Life is short

And I mean short. This is not a pleasant post, but I feel I need to post it anyway.

We have some wonderful neighbors, Mr & Mrs Kelly. They are probably in their 60's, maybe early 70's & their granddaughter lives in an apartment behind their house. She has a 1-year old boy they watch while she works.

Today, Mr. Kelly accidentially drove over the baby. Unfortunately, the baby did not live.

We had the pleasure of having the baby over a couple of weeks ago & he was a total joy. Running, smiling, huge blue-eyes....such a sweet little boy.

Please pray for this family. I can only imagine the heartache they will endure as they move forward from this day. I am sad, I have been crying....life's just too short. Hugs your kids today....right now and thank the Lord for your wonderful blessings!!

Tuesday's

are dh's day off, so not sure what we have planned. In the meantime, I cleaned ALL day yesterday & felt refreshed for getting things done that had been piling up to the point I wasn't sure where my 2-year old was?

Now, I have piles on my dining room table that need Ebay or Goodwill. Decisions.

With Spring Break officially over, I'm trying to get back into my mundane routine. You know....cleaning house, cooking, exercising!! Yep, I didn't exercise one day during Spring Break, so I'm having to start all over. The joys!! But fear not, as yesterday was a good day & today looks just as promising.

Haven't scrapped in over a week, though I started a cute mini album. I got the directions from Ali Edwards blog, so I'm hoping to get it finished. I have a ton of challenges & sketches I want to work with, but haven't found the time yet. See, I cleaned ALL day yesterday, just so I could spend ALL week scrapping. Hasn't happened yet, but I still have the rest of the week to achieve said goal.

Hope everyone else's week is off to a great start & don't forget to check out ScrapFabulous, as I have a great challenge over there........gotta get mine done!!

Spring Break is over!!

Spring Break is officially over & that makes me sad. I'm used to having Ashlyn around the house with me, even if she's in another room, doing her thing. Yes, Camryn is here to keep me busy, but after 4-years of just Ashlyn & me, I'm still getting used to her being in school.

We didn't do too much during her break, but we did go to the beach on Saturday & had a great time. She enjoys staying at home & playing inside or out....what a great kid!!

And, as I think about what a great kid she is, I've come to one of those "open mouth & insert foot" moments, which happens for me quite a bit. Have you ever had one of those moments? Ya know, where you say something you wish you hadn't? That was me today, but it wasn't really what I said, but how I reacted to something she did, or rather, didn't do. My feelings got hurt & I expressed that in front of her. For pete's sake....she's only 6!! Her mindset is definitely not my mindset & she had no clue....yet, I felt slighted. She got terribly upset & cried her little eyes out. Upset, because in her mind, she upset me & that's something she doesn't ever want to do. She's got a heart of gold guys..........a friggin' heart of gold and in a flash of self-pity I made her think it was tarnished. How pathetic am I? I'll always remember this moment.....mainly because I never should have let it happen & because I'll always wonder if she'll remember. Gosh I hope she doesn't!!

So, did I scrap over Spring Break? Nope. Nothing...nada!! I do have a great challenge going on at ScrapFabulous, so I hope you will check it out, participate & upload something for me to see. I'm offering a RAK to a random drawing winner, so maybe that can entice you!!

Here's hoping you have a great week!

10 Favorite Foods

Hope everyone had a great weekend? We did. Spring Break officially started after school on Friday, so William took Saturday off & we had some great family time. I got a package from Just Let Me Scrapbook this weekend, so I did get a few things scrapped, which included this card I made for a Secret Sister:) I really like how it turned out. The butterfly is hand-cut from felt & then sewn in the middle & stamped w/Technique Tuesday flourish stamps. The circle in the middle is a plastic Chippie by Zsiage that you can alter in many different forms. I painted, stamped the word "enjoy," heat embossed & then sewed it to the paper. Love this stuff. I actually love the color red, so this card will be hard for me to send.

Lucy, at ScrapFabulous, challenged us to list our 10 Favorite Foods AND a recipe. So, here's my list, in no particular order:

1) Sushi
2) Chips & Salsa
3) Anything Mexican
4) Steak - med rare

5) Sweet potatoes

6) Asparagus

7) Homemade mac & cheese

8) Bacon

9) Fried chicken

10) Breakfast wraps

That was actually harder then I thought, because I love so many different foods. I didn't even get into desserts or sweets.........that would have been impossible. But, for those that love asparagus, here's a good, quick recipe that makes a wonderful side dish:

Preheat oven to approximately 350 degrees

Line asparagus along the bottom of a shallow pan

Pour lemon juice, liberally, over the asparagus

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese

Bake for approximately 20 mins

Easy enough & it tastes good. I especially like it because I'm the only one in my family that eats asparagus, so I can make as little as I want without wasting.

