Lee & Carol - Happy Anniversary!

My oldest and best friends celebrated their 40th anniversary last week. I've known Lee & Carol since 1976. In my opinion, they are the ultimate example of a good marriage--truly partners who respect and support each other in all things. Together they have raised 4 wonderful children and now have five grandchildren (with more, surely, to come). They're each unique, but I can see their parents' influence and good example in all their lives. I have been honored and blessed to know Lee and Carol all these years, and to count them as the dearest of friends. The quality of my life has been immeasurably enhanced through this friendship, and I am absolutely grateful for them both.Their daughters and mine are the same ages and were such good friends when they were all young, and although they have scattered to different areas now, they have reconnected over the last several years, through the internet and especially through each of their blogs. Natalie and Sabrina asked Erin to make the cake for their family get-together this last weekend, and here is the result. They supplied this photo of their parents on their wedding day--are they not just the cutest? (I can hardly imagine Lee this young and beardless!)


I was happy to get to see Natalie and Sabrina on Saturday, when they met Erin at my house to pick up the cake. I haven't seen either of them in years, and it was a fun, though brief, visit.

Erin, Jessica, Natalie, and Sabrina, with two of Sabrina's four children, adorable Isabel and cute baby Hazel.




I am constantly amazed at Erin's ability to produce great cakes, and it has been especially fun for me a couple of times when I've been able to watch the process. She is SO talented, and I love watching her in action!

By the way, if you'd like to see more of her cakes, they're at: ecakes.blogspot.com.

Before and After

Yesterday was grooming day for the dogs. There's not a big difference in Bella after the visit; she just smells better, and her coat is softer. All she gets is a shampoo and toenails cut. So what you see is pretty much what you get--before and after.

But Cocoa--now that's another story. HE is a completely different dog. This is how he looked on the way TO the groomer...

And here he is afterward. Does this look like the same guy? I don't think so. He got kind of a weird cut this time, but still it's a huge improvement. He smells better, and he's soft and "touchable" now.

He's such an old man! He's 12 years old now--look at all that white hair on his muzzle. His hair used to be all dark. (But then again, so did mine!)

The Cricut

So, here's the Cricut Expression machine I've been raving about to everyone who will listen. (I'm sorry if I've bored you to death; just tell me to stop and I'll try.) I first saw the earlier version of it at a scrapbook expo a few years ago, and I've really wanted one ever since. I spent a pretty penny for it, as they say, so I'm counting on it to motivate me to get back working on scrapbook projects, which I've so neglected for the last year or so.

This machine pretty much does it all! There's no need for die cutting devices any more, and in fact I should get myself organized and sell all of my other die-cutting equipment on e-bay. This bad boy will cut virtually any shape, any size, and almost any texture up to 12 x 12 inches, and even, I hear, 12 x 24 inches (although I don't know how to do that yet). In fact, there's a lot I don't know how to do yet. I think I'm going to have to spend some serious study time with this machine, before it gets practical for me to use on a regular basis. I've tried some things out, but am not really good at it yet. I've been watching how-to videos on the internet, and reading the instruction book. But, I think it's going to be just spending time working with it that will do it for me. I was hoping to have actually made something to include with this post, but I haven't even done that yet. I've just tried a few random things, nothing I'd want to show off yet.

I've been following a great scrapbooking blog for the past few months, and am including some things from it to show what the Cricut can do (for any of you who are interested in this stuff). I want to give proper credit to the blog I got these from: thanks and credit to Robyn at thepinkstamper.blogspot.com. If you like scrapbooking and paper crafting, check out her blog.

Here's a cute little purse gift bag with a matching card; should be do-able even for me.

And wouldn't these make cute baby shower favors? Or a larger version could be a great gift wrap for your shower gift. There are just so many possibilities here. Again, from Robyn at The Pink Stamper.

Here's another cute thing that I really like--these little gift boxes with the flower on top. It's cut all in one piece, and you just fold it and put it together. I have to admit, though, I kind of tried it myself and, well, let's just say I wasn't quite as successful as Robyn. Mine didn't come out looking quite this cute, but I'm going to keep trying. I know I can do it! Next time I post something about the Cricut, it will include the projects I made, not Robyn's creations.