It’s been a really good Saturday. And those are rarely good for me because oftentimes I never do everything I have on my list of things to do before the weekend is over. Although today I didn’t have said list, it was still a good day. And maybe that’s why it was so good.

It’s almost midnight. I’m curled up under the covers watching a Clive Owen movie while typing away on my laptop. Izzie is snoring loudly from Jabari’s side of the bed. And actually, she shouldn’t be sleeping in our bed because she’s grounded (she’s been really bad this past week), but, well, it’s cold and it’s the weekend. I’ll let it go just this once.

Jabari is in Houston for the weekend so it’s been just us girls since yesterday. It’s been nice to have the place all to myself again, but I do miss him.

I’ve tackled my second sewing project this weekend: simple table napkins and a cute little apron. The napkins turned out great, I purchased more fabric to make another set. And the apron turned out, well, ok. I don’t know if I liked my fabric of choice. I probably would have liked it better if I used some kind of twill or canvas for the apron part, and then the patterned fabric for the front pockets. I’ll have to post pictures of it tomorrow.

After making a quick trip to Hobby Lobby, I grabbed lunch at Raising Cane’s. It’s funny—I tried that place several years ago when I discovered their location in Lewisville, but the meal was so disappointing. The breading on the chicken tenders was soggy and fell off the chicken. The chicken itself was flavorful and the dipping sauce was… weird. It had a may, ketchup, curry, nutmeg type flavor. I was so used to Chick Fil A and their honey mustard and crispy waffle fries that Cane’s was just so unimpressive.

Then they opened a location down the street from where I live. I was on my way home from shopping one evening when I figured I would stop by. It seems as though they’ve improved something because the chicken tenders were much better. The dipping sauce is still weird, but it’s starting to grow on me. I’m still not sure if I like it more than Bubba’s on Hillcrest, but when I get tired of Chicken Express (and I sometimes do), it’s nice to have another option.

Wow, did I really just write two paragraphs on the intricacies of fried chicken tenders?

I have a lot of things on the horizon though. A new month is about to start which means another month of working towards my goals. Oh, did I mention I’ve been working out using EA Sports Active? It’s a lot of fun despite the lunges, jump lunges, and jump squats I’ve had to do since starting this workout. The great news is I’ve already lost 3 lbs since starting over a week ago! Baby steps, of course. Baby steps.

Hello, Friend, originally uploaded by krisalis903.

Supplies:
So Saffron card stock (Stampin’ Up)
Kraft card stock
Eliza patterned paper (Making Memories)
Flower embellishments (American Crafts)
Large pewter brad (American Crafts)
Border sticker from Kelly Panacci

Earlier this month, I set out to accomplish a few small goals this year. If you didn’t read my 2010 resolutions post, you can read it here. So here’s an update as of today, January 24, 2010.

#1 I will make at least 3 cards per month using scraps, tools, and/or supplies I’ve had in my stash for a while.

January Update: I’ve made 10 cards using existing supplies. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. I figured out a trick though: stick to most commonly-used themes such as: happy birthday, thank you, hello, with sympathy, congrats, and get well soon. Once I figured out the right combination I created 10 cards using these themes, knowing that these would most likely be used over the next couple months.

#2 I will mail a card to a friend at least once a month.

January Update: I’ve mailed 2 cards to friends this month! One to my friend Lauren who celebrated a birthday last week, and another to my new friends Gabby and her husband Brian. They invited us over for a lovely dinner and a game of Ninja Burger (which, if you’re familiar with Steve Jackson games, is a lot of fun). So I wanted to thank them for their hospitality with a card. To accomplish this task, it helped to know in advance who’d be celebrating birthdays this month. Facebook is a huge help since it often notifies me the week of if anyone on my friends list is celebrating a birthday. I have started to make it a habit to also add birthdays and anniversaries to iCal on my Mac.

#3 I will evaluate my crafting stash at least once a quarter and give away or sell items I haven’t used, won’t use, or don’t like.

January Update: Well since this is a quarterly event, the only headway I’ve made on this one is scheduling a time at the end of February to begin evaluating my stash and making a pile of stuff I don’t want or need anymore

I’m pretty proud of myself for having such a great start this month. Let’s hope I can keep this up in February! I’ll also update my progress then as well

So, it’s been all over the news. Yep, Conan O’Brien got screwed by NBC and Jay Leno. And yes, I’m going to include Leno on this one because there is this thing called integrity and during the whole fiasco, he showed none.

I think a lot of people can relate to Conan. At some point in everyone’s life, we’ve all been thrown under the bus at some point. Yes, you can point fingers, raise a huge stink, but it’s what you do at the end of the day that makes a difference. And what he said in his speech on the last Tonight Show couldn’t have been more sincere and more meaningful. If you haven’t already, watch his last show. And specifically watch his final monologue while he’s sitting at his desk near the end of the show. THAT’S why I watched Conan on Late Night, THAT’S why I watched him on The Tonight Show, and THAT is why I will watch him on his next show.

