My Weblog

It's New Release Day!

Designers get inspiration from the strangest places. I subscribe to a daily e-mail from a very pricey home and furniture site. (They're supposed to be "discount", so the big question is--"discount" from what starting point???) Anyway, I saw photos of a group of throw pillows that I thought were just scrumptious and that started me off on this kit.

In general, I am not a muted colors person. They scare me, LOL. But this was such a beautiful color palette and this kit happened with no struggle at all. I hope you like it!

The kit is available exclusively at A Cherry on Top and is 30% off on introductory special. The kit image is linked to my store. You can buy the full kit or you can buy the "separates".

The "separates" are also on special at 30% off. We also have some extras for you and they're gorgeous, y'all! (Don't let that "elements" preview scare you--This kit is packed with element goodness.)

The add-ons, these beautiful extras, are also on special. 30% off introductory special. You can find everything HERE.

There will be an extra little special something-something to go with this kit. Keep watching THIS SPACE!

Last week's kit was From My Heart to Yours, a kit oriented toward Valentine's day. I have a new addition to that kit. First let me remind you what the kit looked like and then I'll show you our new goodie!

Here's the kit:

And here's some gorgeous Word Art to coordinate with the kit:

I've left everything on this kit at 30% off to help you take advantage of the kit AND this beautiful word art. You can find it here.

Time to call it quits.........

I didn't follow my own good thinking and go find that food until just a little while ago. So, again I haven't accomplished much. I did finish packing a donate box and I think I can even lift it! I also sealed up a keeper box and carried that into the junk room. I brought in another armful of books from the garage. Another empty box. Another few months and I might be able to turn around in there, LOL.

I did manage to bring in a bucket of dog food from the van. I think if I make one more bucket run, I can bring the bag in and dump it into the dog food container. I also carried the trash from my office container outside and moved the bin to the curb. I brushed the dogs and they all got a milk bone type treat and I cleared the minutiae off the credenza. And I went back through two folders full of receipts from 2011, looking for anything more that would shed light on the source of some of the deposits.

That's about it. I actually have a bucket of hot soapy water, waiting for me to go after the surface of the credenza, but I just haven't got the oomph to do it. So, that will wait til morning.

I've also managed to create two of the alphas I'm going to use with the my-all-time-favorite-colors kit.

I've been prowling around my bank's web site. I consider it a marvel of modern technology that I can view the backup documents for cleared checks and for deposits online. However, I found out today that that is only available for the most recent 90 day period. Unfortunately, the place where I have the most question is the beginning of the 2011 year. With Joe's death, my record keeping went all to pieces. So, I have a total of 7 deposits of which I do not know the source. Is it taxable? Is it something that will show up on my W-2 if ever I get it? Is it a gift? Is it part of the money that was donated to help with Joe's final expenses? I haven't a clue......... Now I find out I'm going to have to wait for them to mail me the info. Yuck. It's not like I'm up against a deadline. It's just that I'd like to be sure my tax liability is going to be what I think it is. Oh well, I don't have the W-2 yet, so why worry?

I have had it for today. I'm headed down the hall, hoping for a better day tomorrow!

Don't even think about it!

Do not even think about crossing me tonight. I am so frustrated I don't know what to do with myself. If I kick a dog and hurt it, I have to pay to take it to the vet. If I throw the computer through the window, I have to pay to fix the window AND the computer. If I put my fist through a wall, I'd have to pay to fix the wall and get the bones set in my hand. None of these outcomes is desirable, but that doesn't mean I don't want to do at least one of them!

