hello!

Wowzers, it has almost been a MONTH since I've blogged. I hope all of you have had wonderful holidays and have recovered from them better than I have. lol I love the holidays but they just wear me out. I am slowly (VERY slowly) getting things back to normal. hooray!

Before I move on to my big news...here is a little project I did at the iScrap cybercrop last weekend. I made it with the new Lucky line from Rusty Pickle...isn't it scrumptious paper? Unfortunately I wasn't able to be online as much as I wanted - so I'm afraid I don't have a lot to show for myself. This make and take was posted by Nancy and she had a way cute sample too!



So I guess the biggest news from Christmas is my new toy... a MacBook Pro. Tom completely surprised me - I know I have mentioned before how much I wanted a Mac for my next computer - but I didn't expect it for Christmas at ALL. And I will go ahead and say it now.... I LOVE MY MAC!!!!! There has been a slight learning curve and getting familiar with different ways of doing things, but I can tell you that this thing is amazing. I see the iPhone on TV and am amazed at how utterly cool that thing is. I don't need one - but that doesn't change the fact that it is just plain cool! Well, imagine all those nifty ways of doing things on a computer. This baby ROCKS. There are a few things that I have yet to figure out - and actually, a few that I've been told I won't be able to do. I print all my photos here at home and I like to get the most out of my photo paper so I am used to printing something then putting the paper back in to print another possibly odd sized photo on the same sheet. I am used to dragging the photo wherever I want on the paper and being able to print it. Well, I can't do that on the mac - at least not with the programs I have or am trying out (Aperture). I'm wondering if that is possible in Light Room or something. I need to do some investigating.

The girls are back in school and doing some fun projects. Jessica made butter at her pre-K yesterday. I couldn't believe it. Too funny. Sadly though, we were meeting a friend for lunch after I picked her up so her personal little baby food jar full of butter didn't get refrigerated right away. Lindsay got her report card today and slipped from Excellent to Satisfactory in Math - but hello....I can't even believe the kinds of things they expect 6-7 year olds to learn in math these days. I personally think she is doing great and she keeps saying that she loves math - and that's what I love to hear (because truthfully - I stink at it!). I bought her a couple 'chapter books' at the store the other day. These are her first and she's loving them. I'm so proud of her.

It is getting late and if don't go get dinner for the girls they are apparently going to shrivel up and waste away. You know - since I never feed them or anything. Of course I am totally kidding - don't call the authorities on me. The girls eat non-stop it seems, but when I don't jump up and make them dinner right away they put on their drama queen crowns and start workin' me. lol Ok - I PROMISE that I'll be getting back to normal here and back to blogging. I kind of needed a break from the computer for a bit. I've missed it terribly - but I have truly enjoyed the time I've had with my family.

Love,
Cami

almost time for winter break!... and new music

Gotta say, I am really looking forward to winter break. No more getting up earlier that my body wants to (ok, that might still happen when the girls come in to wake me up for breakfast!), no more packing lunches, drop-offs, pick-ups, waiting by the front window for the bus, working on homework (and having to hear the whining that goes along with that)....aaaahhhh, I close my eyes and can picture a couple weeks without all that. Can't wait! ...and in a few weeks I'll be saying, isn't it time for you girls to go back to school yet? lol. I love having them home, don't get me wrong, but they are at the age where they are loud and rowdy. I'll be looking for that 3 hours of quiet time each morning.

I am - I think - ready for Christmas. However, our tree has decided not to work. We have one of those trees that is pre-lit with like 800 lights and it turns slowly which makes the lights twinkle. We've had it for a few years - and this year, it lasted for 2 weeks after turkey day and poof. Now it won't work. This after we spent several hours and several trips to the store to buy different replacement bulbs - replacing about 40 bulbs and testing over 100. bummer. Guess I'll be at the stores early on the 26th to get in on the Christmas tree sales. Tom and I are planning to take the girls to see Santa tomorrow. I don't have any Christmas dresses for them so we may have to make do with what's hanging in the closet. Last year I did a big photo shoot in their pretty dresses and I still love those pictures. Some of my faves, for sure. We'll see, maybe I'll snap a few before we leave the house.

