Aloha, Back from Hawaii!

We had a great trip to Hawaii and came back to snowy weather. I will upload photos soon.

Today Stampin Up! announced the retiring accessories from the FALL WINTER COLLECTION. These items are only available while supplies last and they tend to go quickly. If you have a few items you would like to stock up on, don't delay as they go fast! Below I have the currrent list as of 10am today.

Retired Accessories List
Retired wheels and accessories are available while supplies last, so make sure you place your orders no later than January 1.

109198 Accents & Elements Borders & Blossoms
109199 Accents & Elements Little Reminders 2
109197 Accents & Elements Tagged
100700 Album Leather Post Black 8-1/2x11
105385 Album Linen Post Mellow Moss 8-1/2x11
104520 Album Linen Post Natural 8-1/2x11
104517 Album Linen Post Navy 8-1/2x11
105382 Album Linen Post Real Red 8-1/2x11
105392 Album Linen Ring Mellow Moss 8-1/2x11
104510 Album Linen Ring Natural 8-1/2x11
104513 Album Linen Ring Navy 8-1/2x11
105388 Album Linen Ring Real Red 8-1/2x11
105067 Boxes & Tags Pockets & Pieces Assortment I
105068 Boxes & Tags Pockets & Pieces Assortment II
108798 Boxes & Tags Tiny Takeout Confetti White
107246 Boxes & Tags Tiny Takeout Kraft
105747 Boxes Stamp & Supply Extra Large
105748 Boxes Stamp & Supply Extra Large Divided
105744 Boxes Stamp & Supply Extra Small
105749 Boxes Stamp & Supply Jumbo
105734 Boxes Stamp & Supply Large
105746 Boxes Stamp & Supply Medium
105745 Boxes Stamp & Supply Small
101052 Brayer Attachment Foam
107293 Cards & Envelopes Greeting Very Vanilla Medium
109149 Designer Series Paper Brocade Background
109161 Designer Series Paper Cerise
109162 Designer Series Paper Charbon
109155 Designer Series Paper Creepy Crawley
109152 Designer Series Paper Darling Doodles
109150 Designer Series Paper Dashing
108503 Designer Series Paper Petals & Paisleys
109156 Designer Series Paper Linen Prints
109147 Designer Series Paper Notations No. 2
109148 Designer Series Paper Outlaw
109158 Designer Series Paper Uptown
109157 Designer Series Paper Wintergreen
107285 Envelopes Open End Very Vanilla Large
107284 Envelopes Open End Whisper White Large
107296 Envelopes Shimmery White Medium
107287 Envelopes Square Vellum Large
107310 Envelopes Square Very Vanilla Mini
107294 Envelopes Vellum Medium
107290 Envelopes Very Vanilla Large
107291 Envelopes Whisper White Large
101016 Eyelet Tool Kit
105317 Eyelets Bold Brights II
105379 Eyelets Silver
105315 Eyelets Soft Subtles II
107282 Fancy Fibers Bella
107283 Fancy Fibers Elizabeth
103352 Stampin' Glitter Romantic Red
103349 Stampin' Glitter Silver Shine
106650 Greeting Glue
102620 Liquid Glue
103145 Page Protectors Post 8-1/2x11
104523 Page Protectors Ring 8-1/2x11
103598 Paper Vellum 12x12
105543 Pastel Refills Bold Brights
105544 Pastel Refills Earth Elements
105547 Pastel Refills Neutrals
105545 Pastel Refills Rich Regals
105546 Pastel Refills Soft Subtles
105962 Perfect Layers Tool
104184 Post Extenders
106522 Punch Spring Bouquet Flower
109722 Simply Scrappin' Creative License Hostess Level 1
109611 Simply Scrappin' Happy Me Hostess Level 3
109596 Simply Scrappin' Out & About
109626 Simply Scrappin' Primary Colors
109649 Simply Scrappin' Round Up
109635 Simply Scrappin' Secret Garden
109663 Simply Scrappin' Winter Bright
107415 Simply Sent Friendship Shapes
109230 Simply Sent Happy Day
105580 Spectrum Pad Blue Frost
101492 Spectrum Pad Celebration
105579 Spectrum Pad Cotton Candy
101336 Spectrum Pad Pumpkin Patch
100000 Spectrum Pad Un-inked
103953 Stamp-a-ma-jig Imaging Sheets Refill
104432 Stampin' Around Cartridge & Ink Refill Clear Embossing
101460 Stampin' Around Cartridge & Ink Refill Whisper White
102391 Stampin' Around Ink Refill Clear Embossing
103017 Stampin' Around Ink Refill Whisper White
103151 Stampin' Emboss Powder Hologram Highlights
105677 Stampin' Kids Pad Bear Brown
105676 Stampin' Kids Pad Beetle Black
105675 Stampin' Kids Pad Boxcar Blue
105674 Stampin' Kids Pad Gumball Green
105673 Stampin' Kids Pad Poppin' Purple
105672 Stampin' Kids Pad Princess Pink
105671 Stampin' Kids Pad Robin Red
105670 Stampin' Kids Pad Yahoo Yellow
103174 Stampin' Pastel Applicators
100852 Stampin' Pastel Erasers
100081 Stampin' Write Marker Going Gray
100945 StazOn Ink Refill Timber Brown
103088 StazOn Pad Timber Brown
107235 Tag Sheets Bold Brights
107239 Tag Sheets Confetti White & Kraft
107236 Tag Sheets Earth Elements
107240 Tag Sheets Kraft
107237 Tag Sheets Rich Regals
107238 Tag Sheets Soft Subtles
100894 Watercolor Brush Flat
101551 Watercolor Brush Medium
101331 Watercolor Brush Small
105395 Wire Works Metallic
105652 Wrapping Paper Whisper White