I am a self-taught software jockey. I don't do hardware and I don't do HTML. HTML makes about as much sense to me as the Cyrillic alphabet. Geez! So, I have a Facebook Fan Page for HotFlashDesigns. I wanted to put up a beautiful freebie there. I got several recommendations for apps to use to do this. I started with one and spent almost 3 full very frustrating hours mucking with it. I had it figured out enough to get a "landing page" image up with the text in a reasonable position. And I had it figured out enough to get an image on there of what I am giving away, again with the text in a reasonable position. This alone was truly remarkable to me. But the preview of my freebie was too big.  So, I went into my editing program and made it smaller. I deleted the image from my photo host site and replaced it with the smaller sized file. And there's where the worst of the trouble began. NO MATTER WHAT I DID, that darn thing defaulted to the web address of the file I'd deleted and kept saying the image was deleted. I tried over and over and over to fix it. Everytime I'd get the right code in there and try to save, it would change the code and go right back to the "this image has been deleted" thing. Finally, I decided to try a different app and, thank God, it worked much more easily. It still looks a little funky (the landing page), but, honestly, it's just going to have to look funky til tomorrow because I am NOT fixing it tonight! In fact, if I liked the taste of alcohol, this would be the perfect time to fix myself a drink!

So, now you know what I've gotten done this afternoon!

I am going to wander into the kitchen and try to find something edible. I've had exactly one egg to eat all day. Maybe if I raise my blood sugar a bit, my mood will improve? Later, maybe!

 

 

Slight progress.........

Fortunately, if today follows my usual pattern, I have about 7 more hours of energy before I am utterly spent. I've made progress this morning, but it's limited. Of course, I got a late start. With regard to my tax project, I forgot to mention that I need to go through my last couple of credit card statements too. I ended up having to charge some tax-related expenditures in order to get geared up for tax season. I just didn't have the cash. I'm noting that here because I don't want to forget.......

I carried the kitchen trash to the outside bin--tomorrow is trash pickup day. I cleaned up the working side of the kitchen, wiped down stove, countertops, loaded the dishwasher and got it going, and shined the sinks. I took care of a couple of science projects I found in the fridge and am unloading all the little bitty stuff from the bottom shelf of the same fridge.

I put together that preview for the glitters for next week's kit. Now to get a tou in that file and get it uploaded.

I've also been busily fighting my war on e-mail. I can't get ahead because between FlyLady and IRS, I am overwhelmed daily! But, I've dumped a few since first thing this morning.

I just ate a fried egg. And it was one of the best fried eggs ever! Fresh from the chicken yesterday. I'd originally planned to have that egg last night, but decided to wait til today. While I was digging around in the fridge, I found some bacon grease. Many years ago, when I was young enough not to care one iota about cholesterol, I used to keep a container of bacon grease around. Of course, as I got older and wiser, I stopped that. Until we started buying maple cured bacon. And, then, I couldn't help myself. That old habit of saving bacon grease came back--I think it is the aroma of the maple that gets me. So, my egg was fried in that wonderfully maple-flavored bacon grease (not too much of it, just enough to coat the little pan), and it was so tasty!  Made me wish I had several more. I think my DGD could eat one egg and ask for more and I'm a lot bigger than she is!

Probably what I need now, to top off that egg, is an orange. I was bemoaning the fact to myself the other day that these navel oranges are tough to peel. Secretly, I said to myself, "These must be California oranges. I don't ever remember Florida oranges being this tough to peel." Later, I walked into the kitchen and squinted at the box and, yes, indeed, they are California oranges, LOL!!! I have to tell you that I remember Florida oranges being a lot sweeter too....... But I am looking at them as a source of potassium and Vitamin C, and making an effort to peel one every day and eat it. I'm having a bit of a problem with the dogs in this regard--they all gather 'round and beg for a slice of orange. If these were BIG Florida navels, it wouldn't be so much of a loss. Unfortunately, 3 slices of orange out of one of these babies makes a difference. But, who knows, maybe dogs need Vitamin C and potassium too.

Alright, it's a long road from here to burnout time tonight and I've got to get moving. Thanks for sharing my break with me!

 

Time to get this derailed train........

back on the track!

It's been several days since I have worked on my "circuit riding". It's been several days since I've made significant progress on stuff that is design related. That HAS to change today!

