Colors of Me

New Adventure

2010-09-08T14:44:00.002-04:00

Little Bits Of Lavender Blog

Little Bits of Lavender on Facebook

We are soon to be open!!!

We will be offering Back To Basic Scrapbooking Supplies

as well as many handmade items.

I want to start this new venture off with a contest!

Follow our blog and be entered once.

Join our Facebook page and be entered again.

PLUS 1 entry for each person that you recommend.

So when you send out invites,

please make sure they tell me You recommend them to our page!!!
No limit on how many times your name can be entered!
Winners will receive a Autumn themed Gift basket. Picture to be posted soon!

We love our international friends, but the gift basket is limited to our USA friends only due to shipping costs!

Little Bits Of Lavender

2010-09-01T22:52:00.000-04:00

2010-09-01T22:49:00.000-04:00

2009-01-01T14:13:00.001-05:00

Finally

2008-11-18T12:08:00.003-05:00

Finally, I am back to blogging. It has been an extrememly eventful year! I have the final word on my back and neck issues. I have to have fusions done, and mutiple screws, pins, cages and rods put in my lower back :( So I have promised my boss that I would not do that at least until spring so she won't lose a supervisor over the holiday season. So basically, it means that I can't lift or be on my feet moving, or go up and down the ladders, etc. My co-workers have be awesome about this and I have never worked anywhere else where people have been so helpful and worried about someone's problems. We are a small bookstore so we do get to know each other on a more personal level, but still - these people have been AMAZING. After I have my back surgery, then we will worry about the spinal cord compression in my neck, which means more surgery, but I need to get the lower in good shape to be able to heal the upper faster. The oddest thing is that I have the feeling of an electrical stilmulation machine constantly going in the back of my neck. For those of you that have ever had physical therapy with one of these machines, you know exactly what I am talking about. So, I have been handling this ok, trying not to get too depressed about it, because basically there is nothing that I can do about the pain until surgery and then that is not even a guarantee that it will lessen the pain, and I will have to be in a brace for 6 weeks after the operation. I am continuing with the PT exercises and hoping that the pain will decrease somewhat as my back gets stronger. On the other hand, it's been a year of this and it is not much better - I have more stability, but the pain is still there.

I can no longer go up and down the stairs more than 2 or 3 times, so I save my trips, to check on the girls at night and when I absolutely have to go down there for something. My girls have been a huge help with the laundry, but now that M is having trouble with her legs because of her MS, she is not doing as much, so DH stepped in. I came home from work yesterday and he had washed and dried almost all the laundry. However, it was all on the living room couch, unfolded! LOL!! Can't complain though, it was all washed. He also cooked dinner last night. For those of you who know my husband - you know that this was a BIG deal LOL!!! He made steak. He is going through this HUGE health kick now that Mandi was diagnosed with MS and he had read that you can live without medicine if you follow a healthy diet and excercise. He made an appointment with a nutritionist and is researching supplements. I am ok with this as we all need to eat healthier and as long as he doesn't bring any weird herbal concoctions home, we will be good. I am good with omega 3 and B vitamin supplements as well as some others, but some of the stuff is just - well - let's just say different.

I have also been trying to teach our dog how to pick things up for me, but alas, if the item is not wrapped in food, or attached to his toys, he wants nothing to do with it. He is 5 years old and has been taught not to pick up the kids toys or stuffed animals and to never, ever put a book in his mouth LOL!! So now that I am trying to get him to pick something up for me if I drop it, (usually a book) he just looks at me like I am nuts. I might be. . . LOL!

On the sports front, JJ, Ty and Allie are all playing tournament basketball (does that surprise anyone LOL)! We are basketball from Saturday morning until Sunday night. Plus JJ made the school team and Ty is wrestling as well. JJ also starts practice for baseball in January. I would just like 1 month where the is nothing to have to run to - no practice, no games, no meets, NO NOTHING (ok, I know - bad grammar).

I will post a bit more later, as the mess on the dining room table is calling my name - I guess the laundry that I folded really does have a home of it's own to go to. I do have some new books to talk about as well as some photos to post. - See you soon!!

Little Visitor

2008-09-20T09:53:00.008-04:00

Isn't he just the cutest little guy (or girl) . This baby squirrel has decided that it likes the crab apples on our front tree and visits us daily for dinner. Always comes between 2 and 5 LOL!! He is so cute, and unfortunately not afraid of the dog. Not that I want it to be scared but I don't want it to be comfortable to come to the kids! Although A is now determined to leave it a bowl of peanuts to hide for the winter.

WOW ~ been awhile!!

2008-09-15T00:16:00.007-04:00

It really has been a while since I have updated this thing LOL!!! Too much going on as usual ~ TONS of baseball including Fall Baseball and football has started as well as practice for basketball. My JJ has decided to grow about a foot in the last year and turned 13 this past Thursday. He is now just over 5'9" tall! And is he FAST!!! He runs the 40 yard dash in 5.2 seconds! He still does not like to have his picture taken!! LOL

So, both JJ and Ty made it to All Stars for the summer baseball season!! And JJ's team went to State!!! His team came in 3rd place!!!

Ty's team did not makeit to state, but they did have an awesome run!!

M is a senior this year and is taking courses that I didn't even know existed!!!! She had her senior pictures taken, and even though I know she is almost 18, I still can't believe how grown up she is! She hid the pictures somewhere on the computer so I can't post them LOL!! What a BRAT!!! We had some really bad news with her this past July - she had some really wierd syptoms and it turns out she has MS :( - I originally thought that she had some type of neck and back problem like I do, but the drs ran a whole series of testing and mri's on her and she has a lesion on her spinal column. So that really sucks - she is going through the denial stage at this point and overdoing everything. I am not going to go into all the details about her treatment because the last time I did that about one of my kids, someone I don't even know freaked out LOL!!!!

S and A are still their sassy little selves!! LOL!!!!

2008-05-27T15:01:00.002-04:00

I am still here LOL!! Just a lot going on right now. I changed my background and lost all of my blog links so I will be trying to update that first, before blogging. I am back to work regular hours and even though my back does not like it, it is necessary as we have run up some bills the past 8 months :(!! I have not had much time to sit on the computer - acutally, I just can't sit that long. My back and neck are getting stronger, but the pain is the same - and the dr.'s tell me take muscle relaxers - apparently, they don't have children or have never taken muscle relaxers - cuz I don't know about you - but I can't take them and function much to drive and work!!! I am asleep within 20 minutes of taking them and then have a hard time waking up :(!!! I also can't do any stairs at all anymore or any type of climbing - apparently with the climbing motion, it is shearing off the tissue surrounding the nerves in my lower back - I will update soon!!! I am going to go lay on an ice pack!!!

Prom & Opening Day LL Photos

2008-05-13T11:38:00.001-04:00

Trying to Post a new slide show

2008-05-12T10:12:00.001-04:00

I am trying to post a new Prom Slide Show, but my computer - or the sites - are not allowing me to :(!!!!!!

2008-04-28T16:57:00.000-04:00

Gas - URGH!! For the truck - not me LOL!!!

2008-04-22T10:31:00.005-04:00

I know you have probably seen these before, but since I just put $65 worth of gas in my truck and didn't even get to half a tank I thought these were appropriate LOL!! I also have a winner picked for the RAK and since I already have her address, I will post a pic of her gift later this afternoon and you all can guess who is getting it LOL!!!!!!

Where Did My Babies Go???

2008-04-10T11:28:00.008-04:00

So, I have about 100 or so rolls of film that still needs to be developed. One would think that I would be bringing in a roll or 2 every week, but not me LOL!! They are put away so I rarely remember that I have them LOL!! But I did remember yesterday bcuz Walgreens had a coupon in their paper that you could get a roll developed free. WOOHOO - I brought 1 roll in the morning and the guy said that I could also use the .99 CD coupon as well - so the developing and the CD only cost .99! WOW. I love the CD's, especially with film that I know is older. With the CD, I can edit and crop and take out red eye, etc. So anyway, DH brought a roll to another W and they wouldn't let him use a coupon for the CD since the developiong was free :P LOL! but my girls brought in a roll each to the same place I went and they were allowed to use them - who knows. So in all, I got 4 rolls developed free, 1 roll I paid for, and then I have 4 .99 CD's!! I was a happy girl - so here are a few of those photos - the rolls were back from 2000!!! OMG! I really need to start getting these developed!!!!!!!! But as you can see my babies are not longer babies - scroll done for current pics. These picutures are a bit grainy because I enlarged them.

A at 2

The Girls

S was 7 and M was 9

JJ just turned 5 - it's his b-day in the pic

And finally - T was 3

Where has the time gone!!!!

READ THE POST BELOW AND DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE RAK - LEAVE A COMMENT BY APRIL 15TH!!!!!

New Layouts and Books and Scrapbook Goodies and a RAK!!

2008-04-02T10:52:00.026-04:00

The sun is finally shining today and even though it is chilly - it's not too bad! A little warmer (30 degrees) and it would be the most wonderful day!! My typing is getting better - as I have better control over my fine motor skills - the fingers get tired very quickly though. So along with the caps in my post - there will probably be several typos!! :P

Mandi finally decided on a prom dress - holy cow - the $$$$ - but I guess you only go to prom once and to the girls it is a huge deal, and it makes her happy, and she is paying for most of it LOL!! Not that is funny, but she is learning very fast the value of money. She has the one in the middle - it is aqua in color and is gorgeous!! The "poofy" styles are back in - I haven't seen them since we (meaning my age) went to high school - and even then - I didn't have a "poofy" gown. There are going to have to be a few alterations in the hem because she is so darn tiny. I really like that a lot of the dresses now have lace up backs, like this one. Not so many alterations have to be done on the sides then because you can adjust the lacing.

