Happy Post Thanksgiving & Cyber Monday

I'm just jumping on quickly to say that I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and have enjoyed their Black Friday Sales! I was able to get some great deals this year and stay within my budget so Woo Hoo to me LOL!

This year we found a turkey farm near our home that we didn't know existed until we started researching online and after a lot of thought ended up buying a 19 lb turkey breast only....19 lbs! I brined it like I do every year and this time went with the slow roast method and all I can say is that after 12 people finished eating and after sending some home with my sister and mom, DH and I had enough leftovers for 2 meals only! We were really some turkey eating fools!

My mom was able to come over starting on Wednesday and helped me with all of the preparations. Since everyone brings something to the table, we were responsible for the turkey, potatos, stuffing, cranberry and pumpkin pie. My mom had seen a recipe that combined jello with whole canned cranberries, pinapples, apples and nuts. It was really tasty and really yummy (especially when I added a little whipped cream LOL!) My Sis brought a brocolli cheese casserole and salad and my Son and Girlfriend rounded it out with drinks and rolls....YuMmY!!!

After everyone left my Mom and I started looking at what was playing at the local theatre and ended up going to see Burlesque with Cher and Cristina Aguilara....My Mom liked it a lot while I thought it was very predictable...the positive thing I can say that really carried the movie was the Music and we both agreed that it made it fun to watch. Cher really sang well and as far as Cristina...well she has a heck of a voice and I do enjoy listening to her. In the end, I told my Mom I thought that it was like a cross between "A Chorus Line", "Chicago" and Bob Fosse's greatest moves. The real pleasure in the end was the company.

That's about it for now but I wanted to let you know that my Digi Moose have hit the store (woo hoo!). Also, all my files are on sale for this Cyber Monday for 45% off. I thank you in advance for your support!

Hugs,
Eddita

Birthday Blues, Shaker Cards and What a Great Ending!

Starting earlier this week I started to feel a little run down and though I was hoping to enjoy my birthday on Friday, those hopes were horribly dashed. I went into work at 6, had my annual review around 8 (which went well....paraphrasing Sally Fields, "they like me...they really like me" LOL!) and as much as I was sucking down cough meds and taking asprin etc, by 10 I was running a fever, my eyes were killing me from the light and all I wanted to do is crawl under my desk and sleep!

My daughter came and picked me up and tucked me into bed and continued working on her first ever cake contest entry (more on that below). I took a big swig of that night time sleepy med and passed out. When I awoke at 4 (6 hours later!) even though I still wasn't feeling well, I did sit down and open my birthday presents....sadly it still hurt to read so I just went back to the bedroom, took another swig and passed out....woo hoo....49 just started out with a bunch of coughing, blowing of nose and basically feeling horrible...I just hope it gets better!

Next morning I was able to enjoy pancakes (made by DD) and really look at my presents. Hubby bought me this great pressure cooker I had been looking at for awhile....A Futura which has received great reviews. I have really been wanting something to cut down cooking time and this just fit the bill perfectly! I received a gift card from JoAnne's from DH oldest son and family (I KNOW my DDIL was the one to pick it out as she always helps enable my crafy addiction) and then DD got me 2 boxes of card blanks with envelopes (how did she know I had run out?!) and this REALLY cool Fiskars punch with interchangable heads. I had seen it at the craft store but as it was way on the bottom shelf I never really looked at it...but Shazam!...it is nice! Here is a link. It is PEFECT for Shaker Cards as it will make the nicest confetti and has a little bit of everything from animals to holidays...I know I will get a lot of use out of it!

Speaking of Shaker Cards....I loaded a new file to the store which is a Shaker Box which you make and then attach to the front of any card! I am currently hosting Challenge 10 of 20 Christmas Card Challenge over at the Paperthreads Forum. If you haven't already signed up just click on this link to get to mine but make sure you also check out all of the other ones there. It's a great way to get all of your cards ready in time to mail out. Here is a picture of my sample (which includes a sneak peak of my latest Digi File - Christmas Moose with Gift)

I started sketching him a couple of weeks ago and playing with the placement of objects. I think he came out very cute and really enjoyed coloring him with my Copics as per Michelle's great class at the last Paperthreads Retreat.

I am slowly getting him ready to go up into the store...there will actually be a number of versions but more on that later once I actually finish!

Okay...so what about my Great Ending? As I said before my DD has been working on her very first cake competition. She found out about it just as the entry due date had closed but she was very happy to have been allowed to enter. She drew up the sketch and started baking the cakes and freezing them (all 5 of them) and then every day after work and between classes she was working on it in the basement where she had the quiet she needed. I would peek in every night and not because I'm her mom, but I was impressed. Luckily I was so much better on Sunday and it was a good thing to as I was her "assistant" and the one to ride in the car and hold onto to everything and then help her carry in. She took over the assembly though and final touches.

It was a nursery rhyme theme contest and she chose one that I used to read/sing to her and her brothers every night before bedtime...Wynken, Blynken & Nod. She used the KNK to cut out the names on the binding as well as the words that go around the edges of each book layer...each was a phrase from the nursery rhyme.

