I've been such a bad blogger lately...

I've just been so busy with work and life that I haven't taken the time to share... but I promise I'll remedy that ASAP! ;)

HUGS!
Dana

It's hard to find the words...

...to express sorrow when something happens that's just not fair.

My dear friend's husband passed away from Colon Cancer early this morning. He was 46.

He lived 21 months after he was diagnosed. Those days were very full and fun-filled times with family and friends. He only quit working 2 weeks ago. He was an amazing man and we were blessed to have him as a friend. He will be missed.

It was a beautiful day today. The sky was blue and the clouds were puffy white. Flocks of geese could be heard overhead as they flew South on their journey to warmer winter havens. All the normal things happened... people worked, kids played, lawns got mowed... but now the world has one less really good guy in it. I felt the change and I am profoundly saddened by it.

Cherish each day and live fully without regret. We only get one chance at this life... make it an amazing one.

Hugs,
Dana

Remembering...

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -- Edmund Burke

Facebook, Check it Out, Fiasco...

This just makes me so angry. As a coupon user, I feel very much violated by this viral marketing campaign gone bad. I'm sure their damage control dept is working overtime with this one and it should be. I wish a major news source would pick this up and go viral on them for creating such a mess. They should apologize and quit placing blame on anyone but themselves.

You can read about it here, here or a great report here. If you're a couponer it's worth the read.

I'm just lucky we went to the cabin for a 4 day weekend and I didn't have access to the internet otherwise I may have printed them and used them.

I'm normally pretty passive about most things, but this just burned me up. Vyrl Mkt, the company who set up the Facebook application called Check it Out, has this info on their website.

"Social networks – Facebook, MySpace, Ning, LinkedIn and more –
are the new playing field where consumers are won and lost.
Dramatically increase your conversion rate
by matching offers with interested consumers
via our patented vyrlmatch system."

and this...

Great news! We've begun the initial rollout of Check It Out,
our new Facebook application!
If you're signed up on Facebook,
check it out
save money and tell us what you think!

Well... here's what I think! (My email to Vryl Mkt)

Mr. Wayman and Ms. Leonetti,

It is with great disappointment that I feel the need to respond to your recent release of coupons on Facebook's Check it Out application. While I did not find out about these coupons until late Monday (August 18^th) and therefore did not print any, I am still embarrassed and angered by your handling of the situation.

Trying to capitalize on how fast marketing spreads through social networks is a great idea if you had done a little research first. Anyone with even limited knowledge about internet coupons would have been able to warn you about unlimited printing and PDF’s. You should have known coupons with the high values you offered would be redeemed in great quantity. If you had wanted to limit the print of them you could have used a system with security measures similar to Coupons.com or SmartSource.com that only allows 2 prints of each coupon. They seem to have little trouble with people taking advantage of them. High dollar coupons on great products limited with Bricks printing technology would have created a great deal of positive excitement.

I am appalled at VyrlMkt’s attempt to point fingers and place the blame on the consumer, the legitimate users of these coupons, by labeling them as "hackers" or "scammers". This statement came after representatives from the company had claimed many times that these were indeed legitimate coupons and would be honored. It's not as if people didn't question their validity outright and come to you requesting proof of authenticity time and time again.

Many people, including myself, use coupons regularly to save money. We pride ourselves in getting good deals and FOLLOWING THE RULES. Most couponers take the rules very seriously and find coupon fraud to be reprehensible.

Your actions have punished legitimate couponers and grouped everyone under an umbrella of suspicion. I'm sure many couponers redeemed your coupons at their favorite stores in good faith and are now left feeling like criminals because you decided to rescind the offer and call them invalid. Many people are now embarrassed to show their faces in the stores they frequent for fear of being labeled negatively or worse yet, potentially face charges of coupon fraud.

I sincerely hope you do the right thing and reimburse the stores that honored your coupons. Your marketing mistakes should not be their financial problem. In case you don’t know it, many stores do not send in their coupons for reimbursement right away. They often hold them and send them in batches. I don’t know how one could tell when the coupon was accepted when determining reimbursement.

