Some sweet blog candy.

• Korin over at Sweet and Sassy Stamps is giving away some awesome blog candy. Check it out here.
• More on Chris's blog here

Everybody needs a good laugh now and then.

I have been way too busy and stressed out lately. Working more than I really want to. Not sleeping well or feeling great. I don't think there is anything really wrong with me other than too much stress. So in an attempt to relieve some of the stress my friend Emily and I decided to get tickets to the new Improv theatre. We looked through the list of upcoming headliners for a weekend that would work for both of us. We settled on Pauly Shore.

I know, I know, the Weazel himself. I would classify Pauly Shore as a D-List celebrity (like Kathy Griffin). He had a few stupidly funny movies years ago and hasn't done much since. I reluctantly admit that I actually liked Bio-Dome and Son-In-Law, but I still didn't know what we were getting into.

We arrived before the doors opened for the earliest show on Friday night. When we are ushered in the hostess asks Emily and I if we want to sit in the front row. We say, "sure". She takes us to a table litterally front and center. The edge of our table was actually touching the front of the stage and I could touch the microphone stand (I didn't, that would have been weird, but I could have).

We ate dinner, talked and waited. Of course there were a couple of opening acts. The first guy was short and hairy and he took off his tuxedo t-shirt mid act. At this point I am wondering why we chose to sit front and center (can I just say, eeewwww) . I don't even remember his name.

The second guy was a local guy. His name was Dick Black (yes, that is his real name) and he was VERY funny.



Finally we get to our headliner, Pauly Shore. I am not really sure what to expect. The guy may be 40 years old. He may not have had a hit movie since 1996, but he was funny! There were several times when I was laughing so hard my sides and my cheeks hurt. There were some crude comments and jokes, there might even have been a point where he had his foot on our table while doing some strange gyrations (sp?) but he delivered. He even stuck around for pics afterwords.

Thanks Pauly, I needed that. I feel better today. Maybe laughter really IS the best medicine.

An Ode to High Pockets

So in my daily blog hopping yesterday I came across this post by The Jolly Porter. I love his humor. Read his post first and then this rant will make more sense 

.Post Edit: This blog os no longer there but lets just say it was a guy who was surprised when his wife walked into the room with a sharpie pen sticking out of her cleavage...now read on.

My first reaction is that guys just don't get it. To a woman her bra/cleavage is just another pocket. I learned this from a very young age. When I was growing up we went on family road trips caravan style with cousins and grandparents. This was way before cell phone days so each car in our family caravan was equipped with a CB radio.

Everyone in the family had a "handle" or a CB nickname so we knew who we were talking to. My dad was Grumpybear, I was Littlebitz and my mom's handle was High Pockets. She earned this nickname for her uncanny ability to hide her keys, money, etc. in her bra. Whenever we would go somewhere and she didn't want to take her entire purse with her all the necessities went straigh into her high pockets.

Years later I am doing the same thing. I can't count the number of times I have been standing at the gas pump credit card in hand and I realize I am not wearing anything with pockets. Where does the card end up...you guessed it, it goes right into my high pocket.

This can be embarassing when my next stop is the drive through to pick up something quick for dinner between jobs. I place my order, drive around to the window to pay...and THEN I realize that my debit card is not in my wallet...it is in my bra and now I have to discretely dig it out and hand it to zit faced drive through boy.

Oh it gets better. Once I forgot my card was there after coming home from a late night and went straight to bed. I woke up the next morning with my credit card number imprinted on my left breast...nice! It has happened with change too. It is strange to see the heads of presidents imprinted on your skin.

Since we no longer have to use bulky CB radios on road trips I have started putting my cell phone in my high pocket. That way I can crank the music really loud and still know when my phone is ringing. Although it can cause stares when you go into a roadside truck stop and your boobs ring.

The following items have been in my high pocket at one time or another (sometimes more than one of these items are in there together).

Car keys

Cell phone

Money (Bills and change too)

Credit card

Lipstick/gloss

Papers (ie mapquest directions, coupons etc.)

Small toys (where am I supposed to put that dinosaur when the kid insists on bringing it but wont carry it anymore)

Candy

Pens

iPod

Headphones

Crumbs (strange what you find at the end of the day)

So to all the guys out there that wonder why we put things in our bras, it's out of necessity. Pockets are not always available. And if that is my list imagine what she can get into her high pockets

Honestly, you didn't think I was going to post a pciture of my cleavage now did you???

Chefabella in 'da house!

This is Chefabella, she is cuter than Rachael Ray and she is cooking up a Thanksgiving feast.

