Miami Dolphins PS Game #3 August 28, 2010

Fanless and I scored free tickets (yay!) to the Miami Dolphins vs. Atlanta Falcons game last night. We went to the game with Fanless’ coworker and his son, and picked up our tickets at the Will Call. Although our seats were pretty good (section 129, right at the endzone), our “neighbors” totally sucked ass.

 

Unfortunately, we were seated smack dab in the center of the most obnoxious children ever. Directly to my left were about 30 of the most ill-behaved adolescent boys (if I had to guess, I would say they were probably between 10-14 years old) I have ever seen in my life. Apparently they were some kind of sports team or something, and I guess this was like a field trip for them. However, it seemed to me as if they were completely unsupervised by any adults, as they were yelling loudly and throwing ice and popcorn at the other fans in our section, and no one bothered to reprimand them. (Seriously, they could have served as a PSA for proponents of pro-spanking!)  The kid right next to me really needed some Ritalin or Adderall or something, as he could not sit still and ended up smacking me in the head and arms at least three times, with all his jumping around. Then directly behind me was a chubby, 7-year-old that was screaming obscenities in my ear (and let me tell you, this kid’s voice makes Justin Bieber sound like a baritone) the entire time. My ears were ringing as if I’d just spent the night sitting behind the speaker at a Judas Priest concert. Oh yeah, and his dad was with him, but was just as annoying. Fanless was seated to my right and next to him was a mother and her teenaged daughter, both of whom were so trashy they make Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears seem like the Princesses of York. So THAT girl kept jumping up and getting into screaming matches with the ADULT male seated a couple of rows behind us, who also appeared to be the only Falcons fan in the immediate area.

 

It was the most miserable sporting event experience of my life. If you ask me what happened in the game I could not give you one single detail, as I was completely unable to pay attention with my blood pressure rising and the latino rage building up inside me. I was ready to leave after the first 5 minutes, and if I’d had my own car with me, I would have. The entire time I kept imagining my dad, with the black leather belt I used to get spanked with, just swooping in there like the Tasmanian Devil and laying down “la ley.” Trust me, every single one of these kids needed to be sent to Cuban Parents’ Boot Camp for a couple of weeks, as there is no disciplinary training in the world tougher than a Latino parents’!

 

Anyway, here are a few pictures I took in order to distract myself from my surroundings.

 

Oh yeah, and the Dolphins lost.

 

Peace out, yo!

Craft Area Redo – Part 2 August 25, 2010

As promised, more detailed photos of the scrap room reorganization. I’ll try to be brief, but as informational as possible. (Warning: Photo Heavy!)

 

So let’s start with the new shelf, from top to bottom…

 

On top of the shelf are: Lesser used items

1. Back – (boxes) Some newer items that I haven’t used yet and I’m saving for later.
2. Back – (clear plastic bin) Mini-albums that are assembled/decorated, but have no photos.
3. Front Row – (pink wire basket) Completed mini-albums; (silver basket and little box) ATCs I’ve received in swaps; (Hello Kitty bucket) Exacto blades, large bottles of Mod Podge and UTEE, and gluesticks.

 

First Shelf: Alphas and the majority of my embellishments

1. Far left – (back, not shown) All my Thickers; (front, pink wire basket) other non-Thickers alphas.
2. Center – (pink and purple baskets) Miscellaneous embellishments, ie, stickers, chipboard shapes, ghost shapes, etc.
3. Far right – (back, not shown) There are 3 clear cases holding my wood-mounted and larger acrylic stamps/sets (in their own packaging). On top of those are 2 pink containers. The bottom one holds decorative tapes (mostly MM and HS); the top one holds buttons (misc/open stock). Next to that stack, are thick chipboard diecuts and stickers from 3 Birds (in their own packaging), American Crafts chipboard shapes, and a small jar of mini-chipboard letters.
4. Front – (silver tins) L to R: (1) chipboard letters, (2) journaling cards and tags, and (3) Dymo labelmaker and buttons (in their own packaging).

 

Second Shelf: Kits, books and embellies

1. Back row – The left half are collections from specific brands (MM, K&Co, BG, etc). The right half are kits (mostly Noel Mignon). On the far right are a few idea books (The Dares, Elsie’s 52 Scrapbooking Challenges, etc.)
2. Front row, L to R – (pink basket) Adhesive/refills for my tape runners; (top, pink & blue lunchbox) Mini ribbon spools and “stiffer” ribbons; (bottom, clear pink box) Small ribbon spools; (top, in jar) Lace and ribbon scraps; (bottom, dark pink container) Mini-staplers, colored staples, corner rounders; (green mini lunchboxes) Tiny embellies such as brads and bling; (far right) Crate Paper chipboard alphas.

