It’s feeling like summer!

It has been a fast and furious month since I last posted…one of these days I will start posting more often, but for now, I do it when I can.

Life has been good for the Mooney’s lately. The day after the girls dance recital we headed off to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming for our vacation with our friends, the Fico’s. We stayed in a cabin outside of Bozeman, MT about 30 minutes north of the Gardiner entrance. Every which way you looked you saw magnificent mountains…check it out:

Yellowstone is just spectacular when it comes to seeing wildlife, we saw lots of bears, mountain goats, big horn sheep, bison, elk, mule deer, a coyote, trumpet swans and two bull nosed snakes. The only animal we didn’t see was a moose. They had a big fire in Yellowstone which burned up the trees that moose like to eat, so they have moved further south into the grand tetons. As the trees grow back, they expect the moose to return. Our friends from Alabama got up super early one morning to go see the wildlife (getting up super early on vacation doesn’t sounds like vacation to me, so we passed!) They left the house at 4 am and were rewarded with seeing wolf pups, a grizzly with a kill, grizzly cubs and lots of black bear cubs. So for them, the wild animal lovers, it was totally worth it. I was happy with just seeing them as we drove out of the park each night, there was plenty!! Here are some pics of the wildlife:

Here’s a pic of the whole family enjoying a little hike near Yellowstone lake:

and last but not least some amazing shots of Yellowstone, my favorite was the grand canyon of Yellowstone:

here's lake yellowstone:

and you have to see ol faithful while you are there:

Lastly, Yellowstone is known for its thermal activity, bubbling mud, fumaroles and geysers which make it truly unique. Here’s a few pics of that:

Now I just have to share a funny story! We finally took a nice hike away from lots of people and we were really enjoying ourselves. We met a family coming down the trail who said they had to leave their picnic, as they had seen a black bear and decided to get out of there. We were like, COOL! Let’s get up there! They happened to mention some sheep they had seen too. So, we come around a bend and see about 5 sheep that looked like this, pretty tame huh?

They were eating grass, looking at us, we were looking at them and wondering more about the bear. We didn’t take into account one thing:

8 year old Ben was last in line and decided to start bleating at the sheep..BAA BAA BAA…well the sheep didn’t like that at all and after a few seconds they started running at us!! I scooped Matilda up and ran like the dickens…Randy, (Ben’s dad) was ahead of me but started running past me, taking off his backpack so he could use it as a weapon….Joel had Matty up ahead and he started yelling, “Run for the trees!”…but that made me think…what about the damn bear???

Luckily, we made it to the trees, the sheep stopped running, and there was no bear to be found. Joel and Ralph (Randy’s Dad) kept an eye on the sheep while we gave them very wide berth….Randy was with the women and children and declared himself to be the secondary line of defense, in case the sheep broke past the other guys! All in all, looking back it was pretty funny, but I have to say the adrenaline was pumping for a minute or two, and we decided to cut our hike short just in case there was any other wildlife (besides Ben!) out there!! I mean if we can't handle sheep, I think a bear is definitely out of the question!

But it truly was a fabulous vacation. I am loving all the national parks. Next year maybe Zion???

I made another diaper cake last month for a bunko baby shower. I went with a vintage theme…check it out:

and here are the party favors:

the gift list:

and some thank you cards I made:

Ciao for now! Deidre

It’s 3 am, I can’t sleep and I need a new butt!

Yowsers…I am supposed to be sleeping right now.  Some of you might know from facebook that I woke up two days before my half marathon with leg pain, well actually butt pain!  I have had a problem with my piriformis muscle for well over a year now but nothing like this.  The piriformis muscle wraps around the sciatic nerve and when it is inflamed it squeezes the sciatic which is where the pain comes in.  Usually the pain would be off and on never more than a day.  This time it just kept getting worse.  I still ran the half marathon, although to be honest I limped most of it, which was really disappointing for me.  My body was ready, my mind was ready and my butt did not cooperate.  It was the first long run I did where my feet didn’t hurt.  I finished in 2:29, which was better than the average time but I know if I had really been able to run like I had been doing for all those months prior I could have probably finished around 2:10.  But I guess that means I just will have to do another one to prove it to myself!  The downside of all this, is that I am still limping.  Today it has been officially two weeks.  I am seeing a great sports medicine doctor who I thought gave me the miracle cure on Tuesday.  She gave me a shot of Markane (SP?) and steroids.  By the end of the day I was walking normally again.  Wednesday did great.  Thursday, limping again.

