LIFE IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES...

GOSH!!!!

2007-06-15T21:20:00.000-04:00

I am so sorry that I'm such a bad blogger!! I meant to post when we got back from Disney, but I actually haven't been feeling all that well... I've been extremely tired... nauseous... vomiting... yes, I AM PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!! :) I'm almost 9 weeks along now, and Scott and I are just ecstatic! We've been trying for over a year, and although I have a higher risk pregnancy because of my thyroid disease, we just pray every day that things will be okay. We go back to the Dr. in a little over a week to hear the baby’s heart beat, and we can't wait!!! AND, Alexa is completely thrilled to become a big sister!! We were going to wait and tell her once I was out of my first trimester, but decided we better let her know what's been going on since I haven't been feeling well. She is really excited... and says that is WILL be a boy! haha, so cute!!!

Disney was great; we all had a blast! We went to every one of the parks, and even Sea World. Although it was tiring with all that walking every day, it was so cute and fun to watch the kids' excitement with each new thing that they saw! I'd have to say that the cutest thing was going on the "It's a Small World" ride -- the kids were literally in awe - this was Alexa's face the whole time, LOL! It really is an amazing, fun little ride for kids!! The highlight of the trip was definitely meeting the Princesses - Alexa was just in awe, especially over Ariel, she's Alexa's favorite!! :) Look at her squeezing her, soooo cute!! We even discovered that Alexa is quite the little dare-devil -- she loooooves roller coasters! My sister and I were a little wary of her and Rayna going on this big ride in Sea World, but our hubby's assured us they would be fine -- and they were - they were smiling and laughing, and wanted to go on it again, LOL!!

Haven't scrapped all that much lately! But I'm trying... I don't want to fall too behind! Here are some layouts I’ve done the past month:

I created the following two for Scrap-Tastic:

My beautiful friend, Darcy!!

These two layouts are for the HOF Challenge on the CK website. This month we are featuring Doodlebug Designs and Daisy D’s! Check it out, and join in on the fun! :)

Had a newborn photo shoot a few weeks ago – this little guy is soooo cute, I just loved taking pictures of him!

That’s about all that’s been going on here! Hope everyone is well – I’m off to catch up! :)

... the ants go marching 2 by 2, hurrah?

2007-05-16T15:27:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I admit that it's a cute and fun song to sing and all, but when you think about it, how are 2 ants crawling passed you, a cute or "hurrah" type thing?!

As many of you know, I am a MAJOR bug phobic! Hate every kind there is. I scream and squirm all over when I see one, let alone have to kill one. Yes. My name is Rachel, and I am a major chicken, sissy, baby, whatever you wanna call me, lol.

So yesterday after dinner, I went into the kitchen and to the sink, and sitting inside, staring at me in all of it's DISGUSTING glory, was the hugest, biggest, FATTEST black ant I have ever seen in my life. No joke. No exaggeration. This thing was HUGE!!!! Picture a regular Carpenter Ant and pump it full of steroids, and you have the ant that was in my sink.

I freaked out and then killed it, and ran the water and garbage disposal for about 10 minutes. I did NOT want that sucker crawling back up... especially after my pal Wendy told me that they can swim in water... thanks, my friend for the comforting thought! :P

So at this point I'm thinking it probably came in on one of us, GROSS -- or maybe even Samson. That is until I open my pantry door a half-hour later, and there is ANOTHER huge, big, FAT black ant, except this one had WINGS!! WINGS!!! I was on the phone with Wendy (and I'm sorry for screaming in your ear), but I freaked out, hung up the phone, and then smashed the sucker with a shoe.

So now at THIS point, I'm thinking there is NO way one of us had 2 ants on us, and Samson couldn't really have brought 2 in at once.... so yes, I'm thinking there is a problem.

After I called Scott and about cried when he told me he saw one in our garage the night before, I called the exterminator and told him everything. I was so nicely informed that winged ants are called King Ants, and they reproduce and live in COLONIES! What is a colony, you might ask? Ummmm, only about 2-3,000 ants that live withint your walls! :O ACKKKKK!!! Please say it isn't so!!

Now, we've only been in this house for a year and a half, and haven't had a bug problem at all. Yes, the occasional spider here and there, but I can deal with that. No, I really can't, but I'm forced to because everyone has spiders, right?! But a whole COLONY of Arnold Swartzenager Ants living in my walls?

So the rest of the night I was scared to go into the kitchen, only when it was a necessity. I even had a really hard time sleeping last night, and at 4 am, came downstairs to check if any were crawling around anythere. Thankfully, there wasn't! And none this morning, or up until this point at 3:30 in the afternoon.

The exterminator came out today and left about an hour ago and saw a big ant in the storage side of the basement, and two with wings, trapped in a spider web outside the house, in the same area. He thinks there is a nest on the outside wall of our basement, close to our backyard, where there is woods. Sigh... bummer... waaaaaah! They are coming on Friday morning to spray, and will come again in 30 days, and then every 90 days for a year to make sure that everything is dead. He's positive there are a few eggs since there have been a few winged ones. ughhhhhh. I just can't wait to walk into my kitchen and not be afraid to look everywhere, lol!

Sooooo, on a happier note... I am SO completely thrilled for my friend Darcy!!! She had her baby on Thursday, 3 weeks early! I talked to her on Sunday and she and the baby are doing great!! You can see pictures of Adelyn Grace on Darcy's blog -- she is beautiful!!! :) CONGRATULATIONS DARIN & DARCY!!

Hope you all have checked out, or will check out, the the challenges the Hall of Famers are posting on the CK site. We will be posting one every month, using products we rec'd in our prize boxes. All you have to do is create a layout using that month's manufacturer, upload it in THIS gallery, and then link your layout HERE in the MB by Monday. This month is American Crafts. I LOVE their stuff! Here is the layout I created, and I hope this inspires you to have some fun and whip out some of your yummy AC stash and start creating!! :)

I CANNOT believe we are leaving for Disney THIS Saturday!! We are sooooo excited and have been counting down the days for months! We'll be gone for 7 days, and when we come back I promise to post pictures. We're hoping the weather will be nice with all the fires they've been having! Looks like it's more north of Orlando, but you never know. It's jsut SO sad to hear how many acres have been burned! :(

Alrighty, gotta get some more laundry done... I hope everyone has an AWESOME weekend and great week next week!!! :)

A Crop, pics, and some other stuff...

2007-04-26T21:33:00.000-04:00

I went to a crop at Cord Camera this past Saturday and had such a blast!! I LOVED hanging out with these girls; they were so much fun and had me laughing the whole day!
Sad to say that I didn't get too much accomplished though - I swear, I never do good at these things... I'm too distracted, like to talk and look at everyone else's stuff... plus, the room we were in was pretty warm and stuffy that day. But I really did have a blast! :)

I'm so glad that Wendy was able to make it and get off work, and I was super excited to meet up with Darcy again, and meet Jill for the first time! The three of them came back to my house and stayed the night... and we set up a photo shoot for Darcy! She is THE cutest pregnant woman, and I had so much fun taking her pictures!! We were in my basement and threw a white sheet over a chair, and Wendy was our "light girl," holding up a lamp above Darcy's head, haha! Here are two of the pictures I took from many:

You can see more pictures on her blog HERE when she gets a chance to upload them.

So excited that our Disney trip is coming up in less than a month!! We were supposed to go last year, but it fell through, so I am soooooo anxious!!! We leave on May 19th, and my sister and I have been doing tons of research on what's best for preschoolers at each of the parks! We even scheduled to have lunch with the Princesses, and I can't even wait to see Alexa's face and watch her excitement!! I just LOVE seeing her so happy!!! :)

The weather last weekend was so gorgeous!! Glad we were able to get out and enjoy it, because it started raining two nights ago and hasn't really stopped :( I managed to get some weeding done, not so fun! I always forget we have a little island in the front right of our house - and boy, was it loaded w/weeds; not so pretty! I bought a new, handy little tool for pulling weeds and it worked magic - I guess you can say I don't have a green thumb, and need all the help I can get, haha! :D

Here are some layouts that I did over the past couple of weeks:

Love the new Scenic Route, sooo yummy!!

My mom is the absolute BEST!!!! Had fun with this one I did for the Scrap-Tastic DT!

This was for the August BH Sketch; my little cutie nephew:

And I wanted to post this layout here as well - CK posted a sample of all of the HOFers work and just in case some wanted a closer look, this is my Crafty Combo layout, I did tons of sewing:

Not much else going on here. Tomorrow I go and get my wisdom teeth pulled, all 4 of them! :( I am sooooo not looking forward to it! Wish me luck, lol!!

Have a happy weekend!! :)

ETA: I just HAD to add a big CONGRATULATIONS to my pal Revlie for having her sweet baby boy a couple of days ago!!! He is just adorable, and I'm SO happy for you, my friend!!! YAY!! :D

Some layouts and pictures...

2007-04-03T18:59:00.000-04:00

So the past few weeks have been really busy! The weather has been soooo gorgeous, that we've been spending a lot of time outside!! Gotta admit that I'm pretty depressed that SNOW is in the forecast for this weekend... Easter weekend... in just a few days... :(

Got some scrappin' done!!! Here are a few that I can share:
Did this for the Scrap-Tastic DT I'm on, using some yummy cherryArte!!

This was inspired by a layout Jen Perks did, she rocks!

A fun, hybrid one!!! :)

And here's one I did last night - LOVE the new BasicGrey-Perhaps line... awesome stuff!!! This picture of Alexa cracks me up, she's so funny!! I'm glad she poses for me though! :D

I've also been taking lots of pictures... of Alexa... my niece and nephews... and even of my friend's 2 children -- she wanted me to take their Easter pictures, and I'm so thrilled they turned out and that she likes them! My other friend, the one I took her baby pictures, wants me to take his 3 month pictures next week - can't believe he's already 3 months, time flies!! Okay, here are some pictures :)

A few weeks ago, my pal Wendy and Hannah came down to visit! We had such a blast - the girls play sooooo well together!! It was the first time they stayed the entire weekend, so we had a lot of fun!! Wish we could see them more often! :)

Hope everyone is having a great week!! Off to catch up with your blogs! :)

Ohhhhhhhhh my goodness!!!!

2007-03-22T18:57:00.000-04:00

I
am
in
such
major
shock!!!!

Seriously... I cannot believe I made Hall Of Fame!!! :o
I never would have guessed it in a million years!!
I am soooo beyond thrilled and excited... and to win with my pals Sheri and Wendy, is just AWESOME!!!!! :D

And my call with Lisa... oy... I can't believe I cried so much, haha! I'm embarassed, totally!!!
And I'm an emotional person to begin with, so to add something like this, well... it turns me into a big 'ole ball bag!!!!!! :)

Thank you SO much for all the sweet comments on 2peas, the emails and peamails and phone calls!! They all mean the world to me!!!!! Huge hugs to you all!!!!!!!!

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee :D

Poor baby :(

2007-02-15T09:49:00.000-05:00

So... Monday afternoon Alexa cut her knee really bad on the edge of my closet door, right on her knee cap. It was really bad, and wouldn't stop bleeding, so we had to take her to the hospital. The poor thing had to get stitches :( She got 3 dissolvable ones under the skin, and 5 on top! The worst part was when they gave her the shot to numb the area - she screamed bloody murder and Scott and I had to hold her down - it was soooooooooooooo so awful, my heart broke!! But then as she was getting stitched up and couldn't feel anything, she was okay. She was laying with her head on my lap, and I was stroking her hair and she actually fell asleep! She had worn herself out!!! So she goes back next Thursday to have the stitches removed, and cannot bend her knee until then!! It's been pretty hard the past few days cuz she's so active, but she's been a trooper about the whole thing! She's been walking with it real straight, and looks like a mummy, lol, so cute!! I just hope it heals quickly!!!!

Not much else going on here... except for being snowed in!! I cannot believe all the snow we've gotten the past few days, it's unbelievable!!! But the east side got a lot more, so I shouldn't complain!! I just wish Alexa was well so we could go out and play in it!!

LOST was soooooo amazing last night... gosh, I love that show!! Always on the edge of my seat, can't wait to see what happens next, and always asking myself "what the heck just happened?" haha... awesomeness!! I love it!

Here are some layouts I did a few months ago and forgot to post! Used lots of My Mind's Eye stuff!!

Me and my buddy Wendy (whendeeb) - I love this girl!!

Alexa last year - poor thing couldn't go out and play cuz we had no grass yet :(

So I will post more pics of my friend's baby and her other kids, soon!!

I hope everyone is having a great week, and staying WARM!!! I need to catch up with y'all!! Have a happy weekend! =)

and the RAK goes to.............. (and My Mind's Eye SNEAK PEEK!)

2007-01-30T13:59:00.000-05:00

LU!! Wow girl, you got all 15! Congrats... I will send the RAK out to you asap, just email me your address: rmcohara@hotmail.com. Everyone else, thank you SO much for playing and the emails - loved reading all of your answers! A lot of you got 14, so it was real close! To everyone who played, PLEASE leave me your email address! =)
Here are the answers:
1. How many siblings do I have? 2
2. Am I the youngest or oldest? youngest
3. How long have I been married? 7 years
4. What is my husband's name? Scott
5. What is my favorite color? Pink (it used to be green, but has changed due to me using it so much on my layouts, lol! I love every shade of pink!)
6. When is my birthday? June 9th
7. What is my favorite food? Spaghetti/pasta
8. What kind of dog do I have? English bulldog
9. What is his name? Samson
10. What kind of movies do I like? Romantic comedies
11. What is my fav embellishment on a layout? Ribbon, love me some ribbon =)
12. What is my "dream" (non-scrap related) that I hope to accomplish some day? To be a published romance novelist
13. Who is my friend that I visit in New York? Wendy (whendeeb)
14. Do I need glasses to read with? No
15. Have I ever sung a solo? Yes, as a teenager in my Youth group choir

So hopefully blogger will let me upload some stuff! If you haven't seen my My Mind's Eye CHA layout on 2peas, here they are... I LOVE the new lines. The first two are from the Tres Jolie collection - gorgeous stufff!! The colors/papers are amazing and vibrant, and comes with tons of fun goodies.

This layout is from the Signature Life collection. Love this line too - beautiful papers and awesome diecuts, quotes and tags. I have a 2nd one from this line but blogger won't let me upload, darnit.

And here are some recent layouts I've done that I haven't posted here...

So Alexa woke up this morning crying and saying her ear hurts =( I think it's an ear infection, but I hope I'm wrong. The Dr. can't see her 'til tomorrow, so I hope the Tylenol and Motrin help until then... so far, so good!! If not, I may have to take a trip to Urgi-Care.

I am impatiently waiting for LOST to begin again... gosh, I love that show!!! I wish I knew the exact date in February it starts, does anyone know?! I CANNOT WAIT!!!!!!!!!

Since I can't upload anymore pics, I'll post about Samson next - he has GROWN!!! Seriously, he's a big boy!!! Thanks to everyone who has asked about him =)

Okay, I'm off to do a load of laundry! Hope y'all have a super fab day!!!!!

HI!!!!

2007-01-23T23:07:00.000-05:00

I'm here... so sorry it's taken me so long to update my blog! I can't believe how fast the past couple of months have flown by!!! The Holidays were wonderful - we had such a great time... I hope everyone did too -- and Happy 2007!

So, I will start off with my RAK since I feel so badly that I haven't done this yet! I couldn't get it all in one picture, so there are several views - just click on each picture to enlarge. There are Heidi Swapp rubon letters and other fun HS goodies; Fontwerks stamps; Prima flowers; My Mind's Eye Bohemia paper, pulpboard titles and rhinestones, new Everyday Tango and Front Porch papers, Kaleidoscope papers and matching frames and tags... and there are tons of rubons, chipboard fun and LOADS of different kinds of paper!! =)

Here's how you can win it!!! Answer the questions below, and whoever gets the most right, wins!! =) And you can go back and check my blog posts, you'll find some of the answers there!
1. How many siblings do I have?
2. Am I the youngest or oldest?
3. How long have I been married?
4. What is my husband's name?
5. What is my favorite color?
6. When is my birthday?
7. What is my favorite food?
8. What kind of dog do I have?
9. What is his name?
10. What kind of movies do I like?
11. What is my fav embellishment on a layout?
12. What is my "dream" (non-scrap related) that I hope to accomplish some day?
13. Who is my friend that I visit in New York?
14. Do I need glasses to read with?
15. Have I ever sung a solo?
Every response I get will be emailed to me through blogger, unless you want to email them to me directly - and a week from today, on Tuesday, Jan. 30th I will check everyone's answers and announce the winner! If there is a tie, I will write down the names and have Alexa pick. =)

I've really been into photography lately! I got a Nikon D80 a couple of months ago and have been playing non-stop!! I think I'm going to take a photography class in the Spring to really delve into all that my camera and photography has to offer; I'm so excited!!! I wish I could share some pics, but blogger won't let me upload anymore =( Next time for sure!

I haven't scrapped as much as I would have liked the past couple of months - things have just been so craaaaaazy!! Trying to get back into the groove of things after the Holidays, and getting over the sickies which took over our household for over a month, bleh!!! But I'm excited for everyone to see the new My Mind's Eye goodies coming out at CHA - some YUMMY stuff, let me tell you! As a sneak peek, I will post my pages in the next day or two!!

Got two layouts picked up from Scrapbook Trends, I'm a happy girl!! I just started submitting again after a long while -- I gotta admit that I like being busy, but not so busy that I feel sooooooooo out of the loop with everything... scrapping, submitting, my blog, your blogs... I know that I desperately need to get caught up with everyone.

Okay, it's late... hope everyone is doing well!!! =)

CRAZY........

2006-11-02T10:33:00.000-05:00

that is what life has been like lately... so much has been going on... and I'm sorry I haven't been around much.

My grandpa passed away a couple of weeks ago. His last few days were really hard, he struggled and was in a lot of pain. We were up there almost every single day the last two weeks before he passed, and we're grateful that we were all able to say our good-byes and tell him that we loved him.

Scott has a possible position in Dallas, Texas... and is really eager about pursuing it. I have to admit that the whole idea of picking up and moving somewhere new, without my family and friends, is a scary thing. But we're trusting in God, and if it's His will... then we'll know... and we'll go.

Halloween was fun!!! Alexa was Dorothy from Wizard of Oz - I LOVE this picture of the kids - My sisters and I thought it'd be cute to dress our kids as Dorothy, Glinda the good witch, the Lion and Scarecrow, lol! The past week we have had so many activities - a Harvest Festival at our church that I helped set up the whole week before, a party at her preschool with all the parents, and then trick-or-treating... it was really cold... Alexa wanted to turn back and go home after 5 houses, but we encouraged her to keep on going, lol... and she was glad she did!!! While Scott and I passed out candy, she played with our neighbors next door - they have 3 girls, and they all had such a blast!!

Haven't really done a lot of scrappin lately... have not felt creative in the least bit, which makes me sad. I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things again SOON!!! Here are some layouts that I've done in the past month or so, that I haven't posted here yet...

Our dog Samson, is getting big! He is already 3 months old and is well over 30 lbs. now! He is potty-trained, YAY, and loooooves to play fetch!! He is still very stubborn, but he really is a good dog!!!

My RAK is complete, I just need to take a picture of it - I will probably post about it next week!!!

Well, that's what's been going on with me... I plan to catch up with all of you (and your blogs) today!!! =)

It's LATE

2006-09-21T01:07:00.000-04:00

and I should be in bed since I have to get up soooooo early tomorrow... but I knew I needed to update my blog badly! Sorry for being MIA - I was so extremely sick last week with a horrible stomach bug, and am so glad to be feeling better now. I'm also happy that my thyroid medication has finally kicked in and I'm no longer falling asleep every ten minutes, lol!

First, I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our family... Samson Cohara. We got him a week and a half ago... he's an English Bulldog and is 10 weeks old. Potty training is not going as well as I'd like... he's initiated EVERY room on the first floor :p We have to take him out like every 45 minutes or so or he'll just squat right where he is, the little stinker!! He's also teething and wants to bite and chew on EVERYTHING! He especially loves our feet... and has been in time out for not listening... but we love him DEARLY! He is so precious and sweet and is such a little cuddle-bug!

Next, I'm super excited cuz I finally got a few layouts picked up - it's been a loooooooong time!!! 2 layouts in Scrapbook Trends and 1 in Scrapbooking & Beyond Magazine - I've wanted to get in that mag for a while now and am stoked!!

This weekend is me and Scott's 7-year anniversary!!! Cannot believe it - time has flown by. We're not sure what we're doing yet, but we're gonna have a night out and we're really excited!!! We may go downtown or something, and boogey it up on the dance floor, lol!!! We'll see! =)

I have only scrapped 2 layouts in the past couple of weeks... 2!!!! It's depressing, I know. Tonight I finally got another one done for a call, and it felt good to just sit in my scraproom and create something!!! Can't show it yet, sorry.

I haven't forgotten about that RAK... I have already started going through my things, and the pile is building!!! I'm gonna have to think of a fun contest now, lol!!! Stay tuned! =)

Ramblings...

2006-09-05T19:59:00.000-04:00

- Wendy and Hannah came to visit us last week! We all had such a blast!!! They came Tuesday afternoon and we hung out at the house all day... talking, laughing, and watching the girls run around the house giggling and laughing like crazy, it was the cutest thing!!! They stayed the night, and Wednesday we went out to lunch and then headed to the mall... we took the girls to Build-A-Bear and they were SO cute!!! Then Wendy and Hannah headed home around 3... and Alexa and I already started to miss them, LOL!! We LOVE the Bretz girls, they are awesome!!

- Haven't done too much scrappin' lately... I've been feeling extremely tired all the time, no energy, no creativity whatsoever... but I did manage to do this page for the Scrap-Tastic DT... love this picture of Alexa, her lashes are just amazing!!!

- Speaking of no energy... I've been on my thyroid medication for almost 3 weeks now and feel WORSE than before I started taking anything! Called the Endo Dr. and he wanted me to get more blood work done to see if anything else could be wrong with me... so I went today... and am awaiting the results, hoping for some good news. I just want to feel like ME again!!!!

