crazy*little*words

oh happy day . . .

Despite allergy season hitting our family head-on like a MAC truck, things are a little brighter today! Scott heard back from a couple of leads he had about a job - one is a little more promising than the other, with a phone interview being scheduled; the other one is from a friend who also just retired from the USAF and will hopefully turn into an interview at some point. Soooo, needless to say he is a bit happier at the moment, and tad more optimistic. Thank God for listening to prayers!

On a different note, I am trying to get all of our stuff packed and into the car so that we will be ready to leave when Emma gets out of school. I don't mind the drive, really, it's the packing and preperation involved in leaving town that stress me out the most. Thankfully, we're just going to visit family, so it's not like having to take stuff that is needed when living in a hotel room for days! Hopefully, this year my camera will be working {it's new, so it better be!} and I can get some pictures of the parade and all of the Irishmen dancing in the streets, and of the absolutely GINORMOUS cabbages that they throw from the floats! Seriously, last year, I think we caught about 30 - we were giving them away to everyone standing around us! Absolute craziness.

With that, I am out of here! Here's wishing you a wonderful weekend, wherever you are - hopefully some of this Florida sun will shine on you, too!

fresh new look for spring . . .

Yep, it's been a while! What can I say, I am a total slacker when it comes to my blog. When I am driving Emma back and forth to school everyday, I always think of something totally creative and inspiring to write about and I get SO excited! Then, after I am home, and the house is nice and quiet and I actually HAVE time to sit down and play onlin, I can NEVER remember what it was that I wanted to say! Terrible, I know! I do keep a notebook by my bed, so if I think of something while watching TV, or reading, then I have easy access to pen and paper to jot down my thoughts. Somehow those words never make it to print, either! What I need is a little voice recorder that I can just talk into when something *pops* into my crazy, little brain - then I KNOW I would remember what to write about. Maybe. So, there are many things that I need to post about - want to see my list? Here it is:

Disney Photos - MUST post those!

Valentine's Cookies and the pictures that I took - SO CUTE!

Digital layouts that I have made, and not posted - anywhere!

Cards that I have stamped, colored, etc . . . more creative stuff!

I know there's more on the list, but those are just the ones that come to mind right now. Hopefully this weekend {Sunday, I'm sure} I will get the chance to sit down and upload pictures to sucre - and get my favorite gelato, Nectar! It's sooooo good! My favorite snowball flavor now in a gelato - how awesome is that? They also have the most amazing chocolates and candies - and wedding cakes! Oh my, serious indulgence, but oh so worth it!

On to scrapping news - Jen Wilson has an AWESOME sale going on this weekend - everything in the store is 50% OFF! Can you believe? Here's a little sneak peek ad:

If there are things that you have been eyeing over in the shoppe, this is the weekend to *stock up* and get everything you've been wishing for!! These sales only happen a few times each year - so prepare your PayPal accounts {and your husbands!} and head on over for some fabulous shopping!

And finally . . . something sweet that I found when looking for an avi for my Twitter page. I love supcakes, Ask anyone who knows me and they know that my most favorite dessert is a cupcake. They are simply adoreable, and so totally edible in their cute, little, compact design! So, with that I leave you with a photo of the cutest springy cupcakes, ever!

Have a wonderful Friday everyone and a fabulous weekend!!

have you seen . . .

the new Totally Girl and Complete Boy lines at JWD?? If you haven't, you must head on over and take a look! I know I say this everytime Jen releases a new line, but this may just be my new favorite!! I think there will be five sets in each line - including papers and elements, as well as some amazing QP's by April and those yummy *Printables* from Kelleigh! They are total must-have's for your scrapping wardrobe! And just in case you didn't know - Jen's amazing papers turn out beautifully when printed on matte photo paper - so now you can get BOTH your digi and paper fix with JWD!!

In other news, I have been in a serious scrapping funk lately! I have SO many JWD CT assignments to catch up on, as well as various other paper projects that I am either working on, or wanting to, that I am beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed! With srpring right around the corner, catching up now would be a great thing, since I know there will be LOTS of new products and projects that I will definitely want to get/do!!

