just gina

2008-02-29T10:11:00.004-05:00

CHECK THIS OUT... {{ CLICK ME }}

I had to move...I really jacked up my blog and don't know how to fix it. So change your blog address for me. SORRY! I wish I knew more about this stuff. I really hope to have my new site looking like normal soon.

UGH!

2008-02-28T00:12:00.002-05:00

Bare with me while I work on my blog look...it's not as easy as it looks. This may take a few days!!

Showing Off...

2008-02-27T12:05:00.003-05:00

Some pics with my new 40D...yes MY 40 freeking D camera. I know y'all hate me now! It came last night around 7, so the bathroom was the best place for me to go and get some quick snapshots. I just have to say... LOVIN IT! Gotta run and do some more packing. Check back later. And yes...I altered my pics!

P.S. In case you're wondering about my hair, I only wear it down like this every 20 days (or so). Rediculous, huh? I need it cut so badly and I find it much easier to pull back and keep off of my face. So if you've never seen me with my hair down...

there ya have it!!

Mostly Pics...

2008-02-26T11:33:00.003-05:00

In between looking at houses for 3 days straight, I was able to take a few of my girls and GOZER (the dog). I will have an update on the housing situation, but I'm still dazed and confused from the whole experience. Laters...

Sassy Says So...

2008-02-22T11:40:00.003-05:00

Ya...I'm feeling pretty special right now. Why? Cuz Sassy said so. And when Sassy speaks...I listen.

SASSY has been such an inspiration in so many ways. All I can say is she is one cool chick and has opened my eyes to so many things. Thanks girl for being such a good friend and making me think outside MY BOX. *Sidenote to anyone who doesn't know this girl...SHE CAN SEW LIKE NOBODYS BUSINESS.* She is incredibly talented on that Viking thing. If you haven't seen her work, check out her blog or her ETSY shop. Keep in mind she can make just about anything, so if you want to order something...you know what to do!!!

TGIF!!

Turn the volume down...

2008-02-21T15:10:00.003-05:00

Or you might be annoyed at my laughing and screaming! I guess some people (CLICK HERE)think it's great or cute or whatever...I don't always think so. I've always thought I have an annoying laugh, but hey...WHAT -EVER!

I thought it was hilarious of Bella breaking out in a dance...she hardly does that!! So that is what you get from me today! We're still working on the house...never ending, I tell ya. I'll deal, I guess. HAve a super duper weekend...we'll be house/suburb shopping starting tomorrow. Should have pics in a few days. TaTa!

This might be it for a while...

2008-02-17T11:17:00.002-05:00

I'm hoping this isn't the end of my scrapbooking for a while, but it may very well be. I'm afraid we have yet another huge challenge in front of us...A MOVE! We are getting ready to put our house up for sale in the next few days and Jamie will be taking a new position in Dallas. We are no longer associated with Boston's. It has been a crazy 2 weeks, I tell ya. I know we are going to be stronger from all of this, but did it have to happen all at once????? I know HE knows what HE'S doing and it's for the best. I just have to keep that in mind and have faith it will all turn out. But as I said, we are going to be selling our house. Anyone interested? It's beautiful if I might say. I love it. We all love it. I can barely stand the thought of packing it up and giving it to somebody else. But if you're interested... J/K.

Here are some layouts that just may be the last for a while.

Did I say that I hate packing. I hate the time that it takes. I hate going through our stuff and realizing we have TOO MUCH and vow to never shop again! I dread the keeping it clean all of the time process. I pray that the market will improve around here. I don't want to be without hubby for too long. I hope and pray that we'll find a great new neighborhood, a great new school for Lauren, a great MOPS group, a really cool scrapbook store to hang out at, etc. etc.

Please keep us in your prayers as we go through this huge transition. I guess it's time to get outside and pull those darn weeds. Enjoy your Sunday!!

Still tryinig to cope...more pages to share

2008-02-14T14:22:00.002-05:00

Scrapbook Therapy

2008-02-12T15:58:00.000-05:00

It's doing a great job of keeping my mind off of things right now!!

2008-02-12T00:19:00.000-05:00

{My Baby}

by Nancy Van De Vaarst

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You were only the size of a tiny seed,

But you were my baby to me.

You didn't have arms or legs or hair.

You didn't have eyes to see.

You had no brain for you to think.

Your heart could yet not feel.

I couldn't feel you move or kick.

But to me you were so real.

A part of my love was sent with you,

When God called you back to His door.

I may never know why, but whatever His reasons,

That day God loved you more.

You never heard your sisters' laughter.

You never saw your Daddy's smile.

But you were already a part of our family,

If only for a little while.

But I know our journey will begin again,

The day God hands you back to me.

Maybe He'll change your hair, your sex.

But you'll still be my baby to me.

It was Saturday, February 9th @ 9:30 pm, Irving, Texas, when I started to lose my baby. Jamie rushed me to the ER after I started bleeding heavily. The next 6 hours were the worst I've experienced in a long time. Please keep us in your prayers as we make a few adjustments around here.

Thanks for stopping.

Gina and family

So Happy...

2008-02-06T17:37:00.000-05:00

So...now do you see why I'm so happy? My darling friend ** JANA ** took these awesome pics of me and my girls! I wanted to do a little Valentines surprise for Jamie and give him some cute pics of his 3 girls. We did this last year and he loved it. Jana suggested going out to Bracken Village and I'm so glad we did. The day was overcast and hardly anyone was there. We had so much fun walking around and finding all sorts of cute props. I absolutely LOVE what Jana did for us and the pictures she took of us are priceless!

I strongly suggest you take a minute to check her out

* HERE * or * HERE *.

If you are interested in getting pictures done, I strongly suggest trying Jana. If you have any questions, you can get in touch with her via her blog (or you can ask me and I'll get her for you).

Thanks my dear friend...I adore every single shot you took :-) I kinda liked stepping out from behind the camera. If you are always the one taking pics...it's your turn to be the subject! You'll love it.

From the front...

2008-02-04T09:35:00.001-05:00

I kinda spaced the front shot of Lauren and her new do. Here's a few more. CUTE...huh? She loves it, too.

Now I'm ready to do something with mine...it's been over a year since I've had mine cut (minus the tiny little trim I gave myself...eeeck!). I tell you, I need to take care of myself more. WHy is it that once you become a mom, you put everyone else first? Gina...get over it!

2008-02-03T19:32:00.000-05:00

Good weekend here. We had a birthday party on Saturday at Artworks. It was fun, perfect outside, the girls had a great time playing with their friends, etc. Even tho I'm still operating with a zoom lens and was backed up against the wall on almost every shot, I did manage to capture a few cuties.

** Had to get this of Lauren and all of her hair (in the pink)!! **

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And today, while walking on the treadmill at the gym, I decided we should just go ahead and get Lauren's hair cut. I've been talking about doing Locks of Love with her hair for about 10 months now. We had plans to run around today and do some shopping, but then I just decided today was THE DAY! We went right from the gym to Sharkee's. It was our first time there and it was pretty busy. I put our name down for an appointment 2 hours later and off we went to Boston's for lunch. We killed the time and went right back for some pampering. They were so sweet at this place. The owner (male) was really great and treated everyone so nicely. The girls got their fingernails painted and then it was time for the cut.

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When it was all said and done, we had more than 10 inches taken off. Lauren was so brave and never cried. I guess she wasn't that attached to it as I thought she was. It was Bella who told me we couldn't get HER sisters hair cut. I assured her it was for a good cause and that it would grow back. "Ok, as long as it grows back down to her butt again!", she said. I totally love this new look. She looks so different and mature. When I put my fingers through her hair now, it feels so great...and healthy...and soooo thick. Boy was she blessed with the Morelli hair. Thanks dad!

I'll have more pictures soon.

Randomness...

2008-02-01T01:48:00.000-05:00

Sweet thang crashed on the floor this afternoon...I think she had one too many tantrums at the mall today!! Wore her right out. I gotta work on her shopping perseverance. Note to self...bring junky little pink stroller and lots of grapes!

** A couple of shares today. Some cards I'm working on...nothing that'll blow you away, just some fun simple ones. And a layout that I mustered up. I had an idea and it went entirely different than I expected. Oh well. Movin on...

A couple of things I ran across as I was baby shopping (dreaming). These paci's are so so fun...too much for my budget, but so cute! And that shirt...might have to break down and get one so people don't think I'm just fat!! Kidding...kind of.

All is well so far, in case you're wondering. No sickies, no weird cravings! Lauren still likes the name "little mermaid" and Bella thinks I have a puppy in my tummy!!

I need help!!

2008-01-30T14:50:00.001-05:00

I mean come on...I know how to scrapbook. I know how to take pictures and do some light editing. I'm coming up on my one year blog anniversary and I still don't have a COOL header. I tried the latest one a few days ago and if you look real close (well not even that close) you'll see it sliding right off of the page...outside of the box! I can't stand it. I need somebody to help me. Are there any tutorials or "headers for dummies" out there? I am determined to get a new look. That is my goal and I will figure something out.

What else is up? It's cold here again. Overcast. Slightly depressing. I'll manage.

Jamie gave me a break from my routine today and picked the girls up from school (I'm supposed to be scrapping right now, but this blog stuff is just as addicting as the other). I finally downloaded a few pics from my camera. They made me smile. Here they are...

My mom and Bella. I regret not taking more pics of them while they were here. Sorry mom! I am usually so good (too good), but with my lens situation...eck! I have to go lens shopping soon. I don't want to replace my 18-55, cause it's so boring, but the others that I've been looking at are A WHOLE LOT of $$$$$$. Some are more than my whole camera package put together!! So not nice! Anyway...more on cameras later. Isn't this sweet of my mom and my baby???

And if this doesn't make you smile...then you're just no fun! How stinkin cute are these two little girls? We got to go shopping and starbucking with our friends yesterday. What a nice break from the usual grocery store/target run. I strongly suggest doing that sometime. Grab a friend, go have some coffee (I promise I had De-CaF) and hit the biggest money pit around...TARGET! What's even better? We both walked out of there spending under $100. AMAZING.

I'm going to have to scold myself now and get to business...my scrapbook room is calling me. Off to create!

Ooops...forgot this!

2008-01-26T12:46:00.000-05:00

I totally forgot to add this to my previous post...it is Bella singing to me on my birthday! I thought it was so cute! She had a little help from Lala, of course. Enjoy!!

I'm back...

2008-01-25T19:02:00.000-05:00

and I missed you all!! I have some major catching up to do. I had my parents visiting for 10 days and we stayed pretty busy (they love to keep busy and help me with all of my pending projects around the house!) Unfortunately we had to send them back to North Dakota today :-( So now it's time for a recap of the last few weeks!!

