PIF...wanna play???

My good friend Barb had a PIF challenge on her blog. Knowing what a fantastic crafter she is, I volunteered to keep the game going!

She surprised me with this gorgeous knit scarf, seen here in process:


And now I must continue the PIF.

So here's the deal. The first three people who leave a comment on this post will receive a handmade item made by me. Probably not knitted, but I do crochet webkinz clothes if you have a youngester!! But there's a catch - there's always a catch isn't there?? If you comment that you would like to receive an item, you need to PIF to three more people. I think this is a nice way to spread a little kindness into the blog-o-sphere. So come on......make a comment......you know you want to!!

Oh and today's challenge on SCS was to use rickrack. I made a thank you card for Barb. (I got the image from Jenifer VanPelt...another SCSer.)




So who wants to get into the game?

I'm it!

Renee of MyLife'sInkyEscape tagged me. I was going to wait until tomorrow but was bored...so here I go!

1) Ten years ago: I was a newlywed teaching art and music at Gibson School for the Gifted. While it was supposed to be a school for bright kids, I found them to be snarky, rude and full of attitude! I told the director that I was done right before spring break...she begged me to stay through the school year. Which I did b/c I am someone who finishes what I start...even though it was a miserable experience.

2) 5 things in todays ”to do”-list- : Well, Sundays are a day of rest so my to do list is going to run into Monday.
A. Get in on the Hatch Family Sunday night IM chat...so fun to hear what everyone is up to since we live far apart.
Tomorrow:
B. Go to the post office to mail some stamp sets that I've sold or traded. If you are interested in my list, click here.
C. Mop the kitchen floor. It was bad before I cut my finger...and my injury delayed it for a week. So you can imagine what a state the floor is now!
D. Get ready for my last Brownie Meeting...yeah.

E. Go to the last Pack Meeting of the year and watch C* become a Bear Cubscout! Growl!



3) Snacks I enjoy: Fresh hot chocolate chip cookies, right out of the oven...nothing better. Esp. when you can eat the dough along while you bake!



4) Things I would do if I was a millionaire: Buy a block of houses in Sheffield Lake...from 809 to 3830...Knock them down...and rebuild...and move the entire family there. haha. More realistically, send my parents on a riverboat cruise, have an awesome stamp/craft room and never sell any more stamps and buy Nesties without hesitation, buy a puppy for the Kennedy family...Actually I could go on and on. hehe.


5) Places I have lived:
Sheffield Lake, OH (aka Paradise)
Oxford, OH
Bamberg Germany
Centerville, OH
Bellville, Westland, Canton, Orion, MI



Now...who will be next? I did lose my bookmarks and I haven't found everyone's blog yet. Here are five:

Jennifer
Terry
Rhonda
Kelly
Jessica

Pay It Forward Players

Okay...here are the first two responders to the Pay It Forward game:

Lorie of Live, Laugh, Love, Create

and

Melissas of What do you (th)ink?

I'll be getting your treats out to you on Tuesday since tomorrow is a postal holiday. (Sorry, Aunt Lin. You were a few minutes too late.)

BTW, my friend Ellie loved the gift set. I gave it to her just before church started. She oohed and aahed over it all...showing it to the woman who was sitting in the pew behind her. I said, "You've spoiled me, so I want to spoil you." Once I get my hands on some of those ellusive large paper clips sold at Walmart...I'll make her a cute collection of decorative clips!

Pay It Forward...

Bloggers are passing around a new tag...Pay It Forward.

If you were my reader back in the beginning, you will remember that I had a Pay It Forward (PIF) blog candy contest. So I'm pretty glad it's catching on!

My blogger buddy, Rochelle of "Impressions", offered up a goodie package provided you were willing to "pay it forward." I agreed to play along. Here is the goodies that came in the mail today:

Now it's my turn. I will take the first two people that comment on this post and are willing to "Pay it Forward" themselves. Put your e-mail address in the comment so I can get your mailing address. (U.S. only this time. Christmas is coming and I need to save my pennies!)