Stampin' Around wheels
100360 Acorns
109812 All about Birthdays*
109690 All about Christmas*
109812 All about Gratitude*
109676 Autumn Dots
104070 Bloomin'
107466 Bodacious*
105750 Bouquet*
107481 Butterflies & Blossoms
104065 Fishy
100267 Happy Jacks
107563 Ho Ho Ho
104312 Hot to Dot
104279 Leaf Prints
106062 Leaves Awash*
107479 Rough around the Edges*
101927 Snowman Fun
107465 Speckled*
105521 Spooky Skyline*
108979 Spotted*
107480 True Hearts
105033 Wings & Things
* Jumbo Stampin' Around wheels

Don't forget that the list of retired stamp sets can be found at www.stampinup.com as well.

In honor of our retiring products, I am offering $5.00 off of orders of $35 or more(pretax and s/h) that are placed before December 19th. This is a great opportunity to stock up on gifts for the stampers and scrappers in your life :)

Yes, that's me trying to brave the frigid temperature...Yesterday 20 degrees from Solider Field, Tomorrow we will enjoy 85 from Oahu :)

Finally, I have my Halloween photos accessible. The kids had a blast trick or treating with the neighborhood kids this year. Jackson and Maycen are on the far left of the group photo. After walking the neighborhood for the allotted 2 hours we had candy falling out of our baskets everywhere. Needless to say, we will have candy for months.

Back to Bloggin

Shame on me...its been a while since I last posted an entry so this entry will be a bit long :) Life has gotten a tadbit hectic the last few weeks.

Unfortunately, the Fire lost in their Semifinal game thus ending their campaign towards the 2007 Champhionship. However, this does have a positive side to it. Since Charlie is done traveling for a few weeks we have started several home improvement projects to fill the time :)

We are finished the tile on the fireplace..we bought the home in June without tile on the fireplace, thinking "its simple, we can do that." Most of you know, we are not the handy type. So after 8 or 9 trips to find the perfect tile, we started the tiling process. Only to decide against the tile and lay river rock instead. Being that our fireplace is mostly large stones, we think this was the better option anyway...of course it was a mistake that led us in this direction, but its done :)

Next, on the list was the full bathroom, that was in desperate need of a facelift. The previous owner applied a minty green in the room. (not our thing) So, I came across a piece of fabric from our previous home that I loved but never figured out what to do with it...it striped in warm colors (brown, cream, black, light brown)...so went and got some paint without my fabric and thought it would work, low and behold, it matches perfectly. Charlie replaced the leaking faucet with a new one and I need to go back in and touch up the paint in some areas and that will be done. Mind you, this was the day before his mom arrived for Thanksgiving....