Not good, as we head out on Sunday to go to Yellowstone National Park for a week of hiking.  I am going to go back and see the Dr again tomorrow and am praying for a botox shot.  Supposedly the botox will paralyze the muscle and make me pain free.  At this point I just want to be myself again.  I want to go back to exercising and being my active self.  I wonder if she does decide to do the botox if there would be enough left for the old face!   hee hee hee

Here’s a pic of me crossing the finish line at the marathon:

    

I have been doing lots of stamping for my new club members and some other projects.  A friend asked me to make her some cards, as they are moving to Hawaii, to give to everyone with their new address.  I was only too happy to oblige and this is what I came up with:

The inside read the Kennedy’s are moving from one paradise to another!  I thought they really turned out cute (and they used up a bunch of my glorious green paper that I really had no idea how I was going to use!)

Then I had to make a little something for the girls dance teachers.  Here’s the card I made for them:

I also made them a little frame with the names of all the little girls in the dance class which turned out really cute, I especially love the saying..”all you need are toe shoes, a tutu and a willing heart”:

Well, I am off to try and sleep again, I think the medicine I took is keeping me awake along with hubby’s snoring, but I have to give it another shot...hope the dr gives me one tomorrow!  Wish me some sleep and a new butt!

Ciao for now…..Deidre!

Curlers and Coffee Baskets

Hey all…hope things are well where you guys are. I completely forgot in my last post to mention a slight obsession that I have…the band Daughtry! I got the chance to meet the band, go to their soundcheck before the concert and then had front row center seats for the show… and I have to say, I have never been that close before and it is fantastic!

I usually have the worst luck getting good seats for concerts. I thought we had bought level 1 seats off the floor for Aerosmith when we went to Vegas a few years back. When we got there we were the second row from the very tippy top. Our seats at $129 a pop were so bad that the sound equipment was hanging below our field of vision blocking the jumbotron so for the entire show we got a great view of Steven Tyler’s crotch and that was it. If the music had not been so good we would have left!! So this was a major treat for me. I have loved Daughtry since he was on American Idol. When the first album came out in 2007 Joel was in Iraq and he and the girls would sing “Home” to each other over the computer and for many months after he came home for good. Even at 2.5 the girls knew who Chris Daughtry was! They have every song memorized on the newest album and ask to listen to it all the time in the car. I love that they know all about my favorite group and love hearing their sweet little voices singing the songs. Here are some pics from up close:

this was the soundcheck

here’s where I got to meet the band:

here’s from front row center at the concert:

We had a blast although my ears rang for a day and I was really tired from staying up so late waiting to get Chris to sign my cd, but at around 2 in the morning he came out and we did get them signed so it was worth the wait!!!

My girls had to get ready for a show last week so we got to use sponge rollers for the first time and let me tell you those suckers work..the girls look like they had stuck their fingers in a light socket for about 3 days! Here’s a pic I just have to post..Joel called them Myrtle and Ethel and they definitely looked like that!!

I also made it home to OK for my goddaughter’s graduation from high school. I was only there for 48 hours but I got to see my family and enjoy Samantha’s big day..here’s a pic of me with the graduate..isn’t she beautiful??

and for my stampers out there..I finished a coffee gift basket for the girls teacher for her birthday. All the kids brought something to put in the basket and I made some cards and tags for her. Check them out:

I got my color scheme for the cards from the dish towel we used in the basket. Another fun thing was I shredded coffee filters to use as the stuffing for the baskets. It turned out really cute!

Ciao for now…..Deidre

Life is good but busy….

Hey everyone…life has been moving so fast around here that it seems like I hardly have time to breathe!

So let me recap what has been going on around here since I last posted:

I am starting up some new stamp clubs and have had great response this time which is really wonderful because it keeps me in business as a Stampin’Up demonstrator and makes me stay on track making things for them, which forces me to get my therapy time in and that makes everyone happier!!!

I am training for my first half marathon and for a non runner like me that is not an easy task. Because I have paid the entry fee for the Rock and Roll Marathon I have been doing the work and am super proud to say that I ran 11 miles on Sunday which is by far the most I have ever ran in my life and it went pretty well, I have to say!

Last week was teacher appreciation week and as room mom I was responsible for making a poster for the room, a sash for the teacher to wear to the luncheon, a basket tag and a placemat for the luncheon. Of course, most of the stuff got made the day before (what happened to the procrastination resolution huh???) and I forgot to get pics of everything but here is the poster I made for her and before you notice it… I did get an extra c added to the word “success!"

