Harry Vs Edward

Those who know me, know that I LOVE Harry Potter! I have read the books each at least 7 times!

They have also found out about my obsession for the Twilight books, (which I have only read 3 times each). The next book, Breaking Dawn, by Stephanie Meyer comes out Saturday, (as you can see from the count down).

But today.. the Harry Potter movie trailer teaser came out!!http://movies.msn.com/movies/harry-potter-trailer/?GT1=28101

OMG.. My mind is racing a hundred miles per hour!

This is wonderful! Tomorrow night, (Friday), I get to go to the launch party for Breaking Dawn ... AND, I get to watch trailers for the next Harry movie today!

LIFE IS GOOD!

shawn

Moon Flower

About 15 years ago, my Mom gave me some moon flower seeds! Every year, I plant (OK, I really just throw the seeds out and what grows grows) these seeds. And every year I save the pods which have the seeds for the next year. Some years I get a lot of little bushes, and other years I just get a few. I never know from year to year what will happen. Anyway, these flowers bloom at dusk, and only for 1 day, then they wither and turn into the seed pods.

This is my first flower this year! I was surprised that it bloomed already. I just noticed that it was getting big enough on Friday.. So image my surprise when I saw this flower. I noticed that it has 3 more buds on it. The flowers are large too, they are about the size of a diner plate! I also thought I should look at my "garden" area... I have a few more plants that a springing up.. so I am hoping that soon, I will have a lot more of the flowers.

The nice thing about these.. the deer don't bother them at all. Unlike my lily's or my hosta. I should really "plant" more of these each year...

shawn

Shawn Johnson

Well, this post is NOT about me.. But it is about Shawn Johnson. For those of you who know me, might know that Shawn Johnson (the Olympic gymnast) is Pat's cousin. She is from Iowa and will be competing in the Summer games. She is the top contender from the US for the GOLD! We think that it is pretty cool that she is going. She has worked hard for this honor.
I have had a few people joke and say that they heard that I was going to the Olympics.. and I get a kick out of watching their facial expression when I tell them that she is related!

Well today in the Sunday paper, the USA Weekend has her featured on the cover! I thought it was pretty cool to have her there! I am sure that she is use to the publicity! But when you talk to her in person, you would never know that she is a world class gymnast.. OK, other than the fact that she is like 80lbs and just this little dynamo!!

Anyway... we at the Johnson household are wishing her the best!!

shawn

This is why Karen has dogs...

Need I say more?

shawn

Dawn and 9/23

Now.. what do September 23 and Dawn have in common?? Well, September 23 happens to be the day that the new John Sandford book, Heat Lightning, comes out! So why would I post about a book that my best friend reads? Well, that means that I will probably have to make a run down to the awesome book store, "Once Upon A Crime" to pick up a recently autographed copy of the book for her. BUT.. here is the deal.. upon checking the website for Once Upon A Crime, I see no listing for John Sandford to autograph this book.. NO, launch party.. no anything related to this book actually! SO, will Dawn just go buy this book?? WELL... My best guess is that upon reading this blog entry, Dawn will first go check www.onceuponacrimebooks.com and see I what I am saying is actually true.. and then she will email Gary and Pat (the most wonderful husband and wife team who happen to own the book store) to find out what the deal is.. She will then email or call me with what is happening.. Not that I know Dawn well enough to predict this happening.. but I can also tell you that she is sitting reading this and laughing her butt off, and shaking her head YES.. in fact she might even be saying "YES" out loud.. The one thing I am not sure of.. will she comment on this entry BEFORE or AFTER checking the web site and emailing them??

Now, I have never read the John Sandford books before, and I would maybe think about reading them, but I am sure that I would have to actually get them from the library, as this is one book set that Dawn does NOT loan out. But the other thing, Dawn said they can be a bit gruesome too.. Me, I like the fluff stuff a lot of times.. easy peasy reading.. But I am thinking of at least trying to read one of his.. I mean Dawn EATS this stuff up!! I know that she is geedy with excitement right now after reading this...!

shawn

Cards

Well, this is some of what I have been working on. This first card is so cute! I saw the idea on a blog, sorry don't remember which one.. It had one big lantern on it.. I thought the little ones were very cute!!

These 2 came from Mish's idea. I thought it was a cute idea, and easy! I can think of tons of uses for these!

And this little card is for Dawn. She emailed me and asked for a birthday card for someone at work.. With frogs on it.. Well, I first thought I would use the "unfrogettable" set.. but I am pretty sure that I use that set last year for this person..

