Feeling. Crappy.

I'm sick.

And it sucks.

Loving Right Now.

rag dolls
American Crafts Thickers
bridges
art
watermelons
color
old photographs
the Dionne Quintuplets
Shirley Temple
a long walk
fall photos with bright colors
tulips
reading a magazine cover to cover
Diet Coke with vanilla
a pizza I don't have to make myself
cake
really good dark chocolate
coffee from Starbucks
a day out
walking along the lake
dancing
cuddling with my puppies
pajama pants
frozen yogurt
Disney, anything Disney
chocolate pudding
frozen grapes
hands-free phone-talking
french fries
children's books
baby names
the beach
hot tea with honey
rock climbing
Friends
cereal
chapstick
owls
fresh flowers
Uglydolls
strawberry limeade
a cozy blanket
slippers

Anticipating.

It's almost fall. And then it will be almost winter. My friend, Wendy, mentioned on her blog the other day that she's not really looking forward to it. And even though I HATE cold weather (read: HATE... with a fiery passion), I do look forward to the changing of the seasons because there are certain things that come with fall and winter (that I don't like so much during spring and summer) at my house.

I understand that many people out there are not ready to hear (or see or read) about fall/winter stuff, but... Wendy, this is for you...

1.) Schokinag Extreme Dark Drinking Chocolate

• I hate hot chocolate. Ew. Makes me want to hurl.
• See, I used to drink it EVERY single day, and then one day, I got sick. Hot chocolate was the only thing in my stomach; therefore, it was the only thing that came up. And as Chandler says, "It's very difficult to enjoy once you've seen it in reverse." Every time I *smell* hot chocolate, it reminds me of that fateful day (January 27, 1995). Ew.
• So to say that I was reluctant to try this hot chocolate is an under-statement. But a friend of mine assured me that it's NOT yo' mama's hot chocolate. She was right.
• It's drinking chocolate. There's a difference. And it's fabulous. Yup, it's expensive. But seriously? Worth it. I only drink it during the winter months, so I figure I can afford it. ;-)
• Jeremy's favorite flavor is Dulce de Leche, which (to me) isn't hot chocolate. But I humor him.
  

2.) The Company Store Microfiber Fleece Blanket

• It's super fabulous. I bought it (in cashmere blue) last year when it went on sale (for like $13), and I LOVE getting all cozied up in this blanket.
  
• I may have to buy the sheets and pillowcases now too. And this matching bed jacket. Mmmm... a bed jacket. I've asked for that for Christmas for the last THREE years [this will be the 4th] to no avail. Jeremy? Honey? Are you reading this? ;-) I need it. NEED it. I'm thinking that if you're still coveting the same thing after four years, it's safe to say that it will be used and loved. A lot. :-) And if you friends of mine would like to join me in the "Reyanna Needs a Company Store Bed Jacket" stance, please send an email to Jeremy (jeremy@remyanna.com)... if you'd like. :-)

3.) Mom's Turtle Brownies

• Every year, I'd look forward to my mom's turtle brownies. I'm not sure why she never made them during the spring/summer months. Maybe because it was Southern California, and we were thinking more of popsicles and watermelon in the hot weather than hot, gooey, sticky, yummy brownies... ;-)
• In any case, they were my absolute FAVORITE thing! I only got them during the cold months (usually during December), and I looked forward to them EVERY year. :-D
• Now, she no longer makes them for me, so I have to fend for myself.
• Get a brownie mix and put most of the batter (leave 1/4- 1/3 of the batter out) into a pan. Bake it for five minutes. Then take it out, and put a 1/2 cup of *melted* caramels on top. Then sprinkle with chocolate chips. Then put the rest of the batter and bake for the rest of the time.
  
• Yummy. Yummy. Fabulous.
  
• And yummy.
  

4.) Acorn Versa Fleece Socks

• These had been on my Christmas wish list (you know... along with that bed jacket...) for quite a while, so when my In Laws gave me a gift card to Sierra Trading Post last year, I thought it was about time that I get some!
• They are the BEST.SOCKS.EVER.
• In the fall and winter, I sleep in them, lounge in them, cook in them, watch movies in them, keep them in my nightstand when I'm not wearing them because I KNOW that I'll need them the next evening. LOL.
• They are SO soft and SO cozy. And I can't believe I only have ONE pair! LOL. This year, I'll get more because I know that I live in them. :-D
• They are the BEST.SOCKS.EVER.

