So Many things.....

Hello to all of my Blogger Buds out there! First things first....A moment of silence for the former coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Bill Walsh, who died today at the age of 75.... My dad grew up going to the niner's games at Candlestick Park and I've never been to a game, but my dad raised me right and I'm a niner's fan. Actually my dad and I are hoping to go to a game in November.


Moving on...I was a bit crafty yesterday! I made a memo board for my parent's family room. I've never done it before, and it turned out pretty good. I learned from the process!

I've been helping my parents re-do their family room over the last several months. I made some art for the wall, shopped for accessories, designed the entertainment/wall/desk unit (it was professionally made), and picked out the paint color. It is still a work in progress, but it is shaping up. My parents still need to make the big purchase of the flat screen to go in the middle.




Today I went to IKEA!! I got to go by MYSELF because my kiddos are at day camp! I'm gonna LOVE LOVE LOVE this store when we are building, decorating our new house! I only spent $7 today, but I was walking around the store looking at the prices and literally getting GIDDY inside! I was realizing that with IKEA, my dream studio/office will be possible!!!

TV: HGTV's Design Star....the girl who got cut DESERVED IT! But so did 2 other people who got to stay. I love watching Color Splash, which is the show from last year's Design Star winner. David B. is AMAZINGLY TALENTED!!! I wish I had his artistic abilities.

Oh, I got my 40 min. walk in this morning! BONUS!
That's all for today!

While the boys are away.....

On Friday my guys left to go hiking and camping. Colt was so excited! It was adorable. Almost as big as his excitement was his backpack! It was hilarious to watch him try to walk when he first put it on. I can't wait to hear all about it when they get home.

Since they have been gone, Emily and I have been doing "girl stuff"
On Friday night we made chocolate chip cookies for the middle school ministry camp next week. Curse those chewy chocolaty cookies....I ate too many of them....but they were soooo irresistable!



Saturday morning we headed downtown to the Farmer's Market. We ended up running into some friends and shopped around for a bit. Then it was off to the salon for some pedicures!


Next stop was the craft store. We stocked up on supplies to head home and get crafty. We made crowns, because every girl is a princess.


About that time we were hungry, so we headed off to Red Robin for dinner. Then to Borders Books and we topped off the evening at Cold Stone! Oh my goodness I ate WAY TOO many sweets on girls weekend!

All the girl time was great. And most importantly Emily said it was a really fun day! This last pic is just for fun, because I was messing around in Picasa.
My blue eyed girl!

This is me

Today, I thought that instead of showing you things other people have done, I'd show you some things that I've done. This will give you a picture of what I enjoy to do.....and how I'm a little crazy about details!

First I've included some pictures of a baby shower I threw last year for my friend Beckie. I don't have a picture of the invitation, but first I designed that, and then I designed the cake and decorations around it. I'm totally into details and I love how it's the small details that really stand out and pull a theme together.















The next picture is of a wedding cake I did for someone at church last fall. She gave me total creative freedom. So I decided to try something new. I covered it in thin layers of white chocolate. It was a bit of a risk, but it turned out pretty cool. First I have the pic of it completed at my house, and then the pic of the final presentation at the wedding.





This is a picture from my daughter's 5th birthday. The detail I wanted to point out was the chairs. I took pillow cases and "slipcovered" the chairs to dress them up and make the table seem special. It was so easy, but it added so much! Also, your table chandeliers are a great thing to use to add height to your table presentation by hanging things from them.





Here is a fun idea for dessert if you are planning a little dinner party, or even for a girlfriends birthday. They are ice cream "cappuccino cups" I bought the chocolate covered bowls from cold stone and then I made the question mark shaped handles to hang off the side. Fill it with some sort of coffee flavored ice cream, top with whip cream and chocolate shavings and voila! It's sooo simple and it makes people say WOW!





besides cake decorating and hosting I love to decorate. Here are some pics of my daughter's room. These pics are actually from when we first moved in. I had to use this one becuase I wish it still looked like this! This was when she was still little and therefore before she started collecting "junk" and storing it in her room! She wants to keep everything! So please indulge me in reminiscing about the good ole days!




Well, that gives you a broader picture of some of the things I enjoy doing. I'll share some of my computer design stuff soon.

TURKEY!!

Fun with friends: I went bowling with my friends Carol and Anita. It was fun to just hang out, talk, laugh, and bowl. My first game I only bowled a 107. But my second game I bowled a 159!! In that game I bowled like 5 or 6 strikes and 3 of those were in a row....that is called a TURKEY! I got to bowl in my "new" bowling shoes that I picked up at the goodwill...heyI hear you saying "gross"..... that's what socks are for!

TV: Ok, if you haven't noticed by now I'm a bit of a TV junkie....that's why I love my DVR! So I actually watched an episode of "Scott Baio 45 and single" ....don't judge me.... it was funny! (btw...Scott Baio played Chachi on Happy Days & Joni loves Chachi) He's trying to figure out what his problem is and why he's never been married. Anyway, he hired a life coach and she asked him who "his first" was and....IT WAS JONI (the actress who played Joni)!! His quote was, "Joni DID love Chachi! Like I've never heard that before!".....I laughed out loud.

Family: It was my FIL's birthday tonight so we had a BBQ with the fam. Eating ribs just makes me happy! My sis and her kids are coming in a few days from LV, NV. My neice is playing in a National softball tournament. Seems like just yesterday I was playing at Nationals....but it was more like 17 years ago.....YIKES! Dang, I'm getting old!

Silver

Well, today I went and got rid of my "silver" hairs! I love a good cut and color to make me feel refreshed.
Recently though, I aquired some silver that is very special. My mom gave me my great-great-grandmother's silver coffee & tea service set. I shined it up and it looks fantastic! It's so pretty!
I love that it has family heritage tied to it. I will pass it on to my daughter or grandchild someday!

