Scrapbook Update

I want to share some of my newer layouts that I haven't shared yet. I hadn't been able to scrap since mid July to November as all my stuff was packed away in storage. :( In the meantime, my Studio Calico (SC) kits kept piling up. I think I had five or six untouched kits by the time I got my scraproom set up in the new place. (I will have to share pics at a later date as I am still in the process of settling in. I am still on the search for bins/baskets to fin in my Expedit from Ikea.)

For the life of me, I can't figure out how to get some of the pictures to rotate! If anybody knows, please comment and let me know!

Here are some of my more recent layouts.

We ate at this little pub in downtown Dublin. It was fun to just walk into a local bar and soak up the culture. The food was pretty good there too. I used SC's Joyland and Granny's Cupboard.

Finishing up the Ireland layouts... When in Dublin you must go the the Guinness factory and at least try a Guinness. While it is NOT my favorite beer in the world, I actually finished my whole pint, because now I can say I have! :) I used Granny's Cupboard with some Over the Rainbow from SC.

Of course, there is no way to go to Paris and not see Notre-Dame. It was a really neat big church and we got our exercise climbing those stairs! The green tickets are the actual tickets from the climb. The info brocher they give you is attached to the yellow tab on the right of the layout. It pulls out and there is a bunch of neat facts about the church. I used Granny's Cupboard from SC for this LO.

A layout about the Eiffel Tower in Paris. I love that I was able to incorporate the ticket from the Tower on the layout.

I did this layout about Roxy awhile back. I love all the pictures I had gathered of her when she was little and sleeping in any space she could! I used an oldie but a goodie - SC's Joyland kit.

These pictures where taken at the Groom's Supper for Amy's wedding. And it is very very typical of us when we get together. This layout was done with SC's Napa Valley.

In November, I got to spend a long weekend with Amy up in Maplewood and we went to a concert to see Kina Grannis. She is a mostly internet artist, who is slowly amassig a following. She was so cute in concert and she did a meet and greet after the show, so I actually got to meet her! I was very excited. Anyway, this is a layout about this! I used SC's Back 40, On the Easel and Napa Valley's kit.

Chris and I got to go Scuba diving in Okoboji a couple times this summer. We went with Blue Water Divers in Arnold's Park. On Wednesdays, they have cheap boat dives with 1/2 price rentals as well. It was nice to meet other divers (we go out to eat afterwards as well) and share some stories. I used parts of 3 different kits for this layout.

I love this layout about the fun times Anne and I had while Scuba diving. We goofed off a bit and it was A LOT of fun! I used a combo of a lot of kits from SC. I especially love the big polka dot stamp they made! LOVE!

This layout is of Anne & my experience diving Square Lake this summer. We had a lot of fun being dive buddies! I used Studio Calico's Summer Camp and Napa Valley kits to do this. I also used a sketch for this one.

This is one of those wonky layouts that I can't get to rotate. Me and Dad on our snowmobile trip last year. I used a ton of products from many different Studio Calico kits.

I am STILL working on my 2008 Europe trip. In my defense, I was abroad for a whole month and took a ton of pictures. And I mean a ton. At least I am scrapping the last week of the trip... I used the Napa Valley SC kit here.

I did a 2 pager! It has been so long since I did one. They are so challenging to me because there is just so much space to fill out. I used SC Granny's Cupboard and Partly Sunny.

I have also done some layouts for Amy's Wedding. I have acutally probably already done more layouts of Amy's Wedding than my own! Mine is just so intimidating to me. I've thought about it a few times, but havent' actually done much. Anyway, this is a layout about Anne and my dresses. We had some time to kill while Amy and Kenny where taking pictures, so we had a little photo shoot of our own :) I used SC Partly Sunny and On the Easel.

A lovely layout about the beautiful bride Amy. She looked so great on her wedding day!

I loved this picture of me and Anne at the bar. This layout was done with SC's Napa Valley. I just love the colors of this page!

