Tuesdays are E-A-S-Y

Everything went extremely smooth today. Took the little guy to get his face checked yesterday and all is well. No broken bones, no concussion, no permanent injuries. His face even looks almost normal. Last thing to do is the dentist to see about that front tooth.

Thanks for stopping by and blog you later.

Mondays Are R-O-U-G-H

That little guy. I love him so but sometimes........

He was just killing me this morning. He didn't want to wake up, he didn't want to get dressed, he didn't want to eat, he dropped his breakfast on the floor, he couldn't find his pants, he had a headache, and on and on till finally I just snapped. I yelled at the little fella and brought out the starving kids in Africa card. Yep, this day started off on the right foot. He missed the bus so I had to drive him to school and by the time we got there, we were able to talk and he was doing much better by the time I deposited him at his teachers door. Poor woman having to deal with that ball of attitude all day. Perhaps a drop in will be necessary. My mom would have sat in my class with a belt and a stink eye! hmmmmm (yes he is grounded and he has to go to bed early for the rest of the week because that behavior is not acceptable in this house. He is lucky his dad's not here or he would have had his tail feathers plucked. Mommy on the other hand, has a soft spot for the boy and can't bring herself to spank him. Especially with his face still looking a hot mess).

Okay off to do a little meditation b/cause I really need to find my center right now. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by the blog.

A Lovely Day

Yesterday it rained and it poured. I love rainy Saturdays. The rain is so relaxing to me. I got to talk to my favorite man. I miss talking to him everyday and will be so glad when he is back in the country.

Finished a couple of layouts.

The first one is about how the most important time that we have spent together as a family has been around the dinner table. We do a lot of stuff together but this one habit has by far been the #1 thing that kept us close.

Again, my printer is still out of ink so no photo but this is about my constant quest for some snow. Love the way this came out. The colors are so wonky but that is so me.

Went to church today, which was fabulous as always, but yeah, I ended up crying, again (too many commas? probably). Feels great to be able to feel what I feel and not have to worry about being "weak".

Thanks for stopping by the blog! Have a great week next week!!!!!

Boy vs Tree

Tree Wins! My poor, poor little guy had a head on collison with a tree on his bike. He didn't get hurt badly, he just looks bad. And uh yeah, I posted pictures (he didn't want me to but I am a scrapbooker so I had to) The whole bottom part of his face is scraped and swollen plus he may lose his two front teeth. Hopefully he will ride his bike again. He just learned to ride it this year (yes I know he is nine, but he truly prefers to run or scooter. He has had a bike since he was about 3 or so and chooses to never ride it). He has only left the house for about 1 hour since his accident and missed his first soccer game today. This is where I put in my disclaimer about how bad the pictures are. Sorry they do look terrible but he looks better than he did yesterday!

My class at the Pink House was a hoot! Paula, Terrie, Sheila, Heidi and Karla kept us in stitches the whole time and it took us twice as long to finish our project as I had planned. They did tell me at the end of the class that I was way overambitious with the time. I think that If we hadn't chatted as much, we might have finished earlier. It was so much fun but we were absolutely starving by the time we left.

Some layouts. These aren't my favorites but I love the subjects......

This is about how I had the baby before I had the baby shower. Aaron decided to show up almost 2 months early so thay had to give me my shower after the fact. He was still in the hospital so the shower was planned around visiting hours.

Ok, it's raining now. Hard. You know what that means. Yep, nap time.

Soccer Was Great

My little guy loves it! He didn't complain and was pumped about running 4 laps around the field. I on the other hand was exhausted just watching him and the Charleston biting flies ate me alive. Note to self - don't forget the bug spray. I wanted to post pics but the camera was sitting next to the bug spray (ie I forgot it).


I told my boys about the "faux" robbery and they said


A - you should have screamed, I have a bat by my bed
Q - yeah mom me too (DebW, somebody in this house has a little bit of sense and knew you were going to suggest this)
A - we would have come down and took care of anyone that was trying to rob our house
Q - yeah (using his big boy voice)
M - I guess it would have been a Jamison family beat down ha?
A&Q - heck yeah
M - Darn skippy. 2 bats and a cup. heck yeah we had that.



I finished a couple of layouts....

My printer is out of ink so I still have to print the photos for this one later. I do this all the time so no biggy. Q is such a kissy face. Everytime I kiss him, he has to kiss me back. And since he is my baby, he gets (and gives) a lot of kisses!


