Update...

It has been a busy week at work and at home. I just wanted to update you on the family stuff. Gram is in a regular room, no longer in CCU. She is pretty miserable with pain.

Tyler was home the next day, bouncing off the walls. The Dr. thinks it was a febrile seizure although he did test positive for mono. He is pretty much back to his usual self, thankfully.

I have been organizing my projects to take to St. Andrews crop. Can't wait to see you all there! Stop by my table, I always have chocolate!!!!

Hopefully by Saturday evening I will have some new projects/pages to share with you all!

Take care.

Craziness, I tell ya!

How about that old saying, when it rains it pours. Today while my Mom and nephew Tyler were visiting my Gram in the hospital Tyler had a seizure. They ran some tests on him and admitted him, I guess we will know more tomorrow. So while you are saying your prayers say a few for the little guy.

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Not much scrapping going on here. I was a pretty lazy couch tater the past few days. I do have a couple of cocoa mix cans sitting on my desk that I am wanting to alter. Been giving some thought to what I am going to take to the St. Andrews crop. I can't believe I am going to have that much uninterrupted scrapping time! WOOOHHHOOOOO!!!!!!

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Also wanted to say hey a couple more self proclaimed blog-stalkers.... Hey BS #3, Leonore from Hawaii and BS #4 Nicole from right here in PA! Thanks for hanging out and reading my thoughts, confessions and dork moments.

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Speaking of dork moments.... last evening while preparing Shrimp Alfredo for my DH boy did I have a DM. I was pressing some fresh garlic into the pan for my sauce when a particularly juicy clove of garlic squirted out of the back of the garlic press and there I stood with garlic juice and bits all over my hair, face, arms and shirt. In case you weren't wise to the fact, garlic juice BURNS! I washed my face more than once and I was still feeling it. I took a shower and could still smell the garlic on me. Only me, gals, only me!

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One last bit of dorkiness and I will be done for the night. On Friday after the football game I went back to my cousin Amy's house for a little glass of wine....and that was all it took! One little glass and I could not talk straight. So let me just tell Amy and Annette that I made myself some CANPAKES for breakfast today and they were good! LOL!!!

Take Care!

For the Love of Pumpkins

That is the title of this wonderful idea book I picked up in front of the the pumpkin bins at Wallywork--yeah that is what I am going to call it! LOL! The link to the site is in the title, some of it is still under construction. If they put all of the stuff that is in the book on it then it will be a pretty great place to visit. There are sections in the book for Decor, Carving, Halloween, Games, Thanksgiving, Weddings and Events and an Appendix with pictures of different types of pumpkins and what they are used for. Oh yes, and how could I forget, throughout all of the sections there are RECIPES!!!!!

Speaking of pumpkin recipes, I made the Pumpkin Spice Frosted Snack Bars from Kraftfoods.com and they are yummy and super simple! They start with a box of spice cake mix and only have a few ingredients and are topped with cream cheese frosting.
YUM YUM YUM!!!

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Gram is stable and holding her own at the moment. She is not in great shape, but we are just waiting and praying.

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I enjoyed working the drink tent last night at the football game. It was such a beautiful warm evening and we could hear the game well and see it some of the time. The tent was well recieved by the crowd too. So many people commented how they thought it was a great idea to have a place for those who only wanted a drink and not stand in line for hot food. I must also report that although we did not win last night it was one heck of a game, a nail biter right down to the end. Congrats to Rockwood on their first win of the season, maybe my Panther's will get one soon!

Take care! (only six days til St. Andrew's Crop!)

Hip Replacement

Yesterday my Mom's mother had hip replacement surgery. It got complicated... she needed 4 units of blood. She seemed to be doing well post-op though, until her blood pressure went crashing down. They think that she may have had a slight heart attack last evening. She is stable at the moment and alert. Please just keep her and my Mom in your prayers. (Complicated family issues that would take me years of blogging to even begin to explain.)

Take care.

It feels like kindergarten!

I have been coloring my stampies with my watercolor pencils and blending them with an aqua-painter and I am quite pleased with the results! Just trying to get some things started for Autumn/Thanksgiving theme cards.

I am getting lots of response about the crop and that has made me a VERY HAPPY gal! I think we will have a pretty big crowd again this time. I am just thrilled that we are growing each time!