I did get through a tremendous amount of "accounting" type work for my tax return. I am left with a few deposits to identify and then I will have the information I need to do my Schedule Cs. And I got the info my daughter gave me for her tax return input. And I paid some bills.

So, let's set some priorities for today........

On the design side, the first thing I need to do is preview the glitters for this week's kit and get them uploaded for the CT. Next up, I need to do some work on my FB page for HotFlashDesigns. Then I can step back and work on alphas, etc., for the my-all-time-favorite-colors kit.

Around here I need to start by working on that next/last shelf of the fridge. In the dining room I have a couple of full or nearly full boxes that need to so somewhere. I know one needs to go to the junk room for long term storage. I believe the other is the first of the next donation. That box is not quite full and when it is filled up, it will need to go to the van.... And, of course, there are many more boxes in the garage to unload and sort through and the dining room table is the staging area for those.....

This room needs more dusting. That will entail trying to figure out where to stash the bits and pieces that are on the credenza. Primarily, the guts of my calendar for this year, a couple of scented candles, things like that. And I have completely filled my trash can again so that needs carried outside.

The living room could use some dusting too. There are also some H&B items that need to be put away, culled from one of the boxes I dug through last week. These things are worth using now, rather than being packed away.

I will continue sorting through clothes in the guest room and ironing in the "junk" room.

The only thing that needs done in the hall bath is working on that bowl with the pumice stone.

In the hall, I have laundry to wash, laundry to fold, and laundry to put away. I should also vacuum in there! Maybe I should just stay in the hall and work there????? Lots to do there today.

In the master bedroom, it's back into the closet. And, in the master bath, I'm down to swishing some soapy water around in the toilet to stop limestone build up and putting a few things away from the countertop. That's the circuit.

Can I do it? I dunno. I'm starting the morning with a low blood pressure headache.......... So, I'll drink some caffeinated coffee, take an ibuprofen and dig in when that actually hits my blood stream.

Eye Candy, anyone? We have a bunch of it this week! Let's grab some........

I like this layout a lot! First, I think it proves the point that this kit works really well for a masculine layout. Second, to me this layout has an Asian quality to it. I think it has to do with the way the ribbons are used and possibly the fact that that gray paper with the squares had a very real Asian inspiration. In any case, it's a gorgeous page. Lori met her grandson, JT, just recently for the first time when she visited him and his parents in South Korea. She wanted to document his love for TV. I think she did a great job. You can leave Lori some love here.

Here is a simple, beautiful page by Karla. This is a beautiful photo of her mother, taken many years ago. I'm glad to see this lady's face as she's been on my prayer list for several months. She's dealing with some very serious illness and needs prayer.

She chose to feature the photo large. I'm prone to doing that myself. Somehow, it seems to add importance to the photo and that IS what it's all about--scrapping the important things in our lives. I love her layered papers and that beautiful cluster. They dress up the layout and are beautifully done! You can leave Karla some love here.

I want to stop for just a moment and say THANK YOU to my Creative Team for really working hard to produce a lot of layouts with this kit. It's a special kit but I can't tell you why yet........ They really came through for me! I pray God dumps some special blessings on them as they have surely blessed me this week!

Now I've got to run. You can see there's lots to do and I'm getting a late start due to staying up til the wee hours of the morning to work my way through that tax stuff. YOU be BLESSED today!

 

Working hard.......

Yes, I am working hard. I'm not at all sure I'm working hard on the right things, but working hard counts for something, doesn't it?

I now have the previews for the my-all-time-favorite colors kit done. I still have to do alphas, preview them and do details. I started doing the preview for the glitters for next week's kit and then it was time to run out the door......

I have been working on tax stuff. My 2011 started with the death of my husband who insisted on keeping the books for this household. Needless to say, I was in no shape to keep track of that sort of thing for months and months into the year. However, I always thought he complicated things and I thought he classified things terribly and we usually had an exchange of words when I started asking him about his numbers as I was trying to prepare out tax return. So, I decided for 2011's taxes, I am doing an old fashioned spreadsheet of whatever is relevant. I am not going to worry about how many times I went to 7-11 for cigarettes. If it's deductible, I'll put it on my spreadsheet and classify it as it SHOULD be classified. And, I'll reconcile out all the deposits as to source and I'll be done with it. So, I'm working on April at the moment.

