GRUMPY

So... Sunday we decided to put my new camera to good use and try to get a few pictures of the grand babies. It was just too hot outdoors for any of us... we set up shop in the living room. Maybe a picture or two of Grayson on his rocking horse... no go. He had other plans... "How fast can I make this trot?" No smiles... wouldn't even say the usual "Cheeeesse". Grumpy boy.....


OK... let's try the baby. Hahahahaha..... jokes on us! Propped up... paci in the mouth.... Nope! Let's try laying down.... hmmmm... brother holding her?.... naked.... diapered..... head band..... nothing. Grumpy girl.....


Well, how about the whole family? If the babies are held, just maybe?????? See for yourself............

GRUMPY FAMILY!!!!

I did manage to get a couple of good pictures, this one being my favorite. My son with his daughter... "Daddy's Little Girl"

"BEAUTIFUL"

Finally, I can share with you a canvas I made. My daughter-in-law had pregnancy pictures taken and there was one that just stuck out... saying "Create me"! So I decided to give it try. What could I lose? If it didn't work, the next step was the garbage! Well... I surprised myself! I glued, painted, inked, stamped and doodled the background. I hand cut her and the boy out of plain card stock, decoupaged, painted, dressed them, and embellished away.




I decided to give this to Ashley for Ava, my new Grand-daughter. My plan is to teach my grand-children about art. About experimenting with media and expressing themselves creatively.

BUDDING CHEF

I am a messy cook;

I'm in a challenging position; having to learn to cook and bake gluten free for health. Is there a difference... OH Yes! Today I am trying out my own recipe for Honey-Oatmeal bread. It's put together and in the pan resting. 60 minutes or one hour. Then it will have to bake over an hour. Bread making is not a quick process or do you want to rush it... unless you want a flat,dense loaf that tastes like cardboard.

My assistant; making rice soup(aka... rice and water) He is a particularly handsome man and very smart. He measures everything out and he doesn't like to be hurried! Only the very best ingredients goes into his creations. His tastes are exquisite, fine juices, tasty fruits and vegetables (cut in a medium dice, not pureed), and OH... the cheese! Just call him "Chef Gray-soun", that is, with a french accent!

FAMILY CHRISTMAS 2010

GRAYSON DECORATING HIS COOKIE

SHOWING OFF HIS NEW "THOMAS THE TRAIN" BACKPACK AND CONDUCTOR HAT

UNCLE MICHAEL TRYING OUT THE CONDUCTOR GEAR

MATTHEW AND ASHLEY


Sunday, we celebrated Christmas with all the kids and their families. Roast Beef, mashed potatoes and all the fixins! Ashlyn baked Christmas cookies, a first. I usually do the baking and the kids decorate them. This has been our family Christmas eve tradition since the kids were little. This year we decided to change things around a bit, since every one's work schedules are different. Grayson ate the frosting and sprinkles and left the cookies! Next, on to the gifts. Grayson was so excited, ripping into each gift and loving it all! Papa and I (Nena) got him a train table and train. Thomas the Train is his all time favorite!! Something for Daddy to put together! It was a fun night and all the kids had a good time, so did I. It was nice to have them all together, the noise, the laughter and all the fun!

MICHAEL AND SAMARA

ASHLYN AND JAMES

"DANGER DANGER!!!"

What a week! The tale of the beginning of the week.......
Wow! What a whirlwind day! I kept Grayson all day because Ashley (DIL) was having surgery. (It went well-she is home recovering/thank goodness) I went and picked up Ashlyn to go shopping (Grayson needed a few new toys for our house since he has outgrown the others). Any hooo... we ended up having to rush to Stanley Hospital because her fiance shot himself in the shoulder with a roofing nailer. 2 1/2 inch staple embedded into his right shoulder (straight into the bone-ouch!). Into surgery he goes. Anyway, he is home now - recovering. Dufuss! This is the second time he has done this. A year and a half ago, he shot his foot. Dufuss! Yes! I called him a dufuss! DUFUSS!!!!!
After all was said and done...... Grayson got to go to Walmart and he picked out a CAT front loader with all the bells and whistles! He's happy and so is Nena!

