A Memory In The Making

And Summer finally begins....

For the first time since early March, there are no more baseball schedules hanging on the fridge....no practices to sit through, no games in unfamiliar towns to find.  Its actually the first weekend of summer for us!  Unfortunately I was not able to enjoy the freedom this weekend as I had a procedure done on Thursday that left me unable to be in the sun this weekend but the kids and my sister kicked it off with a visit to the Ocean City Boardwalk.  I just stayed home nursing my case of the blues.  I have to admit, I have one of the best kids in the world.  I was a little teary eyed this morning, just trying to get through another lonely day when Matt came in and put his arm around his mom and said "Don't worry, Mom.  Good things will happen."  I just LOVE this kid.  Isn't that just the most precious thing you ever heard!  So to get happy, I'm posting a picture below from Disney and a much happier time.  Looking at these pictures always makes me smile.
 

I haven't worked on anything scrappy in the longest time,  I subscribe to two monthly kits and both are still sitting in the packaging...I hope this coming week without baseball and such I will be able to get some things created.

Today I want to wish a very Happy Birthday to John.  I miss you and love you very much. 

Twice in one day!

OK, so its not a major print publication and I didn't receive any cool products for my submission, BUT my name is in print and one of my layouts is featured here:  http://scrapbooking.com/article/41541 .  Not a huge deal but it made me smile!  It was the first time ever anyone ever wanted anything I created.  I don't bother to submit much, though.  That's my *toot* for the day!

Susan

Still Here!!

Yep, I'm still here.  It's been over a month since I posted to my blog and I am sorry for those of you who keep checking to see what's happenning in my life!  I keep meaning to post but by the time I have the time, I'm too pooped to do it.  This morning I came into work and one of my coworkers, Deanna, saw Angela from the Scrapbook Cafe.  Deanna told me I better get my blog up to date so here I am!

Its been nothing short of crazy since the beginning of June.  The first event of note was the wedding of two good friends, Fran & Sue.  In fact, they will be the focus of my next Scrapbook Cafe Design Team layout.  The wedding was held on June 7 and was held in their backyard with a luau theme.  I had no idea what to expect as I've never  been to a "non-traditional" wedding reception before but boy was it fun!!!  The sun was blazing hot but the Frozen Margaritas and Pina Coladas helped to keep everyone cool!  The food was catered from a local Bar-B-Q place (the name of which I cannot remember) and was really quite good.  Traditional "pig roast" food but without the piggy spinning around in plain view which I thought was a nice touch!  LOL!  I also had my first taste of Brie.  I didn't like it!  We saw some friends that we haven't seen in quite a while and had a great time!  I'm really happy for them both.  They were cut from the same fabric....I've never met two people so right for each other.

Next up on the list is Johnny's senior prom on Frid.  He's been dating his girlfriend Vanessa since January and they are such a cute couple. Boy things sure are different from when I went to the prom.  I think it cost $50 a couple way back when....these kids had to pay $180 per couple!  YIKES!!  And the flowers???  I paid for Vanessa's and it was $40!  WHAT?!?!  For a simple wrist corsage!  Holy moly!  They were certainly a beautiful couple, don't ya think?  The funny story to this event is that I gave him my small Sony Cybershot point/shoot camera to bring to the prom.  Figured if Mom can't be there, I can at least have lots of pictures to scrap.  The next day when he handed the camera back to me I was all excited to see all the pictures of him and his friends having fun at the prom.  Well, if you call FOUR, yes FOUR pictures "lots" then my plan worked.  I was SO disappointed!!  Fortunately there were plenty of pre-prom pictures.  And maybe its a good thing Mom DOESN'T see what happens at the prom!  LOL! 

On the same day as the prom, my baby girl entered the world of double digits!  Yep, I know longer have a child under the age of 10.  So much for ordering off the kids menus at restaurants!!!  And we wasted no time finding that out as Susie chose Applebee's for her special birthday dinner location.  I don't have those pictures here on my work computer but this is Susie and Johnny...oops, I mean John with the "Build-A-Bear" bunny she made with the gift certificate her brother gave her. No other news with Susie except she's being a real trooper trudging along to all of Matt's games.  It can sure be boring to be the little sister! 

