Updates...

Today I am waiting for the Heat God... Oh, I mean the heater guy. I am really ready to freeze right now. Last Thursday, I was hanging out with the little guy, and all of the sudden the heater kicked on... no biggie right? Matteo came running in the room saying "yucky noise mama, yucky noise" So, I go see what he is talking about. It's the heater. I figure, Daddy forgot to change the filter, no problem. He can fix it when he gets home. I turn off the heater and wait for him to get home. This was around 4:00pm. Dad gets home about 11:30pm, and by now, it is pretty cold. He takes a look at it and says, "It's not the filter".

Problem #1 The temperature in Reno hasn't been above 50 for the high and is floating in the 20's for the low. Dad runs to Wal-Mart and grabs two space heaters for the night. (We don't want to pay double for the heater guy at midnight)

The next day, I cancel my work appointments and stay home for the heater guy. I hate doing this because I never know what they are talking about. It is like taking the car to get something fixed. I would just rather Dad do it. Well, the heater guy comes out and takes a look.

Problem #2 He says, good thing you didn't run it last night because the part that is broken filters the Carbon Monoxide out of your house. OMG! If I would have run it anyway, our house would have filled with Carbon Monoxide.... Poisonous Gas! *** Thank you guardian angles***

Problem #3 The part... the lovely part... is on order, and won't be here until Tuesday. Yes, that is 6 days without heat!

Problem #4 The temperatures here are dropping low, the nights haven't gotten out of the 20's since the heater broke, and the highs are only around 50 degrees. Yikes. So, Literally, it is freezing around here!

But today is Tuesday, and I am waiting for my heater god to come warm me up! Please get here soon.

On a good note. Completely unrelated, I do have a few layouts to share. The first one doesn't have photos in it, because I am going to take ones at Thanksgiving of my family drawing names for Christmas. We do this every year because our family is huge. I think that there is 16 of us that will be drawing names this year. I will post a picture of it when it is done too, but I wanted to get it up for those of you that have kits and need a picture.

This is a close up of the stamp that I used from Studio Calico. I had a hard time getting it just right, so I used a white gel pen to make the word "Tradition" show up better.

The next one is a layout that Matteo "helped" me with. I took these photos at the park right before sunset, and the lighting was amazing. This photo just doesn't do them justice. The oranges and reds are so bold and brilliant. I just loved how they turned out.

Here is a close up of the title. I used a wood grain stamp as the background for the this part and then stamped a tree on top of the wood grain. I used stickles and glossy accents to make the tree pop out.

Here is another close up of the layout. This green ink is where Matteo "helped" me stamp. At first I was going to take it apart and use a new piece of cardstock, but he was so proud that he "stamped like mama" that I just left it. At least he picked a coordinating color right? Laugh.

This last layout was one that I made for a kit for Scrapbook Paradise. It was for their Home for the Holidays event. So much fun. I used Bo Bunny paper, which surprisingly was perfect for these pictures. Very festive.

Here's a few close ups.

I ended up loving this layout. I have wanted to use these photos for a while and haven't felt I had the right paper, so I am glad to have them down and documented. Christmas is such a fun time of year around here.

Speaking of Christmas, I am plugging along with the December Daily this year. I am almost finished with the "shell" of the album. I will take photos and get them up.... it's just around the corner! Ack! Well, Thanks for stopping by. I will get those other photos up this week. Have a great day.

Jumping on the band wagon...

It's that time again, and I am determined to finish up this year. That's right, it is December Daily time. (Thank you Ali Edwards.) So, I have pulled out the stash... boy is that scary. hee hee. I have the album. I am going to get it done this year.

This year, I decided to go with a pre-made album. I think this may make it easier for me to finish. I picked up this American Crafts 8x8 album on sale at Michael's a few months ago. It was a deal, and, like I said, I am determined to get this done this year. I love the idea of documenting the holiday. It is really one of the most wonderful times of the year, when people are better to each other, and family takes the driver's seat.

Honestly, I am still working on finishing last year too! But I don't want to try to catch up, I know that I will always be playing that game, so I am going to focus on the now... and complete this one.

So far this is what I have done. Here is the stash... well, what I am willing to show you of it. Ha!

I actually keep all my Christmas stuff stored together in these plastic storage bins. It makes the planning stage easier for me because all my stuff is always together.

Here is the cover so far. I had a close up, but I have been having a fight with Mr. Photoshop lately, and he's winning. I will take another one and post it in the next update.