You have tarnished reputations, created quite a fiasco and potentially created more hurdles for using LEGITIMATE Internet Printed Coupons. In my opinion, YOU have scammed couponers, retailers and manufacturers by implementing your poorly conceived viral marketing campaign. Shame on you!

Sincerely,

Me

Minimize, Simplify, Live with less... and organize, too!

No really... I'm turning over a new leaf... for real!

I've been on this path for a while now and I'm really getting somewhere. I'm cleaning out all my "stuff" and parting ways with lots of it. I like seeing less clutter. It just feels good.

It sure isn't easy, though. I hate thinking about how much I may have paid for an item that I really didn't need in the first place. It makes me feel just awful for being so frivolous with my money. Most all of my "stuff" is not expensive item by item, but it does add up. I'm hoping to take this experience to heart and really put into place some new and better spending habits.

I have a shelf of purses in my closet that I never use anymore. They gather dust. So they are going. I have clothes that I don't wear because they don't fit (I hate this!) and because they are just not really in style anymore. I'm going to let go of them. It would be nice to fit all my clothes in my closet and not have to store the out of season outfits here and there and everywhere.

While watching many HGTV organizing shows of one sort or the other, I've heard more times than I can count that if you buy something new you should let something else go. Guess it's really a rule I need to follow.I want one of these jewelry organizers. But I can't really justify spending the money on one when I have some vinyl and material in my sewing stash and I could probably make something that would work. I'm going to try to come up with something because one of my messy areas is my jewelry. Most of it is in a makeup bag and it's a jumbled mess. Not a very good way to treat it, huh?

So onward I trudge! Wish me luck! ;)

Hugs,
Dana

Live from San Diego... it's Comic Con 2008!

Well, my husband our son have been in San Diego since Tuesday for a father/son bonding trip to Comic Con. They are having a great time, seeing lots of celebrities and just generally getting their Geek on. Geek is the new Black, right? :)

Anyway... here's a screen shot of them in the background with the hosts of G4 TV's Attack of the Show, Kevin and Olivia. They were on TV for well over 30 mins, maybe 45. We are TiVo'ing it for them to see when they get home. They had big grins on their faces most of the time! Kristofer said he's taking full advantage of his height. Being 6'2 is awesome when trying to see or be seen over a crowd!

Try to pick them out. :)


I sure miss them! It's boring at home without my boys!

Hugs,
Dana

And the winner is....

Woohoo....

lesliescraps Congratulations!!!

Please email me at wishesdocometrue@gmail.com with your mailing address and I'll get your goodies out to you very soon.

Thank you all so much for sharing your Holiday faves. I really enjoyed reading them.

Hugs,
Dana

Christmas in July, anyone?

How about some FREE Scrapbooking Paper? I've got some Wonderland to share!

So, here's the deal. Leave a comment sharing one of your favorite things about the holidays or your "Wonderland" and I'll pick a random winner on Monday, July 21st. That's pretty easy right?

ETA: Oh my gosh! I'm loving reading about your favorite things. It really is getting me in the mood for the holidays! Thanks so much for playing along!!! ;)

ETA: Truly... I am so enjoying hearing about all your favorites and traditions. This is just so neat! I'm so glad this will be a random drawing because there is no way I could pick a favorite. As a matter of fact... I'm sure I'll be "lifting" a few of your traditions to start for my family! Thank again so much for taking the time to share!

Oh and Yvette was kind enough to ask for instructions for making my funky little tree in the previous post. I'll get those up tomorrow sometime. I pinky swear! ;)

Tree Instructions (The basic version!)

1. I started with a white Styrofoam cone as the base. I purchased it at Michael's. I think mine is about 18 inches tall or so but you could choose any size available to you.