The thing about Conan’s fans? We are a group of intelligent, thoughtful, and fun people. And yeah, we might laugh at Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and the absurdity that is The Masturbating Bear, but who doesn’t like physical comedy you don’t have to think about every once in a while? There might not be a billion of us, there might not even be a million of us, but we are loud and we are loyal and we will follow him wherever he goes just to show Leno and NBC that it’s not just about money and ratings.

Happy Birthday, originally uploaded by krisalis903.

Supplies
Stampin’ Up Certainly Celery card stock
Stampin’ Up Certainly Celery classic ink
American Crafts Ultimate white pen
Kelly Panacci border stickers
Happy Birthday embellishments

Supplies
Stampin’ Up Baja Blue card stock
Stampin’ Up Whisper White
Making Memories Eliza patterned paper
Imaginisce All Kinds of Happy Cupcake Stamp
Imaginisce All Kinds of Happy Happy Birthday Stamp
American Crafts Ultimate White pen
Copic Markers Y17, Y21, B32

Supplies:
Stampin’ Up Kraft card stock
Making Memories Eliza die cut
Card embellishment
Stampin’ Up Short & Sweet stamp set

Today, our office is at a standstill because somehow or for some reason, our server got locked up by all this outgoing spam. So, while our resident computer-fixer-guy is working on it, I’ve come up with a list of things to do (in no particular order) at work while you can’t work.

1. Complete whatever tasks you CAN complete without email, printer, and/or file server access (which, believe me, is limited).
2. Follow up on personal email correspondence.
3. Catch up on your social networks (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc.).
4. Shop online and make a wish list of stuff you want to buy and stuff you wish you could afford.
5. Clean your desk and catch up on filing.
6. Actually talk with your coworkers face-to-face rather than via AIM or email.
7. Search your to-do list for something SOMETHING you could do that doesn’t require email, printer, or file server access.
8. Have a meeting that you’ve been putting off or have scheduled meetings earlier.
9. Call your mom to see how she’s doing.
10. Talk to your coworkers about dogs and chickens.

I finished my December 2009 album! Although I didn’t finish it before the end of December, at least I finished it before the end of 2010 because believe me, there was definitely potential for that to happen

If you can’t view the Flickr slideshow below, you can visit it here.

So if I could give a few tips to those who want to try a daily album next December, here are a few to note:

There’s a Reason Why They Say to Prepare In Advance

Definitely take every opportunity to create as many layouts as possible ahead of time. You might even consider over-preparing and creating a little more than you know you might need. You never really know until that day what type of photos you’ll have available or how much you want to journal.

If You Signed Up for Shimelle’s Journal Your Christmas, Don’t Force Yourself to Only Create According to the Daily Prompts

Left to my own devices, I usually don’t have any problems coming up with a topic to cover that day. Not always, but usually. Put me in a structured setting where I’m given an assignment, I’m going to try and do the assignment and sometimes if that assignment isn’t what I want to work on that day, I get stuck, and therefore frustrated. I learned that on some days when there were events I wanted to scrapbook about, I felt conflicted

If you decide to do Journal Your Christmas, use the daily prompts as a backup plan. Read the prompts in the morning, but let it marinate throughout the day until you finally get to sit down and work on your page. If something else came up that you want to record, do it! Don’t feel like you have to stick with the prompts just because it showed up in your inbox that morning.

That being said, if you are wondering, it IS possible to participate in December Daily AND Journal Your Christmas.

Keep a Topic Calendar

At the beginning of the month, I printed out a calendar and made notes of events I knew were on the calendar: company party, Christmas tree decorating, Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas Day, Dad’s birthday, etc. Make notes on days if, for some reason, you can’t scrapbook that day such as, “Did some baking today. Downloaded photos onto laptop. Maybe use the 4-picture layout with the brown background.” At this point you can come back to it later when you have to catch up.

Draw Inspiration and Motivation from Others

The great thing about doing some of these online classes is everyone loves to share. If you ever get stuck, don’t be afraid to browse the gallery of past prompts. And if you do end up “scraplifting” an idea from another scrapper, don’t forget to let them know and show them your finished product. There isn’t one scrapper out there who wouldn’t enjoy being someone’s inspiration!

Speaking of inspiration, here’s a list of other’s who have finished their december album:

Ali Edwards

Alissa Fast

Curiouser and Curiouser

Nita’s Journal

Here’s one of my first cards in compliance with my 2010 Resolutions post. I’ve had this Bo Bunny paper in my stash for a while and since I love the swiss dots pattern, I wanted to try and use it in a card. Some of these items aren’t available but below are the supplies I could find.

Supplies:
Stampin Up Kraft card stock
Chatter Box Journal Labels
Basic Grey (Mellow Collection) Maude Alphabet Stickers
American Crafts Glitter Thickers in Shoe Box