By the way, Happy Mardi Gras! Today is the day that my hometown celebrates one of its biggest traditions - filled with colorful beads, coins, cups, AND people! Although I swore off Mardi Gras years ago, for the first time in a very long time, I actually missed not being in New Orleans for all of the festivities! Maybe now that the little ones are a bit older, and could enjoy the parades, I feel like it wouldn't be THAT bad to partake in the excitement. There's always next year . . .

I still have MANY photos to post from Scott's Retirement Ceremony and our trip to Disney World a few weeks ago. I am hoping to get those edited by the weekend and will post some here on the blog very soon! The kids had a blast at Disney! Even though it absolutely poured the day we went to Epcot, and Orlando had record-breaking low temps on the last two days we were there, it did NOT stop us! More about the trip once I get the photos posted - I promise!!

That's it for today. I promised Scott that I would work on tweeking his resume for him so that it will look "more marketable" - whatever that means! Hope your week is going well and I'll see you soon!

super excited . . .

I have a little secret that I am dying to share . . . but I can't, not yet! But soon, very soon, I will be able to tell you all about something SUPER exciting!!! Until then, you'll just have to bare with me! But I promise to make it up to you!

Today was Emma's first day of preschool. Her birthday is just past the cutoff for kindergarten, which I was a little disappointed about. But the state has a voluntary PreK program, in which they cover the cost of preschool for four year-olds. Really nice! So, she is going every day for three hours a day and she LOVES it! I was a little worried that she might not go willingly, since she is such a momma's girl, but she grabbed her name tag and sat on the floor with all of the other kids in her class with no issues. Anyhoo . . . I thought I would share some photos of her before she left for school. I know I am a little biased, but seriously, she is the prettiest little girl I know!!

Cutie pie, huh??? LOL! Like I said, I am little partial!!

I have a little something to share with you. I decided to try my hand at designing, and since I love alphas, I made this little something to share . . .

And here is the link: Chalked Alpha Set

Please, please, please leave me a comment if you download them. Since this is my first attempt at designing anything, please don't be too mean and critical!! I think that I removed any extra smudges, but if there are still some on a letter, feel free to erase it. Also, feel free to resize them and/or recolor. Just please remember they are for personal use only, and do not share. If you have a friend who would like them, send them to my blog and they can download them for themselves!!

Okay, that's it for today!! I hope those of you who are still enjoying your summer break are having a blast; and if you're back to school - I hope you have a fabulous school year!! See you tomorrow!!

back again . . . and some vacay photos

Hi everyone!! I know it has been a looooooong time since I last posted, and I have seriously been having withdrawals from not blogging!!! In all honesty, I have really meant to - I have TONS of photos, layouts, cards, and enabling to share with everyone, but everytime I sit down to edit the photos something else comes up or I am just not in the mood to do it!!! Yeah, I know, that's no excuse, but seriously I have had the best of intentions! So, for starters, I will share some photos from my recent trip I took with my mom. We went to Seattle, Victoria B.C., Canada, and Las Vegas - and man was it a blast!! Since it is getting late here, I am posting some pics I took at the Butchart Gardens, one of the most amazing gardens I have ever seen!! It was absolutely stunning!! If you ever visit British Colombia - Victoria, to be exact - you have to go visit the gardens. And now the pictures . . .

Amazing, huh?? I love the new camera I got for my birthday {more on that in another post!} And I am totally in love with Adobe PhotoShop Lightroom!! Most of the presets that used to edit the photos were from Kelsey Smith {see her blog link over on the right!} They are AWESOME! The girl knows how to rock the presets!! Okay, well that's it for now. I will be posting some more photos tomorrow, along with some enabling of the new happenings over at Jen Wilson Designs - there are some totally rad new summer things you have to grab up!! Have a good night and I'll see you tomorrow!!

my 10 wishes . . .

I'm totally lovin' the Imagini website . . . so here's another little treat from there . . . My 10 Wishes! Love it!!

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visual dna . . .

