I'm not random, I just have many thoughts

2011-09-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

Recently I completed a few new pages to take to Dragon con and have a few actors sign. I need to photograph them and get them uploaded. It has been ages since I have done any blogging or kept up with my blogs. I am trying to get back into the swing of things. Hopefully soon. Give me some encouragment please!!

Scrap Street Star

2009-04-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

I made it past Round 2 this year!! And I am so stuck on my 3rd page it isn't even funny!! lol Go figure. I know what I want to do, but I don't like the papers I have. But I don't want to go buy more. I have so much stuff as it is. UGH.

Check out the contest so far at this link. (I am anabellpepper there. lol)
http://scrapstreet.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=806

Another page of my grandfather

2009-03-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

I remember walks with him in the summertime. It was his one of his 2 favorite ways to spend time with us. He would load us up into the little red wagon, whistle for the dog, and off we would go. Down the hill and turn onto Biscoff road, or up the hill and over it to see the Kriegs or Dorchesters. We didn't really care.

Di Hickman Sketch

2009-03-16T12:14:00.001-07:00

Remembering my grandfather

2009-03-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

This weekend my mom called to tell me that my grandfather had passed away in his sleep. We knew that it was coming, but it doesn't make it any easier when it happens. He turned 88 last August. His obituary was in the Erie Times this morning. Reading there on the site, though just didn't seem to do his life justice.

It can be viewed at this link.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/erietimesnews/obituary.aspx?n=harold-buhite&pid=125096207

So I have sat here since she called, looking at airfares, wishing I could go home. It isn't just price of airline tickets stopping me though, especially since realizing we have a free plane ticket through our credit card right now. I also have 3 kids, my hubby is starting a new job, and I have a pair of photography commitments this week.

So instead of going, I pulled out photos and remembered him in my own way.

The Amazing Digital Scrapbooking Race

2009-02-25T14:57:00.000-08:00

Natural Designs in Scrapbooking hosted 6 weeks of challenges, called the Amazing Digital Scrapbooking race. I partnered up with Katey Green for the race and we completed 13 challenges together. Some challenges we both had to do. So only one completed, but we both pitched in ideas. Here are the pages I completed for the race.

Round #1 Hummies World -
1) Rip and tear a photo into three or more pieces! (that's a photo, not papers!)
2) Use journaling on your layout (something I stress is SO important).

Round #2 - Elemental Scraps
This challenge is an intersection. This means you need to work collaboratively on this project! 2 racers / 1 final product!
Here's the challenge:
Cabin Fever
(interpret this as you will, but it must be evident that this is the thought/theme behind your page!)
Must include:
3 photos
4 papers only (no more or less)
8 different elements - at least 1 must be acrylic
2 different fonts
Must have a title, and journaling (which must be visible - if it is not readable, please include in your description)

The final page was posted by my partner and I need to get a copy of it from her.

Challenge #3 - Gotta Pixel
Find the first layout you created that is still uploaded to a gallery and scraplift it using techniques, trends and concepts that you have learned since you did that original layout.

You can...
You can use a different kit, elements, papers, brushes, shapes, etc.
You can add and remove elements, papers, etc.
You can use a different sized canvas.
You can move things around and change the overall sketch of the layout.
You can use the first layout uploaded to any gallery. This does not necessarily mean that it's the first layout you ever did.When you view your gallery, at whichever site it is at, it needs to be the first layout uploaded to that gallery. Example: This is my gallery at Gotta Pixel (I have other galleries on other sites). If you go to the very last page, and find the very last image, that is the first layout I uploaded to Gotta Pixel. That is the layout that needs to be used.

You can not...
You can not add additional photos to the layout.
You can not remove any photos from the layout.
You can not add additional text to the layout; journaling, alphas that spell out a word, word art, journaling. The only text that appears on the layout must be identical in verbiage to what it was originally. You can change the font, you can convert text into an alpha. If your layout previously used an alpha or wordart, you can convert that alpha/wordart to text or use a new alpha/wordart to spell the same thing. When you are done though, you must have the same words that were on the old layout, on the new layout.

Challenge #4 - Tangie Baxter designs
The Art and Soul Challenge!
You both must complete this challenge! However, this is a FAST FORWARD challenge which means that the first team done can SKIP the January 18th challenge if they wish!

1. The Art of it: Your LO must have artistic flair! Literally! Your LO must have at least 3 things "artsy" and/or "altered" on it--(such as but not limited to: paint splatters, a paintbrush, paint spills, crayon doodles, goopy glitter, watercolors, canvas AND/OR altered art items such as wings on photos, art dolls, vintage doodads, ephemera, etc). Really stretch yourself and try something "artsy" that you haven't tried before!

2. The Soul of it: You must journal something from your Soul. Something positive, heartfelt and meaningful to you in your life! Something you've learned, something you've gleaned from your life experience. Perhaps something you would want to pass on to the next generation! (It can even be your favorite quote and why it touches/inspires you) Uplift us, make us smile--inspire us! You must share your journaling with us-if it's hard to read or blended into the background-part of the challenge is to share your journaling in your description.

Challenge #5 - Anita Stergiou Designs

Create a page with 3 different frames but no photos.

Challenge #6 - Inspiration Lane

Take your chosen layout from your partners gallery and flip it either horizontally or vertically.
Now take the layout and rotate it 45 degrees.
You must use this "new" version as the sketch for your layout.
When creating your layout you must use the EXACT same number of items that your partner used in the original layout, no more, no less.

Challenge #7 - Sunshine Studio Scraps

Make a layout using everything in the freebie. You may recolor, resize, etc. as long as you use it all in some way.

Challenge #8 - O'scraps
Scrapping Idol: a scrapper that amazes, inspires, awes, and/or makes you want to be able to scrap just like them.

We all have a scrapper that makes us drool over every single layout they crank out. So, your challenge begins with going to that person's gallery and choosing a layout to scraplift. Go on...you know you want to.

1. Scraplift a layout from the gallery of your Scrapping Idol.
Flip it, twist it, turn it, do whatever you gotta do. Just make sure your layout is inspired in some way by your idol's layout. If it isn't obvious how you scraplifted the layout, be sure to explain it in your credits...we don't want those poor ADSR judges working too hard, do we?
2. Include a star somewhere on your layout.
The star can be a brush, a doodle, a sticker, an element, star paper, a star of ANY type! If you need a star, we have at least one in our freebie section of the store! Here's a link to our Freebie section!
3. Include the word DREAM somewhere on your layout.
It doesn't matter where or how, just make sure the word DREAM is somewhere on your layout. If it is the journaling, please include the journaling in your credits. The word "dream" will be accepted in any language...just please point it out for the judges.
4. Please link up to the layout you lifted in your credits.

Challenge #9 - Kb and friends
Scrap an old photo. Don't remember the details of this challenge though. There were certain elements we had to use, but I can't find the blog post for it now.

Challenge #10 - Pixel Gypsy Designs
Interview your race partner (ask at least 5 questions) and create a layout (with a photo) based on that interview. The layout must contain supplies from two designers—no more, no less, and the color scheme must consist mainly of two colors. Minor accent colors are allowed, but 2 colors must stand out most prominently.

This page was completed by my partner. She used photos I sent to her.

Challenge #11 - Scrap Orchard
You can ask any one person (dead or alive; family, friend, famous or foe) one question. Who would it be and what would you ask them
Here are some layout requirements:
1. Your layout can have only ONE photo. The photo must either be of the person to whom you are posing the question OR must represent the question you are asking.
2. You MUST include your question in your layout and your question can be the ONLY words/journaling on your layout. This means you have to tell us what your question is, but that’s it. You can’t explain the question or answer the question. I'm a big fan of “less is more”, so express yourself through just your question and your photo.

Challenge #12 - We are storytellers

This challenge is an INTERSECTION -- Players must collaborate on one project.

Pretend you and your team mate are sitting on a porch, sipping a cup of tea and chatting. You stumble upon the topic of storytelling, your eyes light up and you begin talking about why storytelling is so important to each of you.

Please create a layout that expresses what storytelling means to each of you. Why did you each choose this form (scrapbooking in general and/or digital specifically) to tell your stories? Why is storytelling important? How do you feel about storytelling (is it a creative outlet, way to express your words, document your family's experiences, etc.) Why are you a storyteller? (You don't have to answer all these questions, consider them food for thought and to give you an idea as to what we are looking for.)

Your story must include:
{we are} storytellers word-art provided (see below) -- you may alter the word-art if you would like.
At least 1/2 of the layout must be journaling, more the better
At least 5 elements/embellishements
No more than 2 pieces of paper
Only 2 small photos, 1 of each of you, placed in the bottom right hand area of your page. IF you have a photo of the two of you together, you may use it and only required to have 1 photo. The bottom line, we want to see your beautiful faces!

Bonus Challenge #13 - NDISB
For this challenge, you will work together as a team to create a single two-page layout, with each of you creating one half. Because you are each completing your own half of a two-page layout, there is no need to swap files and otherwise transfer large documents

Left Page:
Use exactly 3 papers
1 must be in a shape
Use exactly 3 photos
1 must be B & W
Use exactly 3 flowers
Use exactly 2 strings/ ribbons
Use exactly 2 staples
You may use other embellishments as needed, as long as they are not flowers, strings, ribbons, staples, papers or photos.

Journal at least 5 sentences (must include the word love).

