Pictures from New York and Maine

I apologize that I haven't really been on the ball lately, but it has been such a busy couple of weeks, between visiting relatives and packing and getting organized for a four day road trip to Maine sans munchkins.

The first few photos are from last Tuesday. My mom, the munchkins, and I went to pick up two of my aunts from JFK Intl. in New York. They were flying in from Minneapolis. Here's a pic of my mom waiting for their luggage with Allie McButterpants (the quality isn't the greatest until I started playing with the settings, they get better I swear):

From the airport we drove over to Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Maspeth, Queens. My great-grandmother was laid to rest there in 1929, sadly, without a headstone. Part of our mission in New York was to find a monument maker to makr the grave properly and without an astronomical cost. In the photo my great-grandmother's final resting place is two rows behind the masoleum seen in th epicture:

After wandering Queens and finishing up sme not-so-much-fun stuff we decided to head into Manhattan and enjoy some of the touristy stuff, like Rockerfeller Center:

And Radio City Music Hall (from left to right, Zachie, my aunt Caroline, my mom, my aunt Barb, and random guy who rudely walked in font of me as I took the picture):

We also drove by ground zero before heading back to South Jersey and they went on to my parents home in PA.

That Friday, Jimmy and I packed up the kids to go to my parents and packed up ourselves to visit his best bud in Portland, Maine. While the 8 hour drive leaves something to be desired, the trip was fun and relaxing and a welcome mini-vacation from the munchkins.

One of the first things we went to see was the Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth. OH, did I mention that they had had 29 inches of snow in the prior week, which was still covering everything in sight? This is the entrance to Fort Williams Park, where the lighthouse is located:

This is picture from the side of the lighthouse of the rocky, snow-covered coast. I love, love, love how this pic turned out:

And of course, the light itself:

As I said we were visiting friends, and they have the most adorable 8-month old bundle of love, who goes by the name of Griffin. He's my new beau:

This is JImmy and his buddy doing what they do best, ROCK BAND!

On the way home we decided to stop in Connnecticut at th eMohegan Sun Casino. We put a few dollars in the slots and I actually walked away with nearly $300... Which put a nice little smile on my face:

So that's it for pictures.

I have a few crafting packages coming in the mail. I ordered some new supplies and a few cartridges for my Cricut, so I will have some fun things to show you soon, promise...

:)

Hey What's that up there?

...Oh that? It's just my new banner... You likey? I made a collage, and then I took a picture. I think it's snazzy... :) That's all... I am leaving in the am for Maine! Woot! Woot! I'll check you folks on the flipside!

Cards to match the Candles...

One quick post before bed tonight. I need to get lots of rest because are flying in from Minneapolis tomorrow and we are going to pick them up at JFk in New York, which is like a 2-hour drive. We are goign to go see where my great gramma is buried in Queens, luncheon at a German restaurant and then visit Ellis Island. It will be a full day and I am so looking forward to it! Anywho, these are the cards I made to go along with the candle gifts in my post from a few days ago. First the butterfly card:

The sentiment: The butterfly:

fun little extras:

And the western themed card:

The sentiment:

The boots:

The horseshoes:

I am really pleased with these and I hope they like their gifts! I don't think I'll be blogging much this week, what with family in and all. My aunts are staying long, they leave on Friday, which also happens to be the day that Jim and I are headed to Maine for a child-free 4-day weekend. I just can't wait!

How are you today? Because I AM Fabulous...

Check it out...

Well, at least my blog is! :) I have been stalking Nellie's This Little Blog of Mine... for some time now, and then today I got a little note telling me to hop on over and check out her blog... And there it was, the darling award you see above me... Proof that I rock.... :) Errr... my blog rocks! Same difference really...

So I'd like to pass the torch on to some fellow bloggers that I think are wicked fab too:

Drumroll please...

Lauren {All the Good Blog Names Were Taken}

&

Maria {Maria's Craft Room}

Your Blogs rock ladies!!

A couple of challenges, and a gift for my aunts...

Ok, so two of my aunts are coming into town from Minneapolis next week, and my mom and I were trying think of a fun gift to greet them with, (without spending a whole lot extra)... I remembered that she had bought some extra jar candles, the big ones, around Christmas and assured her that I could jazz them up nicely... I took the inspiration for the color choices in the first candle from Kristina Werner's Blog seen here:

My Aunt Caroline digs butterflies and this such a fun friuty summery color inspiration that it just screamed butterflies to me, oh and the candle scent is cherry pie, yum! So here's the end result:

I drew the butterfly myself. I have been doodling butterflies for ages now, I mean really, since grade school... I doodled A LOT in grade school... However, I went to Catholic school, and they just weren't the biggest fans of copybooks with pages and pages of doodles... It was bad... Anywho, here's the butterfly:

I also got an Amy Butler mat pad for Christmas, and I cut this bad boy out of one of the pages, backed it in white and popped it onto some groovy striped paper:

I decorated the lid with some Primas and a button to finish it all off:

For my Aunt Barb, who is obsessed with all things cowboy, (she even had a western themed wedding), I used the color combo for this week's challenge from Our Creative Corner Blog, which was two blues and a nuetral. Here is the candle:

I didn't have any cowboy paper or stamps, so I drew the boots too. I really love the way they came out:

And the lid:

I love the way these worked out, but now I am off to craft some more... I am on a roll, and I gotta stick with it!

Oh, I have been a bad blogger...

... haven't I? Here it is, over a week since my last post, and yet I still have nothing to show. I have been quite busy though, I swear.

Allie's 3rd birthday went well, we did some sightseeing and made a day of it. Since then, it has just been a lot of cleaning and organizing... I am even going through my craft stuff. I don't have a seperate room here, what with it only being a two-bedroom apartment and all, to solely house my craft stuff. Although, I do have my sights on the rather large storage closet next to the bathroom, if I can only get Jim to install some shelving and a fold out table... :)

I got these awesome bins from Target that had been in the dollar section, so things are progressing nicely. I have even decided to purge some things I know I will never get to using.. Yeah for me!

So I promise, very soon, I will have a creation or two to showcase, stay tuned till then! :)

Happy 2009!

Happy New Year!

Today is a busy day for us. To be honest this week has been quite busy. Having the kids home from school all week has been exhausting, and I just haven't had time to really play with all the fun stuff Santa left for me. :(

In other news, I spent the majority of New Year's Eve jamming out on Rock Band... It is so fun! I even threw my hand at singing some songs on hard... Good Times, Good Times...

Oh well. Anywho, my parents are coming over for dinner, pork and sauerkraut, yummmmm.... And tomorrow I am going shopping for just one more birthday surprise for Allie... I was hoping to get to some fun stuff before the weekend, but it looks like all things crafty will be put on hold until after the weekend is over. :(

I did make a resolution this year: To see my bestest more often. Of my two closest girlfriends, one lives just outside DC, in Maryland, and the other lives in PA. After having moved here to the dirty jerz, I just haven't been as social, so I want to make it a point to see them more often and have more girl time. What are some of your resolutions?