First off we took in a Rampage Hockey game last Friday night. It was kinda neat that SA was playing Hamilton (Ontario) and that happens to be where my dad is from!!

Next up was the BIG 3-6 for me. Yikes. I don't know if I like saying that yet. I usually don't let birthdays bother me, but for some reason...it just seems a lot closer to 40. My hubby insisted on a little party. He made his yummy fajitas and all the fixins. It was such a good time and I loved having all of our friends and family over. Thank you to all of you who came (you know who you are) and for all of the lovely gifts! The night went entirely too fast and I didn't get to talk to everyone as much as I'd hoped. Here ya go with a few pics! In case you can't tell, that's a my little pony cake (you'd never know that I have 2 little girls, huh?).

And a few random shots with Papu and Lala.

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FINALLY...do you want to guess what this is all about??

A picture of my sweater, you ask? Well it's not just a pic of my all time favorite sweater from when I worked at The Gap, but it's of my BELLY.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

YES...I'm showing off my {PREGNANT BELLY}!!!!!!!!!

We are finally telling people. It's really exciting and scary all at the same time. I feel like I'm starting all over again. I am still training myself on what to eat/what not to eat, what to drink/what not to drink, etc. etc. etc.

Alright...that is going to have to do it for now. I hope to start scrapping again this week, so be on the lookout for some new crafty stuff!!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Some new layouts to share...

2008-01-16T00:05:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately that is all I have for you tonight. I think I may be MIA for a short time, as I have my parents coming to visit for a while. I'll try to check in and say hello soon. Have a fabulous week!!

2008-01-11T23:54:00.000-05:00

FINALLY!! A few layouts to share. I can't believe I finally got to do some scrapping. It was because I finished cleaning my scrapbook room and had a work surface again. I'm trying to be very good when I finish and CLEAN UP! I hope I can keep it up!!

I can't believe how fast this week is going. This weekend will be a nice time to finish up some last minute projects before I get company next week. Yeah! My parents are coming to visit us for 10 days. They haven't been here in a while, so it'll be nice. Plus it's my birthday next weekend, so that'll be great to have some family around to spend it with.

Well...I'm still patiently awaiting my Christmas present. The last we heard it should be here in 1-2 weeks. I am so excited to see it and start shooting with it. I'm actually scared. I wasn't expecting it. I didn't ask for it. My husband just decided that I deserved it. Well...my rebel has been acting a little funny after I dropped it (ooops). But I think we figured out that it's the lens that is the problem. So I can replace the lens on it and keep it as a back up or maybe sell it. We'll see. But I'm totally looking forward to the new baby. The next thing I need to do is take some photography classes!

Well...it's late. I'm tired. And getting old. So off to slumber. Take it easy!

2008-01-06T10:08:00.000-05:00

My 4-year old lost a tooth! I am still in shock, 2 days later. Back in October when we went to the dentist for the first time, he did point out that she had a loose tooth. I asked him if that was normal, since it seemed so premature. He said it wasn't out of the norm. All the kids I know who've lost their first tooth were 6. Am I a little off here? I guess it's not that bad, but she still seems too young to have a hole in her mouth!! The funny thing is, she pulled it out herself. We were just getting ready to brush teeth and she had been looking at it in the mirror for a while...I guess she had been playing with it! Next thing she turns and says, "it's out". WOW! Then we made a big deal about the tooth fairy and the rest is history!!

Here's a few pics from our adventure at Mt. Bonnell in Austin. It is something like the highest hill in Austin where you can see the whole city from the top?? I don't always get my facts straight - sorry If I'm wrong! But you climb to the top and then there is hiking trails all around. I was not so brave when it came to "exploring" the rugged trails, but Jamie and the girls had a blast! It is gorgeous up on the top, tho. There were all sorts of HUGE mansions down below along the river. I wonder if the Dixie Chicks live down there somewhere?

Here are a few more pics of our trip to Lost Pines. The girls had so much fun playing on this dock. They would jump, dance, put on little skits, etc. We also enjoyed hiking the trails all around the resort. Most of our time was spent outdoors. Lots of fun!!

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** Special Note to JENN, MARIE and HOLLY **
I have not forgotten about you and the pay it forward thing that I talked about a while ago! I have been meaning to say something for a while now, but as you can see we've been busy!! Plus I'm still afraid to step foot in my scrap room to create anything. Please know that I will do something for you and I will email you when I have something ready!! Thanks for understanding!!

Have a wonderful day!

2008-01-03T08:58:00.000-05:00

Coming at you from * HERE *

We decided to take a last minute mini-vaca and have some fun before the girls go back to their normal pre-school schedule. That is one thing I love about my hubs...he is pretty spontaneous. I usually like more time to plan things out, but it worked out perfectly. We had nothing, nada, zero things planned for the rest of this week, so it was a great idea. Plus, this place is just outside of Austin. Not a very long road trip at all!

We have been enjoying the outdoors - chilly outdoors, I should say. I love it tho. This place is very open and right along the Colorado River. We have been enjoying most of our time right here on site, but yesterday we did get out for a drive to the Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory. The tour was nice and short and then they took us right into the country store for our 2-scoop sample of any flavor we wanted. WOW...they really do have some good ice cream! The girls opted for their favorite...VANILLA. I tried their newest flavor - MOO tracks. Yum!

STill not sure what we're doing today. Probably going into town...Austin. IKEA is calling my name, plus I saw a commercial saying that they are having their 20-60% holiday sale. OMG! I must go :-)

Well gang...you're not going to be seeing anything crafty from me for a while. I've taken somewhat of a break. I have to clean out my room and re-organize, but haven't gotten there yet. I can barely walk in it right now, so I'm just not going to craft until it's completely made over. That could be a while. So until then, you're going to get lots of pictures!! Here's a few from our little getaway...
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Happy New Years Eve...

2007-12-31T08:20:00.001-05:00

Well...here we are at the end of the year. Tomorrow we'll be writing 2008. That's just crazy. I always wonder where the year has gone, but I guess it's good that I take a lot of pictures, so I have proof as to what we did all year long. Overall I think 2007 was a good year. I hope yours was, too.

I have been meaning to post some pics from Christmas and the days after. We've done some fun things. Sea World was one...with Jamie's family. It was cold, but we managed to have some fun and even stayed there most of the day! A few days later, we drove up to the Enchanted Rock. Jamie said it was only an hour from our house. Well, I should know better by now...it was more like an hour and 40 minutes. Anyhow...it was cool. We originally tried doing this thing back when we first moved to TX and Bella was only 1 year. We thought we could take a stroller up the hill, but as soon as we got to the bottom of the trail, we turned around and left the park. What were we thinking? This time around was so much better. The girls had the best time running around and climbing "the rock". It was such a good workout. And just when we thought we'd have to give up on trying to reach the top, the girls had just enough oomph in them to go all the way. It took us close to 3 hours from beginning to end, but that was stopping a lot to EXPLORE. We told the girls we were going to be like Dora and go exploring. They loved it! If you are from around this area and haven't done the rock yet, you need to!! There were so many people...and many foreigners, too. I would love to go back again, especially to stop in Fredricksburg to do some shopping!!

Alright...here's a few photos to share.

** SEA WORLD **

** ENCHANTED ROCK **

You'll be seeing more of this...

2007-12-25T18:06:00.000-05:00

Yes...this would be one of our new Christmas toys courtesy of LaLa and Papa. They have had so much fun with it so far. This will definitely not be the last time you see clips of the girls playing puppets!! Too cute!

How was your Christmas? I want to hear!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2007-12-24T22:03:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's been a long time since you've heard from me. But I've been busy!! And it's Christmas!! Merry Christmas y'all.

Right now I'm chillaxing on the couch. Lauren is lying down next to me while daddy's rubbing her back. Bella is running circles around Uncle Jeremy while he "tries" to catch her (quite entertaining!!). We just finished a yummy meal of manicotti, Parmesan chicken, fresh green beans and garlic bread. Delish. Now Jamie has fired up his pit and is getting ready to put his brisket on for the night. The smoky/woodsy smell is bringing back all sorts of Christmas memories. I love it. But it's a little bitter sweet, too, as my family is all in ND and we're here in TX and this is only the 2nd or 3rd time in my whole life I haven't been with them on Christmas.

This last week has been a busy one for us. Two dinner parties (one big and one small), lots of Christmas shopping, quick trip to Dallas for a birthday party and last minute shopping at Southlake, back to SA with LaLa, Papa and Uncle Jeremy, final preparations/wrapping of presents for Christmas day, taking the girls to Build a Bear for an early Christmas present tradition...I left a few things out, but don't need to bore you.

I am really looking forward to tomorrow morning and hoping everyone enjoys their gifts. Hope you all have a wonderful and blessed holiday. Can't wait to share more after the holidays. I haven't done any scrapbooking, so no shares as of right now. I do have some pictures I will share. Merry Christmas everyone!

This group of pics were taken in Dallas...

Next up...we stopped off in Johnson City on our way home to see this place (super cute - can't wait to go again)...

*Lauren found a rooster to chase!*

A little bit of this...a little bit of that!

2007-12-17T17:37:00.000-05:00

Saturday was a busy day for us. One event was Lauren's Christmas dance recital. You know...the smaller version of their end-of-year recital. The one that lasts all of 2 minutes! But they sure do make a bid deal of it. She was a baby doll! It was cute. But after this, we've decided to take a dance break. Bella quit back in October and the studio as a whole has gone down hill (long story). So these will be the last dance pictures for a while!!
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Look at Bella...she crashed just before the show started. That meant that Jamie had to take pictures...unfortunately the teacher was standing right in front of him giving the girls their cues!!

Today was a stay-at-home day. Well, I am a SAH mom, so I don't know why it's a big deal to actually stay home all day. The girls felt hot and they were sluggish. We started off under blankies for the first part of the day (it is COLD today). I finally broke down and cranked the heat up to 71 degrees.

After we warmed up, it was time for some baking. We made Spritz cookies (an all time favorite). The girls were great little helpers...they enjoyed the sprinkles! I enjoyed the mess on the floor from the sprinkles (NOT!). We also made pretzel bark. Don't ask me for a recipe. I just made it up. I'm kidding...it has 2 ingredients. Almond bark and crushed pretzels! I told you like the easy recipes!!

Meant to post this pic of the girls a few nights ago. They were both in their new jammies and sitting by their tree playing with toys/books. I had been wanting to take pics of them by the tree and finally did it. CHECK THAT OFF MY LIST!

