Windows Live Writer, I love you...Well, not so much.

I wrote this post in Windows Live Writer a total of 4 times. All went well until I tried to add photos. CRASH.

That happened twice. Then it was onto a different problem:: When I tried to tag anything, it froze. And it froze. So then I stopped, so I apologize in advance for the issues and the rather rushed nature of this post.

I've been really impressed with the entries thus far into the minibook challenge. And I'm happy to say that we're extending the deadline to the end of the month to give everyone a little more time to sign up and create. Yay! And I'm also delighted to let you know about a new site for If It's Groovy...

You can now go to the If It's Groovy Ning group, sign up and partake in as many or as few challenges as you want. The Ning group is really easy to navigate, it's free AND you can let your creative personality shine through--yes, it's customizable. It's fantastic and very easy to navigate around. And, once you get on there, either let me know in the comments of this post, or shoot me a PM there. I will love to interact with you.

Okay, so Thursday I got stuck on the freeway in all of the snow. CRAZINESS! And Friday, I was exhausted and not feeling well, so I stayed home (I'd gotten in after midnight on Wednesday, went to work thursday and was just not feeling it). Then I did some things this weekend:

• Saw 'The Fantastic Mr. Fox' (LOVED IT!) and 'Where the Wild Things Are' (Great, but not necessarily kid-friendly) with a great friend at the discount theatre. Red Robin for dinner and a visit to Borders (where I actually read 'Where the Wild Things Are' for the very first time!
• Went out dancing with the girls. Only stayed under 2 hours, but it was awesome to see my friends.
• Went to a Stitch n' Brunch Sunday at Panera. Started a capelet. Met amazing people. Definitely going back.

And, I spent too much money this weekend, but I got some really awesome things... So it's back to the budget, but I feel like I did okay.

1. Kraftin Kimmie's Moonlight Whispers stamps (the Steampunk ones: Lavinia and Chester).
2. A Printer. A wifi Printer, so I can print out my Ildi Co. Digi Stamps stamps (project for this week might be a two-fer, FYI). I love it, and got it for under $100. It feels so amazing to have a printer again, very cool to be able to print and copy and scan and even use a memory card to print! :-)
   It got great reviews, but people were pretty much saying the drawbacks were the lack of a creative suite (not concerned, I have photoshop and other things) and the expense of ink. Personally, I had a Lexmark all in one before this, and their inks were too expensive for my taste compared to the inks for this Epson. I love that it has 4 separate ink compartments--one for black and then the three colors in print ink formulation (magenta, cyan and yellow). And I really didn't like the scanning of the Lexmark. And, the connectivity to my computer was dodgy. That's sort of why I like the idea of wifi printing. I can set it up on the secretariat downstairs, plug it in and just print when need be. Or, I can set it up in the spare room/workshop.
3. Went to Archiver's intending to get a score-pal. Could not reconcile the purchase, oddly enough. So I bought something else entirely. Something I could definitely use, but wasn't sure it would be a good buy.
   
   I have a Clip it Up! Got the base, upper tier, extra clips AND 4 pairs of different sized bags for under $90 at Archiver's. Yay! Let me just tell you now, the thing is HUGE. It is larger than the dog (Black Lab) when he is walking around (height-wise). I have a rack from Simply Renee, the company that makes the Clip it Up and I love it. But I'm really happy I got this, too. Started assembling and putting things on it (the finished product video coming soon). In fact, here are my assembly videos:
   Base Unit Assembly
   Upper Tier Assembly
   The Clip it up is really easy to set up and a lot of fun to use so far. I think seeing what I have is going to make a big difference in how I use things.
   
   
   Oh, and 1 thing before I go. I'm doing project 365, sort of. Not sure what I'll do with the finished product (am taking another Shimelle class on UK Scrappers that might have this nailed down), but my photo feed is located at 365Project.org. I would love for you to share your journey with me...

Happy Scrapping. I will be on later to comment on your lovely minibooks--I am floored that so many of you have accepted the challenge. It's amazing to see your work!

Oh, and one other really quick thing... I ordered from the Greeting Farm on 1 Jan. Still haven't received my order. Can I just expect to get it soon? Does anyone know if there were any issues with weather or something?

If It's Groovy Birthday Bash!!!!

That's right, If It's Groovy is celebrating a BIRTHDAY. YAY!