Mostly been developing a couple of new ideas and getting ready for my class tomorrow. I love the ladies that are taking the class and it should be a laugh a minute! Too excited. Michelle, if you are reading this, you must not work! Class time is fun time is no work!!! (Michelle is one of the owners of the store and whenever she takes a class she ends up working thru the whole thing).

Thanks for stopping by the blog. Have a great day!

First Day of Soccer

Busy, busy day. Here's a look at my to do list.......

• pay bills
• reply to emails
• make plans & reservations for spring break trip
• shop f/ class
• shop f/ Q soccer practice
• bank business
• clean house
• scrapbook (baby gift set, 4 layouts)
• develop new kit idea
• work on new class
• start personalized apron
• cook dinner
• make family phone calls
• blog (take photos of a couple of completed layouts)
• start on invitations to J's baby shower
• zoo trip plans

Let's see how much of this actually gets a check mark, lol.

I added Carole Janson to my blog. I love her work and had actually been thinking about visiting her blog but could not remember where or how I found her last time. I used (with permission, she is a total sweetheart) one of her layouts to scraplift in my Something Old, Something New class. Oh my her work is even more divine than last year. When I grow up, I definitely want to scrap like her! If you get a chance, go check her out.

Cathy Zielski is another person whose blog I love. She doesn't post a lot of projects but she is Hi-La-Ri-Ous. OMGoodness she is too funny. She even has a picture of the spice Dick Weed on her blog. Who knew such a thing existed in nature. I thought that Dick Weed was a personality flaw. Too, Too funny.

Yahooooo!!! The kids are out of school tomorrow. I can sleep in or if I can't sleep, I can get a few hours of peace and quiet. So rude how kids wake a mama up in the mornings.

Funny story to share. Well, it wasn't funny last night, but it is starting to be a bit charming now. I was sooooooo tired last night. I fell asleep around 9:30 or so. Don't even remember what I was watching. I am never that tired that early but hey, I love to sleep so I was grateful. Around 2am, I hear a crash & glass breaking. I jumped out of bed like a shot (normally, this is where I would wake my husband up to go check it out while I went back to sleep. Hey, if I am going down, I am going down unawares) and ran into the kitchen. I had grabbed the closest thing I could get my hands on (an insulated cup) and I stood in the kitchen doorway for about 15 minutes holding a cup, my heart beating out of my chest waiting for some stupid robber to appear so I could beat the snot out of them with my plastic cup. Lucky for me, there was no one there. So I grab the phone off the hook (yeah, I asked myself why I didn't get a knife or call the police. It was 2am and I was skeared. I will never yell at the dummy on tv for falling down again) and went back to bed. Fell instantly back asleep. Woke up this morning wondering what the heck kinda crack I took during the day to make my night go like and ya know maybe I dreamed it all. That glass breaking sound was so real. Well as I was cleaning up, I found one of my favorite paintings had fallen off the wall and the frame, glass and all, was in a million pieces. Long (long) story short, I am not crazy, there really was something going bump in the night. Whew. And yeah next time, I won't be getting out of bed. I truly doubt that cup would have saved my life from a drugged out, money hungry robber.

Thanks for stopping by my blog & have a great day!

Hump Day

It's Hump Day! I hope I can come up with something witty to say ha ha ha. I am in a silly mood today. Couldn't sleep last night so I will blame it on sleep deprivation. Finally fell off around 2am and got up at 630 am. At least the little guy wasn't demanding a hot breakfast. He wanted waffles, which is something he can fix for himself. Oh how I spoil that little boy. My 2 oldest (17 & 20 now) always fixed their own breakfast. I worked a lot (was on the fast track, a lot of hours 6 days a week) so even when I had time, I was tired and tried to sleep in. Preferred to spend the extra time with them doing family activities like homework at the bookstore, hiking, going to the park, playing games, stuff of that sort than cooking in the mornings. I am not a morning person anyway.


I want to say thanks to the ladies/folks that have been leaving comments for me. They are so encouraging and I really appreciate them (Hi Andrene, can't wait to see you again!).


