She's a Super Chick A Super Chick... She's super SCRAPPY.. YEOW!

Maybe this will help

2010-03-01T17:16:00.001-06:00

my mojo! I purchased some scrap products. Really just a few as I decided to be a good girl and stay within my dollar a layout budget. So this is what $54 buys you. :D With free shipping (YEAH!)

All the BG origins line (minus one piece which of course is the prettiest piece) And six tattered angels I am showing in the picture. I purchased mainly boyish colors and a silver and gold. They are expensive to me but I love what people do with them. Maybe on impulse I might get a pink or purple but for now i am happy with them. I am thinking I will have to use them tonight on some pages. I need to unwind. Maybe that is why I have been in a funk I haven’t been in my scrap cave enough :D lol

I wanted to leave ya all with some new family photos. I got my hair did a little darker.

Aaron lost a tooth (he couldn’t wait it has been forever since he lost his bottom two)

Alex being silly. He is getting so big and talks ALL THE TIME! cute and annoying at the same time.

Andrew doing various boy projects. He is getting to the age he doesn’t need his mommy much anymore.

So sad no mojo :(

2010-02-17T12:24:00.000-06:00

I have not scrapped since the beginning of the month. I did 40 layouts in January after all so I am way behind. I just haven't had the gumption. Even after being excited for the display thing my dh found me. I think when organizing it I realized once again how much I have hoarded. And I don't know if I will ever use it all. And then I think man what a waste of money etc. And with my current ecomomic status it just depressed me more.

BUT then this friday I am to get my income tax back and have decided to take some funds from that and stock up on new paper. (I heart paper!) And though I can't justify more embellishments I can paper as I do go through it. In fact last night I matched up half of what I have for paper (and most of my new papers and all of some really old papers that I thought would be a good idea to pre-assemble (yeah not such a good idea but I will make do) so I can use all of those and feel major accomplished :D ) SO I am fired up again and bummed I won't have time tonight to go downstairs.

So right now I am debating what papers I want/need to get. Anyone have suggestions on new must haves that are not too frilly. I can handle a paper or two girly but really won't use a lot of that kind of paper with three boys. :D

I’m ready, I’m ready, I’m ready!

2010-02-06T16:52:00.002-06:00

To get my shopping on. It is very hard to not want to buy new paper. I am holding strong because I know soon we will go to the closest LSS with tax money and I can stock up on some paper and misc items.
Here are my newest layouts…

I really don’t like this layout at all. but sometimes you just have to be happy and done. After all I have a lot of pictures and stash to use up!
Have you ever ran out of the letters you need so you come up with goofy titles? Well I did on this one but I kind of like it so why not :D
So twelve more layouts done. These were done on Monday so a good start to February. Since I did 40 in January I see no reason to do more in February.
How many of you have wonderful supporting hubbys for your hobby? I so do. He never complains when box after box use to come to the house even if by the end of the week we only had 10.00. Even better he now looks for things I can use for organizing my scrapbook room. In fact he found this awesome peg board display for me. We were at the consignment shop together but in different areas and he hailed me over and “AHHHHH”(heavenly music) was this rotating pegboard. He so gets brownie points for even thinking scrapbook room for me. I hope this will help me lay out exactly how much extra stickers/embellishments I do have because it is so much I have a hard time remembering what I have. And if you can’t remember it how can you use it! Here is the before pictures and I will post the after when he is done painting it with some pink paint. Just the metal but I can’t wait to see how it looks when finished.

This picture doesn’t do it justice on how tall it is because it is as tall as a person.
I want to leave you with my new FAVORITE song. It is so fave I want to spread the love. I am a total lyric person and I really love all music. I have this song on replay over and over again and am not through with it yet. It is Need You Now by Lady Antebellum and this is a video of them at the Grammy’s last week. They are flawless!

Thanks for visiting here and I hope you are converted :D

PS. I forgot to say again thanks for your prayers/happy mojo thoughts on my possible job. I got a second interview but not the job. Kind of bums me out because it would be good benefits but the hours stunk. SO a blessing but then again I would have been done looking. KWIM? :D anyway thanks again and I know this was God's will and you can't ask for more then that.

Thanks for the prayers!

2010-01-29T12:04:00.000-06:00

So one step closer to getting the job I mentioned before. I am not so crazy about it now (the hours are kind of wonky) and in fact thought I had blown it having a beauty queen moment and totally missing the important word in the question and it's meaning. But this journey must be God's will.. if nothing other then to get me in the swing of interviewing.. being critiqued. Oh wait. I am ahead of myself. So I got a call back. I am one of three potential hires. They want us to second interview with the staff itself. I totally get it. This is a boys group home kind of situation and they (we) have to be a cohesive unit. But I must say it feels like it will be a popularity contest and I never do very good but then again I do at first impressions. I just am too honest I think and not good at the games. In general I like everyone and don't have time to not be nice to everyone. If that makes sense :D So we will see. It is nice to get past the first round.

So for those that read this and prayed... thanks!

11 more layouts :D to my kitty

2010-01-24T17:50:00.002-06:00

>>>>> edited to add: Please pray for me. I have a job interview on Wednesday around 1 central time for a job that would be in my field I am in college for and would totally get my foot in the door. After the last two years being ultimatly with more hardships then goodships ( yes I am a dork lol) I have prayed and I beleive this will be a good year. But it never hurts to have more prayer my way. I know from this blog and my message boards with my son last year that prayers can be answered. Thank you all for coming to check me out and taking your time for me. God Bless you.

I watched three movies while I scrapped last night. They were three totally contrasting movies but I was able to get a lot done during that time. One layout I had done last week, a second one I finished by making some homemade flowers. (have you ever looked at a layout think you are done then realize it looks unfinished?) then 9 more from start to finish while watching the movies.

This one is my submission for the All about Me challenge blog. The current challenge is to use a soundtrack of your life. So my take on that was to thinking about what songs I would like at my funeral. I know this is morbid but I don’t think I am that abnormal to think about it. Plus if/when that day comes then I hope my hubby or children remember this page so that will be one less thing for them to worry about. It is two fold with music. The purples pieces are the lyrics to the sound of music’s Good-bye song… you know… Farewell… good night, something German, Adieu etc… And then several songs I would like played in the huge journal blog I did. With the main lyrics of why I chose that song. I really love it. I think the paper fits though I am iffy on all the purple flowers. But I am not good at perfect like. I wish I was though :D

And then these are the rest. I used up all that spring paper (can’t remember what it was) And I don’t normally like very critter friendly paper but these ones were easy to work with. So now I get to add 11 more dollars to my spending money yeah! Love using that stash! I really want to get my hands on some of that Basic Grey Origins paper. So I hope soon to make a trip to my LSS.

Short post I promise

2010-01-16T18:25:00.001-06:00

Just my latest layouts. I got crazy one day at work doing journaling on transparency. But I love how they turned out. Way better then my own writing.

Both of these done with my scrapbook4u latest kit. it is bella blvd I love that company. I have decided what ever layouts I make using kit paper I am not counting towards my general fund since I am not taking the kit money to pay for the kits from the general fund. Does that make sense? lol I thought I would use this quick but did these two and lost my mojo on it :(

This is my word for the year. I am going to try to accept the things I can’t change and deal with my control issues! :D Good luck with that you say right. lol

The AAM latest challenge is to scrap about what makes you angry. This is kind of tongue in cheek as I did this facebook quiz about how unique my name is and it was very un unique and I am angry at my parents. lol I thought a fun way to document something about my name. I want to do another one to go with this about where my name come from… or why my folks picked it.

THis is my favorite of the ones I did this round. It is simple and I love the papers.

Here is a close up of the sparkly snail trail I added to the paper. I thought made it a little extra cute.

I am leaving you with a wonderful picture of our little adopted guy Rocky… you might remember we got a puggle from the shelter even though we didn’t know he was a puggle. :D I love him so much! It is amazing how something can find a place in your heart so quick. And for the most part he is a good dog. He thinks he is a guard dog but realizes quick he really isn’t and gets overly scared. Poor thing.

Layout update

2010-01-06T16:45:00.001-06:00

I finally used this kit from LPS

The past kit part of the website doesn’t say what paper it is and I can’t remember as it was a mix of some prima and I think rough and tumble from another line. Anyway I was able to use it all up. When I first got the kit I was unsure what pictures to use with it but it turned out very versatile and I love that in a kit.

My favorite! :D

And one more on top of these.

So 8 more to the new year total :D pretty good start. I got my newest kit from scrapbooks deal 4 u and am so ready to break into it. I think I will tonight or totally tomorrow. It has Bella Blvd and I LOVES me some Bella :D

The countdown begins…

2010-01-04T06:35:00.000-06:00

OR the count up. These are the layouts I did New Years Eve and Day. I was dedicated to watching Quantum Leap and using that stash up. Here is what I got done.

This is a close up of the coordinates paper where I folded it and sanded a grid. I really love this effect it complements the grungy paper excellently.

This is using GCD paper. I finally found it online to purchase and love a lot of it. This green paper is one of their more calm papers. Most of what i bought had glitter or was shimmery which was a nice surprise as I didn't know when I ordered it online. It is also quality paper.

This is one of my faves.

My fave Nikki Sivils paper from her Victoria stree line. I wanted the paper to do the talking on it’s own and is why not a lot of embellishments.

I had this layout in my head for a couple days and love how it came out.

Another fave layout of mine from a paper brand (scenic route) I heard is going out of business.

Another favorite as it is totally elegant and girly and I don’t get to do those very often.

I am also loving how these three came out. They are all so different but from the same type of photo from walmart with santa.

So That makes 16 layouts for the year so far. A great start since only the third day of January. And since I am writing this ahead so I actually blog tomorrow I might actually have more to show for the 3rd. If I can get the time to go down there and I SO want too! :D

Happy New Year

2010-01-03T13:16:00.001-06:00

So I am starting this new year post with my resolutions I have been promising :D

1) I promise to only buy one scrapbook kit a month. And right now that is Scrapbook Deals 4 U

2) I promise to use mega stash and to not buy new products until I have at least 50.00 saved up. I will save up these funds by counting every layout I do as a dollar. And will mostly concentrate those funds on more paper as I have more embellie stash then paper. This does not include my ATG tape as I do need this to even do any pages.

Hmmm… I was thinking there was more but two was pretty big so really that is it. I am working on a system so I only buy the paper I want in a collection then the whole thing. Not sure if I am going to do it online or in Springfield at lss.

I am going to just post today the layouts I did a couple weeks ago and are not included in my dollar a layout resolution.

Also, I managed to rearrange and get my scrapbook room looking decent. We decided to take the bulky pantry from our kitchen and use it in my scrapbooking room and the home made cabinet (that is well made) left by the last owners that was in the room and not really being used we moved to a different section of the basement which freed a lot of space. here is the end results and I LOVE it.

(Here is a link to my post showing the before pics)

It is amazing how just having a space you love makes you more creative and totally want to spend hours in your creative space. I am itching to get down there today but have a ton of things to do. (like put the tree away… ugh what a chore!)

I wanted to leave you all with my new do… I have never gotten my hair professionally colored and I love it. I have been trying to grow my hair out and it is taking forever as it has been one disaster after another finding the perfect stylist. Well I fully think I did! And she is super sweet too. Here is a picture of it… some people have said I look younger so I am down with that. lol

PS sorry the pics are kind of dark. I left my camera at my folks so had to use the cell phone which is ok but hardly as nice.

I hope all of you had an awesome safe New Years and even though mine didn’t turn out as I had planned it was still nice :D

Jumping on the bandwagon

2009-12-30T20:27:00.001-06:00

But it is hard to to do… I have seen on a couple websites where people picked their top 10 layouts of the year. I noticed it was easy to pick a few here and there until this last two months. I liked a lot of what I did so I kind of didn’t really pick any. So this is my top thirteen before those. lol Thank you for letting me indulge myself as I like my style but I am funny in the way I don’t feel good enough for design teams but I would LOVE to be on one.

So there is probably more as some were showcased in a slideshow and I just went back through the months on the blog and picked that way. I don’t keep them on a hard drive.

I plan on doing a christmas follow up post, lay on the line my scrap resolutions, and my latest layouts. Oh and I re-did my scrap room and I am loving it. Like total furniture rehale! yeah!! So keep following. :D

Randomness

2009-12-29T10:25:00.000-06:00

I have several things to speak of and I am feeling a little blue today so I am going to try to do this whine free :D

First I am so excited as sadly I have always wanted to get an award on this blog and FINALLY! I did. Though it was more my boobies :D Please go check out this this blog (as I am at work and don't want to capture it etc) I have followed Scope and his dear fiance Cora for a few months now thanks to Maggi (I find all the best blogs through there :D) A very floral display of my goodies was taken during my birthday shin-dig so I felt I needed to help the cause. My mom was diagnoised earlier this year. I lost my aunt who was like a sister to me 7 years ago (she was only 37) and one more aunt had it. (there is something about that side of the family 80% of them have had or died form some form of cancer... including the children now (my son and my cousins daughter) Yeah!! I am so excited. Plus he is a super sweet guy who told me in my comments but I already knew when I checked my reader. But thanks for the heads up :D Check out their blogs too as it is the sweetest love story ever... they met because of blogging. Go figure! :D

Second I am contemplating my scrap resolutions. I have them almost figured out and will post later. I am a planner... kind of nice and kind of annoying :D

Thirdly... I just wanted to throw this in I took this quiz. It was in reference to Sex and THe City (which I love love love more then any other tv show ever and I love me some tv.) And this is who I am ...

You're Carrie!

You're fashion forward with a hint of sass. Your quirkiness brings out your unique sense of style. Though you sometimes reject change in your personal life, when it comes to fashion you're always willing to try something new. It's clear: You live for fashion! Your favorite designers are Philip Lim, Jenni Kayne, Matthew Williamson, Heatherette, Rosa Cha, Elie Saab and Jean Paul Gaultier.

Well I thought I had more but it seems the joy of the award has over ran the thoughts of whinyness I had going on as I have forgotten. lol

I hope every one had an awesome Christmas. Photos were kind of lacking but I have some follow up pics I am going to do.

A bit of self promotion

2009-12-23T09:23:00.000-06:00

I know I don't update this blog as much as I like. THe thing is I scrapbook in spurts. OR I get sidetrack with those time consuming games on facebook. Man are those things addictive! GAH! So as far as scrapbooking I have done a few layouts but no pics yet. I am seriously thinking of trying for the nikki sivils design team. I am just so scared to not get picked. I would rather not try then to be rejected. I know bad attitude but the truth :( But then again things worth having are worth trying for right? I should make myself just because I don't like having that kind of bad attitude.

