Crafter's Smackdown

For the past several weeks, my girls and I have been secretly gearing up for the annual Crafter's Smackdown challenge held at the local Jewish Temple. We are not jewish but we are crafty and we were assured that craftiness was the only prerequesite. Although, after getting a look at some of the other teams, I'm not sure even THAT was required.



We spent weeks thinking of our team name and creating our crafty costumes. We called ourselves...The Glitteratti. It wasn't long though, before we were being referred to as "barbies." Do I detect a little resentment? I don't know why everyone was hating on us, we were out in the first round of competition. But we could talk some serious smack. In fact, once eliminated in round one, we let the smacktalk fly mercilessly...especially at the judges...



Yes, you heard me. We were eliminated in the FIRST ROUND. We missed by one point. Apparently our bribes weren't sufficient. The other teams had cash sticking out of their crafts for the judges. We stayed around and helped out another team, the God Squad. They ended up getting 2nd place.


One of the judges was Anchorage School District Superintendent, Carol Comeau. When we were trying to suck up to her you could hear us yell, "We love public school!" repeatedly. But when she shut us down, the truth came out. Excluding myself, all the other members of Team Glitteratti are in fact products of Anchorage Christian School, the school that my husband currently teaches at. Which is why I get to be included.

It was the most fun and the most I have laughed in a REALLY long time. Even being losers wasn't enough to get us down. We are excited for next year already.

Happy Love Day!

We normally don't celebrate Valentine's Day. Instead, we choose to love each other every day.

Yeah.



So I decided that I was going to be awesome and make a lovely Valentine's Day breakfast for my family, complete with heart shaped chocolate chip pancakes and pink strawberry milk. My pancakes did not turn out heart shaped and I completely forgot the strawberry milk until everyone was pretty much done eating.





The kids then spent the afternoon with Grandma doing their usual mysterious Saturday fun stuff. Darrin spent the afternoon at the shooting range with his basketball boys and I spent the day scrapbooking down at the LSS (local scrapbook store) with my girl, Tracy.

I came home to flowers, two homemade pizzas and a clean kitchen. Darrin said he spent three hours making these. He did good.

Bloggedy Blog Blog

I know, I know. I already got the lecture and I'm sorry. I just haven't felt very bloggedy lately. Maybe it's the never ending winter. Or maybe my kids got boring. Either way, I just haven't had much to report. Guess what. I still don't. So here's a picture to keep you happy until something neat happens, like a volcano erupting. Then I'll take a picture of ash. Which will probably look a lot like a picture of snow.


(Notice Jordan's straws placed safely nearby?)

Rory Update

Okay, I mentioned in a previous post how the boys were sleeping in the RV last night because it finally warmed up enough for "man time". Well, hubby showed up this morning with a huge bundle of sleeping bag/blanket/child and tucked him into bed with me because it had cooled down a bit outside. To negative 1. While we do have heat in the RV, it really is not match for a serious temperature dip.

I hear the cookies were yummy though. Neither of them made it through the movie.

Viva La Mexico!

It's official!

To celebrate our 10 year anniversary, Darrin and I are spending a week in Cabo with our friends, Reuben and Heather. We've been going back and forth for MONTHS about whether or not we were going on this trip but we finally bit the bullet, committed to going and started planning. Originally we were going to Cancun but some wonderful things fell into place for us and we managed to get a slammin' deal on a week in Cabo courtesy of our friends, the Hoffmans.


See our pretty resort?

So we are going in April!

It's a complicated process getting all our travel arrangements figured out. We have to fly through Seattle so we can drop the rugrats off to my parents and then pick them up on the way back through. I opted to stay a couple of weeks in Seattle on the way back because I won't get to spend this summer there. So, while Darrin has to fly back home to work (poo) the kids and I are staying for a bit and both my brothers who live on the east coast are flying in for a bit as well. This will be the first time that all my brothers and their families and I will have been together since my wedding ten years ago. The only one missing will be Darrin. Sad.

Rorying it UP!

Rory is our RV. We named him Rory because the man who sold us the RV was named Rory. We enjoyed the name and so it stuck.

