Thought for the day

I hate New Years. More than birthdays, they signify another year gone. A lot of my scrappy friends are picking their “word of the year,” a word to focus on. Words like, RELAX, PEACE, LIVE. Really? I suppose it’s good to have a goal to work toward, but honestly. LIVE? Do we have a choice? Well, technically, I suppose we do. Most of us live life and make of it what we will, so is that really a good word? Or how about PEACE? When your 18 year old son pierces his body, gets thrown into jail and gets a prison tat, what the hell is so peaceful about that? What’s so relaxing about when your 14 year old daughter gets a modeling gig and you’re driving all over hells half acre at ungodly hours of the day and night? What’s so peaceful or relaxing about a self employed husband who takes on a client and then agrees to manage a turnaround and works 20 hours each day? Or a live-in father in law who watches 25 hours of news each day. I don’t care who you are, THAT’S not relaxing!

Maybe my word should be BE. It's all encompassing. BE nice. BE creative. BE happy. Maybe I will BE in an asylum before the New Year is out. LOL

I’m sure there are lots of great words out there that would be inspiring. Like, CREATE. It’s a great word, but I already do that, as much as possible. Or LAUGH. I like laughing. Or HAPPY. Who doesn’t like to be happy? I’m full of HOPE, for lots of things and have FAITH that lots of the things I hope for will happen.

Largely, all of these words depend on more than just ME. I will ASPIRE to lots of these words every year, not just this year.

So, what is YOUR word for 2009? Maybe I’ll steal it, or maybe I’ll just BE.

My "Renew" card

There are times when it takes an innocent child with an innocent deed to bring clarity to a situation. Such was the case with the Santa letters from my two little girls. (posted below) Here's to renewed hope that 2009 brings healing to my heart and those who who are in my heart. :-)



Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year!

YITL challenge #52

RENEW

Can you believe we're on our last challenge? This year has absolutely flown by! Be sure to show me your creation when you're finished! I hope you've had fun with the challenges and I can't wait to show you what I'm doing with my completed cards! :-)

Dear Santa

I went to bed last night feeling more than a little grinchy and woke up the same way. I went out to the kitchen at 4 a.m. to make coffee and what do you think I found? Cookies and milk and two letters from the girls. The sweetest letters you'll ever read!



Excerpt from Caitlyn, 14: "I try to make my parents proud of me but I feel like I'm not trying hard enough. My parents work so hard for my family to be happy but no one is happier than me...I wish that my parents were happy...they always believe in my every dream...I will always be there for them...I wish they knew how thankful I am for them each and every day...Thanks Santa.

Excerpt from Peyton, 12: "This year, because I know you do so much every year, I want you to have a very merry Christmas yourself...Christmas is more than just presents, it's spending time with the people you love...it's more about giving than receiving...sorry for the s'mores, doesn't exactly go with milk. LOL I love you Santa!"

I'm telling you, they made my whole day! Now I know exactly what needs to go on my last Year in the Life card. Stay tuned for the last Year in the Life challenge tomorrow.

Excerpt from Suzanne, 46: "I will work harder to appreciate the blessings in my life. There are things in my life that I wish I could do over, but all I can do is look ahead with optimism and be so thankful for the things that already make me so happy... a loyal husband, who understands that having an awesome camera is important to me because I've "taken scrapbooking to a whole new level. Thanks honey, I think that's a compliment? LOL Loving children who write sweet letters to Santa, knowing full well the meaning of Santa. And faithful friends, who support and love me, warts and all. Truly the best gifts ever!"

Wishing all of my readers the joyous blessings of the day, whatever those may be!

Blog challenge #52

Eat, drink and be merry! What's on your Christmas menu this year?


