A Year In Review

My goodness has it been THAT long since I've updated my blog? I will not bore you with excuses because frankly, I'm just lazy! lol And I won't promise that I will be better at keeping it up because I probably won't! Ha! Anywho...since the end of another year is drawing near, I figured I'd do a whole "year in review" post....just touch on some stuff that has happened this past year. It probably won't be too exciting, but it will be nice to look back in another years time and remember everything that took place in 2010. I hope everyone has a great New Year. Be safe and I hope 2011 holds nothing but good things for you :)

**Most importantly, or at least the first thing that comes to mind...WE GOT MARRIED!! HUGE milestone! After almost 7 years of living together, it finally happened. I used to think "What the heck is he waiting for?" "Why haven't we done it yet?" ect,ect, but looking back now, I think it happened right when it should have. I have to remember that things happen in God's time...not mine :)

**Mikey started Kindergarten. He LOVES school and thank you, God..we LOVE the school he goes to. We were very nervous about what the school he was going to attend on this side of town would be like, but it is a newly renovated school, so it looks NEW and it's very nice and so far...no problems.

**Sticking w/the school theme, Lij started a public middle school. He came home (thank you, God) and now I get to see him EVERY day and be part of his school stuff and I know what is going on w/him and his grades and all that good stuff. It is such a blessing to see his smiling face afterschool each day and hear all about his day. I can't tell you how much I was missing that. He did a few years of private Catholic school and stayed with his dad, but now he's home for good :)

**We got a dog! :) We had always talked about getting one and one day, Max just came into our lives. I'm not kidding...I always thought it was a bit weird when people talked about their pets like they were kids and went on and on about them, but I TOTALLY understand now. That little dog (and mind you, he is NOT little anymore..lol) stole my heart from the minute I laid eyes on him and I just LOVE him to pieces! So much so that it makes my heart ache sometimes! He is definitely a member of the family :)

**We got a new car! Well, not "new"...new to us :) And it's funny how they say "ask and you shall receive". Well, we had been thinking we needed a new vehicle...our little Ford truck was on it's last leg so to speak and TOOOO small to fit us all. And one day, Miguel comes home and says that his dad found a little...gosh I forget what the heck it is...lol..it's an SUV typish vehicle..anyway..for CHEAP. And he paid half and we paid half. It was truly an unexpected blessing. Thank you, God for always providing for us :)

See, I only listed a few things and already I can't think of anything else! lol Honestly, alot of the year was spent planning for the wedding. It all seems like such a blur now! But it was a good year. Any time that we are blessed with is good. Any time that we get to spend together as a family, time that Miguel and I get to spend alone..time in general is very precious because you never know how much of it you have. We are not promised "x" amount of time, so we must make the most of every day. Let's see..the new year, I hope that the kids continue to do well in school, that they both continue to like their schools and make new friends and be an example of goodness because God knows this world needs it. I hope that Miguel and I still continue to grow closer despite our ups and downs, that our trials make us stronger and that we become each others best friend :) I hope that we all continue our walk with God, that we never stop wanting to know Him, to get close to Him. I hope that we are examples of his love, that we are a blessing in His name to others, and that He continues to work in us and make us the people He wants us to be. Happy New Year everyone :)

Randomness...

My goodness, have I gotten bad about keeping up my blog! There just never seems to be enough time to do everything I need/want to do! Even with Mikey in school now, the days just seem to FLY by and before I know it, he's coming home and I can't be as productive.
I've been doing some scrapping...finally got out of my rut...YAY! I have about 5 pages to share, but unfortunately, our computer has a virus....AGAIN! And the Kodak software I use to upload my pics isn't working. I sure hope it's only disabled and all my pics have not been wiped out. I would be DEVASTED to say the least! I'm kind of upset because I know it was Lij who downloaded some music off an unsecure site and now we have to pay to get it cleaned when we just did the same thing about a month and a half ago. But what can you do? I NEEDS my computer! lol
I've also been purging alot lately. Cleaning out the closet, looking thru the kids' clothes, ect. It feels too crowded here at my mom's and I feel the need to minimalize. Did I say that right? Or is it minimize? Whatever...I need to get rid of stuff! lol
What else? Geez! I can't even think of anything to write about....how boring is that? My life is so exciting, huh? I promise to go out and do something adventurous and then share...lol..Okay, I probably won't do that! :)
Gosh, Max is getting SO big. I have pics of him to share too! The last time we took him to the vet (about a week ago), he weighed in at 38 lbs! And the woman we got him from said he'd only get to be about 24! YEAH RIGHT! I think he's got a whole lot more Lab in him than Shnauzer! But I just LOVE him to death! I gave him a bath today and he's gotten SO good about it. Just sits there and lets me scrub him. Towards the end, I think he got a little tired of being good and wanted out of the shower, but overall a HUGE improvement from before. We have an appt next week to get him "fixed". I hope he does okay w/that.
Well, I hope we can get our computer fixed soon...I'm hoping next weekend after all our other bills are paid. Then I'll be sure to upload some pics :) More later!

