Happy New Year!

Oh, how I wish I was there.

Have a good (and safe) New Year.

Best of....

2007

Nat asked on her blog to link to our 10 favorite LOs of the year. Boy... that was difficult.

But, here's what I came up with.











I am going to sit back with a glass of wine and enjoy the quiet. That being said... I still need to make some plans for New Year's Eve. So, if you know of a fab party that I just have to attend... and that is reasonably close to where I live... let me know.
Have a good one.

A wonderful Christmas

to you all.

I am off to Rome in just a few hours. I hear it is just as cold there as it is here... go figure. And my brother is sick with the flu, so he called to apologize for not getting a tree and such. But I think, we will just go and find this tree and pretend it is ours. Find more videos on www.findinternettv.com.">

have a good one.

P.S.
Dörte, if you are reading this... I still have a package for you here but can't get to your adress since the SBS forum is closed. Would you please e-mail your adress again to manolos.I.covet@gmail.com

And they are off....

just dropped off Trouble #1 and #2 and Oma at the airport. They are on their way to India as we speak. They were so excited to finally see all their aunts and uncles, cousins, and bazillion other relatives again. And, trust me, my yougest cousin is getting married... EVERY relative is going to be there.

Other than spending time with family though, they have two things in mind: the beach shopping! Typical girls, I tell you. Oh, and I was informed that they were hoping for rain so they could do their raindance. Alrighty then!

Anyway, now I need to do some last minute shopping and baking and maybe even squeeze in some last minute scrapping.

Have a good one.

Blog Burp

well... I don't know why my last post disappeared. I mean, I have had pictures disappear even though the link was still there, but never an entire post. But... oh well, it wasn't anything earthshattering anyway.

In any event, I did get my christmas cards done and hope to get them mailed out today. If you don't live in Germany and are expecting a card from me, sorry to say, it will most likely be late.

Other than that, off to finish writing the cards,

have a good one.

Do you ever find yourself

buying scrapping supplies just because of the name? Don't answer that. I KNOW you do.

My latest "name" purchases were:












How can you go wrong with something called "obscure"? Or "Rockstar"? or "grungeboard"? Grungeboard, coincidentally, hasn't actually been purchased yet, but I asked my lovely friend Andrea to pick it up for me at a shop in Berlin and deliver it personally. Yeah! Gotta love personal delivery.

And this is one I am lusting after. It is called "Wild Saffron". I have no actual use for these papers. They are pretty, no doubt. But do I really NEED more paper with little flowers, butterflies and swirls? Never mind, don't answer that.


So, in an effort to find out about other tempting "name" products, tell me yours. I will come up with a RAK to the one that can convince me to purchase "their" name product.

Have a goo done.

When life hands you lemons

make lemonade, isn't that how the saying goes?

Well, metaphorically (I think) speaking, that's what I did, when I received an envelope full of lovely, oh so lovely goodies from an unnamed friend (or, you be the judge, "former" friend? because what proper scrapping friend would send something so... well, lovely, to another scrapping friend?).

This is what was in my little envelope:



And this is what I came up with:



But, in my friend's defense, it was an ugly paper exchange, and what I sent off to another friend, was just as bad, if not worse, because I sent her LOTS of goodies. Hey, what can I say, I started scrapping in the dark ages, scrapbooking wise, and somehow never had the heart to radically clean out all the stuff that had accumulated.

Have a good one.

Super quick post in the morning

... because I have nothing better to do. As you might recall, I am doing an internship at Rindchen's Weinkontor. Well, the ladies in bookkeeping thought they shoud send me over to on of the stores... after all, bookkeeping is bookkeeping, but I can't have worked at a company selling wine and not learn anything ABOUT wine. So... this week, they are sending me to one of the stores. And you want to know how far I have to go to work? I swear, other than working from home, it couldn't be closer. Across the street. Literally, across the street. That's why I have nothing better to do than sit here and write a mindless blog post. I got ready for work way too early. Go figure.

Have a good one.

Super cool stamps

you all know I am all about Stampin'Up when it comes to stamping, but really, when I need a "quick fix", what could be better than these absolutely adorable, universal, super cute, non acrylic, but acrylic mounted rubber stamps by See D's? I mean, how cute are these stamps? So, as I just couldn't stop myself to go upstairs for a little late night shopping trip after the card workshop at Scrapbook-King on Friday... I mean, how convenient is that? workshop downstairs in the super comfy living room, shop upstairs? I bought myself these two sets.