Darrin and Jake have been planning to spend Friday night in Rory for a while now. It's only been about 1 degree all week long so we were afraid we were going to have to postpone the adventure. But today dawned a nice crisp 20 degrees!

So the boys are Rorying it up tonight. They are out there right now watching Star Wars on the laptop, baking cookies and drinking Yahoos.


All ready to go with his pillow, sleeping bag and Star Wars movie.


Heading out for a fun filled night of man stuff.

Making Crafts.

Another boring day stuck at home with no car. Today the kids made their annual handprint on canvas art and then made some crafty valentines.




Also, our hot water tank is leaking out the top. Weird.

Peekaboo Picks Article

My lastest "She's Crafty" article is up and running on Peekaboo Picks. Megan has changed the format over to monthly columns instead of weekly (phew!) so the article is longer than usual and is filled with a variety of projects instead of just one or two. I did a lot of work for this one and now I'm totally set for Valentine's Day. Hurray for having a reason to STOP procrastinating! The site is in the process of being completely revamped so expect big changes soon!

She's Crafty

Freedom Of Choice Act = BAD

Obama promises us, “The first thing I’d do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing I’d do.” Under this plan, as outlined in the Freedom of Choice Act, it will:

(1) Lift the ban on partial birth abortions
(2) Not require information about the abortion procedure including risks and long-term effects to be given
(3) Procedures allowed to be preformed by non physicians
(4) Allow abortions without parental consent
(5) Take away a physicians right to chose not to perform an abortion
(6) Increase funding and support of organizations like Planned Parenthood that will bring certain death to 125,000 American babies in addition to the current rate of 1.2 million per year

Take Action: http://www.fightfoca.com

25 Random Rachelle Facts

This is something I was compelled to do on Facebook and I've decided to post it here for your own personal enjoyment. Without further ado...

1. I'm incredibly non-confrontational. Don't yell at me. I'll just cry and then you'll feel bad.
2. I would rather give clothes to Goodwill than iron them.
3. My eclectic playlist includes the likes of Celine Dion, Nirvana and Weird Al.
4. I really dislike pregnancy. I don't like anything about it. It's not beautiful, y'all are kidding yourselves.
5. I used to want 5 kids. And then (see #4) I decided to stop at 2. And then OOPS! I decided to stop at 3.
6. I'm obsessed. It doesn't last long but it's always something. As soon as I get over one obsession, another takes it's place. I'm currently obsessed with Twilight. Don't judge me.
7. I voted for McCain but I'm not bitter. What's shocking is all the people who expect me to be bitter and who are actually annoyed that I'm not. Sorry I took away your ability to gloat, I guess.
8. I got a pony for Christmas when I was 5. It doesn't just happen in stories. Looking back I can kind of see why my older brother thought I was spoiled.
9. My great, great grandfather was killed when he was crushed between two train cars while trying to couple them.
10. I agreed to move to Alaska for one year just to say that I'd done it. I'm not sure where the past 8 years have gone.
11. I love writing. I have started writing three books that I will never finish.
12. I wish I could get amnesia and forget several of my teenage years.
13. My family is very musical but I'm not. My dad plays bass guitar, my younger brother plays drums (gives me goose bumps, he's so good) and my youngest brother plays the guitar. I took singing lessons for a while. Some things there just isn't any help for.
14. I LOVE to read but I'm not a huge fan of reading to my kids. Remember what I said about not judging me.
15. I got a job at Microsoft right out of high school and when I moved to Alaska and got a new job, boy was I in for a shock. Turns out, Microsoft? Not the real world.
16. I'm trying to force myself to like sushi but it's really not working.
17. I have crashed in every form of transportation imaginable except an airplane. I've even been in a train wreck and a boat accident. My fear of flying is not entirely irrational. It's only a matter of time.
18. I am the only girl in the midst of four brothers. I believe the things I learned in that situation prepared me to be a very understanding and easy going wife.
19. I'm a bit paranoid. I always think that someone is watching me. That and that alone is what keeps me from picking my nose or singing in the shower.
20. I have had six moles removed in the past 18 months and I'm not allowed to go tanning. I think skin cancer would pretty much suck.
21. I like to make lists. I can't even explain the thrill I'm getting from making this one.
22. My oldest son is named after a fictional bird which happens to be a certain college mascot.
23. I am four and a half months away from celebrating ten years of marriage.
24. I never finish anything.
25.

