but not decorated! So excited to have a real tree this year!

Cards and packages go out tomorrow... I absolutely have promised myself!

Took a beading class on Saturday and had tooo much fun.

Made and baked Mrs. Claus' Cookies, need to frost them, probably waiting til Ryan comes home this Saturday!

The First Day of December, 2007

The season begins... and I love it!

Chinese Noodle candy yesterday and Peppermint bark today.

Baked one set of gingerbread for our traditional gingerbread house.

25 cards are finished.

Some shopping done and wrapping started.

Santa collection displayed.

Advent wreath ready for tomorrow.

Started the "Journal My Christmas" with Shimelle.

#47 YOUR HAPPY PLACE

MY Happy Place is anywhere there is water! Get me near a pool, a beach, a lake, hot-tub, ok , so you get the picture, and then there is a great chance that I am happy! I was raised on Mullett Lake and surrounded by all the Great Lakes. 2 of my kids were born with the Cheboygan River in view, my youngest was born within spitting distance of the Mississippi River. All of my kids and my mom are A1 swimmers. When we go on vacation, please be sure it includes a beach, a lake, or at least a pool. I love to swim, shower, listen to the rain, and smell the sea. I love water! This card is layers of ripped blue and green papers, with blue, green, and white watercolor crayons and blue ice twinkle H2O.

#43, #44, and #46

Playing catch up again!

43---SCAREY

44--- Home (as a child I thought the perfect home would be full of cats and love!)

46---10 ways I rejuve!

Still working on 45 which is "self-realization"? Don't really know what that means to me.

Spent a great weekend in Fairbanks, Alaska, and it was just a wee bit chilly! Mike, the girls, and I went up to watch some of the "Top of the North" college basketball tournie.

Kelli and I found some Spartans, but they were from North Carolina not Michigan!

Fun watching college basketball up close and the the stadium food was fabulous! Ate apples with caramel, sourdough bread bowls full of clam chowder, and fudge from the Fudge Pot! Yummy!

Doing an online class!

I am so excited! Joined Shimelle's "Christmas Journal" class. It looks like so much fun. Here is her blog. http://www.shimelle.com/ in case YOU are interested!

This is what I have been doing!

Here are two of my new digi pages. I have been putting pages together using my Microsoft Digital Suite program. Most of the papers and trims are free digi elements downloaded from 2 Peas and Kirsty Wiseman.. Wal-mart prints them out as 8 by 10's, then I attach them to a 8.5 by 11 piece of card stock and embellish them until I like them! Lately, this technique is my favorite way to scrap...easy too!

It is SNOWING---alot!

21 OMG I can't believe it!

So now my oldest is 21.

Happy Birthday Chelsi Ann!

Here she is with her cat, Liberty.

We hid 21 envelopes with items in each. She could only keep the envelope if she could answer a "Family Trivia" question. Sample questions:

1. How did Bumpie get his name?

2. How does Grandma spell her name?

3. What are Nanny's 2 favorite places in the whole world?

4. What was Ryan's hamster's name?

She also had to perform the 5 letter cat alphabet and sing the little turtle song.

Love you, first child of mine!!!

#42

Love this prompt! Made this from some very old cards that I found in a small chest of drawers. Stamped them and added some "pink" paint chips. We have so much to be grateful for.

Digi Again!

Here is cute lo of Kelli's 16th. I have been digi hybrid scrapping for about week due to the upstairs being painted! This is the april 06 fiskars sketch and the papers are the july 06 freebies from 2 peas! It turned out so fun. I need to use sketches more often.

A "BOO"ing We Will Go!

Here we are getting ready to "Boo"!

The "Boo"er is dressed in black and about to load the "Boo" items in to the car. (Amber is helping). The Get Away "Boo" driver (me) has driven to the homes and planned the means to avoid detection. The "Boo"ers will be listening to Purple People Eater, Ghostbusters, and Addams Family while carrying out their mission! Oh boy! We just love the Halloween Season!