When it Rains....it POURS!

Normally I do a graphic design side job about every few months. Then usually when I get one, I get another right on top of it. This week I have an ad, two real estate flyers, and a birthday invite that looks like a magazine cover.
How is it that it always happens that way? I'm not compaining though......shopping here I come!
Well, I can't shop 'til next week because I'm too busy this week!!
I'll post my "works of art" when they are completed.
enjoy the sunshine!

Busy Blogger

I'm a busy blogger today......
But since the organized studios got the most comments on my blog so far, I thought I'd point ya'll in the direction to get organized. I found this cool wall mounted organizer and the accessories that go with it on sale (it is still a bit spendy, but if nothing else it can give you some ideas)
copy this link to find these items http://www.keeponcrafting.com

Lovin' It!

Ok, so I am NOT a Martha Stewart fan as far as Martha herself.....but I gotta give it to the girl.....she's good! Have you checked out her new craft line at Michaels? FANTABULOUS! This is the kind of stuff I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! And if you use a Michaels 40% off coupon you can actually get this stuff at a reasonable price! Cheap Beauty....is there anything better?
go to www.marthastewart.com and then scroll to the bottom and click on the Martha Stewart crafts icon to see more great stuff.

Debates

Today on CNN at 7pm ET and 4pm PT they are airing the YouTube presidential debates. People from all over the country submitted video questions, and they will show the videos and then the candidates will answer the questions. I'm not much for watching debates, but this one sounds interesting!

One down.....

Well, we sold our travel trailer today! Now I have to go through it and pack up our stuff to get it ready for the people to pick up tomorrow night.

Now we just have to sell our house!

At homegroup tonight the women were talking about playing on an indoor soccer team together.....Oh the comical memories that could come from that experience. Could be fun....we'll see.

Went to the Portland Beavers Baseball game last night. Both kids got a ball. The centerfielder made two AMAZING catches. I mean AMAZING!!! The third baseman couldn't throw the ball to first base to save his own life! Beavers lost. But good times were had by all.

Can you say...JEALOUS?

I've been searching blogs and I have found a lot of craft studios that I'm totally jealous of and are giving me inspiration for mine in the new house. I'm not the best at maintaining organization, but I love "pretty organization"..............and I WANT IT!! (I think the top one is actually a potterybarn mag pic, but it's fabulous!)

Keep and eye on my "Blogs that Inspire Me" list. It will have additions as I go. They are great blogs to check out for ideas and inspiration (most likely creatively and decoratively speaking).
check out the one titled "another creative blog" for a look at a truly FANTABULOUS studio!

She finally said it!

I have a neice, named Alyenna, and she says a name for everybody in the family except me....until today that is! I've been trying to get her to call me Aunt Shan. Today she started calling me "Au". Just the beginning sound of Aunt. Hey, that works for me!

She is spending the night with us tonight. She and Emily got dressed up in princess dresses, but Aly wasn't too thrilled with it. She is a TALKER and a MOVER! Always on the go! I forget how much more attentiveness they require at this age.

Emily is a little mother. Such a helper!

Why EightCrazy?

EightCrazy?: So why EightCrazy a few people have asked me....growing up I played sports.
I was always the number 8. If that number wasn't available I'd pick a number that could be 8...
like in volleyball I was number 24 (2 x 4=8) or 24 divided by 3 (the 3 elements of volleyball...bump, set, spike) =8.
My wedding ring...4 diamond wraps on each side equaling 8
My mom doesn't call me Shannon, she calls me 8 and she calls my sister 1 because that was always her number. We would also do the number switch thing if we couldn't be our original number for some reason....like all through college softball my sister was number 8.
My obsession with the number 8 all started because I was a little sister who wanted to be like her big sister. So, I remember her saying once that her fav number was 8 and instantly it was mine. It stuck!
Now you are in the know!

Time to fess up....'Cause you've done it too!

If you read my last blog you know that I had a very funny thought about a blind person getting a driver's license. But I know you have all had thoughts like that. I won't call them "blonde moments" (guess I just did) because I love all my beautiful blonde friends, I call them "funny thoughts." So I thought everyone should share!!! Comment below to share a funny thought you may have recently had. Let's all have a good laugh at the expense of one another. You can post anonymously so no one has to know!

Hello Hormones!

Current Drama: I've lived my entire "womanhood" without having PMS.....that is until the last few months! My husband would confirm that my cycle never use to affect me emotionally...he would also confirm that all of a sudden IT DOES! I feel like a freak. Random tears. Conversations with my hubby...leading to tears. Neither of us know what to do with me.

Funny thought: went to the DMV to renew my license. I got in the car afterwards and put on my sunglasses. Then I had the thought, "Do blind people get to wear their sunglasses in their driver's license photo?"...........a second later............."Hello, blind people can't drive you idiot!" ....Hey, don't judge me, you know you've all had a really dumb thought now and again!

TV: watched Age of Love last night. How many times can that girl possibly cry? She got the boot, and it was about time. I can't believe she was able to pass any sort of mental stablity test to get on the show in the first place.

House: I think we've nailed down a new plan for the house. The original one was too big. Simplify. Ready to move forward now.

First Time

My first blog post. I don't like to type too much, so my words may be scattered, my sentences incomplete.

Life is crazy. House for sale. Travel Trailer for sale.
New house plans incomplete and up in the air.
Tired of keeping my house clean for showings!

Just finished leading crafts all week at VBS for church....
best moment.... when a first grade boy came back into the room to tell me that "This was a nice craft." My heart melted. I pray the hearts of children were changed forever last week!

Creatively Speaking: Getting ready to work on an ad for a local realtor. It don't pay the bills, but it can buy mama a new pair of shoes!