Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming!

Well, if you live in the U.S., you just might know why I have Dory stuck in my head!! I am knee deep, okay...well, quite literally waist deep (since I'm working while on the sofa!), in paperwork...bills + T~A~X~E~S!!! Oh now, does that ever deserve a mantra/song/mission statement?! Right?!!?!! Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming.... :>

I *do* have a beautiful butterfly lady all stamped, foil embossed, cut out, and watercolored up, just waiting for a card to take rest upon. But! That "R" word (ooo...ouch....eek! *R*esponsibilities) keeps tapping at my shoulder and so, to be a r-r-r-r-r...esponsible grown up (oh when, REALLY, when did that happen?!), I must get through the pile o' paperwork before I can continue playing. Sigh. (and oodles of cartoonesque disgruntled nosies!)

Though, if you know me, then you know, even when the....

...uh-oh...having a serious '80's flashback....a little Billy Ocean....a little Jewel of the Nile...
...uh-oh...bear with me...

Okay..........so.....now that that particular digression has run its course (yes, I'm good at that!), back to the 'if you know me' part! And that is that even with all the yucky paperwork that has me engulfed to my waist (thank goodness my fingers are free or else I wouldn't be able to get chatty with you all!! :>), its those little things that make me smile!

Like the SUN that is SHINNING right now, the kids & Hubby who are playing their games (don't even say "Music & Soundscapes" right now or else a serious finger is going to be pointing at You and I'll be in a straight jacket, for sure!!), the ribs on the Q, the crafting supplies that are calling my name with all their colorful delight, the books that are singing their songs from my bedside, my son looking forward to growing strawberries again this summer, my daughter looking forward to planting the organic sage & flat leaf parsley we just picked up (no, not from seed....2 1/2" pots), and me, {hopefully} seeing signs that my paperwork might be whittled down enough to squeeze some creative time in quite soon...............ALL make me SMILE!!!

Now, what I really want to know (it just might give me the steam to plow through the rest of this paperwork, these numbers, and all this...uber technical term here: NON-fun stuff!) is what wonderful, from BIG to small, things are making YOU smile today??

Here Kitty Kitty!

Why am I still UP?! No! Seriously?! WHY am I still awake??!! The clock just rolled past midnight a minute ago and I'm flashing back to at least half of the day today (okay, so its technically Yesterday, but since its past midnight........is it really necessary to attend to 'technically'??!) that I was tired and wishing I had gotten some extra zzzzzz's the night before. Hmmmmmm.......so why am I still awake!

Oh, yeah!! I wanted to share a couple of my favorite kitty pictures! :> Pioneer Woman, Ree, put a call out for kitty pictures for one of her Flickr groups and since my kidlets are obsessed with kitty cats (well, since we're here, okay OKAY, I'm here, up past midnight, I'll let you in on a little secret...........my kidlets are way past obsessed with kitty cats.......way past that.........they adore, they love....YES! a pic of a kitty will rapidly bring forth a very vocal, quite loud, series of, "Awwwwwww"s!)...oh yes, I digressed (I'm good at that)....since my kidlets just LOVE pics of kitties, I thought I would throw in a couple of my favs!

Here is Kitty Clyde! He passed just before the New Year, at seventeen years of age. But, this is not a sad post!! We LOVED him so!!! And this pic, is most definitely OUR favorite of him because it incorporates his spunk, his attitude, and always makes us smile! :> Our kitties were Hubby's kitties long before I came into his life. But, Clyde welcomed me with open arms.......um, so to speak!!

They are/were brother and sister (& another brother lives with Hubby's best friend) and are a Manx/Siamese/Tabby mix. If you know kitties, then you may know that both Manx kitties (they don't have tails...Clyde had about a one inch stump and his sister has no tail at all, a rump) and Siamese kitties are VERY HIGH personality kitties!! Our kidlets have had many opinions as to what our kitties have had to say about life, in general, over the years. :>

Now, here's a kitty that's a bit bigger than the kitties that live with us!! We met this kitty....er, um...tiger, during a special trip to the Oakland Zoo! It was a Mama and Son trip and I remember every last detail of our visit. Oh boy, I'm heading down memory lane now!! Don't worry..................its way past midnight................I won't share my ramblings down memory lane..........well, at least not at this hour! Maybe another time! :>

This sun bathing tiger was a bit shy all day and we finally caught him towards the end of our visit. We watched for him several times that day and we were so thankful that he decided to come and stretch out on his rock for a bit!