I am trying a new organizational thing for my papers. I took most of my kits apart and put the paper in my paper holder box. (I will take a picture as I it is a neat way to organize papers.) I just need to put the embellies away. Sadly a lot of the kits didn't have much embellies and is why I have decided to drop a lot of the kits. First I have a lot at home and two they just started to not have a lot of variety or very few embellies and I use to be more into paper but am growing into being a embelly hoarder.

Also, I have decided to start a blog just for my musings. I want to sharpen my writing skills as the older I get the more ideas I get and I want to see if I have a voice to write in an interesting way. Please check it out as I hope to update it more often then this one as it will be more conversational. (if that makes sense lol) Wow am I cool or what! :D

Thanks!

Layout Update

2009-12-18T06:14:00.000-06:00

I was able to get to my scrap room a couple of days this week. I really like how I am totally use a lot of my stash up. And the fact that the layouts have turned out (in my opinion) nice. Maybe a little flat but I have come to the thought that I am a flat scrapper. (I just learned this term when I saw it used on twopeasinabucket.com someone had described themselves this way) So this week I feel I have proven I can still be “flat” but nice. Though there is something beautiful and artsy about those very dimensional layouts I wish I could do. :D

Total stash layout! This one and the one below!

These three layouts above are from SEI paper. I had two peices and got three layouts and I still have a slice of one left. I love it as it doesn’t look like I tried to skimp which I didn’t but was frugal for sure about it. lol If that makes any sense :D Again total stash! Yeah!!

These three above are from the last of my geometrics zany zinnia kit. I loved this kit!

Again this is an example of how I can take two peices of a line and make several pages. I think out of two June Bug papers I did four layouts! I love it. :D It makes me feel accomplished!

I hope to get some more done tonight or this weekend :D I want to start on old christmas to make room for this year. I hate to get too far behind on years or I get confused on what I have done. lol

Please Pray

2009-12-16T10:51:00.001-06:00

Update: Aaron's MRI went well. He had to have contrast (meaning a shot in the arm/vein) but after realizing there was no getting out of it he did fine. I don't get how that stuff goes through your body so fast! I would think you would have to wait for it to circulate but we didn't. The dr doesn't need to see him for a year! Yea!! BUT the dr is moving to Kansas and they don't know if they will get a replacement? WHA?? I am not sure if the receptionist was just not very customer service friendly, clueless, or honest to a fault. It has me worried but I am trying to not worry too much as that is a year away. As you all now when it comes to kids there is nothing worse then uncertainty. If it was me... fine... I can deal but what if it comes back and they get no one??? Doesn't make sense. ANyway thanks for prayers etc.

For my son and sanity. As many of you know my middle son Aaron had a brain tumor this summer. (see archive peices here and here) It was a complete suprise and the same time took all these little pictures (like appitite change and headaches) into the larger picture. The tumor was so large (scroll down to the bottom for the mri pics here) it was causing a back up of brain/spinal fluid causing the most damage at the time. Literaly his brian was being squeezed slowly. It was in that moment this blog turned from a small hobby into a place to share my ordeal and not feel so alone in the world. It has now been almost 6 months since that ordeal and he is as perfectly recovered as possible. With any brain surgery there is always brain damage so some small things might come up in the next years but for now he is a regular kid. He has changed slightly in personality but for the most part the loveable crazy kid I remember before he become flat and muted is back. The drs say he will never be a tight rope walker as a profession but with his eye issues he won't be a pilot either so we learn to set new goals (if those ever were his goals)

THe point of my post is today we go for a follow up MRI. I am fearful. I wish I wasn't. I know God spared my child but the devil is there to make me doubt and to remind me those still very raw emotions of the tumor and what he went through. I never want to go back and the fear we might find something that forces us scares me to much. So please pray for me like you guys did way back when and helped save my son's life. Forever I will be thankful for that!

Quick Post

2009-12-09T16:45:00.001-06:00

Here are the latest layouts I have done. I made some progress on moving things around BUT not nearly the amount I wanted. I just would rather be scrapping!

The papers are stash, June Bug, and WRMK geo-metric kit from zany zinnia.

So ready…

2009-12-07T20:11:00.001-06:00

to be organized in this room! I swear it NEVER ends. My last room as literally 5x this size and I finally got it perfect RIGHT before we moved. Figures right?!! lol So Scrapbook deals 4 u is having a small on your own challenge to get the rooms in shape before January 1st. I am so there! lol. Here are my pictures of what it looks like RIGHT NOW…

This room is so small. I really wish it was even a little bit bigger if not a lot! It really shows how much stuff I have. It makes it look like too much but then I see others spaces and I think man I don’t have close to that much stuff. So I will try and post a new picture next Monday to show what progress if any.

I have to share this video

2009-12-06T08:35:00.001-06:00

As I am so in LOVE with our new doggy Rocky. Here is a video from Animal Planet showing how awesome these pups are … my designer dog snippet I was calling him a designer dog as my own term not really knowing that is what they were but then I wonder maybe I did and didn’t remember that I heard it and coined it as my own term. LOL I hate people that do that but then sometimes we don’t mean too.

Anyway I digress! Check it out and Rocky is the all black color one and the larger 30 pounds. I do wish he was more like 20 lbs BUT it makes him able to play with our huge Golden Retriever lab mix.

Retro Friday

2009-12-05T06:02:00.000-06:00

I am on a forever job of organizing my scrap room. I am at my wits end and it is still not done. GRRR. I was switching some things around which had me go through some older layouts. here is a few I found that i just LOVE.

I was going through a box my mil left at our house and included a jewlery box with pictures so I borrowed them to scan as I did not have of these. They are of Andrew who was just about to be 2 at the zoo with his cousins. My what 7 years make. The first two pictures is of then and the second now.

Man I miss though days but i must say for my own person I am better now. Wiser, less self absorbed, and less judgemental. But more fearful for my boys as they grow older and this country and how crazy teens years or even our economy might be! Ok I will leave it there …. sorry on a sour note.

Hope all you have a great weekend and God Bless.

Lookie at this ...

2009-12-04T16:42:00.000-06:00

Cool website! I am going to do somekind of scrappy thing with it. the idea is brewing in my mind :D

Make your Stick Figure Family at FreeFlashToys.com

Check it out!!

Thanksgiving re-cap

2009-12-03T09:46:00.001-06:00

Disclaimer: I meant to post this Sunday BUT wanted to get a video of Aaron to make it more fair. He wasn’t all that interested so I never did and just now got a chance to post this… sorry for my huge delay in blogging and posting this. I am thinking of doing some auto posts so I can have more consistency. But we will see :D

Thanksgiving had it’s ups and downs. Mainly ups for the fact I got to see my best friends in the world. (I am going to assume I am ok to post their pics on the web but if not please let me know and I will take them off. And as a disclaimer these pics are for my personal use and are not to be used without my permission. I can be reached at superchick2006 at gmail dot com. )

I had to go to my hometown to pick my grandma up for the weekend. First I had Mexican lunch with my friend Missy. We have been best friends since high school when I was way to critical of myself and very picky in friends. I never had a high school boyfriend. Or at least I had a couple for a few hours then I cared too much what others would think of who he was and break up quick. Looking back I do regret being like that but high school is so much about who and what you are and you don’t have the wisdom to know it is the character that matters not looks or status. But I digress and could share a couple stories more but this will be long anyway :D I will spare you this time. Our paths have been opposites it is kind of funny. Like I have three boys she has three girls, my husband is 13 years older then me and hers is several years younger (You go girl! a puma before her time lol) Isn’t she cute? I can’t wait to hang out again. I must say she is a true friend who has always stuck by me even being apart for a long time she was right there when Aaron was sick and supportive and her being a nurse was comforting even if I didn’t ask her many questions. But I might have a lot of that time is a blur.

This is me and my best friend forever (lol talking about high school makes me regress to talking like it) She helped me so much when my boys were young (and my husband worked nights and sometimes you need a break with two babies under 2!) She has changed more diapers then I think I did. Funny how I would disappear when that duty was needed to be done! lol We spent the weekend catching up, shopping, getting our crab on at Joe’s Crab shack and drinking a little too much while hot tubbing at the hotel. I miss her every day as we moved opposite directions and now have about two states between us and a drive of around ten hours if we wanted to make the whole trip. This is us inside the hotel and then the hotel itself. We had the bottom corner room which was perfect and we got it on hotwire for HALF! the price.

So I have decided to do a mini book of thanksgiving through New Years. I am taking at least one picture a day and here are the pictures so far I think I will use.

The pictures are of the turkey being brined for smoking thanksgiving eve, The turkey on thanksgiving day fully smoked (it was awesome!), our great find black friday a 20.00 shop vac that was originally 100! and if we had been 5 minutes later would not have gotten it! timing is everything) Saturday’s is not there as it is on my cell and is of me traveling back home from taking my grandma back home Friday. We are thinking of adopting this little guy he is a pug and we think lab mix (though the logistics on how that happened is kind of mind boggling lol) I am not sure if he will fully adopt as he seems to pee when him and Fudge (our retriever lab mix) play a lot. I am tired of picking and spraying the carpet and floor. I am not sure how this can be broken as more of a nervous thing and is in long streams??/ And today our little guy and Fudge. He always looks scared but really is treated like royalty here with ice in his water thanks to my hubby :D

I want to leave with a few videos again.

BTW these might look like the same video they are not!

Update: so I wanted to keep the above true to my original thoughts. We have actually adopted Blackie (who we renamed Rocky) and though he has issues going outside it we are chalking it up to him living in the shelter and giving him time as it is not constant all the time. He also is sick due to a UTI so that is not his fault either. He is so precious and loving. Turns out he is a puggle which is a very expensive dog! The vet is the one who realized he is pug and beagle mix. And since the shelter didn’t know what he was mixed at we only paid the mutt price. I saw online at a puggle shelter they wanted 200! otherwise some from breeders go for 750. We didn’t realize he was a puggle (which I had heard about before but it never dawned on me) until andrew had cub scouts and the cubmaster has a pug and stated she actually wants a puggle but that they are pricey! Go figure. In fact earlier andrew and I were joking that he is a bug! duh it is a real thing. One of those designer dogs.

So I will go ahead and post this and look for a more scrappy update tomorrow. :D

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T23:23:00.001-06:00

Well… Eve :D I am totally waiting on the food tomorrow. I can’t wait! The house already smells like awesome pumpkin pie! YUMMMM!!

I managed to finally get back in my scrap room and do a couple layouts.

I am making this short as I am off to bed. BUT I know it has been a few days since I posted. I do want to end with a few things I am thankful for in no certain order other then the first one is my ultimate first….

1 My family 2 my job (though I wish it was full time so I wouldn’t have to worry about finding a full time job) 3 my country (I LOVE being an American) 4 my friends who have cared and loved me for years 5 that Christmas is just around the corner (It is my favorite holiday)

May all of you have a safe and Blessed Turkey Day!

Odds and Ends

2009-11-16T22:23:00.001-06:00

First the usual business. Finished with that green kit and totally wish I had more. It was tons of fun. I got a couple new kits that look way fun to do. Some Monsters with Sassafrass lass and geo hectic by WeRMemory Keepers. Does anyone get those moments where you really want to scrap and have a ton of ideas but just not the motivation to actually scrap! I really should have tonight but just couldn’t take the time to make it down there. Life’s stress just got int he way. Which is silly as it is my stress reliever. Anyway I digress… Here are the four I did to finish the kit.

Sorry for the poor quality but my batteries are dead in my real camera so used the phone. Not sure which one is my fave. They all turned out well. This kit was so easy to use!

This weekend we went to a Dance Off at University of Missouri. It was a fundraiser for the children’s hospital and Kids Miracle Network. We were a featured family. It was a cool time. Here are some photos I took.

There was this one part where my three year old was given a small purple guitar and he proceeded to dance with it and pretend to play it. First there was a few of the kids watching him then slowly he had just about all 200+ kids watching, clapping, and going crazy with how cute he is. Afterwards he had them lining up to take a picture with him. He is a crazy kid! lol

And because I can’t stop there I have to add these cute video Alex and I took while waiting for Daddy at Lowe’s The first is showing off his big muscles and where he got them for and the second features his favorite saying “Because I said so” and telling me how he is the boss. BTW – in the beginning he is asking to watch his muscle video. He loves to watch and laugh at himself in photos and videos. Gotta LOVE the age of 3!

Just for the record I have two other very cute boys but I just haven’t gotten a chance to take good videos of them. If I find one as I weed through what I took I will post. :D I will be leaving for my old home town (sorta – where my boys grew up really) this weekend and I have tons of fun planned. This week is going to be forever!! Isn’t that how it is when you are waiting for something fun and then when it gets there it only feels like a minute!

Thank God for Blog Family

2009-11-12T09:56:00.001-06:00

So I had been feeling pretty down about blogging. I wanted to express some displeasure but then I was like who wants to hear people or me whine? Though to be honest I like the blogs that have the good and the bad. I don't want one that all it is doom and gloom but some insight into the person is refreshing. What is funny is this post from Karyn at French Charming spoke candidly about her feelings for blogging and how we often do not life up to our expectations. I think it is awesome the people who are so faithful to leave comments. One that is uber awesome is Maggi I have seen her be super faithful to her favorite blogs and is always a joy to read her comments. Now I have had other folks post here and there. I think they are more like me and post a comment when they really have something to say. Though I have feelings on all blogs I read... I just don't have enough of one to always post. But then I am lazy... honest I am. It isn't that I don't care but I feel guilty sometimes just being a lurker most times. I do not want to leave out two more people who I also adore for their faithfulness to reading and commenting (at least to mine so I am sure others.) Carrie and Callista. Thank you to all three of you ladies... you make me feel warm and fuzzy and read. Which is the point of blogs right? Ok so in real life I tend to babble and I think I am now here too. SO to point. I was just feeling like some unpopular git who is silly for keeping up a blog. Like how am I important. But Karyn's post made me realize hey I do this for myself. I hope to make friends and have awesome meet up stories one day but if that doesn't happen.... I have decided I am ok with that. I will just keep plucking along because one day my children will have a digital record of our lives in a way and will slowly see how there are "strangers" out there that are for real and can care. I know I felt that strong when my son had his brain tumor. I really should not take it for granted!