Right Page:
Use at least 4 papers
1 must be a print, all others must be plain
Use exactly 2 photos
Crop 1 photo into a shape
Use exactly 3 staples
Use only 1 flower
Use only 1 string/ ribbon
Use exactly 1 frame
Use exactly 1 alpha

journal at least 5 sentences (must include the words heart and diverse, or diversity).

You may not use any other embellishments or items on your page.

I did the left page and my partner did the right.

Di Hickman Jan Sketch -

2009-02-25T14:55:00.000-08:00

Page of Laura. The kit is from Elemental Scraps. It is called Spring Fling.

Go figure

2009-02-25T14:21:00.000-08:00

I came to update my blog with new scrapbook pages I have done and can't get into Photobucket today!!

I have a bunch of new pages to share, though!! Coming soon is all I can say I guess!!

Di Hickman Sketch for December

2008-12-15T21:28:00.000-08:00

The past few months have been so hectic that I haven't had time to finish a single sketch for Di. I was so excited to actually finish one this month!! Guess she was too because I swear she sent me another one only a week or so later! haha.

Here is the Decembeer sketch. The kit is from Divine Digital By Royanna. Called Autumn Mist

My wasted day

2008-12-07T11:10:00.000-08:00

So I paid $30 to get a table at a craft fair at my daughters school. I wasn't allowed to promote the business I actually sell for, though because they were only allowing 1 consultant per company at the show. I set my table up as hand made crafts instead. I created handmade cards (see my created from the heart blog) and boxed mixes for cookies, hot chocolate and soups. I had 3 times as many cards actually done, but I was told by the person who set up the craft show that any customers interesed in purchasing the products instead of the cards had to be referred to the consultant who was there, and that didn't make good business sense to me. So I made all new cards using products from wherever I found stuff I liked. I need to finish posting them to my card blog.

I also had boxed soup mixes, cookie mixes, brownie mixes, scone mixes, and hot cocoa mix. The best seller for the day of those was my chocolate mint brownie mix. I sold 2.

For the whole day I made all of $36. So horray I paid for my table, but that is about it. My best deal of the day was actually a trade. There was a consultant for a company called Mona Vie behind me, and she asked to trade several of the boxed mixes I made for a bottle of her product.

The gal who ran the whole thing came up asking what a great day I had and I told her straight out that I wasted $30 plus all the cost of products to create the mixes. Granted the mixes can now be used for gifts for co workers and what not, but I had more people come up and look at my cards and say "How cute, I will have to go home and make one like that!" then I did actually look at them.

Irony of irony for the day was that the doorprize I gave away was won by my competetor for Close to my Heart.

Maintaining

2008-11-28T12:40:00.000-08:00

Since I have 5 blogs, I find the this one is very little used. I need to start posting my digi pages again. Once the holiday season is over, I will. Sorry ladies if you have been checking in and I haven't posted. Check out the photography one. I have been putting photos up weekly there for the challenges.

Another of Santas Helpers

2008-11-13T12:27:00.000-08:00

This week one of my husbands old commanders passed away. I know I didn't know him all that well, but he was a man who looked after his troops, so in my book a very good man. He had retired, but continued to work for the Military. Participating in squadron events. LAst year he was Santa for the Childrens Christmas Party. Losing him this week has brought to mind the loss of my husbands Step Father. Toms passing was nearly 3 years ago, but it still seems so fresh in our minds at times. And to lose Mr. Browning to Cancer so suddenly just like we lost Tom makes it all the fresher. Mr. Browning was diagnosed not long after the childrens christmas party and so he didn't even make it through a full year. Tom was the same.

Yes, I did it

2008-10-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

I started another blog. This one is exclusively for photo related stuff. I am calling it 1000 words. Feel free to check it out! I did it since I feel like I can't keep things straight in here. I put so much into one space that it gets all jumbled. I am debating on separating out my CTMH stuff too to make viewing the creations easier for customers.

Close To My heart Christmas cards

2008-10-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

These are the first 4 cards for my big workshop this year. Only have to design 6 more. lol But I am excited because I have 3 groups of 4 interested in participating in the workshop! Sounds like I have a full November!!

Photography challenge blog.

2008-10-25T22:43:00.000-07:00

Just a few photos before I have edited them. The first 2 are from a maternity shoot I did for a friend of mine. I love the way these 2 photos came out. Perfect without any editing I think!!

This one is from Soccer this morning. My poor tired boy. lol

The wedding portraits

2008-08-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

I am posting my sisters wedding photos at Flickr for people to view.

I have not started to edit anything yet, but when I do the edited images will be posted there as well.

My gallery at flickr can be found at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23751162@N02/sets/72157606791419891/

Home at last

2008-08-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

3 weeks away seemed like forever and yet it seemed to not be long enough. Not enough time to spend doing the things we wanted to do at least. Michigan was nice since we had no set obligations while we were there. We spent a day at the beach while we were there. Granted it was a beach on Lake Superior, but it was a beach that didn't smell like dead fish, have a strong gusting wind, or huge waves with lurking predators to wonder about. lol

Visiting at my parents was a different story. Mostly enjoyable, but crazy busy. The first 5 days of our trip there were spent dealing with the wedding. And I don't think I really got to sit down and chat with the bride and groom at all during that time. Once the wedding was over they had to go home because they had to be back at work on Monday morning.

The last 4 days with my parents were not as busy, but not as relaxing as the visit to Michigan. I will have pictures and details to share later when I have the baby sleeping and kiddos at school.

Being home is nice but I have to prep the kids to go back to school on Wed of this week. We have no school supplies bought yet. It didn't make sense to buy them and mail them home. I need to do that tomarrow before the jumpstart meeting at the Middle School for my oldest. Plus school uniform shopping. Fun stuff.

Busy busy

2008-07-19T09:56:00.001-07:00

It has been a busy summer and it has kept me away from posting very often. I have been working a lot at a new site called SweetScrappinDesign. It was barely open a month when it was nearly closed. Now I am running it! I have lots to learn to keep it running, but I have some great ladies there to help me. The hardest part is that I have only been in charge for a week and in just under a week, I will be flying away from my computer and internet access for 3 weeks. So there are lots of issues that need to be resolved before I leave. Check it out at SweetScrappinDesign.com

Been busy

2008-06-24T21:23:00.001-07:00

Not REALLY busy, but Can't get on the computer busy. Every time I sit down at the computer, my son decides it is time to escape the living room and run through the house, pulling down everything he can get his little hands on. UGH. I can get him totally enthralled in Toy Story (I know all of the lines now since we watch it twice every day!) and still he decides to escape the second my butt hits the chair!! UGH!

Tonite I am finally getting a hour to just sit and enjoy quiet computer time!! horray!! I need to update links in my blog though!! New CT and new people to share the blogs of!! Is it terrible to say I am not motivated to do it though? UGH.

I do wanna share the fun pics I took yesterday. I eventually want to start my on photo studio. Right now, it is a difficult thing to think about, because my house just doesn't have space for a "studio" and I don't have the money to rent space for a studio. Plus, do I really want to start with only photos of my own children? lol I know they are great shots, but I have all the time in the world to catch the images I want. And I can take and take and take and same the ones that aren't total duds. The true test is photographing someone elses kiddos. Especially babies. And I have to say that I think photographing babies is hard. There are so few things that you can actually do with little babies without repeating the same things over and over again. Plus, they get hungry and sleepy so quickly that it is hard to guess how long you are going to have to photograph them before they get fussy.

I have to say that this little angel was an absolute dream to photograph. I took about 70 photos and with a few exceptions, they are all great photos!! The few exceptions are the ones where she decided to move her arms as I took the photo and so I got a blur waving in front of her face. Enhancing these photos was a breeze though. Here are my 3 favorite photos. I turned the one black and white and then put a pink filter on it. Then her mom and I sat and turned them into different options for birth announcments.

And a "GRAND" time will be had by all!

2008-06-23T13:55:00.001-07:00

It is the grand opening of an all new digi site!! Check it out!

http://sweetscrappindesign.com/

Random new pages

2008-06-17T19:16:00.001-07:00

Some of these pages were created with older kits from Designs by Shelle as well as her templates. Some are pages I created for challenges at different sites.

K-Joi June Collaboration kit pages

2008-06-17T19:14:00.000-07:00

The new collaboration kit from K-joi is a Fathers day kit.

Unposted new pages from Designs by Shelle

2008-06-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

Shelle has released several new kits and I have several pages that I was unable to post until the kits were released.

Little Birdie Kit

Mothers Day Kit

Fathers Day Kit

Spring Carnival Kit

No girls!

2008-06-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

I sent my girls off to visit with my hubbys father for a few weeks. 3 to be exact. It is a strange thing to have them gone. I still have the baby here, but it isn't the same. Since they have been gone I haven't had as much time on the computer as I would like. Only 1 or 2 digi pages done lately. It is so frustrating when I have a new CT to create for as well as pages to finish for old ct's that I am on.

They are having a great time in AZ, though. My oldest even went and got her ears pierced this afternoon. She has been debating on it for a while now, but I guess grandma talked her into doing it. She is excited because they will heal just in time for her to wear the earings that my sister bought her for the wedding in August.

A New CT

2008-06-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

I was invited to join a new CT! I haven't gotten a kit yet, but I will be creating for Jen Smith Designs now along with Designs by Shelle and K-joi.

The Scrap Street E-Zine

2008-06-09T09:03:00.000-07:00

Here are links to the may and June issues of the online magazine.

http://www.scrapstreet.com/mag08/mayday/other/cover.htm

http://www.scrapstreet.com/mag08/junebug/other/cover.htm

Bragg bags

2008-06-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

I was at school today and one of the ladies was there with these cute bags. Turns out she makes them and sells them on her own blog. Had to share. They are so cute!!

http://braggbags.blogspot.com/

Tagged again!

