You may know I've "misplaced" my camera. Don't you love those lovely euphemisms? Previously loved cars - Used car! Let's be honest here. Misplaced camera - all right, I lost it, I admit it... I'm convinced it's buried somewhere in my craft room but I haven't been able to find it. I had been planning on telling you all about some of the stuff going on but I keep getting an error message when I try to upload Alexa's SD card to my printer(I've been using her camera). I'm striking out all over so you will all have to use your imaginations...
Fool that I am, I invited five of Alexa's friends (the core group) over to decorate gingerbread houses. Each year Alexa decorates a gingerbread house whether it comes from a kit, or the Dessert Deli's house decorating event or a Wegman's house that we put together and then she decorates. She wanted to do houses with her friend Brenda, so I figured in for a penny in for a nickle and had five friends come over. Lex took pictures, as did I but they will not load!! So you need to imagine our dining room table, covered in a pink plastic table cloth and six chairs around. At each place is a 8D"X5W"X10H gingerbread house on a cardboard base. There are six snowman marshmallow peeps, one at each place setting, and a piping bag filled with royal frosting.
Running down the center of the table are various bowls of Twizzler - strawberry and multi-fruit colored, cinnamon dots, 10 packages of Necco wafers, gum drops and wreaths, square, grid shaped pretzels, hard holiday candies in different colors, mini fruit flavored and colored jelly half circles, marshmallow mini Christmas trees and stockings and fruit shaped Skittle type candies. Also three cans of decorative icing - two white and one green and turtle crunch crumbs (for dirt or walkways). Needless to say the girls made good use of EVERYTHING! The houses came out great and more importantly, Alexa told me they all had a good time and loved their houses.
Now picture this, not hard because you can scrawl back a couple of posts and probably see pictures of Abby. Abby was covered in matted fur on her tummy, and dingy fur on top, head and ears because she's been out in the mud and stuff in the backyard and it's been raining and or snowing lately. She's also a little stinky...but beautiful still.
I took her to the groomer on Thursday to get her monthly bath and cut and told Jackie that she would probably have to have her tummy shaved to get rid of the mats there and her side coat taken down a bit. If she had to have a puppy cut, so be it, but she needed a serious trim. I left puppy at the groomers and ran my errands and called back at 4:00 to see if she was ready. Well, it turns out we no longer have a stinky, dingy, and matted but beautiful cocker spaniel. We now have a clean, sweet smelling BALD cocker spaniel...This one I'm almost glad you can't see! Her head is still as it was but from the neck down fuggetaboutit! The one good thing, kinda, is that we now know how she gets up on stuff - she's got the longest legs! She looks about four inches taller when you see how long her legs are now that they are not hidden by hair! Same with worrying about her weight - she's a slim trim girl!
No pictures need for this...I've got a solid handle on our toned down Christmas. We aren't going to Long Island this year - saving money, letting hubby relax at home and no worries about the dog. As always I have Alexa's computer written, including pictures list. This year she improved it by adding coupons and discount numbers for on-line ordering - where applicable!
I'll try to post as soon as I get the tree(s) up. I'm challenged by Abby as to what I can put up and what I can't. That vertical leap of hers is scary and I'm not willing to have my tree and 30+ year old handmade ornaments damaged or destroyed. So an update will be posted.
On the work front I did a paper covered nutcracker, a Maya Road Christmas tree chipboard book for the store and I have to do 25 ATC's (altered trading cards) for a swap at work. I also have several things to mail, more shopping to do (but no more money at the moment!) and the ever dreaded Christmas cards to do...and can you see the top of my desk? No...you could for about 24 hours a day or two ago, but now, not so much ;-)
So take care, I'll post when I can find a camera, a workable SD card and whatever else! Enjoy, only 19 more days till the jolly red suited guy arrives!
Yes, I still scrapbook! That was Alexa's question to me. Do you ever just make a regular layout? Something NOT for the store? Yes, Alexa, there is a scrapbooking mother in me. Here is a page to prove it - about you! I did this at the retreat last weekend along with three 2 page, 12x12 layouts, ten 8.5x11 layouts for last years vacation book, the chipboard Christmas tree I talk about later and a baby book for my friend Sarah. I'd write about the retreat but to be honest, much of he conversation is unprintable - we were naughty, big girls, but we had fun! (Sorry about the glare in the shot)
It was just as much about color as it was about where we were. I used Graphic 45, one of my favorite lines for this travel page. I'm really happy with how it turned out. It's on display at the store and I'll be doing it as class in May and June.
Isn't she adorable! We hope to bring her home around May 1-3. Still no definite name. Alexa is biding her time until we meet her to make her final decision. It's still looking like either Lily or Chloe. What do you like? Let me know!
The morning after: Brenda, top right, is still a little shelled shocked. Alexa and Haley - raring to go!
