Friday, November 9, 2012

Happy Birthday To ME!!!

My friend, Beverly, made me a birthday crown!  It is PURPLE and sparkly and awesome!!  Everyone should have a BIRTHDAY CROWN!!!!

Monday, October 22, 2012

Digital Stamp Addiction

I am really bad about purchasing digital stamps because they are cheaper than rubber or cling stamps.  There is also an INSTANT gratification factor that just can't be beat!  Here are a few of my favorite sites:

Saturated Canary: This site is relatively new to my madness but I love her images.  Krista draws girls with tons of layers in the clothing and usually a lot of long flowing hair to color...and she definitely has a sense of humor!  (Check out her Fifty Shades inspired digi!)  I am so addicted to her images...I wish I had more disposable income and then I would own ALL of them!  http://saturated-canary.myshopify.com/

Tiddly Inks: I have been buying from here for a while...and I have the digis to prove it!  (wink, wink)  Christy draws the most adorable images and they are so much fun to color.  Lots of talent and fun can be found here...   http://www.tiddlyinks.com/categories/Digital-Stamps/Victorian-Gothic%7B47%7DSteampunk/

Dilly Beans: A relative newcomer to my addiction but a very talented lady!  Check out all of her awesome digital stamps here:  http://sillydillybeans.blogspot.com/ or her creations in her Etsy shop here:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/mycreativebliss?ref=em

and if you are not familiar with Paulette at Create with TLC, I highly recommend that you go for a visit.  She offers some of the best sentiments around and TONS of Freebies!  I cannot tell you how many great sentiments, papers and images she has shared.  She also has a store where you can buy her great stuff and the prices are very reasonable.  Definitely stop by for a visit. http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/tlc4lo

These are just the first few.....I will share more soon!



Thanksgiving Card

So, I made this Thanksgiving card for a swap I am in.....I absolutely LOVE House Mouse so I couldn't resist this little guy!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

My fabulous Bat Nails!

So, I stopped getting acrylic nails about 5 years ago.  There were a number of reasons but mostly because I like to do papercrafts and it is not conducive to a pretty nail job!  So I decided to forgo the nails and focus on my crafting.  But every once in a while, I see someone with really cute nails and I am so jealous.  Last week I was shopping and found some adorable Halloween nails for less than $3.  I bought two packs and scurried home.  Last night I finally got around to trying them out and I love, love, love them.  They are just glued onto my real nails and they probably won't lst long but I have already received a bunch of compliments and today is just Day 1!  So, ignore the cuticles (because they are a mess!) and take a look at my fabulous bat nails!

Monday, September 10, 2012

Broccoli Madness

When we moved to Colorado Springs in 2007, I was saddened to discover that there was not a Souplantation here.  Then we discovered that there was one in Denver (about an hour North) but never seem to make it up there.  I found the recipe on their blog for the Joan's Broccoli Madness salad (http://blog.souplantation.com/a-guest-favorite-joans-broccoli-madness/ ) and I finally tried it yesterday.  It was DELICIOUS!  I was so thrilled and I thought I would share the recipe here:

Serves 6-8.


1 bunch uncooked broccoli*
½ cup crumbled cooked bacon
½ cup cashews
1/3 cup raisins
¼ cup chopped red onions

Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Mix the first five ingredients in a large bowl.
In a second bowl, beat dressing ingredients together gently until smooth.
Toss the salad with the dressing approximately 10 minutes before serving to allow flavors to meld. Serve on chilled salad dishes.

*The broccoli is a loose guideline: often people have to make it a few times before they get it just the way they like it.


Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Danger Will Robinson....Danger!

So today is Day ONE of quitting smoking.  I am using a program sponsored through Cigna and will be on the nicotine patch for the next 8 weeks.  This morning I find that, while I do not have a craving for nicotine, I am not sure what to do with my hands.  They really want to hold a cigarette.  I have warning signs posted at my desk to let people know that I just quit smoking.

Hopefully this will prepare everyone in case I turn into a crazy psycho witch....or maybe not!  Anyway, I am hoping that it will not be too difficult to quit.  We shall see.

Friday, June 8, 2012

New Family Members

Please welcome our newest family members.....Dante and Kenzi.

Twitter Account

I have finally set up a Twitter account.  I am not exactly sure why....just some odd compulsion this morning but it is done.  I'm fairly sure this is one of the Signs of the Apocalypse!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

What Are We Saving Time For?

So Sunday was the beginning of Daylight Savings Time and as usual, I am exhausted two days in.  No matter what the clock says, my body KNOWS what time it really is!   I usually hit the bed at 10pm and am asleep by 10:30 (if not earlier!)  Last night when 10pm rolled around, I was working around the house and ended up watching Lost Girl with my daughter.  I finally headed to bed at 11pm (with my body knowing full well that it was only 10pm!)  Unfortunately, when the alarm went of at 5:30am, my body ALSO knew that is was only 4:30am and I had another hour to sleep.  I am not really sure that I understand why we do this anymore.  It takes so long to adjust to the time change and everyone is cranky (or maybe just me!)  My vote is to end DST and move on.  Just leave the clock where it is and let me keep that extra hour of sleep. 

