Nature, Papercuts, Brews & Tea

Eventful Week!

2011-01-21T12:35:00.000-08:00

So as you can see I haven't kept up with my hopes of blogging every week but at least I have had good intentions AND I am here now, right?? :)

Things have been good, but busy of course. I've been working on a few different projects these days and had some deadlines that needed to be kept. But I'm very happy it's the weekend and I'm starting to see some time to get working on some NEW projects!

One thing that I've been working a lot on lately are beer tap labels for The Gamble Mill. I've actually been able to help Mike out on a few mini projects for the Mill like creating a place mat for their samplers and a Brewer's Club Card. The labels have been pretty intense though. They first started as having just the name of the beer because legally they needed to display the name on the taps. However, after the first draft of those we all realized that they looked pretty boring and should be jazzed up a bit. I started drawing pictures to go with the beers. I've been struggling though because they are NOT papercuttings. I initially thought about doing cuttings for them but through different tries and debating I ended up going with straight drawings. The problem is that even though I do a bit of drawing for my papercuttings, my drawings are VERY sketchy and usually look very different than a final "cut." So I've been slightly stressed out drawing and having that be the final result! But I FINISHED! A nice relief for sure to have that done. Maybe if you head out to the Mill you'll get to see the final product. I did the originals in color but I think they might end up using a black and white version.

Other big news - I filed my first round of sales taxes! This is a huge accomplishment for me because I feel like I really own my own business! It may be small and I move slowly, but it is happening and it's pretty awesome! Something I haven't really made too public yet is that I do have a website: www.originalpapercuttings.com. It's still very much in it's beginning stages, I have a ton more pictures to add and I might even revamp some of the look as well. I am doing it all on my own though so it's taking a long time. I'm also going to be able to sell things right on it too. So stay tuned to see progress on that as well!

Something else I accomplished this past week was making a design to submit into a t-shirt contest for ORION. This is a program through Shaver's Creek for incoming freshman at Penn State. Students go on a week-long backpacking trip in small groups of 12. At the end of the week they either participate in a high-ropes course or a day of canoeing. It gives them the opportunity to get to know new people, form bonds that often last through their entire college experience, challenge themselves physically and emotionally, and just an awesome way to start out in college. I got to work with ORION for 2 years when I was in college. One year as a trip leader and the following year as a logistics organizer. It was a great experience and as a result I have always had a special place in my heart for ORION. So when I heard that they were going to do a t-shirt contest I was excited to participate.

This is the design I came up with. I had a ton of fun creating it, and it was especially rewarding since I haven't been cutting for so long. Look closely and you will see 12 hikers, 2 tents, binoculars, a screech owl, the sun & moon, canoeing and a high ropes course.
The contest will begin on Monday I believe so I'll try and post where you can vote!

I also was able to go to a girls Crafty Night last night, which was so much fun. I've always wanted to have a craft group to go to but somehow have never really found one. I'm so excited to now know so many people who also like to create! It was a great evening and I actually was able to complete a new scarf for Teagan. She really needs one for playing in the snow. Although after making it I realized it's not the warmest thing so it might turn into more of a boa instead of a scarf. Luckily she likes it!!

Blowing kisses like a movie star :)

Drawing with her new scarf :)

AND, now the most exciting news...Teagan has begun her potty training journey!! It was really a distant thought in my mind just a few weeks ago, but she has taken the lead on this one! We have a potty book that we read every once in awhile, but about 2 weeks ago we were reading it and all of a sudden she jumped up and ran to the bathroom. Started pointing to the toilet and opening the lid and pretending to flush and everything. So I thought...maybe we should get her a potty soon. So we did and she LOVED it! She was so interested and has spent probably hours so far just exploring it. I wasn't sure if we were close to having her actually use it but it happened the other night - #2! (Sorry for the detail but I'm so excited!) and then again last night for Mike while I was out at crafty night! I am still in so much shock and am so excited about it! Still no #1, which I think is a little strange, but hey, we'll take what we can get! It's just so crazy - 18 months old! I'm so proud of her!!

I'll spare you and her the awkwardness of posting pictures of her really "using" it! :)

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-05T09:04:00.000-08:00

WE'RE BAAAACK!!

Yes, it is true, I have made the decision to pick up blogging again! I've been missing it for the last two years and decided to treat myself to getting back into it. I've kept journals off and on since my childhood and never really thought that blogging would be for me. But once a dear friend of mine started one I found myself becoming addicted to it. I would check it everyday just hoping to find new pictures or read of something they've been up to (she lives in FL so it was so nice to be able to stay in touch on another level besides random phone calls.) But then the inevitable happened, life...and blogging had to take a back seat. I remember continuing to check it everyday but as the time passed I knew that the chances were more and more slim that I would find something new.

So taking some time to evaluate why I was obsessed with her blog I decided that there was no need to become frustrated with not getting my "fix" I could take matters into my own hands and create my own blog. Nature, Papercuts & Brew was born and I LOVED doing it! I found writing very rewarding and it was especially nice since we didn't live near anyone we knew. I found it to be a nice way to keep in touch (this was before Facebook :). However, life caught up to us too. Teagan was born and that was pretty crazy. Then balancing work and family proved to be an even bigger challenge. THEN we decided to completely uproot ourselves and move from Ithaca back to State College. Teagan was only 6months old when we made the decision and, well, fast-forward another year and here we are. I'm sure not anywhere near "settled" but at least gaining ground and feeling closer to that goal. I see this coming year as being equally busy or even more but I am going to try my best to continue to blog.

Another part of my New Year's Resolutions is to spend less time on Facebook. I admit, I am a bit obsessed at times, looking at it multiple times a day. I find hours just slipping through the cracks and this has contributed to my feelings of not accomplishing enough. So less time on FB and more time blogging. It's a strange swap (still computer time) but at least with blogging I can feel like I'm accomplishing something. I look back on the past couple of years from our blog and it's such a fun reminder of what all we did. It's like having an on-line scrapbook. Also, I mentioned that I'm going to "treat" myself to blogging again. That is the truth. I really enjoy doing this, so why deny myself that happiness? I guess I've always been brought up to work first and then play, I used to put blogging into the "play" category. Not that it will change into a "work" category now, but something that is necessary to keep me happy. My problem is that I can never see the end of "work" so I never get to the "play". Does that make sense? I guess what I'm trying to say is that I am making time for myself, doing something that I really like to do and I'm going to do that at least once a week. I deserve it! :)
(Not that I needed to defend why I'm going to blog again, but it feels good to say it.)

So onto happenings. Here is another dilemma that I constantly put onto myself...how far back should I go with what I post about?? I'd like to pick up from the last post and do a brief catch-up, but just the thought of that is way too overwhelming. So I'll just start new :)

Here is Teagan this morning. Happy and wanting to sing the alphabet song. She doesn't say a ton of words yet but she's getting close. Loves to say "NO" and is finding ways to make her needs and wants known. Just this past week she seems to have really discovered her strength and ability to climb. Shes climbing the furniture and even got up onto a kitchen chair all by herself. It's really giving me a taste of reality and what's to come!

Here is another "taste" of the New Year! Mike's family tradition of the Worski. I won't elaborate too much on what is in it but it's ridiculous and at times is referred to as "The Widow Maker." Need I say more? But once you see and taste the Worski, you know that a new year has arrived. :)

And look! Teagan is ready to give it a try! I think you need to open up a little wider! :)
Just kidding. She was singing her ABC's :)

Happy New Year and keep checking back because there will be more!

Beer Pancakes: The Session

2010-09-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

Check out Mike's first review!

Beer Pancakes: The Session

We're Still Breathing!

2010-01-22T08:01:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of the state parks in winter - so pretty!

Hello out there!
I know I've been such a HORRIBLE blogger over the past YEAR! I do think about this everyday though, so I have high hopes that I will someday get back into the swing of things.

We have all been doing really well and I'm sure as you can guess have been very busy and having lots of fun! Teagan is doing great and growing soo fast! She will be 7months old next week, which is crazy to think about! She has her two bottom teeth and is eating solids on an irregular basis. I blame myself for not being diligent with feedings. But she is starting to get into it and has tried several different fruits and veggies. She is also doing great on her belly and probably just a few weeks away from crawling. Right now she can spin on her belly and push off of things. She is also VERY strong and loves to stand. She can stand on her own for several minutes. AND she is just starting to be able to wave when you wave to her. She is so cute and such a happy baby. We feel so lucky to have her in our lives. Oh yeah - she is weighing around 18.5 lbs (probably closer to 19 now) and is around 25in long and sleeping great - goes to bed around 8pm and gets up around 7 or 8 am. Yeah, we really cannot complain at all, but believe me, we appreciate how good she is and are thankful every day!

Well, I really need to get going because I still have some Christmas presents to put together! What a surprise - right? Maybe next year I can get done before January. But for now my goal is to be done by the end of January!

Anyways, here are a few recent pics of Teagan.
And now hopefully I can get motivated to write more frequent!

Teagan is so excited to drive!

Her first mohawk!

Standing and watching Abner :) - she loves watching the kitties!

Frogger in Bumbo

Flower Head

Enjoying her prunes - yumm :P

Standing with her new stroller & baby.

So cute in her sunglasses

Hanging with Pops

Teagan has found her tongue too :)

PS - if you enjoy this blog and look forward to new posts, leave me comments so that I know :) It helps to have some pressure! Ha!

Teagan Photos!

2009-11-14T20:05:00.000-08:00

I know I've been bad with posting but here are some Teagan photo albums!
Maybe someday I'll be able to get back to real posts :)

Teagan 4 months

Teagan 3 months

Teagan 2 months

Scott & Roxie's Surprise!

2009-09-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Mike's family had their yearly reunion at Keuka Lake. This year was a little different though because Mike's parents were at their house to pretty much stay for the rest of the summer. They have both retired this year and are quite excited about this next step of life. They also celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary, Scott turned 60 this year AND they both became grandparents for the first time ;). So with all of these fun and exciting events happening, the 3 kids got together and decided to throw them a surprise party to celebrate!

It had been quite the chore to keep this party a surprise, but the biggest surprise was that Ryan, Sarah, Betsy and Ben were coming to town for it! We had to plan how to present this surprise in the most fun way, so here is what happened:

The day of the party, we were at the lake and somehow had to get Scott and Roxie out onto their boat (we were going to take them by boat, up the lake to a state park where the party was going to be held.) Mike and I had to get them onto the boat without them suspecting anything too big. We decided to present them with two gifts and told them that they were late anniversary presents but for them to make sense, they had to open them out on the lake. So off we headed to the boat and the 5 of us (Teagan's first boat ride) headed up the lake.

They were pretty funny as we traveled and you could just see the wheels turning in their heads. Finally we stopped across the lake from the state park and allowed them to open their gifts.

Each box contained one receiving blanket and a rubber band. The reaction we got was exactly what we were going for - Roxie said, "you aren't pregnant again are you?" HA! We let the silence linger for a few moments and then said....no! Today these are not receiving blankets, they are actually blindfolds. And now we need to blindfold you so you can get your real present.

Now the wheels were REALLY spinning and they were so confused with what we were going to do to them. It was great! So once the blindfolds were on we headed across the lake to the state park.

We first had to make a quick stop at the dock to pick up the 4 kids. Quietly they jumped onto the front of the boat and then we headed up a little further along the lake to where the whole group was gathered.