Shortly after the Prom, John (and Vanessa too) graduated High School on June 23.  He will be attending Kean University in the Fall majoring in Business Administration and a minor in Accounting.  Vanessa will be attending Monmouth University so they will still be able to see each other which has them both quite happy.  John (I have to try to stop calling him Johnny now...he's a man and prefers John!!) but anyway, his plan (or hope) is to work for the FBI investigating white collar crimes, embezzlement, tax evasion, etc.  Its a big change from what his original plans were.  Since he was about 12 years old he always said he wanted to be a History teacher.  It stayed with him (and he's still very interested in history) all the way up until being accepted at Kean University.  He chose the Business Administration major based upon the advise of a friend of his father who is in "the know" regarding working for the FBI.  The obvious Criminal Justice major results in a larger pool of FBI wanna-be's and apparently having the business major will give him more of an opportunity to be selected.  I'm very proud of him and excited for him as he starts a new time in his life.  Of course, I am not all that thrilled to be old enough to be the mother of a college student, but many people seem surprised when they hear that so I guess that means I still look younger than I truly am!  I'll take anything I can get!  PS - I had heels on in this picture....he stands a full foot taller than his mother!!!

And the craziest part of the summer yet has been involving my youngest son Matthew.  He was selected to play on the Absecon All Star baseball team which means tournament after tournament, each with 4-7 games each.  I have a heck of a tan going and I have yet to put my toes in the sand at the beach!  This weekend starts the Galloway Tournament and I *think* that may be the last one.  He's doing really great though and loves playing baseball.  They took third place in the Egg Harbor Township Tournament, didn't make it to the semi-finals in the Mays Landing Tournment and as I said, Galloway starts this weekend.  Its been a hot way to spend the weekends but we are managing to get in some fun stuff too.  We've gone to Ocean City, played miniature golf, spent an afternoon in Smithville for a Civil War re-enactment and just enjoyed being together.  So that's what's new in my neck of the woods.  Knock on wood that everyone is now healthy, considering the last post I made it seemed as if everyone in the house was down with one ailment or another.  I have done a bit of scrapping and will try to get some photos of them up on the blog too.  Hope everyone else is having a great summer!

Susan

Touching Base

I'm just checking in to say that I'm still alive!  For the last week and a half, my daughter was very sick and now that she is feeling better Mom seems to have picked up the virus.  I haven't done anything scrappy since NSD and I'm jonesing.  My sister is staying with me for a while and she has caught the scrapping bug.  She ordered two kits from QVC on NSD and has been making layouts!  She's doing a great job for a beginner.  Much better than my first pages were!!  But then again, back then all we had to work with was cardstock and lame white edged stickers and plain old die cuts.  Someday I guess I will have to go back and redo all those first pages.  What does everyone else do?  To re-do or not to re-do.  Part of me says not to, because the memories are there on paper for future generations.  If I start redoing my first pages, I'll NEVER get caught up!!

On a side note, I'm happy to report that I have been asked for one of my layouts for publication.  As soon as I have all the information I will post about it.  I'm super excited. 

That's all that's new around here.....hopefully some scrappiness will happen over the weekend.

Lots of Stuff!

I hope everyone had a great scrapping weekend.  Mine was great all the way up till FRIDAY NIGHT!  Yep, you read that right...Friday night was when my weekend went downhill...it never even got started.  My favorite online site, Freckle Friends, was having their NSD crop on Friday.  I was home with Susie who is STILL fighting bronchitis and asthma attacks, so I hung out there all day and had a blast completing all the challenges.  I will post most of the layouts below (there are actually 2 that I am planning to submit for publication...who knows maybe I'll get lucky!).  Anyway, about 7ish Friday night I was standing on a chair to take a picture of a layout (you know, just like you tell your kids NOT to do) and when I jumped down I heard a strange noise, then the lights went out.  All I could feel was PAIN.  I did it good this time...I TORE THE MUSCLE in my calf.  I am supposed to be on crutches but upon trying them quickly realized they were more of a hazrd to me than a help.  So I had my leg up most of the weekend.  I did go to work today and man does it HURT tonight!  Anyway, I kept going through the pain (thanks to the Percocet left over from the oral surgery LAST weeK) and won one of the challenges!  I'm not sure what my prize will be as one of the great DT members over there went "shopping" for me so I will be surprised when it arrives.  There was also a scavenger hunt and I won that too!  This is my prize for that...LOVE everything, but especially the Thickers and the Maya Road!  Thanks Dawn for picking out such a great assortment:

Here's some of the things I made during the crop on Friday:

   

Happy NSD!!