Soooo.....are you an animal person?? Do you rock with the cats or the dogs of this world?? Or maybe a fish? Any animals to capture your heart?? Or do you have a RoboDog (like a sweet friend o' mine)?? Or do furballs and critters not float your boat? I'd love to know what's prancing around your home...or not! :>

I'm off to make sure I catch at least a couple of zzzzzz's tonight or else I fear even some hot java may not help me when my alarm starts singing at 5:40......in....um.....YIKES!!!....a few hours!

Thank {You} from me & a Win for one of You!

Oh

SO

Very

Much!!!

Blogging this last year has taken me on such a FUN adventure and I'm so glad to have gone on it. I look forward to oodles and oodles of creating, playing, chatting, visiting, and playing some more this year as well! THANK {YOU} for making it such a fun ride! :>

Okay, let's get to why you are here, right?? I promised a $25 Papertrey Ink gift certificate to one randomly selected February commenter!

And the winner is.................................

#119 Deb from sPaRkLiNg sCrApBoOkS

Congratulations! Deb, send me an email and I'll get you your gift certificate! :>

Sending out BIG thanks again to everyone who visits and comments!! Comments always put a smile on my face and make me so happy to have jumped into this fabulous & fun blogging adventure!

Source:
Spell with flickr

Lisa's Poppy Seed Challenge & Fabric Fun for EBTKS

Wow! As busy as this week is, I'm so happy to have crafted a bit of time for some paper, ink, stamps, bling, and fabric!

I had fabric in mind to play along with the Everything but the Kitchen Sink challenge. Actually, I thought I was going to use some of the fabric that I bought recently, but instead found myself digging through my old stash and even using a wee piece of the pink gingham that was in my daughter's nursery!







And I was so excited to see Lisa Johnson diving in and starting her own challenge, that I knew I wanted to include her three Poppy Seeds in my card!







I made my fabric circles essentially the same way I created them HERE (for a scalloped paper flower) and HERE (with an Easter egg dye paper towel)......only with fabric. Once they were layered, I pinched the fabric in the middle, threw in a couple of stitches, and then sewed a button on top with embroidery floss. I really love how it came out and will have to make one again!

This little sweet sentiment is from my stash from about fifteen years ago and its one of my favorites. Isn't that exactly what a card is meant to do, no matter what the occasion is??!

A couple of last details to share......I stamped that little flower stamp all over the lemon tart card base in Versamark for a subtle pattern (you can click on the photo to enlarge it) and then stamped it again, in teal, on either side of the sentiment. A couple pink crystals and my happy little card is complete.

I'm off to enjoy some of today's happy moments......my daughter is going to her second dance class with her Grammie and I'll be heading back to my son's school to watch him perform Tiki Tiki Tembo, which they have been working on this trimester in Drama class. He tells me he's the Old Man in it and has to walk very slowly. :> Should be fun!

What's making you smile today?



(I'll be back with a supply list this evening!)

I'm back and here's my supply list:

Supplies:
Cardstock: Lemon Tart - Papertrey Ink
Stamps: Flower - Stampin' Up!; Sentiment - Love You To Bits
Ink: Versamark; Taken with Teal - Stampin' Up!
Fabric: Stash
Button: Stash (I think its Autumn Leaves)
Thread: Coats & Clark
Embroidery Floss: Bazzill
Bling: Lisa Bearnson

Just a note...

Its a crazy busy week here............nothing exciting, but lots to do nonetheless! Hopefully, I'll still find some time to play this week, preferably with ink or paint (or fabric or stitches or stamps or paper or something messy & fun!), but either way, just wanted to let you know, I'll announce the winner of my First Birthday Blog Giveaway for a Papertrey Ink gift certificate towards the end of the week!