Once we got to a spot where we could see the whole group on shore we let them take their blindfolds off and look around. They then discovered Ryan, Sarah, Betsy and Ben on the boat and all the people on shore. What a fun surprise and they never suspected a thing! It was a success! (Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the big reveal but I'm sure you can imagine their shocked faces :).

Here is a fun cake we had made for them with their wedding picture on it.

Their love still burns brightly!

Here are most of the girls. Both Scott and Roxie's families were there - so much fun!

The whole gang :)

We also got to meet Ryan & Sarah's new baby - Durok. Here is Evan and Conell walking him.

Aunt Toni, Mia & Teagan. Mia was so excited about Teagan :)

Uncle Mike provided root beer, which was a huge hit - especially with the kids.

Auntie B with Teagan

After the picnic we all headed to the Treehouse for a little after party.

Sleepy Babies - Mike with Durok & Auntie B with Teagan

Teagan passed out after a busy and hot day!

Brian and the boys

And one final goofy picture - Evan got ahold of my camera and has turned into quite the photographer :)

State College Trip

2009-09-11T19:02:00.000-07:00

We got to make a quick trip home a few weeks ago because a friend of ours, Jim was getting married. We were so excited to join them on their special day.

His wife, Jess is such a great person - we're really happy for them!

We also got to reunite with Louis. Here is Mike, me, Jess, Jim & Louis :)
This was also my first extended period of time away from Teagan. We both did well.

Here is a hanging papercut that I did for them. I've been a little bad about papercutting lately so I decided to offer them a custom made papercutting instead. So one of these days I will make a framed one for them with their requests.

Of course we had some family time too.

Here is Conell with Teagan. He loves her so much! Every time we are together he wants to hold her and is so interested in what she is doing and how she is.

Some QT with Auntie Jeannie

The ladies - Teagan with Gammy & Gram :)

Proud grandparents

These are pictures of me and Teagan in the same outfit. My mom had saved a lot of outfits of mine from when I was a baby so we had fun dressing Teagan up. Can you tell who is who?

This is me and Teagan is above :)

Some of Teagan's Firsts

2009-08-10T13:27:00.000-07:00

Teagan has been growing in leaps and bounds! She is now 11 weeks today! I actually started this post a few weeks ago but got distracted and so there is a lot more to add. Here are some fun "first" experiences that she's had.

Here she is taking a bath. It's actually her second bath (I was by myself for her first bath and couldn't manage the camera at the same time.) She really seems to enjoy bath time so we do it about every other day.

Here she is on her first stroller ride - we went about a mile and a half - slept most of the way :) We've been trying to take walks regularly. She really seems to enjoy being outside.

Here she is with my parents downtown Ithaca. There was a band playing - so technically this was her first concert (although I can't remember what the band was.)

Here we are at our first meal out at a restaurant. We went to Kilpatrick's with my parents. She was really good and slept almost the whole time.

Here we are with David, Jeannie, Evan & Conell. This was Teagan's first hike - we went to Buttermilk Falls. She slept through the whole hike but woke up for ice cream afterwards :)

A second hike at Robert H. Treman the next day.

The girls at Robert H. Treman.

Her first brewery tour!

Here she is at Taughannock Falls State Park with Mike's parents. Again, she was really good and slept most of the time. Although she did wake up a minute to catch a quick glance of the falls :)

She was really excited :) Now we just need to get her to Watkins and we'll have all the major parks!

Here she is on her first long car ride to State College - she did really good - slept most of the way! She has been traveling really well.

Here we are after my first day back to work and her first whole day at day care. We've been doing pretty good with the adjustment. It was definitely the hardest thing to do but we're happy with the place she is going. I'm working 4 days a week for now, so that really helps with the transition.

And here we are at the Trumansburg Fair at Teagan's (and my) first MONSTER TRUCK show! Oh man, I was not prepared for that at all and soon realized that was not the best idea. SOOOO LOUD! Not the best place for an infant...but now we can say that Teagan was at a monster struck show when she was just one month old.....oh boy!

Watch Her Grow

2009-07-22T12:22:00.001-07:00

Here is a recap of pictures from the past several weeks!
She's been doing really well and we've been having a ton of fun with her :)

Coming home from the hospital - 2 days old

3 days

4 days

Enjoying her new swing - 4 days

5 days

1 week

Hands - 9 days old

Outside with Mom - 9 days

Outside with Dad

9 days

Thinker :)

Being cute as usual

12 days

Cloth Diapers!

She likes getting her diaper changed - we have it set up in our bedroom on my dresser - she loves to look at the red wall and stare at the pretty scarf that hangs down.

13 days

13 days - in new PINK outfit!

14 days

15 days - girly outfit

Snuggling with Daddy

18 days - I love this picture. I had given her a bath and it was a little chilly out so I wanted to bundle her up. It looks like she's been attacked by the pink pepto bismol monster!

20 days - testing out the tub

Being silly :)

22 days - hanging with Mom

Cute little toes - 22 days (although I guess I should really say cute LONG toes - she has the hands and feet of her father - very long digits!)

She is so cute sometimes - I just can't stand it!!
26 days

Hanging out in the Moby - she really loves being in this wrap and I love it too because I can use both hands! That is actually how I am getting the time to post on the blog right now!
This was taken today - 26 days! I can't believe she is going to be 4 weeks old on Friday!

Teagan Has Visitors!

2009-07-22T11:34:00.000-07:00

Teagan has been having several visitors as you may imagine! Unfortunately I wasn't always on top of my picture taking game and missed a few people, but I'm sure we will get more!

Of course there have been several visits with both sets of grandparents.

Here is my mom and dad with Teagan.

And Mike's parents with her :)

And of course we had a good visit with Auntie B (we miss her so much!)

She also got a fun visit with our friends Nicole and Mike.

(We missed pictures of Patina, Bill & Dylan's visit :( - sorry guys!)

David and Jeannie were also able to make it up for a couple of days - It was great to have them finally meet their first niece!

And Teagan got to meet her only cousins! Conell was so excited to meet her and just wanted to hold her all the time. He was so cute. And then Evan was the complete opposite and said - I don't like to touch babies :) It's so funny how different they can be at times! Evan at least was able to kiss her on her head before leaving.

Mike's grandparents were also able to make it over for a quick visit!

And also my boss, Sue and her husband Don got to meet Teagan as well.

We've been out and about a few times and have gotten to see most of the people we work with. So that has been fun. We're just so excited to share her with everyone!

Formal Announcement!

2009-07-08T10:37:00.001-07:00

Teagan Anne
Born 6-26-09 @ 10:58 pm
8 lbs. 10 oz.
20 in.

Such a sweet little girl - we are so grateful for her!

Then Along Came Teagan

2009-07-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

She's here! It's only taken me about 2 weeks to get around to posting this, but I'm sure you can understand the delay.

So our due date was June 19th and exactly one week later on the 26th, Teagan Anne blessed us with her emergence into the world.

Here's a little about how it all went: I had begun feeling some contractions late Tuesday night, but nothing painful, just more regular and strong. We had an appointment at the hospital Wednesday morning where they did a non-stress test to make sure the baby was doing well. Everything looked great - my contractions were pretty regular - about 7 mins apart and lasting around a minute each. I was getting excited! And I finally got the ok to stop working. I had been working full-time up until then and was really ready to just focus on the birth and taking it easy (so to speak.)

Here is Mike and me at Taughannock Falls - two days before Teagan was born. Betsy had never seen the falls so we had to make a quick stop by them.

Mike and Betsy

So we continued through Wednesday with not much difference, and by the time we were going to bed, things were slowing down a little - the contractions were only about 10 mins apart.

Thursday was a great day though! The contractions sped back up to being 7 mins apart. Mike took the day off because we had a good feeling things were going to get moving that day. We had big plans. In the morning I was able to squeeze in to see an acupuncturist and she did some things to encourage labor to progress. Then we decided to get some spicy Thai food and then go for a hike at Robert H. Treman State Park. It was all we could do to encourage the baby to get a move on :)

Here I am - the day before Teagan was born, hiking up the steps at RHT.

But evening came and still no signs of things changing - just that our hopes were high and we were staying positive and REALLY HOPING that tomorrow would be the day. (Also - Michael Jackson died that day) sort of crazy!

Then, at 3:50am, lying asleep in bed, my water broke! What a crazy sensation! And by 4:30am, my contractions began to finally have some umph to them - I could really start feeling that they were changing and becoming more intense. We went back to bed and tried to sleep some more - as hard as that was. I actually did sleep a little longer, just waking up for every contraction.

By 8:00am I was ready to get up and get some things ready (let the final nesting comence!) We let Betsy know that my water had broken and it looked like we might have finally arrived to our birth day!

I didn't actually call the Dr. until around 11:30 because I knew they would probably have us go to the hospital right away. I had really wanted to stay home as long as possible. But by that point I was feeling ready to get there and wanted to be able to relax and not have to worry about traveling in the midst of active labor.

We got to the hospital around 12:00pm and settled in. But really only about an hour after getting there, things started to get much more intense. I won't go into much detail since a lot of it is kind of fuzzy to me. I didn't use any medication at all, which I'm proud of myself for. I actually feel like it really wasn't nesessary. It's so amazing what your hormones can do and how well they take care of smoothing the process over. I know it was strong, and at times very painful, but I can't imagine it any other way. And I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with using medication, just that for me, it was the way to go.

Both Mike and I's parents traveled up to be here for the birth - here they are, anxiously waiting down the hall.

Anyway, at 10:58pm, Teagan Anne was born! It was sooo amazing and incredible, I'm still in shock daily that she is here and is so perfect. She was completely healthy and weighed in at 8lbs. 10oz!

And then there were THREE! Here we are right after she was born. And I must say that it was a lot of fun not knowing if she was going to be a boy or a girl. It was funny because that was a big thought of mine through the whole labor, so when she was finally born I was waiting for someone to YELL it out right away! But everyone was just standing there watching her and I finally had to ask what it was. They asked me if I could see, so I looked down and then saw that it was a girl.

We didn't actually name her until Sunday morning. We had a huge list of both girl and boy names and wanted to wait to see her before picking a name. We both really are happy with the name and think that it's quite fitting :)

The proud family:

Auntie B

Gram & Grandpa

Grandma, Daddy, Grandpa & Auntie B

Proud Daddy

Proud Mommy

We stayed at the hospital for two nights. Ithaca is luckily small enough that most times their maternity ward isn't very full. So Mike was able to stay with us both nights in our room and even have his own bed. The hospital experience was wonderful and all the staff (doctors and nurses) were really sooo great! We really felt so lucky to have had such a great. all-around experience.

Just a cute picture of a very sleepy Teagan in her Dad's arms (and a silly wrap job :)

Three cheers for Teagan!! We did it!!

19 Weeks & 4 Days

2009-06-20T09:40:00.000-07:00

This was our last peek inside - 19 Weeks & 4 Days

Can you see it's mouth open?

It didn't want to take it's hands away from it's face. But you can still get a little peek - so cute!

Belly Bump

2009-06-20T07:38:00.000-07:00

We're back! Well, at least for today. I know that I've been horrible with updating but I'm sure you can imagine things have been a bit busy.

These past 9 months have been a whirlwind of excitement, celebrations and anticipation. The pregnancy has gone so smoothly - I am truly so grateful!

