Hello, my name is Kristen, and I'm a stampaholic.

I used to go to Stamp Club (hosted by a Stampin' Up demonstrator) once a month.  At each of these Stamp Club sessions, I was required to either purchase a minimum of $25 in product or pay a $10 fee to cover the cost of the paper and usage of the host's stamps/ink pads for that night.  I'm not sure why I didn't just pay the $10 rather than buy all this stuff, but that's irrelevant at this point.  The point is that those $25 monthly purchases have added up to so many stamps that are awesome, yet so disorganized that I don't even really know what I have.

I get frustrated when I sit down to make a card for a birthday, anniversary, or other occasion, and can't find the stamp I'm looking for.  The stamps usually come in sets of 6 or 8 and the name of the set is always something clever like 'Tart & Tangy' or 'Sun-kissed;' not intuitive or descriptive enough to know what would be in that set without opening the box.  Here's how frustrating it is - all I see is wood blocks and have to take out each set to look at them and decide if that's what I want.  UGH:

Today was the day to fix this.  Don't know why, it just was.  Here's what I was working with after I took alllllllll the stamps out of their boxes:

I know if a Stampin' Up demonstrator or loyal customer saw this they might scream at me for breaking up the sets, but I don't really care that the popsicle, Happy Birthday, and flip flops are in the same box together just because they came that way.  That system doesn't make sense to me - my brain works by grouping like objects into categories, so as I was taking the stamps out of their original packaging I was also thinking about options for a long-term storage system that would make it easier to find what I need quickly.

Then the light bulb went off!

A few weeks ago I was in Joann Fabrics looking for scrapbook paper for a gift and I came across these 12x12 plastic Protect and Store boxes.  I stood there, thinking 'hmmmmm,' but didn't buy them because I was on a mission for this paper and couldn't think of a purpose for them at that moment.  As I sorted the stamps today, I thought about these boxes, which I remembered to be about 2 stamps deep, and decided they'd be the perfect solution.

I bought five, thinking I could just return any that wouldn't fit in the empty part of my craft closet where they would be living.  When I got home, I put the lids on each box and stacked them to figure out how many would fit, so I'd know how many categories I needed.  Luckily, all 5 fit with an inch or 2 to spare at the top...

Once I knew I could have 5 broad categories, I started putting all the individual stamps in piles, like holidays, phrases with no pictures, pictures with no phrases, trees, hearts, etc.  I knew I'd have to combine some piles later, but this helpful to see how many duplicates or even similar stamps I had (why do I need 5 'thank you' stamps?).  Once I had my piles, I started purging.  I'll tell/show you how many I purged in January, during my January Junk Jettison :)

I ended up with these 5 categories - Nature, Phrases, Objects, Holidays, and Large stamps:

Phrases

Objects

Nature

Objects

Large stamps

I broke out my Dymo to label each box and slid them into their new home on the closet shelf.  This makes it so much easier to grab the appropriate box when I want a tree stamp, or 'Congratulations' rather than looking through 2 Rubbermaid boxes and a basket and a Mason jar and a drawer to find the one I'm looking for.  Now they're all in 1 place!  It's the simple things that make me happy...

And the $15 I paid for these 5 boxes is well worth a more organized system for storing these stamps!  It was a happy accident that they just happened to be on sale today, down from $4.99 each!  Yay!

January Junk Jettison: The Plan

I'm not a fan of New Year's resolutions and don't really celebrate the weekend after Christmas as a holiday.  We've gone to a few NYE parties but I don't buy into the symbolism of it.  Unless it involves homework or cleaning, I am a fan of getting projects done quickly and right the first time, so there isn't much out there about which I think:  next year I'm going to do that differently.  I don't get why you would wait until a new year to fix or improve something.

Image credit

This year has proven difficult on the project front because there are so many books I have wanted to read and places I've wanted to go for a long weekend, but couldn't because of homework or projects or labs or whatever.  I have a list of books and movies calling my name - I'll be crossing things off that list as soon as I take my BIO final, which due to the snow likely won't happen until Monday now.  The semester is already ending late for some reason and because today and tomorrow are snow days, the semester's being extended until Tuesday, the 21st.  Don't they realize we're working adults and might not just be able to hang out in town until December 21st?  People may have family to visit or errands to run to prepare for the holiday and this is cutting it really close, especially for required on-campus testing like my BIO final.

Image credit

Anyways, enough about that.  In the spirit of crossing things off a list, of which I am a huge fan, Dave and I are going to use January to de-clutter our house.  I shop a lot and tend to accumulate duplicate items with good intentions, and we don't end up needing them.  For example, for a couple years, Dave was making miniature loaves of banana bread for members of his call center team, so whenever I found the disposable version of the pan on sale at Kroger, I'd pick up a bunch for the next batch of banana bread.  We accumulated many, many mini loaf pans and Dave hasn't made banana bread since, I think, 2006.  I was trying to get out a cake pan today all of them fell out of the cabinet onto me and I had a conniption fit.  Then I got inspired.