Some Scrappy Time :)

My sis and I got together a couple of Fridays ago on a day where Mikey had early release from school. And I was able to work on three whole pages! :) Just hadn't gotten around to taking pics of them and getting them uploaded until today. I'm really happy with the way they all turned out. Especially the one page w/the wedding pic of us. It's one of my fave pics from that night.

Speaking of wedding pics, the photographer came by on Sunday and we viewed the pics from the wedding! They are just awesome! It was so cool looking at them all and reliving that night! Now we just have to sit down and make a list of the pics we want printed out...we are getting (200) 4x5's and (10)5x7's. That is going to take some time because there are over 420 pics. But the sooner we get it done, the sooner we can have our prints back. We also got the high resolution disc for printing ourselves so I plan to use that for making copies for friends and family and for printing out the pics I want to scrap. But the pics we get from him are going straight into an album. Those we won't touch.

What else? Oh, we have our 20 year high school reunion coming up in a couple of weeks. I sure wish I was in better shape :( but oh well, what am I going to do. I need to go dress shopping because I do not own ONE dress! It's true! Unless I wear my wedding dress? lol jk :)

Oh, we got the disc drive fixed on our computer so I was FINALLY able to download the softward for my Canon Rebel so I've been using that and getting a little practice...trying to get to taking some better pictures. I'm excited about getting to use it more instead of my little Kodak EasyShare.

That's about it...here's some pics.

At Last...

After about four months of not touching my scrap stuff....okay, I touched it, but I didn't produce any pages...lol, I finally got around to working on a page today. I actually had it sitting on my table for the past week. I just couldn't bring myself to do something with this picture of us having our first dance at the wedding. I felt like nothing I did would do this picture justice. So, it just sat there...semi completed, until today when I decided to just jump right on into it. I was inspired by the oh so talented Sasha Farina. I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her style. Simply everything she does inspires me to just drop everything and get creative. I believe it was a canvas she had made that had this awesome title that I just ADORED -- "You Are The Love Song In My Heart". When I saw it, I just knew that had to be the title for that picture of us together. It took me a few tries...four to be exact...before I got the end result, but I absolutely LOVE the finished product and will proudly display it in our wedding album. Which btw, I must buy one next time they go on sale at M's or HL. One that will only hold pages I work on from our wedding. I am SO excited and anxious to get the pics back from our photographer. After seeing the ones he posted on his FB page and gave us a little preview, I can hardly stand it!! I just know that they will all be amazing!! It's funny how a picture really "can" bring back so many memories, evoke so many feelings. Just looking at the pic of Miguel and I dancing....it makes me smile..because I can remember what I was feeling, what I thinking....everything that was going on around us. The photographer really did an awesome job of capturing the moment...all those special moments that I want to hold on to forever...sigh...okay, here's the page....hope you like it as much as I do ;)

It's Official!

It's official! Miguel and I are now husband and wife!! The wedding was just beautiful...just like I had pictured it so many times in my mind. There were a few complications and setbacks, some changes of plan, but we just kept calm and everything went smoothly. It's hard to believe that after all those months of planning and stress and headaches and meetings, ect...it's all over now, but we had such a great time and such great memories of that wonderful day. A good friend of ours hooked us up with two nights at the Marriot Rivercenter downtown and we had a great time just being alone together which doesn't happen very often. We ate and walked down the Riverwalk, went to the wax museum...it was hard to leave when the time came because we were just enjoying it so much! Miguel also had the whole week off from work so even when we came back home, we have gotten to spend alot of time together while Mikey is at school. I am sure going to miss him when he goes back to work on Monday :( Anyway, here are some of my favorite pictures. The photographer we hired did an AWESOME job! These are only some of the pictures he posted on his site. We haven't gotten ours yet thus the watermark on the pics. Enjoy :)

TOOO long...