So yesterday was my due date and as you might guess since I'm updating this blog - still no baby. But we are patiently waiting and are so curious as to when this little person will decide to enter the "outside" world :). Betsy (Mike's sister) has arrived from Portland, OR and is here to be our doula and support person throughout the labor and after delivery. We are SOO grateful to have her here. We were getting a little nervous that the baby wasn't going to wait for her, but it worked! Now we are just hoping the baby will come before she has to leave on the 29th. I have confidence though :)

Well, I have a list of things to accomplish this weekend so I won't be able to update much more but I figured I should at least put up some belly pictures before the baby arrives. Fun stuff!

13 Weeks

17 Weeks

21 Weeks

24 Weeks

28 Weeks

30 Weeks

32 Weeks

34 Weeks

39 Weeks

I've also started experimenting with making silhouettes on the computer and have had fun with doing my changing profile. Here are a few from our
"Bump Growing Journey".

17 Week Poke

24 Weeks
28 Weeks

35 Weeks

39 Weeks

Mike's Craft

2009-02-25T15:10:00.000-08:00

I almost forgot - Mike started a tradition in 2007 with designing our holiday card. I think he does such an amazing job! Don't we have such a great looking family? :)
Happy Holidays (and that's all for 2008 - we can now enter into 2009)!

2008

2007

My Crafts for 2008 Holidays

2009-02-23T17:20:00.000-08:00

I had a lot of fun with my holiday crafts this past year :0). For my main gift I ended up doing these cool 3D snowflakes. I had so many different ideas that I was throwing around but in the end I came back to these beauties. They're actually relatively easy to make but have such a pretty end result.

I first saw these last year at the papercutting conference that I went to. Then a friend of mine was making them for her craft, then Lauren (the girl I worked with) designed a snowflake program for work and had these as the craft. It was actually thanks to her because she taught me how to make them and inspired me to do more.

And if you would like to try and make one yourself, you can check out this website:
How to make a 3D Paper Snowflake

There are actually lots of websites and YouTube videos on how to make them - just search 3D snowflake. The only difference with the ones that I made were that I used hot glue instead of tape or staples. I found it worked better and looked nicer. Oh, and I sprayed them with glitter.

Then I also got into making ATCs (Artist Trading Cards). I've been hearing a lot about these and thought that they could be a fun and easy craft to do. I actually belong to a papercutting ATC group, although I had never attempted one before the ones I did for the holidays.

ATCs are miniature works of art created on 2 1/2 X 3 1/2 inch card stock. They are originals, small editions and most importantly, self-produced. Anybody can produce them. The idea is that you trade them with other people who produce cards, either at trading sessions, through the mail or wherever you meet another ATC trader.

The project was initiated in 1997 by Zurich artist M.Vanci Stirnemann, who created 1200 cards by hand as part of an exhibit. At the closing reception he invited others to create their own cards and trade with him. Since then several hundred people from all over the world have traded ATCs.

Artist Trading Cards are typically made on a base of card stock, however any base is acceptable. The art on the cards can be done in any media; pencil, pen, acrylic, oil, collage, textile arts, scratch board, digital art, calligraphy, beadwork, rubber stamps, pen and ink, colored pencil, airbrush, pastels, and many others - basically anything you would like to use.

Anyway, I tried to personalize them with things that represented the people that I was making them for. This picture is a collage of the ones that I did, but below is a slideshow that you can see them in more detail if you click on it.

I had a lot of fun with them and actually have more that aren't on here yet because I still need to send them out. But here is a call to all of you. If you received an ATC from me, I challenge you to make one for me. And it can be any style at all - it does not need to be a papercutting. The only rule is that it needs to be the 2 1/2 X 3 1/2 inch size. AND, if you have yet to receive one from me, feel free to send me one and I will send you one back! (and that really goes for ANYONE! - just send me a message through this blog!)

I also got to do a couple of special papercuttings. This one was for my cousin Tori. It (of course) way very late. It was actually for her graduation. She likes Snoopy a lot so I thought it would be fitting :)

I was also comissioned to do this one for our friend June. It was a gift for her husband as a graduation present. He got his Ph. D. from Penn State and did a lot of work with acoustics. I thought that it turned out really neat.

And this one was a first for me. A girl that worked with me over the summer comissioned me to make one for her mother. She collects pictures of Rainbow Falls at Watkins Glen State Park. So I took a picture of Rainbow Falls and turned it into this cutting. I was pretty freaked out while making it but really liked the way it turned out.

Here is the real picture that I used for the cutting below.

And one more fun craft - a Wordle! I was at a conference for invasive species and saw my first Wordle. Basically, you go to this website and type in a bunch of words. Then it shuffles them and makes them into pretty word clouds like this:

Here is the website for endless fun: www.wordle.net

(But beware - sometimes not all words show up. This wordle that I did was for a gift tag for my mom's family celebration. I typed in all the names but for some reason Jim and Dan would not show up. Of course I didn't realize until I had already passed them out and felt really bad, but I eventually got it fixed. The only way I could make it work was to put the names with another name. So just beware that there are still some quirks with it.)

Holiday Crafts 2008

2009-02-23T16:04:00.000-08:00

If you follow this blog at all, you should know by now that our family is very crafty and for holidays we try and stick to handmade things as a core to our gift giving. In particular, my mom's side of the family always exchanges a handmade gift each year to each family. I LOVE this tradition and it really gets me motivated to do lots of crafts over the holidays. But what is really fun is to see what everyone else comes up with. And this year, to say the least, had an awesome display of creativity for sure. Here are the goods:

My Aunt Nene and Uncle Jim made this great votive holder out of wood. They say it should go outside but I think it's so beautiful that it should not be thrown to the elements!

My Aunt Pat outdid herself as usual :) She monogrammed hand towels,

she sewed a hotplate, smell good pad,

She designed her gift bags,

AND embroidered this sweet little ornament. Wow! She's amazing!

She also gave me a sweatshirt to grow into with the baby :)

Now my Uncle Bob (Aunt Pat's husband) is no exception and is a talented woodworker.

Here is a beautiful ornament that he cut - I love his designs - I think we should collaborate someday!

My mom has actually entered into the role of "photographer" these days and has been making beautiful note cards with her photographs. So for the exchange we were all gifted with an amazing set of her wonderful pictures.

AND, once again, MY FATHER is no exception to the rule! That's right, my dad actually painted these beautiful ornaments. My parents had gone to China last year, so in honor of their trip (and a somewhat Chinese themed holiday celebration) he designed these ornaments.

And I think I'm going to screw it up, but one side says good fortune and the other side says prosperity (I'm about positive that's not right though, so once I am corrected I will update this post :) Sorry Dad!

My cousins JoAnne, Mike, Zach, Madison and Michael put together these really special gratitude beads. They are similar to a rosery but instead you go around and say something you are grateful for for each bead. I love the idea and am grateful to now have this beautiful reminder of all the things I appreciate in life!

My cousins Brian and Stacy built this beautiful picture frame with key hooks. It's got such a slick look to it, I love it!

From my cousins Kathy and Jeff, we recieved this cute, little snowflake pillow. It's actually very sparkly with beads - Very beautiful!

Jeannie sewed these cool autumn maple leaf bowls. I love them, especially since my favorite leaf is maple :)

Now Mike's family is also no exception - they too are brimming with VERY crafty people!

My mother-in-law knitted these adorable felted plant cozies! I think they are so cute!!

And Betsy knitted this great draft stopper. It has actually been doing an awesome job in our living room - thanks Betsy!

Betsy is also a very talented potter and had created these delicate little bowls for us. Perfect!

We also have a very kind friend who is another very talented sewer. Our friend Noreen sewed us a whole set of these beautiful placemats. Thank you Noreen!

Just a quick one on the holidays :)

2009-02-23T15:15:00.000-08:00

I'll get caught up sooner or later! I really don't mean to drag the holidays out till the end of February, but there is just so much that I need to share. (I will cut it a little short though to spare you :). Our holidays were crazy and hectic but a lot of fun. We traveled....A LOT! First to State College the weekend before Christmas for my mom's family celebration. Then again to State College for Christmas, then to Wellsboro, then back to State College, back to Ithaca, and then back to State College again for one last celebration with my dad's side of the family. All this over about 2 weeks and still worked and crafted and got a stomach virus AND a sinus infection! It was wild, but really great to see so much family and spend quality time with everyone.

Here's the big clan! And we were actually missing 9!

The "Ladies Man," my nephew, Evan :) What is really crazy to imagine is that almost all of these gals were in our wedding....wow!

My darling sister-in-law & bro :)

Mike's sister Betsy was able to come back to Ithaca over one of those trips and stay with us for a few days. It was really great to have her, although it was sad because we had to work, and of course that was when I ended up getting sick the first time :(. But hopefully she'll be back soon for some good ol' baby fun!!

Betsy, Mike & Abner Al

Mom & Dad opening presents

Mike with a cool beer glass from Ryan and Sarah. They weren't able to make it up for the holidays. We definitely missed them though!

Mom checking the FONDUE!! That's right, Mike's family has a little bit of a tradition to have fondue Christmas eve.
And that is alright by me!!!

Thank goodness my stomach was pretty much back to normal for fondue night!

My parents about to open up their matching gifts. It was pretty funny, David, Jeannie and Mike and I got my mom a back massager and little did we know, she had gotten almost the exact same one for my dad. Pretty funny :)

And of course my favorite little guys, Evan and Conell. They had a pretty fun Christmas. One thing to remember, Evan came downstairs Christmas morning and saw all the presents and actually said that there were too many and we should send some back.....WHAT??? Where did he come from? And Conell was so cute too, he was so sleepy, it took Evan and I a good 5-10 minutes just to get him up to go downstairs. Needless to say he was a bit spaced out at first, but he eventually came around :)

woosh!

A New Tradition

2009-02-16T14:37:00.000-08:00

This year (or I guess I should say last) we decided to go and chop down our own Christmas tree. We've talked about doing it for years and that's actually how Mike's family always does it. But I had never experienced such a thing before. So we did our research and headed out into the country.

By very good luck, we stumbled across this fantastic tree farm. They send you out on tractor-pulled wagons and drop you off in the middle of a beautiful tree farm, equipped with your very own hand saw!

A view from the back of the wagon

Then you just hike around until you find the perfect tree and once you find it - chop it down!

Here is our beauty :) - it's PERRRFECT!

I couldn't believe how quick it was to cut down - it must have taken all of about 30 seconds! I guess sharp saws are a nice luxury.

When you get back to the main shop, they even give you hot chocolate! It was great - and we definitely agree that we will be turning this into a new tradition.

Here we are with our pretty tree!

OHHH - so sparkly :)

Southern Visitors

2009-02-16T13:51:00.000-08:00

We had a nice visit earlier in December by our good Delaware friends, Dana and Bill. It was so great to see them. They were able to stay for a long weekend, so we got to see lots of fun sites and do lots of fun things.

Here is Mike actually playing the banjo (which he doesn't do nearly enough :)

Daner and Bill at the Boatyard .

So we went to this restaurant, The Boatyard Grill, just for some drinks and appetizers and stumbled upon a fun bet that was underway. We went there in the middle of the afternoon, so they were very slow. As we walked in, all the staff were just sitting around the bar and proceeded to tell us that we arrived at the most perfect time. They were going to bet one of the workers to jump into the Cayuga lake inlet for $100 - and we were welcomed to watch!

This was so crazy because of course it was a freezing day - like teens - and the water had been frozen over. It was pretty funny - and what do you know, I just happened to have my camera on me (I know - what a huge surprise!)

