There you have it, folks. Just when you fall in love and proclaim your devotion to one tool, they make something better. I just got this in an email from scrapbook.com. This is the Big Bite!

My favorite crafting tool is my Crop-O-Dile Eyelet Setter & Punch. I bought this for myself for Christmas and have used it weekly since. It punches holes in everything. Usually I don't fall for scrapbooking specific tools. I guess I am a little like Alton Brown on the fact that my tools need to be multifunctional. Scrapbook tools are funny because they take ordinary tools, shrink them down and then coat the handle in a girly color and then charge you 3x what a hardware store would.

I'm doing some St. Patty's crafting and I used my Crop-O-Dile to punch through the thick felt. I punched through a CD just because it said it could... and it does.

My only complaint is that it can't reach further into paper. I think it only has a 1" reach. I wish it would extend miraculously to the middle of a 12x12 sheet.

I love St. Patricks Day and I don't know why. I don't love corned beef or cabbage and I don't drink beer. I do love Irish Punk and Folk music, though. I think my roommate at Ricks, Maryssa, got me started on St. Pattys. It is a holiday that normally gets lost between Valentines and Easter, but this year I'm making ornaments to decorate my sticks.

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons

You should see my house. Cohen has pulled out every Lego we own and every blanket and quilt we own and Playhouse Disney is on full blast on the telie and I drank a Diet Soda for breakfast because the burning felt good on my sore throat. I was supposed to have a meeting here this morning and I wasn't going to even try and clean the place up. What is wrong with me? At least I got a good night sleep but I still feel rather junky inside. (read: ENOUGH WITH THIS COUGHING ALREADY!!!)

I think I'll sew this afternoon. I haven't sewn in 2 weeks. My machine is all dusty. I also watched "the Jane Austen Book Club" last night. It was okay. I was hoping for better.

I am Sick.

(Sessions family circa 1989)

I have not had a good night sleep since Thursday night. Boooo! I've had a fever and so has Cohen. Last night I went to bed at 9:30 and laid there shivering until 11:30. Then I woke up at 2:00 am sweating. I couldn't get back to sleep so I watched E! in the wee hours of the morning. Quality television. I was almost asleep when I heard Mike's alarm go off at 6:00 am. Oh well. Maybe tonight I'll sleep tight. I have nothing to really post about. In the picture above, my mom made all of our dresses. Yikes. Look at those bangs.

You've come a long way baby.

I WON A GUN!!!
Lucky me!!!

Tonight we're spending the evening with my family at the Mule Deer Foundation banquet. haha! My sister is coming from Las Vegas and my brother is coming from Boise. I'm not sure exactly what this is, but I know I have a chance at winning a gun if I buy a raffle ticket, so I am so there. If Mike or I win the gun, we're going to sell it to one of my hunting family members and buy a Wii. :-) I believe my dad is partially in charge of the Ogden chapter. I wish I had a camo shirt to wear.

I was tagged by Kim so here is my mushy Valentines meme:

How long have you been together? Just barely over 6 years

How long did you date? I will shoot my kids if they get engaged as fast as I did... We met the end of January, Hung out the first time on Feb. 8th (we went to free Olympics Opening Ceremony festivities with all of my roommates and Sam), we kiss the following Monday. We got engaged on April 20th, and got married August 2nd. Sheesh! I guess when you know, you know...

How old is he? 31

Who eats more? He does, but I gain more from eating less... I don't get it.

Who said “I love you” first? He did and I said, "I guess I love you, too."

Who is taller? He is... BARELY!

Who is smarter? Mike - hands down. He is so into whatever he is into that day that he just studies and studies. BUT, he hates school and whatever he has to study that he is NOT into. Crazy.

Who does the laundry? Me and I totally hate it. But, when he was home with Cohen he did it, so it is my turn.

Who does the dishes? Mostly Mike. He must have learned this from his dad because my FIL does the dishes every night.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do.

Who pays the bills? I do.

Who mows the lawn? Well - as renters I believe it is Daniel, but if we ever have a lawn, I'll be the mower.

Who cooks dinner? I do, but again he did when he was home.

Who is more stubborn? Depends, but I would say mostly Mike.

Who kissed who first? I did - the poor kid wasn't taking the hint. :-)

Who asked who out? I asked him if we wanted wanted to go downtown with my roommates. We never really went on a date.

Who proposed? Mike did. We were on top of the DIXIE rock in St. George after spending the day with Annie Zundel.