Now I am also feeling better with this whole budget thing that was kind of depressing me. I had posted on 2 peas in a bucket some budget ideas. And thankfully people replied. One awesome ideas was a dollar for every layout I complete. I LOVE this idea. Because it keeps you from hoarding (which in general I don't do other then some older embellishments I really need to use) and keeps you in a realistic guilt free budget (at least for me). This thought was reiterated by a comment from Carolyn who's blog I have totally fallen in love with. I sincerely LOVE her work I saw. Some people I see work and I think man are they trying ot just put every peice of prima/bling etc on there or are they trying to be artful. I love artful layouts for scrapbooking. I am not saying I accomplish this... no I do in my own way but not like a lot of people I see. Anyway again I am getting off track. Carolyn really has artful gorgeous work! And the other thing I liked is she showed some organizing she does. I just wish I could sew! So a big shout out thanks to Carolyn for finding my blog and commenting. I totally made my day. (you too Maggi and I agree I should just get the basics but man I go through a lot of tape so I am fearful that is where all my dollars would go too if I included in my budget. KWIM?)

SO I guess that is it... and if feels good to get these few things off my chest. SO next time I should be back to layouts and family photos. No more sour stuff for a week or two I promise :D

PS -- I want to add and forgot to say 1) Carolyn is also a dragon for Chinese sign as I am and Maggi -- Not sure about others but dragons are the best lol and 2) If I am a follower I do read your blogs. I look at my reader every day. I might not read them all every day but I get caught up almost every Tuesday at work. (HEE HEE don't tell my boss :D just kidding he knows as I am the only one he has to talk to and vice versa. It is often nice being the only worker besides your boss BUT it is sometimes lonely... Sigh :D) Ok thanks again for following and reading! Angela

Contemplating

2009-11-10T18:37:00.000-06:00

I really need to budget my scrap spending. It is not like I have gotten us into debt with it. It is mostly why I have a part time job but I feel I am putting it before family needs way too often. Just feeling guilty about it. Plus I am starting to wonder if the kits I get really are that economical. I think I am going to drop two and keep one. I find scrapbook deals 4 u to have the best value with the best embellishments. I am thinking of getting those kit(s) and then buy a few extras and stay within 100 a month. This includes tools too. I will either take a once a month trip to my LSS or buy online. I like the idea of online if I can get free shipping and a discount.

I was wanting feedback from anyone on how they budget or do in these economic times. How do you decide what is a must have and a would like too? Maybe I am just being too hard on myself as I have recently felt how productive is the scrapbooking -- other then giving me a creative outlet. Which is important but in the long run will people care? I try not to be a downer on here but I wonder these things recently and need to get it off the chest.

Green Themed layouts

2009-11-09T18:28:00.001-06:00

I love the alternative LPS kit for October. It is so boy and easy to use. It is full of rich greens. Here are the layouts I have done so far with this kit.

I still have several bits of paper left as I got the mega kit and the add-on. I will probably do some more in the next week. Though I really need to clean that room. I should take a picture and show you just why. It is a mess!

I Mucho Love

2009-11-07T17:12:00.001-06:00

slow weeks at work. I am a church secretary so some weeks I am very busy and others I am not so much. This week was a not so much. I took my scrap supplies with me and away accomplished! :D I only work part time so this is what I got done in about 6 hours over two days. I have one more that I didn’t have the complete as I think I needed some flowers and other embellishments. So here are the completed ones. I still need to add most of the journaling but other then that they are complete. I used one complete kit and did not cut it up at all. I used whole sheets as background instead of cardstock. This was fun and challenging. It makes it easy when the paper is not double sided. I didn’t get as many pages as I usually do but at least the kit is killed. I use to try to be as frugal and stretch the kits as much as possible but I can totally feel myself evolving in my scrap style.

I feel this one is missing something but not sure what or where??

I have to add the number 33 to the top in big numbers but I didn’t have any number alpha’s with me. Weird huh?

I don’t think there is a single one I don’t like so you know it is a good scrapping session when that happens. They are all pretty simple and embellish light but sometimes the paper just does the talking for you. This times challenge at the All About Me blog is what can’t you live without. Here is my submission. I love this paper and again the paper does ALL the talking as far as beauty so i didn’t add a thing other then my picture and the journal scraps.

Sorry the weird light on the other photos the sun is going down here on a beautiful day. I kinda regret not doing more outside today but I forget how soon it gets dark now. Also there is a smell in my house I can’t get out or figure out. I am embarrassed and pray no one stops over!! Does anyone know any blogs that help freshen up a house? Or tips of your own. Please share! It is driving me nuts. And it is not the garbage, the dog, and I have smelly candles burning but the smell is so strong it just has mingled with the funk making it worse I would say!! AGH! Thanks in advance for any help you can give! lol Hope all your weekends are going well!

Knocking out those kits

2009-11-03T14:29:00.001-06:00

I think I told you guys how much I LOVE the Dream Street Sam papers. Well I used them all up already from the PS October kit. And some Kitchen Spice I had from the LPS Main kit.

To round out the layouts are my submission for a previous All About Me challenge to scrap what color you are and the current one which is to document a turning point. My color is pink as I am so girly even though I tried to fight it for a few years. And the current challenge is to document a turning point. I did it of my getting laid off and how we had to sell our home.

I realized today that I have changed a little in my scrapping. I use to be so OCD about taking a kit and use it until it is gone. And I still do those but I find myself also letting the photos dictate what kit I use and have been taking out a kit then putting it back when done with the layout. So people can change or adapt lol.

Happy Belated Halloween!

2009-11-01T09:19:00.001-06:00

I had wanted to post yesterday night but the candy sidetracked me lol. This is not a layout heavy post but a photo heavy as Halloween is such a visual celebration!

First I want to go back a little and show pictures from my 33rd birthday. It was a blast. My DH and I had not been out together in FOREVER! So I can’t resist showing some photos.

So our Halloween was sort of a bust. We tried to go to a haunted house but half the people were on break and not really that scary. But really I think perfect for a first one for little boys. That was Friday then Saturday we thought the mall was giving candy but we missed the day. It was Friday and to make matters worse my husband and I got separated as I told him he didn’t have to go door to door with us. So I couldn’t find him in this huge strip mall and we waited in the car as I thought well sooner or later he should get back. It was really annoying at first but then the kids took a nap and I chilled out and relaxed so it was ok… almost nice. Finally almost two hours later we found each other.. :D

Though I did finally get a cute picture of alex on one of those quarter outdoor rides.

Oh first we went to starbucks as I wanted to treat the kids to their caramel apple spice. It was a bust. an expensive bust!! GRRR I totally hate it when I want to plan something so nice then it doesn’t work out and it cost too much! Proof planning too much is no good!! And It is a habit I can’t break. I am a planner/controller! but I did get some cute pictures and one of me and my middle son which I think is the best picture of me ever and I don’t ever really like any picture of myself. The other neat thing is my nine year old took that picture. He has a way natural eye at photos. I can see him making an awesome career at it when he grows up.

Oh and I got ahead of myself again last sunday we did pumpkins with some friends and they looked totally cool together

And then the other day we were messing with those colorful vampire teeth that seems to be all the rage for giving this year. Super cute pics here too!

So the actual going out was good on the loot we have an awesome neighborhood and a lot of folks even decorated their yards. I am low on photos as Alex started getting sick and we just wanted him to go to a few houses before it got dark and cold. (Yes I was so happy the weather was gorgeous. I love that kind of fall weather!) So these are not very good. The scrapbooker in me might make them dress up just so I can have a great group picture. Andrew was the Emperor Palpatine and Aaron Darth Vader (we have this wii game that has the boys obsessed with Star Wars. They wake up and turn it on before going to the restroom even! And Alex was Iron Man as right now that is his favorite super hero. It is so weird in a good way that he likes super heroes so soon. The older boys were into Blues clues and Dora at his age but then again they didn’t have older brothers who don’t want to watch those shows. lol Anyway he loves all things super heroes it is so cute.

So I hope all of you remembered to fall backwards and gained your hour this morning to sleep in. Funny how we still woke up at the same time which makes this AM Forever a little bit. I am off to take Alex to the doctors for his cough. I am afraid it might turn worse so want to try and nip it in the bud :D I also hope all of you had a safe happy Halloween!

Loving Dream Street Sam/Superstition Line

2009-10-24T19:00:00.001-05:00

This month’s Personal Scrapper kit was the Dream Street Sam and superstition Line. Here are a few layouts I have done with this kit so far. I also had a couple papers from this months LPS club kit that are from the same line so I still have a good amount of paper left. I took the Dream Street papers out of that kit to add to the PS kit. And the rub-ons that were in the LPS kit. It matched the Sam paper way more then the other paper in the kit which was Bo Bunny Kitchen Spice.

The next three is the same picture done three way. With three boys of course I usually have triple of every event. So often you can see how I handle different events three different ways but this is the same photo three ways.

I think this layout is my favorite and I am amazed i got 14 photos (I know small ones) on the same layout.

What a fun Kit

2009-10-21T21:37:00.001-05:00

I purchased from Life Preservers club It was the carnival line from scrap within reach. I knew this kit would be best to use with my oldest son’s birthday trip to six flags. Here is the six I did.

Half of the pages I used my scissors to rough the ends and even did that tear away and backed it with different patterned paper on one. I have loved that look for awhile now so I am happy to be figuring it out!

Here is one last one that I did using Dream Street Sam paper. It was in the latest Personal Scrapper kit.

I am going to finish as much of this kit as I can in the next couple days. It is a current favorite for sure. In fact I think it is in the top 5 of the PS kits I have purchased in the last two years.

Welcome!

2009-10-17T09:03:00.000-05:00

To my blog. It started as strictly scrapbooking and over time has turned into mostly scrapbooking with a few snippets of my life to share with friends I have made in blog land. I had planned on finishing this halloween project but it didn't make it. And I was going to show pics but This is my birthday weekend (tomorrow is my real birthday) Yes weekend. I am sort of a Princess and it takes three days to celebrate me. lol. That and I am a kid at heart though this birthday has hit me kinda hard or harder as I thought I would be famous by now living in New York instead of beautiful Ozarks Missouri.

I promise to update and edit this blog post later on as I went ouit for my birthday last night and got back way to late and of course had a church commitment (quizzing) with my oldest I had to help with so I am here waiting for it to start (lucky me I am the secretary so I get to use to computer here with no questions :D ) BUt come back later this evening and I will have some pictures.

I want to share quick so that this hop to my blog is not totally wasted... I once went to a Halloween bowling contest and my costume was a ceral box but I went as a Serial Killer -- Cereal --- Serial -- Is that crickets I hear? Hey I thought it was clever but was totally beaten out by my friend out the time who hand made a complete shamu killer whale costume. Really she deserved for the money and time she put in but I still think mine was cleverer. lol

As a kid the best costume is I was a cabbage patch doll. I am going to hunt down a picture as I was way cute and I did win awards at my church that year for best kids costume.

Anyway... sorry for being a little lame and please come back later if you have the time (I will be checking your blogs later too!)

Weekend Mojo

2009-10-13T21:03:00.001-05:00

I did several layouts this weekend. These are the ones done with the rest of the PS September kit. I liked this kit and it had several papers I wouldn’t have picked myself but turned out to be cool to use.

I printed out some summer photos so I was ready to use up some more summer soiree. I am so over this paper as it is like the only summer like paper I had to work with… except the snorkel line (which I loved!) Anyway it is about all used up. I also discovered a photo program that allows more then one photo on a 4X6 size and it has opened up tons of possibilities for me. Even double layouts that i see out there I like for lifting! So you will see a couple in this grouping and probably more later on.

I did a sister scrapper swap early in the year and I found some summer paper from those gifts I received. I got two layouts out of it so here is the final two.

This is my favorite picture. He was so upset and I know I was a bad mommy taking a picture before comforting but there was no blood so hey I made a choice :D

We interrupt your regularly scheduled program….

2009-10-12T13:21:00.001-05:00

To tell you of this awesome indie movie I stumbled across. If you love a good love story you gotta watch this. The title is horrendous but the movie is super funny and cute. And had me giddy at the end. Of course I am a sucker but still once you get past the often iffie acting the plot is very awesome.

If you do watch it please let me know what you think :D

oh and disclaimer it doesn’t have any nudity but it does have naughty words and suggestive talk so if you don’t like or allow those sorts of things don’t watch it. I don’t want to offend anybody and firmly believe it is a choice. Thanks!

the layouts as promised

2009-10-10T09:41:00.001-05:00

Yesterday’s challenge at PS was to use a name in the layout. I did it three ways – one for each boys. I compiled info on their birth names and went with that. The middle one is my favorite. I try to keep it all green (is that monochrome?) and I like the negative space too. Alex’s I love the PP and had a thought in my mind but it didn’t turn out right. I totally hate that when it happens. Too bad it happens a lot! (I think I whined earlier about this but it really stinks!! lol)

I was able to get one more done that was not a challenge. I have really liked these papers.

I wanted to leave with a picture I took of my oldest looking at my latest creations. I hope when he is 20 he still cares and/or humors me. :D

Just a little funny

2009-10-09T21:43:00.000-05:00

I did five more layouts today but I am feeling a little under the weather (there has been a plague in our house so I am hoping it isn't that) I hope to share them tomorrow.

But I wanted to tell you all a funny story. So my youngest is three and well has not been taught modesty yet. I am working on it though because he decided one day to tell everyone out loud in an upscale store that I did not have a weiner. So I was in the restroom and he comes busting in (The door was shut as I have older boys I promise ... I just don't lock it but that is sounding more and more appealing) I say to Alex... "Have you heard of the word privacy?" He looks at me plain as day and says "NO!" HAHHAA well obviously. Kids are something else sometimes I swear!

Hope all of you are well and warm. It is already cold here and I hate it!

I was a busy bee today :D

2009-10-08T22:52:00.001-05:00

I had a slow day at work and since I am the church secretary my boss doesn’t care that I look busy all the time as long as I can answer the phone when it rings. I knew I was all caught up on work so brought a couple kits and some needed items to scrapbook. I started by finishing the days for Personal Scrapper’s Octoberfest Layout A Day contest. (Known from now on as L.O.A.D)

This was was for my favorite challenge so far. It was a bingo theme. It was a grid of like 16 items and you had to pick across, down, etc. Mine was two use 2 PP, inked edges, a ribbon, and 8+ buttons.