We always say we're going to get outside the box and try something different. Maybe a standing rib... yum! But we never do, tradition always drags us back to the box. LOL So, our menu this year will be the same as all the other years:

Turkey
Stuffing
Sweetened yam pie
Green beans
Cranberry sauce
Rolls
Pumpkin Pie

I hope that all my scrappy friends have a very happy Christmas and Santa brings you everything you deserve! Well, hmm, maybe I should rephrase that... brings you everything you WANT! LOL Thank you for reading and all the very kind comments over the year. I appreciate each and every one of you! I wish you and your families warm memories. :-)

Keep your fork

This was sent to me by a friend, and I wanted to share it with my friends. It's long, but the message is good. :-)

There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness
and had been given three months to live. So as she was getting her
things "in order," she contacted her Pastor and had him come to her
house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him
which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would
like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in.
Everything was in order and the Pastor was preparing to leave when the
young woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.

"There's one more thing," she said excitedly.

"What's that?" came the Pastor's reply.

"This is very important," the young woman continued. "I want to be
buried with a fork in my right hand."

The Pastor stood looking at the young woman, not knowing quite what to say.

That surprises you, doesn't it?" the young woman asked.

"Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request," said the Pastor.

The young woman explained. "My grandmother once told me this story, and
from that time on I have always tried to pass along its message to those
I love and those who are in need of encouragement. In all my years of
attending socials and dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of
the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over
and say, 'Keep your fork.' It was my favorite part because I knew that
something better was coming...like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish
apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance!'
So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my
hand and I want them to wonder "What's with the fork?" Then I want you
to tell them: "Keep your fork, the best is yet to come."

The Pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the young
woman good-bye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see
her before her death. But he also knew that the young woman had a better
grasp of heaven than he did. She had a better grasp of what heaven would
be like than many people twice her age, with twice as much experience
and knowledge. She KNEW that something better was coming.

At the funeral people were walking by the young woman's casket and they
saw the cloak she was wearing and the fork placed in her right hand.
Over and over, the Pastor heard the question, "What's with the fork?"
And over and over he smiled. During his message, the Pastor told the
people of the conversation he had with the young woman shortly before
she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized
to her. He told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork
and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking
about it either.

He was right. So the next time you reach down for your fork let it
remind you, ever so gently, that the best is yet to come. Friends are a
very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to
succeed. Cherish the time you have, and the memories you share. Being
friends with someone is not an opportunity but a sweet responsibility.

Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND even if it means sending
back to the person who sent it to you.

And keep your fork.

A couple of layouts

Well, these are probably the last two layouts of the year for me. This one was for a sketch challenge on Urban Anthology. And in case you didn't know, heat embossing doesn't really work well on a photo. Not really sure why I thought it would. :-X



Speaking of Urban Anthology, I'm so excited to get their January kit with Websters Pages! Can.not.WAIT!

Stace sent me some Kraft paper. Why didn't I know about this stuff before! I LOVE it! Thanks again, Stace! :-)

Happy Chanukah!

Ahh, the first night of Chanukah... I made this loaf of Challah bread yesterday, my first attempt ever at making it. Ummm, well, I'll be trying again tomorrow. LOL It looked pretty anyway.



And because I didn't have enough to do, I decided to pull a Martha Stewart and make this pretty, non-usable menorah. LOL I couldn't find little glass votive holders, so I used the larger sized dessert cups, which took up the whole length of the table. I don't want to get melted wax all over the rocks, so we're still using our chanukiah handed down from Gram. :-)



No matter what holiday you celebrate this season, I hope it is bright and joyful!

My "Gift" card

Another creation from yesterday, I used some scrappy gifts from Stace. I've never used Kraft paper and I'm diggin' it! Fun stuff, thanks Stace! And see that flourish on the left? Terri sent me some metallic rub on stuff and MAN! That stuff is AWESOME! :-)

YITL challenge #51

GIFT

When you're finished, please comment with a link to your creation so I can see! :-)

Speaking of gifts... I know there are at least 3 readers that have completed every challenge this year! Thank you friends! Your creations have been so inspiring! Please email me at Mi4Angels@aol.com with your mailing address so I can send you a small token of my gratitude for keeping me motivated all year. :-)

Merry Christmas!

To all my blogging friends, who have been so supportive of me this year, I love you all and hope Santa brings you everything you're wishing for! :-)



I can't believe that there's only 2 more YITL challenges left. Thanks to all who have played along with me, I've enjoyed all of your fabulous creations! I am already working on card placement on my cornice board that will go over my scrap room window and will post the finished product when it is done. :-)

Crazy weather!