2. I cut my double-sided paper into strips approximately 1 inch by 4 inches.

3. I curled each piece around a pen to get the initial curly edge shape.

4. Starting at approximately from the bottom of the cone I used flat head pins to secure each strip.

5. After completing a row all the way around the cone, I placed a strip of scotch tape around the row over the pin heads. That seemed to really secure them down tightly. Probably not a necessary step, but since I was shipping mine to Chicago... I didn't want it to fall apart! LOL!

6. Next I made 4 cuts into each strip to create the fringe. I just eyeballed it... no need to get all perfect with this project.

7. Repeat the above steps until you get all the way to the top. Then add whatever topper suits your fancy. Also, as I moved up the tree I sort of trimmed down my strips a little bit as the 4 inch length seemed a bit too long nearer the top. Again... just eyeball it.

8. The fluff and re-curl edges if necessary using a pen or your fingers.

9. FYI... I used a little spray glue and glitter on my tree also... but you could try other things like Stickles or just plain white glue and glitter if you have the time.

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any questions!

Hugs,
Dana

Being crafty & frugal...

I made this funky little tree using papers from my new Wonderland Collection for Dream Street Papers. It stands about 3 feet tall. It's kind of hard to see, but I did add some glitter to it, too. A little extra bling is never a bad thing, is it?

Since I'm not going to the upcoming show this time... my sweet little tree is going to get boxed up and sent on a little adventure to Chicago all by its little self. I'll be sending a few other goodies along as well and I'll post them here as soon as I get them done. :)

There are many new and really fun collections for CHA Summer 2008. I'm sure you'll find something you just love. The other designers created some awesome collections!

Oh and for you frugal couponing gals out there... don't forget that this week Staples is having their 1 Cent Sale. We just got a Staples in my area and it opened within the last few weeks so I was happy to stop in and check it out.

Yesterday I purchased 4 D-ring notebooks, 2 packs of pencils, 10 folders and 2 Purell Hand Sanitzers and my total came out to $1.21. Such a good deal... I stopped in a second time today to do it again.
Big thanks to It's More Than Enough for posting info about good deals at Cub Foods. She has links to the coupons on her blog, too! :) I purchased the following:

Bic Pens are on sale for .50. Used$1/2 coupon. Final price was FREE!

Buy 3 Kraft Marshmallows for $1.00 each and get a catalina for $3.00 off your next order. If you have any of the Planter's coupons left, use them to get a can of Free Planter's nuts with this deal!

(You could then Buy 3 more marshmallows with your $3.00 catalina coupon and get another can of nuts as long as you have another Planter's Coupon! And on, and on, and on.... Make sure they are separate transactions!)

In addition, this week's Cub Foods Ad had the following deal: Buy 10 participating products and get 2 FREE movie ticket vouchers at the Checkout!

I bought 2 Chex Mix ($2.59 ea.), 2 Honey Nut Cheerios ($2.00 ea) and 6 Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks ($2.00 ea). I paid $10.78 after coupons for this deal and received 2 movie tickets plus a $3.50 catalina coupon (good to use on my next shopping trip) for buying 5 or more Betty Crocker Fruit snacks.

Well, that's all for now.

Hugs,
Dana

What's new...

I've been a very busy girl lately... hence the bad blogger-ness or something like that! I'm so sorry! ;)

First things first! CHA is just around the corner and I would love to share a bit of my new Collection with Dream Street Papers... Wonderland! It's wintery, nostalgic and just plain cute. A little something to use for all those holiday, winter fun and early spring adventure photos and crafts.


Another new and fun "hobby" I've started is couponing. I call it a hobby because it takes up just as much time as one! LOL! It's very strangely addicting! Once I started figuring out ways to get things very cheap or even (gasp!) for free... it was all over. I was sucked in. Is there a Couponers Anonymous... Coup Anon?... because I think I may need one. :)

Some fun sites to check out:
Hot Coupon World
A Full Cup

I learned a lot at these sites. They are a great resource. I'm learning a lot about "stockpiling" and keeping a well supplied pantry. It's SOOOO FUN!