2008-05-26T14:00:00.000-07:00

I got tagged by a gal I CT with at K-Joi studios. Thanks sweetie!! lol

So 7 random things...
1. I had an awesome grilled london broil with rosemary dill potatoes on the side and green beans for Memorial Day lunch. Yummy. Now I am too stuffed to want the apple crisp I was planning to make for dessert, though. We had frozen smores instead!!
2. I love the song Crimson and Clover. lol I hadn't heard it in ages and then I visited the blog that I got tagged from and it was playing on Sarahs blog. lol
3. My hubby let me get a new tamron lense for my camera as my mothers day present.
4. I am bad about buying things for myself. I can never seem to justify getting things I need for me, and instead spend it on things we need for the kids or the house.
5. I hate balancing my checkbook
6. I haven't paper scrapped in over 2 months.
7. I feel guilty when I leave the house alone for more than 2 hours.

So I am going to tag 2 people. Not sure who, though. lol I am thinking my friend Kate and Danielle from another CT I am on.

Directions when you get tagged. Post 7 random things about yourself, then tag 2 people. Let them know they have been tagged and direct them to your blog to find out what to do!

Been a few days

2008-05-25T11:21:00.000-07:00

Life has been crazy around here and kept me from really getting online and posting anything. We have had field trips and more field trips, doctor appointments and emergency trips.

In May my hubby had to fly to WI and attend his grandmothers funeral. She had been ill for quite some time, but my mother in law didn't know until days before she passed. He spent a week with his mother and sister and nephew, with one day in Chicago for a memorial service, as well as clearing out her apartment. He brought home an envelope full of photographs that she had of him, his sister, and his parents.

There have been 3 field trips this month between the 2 girls and 2 more in the week to come. Dan is going with Katie on the one trip, but since it is on the same day as the one for Laura, I won't be able to go since I can't get a babysitter. Katie is going to LA to the Natural History Museum, an Aquarium, the La Brea tar pits and someplace else. Laura is going to a Rodeo in Santa Maria.

Other than what has kept me away, there is no really big news in my life. I have been sneaking in scrapping time in the middle of the night when kiddos are asleep and I have finished all the household chores I need done for the day. Makes for some late nights! lol

Random Challenges

2008-05-07T09:52:00.000-07:00

I created several pages using random kits that I have saved. They were done for challenges posted at different sites.

This page is one of my favorites from the weekend. It is a lift of someone elses page. I used a freebie I had picked up at K-joi studios back in March. It is so perfect for this photo of my hubbys nephew.

This page was created with a sketch from Di Hickman. She shared it for National Scrabook day. I used a kit from Janneke Smit that is for sale in the store at Scrapstreet.com

This is another page I created last month with the kit I got from k-joi studios, but I never posted it. The photo is from when my dad helped us move out here to california. The sketch is from stuck sketches blog I believe.

This is a page for the memorial album of my hubbys stepfather. It is one of the photos I took at the graveside. Because he was a retired AF captain, he was given a military burial. It was beautiful. It was the only time we saw it snow the whole time we were home on leave too. The page is made with a conglomeration of kits. The emblem is an image I pulled off the internet and cropped to fit on the page.

This is a page for the wedding album I am creating for our friends Jeff and Joline.
The kit was a freebie from Shabbyprincess.com.

This page of Katie was just a fun one that I completed with a free kit from handmaiden designs at Scrapstreet for NSD.

Last page!
This is a photo from Lauras birthday party. The page is from the Collaboration kit at k-joi studios.

Wedding pages for my cousin

2008-05-07T09:48:00.000-07:00

These pages were created using a Creative Team Appreciation kit from DigiShopTalk. My 1 year anniversary gift to him and his wife will be a finished album (I hope!)
I am leaving spaces for Chrissy to journal if she wants to, hence the empty blocks on some of the pages.

This last page was created using a grab bag that was given out at Digital Freebies for National Scapbook day.

Pages for Designs by Shelle

2008-05-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

This first page is with an older kit from Shelle. I love the colors in it though.
I rescrapped a photograph of my daughter with my moms sister. In 2003 she and my mom drove us back to Minot after I had spent a few weeks at home with the family.

The kit is called [url=http://www.designsbyshelle.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=514]Forget me not[/url]

This page is just Danny playing happily on the floor with a puppet that is probably as old as me. I remember it from my childhood. lol

The kit is called [url=http://www.designsbyshelle.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=526]Calm Comfort[/url]

Pages with material from K-joi studios.

2008-05-07T09:33:00.000-07:00

All of these pages were created using the [url=http://kjoistudios.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1308]Vintage gentleman kit[/url] created by Fairytale studios. Some of the papers used were created by me using templates from Digital candy and the original papers in the kit.

The sketch templates are part of [url=http://kjoistudios.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1329]Template pack #1[/url] from Fairytale studios as well.

This page is from when we still were living up in the Dakotas. Katies teacher was nice enough to send me a copy of the photos she took on the field trip since I couldn't make it that day.

These photos are of my husbands step father when he was little. My mother in law had scanned them into the computer and so I scrapped them for her.

This is my husbands sisters son. He is such a cutie. We don't get to see him much. I have only gotten to see him twice since he was born and my hubby has seen him 4 times. Dan says he is a great little boy.

Another page of Dans nephew Caden when he was newborn. He had to have his mouth painted with Gentin Violet (sp?) for thrush as a newborn. I left the journaling block mostly empty for my sister in law to write what she wants on the page.

New pages

2008-05-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

I am going to separate these into several posts, but these are my latest pages. I did a TON of digi scrapping last week while my hubby was gone for his grandmothers funeral. Part of it was due to the fact that I was handed my dt assignment for one site, and part of it was for National Scrapbook Day challenges posted at a few sites that I play on.

May issue of the ScrapStreet e-zine

2008-05-07T09:13:00.000-07:00

http://www.scrapstreet.com/mag08/mayday/other/cover.htm

questions and answers.

2008-04-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

A) Four places I go over and over: Crestview School, the Commissary, the base library, the BX
B) Four people who e-mail me regularly: Shelle, Michelle, Chris, and my hubby

C) Four of my favorite places to eat: The Border Grill(in Michigan), The Olive Garden, El Toro Bronco, American Host

D) Four places I would rather be right now: Albion with my family, Minot, Michgan, Alaska

E) Four TV shows I watch over and over: Scrubs, Macgyver, Stargate, CSI

My works from the last 3 challenges of Scrapstreet Star

2008-04-25T22:50:00.001-07:00

For Round 3 we were asked to submit 3 cards and a scrapbook page using stars on our page in some way. I had this great photo of a launch Dan was part of and wanted to scrap it for his military album anyways. So DONE. I really like the way the page turned out. The colors play off the colors in the photo really well, I think.

I simply made my cards with my scraps.

Round 4 we were challenged to represent out "style". We had to first create a page and then give a definition to our style. I am all about the paper. I will cut paper, both digital and real, to create the elements I want, rather than pull out the prefab ones, usually. lol So the page I submitted was done digitally, but I still used paper for most of my elements, like the photo corners.

Round 5 was all about inspiring people to do challenges. I created the sketch (which I posted for people who wanted to play) and scrapped a lo with it. Then I completed several challenges posted by other people who are participating in the contest.

My take on the sketch:

My page for keeleyyowler - theme was inspiration from someone elses page. I lifted a page by KarenR in round 1 of the contest.

My page for KarenR - Music as a theme. titles or lyrics

My page for Jorinde- Scrap something fun, or just funny

My page for Beckied - Use a scottish tartan for our color inspiration and then add a scottish quote.

My page for Scrappy_mom_in_MI - Use a soap opera title on our page

My page for Kerns459 - She posted a Helen Keller quote that we read and chose a word from the quote to use on our page. The page was supposed to be about how the quote made us feel.

My page for Kristene - total reversal from our usual scrapping style. This page is a TOTAL deviation from my normal mode of scrapping, and as you can tell by the other pages I completed, this challenge made me reevaluate my scrapping and add things I might not have normally.

My page for Breeze7 - Ad Quote challenge. We were to pick some advertisement slogan, use the logo colors and an image from the logo. I knew as soon as I read her challenge I wanted to scrap these with the Campbells M'm M'm good slogan.

My page for Bugnsamsmom - You are what you read. Use the title of a book you love and your favorite quote from the book.

Its the final round

2008-04-18T22:25:00.000-07:00

And while technically I am not in the running for the grand prize anymore, I can still earn a spot on the mag staff by playing along. And playing along I am. The final challenge is to post a challenge for other people to complete.

Here are the exact details of our challenge:
First, decide on your challenge. Type up a paragraph and post it in the Challenge Child Board. Make it sound fun! Now you need to find at least one scrapper who will take your challenge and finish the item you requested by Friday at 6pm. Oh—and, of course, you need to scrap it the best you can as well. It may be digi, hybrid, or traditional. Please post your layout by 6pm by the street clock on Friday, April 25.

I am challenging people to use this sketch! I am a sketch addict. I have a folder with several hundred that I am in the process of converting over to templates, in fact, so it was difficult to choose just one for this challenge!

When you sketch is complete please post it here:
http://scrapstreet.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=760
with the title Challenge created for anabellpepper: title

Home alone

2008-04-13T22:12:00.000-07:00

With 2 out of 3 kiddos.