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My uber talented girl Jennie made this for me.

She had a little "pay it forward" thing on her blog recently and I was one of the lucky recipients. And because I participated, I now get to do the same and pay it forward to someone else. Actually 3 lucky people! Here...this is what was on her blog:

*** I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF (Pay it forward) exchange. I'm not sure what that gift will be. It will be a surprise! The only thing you have to do in return is to pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. So basically, if you’re one of the first 3 comments, I’ll send you something crafty that I’ll make! Once you sign up, I'll email you to let you know that you are one of the three. Then copy and paste this paragraph on your blog, and three other lucky people will be recipients of your handmade work. Pay it Forward!***
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Pretty neat, huh? If you don't want to join in on the fun, then please don't comment OR just make note of that in your comment! I love doing this stuff. I hope you all will, too! Like it said...if you are one of the first 3 to comment...I'll be in touch and will do something crafty for you :-)

Finally, I accomplished one LO today. Here it is. Enjoy it. Lift it. Criticize it. Whatever! Have a fabulous Monday night!

This just cracks me up...

2007-12-13T23:51:00.000-05:00

** The little angel on the left, that is. **

She is Lauren's classmate and I never knew she had a sense of humor!! I mean, she's 5 for cryin out loud!

Lauren was an angel in the Christmas show at school. It really was so cute. I didn't get there early enough to get up close, so my photos are less than impressive.

Today Bella helped me make more of these belly button/holiday pretzel treats. This is our second round making these cute and oh so easy goodies.

I put the recipe on 911's blog, but in case you don't read that, here it is...

Ingredients:

Bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels, Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hug and M&M's candy

Step 1: Heat the oven to 170º. Set a number of bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels (one for each treat) in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then top each pretzel with an unwrapped Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hug.

Step 2: Bake for 4 to 6 minutes (the white chocolate will melt more quickly), until the chocolates feel soft when touched with a wooden spoon. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and quickly press an M&M's candy into the center of each Kiss.

Step 3: Allow the treats to cool for a few minutes, then place them in the refrigerator to set, about 10 minutes. Place handfuls of the candies in clear plastic bags and tie on colorful ribbons.
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Do you see this reindeer? Ok...I've been drawing a million of these things for Lauren. She is obsessed with reindeer right now. I guess cause it's Christmas time. But I made the mistake of hand drawing one instead of printing off a coloring page from the net. That's all she wants me to do nowadays. I enjoyed doing it for the first 5 or 6 times, but after 20+...I'm not diggin it anymore! Ya, so I have to draw it, then cut it out and then she colors it in and decorates it with stickers. I guess if it makes her happy, then I'll suck it up.

So I see a lot of people doing this thing called the 365 pictures challenge or something like that. It's where you take a picture everyday of yourself for a whole year. I don't even know who started it or if you need to join, etc. ** If you know and you are reading this...please comment and tell me more or where to go to find out how to join. ** But I'm sure you all know by now I like to take pics and I am not afraid to take them of myself (slightly narcissistic - yes!). Stop laughing, Allycia :-)

I certainly don't take them everyday, cause that would be really scary, but when I do, I will post them. Not sure why I felt I had to give you the heads up on that, but oh well! Here's today's shot.

If you are local and haven't been to KIRBY'S yet...you should! We got to go for dinner last night and it was delish! I had the blue cheese fillet and only left one or two morsels on my plate. So good! I recommend saving it for a special night out with your

significant!!

Random Stuff...

2007-12-10T21:27:00.000-05:00

Still trying to figure out my Christmas picture situation!! I keep taking pictures, but can't decide which ones to go with. I have none of Jamie, since he's never around when we have these impromptu photo shoots. I have a few family shots that are from a few months ago (and last August), but would rather have a current shot. We'll see, I guess. These are a few from the last few days.

Could these shoes be any cuter? Bella picked these out herself! She has quite the thing for shoes these days.

Finally finished a couple of canvas gifts. Sorry the lighting doesn't do much for them. I think I'm finally figuring out how to work with canvas. It's growing on me now! Yay.

Better hit the sack now...take it easy!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

2007-12-10T01:07:00.000-05:00

My DAD!

Wishing you a wonderful day on this Monday, the 10th of December. We all love you and miss you very much!!

Working on some Christmas gifts...canvas! This is my first attempt at using canvas. I'm still not sure I like it, but I'm going with it and forcing myself to do something different. Maybe it'll grow on me! Will share more when complete!

Wanna have some fun?

2007-12-05T18:09:00.000-05:00

I suggest you sit down on the kitchen floor with your kids and have a fun little photo shoot! In my case, I only had one child home with me and it was pretty hilarious. It all started with me trying to get a picture of us together. The first few...she wasn't havin it! The next few, we got the giggles.

And then came the HAT. She wanted me to wear it while she took pics of me. Then it was her turn. And then we went back and forth with the camera. I have to say...that was the best 20 minutes of our day. You need to do this sometime. You will end up with some really cool pics to scrap with!! I promise!

That's a rap!! Hope you enjoyed!

Say What??????

2007-12-04T11:31:00.000-05:00

Holy moly! I am in shock...again!

Click * HERE * and see why (look for Gretchen McElveen's pick). Dang...I feel so honored! I am one lucky girl. I need to take a chill pill and settle down now.

I LOVE MY SISTV

I LOVE MY SISTV

I LOVE MY SISTV

Enough cheese ball...gotta run and finish up that darn Christmas Banner. It's taking me a long time. I still don't have all of my decorations up, either. I don't think I'm officially into the holiday spirit yet. Waiting for it to hit me!! How about you? Are you into it yet?

Lots of fun stuff...

2007-12-02T10:23:00.000-05:00

First off...these arrived from Alaska yesterday!!

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I consider myself lucky for even getting them in my hands, since it was a neighbor who lives a block away who rang my doorbell and told me that my box was sitting in the middle of the street. Huh? What kind of people are working for the USPS? I was so mad that I wrote them an email and demanded an explanation. HA. I doubt I'll hear anything. Anyway...these gorgeous trees are from HOLLY. I won them on her blog. I consider myself very lucky, as these are hand made and hand sewn. She didn't even use a sewing machine. WOW! Thank you again, Holly!!

Yesterday we went to the Steven Stoli Backyard Theatre to see Santa's Holiday Surprise. It was cute. Lauren was brave enough to get a picture with Santa after the show. The other one...well, she was having a bad day. I think it was lack of sleep for her, cause last night she fell asleep on her bedroom floor at 5:30 pm...and slept until 8 am this morning. THAT IS VERY RARE! I don't think she's ever slept for more than 10 hours.

Friday night I was able to sneak away to 911 for some scrap time with Dawn and Stephanie. It was fun to hang out with those girls, since I haven't seen them since they had their babies (6+ months ago). Only got a few things done. Here's a few...

I'm currently working on a Christmas banner. It's still in the works, but I'll show you what I have so far!! It's going to be sparkly.

How about these gorgeous flowers? I received these from the Pat Morelli family. THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I couldn't believe it when the van drove up to our house (we were outside when he was driving aimlessly). I even asked him if he was sure that he had the correct house!

And finally I convinced Bella to let me put her bangs up. They are now long enough for me to pull them back in a ponytail. She looks so cute with her hair off of her face, don't you think? But since I've put them up and taken this picture...she's already pulled the pony out :-( I won't give up, tho!

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Enjoy your Sunday...gotta finish putting the tree up. We're a little behind around here. Ciao!

2007-11-28T20:24:00.000-05:00

Having most of our family here for the holidays was a blast. Lots of action, lots of running around, lots of touring, lots of kids fighting over the same toys, lots of Thanksgiving leftovers, lots of everything!! The only bad part...the weather! It was cold and wet for the first 3 days. We even missed our chance to do Sea World, due to the park closing early (IT WAS THAT COLD). We still managed to take in the Wildlife Ranch, shops and lunch in Gruene, a Spurs game, the Riverwalk, a Rampage Hockey game, LaCantera for a short shopping trip, a movie at the cool IMAX theatre, shopping at the outlet mall in San Marcos, lunch at Boston's and that about does it!

Here's a few pics from our many adventures...

THankful...

2007-11-22T08:06:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm the first one up this morning...listening to the husband snore, listening to the howling wind (the temp has dropped big time), hearing Lauren coughing in the other room (poor thing is getting her little cold back), smelling the smoked turkey and brisket that has been outside cooking since 3 a.m. (don't ya wish you were coming to our house for dinner? Come on over!!) and just reflecting on what I am grateful for.

There is so much.

Oh how I am blessed.

Please take a moment to think about it all. It is wonderful to have in-laws and a brother-in-law sleeping safely in our house. It is amazing that my brother Mike and my brother Pat and his family will be joining us later today. I am so thankful to be able to share our house, our food, our conversations, our laughter and most importantly...our love!

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Wishing you all a Thankful day!

2007-11-18T08:44:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday!

We've enjoyed a little rain on and off this weekend. Yesterday, I got a babysitter with plans of starting my Christmas shopping. Then Jamie called and said he was going to join me. HA! What a nice day to grab some lunch and then hit the overcrowded mall. We ended up at North Star, because I figured we'd get wet walking around LaCantera. I wish we hadn't. It was nuts. It felt like the day after Thanksgiving. Too much commotion for me!! But we still managed to hit our favorites and managed to do some damage at The Disney Store for the girls. If you spend over $75, you get to pick a free DVD (Meet The Robinson's OR Jungle Book). Plus we had our 15% coupon. SCORE!

Something funny just happened...Jamie just now came out of the room all dressed up in nice slacks, shirt and tie. The 3 of us girls were oooing and awwwing (I can't remember the last time he's dressed up like this for work - he's always behind the scenes). And then Lauren says..."you look like Prince Charming". Jamie was loving that comment!! CUTE!

I've been feeling crafty lately. I have lots of ideas and fun things that I want to do, but not enough time. I've managed a few things, but still have lots left. Here's a few things I've worked on lately...

A Layout!!

Some felt trees that I'm not sure what I'm doing with yet!!

If you like the trees, check this girl out...HOLLY...she is inspiring! She made some really cute felt trees, also. She's always doing something crafty!!

And this girl rocks the banners like nobody else!! I love her shabby chic/vintage touch on everything she does!! You'll love her stuff.

That'll do it for now. I think I'm going to get my Christmas decorations out in the next day or two. My brother Mike and Pat (and family) are coming for Thanksgiving...we are so excited. This will be their first visit to San Antonio. I might have to post "THE AGENDA" created by my crazy husband, for while they're here. We plan to do all of the major attractions and touristy stuff. I will have major pics and lots to report on later this week.