So as you can see, I have been stamping a little bit.. waiting for the man in brown to deliver my new stuff from the new catalog.. Hope it will be here soon.. I got a couple of cute things that I can't wait to use!

shawn

Gate fold- Dahlia fold card/Babysitting Class

Well, I did do some "stamping" this weekend.. not much, but a little. I saw the Dahlia Fold and thought that it would be fun to do, so I made a gate fold card and used the "flower" on the card. It is a bit brighter, it's groovy guava and pomegranate paper. I guess the picture is a bit darker than I thought it would be.. oops..

And Hannah finished her babysitting class from the Red Cross. She is all ready to take care of the little ones now. She keeps telling me all the things that she learned. So that is good..

shawn

More raspberries

My neighbor across the street has been gone for a week, and will be gone for another week. She called and asked if I would want to pick her raspberries while she was gone.. I love raspberries so it was a no brainer. Well Hannah and I have been picking every other day.. this was the pickings from the 4th time we picked.. this is a usual haul! I have frozen some, eaten A LOT, and today am going to make some sorbet! They are wonderful! I am so lucky! I will have to make her a card of thanks! It might be raspberry stained, I am not sure! We will pick tomorrow because Hannah has dance on Tuesday. It's more fun to pick with someone.. and I don't want to go too late because of the bugs.. And there are some really creepy bugs on those bushes!

And tonight Army Wives is on! I can't wait. Denise's son is set to return.. and there is this little issue with a young doctor...

shawn

Saturday Card

Well, I know that it has been a little bit since I made a card.. But I made this one this morning. Just sort of a cute card to try out the "reverse masking" technique.
I pre-ordered my stuff from the new Stampin Up catalog finally.. so am waiting for that to get here. I think that the man in the brown suit comes on Thursday.. YUP, I have to wait until Thursday! I can't wait to play with some of the new stamp sets.. It might be what I need to be a bit more motivated. I wouldn't hold my breath on that, but still.
shawn

Men are just happier people???

So Pat sent me this email and I thought I would share.. Remember.. this did come from a man...

MEN ARE JUST HAPPIER PEOPLE ????

NICKNAMES
a.. If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.
b.. If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla and Four-eyes.

EATING OUT
a.. When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.
b.. When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY
a.. A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
b.. A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale.

BATHROOMS
a.. A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel .
b.. The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS
a.. A woman has the last word in any argument.
b.. Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE
a.. A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
b.. A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

SUCCESS
a.. A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
b.. A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

MARRIAGE
a.. A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
b.. A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.

DRESSING UP
a.. A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.
b.. A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL
a.. Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
b.. Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING
a.. Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.
b.. A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY A married man should forget his mistakes. There's no use in two people remembering the same thing!

shawn

More Pun Fun and raspberries

Well this is the last of the Pun Fun cards.. My favorite is the one with the little bird.. It just turned out really cute!!

Meanwhile.. my neighbors is out of town for a couple weeks.. She called to let me know. She also asked if I could pick her raspberries while she was gone. There are a few of us in the neighborhood who get to pick.. Well this is the fruits of today's labors! Two bowls!! Yesterday we had this many too!! YUM!!

shawn

PUN FUN

OK, as promised, I did some stamping this weekend.. I used the Pun Fun set, and all of them have glitter somewhere on them. I still have a couple more to make from the set.. but at least I did some stamping.. AND... it was fun! I miss being in my messy stamping area! I guess that means I need to get busy!

I also needed to make a new bookmark for Dawn.. Apparently the kittens have taken hers and they are no where to be found. She is guessing under a bed or couch somewhere.. So, I found these HUGE paperclips Office Depot, and thought they would make great bookmarks! AND in Groovy Guava! Again, more glitter.. it was a glittery day!

shawn

storms and card...

Last night (Friday) we had a neighborhood cookout.. and we got done just in time before the storm hit. This is a picture of the sky about 5 minutes before it all broke loose!

I have been trying to stamp.. but needed some inspiration.. My friend Dawn called and needed a shower card for a friend! All she told me was that the colors were fall.. I hope that she likes this card!

Anyway.. I am hoping that this will let me get into some more stamping. I would love to make a few more cards.. so stay posted, I will post more as I make them!

shawn

New Band,,,

There is a new band out.. Don't have a name yet.. or at least I don't think they have a name yet.. Anyway.. we finally got Rock Band for our Wii... NO!!! I still have NOT played.. But Hannah and Pat are rocking away as I type..

So much for quiet at the Johnson house!

shawn

Next...

OK, I am going to try to read Stephanie Meyer's "other" book.. will let you know what I think..

AND... This is the cover of Entertainment Weekly.. on sale on Friday.. I am not sure if I am buying Robert Pattinson as Edward, but still, this exciting!!

