I'm Here!

Hello! I'm just stopping by for a sec to let you know I am still here! I got tired of my lagging computer and reformatted this morning, so working on getting everything back to normal. We spent the wknd watching the rest of the olympics, so I have not crafted in days! I am so behind, but this computer has been driving me crazy and I couldn't take it anymore. Now it seems to be a bit better, but it still has a few issues. Oh well, we'll work em' out!

Ashleigh had her first dance on Friday night and she had a ball. 2 boys asked her to dance and she told me "Mommy, I didn't know what to say, so I said no". Well, turns out when hubby was getting coffee, he ran into Brandon's mom and she said "What did your daughter say to Brandon? He was devastated!!" Turns out when he asked her to dance, poor Ashleigh turned and literally RAN AWAY! LOL! This poor boy is in gr 5 and in her class (split class). He has a little crush on her and she turned tail and ran like the wind! Poor Brandon...lol!

Well, I am off to pick up Miss Muffet and then House returns tonight with all new ep's. That's one thing about the Olympics being over, our shows return, but I do miss them. I don't watch sports on TV at all, but man, I think I watched every single sport in the last 17 days!! I've learned about curling even!! What an exciting 17 days and I have to sneak this in...WTG CANADA!! And to all the World Athletes out there, you should be darned proud of yourselves!!!

It's a SNOWY Friday and Our "Baby" Is Growing Up Fast!

Good morning! Wow, did we get snow last night!! I'll try and post some pics later. I've taken a bit of a break the last couple days because I've been watching the olympics. Last night we took gold in women's hockey, was awesome! US and Canada played a great game. Our goalie was amazing. I don't normally watch hockey, but I have been during the olympics! I have to admit, I'm looking fwd to next week when our shows will return though!! LOL! No more re-runs!

So, tonight our 9 yr old little girl will attend her very first dance. Where on earth does the time go? Seems like just yesterday she was crawling along the floor and needing me for every little thing in her life and now she's off and running and has a more active social life than I do! I find myself trying to pay more attention to how many times I say "Just a minute, Ashleigh" and really trying to just stop for 5 min's and listen to what she has to say because it won't be much longer before she'll be doing her thing even more and won't be needing me as much (so she'll think at the time!) I'm taking her to get her hair done and then she'll go to her friends house for pizza and then the dance. I had to laugh when Andrew said "Mom, she's not old enough to go!!" Yes son, she is..I guess you just danced your last pre-teen dance huh? LOL! So funny. I think he's a little surprised at just how fast things are moving as well.

Well, hopefully I will get a little time to craft this wknd. I'd like to get into a few challenges and I'd also like to try and get back into my scrapbooking. Does anyone else out there find that you either scrapbook or you make cards but for some reason, you never do both at the same time???

Have a great day and stay warm and dry and hope you don't get snowed in!

FBW # 98 - Dreams and Butterflies!

Good morning and welcome to another Flutter By Wednesday!! This week's challenge is open, but don't forget to have a butterfly, fairy or an angel on your work. Last spring, my friend Christine showed us how to make these notepads at one of our club nights. I haven't made one since and thought this would be perfect for today! So, I tried my hand at it and it turned out well!! I used another of my Aurora stamps from SCACD and added prisma glitter and stickles to her. I also added some butterflies from my new MS punch. I hope you like it! I have to admit, I had an awful time photographing this. There's no sun and it's a bit of a dreary day. Sorry!

Be sure to flutter over to the FBW blog to be inspired by the rest of the DT and see who won last week's blog candy!!

Frosty Peanut Butter Pie Recipe!! MMMmmmm Good!

Hello again! I wanted to share a couple recipes I've recently tried out. My hubby bought me a cookbook for Valentine's Day as I was saying I'm sick of the same ol' food. I am LOVING this cookbook! It's called "The Busy Family Cookbook" and has 370 fast recipes for weeknight dinners. It's from Reader's Digest. Everything is pretty much under 30 min's, which also includes your prep time! Perfect when I want to get in here for a night of crafting!! I can pre-make and go! We're also trying to eat healthier, even Keith is going on this journey with me! So, last night I made sweet & sour porkchops and frosty peanut butter pie (for the kids). Both went over VERY well, so I thought I would share!

Frosty Peanut Butter Pie (prep 10 min + freezing)

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pkg (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1 chocolate crumb crust (8")
• 2 tsp chocolate syrup

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Fold in whipped topping and spoon into crust. Drizzle with chocolate syrup, cover and freeze for 4 hours or over night. Remove from freezer 30 min's before serving. (I ended up doubling the recipe as it didn't seem to fill the crust we had) I did end up trying a sliver and was OH SO GOOD! Sometimes eaty healthy is tough! LOL!

Sweet and Sour Pork Chops (prep time 10 min's)

• 3 tbsp chili sauce
• 3 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 8 boneless pork loins (we used reg chops)

In a small bowl, combine all 3 ingredients. Mix well and brush over both sides of pork chops. Broil 4-6 inches from heat for 3-4 min's per side, depending on thickness of chops. (mine were about 12 min's per side, but I flipped at 6 min intervals to avoid burning). These aren't overly spicy, they do have a bit of a kick, but they're really good!

Have a recipe you'd like to share? Leave a comment so we can try it out! Enjoy!

Project Tuesday - "Live Well, Laugh Often..."