ENJOY!!

My New Obsession...sort of.

2007-11-14T22:21:00.000-05:00

We were invited to go for dinner and a Spurs game last night with some of Jamie's suppliers. Of course I get the call the day before from the DH and he needed me to get a babysitter. Hmmm, I knew it would be interesting, as we usually use a 13-yr old neighbor girl and I knew she had dance on Tuesdays. I don't have many choices when it comes to babysitters. I just figured I'd end up staying home while he went by himself. Surprise, surprise...DH found a girl that works for him and she was able to do it last minute.

***

First off...this would be my first SPURS game since moving here two and a half years ago. Second, this would also be my first business dinner or whatever you want to call it. Ok, so the dinner went well. The 2 couples that we were hanging with were very sweet. Then it was game time. I thought the Rampage minor league hockey games were fun, but let me just say...professional basketball is very cool!

I couldn't keep my eyes off of Tony Parker. I mean I kind of knew about him because of Eva Longoria, but now that I've seen him in person and have seen what a great BBall player he is...YUMMO. I finally see why so many people LOVE the Spurs here. It was a great game and yes, we won!

***

Here are a few pics (now keep in mind, they DO NOT allow you to bring your nice Canon cameras in...so the little digital had to do the job!).

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Is he not FINE? Plus, if Eva would have been at the game, I would have had some awesome shots of her. The seat she always sits in was just 3 rows in front of us. I was really hoping for some celebrity action. Maybe next time. We're going to be seeing another Spurs game next week after Thanksgiving. I CAN'T WAIT!

2007-11-11T17:56:00.000-05:00

Lala and Papa came for a quick visit and stayed the night with us. They were just finishing up their anniversary trip and decided to swing over to s.a. for the night. We went for dinner at Boston's, even tho Mr. J was in Sin City. I finally tried something besides pizza and salad. HA! I had the salmon and it was delish!! Here's Lala reading a new book to Lauren.

Next up is the Zamboni from the Rampage Hockey game the other night. Jamie is partnering up with them, hence the cool Boston's Zamboni!! Unfortunately, we couldn't stay for the whole game...Bella got sick and yakked all over herself and a little on me (yucky). Poor thing had the stomach bug for the night. She's fine now!!

Got to do a little cropping at 911. Totally spur of the moment. I was able to join in on the fun half way thru their 3rd annual birthday crop. I got about 9 pages done. Yippee! Here's a few...

Thanks for visiting.

2007-11-06T23:04:00.000-05:00

Don't hate me...but I found major deals at Target the other day. MAJOR DEALS! I love Making Memories. I even splurged before Halloween and bought their paper packet (or kit or whatever you want to call it). I used some of the papers for that BOO sign that I did. Anyway, I hate paying full price, but they had the cutest Halloween paper this year.

Ok...so the day after Halloween I went into Target and checked to see if the MM Halloween products were also 50% off like all of the other seasonal items. YES THEY WERE! I don't think anyone else knew that, though, since they had a ton of it. I grabbed a few things and went on my merry way. Half off is still a good deal to me.

Fast forward to yesterday (Monday). Ran over to Target for a few things and noticed that all of the Halloween stuff was now at 75% off (our Target still had a ton of stuff left). I totally ran over to the scrapbook isle to see if there was anything left. HA...there was. I was so psyched I wanted to grab it all and then figure out what to do with all of it later (I told you before I am crazy bargain shopper). But I didn't. I figured I'd share the deals with some other crazy scrappers. But I tell you...there is nothing like getting cool product for dirt cheap!! Here is some of what I got... FOR NOTHING!!

SOMETHING DIFFERENT...

2007-11-04T14:14:00.000-05:00

Ok girls...I have been trying to figure out the best way to do this.

*** MY BLOG IS TYPICALLY FOR MY SCRAPBOOKING AND PICTURE TAKING OBSESSION. but today is different ***

I have been cleaning out closets and finding that I have so many clothes...really cute clothes! My girls are growing fast! And if you know me, I am a shopper! I LOVE me some GYMBOREE and GAP. So here's the deal. I'm not willing to go thru the time and effort to list all of these cuties on ebay. Been there, done that! I have taken clothes on many occasion to Kid 2 Kid (resale). They're ok, but they don't pay much and then they mark them up too high. So this is my idea of getting rid of the middle man. No, I'm not going to have a garage sale. I am going to tell the girls that I know - YOU - and hopefully they will tell the girls they know) that I am selling some really great girl clothes and if they are interested in getting a bargain, then we can get in touch. What do you think? I would rather have people I know have first choice before I try craigslist. And if you are not a local and are interested, we could probably work something out (email me).

I am going to post just a sampling of some of the clothes that I am selling. Please know that this is just a few things that I have. I HAVE A TON OF STUFF! Sizes range from 6-12 months all the way up to 5 years. Look...some even have tags on them. I have everything from jammies, to shoes, to dresses, to sweaters, shorts and tanks.

(click on the pics to enlarge)

Alright...if you are interested. Please email me or if you don't know me, talk to your friend who does know me and we can figure out when to get together. Thanks and have a wonderful day!!

Happy + Halloween

2007-11-02T07:26:00.000-05:00

What a nice week it has been. First off...I found out that one of my layouts over at SISTV was chosen for this weeks CATWALK. Yippee! I couldn't be happier since I never ever thought I would be good enough for it. There are so many talented girls (and guys) over at SISTV...I mean WOW! Have you been over there yet? You better check it out. It is one of my favorite places to hang out. Major inspiration and lots of fun. It was this layout that made it onto the catwalk (if my dad only knew he was "famous")...

And now for a few Halloween pics. We had such a good night with the girls. We got out around 6:45, just as it was getting dark, and made it for about an hour. Bella was ready to call it a night about half way through. There were a whole lot more kids...and adults...this year compared to last year. Goes to show you how many new houses have gone up in this area. After filling their bags half way...we went home to pass out candy. Actually Lauren did most of the passing out. I love that she has taken over my job at 4 and a half years old. I just loved listening to her get excited when she'd see the kids coming up to the door. Her reaction to their costumes was priceless! All the while Bella was playing with her candy, counting it and trying hard not to eat it all. And then the girls were out like a light promptly at 8:50. Hope you all had a nice evening as well.

The Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-29T21:32:00.000-05:00

We finally made it to Medina for some fun at the Pumpkin Patch!! I was really anxious to capture some fun pictures with the girls and the pumpkins. I think I succeeded. I won't post all 120 of them, only a few of my absolute favorites!!

Enjoy!! Oh...by the way, Lauren took this first picture. I see a bright future for her!

2007-10-26T19:42:00.000-04:00

It's still fall around here. I couldn't be any happier! How 15-20 degrees can make a difference in my attitude is beyond me. But I tell ya, the fresh air coming thru our open windows compared to the forced air that comes out of our air conditioning vents is HUGE in my book. Fresh is SO much nicer :-))

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I did something fun today. I volunteered in my Bella's class this morning to come and clean out a pumpkin and then bake the seeds for the kids to try. I had no idea what I was in for. I wasn't really given very specific directions on what was supposed to happen, so I just went with it. One thing that is very unique about Bella's class is that there are no boys! HA! I find that interesting. They were all so sweet. This one little girl introduced herself (and the 3 others sitting next to her). When I said it was nice to meet her, she said it right back to me and shook my hand. We've been working on that with the girls for a while now and they still don't do it on their own! She must have been a little bit older than Bella, cause she was the one doing most of the talking. I got to cut the hole in the top and then had all of the girls take turns scooping the guts out. Three of the 12 girls stuck with me the whole time and even used their hands to get every last seed out. I was impressed.

I then went to the kitchen and cleaned the seeds up, salted them and stuck em in the oven. 15 minutes later they were ready. I was shocked that 70% of the girls tried them (my Bella was one that refused). They all thought they tasted like popcorn!! I was really happy to see that one little girl (also one of the 3 that helped me till the very end) had 5 servings of the pumpkin seeds. Made me feel so good!

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And after my good deed for the day...I got to come home and scrapbook!! The hubby was going to give me the afternoon off!! Whoo Hoo! I was really feeling scrappy, but I forced myself to do it and take advantage of my free time. This is what I could come up with...

We have a lot going on this weekend. Hope you all have a good one!!

2007-10-23T22:32:00.000-04:00

Going for a walk today...WAS THE BEST! Not only was it a nice day because my hubby came home early and took the walk with us (hence the pics), but if you look close enough, you'll see me in a SWEATER! Yes! I said sweater. It is finally FALL around here. At least for the week. I'm not sure what will happen next week for Halloween, but I will take it for a few days anyway!! Yesterday was pretty interesting. I woke up to rain and wind. I've said before that Texas doesn't get wind (at least not in SA). It was howling out! After seeing on the morning news that it was only 5o something out, we stepped out on our patio to see for ourselves. The weather people were not fibbing. Yowza! I ran to my closet and grabbed one of my favorite sweaters and brushed the dust off of my favorite pink Uggs. It was the highlight of my week :-)

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The girls had their first ever Dentist appt. yesterday, too. Ya, you can say I'm a little slow. Lauren is 4 and half, so she was a bit overdue. Everything went well and they both had great reports. We discovered that Lauren has a slight gag reflex. Ok...a big one actually! I couldn't help but laugh, but the dental assistants thought otherwise!! I guess we'll try getting x-rays in 6-months again!! Now I know she can't be the first kid to have that problem. Lighten up, man!

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Well...I was hoping to have had some new projects to show, but no such luck. Haven't had the time or desire to get in my room and create!! Hopefully soon. Y'all take care now.

WOW...two posts in one day!!

2007-10-17T20:40:00.001-04:00

Here are the layouts that I accomplished today. Feeling pretty good about it.

As you can see...most of the layouts are from our vacation to Cabo. The last one is from a while ago when the girls were looking at some of their very first scrapbooks. It made me so happy to see them enjoying the pages that I created for them. Now that it's done, tho, I'm not so sure about using purple and yellow together. It reminds me of high school colors. Bishop Ryan to be exact. Oh well. Too late.

***

And back to the story of my little one cutting her hair. I wasn't feeling good last night, so I went to my room to lie down. Lauren wanted to take care of me, so she came in and sat with me. Bella was content working in the kitchen with her stickers, markers, paper and SCISSORS!! Eeeck! I didn't think anything of it, since she's always been so good with them. Never ever has she tried anything. She was being so good and being that I was feeling yucky, I just went with it.

