Blog Tiffany

Now wind!

We are holding on tight, but I've never seen wind like this before!  It sounds like a freight train running through the yard.  It snowed some more, but then the temperatures rose and the wind kicked in.  The power blew out this evening, and Taylor and I sat and played Scrabble by candle light.  The generators in town kicked on about an hour later, so most of us have power.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that it stays on all night.

Will keep you posted!

~Snow~!!

We have snow! OK, we have had snow, but we are expecting lots more this weekend.  Just like last year, we got our first snow on Halloween.  It's always fun to Trick or Treat in the snow.

Here are some pictures off of my deck this afternoon.

And this is down the street.  My house is the one on the left with the light on.

After I dropped the kids off at school I came back home, and as I was walking back into the house and I noticed how quiet it was outside.  Not just quiet...I mean lacking any sound at all.  It was almost erie, but very cool.  Then watching the snowflakes falling gently from the sky, it just gives me a chill.  I'm very thankful for this little bit of paradise that I live in.

I will take pictures on Sunday to see how much snow we actually got.  They say 9 inches....not sure that will happen.

So, to keep with my snow theme...

Let's check out some great projects that I have come across this week.

This one...

O

M

G

A gorgeous card by Jean Martin. 

Love the colors!

And here is another one by Jean.

Beautiful!

I love all the patterns on this layout from Cindy Tobey.

And of course, love the pink in this one from EKSuccess.

This sweet layout is from Scrap a Little.

OK, that's enough snow for today.

Have a great weekend!

Some Pendants

I ordered some more glass tiles, this time in a few different shapes.  I got the 1 inch squares, the teardrops, and some heart shapes.  I think they will make great stocking stuffers at the next few craft bazaars that we have. 

Here are a few that I just started.  Please forgive the photos, it is quite dark here!

Love the Chandelier.

This one is a gift to a very special girl in our lives.

And the fun little Bird House.  I have about 60 that I am making, in between all my other little projects.

Another thing I am working on, are these tiny little Christmas ornaments.

They are made out of paint stir sticks.  Cool huh?  Wish I could take credit, but no, I saw it on another Blog, Today's Fabulous Finds.  Go check it out, she has great printables, and easy step by step by directions.

I can't wait to put up my tree and add my new decorations.  Boy, I thought I would never say that.

Me.

Not.a.big.fan.of.Christmas.

But, hey, things change.

She made hers with wire, but I live in the middle of nowhere, with limited supples, so twine it is!

And I have to share this with you.

I love green onions.  I am always sending the kids to the store for green onions, and half the time they are out.  So I wanted to grow my own.

Easy Peasy Mac and Cheesey!

So, the next time you use a bunch of green onions, instead of throwing out the ends, stick them in a glass of water.  And wait.

But, You don't have to wait too long.

See the little sprouts on the top?  That was 12 hours later.

And this is another jar I had after 3 days!  I know, right?

When you want some onions, just trim a little off the top.  I started this about 2 weeks ago, and have already used them about 3 or 4 times.  My hope is to find the perfect long, narrow container that will fit in my window sill.  When you don't have much light during the winter, and your access to anything fresh is almost non-existant, a few little onions can make a difference.

My kids think I'm nuts, but hey, whatever.

And one last item.

I had a surprise party for Shad last week.  It was a celebration of his new position as Police Chief.  I Facebooked our family and some of our closest friends, and asked them to bring a potluck dish to share, and to show up at our local Multi Purpose Room at 5:30.  I was floored by the amount of people that showed up.  Nearly every person I invited as well as a few more, showed up.  I called Shad and acted all frantic and said he need to come to the MPR right away.  I can see our house from the MPR, and I watched as he quickly jumped in his Police vehicle to head over.  When he walked into the room, everyone yelled "surprise!"  He was totally speachless.  I mean

SPEACH

LESS.

We had some great food, good conversations, and he got to see how much support he has from the community.

Our old Police Chief, Andy, got up and said a few words.  He presented him with a plaque that was given to him by one of Alaska's biggest Troopers.

He said some great things about him, and Shad got totally choked up.  It was sweet.  Everyone got to see the more sensitive side of him.

Shad really isn't that short, Andy is really tall.

OK, he's kinda short...

I will be back...Tomorrow!

Promise!

Halloween and such....

We had a blast at the Halloween Carnival!  My neice came over and did my make up, and we were running SHORT on time, so it was kind of a quickie job, but she did a great job.  Thanks Nichole!

Poor Shad, I did his makeup in about a minute and a half.  I am SO not a make up artist!

Here is a close up from the end of the night.  I thought it would be smeared everywhere, but not too bad.

We had a great carnival.  The Sophomore Class (all 4 of them) ran the Pie throwing booth, or in this case, Cupcake liner throwing.  They made more money than the other classes, and who was one of the favorites of the night....

