Summer Winding Down

Wow - another few months have blown by since my last post!  Where does time go?  It's been a busy summer where I've spent a lot of time catching up with family and friends.   However, work has been hectic and I have been challenged with training newbies and trying to keep my head above water.
I just recently took a few days off to celebrate my birthday and went on a little excursion to a couple cute shops in Iowa.   My friend just moved to an artist's loft space there so we thought it would be fun to find some places off of the beaten path.
It was so nice to just be surrounded by nature and lush green farm fields.   I have farming in my bloodline and sometimes I wonder if I am beckoned to get away and soak it all in.   I have always dreamt of living in a big farmhouse with a wraparound porch... near the city... on an acreage ... close to shopping.  LOL!

Oh come on - who am I kidding?  I'm such a city girl!   I wanted to plant my first garden and decided a potted tomato plant on the deck was good enough for me.   Half the time I forgot to water it and it would get all wilted.  However, I am yielding many many pretty yellow tomatoes.  I have to start using them up!

My sweet friend Dee from church gave me that little plant and it loved being on that deck exposed to lots of sun and rain.   Here's a pic of one of Dee's pretty flowers.  Love that pink center!

                                                                  All photos by Angela 

I've been doing some crafting here and there and really getting into some stamps that are only available online.   I still love the Prima doll stamps and learning to color with Copic markers and Tim Holtz Distress Markers (with water)
This tag I made for my BFF's little girl - she's totally into fashion and fun hair.   Pretty in Pink :)

 I love these CC Designs stamps -aren't they the cutest?

I've also been making some ATC's to trade with my mama and two of my aunties.  We are having so much fun with it and plan on meeting each month to have a meal and exchange them.  Can't wait for this month's exchange.
I'll have to pull out my nice camera and get back to posting some fun crafty pics again.   God bless, Angela

Been Awhile!

Oh goodness!  I have been away entirely toooooo long!  How did this happen?  I've seen it all before where bloggers get in a rut and disappear for months and we all know that life just gets busy.
All I can say is I've missed you!!  My blogging community isn't that big over here but I have met some treasured friends through the blogging world that I have truly enjoyed knowing.  I'm still doing a few craft swaps here and there and meeting my good photographer friend when we both have time...

Here's a few photos to share what's been keeping me a bit busy and off of my blog...

Remember my parent's puppy?  She's now over a year old and more adorable and ornery than ever!  I'm currently puppy sitting for a bit and I have definitely been challenged in the roll of pseudo fur ball mama!  She is a "Yorktese" or "Morkie" and boy oh boy I'm getting a taste of what it's like to have a terrier breed.
Just today I caught her with a disgusting snake carcass in her mouth and she wouldn't release it for anything in the world.   One minute she is loving and angelic and the next she is bouncing up and down like Tigger and tearing the inside of my shoe apart or running off with my slippers!  LOL!

I'm so used to having poodles who just want to melt into your lap and be held like a little baby all day.   I will say she is easily forgiven and I just love her to pieces!

See these fun sparkly dipped Oreo pops?  A wonderful gal from my small group made them for a baby shower we had for another small group member in Virginia - via Skype!  Technology is so cool!  We had a good time and even played some games.  We opened presents up in front of the computer and heard oohs and ahhhs over all the cuteness.   I hope we get a follow up Skype appointment to meet the little one soon!

Since we are on the food photo trend... I've been having so much fun making some recipes off of Pinterest as well as some old standbys from the Weight Watchers books, too.   My brother absolutely loves this skinny unfried chicken breast recipe.  There are so many variations out there but this one has cornflakes, garlic, mayo, etc..  Delish!
My BFF also turned me into a quinoa fan and I've made what is called "quinoa cups" which are like mini crust less quiches.  So check it out!  Maybe I'll figure out how to put a Pinterest badge on this blog and you can follow me...  I need some geeky tech support for sure. I have over 5,000 followers and apparently I'm an excellent pinner.  Crazy!

It seems like even as an adult I still love my mom's pretties...   She has the loveliest shabby-chic trinkets in her home.  I'm a complete sucker for beautiful things like painted porcelain figurines, plates, etc.

She also has fantastic light pouring into her front room - a photographers dream!  I felt led to grab something to photograph recently and voila!

I hope to get my nice camera out soon - looking for more green to show up here but for now we just received some additional snow on the ground (it melted thank goodness) and even though it says April and Spring on the ol' calendar - it's not looking like it at the moment.
I'm sure there will be inspiration all around me soon.  For now I'm just enjoying the cheerful songbird chirps early in the morning and know sunshine and tulips are just around the corner!