The good news is... it only comes once every four years so to celebrate, the entire store at DSO is on sale for 29% off. Hurry, this sale will end at midnight Central time! All my products are on sale, both personal as well as commercial use items. Looky here!
The bad news? Well, it's bad for my son David. Because we have an extra day this month, he cannot vote in the next presidential election. If it weren't a leap year, his 18th birthday would have fallen on election day next November. But because of the extra day, election day will be one day prior to his birthday, making him ineligible to vote. David was actually upset about this - he called me from his government class, all bummed out, once he discovered this. I told him there will be other elections he can vote in but "it's not the same" - he was looking forward to voting for our next president. Personally, I'm just happy I've raised a civic-minded kid.
Hey, do you know about the SAS-y Princess Contest? Every month you have a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to the wonderful products at Stone Accents Studio. All you have to do is enter a layout to this gallery at SAS using products created by SAS designers. Guess what - the So Sweet kit I've been giving away all month can be used for this contest, too, and you don't have to pay a dime! Read more about the contest here.
That's about all I have for now. I'll be back tomorrow with the next part of So Sweet.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Leap Year - Good News and Bad
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Want a mega kit for free?
Do you know about the Fairy Kit at DSO? You can get this MEGA kit for free simply by completing all the challenges at DSO by the end of the month. Hurry – only a few days left for Love Me Tender! Once March 1 arrives, you’ll be able to join the new challenges and get the March Mega – Top of the Mornin’.
Look here for the challenges, and here's a preview of the Love Me Tender. Don't worry if you miss all the challenges and still want this kit - it will be available in the store after February. It really is huge and quite pretty.
I have Part 10 of So Sweet ready for you to download. Please, no hotlinking or sharing the link. Send people to my blog to download. Click here.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Guess What I'm Doing Today?
I'm going to a Crop today - yes, an actual crop with real-life people and friends (as opposed to the online friends I usually hang out with, LOL!). Gonna get glue on my fingers. Every once in a while I get a yearning to get sticky. This particular crop is held at my church and is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. My friends Christy and Karen host it and if you want to read the story about why this crop got started as a fundraiser, look here.
I want to make sure you know about DSO's next Scrap 'N Chat. Mark your calendars for Monday, Feb. 24 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern (6:00 Pacific) and join us in the chatroom for some fun and freebies! (Click on the chatroom link at the top of the page on the main forum.) You'll get a chance to hang out with all the DSO crazies - uh, I mean people - and talk scrappin' or whatever else is on your mind. AND... you get a free template just for coming! If you post a layout to the gallery you'll get this gorgeous Quick Page provided by Lynn. (You have an entire day to get the layout uploaded - how easy is that?)
Finally, So Sweet-Part 9 is ready to download. Don't share the link. Rather, send your friends to my blog to download. Click here and have fun with it!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Fabulous Friday Sale!
It's Friday and that makes me happy (plus DH is finally feeling better - yay!). So I decided to have a sale this weekend. Head on over to my store at DSO, where nearly all of my products (except the Bargain Bin which is already dirt cheap :) ) are marked down 35%. But hurry, the sale prices are only for this weekend!
Come back to my blog tomorrow and I'll have So Sweet, Part 9 ready to download.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Men Are Impossible Patients!
It started on Valentine's Day. I could tell when my hubby and I went out to dinner that he wasn't feeling his normal self. So we get home and he goes right to bed, which is where he stayed for the next 3 days. He caught a horrible case of the flu and had fever, chills, aches, sore throat, and a horrible cough. So of course I slept - or TRIED to sleep - on the pull-out sofa bed. Those things are so darn uncomfortable. I've been there 5 nights now, and after the third night by back actually started hurting. But I figure that's better than catching what hubby has.
He's gone back to work as of yesterday but is still coughing pretty badly. He's improving, though. He got really sick with the flu last December, too - that's two times in as many months. I try to tell him to take some vitamins and supplements to help boost his immunity, but the man does not listen! And you know how men get when they're sick - they get very clingy. All I can say is, it's been a rough week.
