Number 43

Here's the page I did for the challenge Chon and I are hosting over on sb.com. We picked four products: polka dot paper, a bingo card, trim i.e. Paper Frills, ribbon, ric rac...ect, and the color combo of orange/yellow/blue. I was having a hard time coming up with something I liked until I finally just stopped stressing over it and over thinking it and it just "flowed". It's kind of simple and back to my style of working on a corner of my page and "clustering" stuff. I really love that look though. It seems I'm finding the "styles" that suit me best and this is one of them. Anyway, if you frequent sb.com, come check out our challenge. We will be giving away a nice RAK :)

Another one....

I decided to join in on a challenge over at sb.com. In the whole four plus years I've been on there, I have never done one! This one sounded pretty neat because it had a specific color combo. I love trying out new color combos especially ones with bright and fun colors as this one. We had to work on a white background which I also love doing. And use the colors orange/lime/yellow. I used this cool pic my sis took of Mikey at my Uncle's house on Easter Sunday. I traced some of the papers and the title in black for a little contrast and I just loved the way it turned out! Me and Chon were thinking of coming up with a challenge of our own and posting it over on sb.com. I'm in the process of writing it out and getting all the details down so if you frequent the sb.com board, look for our challenge there :)

FINALLY!

A page I LOVE! This was a lift off of the latest issue of Scrapbooks Ect. Sadly, I think it was the ONLY page I saw in there that inspired me or that I thought "Hey, I want to copy that!" Which is kind of a waste. I mean, scrap mags cost what? Like $6. And to only have liked one thing in there....I should have just looked at it in the store and tried to retain the LO in my head! Don't know how that would have worked though since most days, I can't remember much! That's why I stopped buying scrap mags to begin with, but that day we were doing our grocery shopping and I saw it and just thought I'd get it since I hadn't bought one is so long, but now I know....not to buy them anymore.

So, I really love the way it turned out. And I finally used my Cricut Expression again. This is only the second time I've used it. I really should use it more...it was alot of money to just have sitting there. I really love it though. And I love that I have that option there" just in case". I LOVE that black bordered label I used on there. It's Jennifer Pebbles from 2 Peas. They are printable digital elements. They're called Swank labels I think and I just LOOOOOVE them! I can see myself using them on alot of stuff since I love that whole artisan shape for journaling elements. And yes Chon, I will send you the file so you can save them to your computer too :)

What else? Not much else is going on. Today was Miguel's first day back to work and I missed him terribly :( It's funny, but even after being together for over 5 years, I still get so happy to see his face. When he got home today, I heard him at the back door and I just ran and attacked him...lol..with kisses that is ;) Tomorrow is back to waking up at 6:30 to get Lij ready for school. I just HATE it and can't wait for the summer. I am NOT a morning person...AT ALL. Of course, over the summer, it will be non stop refereeing fights between Mikey and Lij so I don't know which I'd rather do...that or wake up early...hmmm....

Okay, that's all for today. Oh yesterday while perusing the sb.com superstore for one of the hourly challenges (the one I won I think), I came across some American Crafts clear backed alpha stickers that I just LOOOVED. They are that font that I am so crazy about that looks like those old TT Calamity Jane font stamps. Anyway, I got THREE packs! Yes, I'm afraid to run out! LOL But I swear, that is the LAST of my shopping...for a while...or at least today....the week? I'm not making any promises! LOL :D

It's Over....

National Scrapbooking Day AND Miguel's vacation :( I didn't even get any scrapping done today. Except for one 8x8 page for my BOM that I did for a challenge over on scrapbook.com. And I don't even really like the way it turned out. I really wanted to scrap and I really wanted to participate in one of the challenges, but I just wasn't "feeling it". Oh well, it is what it is. I did, however, win a prize over on sb.com for one of the challenges they had. All we had to do was link up six of our fave products from the Superstore. It was just a random drawing and I won!! I was so happy and excited when I saw my name on the list! I was yelling "I won, I won!!" and Mikey and Miguel were just looking at me like I'd lost my mind! lol I can't wait to see what they send me!

So, Miguel's vacation is over. I am glad for the time we got to spend together, for the time the kids got to spend with him, but I'm so sad that he will be going back to work and back to the stupid, crazy hours that he works where we hardly ever see him. I get so used to having him here when he goes on vaca. I'm sure the kids do too and it will be hard to adjust back to not seeing him much at all.

