A Flylady YIPPEE!!!!- and other stuff

Auntie is doing well. We had a nice visit and went out to lunch after. I'm glad we went.

When I got home there was only an hour left til DH had to leave for work. So, I said to both DH and DS- "Let's just see what we can do in the garage for about 45 minutes"-leaving DH time to shower. Well, we put out 8 large black trash bags, a lawnmower and a dishwasher. In the overall scheme of things, it's not that much- we have an oversized (1 1/2 cars but who has 1/2 car???) garage that is stuffed, but it is a DENT!!! And it feels GOOD. Even DH and DS, who started the project grumbling, are pleased.

AND, since everyone around here has avoided the garage and basement, because the Papa here kept saying "we need to take a whole day or even a couple of days to clean the garage" and whole days like that were just too intimidating, especially in a household that is generally healthy but, because of High School Athletics (DH and DS) combined with age (me and DH) combined with just bad luck with oprthopaedic stuff (ME!!!!!), really doesn't have the knees or backs for those all-day kind of endeavors, giving them a 45 minute example of Flylady's 15-minutes-at-a-time theory REALLY WORKED!!!!!

45 minutes was also quite enough to wear me out. So, I'm taking a break, then I'm going to try to fill another small trash bag out of the bedroom drawers- because even if women did still wear slips, which I won't because I either buy lined or doesn't need a slip, the slips currently taking up drawer space will NOT fit me unless I lose about 30 pounds and if I lose 30 pounds AND need a slip, I'll buy a new one! No, I don't have enough too-small-to-wear slips to fill a trash bag, but that's a good example, lol!

Today is an EXCELLENT stamping day! No, I didn't get any stamping done, and most likely won't, but the mailman made several very important deliveries. I got my first ever Stampin' Up catalog today- thanks, Beth, hope you are having a GREAT vacation! I got my first ever stamps from Pansy Lane Rubber Stamps and they are GORGEOUS!!!!! They are so deeply cut that I can see the images prefectly just looking at the stamps. This is the best claddagh stamp I've ever seen- LOVE it! AND...they are PURPLE!!!!! LOVE them!!!!!!



This little guy is also Pansy Lane and is just about the BEST teddy bear stamp ever. I know that the real reason I fell in love as soon as I saw him is that he looks soooo much like the bear in my very first book that I could read by myself. This will certainly become my "go-to" stamp for anything for babies and little children. I got two more wonderful Pansy Lane stamps- I'll post the images from them soon.

I also got a delivery from CHF today. The Saturday Evening Post was a staple in my house growing up. My great-uncle not only worked for Curtis Publishing his whole working life, but we knew he worked on the Post. (Another day I'll post the tragic story of Uncle Jim telling us all about his job at the Post, years after he retired.) I always loved the covers and developed my life-long affection for anything Norman Rockwell almost by osmosis. Well, Cornish Heritage Farms has a new stamp line using Saturday Evening Post cover art. The first stamp in the series is "Santa's Lap" from 1923. It is fabulous!!! I also got another Thomas Kinkade stamp, Cobblestone Bridge, now that Hometown Pride and watercolors have given me some confidence in using them. This one definitely looks more complicated to work with than Hometown Pride, so I'll show you how it goes, if it goes well, when I get a chance to play. Finally, from CHF I got the newest Sandra Kuck stamp, The Prayer. This is another line of stamps that chalks and watercolors, used on the first stamp Sisters, have given me the courage to continue to buy.

And the BEST stamping news today???? Clear Artistic Stamps is having a release tonight!!! The new stamp sets, Autumn Treats and I'm Just Saying, will be released tonight and they are at a special price until Sunday! If you want several sneak peeks and several chances for blog candy!!!!, just click on the "Get to Know" at the top of the store page, and visit the Design Team's blogs. Or, you can find all the info and links by going to My Favorite Blog on the sidebar here!

WOW- this turned into a LONG post. Time to go work in the bedroom so I can be ready for the release party tonight at 8PM EDT.