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I am thinking that next year at the Heritage festival I am going to sell handcrafted greeting cards as well as having a make & take table. The money raised at the festival goes to Camp Harmony and the Western PA District Church of the Brethren. The committee has been looking for new fresh ideas for booths and I think that this one may be a winner. That said, I am calling upon you, my crafty creative friends! Next time you are crafting a card consider using your scraps to make an "extra" and send it my way for the sale table.

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Work (my paying job) has been quite the chore lately. I am usually good for a while after having some time off, but not so much this time. My frustration with rude people overwhelms me at times. Is it that much trouble to not answer your phone while I am waiting on you? I don't answer my (business) phone while I am waiting on you. I wait until I have finished and then answer it, and pray the person on the other end is not going to rip my head off because they had to wait because it took me longer to wait on you because my mother taught me to NOT interrupt someone who is speaking. ARRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!

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Friday I am helping with the concession stand at the football game. My Mom is one of the people in charge of it. It is Senior Night and they are expecting a pretty big crowd. I am working the "auxiliary soda and chips only" tent. Kinda like the "express" lane! LOL! My Mama told them what my real job is and they apparently think I am well qualified!

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I am seeking some opinions on the following quote. I really feel strongly about it because of what I see at work (the shoplifting, fraudulent returns, etc.) I think that dishonest people think that because it is such a big company that they are not hurting anyone by their dishonest actions.

"Character is doing the right thing when no body's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught."

~JC Watts

I want Travis to have character. It should be as easy as do as I do, but geez, we live in a pretty corrupt world sometimes. I wonder if that is enough. How do we instill in the next generation character, integrity, honesty... Let me have it, tell me what you think.

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If the tone was at times heavy today, I apologize. Take care, brighter and better days ahead!

What a BUSY day!

The Heritage Festival Make and Take Table was a pretty big success and I am quite happy about that! (Thanks Deanna for sending business my way!) We made lots of cards and scrapbook pages and I gave out a bunch of registration flyers for the crop. I was up REALLY early, like 5 AM early to do some last minute things for the table so when I got home this evening I curled up on the couch with a blanket and took a two hour nap. SOOOO nice!

My paint can and goodies to fill it up from our grab bag exchange.
Our really fun, fast, and easy make and take from the Crafternoon Crew courtesy of Connie and the
Splitcoast Stampers Criss Cross Card Tutorial.

I wish I would have taken pictures of Barb's and Connie's Halloween cards. They were TOO CUTE!

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Take Care!

The Crafternoon Crew!

That is the name of our card club! LOL! Barb (BS1) thought it up and I love it! We had a great afternoon and did a really easy and incredible looking make and take. (Thanks Connie!) I also got a cool paint can to alter and had a yummy fluffy peachy dessert. (Thanks Becky!)

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If you are attending the Brethren Heritage Festival today (9/15) stop by and visit me. I will be in the lobby of Faith Hall doing make and takes and handing out info for my crop.

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I will put up some pictures the next time I post of my goodies and card from today. I have to tell you too, that I totally enjoyed the roast, carrots and potatoes today. The house smelled YUMMY when I got home and it was perfect food for the dreary evening it turned out to be.

Take Care!

TGIF!

Nothing much to report today. Glad that this week of work is done, I have had enough drama!

I am busy getting things together for my make and take table for the Brethren Heritage Festival.

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REALLY looking forward to getting together with my card club gals in the morning.

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Tomorrow I am making a beef roast, carrots and potatoes in the crock pot for dinner. I love good hearty comfort food and the little bit of chill in the air has made me want to cook a bit!

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Here is a recipe from my cousin Amy, the apple pie queen! This is soooo much easier to make than "real" apple dumplings. I sprinkle the sliced apples with a little cinna-sugar and if you like you can also sprinkle on some raisins. SUPER YUMMY!

Apple Dumpling Cake
3 pounds of apples peeled & sliced in a 9X13 pan

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup oil

1 tsp salt

2 tsp. baking powder
Mix all ingredients together & pack mixture on top of apples.

Sprinkle top with cinnamon. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

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Have a GREAT FRIDAY!

Take Care!

Nothing much to report today...

