Need Your Help!

Since I updated my template, my Google Analytics aren't working anymore.  Any ideas off the top of your head?  I'm thinking some code I copied into my Settings for the Analytics must have been deleted.  Yikes.  May have to do some research.  Any insight would be appreciated.

UPDATE:  Got my analytics back. Had to copy and paste some code into my template.

BTW: I think I'm going back to my old template as I don't like how this one looks on PCs.

Weekly Question #7

It's Monday and therefore time for the question of the week.

What's your favorite store?  Where do you love to shop?  Are you a Target junkie...or maybe a Bed, Bath and Beyond babe.  Where to you find yourself lost in the shelves of goodies?  Maybe you come home with great finds or maybe you just enjoy the looking.  I'd love to know.

My favorite probably used to my Target...but then since I started carding, I can't get enough of Joann's.  Hours just slip on by while I search out all their great stuff.  And even if I plan on picking up just one new stamp, I end up with my little basket full of goodies.  I just can't help myself.  It's even better when Cait comes with me!

(I've been trying to upload a picture into this post and it's not working.  Don't know if it's a blogger problem or new template problem.  Hmmmm.  Curious.)

Trying it on for Size..

Well, I'm trying out a new template.  What do you think?


I'd like to take full credit for finding out about free templates, but I can't.  I recently started visiting a blog of a new blogger.  Her name is Kristin and her blog is Kristin's Crafty Concoctions.  She's a card maker as well.  Anyway, I noticed she had this cool new template, so I looked at the bottom of her page and found the reference to Free Blogger Templates by Leelou Blogs.  I went to Leelou's site and found all of these very cool blog templates all for FREE!  I have to admit I had a hard time choosing and I am vacillating between this template and another.  Don't be surprised if I try another and ask you to vote.


I've been wanting to get a new blog template for some time now and have been researching possible options, but I've been so hesitant to get a custom design done, because I'm not really sure what I want.  I just know I want something different and fresh.


Please leave a comment with your honest opinion! I really need your help.  And by the way, super easy to do.  Copy and paste...basically that's it.

Alice in Wonderland Movie Review

Alice in Wonderland

Grade: A-




There's not a lot of movies of any note out at the moment.  Quite a few are what I call "renters".  Still we wanted to go see a movie last week-end, so we decided to take the plunge and see Alice in Wonderland at the IMAX and in 3D.  If we are going to spend the money...we might as well see something that really fills the big screen.

Neither Bob or I are Tim Burton fans.  He tends create very dark films, but I have to give him credit cause, you can always tell a Tim Burton movie.  He really stamps his identity on his films.  I was a little afraid he would make Alice too gloomy and odd, but to my complete surprise his touch works quite well on this story.  Let's face it, the story of Alice in Wonderland is already pretty odd...so giving it the Burton touch really does work.

Johnny Depp is quirky yet charming as the Mad Hater and I love what he does to Helena Bonham Carter's head as the Queen of Hearts.  All and all a very entertaining movie that really does work well in 3D as well.

There is a little too much eye poking to be suitable for younger children, but I'm guessing you already knew this wasn't appropriate for the little ones.

The Winner is...

My One Year Blogerversary winner of the H20 products as selected by Random.org is commenter #10:

• Linda Beeson -  That little plant is adorable! I want one!  Great photo too.  What am I looking forward to with Spring?  Longer hours of light - I just love that.

Linda - Please email me at lindalou1227@comcast.net with your mailing address so I can send you your prize.  I hope you love the products as much as I do.

Giveaway Closed

My Bloggerversay Giveaway is officially closed.  I will post the winner later today.  Thanks to everyone who entered.

NOTE:  I've been sitting at 29 Followers for months and I finally got 30 Followers.  Yipee!

A Whole Year and A Giveaway!

First...Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone.  This is a photo of my flowering shamrock plant that sits on my desk at work.  I am so surprised that it has survived for as long as it has.   It has been 4 or 5 years, which is pretty cool and the flowers are so delicate.  (And thanks Joey for the idea.)

Now for the really big news.  I have been blogging for one whole year.  Today is my Blogging Anniversary.   In recognition of that, I want to thank anyone who has ever come by to read my little prattle.  Some have been family, some of been friends and some are my brand new blogger friends.  I love that you come by to visit and best of all...make comments.  I still get a little zing whenever I read a new comment.

Creating this blog has been such a creative outlet along with some therapy.  (With a 17 year old around, I so appreciate anyone who will listen to me and not think that I'm incredibly lame.)  This has been magical  for me and I'm looking forward to the next year as I've got some big changes coming up in the near future.

