It's New Year's Eve 2008....

....and what am I doing at 9:55 pm? Updating my blog after working until 7pm. As everyone knows, I'm NOT a party girl so why not try and get some stuff done???? I finally finished addressing Christmas cards this morning before going to work but need to get some more stamps on Friday since some are taking more than one. Thought I'd share some holiday photos: These are from Fellowship Alliance's Christmas cantata (also known as Marathon week). We sing Tuesday through Friday night to a packed house of about 650 per night. The choir also serves desserts and beverages before we go on to sing. For me, it's work all day, take my concert clothes with me, stop and get dinner for Sandy and I, eat dinner in her office at church, change to concert clothes, do the cantata, go home. Repeat 3 more times. It's a blast but exhausting!! Sandy shot the one of me with the dessert tray; the gentleman in the lower right is our choir director.

Some decoration shots. I built two really cool outdoor shelves that mount on our railings. I'll have to take some outdoor shots or wait till Sandy downloads hers. We also created a Christmas tree farm of 3 trees that we're really happy with. (Becca is rubbing off.) The "Seasons Greetings" is over the main street here in town. Our manger set is one that we bought in Israel about 15 years ago and is made of olive wood.

Some other December memories: "Oscar" --Sandy's Harrods 2008 Christmas bear, afternoon tea at the Mulberry Tea House, a shot of some of the hundreds of Angel Tree gifts waiting to be distributed at church, The Cookie Files, and some of the many stockings I made to use as containers for homemade goodies. They were very well received!

Now it's on to new projects and new goals for 2009! Have a wonderful and blessed year!

Enjoy,

Janet

Black and White and Grey All Over

.... we have finally done it. Made all the arrangements and paid the deposit and now our house is a beautiful shade of granite grey with white trim and black shutters. And it's almost done. We contacted with a local company to have the house covered in vinyl siding---in the long run, definitely the smartest thing to do. Maintenance free, energy efficient, and a great curb appeal investment. Actually a single contractor is working on our house and he lives about two blocks down our street! His craftsmanship and attention to detail is superb. We'll still have some work to do when he's finished like painting the doors, the basement window frames and the ornamental trimwork (which is staying pink) and replacing the porch railings with vinyl coated ones. But all that will probably have to wait until it gets warm again since the paint won't cure properly in these temperatures. Some photos of the house in progress.

In other news, it's December and that means Shimelle's "Journal Your Christmas". OK so I'm still working on Christmas 2007. I'm beginning again with 2008. Hopefully I'll get some pages done to share BEFORE the temperature reaches 80.

Wishing I could have been in Omaha for the past 10 days or so--wanted so badly to be there for Becca and the emotional roller coaster she and Scott have been on and to share Katie and Garrett's joy as they became husband and wife! But for Black Friday, Thanksgiving, and absolutely rotten airfares we were SO there!

Off to the studio to work for a while. I'm tired of cleaning in preparation for decorating!

Enjoy,

Janet

Purple

NOT blue...NOT red

A moderate Republican or a conservative Democrat

This was the hardest election I've ever had to vote in. I read alot. Did my homework. In both candidates I saw strengths and weaknesses, traits to admire, areas of concern. But in the end, I made my choice, pulled the lever (oops, that dates me doesn't it????) and did my civic duty as an American.

And now as Americans, we need to join together to solve the challenges that face our country and our world. And remember whether you're blue, red, or purple -----

GOD IS IN CONTROL!!!

And a reminder from I Timothy 2:1-3 : 1I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3This is good, and pleases God our Savior.

Thanks to Becca, Kelly, Chiara, Kathy N. and Ali for their blog posts about the election. I've loved reading the varying points of view and the conclusions that no matter what we need to respect the office of the President and work together for the common good.

Enjoy,

Janet

The photo: Portland Head Lighthouse, ME --September 2008.

A Day at the Zoo...

.... is a lovely thing and yesterday we took along Sandy's girlfriend, her husband, and their almost 4-year old son. Dad and son had never been to the Philadelphia Zoo before, so we had a grand time checking out all the animals. It's so much fun to go with little kids---their awe, wonder, amazement and curiosity about the animals is SO great. So here's some of my favorites from the day; loving the long lens for these kinds of shots!