Friday, March 9, 2012

SMILE.....It's FRIDAY!!!

What's Better than AWESOME?

Today I told someone they were awesome and he said that his wife was used to awesome so now she was expecting stupendous.  Stupendous does not ring the same bell in my head as awesome although the online dictionary tells me that Awesome is "very impressive" while stupendous is "extremely impressive."  In my search for something better than awesome, I found this post from last year and it made me laugh (out loud even!)  So I wanted to share:

can_we_please_stop_calling_everything_awesome

Apparently awesome is being overused! 

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

March for Babies

We have a lot of charity events where I work but the one I support with my whole heart is the March of Dimes.  Their mission is to help every baby be born healthy.  Fourteen years ago, my son was born prematurely and he didn't live much past his birth.  I was heartbroken that Alexander would not be coming home with us and it was the end of my hopes of having more children.  My wish would be that no family ever has to go through the heartbreak of losing a child because they were premature. 

This April, I will once again be participating in the March for Babies.  I am hoping to raise $200 for this event.  If you are interested in helping me reach my goal, here is a link to donate:

http://www.marchforbabies.org/KimberlyMonaghan

Every dollar helps....no amount is too small! 

Friday, February 17, 2012

Seriously????

I cannot freaking believe that a MONTH has passed since I last updated my blog.  Apparently, this is not the tool for me as I cannot for the LIFE of me remember to update it.  It's not that I don't HAVE things to say, I just never seem to want to get on the computer at home.  BLEH!  So I guess I am going to have to put a reminder in my phone or something because I just can't seem to get with the program. 

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The Time Just Ticks Away.....

I am never quite sure where my time goes.  No matter how much time I seem to have, I always have unfinished tasks that seem to loom over me with no end in sight.  I do 12 things, there are 23 more on my list.  I can see from my perpetual list that things are getting done but the list just keeps getting longer.  Then I feel guilty if I stop to read or watch TV or a movie because there are so many things I could be doing that would erase more things off my list.  Don't get me wrong, I still read or watch but I hate feeling like the time was wasted and I could have been doing something productive.  I am working to go through all of the "stuff" I have accumulated but I get so distracted.  I mean, I have pretty phenomenal taste (laugh here) and I have collected some pretty awesome stuff over the years.  On the flip side of that, I am a paper horder.  I collect mounds of paper that I think will come in handy one day...recipes, craft ideas, pictures of cards I like and would like to copy, articles I want to read...you name it and I probably have one or two!  I also have several boxes of magazines that I think I am going to sit down and read.  Of course, those also contain recipes I want to try, craft ideas that look like fun, decorating and home improvement ideas that might make my house look fabulous!  Oh, and let's not forget that magazines can also be used for altered art when you have taken all of the important pages you want to keep out of them.  LOL....and then you have the loose pages that you have to find a home for.  In the end, you are just trapped in a perpetual circle of death by paper.  Okay, that was dramatic.  In the end, I find that even after I purge, I have a ton of paper that I don't really know what to do with...If I put it in that file, am I REALLY going to use it or have I just hidden the paper from eyesight? 

On an unrelated note, I found this plate at a thrift store and it reminds me often of my time dilemma.  Don't you love it???

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Tanga's This Contest Really Sucks Dyson Giveaway

So I am in desperate need of a new vacuum cleaner and I really want one that will be AWESOME.  Supposedly Dyson is that vacuum so I am trying to justify spending the money to get one.  Today I received an email from Tanga announcing this new contest where you can WIN a Dyson vacuum and whoever referred you will win one too!  So head on over and enter to win! Good Luck!!
   http://www.getsubmit.com/enter/sweepstakes/214

Sunday, January 1, 2012

New Year's Eve Shopping


On New Year's Eve, my husband took me to two of my favorite stores....  First was Joann's.  I was trying to use a bunch of coupons that I had that expired on December 31st but of course, everything I wanted to buy was on sale.  (I honestly think they do that on purpose!)  I ended up with a delicious new paper pack by DCWV.  It's called Tattered Time and I love every single page in the stack (which is almost unheard of for me!)  Half of the pages have gloss on them which I just LOVE!  I also got some SMASH tape and the SMASH paperclips.  I am LOVING the SMASH products!  I also picked up a "Will you be my valentine?" rubber stamp in the dollar bin.  Our second stop was Archivers.  I received a gift card from my friend, Cindy, for my birthday and I saw that I had coupons for Archivers so I thought I would stop in and see what they had.  Archivers has an exclusive bag for your SMASH journal and I thought it was FABULOUS!!  I also got a new SMASH journal, some SMASH clips and the SMASH quotes pack.  All in all, I was thrilled with everything I got and I paid for MOST of it with my gift card!  I already had one SMASH journal which I am using for 2011 and the new one pictured here is for 2012.  Looking forward to a CRAFTY new year!