Wednesday, December 31, 2008

One Little Word. . .

I did not do this last year, but I am excited to give a whirl this year. This is a concept that comes from Ali Edwards, you can read more about it on her blog. Generally, what you do is pick a word and use that word throughout the year to help you focus on what is important to you. It is very personal and very inspiring.

I have thought very hard about my word for 2009. The funny thing is that it came to me right away, and although I have entertained using a variety of words, this one stuck with me, right from the start. I think that it is exactly what I need right now. My word is...

~Enough~

–adjective
1. adequate for the want or need; sufficient for the purpose or to satisfy desire:
–pronoun
2. an adequate quantity or number; sufficiency.
–adverb
3. in a quantity or degree that answers a purpose or satisfies a need or desire; sufficiently.
4. fully or quite: ready enough.
–interjection
5. (used to express impatience or exasperation): Enough!

I think that this word may be a bit harsh, but it is what I need right now. I feel that I am often pulled in so many directions, trying to get everything done and be a part of everything. I need to focus on drawing the lines and learning to recognize what is obligatory and what is frivolous. I also think I will focus on having enough, simplifying my life. Not needing to purchase every little thing or give every bit I have. Sometimes, I already did/had enough. It is also a word that draws the lines. I think that this will be especially important for me. I am going to focus on drawing the line for myself, stopping the excuses. I am also going to focus on drawing the line for others, when it concerns me. Setting my boundaries. These are just a few of the things that I want to focus on, really for the rest of my life, but for the next 365 days for starters.
I look forward to exploring this word and finding how it truly fits me right now.
............................................................................................................................................................

So, I hope you have a wonderful New Year's. I will be at home cleaning out my scraproom / office. It is my beginning to Enough. I am purging and organizing so I can utilize what I have and purge what I no longer want. I have been working on it for 2 days already, and I still have a ton to do.
So have a wonderful night. Be safe and happy.


Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Christmas Eve. . .

I think I am having a really hard time this year. I feel so pressured to get it all done. Whatever that means. I am looking forward to tomorrow, and it finally being over. Isn't that sad? I need to step back and remember what this time of year is really all about. I need to remember it is about Family, about sharing time and making memories. I need to say "who cares" and "it's perfect". . . and mean it. I know all of this, but right now it seems like such a hard thing to do. Why is that?

I feel like I KNOW what I am supposed to do. I know that I am supposed to enjoy all of this, but it is just so stressful, and at the end of the day when it is not all done the way I wanted it to be, I feel like I have failed. But who? Who have I failed? Myself. The truth is that no one else cares, no else notices that the little stuff is done or not done, just me. So I need to step back, relax, and let it all go. I think this is my Type A coming through.

So, I am going to go relax, drink some tea, and just relax. I know that there are others of "us" out there, that must be feeling the same way, and honestly, I really did not want this to be my post for Christmas Eve, but I do feel better now that I have "said" something. So, I will leave you with some pictures of my family. Looking at these photos does cheer me up a bit. These are from our family photo shoot earlier this month.

This is the three of us, hanging out on a park bench.

These are my little one. I love his blond curls and dimples.

And him climbing in the trees. Daddy was actually holding on to his pants.

Thanks for stopping by and listening to my rant. Sometimes you just have to vent. Have a wonderful Christmas / Hanukkah / Holiday!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Randomness. . .

I thought this might be fun. . . Play along if you would like.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping Paper
2. Real tree or Artificial? Real. We go cut ours down every year! So much fun.
3. When do you put up the tree? As soon as we get it. Usually around the 1st week of December.
4. When do you take the tree down? January 1st
5. Do you like eggnog? Yes, but I have to cut it with milk. It is too thick. I do like eggnog lattes from Starbucks the best!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Homemade doll from Mimi. I was "stuck" at her house and terrified that Santa would not find me. She stayed up all night making me a doll that came in a Vans box. That was about 28 years ago, and I still have that rag doll. I love her.
7. Hardest person to buy for? Hands down, my dad
8. Easiest person to buy for? My Son. He is only 20 months, so he does not really "want" yet.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, but it is not up this year. My little one is only 20 months and it is glass. I think I may invest in a new one when the clearances start on December 26th!
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. I love that tradition.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Ugly sweater that was 10X's too big for me. I actually gave it back.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I have a few. . . The Christmas Story (classically funny), Miracle on 34th Street (magical), and The Grinch who Stole Christmas (childhood memories)
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? When ever I see something that just grabs me!
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Homemade Pumpkin Pie
16. Lights on the tree? yes...tons, stay on multi-colored
17. Favorite Christmas song? Last Christmas I gave you my heart by Wham (so 80's)
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Mom's house, every year. I have never missed one, except for the one when I was little and I got snowed in at Mimi's & Poppy's house.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star. I have bought 3 in the past 5 years. They keep disappearing on me! One tradition I would love to break!
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The "I wants from ungrateful kids"
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? We have a tradition to buy a new ornament for each family member every year with our name on it. I always get them from DoughFun. I love the homemade look, and they look great for years and years.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Pumpkin Pie! Homemade, yum!
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Photo printer.
26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Jennie.