My, my has it been TOO long! Our computer has gotten a virus and we have sadly been without internet access for over a month! I feel so disconnected from the outside world! lol Something was up with our router too which wasn't letting Lij log on with his laptop. Miguel must have spent about four hours on the phone last night w/AT&T getting all back up and running. We NEED to take our computer in to get fixed ASAP, but just haven't had the extra money with all the wedding stuff coming up. AND, we have added a new member to our family....a four legged one, and that was an extra expense we were not anticipating. His name is Max and I wish my computer was working so I could post a pic of him because he is just THE cutest!! He's part Lab and part who knows what! LOL We got him from some lady at the park about a month ago. She said a stray had the puppies under her house and she was giving them away...7 of them! Max immediately stole my heart with his cute little face and those EYES! He had the saddest little eyes! I could NOT walk away from that puppy! Poor thing was covered in fleas! We brought him home and bathed him about FIVE times with Dawn and literally picked them all off. It was GROSS! But I bet he felt so much better after. We took him in to the vet that weekend, got him checked out and put on a Wellness plan. He already got his 1st vaccine last weekend. He was a trooper and got a new chew toy for being so good :) Yes, he is a tad bit spoiled! I am amazed at how big he has gotten in the few short weeks we have had him and although he is a handful with house breaking him, he is SO worth it :)
Wedding plans are still coming along....got the bridesmaids dresses, changed the reception location to a place we both just LOVE, working on some of the decorations....have to change the inserts in the invites to the new location....need to get my shoes still, my veil, my dress altered....lots done, but still LOTS more to do...I feel very unprepared with only two months away. I am leaving it in God's hands and I know that it will all come together.
I have done NO scrapping since my computer has been out! Wait, that's a lie....I did ONE page a couple of weeks ago at Chon's house and my scrap bag is still sitting unpacked under my scrap tables!
What else?? Can't think of anything else right off the top of my head. Hopefully, we will get our computer up and running really soon! Nighty! :)

Wedding Centerpiece

Just uploading this here so Chon can see it :)

A page

Finally, finally scrapped a page! WHEW! That was a long stretch there! And I have to say that it didn't come easily at first. In fact, I started a whole different way, didn't like the page AT ALL and tore it up! lol Yep, I tore it up! I love this a whole lot more. Also included a whole lot of journaling which was to me, the most important part of this page since it talks about how Miguel proposed to me. I wanted to get this page done soon while it was all still fresh in my mind. The journaling is hidden in that tag peeking out from behind the pic.
SO.....still making wedding plans and sadly....haven't hit the gym like I wanted to yet! I know, I know! Not watching what I eat either! I'm stressing out and in turn stress eating! Thankfully, haven't put on one pound, but haven't lost anything either. I need, need, NEED to get back to the gym. If not to lose weight, to at least stay in shape and to destress. We picked a photographer. Miguel and I really love his work. It was actually a toss up between him (Mark) and another guy (Mario), but Mark ended up matching the quote that Mario gave us and we did love his work more than the other, so YAY for us getting Mark! We are meeting up with him this coming Sunday, God willing...to look over the agreement and his portfolio and put down our deposit. Um, what else...oh yeah, I ordered my dress yesterday and it already shipped out today! I should get it in a week or so! SO super excited about that! I am just DYING to try it on! I bought it online at David's Bridal.com, but had gone in to the actual store weeks back to try on a similar dress to figure out my size. I had two dresses in mind, and had decided to go with a white one instead of my original choice, but just my luck, they were sold out of my size :( I'm going to go with my gut and say that the dress I ordered is "the one" because even though I loved other dresses, I kept coming back to this one. I found a really pretty pearl and crystal headband on Ebay that I think will look PERFECT with my dress, so I need to order that too. I need to decide whether I want any other kind of jewelry such as a necklace, bracelet, ect...don't want to overdo it....want to stay clean and simple. I definitely want some simple faux pearl stud earrings....will think about the necklace or bracelet, but if I do, it will be one or the other...not both and will be in pearls too. Tonight Miguel and I sat down and looked over our budget and did some figuring and it looks like we will be okay and have everything covered. I know that God has it all under control...my heart knows this, but it's hard for me to not stress about it...because of the way I am....trying to work on this...need to pray about it more....I know it will all work out...have to keep saying that to myself. What else? Not much else going on. Mikey had been sick...both ears and throat infected REALLY, I mean REALLY badly! Poor thing, his throat looked HORRIBLE....it hurt me to look at it! And he wasn't eating at all because he said his throat hurt and I don't blame him, but I would hear his poor little tummy growl and it just broke my heart! I hate it when the kids are sick! :( Thankfully, he got antibiotics and is back to his old self. Unfortunately, I have it now! Not the throat thing...at least not yet....but sneezing and congestion. Feel alot of pressure on the bridge of my nose. I really need/want to get some scrappy time in. This has been a SLOW year for scrapping...don't even know how many pages I have for the year, but nowhere near the number I had last year around this same time I'm sure. And I don't anticipate getting alot done either with all the wedding plans and then Mikey starting school this year. Excited, but sad about that. I will miss him SOOO much!! :( My baby is growing up! Okay, that's pretty much all for now. Will try to update more often and hopefully will have some scrappy stuff to share soon! :)

