Merry Christmas everyone!

A few pics of our Christmas decor :) Enjoy

Oh, and of course, our little munchkin totally soakin' up the Christmas spirit! Look at what she did! Stuffing her furry face between cushions on the couch...how adorable is that?!

Merry Christmas everyone! Have a wonderful Holiday! See you in 2010 :)

Craft Fair Treasures

A quick look at some fun stuff I sold this year...

Two crazy big sellers (and last minute ideas) were Cookies in a Jar and Tic-Tac-Toe-On-The-Go! Thanks to my sister for getting me a ZYRON for my birthday, compete with AWESOME magnet on one side and laminate on the other! Perfect for making the magnetic pieces for Tic-Tac-Toe games :) You always support my habit :)

Thanks for those of you who supported me and visited my table! Looking forward to next year :)

Ageism

When most of us hear the word "ageism," we think of young people being prejudice against old people. You know, the gangsters mugging old ladies and computer savvy techies scamming them out of retirement money using prank calls.

But, what about old people being prejudice to young people?

I just spent the whole day at a craft fair, which I try to do at least once a year (gotta keep this habit funded!) And, I swear, EVERY year there is some old lady there who is TOTALLY MEAN to me!

Last year, I remember some lady calling me "young" in a condescending way as she said something hurtful (yes, it's a vague but emotional memory). This year, I threw a banana peel in a bag that was hanging nearby (obviously for garbage) and realized it must belong to the old lady selling jams behind me. So, I politely smiled and pointed to the garbage and asked if it was okay if I threw my banana peel in there. She didn't understand me the first few times, due to her hearing impairment, but eventually she realized what I was asking.

Then, she loudly exclaimed, "Well, didn't you already throw your banana peel in there anyway?! Isn't that just like you young people! Always doing something before you ask permission!" If that wasn't ageism at it's finest, on top of it, SHE HIT ME! Yes, she slapped me HARD on my shoulder. I just stood there, shocked. I wasn't smiling anymore. I couldn't believe I had just been treated so rudely. I offered to take my banana peel and throw it away somewhere else, but she said it was fine...

Fine my BUTT (and ya know I wanted to use another word here!)

It is NOT fine to treat me rudely because I am "young."

It is NOT fine to assume that I am like all the other "youngsters" who are actually in their teenage years...just because you can't discern which decade I belong to!

It is NOT fine to put me down or slap me!

AGEISM to youngin's must stop!

The Bible says:

Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.

(1 Timothy 4:12)

So, everyone who considers themselves "old" please be nice to people you view as "young." And, we "young" people (how much longer does one belong to this group???) will be nice to you too...okay?

DIY project gone BAD

Last night I found myself trapped in my bedroom at 10:30 pm desperately calling for help out my open window into the rainy darkness. Unable to access a phone, shaking with frusteration, my only hope was my landlords upstairs.

What would cause such a situation, you ask?

A do-it-yourself project gone wrong.

Yes, because my husband is out of town, I decided that I would take matters into my own hands. I decided to switch the doorknobs between our two bedroom doors (one with a lock on it and one without) - because I wanted our bedroom to be able to lock (for safety at night). I cheerfully unscrewed the craft room doorknob, excited that I had renewed my sense of independance without needing my husband to help with such a project. However, as I was unscrewing the craft room doorknob, it was somewhat difficult to hold the door open with my foot while doing the unscrewing.

With the main bedroom doorknob, I would fix that problem!

I decided to CLOSE the main bedroom door while I was unscrewing the doorknob. I happily completed the unscrewing process and listened as the outside of the doorknob clunked to the floor. I took the inside of the doorknob off too...almost done, I was thinking!

But, then I realized: WITHOUT A DOORKNOB, YOU CAN'T OPEN THE DOOR.

That's right. I had gotten myself stuck in the bedroom. I had no phone, and no way to get out! At first, I was sweaty and panicking. I tried everything to open that door! Then I started yelling for help. I opened my bedroom window and yelled out to the dark empty night. Eventually, a neighbor came and asked if I was okay. They said they thought I was an old lady getting attacked or something...

Eventually, my landlords were awakened. THANK YOU Brecon for coming to my rescue!

