It's a Major Award!

Me: It's a Major Award!

Dave: Shucks, I wouldn't know that. It looks like Scrapbook stuff.

Me: What Scrapbook stuff, you nincompoop? It's a Major Award. I won it!

Dave: Darn, heck, you say won it?

Me: Yeah, mind power, Dave; mind power.

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As many of you know, or have figured out from my past postings, Dave and I spent our Christmas in Chicago. Today is the first official day back. And my special prize from TAAFOMFT has been patiently awaiting my arrival back home.

All I can say is I hit the mother load! whooo-who!

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I want to thank Chris and all the other TAAFOMFT designers for my very special prize!

I love everything and can't wait to start creating...

Thank you from the bottom of my heart..

A

Today's Forecast in Chicago....

Winter weather advisory in effect. Light to moderate snow will continue through much of the day. Tapering off from the west to east very late this afternoon and early this evening. Total Snow accumulations of 2 to 5 inches are likely. (Likely? This is already a given.) In addition to snow, south winds of 10 to 20 mph will cause the 'light' and 'fluffy' snow to drift back onto already cleared roadways. Temperature high 27 degrees.

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Translation: Amber will be sitting closer to the fireplace with no chance of leaving the house..

Ta-Daaaa!

The quilt is finally done. However, you will see that I added ribbon (Not my first choice). Yes, I found out that I sewed to close to the seam and let's just say that the washer had a hey-day with it.. I was practically in tears.. I question whether quilting is for me.

The ruffles turned out great!
The name turned out beautifully.

The hand-sewn butterflies did look great until I had to add ribbon. Grrrr!

And last but not least.. What I woke to this morning.
I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

OMG! OMG! OMG! I won!

First off, I would like to thank the academy, my husband, my family and friends for all of your support during this challenge. And my fans!

I would be nothing without you!

Oops! Wrong speech..

O.k. all kidding aside,

I would like to thank the TAAFOMFT designers for

picking me as one of the winners for the funniest post EVER EVER EVER! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I am honored and look forward to future challenges!

Challenge #10 What is your FAVORITE Holiday?

T'was the week before Christmas, when all through the house Homer, our dog, was the only creature stirring. The stockings were hung on the cabinet with care, in hopes that St Nicholas soon would be here.

All the trees are decorated, in hopes that St Nicholas will leave more presents because he was confused.

Dave and I are nestled all snug in our bed, while visions of sugar-plums danced in our heads. And me in a ‘kerchief, and Dave in cap, had just settled down for a long winter's nap.

When out of nowhere in my dreams, arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see who won the TAAFOMFT challenge . Away to the computer I flew like a flash, tore open the keyboard and threw up the mouse.

The moon on the breast of the newly turned on computer screen, gave the luster of mid-day to objects, when, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh, and twelve tiny designers,

with a little driver, so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be Julie. More rapid than eagles her coursers they came, and she whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

"Now, Deana! now, Amy! now, Bekka and Chris! On, Jeanet! on Hanneke! on, Jamie, Sarah Georgia, Jenneke and Lisa! Create! Design! Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

They spoke not a word, but went straight to their work. They were busy deciding on who should win the next challenge when all of a sudden Julie sprang to the sleigh, to her team gave a whistle, and away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard her exclaim, as she drove out of sight,"HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!"

So when I woke this morning and found it was the 14th, I knew it was a dream and still had time to enter, in hopes I might win. I think by now it is obvious that Christmas is my favorite holiday!

P.s. Photos of the 'Quilt' to follow!

Count them! 1- 2- 3- 4- 5!

Count them! 1- 2- 3- 4- 5 painting this weekend!!

They are currently finding there way to a little place called Yorkville, Il. Pray that they make it there in one piece.. I wish the photos were better.. I truly amazed myself this time around.. I just hope everyone loves them as much as I do..

Now on to the quilt I am making for our 'newest' niece! I love what I have so far.