Everything you see either carved out of krispy treats and covered in fondant she made or just sculpted our to gumpaste she colored. She also did some great airbrushing (if I may say so myself LOL!)

Well, are you ready?! She Won First Place in her division! Woo Hoo! She was very happy! All of her hard work paid off! I was going to put up a bunch of pics but instead have this YouTube video to share with you. I think she did a FABULOUS job! As this was her first contest one of the nice things is that she was able to talk to crazy cake gals and get some good tips and techniques. I stood on the side listening to her talk and watch her excitment and see the sparkle in her eyes...it made my heart glow to see her so excited and happy.

Well I hope you all enjoy!

Hugs,

Eddita

Thank Goodness...Tomorrow is Friday!

This week seemed slow to me...maybe it's because it's been so nice out that all I can do when I'm at the office is keep looking out the window thinking it would be nice not to have to be at work...but oh well...bills to pay!

You know...we only have 3 more days and then it will be Halloween! We finally got out to the Big Box Store and picked up a couple of bags of candy which I told DH he was NOT to touch.

After work he tells me that the oddest thing happened...he had come home at lunch and he was sitting at his desk when he hears a rustling sound...when he goes to the kitchen he sees Guinness Pup on the counter and he had very carefully ripped a small hole in one of the bags and took a couple of pieces of candy.

I asked Guinness and he told me to look at the bag and measure the slit against the width of the blade of the swiss army knife located in his dear old dads pocket....guess what? Can you believe DH was fibbing?! He finally confessed after I told him I was calling in the autorities for that specialized testing I see on tv shows! That's it...he's grounded LOL!

OK...so I'm sure you guys are looking at the pics and thinking what is up with that? Well, there's a town close by that every year holds a contest every year where people sign up decorate scarecrows and then they line both sides of the street with them. We went by the other day and I thought I would share some of the winners with you.

The First Prize went to the Abominable Snowman. It was really cute and reminded me of the old claymation Christmas Classics of years gone by...Rudolph and the land of the MisFiT toys.

Now to understand the Second Prize winner you have to know that in our area ALL summer long we have been having quite an infestation of STinK BuGS! If you don't have them in your area count yourself lucky! They really don't do much other than eat, play tootsies with each other MULTIPLY and just plain get into everything. Who knows how they do it but they even get in your houses and if you try to squash them you find out pretty quickly why they are named the way they are.

In any case, the winner was a Scary Looking Guy covered in Stink Bugs! Made me laugh :)

Third Place was a Crab Fisherman and the Runner up was a Ballerina. All were cute and there were oh so many along the road. We didn't come back the same way or I would have a picture of a Lady Gaga Scarcrow that I found very funny as well.

Little things like this make me laugh! On top of that I love to see everyone's creativity!

In OTHER news....Michelle is going to be hosting a brand new challenge on the forum. If you aren't already a member what are you waiting for. Come on over and sign up...TONS of great information for all of you who own cutters. It doesn't matter the kind...KNK, CraftRobo, Cricut, Pazzles, ETC! Everyone is welcome!

It is a Christmas Card challenge that is going to be starting on November 1 - the 20th. All you will need to do is make ONE CARD a day, but as she said some will be easy enough so you can make more than 2 in a sitting! There's going to be prizes as well! Just click on this link for all of the info !

Well I'm getting tired so I guess that means it's time to get ready for bed.

Til next time!

Eddita

Beautiful Fall Day!

Well I hope everyone has had a nice week! Busy weekend as always but that's ok. Hubby and I went for a motorcycle ride today and once we got up in the mountains I asked him to pull over so I could take the above picture. It was REALLY pretty up there. The air is getting a little crisper and all of the leaves are finally starting to change.

This really is my favorite time of year. When the air starts to get a little chill, when you see all of the Halloween Treats and Costumes showing up in the stores and starting to think about all the cute little Trick or Treaters that come to the door.

Remind me sometime and I will share a story about my daughter around 3 years old and her WAY too large bunny suit I made her one year. It was one of the worst (although cutest) things I ever concocted. She'll tell you how I traumatized her and forced her to go out in it with rubber bands to hold the legs and arms up, but you know...she was able to wear it for the next 4 years LOL!

Well enough of that! While we were riding I also had the camera in my hand and did a really quick video to share with you. This is my perfect day! The sound you hear in the background is the wind...you really don't get to hear the motorcycle much.

Well I hope you enjoyed it and on another note, just want to remind you all that my 40% off sale ends today! Don't miss out...next sale won't be for a bit!

'Til Next Time!
Eddita

Woo Hoo a SALE!!!

Wow 2 posts in 2 days?! Amazing LOL!

Well as promised, since it has been awhile, I just want to let you know that the cute little Cat in Pumpkin Digi is my featured item of the month and available at 50% Off!

Also as an added bonus ALL of my other files are on sale for 1 week Only for 40% Off!

If you haven't perused lately I have a number of new files up as well as some wonderful ones that are perfect for the fall season like Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart, Horse and Wagon with Title, and many more! Don't miss out!