Confession time. I love reality TV. Right now it is running in heels. It is so freakin funny and it makes me think back to when I was that age. Shallow. But shallow has its benefits. I want to add that one of those benefits is not whining! Whining is for children and it should be banned after the age of say 10. So I am going to ask a favor..... I need an accountability partner. If I am ever selected for a reality tv show (not Jerry Springer, you would not catch me dead on one of those baby daddy shows), I truly need someone to call me up, visit me, show up on set, whatevah if I ever turn into a whiney, bawling, snotting, spineless, tattletale brat. Deal? Really the work will be easy and beating me up should help relieve any stress you might have going on at the time. Been thinking about the amazing race (love that one too). I could totally do that, I am great with a map. Oh but I may leave someone if they start aggravating me. I could do housewives too. Must hit lottery first.


I will be at The Pink House this weekend teaching this.......

Saturday. If you signed up for the class, I will be calling you tonight or tomorrow to make sure that you have everything that you need. There is a link to the right for my classes and there is a supply list there. I may have one extra seat if you haven't signed up already. I have to check with Michelle for sure.

Inspired is coming up. You have to go and check out the great classes! I am still so excited about teaching there. Donna is really very funny & down to earth. Planet Earth, not Mars(I met her when I took one of her classes last year) and her husband and kids are just as adorable as they look on her blog. So I hope I get to chat with her for a minute while I am in her neck of the woods. It will also be great to meet some of the amazing women that she has lined up. So excited.

My husband will be back in the country soon. I am so excited that he will get to come home. I am really missing him.

What else, let's see, hmmmm. I guess that's about it. Thanks for stopping by and blog you later!

PS The little guy starts soccer tomorrow. He has been bugging me for 2 years now to play and I always seem to sign him up too late. Finally I get him in. Hopefully he doesn't hate it like he did T-ball. His first game is Saturday. Must go get crocheting project together for practice sessions.

I Am The Queen of......

starting a post everyday, and than actually posting 4 or 5 days worth at the end of the week! lol. I think that I am going to start one post a week with this queen of thing. I always say, I am too busy to take the photos for the post or (my favorite) this is boring and I need to think of something else to say. Hello, my life is kinda boring. Who am I kidding with this "must be witty to post mentality". Geez. Anyway,

I have been completing one or 2 layouts a day. Yeah for me. Oh Oh, Oh Oh, she's on a roll, she's on a roll, step out of the way quickly and no one gets hurt.

Did this for pencil lines. About my husbands promotion a few years ago. He has been promoted since but he worked extremely hard for this one.

Me in Okinawa Japan. We used to have uniform inspections at the change of the season. I am in the back in the left hand corner. My little guy found me right away. I even remembered most of the people in the photos. This was taken in 96.

This was taken in Japan too. Hubby and I used to go on a lot of excursions and this one included a Habu (snake) and Ferret match. Not my favorite at all. It was cruel and smelly and extremely boring (I was sitting there doing everything that I could to not look). The beer factory tour that we did next was much more interesting!

I have also been sorting through the 6 boxes of essential papers that I have been holding onto since 1987. I mean really, who needs their paystubs from 22 years ago? The tax man has long been gone for that one. Definitely too late. I have them down to 3 boxes to sort and 3 boxes to hold on to with one current file bin. Before you say, hello Shere that is still 4 boxes you are keeping, I have them labelled by 3 categories to make what's in them easier to file and they all have plenty of room for expansion. I even have purge guidelines in place. Yeah for me again.

I have been cleaning out my garage. I can almost get my car in it. Soon, very soon. Oh the stuff that I have been taking to Goodwill. Can they come after you to make you take it back?

My precious kicked the bucket. I posted a couple of weeks ago about my card reader and how much I loved it. Wouldn't you know the ungrateful *#@^% thing quite working a couple of days ago. sigh. sigh.

Thanks for stopping by and blog you later.

75 Pounds

That's a lot of weight. Most people that know me say there is no way you need to lose that much weight. My husband says maybe 30 - 40 lbs (thanks babe) but 75. That's a lot of weight. My little guy says wow mommy, that is more than I weigh. Glad to say that I am well on my way with 5 lbs down. So enjoying the fact that I am not having to kill myself to get it to come off right now. Just taking it nice and easy with no sweets, no fast food and no soda. Boy do I miss oreos & ice cream. Sugar Cookies. Girl Scout Cookies. Chocolate Shakes and last but not least McDonalds fries, extra salt please.

Conversations with Q......

He gets home from school at around 2 something, takes 1 hour more than he is supposed to to relax and shake the day off. Around 4:30, the drama begins.

Q - mommy my brain isn't working right.

M - why do you say that?

Q - I just can't get my practice work done. The numbers aren't coming to me.

