Fire alarm incident

Last Tuesday I had a little bit of excitement at my house. I have a ADT security system in my home and it also includes the fire alarm. I have had several incidents that have set off the fire alarm. It is outside my bathroom door so if you open the door and the bathroom is steamy, it sets if off. I have learned to turn the exhaust fan on and not open the door right away and I haven't had it go off for about 1 1/2 years. The last time it went off my Mom accidentally set it off while I was in London.

When it gets warmer outside, I often will take a shower with the door open. It was rather chilly in my house that day but I decided to take a shower with the door open. As I was trying to rinse shampoo out of my hair, the fire alarm went off! I try to get the excess water out of my hair before walking to the kitchen to grab the phone. They always call to make sure it is a true fire or not before calling the fire department. I got the phone and no phone call. I waited and then realized I had a voicemail from ADT. Then they call me again and I explain that everything was fine. They told me that they had notified the fire department since I didn't answer the phone! I told them to please cancel the fire department but they said it was up to the fire department to make that decision.

I jump back in the shower since I had to be at work. I had to rush just in case the fire department did come. I didn't want them breaking my door down and me naked in the shower!! I get out of the shower and walk down the hallway to see that the fire truck is in front of my house! 4 fire men are walking towards my door and giving my house a look over. I was in a towel and didn't really want to answer the door but I did. I told them I was sorry that they came out but their wasn't a fire and I tried to tell that to ADT. I was embarrassed! Phoebe was so excited that people had come to our house. Silly pup! Then I was rushing to get ready for work! I was able to make it to work without being late.

I just hope that I don't set the fire alarm off again like that!

Scrappy Goodness!

This morning I was woke up early by Miss Phoebe. Not unusual but I decided to just stay awake since I have been trying to be "normal" since I am on vacation. I spent the morning venturing on 2peas and found the cutest coffee cup album! It is actually a digital file that you print out and put together. I have printed it out and going to work on printing photos and gathering embellishments! I have an idea of what photos I want to use. I just hope I can find them. I am going to work on this tomorrow at my scrapbook meetup group! :-)

The weather has been nice but windy today. I have had a hard time staying awake! I did lay down for a bit but it didn't help. Being on a normal schedule is difficult when you work the night shift. I hope I will be able to sleep good tonight and wake up refreshed tomorrow! It always takes me a few days to get back on track.

I took Phoebe for a walk around the neighborhood. I thought it would help wake me up and she just loves taking walks! When it starts getting hot outside, I don't take her for walks since pugs get overheated easily. We need to enjoy it while we can! I have been taking her on longer walks than I normally do. She starts out not wanting to heel and halfway through, she is heeling walking like she is ready to be done!

I am chilling at the Mudhouse. I didn't think they would be open since it is Easter. I remember in the past them being closed. I was happy when I found out they were open. I figured they wouldn't be that busy and they are packed!

Vacation time!

I am ready! I have about 1 1/2 weeks off from work and hoping to reconnect with my camera, scrapbook and do a little traveling. The main reason for my vacation is for CKC-St. Louis which is next weekend! I am meeting up with friends in St. Louis to scrap for 3 days and to attend a few classes and shop at CKC. I can't wait!

It appears that the weather is going to be a little rainy when I am off. The first day of my vacation it rained all day. I really think mother nature has my schedule and that is the days the weather turns icky. I haven't been awake all day yet and enjoy the outdoors. The weather does seem to be cooperating better today but I also have to much stuff going on!

I actually need to start getting ready for adventure #1 which includes scrapbooking! I am going to the LSS for super saver scrapbooking. It is always a fun time but I need to finish getting ready and get supplies together.

Camera Club Competition

This is the photo I entered in the 1st quarter camera club competition. I took this photo in Eureka Springs at a nature shoot I went to. I had been anxious to here what the judges were going to say about my photo. I even had dreams (more like nightmares) about the results. I was glad when I finally got to here the results!

The judges said that the exposure was correct. The photo was lacking a focal point. I thought the bench/platform on the lake was my focal point. They said I should of had someone sit on the bench. I should have also played a little more with the composition. I ended up with a score of 231 out of 300.

There is many talented photographers and once I saw the other prints, I was in awwww!!! One guy took a macro shot of a spider in a flower. You could see the spiders eyes and little hairs! It was a great picture and even won a ribbon. It will be posted on the camera club site. As of the day I posted this, the 1st quarter winners weren't posted yet.

