A few quick answers.


The studio is right near the Corner Room, and the windows face Hammond Building. Diagonally you can see the mall and the Loop stop.

The other artists. Lisa paints gourds, and Amy does flower arrangements. We also sell Dawn's fused-glass ornaments and Jeannie's bags. (sort of like tote bags, or purses, or school bags, or beach bags, or whatever...) Lisa, Amy and I are the only ones using the "work room" though. I'll put up pictures when we finish decorating shortly, I promise.

We are going to open for Arts Fest, so we are busy busy busy creating and cranking stuff out. Pricing is the trickiest part for me. Handcrafted cards. Hmmm. I could sell a lot for a dollar each, but the TIME I put into them. Two dollars might be too much, though. Although if I mail them to friends, I insure them for $4 each. ( Hey, I don't want to remake them!!) Any thoughts, opinions, etc. are all welcome.

Today is finally Michael's last day at school, and it's a half day, so I'm off to the bus stop. HELLO SUMMER!!

The Studio

It's official - we've opened a studio!! Two of my girlfriends and I have opened a working studio, and a showroom right next door. It's PRIME real estate (right on the 100 block of College Avenue), the AC is now turned on so it's nice and cool, and we are all moved in.

Advantages:
All of my stuff is out of the house. (I stamp for those of you who didn't know.)
I'll be more inspired to go down there to work, having it feel like a real "job", with a place to sell my stuff.
Chris finally has more room in the house for HIS junk.
The girlfriends are down there working, TOO! It is almost like a "female fort"!

I've been giddy with excitement since Wednesday when I moved in. Absolutely giddy. All I want to do is go down to the studio!

Disadvantages:
I have to drive the 3 miles to work on my stuff instead of having it here in the dining room
Getting SO close to these girls, and having to move next year.

I don't have any pictures to post, as it is still a work in progress, but I will, I promise. I'll be spending evenings at the studio, after the kids get in the tub. During the school year I can go at lunch, and work un-interrupted until I have to be home at 3 to get the kids off the bus!!

Life is great. Absolutely great.

Our Short But Sweet Vacation

We made our pilgrimage to Colorado Springs last week for commissioning and graduation. It was a lot of fun, although cold. Here are some of the highlights of the trip:

Michael and Molly asleep before we even hit Baltimore.

Michael and Ryley, Teresa's youngest son, playing Guitar Hero III.

Mitchy and the kids rock climbing at Garden of the Gods. I was laughing with Chris, reminding him how Mitchell became Mitchy. I told Chris he COULDN'T call him Mitchy, and he told me that he dared Mitchell to tell him that he couldn't call him that. Mitchy it was, and still is...

Mitchy rock climbing as we left. He was a long way off and didn't even know we had pulled off the road to take the picture.

Us with Mitchy at the parade. What a handsome kid, huh? Well, I guess not much of a kid anymore.

After lunch we went to Karla's house, and Anne came over to meet us. It was so good to hang out with close girlfriends. You know the ones - the ones who expect you to get what you want out of their fridge, and the ones who can correct your kids or you can correct their's, and not only do they not mind, they are thankful. The ones you can be your total complete self around, and they love you anyway.

Mitchy gave the kids his cadet hat. Michael wore it around all afternoon, just as proud as can be. I love how kids don't know they look dorky, they just like something, so why NOT wear it?! I wish adults could be more like that.

This is Karina, or as Michael used to say, "B-queen-a". Still as pretty as ever.

And our Godson, Colin. What a sweetie! I can't believe it has been two years since we have seen him. WAY too long...

I even had almost an hour to run by and see the twins! I couldn't put them down the entire time, but the best part was just laughing with Brandy. It is wonderful to hear her and know that not only is she a great mom, she is a REAL mom. Thanks, Brandy! I enjoyed the laughs. :-)

We then had to fly back to BWI and spent the weekend in D.C. with the kids Godfather, Mark. Well, for those of you who know me, Mark needs no introduction at all. I've known him since my first month of college. He's my Mark. Teresa and her boys met us all out for Saturday afternoon. I love hanging out with my college roommate, her kids, and my best friend from college, and my own husband and kids. It was a great day all around. AND it was Molly's real birthday!!

I'll save the National Zoo for another day. I'm way too tired tonight!!

