Day 6 of my trip (April 6/07)

This pic is for my friend. Yep, it is the Empire State Building. We headed into the city and went straight there. It was a really long wait to get into the building, and even more of a wait to get tickets and then a wait to get on the elevator going north. In the end it was well worth the wait. It was cold, and windy with a few snowflakes on top.

After our visit to the top, we got into a taxi, whoo hoo and headed to Central Park. We had a long walk enjoying the day in the park. The sun peaked out for a bit of the day which was nice. But spring hadn't really arrived in the park. The lawn was blocked off for the seed grass to not be trampled. There were a few trees in bloom, but over all they were mostly still brown.

Then I convinced my dad to go to the Met. It was fantastic. A little bit of ancient Egypt, a little George Washington, a little baseball, a little Monet. Fantastic end to my fantastic week in NYC!! Loved it. Must go back for more!!

day 5 of my trip (april 5/07)

We spent the next morning in Philadelphia at the Mint. It was so cool looking at the process of our coins being made. There is a Mint in Denver as well. And as a child for a school field trip I had been to the Denver Mint. It was fun to go to the Philadelphia Mint as an adult. No cameras were allowed in the Mint Building. We had tried to go in the day before, but because we had our cameras with us they won't let you in. So this time we left them in the safety of the trunk , and went on in. It is a self-guided tour. Which is nice in some ways because you can wand4er for as long as you wish. It would have been nice to ask someone some of my burning questions though. We ate lunch in downtown Philly and headed back to New York City.

We got all dressed up and then got back in the car to go to dinner and theatre. This is the picture of traffic to use the Lincoln Tunnel. It almost made us late for our dinner reservations. It was at this cute "french" restaurant called Le Madeline. I use the term french very loosely. I was expecting something quite different. It was good don't get me wrong. Just not what I was thinking. Dinner and dessert was really nice. This was my chocolate-caramel mousse.

Dad had the creme brule.

We then walked to Times Square. The sign says it all. CLOUDY. It was cold out and really windy too. Even a few snowflakes in the air. I really wanted a full dusting of snow to cover the city, but no such luck. I did see snowflakes though while in NYC, so I will be happy with that.

Then we headed to the theatre to see Les Miserables. It was fantastic. It is one of my all-time favourite stories. The play was so good. Made me cry. It was so worth it though.

Surprise: Let's go to Philadelphia for Day 4 of my trip (April 4/07)

After a great day in Cooperstown, we again hit the road for a 4 hour drive to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was pouring rain down the whole drive. We almost went past Scranton, tv home to my favourite show The Office. We finally made it to Philly and had our umbrellas and rain jackets ready. Walked around, got tickets to see Independence Hall in the afternoon, and then found our way to this restaurant to eat at City Tavern. The building was built in the mid 1700's. Hello history!! It was a great little place with real pewter cups that kept the water ice cold with out the ice. Too fun.

This is me with my lovely and delicious salad. (See the corner of the pewter cup on the far left side of the picture.)




















After lunch we stood in line with approximately 200 kids there for spring break or some school tour to see the Liberty Bell.
I thought we would never get up close to the Bell. :)



But we did.

Then we headed over to Independence Hall for the guided tour. The guide was brilliant and funny. Hmm. Wonder if he was single?

Here is Independence Hall from the back of the building. It really is a grand old building. And the stories it holds within even more awe inspiring.

Then it was off to the big surprise of the day, Citizen's Bank Park home of the Phillies!! It was their opening night game. It also happened to be "college night" the first of 8 or so games that all the local college kids come to. It was a *wild* night in the stands. he he. Got a free t-shirt on entering the game, and it was also $1 hot dog night. It was a good game for the most part. The Phillies lost in extra innings though. The stadium is a newer stadium and it is gorgeous. A really nice stadium. The parking was a dream in and out really nicely for not too much. So much nicer than Yankee Stadium for parking.

Dad and I after the game.

The final score board. It was a cold night for baseball, but at least the rain stopped. I love games where it goes into extra innings. It is like a little cherry on top of the ice cream.

Baseball Hall of Fame- Day 3 of trip April 3/07

Well worth the trip from NYC to Cooperstown, New York. Approximately 4 hours upstate we left early and got into the Baseball Hall of Fame at 12:30. And it was amazing. Worth all the years of anticipation. It was so much better than I was expecting. It brought so many of my own memories to mind and made me want to be that baseball fan that is at all the games. It was outstanding.

Us in the Hall of fame next to the first class of inductees class of 1936. Includes Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson.



Dad next to the Ebbett's Field picture replication. If only it were still standing, we would have to go. Dad tried to find out where it's lot is just so we could go say we were on it's old lot, but we couldn't find it. So this picture will have to do.

