Americana

I was hardly on the computer this weekend, because we were doing lots of family activities. Saturday we went to the Cherry Festival in nearby Whitehouse. They do this every year and it's your typical Midwest, small town festival. They have a parade with a band, fire trucks (and lots of loud sirens!), tractors, cute little cars, and even camels!

There is something completely overwhelming and touching about watching a small town parade. For a brief moment, everyone comes together and gets along, enjoying the simple pleasures of life. Every time I go to a parade like this, I actually tear up! But then I'd weird like that. I also tear up at the first high school football game every fall, watching the marching band come out onto the field to their cadence. Ah, the good old days...but, I digress.

I need to add more to this layout, but I'm stuck, so I posted it anyway. Notice how I used the tag to strategically cover my butt! ROFL!! That is one of the worst photos of me ever. I think you can see every bump and bulge. Note to self: burn that outfit!!

Sunday we drove up to Great Lakes Crossing in Pontiac, Michigan (about 1.5 hours from here) for Rob's birthday. He wanted to take the girls to the Rainforest Cafe, and it was a great choice! They absolutely loved it. Their non-stop chattering all through lunch was really funny. We let them each pick out one thing from the gift shop, and they both chose little kitties. Now, they could have had something different and exotic, but no, kitties. They carried them all through the mall, making them meow. They just crack me up.

Yesterday we did a bedroom clean out in the morning, and then we met some friends at a playground after lunch. A trip to Target set me back about $38, even though I went in to look for a birthday gift for Rob and couldn't find it! I got a new strawberry tablecloth with some red vinyl placemats...very summery and bright, along with some supplies for S'mores, and Uncle Sam hat for Rob to wear on the 4th, patriotic socks for the girls and a couple other odds and ends.

A couple of blog prompts from Stephani at KB and Friends...

What do you consider to be the ultimate snack food?
I can only choose one? Oh man! I guess I'd say cereal, because that can cover many different kinds. You can eat it dry, or with milk for something more substantial. And what kid doesn't like dry Cheerios? ;-)

Name a hobby that you’ve tried but eventually gave up for some reason.
I used to do counted cross-stitch when I was a kid, around 4th-6th grade. It was fun, and I learned from my mom. Once I got involved with music/band/junior high, I just didn't have time anymore. Now, I don't know if I'd have the patience! LOL

Have a great day!

Work Day

I have my work cut out for me today. Mom took the kids (thanks Mom!) for the day so I could work in the house. My project for the day is to completely clean out the sunroom, which is only 16x9, but the girls use it as a playroom and I have my "studio" in there, and you'd be amazed how much stuff can pile up! I'll post before and after photos later on...wish me luck! :-)

Tonight we have the 8th grade banquet for DH's school, and they are having it at the country club where we had our wedding reception. I don't think we've been back in that particular room since (13 years ago), so it will be fun to take a trip down memory lane.

Oops, almost forgot the daily blog prompt:

What are 3 things you would like to put in a time capsule?

1. My laptop (I can't imagine how technology will be different, even 10 years from now)
2. My cell phone (Same as above...will we even need cell phones in the future?)
3. One entire outfit that I wear on a typical day (which right now is capri pants, a short sleeved shirt and sandals or tennis shoes with short socks) and also my glasses :-)

Later chicas!

School's out for summah!

Remember that song? I think I have it right. Well, today was the last day of preschool for the girls. We have the next 8 or so weeks to really hang out and have fun, right?

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

I sooooo don't want to get bored! I have them signed up for gymnastics and swimming lessons, and they are also taking a week-long Pixies and Princesses class at the Y. I think we'll also check out the summer reading program at the library, and visit the zoo and science museum on a regular basis. No problem, right? LOL

I decided to start joining in on Sempson's Daily Blog Prompt, to get me blogging on a more regular basis. Today the prompt is:

If you could wake up tomorrow with a new talent, what would you want it to be?

This is an easy one...I'd love to be able to dance! You know, kind of like they dance on Dancing with the Stars (only I wouldn't be dressed like that...yikes!). I think dancing is so much fun, but I'm not very good at it. The only dance class I've ever taken was in high school, when I was in the flag corps. We had a dancing only portion of our halftime show, so we all took a group lesson over the summer. I loved it! But my body is, let's just say, not exactly designed for dancing. LOL

I put up a couple of altered projects I've done lately, as I applied to Traci Reed's CT and she's looking for altered artists. I will be adding more in the next day or so, but this is a start anyway.

