Freak Storm

Yesterday on my way home from work, the wind started blowing really bad. So bad that Shane called me on my cell to tell me to get off of the freeway and take back roads. He was afraid of top heavy vehicles tipping and causing accidents. I think the news said the gusts were upwards of 60 MPH.
I know that is nothing for people that live in tornado alley or where the hurricanes hit. But for us, it is exciting stuff lol.
It blew a lawn chair right off of our porch so fast that Shane didn't even see where it went. We looked in the neighbor's yards and everything. No idea where it got to.
And........of all things that it ruined at our house..........this is the saddest for me.......
It took me like 12 hours to make this! And it broke in 4 pieces. Gah!

It won't glue back together with hot glue--all it does is melt the styrofoam.

And craft glue can't hold it because there is nothing to keep it together while it dries.

Wahhhh!........Oh wait. I have some little wood dowels!

I broke them in 4" pieces and stuck them in the ends of each piece of the wreath.

Then I shoved them together--and it worked!

Yay. I would have taken pictures of the surgery, but I didn't think to. I was too upset lol.

It still isn't 100% sturdy, but it will do. I taped up the back too, so maybe it will last through next season. Maybe. 

Here are some other pics of the destruction. I'm not crying over the roofing--it can be replaced. And Shane can push it back in place for now.

That's my G on the far left and his friend Dustin

That isn't my tree. It is my neighbor's across the street. But man you should have heard it snap off. Scary!

Thank goodness no one I know was seriously hurt or had any real bad property damage. At least not that I know of. Crazy!

Three for All.......

Someone pinned this idea from Simply Simple Stamping, and I just thought it was a fun, yet really easy idea to use for a set of gift cards. You just need three card bases and three 4" X 5-1/4" pieces of patterned paper. Then you cut the patterned papers any way you want as long as you cut them all the same. Interchange the pieces of the individual "puzzles" to make fun new combinations. Really simple, quick, fun, and cute.

Here is the set that I made:

I always love all of the fun papers from My Mind's Eye, so I tend to hoard them (Shhh.....don't tell the stash police lol). But this is a great way to use them and I only have to use a small bit of each one, so I can stretch them a bit, you know? I have a ton of paper. I don't know why I can't let go of it. But I have my favorites, and MME is definitely one of them!

The oval and label punches are from Stampin Up, and the stamp is from Pebbles Inc. Isn't it adorable!? I got it at Hobby Lobby months ago and finally got ink on it for the first time today.

One of the lucky ladies in my family is going to be getting these in a gift box for Christmas (I hope they think they are lucky anway....). I figured that since everyone is always asking me if I have a card to spare, this way they will already have them. And, since times are tough and I already have the supplies, it's a personal and thoughtful gift that didn't break the bank. Win-win.

And.....there are tutorials popping up all over the place for fun card boxes using the new scoring tool from Stampin Up. I have one of those too, so you'll probably be seeing that soon.

Til next time..........

My New Butterfly Toys.......

I got my first order from the new Stampin Up catalog today, and just couldn't wait to use my new butterfly goodies. I know you all know how much I love butterflies lol.
I got the new Papillon Potpourri stamp set and coordinating Elegant Butterfly punch. I also used this week's FTL198 sketch over at Clean and Simple Stamping.
Again, I had to take a picture at night because I didn't finish during the daytime and really just can't wait to share. I am impatient. So, excuse the lighting. The colors are a bit off, but you get it.

Thanks for visiting my little blog today. Leave me a comment! I want to hear what you think.

4th of July

This year the 4th of July fell on a Wednesday, which I think just really sucks. I hate when holidays fall in the middle of the week because you can't really do anything that takes much time and then when you go back to work on Thursday, it feels like Monday. Boy, and I tell you, that Thursday totally felt like a Monday. And it has lasted through the weekend. Boo on Mondays!
Anyhow, since we couldn't stay up late to watch fireworks (due to work the next day--that four letter word again), we decided to go try out the local river. We haven't ever fished it or even really gotten close to it truthfully lol. There is a really nice path that is paved and everything right next to it. I think that would be a great place to go walking. Although, I'd have to drive there first. It is like 3 miles from my house, and I am way out of shape.
Let's get back to the subject here. I ramble a lot. We drove down to the river path with our good friends and neighbors, the Carter family. The men brought their fishing gear, and me and Pam decided to take Garrett and Dustin to find a place to play in the water. It was so dang hot that day! Colin wasn't far behind. Where there is water, he will be in it lol.
We all had a really great time. The men caught fish, we all got exercise walking back and forth on the path, and plenty of swimming and water play was had. We brought Bella and Angel (the dog babies) too, and they loved it as well.
All in all, it was a really fun day. And I did get to sneak out later that night and watch a few fireworks. Shane is such a bah humbug about them that I didn't even bother waking him up to go look. But I LOVE them, and I will be going to the big show that Mapleton city puts on July 24th regardless of my work schedule. One time a year I get to see them.
Here are some pictures. I took them with my phone camera, so not really the best. But proof nonetheless lol.

