Mynee's Musings

Last Year as a Teenager

Oh my goodness, our oldest niece, Amanda, tuned 19.  How in the world is that possible?  She’s getting older yet I’m staying the same age…hee hee hee.  Anyway, since it’s been so bitterly cold out, my sister suggested that we all go to my mom and dad’s house instead of having them have to get out in the cold.  It worked out great  and even Amber, my mom and dad’s sweet “puppy”, was able to join in the fun.  Here’s the card I made for Amanda

Ingredients: 

• Card Stock - Rose Red, So Saffron and Whisper White by @Stampin' Up
• Ink - So Saffron and Rose Red by @Stampin' Up
• Patterned Paper - @Stampin' Up  
• Stamps - @Stampin' Up, sentiment by Hero Arts
• Embellisments - rhinestones by @Stampin' Up 
• Tools - punches by @Stampin' Up 

Happy 19th Birthday, Amanda.  

 

Christmas 2015

Well, I didn’t get a chance to post the cards before Christmas.  This year, it just seemed like it was Thanksgiving and then two weeks later it was Christmas.  I did get everything done though and we had a great time with family.  

OK, so here we go.  I’m not going to list the “ingredients” of each card but feel free to e-mail me for the info if you really need it…hee hee hee.  With the exception of the "Noel" on Josh's card, all card stock, stamps, embellishments and tools are @Stampin' Up.

Here is our 2015 Christmas card...

I love the simplicity of the card even though there were multiple steps involved, embossing twice and then adding crystal effects. 

Here is our family card...

The new wreath set and matching die by Stampin’ Up is one of my favorites.

Here are the cards I made for our nieces and nephew.  This is the card I made for Sarah...

I love the "non-traditional" colors and I think the little star adds just enough bling.

This was the card I made for Amanda...

 

I love the sequins and since Amanda loves sparkle, I just had to include them.

This was the card I made for Josh...

As I’ve said before, it’s always more difficult to make “manly” cards but I really like how this turned out.  It was a little more difficult to take a picture of this card because the trees are actually on the inside of the card.  Oh, and there is just a little "frost" on the branches.  :) 

Here is the card I made for Bill...

I love the star border punch and no, I didn’t glue each star on individually although if that is more impressive, then yes I did.  Ha!  Actually, I punched the Cherry Cobbler card stock and attached a piece of gold behind it.  Here's a close-up...

We had a great Christmas.  Spending time with family is one of the best things in the world.  I hope you all had a great Christmas too.  Here’s to 2015!

Old Friend, New Laptop and a Vacation

Our friend, Cathy, was visiting from out of town and we were able to get together for dinner  when she was here a few weeks ago.  Bill, Cathy and I went to school together and we all met in 6^th grade in middle school.  The name of the middle school was The Middle School.  Seriously, that was the name.  They later changed it to Truman Middle I believe.  Anyway Cathy, her husband and sons live in Virginia and her mom and sister still live here so she comes back to visit every few years.  This is the first time we’ve been able to get together in about 6 years or so.  We decided to eat at Kirkwood Station Brewery and we had a great time catching up.  Here’s a picture of Cathy and me:

I really don’t think we’ve changed much since high school if I do say so myself…hee hee hee.  Well, I guess maybe a little.  ;)

Bill and I bought new laptops on Wednesday.  My old laptop was almost 6 years old and was starting to have some issues.  The battery didn’t hold a charge for very long and it was actually the second battery I purchased and was about 2 years old.  Batteries for laptops are expensive!  This particular one was $140.  I really didn’t want to buy a new battery so I just kept it plugged in when using it.  Well, a few months ago, the laptop started randomly shutting off for no reason.  It didn’t do it every day but I just knew that it was eventually going to give up completely.  Bill has never had a laptop and has always used the desktop computer in the office room.  That computer is about 8 years old and was taking forever to boot up and scan.  Also, since it was running XP (as was my laptop)and Windows no longer supports XP, we knew that it’s days were limited.  We weren’t going to spend money to upgrade the operating system on an 8+ year old computer. 

Bill had said several years ago that when it came time to replace the desktop, he was going to get a laptop instead.  Since our oldest nephew, Josh, is a computer whiz, we asked him to go with us to pick out a laptop.  Notice, I say “a” as in “one” as in just for Bill.  Anyway, Josh went with us and told us which ones weren’t worth looking at and then showed us several that were good deals.  He told us to stay away from “gimmicks” which I guess would include the $3000 laptop with the lighted keyboard that changed colors…hee hee hee.  Anyway, I really liked the Asus Notebook and Bill agreed.  We then decided that since I would need a new laptop soon anyway, we might as well get one for me.  Yeah!  Josh helped Bill get his laptop set up, deleting and adding things we wouldn't have even known to do.  I took notes and then set mine up a few days later.  I still need to install the print driver on both and the camera software on mine plus we need to buy Microsoft Office but, other than that, they're both up and running.     

We were on vacation a few weeks ago and I’m working on my travelog outlining everything we did.  I’m hoping to have it finished by this weekend but we’ll see how it goes.  Choosing the pictures to add takes forever…hee hee hee.

No Longer a Teenager

Josh turned 20 last week.  Wait, what?  Seriously, how can that be?  Yes, that's right.  He is no longer a teenager.  Where has the time gone?