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. I have been super busy and just haven't had time to sit down and collect my thoughts to put in cyberspace!!! I found this neat little widget from Visual DNA today, and thought it was really cool, so I am going to share that with you! You should totally go to their site and check it out for yourselves - it's very cool, and very interesting. Anyway, just a quick post for today, to say I am alive and well, and I will be back with more later this week!! Take care and I'll see you soon!

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a little bored . . .

Not much to post about today.  Actually, I am a little bored at the moment.  Of course, there is the usual to do . . . house cleaning, laundry, balancing the checkbook - yuck!  But I seriously do not feel like doing any of that at the moment!!  LOL!!  Ohhh, I did get my PRIMA flowers today!!  They are beautiful!!  I also got my Art Institute glitter, which is gorgeous!!  I can't wait to play!!! 

In other news . . . I finally found a rug for my living room at Lowes.  It's really cool - very shabby and shaggy . . . with lots of red, brown, and cream.  Totally love it!  I'll have to find a picture {or take one!} and post it tomorrow. 

Well, I guess that's it for today.  I really should get some stuff done around here.  Tomorrow we have a playdate at the park and Thursday I am having a Stampin' Up! class at my house.  Sooo, I'm off to tidy up and maybe go out for a bit tonight - alone, sans kids, maybe a movie, who knows?  Anyway, that's it for today!!  See you tomorrow!!

another Monday . . .

The weekends seem to fly by!! Just when Friday evening comes around, I wake up and it's Monday, again!! We had a busy weekend, despite the rain {yay!!} The older girls went away for the weekend with friends, as their Spring Break wrapped up. The little ones had a birthday party to go to on Saturday, which was a lot of fun. There was grocery shopping, a Micheal's trip, some Panera Bread bagels. We also got some house cleaning done - which is always loads of fun - ha! And . . . I FINALLY finished my little hybrid album that I had been working on last week!! I think it turned out really cute. Seriously though, it was a LOT of work! This was the first hybrid project that I have ever done, and it was more difficult than I expected. Not really hard, just tedious and time consuming. But totally worth it!! Now that I have done one, I know some things to change the next time, what to do and not to do. KWIM? Anyway, here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure!!!

Okay, I know that was A LOT of pictures!! But I wanted to show each month's page. I am just so proud of this little calender album!!! As for credits, all of the papers are Jen Wilson's The Laundry Line. The album is the Basic Grey Keyplate Album. Flowers are PRIMA, buttons are from Autumn Leaves. Brads, paint, and "date." letters are from Making Memories. Ribbon and pens are from American Crafts. Distressing ink is from Tim Holtz and Color Box. Floss is from DMC, and I am not really sure who makes the little die-cut heart on the back cover.

Well, in case you are wondering why this post is SO early, I had to take Scott to the airport. So, I have been up since 4:15AM, and I am pooped!! Hopefully, the little ones will sleep in a bit and I can catch a few more Z's!!! Hope you all have a great Monday and a wonderful week!!

colorful Friday . . .

well, in my mind it is at least! It's actually kind of cloudy and dull outside. We really need some rain and maybe today will be the day. I hope so, so the rain can wash away some of the pollen {I think I say that everyday, huh?} Oh well, one day soon. As I am typing this, my little ones are painting with watercolors and giving each other tattoos in the process!! Too funny!! It always amazes me how such little things will entertain them for hours {okay, for 20 minutes at least!} Yesterday we went running around, doing some errands and other fun stuff!! I wanted to go to Michael's, but as I was driving the weather looked REALLY bad so I decided to stay a bit closer to home. Of course, after we got into town the sun was out in full force - not a cloud in sight. Figures. So, we went to A.C. Moore instead, and they had some amazing stuff. Gorgeous silk flowers {not a big fan of fake flowers for the house, but there were stunning!!} - peonies, poppies, hydrangeas - in some of the most beautiful colors!! Of course, I couldn't decide what I liked best, so I decided I will go back this weekend {coupon for 50% off!} While we there, I picked up some amazing ribbon and some buttons to use on a hybrid project I have been working on {see the pictures below!} The buttons were on sale for like $2.99 - I was in shock!! I had a 50% off coupon that I was going to use, and when he scanned it, the discount was for $1!! Huh? Since the buttons were on sale {thought they were $10} the coupon didn't apply, so it discounted some ribbon instead. Needless to say, I saved the coupon and will use it this weekend, too!} Oh, the pictures . . . I took some pictures of the ribbon I got {and the buttons!} There's also some peeks of the hybrid book I am working on - wanna see??

