Elk Country PA

Here are a few pictures of our recent trip to see the PA Elk. Elk were once a native population in PA but had disappeared a long time ago... The Elk we have now are Rocky Mountain Elk. The small population they brought in really took hold and is flourishing.

Here are two bulls fighting... really cool hearing the click clack of antlers. And Elk have a thing called Whistle teeth... they can blow through them and make a high pitched whistle, and these guys were doing that too.

Here is a calf... isn't he cute!!

Sorry this one is sideways... this guy was right up eating grass in someones yard.

And here is a cool picture I took of the early morning sky!!

An Exciting Week.

Things really began to take off this week with our new addition. Before this week there were only a few stakes in the yard marking the area. Then last Saturday we came home and found this beauty in our yard!!

The contractor arrived first thing Tuesday morning, since Monday was a Holiday. He started by cutting through a cement slab where there used to be a shed. The noise level was horrible but thankfully it didn't take him long.
Next he began to dig out the hole where our cement slab and then foundation would go. Jac had a fantastic time watching the digger when he got home from school.
After two days of getting the hole just right, and marking out the foundation, it was time for cement. I had never really watched cement being pored so it was pretty exciting for me.
This is the slab as they got it almost done... smoothing and checking it make sure it was level.
The only sad part was that I headed off to town and by the time I got back and Jac got home from school it was too hard to write our names or put our hand prints in it.

Why yes that is

a first place ribbon.

This is the project I made for the Crawford County Fair this year. It was in the gift wrapping category, and I was so excited when I went up and saw that giant blue ribbon with it. It really made my week, that's for sure.

I love _________because it reminds me of________.

I love yellow, because it reminds me of all things sunny, happy, and warm. Yellow is not my favorite color but it does for me carry a lot of emotion. I find it very hard to look at yellow and not feel happy, or sunny inside.

Blank wall, cricut, contact paper, and you've got...

Instant home decor. Since we'd moved I'd find myself staring at the blank space above the entertainment center. Then just the other day it hit me, animal silhouettes. I had the means to cut them with my Cricut Expression, but what material to use. Then at Home Depot I found black leather textured contact paper... PERFECT. Yesterday I set about cutting out the animal shapes, and I'm pretty pleased with how it looks and how it fits in with my safari themed living room.

Pymatuning Spillway

This is what we did today on my husband's day off. We headed out to Linesville PA, to see the newly remodeled spillway. This is a place I have visited nearly every year of my life. Now some people have told me they find it gross, but it never gets old to me.
This is a view of the carp down in the actual spillway along with this really cool giant lily pad. The motto of the spillway is Where the Ducks Walk on the Fish... Pymatuning Lake is so full of carp that the ducks could really walk on them.
Here is a picture of the spillway where the fish sometimes fall over into the pit, which opens up on the other side of the road.
Here is a lovely view of the sun hitting on the lake and the ducks and geese swimming.
We also stopped at the fish hatchery where they have this big tank with lots of different kinds of fish. You can walk downstairs and look into windows for a closer view.

If you ever happen to be in the area and want to go give me a call!!

I've been Tagged....

So 7 things you don't know about me...

1. I went to England when I was 7
2. I love pepperoni and eat it out of the bag most days
3. I have Raynauds Phenomenon... really how many people have a phenomenon?
4. I am an only child
5. I can write with my toes
6. I love pound puppies
7. I have two and half tattoos

Now I'm gonna tag some people feel free to do this or not the tagger police won't come get you if you don't... Marianne, Kelli, Wendy, Karla, Jennifer C, Rosemary, and Vern... tag your all it.

Sea Dragon

The Sea Dragon how cool is this guy? We saw them on our recent trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo, and PPG Aquarium. I think if I saw it in the wild I would think it was nothing more than a floating pile of leaves... and they move so gracefully... truly amazing creatures.

The layout is based on a sketch from Scraptown.com's newest newsletter... head over and check it out.

New Addition

Here it is... our new couch. We recently moved to a new house with a smaller living room so we decided to get new bigger furniture... so our new sectional sofa.

It's taking a little time to get used to it, but I think in a few days we'll all have found our comfort zones. In the bottom picture is Jac trying to zoom out before I took the picture... looks like he wasn't fast enough.

What is My Color Personality?

I'm a Yellow Personality!!

Like yellow's strongest symbol, the sun, you radiate warmth. Others love to be around you because you have a gift for always looking on the bright side, and your ready smile can be infectious. Chances are your calendar is packed -- yellow lovers tend to be always on the go! Your signature color indicates someone imaginative and creative, so don't be afraid to express yourself through the way you dress and the way you decorate your home. Cheerful yellow is the ideal hue for a kitchen, laundry room, or any room that needs some extra brightness.

Find your color personality here: http://www.bhg.com/bhg/quiz.jsp?catref=cat740170&quizId=/templatedata/bhg/quiz/data/whatsyourcolorpersonality_10232003.xml

Geocaching adventures

Dear Husband and I went Geocaching the other day on our Anniversary... it was really a great day together. Nice and quiet out in the outdoors just the two of us. He took these awesome pictures while we were out. I have no idea what the top flowers are but they sure were pretty. Below is some sort of neat-o fungus. We found 10 caches which is the most I've ever found in one day... I have some online caching friends who put that to shame...

Project as Promised!!!

Okay so I've created this card... but hadn't posted it because I couldn't think of anything for it to say... so if any of you have any ideas I'd be happy to hear them.