Oh... an update about the living greener phase. It's actually quite hard and expensive! I had to break down and buy some Scrubbing Bubbles (among other things) because the vinegar concoction I made to clean my shower was just not working out well at all. And the cosmetics... well, let's just say I've backpedaled just a tinge. The initial hysteria has worn off quite a bit... my family is thankful and so are my nerves. ;)

Well, I better get back to work.

Hugs,
Dana

FUN stuff...

I have had a great time exploring the ins and outs of greener living! Really... who knew it would be so fun and right up my alley?

Anyway, I wanted to share a few links I've found that I keep going back to again and again. Some of these are green living type links and some are a mix of green and frugal living. Lots of neat information... especially for a crafty girl like me who's always got a creative to-do list a mile long and still wants to simplify her life! (What a conundrum, huh?)

Natural Beauty Workshop Blog -Lots of ideas for creating your own cosmetics and lotions and potions that are safe and eco-friendly. Just keep in mind that it's best to choose organic essential oils over the synthetic ones when thinking about scenting your creations. :)

Mountain Rose Herbs - Awesome selection of essential oils and herbs, etc. with information pages to tell you the ways to use them. I currently have Organic Lime, Organic Spearmint, Orange and also Vanilla that I'll be playing with. I want to get some Tea Tree Oil as that supposed to be a wonderful sanitizer.

Hillbilly Housewife- Interesting ways to be thrifty and in particular her very enticing recipe for Magic Milkshakes. This is definitely on my to-try list!

MommySavers Forums

Making by Saving Forums

Orange Bran Flaxseed Muffins - I made these and I really like them. They taste so "healthy" to me. I may try substituting the sugar for Stevia.

I have the powdered Stevia and a very surprisingly yummy Liquid Stevia with a vanilla creme flavor. (Note: The Liquid Stevia comes in other flavors too... like Chocolate!) It's great in my coffee substitute called Teeccino. If you've never heard of Teeccino, check out the link. Together with my VC Stevia, it's a very decent substitute for my morning coffee... which was horrible for me. I'm trying to make better choices, here! I found these items at my local Whole Foods Store but I noticed that The powdered Stevia is available at my local regular grocery store in the organic foods section.

Have fun exploring!

Hugs,
Dana

Gorgeously Green

Once again... Oprah has sucked me in! LOL.

She had the author, Sophie Uliano, of "Gorgeously Green" on her show the other day. It was a really neat segment about Eco-Friendly tips because it was Earth Day. I thought I'd like the book so I hopped in my gas guzzling car and headed over to Barnes & Noble to pick up a copy.

It is a really interesting book. I'm enjoying it for the most part... but that other little part of me is FREAKED OUT!

She has an entire chapter devoted to Beauty. First off, I've always sort of known that our beauty products (cosmetics, bath products, hair products, lotions and potions, etc.) had rather questionable ingredients. But now... after several hours of reading about various products I use and have used... let's just say... I had a mini nervous breakdown. A great resource for ingredient information is Skin Deep.
"Skin Deep is a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products brought to you by researchers at the Environmental Working Group."

It really is disturbing that there are no FDA regulations for these things that we slather onto the largest organ of our body. Our skin absorbs this stuff and who knows what the cumulative effects to our bodies really are.

Having had Breast Cancer at a young age with no apparent genetic disposition or major risk factors, I've had to ask my self the "why" question. Is it something I did? Could I have prevented it? My answer to myself and from my medical team has always been an emphatic NO. But still I wonder... how could I not?

For me, I've decided that I can't just walk away from the info I've stumbled upon and go back to business as usual. I know I'd regret it if I did. So into the trash went a lot of potions. Think$$ wasted!

One change I made immediately was to replace my Shampoo and Conditioner. I found Burt's Bees Very Volumizing Pomegranate & Soy Shampoo and Conditioner at Target
and I really like it.

The "experts" say to avoid products that contain fragrance because that is not regulated and often a catchall for bad stuff... but I'm not quite willing to give up everything yet! ;)

I also purchased Dr. Bronner's Almond Liquid Castile Soap and Peppermint Castile Bar Soap. I also like them very much.

