Do you freak out?

Or remain calm and rational when thrown a loop in your plans? Why do I freak out? I want to be calm, I want to be rational and think it threw ... but instead I freak out. And not very nicely. And then I regret my behavior ... need to work.on.this.

I can be a real prickly pear if things aren't going my way ... so re-read the last post and you'll get an idea of how fun I've been to live with this week, month, year, LOL.

Moving on though, as I am now trying to be rational about this "loop" in my plans.

My creative inspiration, since it is Friday :). Sadly, I don't have too much to show, but a little is better than none, yes?

The following two are the front/back of Week #3 Prompt {Next} at the Paper08 challenge (see sidebar) ... I also used them for 011508 & 011608 on the LOAD challenge at Big Picture Scrapbooking.



And this was for 011708:

A birthday card for my dear friend Heather (I don't think Heather frequents my blog, but Happy Belated Birthday anyway!). That is also the LAST thing I scrapbooked. So much for one a day in January. I feel pretty good I made it 17 days in a row ... and then life hit ... big :).

I mentioned yesterday I had one more apron order to complete and it was done as of 10PM last night. It was a special order for Lori. I wanted to make her a special apron after she missed out on the first "Isabella" $9.99 giveaway. She has quite the story and my heart was burdened to do something to lift her spirits. She mentioned she might wear her apron for late night scrapping, to hold supplies ... so I figured I needed to give her a few more pockets than just one!

And thus was born, the "Crafty Isabella" ... close to her twin "Isabella" just a little bit craftier with a row of pockets across the front.



I hope you enjoy her Lori!!

I *think* I may add this option to my custom order Isabella/Laurel aprons for a small additional charge. What do you think?

Okay, two more bits of inspiration for you ...

Studio Calico ... have I told you how much I LOVE this company? From their beautiful website to their wonderful kits, every detail of this operation is so professional and yet fun and new. Anyway, I received a couple Friends & Family coupons for this month. They are good from 1/27 - 2/13 and give you $10 off of any new purchase (whether it be a subscription to their kits, a one time kit purchase or an add-on kit). If you're interested, leave me a comment with your e-mail and I'll send you the code. Really fun stuff ... if nothing else, go check out their designer gallery.

And how about we end with a little "food" inspiration? I've been meaning to share this recipe on here since I made it ... weeks ago.

Jason's Chililicious

So click on it, print it and take note of my changes :).

I made a 1/2 recipe, using 1/2 of most everything, with the exception of ... I used one large can of Kirkland brand canned chicken (oh how I love this canned chicken, but that is a post for another day), 1 can white beans, 1 can black beans and I did add the cheese to the soup (probably about 1C). Lastly, I served it over rice, topped with a dollop of sour cream, a little more cheese and tortilla strips. YUM! Oh and I think the cilantro really is a must, don't skip it ... the coriander, well I didn't have any on hand and it was just fine.

I think the seconds were even better which NEVER happens for me!

Enjoy ... Happy Friday, Happy Weekend!

**I'm taking a week long hiatus to just "be" and hopefully have a much more restful, less eventful/stressful, happy filling up time ... see you back here soon after!! **