Wow! I can't believe i lived without my computer--email, blogs, comics, news!--for three days!!
Those of you who know me personally, know I have complained quite bitterly about Vista from the moment I got my computer. It is a HUGE memory hog and seemed to be slowing down ALL my programs. Things finally came to a head when Windows Explorer was continually not responding and I was so aggravated with my machine I was ready, quite literally, to throw it out a window or down the stairs!
As soon as I got home from Lissie's, I asked Brien if he could back up all my files and install XP instead--I was that sick of the problems. I was willing to risk losing everything just to have a computer I could actually use. So, B backed up EVERYTHING and stripped my hard drive. We talked about it, and B decided a big part of my problem was probably all the additional crap that Toshiba had installed and went ahead and reinstalled Vista. Wow! No more problems, no lag, no locking up. Wooooo hooo!!!
And, best of all, I'm BACK!!
Mom and Paul will arrive this afternoon/evening to spend the 4th with us. I'm sure they'll be on the Wii for quite a bit of time (Mom loves the bowling ;oP) and, of course, card making in Monkey Studios. :o)
I've been busy since I got home. I have done all the laundry, steam cleaned the downstairs carpets, scrubbed the kitchen floor (think hands and knees), cleaned the bathrooms and Lil's room and made Ella's birthday card. Okay, so the last one wasn't a chore. :oP
I've got to get to the grocery store (haven't done that yet...) and finish getting the house ready for the arrival of guests. I'll leave you with photos from Lissie's and some more cards.
Lil decided this was her "baf tub" and climbed right in (after carrying it to this spot). :o)
I can't say that I've ever sent Fourth of July cards before, but decided I wanted to make some patriotic cards, especially after finding some fun red, white and blue starred grosgrain at Michael's. Brilliant Blue, Real Red and Cerise papers were used. The star is from All Through the Year.
I can't get away from this Pick A Petal stamp set--I just LOVE it! So Saffron and Chocolate Chip papers and inks as well as Barely Banana and Close to Cocoa inks.
This is the cutest stamp set (Life's a Breeze) and nearly impossible for me to use--I don't know why. I struggled for three hours (true story) to try to think of something fun for this set. This was the best I could come up with. The papers are Tempting Turquoise and Yoyo Yellow and the inks are Pink Passion, Basic Black, Cameo Coral, Green Galore and Yoyo Yellow. The sand was done using Summer Sun and Creamy Caramel and the sky is Tempting Turquoise. I think it came out "okay" all things considered.
I CASED this one from Michelle Force. I didn't have the ribbon she had, but loved the use of Gable Green and Bashful Blue together. I also LOVED the Dazzling Diamonds used on the wings of the Green Galore dragonfly. To get the light blue effect, I stamped once off the paper and then on the paper for a ghost-y effect. The stamp set is "Bugs and Kisses" and another set I find very difficult to use in spite of the cute cute cute bugs.
A close up of the sparkly wings. :o)
This card was designed for Paul. The wanted to do something with this little guy from the "Wild About You" stamp set. I used Wild Wasabi and Basic Black inks and paper.
To those who are wondering, I'm still trying to figure out what to do with all the cards I make. I do send out quite a few of them, but am still considering selling them, either through the site or Etsy. I'm fairly certain there are legalities involved in selling items with SU! images being used so I'll have to check into that as well. Believe me, I'm really giving this a LOT of thought. :o)
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Sparklies:
1. Is there anything better than a clean and clutter-free kitchen? I stand at my island and look at my kitchen and just sigh. It was such a chore de-cluttering Brien's counter, but really worth it. :o)
2. Mom and Paul will be here today and tomorrow is FIREWORKS!!! :o)
3. My hair is looking nice and curly today. I have been perusing naturallycurly.com again and found a couple of techniques I didn't know about that have helped give lift to my crown. YES! Who knew you could use duckbill clips to lift your hair and roots to diffuse??
4. Lil received a package the other day with the cutest socks from Jennifer at rosietoesies.com and they are TOOOOOOO cute! :o) Thank you, Jennifer--she LOVES them. I'll try to get pictures and get them posted.