# 41

This prompt was "Where would you ride your magic carpet to?" or something like that. I was more excited about my idea to make a mini folder in a matchbox then the actual prompt. If you know me at all you would know that I would go anywhere, anytime!!! Soooo, I covered the matchbox and found a tag of matching paper and then tried to find pictures (of Pictish symbols) to put on the mini. I included pictures from Aberlemno, Edinburgh, Meigle, Dunning Cross, and Brandsbutt. It is my own wee treasure box of prevous magic carpet rides!

Number 40

This is challenge # 40 for emily falconbridge's art journal "Deck of Me". This is such an amazing worldwide art connection. I am thrilled to be part of it!

Please check it out... http://www.embers.typepad.com/

Snow!

Woke up to SNOW on Sunday morning, and as I was rushinig off to church I did not take any pictures! There was not any down in the city, but as I returned up Rabbit Creek Road there was still a little. Amazing that our house is that much higher than Anchorage! Here are pictures of another sunset and then some wild flowers from last week. The flowers are in our neighbors back yard which is out our front window. (I think! Growing up on a lake I never know what is back and what is front cuz it is the opposite to everyone else!) ENJOY! And see the mountain range in the first one? Usually the sun doesn't shine on them so nicely...just begging me to take a picture!

St. Orland's Stone

Mini album technique that I learned from Shimelle Lane... I think I watched a video of her on a talk show or something! This is the 3rd one I have made using this fast and easy technique. I love it!

# 39

After much deliberation, chose Debbie to be my SPECH! Sorry it is a terrible picture! Journaling reads "YOU be my spech, Debbie! Just by being yourself, you give so much! So glad I know ya!"

Fish and Chips

I am just salivating for a jumbo haddock supper with cheese on the chips and salt and vinegar from Lowe's in West Hill. Just thought I would feel better if I said it... but I don't!

#37 and #38

During all of the unpacking, rearranging, cleaning, organizing, and nail breaking, I just am so thankful that *e*'s Deck of Me pulled me away to do paper therapy! Just had to take a break to play!
Here are #37---DRAW something! I have never liked drawing, but I took a painting class 2 years ago at Balmoral and my wonderful instructor said, "You have to draw, and I will help you!" And she did! And now I love it! This is not much of a card, but it was a fun one! I drew the Pirate Parrot on page 42 of Ed Emberly's Purple Drawing Book.

#38--- I wonder...what Heaven is like. I blobbed paint dots on one card and then squished other cards on to it and pulled them off already decorated! Then stamped the acetate and put alittle silver paint around the edge and then attached it to the card with silver eyelets. Might add ribbon later.

Our "Stuff" has arrived!

Superb Sunset!
Liberty taking a basket break!
Garage!
Room with a view!

Moving In!

Though we have been in the house for 3 months---we are officially moving in today! And of course it is RAINING! Wish us luck!

It is very Misty today!

And the cats all wanted to be together...but not too close!

TAGGED!

If you are reading this***TAG!!! This is just for fun and I got it off another's blog.
Play along and let me know your answers! I LOVE 1, 5, & 9!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
Puffer Volvo
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Peppermint Stick Peanut Butter
3. YOUR "FLY Guy/Girl" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)C Uts
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Blue Cat
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Sue Royal Oak
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)UTS Ch
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (The word The, 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
The Pink Vernors
8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
Edwyn Harry
9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy)
Spellbound Black Licorice
10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle names )
Ann Kenneth

#27 and #36

Really enjoyed doing these two prompts.

#27 Ali's prompt of *using junk mail* not much junk mail, but a lot of scraps , leftovers and bits of newspaper. Started weaving and then sewing, painting, stamping and so on. It was a blast!

#36 Loved all of e's wee pics and found an index sheet of my own. Her prompt was *life is beautiful*. I don't like that the ribbon covers the "life is", but you can still see the "enjoy it"!

#16 & #35

#35 Strength---I was brain dead and so asked my girls what they thought. Chelsi said "GOD" and good ol' "Arnold S.". Kelli replied with "power" and her brother, "Ryan". I came up with the "inner" strength part. Played with this for awhile & wasn't happy with it, but then remembered this sheet of acetate and added it. Now, I like it better.

#16 others contribute--- This took about 5 months to finish. Bonnie and Anna started it in Scotland at a Scrap&Flap and then Kelli and Chelsi finished it last night!

Still have to do Ali's and the goal of the week.

Look at this!