WOYWW #160

My DH and I are currently out traveling around the northern US storm chasing so my crafting is kind of limited because I didn't want to carry around a ton of equipment or to be stressed trying to find time to create something.  I am going to be posting every day a trip journal with pictures if you would like to follow along and see what I am up to.

WOYWW'ers I don't have a picture of my desk to share with you today but I do have a picture of a tag that I made for a swap on creative block-stampersanonymous.  I really enjoy the interaction with the people on this group and it is a lot of fun swapping different projects.  Want to know what WOYWW is and why I don't have a picture of my desk?  Visit Stamping Ground and check out what Ms. Julia is up to.  Its fun!  I promise!

Last month when we swapped the first 20 people to sign up and get into the swap had the opportunity to get a free stamp from Stampers Anonymous to use on this months swap.  The Dream A Little Dream stamp was a lot of fun to use.

here is an upclose of the face.  I used a jump ring for a monocle and filled it with Glossy Accents to give it a glass look.  No it isn't an original idea but fun anyway!   I also used the glossy accents on the dream a little dream sentiment at the bottom to define the words.

Well thats it for me and I hope to be able to get around to a few desks this week when we stop over in the hotels if I have internet access.  Have a great week.  

Tuesday June 26, 2012

On the road again after a great breakfast at Perkins.  I haven't eaten in a Perkin's in years so it was a real treat to have their french toast and bacon!  Chuck seems to be enjoying his pancakes with blueberry syrup too!

I know, I know not a very nice person to post a picture of someone enjoying his breakfast!

We have a slim to none chance of a storm today but we are looking forward to the drive as we head out to Glasgow Montana to visit with some friends and hoping we will see something good along the way.

Biddle Montana...this ones for you Matt!

Tornado look alike in GlenDive Montana.  Not much of a storm and it all went to rain really quick.

An old church or school 

We drove just over 570 miles to get to Glasgow, Montana and it was a long day.  We stayed with friends and enjoyed a end of season party for their son's baseball team.  I hadn't met Tanja or her family yet and it was a real joy visiting with her after the party was over!  Tanja and her husband Mike are both meteorologist and Tanja works for the National Weather Service and Mike works in IT.  They have two awesome boys 13, 16 and one of the most awesome fur babies going...Ella!

Tanja, Chuck and I

Ella the sweetest fur baby!  Ella is about a year old and loves to play ball and will play for hours long after you are all slobbered out!

Great day and fun times with friends!  I love storm chasing!

Monday June 25, 2012

Hi again!
Today we were up and about early and went to breakfast with friends in Goodland, KS.  Pam Murray Varney is a forecaster at the National Weather Service (NWS) and her partner Al Pietryka is a SOO at the NWS.  We were instructed to meet them at the Butterfly Cafe at the airport and we were both a little skeptical but once there were pleasantly surprised at what a nice place it is and I would actually say it is the best kept secret in Goodland.

Renner Fields is THE airport in Goodland KS

Our friends Pam and AL

We left Goodland around 10 am and headed north setting down in Gillette, Wyoming a mere 572 miles along a variety of roads with a lot of different views and vistas to enjoy.  Here are some pictures to enjoy.

Wheat harvest in Nebraska

Burlington Northern train hauling...

Coal back east

We went from seeing the flat or rolling plains of Kansas and Oklahoma to the mountains of
Pine Ridge Mountians in Nebraska.

You can see for miles in this flat country!

Pine Ridge Mountains in Nebraska

Just so you don't think we are just running around having fun on a road trip I thought I ought to show you a couple pictures of some weak storms we saw towards evening today.

iPhone radar

a gap between storms

fluffy outflow dominated clouds

a storm over Spearfish South Dakota

Anyhow that's what we saw as pitiful as it is it was still nice to see some storms and lightening today!  We are at a Day's Inn in Gillette WY and contrary to some online reviews that were negative I find it to be a really neat and clean place if a little older and more then worth the money we paid.

Off to Montana tomorrow!

on the road again, just gotta get on the road again!

Thought that I would blog my storm chasing trip this year and keep everyone up to date as to where I am at and what I am up to!

Today we left Norman, Oklahoma and traveled about 510 miles to Goodland, Kansas where we set down for the night.  A couple of reasons for choosing Goodland were good friends, Al Pietryka and Pam Varney Murray, and it was a reasonable start to a northward trek into Montana and Wyoming where there is a possibility of weather in the next couple days.

The Super 8 in Goodland is a great place to stay. it is inexpensive and very clean.  If you just need a place to sleep you can't ask for more.  There are limited places to eat in Goodland on good days and at 8:20 pm on a Sunday night we felt fortunate to find a Wendy's available.

On the way to Goodland we passed through an enormous wind farm that paralleled 1-70 for quite a few miles.   As you can see from this first picture there are a lot of the wind turbines and this was on both sides of the highway.

Took this out of a moving car but you get the idea of A LOT of wind turbines!

