Stamping & Scrapping with Jen

Bordering on Romance Card

Do you love this stamp set, Bordering on Romance?  There are just way too many things I want to do with it!  It can be stamped in black and colored in, or stamped in a color, or used a background or as a focal point! And the fact that it comes with coordinating Big Shot Accessories - like the Edgelits Dies and the Textured Impressions Embossing Folders is even more awesome!!!  All these products can be found in the Occasions Mini Catalog.

So in this card, I kept things simple.  I used the one large floral image to create a black & white background.  Then I stamped it again on a scrap piece of Whisper White cardstock and colored it in with markers.  I cut that image out and popped it up on a couple Dimensionals and created a focal point.

My very trusted Teeny Tiny wishes and the Word Window and Modern Label punches created an easy greeting. And the nice thing about that is it is so easy to switch out the grreting and make it something else.  So this card could be just as easily a birthday, thank you, sympathy, friend, thank you, Mother's Day etc.

Supplies used for this card were:

Stamps: Bordering on Romance, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Cardstock: So Saffron, Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Jet Black StazOn
Accessories: So Saffron, Melon Mambo, & Wild Wasabi Markers, Word Window & Modern Label Punches, Stampin' Dimensionals

In the next few days, I'm going to really start my training again for a few half-marathons I am planning on running later this spring.  I had a really great run this morning and another one this past Saturday, so I am hoping I can stay healthy and keep gaining momentum and be in great shape to run the 13.1s!!!  This Sunday I signed up for a SuperBowl 4-Miler.  It should be just a fun run - I haven't decided if I was going to "race" it.  It will be the last race I run in the 35-39 age bracket. :(  In two weeks, I'll be moving up.

Watch for more on my running.  I am going to have you help me stay accountable, so I might post every time I run just so I know I am hitting my goals!  Oh, and speaking of goals, I am hoping to run 1,200 miles this year - that's 100 miles/month.  I am at 83 miles since January 1, so I am a little behind, but I expect to have many weeks of 30+ miles, so I know I will catch up.  January is a maintenance month, so considering that, I think I'm in good shape! (Last January I only ran 45 miles, so I am way ahead of that!!)

I hope you enjoyed today's card sample with the Bordering on Romance stamp set.  Expect to see more samples with that set coming in the near future!

 

A Perfect Race

On Thanksgiving I ran another 5k.  It's the first one I had done since I had to take a step back because of my anemia, so I was pretty anxious to improve on that horrible experience. (And by horrible experience, my last 5k was on June 18 and I ran a 31:23 and I had to stop and walk because I couldn't breathe.)

So improve I did.  I had my fastest time in a 5k EVER!!!  And all I really wanted to do was beat my brother-in-law (which I did) and also break the 27:00 mark (which would have given me my best time.  My previous best time was 27:03.)

We started out close to the front of the pack, so we wouldn't have to jockey around as many people as you do when you start further back.  We learned that during our second Army Ten-Miler.  We had way fewer people to run over this year compared to last year and it was true for this year's Turkey Trot as well.

The temperature was maybe 40 degrees - pretty great for a race.  I drove down to the race with fellow ATM runners Theresa & her SIL Erin from New Hampshire.  We picked up our bibs and our Tshirts then headed back to the car to drop off whatever we didn't need.  We met up with Mark, my brother-in-law and we headed to the start line.

I was hoping for 8:30 miles.  I thought if I can do 9:20 for 10 miles, I can shoot for 8:30 for 3.1.  Mile 1 was 8:25.  It was pretty flat and I felt pretty good.  Plus I figured, heck - there are only 2 miles left and the crowd began to thin a little!!!  Theresa, Mark, and I were still all together, which was great! 

Then at about a mile-and-a-half, there is THE hill.  It's not really steep, but it's long.  Thankfully, I run hills pretty often and at one point (near the beginning of the hill) I looked down at my watch and my pace for that second mile was 7:51!!  Theresa and I joked about the pace - we almost couldn't believe it.  I actually cruised up the hill (and passed a lot of people, which was a great feeling!) and at the top when I hit mile 2, the pace for that mile had slowed slightly to 8:06.  I was still feeling pretty good, too!

