Funnies for the weekend

Happy Labor Day weekend everybody!! I hope you all are having a wonderful Sunday afternoon and looking forward to an extra day of fun and/or relaxation! :) I know I am.

I added an SNL skit right above this post for your laughing pleasure. This is the second skit I've seen done with this Penelope character. She makes me laugh SO HARD!! I might be biased though, since I'm fairly certain I know the woman the character is based off of. ;)

I'll try to post something of substance soon. *haha*

Smashin' Fashion

Does anyone else watch Project Runway? I LOVE this show! I, who can't even sew a button on properly without trying three times, am obsessed with this show that is 95% watching people construct garmets to send down the runway. It is beyond fascinating to me. Not only do they work under crazy time restrictions (usually 12 hrs or so) but they're usually given some kind of difficult fabric to work with. Or something that's not even fabric at all. They've had to make fashion from grocery store purchases, candy products (including the wrappers, thank goodness or that would have been a melty mess!) and last night, the nuttiest one yet, car parts. Yes, they had to use things like seatbelts, floor mats, seat covers, air filters, etc...and make something WEARABLE out of them! It blew my mind. And what's even more amazing is that most of the stuff didn't look half-bad!!

This coat was made entirely from seatbelts woven together. Isn't it gorgeous? It looks like some kind of incredibly expensive fabric. I felt sorry for the model, though. They said it was incredibly heavy to wear. Bet she was wishing she ate Wheaties instead of air for breakfast. ;)

Do the shuffle!! *la la la, la la la la*

Samantha and I were discussing iPOD's yesterday at work after it came to my attention that some people are still using portable cd players!! *gasp* (You know who you are! *hehehe*) And I confessed that I have almost filled my iPOD. My 30 gig iPOD. It's almost disgraceful, I know. That doesn't include videos of any kind or books on tape...just a SMIDGE is photgraphs but the majority of it is MUSIC!! It will be quite a soul-searching decision-making proccess when the time comes for removing songs from my iPOD to make room for more. *shudder* However will I choose?

So then this morning I came across this idea on Sarah Champion's blog and thought it would be fun to try!! If you're reading this and you 1. have an iPOD and 2. have a blog, I expect to see this same exercise played out on YOUR blog! Just a fun bit of extreme randomness to start the day. :) So here we go!!

1. Put Your iTunes/music player/cd player/radio on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER WHAT!!!

(And copying this Sarah, I'll put my responses to the results in italic.)

Here we go!!!

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?

This Time - Sawyer Brown

Just this once!

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?

Hark The Herald Angels Sing - Mariah Carey

I'm singin' ALL the time! (I should warn you, I have A LOT of Christmas music on here.)

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes - The Platters

Actually, not really a fan of smoking.

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?

Stars and Stripes Forever - Songs of America

I'm feeling patriotic!

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?

Don't Worry, Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin

One that finally fits!! :)

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?

Miss Independent - Kelly Clarkson

Not reeeeally....

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?

Hopeslessly Addicted - The Corrs

Yeah, to tortilla chips. ;)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?

500 Miles - The Proclaimers

I know my parents would walk 500 miles for me if I needed them to, and vice versa! *aww*

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT FREQUENTLY?

Winter Wonderland - Point of Grace

SO true!! :)

WHAT IS 2+2?

Lift Your Eyes - Leeland

Hmmm....not sure I even understand how this question would work with ANY song...

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?

Never Gonna Break My Stride - Men At Work

This works. Jeremy's my best friend and we're ALWAYS on the go!

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?

Why Don't You Get A Job? - The Offspring

*hahahahaha* He has one, but this is still funny. *hahahaha*

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?

Wishin' On Someone Else's Star - Bryan White

*sigh* How sad. :(

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?

Shaken - Rachel Lampa

Shaken? Maybe, shaken out of my rut? Shaken out of this mold? How deep...

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?

Sweet Emotion - Aerosmith

Oh yeah! :)

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?

'A' You're Adorable - Perry Como

Of course they think I'm adorable! *haha*

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?

Stay True - Stacie Orrico

Too late, but appropriate!

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?

Shake Your Booty - K.C. & The Sunshine Band

Hey, why not? Party on! I'll be in a better place!!! :)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?

Don't Get Around Much Anymore - Michael Buble

So true. So true. ;)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?

Mama I Love You - Spice Girls

That's no secret! Everybody knows I love my Mom!

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?

