ramble...ramble...ramble...

so...i laugh when i look back and see how
  l  o  n  g
it has been since i
posted on a regular basis.

i have three reasons for the
demise
of lousgoods.com:
1.  felicity (tv series from 99-02) is now on netflix.
2.  children's needs
3.  i am researching/studying to
GO BACK TO SCHOOL!

remember when i went to that church conference
in Jackson Hole?
while i was there is had some
amazing and clear affirmation
that i could not ignore
the call on my life
anymore.
i am going back to school.
i am going to go to seminary.
i am going to also get my MSW.
i am going to be a spiritual therapist.

that alone will take most of my time,
starting in the fall...
and my kids need me until then.

the interesting thing
is that the only emotion i feel
about not blogging
is missing the talking on the blog...
missing sharing my feelings...
missing writing...

so. i am into blogging
but not so worried about missing
out on putting my art out there.
my cards.
my crafts.
my side love.

but now i see it.
it is my side love,
not my main love.

and so now i am on the path...
...to discover...
what my main love is.

well...

are you wondering where i have been?
can you hear me?
do you not care?
or are you just not listening?

sorry... kind of an inside joke!!

i am so sorry i have not been on here.
i have been having all kinds of fun
a d v e n t u r e s
all over the planet!!

first i was in Jackson Hole Wyoming for 5 days for a church leadership conference.
it was
FAB U LOUS!!

one side of the street in the Town Square... a block from our hotel.

the view i saw from the road...
except i was driving.
alone.
and couldn't really snap a great shot.
plus it was snowing.
all the way there.
all the way back.

so...
i got photos from online to show you what i saw.

then i went to
l o s   a n g e l e s
for 6 days with an
A MAZING
group of gals.
for my precious friend leith's 40th bday.

this is leith...
remember?...

and on the sad note of leith's family's story...

we had JOY.

crazy, fun, laughing...

JOY.

giggling, walking, eating...

JOY.

drinking wine, shopping, laughing...

JOY.

it was fantastic.

i will post photos of the celebrities i saw tomorrow or saturday.

loved it.

love my new bff's from the trip.

thank you leithy for making your birthday so special for all of us.

HAVE to share...

this one is
WAY TOO GOOD
to not share on my blog...
in hopes one of you will
consider
signing up to be a Stampin'Up! Demonstrator
in the month of October.

You do not need to make it a business!!
you can be what we call a
'hobby demonstrator'.
The amazing promotion that
Stampin'Up!
is offering RIGHT NOW (for October)
is that you get a FREE
YES, I SAID FREE... BIG SHOT
with your starter kit!!!!!!!

It is a $99 product
and Stampin'Up! is giving you one free
(or $100 in merchandise if you opt out)
for signing up as a Demo for
the month of October!!

Please, Please, Please
let me know if you are interested.
i would love to have you on my team.

quick lil 3x3.

i am always looking for a quick little card.
so...

i came up with this one.
cute, creative, fast.

starts with some Chocolate Chip cs,
adds a crumpled up square from
the Well Worn DSP,
a piece of twine wrapped around twice,

an Early Espresso inked stamp of 'Thank U'
and a few Crumb Cake stars stamped
on a small little piece of whisper white,
all hooked together by the teeny, tiny
wooden clothespins...

that Stampin'Up! sells now.

cute, easy and great for a boy...
which seems to be harder to find these days.

enjoy.

Simply Scored...

This was the first card i made for my Stamp Club
in August
to introduce them to the
Simply Scored Tool
from Stampin'Up!

we only used it to crease and add
some framing around the center stamps.

and i was dying to use the Simply Soft Hostess stamp set
and i am IN LOVE
with this color:  Pool Party.
not usually a favorite color of mine at all.
(and it could be because my 11 year old daughter loves it!)

i also love to add nice sentiments
that make a card useful at any time you may need it.
this word choice is one of those.
it comes from the Perfect Words stamp set,
which is another Hostess one from the new catalog.

you'll see more of these sentiments i'm sure.
thanks for coming to my blog.
thanks for reading my words.
and i truly hope you enjoyed it.

ok, i'll try it...

so steph howell,

who is one of my 

ALL TIME FAVORITE blogs

has challenged me...

i had a perfectly 

neat and tidy

post with some photos 

of a card

all planned out.

but, thanks to her,

i will blog from my heart today...