 

Third Shelf: (This one is probably the easiest to get through)

1. Back row – paper pads/packs and open stock paper
2. Front row, L to R – (bottom) Alpha stickers from the $1 store (like wannabe Thickers); (white mini-bucket) Miscellaneous tools, deco scissors (I never use these but I think they look pretty in the carousel); (striped box) Larger ribbon spools; (Hello Kitty zipper case) Fabric and paper flowers; (blue bucket) punches.

 

This is a semi-sideview of the entire shelf. I skipped the bottom shelf (where you see the pink shoebox-looking things) because it’s just seasonal/holiday collections, scraps (I save them for cards, bookmarks, etc) and misc items, like markers and ephemera.

Punches are what I use most often, so I wanted them within easy reach when I’m sitting at the table. This basket holds Martha Stewart and Tonic punches. (See photo above.)

 

My table top:

 

The left side of my table:

L to R –

1. (black carousel) My most often used tools, ie, scissors, exacto knives, paper piercer, glue pens, etc.
2. (clear drawers) Date stamp, stamp pad, hole punch and journaling pens/markers
3. (pink carousel) Tape runners, pop dots, and small glue bottles
4. (pink mini-tower) Larger or shaped brads, clips, etc
5. (back) Large bottle of Alene’s Tacky Glue
6. Colorbox ink; mini alpha stamps
7. On the wall, are my embroidery thread/needles (in the pink pouch) and all my rulers (I just put a small nail in the wall and all the rulers have holes that I can hang them from)

 

The right side of my table:

L to R:

1. (silver tin) Photos to be scrapped
2. (Making Memories organizer) Large paper trimmer, small paper trimmer, stapler, Corner Chomper, foam tape, liquid glue, BasicGrey precision file set. (The drawers just have stuff like scoring blades, foam sponges for inking, and Dymo refill tape.)

 

To the right of the table are more punches (mostly Fiskars border punches) that I wanted within easy reach. Just below the basket is my Crop-o-Dile (in its own case).

The basket of punches sits on top of this rack that holds my cardstock, also within easy reach.

 

So that’s it – my new, ultra-organized, super-convenient, craft space. I love it!

Craft Area Redo – Part 1

Disclaimer: Some of these pics were taken with my phone at about 1:30AM, so they are not the greatest quality.

 

For my birthday, Fanless got me an industrial-ish shelf from Home Depot that I had been wanting for my scrap/craft area. I had previously been using these narrow bookshelves:

…(they’re the kind you get at places like Office Depot for $20) – for storing my scrap supplies and they were so cramped and not at all useful.

 

This new shelf is intended for use in a basement or garage-type storage, so the shelves are much wider and deeper, and each shelf is higher, than my old ones. My goal was to have all my stuff stored in one place.

Can I just say right here and now that this is most super-awesome, mega-fantastic, absolute-bestesest birthday gift ever??

 

So after making this huge mess last night (and this only 1/2 of it; you can’t see the other side of the room that looks 10 times worse)…

And working into the wee hours  (okay, really, it was more like 1AM-ish, so not that wee), I finally ended up with a craft area that looked like this:

(Ooh… I guess my camera lens is dirty. Ignore the spots on the wall. They are not there IRL.)

And with the exception of some stamping stuff (clear stamps, embossing powders, acrylic blocks) and some blank mini-albums I haven’t worked on yet, which are in the drawer/cabinet thingy you see on the far left), all of my scrap supplies are contained on that shelf and in the paper rack on the right side of the desk.

 

More detailed photos to follow in the next post…

52 Lists: Five – My Summer Music Playlist…

Is entirely made up of songs I loved in my teens and 20s. (Click the song title if you want to see the video.)

 

1. “Head On” – The Jesus and Mary Chain

2. “No New Tale to Tell” – Love and Rockets

3. “Love Will Tear Us Apart” – Joy Division

4. “She Sells Sanctuary” – The Cult

5. “Master and Servant” – Depeche Mode

6. “Feed the Tree” – Belly

7. “Nearly Lost You” – Screaming Trees

8. “Talk About the Passion” – R.E.M.