Actually think I'm going to the studio to do some scrapping, then eventually to Joann's to pick up a few things, and sometime after 8pm we'll figure out what to do for dinner!

Enjoy,

Janet

Back from Becca's

We had such a good time at Crop for a Cause!!! And it's SOOOOO good to see all our Nebraska friends!

Got picked up at 4:50 am {otherwise known as O-dark-50} and were checked in and through security by 5:45am for our 6:30 am flight. Had to pay to check luggage which is a real bummer since we thought we had checked Northwest's baggage policy BEFORE we booked the tix. Slept part of the way to Minneapolis, had a great breakfast at Ike's in the airport, and then it was on to Omaha. We first went to the Quilted Moose in Gretna, then to find our hotel and check in. Decided we needed a nap before heading to the church to help out. Got to the church about 4:30. Lots of fun catching up with everyone and checking out the garage sale. Ended up with a box full of stuff to purchase; dinner was homemade soup and pumpkin bars for dessert.



It's Saturday!!! Time to crop and shop and chat and eat! We actually got pages done! We took the page swap from Scrap Etc. and that made the whole process easier for extra paper, embellishments, etc. We shared a table with Nancy and her friend Julie and got to sit next to the "Bagels". Had a great time talking with Kelly, her sister Tami, Becky N., Lisa {aka Glue}, and Denise. And we got to eat Becca's mom's cinnamon rolls and pie! We were all cleaned up and out by 9:30 and went back to Becca's until after midnight.




Slept in on Sunday {at least for us}, met Becca for lunch, and then hit Archivers, Hancocks, and another quilt shop they recommended before heading back to the airport. Our bags just made it on weight. On the way back we changed in Detroit---had some serious hiking to do between gates. Grabbed some cinnamon buns to eat on the plane since it had been a long time since lunch and even longer until breakfast! Got back to Philly at 11:00pm and home before midnight.

Monday was a long day----worked 7am until 12:45pm then back for 7pm until 12:15am. Gotta love inventory!

Enjoy,

Janet

Jury Duty

What could be more exciting than spending quality time in beautiful downtown Camden at the Hall of Justice???? Could it be all the morning talk shows and the soap operas??? There was a time when I enjoying watching all that stuff --- now I'm glad I'm at work during the day!


Anyway my day went something like this:

• 8:13 am -Arrive at courthouse, go through security, get scanned in the jury assembly


• 8:47 am -Announcements about jury service and a 15 minute video about what a juror does, etc.


• 9:10 am -THE Waiting begins--I read magazines, did Kakuro puzzles, did some stuff for work


• 12:10 pm -"We're not going to need to call anyone before lunch. You're free until 1:30 pm."


• Enjoy lunch in the courtyard in front of the courthouse.


• 1:32 pm- A group of about 35 are sent upstairs to a courtroom for a civil case. The rest of us are roll called. WAITING around resumes. I write some journaling copy for last year's Christmas journal.


• 2:35 pm-"We need to send another group upstairs." Palatable groans. "Just kidding-- you're free to go. The county thanks you for your service."


• 2:40 pm - Pick up letter for employer verifying service. Can't be called for another 3 years. I'll get a $5 check in the mail.

Getting ready to head to Omaha early Friday morning!!

Enjoy,
Janet

I am {NOT} a Jet-setter....

it just seems that way. My vice: airline tickets. I can only go so long without needing to go somewhere to see someone or something. Could this be GYPSY blood??????

Anyway, after returning from our NE weekend, the everyday rat race {which the rats are winning, by the way} took over and work and church activities filled up the time and one week ran into the next. But we were playing around online one night and found great fares to both Atlanta and Omaha!