Bathroom Shelf Project

Simple Altered Clipboard

And here is a quick layout, from our outing on Memorial Day:

Back In Time

Ciao for now!

Atilla the Mom

So it's been a while since I've blogged again...what's new, right? LOL This time I actually have a decent excuse.

The Friday before Memorial Day, Heidi came down with a fever, coughing, sneezing, congestion, etc. This had been going on all week (minus the fever) and I figured it was just a cold or allergies. Saturday Gretchen got the fever too, and we spend the weekend hunkered down, running sick bay. I don't know how other people do it, but in our house, the kids get the couches and I wait on them hand and foot. That's how my mom did it for me, and I know how rotten it feels to be sick, so I want to do the same for them.

By Monday I thought they were on the road to recovery, so we ventured out to a park and did this really cool canal boat ride. The boat is a replica of a canal boat from 1865, and is pulled by mules. The people running it are dressed in period costumes and "acting" as if we all lived in 1865. It was really cute. We even got to go through an actual working lock.




I sent them to school Tuesday, since they didn't have a fever. By Tuesday afternoon, though, the fevers were back and they were both coughing A LOT. Finally Wednesday I took Heidi to the doctor, and it turned out she had PNEUMONIA!! I was shocked! Well, at least we got her some medicine. That night Gretchen's fever went up and she coughed all night, so Thursday am it was her turn at the doctor. She had an ear infection, so it was antibiotics for her too.

We spent the rest of the week trying to recover, missing their school zoo trip and everything. I was able to send them back to school on Tuesday, and they were able to take their birthday treat, so everything worked out okay.

Now, Rob caught the bug. He's home sick today with a fever, coughing and congestion. It's like having another kid! I know he's feeling awful but I am SO DONE with the house being under quarantine! Let's just hope that I don't get it next. I don't have time to be sick!

I better get back to the grind. So far today, I have cut the grass, swept two driveways and the sidewalk in front of our house, done two loads of laundry, fixed all the meals, waited on Rob, watched the girls ride their bikes, baked cupcakes for my MIL's birthday (which is today) and took a short nap while they watched their afternoon show. Sigh.

Inconsistent Blooger Award

If there was such a thing, I think I would win! LOL I walk around writing really cool sounding blog posts in my head, but they very rarely come to fruition.

I finally won something for a layout! Yay! I submitted a bunch of layouts in DigiShopTalk's 2007 Scrappers Awards, never expecting to win anything, but lo and behold...my layout was chosen for Best Overall Submission! I was absolutely shocked!

See all the credits here. I must give credit to two people for this one. First, to the very talented Jessica Bolton, who designed the fabulous kit I used to create this, and secondly to Melinda Staley, who has a knack for making really striking layouts using black backgrounds. And of course to Heidi, who is the star of the layout! LOL My prize is a $10 GC to any scrapping store, so I chose KB and Friends. I just love their new collab kit:



Okay, this is sad...I actually had to go look at my last blog post to see what I wrote about...it's been so long! Didn't want to repeat myself. :p

I don't even know which layouts to post, so I think that will wait for another day.

Happy Monday!

A tag...seven random things

I have been tagged by Audra (thank you my friend!). So now I'm going to post seven random tidbits about myself...are you ready for this excitement?

1.

Um, this is a lot harder that is seems....

1. Sometimes I snort when I laugh.
2. People call me Michelle in real life, but I use Mish so much online that I'm starting to like that better!
3. I absolutely love fresh green beans, and I eat them like potato chips this time of year.
4. I am afraid of raw chicken, and refuse to touch a raw turkey as well.
5. My favorite pair of shoes right now are my $8 fake Crocks (in a lovely shade of brown, so they can *almost* pass as real shoes).
6. I used to have a terrible fear of tornadoes, but now I actually enjoy a good thunderstorm.
7. If I could be anywhere in the world right now, I'd be in the Canadian Rockies.

I think everyone who reads this and has a blog has already been tagged, so I will tag Jeanmarie, Debra and Dawn. You gals can just email me, okay? :-)

I have a new favorite store

I usually don't blog on Sundays, but Rob and I had a date night last night and I just felt compelled to write about it! Now, most of you are probably very familiar with Ikea. I had never been there before, and the closest one we have to us is about an hour north of here. My parents took the kids overnight and we had a little adventure!