Oh - one more thing. My neice has turned me on to a new band. They are called Roe. Sample their music at iTunes. They probably don't want to be compared to other bands - but I'm gonna do it anyway, simply because without it, if you haven't heard them yet, what makes you want to take a listen? That's how I am anyway. I come across a ton on new stuff on iTunes but because of the sheer volume of available music on there, a lot of the new music gets skipped over. Sad but true. Anyhoo - they have a similar sound to The Fray. I happen to enjoy The Fray's music, so I was instantly intrigued. I bought the album Frame by Frame (just released Nov. 3rd) at iTunes and was not disappointed. Check them out...

Thanks to those that have left posts and emailed me about our health. :) you guys are so sweet. Lindsay is better, but Jess is still coughing a little at night. I'm better except for an annoying feeling of something stuck in my throat. I bought some Mucinex (regardless of what the dr. said) to see if that will get rid of it. It does go away at times, but it's always worse in the evening. I don't have a cough or anything so I'm not real sure what's going on, but I tell you - it is most definitely annoying!!!

alrighty - it's time for me to get some sleep.

What?!

We had our hvac unit serviced the other day and was advised that the inside of the unit is covered in black mold. The guy asked if we are having any health problems - and I said in a questioning way..'yeeees' and then he proceeds to show me before he put the panel back on. He said that the mold is being blown into our house through the vents. Lovely. This explains why we are all still sick and can't seem to shake it. It's part of living in Florida unfortunately. But there are some types of mold that can be very dangerous - even deadly. Hopefully we can get this taken care of soon and we can start getting healthy again.

On another note, yesterday we had an emergency visit to the pediatric dentist. Jess had to have 2 root canals and 2 crowns. Unbelievable! The dentist agreed that part of her problems are hereditary (I grew up with the worst teeth EVER) but then she reminded me that I need to be flossing her teeth until she is able to write in cursive. I admit that I don't make it a habit to floss both of the girls teeth everyday and maybe that makes me a bad mom. But then she said that we should ONLY be drinking water. No diluted Crystal Light...no diluted Light Cran-Apple, no diluted Diet Ocean Spray. Water only. I proceeded to open my big mouth and express to her that I just really don't think that is realistic that a person only EVER have water for their whole life. Pu-leeze! I get so frustrated with statements like that. Healthy? Obviously! but totally unrealistic in my opinion.

And today, I woke up sick as a dog. I won't paint the not-so-pretty-picture for you...but the symptoms are much like food poisoning. I hope tomorrow will be a better day. I need to go grocery shopping for turkey day! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday with the people you love.

Cami

Sunday ramblings

Before I forget and start rambling - I wanted to let you know my friend Nicole Wozniak has a digital freebie on her blog - check it out: http://lumpypagedesigns.blogspot.com/ I'm working on some hybrid projects right now and have been scouring the net for more goodies! If you know of some great digi kits or embellishments...be sure you let me know!

As I mentioned in my last post, Saturday was my oldest daughter's birthday. She turned 7 yesterday - and the poor thing ended up in the after hours pediatrician's office. They ran a strep culture and it was negative, thank goodness. The dr. said not to give her cough meds as they really don't do much anyway - and said to return the Mucinex if I hadn't opened it...then proceeded to tell me all sorts of stuff about the Australian team training in the pollution in Beijing for the Olympics (in Beijing next year), science, Washington and the BBC...???? Whatever. Really, just tell me what to do to get her better as she's missed 4 days of school already - and she's HERE...on her BIRTHDAY. After being there for an hour, his solution was to have her drink a LOT of water and remember to wash her hands. I'm paying for this? DUH! I was pretty sure that if a fever hung on for more than 5 days that a kid needs pediatric intervention...and the on call nurse was the one that told me to get in to see a dr. The guy was a little looney and kept going off on a tangent - then told me thank you for listening. weird. I do believe that the reason for the lack of medication is that they are concerned about these Super Bugs that are resistant to medicine. His point about the athletes was that they trained there and were coughing up chunks of dirty air - and the trainers solution was to make sure they drank tons of water and that would help flush out all the impurities they were inhaling. Not sure I got that recalled as eloquently as the dr. had stated it - but that was his point. That if Lindsay drank lots of water - she should be coughing and keeping all that stuff out of her lungs...no cough meds needed as he WANTS her to cough.