"Tough Call" Pencil sketching by Norman Rockwell. (it is hard to see but there is a single rain drop falling into the ump's hand.) Love it!!

Who knew?

Who knew that baseball players scrap booked? Well, here's the evidence, as found at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. It's from the 1930's when a team took a trip to Asia for exhibition. It had all of their ship's accommodations, and the special gifts they received while overseas.

I knew there were reasons I loved baseball. Here's just another reason to add to my list. Baseball players: gotta love them. :)

NYC Day 2 of my trip (April 2)

After a good night's sleep and breakfast at the hotel, Dad said "What do you want to do today?" I said "I don't know, what do you think we should do?" He said "How about we go to opening day at the Yankee's game?" I squealed with delight, "Absolutely, yes!!"

So off we went in the rental car with me navigating and Dad handling the traffic like a pro to the Bronx. Yankee Stadium is along the Harlem River and they are building the new Yankee ballpark right next door. It is slated for opening in 2009. And they are going to be hosting the All-Star game in 2008.


It was very exciting to be there. Opening day was sold out. And everyone was so pumped. The air outside the stadium was filled with anticipation. So many shops and bars along the road leading up to the stadium with all the memorabilia you could ever ask for. We bought baseball caps. I insisted on a pink Yankees cap, and was quite pleased with the one I picked out. My dad got the new Yankees fitted cap. You have to understand that we both are not Yankees fans per say. We both have other baseball teams that we follow and cheer for. But historically there is so much there to be excited about. It is an amazing place. With all those Yankee fans you can't help but be excited to be there. Deep down we are still true to our teams, but it was opening day at one of the greatest stadiums in baseball history. It was amazing. The stadium is truly amazing.


It was a 1:05pm starting time.
The game was exciting. There were two home runs and even a balk!! The fans around us were fabulous. The weather was chilly, but the sun peeked out at the end. The Yankees won. Frank Sinatra played on the overhead speakers "New York, New York" after the final out of the game. I was so happy I want to cry or laugh or just hug someone.

After we finally peeled ourselves away from our dreamy game day, we had to go navigate our way through the redirected streets around the stadium to find the freeway to take us back down to out hotel. That is how we ended up in the heart of the Bronx.

Incredible. Eye-opening. Stunning. Fascinating. The streets were filled with cars, people, everyday life. The heart of the Bronx where most likely they had no thoughts on the Yankee's game. The people we saw were just going about their normal Tuesday- after work time. I was mesmerized by *everything* I saw. I just couldn't get over the massive number of people just living and working there. I kept thinking about the number of women raising their families there. The number of people who move in there every year and then actually *stay there* for all of their lives. A whole new world. My dad kept asking if we were in another country. My heart goes out to all those who are just working day in and day out for their kids and families, with no thought of ever going to opening day at Yankee Stadium. I am spoiled. I am lucky. I am blessed. I am grateful.

NYC Day 1 of my trip

Arrived in Newark, New Jersey after the longest red-eye flight ever. It was a completely full plane and no I wasn't sitting in First Class. Met my dad, we rented a car and off we went to New York City. It was a Sunday morning, so traffic was non-existent. It was also pretty early when we got there, 8:30 am, so maybe that also explained some of the quiet.

We drove around, looking at all that is to be seen. And it was overwhelmingly good. So much to see, not wanting to park just anywhere, and not knowing even where to begin describes our early hours.

We finally parked, made our way to a Starbucks. Hence the blurry picture at the bottom here. It was done after both of us flying red-eye and not having eaten or had coffee yet. Hmm. Oh well. I thought I had looked at it and that is was okay, but oh well .

We walked all around, made our way to the World Trade Centre Site. It was overwhelming. It was somewhat peaceful and yet I kept thinking about chaos. It was good, just different than I was expecting.

We then made our way to the ferry terminal to go to Liberty Island and Ellis Island. Brr!! It was cold. It was a really great visit to Liberty Island. My dad had gotten tickets ahead of time for us to be able to go up into the viewing area of the statue. It also included the National Park Service's displays on the building of Lady Liberty. It was really interesting and made the visit very enjoyable.

By then end of the day we were both exhausted, from our red-eye flights and the weather. So we completed our day of visiting NYC.

11 hours till flight time

And so much still to do! I am flying out tonight on the red eye flight to NYC. Still have to get several things done before I go, including packing. And the excitement is getting to me. It is making me move slower not faster though. I am anxiously counting down the hours while thinking of all I need to do. I am taking a Karen Foster's chipboard mini book/album with 20 pages in it, so that I can journal and collect things as the week goes along. Because I want to remember as much as I can and I know that the week is going to fly by. I better get going, cause the clock is ticking. :) New York City here I come!