I'm so blessed to be on this team.

Video, Part One:


Video, Part Two:


Video, Part Three:


So what does this mean? You have a week to make you're own minibook. Post here with a link to your project and I'll check it out. All comments made will go into a random drawing for a really cool super secret (at this time) prize pack so you can make your very own Quick Minibook.

And remember to check out If It's Groovy and wish them a happy Birthday!

If It's Groovy!

So If It's Groovy is going to be having a BIRTHDAY! Yay! The best part is that IIG is going to have a FANTASTIC Birthday Celebration, and you're invited!
Who: You, of course, and ALL of your friends
What: A Birthday Bash
Where: If It's Groovy
When: January 4-10, 2010


Now, you can most definitely check out my blog on the 4th for a challenge and a special, surprise prize package. I am out of state currently, so there's been limited blog access for me.

But I will be travelling home on the 5th and will be showing you a project on the 4th that's birthday themed for sure. Please take a minute and visit If It's Groovy, it's a wonderful site and I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time! It's full of really talented people.

Happy Creating and Happy Holidays!

Welcome Back, Wednesday!

Wow! I can't believe it's been so long since I posted, I'm really sorry about that. There's been so much stuff going on that I haven't had much time on the computer. Some of it is creative related, some of it isn't. So I'm just going to tell everything at once.

Tuesday (still without internet)--I became an official member of the 'If It's Groovy' Design Team. It's run by Deb, a Fiskateer. It really made me happy, and I think the whole team is a great group of girls and I really think you should check out the site by clicking the link in my sidebar.

Wednesday was my day to post for the Ildi Co DT. Unfortunately, the Internet guy didn't come until late. He was pleasant and very helpful, but it took so long to get everything figured out. I'd been fighting Time Warner about my Roadrunner service for about a year, and they kept directing me to an overseas support line, then it would get escalated and finally someone would say, 'Your Internet should work.' They couldn't do anything without a service call, and they refused to start a service call until there was something wrong reported on their end. The tech who came out said it was partially my modem (it's 6 years old, of course it's my modem) and partially the fact that I only had one service, so my signal was 'too powerful' and therefore irregular. Weirdest conversation ever. Needless to say it was really late and I went to bed right after he came home.

Thursday, Sinus migraine, which I attribute to the weather. I notice that any time there's a drop in barometric pressure, I get the worst sinus problems. I have a deviated septum, so that's also a contributing factor to my nose issues. I should be on a few nasal inhalers, daily medication, etc. But I did that (with 4 years of allergy shots in high school), and I was still miserable. Avoidance is usually best for me. I stay away from triggers, take hot showers with eucalyptus essential oil (either in the oil burner or sprinkled just in front of the drain) and seem to do pretty well with one nasal inhaler and some over the counter pain medicines on occasion. I didn't spend any time at the computer because it hurt to focus for more than 2 minutes.

Friday, emergency with my mom. She was supposed to be going with my (step) dad to Indiana for a job (his company has plants all over the country and one plant needed someone to help them with a deadline, so he stepped up to the plate) and halfway there my mom had some issues. I was writing my post when she called and though I thought I set it up correctly, it went the way of smoke (bye-bye). Long story short, she has a bladder and a kidney infection and she was out of commission. I was going to drive down and pick her up and take her to Indiana to meet him there for the holiday weekend, but it just didn't work out. This takes us all the way through Monday.

Now, I probably should have checked the blog, but I relaxed. And then it was yesterday when I came into work and noticed that my post didn't actually post. Eep! So I was all ready to do it when I got an email from my father, letting me know my Great Uncle (on his side) passed yesterday morning--he'd really been struggling with Pancreatic Cancer lately. The doctors thought he'd licked it at the end of last year, but it came back with a vengeance. And then I spoke with my Mom a little later and found out my Great Aunt (on her side) was in the hospital, receiving treatment for blockages, which may include Open Heart Surgery. She's 82.

I got distracted, and I totally shouldn't have. It's not been a good time, but I'm refocusing my energy. And last night, I kinda got a little inspired. So you'll be seeing 2 peaks at some Ildi Co. stamp projects from me today. Yay! One will be from last week, Two will be from this week (a work in progress). Yay! And be prepared for a few new announcements, regarding Ildi and If It's Groovy, there are some really awesome, talented people on these teams, and I'm really happy to be working with them.