9. “Little Fury Things” – Dinosaur Jr.

10. “Sick of Myself” – Matthew Sweet

11. “Pepper” – Butthole Surfers

12. “Into Your Arms” – The Lemonheads

13. “Prove My Love” – Violent Femmes

14. “I Wanna Be Adored” – The Stone Roses

15. “Lips Like Sugar” – Echo & the Bunnymen

16. “Sweet Sweet Baby” – Lone Justice

17. “Alison” – Elvis Costello

18. “Common People” – Pulp

19. “Punk Rock Girl” – Dead Milkmen

20. “California Uber Alles” – Dead Kennedys

 

Ahh… good times…

 

(Side note: I updated my scrap/craft area, so I’ll be posting about that next.)

52 Lists: Four – Things I Wish I Had Right Now… August 18, 2010

If time, money, logistics, and allergies were not a factor.

 

This cute house:

::source::

 

This view:

::source::

 

This super-fun home office:

::source::

 

Tickets to a Snow Patrol concert:

::source::  I dare you to listen to “Just Say Yes” without a big smile on your face. That song just makes me so silly-happy.

 

A sweet, little Maltipoo:

::source::  Darn allergies! =(

 

A trip to Leavenworth, WA

::source:: 

 

A Toyota Yaris:

::source::  I have no idea why I love this car so much, but I really want one.

 

That’s it. Peace out, yo!

I signed up… August 12, 2010

For Patty’s Big Blog Giveaway!

You should, too! Go here!

52 Lists: Three – Things I’m Loving Right Now August 11, 2010

I almost forgot it’s Wednesday and I need to post a new list.

 

Okay, so here’s a list of things I’m loving right now…

 

1. My pink and orange-striped pajama pants from Old Navy. So soft and comfy. I never want to take them off.

 

2. Watching movies on the laptop while laying in bed.

 

3. Reading. Again. I’ve read a bunch of books so far this year, I’m almost done with “The Madonnas of Echo Park,” AND there is a whole new stack on my nightstand, waiting to be read.

 

4. This song by Ash. Love! (Also, it makes me want to eat cake.)

 

5. Talking with Fanless about this year’s trip to Washington. Getting so excited to visit soon! Our friends, Kim and Brandon, (and their girls) will be moving into their new house in West Richland in a couple of months so we’ll get to spend a couple of days with them, as well as seeing Fanless’ family. Yay!

 

6. Looking forward to having dinner at my friend Regi’s house this Friday. We used to hang out all the time when we worked together but I haven’t seen her in a couple of years. It’ll be nice to have some much needed girl time to catch up.

 

7. The yummy lunch I had today of tilapia and arroz con frijoles colorados, which were leftovers from dinner at my sister’s house yesterday.

 

8. The excellent customer service I received earlier today when I had to call 1-877-SEPHORA for

help with an online purchase. The girl I spoke to was awesome, and she added some extra free samples to my order.

 

9. This season of True Blood. It’s sooo good! Thank goodness, because last season sucked. =)

 

That’s it for now. Pretty short list, but they are all things that are making me happy right now.

Peace out, yo!

52 Lists: Two August 4, 2010

I realize that I never mentioned that this post was totally inspired by this one from Andrea of Hula-Seventy. I love her sweet blog and her 52 Lists project (52 lists in 52 weeks, one every Wednesday for a year) is totally inspiring.  I love making lists. Shopping lists, to-do lists, lists of songs, lists of things to remember, lists of things to forget… I even have the original Listography book and I want to collect all the other ones in the series. I guess I’m just a listaholic!

 

Anyway, list #1 would be the “What I Would Tell Her Post”, so let’s try something simple for list #2…

 

20 Movies I Never Get Bored of Watching

These are the movies that I could watch (and probably have) a million times and never get tired of them.

 

1. Boondock Saints

2. American Psycho

3. Amelie

4. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

5. You’ve Got Mail

6. Sweet Home Alabama

7. Confessions of a Shopaholic

8. Dogma

9. Empire Records

10. That Thing You Do

11. Gossip

12. The Ugly Truth

13. Jurassic Park (the first one)

14. Evolution

15. Singles

16. The Mummy

17. 10 Things I Hate About You

18. Very Bad Things

19. High Fidelity

20. Office Space