I couldn't even believe the outside of the store...it makes such a bold statement, with that blue and yellow. Then once you get inside, they take you on this little tour and weave you all through the store. I felt like I was in a maze or something. Their displays are really well put together, and I'm convinced this is way their products sell so well.

We ended up with a few things:

Rainbow colored plastic bowls and little plates for the girls...

A little table and chair, which I've been wanting to get for a long time now...

And finally, a chair for my "office" LOL. Mine has an off-white, washable cover...nice!



Anyway, I know it seems silly to post these things on here, but since it was the first time we were ever there, I wanted to remember it. :-)

After shopping, we had a yummy Mexican dinner, and then drove over to Ann Arbor, just to people watch. They had just had graduation earlier in the day, there weren't too many people around, but it was still fun. We sat in a local coffee shop, right next to the window, and I tried to smile at people walking by to see how many of them would smile or nod back. Much to my dismay, only a few responded. The fellow at the next table decided to join in (he was this cute little Asian dude with the biggest smile I've seen in a while) and started commenting on the pedestrians. It was such a hoot!

Rob borrowed a log splitter from the neighbor and is finally getting to work on the monstrous pile of logs that is still in our front yard. The tree was cut down in November, I think? At least the wood is nice and dried out now. There will be lots of outdoor fires in the backyard this summer.

Speaking of fires...

This is how we spend many spring and summer evenings at our house. It's so much better than TV! Don't my girls have such sweet little toes? I made this one for the Weeds and Wildflowers CT call. I hope I make it!

I love sunshine :-)

Ah, sunshine. If you live in an area where it's sunny most of the time, you probably don't appreciate it like I do. Around here in NW Ohio, I think just over half of our day shave actual sunshine. So, when the sun comes out, it's just awesome!

Today is one of those gorgeous spring days that we long for all winter. The kind of day where you just feel good about life in general, and wonder bad things can happen. It's a bit eerie to know that it looked just like this in NYC on 9/11, and now with the terrible events at Virgina Tech this week, there is such a disconnect between peace and horror. It doesn't seem fair that I can be sitting here enjoying this day, while so many families are suffering to a degree that I can't imagine. They have been in my prayers all week.

On a lighter note, I called Rob and asked if he could take the afternoon off. He worked so much last week on that virus problem (40 hours in 4 days) that I think he could use a break. Besides, I just miss him sometimes and want to hang out, like we used to. :-)

I can't think of anything else to write, so I think I'll sign off. Have a great weekend!

Another Wednesday

It's a kind of blah day here, overcast and chilly. Yesterday was so gorgeous...sunny and about 55 degrees. The girls had school in the morning, and then we headed out to the park in the afternoon. Things got pretty crazy there after school let out, so then we headed to my favorite produce market, Monnette's, to get some HEALTHY food.

Can I just say, as an aside, that there are a lot of complete idiot parents at a playground? There were quite a few sitting around smoking, talking on their cell phones and generally ignoring their kids. One kid was even taking his dog, who was on a leash, down the slide! I should have snapped a picture but didn't want to seem obvious.

I did get a bunch of cool nature photos, which I'm going to use for textures, etc. Fun fun!

Okay, back to the healthy food business. We are *trying* to start eating more natural food around here...some organic things, soy and rice milk, and generally nothing with added color or preservatives. Let me tell ya...it's a challenge, especially do to on a budget! After getting our fresh produce, I made a yummy dinner that was really well received by the whole family - Thai Pork Burritos. I used ground turkey instead and it was delicious!

After dinner I ventured out to the natural foods store in town. We are making our own bread too, and Rob wanted all kinds of wacky things. Here's my grocery list, which set me back over $100 - ouch!!

Soy milk
Rice milk (which is quite tasty, I've discovered!)
Almond butter (a treat for me and the girls)
Toasted almonds
Organic cereal
Rye flour
Gluten flour
Date sugar
Cane sugar
Soy yogurt
Water buffalo milk yogurt (I know, I know, but it made me laugh!!)
Arthur shaped mac and cheese
Kid's vitamins
Frozen spinach and garlic pizza
Burt's Bees orange facial cleanser (mmmm, it smells sooo good)
Mothering magazine

And...

Are you ready?

ONE WHOLE FROZEN CHICKEN!!!