The Proposal

It's official...we are "officially" engaged! I was really NOT expecting this AT ALL! Miguel and I had even discussed this a couple of weeks back when he had mentioned something about needing to get me an engagement ring. And while I thought it was oh so sweet that he wanted to, I told him it wasn't necessary. I mean, we've only been living together for over 6 years and I didn't want him going and spending any money we could use for other wedding stuff. But like everything else...lol, I guess he didn't listen to me. He proposed to me on Sunday. We had just left his best friend Juan and his wife Laura's house. We had gone over to discuss some of the wedding details w/them and get some stuff priced and written down ect. And btw, they along with Juan's family so graciously offered to take care of the costs of the food as well as prepare it. That was a very nice and unexpected surprise! So many people are offering their help financially and physically and we are both quite touched. It just shows us how much we mean to our friends and family :) So anyway, we had left there and were on our way to Miguel's parents' house to tell them the good news because Miguel had STILL not told them! So we were driving along, and we were passing some park and Miguel says something like "I think there's something wrong with one of the tires." We were in his mom's vehicle by the way. So he slows down, pulls over at this park and gets out. The kids were in the backseat and I stayed in the car up front. So, I see him walking around to the front driver's side and looks at the tire, then he goes to the back and does the same on both sides. I started messing w/the radio and next thing I know he was at my door trying to open it, but it was locked. And so I look up at him and he says "Look, come check this out" I'm thinking there must be something wrong with the front tire, so as I'm opening my door to get out, he drops down on one knee and he's holding a box in his hands. I didn't even see where it came from! And so I'm sitting there half hanging out of the car and I'm kind of in shock. I mean, I know why he's down on one knee..I get it..I know what it means, I know what he's doing, but it's kind of...I don't know...surreal. So, he asks "Will you marry me?" and I say "no, I'm just kidding...I didn't mean that. Yes." lol Time Traveler's Wife...remember that line when he asks her to marry him? I can't help it...I couldn't resist! And so I get out of the car and we are hugging and I'm crying and Miguel has tears in his eyes. And I hear Mikey say something from the back seat and Elijah tells him "Mikey, be quiet..this is a very special moment." lolol

And there it is! lol It's a small ring...very small..but I ADORE it because he picked it out. And because I know that he gave it to me with all his heart! :) It's taking a little getting used to. I am not a big jewelry wearing person. Much less rings. And it fits a tad big, so it kind of bugs me from time to time. But I like the way it looks...it's so shiny :D And I like to look down at it and think about what it means and think about the upcoming wedding. And about how I'm going to feel walking down the aisle seeing him standing there at the end of it...waiting for me. And that it means that we will love each other for the rest of our lives. And that we will grow old together and that after all this craziness of planning and budgeting and list making and shopping...it will all be worth it :)

Lists, lists...and MORE lists...

I feel like I am up to my ears in lists! LOL Lists of stuff we need to buy, guest lists, supply lists, wedding party lists...I usually like writing lists, but right now I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with them all! But it's a good thing. I have to keep telling myself that it will all come together. I am just so scared that it's just going to sneak up on us. Four months can fly by SO fast! And in the middle of all this, Miguel has his upcoming retreat, we have summer with the kids home, we have Mikey starting school, not sure where Lij will be going next year, MY retreat the week before the wedding...so much going on! We start our marriage classes on the 6th of May...don't know if I mentioned that already. I think we meet every Thursday for 7 weeks. Should be interesting.
In case anyone noticed on the invite, I changed my colors...they are now black, pink and white. LOVED the Tiffany blue, but it's so hard finding stuff in that exact shade :( :( Still happy with the new colors :) The girls dresses will be black. I'd love for them to have some kind of pink sash or bow on them. I decided that every girl should pick her own style dress seeing as how I have different sized girls in my bridal party and not everyone will look good in the same dress. This way each girl can feel pretty and comfortable in her own style dress :) I also changed MY choice of dress. It was the one I had originally LOVED, but it was a bit more than the other w/the sash, but I decided it was worth the difference in cost. So, now that the colors have been changed, the cake will not be different. Just the colors. What was going to be the Tiffany blue, will now be pink. My friend Mio...who actually introduced Miguel and I has volunteered to get the cake for us. Her mother works in a bakery and makes all sorts of cakes. My uncle and aunt have volunteered to get the DJ for us. That was a very nice and unexpected surprise! My uncle will also be walking me down the aisle. He is the closest thing we have ever had to a father. So, getting those two things out of the way are a HUGE load off! But there is still a LONG list of stuff that still needs to get done and taken care of! I'm trying to breathe and take it day by day! I am going to try and put the "lists" aside for a couple of days and maybe give myself some scrappy time. I think I need it!! That's all for now :)

You're Invited....

We decided to make our own invitations to save money. I wanted something simple, fast to assemble and inexpensive. I think this is what we are going with. I got the sentiment off some website and then used my Hallmark card software for the clipart and font, ect, ect. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. We'll see what Miguel says :)