I went shopping the other day and bought tons of new stamps. Generally I am not a stamper, but I have seen so may gorgeous cards online lately, that I couldn't help myself. I have so much as far as scraps of paper is concerned and I hate to toss it - so I think cards would be good!! And the fact that there was a really GOOD sale at the store that I went to helped LOL! I also bought a new embossing folder for my Cuttlebug - I love this machine and have since gotten rid of my hand squeeze quickutz, the sidekick and the big red sizzix machine. I don't think I have had an easier die cut machine with more possibilities than the Cuttlebug.

These 2 sets are my FAVORITE!! Of course the cupcakes would be LOL! but I love the birds and owl on the other set - I also just ordered some stamps from Verve Visuals. I just had to have it after I saw Amber's cards that she made with it.

http://stampingscrapbooker.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/03/scrapnextras-da.html
Someday, I promise I will learn how to make the link just say one word LOL!

I have not made may cards, but have been so inspired by Amber's blog and her cards and then to blog surf through hers - oh my!!! Those girls are TALENTED!

NEW LAYOUTS

I BOUGHT NOTHING NEW FOR THESE!!

I am sort of on a mini spending freeze as far as scrapbook supplies are concerned. I did a quick inventory of my office that you can hardly walk into and decided that I have enough papers and "STUFF". So now I am limiting myself to stamps and cuttlebug products. Oh and some of the new quickutz revolution die cuts BUT those are things that I will use over and over and over again!

BEAUTIFUL SARAH

BOYS AND THEIR TOYS

SUMMER SASSY SARAH

PUPPY LOVE

SPIRIT

PRACTICE

BASKETBALL SUPERSTAR

The girls and I also had some great crafting time together over Easter. We altered some frap bottles for gifts. Sarah didn't get to make any because she was working and homework, but I guess I could just drink some more so she can have some bottles to work with LOL!!

The first bottle with is done with Easter egg fabric appliques and bling! This one was for Mary. The second bottle with the blue eggs was for Pam. The bottles that Allie made are in the 3rd picture - how cute are those - the flowered bottle was for me :) and the superman was for DH (everyone calls him Super Dave so we "collect" superman stuff for him lol! - and notice the CRAB on top of his LOL!!!!!). The last picture of the bottle is on that I made for Linda (with the bunnies) and the one with flowers - Mandi made for her boyfriend's Mom. She gave it to her on Easter Sunday as a hostess thank you. They had tons of family over the guys started calling her Mini Martha LOL! So I do have some more bottles in works - some have Charlie Bears going in to them (doggy treats) and one has a ring of monkeys on it, and you never know where they may end up - my house - your house - the neighbors house LOL!! So if you leave a comment - make sure you tell me your favorite candy!

FAVORITE READS

And of course I have been reading as well!! When don't I??!! I can't wait for this one - The Hollow by Nora Roberts. It is the 2nd book of the Signs of Seen Trilogy and is due out on May 6th!! You gotta read it!!

And Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyers is coming out on August 2nd! This is the 4th in the Twilight series - There is Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and now Breaking Dawn. Now I know that typically you would think that this is a teenage/young adult series. It really is not though. The characters are younger - but I think that the series are suitable for ALL ages to read. I let my 12 year old read them, as well as my 14 and 17 year olds. AND ME - but I'm not gonna tell you hold old I am! LOL

Currently, I am reading The Mane Event by Shelly Laurenston - I just started it, but it seems like it will be ok. It is about a Pride of gorgeous shapeshifting lions and about all I know so far is that the "mane" character is a retired Navy Seal and has to shave his head everyday otherwise his mane grows back LOL!! and he is hot for the female detective that is investigating a murder at his sister's house. If I like this one, the next in the series is

This one is dependant on if I like the first one enough to read it. It is different in the fact that it is a Pride of lions - typically, in these types of stories, it is wolves as the shifters.

So if you know me - even semi-well - you know that I am not a big fan of Martha's - not that I don't like what she does or what she makes - it's just that I don't have a lot of time or patience for the projects she does. A lot of her projects and recipes are older-fashioned IMHO and there are just not enough hours in the day -(that is one reason why I don't do flower arranging anymore - not cost effective enough for the time that it takes) BUT when I saw her new COOKIE Book, I was in heaven!!! I had to have this book - it has some of the yummiest cookies ever!!! So as I try new recipes, I will let you know how they are. Oh and although I never watch her show, I did happen to catch a glimpse of it on TV last night AND she was making CUPCAKES - so i watched my first Martha episode last night and then went to her website this morning to find the recipe for these coconut cupcakes she was making and am going to try them this weekend!! cupcakes and coconut - what could be better??!! And she has this video slide show of all her favorite cupcakes and cupcake shops! I am slowly changing my mind about watching Martha - at least for her cupcake week!! Cupcakes and cookies are the one thing that I will spend more than 30 minutes in kitchen for!!!
http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3e37788aa306c4df62fc95103373a0a0/?vgnextoid=d5a9080aae2e8110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default

Ok, so I am off to do some spring cleaning. My littlest DD has grown soooo much over the past year that I HAVE to go through her clothes and get rid of. Plus - and I know I am not the only Mom who does this - BUT I still have all my kids toys so we are having a HUGE garage sale this spring - everything is going - none of the girls play with barbies anymore, the boys don't play with any toys so all theirs can go - it will be HUGE!!! Do you all watch the show "CLEAN HOUSE" on the Style network - OMG this is my new favorite show - I LOVE IT!! http://www.mystyle.com/mystyle/shows/cleanhouse/index.jsp If you have not watched this show, please try to catch an episode - they have some really good tips and budget-wise design style!! I love the newer cast - the designer is awesome! So I am doing a "CLEAN HOUSE" on my house - now granted my house does not look anything like the ones on the show (well, except maybe for my office and Al's closet, and the sunroom LOL) but I am taking a lot from the organizer and putting it to use in my home! Maybe I'll post some before and after photos! and maybe not LMAO!! They also have a cool yard sale kit on the site we can download for tips to making some $$$.

Ok, last but not least, since you have read this entire post LOL! I am giving away a RAK. It is almost a year since I have had my blog, and you all have been sharing my stressed and not so stressful times with me, so I am going to thank you by offering a RAK - just leave me a comment and on the 15th - Allie will pick a winner. And don't forget to tell me what kind of candy (that would fit into a bottle) you like just in case you are on the "list" to get one.

2008-03-29T00:05:00.001-04:00

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College Bound

2008-03-28T16:57:00.002-04:00

I just read a post on another blog about a mom bringing her daughter back to college after spring break. M has 1 more year of high school left and then she is off to college. This past week, we brought her for a tour of one of the biggest colleges here which is about 1 1/2 hours away. Not a horrible drive so we could go get her on the weekends, but the campus is sooo huge. 983 acres of land. It is so huge that they have an "urban" side and a "country green" side. And that is exactly how our tour guide described it. It is a beautiful campus right off the lake, but I just don't know if I am ready to let her go yet LOL!!! I know I can't stop her from growing up and am so proud of her for her high school accomplishments, that I know that she will succeed in college, but is just hard to let her grow up and move out. Oh well, better get used to it as there are 4 more after her URGH! LOL

Happy Easter to All My Bloggin' Buddies!

2008-03-22T19:39:00.000-04:00

2008-03-20T20:53:00.000-04:00

What LoriAnn Means

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.
You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily.
Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life.
You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you.
At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.
You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.
You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.
You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.
You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.
You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.
You have the classic "Type A" personality.

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.
You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.
You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Lots of Things

2008-03-12T08:37:00.015-05:00

wow, it has been awhile since i last updated!! i am getting over the last of pneumonia - YUCK! that really sucked!!! still have the cough and don't like to be outside - the cold helps the lungs but then as soon as i walk back inside i cough for 1/2 hour. - will be glad when it gets a bit warmer - and stays warmer so this totally goes away - the coughing in no way helps my back or neck AT ALL!!!! anyway, what's been going on??!! well, first of all, i have some pics for mary!!! haha lol!!

told you i would think about you while eating krispy kreme doughnuts!! lol! really, i only ate the bottom two - i only like the maple frosted ones. but the kids and dh devoured the rest - m came home with 2 dozen of them.i have also decided that i have a new addiction to cupcakes - not that i want to eat them, but the cake decorating techniques on them are amazing - and i love the cupcake towers - i think this is a much better way to serve birthday cake - especially to little ones lol!! so i went to the competitors book store over the weekend and picked up

i am going to start collecting cupcake cook books. i think eating a cupcake is a bit healthier than eating a piece of cake anyway - this way i can control the portion size that my kids are eating. if i make a 9x13 cake - i have caught jj eating 1/4 of it at a time - he says he can handle it cuz he is 5'6" and only 120 lbs. - but how am i supposed to explain to ty who is about 4 inches shorter and 30 lbs heavier that jj can have it but he can't - they are only 11 and 12 so they just don't get it yet - so cupcakes are solving that problem - although i was thinking that if i make 24 cupcakes, jj will just eat 3 of them and my friend mary pointed out that if i don't frost them all, i can freeze the rest!!! and with cupcakes - if i try a recipe and the kids are not thrilled about it - dh can bring the rest to work - i would never send a half-eaten cake with him, but cupcakes - yeppers!!

while at the "other" store i also picked up

now i would get these at my store - IF we carried them - but we don't - we usually carry papercrafts - but i have not even seen that one lately. so i got my fix of scrap magazine. ya know, if i was smart, i would just get subscriptions to them and save $$$$$ - but i don't always want each month - some just don't thrill me - i supposed it would still be cheaper and i could RAK the ones that i don't need.

so on monday, i got a fabulous package in the mail from RITA!! she had an 80's song challenge on her blog and i guessed right on one of the songs and her dd picked my name YEAH!!! here is a pic of all the great things that she sent me.

lots of rub-ons and chipboard, which are 2 of my favorite things to scrap with! thank you so much rita - you are tooooo awesome!! so since you have totally sparked some mojo - i did some pages with these great items - on the first one (kiss) i used the chipboard and rub-ons from rita and then some flowers from nancy! the second (life) i used some chipboard from rita and letters that i had received from nancy in a swap. and then the third (chicks dig me) was just one to fullfill the march commitment club - it was actually the one i had done first lol!