In the midst of all this, Charlie starting renovating our master closet to make it one large walk-in closet instead of the 2 tiny ones we had. Not that this is a hard project, just a time consuming one because of the plaster walls...makes for a nice dust everywhere. We are almost to the finish line on this one, but will be a few more days I imagine.

Now on to the Christmas tree, its up! We had to get it up prior to Thanksgiving or it wasn't going to happen as Charlie and I leave for Hawaii (in honor of our 10th anniversary) on Tuesday. After we return we will have a week or so and then head south to the NC for the holiday. As Maycen and I will working on the tree, almost done with the lights...she asks me why we put it up at all since we always go away for the holiday. Here I was thinking the kids wanted the tree up and she explained to me that its a lot of work for not being home for Christmas....kids...sometimes they surprise you with their thoughts.

Today will be full of last minute details before leaving and the Bears game. Charlie has tickets so we will fit that in today. It should be exciting but also cold!

Stamping Alert!
While you are eating your turkey sandwiches take a minute and check out the Stampin' Up site! Wait till you see what Stampin' Up! has done this time! It's a special promotion beginning today, and then only while supplies last (or until Dec. 15)! You will be "Wrapping Up the Holidays" in style!

Stampin' Up! is offering an assortment of products either at a discount or bundled to make fantastic holiday gifts. Some are from the Holiday Mini Catalog and will be extended beyond the catalog expiration date.

Item Number Description Price
112409 Holiday Tag Bundle $4.95
110380 Tags for All Stamp Set* (20% off) $24.76
110264 Designer Gift cards* (30% off)$4.55
109862 Chocolate Chip satin ribbon* Buy 1, get 1 free!
109863 Purely Pomegranate satin ribbon* Buy 1, get 1 free!
108333 Tin 3-Pack $9.95
110147 Celebration wrapping paper* $17.95
110228 Hand Selected Accents & Elements (25% off)$8.21

*This item is from the current Holiday Mini Collection. Only this and other items indicated will be extended through the campaign period while supplies last. All other Holiday Mini items will be available until November 30.

In addition...I will add Free Shipping for orders of $40 or more(pretax & shipping) placed November 27th- December 4th. Just email your order and I will place orders upon my return from Hawaii.

Aloha!

Take a Look!

Ok- not so easy

After 2 hrs of trying to upload some Halloween photos I am moving on for now. I thought that since Charlie left his laptop behind as he traveled to New England for the Conference Final tonight I would update my blog with the photos I promised last week. No such luck. My computer has not been cooperating and now I must be dense to not be able to figure out his computer after spending so much time. Hopefully, I will get all this worked out soon so that I can give you all some great pictures and samples to view. After all, who just wants to hear me talk :) or write in this case.

As to not break tradition I must tell you to tune into the Fire/New England game tonight on ESPN2 at 7:30...well actually closer to 8pm once Espn gets done doing all their pregame talk. Tonight is a must win situation, with the winner advancing to the Championship playing either Houston or Kansas City next week in DC. We only get one shot this time around...this is not a two game series so its all or nothing. The atmosphere in New England will be tough, frigid, and extremely competitive...GO FIRE!!!

Facing New England one more time!

After Saturday's playoff game between NE and NY we found out that our opponent will be the New England Revolution in Boston on Thursday night. The pressure is on, but it seems our Fire have been used to the pressure over the last few months with every game being a must win situation. So if you are a soccer fan or just curious to know what I have been blogging about recently, check out the game Thursday night on ESPN2 at 7:30pm. It will be a long week for us here, awaiting the game and then if last week's game is any indiction of the fierce competition that we will see the game is sure to be intense. The winner will advance to the MLS Cup in Washington, DC the following weekend. GO FIRE!!