MY ANNIVERSARY GIVEAWAY

Here's the fun part.  I'm having a giveaway of some of my favorite products.  My relationship with H2O beauty products began back when Cait was still in high school.  We both have very sensitive yet problematic skin.  The H2O products are all water based and work well with our combination skin without any irritation.

I've become such an addict of their products, that when they closed my local store..they called me and gave me my very own sales person (Maria) at their Manhattan store.  Which I think is pretty freakin' cool and she is so sweet.  I mentioned recently that Cait was expecting her first baby and needed some samples sizes to take to the hospital and she sent a mini set of all Cait's favorite stuff.

I am giving away this gift set of their Face Oasis products.  It includes Face Oasis Cleansing Water, Oasis Hydrating Booster, Face Oasis Hydrating Treatment (the BEST) and Eye Oasis Replenishing Treatment.

To enter...just answer this question:  What are you looking forward to most about Spring?

And if you mention my giveaway on your blog, I'll give you an additional entry.  Just make sure you come back and make a second comment.

Looking forward to hearing from you and thanks again for stopping by.

I meant the Giveaway will be open until Monday, March 22 at 12am ET. Too bad I can't tell time.

Weekly Question #6

I know I've had one (or two) and I'm pretty sure you've had one as well.  Here's this week's question of the week.

What is the worst hair style you have ever had?  Describe it in all the its gory detail.

Come on...be brave.  You can tell me.  I promise I won't tell a soul (well almost no one).

And to make you feel safe and warm, here are two of my worst dos!

Freshman year in high school, I had an honest to goodness...mullet.  I think it was called a Sassoon, but that was just a fancy name for a mullet.

You don't have to wonder why I was frequently mistaken for a boy do you.








But to be honest, this isn't the worst hair style I ever sported.  No, that came my Junior year.  I got one of those circular page boy cuts.  It was basically....a bowl cut.  The idea was to have it all go under all around my head.  But knowing how patient and talentless I was at  "doing" my hair, I'm sure it just stuck out in all directions.

And here is a photo to prove it.  Nice flip on the left side there, girl.

At least I didn't let my lack of style bring me down.   

(You have got to be wondering what the heck was happening in this photo.  Maybe I'll tell and maybe I'll just let you guess.)

Now, it's your turn.  Tell me about your worst hair style.  

AND if you are brave enough to post a picture on you own blog, I will give you an early extra entry into my One Year Anniversary Giveaway that starts on Wednesday.  Just send the link in your comment so we all can check it out.  (If we are Facebook Friends and don't have a blog....that will count too Leslie.)

Cards of the Week

I made a couple cards this week. Neither of them have anything to do with sketches.  The CPS sketch for this week had three circles on them and I really struggle with using circles.  Does that sound silly?  It does to me, but it's the truth non-the-less.

This was a kid card that Ryan needed for a birthday party he went to on Friday.  I was struggling with it a bit, but I was really pleased with the end result.

And this card was for my Mom's birthday.  I got the inspiration from my first edition of CardMaker magazine.  Did you even know there was a magazine for card making?  I am continually amazed at what a little industry this card making stuff has become.

I am really happy with this one.  I think it turned out very beautifully...which is just what I wanted for my Muma.

Thanks for listening.

Got a good question for question Monday.  Can't wait to ask it.

And I don't like losing and hour.  It kind of bugs me.  I'm just saying.

My New Computer

I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I got an iMac for Christmas and I LOVE it.  It has this giant screen and it's just so easy to use with a bunch of great applications.

I also got a new camera.  It's the Nikon D3000.  I have been using it more and more working on my skills.

(And...yes, I am a very spoiled girl!)

Together, they have evolved into something I didn't really expect.  My iPhoto has some very basic photo editing capabilities.  I have been having so much fun with this app...which only makes me think I could have some real fun with PhotoShop (although that will have to wait as it's a pretty expensive software).

Anyway....here's what I can do now.

This picture is straight out of the camera:

Here's what I was able to do to tweak this photo:

Pretty cool eh?

I went to a friend's baby shower last Saturday and I took 90 photos for her.  Then I came home and tweaked them into 140 photos.  This could get out of control if I'm not careful.

The Boys

I've had the boys over for the last couple evenings.  It's been wonderful having them over and I'm so glad I can help when needed.