5.) Fall Walks

(Photo of me and the puppies in Central Park. Taken by Jeremy, November 2006.)

• Mmm... it's so nice and crisp out. I throw on a sweater and some jeans. Perhaps some cozy gloves and a scarf.
• The air smells cleaner (to me, at least....) during this time of year. Taking a deep breath feels SO good. Love that feeling.
• And then when you get back from your walk, you throw on your fleece socks, wrap yourself in your cozy fleece blanket (and bed jacket...), sip on some hot chocolate, and eat gooey brownies. You smile and sigh. It's fall and winter... it really is a great time of year. :-)
  

Answering.

Taken from Paige's blog. :-)

A- Age: 28 (also my favorite number! yay!)

B- Bed size: queen (thought I wanted to go back after our king, but now I miss our king... LOL. When we buy a house, we'll get a king again! And the queen will go to the guest room. LOL.)

C- Chore I love: picking up all the stuff laying around. LOL. Oh! And toilets. LOL. They just look SO nice and shiny and clean when they're done. :)

D- Dogs' names: Ruby-Monday (she was born on a Monday... tee hee) and Amber-Lamb :-)

F- Favorite color: blue

G- Gold or Silver: gold. though i really like the two-toned look these days.

H- How many times have you been outside the USA: I went to Canada once.

I- Instruments I play: I can play a few songs on the piano. I only took lessons for a short time, but my teacher told me I wasn't getting very good, so I quit. Nice, huh?! True story.

J- Job title: Sales :-) (at The Container Store)

K- Kids: Probably next year. We want a house first. And less credit card debt. LOL. I'm having baby fever right now though. I'd like to have a baby now...

L- Living arrangements: 2 bed, 2 bath apartment... with hubby and puppies. :-)

M- Most popular dessert at my house: ice cream or frozen yogurt. We LOVE going out for frozen yogurt. Ohmigoodness... I usually eat a whole pint (no joke) all by myself... in one sitting. :-)

N- Number of times I have stayed overnight at the hospital, not counting my own birth: Really... too many to count. I broke my legs and was in traction... for like... months.

O- Outdoor activity I have never tried but would like to: I've actually never been rock climbing/repelling on REAL rocks. Only LOTS of indoor stuff (I have a membership), and I have my own harness and shoes, so I know I COULD do it. Well, okay, I've bouldered, but like... I've never been with a harness and ropes and stuff. :) Soon. Very soon. :D

P- Pet peeve: Typos. LOL.

Q- Quote from a movie: "I can't believe it... I'm losin' to a rug!" -Genie from Aladdin

R- Restaurant I could eat at every day: North by Northwest (here in Austin). We just went a couple weeks ago, and OH.MY.GOSH. Seriously, one of the best meals at a restaurant I've EVER had. In my top three. I can't WAIT to go back. :D

S- Siblings: an older brother (Dack) and a younger sister (Shaina)

T- Time I wake-up: Usually around 9 or 10. LOL. I NEED lots of sleep.

U- Unknown fact about me: Unknown? Hmm... I have a phobia... a true phobia of breaking rules. Panic attack. Hysteria. Tears. Everything. It's kinda crazy. Okay, really crazy. LOL.

V- Vegetable I dislike: can't think of one... oh! I don't like radishes or beets. Ew.

W- What is my dream vacation: French countryside. Or... a private beach. LOL.

X-rays I've had: I think... every single part of my body. LOL. I am SO accident prone!

Y- Yummy food I make: Everything has been pretty tasty! ;-) But my favorite thing to make is cheesecake. It does NOT last long though. LOL. I usually eat the whole thing within two days. LOL.

Z- Zoo favorite: Primates :D Chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans. And if I'd ever seen bonobos, that would be in there too. They're my favorite animal, but chimps will have to do. And I LOVE the snake house. :D

Pimping.