On the brighter side, I want to show you a preview of Joseph's Coat Paper Pack Add-On. It's bright and bold and really fun - and only 99 cents in either of my stores (click the blinkies on the right.)
Take a look at this sample layout using Joseph's Coat and Joseph's Coat Paper Pack Add-On. I'm working on some older photos and this is David when he was in 1st grade:
Want some extra freebies? Check out this week's newsletter from Stone Accents Studio. (BTW, yours truly is the featured designer. Go, me!)
SAS Newsletter for Week of Feb. 20
I have the next download for So Sweet (Part 8) ready for you. There has been a TON of piracy issues going on lately in the digital scrapbooking community, unfortunately. Please, do not share the link - send people to my blog to download. And of course, do not share the freebies. This is considered piracy and is really hurtful to designers. Having said that, click here for your download and enjoy!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
You Can't Pull the Wool Over This Mama's Eyes!
My friend Starr sent me this story about Italian Mamas (of which I am one)…
Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, Mama started to wonder if there was more between Anthony and his roommate than met the eye.
Reading his mother's thoughts, Anthony volunteered, "I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you, Maria and I are just roommates."
About a week later, Maria came to Anthony saying, "Ever since your mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the silver sugar bowl. You don't suppose she took it, do you?"
"Well, I doubt it, but I'll email her, just to be sure." So he sat down and wrote:
Dear Momma,
I'm not saying that you 'did' take the sugar bowl from my house; I'm not saying that you 'did not' take it. But the fact remains that it has been missing ever since you were here for dinner.
Love, Anthony
Several days later, Anthony received a response email from his Mama which read:
Dear Son,
I'm not saying that you 'do' sleep with Maria, and I'm not saying that you 'do not' sleep with her. But the fact remains that if she was sleeping in her own bed, she would have found the sugar bowl by now.
Love, Momma
Moral of the story: Never lie to your mother, especially if she’s Italian!
I thought that was cute so I’m sharing with you. :)
My friend Lynn (Cattail Designs) has a yummy new kit and a free sampler for you on her blog. Check out these previews and head over to Lynn’s blog to download the mini-kit and learn where you can get the whole enchildada (or should I say the whole box of chocolates?):
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Wednesday Already?
Happy Wednesday – I can’t believe the work week is half over. I’ve had a headache for the past three days and have accomplished next to nothing. Man, I hate that.
My son Joe (who is majoring in Psychology) called me from school yesterday and told me one of the professors has nominated him as a “promising psych student.” Each year, only 1-2 people in that program are recognized for their accomplishments and are invited to apply for certain fellowships, so that was pretty exciting! Joe is so low-key, but believe me I got excited enough for both of us. I’m really proud of him.
The movie we saw on Saturday, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, was so sad. I was fighting tears nearly from the very beginning of the movie. It was really well-done and a true story. The story is about Jean-Dominique Bauby, who was an editor of Elle magazine in the mid-1990’s. He suffered a massive stroke and the only part of his body that he was able to move afterwards was his left eye. The worst part was, he suffered an extremely rare condition called “locked-in syndrome.” His brain and memory were fully functioning, but he couldn’t speak or move. (And he was only 42 years old when this happened!) One of the speech therapists working with him devised a painfully slow but effective way for him to communicate, using only his left eye. He ended up writing the book, The Diving Bell… by dictating the words using the system of communication. I won’t tell you how it ends because it will give something major away. The movie was a bit hard to watch but I’m glad I saw it. If you see it, make sure you have some Kleenex nearby.