We went to Atlanta to support Abany's big idea, Brown Linen Market. Since we hadn't seen her in quite a while {she never made it up while her brother was in Audi school} , we really felt we needed to go down and encourage and help her in whatever way we could. She was SO excited that we were coming and of course, Claudia was thrilled!!! And it ended up being a real God-thing since about a week before we were scheduled to get there Claudia's mom went home to be with the Lord and the memorial service was scheduled while we were there.

My job for the Market---key lime tarts, lots of them. And help in the kitchen. I ended up being a sous chef for one of Abany's friends who was making all the hors d'oerves and running the wine-tasting.

Brown Linen was actually a gently-used clothing boutique set up on the main floor of the house several of her friends rent in Atlanta. For $25, you got 3 pieces of clothing, the food, the wine-tasting and the live jazz. All the clothes were donations from friends and lots of her friends were there to help and shop!

TOP ROW: Tart shells for the key lime tarts, the kitchen in the house where Market was held, doing my thing---making everything in the kitchen look like Martha Stewart on a Waffle House budget, during the Market.

MIDDLE ROW: The main room of the house set for Market, Abany with flowers her girlfriends brought her, Jared, Abany at the memorial service in their backyard for Grandma.

BOTTOM ROW: Claudia and Abany at the end of the service, the Collingswood bonfire and reception for 100 years of football.

The first weekend in October was the BIG Collingswood 100 years of HS Football event. Can we say poorly organized???? They invited everyone--past players, band, color guard, cheerleaders, etc.--- for a march-along parade on Friday night to the HS where there was a bonfire and refreshments in the cafetorium, then a big reception/luncheon before the game on Saturday afternoon. OK, the parade: kinda silly, the bonfire: where was the band and the pep rally part??, the refreshments--sandwiches at 8pm???. The reception/lunch on Saturday was good and we did get a personal tour of the new addition built to link the middle school and high school. Unfortunately, they kept moving the game time back so I had to go to work before the game ever started and we're going to miss "band night" because we'll be in Omaha.

So, tomorrow I have jury duty. It's off to the hall of justice in beautiful downtown Camden. I'm packing my bag full of magazines to read and puzzles to do. And lunch and snacks.

Enjoy,

Janet

Time in New England....

and other places, many other places have made me a BAD blogger. But I'm back!!!!! Anyway, some more photos of some of our fun adventures. In August, we spent Sandy's birthday weekend as well as another one at the Pocono house. So quiet, so peaceful, so much scrapbooking time. It's a weekend crop for FREE and Mom does the cooking {well I HAVE to bake}. We loaded down the car and actually left a bunch of stuff there for the 2 weeks between trips.



The weekend in between was a choir-sing weekend {Saturday night @6pm, Sunday morning @ 8, 9:30 and 11:15 am} and the Schroeder cousins reunion. Mom and her cousins, at least most of them, get together once a year since all their parents, the Schroeder brothers and sisters, are all gone now. The next generation isn't generally there unless their parent is the organizer which Mom was this year, but Sandy and I always get an invite since I have become the keeper of the family genealogy. That's the cousins and their spouses in the upper left photo.



After the excitement of getting to Alaska and the whole "we've been in all 50 states" thing, we got to thinking and remembering when we'd been to this state and that state, we then we ran into a problem. We couldn't remember being in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine so we decided that a weekend in New England was ABSOLUTELY necessary. So we zipped off on a Friday morning to Manchester, NH and spent the weekend driving through the states and hitting some highlights.



The photos: TOP ROW: The King Arthur Flour Baker's Store in Norwich, VT; me in the seat of honor in the lobby, the Cabot Cheese visitors center--lots of fun including a tour of the factory and cheese tasting.

MIDDLE ROW: Famous Perry Sisters Ice Cream--the newest Ben and Jerry's flavor! -- again a tour of the factory and ice cream samples, the Von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe (we didn't stay here but as a Sound of Music junkie we had to check it out!), a traditional New England covered bridge, a really cool pool about 5 minutes back a walking trail in Franconia Notch State Park.

We drove down to Lake Winnepasaukee and had lunch in a great turkey restaurant and hit Keepsake Quilting. The weather then got very cloudy and more dismal so no great lake shots, in fact the lake and the sky all blended together. By the time we got to Biddeford, ME it was foggy and raining. YUK!!!!