Moral of the story: make a honey-do list and wait for the hubby to do such projects. And, if you're single...well, make sure the door is open when you're changing the knobs ;)

*LOL*

More Than a TRIP TO GREECE!!!!

HOW CAN A GIRL SLEEP RIGHT NOW?! I just registered for the Mykonos Greece trip through www.cocoadaisy.com/blog. YES!!! I am going to Greece in 2010 (provided nothing CRAZY happens in the next year...)

This trip is sooooooooooo much more than just a trip to me. Besides getting to spend a whole week with Jenni, Ali, and Karen, taking a bazillion photos on a gorgeous island, and resting in the sunshine in late September...THIS TRIP IS ABOUT SAVING MONEY AND CHANGING MY SPENDING HABITS.

See, in order to afford something this expensive (yeah...that cost does NOT cover airfare), I am going to need to drastically change my spending habits for a whole year. But, what's really funny is this: if I just stop buying scrapbooking stuff (not clothes, not pretty things for my house, not even Starbucks), I WILL EASILY AFFORD THIS TRIP.

I know. It's scary. Do I REALLY spend THOUSANDS of dollars a year on stickers and paper?? YES. I do.

My name is Erika. And I am a scrapa-spend-aholic. Yes, I buy too much scrapbooking stuff.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love my paper just like the next gal! And, I even enjoy just LOOKING AT IT. Sometimes I gaze and smile at all the gorgeous colors and textures. That's the joy of what we do as scrappers! But, this is a time for CHANGE. It's a time in my life when I am ready to use what I have! To be creative in the way I use my things. To find other ways to use my time INSTEAD of SHOPPING.

It's true. Shopping is also a hobby of mine. But, it's one that's going to STOP right here. Right NOW. My blog will now become a place where I share with you my tips and tricks and joys and difficulties of breaking my shopoholism. YES. I am going to sober up!

So far, I haven't purchased anything this last week - no clothes, no scrappin stuff. Well, I did by a new hairbrush. But, David said that was okay. And, you know what?! I FEEL GREAT! I feel so liberated by not allowing consumerist romance to lure me! I feel FREE!

We'll see how long this lasts...

I will let you know.

Why I Don't Apply

For those of you who haven't visited the Inspired Scrapper blog lately, fyi they are calling for new design team members.

Now, I would LOVE to apply to this! I think it would be SO SUPER COOL if they accepted me...except for one problem: MY STUPID COMPUTER.

I just spent a whole hour scanning, stitching, and uploading scrapbooking layouts for you to view. Then, I sat their for another 10 minutes waiting for my jpg's to upload for this blog.

But...do you see any layouts?

NOPE.

That's because it didn't work. My computer is so frusterating and slow and old that I can't even upload things for you to see. It is the frustration of electronics that keeps me from applying to design teams. I am soooooooooo behind the times! SERIOUSLY! And this is ALSO why I am not on Facebook! I sit in front of a computer screen for most of my day...why come home and torture myself like this!? WHY!?

I am going to go jump on my trampoline now *scowl*

And, David...if you read this...you know what I want for Christmas...

Adventures in Puppy Parenting

My wonderful husband and I have been using the book "Puppies for Dummies." It's because we're dummies when it comes to raising puppies...Here's why:

1) How many times do I have to let her into her potty area WITH HER LEASH on? Only to have it drag through her poo 5 minutes before I am supposed to leave for work...

2) David has forgotten a number of times to put her out into her potty area after she eats. Mmmmm....nothin' like poo in your house!

3) And, here's the latest and greatest: We were looking at the conversion chart on her food, and I looked at the number "60" (because she's eventually going to be about 60 pounds) and it said we should be feeding her about 5.5 cups of food a day! WHAT?! We had only been feeding her 3! I felt terrible because we had been starving our little puppy. So, we quickly started giving her almost twice as much food...and she was behaving oddly - she seemed sick and has been pooing MASSIVE amounts. HM...something must be wrong! So, I checked the chart again and discovered our flaw: The chart said 60 KILOGRAMS, not pounds! OOPS! So, turns out we're supposed to up her diet to 4 cups of food...yeah, we feel terrible :(

Our poor puppy! At least she is always showered with love ;)