Now, if you know me IRL, you know that I am tragically afraid of touching chickens, turkeys or most other raw meats. But, free range chicken is so expensive that I decided to buck up and by the darn thing, roast it, and then maybe it won't be so gross to touch. However, somehow the chicken got left at the store! Oh darn, I'm so upset [insert sarcastic snicker here]. They did call me and will be crediting my store card. So, I got out of it this time...

~~ Contest Winner! ~~
Okay, enough about chickens. We have a winner! Muka received my Cosmic Wonders Paper Pack after leaving a comment and being randomly chosen. Enjoy Muka!

~~ New Products ~~
I just finished up another set of templates...Rectangle Quickies Power Pack 2 and
Square Quickies Power Pack 2. They are on sale right now at PDW for just $3.50!

Cosmic Wonders freebie

I just put a really fun and funky new paper pack in my store at Plain Digital Wrapper. I think this is my all-time favorite product I've ever made! Just click the preview to check it out in the store.


Here are a couple of layouts using this paper pack. The first one was created by the fabulous Jessica Bolton. Be sure to check out her awesome store at Scrapbook Graphics!


By Tracy Blankenship, who gives away the coolest freebies ever!




And here is one I did:


Now, for the freebie. I had an extra paper that wouldn't fit neatly into my preview (LOL!), so I thought it would make a great freebie. Please leave me some love if you download. :-)

Everyone who leaves a comment before Wednesday, April 18 at 12:00am will be entered into a drawing to win the paper pack for FREE! I will post the winner here sometime Wednesday afternoon. Be sure to PUT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR COMMENT so I know how to find you. :-)

DOWNLOAD HERE

Enjoy!

A very long Saturday

Today has been a really long day. Rob had to work today, to continue rebuilding all the stuff he lost when that virus took the network down at school on Thursday. I wish I could understand why someone would want to spend their time writing a program that could be so destructive. If these people would put that knowledge to good use, they could make a lot of money!

We are supposed to go to a hockey game tonight, but I'm not really in the mood.

The girls did some cool art projects today to pass the time. This morning we painted with the new paint we got last night, and this afternoon we made flowers:


Did you ever make these as a kid? You take wax paper, shave crayons onto it, put another piece of wax paper on top, and then put a cool iron on top to melt the wax. They look cool in a window, because the sunlight (or at least daylight, in this case!) comes through. It is a bit messy, but no matter. One tip though...don't do this on a vinyl tablecloth, because it's easy to melt a hole in it, like I just did! LOL

I tried out a different kind of scrapping style last night:

Credits:
3 Slide Frames by Doris Castle, from True Love
Distressed frame by Jessica Bolton, from Home Life
Background paper by Lisa Whitney, from Easter Sweets
Flower Hook-Ups by Donna Rafferty
Dotted ribbon by Michelle Coleman
Pink trim by Bren Boone, from Hip Chick
White stitches and embroidered alpha by Toni Berman
Hand Stamped Alpha by Michelle Coleman
Paint splatters and painted frame by Doris Castle, from Art Strokes

This will end up being a two page layout. It was fun to make though!

Okay, I guess I should go take a shower, and the girls need a bath too. :-)

Another digi student :-)

It has been my goal of late to try to get a couple people I know IRL to start digiscrapping. And guess what? It worked! Yesterday my good buddy Carrie brought her kids over to play with the girls, and she brought along her picture card from her camera. Check out her first digi layout ever!

Credits: Template by me, Home Life by Jessica Bolton, available at SBG, Fonts: Michelle Marker, Old English

I'm so excited to get someone else "addicted"! LOL

The girls had spring break this week, which doesn't amount to much since they are only in school two mornings a week, but it's enough to change the routine. Rob took the day off Tuesday and we went to The Butterfly House...it's so cool there!

Credits: Paper, frames, binder clip, bow, star brads and journaling
paper from Toni Berman's Debutante kit, available at [url=http://www.mydigitalmuse.com/boutique/product.php?productid=417&cat=0&page=1]My Digital Muse[/url]
and [url=http://toniberman.com/shoppe/index.php?main_page=product_dnld_info&products_id=60]Toni Berman Designs[/url]
Painted butterfly by Michelle Coleman
Clay butterfly by Amy Knepper
Silk butterflies by Christina Bartholomew and Eve Recinella

Rob had a very late night last night. The church/school network got a virus yesterday afternoon, and he was there trying to get it up and running until 4:30am (with the exception of a one hour break at home). I feel so bad for him, because he had to get up and go back in this morning. No rest for the weary. But at least he was able to get it working. Sometimes those viruses can destroy entire systems.