I am tagging anyone who would like to play along!

Here is also a few photos of my December Daily. I know that I am way behind, but here is few that are complete and have been photographed.

I don't know where the photo of my cover is, but here is what is in it so far.


Page 2
Back of page 2

Open page 2 (backside) and front of page 3

I have more done, but it seems that I have lost some of my photos. I will try to get them up tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great night.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Well, Okay I'm a slacker. . .

I can't believe how this month has gotten away from me! It is unbelievable!

The good news is that school is out for two weeks. You have no idea how happy that makes me. Really! I am hoping to get a bit caught up over the next two weeks. I have some layouts for you. These are the layouts that I taught in my class this month. The first one uses Sassafrass paper. It doesn't have a title, because I am not sure exactly what photo's I want to use yet.

The next two are made using October Afternoon paper. I love this stuff. I can't seem to get enough of it. I just want enough to take a bath in it! Ahhh.... I love it! Okay, so the first one uses the Night Lights collection. I think this will be for some pictures of my little one sleeping or hanging out in his pj's.
Here is a close up of the title. I used the letter stickers from October Afternoon, the Spotlight font from Quickutz, and stamps from Technique Tuesdays. I love titles that utilize a variety of techniques and companies.

This last one is one of my favorites. I just loved these pictures. They were taken in my Mom's garden in the front of her house on Halloween this year. My mother-in-law bought Matteo this outfit, and I just love it. I love the blue & orange together with the brown.

Here is a close up of the main picture.

The colors are amazing to me. And I love that brick too! Okay, maybe I am a bit biased, I do think he is just the cutest thing ever!

Anyway, I am off to bed. I have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow. I am having family dinner at my house on Sunday, and I have a ton to do first.

I have also been working on the December Daily album, and I have pictures to post. I will get some of them up tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great night.

Monday, December 1, 2008

December. . . Oh so little time. . .

Where did November go? I can't believe that December is already here! Wow! I have so much to do now. I really had a ton to do yesterday, but it didn't seem real because it was only November then. I will be starting my December Daily album today. I need to finish my layouts for my class next Monday, and I have to get my cards out. That doesn't include getting the house ready and decorated. We decided to paint, okay I decided to paint the living room this weekend, so I have to finish that too. And it all has to be done by Sunday! Yikes!

Okay, so I don't have a bunch of crafty stuff for you yet, but it will be coming. I am going to be better at posting this month too! Promise. So off I go to get something done. My little one is asleep and I am home because Daddy was not feeling good this morning. So, now that they are both down, I can get some stuff done. I will post tomorrow with what I accomplish!

Stay tuned!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Edward. . .

For those of you who know, that is all that needs to be said. For those of you who don't... here is a peek...

Just finished the movie, and now I am off to read the 3rd book. I haven't read it yet, but now I want more! More Edward!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Warning. . .

This post is picture heavy! It has been a while. Why is it, that the older you get the faster time flies? I can't believe that Thanksgiving is going to be here next week! Yikes!

So, like most everyone I know, things have been really crazy at my house lately. Not all work, I have had some fun lately too. A couple of weeks ago, I was attended an all day crop, put on by Fiskars. It was a blast. I got to work without having to rush to finish anything. It was very relaxing, and I met a ton of great gals. I did not take any pictures, so I up loaded this one from the website.