Here is a photo taken on Dec. 4th...



Today it's 70 degrees. What's up with that! Not that I'm complaining, mind ya! Today is a perfect day! :-) By the calendar, the highs should be in the 40's here in Alabama.

Whats the weather where you are? Normal, or not?

Blog challenge #51

Post a photo that you've taken this month and blog about it!

Junk Drawer

I think that's the name of these papers that Terri sent me. I just love the wildness of them! LOL

I'm not sure how this photo came out so yucky since I took it with my new Nikon D80...probably user issues. :-D Just as well, I just used up some extra photos that I had laying around to do a year in review layout.



This is a photo taken at dh's Christmas party last week. I decided to scrap the layout and then put it in a shadowbox as a gift to dh. The tag on the bow says "Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. ~ Henry Ford" I hope he likes it! :-)

Friday scrapping

I really couldn't live without my calendar pages, so y'all will have to suffer through another year of calendar pages. :-D



I made this page using some of the fun scrappy stuff my dear friend Terri sent me! Oh my gosh, I LOVE Fa La La by MM! Even though these are pics of the day after Thanksgiving, I couldn't resist digging right in! Thanks again Terri! :-)



Thanks for looking! :-)

My "Reflect" card

Here's my card. It's been a tough year for our family and it's been hard to keep positive. Okay, it's been near impossible. Financially, things didn't start looking up until August. Father in law had a massive heart attack in April. Ethan, well, he was Ethan. But, lots of great things happened also. All of these events are reflected in the family album, as well as my YITL cards. I'm looking forward to a great 2009. :-)

YITL challenge #50

REFLECT


When you're finished, please post a link here to your creation so we can see! :-)

Blog challenge #50

Dear Santa... Blog about your Christmas wishes!

Stace made me do it!

Stace and I phone scrap every Friday. And we challenge each other. So a couple of weeks ago, Stace challenged me to pick my paper BEFORE looking at the photos. No matching! Ohmygosh, you're kidding me, right? No! So for the first time in my scrappy life, my photos don't "match" my paper and I LOVE it! Here are a couple of layouts from this week that don't "match." LOL Thanks for pulling me out of the box Stace! :-)

My "Joy" card

I'll admit, I'm still recovering from unwanted company who overstayed their welcome, so I'm not feeling the joy so much, but none the less, here's my card. I used old BG Fruitcake paper and K & Co. chipboard letters. TFL!

A different kind of seven dwarfs

Welcome to my new adventure! Unlike most women, I'm very amused by this change in my life. For instance, just two short months ago, we bought one of those little electric heaters for our bedroom. Yep, don't need THAT sucker anymore! I told Glen, "take it to work!" Its so weird that our thermostats have flip flopped. HE'S shivering under the covers and I'M laying on top of the covers. He says, "would you like me to turn the ceiling fan on?" Hmm...

Anyway, I've been doing a lot of reading and my decision won't surprise many of my readers... I'm going to try to manage this thing, this monster, myself! LOL I've watched family members turn crazy while their doctors try to "find the right balance of hormones." Yea, no thanks. Last night, we had a family meeting. "Your mom is going through menopause. Tighten your seat belts and hang on for dear life!" I got tickled at the looks on their faces, you know, the one with the deer in the headlights look? Mm hmm, and I could actually read their minds! "You mean, you're going to get MEANER?" :insert evil laughter:

So when I saw this video clip on a message board that I visit, I felt compelled to send it to Glen at work with a message that said, "go grab all your guys and watch." It takes a while for it to load, (at least it did with my new piece of crap computer) but it's well worth the wait! Go grab your guys ladies and turn it up! :-D

Stay tuned for more adventures from the Rebel with a Pause! LOL

YITL challenge #49

JOY

Tis the season, right? Link back to your joyful creation here when you're finished! :-)

Oh so happy!

They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE! They're GONE!

And that's all I have to say about THAT! :-D Have a great day my dear blog friends!