Hello and welcome to another Project Tuesday! This week's project is a gift card holder! This was super easy to make and fast too! I love those kinds of projects. For my project this week, I used the CTMH Felicity paper and one of my cuppy's from Stamps and Smiles. I did some paper piecing to tie it all together! The little embellishment is also from CTMH. The sentiments are both from a set I bought at Michaels. Hop on over to Project Tuesday to see what the rest of the DT created and while you're there, be sure to create your own gift card holder and link in Mister Linky! Don't forget: we are looking for a few more girls to join our team. This is the last week to apply. If you are interested in a spot, please leave DT after your name and we will announce the NEW team March 1st.

Can't wait to see what you create!

(My Mom's FBW#97 Entry) Surprise!

Hello!! Happy Saturday my friends!! Last night we got together for our monthly scrapbooking club and my mom made this card using one of my Aurora images for this week's FBW #97 challenge - Butterfly, Fairies or Angels and the challenge this week is to use hearts as well!! Since she doesn't have a blog, I've posted it on mine so she can get in on all the fun!!

Awesome job, Mom!!

DT CALL, BLOG CANDY AND SALE AT PAPER ROMANCE!!

Hello! I was just 'hopping' around and came across a site and found myself at Amy's Paper Romance! There is a TON happening there today, but HURRY!! It all ends today!! Amy's looking for 3 people for her NEW design team, she has a sale goin' on AND blog candy!! HOP HOP HOP!! Hurry on over! Below you'll see the 3 cards I've entered for the DT call, good luck to everyone who enters!

CTMH "Showcase Thursday" - Wishing You...

Good morning and welcome to another CTMH "Showcase Thursday"! This week I wanted to showcase one of our newest paper packs called "Caboodle". Isn't this so cute? Click here and flip to page 18 to see the complete LV1 and 2 paper pack as well as the stickease. I really love this paper. You can use it for anything! I've also used some CTMH prisma glitter on this card as well. I wanted to keep it cute and simple. The stamp set is from Stamping Bella. I thought it was perfect for this project! So, my project for today is a tea bag (or chocolate) holder. You can find the instructions here. It's very simple and fun to do. In fact, I think this was one of the first projects I did when I came across Project Tuesday and loved it!! I've since made a few and everyone loved them. Tmw night is our club night and this is what we'll be making! Unfortunately, the pics don't really do it justice. I just couldn't get the right lighting, but it's very pretty in person! I think the second pic shows the colors the best.

I thought I would enter this in the Cupcake Challenge - Keep It Simple!

Flutter By Wednesday # 97 - It's All About Hearts!

Good morning and welcome to another Flutter By Wednesday challenge!! This week is a special week because...Susana from Susana's Custom Art and Card Design is sponsering us! Be sure to flutter over to the FBW for all the details! All you have to do is create a card or project using HEARTS as well as a butterfly, fairy or an angel. It's that easy! Here's the catch though...in order to be eligible for Susana's candy, you must create and link your card in Mister Linky on the FBW blog by Monday, Feb 22 at midnight. Winner will be announced next Wednesday.

For my card today, I chose to use one of my Aurora stamps that I bought from Susana. I am so in love with these stamps!! I bet you're wondering (as I was) is she considered a fairy? I had to check with Danni, hehehe, and discovered she's a Sprite BUT!! Look at her ponytail and tell me what you see sitting there?! It's a wee little butterfly!! (thanks Danni!) And that little butterfly joins Aurora no matter where she goes!! Lucky me! I can use her on any of my FBW challenge projects!

So, with all that being said, hurry and flutter over to Flutter By Wednesday to get more inspiration and don't forget to link your creation while you're there!! Can't wait to see what YOU create and good luck to all with the candy draw!!

Other challenges I am entering:

• Fussy and Fancy #4 - Dazzle Us!
• Allsorts - Recipe With A Difference ~ 3, 2, 1 (3 DP, 2 brads, 1 charm "Follow Your Heart")
• Alota Rubber Stamps #29 - Distress
• A Spoon Full Of Sugar #91 - Spring Is In The Air

Project Tuesday - "With Love..."

Good morning and welcome to another Project Tuesday!! This week our February host, Lisa Cook, has challenged us to create joy fold cards. These cards are fun to make and can be designed in several different ways. Beate even created a wonderful video tutorial so you can follow along. We warmly invite you to play along, feel free to use your favorite stamps and supplies. For my card, I used another of my new Aurora With Cake stamp from SCACD.

This is what you will need:

- 1 4 1/4" x 8 1/2" piece of cardstock
- 1 3" x 8" piece of cardstock
- 2 2 3/4" x 4" pieces of cardstock or designer paper (optional)
- 1 4" x 5 1/4" piece of of cardstock or designer paper (optional)
- 1 2 3/4" x 4" piece of cardstock or designer paper (optional)
Additional cardstock
Scoring tool
Adhesive
Stamps
Ink

Don't forget to hop on over to Project Tuesday to see what the awesome DT came up with for more inspiration and while you're there, play along with us and don’t forget to include your name in Mr. Linky so we can easily find you. If you upload your projects to Splitcoast, please include "stampsandsmiles" in the keywords. We would also like to announce that we are looking for a few more girls to join our team. If you are interested in a spot, please leave DT after your name and we will announce the NEW team March 1st.

Other challenges that I am entering:

• Paperplay Challenge: Birthday For Someone Special
• Raise The Bar - Be Mine Forever - This week's challenge is to use a stamp/set/item that you will never ever ever sell or give up. Ever. And we'd love to hear your story when you post your card. My Story: I came across these stamps on SCACD and absolutely fell in love with them!! The whole set is so adorable and I can never see myself selling these cuties!
• Hand Full Of Stamps - Open The Fun!