Challenge #9: What is your favorite Decade

So, you think you know the '90s? NOT! From Seinfeld, the show about nothing, to Tickle Me Elmo, the hottest most annoying toy of the '90s, to Titanic, the biggest blockbuster in movie history. The 90's definitely is "like a box of chocolates. You never know what you gonna get!" From Beverly Hills 90210 to X-Files, flannel shirts to the "Rachel" hairdo, from "Rico Suave" to Monica Lewinsky ... Are those Bugle Boy Jeans you're wearing? You down wit "O.P.P"? And most important of all: Where's Waldo?!?!?! The 90's were about gettin' jiggy with it. I think this is why I had to pick "The 90's as my favorite decade" plus this decade played a huge part in my life, I graduated, turned 18, turned 21, and grew up with Friends.

And don't forget...

Garth Brooks made being a goofy looking cowboy cool!
People finally cared about ice skating thanks to the Nancy Kerrigan/ Tonya Harding soap opera
The particularly un-sexy Right Said Fred tells us they are actually "Too Sexy"
Jesse "The Body" becomes Jesse "The Brain" and governor of Minnesota
Battle of the baggy pants rappers: MC Hammer Vs. Vanilla Ice
Mark Wahlberg back when he was known as Marky Mark! "C'mon, c'mon. Feel it! Feel it!
Julia Roberts stars in the gritty, all too real look at the bleak world of prostitution: Pretty Woman
George Foreman becomes heavyweight champ of boxing, and the heavyweight champ of fat reducing grilling machines, at age 45
Sharon Stone becomes a superstar overnight by a racy part in 'Basic Instinct"
Amy goes to jail and Mary Jo takes a bullet in the face- Was Joey really worth it?
92' Olympic basketball dream team feels great about themselves as they squeak past Angola 114-48 and win the gold with a win over Croatia, where basketball was introduced in 1990. Or how we witnessed the evolution of Jason Priestly and Luke Perry's sideburns over the years on Beverly Hills 90210

How could you not love, the 90's and laugh until you've "fallen. and you can't get up!"

Productive Weekend

The last three weeks have been pretty productive for me. I have a To-Do list a mile long, but I feel like I can check quite a few items off the list after this weekend:

To-Do List:

• Yard Sale with a friend on the weekend of the 7th. Check


• Finish Baby Album for a friend. I have 2 more Die cuts and I am finished with the 42 page album.. wheewwww..


• Paintings:
• Finished painting for Robin of Wrigley Field. DONE

• Finish Amanda's Painting.. Grrrrrr. Still not done
• Start and Finish painting for cousins.. yikes.. Way behind on this one.
• Start painting for my friend Dusti.. Started but not close to finishing..
• Start Quilt for our niece for Christening... humm... This may be a birthday present instead.
• Holiday cards Done! Officially on Friday! I wanted them ready for December 1st and I am ready! Yeah!


• Go shopping for a few of the remaining x-mas gifts I still needed. Did most this weekend!


• Wrap all the gifts I have purchased for x-mas! Finished about an hour ago! yeah!

Now to go start on my next scrapbook challenge for TAAFOMFT.

Rowdy little boy + bath tub=

Rowdy little boy+bath tub= 5 stitches!

Late Tuesday night, we got a call from my brother letting us know that our nephew Jaydon, had to get 5 stitches in his chin.

Jaydon is doing fine,

Mom was more upset then him!

I called today and it appears Jaydon is back to his rowdy self,

and his mom is recovering nicely.

Challenge #8 What is your favorite vacation?

My favorite vacation would be Boston. For my 30th birthday, Dave surprised me with a trip to Boston. Luckily for both of us my birthday falls during Memorial weekend. I know, I know.. What's so lucky about that? Well the people of Boston take every opportunity they can to go to Cape Cod and since it was a 3 day weekend we practically had Boston to ourselves. It was amazing! We didn't have to wait in long lines or fight large crowds. All we had to do was enjoy ourselves. Mission accomplished! So hands down this was my favorite vacation so far. Not to mention Dave and I always have some pretty hilarious stories to share with our family and friends when we get back from any of our vacations.

I will never forget our plane ride back when Dave squirted the guy next to him accidentally with an entire bag of Cesar dressing. (I might add that this was one of the scariest guys I have ever seen. He was wearing all black, a completely shaved head and tons of tattoo's.. I remember the tattoo's because one was of an electric chair. Yikes!) He turned out to be a really nice guy but for a brief moment, I thought Dave and I were not going to make it home..

So you think you can dance?

So you think you can dance?

Well, my nephew does. I couldn't stop laughing after I saw this video. I think my favorite part may be when he starts jumping up and down. Hilarious!