I know - lots of pictures of the same thing - LOL!!! I love, LOVE, L*O*V*E the ribbon!! It's from American Crafts, which I didn't realize had "loose" spools of ribbon. I have only seen it a package with 4 or 5 rolls together. Anyway, the colors are gorgeous and the textures are amazing. There are a couple of rolls from Offray, too. The buttons are from Autumn Leaves - part of their Foof A La line. I have a bag with red, black, gray, cream, and white ones. The other bag has pinks, sage and lime greens, purples and a slate bluish color. I have a passion for buttons. When I was a kid, I used to collect the buttons that came on new clothes {you know, the extras they gave you, in case one fell off? LOL} Strange, I know. But I have a nice collection now {and some that I found at my grandmother's house over the years.} Of course, now, Jen has clued me in to eBay for buttons {and Primas, and ribbon, and . . . you get the point!} Thanks sweets!!!

Okay, well this post has been quite a ramble. Sorry about that!! I'm glad it's Friday. I am hoping to work in the yard some {providing it doesn't rain - which I want1} So, we'll see. I hope you have a great weekend and I'll see you Monday!!

p.s. Don't forget to check out the JWD Team Blog for this week's challenge!!! You have until Sunday at midnight CST to post your layouts in the gallery and a link in the comments section on the blog!!! It's fun - and you'll win a prize!!!! LOL!!

not so much . . .

in a blogging mood this morning . . . I have some things I need to do today {i.e. go to Target to get Miss Em a new swimsuit, NEED to buy groceries, get the girls some new "summer" shoes, and work on some scrapping stuff}  Hopefully, some time today, it will RAIN . . . it was supposed to last night and all day today - no luck, it's bright and sunny {which isn't a BAD thing, but the rain would wash away some of this pollen, which is kicking my butt!!}  Anyway, not a long post today - but I may be back sometime later. 

Oh, don't forget to check out The Creative Life today, as it's ONEderful Wednesday and you don't want to miss out on today's goodie!!

And finally - I wanted to say a HUGE congratulations to the sweet and talented Teresa {a fellow JWD CT memeber!!} who won a a trip to CKU Houston from Tim Holtz's blog!!!!  Wow!!!  What an amazing prize - congratulations girl!!!

Okay, that's it!!  See you later today!!

beware . . .

I have some serious enabling to do today!! Yes, I know - again! Some of you are totally going to ban my blog from your daily reads because of this - PLEASE don't!! LOL!! I sat down last night and made a list of things I wanted to post about today. I am such a list girly - if I don't write it down, I will completely forget about it. This is true is all aspects of my life - appointments, shopping/grocery, travel, scrapbooking credits - you name it, I have a list for it; and if I don't - you can bet I will forget. Seriously. Everyday when I get on here to write about my daily adventures and such, I always forget something that I just knew I wanted to talk about and would remember. So last night, as I was watching some shows on my DVR, I decided to make a list of things to blog about. Not so much all in one day - just a list that I jot down my thoughts, new stuff that I love, books I want to read, magazines I find exciting, new scrapping stuff that is a MUST have, etc. This way I can keep my brain organized and my blog!! LOL!!

I am SO excited!! After being on the waitlist for a while, I finally was able to get a subscription to Bad Girls, a TOTALLY awesome scrapbook kit club. April will be my first kit and all I can say WOW! There is so much stuff in this kit - totally cool, new stuff - even new things from this past CHA! Here are some pics {taken from the BG site} AND some pics of the ultracool add on's {all of which I want, BTW!!!} -

Pretty cool, huh??? I cannot WAIT to get this in the mail!! Oh, and here are the add on's -

Love!! All I can say is I am totally in love!! LOL!!