Alright - so today I NEED to get in the scraproom and create a bunch of stuff that is due - like tomorrow! So goodbye for now. Hope you're all having a great weekend!

~Cami

CKU Orlando - and how I really feel about Chuck E Cheese

I'm finally back online - it seems like forever (even though it's only been several days). We celebrated Jessica's 5th birthday yesterday with a trip to Chuck E Cheese (much to my dismay). I'm not a fan of the Cheese. Although now that the girls are a little older and don't freak out with all the kids running past them at speeds of light, I am able to give them 5 tokens at a time and let them go play. They run off and play but know they must come back to Mom's table for more tokens. But seriously, just sitting in that place makes me nervous. One of the last times we went, there was a little girl in front of Lindsay on the slide and apparently she REALLY had to go potty - and didn't make it. So she went as she went down the slide. Then Lindsay came down after her. Ewwww! It grosses me out just re-telling the story. It took them about 15-20 minutes to get an employee over there with a bottle of cleaner. Meanwhile, all these kids were going down the slide. I would've stood there to prevent anyone else from going down, but I was busy in the restroom cleaning up my own daughter. Yuck. Just disgusting. So this is why that place gives me the heebie-jeebies.

At any rate, we left with cotton candy, came home and had cake and ice cream - then opened presents. Lindsay was having a terrible bout of jealousy. Jess was being good and shared with Lindsay, but for some reason, it's never enough for that child. She was still pretty sullen. I had to remind her over and over that her birthday is in 3 weeks and that she would get her own presents. Still not good enough. Just a bad day for her.

I have not spent much time in my scrap room this past week (GASP!) and need to get back in here! I have creating to do! BTW, I will be at CKU Orlando this next Saturday. If you're going to be there - stop by Rusty Pickle and say hello!

I am distraught!

Somebody help me please! My iPod is suddenly corrupt! ??? Right in the middle of a song it just stopped. I can't turn it off and it won't change songs or play or anything. I left it alone for awhile and it eventually started playing again. Well, I hooked it up to iTunes and it told me it was corrupt and to restore. So I tried restoring and it says it can't. I downloaded the new version of iTunes and restarted the computer - and now (after about a dozen attempts) I get into iTunes but my device is not listed - so I can't even TRY to restore now. ??? I'm sad! I love my music - I need my music!

Home again, home again!

ahhh, it's so good to be home. We have been in Atlanta since last Wednesday and although it was a lot of fun being back on my old stompin' grounds, it's always good to return home. :) I got to hang out with my best buddy Kara (I missed you so much - it was sooooo good to see you again, my friend!!) and also got to meet an online friend and fellow scrapper from ScrapGalaxy. Angie - you're an awesome person...can't wait to come back and scrap with you!

So the whole reason we went was for a 'by invitation only' golf tournament for Tom. His friend and him were a team and they won their flight! I am so proud of him!! Hopefully he will be invited back next year! During the tournament, we stayed with his teammate (long time friend) and his family. We had such a wonderful time staying there - they have 2 boys and my 2 girls thoroughly enjoyed having them to play with. They also have a little Pug puppy - oh my goodness - he is soooo adorable! I am hoping to get my pics off my camera tomorrow. I will try to post a couple pics.

Well, no Rusty Pickle boxes yet - but I did tell them I'd be out of town so hopefully I'll get the 3 (yes, three!!!) big ol' boxes of their awesome product sometime in the next few days! I am waiting (not so patiently...lol!) for them!!

Feelin' itchy!!!!