So as you can see, it was pretty funny. The people who put down money were actually a little upset because he didn't completely submerge himself, but I think he eventually got paid. Oh yeah, and to congratulate him on going through with it, they proceeded to lock him outside for a few minutes afterwards - ha!

Turkey Days

2009-02-16T13:42:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving brought lots of travel as usual. We headed to Wellsboro to celebrate with Mike's family and then continued on to State College to our second celebration with my family. It was great to see everyone and spend quality time.

Mike's Uncle Gerry even made it this year for Thanksgiving (back row, left). He lives in NM and doesn't usually make it up to PA for holidays.

Two little turkeys :)

Football?

2009-02-16T13:26:00.000-08:00

That's right! Mike and I actually made it to a Penn State football game this past year! And it just happened to be the Michigan State game - which then sent PSU to the Rose Bowl! It was a pretty fun game - although it was probably the coldest game I had ever been to. There was even snow in the air. All I can say is thank goodness for the heat fans in the restrooms, otherwise I wouldn't have made it through the whole game.

Here we are :)

First Things First

2009-02-16T12:57:00.000-08:00

Why, hello there dear friends! It's been quite awhile since I last stopped by here - I hope you didn't miss us too much :)! There has been soo much that has happened since I last posted in November. I'll try and get as much in as I can to catch you all up!

But first things first, the biggest news that has happened is that Mike and I have entered into the zone of "expecting," as in a baby! We found out that I was pregnant back in October - and it was quite an exciting discovery! We've now been together for about 13 years and married for a good 6 years, so I guess it was about time (at least some would say :).

Well, as I'm sure you can imagine, this news has been very life changing and we are still taking it all in. The due date is around mid to late June, so it should be nice to have a summer baby. My pregnancy so far has been super smooth, I feel WAY lucky!! I have had zero sickness (related to the pregnancy) and have felt really great overall. The only thing that I noticed in the first trimester was how extremely tired I was. But now that has turned around and I have a lot of my energy back again.

Here was a picture we took at 9 weeks :) I guess it's more of a memento of how I used to look. It's amazing how long ago that now feels.

We were able to have an ultrasound done at 11 weeks. They said that the baby was around the size of a fig at that point, so we ended up calling it Figgy for awhile. The doctor's office that we go to has an ultrasound machine that can do 3-D images. It was so cool to be able to see it. The images definitely helped us to understand that this is really happening!

At this point, we are at 22 weeks and they say the baby is about a pound in weight and around 11 inches in length! Quite amazing how quick they grow!

OK, that's all on baby for now but I will definitely be adding more soon!

Soon

2009-01-12T15:40:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to pop by real quick to say that I haven't forgotten my blog world - just swamped beyond belief! But I have tons to update on and am looking forward to a nice peaceful day when I can sit down and spend some quality time :)
Hopefully it will be by next week! YIKES!!
Take care,
Chris & Mike

Home On The Hill

2008-11-16T18:05:00.001-08:00

A pretty rainbow across the road yesterday:

Abner & Myra recovering from a vet visit which will go down in the books as the worst yet.

We've started to have some flurries here and there, and they're calling for snow everyday this week! Hopefully some of it will actually stick!
Some Queen Anne's Lace with snow caps :)

Mike working on the fire - our fireplace has been working really well so far to keep us heated.
(Take a last look at Mike's long hair - as you saw from the wedding, it's short now and the beard is beginning to emerge.)
Have a great week!

Ithaca Beer Dinner

2008-11-16T17:39:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday, Ithaca Beer Co. & Simeon's restaurant had their first "beer dinner." Mike and I were able to go and had a really nice time.
Here is the menu:

Bones & Apricot Wheat

Green Curry Salmon with CascaZilla

Choucroute & Old Habit

Braised Short Rib & Nut Brown

Chocolate Raspberry Tort & Gorges Smoked Porter

Mike, Alta, Nicole & Rose

Me, Mike, Greg & Allison

....and Chief :)

Chimney Bluffs State Park

2008-11-16T15:53:00.000-08:00

About two weeks ago, I had the chance to visit Chimney Bluffs State Park in Huron, NY. It's all the way up on Lake Ontario, which takes around 2 hours to get to from Ithaca. This was my second trip up there but the first time I could actually hike around. This park is BEAUTIFUL!! The bluffs are actually drumlins, which were created by glaciers during the last ice age. The erosive power of wind, rain, snow, and waves — both from above and below — has formed the landscape into razor-sharp pinnacles. (taken from Wikipedia :) Some of these bluffs are as high as 250ft from the shoreline!

I just find it so hard to believe that we have these things here in NY.

If you walk along the beach, you'll see that it's covered in these perfectly sculpted pebbles and rocks. The colors and shapes are like eye candy. This one was one of my favorites.

The reason that I got to go to Chimney Bluffs is because we had a visitor with us at work. Just this year we got a new head of New York State Park's Interpretive and Environmental Education departments for the state - Ray Perry. So he's been traveling around to each of the regions to check out how we run our departments and what each region has to offer in their natural surroundings. After 3 days of touring around Ithaca and then a few more northern parks, I think he left feeling pretty excited about the Finger Lakes.

This is the crew that I work with!
(Lauren, Lynn, Danielle, Sue, Tom, Ray, and me)
We were at Robert H. Treman State Park

Ryan & Sarah Tie the Knot!

2008-11-08T05:53:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was Ryan & Sarah's Wedding in Atlanta, GA. Mike and I flew down on Thursday and stayed till Sunday. It was such a great weekend. It was first so good to finally see Ryan and Sarah again since it had been about a half a year since they moved. It was also great to see lots of family and to all be together to celebrate Ryan and Sarah's love.

Since their wedding was on Saturday, November 1st, that meant that the rehearsal fell on Friday (Halloween)! This had actually been part of the plan from the beginning because they thought it would be fun to have a costume party for the rehearsal dinner. As things unfolded though, it looked like we would have to be at the church in costume too. So as you can imagine, the entire evening was pretty hilarious. Thankfully the priest was a pretty upbeat guy and was willing to go along with it all. (I think we might have freaked him out slightly though.)

This picture is great - Ryan as a Rock Star and Mike as Beetlejuice at the alter :)

Sarah was the cutest guitar ever...

The wedding party all dressed up.

This is Sarah's Matron of Honor - Brittney and her husband Vince.
(or Frankenstein and his bride)

Ryan, Steve the muscle man, Josh the 80's track star, and Scott the Chef

This is Sarah's brother Bobby and his wife Kelli. Kelli is pregnant so they thought it would be fitting to go as the kids from Juno.

Ms. Betsy - Superhero! Her super powers were to "bee positive" and she handed out all these great inspiring and positive quotes.

Mike's dad as a Chef (Dad Smith)

This is Sarah's mom dressed as a pregnant Ms. Alabama redneck. She was sooo funny!

Mike's mom dressed appropriately as a butterfly (she works in the Entomology department) - so beautiful!

Here is Mike and I - Mike was Beetlejuice and I was Lydia Deetz. I actually made Mike's jacket out of duck tape. It was so much fun - too bad I ran out of time before I could get to the pants. Oh well, I think you could still tell who he was :)

The rehearsal dinner was held at Taurus, where Ryan and Sarah used to work and it was where they met. The room was decorated so great. Roxie put a lot of time into getting it all together. Tons of skulls, and bats and a fun Halloween feel to it all.

Mike's grandparents put the favors together - they were a great idea - everything looked so nice!

The bridesmaids (me, Holly, Kelli, Brittney, Sarah, Beth, Jen & Jenna)

My parents were dressed up as Chinese opera singers - very fitting since they just got back from China

Nick and Valerie (I think you can guess who they are)

Aunt Toni and Uncle Walt - they're so silly

Betsy, Ryan, Sarah, me, Mike

The rock star and his guitar!

Mike's Grandma was a flapper - I thought she looked so great!

Oh my

This looks too natural

The restaurant even carved a pumpkin for them - how sweet.

Then the morning of the wedding, a group of us headed to the reception hall to decorate it. They did a fall theme.

Each table had these great red, glass candle holders and leaves spread out all over.

Everyone was able to take home a matchbook that said "Fall in Love" and a beautiful handmade bookmark by Betsy. They were so pretty!

At the wedding party table - I brought real leaves from Ithaca to decorate with :)

The working crew (from LtoR: my mom, Donna, me, Betsy, Nancy, Roxie, Aunt Toni)

Mike, Bobby & Ryan setting up the drinks

Sarah with her gorgeous Cinderella dress and pretty red shoes :)

Doesn't it look like she's floating?

(So I didn't get any pictures of the actual wedding because I had given my camera to my parents and of course the battery died right away. But I'll try to post some pictures as soon as I get them)

The happy couple

Beautiful wedding cake - each layer was a different flavor and even the leaves were edible!

The groom's cake (still another flavor) A boar because Ryan loves pigs (particularly to eat them), a chef hat and Penn State.

And as I'm sure you can imagine, they had fun feeding the cake to one another too.

The three sibs - notice Mike's hair is gone now :)

Mike and me :)

I love this picture - Betsy, Sarah, Aunt Toni, Roxie & Dori

Then on Sunday, the Smith's hosted a great breakfast at the hotel so we had more time to visit with the family. It was so nice to see everyone and to share the weekend together!

This is the papercutting that I made for Ryan and Sarah. I included utensils for Ryan, a skull for Sarah, their cat and dog (Porter & Spikes), a leaf for their fall wedding, two love birds, the bull from Taurus, some pumpkins and ATL & NY for their two homes :)

Congratulations Ryan and Sarah and we wish you all the joy in the world. Thank you for sharing your love and special day with us :)

Hmmm

2008-10-20T14:40:00.000-07:00

Ok, I couldn't resist posting this picture. Mike showed it to me last night and it just makes me laugh (out loud) every time I look at it.
So there ya go :)

New Duct Tape Wallets

2008-10-20T12:33:00.001-07:00

I just got done with some commissioned pieces, thought that I would share: Steelers wallet for someone Mike works with:

Camo set:

Penn State for Mike, he was in desperate need of a new wallet, hopefully he likes it!

Anyone need a wallet?

Home Update

2008-10-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

AND finally, an update on our progress at home. I can say that I am VERY close to having all boxes unpacked now. I think we're down to about 6, and they are mainly books. So that is an awesome feeling. I even put up some pictures on our walls!

My goal last weekend was to finally get our garage organized. It was where we were storing all of our boxes and trash and such, so it feels so good to finally be able to see the whole thing.

(just one last pile of junk to get rid of)

My garden center :)

Halloween is a fun time to have black cats. I sometimes try to pose the cats with pumpkins, this year ended up with them laying at the end of the table. It's funny to see them doing the same thing though, minutes apart. (Abner above and Myra below)

Before I really got into unpacking the rest of our stuff, I was talking to Mike and couldn't decide whether or not to just unpack everything first and forgo holiday decorations, or just go straight into the decorations. Mike voted for Halloween, so I went all out. It was fun to have everything out again. I don't think that I did too much last year.

Oh yeah, and thinking about fire places, we finally got some wood yesterday, so we should be nice and cozy all winter.

