Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Store Closing List

Here is a link to snopes to clear up any hype regarding this list.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/busin...reclosings.asp

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Don't have source to verify the list below, but this was sent to me from a friend.
All these stores are closing or have some closing. Be careful where you buy your Gift Cards!!!
Subject: FW: Stores Closing Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2008, 7:37 PM
Thought I should pass this one around.

Wanted to give everyone a heads up that if you tend to give gift cards around the holidays , you need to be careful that the cards will not be honored after the holidays. Stores that are planning to close after Christmas are still selling the cards through the holidays even though the cards will be worthless January 1. There is no law preventing them from doing this. On the contrary , it is referred to as 'Bankruptcy Planning).

Below is a partial list of stores that you need to be cautious about.

Circuit City (filed Chapter 11)
Ann Taylor 117 stores nationwide closing
Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug , and Catherine's to close 150 stores nationwide
Eddie Bauer to close stores 27 stores and more after January
Cache will close all stores
Talbots closing down specialty stores
J. Jill closing all stores (owned by Talbots) Pacific Sunwear (also owned by Talbots)
GAP closing 85 stores
Footlocker closing 140 stores more to close after January
Wickes Furniture closing down
Levitz closing down remaining stores
Bombay closing remaining stores
Zales closing down 82 stores and 105 after January
Whitehall closing all stores
Piercing Pagoda closing all stores
Disney closing 98 stores and will close more after January.
Home Depot closing 15 stores 1 in NJ ( New Brunswick )
Macys to close 9 stores after January
Linens and Things closing all stores
Movie Galley Closing all stores
Pep Boys Closing 33 stores
Sprint/Nextel closing 133 stores
JC Penney closing a number of stores after January
Ethan Allen closing down 12 stores.
Wilson Leather closing down all stores
Sharper Image closing down all stores
K B Toys closing 356 stores
Loews to close down some stores
Dillard's to close some stores

Sunday, October 26, 2008

ELVIS IS ALIVE!!!!!!!!


While spending time with my grandaughter, Tori, this summer we went to Lapeer Days and guess who I saw!! Yes, Elvis!-------Dispelling all rumors---he is alive!!
Well............ at least this imitator is.
It brought back memories of when I was a teenager and the music was enough to stop me in my tracks and take a picture of "The King" which he will always be to us fans.
My grandaughter looked at me with a big smile and somewhat confused that I would get all excited over this singer--but she was a good sport and allowed me to listen awhile even though what she wanted was to get to the rides.
We had a great day and it is always fun to be with her no matter what we do-----but ,sorry Tori, this was the highlight of Grandma,s day!!!!!

Sunday, October 5, 2008


Sorry to have been away so long---I am multi-tasking my life right now--trying to balance
helping our kids and spending time with my dad--getting ready for the SCS Mini Mingle----finishing my scrapping projects and spend time with dh and work a 40 hour week and OH Yeah! try to get some sleep.

Today is my oldest gd's 14th birthday. I am going to call her on "her" cell phone and chat about "nothing" with her--except wish her a great day--usually her parents allow her to have a couple of friends over night to celebrate her birthday---and she is preoccupied with them. We will get together another weekend to give her a gift.
The picture above is me in ninth grade, I am on the left. It is freshman initiation--we had to wear our dad's shirt and pants, put all our hair up in little pig tails, wear no makeup at all and meet at school in our homerooms. Each freshman homeroom had to crawl single file on hands and knees to the gym where the rest of the students and teachers were seated on the bleachers. Nowadays, this might raise some eye brows and signal signal some kind of abuse--but in those days it was all in good natured fun!
This was one time when I was really grateful that I am the oldest sibling--the freshmen that had older brother or sisters attending the school were called down to the gym floor, seated on folding chairs with their brother or sister standing behind them. Then the elder sibling put make up on "their" freshman sibling.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

A List of 10 Metabolism-Boosting Foods

I found this article while surfing on the web--as we are going into Winter, keeping my weight off and possibly losing more is high on my mind.
My program? Definitely exercise, my commitment is 5 days a week--weekends off. I try to stick to WW points program as much as possible because this keeps me aware of what I eat and also reminds me to get the GOOD things I need to eat everyday in my diet.
I have provided a link so you can catch the entire article.