Dan and our oldest went to Grand Slam in Burbank yesterday. They had a great time. Katie got to meet several cast members from Smallville (her favorite show). She has been for 3 years or so now. Supergirl was there along with Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Brainiac and Martian Man Hunter. (I don't know the real names of the actors. lol) She said that her fave 2 to meet were Lois and Brainiac. They were "the nicest ones". Daddy even let her get autographs and everything.

And he remembered this time to take my scrapbook and get Herb to autograph the page I did with the photo Laura took of him at Comic Con in 2006. And he got me a pic of Herb holding the page!! The autograph reads "Me at my best" lol

They came home first thing this morning, but not before I had practically cleaned the entire house for company. Always the way isn't it? Oh well.

In the course of my blog wanderings today, I found this post.

2008-04-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

In light of the recent appeals court ruling in California , with respect to the Pledge of Allegiance, the following recollection from Senator John McCain is very appropriate:

'The Pledge of Allegiance' - by Senator John McCain '

As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment, the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room. This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct result of the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf of a few hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home.

One of the men who moved into my room was a young man named Mike Christian. Mike came from a small town near Selma , Alabama . He didn't we ar a pair of shoes until he was 13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy. He later earned a commission by going to Officer Training School Then he became a Naval Flight Officer and was shot down and captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and deep appreciation of the opportunities this country and our military provide for people who want to work and want to succeed.

As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing. Mike got himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of months, he created an American flag and sewed on the inside of his shirt.

Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike's shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance. I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important part of our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell it was indeed the most important and meaningful event.

One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did periodically, and discovered Mike's shirt with the flag sewn inside, and removed it. That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and for the benefit of all of us, beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours. Then, they opened the door of the cell and threw him in.

We cleaned him up as well as we could. The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle on which we slept Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room. As I said, we tried to clean up Mike as well as we could. After the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and sitting there beneath that dim light bulb with a piece of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes almost shut from the beating he had received, making another American flag. He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag because he knew how important it was to us to be able to Pledge our allegiance to our flag and country.

So the next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and courage that thousands of Americans have made to build our nation and promote freedom around the world. You must remember our duty, our honor, and our country.

What a bummer

2008-04-07T14:43:00.000-07:00

I got cut after round 2 of ScrapStreet star. Ahh well. Best of luck to the gals playing for the rest of the contest. I will play along and hope for a spot on the mag, but I am not going to hold my breath.

These were my entries.

Round 1:
This page uses photos I got from my cousins flickr account. I am working on a wedding album for them as a first anniversary gift. It was for this page that I used all the inspiration photos that were posted last week.

Round 2:
We were asked to go take a new photo using photos by Annie Leibovitz as our inspiration. I found most of Annies photos to be very casual with the individuals in the pictures completly ignoring the fact that they were being photographed. From that idea, I took some great casual photos of Katie the week after her birthday ans scrapped those.

Blog Scattagories

2008-04-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

SCATTERGORIES...it is harder than it looks!
Copy and paste this into a new post.
When you are done, tag 5 people, including to the person who tagged you.

RULES: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following..
they have to be real places, names, things...nothing made up!
*Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CANNOT use your name for the boy/girl name question.

What is your name? Lisa
4 letter word: Love
Vehicle: Lincon Continental
Show: Lost
City : Los Alamos
Boy Name: Lyle
Girl Name: Laura
Drink: Lemonade
Something you wear: Lowriders
Celebrity: Lisa Loebb (sp?)
Food: Linguini
Something found in a bathroom: Loofa sponge
Reason for Being Late: Lost

And I am going to tag Michelle, Dora, Lori, Shelle and Jen(since she tagged me)

New digi pages for K-joi Studios

2008-04-02T21:06:00.000-07:00

I did 3 pages last night using sketches from Stuck? (see stuck sketches in my right sidebar)

The pages were created using the Love me tender kit from Buzybee designs by Penny at K-joi studios. http://kjoistudios.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1011

This is the first page I did. I was looking for valentine photos but came across photos of Lauras first day of preschool and loved the pink.

This page of Daniel with my mom came out so sweet. My parents got here the day after valentines day. I had to sneak this photo of my mom with Daniel though. She hates to have her photo taken. She was playing "this little piggy" with him.

This is my favorite page of the 3. Even though it is not the best of photos, when you consider it was taken with a camera phone... lol.

So the girls are on their way.

2008-04-01T21:13:00.000-07:00

They spent just over a week here at my house. My son was totally enthralled with them. And my daughter was totally disappointed to see them leave. They hit the road at 4 pm so it is hard to say if they shipped out the same evening or not. Because the base PO is a separate entity from the one in town I can never predict things.

Here they are cruising around during their visit!

The April edition

2008-04-01T21:10:00.000-07:00

of Scrapstreets E-zine. I don't have anything in it this month, but I recently was looking for something from an old issue, but couldn't find any of the old links. So I thought maybe I should link them here, then I can find them anytime I want to!!

http://www.scrapstreet.com/mag08/8april8/other/cover.htm

Busy week

2008-03-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

And so I haven't posted. I got 2 beautiful pages done, though. The one is posted here, but you have to go to the Scrap Street gallery to view the other one. It is in Round 1 of the ScrapStreet Star gallery. Beautiful photos from my cousins wedding. It was a fun challenge. I can't wait to give my cousing the album. Got lots more pages to do though.

Here were the photos that inspired me for the page.

Cool tutorial site

2008-03-27T13:28:00.000-07:00

I found a great site called Hummies world and it has PSE tutorials. Tried to watch them, but you have to join the site. So I am now a member of ANOTHER board. lol And my list of places to go just gets longer and longer! lol

Scrappin the music

2008-03-25T23:32:00.000-07:00

There is a really cute site I was recently introduced to called Scrappin' the music. I added it to my list of sites to check out as soon as I visited it.

Anywho. This week they posted a challenge to use the song "The story" by Brandi Carlile. I had never heard the song before. But the lyrics were great!!

So off I went looking for a photo. I kept looking for one of my Grandfather, but never found one that suited me. In the process I came across a photo my mom had taken of me 6 days overdue with my son. It struck a profound cord with me and I had to scrap it! I am loving the way my page ended up, even if I do say so myself!!

I used the Tristans Room kit from K-Joi studios again.

K-Joi Studio

2008-03-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

I am now a studio Diva at K-Joi studios!! I tried to put my new blinkie in this post but it isn't working. Sorry. I will try to get it in my sidebar soon.

Over Spring Break

2008-03-21T09:28:00.000-07:00

Not even lunch time on the first day of Spring break and I am ready to be done!! In fact it isn't even 10 am yet!!

This is going to be a long 10 days!!

I thought I would enjoy it more since Katie is home and can help me with the dependent boy. No. She doesn't want to. I have to actually fight with her about it! Think I am going to have to start a consequence for every no she gives me. She turns 11 on Sunday. She is old enough to not be arguing every time I ask her to do something. What kills me is that me asking her to do things is not new. It is like age is corrupting her. I am dreading he becoming a teen now!!

I guess the consequences this week could be applied to her birthday party next week. Right now the plan is to have 8 girls over for a "late night" to do girly things like hair and painting nails. They are going to make their own bath salts and lip glosses and things like that. As well as making the birthday cupcakes and frosting their own. Or I could just decide that she doesn't get any birthday presents on her actual birthday Sunday and has to wait until the party to open them!!

Since her birthday falls on Easter Sunday this year (which won't happen again until she is 100 from what something my mom read says) We decided that instead of just handing her the presents, she is going to get 1 easter egg with a piece of candy in it and it has a clue in it for finding the next egg and so on until she has 11 eggs. With all 11 eggs she will have the clue she needs to find her presents and her easter basket. I am still working out the details. But it should be loads of fun watching her try!!

The Street Sisters

2008-03-20T08:39:00.000-07:00

How much fun is this. One of the members on my favorite site, Scrapstreet, thought it would be fun to mimic the At&T commercial with the monkey that the little girl slipped into her dads suitcase. Instead of a Monkey, we have a pair of gals traveling by way of their own private USPS box.

The rules are :

-Our two girls start out with a random sister's name from the "box"...

-Once you receive them, you will find a couple things inside their "train car".

-You will find our adventurers, two boxes and possibly a gift!

-Out of these two boxes, you will take one envelope (so two total).

-The first envelope will contain your photo dare...this could be ANYWHERE or doing ANYTHING!

-The second envelope will contain the name of the next gal you will be sending it to!

So my house was stop 2. We have yet to get to our photo shoot, but whe have made a plan. I got a photo of the planning session.

There are more photos to come!! Share soon!

And I have to say Thank you to Janneke, who sent the girls to me. She sent me some fun chipboard shapes from Bo Bunny and really cool window cards by Petaloo. I need to go shop for some goodies for the next gal!! I wanted to see who I was sending to before I shopped. That is the fun part anyways! Ahopping for someone else!!

I did it

2008-03-18T21:54:00.001-07:00

I signed up for myspace. If you gals have an account, look me up and send me an email. I will add you to my list of friends. I made my thing private so only friends get to view it.

DST Gallery Standouts

2008-03-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

Leigh posted my layout at Digi Shop Talk. Here is the link to check it out. http://www.digishoptalk.com/boards/showthread.php?t=112202&page=6

It is the same layout as I posted here on my blog this morning, but still fun to share when someone highlights it!! Thanks for the love Leigh!! I am definately going to play with the sketch more!!

A challenge!