Life is Precious - Wes King

And so are my friends! *awww*

Well there ya have it! Now it's your turn! Get out that iPOD and put it on random shuffle! I can't wait to see what responses you come up with. :)

Chick flick movie night!

The other night when Jeremy went to see "The Dark Knight" again with some guys from work, I treated myself to the perfect girl's-night-in: Mexican takeout and chick flicks!

First on the cinematic menu was Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day. While not wildly entertaining, it's a cute little movie. It stars Frances McDormand as a frumpy nanny that finds herself unemployed because she is too strict and hard on the children. Through a series of events, she accidentally acquires the job of "social secretary" for a flighty, promiscuous vaudeville singer, played by Amy Adams. (I'm convinced, by the way, that Adams is the most adorable creature on the face of the earth. If you've seen her in Enchanted you'll likely agree. She was just as bubbly and chipper in this movie...just lacking the innocence, which I missed.) I enjoyed watching Miss Pettigrew trying to knock some sense into the shallow 1920's high-society snobs. In the end, I wasn't sorry I rented it but it's probably not one I'll ever own.

The second DVD I rented (and the winner of the evening!) was Penelope. I'd hesitated to see this sooner because I just didn't see how a movie about a girl with a pig snout could be all that endearing. Whoops, did I just give away the plot? *hehe* Basically, it's a "modern-day fairytale" about a girl who falls victim to a curse placed on her wealthy socialist family, where the next female child would be born with the "face of a pig." (Really, she just has the snout and some funny ears that are covered by her long hair. Not nearly as grotesque as having the ENTIRE face of a pig! *yikes*) Anywho...the curse can only be broken if she marries a man of their same well-to-do stature.

I REALLY enjoyed this movie! It was sweet and charming and romantic and uplifting...I could probably go on. The story is told humorously and doesn't take itself too seriously, so it's easy to buy into the magical nature of the film.

I have to say two things about Christina Ricci. Numero uno: I've never noticed what beautiful eyes she has. They're HUGE and a rich chocolaty brown. Just stunning! Numero dos: This sounds crazy, but I think she's cuter WITH the pig snout!! Isn't that nuts? She'd probably love to hear that, huh? I've always thought her nose looked too small for her face...and after seeing her like this it REALLY seems tiny! *haha* I know, I'm weird.

Sooooo, I'd definitely reccommend Penelope. It has a great message too, of course, about being yourself and not caring what other people think about you and all that good, after-school special stuff. Rent it! I think you'll enjoy it! :)

We went to the zoo, zoo, zoo...How about you, you, you?

(Disclaimer: I have discovered that, depending on the computer you view my blog from, the text doesn't always show up correctly. My apologies if it's hard for you to read!)

Even though I live really close to my family, sometimes we go much too long without seeing each other. Admittedly, the fault lies with Jeremy and I and our busy schedules. But it is still inexcusable. So last week, Mom, Lauren and I planned ahead to spend an afternoon together A.S.A.P. That afternoon was Wednesday and we took the kiddos to the zoo! (And briefly to the park before we got rained out.) We had such a great time! The weather couldn't have been better....it was most certainly an Autumn appetiser. And for a group of girls that LOVE cloudy days, we were thrilled. We were snappy-

happy with our cameras (as usual) so I thought I'd share some of my favorite pictures from the afternoon. :)

Despite the clouds, Livvie was squinting a lot due to the glare. Grammy came to the rescue and loaned her some sunglasses. I really didn't think she'd keep them on, but she did! Doesn't she look FABulous? She had to keep pushing them up on her nose and occasionally I wasn't sure if she could really see where she was going. The prices we pay for fashion! ;)

Jack was easy-going and charming as always, even though the poor little guy has a bunch of teeth coming in. (Hence the picture on the left where he's devouring Henry the Octopus' foot.) I really can't believe how blonde he's getting! Blonde hair and blue eyes...what a cutie.

Miss Olivia is NOT easy to get a picture of. The girl is in constant motion. They do not make a camera fast enough to keep up with her! But if you keep on snapping, you're bound to get some gems because she's adorable from every angle. I took the super-close up on the left. I'm not sure, I think she was handing me something. I think it's precious...it really captures the twinkle in her eye. And Mom took the one on the right, which is equally darling but for a different reason. It's a much more "chill" Olivia...almost angelic.

As I mentioned earlier, we ventured over Sedgwick County Park after we'd had enough of the zoo. There is a new playground called Playscape which is absolutely phenomenal. It is incredibly creative...no run-of-the-mill playground eqipment here. If you have a child in your life you MUST take them to this park. It's like an amusement park, seriously. :)

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! I've done some more scrapbook pages...I'll try to post them soon. :)

Disappointments and an injured doggy...