Next thing I hear is my husband in the kitchen asking Bella if she cut her hair. Huh? It took me a second to process that question. Why would he be asking her that? Then he asked her again. I jumped out of the bed so fast. I ran into the kitchen to see lots of hair all over the floor and on the kitchen table. At this point Bella is crying and I'm in shock. I keep looking at her trying to figure out what exactly she did. I looked around and realized she definitely took some big chunks of hair out of her head. I mean...this is something that only happens to someone else's kids!!

I know she didn't know what she was doing, but I still couldn't help but keep asking her why she cut her hair. Why, why, why? Lauren helped me pick up most of her hair and then we put it into a big pile (along with some stickers, glitter, etc.). Here...this is the pile-o-hair and the mess that she made at the table. LOVELY!!

I brushed her hair to access the damage and more hair kept coming out (whimper). When it finally stopped, I realized we could keep her hair as is. What she really did was put LOTS of LAYERS in her hair. There are some really big ones, but most of it blends into the rest of her head. I am thankful we didn't have to cut it all off to even it out (like I've seen with other kids).

If you survived that story...congrats! That was just a tad long, but I'm done now. Enjoy your night/day. And thank you to those who leave comments for me. It's always so nice to read your kind words.

Pics, pics and more pics...

2007-10-17T18:22:00.000-04:00

You all know me by now (maybe)...and you know that I LOVE to take pictures. Especially of my kids. Well, who doesn't?

I feel like sharing, so here goes...

First up...Bella. She is going thru a "princess" stage right now. That includes a dress (currently we are rotating the same 4 dresses - she will not wear anything but a dress), a tiara or crown of some sort, a bunch of necklaces, a red gaudy ring (and if we misplace that thing...oh man, you don't wanna know), and last THE SHOES. I even did a layout on the shoes that she is obsessed with right now. Poor thing won't wear anything but. She even wears them when we all go out for exercise. She rides her scooter in them and her feet are bruised and blistered from them!! I can't get through to her, tho!! Anyway...here she is playing outside the scrapbook store doing her "trick" (jumping off the railing).

And the sweet child fast asleep on the floor. Ahhhhhh.

The girls also received their new Halloween costumes in the mail (Disney.com), so we had to play dress up the rest of the day. Bella will be Tinker Bell and Lauren will be Sleeping Beauty. The are pretty darn cute, I must say!!

And how about a couple more pics of Miss Bella crashed on the couch. She plays so hard during the day and then before you know it...she falls asleep around dinner time! See what I mean about the "accessories"?

I will stop for now. That wasn't so bad, huh? I will have more pics later, as I was able to get a few pages done today!! Yippee!! Oh and I'll have some crazy pics of the little princess who took the scissors to her...um...pretty hair. My worst nightmare came true.

2007-10-11T14:16:00.000-04:00

Well...it's kind of starting to feel like fall around here. The temp has dropped about 4 degrees! We're in the high 80's now...no more 90's thank you!

Been staying busy.... I can't imagine what it's like when the kids are teenagers and in many more activities. I'm going to be worn out!!

I've been away from the scrapbook room for a few days, but managed to sneak 1 layout in yesterday and 1 little project in just now (only took 35 minutes). I love quick projects. I wish I could whiz thru every page that fast. The Boo sign I picked up at HL for a few bucks and knew I had to cover it with some fun Halloween paper. It just took me a while to sit down and do it. Like I said tho...it was a snap! I didn't really jazz it up like I could have, but I don't want to spend anymore time on it. My other page was for fun to document what we kind of day I was having. I journaled on the back, but as you can see, it was a happy day!!

That would do it for now. I know. Short and sweet! I have to grab dance bags and the little one who is currently applying lip gloss to all of her finger nails. She got mad at me when I said I'd have to take all of her lip gloss away for good if she doesn't stop!! She gave me this look...

Not very pretty is it? She actually asked me to take a picture of her doing this a couple of days ago. She said, " take a picture of my naughty face!" I went along with it to appease her, but had no idea I could use it like this!! HA!

LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR...

2007-10-04T18:28:00.000-04:00

just wish it would cool off soon. I would love to feel a little chill and be able to grab a sweater to warm up. I won't be getting that for a while here! It's still in the 90's and the humidity has been awful. It's really such a gross feeling. But enough complaining.

I have been enjoying getting ready for Halloween. I got my decorations down and decorated the house. The girls were such good helpers. They even came up in the attic with me. I would never have thought I'd let them do that, but after my fearless husband did it one time, they have insisted on going with us every time we need to bring something down. I found a recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies on a couple of blogs that I read. Both Jennifer Stewart and Sherelle Christensen talked about this recipe. If you take a look at their blogs, you'll see that they like to cook and they always offer many recipes that they enjoy. Since I was getting in the Halloween/Fall mood, I figured I'd give this one a go.

Since Lauren was at school, I figured I'd let Bella help me out. One child is a lot less messier than two. She had the best time being my assistant. And let me tell you...these were a snap! So easy, so fast...SO DELICIOUS! You must try this recipe. WOW. I was so excited that these turned out, I packed up 4 little bags of them for the girls' teachers. We delivered them when we went to pick up Lauren. I hope they enjoyed them as much as we did!!

Last night I decided to whip up a Halloween Banner for our mantel. I wasn't sure what I was doing, but I had seen a few banners out there in blog world and figured I could do something similar. I took my Heidi Swapp playing cards, some paper, letters, glitter, ribbon, etc. Viola...there ya go. It was fun and not too difficult. I think it looks pretty cute in our family room. I think if I can do it...anyone can!

And here is Lauren doing a pumpkin craft. She loves to color and I love to watch her as she creates. She is always so focused. I love the look on her face when she's in the middle of a project. I tried to capture it, but she knew I was taking pics of her and she kept looking at me!! Darn it!! Maybe next time.

2007-09-30T16:25:00.001-04:00

I did something that I haven't done in a very long time...scrapped with some girls. And not at the scrapbook store! I was invited to Roni's house to hang with her, Kim and Marty. Sam even stopped by to entertain us all. ** I just can't stand the thought of Sam leaving us here. I will miss her so much. ** But what fun to get together with girls that share the same love and addiction. The only negative...being the only one who lives on the opposite side of town. Those 4 girls live right in the same neighborhood almost. I live 39 minutes from them. The drive at 12:30 am was not very fun. But it was worth the girl time and the scrappin.

What I accomplished...

Alrighty...I must get back to Halloween decorating. The girls and I have already been up in the attic once today. I'm still missing one box tho. I love this time of year, but in Texas...it doesn't feel like fall. I'm still sweating my tushy off at this time. I miss my sweaters!!

Speaking of sweaters...I'm going to trade some sweaters for summer clothes with Sam. Since she's heading up north and will be needing those when she gets there in December...I figured I might as well part with the sweaters that I brought down from N.D. I think I was holding onto the idea of possibly going back to N.D. someday, but it doesn't look that will be happening anytime soon!! Time to reduce/reuse/recycle!

Gotta get the girls out for a walk, too!! Enjoy your Sunday!!

2007-09-25T13:11:00.000-04:00

Alright...I admit, sometimes I get blogged out and need a break. I also don't think I have anything interesting to talk about, so that's my excuse for not blogging in a while. I love the blog world, but after reading and seeing so many cool and interesting sites, mine seems sooooo boring and blah. I need to figure out a way to spice this thing up a little. It might take me a while, but hopefully I can come back with something fun.

For now...I'll share a few more pics from our Mexico trip and some pages done with pictures from there, too!! Enjoy your day!!

PARADISE!!!!!!!

2007-09-13T10:27:00.000-04:00

I can't spend too much time away from Paradise, so here are just a few pics for your enjoyment. I am using the hubbs laptop, so no editing to these photos. Pure and raw. Here's to the rest of your week. Adios...

My sweet child relaxing on my shoulder at the beach!!

One of the gorgeous views from our room!!

Part of our "gang".

Yes...this is a real lion cub. He only tried to eat me once!! So cute!

I could stay in the pool all day and be content!

2007-09-09T23:14:00.000-04:00

CABO WABO BABY!!

We're off to Mexico...be back soon.

Watch for pics! Have a great week!

2007-09-03T16:19:00.000-04:00

I'm switching gears again. I think when I get stuck trying to scrapbook my children's photos (and I have approximately 1 million of them), I need to switch gears and take a small break. Ok...so that is what I did yesterday. I switched to ME. I had an ALL ABOUT ME day yesterday.

DH was kind enough to take the girls out of the house for a long time yesterday and gave me some much needed alone time. Needed it...got it...loved it...used it well. Here's a few of the pages I accomplished. Enjoy the rest of your Labor Day Monday!! And if you are in a slump, too, then switch gears! Do something different and see what happens.

*****

Here are a few shots that DH took while out on their adventure to the Butterfly Farm. That is a real butterfly on Lauren's shirt, by the way. Hilarious!! I'm glad I sent the camera with him after all!!

2007-08-29T19:43:00.000-04:00

Here ya go...a few layouts to show off. That's it. I won't say much else. I hope you have a fantastic evening and rest of week.

Adios!!

2007-08-27T10:23:00.000-04:00

WOW...i'm slacking big time. Man I have no idea what happened. I am not so rockin anymore, huh?

Well, I guess I just don't have that much going on right now. I did want to post some more pics from my ND trip. They make me happy.

Hopefully I'll have some fun scrapbooky stuff to share soon. I'm in the process with a few things. Have a fabulous day. We're going to the pool later, since all the big kids are back to school now. Yay!!

2007-08-16T10:07:00.000-04:00

here ya go...

these are some of my favorite pics of all time now.

why is it that it takes years and years and being an adult to finally appreciate the beautiful things of North Dakota (or wherever you're from)? I never looked at a wheat field the way I do now. I look at the sunsets here and wanna run for my camera. The trees here are amazing, as well. Wow. I just love that I'm from here, but still not sure if I could come back to the cold winters. Oh well, I'm proud to be from here no matter what.

enjoy!!

LOTS TO SHARE...

2007-08-14T17:13:00.000-04:00

First off...thank you to Tammy for nominating or tagging me as a "ROCKIN GIRL BLOGGER" or Rockin Blogger Chick. I am honored to say the least! I can now show this pretty hot pink logo off on my blog. Yippee. I am feeling special right now! Thanks girl.

But I can't leave it at that. I also get to nominate someone else for this prestigious title. Hmmmmm...well I can't name just one. I would like to pass the love onto my little buddy SAM...love ya girl and also to JANA...miss ya sweet girl!!

Now I know how long it has been since I've done any bloggin, but it's so hard when you're out of town and away from your own computer, etc. I am gonna share a few pics from this trip and I promise to pick it up again after we are back home.