Jayden, showing us his sweet, sweet moves.

Challenge #7 What is your favorite season?

What is your favorite season?
Honestly, in Arizona we have basically two seasons, summer and winter.

We don't get to see the leaves change colors or have the beautiful reds, 0ranges and yellows of fall and when we get spring it is usually a warning of the heat to come in the summer. I am not complaining. I will deal with the 100+ weather any day over snow, wind, ice and freezing temperatures.. I just tend to appreciate all the seasons.

Plus when I saw what our next challenge was going to be, all I could think of was the song from Grease 2- "Four Seasons"

I'll be yours in the spring time when the flowers are in bloom..
I'll be yours in the summer, when were playin in the sand...
If you fall in the fall, you'll see, September can be heavenly...
I'll be yours in the winter when the snow in on the ground..
Chorus
Ahhh Ahh Ahh
I'll be your girl for all seasons, all the year through..

So thank you TAAFOMFT, I have officially driven my husband nuts with singing and humming the song "Four Seasons"..
Mission accomplished! ha!

There is nothing like coming home...

(This is a picture from the plane as we were entering Arizona)

I just got back from the frozen tundra, a.k.a. Illinois! brrrrrrrrrrr!!! (Is all I can say.)

And it seems that living in Arizona has thinned my blood nicely.
I was told (several times) that Illinois is having seasonally cold weather for them? Ha! Funny! Those Illinoisan crack me up.. Comedians I tell ya! Every single one of ya!
All I have to say to that is, I have been going back and forth between Arizona and Illinois for about 10 years +/- and every time I go (and I admit it is usually the winter months we go) it is always FREEZING cold to me...And this time was no exception to the rules..

It was windy, cloudy and raining... and I believe the highest it got was 59 degrees? But on the morning we headed out, the sun decided to peek out from behind the clouds.. (Real nice!) I hope it reaches 60 degrees?

Dear Friends and Family of Illinois,

I hope you are enjoying your 59 +/- degree weather, ohhh and just to let you Illinoisan know, today our high is 102!

Hugs and kisses,

A

Challenge #6: What is your favorite time of the day?

Come morning, noon or night my favorite time of the day is when I get to come home to you guys!

This challenge was a bit difficult at first. I had no idea what time of the day was my favorite time. And then after I thought about it, it became very clear. Any time spent with these guys is my favorite.

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On another note, I want to wish my husband a very Happy Happy 39th Birthday! And Happy 7th Anniversary! And to many more! I look forward to growing old with you! Love you!

And I also want to wish Crystal a Happy Birthday! (Welcome to the thirty something club! It only gets better from here! ha! At least that's what I keep telling myself!)

Please Bare with me....

So I am feeling a little sentimental today, so please bare with me. You see, yesterday was the last of my 'really great friends' was laid off. I have had the opportunity to work with a lot of great people, but over the last two years one by one I have watched as they got laid off. I will admit some hit me harder than others and not because I thought they should go but because I was so close to them. You see, I have been working at CVL for 11 years and 10 months. I grew up in front of a lot of these people. They are like my second family in a lot of ways. They watched me turn 21 and some of them were there to guide me to my first alcohol drink, or when I had my first bad break up with a boy or when I got engaged to my husband and married. And last but not least the year I lost my mom. These people have seen me on top of the world and they have seen me in a zombie state..

There is Nancy, my second mom. She is my coffee buddy, my lunch buddy, my crafty friend, my holiday decorating cube, my laugh so hard at times I almost peed myself and well a true friend who always had my back. I will never forget any of your Halloween costumes either. From the beer wench, drag queen, Brian Hensley over the year (mullet and all), the oompa loompa (the best and you will never be able to top it) to your Jew-dee costume. I miss you every day.. This last year has been hell without you.

Roy, my Native American Friend. The only guy I know who can look like he is working harder than anyone else but what is that?? Is he napping? I miss him saying, "Mornin Nancy, Morning Amber". Overall he put up with a lot of my pranks and jokes.

Sam a.k.a Nancy, what I miss most about her is her swearing! If she couldn't get Micro Station to work she would swear at it.. or throw a stapler. ha! And what a sense of humor she had. Fun-ny! Sorry, I can't really repeat anything she said.

Cheryl, she was just a down to earth person. She is genuinely a sweet hearted women.