I also need to work on my daughter's return. She handed me a fistful of papers today and told me she wants her refund as quickly as possible. However, I'm sure I don't have several important pieces of information so I'll have to get those before the return can be finished.

I did my babysitting thing and got out of there almost on time. I was so grateful for that because I had several stops to make on the way home. First, I stopped at the charity drop off and got rid of all the stuff I've been toting out to the van. The man was nice enough to empty my small boxes into a big bin and return the small boxes to me, at my request. I much prefer carrying those small boxes to the big ones I have lying around by the dozens, particularly when they are loaded with books!!! Then I finally got to the bank and so, tonight, I can get really brave and actually look at my bank balance. I've got to tell you, I would have been really scratching my head, trying to figure out what bills I could possibly pay if I hadn't had that extra money to deposit.

Between Joe and I, we truly had a laughable amount in our IRAs. The word "retirement" just really didn't belong in our vocabularies. In fact, Joe's idea of his retirement was that he'd go down to driving just 3 or 4 shifts a week instead of 5 or 6, our home "economy" buttressed by early retirement Social Security. Of course, that never happened........ But, Thank God for what we had in those IRAs. It is what carried us through 2009 and 2010 and me through 2011 and will certainly help with 2012. God's gonna have to find another source to take me through the rest of 2012 and whatever comes after that.

I've also carried several buckets of dog food in from the van and some trash to the outside bin. I had to quit that nonsense because it got dark outside. I'm also pulling away from the desk stuff every now and then to work around here. I finally have the second shelf of the fridge cleaned. I just need to stuff what's left of what came out of there back in and I can start on the last shelf. I don't think I need to do the little shelves on the door as those were well scrubbed last time I did this and the stuff has barely been disturbed, if at all, since then. 

I do have one truly remarkable thing in my purse--a freshly laid egg. My daughter--you know the one with three kids and three jobs?  My daughter is keeping some chickens for a friend--like she really needed another responsibility????? They are just starting to lay eggs so my oldest DGS went out and checked the coop right before I left her house and found one egg. And it was given to me!!! Sometime later this evening, I'm going to fry myself a FRESH egg! How's that for a deal?????? And I'm not messing around either--I'm frying it in butter! As far as I know, I've only had fresh eggs one other time in my life. Years ago, I spent a weekend with a friend and her husband in Fresno and they had chickens and ripe tomatoes on the vine. It was a gourmet weekend, let me tell you! I even ate warm tomatoes while standing in the middle of the garden!

Alright, I might be back with a progress report and then again, I might not. Depends on how much of a roll I get on with Jen's return and my tax stuff.

If you want to be warm in my house,

there are only 3 ways. 1) Come in May, June, July, August, or September. 2) Wear HEAVY clothing in the winter. or 3) walk into my kitchen early on a winter's morning. I start the day off by turning the heat up for just a little while to take the chill off the house. My kitchen is tiny but it has a relatively "normal" sized heat vent. It is so warm in there, it's hard to breathe! I know 'cause I just went out there to make my morning frappucino.

So, I have church going on in the background. I'd hoped to listen to this sermon at least twice before I have to leave, but that is just not going to happen. The sermon is 67 minutes long and I'm only a little past the halfway mark on the first listening. It's good and I'll have to listen to it several times to make sure I don't miss anything good!

I blast out of here at 10:30. I am to babysit today from 11 til 2. Can't wait to see what my sweet grandkids are up to........  Atticus was at the doctor's office a couple of days ago with croup. Jen took the troops to the Lied Children's Museum yesterday and when she called, she was trying to get Bitsy to stop crawling around on the floor of the bathroom. Ewwwwwwwwww. Oh, well, you just can't expect a two year-old to understand the finer points of life! 

