Sunday, March 25, 2012

TORTURE!!!!

Gaaaaaah..... 

Those of you who know me...you know I've been wanting an SLR camera for years.  Years.  

My awesome husband finally bought me one for my birthday (which doesn't happen until April).  A good friend who is a professional photographer (remember Rick Takagi, the cupcake photos?) helped me decide which camera and lens would work best for my skill level and stay within our budget. 

Hello new camera:  my Nikon 5100 and extra Nikkor 50m lens...

And where is the torture, you ask???

My package has been sitting at the local UPS hub - fifteen minutes from my house - since yesterday morning.  

Oh, I called to ask if I could come pick it up, believe me. But they close for the weekend.  

"Mrs. Millerick, I sure am sorry but you'll be happy to know the package should be delivered no later than Monday afternoon!"  said the UPS serviceperson.  Not as sorry as me, Bub.

I know, I know...I should be happy to know it's on its way to me.  But this weekend has been perfect weather. I mean PERFECTO. The first two days of sunshine we've had all year.  Seriously.

Gaaaaaaaah.....

Well, whilst drudging across the web in my misery, I did come across this giveway:


Once you're on her home page, click on the link on the right for the camera bag giveaway. (There's lots of traffic to her site today, so be patient!)

Check it out.  If you are remotely into photography, this blog is fantastic. Not only is Courtney an amazing photographer, but she is so free with her knowledge and experience..I love her blog!

Anyhooo....what will I do for the next forty-eight hours???  Guess I will have to spend my time crafting.  Believe me, that ain't so bad!  :)

Happy Sunday, everybody!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh....etc....

In four and one half hours, I will be sitting in front of a huge movie screen, watching a movie that I have been waiting for, impatiently, for over a year. 

No, not anything as intelligent as The Artist, or that one where Glenn Close played a lady dressing up as a man in Victorian England...

I'm talking about something better...

Katniss  Everdeen.

The Hunger Games

If you haven't read the books, don't judge.

If you have, then deep down, you're as excited as I am to see this movie.  

I'll update my blog tomorrow (if I can keep my eyes open long enough)..

why didn't I take tomorrow off of work????

Oh well - until then....may the odds be ever in your favor...


Sunday, March 18, 2012

Sugar, we're going down... Fall Out Boy

No, not really...  I just like the song and it popped in my head while I prepared for this post. 

A few weeks ago,  I volunteered to make cupcakes for the daughter of one of my favorite people.  Addie was turning four.  She's the sweetest thing and absolutely makes my heart melt every time I see her, so I wanted to do something special for her. 

Like most four year old girls, Addie loves princesses.  So her awesome mom decided to throw a princess-themed party, complete with Princess Aurora coming to do magic tricks and balloon animals. 

A few weeks before the party, I began strolling through the web, including Pinterest, looking for inspiration.  After a few possibilities, Addie's mom and I both agreed on the cutest little princess cupcakes. 



Luckily, the picture was from the Wilton website, which also included the how-to AND the links to buy the sugar sheets and punches.  Even luckier - my local Michaels (which is three blocks away) JUST started carrying the sheets and punches in stock.

In my hurry to get started, though, I didn't read the full instructions on the how-to.  So, readers, learn from my mistake:  when you buy the punches, they come in TWO pieces, not one.  You have to buy the white base and the purple insert.   I was running to Michaels at 9 am the day of the party, to get the second piece.   Good thing I work well under pressure. 

And...being that most of my best ideas come right before the project is due...the night before the party I decided Addie's cupcakes deserved a special cupcake stand.  So --- at 6 PM, my little one and I went to the local Value Village and bought three plates and two candlesticks, then cruised to Fred Meyer for spray paint.  

I have a large amount of Mardi Gras beads laying around ( a gift from my favorite aunt who lives in Louisana), so I had already planned on gluing the beads around the plates.  But again - last minute larry - I decided one of the plates needed something else, a little more *oomph.   So, at my quick 9 am dash to Michaels, I picked up some fake fur to glue around the bottom and added some blingy butterflies.

And, here are the fruits of my labor:


For throwing them together in twenty four hours, I was pretty happy with how the turned out.  More importantly, Miss Addie loved the cake stand (I let her keep it!) and the crown.  After all, every princess needs a crown!

The pictures are by Addie's dad, Rick...he's an amazing photographer.  You should head over and check out some of his work here: Rick Takagi photography


Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Input needed please!!

Okay, I trust you, my readers,  and value your opinions.

I'm trying to come up with a theme for the Staff Appreciation Week at my little one's school. (Refer to previous post).

Which do you all think would be more fun, less complicated, and can stay within a relatively small budget...