Girl's Night Out

It's been a while since Tracy and I have hit the LSS (local scrapbook store) for a night of scrapbooking and general hilarity. We spent the evening chatting with the gals about the finer points of Twilight, disecting every aspect of book and movie to an absolutely rediculous extent.



We both managed to finish our CKU in a box albums that we purchased during the Seattle convention this past November. Good times were had by all and I didn't even buy anything (first time ever!) except when we drove across the lot to Walmart.

How To Make A Shirt

Most of you are aware that Darrin and I have our own little shirt "business" wherein we make shirts.

I am currently in the process of completing an order of shirts that is required by Saturday morning and since we just received our stock yesterday, I have very little time to complete 224 shirts.

This is how it's done:

Step 1 - Purchase a large quantity of shirts. In this case we needed to provide for 19 basketball teams in 4 different age groups, hence the multi-colored rainbow of products.



Step 2 - Preheat your handy dandy heat press (@ 375 degrees) and gather your ink design transfers that you painstakingly designed and had printed.



Step 3 - Lay out garment on heat press and center it squarely. You don't want a crooked design.



Step 4 - Pre press the shirt for about 3 seconds to remove wrinkles and preheat the shirt.



Step 5 - Place ink transfer design on shirt. Make sure design is centered and NOT UPSIDE DOWN. I lose more shirts that way. Also, make sure that all parts of the design are on the press and not hanging off the side. I also lose more shirts THAT way.



Step 6 - Close heat press and clamp down for 10 to 15 seconds.



Step 7 - Remove cover paper immediately (don't let it cool while you are trying to take a picture or else it is incredibly hard to remove).



Step 8 - VIOLA! A perfect specimen. Now repeat 224 times, then flip the shirts over and starting adding team numbers...224 times.


Ten hours later and we still aren't finished. In fact, one whole box of shirts has yet to arrive. Oh my aching back.

Cuddlebugs

In the midst of the constant screaming, fighting, crying and tattling, can be found moments so serene and peaceful, one can't help but stop and take note. And take pictures.



Literally 30 seconds after I snapped this picture, Jordan snatched the blanket off of the boys, Josh flopped over in a furious tantrum and kicked her in the head and Jake started hollering at her while trying to steal the blanket from her white knuckled grasp on it. I sighed and went downstairs.

Lost

I am giddy with excitement. I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds. The anticipation is building to an unbearable level. No, I'm not talking about Obama. Excitement and anticipation are not at the top of my emotional list in that regard.

I'm talking about the season premier of Lost. WAHOO! Only 24 more hours to wait!

For Grandma & Peepaw

"Mommy! Take a picture of me playing my Star Wars. I bet Grandma and Peepaw would like to see me."

Sprucing Up the Joint

Trying something new with my blog. I think it's beautimous but I want to know if it takes a long time to load or if you can't read anything. I'd appreciate your feedback.

Gearing Up!

Okay, I'm not sure how much longer I can put this potty training off. I am so dreading doing this for the third time. I'm rapidly running out of excuses though. Yesterday Doobs and I went to Target together to purchase an item for organizational purposes. Out of nowhere I was inspired to let him pick out some under-roos. He picked Diego, then Elmo, then Cars and then back to Diego. So we bought two, Cars and Diego. He carried them all over Target. When we got home he put them neatly away in his room. Where they will sit, unopened until I finally decide to do this.

What's With the Weather?

We've had some crazy weather patterns over the last couple days. I wrote up a brief synopsis in my journal, you can read it here. Here are the pictures of my yard after our mini-hurricane last night. IT WAS LOUD.


This is my back yard.



Front yard.


Dead snowman welcome sign (and other assorted dead things).



Slippery streets and blown over road sign.