Okay, I couldn't leave a scrapbookstore with just two sets of stamps, so I did buy some paper... these, to be exact:













So, with no deadline looming, and the promise I had to give Trouble #1 not to do ANYTHING today that would involve getting dressed and leaving the house, I think I might just try and get caught up with my christmas journal for Shimelle's Christmas Journal Class.

Have a good one (Second Advent, that is)

You might be receiving a christmas card from me!

Thanks to the workshop that I taught at Scrapbook-King last night, I now have an abundance of different Christmas cards. In previous years, I usually decided on one card design and started mass producing. After card #5 or 10 (I admit, my attention span is a bit short)I got tired of the design but was too lazy to come up with something else. Well... since I had to demonstrate 10 different cards, I now have 10+ different card designs already done and no longer have an excuse not to "bless" everyone with a lovely handmade Christmas card. Okay, I might still fail to actually take them to the postoffice but hey... the designs are done.

so, just in case you don't get a christmas card from me, you know... yours is probably still sitting in my hallway waiting to be taken to the postoffice on Christmas Eve, here's what you are missing.

More later. I need a nap.

Have a good one












.

This ....

is where I am going to be in exactly 20 days! I just booked my ticket today! 5 days in Rome, and I am excited beyond belief. Christmas was looking pretty gloomy, with Trouble #1 & #2 on vacation in India with their grandparents, but now I a) get to spend christmas with family after all... 5 days with my brother, and b) I get to spend 5 days with my brother in ROME!!! Did I mention that I will be in ROME? Why Rome, you may ask... well, I might have mentioned it before, the little brat (that is, my brother) got himself transferred to a job in Rome. Same company, same job, different location. So, as long as he gets himself transferred to interesting places, there will be visits to said interisting places by me.

Other than that I am ...
-putting the finishing touches on some of my cards for Friday's Workshop at Scrapbook-King.
-finishing up with some christmas decorations around the house.
-getting things ready for another day at work. You wouldn't believe how much I enjoy going to work again. The work itself is not terribly challenging, just lots of stuff to do, and I am learning LOTS and LOTS about wine. Yummy.

Have a good one.

Pictures!

okay... I finally managed to get batteries for the digi camera and upload some pictures.

Exhibit A: Advent calendars. They are not quite done yet. Well, they are, but the boxes are not quite level on the bottoms so the tape that I used to stick them to the back is not, well... sticking. So I have to get out my trusty hot glue gun, before too many more boxes fall off. Especially Trouble #2's calendar is a bit glue challenged and can only be displayed laying down.


Notice how I employed the ever popular German "napkin technique". Ughhh, I tried it once, dismissed it as "not my thing" and swore I would never do it again.... yeah, try wrapping 48 round boxes in pattern paper. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! So, napkins it was. And I swear: THIS TIME I MEAN IT! NO MORE NAPKIN gluing!

Exhibit B: even I could not resist doing at least ONE christmas altered item. When I saw these paper mache letters I had to have them. I used the lovely MME Bohemia christmas papers from last year. Still love them. Wish I could get my hands on more. No such luck so far. But if anyone has a source, please let me know.
I displayed the letters on the heater in my dining room bay window.








Exhibit C:
Last but not least, yes, I am among one of the almost 1000 Christmas Journalers in Shimelle's class. We are officially on day 3, and I am only two days behind. Yeah for me! Wink. I am using an 8x8 7gypsies gated album. It's been sitting in my mini album box forever and I never knew what to do with it. It seemed perfectly suited for this purpose, though. We shall see. Of course, first thing I had to do, was disassemble it. As I am still painfully low on christmas papers (just didn't think that far ahead when I was shopping in NY in October, duh!) I am using up my scraps of MME Bohemia Christmas. Like I said, if anyone knows where to get more, I'd love to know.


Now I am off to bed, have a good one.

Quick Update

I usually try to update this blog at least a couple of times a week, but well... it just wasn't a good week.

Most importantly, the advent calendars got done. By about noon today! After putting in two long nights. Watching paint dry. A couple of boxes keep falling off! And three of the boxes on each calendar are still empty. BUT Trouble #1 and #2 got to open their first box today. So all was well.

I will post pictures soon. Once I get my camera hooked up and the camera program installed, because.... that is the main reason why it wasn't a good week....

I dropped my laptop. On the tile floor. I could cry just thinking about it. Well, I didn't really drop it, but I tripped over the cord and pulled it off the desk. Result's the same. The LCD is kaputt!

Anyone know a good fix? Short of buying a new one.... which just isn't going to happen.

I had to set up Trouble #1's computer at my scrap desk. Me not likey.

Now I need to read up on two of my online classes which started this week. I am already behind, how sad is that? All because of the darn laptop.

Anyway, have a good one. Happy first Advent (tomorrow).