Catching up with my best buddy from childhood...seriously I've been friends with her since we were 1 year old.

Fun at Strawberry Lake...

And hoping to get some pics in the wheat and sunflower fields...they are gorgeous right now!!

Enjoy for now...see ya soon.

2007-08-03T22:40:00.001-04:00

Just popping in to say hello from NoDak.

How are you all?

I am missing the blog world and all of my bloggin friends!

I should have some fun photos in a day or so.

Having a huge anniversary party tomorrow for my parents...might have to wait until Sunday for all of the fun pics!!

The weather here is incredible. I mean, 80 degrees with a nice breeze. I forgot what wind feels like. We never get it in TX.

Let me know how you're all doing. Or just say hi. Good night!!

2007-07-30T16:18:00.000-04:00

This is where we are headed in just a few hours. My home state. Can't wait!! Going to see Nona and Papu. And all our cousins, aunties, uncles, brothers, you name it. They are all there!!

I bet you all think it's cold there????? Right????

NO! As a matter of fact it's 100 degrees. Ya, just what we usually are getting here in TX. I guess it'll be a nice change from all of the rain. I'm sure we'll come back nice and tan.

I will be in touch...I can't stay away from bloggin for too long. Hope you all have a great week!!

2007-07-27T10:16:00.000-04:00

Ok...it's taken me a while to get these pictures up, but hey...better late than never!! We had a great time. Sam was such a great traveling companion. This girl is organized. She had it all mapped out for us to tour 4 scrapbook stores in Houston. At the 4th store (Archivers) we stayed and cropped all night. What a fun time!! I can't wait to do that again. THIS store is so great tho. You walk in and you are instantly happy. Well, I guess we were squeeling outside the door, too! The girls there were awesome. Very friendly and helpful. Ok...enough. Here are the pics. Enjoy.

2007-07-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

I meant to post this picture with my last layout...the LO below called "the boutique". I was flipping thru a magazine and saw this rug and knew right away that I had to try and translate that into a layout. If any of you read Kelly Crow's blog, you'll know that she gets a lot of her inspiration from advertisements and magazines. If she can do it, then so can we!! Just wanted to share that with you. Keep your eyes open to that kind of stuff and you'll see that there are a lot of great ideas in magazines and catalogs. Try it!

Here's a couple of new layouts. I finally tried a 6x12 layout. What have I been waiting for? Oh my gosh. That was a lot of fun and easy. Well, I think it was faster! I've seen them out now for a while and never thought I'd end up trying it. If you haven't...you gotta do it! They even make 6x12 sheet protectors or you can make them yourself (sew a seam down the middle of your 12x12 protectors). Hope you like.f

Well...today is going to be my first day of packing. I'm going to start the process and hopefully be finished by Monday. We'll be heading up to NoDak to hang with my family. Looking forward to it, but I hear it's over 100 degrees right now. That's the kind of weather we usually get down here in TX. Yikes!

Hope you all have a nice Thursday.

2007-07-22T21:44:00.000-04:00

Woah Baby!

It's been a long time since I've posted.

What's up with y'all?

Well...we had a birthday and I got to go to Houston to see the greatest store on this earth.

First off my baby turned 3. Oh man. It's really hitting me now. she is growing up and I do not want to lose my "baby".

I'll spare you the details, mostly because I'm too tired right now and my girlies need to get to bed. But here are a few pics from the big day.

***

Now...my friend Sam and I took a roadtrip to Houston to see BY DESIGN SCRAPBOOK BOUTIQUE!! OH. MY. GOD. We were in Heaven. I'm not going to show all my pictures right now, but here's one of us when we first walked in and the next is my layout that I did that evening while cropping at Archivers. Will have more later. Gotta get to bed!!

***

2007-07-14T12:32:00.000-04:00

Not much new here!

Wanted to say hello, tho. I don't know what it is lately, but me no want to blog about ME. Ugh. Going thru a dull spell, I guess.

The girls started swimming lessons this past week, so we were busy with that. Plus, we've had nice weather with lots of sunshine, so we were at the pool a lot this week, too. I guess it's kinda fun to have a nice tan. You should see my little Bella...she has the prettiest skin. She has had a darker tone ever since she was born and she maintains it all year round. Now with being outside more, she really has the olive color...gorgeous!! On the other hand, my oldest has very sensitive skin and burns very easily. Gotta watch her and keep re-applying that sunscreen!!

Anyway...here are a few things to show. Have a nice weekend.

2007-07-07T22:20:00.001-04:00

Some Newbies for you. Nothing terribly exciting. Just wanted to get these out of my room and move on to the next project...hoping to get some more scrappin in tomorrow, too!! This rain just never stops around here! What is up?

2007-07-06T11:37:00.000-04:00

DON'T HATE ME BECAUSE...

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I'm beautiful

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NOT!!

***

LOL. I 'm just kidding y'all. What I was going to say was, don't hate me because I won a RAK from Teresa Collins and it is WAY TOO COOL!

Now if you all don't at least try to win RAK's, then this is what you are missing...

Looks good, huh? I mean I just can't believe what she gave away. And if you read her blog, you would know that she has been in a cleaning mood and has given away a ton of stuff. A bunch of RAK's and a bunch of stuff to girls in her hometown. Wow...this girl is generous! I can't tell you how much stuff she sent...and the pictures don't even do it justice! I'm a happy girl right now!! And how about that stamp with her autograph on it :-) I LOVE IT!

***

While in Dallas, I managed to get a little shopping in, but didn't go crazy. I really only found paper. Just some unique stuff that I haven't seen here in SA.

***

I have talked about my friend Jenn before...the girl who makes super darling kids clothes, burp cloths, socks, you name it. I adore this girl. She is so talented. Ok...you get the point. She just started making these super snazzy personalized hair bows. These are the cutest, I tell you. Take a look at Lauren and her purple bow.

She does such great work, so if you ever need anything like these cutes hair bows...check out her etsy store HERE or email her (thru etsy) or just ask me!!

Have a great day!!

2007-07-05T09:50:00.000-04:00

QUICK POST...

This will have to satisfy you until I get home and can really concentrate on everything again. Dallas has been fun and now it has come to an end. We are heading back home in the next few hours, so we have to say goodbye to the beautiful backyard pool that my in-laws have. The girls wanted to swim every chance they could get. It was fun to see them start off timid and then end up doing all sorts of brave things. Anyway...here are a few pool pics. Hope you all had a great holiday.

2007-06-28T16:37:00.000-04:00

Rain, rain, go away...come again another day!

This is how I feel today, being that we're trapped in our house due to the Flood Watch that's in effect until Friday p.m. Yay! The girls are going nutso. I finally took them out for a walk in the rain. That was actually fun. Then I had to make them hot chocolate since they got pretty wet! Feels like winter in a way.
BLING ON MY SEWING MACHINE (aka: The fabulous Rachel) tagged me!! So it's my turn! Man I've done these before, but I've never seen one this long (lol)! I hope I can do this in under an hour!!
1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? yes, my dad (he's Reginald and I'm really Regina) and Gina Lollobrigida.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Ok, this is embarrassing, but last night at the movie "Knocked up". Hey, the part where she's giving birth gave me flashbacks!!

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? yes
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LUNCH MEAT? turkey or salami
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? yes, 2
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Absolutely. That sounds so conceited!!
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Not really
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?Yes
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? N.O.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL? Raisin Bran Crunch
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Most of the time

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM? Cookies n Creme
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Eyes
15. RED OR PINK? Pink
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My Italian temper
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My family back in ND
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Yes
19. WHAT COLOUR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Black Pants and no shoes
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? piece of turkey and coffee (yum, huh?)

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Wendy Wu (girls are watching it on TV)
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE? Magenta
23. FAVOURITE SMELLS? Fresh cut grass and anything my husband cooks.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? someone from RCI...trying to get a trip to Mexico planned.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yes...of course!

26. FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Don't care to watch anything.
27. HAIR COLOUR? brown
28. EYE COLOUR? Blue
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes
30. FAVOURITE FOOD? Anything my husband makes.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? happy endings
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Knocked Up

33. WHAT COLOUR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Black
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? summer
35. HUGS OR KISSES? hugs
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? tammy, sam, anybody??
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? We'll find out!
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? I don't really read much...just scrapbook mags and such.
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? No mousepad!
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? went to movie...but would have watched "So you think you can dance?" My FAVORITE SHOW OF ALL TIME.
42. FAVOURITE SOUND? The ocean
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? the Beatles
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Mexico or Canada
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I can golf (is that special?)
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Minot, ND (does anyone know where that is?)
47. WHAT SUPERPOWER WOULD YOU LIKE? To be able to stay up all night scrapbooking without getting tired!
All righty then. I did do that in under an hour. Not too bad. Ok, time to pass it on. Here are the chosen ones...come on now. This is for fun!
SAM
TAMMY
LAURA
ESMIE
JANE
RONI

2007-06-26T00:23:00.000-04:00

Ok...if y'all haven't been to the Salt Lick barbecue joint just outside of Austin, you are missing out! Seriously, it's the best barbecue I've ever had in my life. We went there over a year ago for our anniversary, since we were on our way up to Austin to see Kenny Chesney. I told Jamie I would rather go to this place than any fancy place for our anniversary. Well we woke up on Sunday and decided to have a family adventure day together (it's not too often the hubby is home on a Sunday!). Before I realized it, we were grabbing our stuff to head out of town for the day!! Our first stop...THE SALT LICK! Delish. The girls were all over it, too. Bella can really get her grub on...you should see her go at the ribs!!

Next stop...Barton Springs Pool.

I haven't seen much of Austin, so this was totally new and exciting for me. This place is crazy, I tell ya. This whole area is gorgeous and has a lot to offer. We started in the pool, although it was short lived. The girls were a little freaked out by the murky water and it was really slippery where we were, so after Lauren fell and screamed bloody murder for 20 minutes, we were out of there. Next stop...train ride. That was a highlight for sure. You have to do the train. Everyone was walking around with snow cones and apparently snow cones are a big deal down here in Texas!! I am used to good old Dairy Queen, but around here it's all about the SNOW CONE! We all got our treat and I will admit it was good!!

After the sugar rush kicked in, it was off to the huge playground where the girls were in heaven. It was a fun family day and I can't wait to do it again sometime. I highly recommend going, if you haven't been there yet.

I must have taken 140 pictures that day...I am still in the process of editing and picking favorites. You'll probably see lots more soon. Thanks for stopping!!