OK, so I think I have mentioned in the past how I like to save money when it comes to food. We grow tomatoes, herbs and veggies in the summer and then can them at the end of the season so we have yummy food during the winter. I will admit that the added benefit to canning is that I know exactly what is going into our sauces, etc and don't have to worry about things I can't pronounce ending up in our meals.




Now Hubby and I have always enjoyed yogurt and even with "no inflation" it just seemed to be getting a little pricey. On top of that there are a lot of ingredients in the product that really have nothing to do with the yogurt itself. So, for his birthday, I bought him a Yogurt Maker from Amazon. Now yogurt is something that in itself is super easy to make. All you need is Milk (2% and up since you really need a little fat in it) and some starter. You can either purchase it or buy a small 6 oz. container of Plain (that's unflavored people) Yogurt at the grocery store but you have to make sure that the ingredients show "Live Cultures".

While I had never made yogurt before, hubby had and basically used wide mouth canning jars and the oven or just the hot outdoors in the summer (when it is above 105 degrees out) but I really liked the idea that the machine came with cups and lids so we could take them to work.


There are a lot of great videos on You Tube but basically all you do is heat your milk in a pan over medium heat (stirring occasionally of course) until it hits 185 degrees. Electronic thermometers with alarm are perfect for keeping track of this. Once it hits temperature, at this point you have killed anything that might be in your milk and have made it sterile. You then let it cool down to 105 degrees, add your starter, stir and then maintain the 105 temperature for a period of 4-5 hours. Then you refrigerate and you are done!




Super simple! Another great advantage of the machine is that I just turn it on and set the timer and walk away. What is basically happening over the time is that the culture is growing and incubating away. Once it has thickened up you know you're done. So at this point from 1 gallon of Hormone Free Milk, we can make about 24+ cups of yogurt for about $ 3.00. We then add some homemade jelly or fresh fruit to the mix along with granola and can you say very economical, healthy, yummy breakfast?! In addition to tasting great it's also very good for your tummy as it naturally contains the "prebiotics" your body needs :)


Okay...so I guess that's enough rambling for today! I have to get things picked up and work on some new files!


Hugs,
Eddita

Tell Me It's NOT SO!!!

Has it really been almost 2 months since my last posting?! I sit here trying to think of what I have been doing and I guess with family things as well as home and work, I have been pretty much non-stop.

I did go to the Paperthreads Retreat held recently in Baltimore and can I say what a Wonderful time I had. A few of the gals from the SC retreat were able to come and I got to meet and put faces together with the names on the forum! What a whirlwind, I could have used a couple more days just to be able to finish everything I wanted to!

I have been saving up money for awhile and yes...I broke down and purchased a KNK Maax! I love my 13 inch KNK but I have been coveting the Maax for awhile since it had a little more pressure and also had the laser to help with Print and Cuts.

I've decided to keep the 13" model as my daughter has expressed her desire for it so that she can use it for cutting gumpaste for her cake decorations. I know she will get some great use from it!

I have also been busy creating some new files which I have uploaded to the site. Keep an eye out for them as they will be hitting the store soon!

This first one is a Digi Stamp and I used a picture I have of Guinness Pup as my inspiration. I just thought that with the Fall Season upon us this would make a cute Halloween Card but it would look equally as nice on a layout. I made up a bunch of cards to send out to the family but pictures really don't convey how really cool they look in person.

I also created a BOO Pumpkin file and made it so you could use either horizontally or vertically. Since I am always trying to find cute ways to journal, I also included a single pumpkin in case you want to enlarge and use as a journaling block.

I also finally got around to finishing up my Robots Galore File. You may remember I did a Robbie/Roberta Robot Digi file awhile back. Well here are there friends in cut file format. I will

eventually make digitize these as well.

Also, as it has been FOREVER since I have had a sale, I just want to let you know that all my files will be on sale shortly. I will let you know when it starts, just check back to find out when it starts fo you can really SAVE!

Until tomorrow!

Eddita :)

The End is Near!

Every day brings us one day closer to the end of my very first ever Quarterly Membership! I just finished uploading the file pictured above (EC0145 - A Woodlands Party) so if you are already a member make sure you log into Paperthreads to download this cute file!

It's not too late to sign up! So far there have been 17 files uploaded along with 1 extra one (which you can look at in the upper left corner of the screen in my SLIDE show). I still have a few up my sleeve including a couple of cupcake wrappers for you animal lovers out there....want a sneek peek???

OK...here is the Kitty One

There is also a cute Doggy One as well but I won't bore you with a pic...at least not yet!

How can you get them along with all the rest for just $ 10? Simple...just click on this link to get started!

In other news...it is hotter than all get out right now! We are talking triple digits! DH was saying he could really use some cooler weather...I reminded him that in January when we had snow almost over his head that he was wondering where all the heat was....never happy LOL!

I must say I'm getting pretty tired of the head myself...today there is no way we are venturing out except to walk the dogs....right now Guinness is the perfect pet! Not only is he all about just chillin but he's toilet trained too! Got to love the CaDog!

Hope you all are well...I'll be sharing more a little later on!

Eddita :)