M - no outside till you finish (I'm so heartless, no comfort, no encouragement just git r done)

Q - Waiiiiiiiiilllllllinnnnnggggg, Crocadile tears, whining, complaining and finally 6 pm he is done.

M - was it worth it?

Q - Apparantly not, you didn't let me go outside like you normally do.

WTHeck, he really does have my number.

A couple of layouts......

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Blubbering. Again....

Sigh. I love my church. I love, love, love it. But yet every Sunday I end up blubbering. Every time. It is unexplainable, I go in fine, excited to have been blessed enough to make it to another service and I go to my seat, the singing start and the faucet is turned on. Sigh. Will I ever be able to set foot in church and not end up crying. Sigh.

It's a Crafta-palooza

A is spending the weekend with a friend, Q is of course on his way out of doors to have an adventure with his friends and my house is clean. So what am I to do? Craft all day. Paint, collage, scrapbook, sew, whatever! Loverly. Hope you have a great Saturday and blog you later.

I also have a couple of listings on ebay that some thrifty scrapper may be interested in. I have a couple of these Maya Road Chipboard alphabet tins left from my booth and in the interest of moving in (yikes) 2 months am getting rid of them for dirt cheap.

Same with the Somerset Studios Mag. I have to be choosey about what I keep so Martha Stewart & Scrapbook Trends stay, Somerset (as much as I love them) go.

Thanks for stopping by!

It Is A GLORIOUS Day Today!

It seems that every Friday, I am braggin about the weather here in Charleston. What's up with that? But I have to tell you I am not exaggerating, it is so beautiful today. I spent most of the morning with a cup in my hands staring out at the pond. It just makes you want to get out there and take a swim. Unless you are a family of turtles, then you would be sunning on the banks.

This is me and my bff Donna when I got married the first time. She stood by me that day when I made the worst mistake of my life and she was there watching it all unravel. She lives on the west coast now and I sure do miss her. She never said a negative word to me because she knew that I would not listen and would do it anyway. I like to think that she was hoping it would work out. Anywho, she was always a great friend.

I did this one for ebay and am so happy with how the piecing came out! One of the best that I have done. Love it. I should have it posted by tomorrow night. Posting and doing the descriptions is as much work as making the layout.

Healthy is Such a Good Word

Did you know that there is MSG in canned soup mix? I didn't and that stuff is a pantry staple for me. It is also in packaged rice mixes, packaged noodle mixes, package cake mixes, and on and on. My husband game me some pretty disturbing news about his health and I have been hearing more and more about how dangerous the amount of additives in our food are. I don't believe in coincidences so I am on a mission. We have already cut way back on the fast food. I don't fry foods at all, I keep a limited amount of true junk food in the house, I don't buy soda, I stock up on tons of fruit and fresh veggies to snack on (the little guys favorite food is mushrooms) so I don't have a ton of work to do in this department. Getting rid of the canned soups & rice mixes will be the hardest because these are things I use for every meal. At this point, I am tired of plain rice! I use almost a can of cream soup a day, so if anyone knows a good recipe that will replace this (I use it like you would gravy and I bake or stew most of my meats with it) I would love to hear it.

A layout to share:

I did this for a call for SNR. They don't mind seeing lo's that have been posted so I wanted to share. If you have not picked up the K&Co Wild Raspberries chipboard borders, you have to try them out! They are so versatile and pretty, I love them.

Met With the Realtor Today

And I am happy to say that my house is now officially for sale! Washington, DC here we come.

Hubby finally got to make a call to let me know how he is. Still don't know when he is going to be back. Not even sure exactly where he is. South America is a huge place so that didn't help much when he said it. It's sad when you have to watch the news to find out where your husband is! Good thing he likes his job.

Couple of layouts to share. I am loving scrapbooking right now.

My husband took this photo of the girl soon after we had moved to Charleston from Japan. She was pretty homesick for Japan in those days so we got a lot of pics of her looking like this.

This came out super dark but I am too lazy to retake the photo right now. (um did I just admit that?). This weekend was absolutely fantastic. We were camping at Okuma Beach with friends, something that we did almost every weekend. CJ, the kids and I were always gone exploring. We spent so much time getting to know the island and even now, I miss it. Naha was one of our favorites and on days when we got off from work early, we would pick the kids up and head up there. On this particular weekend, we spent the day swimming on Friday, we hiked to Hiji Falls on Saturday (which took us about 3 hours just to get there. The kids were so tired that they would not even swim and when we got back to the camp, they ate and went straight to bed. Usually we took a walk or sat on the beach in the evenings). And on Sunday, we went snorkeling on the reefs.