Save The Date

We met with Father Michael yesterday and filled out the necessary forms. He gave us the new schedule for marriage classes which we will, God willing, start on the 6th of May. And we set a date! September 4, 2010! Yep, it's only four short months away! Can you say "freaking out"? lol Not because I'm getting married to Miguel....hello? We have been living together for the past 6 1/2 years, we have a child together...we are not "new" to each other..lol But because there is SO much planning to do and only 4 months to do it in! I don't know why exactly we decided on September. Well, we did want to get married this year and we needed the time to do the classes, and we figured we didn't want to do it in July..it's TOO hot, August is back to school for Lij, Lij's birthday AND the start of school for Mikey...waaahhhh...lol... October because of my birthday, not November because of the holidays, December is too hectic w/Christmas..so September seemed perfect! Just too soon! We went by the kids godparents' house after to talk to them. Juan, the kids godfather and Miguel's best friend is going to be Miguel's best man so he went over to ask him. His wife, Laura was so excited and already started making plans and writing lists and giving me so many ideas! She is totally a party planner! LOL She is going to be SO helpful to me! Last night, I literally couldn't sleep just thinking about all the stuff that needs to be done, how we are going to fund it all, ect. This is by no means going to be an expensive, elaborate wedding AT ALL, but even cheap costs money! lol Money we don't have! So we are just taking it as we go and starting to save what we can and get people to help us out. But I was browsing davidsbridal.com last night and I think I found the PERFECT dress for me! And even more perfect....is the price!! Only $139 plus $14.99 to ship. It's very simple, yet very pretty and I just LOVE it! The sash in the picture is burgundy though and I think the colors I have decided on are turquoise...kind of like the color of this text...and chocolate brown. Love those colors to scrap with too! LOL :) Maybe throw in some white here and there. Here are some pics to share.....


THE CAKE
I'm thinking I want this in a square cake and not rounds...and of course on a bigger scale because we are anticipating around 200 people...mostly on Miguel's side I might add...I don't even know that many people! In real life that is! I have tons of online friends! lol I love the way each layer looks different! On our cake though, I want the white icing to be chocolate...I HATE white icing. So, it might not look like a "traditional" wedding cake, but it will taste good and I'll eat it :) and then the turquoise accents on this cake, will be turquoise. I think I would also like a big, elaborate turquoise bow on top in place of the traditional bride and groom figure.

THE DRESS

Isn't it beautiful? Simple, but SO pretty! Like I said, the sash will be a different color. I'm not sure about how I want my veil and I think I want a little tiara type thingie. I'm pretty sure I'll wear my hair down...don't like wearing it up. Hopefully it will grow out a bit more by then...shouldn't have cut it and left it long, but oh well!
Okay, so that's about all I have for now. Been working on the guest list and writing down what we need to do, get, ect...I really have NO idea where to start, so looking on alot of online wedding sites. If anyone knows of any neat invite ideas (we will be making our own) or has any nice centerpiece/decorating ideas, please link me up! I need all the help I can get!! :)

WHERE have I been???

I just realized that it's almost been two months since I last updated my blog!! I'm a bad blogger! I don't know what it is...sometimes I just get SO lazy about updating. Don't know why because I still keep up with everyone else's blogs, just not my own! I don't think I'll try to recap everything that's been going on since I last blogged....just list a few things that have been going on recently.

1. As of right now, THREE of us have a stomache bug...blah! I got it first on Sunday night, Mikey started on Monday morning and Lij started last night...just great! Thankfully (THANK YOU GOD) Mikey was spared and seems to have got it the least. I, the worst :( Lij doesn't seem too bad either although I hate to say that he is THE WORST sick person....EVER! DRAMA! Mikey seems to be back to normal, but I still don't feel 100%...my stomache doesn't feel right...still queasy and can't eat much although it's not coming up anymore. I hope Miguel or my mom don't get it.

2. I got a new camera with our tax refund. It's a Canon Rebel and I LOVE it! Still reading the manual here and there and playing w/it and getting to learn new stuff. Really need to sit down and play with it more.

3. I've been reading. Just finished a book by Don Piper called "90 Minutes in Heaven".....it's an autobiography I picked up at the Family Christian Store....such a good book.

4. Started back at the gym last week and did three days...felt good...then I got sick.... back to it next week God willing.

5. Miguel and I are FINALLY getting married!! Sound the trumpets! lol We have an appointment to meet with Father Michael at his church tomorrow. I really could care less about getting married in a Catholic church, but Miguel wants to. I'd much prefer South San Filidelfia (my church). I think after we speak with Father tomorrow and get a general idea of what we need to do, we will set a date and start the preparations. It will be nothing big or fancy...don't have the funds for that, but I WILL wear my white dress and have my church wedding :) We are thinking early September or early November of this year.