This challenge was to use doubles. I have two PP, 2 fonts, 2 diecuts, 2 ribbons, and 2 journal blocks.

This one was for using the leftovers of life preserve scrap club’s Main September kit. I loved the colors in this kit and the semi vintage feel.

This challenge was to use things in 4’s. So I have 4 PP, 4 brads, and 4 lines of journaling.

This challenge was to do a layout of someone you admired and to use an adjective to describe them in the title. Aaron is my hero. He really never complained during his hospital stay and was never a brat. He did everything that was asked and in fact comforted me. He is amazing!

This one was to use the number seven or lucky in a layout. I opted for the word lucky.

I really love this one too. It was done with the scraps I had from that LPS kit and August stamps from them too. My title is a play on words. Instead of night owls I put day owls. Those owls are SOO cute!

The next kit I am trying to use up is the September kit from PS. It is another fun one. This one and the one below is school shopping which is an annual tradition from when I was even a kid

Another school layout. The pencil frame is the stamps from LPSC. It is September’s stamp set.

So these three are from the September alternative kit from LPSC. I didn’t think I had ordered it as I was on the fence but then she invoiced me so I figured I must have :D lol Funny how the memory works. I ended up liking the layouts I did with it. It is prima and I have not used any of their paper before. All these are different takes on similar photos on a family “outing” to starbucks. I drink a lot of their coffee but rarely buy for the boys. In fact before this was one other time when Alex was just a few months old. But we had time to waste so why not? It is the perfect place to relax and enjoy our lattes and hot cocoas.

PS… The three layouts above with the typed journaling (other then the food one) is a journal block I did where I wrote about my love of my boys individually. Like how my oldest is just like me but at the same time it makes me sad as I makes things more difficult then they need to be. And how my middle one is so sweet and sneaky at the same time. And how he has already proven his character with how he handled his hospital stay. And my baby Alex and how he is all boy and knows kisses are only on lips and no where else even though I steal kisses on his nose, ears, and neck.

I heart Sons of Anarchy

2009-10-06T08:06:00.001-05:00

I just found them on Hulu yesterday and could only get the first three episodes of the second season. I am bummed but it seemed easy to catch on to who was who. Katey Sagal is an awesome actress and I am still left with a broken heart of sympathy for her character on something that happened in the season opener. I won’t spoil it for you but I haven’t felt that excited for a tv show since Lost and it ended up being so disappointing!

On to the layouts I did while catching up with SOA.

I saved this photo from Nikki’s website and felt if I didn’t use her papers that would be a really cruddy thing to do! I LOVE how this turned out. This one also works for personal scrapper’s layout a day challenge for the first day to use a large picture and die cut paper.

I painted the grungeboard with Twinkling H2O’s. (sorry for the glare not sure how to stop that) I had wanted some shimmerz but not sure where to buy them at but there isn’t much difference between those shimmerz other then it seems to spread less on easily but still usable. This one fits making home made embellishment (painting them myself is home made right?) which was another day challenge at PS boards.

This is an example of when you have an idea in your head and you can’t get it to work on paper. I am no real artist but scrapbooking makes me feel like I am. That is why I love it. It is a perfect creative outlet for me. I had high hopes when doing this layout and really is just a jumbled mess but not hideous enough for me to totally re-do it.

I love how exuberate these papers are. And these cashews are over 1000 calories for the can and I ate the whole can in one day. I have forbid myself from buying anymore as I have issues with moderation.

Pure Excitement!

2009-10-01T10:32:00.000-05:00

So my birthday is October 18th and coming up quick. I have decided for my birthday I am going to join in on an awesome Blog Hop that comes highly recommended by Maggi. I am going to spend the day blog hopping as I have heard this is a huge one. The last theme was Mad Hatter Tea Party. I totally missed out on that one but it made me curious as to what these blog hop thing is. :D And I have since joined in one and it was awesome and fun.

Here is the neat poster for it. How cool is that and I checked out the website the lady hosting it is three times as cool I firmly believe!

I am working on something just for this event! It will be using that cut mini book kit I received from Nikki Sivils at that crop a couple of weeks ago. I can't wait!

Oh and I wanted to add the Personal Scrapper dot com's October kit is do DIE for! And remember only $25.00 for a six month subscription with free shipping and handling!! I have been getting these kits well over a year (almost two years now) and have never been disappointed. This kit features DreamStreet which I have used before and it a very good quality paper and neat designs.

Personal Scrapper Online crop Layouts

2009-09-28T21:36:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned earlier personal scrapper dot com is having an online crop. There are 15 challenges and I had done three previously then this weekend and today I did five more specifically for the crop.

The challenge on this one is to use at least three different kind/color buttons and I have four here.

The challenge here was to scrap grandparents and this was the wedding photo of my grandparents. Who did love until death do they part as my grandpa passed away six years ago and my grandma says she still occasionally wakes up thinking he is there even though she lives in an apartment instead of their house.

I enjoyed this challenge as it was to do a layout on something you have learned recently. My twist on the challenge was to list a few things I have learned over my lifetime (which is 32 at this point :D)

I really like this layout and these sassafras lass papers. the challenge was to use punctuation.

Again loving these sassafras lass papers and this challenge was to use a sketch and I did the sketch spot on so this is what the sketch looked like. :D

This was the last layout I did today and I really love it. The die cuts are from my Slice and Just chillin design card. I just need to do the journaling which is a bad habit of mine. I really don’t like to journal which is like why do I even scrapbook but I love the art aspect of it more I guess then the story telling. AND I hate my writing so I just wasn’t in the mood. I hope I am not the only one who gets that way!

Online Crops rock!

2009-09-24T23:22:00.001-05:00

So do “in real life crops’ but well I don’t get to those often. :D personal scrapper dot com is having an online crop and as usual it rocks. I didn’t participate too much i the last one but so far did three tonight. It goes until next Tuesday and I love all the challenges.

Here is my take on a challenge to do something different for journaling so I used the tree branches as a place to put my journal thoughts.

This was in honor of 9-11 and was to use only the colors red white and blue. I really like this layout and it is of Alex waiting for Aaron at the hospital and waiting for the hospital helicopter to land. He loved watching those things!

This one was to lift the Design Team. I am not sure who did this one but when I find out I will update or leave a comment if it was you :D It was on my sheet Erica the owner puts in with the kits for inspiration.

I went to michael’s today and purchased some items. I only took a picture because they are having an awesome sale on loose paper and those felt ribbons. BUT also I got a punch I have been wanting awhile so I am excited. (don’t worry I won’t take a picture of everything I always buy :D but I want to share the sales with everyone.

The 50 cent ribbon up close. I wish they had more boy colors and themes but for girls it would be super awesome!

And you could really stock up.

One last thing I have found ebay is the perfect place to get these cards if you are patient. So I am up to six and I love them all! I am thinking of getting the embossing tips so I can use it with awesome C’ordinates papers. Another reason I put the picture above is I had to buy the slice card holder because I kept getting paranoid that i was going to lose the cards. It wasn’t on sale but sometimes peace of mind is worth full price! I have twelve more challenges to go…. wish me luck!!

a little ramblings

2009-09-22T23:02:00.001-05:00

Last week I managed two layouts. One was for cramfest through scrapbookdeals4u that I never got around to submitting. I just know it wouldn’t have won as it is fairly simple but I do love it. It is using Nikki Sivils Henry’s Brilliance line.

It was to use two pictures three papers and one chipboard element.

The alternative kit at LPS was some Prima Rebellious papers. I paired them in another simple layout of when my oldest and I went to Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

Sorry it is blurry I didn’t realize it until now. I found the cutest in with my oldest son’s school work. This is what he wrote for Constitution day.

This is the funniest thing to me as we are not really into those things. I think it is awesome if you are but we just are not. So I have no idea where it came from? And it is just so serious. Thankfully we live at the beginning of the south so this didn’t raise any red flags at school! :D

And here is my oldest and youngest goofing around tonight. It has inspired me to do a see, hear, speak no evil picture of the three boys soon.

Do any of you get in these moods where you want to do your hobbies or housework etc but just get side track by doing nothing? I do want to go downstairs to my scrap room but this is premiere week for tv and have been watching a lot of new tv shows to see which ones have potential. Castle was back yesterday. (I LOVE me some Nathan Fillion!) And today I watched the forgotten which had way potential and the Good Wife mainly due to Chris Noth but apparently he is only guest spotting and not permanent so not sure how much longer I am hanging on as it was alright but kind of stale on the emotions of being humiliated like the politicians wives are when there is a scandal (or I am sure any wife really public nation wide or in your own home town wide). Tomorrow is Eastwick which I have high hopes for, Cougar Town, and I think Modern Family which again I have high hopes for. I am loving my usual like Bones and Fringe of course and I can’t wait for CSI LV and NY to be back on. I was all excited by Vampire Diaries that I even made it second on my 9/11 post now I wish I had left it for another day as it is turning into some teen dude for me. I think I am just to old to be into anything CW related. I use to love smallville too but I just can’t get into it anymore. I hate getting old. lol Then again I might get into five years later as I am just now getting into Buffy on Hulu!

Ok Finally,

2009-09-20T15:33:00.001-05:00

I have time to do a post. Isn’t it funny how life just speeds by when you sometimes wish it would stand still?

I want to finish some old business before moving on to new :D Here are the mediocre layouts I did. They are not awesome but I do like them.

This one was from a page kit they gave us to work with. I just didn’t have the size they wanted in the sketch so I improvised.

This is of me after I lost about 75 lbs. I had friends over and I tried on one of my friends corsets. I do like this layout but it is not a favorite. The bird is from grungeboard and is painted with shimmer stuff (dern it I can’t remember the brand) It is really shiny in better light.

This one will have a title but my slice was running out of juice and it as late in the night to worry about it. It will be “Andrew’s Many Faces”

I wanted to document the date 09/09/09 because it is fairly unique though i guess we have been having a 1-1-1 etc but I wasn’t so self aware then. lol So I decided to take a picture of what I was doing most of that day, which was driving.

I am thinking to add the letter I to the title to say I miss you or maybe We and maybe an arrow. I just am not sure. I love this picture as it is a rare one I have of my grandfather before he passed away suddenly.

I am going to add the title Mother but I am thinking of using chipboard and some twinkling H2O which I didn’t bring to the crop so it is on my list of one of these day items. Most likely when I finally go to put it in an actual album.

I do like this one as it is (to me) a good example how you can use more traditional girl colors in a boy layout without it seeming out of place. (again just my opinion :D )

And here are the ones I really love that I did.

I love all but the playing in the title but now I am not sure how to fix it.

I loved this paper it just made it easy to do a simple layout. And the flower is homemade and even nicer in person.

Again just a fun simple but lovely layout. Though I could have done better on the journaling. I just hate my writing.

This was a page we got and was shown how to use it but again I had to do my own thing. I actually like this paper but could not have tolerated using a whole kit of them. I am glad I did not purchase a kit I saw with this paper as I just don’t do well with animated papers like owls etc. I can if I have too.

I loved working with these papers which was form the April ps kit. I also love this layout because of the theme. It was a challenge to do a layout when you are 100. So this is a picture of before I was married and I think probably 20 or maybe just 21. I wrote things like still read smutty books and dance etc.

I love this picture in general. What a beautiful baby :D This is my youngest and when I re-saw these pictures it made my biological clock tick slightly again. I wish I could make time stand still sometimes. This was probably my favorite sheet of the paper mainly as I love red and the the white scrolling was a perfect accent.

I wanted to finish this post with pictures we were sent of our son’s CT scan and MRI. Just a couple. At first I wasn’t going to publish them because it is personal to him but I have shown a few people and he has not been upset by this and in fact will also talk to them about it. So I decided to do this because I know most of you (if not all) who do look and follow my blog did pray for my son and I want to show how dire the situation and how much of a miracle he just is.

This is the original CT scan that shows the tumor. It is the lighter grayer “hole” The darker areas are not suppose to be there area but show where the brain fluid was backing up. It was filling in any area it could and what made it all an emergency as it was running out of room quick.

This is the MRI scan. Which is a horizontal view of his skull/brain. As you can tell you can see his optic area/sinus areas, and ear canals. It is primarily on the right side which is why he is having left side issues still. He was left handed typically but he could use both so it isn’t a huge shock for him to use his right hand only now. We are suppose to make him use is left but anyone with children knows it is hard to make them consistently do anything.

This would be a vertical view of the tumor. See how clear it is you can see the lines in the brain matter. It freaks me out that this is the inside of my child. (does that make me too weird?) If you can see the tumor was pushing his cerebellum into the spinal column so they had to surgically move some of the vertebrae up to make a shelf and keep the brain from wanting to go back in that groove. Once you body knows it can do something it wants too. And it was loosing space and had no where to go so down it went. Another reason it was hard to tell he had it as his body was accommodating the tumor until it got to be too much.

This is an after MRI where you can see (if you look closely the brighter color in the back of the skull) where they cut him to take it out and some of the mushed brain matter that they cut and moved up. The holes are receding where the brain fluid was backed up (the shunt was still in for good measure at this time.) I think it shows a little of the atrophy he will have. But you can see it is gone from the brain. YEAH!! :D

Finally some layouts.

2009-09-16T22:56:00.001-05:00

I am starting with my least favorite. I don’t mind this layout in general but I hate the picture. I liked the idea of the layout which was a challenge at PS during the crop last month. It was to use a name and someone had mentioned doing a maiden name layout so I did. And the picture kind of fits as I took it with my camera and in my own dark room back when I was trying to be an official artist :D

This one I just don’t like how it turned out. Really the ribbon. I so need to invest in a ribbon punch but when I have the money I can’t find one. I do like the paper and I am leaving it unless I finally find something to top it off. Both of these were done with the April Personal scrapper kit which at home I was intimated by as it is pretty girly but I ended up loving it and found it universal.

Tomorrow I will have more to post… my mediocre ones I like. BUt wanted to leave with some family photos. Sunday we were invited to a birthday party and Aaron finally got to be a kid again. I didn’t let him actually get in the lake but he floated in the water just fine.

And Andrew had a blast as well swimming and jumping from the block.

So I did some research

2009-09-15T19:04:00.001-05:00

and you can put the crackle paint on the grungeboard so I am totally trying that out soon.

I was going to start posting my layouts but my SD card is in a bag somewhere. I hate it at the end of a crop and nothing is put back where it should be. So I am stuck with just one picture today. I made the mistake of going back and looking for a specific product they didn’t have (even though I emailed and they said they would ) and found some alpha’s I wanted. I very very rarely buy alphas not in a kit because you rarely use a lot of the letters. I do my best but I hate all the numbers etc. that I can never think of a creative way to use.