Okay, on to digi-scrapping stuff. SAS has the new mega kit on sale right now, only $6.95 for a limited time. This kit is huge and includes:
16 Flowers
2 Butterflies
15 Frames & Corners
17 Ribbons & Bows
8 Brads
4 Metal Borders
4 Bead Strands
16 Journaling Pieces & Tags
5 Pins & Clips
1 Paper Scrap
1 Scroll
Friday, February 8, 2008
Busy Saturday
I have a packed Saturday ahead of me - another jazz festival to go to and Joseph is home for the weekend, too. After the festival, Joe and I are going to see a French subtitled film, The Diving Bell and the Butterly. It's a true story about a man who suffers a stroke and the only moving part of his body afterwards is one eyelid. Supposed to be very inspiring. Since Joseph is minoring in film and he's really (I mean really) in-the-know about things entertainment-wise, he is my movie buddy and says I will like this film a lot. I'll let you know more about it after I see it.
Do you know that Easter arrives really early this year? March 23 to be exact. Soooo... I wanted to finish my Easter kit and it's now in the stores at 25% off. I also made a coordinating Quick Page set for this kit, also on sale. It's got a little something for everyone - a bit of religious flavor as well as some chocolate candy flavor - mmmmmm!
Click here
And here
Here's a sample layout I made using one of the Quick Pages. It's my sister and me from looooong ago. I'm the one on the left.
Sad News...
Here's a picture of Coda snuggling with his new Christmas toy:
So this morning, my son, David, calls me from school at 6:50 (he has zero period, so he's there very early) and asks me to bring the packet of information that is due today when I head back to school to drop Jason off. This would be the IMPORTANT packet of info with release forms, passport info, etc. for their upcoming band trip to Australia this summer. This would be the packet I handed to him yesterday stressing how important it was for him to turn it in today. This would be the packet that he accepted in his own hands and assured me he knows, he'll get it in. So when he calls this morning and says I was supposed to get it to him after I not only handed it to him but he acknowledged it, I was annoyed. That kid - I SWEAR - it seems like he's listening and that what you're saying is absorbed in his brain, but you just never know... I feel sorry for his future wife.
So I go get the packet - out of his room where he left it, of course - and bring it with me while dropping Jason off. I pull up right in front of the bandroom and hear the sound of Tower of Power's "What Is Hip" and I can't help myself. I was going to have Jason drop the packet off but instead said I would and oh, the nostalgia - that song took me right back to my high school days. You can't imagine the thrill I get from hearing those kids play, so I decide to stick around (I knew the teacher wouldn't mind and neither would David). I got to hear about 20 minutes of them practicing, and then they broke into Swing, Swing, Swing - and who can't help but move to that song? So not only could I not stay annoyed, but I ended up really enjoying myself. Really got my morning jumping. David is lucky he knows the way to his mama's heart, that's all I have to say...
Later today I'm heading down to Stockton where my son, Joseph, is a sophomore at the University of the Pacific (about an hour from here). He's coming home for the weekend - yay! He hasn't been home in about 3 weeks so it will be nice to have him back.
I'll have the next part of So Sweet up for you tomorrow, so talk with you then!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Happy Humpday!
It's Wednesday and that means the next part of So Sweet is due to you! Before I give you the link, I want to show you this 2-page layout I made for this month's All About Me Challenge at SAS. The theme this month is "Why I Scrap" and I used JenLin's Forget Me Nots kit for this spread. It's a really pretty kit by one of our new designers and I had a lot of fun playing with it!
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Woohoo - Saturday
Hey ya'll! It's another rainy day. Bluh. This California girl needs her sunshine! I have faith, though... I know it's coming, eventually. My oldest stepson turns 18 tomorrow and my in-laws are driving from the SF bay area to visit, and another good family friend is coming over, and we're all going out to dinner so that will be nice. We asked Justin what he wanted to do to celebrate and he didn't really care, so he's stuck with us. (Oh, teenage apathy...)
Have you seen the challenges posted at DSO and SAS? It's the beginning of the month so they're all new. At DSO, if you complete ALL of the challenges you get the fairies kit for FREE at the end of the month. At SAS, you get a posting bonus from each moderator and they all coordinate with the other posting bonuses, so you can pick-and-choose what challenges you want to do and get some bonuses as you go along, but it you do all of them there you'll end up with a mega kit as well.
And now, as promised... Part 3 of So Sweet! Please do not share the download link, but instead send your friends to my blog to download. Click here.