It is small, but I guess it has to be. There were 100 of us! So much fun. I highly recommend that you attend an annual Fiskateers crop if you can. For more information, go here.

In other news, I finished the cards for my card kit. We were going to do a class again, but with the holidays coming up, we couldn't find a date that would work for both Paige and I. Hopefully, next month will work out better. Here are the cards.

This one is all American crafts. I added some stickles to the mitten for a bit of flair.

I used American Craft products on this one too.

This one is Bazzill dot paper and some stamps, a few buttons, and bit of rhinestones.


For this one, I just used these really cool glittery snowflakes that I found at Michaels. It is a really simple card, but I thought it was just perfect.


This last card used some old paper from K & Co. I also added some stickles to the stars and the punched out holes.

This one was the easiest. I used Heidi Grace cards (that I found on clearance, yeah!) and her papers too. So sweet!

For my November layout class, I had three layouts. Here they are.

For this first one, I used a combination of S.E.I papers (older line) and the new ChatterBox embellishments. They went together very well.


For the second and third layouts, I used the new lines from Crate Paper. I couldn't get enough of this paper. It just feels good in your hands, and it looks spectacular too!

For this one, I added some old S.E.I velvet paper. I used it sparingly, but it looks amazing. It is a bit hard to tell in this photo. I used it for the title and in the far right bottom corner.


This one is all ChatterBox. I love this paper. Super perfect for any fall activity.

I actually learned how to do french knots for this layout. Here is a close up. Aren't they cool?

So that is it for the class. I do have one more for you today though. I finished my Halloween layout with pictures of the little one. I love them. He had just discovered candy! Cute then, but now he wants it all the time! Ha!


Here's a close up of that sucker sticking out of his mouth!

So, that is it for tonight. I do have more for you, but this is already a long post, so I will save those for a later one. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great one.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Fall is here. . .

The unmistakable signs are all around me. When I can see the tree house, I know that the days of warm sunshine and open toe shoes are behind me for the year.

All of the apples have fallen on the ground. Now there is more on the ground than on the tree.

The leaves have collected in patches all over the yard, and more than I would like, by the back door. This provides a great opportunity for the dogs to drag them all over the house.

But, as I saw today, there is a tiny ray of spring holding on in my front yard. Isn't she beautiful?

Aah, it just bloomed yesterday! So lovely. I don't think it will make it past this week, so I think I may cut it and bring it inside.

Okay, enough of my whoes about Fall. I do love the color changes and the multiple cups of hot coco and tea, but I hate being cold.

One other thing that I love is Halloween. I haven't printed any pictures yet, but this is one of my favorites from this year. Matteo was the cutest little dinosaur! And that cute little monkey is my darling nephew, Tristen.

I will post more later. I have some darling shots this year, and I am working on a few layouts. Thanks for stopping in. Have a great night.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Cards, Cards, Cards. . .

Finally I have the pictures of the cards that we made in my first card class last night. The cards were up at the store, so I did not have access to them for photos. They aren't great photos, but you'll get the picture. Here they are. . .

This one is a flat card with a little top card. Just a fun little twist.




This one opens up for sending photos. Everyone wants pictures during the holidays.



There were 12 cards in all. I am going to do this again next month and also in December. You can find out when by checking out the calendar at Scrapbook Atelier.

Later today, I think we are going to try to take Matteo to the pumpkin patch, so hopefully, I should get some good shots. I will try to post them tomorrow, but I have a class again, so maybe on Tuesday. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great night!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

quick quick. . .

Today I stayed home. Sent Matteo to the babysitter and got some R & R. I feel so much better tonight. I woke up this morning to a wrong number at 6:00ish! Who calls people at that time? If you do, make sure you have the right number!

So, needless to say, I felt like I had lead in my eyelids this morning. It felt really good to nap. As promised, I have some pictures for you today.

These are from my hubby, although he says that Matteo picked them out.

Here is an up close shot. Can you believe the colors? They are amazing.

These came from my Mom and Dad. I love Lily's and this color is so unusual. I love them.


And for some scrappy stuff. . . Here is a sneak from my circle journal for last month. I was so busy that I got a bit behind. It is out of my hands now though, and that feels good.

And this is a Christmas card that will be part of my upcoming card class. I really am liking making cards. It is so super fast and I always feel like I got something done. The tree opens up so you can write your message in it.

