What I've Been Reading...

I've been reading the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray and have really enjoyed it! I was intrigued by the first book, "A Great & Terrible Beauty" when I spotted it while working in the school library. I finally decided to check it out to read this summer. I loved it! I quickly moved on to the second book, Rebel Angels, and am now almost done with the third and final installment, "The Sweet Far Thing". Part of me can't wait until I finish the book and find out what fate holds in store for Gemma and her friends. Part of me doesn't want to finish the book, though, since it is the end of the series!

These are definitely the favorites of anything I've read lately. My next read will be "Three Cups of Tea" for my bookclub. I've heard mixed reviews from my fellow readers. I hope I enjoy it enough to finish it for book club!

In Memoriam

My brother-in-law, Bob, passed away Friday after a long battle with heart disease.

We'll miss you, Bob.

Dunbar

Whew! Summer school was its usual hectic, tiring stint, so I haven't felt up to fostering lately. Now that summer school is over (yahoo!), we were able to take in a new foster dog. This is Dunbar. (We don't name 'em - we just foster 'em.)

Here he is with Jessica. He's a very affectionate dog who loves attention.Dunbar was a stray. We're fostering him because he's got kennel cough which is very contagious(Our dog, Dixie, has natural immunity because of all the fostering we do.) He's a little thin and has a few bite marks from his time as a stray, but is otherwise healthy. He's a great dog - housebroken, doesn't torment the cat, etc. The shelter says he's a basset mix, but we don't see that (other than his large paws). We think he's more likely a Boxer mix (with Lab and God knows what else thrown in!). The girls are already in love with him. :-) (Nope, no more permanent additions for us, though. At least not right now.)

Stamping Frenzy!

Whew! I was really behind in the SCS/FTS Christmas Card Challenge. I just cranked out 10 each of two cards for May and June. Here they are:

Both of these were made from stamps from The Angel Company. The first card is made with the Christmas Fun set. (I love this set! It's one of my favorites.) The second card is made with the Perky Penguins set. He's just so cute!

Here are three cards made with sets that are new to the catalog:

Sets used were: Just Dream, Love & Laughter and Linear Sentiments.

Only one more week of summer school (yahoo!) so I should be posting more regularly (including more stamping projects) soon. Have a great week!

Some days you're the dog...

and some days you're the hydrant. TAC used to carry a cute pug stamp with that saying on it. Dixie would tell you that today was a hydrant kind of day. First, she was subjected to water torture... a.k.a. a bath. (Just because she smelled all nice and "outdoorsy" and we silly humans didn't appreciate it!) Then, this afternoon she was brushed AND had her ears clean. (She really, really hates getting her ears cleaned and cringes as soon as she sees the bottle.) Here she is waiting (somewhat exasperatedly) for me to take her for a walk. It's just not been her day today!

As for me, I've been trying to do a bit of stamping lately. After a particularly stressful day at summer school, I made these for everyone in the office. I love the saying "Things are bad... Send chocolate". It was definitely a chocolate kind of week!

I bought the cute little diecut boxes from Donna over at http://www.ka-diecuts.com/. Donna has an awesome selection of diecuts and colors and she is a real sweet person to deal with. If you buy from her, tell her that I told you about her.Well, Dixie is now standingt next to me, breathing on my leg and giving me her most pathetic look. I think that's my hint to go.... Have a good week! (And it's a short one. Hooray!!!!)

Birthday celebrations

This Sunday marked the last of the birthday celebrations for Jessica. (Wow, I can't believe she's FOURTEEN!!) We had a beautiful day down at the lake for a belated Fathers' Day celebration as well as a birthday celebration for Jess and my father-in-law. I haven't had much stamping time lately, but I did manage to make Jessica a card for her birthday. I got this Bella from an image swap on the Bellaholics list. Isnt' she cute? Bellas are so much fun.

The mad, mad, month of May...

A brief rundown, in pictures.

May music: Jess sang at MU and had her spring band and choir concerts. Here she and some friends are saying goodbye to their beloved choir teacher, Dr. Hook.

Niece #1, Katie, graduates from MU; she'll attend medical school in KC next year.

Niece #2, Christi, graduated from high school; she'll attend MU next year.

I chaperoned Ali's field trip to a local bee farm:

Ali having fun at her school's annual Spring Fling fundraiser:

Ali's poetry "celebration" - she read/acted out a poem with her friends Cecilia and Erica

Jess marched in the annual Memorial Day parade:

Jess received an award for placing 8th in the state in her level on the National French exam. (Here she is with her teacher, Mme Russell.)

My 31st, the last day of the month... Ali had her final soccer game of the season. (They played really well and won the game.)

Whew! Lots of fun memories but it was a little crazy!!