Blog challenge #49

What have you done? Copy the following, paste onto your blog and bold your answers! Comment here so I can see what you've done! :-D (Thanks to Terri, I stole this from her blog. LOL)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when youʼre not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangeloʼs David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someoneʼs life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

My "Quiet" card

Have y'all missed me? Sorry for being missing in action, it has been a crazy couple of weeks. We still have company left over, along with turkey. LOL Hopefully, they will be leaving tomorrow, as they have overstayed their welcome by a few days. :-/

Anyway, I did manage to spend a few hours in my scrap room today. :-) I used October Afternoon paper. TFL!

YITL challenge #48

QUIET

I hope y'all can find a little quiet time during this busy season. When you complete the challenge, please post the link here! :-)

Blog challenge #48

Write about doing a job that you never have done but think would be interesting.

My "Thankful" card

Since my Thanksgiving layouts are always about the things I am truly thankful about, I decided to do my card on the things I'm NOT thankful for this year. Although "I" think it's hilarious, some of my readers might not appreciate my sense of humor, so I'll not be sharing this one with you. ;-D

I'd like to take this opportunity to say I AM thankful for all of you for visiting and commenting my blog all year. The Year in the Life challenge has been so much fun for me and I can't wait to show you what I do with all of the cards! Your kind comments have kept me encouraged and committed to keeping up with them, so thank you for the accountability! It's hard to believe there are only 5 more words left! 8-O

I already have plans for another, different challenge next year. Look for a sneaky peek soon! :-)

Beloved pets

1. Hera - German Shepard, RIP
2. Lickety Split - Black/white cat
3. Kenya - Border Collie mix
4. Shema - German Shepard
5. Muffin - Rabbit, RIP

All of these animals are significant to our family, but by far, my favorite was Hera. She showed up on our doorstep, emaciated, and after years of saying no to pets, what else could we do? She found US. After posting signs and asking around at the local vet clinics, we decided to add her to our family.

She was so beautiful and such a gentle soul, the perfect family pet. About 7 years after she found us, she grew a tumor on her belly. We took her in for surgery, but the cancer was too far gone and the tumor grew back within a few months. We set a date to have her euthanized and we all said our goodbyes. It was heart wrenching. We all cried as Glen and Hera drove away. The weather matched our moods: rainy and gloomy. Glen stayed with her the entire time, petting her and talking to her until she passed.

As the story goes, as he drove home, the rain stopped and he saw a rainbow. I don't know if that's true, or just something he told the kids. I never asked, and I don't want to know. Whenever we see a rainbow, we still say that it's Hera looking down from Heaven on us. :-)

YITL challenge #47

THANKFUL

Did you guess the word this week? LOL Please comment with a link to your creation when you're finished! :-)

Blog challenge #47

List the names of five animals from your lifetime. Write about one that sparks a strong memory to you.

My "Dream" card

I Googled a photo of our dream boat, which dh and I will be living on in 5 years and 10 months. LOL

YITL challenge #46

DREAM

Be sure to link back here to your dreamy creation when you're done! :-)

Knock, knock...

Okay, it's not really a knock, knock joke, just feeling very uncreative today. LOL

I got this joke from my friend Terri. She's always sending me stuff that makes me laugh out loud. :-D

THREE WOMEN,TWO YOUNGER AND ONE SENIOR CITIZEN, WERE SITTING NAKED IN A SAUNA.
SUDDENLY THERE WAS A BEEPING SOUND.

THE YOUNG WOMAN PRESSED HER FOREARM AND THE BEEP STOPPED.

THE OTHERS LOOKED AT HER QUESTIONINGLY.

'THAT WAS MY PAGER, SHE SAID. I HAVE A MICROCHIP UNDER THE SKIN OF MY ARM.'

A FEW MINUTES LATER, A PHONE RANG.

THE SECOND YOUNG WOMAN LIFTED HER PALM TO HER EAR. WHEN SHE FINISHED ,SHE EXPLAINED,
'THAT WAS MY MOBILE PHONE ,I HAVE A MICROCHIP IN MY HAND.'