If like me, you like to scrapbook with neon rainbows of happiness (and don't forget the bunnies *haha*)...then DON'T COME TO SCRAPBOOK GARDEN!!!! *exaggerated wink* Yes folks, this year it appears that my tastes are on a planet that no one else visits...AND no one orders anything from. I sat through the entire meeting on Monday night thinking, "Is it just me? Do people really like that?" And according to the immediate reactions of my fellow coworkers, the answer is YES. EVERYONE ELSE likes that. Not that anything they've ordered doesn't have a place. It does! But shouldn't there be a place for MY TASTE too?!?

I pulled Kathy aside afterwards and lovingly informed her that I was going to "beat her over the head with a few catalogs." She looked surprised! :) She asked what I wanted that they didn't order so I told her.

I want the "Lucky You" line and "The Sweet Life" from Colorbok. I showed her exactly what I meant in a catalog. She said (and I quote) that she didn't order it because it looked like something from THE DOLLAR STORE. Well...I didn't know whether she was insulting the product, or my taste!!! But seeing how I have dropped a good amount of cash in the Dollar Tree in the past...it must be my taste! *haha* But both of these lines are bright and cheerful and ADORABLE and I'm not the only one who loves them, I happen to KNOW. :) So fine. I'll order them online. (If I can find a place that carries the whole line, that is. *pout*)

Then another line that I've had my heart set on since I first laid eyes on it is Mr Campy from Cosmo Cricket. It's camping, it's retro, it's got SMILING marshmallows and pine trees, what's not to love?!? I thought this would be a gimme! Nope, they didn't order it either. So Kim and I both complained on this one, asking "WHERE'S MR. CAMPY?" *haha* Kathy came in the next morning with an actual sample of the paper and laid it out on the counter in front of me. "Have you seen this? Like actually SEEN this?" I was like, "Oooh no! It's so CUTE!" She looked at me very skeptically like I was kidding or something and said, "You LIKE this..." almost as if she didn't believe it. Trying to not get offended AGAIN I said emphatically, "I LOVE it! It's cute! It's RETRO! Don't you think it's cute?" "Hrrrmph." *haha* I couldn't help but laugh. Is my taste really that bad? But she actually did go through with ordering it...so I need ALL OF YOU to come to Scrapbook Garden and BUY IT OUT (after I get mine, of course!) so she doesn't think it was a waste of money! *haha* I have a feeling I will be held personally responsible if this stuff ends up on the clearance rack in future months. ;)

So that night after the meeting, my parents came over to hang out for a little bit. While they were here, we noticed poor Wrigley (my "middle-child" terrier mix) was bleeding! He had snagged his dewclaw on something and had nearly ripped the thing off! After Mom and Dad left, I poured some hydrogen peroxide on it and we bandaged it up. He didn't like that one bit so to keep him from trying to gnaw the bandage off, we used the "Satellite Dish" we had leftover from MoJo's neutering experience. He didn't like that either. Imagine that!
So Tuesday morning Jeremy took Wrigaroo to the vet while I was at work. They didn't REMOVE the dewclaw, as I originally thought they would. They just removed all the severed part, cleaned and bandaged it and doped him up on some pain meds. I didn't get to witness it firsthand but Jeremy thought it was particularly hilarious, calling me every few minutes to give me the update on how "drunk" he looked. (He even sent me a few pictures on my cell phone but I don't know how to upload those here.) Poor puppy wasn't himself for several hours, but by the time I returned from work last night he was good old Wrigley again. Oh, and for those of you looking at these pictures thinking, "Awwww, poor baby! He's so pathetic and needy!" Well, that's pretty much how he always looks, it's not injury related. ;)

I want, I want, I WANT!!

Tonight we have our store meeting, where the owners will show us all of the goodies (meaning paper, stickers, embellishments, etc.) that they ordered at the recent craft show in Chicago. It's a tricky situation for them because it's quite likely that there will be merchandise that WE WANT that they DIDN'T order. And, it's also probable that they will have ordered a whole load of crap that we don't like. *hahaha* How do I know? It happens every year. ;) The only real solution to this problem is to just take us along WITH THEM so we can personally tell them what to order and what to pass on...but that would lead to complete and utter chaos (beyond the chaos that I imagine already ensues) and will never ever ever happen.