1. i just returned from the Yoga Conference in Estes Park.  this is the 5th time i have attended i believe. i always go with the anticipation that it will forever change me and make doing a daily yoga practice easy.  meaning, that i will WANT to get on the mat everyday and not feel like i am forcing myself as i do with all exercise.  once again, i loved it but can say that i realized, and i mean really realized, that it will always take some effort on my part to get my butt on the yoga mat.

2. i arrived home to a sense of 'goofiness' in the air around my family.  they were all acting a little cutesy and overly excited to see me.  i have to admit, i really liked it and didn't think much about it other then enjoying the fact they were so 'into' me.  little did i know that the 3 of them had a BIG surprise planned.  just as we sat down to dinner they all started into an argument and suddenly i turned around to rusty on ONE KNEE... 

yes, one knee,

just as if he was proposing all over again!!

and sure enough, he started telling me how much he loved me and how we had come a long way since his proposal 17 years ago.  he starts tearing up talking about all the good times and all the bad, about our two beautiful kids (who are piping in comments, i might add!) and how he wants to keep on doing it all... he then asks me if i will 'continue on' with him, by accepting a new wedding ring and a new engagement setting, complete with my diamond mounted in it!!!

i was speechless.

and crying.

and completely surprised and overwhelmed.  he had gone and chosen a platinum setting because in the last 16 years since our wedding i have really beaten up my ring.  it was bent and dented and just all around abused.  the sautering of the wedding and engagement rings had even come apart!!! i know, i am tough i guess.  and... we had always talked about 'redoing' it on our 15th wedding anniversary.  well, if you remember i had a hysterectomy a few days before it, so it skipped on by.

well,  not that it even matters now. because last night was truly magical.  after saying, 'of course', as i did the first time, we hugged, cried and all kissed, kids included.  

how much more can i blog about now?

how much more can i be grateful for in my life?

how much more can i appreciate?

how much more loved can i feel?

truly.

i am still overwhelmed.

and can't stop looking at my finger...

i'm blown away.

yoga conference.

off i head to the beauty 

of Estes Park

for the 

i have attended many, many times

and it is wonderful.

heaven on earth.

truly.

see you when i return.

love me some kraft cardstock!

when in doubt...
start with Kraft cardstock.
that is my motto.

so with this card, i started with Kraft...
added some awesome striped texture,

made a little tag, banner thing
with Just for You stamped on it.
and some bling.

used the decorative label punch
and an oval punch
to get a pretty piece,
filled it with Paisley Petals DSP.

and...
stamped some lovely words on the inside.
easy. and it all started with Kraft...

it's coming, it's coming...

i know many of you
did not like the 4th book
of the Twilight Series.

but i did...
and i can't wait...

yellow and gray card.

i got GREAT response to my craft supply sale
both here and on craiglist...
that i will be doing another one fairly soon...
so come back regularly!

my SIL loves my products i make.
she is always requesting them and always
asks for 'lousgoods'
for her birthday and holiday gifts.

so... this year i made her some
really pretty cards.

it was all based on this photo i found on pinterest...

i thought the colors were so great together.

So, i pulled out my trusty Color Coach
and proceeded to find
Basic Gray, Daffodil Delight (even though i thought of More Mustard when i first saw this photo), River Rock and an old sheet of Going Gray to achieve this look.

this is what i got...

some Basic Gray Satin Ribbon,
rippled to give a clean, crisp, feminine touch,
and a few pearls...

some texturizing with the
lines and houndstooth embossing folders...

and voila...
it is beautiful.

enjoy.
and have a great weekend.