Oh, I forgot, Miguel took me to Hobby Lobby today and I got two more albums. I had to get the American Crafts cloth ones because that was pretty much all they had. I like those, but I really like the Paper Studio ones I had been getting because the spine is thicker so I can put more pages in there. Plus, they were cheaper than the AC ones. I pretty much organized and seperated all of my pages and filled up two albums for Mikey so I needed a new one to start on him. And I have one for Lij that's almost full so I needed one for him as well. The others I have still have room for more pages and those are FAMILY, KIDS (both boys together), ME & MIGUEL (which has pages of us seperately and of us together). I might want to seperate those further later, but for now, that will work fine.

What else?? Hmm...can't really think of anything else that's been going on. It's late and I'm sleepy so I should probably go to bed. Oh, I forgot to mention that Mikey is much better now with his ear/throat infection. And thank God, the OTC stuff I was taking worked and I didn't end up giving it back to Mikey. I felt so much better today! Still blowing my nose alot, but I feel a million times better! Thank you to all who sent well wishes! Okay, really going to bed now...good night!

Oh, I TOTALLY forgot....the winner of the Martha Stewart paper pack and extra goodies is......

APRIL!! (blog is Scrapper forever) April, please email me at laura6615@sbcglobal.net with your mail info and I will get this out to you soon :)

Look what he did.....

Miguel has been doing stuff around the yard since he's been on vaca this week: cutting the grass, trimming hedges, planting grass and he was working on this little project here. I think he did a great job! Those three small plants in the front are Lantanas and they smell so good! The one with the yellow flowers next to the windmill is Esperanza (Hope). He's been wanting to get one of those for a while. We also had plans of making a walkway in the back of the house because right now, there is just a tiny, narrow "path" and when it rains, it is so hard to maneuver off of the carport, down that "path" and to the back porch. But Miguel was so worn out from all this and we hadn't really been doing much since he was busy with these things, so for now, he's giving it a rest. Maybe in a couple of weeks, we can start up that project. I would have helped him more if I hadn't felt so sick.
Which speaking of, I am still sneezing and now I have this throat "thing" where I have to keep clearing my throat and then I get really, REALLY hoarse where you can hardly hear me talking (bet Miguel LOVES that!). BUT....I do feel better...I probably sound worse than how I feel. Yesterday, I felt pretty bad and Lij asks me "Mom, do you really feel bad?" And I say "yes". And he's like "maybe you should go to the doctor...what if you have that 'thing'?" (referring to the swine flu). Aw, crazy Lij. I told him I felt bad, but not THAT bad. I'm sure I'd know it if I had the flu...swine or any other kind! LOL Which btw, I was reading on my homepage headline news that the cases in Mexico are "leveling off". All this stuff that has been going on...geez, what a crazy world we live in! Just makes me think...
OH, today Lij had invited us to a little "talent show" they were having at his school. Not a big production....just something the 5th grade class had been wanting to do so they let them put on a little 45 minute show. Elijah of course, danced to TWO Michael Jackson songs. It is so hard to believe that is MY son up there. My SO shy, won't even look people in the eye son is up there spinning and "ow-ing" to Michael Jackson and the kids are just LOVING him. It was so funny! They are screaming out his name and clapping and just loving it. I was really proud! And so was he :) It was a good little show. There were a couple of little girls from his class who did several little "acts"...dancing and singing. One of the girls, Melanie I think was a good little singer! And that little girl could dance! I was like "wow"! They all did a great job and it was fun to watch!
Afterwards, we just took Lij out for the day since he only had an hour left and Miguel treated us all to lunch at this place called "Freddy's Custard...something or other" lol. It was good. Then we came home and did what old people do....lol...we NAPPED! Well, Miguel and I did. The kids were playing video games.
Right now, the kids are still playing and Miguel went to his ACTS meeting so I'm going to start baths in a bit and "maybe" scrap a page. I really have the itch...especially with all the new goodies I've gotten lately, but sadly...the ideas aren't coming and I'm just not "feeling it". Sometimes, that's just how it is....sigh....oh well!
Tomorrow, we are keeping Lij home from school..since he's been at school all week that Miguel has been home and Miguel officially declared it "Family Fun Day" LOLOL He wants to go downtown and take the kids to several places. Basically, we are going to be tourists in our own city....lol...should be fun...hope it's not humid like it was today...feels SOOO horrible. And hopefully, I'll feel a little bit better tomorrow too. And hopefully, everyone will cooperate and give me some good pictures!! :) Later :)

I'm sick :(

And so is Mikey :( He actually had not been "acting" sick....still his normal, over active self, eating well, no fever, but for like the past two nights, I had noticed that when he was sleeping/laying down, he sounded very congested and was snoring very loudly which happens alot when he has throat infections. I had been giving him OTC allergy meds, but didn't see it helping any so decided to not take any chances and we took him in to see the doc this a.m. Sure enough, throat and ear infection. So, he's on antibiotics and hopefully on the road to recovery. I, on the other hand, am feeling cruddy. And wouldn't you know it....this didn't start until AFTER we left the doc's office or I would have gotten seen myself. I'm taking some OTC stuff myself and we will just see. Don't want to take any chances of just passing it back and forth between Mikey and myself. So if I don't feel any better in the next couple of days, I'm going back myself.