other than that, not much else has been going on. i went back to work - two, 4 hour days a week - and basically - i don't move for the rest of the night after getting home. i am dealing with this but is getting old really fast!! the back pain is no better - legs still go numb - and at the most inconvenient times. can't get out of my truck, right leg first cuz the leg gives out - can't go up and down stairs, can't lift anything - really sucks, but we will get through this - will just take some time!

oh, i have also been reading - (what's new right lol)

i just finished Sylvia Day's Heat of the Night - Dream Guardians, Book 2 - this is a great book, but i think needs some better editing. ok, so i speed read, but i usually don't miss details and there just seems to be some small gaps. i swear i read where they were standing on one side of the room and then in the very next sentence they were on the couch but never a statement as to why/how they got there - just a bit choppy - but that could just be me - however, this is a great story and i think she will have an awesome series here. i think there needed to be a bit more of the good vs. evil fighting - it went very quickly in this second book. i read the entire 256 page book in less than 3 hours, and than included me making dinner while reading. i think it would do much better as a mass market size instead of trade - i say this because a lot of my paranormal customers just will not buy a trade size book - they feel they can wait the 9 months to 1 year for it to come out in mass market. why spend $14 on a book when there are so many to choose from and they can wait and then pay $8. all that being said - she has hit upon a great series here - hot good guys - potentially very evil bad guys - basic and raw "extracirricular activities" without being overly done and drawn out - no wierd stuff - plus she has enough characters to continue with a kenyon type series. each is an individual, but needs the previous stories characters to complete the entire line. i didn't loose track of what happened in the first book and she gave great hints as to what was coming in the third.

i also am half way through Dakota Cassidy's Accidental Werewolf. Dakota's books are usually extrememly spicy but she has hit mainstream with this one and toned it down a bit - and you know what - it is not missed. like i said i am only half way through and i feel there is a bit too much "thinking" by the main character (marty) - but then she has just been bitten, and turned into a werewolf so i suppose there should be a lot of irrational though by marty. i am totally loving said irrational thoughts by marty - Dakota is hilarious as she describes this "tail" of a dilemma (you'll have to read the book to know what that means lol)
If you are looking for something real - and i mean really real - you should check out A Women in Berlin. this book was written anonymously for obvious reasons. it is an sad story that i would never have picked up myself, but a friend that i work with had recommended it to me. check it out here http://www.amazon.com/Woman-Berlin-Eight-Weeks-Conquered/dp/B0013TFBJM/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205332322&sr=1-11

and last but not least, Janet Evanovich's FEARLESS FOURTEEN will hit the bookshelves on June 17!!!!!!!!!

i am off to catch up on my favorite blogs and get some pork in the crock pot - see ya!!!!!

been tagged

2008-02-21T12:09:00.002-05:00

i have been tagged by miss rita

The tag works like this --
1.Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2.Open the book to page 123.
3.Find the fifth sentence.
4.Post the next three sentences.
5.Tag five people.

ok, um can't repeat this book, or this one - JUST KIDDING LOL!!! well, maybe
actually, the closest book to me is not one of mine. It is Double Fudge by Judy Blume

"i remember." he looked up at me. "how about you, pete? where you ever famous?"
ok, so that is four sentences, but i had to finish the quotes!! I tag - missy, jolene, mary, valeri, and jen!!

Older Layouts

2008-02-21T11:11:00.008-05:00

i thought that i would post some of my favorite older layouts. i have many more than just this, but this is what i could get to quickly. there is a surprise in this slide show for missy!!! i have been getting my cute little punchart girls and boys from missy for a long time - all the way back to the jangle.com days lol! she is such a talented artists and i just love her paper piecings. i have purchased other paper piecings online and unfortunately never remember who they came from, but i can always tell one of missy's. now she is also making the cutest tear bears. i do have a post somewhere on this blog with pics of those that i have gotten from her. missy has an ebay shop, and if you want to visit her and get any of her gorgeous tear bear creations, here is her link http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=missymadeit
in the above slide show, there are layouts featuring a gingerbread man, a baseball player, raggedy ann - missy style and a little happy birthday dude. like i said, this is not all i have from her - i will post more as i get them ready!

also, in the news - lol - my friend mary has started a new blog which she will be reviewing some of the books that she is reading. i will also be contributing to this new blog with reviews. and since we both work in a book store, eventually, there should be a lot of reviews on this blog. mary typically reads cozy mysteries and i have been a bad influence on her and have gotten her hooked on paranormal romances - sorry mary - NOT!! lol!! she also keeps more up-to-date on author happenings and releases than i do, so if you are wondering about something - check out her blog and she may have already posted an answer. http://booksmaryfindsinteresting.blogspot.com/

new layouts for the week

2008-02-16T21:17:00.004-05:00

these are the layouts i did this week - the grumpy so fits dh!!!! the sarah is for my bom - book of me - i want to do a page with each of the kids. and i know the first two in this post might seem a bit odd, but they are also for my bom. in an effort to start feeling better, i have decided that whatever lifestyle changes that i can make, i will do. and since the dishes were so yummy i had to scrap them. i am trying to journal on a daily basis how i am feeling and thought that this would be a good idea to remind me that is not hard to eat healthier. i have not journaled the names and details yet, but i thought i would add the recipes to the back of the page. and yes, i did make all of those dishes myself. we have been eating a lot of whole wheat pasta and shrimp lately. and i also found that when i made the fried rice, if i serve it as shown i don't need to have anything else with it. my kids thought it was cool to eat it like a taco in the romaine leaves. hey - whatever works - cuz eventhough we love egg rools and crab ragoon - i know we don't need the extra calories and fat. the marinara on the shrimp is a recipe from tyler florence at foodtv.com and actually the fried rice is from there too. it is from robin miller's show. of course i did have to change them a bit to fit our tastes - and boy did they taste good lol! the dish on the 2nd page is a recreation of something that my dh got at the outpost health food grocery store. if anyone would like the recipes, leave me a coment and i will post them in the next week.

this is going to be a very short post tonight - i have to go pick up my kids at the movies. s came home from work tonight and decided to take ty and al to the movies - how sweet!

almond blueberry cookies for valentine's day

2008-02-15T12:06:00.010-05:00

so, dh and i were supposed to have a lovely romantic lunch for valentine's day and then he was going for a root canal - but they moved his appointment up to right after work so we had to postpone our lunch. he asked for it last night, but i would not make it because he could barely chew cottage cheese, let alone steak and i had gotten a bottle of wine - which is extrememly rare for us - and he was on pain meds, so i did not want to mix the two. he has already called me this morning to make sure that i was making it today lol. anyway i had already started this new recipe that i saw on everyday italian on food network, so i had to finish baking them. when i was making the dough i was drooling all over because they smelled soooooo yummy. i changed the recipe slightly, so if you want the original, you'll have to look it up on foodtv.com, but i don't think i changed it enough to change the taste from her recipe.

one of the changes i made was the amount of lemon zest - i could not find my zester, and my hands were not working well enough to cut it into small enough pieces.

next was toasting and chopping the almonds. mandi gave me the papmered chef chopper last year for my birthday - it is the most awesome thing for things like this - and if you don't chop toasted almonds often - it is easier to chop them after you have toasted them. they are at a softer stage while they are still warm.
you can see i couldn't the lemon zest very small, lol - but dh said it did not matter.

these come out to be pretty big cookies so i only put 6 on at a time. i used the big scoop from pampered chef and it makes the perfect size cookie - about 3 1/2 inches - YUM

and here is the final product - lol - they are almost gone - only made about 18 cookies, but that is ok. i like them because they are very fresh tasting with the blueberries and lemon. the only tip that i have is to use frozen blueberries - which i did - but i think using them less thawed out would be better. when folding them in mostly thawed, your batter will turn purple and that looks kinda funny. so i put mine in still half frozen. the batter has to sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes before baking, so they even if they do not completely thaw - your still sticking them in a hot oven. so here is the recipe the way i made it - like i said - not a huge change - only the extract, milk, and the addition of lemon juice. i also used a large scoop so i baked mine for exactly 15 minutes.

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg york

1/4 milk

1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoons lemon zest

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 cup chopped almonds, toasted

1 cup frozen blueberries, just slighlty thawed and drained

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In another medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar using a hand mixer. Add egg and beat to incorporate. Add milk, almond extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in the almonds, then the blueberries. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. When to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Dollop mix onto cookie sheets. Bake until golden brown around the edges, about 15 minutes.

what i am reading now

2008-02-12T23:20:00.006-05:00

i am currently reading hunting the demon by jaci burton - awesome books - for any paranormal romance readers out there - you have got to pic up this series. you can find her books here - http://jaciburton.com/

this is book 2 in her demon hunters series and if you are a fan of sherrilyn kenyon, lora leigh, nalini singh, kelly armstrong, angela knight, shiloh walker, etc. you will enjoy burton's demon hunters. typically, she writes erotic romance for ellora's cave, which is where i first noticed her. i do read the ellora's cave books if they are a good story - just because they are paranormal does not mean i am going to read them. for those of you who do not know, ellora's cave is a company that is owned by jade black - who herself is an awesome paranormal author - and "specializes" in romantica. now don't get me wrong, there are greatly talented authors who write for her, but sometimes i want to tone/slow down the "extracirricular" activities. there are sometimes when too much is too much. i figure when the authors make it to mainstream publishing, that they won't have too much "extra"

leigh, knight and walker also write in the erotica/romantica genre but have many "mainstream" paranormal romance mass markets as well. burton has joined that group with surviving demon island - book 1 in the demon hunters series- i loved this book too - not too much "extra" but a very good story, and the "extra" that is there, is well, just hot. it has been one of the few para/suspense/romance that i did not know how it was going to end or who the bad guys/demons were - she did a wonderful job creating separate characters who added to the story - each held there place and were not there for just filler - in fact, there is no "filler" in this book - everything that happens, happens for a reason. and she continues the storyline in hunting the demon - including the same characters - for familiarity - but expanding on other characters and creating a new storyline. eventhough it is obvious that burton's plot is about hunting demons in both books, her stories flow in completely different directions, with different twists and turns that are mostly unexpected. in book 2, however, we go in knowing who the demon is that the hunters are watching, however, it twists from there - nothing is too predictable and that is one reason i will pick up anything else that she writes in this genre.