MY next Harry...

shawn

Eclipse

OH MY GOD!!! This one was great!! I can't CAN'T wait for the next book!! OMG!!! OK, I think that you can tell, I loved it.. it was great.. AND now I have to WAIT until Aug 2 for the next book. 24 days away..
OK, that is enough time to re-read all of the books a couple more times...
As I was reading on Stephanie Meyer's web site, she is writing a book called Midnight Sun. This is Edward's version of Twilight. I can't wait for that either.
And for those out there.. I am on Team Edward!!
shawn

Next....

OK, so I am addicted.. I have to admit.. I went out and got the 3rd one today too..

This is the cover of the 4th book, although I have seen another one too.. But this is off Stephenie Meyer's web site.. soo.. anyway.. this one come out Aug 2.. I will be ready!

shawn

DONE

I finished the book.. it was great.. I HAVE to go get the next one... Breaking Dawn... These are just really great reads... Like I said, I haven't been into a book series since Harry.. But I think I found a new favorite!!
shawn

new moon update...

I started the book yesterday afternoon/early evening.. I have to say, I haven't been this intrigued by a book since Harry Potter! There are a ton of things that I should be doing, or could be doing.. but no.. I am going to finish the book today instead...
shawn

Next book...

OK, I LOVE this series.. I finished the Twilight book in just a couple days.. I was going to wait and get the book from my friend at work, however, I just couldn't wait.. So I picked up New Moon, #2 in the series.. will let you know..
shawn
Oh, and I just read on Dawn's blog, that she has started Twilight... I guess she will have to thank me for this one too.. as I got her into Harry a few years ago too...

More pics from the quarterly meeting

Ok, here are some more pictures of swaps from Lisa's quarterly meeting.

shawn

Happy 4th of July

Bloomington holds it's SummerFete on the 3rd.. so they do the fireworks then. Personally, I really like this. If you have to work on the 5th you still get to see fireworks, and you aren't tired! Last night was a "BLAST". We met up with Karen and her boys, the Hillmans, who are back from Arusha, Tanzania, and friends of the Hillmans.. (Sorry can't remember the name right now). When we get to the Band Shell area about 8pm, it is like walking into the State Fair... (I know Karen, you would NEVER say that.. but for me.. a ton of people, all the food... etc... remember, I don't do the fair that much). They had a band playing, the crowd dancing. A great time was being had! AND the fireworks!! Well, they were superb! Bloomington's City Council out did themselves! WAY TO GO!!!

NOW, if I still feel like I need to see more fireworks, I can go tonight to find some more. Will have to see.. it was pretty late night last night, after midnight when all was said and done.

And by the way... not my picture.. guess who didn't bring her camera!!!



And yesterday, we also went to the Weisman Museum.. This is on the University of Minnesota campus. The building has intrigued me since it was built. I mean, look at it. And since we were on "vacation", well.. no better time. It is REALLY small.. one small level of art! We were shocked. That building is full of offices! And it only took us about 45 minutes to look through. OK, it was disappointing! Loved the Minneapolis Institute of Art much better! But now I can say that I have been there! And I did bring my camera, but didn't take any pictures!

Off for some other fun day today! I am not sure what we will do to celebrate the nations birthday, but I am sure that we will find something fun!

Happy 4th of July... and as Dawn pointed out... the year is 1/2 over.. only 173 days until Christmas!!

shawn

HAHAHAHA....

Dawn sent me the link to this.. it is from www.icanhascheezburger.com had to share.. anyone that knows me, knows I LOVE LOVE penguins!! I got a great laugh! Thanks Dawn!

shawn

Cards...

I had my quarterly meeting with my uplines, upline.. or something like that.. anyway, Lisa. These are some samples from a scrapin' kit. It takes 1/2 of the kit, and makes 40 cards. 20 3x6 and 20 3x3. I thought that they were great.

More samples to come!

shawn

Book!!

OK, I finished the book! It was wonderful! It was fantastic! I couldn't believe the ending!!!! I read the last page, looked at Pat and said, "WHAT?? THAT IS IT??" NOW, I HAVE to read the next one! I LOVE JK and the Harry Potter series! But this one, well, this is really really good! Thanks to Michelle and Kristin for recommending these to me!
Now I am having an issue with the movie coming out.. Robert Pattinson playing Edward! I just don't see it.. That isn't who I pictured as I was reading the book. Will have to see.. But now I know I will have to see this movie in December (December 12 for those who need to know that)!
I do have 3 other books to read, however, I am thinking that I need to go and get the next book and forget those others for now.. hmmm
shawn