2007-06-21T08:44:00.000-04:00

Don't ask me how I managed, but somehow I did! I was able to put 3 pages together yesterday. THREE layouts people! During the day...not in the wee hours of the night when little munchkins are fast asleep and I'm wishing I was sleeping myself! But I will say that it rained ALL day yesterday (depressing) and the girls were content hanging out and playing with play do (is that how you spell that?), coloring for hours, etc. Ok...we watched a couple of cute movies that were on the Disney channel, too. It was just one of those days.

****

So there you have it. I feel refreshed and pretty happy with what I accomplished. I hadn't been in my scrapbook room for a while and was starting to feel anxious every time I walked by it. I feel better now!

****

Well...I guess I better get started on my day. It's my hubbies birthday today! I would say "happy birthday honey...love you, etc. etc. etc. - but he doesn't even read my blog! So I can skip that part :)

****

I gotta try and get the girls into a Lifetime kids adventure day, so that I can have a couple of hours to run around and get a cake, balloons, you know!! Then I am hoping to take him to that new restaurant tonight...SILO? Elevated Cuisine? Or something like that. I hope it all works out, since I haven't confirmed my babysitter for tonight...ooops!

****

Have a great day y'all...

2007-06-18T20:46:00.000-04:00

Another week gone by. Hope you all are having a good summer so far?! We celebrated Father's Day early (by one day) and went to Sea World in the late afternoon. It was fun! As you can see from above, I had to take my own pics of me and my girls...Jamie just doesn't possess the natural instinct to grab the camera when the time seems right. So I do it myself!!

And how do you like these pictures? Bella got ahold of one of my markers and had lots of fun! She has a thing for drawing all over herself. Can you see by the look on her face that I got a little mad at her? And then 20 seconds later I was laughing and grabbing my camera!!

Summer has been a time for naps in places other than bed. Here are some of my favorite in the last few weeks. You know I'll be doing a scrapbook page just on Summer Siestas.

Have a great week everyone!!

P.S. I am still waiting to hear from MYFROGPRINCE. If I don't hear from her by this Thursday...I will do a re-draw. I hope she emails me, because I have a bag of goodies anxiously waiting to go to someones house. Thanks!

2007-06-14T21:35:00.000-04:00

As you can see my girls chose the winners!! Yes, I said winners...as in plural. I couldn't stand the thought of a huge fight breaking out, because only one girl would get to draw (and no they don't understand the concept of doing it together- YET!). So I decided to choose two names. I might have to do more RAK's, as they had the best time mixing and folding and of course drawing. They kept drawing names after the first 2, but unfortunately I am only going to be doing the 2 tonight!!

The first girl...

MYFROGPRINCE

will get the main RAK shown in the pics below.

The second girl...

RACHELDENBOW

will get the mini RAK that I have yet to put together!!

***

Thank you to everyone who participated and shared your summer plans. It was fun to see what everyone is up to. Hope you all have a great summer!! Don't be strangers now.

***

With that said...will you girls please email me your addresses and I'll get your goodies out ASAP?!

2007-06-10T18:23:00.000-04:00

I made it!!

To 1000 visitors, that is! I know that doesn't seem like a lot to most of you, but I had been wanting to do a RAK for a long time and couldn't figure out what it could be for. Well...now I've got a reason.

What do you think? Are you all in the mood for a little goodie bag? I went thru my stuff and found a few things I am willing to part with. I have lots of yummy embellishments, including some funky ribbon and trim, some chipboard in a variety of shapes, some felt flowers, some Heidi Swapp stuff...she's my favorite ya know? You just gotta see what's in this cute little bag (it's overflowing actually). Well, I'll show you a little sneeky of it, but most of it in the bag is going to be a SURPRISE!! I will not send any paper...sorry! I just don't feel like it!

I sure hope you all will participate. I want to see who is brave enough to come out of the lurking closet. I love it when you girls leave comments...thank you everyone who does or has!!

Take a look at what could be yours...

***

All ya need to do is just leave me a comment and tell me what your summer plans are. I'll go first...we are doing lots of summer camps/activities like swim lessons, ballerina dance camp, sea world, free summer movies, trip to North Dakota to see my family, trying to stay cool in this hot and oh so humid weather!!

I'll give you until the end of day June 14th.

On your mark, get set, GO!

2007-06-06T22:22:00.000-04:00

Does anyone else have a mother-in-law who looks this good? I mean come on...I haven't looked like that since I was 14 years old. Thank goodness she is in great shape, cause then she can do fun things like this with my little girls. Bella especially loves doing the flips and jumps and upside down things. They must have done these little exercises for a half an hour. I would've given in after 2 minutes.

This next picture is of Lauren...meditating! I think she saw it on t.v. and started doing it one day. It cracks me up every time!!

I can't believe it's mid week...wow!

Where does the time go? Summer is going fast so far. How about for you? What are you up to?

I decided to do some kits for the store (gotta make some extra money, ya know?!). They also asked me to, so I always like to help out when I can!! Wanna see a little peaky? I've got two-one page LO's done so far and still working on a 2-page LO. I love doing kits, but man can they take a long time. I think part of it is ME...I think things out too long sometimes. Mostly because when I do kits, I have to think about the "general scrapbooker". Not everyone thinks like me and isn't going to like MY style. So, I'm always worried that I'm not making it appealing to the majority!! How annoying am I? Well...here is a peak anyway.

** These should be in the store by the end of the week or by the weekend...just in case you are interested!! **

^And for fun...a few shots from within mi casa!! I take pictures of my house right after it has been cleaned. Does anyone else do that?

I'm out...take care!!

2007-06-04T19:12:00.000-04:00

MONDAY MADNESS...

Well, not so much. I couldn't think of a good title.
What's up?

I have to share a few pics from last night. We had company over and the girls entertained for a while. Lauren sang, while Bella danced (yes...she left the room and came out in only her underwear and cowboy boots!). Lauren really is quite the vocalist!! And it took no coercing to get her to sing for us all. Bella also showed us some moves that I've never seen before! I can't wait for them to put on plays for us.

Also want to share a few random shots from a few days ago.

Was able to accomplish one layout today...here ya go. Time for a walk with the girls. Say hi...would ya?!

2007-06-02T09:31:00.000-04:00

Busy Week here...how about you?

What have you all been up to lately?

I am feeling better for those of you who asked...thank you! I finally went in to the doctor and was put on Steroids and Vicaden (sp?). WOW! Never been on either of those! I can say that it was a very good experience!! I still have a small nagging pain in my hip, but the bulk of my pain has been lifted. I think I might try the gym today.

We had some fun mid week here. The girls had their end of year dance recital and Jamie's mom was able to fly in for a day and a half (she has been a dancer her whole life). She was a big help! Here are a few highlights of the big night...some before pictures and getting hair done, sitting with their flowers that Papa sent to them for good luck, behind the scenes, goofing around, and after the show!! Poor Bella just didn't quite make it thru her routine. She made it onto the stage, but as soon as she looked up, it was all over! Poor thing bolted off of the stage (luckily LaLa was standing in the wing to save her!).

She sure did look cute, tho. Lauren, on the other hand, did awesome! She was a great sport and had the best time with all of her friends. Too cute, I tell ya.

Now do you feel like you were a part of it...so many pictures! I have more if you're interested!! Just Kidding. That'll do it for now. We are off to get some stuff done today. Tim Holtz is teaching at 911 right now and I have to get in and take some pictures of him. I will have lots more pics for ya later. Have a fabulous day.

2007-05-28T17:40:00.000-04:00

This is a layout that I did for a little challenge that Jillian is doing on her blog.

The point is to use lots of embellishments. I personally have a hard time loading up on my layouts. I always think that it starts to look too messy or too loud. I love seeing other people do it, tho. I just lack the confidence that I'm putting everything in the right place, etc.

I pretty much just put lots of flowers, brads, and stickers on it. Nothing too creative...just tried to fill it up!

So...how is your Holiday going? We're hangin out at home. IT's not raining here for once, but my back has been hurting again today :( I had a good day yesterday, but woke up this morning feeling awful again! I have got to get to an Orthopedic Dr. I'm calling first thing tomorrow.

I have been meaning to let you all know what camera I use... Jane has been wondering and I am sorry it's taken me so long to respond. I use a Canon Rebel XT Digital. LOVE IT! I got it over a year ago and I take a gazillion photots! That is the trick...just keep snapping and you're bound to get some amazing shots! Oh and I just got this adorable camera strap from Emily. She sells them on Etsy in her cute little shop. I just got mine in the mail the other day and I so love it!!

A few pictures from today. First... the girls eating a Shrek push-up treat...making a mess! And the next one, they were playing "mommy and baby" and when Lauren was rocking her baby unicorn, I decided to go get a baby bottle and pacifier (they've been tucked away for well over a year). They've been having the best time playing with those two items. I should have known that might be a mistake, since they keep asking to have the bottle filled up with water every 30 minutes!!

2007-05-24T18:58:00.000-04:00

Have some pictures to share from our "family day" yesterday. We spent the whole day with daddy and had so much fun. Natural Bridge Caverns, lunch at Longhorn Cafe, Shrek 3...couldn't get much better than that!! Here are some pics...

Here's what I got to play with today!! Lovin my ELSIE!! Go get some! It is fun, fun, fun!

2007-05-22T23:46:00.001-04:00

I've been challenged to show my scrap space. How do you like my crazy mess?! I admit...it needs a good cleaning and major organizing. I just don't have it in me right now to do it. I will get very disgusted with it in the next few days...and at that point I will clean clean clean. I will also take after pics when that is accomplished and then you can see the whole room view.

Now, as you can see...I'm back...with back pain!

About 3 weeks ago, I tried lifting my heavy 4 year old and completely threw my back out of whack!! It would get better for a day or two and then get worse! Finally, last Friday it was so bad that I called the doctor!! I could barely walk. I have a pinched nerve/pulled muscle. It really stinks. I can't do much right now. But I know what I have to do to help make it better...ice, heat, stretching, back support belt (quite lovely), etc. I just feel so bad for my babies. My little Bella got on the floor with me one day while stretching and said she wanted my back to get better real soon so that I could hold her again!! Awwww, I can't lift her at all!! She understands tho and is very sympathetic. Pity Party over!

School is officially out for my little pretties. No more Kids Day Out. I am sad. I know the girls are going to be missing it. I just have to be sure we get out and stay busy...otherwise we all go nuts. We've got a few things going on for the summer, but jeez...summer activities can be kinda costly. Have you all noticed that? Those of you with kids anyway! Wow...swimming lessons, dance camp, singing/acting camp...it sure adds up!! Ok, no more complaining!