That bridge leads to a path right up between two houses and into a neighborhood. I'd love to live there! And the houses were SO nice.

Proof that I was here lol. Not the most flattering pic but whatever.

Pintersty Craftspiration

Have I mentioned that I am ADDICTED to Pinterest? Well, I am lol.
I found this wreath on there a couple of months ago and TOTALLY fell in love. I've been itching to make it ever since.
I am such a sucker for anything red, white, and blue--throw in some stars and a little bling, and I am done for. So you can imagine when I saw this how I must have bee swooning right?
Anyway, I finally got the time and a few extra dollars to make one, and I have to say, I LOVE IT!
I did it a bit differently than the original blogger. She pinned her felt squares onto the wreath. I forgot to buy pins, and I really didn't feel like going back to the store, so I thought that hot glue seemed like it would work. And, I have to say, it did the job marvelously.

I didn't post the picture of it on my door because after I took it I realized how heinously dirty it is. Maybe I should be cleaning instead of crafting? Hmm......nah!

One of Shane's Favorite Things to Do

A while ago, I think around May sometime, Shane got a screaming deal on a rotisserie attachment for his barbecue at a yard sale. It was only $3!
Shane loves to barbecue, and he has always wanted a rotisserie, so you can just imagine how excited he was.
Today he had the chance to go ahead and finally try it out. To be honest, I'm pretty surprised it took him so long.
You could see when he was setting it all up, getting all of his seasonings ready and stuff, how excited he was lol. It was like a kid at Christmas. Which is just really foreign to me because I hate cooking. It is hot and you have to clean up afterward, which is another thing I hate lol. But he says it relaxes him, so to each their own I guess.
Anyway, here is a picture of the proud chef and his tasty chicken. Really, I have to admit, probably the best chicken I've ever tasted.

Don't be hatin on the farmer tan lol. He has worked hard on that this year peeling and all.

Family Reunion

So, the Mackey (my mom's side) family reunion was this weekend, and a bunch of my aunts, uncle, and cousins came up for a small little get together. And, by small I mean just my mom's siblings and their children/grandchildren. It wasn't like a generations thing. But, my mom has 11 siblings, so it wasn't exactly small. Although, only 7 of them were in attendance since three of them are half siblings and aren't Mackey siblings. And one wasn't able to be there.
Any way, we went down to Mesquite (NV) last, so they thought it would be fun to come up north and do Strawberry Days in Pleasant Grove with us this year. A lot of them grew up in this area, so it was probably fun for them to revisit old haunts. Especially since my Aunt Cennie lives in their childhood home.
We had a lot of fun. Some of the activities were hiking, swimming, a parade, the carnival, the rodeo, a couple of family barbecues, and of course one last farewell drink at a club with all the cousins to say goodbye. My family does know how to party lol.
I wasn't able to do a lot of the things they had planned. I couldn't do the hike, the children's parade, the regular parade, or swimming. Maybe someday I'll have two weeks vacation so I can participate more (we take one week for the hunt in September/October each year).
I still had a lot of fun though. It was great getting to know my cousins and their spouses a little bit better. I even got to meet a couple of cousins that I have never met before (long story). It's funny how similar a lot of us are even though we grew up totally separate.
And it was great seeing some of the grandkids get to know each other too.
I'm going to post a few pictures, but there are tons more. I couldn't possibly post them all.

My Aunts and Uncle

Battlecreek hike

My sister Kim with Lacy's kids before the children's parade--our family did a patriotic theme this year.

I think the term is second cousins? Not sure. These are my cousin's kids (the shorter blonde is my niece actually).

My bro and my uncle guitaring it up for the family bbq fans.

Saying goodbye in the best way we know how lol. Last call with cousins and aunt Lori at the club.