On with the week...Planned on going to the LSS for a little fun, too much on my plate for the day. Needless to say, nothing really got accomplished! Another day gone.
Imagine this... 4:30 am... you're sleeping and in the middle of a dream... next thing you know, you're lying on the floor. Hmmm.... note to self... "Get side rails for the bed". Yes, I rolled out of bed, hit the floor and took all the covers with me. Hurt like hell and all I wanted to do was laugh! I don't even remember what I was dreaming about! Was it good or bad??? Who know??? Scared the hell out of John! Poor guy!
Today I managed to clean off one side of my desk and put some stuff away. I stayed off ladders, kept sharp objects out of reach and didn't go near the stove! Didn't want to take any chances! Tomorrow will be a day of rest and hopefully, next week will be less dangerous!
Here are a few of the cards I promised you from my last posting. Enjoy!

"NEW"

We've had a great week here. I saw the movie "Grown ups" with Ashlyn and I laughed my hiney off! My second movie, this time with Dear Husband, was "Twightlight". (I think I "need" to see it again!) Grayson spent a day with us and we took him to Lazy 5 Ranch. I'm not sure who likes it better... him or me! On the 4th, we went to a cookout with Ashlyn's future in laws and the family. Good times! Yesterday was BAD.... I ate donuts for breakfast, then a nap, then to Ashlyn's so Daddy could fix the computer. We ended the day with yummy Mexican food. Only the donuts were bad, but I have done so good this last week. Very little sweets or soda! I'm trying hard, I really am. (Is that convincing enough?)


My "NEW" friends! (I took this picture as I was standing on the front seat of the truck with my head out the sunroof.)

Our "NEW" driver. Too bad he can't reach the gas pedal or see over the dashboard yet!


Two "NEW" families of chicks! There were 14 in the second brood. Oh My!

A brand "NEW" calf. This little guy was only a few days old.

My weekend project. The canvas bag I bought at Harbor Freight a couple weeks ago, but have not had the inspiration do anything with it. That is... UNTIL... I saw this awsome vintage flower trim during one of my crusades on the internet! Oh, I MUST have that! I want more now...NOW! In all the colors. I first applied gesso to the whole bag to seal it. Then I painted it with Claudine Hellmuth's Studio paint in Landscape Green, Painterly Pink and Sable Brown mixing in a little Studio multi medium for gloss and thinned with water. ( I think next time I'll skip the gesso if I use Multi-medium) The flowers were stamped with a thicker mixture of the paints and multi-medium using my Hero Arts "Hydrangea" stamp. I let it dry for several hours and then sprayed Tattered Angels over the whole bag in English Ivy, Coffee Shop and Vintage Pink to give it a distressed "Vintage" appearance. I then sewed ivory, crocheted lace and torn, frayed fabric together and glued it to the upper pockets of the bag. I topped that by gluing the vintage flower trim to the top over the seam. I am so in love with this trim! In fact, there are many more items from this particular company I think I "Need". Ha-ha!!!!! Any hoo.... now you have it! My "NEW" embellishment bag......

(Sorry, the quality of this picture is poor)

Today, I am going to visit an antique shop or two. Maybe... I'll find some goodies! If I do, I'll share. (pictures of course, not the goodies)

Think happy thoughts!
p

CRAYONS

Today was an awesome day. I had an early lunch with the hubby, then it was off to the LSS to crop! Actually, it was OWH day and there was a full house. It was great! I strayed off to finish a project for my Mom and Dad. My original plan was to give it to them in May, when they were here for my son's wedding, but somehow it all got put on the back burner. I'm almost finished, just have to add a few final touches. Check back for pictures of the final........ OK, I'll give you a hint.... it's a ???
Ha-ha.... You'll just have to wait. (smile)
Tonight, we had supper with Matthew, Ashley and Grayson. I haven't seen the little guy in two weeks, since I was sick. It was killing me!!! I just can't get enough of him. I'm hoping for another little person to be added to this ever-growing family, soon! We ate pizza and pineapple and crayons and bread. OH! Did I say "crayons"? Yes, green ones and then we tryed a blue one. Or, at least Grayson did. He tryed to feed Papa a bite..... well.... let's say Papa declined. It would get stuck in his teeth. Hmmmm.... green teeth. Not attractive.

Think happy thoughts.
p

PRE-SCHOOL GRADUATION

Hey! It's going to be a hot one today! High 97 degrees and who knows what the heat index will be after you figure in the humidity. Great invention.... airconditioning! Any-hoo........... Not much on the schedule for today. Wednesday crop day at the "SB and Etc" but my daughter scheduled her eye doc appt today and I am playing taxi once again. Her car is dead! """AGAIN""" I think dear hubby has intentions of junking it and getting the old Chevy truck up and running for her. Fine with me. It's an eye sore sitting at the side of the driveway!