I am anxious to enter the 2nd quarter and see what the judges say. I am thinking of entering a picture I took of the Eiffel Tower. My Mom thought this picture was a postcard I had bought. I am also taking Picture Spring at Big Picture Scrapbooking to motivate me to take more pictures. I hope to have lots of great pictures to choose from!

Spring? Where did you go?

It is freezing outside for the first full day of Spring. It has been snowing, sleeting & freezing rain since yesterday. The ground is covered hopefully for the last time. So far if I have been at work, the weather is nice. If I don't work, the weather has been icky. I have the end of this week off so I hope that luck changes! Here is a picture of my flowers:

I don't think my Daffodils are going to make it after this. :-( I still need to finish mulching my flower garden. The weather has been icky for me to finish that project.

This weekend I have been trying to stay awake for the crop at The Mosy Scrapper. I haven't done a very good job. I slept most of yesterday, got up for a bit and joined in some of the fun but ended up falling asleep again! Then today I slept through my alarm and woke up around 2pm! Ugh!! I checked in & was able to play a little Bingo and then ended up falling asleep again. Then I woke up with an ugly headache. The Advil didn't help so I have taken Extra Strength Excedrin. It is a little better but I still have a mild headache. My weekend of fun scrapbooking has been spoiled.

I am chilling at the Mudhouse currently for my weekly dose of frozen coffee. Maybe I can go home soon and do a little bit for the crop. I did enjoy playing bingo and the photo scavenger hunt! Of course, the chatting!

Online Crop!

This weekend is the second anniversary crop at The Mosy Scrapper! On March 20-21 come join in on the fun! Their will be a ton of challenges for all types of scrappers! You can check out the sponsors for the crop on The Mosy Scrapper blog. I hope to see you there!

Phoebe's Birthday Celebration

Today is Phoebe's birthday so I had to have a little party! Last year on her first birthday, I wanted to have a celebration but everyone was busy. :-( This year it worked out that we were able to get together. :-) This year my sister has a dog so Baby got to attend.



I found this hat at Three Dog Bakery and had to get it! Phoebe didn't really care for the hat but she wore it. She occasionally would try to eat it! I need to put it in a safe place for future birthdays.



I made pupcakes for the people to eat! I have a Martha Stewart cupcake book that I got this idea from. There are lots of cute cupcakes in the book. I want to make some Spring cupcakes next!









I had gotten a couple of treats from the Three Dog Bakery yesterday. I got a Drooly dream bar and Lickity Split ice cream. I split that between Baby and Phoebe. Phoebe inhaled hers! At least this year she didn't grab it and run like last year. Phoebe had hers gone in no time. Baby was more calm about her treats and then Phoebe wanted to help her finish!



Then here are a few other pictures I had taken:





The look on Baby's face and Phoebe's is too funny in this picture!



My sister & nieces brought Phoebe a bone from the Three Dog Bakery! I gave her one and she went crazy! She was running through the house with it and if I got near her, she growled at me! It must be a good bone. She finally got on my bed and was chewing away! I was wanting to head to the Mudhouse so I picked her up and she put her paws on the bone and growled at me! She finally dropped the bone and got in her crate for me!

We had a fun afternoon celebrating Phoebe's birthday!

Sick day

I haven't been feeling very good this week. Monday evening I started feeling light headed. I woke up Tuesday around 3am and was so dizzy I couldn't walk! I have never been that dizzy before. I could lay in bed and eventually the spinning would stop. I didn't want to get up again after that. By morning I was still pretty dizzy but I got out of bed slower and did a little better. I couldn't figure out why I was so dizzy. I had to work that night so I stayed in bed till 3pm. I was still dizzy when I got up but it got better the longer I stayed up. I went ahead and went to work.

I made it through the night but I was dizzy. I had to be cautious on how I turned or I would lose my balance. I got home that morning and made an appointment with my doctor. When I woke up that evening, I felt better and wasn't dizzy. I went ahead and went to work and didn't feel too bad. When I got off work, I went to my doctor appointment and my temp was 100.3! I didn't feel like I was running a temp. He didn't have anything to say about my dizziness. I was told I might have some fluid in my right ear so maybe that is what was causing my dizziness. He also told me the headaches I have been having sound more like migraines. Blah! I don't need anything else. I did have a sinus infection. I am now on antibiotics. He told me I wasn't going to work on Friday and I couldn't return to work till I have been fever free for 24 hours. I don't like calling into work. I believe the last time I called in was 2003.