Like I mentioned, Ashlyn's Spring Break started, so we're planning on going to the beach tomorrow. Not sure what else we have planned, but it'll be fun. And for those of you that are curious as to who really pushed Humpty? It was Mary Mary quite contrary, but she claims it was all an accident really!!

So here's a layout I did about ME for the dt call at ScrapFabulous. No hopes of making the team, BUT, I'm very pleased w/my layout. No, it's not about how good-looking I am:) Rather, I am totally in love with these colors!! It's the March Jenni Bowlin kit, so the papers are one of her new lines, plus I used a new Heidi Swapp mask. Why haven't I used one of these before? I also made my very own felt butterfly, complete with some Luxe Designs rub-ons & hand-sewn sequin. Dang I'm crafty:)

Seriously, I just love the colors.

On another note, our phones were out for most of the day & night yesterday, so if you tried to call, I'm seriously ignoring you!! It was all good though, kept me off this dang computer & I actually got to bed at 10:15 last night. Record for me.

Ashlyn has her 1st grade play tonight, "Who Pushed Humpty?" So, for all of you that have ever wondered who actually pushed the ole' egg, I'll let you know tomorrow. Ashlyn is our shy, does not want to be the center of attention, child, but she is totally excited about this play. She's been talking about it non-stop for 2 weeks now, and I mean NON-STOP. Her class will be "All the Kings Men," who have nothing to do w/putting Humpty back together, or so she says!! Her Spring Break officially starts after school tomorrow too & we're all looking forward to sleeping in and no homework!!

I've gotten some more scrapping goodies in the mail lately & can't wait to dive into those. I'll post new projects as I deem they are posting worthy:) Have a great Thursday!!

A good weekend

So my weekend was more productive than I could have hoped, or was it? Here's a card I did using a card sketch by Di Hickman for a challenge. I managed to do 2 layout & 5 cards!! Pretty excited about that, but then here I sit at 11:40 PM on Sunday night & I can't get past the paper. Totally dumbfounds me!!

I did manage to work on my tan some Sunday, while William cleaned out the koi pond. He'll be hurtin' for certain tomorrow....lots of back-breaking stuff, but the pond will look so nice. We just need to get some new plants to get some color & we'll be finished for this year. Girls enjoyed dancing around the yard in their bathing suits & we ended up at Red Lobster for William's belated Valentine's dinner. Camryn was our typical Patience Tester. She has never sat still since the day I could feel her move in my stomach. This child moves more then any other child I know. It wasn't long before she had us wore out going back-n-forth between the 2 of us & it had to stop. She wanted nothing to do w/that or the highchair we decided to sit her in. This led to hours of screaming & crying......at least it seems like hours when all eyes are on you!! After 2 trips outside with daddy, she calmed enough to sit in my lap while we finished our meal in peace. It amazes me how one 2-year old can control an outing to that degree. We are so hoping this is just a phase & not something that will continue as she gets older!!

All-in-all, I'd say my weekend was a good one. Hope your week is too!!

Scrapbooking Coupon.....

In case I didn't send you this coupon code, it's linked below.

http://store.justletmescrapbook.com/dealofday.html

This is good for Just Let Me Scrapbook & includes new & Clearance items. So, you might want to stop in & see what goodies you can find. If you decide to make a purchase, please mention my name in the "Comments" section when checking out. Wins me brownie points with the powers to be:) Thanks!

I have to clarify

that there's nothing wrong w/the date on my blog. The post below was started on Sunday the 4th, but I saved it as a "draft" & finished it yesterday when I did the challenge on ScrapFabulous. Ironically, as I was finishing it, I wondered what date it would publish, but failed to notice. So, that's that, mystery solved.

It's Friday & we don't have any plans for the weekend. Camryn started running a fever last night, threw-up once & was all better? Fever again this morning, but she's acting fine.........she just got up at 6:30 this morning!!! Don't know what's up w/that, but I'll talk to her about it after she's done watching her morning shows.

Humungo migraine yesterday & last night, which I promptly blame on my sister in KS, whom never gets them, but had one yesterday & I think she transferred it to me via the long-distance phone call. In bed, again, by 9:15 last night, but definitely did not sleep good, so 6:30 AM was not a good time for me.

Debating on whether I'm going to exercise today? Decisions, decisions. I've been doing good w/exercising 5-6 x's a week, so I figure I can lapse this once. As long as I exercise Sat, I'll still have exercised my alloted 5 x's this week. See, bathing suit season is HERE...right now...as I type. Oh ya...I think we discussed the orange tan thingy yesterday.

And for your reading enjoyment, a few more things about me you might not know:

31) I graduated from high school w/honors (like that means anything now, after 2 kids:)
32) I wear socks or shoes at all times..foot fetish thingy going on
33) My father passed away in 2001 & I still miss him
34) I took ballet when I was younger & miss it still
35) I Ebay!

Have a great weekend!!

What can I report?