I made eight of these cards for an employee card swap at Archivers. I love using Bellas for this card swap because they make my cards unique, and everyone always wonders which Bella I will use each month. November is an easy one...Chefabella is a shoe in ( Thanks Mary for the images, they came in handy).

Recipe for this card:

Chefabella Image

DP from DCWV Archivers Calendar Stack 2008, Copic Markers, leaf confetti, ribbon from my stash. MMMMM, she is making me hungry!

Watch out world...here I come!!

So guess what was in my mailbox today??? This amazing little blue book. Yes, I am 41 years old and this is my first. I have traveled to most of the 50 states (Alaska and Hawaii and much of the East coast are still on my list), but I have never been out of the country except for a short dip into Mexico when you didn't need a passport.

I am going on a Western Carribean cruise in December so I need this little guy. Of course I forgot that I would need it until just a couple weeks ago. This sent a rush of panic to my travel companion as she had heard that it can take months to get a passport. I did a little research and made a few phone calls hoping that I would not have to pay out the nose for an "expedited" passport. I am told that they are currently taking about 4 weeks. At that time I had seven weeks until my cruise so I decide to chance it and not pay for the faster service. My luck held out and I received my little blue book today (much to the delight of Janie, my travel companion). Now that I have this wonderful thing in my hands I can't help but think of the places I would like to go. Maybe I'll go to France and spend a day with Gretchen having tea parties and bike rides through the French countryside. Or I could explore Italy with my friend Deb (she met an Itailan hottie there last summer) and I would like one of those. Or I could spend some relaxing days at Carolyn's cottage in England. Maybe I'll visit the school in China where Megan taught English to kindergarteners. Ohh I could also do some Bella stampin' with Duchiebella or Bere in their homelands. This little book opens up endless possibilities. I just wish my travel budget was endless as well.

Oh well, at least in a few weeks I'll be cruisin' and I'll have the first stamp in my passport.

I flocked a monkey...

Most of you know that I work part time at Archivers. One of my jobs is as a Mania Hostess. Mania is a 6 hour crop we do from 5-11pm on Friday and Saturday nights. I really enjoy hosting Manias because I get a chance to create a make and take project. I typically do cards.

One night one of the ladies who came to mania was wearing a T-Shirt that said, "Spooning leads to Forking". We (the employees) thought it was funny and then one of them said, "Stamping leads to Flocking". Now that little quote is written on the white board in the stockroom.

Leave it to me to take it one step further. I love the Changito the monkey line of stamps from Stampendous. The holiday set is just too stinkin' cute. So tonight as I announced my make and take project for the evening I said to the crowded room of ladies, "Tonight we're gonna flock the monkey" giggles broke out immediately.

This is the card we did. I keep the layouts and techniques simple so they can be done quickly (there are up to 32 people at mania on any given night). We stamped the skating Changito with black Stazon. Next we used Versamark to stamp the Happy Holidays and embossed it with silver. We colored Changito's accessories with Twinklette glitter markers (the photo doesn't show the sparkle). Now comes the fun part...we colored Changito's body, legs, arms and tail with a quickie glue pen and the added brown flocking. Voila! a fuzzy monkey. We inked the edges with versamagic ink in Ocean Depth and added DP by S.E.I and red velvet rick rack. Cute and easy peasy.

Have you ever flocked a monkey??? If not you should try it!

Special Delivery... it has come full circle.

I had a rotten day at work. I won't bore you with the details but it was bad. Until around 3:30 pm when a package arrived for me.

I have been waiting for this special package from across the sea (France) for a while now. I had it sent to my office because I couldn't take a chance that it would be left on my doorstep unprotected. I know what is inside and it brings a smile to my face and a tiny tear to my eyes. I carefully walk back to my desk to open my special delivery when a co-worker asks, "Is that what I think it is?" she knows I have been waiting. I walk to her desk instead and open it carefully while she watches. This is what I find inside.
For those of you that read my blog, you know. For those who are reading for the first time here is a bit of the story behind this image. This is a birthday gift for my daughter who turned 21 on Wednesday. It is a one of a kind original painting by a very talented lady, Gretchen Jakub Fabre of Chichiboulie.

It is also a tribute to another mother, a sleeping beauty, who has touched my heart. Her name is hidden in my painting. It's sweet reminder of why this was created. I won the auction Gretchen had to raise money for Nie Nie. I had this done to celebrate the bond I have with my daughter, and my hope is that my donation in some small way helps NieNie to have the chance to build a similar bond with her daughters.

Suddenly my "bad day" seems so insignifigant, who am I to complain about anything...life is good.