Man! I am working with the new Glitz products and I am ITCHIN' for you guys to see this stuff! But....I can't show you though and it's kiiiiilling me! I finished my first 'set' of projects. They turned out way cute!! (yes, I'm reverting back to the 80's...WAY!). The Glitz gals are going to continue the sneak peeks on their blog though - so you can see one of the sneak peeks (Glitz Netz) and a look at a future giveaway if you go there now. Their link is on my sidebar to the left. Learn where it is because you're gonna want to keep checking it out. :)

I'm still working on my Rusty Pickle stuff too...so I still can't show you that. I feel awful! I've been so busy working on those things plus my classes for the upcoming events...yet I can't share anything. I feel like I need to go create something just so I can post it here!

I hope all you artists out there are feelin' the creative mojo. I need to catch up on reading my fave blogs too - I am very behind on that. Now that season finales are all over I might get even more done. Speaking of season finales -

24 - oh my! not sure what Jack was about to do there on that balcony. I seriously have to wait until January to find out!?? that bites. I absolutely love this show and have NEVER missed an episode. Don't they usually leave us with a little teaser for what the theme of next season is going to be? They didn't this time so I'm left with nothing to ponder. :(

Dancing with the stars - I just love Apolo, and his partner has got to be the cutest little thing on earth. They made a great team and I am SO glad they won! I loved Leila and Joey too - they are both awesome...but something about Apolo had me pulling for him the whole time.

AI - whew! Thank you to the voting public for actually voting for the better singer for this years' finale. After last year, I didn't think I wanted to watch this year. Sorry, I am SO not a Taylor Hicks fan. Then this year Sanjaya ruined it for me again. Anyone ever watch The Soup? I keep hearing whispers in my head...Sanjaya......lol. I loved Melindas voice too, but I have been a Jordin fan for most of the show, so I was thrilled that she won. Even if I did have to find out by going to the internet (darn those shows that run over - the DVR didn't get the announcement! aaaargh!).

oh! And Desperate Housewives - what the heck? Edie??????? I was not expecting that at all! The small wedding out in the middle of nowhere was soooo sweet. I loved that.

Grey's anatomy - I am not sure what to think of George. what the heck? I cannot believe what happened to him. And the intern that was talking to him at the end...(hand over mouth) oh my! Christina and Burke - so sad. :( Why is she so stinkin' stubborn! I did get a good laugh over her eyebrows though. bwahahahahahaha!!!!!

LOST - ummmm....so that last scene...did it make your eyes get big and your jaw drop like it did to me? Locke is starting to tick me off. Stop it dude! You don't have to be rescued if you don't want to be, but stop ruining it for everyone else! And Charlie...ok, I cried. I admit it. I knew it was coming, but after seeing him think he'd fooled fate - then to see his face when he saw cyclops (that's what Charlie called him..not me!) outside that window - just made me so sad for him. So now I'm wondering just who that woman is (was) that crashed her helicopter and saying she's been looking for them with Pennelope. Makes me wonder who is on their way to meet them at the tower. ??? SOOOOOOOOO many questions...but I'm glad they gave us that little flash forward in the last scene.

ok - see? I watch too much tv. Hopefully the summer will prove to be very productive here in the studio since all my shows are over!

Great weekend

What did you do this past weekend? I must say I had a pretty enjoyable weekend. Saturday morning I took the girls to the aquarium again. That was the best investment I've ever made...the annual passes. We've been there like 8 times in the last month. It paid for itself on the 2nd visit. We met some friends down there and the kids played for a few hours until we had to get home. I had friends coming over for a crop at my house and I needed to get ready. I ended up getting the house ready - but not myself...lol, but that's ok. My friends like me whether I get my makeup and hair done or not...thank goodness! I looked like a wreck! Anyway, I was helping one of my friends in with her supplies and my neighbor was outside asking if we were having a party - to which I replied, "Scrapbooking!" - she looked intrigued so I told her to come on over! So she did. :) Yay! I got another project done for the Rusty Pickle contest (I think someone had asked which contest I was working on) but I can't share it until June 1st when entries are due. I am really loving how my altered item turned out and I want to share it with you so bad! Two more weeks and I can.