so everyone always asks, why paranormal romance - well, my answer is - why not - i need to relate at least a little bit to the story so most historicals are out for me - i can't stand most of them - although there are a few authors that i will read the historicals they pen. contemporary stories are good as long as they are from a favorite author, but i always end up feeling cheated that i never found a guy like that - who, by the way - only exists in those books lol - so in enjoying paranormal romance - i get the suspense without the scary - i get the fear without the horror - i get the romance without the "sigh" - i know that when reading about an uberly handsome and gorgeous and hot and sexy lol vampire i will never compare him to my dh lol haha - mine might bite my neck and he might be hot and sexy -(at least i think so) lol - but he his never going to walk the streets at night - be afraid of the sunlight and need blood to sustain his life - well other creatures blood lol

i do read other genres as well, but typically it is the para-romance or urban fantasy. i do love evanovich, carrington and some other mystery writers as well, and will post on them as i read their books. additionally, i really like fern michaels and debbie macomber - michaels writes a very empowering - woman can take care of themselves - type of plot - i.e, marriage game - will definately read more from her

working in the book store has afforded me the luxury of seeing all the books that come in and knowing what is hot and what's not - still on my reading list is

dream chaser - sherrilyn kenyon

a thousand splended suns - khaled hosseini

the food you crave - ellie krieger

happy for no reason - marci shimoff

hard to handle - lori foster

extreme danger - shannon mckenna

the audacity of hope - barack obama
don't bet against me - deanna favre

2008-02-12T11:56:00.001-05:00

You Are a Strawberry

You are friendly, outgoing, and well liked by many people.

You are popular, but there's nothing you ordinary or average about you.

You a very interesting person, and you have many facets to your personality.

Sometimes you feel very conflicted. Your different sides of your personality pull at you.

You are a very sensual and passionate person. You are fiery... you can't help it.

In general, you keep your passionate side under wraps. You are only wild in private.

What Type of Fruit Are You?

feeling old and sad :(

2008-02-08T21:58:00.000-05:00

ok, so not technically old and sad, but have come to the realization that my kids are growing up toooo fast. i guess i never really noticed it with mandi because she has always been so grown up but my little sarahbear - i am not ready for that - ok, she has had boyfriends in the past but never anything that i even really thought about - they would just im each other or talk for 5 minutes on the phone - (i really lucked out, neither of my teenage girls like to be on the phone - sarah uses maybe - at the most - 20 minutes a month on her cell phone) - they never went anywhere or to each others houses. BUT tonight, we are sitting here watching jurassic park and at 8:45 p.m., my doorbell rings, and it is a BOY asking for SARAH - so i was like yeah she is here and then remembered that she was not home because she is working.

so why do i feel old, because my 14 year old baby girl is 1)working and 2)having boys come to the house for her lol. so this poor kid must think i am nuts because i was like yeah she is here and then i said she wasn't. i really thought he was asking for mandi who is 17 and i am used to people showing up asking for her. so then i looked at this almost 6 foot kids and said "who the hell are you" and then felt even older because he was like "i'm mike z. one of the twins who lives like 5 houses from you." OMG i felt stupid, i will just blame it on the fact that it is kind of rainy/snowy outside and that i was half asleep when the doorbell rang AND the fact that the last time i saw this kid he was playing basketball with jj and they were the same height and now he is probably 6 foot if not taller.

so then i asked him what he wanted with sarah this late and it was actually kinda cute lol - he wanted to know if she wanted to go bowling. ok, sarah is almost 15 but i am sooooooooooooo not ready for the whole dating thing. this is a kid that she grew up with, but never hung out with. he is a year older than her, and i know his parents and his two brothers, he does not drive and the best part - i know where he lives. sarahbear did mention that the twins were in one of her classes this semester and she thought one of them was cute - they are identical so i am not sure how she thinks only one of them is cute lol.

so how do i go from hey mike, the kid who used to play with my boys to hey mike the guy who wants to go bowling with my daughter UUURRGHHHH what would you do????

winter storm 2008 and some other stuff

2008-02-07T11:41:00.000-05:00

what a winter storm! we still had about 8 inches from the storm on the 1st, and we had another 16 inches dumped on us yesterday - not that i mind much - i'm not going anywhere anyway lol - and living here all my life i - thankfully - know how to drive in it if i have to. i don't like driving right now becaue i can't turn my head far enough to see the blind spots in my truck so i have limited myself to take the kids to school and go to the grocery store. so these pics were taken during the day when it was still light out - we still got another 4 or so inches after these. it was so bad that the plows did not even go by because they were too busy keeping the main roads clear. we all knew we were going to get hit hard - all the malls were closed - most places did not open. the resturant that my girls work at, called at 9 in the morning to say they were not opening. the subdivision next to ours was out of power, but thankfully ours was not, however, we did lose cable and because we have the package cable deal - that meant our internet and phones were out for a while too - no big deal -we had other things to do - napping was good lol

in the top picture dh is actually snowblowing the street! he worked a 12 hour day before they finally shut down the airport, but they still had not plowed our street by 4. he got stuck in the middle of the street and mandi's bf was here and he pushed him out to the other street and then he had to snowblow the street to get to the driveway - you can see his car in the picture up against the curb - and then he and jake had to get the car unstuck from that spot to get it in the driveway - i think we got about 14-16 inches in all - there were some places just west of us that got over 20 inches.

so on tuesday night, ty had a spelling bee to attend - i was so proud of him - it was for students grades 5th -8th all competing against each other - which means the 5th graders were spelling the same words as the 8th graders. he did not win, but i think he did an awesome job - he came in 11 out of 43 and i can't even tell you the word he could not spell, because i can't spell it either lol - i have to be honest - we are a huge sports family - basketball - jj is on 3 teams - ty is on 2 teams - and al also plays - baseball/softball - both boys and sarah play little league and tournament ball and we can't forget football! so when ty said he made the district spelling bee, i thought it would be kind of boring and take forever, but i was soooo wrong - it was almost like being at a game - it was very suspenseful and i felt bad everytime a kid spelled something wrong - actually worse then when my 150lb 11 year old sacks a quarterback lol

had my 3rd mri finally on tuesday morning - had to postpone it once because i had a cold and could not stop coughing and then when i went at the rescheduled time i was still coughing so they sent me home - this time i took some nyquil when i got up and had a cough drop as i was walking in - made it through ok, the tech would stop between scans so i could cough and clear my throat so the exrays came out ok. i was hoping for some better news but i will go into that later :(

saturday was grandpa bob's birthday - he turn 66 - so we celebrated on superbowl sunday which was great because then i didn't have to cook - my mil got papa murphy's pizzas. we had not had them before and they are really good - they don't taste like delivered pizza - much better - i think we may start going there for pizza - there is one on the way home from dh's work so he can pick them up :)

i have been doing a little scrapping - nothing too fancy - mandi just brings a few things up and i work with that so if the papers look the same on more than 1 layout - they proably are lol - i also have not added and handwritten journaling yet. my fine motor skills still are not good - so my handwriting is almost unreadable - it is frustrating because even the typing is bad - i used to be able to type about 120 wpm and now - not - can't even hit a letter key and the shift key at the same time - i am really hoping that the b12 therapy works faster than they said it would cuz this is getting really old - although on the upside - i don't have to shovel lol

what flavor margarita are you

2008-02-06T16:07:00.001-05:00

You Are an Orange Margarita

At first glance, you are very unique - but deep down you are still quite a traditionalist.

A margarita may be "too fancy" for you, but you'll never turn a free one down.

What Flavor Margarita Are You?

new scrapbook pages

2008-02-05T15:39:00.001-05:00

what year do you belong in

2008-02-05T14:43:00.000-05:00

You Belong in 1998

With you anything goes! You're grunge one day, ghetto fabulous the next. It's all good!

What Year Do You Belong In?

chicken and mushroom quesadillas

2008-01-22T13:57:00.000-05:00

my mil gave me a quesadilla maker for christmas so we used it last night. it took me almost 1 1/2 hours to cut up all the ingredients to make enough for 8 people - the girls were studying for mid-terms so i didn't want to distrurb them and of course dave was glued to the xbox - although he did thake the maker out and clean it for me - we invited my mil over to since she gifted it to us and my fil is out of town. well by the time i was done cutting i was too tired to make them lol so mil made them - the quesadilla maker is pretty cool - except not when i am feeding all of us - it only makes one at a time so i think that i will stick to using it when i am just making some for dave and i for lunch - i also made guacamole but did not post the picture cuz it looked like baby poo in the plate lol!!!!!

chicken and mushroom quesadillas

this is the recipe i use to feed 7 of us

6 chicken breast - sauted with garlic salt and cayenne pepper to taste, cut into small pieces when cooked

4 garlic cloves, minced

12-16 white button mushrooms, sliced

3 roma tomatoes, chopped

1/4 white onion, chopped

shredded cheese - i buy the 8 cup bag

tortillas - i like to use flour for the kids and sometimes splurge on the tomato basil ones for mine ;)

i bake mine in the oven instead of stove top only because i have to make so many for one meal so i make two on a cookie sheet

lay 2 toritllas out in cookie sheet and layer cheese, chicken and veggies on top. place 2nd tortillas on top and press down - put in a 400 degree oven until brown

serve with spicy store bought salsa and chips and homemade guacamole

guacamole

6 avacados, chopped and slightly mashed

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

3 roma tomatoes, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

2 tablespoons lime juice

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-01-18T15:20:00.001-05:00

New Pictures

2008-01-18T10:39:00.000-05:00

i am just sitting here with my starbucks and i thought i would update with a few new pics of the kids. i have another mri scheduled for the 25th and my next dr. appt is on 2/16 so i have nothing better to do. i have almost run our of books to read - which if you have seen the amount of books that i ahve you would never believe i would run out - i am thinking of starting the janet e series over and hopefully i will get out on 2/5 for the new releases.