THE OLDER WOMAN FELT VERY LOW-TECH. NOT TO BE OUT DONE, SHE DECIDED SHE HAD TO DO SOMETHING JUST AS IMPRESSIVE. SHE STEPPED OUT OF THE SAUNA AND WENT TO THE BATHROOM.

SHE RETURNED WITH A PIECE OF TOILET PAPER HANGING FROM HER REAR END.

THE OTHERS RAISED THEIR EYEBROWS AND STARED AT HER.

THE OLDER WOMAN FINALLY SAID........ 'WELL, WILL YOU LOOK AT THAT... I'M GETTING A FAX!'

Blog challenge #46

Make me laugh! Blog a joke.

Don't forget to comment here with a link so I can laugh too! :-D

Are you thankful?

During this season of giving thanks, what are you thankful for? The thing that tops my list each year is the health of my family, but this year, I can't add friends to that list. This year, three of my friends are particularly burdened with serious health issues of loved ones.

1. My dear friend Jessie, whos mother is dealing with lung transplant issues.

2. My scrappy friend Niki, whos young daughter has DIPG.

3. My wonderful friend Terri, whos 2 year old granddaughter was recently diagnosed with Type I Diabetes. Is she not the sweetest thing! Here's where you can donate to precious Jilli's cause.



I indeed feel very thankful that my family is healthy, but my heart breaks each and every day for my friends. My thoughts and prayers are with them each day and I just wanted them to know that. May your season be blessed with all that is good!

Today's creations

Lynn Anne from Jewish Scrapbooking sent me a few chipboard goodies from Magistical Memories and challenged me to create a layout using them. I opted to do a layout showcasing a recent mitzvot. :-) This was my first attempt at "white space." Aside from the chipboard, all the other things on the layout are from the Hometown kit from Scrapbook Deals 4 U. I LOVE this kit!!! Thanks to Stace for the tip on making "spiral" paper. :-)



Conversely, I felt compelled to lift this card from my scrappy friend Joanne. I totally LOVE it! Thanks for the inspiration, girlie! :-)



Next up is the halloween photo. Yep, ONE photo. Thinking I might do another "white space" layout. Wishing y'all a scrappy weekend! :-)

My "Energy" card

I'm embarrassed to say that this card took me 2 minutes to make. You can probably tell, right? LOL Again, I used a tag off of a new pair of pants. I originally planned to use this for a BOM challenge, but it was perfect for the word this week. TFL! :-)

YITL challenge #45

ENERGY

Easy, right? Make sure to link back here when you're done! :-)

I wish...

There are lots of things that came to mind when I thought "I wish I could..."

I wish I could sew. Yes, I realize this would add another thing to my job description, but how cool would it be to have a useful thing and say "I made this!"

I wish I could cook. Well, I CAN cook, I wouldn't starve, but I would like to LOVE to cook and make fabulous creations like my hubby. He just has this natural talent for mixing ingredients and coming out with yumminess!

I wish I could quilt. I love quilts. Again, no sewing talent whatsoever, nor the patience to see a huge project through to the end, but I would love the end product.

I wish I understood HTML. Then I could make my blog all fancy. And probably a lot of other useful stuff too, not the least of which is wooing people with my technical knowledge. LOL

I wish I could take better photos. After 9 months of taking photos daily, I've decided that my lack of good photos is decidedly my camera's fault. If I had one of those cool SLR cameras, I would be motivated to learn to take better photos.

I think that my new years resolution next year will be to make one of my wishes come true. Can you guess which one it will be? :-D

Blog challenge #45

Write about a talent you wish you had.

My "Discover" card

I had pulled the tag from a pair of new jeans and knew I wanted to use it somehow. For the base paper, I crumpled a piece of Bazzill and used distress ink over it and the edges. I ran the ribbon through my printer and printed up this Mark Twain quote. Lastly, I inked the flower and stuck a brad through it. Overall I like it, but I think it's because blue and brown together is my new fav color combo. TFL! :-)

YITL challenge #44

DISCOVER

Please post the link to your creation here when you're finished so we can see! :-)

Tagged!

Thanks to Becky for tagging me! Not sure I have anything interesting to post, but I'll try! :-)

The rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. List 6 random things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.


