Behold, Elevator Butt!

Real and Denise got here last night to stay for the weekend. This is a tradition we have had since Jason and I moved to Boston... they always come to our place to watch the Super Bowl. I needed to get Bruno doing "elevator butt" to use as my photo of the day. It's just SO funny!



Below is the poem where I originally found the term "elevator butt." I seriously laugh out loud every time I read this... it's just so true. [Poem copied from this site.]

CAT HAIKU

 The rule for today
 Touch my tail, I shred your hand
 New rule tomorrow

 In deep sleep hear sound
 cat vomit hairball somewhere
 will find in morning

 Cat, fearless hunter
 leaves 'presents' for me near door
 next time I'll wear shoes

 Grace personified,
 I leap into the window.
 I meant to do that.

 Night. Now come night-mice.
 I chase them 'round on loud feet.
 You can't see them too?

 Blur of motion, then --
 silence, me, a paper bag.
 What is so funny?

 You never feed me.
 Perhaps I'll sleep on your face.
 That will sure show you.

 The mighty hunter
 Returns with gifts of plump birds --
 Your foot just squashed one

 You must scratch me there!
 Yes, above my tail! Behold,
 elevator butt.

 You're always typing.
 Well, let's see you ignore me
 sitting on your hands.

 My small cardboard box.
 You cannot see me if I
 can just hide my head.

 Terrible battle.
 I fought for hours. Come and see!
 What's a 'term paper'?

 Kitty likes plastic
 Confuses for litter box
 Don't leave tarp around

 Small brave carnivores
 Kill pine cones and mosquitoes
 Fear vacuum cleaner

 Want to trim my claws?
 Don't even think about it!
 My yelps will wake dead.

 I want to be close
 To you. Can I fit my head
 inside your armpit?

 Wanna go outside.
 Oh, no! Help! I got outside!
 Let me back inside!

 Oh no! Big One
 has been trapped by newspaper!
 Cat to the rescue!

 Humans are so strange.
 Mine lies still in bed, then screams!
 My claws aren't that sharp ...

 Cats meow out of angst
 "Thumbs! If only we had thumbs!
 We could break so much!"

 Litter box not here
 You must have moved it again
 I'll crap in the sink.

 The Big Ones snore now
 Every room is dark and cold
 Time for "Cup Hockey"

 We're almost equals
 I purr to show I love you
 Want to smell my butt?

It's been a while...

I really have been neglecting the good ol' blog lately, haven't I? Sorry blog... you are always there when I need you and here I am sitting on my tush working all day completely ignorning the fact that you haven't been updated in DAYS!

I also regret that this isn't going to be an actual blog post... it's basically me just ranting that I haven't posted in a while and this is somehow going to make me feel a little better. Seriously, how sad is that? Oh, what have I been doing with all my time that I haven't been blogging? Well, mostly working, and sleeping. Then, when I'm done working I sleep a little bit, and then I get up the next morning and sit in traffic and try not to fall asleep and then I get to work and work some more. That's my cycle. No time for blogging and little time for things like showering and eating. Bah.

See? Just a bunch of complaining... sorry to disappoint. :-) I will post some interesting things like photos of my travel journal I did this weekend or funny pictures of my In-Law's doing funny things (they are en route to my apartment as I type)...

At the very least I would like to let everyone know two things:
1. I had a dream that I was at a street fair in Pakistan the other night... everything was SO colorful.
2. The kitties have been sleeping on Jason's side of the bed at night and I would prefer them to keep doing that. :-) It's nice to be able to stretch my legs out.

Ok, off to do some grocery shopping and more sitting in traffic.

It's been one of those weeks...

(and it's only Tuesday!)

Just some things that are whirling around in my mind at the moment (a place that feels like a tornado is swirling around and it's raining anvils at the same time.)

- Woke up this morning with a headache, just like yesterday. Traffic was unbelievably awful from when I got on the interstate to when I got to work. (It took me 2 hours to go 12 miles.)

- I absolutely love Fritos. I want them all the time. When I don't want Fritos I want marshmallow Peeps. I could only find the yellow ones the other day... I prefer the pink bunnies to any kind of peep there is. Fritos and Peeps are quickly replacing Froot Loops in my diet lately.

- I would love to learn Swahili.

- Today is Amanda's half birthday! I tried to find an appropriate Hoops and Yoyo card for her but they have not made one yet. To think, they have a "Spastic Colon Sunday" e-card but not a "Happy Half-Birthday" e-card... what is this world coming to?

