hello hello hello

So I've been away. I took the boys camping last week from Sunday to Friday. It was great weather (aside from the crazy short storm on Thursday that tore the awning off the trailer) and we had a wonderful time with our friends. My back and chest are now peeling because those areas of my body rarely see sun and I kinda forgot about them when we went to the pool. I can remember to put sunscreen on my kids but never remember myself.
The campground we went to had a few pools, a petting zoo and this crazy bouncing pillow in the ground like a gargantuous trampoline. We were on our own for the first two nights and our friends came on Tuesday. It was nice to spend time on our own, but the kids were ready for some different company. For whatever reason, just throwing one other kid into the mix seems to make all the difference in the world when the boys are getting tired of each other.
Lots of sun, hot dogs and corn on the cob, cocktails (me ... not the kids), beach time, camp fires and smores, Jiffy Pop on the fire, ... good memories for everyone.
I just wish it had been longer.
Although by Friday night, the weather had turned cooler and we've had rain off and on ever since. I guess we came home at the right time.
What strikes me most about our time away is that I really don't miss the internet or television when I'm camping. I don't think about it at all. But the minute I step in the house, I'm checking email and blogs and message boards or watching shows I recorded while we were away. I think I need to start limiting my computer time to make more room for other things ... more important things.
Speaking of more important things, my roommate from University and her two girls came up on Saturday for the night. We don't see each other very often and it's always so great to catch up. It's a bit of a punch in the gut when I realize that I've known her almost 20 years now. Am I really that old? I guess the numbers don't lie.
I never got around to posting the projects I completed for the Noel Mignon Sizzlin' Summer Crop before I went away. I didn't get very many done, but was lucky enough to win one of the prizes. Yay!
This card was done for a challenge to use up scraps with punches. I tried to just use smallish pieces I have in a little box for exactly this purpose. The background is scrap of October Afternoon, the scalloped circle from Coredinations cardstock, Martha Stewart butterflies punched from Chatterbox and covered with Perfect Pearls (which also got into my eyes ... it stings ... I don't recommend it!), and a strip of Lilybee using a Martha Stewart border punch.

Jana's challenge was to use a quilt as inspiration. I chose a quilt pattern from Anna Maria Horner to use as my background. I've made exactly one quilt in my day, but took a quilting course when I was in high school. I'd love to do one with Anna's fabric. The colours are just so beautiful and inspiring. Maybe that can be a winter project. Haha! I think I need to clear up some of my half finished projects before I take on another.

This final layout was for a colour challenge. I had a really difficult time matching the colours. For whatever reason, I just didn't seem to have very much of what I needed. But it's one of my favorites. I managed to use up some ancient embellishments while using some of my newer ones. I love the mix.

Now to get caught up on laundry, a bit of bookwork, and maybe some scrappies later on. Hope everyone is enjoying the last bit of the summer. It's pretty overcast and cool today but I think the rest of the week is nice. We may try to squeeze in a few nights in the trailer and a day at the beach yet if the weather cooperates.

Have a good one!