So anyway, one of my friends ended up just staying here for the night since we stayed up until 5am. Most people left around 2:15-3:00am. What can I say...we always have a lot of fun when we get together. I love the little scrappy circle I'm in! Thanks to those of you that came and provided me with hours of entertainment :) I love ya!

Sunday was a little eventful. The girls went to go swimming and we discovered that Jessica's swim floaties had a hole in them so I went to go get her some more. I walked out the front door to see a fire at the playground across the street from us. I ran in and told Tom (who was floating around in the pool) - so he got out and ran over there with a bucket. He dumped a couple dozen buckets of pond water on the blaze before the fire department showed up. He said that the swings had caught on fire and if he hadn't gotten there - they would've gone up in flames. We have a serious rain deficit here in FL...about 15" the last I heard. The playground is all wood and surrounded by mulch. Dry mulch! We are lucky that those swimmies had a hole in them or it could've been a bad fire. Tom really did a great job putting it out. My hero! (batting eyelashes..) lol

Tonight is the 2 hour season finale of 24. I am so sad it's already over...I already can't wait for next season! I'm not going to miss this finale like I did last week's Greys Anatomy (@#!^&!). I thought it was recording but apparently I was wrong (boohoo!!!) Then Friday there was a Dr. Phil special on so there wasn't the usual episode replay that night. I need to go watch it online before that's gone too!

I hope you all have a great week - make every moment count :)

happy birthday to me....yesterday!

I had a great birthday yesterday. Tom kept trying to butter me up by commenting on my 25th birthday (yeah, right!). I hung out with my friend Cari for most of the day yesterday - but left for a little bit so I could attend a 'tea party' with Lindsay's kindergarten class. It was sooo cute! The class sang songs and each of the kids stood up and read the letters they wrote to their moms. Here is Lindsay's letter:

Then Tom comes home and takes me out to Bonefish Grill for a fresh Halibut and mango salsa dinner..YUM!!! When we got home Tom and the girls surprised me (not really a big surprise) with a mint chocolate ice cream cake. mmmmmm Tom did surprise me with an AWESOME gift! A Bose docking station for my iPod. It is amazing!! It's already found a nice little spot in my scrap room. I LOVE this little baby...it packs a lotta punch! Thank you to my family for a wonderful birthday!! That includes the unexpected call from my brother Bret and the other emails I received. You guys are the BEST!

Dress Rehearsals

What a hectic day. We left at 9:30 am to go to the park to meet up with some of the other moms and kids from ballet. We thought it would be good to have them all play together before the big rehearsal. Well, 10 minutes into playing - Jess comes up complaining about her foot. I took her shoe off and the whole back of her foot was peeled off (HUGE broken blister). Of course, I don't have a bandaid and I don't have a pair of flip flops. So Jess and her little friend sat at the table and ate pretzels until we had to go. The rest of the day was spent running from one thing to another and we ended up going to the ballet dress rehearsal at 3:30. I was advised to put on hot pink lipstick, blush, and white eyeshadow on Jess so that she wouldn't be washed out on stage under the lights...so when you look at the pics below you'll know why she has on the heavy makeup.

I got home at 6:30, Chili's to go in tow (southwestern eggrolls...YUM-O!). I am so tired - but really just enjoying the nice, quiet house right now. Still plugging away at my pot of coffee (see previous post). I would really like to try to scrap tonight, but I am so exhausted that I'm afraid I'd just go sit in my chair and stare at some pretty paper or something...lol. Or maybe I'll feel energized once I polish off more of my coffee. ;) Who knows... at any rate, here are more of the pics I took at dress rehearsal today.

I've been tagged!