I also finally got Flash into his new home. I've been saying for years now that once we get a house I'm going to get him a new tank and filter. So Mike got me a filter for my birthday and we got the new tank about a month ago. This is a HUGE improvement for both him and me. He now has tons of room for swimming (he's a super, strong swimmer), and the filter is so great! The old filter that we had was really crappy and made for a small fish tank. I had to clean it at least twice a week and completely clean the tank once a week (which was an hour long process, take all the water out, wash the tank, clean everything in it and then put new water in.) But now, I haven't had to do anything and we're going on two weeks! I am soooo excited, and so is Flash!

I also transformed his old tank stand into a nice table in the sun room. Perfect!

And here is another fun addition to our home. Mike got a pool table a few weeks ago. $50 off Craig's List - we couldn't turn it down. It's not full sized but it's in great shape and does the job. Add that to the dart board and kegerator, the basement's not too shabby.

Rainbow leaves on our red maple out front.

Abner being a love-bug.

Ithaca Beer Soars!

2008-10-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

October 9-11 was the Great American Beer Festival in Boulder, CO. (Mike and I went last year) but did not head out this time. Bill and Chief did make the trip though and had a great time. The best news of all is that Ithaca Beer Co. won TWO metals! This is such an awesome accomplishment because this is the biggest beer fest around! There were over 400 breweries at the fest and each category usually had around 40 beers entered. So it's pretty cool.

Here are the awards!

CascaZilla - Silver Medal - American Style Amber/Red Ale

Excelsior Brute - Silver Medal - American Style or German Style Sour Ale

Three Gorges Hike

2008-10-20T09:22:00.000-07:00

My work is finally slowing down for real now. Labor Day usually marks the beginning of the "slowing" but once the leaves begin changing, traffic picks up. Lauren and I have been continuing programs on a regular basis, almost more than during the summer, at least it feels like it because it's just two of us instead of four. Anyway, Columbus Day truly signifies the end and so to wrap up the season we do a 3-gorges hike. We start at the top of Robert H. Treman State Park, hike down that gorge, then up Lickbrook Gorge and then down Buttermilk Falls State Park. Total, it's about an 8-mile hike. It takes a good part of the day, we have lunch along the trail and stop every once in awhile to do some interpretation. The hiking is relatively easy until you hit Lickbrook which is a straight climb up the side of the hill. I think we go up about 600ft. in elevation in MAYBE 1/4 of a mile. It's a tough one! We had a fantastic group this year though, a total of about 17 people. Everyone was in good shape and great spirits - so it was a big success!

Pretty fall leaves - I wish I could eat them - I'm addicted to colors!

Shadows at Treman

Teri was able to make it on the hike too! I'm really glad because we were able to spend another full day together.

Looking down from part-way up Lickbrook (taking time to breathe - it's a healthy thing to do :)

Lake Treman at the top of Buttermilk Falls SP

The crew at the finish line!

Six Years!

2008-10-20T08:49:00.000-07:00

Mike and I just celebrated our 6th year anniversary earlier this month on the 5th. We actually had a full day of activities. We had breakfast at the Ithaca Diner and then in the afternoon we headed south to the Iron Kettle Farm for some pumpkin fun. We went with Patina, Bill, Dylan, and Patina's mom and sister and brother-in-law. It was a lot of fun.

They had a decent corn maze in which we were actually challenged to find our way out.
Only a few people cried :) Just kidding!

Dylan with Patina and Nan

Goofy Mike, Mike, Nan, and Sarah

Dylan just turned two! Happy Birthday Dylan!!

Then we also had a special treat, my friend Teri (who I worked with last year and then she moved to Oregon) came for a visit. We had dinner with her and her friend Alvin at Taste of Thai. It was so nice to have her here. She was able to stay with us a night and then the next day we relaxed and made our rounds around town. She wanted to hit a couple of places on Cornell's campus (she graduated there last year) so I got to visit a couple of new spots. This stained glass is from the Sage Chapel on campus. It was so beautiful.

Here we are at Taughannock

Mike and I at Buttermilk Falls

Peek at Fall

2008-10-03T17:30:00.001-07:00

--Happy Pumpkins--

Yes, it is true, fall is here! I LOVE (and I mean LOVE) fall with such a deep passion. What really gets me are the colors. Sometimes I feel like I can't breathe because the trees and landscapes are so beautiful! It's even hard to drive because I can't take in all the beauty! Anyway, we are definitely entering into "peak" season here in Ithaca. If you haven't been on a road trip recently, this is the time to get out there - come to the Northeast and be prepared to get caught up in the beauty! And by the way, if you've ever wondered about my use of "maple," this is why - sugar maple trees produce the BEST colors - hands down!

Happy mushrooms in our yard

Sumac - reminds me of Skittles

Pollinating bees on Aster - lazy bees because it's soo chilly - they were barely moving!

Plunge Pool at Buttermilk

American Toad out at Watkins

Watkins

Leaves that I pressed

There's a Mouse in the House!

2008-09-23T13:48:00.000-07:00

That's right! Yesterday morning we woke up to the cats chasing a mouse around our bedroom. Ahhh, fall. It's funny too because you might not imagine it, but Abner is actually the one who always catches the mice. If you're not aware, Abner has some neurological issues and isn't always the most coordinated cat. So to have him be the one to hone in and catch the mouse is sort of surprising. But for some reason he's able to focus when it comes to hunting and is an awesome mouser. Myra is great at giving moral support :) and is always willing to play with them once they're injured enough.

I was able to get it from Abner before he actually hurt it and trapped him in our critter box. I then dropped it off in a field on my way to work. It was his lucky day for sure!

I've also decided to try a new craft (like I really need more crafts to occupy my time) but this will be a fun one for the house. Have you ever seen paintings done on windows that look like stained glass? Well I've always wanted to try it and decided that it could be nice to have in our dining room. As you can see from the pictures, our dining room is basically surrounded by windows, which is great! But a lot of them weren't sealed good and now have moisture inside of them that cannot be cleaned. The door in the dining room is probably the worse, so I'm thinking of doing a painting on it.

Anyway, I got some paint and did a couple practice runs. It went pretty well and I think I'll be able to do it. Now I just need to come up with a design. Hopefully I'll be able to get it done on my next days off.

You start by making an outline with "lead" paint (I don't think there is really lead in it though) it's like a harder puffy paint. Wait for it to dry (about 8 hours) and then add the color. Once it dries, you can see the light shining through it. You can do it directly onto the glass or onto these sheets of plastic and then peal them off like cling-ons. Very Cool!

And one last thing - our septic system is finally fixed! Mike and two other guys fixed it last Saturday, so we now have both bathrooms functioning again - thank goodness that's over with!

Harvest Kitties

2008-09-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

I did this cutting last night. I wanted to get it done for the papercutting guild that I belong to. They have a quarterly magazine that they put out and they have themes that they ask for cuttings of. This one was "pumpkins, squash, harvest, and cuts portraying humor." I thought it could be cute to have Myra in a pumpkin and Abner looking in at her.

This was also my first cutting ever where I put paper behind the cutting - creating a painted look. This one is with some of the marbled paper that I've made at work.
I like the effect - what do you think?

House Update & Batty Stories

2008-09-19T08:43:00.005-07:00

We have now been in our new place for a little over 2 months and things are definitely moving along. Unpacking is getting close to being over with - although we still have a good 20 boxes in the garage - mainly books and decorations though, so nothing too involved. And decorations is where I am still lacking with getting done. I guess I want to get everything out and see what I want to keep and finally get rid of a lot of things that I have been hauling around for years. We also haven't gotten to putting up pictures either, but once we get all the furniture situated, I think we'll be able to move along with that as well.

The main issues that have taken our time and attention (when available) are our master bathroom and kitchen. We really didn't have much desire to get right into fixing the kitchen, but after my first attempt at cooking on the stove top, I realized that we needed to move on getting a different set up. The stove top looked fine, but couldn't heat up to boil water - it wasn't that bad, but I swear it took me 3 hours to cook one night for something that should have taken about 30 mins. Anyway, we got ourselves a new oven and Mike installed that. We also decided to go for a new counter top, AND my parents bought us a dishwasher as a housewarming gift. So it's been coming along. We're making new updates, on an economical scale, but I think the final result will be such a HUGE improvement. This is the one side of the kitchen that has been attacked!

This is the before - see stove top, old light fixture, old counter and space by frig for dishwasher.

Ripping out - Mike had fun with the demolition!

After - new stove, dishwasher and counter. We still have some alterations to make (hense the missing drawer) but it's functioning and awesome!

Close-up of counter.

My mom has also been able to spend a couple of days with us on two occasions. The first time she helped me paint all the insides of the kitchen cupboards, and all the hall closets, and gave me some good painting tips for doing our bedroom. She again was here earlier this week and sanded and painted our three hall doors, painted the trim work in our bedroom and also improved our outdoor ramp! (Mike's parents and my dad have also been up for shorter visits and have helped in so many ways too! They've helped to move furniture, clean, install the dishwasher, repair falling apart furniture, and provide tons of moral support and guidance!! THANK YOU!!!)

Here is the "before" of the hall closet doors - they seemed to be painted to look like a wood finish...

Here is a close-up of one of the doors before - definitely in need of some tlc!

My mom sanding away - quite a handy lady!! :)

The after product! Thanks mom - what a HUGE difference!!

And here she is spray painting the ramp outside - that was also a great improvement!

While my mom was working on the painting side of things, I finally got a big dent in unpacking more boxes. AND I tackled my craft room! There's still a lot to be done but I can at least get to things and have a space to work. This is one of the highlights for me - having a craft room back again. I had one in DE but didn't have it set up as good as I would have liked. And then in our apartment I had to share a craft space with the guest room and it was just a horrible combination...so I feel like I haven't had a space for working for about 2 years! I am so excited to spend some quality time in here!

Now onto our master bathroom issue: we have two septic systems for our house, it's kind of strange, but that's just the way it is. Our master bathroom is the only thing connected to the one septic tank, and then the rest of the house (other bathroom, kitchen, laundry, etc.) is connected to the other system (that is twice the size of the one for our bathroom.) Well, to give a quick summary, the one for our master bathroom is malfuntioning, and we are in the midst of trying to get it repaired. We were going to try and dig it up and figure it out that way, but all the people that we have had look at it suggest tying it into our other septic system....so that's probably what we will do. We just need to find someone to do it. It's a crummy job because there is a tight crawl space under our bathroom where a lot of the work would have to be done. So we'll see. But for now, we are not using that bathroom, except to shower since that is our only shower in the house. Luckily that hasn't seemed to aggravate it too much, but we hope we can get it fixed as soon as possible. So that's been a ball of fun!

Now onto some pictures of the pets and nature. I have this next picture of Myra because when we moved into the house, she refused to come out from under the blanket on our bed. The poor girl was so freaked out and literally stayed under the covers for a good 3 days. Luckily she finally adjusted and is at peace with her new home.

Abner enjoying the heat in the sunroom/dining room

Goofy picture of Abner - he's a happy boy :)

And here is a silly picture of Myra - what a character!

Grasshopper on top of one of my mums that I planted outside (check this album for more pictures of our house and improvements!) Smith Abode

We also had a family of Robins! I was so excited because I discovered them the day they were born. Here is one of the first pictures I got - there are 3 of them.

9 days later

12 days old - I think that they flew away the next day (I was in DC, but I could tell they were close when I left).