Now check this out:




Don't you wish your name was "Ellie?" Last Sunday, my friend Ellie gave me a ton of stamping stuff...oodles of stamps, punches, paper, templates. I made this little ensemble to show my gratitude. (The colors are much better in real life.)

I can't wait to see who is going to Pay It Forward next! (PS...Lorie is the only one so far. Gremhog has decided to let someone else play this fun game. If you want to play, post a comment!!)

Parrots...

Okay...Finally...a picture of me in Hawaii...





The first three days were spent in Waikiki, HI...just East of Honolulu. One evening, we were walking back from the beach and we passed a street guy with birds. You could hold them and get your pix taken with them. Of course I wanted to do it and asked how much it would cost. He said it was a donation. So, I posed with this bird when another street guy came up. He posed me with 2 more birds! Arranged them all around. Got a couple of pictures in.


Well...when we gave him back the birds, he launched into this speal about 10 bucks...5 for the birds, 5 for something else. Of course he got real snippy when I said, "the other man told me it was a donation...here's our donation." He wouldn't take any money if it wasn't the ten bucks. So well...his lost I guess. But it certainly dampened the day.

And that guy stood at the street corner every time we walked passed it. I sure hope he didn't recognize me.

Who would have thought?

hahah....

My blog is worth $23,710.68.
How much is your blog worth?

Teacher Appreciation Week

Imagine my surprise when I saw today's challenge...make something for Teacher Appreciation Week. Surprised b/c I had made this darling little "Fan Mail" mailbox/pouch out of an 8.5x11 inch page protector for DS#1's teacher and sent it off to school today without first taking a picture of it. It was really quite clever. Silly Sealife, blues, 17 turtles for the 17 kids in class...teacher was the whale... But tonight, I decided I'd do the challenge (for real) and take a pix of it too. haha. Here is what I did for the 2 teachers that instruct my kids.











Our PTO has come up with a clever way to get the kids involved with Teacher Appreciation Week. Last week, the room parents sen home a letter of explaination.


Monday--write a thank you note to your teacher on the stationary sent home. (I'm the room parent and so that is why I made a packet/mailbox for all the thank you notes for my son's class.)
Tuesday--wear the teacher's favorite color.
Wednesday--bring in the teacher's favorite candy.
Thursday--the PTO bought the teacher's favorite book and all the kids in the class will "autograph" it. Then it will be given to the teacher.
Friday, the room parent will be baking the teacher's favorite dessert.

Now the funny part. DD's teacher's favorite color is --- black. Can you imagine 25 kindergarteners wearing black? hehe. And DS's teacher's favorite dessert is icecream. Yeah...no baking for me...just buying a bunch of icecream and toppings.



*********************

Other exciting news....

DD has learned to ride a bike in one day! I didn't think we'd get to this day. She insisted on using a scooter throughout last year. I was a bit concerned as we were heading into warmer weather. b/c I know her friends all bike. Of course, bikes are faster than scooters. So today, I said I'd help her. And sure enough, she's really getting the hang of it! Yeah hurray. I'll see about taking pix the next time she rides!

Hmmmmmmmmm...

This was a hard test for me to decide my answers. Maybe I need to go back to bed.

You Belong in 1993

With you anything goes! You're grunge one day, ghetto fabulous the next. It's all good!

What Year Do You Belong In?

News to Report!! News to Report!!

After a blah entry yesterday...here is our news!

We are going to WICKED (again). I can not wait. And we get to take #1 and #2!!! DH took me last year and we LOVED it. My DD loves the Wizard of Oz. We love to dance and sing to the Wicked sound track. The music is great for car trips and while I do the dishes. Oh...I can not wait!

Suessical the Musical

I've been out of town for a few days...missed me? I certainly missed some of your blogs!


My parents invited us down for a great show...Suessical the Musical. After listening to the soundtrack for YEARS...it was so great to see the production. If you haven't heard it...go borrow it from your library. I tried counting the number of Suess stories that are referenced in the show. I got to 11...but I think I'll do a google search and see if I missed any!