- If you don't already have a great place to shop on-line, you have to check out the Scrap-Tastic site... Becky is AWESOME! She has all the new stuff... and there are some cool contests going on too... AND we are even looking for a new DT member!! Becky is SO fun and awesome and the other girls on the team: Robyn, Nicole and Kelly are rad girls to work with!! So go CHECK IT OUT!! =)

- This past weekend I got Adobe Photoshop 4.0 and am sooooo super excited!! I've been playing around with it, trying to figure some things out and it is really cool. If any of you have it and know any cool tricks, please let me know!! =)

- Wanna give a shout out to my girl DARCY for making the Serendipity Scrapbook Designs DT!! YAY GIRL!!! I'm so proud of you and knew someone would snatch you up! Your work is amazing and inspiring and they are lucky to have ya!!! ROCK ON sista!!!

- Also wanna give a shout out to my girls REVLIE and SARAH for making the Scenic Route DT!! You are both amaaaaazing and I'm so excited for you!! You both truly deserve it!!

- So I'm going to be posting a RAK very soon... I just have too much stuff and need to give it away, LOL!!! I even have some NEW stuff that I'm going to put in there... I'm going to get everything together and will take a pic... so stay tuned for that, I promise it will be a SUH-WEEEET RAK!! =)

Okey-dokey... that's all for now!!! Hope everyone had a great Holiday weekend!!!! =)

I'm a COVERGIRL!!!!!!!!

2006-08-24T11:42:00.000-04:00

Not the makeup kind, LOL! But my picture is on the cover of ScrapAmore Magazine!!! A while back, my awesome friend Revlie emailed the editor of this Dutch magazine and sent her a link to my 2peas gallery! The editor then emailed me and asked if I would like to be their World Visitor for an upcoming issue! I was blown away, and still am!! I haven't rec'd my copy yet, but I am SO ecstatic it is finally in print, and can't wait to see my article and 3 layouts that were published in it!! It's all in Dutch, so I told Rev she is gonna have to translate it for me, LOL!! Thanks again girl - you are the BEST!!!!!!!!! =)

Okay, so here are the rest of my layouts that blogger wouldn't let me upload. You have seen some of them, but I like to upload them here as well.

Here is the picture of Alexa with my grandpa!! Every time I see it, I can't help but smile. Her little face is just priceless!! And doesn't she look so cute and chubby?! The last few months of my grandpa's illness, has been really sentimental! He just enjoys seeing all of his great grandkids - he loves every minute he is with them... it really is bittersweet!!!!

So I went to the Endocronologist last week - forgot to mention that in my last post. I have been on medication since last Wednesday, he said I should start noticing a difference in a couple of weeks. I HAVE noticed that I've been more tired and have had more headaches, but he said this medicine shouldn't have any side effects... we shall see. I'm such a worry-wart!! I just can't wait for everything to balance out.... I go back for more blood work in November, so wish me luck!! =)

So you may have noticed in my CHANGE OF PLANS layout that I cut my hair - yep, I got it all chopped off. It sits just above my shoulders and is layered - I really like it, especially cuz it's super easy to do now and doesn't take me forever to blow-dry!! Speaking of hair cutting, you gotta check out my girl Darcy's blog... she just got TONS of her hair chopped off for Locks of Love! She is amazing and inspiring, and I just love her to death!!!!

Tonight I'm going out with my best friend and am sooooo excited! I haven't gone out (by myself) in a really long time!!! And my best friend is like a workaholic so I'm really stoked to finally catch up with her! We've been best friends for 21 years!!!

Alrighty, I'm off to take our car in for an estimate -- Scott and I just noticed yesterday that there is a large dent on the front driver's side of our Jeep!! Someone must have hit and run, I can't believe it!! Okay, peace out! =)

ALexa's 4th Birthday...

2006-08-21T17:59:00.000-04:00

was a blast, she had SO much fun!!! We had my mom's side of the family over on Saturday, and then Scott's family over on Sunday. Packed weekend full of cleaning and cooking, but it was worth it. She was so excited before each party, she jumped up and down and kept singing "I'm 4, I'm 4!" I still can't BELIEVE she is 4... how does time go by that fast?!?! Well, by the end of both parties, she was exhausted - she had done soooo much running around, was so wound up and hyper and used up all of her energy that she was a complete bear by the time everyone left, LOL!

So I've done lots of scrappin lately, but haven't posted anything in a while. Have been lazy I guess!! Blogger is hating me today, so I can't upload any more pics... bummer. Will upload them all next time, there about 4 more.

So I haven't talked about my grandpa in a while... he is doing a lot BETTER! Even though we know his time is short, we are all so glad his spirits and energy have been up! He even came to Alexa's birthday party!! She was so excited, she just loves him! This pic was taken 2 weeks ago at the nursing home - his strength was surprisingly good - he had picked her up and put her on his lap for quite a while! Her little expression is just too cute!!! DARN BLOGGER - will update later!

OMG... this is so scary...

2006-08-10T14:11:00.000-04:00

I'm sure many of you have already heard about this, but I just found out this morning and cannot believe it! Another terrorist plot against the U.S.... to board airplines and blow them!!! Thank God someone found out and ruined their plans... read the below article found on MSNBC.com:

U.K.: Plot to bomb U.S.-bound planes thwarted
Britain bans hand luggage fearing use of liquid explosives; 21 arrested
LONDON - British authorities said Thursday they thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up nine aircraft heading to the U.S. using explosives smuggled in hand luggage, averting what police described as “mass murder on an unimaginable scale.”
Police arrested 21 people, saying they were confident they captured the main suspects in what U.S. officials said was a plot in its final phases that had all the earmarks of an al-Qaida operation. President Bush called it a “stark reminder” of the continued threat to the United States from extremist Muslims.
Little was disclosed about those arrested, although one police official indicated they are British residents. A French official in contact with British authorities described the 21 as originating from predominantly Muslim Pakistan.
Officials raised security to its highest level in Britain — suggesting a terrorist attack might be imminent — and banned carry-on luggage on all flights. Huge crowds backed up at security barriers at London’s Heathrow airport as officials searching for explosives barred nearly every form of liquid outside of baby formula.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the terrorists planned to use liquid explosives disguised as beverages and other common products and set them off with detonators disguised as electronic devices.
NBC News’ Robert Windrem has learned each plane would have multiple plotters on board, each carrying a component of the bomb that would then be combined in flight.

I just can't believe this... nothing more scary than knowing this probably isn't the only plot out there! I'm sure there are more... we need to pray that these people are sought out!!!!!!

Not too much going on here...

2006-08-07T18:09:00.000-04:00

... just some random stuff:
Read my horoscope today... it was freakishly accurate!! I haven't read mine in such a long time, since I was a teen, but it caught my eye and I was amazed. Has that happened to any of you? Do any of you regularly read yours?

Have been in a slump lately... creative-wise. Not sure what's up, and it's driving me CRAZY!! I hate feeling this way, and I especially hate sitting down at my scrap-table just to push paper around for 2 hours, ugh!! Someone send me their mojo, PLEASE! Need to snap out of this, and SOON!

We've been truck hunting for Scott - the past few weekends, going from one car lot to the next - dealing with one annoying car salesman to the next - with an (almost) 4-year old - in this disgustingly hot weather. But alas... it has finally come to an end! Scott has finally found one, HURRAY!!! He'll be picking it up tonight and he's like a little boy with a new, shiny toy, all giddy and excited! But I'm happy for him, he's been working so hard lately and totally deserves a new toy! =)

Had my yearly exam a couple of weeks ago and my blood work came back... my Dr. called me Friday morning and told me that I have an underactive thyroid! Bummer!! But at least it answers soooooo many questions, my body has been doing some stange things lately! Did you know that ONE gland can affect soooo many other areas of your body?? From weight gain... to irregular cycles... to abnormal hair growth... to lethargy... to mood swings... it's bizarre!! I have to meet with an Endocronologist to take more tests, and unfortunately, will be on medication for the rest of my life! But I'm just looking forward to everything working it's way through my body!

I'm sure many of you have heard of Billy Graham... sigh... this man is AMAZING!! When he preaches I immediately get chills, my eyes water, I'm all emotional... he has a true gift from God and has thoroughly used it! So awesome how ONE man has spread God's Word across the entire continent! MSNBC actually quoted it like this: "the man who has preached the Gospel to more human beings than anyone in history!" How incredible is that?! To live your life, knowing you have shared your amazing ability, your talent, your gift with others... to know that you have done what God put you on this earth to do! So sad that he is getting so old... I read this on the MSNBC website that had a recent interview with him... "Getting around is harder; so is recalling familiar Scriptures. Yet rather than simply withdrawing into the shadows to enjoy a few richly deserved quiet years with his wife and family, Graham believes he may have been called to a last mission: to soldier on by faith, praying and pondering and sharing what he has come to see and feel and think in the twilight of his life. In the same way he refused to give up searching his memory for the verses to the psalm, he seems congenitally incapable of surrendering completely to the weakness of the body. "All my life I've been taught how to die, but no one ever taught me how to grow old," Graham remarked one day." What an amazing example he is! It just gives me chills! The reason I'm going on like this isn't random, actually... I saw Billy Graham's picture on my home website and it stirred something inside of me; I read the whole article and NEEDED to talk about it and share my thoughts. You can read the amazing article here: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14204483/?GT1=8404

Alrighty, I'm outta time... gotta go make some dinner!! Hope everyone had a FABULOUS Monday!!! =)

I LOVE visiting my friends!

2006-08-02T17:41:00.000-04:00

The week before last, Alexa and I drove up to New York for the day... and we had such a blast with Wendy (whendeeb) and her cutie daughter Hannah!!! Wendy and I met last year and became friends INSTANTLY!! I just LOVE that girl!! She's come to Ohio, and this was my first time going there. (We're about 2 hours apart.) Alexa and Hannah tons of fun too... they have a lot in common... they both HAD to put on their Cinderella dresses, haha! Watching them play was so much fun, they're so cute!!! Here are some pics that Wendy and I took...

I've been doing some scrapping lately. Here are ones I can share... the first three were for the Scrap-Tastic DT and the other one is just for fun!

Alexa starts her dance and tumble class the first week of Sept! Can't wait!!!! We're going to go out and get her ballet slippers and a ballet/dance "outfit", they're soooo cute!! She's super excited and keeps asking when she's going!

Not much else going on... seems like the past few weeks have been so busy for us. Not a lot of time to relax, always running. Hoping it slows down soon!! =)

Okay...

2006-07-24T16:02:00.000-04:00

it's been a while... soooo sorry. Things have been crazy/hectic. Lots of running around to do, parties, projects to work on. Guess this will be a random post! =)

- LOTS of CHA buzz going around... just seeing all the new stuff makes my hubby's pockets tighten, ahahahaha!!! Seriously, I know it's not good to want EVERYTHING I have seen!! eeeek, I'm in trouble and will be broke! I'll have to start buying things SLOWLY!!!! What is everyone's favorite line that you've seen????

- We finally got our landscaping completely finished which is soooo exciting!!! Scott and I have started counting the strands of grass sprouting up, haha... okay, no we haven't, but we are REALLY excited. I just can't wait for it to all come in so Alexa can run out and play in it!!! Hopefully sooooon!

- I've gotten some scrappin done... stuff I can't show yet... but I will soon! And since working on 12x12 layouts for My Mind's Eye, I'm thinking of switching back to the bigger size. I'm having sooo much fun with all this space... I may scrap both sizes, not sure yet. Has that ever happened to anyone?

- Working out is going GOOD!! I've actually decided to take it to the next level! I'm going to aerobic classes Mon, Wed and Friday, and then am going to start meeting with the instructor, who is a personal trainer, on Tuesdays and Thursdays... seriously, folks... I need to get in shape... and get healthy... especially since... well, I'll share that a bit later!!!! =)

- My hair is growing out SO fast, it's just too long! Am going to get it cut in the next week or two... I'm thinking more layers, and just below the shoulders... with that description, who has your FAVORITE hairstyle?? Can you think of anyone? I need ideas!!!!

- Alexa is turning FOUR in a month, on August 20th!! CANNOT believe it... sigh... so I am starting to think of party ideas... she isn't really into ONE specific thing right now, except for princesses, of course. Trying to think of something really fun!

- So, on a sad note... I was really looking forward to going to Gabby & Erika's race for ALEX on the 15th... but sadly I couldn't make it. We had a wake and funeral to go to... My sister's lifelong friend's husband, only 36 years old, passed away unexpectedly. He had a heart attack and died before the ambulance got there, and my sister's friend got the call on her way home with the kids in the car!!! They have 3 younger kids and they are all devastated... the whole thing is just sad and truly tragic. My sister's friend is not doing well at all. So if you could keep her and the kids in your prayers, that would be wonderful.

I hope everyone is having an awesome MONDAY!!! =)

My Mind's Eye SNEAK PEAK!!!!!!!

2006-07-12T00:09:00.000-04:00

Okay, so we've all been so super busy crankin out our layouts for CHA... and we just got the go ahead to post at will... yaaaaaaaay!!!! SO excited for you guys to see these amazing new products My Mind's Eye will be debuting next week! =)

Here we go...The first line is BOHEMIA, which is going to be the major focus at CHA... this line is simply GORGEOUS - TONS of 2-sided paper with lots of rich, deep colors and textures, coordinating rubons, rhinestones, transparency frames as well as diecuts, pulpboard quotes and titles... I could go on!!! SERIOUSLY... amazing!

Next is the Signature Suites line, which is awesome!! It has an antique feel, deep colors, and comes with tons and tons of amazing diecuts, frames, cards and titles! Loved working with it!!

Then there is the Front Porch line - LOVE this line - traditional, country, beautiful, and soooo easy to work with! Comes with tons of fun diecut quotes, tags and letters.

And then there is the Everyday Tango line, which is just beautiful!!!!! Bright, vivid colors, amazing designs, and awesome diecut words, tags and letters!

There you have it... a sneak peak... I have had soooooo much fun creating all these layouts the past few days - and it's so awesome to see what the other girls have come up with - to see the same products used so differently and amazingly in our own, unique styles!!! So go check out the awesome stuff they have created too! =) (Rachelle MacIver, Kim Musgrove, Nisa Fiin, Michelle Wood, Audrey Neal)

For those of you going to CHA, make sure you stop at the MME booth (even though I won't be there, waaaah!!) I just can't wait for you all to see these amazing products - they will truly blow you away!

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!

2006-07-04T02:10:00.000-04:00

Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend!!!! We've been having fun - went to Scott's family's on Sunday, today we went running around, and tomorrow we're gonna watch the fireworks, and Alexa can't wait!!! =)

Saw a really good movie with my girlfriend last week -- The Lake House with Keanu Reeves (wooo-hoooo Michelle!!) and Sandra Bullock. It was a GREAT movie! One of those "out there" ones that really make you think and guess, but it was realllllly good!! You know I love me a good romance!

Went shopping with my mom over the weekend for some "stuff" for the house. She ALWAYS finds the best deals, it's amazing!!! We went to Hobby Lobby and they were having some awesome sales - 80% off some of their home decorating things! WOO-HOO!! Sigh... I love that store!!

Still on my diet... ugh! Can't believe how hard it's been with all these get togethers we've been going to, and all the amaaaaazing dishes that I have to pass up!!! But I'm down 8 lbs. and am so stoked about it!! Signed up for an exercise class. It's an hour long of intense cardio, abs, thighs and butts, and we even do some weights. My first class was Friday and I was SO sore on Saturday and Sunday!! I'm gonna go Monday and Wednesday mornings for 8 weeks... I know it's gonna be tough, but I'm totally excited to see the results! =)

Have been doing a lot of scrappin lately!!

Did this one for Gabby's Birthday surprise!! My first time scrappin a recipe and I had a lot of fun!! Of course I had to scrap a Rachel Ray recipe cuz she's Gab's fav, and also me and Gab share a LOVE of steak, so I figured since I'm on this diet, I mine-as-well throw in a salad too, lol!

I just finished up a 2-page layout that I have to scan yet, so I'll post it next time. =)

I'm hoping to get my My Mind's Eye goodies by Wednesday!!! CANNOT WAIT to delve into it!! My pal Rachelle rec'd hers today and gave me a sneak peak... OH MY GOSH you guys, just wait until you see everything, it's ALL seriously amaaaaaaaazing!!!!! Lots of new, awesome stuff!

As you can see I added a slideshow of my work - thanks to the help of the fabulous Kay Rogers!! I swear, I always thought I knew computers, until it came to this blog, LOL!!! THANKS KAY!!!!

I'm glad Scott's off tomorrow - I hope it's a nice day! It's 2 in the morning and it's thundering and lightning right now... this weather has been soooo weird lately, so who knows what it will be like in the morning! I just hope it doesn't rain so we'll be able to see the fireworks! =)

Bra shopping SUCKS!!!

2006-06-27T23:29:00.000-04:00

I hate it. With a passion. Why is it so hard to find a good, comfortable bra?! I have searched high and low and cannot seem to find one that I LOVE!!! A lot of my friends say they love their Victoria Secrets bra, but I've bought them in the past and have not been too thrilled!! Where else can you find a good one?! Anyone?!?!?!!!

So that was my weekend in a nutshell, lol! Bra and shoe shopping... didn't find either!! Shoes are hard for me to find too, what the heck?!

Our girls night was fun, although we did had a boy come, lol! My friend Jenny's son is buds with Alexa and begged to come too. We had a lot of fun, though the kids had a hard time settling down and didn't fall asleep until almost midnight!!! Me and Jenny kept alternating going up to the room to get them to lay down and stop running around! But I'm glad Alexa had fun! My friend Jenny and I had a blast (once they were alseep, LOL!) I haven't laughed that hard in a while!! We've been friends our entire lives! She graduated a year early and got married, and then moved away -- and just came back to Ohio this past winter. I am SO happy she's back - we're closer now than ever!! =)

My sister Christy went back to work on Monday, and my mom is watching Dustyn on her days off from school, and I'll be watching him on the days she is IN school (which will be tomorrow and Thursday). So she came over with him today, and I couldn't resist taking pictures!! He is long and skinny, and sooooo stinkin cute!! Rayna came over too, and her and Lexi had an absolute blast!! They haven't seen each other in a while, so it was great to see them hugging on each other, and playing off in their own little world!!! It was so sweet!!

Haven't got that much scrappin done lately, but I did this layout for the Scrap-Tastic DT I'm on - using up some fun Sassafras stuff!!! Look at my poor baby... these pictures were taken last year, and to this day she is still a total drama queen!!

So I updated my profile pic, took this picture a few days ago - figured since I look a little different (my hair is a lot longer) I mine-as-well update it, LOL! Okay, not that I think it's the greatest picture in the world, but why do pictures I take of myself look so much better than pictures other people take?! I feel I look so chubby when someone else takes it, haha -- maybe I try harder to hide my double-chin since I'm taking it myself, LOL!!!

Okay, it's late and I have to be up early tomorrow... Dustyn's coming at 6:30 in the morn!!!!
Hope everyone's having a great week!!! =)

Thanks so much

2006-06-23T09:38:00.000-04:00

for all the sweet comments, I really appreciate it! My grandpa is doing about the same - BUT he did actually get out of bed and walk yesterday, so that's really good!!!!

Not much going on here - got some scrappin done so I'll post some of my layouts I posted on 2peas this week, if blogger will let me!!!

Took this picture of Alexa earlier this week - oy! Doesn't she look so big? She's been really good lately, not a lot of "sass" and attitude, which is good, haha. We've been doing a lot of running around, and when we're home it's pretty much play and read all day. She's been practicing her letters and numbers and I can't believe how good she's doing!! She amazes me, really! She's been doing a lot of coloring and STAYS PERFECTLY IN THE LINES!! Seriously, she does better than me, lol! Took this one of her outside playing w/chalk - she looooooooves chalking up the driveway!! Of course we play hopskotch - my poor neighbors get to see my jumping around, haha! NOT a pretty site, I assure you!!!! But Lexi sure looks cute!

Tonight we're having a girls night with my friend and her two kids. Alexa is soooo super excited. We're gonna watch movies and build forts, and it's gonna be a lot of fun! Tomorrow we're not doing a whole lot - probably go shopping and that's about it!! Boring, huh?! I'm just glad it's gonna be relaxing! =)

So I've been on a strict diet since last week - my goal is to lose 20 pounds, so wish me luck!!! I've been exercising too --- trying to get in better shape for Alex's Memorial Run in Wisconsin on July 15th (details here). I'm also sooooooooo super duper excited that I'll finally get to meet my buds Gabby, Erika and Mara, YAAAAAAY!!!! Anyone else going????

Well, I'm off... hope you all have a GREAT weekend!!!!! =)

Well...

2006-06-20T17:16:00.000-04:00

my grandpa is not doing good. It's so strange how drastic his condition has changed in the past week. It's just going down hill and is not good. Hospice came in and now comes to the nursing home to see him every day. That has taken a lot of pressure off my mom, who was feeling so stressed because she felt like everything was on her shoulders. But they have him SO medicated - they have to though, because of how much pain he is in. I never knew anyone with cancer before, and I guess I didn't know what to expect. It's horrible to know that he is in soooo much pain.

My mom and I went to see him today while Alexa was in preschool. The moment I walked in I couldn't helpt but start crying. He was sleeping and in the few days I hadn't seen him, he looked older/aged somehow, if that makes sense. He woke up and was SO happy to see us there. He kept holding our hands and kissing them, telling us he loves us... it was so bittersweet. We went out on the patio - today is just beautiful - and he kept breathing in the air and smiling; it melted my heart. Then he would doze off and on, forget we were there, and then when his lunch came, my mom had to feed him. I guess because I didn't know just how bad it had gotten, I had a hard time controlling myself. My mom told me before we got there, but I guess I just didn't understand.

The nurses from Hospice came while we were there and they are angels, truly they are! So sweet, so caring, and so understanding!! We talked to them, and they don't think he'll be alive much longer! This breaks my heart, and I can't even imagine what it's doing to my mom. I really don't know how his death will be for her - it won't be good though, I know.

So, if you all could just pray, that would be so wonderful and I would appreciate it so much!!
Thank you! =)

OH, and (to lighten the mood a bit), while we were sitting outside and my mom was feeding him, I had my arms and legs stretched out a bit in hopes to get some sun, lol. Well.... I felt something drop on my shoulder and I thought it was a bug, but it was BIRD POOP!! Ahhhh, so gross! Couldn't believe it! My mom said it's supposed to be good luck - has anyone else ever heard of that?!?! lol

OMG!! I MADE THE MME DT!!!!!