Its been a week, let me tell you!!!  It's Friday morning and I'm not quite sure what happened to Tues, Wed & Thurs!  I had oral surgery on Tuesday which was much more invasive than I was anticipating.  Thank heaven for Percocet!  And to top it off, Susie came home early from school on Tuesday with a low grade fever and Matt had his first baseball game Tuesday night.  By the time I got home and was able to think about the pain I was in, I went to bed.  Wednesday I had both kids home....Susie sick and Matthew feeling sorry for himself because Susie was staying home.  Again, still have some pain and have to muddle through the day and another baseball game!  I have to say, it was a great game!  Matt pitched the last 3 innings and struck out the batters 1-2-3, earning him the "Game Ball". Unfortunately, they called the game before it was over because we were already short players and in the 5th inning, 3 of our players were injured...with one having to go to the ER for a possible broken thumb.  Was a shame as it was a great game....tied at 4-4 when they called it. 

Anyway, fast forward to Friday.  I am home from work again today....Susie still fighting bronchitis and running a fever.  I only managed a full day of work on Monday this week.  Man I hate using sick time for really being sick or caring for someone sick!  LOL!  I did get a little scrapping done last night.  I'm still plugging away at the Disney album and did the intro pages and another double spread of the Disney Spirit of Aloha Luau we attended.  It would be so nice if I could get this album done soon so I can start on the 2006 trip!  LOL!  Yep....doing 2007 before 2006!
Plus its NSD Weekend....so lots of online crops and challenges I plan to participate in.  At least that's the plan!  I kinda hope the weather is crappy tomorrow so I don't feel guilty staying inside scrapping all day!  I ts almost 9am which means its just about time to switch the TV to QVC for the 10th Annivesary of Creating Keepsakes on QVC.  I saw they are going to have the new pink and black Sizzix machine and some new Sizzix stuff so I want to see that as I "hear" that lots of great new Sizzix is headed to the Scrapbook Cafe!!  I gave my original Sizzix machine away about 2 years ago and switched over to the Cuttlebug.  Will be curious to see if there's any reason I need the pink and black machine other than the fact that the color combination is adorable!  It's really the new dies I am more curious about.  Of course I will wait till they make it to the Cafe but a girl can start her wishlist, right?  So that's about it for now!  How's that for catching you all up on my week in one post!  I haven't even had a chance to blog surf this week so I'm off to check out Jen, Pat & Corina's blog to see what they are up to!  Have a super Friday!!!

Disney Memories! Ahhhh!

 

If any of you visit Jen's blog regularly you know that she is counting down the days till her next trip to the World.  Since I can't be there too (I don't know WHY she won't let me stow away in her luggage) I decided it was time to start making more of a dent in my Disney scrapping.  I've been there twice in the past 2 years...October 06 with all the kids and John and his son, and then again in December 07 just John and I to celebrate my turning the big 4-0.  One of the things that was holding me back was trying to always incorporate the Disney theme into every layout....paper, stickers, etc.  Well today (home with a sick child) I threw out that theory and just went with what looked good.  The layouts don't scream Disney but I LOVE how all of them came out.  I got a lot of pictures on most of the pages and was able to complete three 2 page layouts and a single page layout all since about 9 this morning.  They just rolled right out! Here they are in no particular order:
This one is from the Japan Pavilion in Epcot.  The lady is a world famous candy maker and the ONLY female with this taffy sculpting talent.  (I looked her up on the internet when we got home.  Its actually very interesting!  I don't think you can read the journaling but the title came from the lady making the taffy.  Throughout her presentation she repeatedly said "Taffy, Yum" and it got to the point where she would say "Taffy" and the audience would say "Yum"!  We walked around for hours saying "Taffy...Yum".  I used Far and Away papers and a little bit of Fancy Pants, American Crafts Remarks (brown) and Thickers (white) and the chipboard birds were in my stash...not sure where they came from but likely Fancy Pants, and Creative Cafe pink scallop ribbon.  All of the papers and the ribbon are in stock now at the Scrapbook Cafe and the Thickers and Remarks I got at my favorite ONLINE store, Freckle Friends. 