I wanted to share some goodies from recent. A couple of yummies that I bought while shopping with the girls in Beorne. Shoes and a Purse...how can you go wrong?!

And I finished a couple more Heidi Swapp cards...and also took my samples to the store for anyone to look at.

Looks like I gotta turn in for the night. Hope to blog again soon...TTFN!

2007-05-18T21:20:00.000-04:00

Hey y'all!

What a busy week, huh? For me it was very busy and very fulfilling. How about you?

*** When I ask a question back to whomever is reading this...I often wonder why I do it, since normally nobody responds to these silly everyday questions!! Ok back to post...

First off I got to spend some quality family time up in Gruene on Wednesday. It was a gorgeous day and I got to take some killer pictures of my girls (and hubby). Here...take a looky.

Also...I got to spend a beautiful day with some of my super sweet girls from MOPS up in Beorne while the kids were in Kids Day Out. It was really to celebrate our friend Jenn's birthday. She is just the sweetest thing on this earth. Happy Birthday Jenn! Here are some fun pics of us girls hangin together...we had the best time trying on shoes at a cute cute store there!

Finally did some finishing touches on a couple of the layouts that I put together last weekend. Here...what do ya think?

2007-05-16T00:40:00.000-04:00

Gotta do this quick...still without a new computer and I have to sneak my hubbies laptop when he's not looking!!

I got a babysitter for Saturday evening and headed down to 911 for the Saturday crop. I finally got to meet some of my blogger friends...Tammy, Esmie and Laura. It was great to meet in person after bloggin with them for a few months now. We all got to sit together, but I also had a friend of mine there that I hadn't seen in a long time, so I didn't get as much chatting in as I'd hoped for. Not to worry tho...we'll be seeing each other again real soon!! By the way, my friend Dawn...should have a new baby by about now. She was totally due that night at the crop, but she was waiting it out a few more days. I can't wait to hear from her and find out if there is a new baby boy!! Anyway...at the end of the night I decided we better get a picture of us blogger girls and sure enough...my camera battery had died! Luckily Mimi came thru for us and used her digital...here it is...

I have been busy since the weekend, so I can't show you what I worked on yet. I always have to do touch-ups or add-ons to my pages after I get home. I'll show you all as soon as I get a chance to scrap.

I had my last day of MOPS on Monday, too! It is sad to be taking a long summer break from it. I will miss seeing everyone...but hoping to meet up over the summer sometime. Here is my small group! Love ya girls.

And of course a few more shots of my little lovelies...at the pool again...Bella showing off her high kick and Lauren kicking and splashing everyone!!

2007-05-12T10:22:00.000-04:00

Picture of the day...

And yesterdays Pictures of the Day. Went to the Lifetime swimming pool for 4+ hours. We all were wiped out when we got home (and a little pink). I realize you gotta put sunscreen on every 30 minutes here in Texas!!

Mom...if you're reading this,

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

I love ya lots and hope you have a lovely day. We miss you!

P.S. Happy Mother's Day to all my other friends and family who are moms. Hope it's a good one!s

2007-05-10T20:50:00.000-04:00

Feeling Scrappy...

I have been feeling a little scrappy in the last few days and was able to do a few pages the other day when my sweet husband took the girls to the zoo. I was in need of some alone time and he pulled thru for me! Unfortunately sometimes I get stuck on certain pages. It's either getting stuck on a page or I just want to whip something up fast and be done with it. I have never been a slow scrapper. My goal on every page is to finish under an hour. I just can't justify spending more than that on one page. I'm not saying it's wrong if you happen to be the type that does spend more time on a page, but for me...I've got too many pictures to scrap and I plan to get them done sooner than later!! So enough said...here's some of the stuff I got done. A couple of regular pages and a couple of HS playing cards. Some simple and some more detailed.

FYI...the IT'S TIME card with the flower is the front and the pic of me is the back of it!!

Oh...I've been wanting to tell you all about one of my sweet little friends from my MOPS group. Her name is Jennifer and she is so talented and creative. She sews little kids clothes, bows, burp cloths, etc. Her work is amazingly good. Her attention to detail is awesome. She just got her etsy shop going and I think you should check it out. Here it is...

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5119205

Side note...can someone tell me how to add a link with a name and not the whole ip address like the one above? I cannot figure out how to do that. Ok...back to Jennifer.

I want you all to know that I bought a pair of her little beaded socks for Lauren and honestly my kid wears them at least 3-4 times a week. I mean sometimes it's 3 days in a row (I know that's kinda gross), but she has to have them on all the time!! The beads jingle and make noise...kids love that and they have been thru the wash I don't know how many times and they're still in mint condition.

Oh and the best thing...she made up some fabric flowers that are so adorable!! I used a few of her flowers on a couple of my layouts and they are so fun to work with. You all know how felt flowers are so popular? Well...I LOVE fabric flowers and they look good on almost anything. I hand sewed one on a purse of mine and I am diggin it!!

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So if you would be so kind as to check out my sweet friend Jen's etsy shop, I know she would be thrilled. You just might find something you must have!!

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I will leave you all with a picture of the day...from yesterday tho. My little ones is very flexible and can jump, kick, roll, whatever. This pic shows you how high she can kick...I see a rockette in her future!! Enjoy!

2007-05-06T11:37:00.000-04:00

**** Happy day after NSD (Nat'l Scrapbook Day). ****

I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't scrap more than I did. I didn't get started until 10 pm last night. We had other things that took priority!! Dance class make-up in the a.m., over to 911 to do the drawing and take pictures of the all-day crop action, lunch, blog, clean and do laundry, walk with daddy, dinner, story time and then bedtime!! Oh and before I could get started, I had to tidy up the scrap room...it's still a mess, but better than before I started!!

Took in Sea World on Friday...fun fun fun! I love that place and I am so glad that we have season passes. The girls love it so much! I walked my butt off. You do a lot of walking...that is for sure. We saw 4 shows, played with the dolphins, pet the baby alligator (not me!), said hi to the Clydsdales (sp?), the list goes on and on!

***** Here are a few pages I accomplished last night. I hope you all had a great weekend. Let me know how yours was!!! *****

2007-05-02T15:55:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure why I feel the need to explain this, but...

After you watch the Disney channel for so long, I think it's only natural that you start to like the music they play all of the time. My girls love all of those young teeny bopper disney kids. And they all seem to get their own music videos. So, yes, I'm guilty of liking some of these Mickey Mouse Club kids.

Still no computer...waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Looks like I have to just get off my butt and get over to the store to pick one out!

Later.............................................

2007-05-01T00:07:00.000-04:00

COMPUTER WENT ZIP, ZAP, BU-BYE

The crazy thunder and lightening this morning shut my computer down before I could get to it! The poor thing got hit hard, cause all it did when I turned it back on was go click click click click...the recovery disc wouldn't even work. It said I had no hard drive.

Part of me was excited about the possibility of getting a new computer and then the other part of me said, "Oh &#%$". Major crapola! There goes all of my pictures!! About a couple of months ago I started to back-up all of my photos, but only got 2 cds done. Now I am kicking myself!!

I plan to take it into Best Buy in the a.m. - hopefully they can recover something!!

And to remember the rain storm from this morning...here is one of my pictures for today. The girls had fun watching the rain pour from inside the garage!!

I am really missing my Photoshop right now. I can't stand using pictures that haven't been touched up just a little (whimper).

I'm sure you've all heard about or now seen the new Martha Stewart line at Michael's. I had to get over there to see it while it's still brand new. I poo poo'd it at CHA, as many did. But now that I see it out for real...I like most of it. Some of it is not my style and a lot of it is a bit spendy. I couldn't resist getting a few things, tho. This is what I picked up..

Stopped in to 911 to drop off a few kits from my last class. Grabbed a few spools of Heidi Swapp ribbon that I had been meaning to pick up for a long time. Love those cute little thangs! I can't buy one more thing until I (1.) get my scrap room totally organized AND (2.) make 20 layouts. That is my goal. I have my work cut out for me!!

And finally leaving you with a funny picture of my girls trying to have a stroller race at the scrapbook store. They would use their body to scoot the stroller forward...quite hilarious!!

2007-04-29T16:34:00.000-04:00

YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS...

About a week or so before my mom came to visit/babysit, she called and asked if she should get me anything at Hancock Fabrics. See I'm from a small town in North Dakota (well, it's the 4th largest city!!) and over the years, many stores have gone out of business due to the economy and bigger stores like Wal-mart and Target taking over. Hobby Lobby is going to be opening very soon, so it was obvious someone would be bumped out of there. And as many of you might know...Hancock is closing a bunch of stores that aren't making enough money!! I guess you call it "restructuring".

Ok...so my mom called and said they have a ton of buttons and trim and all that good stuff at 60-80% off. YES...I told her to get me one of each basically. I use all of that stuff in scrapbooking...like many of you, I'm sure! To make a long story short, she called me almost everyday until she came down here, telling me about all of the good stuff she kept finding. She went to town, I tell ya. It took her 2 hockey bags to bring all of the stuff she bought for me. I can't tell you how crazy it was. Here is a sneak peak at SOME OF THE STUFF I got...

This is only part of what I got...and it was DIRT CHEAP! I don't know what to do with all of it. I need someone to come over and help me organize it. I'm serious...I need help! I want to be able to see it so I can use it. If I put it away I'll forget that I have it. Any tips on how to organize it all?

Alright...I just had to show ya all what I acquired last week. I've been meaning to blog about it, but just now am getting the time. That's it...I'm out!!

2007-04-29T10:14:00.000-04:00

My friend Tammy does this "picture a day" thing on her blog of everyday life. I love that. I want to do that. I am going to do that!

I think everyone should do it. It's a great way to remember the little thing. The sometimes mundane things. The EVERYDAY things that we take for granted.

Of course they can be special event type things. I mean...it's whatever you want to do, right? Ok...so here is mine for today (actually these pics were from yesterday, but who cares!!). It doesn't have to be one picture either. It can be as many as you want. I usually can't do just one...it's just not my personality. But anyone who is reading this (bueler...bueler???) ... you should do this, too. If you don't have a blog yet, get one! I know it seems like we have too much to do and so little time. But I'm telling you. This blog thing is a journal of your life for everyone to see (or not - it's your choice) and it is all archived. You can do anything you want with this and it is a great place to keep track of it all. Ok...I don't know why I felt the need to talk about all of that, so here are the pics I was supposed to post a long time ago. Have a great day!

The first pic is my mom with Bella. The second is of my Aunt Eileen from Canada who helped babysit. The third is me and my girls with Cinderella (went to the Steven Stoli Backyard Theater!!).