As in... my sister, Shaina, *pimped* out her daughters' room! P.I.M.P.E.D. Seriously... I know all their 2nd-grade friends are super-jealous! :-p

Alaura (older twin by 21 minutes) *loves* the Eiffel Tower/Paris/anything French. Apparently, she's infatuated with the fact that the Eiffel Tower looks like a giant A. LOL. Anywho, her request was that an Eiffel Tower be painted on her new bedroom wall (they just bought a house). Her favorite color is pink.

Her twin sister, Brenna, likes black and white, Asian decor, and pandas. My sister admitted that this room was more to Alaura's liking, but they'd finish the upstairs in the future, and Brenna could have a room all her own. Brenna is not complaining (seriously, most agreeable child I've ever met). She still thinks she has the coolest room EVER. And she'd much rather have this room to share, then your run-of-the-mill little girl room.

My sister surprised the girls with a hot pink and zebra room on Christmas morning (in their old house). She set up the whole room with the lights OFF... while they were sleeping (pre-drilled holes... my idea! tee hee... to hang up stuff). So she had all the decor, but they bought this house, she took it one step further and painted the whole room! By hand. :) No projector. No stencil. Yeah, she's awesome.

When you walk into their room, you see this:


And then you turn to see the cutest wall...

Again, no stencil. No projector. She did use a circle mirror and traced a circle at the bottom. She drew it on with pencil first.

Turn again, and you see their window...


And then, their beds..

Funny thing is, Shaina looked for MONTHS for the perfect bunk-bed for them. She is SO picky and won't settle for anything less than the wonders of her artsy imagination. So she found this and painted it. They love it. But THEN, they ended up not wanting to sleep in separate beds. LOL.

So... her husband extended the frame of the bottom... making it into a full-size, on which they both sleep. He said, "Why don't we just get RID of the bunk-bed, and they can just have a full or queen?" Umm... no. Shaina LOVES that bed. Not an option. LOL. So now... really, everyone's happy. And she said when they have someone spend the night, they're good to go. :) And if my parents come to visit (or me!), they can just remove the top. Perfect.

My sister is so delightfully artistic. I love it. She's actually the one who got me into scrapbooking. And when I say "got me into scrapbooking," I mean "forced" me into scrapbooking. LOL. True story. She hasn't scrapped in a LONG time because she hasn't had time or room. But now she does, so hopefully, she'll be scrapping soon. :)

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Oh! And head on over to Craft Critique to see my article on Maya Mist. You can do some AWESOME stuff with those little bottles!

And now... I'm going to grab my Diet Coke w/Vanilla (1/2 price at Sonic! YEAH!) and sit out in the warmth and read some magazines and catalogues... while gaining inspiration for the SC kit (my last SC kit... *sigh*) that I received in the mail today. :-D

It is a *good* day off.

Happy 09-09-09 to ya! (aka... Beatles Day!)

Oh! One other thing... I laughed my butt off at this website today. Frickin' hilarious! Especially this one. Oh.My.Word.Funny. I SO wish my dad was here with me, so we could laugh our butts off... together. :-) Alas, I called him in Colorado and told him about it. Listening to him laugh instead. I'll take that though! ;-)

Cooking.

I've been cooking up a little recipe book (tee hee) as a gift. I don't know these people, but my aunt had the idea and asked me to make this recipe keepsake book for her niece (on other side of family). It was very fun. And Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird line (plus $1 recipe cards from Michaels) made it come together SO quickly! :D

My aunt had the idea to make a space for her niece to put a photo next to the recipe to whom it belonged. She handed out the recipe cards at the bridal shower. Isn't that a cute idea?!

(I put photo splits, so she wouldn't have to get her own adhesive. "Photo" stamp is from Studio Calico.)

Put some extra recipe cards in the back...

And just so I could see what it looked like with photos, I decided to throw in some of me and my sister. LOL. :-)

I hope they like it! :-)

Ordering.