http://augustafreepress.com/2008/07/31/top-10-metabolism-boosting-foods/

Here then is a list of 10 Metabolism-Boosting Foods:
1. Some Like It Hot. Chilis, cayenne pepper, salsa — just add some picante to your meals and watch your metabolism climb, perhaps as much as 20 percent!
2. Berry Interesting. With their high fiber content, berries have the distinction of giving you less calories than you eat! Add to that their natural sugar content that nicely satisfies a sweet tooth, berries need to be on everyone’s shopping lists!
3. Fishing for Compliments. Once again, wild salmon makes the list with its abundant omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids not only increases your metabolism, but they increase energy levels, too, and makes your skin positively glow!
4. A High Celery. Celery is one veggie that uses more energy to digest and absorb it then the calories you get from eating it.
5. Pucker Up. By adding a tablespoon of lemon juice to a glass of water every morning, you’ll slow digestion down a bit, aiding to your body’s ability to metabolize and thus speeding everything up! No sugar, though … this is lemon-aid in its purest form!
6. Ice, Ice Baby. Regular water consumption is good for one’s metabolism by helping your body with digestion and detoxification and can help raise metabolism rate by 30 percent. Bring down the temperature a bit on your trusty bottle of water (40 degrees Fahrenheit), and you’ll burn even more, according to a report in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
7. Float Your Oats. Oatmeal’s slow release of glucose and fiber to fill you up makes this a metabolism favorite of those in the know for years! Even if your memories of childhood porridge are less than fond, try a bowl of steel cut oats (and blueberries for a double whammy!)
8. Cabbage Patch. Actually anything in the brassica family will do the trick. All of these cabbage patch kids — from broccoli, to cabbage to cauliflower and anything in between, improve the function of a gal’s (or guy’s) metabolism.
9. Soup’s On. A study at Baylord College of Medicine, found that people who ate a bowl of soup before meals lost more weight than those who didn’t. The soup is about three-fourths water, giving you the benefit of #6 and possibly #8, too. Make sure you’re eating veggie-filled, broth-based soups, though — cream soups will just add to your girth!
10. An Apple a Day. Or make that an apple per meal! Research from the State University of Rio de Janeiro discovered three small apples a day will satiate (from the pectin and natural fruit sugar) and help people eat less at each meal with the result being a boost in metabolism. Can’t beat that!
There you go … now go add this stuff to your grocery list and get your metabolism PUMPED!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Summer company

As you can see by the photo to the right my granddaughter brings out the child in me.
Each year starting the end of July or the beginning of August--I have one of 5 granddaughters spend the weekend with grandpa and me. The girls have a day out shopping, sightseeing, and going to one special event that they choose. The only rules are that it not be more than 1 hour away, that it not be overly extravagant and that it not be illegal ( this one just so they think grandma is a little crazy!) The next day, since we live next to the township park--it is out our backyard gate, and it has a lake with swimming--they get to go to the beach and swim in the lake and then we get cleaned up and take great grandpa out for dinner, help him do his shoppping and take him back home.
This year was a little different--we had the privilege of one of our granddaughters spending the summer weeks with us and then had commitments that took her home on the weekends. So most weekends we were dropping off Paisley and picking up another granddaughter. This was worked out so that Paisley got to spend one night with one of her cousins each week before we took her home. DH had to be involved in this plan--he was the one that picked up the girls and took them home---so actually each granddaughter spent 3 days with us--with the exception of Paisley.
I love doing it--and it is wonderful to see each girls personality as they develop. They range from 10 to 14. They have alot to teach me about new music, new styles, new celebs,
etc. And I hope they take something home with them that they will use as reference--even if it is just that we love them to pieces.

Another Trapeze Card


I am still working on my trapeze techniques. I know you have seen this pattern before--the difference with this is the trapeze is done in two different colors and with alternating points. I also made a small spirelli and put it in the center atop a paper flower. I used a sunburst punch for the spirelli and a smaller one for the corners to create contrast. A little stitching on the face paper to bring more of the green out on the paper. What do you think??

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Something for fun!!

http://www.memorymakersmagazine.com/blog/While+Youre+Waiting++Style+Quiz.aspx

Click on the link above to take a interesting style quiz----What's your style? I'm Classic Chic!!!