This morning when I woke up, I was dizzy again! I was still running a fever so I called into work. :-( I messed up my perfect attendance. I think I needed the rest so I can get better. I ended up staying in bed most of the morning but by afternoon I moved to the living room to catch up on my DVR. I sat in the floor and went through piles of paper I have wanted to shred or file. I was glad to get that done. I stayed in my PJ's all day. My fever was better this evening after being on the antibiotics over 24 hours. I just hope it continues!

Unusual day . . .

I say it is unusual because I was up and dressed by 0815 and out the door by 0820! I had to have my cat Pandora at the vets before 0900 to get her teeth cleaned. Pandora wasn't very happy with me this morning since she wasn't allowed to eat or drink. Poor thing kept meowing at me, during the car ride and even at the vets! She was saying feed me!! My mom didn't!!! :-)



I thought since I was up that early, I would get a few errands done. I was really hoping to get my allergy shots but I had them check my temp. since my throat is red but not sore. I am also all stuffy. It was 99.9! I didn't really think I was running a temp. but I got sent away. I hope that this isn't the start of a sinus infection. I have some saline sinus lavage so I need to learn how to do this to see if it will help. Then I made a couple of other stops and back home. I still have more errands to run and got home and remembered! Oh well!

I am really enjoying my Gypsy!! I have been designing while in my warm cozy bed. Today I have been making cards from the Wild Card cartridge. My Cricut Expression is supposed to be delivered today and I am excited to try it out! I realized I was limited with my baby bug and the Wild Card cartridge. I can't wait to get it and finally cut my first full size card and envelope! My Grandma's birthday is next week so I hope to get her a card made with this cartridge.



Last night I went to Wal-mart to look at different sewing kits they have. You can make bags, aprons or PJ's. They have all the material & instructions you need so I thought I would try one. I finally choose an apron to try to make. I got a sewing machine for Christmas and have yet to figure out how to use it. I thought this would give me something to make! I just wonder what it will look like when I am done!



After Christmas, I had gotten this magazine called Stitch. It has some really cute things to sew! I have a little list of things I want to make. I hope if my apron goes well, I am going to buy some material and figure out how to sew from a pattern. I remember when I was a teenager, I decided to sew a dress for a doll. I ended up sewing the parts on crooked so it didn't look very good. I am sure with a little practice, I will do fine.

The swatches of material in the picture I had got to cut into hearts and sew onto a plain apron I have. I hope I get inspired to try all these things soon! One problem I have is a table big enough to set all this up on. Someday I am going to get my extra bedroom cleaned out and set up a table to do crafty things at!

I believe it is time for my yummy energy drink and hopefully the UPS man will be here soon! :-)

Gypsy Love!

The first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word Gypsy is my Great Grandma. My Great Grandma was born in 1900 and she always had wonderful stories to tell us of when she was growing up. One I remember was the day the Gypsies came to town. She was terrified! When she told the story, she even reacted like it was actually happening and trying to hide from them. It was a story I will always remember.

Then the Gypsy came along for my Cricut! It isn't scary like the gypsies in my Great Grandma's story! I received my Gypsy in the mail on Wednesday and had to work the next 3 nights. Why is it that I always get something fun when I have to work the next few days! :-) Thursday morning when I got home, I turned it on and clicked on things. Friday morning, I took time to hook it to my Mac and get all the updates. Saturday morning, I took time to link all my cartridges to it. Now I need to take the time to watch some videos on the website to learn more! I haven't hooked it up to my Cricut as of yet. That might happen today! I have ordered me a Cricut Expression and anxiously waiting its arrival! I found a good deal on Oh My Crafts for the Expression. I have gotten a couple of cartridges that I am limited on what I can do because of my baby bug. One cartridge that I got that I can't wait to try is Winter Wonderland. You can make 3D houses! I need the bigger bug to cut a big house. I am wondering if I could make a glitter house from that. We will see!!

Celebrity Pug!!

A little over a year ago, I took Phoebe for a pet modeling session. The photographer was planning to take the pictures she got to sell as stock photography. I signed a release for her to do so. If she found out if Phoebe's pic was going to be used, she would notify me.



Wednesday before heading to work, I checked my email on my phone and had an email that Phoebe's picture from her pet modeling session was chosen for the cover of a book! I was soo excited! It is a book of inspiring stories about pugs. The book is still being developed but I am going to get one as soon as it is available. Check it out here!

I now call Phoebe a celebrity! :-) She is going to have to sign my book for me when I get it! :-)

Sleep is optional

That is how I feel lately. I have had such a hard time sleeping at night and my body wants to sleep during the day! I have worked the night shift too long. I do prefer nights as I am more of a night person.

