anyone still out there?

 hello to anyone still out there....my last post was september 2012!! yes, it's been THAT long. and after tonight, i remembered why i hate blogging. or blogger in general. pictures takes SO LONG to upload. anyone else have that issue? maybe i upload too many??? 75% of the pictures i uploaded actually ended up here....the other 25%---- who knows! but you know what? i loved not blogging. let's catch up, shall we?
i've been enjoying the boys. right before the school year, i stopped working. but i'm not sure if anyone calls my 2 days of working previously, work. i made that choice because brybry started kindergarten in september 2012. he goes from 8-11:23am. then brandon goes from 8:15-2:29. not much time in between. i also wanted to be there for the boys for homework and other activities. i took on being the room mom for bryan's class. it's been fun planning their class parties and adding crafts in the mix :)
brandon's a big 3rd grader now!

 the boys also played soccer in the fall. the picture below is bryan in action. he really improved from last year. we got lucky and had the same great coach from last season. he has a great family. i stepped up and was co-soccer mom.

 he played hard annnnnnd, sometimes....played rock, paper, scissors with his team mate DURING the game! LOL

 here is brandon. he played well this season also. he mostly enjoyed socializing out there.

 bryan getting an award during the 1st award ceremony of the school year.

 luckily, the boys wanted to wear the same exact costume as the year before so it's a win-win for me. no need to shop for new ones and saved some money! brandon (as ash from pokemon) with his 3rd grade teacher (she was a zebra).

 bryan was pikachu (from pokemon). they aren't allowed to wear masks so it just looks like he's wearing a yellow suit.

 we were lucky to get the same kinder teacher that brandon had. bryan adores her.

 a picture from their fall feast. bryan in his pilgrim wear.

 and brandon at his fall feast.

 so brandon told me he was "too old" to take pictures with santa this past year. i was sad to hear this but i didn't force him. bryan happily said he still wanted to take pictures with santa.

we had our 1st annual holiday boutique at school. i sold some of my cards and handmade gifts. after giving 10% back to the school, i ended up making a little over $200 and had a few custom orders too. it was fun. i shared a table with a mom friend. she handmakes jewelry. we had a good time hanging out most of the day at school.

here are pictures i took of some of the cards. i was working right down to the wire and failed to get pictures of the clipboards. those puppies did real well! i didn't sell everything but most everything :)

thanks so much for letting me share old pictures from last year! i will try to blog a little more crafty pics soon! and i have to say thank you for checking in on me ;)

things that start with S

took bryan last friday to the kiddie pool when brandon was in school. love that no one is there except serious swimmers (swimming laps in the big pool). it was in the high 80's....perfect way to cool off.tried to replicate an old butterfly print you see in vintage books. would love to find an old book with butterflies and just rip the book up and frame the prints. i made the stick pins myself :) all the card needed was a pop of color and that did the trick.

bryan had his 1st soccer game on saturday. so did brandon. we had 1 game at 8:30am and another at 2:45pm. the weather was definitely cooler....felt some big raindrops here & there. when the game ended and as we were walking to the car, LOUD thunder rumbled! i've never seen bryan run so fast to catch up to me! the thunder started to rumble closer in time and we saw lightning. then, all the sudden, it started to pour. i mean, it came down!!! and can you believe----- we got hail!! jaw-breaker sized hail! just the day before, it was in the high 80's. such unusual weather!

here is a picture of bryan and his team mates before the game. so cute!

after the game and shaking the other team's hands. learning sportsmanship.

the parents making a 'tunnel' for the boys to run under after the game. always fun!

brandon's game pics another day. it's on the other camera. posting a few cards. this one is heat embossed. i scorched it a little....can you tell? both colored with distress inks. fast & fun.


another heat embossed card (not scorched).

this card & little gift below is for a friend. she has received it so i can post my pic now. she LOVES to sew and will change the thread color to match the card she's making! i can't even thread my own sewing machine! it's been out of commission for over a year now! anyways, the jello mold is vintage and so are the spools of thread. some are even on wooden spools marked 19¢! knowing amy, she will use the thread!

TFL! been nursing migraines this past week....think they're heat related. it's been very hot and humid. makes it hard to want to do anything.

sew lovely card set

teaming up cosmo cricket papers and lawn fawn stamps to make a 4x4 mini card set. i've been behind in teaming up with anita to make card sets each month so we wouldn't have to cram making multiple cards sets for teacher gifts all at once! joining the challenge here!

bagged in a glassine bag and tied with a fabric strip. the fabric can be used to fashion a twistie flower like in one of my mini cards. ready for gift giving!

just a very random question.........who likes chewy cookies and who likes crispy ones? my hubby likes his chocolate chip cookies crispy. me, i'm a chewy kinda gal. i can't remember but any foodies out there, please let me know....if i want chewy cookies, i add more or less of an ingredient, right? i read it some where a looong time ago but cannot remember. who am i kidding---it's not like i'm going to bake cookies from scratch. i just buy the big tub from costco and scoop & drop onto a cookie sheet. so, really, my question is how do i bake pre-made cookie dough to get them soft & chewy?

swinging good time

good morning! we've had beautiful weather the past couple days. this morning, brandon is back to school and me & brybry are back to our regular schedule. this morning, we went to the playground with a friend. any guesses to where we went this past weekend? more pics to come later :)some more altered pocket calenders i'm making for friends, coworkers AND sister. hey sis, you want either of these?

always have to smile back at the smiley egg! LOVE!

just a quick post today......need to get ready to go take bryan to meet up w/ another friend to the kiddie pool to enjoy more of this weather. hard life i have, don't i? ;) happy tuesday! thanks for stopping by!
BTW, there's a new video to the right of this post of the boys playing just dance kids on the Wii (the middle video). guaranteed to make you laugh!