I didn't even take pictures of Laura, Bryon and Evie, or of the actual graduation and commissioning - my camera battery was low and I forgot to take it to Laura's anyway. I'm a sucky blogger, huh?

You know one of the best parts of vacation? Coming home.

We Had A P-A-R-T-Y!!!

For the kids birthday parties we had a BYOB party! A Bring Your Own Bicycle - what were YOU thinking?? Gosh, they are only turning 5 and 6! This was Molly's invitation, and Michael's was the same, except in blue and orange.

The forecast was crummy. Rain. Luckily, it cleared up around 11 to start setting up, and from 1-3 it was not exactly sunny and beautiful, but the skies didn't open up on us. Many prayers were answered that afternoon!

We let the kids invite their friends from school and some family friends, and it was FUN! Here are some scenes, although some may be blurry. (A photograper I am NOT.)

We rode bikes,

and had birthday cake!

Molly thinks "They are all singing to ME?!!"

Michael just wants the singing over so he can dig into the cake and Creamery ice cream!!

This was the "parking lot" during the cake and ice cream part!

The kids had a ton of fun. I don't know what was more popular- Bandit or decorating the bikes! He finally had to go take a nap from being worn out with all of the kids.

One of the moms, Robyn (Parker and Ava's mom) dropped the kids off for the 2 hours. In that 2 hours, she managed to get TWO (2) speeding tickets!! I told her next time to give ME the $216, and I'll let her stay for the party! Her husband took it surprisingly well, although I have the feeling that for the rest of her life, everything will be cost relative to the tickets. Example: "Well, we could have that floor in the new house tiled, but it would cost us 5 tickets..." Her husband, Stan, was Chris's fraternity brother here at PSU. He cracks me up.

So, the house is picked up, the party is over, and we survived with a ton of help from our next door neighbor, Rebecca. We seriously owe her. Seriously. I think everyone should have a neighbor who loves kids and is naturally a sweet person and a great helper who just pitches in. Kids parties would go so much smoother!!

Looks like we've made it...

Bandit came from a rescue who had gotten him from a puppy mill. We had no idea of his numerous ailments when we got him, but it looks like we've finally turned the corner. He slept through the night last night for the first time and I can now pick up his poop. Doesn't sound great, I know, but he's had the runs since we got him! So, for me, it's pretty wonderful.

He HAS gained 2 pounds in spite of his intestinal parasite which is now being treated, and his infections in his ear and eyes is almost gone. Chris is ready to kill me for getting a dog, much less a sick dog, but he is in Japan, so I am running this ship for now.

Here are some pictures I took the other night.

For all of you mother's out there - Happy Mother's Day! I'll put pictures on the blog later this week, hopefully - Molly had a Mother's Day Tea at school on Friday and Michael came home with his gifts as well. Nothing beats the gifts from the kids. No matter how small, or non-useful (is that even a word?), they bring tears to my eyes. Because they are presented with pride and love. From the people that I am proud to love. I love you so much, Michael and Molly.

Meet Bandit

Sorry guys, I didn't have the pictures when I wanted to blog!! Here is an abridged version of the dog story:

I was looking through Petfinder.com looking for a small rescue dog for weeks. Not that I really WANTED a dog, but I was just seeing what was out there. During the girls weekend in Baltimore we saw a lady picking up a puppy to fly to CA. It was a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel puppy - the cutest thing I ever did see. So, to make a long story short, I found a puppy that needed rescuing in OH that was 1/2 Cavalier, 1/2 toy English Spaniel. However, it was pending adoption already. I called the shelter to see exactly what "pending" meant. It turns out, the lady was supposed to pick it up the day before and didn't show up! I turned in my application on Sunday and went to school on Monday a nervous wreck about getting a dog. Lisa told me she would come with me to get the puppy, so I was looking forward to the trip if I got approved.

Monday night I got approved, but the puppy had a vet appointment on Saturday. In the meantime, I sent a picture to Amy of ANOTHER puppy at the shelter, which was also half Cavalier, but half Cocker. She fell in love with that one. It, too, said "pending". I told the shelter I could come pick up the puppy on Monday evening. On Sunday night Amy called the lady with the dogs, and asked about the other puppy. There were several applications on that one, but they had other dogs. Amy said no, she really had her heart set on THAT dog, but that was ok. At 9:15 Sunday night Amy gets a phone call from the shelter, even though she hadn't left her name or number. If she wanted the dog, fill out an application, bring the cash, and she could take it home with me on Monday. It turns out the first application was having a hard time coming up with the money, and the next application was from South Carolina, and who knew when they could come get it?