There was a guy at the top of the hill yelling, once you get to the top, it's all downhill from here.  Plus I thought - geez - it's just another mile!!!  So I kept the pace and kept on going.  I was definitely running hard, but I felt like I was running a race!  Finally I wasn't running so conservatively.  My pace for mile 3: 7:31!!!!  Holy cow, right???

As I was approaching the end of the race, I thought to myself, well, here is where I'll get passed by a lot of people because they will use their kick, and I really didn't know if I had anything left.  So I got the where I could see the clock at the finish line (and not a whole lot of people were really passing me) and it read 24:55.  I was just about to pull back & cruise through when I thought - holy cow, NO WAY!!  I can break 25:00!!  All I wanted to do was break 27:00!!!!

My final "clock" time was 24:59.  But my chip time was 24:53. (I guess it took me 6 seconds to cross the start line.)  Talk about psyched!!!!  I NEVER in a million years thought I would break 30:00 in a 5k and in my very first race a little over 2 years ago, my goal was to break 32:00!  Look how far I have come in just 2 years.  It's CRAZY!!!

So the moral of my story is this: if you want to start running, please just start.  I couldn't run 2 miles without stopping to walk when I started.  I run into so many people who tell me they want to start running.  Well, then put your sneakers on and walk out your door.  That's all you need to do.  Just START!  One foot in front of the other.  Then in 2 years, you'll be wondering why you didn't start earlier!!

Here is a photo of Erin, Theresa, and me after the race.  We all did really well and I was totally psyched for all of us.  There is a photo of the 3 of us with Mark, too, but I don't have it on my camera, so I'll have to see who might have it.

If you are one of those people looking for some running (or any kind of inspiration), you really don't have to look far.  Just take that first step out your front door.  The rest will happen.

Frostwood Lodge Designer Series Paper Card

One of the designer papers we are giving away in our goodie bags for the upcoming Fall Crop Weekend is Frostwood Lodge.  Many people have commented to them that they get such great stuff in their goodie bags, but sometimes they don't know what to do with it, so this time we have created LOTS of samples for display and here is one of mine.  (I actually went a little overboard with my samples, so I'll have more to show soon!!)

I just took small 1/2" strips of the DSP and alternated the sides of the paper and wove them together.  It was a little tricky to get them to stay, but if you put just a little adhesive on the ends of each strip, they will stay.

You can find another sample with Frostwood Lodge on my blog here.

In less than 24 hours I will be at the Dolce Basking Ridge getting everything set up for our crop!  I am so excited that we are SOLD OUT again!  There are a great bunch of people who are joining us this time, and I think it's going to be a wonderful weekend!  We have some fun classes planned, a few surprises for everyone, lots of space, and way too much food!  If you have never been to one of our crop weekends, but you are in or close to New Jersey, you really should check us out!

Because of the next 2 days being extra chaotic, I crammed a lot of running in over the last few days.  Actually I have run over 28 miles since last Friday!!  Crazy, right??  And not the easiest of runs either!  We ran 8 moderate miles Friday, I did 3 miles of hills Saturday,and we ran 6.2 hilly & speedy miles (average 8:51/mile pace) on Sunday. (It was the first loop of the half-marathon that I ran back in May - not a good race!!  That was when my anemia was rearing its ugly head.) Then Monday I actually took a day off, but yesterday we ran another really hilly 8 miles (9:20/mile pace).  So today, we settled for a SLOW and easy 3 miles of flatness!  We still ran at a 9:01 pace, but at least we cut back on some of the distance.  Next week I think we'll be back to our early morning runs, and things will hopefully settle back into a more normal schedule.

I hope you enjoyed the Frostwood Lodge sample, and if you are coming to our Fall Crop Weekend, I can't wait to see you and I can't wait to get to the Dolce!!!