i had my first b12 shot on 12/21 so by the 23rd i was feeling better and had enough energy to help the girls bake some christmas cookies. mandi made chocolate covered cherry cookies, allie made a paula deen recipe of white chocolate chunk cherry cookies and sarah made designer chococate covered pretzels. we also made peanut butter cookies with and without kisses and ginger snaps

i will post some pics later - off to take a nap

I have not dropped of the planet, although I feel like I have

2008-01-16T15:59:00.000-05:00

well, i finally remembered my password and can give anyone who is interested a short update on where the hell i have been. starting this past summer, i began to have some wierd, but not doctorable symptoms. i guess they really started a long time ago, but it wasn't until i could not get out of my car and walk in the house after work that i figured something was wrong. then in october i hurt my back at work - horrible pain - but figured i would go to the doc and he would fix it. went to the doc and he sent me to a neurosurgeon who ran tests and mri's. i have 4 bulging discs and some denegerative discs and a spinal cord compression. this happened as a result from my lifting boxes and setting up stores at work. but then i had other symptoms along with this like paralysis and numbeness in my left leg and foot and my back would not heal. after 6 weeks i still could not walk well and my speech was deteriorating. i have never before stuttered, but now i could not get a simple sentence out without messing it up. i was walking like i had a huge tree trunk - well you know where. so now the doc says i have a congenital defect which was aggravated and elevated by my job - great - ok - fix it!. but then he runs some blood tests - specifically to check for low b12 levels - and when that comes back - he looked at me and said - how the hell are you even walking - i took this to mean that my b12 level was significantly low. he told me that my b12 levels were low enough to cause significant central nervous system damage and temporary paralysis. so now he says not only do i have a dangerously low b12 level and will have to get a shot once a month for the rest of my life, but i also have something called chiari malformation type 2 -and that causes syringomyelia. i copied and pasted this info

The Chiari Malformation is considered a congenital malformation, although there have been some reported cases of an acquired form. It is characterized by a small or misshapen posterior fossa (the compartment in the back of the skull), a reduction in cerebrospinal fluid pathways and a protrusion of the cerebellar tonsils through the bottom of the skull (foramen magnum) into the spinal canal. The tonsils would normally be round but often become elongated as they protrude down the spinal canal. Diagnosis can be difficult because not all patients will have the classical sign of deeply herniated tonsils. Many people with the Chiari Malformation experience no symptoms. When symptoms are present, they usually do not appear until adolescence or early adulthood, but can occasionally be seen in young children. The majority of patients complain of severe head and neck pain. Headaches are often accentuated by coughing, sneezing or straining. Patients may complain of dizziness, vertigo, disequilibrium, muscle weakness or balance problems. Often fine motor skills and hand coordination will be affected. Vision problems can also occur. Some patients experience blurred or double vision, difficulty in tracking objects or a hypersensitivity to bright lights. Physical examination may reveal nystagmus (involuntary eye movements). Other symptoms include tinnitus (buzzing or ringing in the ear), hearing loss or vocal cord paralysis. Patients may have difficulty swallowing, frequent gagging and choking and, in some cases, sleep apnea may be present. The Chiari I Malformations may also be associated with other disorders such as hydrocephalus (build up of fluid in the ventricles of the brain) or Syringomyelia. Syringomyelia is a disorder in which cerebrospinal fluid enters the spinal cord, forming a cavity known as a syrinx. It is recommended that patients diagnosed with a Chiari Malformation have the entire spine imaged to rule out the presence of a syrinx, since it may be a consideration in treatment and prognosis.
Syringomyelia, often referred to as SM, is a chronic disorder involving the spinal cord. For reasons that are only now being understood, cerebrospinal fluid enters the spinal cord, forming a cavity known as a syrinx. (Doctors sometimes use other words such as cyst, hydromyelia or syringohydromyelia) This syrinx often expands and elongates over time, destroying the center of the spinal cord. As the nerve fibers inside the spinal cord are damaged, a wide variety of symptoms can occur, depending upon the size and location of the syrinx. There are two major types of SM. In most cases it is related to a congenital malformation involving the hindbrain (cerebellum) called a Chiari I Malformation, named after the physician who first described it. The symptoms of SM are numerous and a person may have various combinations of different symptoms. Symptoms tend to develop slowly, although sudden onset may occur with coughing and straining. Some common symptoms include: loss of sensitivity, especially to hot and cold, muscle weakness and spasticity, motor impairment, loss of bowel and bladder control, as well as osteoporosis and scoliosis. The majority of patients suffer from headaches and chronic pain.
Treatment
In cases involving a Chiari Malformation, the main goal of surgery is to provide more space for the cerebellum at the base of the skull and upper cervical spine. This often results in a flattening or disappearance of the syrinx as the normal flow of cerebrospinal fluid is restored. In some cases it may be necessary to insert a shunt into the cavity, rerouting the cerebrospinal fluid from the spinal cord. A successful surgery will stabilize the condition and perhaps gain a modest improvement in symptoms, but over time surgery is not always successful and multiple surgeries may be necessary.

SO BASICALLY ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS - ALL I DID WAS FUCKING HURT MY BACK AT WORK!!!! WHAT THE HELL IS ALL THIS OTHER SHIT!!!!! - ok, done yelling and swearingso now i have to wear a hard collar neck brace whenever i am up doing something - i did go back to work for about 2 weeks right after christmas but was taken out again as disabled because i can't stand for very long and with working retail - you have to stand. it is frustrating because i still have all the strength - at least in my arms - that i did before, but i have very limited fine motor skills - if you have not already noticed there are no caps in this post that i have typed or anything else that would require me to hit more than one key at a time THANK GOR FOR SHIFT LOCK AND SPELL CHECK- i also have at times lost the ability to walk for no reason - 1 minute i can walk and the next i can't but an hour later i am ok again. i don't drive much anymore because i don't know when my leg is going to give out and don't want to be somewhere that i can't get home, plus my driveway is on a hill and i can't get the emergency brake down in my truck, let alone trying to get out of the truck lol.
so what are my options - basically brain surgery - NOT GONNA HAPPEN. the doc has given me 6 months to work with the b12 shots to see if there is any significant difference that will leave me functional. he does not know how bad the nerve damage is at this time. my back still has not healed and hurts as much as the day i did it. however, the b12 shots are kinda cool lol - there are no side effects from them and they can kinda make you feel slightly buzzed - not the bad narcotic buzzed - but the enjoying a few glasses of good wine with dinner buzzed. after 6 months we can see which symptoms have subsided and determine the amount of nerve damage and go from there. if i am functional enough i will wait to have surgery until my kids are older - if i am not - well i will deal with that then
so what's going on at home with this - well the kids are frustrated cuz i have good days and bad - some days i can walk and talk and seem perfectly normal and others i need help with everything from getting in/out of the shower to simply talking on the phone. the girls have been helpful and so has justin with household things, the other 2 try but are to young to understand - the husband on the other hand - not so good. i could fall on the ground in front of him and he says - what do you want me to do - i don't know if he is as scared and frustrated about this as i am and does not know how to handle it or if he is just an ass - for those of you who know him - i'll let you decide lol - wendy if you read this - feel free to respond lol lol lol
so basically the b12 has helped somewhat with the memory loss and speech, but that is about it - but he is giving it 6 months to work and my next shot is next week. i am also scheduled for a brain mri next week to measure the exact amount of herniation. i sit on the computer, play pogo - sweet tooth 2 yeah-, read alot - running out of books lol, and watch tv - have you ever noticed some of the whacked out recipes that make it to food network lol - i can't scrapbook or crochet cuz the fine motor skills are not there yet, but that does not stop me from buying lots of scrapbook stuff. i had my first b12 shot on 12/21 and by christmas eve was able to help the girls make some cookies. we made peanut butter cookies, peanut blossoms, chocolate covered cherry cookies, white chocolate chunky cherry cookies - a paula dean recipe - ginger snaps and sarah made chocolate covered pretzels. i'll post some pics later - i'm tired and need a nap and some vicodin

2007-08-14T13:15:00.001-04:00

Wow, I haven't had time to update in almost a month :( Between working and baseball and my husband's midlfe crisis. I am behind on everything and just ready to quit!!! I have been on antibiotics since last Thursday and this morning my fever was almost 102 WTF!!?? I need a break - ok, enough whining, not enough hours in the day for it. I did get to go to one of the county fairs with DH and 3 of the kids - the girls had to work so they could not go, but here are some pics.

All the kids won these stupid little hammers and bats so the kids decided to beat up on Dad LOL!!!

So I will try to be a better blogger and update more often, off to the post office now so if you are expecting something from me, it is probably in this pile of packages LOL!!!!

2007-07-20T16:44:00.000-04:00

Working until 2 a.m. to get these out tonight!! They think they are making me dress up HAHAHA we'll see about that LOL!! I might just to get into the spirit of things, but then again - probably not :)!!

Sarah & Kirsten on the 4th!

2007-07-07T20:01:00.000-04:00

For those of you who do not know - my Sarahbear is in the pink

2007-07-07T19:30:00.000-04:00

Sarah Softball Trophy

JJ Storm Player #7

Missy is sooo talented!!

2007-06-26T12:56:00.000-04:00

I won these on Ebay from Missy. They are so cute!! She is sooo talented!! I have been buying punchart and paper piecings from her for years and I am declaring today Missy Made It Day!!! You can visit Missy's website here www.missymadeit.com and there is a link to visit her ebay store for all her gorgeous tear bear!!!!!

THANKS MISSY!!

Which Disney Character Are You

2007-06-19T23:46:00.000-04:00

You scored as Donald Duck,
Your alter ego is Donald Duck!
Try as you might,
you have a nasty temper
that is hard to control.
But you try hard to please,
and you aren't one to go
down without a fight.