Just a note though... do your research and don't believe the pretty labels claims of being organic and natural until your read the ingredients.

As far as cosmetics go, I already had a Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer in the Nutmeg shade so I felt I was off to a good start. My grandma had told me about this product because she uses it. It does contain Tocopherol (Vit. E) which can be contaminated but a girl's got to pick her battles. At least there are no Carcinogens or Parabens in it. ;)

I've placed an order with Everday Minerals for some samples of their mineral foundations, blush and concealer. They manufacture an all-natural and organic line of cosmetics that rates safer than what I use now. I just placed it last night and my samples have already shipped! I'll let you know what I think when I get them.

I'm researching some other things like mascara and hairspray and when I decide on something, I'll share.

I've been on a quest to simplify my life for a while now and I'm viewing this as another step in that direction. I've been in the process of "cleaning out" my household cleaning supplies and learning to use safer and cheaper options. I'm really liking the old staples of vinegar, baking soda and lemon. They really do work for a variety cleaning tasks. One product I switched to was Method Brand Pink Grapefruit All Surface Cleaner from Target. It works as good as the Windex and Counter Cleaners I previously used.

So anyway, I feel like I'm doing something good for myself and my family. Hopefully they won't notice when I start switching out their potions and lotions!

Hugs,
Dana

Today it was 78 degrees! It was glorious! I'm so happy to welcome warm weather and get busy in the garden. I've got some Marigold's coming up an egg carton on my windowsill that will hopefully be able to be planted outside in a few weeks.

Here's a photo of the cute Momma Bunny that made her baby nest right outside my laundry room window. The babies were so cute! (Sorry... I didn't get a photo of them!) But oh... what an ordeal for me. One Friday morning about a week after finding the babies (who were likely only a week or so old) I had noticed that a bunny had been hit by a car within eyesight of the nest. I WAS TERRIFIED to say the least. I was so worried that it was my Momma Bunny so I began stalking the nest. On Sunday, I made a quick check of one of the babies and it appeared to be just fine. So I kind of figured that these weren't babies that hadn't been fed in 2 days... but I needed to be sure!

I placed sticks in perfect little stacks over the nest to try to see if they got disturbed when the Momma Bunny visited the nest to nurse. Mommas only visit the nest once or twice a day, between dusk and dawn, and only stay about 5 minutes so it's no easy task to catch her. After a weekend of stress, sticks and flour (to try to see bunny tracks) I finally saw the Momma Bunny on Monday morning. I was so relieved!

We have a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center about 45 minutes from me and I would have been able to take the babies there but I'm so glad I didn't have to. You always want to be sure that the babies are not being cared for because most of the time they are! Baby Bunnies are weaned at about 3-4 weeks and then they come out and start exploring the world. They may come back to the nest a few nights to sleep... but then they are gone. Mine... I'm so pleased... have left the nest! Yahoo.. I'm so thrilled. My husband, on the other hand... not so much because they eat all his plants. ;)

Anyway... a great resource for baby bunny info is Rabbit.org

On to craftiness... here are a few cards I've made lately. Just playing around and trying to be inspired. I love to be crafty but lately I've been a little less than creative so I'm trying to get my groove back.

Hugs,
Dana

Good results...

Ughhh...keyboard is still wonkyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! :(

My Mammo and Ultrasound came back fine. No signs of cancer. Not sure about the MRI as I haven't called for results and nobody has called me. My mind ASSUMES that must mean everything looked normal. I guess I'll call tomorrow to be sure and set my mind at ease.

Still, sad news. I checked in at the breastcancer.org boards and a couple girls that were diagnosed at the same time as I and went through treatment "with" me were diagnosed with mets. Their cancer has come back and spread. Even more heartbreaking is that a few more "sisters" are now angels.

I hate cancer. It makes me so angry!!!! :( Why can we spend millions of tax dollars frivolously when people are dying. Makes no sense to me.

I wish there was something I can do to help find the cure. I'm going to try think of something. There has to be some way I can contribute.