All this came to a smidgen under 15.00 so that was cool. I went over my budget since I went back but I am thinking it is worth it. I have already used a sticker from the Dad sheet you see there.

I also was lucky enough to get my name drawn for a free gift from Partylite and it is gorgeous…. not just some cheapo thing you sometimes think you might get from drawings but really nice. I just have to remember where I put some partylite candles I have somewhere from a long time ago.

So the rest of the day went ok. The food was decent. It is just kinda sad for me as last time was so awesome and this time was just meh… even with winning. At least it had a couple awesome highlights. I know for sure I am not going to the January one as the weather could be bad and then my money is a waste. I kind of feel I don’t want to go again but I think I was just wanting it to work out so aweseome that I let the little thing get to me which is silly. So I probably will go in the spring. That will leave enough time for my crankiness about it to wear off. It is just I did exactly what I did at home minus the loss in my pocketbook. :D So we will see.

Oh and one more awesome note is I talked to Nikki a couple more times throughout the night and at one point I thought she was leaving for the day and just to be nice was going to say bye to me. Well she actually asked me what paper’s I was wanting purchase that they didn’t have. I told her the Henry’s Brilliance line which is a school paper line. So she gave me what she had with her which was about five or six sheets!!! I mean she TOTALLY didn’t have to do that! How generous and kind. Sometimes you hate to meet people you kind of idolize because they are disappointing and all too human but she was just a regular gal who is proud of her work and is super nice but not in a forced way. You can tell she has always been that way and not just for PR. As soon as my room is back in order I am going to bust these out and show you all how perfect the papers are. I have even tried to get LPS to showcase them when the owner Von asks us for input in lines we may want. :D That is how much of a fan I was before can you imagine how much more I am now!!

I think here shortly I am going downstairs to get my room in order again. I kind of made a mess on both sides of the room trying to find some items i needed for the crop. Also I need to put away my crop items which are not organized int he bags like they were when I got there. Funny how anytime you pack even for vacation your suitcase never is as perfect as when you originally left.

Ok so tomorrow I should be able to start actually showing you my layouts I did. I can’t believe I managed 20 which was two an hour when you take away eating and shopping. Not too bad. I think I could have done more but I was in a funk. Most I like and think turned out well at least. oh and I did want to highlight the movies I watched. I finished The House that Preys. It was ok. Sunshine Cleaning was decent but pretty disappointing. I just was kind of anti-climatic in a lot of ways for me. I do love Alan Arkin who was in it though. Then I love you Man. It was decent. Then finished the night with season six of Sex and the Season. I watched about four or five episodes. They NEVER get old!!

Let the story begin…

2009-09-14T22:10:00.001-05:00

I am not sure I will get back to actually work on any new layouts so I am going to totally drag out Saturday and I think I have enough little things to do it. :D it was either let you guys wait or just give you little bits at a time and since I have ADD and get bored easily with long posts I figured I would do a longish one first then fill in the rest of the week with smaller ones :D

First I want to say I don’t know if I will go back. In general it was a Dud to me. I am not going to focus on the negatives as I don’t want to be that way on here but it just kind stinks that they joy I had for my first one totally died out with this one. some of it was CS issues and some was just me. Ok so on to the day. I got up really early and wanted to leave by 6 am. It is roughly an hour and half drive and I had a plan to be there right when it opens since i went alone and I didn’t want to have to keep asking if there was an unsaved seat and I wanted to make sure I got close to an outlet as I had my slice and laptop to watch movies. I took a few extra minutes to play Farmville and farm town on facebook as I addicted AND I can’t let my crops go to waste if I can help it. My husband said to me… don’t you need to leave (he knew I was excited and had a plan) and I was like yeah but this won’t take too long. So I left about 6:40. I could have chose two ways to get to Springfield from where I live. I decided to go the country way as it is just a nicer drive. I get five minutes in and am passed by a trooper obviously in a hurry. Ten minutes later I come across why. There was an accident with a semitruck. (I later heard no one was hurt thank the Lord!) My first thought was “Wow, life is amazing. I could have been in that accident if I had left on time.” Now there is no way to know for sure BUT it had very recently happened because I had to turn around and go back to my town and I was passed by another cop and ambulance so very new. So due to this I didn’t get mad or uptight about having to go back to town and take the longer way. And I called my husband and informed him my obsession with certain things can save my life. lol

So I get to town actually right on time since I left pretty early to begin with. I was going to go to starbucks first though as you all might know I am IN LOVE with starbucks. I felt confident I knew where I was going in Springfield. I DID NOT! I spent at least a half hour getting lost. Finally through my cell phone MapQuest I managed to find it. Apparently that street splits and there is streets in-between and doesn’t go straight though. I then decide I am already late so why not stop at starbucks which fairly right next door. No it had a LONG line. GRRRR. SO I get there grab my stuff (so glad I only had the three bags to bring in) and have someone help me find a seat. It only took twice for her to find a single seat for me. (still remember I was trying to avoid this) and I then have issues trying to find juice. (this was part of the CS issue but I digress) Finally I was able to figure it out since thankfully I brought a power strip so a couple ladies let me feed from there main line. Ok so I am irritated at myself and others but life is still good I made it and I only have up from there.

I sit down maybe 15 minutes and settle eat some fruit (I was there too late to get any pastries… grrrr) Raffle tickets were given out. When I left in the am I said to myself. I am going to win today. And I can say that with confidence as I can think of at least six times that I have had that vibe and won. (at work raffles (got two baskets for ten dollars once with a ton of stuff), at the casino (only once kinda big), scratch offs, a slice, etc.) So I show up half hour + late and the first ticket drawn is MY TICKET!!! Wow I couldn’t believe it!! (which is like duh with what I said above but I think it but then I think I am silly of course I won’t win.)

So I am way excited and come to find out I win a mini Halloween kit from Nikki Sivils. I ADORE her. She is a fairly new designer but is amazing and she is a local gal and I am all about supporting people in my community. she even went to the same school my boys did. (come to find out) In fact I talked about how I adore her and am going to specifically buy her products here. The link above is her blog about meeting me with a pick of us and the kits. Here is a close up of the kit I took while there.

I am doing more mini books but I don’t have the confidence to do them a lot. But I am going to use this one to perfect my style even if I have to lift every page!

So the day was looking up!! Later on I went and did some shopping and here is a photo of what all I got for $94 dollars. It is a lot really. I am loving that Tim Holz distressor.

I also got crackle paint which I am going to research and try to figure out how to use. I got some prima items. Different pieces of papers like some sassafras lass that i don’t really have any off but I think can be cute in layouts I have seen. I upgraded to liquid pearl instead of just stickles. And I have been wanting grungeboard forever and finally got some of it. I am not sure I really like it but I am going to do some research on that too. Maybe then I will love it as much as I thought I would. If anyone has websites or ideas please share with me!

Hmmm…. So I am thinking that is enough for now. :D Stay Tuned……

First I remember …

2009-09-11T22:39:00.000-05:00

9/11 2001 like yesterday. I remember the whole day and what went down in my mind in slow motion. But my fear in my memories is nothing to those that lost loved ones. I will be saying a prayer this day for all that died and all that continue to suffer and die for our freedoms.

So then not to be frivolous …. but OMG I can’t believe it!

I have always LOVED LOVED LOVED vampire and werewolf things. This stems from a set of books I read in high school called the Vampire diaries. I read it over and over again knew it word for word and the next set which was about witches called The secret Circle. I would pretend to be the main character or make my own character in the novel. Then I graduated and didn’t follow any of the authors books. So fast forward forever! (yes some days I feel that old) and I see this CW add for a tv show called vampire diaries. I was like hmmmm that sounds familiar so I tivo it because well it says vampires. But then I check info and the names and plot sound familiar and then the author sounds familiar for the inspiration and I googled her. OMG it is the same books. I am way stoocked (hmm do the kids use that word anymore or how you spell it?) I can remember these books like yesterday. Here is the 411 from wikipedia.

So I also said I would post the agenda etc for my crop but I am really thinking I will forego all that. I am just going to enjoy the excitement of a little bit of nostalgia. Ahhhh……

I am SOOO ready for Saturday

2009-09-10T20:37:00.001-05:00

My bags are organized and sitting in the entry room ready to be packed for Saturday morning. I am very proud of myself I managed only four bags two of which I bungeed together. I should be able to find things fairly easily and carry all in at the same time. Here is the four bags and then inside that beach bag I got fairly cheap at Pier 1.

So that is my computer bag that will have my laptop, personal effects (lip gloss, moolah, Tylenol, etc). The beach bag has all my kits, extra embellishments, stamps, extra paper, and misc photos. The crop tote on wheels has my organizer tool tote, box of photos, slice, and odds and ends. (I almost forgot my slice cards until I went back downstairs for something else. I need to make sure I get the glass mat in there too. And then the tackle box is the rest of tools that aren’t used as much including my two trusty punches.

I also finished two kits that had just a few papers left. These three are from the June PS add on. All the pics are the same but I have three boys so ya’ll know that happens :D

And these are from Alex’s birthday and are from the last of the June scrapbookdeals4u kit by Bella blvd. (LOVED IT!!) Some of the embellishments were from stash and Collage Press. I LOVE them for tags and journal spots.

Then I started using some older papers I have and managed one layout before I decided I needed to start focus on some real packing for Saturday. I LOVE how it turned out as well. Actually I have been liking a lot of my layouts and to tell you that is not bragging as often I am Uber critical of myself. It is even getting me thinking maybe I could actually try some DT calls.

Lastly Scrapbookdeals4u is having another contest (I know i said no more but it sounded interesting so why not :D ) It has a class theme. So first there was English 101 which is one of the flip flops layouts above and was to do another page map with three photos and a full sentence for the title. The other was music 101 and really LOVE how it turned out. It was to find your heart song which right now is lady antebellum Run to You. I had been wanting to lift a layout by Amy -- a regular on the PS board who had her whole background as lyrics to a song her boys love to listen too. So here is my rendition of what she did.

This is a picture of DH and I during our family portraits at JC Penney. I put all the lyrics in groups around the photo. I hope I get a few votes for it :D The flowers are homemade from a you tube video I found showing how to make them. They are my new obsession. :D

I might not be on again until after the crop. I might feel the need to post all the email details I have been getting about the crop but I don’t know if I will have time. Plus I bet that is boring for all of you. But I AM way excited and so want to SHARE! :D

I did it!

2009-09-07T22:17:00.001-05:00

I finished all the page maps for this month and killed two kits! Whoo Hoo. I also did some Christmas layouts and will be finishing up this week two more kits that I was just waiting on the pictures to finish. I am so proud of myself. lol Since I am tired I am just going straight into the layouts without much ta do. I very rarely do photos as on purpose two pagers but it was way more fun then I thought it would be.

Oh no I just realized I did not do one. I guess I left it off my print off. GRR… well I promise to have it done by next time too. And another double! Bummer lol.

Here are the rest I did in no fancy order.

I have no paper scraps from the Marrakech BG kit I got from zany zinnia but I have a few embellishments. And just a few scraps from the other kit I have been featuring. (Can’t think of the name of it but I got it from scrapbookdeals4u ) The Christmas layouts are from the December 2008 personal scrapper kit.

And I have to leave you with one non scrap thought (though I will probably scrap it because why not! :D ) This is what was in my home on the ceiling the other night. I about completely freaked out!!!

A Scorpion!!! AHHHH it is so scary but this one was very little but still the thought of one of my boys getting stung is way scary. I think it crawled in by accident as a screen near where it was found had been open for at least a day before we discovered it. I hope to NEVER see one again but what really scares me is my scraproom is in the basement in an unfinished room with lots of little areas for creepy crawlies can lie in wait!!

My page maps so far

2009-09-05T20:19:00.001-05:00

Like I stated in my last post I have challenge/decided to do all the page maps for the month of September. Here are the ones I have done the last two nights. I think I am half way done.

This one was a 11 1/2x8 I turned into a 12x12. and this one below is one I took a two page layout and turned it 90 degrees and made it into one 12x12 page. I really like this one as it is the first time I tried for that really uber shabby chic (or what I think is shabby chic let me know if I am wrong) that the wonder girls at LPS gave me tips on how to do. I think it turned out well but not as worn as I was looking for. But a good start. I might look at you tube for maybe a tutorial video as I really am more of a visual learner.

So now that I look at the September Page Maps site all i have left is one more 8 1/2x11 and two double layouts. Not sure if I will do the doubles as I am really not into doubles but then again it wouldn’t be a challenge if you didn’t do even the harder ones you don’t really want to do. Right?! :D

All right so of course it is seven days until Scrapapolooza and I am still in CAN’T WAIT mode! I have decided I am only taking my oldest personal scrapper kits so I can really make myself use them up. And it isn’t that I don’t like them I just haven’t been in the mood to use them. Now I am going to make myself. I am also taking some BG Porcelain paper I have so I can buy items to make it a kit. I think this way will totally give me some perspective on how hard it is to run a kit club and pick the perfect embellishments and alphas within a budget! I am going to hate to pay full price though! I figured out the months I have to use up are March, April, July (only because I got burned out on Summer Soiree and I am not really sure if I will bust it out but I will some some summer pics sooo…. ) and August. I LOVE the August so I am for sure using that one. To view what is in these kits click the link above and go to kits. It will bring them all up. I might also bring the add on’s I should be getting with the September kit. I would bring the september but I want to use the older ones and it is more school themed and I haven’t printed off too many school photos yet. It is a new line barely out though so I might do it to show off… but then again to whom? I am going by myself and have headphones on so very little people bother me. Though my slice was a hit with the people around me. :D And my ATG gun. The add on’s were some paper trunk Kraft paper and this cute kit

I love mini kits as you have less paper so you get them used up quicker. I know sad. lol but it just makes me feel accomplished. And I don’t get bored. So I think that is all for now. It is raining here so now fun Labor Day weekend pics. the boys are just battling each other on WII star wars. It is so cute to see my three year old actually manage to play and beat the older boys sometimes. lol

a whole bunch of stuff

2009-09-02T17:22:00.001-05:00

I think I will first start off with my personal challenge I have given myself. I actually saw on this blog from Amy in KY. How she last month did every single August page maps sketch. I that was way cool so I have challenged myself to do it also. So far I have done two.