My DH went back to work today, they are on mandatory overtime which means he is working five twelve hour shifts in a row. I keep teasing him that he needs to find out which one of his bosses' places he is going to crash at, cause I'm not putting up with his tired cranky butt! LOL!! Seriously, I don't expect cranky, just really, really tired!

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Someone left a comment about the cookbook that I made for Brianna. I posted pictures of it a few weeks ago, check the August archives the post is called A Wedding Shower. To make the actual cookbook pages I made a template in word. It was a one half page layout (8.5 inches x 5.5 inches) with text boxes for the title, ingredients list, and preparation instructions. Each section had a table of contents. I had beverages, breakfast, breads, main dishes, sides & salads, and desserts. I made a master copy and printed it on my printer. I printed it once and then flipped the pages and printed it again so that I got two copies on one page. It took almost two ink cartridges. There were over 180 recipes in the book. I only printed on he front of the paper, thinking that Brianna can write more recipes on the blank backs of the pages.

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I then took it to my friendly Staples and had one copy made on beautiful bright white paper. They also took care of cutting the pages in half which was a great big help and time saver. I punched the pages with a two hole punch, also from my friendly Staples store. That took a lot less time than I thought it would. The cover was made with chipboard, which I covered with pattern paper, stamped and embellished. It is all put together with binder rings and mounted onto an acrylic picture frame. I punched holes into the frame with my Crop-a-dile.

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The tricky part then, was that the book was a bit top heavy, so I redneck fixed it with an embellished wooden spoon. I hot glued a bunch of BB's (yes, I said BB's, I couldn't find any nice little flat glass marbles or other pretty as well as heavy things! LOL!) to the spoon and covered them over with some cute little buttons tied a ribbon to it and attached the HEAVY spoon to the bottom of the frame. LOL!! I thought I would take that little secret to my grave, but y'all had to ask how it was made... so I had to confess! LOL!

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That should be it for today! Just a little request from me, when you leave a comment sign your name, I don't get your email address to email you privately, so I often don't know who is reading and asking questions, tell me who you are I'd like to get to know who is reading all my thoughts and confessions! LOL! Thanks for reading, commenting and brightening my day!

Take Care!

Without further delay.... I bought the following...

I have always wanted this style of paper cutter! (Crazy wish for a galwith nine fingers! LOL!) We actually found it at Harbor Freight (gasp!) for the bargain price of $12.99. It will be so handy when I am whipping out stacks of blank cards!
This handy dandy Fiskars punch is four sided and it punches fancy corners and dry embosses them at the same time! Gotta LOVE those tools that can multi-task!
These are the Perfect Pearls we used at Art Tech to make the faux hammered metal letters. I have been wanting to make more do-dads with it but needed to find the right set. Yeah! Best of all the directions on how to make them are on the back of the package!

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Thanks for your patience! I have not been getting very much done between getting taken to fire calls, laundry and working this AWFUL 11-8 shift.

Take care and have a good day!

Just a quick post to let my BSes know that I will post about my new stuff this evening! My blogging plans for last evening were interupted by a structure fire call and laundry.

Nothing much to report today.

I drove, he slept.....all the way to Altoona and back.

DH had Birthday $$$$$ to spend so we went to his most favorite store.

Harbor Freight Tools

He spent his birthday $$$$ plus and came home a happy boy.

He is now the proud owner of a drill press, some saw that he can connect to his air compressor that will cut metal. (The mere thought of cutting metal gives me goosebumps and makes my neck scrunch up... UGGGHHHH!!!)

He also got some three ball quick change hitch thing so we can tow stuff?

We also bought him new steel toe workshoes.

(at Super Shoes, not Harbor Freight)

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My reward for that exquisite torture (shoe shopping with him) was a stop at AC Moore. I picked up some new stuff!! Yeahhhhh!!!! (and that is what I will post about tomorrow... how's that for a cliffhanger?????? )

What have I been up to???

This little project above was for my friend Nancy. It is a display of newpaper articles about a hospital teddy bear ministry that her daughter was involved in creating. Of course it was the perfect place to use some tear bears!
Yesterday and today I got to spend some time with my BS2. Most of my time was spent making "stampies." Stampies are made when you BUM someone else's stamp to make a bunch of stamped images that you can later use in your own projects. Kinda like when you go to a crop and make tons of stuff with the punches and die cut machines to use later. So, about 25 sheets of cardstock and a sore wrist from allllllll that stamping later I have a great big pile of stuff to keep me busy for a long long time. I LOVE IT!