And one more quick thing - we had a BAT in our house last night! We had gone out to Pixel and when we got back I was walking through the guest room and all of a sudden saw something flying around. I immediately hit the floor and was trying to decide it it was a bat or a huge moth OR I was just loosing my mind and seeing things. After about 10 mins of Mike and I searching the room and rest of the house we determined that it really was my mind that was going. So off to bed we went without thinking much more of it. Then after about 5 mins of laying in bed watching a movie, here comes the little bat flying through our bedroom - making circles all around us. I'm sure you can just picture both Mike and I laying on our backs as we sink lower into the bed and pull the covers up under our eyes...I'm sure we looked pretty funny.
Luckily with working in the parks and with wildlife, I've been told what to do if you ever have a bat in your house. So here is what we did. We turned out all the lights and then opened our door to the porch and put the porch light on. And literally 2 mins later, here comes the bat - did about 3 loops around our living room and then made it's way onto the porch. We got the door shut and turned off the porch light. Then walked around to the outside of the porch, latched the door open and pointed a flashlight toward the door leading the bat outside. We stood there for just another minute and just like that, the bat flew right out and into the night! So take note - if you ever get a bat in your house - don't freak out and start swatting at it - it's probably more freaked out than you - just turn out all the lights except for where you want it to go - slowly lead it out of your house one room at a time (closing doors behind you as it moves out). It was actually pretty cool and I'm still amazed at how well and quickly it worked! Yay for bats! I just hope we don't get anymore - I'm still puzzled how it got into our house in the first place.

Ithaca Brew Fest 2008

2008-09-19T08:43:00.004-07:00

Saturday, September 6th, Ithaca had their 2nd annual Ithaca Brew Fest.
Mike and I missed the first one last year so we were excited to check it out this time.

We got there a little early to help set up. I got to help with a "hop garland" which was hung in front of Ithaca Beer's booth.

I was unaware when I started that hop vines can actually cause a skin rash - so needless to say, by the time I was done helping with that, my arms were all scratched up - lesson learned!

In the beginning, Patina, Nicole and I helped with directing traffic and then we got to put bracelets onto people as they entered the event. It was definitely entertaining.

Here's Patina

and Nicole

And then we all got to have some time behind the booth - fun times :)
Mike, Ryan (he used to work at Ithaca Beer Co.), and Bill

Me & Patina

Goofing off - Mr. Benz and Chris

The festival was held at Stewart Park, which is at the bottom of Cayuga Lake. It was a really nice setting - and a great festival too!

Happy Birthday Mike!

2008-09-19T08:43:00.003-07:00

September 1st (Labor Day), Mike turned the big 3-0! We were at the lake for his actual birthday and had lots of fun celebrations over the entire weekend.

Bill, Patina, and their son Dylan went to Keuka with Mike on Sunday, and on their way, they stopped at a couple of wineries.

Here's Bill, Dylan & Patina, I think at Bully Hill

The Big "D"

Mike's parents were also at the lake. Mike's mom made his favorite cake (chocolate/peanut butter) and they had some fun gifts for him too. I had to work over the weekend but actually had Monday off so I was able to make it for part of the time.

Betsy, Mike's sis, sent him a bathing suit from Hawaii (she had just been there on a trip) and he promised to use whatever she gave him that day. Good thing we were at the lake and he could go for a quick swim. The weather was sooo beautiful the entire weekend!

A picture of relaxation.....

Mike and I also took a hike at Watkins Glen. Even though we've been here about a year and a half (and I do programs at Watkins almost weekly), Mike had still not hiked the trail. It had probably been about 9 years since he had gone there. So we stopped by on our way back to Ithaca.
Here is Mike under Cascade Falls

Here I am under Rainbow Falls - this is probably my favorite spot in the glen.

The birthday boy above Rainbow Falls

I also got to make a trip to DC the end of August to see my brother and family. It was a fun time and the boys sang Uncle Mike a birday tune:

T-burg Fair 2008

2008-09-19T08:43:00.002-07:00

The Trumansburg Fair was a few weeks ago and we got to go one night with Bill and Patina. It was a fun time to say the least - here are a couple of pictures.

Cut-outs are so fun...I think I might have to make some of my own one day :)

Reunited with Linds

2008-09-19T08:43:00.001-07:00

I know I'm back-tracking but I've missed a lot with my slacking of posts. About a month ago, Mike and I made a quick trip to State College to visit my friend Lindsay and her boyfriend Brian. It was so great to see them since we hadn't seen Linds for almost two years and had never met Brian. We had a nice relaxing afternoon by the pool and an awesome grill-cooked dinner.

Here we are the next morning - probably not the best picture of any of us - we were still a little sleepy, but it was a great visit!

Lindsay and Brian live in Portland, OR and Lindsay owns her own business of making customized/fitted clothing. Check out her website! magnolia designs

Summer's Coming to a Close

2008-09-19T08:43:00.000-07:00

Fall is usually when people's schedules start speeding up and filling with activities such as going back to school and hunkering down on work which was put off during the summer months. But for me (and Mike) this is the time of year when things start slowing down and we can finally come up for air. I guess that contributes to why fall is my favorite season. There is some comfort in the thought of programs slowing down and not running around with my head cut off (at least completely off). I've actually had some time to unpack more boxes at home and look at this - even dedicate some time on the computer to update our blog! How crazy is that!

So like I was saying, my work is coming to the end of the busy season. Of the four of us leading programs over the summer, we are now down to 2 (myself and Lauren). I must say that the summer went really good, even though I didn't even have my head attached! I truly lucked out to have a great staff working with me and I think we pulled off a great season.

Before we called it quits, my boss threw a "Thank you" party at her house and we got to spend some quality time together. I made these photo collages for my staff as a thank you. I had never done them before but thought that they turned out pretty good.

In the frames

Frank

Hannah

Lauren

Here we are - the whole staff with spouses/friends

I also decided to make some personalized magnets for everyone - they were pretty funny.

New Home

2008-08-26T08:33:00.000-07:00

I know that I've been really bad about writing about moving into our place but it has been a pretty hectic 6 weeks! I can't even take the time to write about it now but I'll say that we are loving it here! We've definitely been challenged with a few issues but overall are having a great time. We just don't seem to ever have enough time here - I guess that's just the way it always goes. There is still a ton of unpacking to do, but it's livable and comfortable. Here are some pictures:

BCTC 2008

2008-08-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago, Mike and I got to go to the "Belgium Comes to Cooperstown" beer festival run by Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY. And I must say that it was AWESOME! We headed there Friday night and camped two nights. Friday night was pretty much hanging out, then Saturday was the actual festival. It was just the most laid back beer festival that I have ever been to - it was such a great time!

This year's festival had a theme of The Big Lebowski, and one of the brewer's, Wes, dressed as the Dude. They also had the movie showing both nights on a huge screen behind the brewery. They're so crazy!

Here's Wes (Dude)

Here's the Ithaca Beer Co. booth with Mike, Chief, Bill & Mike
They were serving Brute, White Gold & Vitus - an excellent line-up!

This is the back of the brewery - this place is a little piece of heaven settled out by itself in the beautiful, rolling hills of central NY.

Dogfish Head was there as well and we were able to catch up with one of the brewers, Brian, who Mike worked with when he worked there, and his girlfriend Alexis (again - no picture - I've been really slacking with the pictures lately).

Ok, and I had to throw this picture in. They actually had a guy with a Birds of Prey show during the festival. I found it a bit strange, but the birds were beautiful to look at.

The gang from Sam Adams!! It was great to see these folks again (last time was at the Extreme Beer Fest in Boston). (Andrew, Bert & Megan)

Here I am with Megan at our campsite.

Bill & Mike relaxing after the festival....ha

Summer Happenings

2008-08-12T16:46:00.000-07:00

I'm back! I have so much to write about but I can't spend the rest of the night at the computer - so I'll attempt to cover as much as possible in a short time.

So the last time I wrote, I was heading to State College for the Arts Festival. It was a great time and I was able to squeeze a lot into just a couple of days. When I arrived to town, I met up with my mom, Jeannie, Evan and Conell. It was kid's day, so we walked around and checked out the crafts. It seems to me that there are more and more cool ideas every year. I was especially excited to see some duct tape and papercuttings being represented!

Here is a cicada that Evan found, which had just come out of it's last molt. It was really cool - the boys loved it!

Evan & Conell eating lemon creamery ice cream - yum!!

Aren't they the cutest!

There was a parade towards the end of the day - everyone was pretty psyched about it :)
(Here is my mom, Evan, Conell & Jeannie)

My friend Joy and her family were also in town. It was the first time that all 5 were in State College - I guess ever (at least since Avi, the baby, was born). It was really great to see them all. Her son Gabe was in our wedding - he's now 10!! So crazy! Her kids are great and we all had some fun bonding times.

Here's Joy holding Avi and her husband Josh next to her.

Me and Gabe!

Layla and Avi - they were posing for me :)

I also got to spend some time with our friends Scott, Ellen & their daughter Olivia, Scott's parents and grandma and the Readinger's too! It was so nice to see everyone and to see how much Olivia has grown.

Here is Ellen with Olivia.

I was also able to catch up with my friend Justine. (I didn't get a picture - boo). But it was so good to see her. She has actually been in State College for several months helping her mom recover from a serious surgery. It was really great to have some quality time with her and catch up. We had lunch at Otto's (State College's brewpub) and then walked around the People's Choice Festival in Boalsburg.

So overall, the trip was very fun-filled and full of nice visits. I must admit that I didn't get as much time at the actual festivals that I had hoped for, but I have a feeling that they will be back next year ;)

Limbo is the Life for Us

2008-07-08T20:26:00.001-07:00

Watkins Glen - always so beautiful

Gray Petaltail Dragonfly

Just a quick post.
Yesterday, I got done working about 6 straight weeks of around 60 hours per week. I now have to take a "required" break from the state (unpaid) for about two weeks. In regards to my work, it couldn't have happened in the worst time of the year. But for me and my own personal sanity, it is fantastic timing. This is just something that happens for all temporary/seasonal employees of the state. After so many pay periods (I think it's 14), you have to take a two week, unpaid break. So since I started back in Nov., it is falling right now. Oh well, at least I have a wonderful staff and they should be fine. And now I am off to State College to enjoy some of the Arts Fest!

On other great news - we have officially been approved to buy our house!!! YAY! Have a drink in celebration! Only about 6 months after starting our search.....not too shabby. And it looks like we will finally be able to close next Wednesday! So at least my break won't be completely wasted. One week of relaxing and one week of unpacking. Not too bad of a deal.

We have been staying with our friends Bill & Patina and their son Dylan. They have been so wonderful and have completely opened their lives to us. We are forever grateful to their kindness.

Here is Patina & Dylan at the Saturday night concert at Taughannock State Park.

Billy J.

Big D.

And we finally did end up being able to move our stuff into the garage of the house. We are so grateful, plus, it's going to lend to a nice and easy move - just across the doorways.
Because of the time constraint, we ended up going with the basic "clay" color for the siding. We really like it though and think that it was done really well. We can't wait to truly call it "home."

So that's the update from the West Side of the Lake. Stay tuned for the coming attractions!!

Truckin

2008-06-23T10:44:00.001-07:00

So much is going on - I just wanted to post a couple of quick things.

First of all - our internet stopped working over the weekend. We were going to get it fixed but then decided that since we are going to be out of our apartment within a week - that would be silly. So if you send us emails - we might not be getting them. (I'm in our gym right now.) If you really need us - just call :)

On the house front - we still do not have a closing date. The owners are siding the garage right now with hopes of it being done this week. We then need to wait for a new inspection and assessment to be done, then a date can be set about a week after that. There is a chance that we can move our stuff into the garage, but we'll see if that works out. For now, our plan is to move all our stuff next Saturday - either to the garage or rent a storage unit. Then we will be completely out of our apartment by the 30th. It is looking like we will be staying with some friends over the next couple of weeks. We are so grateful for all of the wonderful and kind offers that we have received for places to stay.