6. Still scrapping. In fact, we got together at Laura's a couple of weeks back and I got three pages done...just been too lazy to take pics and post them! Also been organizing my sb area...AGAIN! I know, I know...it's never ending! I'm waiting on some of that new Basic Grey Basics stuff I just ordered from Stop and Scrap. It's loook AWESOME! Totally my style! Was also wanting to order some of the October Afternoon...Fly A Kite and Thrift Shop. As always...still shopping more than scrapping :( lol

Well, I think that's a good summary of what's been going on. Going to try REALLY hard to keep my blog up! Until next time! :)

Scrapbook group

So my sis and the girls and I got together last Friday for some scrappy time. I spent the day w/my sis shopping, having lunch and just hanging out while our Mom watched Mikey. I really look forward to those Fridays when I can leave Mikey at home and just hang out w/Chon...good times, good times :) So, we hit our usual spots, but I don't think I got much in the way of scrappy goodies. I did get the kids and Miguel's Vday gifts. And I got myself THE CUTEST canvas print at Target! It was in kids' room decor, but it has OWLS, OWLS I tell you!! HOW could I pass that up?? lol We did go by Scrapbook Heaven which is always such a disappointment to us :( But I did walk out with about 5 sheets of paper and some Sass stitch stamps. At HL I picked up a cute butterlfy punch I'd been wanting and a sheet of stickers w/Scriptures on them. That was pretty much it as far as shopping. Laura wasn't able to stay because of car problems, but she did eat dinner w/us and then we all exchanged little Vday gifts and cards :) I didn't even get as much scrapping done as I'd hoped...only 4 of the 8 pages I'd packed, but I finished up the others on Monday. Probably the most scrapping I've done in a while. With going to the gym, watching the baby now, doing what I have to do around here...I always feel like I don't have enough time to do anything "fun" :( Can't even imagine what it would be like if I had to work outside of the house. Probably wouldn't get anything fun done! Thank God that I am blessed to be able to stay at home w/the kids and have some free time :)

What else? Still going to the gym. Not as much as I'd like to or should. Last week, I only went ONE time :( I know...VERY BAD! But this week, I've gone twice already. Aiming again for tomorrow and then Friday to make four days. That is my goal...to go at least 4 days. Thankfully, although I haven't lost any more weight. I'm still maintaining so that's good. What else? Oh Valentine's Day....was a good day. Went to church...LOVE Sundays and going to church. Miguel met me there and then he took me and Mikey to eat at Chili's. We walked around The Quarry Market after. Even went to M's, but left with nothing. There was actually NOTHING there that I wanted...lol! Miguel got me the cutest Hoops & Yoyo card! I LOVE them! And he really liked the glasses I got him...it was JUST what he wanted! For ONCE I got him a gift he LOVED! He kept saying how much he loved them! :)

Okay, I think that's it for now. Here are my most recent pages. You can check them out in my sb.com gallery too if need to know a specific product! :)

A Case of the BLAHS.....

I've had a slow going week. We've had some colder, very rainy weather here this week and maybe it's draining me. LOL Blame it on the weather right? It's affecting my allergies that's for sure. As well as Mikey. He's had a cough and sneezing and runny nose on and off since Saturday. Thankfully, it's not keeping him up at night like it did the first couple of nights. I've been giving him cough/cold meds every 4 hours, had the humidifier going by his bed at night, rubbing Vaporub on his chest at night. Anything and everything. Dreading taking him to the doc just to be told it's just a cold or allergies and we leave with less money and no meds. I figure as long as he doesn't have a fever and his cough isn't affecting his sleep or eating, ect. I looked in his throat and it doesn't look red at all, so we shall see. I woke up feeling a little head congestion and I've had a tiny 'sting' in my throat all week. I am pretty sure there's something in the air lately.

Anyway, enough about the weather. I haven't gotten to go to the gym this week. Bad, I know. But since Mikey has a cough, they won't take him in Kids Klub. The girsl and I were going to meet up at the gym on Monday morning, but I had to skip it because of his cough. Last Friday, I went and had a good workout. I was able to run a mile in 16 mins non stop. I know. I'm back to my "running thing". I don't know....I just want to get good at running. It's something I've had in my head/heart for a while and I really want to do it. Right now, this darn cold weather just keeps me from going to the gym as much as I'd like. And the time change....don't want to be catching the bus in the rain/cold OR the dark! lol We have this thing at church going on...The Biggest Loser and we all broke off into teams of 4. Pretty much the same concept as the show. Liz, Yocasta, Diana and I are on a team called the Slenderellas! lol I have 30 lbs to go to get to where I really want to be. Of course losing more than that would be great, but 30 is enough for me. I'm not really concerned about the prize either. Losing the weight is reward enough for me. The added prize is just a "bonus" :)

I was able to get some scrapping done on Tuesday. Did two pages that I really love. Both "semi lifts". One off of Stephanie Howell and one off of April Yap over on 2 Peas. Oh wait, and I was able to do one page yesterday while the baby was playing quietly in her playpen and Mikey was napping. That was also a lift off of Gumpgirl on sb.com. Don't know that I'll get anything done today. I took an allergy pill before the baby came because I didn't feel too well and now I'm drowsy...not good. And I only took one to try to avoid feeling sleepy, but I guess that didn't help any. Okay, enough for now....have a great Thursday everyone...yay...weekend is almost here :)

Some Shares....