Three that were closer to the road

I think this is Moxie KS but once again it was a dominate feature of the landscape as we traveled west.  Farms and fields of corn and wheat everywhere.  The wheat was in the process of being harvested and the corn still has a ways to go.

Sunsets on the plains are awesome! Thought I would share one with you!

 More tomorrow.

WOYWW #159

WOYWW and it is Tuesday evening, late, in Okieland and I have had a busy day so far.  I spent some time putting together some patio furniture today and got to the putting the chairs together when I realized I not only didn't have all the nuts, bolts, and screws but the directions weren't there either.  Don't know if that kind of thing makes you nuts but it does me and I had a few unkind words to say about the manufacturer also!  I think it is a really pretty set and I am off to the hardware store to purchase some nuts and bolts to finish up the chairs!  OMG!  I know it isn't worth the stress of getting angry about it but I am...put out good money and get inferior service.

This is what it will look like when I finally get the screws to finish it up...cool huh!

So on to my desk now that I have vented a bit!  After all that is what WOYWW is all about!  If you haven't visited Queen Julia the founder of What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday today would be a good day to do so.  Follow the link and she will tell you what I am going on about!

My desk with an array of things to see.  I was working on a project using the Dream a little Dream stamp I received in a swap and couldn't find a embossing folder which lead to me starting a file notebook with the packing pictures of each folder, embosslit, Big Shot and Sizzix die I own.  It will be a good deal once I get it all together but it is taking more time away from the fun play then I want to give up right now.  When I am creating I don't want to be bothered with practical stuff!

I bought several sizes of boxes to hold my embosslets, Bigz, and other Sizzix dies that I am also sorting out while I work on the files in the note books.  I am going to be so organized!!

This is the stamp that started the hunt.  I belong to a group on Yahoo! called creativeblock-stamperanonymous which is a group of stampers that use StampersAnonymous stamps to create all sorts of fun things.  Last month in the tag swap Stampers Anonymous gave stamps out to 20 people who swapped tags and I was one of the lucky ones to get a Dream a Little Dream, Tim Holtz stamp.  The challenge this month is to use this stamp in the swap.  You should check out the group it is a lot of fun.

 Well that's it  for me today.  I am going to move some more stuff around in my craft room and work on getting the kitchen straightened up for the man who is coming in tomorrow to do some plaster work in the kitchen and finish tiling the new shower/bathroom off the kitchen.  Hope everyone has a great day and I will try to get around to a few desks before bedtime tonight.  Have a great week!

Here are some of the ATC I received from the swap.  I would also like to apologize to the ATC swappers for being tardy getting the ATC out to them and after we swapped almost a week into it I dumped a coffee glass over on them and ended up redoing the whole lot.  They are in the mail today and should be there asap! 

Summer of Color 2012 Rainbow Sherbet

 This is the first week of Summer of Color 2012 and this first weeks colors are found in  Rainbow Sherbet!  The pinks, oranges and yellows of the sweet/tart frozen treat.

yummy Rainbow Sherbet.

I decided to do a journal page for my 9"x12" journal using those colors and a technique I learned from Dyan Reaveley using Dylusions spray colors and stamps.

What makes this such a big deal for me is that last year this time I didn't do anything on my own it was all by pattern!  I have been learning new techniques and experimenting more with my painting and sketching and I think I am getting better.  I am taking Lifebook 2012 with Tamara Laporte and Willowing & Friends Community and have been having a lot of fun learning to be more creative and to let the creativity flow.

Hope you like my journal page.  Next weeks colors come from chocolate mint ice cream.  Yummo!

WOYWW #158

It has been a busy day today running here and there!  I went to a doctors appointment with my daughter in Oklahoma City and found out that she will be having surgery in a week or so to remove a growth from the top of her uterus.  The doctor said it was most likely a polyp or a benign growth but it would be best to have it off before she goes through the IUI (intrauterine insemination) as she stands a chance of miscarrying the baby.   To cheer her up we used a bit of retail therapy and went shopping at the local Asian market and to the biggest mall in OKC for lunch then home where we could go our different ways to attend meetings this evening.

My desk this week with a collection of 'stuff' I have been using.  A couple tags I made for a swap.

An attempt at watercolor technique using stamps...I need more practice I think!

 My outside desk and the first tomatoes of the year...  I have a few tomatoes my husband planted in the garden but these are in containers on the patio.  They have all the earmarks of becoming prolific this year and we are already a head...due to the drought and heat last year we didn't get a single tomato.  Difficult to thrive in 40-43C temps.

 

Oh yes...almost forgot to share the pictures of my grandbabies.  These were taken during Skype visit so the quality isn't all that great but...grandmas have to brag!

Hannah at 9 months

Teresa is 3 years.

 Trying to keep it short this week...good luck I hear...I know I am long winded but...
If you are wondering what all this is about check out Julia's blog...Stamping Ground and join us in all the fun!