2006-06-17T17:58:00.000-04:00

I am seriously shocked... I just can't believe I made the My Mind's Eye team! The past few days I've been a nervous wreck -- reading tons of threads in The Pub -- and the more I read, the more nervous I got! We were all under the impression that the calls would be made for sure on Friday, and when Friday came and went, I was bummed!! This morning we had tons of running around to do... Scott wants to trade his car in, so we went to tons of car dealers - in the blazing hot 90-degrees, bleh! Well, I left my phone in the car at our first stop, and sure enough I missed a phone call from an 801 area code... my heart dropped! I knew MME had that area code and I started getting really excited. But Scott and I thought I shouldn't get my hopes up too high, JUST in case. So an hour or so went by, and no more calls... UGH, the agony of waiting! So finally I called my mom to see if she could check my email, thinking if it was MME calling, they probably sent an email too. Well, NOTHING. I felt tortured, LOL! So then, right as I was telling my mom everything, my other line beeped with an 801 area code -- AHHHHH! So I was already giddy, and when she said "We would love for you to be on our Design Team," I giggled, and couldn't stop giggling through our whole conversation, haha!!! She was SO nice and actually laughed with me! She said they rec'd over 400 entries and only chose 6 girls! And the other girls are AMAZING, seriously, wow: Nisa Fiin, Michelle (burberrygirl), Audrey (aneal), ~Kim~, and RachelleM! Wow!!! Thank you so much MME!!!!!!!! =)

It's been an amazing and awesome couple of weeks. First, I lost 4 pounds (YAY!), then 2 layouts got picked up in PaperART, and 2 layouts in Memory Makers, then it was my Birthday which was awesome, then I met Darcy, Erin and Nichole, then Alexa rode her bike all the way down the street w/out me holding her back (still on training wheels, but this is a huge accomplishment cuz she would NEVER let me take my hand off, lol), and now this. I am just speechless!

Our landscapers are finally here today - we've been waiting forever, and it's been so hard with this nice weather to not have any grass or anything!! I can't wait until everything is done and Lexi can play in our yard and we can get the sprinkler out!! =)

Tomorrow after we take Scott's dad out to eat, we are going to Amish Country for the day! We were going to go today, but then with it being sooooo hot, we decided to wait. Has anyone gone there? It's SO beautiful! Love the scenery and the little cute shops... and the restaurants are amazing!! But I have to stick to my diet, so it stinks that I won't be able to chow down some of their incredibly awesome BIG slices of homemade pie, LOL!!!

Alexa starts preschool again on Tuesday. I was going back and forth and didn't know if I should wait to sign her back up in the Fall, but they have a really awesome program. It's 3 hours in the morning -- 1 hour of Art, 1 hour of Science and 1 hour of PhysEd. Her preschool teacher is SO nice and Alexa just loves her, so I know she'll have tons of fun. I figure with it being only 1 day during the week, it's not too bad.

Okay, off to make dinner... hope everyone is having a GREAT weekend!!!! =)

A good day!

2006-06-14T23:13:00.000-04:00

Sigh... the weather was incredibly gorgeous today!!! Love days like these... Alexa and I hung out, went for breakfast then went grocery shopping, came home and just relaxed outside and inside... it was great!! Things have been so crazy/busy lately, that I truly LOVE days like these where we aren't in a hurry to be anywhere... and tomorrow is going to be one of those crazy/busy days, so I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the day!

So kids always say the cutest things, and Lexi truly cracks me up all the time!! My mom and I went to my dad's grave tonight and Alexa started talking about Heaven and Jesus, it was SO sweet!! And then on the way home, completely out of the blue, Alexa says: "Mommy, when you go to the dentist, I want you to tell him to give you a boy baby and a girl baby, okay?" LOL, how cute is that?! She has a Dora doll that carries her twin baby brother and sister, so ever since then, THAT is what Alexa wants!!! Sigh... if it were that easy! NO, I'm not pregnant, we aren't even trying yet... but hopefully we will in the next couple of months! =)

Hoping blogger will let me upload some of my layouts... let's see...

Had TONS of fun altering this album cover, I LOVE these flowers by Prima! And the new Basicy Grey and Making Memories ribbon are soooo gorgeous!!!!

Did this one for the awesome, incredibly talented and sweet Michelle (burberrygirl)!!

Erin, came up with an ad challenge for us (Darcy, Nichole & I) so we all created a layout using the same questions from an AMEX ad, it was so fun. Not sure if you can read mine though - but when I post this one 2peas I'll type them out. The pic is from when we went to Niagara Falls, not my favorite, but oh well! =)

AWESOME that blogger let me upload all of these, cool!!!

The week really flew by! Can't believe tomorrow is Thursday... have tons of running around to do in the afternoon and then we are gonna be busy all weekend. The weather is gonna be nice though, so YAY!! =)

Had a GREAT WEEKEND!

2006-06-11T21:55:00.000-04:00

Friday night, Scott surprised me and had set up with my mom to watch Alexa over night so he could take me out for my birthday. We went downtown to this amazing restaurant where we had the BEST steak ever... seriously, it was amazing -- ALL the food was!! Then we went to see the Comedian Tracy Morgan (from Saturday Night Live)... he was pretty funny, but a lot of his stuff was really nasty. We got home late and were totally exhausted... already feeling the age, LOL! But it was a great date night, we hadn't had one in quite a while.

Then on Saturday, I met up with Darcy, her sister, Erin and Nichole... it was sooooooo great meeting these girls. I was actually late getting there because there was some problems with my grandpa (he was back in the hospital that morning, he's not doing good! He seems to be up and down, so it's really hard on all of us. I went with my mom so she wasn't by herself - but now he's back in the nursing home.) After that, I met the girls at Chipolte's and we talked and looked through everyone's albums... it's SO very cool to see their layouts in real life, everything just looks more amazing! Then we went to a scrapbook store and did some shopping, then took some pictures. I had a lot of fun, and hope to do it again really soon!!! Erin brought her CUTIE little baby girl, Emma... I swear, she is just this little bundle of joy, always smiling - she is the cutest!!! We all had fun goo-gooing over her, lol! After Darcy and Nichole left, me, Erin and Emma went to another scrapbook store - FYI, Erin is an enabler, LOL! I didn't need ANY more stuff, but of course found some cute things to get!! =)

When I got home, Scott, Alexa and I went out to eat, then went to see the movie CARS. It was SO cute!!! Alexa was pretty much mesmerized throughout the whole thing! And Scott liked it too, he didn't even fall asleep, haha! Today we took it easy, which was nice. It was such a beautiful day out... we went for a walk and Lexie rode her bike... it was great!!

Well, I tried to upload some more pics and some of my layouts, but of course blogger won't let me... even though I resized them all... urgh!!!! So I'll upload them in my next post!

Hope everyone had a GREAT weekend... =)

BAD BLOGGER...

2006-06-08T23:38:00.000-04:00

that's me... sorry! Sometimes there's nothing going on and I don't really have anything to say, LOL!!!

Since I'm home with just Lexi now, the days have been going by pretty fast, and thankfully the weather has been GORGEOUS!!! We've been doing lots of walking, bike riding and going to the park!! It's supposed to cool down this weekend and I'm really excited about it - 60's and 70's is SO perfect for me!

I'm so super duper excited cuz in just 2 days I am going to meet Darcy, Nichole*W and Erin (coachswife)!! CANNOT WAIT! We've been planning this for a while now - Darcy is coming to Ohio for a wedding, and she knew she couldn't come here and get away w/out seeing me, haha!! We're gonna meet up for lunch, then go scrap shopping, not that I need any new supplies! I just can't wait to hang out! YAY!! =)

Tomorrow is my b-day and I can't believe I'll be 27... and that I am SO close to 30!!! I don't feel close to 30. I see all these teenagers graduating from high school and driving around w/the music blarin and screaming out the window, and I still feel that young... then I hear Lexie in the background saying something so smart for her age and I realize she will be 4 this August.. and it hits me that I AM this old!! But I'm okay with it and am happy and feel so blessed. Just a little said that she is getting sooooo big... sigh... time flies...

So I've been getting a lot of scrappin done!! It's so unusual for me too cuz I was in a rut there for a while!!! Here are some new ones I haven't posted anywhere yet...

LOVE the new Basic Grey and Making Memories ribbon, some GORGEOUS stuff!!

Alexa and Scott last year on Father's Day! I just LOVE these pictures!! So sweet! =)

(Okay, blogger isn't letting me upload any more... bummer. Will upload some tomorrow, if it'll let me... ugh!!!!)

I'm SO excited... I got a couple of emails from PaperART requesting 2 layouts to be published in their July/Aug/Sept Edition!!! This will be my first time in their mag, so I'm stoked!!! =)

My grandpa is doing better!! SO thankful for that! We're actually thinking about transferring him from the nursing home (which is sooo depressing), to an assisted living place that is so much nicer. Hopefully his Dr. will approve and he can be in a better place! Crossing our fingers!!!

Well, that's about all that's going on with me... hope everyone is awesome... have a HAPPY FRIDAY! =)

**6-9-06 EDITED TO ADD**
Thank you SO much for all the sweet birthday love and beautiful layouts on 2peas... I feel so blessed with all of the amazing friendships I have made. You have all made my birthday SOOOOOO very special and wonderful... thank you!!! And thank you Sarah and Darcy for organizing this - you two are the BEST!! =)

WOW!

2006-05-26T22:29:00.000-04:00

I just saw this on Gabby & Erika's blogs... http://www.cafepress.com/foralex - Check it out, it's amazing... and they have some awesome stuff you can buy too - read below:

"All proceeds from this race, from the t-shirts designed for the race, and from the foundation established in Alex's name will go to furthering eating disorder research, and to helping those in need access the help they so badly need."

These two girls are SO amazing and strong... they have inspired me in so many different ways, I couldn't possibly put it into words. So go check it out =)

News on my grandpa - he is not doing so well... no matter how much medicine they give him, he is still complaining he's in pain. No one knows what to believe because he is on so much already, so we are really starting to worry. My mom went and saw him tonight and he was in really bad shape - only time will tell. We're going to see him this weekend, and I hope he is doing a little better - I hate to see him so sad.

It's gonna be a HOT weekend - too hot for me - I like Spring and Fall weather!!! But it's going to be sunny, and I know I shouldn't complain cuz of all the rain we've been having. Last night there was the WORST storm... we lost power, for the first time in this house, and from the thundering, constant lightning, and BLACK clouds, we got a little freaked out!! Thank goodness it passed in a couple hours without any major damage. Did anyone else get hit?

So Taylor won American Idol! I'm really happy for him (even though I think it should have been Chris). I'm eager to see what all my fav singers of this season are going to be producing in the next year, I hope they all do well. =)

LOST was amazing, seriously amaaaaaaaaazing. But it DID leave me feeling more LOST than ever, haha. Can't believe all the twist and turns and how many questions I have now. I've been reading tons of boards all over the place to try to figure some stuff out... I'm really bummed we have to wait so long to find out all the answers!!!! I'm beginning to think this "island" they are on is like the Bermuda Triangle or something... I don't know, it's so strange! And the sound and the light???? VERY interesting!!

So I'll leave you with a recent picture of Alexa - taken a couple of days ago. She has been OBSESSED with lipstick lately... carries some in her purse, and in her pocket, around the house, and when we go out... LOL! Look at that little face!!! haha, I love it! But OY... what will the teenage years be like, LOL!

Well, I hope you all have a FAB weekend!!!!!! =)

SO sorry I haven't been around!

2006-05-24T01:35:00.000-04:00

Things have been pretty crazy - can't believe it's been 2 weeks since my last post!! I have a lot of catching up with you to do!!

SO Niagara Falls was wonderful, we really had a great time. We thought the weather was going to be cold and rainy, but it was actually really nice - sunny, high 60's and even into the low 70's on Saturday! And it only rained for 1 hour the whole time we were there, YAY!!! We left later than anticipated, and once we were in Canada, we had a hard time finding our way to the hotel, lol! We finally arrived around 7 p.m., checked in (this picture is our view from our room) and then ate dinner in the hotel restaurant. Our first night was really nice, we were tired from the long drive and it felt good to be in our room overlooking the falls and seeing the cool changing lights in the mist!! Alexa was SO excited, it was really cute!! Here she posed and told me to take her picture, haha!! The next day we went to breakfast, the restaurant had a buffet of everything imaginable and it was all delicous!!! Then we went on the hotel's tour of Niagara... which was AMAZING!!! We went on a tour of behind the Falls... then we went to the Butterfly Conservatory which Alexa loved... there are literally hundreds of butterflies everywhere, it was awesome!!! It was also over 80-degrees in there and PACKED full of people, lol! But we had a great time! Then we made some other stops, the tour guide was incredible, didn't stop talking the whole way!!! We went to the Space Needle (I think that's what it was called) which took us up soooooo high - where we had such an awesome view of all of Niagara. Then we went on the Maid of The Mist which was soooooo out of this world awesome!!! We were so close to the Falls it felt like we were going to get sucked in!!!! We all had body rain jackets so we wouldn't get wet, but it's pretty near impossible not to, and it got really cold!! Alexa wanted to hide under Scott's rain jacket, lol!! She was SUCH a daddy's girl the whole weekend, Scott loved it, and I just thought it was the cutest thing. That night we went to a really amazing Las Vegas Magic Show - the guy was INCREDIBLE, I mean seriously, incredible!! The stuff he did blew us away!!! He even had tons of animals, birds, lions, tigers -- Alexa loved it!! The next day, after breakfest, we checked out of our room and then decided to go to Clifton Hill which has tons of attractions, restaurants and really cool places to visit. We went to Ripley's Believe It or Not and the Wax Museum, both really cool. They have so many amazing buildings, it blew us away! Then our last stop was at the Hershey's store which was really neat!!! And Alexa HAD to get one of those cute little stuff hershey dolls, lol!! All in all, the weekend was wonderful, what a great Mother's Day!!!

Well, last week totally flew by - and I can't believe it's already Wednesday!! I've been getting some scrappin' done, soooooooo happy about that. Here are a few layouts I did...

Other news... I'm totally bummed that Elliott got voted off American Idol!! I really like him - he is so humble and sweet!!!! I tried to vote for him so many times, but never got through!!!! I really hope he makes it on his own!! Now Taylor and Katherine are left; I like them both, but think Taylor should win!!! Crossing my fingers! Who do you want to win?

Tonight is the season Finale of LOST!! Cannot wait... I know it's going to be amaaaaaaaazing -- and I will be so bummed when it's over, knowing I'll have to wait months to see what happens next!!!

It's going to be gorgeous today!! When I pick Lexie up from preschool, we're going to meet up with my sister Christy and baby Dustyn and go for a long walk! I LOVE sunny, warm days... and then the next TWO days are going to rain, bummer!

Well, I hope everyone is doing good... I'm off to see what's new with you!! =)

THANK YOU

2006-05-11T11:35:00.000-04:00

so much everyone for your kind words and prayers about my grandpa. So far, he is doing okay. My mom has been going up to see him every single day, and with all the meds he is on, he is actually not feeling too much pain, thank goodness!! But he is not getting a lot of circulation in his legs, which is not good, so we hope that will get better instead of worse!

Not sure who all entered the BIG contest on scrapbook.com, but I did and am bummed I didn't get an email!! But I love the layouts I created for them, so here they are.

Tuesday my sister and I decided on a whim to take the kids to the ZOO!! It was a gorgeous day, low 70's with the perfect breeze!! The girls were so excited the whole way there!!! Thankfully it wasn't too packed - we were there for about 2 1/2 hours and the kids had such a blast, and so did we (and we all actually got some sun!!) Ethan just took everything in, he was SOOOOOOO cute to watch! Love that little guy so much!! And the girls actually behaved the whole time, hardly any fighting or whining! BUT since neither of them had a nap, the car ride home was a whole different story. I was sitting in the back with them feeding Ethan his bottle, and the girls literally fought the ENTIRE ride home. Rayna gets ULTRA whiney when she doesn't have a nap, and Alexa loves to annoy her on purpose (see, they are just like sisters!!) So for 40 minutes straight I kept yelling for Alexa to stop touching, poking, laughing, and pointing at Rayna, and then would tell Rayna to stop whining, crying and tattling. OY!! By the time we got home, I was sooooooo drained, lol!!! So here is a picture of my sister w/the kids -- she just died her hair to chesnut brown!! She's been a blonde her whole life! Doesn't it look so good? She looks so different though, but I love it!!

Last night Alexa's older friend (and one of my best friend's) invited her to her dance class for "bring a friend" day. Alexa was so cute!!! She was a litle shy at first, then really got into it. I cannot wait to get her involved in activities, and am so bummed things filled up so quickly last month before I was able to enroll her in any classes. This fall for sure!! Gymnastics and probably Dance/Ballet. So excited!!

This weekend Scott and Alexa surprised me with a trip to Niagara Falls (click link!) for Mother's Day!! I am sooooo excited! We are leaving Friday morning (tomorrow), and are staying until Sunday!!! I haven't been there in years, and Scott has never been there, so we are really looking forward to it. ALTHOUGH, it is supposed to rain the whole entire weekend - DRATS! But that's okay, there are tons to do inside the hotel (for kids and stuff: like puppet and magic shows, the IMAX theater, etc.) and plus a little rain never hurt. I can't wait!!

OH MY GOSH, who is all SO bummed that Chris got voted off American Idol last night?! I was completely shocked and soooo upset! And the way Ryan Seacrest did it was just awful!! The ONLY thing I can think of is that people thought he was safe, and voted for Taylor and Elliott so they would be the top 3. Who would have thought it would have gone this way?! I just can't believe it. BUT, Chris is so amazingly talented, that he probably has a record deal in the works right now and we will see him again. Let's cross our fingers!!!

LOST was incredible last night, wow!! I always get chills when I watch this show - it is that good!! Always on the edge of your seat, second-guessing yourself, shocked when the unthinkable happens -- if you don't watch it, you are missing out! I can't believe Ana Lucia and Libby both died, and that "Henry Gale" got away... and that Michael did it all! So surprised! Loved the whole scene w/Echo and John when they camped out and then finally found the 2nd hatch!! Hopefully they will think to watch those tapes that have been recording them in "their" hatch, and they'll see what really happened!!! And did you notice that the psychic "father" who talked to Echo in his flashback is that SAME guy that told Claire (in many episodes ago) to go to the U.S. that there was a couple waiting to adopt her baby?! Everyone is all connected in some way, it's just amazing! Ohhh, I just can't wait til next week!!!!

Well, I hope everyone has a great weekend and an AWESOME Mother's Day!!!! =)

NSD... I hope

2006-05-07T20:15:00.000-04:00

everyone had a great National Scrapbooking Day!!!! SO awesome that us scrapbookers get a national holiday!! I scrapped a little in the afternoon and got two layouts done, and almost finished a 3rd - I was on a roll cuz I such am a sloooooooow scrapper, LOL!!!

I am lovin the new Urban Lily and cherryArte papers - had so much fun with these!!! Isn't the pic of Alexa with Wendy soooooo cute!!! They became such great friends in the first 5 minutes of meeting, lol! Lexie even walked by Wendy and gave her a smack on the butt, haha -- I asked Alexa if she like Wendy and she nodded happily and said, "We're buds!" soooo cute!!!

The weekend went by waaaay to fast!!! Didn't do a whole lot -- we all relaxed, went a few walks, and hung out with our neighbors, Lexie had a blast!!

Then we got some bad news about my grandpa... he's been complaining about pain in his knee for a while now, so my mom went with him to get some tests done. The Dr. told them that he has a third form of cancer, this one is in his knee and is very rare... and terminal. Since he has 2 other cancers in his body, and because he is in 70's, his body will not be able to fight it off. He has been going for chemo to treat the other two, but now with this one, nothing will work. They said he has anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months to live. So yesterday he was transported into a nursing home where he will continue to get treatment for the pain. We went and saw him today, and it was soooooo sad. Lexi went right up to him and gave him a big hug - sigh - just knowing that any day he could pass away, is SO extremely hard to comprehend. Took this picture of Alexa with him on Easter, she was literally attached to him the whole day!! They read books, played dolls, colored... it was so sweet. My mom is having a really hard time with all of this -- my grandma passed away over 5 years ago, then my dad -- so my mom is just a complete mess. If you could, just keep us in your prayers... the next couple of weeks/months is not going to be easy.

Okay, sorry to be such a downer. I hope everyone had a GREAT weekend, that you got some scrappin done and enjoyed the weather! =)

4 years ago today...

2006-05-02T22:57:00.000-04:00

My dad passed away completely unexpectedly. It was nothing the Doctors could have ever detected, it would have never shown up in an x-ray or an exam... it was something he was born with, as a preemie 2 months early.

I was 6 months pregnant with Alexa when I got the horrible call - my mom and dad were at a friend's funeral, and my dad felt sick. So they left, and on the drive home my dad told my mom to pull over cuz he felt like he was going to throw up. When he opened the door, he had passed out and fell down to the ground. My mom called 911 immediately and the ambulance got there pretty quickly. At the hospital, they examined him and did x-rays, and found that he had major internal bleeding, and they were going to have to operate.

My sister and brother-in-law had to pick me up, because Scott was traveling out of town with work! We got to the hospital and there was my dad, lying in the bed, getting ready to go into surgery. He looked at me, my sisters and my mom, with such love and compassion, and simply said, "I love you." All we could do was cry.

They wheeled him away, and we had no idea what to expect. We couldn't understand what was wrong with him - he had never been seriously ill before, was in great shape, very healthy... so we were all clueless.

About an hour into surgery, one of the surgeons came out into the waiting room and said, "He has major internal bleeding, and has lost a lot of blood. His aerota has completely burst and to be honest, he has about a 10% chance to make it through alive." We couldn't believe it. WHAT?! How could this be happening? The surgeon said the surgery would last a few hours, and they would keep us updated as much as they could.

Well, a few hours passed by, 6 in fact, and the surgery was complete. And my dad made it through ALIVE!!!! The surgeons were shocked! They told us not to get our hopes up, that the chances that he would make it through the night were slim, about 30%.

They wheeled him into the recovery room where only me, my sisters and my mom could go see him. I will never forget how he looked. He was completely swollen, like someone had filled him with air... I couldn't stop crying. I tried to control myself, for his sake, but it was just too hard. All I could manage to say is, "Dad, I love you so much."

A few hours later he was finally in critical care, and my mom told us to go home, that she would stay with him. We didn't want to leave, but we had to, so we came back the next day. My dad was ALIVE and the surgeons were shocked again!

Each day, my dad got better and better. Everyone there called him the "Miracle Boy!" He was so determined to live, for my mom, for us, for his future grandchildren. He was so proud of all of us... the very next day after surgery, with a tube in his throat and not allowed to talk, he barely was able to tell his nurse about how proud he was. He told her (whispered actually) what each of us did for a living, and that me and Beth were pregnant... he JUST had surgery, was in pain, and yet there he was, showing the world his love for US!