Army Ten Miler 2011

What a great day for a race yesterday - okay, maybe it was a little bit too warm, but I cannot complain!  All my hard work was worth it as my time improved by about 3 minutes from last year.  I didn't break 1 hour and 32 minutes like I had hoped, but I am okay with that.  My official time this year was 1:33:38, making it a 9:21/mile pace.  I probably could have done a little better, but my heart rate was very high for most of the race, and I'm not sure why.  I was about as hydrated as I could be, and had been taking my iron, so maybe it was just the heat.  (That's what Theresa thinks, and it does make sense.)  So maybe under slightly different conditions I could have broken 1:32:00, but I am very happy with what I did do.  (Remember the original goal was to beat 1:35, which I crushed!!)  :)

So, here are some pictures from yesterday.  First, there is me & my high school friend Mike.  Even though he still hasn't run this race with me, Mike is and has been a big part of my inspriation for running ever since I was a teenager (and that's a pretty long time).  It's so nice to be able to see him every year at this race.  I'm just hoping one year I can actually inspire HIM to run it too.  Like he said, maybe next year.  :)

Then next we have our original "three" - Theresa, Nancy, and me.  The three of us embarked together on this crazy journey in April of 2010 when it sounded "fun" to run a 10 mile race.  I think it's given all of us a reason to run and keep running even when we wanted to quit (which for me was OFTEN!! - just ask Theresa. Thankfully she never gave up on me.) xoxo

And this year our little group grew!  We added Dan & Erin to the group!  Dan is Theresa's brother and Erin is her sister-in-law (but they aren't married to each other).  The six of us  had a great time and I think we all regretted having to leave when we did.  Next year we SWEAR we are going to stay another night!!!  Hopefully the Mike Hill Hotel will be available!!

Overall, it was an awesome weekend and I was lucky to spend it with such a great group of people!!  I'm already looking forward to next year!!!

Be sure to come back tomorrow when we'll get back to stamping & scrapbooking!  :)

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Army Ten-Miler 2011 Here I Come!

Tomorrow is my big race!  I am very excited about it this year.  I feel more ready, and have run 10 miles or more many more times this year than I had last year, so I have that edge of confidence, which is great!  Ever since I have gotten my iron levels back on track, my training has been going really well, and I am really pleased!  I am planning on improving on my time from last year, and my goal is to actually run it in under 1:32:00.

Now having said all that, I came down with a little cold this week!!  UGH!!  Right??  Anyway, I am feeling much better now, but have developed a cough.  I don't think it will impact me as far as the race goes, but time will tell.  I was so bummed on Wednesday afternoon when the sneezing started, but I'm pretty sure I'm back on track.

I have also been stamping & planning up a storm this week in terms of classes and projects for the holiday season.  I have some new You Tube videos almost ready to come out, I'm working on something new - online classes, which you'll hear about very soon, and lots of other great stuff, so stay tuned to the blog this week for more great info!!

If you are on my mailing list, how did you like the 12 Weeks of Christmas project this week??  If you aren't on my list, please sign up - we are only on Week 2, so you haven't missed much!

Have a great weekend, and I'll be back Monday to share pictures and ATM race results!!

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Berry Blossoms Card - Take 2

Here is another Berry Blossoms card that Pam created with the goodie bag contents from our Summer Crop Weekend.  She also used the Raining Flowers stamp set and all the coordinating colors from the paper.  I think it turned out so cute!!!

I have been spending lots of time on my computer these days - and not enough time creating!!  I've been spending a lot of time getting the orders ready to go for Fall Fest, our demo only event coming up in two weeks.  But I have also been enjoying my full days of peace and quiet with both kids in school!  I'm giving myself the rest of this month to catch up (I still have lots of stuff to move back into the basement from the garage), and then LOOK OUT!!!  Things are going to get FUN around here!!!