I personally think both turned out well. And I used the scrapbookdeals4u kit I mentioned in a previous kit. I love this romantic papers and I don’t get them very much with three boys but sometimes you just have to. :D

So I think I mentioned I found some half done layouts (a whole tub of them) and I tried to finish them but got kinda bored and uninspired. I hope to find my mojo or maybe just slowly work at them to get them done. Most just need titles and well sometimes I have no inspiration. Here is a slide of them all as I didn’t want to force you to look at them all if you didn’t want too. Several of them I totally LOVE and was going to post those separate then realized I LOVE half of them enough to say I LOVE them. So I figured ah well let it be up to the beholder. :D

I have stated before I am going to an all day crop and I am determined to be more organized and only bring what I think is essentials. So first I saw on you tube how someone suggested a tackle box. I have one that I use to keep my make up in but I decided I needed it more for scrapbooking just in general. I also decided to finally use full time one of those hold all things (see picture below) and so far I am liking it.

I keep in the tote my immediate things I use often and in the tackle box things that I may use like punches but not consistent. Then I went to Pier 1 as I have never been there and found some awesome mugs for 2.48 AND this beach bag for only 3.98!! It is huge and deep and I figured perfect to carry my kits to the crop. That leaves lastly my cropper thing with wheels. So in theory I shouldn’t have a lot to drag around. Cross your fingers! lol.

Lastly, at the message boards at personal scrapper Janine (see link to her blog here she is giving away a RAK until Friday) asked us to show our first layout ever if we remembered. So today I went looking and found it. I had went to a creative memories party back sometime in 2000 and did this layout. I was hooked after that. Though I did take a large break with two very young toddler in the house and no room or money to really scrap with.

Baby… have I come a long way. And also the embellishments are way more high falootin now!

New rule! ... swear not really a whine (scouts honor)

2009-08-31T08:48:00.000-05:00

Ok I am setting a new rule for me. No more deadline contests. I just can't complete them. I told you a few weeks ago I was joining the LPS big scrapper house contest. Well I posted my layout too late on saturday and was eliminated. Total Bummer and Hey rules are rules (sniff sniff lol) I just didn't realize the rules were that strict. (aren't people like me annoying!?) I swear in my time it was only a half hour late but they may have been using their time which I should have been mindful of. Anyway at least I got a page done in general (I will post it later the pic is just not on this computer here) and it was fun while it lasted. I think I got too involved watching Picket Fences on Hulu. I forgot how much I LOVED that show. Ok so my point is this is just a string of contest I have joined and totally bailed and not stuck with! I did win that slice but it was a long loose deadline which works better for me really. This is also why I stopped signing up for swaps and gift giving I am just TOO much of a flake to stick with it and no one likes that person when they are waiting on their goodies!

Ok so while I am on here (and I suppose I should stop whining and just move on to some light pouting for being a loser! lol) I wanted to post the description of the all day crop I will be attending soon. (Be forwarned this is all I will probably talk about for the next two weeks! I am more then excited!)

Saturday, September 12: "Scrap-a-Palooza" mega-crop for 200 at Remington's event center, includes meals, snacks, drinks, free classes, demos by Allison Davis, $25 goodie bag, and more! Register for classes at SG or on our website. Event fee is $43.

I have to confess I really am not sure what the big deal about Allison Davis is but she is very nice and knowledgeable. Last one I went to (which was my first) I also met Nikki Sivils (would link better but not using windows live right now.. grrr) http://nikkisdoghouse.blogspot.com/ who just started and has awesome paper themes and patterns. I am saving up money to get some at the crop. So this is no small town mega crop!

Quick note…

2009-08-30T22:33:00.001-05:00

Because I want to win something …. or at least have the chance. I stumbled upon this blog through another blog I have in my google reader (see lower post on how much I LOVE google reader!) and I have to link to offically be in the drawing so here is my linky loo! Hey give it a look you might win too!

So I have totally been creating some more layouts not of the kit I stated I would do next but I decided I needed to double check and do a kind of inventory of what pictures I have scrapped. I am finding i am double printing and forgetting some older pics I found have already been scrapped. Anyway I found a whole tub of layouts with paper but no real embellishments or titles so I am working my way through those. Using older stash and stamps!! Man it should use a good amount of my stash so that is awesome as I have enough but not a ton but I HATE being wasteful. So my point is look for those soon. I might not do the whole tub as I do tend to get bored fairly easily but I want to by the end of the year. Gasp!! Did I just make a goal? lol I think so.

Also have been getting ready for another Scrapapolooza that is in two weeks! I am working hard on NOT taking a ton of stuff and being uber organized. I took way too much last time and want to avoid having to lug the stuff around and it is just me going so no one to really ask to watch my stuff. Not that I had any issues with the ladies around me and leaving my stuff but it is just less to be accounted for. If that also makes sense :D

More to come of all that later as you know I am getting WAY excited!!

I am so into Kraft paper

2009-08-28T22:44:00.001-05:00

Especially after I used all but one of the kraft papers from Fancy Pants Kraft Kuts kit. Here is the pages I completed. The first one “Alexander my boy” is my favorite with the two brothers layout being a close second. Though I do like how all of them turned out and I used some stash up. Gotta Love that!

I think the next kit I will tackle and use up is an older one that I just purchased from Scrapbookdeals4u. I filled out out a survey and received 30% off past kits. Total Score! I got two the one I am going to use up tomorrow because it has some high end prima that I have seen used but haven’t yet. I really want to see what I can come up with! Here is a picture and site description.

This amazing kit contains the following product:

6 - Dream Street Paper - Secret Garden Collection:

Botanical

Flourish Stripe

Garden Gate

Love Grows

Mary's Journal

Spring Again

5 - Coredinations Cardstock:

Cloudburst

Olive

Brownie

Coconut Cream

Satin Rose

Embellishments:

1 pkg - Dream Street Plain Alphabets

1 - Bottle Cinnamon Stickles

1 - Tube Kaiser Brown Paint

1 pkg - Little Shoe Box overlay

1 pkg - Kaiser Pearls

1 - Kaiser Craft Wood Flourish

1 pkg - Kaiser Craft "Cherish" Rhinestone Word

1 - Wood Picture Frame

1/2 pkg - K & Co Chipboard Words

3 - Yards Assorted Riboon

20 - Assorted Buttons

3 - Etsy Tags

10 - Assorted Flowers

And when I was unloading the layouts from my SD card I forgot that these pics were taken. I want to share them as I think they turned out cute and my boys took them. They are born photographers. This is Aaron (my seven year old) and Alex my three year old.

Killing those kits!

2009-08-22T16:42:00.001-05:00

I pretty much buy all my scrap supplies as kits. I just don’t have a LSS around. And it saves me time and keeps me in somewhat of a budget. So I love it when I kill off a kit. These are my latest layouts and all done with one of my older kits. It was only four pieces of patterned paper and four colored cardstock and I got all these layouts from it. The first one of my middle son I am going to re-do the title and make it look better. That is what I get for staying up too late and “just wanting to finish killing this kit! lol

In general news we found an awesome local beach which we enjoyed two days in a row due to the exceptional weather we have had. Aaron wasn’t allowed to get in too deep but at least he could sit and walk in it. It has to be hard to not be allowed/able to do things. And at least it was SOMETHING! :D

Sorry so many I just couldn’t decide. These are the ones I couldn’t resist. lol Oh and I want to share the latest picture of Aaron’s scar in case anyone is curious. If so don’t look below!

Eleven more layouts and one less kit

2009-08-18T16:57:00.001-05:00

Here is the layouts I did with Summer Soiree kit from LPS. I managed ten with this kit. I got this paper line three times in three different kits. I got the first set in a zany zinnia kit early in the summer. Then I ordered a second (because I do like this paper) through life preserver scrapbooking (LPS) and then as the monthly kit from Personal Scrapper. I used the Zany Zinnia way earlier and those are posted below somewhere. These are using the embellishments from the LPS kit. I have decided I have to take a huge break from this kit as I like the papers. It is just too much. I get bored really easily. :D

First off here is all that is left.

Here is a close up of the distressed stickles I am using on the waves for dimension

On a personal note this is what we did yesterday… meeting the teacher and my favorite starbucks! I got a smaller one then my usual so the boys could have a treat themselves of hot chocolate!

Personal Scrapper is doing an online crop. Come join us over there anytime and join in. The kits are always awesome!

I’ve been a bad blogger!

2009-08-17T15:12:00.001-05:00

But I think I have a good reason. My son Aaron came home officially on Thursday!!! He is doing amazingly well. We got home late as we stopped up at St Louis Mo to see my SIL and pick up our fixed computer. *Thanks Tony!* Then I went to work Friday and when I got there my Pastor/boss handed me this.

and

It is awesome. The rehab doctor had told us more then once to get a wii fit to help with Aaron’s coordination and balance.

While we were in Columbia on Wednesday (the other boys and me went down a day early) it was my anniversary (9 years! whoo hoo!) and we went shopping we went to Bass Pro Shop and DH

and I got

I love how it smells. I got the gift box which also had a mini travel spray tube and lotion. It was a bit pricey for me but you have to splurge sometimes. And it is a perfect anniversary present. It came with some free gifts of lip gloss, masacara etc. So that made it even more of a gift.

I would tell you more about the fishing warms BUT I don’t really fish so…..

I also tried on of these. It was an almond milk tea. I liked it but didn’t drink much the first day as I can’t have a lot of sugar so she put very little in. The next day I put splenda in it and it was awesome. :D Also made a good creamer for my coffee.

The boys enjoyed these…. Dippin dots.

The next morning the boys played together at the rehab before being discharged.

So this weekend we played a lot of wii, caught up on a lot of laundry, and went to my folks house were we played more wii. Here is the older boys playing wii.

Here is a close up of Aaron’s larger scar in the back.

So it was an enjoyable weekend and he is being fairly independent and asked when he could run again. He said his legs are weak when he tries. I told him that is why he still needs his physical therapy and doing things on the wii.

In closing I did manage some scrapping. I started our thank you cards

And I found these most awesome chocolate covered cashews for only a dollar at our local dollar store. Unfortunately I ate the whole can in one day which is over 1000 calories. SO I can not buy them ever again. But they were awesome! (Did I mention that?!) And a bargain! lol

Ok managed to do some real scrapping…

2009-08-11T11:48:00.001-05:00

But first an update on my son. He is officially getting out of the rehab center Thursday. It is making this week FOREVER already. But I am way excited and scared as I want to put him in a bubble but I can’t. He also has the follow up appointment with the neurosurgeon so I am starting a list of questions. He is going to be able to start school on time just probably half days in the beginning as his stamina is low. He needs a daily nap. Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes. He is a miracle.

The last two nights I have gotten a total of 11 layouts done. Mostly with the June kit at Personal Scrapper. I loved this kit. It was perfect for summer photos that were not water related. I ended up doing 12 layouts with this kit plus one more as I got a sheet of the star paper below at a crop. The you are my treasure and Watermelon layouts were for challenges. The You Are My Treasure was for scrapbookdeals4u make up challenge so I can get my badge for their summer camp contest and the Watermelon one was to use a monogram for the first week of Life Preserver kits Big Scrapper’s House. I can’t say I am thrilled with out they turned out but I am not hating them either. I just know I won’t win any prizes with them. I hope I can at least stay in the game with them though.

This was done as a sketch challenge for scrapbookdeals4u. Not my favorite but at least I used some of my favorite photos and my stash. I am starting to make a dent in it. Tonight I hope to work on some thank you cards for Aaron’s surgery and all the gifts and well wishes he received.

Here is all that is left of the June Personal Scrapper kit. Again I just loved it. Erica the owner does an awesome job of picking and putting together unique kits. One less kit in the house means a little less guilt at wanting to buy more kits. :D

As you may or may not know...

2009-08-11T10:11:00.000-05:00

I like to do those silly facebook quizzes from time to time. A lot of them are rubbish but sometimes you get a couple that are insightful. I took two today and both I think are very true to my personality. I thought I would share as many times in blogs we are sharing a 2-d you and
I want to be 3-D. :D Yes I am drama lol

Angela completed the quiz "Personality Analysis: What is Your Most Dominant Trait?" with the result Spirited/Expressive.

The persuader. You are a natural motivator and communicator. You are also very competitive. You can sway peoples emotions by the way you talk. You have a very warm and enthusiastic personality. When talking about something, you tend to exaggerate, or leave out facts and details just to make a good story. You are a free spirit and do whatever you feel. You are either an entertainer or leader. Sometimes you’d rather talk about things than do them. People often go to you with their problems because you can make them feel better after a talk. You may not give good advice but you generally know the right things to say to cheer them up. You’re the type that enjoys being with a large group of friends and taking the spotlight. Be careful not to have a big mouth or big ego. People with this personality trait have mood changes very quickly from cheerful to bitter and vice versa! You are susceptible to starting gossip or starting a fight because you can be obnoxious sometimes! Tone down your flames! .

I don't feel I am competitive as I don't like to play unless I know I will win. Hmmm.. or is that what they mean? lol Otherwise pretty spot on even the not so flattering parts.

THe next one I took was...

Angela completed the quiz "What's your biggest weakness?" with the result Soul.

You are intelligent and you think about life and philosophy and WHY to everything. A lot. But you are missing passion. You like to do creative things, but they often lack the soul behind it. You can make people laugh and beat your friends in an IQ test, but when it comes to living life to the fullest you are lost, even though you think you aren't. You think you are right, but underneath of it all you are confused. You are only guided by your mind which often leads you astray, but your soul rarely reflects in your life. You like to work hard for things and you think you deserve them, but you sometimes wonder why you are where you are. You need direction for your persistent and determined personality, but you aren't sure where to get it.

I totally agree that I am fearful of failure which makes my passion wane quickly. I want to be somebody but lack the confidence or something to make it happen. I have all these ideas I never follow through on. Which I knew how to overcome that!

I DID manage to do a layout today

2009-08-08T22:11:00.001-05:00

So I am not as sad as I thought I would be away from Aaron. Mainly because I have a three year old making up for seriously lacking terrible twos. He is making up for way lost time I think. AND the kid can talk. And so can his oldest brother. I love them dearly but after hanging out with my quit Aaron it is a bit of a culture shock. lol But I am coping :D I even managed to do one layout tonight. I couldn’t resist!