Image credit

There are 30 days in January.  Every day in January, we will toss, donate, or sell items in a quantity that corresponds to that day in the month.  January 31st's items will be 31, yes I said 31, mini loaf pans.  We'll still have 33 left.  How pathetic is that?  Maybe I'll convince Dave to deviate from our formula for the pans as an exception.  It's not looking good.

Image credit

Other items on the chopping block will be:

• stamps
• containers of themed sprinkles
• casserole dishes
• DVD's
• CD's
• blankets in the attic and linen closet
• Christmas ornaments:
• I've eyeballed at least 30 that I don't need or want aymore - see, the 2 hardest days of the month are done already!
• shoes
• curtains/sheers
• rolls of wrapping paper
• camera equipment
• random pens that are out of ink
• etc., etc.

As you can see from this, there are some things that would just be trash, like some old shoes and pens without ink, but others will go to Goodwill or Craigslist/Ebay.

Why am I putting this out there?  I find that when I publish to others a project plan and/or due date for a task, I am more likely to keep on schedule and stick to it, if for no other reason than the public flogging I'll receive if I phone it in or bail on it.  Now the entire Internet (more specifically, all 4 of you who may be reading this) knows I have a plan to de-clutter my house, and can hold me accountable.

Can't wait to get started!  I'll post progress updates on Fridays, starting 1/7/11.

Want!

• 7 bedrooms with King beds
• 7 private bathrooms and 2 1/2 baths
• Elevator
• Game room
• Movie room
• Each bedroom has deck access - 5 of which are oceanfront
• Beach access
• Private pool
• Linens provided

I want to go to there!

A project that would please anyone on your gift list :)

I asked my mom if she had any ideas for the leftover clear ornaments.  I bought a box of 12 to decorate for my JMU tree, but only decorated 2.  That leaves a lot just sitting in a box collecting dust...luckily she had an idea ready for me.  She had made a William and Mary themed ornament for my brother and his wife for Christmas and suggested I make something similar for my tree.  Good idea!

It's so easy to do, and you can modify this ornament using any color theme so it would make a great gift for anyone on your list.  You can use colors representing their favorite sports team, wedding, alma mater, house decor, Christmas tree theme and already-owned ornaments - the options are endless!

All you need for this project is clear ornaments that have been washed and dried, acrylic paint in your choice of 2 or 3 colors, and plastic or paper cups to help drain the excess paint.    I chose purple, white, and metallic gold to match my tree.

We found that Starbucks cups (tall size) worked best.  We had plenty laying around from this weekend - the red Solo cups were a bit too bit, even when we cut them down to the nub.

Pick a color (they'll all blend together eventually so it doesn't matter which one is used first) and squeeze some paint into the ornament.  I tilted the ornament to one side and then squeezed the paint onto the side that was on the bottom - that way the paint doesn't just fall straight to the bottom of the ornament like if you poured it right in...make sense?  Twist the ornament as you pour in the paint so you create this stripe effect:

Then repeat those steps for the second color filling in some of the blank space:

And again with the third color:

 

It's ok if you still have a little blank space after you pour in the third color because the next step is to start twirling the ornament slowly to combine all the colors.  This will get rid of any empty space.

See the marbling already starting to develop:

Keep twirling for 10 minutes or so until you can see the colors combining and then put your ornament on your paper cup or in a bowl (pick one that won't make you cry if it gets paint on it) so the ornament doesn't roll around - I put mine in the cup at an angle to let the paint swirl itself side to side instead of up and down.  Every hour or so, rotate the ball a little to shift the paint around and help the marbling process.

After 24 hours, turn the ornament upside down and put it back onto the cup to allow any paint that hasn't dried to drip out of it.  Here's what you end up with once all the wet paint has dripped out:

Fun-filled weekend (so far) :)

My mom is in town this weekend for my sister-in-law's baby shower, and we're packing the weekend full of fun!  When she got in last night, we went out to dinner, and then went shopping for some larger baby gifts that she knew she wouldn't be able to bring with her on the plane, along with some impulse buys like a pajama set with skulls that I had to have. :)

Today was the shower - even though we don't know each other very well, Amey and her family and friends were very welcoming and I had a good time!  She got a ton of loot today and is having another shower tomorrow with some more friends.  This will be one spoiled baby :)

Amey and the grandmas

We didn't play any traditional baby shower games in favor of one awesome activity - painted onesies!

This is my all-time favorite baby shower ritual...everybody gets to show their personality and creativity...except instead of using my creativity I copied something I saw on baby Livi:

They did this activity at her shower and I thought this onesie was so cute - so I cheated a little today and recreated it, substituting Grandma for Aunt Barbara:

After the shower we did some more shopping for a project mom wants to work on while she's here (pics to come when it's finished) and then we came home to hot, home-cooked meal straight off the grill, courtesy of Dave.  He made his awesome salmon, stuffed with crab meat, and served it with a small steak and some red beans and rice.  Yum...

Then we made some peppermint whoopies.  Mom sent me this recipe last week and said she wanted to make them while she was here, if we had time.  Um, twist my arm!  Of course we're gonna make it! :)

I let mom act as chef while I took pictures.  I think the only actual work I did was taking the peppermint candies out of their packages.  That was rough...

