Happy Birthday to the Cutest Little Guy

Today, I want to wish Happy Birthday to one of my favorite guys - my friend Rosemary's son.  Dervin is a force of nature and a true boy.  He's stubborn, loving and cries every time he has to say goodbye to me when I leave his house to go home.  We should all be so lucky.  I cannot believe that I used to hold this little man in my arms and he would sit quietly.  Today, he's a squirelly little boy who is both inquisitive and busy.

This year, as in years past, I bought him a gift that makes tons of noise.  I found this adorable little boom box at Tuesday Morning. Since I love to encourage kids to read, each year he also gets a book.  At a country fair we attended this year I found a cute, handmade Bob the Builder cloth book.  Happy Birthday sweetie!

My new baby ...

Well I bit the bullet a few weeks ago and got an ATG - the pink one!  I was always a bit hesitant because it always looked big and awkward to me and I have bad wrists.  I have to say apart from loading it (which I have no patience for, so it's DH to the rescue!), it's been a dream. I still use Glue Dots and Glue Lines for tiny stuff, but my ATG is now my go-to adhesive.  Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?


I recently listed a Contest RAK on ScrapbookingFun for people to decorate their ATGs, so I thought I should at least decorate mine since I was asking other people to decorate theirs.


Here's my "before" picture of my ATG:

Here's my "after" pictures. I went with a pink/purple color scheme b/c I am lazy and I didn't want to paint my handle. On one side I just did my initials and the other (clear) side I did the decorations. I also decorated the edges. I still need to find a poly spray to coat everything and prevent it from getting dirty.


Quick tip - I decorated the pink paper and adhered it to the inside of the cover.  I only put 3 embellishments on the outside of the clear case to cover up the adhesive after the removal of the manufacturer's name.  I guess I could have used Undu or Glue Gone or something, but didn't think of it at the time.  I like the way it eventually turned out because it gives my decorations a layered look.  Anyway, learn from my mistake!

I won a prize!

Won a card contest on Kindred Creations last week during their Country Fair.  Kindred is another Deal-a-Day site that has cute stuff each day, but they go fast!  If you're up at  3 a.m. in the morning, you'll be able to grab one of their items.  Anyway, here's my card that won me a $50 Prima prize pack:

It's a wonderful day to ... vote

Today, November 2, is election day.  As an immigrant, the ability to vote is definitely not a privilege I take lightly.  It took me seven long years in this country before I earned that right. Since 1997, I have voted in every national election and all the primaries (except one).  I always joke that since it took me so many years to earn the right, I will even go vote for dog catcher!  So today, I urge you to exercise your right and your privilege to vote.

This is me, on the day I became a US Citizen with my citizenship certificate.

This is my Citizenship Cake - my co-workers at the time 

gave me a party when I became a US Citizen

Jim Brickman in Concert

A and I saw Jim Brickman at Wolftrap Saturday night.  It was my second time, A's first.  As in the past, JB was so much fun!  He is so funny and so talented.

This is JB playing a few of my favorite songs -   If You Believe, Angel Eyes and Never Alone with Lady Antebellum

In a world of jaded performers who act as if they're God's gift to the world, it's wonderful to see a performer who truly shares his joy and his gift with his audience.