I don't think we have much planned for this weekend. Rob is going to a hockey game tonight, and we are supposed to go together to a game tomorrow night (it's playoff season for the Toledo Storm). In our former life (before kids, that is!) we had season tickets to the games, and Rob was the webmaster for the team for a season. Ah, the good old days.

Well, we are off to go to the natural foods store in pursuit of some rice milk and soy milk. Gretchen has been experiencing tummy aches after just about every meal, so I'm wondering if it could be a dairy/lactose problem. Maybe this will help her constant attitude/behavior issues? We can hope!

Have a great weekend everyone!

I'm still here!

It's been close to a month since I've blogged. And now I can, because I finally finished a huge project I've been working for almost that whole time. But more about that later...

Spring has arrived here in Ohio, at least briefly. Monday and Tuesday it was 70-75 degrees, and then Wednesday hit and it was back to winter-like temps. But we did get outside those warm days and I got some great pics.

Is this a pose, or what? Gretchen sure knows how to work the camera!

And here's Heidi. Notice how she is standing? I guess all those ballet classes are starting to sink in! LOL

A couple of weeks ago, Rob was out of town for almost a week for a basketball tournament. We tried to plan lots of things to do to keep ourselves busy, since my parents were in Florida at the same time!

The girls got to meet Ronald himself on a lunch outing with my Grandma. Heidi decided that he must be real, since his feet are so big...that makes him a real clown. LOL

Then back at Grandma's place, we built a giant tower with her blocks. Now, these blocks are probably 60+ years old. My dad and aunt had them as kids, and I used to play with them too. Grandma still gets a big kick out of watching us build towers.

The project I mentioned earlier is the school yearbook for Rob's school. I can't show you here, since some of the kids' parents don't want their photos posted on the web, but let me tell you...it was a HUGE job. We ended up having 55 pages total, and I designed each and every one. We did have a group of kids helping out. They were great with Photoshop, but I didn't have as much time as I wanted to really teach it to them properly. Hopefully next year, now that I know what I'm doing, we can make an even better book!

Okay, I'm signing off now and getting to bed. Too many nights of 2:30am bedtimes lately. Later!

Terriffic Tuesday

Don't ya love my original titles for my blog posts? lol

Yesterday's yearbook meeting went well. Rob and I were starting to kind of freak out, since the book is due at the printer the second week of April. We had to crack the whip and really make the kids work, but they did a great job. We printed our first proofs and I think they are impressed with the work they are doing. Yay! We have a long way to go, but we can finally see some results. I'll post some of our pages here so you can cheer us along!

These kids have never seen Photoshop before, and I'm kind of teaching them on the fly. I wish I had the time to really do a whole Photoshop class for them, but they are all way too busy. One 7th grade boy told me that "I'll never know as much about computers as you do!" and I told him "no way...you'll be way past my by the time you get to high school!". But I must admit...I can always use a good ego boost. :-)

~ Funk It Up Bonus Challenge #3 ~
This time the challenge was based on a really cool sketch, and it was perfect for my recent pictures of our walk at the park...

Credits and journaling can be seen here

~ And Another Layout ~
I made this one with Toni Berman's fabulous Linky-Dos Metals...isn't this a fun product?

Congrats are in order for Toni too, since her Linky-Dos Two is being featured on Disc Talk Radio this week...woohoo!

Today it's going to be sunny and 70 degrees, so we'll be outside this afternoon. Yay! Have a great one!

Happy Monday

Today has been a great day so far. I managed to get the girls to ballet class, even though Gretchen protested angrily, and afterward we did a mega grocery shopping trip. They were such good shoppers, helping me fill the cart and actually stayed close to me as I asked! Woohoo! Of course, I bribed them by letting them pick out their own cup of yogurt, and with a ride on the one cent pony right at the checkout. :-)

I noticed something at the store today that just made me sad. On the way out we saw some new grocery carts that looked like cars. Upon closer inspection, I saw that these were no ordinary carts...for just one dollar, you can rent the cart so your child can ride inside at WATCH TV!! I was appalled! I guess no place is safe from the boob tube. I'm certainly not against TV, but in the store? Ugh!