One thing about Bitsy, she has no appreciation for the word "dirty". She HAS finally gotten to the place where she'll tolerate having her face and hands wiped without screaming and that is a blessing. She doesn't seem to have yet gotten the idea the food goes in the mouth, not on the face. So, it's good to be able to clean her up from time to time, LOL.

We are supposed to have another of the "mostly sunny" days today. However, it's only 47 right now with a predicted high of 62. I'll be dressing warmly before I leave here.

I have no idea what has happened to my motivation. I did do some small things around the house yesterday, but they were really small things. Thank God, I get to start over again today.

I now have 3 previews made for the all-time-favorite-colors kit. Next is alphas. Then alpha and glitter previews and details. Then it will be the same list for the spring-ish kit, except that I've thought of a few additional elements I want to put into that kit first. I also need to preview the glitters for next week's kit so I can upload them to the CT.

I am hoping to have enough determination to stop by the charity drop off and get the back of the van emptied out. I have those plastic in-boxes in the back of the van, and if the load shifts, those things are toast. So I want to get that taken care of. I'm also still driving around with close to 100 pounds of dog food in the van which can't be great for gas mileage. I have many more bucket runs to make!

Alright, it's time for eye candy with this week's kit. When we scrap vintage photos, we seem to think of muted colors. Maybe it's because sometimes our photos are a bit faded and we think our papers shouldn't be super color saturated. I looked at this kit and thought about vintage photos, but I thought the papers might be a little avant garde for that. Thank God, Christy saw something I didn't see when she saw this kit. Let me show you her gorgeous heritage layout.

That gorgeous photo is her great grandparents on their wedding day, August 16, 1900. The photo is remarkably well preserved. And here's something more. Do you see that little item to the left of the photo? That is an original wedding invitation, also beautifully preserved for 112 years! Isn't this a gorgeous layout? Leave Christy some love here.

I'm outta here. I need to get ready for my trip across town. YOU be BLESSED this Lord's Day!

Paroled til tomorrow......

I thought I was going to lose about 4 hours today. Jen needed a babysitter for 3 hours and, with commute, there goes 4 hours. But she called a little while ago and I'm not needed til tomorrow!

The computer is still working! No screaming! I love it. Thank you, Lord.

I have been working on the my-all-time-favorite colors kit. I did some ricrak, a border and filled out the color choices on some stylized leaves. I know I'm prejudiced--after all, these are MY favorite colors--but this kit looks goooooooooood. I have one preview made but not saved.

I have done some straightening in the kitchen. That's it. I can see where I need to allocate some time these next few hours--to the house!

I'm still doing back-ups. Unfortunately, that is still going very slowly. But not as bad as it was yesterday, thank Heaven. I'm wondering if some of the slowness might have to do with the new EHD????

Well, this was lunch break. I need to get back to work. By the way, there are some totally gorgeous layouts up in the gallery at A Cherry on Top with the new kit. I don't always brag on my team the way I should, but they really outdid themselves this week! It is fun seeing the kit used with so many different styles......... You should go take a look--you'll be amazed. 

Bye for now. Oodles and oodles to do........

Second Chance Day..........

Thank God, I get a do-over on yesterday. It's called "today". I can now try again to accomplish some/all of the things I had hoped to do yesterday.