Donald Duck

81%

The Beast

75%

Peter Pan

75%

Cinderella

69%

Ariel

63%

Sleeping Beauty

63%

Goofy

63%

Pinocchio

50%

Snow White

50%

Cruella De Ville

25%

Which Disney Character is your Alter Ego?
created with QuizFarm.com

GREAT LAKES DRAGAWAY - June 2007

2007-06-17T22:38:00.001-04:00

Dave's first time racing the Nova!!! So he may not have been the fastest yet - but he was the hottest!!! :)

Sarah Graduated!

2007-06-17T16:25:00.000-04:00

Sarah & Kirsten

Sarah, Jake & Mandi

Allie, Sarah, & Mandi

Grandma & Sarah

Sarah graduated 8th grade on June 8!!

The day after she turned 14!

She is now officially a High Schooler!

OMG - I'm getting old LOL!!!

And she graduated with a 3.98 GPA!!

CAR SHOW JUNE 9, 2007

2007-06-17T16:18:00.000-04:00

So Dave decided to show his car at the car show on June 9th. There were a lot of cool cars there. His buddy Ryan came over with his Roadster - this is the 2nd pic. (Dave's car is the first pic!) Anyway, Ryan's car was covered in rust. He says he is not going to restore it in anyway - the rust is what makes it cool. It has the old Mexican style restaurant chairs in it for seats LOL!! Everyone was saying it was going to win best in show LOL!! Don't know if it did - we did not stay that long. We went again last night but I did not take any pics - really, how many do I need of the same car LOL!!

I've been tagged

2007-06-17T15:54:00.000-04:00

I've been tagged by Michelle. Place an X by all the things you've done, or remove the X from the ones you have not, and tag your friends. Copy to your blog.

( ) Smoked a cigarette
(X) Drank so much you threw up
(X) Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back
( ) Been arrested (knock on wood)
(X) Gone on a blind date
(X) Skipped school
( ) Seen someone die
( ) Been to Canada
(X) Been to Florida
(X) Been to Mexico
(X) Been on a plane
(X) Been lost
( ) Gone to Washington, DC
(X) Swam in the ocean
(X) Gone skinny dipping
( ) Felt like dying
( ) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Played cops and robbers
(X) Recently colored with crayons
( ) Sang karaoke
( ) Paid for a meal with only coins
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(X) Made prank phone calls
( ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
( ) Laughed until liquid came out the other end
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) Danced in the rain
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sun rise with someone you care about
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Made a bonfire on the beach
(X) Crashed a party
(X) Gone roller-skating
(X) Ice-skating

1. Any nicknames? MOMMY
2. Mothers Name? SHIRLEY
3. What is your favorite drink? LEMONADE
4. Tattoos? NO
5. Body piercing? YES
6. How much do you love your job? RIGHT NOW IT'S OK
7. Birthplace? WISCONSIN
8. Favorite vacation spot? IN THE MOUNTAINS
9. Have you ever been to Africa ? NO
10. Ever eaten Cookies for dinner? YES
11. Ever been on TV? NO
12. Ever steal any traffic signs? YES
13. Ever been in a car accident? YES
14. Was it your fault? NO
15. 4 Doors? YES
16. Favorite salad dressing? RANCH
17. Favorite Pie? PECAN
18. Favorite number? 7
19. Favorite Movie(s)? XXX - get your mind out of the gutter LOL!! Vin Diesel in XXX (triple XXX)
20. Favorite Holiday ? THANKSGIVING
21. Favorite alcoholic drink? PINA COLADA
22. Favorite Food? LASAGNE
23. Favorite day of the week? SATURDAY
24. Favorite brand of body soap? IVORY
25. Favorite TV show(s)? LAW & ORDER SVU, AI
26. Favorite toothpaste? CREST CINNAMON
27. What do you do to relax? SCRAPBOOK
28. Do you have a message to your friends reading this right now? BITE ME ;)
29. How do you see yourself in 10 years? HOPEFULLY ALIVE AND HAPPY
30. What do you do when you are bored? GET ON THE INTERNET
31. Furthest place you tag someone? FLORIDA
32. Your hero? DON'T HAVE ONE
33. Your middle name and be honest? ANN

Have a Pina Colada on Me

2007-05-27T23:18:00.000-04:00

After the weekend I have had - CHEERS to all! LOL!!!!

2007-05-27T17:07:00.000-04:00

What Your Favorite Color Purple Says About You:

Intuitive --- Seeking --- CreativeKind --- Self-Sacrificing --- Growth OrientedStrong --- Very Wise --- Rare

http://www.blogthings.com/whatdoesyourfavoritecolorsayaboutyouquiz/">What Does Your Favorite Color Say About You?

2007-05-27T15:55:00.000-04:00

So I am finally getting to this that Val tagged me with a while ago!

SCATTERGORIES...it's harder than it looks!

Your Name: Lori
1. Famous Singer/Band: Linkin Park
2. 4 letter word: Lust
3. Color: Lilac
4. Street: Lovers Lane
5. Gifts/Presents: Luxurious Sheets
6. Vehicle: Lexis
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: lighters - but we don't smoke
8. Boy Name: Louis
9. Girl Name: Linda
10. Movie Title: Life-size
11. Drink: Lemonade - preferable Mike's!!
12. Occupation: Linguist
13. Flower: Lilacs
14. Celebrity: Ludacris
15. Magazine: Martha Stewart's LIVING
16. U.S. City: Las Vegas
17. Pro Sports Teams: Lakers
18. Fruit: Lime - preferable with some Tequilla LOL!
19. Reason for Being Late for Work: just because I am LATE
20. Something You Throw Away: leftovers
21. Things You Shout: Love You
22. Cartoon Character: Mario Brothers LUIGI

Rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the
following...They MUST be real places, names, things...NOTHING made up!
If you can't think of anything, skip it. Try to use different answers if the
person before you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the
boy/girl name question... Now Go!

So I am gonna tag - Missy - Jolene (when she has time)- Sarah - and Mary - HaHa Mary now you need to start a blog!!!! LOL!!!

2007-05-21T23:08:00.000-04:00

You are a Dark Red Rose

You represent unconscious beauty and deep passion.
Your vibe: sophisticated and worldly
Falling in love with you is: wildly carnal and forbidden

What'>http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolorroseareyouquiz/">What Color Rose Are You?

Grumpy!!

2007-05-20T21:11:00.000-04:00

My Grumpy Man - He just loves it when I take his picture and post it online - NOT!!!! LOL

2007-05-18T20:55:00.000-04:00

Your Quirk Factor: 55%

You're a pretty quirky person, but you're just normal enough to hide it.Congratulations - you've fooled other people into thinking you're just like them!

How'>http://www.blogthings.com/howquirkyareyouquiz/">How Quirky Are You?

2007-05-15T15:49:00.000-04:00

Ok, this will be the 3rd time in 3 days that I have tried to post on here!! What a pain blogger has been! OH WELL!! So I am determined to get this post on here today LOL!! I have been so busy as usual. Have not had much time off lately so my house is a first class disaster, I did do laundry over the weekend but had to work yesterday and softball tonight so it is still sitting here on the couch waiting patiently to be put away - ever wonder what 1 week's worth of laundry looks like for 7 people LOL!!!! Keep reading and you will see!

So, our week started with NSD last Saturday. www.cropperscottage.com was hosting a 7 day cybercrop. Each DT member had a day and posted 7 challenges. There were some really great challenges, but with working so much I only got 4 done and was after the deadline. But I still printed them all off and will keep working on them. The first one I did is shown in a post below. The second was to use 2 photos of your pet, so I took Akela outside and took some new photos of him - isn't he cute!!?? Another challenge was to use 1 photo of your breakfast. Then the next one I did was to create a LO showcasing something that no one knows about you. Well, I chose doodling on my jeans LOL!! I guess that everyone that sees me, knows that I do this, but my online friends don't so I thought it would make a good addition to my BOM.

Then a few of the DT members posted challenges to scrap a day in our lives. I have not had time yet to actually scrap any of this, but here are the photos. A mini trip to the grocery store. Making 2 huge batches of sauce so I can making spaghetti, baked mostacolli, and have some leftover to freeze for a quick dinner. And yes, that is really only 1 week's worth of laundry and done in 2 days. I still don't have the sheets, towels and blankets.

And I can't forget about work. I really do love my job, just need some time off LOL!!! Not just a day or two. I need a two week vacation - Maybe spend one week out in Colorado, and the next week at Disney World. I would love to stay in one of the really nice resorts and not have to worry about cooking. Maid service for the laundry LOL!! NOT gonna happen anytime soon!! But I can dream, can't I LOL!!! So most days the biggest part of my day is books! I do try to read a little everyday, mosty at lunch and on break at work.

So I decided this week that I need to purge some of my craft supplies, and reorganize my office. You should check out Jolene's blog. http://jolenegeorge.blogspot.com/ This woman is amazing!!! She not only has beautiful taste in decorating, but she could be a professional organizer. Her blog and the pics of her scrap room, motivated me to want to do some reorganizing of my own. I have pile of books everywhere by my office and there really is no more room inside, so I think I am going give away the books that I have read and don't want to keep. Move the ones that my girls want to read (mysteries) and I bought 2 smaller bookcases. The new ones will have to go outside my office door, where there is another small room. It is basically a large hallway but it contains a huge dresser that I have my scrap paper and die cut machine on top of. So my goal for this week is to build these 2 bookcases and clear out some of that scrap paper!!!

We have had so much baseball/softball lately and Friday night was no exception!! It was a horrible night though for sports. It was soooo windy and cold. I didn't get home in time from work to catch TJ's game, but did get to watch Sarah's. DH and I ended up going to sit in his van because it was cold, yet there was TJ with just his shirt on LOL!! Both teams played very well. TJ team won 14-1 and Sarah's 12-0 or something close to those numbers.