Guestbook update...and Being Tagged!

Thank you so much for signing my guestbook. I love seeing your faces and reading your greetings. After getting so many hits on my blog, I was quite curious as to the identities of those checking my blog. Thanks for the glimpse of a few of you! The blog candy will be a surprise...until I reveal the winner. Mostly b/c I haven't thought up a prize yet. Haha...but be assured, I do send out prizes. My past winners can vouche for me!

I have been tagged...again...4 times. What an honor to be read by others! So feel free to go check out these bloggers who read the same amusing blog as you do:

Julie of Mutch to Stamp
Rochelle of Impressions
Kathy of KathysKreations
Linda of LMac's Catered Crops


Here are some more blogs that I browse on an almost daily basis:

STAMPS-INK-PAPER
Continuing to Create
The Stampin Bunny
Ink and Paper Creations
Lime Tart Articulations

These are in no particular order since they are listed alphabetically in my favorites and I randomly picked 5 more to showcase!

Now, Linda is really making me work when she tagged me. So here are 7 things about me:

1. I have climbed to the tippy top of Half Dome at Yosemite National Park. Wow! What a climb that was!! This picture isn't of me or anyone I know. (Found it online.) But it's a good shot of the sheer vertical plane that you have to ascend before hitting the summit...yikes! Call me Mrs. Spiderman...or would it just be Spiderwoman?



2. Growing up, I always had the HARDEST DAY to do the dishes. (Now it's the mopping and sweeping of the kitchen floor that gets me grumpy!)


No...this is not my sink. My kitchen would never look like this. Plus I only use "DAWN" dish detergent...of course!

3. Despite my very concerned parents, I went to Woodstock 1994...and survived.



4. I have trouble falling asleep at night.


5. Sometimes late at night, after the kids are asleep, I want to get them up and play with them again. I've had a break and they look so peaceful when they are sleeping. (Of course, I let them sleep. I'm not that crazy!)

(I'll have to dig up a picture of one of my kids sleeping....Check back later!)


6. I talk to my mom probably 6 times a day. Aren't the internet, cheap phone rates, webcams and cell phones the greatest!!



7. I truly believe that the oldest child in the family has it the roughest. So go give your #1 kid a big hug today and buy him (or her) a treat!

Now *I've* been tagged...

Thanks to BadSherry, I'm in this new flood of being tagged. haha. But this is fun and a lot less painless than the ABCs about myself. Here are 5 blogs that I browse on a daily basis.


Gremhog's Star Search

Sillybird's Stamping Diary

Just a bunch of nothin'

I Made This

Paper Daisy Chain


Ooooh...now that WAS hard to pick only 5. My list of blogs is quite long! and several of my picks were already tagged. So I changed them to make their lives easier on them...hehe...Go check these fabulous bloggers out!

And here is a chance for blog candy from Well Said Cards.

Homework + Stamps = FUN

My DD had to decorate a washed out milk carton and turn it into a house. She has had this assignment for a couple of weeks but I sort of put it off until today...since it's due tomorrow. All these great ideas were from DD! She wanted the doors to open to reveal a picture of herself. Each of the side windows open to reveal one of her brothers. She, of course, chose the colors of the house, windows, doors, roof, flowers, tree....




I did the cutting with the exacto knife and around the doors and the windows. We totally lucked out b/c Granny has the stamp set "Fashion Statements" and I had some images (sent a while ago)which we used as the doors/windows. (Hey, I'm going to need more Granny, for the next milk carton house.)






Tomorrow, DD will take the house to school and learn how to map and build a neighborhood. They will add addresses too. I have never liked homework. But homework with stamps...makes for a fun hour with my DD!

Anyone up for a game of Tetris?

If you are bored, looking for something to do, scroll down to the bottom and play a game or two of Tetris! Have fun! (Just be sure to mute the music so you can hear the Tetris song better.)

Sign my Guest Book!

I just added a Guest Book. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see it! I can't wait to read some amusing things from you! Feel free to write in it!