In my life time, I have watched God heal a dwarf hamster, a teacup poodle, my daughter (of two very serious conditions), myself, my grandson, a tape deck, and a freezer's ice maker, as a result of my prayers. The dwarf hamster had a "huge" growth--huge by dwarf hamster standards. I laid a finger on it, prayed for it and, by the next day, the growth went away. It never returned and the hamster lived many months thereafter. The teacup poodle was bitten by another dog and her spinal cord was damaged. The vets forecast that she would be paralyzed for the rest of her life and recommended we put her down. We prayed for her. Over time, she learned to walk again and lived another 8 years. My daughter, during the first 20 years of her life was diagnosed with bilateral mirror image JRA and with another life threatening illness. We prayed and she was healed. My own back, with no more muscle spasms, is another testimony, one I'm proving every day. My grandson had two different tests confirming Celiacs Disease. I prayed, receiving the witness of the Holy Spirit that he was healed. Subsequent tests by a very hoity toity specialist in the field of Pediatric Gastroenterology confirm--no Celiacs. I used to listen to religious tapes during my long commute back and forth to work. I prayed over the tape player in my car after it ceased to work and it started up again and worked til I bought another car. Not long ago, the freezer stopped making ice cubes. It went several days without making a single ice cube. I prayed, it started up again and hasn't quit since. So, I prayed over this computer. I'm counting on it being "healed" too. In the last couple of months, I've had to buy a mouse and an EHD. I've taped my gel-filled mousepad together with strapping tape so it would stop oozing sticky stuff all over me. I've taped the keyboard together. I am NOT wildly enthusiastic about spending more money on this computer. So, I've prayed for God to fix it. I'm sure He knows how.......... And this morning, it is not screaming at me as it was the last two days....... I'm sure the computer guy would fix her up and do so at a very low price. But I now think it was the hard drive that was misbehaving and I know if that failed, I'd be stuck buying new versions of a lot of software. I can back up everything, but "installing" software on a new computer or on a new hard drive generally requires original software. That means buying a new edition of PSE, of Office, and lots more that I use continuously. And that would mean lots of cash I am not prepared to spend. I know that the money I have now may be what is used in December to buy food!

So, what about this gift of today? Well, I got new product uploaded for the CT late last night, but I had forgotten to do a preview for the glitters, so I have to do that early this morning. Then I need to get it uploaded for them. Then I can go back to finishing up those two kits I've got in the works.

Around here, pretty much everything that was on yesterday's to do list needs to be on today's to do list because I mostly just got all crazy in trying to get that CT update done and in watching this computer churn away on back ups. I did put in some time working on this desk, and it looks some better, but it needs a lot more done to it! Well, none of that today. I have "better" things to do! So, I'll just flip back to yesterday's morning post and start there!

Alright. I got new product uploaded late last night but I still need to write the new product update for this blog and I need to post a new product update in the A Cherry On Top forum and those things need to be done immediately. So, I can't linger here. You be blessed today!

Trouble at Tara

My computer is giving me the biggest headache. I started uploads hours ago, figuring my computer may be working slowly but it's working and I need to get these uploads done. It is a terminal process. But, who knows if it will be working in the morning??????

I am a total failure at working my plan on this house today. I carried one box to the van. Other than that, pretty much NOTHING.

It took forever to put together my CT update because my computer is moving so slowly. Actually it seems to be a little better tonight than it was this morning, but it's still slow. I ended up choosing next week's kit at the last minute and having to do a lot of detail work before I could get it uploaded. I hate that! It's stressful!

That's it. It's late and I need sleep, if only because I have a headache, again or yet, I don't know which. Anyway, I hope I sleep well and I wish the same for you!

Total Fail..........

I am very frustrated with the way the morning has gone. It's another one of those days when I am just sure God intended me to stay in bed all day.......or maybe even hide under it!

The computer is moving so slowly I hardly know how to explain it. Here, let me try this. I've been trying to back up I've been trying to back up 9.59 GB for hours. More than 4 hours to be exact. And it is still saying it needs 15 minutes to complete the task. This should have taken no more than an hour. And everything else, not just backups, is S-L-O-W. It has been taking a very long time to open files in Photoshop. This means it has taken forever to write my CT update because I need to resize and save files in a different format to show them what I'm working on. It has been downright awful. The one bright spot is that I've done some work on the desktop in the meantime. Of course, there were a multitude of other things I had in mind to accomplish that are just not going to happen today.

Please, God, don't let the computer guy be on vacation in some far away place........