He was SO excited to become a grandpa. For 2 straight years before me and my sister got pregnant, my dad had begged us to have kids!! My sister and BIL actually starting trying and couldn't get pregnant. Nine months later, Scott and I are the ones that get pregnant, and were completely surprised!!! My dad was ecstatic. I will never forget that day, the look on his face of complete jubilation, and the big huge hug he gave us both. "I'm gonna be a grandpa!" he yelled with excitement! It was wonderful!!! And 2 1/2 months later, my sister and BIL finally conceived, and again my dad was beyond thrilled. The look on his face when he saw us walk in the room every time, was priceless - he was so happy, so very proud.

About a week after surgery, he had moved down to another floor, and then started physical therapy a few days later. He was making MAJOR progress. A reporter from the local news station had set up an appointment to meet my dad for an interview. No one could believe he had survived the life-threatening surgery, and that he was on the road to recovery.

12 days after his surgery, 2 days before he was scheduled to come home, my sister and I went to see him. I was telling him how much I was feeling the baby move, and he was so excited. And Beth was just starting to show. He was so glad we were there, but we could tell how tired he was. And we were worried. Everyone had been pushing him, overexerting him and he needed to rest - it was obvious. He was complaining that his big toe was hurting him, and that he didn't want to do physical therapy that day. We gave him ice chips, put washcloths on his face... it was sad to see my dad like this. In all the years of our life he had never once showed weekness!

He said he wanted to sleep, so we told him we loved him, gave him a kiss on the cheek and left. That night my mom had just left the hospital to go home. The moment she walked in the door, the phone rang. The nurse didn't say what happened, she simply said that my dad's state has changed and my mom needed to get their as soon as possible. She called us right away.

We rushed to the hospital and to the floor my dad was on and right away, saw my mom crying hysterically, screaming "NO!" at the top of her lungs. And we knew... my dad had died.

I rushed into the hospital room and saw my dad lying lifeless on the bed in front of me – at that moment my entire world felt like it was going to crash down around me. I couldn’t understand how he had died – he survived the life threatening surgery and was healing remarkably well; after a week he was in the step-down unit doing physical therapy and was scheduled to come home this week. I stroked my belly as tears burned the corner of my eyes and ran down my cheeks. Although the thought of having a little baby girl was a wonderful and amazing thing, the thought of my dad not being there to meet her and hold her, stood predominantly in my mind.

I rushed to his side and stared at him, at his motionless face, tubes coming out of his mouth, and touched his cold skin… thinking that there was no way possible he was really dead. How could this be happening to me? Why was God punishing me? And then I glanced over at my mom who was sobbing uncontrollably on the other side of the bed, holding on to his lifeless hand. And then it hit me… her pain and suffering had to be so much worse than mine. After 29 years of marriage, building their own business, working together almost every day for 20 years, and traveling everywhere together – she had lost her very best friend, her soul mate, her life partner. My dad had always been the rock of the family who held everyone together when anything went wrong – who was going to do that now?

I closed my eyes and prayed, harder than I had every prayed in my life, begging God to let me wake up from this horrible nightmare; but when I opened my eyes I saw the terrible reality before me.

What happened that night, was the nurses insisted my dad try walking... when he had finished, he was just about to sit down in his bed, when his heart burst... he died instantly.

The next couple of months were painstakingly hard – not only was I getting bigger and more uncomfortable in my pregnancy, but I continued to wake up in the middle of the night sobbing so hard I would lose my breath. Visions of my dad’s lifeless body kept flashing before my eyes, and soon to follow was my mom’s weeping face.

After Alexa was born, life suddenly changed for all of us; there was a little baby, a new life, a gift given to us by God to remind us how amazing He really is. Not only did we name her after my dad (her middle name is Rae, my dad's name was Ray), but she has so many of his characteristics. His facial movements, his quirky habits, his tempermant... it was as if God wanted us to be comforted in a special kind of way.

I could never put into words, how AMAZING my dad was. He put us first every single time, he went out of his way to make us happy and did special things for us, after our first year of marriage he let us live with him and my mom for 9 months so we could save money for a house, and then when we bought our first house, he was there every day helping us fix it up, painted every single room top to bottom, and did whatever it took to make us feel comfortable and secure. He was an amazing role model, an amazing Christian, an amazing father, and an amazing friend.

You see... looking back on it all, we all think that the Lord gave us those 12 extra days with him... that he was supposed to die the day he had the surgery. But God gave us time to be with him, to tell him how much we loved him, and for him to do the same.

His death has made me look at each day I live, completely differently. I will never again take life for granted. I try to remember to always tell my family and loved ones how much I care about them... never walk away fighting... never say hurtful words that can't get taken back... because life is short. And no one knows when their last day will be.

WINDING DOWN

2006-05-01T11:10:00.000-04:00

from the weekend, which was wonderful!!! So glad the weather was so nice, sunny, and almost 70 every day!! Our Friday night cookout w/my sister and BIL went great!! (Ever since we got our new grill last week, Scott has been king of the grille, lol!) And I was so happy that I got to hold Dustyn - held him almost the whooooole night!! I just couldn't put him down. He is the tiniest, cutest, precious little thing; he pretty much slept the whole time! I took a lot of pictures, this one is probably my favorite!!!

Saturday was pretty relaxing. We didn't end up going bikeriding cuz we both had running around to do. I spent WAY too much at Target... OY that place sucks you in!!! When Lexi and I got back, the neighbors were out so we hung out with them for a while. Alexa ran right into their house, I was so embarrassed, then my neighbor said, "that's okay, you can come in... the house is messy, but don't judge me." I laughed and said I wouldn't, cuz my house is a disaster right now, LOL!!! Alexa made herself at home and I felt so bad - nothing worse than having a messy house and someone comes over uninvited, ya know?! But we weren't in there long!!

Yesteday we DID go bikeriding. Drove to Penninsula Township, which is sooo beautiful. It's about half-hour drive, soooo scenic and pretty. When we got to the bike place, it was PACKED! Alexa was pretty excited, there was a train literally "parked" right there - they were loading it up with some stuff, it was so neat!! She wanted to go on it so bad, she was pouting!!! We got our bikes, with the trailer attached for Alexa, it was so cute! I haven't been biking in a really long time, so I didn't know how long I would last, lol!! We rode all the way down the trail, stopped for some water and fruit, then headed back and Lexi had to go potty REALLY bad!! There was nowhere for her to go, so we had to ride as fast as we could until we saw some! There were some porto-johns lined up and I wondered if she would be okay to go in them, and lo-and-behold, she had a fit! They were dirty and smelly and gross, with tons of stuff in the toilet (garbage, and other disgusting things) so we opened every "john" and found the "cleanest" one and I held her above it, and she finally calmed down. Gees, guess she really IS a girly-girl!!! When we returned our bikes, we found out that the trail is 4-miles, so that means we rode our bikes for 8 miles!!! We were shocked! And today, I'm surprised that I'm not even sore!!! It was just a great day, soooooo relaxing, the perfect sunshine and breeze... we are going to try to go every weekend!!! Wish I could upload pics, but pics, but blogger won't let me =(

Well... the girls are at preschool now, Ethan is sleeping, so it's pretty quiet here!!! I got some cleaning done, so I'm happy... hoping to go to the park later today after nap-time!!!

HAPPY MONDAY!!! =)

RANDOMNESS...

2006-04-28T10:05:00.000-04:00

- I have the day off today, WOO-HOO!!! I am so psyched! My mom is the sweetest... she called me early this morning and said she would watch my sister's kids so I could get some stuff done! How awesome is she?! LOVE her! =)

- Alexa and I have been hanging out all morning, but I'm going to go up and get ready... need to to grociery shopping and then clean the house. My sister Christy & BIL Mark are coming over tonight w/the baby, yay!! I'm a happy girl! We're going to have a cookout! And the weather today is GORGEOUS!!!!

- Created this layout for my best friend!!! Am going to put it in a shadowbox and give it to her. She saw the one I did a while ago for my sister Beth when Ethan was born, and has since mentioned a few times that she wanted one, LOL!! I love this picture of her with Alexa - Alexa just adores her!!! Also, this is one I did for the Scrap-Tastic DT this month, mixin up some 7Gypsies w/the gorgeous Basic Grey papers that I've been coveting!! A lot of the ribbon I used is from ribbonjar... gorgeous stuff!

- Okay, so I really don't mind the hot chicks that wear semi-revealing clothing - if you have the body, good for you (just don't shake it in front of my hubby, ha ha!) But when it's barely 60-degrees out and you're wearing a tube-top and a mini jean skirt... give me a break!!!!

- So I've been watching the Nick Lachey special on MTV... sigh, he is so talented, loooooove this voice and his awesome new song - his new CD really sounds great!!! And he is also SOOOOOOO nice to look at!!! =) I feel so bad for him w/the whole divorce thing from Jessica Simpson!!

- Okay, this picture of me is majorly grosso (I was at the park yesterday afternoon and my hair was in a sloppy ponytail, AND I don't know why I'm not smiling or looking at the lense), but I had to share! I just bought these enormous, funky sunglasses and think they are THE coolest!!! But when I put them on and am driving, I seriously giggle at myself, wondering what the people who pass by me are thinking, LOL!! Scott says it looks like I have FLY eyes, tee hee! I'm a dork, but hey, I should be able to have fun and laugh at myself, right?!

- Took this picture of Lexi yesterday... is it bad that when I whip out the camera, she automatically starts posing?! tee hee... I love how this turned out though!!!!

- SO excited that there are new CALLS today, YAY!!!! I've been submitting quite a bit lately, so I'm really crossing my fingers. Now YOU go submit something!!! =)

- I'm waiting on some new stuff today, and am really giddy about it!!! The new cherryArte papers, YUM... the new Urban Lily papers, YUM... some HS stuff, new gorgeous Carolee rubons, Sassafrass, Scenic Route... wow, I think I went overboard!!!

I hope y'all have a FABULOUS Friday... and wonderful weekend!! The weather here is supposed to be gorgeous, so I think Scott, Lexi and I are going to go bike-riding tomorrow!!!! =)

Just some STUFF I've been working on...

2006-04-26T23:06:00.000-04:00

Since blogger has been hating me lately... I am SO glad to finally post some layouts - I am guessing that I'm running out of space and the layouts were too big?! Who knows. Anyway... I've done a lot of scrappin lately that I can't share yet on 2peas, so I'll share them here.

This is one I created at the crop last week... LOVE these new SEI papers, aren't they gorgeous?! And some yummy ribbon, mostly from ribbonjar!!

Got half-way done with this at the crop... can you believe in the 9 hours I was there this is all I got done?! A layout and a half! SHAAAAAME on me, ha ha!!!! Okay, put your sunglasses on for this one, folks! (scanner cut off top, there is black ink all the way around!)

Here's one I just finished of my new little nephew Dustyn - don't mind my sloppy writing, I'm going to redo it, but am too tired right now!! (I had to resize this layout smaller to post here, so it's not as crisp as it is IRL!)

Had so much fun altering this tin... wanted something really fun and colorful to put "some" of my ribbon in. Lord knows if I wanted to hold all my ribbon I'd need to create atleast 20 of these suckers, lol!

I am almost done with another layout, but I'm too tired to scrap tonight (insert gasp here!) Tomorrow and Friday I should have everything done for ribbonjar and Scrap-Tastic, yaaaay!!! Speaking of my DT, the owner Becky is just amaaaazing!!!! She just moved, just opened her own site, and just had a baby boy 2 days ago!! And today I saw her in the forum talking about our next DT assignment... she is seriously WONDER WOMAN!!! I'm so excited to be on this site -- a bunch of MAJORLY talented girlies... Robyn, Michelle, Nicole, Kelly... and they're all SO nice too!!!

Alrighty, it's after 11 and I think I'm gonna go to be EARLY for a change!!!! Tomorrow on 2peas I'll be posting a layout I did of my mom for the CK You're My Hero Contest. I didn't get picked (actually, no one knows who did, maybe it's a non-2peaser!), but that's okay cuz I LOVE the layout, it means so much to me... FYI, the journaling is looooooong.

So I'll leave you with a silly pic of my goober that I took yesterday!!! She LOVES apples -- thankfully, ha ha!! I just think she looks a little older every day, is that possible?!?! Gets depressing!!!!

Have a GREAT night everyone!!!! =)

Just another MANIC MONDAY

2006-04-24T14:34:00.000-04:00

woahhhh, oh ohhhhh... wish it were Sundaaaaaay, tee hee, LOVE that song!! I really do wish it was Sunday, today has been kinda crazy. Took the girlies to preschool and I always feel a tad rushed and pressed for time on these days. Went to my sister's house, helped her get the kids ready, made sure they ate breakfast, fed Ethan cereal, changed him, packed them all up, dropped the girls off, came back to my house, put Ethan down for a nap, he woke up an hour later, changed him, gave him a bottle, played, packed him up, picked up the girls, came back to my house, fed them lunch, fed Ethan lunch, put them down for a nap, played with Ethan, put him down for a nap... whew! By the time they all fall asleep, it's almost 1:30 and I feel like I can finally breathe... so... I preheated the oven to make some popcorn chicken for my salad, and when it was ready to go, I realized the baking pan I needed was IN the oven, doh!!! So I grabbed a dish towel and reached for it and seriously burned the top of my wrist, yikes!!!! Red, puffy, aching... anyone got any vinegar?! (Hate the smell of that stuff!)

Yesterday we ran around after church, the weather was beautiful and I couldn't wait to get home so we could put Alexa's bike together and play outside. Well, 4:00 rolls around and we head home and it starts RAINING!!! I was seriously bummed. But we still put her bike together - okay, it was mostly Scott, lol. Alexa put on her helmet right away, she looks so silly in that thing, but hey, it's protection so that's okay!! The temperature had dropped 10 degrees and there was a light mist, but we still went out (don't you love that off-centered picture to the left, it was raining and I backed up into Scott's car and almost fell, lol!) Our neighbors came out too and Alexa had fun playing with the 2 girls. Of course once she saw them she didn't want to "ride" her bike anymore... ah well, she has plenty of time. It's so funny how many girls live on our street - I think there are 7 girls and 2 boys, and one of them is just a baby!! But all the kids are around the same age, so it's really nice that they all get along!

I have been doing a LOT of scrappin lately, YAY!!!! Got 2 layouts done for ribbonjar (by the way, their site is awesome!! You can even apply to be a guest designer!) and 1 layout done for Scrap-Tastic. I am hoping to get the rest of my projects done for these two in the next couple of days. I also did a swap with the sweet, FABULOUS Hanni!! I just love the picture she sent me and had so much fun. Blogger won't let me upload ANY layouts, don't know why, very strange, so you can see the layout on 2peas.

I have been TRYING to resist buying more products, but have you seen the new Urban Lily stuff?! YUM!!!!! And I'm still waiting on getting the new gorgeous cherryArte stuff - I just LOOOOOVE THEM!!!! =)

Alrighty, the kiddos will be waking up soon and I need to clean the kitchen up... my blog came before that, ha ha!
HAPPY MONDAY! =)

PICTURES of Lexi's new do and our Ohio CROP...

2006-04-22T21:49:00.000-04:00

Alexa did SO good at the salon while getting her hair cut; I didn't take my camera w/me cuz I did the last time and I didn't want my hairdresser to really think I am crazy, LOL!!! I got my hair done too, cut and highlight, so we were there for almost 2 hours. Alexa drew pictures, colored, and then ran around the place like a madwoman! I was nervous... picture a busy salon, with hairdressers cutting hair, and there Alexa was, singing songs, giving people hugs, and talking to this one older guy forever - which made me even more nervous. I was so glad when we finally left!!!

Thursday I went to an Ohio crop and had SUCH a blast!!! I got there at noon and met my good pal Wendy (whendeeb, far left in the white) who is so awesome and also met Erin (coachswife, in pink) who is really sweet and cute. We shopped for a little while and then started scrapping. Then around 1:00 Alicia (gumpgirl, in blue) and Aimee (AFerguson, back left) got there. They are sooooooooo nice and soooo funny, had us laughing the whole day! Erin left around 4:30, she just had a baby 2 months ago, and the rest of us stayed and hung out... scrapped, shopped, laughed, it was great!! We didn't leave until closing time, which was 9 p.m. Here are some pictures (sadly, I am not photogenic!)

We are going to try to get together every other month, so if you live close by and would like to come, please let us know, we'd love for you to join us!!! =)

Wendy followed me home and stayed the night (she lives in New York which is a 2-hour drive). We got there after 9:30 and Alexa was waiting for us!! She was SO cute with Wendy, isn't this picture of them adorable?! I put her down to sleep about a half-hour later, and then Wendy and I hung outside with my hubby and his friend (it was such a beautiful night!!) Then around 1 a.m. we went inside and took this silly picture, then watched The Notebook, yes I cried, lol!! We didn't go to sleep until 3 a.m.! We really had a great time, she is such a hoot, and I'm so glad she came down!!! She left around 9 Friday morning, then Lexi and I hung out the rest of the day. I finally got on the Internet, for some reason our modem was down for 2 whole days and I couldn't get on, waaaaah!!

So... I was surprised that I actually got a layout done at the crop, I didn't think I'd get anything accomplished cuz I'd be talking the whole time!! Did this for the ribbonjar, and had tons of fun (blogger won't let me upload the layout!!) I also started on another layout there that I just finished this afternoon. Today was just a relaxing day, didn't really do too much, which was nice. Scott went to the Indians game this afternoon, so it was just us girls - we had fun. Tomorrow after church, Scott is going to put Alexa's new bike together that she got from my mom for Easter - then we're gonna hang outside and go to the park, it'll be soooo nice!!!!

Scrap-Tastic is now open, yaaaay!!! Would love for you to go check out the site and join in on all the fun!! So far I only uploaded my DT tryout layouts and projects, as well as some recent layouts I created, but I am going to be finishing up my DT assignments this weekend so I'll be posting them next week (**edited** just posted 1 of my DT layouts). Becky has some contests going on that you'll see in the forum, she also posted one on pubcalls.

I am really not liking blogger right now... it deleted my post TWICE, and I had to retype and add all the pictures TWICE, uggggh!!!! Is typepad better than blogger, does it do the same thing?!?! I'm thinking about switching!

Well, I hope everyone is having an awesome weekend, and enjoying the beautiful weather!!! =)

EASTER...

2006-04-18T12:58:00.000-04:00

was wonderful!!! I loved getting Alexa all dressed up, and she did too!! I wanted to do something really cute with her hair, but she always complains and cries... so I just put a headband in. Tomorrow we are actually going to get our hair done together, lol!! Mine is grown out and looking gross, and for her, I think we're going to do a short hairstyle, just under the chin, for the summer. I think she will look REALLY cute... plus, she is looking too grown up w/the longer hair!! I'll post pics!!!!

So on Easter, the weather was PERFECT, thankfully, and Alexa had an absolute blast. We went to church in the morning and then to my mom's for an awesome meal... turkey, ham, mashed taters, LOL, corn, peirogies, rolls... you name it, we had it!!!! Afterwards the girls went on their egg hunt, and it was too cute -- they were helping each other and couldn't stop giggling! Then the rest of the afternoon we all just relaxed, it was sooooooooo nice!!!!!

So last night my sister called and told me she watched this special on CNN. It was about a philosopher who was studying the time of Jesus' birth, and if the Star that led the shephards to the stable that night, really existed. He did tons of research, wish I could find it on their website, but I can't... anyway, he came up with this: April 17, 2006 is exactly 2,000 years since Jesus' birth (6 B.C.) - This day could very well be the day that Christ returns. You know how everyone feared the Millenium back in 1999, we were approaching the 21st century, the end of time... BUT what if Christ's return is actually 2,000 years since his birth (well, it actually passed seeing as how it is 12:50 in the morning)... well what if it is 2,000 years since His death on the cross, or His resurrection, which would be 33 years from now?! Wouldn't that make sense?

Well, Scott and I got into a really deep conversation about all of this Sunday night after I got off the phone with my sister... if the Lord really did come back tomorrow, are our hearts in the right place, and would we go to Heaven? Now, I grew up in a very Christian home, and Scott grew up some-what Catholic. (Without going into waaaaay too much detail here, Scott DID give his heart to the Lord before we got married and became a Christian -- my dad took him and my other 2 BIL's to a men's fellowship and prayer, where they all accepted Christ. That was about 7 years ago.) Well, don't want to get too personal here, but his beliefs have somewhat faltered, and it has been hard. So I came out and asked him - "did he think he would go to Heaven in the Lord came back tomorrow?" He paused and stared at the ceiling, and then replied "I don't know." We talked for a really long time, about everything... and it was so nice to see him really listening to what I had to say. I have tried not to force anything on him, he's gone to church plenty of times with me, but like I said, it is hard when someone believes strongly in something, and the other one doesn't. So after about an hour, he said he really did want to go to Heaven... and should someone ask him that question again: "Would you go to Heaven if the Lord came back tomorrow?" his answer would be without a doubt, "YES!" =) I have prayed for a very long time about this... and I feel the Lord has answered my prayers!!!

I know that everyone has different spiritual beliefs, and I truly do not want to offend anyone with this... I just wanted to share my own personal experience on Easter, and what it has meant to me. =)

My NEW little nephew...

2006-04-13T20:59:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of pictures I took through the window right after Dustyn was born on Sunday night (I took soooooo many, ha ha!!) I'm going over their house tomorrow so I will get some really good ones!!

My sister and BIL actually had a scare yesterday - they were supposed to go home first thing in the morning, but because Dustyn wasn't eating that well, and because he had already lost half a pound, they wanted to keep him there another night. ALL he wants to do is sleeeeeeep! They have the hardest time waking him up to eat, the little stinker. But thankfully my sister's milk came in (sorry if that grosses anyone out) so he started eating better and they were able to go home last night!! =)

On Monday we took the kids up to the hospital so they could see Dustyn, but someone was in with Christy & Mark so we had to wait in the waiting area, foreeeeever! That's hard with kids!!! But these pictures just crack me up! We're not sure what Rayna was doing or saying to Alexa, lol, they're so funny! And the one of Rayna is when she got in trouble and was in time-out sitting by my sister -- look at that face!!!

This one below seriously cracks me up!! It is the PERFECT picture to show the relationship the 3 of them have, it's sooooo stinkin cute! (On the other hand, poooooor Ethan!! LOL!) Look at them!! ha ha!