An experiment in Chemistry

This morning, M* and E* were washing coins in the bathroom sink. Not that I minded some of the toothpaste crud getting washed off with all the water that they were using...but I figured we could really get the pennies shiny! So I googled a recipe:

1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tsp. salt

Mix well...and soak away!













As I was trying to get these pictures posted, DD came up to me heart broken. Her silver coins which were not cleaned in the above solution, rather just wet for a while, are now extremely tarnished...and some had fallen in the garbage disposal...so I had to dig around in there...ugh.

So I think what we will do is...gather up the silver coins, drive over to the bank and ask for shiny ones. haha.


EDITED: We ended up going to the bank with the coins (and a few extra from mom's wallet) and exchanged them for four dollar bills. The teller asked us what she had cleaned them with. I said, "Just water." And the teller SMELLED the coins!! haha. It was a good chance for my kids to learn how to stand in line at a bank, for M* to talk to a bank teller and well, with such dreary Sprink Break weather...it was nice to go on a field trip!

New Do!

Voila!!

And the WEINER is...

Haha...don't you love that..."weiner"...haha...I do. Ooh...reminds me to post a card from Carolyn.


Carolyn sent me this card after VSN. Which of course, I really wanted when I saw it in her gallery!





The winner, I mean WEINER is...

Billie said...
She will get one from me and will be mailed in the AM.



Yeah! Billie will be getting the NUM Gently Falling stamp set. I know a lot more people RAKed Allison than posted. Some said they already had the set. Some must be too busy stamping to let me know! Thanks for making Allison's day!

Happy Secular Saturday!!

Secular Saturday dates back to the early 1970s...when a newly formed union (also known as The Hatch Batch) wanted to instill the true importance of Easter and its meaning in their young brood. We, along with my siblings, have continued this family tradition. Festivities started on Friday night with a classic egg dying session. In our home, we usually dye raw eggs b/c I and the rest of my own brood do not care for hard boiled eggs. (Then we can reuse them. haha. And no raw egg has ever been broken during the hunt, I am pleased to say.) Of course, I did eat one or two of my late Grandmother's deviled eggs in the past. A couple of years ago, my sister C* and her kids spent Easter with us. With that many cousins in the house, I did boil the eggs. This year, I did boil the eggs...but that is simply a waste of eggs. Next year, they will be dyed raw again!






This year the Rascally Rabbit switched things up. Instead of hiding our dyed eggs, he hid plastic eggs filled with CANDY around the house. Each child had a designated color to find. Dad tried to get some good shots in, but of course, they was so much scurring about, that it was hard to get a focused shot. (DH likes posed pictures.)







Here are C* and M* sorting their eggs...I think this dates back to how we sort Halloween candy...hehe.




Although the Easter Bunny did not leave his usual (flour) footprints in the kitchen this year, he did leave some great toys.... and rather loud toys. I don't think that SHE realized how loud. But hey, it gets them off the computer/video/tv! I'm not complaining.







As with all great Secular Saturdays, today was spent lounging about, playing, eating candy (I think most of the candy is gone) and doing something fun as a family. The kids wanted to go eat lunch at an indoor playstructure. DH wanted Burger King...his favorite fast food that isn't super nearby us. I told him where we could find one with a playstructure and off we went! (I guess we should have brought our camera!)


With that, it's nearly 11pm...the kids are STILL awake. C* just asked, "Mom, what can I do?" Grrrrrrr...I said, "Go to bed, it's almost 11 o'clock!!"

Hopefully, they will sleep off this sugar fit and we'll have a peaceful, restful Sabbath, celebrating Christ's Atonement.

Happy Easter!!

LAST DAY to RAK Allison

Okay...tomorrow is the last day to RAK Allison and to let me know that you did it. Scroll down a bit to find the entry. Email me if you need her address. I'll be announcing the winner of the Gently Falling Stamp set first thing on Easter morning. (The Easter bunny comes to our house on Saturday morning. So that Sunday is left for the true celebration of Easter.)