I told Kathy before this last show that I had a tip for her: If it's cute, order it! If it's not cute, DON'T order it! Voila! Problem solved!!! She laughed and said, "Oh, ok, I'll just flip everything over and look for the label!"

Really, I don't envy their position. I know if I owned my own store, it would be extremely 1-dimensional with nothing but super-cutsie daisies and glitter and hearts and bunnies. Yes, bunnies. :) *getting excited just IMAGINING such a place of wonder!!* But I realize there is room for variety because not everyone needs to be surrounded by a neon rainbow of happiness, as I do. Clearly, I do. :P There is room for distressed and rugged and vintage and grey....BASIC grey. But sometimes I do take it as a personal slap in the face that they would purposely NOT order something that I deem so worthy. Not just forget to order it...but CHOOSE not to!

For instance, Sassafrass Lass has a darling paper line where each paper has an attached border that you can cut off and use. Brilliant! And I loooooved last season's collection and I've seen pictures of the new stuff and it looks absolutely adorable as well! But, alas, I already happen to know (because I asked *haha*) that they DID NOT order this paper. Grrrrrr. Whad-am-I supposed to do? Shop SOMEWHERE ELSE?!?!? *gasp*

So tonight, if you think you hear roars of protest coming from East Kellogg amidst the construction jungle, it is in fact the crew of Scrapbook Garden telling Bob and Kathy (very gently) that they missed the mark. :)

My fur-babies and frightening hair flashbacks!

Well, I figured I should get these other page layouts up since I mentioned them the other day. I am still not completely satisfied with the way these pictures turned out. I did try, however, to take more "detail-shots" to help get the whole idea. Hope that helps!

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a "mom" to a house full of dogs, so a book about me MUST include THEM. I used paper from the Die Cuts with a View - Pet Stack. I LOVE this collection!! I was thrilled when I bought it...dog paper in SARAH colors! *haha* (Let's be honest, any picture taken in my house isn't going to have a dull background.)

(Nifty shot, eh? I saw it done on a blog somewhere, I think. I know, I was as impressed as you are. *wink*) The journaling is all on a tag that isn't actually attached to the page, it just hooks onto the middle ring of the binder. The front talks about how I pracitcally "pet my dogs with my face" *haha* and the back of the tag lists each dog's unique characteristics.

As I was gathering pictures of myself to put in this scrapbook I couldn't help but notice how much my hair has changed through the years. I don't consider myself to be a fashionista by any stretch of the imagination, but looking back, I have had some looks that embarrass even me. ;) This page was done using the K & Company Urban Rhapsody line again (I own the whole collection, I think.) plus some other goodies. The "flashback" stickers are from Creative Imaginations and the charms are Karen Foster.

The charms were a bit of an afterthought and I panicked for a minute when I realized I was doing a BOARD BOOK and couldn't stick a brad through the page. I improvised by just tying some ribbon through the holes and gluing them onto the page. Think it turned out pretty cute. :)

I've been listening to my blog playlist while I put this post together and I have to say...it's not a RANDOM list - it's musical whiplash!!! *haha* To go from "That's How You Know" from Enchanted to "The Garden" is a bit of a stretch. Hmmm...must be the list of someone who is VERY musically diverse. ;)

Movin' and a Groovin'!

Well thanks to miss Toni I finally got a playlist on my blog! Hooray!! I know some of you will probably just shut it off first thing it comes on (and for that reason I put it up top so you can get to it easily.) *haha* But I always think it's fun to see what other people are listening to (I've found some great music like that!) so I wanted to add my own playlist.

It's a pretty random list, I think. I didn't even begin to make a "my favorite music" list because that would have taken me months to compile. I just put together a bunch of songs I've been listening to a lot lately. Some of these songs I've JUST discovered and others are ones I've had for a while that have recently floated back to the top of my playlists. :)

Hope you have had a great Friday! I'm going to take my dogs for a walk and enjoy this BEE-YOO-TIFUL weather!!

Scrappy fun!

For those of you who work with me and have been there when I'm shopp....I mean WORKING *haha* you know that I've been planning to do an About Me album for quite sometime. Well you'll be glad to know that I've moved from the collecting phase into an actual scrapbooking process. :) I've done FOUR - count'em - FOUR layouts! I'm having a lot of fun with it. I'm just going to post the first two layouts for now.

(Note: This was my first attempt at photographing my scrapbook pages. It was tricky! These pictures are so teeny tiny...I'll try to improve. Pinky promise.)