Here are some other pictures taken within the last week of the kiddos - the weather has been so wishy-washy... gorgeous and 70-degrees one day, chilly and rainy the next!!!

Oh, I wanna send a BIG 'ole shout out to MARA!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRLIE!!!!! Hope it was a super fab one! Had fun creating this "free to be" layout - such an awesome idea Gabby!!!! Now I have to add my pic (to the back) cuz I'm such a dope and forgot to do that!!!

Alrighty, tonight I am going to get some serious scrappin done!!! I have quite a bit to do in the next week - a couple of swaps... DT assignments... Ribbonjar assignments... I will be one busy gal!!! =)

HOW has a week

2006-04-11T23:36:00.000-04:00

gone by already since my last post?! Time seriously flies!!! And I'm so sorry. Feels like I've been away from everything the past few days... lemme fill you in...

Friday night we met with the one landscaper again - the arrogant one I didn't like - but this time he was so much different; I'm thinking he was just nervous before or something. He was here for over 3 hours!!!! He was so organized, so detailed, brought books to show us every plant, flower, tree, shrub... it was great! So we haven't said "YES" yet, he is making some changes to the original sketch since we decided to add some more things, and we will meet with him again in a couple of days. Then it will be a "GO"... woo-hoooooooo! So excited to finally get the ball rolling on this, and I really can't wait to see how everything will look when it's all finished.

Saturday we did a lot of running around - we had Scott's cousin's baby's 1st birthday party (phew, say that 3 times fast!). He's so cute and Alexa had such a blast!! She loves being around kids, and it's so great watching how she interacts with everyone! Then afterwards we drove a little ways to a town called Fairlawn, for those of you not in Ohio... it is such an awesome area... TONS of strip malls and restaurants and fab stores. Went to a scrapbook store called The Archivers, which I have never been to before, and I was totally blown away!! They have EVERY NEW PRODUCT imaginable! I was shocked, and sooooooooooo totally bummed that I couldn't buy anything - cuz Scott was with me, ha ha!! But I most definitely plan to go back!! YAY, so glad to find a new place!

Sunday we planned to go to church for Palm Sunday, and then I wanted to run some more errands, but I got a call early in the morning that my sister Christy's water broke... 2 WEEKS EARLY!! Yikes... I thought "Oh my gosh, I have to hurry to get there before she delivers!" So I ran to the hospital while Scott stayed with Alexa, I didn't really know how long it would be before the baby actually came! So my mom and my sister Beth were there... and my sister Christy looked soooooooo calm and collected! It was amazing, actually! She said she woke up with Mark (my BIL) while he got ready for work, and then she went to the bathroom and her water broke JUST as he was walking out the door!! What are the odds?! So she took a shower, got ready, ate breakfast, and drove to the hospital! We couldn't believe it?! I'd be in such a mad panic I'd probably run out the door in my jammies, ya know?!

Being her first pregnancy, and that she is 30 and that she has wanted kids for such a long time, we were all SO thrilled when they told us the good news of being pregnant months ago... but we were also a little scared because she has a fibroid attached to her ovary. The Dr. saw it a few months before she even got pregnant and told her the odds of her conceiving were slim, and that if she DID get pregnant, she would most likely miscarry -- and that it was possible that their baby would have birth defects. Well... shows how powerful prayer can be, because not only did she get pregnant, and did not miscarry, but she had a completely healthy pregnancy - no morning sickness, nothing!!! Thank GOD!!! But... the fibroid DID grow during the 9 months, which is normal w/fibroids, but it grew so much that her stomach was much larger than it should have been because of it. So when her water broke 2 weeks early, you can only imagine the fear we all felt, wondering why the baby was coming so early -- did he run out of room? Was the fibroid starting to cut off his oxygen? Hundreds of things rushed through our minds!

The whole morning went pretty slow; they put her on Pitossin to speed up her contractions, they told her to walk so her cervix would thin out... but it seemed to take such a long time to get from 2 centimeters to 3. Finally, when she DID reach 3, the contractions were coming so strong and so fast that she was in so much pain -- so she asked for an Epideral... and then she was on Cloud 9, LOL! After about an hour, the baby's heart rate dropped from 150 to 40-something... and it was sooooo very scary! So they cut her Pitossin in half, which slowed everything down, and the baby's heart rate went back to normal, thank goodness. To make a long story short, cuz I really DO tend to go on and on... we were there for 13 hours before she started pushing!!!!!!!! 13 hours!!! Around 7 p.m. Christy started pushing, and pushed for 2 1/2 hours - nothing was happening - the baby would not come down the birth canal! So they had to do an emergency C-Section. We all had a feeling this would happen, and felt so awful that she had to go through so much for such a long time - it was already 10 at night! When the Dr's did the c-section, they said the first thing they saw was the baby's face -- he was BREACH!!! And his poor little head was stuck in the opening, preventing him from going down!

But he is 100% healthy, absolutely BEAUTIFUL and is truly such a blessing from God! We thought for sure she would have a small baby, because her and Mark are both "petite", but he was born at 8 lbs. 2 oz. and 20.5 inches long!!!!!! A nice-sized baby for 2 weeks early, huh?! (I want to add pics, but blogger is not cooperating!!!! I will add them soon!) We think he looks just like my BIL!! They named him Dustyn Ray (Ray was my dad's name, and is also Mark's dad's name!)

Talk about a great ending to a loooooooooong 17-hour day at the hospital!!!!!!! I got home at midnight and was exhausted (you would think I was the one who had a baby, ha ha!!) I tossed and turned and watched TV for a couple of hours, and I had to be at my sister's at 7:30 the next morning, and I barely rolled out of bed at 7! (Oh, and the fibroid should slowly disappear on its own - the thing about fibroids is that it's actually a good thing to get pregnant, because all the hormones interact with it and breaks it apart. So just say a prayer that it does completely go away.)

So that's why I haven't been around - it's been pretty hectic - I watched the kids at my sister's house again today and couldn't wait to get online, but their Internet was not working... ugh! I was so mad! But the kids and I went outside and played; it was a GORGEOUS, 70-degree day with the perfect breeze!!

Haven't scrapped a single thing since last week, and am heading up to my scraproom now to hopefully get SOMETHING accomplished!!!!! Yesterday I rec'd this beautiful jar of ribbon for my May Guest DT assignments for the ribbonjar.com, and already feel sooooo inspired!! (I got this picture right off of Amber Lee's blog! She ROCKS!!!)

So, I really need to catch up with everyone - I hope y'all are doing good!! =)

THANKS...

2006-04-04T15:44:00.000-04:00

to all of you who gave me some info on the whole mentor thing. I actually didn't think about getting one for myself, I just wondered about the whole thing since so many people have been interested in getting one. =)

This past weekend we met with a few landscapers to go over everything for our lawn and beds... geesh, I didn't think it would be so hard! Of course, price has a lot to do with it, but there was a guy who came out that was just so arrogant and kept putting other landscapers down - but his price is the best as well as his picture for the front of our house. Sigh... hate making decisions like this, lol. But Scott and I are sooooooo ready to get it done, we're sick of looking at all the mud and dirt and WEEDS galore!!! eeeeek! We have one more guy coming out this weekend, so hopefully we can finally get something going.

Other than that, things haven't been too eventful around here. I cleaned over the weekend and went to church Sunday morning (felt good!!) All the kids are sleeping right now, so the house is very quiet, and it's wonderful!!! They are all better, thank goodness, and today it is absolutely beautiful outside, just a tad WINDY!!!! It feels so good to crack our windows and feel the sun shining in!!

So I am pretty excited... I got another email from Scrapbook Trends for their Embellish It! Book... I thought all the calls had gone out yesterday and was a little depressed I didn't get an email, but was thrilled today when I got one! Also, I will be the May Guest Designer for the Ribbonjar.com - check out their site, there are TONS of amazing, gorgeous ribbon! Once I receive the jar of ribbons, I'll need to create 3 layouts using the ribbon, that will go in their newsletter as well as their ideas page! WOO-HOO!!!!! I'm so excited! =)

Alexa is in an Art CJ with a few ladies' daughters on 2peas... Suzanne Quillen, Jaime Warren, Marci Lambert, Natalie VanCleave and Paula Gilarde. Alexa was so excited to create and draw her pages - who knows, maybe she'll be a scrapper like me!! The theme for her book is best friends - orginally it was princesses, but she changed it cuz she wanted to draw her and Rayna... of course!! LOL! We all mailed our books out over the weekend, so I can't wait to get our first one! So fun!!! And I love seeing her creative side!

Tonight Scott has basketball, so I'm hoping to get some MAJOR scrappin done! I haven't scrapped in a while, don't know what's wrong with me! I hope that when I sit down at my desk, ideas will flow and I can whip up a few!!! Crossing my fingers! =)

MENTOR...

2006-03-29T23:42:00.000-05:00

Who has one? Who wants one? What are the pros & cons? What exactly does a mentor do -- Do they help you get published? Do they give your advice on your scrapping style on what and what not to change?

I've been wondering about this for a while now... the topic seems to be popping up all over the place - and a lot of people are asking for one. Now I don't want to offend anyone with this post, I'm just curious about a mentor's responsibility? What qualifies a person as a mentor? And what doesn't? Is it the number of times the person has been published? Is it the number of design teams he/she is on? Is it the confidence the person has in their own ability as a scrap artist?

I would love to know all about this... who can fill me in? And if you have one, what do you get out of having a mentor? Do you pay the person? Do you give them credit for your creations? Or does a mentor simply do it out of good will?

I feel completely out of the loop on this topic, and would love to know about it! =)

WOW!!!!

2006-03-28T00:10:00.000-05:00

I saw this thread in The Pub today and couldn't believe it!!! Ali Edwards is no longer a Garden Girl!! I know she is so super busy, but she was awesome enough to even comment on there why she stepped down!!! She even said that 2peas will always be her home, which is so sweet!! So many people love her... including me -- I am totally enamored by her incredible work, she inspires soooooooo many people!!!!

I was so glad to come home today; it was such a long day of watching the kids at my sister's house... Rayna is sick with the flu, Ethan is teething and fussy, and Alexa is still not 100% better which means she is still very whiney!!! {I have to admit that I am truly thankful that at least I am feeling better - now it is just the crappy cold symptoms} So anyway, I get home and of course get on 2peas to see what was going on, and I see all these TOOTS in The Pub for Scrapbook Trends. I knew I submitted quite a few layouts to them, so I figured I'd check my email, thinking I was going to be totally bummed to not get anything. To my surprise, I DID get an email from them, requesting one of my July 4th layouts!!! WOO-HOO!! I was soooooo utterly shocked! Gosh, I have been submitting for quite a while now, and it feels good to finally get picked up, I was getting pretty depressed!! So I just finished filling out all the paper work for both Cantata and ST, trying to get everything ready to go in the mail tomorrow; I must have checked everything a gazillion times!!!!

So... I am really trying to eat healthy, and I came across this today: the 10 Absolute Worst Foods You Can Eat... check it out -- really makes you think what you put in your mouth!!! Also makes me really consider cutting out all my diet pop, which I loooooove!!! =(

I entered the scrapbook.com contest -- did anyone else?! It ends on the 31st, so if you didn't, GO FOR IT!!!!! I noticed quite a few peasies over there - TONS of amazing entries, this will be a tough one FOR SURE!!!!!

Browsing People.com tonight, I came across these pictures... blech... seeing these two couples STILL together really gets to me. Which one makes YOU sicker?????? It's a toss up for me! I just think there is no way that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are really together - it HAS to be for publicity, it HAS to be!!!!!

Sorry for this totally random, all-over-the-place post, but I guess that's where my mind is tonight!!!! Was hoping to post a new layout, but with me being sick, all I scrapped were my layouts for the contest!!! Hopefully I get some done this week!!!! =)

HURRAY!!!! A TOOT =)

2006-03-25T18:07:00.000-05:00

SO stoked... Cantata Books emailed me yesterday and wants to pub one of my layouts!!! I am really excited - this will be my first publication ever!!! WOO-HOO!!!!!!!! It was such a nice way to start the weekend... and then this morning I woke up with the flu - no joke!! I'm feeling a little better now, but it sure took its toll on me! I'm hoping this is the end, the final stages of the "icky sickies" (LOL, that makes me laugh!) Alexa is still sick too, so we're chillin together -- tomorrow is the start of a new week, let's hope it's a healthy one!

COULD IT BE???

2006-03-23T17:28:00.000-05:00

That my mojo has finally come back to me?! tee hee... I'm a dork, I know... but lately I have not been "feeling it" when it came to scrappin!! So I think it "came back" to me today... Alexa and I are home sick - we went to the Dr. yesterday - she has bronchitis and I have a sinus infection with the beginning stages of bronchitis - yikes!!! So her and I have been takin it easy all day, nappin, watching TV, and trying to get better. I'm glad I was able to get onto my love, 2peas, today, LOL! Felt good to get on there and see and praise all my buds layouts!!! So it got me in the scrappin mood, so I hybernated to my room for about an hour while Lexi was sleeping, and I created this layout. I am IN LOVE with the new My Mind's Eye line... gorgeous, fun, colorful stuff!! Maybe that it was finally inspired me, ha ha!! Isn't this picture of Lexi and Scott so cute?! She's such a little snuggle-bug!

So my medicine has finally kicked in a little - I guess I should say thank goodness for those gigantic horse pills, ack! I ate a light lunch and that made me feel a little better, too. I even finished another layout for a contest that I can't post, sorry, but I like how it turned out, and will post it when the contest is over.

I'm hoping that by tomorrow we will both be feeling better. My mom watched Rayna and Ethan today and will again tomorrow... she just called me and said that she thinks Rayna is coming down with something --- great! Don't you hate germs and how fast they spread?! Especially with little ones.

Hope y'all are healthy and having a fab week!!!! =)

OVER AND OVER AGAIN....

2006-03-21T20:37:00.000-05:00

Yes, I have that song by Nelly and Tim McGraw stuck in my head and CANNOT get it out!!! SUCH a great song!

SOOOOO super excited to show you guys some pictures of Alexa's "new room!" We painted her walls green and then my amazing mom painted a mural on her wall!!! Check out this castle! The woman has got skillz that blow me away! She finished in just a few hours, too!!

And we bought these curtains at JC Penney (the tag says MTV CRIB, ha ha!) and the tiebacks are rosevines! Love the soft look of it!! Alexa loves her new room and was so excited when she first saw it!!! All we have left to do is hang some shelving and it's completely finished!!

So today was my last day training my replacement at work -- it was so nice to go back there and see everyone and catch up, and I have to admit that the new girl is super nice and really catches on fast... which makes me happy!!!

So I left the office and headed for my sister's house to get Alexa, and had a major coughing attack - not sure why this "thing" is still lingering, but whatever it is it will not go away!!! Scott called me when I got there and said he went to the Dr. today - he has the flu AND bronchitis!!! Could not believe it, ugh! Just a bad winter for us this year, which totally stinks!!! That's another reason I haven't been on the computer all that much lately -- I really need to catch up with everyone!! Miss you guys, and I miss my 2peas!!!!!!!!

TODAY I ALMOST HIT A BIRD...

2006-03-17T16:25:00.000-05:00

Okay, since blogger was hating me yesterday - I couldn't get the darn thing to post!!!! So I'll update ya with today... my sister worked a half-day, so I was so glad I did too!! Alexa and I went grocery shopping, and it felt so wonderful to not feel rushed!! We just got home and unloaded everything and it feels good to finally have food, ha ha -- we haven't gone in a couple of weeks, bad, I know!

So I tried des-parately to get this layout to scan at my sister's house this morning so I could post this on 2peas, but again, technology was against me and I couldn't get it to work. So here is a layout I finished last night, that totally makes me giggle... Alexa at 2-1/2, in the final stages of potty training, ha ha!! She's such a silly little thing! =) And yes, I am behind a whole year on scrapbooking... eeeek!!

Okay, so here is yesterday's post.......

About the bird... Yea, freaked me out!! I was driving and saw this beautiful red bird fly past me, then all of a sudden it swooped down right in front of my car --- I slammed on my brakes and swerved a bit (yes, I know, bad and dangerous, but we were okay)... then I pulled over and stopped to make sure I didn't hit it. Phew, I didn't! Strange story, I know... but I would have felt so awful -- has this ever happened to any of you?! And w/other animals -- if you see one crossing, do you slow down, swerve or stop? Scott said swerving is the worst thing to do, especially in an SUV, cuz you could tip over... but how could I just plow forward? Guess that means I'm an animal lover, huh?!

Other than that... today was a good day!! Watched the kids at my house, cleaned and did some laundry-less I have to do on Saturday (hurray!), I got on 2peas for just a little bit (got my fix, not enough, but atleast a fix), then my mom came over and we took the kiddos for a walk around the neighborhood and then to our park. It was chilly out, but they were bundled, and the girls had an absolute BLAST on the swings and slides!! So ticked that I forgot my camera, drats!!!!

HUGE CONGRATS to all the HOF winners and HM's -- so excited and happy for you girls! And a special "WOO-HOO! I KNEW IT" congrats to my friends Wendy and Hanni for making HM!! YAY! You girls are seriously AMAZING!! So awesome to see all the peas who have made HM so far - congrats to all of you!! =) Can't wait to see the official list of HOF on Monday!

I'm glad tomorrow is Friday! The week has really gone by fast, just as they all do! Can you believe its' the middle of March and Easter is around the corner?! I need to find a cute Easter dress for Lexie - usually I find one right after Easter (for the following year) when they're on sale but no such luck last year! So the hunt is on -- I LOVE looking through the dresses, they're all so pretty and frilly and girlie... and Alexa, of course loves those things! LOL =)

Wanted to send a big SHOUT OUT to my sweet friend Sheri... hope you had a wonderful and FABULOUS birthday today!!!!

And I hope all of you had a great week --- I'm so looking forward to the weekend --- nothing but relaxing with the fam and doin some scrappin... sigh, what could be better?! =)

STORM'S A-COMIN!

2006-03-13T19:59:00.000-05:00

Okay, so it was almost 70-degrees today!! 70-degrees!!!!! And right now it is sooooooo windy and rainy out there, thundering, lightning, you name it! The temp is supposed to drop to 35 and we're going to get snow by tomorrow!! Can you believe that?! How totally bizarre -- this is totally making me want Spring to get here, desperately!!

So I'm proud of myself - after my achey knees, I sucked it up and went back to the Rec Center today! WA-HOO!!! We did cardio and then weight-training, today's focus: our legs. A whole 1-1/2 workout total today!! So I was feelin the burn, yeah, feeling the burn, baby!! So I come home and LITERALLY could not walk up the stairs - I kid you not, I was in SUCH pain, it was awful --- it's slowly getting better, but still, I feel the burn!! Tomorrow we're takin a break -- ha ha, you're probably thinking "already?!" Well, we were all gun-ho for this, but realize since we are just starting we are probably gonna wear ourselves out! So we are going to go every other day until we feel good enough to go every day!! Gosh, I feel like such a wimp -- but it gives me SO much motivation to still exercise on our off days, so that we can get to doing it 5 days a week!! Wish me luck!

Wow, SO much HOF buzz in The Pub today!! I didn't even enter and I was feeling so nervous for everyone, and even kept refreshing the page!!! Wow, totally sucks you in like everyone says! If I ever enter, I will AVOID The Pub the week calls go out! A person can go crazy!!! But I really can't wait to see who makes it - it's so exciting!!!

I am hoping to get some scrappin done tonight (if the power doesn't go out!) I haven't scrapped in a few days, sigh! My little throat en fuego (lol, Darce) turned into a major sinus infection! It hit me Saturday morning and was just awful -- hate being sick -- but today I am feeling much better, though, thank goodness!! So send some scrappin vibes my way, I need them desperately!!! =)

I LIKE YOU!

2006-03-10T19:53:00.000-05:00

Oh my gosh, saw this on The Pub today, it is just the cutest thing ever!!! And it is so true to how I feel for all you guys!!! I LIKE YOU!

So I met my girlfriend at the Rec Center this morning and we worked out for over an hour -- did the treadmill, the bike, lifted weights... and I felt GREAT!! Really great! But now, I am feeling it for sure -- the joints in my knees are aching so bad, it hurts to even walk!! Such a shame to admit that I am COMPLETELY out of shape, it's pathetic!! But I'm psyched that we will meet up there every morning at 6 am during the week! I need this so bad!!!!!

I am getting over whatever is going on in my throat! So strange, this "thing"! Lots of coughing, lots of phlem (sorry), lots of hoarseness... can't wait til it's completely gone! And I'm hoping that by working out this morning, I didn't make anything worse w/my immune system being down. We shall see, I guess.

Tomorrow night Scott's work is having this Charity/Silent Auction thing. We will be getting dressed up, there will be really good food, raffles and even dancing... w/these achin old knees, Sarah said I'll be doing the Frankenstein, LOL!!! But it should be really fun -- I just am not a fan of work events cuz I feel like I tend to get nervous and either go into shy mode, or go into chatter mode!! Wish me (and Scott) luck!! HA HA!!!

Hope everyone had a great week... and hope you have an AWESOME weekend! =)

WHO INSPIRES YOU?

2006-03-07T23:12:00.000-05:00

So it is late and I should be in bed cuz I am sick... as Darcy put it, with en fuego throat, lol! (Looks like we have the same icky thing.) Anyway, I'm surfin the web, ha ha, haven't said that in a while... so I come upon the Creative Keepsakes website, and one of their contests is YOU'RE MY HERO. When I first saw this, I was so excited because I have been wanting to create a layout about my mom for a while now... and this HERO contest is perfect, cuz my mom IS my hero in every sense of the word. She just amazes me, astonishes me, inspires me, every single day of my life. Are any of you entering? If so, who is your hero? Who inspires you? Is it one of your parents? Your friends? A celebrity? I love hearing about people's heroes and who inspires them and lifts them up! I would love to be the editor and read and look at everyone's entries... but do you know how hard it would be to judge a contest like this when everone's interpretations are so unique and different? So this really got me thinking... and I immediately opened Microsoft Word and typed my journaling for the page. It's funny how quickly it all came to me and how it just flowed. I really love my mom... and I feel so passionate about this... even if I don't win, it'll be okay, because this page will be so very special to me, and I won't even be able to wait a minute to share it with my mom.

I will be training the next couple of days, so I will be busy and tired and probably won't be around. But hopefully by Friday things will slow down and I'll catch up with everyone. Have a great week, my friends! =)

WOO-HOO!!!