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I can't believe that tomorrow is my lastday of vacation.... at least I missed that first of the month madness at work...

Take Care

Good Day!

Got this in the mail a few days ago. Love it! You can get yours, if you go to Kraft Foods and sign up for it. It is a great FREE magazine that you get a couple of times a year with fast and easy recipes. You also get recipe emails from time to time and coupons for free products.

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I made this one this morning.

I made mine in my trusty old Bundt pan and I skipped the nuts, yuck!

Banana Sour Cream Cake

SUPER YUMMY!
REALLY MOIST!!

DELICIOUS CREAM CHEESE FROSTING!

(Can you tell I liked it? The only thing that it needs is more BANANAS!)

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Here are some other recipes from the magazine that are on my list to try! I will have to report back to you later on them!

Layered Pumpkin Loaf

Peanut Butter Striped Delight

Pumpkin Snack Bars

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I spent the day scrappin' some with my BS2 and it was so nice and relaxing! I got a commissioned project done, will post pics after it is delivered. Also prepped some materials for my Make & Take next Saturday. Finally I stamped some images for cardmaking that I can color when I have time. Not a bad day at all... this vacation is slipping away all too fast.

I was a little "cardy" today.

These were commissioned by my cousin Amy. She is giving them to some residents at the nursing home where she is a nurse. The staff "adopts" residents and give them cards and gifts on special days, like Grandparents Day on Sunday.
Have I ever mentioned that I dislike grocery shopping. I am not sure if I dislike shopping for food more when I do it alone or with DH. I went today and I had a headache until I got home. Crazy, isn't it?

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Tomorrow, I scrap! YEAH!

The New CM Paisley Punch!

(Isn't it cool!)

I am really enjoying this new toy! First, I have to point out that it comes in my most favorite color of all time.. PURPLE! The other feature I like is that CM switched to a lever style punch!It is also quite versatile. I will say though that I do not recommend using it in the upside down position as it tends to eat the punchies. I used it with my paisley stamp (Art Gone Wild) and I have some cute CM bandana print paper for matting the photos that are going on this page.
You can also make pretty fun candles for a birthday layout. (Thanks Jean H!)
This is probably my most favorite though, great big bright posies! How FUN are they?

(Thanks Cindi H!)
I have a few other ideas in my head too...think rain drops or water splashes.

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I am watching the Drum Corp International competition on ESPN at the moment. Here is an interesting tidbit for those of you who did not know me in school. I was in our marching band colorguard and indoor guard as well .... what memories.

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Just for the record, I don't think I am going to get much accomplished this vacation...LOL!

Take Care!

Productive Day

Five Loads of Laundry.... and I washed the dishes too... of course I cooked dinner and there are MORE dishes to wash now.

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Just wanted to remind you about the Fall Crop Day at Camp Harmony

Saturday, November 10, 2007

9:00 AM to 8:00 PM

$30.00

Meals, Snacks, & Beverages Included

Goodie Bag

Door Prizes

Make and Takes

Send those registrations in! We are hoping for a record breaking crowd!

Contact me for more info if you need it!

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We will have an Information and Make & Take table at the Brethren Heritage Festival at Camp Harmony on Saturday, September 15. Stop by and see me!

I am preparing some materials for simple scrapbook pages using some "retro" techniques!

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I am also REALLY REALLY looking forward to getting some quality cropping time in at the end of this month at the St. Andrews Crop!

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Last on the list is I am looking to Update my Blog template page.... so wish me luck... I am not so computer savvy, so that should be a pretty big challenge.

Take Care!

Sooooooo...... I am on vacation this week, and I can't wait to play with some scrapping stuff!