Yep, Chief Haller!  Way to help out the girls honey.

I have been making cards again....

made 30 in one night

in between laundry

dinner

and cleaning the house.

Here are a few.

The scrapbooks don't really sell up here, but the cards sell like hotcakes, so I keep making them.

I got my tickets for CHA in January.  I will be staying down there for about 11 days,

and....

Teaching a class!

Yeah me!

I will be teaching in Santa Maria, CA on Saturday February 4th.  Here is a peek at the project.

Everything is from Canvas Corp.  Love it!

I have been working on some glass pendants and some Christmas ornaments, I will share those with you tomorrow.

I.Promise.

Good night!

Our new ~Life~

I'm sorry it's been so long since my last post, but things have been a bit hectic around here as of late.

I have huge, life altering news.

No, I'm not pregnant.

Shame on you for thinking such a thing!

Although, I did ask Shad for a baby a few nights ago, and he said I could have an owl.  WTH?? An owl?

That was his way of saying I could have anything, BUT A BABY!

Anyway,

the news.

My sweet husband was just name the Chief of Police of Seldovia.

The city has been without an officer since our Chief retired back in May, so he is stepping into a much needed position.

Things will be different for the family, but a "good" different, I think.

The kids and I had a great time up in Anchorage at the Student Government Conference. 

They learned a lot about Parlimentry Procedures and writing Resolutions.  Chance was quite inspired, and he would like to run for one of the AASG Executive board positions next year.  He is also applying to Alaska Close Up.  He will go to Juneau in February to work with Alaska State Legislators for a week.  He's very excited.  I get to go too, so that will be fun.

This is the kids sitting up on the bleachers, cheering for our Region.

And this is Chance and Taylor introducing our school at the opening ceremonies.

And here are my two sweet teenagers.

We had lots of fun, and are hoping to go to the Spring Conference in Kodiak.

Oh, and my helmet finally showed up.

I was told to put a Breast Cancer ribbon on it.  I found this blinged out one in Anchorage, and knew it was perfect!  I love it.

We have the Halloween Carnival on Saturday night, so there is a lot of preperation going on.  Taylor and I are flying over to Homer tomorow to get some last minute door prizes and groceries.  Girls day!

I will be back soon, I promise.

A little Halloween Inspiration

Well, the leaves are on the ground, and we will have snow here within a few weeks.  Each day you can see it come a little farther down the mountains that surround us.  We always have snow by Halloween.  It's kinda wierd, but that's life here in Alaska.

This year the theme for our Halloween Carnival is "Unhappily Ever After."  So, Shad and I are going as a Day of the Dead Bride & Groom.  I am bidding on a 40's vintage wedding dress on E-bay.  I'm going to die it black, and paint some skull bones on it, sort of inspired by this.

 
And the make-up, something like this, but maybe in Reds.

 

Can't wait!  And Shad is all onboard for the Groom.

And now for some fun crafts!

Love this gorgeous Witches Shoe by My Craft Spot.

And this would be cute for a kids party, or a classroom treat, from Parents Magazine.

Some creepy cupcakes from Lilly Vanilli.

A fun porch decoration.

And here are a few of my favorite costume ideas.

I couldn't get Shad to go for this one.  I think we would have been super cute Minions!

Shad is gone to Valdez doing some Marine Fire Fighter Training this week.  I don't like being home alone.  Something always goes wrong.  Stuff hit the fan early today, so I'm hoping the next few days will be a cake walk. (fingers crossed!)

Have a good week.

Card makin' Fool!

I spent last Sunday crafting all day, never getting out of my jammies.  I really needed to do that, a little "me" time.  I made some cards.  I made 45 cards!  I guess I was on quite a roll.  I made lots of Halloween cards, then decided to use some of the leftover ATC cards from a past life of mine.  Here are a few...

 

Sorry for the bad photography, didn't realize how blurry some of them were.  My friend gave me two card racks today, one table top and one floor.  I spent the afternoon stalking them with all my cards.  The girls enjoyed twirling them, looking at them all, much better than a box! 

~Chance and Taylor won their Student Council elections, and so did Tays best friend, Kaitlyn.  We are off to Anchorage on Oct. 12th for a fun government conference.

And we have a new family member (like our house isn't full enough).

Meet Ninja.

I know, cute, right?

He's quite the handful, but already a part of the family.

 

 

A walk on the Otterbahn

We had a gorgeous day here recently so I decided I must get out of the house.  I asked Shad and the kids if they wanted to go on a walk, but they all said NO.  So I grabbed my bestest buddy, Ridley, and headed to the Otterbahn trail.  I had never taken the trail before, so I didn't know what was in store for me.  On my way I came across these gorgeous mushrooms.