The title idea “Real Boys Use Bright Colors” is from the challenge blog all about the boys. (I will try and find the link another day just too tired but so excited I did a layout lol)

We all went out on our first family outing since Aaron’s surgery and rehab and he did brilliantly. We went to Old Navy and Carnival shoes and he didn’t complain a bit.

Well I am very very tired and looking forward to my own bed. I hope to do more scrapping tomorrow after church. Hopefully my three year old will take a LONG nap! :D

Determined to have a good day

2009-08-08T07:42:00.001-05:00

So far already pretty good. I got on the scale and was down. I can’t believe it but maybe worry and not wanting to eat the first three days helped. Yesterday I had a total eat what I wanted day. I did pay for it by the end of the day. The scale here at rehab reads kg so I had to convert it. I am not sure if any poundage is lost in the conversion as it shows I lost like two three lbs in a day when it was just down one kilogram?? But no matter what I will take it. I am an emotional eater and over eater and I know I was stuffing my stomach too full there for a few days when I did eat. I need to get back to basics. Anyone have tips on getting back to basics AND to handle emotional eating?

Today is the tax free weekend so I am excited to go shopping for the boys school items AND to just get out of the rehab center. DH and I are switching. I am physically ready (the bed is a killer and I do feel I need a break and to spend time with my other son’s) but emotionally I don’t know how ready I am. I will have work to distract me so that will be good. And I can scrap which is always a stress reliever to me. Monday we should have a definite timeframe for Aaron to be in the rehab facility.

On to scrap news. I feel my son is well enough that I can join a contest at life preserver scrap kits. [img]http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq93/lpscrapbookclub/big-scrapper-house-blinkie.gif[/img] (I hope the image works!) It sounds like a ton of fun with immunity and challenges. And we get to have a code name. I am not sharing mine yet as I think it is part of the challenges.

We are Outta here!

2009-08-07T11:32:00.001-05:00

Disclaimer** I wrote this first section on Wednesday. But feel it is important to keep in. I just ran out of time to actually finish and post it.
So Aaron is getting out of the main hospital today but we have decided to have him stay at a physical rehabilitation center. I would have LOVED to have him home BUT my wants are not the mature right thing for him. The DRS said he would get better at home but it would be a slower process which could mean missed school and he tends to struggle in school anyway. I am not sure if last year at the tail end was due to the tumor or just his own struggles. School here starts on the 19th so coming up fast. Also, if by chance he did fall or get hurt at home I could never forgive myself for doing the more selfish choice and the mores easier choice for what Aaron wants.

Friday, August 7 2009

So it is full day two here at rehab. I woke up early this am due to worries. I have doubts we did the right thing but my husband reassures me we did. Wednesday was the roughest day as he got out of the hospital and instead of going home we came here. Which they painted more of a kid friendly place but it is not. He was in a complete sad depressed funk. He slowly came out of it yesterday. He was not completely uncooperative but I had to once use my stern Mom voice to let him know he HAS to do the activities.

Today so far we have had speech therapy and all his brain functions seem fine. No different then before and doesn't appear to be any slower. The PT lady yesterday couldn't tell a difference in strength BUT when he does the quick put your fingers together (thumb and pointer) in rapid sequence the left is a lot slower. He started actually eating and drinking well yesterday and finish a lot of his foods that were brought. I had to treat him to McDonald's of course :D As i was dying for some bad food too. lol

He woke up chipper then the last days and has already taken advantage of being in here and had ice cream. Children learn very quickly what they can get away with. At home I totally would have said no but I didn't have the heart. I wasn't going to go back home until Monday but after talking to DH it would cost less money for me to go back Saturday. (I plan on going back to work Monday... it is just a part time job as the church Secretary and my Pastor/boss said I could take more time but I A) need the money and B) am ready to go back to work. I am not really ready to leave him and be in a different town BUT I do think he is doing well enough I don't have to worry about him not eating/drinking/or improving. It will probably good for the both of us AND I have two other boys at home that also need their mother.

One more thought on Aaron and the tumor. First it was an astrocytoma grade one which means he doesn't need radiation or chemo because it was a benign cancer tumor and they got the whole tumor so the chance of it coming back is rare again. Though he will have to be monitored probably for the rest of his life. The other is I think what a Miracle he is. And I thank God for him to get us to that drs office when he did and kept him safe through the surgery and even recovery. So many other things could have went wrong or worse. I think a lot of people will wonder how I can still trust God when he might have even put that tumor there. I just know everything has a purpose and I am glad his purpose was for Aaron NOT to die. (sorry no nicer way to put it.) And that is all I am grateful for right now.

I saw this parchment and verse thing on a blog I follow. she was learning Photoshop. i had forgotten this verse. It has great significance for me as it was a major verse I held onto when I did my gastric bypass surgery. I want to share it and I hope it is ok. (Kix, if you want me to remove it just let me know! Thanks.)

Ok onto some scrap news as well this was the original point of this blog. I am totally loving the August kit from Personal Scrapper!

Kit Theme:

Celebrate the end of summer with this bold kit that will remind you of sunshine, water & good times! This kit will motivate you to scrapbook those warm memories!

Kit Content Description:

Scenic Route has a fun vibrant line that is so easy to scrapbook with! We have coordinated these fun patterns with fabric alphabet stickers, coordinating chipboard, foam shapes, flowers, buttons and ribbons! Whether you are scrapbooking summer, travel or just family pictures – this kit makes it fun and easy! Check out the gallery for some layouts our designers have created with this kit.

1 sheet of 12 x 12 Scenic Route Garden Grove Emerson Ave paper
2 sheets of 12 x 12 Scenic Route Garden Grove Westlake Street paper
1 sheet of 12 x 12 Scenic Route Garden Grove Joy Street paper
1 sheet of 12 x 12 Scenic Route Garden Grove Cypress Street paper
1 sheet of 12 x 12 Scenic Route Garden Grove Adeline Ave paper
1 sheet of 12 x 12 Scenic Route Garden Grove Flower Street paper
1 sheet of 12 x 12 Scenic Route Garden Grove Hope Street paper
1 sheet of 12 x 12 Scenic Route Garden Grove Kraft Dotted Border paper
1 sheet of 12 x 12 Bazzill Parakeet paper
1 sheet of 12 x 12 Bazzill Raven paper
1 sheet of 12 x 12 Bazzill Vibrant Blue paper
1 sheet of 12 x 12 Bazzill Grenadine paper
1 package of Scenic Route Garden Grove Superstar chipboard
1 package of American Crafts Guesthouse foam travel shapes
1 package of American Crafts Black patchwork fabric alphabet stickers
9 Petaloo flowers (blue, orange & red tones)
Assorted tropical Boxer buttons
1 yard of Creative Impressions black Ric Rac
1 yard of Creative Impressions red gingham ribbon
1 yard of Creative Impressions orange sheer ribbon
1 page of layout ideas using this kit

I know this kit will be used this month for sure. I love it so much.

Update ** for those who I know from a couple message boards this is a repeat

2009-08-04T17:58:00.000-05:00

We had a real minor set back but I am taking it really hard. We had a choice of going home and doing outpatient rehab or doing a concentrated two weeks and have him better sooner. The Catch to the second choice is it will still be in Columbia which is an hour and half away from our home town. The thing is the doctor gave us a choice but not really. And I think I would have brought him home but my husband is right. It is better to dot he rehab quicker and get him able to walk, talk (I guess they think his speech is slow but I thought it was due to the surgery and not moving, talking for three days much) and function in time for school. It makes me sad as I feel bad for him. And how do you explain it to a child. He didn't cry or anything he just accepts it.

I know most of you would like a choice but I hate it. especially when it was a non-choice as the dr made it sound like all would be fine for us to take him home THEN started to back track how hard it would be and how it would hold him back. Well I don't want to hold him back. But I do want him to feel "normal" again. Bluck.

I am also not ready to be in a different city then him so I am taking the first shift at the rehab center. We are not there yet as the insurance has to approve it but should go tomorrow. The kind of insurance i have they don't see a problem. Kinda stinks we had to wait all day otherwise we could be there already. Really I know it is for the best though I think I could have done it but with my husband being hesitant and IF something did happen I couldn't handle the guilt it is a better choice all the way around.

Sorry I am babbling like I said it is so heartwrenching and sad to me. Though I keep telling myself to put it in perspective so far they don't think he will need radiation or chemo (I am waiting for the official report before I say for sure) He should/will make a full recovery and this will make him stronger in every way.

More Good News

2009-08-03T14:17:00.000-05:00

My Son's shunt has come out. YAY! So now he is in a regular room and rumor has it if he can make it with some help to the playroom and play he should be able to go home tomorrow. I am both happy and scared at that prospect. At least here he has the comfort of educated care. At home it is just us. Who are ignorant of what is normal or not. But then I think God will see us through and I think they say people do a lot better at recovering in their own home anyway.

Back to scrapping news. I plan on making homemade thank you's for family and hospital to mail out. This will be really the first time making cards so I am looking forward to that.

So far my list is the oncologist Dr Loew. The floor staff on 7E, The neurosurgeon Dr Egbas and his associates, Missy, Sara, Candee, Church family, Grandpa and grandma, Great grandma, and Rae. I probably will need to add to this list sooner or later. :D

I will end with some cell pictures (sorry not so good)

Aaron last Thursday before removing tumor surgery but after the shunt.

Aaron recovering in Non ICU room with his brothers.
John relaxing because after the emergency is relatively over you are on hospital time. :D (not complaining just saying.. this hospital has been wonderful to us!)

This is me on my laptop trying to fill the time.

Here is a pic of the boys playing at the Ronald McDonald house. They have been so good to us and a HUGE help!

I wanted to say one more time I can't think you all enough in your prayers. Aaron is a miracle. Also thanks for the comments I read every one and really appreciate the time you ladies take to comment.

another update

2009-08-02T20:44:00.000-05:00

My son Aaron is doing awesome. He is eating, using the restroom, and in little pain. His motor skills (the most they were worried about) are improving. Physical therapy will be done tomorrow. So we should know more then. And a CT Scan this time to see if the shunt that is to help regulate the pressure from his brain fluid is ready to be removed. I am faithful in believing it will as he has not had to have it "drained" for well over 24 hours. After that is to get him walking around and wait for the final results on the tumor.

On a scrapbooking note (and since I have plenty of time to myself right now) I already have some scrap ideas for layouts on this event. I know one will be a title in big letters I SURVIVED! I can't wait to be able to scrap all that. :D

Update

2009-08-01T07:07:00.000-05:00

I am sorry I didn't update sooner but after I posted Thursday night I had a meltdown with looking through pictures and just being scared. It was so bad I crawled into bed with my son and I woke him up. He saw/heard me crying and put his arm around me and told me "Mommy, it will be all right." Which of course made my crying worse. I mean to have your child comfort you when it is happening TO him! Children are amazing.

He came through the surgery wonderfully. It took less time then I thought it would which was another plus. The Doctor said he got all the tumor. A WAY plus. And the preliminary results is the tumor is a pilocytic astrocytoma. (yes a big word-- thankfully it is written down! :D ) All his stats have been good and they are keeping him comfortable and I think his pain is getting better as he sat up at one point last night where before even if you moved his head/neck he would cry out in pain. It kinda of scared me though and I asked what is wrong he said nothing. I asked if he was in pain and he said no. What a relief! So he is doing far better then I had antipated. Though I think I (we) always anticipate the worst but I try to hope for the best.

The next 72 hours (well less as the surgery was over about twoish yesterday) is the most crucial. Please pray no infections set in. He does have an MRI today at ten to check his brain fluids inside. He still has his shunt to help drain when the pressure gets to be too much. The doctors said the tumor has been in there at least six months so for a good part of that his brain fluid was not draining properly so his body does need to re-adjust and sorta learn to regulate the pressure like a "normal" little boys body does.

I had friends who said don't google what they thought it was but last night I decided I couldn't wait. It turns out this is a fairly benign tumor and when the doctors get all the tumor a full recover is typically (90% which in medical terms I think is way high for anything serious for survival rate) expected and the norm. I just LOVE the word Benign. That is not to say they won't do radiation but it sounds like chemo will not be necessary. The final results take 72 hours but I do not expect the pre-limenary results to change.

I think that is all for an update right now. And I thank everyone for their prayers. God is Good.

THis blog will have a bit of a scrap hiatus

2009-07-30T23:50:00.000-05:00

as I will have limited scrap time. My middle son has a brain tumor which we will have surgery on tomorrow am. We just found out late Wednesday in a freak way. He was having an eye exam for his "lazy" eye.

It is kind of out of the blue that we found out he has a tumor about the size of a golf ball in his cerebelem. He has been complaining of headaches and migraines for the last four months. We have been to the drs for the last three off and on about them with the doctor reassuring us there is no tumor. Hindsight is 20/20 of course but we had no reason to doubt the doctors. She was concerned though about his "lazy" eye and wanted an acutal opthomologist or full on eye doctor to check him out on in he needed eye surgery for his eye turning slightly which then we would patch for the laziness. We have patched on and off over the years as each eye doctor has a different theory so with each new insurance came different thoughts. So we had to come to Columbia MO at the univeristy of MO hospital due to insurance. it is an hour and a half away but a very good hospital we are told. The eye resident doctor dilated him then after our wait he viewed his eyes and saw his optic nerves were bulged. Very rarely a good sign. So we had an emergency CT scan which showed the tumor and later that night a three hour MRI as they did every test possible.

Good news it is not in the spine at all. Good news is it is in a forgiving part of the brain. Good news is they think it is a type of cancer that is fairly treatable. No way to know for sure until next week after the biopsy.

Bit of bad news is it is resting on his brain stem ... if it is just resting not too many worries if there are tendrils into it that is way riskier. The surgery takes at least six hours so it will be a long day.

He is scared of course and doesn't want another surgery. But has been a super trooper. He hasn't even really taken any pain meds. I finally kind of pushed him to take a little for bed. If he really thinks he doesn't need them then fine but I want him to know it is ok if he does need them.

So my husband brought me my laptop. I had just my blackberry before. I am glad as it keeps me a little distracted but I am debating on whether I should google the type of tumor they think he has or wait. My one friend says to wait no matter what kind it is. I don't know if I can hold out. I just keep telling myself for every bad story with cancer in children there are miracle stories. I feel my son will be a miracle.

I am going to part with a few pictures of how lively and silly he is. he has always been my cuddle bear. He would always sit for me for hours and cuddle and rock. Even to this day he loves (at 7) to take a nap with me. Thankfully they let me sleep with him in his bed here.