Ok - so Linda had tagged me last week and I've been really bad at catching up on the computer lately (sorry!). I am supposed to list 7 random facts/habits about myself. I'm warning you, this isn't going to be pretty...

one: I get the uncontrollable urge to yawn...over and over whenever I read my kids' books to them. Without fail.

two: Aside from snow skiing, I do not have an athletic bone in my body.

three: I make a pot of coffee every night around 8:45 pm. (and I'm not talkin' decaff!)

four: I was a band geek from 4th grade through all of high school. I played the flute and piccolo. (I can hear you now - "this one time...at band camp...")

okay, getting a little more serious now

five: I am painfully shy. Always have been...always will be (until you get to know me, then I don't ever shut up! bwahahahaha!!!!) I don't view that (being shy) as a negative thing by the way...

six: I was adopted as a baby...and have the most wonderful and incredible family! Couldn't have hand picked a better family. Part of being adopted is the thinking about the unknown. I do sometimes wonder about my birth parents. I've tried not to wonder, I really have...but it's unavoidable. Not that I'm looking for them - but curiosity about how they look, medical history etc...those are hard things to ignore. I think it would be interesting just to know who they are. I have absolutely no hard feelings - I have had a truly wonderful life and am grateful that my birthparents loved me enough to want me to have that.

seven: I don't know that I've ever really mentioned this to anyone aside from my VERY close friends. It was a great time in my life - but it was soooooo long ago! Anyway, I was Miss Colorado American Coed back in 1987. It's hard to believe that was 20 years ago! yikes! Aside from some cash, scholarship and some other goodies, I got an all expense paid trip to Hawaii to compete for the National title of Miss American Coed. We even made a commercial for MTV while we were there. They also gave me my own stationery and cards. I did the whole parade thing...sitting on the back of a convertible and doing the beauty queen wave (giggle) as that was part of the gig. still have my crown and banner somewhere...

I know I'm supposed to tag another 7 people, but many of my bloggin friends have been overly tagged...so I'm just going to say that if you'd like to do the same thing, simply post your own 7 random facts/habits then come here and let me know so I can come take a peek. :) I would love to get to know my readers better!

Florida Aquarium

Yesterday Jessica and I went to the Florida Aquarium. We really didn't spend much time looking at the fish - but instead, we went out back and spent most of our time playing in the water park. It was a beautiful, 80-something degree day, sun shining, blue skies...and lots of kiddos running around giggling and making new friends. Here are a few pictures from our day. In the last photo, you can see the big gray ship in the background. The aquarium is at Channelside so there are lots of boats around.


I have been consumed by everyday life in the past couple weeks so I haven't taken the time I want in my scrap room, but I have some big all day crops coming up and a couple evening crops too - so stay tuned for some new, fresh layouts and projects! I have had some requests for details on how I did the embossed chipboard from my top 5 entry for MM Idol. I will get some photos and instructions posted soon. :) I have also been tagged by my amazingly artistic friend Linda - so I'll be posting that in the next couple days. Have a great Thursday!

WooHoo for Friday!

I found out the other day that 4 of my layouts/projects have been requested for a special publication that is still top secret (hehehe...). Have to let out a big WooHoo!!! for that! I am thrilled about this and spent yesterday doing the paperwork and taking a million photos trying to get the best lighting etc. I can't wait to share with you what this special publication is - not sure when that will be, but I'll definitely be posting on my blog when that time comes!

I love Fridays...the anticipation of having everyone at home over the weekend just delights me. Even though I have a rather hectic weekend with plans on both Saturday and Sunday that don't involve my whole family, it's those moments in between the plans when we're all hangin' around and enjoying the beautiful weather and each other. Usually we grill on the mac-daddy grill I bought Tom for Christmas. I don't think I ever shared a picture of this thing on my blog so here it is...and no - that isn't Tom, that's the guy in the advertisement (lol). He is standing in front of the part of the grill that has the single burner, and 2 drawers that mimics the right side of the grill:

Tom loves to grill and to have a grill station like this with extras like an ice chest, rotisserie, searing burner, and even a drawer with a built in paper towel dispenser to clean up any messes makes it even more enjoyable! :) The weather is supposed to be mid 80's all weekend with no rain - so I would imagine that we'll be outside on the lanai all weekend. The girls will likely get in the pool until their lips turn purple. We do not have a heated pool, so we have to rely on good old sunshine to do the trick. But here in FL - we get plenty of that!

I promised the girls we'd pick up Lindsay from school today and go out for ice cream with a friend and her girls. Maybe I'll get lucky and get some good photos today.

