Fourth of July Fireworks!

We got in a good spot at Ford Island right next to the USS Missouri to watch the fireworks last night. AWESOME show. both boys had their ear protection and we all enjoyed. Here are some of my shots:




































Love love, blog you later,
Joscie *rhymes with bossy and sometimes coffee. :)

Happy Fourth of July RAK winners

Aloha and Happy Fourth of July People!

I have used Random.org to pick the RAK winners for this week! If you will email me your address, I will get some goodies in the mail going your way!
First of all for those who created backlinks to the MM Blog post, thank you so much!
Congratulations Eileen!
For the Comments here, Congratulations to #2:

Laura said...

Loved your layout on MM and a great job on the robot paper piecing.

July 3, 2008 2:23 AM

For the Comments on the MM Blog, Congratulations to #7:

Joscie, that is so beautiful. I love the color combo!

Posted by: christina | July 03, 2008 at 06:08 AM

Love love, blog you later,
Joscie *rhymes with bossy and sometimes coffee. :)

MM, I'm sew excited to share some Making Memories with you!

YAY! I have been waiting for a while to share some Making Memories Goodness... Today is the day for my guest feature over at the Making Memories Blog. Please Check it out. If you'd like to leave a comment or question there (and/or here) I will be giving away a gift to one person there and one person here. Check back here on Friday for the winners. You'll need to leave your name on your comment, so even if it is posted anonymously, just remember to type your name at the end.

I wanted to make a paper piece a robot to accent the story of Jordan’s love for pretending to be a robot. I used stitching in the same way that you could use a pen to doodle or accent on paper. I cut out the robot square and rectangle and used the polka dots on the paper as the guide for piercing. I used the same straight line (back-stitching) technique I always use:

Up the first hole, down the second, up the third hole, back down the second, up the fourth hole and continue on in the same pattern.

This layout uses Noteworthy Hillary Artisan Edge blue paper, New Noteworthy Delaney Floral Double Sided paper. Love Story Glittered Chipboard, blossoms and buttons, heart brads.

Journaling reads: Jordan loves to say Red Alert! Danger! He has the cutest arm motion and little robot voice!





I also got a little video of his robot action:


Let me know if you have any questions or comments! :)

Love love, blog you later,
Joscie *rhymes with bossy and sometimes coffee. :)

Happy July

Can you even believe we are in the second half of the year?!

We have been enjoying our visit with Granny who made the trip out from Alabama. Poor Pop wasn't feeling well enough to travel, so he had to stay home. The boys are enjoying their Granny time.

On Friday night, Troy and I had an impromptu date night that took us out to Cheesecake factory. It was a first for us and we really enjoyed ourselves. I thought of our friends Julie and Brad because I remembered how excited she was when it first opened. It was our first time there, and I was not prepared for the menu! OH my goodness. It was a little book *with ads in it* and so many things to choose from. I told the server that I was not prepared, and had I known better, I would have printed up the pdf of the menu and studied in the car on the way down! hee hee! I ended up going with a turkey pastrami Reuben with coleslaw and french fries, mmmmmMMMMM it was good. Troy had a chicken Caesar, and he enjoyed it. We decided to share a Tres Leches Cheesecake for dessert, and take home a snickers cheesecake for Granny. It was a great meal and a great time to talk uninterrupted. It has been a looong time since we've had that opportunity! I didn't get any pictures because I did not want to carry my camera down to Waikiki and look like a target, if you know what I mean. We got validated parking for $2, does it get any better?!

Okay. so tell me if you think I'm crazy? We went out to dinner, had sodas, entree, shared a dessert, took one to go, I had a coffee + tip + parking ($62). We filled up the van with gas. $72! It costs more to fill up the van with gas than to go out for dinner?! I mean really? it was like $4.24 a gallon. I looked at the sign feeling numb. I asked Troy, is that real? I mean, really? did we just pay $4.24 a gallon?!

On Saturday, we took a trip out to the Zoo for the military family appreciation event (free admission + entertainment + lunch) but it was soooo crowded and the parking was insane, so we made a detour and opted instead for the Waikiki Aquarium. very very pretty fish and corals there... The boys thoroughly enjoyed the trip there, and I met a nice photographer there who let me try out his 10-22 lens. sniffle, it was beautiful. too bad we were not in a more open setting where I really could have used it to my advantage.







I also tried out my flip video camera. super cute, super cool. I love that little toy!