Here are six random things about me:
1. I got my haircut today! Did you see my new profile photo? :-)
2. I've homeschooled our children for 12 years.
3. I have four teenagers. FAINT!
4. Thanks to my Year in the Life blog, I'm tired of taking photos at ALL, let alone every day. :-(
5. I have a glass of water on my nightstand at bedtime each night, but never drink any of it. LOL
6. I hate shopping, of any kind, even scrappy shopping.

Okay, ordinarily I wouldn't tag anyone, but seeing as how some of my pals haven't updated their blogs recently... I'll tag Stace, Terri and Jessie for sure! :-D

Blog challenge #44

What kind of cute monster are you? Comment here with a link when you're done! :-)

Hmmm, not sure I agree with mine entirely. What do you think?

What Your Cute Monster Says About You

You are a vibrant, vivacious person. When you live, you live as wildly and loudly as possible. You are very bold. You are willing to stand up and be a leader. Your inner demon is intensity. You have a tendency to let your passions take over. People think you're cute because you're fiery. When you get worked up, it's charming.

The Cute Monster Test

My "Spooky" card

Grrr. I know an orange bow isn't exactly spooky, but have you ever tried to make a bat? Yea, it didn't go so good, so a bow it is. LOL

YITL challenge #43

SPOOKY

Link up your boo-tiful creation here when you're finished so we can all see! :-)

CALLING ALL BLOG STALKERS!

I have been around message boards for a long time and personally know of the hassles of running and being a part of an online community. The whole business aspect of it, dealing with DT calls and seeing the same flood of names follow each other from one call to another... "oh, I just LOOOOVVVVVEEEE it here, I'll NEVER leave..." :shudder and eye roll: And, rebel that I am, I find myself going in the opposite direction... as these sites hold DT calls, I split, at least until the call is over. Look, I get it, it's business. But the drama! OY! If only there were a place where no one was trying to sell me something, a place where I could be inspired and challenged and just have FUN... WAIT! There IS!



Paperie Escape is a brand new site that my friends Stace, Summer and Rita have just started. I'm so excited because I can tell you, these ladies are so much fun and super talented. And fun! Did I say fun?! Oh, alright, on to the details... this is where you can find me hanging out. No drama, just fun. I hope you'll come over to play with me and check them out! :-)

Blog challenge #43

Post a photo that you've taken in the last week and share a story about it.

My "Orange" card

This week, I used an actual photo of Caitlyns pumpkin. The little holes you see are "freckles." :rolling eyes: I don't usually like things hanging off of my cards, but this seemed appropriate. :-) TFL!

New creations

I had the best time this weekend at the Urban Anthology 1st ever online crop! Thanks to the owner, Kari, and her DT for all the cool challenges and techniques! OH! And I even won BINGO! Can you believe it? LOL Anyway, my new friend Sandee will more than likely be the Queen of the Crop, (and deservedly so!) because as y'all know, I don't follow the rules. :rolling eyes: For instance, Karens challenge was to make a blinged out flower and put it on a card. Well! I loved my blinged out flower so much, I didn't want to "waste" it on a card, so I put it on this layout.

Or this, for the music challenge... I used a song title for my title, but then didn't follow the rest of the challenge directions. LOL



I won several cool prizes, so thanks again to Kari and the nice ladies at Urban Anthology! :-)

Okay, y'all! Remember how I said I'd NEVER buy a kit? Ummm, yea, well, never mind that. :bag over head: Thanks to my friend Colleen, I went back on my word. I swear, if you look at it, you'll totally understand WHY. It wasn't my fault! I was totally tempted by this AMAZING and AWESOME "Hometown" kit from Scrapbook Deals 4 You. FAINT! Am I right? Huh, huh, am I? Wowwie! I got my kit yesterday and couldn't WAIT to create with it, even though I didn't really have good photos to scrap with. Did that stop me? Of course not. LOL

Thanks for looking, and I hope all my scrappy friends had a wonderfully scrappy weekend! :-)

YITL #42

ORANGE

Please share your link to your creation here when you're finished! :-)

Andie MacDowell

People have told me that I resemble Andie MacDowell. (Yes, I resemble HER, because she is 50 years old and I'm not!) I love the roles that she plays in movies, such as Michael, Green Card, and Groundhog Day; strongwilled, yet a hopeless romantic. I think that pretty much sums me up. :-)

Blog challenge #42

Which movie character are you most like? Explain your thinking.