Josh's family birthday party was Sunday.  We had dinner at Wildwood Pub & Grill and then went back to his house for presents and cheesecake (his favorite).  Here is the card I made for him:

 

Ingredients: 

• Card Stock - Soft Sky, Baked Brown Sugar, Pear Pizzaz, and Whisper White by @Stampin' Up
• Burlap Paper - from Michael's 
• Embellisments - button by Papertrey Ink 
• Tools - dies and punches by @Stampin' Up 

Josh still needs to show me how to use the paddle shifters on my car before he goes back to college...hee hee hee.

Happy Birthday, Josh!   

Billy Elliot

The 96^th season of the Muny opened last week with Billy Elliot.  We had seen it at The Fox in 2011 and enjoyed it but I think this performance was even better.  The boy who played Billy Elliot was fantastic.  His name is Tade Biesinger, he is 14 and he is a fantastic dancer.  He also played the part on Broadway. 

We still have our Friday tickets and we have the same seats we've had for about the past 5 years or so.  We slowly moved up every few years.  Now, each year when we sit down for the first show, I remember why we can't give up our seats...they're too good!  Hee hee hee...

We ate dinner at Six Row before the show.  Lisa, Randy and the girls were out of town and Josh stayed home to work so he was alone and we asked him to join us for dinner.  We had a great time and Josh told some pretty funny stories.  After dinner, Josh drove home and we headed to The Muny.  Just as we got there, it started to pour and I mean pour as in torrential downpour.  We sat in the car for about 20 minutes until the rain finally stopped.  Fortunately, it dropped the temperature from about 97 degrees to 80 degrees!  When Mike Isaacson, Executive Producer, came on stage before the show to welcome everyone, he said that we all played the weather lottery and won!  That's for sure.  The weather was perfect!

Next week, Tarzan.  

Father's Day 2014

My mom and dad came over for dinner last night for Father's Day and we had a great time.  My sister, brother-in-law and nieces left for vacation this morning and we're going to the Cardinal game this afternoon so that's why we had Father's Day a day early.  Here's the card (and envelope) I made for my dad...

Ingredients: 

• Card Stock - Not Quite Navy, Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi by @Stampin' Up
• Patterned Paper - by @Stampin' Up 
• Embellisments - button by Papertrey Ink 
• Tools - embossing folder  and envelope punch board by @Stampin' Up, alphabet die by Papertrey Ink 

My favorite stamping toy right now is the envelope punch board.  I love making envelopes that coordinate with the card.  :)

Happy Father's Day, Dad.  Love you!  

 

Twenty Eight Years Ago Today...

Bill and I walked down the aisle.  It really does seem like only yesterday.  That's amazing considering I'm only 29...hee hee hee.  Here's the card I made for Bill...

 

Ingredients: 

• Card Stock - So Saffron, Calypso Coral Marina Mist, Pear Pizzazz and Whisper White by @Stampin' Up 
• Ink - Calypso Coral, Marina Mist and Pear Pizzazz by @Stampin' Up
• Images - by @Stampin' Up 
• Accessories - die, embossing folder and heart punch by @Stampin' Up 

I've posted this picture before but just in case you haven't seen it, here's a picture of a very young couple... 

 

We took Thursday and Friday off and were "tourists"...hee hee hee.  I'll post all the details soon.  Happy Anniversary to the best husband ever.  Love ya'.

Class of 2014

Our oldest niece, Amanda, graduated from high school on May 20.  How is this possible?  Just yesterday she was 4 years old and she, my sister, my parents and I went on a trip to Minnesota to visit the area where my dad grew up.  Now she’s a high school graduate, a member of the honor society, a nation merit scholar, bright flight scholar and she had a grade point average of over 4.20.  Wow, I wish I had had that much ambition when I was in school.  ;)

She had her graduation party one Saturday.  It was nice seeing family friends, talking, laughing and eating great food. Naked burrito bar from Qdoba, seriously yummy!  Anyway, here is the card I made for her…

Ingredients: 

• Card Stock - Whisper White, Basic Black, Crushed Curry and Silver Shimmer by @Stampin' Up
• Embellisments - Baker's twine, brad and ribbon by @Stampin' Up
• Tools - Cricut cartridge by Provo Craft 

I didn't have the color of bakers twine that I wanted so I colored it with markers.  Amanda loves sparkle (I think she gets that from me) so I had to make sure that there was sparkle...

Amanda is going to Loyola University in the fall and is rooming with her good friend.  They are busy buying items to coordinate their room.  

Congratulations Amanda!

Paint Nite St. Louis

As I mentioned in Thursdays post, my sister and I painted on Thursday night.  It’s called Paint Nite St. Louis and there are various sites across the area where the events are held.  We chose Morgan Street Brewery because a) liked the painting and b) they have beer….hee hee hee.  We arrived early so that we could eat dinner before we began painting.  The weather was perfect so were able to eat outside. 

Here’s my work in progress

 

Here's more progress...

 

 

Here’s the finished piece

It was really fun and not as difficult as I thought it would be.  We’re planning to attend another Paint Nite soon. :)

57th Anniversary

My mom and dad were married 57 years ago today!   That in itself is amazing but what is also amazing is that I realized that Bill and I have been married almost half as long as my mom and dad!  Time flies, that’s for sure.

Here’s the card I made for their annivesary…      

 

Ingredients: 

• Card Stock - Mariona Mist, Cherry Cobbler, Pear Pizzazz and Whisper White by @Stampin' Up
• Ink - Marina Mist  by @Stampin' Up
• Images - by @Stampin' Up
• Embellisments - rhinestones by @Stampin' Up
• Tools - Embossing folder, heart punch and doily die by @Stampin' Up, banner die by Papertrey Ink 

Happy Annivesary, Mom & Dad.  Love you!