The Stone Rabbit

Sweetheart Shuffle part 2. . . and a Special Gift!

 

 

Last week I shared that several of the ladies I run with, and myself, were going to participate in the Sweetheart Shuffle 5K or 10K race!  Well. . . it turned out to be so awesome!!  The weather on Saturday was cold, but it was sunny and not windy, so it wasn't miserable!!

This photo shows the "start" of the run.  I'm in the pink in the front....messing with my interval timer!  :)  On distances longer than a 5K I do run/walk intervals of 3 minutes running and 1 minute walking.   The little timer beeps so I know when to run or walk.  It sure beats having to keep looking at my watch!

 

I'm so proud of the job we all did that day!!  Six of us have been meeting up for speed work once a week since last summer.  Our leader, Steve of BODIES RUNNING/FITNESS, gives us a plan and we gather at a nearby trail early in the morning to do his assignment.  I personally don't know if I've gotten faster, but I haven't gotten slower (well, maybe old age is slowing me down a bit :).  I am certain my endurance is better.  We are challenged to move faster than we normally would in intervals of faster and slower paces.  Anyway, as I stated first thing in this paragraph....I'm so proud of what our group did at the run!!  We all had a great race!!  One lady set a PR for her time in the 5K and two of the others came in first and second places in their divisions in that same distance.  Three of us came in first place in our divisions in the 10K!!

This picture shows me about to cross the finish line for the 10K (6.2miles).  

 

Most of us in this post race photo  participate in the weekly speed work group!

 

We are posing with Steve....our awesome speed work leader!   He was also responsible for organizing this race!

 

This morning I met one of my long time buddies for breakfast.  Even though the food service was less than stellar, the conversation and time spent with each other was!!  Bonnie surprised me with these beautiful tulips and chocolate hearts and (she knows I love these things)  PEEPS!!  

THE STONE RABBIT wanted to get the picture of the tulips outside because it was so sunny.   He said, that even though it's cold today, the sun and the flowers help to make it all better and a bit spring-like!!  He's also wearing the  sunglasses Bonnie gave me a few years ago as a Valentine gift!!

 

I sure hope you all have a great Valentine's Day . . .AND I hope you will visit Beverly's blog HOW SWEET THE SOUND!  There, you will find a long list of other bloggers who are ready with their weekly shares for you to enjoy!

 

 

HAPPY PINK SATURDAY!

 

DANA

Sweetheart Shuffle 2016

 

 All of us in this picture are running the Sweetheart Shuffle 5k or 10k!  I think this is the first race where we've all participated !  I run with this group once and sometimes twice a week. . .they are so much fun and so inspiring!  I'm in the back row, standing on my tippy toes.  :)

We met early this morning to get in a slow and easy mile run before we meet up for the race tomorrow!!

The last time I did this particular run it was a VERY cold day.  Thankfully, the weather outlook for this year's event won't be so cold!  

 

 

 

When we picked up our race packets today they had these wonderful mini cupcakes for us to enjoy!  They were very tasty!!  A big THANK YOU to GiGi's Cupcakes for supplying those treats!

 

 

THE STONE RABBIT really likes the awesome hoodies we received for signing up for the race!!  I do, too!

He was just a tad ticked off when he found out I didn't bring him home one of those yummy little cup cakes!  :(

 

 

I hope you will visit Beverly's blog HOW SWEET THE SOUND!!  There you will find a long list of other bloggers who have their PINK SATURDAY shares ready for you to enjoy!!

Happy Pink Saturday!

DANA

 

Happy Valentine's Day 2015!

 

THE STONE RABBIT and I thought we would be able to get a  quick picture to post on Pink Saturday this week!!  Since it wasn't too cold outside this morning, we felt an "outdoor" shot would be great cuz it was also sunny!!

Well...sunny didn't work in our favor. No matter where he hopped around the yard, we couldn't find a location that was shadow free. 

 

 

Sooo....we headed back inside to find a place that wasn't too bright or too dark.  This little spot in the entry seemed to work . . . .until . . . .