BOTTOM ROW: Portland Head Lighthouse--the traditional Maine coast shot, Walker Point at Kennebunkport {yes, this is the Bush family vacation house}, Nubble Lighthouse.

Found all kinds of great local restaurants, and lots of great backroads for scenery.

The last picture, the Scrap Etc. Pink, Brown and Teal Quilt finally finished and mailed off to its proud owner.

Coming next: off to Atlanta!

Enjoy,
Janet

Alaska Adventure

Somewhere the month of July has gone by and I've not even managed to post about our wonderful adventure to Alaska and of course, completing the 50 states by 50 challenge!!!

The cruise was absolutely wonderful---I see cruising alot more in my future! Loved all the fun things we did, especially the Musher Camp where we rode wheeled dog sleds and the Yukon Jeep Adventure with its spectacular scenery!!!! Our ship even got within about 600 ft. of Dawes Glacier---that was awesome! Spent time in Seattle, at Mt. Rainier, saw Mt. St. Helens. Toured the Oregon Coast, Portland, went to Mt. Hood, drove along the Columbia River Gorge. I've added a few photos of the 1200+ I took (loving the new camera and Photoshop!); if you'd like the link to all of my photos as well as Sandy's, let us know!

Since we got home, let's see, our aunt and uncle stopped for a visit over the 4th of July, we're taking a Beth Moore bible study on Tuesday nights at church, the choir and the worship department had picnics, an American friend who lives in Japan came for dinner. Work has been a little crazy---I moved the entire department around, lost two staff members, had two others transfer into music + vacations and sick people. And Sandy and I are on a cleaning binge--I mean SERIOUS cleaning---we're going room by room and decluttering and purging junk. Why oh why do we keep some of this stuff???????

I promise I'll try to be better! Mayber I'll post some more pictures tomorrow. I'm on myway back to work to close the store. The joys of being the manager!

Enjoy!

Janet

Sewing like Mad

There's something about getting ready for vacation that makes me want to sew new clothes. And I have a whole stack in various stages of construction for our upcoming cruise. Only two weeks until we leave for Seattle and our cruise to Alaska! And so much to do! Outfits to finish, shoes to buy, misc. stuff to collect------you know the drill.

Last Saturday, Sandy and I took a photography class in the city. It was considered intermediate and designed for people with digital SLRs who wanted to know how to use them better. It was a great class, only 5 students, and a combo of actually going out and shooting and lecture/discussion. Now I have a whole list of photo accessories to buy before vacation. But I also feel a whole lot more comfortable with alot of the settings and have some great ideas to try!

This photo's by our class instructor, Rick Wright.

Back to work for me---need to put the travel planner together, fix some jewelry, etc.

Enjoy,

Janet

The BIG 5-0

That's right..... yesterday was my birthday and I'm now a card-carrying member of AARP. Don't laugh---now that Sandy doesn't get travel agent rates at least I can get mature traveler rates!!!!!

Actually it's been a great birthday weekend and I didn't have to go to WORK!!! Friday was a really crappy weather day so after our regular breakfast at Ponzios we ran a couple of errands and then stayed in for the rest of the day. Did some sewing, did some scrapping, we checked out some details for our upcoming vacation, had hot roast beef sandwiches (leftovers from a previous dinner) and generally bummed around.

Yesterday, THE BIG DAY, started with the best cream doughnuts in the world from McMillians Bakery. I was planning on going and getting them myself because I wanted them but DS had the same idea that I would want them and insisted on going. Then Mom and I went to 4th Street to do some fabric shopping. I need to make a couple of formal things for the cruise and since I never wear anything that dressy, I'll have to get busy. Love the things I found; it was one of those days where the creativity was really flowing! And we met an longtime friend in one of the stores. We started working together probably 25 years ago and although she only lives about 4 miles away we rarely see each other. So that was really nice especially since her birthday was the day before.

