Project of the Week #7

I recently made two cards with my new Copic markers and Prismacolor colored pencils but did not take pictures. They quickly were given to recipients to thank them for thoughtful birthday gifts. I finally photographed a card made with some new supplies. I have added some Tim Holtz products to my collection and love that I can use them for more masculine cards. The sun ray embossing folder used below is quite a general use item.

Supplies:
Card stock: Yo-Yo Yellow from Stampin' Up! and Neenah White
Embossing Folder: Tim Holtz
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Scattered Straw and Mustard Seed Distress Inks from Tim Holtz
Marker: Copic Sketch YR68
Punch: Modern Label from Stampin' Up!
Stamp: Lawn Fawn
Misc: Prismacolor colored pencils

10 Things that I Miss about Dayton

I had started to draft a different post for July's 10 Things, but then I changed my mind after seeing a photo on Facebook. I have lived in San Antonio for seven years, and here are 10 Things that I miss about Dayton, Ohio:

1. Family
I grew up living near most of my family, and I miss having them nearby. Our families have spread out, but most of them are in the Dayton area.

(Christmas 2007)

2. Friends
Many of my friends are still in Ohio, and I miss them. Facebook, email and visits help.

3. Spring, Summer and Fall
I have never been a fan of winter, but we only have 2 seasons in South Texas: Hot and Not Hot.

4. Dayton Dragons Minor League Baseball
The games are a blast! Someone posted a picture on Facebook from their 815th sell out game, and got me thinking about the things that I miss from Dayton. It is especially fun to watch some of the guys go up to the Cincinnati Reds.

5. Marion's Pizza
It is the best thin crust pizza ever!

6. Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm
I can't wait to take Alex there. I spent a lot of time there growing up, and then John and I had our wedding and reception at the Center.

(My friends and bridesmaids before the wedding at Aullwood in 2004.)

7. MetroParks, including "The Englewood Reserve"
I also spent a lot of time there growing up.

8. Festivals
The Dayton area has a great variety of free and low cost festivals including City Folk, the Celtic Festival, and the Aullwood Festivals, and more.

(Cherish the Ladies at the 2005 City Folk Festival)

9. University of Dayton
I loved the two years that I spent as a student there for graduate school and still cheer on the Flyers.

10. It is home.
There is a history and familiarity there that will take decades to develop anywhere else.

For more 10 Things posts, head over to Shimelle's blog. Please come back on August 10th for 10 Things that I Love about San Antonio.

The Big Boy Bed

I had been putting this off for about a month now. I knew that Alex was outgrowing his crib. If he wanted to, he could have climbed out. During the three day weekend, I could not put it off any longer. Alex was ready for a "big boy" bed! John took the side off of the crib, which made it into a "toddler" day bed.

We are now on night 4 of the bed boy bed, and Alex is doing well with the change. He was excited about it on Monday. He stays in bed at night, but he may test some boundaries later. I may not have been ready, but Alex was ready.

Photo taken 7/5/11.

Happiness Blog Hop: Make Time for Friends

This month's topic for the Happiness Blog Hop is how scrapbooking relates to Gretchen Rubin's "make time for friends" resolution in The Happiness Project. If you are following this blog hop and arrived from Take a Picture and Remember This, then you are in the right place.

For over three years, I have been getting together with two friends on a Sunday afternoon for our monthly "scrapbooking." We meet at one of our houses and have lunch first and then "scrapbook." I put scrapbook in quotations because scrapbooking only gets done some of the time. It is just as much about having a time to get together and chat. By meeting at someone's house and bringing or making food for lunch, it is a low cost way to get together. By using scrapbooking as a theme for the gathering, we give ourselves ample time before rushing back to the responsibilities of home, family and the work week ahead. I look forward to this time each month, and I even sometimes complete layouts.

To enter the giveaway from Scrapworthy Lives, be sure to comment below! I would love to hear how you make time for friends! You can earn one entry per blog. So that means if you visit everyone’s blog and comment on each of their blogs, you can get 9 entries! All entries must be posted by Friday, July 8 at midnight Central Standard Time (Chicago, IL, USA). Stephanie will ship anywhere in the world. The winner will be announced on Sunday, July 10 on Scrapworthy Lives.

Here is a list of all the blogs:
Scrapworthy Lives
Scrapping Mojo
Pie for Breakfast
iStampScrap&Craft
Scraps & Sass
Take a Picture and Remember This
1200 Some Miles
Slife of Life
Our Life with Spiky Potatoes

Your next stop on the blog hop is Slife of Life. Thank you for stopping by and Happy 4th of July to everyone is the U.S.!

Zoo

My birthday outing was to the San Antonio Zoo. Alex was 10 months old on his first trip to the zoo in January 2010. This second trip to the zoo was very different since now he can run around and identify many of the animals. We all had fun and plan to go back sooner than later.

Alex & Grandma

Alex and Grandpa

Elephants

Birds in Africa Live

More birds in Africa Live

Zebras

Okapi

Photos taken 6/25/11.

More on Podcasts

I called into the Papertrey Radio Podcast to answer Erin's question,

"Are you a slave to the trends or do you adopt trends into your personal style on a more permanent basis? Tell us what trends have taken hold of your heart and creative side and aren't letting you go anytime soon. Or, tell us how you love always creating with the latest and greatest motifs and elements."

Those of you who know me can already guess that I am not a slave to trends. I had some thoughts to share, and my voicemail was played on the podcast. Once I got over the "I sound like a dork" feeling, it was quite fun to hear my answer and be part of the episode. You can listen to the episode on Nichole's blog or download it to your computer, iPod, etc. (My voicemail is about 7 minutes into the podcast.)

I am trying to narrow down some choices for my first Papertrey Ink order. They have a great mix of stamps and coordinating dies and are known for their quality card stock. I know that I do want some card stock to add to my card stock drawer. You can never have too much card stock and color choices!

Open the Door!

Alex is talking more and more. He does a lot of commands, including Hold on, Daddy, sign me out (at the end of daycare), and Mamma, sit down. Last night at dinner, I realized that he has moved onto using some sentences. I was showing him how to make a taco and he said, I like it.

Alex is still using his crib. (For a little longer... He just doesn't realize that he can climb out if.) This morning, we woke up to Alex yelling, Open the door to get us to come to his room.

Counting & ABC's

Alex has been working on counting, which usually goes 1-2-8-9. He can sing most of his ABC's, but I few letters getting muffled in the middle.