Do You Ever Wonder

What your life would be like if you had everything that you ever wanted? What would be at the top of your list?


I honestly don't think that I would change much in my life. My financial saavy would change but at the top of my list would be for everyone to know the love of God ie World Peace.


I used the new K&Co Daydreams paper to make this. It's a layout about my daughters 8th birthday party. She says it was her best one ever. It started the day before her birthday with a sleepover of 6 girls. Each of the girls got a beauty kit with nail polish, lipstick, hair things, perfume, a cute purse and a couple of other things that I can't remember. Me and my neighbor gave them all manicures and pedicures and helped them with their makeup (lipbalm lipstick and glittery eyeshadow). After they were all made up, we went to dinner and they got to sit at a table all by themselves. After we got home, they had popcorn, movies and storytime. The next day we got up and had breakfast, went to the pool and finally everyone went home. Ariel was beaming for days. I can't find any of the other pictures but this one brought back a lot of memories.



Have a great day blog you later!

Everything I Need to Know

I love the simplicity of this statement and the how it demonstrates that everything you see and hear can be learned from.

What I learned in church yesterday was that I have to be quiet in order to hear God. Have you ever tried to stop the chatter of worry? It is impossible! No matter how many things are going right, you worry about what is going wrong. Since I retired, God has been working on me to let go of things. Let tomorrow worry about itself. It is what it is (I used to hate this statement). To do what I can and let Him handle the rest. Tough order for a type AB personality that is more A than B. But I have noticed that since I started to relax and let Him work on me, I am happier (not all the time) and I am a better person to be around. I am not as selfish as I used to be, and I am more patient with my husband and children. I don't know how they stuck it out with me but they did and I am so, so grateful.

My husband is off again. Don't even know when he is coming back.

Meeting with my Realtor this week so if you are in the market for a good house, call me.

I hate, hate, hate the act of moving but I am determined to do this with good humor and cheerfulness. No cussing (I stopped for the most part as soon as I stepped out of Navy's door. Boy did I have a potty mouth!) or throwing things. But most of all no CRYING.

I made this for the Cocoa Daisy scraplift contest but never submitted it (I had Cheeto poisioning. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Hopefully no Frito Lay exectutives are reading this and waiting to sue me). Love the layout. Can't wait to add a photo on a deep orange-red mat.

So, have a great day and blog you later.

Saturday Soup

The title is part of my daughters favorite pre-k song. We sang it everyday and it ties all the days of the week to something easy to remember to help the kids learn them.

So what did the boys want for dinner tonight? A usually doesn't care and Q almost always ask for soup.

We took a trip to the library today. Aaaahhhh I absolutely love the library. I got a few amazing books that I am excited to read and will update my reading list on Monday perhaps. I am still determined to read a biography on each of the US's Presidents. I don't want to buy them because I never, ever read a book twice. Except the Bible, but that is not just a book. So I am relying on the library to assist my quest to learn. Apparently John Adams is a very popular President because the last 2 times I tried to find a book on him, they were all checked out.

"Finished This Day Diaries from American Women" and found it to be a very interesting read. This book was published in 2003 and it is so shocking to see that there were comments about the state of the economy in it. In 2003, the economy was not on my radar! At all!!! But apparently, the writing was on the wall 6 years ago and some very saavy ladies voiced their concerns for all to read. When I bought the book, I probably was just wanting to compare my normalcy but it turns out I am and was surprised by the concerns that most of the women in the book voiced in their heads. They run surprisingly along the same lines as some of the things that my sisters, friends and I talk about and worry about on a daily basis. The surprise was not so much that we thought about the same concerns as it was how varied the backgrounds were. There were homemakers, business women, single women, mothers, lawyers, authors, actors, all kinds of women represented. I would love to pass this book on so it you are interested, email me your address and I will drop it in the mail to you.

Have a great Sunday tomorrow!

What's on the agenda today?

• Working on submissions
• Cleaning old mulch from front flower bed
• Avoiding starting on the garage, again
• Crop? Would be nice but I'm feeling very sleepy. lol
• Cook Dinner? I bought a ton of frozen meals (something I don't ever do but they were the good ones and bogo) and the boys think I am the best mom ever for this. Okay, I'll take the praise. They'll be grown before they ever realize that that's cheating.
• Paying bills
• Laundry? At least one load?