2006-03-05T19:10:00.000-05:00

WOW! I am SO excited and am proud to announce that I'm apart of the Scrap-Tastic Design Team!! I found out the end of last week and was ecstatic!! This is my first DT ever and I'm psyched to get started -- our first assignment will be in May; Becky, the owner is making tons of updates to the site, so I can't wait to jump on board and get to know everyone. YAY!!

Also, I just got an email from Paper Made Memories that a layout I submitted for their February Contest has won! It's the layout I did for Darcy -- thanks, Darce, for awesome inspiration w/that picture!! I'm so stoked and can't wait to go shopping to get some new product!!!!!!!

So I altered this notebook for my sister Christy to journal in before and after the baby comes, and I also had all the ladies at the shower write sweet, little notes to her and Mark!! The shower went really well, a lot of people came and they got tons of stuff!! Beforehand, my sister Beth & I did some running around and got to the place around 1 p.m. The shower lasted a few hours, and then by the time we cleaned everything, packed all the gifts up and then went to my sister's house to unload, I didn't get home until after 8:00! I was soooo tired!! Alexa and I crashed in my bed at 9:30 and we fell asleep watching Lady & The Tramp!! I have never gone to bed that early, and it felt GOOD!!!

Today was a totally lazy day for me!!! Scott's been so awesome, he cleaned up the house and let me veg on the couch as I watched The Notebook and The Princess Bride (yes, both romances, tee hee!!!) But it felt good to relax -- this week is going to be SO SUPER busy with having to go back to work to train for a few days.

I hope everyone had an awesome weekend!!!! I'm heading upstairs to get some scrappin done! =)

CRAZINESS!!

2006-03-02T14:59:00.000-05:00

Yep, that's what my life has been lately!! I'm not sure why exactly, but things have been really hectic lately!! My sister Beth has been traveling a lot the past couple of weeks, so things have been busy w/the kids... I watch them one day at my house, the next day her house, and then the girls have preschool twice a week so I get the kids ready and pack all of them up... I guess I'm busier and running around so much more than I was when I was working, lol! But I'm not complaining, cuz I love being home w/Alexa! Yesterday, on her off day, my mom came over and we got a lot of decorating done, which makes me SOOOOOO very happy!! We finally hung some pictures, and then some curtains in Alexa's room, with the cutest rose/vine tieback -- I will take a picture cuz it's sooooo stinkin cute!!!!

So today I went into work for a couple hours to make sure everything is organized and ready-to-go when the new girl starts on Monday -- then I go back into work next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to train her, while my mom watches the kids. I can't believe it's already been almost a month since my last day of work! Oy... sometimes I feel like these days are moving WAY too fast!!!!

My sister Christy's baby shower is Saturday, so tomorrow we will all be running around like crazy to try to get everything done. There's still quite a bit to do, but we're all so very excited and can't wait!! Christy has had a pretty good pregnancy so far; we can't believe it's already the last trimester!!! Her due date is April 20th, and she's expecting a boy! YAY, another boy in our all-girl family!! Now my little nephew Ethan will have a buddy to play with, and help fight off Alexa & Rayna when they want to dress them up in girl clothes, lol!!!

So I haven't scrapped much lately, which makes me sad!! But tonight I am planning on playing catch-up and scrappin 2 (belated) birthday lifts and some stuff for myself. I hope I can get a lot done! I have missed my scraproom so very much... when I walk by I have to hold the tears back, tee hee!!! Do you guys get like then when you don't scrap for a few days?!?! Ugh, it's terrible, and I just can't wait to get in there.

Well that's a recap of my week... sorry I haven't been around lately, I need to visit everyone!!! Hope y'all are doing well!!!! =)

NEW RECIPES...

2006-02-25T17:06:00.000-05:00

I am always looking for new recipes!!! I do love to bake, I prefer it over cooking because I do not think I am the best cook... Scott surpasses me by a mile, he truly is like a gourmet chef!

So, now that I am home I would love to start cooking and baking more. And I would LOVE if you could share a favorite recipe or two of YOURS, either post it here or on your blog!! Here are a couple of my favs:

LITTLE CHEDDAR LOAVES
In a bowl:
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded (cheddar) cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup oatmeal (or you could substitute with saltine crackers)
1 lb. ground meat (uncooked)
1 onion finely chopped
- Mix this together with your hands
- In a shallow baking dish, take this mixture and form 4-5 little loaves (they will look like thin, long hamburgers, if that helps?)

In a separate bowl:
3/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tbsp. mustard
1/2 cup brown sugar
- Mix together and then spread this on top of each loaf
-Bake at 350ºF for 45-55 minutes, ovens may vary

Now for a dessert, this has always been one of my favorites, as well as my family and friends (I make it for almost every holiday!) It is SO easy, and tastes delicious!!!

CHOCOLATE ECLAIR CAKE:
You will need:
1 box of original graham crackers
1 large box of vanilla instant pudding
Milk
12 oz. tub of cool whip
1 can chocolate frosting (you could do milk chocolate, dark chocolate, whatever your choice)

- In a bowl mix the vanilla instant pudding with 2 cups cold milk (with a wisk) for 2 minutes
- Then add in the entire tub of cool whip and mix well with spatula
- Set aside
- In a 13 x 9 pan spread a row(s) of graham crackers WHOLE, do not crush, on the bottom of the pan so the bottom is covered
- Take half of the pudding/cool whip mixture and pour over the graham crackers
- Spread another row of the graham crackers (WHOLE) on top of the mixture
- Add the rest of the pudding/cool whip mixture on top
- Add one more row(s) of graham crackers on top of the mixture
- Then carefully spread the chocolate frosting on top, covering the graham crackers
- Refrigerate over night
This WILL taste just like an eclair... soooooo very yummy!!

Hope you all will try these recipes, and if you do, please tell me what you think!!

I can't wait to see and try some of your favorites!! Have an awesome weekend! =)

A LITTLE MIA????

2006-02-22T23:34:00.000-05:00

Geez, where have I been?!?! I can't believe my last post was Thursday, almost a week ago... sorry, guess my life hasn't been all that interesting lately!

The weekend was pretty quiet, I just stayed home and cleaned and scrapped, and then realized I need to take/scrap more pictures of myself with Alexa and Scott! I went through a couple month's worth of pictures and I think I was in 2!!! I couldn't believe it! So I had to scrap this one of me and Lexie, taken last summer!!!! She's making such a goofy face, but I don't care!!! Seeing our nice tans makes me want the warm weather to come SOON!!!! I know it's bad for you, but I think I may start tanning in the next month or so, especially if we're going to Disney in May... it takes me forever to get a tan, I always burn first, darnit!!!

So, here are some cute pics of my last couple of days with the girls, they are such a riot to watch, they seriously act like sisters, twins even! Fighting, laughing, tattling, chasing, hugging, dancing... they do it all!!!

Here is Alexa taking a nap, which I am extremely grateful of cuz most 3 1/2 year olds do not take naps... but she does almost every single day!!!

And in the other room, here is Rayna, who does NOT take naps, but plays and ducks every time I come to check on her, ha ha!! She is soooo funny!! It's hard to keep a straight face when I have to punish her for not listening! And here I am taking her picture!!!!!

I took these pictures and can't help but post them... how cute is she?!?! LOVE her little expressions here, and I can't believe how chubby she looks in that hat... tee hee... I love it!!!!!!!

I hope everyone is doing well... =)

MY FUNNY VALENTINE...

2006-02-16T10:16:00.000-05:00

How was everyone's Valentine's Day?!?!?!! Ours was really nice! Scott took his 2 girls out for a night on the town... lol! We went to a really nice, quaint resteraunt here in town that we had never been to before. We didn't think there would be a long wait, but 30 minutes later we were convinced otherwise. Alexa was good for the most part, thank goodness. So we get seated and we're in an ALL COUPLES section... with Alexa!!! So, we order our food and Scott get's Calamari, which I do NOT like... Alexa tries it for the first time and is like "Mmm... this is really good!" After her 3rd one she says "Daddy, what's in here, a pickle?" Scott and I chuckle, and he replies "No, honey, it's a squid." Her nose crinkles and she stops chewing. "A squid? From the ocean?" (Don't ask me how she knew where they came from!! We never went over squids, at least that I remember!!) Scott then proceeds to make the hand-gesture of the squids body and legs moving. Very loudly Alexa says "Ew, that's gross! A squid!" But she continues to eat them anyway, gestures, and sounds and all!!! Then I order an Amareto Sour (YUM! My fav. drink!) and it comes with half an orange and a cherry... well Alexa wanted them, so we wiped them off and gave them to her. When I ordered my 2nd one, we did the same. Well a few minutes later, our waiter comes out and brings her a tiny little glass of water with half an orange and a cherry, JUST like my drink, it was the cutest thing!!! I wish I had my camera!!! So Alexa eats the fruit and then plays SWORDS with the little toothpick thing that the fruit were on, poking us and showing everyone around us. As an older couple next to us were leaving, the woman comes over to talk to Alexa, asking her name and how old she was, and Alexa goes into shy mode, ha ha!! She then told Scott and I that we were very good parents -- made me feel really good, cuz I thought everyone around us were upset that Alexa was carrying on so loudly, singing songs, making noises, being silly ----> when they were out for a special dinner. All in all, it was fun, and Alexa made me and Scott laugh the entire night!!!

Okay... for my CHALLENGE... so awesome to see everyone's guesses!!!! Some of you were close... and 2 of you guessed EXACTLY!!!! Gabby and Moon, you KNOW me girls!! Here's the skinny:

1. I have a tattoo on my lower back of Scott's name. LIE. When Scott and I started getting serious, me and my 2 girlfriends went to this tattoo/piercing place!! My one girlfriend got a tattoo on her lower back, the other one got her belly button pierced... when it was my turn, I was all psyched and excited!!! I picked out my tattoo that I wanted on my lower back... it was a heart w/Scott's name in it, and then vines on either side. I was about to walk back and then suddenly got FREAKED out!!! I couldn't believe I was about to have needles poking my body with my boyfriend's name, and I didn't even know if we were going to be together forever or not. SO I CHICKENED OUT!!! Can you believe it?! I'm such a prude! LOL =)

2. I have sang solos in church before. TRUE. When I was a teenager I was in my Youth Group and choir and sang a few solos for various plays and skits!!

3. I have sprained my ankle so many times I lost count. TRUE. I am about the clumsiest person you'll ever meet. I seriously lost count how many times I sprained my ankle and hurt various parts of my body... broke my arm 3x, my elbow right after I had Alexa when I went to Cedar Point w/my BF - I tripped on a rock!! I've walked into doors, slipped down the stairs... you name it, I did it!!!

4. I love seafood. LIE. I HATE seafood, really the thought of it is so gross to me... yuck!

5. Growing up, I wanted to be a cop. TRUE. I wanted to be a cop for the longest time!!! I'm not sure when the whole thing started, really, but it lasted all throughout high school and then just DIED!! Right now... I couldn't imagine being a cop, but my cousin is, and I'm afraid for him every day!!

6. I can juggle. LIE. Ha ha, remember the part where I said I'm clumsy?!?!!

7. I exercise every morning. LIE. Although I DREAM of exercising every morning, I can't wake myself up to do it!!! I am just not a morning person... I truly wish I was! But Scott and I just decided that we are going to get the Total Gym this weekend, and I cannot wait!!!! When you see me (at CHA) I will be one buff babe!!!!!! =)

8. I pierced my own ears. TRUTH. Yes, I AM a tough woman!! My senior year (yes, I waited that long because my dad always told me that if I wanted holes in my ears, God would have put them there! LOL) I went to Myrtle Beach with my girlfriend and her family! We had such a blast, and one night we were in our room and I decided I wanted my ears pierced. Well, she went and grabbed a needle and an ice cube... and there you have it!!!! When I got back from vacation, of course that was the first thing everyone noticed, and my dad was sooooo mad! But I was rebellious and didn't care, so one night in my room, I pierced a 2nd hole in both ears!!!!!! I was bad!! LOL

9. I can rap. LIE. Sadly, no, I cannot rap!! But my hubby can! When we first met we were teenagers and rap was huge!!! He used to rap Biggie songs to me, bwahahahahahaha!! How romantic, huh?!

10. My sister is a phsychologist. LIE. My sister THINKS she is a physchologist, ha ha. No, really, my one sister is a Medical Assistant and the other one is a Director for Ernst & Young law firm.

There you have it, folks... all about me!! tee hee! I bet more than you wanted to hear, huh?!?!!!

Hope ya'll are having a great week... it's almost over!!!
WOO-HOO!! =)

OH, I have to add... HAPPY 10th ANNIVERSARY SARAH!!!! I wish I could have seen your face when you came to the gallery this morning to see all the lovin from your friends!!! Wish you the HAPPIEST and BEST anniversary ever, my sweet friend!!

CHALLENGE!!!!

2006-02-13T17:11:00.000-05:00

Okay, I saw this fun challenge on Caroline's blog and decided to do it!!

The challenge is: List 10 things about you. 6 lies and 4 truths. Now it's up to YOU to try to guess which ones are true and which ones are not. I'll reveal the answers on my next post!!!!

1. I have a tattoo on my lower back of Scott's name.

2. I have sang solos in church before.

3. I have sprained my ankle so many times I lost count.

4. I love seafood.

5. Growing up, I wanted to be a cop.

6. I can juggle.

7. I exercise every morning.

8. I pierced my own ears.

9. I can rap.

10. My sister is a phsychologist.

Okay, have fun guessing! =)

Oh, and I created this layout for my girl, Darcy for our swap... aren't her and Darin the CUTEST ever?!?!?! Darcy is truly soooooo sweet and the LOVE they have for each other is really amazing!!

HAPPY MONDAY!!!!!!!

JUST PLAIN GIDDY!!!!!!!

2006-02-09T22:28:00.000-05:00

Have you ever felt like that?! Like you wanted to bust at the seams from all the excitement whirling around inside of you?! Lots going on today that is gettin me all hyped up!!

Today was a great day... my little nephew Ethan was WONDERFUL and oh so happy and so dang cute all day long (is he not ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE?!?!?!!!) AND the girls played super well together and hardly fought, and they even took 1 hour naps which = A VERY GOOD DAY!! Truly enjoyed my down time, I was able to watch my Soap DAYS OF OUR LIVES, YAY!!! Then when my hubby got home tonight and we decided to take a drive and get some home-made ice cream from this amazing place called Handels... YUM!!! My thighs sure didn't need it, but my mouth truly enjoyed every single bite, lol!

Then, when we got home, a really good friend of mine called me to share some AMAZINGLY AWESOME news that is a little "hush-hush", so I can't share for now... but I just can't contain my excitement and happiness for her!!! WOO-HOO!! You know I love ya and am SO happy for you girl!!!! =)

Also, we are DEFINITELY going to Disney World this spring and I CANNOT WAIT!!! Just to see Alexa's little face light up will be the best part of the entire trip! We are planning to go the 2nd week of May, hoping the weather will be perfect!!!! It'll be us, my mom and my sister and BIL and kids. We're starting to do some planning and going over all the details.... WOO-HOO... it can't get here fast enough!!!

The OLYMPICS are starting soon, just a couple of days away and I'm so excited! Love watching them, I get completely absorbed, really!! I esp. love the gymnastics part, always makes me think of Alexa --- could she be in the Olympics someday?! I am going to be signing her up SHORTLY, we are all excited, and she keeps saying "I'll need to practice mommy, won't I?" I'm also going to sign her up for ballet; I had a hard time deciding between the two, so we'll see which one she likes. But gymnastics actually starts first, I'll keep you all updated on that!!!!

So all-in-all, it was just a good day... I know that these things may not seem majorly HUGE or GIGANTIC, like me sharing that I am pregnant (I wish)... but I just feel blessed with my every day life... truly, 100%, completely and totally blessed... for my family, my health, my friends, everything!!!! I want to scream at the top of my lungs and share it with the world.... I AM GIDDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LIKE TO SCRAPPY-SCRAPPY!

2006-02-05T20:45:00.000-05:00

Bwahahahaha!! Have you guys heard the song that goes: "I like your laffy taffy..." Oh my gosh, it's so funny, and a little stupid! I'm not a huge fan of it at all, really, but the beat is SO catchy and I heard it today and cannot get it out of my head... thus my dorky title!! =)

ANYWAY... So I got some scrappin done this weekend, WOO-HOO!!! I was feelin it yo! Worked on a couple of upcoming swaps, and then finished this layout yesterday (which, btw, scanned crooked, the story of my life!) When I look at this picture of Alexa and her bud Zack (taken early last year), I can't help but laugh -- look at how hard he is squeezing her!!! Oh my gosh, it's so cute! This was actually the first time they met, too! He's our friend's son and they live a ways away, he's a couple years older than her, but when they met, they clicked, lol! They ran around the house like a couple of banchees (spelling?) and played dress-up, and giggled and it was so much fun watching them!!! I didn't even have to tell them to hug for this picture, either! This was like the 10th time Zack went up to Alexa and just gave her a big ole squeeze, ha ha!! Maybe her future boyfriend?! It's so wonderful to see her interact with other kids so well!!!

Today is the SUPER BOWL!! How many of you are watching it? Who are you rooting for? My hubby had a poker party earlier today, won some $$$$, but then decided to come home to watch the actual game... I was SHOCKED cuz normally it's a guy thing (and I'm not really a football fan!) But I'm so glad he's home and we can watch it together, I love seeing the commercials.

My sister Beth and I will be throwing our older sister Christy her baby shower -- and it's gonna be at my house... which makes me nervous!! We are going to invite about 50 women, so we'll see how many come, but I worry if there will be enough room or not. We are going to have to rent a table and a LOT of chairs; we figure she'll open her gifts down in the basement since we don't have a lot of furniture down there yet and there will be room. SO, because the shower will be in a month, I have a TON of stuff to do!!!! Like decorating stuff! My mom and I will be super busy trying to get it all done... like painting and buying fabric for curtains, rugs, shelves, organizational stuff for Lexie's play room and my scrap room, I could go on!!! So I'm hoping I can get it all done!!! Eeeek!

Alrighty, I am really cold right now, my fingertips are like icecubs!! We got hit w/some snow this weekend and the temperature really dropped!!!! Time to crank the heat back up, ugh!!! Off to go put some socks and a sweatshirt on!!

Oh, and I almost forgot... I emailed Heidi Swapp a couple of days ago and I could NOT believe that she emailed me back! When I opened my inbox and saw one from her I was literally giddy, let me tell you!!!! She is so super sweet and nice, and the fact that she took time out of her crazy-busy schedule to email me back, well that shows a lot!!!!! I will NOT be deleting that email EVER!! Aren't I a nerd?! Yes, and I'm jealous of all of you who got to meet her and take pictures... I'm hoping she'll be at CHA in Chicago so I can stand there and be starstruck and probably not even make a whole sentence, ha ha ha!!!!!!! =)

AND IT'S OVER....

2006-02-03T01:23:00.000-05:00

My last day of work was really nice, a little sad, but really NICE. Although I acted like a lunatic and took pictures of EVERYTHING and EVERYONE around me all day, I had the chance to really talk to a lot of the people in the office, I mean really talk, about life and things going on in their lives, things that aren't just brought up on a given work day --- and it was awesome!!! I will miss so many people there!!!

They had a really nice luncheon for me, everyone brought a dish/dessert -- and it was all very good. Well before we actually ate, I walked into the kitchen and there were about 30 or so people around me, staring at me, and I do NOT do so well in big groups {I tend to get nervous and start sweating, ha! And you all know how much I hate sweating!!} So it's quiet and one of my good friends hands me this bag! I was surprised they got me something, I was NOT expecting that at all because I already rec'd flowers. So I open the card and it is sooooo sweet, everyone left the nicest little notes. Then I open this sheet of paper that has a landscape company's name/logo on it with a picture of a tree -- I was like "what is this?" They all chipped in and bought me and Scott a tree to plant in our yard, so that every time it blooms I will think of them! Isn't that wonderful?! I was touched beyond words, cried, and managed to get out "thank you so much!" It was just really sweet!!!!

My mom brought Lexie in near the end of the day and they were there for about an hour. She walked the halls like she owned the place! Chatting up a storm, giggling, skipping... it was SO stinkin cute!!!! She hasn't been in the office in a while and people couldn't believe how big she had gotten!!! {The one thing I wish I took a picture of was her there in my office... drats!}

So this is my desk, the place where I have sat every day for 7 1/2 years!!!!!

It was definitely strange cleaning out my desk, taking down all my pictures, trying to get everything nice and neat... and then to walk away, leaving an empty desk!!! This is still surreal to me! I know I am SOOOOO excited and thrilled to be home with Alexa now, but this job has been a part of my life for so many years!!! I came home tonight and wrote them this letter:

Friends:
It has truly been an amazing 7 1/2 years at the Division Office. When I started, at just 19 years old, I had no idea how much this place and the people in it would impact my life! I have grown so close to so many of you; you've all become like a second family to me!! You have watched me grow over the years, not only as a co-worker or a friend, but as a person! It's hard to believe how many changes I have been through and endured the past few years, and how you've all been right there with me every step of the way. From getting married, to buying our first house, to losing both of my grandmas and then my dad, and then having our first child... I will always appreciate the comfort and support you have continuously shown to me - words cannot express how blessed I feel for having them. Thank you for letting me be apart of something so amazing and wonderful... I will always value my years at this office, and will fondly look back on them.

My work/job has definitely been a huge part of my life... and tomorrow I will be starting the next chapter!! =)

THIS IS IT... MY LAST WEEK OF WORK...

2006-01-31T00:04:00.000-05:00

and it feels SO surreal!!! I parked my car and walked to the entrance, a bittersweet feeling running through me! Sitting at my desk behind my computer now, I can't help but feel sad. After 7 1/2 years of working here, in the same position, I really feel sad to leave. I guess I wouldn't have thought it would be so hard, knowing I will be at home with Alexa every day... but I feel this tugging at my heart -- I have worked with some awesome people, have made a lot of friendships and I know I will be in touch, and will come here to visit -- but this position has become my "baby!" I built it, created it, worked hard and long to get it to be where it is right now... and someone new will be coming and may change it all!! Is that awful of me to worry about that? To worry that I am so irreplaceable? I guess it is... I was new once too, and I made this position all my own. I guess I am realizing just how proud I am of what I have done! I sent an email out to all of our District Coordinators that are across the MidWest of the United States, girls I have really gotten to know and befriend... and it's nice to get their replies, that they will miss me too, and that I have really been a great help to them over the years - it's nice knowing that my job has reflected on someone else. So this Thursday is my last day - they are having a "farewell" luncheon for me, so that will be really fun (and sad!). They have interviews set up for later this week, which means my position will be w/out a person for a little while. I will then come back to train for about a week. Hope that goes well. So for those of you who currently have my work email (@sherwin.com) please make sure to change it to: rmcohara@hotmail.com

So I am also feeling bummed that I'm not at CHA in Vegas... sigh... would have LOVED to be there. But I am going to Chicago in the summer --- who else is going?! I would LOVE to meet all of you... will be so much fun! The plan so far is for Wendy (whendeeb) to come out here to Cleveland and then we will fly to Chicago together... that will be SO much fun... and I'm hoping our pal Sarah (sarahak) will come with us. Love those girls!!!!!