New Fall Trapeze Card


I made this for a local swap. The theme was a fall card that was more masculine than feminine.
You can use any firm card stock, I used Bazill for the background and a flocked paper for the darker green designs.
The thread I purchased at JoAnns. It is a multi-colored polyester thread--color is called Sunshine.
The stitch is what I call a looped chain stitch--I don't know what it really is called.
I used my maple leaf punch to add to the corners and the leaves in the center are stickers from Stickerpotomus.
The center on the inside is stitched with the chain stitch also.
The center trapeze stitching is one of the simpler patterns and was easy to follow.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

How old is your brain????? mine is 31

This is interesting !!! See if your brain is as old as your body ~ or ~ (perish the thought) ~ OLDER !! Procedure of Flash Fabrica Game: 1. Touch 'start' 2. Wait for 3, 2, 1. 3. Memorize the numbers' positions on the screen, then click the circle from the smallest number to the biggest number. 4. At the end of game, computer will tell you how old your brain. Good luck !! http://flashfabrica.com/f_learning/brain/brain.html

Sunday, July 27, 2008

nail polish technique options

In a follow up email on one of the groups I belong to, I found this addition to the nail polish technique---thought I would add this for some options.
---------------Mary


This technique is similar to using liquid oil paints to get a patterned surface on cardstock.I simply use luke warm water, drop a few drops of liquid oil paint onto the surface of the water, it can all be one color, or one color inside the other to get a different effect. Then simply lay your piece of cardstock on the surface for only a couple of seconds, pull straight up to remove and turn over immediately, let air dry. I have used this technique for years with children's craft classes.
Linda Lee

Finger Nail Polish Technique on ATC Cards

Here is the link to find out how to create a project using finger nail polish.
I have not tried this, but am anxious to try it out real soon.
If you try this technique before I publish my results, please add your comments to this blog.

http://purplefaeriepc.blogspot.com/2008/05/purple-faerie-atc-theme-swap-technique.html

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Newest technique


This is my latest creation--which I have done for a swap--the technique that I used is called Lace`
It involves a template that you cut around with a craft knife--I also added a little stitching with a sparkle thread and a 3-D tag with a wire bow .
Here is the link to find out how to do this--there are many more templates available than the one I used for this card.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

ATC LINKS

Wow!! There are lots of sites here for us to check out---my favorite so far is the
Typo Background Generator. You will find it listed under the freebie section--this is amazing---type in a word--any word and keep clicking and get a different background every time. Go to my links below and click on the ATC link.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Freebies just for signing up!!

There are some good places to get freebies:
If your interested in paper piecing there is a group called www.Paperpiecing.com sign up to get the newsletter and each publication there will be a freebie.
Also for digital freebies check out www.Scrapwow.com and again---sign up for the newsletter and enjoy.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

I'm Back!!

We had a great time with my sil's and bil--we went to Frankenmuth for a day, picnicked and shopped in Port Huron--watched the freighters go through the channel. (I love being by the water). We saw Hancock--great movie for those who like Will Smith--I think he did a fantastic job, as always. My only criticism is that it was a short movie. The run time is 1 hr. 35 min.--If you go see it-stay for the trailer.
We went to a local tourist site--Cantebury Village and toured the Christmas Store and Shops and had a great lunch at the Castle Grille.
For the 4th of July we had a mini family reunion--about 30 people--my dh's brother and wife live close by, but their sisters live in N. C. so every one wanted to get together and we have so many July birthdays in the family that we decided to do it all on the fourth.
My company has left to return to N.C. and maybe we will go visit them next summer. I really like N.C.
I have been resting today and have a few things to accomplish but they will wait until tomorrow.
Thanks to all who have been checking in--I appreciate your comments.
Mary.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Taking time off!

I will be having company for a week--so will not be available to post for awhile---Everyone have a great 4th of July and I will post again later.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Dad's 90th Birthday party.

Well we managed through my dad's 90th birthday party! Not that it was all that hard or time consuming--we had a great turnout.
It took him awhile to realize that it was his birthday party---partially because his birthday isn't for a couple of weeks yet and because of his dimentia.
However once he did realize it, he had a great time, but was embarrassed that it took him so long to figure things out.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Slide Show

I love sunsets and sunrises---I hope you enjoy the slideshow.
Below is a Spirelli card that I learned to make, I am into trapeze cards, spirelli, and embroidery on my cards right now. Will add more pics at a later date.
Mary