Here are pics of my most recent pages. Three I did last Friday when we all got together here at my house. As well as the cards. The other page, I got to work on yesterday. Not much going on here to talk about. Things are good...we are all good...thank you God :) Hit the gym yesterday w/Miguel. Hadn't gone in a week, but it wasn't too hard. I was able to run 5 consecutive minutes...yay! I know! What is it with me and running? I WILL get back to running those long distances..I WILL! lol It's just a personal goal I guess :) Thankfully, my ankle is not bothering me or hasn't been bothering me lately....very grateful for that. Well, waiting for the baby to get dropped off so until later :)

Getting Together...

So, I spent the day hanging out w/Chon on Friday before the girls came over that night. I met her early and we hit up our usual shopping spots....Hobby Lobby, JoAnns, Target, Tuesday Morning, Wal Mart and we had a yummy lunch at Mama Margies :) I picked up a cool mag at HL with some pages I really want to lift and some AC alpha stickers, got the DCWV Mariposa pad at J's, at Target I got some little things for some Vday gifts I'm putting together for the girls, and at Tuesday Morning I picked up some cool Love Elsie chip stuff. It was a fun day of hanging out and shopping. Unfortunately, Liz wasn't able to make our gathering this time because her aunt had passed away earlier in the week and her rosary was that night. Laura and Yocasta came and Laura brought Robyn so her and Victoria could play. I did the 3 pages I had planned and made two Vday cards that I need to take pics of and upload. The girls spent most of the night looking through the HUGE pile of paper I had...lol, but we all had a great time hanging out and chatting. I always have such a great time hanging out with these girls. Oh SO thankful for God bringing them into my life :)
Today was church then hanging out at my Uncle Frank's house. Today was my mom's 70th birthday and he had a bbq for her. Very nice time spent with family :) We came home and just relaxed and Miguel ended up falling asleep on the sofa and Mikey played video games while I read some of Dear John while laying on the couch. Such a great Sunday. I always look forward to them because I know I will get to go to church and worship my God, visit w/my new, wonderful friends and spend time with my family :D
I will try to upload pics of my stuff tomorrow. Gotta clean...blah...so I can't make any promises! Also hitting the gym this week and really watching what I eat...I NEED to get back on track!! Nighty peeps ;)

Reorganizing

So this is what my new paper storage looks like. I got rid of the big, bulky wooden cubbie shelf I've had for over 7 years which was still in really great condition. And I opted for these colored ITSO cubes I got at Target. I already had two white ones and I bought some pink to alternate with the white. One of the pinks is a lighter pink because I couldn't find another hot pink one. It will work for now. Might replace it later. Anyway, they fit perfectly under one of my six foot tables. I think it looks much neater and out of view. Didn't really like having it all out since it's in the livingroom. The first pic is the paper I purged to try to get my paper collection down to fit into 4 cubbies. I had about another 6 inches I added to the stack after I took the pic. It was all paper I knew I wasn't going to use and papers which I had too many of the same sheet. Lots of good stuff in there...K&Co., American Crafts, MM, MME, We R Memory Keepers, Prima...tons of good stuff. The girls are going to have a blast looking thru there! Can't wait to get together on Friday. Already got 3 pages put together to work on and I think I'll try to work on some Vday cards. Or maybe try to get some more pages planned. Malissa is getting dropped on in a bit, so I won't have any time to plan anything until later in the evening. Anyway, that's all for now :)

A mini album....

This was the mini album we worked on last Friday when the girls got together. Got to finish it up on Tuesday. I'm really loving the way it turned out. And I'm really liking doing mini albums. Really quick project and such a sense of accomplishment! :) Also worked on this one page sometime during the week. Oh, on Thursday. The baby I am watching didn't come that day because she got sick so I ended up scrapping page...glad I got to get some scrapping done!

So the baby...Malissa, came over on Wednesday and overall, it was pretty good. Mikey was having a bit of a hard time sharing me with her...think he just needs to adjust since all my time is pretty much devoted to him during the day. But it went pretty good I think.

Didn't get to go to the gym except for two days this past week :( REALLY need to aim for four days and I really need to watch what I eat more closely. I need to get myself motivated again and step it up.

Chon came over today and we went to Target at Crossroads and I got my ITSO cubes to put my papers in. I got 3 pink ones and alternated with the two white ones I already have. But I need 3 more. They fit perfectly under one of my 6 foot tables and I was able to fit two rows of 4 stacked 2 high. My albums will go in the bottom ones and my paper in the top. I'm giving my cubbie shelf to Yocasta :)

What else? Can't think of anything else going on for now. So, until next time! :)

Bad Blogger....