So how is everyone else's week going?!?!!!

I AM SOOOOO PROUD...

2006-01-26T23:55:00.000-05:00

OF MY HUBBY!!!!!!!!!!!! He had a Real Estate awards banquet with his work today and he did amazingly! He rec'd 4 plaques for the year 2005:

- Most Improved Agent
- 4 Million Dollars Plus
- 1st Place Total Closed Units
- 1st Place Total Listing Units Closed
... this is out of 3-400 agents!!!!!!!!!!!!! How awesome is that?! He has worked extremely hard the last year -- has been stressed, has worked endless hours, started building his own team... and now he is rewarded so greatly in front of his peers!!!! I am soooooo happy!!!!

It's amazing thinking back on when Scott first decided to be a realtor. When we got married he had just joined the Carpenter's Union, worked numerous jobs, crappy jobs, traveling jobs, for a couple of years... then we got pregnant, completely unexpectedly!! So he sat back and thought about his career, what he could do to build a future for us, and on a whim, talked to a buddy of his that is a Realtor, and decided to go for it!!! He took classes, passed an extremely hard test on the first try. Then we had Alexa... and then a couple months later we moved out of our first house, a cute little brick ranch, and downgraded into a condo to drop half our mortgage payment. The first few months were soooooooooooo hard! He hardly made a dime, was working tons of hours, I was working part-time, time-sharing my job at Sherwin-Williams, and we didn't know how we were going to make ends meet!!! Life was stressful, to say the least.

Well, a year or so later, he started doing these Broker Price Opinions, which was really fast and easy money. The more he did, the more acquainted he became with all of these forclosure companies. That's when it all started, really. He started selling bank-owned properties in really BAD and FILTHY and SCARY parts of Cleveland. He went into flee-infested houses, houses with urine and other disgusting things I won't mention, houses w/animals and even BUMS living there, crackheads, you name it!! I was so scared for him every day! Then he landed an enormous account... that sent him listing after listing after listing!!! He got really overwhelmed so he took on a partner, who ended up taking the "house" part over, and Scott mostly stayed in the office. He then hired a secretary to continue doing the Broker Price Opinions, and just recently hired an assistant... and he is in the process of hiring a Leads guy for regular Real Estate so he can get back into that again!!!!!

He has outdone himself, truly he has! He has put his heart and soul into this, to provide for us, to give us the best future he possibly can, so I can stay home with our children... he amazes me. I couldn't be more proud or feel more blessed... I know that our prayers did not go unanswered, God opened so many doors!!!! And here Scott is, in all his glory w/his 4 plaques... =)

Oh, and check out my little additions to my blog... added all the blogs I love reading... AND a couple things under links! GABBY, aren't you soooooooooo proud of me?!?!!! ;)

HGTV'S DREAM HOME...

2006-01-25T22:43:00.000-05:00

WOW!!! Have any of you seen this?! It's absolutely amazing!!!!!!! My mom and I entered last weekend and I forgot to post about it here... you HAVE to check it out and enter, you never know -- You could win!!!! Here's a link: http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dream_home_tour_2006/
You will literally be drooling over all these rooms and the GORGEOUS, SPECTACULAR views... sigh... definitely a dream home! And DOH -- I didn't even realize that my work (Sherwin-Williams) sponsors them -- all the paint in the entire home is by us... ha ha... I really pay attention, huh?! =)

So here is a pic of Lexie a couple days ago... "baby" in hand - check...
cd player/purse on hip - check...
"lipstick" on - check...
hee hee...she just makes me giggle! LOVE this girly-girl!!!!!!!!!

Happy Wednesday!! The week's almost over!!!!!!!!

IT'S A TAGGY-TAG WORLD...

2006-01-24T21:15:00.000-05:00

SO I WAS TAGGED W/A NEW TAG BY REVLIE and ERIKA, SO HERE GOES:

The rules for this particular tagging are as follows:
Remove the blog name in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add yourself to the bottom slot.
1. Wendy
2. Kelly
3. Erin
4. Erika
5. Rachel

Then you get to select five people to pass the love on to:
1. Christy
2. Jennifer
3. Rebecca
4. Jaime
5. Wendi

Now, on to the questions!
What were you doing 10 years ago?
Umm... I was in the 10th grade, had been dating "my first true love" for a year, we were inseperable and I was obsessed, and then... my junior year we broke up - yeah, heartbreaking... but I met Scott less than a year later!!!!!!! =)

What were you doing one year ago?
One year ago I was... hmm... pretty much doing the same thing I'm doing now, ha ha!!! BUT, I had no intentions of quitting my job then to be a SAHM so that is different!! YA-HOO!

Five snacks you enjoy:
1. Candy... Twizzlers, chocolate, sour, sweet, any kind... yes, bad, I know!!!!!
2. Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts, they're the only kind of nut I like, ha ha, I'm picky!!
3. Carrots & Ranch dressing, yum!
4. Popcorn, oh yeah!
5. Crackers, anything cheesy!

Five songs, to which you KNOW all the lyrics:
1. Almost all the Kelly Clarkson songs
2. A few of the ENGLISH Josh Groban songs, hee hee
3. Almost all Shania Twain songs, they're easy to remember =)
4. A couple Kenny Chesney songs, mmmmmm
5. And a ton more, can't list them all!!!!

Five things you would do, if you were a millionaire:
1. Pay off our mortgage, as well as my mom's and both my sister's
2. Set aside money for Alexa's college fund and Dream wedding, and for OUR savings
3. Buy a vacation home
4. Buy a brand new car/SUV
5. Sponsor tons and tons of little kids across the country!!!! (you know those commercials you see on TV, they get me every time!!!!! sniffle!)

Five things you like doing:
1. Being w/my family
2. Scrapping
3. Writing
4. Shopping
5. Taking pics

Five bad habits:
1. I am VERY impatient, hate that!
2. Am late everywhere I go
3. Grind my teeth when I'm on the computer, do NOT know why!!!
4. Crack my knuckles
5. I can be blunt, and sometimes stick my foot in my mouth!

Five things you would never wear, buy, or get new again:
1. Would never wear bodysuits again (ha ha, Erika, I'm w/you girl!)
2. Any kind of hat, sadly I do NOT look good in them
3. White eyeliner, yes I wore it years ago, and do NOT know why!!!!!
4. Tapered jeans for sure (again, I'm w/you Erika!) And I used to CUFF them, do you remeber that?! ha ha ha ha ha!!
5. Wigger jeans... yes I went through a phase for about 2 months, yes, I feel like SUCH a moron now!!!!!!

Five favorite toys:
1. My digi camera, but I DO hope to get a new, better one soon! (I covet Sarah Klemish's!!)
2. The computer, can't live w/out it!
3. My scrapbook supplies FOR SURE!!!!!!
4. Umm... my cell phone? Does that count?
5. Can't think of anything else?!

That's it!! Wow, going down memory lane makes me laugh... bwahahahaha!!! =)

"MOMMY, I'M JUST GROWING UP... SORRY!"

2006-01-22T15:28:00.000-05:00

This is what I heard fromy my 3-year old last night... talk about depressing!!! I was huggin and lovin on her and said "Lexie, I can't believe how big you are already." She looked at me and smiled with a little head tilt, "Mommy, don't be sad." She stroked my cheek and stood up and said, "I'm growing big and big and bigger, every day!" She got back on my lap and gave me a huge squeeze. "Mommy, I'm just growing up... sorry!" Sigh... why does life fly by so quickly?!

So today is a LAZY DAY!!! Don't want to bore you all w/the specifics by I am feeling a sinus infection coming on... MY GOD, WHY!?!?!!! This has seriously been the WORST winter ever with all the sickness... hate it... want summer to come... badly!!! I didn't want to spread my germs at my BIL's b-day party today so Scott took Alexa - is it wrong for me to enjoy this nice, quiet house? Ah, it's been nice!!!! Heading off to my scraproom now, hopefully will get something done!!

HAPPY SUNDAY!! =)

AND SHE WROTE....

2006-01-19T09:28:00.001-05:00

And it felt great!!! Last night instead of scrapping I decided to write... yes, shocking I know, cuz every free minute I have I try to scrap!! I don't know what it was that inspired me to sit down and start writing, it's been soooooo very long! But it was wonderful... relaxing... freeing... I just love being transported into another world, creating characters and storylines and exciting plots!!! And I guess I forgot how wonderful it is to just sit in front of the computer and start writing... and I miss it!!!

I'm not sure if all of you know this or not, or if you checked out my RWA link that I have on here, but my dream is to become a published romance novelist!!! Some may think it's corny or cheesy, but not me! I LOVE TO WRITE!!! I love it! I've written a couple novels already {not the steamy, hot, sex novels - no offense to anyone that reads those... but the inspirational ones!} and I guess I am finally at the stage in my life where I can really get serious about it and start editing like crazy, try to find a good editor, and then finally start submitting to publishing companies! This other passion and dream of mine isn't something I ever thought I would just come right out and say or share... but you know what, I'm proud of it! My goal is to submit my manuscript by summertime! It makes me nervous... the fear of rejection... but it has been a dream of mine for way too long for me to give up now!!!!! I won't stop until I make this happen!!!!

So tell me... when you're not scrapping... what else do you enjoy doing for YOU?

I MISS MY 2PEAS, waaaaaaah!!!

2006-01-16T20:44:00.000-05:00

Okay... I have NOT been able to get onto 2 peas a lot lately, which has been sooooooooo depressing and hard for me... really, I'm an addict!!! And I think I am having post-withdrawal!!! Soooooo..... I was hoping my buds could do me a favor and link me some of your fav layouts that you have BOSed the past couple of days -OR- if you're not one to BOS, if you remember someone posting a layout that you just loved, if you could let me know their name(s) and I can go check out their gallery! I think this would be so much fun and I would SOOOO appreciate it!!! I NEED MY 2PEAS!!!!!!!!! Thanks tons and tons! =)

So, I haven't posted pics of Little Miss Lexie lately, so I thought I'd share these with you, Lexie being silly as usual!! This one to the left is actually when she was starting to feel better (before she got a double-ear infection this past weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!) you can see her really rosy cheeks... but she was in good spirits... isn't she so cute?! She got this nightgown for Christmas and did NOT want to take it off, lol! The below pic of her in the hunny pot costume (she came downstairs wearing this, lol!) is from a couple weeks ago... she was so proud wearing this thing!!! The other pic is from yesterday - I am SO glad she is feeling better!!!!

Happy Monday!!!!!! =)

... AND I'M IT...

2006-01-13T22:42:00.000-05:00

OK, so Erika and Moon tagged me....

*Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. Mr. Hero (where I met Scott, lol... but it's actually a really cute story... involves 2 Rachel's and 2 Scott's! I'll tell the story soon!!)
2. An independent Law firm that I hated and only stayed there for a month
3. A Nursing home for ONE DAY (yes, I'm a wimp!)
4. Marketing Coordinator (for the past 7/12 years!!!!!)

*Four movies you would watch over and over
1. Ever After, sigh, love this tons... and really ANY of my fav. romance movies... The Notebook (my newest fav!!), Never Been Kissed, Sweet Home Alabama, Pride & Prejudice, oh I could go on... I just LOVE me a good romance!!!!
2. Tommy Boy, I ALWAYS laugh my patootie off!
3. Legally Blonde (e, I'm w/you and Gab on this one!)
4. Chocolate and Pirates of the Caribbean... mmmm.... Johnny Depp!!!

*Four places you have lived:
1. Charleston, SC (when I was little for 2 yrs.)
2. NE Ohio
THAT'S IT!!!!! I'm sheltered, huh?!?!!!

*Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. LOST (I'm with you Erika!!!)
2. Survivor
3. Law & Order
4. Extreme Home Makeover

*Four places you have been on vacation: (yea, I don't get to go on vacation either, waaah... These are all from YEEEEEARS ago!!!)
1. Disney World... hope to go back w/Alexa... this year... WE'LL SEE!! {When my sisters and I were younger, we loved going there - went three years in a row}
2. Illinois (don't remember where exactly, it was a while ago, but I remember it was beautiful and fun... I met a boy there, ha ha!)
3. Murtle Beach, SC a couple times... once w/the fam when I was younger, the other on Spring Break w/my girlfriend and her awesome family our Senior year of H.S. -- WOO-HOO it was a blast!!!!!
4. The Outerbanks, NC (3 years ago w/the fam, right around hurricane season, Alexa was a baby, but it was still nice to get away!)
5. Cancun (for our honeymoon and it is soooo gorgeous there! We hope to go back some day!)
6. The Bahamas... went with my Aunt the end of my Senior year and it was so absolutely gorgeous, we had an awesome time!!!!!

*Four websites I visit daily:
1. 2peas
2. my friend's bloggys
3. People.com for celeb gossip (I love that crap too!!!!!)
4. Ricky Martin, ha ha ha, no j/k, not EVERY day!!

*Four of my favorite foods:
1. Spaghetti/pasta
2. Steak sandwich
3. Chicken salad
4. And anything sweet... yes, I have an awful sweet tooth!!!!!!

*Four places I would rather be right now:
1. I'm at home and am happy right now =)
2. But it would be nice to go to... a beach
3. or ... The mountains
4. or ... a Spa

Bloggers I am tagging:
1. Darcy
2. Jennifer
3. Elizabeth
4. Rebecca
5. Nichole
6. Cindy

That's it folks!!! Looks like EVERYONE has been tagged already, I couldn't believe it looking at everyone's blogs!

Well, have an awesome weekend!!! I'm off to scrap! =)

"MY NAME IS RACHEL, AND I AM A HEIDI SWAPP ADDICT..."

2006-01-12T17:18:00.000-05:00

I horde her products in my scraproom, piles and piles of it, and I admit to buying every thing I see of hers while I am in a scrap store. " OK, so I'm a nerd... but it is soooooo true... when creating this layout I could NOT believe how many HS products I actually have!!!! But isn't her stuff just amazing and glorious and soooo very fun?!

I had SUCH a blast making this layout for Sheri R, and was seriously surprised how quickly it all came together! Isn't Sheri's little girl so beautiful?!?! I LOVE this pic of her!!! And I am soooo glad Sheri likes this!!!!

So the other layout I did, I did a while ago and was too much of a nerd to admit on 2peas that it was a RS reject... don't know why?!?! BUT I am really glad I did and have it cuz it's the first layout I have ever done about myself, and it felt good to create!! Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments you left me on this, it means so much to me!!!

So, I am still at work right now, will be here for a loooooooooong time, but needed to take a break after 8 1/2 hours straight w/no lunch break... ugh... but I know I can't complain cuz I am off tomorrow, will be watching the kiddos! Soooooo, it's late and I guess I better get back to workin'... it will be a looooong night for sure!!!!!

MOAN... COUGH... SIGH...

2006-01-10T12:36:00.000-05:00

YES, I am sick... ugh... hate being sick, but alas the germs found their way to my body!! Figured they would, Alexa has been sick a lot lately!

So we ALL went to the Urgi-Care Sunday morning... Scott has a sinus infection... Lexie has an ear infection... and I have a throat infection! Isn't that wonderful?! We're all sick in this house, bleh! So we got meds, thank goodness, and today Scott is feeling much better, Lexie now has a cough but her ear is better, and I woke up with an ear ache and what seems to be the start of PINK EYE... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Not fair... I have to get better for work tomorrow... will be craziness the next couple of days... ugh... so I just wanted you to know I'm here, just not really... but I am, if that makes sense!! =)

I did a swap with Jennifer (mom2dylanNdrew)... had so much fun scrapping her cute boys, LOVE doing boy pages, a real switch from my pink-girly pages... AND it kept my mind off of being sick... will just have to spray it with Lysol before I mail it to her, lol!

Hope everyone is doing well...

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK...

2006-01-07T17:39:00.000-05:00

That's right... a picture(s) that catches my attention... that calls out for me to take a closer look... to maybe laugh... cry... sigh... think... or even drool!!! So this week... I picked drool, ha ha!!
Mr. Ricky Martin... sigh... yes, he is amazingly good-looking... talented... amazingly good-looking... a good dancer... amazingly good-looking... um... okay, so he's hot, but can I say that since I'm married woman?!

So I was hiding in the bushes on the beaches of St. Bart's when I caught this photo of Ricky and a friend keeping their bodies firm and buff... sigh... wish that were true... got these off People.com, lol!

Hope you're all havin' a great weekend and I've left you with a smile on your face!!!! =)

TITLE ME BABY...

2006-01-05T09:20:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I reached the 5,000 posts mark on 2peas a little while ago, HURRAY... and was so excited to finally put my own title in there... and ended up with SUCH a dumb one... "HURRAY, NO MORE RED X" --- why did I come up with this lame title, you ask? Cuz no matter what I did, a red X always appeared instead of my picture... for months and months and months... which annoyed me sooooo badly... so finally I got smart and decided to change the picture... DOY!

So I need help coming up with a fun, creative title... anyone wanna play?! I would love to hear what you come up with!! =)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2006-01-03T15:44:00.000-05:00

2006... wow... cannot believe it is already 6 years past the time where everyone thought the "end" was coming, the millenium! Time flies by too fast... WAY too fast that it scares me. Scott and I have been married for 6 1/2 years... We are both closer to 30 now than 20... Alexa is already well past 3 years old, looking and sounding and acting much older than I would like, lol! Sigh... I wish I could stop time, hold on to the little moments that seem to slip on by.

So how was everyone's New Year's??? Our New Year rang in with PINK EYE... yes, poor Lexie has it and trying to give her the eyedrops has been a complete nightmare! She doesn't want it near her and screams and cries, it's just awful!! The first couple times we bribed her with a sucker, which worked... but then she caught on to us and now runs in the other direction! So after having to pin her down completely and forcing the drops in her eyes 2 different times, Scott and I now feel like she will be scarred for the rest of her life!!!!

I am SOOOOOO very exciting to say that there are changes on the horizon for us...

I QUIT my job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AAAHHHH!! Just to say it is invigorating! And a little surreal!!! I will be staying home with Alexa and watching Rayna and Ethan full-time! I am really excited and can't wait for the transition to take place! Instead of giving my work 2 weeks, I decided to give them a month because they really need someone in this position!!! My last day will be the the last week of January! Next week I actually switch to part-time because my mom is starting school (to become and Interior Designer!!!! We're so excited for her!) so I will need to watch the kiddos! Since Scott is a Realtor and "self-employed" I'm the one with the health insurance/benefits, so he and I have been hunting for good benefits, and it is soooooooo expensive, OY! Hundreds of dollars a month, some are even into the $1,000's, ugh!!! Isn't that crazy?! So I'm hoping we will get something set up in the next week or two! So things are crazy, especially this week cuz I'm trying to wrap up so many things at work... and here I am, updating my blog instead!!!!!!!! lol :p

So I managed to get some scrapping done over the long weekend... had fun with this one, the colors just make me smile!!! And Lexie's faces make me giggle!! She LOVES her Disney movies and always sings along!! {Just like her mama, hee hee!}

Well, hope all y'all are doin well!!!!!

Happy Tuesday! =)

MY CRIB...

2005-12-29T19:40:00.000-05:00

OK, so I FINALLY got around to taking pics of my house, sorry it took so long! I think I may start with the downstairs first, the back of the house, and then work my way on up to the upstairs. Now just as an FYI, we've only been here for a few months and haven't painted ANYTHING yet!!!! So the walls are pretty blah and the decorating is still unfinished... k... here goes...

This is our Morning Room which we love eating in cuz the sun just brightens the whole room. We just got the furniture a little while ago, and my mom made the curtains. Off to the left of the picture is another window and then behind where I was standing there is a patio door that leads outside.

Next is our kitchen... I wasn't used to having all this space, but we quickly filled it up with STUFF, don't ask me what, lol, and I think it actually looks cluttered here! And we still need to get a microwave above the stove and I'm not sure yet what color I want to paint everything.

Next is our family room where Scott had to stick his big screen... it's just too big, in my opinion and is somewhat of an eyesore, but ah well! And if you really look you can see Lexie off to the right side there (w/her wet hair, she just got a bath!) =)

Next is the Dining Room which is right off the kitchen (and foyer)... we have done NOTHING really in this room except for hang curtains from my old house, and stick our old table in there, which looks kinda silly, but oh well. We probably won't get a Dining Room set for a while cuz there's really no need right now...

Then there is Scott's office (and our only computer) which is also off the foyer. Another room we have done nothing to... Scott has no clue on how he wants it "decorated" so we may get around to that in the next month or two. Behind the left door which you can't see there are two windows.

Now we move to the upstairs... our master bedroom is off to the left and separate from the other rooms, which is nice.

This was one of the first rooms we started decorating... my mom also made the curtains in here too. We like the privacy and how it's own little "suite". For Christmas, my mom just got us tons of greenery and baskets and beautiful large vases to put up on those ledges, and I can't wait to get them up there. Another thing we like about our room is the vaulted ceilings, that you can't really see here.

Ok, then off to our master bathroom... which I have yet to decorate at all!! No curtains, no paint, nothing really except the necessities!

Okay, here's Alexa's room, very blah, huh?! lol... But of course she has the pink comforter!! My mom is going to paint a wall mural behind her bed of a castle up on a hill... I can't wait!!! (Yes, my mom is ultra-talented!!!!!) I couldn't really get a good picture of her room... the right of the picture there is a long dresser, than off to the left of the picture is her closet.

And then here is the hall bathroom, which I decorated w/froggies, they're so cute!! I think we'll paint this blue and green and make it really fun!!