Musings

Finished working 4 night shifts, got off yesterday am. While running around doing errands yesterday am I pulled a muscle in my right upper shoulder radiating up into my neck. I took some Advil thinking it would go away. It didn't really help take the spasm away. It dulled the pain but it still is in spasm. I have tried all sorts of things all evening and into today: heating pad, Tylenol 3, Naprosyn, methanol hot pad, more Advil. It has been making things very uncomfortable night didn't sleep well, and then today it has been bugging me. I should have gone to the store for some muscle relaxants, but didn't even feel like doing that. Yuck. I don't even realize what I did to make it spasm. Too bad it didn't actually happen at work. WCB anyone? I also decided I needed a masseuse.

Glad I am not working for a while again. Technically I am off till April 9th. Because on Saturday I fly out to New York City. I hope my spasm settles down.

Supposed to be meeting Cindy and Andy on Friday morning to work on our cute cupcake aprons. So excited. The fabric is adorable. I am even excited about the thread. I am so excited to sew my cupcake apron!!

Dream

I had a dream about my new SU Polka Dots & Paisley set. I dreamed I went to the store and found 3 shirts with the paisley stamped on it. One of them also had the happy stamped on it! Then I dreamed of the ways that I could get the "find joy in the little things" quote onto the sleeve and back of the shirt. It was a nice dream.

Perfect layout

This layout was done last weekend on Sunday. It was an exciting weekend in which my sister surprised me by coming up with my cousin to help me celebrate my birthday. So they arrived in Seattle late Thursday and drove up on Friday. I met them at Montana's for a later lunch, not knowing who was going to be there. It was such a treat to discover them in the booth waiting for me. We enjoyed lunch, I even had the embarrassing moose antler's birthday singing and dessert. We stopped by Precious Memories scrap booking store as they had both come with a scrap booking agenda. They both came ready work on their wedding albums.

We then came straight back to my place where they declared my place the best scrap booking store ever. I disagree, but humoured them anyway. We got little done on Friday night, but spent all Saturday scrapping away. It was great. Sunday we went to a late lunch and then to Starbuck's and then came back to scrap the night away. Early Monday they drove back down to Seattle to the airport. It was a great weekend. My sister got her album complete, and my cousin got over half of hers done. We also got 3 Jane Austen movies watched: Sense and Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice, and Persuasion. My sister and I love P&P. It is our all time favourite, and my cousin agreed that it was great. I personally love Persuasion almost as much as P&P. My sister and cousin couldn't quite get into it. I think they just need to watch it again and again and again, then they will love it too! :)

It took me a while to get my project going. My sister gave me two stamps sets for my birthday, Stampin Up's Happy Harmony and Polka Dots & Paisley!!! So exciting!! I have been drooling over the Polka Dots & Paisley set and I was so excited to get it!! She also brought up the two new SU punches: Round Tab Punch and Spiral Punch. I punched my little heart out. I even joked with her about what would happen if I broke those punches by punching too much!! By the end of the weekend she actually left the punches with me! Whoo hoo!

My sister who's a Stampin Up Demo also brought the new SU Spring Mini Designers paper: Notations and Au Chocolat. She left portions of each package with me! She is too generous!!

Needless to say it took me forever to come up with a project. Too many ideas and too hard to narrow it down. Plus it was strange because both my sister and my cousin brought their ideas already planned out. Too much pressure for me to be creative. Finally we got out the April issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine and my sister and we decided to follow their article "Easy Patterns". My layout isn't exactly like the article, but it got me going into a direction. Which is what I needed.

Birthday rak card

This is another Splitcoast Stampers Rak forum card that I got from Bonnie for my birthday. Thank you so much.

The coloured images are almost shimmery! I love it!!

birthday rak card

I joined the Spiltcoast stampers RAK forum earlier in March. And behold less than a week later I had a birthday card in my mailbox from Roseanne. Thank you so much!

My favourite thing about this card is her use of the punch in the corners as part of the ribbon holding. It looks so cute. So going to have to get this SU Notched Corner punch and try this out.

Sarah's contest winners are up

Go check out Sarah's blog to see the winners of her Red Card Contest. There are some really beautiful cards there!!!

I can't believe I forgot to tell you...

Well, it's like this...I have been working in a part time position and picking up extra shifts for the past 4 3/4 years. It has been okay. Not great, but not bad. The schedule is flexible, but not consistent. I have applied in the past for full-time lines but never had enough senority to get the position. About 2 weeks ago I applied for a full-time line that was posted. I found out on my birthday that I got it!! So, not only did I turn 30, but I also became a full-time employee. Goodbye flexible summer schedule, hello full-time benefits!! Whoo hoo!!