Goodbye blond, hello red!

Wow, what a whirlwind weekend it's been! I've made 6 trips to downtown Birmingham in 3 days and for anyone who knows how geographically challenged I am, they would be proud that I didn't get lost once! Well, driving anyway. The civic center is a HUGE complex and we did get lost a couple of times walking around. LOL

I'm so proud of my baby! She's done this whole gig all on her own since I wasn't allowed to go into the show with her. And although she was overwhelmed the first day (prep day, when they colored her hair THREE times to get it right! FAINT!), she got the hang of things and managed to become the lead runway model for not one, not two, but three shows! Way to go, girlie!

Without further ado, as promised, here are Caitlyns before and after photos.

Friday night, after getting word that she was chosen as one of 3 KMS Goldwell's models.



After her color and cut:



Michael did a FABULOUS job taking care of Caitlyn. When Caitlyn asked him to pose with her for a photo, first he checked his hair, and then he floofed her hair. LOL I'm now known as "the rabid scrapper" because of all the photos I asked her to take. :-D



She's got one more day and is already sad to see it ending. She's made lots of new friends and has had a total blast!

My "Learn" card

Ain't it the truth though! LOL I used some MME scraps and a couple of bling flowers. TFL! :-)

Exciting news to share!

For the next three days, Caitlyn will be a working girl, fulfilling her dream of becoming a model! She's had other opportunities, but this opportunity will pay her a gross amount of money considering she is only 14 years old! Even they were surprised, which brought on a whole 'nother set of forms to be filled out by me. LOL

Take a good look because the next photo I post here, she'll have a whole new look! :-)

YITL challenge #41

LEARN

Post the link to your creation here when you're finished. Can't wait to see your cards! :-)

Do, re, mi

I've never been interested in playing an instrument, although I was made to in elementary school. I started off on a recorder and worked my way up to a real, live flute. I HATED it. Number one, I sucked at it and number two, I just didn't enjoy it. Music was the catalyst for me becoming a cheerleader. Being a cheerleader meant that I couldn't be in two places at one time. LOL

As a mom to four children, I've made all of my children take some manner of music. Seems like I've heard its good for children SOMEhow. They all hated it, just like their mom. LOL I didn't care what they took, it was their choice, but they had to take SOMEthing musical. So we've tried piano, violin and guitar lessons.

The funniest story is on my oldest daughter. When the movie "Titanic" came out, she absolutely INSISTED on taking violin lessons. We found an instructor, and bought a brand new violin from Ebay to the tune of $100. Of course, she didn't teach music from the "Titanic" right off the bat. No, it was the chords. Do, re, mi, fa, so... So, one month after the investment of time and money, bye bye violin lessons. :-D

I can't really say that they, or I, regret having music forced upon us. Maybe it taught us a lesson. Maybe its that we appreciate all types of music because we've all gone through the experience of knowing what the art of performing is. :-)

Blog challenge #41

What instrument is NOT music to your ears? What is your favorite instrument? Do you or have you ever played? Blog all things music.

Another recipe album project

Two actually! Since I'm current on photos, and I've got my card stash back up, I've decided to start Caitlyn and Peyton's recipe albums. This is the title page that I finished today. It would be redundant to post both. LOL I hope you can read the beautiful poem by Joy Harjo. It really sums up the kitchen in our home. :-)

Happy Cardmaking Day!

I love making cards, especially since I'm current on photos and have no layouts to scrap! LOL (yea, I don't want to hear about that big ole box of OLD photos...) Today gives me a great excuse to be creative in my scrap room and rebuild my stash of cards. Please join me at Sugar and Spice's Cardapalooza for some fun and inspiration! I am co-hosting a fun activity where you may be the lucky recipient of your very own bag of Mint M & Ms! :-D Have a scrappy day!