On Monday morning at school we were so excited for our big trip - 3 of us going, 2 of us getting puppies. Monday was also Amy's birthday, and when Barbara heard, she wanted to come with us. Becky, our director, got a sub for Barbara for the afternoon and we were all free to go at noon!!

Our trip there was a LOT of fun. We really wanted to be safe drivers, so we added extra protection!

Once we got to the shelter Lisa saw a Shitzu (which is NOT spelled right!) and called her husband. He said no, Amy and I got our dogs, and we left. Less than a mile down the road Lisa's husband called her back and told her to go get the dog. We went back, got the dog, and headed home.

Luckily Barbara didn't mind driving because we were all holding puppies the whole trip home!

4 of us went, and 3 came home with puppies. We are loving them!

We didn't tell the kids about the puppy, preferring to surprise them instead. Boy, were they ever surprised on Tuesday morning!!

That is our latest addition to the family, and will probably be it. We are thinking the dog will grow to about 12 pounds, and he is 6 pounds now. He sure is a cute puppy!

Our family is growing again.

More details next post.

He couldn't get it up...

The KITE. What were YOU thinking on my family blog???!

Molly wanted her picture taken on Friday morning before school, so here she is in all of her glory.

This Saturday was the annual Walk for Autism here in State College. I taught Parker last year and I have his sister Ava this year. He is an incredible kid from an incredible family, so we do what we can to support him. Look who Mikey saw!!

I apologize for the blurry pictures - there was a smudge on my lens....

I took Michael to lunch at the restaurant of his choice after we did the walk. McDonalds, which surprised me! I expected Indian or Korean. I asked him what the best part of his day had been. His answer? "Spending time with you." Right back atcha, Mikey.

Something to blog about...

Hmmm. I'm at a loss this time. I want it to be something interesting enough to READ, but my life is so mundane lately.

Molly had 2 birthday parties this weekend. She's now at the age where you "Stop, Drop and Run". I've discovered this means new-found freedom! Each day I had 2 (count 'em - TWO) hours to do whatever I wanted to. With no kids. And nothing really to do. SO, I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to get my K-cups for my morning tea. Then, I went to Sam's to return some shorts I had gotten for Mikey. They were way too big. I strolled around and tasted some foods, and got a fantastic recipe for beans I'll make for the Blue/White game next weekend. I went to Barnes and Noble to spend my Christmas gift cards from my kids at school. I ran to McDonald's to get a sweet tea and a fry (one of my downfalls). Then I went back to get Molly, feeling refreshed and happy.

Sunday was reserved for Michael's and Wegman's, both with no kids. Ah...the joy of birthday parties.

Next weekend I won't have nothing to do because it is during the Annual Autism Walk here at PSU. I'd rather do the walk than have nothing to do, and it's for a great cause. Parker, who I taught last year, has autism. I looked at a kids' book at Barnes and Noble about a friend with autism, but I didn't want to buy it. I really don't think Mikey and Molly REALIZE he has autism. He's just Parker. So, why introduce it until they notice? It'll wait...

Oh, speaking of autism. Chris, Mikey and Molly were the picture on the front of the flyer this year! It was of Chris and the kids in the wagon. It made us laugh. The funniest part? The local PBS station did a show on Parker to air last weekend for Autism Month. After the interview they were talking about how wonderful the walk was, and how it was for a good cause to "help families like these". And THEN, they showed the picture of Chris, Mikey and Molly!!!

I wonder who they thought had autism in that picture. I'll have to show them this year that they have been miraculously cured! Is that spelled right? I can't figure out how to do spell-check on this thing.

Now, for a picture. This is Molly when we lived in Colorado Springs, and is our screen saver right now. I love it!

What a great vacation!!

Once I recovered from the flu went went out to Wright Patt for Col. Z's retirement. He was Chris's boss when we got married and quickly became a family friend. He flew out to CO to visit us three times while we were there, and has come here as well. We just LOVE him.

Anyway...

Here we are at the luncheon after the ceremony.

The kids absolutely adore him. He even got them gifts and presented them to the kids. Talk about feeling special!! He and Tami took a lot of time out of their week to hang out with us and the kids, which was great. It was like we were on a real vacation!