(Papers: October Afternoon; Chipboard: Basic Grey, Maya Road, American Crafts;
Punches: Fiskars, EK Success, Martha Stewart; Markers: Copic (for chipboard)
Flowers: Creative Imaginations, Prima (cut to be a clover for March);
Font: 1942 Report; Tools: Bind It All, Crop A Dile)

I have had a very productive week. And when I say "productive," I mean I got some projects done, caught up on my Jenni Bowlin class at BPS, AND... perhaps the most exciting thing...

I uploaded and ordered 350 photos on Shutterfly!! WOOHOO! (That includes some 5x7s and 8x10s for gifts.)

And the best part?!

ALL those photos were only $33... including shipping!! I combined FOUR coupons I had. 150 free photos and free shipping. YUMMY! :D I can't wait! I NEED some more photos to scrap. :)

So... the project I did yesterday. The one above?! (You can click to enlarge photos.) It's a birthday and event calendar. And I've been wanting to do this for like... umm... a year now?! And I finally was just like, "Dang it! Enough already! I'm getting this DONE!" And I did! All in ONE day! Woohoo. :) And it makes me SO happy hanging in my scrap room. Ahhhh. :) I'm not done filling in all the birthdays/events. I'll probably just do that as the year goes on. :)

Okay, I've got to get ready for work. I'm leaving in 40 minutes, and I'm not dressed in appropriate attire. ;-)

Clipping.

I altered this box for my niece, Mairen. Cute, yes?!

I absolutely HATE these alpha stickers (they were free with purchase one day at Archiver's). HATE them! LOL. I'm sorry... I do. Not sure why. I see them on lots of pages, so I know they're loved out there, but for some strange reason, they bug me.

But... they look SO cute on this box with these Basic Grey chip stickers! So... I'm glad I had them in my stash.

Now... for the quick story behind said box.

My sister, Shaina, decided to ask her daughters about their favorite hobbies and/or sports. This is how the conversation went...

Shaina: "Girls, I want to ask you about your favorite hobbies and sports! Alaura, what hobby or sport do you like best?"

Alaura (age 7.5): "Art! Definitely art! I love art!"

Shaina: "Awesome! And Brenna, what's your favorite?"

Brenna (age 7.5): "Umm... running! And... swimming! Oh! And basketball! I love all those!"

Shaina: "All good sports! And Mairen, what is *your* favorite hobby or sport?!"

Mairen (age 4.5): "Collecting dirty toenails!!!"

Apparently she said this quite emphatically. I laughed SO hard when I heard this. My sister says she goes around the house picking up toenail clippings, and she puts them in one of her drawers. I asked my sister if she had a box in which to keep them, and it turns out, she doesn't. And of course...

... being me... working at The Container Store and all, I suggested I get her one. And do you know what my sister said?!

"Reyanna! Don't encourage this! It's gross!"

Tee hee. But being the cool and fun aunt that I am.... * insert devilish laugh here * ... I marched my butt over to The Container Store to find her a small box for said toenails. And I altered it for her using yellow, black and green... her favorite colors. :D The box is big enough for her to also store nail clippers and even nail polish should she so choose. :)

Mairen LOVES it. :D

My sister hopes it turns more into a pedicure kit... LOL. We shall see...

Practicing.

I used to not like mini albums so much. I guess I just needed some practice.

So... I practiced. And I practiced. And I took a class from Kelly. And I practiced some more.

Now... I LOVE them! They are just so fun! I finished this mini (you can click on it to enlarge it) in 3.5 hours one night. It was a true mini album in an evening, and that rocks my socks off. :)

I'll be giving this mini to my niece, Mairen (Mary Beth). I took these photos of them at their first trip to the ocean in Narragansett, Rhode Island. I ended up taking lots more photos of Mairen than I did of the Twinkies (Alaura and Brenna). It wasn't on purpose... it's just that Mairen had to stay closer to us because she was so young. Ah well. I'll have to make minis for her two sisters now! :D

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics. Papers and stamps: Upsy Daisy Designs. Border punch (threading water): Fiskars. Scallop punch: EK Success. Thickers: American Crafts. Mini alpha stickers: Making Memories. Buttlerfly punches: Martha Stewart. Binding machine: Zutter Bind-It-All.

Man, I just can't get *enough* of those Martha punches. And that journaling stamp from Upsy Daisy is AWESOME! :D