5. We also got a package from Wendy then other day. She made the most ADORABLE headbands and hair clips in Hokies colors and I had to have them. The hair clip looks like a cute little Hokie Bird and Lil is in LOVE. I'll have to get a picture of that as well. Thanks, Wendy! :o)
6. Everyone who came to visit and leave messages when I was down and out. Thanks! I really do appreciate all the love. :o)
Have a great day, everyone!
27 comments:
Glad you are back up and running! I'm heading downstairs in a few minutes to do the Massive Purge of the Kitchen Counter myself...
have a great Fourth, just in case I'm not back online later today and checking in. I'm not quite the computer junky you are. Almost, but not quite! Plus I have a stinky old computer at home that takes hours to load anything, so I feel your 'puter pain. We think ours is being slowed by Macafee, but I know nothing about it, honestly. Just wish I could figure out how to load pics to a webpage... which I'll learn to do next week with my students.
Anyway, I'm off to scrub stuff. Have a great weekend!
Rachel,
Would love to see your new hair style...and maybe pictures of your kitchen too.
Regards,
Rashmi
YOU are my HERO!!!! After having my second daughter, my hair started getting curly and it just keeps going - I have NO idea what to do with it. I'd never even THOUGHT to look online!! YOU ROCK!!!
"Life's a breeze" would be cute in the fall with leaves.
The simple life in Idaho,
Rachaell
I ADORE the beach cards you made! Those are precious! Ahh...the beach...Georgia will have to do! Two more days!
Welcome back!!!
I love the bugs and kisses cards! Do you want to share a picture of your hair, pretty please?
I love Lilly's baf tub. She is sooooo cute!
Don't know if this still applies - but it did for a while with SU. There are sets you can buy that you use to stamp the back of your cards to show that the product is made with SU stuff. I was told (years ago) that using this stamp set allowed you to be able to sell your creations. The idea is that if people really like something they see and want to make it themselves, then they at least know where to start looking for supplies. It's all about making sure credit is given to the creator of the tools you use to create your products.
Certainly double check to see if they updated this policy....I think it was called "angel stamps" or something like that (not the stamp set itself but the "program" that allows you to stamp your creations and then sell them.)
Your cards are beautiful!
Elisa
Lizzie, the same thing happened after I had Han, then it only got WORSE with Lil. Naturallycurly.com has been a godsend! I highly recommend both the Jessicurl and Curlisto products. Good luck!
:o)
Wow, I love the latest cards you did, all of them. I can't even pic a favorite..I do love the Wild About You cards, those are adorable.
I know, living without a computer is hard, wow!!
You are such an inspiration for how one should approach life. I really mean that. Hannah touched your life and through her...you have touched ours. What a gift you have given us. I have struggled with depression for 15 years (since I was a young teen). Now, I am a blessed wife and mom to one tiny girl. Next month, I will begin a journey as special education teacher. When I start to feel down...I come here. When I feel oodles of guilt from reading other blogs that shame working mothers...I come here. I think...look at what SHE has done...and I buck up! God bless.
I am sooo glad you are back, I swear I was having Rach withdrawal!!
I love all your cards and I think you did a great job with the Life's a beach set. Lovely, vibrant and summery. My fave bug is the dragonfly so I love those - great idea with the "ghosting"
Could Lily be any cuter??
Welcome back! I missed you!
I have been reading your Blog for a few months and really enjoy it.
You are such an inspiration!
Have a "Happy 4th".
Dianne
So glad you're back! The new cards are too cute. I'm excited to see what you create in the future!
Hugs.
Loving the photos! Ms. Bit looks so darn cute. And I love the cards.
How are you going to get rid of all of them? I think you need your own stand at the FM!
I just thought you shut down so you could clean your house for company:) I am jealous that your house is so clean. I love me a sparkling clean house and keep waiting for the cleaning fairies to come. I missed you and if you have a counter, I am probably responsible for 50 hits!! I love all of your cards and I have the one you sent me in March sitting right here at my computer. It is so special to me!! And Lily, she is just getting more precious by the day and her hair is getting gorgeous. Keep tabs on every pair of scissors you own in your house. I swear, she is entering the age of the "Right of Passage" self hair cut. And it always ends up right in front and NEVER pretty:) Have a most wonderful and blessed 4th of July and I love you to pieces.
Laurie in Ca.