 

 

Twiggy decided to get in on the action!!!  She actually wasn't interested in "posing", but instead. . .

 

 

was taken by a little reflection on the wall!!!  Since she didn't want to pose or move, we traveled to the kitchen.

 

 

 And of course, Twiggy followed.    

I wanted to try to get a few pictures using empty candy containers I've saved from past Valentines!!!

 

 

Miss Twiggy wasn't interested in posing or playing with the boxes. . .oh no. . .she just wanted to snuggle  with THE STONE RABBIT. . . 

 

 

and mess with his glasses!  :)

 

 

We hope you all have a great Valentine's Day and a terrific PINK SATURDAY!!  

 

Please visit Beverly's blog, HOW SWEET THE SOUND, for a long list of other bloggers who are ready to share their PINKS and VALENTINES with you, too!

 

Happy Pink Saturday!

 

DANA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Circle Journal Valentines!

 

 

It's hard to believe that two whole years have passed since our Circle Journal group had a Valentines swap!! (You can click HERE for my post about the swap !  :)

 I treasure each and every one of their amazing creations.

I was going to put the Valentines on a tree again this year (one I use at Christmas that as red lights on it), but decided to try them on the vintage fireplace surround that is affixed to the wall in our entry.  

As you can see, Twiggy is putting her "sniff of approval" on the final project!!  Actually, she was pretty interested in the "fire" and the sound the motor makes when I turn on the awesome log set Bonnie gave me for Christmas last year!!

I really like the Valentines displayed this way and the LOVE banner, which was a graphic creation of my blogging friend Nancy of MY CRAFTY LITTLE PAGE.  Also, a couple of the Valentines were created for me by Bonnie . . . my long time buddy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE STONE RABBIT and Twiggy love hanging out by the "fire". . . especially on these cold winter days!

 

 

Of course, the fire doesn't keep Twiggy's interest as long as it does THE STONE RABBIT'S!!  :)

  

 

 

 

Something that will keep YOUR interest is a trip to Beverly's blog HOW SWEET THE SOUND!!  There you will find a large group of other bloggers who are ready with their PINK SATURDAY shares, too!!

HAPPY PINK SATURDAY!!

 

DANA

 

 

 

Sweet Gifts. . .with touches of PINK!

 

 

I am very late in sharing this beautiful PINK Valentine's Day card.  It was designed and created by blogging friend, Doris, of THE STAMPING TOWER.  She is truly a paper artist. . .and I always feel so very, very fortunate every time she sends me one of her treasures!!

 

 

 

 

It was in the low 70s in our neck of the woods today.  Little Twiggy  wanted to go outside to enjoy the warm air, but the wind was so strong.  Thankfully,  THE STONE RABBIT persuaded her to stay put or she would have been air-born!  She weighs about 7 pounds, which makes her on the "light weight" side for a full grown kitty.

And actually, she's not allowed to go outside to roam around.  She's under strict supervision by me when she steps into the great outdoors.  And, well, her version of the great outdoors is our fenced back patio.

I know she wants to be down in the yard, but over the years, she's grown used to the "boundaries" I set for her.  She just loves to hang out there with me on the patio while I sip my morning coffee or my evening iced tea.    

 

 

Oh, and look at this darling ceramic kitty card holder another blogging buddy sent to me!!!   Jeanne of BACKYARD NEIGHBOR is such a sweet lady!!  I first "met" her via blogging nearly five years ago. . .and have been so very lucky to actually have "met up" with her in person two times over the years!!!  I look forward to that happening again soon one day!! 

The Valentine card of Doris' looks perfect with Jeanne's kitty!! 

Sometimes Twiggy gets the best expressions on her face!!!  Isn't this a riot?  :)  I was playing with the settings on my new camera and was just snapping away. . .not looking at what she was doing.  When I loaded the pictures onto the computer and started to review them I nearly fell out of my chair on this one!

You can tell her antics don't phase THE STONE RABBIT.  He didn't make a move!!