We ate several meals together and just hung out at their house. It was great to laugh together.

I also got to visit with Julie and heat emboss some cards with her, and met Jenny Bruss for breakfast. I love First Watch!! I ate a crepe filled with whipped eggs, bacon, turkey, avocado, tomato and cheese topped with sour creme and homemade salso. Picture the plate with home fries and a hot English muffin, and can you say YUM?? I lost 2 dress sizes with the flu, so I have to make sure I don't put them right back on!!

OH, I almost forgot!! Today we got Molly's hair cut. I was walking down Calder Alley and saw a sign at a real salon for a Cut-A-Thon benefiting the United AIDS Foundation. Haircuts were only $9! She wanted a change, so here you go. Three years of hair on the floor, since she didn't have much until she was two. ha ha

And it isn't the best picture, but she now has a bob just at her shoulders. It is so stinkin' CUTE!!

The flu bug has hit. But I don't think I look yellow!

In Molly's defense, she said she only had yellow, green and red crayons in the pew at church.

So Much To Tell.

Last weekend I had a girls weekend in Baltimore. Boy, was it great. We didn't really party and were asleep by 10:30 and up by 7 both mornings, but we had so much fun! We stayed at Fell's Point right on the water and they had the most delicious breakfast! Fresh fruit (canteloupe, honeydew, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, bananas, pineapple, grapes) granola, oatmeal, various cereals, 3 different kinds of breakfast breads, muffins, doughnuts, bagles with 3 cream cheeses, coffee, teas, juices, milks, yogurt...you get the picture! It was a great way to start the day.

Next, it was off to the Inner Harbor for a little shopping!

We spent a LONG time in the Swatch store and managed to get lots of watches 1/2 off! The salesgirl was so patient with us. But I think we managed to amuse her.

After shopping for hours we needed to eat. Where? The Cheesecake Factory!! I got my favorite Avacado Eggrolls. Absolute heaven.

Then, Lisa had decided she wanted to get a tattoo. After researching before we got to town, she settled on the Tattoo Museum. A very good choice once we got there! What a great reputation they have, and it was something "different" to do on a Saturday afternoon. That wore us out, so while Lisa napped we watched a rivoting Lifetime movie on tv. Hey, it was good to just relax!!

We all woke up early on Sunday morning and decided to head down to D.C. to see some monuments. It was a beautiful sunny day and a lot of fun!

We never actually went to the Capitol, but I did manage to take a picture from the Washington Monument. It saved us from walking.... :-)

Next it was off to see the WW II Memorial. I had never seen this one!

Of course, we had to take a picture of the White House, even though we didn't manage to get all the way over to it, either.!

We finished our journey at The Natural History Museum before eating at CPK on the way out of town!

And at CPK I got my favorite Thai Crunch chicken salad with no onions or scallions, but with guacamole. YUM!
A very enjoyable weekend away from home, I must admit. Some time with just grownup girlfriends does a body good.

EXCELLENT Pictures!!

No, not mine. I can only dream these are mine! These were taken by a husband of a fellow Mom's Club member. Check THESE out!!

Pat-a-cake

I got bored this weekend, so I decided to bake. I found some NEW recipes and went for it. This was "Brownie Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting". They were not difficult, but each one has almost 400 calories and about 19 grams of fat. SO, they are heart attacks in a muffin cup. But yummy.

They are very rich and very brownie-like in texture. But I can eat almost anything with a cream cheese frosting! Just not a lot of it...

Then, on Monday I had bananas that I needed to bake with as they were a little past eating condition. I googled and here is what I came up with:

Banana Nut Muffins with an Orange Glaze

I wasn't sure at all about having an orange glaze on banana nut muffins, but let me tell you - there's no going back! I don't think I'll ever make a plain banana nut anything again!

Then, I found this. Chocoate - Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Muffins

To be honest, I haven't even tried these yet. But my friends at Bunko, school and book club loved them! When I have more time I'll post the recipes in the sidebar like Amy does, but I haven't quite mastered that yet.

We also had the lunar eclipse. Here are some pictures from my driveway. Not great, but I never claimed to be a photographer!! These were taken while I was shivering in the driveway:

I love baking and taking the food places. I just know that the eating part won't help me lose any weight!