- Went to Hooksett on Sunday and scrapbooked all day with Amanda! I worked on my California mini-album all day. I love it. I haven't finished it yet, but I really do love it. Almost as much as I love my December daily album. SO many people there were talking about how they are so far "behind" in their scrapbooking. I wanted to yell! HEY! I'm scrapbooking a trip from August and I'm not even CLOSE to being done my wedding album from 2007 yet! I'm not BEHIND at all! I'm doing what I like and enjoying the process... Blah... behind... no one is ever behind. For all of those people who think they are behind, I challenge you to take a photo TODAY. Print that photo out on your printer at home, and scrapbook it. Make a page about a photo that you took in the last 24 hours. Seriously. You are not behind.

- The small bag of Fritos I got from the vending machine about 20 minutes ago is almost gone. Humph.

- Bought some turkey meatballs from Market Basket last week and cooked them up to add to spaghetti... omgosh they were the most disgusting meatballs ever. I don't know what was wrong with them, but they stunk up the whole apartment and made me want to gag. We didn't eat them... yuck yuck yuck.

- I'm getting a cold. I can feel it. I can smell it. Do you know what I mean? I'm sniffling a little more than normal and I can smell the cold coming... it's not pleasant. Blah.

That's probably enough complaining for one day. Ta ta.

A HUGE Challenge for Me!

In an effort to save some moola and be encouraged to USE WHAT I HAVE I have put myself on a scrapbooking buying FREEZE! Yes, that's right... until JUNE! There are a few rules which will keep me scrapbooking with what I have... here they are:

- I can buy basic supplies, but will try to use my coupons when I can (includes adhesive, pens, white/black cardstock, trimmer blades, Cricut blades/mats, etc.)
- I can also buy prints... how would I scrapbook without photos!?!?!
- I can buy scrapbooking gifts for people
- And finally (and this one is wishy washy) if I find a REALLY good deal that I CAN'T pass up, I can take advantage. (Example: I found a tab punch at AC Moore on clearance for $2.00... regular price was $20+! I couldn't pass that up!)

So, this is going to be a HUGE challenge for me, but honestly, I have so much STUFF that I should really be using it and spending less time shopping and more time actually scrapbooking! Plus, with my Project 365 kit I am able to document my life throughout the year and focus on some other projects that I have been wanting to do... (Decorating my scrap room/loft, wedding & honeymoon album, mini albums galore, etc...)

Wish me luck! It's going to be ESPECIALLY hard with CHA right around the corner and all those NEW goodies coming out and all the old ones on SALE! Grumble...

Nighty night!

I stayed up way too late tonight playing with my Walk Blog, so I'm finally going to bed. In the mean time, you should check out these jokes:

What's red and green and goes 175 miles an hour?

A frog in a blender.
(Hi Brently!)

What do you get if you add milk?

Frog nog!

What happens if you drink frog nog?

You Croak!

January 20th

No matter which party you identify with, this is a significant day in U.S. history. Not only the U.S. either, the entire world is looking forward with hopefulness starting at noon today. I am personally listening to live coverage on MSNBC this morning as well as watching the ceremony at noon today in one of our large conference rooms. I am optimistic. :-)

All seriousness aside, I feel this comic is well worth posting again:
Where are you watching the inauguration today?

Some photos from the weekend...

Went to Vermont for the weekend. Here are a few great photos I got.

Uglydoll I made for Brittany and flower pot I made for the store... the flowers are pens! Brittany named her Uglydoll 'Hoops'.... I like how he turned out, except that he is much more cute than ugly!

Jason holding Denise's new kitty, Molly. I didn't get a photo of Charlie, but he is super adorable!

At Jess and Eric's... not sure how this came about, but this is Eric and Jason spinning their wedding rings on the kitchen table. The photos below are Eric's ring spinning with a blue and then a red light shining down on it... The third is my engagement ring spinning with a red light... How AMAZING are these photos???



Brit and Elizabeth at dinner at Grammy's (pizza for Donna's 29th birthday!)

Jacqueline, me, Tori, and Jason (the beer was mine, even though it doesn't look like it. Haha.)

Amanda and Rebekah cuddling after dessert. :-)

That's all for now! Love seeing those girls... I just wish they would stop GROWING! I feel like they are going to be in college before I know it.