OK, I am soooooo embarassed to post these pics of my scraproom, SO EMBARASSED cuz it is NOT clean NOR is it organized... but I will post "AFTER" pics when I finally get around to doing it. (So sorry you had to see this awful site!!!!! lol) I want to get tons of storage and shelving in here, hopefully SOON!!!!!!!!! And then you'll all see I'm not really a scrappin slob!! I actually know where everything is in this mess, can you believe it?! BAD RACHEL!!!! This now motivates me to give myself a swift kick in the tush! (And if you look closely you can see the INCREDIBLY AWESOME layouts miss Gabby-girl did for me... they are even more awesome IRL and are kept safe and sound where I can STARE at them, lol!

And then here is Lexie's playroom, AFTER the major cleaning... it's still not done, Scott is going to build built-in storage seating all along the back wall where you see the dollhouse/ bookcase (yes, he better!!!) and then we're going to put up a ton of shelving, and other fun stuff... but at least it's clean!!!!! lol

Didn't take a picture of our last bedroom, there's nothing in it except an ironing board!! It will be our future nursery!

Oh! Forgot about our basement... just a couch, entertainment center & TV... we still have to get our pool table from my sister's house which will go on the other side behind the couch, and then Scott's gonna deck it out w/sports memorabilia.

That's it folks... my house... my home... my casa... my crib... and you are all welcome over ANY time you are out my way in Ohio!!!!!!! =)

IS IT OVER ALREADY????

2005-12-28T19:35:00.000-05:00

It is soooo hard to believe that Christmas is over already... all the preparing, shopping, prepping, planning... for a month or two straight... for it to be over in 1 single weekend?! Christmas was wonderful, lots of family, food, fun, food, laughing, food... did I mention food?! hee hee! (Yeah, I think I packed on a good 5.5 lbs. this weekend... ugh!) I DO have to admit that a little part of me is relieved that it IS over... it was such a LONG, crazy, non-stop weekend for Alexa, but she had such a blast opening all the presents, which by the way consisted mostly of DOLLS and BARBIES this year!!!! And she loved playing with the other kids and goofing off when she saw that mommy wasn't watching!!

Saturday night we went to Scott's dad's side of the family and they went WAY overboard on her... barbie after doll after barbie after doll!!!! Alexa kept squeeling with delight when opening each one... Such a joyful expression, huh?! And the BIG ticket item that night was her Cinderalla horse and coach!!! This was Scott's cousin's little baby's first Christmas... he was so tired... he drank his bottle and then conked right out half-way through opening his presents... how cute is he?!?!?!??!

So Christmas morning Lexie rose with delight... came running into our room asking if Santa had come!!! It was so cute! We all rushed downstairs and sure enough, the milk and cookies were gone and the tree was surrounded with presents! "I've been a good girl, huh mommy?!" She said. Scott and I loved watching her open each one! The big "theme" this Christmas seemed to be DOLLS... because she is SO into princesses and fairies and little dolls and Barbie's... and basically anything girly!! She would even stop to ask where OUR presents were and then handed them to us and was even excited when WE opened ours... she was SO sweet! And we realized just how big she is getting!!!!!

Afterwards... we took off to my mom's house... MORE presents, and Alexa could barely wait to get there! Watching her and Rayna was pretty funny, just the excitement oozing from them was enough!! They had SUCH a blast!!! And of course my cutie little nephew had fun, too! He just turned 5 months and loves to play now!! He is just the sweetest little thing!

Then at 4:00 we went to my dad's side of the family's get-together... to see family we haven't seen in a quite a while! It was soooo good catching up with everyone! And Alexa had the best time playing with all the kids! Scott came into the "playroom" where my BIL was chasing all the little girls, lol! Then my hubby had a run for his money when he saw this cute group of girls coming after HIM! My dad's family is HUGE!! I mean HUGE! (They rent a hall every year to accomodate and it's still pretty cozy, and not even everyone could make it!!) So we ended up taking pictures of each of the families, because a group picture was just not possible! So.................
Here are all the KIDS (under the age of 17) from the family, and some aren't even here!

And then here is OUR family picture (left to right: in the blue top is my oldest sister Christy who is pregnant, her hubby Mark is behind her, then next to Christy is my mom holding Rayna, behind her is my BIL Scott who is married to Beth who is sitting on the end w/Ethan, then standing next to my BIL is MY hubby Scott {yes, there are 2 Scott's in the fam!!)... my younger cousin took it, sorry for the blur... and for the red eye, and if you can make it out, Alexa was NOT happy to be sitting on my lap, she wanted to play and be with all the kids... thus my HUGE open smile (as Scott put it nicely... "Looks like you're about to bite into an apple!" .... Real sweet, honey!) There was literally EVERYONE watching each family get their picture taken, talk about pressure, huh?! We had about 10 cameras pointing at us with people saying "Hold on, one more!" Could you imagine?! Ugh... I can only imagine what it's like to be on the red carpet, lol.

So that was our Christmas in a nutshell, ha ha! I had off Monday which I cleaned the ENTIRE day long... will post pics of my house later this week. Tuesday my mom and I organized Alexa's playroom, where I had about 5 anxiety attacks cuz I never thought it would get done, lol! And then my friend came over with her kids, who Alexa just adores! At the end of the night here was our attempt to get a picture of them!!!! Gotta love kids, huh?! And then today I went back to work, ugh, not fun!

So LOTS of pictures today... and so sorry for all the rambling! Hope everyone is well =)

MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

2005-12-24T10:33:00.000-05:00

Last night we celebrated with my mom's side of the family! LOVE getting together w/them, so much fun, so many laughs, an all around great time!! Alexa was so excited when we got there, seeing all the presents around the tree that she SAID were all for her... she's stingy, that one, lol! Her and Rayna had a blast opening them up throughout the whole night! Their face expressions were just priceless and made us all giggle w/excitement ourselves!!! By the end of the night Alexa was high on cookies and all the other sugar she snuck in w/out mommy seeing, running around the house like a crazy madwoman! Oh, that girl, such a riot! And then at the end of the night her and Rayna put on a little concert for us, it was just about the sweetest thing I have EVER seen!!!!!

Tonight we're going to Scott's family's house... Alexa loves his cousin's, they always play with her, do her hair, and basically whatever else she commands them to do, lol! They're teenage girls and it's so great to see the love they have for her in return!

Realized Alexa will have 6 Christmas's this year... 6!! That's a lot!!!!! Yes, she is spoiled, but more so, I'm just glad that we can get together with all of our family for the holidays and that Alexa gets to spend time with them! I love this time of year, although I SORELY miss my dad (and my grandma) I'm thankful for the rest of my family and the love that is so strong between us!!

Merry Christmas everyone... Wishing you and yours a very HAPPY HOLIDAY!!!!!!!!! :)

THANK GOD... FOR DRUGS...

2005-12-17T10:36:00.000-05:00

Otherwise Scott would still be in a great amount of pain. He's doing better, but is still in pain... and is even starting to feel numbness/tingling on his toes up to his rear -- how strange is that?! He has a Dr's appt Monday morning so I really hope all goes well!!! Thank you all for your support, it's greatly appreciated!

So Erin challenged us to take pics of our house... I accepted that challenge... but need to clean my house first otherwise we'd look like a bunch of slobs ;) So that's the plan for today, to get some major cleaning done so hopefully I'll have some pics on here by tomorrow!

Had so much fun swapping with Sheri R, she is SO sweet and funny and just a great person!! Aren't her kids so beautiful?! So I sent my layouts and all the other "stuff" for the Polar Bear Press DT call... eek... I am nervous... hate that! Gabby gave me the PUSH I needed to just send it... so alas, I did last night at like 3 in the morning... yes I'm crazy, I know!!! I am the biggest nightowl, and I hate it. Can easily stay up til 2-3 in the a.m., and then struggle to wake up for work every morning... I'm one of those people that hit the snooze button like 10 times and then wake up only to realize I overslept by 10 minutes so I rush around frantically to get ready, get Alexa up, ready, fed, and then head out the door... only to be 10 minutes late for work! Yes, I'm bad on time, always late, and am known for it, which SUCKS!!!! Need to work on that!!!

Had soooo much fun with this page, I love ribbon... I LOVE RIBBON!!!!!!!! I'm not sure when my fascination... addiction... ur, obsession started really, but it's strong, let me tell ya! I will have to get all of my spools and yardage organized and take a pic so you can actually see how many I have... oy... there's a lot... so many colors, so many styles, so yummy and fun!

Well, it's off to clean my pig-stye of a home... yes, I know you're jealous, lol. I hate cleaning, with a passion... but I also hate a mess, so I guess it balances out, hee hee.

Have an awesome Saturday!!!!!!!!!

A VACATION DAY?

2005-12-14T21:58:00.000-05:00

So... today was my vacation day... but actually, instead of going shopping or staying home and relaxing, I was planning on going to my sisters to watch her kids... who I LOVE so I didn't mind. So here's the lo-down...

It started off at 5 a.m. w/Scott complaining about his lower back hurting him. He tossed and turned for about a half-hour, then got out of bed and scared me when he screamed at the top of his lungs from the pain! He took a hot shower, thinking maybe he slept on it wrong, but the pain got worse. So we called my mom to see if she could come here to watch Alexa so we could go to the E.R. We got there a little after 7, Scott was soooo upset and completely cranky about the pain, he was demanding meds right away, which of course they couldn't give him. We finally get a room and a nurse comes in right away, is really nice, and does the whole "question game"... then about a half-hour later the Dr. comes in, examines Scott and goes, "Hm, this is a tricky one. Let's do an x-ray." But Scott demanded meds first! So a half-hour goes by, finally the nurse comes to give him 2 shots, 10 mg's of Morphine and some kind of muscle relaxer... then another half-hour goes by and they come and wheel him into x-rays. When he came back I asked how long it would take to get results and was told that it shouldn't take long... well 2 hours go by... Scott is passed out from the drugs, I'm FREEZING, my butt's tired from sitting in an extremely uncomfortable chair, and I only have like 3 feet to pace... I get ansy, REAL ansy... so I asked a nurse about the results and she said she'd go check... 1 hour goes by, I think I'm going to lose my mind... really found out how impatient I actually am!!! So I went to the desk and asked another nurse, she said the same. Now I felt bad cuz I know the E.R. is a busy place, but no one would even look at me!!!! So the Dr. FINALY comes in only to say, "We don't see anything in the x-ray." We all look at each other like, "Hmm..." I asked all these questions and then he said they wanted to do another x-ray to check the hip cuz that's where the area of pain was on Scott's right side. So they did, another hour goes by, and still nothing. Now this whole time, Scott comes in and out of a comotose state, while my blood is boiling, yet I'm shivering cuz it's so dang cold. "I really don't know what to say, except that it's definitely something skeletal..." Doc says when he FINALLY returns... I'M thinking "Oh really, gees, I could've figured that out!" (Yes, I'm still cranky thinking about this!) So he says he'll write up some prescriptions and I think FINALLY we are going to leave... NOPE... another HOUR goes by!!!!!! And still, no one will make eye contact w/me... the fury must've been written on my face, huh?! Doc returns and told Scott that if he is still in pain in the next day or two, he'll have to get an MRI or a Cat Scan (so cross your fingers for me that it'll go away and that it's nothing!!) So we get the prescriptions and finally leave, thank God, grab a bite to eat in the car, uck-hate fast food, drop off his prescriptions and then head home. I get Scott all set up on the couch and he was out before I walked out the door, LOL. Now heading to my sister's house to relieve my mom, who was supposed to have the day off today! So I get to my sisters house and it's chaos... Alexa is having a screaming fit cuz Rayna won't share w/her, my little nephew Ethan is crying, my mom looks like she's hit the fan, and my sister is working from home and stressed out beyond control! JUST PERFECT! It was a looooooooong day, to say the least. Oh, AND THEN about an hour after Alexa and I get home, she falls off her little chair and hits her head on the edge of the fireplace... OUCH... felt soooo bad for her, but she is OK, thank goodness... I don't see anything, but I can't help but worry!!!

So yes, that was my "vacation day" in a nutshell, LOL. Today = a looooong, awful day!! OY!!!!!!!!!!!!

SANTA, SANTA!

2005-12-11T23:46:00.000-05:00

We took Alexa and my niece Rayna to get their pictures taken w/Santa yesterday, my BIL's work had a little "brunch" at this church where all the kids came, had their pictures taken and then had cookies and juice, it was really cute! So we get there early cuz we knew there'd be a long wait, and we were actually the very first ones there! The moment we walk inside Alexa sees Santa and runs to him shouting, "Santa! Santa" and gives him the biggest hug!! It was just about the cutest thing ever!! So she sits on his lap smiling, and the moment he starts talking she goes into "shy mode"... it was sweet actually. He asked her what she wanted, and I expected her to say The Little Mermaid Doll, Barbies, Princess something or other... but instead, she says SPONGEBOB! We all started laughing cuz she had never seen the show before, she did have a game on her little computer, but other than that, we had no clue where that came from cuz she hadn't played w/it in a while!! LOL... it was soooo funny! So then Rayna gets up onto his lap and is as sweet as ever saying she wanted Strawberry Shortcake and dolls, and all sorts of girly stuff... guess you never know what kids will say!!! Afterwards they ate some cookies and had juice and then couldn't wait to eat their candy canes that Santa had given them! We were in and outta there in about 20 minutes!! Not bad, eh?!

So this weekend I got a lot of scrapping done, which makes me soooo happy! I also created this card to add to my Secret Santa gift at work, I'm going to put magnets on the back and I left room for her to add a picture... hope she likes it!! This was totally inspired by that ribbon at the top that Gabby got me -- I loved the colors and immediately new what I was gonna do... thanks again, girl, for everything!!!!!! Oh, and this is actually the FIRST TIME I ever doodled and didn't pitch it!! I think it turned out OK???

Oh, the weekends go by waaaaay too fast, wish I had another day off... ugh! Tonight I made 80 cookies and a batch of brownies for our Secret Santa lunch... should be fun so I'm at least looking forward to that!! =)

TODAY IS A BETTER DAY!!

2005-12-08T08:35:00.000-05:00

I am soooo sorry for the downer of a post I left the other day, just something I was feeling and wanted to let out!! Thanks for the emails and uplifting words, I really appreciate it!!!!!

So glad tomorrow is Friday... I love Fridays! Scott and I were going to try to have a "Date Night" tomorrow night since last week didn't work out... but I am sick... drats! I've been sick so much lately... now it's a darn sinus infection, uck, I hate it!!!!!!

Saturday we're planning on taking Alexa to get her picture taken with Santa... she tells me all of the things she's going to ask him for, but I have a feeling she'll get on his lap, put her finger in her mouth and not say a word!! She's going through a shy phase now... AND major separation anxiety!! And I thought of Erin the other day, remembered a layout she did... Alexa has been calling me "MOM" and Scott "DAD"... it's so strange and sad to hear it come out of her mouth, she sounds so big... it's depressing, to say the least!

So I'm applying to a couple of Design Teams... gets nerve-wracking... there are so many talented scrappers out there! But I'm not going to give up... who all is on a DT, and which ones? And how long did it take you before you got on one? I also really started to submit my layouts... which is also nerve-wracking! I haven't had one pubbed yet, came close, had an editor contact ME, but the Magazine got canceled, go figure!! But thus is life... makes me stronger... makes me more determined. It isn't why I scrap, but it's SUCH an added bonus =) I had fun with this layout I did the other night...

This picture just made me think of that Martina McBride song... Alexa is definitely a happy girl!! We really are blessed; now the tantrums come, and she gets upset when she doesn't get her own way, but overall she is a silly, happy little thing! Last night on the drive home, she was cracking me up... with all the Christmas movies and music she's been hearing, she's been singing a lot of Christmas songs lately! It always makes us chuckle cuz she doesn't always pronounce the words correctly. Her version of Frosty the Snowman last night was sooooo cute:

"Frosty the Snowman, was a jobby healthy soul, with a corn cike and a button nose and two eyes made out of cooooold"

How cute are kids?! Oh, she cracks me up!!!!! Wish I could record her and post it here, but I don't think I can do that on blogger!?

Hope everyone's doing well, and staying warm, it's been soooo cold here, in the teens!!!! brrrrr...

A SAD KIND-OF DAY...

2005-12-06T21:16:00.000-05:00

Oh, I don't know why I'm feeling so sad today... Just one of those strong feelings that won't go away... the undeniable urge to cry, the pity-party, the "when it rains, it pours" attitude... ugh... I need to snap out of it... I HATE feeling like this... I'm a pretty happy person normally... maybe I just can't stop thinking of my dad... maybe I'm so sad that Alexa will never know him... maybe I'm so sad that my mom lost her best friend in the whole world... maybe I'm sad cuz he was my role model, my mentor, my hero... maybe I'm sad cuz he was taken from us waaaay too soon, too sudden, too unexpected... maybe I'm sad cuz it's the holidays and this time of year will never EVER feel 100% complete... maybe I'm sad cuz it's been over 3 years and it still doesn't feel real... will it ever?!

2005-12-04T19:05:00.000-05:00

OK... SO THIS IS A LONG ONE, I APOLOGIZE!!!

Christmas...
I LOVE this time of year SOOOOOO much!!! There is nothing better to me than driving somewhere and seeing houses decorated in lights and then coming home to our tree and stockings... and w/Alexa completely understanding the whole Santa thing it has made this time of year all the more fun!!! This is our first Christmas in our new house... we are really excited about it!! We put up our tree the week of Thanksgiving cuz I just couldn't wait!! Alexa loved helping us decorate and was more eager than either of us! Every day the moment she comes home, she runs to turn on the tree, it's sooo cute!!! Since we don't have our landscaping yet, we couldn't really decorate the outside, so we found some pre-lit wreaths for our windows... they were only $4.99 a piece... SUCH a great deal! I know it's not the best picture, a little dark, but it does look nice.

I started Christmas shopping a while ago, and only have a couple of people left and it feels soooo good to be almost done! I went to the Mall last night w/Alexa and oh my goodness... it was complete mayhem!! I knew I had to park in the front because I needed to go right in and get a car stroller. So I drove around and circled forever... finally, to my joyous surprise, I grabbed the VERY FIRST SPOT directly in front of the mall... that has NEVER happened to me! I was sooooo excited! Thank you RESERVED STROLLER SIGN!!!! So I go in and head for JC Penney's because I wanted to get some clothes for my mom and Scott... I won't go into all the gory details, but about 2.5 hours later, 5 trips to the bathroom and $$$$$ spent, it was already past the time that I needed to leave and make it home for when my sister got there. I couldn't believe that was the only store I made it to... ugh! But I finished my mom and Scott, so I was happy w/that!!!

My sister came over w/my niece and nephew last night... Our guys went next door to our neighbor's poker party, so we thought we would try to take the kids' Christmas picture to send to all of our family. Now Beth and I have done this in the past, and know the stress and sweat it causes, and we say every year "We're never doing this again!" But alas, this year came around and here we are. Trying to get 2 little active, silly girls and a 4-month old's picture... HA! Are we crazy?! After several, several attempts of trying to get all of them smiling and looking at the camera at the same time... these are just a FEW of the results of our labor...

So today we went to the Portrait Studio since we had no luck last night, and I don't think I've ever seen so many people in one place before... kids everywhere... running around... crying... screaming... parents yelling... we were like "What the heck?!" So we go in and realize they are about 20 minutes behind. Well, my sister Beth was pretty irritated cuz she had just fed Ethan and knew we were on a time-frame here. So 20 minutes go by... 30 minutes... 40 minutes... 50 minutes... we are FURIOUS!!! Alexa and Rayna had been running around everywhere, taking kids toys, falling on the ground, fighting, crying, in time-out... and Ethan was just starting to get fussy!! So I asked the lady if we were next and she said there were 2 people in front of us... Beth had hit the ceiling... she just about told the lady off... they obviously had over-booked and did not apologize, but instead said "it was their policy to run behind if the kids were not participating during the photo shoots." Their policy?! Give me a break, to be 50 minutes behind schedule w/soooooo many people waiting in the studio, people complaining left and right... and it is their policy?! AAAAHHHHH! So we went for a little walk and FINALLY were called. We went in, the girls actually listened and did pretty well, but by then, Ethan did not want any part of it!!! So we settled on a picture of the 3 of them, I got a picture of just Alexa, and my sister, sadly, wasn't able to get a picture of just Rayna and Ethan together. We just couldn't believe it the craziness... and are never going back there around the Holidays again!!!! OY!!

So that was my weekend... it's Sunday night... Scott and Alexa are watching Pooh's Heffalump movie... I'm in the office typing away... and tomorrow it's back to work...

2005-11-29T20:17:00.000-05:00

LIFE IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES and you never know what you're gonna get...

OK, so this is a little corny... but isn't it soooo true?! Think about life -- the obstacles, triumphs, defeat... now think about a box of chocolates -- all the pieces inside, each different, each tempting, some not... you get me?

Ok, so let me clarify... seems like I can never pick that perfect, delicious piece of chocolate on the first try, the one that I bought the box for! It relates so much to my life... like hoping and wishing for the perfect, stress-free, everything goes my way day... or wishing I could say the perfect thing the very moment something happens that is out of my control -- or wishing I could find the perfect outfit to wear so I can feel good and confident the whole day long -- or even something like wanting to fit every little thing in that I possibly can in a 24-hour period... but it's just not possible!! Life isn't supposed to be that easy!

So alas... I have finally come to terms with the fact that I just can't do EVERYTHING (like I thought I could)! Seems like I can never keep the house clean enough these days... I can never spend enough time with Alexa, or even with Scott... I can't scrap every night like I wish I could! I guess I knew working full-time and trying to fit everything else in would be tough!! But I guess I never realized just how tough it WOULD be!!!! I don't know how other working moms do it, the moms who have 2 or more kids and try to balance work, a home, husband-time, alone-time, social-time, and family-time all at once... is there ever enough time? No. There's not.

So that makes me want to step back and try to reevaluate things... prioritize... and I need to realize that I honestly do the BEST that I can do w/in my own limits... pushing myself to the extreme, stressing out, having panic attacks... well, it's just not worth it. I have to stop being so hard on myself, I have to stop putting myself down for not being "super woman"... I am who I am... I'm a good mom, a good wife, a good daughter and sister and friend... and I have to start appreciating that!

So after all that rambling... yes... life, to me, is like a box of chocolates... the box is tempting, so you reach for the decadent piece you've been craving, bite into it, swirl the chocolate around... and realize the inside is coconut and not caramel... blek (to me)... "YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GONNA GET"... and that's OK... spit it out and try again -----> who knows what life will bring your way, just TRY your hand at it, and do the best that YOU can do...