I'd like to think she was expressing her happiness that it's finally Spring!!  

Yes, I'd like to think that.  :)

 

 

 

Please be sure you do MOVE on over to Beverly's blog, HOW SWEET THE SOUND!!  There will be a lot of other bloggers ready to share their PINKS with you again this weekend!!

Happy Pink Saturday and Happy Spring!!!   And once again, thank you to Beverly for keeping our Pinkies up and running!!!

 

DANA

 

 

 

 

Happy Pink Saturday Valentine's Day...2014

 

Once again, we are celebrating PINK SATURDAY VALENTINE'S DAY.  Be sure to visit Beverly's blog, HOW SWEET THE SOUND.  You will find lots of other bloggers who are waiting for you to see what they are sharing this week!! 

 

 My daughter recently broke a bone in her hand and while we were visiting her orthopedist last week at the ROCKHILL ORTHOPAEDIC SPECIALISTS in Lee's Summit, MO. . .I made a new friend!!!

She was so excited when I told her I'd feature her on my PINK SATURDAY post this week!!  She was grinning ear to ear!!  :)

 

 

 

 

The next day, our running group had it's First Annual Sports Banquet!!   Most of us hadn't seen each other since completing our events at the KC Marathon last October.  It was awesome to get together and catch up!  

We are excited to start our weekend training runs ...once this dreadful snow and cold are gone...as several of us have signed up to do the Half-Marathon again in October!!!

 

 

 

I wanted to share  my Valentine Tree with you!!!

It's actually the tree on which I put my Dancing Santas during Christmas (click here), but it serves well as the spot to display the handmade Valentine Cards I've received over the years!

 

 

 Most of them were created by my Circle Journal Friends. 

 

 

 

 

And some were made by my buddy Bonnie!!

 

They put a big old smile on my face when I look at them.

I'm sure my new friend at the Orthopedist's office would like them, too!!!  She's big into Valentine's Day!!

 

 

THE STONE RABBIT loves Valentine's Day, too!  In fact, he decorated this little tree just for me!!!

I love that rabbit!!

I hope all of you have a wonderful Valentine's Day and an awesome PINK Saturday!! 

 

DANA

 

EASTER SALE PREPARATIONS.....A VALENTINE RECEIVED.... and a VALENTINE "RUN"

 

This is a Pink Saturday jumble of jabber this week!!  Here we go...... 

No. 1 ...with less than a week before my first sale of 2013, I'm in Panic Mode!!!

As usual (for me), I'm behind in getting my items "dreamed up" and then created.  I try to make up most of my patterns. That's not an easy thing to do in the first place and in the second place....it is time consuming.  THEN there is the huge amount of time is takes to make what I've designed.

 AND THEN, there's the distractions brought on by little Miss Twiggy who seems to want to be in the middle of EVERYTHING ....no matter what!  :)

 

So, for the next few days, my nose is at the grindstone, trying my best to be ready to sell Easter and Spring items next weekend!!

No. 2.....Grace's gorgeous Valentine had problems getting to my house, but it finally arrived....and I was sooo happy when it did!  As you can see it's a beauty....and well worth the wait.

I love it, Grace....it's a real treasure!

 

My camera isn't working right at the moment, so I had to use my phone camera to take these pictures.  Sorry about the poor quality, but I just wanted to capture all seven of my handmade Valentines!  They are all wonderful and special and I had such fun being a part of this swap!

 

 

No. 3....on February 9 I participated in my first "run" of 2013!

It was called the Sweetheart Shuffle and was held in the park and trail area that surrounds our Bass Pro store.

It was a MISERABLY cold morning as hundreds of us gathered to run, run/walk or walk either the 5K or 10K distances.  I went for the 5K.

Here we are at the "starting line"...shivering and ready to get moving!! 

 

 

This is me (on left) and my running friends Linda and her daughter Johnna after we'd completed the run.

We are half of a group of gals who have committed to running or run/walking a half marathon this fall!  