My 10 Mile Race is less than a month away now!!  I'm getting really excited about it.  I've had some really great runs lately!!  This morning I ran a little over 5 miles and my average pace was 9:19.  I used to struggle to do 4 miles at a 10:00 pace!!!  Remember, my goal for the 10 miler is 1:35, slightly lower than my time from last year which was 1:36:36.  I'll keep you posted!!!

It's soccer practice night, so I am off to make dinner.  We're having chicken fajitas.  You can find my recipe for them (the marinade is really good) here.

Have a great night!!!

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It's Raining Flowers!

I really like this new stamp set - Raining Flowers.  We got it free at convention for our make & takes.  (I still have to finish the rest of my make & takes!!!)  I used this card for last month's clubbers.  We stamped off the larger image and stamped the outline stamp full strength.  I love 2-step stamping.  I forgot how much I loved it, but this set reminded me!!  (Holiday Mini alert - there is a BEAUTIFUL 2-step leaf set in the upcoming Holiday Mini!!!)

For colors in this card, I used a couple new In-Colors - Pool Party and Calypso Coral and an "old" In-Color - Poppy Parade.  I really like this year's In-Colors (better than the old ones - shhhh!!!!).  But what I really like better is that they look great together!!!  It's like I have 10 new colors to play with, not just 5!!

This card also uses the It's Your Day stamp set.  It's a 2 stamp set that is supposed to be used with the Simply Sent cards, which are quite adorable!!  I have to say, they are a great deal and a great solution to when you are short on time!!  For just $11.95 - $13.95 you get all the materials for 8 cards, including envelopes and embellishments.  Pretty cool, huh?

Another thing that I think is pretty cool is how I have been feeling lately!!  Last week I was able to run almost 25 miles.  My pace is a little more back to normal, and my heart rate has worked it's way back down!!  I still have to have my blood re-checked to confirm my iron levels have come back up, but I'm thinking there is no way they haven't.  I haven't felt dizzy in weeks, and yesterday I ran a little over 5 miles and my average pace was 9:39 (which was my Army 10-miler pace).  I was thinking today I might take it a little easier, but instead, I ran the same course (a little over 5 miles) and my pace today was 9:33!!!  It certainly has done a lot for my confidence!!!  I can't even remember EVER having a training run that fast!!!  Of course right now I feel like I want to take a nap, (and maybe I will), but I might have felt that way anyway since I get up at 5:00AM!!!

Okay, enough blabbing!!  I need to work on finishing my newsletter so I can get it out to you all TOMORROW!!!  If you haven't signed up for my mailing list, you're going to miss all the great ideas & projects that I'll be featuring, so sign up (below) today!!

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Happy Fourth of July!!

We are having a fabulous time in Illinois!  We have been all over the Chicago area - Arlington Heights, Oswego, Naperville, and Chicago (Wrigleyville to be more exact).  Yesterday we were at my cousin's boyfriend, Dave's place (which is nothing short of amazing!) and did a little family celebrating.  This is what we had for dessert.

It was so simple - just blueberries, strawberries ad raspberries on a skewer with red, white & blue star shaped marshmallows in between.  If you can't find the star marshmallows, just regular small marshmallows would work too.

Another highlight (now that I think of it there were many - I will have a lot of scrapbooking from this trip) was the ride on the Rewaco Trike.  Dave has this trike and took us all for rides on it.  Here we are!  I look a little more scared than I really was.  It was fun!!!  I have pictures of all of us riding it, so this will make a nice page with a yellow background - how often to you get to use yellow as your background???

This morning we started off with a 5k run.  It's going to be an annual family tradition to run a 5k on 4th of July.  It wasn't a race, just a bunch of the cousins got together & ran.  There were 5 of us in all and it was great!  Looking forward to the tradition continuing and the group to grow!

We're off to Naperville again today!  Enjoy your fourth of July, enjoy your fireworks and BBQ and BE SAFE!!!

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First Day of School?? Already???