I hardly got any sleep and had a meeting at work at 1300. I had fallen asleep for a couple of hours during the night but then woke up about 0500. I couldn't get back to sleep till 1000. I needed to get up about 1100 - 1130 to get ready for my meeting but I woke up at 1145! I was rushing around to get ready and arrived in the parking lot at 1300. I was a little late in coming in for the meeting. Surely I will be able to sleep tonight. I do have to work Wednesday night so I need to stay up for a bit longer if I can.

I remember the days before I got my dog that I could sleep longer. Phoebe will often sleep with me and she is so snuggly! It has helped me with being able to sleep a little longer but when she decides it is time to eat, she is a wild pup!



In my lack of sleep this morning, I was searching ebay for a Cricut Expression. I had found a few from the same seller with free shipping but they didn't come with cartridges. I thought if I could get the Expression for under $200 that would be okay. I never did win any of the auctions. They all seemed to go for about $200. Then I checked out Oh My Crafts! to learn with my coupon code I had I could get an Expression for about $200 with cartridges! I finally did order one. I am eagerly waiting for it to ship! It will be like Christmas soon. I ordered a couple of books, the Gypsy & Cricut Expression.

Puppies are cute!

My sister, nieces got a dog! He is a bichon/shitzu mix that they named Baby. I had been wanting to meet the newest addition to the family and my sister stopped by this morning with Baby! He is adorable and so calm compared to my pup!





I wanted to get pictures of Baby & Phoebe together but it was difficult! Phoebe was jumping and being a little rough with Baby so we were holding them to great each other. Phoebe was super excited to see a new dog! I hope we can take them to the dog park to play when it gets warmer.

I was hoping to stay awake all day but I decided to lay down for a nap about noon. I forgot to set my alarm and half way woke up about 1630 but felt so tired that I fell back to sleep and finally got up about 2030! I didn't mean to sleep my day away so I decided to have some tacos at Qdoba and then head to the Mudhouse. While I was sleeping, we had more snow! The snow wasn't much so I thought the roads would be fine. I was wrong!! i made it to Qdoba but it was slow. Then while heading to the Mudhouse, my car slide all over at an intersection. I was glad that no one was there! I made it to the Mudhouse finally but they were going to be closing in 30 minutes. Then I returned home safely. I have said it before but I am ready for warmer weather!! ;-)

Snow!!

I was quite surprised at some snow we got this morning that was short lived. There were large snowflakes falling so I went outside with Phoebe and my camera. The snowflakes were big enough that Phoebe was trying to catch them to eat. The first photo is an action photo of her running around eating the snowflakes!



Here you can see the snowflakes sitting on her back:



Various pictures of the snow:







We have had too much snow for my taste this winter. I am ready for Spring! It was fun to be able to take a few pictures of the snow.

Camera Club fun!

I have had a fun day even with little sleep! I finally did fall back asleep about 0800 and slept till noon. I kept hitting snooze till about 1300. I needed to get up if I was going to meet up with the camera club! I ended up finishing my scarf last night and starting on my third pomp-a-doodle scarf! I might be able to meet my goal for V-day! :-)

The camera club meet up at a garden to take pictures. I was thinking we would be outside a lot but actually we were inside the greenhouses. It was a little warm and humid. It was a nice change from being outside but I was getting a little hot! I took about 200 pictures. I did take a few with my Lensbaby. I am still trying to figure it out but it was fun to play around with it today. I need to start just going out and taking pictures more often like this. It was a fun afternoon activity!

Here are a couple of Lensbaby photos:





A few more pictures with a regular lens:







I also found out today that the president of the camera club knows my Dad! They work together and have went on float trips together. It is a small world! I enjoy getting to know more of the members of the camera club and have enjoyed it so far. It has been almost a year since I went to my first meeting. I am planning to join the competitions this year. I am curious what the judges will say about my photos. I need to get my first photo printed! I have been printing some of my photos and putting them in frames. I am unsure where to hang them but I will have to find a spot!

I hope to be able to do more field trips with the camera club. It helps encourage me to take pictures something I haven't been doing enough of.

After I got done with the camera club, I went to the superbowl sale at the LSS! I bought too much paper but I tried to buy papers that coordinate together for a LO. I need to sort the paper and have sketches in mind for them. :-) I will have something else to do tonight if I can't sleep!

I am chilling at the Mudhouse. I finally took time to change the look of my blog. I have been wanting to do that for a long time! This background and header gives a more spring look! I am ready for Spring!