The Boys of Summer

Text between my sister and I today:

Me: the Sox just signed Youk on for another 4 years!
Erin: Yay! that's awesome. what about Veritek though? do we know what's happening with him?
Me: not yet, but when I find out you will be the first to know. i will cry if we don't keep him.
Erin: Me too.

CRAVING spring training right about now... I'm sure some of you can relate.

Happy Weekend!!!

Newport Center, Vermont

This photo is from Grampy. I'm pretty sure you have every right to complain about the cold if it reaches below -20 degrees!!! (That's a NEGATIVE people!)

VapoRub - Good or bad? You decide!

There was a news report on the radio a few days ago telling everyone that a new study has shown that VapoRub may not be good to give your children when they have a cold. Now, I heard this morning that the study shows that in children under the age of 2 it can cause more mucus when they have a cold. Ok, that's legit. This is how the news story went though (I'm not quoting word-for-word, but you get the point.)

Studies have shown that VapoRub may not be safe to use on children after all... Medical expert of some sort who I am going to call Jane, why is VapoRub not safe anymore? 'Well, radio person, through this study we have found that VapoRub does not help the actual illness you are suffering from, and instead only relieves a symptom off the common cold.' Thank you very much medical person for your expertise.

Now, do you see the problem here? Important medical person was basically telling us that, although VapoRub does help you to breath better when you have a cold, it doesn't actually cure the cold itself. What? Wait? Are you saying we can't cure colds? There is really no cure for the common cold? Seriously. People. We know this. We have known this for a long time. To reiterate my point, I have copied the above commentary below and replaced every reference of "VapoRub" with "Tylenol" and every "illness" or reference to a cold with "broken leg." (You see where this is going, don't you?)

Studies have shown that Tylenol may not be safe to use on children after all... Medical expert of some sort who I am going to call Jane, why is Tylenol not safe anymore? 'Well, radio person, through this study we have found that Tylenol does not help the broken leg you are suffering from, and instead only relieves a symptom of the broken leg.' Thank you very much medical person for your expertise.

Tylenol doesn't cure a broken leg? No. Way. Jose.

Is it cold enough for ya?

I know, I know, it's cold out. Really really cold. Those of you who live in New England know what I'm talking about. I'm pretty sure those of you west of us are feeling it too (anyone from Michigan reading this? Yeah, you know what I'm talking about.) I'm not really sure what to say to this other than to remind people that it's JANUARY! The radio and TV stations are doing a particularly terrible job at covering 'real' news (isn't there something going on next week? Some sort of new guy moving into a big white house?) and instead have focused a lot of energy on coming up with tables and charts to remind everyone what the definition of 'cold' really is. Are our memories so terrible that we don't remember what LAST January/February was like? It was cold then too. 'Wicked' cold. And the year before that? I bet you ten bucks it was cold then too. Here is an example of some of the charts they have on the news lately (also, there are typically cute snowflakes and animated snowmen shivering on the news, which is a lot more visually stimulating than the following...)

Ways to keep warm in this really cold weather:
- Stay inside where it's warm
- Dress in clothes that are warm
- When you have clothes that are warm on, put on more
- Refrain from outdoor activities such as canoeing, swimming, and making snow angels
- Drink hot chocolate because hot chocolate is warm
- If you have a fireplace, make a fire, because fire is warm
- Call your local city officials and request that they scare everyone in the county even MORE by issuing an "EXTREME COLD WEATHER WARNING!" (Seriously, that's what the Boston Mayor did this morning... it sounds scary, doesn't it? Yeah, mission accomplished.)

(They also like to throw in some of this: 'It's really cold out... did we mention that in the last 30 seconds? If not, you should know, it's cold outside. Cold cold cold.')

So, just follow these simple steps and you will be well on your way to not getting frostbite and dealing with extremities that decide to fall off because you didn't dress in layers and drink hot chocolate.

One last thing... In April, it will be mud season and the deer flies will come back. Ten bucks to me if I'm right. :-)

This is my cat...

I'm in the process of updating my Project 365 Blog, but until then, I want the world to see this. There is no need for you to turn the sound on your computer, I think you can mostly just hear Family Guy in the background anyway.

This is my cat, Baylee (but we call her Booger.) Comments are welcome. :-)






Those of you who are new readers may want to check out this post as well. Our cats are crazy and I love them for it.

The Weekend in 145 Words

Erin left on Friday and ever since then Bruno has been spending as much time as he can in Amanda's chair. I think he misses Erin... or he was just waiting for her to get out of it so he could steal it. Either way, he looks comfortable.