So Saturday night I did something I rarely do..............I went to the movies!! Yep, me, Ashlyn & William went to see Wild Hogs. The in-laws highly recommended it, saying it was "side-splitting, tears coming outta my eyes laughing." Unfortunately, it wasn't quite "that" funny, but nonetheless, a good movie. We'll definitely buy it on DVD.

I'm still not getting anything accomplished scrapping wise. I sat down this past weekend to make a layout & card & neither came together very well at all. This is going on 4 weeks that I've had a hard time coming up with ideas. I have 3 more bdays this month, so maybe I could try some cards again to get the creative juices flowing. Any other suggestions on what I can do to regain my mojo are requested.

Oh ya......been heaps & heaps of tired. Last night I was in bed at 9:15!!! Yes siree I was. Now, I did toss & turn for the good part of an hour, but I was in that bed. I woke up okay, but tired AGAIN today. Dang, you'd think I was pregnant....which I"m NOT. So, when I got home w/Ashlyn, I had to lay down for about 30 mins & it helped. But now I'm drinking a Mountain Dew to get me going again:)

It's been so dang nice outside, I should be laying out getting my tan earlier, rather then later!! I'm contemplating a tanning bed this year, only because I hate spending an hour+ outside, everyday, for at least 2 months to get my tan. So, maybe I'll do the fake-n-bake to get me started? People just look so dang orange. Do you think they realize how orange they look? Wonder what shade I would turn?

I was challenged on ScrapFabulous (check them out, if you haven't) to blog about my scrapbooking. Well, you already know I'm completely idealess right now, but for those that don't know me or that I scrap, here's the story:

May 1998, I take a plane ride to Kansas to visit my sister. Good times folks, good times. While there, she mentions she's taken up scrapbooking & wants to work on her album, but it would be unfair to me since I wouldn't have anything to do. Being the very kind & loving sister I can be & having absolutely NO idea what she's talking about, I tell her I'm sure I can find a way to help her. So, I sat & cut all her photos into fun shapes (gasp!!) Yep, these are the days when the photos were cut into circles, hearts, flowers, etc. &, on this particular day, this was my job. Well, by the time we were done, I was hooked on this thing called scrapbooking, so we made a trip to her local Michael's & she loaded me up w/all the stuff I needed to get started. My suitcase coming home was 3x's heavier then when I arrived:) But don't ask me what I bought, because I honestly don't remember, but I"m sure there were stickers, decorative scissors, pens & plain cardstock somewhere in there.

So, this my friends, is how I was introduced to scrapbooking. 9 years later, I'm avid & passionate about my hobby & my sister dabbles when she has free time in between 4 kids & a house!! So, THANK YOU LESLIE for letting me cut all your photos back in 1998!!

And w/this I leave you to have a good Thursday!!

Do you ever have.............

one of those days when nothing seems to go right? What I should say is when nothing goes the way you want it to? Ya...that's me today....having a pity party & even I don't want to hang w/me!! Sad isn't it.

I have to do some soul searching & it doesn't take me long to realize I have issues that I just need to get over. Life's too short (& so am I), but I still let things get to me...things....that in the whole big scheme of life, don't amount to a hill of anything.....even beans!!! So why? Why do I torture myself w/the endless thoughts of self-pity & wallow hours at a time, all the while griping at everyone around me because I want to have a pity party?

I dunno? Call it whatever you wish, but I must fess-up & just get on w/life, 'cause life's gettin' on without me.

I have a ton of work I need to do. I just finished my March kit projects using some Sweet Bella products from A Million Memories. I've included a link to the Design Team gallery & hope you will take a peek. Truly some awesome work & mine is sprinkled in there somewheres amongest these ladies. I'm humbled....truly. I'm also sad this is my last month with A Million Memories. They were the first ones to take a chance on little ole' me & it's been really good. Yes, they're in the midst of having a design team call, so if you didn't know that....run, don't walk....you'll love it there.

http://www.amillionmemories.com/design_gallery.php

I have a ton of other products I'm supposed to be working with, so need to get that finished. In the meantime, I've been enjoying a new site that I've fallen in love with. Below is the link & let me just say the site is gorgeous. Yes, they're having a design team call & Yes, I"m trying out, but regardless, I love the site.

http://www.scrapfabulous.com/index.htm

In other news....our a/c is finally reworked to the tune of $2,400.00. They must have known we were getting money back from our taxes this year. Our house is only 3-years old & having to do this was so unnecessary had it been done right the first time. Learning is tough, but giving away $2,400.00 smackaroonies is tougher!!

Oh & for those that wondered what I gave up for Lent....let's just say my will power:) Yep, I'm still working out, but boy my will-power to do so is lacking. So is my will-power that keeps me from having late night snacks! Not good I'm telling ya!

I hope this finds everyone having a great week & a great weekend. I'm off to Target to buy me some more Sterilite drawers for my scrapping goodies.