On Sunday after Church, we did the standard Chili's Lunch and then went home. While Jordan napped, Troy and I ran off to Waikiki Beach to meet up with some new Twitter/Flickr Hawaii tweeps. :) It was the first time I was going to an event and I was excited to connect people to their avatars. Normally I am a planner. I process all available information and prepare for every event. I normally would have printed off the listing with Ryan's cell phone number and a listing (with avatars) of all expected to show. I haven't really been chatting with every one for a long time, so I am still trying to learn who everyone is. As we found our parking spot and made our way to the designated beach area, I scanned the park looking for Ryan. We were admittedly early and I was getting nervous.
hmmm, we're meeting up with people I don't really know, and I don't see a sign or anything. still scanning. hmmm, anyone with cameras? hmmm, I think Lynn said she'd bring a tent. that looks like it could be lynn. ... Excuse me, are you lynn?
Yes!
I say, I'm Joscie!
She says, I love your blog!
I say, Thanks! and think, hmmm I like this one! hee hee :)
we had a great time meeting new people and I am looking forward to meeting up with them again.
you can see some pictures here.

I am going to post my POTDs later. I need a little more time to get them edited.... and posted. a few last items, please don't forget to post your links on your blogs telling people to check out My blog and MM Blog on Thursday. You'll be eligible for a RAK for linking on your blog, and/or comments here and there on Thursday. also a side note I took pictures of my wall collage pictures and posted them at Concroption.com and I'll be posting those here in a few days or so. also Flat Joscie is getting ready to leave PA soon and head to TN to visit the amazing Karla Dudley and head off to CHA with her! I am so excited! :) I am sure there are more things I am forgetting, but if I add another thing... this will be a novel. THanks so much for coming by!

Love love, blog you later,
Joscie *rhymes with bossy and sometimes coffee. :)

Grosgrain: Do you like my clothes? Do you want them for....free?!

Check out this awesome blog! She makes the most beautiful clothes ever. I wish I had daughters. WHo am I kidding. I wish I was HER daughter. hee hee. actually my nieces would look cute in her clothes too!Grosgrain: Do you like my clothes? Do you want them for....free?!

Maritime Museum

When we renewed our Bishop Museum Family passes earlier this month, we found out that it was also good for admission into the Hawaii Maritime Museum. Luckily, Troy got off work early today, so we headed down to the museum that is located at Aloha Tower. Here is a shot of Troy and Jordan checking out the fish:
a lighthouse light at the entrance...
we donned the walkman styled tourguides and walked through the museum. I told Jalen that this was the coolest thing, the ipod of my day. he just laughed at me. Here he is pointing out Cape Town on an old hawaiian map.


this big vat is like one used to cook blubber. ew, gross.
how cool is this scale?!
and what is it that makes old typewriters so romantic, so desirable? I wondered if I could buy this one. hee hee. probably not.


Troy being a funny pirate....
Old style Hawaiian canoes made of wood. no screws, no nails.Troy traumatizing Jordan by putting him next to the shark jaws.
Jalen being a tough guy.
My POTD my hubs being so funny! Some of my bento goodies from Marukai. the box was 1.99, the bag 1.99 and the pick was in a set of 12 for 1.49. SOOO CUTE!
My pumpkin plant... that bugger is getting BIG! looks like it would like to take over the whole yard. I'm scared. ha!
scroll down to read the next post... my MM excitement is posted there. I will be giving a RAK for a comment on my blog post there on Thursday July 3 and for a comment on my blog here on Thursday July 3. I will announce the RAK winners on Saturday July 5.
Hope you are all having a great day... Blog you later! :)

SO Excited! and trying something new...

Okay, I think I can share my exciting news with all of you now... Do you remember how excited I was to be featured on the Making Memories Blog?! Well, thanks to all of your lovely comments/questions about my layout and sewing... I am going to be featured on the Making Memories Blog again! I will have layouts featuring sewing tips and tricks on the MM Blog in July! I will be giving RAKs for comments here AND there (on the day I'm featured) and announcing the RAK winners here. Thanks again for sharing in the excitement and always being so supportive of me. I'll remind you again (of course) but you'll want to check out the MM Blog on Thursday July 3, 2008.

Here's the new thing. There is a cool feature in blogger that I have just found out about... it's called backlinks. If you have a blog and link back to this post and leave a comment- you will be eligible for a RAK.

1. Simply click on backlinks.
2. Then click on create a link and it will open a new window where you can create a post linking back to this post.
3. If you are an author on multiple blogs, be sure to check that it will be posting to the appropriate blog.

Does that make any sense?! anyway. then leave a comment telling me you've posted a back link.

IF you have any questions, either leave it in the comments or email me at: joscelyne@cutchens.com .

Thanks and LOVE LOVE!