~ Incensical ~
Yankee Candle tarts and tart warmers are all the rage right now, and I do have one (thanks to reading Gina Miller's blog LOL). However, after a bedroom cleaning spree over the weekend, Rob uncovered an incense bottle that has remained unused and dusty on the chest of drawers. He brought it down to the kitchen and we've been burning it all weekend. I love to watch the smoke float around and there's just something about the smell...it's so different. Isn't this a pretty bottle?


~ Perking Right Along ~
Here's another newer addition to the kitchen...a vintage coffee perculator! I accidentally broke the carafe for our automatic drip model, so we acquired my mother-in-law's old, unused perculator. It makes fantastic coffee...better than anything we've tried before.

I also ordered a cute little vintage coffee pot from Ebay, as I've decided to start collect old coffee stuff to decorate the kitchen (thanks to my friend Carrie for the idea!).

Well now we're off to school for another yearbook meeting, and tonight we are on our own since Rob has class. I think we'll make birthday cards for my brother, and play a couple of games.

:-)

Sunshine Day #2

Can you believe it? Two days of sunshine and blue skies in NW Ohio in March...woohoo! All the snow is melting and things are pretty wet and muddy, but I don't care. Just keep giving me that sunshine baby!!

Right now I'm trying to convince the girls to get dressed so we can go over the to park and take a walk. There is a beautiful fully paved trail, so we shouldn't get too muddy, and there is a creek involved too, which should intrigue most 4 year olds, wouldn't you think? They have both gotten a little too comfy lounging around the house, so it's time to change that! Especially after I ate an unnamed amount of Girl Scout cookies yesterday...oh well. Today is a new day!

Tonight we are going over to Mom and Dad's for one last dinner before they take off for Florida for a month. I'm sooooo jealous. But, I'm trying to figure out how I can have a girl's night out in their house while they are gone. They have about 4 times the amount of square footage in their house as we do, and all the luxuries (like a huge whirlpool tub), so I'm thinking spa night? We'll see if I can convince Mom to let me borrow the house.

~ New Products at Plain Digital Wrapper ~

One new one and one "reworked" item today...

Hand Painted Eggs

Hand Painted Hearts

Well, I have to go wrangle the chillins because I hear banging noises coming from upstairs. It could be bed jumping or just general mayhem. Swan Creek park, here we come!!

Have a great weekend...wishing you sunshine days!

Sunshine Day!

The sun is out the morning. The ground is covered with a fresh layer of powdery white snow. The sky is blue. It's only 19 degrees, but gosh darn it, this is one of my favorite kind of days! Sunshine is just so happy and cheerful. I cherish the days when we see it around here!!

~ Rectangle Scrapping Gallery ~
If you are a rectangle scrapper, I want you to check out my other blog, Rectangle Scrapping Gallery. I'm going to do my best to put up three new rectangle layouts every day, for inspiration. If you'd like to be included on my list of rectangle galleries, please email me at mish dot gasser at gmail dot com.

~ Layouts ~
I made this one with Toni Berman's cool stuff. The layout isn't wowing me right now, but at least I got the photos scrapped!

Journaling:
Who would have thought you could find a place that will have a toy train deliver your food? We have just such a place that just opened here. so one night after swimming lessons we checked it out. I guess is would have been more fun if there had been more people there, because we only got to see the train a couple of times. But still, it was fun, and something to do on a cold, thunderstorming, almost spring kind of night!

Credits:
Toni Berman's Mulberry Path paper, Date Ticket and Recycled
cardboard, packing tape and alpha, available at My Digital Muse
and Toni Berman Designs
Hallway Griffiti glitter paint by Meredith Fenwick
Special thanks to Atomic Cupcake
Font: Michelle Marker

The results have been posted for the Funk It Up challenge #2, so I can show you now. The theme was "Someday I'm going to..."

Credits:
Doodle frame by Ida Rudningen
Paper by Shannon Lee
Staples by Michelle Underwood
Notebook paper by Gina Huff
Flower by Shannon Lee designs
Stitching by Meredith Fenwick
Hand Stamped Alpha by Michelle Coleman
Font: Cathie's Hand

Now it's time to go do some laundry. Have a great day!