30 + 2 days

I survived my big birthday. Thanks for all of your encouraging words. I had a good day. I spent the morning, lunch, and early afternoon with Cindy. We made it to a quilt store, a scrap booking store, lunch, and a stamping store. Cindy bought really cute fabric at the quilt store. We also saw this super cute cupcake apron that was adorable. Unfortunately they were all sold out of the fabric. Bummer. It is on order, and supposed to arrive early next week. So I have this feeling I will be back there to pick it up.

I got a gorgeous bouquet of flowers for my birthday, totally made my day!

Woke up this morning with a cold. Cough, sore throat, headache, stuffy sinus. Yuck. I have been taking it easy today to try and get rid of it quickly. I did accomplish my huge laundry pile and got my house all nice and clean. No crafting today. Another day perhaps.

Last Day of my Twenties

Today is the last day of my twenties. Tomorrow is the big 3-0. I am sure I will be fine next week. But these past few weeks I have had a hard time saying goodbye to my twenties. The decade has flown by. I have accomplished a lot in it, but not everything that I thought I would. I guess that just means it gets bumped to the next decade's list, eh? I am still single, but I have a degree, a job, a life of my own. I am accountable to only myself and I am proud of the things that I have done so far in my life. I still have some things to adjust to as I leave my twenties. Things that will be resolved hopefully in the days, months, and years to come.

Today I spent the day with my good friend from university. We went shopping, had lunch, and went for a walk along the river. We talked about getting a tattoo or piercing today, but decided that it isn't really necessary for me to have either of those things today. Sure it is the end of my twenties, but maybe tomorrow I will wake up and not want a tattoo or piercing for my thirties. :) It was a good day even if nothing dramatic happened. Just a day spent renewing our friendship. Just a day preparing for the future.

The shopping trip included a new pair of black boots. They are for a trip I am getting ready to go on in early April. I am meeting my dad in New York City. I haven't been to NYC yet, and this is my birthday present this year. I am excited!! We are going to go for baseball's opening week. We are hoping to see the Yankees play. We are also planning on going to see the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. We have always wanted to go to it, and we want to see baseball games in all of the stadiums. We have been to a few stadiums over the years, but want to make it to Yankee Stadium before the new one is built. So this is the year to try.

So goodbye twenties. It was nice knowing you. You brought me a lot over the years. Hopefully I will be better off because of you.

How Kind of You Card

Stamps- Wordsworth clear set called I'm So Glad. The paper is SU and also from my stash. The ribbon is from Michaels. The eyelet is SU. I used Nancy's technique with my corner rounder to get the scalloped edge. Thanks for the inspiration and instructions!

I love you better than Hollywood

My card that I made for Sarah's contest. All the info for the contest is located on her blog.

Stamps are Wordsworth- the couple, and the sayings are all part of the clear set Love. Wordsworth has been one of my favourite stamp companies for about 10 years, and I am forever adding more of them to my collection. I love them, I love them, I love them. Amuse- skinny oval bl sm stamp.

Cardstock- SU Real Red, Basic Black, Creamy Caramel. The white cs is from my stash. The eyelets are Making Memories. The ribbon came as is from my valentine's gift wrap from my mom. She said I needed to make a card from it. :)

Ink- SU- Classic- Basic Black, Cool Caribbean, Craft- Creamy Caramel. The SU watercolor crayons were used for the couple, Tempting Turquoise and Always Artichoke. The flowers I used watercolor crayons, but didn't like them, so I covered them in red glitter glue. :)

So very Happy layout

12x12

Mostly scrap lifted from SU catalog page 151. I don't have Finest Flourishes but found this Stamper's Anonymous stamp that I thought would work nicely. It is stamped to cover the left hand corner. It is in Craft Whisper White ink. In the SU catalog they used acrylic paint.

Cardstock - Bazzill ivory with vertical pin-stripes, unsure of exact name. SU-Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Whisper White (to mount the photo on).

Ribbon- Michael's and SU.

Stamps- SU- So Very and It's a Date.

Stamper's Anonymous called Baroque and is in the Jim Holtz collection.

Ink- SU classic- Chocolate Chip, Cool Caribbean, Whisper White (craft).

Pen- Staedtler pens- triplus fineliner in brown. Love these pens! They rock my world.

BYOC card

Cindy gave me my birthday gift early. It was the SU sellabration set Delight in Life in a cute small leather round box. She gave it to me at BYOC, also known as Craft and Chat at Sarah's church last Friday. We had a good time. I took my time and mounted my new stamps and punched a bunch of corners, which you will see above on my layout. Then finally I decided to make a card. I included some Heidi Swapp Jewels in the center of the flowers. The rest is all SU.

My Carpet Color Combo Challenge

This is my carpet in my living room. It is from the 70's. It isn't so bad! And no it's not shag!!

Anybody up for a color combo challenge with it?

Let me know.