1st round done...Semifinals here we come!

We won! Last night was a very intense, nerve-racking game but in the end we came away successful! Now, we have to hold out until Saturday night to find out who we will face in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals. Will it be NY or NE? Either way the Fire will play next Thursday for the Eastern Conference Championship Title.

Its the 2nd Half!

Tonight is the second and final half of the 2 game playoff series between DC United and the Chicago Fire. This game will definately be intense with all the chips on the table because the winner advances to the Eastern Conference Semifinals and the loser..well...they will have some time off for now. For those of you that have not caught up with us in a few yrs, tonight we want the Fire to win :) Several years ago we were donning the Black and Red while we were in the United Family and even though we wish them well tonight we have to scream for our Fire Family. The game is on ESPN2 at 6:30pm...again, tape Grey's and support the Fire. Last week both Maycen and Charlie were on tv. This week the kids and I didn't travel to our old stomping ground as we hope to return to RFK for the MLS CUP when the Fire arrive on November 18th. GO FIRE!!!

It's a PAPER PARTY

Stampin Up is hosting a Paper Party Promotion! From November 1-30, purchase 3 packs of Designer Paper and get 1 for FREE! This applies to all the packs in the main catalog, plus any designer paper in the Holiday Mini Catalog. You will need to use the Free With Three item code - #111878. What a wonderful time to stock up on all your favorite designer series paper for those chipboard projects, holiday gifts, frames and more...I know I will be stocking up :) Plus, order by November 3rd and you could add in the Wishing you Cheer set for 20% off. What a fantastic promotion!!

On SALE now!!!

SU is offering the Wishing You Cheer stamp set at 20% off from now thru Nov. 3! This is for a very limited time so place your order today!

Playoff Game 1.....Fire 1 DC 0

Last night's game gave the Fire a decent result. Right now its halftime as we await Thursday night's 2nd playoff game in DC. As long as the Fire win or keep DC from scoring more goals than the Fire cumulatively we will advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The first game was intense and we played alittle out of form but I have no doubt that within the next 6 days we will get rejuvenated and ready to hit the ground running at RFK. The kids had a blast cheering and waving their homemade signs. Maycen, Jackson, and their friend, Maddie got on the bigscreen at the stadium and they were more excited when they found out that they were on national tv as well. Its fun to watch the kids as they start to understand the game more. The next playoff game will be on ESPN2 on Thursday night. Go FIRE!!!

Check out my Slide Show!

Playoffs begin.......

Today's the day! MLS Playoffs begin...and so does the anxiety! The Chicago Fire face DC United tonight in the first leg of a 2 game series. The team with the most goals through the first round of playoffs will advance to the Eastern Conference Semi-finals. While the Fire have been amazing defensively as of late, DC United has a multitude of weapons unfront to let loose. The kids and I will be braving the cold winter-like weather tonight to go support the Men in Red. Tune your tv to ESPN2 to catch what's bound to be some great soccer tonight! TIVO Grey's and cheer for the FIRE!!! GO FIRE!!!

Getting the hang of this...

I think... As I have trying to set up my new blog I am getting a bit sidetracked as I come across photos from this past year. For those of you that don't know, we recently moved and spent a year with most of our items in storage..including my computer. Which means I am just now locating some photos that were on the PC and trying to get those organized along with the ones I took on my new digital over the past year. I don't think I am even close to having the organized in any kind of logical manner and I have photos coming out of my ears! Every time I think I am making head way some computer malfunction intervenes...needless to say, if I get the hang of blogging it will be a huge accomplishment!

Entering the World of Blogging

Today marks a new day that I am not so sure about...yet. I am diving head first into creating my own blog and for a technologically challenge individual we are about to see how it goes. Once I get my blog up and running I hope to share stamping creations and daily happenings.