Nilesh, I think I miss his smile the most. And any one who has worked with him knows what I mean by this. He smiles every day and I honestly can not remember one time he didn't..

Eddie, Eddie, Eddie. The Brazilian, marble mouth! This guy was funny! I could joke with him about anything.
I was his mentor. All I can say is this grasshopper was a slow learner! ha! No Autocad! I believe we were up to $12 in the No Autocad Jar!

And then there is Jean. Jeanie-bo-beanie, today was her last day. She is the one I could ask any question I didn't understand and needed more info. She is the only person left that would come over and check and make sure I was still breathing in my little green cube. She has a contagious laugh and really only wants the best for everyone.

Heidi, 'What is your husbands name? Are you sure we aren't married to the same guy?' Way too weird...

And to the ones who left before they could be let go. Buddy! Buddy! Buddy! I don't think there was a time Nancy and I weren't laughing. You can quote any movie any time and it still worries me that you think 'Love Actually' was the best romantic movie every.. hummm.. I will never forget you and Nancy in your Halloween costumes (Nancy was an oompa loompa and you were lieutenant Dan from Forrest Grump). The best costumes hands down!! No one will ever top you.. I miss lunches with you and Nancy. It was the highlight of my day.. Thanks guys

Adam the coolest Mormon I ever knew. I wish you all the success as a cop.

And honestly I could go on and on. We had 350+ employees when this started and we are now down to 55-60+. I have worked with a lot of really incredible people and hope to be able to continue to share things with them and maybe one day work together again...

I apologize for the long blog, but I was missing my friends and wanted to let them know I was thinking about them.. Miss you! A

Challenge #5: What is your Favorite Room?

My favorite room would have to be my craft room. However, it doubles as a guest bedroom too! booo!

I wanted this layout to be different from any other layout I have done. I was totally inspired by sassafras' new line of paper called

I LOVE SASSAFRAS...


I tried to take a couple pictures of this layout, but I don't know if I was able to really capture everything that is going on..

Dinnig? What room? Sorry! Dining Room!

Are you ready for some football?

Last night, Dave gave me my latest Mr. Potato Head. I think he is trying to get me geared up for the football season. Our household loves the Greenbay Packers.. It gets a little confusing for friends and family because Dave is originally from Chicago (born and raised). He is a huge Cubs fan, but loves the Packers.. However, the rest of his family does NOT share the same feelings.. Let's just say that this last Sunday when the Packers and Bears played our phone was ringing off the hook.... And well, I am officially a Packer fan by default.. If you can't beat them, you might as well join them.

So, why did he get you a Mr. Potato Head?

Well, as some of you may or may not already know.. I have a small (ha!) collection of Mr. & Mrs. Potato heads. When I say small I have a least 25 of them?? At least!! Over 9 years ago, I received my first Mr. Potato head from an employee who was leaving CVL. I was told I had to collect Potato heads because I was from Idaho and should never be without a potato. Thanks A lot!!! When this collection started, I never knew I would uncover or receive sooo many different Potato heads.. I have everything from sports, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Transformers and different holiday Spuds.. It's a strange collection but it's mine and I actually do love them! And unfortunately they do remind me of Idaho!

Challenge #4 What is your favorite food

My favorite food is Mexican Food! Hands down!

The hotter the better! I love jalepenos.. I eat them like candy.. They are yummy to my tummy!

I really enjoyed this challenge. I don't know if it was the topic or if I just wasn't rushing. I am a bit of a procrastinator.. I thought I would also add my sketches on how I came up with my page layout. I do sketches a lot of the time to get ideas out of my head.

'Toot-toot!'

I am going to toot my own horn. Toot-Toot!

I painted this picture of Lisa's doggie 'Sadie' and absolutely 'LOVED' it. I almost didn't give it to her.. JK! Immediately after painting this beauty, I drove it straight to Lisa's work to give to her. I couldn't wait...
I am really enjoying painting, but I think it is time to move onto a new subject because I do not want to be known as the dog lady.. Or be one of those people who has a ton of paintings of dogs hanging in their home.. creepy!!! Not that there is anything wrong with it... -Jerry Sienfield

Please note if you want me to paint anything for you, please buy a cat! JK.

In all seriousness, I really am enjoying painting and hope one day to make a profit from it!