Rach,
You are very welcome! I am glad that Lily enjoys them! I would love to have a picture of her to add to our site! She is such a cutie!
Jennifer :)
Glad to have you back! Hope you and your family have a wonderful 4th of July!!
Hi Rachel,
I've been reading your blog for about 3 months now--I have no idea how I found it...a search on Google Blogs perhaps--and never commented to you, but I just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading everything you write. The pictures of Lily are adorable, as are the tidbits about her, and as a very brief wannabe stamper over ten years ago, I like seeing your cards. I haven't touched the stamps in at least 10 years, but you make me wonder.... =)
The main reason I stumbled upon (and continued to read) your blog was because we have something in common: living with grief. My husband died in a bike crash three years ago, and the grief has been a mind-numbing (and anxiety-enducing, all-consuming whirlwind these past three years. And the reason I commented tonight is because I know the one-year mark of Hannah's death is coming up very soon. The anniversary of Charley's death is on the 12th, one week before Hannah's. I so very much appreciate how you weave the facts of grief and your life after Hannah (even though she still continues to be in your life, even when she's not here), and I'm especially in awe of your sparklies each time. It reminds me of another wonderful widow friend of mine who started keeping a daily gratitude journal sometime after her husband died, and it reminds me to think about doing the same thing.
I know, for me, the one-year death anniversary itself wasn't so awful--I was still numb, to some extent--but it was a shock to me when life started to get worse (much, much worse) about a week after it. I remember thinking in the first year after Charley died that I just had to make it through the first year and then it'd be okay. And then I made it past the first anniversary, and it was only then that the bottom of my world finished falling out, and everything only got worse. I thought I'd been doing so well (all things considered), holding it together, being strong when I needed to be and crying when I needed to be, and grieving oh-so-carefully and mindfully so that I could hurry up and be okay again. But grief doesn't work that way...or at least it hasn't for me, or the other widows I know. And there are many things different between losing a spouse at age 27 and losing a child, but much of the grief is the same...and I hope and pray that you're okay over the next weeks and months (and years). But know that if your world starts to slide after the anniversary too, it's normal. I know Charley's mother had much the same experience as I did with expectations around the first year.
My thoughts are with you, Brien, and the rest of your friends and family as you're facing this month. Big hugs to you, and to the Monkey and Little Miss Bit.
Candice
http://crashcoursewidow.blogspot.com/
Rach- you see what you can accomplish without that computer on all day? Now if I could just do the same thing- but with 3 of them, it's hard to find one that isn't working.
I had the same problem with Vista until I upgraded it and got rid of all the garbage Toshiba put on my laptop, the only "problem' I have is the way it likes to minimize itself when I click the mouse. Irritating, but I can live with it.
I can only hope to do half as nice on my cards and stuff when I finally get everything cleaned up, as you do. Something that will not embarrass me when I send it out.
is there a website that has quirky and cute sayings?? I can't write worth a tinker's darn.
Glad your back! You are missed when you don't post :-)
I love love love your cards! You do such beautiful work! You most definately could sell them.
So glad you are back! I've missed you and have a lot of catching up to do! :)
HUGE HUGS!~
Your cards are amazing! I hope you find a great outlet for selling them! A link on this site may work well as an option--you have quite a fan club here! And perhaps local gift/craft/flower stores would carry them for you?
Hi Rach,
I never mentioned that I love the cards that you and your mom make. I tend to get into too many hobbies and projects that never get finished, so I know not to even try stamping. I know that blogging is probably trouble already. Plus I believe you have it covered!! What a great creative outlet. I even witnessed how much Ella enjoyed her Birthday invitations. Take care,
Liz
Just stopping by to say hi- Hope you had a fabulous 4th! Hugs!
Glad you are back and I love the fourth of july cards. Of course, I love all things fourth. Going to a picnic I dyed the pasta while in the pot and made red white and blue pasta salad. It was fun!
Computer problems are a pain. I am so scared of losing all my files I got an external hard drive and use it to back up. It is unplugged most of the time.
I would love to buy some of your beautiful cards. I am a card freak. I use to send out a card for everything, but with the price of cards at the store, I cut back a lot. I would send a card just because. You are so talented. Please consider selling them and let me know.
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