We came home and picked up Sandy and then headed out to a tearoom we'd never tried before--The White Rabbit--in Woodstown. It was absolutely lovely with a great selection of teas and warm from the oven scones in a variety of flavors. A wonderful way to spend the afternoon! Then we had to decide what to do for dinner----a new Ruby Tuesdays has opened near us so that was the choice! Lovely dinner and double chocolate cake for dessert! Stopped at the big Joann's near there and picked up some much fabric for cruise wear. Then back to Mom and Dad's where Sandy pulled out a surprise---she secretly emailed alot of our scrapbook friends and asked them to send cards--to Mom and Dad's address--so I got a bunch to open and I understand there's more on the way!

Tonight we're going to our favorite Italian restaurant here in town to celebrate some more and then tomorrow night we're using our Cold Stone Creamery birthday coupons! Have to keep the party going especially since Mom's birthday is tomorrow!

The celebration will continue for at least another month since Claudia will be here the second week of June for Jared's graduation and we're going to go out--just the two of us---for the first time in years!!! Cheesecake Factory here we come! And then there's the cruise in 33 DAYS!!!

Now it's time for some serious sewing to get everything done!!!!

Just got the call that we're getting picked up in 15 minutes for dinner,

Enjoy,
Janet

P.S. I'll post some pictures later when Sandy downloads the ones from yesterday!

Other April Happenings

Seems like the couple of weeks before going away on vacation or to an event are always FULL of all kinds of things. April has been no expection! Like I said yesterday, my new camera arrived on April 3rd and I got a chance to test it out on Saturday when Sandy and I went to NYC for the day. Had a huge list of odds and ends and places to check out and ended up doing only a few things. Let's see: Mood Fabrics (yes, Project Runway fans, that Mood; it's a great fabric junkie's store); a nice walk up 7th Ave to Times Square; subway to Payards@ 73rd and Lexington for lunch; back to 49th and 6th for the Tartan Day Parade (unfortunately we managed to miss it---OOPS) then back to Times Square where we found M&M's World...how fun it that...we even mixed Scrap ETC M&M's for our secret sisters....and across the street, Hershey's World. Checked out the casting for Project Runway Season 5...no Tim Gunn or Heidi Klum sightings, only a long line of hopefuls waiting their turn outside the hotel in Times Square.



Sunday night was kind of a sad night but a fun party. If you've read my blog you may remember that my store manager and the district manager have had a terrible working relationship since day 1. He's wanted her to resign, she's had some health concerns, it's been BAD. Well, she made the tough decision to step down in early February and he convinced her to stay on until the beginning of April (managers' review cycle time). Everything was good until the last week when some real nastiness happened. Let's just say it didn't end well and the planned outcome didn't happen. And we are manager-less. We were all hoping that our assistant manager, Jeff would be promoted but alas, corporate politics has stepped in and squashed that idea.

Anyway, the staff had a surprise party for Yukie at one of the guy's house on Sunday night. Yes we surprised her and lots of current and former employees showed up.

IMHO, it really was the best decision for her--both health and happiness wise because the situation was not going to get any better and probably would have only gotten worse. They screwed her in the end but she'll be fine. Thanks for 10 great years Yukie!!! Enjoy your well deserved island getaway!!!

Back to getting dinner ready; then off for more cleaning, organizing, and purging in the studio!
Enjoy,
Janet

Scrap ETC 2008

Finally getting a chance to update the blog about our wonderful weekend in Nashville at ScrapEtc. So great to see all our peeps although there's NEVER enough time to just hang out. The Opryland Hotel is everything they say and more---a huge, beautiful and pricey facility. And we never set foot out of the building from the time we checked in on Thursday until we checked out on Sunday morning.

The event itself was great....loved Group C and our leader Brittany.....the classes were all projects that I actually want to finish....amazing teachers--Jenni, Heidi, Angelia, Gretchen, Wilna, Monique, and Vanessa. There were challenges--not enough time for meals and the SNL event was hopelessly disorganized, but overall a good time.

Thanks to everyone for signing the quilt --- looking forward to finishing it, raising lots of money for JDRF, and sending to live with someone special!