Have a wonderful weekend - enjoy the beautiful weather if that is what's in your forcast - but more importantly...enjoy those moments with the ones you love. MWAH!

Love the zoo!

The girls and I went to the Lowry Park Zoo today and had a blast! I am totally exhausted though. It was a gorgeous day - about 82 degrees. Both of the girls tripped and fell at least once today (not a surprise) and Lindsay got herself good and was bleeding all over the place. Luckily, at the camel ride there was a lady that was much more prepared than I (she was still carrying a diaper bag) and gave us an alcohol wipe and bandaid. Lindsay did NOT like that alcohol wipe but a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do. You know, I used to be prepared for anything. When I carried a diaper bag and pushed a stroller it was so much easier to pack anything and everything you might need. Gone are those days...

Anyway ~ I haven't resized the pics of the animals yet - but I did manage to get a few pics off my camera of the highlights of the day. We fed the giraffes crackers, rode the camels...and the girls cooled off in the water fountain thingie in the kids park. You can click on the pics for a better look.



eeeww! did you see the tongue on that giraffe? Jessica was sticking her tongue out all afternoon after that, trying to imitate the giraffe. lol


This is Jess before the water shot up in her face...

and this is after...

You are my icing...

You'll have to read my entire post to see what I mean by the title of this post. haha I never posted my All About Me entry for MM Idol...so even though lots of you have seen it from checking out the entries at the MM Idol site, I thought I'd post it here as well. If you look closely below, you'll see that the bottom right corner is completely rounded. The picture was taken with a corkboard as the backdrop. I did this because when I tried scanning it - you couldn't tell that the corner was rounded...it just looked like it had a white corner. That kind of defeated my purpose. Part of our instructions were to do something innovative. I've seen lots of people use a corner rounder to just barely round the corners of their layouts - but this is actually quite a big chunk rounded off the bottom. Then, using my craft knife I hand cut the flowers out of some gorgeous American Crafts paper. I let part of the flower hang off the rounded corner. Rounded corner. LOL...I can't think of another way to explain it. Also - all the hand cut florals/vines are on 3dimensional glue squares. You can't tell that very well from the photos.


Looking at this layout in real life, the elements really pop off the page. It's really beautiful, if I do say so myself. If you know me personally, you know that although I do show my excitement about things...I'm not one to brag or anything. Not that I'm doing that now, but I must say...I was really proud of my layout. I love the color combination. I love the journaling strips. I love the hand cut floral elements. I love the rounded corner! I love the title. I love the offset pink chipboard brackets. I love the rhinestones. It's so nice to enjoy your own work, isn't it? I don't have a design background or anything - and my style isn't for everyone. That's ok though. I create the way I want to create. However, if other people enjoy looking at or are inspired in any way from my projects then that's just the icing on the cake. :) So for those of you that are enjoying my layouts - you are my icing! I love the icing! :)
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A little note on the homefront...I now have 2 sick kiddos. After missing school on Monday and Tuesday, Lindsay went to school on Wednesday and spent some time in the nurses office. She's been home ever since. Now today, Jessica has a 104 degree temperature. Lucky for me - she doesn't mind the taste of the medicine. She's a trooper. But all these sickies to tends to mean very little time in the scraproom. I need to get my entry for the next round of MM Idol done. I have a crop I'm going to tomorrow from 9am - 9pm...but strangely, those are usually not very condusive to getting things done. Not for me anyway...I am a socializer. heehee I do have some ideas and have started on one of them. It is turning out really cute! My girls are itchin' to get their hands on it! They haven't been able to help me with it at all, but they could if they weren't sick. When I showed them what I was doing - their eyes lit up and their jaws dropped. I got to hear the sweet sound of them ooohing and aaahhhhhing over it. They started fighting over which one was theirs. They never fail to put a big old smile on my face. They are so sweet. This project will be one that they will reap the benefits of for years to come. They are already talking about what they want to make to go with it.