My Scrap Space

I finally finished a challenge that Jessica Bolton is having over on her blog...scrap your scrap space. Here's what I came up with:

Journaling:
I have an official scrap space, but you’ll rarely find me there. If I need to use my printer, scanner or external hard drive then yes, I’m there. But for the most part, I scrap any place there is a flat surface, like on the kitchen snack bar or while watching TV in the living room. I can’t imagine being limited to one place...I’d go crazy! I love being able to interact with my family while I scrap; it gives me inspiration. All I need now is a comfortable stool, and I’ll be set.

Credits:
Negative frame and background paper from Jessica Bolton's
Delight In Photographs
Doodle borders by Tracy Blankenship
Soda Pop paper and Hallway Graffiti glitter paint
by Meredith Fenwick
Painted flower by Michelle Coleman
Grunge frame by Nancy Comelab
Font: KGD Mozer Print

~ Infirmary, Part 2 ~
Today both of the girls were sick. Gretchen's fever was quite high all day and she did not tolerate it well. She had a huge explosion during the afternoon over some silly disagreement she and Heidi were having, and once I sent her up to her room, this is what I got to hear: "I don't like that stupid old Mommy...I'm not going to listen to her anymore! I don't want a new mommy but I want a new Heidi! I don't like that! etc..." This went on for about 15 minutes. It always amazes me how much material she has, and how long she can continue at such a high level of furry. Sheesh. I have NO idea where that comes from.... ROFL!!

I'm off to vote in the Funk It Up #2 challenge, and then hopefully get some sleep. Looks like we'll have sick day #3 tomorrow. Nite chicas!

New Products!

I finally got motivated to actually produce something...yay!!


Coffee Talk Alpha was supposed to be part of a whole coffee-themed kit, but I got stuck so I decided to just release this part. Hopefully there will be more to come soon. :-)


And this one...well, I'm not Irish, but I've had these glittery shamrocks in mind for a while and just had to do them! Check them out here.

~ Infirmary ~
Today my house is a sickie house. Heidi had a temp of 104.1 degrees last night (yikes) and is still feeling crummy today, but at least the temp is down to a reasonable number (like 101.2). She likes to sleep on the couch when she's sick, so guess where I sleep too? Good thing we have a sectional with room for several people. :-) Rob has class tonight (won't get home until around 8:30pm) and parent teacher conferences tomorrow night (same time frame), so I'm pretty much on my own. Gretchen has a slight fever right now too, but not enough to get excited about. Hmmm...school or no school tomorrow? Guess we will wait and see.

~ Layouts ~
I'm having so much fun with the Funk It Up contest at Scrap Forums. It's even better to be joining in with my awesome group of scrapping buddies...Melinda, Amy, Cassie and Tania. Since the entries are anonymous before the voting, we have to try to find each other's layouts. It's great learning more about each of these ladies every week.

I can show you my entry for the bonus round. We had to make a layout using the color green. No problem!

Credits: Doodle frame by Ida Rudningen, Paper by Shannon Lee, Staples by Michelle Underwood, Notebook paper by Gina Huff, Flower by Shannon Lee designs, Stitching by Meredith Fenwick, Hand Stamped Alpha by Michelle Coleman, Font: Cathie's Hand

Okay, Gretchen wants me to come and rest with her...how can I turn that down? Have a good Monday!

A Roller Coaster Week

I should have been in San Diego right now...but, instead I'm here in Toledo. I think the weather today was about as miserable as it gets...35 degrees, raining all day, melting snow, mud all over...yuck! It sure makes me appreciate every dry, sunny day we get here!

I can't complain though...today was a good day. I had lunch with my good friend and we laughed the whole time. It's great to have friends like that, isn't it? Then I took the girls to their first swimming lesson. I was worried they would freak out, but they both did great. Then we took them to this cute little place called 2Toots Steam Whistle Grill for dinner. It's a little diner where a train brings the food to you...very cute. They seemed to get a kick out of it.

After a very rough start to the week (I don't even want to write about it), every day since Tuesday has been good. I was able to meet with our school psychologist on Wednesday, and I think I'm finally going to be able to get somewhere with Gretchen. I'm supposed to keep a behavior journal for the next two weeks, and then we will meet again. Now just watch...she'll be perfect for two weeks and I'll have nothing to report!

I can finally show my Funk It Up layout. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get even one vote, but the layout means a lot to me and that's what counts, I guess...

See it here

This week the challenge theme is "Someday I'm Going To...". I have one idea, but it's not materializing yet. Hopefully this weekend some inspiration will hit me.