Studio Calico has asked us to blog a wishlist of the of the products we would like to have. So here goes:

- It's out of stock, but I would love the Large Circle Border Punch. I keep seeing it used on a bunch of fabulous layouts in the gallery.

- I already have Jenni Bowlin's stick candy ink coming with the January kit, but I would like all the other colors eventually. Everybody seems to be raving about them, so I think I need them now too!

- I also wouldn't mind getting more of the Studio Calico Mister Huey's. I only have the white one as of yet, but I think I will slowly starting adding more month by month.

So that's it for now. I have to got and do some physical therapy now on my knee... :( I wish bending it wouldn't hurt so damn much!

Our First Christmas

in our new house! We hosted Christmas this year as we inherited the big table with the big house. I didn't cook the ham, Grandma did, because truthfully, I don't know how to cook anything that big! Everyone seemed to have brought something, and in the end, we had a wonderful feast. There were 12 of us all together and there was plenty to go around. Lots of goodies too of course and we all were stuffed by the end of it. We may just have to have Christmas at our house every year because everything is simplified if everybody from all sides of the family comes together at our 'neutral' spot :)

On Christmas Eve, we played a present stealing game with the Grunewald side. It was fun, and Sunny helped open many of these gifts, she thinks it's a lot of fun tearing off the paper. I got some great slipper socks and a Yankee snowman tealight sized candle holder. I also received a bunch of stuff/accessories for my Slice! I hope to use it a whole bunch more this year than I did last year... maybe that should be a challenge for the year.

What's been happening & Post Knee Surgery

So, as ususal I have been horrible at posting on a regular basis. There have been a lot of changes since my last post. We switched houses with Grandma and Grandpa after living with them for about 3 months. Meanwhile, we rehauled the trailer house. Everything got a fresh coat of paint (except for the paneling). New carpet in the big bedroom and living room. New front entry faux wood flooring. Replaced the sub floor in the big bedroom, in front of the front door, and a couple other random spots around the house. Replaced the wall in the big bedroom closet. Complete gut and remodeling of the main bathroom. New sink in the half bath. New window in the bathroom and well as resetting all the windows in the rest of the house. Painted the trim on the outside fo the house. Stained all new trimwork for a few doors and all the windows inside the house, as well as the trim for the bathroom. And I think that is it... I got to practice my mudding techinique on the closet wall and the bathroom. I suck at corners, but hopefully I will improve. It felt good to do something all by myself.

We also have started on some projects in our new house. More on that at a later time.

I have been sitting on the couch for the last week and a half. It is driving me crazy. I want to actually do something. But I am limited by my knee. I had surgery on Tuesday, November 23rd. Dr. Reeves in Sioux Falls tightened some ligaments, while released (loosened) some others. The hope is that my kneecap will stop dislocating itself. I am in a straight brace for 3 weeks, then they will allow my knee to bend some slowly. I will have to start physical therapy soon. I am already sick of my knee being straight and would like nothing more than to bend my knee. Argh. It's going to be a long couple of months. My goal is to be able to go on the annual snowmobiling trip in February. We will see... I have actually been bearing weight on it since day one. Below are some pictures from the evening after the surgery.


I came home with a hemovac, a pain pump and an ice machine (not pictured). The hemovac is the round thing with the red hose attached to it. The hose is inserted under the skin in my knee into the surgical area. It drains the blood and the fluid they put into the area during the arthroscopy. Kinda gross, but necessary. The pain pump also has a hose that is inserted into the same area. I could push it every 4-6 hours. Wonderful thing to come home with. The ice machine is still in use. You fill this little cooler with ice and some water. It has a hose that hooks up to the blue pad that is under my brace. It circulates the cold water through the pad to basically ice the wound without having to keep putting an ice pack on it. Very convient and a very awesome tool.

Chris has been a pretty good caretaker. Maybe there is hope.... hehe! And that is my knee surgery story.