What else? Oh, after we took Mikey to the doc, Miguel dropped me off at Chon's and we hung out for a good part of the rest of the day. We went to M's and she found me two packs of that Martha Stewart woodgrain paper for $2.99. So, I got them both :) One of the packs will go to one of you :) So, if you aren't already a follower, please add yourself and leave me some comments. I'll be picking a winner soon!

I took all my paper scraps folders to Chon's and worked on that. I organized and threw away some...much better now.

Oh, Miguel has started doing some landscaping here at my mom's. It's looking really nice. We got some plants at Home Depot the other day and he was working on that today and yesterday. I'll take some pics and post them as soon as he's done.
What else? If there's anything else I wanted to say, I can't think of it now. I feel really cruddy so I think I'll go for now.

Vacation...

The beginning of, for Miguel that is...not me. Hey, when is MY vacation?? Who do I have to speak with to put in a date request? If someone knows, please forward that information to me :D
Today, was his first day off. We slept in late...until about 10 then headed out and surprised the kids with a trip to Sea World! Mikey had only been when he was about two and I know he probably didn't remember much about it. He was just SO over the top excited when Lij read the Sea World sign out loud! They both were. Miguel got us season passes so we will try to go as much as we can. It was a good day to go too. Not too hot and it was pretty much overcast all day so no blaring sun on our poor skin! Oh, and there was just an awesome breeze all day out there too. We saw three shows...The one with the dolphins, the sea lion one and of course the Shamu show. Mikey rode the kiddie roller coaster. Well, I rode with him. Lij didn't want to get on...I think he was scared..LOL I think Mikey got scared once we were on it too because it did take a quick turn on several parts, but I was like "whee, this is fun!" So, he didn't think much of it after that. It only went around the "track" twice though so the whole ride literally lasted about two minutes if that. I got both of the kids a Shamu beanbag and we all got Souveneir cups because it's only .99 to refill after you have the cup. But GEEZ, $32 for four cups! YIKES! That is just INSANE! But we all had a good time. Oh, and unfortunately...NO pics! Yes, you heard right. I took my camera, but did I ever mention that my kids HATE taking pics? Don't they know I need material for scrapping? Work with me people! Maybe I'll get some the next time we go. We had dinner at a nearby Mc Donald's on the way home and after baths, Mikey and Lij both knocked right out! My ankle was hurting quite a bit today..probably from all that walking and all those stairs at the shows. It only hurts going down the stairs, not going up.
I don't know what we have planned for tomorrow. We still need to shop for groceries and I want to get Lij's haircut, but other than that...I think we will just hang out at home.
Hey, is anyone else freaked out about this "swine flu"? I saw it on the news yesterday with Katie Couric and then read up on it some today on the computer. They say it has the potential to become a pandemic. Gee, like I really need something else to freak me out and make me worry. All we can do I guess, is try to take precautions and pray that it doesn't spread any more than it has.
Well, that's all for now. I "was" going to catch up on my blog reading, but I'm really tired so I think I'll hit the sack. I'm the only one up right now and although I enjoy my "quiet time", it's been a long day. Night everyone :)

I'm just doing my part....

to stimulate the economy! lol :) So we did some more shopping today and not so much scrapping! Oh, it's a never ending vicious cycle of scrappy goodness! We found some awesome stuff at Hobby Lobby. Packaged paper was half off and we found one of those 180 sheet pads of GORGEOUS MME paper! It has some of the NEW Bloom and Grow, some of the 29th Street Market...beeeautiful papers I tell you. You must RUN to your nearest HL and pick it up...NOW! :D Oh, and just by accident, I looked behind some MM stickes and found the new American Crafts puffy Thickers!! The Rainboots font and the Chit Chat font. Although we only found the Chit Chat in brown and in white. And the Rainboots...only black! Oh, they also had the Doodlebug Shin Dig glitter alpha stickers too and some awesome new emossed We R Memory Keepers stickers and some new Bo Bunny alpha stickers. Not sure if they are "new", but surely new to our HL. I picked up the MME pad, said variety of stickers, and a small circle punch because I really want to try to make some lollipop flowers and wanted some different sized circles to layer. Went to M's and got some MM Sabrina frames that were on clearance, some of the new Prima Rosettes, a new K & Co. Citronella line journal book...not sure what else..think that was it. We also went by a different HL right by M's and I got a Versamark ink pad. Me thinks after all this shopping, I should sit down and do some scrapping. Miguel starts his vaca tomorrow....a week of 24/7 Miguel...can I handle it?? LOL We want to take the kids to Sea World, but not sure what else we can do since Lij is in school all day. And it wouldn't be fair to go do stuff without Lij. Maybe with Miguel here all day too, it will give me a little Mikey break because oh, do I need one! Three hours today was just not enough. I am in serious need of some EXTENDED "me" time...just all me...no "Mommy" just Lal. I sometimes forget I am still my own person when most of the time I am just "Mom". I'm sure other mothers can relate to this.
Hmm...what else....don't really have much else to share. I have an allergy headache...a bad one...and am just waiting for my meds to kick in. They really work for getting rid of my sinus pressure, but how they make me drowsy. More later :)