My "Sweet" card

I pulled apart a Maya Road tin that I altered a couple of years ago. I like it much better now. TFL! :-)

YITL challenge #40

SWEET

Post a link here to your sweet creation! :-)

Today is my birthday...

well, not really, but lets just pretend. So, today is my birthday. Ideally, no one will make a big fuss about it. It's not that I don't want to be remembered, but a simple "have a happy birthday" will do. The whole expectation and obligation on everyone elses part makes me feel uncomfortable. I don't like surprises and no presents are expected or wanted. Ideally, I'll spend half the day with friends, perhaps scrappy shopping or some such thing, then I'll spend the other half with family, relaxing poolside while Glen grills steak on the grill. We'll finish dinner off with either a Death by Chocolate cake, or an ice cream cake. I'll finish off the day spending time with all my online friends who couldn't make the shopping trip earlier in the day.

Of course, that just all pretend, because in reality, everyone makes a fuss over me. I'm not allowed to do laundry, or clean, or cook. They'd make me open the presents they tormented over and I almost always cry at the handmade cards.

In either case, I'm loved. :-)

Blog challenge #40

It's your birthday! What do you want to do, where do you want to be, who do you want to celebrate with, what kind of cake do you want, what presents will you get, etc... Dish on the perfect birthday! :-)

My "Balance" card

The paper is Cosmo Cricket and I used a BG chipboard tag. TFL! :-)

YITL challenge #39

BALANCE


Please post a link to your creation here when you're finished! :-)

Sleeping babies

For this weeks blog challenge... not babies anymore, but I love to watch them sleep just the same. These photos are proof of the busy lives we lead. :-)

Blog challenge #39

Show, don't tell. Post a photo that says it all.

My "Inspire" card

I did this one REALLY fast, using a really old definition rub on. :-)

YITL challenge #38

INSPIRE

Please link back here to your creation so we can all see! :-)

Blog challenge #38

What are your 'Seven Wonders' -- the seven most amazing things your eyes have seen? Describe the places, objects, people or accomplishments in your life that are the most meaningful and life-affirming experiences of your existence?

Extreme lawn surfing IS a sport!

Am I right? :-D Those who have done it, you know it's true! I had a few friends over to my house for a crop and after a margarita or two at the local Mexican restaurant, we came back to my house, tore us up some cardboard boxes and surfed down our front yard in the dark. DH frankly couldn't believe it... he ran to get the camera. I've trained him well! LOL

My heroes

There were no takers on my heroes challenge, so no one won the black board alpha. Here is the layout I did, using a postcard from right before the towers were attacked. On the wings are quotes from Pres. Bush and Pres. Reagan. I used mulberry and vellum for the wings and Daisy D's rub ons for the title.

Wanted: Friends!

Wow, that gif looks funky, but you get the idea... I need a friend to come camping with me at a crop at Scrapbook Heaven, so that I can earn a patch! You can earn patches too, so pllleeeeasseeeeeeeeeee? Pwetty pwease, with pweaches on top??? :-D Just click on the link and come on over! :-)

My "Courage" card

Oh Lord, if I had a dime for everytime I heard my Gram say this... :-D Definitely my new mantra these days.

YITL challenge #37

COURAGE

Please post a link to your creation here when you're finished! :-)

A challenge for you

Well, it's not MY challenge, it's actually from the Autumn Leaves calendar, but as Sept. 11th has been on my mind and I wanted to do something to commemorate the date, I will be doing a page on the heroes in my life. I challenge you to do the same. If you take my challenge, post the link to your creation here and I will do a drawing for a RAK. You have until Sunday evening, Sept. 14th to show me your layout and I will use the random generator to choose a winner of this very cool Cosmo Cricket blackboard alpha. I can't wait to hear about your heroes! :-)

Blog challenge # 37

Write about what makes your favorite season your favorite season.

My "Peace" card

I used some really old BG scraps and lots of Stickles! LOL

I found it!

I found my mojo! Woo hoo! Hobby Lobby has 12 x 12 shadow boxes on sale for 50% off, so I decided to hang this on the one wall in the newly finished bathroom that doesn't have anything on it yet. :-D