Having a Yard Sale

So, just in case any of my local family or friends actually reads my blog anymore (said in my most pitiful voice), I am having a yard sale on Saturday if you want to come by.
I'll be selling clothes, shoes, purses, jewelry, household items, crafting and scrapbooking stuff, and tons of other things. I have friends who will be bringing things to sell too, so hopefully it will be a good one. Not one of those that you drive by and go "Really?".
Anywho, feel free to come by and make some of my crap your own! Lol.
As I speak, I am going through all of my stamps. Ummm.....I have a ton, but I don't want to get rid of any of them. I have a problem.........

Updating.........

So, since my last post was a bit upsetting, I guess I should have updated earlier.
The doctor called the next day as promised, but he didn't see anything on the CT report. So, he told Shane to just take it easy for a few days and if things ended up getting worse or even just staying the same, he wanted him to come back in.
Over the next few days his pain steadily decreased, and now he feels no pain in that spot at all. So strange! I'm really happy that it seems to have turned out to be nothing but possibly a pulled muscle. But, it sucks that we have to pay for a CT scan now :(
I haven't updated because I haven't been feeling so well myself. I think I got a stomach flu or something. I've been between the bathroom and the bed for two days this week (Monday and Tuesday). Today was my first day feeling better. I hate the flu! But, thankfully it usually goes by fairly quickly and you don't normally have to see a doctor except in extreme cases. I hardly ever get sick, but when I do, I get the long version :( So rather than 24 hours, mine will always last 48. But, I don't even remember the last time I got sick. So, I guess  I'd rather the long version (of the flu anyhow), than have to deal with it every year. Or, like Shane and G, two or three times a year.
Ok. That's enough going on about health problems. Hopefully I'll be back soon with something funner to talk about. My mom's family is up from Mesquite this weekend for Strawberry Days in Pleasant Grove. So, I've got plenty of fun stuff planned the next few days.
Tomorrow we're all supposed to get together for dinner, then Friday a barbecue at my cousin's place, then on Saturday the parade in the morning and the rodeo that night. Plus the carnival and Battlecreek Boutique are going on the entire weekend. Fun fun fun! I grew up in Pleasant Grove, so it'll be fun to experience all that stuff again.
Til next time..........

Poor Shane

Shane has been having pain in his lower right abdomen for a few days now. It got so bad today that he had to go to the doctor. And, if you know him, you know that is bad. It didn't hurt that everyone kept telling him that they thought it was his appendix and that if it burst, he could be in serious trouble.
Anyway, the doctor didn't think it was appendicitis because the symptoms I guess weren't really there. Except pain in the right (or wrong) place. But when he pushed on the spot it was in, and Shane yelped, he sent him straight in for a CT scan at Mountain View Hospital.
Thankfully, the CT scan shows that it is not appendicitis and it didn't find any other issues either. But, now what? What is it?
The doc told Shane he will call him by 10:00 am tomorrow morning after he see the full CT report and decide what to do next.
Keep him in your prayers. I hope it isn't anything serious. I don't really know what a CT scan will catch, so I'm not totally relieved yet.

Sometimes he can be sweet.........

So, the other night my hubby just couldn't sleep. I think it was Saturday. Normally he would just give up and watch the boob tube, right? But, on this night, he decided he wanted to make me a bouquet! Seriously? He hardly ever does this kind of stuff, so that is pretty sweet huh? He'd kill me if I told his friends, but I doubt they even know I have a blog lol. So I am telling my friends.

I know it is all wilted, he used weeds for filler, and the flowers have seen better days, but I just thought it was so cute of him. And, he cleaned up the living room and the toilet! OMG. Maybe I should be worried that he is sick?! Naw.......it happens once in a while. I think he does it to keep me around :)

A CAS Baby Card

So, as I mentioned in my earlier post, my brother-in-law and his girlfriend just had a little baby girl this week. I made a cute little flower clip headband and bought a black lace ruffle diaper cover to go with it. But, I needed a card to go along with my gift.
I didn't have much time to make the card because I wanted to send out the gift in today's mail. So, I decided to go with a Clean and Simple style card. And what better place to go for ideas than the Clean and Simple Stamping blog? I used CAS sketch #FTL192 for this card.

Forgive the lighting and color on this. It is a bit yellow. I tried to clean it up a bit, but there is only so much you can do to edit a picture. The yellow bits are really more like a soft ivory. But, you get the idea anyhow.

I used the same ribbon that I made the flower clip with to make the rosette on the card. What d'ya think?