2008-03-18T07:46:00.000-07:00

I saw this challenge to use a template and scrap a photo of the "love of my life", the template totally appealed to my mojo the moment I saw it and I had a page done in no time (less than an hour after I downloaded the template!!)

The photo is one my mom took when she and my dad came to visit in Feb. The digi kit is part of a Creative Team appreciation kit from Digi shop talk and the template is from this blog http://tbdloft.typepad.com/ and Leighs blog in my list of friends.

Go check it out this week if you get a chance!!

I apologize

2008-03-17T13:21:00.001-07:00

I am reorganizing my photobucket account so things are easier to find. I had everything in one folder, but now I have a separate folder for photos, digi pages, blinkies, ect and so it is messing up all my links to the blog and what not. They will get fixed but it is going to take a little bit of time so hang in there.

Been a few days.

2008-03-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

What a weekend. Migraine, hubby at work all day Saturday. And then just sheer exhaustion on Sunday. If we hadn't had people come over on Sunday afternoon, I probably wouldn't have gotten out of my p.j.s all weekend!

But I did manage to do a few digi pages on Saturday!!

So this first page is with The new Forget me not Kit from Designs by Shelle. I LOVE it. I need to make up a sketch for the lo.

The next one was based on a sketch posted at Scrap Street for the Holi Festival Crop this weekend, but I kinda went my own direction instead of following the sketch! The kit is called Oriental Flair and is also from Designs by Shelle. The photo is from his trip to Hawaii WITHOUT ME. He got some great shots of the hula dancers.

This last one uses a Creative Team appreciation kit Shelle sent me a link for. It is a collabrative kit from a bunch of Designers at Digi Shop talk. Old pictures I never scrapped. The kit was the perfect color to complement the photos!!

Shake and bake

2008-03-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

I decided to start a second blog to keep my recipies in. I have been thinking about it for a while. My sister and I are always calling each other with recipies or for recipies so this way my sister can just look things up here if she can't reach me.

the site is http://isabellpepper.blogspot.com/

I am going to try to put labels on my posts according to what the recipie is for to make it easier to find things.

Cut me a break!

2008-03-13T21:55:00.000-07:00

So last weekend was a crop weekend for me here at the base. Been on the calendar for almost a month. On Friday my hubby told me that he had decided he really ought to help his troop move. **sigh** So I took all 3 kids with me to the crop with the promise that he would come get them around noon. Noon came and went and no pickup. Called and no answer. Get a call back. Oh, we are just getting started loading the truck. WHAT!?! And then he calls back to tell me that he probably won't be home until at least 5. That is when the crop ends. I ended up leaving at 2:30 since baby was tired of the play pen but I couldn't let him just roam and my oldest was totally not interested in even remotely trying to help me out.

Hubby came home and says he "owes" me. Promised to let me play this weekend with the online crop at Scrap street. Came home today and told me that he has to go in to work on Sat since the work they were supposed to do today got cancled.

Can't win can I?

A few old sketches

2008-03-09T22:39:00.000-07:00

I was cleaning my computer files up tonite and came across some old sketches. Got me in the mood to make some new ones, but I thought I would share a few of the old ones before I post the new ones. They are arranged for 12x12, but should be easy enough to convert to 8 1/2 x 11. Enjoy ladies!

I found the perfect quote to put with that photo of my hubby!!

2008-03-08T22:02:00.002-08:00

A friend linked me to a blog called Dogblog. Some hysterical stuff there. I guess this guy just randomly photographs dogs and then posts what he was thinking as he looked at each photo. One had this inscription underneath it.

ShadowDog just wants you to know he's watching you no matter where you go, how safe you think you are, or how far you run. And when you cry out in the night, it is ShadowDog that you see.

So I figure I am going to change all the spots what say ShadowDog to Dan and then send add it to the photographs blank space and we will send it to his mom for her birthday.

He already has all kinds of plans for the picture. He wants to print it out as a whole slough of wallet sizes and leave them in random places around her house for her to find. Just something to make her laugh.

I tell you, my hubby is crazy!! hehe

Dogblog link

2008-03-08T22:02:00.001-08:00

http://www.automatedredemption.com/flavorcountry/dogblog/

Went and scrapbooked a little today

2008-03-08T18:31:00.000-08:00

Actually more cards than scrapbook pages. I created 3 cards and started a 4th for the DT I am on. Had to take the kiddos with me to the crop though, and between them and a migraine, I ended up leaving 2 hours early and laying down to try an nap when I got home. Blegh.

I did play with one photo, though. We found this gem as we were flipping through photos the other day. Dan wants to send it to his mom for every holiday. Already have it ready for Mothers day.

Now I am just waiting for pain reliever to kick in while hubby goes to the movies here on base. Luckily the baby fell asleep at 6. Unfortunately that means he will be awake at 10 and want to stay up for a few hours at least!

Sketches and pages

2008-03-07T22:02:00.000-08:00

For the GDT spot I was on, I was asked to create a challenge for board members. Since I have a book full of sketches, I shared one. Here is my sketch and the page I created using it.

I used the Tristans room from k-joi studios for this page too.

I also posted a bonus sketch so here it is with my page.

I used The Gypsy kit from Designs by Shelle.

What I was coming to do before I got tagged

2008-03-07T21:53:00.000-08:00

I am debating on starting a second blog for Scrapbook pages and sketches. Don't know if I have enough to put into a second blog, though. lol

Here are some recent pages I created. I was asked to be a GDT member at a site called Making Memories for you but for reasons I won't go into, I am not going to finish out the month as a GDT there.

But here are the 3 lo's that I created for their E-zine using a kit from k-joi studio. (see my sidebar for the site addy). The kit is called Tristans Room. It is perfect for the pages I want to get done of Daniel. I am probably going to do a whole newborn album of him with it.

This last page was created from Di Hickmans latest sketch.

She tagged me so now I am tagging you!

2008-03-07T21:25:00.000-08:00

Hope I can find 7 gals to tag though. Think she got all the people on my list to tag!! hehe

Seven Random Things About Me.
here how it works:
1. Link to the person that tagged you and leave a comment on their blog, so that their readers can visit yours. Michelle tagged me! Go to It's a dogs world Blog
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share 7 Random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 random people at the bottom of your post, linking to their blog.
Let each person know by leaving a comment on their blog.

And the 7 Random Facts about me
1. I was recently given some green tea with jasmine in it and I FELL IN LOVE, but of course I can't find it here to buy more!! Darn people who bring gifts back from their visits home on leave!!

2. I use perscription toothpaste. lol

3. I buy and read comic books right along with my hubby. But I don't read about superheroes, I read my favorite books that have been turned into comic books. I really like the way the Dragonlance comics have turned out, but I hate the art of the Raymond E. Feist ones. Too much like Anime.

4. Since I have converted to a digital camera, I haven't developed a roll of film. And I have a whole ziplock bag full of disposable cameras full of photos sitting next to me on my desk that need to be developed. EEEEKKKKK!!

5. I would rather watch cartoons all day than watch soap operas. lol Hence the fact that my tv is almost always on Noggin if my hubby isn't home.

6. I still have Christmas decorations floating around my house that didn't make it into the box when I put the rest away.

7. I have tried to be a consultant for 3 different companies, but I hate trying to sell things to people.

So people I am tagging are:

Mirelle - http://amberennoah.blogspot.com/
Leigh - http://myscrapbookworld.blogspot.com/
Jen - http://jenthecrazyscrapbooker.blogspot.com/
Dee - http://deesbibbmusings.blogspot.com/
Denean - http://alittlewebspacetocallmyown.blogspot.com/
April - http://myplace4notes.blogspot.com/
Di - http://dihickman.blogspot.com/

I hope that I managed to get people who hadn't been tagged yet.

Three sides to a fence

2008-02-29T23:32:00.000-08:00

And even though it doesn't apply to me anymore in the sense that I got out of the military in 1999, it still hit home and I TOTALLY wanna use it on a scrapbook page!!
The gal that wrote it is a friend. She emailed it to my hubby.

I am an Airman
I am a wife
I am a mommy
Sometimes I am even Daddy

I have many priorities in my life
They are all number one
I wear boots to work
Not the stiletto heel type, the combat type
I don't have to pick out what I am going to wear to "the office"
My camoflauge is just right

During my nine-to-five
I do as expected and told
I turn wrenches, carry a weapon
On Saturday night I wear lipstick and high heels

I am grace under pressure
Tough and un-wavering while in uniform
I kiss booboos and sing my child to sleep
And adore my husband - even when he isn't here

When my child says
"My mommy wears combat boots"
I want her to wear a smile
I not only fight for this country
I fight for my child, my family, my marriage, myself

I am an Airman
I am a mommy
I am a wife

By Staff Sgt. Sara Lanchoney, USAF

Totally the way my morning was going

2008-02-29T13:06:00.001-08:00

I got this email from my friend this morning after I complained to her about how I was ready to strangle kiddos. lol

Tough Love vs. Spanking - Good Argument

Most of America's populace think it improper to spank children, so I have tried other methods to control my kids when they have one of 'those moments.'

One that I found effective is for me to just take the child for a car ride and talk.

Some say it's the vibration from the car, others say it's the time away from any distractions such as TV, Video Games, Computer, IPod, etc.

Either way, my kids usually calm down and stop misbehaving after our car ride together.

I've included a photo below of one of my sessions with my son, in case you would like to use the technique.