Right now...I'm no where near ready to do that, but the six of us have formed a little support group and are really looking forward to getting in shape to complete our goal!  Actually, Johnna is doing a full marathon on the same day we're doing the half!!

 

 

Usually, after one of our runs, the foods include fruit, granola bars, bagels, etc.  Well, we had bananas at this run, but they also gave us theses pretty PINK cuppy cakes as a little "sweetheart" treat!!

 

 

Here is THE STONE RABBIT posing with my bib number and medals from the run....AND my PINK cuppy cake.

Twiggy was very interested in that treat, too!! 

She doesn't miss a thing in this house!!

 

 

I'm glad she walked away before I had to take action to make her leave my treat alone!! 

It was yummy!!

 

 

 

 

No. 4. . .. I hope you plan a visit to Beverly's blog, How Sweet the Sound, because you are in for a real treat !  LOTS of bloggers are waiting to share their pinks with you on this week's PINK SATURDAY!!

DANA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Valentine Swap!!

 

Our Circle Journal Group decided to do a Valentine Swap!  We were to make a Valentine for each person who participated......then mail them off for everyone to enjoy for Valentine's Day!!

 

Here's THE STONE RABBIT posing with the seven Valentines I made. . . .they were ready to go to the post office last Monday!

 

 

 

As bloggers, we are used to taking pictures of most everything that goes on in our lives....right?  Well, this card making journey was no exception!

I started with one of my favorite kinds of card-stock. . .good old DICK'S gift boxes!!!

 

 

I cut out a heart for each lady, then added a "ruffle" trim from muffin cups I found in the health food section of our grocery store....they are a "natural" color.  Mod Podge held the ruffle in place til it dried.  However, I helped it stick by placing the hearts beneath heavy glass baking dishes....I utilized that "smashing" or "weighting"  technique throughout the gluing processes of creating my cards.

 

 

Next, I added  little ribbon hangers to the backs of the hearts (taped the ends to the card stock), then Mod Podged red paper to the fronts and black paper to the the backs of my Valentines!

 

 

Then I added a vintage key to each heart that I had embellished with red stones!!!

 

 

At the top of this photo you'll see the "layout" I decided on for the rest of the card.  The sayings that will go on the hearts and the vintage images were been printed on lightweight card stock, then backed with the heavier card stock from the paper box.

 

 

 

I attached (with Mod Podge) the outer boarder of red foil hearts ...then glued the little girls in place.  

After the foil borders and girls dried, I placed the saying and a glittery heart on some black paper background.  Using double stick tape, they were attached  to the cards.

 

A "pocket" to hold a pull out vintage rabbit image and "Be Mine" heart pick (cupcake pick from The Dollar Tree) were added to the backs of the cards.  

The pockets were created from the hang tags (price tags)  I use on the items I sell in local craft shows.

 

 

THE STONE RABBIT thoroughly enjoyed this Valentine project and so did I!!

 

 

I just had to show you the pile of stuff I'd assembled to create the seven heart cards!  It's amazing how much it takes to end up with a smallish card!

 

 

 

One of the  best parts of this project was seeing my cards all finished.  However, the VERY BEST part has been receiving the amazing cards my fellow card making friends created!  This is definitely a time when it's much better to receive!!!  :)

 Nancy's card (MY CRAFT LITTLE PAGE) came first!

Wow....she is such a papery artist!  I LOVE the vintage Valentine pick she added to the heart...and of course, the Scotty dogs and  cherry paper. . .a real Mary Engelbreit-ish look!!  She is so great about "layering" her papers and images!!!

 

 

Here are the sweet touches on the back!!!  

Thank you, Nancy, I LOVE it!!

 

 

The next one to arrive was Shelia's (of NOTESONGS).

It's a big heart FILLED with some of my favorite vintage images of bluebirds and sweet little girls and lots and lots of hearts and just the right amount of GLITZ!!

 

How PERFECT that she added a darling vintage Valentine image of a little girl playing the piano....I think it looks just like she did as a child!!

This is such a great card, Shelia...thank you so much!!