Who is more sensitive? Again, depends. I think Mike's feelings get hurt more and he is more mushy. But, I cry more.

Who has more friends? We share friends now, however if we determine this by how often we go out with friends alone, I do.

Who has more siblings? Mike has 5 brothers (bless his poor Mother's soul). I have 2 sisters and 2 brothers.

Keep your fingers crossed for the rifle! :-)

Happy Valentines Day!

I'm not sure why candy manufacturers put "GO HOME" on a candy heart, especially my favorite banana flavored one. Hmmmm? Anyway - GO HOME AND HAVE A LOVELY DAY!

HURRAY FOR UTAH CRAFTERS!

I just wanted to share some of the things I purchased this weekend. If you didn't make it this weekend, luckily you can pick up this sweet loot online. Viva la Etsy!

This sweet little painting is from CandaceJean.com. It really is little, too. Probably 4" x 3". Darling... and for $8 it was such a steal. I wish I would have bought all of the little portraits. This girl does amazing artwork. Be sure to browse her flickr account, too. LOVELY!

This pirate print is hanging in Cohen's newly themed pirate room (it has a them when the toys aren't covering EVERYTHING!). It is from Gumball Grenade Illustrations. I bought it unframed and it only cost $10. Darling!!

I've been hesitant to put vinyl on my rental walls, but when I realized it peels off quite easily, I started browsing Etsy for some vinyl art (not so much a fan of the words everywhere). I bought this cute owl for only $8 and he is such a nice addition to our living room. I think he is so cute. I don't have the website handy (Cohen is on the Mac where I have all of my bookmarks) but I will update it one day while I'm on the other chair.

And... look at these sweet little notecards from Ashley Giessing. They are 2.5" x 3.5" and just waiting to come your way. I loved those sad little eyes instantly. Again, at only $3 I should have bought more.

side note: The book underneath the note cards is what I am currently reading. It is good so far. I've added the last two books I've read to the side bar. I wouldn't really recommend them. They weren't bad but I didn't really think they were great, either. I've got most of your recommendations on hold at the library and I am looking forward to them.

Weekend of crafty goodness!

I went to a great little boutique (Oh Sweet Sadie!)in Herriman today. Besides the fact that it was a 45 minute drive and I had to park around the corner, it was AWESOME! I picked up some lovely goodies and I'll take pics later to show you my fabulous finds. OH wait until you see my little painting! Tomorrow I'm on my way to Art Market in Sugarhouse and then in the evening I vow to make something. Both shows are running Saturday, Feb. 9th.

...

I don't really have anything to write about today but I thought I needed to update the blog anyway. I made my bed and that doesn't happen very often. It is currently covered in laundry that needs to be folded, but I won't worry about that until bed time. Then I'll act like I'm really busy out in the living room (ie. I'll be hiding), so Mike will just take care of it. :-) So sneaky! I hate folding laundry.

A few notes about the bed... about two years ago Mike's grandmother was giving her king size bed to DI so we jumped on the chance for a free upgrade because we were currently sleeping on a full. Cohen was jumping out of his crib, so he got the brand new full and now we had the most UNCOMFORTABLE, lumpy, saggy, smelly king size bed ever! Grandma later let us know how old it was and the following day we made a trip to RC Willey and got a new mattress. Now it sleeps like a dream.

The headboard was a lovely 1980~ shiny brass. Um... no thanks. But, it is nothing a little black textured spray paint couldn't fix. I got the brown comforter at Wal-Mart. I was surprised at how quality it was and am still amazed it is holding up so well. The bed skirt has a few issues but I can fix that once I get up enough strength to move a giant mattress (read: Mike) and take it off to stitch it back up.

I made the blue pillow cases for sleeping, and the small pink throw pillows. The other pillows are all from Craftster swaps. Yeah for swaps! The cute owl garland is my newest edition. It is also from a craft swap. I love it and it matches my bedroom perfectly. Mike is so awesome for letting pink explode in there. I've never been much of a pink person, but lately it is really growing on me.

That is all... OH WAIT! Save the date! The Boutique on Brentwood is back. It is on May 3rd (the weekend before Mother's Day so you can come and get a gift) from 10-4. As it gets closer I'll post directions, vendor links, etc. I will also be working with Christy, the organizer, on a blog for the occasion. If you have been to this in the past you know how fabulous it is. If you haven't, well... don't miss it. The house it is held in is beautiful, the other artists are beautiful, and the food is great! It is truly a wonderful day. I am so glad to be participating. We'll see you there.