Sincerely,
Your Friend

I admit it

2008-02-28T21:12:00.000-08:00

I am terrible at keeping up with listing my diet and my exercise. I am watching what I eat (as it goes from my plate to my mouth) and I am exercising. I am just not taking the time to write it down here. lol

I have done my walking every day except for weekends and I am not eating too terribly. My newfound love is a concoction that came outta desperation. I was CRAVING something sweet the other night, but I didn't have anything that really appealed to me close at hand. As I searched the cupboard for the 5th or 6th time in an hour I spied a can of pumpkin and a can of evaporated milk. Pumpkin custard, yum!!! But I wasn't in the mood to wait for it to cook. I have always loved the taste of pumpkin filling before it cooks, though. So can ya see where I am going with this? lol I mixed up pumpkin pie filling, using splenda instead of sugar, and mixed 1 cup of milk with about 1/2 a cup of the filling. YUMMMM!! Might even be better than egg nog!! If I hadn't mixed it with the milk it is just a little bit runnier than pudding and my hubby likes it. lol We killed the mixture in 1 evening between the 5 of us!! And I went to the store, bought 3 more cans of pumpkin and 3 of fat free evaporated milk and we have had it every day since!! Whatever works to stop the sweet craving right?

Other than that, I have been doing 2 hard boiled eggs for breakfast every morning. Lunch is almost always a 1/2 cup of thin spagetti (whole wheat) with 1 cup of cali blend veggies, butter and parmesan.

After discussing it with hubby, though, I have decided to enlist Weight Watchers for help. I have a friend in the group so I know I will have the added support there too. Just waiting for payday to go and sign up. That means tomarrow!

In other news, my poor Laura had to go to the dentist yesterday and have a tooth pulled. It had come in crooked and was destroying the tooth in front of it. She was so brave and only wimpered a little through it all. What was supposed to be an extraction, though, turned into a surgical procedure and he had to split the tooth into 4 pieces to get it out. He told her that maybe she could trick the tooth fairy with all the "teeth" she had lost.

I took her out for a chocolate shake afterwards, but she couldn't suck on a straw because the socket has to form a clot. So she happily ate it with a spoon. We also spent much of the evening laughing with her at her crooked smile and kisses that resulted from her numbness. Here are my favorite photos.

As for the tooth fairy. What can I say. I felt guilty that she had to go through all that pain with losing a tooth. She ended up with $5 from the tooth fairy this morning. $4 in bills and then 4 quarters. lol The last tooth she lost, she got a dollar in the bowl where we keep her tooth and a quarter under her pillow. lol She was VERY impressed.

Dine and Dash

2008-02-24T23:41:00.000-08:00

At the same time I was doing the challenge for Making Memories for you, I was doing the dine and dash game at Scrap street.

And considering the time Daniel actually gives me to scrap, I didn't finish all the challenges. In fact I only finished 2 of the challenges.

The first challenge was to create a page based on a sketch and then a card with the same sketch. I used the sketch to create my birthday thank you cards and a layout for Daniels first birthday. The second challenge I finished was also for his birthday and I created it to coordinate with the first page, but it uses several different fonts for our challenge.

While I am at it...

2008-02-24T23:35:00.000-08:00

Here are some other creations I have done over the past month for contest challenges.

These 3 projects were created for the first 3 rounds at Making Memories for you.

Challenge 1 was to create 3 cards for different occasions that had plastic elemets on them AND had a flower on them.

Challenge 2 was to create a page without a photo. I made a lo to hold a cd of my sons dedication at our church since I didn't actually manage to get photos that day. Bad Scrapbooker I know!! lol

Challenge 3 was to create an altered item. that used a transparency.

Sorry about the quality of this photo. I am gonna have to change out the wording on this because the ink I used still smears when it gets touched!! and it was done a week ago! I will post a new photo when I get it fixed.

Totally sidetracked!

2008-02-24T23:16:00.000-08:00

So I got on and got totally sidetracked from posting the projects I created for the Scrap Stop this month.

We were assigned A Plain & Simple Chipboard Kit-Small Butterfly from Doodle bug and the Plain & Simple Chipboard Kit-Flower Bouquet. I was also sent the Lauren paper collection from EK success to use on my projects.

Here is what I came up with. For a complete list of materials got to www.scrapstop.com and click on Latest Design Team on the right side of the page. Scroll down until you find my images there.

A LONG WEEKEND

2008-02-24T22:21:00.000-08:00

This was so not the "I can crop on the computer" weekend I thought it was going to be.

Dan went to LA to the Cali Speedway for a race that he was working at. All I know is that he was selling concessions and had to wear a shirt with an AF logo on it. It is something that he is getting paid to do, but it is done for the AF, hence him wearing the shirt.

Well, he went to this event with our friend Jeff and his wife Joline. Since both of them went, I got their dog for the weekend. I mentioned in my last post I attempted to walk all 3 dogs and push the stroller at the same time. I know, CRAZY.

Well one of the 2 little dogs was ever so sweet to deposit a present on my carpet every morning. Blegh. Not sure who did it. I am inclined to think it was the one, but the other shied away from it like he knew he was in trouble for doing it.

And then, Danny was clingy. Everytime I sat down at the computer desk he fussed. I did manage one page on Friday night after he went to bed and 1 page while he napped on Saturday. Luckily I got that one saved before my power flickered off and then back on. It is for the Guest Design Team spot I got for March at Making Memories for you. We are playin with a kit called Tristans Room by Kara Jones (the site is http://kjoistudios.com/shop/ )

I finally got him settled so I could do a little more scrapping and my power TOTALLY flicked off. For 3 hours. **sigh** and of course it happened after 6 so it was already dark. I had to dig out all the candle stick holders I could find, then gate the baby in the living room and keep 3 kids entertained until bed time. Luckily my i-dog and i-pod were close at hand and don't have to be plugged in. We sat and listened to music for most of the evening. Daniel never fell asleep though. But he was out 10 minutes after the power came back on . Go figure!!

Today was much of the same as far as getting on the computer. And speak of the devil...

I hear him crying now!!

1 mile and an arm workout

2008-02-22T17:55:00.000-08:00

That is what I am calling it and you can't tell me different!!

Dan says I have delusions of grandure. I just laugh and say no, I was crazy!

So here is how it went, time to walk to school. Can't leave the boston terrier I am puppy sitting home alone because he chews things up. Plus another friend dropped off her Westie for the weekend cause she, her hubby, and my hubby are off to California Speedway to do something or other for the race this weekend. And the Boston thinks he needs to show his dominance to the Westie. So I told the girls to put leashes on the dogs and we could walk them over there, and it wouldn't be too hard for me to walk them back. I can just strap the leashes to the stroller and away we go. Unfortunately if Roman sees a leash he needs to go too.

SO Katie walked the Boston, I walked Roman and Laura walked the Westie. Of course Laura doesn't understand that SHE IS STRONGER THAN THE WESTIE! And so she went barreling off with the dog down the sidewalk. Roman is yelping every time I give even a gentle tug on his collar. He wears a pinch collar rather than a choke chain. It pinches when you pull it too hard. I wasn't pulling, though, he was. Katie offered to walk him instead since he is used to her walking him. So we swap dogs and I have one attached to the side of the stroller. Goes smoothly.

Get to the school and I have to take the dogs back home. I take the Westie from Laura and attach his leash to the other side of the stroller. Then I take Roman. Kids begin to walk away, dogs start pulling the stroller after them. What a perfect pair of sled dogs these 2 woulda made. But I put the brake on. Let the girls get across and try to start walking away. Dogs step on dogs, dogs under stroller. Major mess! So I move the 2 little dogs onto one side, cinch up Romans leash so he is walking just at my hip. Try again. Little dogs are twisting up leashes trying to walk further from the stroller than the other. Stop again and cinch up leashes.

Once we made it to the corner before my house they were all walking very nicely so I decided that we should keep going. Bu the next stop sign they were still going well, but the sky was getting black. By the time I got back around to the corner in front again of my house my shoulders were beginning to burn with the strain of bracing myself against the tugging that happened every time they saw or heard another dog along the walk as well as the constant tree watering. So much for drinking my tea while I walked.

But now they are all sitting happily on the floor with a rawhide chew. Not trying to dominate anyone else, not racing circles around my kitchen. I could happily have 3 dogs if they were all like this!

Back to my regularly schedualed

2008-02-21T10:11:00.000-08:00

fitness that is. lol I got my walk in finally. I had company on Monday, was too tired on tuesday and it rained yesterday. But I went today. Felt good, but I am REALLY tired now. Now I have to go sit on my butt and get my DT projects finished!! Post them soon!

Glitches.

2008-02-20T14:49:00.001-08:00

I am not sure what is going on with my blog right now. My playlist is stopping and starting, I can't click on anything in my right hand column, I can't get the image blinkies to act as links, I got an email from one of my friends that she couldn't leave a comment.

Anyone else having problems? Email me.

Birthday boy (only a week late!)

2008-02-19T12:33:00.000-08:00

We did Daniels first birthday party on the 9th of Feb. But I forgot to post my pictures!! So here they are. He was too tired and had a belly full of pasta so all he really did was smash the cake an drop if on the ground. So glad I only got a 4x6 cake for him!! Plus the poor boy ran a temp all that day and for the next 3. I think he was cutting teeth.