Thanks for stopping in tonight. I know I always post late, but it is the only time that I don't have someone else to take care of. Have a great night.

Monday, October 20, 2008

32. . .

Yes, today I am 32, and I have to say, it feels just like another day. Oh yes, except Matteo decided to wake me up at 5:00am and refused to go back to sleep! Did I mention that I was up till about 1:00am before that? Sometimes! I did receive some beautiful flowers from my parents and my dear hubby. He says Matteo picked them out. Too cute. I will post pictures tomorrow, when I can take a shot in the natural light.

So, since it is my birthday, I thought it would be nice to post a few random things about me today. Here it goes.

1. I don't eat beef or pork or anything on the bone. . . pretty much white boneless skinless chicken and turkey or fish only
2. I hate cooked Salmon, but raw, it is my favorite sushi
3. I twirl my hair. . . constantly
4. I love to read, but never have time to do so anymore
5. I have over 50 first cousins. . . and no not step or half. . . 40+ on my Mom's side alone
6. My first memory is being stuck in a bright pink bathroom and not being able to get out (true story)
7. I always wished my name was Alex
8. I never had a fake ID. . . growing up in Nevada. . . this is a oddity
9. I secretly want twins
10. I bite and pick at my cuticles. . . yuck!

Now you know a bit more random facts about me. I hope you have a great day. Thanks for stopping by.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Card-A-Licious. . .

I was fiddling around on the computer today and I found this new blog. I am super excited about it too. I have recently found a new love for cards. I don't know why, but I have begun to find them very inspiring and fun to make. I think it may be because they are typically pretty quick. When I finish a card I feel like I have accomplished something, even if I only had 10 minutes. I can never do that with a layout. I am, most undoubtedly, the worlds slowest scrapper! Seriously.

So, I thought that I would post a few cards that meet the requirement for their challenge. Here are a few of the Halloween cards that I have done recently.

It is a bit hard to tell, but this one opens up and there is a pocket inside to put pictures in. I could not get a good shot of it though. I love the little trick or treaters on this stamp. It is from Inkadinkado. They are a newly found stamp company for me, and I really like them.

These stamps are from my favorite stamping company, Hero Arts. I love them, both wood mounted and acrylic equally. Both kinds have their purposes. I find that I use more acrylic stamps on my scrapbook pages, and the wooden on my cards.

This one too is from Inkadinkado. This is one of my favorite Halloween stamps. The moon and the cat are so spooky, but in a very cute and animated way. I just added a bit of glitter to give her some oomph. I actually used this stamp to make the moon in the first card. So cute.

Anyway, check out Card-A-Licious. I think it will be a whole lot of fun in the upcoming months.
Thanks for stopping by.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Has it really been that long. . .

It is amazing how time flies these days. Since I went back to work full time, it seems like I don't have any time! Apparently I don't, as I have been neglecting my blog, in a very serious way. I will try to be better. Promise. ;)

So, here are some of the layouts that I will be using for the class this month.

For this one, I used all Basic Grey. I love them. I don't think that they have ever made something I just don't love.

For this one, I used some of the Scenic Route paper, Prima flowers, buttons, and Jenni Bowlin accessories. I love that Kraft. Oh yes, some Heidi Swapp too.

For the last one, I used all K&Co. papers. Old ones, but boy are they cute! I love the little trick or treaters.


I also am going to be doing a card class, and here are a few of the cards that will be included in that class. Okay, so my camera and I are fighting, and guess who won. Yeah, not me. So I will try to get some photos uploaded this week of the cards.

This weekend I went to Sacramento with my Mom and my Aunt Kathy. Oh yes, Matteo too. He was a little rocks star! So good the whole trip. Anyway, we went for the scrapbook convention. We did no crop, just shopped. I have to say that I did really good. . . didn't spend too much. However, on the way back to Reno, we stopped at Green Tangerines. That place is AWESOME! Seriously! It is so organized and clean and new and fun! Love it. If you ever get a chance to stop in there, do so! Very fun. Not so good there! (money wise)

And since I don't have the card photos, I will leave you with a picture of one of my dahlias from the garden. This one just bloomed before the freeze killed them all last week. Boy they were pretty.
Thanks for stopping by.