I wanted to keep it simple. I think that may have been part of my problem last year. I wanted it to be perfect... whatever that is. This year, I want to get it finished. I want to have this time in our family documented. I am trying to remember that this stage in my life will be over before I know it, and Matteo is growing so fast. I am determined to embrace it and enjoy it.

So, that is what I have so far. I am off to work on it some more. I will keep you posted. Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day.

Bliss...

This is us... five years ago. Such a wonderful and blissfull day.

Happy Friday the 13th... I love you babe!

Today is my anniversary... five years today. So, in good spirits, Happy Friday the Thirteenth! It's my favorite day.

... trying to track down a picture.. I will get it up today. :)

Update...

This is long over due, I know. Life has a way of running away with me.... literally. I don't even know what I have been up to either. It has just been nuts! So, since I was last actively blogging, a few things have happened...

My Mimi was really sick in the hospital. She had Gaul stones, but never sought medical treatment for them, so by the time my Mom made her go to the doctor, she was very sick. She was shaking uncontrollably from the infection in her body. She is 85, so this is not to be taken lightly. She had Sun downers at night, which was the worst experience I have ever had... we got the call at 3:00am to come to the hospital... it was horrible. That lasted for a little over a week. I have never been so thankful for modern medicine. She is doing better now, at home and back at being Mimi.

I had laskic eye surgery. No more glasses! LOVE it!

The day after I had surgery, Matteo had Swine Flu! Yes, Swine Flu! That was not fun either. But he is okay. More cu does to modern medicine!

School is in the full swing of things... busy, busy, busy! I am still hoping for good news in the job department... but for now, I am grateful that I have a job. Times are tight around here... just like everywhere else. I know "they" are saying it is getting better, but "they" need to show me where! Here in Nevada, it is not getting better yet.

I did get to go to a crop for 2 days with my friend Amy at Green Tangerines. It was so much fun. It was so nice to get away from everything, stay in a hotel, and take as long as I need to get ready. I haven't done that in years! Two and a half to be precise.... Thanks Matteo ;)

Some good news may have come out of that crop though... I will keep you posted when I know for sure.

I also have some layouts to share with you. First, here are the layouts for the class that I taught at Scrapbooker Paradise in September... I know I am behind on this.

This first one is of Matteo in our crooked willow out front. It seems that he can't go in the front yard without climbing in this tree. He loves it in there. I think it is kinda like his own little fort.

I just love the foam Thickers because you can overlap them so easily. Since they are so pliable, it is easy to stack them up... great for a large title in a smaller space.

Oh crap, it looks like I forget to take a photo of the other one. I will try to get that one up this week.

I do however, have the layouts for October... Here they are.

These pictures are actually from Halloween last year, but they are so cute that I had to use them. Although, I can't wait too scrap this year's Halloween pictures. They are so cute too. Okay, I am totally biased! Ha.

This paper is by Best Creations, and I just loved all the glitter on the tree. I didn't actually glue it down everywhere, just on the trunk. I wanted to create the feeling of the tree growing right off the page. I don't know if you can tell from this photo, but the tree branches lift off the page.

This next one doesn't have the photos in it yet, because I haven't had time to print them. When I do, they will just be everyday photos of Matteo. The journaling for this layout is going to be all about my hopes and dreams for my son, and how I want him to shoot for his dreams, whatever they will be.

The journaling tag for this actually had little shoes on it. Totally cute, but not for this layout. I used the My Mind's Eye label at the bottom of the page to cover them up. Add a few brads, and Wa La, it is perfect for the page.

I am finishing up the layouts for November. I will try to have them posted by Saturday.

Here is a few that I made from photos that were taken during our Disneyland trip. The first one was taken while we were standing in line, waiting for a ride. I think it was the Toy Story II ride. We were trying to occupy Matteo.

They were knocking heads, goofing around. So funny. I really liked these papers, but they were so busy, so I cut them up and just used little pieces of them. I added dimension by popping up random squares in the clusters. You can see a little better in this photo.

This last one was also a Disney shot. This was one of my favorite changes in Disneyland since I had been there last.

Yes, that is a recycling can. I loved how they used Jimney Cricket to gently remind everyone to clean up and think about the environment. Here is a close up. Isn't he so cute?

Well the little one is up from his nap, so I will have to finish the layouts another time. Hopefully, things will return to normal around here, and I won't be MIA for so long. Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by.