So I am a little behind in my scrapbooking.  Who isn't????  (If you aren't, please don't answer!!!)  And yes, this past Wednesday was our last day of school, (and yes, it was Emily's last day of THIRD grade), but yes, I just scrapbooked her FIRST day of FIRST grade.  (I have even scrapbooked her last day of first grade, but who is counting!!)

One of my favorite things that I try to do every year is have my kids write their name and draw a picture of themselves so I can include it on their first day of school page and we can see how their writing and drawing progresses over the years.  You can see Emily's on the upper right hand corner of the layout.

I certainly wasn't as emotional for her first day of first grade as I was for her first day of kindergarten and I think I am actually getting better every year.  I didn't even cry on the last day of school this year - and usually I do.

For this layout, the cardstock, patterned paper, and photo punch and scallop border punch are all Stampin' Up!  The chipboard is Heidi Swapp & unknown and the sticker letters are American Crafts (Thickers).

I have some news on my running and health and a probable answer on what is going on.  I had blood work done on Wednesday and it turns out I am pretty severely suffering from iron deficiency anemia.  So basically, my red blood cells are carrying less oxygen than they should be, so when I run, my heart has to work harder to carry oxygen throughout my body.  As a way of protecting itself, I think my body would get to a point where I couldn't run any faster because it would have been too dangerous.  I am really thankful for a couple things: 1. That I started using a heart rate monitor and knew the numbers were too high, 2. That my friend Jean suggested to me that this might be the problem, and 3. That my doctor is a really good friend and I called him right away and he had me come in for blood work immediately and called me with the results as soon as he knew.

So I need to take some iron supplements, change my diet & start eating more red meat (I don't really eat that much at all), and lay off the higher impact running for a couple weeks.  "Dr. Chris" said it'll be 6-8 weeks before I am back to normal, but I am hoping after 2 weeks of rest that I can run again.  Please hope for the best for me and hope we can get this back on track as soon as possible!!  TGIF!!!

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Always Retiring

This post is in honor of yet another great stamp set, Always.  Another one of my favorites and it's going away forever.  There are just 9 more days to get anything off your retiring list.  To see an update of what is still available, you can always (get it??) check this post.

In other "news", I haven't talked much about running lately, although I have been plugging along.  My runs are not getting any easier (well maybe very very slightly) and my races continue to get worse & worse.  Since March or so I have been using a heart rate monitor and I have noticed my heart rate average and max being VERY high.  So I don't know if that has anything to do with anything or not.  I did make an appointment with my doctor, so I'll start there and see where I get.  If you are a runner and have ever experienced a somewhat sudden decline in your progress, please share your story with me!!  My latest races have been a little discouraging, although I am not ready to give up running.  But I just would think my times would be pretty consistent since my running hasn't changed.  The only other thing I can think of is maybe as I trained for the half-marathon, I lost my speed as I gained endurance.  (I might have shared that thought already, because I have wondered that for awhile now.)

I am planning on doing another 5k next week, but Emily is going to run with me, so my time won't matter to me.  Other than that I might not try any races until October when I do the Army 10 Miler again.  I guess we'll see.  I'm just not sure what to do - get a running coach?, take an extended break?, focus on speed work? start running more hills? - I'm at a loss.  But I will keep you posted.  The somewhat good news is that my ankle seems to have improved, so hopefully that won't be a factor in anything anymore.

Thanks for listening to my tales of woe.  It's therapeutic to get my thoughts down on paper.  :)  So back to the card. Here is a recipe:

• Stamps: Always, Fresh Cuts
• Cardstock: Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke, More Mustard, Cherry Cobbler, and Whisper White
• Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke, More Mustard, and Cherry Cobbler
• Accessories: Designer Label Punch (already sold out), Photo Corners Punch, 1/2" circle Punch, Finial Press Embossing Folder, Regals Brads, Stampin' Dimensionals

This was one of the cards that we created in my 10 Card Class - the Last Chance Class, earlier this month.  It had a lot of "stuff" going on, but everyone really liked it!

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