Next up, it was the Ithaca Festival this past weekend. Mike and I had to work most of the time but I got to go to the opening parade on Thursday and then we both went to it yesterday for a few hours.

It was raining - it seems to rain almost every year. Luckily it wasn't as bad as last year's rain. Here I am with Nicole - we were twins :)

Yesterday was a big day at the Festival. There was an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the World's largest peace sign. The decision isn't in yet - but as far as we know, we did it. The largest known sign was 2,500 people - we had around 5,814. here is an article on it from the Ithaca Journal. They're going to post something on Youtube in the next couple of weeks.

There I am! Can you see me?

Ithaca Beer had a tent set up there. Mike wasn't going to work at it but after the huge rush from the peace sign, he couldn't resist stepping in.
All of the plates, silverware and cups at the festival were recyclable and or compostable. Ithaca is really good at making this happen with most of their big events. Here is my Ithaca beer - Partly Sunny, in my compostable cup with my bean from the count for the peace sign. :)

And onto the saddest news of the week. Last Wednesday, I was heading to work in the morning when I got into a car accident. I was making a left turn onto a main road and a woman ran a red light and tore off the front bumper of my Scarlet :(. I was really sad about it and it's been a big pain. At least no one was hurt though and it really could have been much worse. I can still drive it and thankfully for a witness, the other person's insurance should be covering the whole thing. It just couldn't have happened at a worse time. Anyway - what can you do? Just move on and stay positive - although I must admit that my positive vibes are running low.

Well, I hope that everyone reading this is doing good! If you're going to be in Ithaca next Saturday - you are more than welcomed to come to our "moving party :)" Should be loads of fun! Also, don't mail us anything either. I'm in the process of getting a PO box and don't have the address yet. As you may have guessed - since we won't be in the house for a little while, we can't get mail there.

PEACE OUT!

Oh yeah!

2008-06-15T06:48:00.000-07:00

I'm sure I'm just procrastinating about packing now, but I wanted to show two papercuttings that I just got done.

This first one was for our friend Kirk who got married last year in CA. We weren't able to make it to the wedding, but I still wanted to make them a papercutting. Unfortunately, my slackerness set in for this one and I didn't cut it until about 3 months ago. And THEN, I slacked off even more and didn't get it framed until last weekend. But it finally got in the mail and hopefully has reached them safely by now (a few days after their one year anniversary). I really liked the final product though - can you find the koala bear?

Then this one is for a girl who is actually working with me this summer. I gave it to her as a thank you and also a congratulations for graduating college. She did her internship with me this past Spring semester and worked full-time with no pay! I was so grateful to have her because she really helped me get ready for this summer. Over the semester she developed a Black Bear program, so that's why I did bears. Also, it's kind of hard to tell but this is the first time I mounted a cutting on a clear frame (it's just stuck between two layers of glass). I LOVED the effect - so I think I will be doing more with this style.

AND, as I'm sitting here on the computer this morning, Myra discovered the mattress leaning against the wall and decided it would be a perfect climbing gym. Cats are so silly. Our poor pets are freaked out about all the packing going on, this will be their 8th move in 5 years - I think they are also ready to plant some roots.

Happy PaPA's Day!

2008-06-15T05:26:00.000-07:00

Just a quick shout out to all those Dads out there and especially to our own two Dads :) We're sorry we can't be with you but hope you have nice, relaxing days! Thanks for being so great!
Love you :)

On the Move

2008-06-15T04:21:00.000-07:00

So much to update on, so little time...but I'm gonna try :)

We've begun our packing finally. Some of you may be wondering why we're so late in this process but it's because we've had some set backs with our house purchase. To make a LONG story very short, we've been having issues with the garage not being sided. Our bank feels that it should be before they approve us, so we've been going through so many different scenarios to get the thing done. As it has turned out, the owners have finally agreed to do it themselves and should hopefully have it done within the next week. Our hope is that we will still be able to get in by the end of the month (since we have to be out of our apartment then.)

Anyhooo, it's been an adventure, an emotional roller coaster, and we still aren't positive that the whole thing will go through. But we're keeping our spirits up and staying positive about it all. It really helps to have the packing underway. It makes it feel more real - and we're getting super excited to make our final move, at least our last move for several years!

So I realized that I never posted pictures of our apartment after we moved in. I know it's kind of late, but here are some before and NOW pictures of our place - for those who never made it :)

Our living room (my mini-papercutting gallery :)

now!

More living room - the beast - want to come help us move???

Abner! More living room - you can see our balcony.
.

Dining room - kitchen on the left

Kitchen
More kitchen :)
And more kitchen!

My tribute to Delaware - plover papercutting, great blue heron & a going away gift of the towers found on the shore of DE.

Tiny bath

Before

After

Guest room before

now :) - did I mention that we have a little bit of stuff to move?

So I hope you enjoyed the tour (sorry I didn't get pictures of our bedroom - it's way too much of a disaster zone). Stay tuned for the new set up :)

We'll Miss You Ryan & Sarah

2008-06-01T15:25:00.000-07:00

So I haven't written about this, but Ryan and Sarah have decided to head back south to Atlanta. They decided a few months ago that they really weren't finding the types of job opportunities that they were hoping for in Ithaca. So they made the decision to move back to Atlanta and focus their attention towards furthering their careers.

It's been a sad thing for Mike and I since we have grown really close to them over this past year. But we completely understand their reasons for moving and wish them the best on their new adventures.

This past Wednesday was their last night in Ithaca and we were able to have a mini going away party for them.

The girls (& Dylan :)

Here's Bill, Ryan, Sarah, Patina & Dylan

We miss you guys so much already!! Best of luck in Atlanta - Ithaca will miss you :)

Happy Shower to Ryan & Sarah!

2008-06-01T15:12:00.001-07:00

Last Monday, Memorial Day, we had a shower for Ryan and Sarah in Wellsboro, PA. Mike's Aunt Toni and his cousin Jenifer threw it and it was a lot of fun. Since it was a holiday, we made it more of a picnic for the family, instead of just a bridal shower for the girls.

Of course we had to start off with some good ol' brother bonding time :)

This is a skull umbrella that I got for Sarah (she loves skulls and I thought it would be appropriate for a "shower" ha ha :)

Candles and Eggs with Legs (salt and pepper shakers :)

Here's Roxie, Uncle Walt, Aunt Toni, Grandma, John & Scott

My mom and dad were there too :)

Here's Ryan and Sarah practicing their duo-cake-cutting skills!
Congratulations!!

Pretty Rainbows

2008-06-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

I've been seeing some amazing double rainbows lately - just had to share :)

GAP Collection 2008

2008-06-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

On May 21st, I ventured to Lancaster, PA to attend The Guild of American Papercutter's Collection 2008. It was a conference for papercutters that ran Wednesday through Sunday, and I must say, it was one of the most exciting things that I have ever been a part of.

I have been papercutting for about 13 years. I first discovered the art when my mom and I went to a Christmas craft show at my high school. There was a booth of papercuttings and I couldn't stop looking at them. That day we went home and I tried my first papercutting. At first I was very sporadic about cutting. I think I would do about one cutting a year or even every other year. Then I attempted to do some for my Christmas craft - I'd do about 15 and not cut again for about a year after finishing. It's really only been during the past 8 years or so that I have begun to do them on a more regular basis.

The funny thing is that this art form is so rarely seen, I've only met a handful of people who do papercuttings over the years. Luckily I got introduced to the Guild of American Papercutters around 2001 and it has been a wonderful connection to others who also do cuttings. The guild publishes a quarterly newsletter and it has been so inspiring. So it was such a great experience to go to the conference and meet all these people who I've read about over the years and have studied their work. I felt this wonderful sense of community - and it was just so cool to be able to be with all of these people who have the same interests as me. I didn't want it to end!

During the conference we spent most of our time at the Lancaster Bible College - attending workshops and different presentations by various artists. We also had a couple of field trips to The Landis Valley Museum, The Lancaster Quilt and Textile Museum, The Lancaster Cultural History Museum, and the Lancaster Farmer's Market. I also got to visit with my cousin Lisa and her husband Randy and her daughter Tori - they only live about 10mins from the campus!

Overall, it was a great experience and it really helped to inspire me and get me even more excited about the guild.

Here are a couple of pictures from the weekend and if you are really interested, you can check out the slide show of all of my pictures (there are a lot - just to warn you!)

This is my first attempt at using scissors (I do my papercuttings with X-acto knives). This was from a workshop on how to teach large classes.

This is from a workshop on multifolds and layers - my first cutting with layers of paper - fun!

Here I am with my cousin Lisa :)

It was the Guild's 20th anniversary so they had a cake. It was covered with all of these pretty little cuttings done by the committee members.

These are both cuttings I did for fun while I was there. The blue one has initials (SNL) and the gold one is just different designs.

We did a valentine exchange. Here I am with some friends I made - (L to R) Joan Sulecki, Robin Goodfellow (she got the cutting that I made), Me (I got the cutting that Zipora made), and Zipora Ne'eman.

This is another cutting that I did while I was there. It's a heart made out of lilac flowers.

And here is the slide show of all the pictures!!

2008 GAP Collection

Troubled Ducklings

2008-05-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

I've had some extra hours building up for my work so I decided to take an extra long hike today. I was heading up Buttermilk Falls when I looked across the gorge and spotted a little duckling. It was obvious that it was stuck and didn't know how to get out of the gorge. It kept swimming upstream and then a few minutes later it was heading back down towards the waterfalls. The poor thing was exhausted and probably so scared. So I decided to try and get it. I took off my shoes and waded (illegally) into the stream and tried to catch it. But after about 5 minutes of really freaking it out, I decided that I best just let it go because I wasn't going to get it with my bare hands. And really, I was just wearing it out even more. So I continued on with my hike and thought about what, if anything, I could do. I then remembered that I had a net in my car and my puddle boots, so I got my gear and headed back into the gorge. I didn't even know though if it would still be there because it was a good 15 minutes for me to get to my car and then back into the gorge.
Once I arrived, I couldn't find him anywhere. I figured I was too late and he had been swept down even further. But as I looked around, I finally spotted him down stream past a few more waterfalls. At that moment I knew that he was too far and there was no way I could safely get to him.
I just stood there for a few minutes and sent him my best wishes to make it safely to the bottom. But then unexpectedly, he got out onto the bank and started making his way up the side of the gorge and closer back to where I could reach him. So off I went, crossing the water and climbed onto the wall on the other side. It was all so perfect, great footholds and I never even slipped. Then all of a sudden I saw him, getting situated under some ferns, probably for a little rest. I put my net over him and scooped him up! I couldn't believe it! I rescued him!! I felt so relieved. But then reality set in and I didn't know what to do with him. I had searched for his mother and other ducklings but couldn't find any. I then tried to think of other duck families around the area, but I really hadn't seen any. So I headed up to Lake Treman (in upper Buttermilk). But on my way I ran into a woman who had just come out of the gorge and had seen the mother and 7 other ducklings. She said they were stuck and there didn't seem to be anything that we could do.
So onto plan B - I drove down to the bottom of the gorge with the little duckling and started hiking up the gorge - looking for the mom and babies. At last, I did see them but they really were in a spot which was impossible to get to (downstream from where I found the first duckling.) I watched them for awhile but decided that there was really nothing I could do. Besides, I had to figure out what to do with the one I had (since it was going to be nearly impossible to get it back with the family.)
So back down the gorge - into my car and headed to the closest vet. They were nice and suggested calling the Cornell vet school - I guess they have a wildlife rescue unit. So that is what I did, and LONG story short, they found a person that does rehabilitation of wildlife at their own home. So hopefully the babe can find a new family and be ok.
I have to admit, even though I know that it would have been soo hard, I truly wanted to keep him and I'm now really sad that he is gone. I have always LOVED ducks - I think they are the most adorable creatures - so to have a sweet little duckling with me and sleeping in my hands - talk about being on cloud 9 (minus all the worrying parts).
But I know better and I am in NO situation at all to keep a duck, so he will be better off. I just hope the others make it out of the gorge ok.
Ah - the circle of life!