So on Friday, JJ went to a lock-in at school for the four classes in his grade. Too many kids for me, but Sarah decided that she would go spend the night and help out after her game. So on the way hone, I got her a large iced coffee and brought her over to the school at 10 p.m. It was so cute when we got there! JJ had already been there since 6, and the PTO hired a DJ to come. JJ was singing Karaoke {sp?} he was so embarrassed that I saw him LOL!!! It was too funny! Sarah said that the kids were up all night! JJ and some of the other boys went in the "girls" activity room, where the girls were doing hair, makeup and nails. JJ came home with his nails painted black!! He would not let me take a pic of them. But Sarah and JJ were up all night and came home at 8a.m. to sleep LOL!!
Mother's Day was very nice. DH brought me a very pretty bouquet of flowers. It has yellow roses, orange and cream tiger lily's and pink carnations. Very springy! He also made breakfast and invited my inlaws over. We had french toast, eggs and bacon. It was even more yummy because I didn't have to cook it :)!!! He also gave me a gift card to Starbucks! Hmmmm, wonder why!!??? LOL

Then Monday I worked some more and started reading a new book Karma Girl, by Jennifer Estep. It is a paranormal romance, but not the usual vampires, werewolves or aliens. It is about a reporter who uncovers superheros and ubervillians. So far it has been funny, but I am only on page 53 so we'll see. But it did receive 4 1/2 stars on www.waldenbooks.com. Mostly, I read the paranormal romance and vampire/werewolf sci-fi, but my brain is not all gushy mush LOL!

I am also reading A Woman in Berlin, by Anonymous. This is not something that I would not typically read, but Linda said it was a really good story, so she borrowed me the book. It is the author's personal journal of her time as a young girl in 1945, when Berlin fell to the Russian army. Definitely not a light read, but a clearly detailed account of the war and enemy occupation, and her experiences at that time. 4 1/2 stars on waldenbooks.com.

Next on my list is, Elementary, My Dear Watkins, (A Smart Chick Mystery) by Mindy Starns Clark. This is a Christian mystery. Looks like it should be pretty good and it received 4 1/2 stars on waldenbooks.com.

Third is Lost & Found, by Jacqueline Sheehan. I picked this book up because of the big chocolate lab on the front cover. Cuz ya know, I love my lab!! Anyway, after reading Marley & Me last year, I never skip a dog related story and glad that I did not bypass this one. It is a story of moving on after the death of a husband with the help of a dog. In contrast to the grief of loss in this story, is the overwhelming love and joy that this dog brings to her life. 5 stars on waldenbooks.com. I also finally bought James Patterson's 1st to Die. I know, I am way behind as he is on #6 now LOL!

On a different note, Valeri posted about a site that I think we all should visit. Shane Bernier is only 7 years old. He is diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. His only wish is to break the world record and receive 350 million birthday cards by May 30. Please check out his site and send him a card. http://www.shaneswish.com/index.php

So now that I have spent the better part of my morning, typing this LOL! I will try once again to post it to blogger. Oh I almost forgot, Val tagged me yesterday so I will get to that shortly, probably tonight after ball games. Since I had the day off, DH and I went to get Mexican for lunch YUMMO!! Chicken Flautas and Guacamole!!!

Oh, I almost forgot this too LOL!! (really need that vacation!!) Christi, Rita, and Val, check your mailboxes, or grab the FedEx man, however I decide to send this. Vicki, check your front door in a few days LOL!! And I can't wait to hear from Christi and Kat - congratulations Christi!! I am so excited for you. Can't wait to see pics!!

And the very last thing for today DH finally finished his car!! WOOHOOOO!! He has been restoring it all winter. I think it looks HOT!!!!

2007-05-12T22:37:00.000-04:00

I am so freakin mad!!! I just had this long post with tons of pics and stupid AOL shut me off and I lost the whole thing!! I am going to scrap so more and will repost everything in the morning!!! URGGHH!

Congratulations Amanda!!!

2007-05-10T14:37:00.000-04:00

Mandi made National Honor Society!!! I am so proud of her!!! The induction ceremony was last night. Even though she still has a really long road ahead of her, she has it all planned out. Well, for the most part anyway. She knows what she wants to do with her life and has mapped it out as far as college is concerned. She knows what her course study needs to be and how to acheive the goals she has set for herself! She really is an awesome daughter!!!

2007-05-10T00:30:00.001-04:00

Your Personality is Very Rare (ESTP)

Your personality type is dominant, driven, poised, and self-aware.
Only about 5% of all people have your personality, including 3% of all women and 6% of all menYou are Extroverted, Sensing, Thinking, and Perceiving.

A Week in Review

2007-05-06T14:32:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Miss Allie Anne-Marie!!!!!!!

Mama loves you brat girl!!!

Allie had her friend Maggie sleep over and tonight we are having a BBQ . Nothing fancy. I had told the kids that they could not have birthday parties this year. We have them every year, and with as many kids as we have!!!??? They can skip a year LOL!!

This was the first challenge that I was able to get done on National Scrapbook Day!! The first challenge was to do a page about WHY I scrapbook. Here it is. I used the kids school pics from this year. I forgot what Sarah looked like with blond hair LOL!!

The altered D was for a Junkitz contest, but I made it too small. Requirements were 8 inches or larger and mine measured 7 1/2 inches. I would have fixed it by adding some black matting, but the other entries were soooo awesome and I had to get to baseball games on Friday night, so oh well.

So Friday was such a blast at work (totally being sarcastic) LOL!! My BIGGEST pet peeve is shop lifting!!! I work in a bookstore so obviously we don't mind if customers make themselves comfortable and read. We love when customers BUY books, but don't mind at all if you sit down and read. We have a huge Manga/Anime section, and have kids come in all the time and camp out on the floor and read. Ok, that's great and it actually helps me when we get a talkative bunch in. I know nothing about the Manga section and they will tell you about whatever series they are reading and I file that info away, because if Mary or Jill is not working, yeah well then I am screwed when it comes to recommending Manga titles. I get that the books are $8-$12 a piece and most kids can't afford that. That is why we WANT them to come in and settle in for reading. BUT Friday afternoon, I had 2 girls come in. They were probably about 13 years old and were acting very suspiciously. One had a backpack with her and anyone who works retail knows that is a HUGE sign. So anyway, they were there for about 20 minutes and I asked them several times of they needed any help. Of course, no, they did not. So then they were leaving and I followed them to the door and asked them again if they needed any help and they got really nervous. I asked them if they were forgetting anything and the were like "no" and I said "are you sure" and the one was like "ummm, no," but looked really guilty. I said "I think you are forgetting to do something" and then I walked to the registers. They dropped the books that they were going to steal and left. OK! I was pissed. Then, a bit later, they came back!!!! I was on them so fast!!! I did not move from about 3 feet from them the entire time they were there. The one girl came up with 2 books and bought them, and the other girl was complaining she wanted a different one. I know they came back to pick up the ones that they dropped in the front of the store, but M had already gotten them. One that they bought was one that they dropped. After they paid this time, they came back again - I know they were waiting for me to leave. The one girl bought another book and they left and about 2 minutes before I left, they were back again!! But M and J were already onto them too!!!! I guess they bought another book after I left and then they were gone. In one of their visits, I had to tell the one girl she needed to keep her backpack closed and on her back, because I know she did not want to look suspicious LOL!!!

Sarah and her friend Meghan went to a Quinceanera for their friend Elizabeth. My Sarah is the one in green!

It was also my birthday last Monday. Dave got a brownie from the gas station and had the kids sing happy birthday before school. I didn't even get to eat it because the dog got it LOL!!!

The coach from the team that Allie was playing, brought her a cute little gift bag full of candy. His daughter drew a get well card for Al. It was too cute, she put Allie on the front pitching!

MY HOTTIE

2007-05-06T14:27:00.000-04:00

Happy National Scrapbook Day

2007-05-05T21:08:00.000-04:00

OK, I am finally home from working and picking up the kids from Nanny's house! I have changed my sheets, threw another load of laundry in, ate some ice cream {YUM} and now I am going to sit down and work on some of the awesome challenges that Linda posted at www.cropperscottage.com They are some AWESOME challenges and I am off tomorrow so I plan on staying up a little later to make up for lost time at work today. Today is also Allie's birthday, but we are celebrating it tomorrow so I will post some birthday pics of Princess Allie then. She has a friend sleeping over tonight so I will have to take some time out of scrapping to help them make sock puppets; unless, {wishing really hard LOL} they are too tired and just want to watch a movie. We {could} make the puppets in the morning after breakfast LOL!!

2007-05-03T10:56:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Alyssa Christine!!

Alyssa turns 24 today!!! I know you are celebrating in heaven.

Il Compleanno felice Bell'Angelo. Li manco così tanto. Sorriso giù ed abbey e la vostra famiglia oggi.

Please visit her site and wish her a bueno compleanno (happy birthday in Italian!!)

http://alyssanarloch.memory-of.com/

Alyssa, li manco così tanto. Non è appena lo stesso qui senza voi. So che state mantenendo le ale vicine intorno a tutti noi, ma non è lo stesso dei vostri hugs amorosi. Avete toccato tante vite con il vostro sorriso ed ancora continuate a fare così. Ci non è un giorno che vada da quello che non penso voi. Ti amo Lyss e li manca così tanto!

Just for you tonight chicka, we are having pork chops, broccoli and cottage cheese LOL!!! Maybe I'll even make a batch of cookie dough, but not bake it :)

This is such a cute story about Lyss. :) My oldest DS who is now 11 used to have the biggest crush on Alyssa!! She was here at least 2-3 nights a week before she started working at the bank, and when he was little, he would NOT go to sleep until she would go in and give him a kiss and say "I love you Justin! Good night!"

I won't be making another post today because this is Lyss' day! I'll catch up tomorrow!