The scan isn't really doing it justice either... I stamped the jar on transparency then attached it behind a hole I cut in the front of the card... then the fishy and the water are attached to the inside of the card... he looks more like he's swimming in real life.

Have you seen these adorable stamps?

This is one of the Super cute stamps sets from Close To My Heart... I just love it... in fact I think I'm headed off right now to use it... so check back soon to see the stamps in action....


Little Treasures!!

A Long over due update.

Let's see it's been over a month since I posted... bad blogger! Things were a little crazy in my life one of my safety nets looked like it was about to fall apart and that was really stressful for me. We've also been doing all kinds of fun summer stuff... like the beach, bike riding that sort of thing. My baby turned 6... can you believe it 6!! We had two partys for him this year a family party and his first friend party. That same night we had a suprise 49 1/2 party for my dad... and boy was he suprised.

This week Jac has been at Kamp 4 Kids a Christian day camp. At first I expected that he wouldn't like it and wouldn't want to go back but boy was I wrong... he loved it and would probably go another week if they had it. Tonight is the program can't wait to see what they do.

Daily Blog Builder Question #10

I've decided to start at the end and go up...

10.What is something you wish you never had to worry about again?

I think that this one is almost too easy to answer... MONEY seems like simply having that one thing always taken care of would take care of a lot of other things as well...

A Belated Thank You

Every once in a while inspiration will strike... this time it came from Bowling For Soup their song My Hometown. In the lyrics they thank all the people who have helped them through the years... especially people who may not know all they did. So here is my list:

Mr. Wentworth... How could I ever thank you enough.. you steered me away from the trouble I was getting myself into, you gave me a place, you gave me confidence, you gave me serious skills with a flag pole, and you gave me some of the best memories of my high school years. Thank you so much.

Mrs. Wilcox... High school English teacher. Not only did you teach me the proper use of a comma but you gave me a confidence boost when I most needed it. Then when I was off to college you appeared there one day when I most needed someone. Thanks so much.

All My college friends... so many to list but really with out you I never would have graduated. I would have given up and went home but in different ways you all helped me to stay.. Thanks Paula, Kelly, Diane, Karen, Jenn, and Joy...

And to all of the obvious choices my parents, my other family, and my dh husband. Well you all know how much I love and appreciate you!

Thank You All!

Controling the Remotes

For once I am in control of the remotes and this is the reason why:

This handy little container is made from coasters... the paper and ribbon are a new line from Close to My Heart... good stuff.

My Summer Home

Here is a picture of my new summer cottage...

Don't you just love it?

This is my latest craft project. The base is the awesome new house from Doodlebug Designs. I covered it with card stock cut with my Cricut. And then slathered the whole thing with a coat of Mod Podge... Thanks for looking.

A Big Plug

On May 18 Scraptown.com will have a weekend crop... games, prizes, challenges, tons of scrapping, and tons of fun... so please stop by town and check it out.

Food for Thought

The challenge this time is to describe our food likes and dislikes..

Okay so my most favorite food has to be chicken... most any way you cook it i'll eat it... umm so tasty, so moist when cooked right, smells so good... and lets face you can cook chicken just about any way with anything and it's good... unfortunately my dh is all chickened out and on a serious red meat kick... which makes my list of do not eats...

but topping my dislike list has to be Tuna Fish... and would you like to know why. my parent were on a kick when i was younger to break my picky eating habits... so I was to try everything. Well one day tuna and noodles came up and my father and I had a huge fight about it and ended up sitting at the table till like Midnight when I finally finished it. He won that battle but I won overall since he never made me try anything I didn't want to again....

Things i'll never get to....

Blog Builder #1 from Scraptown....

Things I'll never get to tell a daughter....

1. What it will feel like when she gets that first kiss... that little twitter of excitement and fear all at the same time.
2. How scary yet exciting that first period will be.
3. How to protect herself from those in the world that may not have the best intentions.
4. How beautiful she looks in an Easter Dress, flower girl dress, prom dress, or most of all a wedding dress.
5. That other girls can be mean, so hold your head high and do your best to show them what they think doesn't matter, even when it does.
6. No matter what the scale says your beautiful.
7. I love you!

On The Move

We are officially on the move. Three out of four rooms are painted and DH just went off to finish the last while I head to church. Then we'll probably make several trips today back and forth. Sent my camera with DH so those pictures will be coming soon. I think by the end of the week though I could need something to help me calm my nerves....

Design Dynamo

Just wanted to mention that I've been selected for the 6th designer challenge at Scraptown!! How awesome is that? Got my kit yesterday... and it is soo awesome hope to do it justice! Scraptown also has some other cool contests going on right now... head over to Scraptown and check them out. Any member with 50 posts can participate... you'll find the challenges listed in the Town Hall Forum under Scraptown Contests....

An Anxiety Producing Moment

Our house is officially now on the market to sell. I'm ready to move but also sad to see this part of my life ending. This is my first house as a married woman, my sons whole life so far has been spent here. I'm also worried about the people coming in and out to look at the house... the needing to keep it tidy and picked up... all that Jazz. Hopefully though we'll be in the new house by the end of the month, then that won't be an issue.

The packing is a whole other story too. Going through all our stuff, trying to purge before packing, then moving it all and unpacking it... what a chore. Stay tuned for pictures of the new digs as soon as possible.

Just the Beginning

So I read a lot of blogs, been thinking about my own blog... then the challenge was raised at scraptown.com so here I am with my own blog. I hope that I'm "good" at this but only time will tell.