Much thanks to Heidi and Tricia who helped me cut out all the cupcake parts while we were watching our kids do gymnastics!!

I was also recently involved in a charm insert swap for Stampin'Up's simply adorned jewelry line...I had the tag from a workout shirt that I had bought and I really loved the colors and style of it, so I used it as my inspiration. Here is the tag and my charm insert that I made:

and here is the insert inside the charm:

I know there’s more but that’s what pops in my head right away!!!

I have pics of lots of things to post so I will try and do better this week and get some more blog posts done!

Ciao for now……..Deidre

Supermom!

Hey everyone..hope your week is going well…I am actually starting to get caught up on things…all my projects are finished, birthday cards went out in the mail...one from last month,one from this past week and one for next week! Ha! At least one of them will be there on time. You would think since I am a cardmaker I would be better at that! I do need to get my Mother’s Day cards going… I just can’t decide whether to go westerny like this:

http://www.tenealewilliams.com.au/wp02/2010/04/16/inkspirations-sketch-challenge-21/

or flowery like this:

http://itsastampthing-vicki.blogspot.com/2010/04/elements-of-style-friend.html

Both really suit my Mom, so I am still thinking!!! Speaking of supermoms ( and I have one of them!!) I have to tell you a funny that Matty said to me last week….we were walking over to the neighborhood pool (don’t be hating…our mortgage is extremely overpriced...got to love CA!!! but I get to swim in March and April…it’s a trade off!!) I was pushing the girls in the jogging stroller and thinking about maybe I could possibly push them for a jog, since I am training for this half marathon and during all spring break I did not get to run..anyways I digress…This would mean pushing 100 pounds with improperly aired tires and running which would not be easy…oh yeah and add in hills. So I said out loud to the girls…” Maybe tomorrow we could go out in the stoller and let Mom jog a couple of miles…can you guys sit still for that?” Then I said, “ I don’t know if I can do it though” and Matty says “you can do it Mom, you can do anything…you are SUPERMOM!” God I love that girl!!! Made me grin all the way to the club! If you are wondering...I didn’t even try to take them for a jog…but I did get my jog in!!

Matilda also had a funny comment when we got back from the club that day…they were having some cereal on the patio for a snack since they were ravenous after swimming and Matilda says to Matteson… ‘isn’t this a lovely cafe??” Um, that makes me a waitress, not a supermom don’t you think????

I got an order for my third diaper cake if you can believe that!! This one was going to Chicago for a baby shower and needed to match the Carter’s Tree Tops bedding line which had owls and squirrels and foxes. So I scoured cyberland trying to find punch art owls and the other animals. I found the owls, and a squirrel but no fox. I found a bag with a fox face but I was really wanting to have the whole fox…so don don daaaa…I am the first one to make a punch art fox!!! Woohoo…here is my little guy!

and here is the whole cake:

They are really fun to make!!! So for those of you that are tired of diaper cakes..here is a card I am making for a shoebox swap next week:

Hope you are all well and have a great weekend!!!

Ciao for now….Deidre!

Hearst Castle and Diaper Cakes!

Hey everyone…..hope you are all doing well.  Things are sort of back to normal here in casa di Mooney.  We had company in for a week, then a friend from college was in town so we spent a day with her, the next day we packed our bags, took the dogs to the kennel and the following day left on a great vacation.  Add to that I got an order from someone who attended the baby shower to make the shower favors for her sister’s baby shower which of course needed to be done before I left AND my company asked me while they were here to make some baby shower invitations and let’s just suffice it to say I was really busy!!!  I just realized as I typed this, that I forgot to take a pic of that baby shower invite too, darn it!  Well, I will have to have her take one and email me I guess!!! 

So we headed off to the wedding on Wednesday….oh yeah and picture this…while I was getting my pedicure done on Tuesday, I was making the favors for the wedding and am happy to report I finished assembling all 50 butterfly matchboxes while I was sitting there….all the little Korean ladies has tons of questions about those, and I was sure glad to not have to work on them in the car!  The coast along highway 1 in California is so amazing and rugged and beautiful, we just loved seeing it and everything that the area has to offer.  Our view from our room at the Ragged Point Inn was just amazing as seen here:

but for the first time in a long time, we had no cell phone service or decent internet.  I paid for a satellite service but it was really spotty and went in and out the whole time and was about the speed of dial up and as everyone knows it is really hard to go backwards when you are used to superfast internet, so I just put the computer aside and enjoyed myself!!