1.) Hollywood - "Our Staff are Stars"

  • Luncheon will have movie-named items
  • Red carpet entering the lunch
  • Can have personlized invites to lunch - look like Oscar envelopes
  • Stars decorating the hallway
  • Can have personlized "walk of fame" - stars with each teachers name


2.) World of Thanks - "So many ways to say Thank You for all you do"

  • Luncheon will have food from different countries
  • Will have "thank you" in different languages throughout the halls
  • Passports for invites to lunch
  • Flags decorating hallway

3.) Literature - "Not enough words to say how much we appreciate all you do"

  • Mad Hatter Tea Party (with coffee and tea)
  • Each day have an event from a different book
  • Luncheon will have book-named items
  • invites can be library cards or books
My creative partner, Laura,  and I are stumped --- honestly, I love the third selection but not sure if it will require too much work.  Laura and I both think "Hollywood" would be fun but it feels sort of cliche and overdone....

Help us!! Help us!!

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Sail away...

The day has come.

Finally.

My family and I are heading out of town for a quick weekend getaway.

To my favorite spot for quick trips and a few days of unplugging....

Little slice of heaven.

Here is a picture:

I took it when we were there last year.

Go to google.  Type in Lopez Island, WA.

And...be jealous.  It's okay.  I'd hate me a little bit too.    :)

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

What just happened????

Oh Lordy....what did I do?

It's all my fault.  I saw it coming.  It was like watching a movie scene where your favorite character is about to be killed off...  you want to scream at the person in the movie "Noooooo....watch out.....that a_hole is about to slit your throat" but you can't, and you just sit there and watch through your fingers as it happens.

I knew better than to send the email.

What could it hurt?  I'm creative, and I'm thrifty....and I love to help people.

School staff/teacher appreciation week is in April.  A newletter was sent out, asking if anyone would be interested in helping.

Before I could stop myself, I was typing up an email, volunteering my services.

I received a phone call from the nicest lady last night. Her enthusiasm for the school and its staff bubbled over and infected me.  I was practically tearing up when she got me talking about how much I love the staff and teachers at the Little One's school. 

Ideas were starting to flow.  Making a dvd out of pictures of each staff member when they were younger.

Tea service.

Coffee service.

Appreciation luncheon.

And then...it happened.

"So, I can put you down as heading the project, Heidi?"

I couldn't say yes fast enough!!  "Of course, I will help!!  I'd be glad to. "  And while I'm at it, how about I just try to cure cancer, and world hunger, and oh yeah - fix everything thats broken in our government. 

Oh Lordy. 

If there's one thing at which I'm good, it is finding the silver lining.  I can do this.  I can do this. 

So, dear readers...hopefully you'll stick around and have some laughs with me while I work this one out.

I can do this... right?

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Parents Night Out...In

Okay, you moms,dads, or other parental-type units out there... Think back to all of the times you've lamented saving no free time with your honey... Hell, just time for yourself!! I've been having one of those few-week-periods, where I had been wishing for a babysitter night. My husband, too... We just wanted a break. Our wishes were answered by our local gymnastics club, where the youngest takes Tumbling. For only $30, we could have four child-free hours- $25 if we signed up by Thursday. Pizza, gymnastics, and trusted adult supervision??? Plus I wouldn't have extra mess to clean up when I got home??? Can you imagine how quickly my husband flew down to sign her up??? We were all counting the minutes until 6 PM tonight. I dont know who was more excited... Her, me, or Ryan. " is it time yet?" FINALLY... 6 pm came. Ryan and I took her to the gym. Surprisingly, it took her. Few minutes to wrm up to me leaving. I think the kids were too wild for her, and her friend hadn't arrived yet. At one point, I asked her , hesitantly, if she wanted to just go home. But she pulled through, said no, and I got out of there as quickly as I could without actually running. And.. Our parents might out had begun. We promptly returned home. Ryan turned on the XBox to play all of the video games that are too violent to play when she is around. And I plugged in my headphones, turned on my newest musical obsession, and scrapbooked for a solid two hours. Then I went upstairs to watch an R-rated move, called "Hanna", without worrying about little feet walking in on a violent part. It was, in fact, the perfect evening. Well worth the $25-- every penny.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Happy March 1st!

Ah...Spring is in the air...

Somewhere.   Definitely not where I live.  It's been trying to snow for the last three days.

Seriously?   It's freakin' March 1st!  I hate global warming...

Well, time to put my happy pants on, because...

In TWENTY days:  it's the first day of Spring

In SIXTEEN days:  it's the first home game of the 2012 Season - Go Sounders!!  Oh, and also St. Patrick's Day

In SEVEN days:  I get to sneak away to the San Juan Islands with my family - sort of a precursor to our Spring Break trip.

That's just what I have planned for March!!! Wait until April, because that's my birthday month.  And we all know how much I love birthdays!!!


Given that I've over-planned my social life (shocker) for March already, I should start planning my crafting time as well... 

I know I'll be making these:




But I think I also want to make these:


How to: http://thisoldchair.blogspot.com/2011/05/candle-stick-apothecary-jars.html

I am having the damndest time finding the right candlesticks. Who knew they'd be so hard to find - or less than $25 apiece!   

With Easter coming, I'm looking for inspiration.  What will you all be crafting over the next few weeks??