So that's just a little teaser about our next assignment. You are going to love looking through the entries on Monday. I'm not sure if the direction I'm going with the challenge is where the others will go with it. I'm curious to see how the other 29 will interpret the instructions Making Memories gave us. That is what makes these things so fun...everyone has such a different take on the directions.

Before I am once again beckoned with a drawn out "mooooommmm" from one of the sickies...I want to wish Judy, my mother in law, a very happy birthday. It was yesterday, but I spent the day yesterday at my friends house watching her 3 kids and my 2 kids and didn't get home until 10pm. I feel terrible that I didn't get this posted yesterday! Sorry Judy - I was thinking about you though!

Also, a huge congratulations to my friend Cheryl. She got married yesterday to her high school sweetheart. They had both gone separate ways after high school but as fate would have it - they ended up back together and I know they will be so happy together. Congratulations my friend!! You deserve all the happiness in the world!

MM Idol voting has begun again

The contest is back up and running folks. I didn't get my voting reminder email this morning so I just wanted to post a quick reminder to everyone to go vote this morning. Here are a couple links for you to follow:

MM Idol Blog (MM Idol blog: after you vote - go to the blog and leave a comment to be entered for a drawing. Don't mention who you voted for...just comment that you voted)

MM Idol - Log in and VOTE HERE This is where you can log in, see the contest entries and vote.

Register for voting reminders here This is where you can register to vote if you haven't done so already.



On another note - Lindsay is home sick today. She felt like she was burning up this morning so I kept her home. She absolutely refuses to take the medicine. I've tried every flavor there is. I've tried Motrin, Tylenol, plus all the other brands. She won't open her mouth. Then it turns into a problem because I don't want to force her because that will just scare her and make it a problem in the future. I took her to the drugstore and let her pick out which box (of the one's I pulled off the shelf) she wanted. We are going to try the Tylenol Meltaways in bubblegum. Please....please, oh please, oh pleeeeease let this work!!! I actually ended up telling her the story about when she was 2 and had a seizure because of a fever that spiked too quickly. Just talking about it brought tears to my eyes because at the time - I really thought she was going to die. The seizure had attacked the respiratory part of the brain and she stopped breathing for about a minute and a half. She was purple and limp after the shaking stopped. I didn't tell Lindsay all the details - but she did see my eyes welling up when I told her that she had to go to the hospital in an ambulance once because of a fever. I think she now knows that it really is important to take the medicine.

So - I'm off to go make cinnamon toast for the girls and start the 2nd round of medicine for Lindsay...wish me luck!

Sweeeeeeeet!

I gotta tell you - my hubby is just the best. I went to a baby shower today and when I came home I sat down and watched Karate Kid II with him. I think he purposefully put on a bad movie so I'd get up and go scrapbook. You'll know what I mean in a minute. So after awhile he asks...don't you have any scrapbook projects you want to go work on? And because I was actually feeling a little tired, I was really just enjoying sitting there...not moving a muscle. The girls were both in their play room and being quiet so it was heavenly just to be able to actually hear the movie. The fact that it is, well, not the best movie ever made is beside the point. I could hear the movie. Wow - I kinda like that concept.

So anyway - I told him that I was feeling tired and was enjoying being a slug for a few minutes. He never mentioned anything else. Before the movie was over, we both got up and were doing other things - and eventually I got back to the scrap room and I got on my computer. I had lots of emails to reply to and was doing my usual perusing of scrapbook sites etc. I finally caught up on things and went to sit at my other desk to scrapbook. When I pulled the chair out, there was a black box with a note that said, "Just because I love you! xxxooo" - and guess what it was?




I ran outside (with my mouth gaping open in disbelief) to tell my hubby thank you and give him a big hug and kiss. He then tells me, "well, it's about time!" lol...he had been waiting for me to find it. He was thinking that I saw it but didn't come out to thank him. C'mon honey, you know me better than that! I am so grateful - I have wanted an iPod for a loooong time. :) It's funny though, because when he proposed to me way back when, he put the ring in the bottom of a wine glass. I had had such a long day at work that I just kept talking about my day instead of enjoying my wine - and he was frustrated that his proposal wasn't happening the way he'd planned. lol...so here I go again...