Hugs,
Dana

Just a bit nervous...

Monday Morninnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng I have follow up scans frrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrom my .... something strange is going on wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiith my keyboard. I'm honestly not typing all those characters! I'lllllllllllllllllllllll delete them as I go from now on. ;)

Anyway... the scans... an ultrasound, mammogram and an MRI with contrast... which means I have to have an IV. This is the follow up from the biopsy I had late last summer. I'm beginning to come to terms with the fact that cancer will always be a part of my life now. It's just the way it is.

As long as it's just a part of my life and I'm still living it... the trade-off is acceptable to me.

So wish me luck!

I'll try to be a better blogger. Really, I will. :)

Now I'm off to find some batteries for mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmy keyboard and hope that fixes this problemmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Hugs!
Dana

Just because...

Here's another purse I made using my new paper collection. :)

I'll try to get some instructions up one day... I'm kind of swamped lately with work (the real day job!) and craftiness.

Enjoy!

Everyday Celebrations...

is about the little things... and the big things, that make each of our days special. Find something to celebrate every single day! :)

Here it is... the sneak peak of my new collection for Dream Street Papers. Check back soon for some fun projects I will be sharing!

Don't forget to check out the Dream Street Blog for more peaks!

Hugs,
Dana

Purse-Mania...

TWO posts in one day! Wow... that's a record for sure, isn't it?

It's fun to finally be creating again. I really love to be paper crafty, but sometimes I get in a slump and do other things. I'm really feeling inspired lately though so keep checking back for new things. :)

I've been having fun lately creating some cute purses from my papers and vinyl. I have one planned for my new collection... but you'll have to wait to see that for about a week or so.

I'll start with this one... what do ya think?

Dream Street Papers Sneak Peak...

This is such an exciting time of year for us, the designers, at Dream Street Papers! The sneak peaks of our 10 new collections are going up on our blog. There will be 2 collections posted each day this week.

Today, it's Kelly and Audrey (Art Nouveau and Birdie Bits) ... 2 very different collections with such FUN possibilities. They are gorgeous designs.

My collection peak will go up on Wednesday. I can't wait!

Anyway... so go on over to the blog and take a look!

Hugs,
Dana

Mmmmm.... cookies...

If you like Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies... here's a yummy recipe I saw on Martha before Christmas I think.

This photo is from Martha's site and the chocolate looks quite light in color... but I made these with Wilton's dark cocoa mint melting wafers that I found at JoAnn Fabric and they were a nice dark color. FYI... they didn't have the mint ones at my Michael's.

All you do is melt the wafers in the microwave on defrost, checking and stirring frequently. Then just dip the Ritz crackers into the melted chocolate. I used a little pair of tongs.

I also had set my cookie sheets out on the deck in the FREEZING temp before I started. I brought them in and lined them with parchment, dipped the Ritz into the melted chocolate, filled the cookie sheet and then set them outside again for a quick cooling to set the chocolate. Then I just put them into another lined cookie tin and they lasted for days... until I... I mean WE... ate them all. ;)

Anyway... they were super easy and were really yummy! Now if I could only find a recipe for those awesome caramelly coconutty ones... what are those called? Never-mind... don't remind me. I don't need to know. ;)

On the agenda for the week is to clean my home office/craft space. It's getting to be a messy little pit! I just cannot for the life of me keep it organized. I end up working at my desk in a little teensy 6x6 INCH spot because I have so much JUNK around me. What's my problem? Sorry... I won't frighten you with a photo! LOL!

The weather here in Minnesota has been so cold. We had Wind Chills in the -25 degree range over the weekend. Let me tell ya... that's just plain cold. It's a painful cold. Did anyone see that Packers/Giants game? That Giants coach looked like he was getting frost bite on his face. It was so red. My husband and I kept wincing whenever they showed his face on the screen. OUCH!

Thankfully, we are going to warm up into the low 20's by the weekend though. It's silly... but that will seem so much warmer! It will be so nice. :)

HUGS!
Dana