Grayson's graduation from 2 yr old pre-school (he was actually only going 2 days a week to get used to it for next school yr). He was the smallest one there. Most of the other little guys have turned three already. So cute standing on the stage with his "thumb in his mouth". Made me want to cry, grab him up and run! He just turned two a few months ago, still a baby in my eyes.




Grayson with Nena and Papa

A LITTLE TOUCH OF HEAVEN

This layout is very special to me. My very first Grandbaby and the memories of that day came flying back! He'll be two at the end of this month. Where does the time go? He stayed last night with Papa and Me...... he is a smart little boy. We put a board in the bedroom doorway, so our puppy will stay out. Well, Grayson decided he didn't want Cody (puppy) in Papa's office, so he attempted to put a piece of cardboard in the doorway, except it wasn't fitting right. He backed up, turned the cardboard, place it in the doorway and turned it back so it would fit. Logical thinking, two year olds don't have that. He watches the discovery and the military channels with Daddy. Very curious about everything. Maybe we have a future president! Hahaha......
Back to the layout. I wanted to add birthdate, weight, etc., but didn't want to clutter too much more with journaling. I decided to make a tag with all the info and hide it behind Daddy's picture. I raised the matte under the picture with strips of double-sided adhesive on three sides, leaving the top side open. This allowed enough room for the tag to slide nicely. I added a ribbon to the top of the tag to catch your attention and make it easier to grasp the tag.
Thanks for taking a look. I hope you enjoy this as much as I am.

SNIP AND SNAILS AND PUPPYDOG TAILS.....

The "Dig it or ditch it" dilemma is solved at last! I stuck with it and finally achieved what I wanted. I really like to piece scraps of cardstock together and finish with different mediums, to make my own embellishments. It gives me a greater feeling of accomplishment and makes my pieces more personal. (photos are not to good-poor lighting ; sorry)

NEED A RIDE?

Sunday was a fun day. We had Grayson all day and decided to take him to the Lazy 5 Ranch in Morresville, NC. John and I had never been there, but had heard it was an adventure. It was a bit on the chilly side, especially when the wind blew, but we had a great time. As we drove thru the ranch, we picked up a few hitch hikers. We had Ostrich and assorted deer heads inside our car, a few didn't want to leave! One of the Ostrichs was pecking at the mirror and then bit John. Guess he wasn't getting enough attention! Grayson thought that was funny! I do believe this will be a place we visit frequently.

GRAYSON SAYS "Mmmmmmm"

Today was a great day. John and I started off by cleaning out the herb bed and I hosed down the back porch. Boy, I have never seen that many dead bugs in one place! Yukko!!! Later this afternoon the kids all came over. We BBQ'd country style ribs, hamburgers, baked beans, corn and red potatoes. To top it off, I had made one of my kids favorite desserts; DIRT. To those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, it's a concoction of vanilla pudding, cool whip, cream cheese and crushed Oreo cookies. The baby even said, "Mmmmm". We sat around Grayson's little blow up pool, in our lawn chairs, while soaking our feet in the water. There was a lot of laughing and talking, just like I like it. I took pictures and did a little video taping, but I'm too tired to post it all now. So, tomorrow I'll hook up the camera and download a little of our fun to share with all of you. But for now, it's good night and sweet dreams.

SILHOUETTES AND CHANDELIERS

The room is cleaned out and my colors are chosen (far from my original thoughts). The back wall of the room was recently painted a darker violet, so I thought I would keep it. (John thanks me; LOL...) The rest of the walls will be a pinkish shade of taupe. A muted apple green and raspberry will be the coordinating colors, along with Amethyst and clear crystals adorning the window valance and lamp shade. Kind of... Vintage-Bohemian-Shabby Chic.
I have finished my LO for the title page of this blog and to hang in my studio. I love how it turned out. I used my silhouette to cut out the chandelier from glossy photo paper and then used alcohol inks to give it a worn patina finish. The pic is of my Grandson at 7 months, he is wearing a halo and white fluffy angel wings. I altered the pic using my Photo shop program to give it a watercolor effect and then tore the edges and distressed them. The letters are painted with crackle paint. Now to find a frame.

TIME PASSES

I'm playing catch up this week. It is April already and I am behind on my LO's. Not that I will ever be caught up, but I would as least like to try with my Grandson's. I have finished four LO's and a zig zag book for my MIL. I still need to add my journaling to a couple, always the last thing I do and then off to the post office.