Spent Sunday and Monday visiting sites in Nashville. Got tix to the Evening Worship Event at the Ryman(part of Gospel Music Week) for Sunday night----an absolutely fantastic evening with Michael W. Smith and Israel Houghton as worship leaders. Even though we missed church on Sunday we went to church! Visited The Hermitage and Belle Meade Plantation, drove up to Scrappuccino and had dinner at the Loveless Cafe.

As you can tell, I've gotten a new camera!!! YEA!!!! Decided to take the plunge and get a Canon Digital Rebel XT I'll still fix the point-and-shoot but since I'm wanting to take better photos it made sense. More about its first outing next time!

We're off to the ballet!

Enjoy,

Janet

So Much Fun....

....to spend the day with scrapping friends and support a great cause. Drove to Staten Island to the GRACE Crop for Autism and spent a wonderful day scrapping CE pictures with a gymnasium full of women scrapbooking. Great food, outstanding raffle prizes, and the chance to see a whole bunch of CE and ScrapETC peeps!!!!! Kudos to Barb and her fabulous committee for a great job!!!

We had the pleasure of sharing Table 36 with Cindy and her sister Lisa, Kim, and Chiara. And over at Table 37, the rest of the out of towners---Laurie, Sarah, Catherine, Liz, Susan, and Megan. And we can't forget the locals at #35--Kristen, Kacey, Karen, Ann Marie, and Karen F.

Can't wait to see a bunch of them again in 3 weeks! And I actually got a bunch of photos mounted on to the pages (gotta love page swaps!) and into the album.

We won three of the gift baskets we put tickets in for---a lovely collection of Making Memories embellishments, a collection of Rhonna Farrer stuff, and a SisTV gift package full of all kinds of goodies!

The pix are from Sandy's new camera---I ordered mine tonight so hopefully by the end of the week I'll be snapping away again!

Enjoy,

Janet

Camera--less...

.... I feel SO lost without my camera in my bag. I've gotten so used to having it there whenever I want to take a photo. But as you remember from my last post, something was definitely messed up. Anything taken with the flash had a lovely glowing pink cast---not a great effect!!! So I found the instructions and reset to the factory defaults. NO better. Found a Canon users' group online, joined, and asked there. NO luck. And then I called Canon Tech support. Very helpful, they suggested resetting the defaults, and then we tried taking all the batteries and memory card out and doing a "clear the electrical" thing and reinsert all the batteries and card. NICE try but still a lovely pink glow. SO.....it needs to go to Canon Service as the sensor for the auto white balance has freaked out. So for $100 they'll fix it and send it back; the only problem is that it's a 10 to 15 business day turn time and I NEED a camera for the Grace Crop next weekend, a surprise party the following weekend, to do my ScrapETC homework and of course, for ScrapETC. SO.............I'm taking the plunge to a Digital Rebel!!! I can't see buying another point-and-shoot so we're going SLR. Just checking some final online stores for prices and then it's a go! I even bought a book today at work to start reading about the whole thing!

Enjoy,
Janet

Let them Eat Cake......

seems like a great plan to me. Tried out a recipe for Texas Sheet Cake done Mud Pie style that Heidi Swapp had on her blog in late November. Oh my heavens, it's SOOOOOOO good! There's something wonderful about baking and I have a family who loves testing the results. Another of my "50 things"---bake something every week. I have this HUGE library of baking cookbooks and I really should use them!!!!

Cut out the pieces for the signature quilt for ScrapETC yesterday. We had to hit my lqs for some more pink/brown prints and then pulled a few from the CE quilt scraps. Now to make the blocks. I do believe that tonight will be a studio night! YEA!!!

Enjoy,

Janet

FLoWeRs!!!!

Here are some photos from our trip to the Flower Show on Tuesday. I've learned how to use Mosaic Maker (YEA!!!) Sorry the quality isn't so great; somewhere along the line the settings on my camera have gotten wonky. I have now totally reset to factory standards; unfortunately that was AFTER the flower show. The theme this year was Jazz It Up!, a nod to the city of New Orleans and its rich history and culture. The exhibits were full of color and whimsy! Instrument fountains, pianos sunk in bayous, lots of French Quarter type buildings. As they say in New Orleans, LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!