We drove to Monterrey on Thursday and went to the aquarium which was very fun and hands on, then on the way back to the hotel we found the most awesome restaurant…Nepenthe….we loved it and the view so much from there, we drove the hour back there on Sunday to have dinner there again!  Very cool place and here is their website if you ever go to the area:  http://www.nepenthebigsur.com/

Here was my view:

Then on Friday we toured Hearst castle and it was simply amazing, all the attention to detail was something else!  

Here are some pictures of the neptune pool:

and here is the indoor pool:

and the dining room:

I think Matty said it best at the end of the tour while we were in the theater room watching old black and white movies of WR Hearst and his guests:  “ Mom, I am really impressed.  This guy did a great job building this house!”  That’s my girl!  We also saw the seals as we were driving there:

The wedding was Saturday and took place in this spot:

here’s a pic of the happy couple:

and here is the beautiful reception area:

I wish I could post pics of the girls in their flower dresses…. they got their hair curled for the first time and spun and twirled so cute on the dance floor.  The said it was the best day ever when they went to bed that night!

The last day there we took a hike not far from the hotel to a great waterfall:

and I think this last pic really exemplifies the Big Sur area:

 

and not to forget to mention it..the drive over to highway 1 on Highway 46 had the most amazing show of wildflowers, the hillsides actually looked like they were on fire!

So I am killing you guys with pics this time but I have to show you my great diaper cake for the baby boy jungle theme shower, here where the invites that were my inspiration:

and here is the cake:

and here are all the favors and things I made her to go along with:

and guess what???  I already have another order for a diaper cake!!  Maybe I have found my niche after all!!!

Ciao for now!!!     Deidre

The Baby Shower-Froggy Style

Hey everyone, so it seems life has been super crazy this past couple of weeks and it won’t be getting any better until March is over! Yikes! The past few weeks I had a stamp camp and then was preparing for a baby shower that I hosted for our realtor here. I really had fun putting everything together... so let’s get to it and I will show you what I did although I forgot to take pictures of everything! DOH!

Lea is having her third baby and her third little boy..but this woman does nothing conventionally and has had them each 6 years apart so it is like a new child every time!! She says she did it on purpose to make sure they weren’t in college at the same time!! She is young though, so she can definitely handle it! I love baby showers so I offered to help host one and my part was all the decorations. We had it at beautiful home across the street from the Mom to be. Lea and her sister did the food, and a friend of Lea’s from LA did the punch, so it was definitely a collaborative effort!

I just have to share the most yummy appetizer that we had, I wish I had taken a picture of it but they went too fast. It was fresh asparagus wrapped in bacon and then crisped with red pepper slices under the broiler...that’s it! Oh so good! The only trick to it is you have to dump the grease twice while cooking it, so that they will be crispy not sitting in the grease. YUM-O!!

Here is a pic of my favorite part, the candy buffet:

and here are the little baby bottles that they filled with the candy as their party favors:

and some smaller ones:

Here is the diaper cake…my first!! It took a case of diapers from Costco plus about 30 from a small package, I pulled 10 out to do the poopy diaper game (hey don’t knock it, the Mom to be specifically requested it!!)

Here’s the gift bag I made for her gift:

All the frogs are made from punches….wide oval for the face, 1 3/4 inch circle for belly, large oval for legs and boho blossom flower for toes, 1/2 circle for white part of the eye, 1/4 circle for black eye and then for the mouth, I punched out an oval and then punched a strip with the tab label to get the strip for the mouth!! I shaded everything with the same color green to give it dimension….they turned out so cute!! The daisy’s are our Daisy number 2 die for the big shot.

Here’s the cards I made to play the two games:

and here’s the poopy diapers ready for action:

We also played a game where you had to guess what baby items were in the brown paper bags with the letters spelling out baby shower..I forgot to get a pic of the mantle with the word all spelled out but here is the Mom to be standing in front of them, isn’t she the cutest?

It was much fun and much work and now I am pooped!!! One last pic for you though, I sold one of our decor elements tree to the lady who hosted the party a while back and finally got a picture of how she used it in her house…it is so cool and fit perfectly in this little alcove above her desk..such a fun idea!!

Now I have to go get used to this time change and relax a little…oh wait I have company coming in two days..4 people for a week, guess no relaxing for me, it’s off to clean!!

Ciao for now!!! Deidre