For whatever reason, I never have the time, energy or motivation to keep up with my blog anymore! I was so good about it to begin with and for a while there, but now...not so much!
I can't believe we are already almost mid January! Gee whiz, does time just FLY! So far this year is off to a pretty great start. I am feeling so very blessed these days. With all my new friends from church...oh how I love my sisters in Christ! Thank God for sending them to me!! I feel very blessed with where Miguel and I are taking our relationship...working on it, but it's getting better! It's a constant effort though...hard work, but well worth it! ;) I am so blessed for my kids who I just love to pieces!! So many things...good things...going on in my life.
Today after Miguel got home from work, we went to the gym together. We took Mikey too to burn off some energy in the Kids Klub. There were ALOT of people tonight! I mean ALOT!! Had to work out in the Cardio Cinema again, but didn't mind because it was so much "fresher" in there. It literally STANK..is that right? STUNK? I don't know...but it SMELLED really BAD in the gym. Seemed like the heat was on inside and then with all the smelly, sweaty people...ugh....NOT good! So I was very glad to be back there with fewer people and no stench! LOL Plus, they were showing Juno which I really love. I did 3.5 miles on the treadmill and 1 mile on the bike. Ran at 5.0 too with no problems whatsoever. I'm working my way back up there...YAY!!
On Sunday after church (Miguel went w/us again...SO glad he did...LOVE when we go together and not him going to his church and me to mine), we went to eat at Mama Margies and then stopped off at Target because I wanted to pick up some storage stuff to reorganize my scrap area yet AGAIN! It's a constant quest for the perfect "set up". So, after we got home, I started moving stuff and it took me FOREVER! Literally! lol I had stuff all over the tables which I put back in the kind of "C" shape with space in the middle instead of having the two tables pushed together to make one big table. I liked the one "big" table, but it kind of closed the space off. Plus, I've been wanting to find a better way/place to store all my paper because I don't really like having it all "out there" where it can be seen since my scrap area is half of the livingroom. And having the tables pushed together didn't really give me anywhere to store stuff UNDER my tables. This way, I can store tons of stuff underneath and have it still be accessible, but not seen. I'm planning on getting some more ITSO cubes from Target and pushing them underneath one of my 6ft tables and using those to store all my paper. Might be a little harder to get to under there, but I think I can make it work. Also, I'm going to start babysitting for some friends of ours on Wednesdays and Thursdays and the baby is a year old and walking so I kind of wanted to get my stuff all tucked away and IN containers so that she doesn't get anything that might be harmful to her and so that my stuff stays nice and safe :) I remember when Mikey was that little, he just LOVED getting into my stuff! I was always afraid to leave him alone near my scrappy stuff! lol So anyway, I got that all done last night! WHEW! Hopefully, I won't be getting any more reorganizing ideas in the near future!
Oh, and last Friday, the girls and I met up at Chon's house for a little scrappy time. Yocasta wasn't able to make it..boo :( but Liz and Laura did and we all worked on these CUTE little "home" albums using these house shaped cb albums Chon had gotten at M's. Everyone did such a good job on theirs! We didn't get them all done that night, but we got a good start on them! I finished mine up today and I am really LOVING it! I need to take some pics and upload during the day tomorrow. I got a couple more little cb albums at M's last weekend...a circle one and one that looks like a big "tag" I think. I'm wanting one in the shape of a heart for Valentine's Day. I hope I can find one. Also picked up some cute K&Co. Vday stuff and that K&Co Cut and Paste pad which was on sale.
Hmmm..what else? Can't think of anything else at the moment. Need to go dry my hair and go to bed since I need to get up early to wait for the baby to get dropped off. Mikey is excited about her coming over and says he wants to help keep and eye on her so she doesn't hurt herself! I'm hoping that he "will" help me out with her! Okay, nighty!

A New Year...

Well, so far this year is off to a great start! ;) Laura and I did toddler care at church yesterday. I took Mikey with me and he was VERY good! He likes it SO much! I always enjoy being with the kids...they are so fun/funny! Miguel met us out there after he got out of work to pick us up and as we were leaving, I saw a couple of my new church friends...saw Kim and Joe and Monica and Mario. Mario invited Miguel to join them in their paintball tournament this month and Monica told me she got a Cricut Expression for Christmas! :) Anyway, as we were leaving, I just felt SO very blessed and grateful that I have found a home in this church that I have come to love so very much! I really look forward to every Sunday because I know that I am going to a place to worship MY God, in MY way, that I will be surrounded with uplifting people who I have also come to love, that I will hear music that will inspire me and lift me up...just so many things that I love about this place!

Miguel and I are also off to a great start. We are BOTH honestly making an effort to know each other in a whole different way...kind of like starting over only after six years! It's kind of neat because I feel like it's back at the beginning of our relationship and everything feels "new" again. I am hopeful that we are on the right track and that God will lead us where we need to be.

I scrapped my first page of the year today. Chon and I both lifted this page off of 2 Peas. I am VERY happy with mine :) I wanted to do another, but I'm getting kind of sleepy so it might not happen tonight. Maybe tomorrow. Finished all my cleaning today...don't have much to do tomorrow other than hitting the gym. I hope it's not too cold. Hate going out to the gym in the cold! :(
Anyway, I think that's about it for now. Hope everyone else is getting a great start on this new year! :)