So please please pray for him. I don't really know what will follow but I have faith there is purpose.

Thank you!

Angela

Here he is as a baby with his Grandma Linda (my MIL)

Here he is at his seventh birthday party this June.
Here is on the last day of summer school putting on a play.
He is always my ham!!Horrible picture of me but funny how this is now my favorite picture in general. Just taken a couple weeks ago while in DSM for a wedding reception and funeral.

Just an little FYI

2009-07-28T11:20:00.001-05:00

About my personality. A kind of get to know me post. I took a facebook quiz which are usually pretty bogus and time wasting but this one was neat. I like all that astrology and get to you know stuff. SO the quiz was what does your birthday month say about you and per the quiz mine says...

October

Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them. Loves to takes things at the center. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn't pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care of what others think. Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance. Loves to travel, the arts and literature. Touchy and easily jealous. Concerned. Loves outdoors. Just and fair. Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easily loses confidence. Loves children.

I totally am most of those things... errr .. well all except the doesn't care what others think. I sometimes do but I usually tell myself not to and go about my business. It all depends on the situation. And the lieing thing I don't think lieing is smart but I do think I can be manipulative so I am assuming maybe that is what it means.

Oh and the clairavoyant I think I totally am. I can give a number of examples of when I have been "psyhcic". Now I don't think I am a totally see the future but I do get these ideas or vibes and they often come true. And I swear I can even have people back up my examples. It is kinda creepy sometimes.

I just thought it would be nice to give you all some insight into who I am.

Drum Roll Please

2009-07-27T09:01:00.001-05:00

My son picked number 17 and if my counting is correct the winner is ....

Danielle at http://scrappy-arts-n-thoughts.blogspot.com/ So if you read this email me at superchick2006 at gmail.com Otherwise I will email you once I figure out how too. lol When I get back from the WATERPARK! Yay summer fun!

Ahhh.. Sweet procrastination

2009-07-26T23:48:00.000-05:00

I am so bad at it! Or maybe good at it. Anyway I did not get a chance to hop to everyone as I spent way too much time helping with my church's VBS. But it is worth it as it looks amazing. THen I had to do a ton of homework I fearfully put off too long for fear of reading the emails I had put off. (does that make sense??) That was silly was there was no hate mail. I have just been in some funk... grrrr.... anyway I think I am coming out of it but I hate being a girl sometimes I swear!

My point of my whining is I did not get a chance to finish the hop (so I hope Maggi still has the list up) or do the drawing. Tomorrow I am going to have my oldest son pick a number between one and 24 (excluding my comment post so I might have to have him re-number) and announce a winner in the am hopefully as we are going swimming tomorrow at a waterpark.

So that is what is up. Also I am thinking of changing my scrap room from this dungeon area to one of the spare bedrooms. I just don't know if I want to start from scratch but I got burned out with the organizing and I think I just need a less confined area.

So again thanks to all who stopped by in the CIJ blog party and I am so exicted to have garnered some followers. I am so happy excited about that but the pressure is on. LOL!

Welcome and Merry Christmas **Updated with pictures :D

2009-07-24T14:28:00.000-05:00

Ok if you were here earlier thanks and sorry this wasn't a complete post! I decided it needed some pictures! First thank you to Maggi at http://katamommydamacy.blogspot.com/ for hosting this blog hop. This is my first so thank you for your guidance and patience! And in appreciation I am adding this photo of my two favorite ornaments that stay in my scrap room ALL THE TIME! The white bear was is a cherished gift and the smore I HAD to get (duh) as it is the scrappin' smore. lolI must say that Christmas is my second favorite holiday. (Halloween is first because I love to dress up and pretend though I am a scaredy cat. ) I spend months planning. I always make a list that changes at least five times before I am done shopping. I always promise to stay in a budge and always go over. I spoil my children way to much on this holiday and always get irrtated at myself as they would rather play with the boxes then the actual gifts I spent MONTHS planning. Even with that irritation I still love it. Even before I had children I had a groups of friends who I spent more on then my parents. We would always try to out shop each other. Not in regards to money spent but on how well we could purchase and choose the perfect unique gifts. I did ok but my friend Heather ALWAYS out did us all. And she was/is an athiest. Funny how that works out.

Here is the give-away I have decided to send. I will randomly pick someone who leaves a comment to mail to. So check back and see if it is you. Or if you have a link in your name I will contact you. :D It is some christmas things but also some random papers because you never know what you can creatively do and make with any old peice of paper!
Anyway... I so hope you guys leave comments! And to help with what to write I encourage us all to take a moment and do a shot out to the person or people who made the holidays (if you don't do Christmas it can be Thanksgiving or Halloween, birthdays, etc) special for you.

For me....

My Dad only shopped for my mom and maybe one gift for me. I am an only child so I was pretty spoiled. but we almost always knew what mom's present was because it was shaped like the item. A skillet would be wrapping paper taped haphazardly around the skillet. Not only visibly seeing the skinny handle but all the way down to the circle flatness of the bottom. It is so comical.

He also provided me with the most memoriable Christmas holiday moment ever. It was right in the middle of the Cabbage patch doll craze. I wanted one SOOOO bad. And there wasn't one under the Tree. I pouted so bad but what could I do Santa didn't bring me one. Then about an hour or so later. My dad called me into the living room to tell me it looks like Santa accidently put one behind the couch. IT WAS MY CABBAGE PATCH DOLL!! A girl with dark corn colored hair. (see picture above) her name was Ginger and I LOVED her. But I will never forget how he tricked me into thinking I wasn't getting one. It makes me so happy now how cool my Dad was to play a trick on me. And I didn't care (or realize at that age) because she was here.

I had to add this photo as this is a picture of our Shetlend Sheepdog Pepper when I was a child. We LOVED him so much. I was an only child and him and I would play outside in the snow every winter!

Now my Mom I want to give a shot out because she grew up very poor and always made a point regardless of how wealthy or non wealthy we were to have an awesome birthday cake for me. She always told me how important the cake was because growing up she may never have gotten a present but she always got a cake for her birthday. It is those family traditions I think are so awesome and show how as a parent we want to build on how childhood experience and make them better for our children or hold on to those traditions.

One last thank you goes to my Grandparents who took me to church every weekend and taught me that Jesus is the reason for the season. I try hard to make sure my boys realize this. Especially growing up in the USA we so take things for granted and I try to make sure my boys do not.
My grandma and Grandpa... Grandpa I miss you but I know you are watching over me!

Here is three layouts I did with all the stash I found the other day organizing and cleaning. This was one of the things that sidetracked me from my day yesterday but scrap time is usually so worth it!

So thanks again for stopping by and this is lacking pictures but I wanted to post early and the day otherwise has gotten away from me. Does it for anyone else??

So the above was posted yesterday and now I have photos so YAY me! lol... But still do you get distracted way to easily?? I totally DO!

Oh and I feel like leaving with just one more picture... thanks for indulging me but I LOVE decorating the christmas tree. This one is from my Childhood 2nd grade... Hmmm... is my Cabbage Patch dolly under there? HAHA

Gah... I am so excited.

2009-07-24T14:16:00.000-05:00

I am participating in my first blog hop tomorrow. I am so excited and nervous. I got some ideas in my head to make it fun for all who visit :D

I right now just want to write a snippet on how much I LOVE google reader. It has really helped me stay on top of what follower blogs I have on there. I am currently at the domestic violence shelter I volunteer at so I don't have my list to keep saving but within a half hour I am all caught up on the blogs I follow. I am amazed how we now use blogs as ways to have "friends" of sorts. Sometimes I feel foolish that I know so much of these people I will probably never meet. I feel closer to them then I do my neighbors. It also fuels my need for voyuerism which use to be just held for peeping in house windows and seeing if the family is eating or watching tv, etc. I wonder if I am the only one who feels this psuedo feeling of kinship to people out there? Maybe I am wrong being philisophical on this blog that I was going to just reserve for scrap layouts and occasional want or idea. But the more I blog the more I want to share my personal life on here. Is that foolish? To think people care? The few blogs i really do follow religiously I can say I care about them. I would be heartbroken if their children or selves were hurt. I also enjoy hearing of their good victories too.

Oh... I got sidetracked.... anyway If you don't use reader and view a lot of google/blogger blogs use it. it saves a ton of time! And thanks for indulging me in my rant/semi whine there :D I promise tomorrow will be good times only!!

PS sorry for that bizarre two songs playing thing. I am going to fix it when I get home. It is those slides from the other posts. I will have to reconfigure them I guess :D Silly Angela! lol

What I have been up too...

2009-07-23T20:41:00.000-05:00

Cleaning and Organizing my scrapbook room! I am so proud of myself. I got rid of a tub of junk so far. YAY!

First here is a project I saw on you tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHH1WZDJfs4) and was brought my my attention on the LPS sight. (Thanks ladies :D) You take a lamp and make it into a clip it up thing. I am trying to think how I can make a lazy B Susan kind of thing so it swivels and some of the items are too long so I am thinking how I can clip those up easily. But it is very handy and I hope it helps me with my stash!

Before ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------After -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------I saw this awhile back where you tie all your ribbon to a hanger. I found more ribbon cleaning so I think I will start a second hanger. I might move it to a different wall though. I haven't decided. It depends on how I organize the rest of the room.

Here is how I store my kits. I keep them in the plastic bags until there is nothing but a few embellies left. Then I put those away wherever they go. So I keep the together kits in the bags and in this plastic box thing.

This is how many kits I still have to work with. It is a lot if you ask me! I hope to make a dent as soon as I get this organizing and cleaning done. THough to be honest I will probably get bored with it and stop for a month. It seems to cycle for me. But I really HOPE to get it all organized! Keep your fingers crossed. lol This is how I have decided to store my extra paper. One is for just my cardstock and the the others are for my patterned misc paper. I don't have all that much so I am just going to leave it as is. I don't think at this point I need to sort it by colors or manufacturer as it really is just mutt stuff. This is also an example of a how you can recycle all those boxes we get from our kits or any other package really. The cardboard boxes are from those usps 14x14 boxes. I had my hubby cut them to match as close as possible to my two plastic cropper hopper paper holders to the left. I think I will use those for something else but wanted to take a picture with them to compare to boxes. Great way to recycle and conserve money! Oh and I saw it at you tube also from the lady who's website is http://www.theeverydayscrapper.com/ She had other ideas too and her layouts/mini books are really awesome!

And the layout I did before I started this endeavor.

Here is my submission for week four of scrapbookdeals4u.com's Summer camp challenge. The challenge was as follow:

1. Scrap a holiday (your choice)

2. Use one nontraditional element

3. Use at least 3 pictures

4.Use 3 cardstock colors

5. Use only one patterned paper

So I have four pictures, three cardstock (gray background, green tree, and red bulbs on tree) Holiday is of course Christmas, the single pattern paper is also non-traditional as a floral print paper. I LOVE how it turned out and I think I have a chance of placing this time. I hope so. :D But there are really a lot more talented people on that sight so I doubt it. It is still fun to play!

I Heart Cosmo Cricket Snorkel!

2009-07-21T21:15:00.001-05:00

I did twelve layouts with the June kit from Life Preserver Scrap kits. This paper was so easy to use and almost off them I really like. Which in a kit I find one or two I don't really care for. Like I had good ideas or intentions but just didn't pull it off. So that is another plus if this paper/kit.

There is another sketch contest at Scrapbookdeals4u. #36. The first picture is the sketch and the second is my submission.

Here is my new planner/calendar I made today. I bound it with my Bind-It-All I don't use it often but when I do I LOVE IT!

Newest layouts....

2009-07-19T22:25:00.000-05:00

I was able to get ten layouts done last night. I actually like almost all of them and think I am getting better at this layering more 3/d look :D I might even enter a couple in a DT call. Something I have NEVER done before. We will see. Life perserver scrap club is having a weekend crop but didn't do any challenge yet. I just felt like being free. I do plan on spending most of the day tomorrow scrapping though as my two older boys are away for camp. (though one called saying he already wanted to come home. he had only been there a couple of hours.) I did my shopping and laundry already and all I really need to do is write a paper for school but I procrasinate anyway so that is a no brainer. :D

Here is a slide of layouts. I ended up getting with 9 layouts out of 5 peices of paper in the kit and only two cardstock. So of course I supplemented. Then started on the June Add on kit from personal scrapper. It is older summer pics from when Alex was just a baby.

Yes I am posting a lot...

2009-07-14T16:52:00.000-05:00

kinda weird I have a lot to say. Slowly this blog is becoming more then just photos of my scrap pages but a little more of my life. And I kinda like it :D

I have been meaning to post a couple pics just to demonstrate my weight loss. I try not to make my life all about that but when I see pics I can't believe myself what a difference pysically and emotionally it has made in my life. I have to thank God for a lot of it too. :D

I saw the picture my dad took of me in the middle last summer and I thought how neat to take a picture of me in the same top!! What a difference a year makes. The top one at the pool is from July 2007 so all three are summer pics.

Below is three new layouts I did. (sorry they are blurry) this afternoon watching Her Girl Friday (or my I am not sure). It is a Cary Grant movie who I just adore! They don't make them like him and

Lastly this is my submission for the next week in the scrapbook4u camp contest. It was to do a picnic or family theme, use scallop paper, chipboard, and rubons. I have them all here. This is all hodge podge stuff from my stash.

And please look below this post for the rest of my Basic Grey Lime Rickey kit. Nothing left but a few embellishments. Boy I am good lol!

Latest layouts using BG Lime Rickey

2009-07-14T16:41:00.000-05:00

Announcement

2009-07-14T11:15:00.000-05:00

Hmm.. did I spell the title above right?? Oh well. lol

I am going to participate in a blog hop.

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It is hosted by this awesome gal... http://katamommydamacy.blogspot.com/ and I think I will include in my hop a giveaway. I know I have several christmas papers, embellies I can gather up and make a decent package. I hope so anyway :D... so stay tuned folks! I am excited.

Blog Challenge

2009-07-12T22:11:00.000-05:00

I was at scrapbook4u's message board and they know have a friday blog challenge. The first one is a blog challenge the last fun thing we did this summer. I would have to say for total fun is my youngest birthday. I can't believe he is now three! One Year old... I couldn't find any new borns pictures on this computer.
One Year old. Yum Alex LOVES ice cream! Almost two years old... already a ham! Alex and His Mommy at three years old! We love each other! :D My husband once said our little family would not have been complete without him and I totally agree.

I threw this one in as he is just so cute and I love this picture!