Notice all the question marks by the chores.

I was out and about yesterday and found these items :

Anna Griffin (oh my, I do think I have a crush)

I also picked up some K&Co Daydreams, Wild Raspberry Frames, a butterfly transparency from Anna Griffin and a sheet of CI that I could not make myself put back. Off to have some fun. Hope you have a fantastically scrappy weekend!

I Did Not Win the Lottery

Crackers, imagine my surprise when I go to claim my 6 bucks and the guy says that I am not a winner after all. You have got to be kidding me! I bought my ticket late so it automatically changed the draw date to the next one. A girl just can't catch a break!

I Won The Lottery!

I don't normally play but lately, I have had the feeling that I would win so I've been playing a few games here and there. And yesterday, I won $6. A whole $6. All you distant relatives and long lost cousins may as well save the bus fare because I am not sharing! lol. My husband is just going to say "I told you so" so I think I might just keep this win to myself.

Here is a layout that I did of my niece. Look how chunky she is. She's 5 now and so tall & lanky. I had a ton of pictures from this day but can only find one. Hard to believe that it is almost that time again. Beach time. We spend so much time at the IOP during the summer because it is the little guys favorite place on earth. We were there one day and got to see them release some huge turtles back into the wild. Of course I didn't have my camera. I don't take it to the beach because I am the paranoid mom that follows her kid into the water and won't let him get more than a few feet away from me, so am afraid that the camera will get damaged. It took the lazy creatures about 1 hour (not exaggerating) to make it to the water but once they got in, they disappeared almost instantly.

I really like this layout but had a hard time with the lighting showing the details. The flower thing in the upper right hand corner is actually a mirror with a transparency on top of it and a K&Co epoxy frame. Love the way it came out. I punched holes in the green paper and backed it with the same transparency and white cs. In the far left corner, I placed a picture of the little guy topped with a LYB frame. Was debating on whether or not to put a brad through the circles but I like the simplicity of them.

Thanks for stopping by and blog you later.

Motor Mouth

My little guy talks non-stop. I know that this is a good thing, but sometimes, he will talk for over an hour. He ran errands with me yesterday and talked about the fish he accidentally caught at the cattail pond (he & his friends name all of their favorite areas. There are the back woods, the side woods, and cattail ponds 1-3). He named it Bass 1. Apparantly, there were 3 bass' but Bass 2 and Bass 2 Jr died. They have been catching minnows and hand feeding this fish for about 3 days and are sad because they had to finally let it go because the hole that they were keeping it in was starting to dry up. Then he got off into how they catch lizards and hand feed them (ants mostly because they are easy to catch - but you must make sure to cut the abdomens off so that they don't sting & kill the lizard). And on, and on, and on, sort of like this description so I will stop. What am I going to do when my husband gets this blasted bird? Ay yi yi!


I made my list, my to do list that is and it is a mile long. I went to all my favorite sites and I flagged contest that I would like to take part in. I printed a calendar and I am working steadily on submitting. Wish me luck.


My take on the pencil lines sketch. Very simple but love the colors. I haven't added pictures yet. That makes 3 layouts with no photos. I haven't been loving the colors coming off my home printer lately. I think I need a new cartridge..........



A LO about how much the little guy likes to say BOOM. Again a simple, simple LO with great colors, and again no photos......




Loving the weather still. I haven't had to run my heat for a week now. Hopefully that will reflect in my electric bill!


Thanks for stopping by. Blog you later.

It Is Unbelievable Outside

It is expected to be in the high 70's to low 80's today. Fantastically beautiful. All of my windows are open and I am starting to plan my front flowerbed. Also need to clean out the garage, fix the screen on the back porch (thanks boys), clean the back porch, service the lawn equipment, refresh the mulch, arrange to get the carpets cleaned, get rid of the boys too small/ripped/trashed clothes, you get the picture. It is spring cleaning time!

I have been madly organizing my supplies lately and can't even start working until I get something hung up or stored in a way that is better for me to locate & use. I am sure this is a good thing but it sure does eat up a lot of time. Although I must admit, I have been doing about 2 layouts a day. Even with the stuff going on in my house.

I finished this layout that I love but don't have a picture for yet.....