In more April scrappy news - the new Paper Posies April kit is up, too!!! Another one of my kit clubs - and I love it!! Here's a peek at the April Kit -

It is LOADED with NEW NEW NEW Pink Paislee and Jenni Bowlin stuff!!!! Yay!!! I am seriously gonna have to get my scrapping groove on this month!!

Did you see the Bad Girls Add On's?? There's some really cool stuff in there, and some things from one of my FAV new lines - Bam Pop! They have some AMAZING things, especially their frames and font stamps. And you know what an alpha/font addict I am!! Here's a looksy at some that I just love -

Yes, I know - I am completely addicted!! I admit it. And that's a good thing, right??

Next up on this neverending blog post is BRAND SPANKIN' new kit from Gina Miller and Lauren Grier called "Amy Lou" - and I love the colors in this!!! Purple is one of my new favs and this is just loaded with it!!

Beautiful, huh??? Also new from Miss Gina is a new set of Simply Sketches -

This is probably my most favorite set to date!!! I can't wait to play!

I think I am going to be a playground princess this month, with all of the new scrapping goodies I have coming my way!! Seriously need my tax return back, so I can get my scraproom project finished {and I can have more room to PLAY!}

Last, and certainly NOT least - I know a little secret!!! My most favorite designer - and wonderful friend - Miss Jen Wilson is working on something new and VERY exciting!! But then again, when is some new from Jen NOT simply fabulous???? Heehee!! Stay tuned, okay?

And with that, a bid you adieu until tomorrow, my sweet blog readin' friends!!!

monday madness . . .

What a crazy weekend! I swear there are days that feel like my kids are like the biggest social butterflies!! Birthday parties, trips to the mall, sleepovers, coffee dates - you name it, they did it this weekend!! Thankfully, Spring Break is upon us which means lazier days and sleeping in late. Well, sort of anyway!!

I have a ton of enabling to do - a bunch that I have put off, and some from this weekend. So, let's get to it!!!

First, I stopped by Gina Miller's store today and picked up a few of her latest creations -

For those of you that know me well, you know that I just LOVE buttons!! Totally addicted to them!! Gina's new ones are super cool and very versatile!!

Second, I did some eBay shopping for PRIMA flowers and here's what I got -

In Ballerina and Berry Blue

These in Strawberry, Grape Hyacinth, and Cherry Blossom

I totally LOVE hydrangeas. They are one of, if not my absolute favorite flowers!! I have them all around house, in several beds. They are just beautiful - and so are PRIMA's version!! I also got some "sampler sets" of the PRIMA Quick Picks in Suri Dreams {a pretty bluish pruple} and Sweet Pea {a darker purple and yellow}.

And these PRIMA Pixie Tins in Emma, of course!

Third - I bought some glitter from Art Institute Glitter. They have the most amazing glitter EVER!! I got lots of fun shades for spring and summer {think pinks, aqua, yellow, lime green, purples and then some!}

And fourth - here's a peek at a couple of bags that I have been eyeing from Vera Bradley -

and

I am kind of leaning towards the tote - being that summer is almost here and I can just throw a few things in there and hit the road {or pool, or the beach, and well, you get the idea!} Yes, they are both black but I am looking for versatility. I have TONS of cutesy spring/summer bags!

And finally, be sure to check out the JWD Team Blog today! I posted a new Sketch Challenge over there, and it is REALLY cool!! I am going to work on mine tonight, so I can post it over there!!

I know there was something else I wanted to share today, but cannot remember what it was . . . I am losting it, I know!! Anyway, I hope you all have a great week. See ya back here tomorrow!!

just another day . . .

in my crazy, busy life!!! Scott is doing some work in the yard {the neighbors just got a HUGE load of dirt and 10 palettes of sod delivered - can we say "green with envy" is my husband, today?!?!?!} I am trying to get Emma the princess ready for a birthday party this afternoon. The girls both have plans with their friends today - I think {you know how teenagers change plans!!} So I guess little man and Daddy will be hanging out for a while this afternoon. Then Scott and I are going out to dinner and maybe a movie {so want to see STOP-LOSS} but we'll see how that goes!!!