 

 

Beverly's card (HOW SWEET THE SOUND) arrived next!

LOOK at what she did!!!  I had NO idea she was an artist!  She drew this amazing picture then added a gorgeous silver heart charm necklace !

 

 

Beverly asked each of us our favorite color.  I have two....yellow and pink!  She used yellow for my card's background.  What made it even more special was the design in the paper...daisies...one of my favorite flowers!

I love the punched detail she added to the corners and the trim of the card!

 

Here's the inside!!!  :)  Thank you, Beverly....I love your card!!

 

 

Jeanne's card (BACKYARD NEIGHBORS) also came on the same day as did Beverly's!

She used the cutest little Valentine girl and kitty image on it!  Of course she knows my fondness for my own little cat.  :)  She also added a sparkly bow with a glittery heart button, then sprinkled hearts all around!  Of course, she used awesome PINK paper!!!

 

Here's the inside of Jeanne's wonderful card.  Another sweet heart and a wonderful poem!!!!.  Thank you, Jeanne!   This is such a special creation..I love it!

 

 

I thought LaVerne's card (RIVERSIDE STUDIOS) would never arrive since everyone had received theirs but me....and then it came!  AND wow...what an amazing card she had created!

This is the front before you untie the red bow. . .

 

 

then it opens to this beautifulness!!!  Just LOOK at all of the detail she added...the heart doilies, cupid with a crown, the vintage card and my initial!

 

Here's the back of the card....actually...it could be the front, too, because it's just as lovely as the other side!!! 

Thank you, LaVerne.  This is truly a work of art!!   I love it!

 

 

As of Friday morning, Kathy's (WRITER'S REVERIE) and Grace's (PINK IN THE CITY) cards haven't arrived....I'm hoping they come in today's mail!!    I'm really looking forward to seeing them and adding them to my Valentine tree!  I will update this post and share them just as soon as they get here!

 

NOTE:  The mailman just came by....NO cards for me today!  :(

 

 

 UPDATE!!!  My gorgeous Valentine from Kathy of WRITER'S REVERIE came Saturday !!  Isn't is somethin'?  

Here's front!  She created a papery tea cup and an amazing heart shaped tea bag (that was tucked inside the cup when it arrived!).  Such a clever idea!!

 

Here's the back!!  Wow...just as pretty as the front!

 

Grace's card will be placed with the others as soon as it arrives!!  Aren't they an awesom group?

 

     

 

 

I hope all of you had a fantastic Valentine's Day!!  I know these sweet cards added to the specialness of that day for me!

Please visit Beverly's blog, HOW SWEET THE SOUND, for lots of bloggers who are ready to share their pinks with you this weekend!

DANA

VALENTINE MEMORIES. . . "SPRINKLED" WITH PINK!!

 

Last Friday morning I was headed over to our son and DIL's home to pick up the two older grand kiddos for a little over nighter at our house!  Along the way the local Krispy Kreme made my car pull right into their parking lot and DEMANDED that I pick up some of their delightful heart shaped donuts to take on my trip!!

 

Of course, I had to do what they told me!!  So I bought a dozen of these "melt in your mouth" delicacies and continued on my way!

Everyone was thrilled with the do-nutty surprise....well, the little 6 week old Grand Boy #2 wasn't impressed, but the rest of 'em were!!!

 

After a sweet visit with my DIL and the baby, I loaded up The Grand Girl and Grand Boy #1 ..... and some of the donuts....then headed out to meet my hubby so he could have lunch with his little ones, too!

Then, we returned to our house and started making Valentine Cookies!!

I wasn't sure how Grand Boy #1 would do with this project......I was certain The Grand Girl would be very good at it....HOWEVER, that little guy did a fantastic job of rolling out the dough and cutting his cookies,too!

Flour on the nose of the Grand Girl.

OK...this was just too cute of a shot for this Nana to pass up!!! :)   

Here you see a batch of those, "made with love" cookies, baking away!!

Next it was time to frost!!!