This is my "Favorite things" page...or "things that make me happy." Seeing as how there's no title on the page, you could pretty much derive whatever meaning you want! Do you think it needs a title? I thought it was fairly self-explanatory...and basically I don't know where I'd put one since I almost filled every nook and cranny. *hehe* All the paper is K & Company's Urban Rhapsody, the embellishments are Sandylion Kelly Pannaci with a painted Heidi Swapp ghost flower thrown in for good measure! :)


A page about the wonderful bond I share with my Mom and sister. (Everybody now: "Awwwww.") I scraplifted the idea of the tags at the bottom. (Got the idea right as Creative Cafe merchandise went 30% off at Scrapbook Garden. WooHoo!) Each tag has a cherished memory written on it...something that the three of us shared together. I could have used more tags! :) I used a hodge podge of products on here...not even sure what's from where anymore.

Well that's it for now! Hope you have a wonderful, happy day!

Hooray for the Olympics!

I am not a sportsy person by any means. I don't watch sports on tv...in fact my hubby's obsession with the NFL is just a great excuse for me to take Sunday afternoon naps in the Fall. (I'm looking forward to it. *hehe*) But for some reason, every two years I become a bit fanatical about the very thing I could normally snooze through. Yes folks...I'm an Olympic nut. From the opening ceremonies on, I absorb as much Olympic coverage as I possibly can!

Perhaps it's the reminiscent factor. I can still see myself rollerskating around our unfinished basement on Eagle Lake Court, pretending I was a graceful figure skater. (I was pretending to be GRACEFUL, first and foremost. I had quite an imagination.) And every year when I watch the opening ceremonies, I remember the years past when we would gather in the living room and watch it as a family. And then there was the 1994 Winter games in Lillehammer, Norway. My sister and I were particularly obsessed with the Olympics that year! From the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan scandal and that beautiful little angel on ice, Oksana Baiul, to the exciting speed skater Johann Olav Koss...we collected magazines and newspaper clippings and gobbled up all the information we could find.

Or maybe it's the feeling of being part of something bigger. The idea that I'm included in the excitement as the entire world is tuned into the games. Since I don't often follow world politics or even national news to that big of a degree, maybe it's being "in the know" on something so important that makes me feel fulfilled.

Then again, it could just be the chance to watch and learn about unfamiliar sports. Although I confess, I do more watching than learning. I sat through an entire game of women's water polo yesterday while scrapbooking and I still haven't a clue what a "power play" is. :) And then Jeremy and I watched women's handball. What a crazy concoction that is! Like a combination of basketball, softball AND soccer. It was interesting, to say the least! I have to admit, the only sport I've turned the channel from so far during this Olympics was basketball. Is that strange? Why watch the mundane when I could watch synchronized DIVING? WooHOO!!! :)

So in closing (whoops...forgot I was blogging and not writing an essay! *haha*) I bring you this video. Painful? Absolutely. Warped to laugh at? You betcha. But I like to believe that all of these poor souls made it out alive and with a great story to tell. :)

ME? Start a BLOG? Ok! :)

Well here I am in blog-land! I didn't think I really needed a blog, considering I already spend way too much time on Facebook. But it's been suggested by several people that I start one, and apparently I'm extremely susceptible to peer pressure because here I am! ;) This could be fun, though, because here I can post Scrapbook pages I've done and rant & rave beyond the barriers that Facebook has restrained me with. SARAH UNLEASHED? Scary, I know! :)

With everything there is to consider when putting your heart and soul out on the Internet for everyone to see, you might be surprised that I was MOST concerned with what I would CALL this silly blog, since all the ones I've seen have cute, catchy little names. I spent a great deal of time fretting about this. The title I've ended up with is a quote from "Finding Neverland" which I use quite frequently. I went with it because, in the end, I don't foresee anything I wish to post here being much more than, well, silliness! :)

Before I had even CONSIDERED starting my own blog, I have been "blog-stalking" two gals that I think do a particularly nice job. Kelly Purkey is a scrapper I found on 2P's. She does really cute pages and after delving further into her blog it seems we have much in common (well, from music tastes to love of cupcakes. Does that count for MUCH in common? *haha*). Then I blog-hopped from her page and found Sarah Champion. I am intrigued by her casual writing style and the fact that she is about to move to New York City. Exciting, no? Plus, she has loved Newsies since childhood, as have I, so therefore we must be soul-sisters. :)

My point? I would love for my blog to be even HALF as entertaining as theirs...even if to no one else but ME! So stay tuned if you like...it's sure to be pretty random, pretty silly, and pretty much ME!