first place.

yep. james won the pumpkin carving contest.
which makes it even more sad that jack got smashed.
ah well. it's not like jack would have lasted forever anyway, right?

i just participated in my first ATC swap.
the girls at studio calico organized one, so i decided to give it a try. i made daily cards for my countdown to graduation [which i realize i've never posted. ack.] as a way to make use of my ATC spinner. i really liked making those little cards, so i thought it would be fun to join in on this swap. :]
i only signed up to swap with two people, but i decided to make four cards. afterall, four is my favorite number.
i was going to use the line in my blog header for the ATCs, but i decided to go with this line instead. i don't remember if i've mentioned it, but sharon from my old lab said it to me when i was sad about my dad one day right after he was hospitalized again. it's become something i find myself repeating over and over in my mind whenever i get sad about something. so when i got the news about my grandpa, i decided to use the line on my ATCs since it was on my mind so much. i think i might give one of the cards to sharon. she's one of those kinds of people who appreciate handmade gifts.

i've been hoarding that cloud paper from october afternoon. they gave me a little pack with four pieces of their new paper during CHA, and i've just been taking it out to look at it, then safely putting it back into the plastic sleeve. seriously. so silly. but i think most paper lovers tend to do that occasionally with the perfect paper, right? ha. anyway, i decided it was time to finally use some of it... and it think it was really the perfect paper. as the final touch, i decided to sew on each butterfly with the sewing machine, except that i just turned the knob on the side instead of using the pedal. it was a very slow process, but worked perfectly.

anyway, i'm pretty excited about my little cards. i would like to say that i can't wait to make more, but the problem is that i have to make more. like right away. and not just four this time. we are doing an ATC swap at the regional fiskateer crop coming up this saturday, so i have to make 100 ATCs. i have a plan in mind, but i'm not sure it's going to work on that scale. i think 100 calls for a simple design and the design i have in mind is not very simple. hopefully tonight i'll come up with a suitable revision of my plan.

otherwise, i've been making travel plans like crazy lately...
1. i'm finalizing plans for thanksgiving. getting pretty excited it. i'm still trying to convince james to come along, but i don't think he will. i might give it one last try though. :]
2. right after i get home or directly from denver, we are going to vegas to spend my dad's points at the bellagio. basically, you earn points for the amount of time you spend playing, then you get to purchase items with them in the "gift shop". they have iPods, exercise equipment, jewelry, and all kinds of random stuff. last year, i think my parents got an exercise bike and the year before they got a treadmill. almost makes up for the money lost. ha.
then my sister is coming here for some big work conference. she'll be pretty busy with that, but we get to spend a weekend with her. that doesn't count as travel for me, but i'm excited.
3. after that, mom and i are going to s.f. with her golf ladies group. they have all sorts of things planned for the quick trip. and i'm hoping that maybe i'll get a chance to catch up with andrew at some point.
4. shortly after that, it will be time to head off to denver for christmas. i'm excited that i'll get to be there for both thanksgiving and christmas this year.

well. i guess it's time to figure out something for dinner.
happy monday! :]