We built a fort in the living room on Sunday morning. See my 365 Blog for more. :-)

At one point the fort started to sag in the middle a little. We didn't think much of it. Jason and I got out of the fort a while later and saw that the Booger had climbed on the top and was quite content on the roof of our fort. Silly kitty.

Jason playing Guitar Hero at Kristen's.

Dane looking at Kristen like she's crazy. :-)

Apples to Apples is one of the BEST games! Love love love it!

OMGosh!

Kristen!

You know how to crochet, right? Can you teach me how to make you one of these!?!? I couldn't help but think of you! What do you think? :-)

Project 365

Here it is, my supplement blog to record all the goodness that is Project 365. I hope to update it every few days with photos and journaling so I can keep on top of it all year. So far we are 8 days into the new year and I'm loving the process! Go check it out and tell me what you think. If you are interested in starting your own Project 365 let me know... There is a kit from Creating Keepsakes (hard to find now since they are sold out) but also many other ways to show the project including starting your own blog, using Flikr, or using any number of free digital templates scrapbookers are putting together. It's a cool thing people. :-)

Check out the link to my blog as well as my Picasa site on the right. ------>

Some random Wednesday things...

- Uploaded photos from Christmas (finally!) to Picasa. Some are just awesome... :-)

- Started Project 365 last week. I got the idea from Becky Higgins blog (I am also anxiously awaiting a shipping confirmation for her CK Kit! I was one of the lucky ones to get one before they sold out!) The basic concept is to take a photo every day and journal about it. So far, so good. I created a new blog to help me keep up with the journaling (will link once it's presentable!) So far it's been an awesome experience. Here are the photos so far:

January 1
January 2

January 3

January 4

January 5

January 6

I am uploading them to Picasa as I go, so all Project 365 photos can be found here.

- Real and Denise got two kitties from the Frontier Animal Society! How great is THAT!? A year (or maybe even a month ago!) they would be the first to tell you that they are NOT "cat people." Now, look what they have! I'd like to think it's because of the extended stays my cats have spent at thier house... I mean, given the cuteness of MY cats, how could you NOT want two of your own? (That was only half sarcasm... everyone needs a kitty like Bruno, and no one wants a cat like Baylee, unless you love having your face attacked!) Pictures coming soon (eh-hem, that means take some pictures Real and Denise!)

- Since Amanda and I are doing the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer again this year I will be starting up my other blog again. :-) Fun stuff! If you would like to read a recap of last year's Avon Walk you can click here.

- My sister is visiting for the week and you know what that means? Well, you may not, but it means she made Fajitas last night for dinner! :-) SO yummy! And, if the weather cooperates we will be on our way to BJ's and Uno's tonight for dog bones and soup (dog bones from BJ's and soup from Uno's, in case you were confused.) ;-)

Ok, enough for now I suppose. That turned into a much longer post than I planned on. Good stuff.

One Little Wordle!

My friend Kristen just made me think of another cool thing to do with my word! Create a Wordle! Wordle.net is a great site that lets you customize a word "cloud" like this one:
Hehe, isn't that great!?!?! To do this, I created a list of words associated with my resolutions and my Word. I then picked some of my favorites and repeated those over and over again. I copied this list into Wordle and voila! The basic idea is that the more times you write one word, the larger it will show up in your cloud, which is why 'Aware' is largest in my cloud. This is the list I used:

Aware
create
happiness
joy
live
moment
create
save
Aware
move
create
give
explore
sorroundings
explore
Aware
happiness
important
know
Aware
create
give
realize
moment
Aware
Aware

What are you waiting for? Go make your own! Better yet, go get a frame and print out your Wordle and hang it somewhere you will see it every day! :-D

One Little Word - 2009

Definition: knowing or realizing; conscious; informed

Be aware ...
... of my sorroundings.
... of what brings me happiness.
... of what is important in my life.

This word means a lot to me. I feel that at times I am fully aware of what is truly important to me and other times I am going through the motions... hurrying up just to wait... living life on autopilot... I want to avoid this feeling which brings me no happiness and just leaves me wondering where the day went. I feel that this word goes along well with my resolutions as well.

Now I have just have to find a quote that I like that is associated with this word so I can order my doodle from Stephanie!

Have you picked a word yet?

PS - Check out my new blog header! How cute is that little birdie on the right? I know... incredibly cute! The one on the left has hearts for wings... seriously, I am in love with this header. :-)

To you and yours, have a...