And this layout that I am not so crazy about (but am loving the photo and the hole punching around the outside edge)

And as crazy as this may sound, I think I have Cheeto Poisioning. I have been sick as a dog all day today. Dizzy when I stand up, queasy, stomach ache. Oh the misery. I love the things and I could not stop myself. My daughter said that there is no such thing as Cheeto poisioning, it is called greedy. She might be right. It will be a long time before I want some of those babies again.

Have a great day!

Lazy Sunday

I slept late so I didn't even make it to church. Thought I was on time but daylight savings snuck up on me. It was not even on my radar and I had no clue that time had changed (I don't have the tv on during the day) until I looked at the clock that automatically changes the time. Gee whiz. A girl can't catch a break.

So what do you do? Make a pot of coffee and go back to bed with a cup and a book and stay there all day. C-ya tomorrow and have a great Sunday.

Is Winter Over?

I mean seriously, Monday it was supposed to snow and today it is like 50 degrees outside. Vitamin C and healthy doses of Prayer are in order so we don't get sick in this kind of weather.

I got nothing creative today so I guess I am going to blog lift......

Linda Albrecht. This woman is so talented. I love her work. Love it! Not only do I love it, I am going right out to get some eggs to make some of these. They remind me of sugar eggs that I used to make with my grandmother. I would love to make some with the boys but don't know if I can brave the mess.

Sometimes I think that I am the only person on earth that can't get their library books back on time. Gee Whiz my books are late again!

So this year, my husband tells me that I can choose what we are going to do for our getaway. He gives me the choice between white water rafting (which I hate. I am deathly afraid of fast moving water) and taking a cruise. Hello!!! That is a complete no brainer. The cruise. Well, turns out it was just a test. I guess he wanted to see if I would be loyal to his loves and interested in bonding while we do something he enjoys instead of taking a cruise. That is the first F I have gotten since high school. He didn't even have cruise out of his mouth good before I chose it. And we are still going rafting. I really love that man.

Why a picture of a toothbrush? Because I don't think that I could really explain how gross my little guy is. I bought him a suction toothbrush that is supposed to be attached to the flat top of the counter. He thinks that it is so much fun to stick it all over the bathroom. So, inevitably, everyday I find it on the floor. I leave it alone because it is his toothbrush but yuck!

This is one of my favorite mini-albums.

Thanks for stopping by and have a terrific day!

Feelin' Blessed

I am thankful for (this is a short list and so not in order)

• My Heavenly Father's unconditional love for me. The word unconditional is so important because it means that He loves me no matter what kind of boneheaded thing I do or say.
• It only cost $150 to fix my car. I had the smelling salts in my bag when I walked into the repair shop, just in case.
• The Boy's newfound sense of responsibility (and urgency) at finding a job
• Creativity
• My kid's sense of wonder
• My daughters continued survival in college and with her first apartment
• Moving to DC to be with my husband soon
• The Fantastic teacher's in this school district
• My wonderful, wonderful church
• That we have been able to survive financially in this economy without me having to get a full time job.
• Being able to go back to school full time
• Scrapbook Paper!
• The best family ever!!!!! (I could eat my brother and my sisters with a spoon they are so sweet)
• That God routinely brings people in my life that are wonderful and that I totally don't deserve (Hellooooooo Karla, Ginger)
• Loud belly laughs brought on by the ever funny little guy
• My neighbors kids. They are too cute and everytime I go outside and they see me, they come and tell me about their day or if they're inside, they bang on the window just to say hello!
• A renewed fire in my belly for my business
• The fog & funk of sadness finally dissipating
• Imaginative author's that create books that I can get lost in

Thanks for stopping by and blog you later!

I Saw Something Great This Weekend....

No it wasn't snow. It was congestion. For the first time in what feels like years, but is in actuality months, the parking lots of my favorite stores were jam packed. I had to wait in line to get my coffee. I had to wait in line to purchase my favorite magazine. The quaint little shop that I stopped to browse in had more than just me in it. I had to wait in traffic for 5-10 minutes to get out of the B&N parking lot. I know that it is supposed to take years to get the economy back on track and everyone is still a little afraid, but I tell ya, this weekend felt a lot like old, money in my pocket times.

I have been reading about CK's money woes and am truly very saddened by what they are going thru. I taught at their venues last year, and I too did not get paid for 1/2 of the venues that I taught at. I don't wish them any ill will. I am not going to lie, I spent the better part of Nov & Dec PISSED about not getting my monies, but, God knows best and I will wait on him. Hopefully, they can rearrange and come out better on the other end.