We got these in at my store, they are the Rhonna Farrer FLOURISHES stamps by Autumn Leaves. They are on the same peg as the Swirls ones that I love so much. I guess the buyer can't tell a swirl from a flourish, go figure! Some days I look in our scrapping aisle and think that who ever buys some of that stuff has probably never scrapbooked a page, ever. Occasionally though, they get it right like these stamps! So I got them out of the package and I am ready to do some scrapping and cardmaking..... but there are dirty dishes and dirty laundry standing in my way... UGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Just to catch you up on the weekend... We went through 30 pounds of hot sausage, 3 cases of meatballs, 5+ cases of hotdogs, 10+ cases of hamburgers, 20 crates of bottled teas and milk, 10 cases bottled water, 5 canisters of fountain soda, Gallons and gallons of soup (homemade potato soup, vegetable soup, ham and bean, chicken noodle, chicken rice) 5+ cases of french fries, cases of perogis, hundreds of gobs (regular, peanutbutter filled, and pumpkin ones, too) I can't even tell you how many pies and cakes, salads and fruit salads we sold. Also125 chicken BBQ dinners and 120 quarts of ham pot pie.

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This was the 22nd Fall Harvest Gospel Music Festival. I know it is cliche' to say that it was the best one, but I do have to say that it really was a smooth one. We had a great group of people who worked together and really hustled to make the weekend go smoothly. I did not get to take in much of the music, but it was nice to visit with our "festival family" and get caught up with each other, like we do every year. My DH is one of the guys who handles paking and traffic flow and he even had a smoooth weekend. He likes that job, gets to visit with the groups that are there and is Mr. Social. They all know him and I get to be Mrs. Kenny which is a change for him now, since before it seemed like he was Mr. Liz.... if you know what I mean. He moved here and started over making freinds when we started our relationship. He had some HUGE shoes to fill when Harry asked him to do the parking for the festival. The man that did it before passed away a few years ago and he had been doing it for so very long that it all was really second nature to him. The first year for Kenny to take over was pretty rough, but now the groups know him and love him too!

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Alright, enough said... thanks BS2 and Albert for coming to to the festival! I am glad you made it! Take care... I hear dirty dishes calling my name!

Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert

A quick and easy dessert that seems like you slaved over it for hours!

Ice Cream Sandwiches (two boxes atleast)

The last time I made this I used Peanutbutter ICS and Vanilla ICS.

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Your Favorite flavor Ice Cream (1/2 gallon) soften, so you can spread it on

*Your favorite Ice Cream Toppings

(Syrups and crunchie things like toffee, chocolate chips or sprinkles)

*

Cool Whip

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Line your pan with a layer of ICS, cutting them to fit the size pan you are using.

Next drizzle with some syrups and sprinkle with some crunchies.

Then spread on a layer of ice cream.

More drizzles and crunchies

Another layer of ICS.

Top with cool whip and more drizzles and crunchies.

Freeze~overnight is best, but a few hours will do.

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I like to use a big foil roasting pan with the clear dome lid for this. They are nice and deep and you can throw it away when you are done.

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Just to give you an idea of the last time I made the dessert this is what I used.

Peanutbutter ICS

Chocolate Syrup & Toffee Bits

Chocolate Peanutbutter Ice Cream with Caramel Swirls

More Syrup and Bits

Vanilla ICS

Cool Whip

Chocolate Syrup and Toffee Bits

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It was quite the hit for DH's birthday celebration! Try it if you need a Labor Day Picnic dessert!

Take Care!

Fire House Fun

I was missing Travis this week. These are a few pics I took this summer while he was here.

This is the "new" engine... I know that I have heard the specifics on it, but quite honestly all I recall is...Blah, blah, came from New Jersey, blah, blah Heavy Rescue, blah blah $80,000.... you get the idea right? Kinda like when I start talking about something scrapbooking... my best guess is that DH hears.... blah, blah, blah, blah (insert new tool or technique here) blah, blah, blah..... LOL, sometimes it is just better that way!

Travis having some fun posing on the tanker. He doesn't like to be photographed, so if he is willing to have his picture taken I take it, no matter where he is!
He really enjoyed spending time at the firehall this summer with his Dad. He learned how to polish the diamond plate... which all future firefighters need to know. The first thing that they learn on their own though is how to climb up on top of the darn truck. LOL!

If you are looking for something to do... Yes, I know there is lots going on in the area...I just wanted to put a plug in for where I will be... the Fall Harvest Gospel Music Festival at Camp Harmony. We have a great time, AWESOME food that is inexpensive, GREAT MUSIC all day and into the night, free parking, kids activities....need I say more???

Everybody have a great Labor Day weekend, the weather is supposed to be FANTASTIC!

Take Care and Be Safe!