After a day of cleaning, working on my first Jessica Sprague digital lesson, and generally bumming, we went to the ballet last night. It was a company premiere of Messiah. Yes, that Messiah---George Frederick Handel, Hallelujah Chorus, etc. etc. Absolutely amazing visual effects in addition to the great dancing and singing by a group known as the Philadelphia Kantorei. A perfect piece leading up to Palm Sunday and Easter!

Also been busy planning our trip to Nashville and working on one of my "50 Things"--making a list of all the scrapping projects/albums that need to be finished. It's very scary going back to 2002 and checking all your old CKU/CKC projects. And we found out yesterday that we can go to the Grace Crop at the end of the month!

It's raining big time here; they're calling for flooding. Oh, joy! At least it's not SNOW! Now I have to figure out what to do with the ground beef I thawed for dinner. And maybe I need to bake something..........................

Enjoy,

Janet

Pretty Pages Go Postal !!!!

Finally, I finished 3 sets of single pages for the page swap for ScrapETC and they went postal yesterday. What a feeling of relief---all I've done for the past couple of weeks is charms and pages. Sandy and I are starting a Photoshop class online with Jessica Sprague. I'm looking forward to learning this program since we've had it on the computer for almost two years now! It goes for a month and has lessons and activities on a daily basis.





We were looking forward to going to the Grace Crop on Staten Island at the end of March but it's SOLD OUT. Great for them; bad for us. We're on the waiting list so we're hopeful. Need to see the girls before Nashville. Plus we were creating a pile of stuff for the garage sale!





Today we're off to the Philadelphia Flower Show. This is such a cool place to go especially later in the day after the tour buses go home and the crowds go down. Plus we'll have cheese steaks for dinner in the Reading Terminal Market. Love the ability to go to the city for all the great cultural activities.

Enjoy,

Janet

My Charms are DOnE!!!!

Yea....my charms for ScrapETC are finished and all in their little bags and I'm thrilled with how they turned out. Just need to print some little labels for the bags and we're good to go. Tomorrow I'll start cutting paper for the pages. They're all designed; just need to be assembled.

Have to hit LSS after work; I hope that's where I bought this one paper---need two more sheets. Wish me luck!

When the pages are done, then it's on to homework and the next signature quilt for JDRF. Think pink and brown and teal and white!

Enjoy,

Janet

Winter...

...finally decided to show its ugly head here in NJ. So far this season we've had a couple of dustings and that crappy day a couple of weeks ago that was icy but NO snow. That changed yesterday when we got about 3" of the white stuff. But I brushed my car off and was at work for 11:30am with no driving problems at all. Not a whole lot of people out shopping but not awful but the powers that be (fill in District Manager) decided that we were closing at 2:00 pm. The good news is that if you're at work and they close the store, you get paid your full shift! So home I came (again no driving problems). Got more time to work on charms. Must keep beading!!!!

Today I designed page swaps on my breaks and lunch. Have paper and trimmer--will travel. We're going to ACMoore tonight to get the right jewelry rings (try #3) and paper for pages. Both have to be in the mail by March 1st.

It's off to the kitchen to cook dinner!

Enjoy,

Janet

Getting Away

....this month's theme is getting away---to retreat, to think, to reflect, to create, to reconnect.

February started out with FAC's Ladies Retreat. After a drive to Sandy Cove in absolutely crappy weather, the weekend was a great break in routine and a chance to spend time with lots of other women (we had 260 women at retreat) and plenty of alone time with God. This year's theme was Tapestry of Love and focused on Colossians 2:2-4(The Message):

I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with
everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at
rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery. All the richest treasures of
wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we've
been shown the mystery! I'm telling you this because I don't want anyone leading
you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or "the
Secret."

Our pastor's wife also shared in the sessions that we are lavishly loved daughters of God and not slaves to fear. There was lots of sharing and tons of great praise and worship times.