Found some photos of our trip to DC. I am getting better & better at this photography thing. Maybe I will be ready to upgrade to a better camera sooner than I had planned (hint, hint). The dresses are from an exhibit at the Smithsonian of the 1st ladies inaugural dresses. I caught a pic of my niece in the window when she was looking at Martha Washingtons dress and think it turned out kinda cool. I don't remember who the 1st dress belonged to but it is gorgeous.

My husband got to take a tour of the White House in December. He had to wait outside for over an hour in below freezing temps. Not sure if I want to see any place that bad.

Here are some favorite photos that my husband took of the boys at the Boston Aquarium (not sure if that is the actual name of it but Boston is where they went to the aquarium at). Love the look on my little guys face in the 2nd photo. Hehe :)

When I first started the blog, I did challenges every day, week, month whenever and I really got away from that. Got too busy, got too lazy, got to everything. But I miss them and am ready to start em up. A couple of friends told me that they like my challenges and that I am "very creative". Thanks, I appreciate your lovin on me. So here it goes. I thought all weekend about how I could do something original-but not crazy, fun-but not stupid, techniqy-but not overwhelming and this is what I came up with.......

Use a colorant to cover up a busy background in a photo.

I had this picture of me and my girlfriend at a Las Vegas wedding chapel that I just love but there is a lot of junk in the background. Cars, people walking by, billboards, etc. but it was the only picture that I wanted to put on the layout so I couldn't crop it. So what I did was use some almost translucent gold acrylic paint to paint a frame around us than I used TH black soot distress ink to lightly stamp flourishes all around the outside border. Love the way it came out. I would show you the layout but I want to submit it for a call. I have finally started to put my pages out there. Wish me luck!

Try it out and let me know what you think. Heck, post a link in the comments section and let me see what you did, I'm still nosey, you know I am.

A layout of my sister when she was about 5 or 6. My grandmother made the dress she was wearing. I still have a few more things to do to it but it is pretty much finished..........

And last but not least, Have a fabulous week!!!!! Blog ya later.

I Got Robbed By Mother Nature

My new bumper sticker is going to read "Atlanta got white fluffy stuff and all Charleston got was a crappy thunderstorm and tornadoe warnings!"

Anyhoo, I was blog surfing and found this link on t!ms blog. I don't know how many of you remember this song, but it totally popped into my head when I was watching this video. OMGosh, Becky look at her rings! They are so BIG, she looks like one of those rap guys girlfriends. LOL. I had myself rolling but I so totally want her look. Love the way those rings look. I'm going to have to work on that. Check out the video because the technique that she demonstrated is just as lustable as her rings.

Note to everyone that will listen, thyme added to the meat mix for hamburgers R-O-C-K-S. Those freakin burgers were so good that the boys ate them all before I could get a second one. Note to self, double the recipe next time!

Q and his friends built the largest, most impressive mess, er I mean "Frog City" that I have ever seen. Creative license and lots of woosaa is what I need on a daily basis with his creations. There are 3 cups of vinegar experiment sitting on my back porch. I had to throw away one of my oversized flower pots because the stench was so bad that I was afraid to ask what that experiment was and I regularly have a city of everything he can find in the middle of my studio floor. See photos below to experience just a tenth of my pain. (yeah, yeah, I know cry me a river). He and my niece building the city. I don't know what the look on his face is and please excuse my messy studio. The maid was on hiatus that day! In the second photo, I had to crop him out because he is naked. His favorite thing to do is to run around the house naked after he takes a bath and thus far, I am no success convincing him that he is too old to run around the house with no clothes on!

I am really enjoying creating with my pics. Last year, I did so many kits and pages for sale that I really got away from putting pictures on any of my layouts, even the ones I kept for me. It's nice to have the freedom again to create just to create. My new favorite layout (who said it can't be more than one?)......

My mom was a big time bowler. She was one of the best on her league and has the trophy to prove it. She sent me a pic and a trophy because she was so proud. I never would have thought that my mom would love bowling, but when I think back, she and my dad were always active. Playing softball, gardening, horseback riding, swimming, hunting (my dad) and more.

A was so crazy about her baby brother when he was born. She was always taking care of him and sometimes she would just lay next to him and watch him. If he cried, she would make soothing noises and gently pat his back. I am not so crazy about the layout, but I love the photos.
Thanks for stopping by! Blog ya later!!!!!