the ultimate designer and artist...

When my brothers and sisters and I have "joined" our family, our parents plant a tree for us. This spring, my sister's tree went through a hard time, and we didn't think it would make it. It sounds silly, but we prayed for that tree. Now, finally, there are leave on about 3/4 of it.

The branches of Anna's tree are right outside the window in my office, and when the sun is at the right angle, a beautiful shadow is cast on my wall. I love it so much that I want to paint it so that it is always there. Sometime I will. Today I happened to glance out the window just as a swallowtail butterfly landed on a leaf. The butterfly had some wing damage, but managed to fly just fine, and moved from blossom to blossom. Beautiful.

How amazing is God? I work hard to draw a leaf, and that's simply copying something that He made! As a designer, I am humbled (as I should be!), but I see that God made me in His image. Any creativity I have, comes from Him.

i smelled you before i saw you...

Imagine someone actually saying this to you: "I didn't see you come in, but I knew you were here. I could smell you." Thankfully someone qualified this by explaining to me and my co-workers that she meant it as a good thing, and that she thinks I always smell good. This isn't odd for me anymore, and I have Bath & Body Works to thank. My sister and I discovered their Pecan Passion lotion, and can't get enough. (I think that I have about 5 bottles on hand, in case they discontinue it.)

When either one of us wears the lotion, people often stop, sniff the air, and say, "Do you smell [insert food item here]?" Top food items include:

Baked Goods
Cake
Cookies
Chocolate
Waffles
Rice Krispy Treats
Marshmallows
Cotton Candy
Caramel Apples

Those are actual things people have said! I believe that it's a psychological thing, and that they smell the food that they're craving. What yummy treat are you wanting?

the bookettes could learn a thing or two...

When I'm not graphic designing, I have a part time job at my local library. It's a fun, fast-paced job (don't be so surprised!), and I love that I get to meet many interesting people, and get a look at all kinds of fun things to check out.

Well, at my library, they have a group of employees participate in what they call, "The Bookettes." Another local library has a similar group called "The Cart Capades." Basically they walk in the local parades and do these little formations while pushing book carts. I'm proud to say that I've never participated in this.

But the folks who are known as the Bookettes could learn a thing or two about tricking out their book carts by checking out this link. Scary.

independence day...

Happy 4th of July! These are the cinnamon toasted almonds that I made for our neighbors. (And the reason that I just had to buy those Martha Stewart bags from Michael's.) These almonds are so tasty; I had a hard time keeping enough to fill the bags. Folks around here kept stealing them!



They were pretty easy to make, and taste like the expensive roasted nuts that you buy at the fair. The recipe is from Taste of Home magazine:

2 egg whites
6 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups unblanched almonds
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine the sugars, salt and cinnamon. Beat egg whites until frothy, then beat in the vanilla. Add the almonds and stir to coat, then add sugar mixture and stir to coat.

Spread into two greased pans and bake at 300 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until almonds are crisp (mine took a lot longer, more like 45 minutes), stirring once or twice along the way. Cool on a wire rack, stirring a little to keep them from sticking to each other.

Store in an airtight container, but you won't have to for long!

martha, martha, martha...

No, this isn't a post about how Jan Brady would sound with a lisp. Actually, that was my response when I finally made it in to Michael's to check out their new Martha Stewart line.

I love Martha. People give her a hard time, but she's the best. This episode of Ellen is a favorite, and I can't help feeling a bit like Ellen as I watch. You hope that Martha isn't as perfect as she seems, but deep inside, you want to be like her.



Anyway, back to Michael's: I'm not sure if I should have gone sooner, or if I shouldn't have gone at all, but every item I saw, I wanted. It was as if they made it all just for me! In the end, I settled on a patriotic ribbon garland, bandanna treat bags for neighbor gifts, and a pack of three journals with the sweetest patterns on the cover (as if I need more paper!), plus a copy of each free craft idea they had. Now I'm hooked and want more...and more...and more...