THERE they are! I wondered what happened to them. Where's the third one though?

Jordan Collects Straws

I'm sure I've beaten this point to death but I just wanted to mention one more time how much my daughter loves straws. She collects them. She has a huge bucket full in her room - all used! Every time we go to a restaurant, she gathers everyone's straws before we leave and carts them home. She carries them everywhere. She cries when she can't take them to church.



Tonight, in the midst of our homemade burritos with Taco Bell sauce, we stumbled across this packet. It just could not go unblogged.

Pics from the Third Day Concert!

Okay, even though I was lame and forgot my camera, my girl Lucy did not let me down. So I'm pirating some pictures from her blog for your enjoyment!

The Powers and the Matthews waiting for the show.



Lead singer, Mac Powell. I might have a bit of a celebrity crush on him. It's always there in the background of my life but flairs up a bit whenever I see him in concert.



The band, rockin'.



Real fans buy the tshirt.

Mega Monday Mommy's Midnight Movie Madness

Every single Monday night for the past several Monday nights, my girl Tracy and I tuck our kids and husbands into bed and head out for a late night movie. Our local theater has $1 candy on Mondays so there are so many reasons why this was the best idea we ever had.

Last night our group exploded into seven mommies! We went to see Bride Wars. Cute flick but it's less about the movie on Monday nights and more about getting out of the house with the gals and not feeling guilty about leaving the hubby home with the kids because everyone is already in bed. It's a win/win/win situation for everybody.


Lucy and I in our matching Third Day tshirts. Nope, I never take it off.



This is the crew all lined up for some movie madness.

365 Photo Project

Yesterday marked the final day of my Picture A Day Photo Project. Although I failed miserably this past month, I did manage to take 282 self portraits throughout the year. It was a fun project most of the time, a tedious project part of the time and a forgotten project there towards the end. Thanks for going on the trip with me.

Here's my final pic. I'm wearing my new Third Day shirt. I bought it at the concert. Great concert by the way - see previous post. Go see their show!

Third Day Concert

Last night Darrin and I went to the Third Day concert. I didn't even know they were coming to town until a few days ago. Darrin knew but didn't realize I would want to go(WHAT??) so after I berated him, he went and rummaged up some tickets from work (YIPPEE!)

The concert was amazing. Our seats were amazing. The performances were amazing. The song choices were amazing. They even did a request time (never heard of that in a rock concert before) and that was amazing too. It was funny because sometimes they couldn't remember the words to an old song or they couldn't remember what key to start in.

For the encore they ended with Angus Dei and had the audience finish the song. And before we were done singing the band walked off the stage and we kept singing. So the whole show ended as a worship service and I love how the band made it so not about them but about the Lord at that moment.

Did I mention it was AMAZING??? And guess who forgot their camera?

ALSO, they just announced their spring tour so I'm including a couple of dates for my friends throughout the country so that you'll go see them.

Fairfax, VA at the Patriot Center on April 2nd
Tulsa, OK at Mabee Center on April 14th
Macon, GA at Ingleside Baptist Church on April 17
Redmond, WA at Overlake Christian Church on May 7
Tualitin, OR at Rolling Hills Community Church on May 8

GO GET TICKETS!

BRRRRR!

Enough said.

Thanks Aunt Raychel and Uncle Rusty!

We received a big package in the mail a couple of days ago...


Doobie LOVES his new Wiggles car...


Star Wars and a Transformer all in one. Could there be a better toy?


Sorry Aunt Raychel. This was the response to the princess dress. But if you and I keep trying, maybe someday...


The next day was a little better. At least she tried it on for Grandma. With a smile even!

The day that Daddy felt bad.

Joshy touched the shirt press.

This is the lovely 2nd degree burn blister he got as a result. We didn't realize how bad it was because this didn't show up until the following day. I popped it with some finger nail clippers and it shot across the room. Pretty impressive. I think Darrin thought that popping it would hurt so he couldn't watch. Joshy giggled when he got squirted in the face. Then he got to wear a Dora the Exlorer bandaid so all in all I'd say it was a pretty positive experience.