About Me

I am Sam. Since I like lists so much (as I'm sure you'll find out if you continue to read my blog), I am just going to list what I am here to give you an idea of who you're dealing with (and, you know, if you want to run away screaming before you have wasted too much time reading the nonsense I type here... :-)

Who I am:
- Wife
- Sister
- Daughter
- Best Friend
- Crafty-person
- Cat-person
- Civil Engineer(ish)

Things I Love:
- Cupcakes
- Traveling
- Exploring
- Geocaching
- Scrapbooking
- Making Jewelry
- Sewing
- A good glass of wine/a tall glass of beer
- Video chatting with friends
- Lists
- (Parenthetical phrases)

Things I do not love:
- Traffic
- The Common Cold
- Irritating/repetitive noises
- Below-zero weather
- Getting up early
- Doing dishes

Other things you may be interested in:
What's in a Name?
Who's Who on the Blog
Cool Stuff

If you would like to contact me my email address is: samantha.piette[at]gmail.com

What's in a name?

So, why the name "All Sam's Idea"? Well, there is, of course, a story behind it. I am the one in the family who is sometime (ok, maybe always) blamed. Not in a bad way, of course, but here are a few examples of conversations that could possibly take place and my reaction to them:

Friend #1: Hey, what do you think about me going to college to be a pastry chef?
Me: Do it! That would be awesome! I love pastries!

Friend #2: Hey, don't you think skydiving would be fun?
Me: Um, YES! Let's do it! What are you doing Saturday?

Friend #3: I'm thinking of quitting my job and opening a spa for dogs....
Me: Omgosh, that would be perfect! It's like it's your calling!

I think you get the idea.... Well, the specific conversation this blog name is based on took place in an email with my In-Laws, where I sent them a link from a woman who was selling off her scrapbooking store. They own an Office Supply store in Vermont and I thought that scrapbooking would be a lovely addition to their store! The email explained that Jason wouldn't buy it for me, so they should. Well, that weekend they went, with a trailor, to pick up the remaining stock of paper, stickers, and other goodies. And now, I am blamed for the start of the scrapbooking section of the store. It was indeed "my idea."

Author's Note: The email was actually a joke since they obviously weren't going to do it... or, that's what I thought. I didn't know they would actually take me seriously, since no one really does. Haha. Now I get some amazing supplies for my stash though! I'm not going to complain about that for a second. :-)

Where to find me

There are a few places to find me other than here on my blog. You know, if you wanna... :-)

Twitter
Project 365 Blog
We are Kindred Spirits Shop
We are Kindred Spirits Blog
Traditional Scrapbooking Layouts
Digital Scrapbooking Layouts
Picasa Albums
LinkedIn Profile

Cool stuff

Just a list of blogs I think you may like. Enjoy!

People I know:

Kristen Chronicles
Kristen is always doing something, whether it's being crafty or geeky, you will love her just as much as I do. (She is my Kindred Spirit, after all.)

Scrumptious Explorations
C writes about her adventures with an awesome attitude that basically makes you want to stop and smell the roses and appreciate everything around you a little more. She's the one who helped me realize my love of cupcakes too, so I am basically forever in her scrumptious debt.

People I wish I knew:

Ali Edwards
The most scrapbooking inspiration I have ever found on a blog. Ali is basically awesome.

Elizabeth Kartchner
A brilliant scrapbooker with a beautiful family. Her blog is a happy place (with great music!)

NieNie
Every one of her sentences evokes emotion. She has an amazing story. She's an amazing woman.

Who's Who

Below is a list of People, Places, and Pets you are likely to see on this blog often.

People:
Jason - My husband and best friend... He puts up with the bulk of my craziness
Erin - My younger sister
Kristen - My Kindred Spirit... we were meant to find each other and create things together
Dane - Kristen's soon-to-be husband
Mom & Dad - Pretty self explanatory... they are Mine and Erin's Mum and Dad
Denise & Real - Jason's parents
Amanda - Jason's older sister who lives in New Hampshire (she's the best at coming up with definitions for the captchas required to post a comment!)

Places:
NEK - The 'Northeast Kingdom' is in NE Vermont, where Jason and I grew up and our families still live
Boston - Jason and I lived in Boston for 6 years and many of our friends are still there
Minnesota - Jason and I recently moved to the Twin Cities area

Pets:
Baylee/Booger - My super-schitzo little black cat who hates everyone but Jason and I
Bruno - My 17 pound kitty