Again, I knew The Grand Girl would do a fine job with that, as we've frosted lots of cupcakes in the past, but this was my first time of actually "cooking" with Grand Boy #1, and again, I didn't know how he would do with "frosting".

Well, he did just fine!!  :)  

He only frosted three cookies, but he enjoyed frosting them over and over!!  He assured me he was not eating the frosting off the cookies, then reapplying more, but this smart old Nana wasn't fooled !  :)

 

 

By the time we were ready to start putting PINK and red "Sprinkles" on the tops of the cookies, Grand Boy #1 had decided he was finished with the cookie project and was off to play with some of his toys.

The Grand Girl is the Sprinkles Princess around here.  I recall  last Easter when we made cuppy cakes and she was in charge of putting pastel sprinkles on them.  I found sprinkles in rooms that were far, far away from the kitchen.  Those little babies can ROLL!!  :)

 

Here are a few of the completed cookies we made!! 

 

The next morning, I made some heart shaped pancakes for part of their breakfast.  I remember doing that when their daddy was a little boy.  We also had scrambled eggs and fruit and . . . .

 

Krispy Kreme donuts!!!  Honestly, that was the hit of the meal!!  I can't remember the last time I'd had one of those. . .  boy oh boy, were they yummy!

THE STONE RABBIT has been in charge of locating the "runaway sprinkles" this week.  He's very good at that job. . .so I rewarded him by baking more heart shaped sugar cookies, with just a little of that yummy frosting and a few of those PINK and red sprinkles!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day and a really fine week!

 

Please visit Beverly's blog, HOW SWEET THE SOUND.  She will have LOTS of other bloggers ready and waiting to share their PINKS with you this weekend!!

 

Happy Pink Saturday!!

 

DANA

 

Note:  here is the link to the recipe I used for these sugar cookies.  They are just what their title says:  THE BEST ROLLED SUGAR COOKIES .   This is an awesome recipe!   For the frosting, I  used the butter-cream recipe on the back of the C & H Powdered Sugar bag...and added Ghirardelli Natural Unsweetened Cocoa until I reached the taste I liked!  :)

A TREAT FOR VALENTINE'S DAY!

 

We had our first REALLY measurable snowfall of the winter yesterday morning!   I was secretly hoping we'd make it through the season with zero snowfall this year. . . we had enough snow in the past two years that I think we deserve the break!  I do realize we need the precipitation, though, so this little amount was a welcome present to our yards and plants. 

While yesterday was snowy and cloudy and cold, today. . . 

 

 

it's sunny and warmer!

In fact, it's so sunny in our kitchen this morning that THE STONE RABBIT had to borrow my Valentine sunglasses in order to help me show you guys how I made these cute little Valentine treats!

 

   

My inspiration for this project came from "CHIA and JO, Tackling Life One Project at a Time".

To create these sweet little treats, you need:

1.  Popcorn (I used prepopped corn called "Festival Time Kettle Korn"....it's made in Missouri...and is only $2.99 for a big bag and it tastes just like frest kettle corn.) .

2.  M&Ms...I used the special Valentine edition featuring only pink and red candy!!

3.  Cellophane treat bags.

4.  Printed Templates from CHIA and JO. 

5.  A stapler.

 

I printed these on white card stock, then cut them apart.

 

 

Next, I filled in the "to" and "from" lines, then. . . 

 

 folded the tags in half so they would be ready when I needed them!

 

Now it's time to fill the bags!

You can see that little Twiggy was interested in this project, too!  She's such a good helper.

I alternated a few M & M s with a cup of corn until the bags were full.  

Be sure to leave room at the top so you can. . . 

 

easily fold it down about 1/2 ".

 

Then, place the tag over the bag, centering it and getting the fold of the bag under and snug to the fold of the tag....then staple once on each side!

 

That's all there is to creating cheap, but sweet little treats for your special Valentines!

 

I told Twiggy that kitties don't eat pop corn, but that I'd be certain to have a special Valentine for her, too!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

 

DANA