Somebody stop me!!

From shopping!! Oh, I'm being baaaaddd!! Okay, maybe not. I deserve it don't I? If Miguel can buy himself a Mustang...I can buy myself all the sb stuff I want :) Especially if I saved part of our tax refund just for that! Okay, on second thought, don't stop me! lol Aside from the other stuff I posted I got, I also bought this cool 3 Birds folder of cardstock stickers off of HSN yesterday. It was SO cute! AND it was FORTY 6x12 sheets for $17 and some change. I can't do that math in my head right now...lol...but I'm sure that is a VERY good deal!! 30 sheets were borders, brackets, tags, misc stickers in different themes and 10 sheets were alphas which I just LOOOOVE alpha stickers! And today I put in an order for those MLS mini alpha stickers at 2 Peas because when I put my other order in, they were all sold out. So I got the ones I didn't have and I got some that Chon wanted too...that is my Mother's Day gift to her :)
Today I was able to scrap another page after I had worked out and started dinner. It is kind of simple...didn't take me long at all to do it, but I really love that pic of the kids and I love the way the page turned out. I think this puts me at 39 now. I used some of my new MAMBI and some of my new MLS and some other older stuff like Sass and MM. Oh and some new Fancy Pants Kraft Kuts (that cute little house die cut).

The working out thing is going good. Still doing the first program on it...thought I should do that one until it's no longer a challenge and then move up. It's still hard...when the incline goes up to 6 but it's not as hard as when I first started. I sure am LOVING my legs right now. And my thighs which I never thought I could tone up or get smaller....YAY me! I'm still doing legs lifts too. Today I up'd it to 40 and I was able to do them straight through instead of doing sets of 10. So, I guess that is "some" progress and I will take it :)

What else?? I can't think of anything else. Oh, if you are a new follower to my blog, I am having a little give away soon. So keep checking back :)

I'm here...

I know I'm not updating as often as I'd like, but I'm still here :) And I've been shoppin'! lol Just kidding! Well, I 'have' been shopping, but I don't think it's been excessive shopping. Ah, the words of an obssessed scrapbooker :D It's called DENIAL! LOL I did head to Michael's over the weekend with two coupons and a list of things I wanted to get and I pretty much stuck to that list. It probably helped that we only had an alloted amount of time because we had to get back to pick up Lij from CCD classes. So I just went in and got what I wanted which was two different MAMBI pads that they had just gotten in a while back and I got a few things from the Designer Corner that were on clearance...some Prima flowers, some puffy stickers from the Friendly Forest line, and some journaling stickers from MM Chloe's Closet. Oh, forgot we went to Joanne's Super Store first and I got two border punches there which were 40% off..the Uppercrest and the Apron Lace and a daisy flower squeeze punch. I also got a super cute set of acrylic stamps and a couple of those Studio G ink pads that I didn't have. That was it.

I've been doing a bit of scrapping with my new goodies: my ATG gun which I already got and just LOVE! It is not as big as some people think and it is very lightweight and super easy to use and to load. I used a You Tube video someone had posted a while back on sb.com and I loaded it right along with it and it was very simple! I also got my labeler which I used on two pages that I've done and I love that too! I got my 2 Peas order in today along with some stuff from Stop and Scrap that I had preordered TWO months ago! It was the new Fancy Pants Kraft Kuts. It's really cute! I'm also waiting on some KI stuff I got off of Ebay and I just ordered some 3 Birds stickers off of today's scrapbook show on HSN. On Friday, Chon is going to come over and hang out, maybe scrap and I think we will head out to M's and HL, but I don't really think I'll be getting much. Not much at HL don't already have. They need to get in some new product. But who knows! LOL I'm sure I'll come back with SOMETING! :) Okay, I think I need to pull the reins in on the shopping! LOL :) Okay, here's the pages I've done lately. I think my count is up to 38. TFL :)