Ryan will be four in a couple of months and he is just so cool.  Mikey and he were really bonding tonight, which I don't really get to see all that much, cause as a 17 year old, Mike is rarely home let alone willing to spend time with his family.  But they were playing this game where they were trying to get the other one to look at something that wasn't there.  "Hey...look...there's a piano behind you."  It was silly and I don't know exactly how it started, but I enjoyed every minute of it.

(Uncle Rick did this shirt thing to him a couple weeks ago.)

Aus....well, he's in the midst of the terrible twos so there are some wonderful moments and then....awful times of tears and whining.  But, it doesn't really change how beautiful he is.  Krissy mentioned that someone complimented her on her beautiful daughter after seeing a picture of Austin.  It's funny cause we always say that he is so pretty, that he may be the closest thing she ever gets to a girl.

(Ahhh, those eyelashes)

Weekly Question #5

It's Monday, so it must be time for the Question of the Week.  I had an idea of a good question, but since the Academy Awards just aired yesterday, I decided to go in another direction.

Who were the best and worst dressed at last night's Academy Awards?

If you aren't into my trite blithering... feel free to skip this week's question, but I can't help it.  I love the Academy Awards.

So, the winners are...

Sandra Bullock - Loved both her dress and her simple hair.  Might have gone with a different color lipstick.

I just wish she could learn how to stand for photos.  She's so beautiful, but she stands like a drill sergeant.

Meryl Streep - Love this classic white dress.  She looks gorgeous.  For any of you Project Runway fans out there, this dress was designed by Chris March.  Well done, Chris.

 (Look Sandy...even Meryl can get the pose right.)

Penelope Cruz - What a great color on her.

Anna Kendrick - Young and fresh and the perfect color pink.

Rachel McAdams - I like this one cause it's different and looks great on her.












Now...at the opposite end of the spectrum.  Who really blew it?

Charlize Theron - Wow...what was she thinking.  What's with the rose breast plates.  Bad dress, bad color and bad for her as she should know better than this.

Miley Cyrus - Sure hate to pick on her cause she's so young, but this was just a bad choice, but than I've never been a fan of bustier dresses.

(Is that how you spell bustier??)

Also...STAND UP STRAIGHT girl!  Slouching is never attractive.

Card of the Week...and Caity's Shower

First off, here's my card of the week for the CPS Sketch.  This if for a another baby shower I went to today.  I'm so practical...that any card I make for a sketch always has a purpose.  I can't bring myself to make a card, just for the heck of it.

I embossed the little duck which you can't really see in the picture.  I think it needs more, but since I needed the card this morning, I couldn't fuss on it anymore.

This is the CPS sketch that it was based upon.  You can kind of tell I was liberal with my interpretation, but it's close enough.








Next..I want to share some of our creative efforts on Caity's Baby Shower from last Saturday.

Here is a picture of one of the centerpieces.  We took four glass baby bottles and stuck them together with big sticky dots.  Then we tied them together with bright colored raffia. The final touch was the wooden numbers from a children's puzzle which were the table numbers (Caity's idea).  Then all we had to do was add water and some fresh daises.

We also found these adorable little jars on the Internet.  We filled them with different colored Jelly Bellies and set them at each place setting as a little gift for each of the guests.

 I think they turned out very cute and supported Caitlin's primary color theme.

Enjoy your week-end and thanks for visiting.

2009 Best Movies

In honor of the upcoming Oscars, I am posting MY list of the best movies of 2009.  Since I haven't seen every movie nominated cause I'm somewhat particular about what I put myself through in the name of entertainment, my list is somewhat different than the normal list.  So let's just say this is a list for the middle aged Susie Sunshines out there.

Drumroll please....

Here's my list:

1. Julie & Julia
2. UP
3. The Blind Side
4. It's Complicated
5. Away We Go
6. 500 Days of Summer
7. Avatar
8. Invictus
9. Star Trek

Can't come up with a 10th...I guess I'm going to have to go see more movies in 2010 so I can make a full top ten list.

By the way, my worst movie of the year was Extract.  Really, really bad yet had so much potential.

I'll be glued to the TV Sunday night rooting for Meryl.  

Weekly Question #4

Here's the Monday question of the week on Tuesday. (I've got a really good excuse, as I am out of town for work and wasn't able to get to a computer until today.)

Here's what I was wondering....How do you like to spend your Sunday afternoon?  Are you the get everything ready for Monday kind of person or are you vegetate on the couch kind of person?

This is on my mind because I had all the kids and grandkids over on Sunday morning for the February Birthday Breakfast Celebration.  Everyone stayed all day and even Mikey crawled out of his cave.  As I sat watching everyone interact, I decided that this is my favorite way to spend a Sunday.

So...how about you?