When I got home I put one on Facebook to see if they were edible.  Ummmm, NO THEY ARE NOT!  They are hallucinogens...like shrooms.

Anyway, on with the walk!  There is a road to the outside beach.  It's about a mile, and it's very flat.  The Otterbahn trail takes you the back way to the beach, through the hills.

And we made it to the beach!

That's as far into the water that my water dog will go.

Some bulb kelp.

I never leave the each until I find some sea glass.

Yep, I found one tiny piece before our walk back home.

On our way home, we took a little detour.  I stopped by this house up on a bluff that I really love.  It has an amazing view.

Right?? 

We still haven't found the perfect house for us.  Everything is too small for all of us.  Some day.

Hope you enjoyed the walk on the Otterbahn!

 

Yes, I'm still alive and well

I know, I know, where the heck have I been??

Livin' my life, I guess.  I have been putting in a lot of hours at the Fire Hall, and not having much energy left to blog when I get home.  We had an Open House two weeks ago, and it was a huge success. And last Monday was my last day at the Harbor, so things are starting to slow down.  Aside from Being the Yearbook advisor again this year, I am taking on Student Government also.  And who's two High Schoolers are running, yeah, Mine!  Taylor is running for Student Body President, and Chance is running for VP.  We will definitely have lots of fun this year.  I will be taking them to Anchorage in October for the Alaska Association of Student Government Conference.  700 kids in one place...yeah me!  They are excited.

I got my craft on this past weekend, and I took some pictures!

I promise I will be back soon!

And this one is for Mrs. Killough...

One of his campaign slogans was

"free drinks on me!" And they were posted above all the water fountains.

His other slogan:

Vote for me, "I know where you live!"

(cuz he does!)

Day 30

Self Portrait

The fire Queen!  LOL

My Pink helmet has not arrived yet :(

Day 29

Black & White

Seldovia Harbor at High Tide

Day 28

Flowers

Day 27

From a Distance

The Seldovia Slough at High Tide.

Day 26

Close up

My fiery Niece, Gavin.

Day 25

Something Pink

Yep, that's a Pink Rockstar! 

My friend got it for me, and it tasted NASTY!

Day 24

Animal

My sweet girl Ridley.

Day 23

Sunflair

I love seeing the sun peak around those big fluffy clouds.

Day 22

Hands

Silly Cousins...

Day 21

Faceless Portrait

I was trying to take a picture of myself in the mirror with the camera in front of my face, but the flash kept ruining it, so I snapped this one and it made me laugh!

Have a great weekend!

Day 20

Bokeh

A little definition:

• In photography, bokeh is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image, or "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light. ...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh

 

• Pronounced 'bo-key', this terms refers the quality or smoothness of the 'blur' of areas not in focus.

www.maxhectorphotography.com/photo-101/glossary

 

• Bokeh describes the rendition of out-of-focus points of light. Differing amounts of spherical aberration alter how lenses render out-of-focus points of light, and thus their bokeh. The word "bokeh" comes from the Japanese word "boke" (pronounced bo-keh) which literally means fuzziness or dizziness.

www.peterashbyhayter.co.uk/glossary.html

(derived from Japanese word "boke", meaning 'blur') - In photography, refers to the creative use of lens blur as a composition technique. The aim of bokeh is to deliberately blur the background or foreground (or both) in order to draw the viewer's attention to a particular area of the photo

OK, so my perfect Bokeh photo would be at Christmas time, focusing on a beautiful ornament on the tree, with the lights in the background, slightly blurred.  But it's not Christmas, so I used the outdoors.

 
Alaskan Fireweed.

Happy Birthday Taylor!

 

My Baby Girl turns 16 today!

We love you so much, and are so proud of the beautiful young lady you have become!

Day 19

Something Orange

Buttons from an old Layout.  The only othr orange thing I could think of was a life ring on one of the boats in the harbor, but that would have required me putting my pants back on and leaving the house!  LOL

Day 18

Your Shoes

These are my second favorite pair of shoes. 

They just make me smile when I wear them!

Day 17

Technology

How did we survive without cell phones?

Day 16

Long Exposure

OK, so I didn't get to do this one.  Why?

1. It's doesn't get dark here til midnight, and that's way past my bedtime, and

2. I don't know how to use my camera well enough.

But here are a few different pictures to inspire those that are playing along.

This was the kind of photo that I was going to try to do.

Here are some more photos to look at.

But here is a photo, even though it's off topic.

That's my boy, Chance, at fire training last week.  He makes me so proud

Day 15

Silhouette

I took a bunch of shots, but this was the best one.  I haven't quite figured out the lighting .

Day 14

Eyes

My silly Logan

Day 13

Yourself with 13 things

It was either this or glue bottles!  LOL

Day 12

A Sunset

Day 11

Something Blue