Isn't he the CUTEST little guy!!!

He didn't want to stay in his bin while I was driving and kept jumping out towards me. The only way he would relax was on my lap or in my hand. What a rough day for the poor guy!

This is right after I caught him.

Busy on the Homefront

2008-05-10T12:46:00.000-07:00

Things have been a little hectic for us it seems, more so than usual, and it doesn't look like it's going to slow down for a couple of months. Traveling, busy seasons starting at our works, packing, moving and just living. So I might not be able to post again for awhile. I had a good run today though :). Although, after sitting on the computer for about 5 hours, I'm ready to do something different.

But before signing off, I just want to say Happy Mother's Day to our moms and all the moms out there! You are all amazing women and we are so grateful to have you in our lives!!!
WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Melting Kitties :)

Abner's getting excited about moving and having a new porch!

Even flash is getting into the moving spirit. Here he is outside for a field trip and here he is (below) trying to escape while I cleaned his tank - what a crazy turtle - doesn't he realize that he will never fit with that big shell on!!

And I almost forgot - I just added another slide show on the left with pictures of food - because lets be honest - food is awesome :) As many of you know, I am a little obsessed with taking pictures, in particular of food. So I think that most of the pictures in the slide show are things that Mike and I have made, but that might change in the future. For the most part it's salads, wraps, and stir-fries, our main food sources. And if you didn't already realize, you will soon after looking at the pictures, that in addition to my obsession of taking pictures, I am also obsessed with vegetables and need to have about a minimum of 5 in each dish. Yum!!!

Girls to Atlanta

2008-05-10T12:10:00.000-07:00

A little over a week ago, Sarah, Roxie and I headed south to Atlanta. We went to help Sarah with wedding plans, to meet her family and friends and to just have some quality time together. We stayed with Sarah's mom and had such a great time. It was a busy couple of days but we were able to accomplish a lot!!

There was also a shower thrown for Sarah on Sunday while we were there. It was really nice to meet all of her friends and to see her surrounded with so much love.

Here's Roxie, Sarah & Nancy (Sarah's mom)

Opening gifts

A toast to Sarah & Ryan

I made them this papercutting - Sarah really likes these birds - I thought it turned out nice :)

So Atlanta is obviously very different than Ithaca and there are several things that are there and not here. So one of Sarah's favorite food joints is Chick-fil-A, so we had to experience the chick :)
One thing that I am definitely envious of in big cities are there huge stores and extra selections. For example, we went into a Michael's craft store and it was amazing how many more things they had there to choose from. I guess I'll just have to save up for when we go back in November for their wedding :)

One other amazing thing that happened while we were there, Nancy's cat was pregnant and actually gave birth. It was so incredible! I had never seen an animal birth before so it was quite the learning experience. She ended up having 4 healthy kittens and they were sooo precious!

Older Than Dirt

2008-05-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

Ha ha - just kidding - but I have finally crossed over into my 30's as of the end of March. That's right, I am now the big 3-0!
And I am so grateful because I was able to have such a long stretch of celebrations with so many of my dearest friends and family. It actually started the weekend before in State College when we were home for Easter. We had a fun birthday party/dinner at The Deli with my parent's, Mike's parents and David, Jeannie & the boys. It was really nice.

Then for my actual birthday weekend - two of my most favorite people in the world - Dana & Bret - came up from Delaware and spent the whole weekend with us! It was such a special treat to have them here with us, and they brought their new puppy pug - Teva with them. She is the sweetest little girl!

So Saturday we all got together with Mike and Nicole and went to the winery where Nicole works - Lucas Vineyards. We had a special tasting and mini tour of the facility. The wine was fabulous!!

Mike, Nicole, Mike, Chris, Teva, Bret, Dana

After our wine visit we headed over to Bill and Patina's house where Patina cooked the most fantastic dinner for us all. It was just a fun evening of great food, drinks and hilarious conversations :)

Mike even baked me a cake!! We brought it with us and by the end of the evening, we all felt no need for plates, so we just dug in. Then, and I can't say how it all came to be, a cake eating contest developed between Mike, Patina, Mike and Nicole. Quite the sight to say the least :)

And then things got really silly when Bill and Patina busted out these funny masks. There is no way to not laugh when you look at someone with one of these things on! Here's Mike and me :)
Too funny!! It was a great evening to say the least!

Then on Sunday, we got together for breakfast with Dana, Bret, Mike, Nicole, Ryan & Sarah. We went to the ABC Cafe, which was a really neat place.
Afterwards we went downtown for a little and then eventually had to say our good-byes to Dana & Bret.

It was a great birthday and I thank everyone for making it such a fun time!!!

Easter in May??

2008-05-10T10:13:00.000-07:00

Nooo, I've just been so behind with my blogging, it's actually quite ridiculous. But I really want to catch up, so I might as well start where I left off.

We traveled to State College this year for Easter and got to visit with lots of family. It was a great weekend and well needed after the passing of my Grandma.

Saturday morning, Mike and I went to my parent's church for an Easter egg hunt...in the snow! How funny - poor Conell, he just wasn't sure what to do about picking eggs out of the snow.

Here's Mike and Conell getting ready for "go time!"

He was pretty successful after all!

To say the least, both Evan and Conell made out pretty well. I guess the snow scared off a lot of people so they were allowed to get a crazy amount of eggs each.

Later that day we all dyed eggs - always a great tradition!

And then we had some fun in the snow - snowfamily making, sledding and even snowball fights!
(Here's Dave, Even, Chris, Jeannie & Conell)

My Mum with Evan and Conell

...and don't ever think that you are safe if you're holding a video camera... :)

Tap NY 2008

2008-05-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Ithaca Beer Co. attended a beer festival in Hunter, NY called Tap NY. Here is the website:
Tap NY Craft Beer and Fine Food Festival

And to say the least, they did pretty awesome!

Here are the Results

Flower Power IPA took the Silver!

Ten took the GOLD!

And Ithaca Beer Co. won the biggest award:
Best Craft Brewery in New York State!!

Pretty sweet!! :)

Happy Homeowners!!!

2008-04-16T15:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is true, we are now homeowners for the first time!
Lay your eyes on our new digs!!!

It's crazy because it was exactly 3 months to the day of our first day looking. It took a little longer than expected and we saw a TON more houses than expected as well, but it all paid off. Last Saturday we put in our offer and got the word on Monday that they accepted.
We are soooo excited and can't wait to move in. We'll have to wait until June 16th to close, but it actually works out really good. Our apartment lease runs out the end of June so we'll have a solid two weeks to move in. (Stay tuned for moving party details!!! - ha :)

So here's the run-down:
4-bedroom, 2-bathroom ranch ~ 1500 sq ft., living room, sun room/dining room, full basement and an ENORMOUS garage. This thing is a monster - I think you could fit 6 cars in there if you wanted. It's not finished on the outside but we'll be doing that in the near future. Let's see, close to both of our works, a little out in the country, views of rolling mountains and farms, and a decent sized yard.....it really is going to be perfect!!

So you all won't have any excuses to not visit anymore!! Load up the cars and come to beautiful Ithaca!!! (of course that's after we move in :)

We Miss You Grandma

2008-04-04T08:54:00.001-07:00

I'm sorry that I have seriously slacked off with my blogging - it just seems to have been the most crazy month yet!

The most important thing that has happened is that my loving Grandma passed away March 12th. She was 99 (remember her birthday :) and gratefully, she went very peacefully. Over the past several years her health had begun to deteriorate. She suffered from Dementia, which can be associated with Alzheimer's disease and was beginning to fade away. Yet, she still responded to love. She was always such a happy woman, I remember from all the nursing homes that she lived in over the past couple of years, people would always comment on her beautiful smile and how sweet she was. She never caused problems and only asked for a hug and a kiss.

She actually lived most of her life in New Jersey, so I have a ton of memories from visiting her and my Grandfather there. One thing that will always stick with me though is the love that her and my Grandfather shared. They actually eloped when they were young and spent their whole lives truly dedicated to one another (67 years!) I just always felt that was so neat – that they knew from the beginning that their love could last forever.

When she moved to State College to live with my parents, I was grateful because I was able to see her everyday. I had always lived several hours away from all of my grandparents so it was a new experience for me. I think that I really embraced the opportunity and felt that our bond grew even stronger. I remember how hard it was when Mike and I were deciding to move away. I just hated to break that rekindled bond, but I knew that she would want us to live our lives and to go on our own adventures. Still, every time we came home to visit, I never felt complete until I got to see Grandma and just hug and kiss her. I know that she sensed me.

I will miss her always. She was my last living grandparent, so its been a time of transition. But I feel her with me, as I feel all of my grandparents. Not a day goes by where I don’t think about them and know that they are all with me. My heart overflows with all of their love and the love that I have for them.

Thank you to everyone who has sent warm wishes and comforting words. If you would like to look at her obituary, please click this link: Verna May Stout

Wildlife & Cupcakes

2008-03-03T18:27:00.000-08:00

Things have been going pretty good lately. Just working lots and trying to figure out this house situation. We got to see 4 more houses over the weekend, but still not much luck. We had some snow finally last week but then it got FREEZING so we didn't really get to play in it. Oh well, maybe we'll get some more soon. Today it about all melted with temperatures in the 50's! Crazy!!!

Here's a deer that was out back of our apartment - we have so many deer around here. People get mad at them, but I still think they are beautiful. It's pretty amazing that there are such large animals that just roam around us!

Last week I had to go to Geneva for a meeting and on my way up I finally spotted some white deer! I have heard about them for so long, but this was my first sighting. At first I thought they were goats, but on closer inspection I found that they really were deer. There is a whole herd of them in this old army depot area that is fenced off. The deer aren't albino - they just have some gene that somehow become predominant - maybe it has something to do with a lack of predators.....not sure, but they're still pretty cool.

A hairy woodpecker on our back porch.

Myra & Abner lovin each other :)

Cupcakes!! I actually baked - it's a miracle! I had been craving cake for so long and decided to break down and make some cupcakes for Valentine's Day. We took them to Pixel (this bar that we go to almost every Thursday for Cask night. Ithaca Beer serves a special cask - or mini-keg - every week. It's a lot of fun). Yum!

Turkeys!!! This is also out back of our apartment. I swear there were almost 30 on this morning - what a weird, yet beautiful bird!

The squirrels can be quite entertaining for the cats. This one was teasing Myra - so close, yet so far away :(

Aw.....