But I have to say it was a great day to spend outside. I think it was actually almost 70 out!! It was perfect for picnicing with friends outside. Even my husband said he wished we did that more as we were leaving. Maybe we will have to arrange to have a few picnics in the part "just because"

Gone again

2008-02-19T11:36:00.001-08:00

My parents left this morning. Only 6 months till we get to see them again. Better than the year since last time we saw them!! It was a nice visit, though, I have to say. Usually they show up on a monday and so they are ready to leave the next day because kiddos are in school, but this time it worked out perfectly that they arrived at dinner time on Friday night and stayed until just before school started this morning. Can't say we did a ton, but we did go and visit Jaliama beach just down the coast from us, and then we did breakfast yesterday morning. The rest of the time we just hung out here at the house playing games with the kids and chasing baby boy around. Considering they haven't seen him since he was 3 days old, he was a real show stopper!

Here is the family pic from the beach on Sunday afternoon. It was not the best day for visiting the beach. I am so glad I dressed everyone with sweaters and pants instead of shorts so the girls could wade. The wind was COLD!!

Still it was loads of fun. My dad climbed over the rocks and kept pointing out starfish to the girls in the tide pools there. Laura found one too. She was so proud she found one that grampa hadn't! lol

When I finally got the kiddos to play on the beach I managed to get this great photo of my parents. My mom really hates to have her photo taken because of the nerve damage to her face from a surgery several years ago. So I was pleased that she liked this photo of them together. I wish I was able to capture more images of them, but she just looks at most pictures and complains about how old she looks. Makes me depressed for her.

I did sneak a few other photos of her, though. It was a definate sneak though, most of the time. Just like this one of her with Daniel.

Dad, on the other hand, was not hard to take pictures of when he was actuallyhere at the house. But he usually went out galavanting for an hour or 2cause the man can't sit still to save his life!

Company

2008-02-18T14:15:00.000-08:00

My parents are so predictably unpredictable. Last Sunday they said they would probably not leave their house to come and visit here for another week or 2. The weather was just too severe. They had white out conditions and what not. The next day I called to ask my mom a question and get the answering machine. So I call their cell and find out that they are in Indiana getting a trailer to tow out to Fresno! (Dad is retired and tows trailers just for something to do cause he can't sit still for 5 minutes. lol) They pulled the trailer through Chicago on Monday, to Oklahoma city on Tuesday and through texas on Wed. Thursday they crossed Az and made it 150 miles into Cali. Friday they made Fresno and turned around and drove down to my house for dinner. So can I use their visit for not checking in here with my skinny gals? They are leaving tomarrow. So I will be getting back to my regularly schedualed programming. lol Until tomarrow gals!!

Dinner with nothing in the house

2008-02-14T13:22:00.000-08:00

I get so frustrated dieting because it seems like as soon as I get started, I have no food in the house. Went to have a salad for dinner and discovered that Dan had taken the last serving with him for work. So I ended up boiling a potatoe and eating it with butter and a little yogurt. Made the girls some french fries and corn dogs and the baby ate left over pasta.

And then this morning I got up and cringed at the idea of another pair of hardboiled eggs for breakfast. I ate one of the 2 and a slice of banana bread. Made myself a cup of tea, but it is still sitting on the counter. It has been a busy morning already. I walked the kids to school, went to Walmart, wrapped 3 valentine gifts, took the baby for his 1 year checkup, took him for blood tests and got lettuce at the commissary. And that egg was barely hanging on when I walked in the door. I was actually able to buy ONLY 2 heads of lettuce and a gallon of milk at the store though.

Baby was HUNGRY when we got home so I plopped him into his booster and gave him a slice of banana bread and some leftover fried rice for his lunch. He chowed down on that rice, I reheated some lumpia I found in the back of the fridge, and had that as my lunch. Not as good reheated, but healthier than eating the pasta that is in the fridge staring at me!

Now that my belly is full, though, I can go to Katies class party and not worry about wanting to eat all the sweets on the table!!

Like the new title?

2008-02-13T22:08:00.000-08:00

I felt it was rather fitting since I never seem to just post my paper projects. And I am not one to keep more than 1 blog. It is obvious that i can barely keep up this one!

So my random thought today came with creating my playlist. I was looking through the Sarah McLachlin songs for the Angel song from the movie City of Angels. Found it and started listening to a few others to see if I wanted to include them in my playlist. Well, somehow an Eric Clapton song made it into Sarahs list. It was his song, but it was mismarked. In any case it made me think of his song Tears in heaven. So I decided to go look through his songs. Looking through his songs, I found several that I really like including Wonderful Tonite. I LOVE THIS SONG. But for years now I haven't listened to it because it made me feel a bit guilty. lol Why guilty? Because it was my favorite song in highschool and my boyfriend senior year knew it. He was part of the schools musical group called Fantasia. They were the schools "elite" singers. I never could get in because I never took chorus. lol Anyway, as a suprise for the spring concert. He did a solo and sang it. Every one of my friends knew he was singing it for me. And he had the perfect voice for it. He did an awesome job through the first verse, but then forgot the lines to the second one. ahh well. It is the thought right? He finished it beautifully though. Anywho... a month after graduation I went to my sisters house to help her through the last trimester of pregnancy. While I was there, I came to the realization that he was not the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Upon arriving home, the first thing I did was break it off with him. He wouldn't let me give anything back,hoping it would persuade me to change my mind. I still have the promise ring in my jewelry box,

So the rest of the day

2008-02-13T15:40:00.000-08:00

I have done decently. I did go an easier route with my lunch but what can I say. For my snack I did have the trail mix but I couldn't resist having another slice of banana bread too. It was only about an oz though. My lunch consisted of 1 cup of spagetti with 1 tsp of butter melted on it and a handful of mexical style shredded cheese melted in too. And then to top the whole dish off I had a cup of Cali blend veggies. I fed some of it to the boy though. So I wasn't the only one eating all that.

At 1:45 I made the long and arduous trek back over to the school to pick up Laura. okay, so the walk is less than 1/2 a mile round trip! Still adds to my total milage for the day!

Baby fell asleep again and so it left me with time to try and dress this blog up. But I haven't gotten very far. Photobucket doesn't like what I am trying to do it seems and I am not finding the codes I need at flickr. Think I might just lay down for a nap since baby is sleeping. I need it since I have had no caffeen today and I have been up since 6!!

The first day

2008-02-13T09:24:00.000-08:00

Got my exercise in! Nice day to do it too. It is foggy here this morning and maybe 50 out. Got 3+ miles in through military housing so I got uphill and downhill slopes as well!! I measured out the course a while ago, but once I passed 3 miles on my odometer, I quit paying atten. I know, terrible, but I only had about 1/2 a block to get back to my house so I didn't worry about measuring it.

And for my breakfast today I was mostly good. Had 2 hardboiled eggs, 2 oz of banana bread and a cup of green tea with echenacia and sweetened with splenda. I also drank about 8 oz of Crystal lite Peach tea. I think I must live on that stuff. I go through 5 canisters (6 2 qt mixes in each) every month.

I am off to find a snack and start prepping lunch so that when I am hungry I don't grab something "easy" instead of something healthy.

Snack will probably end up being 1/4 cup of my special mix of nuts. Really easy to make and satisfing crunch as well as a taste of salt and sweet.

Trail mix:
1 lb of raw almonds
1 lb of roasted salted sunflower seeds
1 lb of salted cashews
1 jar of unsalted dry roasted planters peanuts
1 box of white raisins

I buy a brand called Annes house of Nuts that my grocery store carries in the produce department of my store for the cashews, almonds and sunflower seeds. Another item that would go really well in this mix is pumpkin seeds. I am not sure where to find them though. I haven't seen them in larger quantities than 4 oz.

As far as the salted/Unsalted. DO NOT BUY EVERYTHING SALTED. Having just 1 or 2 of them salted will be enough for the whole mix to have a satisfying saltiness.

If you like your trail mix seasoned, tomarrow I will post a seasoned mix.

A challenge to myself.

2008-02-12T21:57:00.000-08:00

I am admitting it out loud here and now. I have gotten fat and lazy. And it is time to do something about it. I know that having 3 kids and a household to run is not an excuse to neglect my diet and exercise regiment. And so tonite I stepped on the scale with the intention to start keeping track of my diet and exercise here on my blog. I wanted my starting weight, I really don't wanna post it, but I am gonna. With it posted, I can look back and say to myself, I have come this far, and only have this far to go to get to my goal weight. The goal is to get to at least 170 by July. I would love to see 150 but I must say that even in highschool I never really saw 150 easily. In either case, that is a lot of weight from where I am now.

Please encourage me my friends. I am gonna need it!! Tonite I was actually pleasently suprised, stunned even when I saw my weight appear on our scale. I have been trying to get to the track every morning to do 3 miles. And I have been really watching my carb intake. Last week was really hard with my cycle hitting me as I started to do this. But I did for 5 days in a row. And then we had the birthday party. And I ended up eating the leftovers for the next 2 days. All in all though, I was actually down 10 lbs from the last time I weighed myself. All the way down to 217. I have been maintaining 227 since Daniel was 4 months old. So it was a real happy moment for me.

Once I have built myself up to it. My eventual plan is to actually start running again. I honestly don't know why I ever quit. (oh yea, it was that pregnancy belly with Katie and then the 12 hour shifts the military put me on!) Plus I wanna add in the navy seals workout I used to do. If I can get my runs in on the track with baby in the stroller and my exercise video while he is taking his nap...

But I am getting ahead of myself. Baby steps I know! So for now it is 3 miles of walking and diet. I might just dust that video off now too. No reason I can't do the beginners workouts.