Have you all see these new Easy Proofs from Jen Wilson?? If not, you have to go check them out. They are super fun and very easy to use. Here's a peek:

Pretty cool, eh?? I love them!! And they have been SUPER popular - the JWD Gallery is filling up with layouts using the Easy Proofs. Go by and take a peek!!

In other scrapping news, I finished two layouts yesterday. Yes, I said TWO! A rarity for me these days, but I found a bit of creative inspiration yesterday and voila! Take a look:

Oh! The places you will go!!This one is photo I took of my parents and my brother at his college graduation last year. Not the greatest picture, but the sentiments are there!!

Dance Like No One's Watching

This one is of my little Em dancing on the deck, in the rain. Typical Emma style!! She is such a ham for the camera {AND when the camera is put away!} I did this layout for the JWD Team Blog Challenge You should stop by there and participate - there's a prize involved!!!

Well, I think that is it for today. I have been working on a hybrid project using Jen's stuff. We'll see how that goes. Once I finish it I will definitely post some pictures here for you all to see!! I also had some pics of a purse that I want and few other things, but I will save those for another day!! I hope you have a great weekend and I'll talk to you again Monday!!!

seriously . . .

ready for the weekend! The girls start their spring break this week and I am personally ready for a break from early mornings, school, homework, and all of the drama that it entails! Needless to say, I know they are ready for a break as well. I think Scott and I are going to do some work in the yard {providing the weather cooperates!} We really need to get some flowers and pretty stuff out front to make our house look nice again. We {well, Scott} went on a ripping and tearing spree, pulling up ALL of the old plants and shrubs we had in the front beds. It is SO naked and bare out there now! I have been flipping through mags and searching websites, trying to find some flowers and other stuff that I like, and that will look nice in the front. I'll post some pics of some of the things we pick out and of the completed project once it is done!

There have been so many things going on in my life lately, it has actually been easy to blog. I know, I say that now, and then in a week or so I will hit a dry spell, and won't blog for like two weeks!! LOL! Isn't that what usually happens? On a scrapping note, I finally finished a layout tonight. I love how it turned out - kind of monochromatic using green tones. Take a look -

. . . without laughter

It's a picture I took of Emma when we were in Tennessee in November {shhh, it's supposed to be a spring layout!} I edited the photo in Adobe Lightroom to make the green really pop and then used pieces from Jen's Creative Fortune kit, along with new kits from Jofia Devoe and Cinzia Loosemore {both at The Digi Chick}. I really love the finished product and feel like I have some of my creative mojo back! LOL

Let's see . . . what else, what else? Scott and I are going to see a movie this weekend. I really want to see STOP-LOSS with Ryan Phillippe and Channing Tatum {both of whom are completely, totally, and utterly HOT!} It has gotten some good reviews and considering how the military effects our lives, I thought it would be something good to see. The girls are like "oh, we want to see that!! They're both HOT!!" LOL!! Teenage girls! Anyway, back to a date with my hubby - we both really love P.F. Chang's, and I think I may suggest going there for dinner afterwards. There are also a couple of other new places in town that I want to try. Who knows, we'll see. Emma has a birthday party to attend tomorrow afternoon. It's a Princess Party, which I know she is SO excited about. A bunch of little girls dressed up as princesses should be quite fun - and quite comical!! So her and I are going later to buy a gift. And maybe have lunch . . . a little Mommy and Emma day! She's loves that!!

Okay, enough for now. I have some things to get done before my shopping trip with Em. I need to run to the base and check out the prices of tickets for Disney World - did I mention we are taking the little ones there in December? More on that tomorrow . . . anyway, we are and I want to see what kind of prices the travel agency on base has and if there are any specials for military families. Sooo, I am off to do that and maybe run to the nursery and check out some plants! Hope you all have a great Friday and wonderful weekend! Ciao!