2007-04-28T22:38:00.000-04:00

OMG!! What a day! 4 of my 5 play ball - 2 play baseball and 2 play softball. So anyway, today was opening day and we had 4 games. Thankfully TJ's team played J's team. But Allie's team played at the same time as the boys :( So I had to run between fields. This is after we had 4 sets of pics early this morning and just never left the fields so I could keep my parking space LOL!!! There are over 500 kids that play for our Little League so parking in the lot is a premium!! So after spending $84 for LL pics, the games started. J hit an awesome ball that landed just in front of the fence and then scored a run in on the next hit!! TJ's team played J's, but TJ could not pitch today. J popped TJ's jaw last night so TJ's coach was afraid that TJ would take the opportunity of pitching today to aim straight at J's head LOL!!! I "hope" that he was just teasing and saving TJ for pitching in Monday's game; and TJ ended up in center field today. So then after J's awesome hit, I ran back up to watch Allie pitching. She is an awesome pitcher, but today her game was off. She walked the first 3 batters and then the next batter hit - line drive - straight into Allie's HEAD!! First game of the season :( My poor baby. We spent the next 3 hours at urgent care, but she was such a trooper! Several people told me that the Mom of the girl that hit the ball was very upset. I was grateful for her concern, but hey - it's ball!! Not that I want my kids hurt, but you all see the BRUISER layout below LOL!!!! Sarah broke her foot during basketball practice, bruised a rib during a game, and broke 4 fingers just before volleyball season! Anyway. . . Allie has a mild concussion and will have one heck of a shiner in a day or two!! It hit her so hard that she has seam imprints on her head! I have to wake her up every hour for the first few hours and then every 2 hours for the night! Allie can't play ball for the next week and has to be out of gym class and NO trampoline! Then after next Saturday, she can play ball, but only in outfield so there in little to no chance that she will reinjure her head. Because we left the fields to take Allie to the dr., I missed Sarah's game, but Mandi was there and took a bunch of pics. So at the end of baseball today - J's team won over TJ's team. Allie's team did not win :( but Sarah's team did! There is a new slide show at the bottom with pics from today's games.

My friend Linda is awesome!! She gave me this yummy box of chocolates yesterday!!!

Aren't the kids just tooooo funny!! This is what Mandi and Jake wrote all over DH's windows!! And of course Jake had to write on Mandi's!! LOL

Also, earlier this week, my inlaws took me out for my birthday (which is on this coming Monday!!!) We went a Mexican restaurant which was pretty yummy!! Chicken Flautas and Guacamole!!

And I just have to say Patty - YOU ROCK!!!! and I am still thinking you should hire that guy that I emailed you about LOL!!!!!!! That would definitely get my butt to work every day LOL!!!!!!!!

What Kind of Flower am I

2007-04-28T00:12:00.001-04:00

I am a
Canna

What Flower
Are You?

"You stand up for what you believe in, even if it gets in the way of what other people think. You are proud of yourself and your accomplishments and you enjoy letting people know that."

Layout of the Day

2007-04-25T10:20:00.000-04:00

WooHoo! My BRUISER layout was selected as Layout of the Day at Scrappers Daily Dose!!

2007-04-23T23:03:00.000-04:00

I started out trying to make this an 8.5x11 LO, but mounted it on 12x12. Maybe one of these days I will go back to the smaller size. LOL!! Tyler got the black eye last year during baseball practice. The ball missed his glove and he caught it with his eye! I would like to finish one more LO tonight but don't think I will make it.

2007-04-23T21:59:00.000-04:00

I am soooooo tired and sore today LOL!!!!! I am done moving huge amounts of books for a while LOL!!!!! I am off to scrap for a while before bed, although I fell asleep waiting for Allie's softball coach to show up for practice, so maybe I won't get much done. Have to wait up for Mandi to get home from work so I have another hour!! We'll see what gets done. Maybe just a nap on the couch with the dog!

Baseball & Softball

2007-04-21T16:16:00.000-04:00

Today was a full day of baseball and softball!!! We had scrimmages at 10, 11, and 12, which makes it really hard to be three places at once!! And S had practice at 12:30 URGH!!! So I am finally home and have gotten everyone's lunch and now have a chance to sit before the dryer goes off and I have more laundry to do :) Here are some pics from today! A is first and then Ty in black and JJ in red.

Allie has been working on this art project and I just can't figure out what it is. Usually, I am pretty good at guessing, but this one stumps me! What do you think!!??

Midwest Scrapbook Convention!

2007-04-13T21:24:00.000-04:00

Mandi and I went to the scrapbook convention today and honestly, we were a little disappointed! It was sooo much smaller than normal. They probably were short about 15-20 vendors. Maybe it was just because it fell during spring break. I don't know, but it was a bit boring. Only 1 vendor had any of the new items. Also, there were only 7 vendors offering make-n-takes. And they were charging for them. I don't mind the $1 or $2 charges, but one vendor was charging $10. Why not just take a class then! M did make some cute $1 things though. One is a 6x6 page and the other is a cute gift card holder.

I did buy a few things including this really cool self-inking alphabet stamp set. I got the uppercase one and they are sending me the lowercase for free!! The show special was buy the upper get the lower, but they ran out of the lower so I am expecting it some time next week. They also had the same set that was not self-inking so I am ordering that one so we can use different color inks.

I did not buy any of the new stuff from the 1 vendor that had it. But when I got home and checked the message boards, I was sooo glad to see the stuff that I did not buy at the convention, Shannon uploaded to www.cropperscottage.com. So I will placing an order there shortly!

I did get some old school stickers, that I did not need but the were 50% off. I can still use them I guess. I thought they were cute. I also found the Cinci Bengals stickers. I have been looking for those for awhile for J's football pics.

I also got some really cool chipboard. I am going to use the oval frame for a swap that I am in, and I love the 12x12 sheet of arrows. It is from www.creekbankcreations.com They also had these really neat circle shapes that they altered to look just like a scrapbook page and then attached them together with ribbon to make a wall hanging. SO COOL! They also had tons of letters in all different sizes.

There was one vendor that was selling mesh for only .49 a package and metal corners and brads for $1 each.

Also got some other chipboard words, rub-ons, quicklets (eyelets you set with a pen), and some cute shaped brads, and pretty papers.

And this was the best purchase of the day LOL! For those of you who have not seen a page with my DH on it, check out my scraps & stuff blog LOL!!! This fits him perfectly!

I did take some pics when I got home this afternoon!!

Happy Birthday Kirsten!!

And here are a few of my new favorite pics of 2 of my boys!

Just had to Share

2007-04-11T23:44:00.000-04:00

Just had to share the funniest thing. Allie had softball practice on Monday night and on my way home from work, she called me in tears because she didn't have any socks!! Now, she has tons of socks, but she wanted to wear a pair of the boys baseball socks because afterall, don't ya know Mom, it's softball! LOL!! She said they were supposed to be practicing sliding and she needed the socks that come up to her knees. The boys, however, have caught on to her and hide their baseball socks because they do not want them to smell girly! Ok, these are boys - anything smells better than the socks when they take them off! Anyway, I told her to get a pair of Dad's socks, that they would do for now. And on top of the fashion forward statement of wearing her daddy's socks, is the new trend of wearing a purple striped t-shirt with an orange and yellow polka dotted skort!!!

My favorite breakfast!

2007-04-09T09:39:00.000-04:00

Because I did not wake up with a headache this morning, I could eat whatever I wanted for breakfast, and my favorite breakfast is this!!
Has anyone else had these? www.kringle.com
They are the most delicious things!! I love them!

Happy Easter!

2007-04-09T00:11:00.000-04:00

We finally finished the eggs on Saturday night. I have had this migraine for 4 days now so it took me all day to boil them. We had fun though, even the dog wanted to help LOL!! JJ said he was too old to help color, however, he did inform us that the eggs were still in the fridge at 3 a.m. but not at 5 a.m. so the Easter Bunny must have come between those times!

I did get to scrap a little bit today.

Also I made an awesome supper. I did not make the traditional ham and fixins for Easter. I made homemade spaghetti sauce, garlic bread and salad. Sarah made a chocolate cake.
It was cool! Last night M got off work early and we scrapped a bit together. Well I scrapped, she made a card, but it was nice spending the time together.
My Mom came for dinner tonight which was nice as she does not drive much anymore and she hates to have her picture taken, but I was able to get this shot with Sarah Also, yesterday was an awesome mail day!!!! I received an order from www.cropperscottage.com and some stuff from ebay.
Great Junkitz papers, Heidi stamps, Prima flowers and ribbon, MM chipboard and ribbons. - Fun stuff!

YUMMO

2007-04-07T23:23:00.000-04:00

My baby is soooo good to her MaMa!!

Look what she brought home from work!

American Idol

2007-04-06T22:35:00.001-04:00

I am soo lovin' his performances!!

I also created a slide show. It's at the bottom of the page. I have not had this much fun on the computer since we got it and I was doing desktop publishing!!! I don't have any pics of my boys on the slide show because I don't have anything recent. I know, can you believe it LOL!!!

Blog Crazy

2007-04-06T00:16:00.000-04:00

Hey all! I went blog crazy today and decided to create another one. But I didn't stop there LOL!! I created 2 more. One is for all of my scrapbook and altered projects. The other is for a listing of books that I have read and loved. Also a list of my favorite authors. If I didn't like a book, I'll let you know that too. If you want to check them out, the links are on the right.

I didn't get much done today, but did get my Easter Swap to fedex. Work was fun, as we received a large shipment and I was able to see all the new books. It feels as though the pnemonia I had is coming back, which is not a good thing as Easter is here! I do have a few days off coming so maybe i jsut need some rest! HAHA with my kids LOL!!!!

Sarah Bear

2007-04-04T20:47:00.000-04:00

2007-04-03T13:18:00.000-04:00

I have finally decided to figure this bloggin' thing out LOL!! I am dedicating this blog to my friend, who was tragically lost on July 6, 2005 in a horrible accident. Alyssa was truly an angel here on earth and there is no doubt that she is one of the greatest in heaven! I miss her terribly. We used to sit and scrapbook for hours. She would come over in the afternoon and the next thing we would know it would be 2:00 a.m.!! She was an awesomely talented artist, who through the efforts of her Mother, was finally, and deserving so, published in the March 2007 issue of Memory Makers!!!