And the response to the tapestry was amazing!!! It's humbling and an honor to know that your art meant so much to so many and enriched their experience. I'm currently in the process of getting a permanent rod for it so it can hang in the women's ministry office as well as writing the story of it so people who didn't go on retreat will know the background.

This past weekend was an entirely different kind on getaway. Sandy and I went to Scrapbowl 2008 in Chantilly, VA. Had a great time with Cindy J., a friend we made at CKU in 2003, and some of her friends. It was SO great to spend time together since it's been over two years since we last saw her. Also got to see Josiane, Gloria, Karen T., and Sandy H. from CE and ScrapETC, and we met Wendy and Kana who are also going to ScrapETC and happened to be seated at the same table! Got some significant scrapping done, but never enough! Finished another 8 pages in my European vacation album and started the planning for the next 10. Also took a class from Shimelle and got the chance to show her my 2006 Christmas album.

Now it's back to the grindstone with getting charms and page swaps done. Did mail my secret sister today. Back to beading for me..... well after dinner.

Enjoy,
Janet

Where Did January Go????

OK, whoever took the calm and quiet month of January, I WANT IT BACK!!!!!!

After Christmas is supposed to be calm and peaceful, nest at home, get extra sleep, ..... well, let's see what's happened since we went to the Kimmel for the bagpipes.

On Sunday, after church and lunch, we all zipped out to the Philadelphia Zoo for a members only event. Sandy's been a zoo member for years and so we get invited to all these cool events. Today we got to go behind the scenes at Big Cat Falls, got to visit the commissary where all the food is portioned out, and the veterinary center where the animals are cared for in a state of the art setting.

Spent many hours working on and finishing the tapestry for the Ladies Retreat. I probably spent about 60 hours on the project although I didn't actually keep track. The few people that have seen it loved it.

Finished altering a dress that I've had for months for one of my associates---its actually a gauze sundress that she's going to use as a wedding dress. No date set, just a courthouse thing, many complications, don't ask.

Actually scrapped last Saturday!!! Yea!!! Hooray!!! Got my Christmas photos from Snapfish and printed some small sizes here at home. HP photo paper is nice but none of the regualer adhesives work well. Ended up Xyroning all the little photos after they fell off the layout. So annoying! Got about 6 pages done and I'm taking it for free time this weekend. I really wanted to finish before Scrapbowl on the 15th but that's probably not going to happen.

Jared and Abany, no make that Claudia are arriving on the 19th, no make that the 16th, so Jared can start his training at the Audi Academy in Exton, PA and get settled into his living quarters. That weekend will be crazy as we don't get home until dinnertime on the 17th. And Dad will be laid up as he now has surgery scheduled for the 14th for carpal tunnel in his left hand.

Must stop rambling and go pack for retreat. Sandy has to be there for a 1:30 pm rehearsal so we'll probably leave about 11am. The tapestry is already in the car since it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow. At least it's not snow!!!! And it's supposed to be in the upper 40's both days which is way better than last year. And no registering for CE during the retreat.

More later,

Janet

Pipes and Parmesan

.....bagpipes that is!! We spent Saturday afternoon at the Kimmel Center for a concert of the Regimental Band of Her Majesty's Coldstream Guards and the Pipes, Drums and Highland Dancers of the Royal Scots Dragoons. This was another of our gifts to Mom and Dad for Christmas. The Kimmel Center also programs free events on the great plaza inside in conjunction with ticketed events so at 1:30pm the Pipes and Drums of the Atlantic Watch performed. Such a cool way to spend the afternoon. Our tickets were 2nd balcony directly over/behind the stage---a wonderful location for this performance.

Then we came home and after a brief stop at the house, we walked uptown to our favorite Italian restuarant, Villa Barone. Dad had a number of gift certificates for there so we decided to use some of them!!! And now there's great leftovers in the fridge!

The tapestry is almost done and I'm loving the effect. Took today off from the project after working on it every night. And I got fabric to start making my charms and we ordered paper for the page swap. Life is good----

Enjoy,

Janet