Tomarrow I start. And I apologize in advance for the boring lists of meals that I am going to be posting. But I think it will keep me honest on the diet. If I have to list everything I ate, do I really wanna feel guilty for those 2 hershey kisses I ate? or that glass of soda? Or the 3 mocha breves I had last week? lol

And all of you reading my blog, please feel free to make suggestions with recipies and foods to try. Or to comment on me not posting or keeping track of the diet and exercise like I am vowing to do. I know I am going to have a rough time getting started. I have never been much of a Diary type person and blogging seems too much like a diary for me. I guess that is why I have been so bad about keeping up with it like I should.

A bunch of my recent pages

2008-02-12T21:08:00.001-08:00

Had to link this for everyone.

2008-02-12T13:19:00.000-08:00

A friend recently posted this on a site I visit and it so TOTALLY represents what is gonna be goin' on in this house in a year or 2!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjO9kX4npVY

Di Hickmans Feb Sketch.

2008-02-12T13:02:00.000-08:00

I forgot to post this! Eek!!

I think it is on her blog though. The photo was taken by my friend Alisha on Christmas Eve at our church.

Some of my latest Close to my heart creations

2008-01-09T10:39:00.000-08:00

Did these cards in the past 2 days. I am trying really hard to get at least the first 6 months of cards done for my card calender album. Then I might actually get cards mailed out for birthdays and anniversaries this year!! Wouldn't that be amazing?

3 down and only another 50 or so to go for the year!

This is my card calender book. Each page has a pocket to hold cards and envelopes in. I need to do a set of photos on how to put this together, but it is really easy. I am not done decorating the inside of it yet, but eventually I plan to stamp each page with the month and lines for writing the names, dates and addresses of people with birthdays that month.

I have been really bad

2008-01-09T10:20:00.000-08:00

about updating my blog. It has been a bit crazy around here. Between preparing for Christmas, 10 days of having my mother in law here, being sick, and then having to get the kids back into the school routine, I just haven't thought about my blog. Thank you Erica, for posting comments to get me motivated to come back over here to do some posting!! lol

Got a couple of new digi pages done last week.

The first one is of Daniel and our friends little boy Caleb. Caleb is wearing the suit I put on Daniel for his first Easter. So cute aren't they?

The second one is a photo of Laura on the last day of school before Christmas break. She was so thrilled to wear her pajamas to school and to get to watch Polar Express that day.

sketch by Di Hickman

2007-12-01T09:50:00.000-08:00

Another attempt to post photos.

2007-10-04T20:11:00.000-07:00

I took these pics on Saturday. I finally got the team banners done. Ironically Lauras team only has 2 games left in the season!! At least Katies team will get some more use out of theirs. They aren't done until the Sat before Halloween.

I love the family shot I got though. Definately no denying those are his kids!! lol

So frustrated

2007-10-04T07:02:00.000-07:00

I can't figure out why my blog wants to cut my photos off! I have them sized to 200x 400 and it still cuts off one side of almost all of my photos. UGH!! And I have pics I wanna share!!

My next workshop

2007-09-24T09:39:00.000-07:00

My next workshop is coming up! The first one was great!! I had 10 people show up and another one that I went to her home since she couldn't make it. I still have supplies for 8 more too! I learned a few things last time around, though and am hoping to have all the kinks worked out for the next one!

Now, I realize that not all of my cards are done in this pic for the next workshop, but I am missing a stamp set and can't finish until I find it! UGH.

I can say, though, that the next workshop is at 2 pm on October 12th in Lompoc at First Southern Baptist Church again. The cost is going to be $8 again.

The shaved head.

2007-09-24T09:27:00.000-07:00

I meant to post this pic the other day. Got kinda crazy. Both Laura and I ended up with sinus infections. Blegh. Miserable way to spend a week when she had to go to school.

But anyways! Here is my boy and his new 'do. He is such a big boy now!!

I can't believe he is already 7 months old. He will be 8 months in just under 2 weeks!! Yikes!! And he is trying to walk! I am SO not ready!! I need to buy a cabinet of some sort for the living room to cover all the wires to the TV and put the x box and VHS tapes in. He is determined to get into them! UGH. And unlike his big sister, daddy is his all time favorite person ( after mommy of course! ) He is developing SO much personality.

Danny got his head shaved!!

2007-09-18T22:30:00.000-07:00

Just to give a frame of referance, here is a before photo of his hair. After I get photos in the morning I will post them. Life has been rather hectic since school started so I haven't been very faithful about getting on here to update photos and post projects I have done of late. I am hoping to have time this weekend to do that though. Fingers crossed!

Back to School!!

2007-08-27T11:46:00.000-07:00

Girls started back to school on Wed Sept 22nd. I didn't know what to do with myself that first day! Since then I have figured it out. My friend and I have gone and walked every morning at 9, then I run a few errands and then come home and put the boy down for a nap and I have at least a whole hour to do anything I want without ANY distractions!! It is SO nice.

Dan's mom was here for a visit right before school started and she paid for all 3 kids to get haircuts. We even did Daniels. It was cut to fingers width. It is ALL BLONDE. And he looks sooooooo much older! Then to top it off, he has 2 new teeth and started to crawl!! I am not ready for him to be mobile yet! Yikes!

In the mean time, fall is being taken over with soccer seasons. Both girls are playing again this year. So we have practices on Mondays, Wednesdays and Tursdays and games on Wednesdays and Fridays. Katie is playing as a defender on the Orange Phoenix team and Laura is still learning basics as a member of the White Tiger team.

THE BOOK

2007-08-21T14:30:00.000-07:00

is now available for purchase!!

http://www.memorymaniac.com/

I can't wait to get my copy!! I have 2 layouts in the book. One is of my friends wedding in 2006 and the other is of my younger dd's first season of Soccer. I am just tickled pink to be published in this book!

Quick visit

2007-08-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

Dan's mom came for a small visit this week. She got here last Thursday and left this morning. Made for an eventful week. On Thursday I had a plan for what we were going to accomplish before she arrived, but that went out the window when Dan called me to say he had to go to the hospital for back spasms. We ended up sitting at the hospital from 10 am to about 12:30. UGH! He spent the rest of Thrusday, all day Friday and most of Saturday groaning and taking pills for them. But he had to go back to work on Monday. This morning he got up and drove his mom back to the airport then went into work. He is still feeling the effects. I feel bad for him, but that is how the military goes!!

While grandma was here, though we did do some fun things. Katie, Paula and I went to the base library to scrapbook. We didn't get home until midnight. Katie helped grandma finish a whole bunch of pages as well as doing several of her own. Daniel was less of a help to me. I only managed to get one thing done. But at least I have a start to my workshop project example! I only need to make my cards now.

We also did school and soccer shopping and now I AM BROKE! I hate this time of year. Thank heaven Grandma decided to pay for their haircuts. They came out so cute. Daniels hair even got cut. As soon as I have some nice pics of them I will post them. With school starting tomarrow, and Paula her until this morning, I haven't had an opportunity to get a good photo yet.

In anticipation of tomarrow, we are making cookies for teachers right now. Found a YUMMY recipie for oatmeal peanutbutter chocolate chip cookies. Make your own!! Here is the recipie!!

1 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup oatmeal
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Bake at 350 for 10 - 15 minutes

I wanna make a little goodie basket for their teachers to relax with after their first day back to school. We will see what I get done! lol

Ink Storage Units

2007-08-13T10:21:00.001-07:00

Found a great site that sells Ink storage units. They have several different styles and can be customized to fit the CTMH inks or The SU inks!! Little outta my price range at the moment but definately a must share!! Check it out in my list of links!

Who wants to be a Superhero?

2007-08-10T00:09:00.000-07:00

Have you watched this on the Sci Fi channel? If you haven't it is on on Thursday nights at 9 pm. At 8 they play the episode from the previous week in case you missed it. No reality show can ever be as good as the first season IMHO. All the contestants are watchful for the tricks they saw played to the first set of characters. They still get tripped up, though, it can't be helped. It is interesting to watch to say the least. You have to stand true to yourself and to what you believe, though. It may not carry you through to the prize at the end, but you can at least feel good about yourself for holding to what you believe right?

Watching the show now into its second season has made me think about what kind of character I would create as a super hero. What traits to I most admire about the comic heroes available. What can I aspire to, and what traits do I want my children to see in me and emulate? It is a soul searching question to say the least. My husband is the comic guy to say the least. I only know the main credos of a few super heroes and those only because of the movies that have been made of them. Spiderman has been wildly popular since the movie was released but my husband has been a fan since he was a child. He said he felt a kind of kinship to the character because his own father wasn't there to give the guidance a boy needs as he grows up. It makes me reflect on the role models I had in my own life. I was lucky enough to have parents who were there when I needed them. They may not have given me what I wanted all the time, but that is their decision as parents. And reflecting on them makes me go back to that question of am I living up to being the role model that my own children need?

So I ask myself, in creating a super hero what traits do I think need to be the central features? This is definately going to take some thinking to say the least!! It may take me a few days to work through this. More to come later.

And my nominees for rockin' girl bloggers are...

2007-08-08T20:51:00.000-07:00

Shellie at My scraps of life,
Aka Korin at Inky Doodle,
Anso at Glitter Adventure,
Meredith at All that and a bucket of chicken,
Shellie at Whimical musings,
Michelle at Living life in color,
Jen
Denean

I love your blogs ladies! I have found something on all of them that totally inspires me. Thank you all so much. For those ladies that I didn't put on this list, it was more due to the fact that you were on Ambers list and I didn't think you would really appreciate doing this all over again! lol