Making whoopies:

I thought the rolling pin would be strong enough to crush the candies, but I realized quickly that it wasn't going to cut it.  So I got out my meat tenderizer...

Hey look, it's snowing!!!

Marshmallow fluff filling:

Once all the elements were ready, we put them all together:

I don't know how they got the colors so vivid in the picture in the recipe unless they went through the crushed candy and pulled out just the red and green parts...which I definitely didn't take the time to do:

Hope they're good!  We tasted the filling-and-peppermint combination and it was good, but we didn't eat the finished product.

McRib is back!

Last night I posed a very important and relevant question to my Facebook friends:  

I've never eaten a McRib and don't really have any desire to do so.  However, based on its worldwide phenomenon status I kinda thought I was missing out on something.  Seeing Jack Osbourne's reaction upon seeing a sign that declared "The McRib is back," further piqued my curiosity:

The reactions to my status were pretty consistent as well as creative.  Here's a sample:

• Why are we still tallking about the McRib..
• The picture under nasty [in the dictionary] could be the McRib
• I think sesame-toasted grasshoppers seem more appealing. ;)
• Mcnasty. Its sought after all ovr the world
• NASTY! all the way
• McGnarly.
• Looks like it would give you McBotulism....no thanks.  

This is how Facebook brings folks together.  Where else can you unite high school friends and ex-coworkers with current friends, acquaintances, and coworkers for the good of a cause?

Karen, whom I knew from high school but became acquainted with when we worked together at Target during college, offered her services as a taste-tester to confirm if the multiple commenters on my status were correct about the McRib.  Talk about falling onto a grenade.  She took one for the team.

As promised, she went to McDonald's at lunchtime today, and provided a colorful commentary of her experience an insightful conclusion. 

Enjoy:

Since a lengthy, intelligent conversation ensued last night on exactly where the McRib falls on the scale of 1 to McNasty, I volunteered my services to taste one today and give my results to the poll. ( My friends are apparently under the impression that I will partake in almost anything that seems edible, and I would like to take the time now to clarify that I usually don't eat what I have deemed "processed monstrosities," but food items that instead explore cultures around the world and diverse my palate. ;))

So!  Here goes!  All of the McDonald's around town are proudly displaying that McRib is back; it's as if Disney has released a movie from the vault..

As I head to the drive-thru, I notice this sign....

hahahaha...REALLY??! "Joy to the McRib?"  Is this what our American culture has come to?  We spread our joy of processed crap around the world?

I place my order...a McRib value meal (Yes, I ordered a Diet Coke in attempts to balance out the fat and calorie content that I'm about to partake) and a double cheeseburger with no onions for the dogs.

Hope spending my hard-earned pennies is worth it!

Here's a sneak peek in to the bag...sure hope those fries are pipin' hot:

What does that say?! "Tangy Temptation?" ooooh! Excitin'!!

I'm so excited, I can barely wait to get back to my desk to taste it.  This guy right here, says he eats 4 a day...that it's "sandwich sent by God, that it's like eating unicorn." (If anyone has  unicorn for me to try, I want some of THAT!!)

Ricky, of Casey Chevrolet

This is what the outside of the box says, it's really building up the anticipation, the moment...

"It's the telltale sign of that tangy barbecue sauce that's left its mark on your lips. The fact that the tender boneless pork is smothered in it means there is no way of getting away with this love affair." And, by the way...."Your old friend is back."

And, here's what "the gift from God" (as Ricky says) looks like when you open the box...

Hmmm....doesn't look like much...for those of you who don't know, Wikipedia (and Kristen) have provided us the definition of this um, godly, sandwich..." The McRib consists of a formed ground pork patty, barbecue sauce, onions, and pickles served on a 6 inch (15.2 cm) roll. The patty is precooked, frozen and later reheated." Sounds yummy <(insert sarcasm here). Maybe it will look better if I lift the lid:

Nope! Still doesn't look all that appealing.  Ricky says looks can be deceiving.  This is what I look like before I taste:

I detect a slight sense of skepticism there...

First bite...All I taste is BBQ Sauce.

In case anyone is wondering what a "ground up pork patty...frozen..later reheated.." looks like.

Maybe it will taste better with some fries?

Hmmm...the dogs' double cheeseburger looks much better than this..

The truth of the matter is...the McRib doesn't really taste like anything at all!  McDonald's could've ground up cardboard, dipped it in BBQ sauce, put it on a bun, added onions and a couple of wimpy, disgusting-looking pickles, and I wouldn't have been any the wiser!

Well...the story concludes...with the remainder of the McRib going in the dogs' bowl. Ricky says that's like slapping God in the face, giving a dog a gift from Heaven that He only sends twice a year!

And, this is what Bear has to say about the McRib! She says she'll take a burger any day over fake rib meat!

Final results:  I certainly will not pick up the habit of eating 4 McRibs per day, nor will I spend any more of my salary on this disgusting, McNasty sandwich!