This next layout is a two page layout of random shots of the Sphere at Epcot and the Christmas Tree.  Nothing fancy about the page but I love all these photos!!  I LOVE Epcot and seem to be totally enthralled with the Globe!  I used Bazzil cardstock and Three Bugs In A Rug papers, Disney Mickey Head buttons, Making Memories red leather photo corners, and red AC Vinyl Thickers.   Oh and the "IMAGINE" stamp is Heidi Swapp.

Next is Dinner at the Coral Reef and a quick photo op at the Nemo display in The Living Seas area of Epcot.  I used Bazzill Bling cardstock, Nemo Stickers (all available at the Cafe) and I dug deep in my stash and pulled out these great Junkitz papers.  The colors were perfect!  The chipboard letters are from Oriental Trading.

And the last Disney layout for today was our dinner at LeCellier in the Canada Pavillion where we were also the recipient of a small dream from Matt, a Dream Team Cast Member.  We received Fast Passes which we used to ride Test Track again, front row seating at the Candlelight Processional and a semi-private viewing area for the fireworks later that evening!  I was so excited!  He (Matt the Dream Team Guy) got down on the floor and was drawing on a Guidemap to show us exactly where he would meet us later that night to get us to our fireworks viewing area!  It was such fun!  I used Bazzill cardstock, Basic Grey's Sugared collection (papers and embellishments) and Kaiser Rhinestones (all in stock at the Cafe) and the letters are American Crafts Remarks brown.  I LOVE AC letters....I need to order some more with my monthly kit from Freckle Friends!

Well that made for a fun day!  Lots of Disney memories still to document!!!  All of the above were from the December 07 trip.  Thanks for looking!

Different But Neat!

Ok, so the other day I showed a picture of what I had to work with for the newest Scrapbook Cafe Design Team project.  I worked a couple different angles in my head (using it on a layout, making it into something completely other than what it is) but neither idea panned out.  So I stuck with what I originally envisioned but if I had all the supplies I needed I would have a twist to this.  Here's the BEFORE and AFTER pictures:  I tried to "age" the door by using crackle paint but once again it didn't work.  I think it soaks into this wood too much and doesn't actually crackle.  I waited 2 hours before I put the topcoat on so I KNOW it was dry!  Oh well, Plan B.  I used Dark Brown Chalk Ink and lightly shaded the whole piece then gently sanded some of the ink and paint away to give it a more rustic look.  After seeing the picture, I think I may do a little enhancing to the hearts in the corners but for now, here's what I have. 

I used some heavy gauge wire and shaped it into a circle.  I wrapped the wire with green Twistel (talk about digging into my stash...I haven't touched that stuff in YEARS and I had it in every color!!)  I added a few pink Kaiser flowers with a little Kaiser  bling for the centers and a ribbon bow at the top.  I hung the "wreath" on the top half of the door.  In the middle of the door I made a sign that says "Welcome Friends" and below that I added a small clothespin with a wooden flower on it (found in an assortment box I picked up on clearance at AC Moore a while ago),  I hung a small picture of a good friend of mine on the door.  My original thought was a phrase about friendship but I couldn't put my hands on anything I liked.   I used a pink brad for the doorknow and I attached a ribbon hanger to the top but also put magnet tape on the back so that it can also hang on the fridge, plus the magnet tape gave the piece a little more sturdiness as these wood shapes are very delicate.  Now here's where my twist comes in....if I had both the time and could put my hands on everything I would need, my REAL vision for this door was to be seasonal.  I wanted to create a "wreath" for each season.  As you see it now would have been the "everyday" version.  Then I pictured a red, white & blue wreath with a Happy 4th of July sign on the door, orange and black with Happy Halloween, red and green with Merry Christmas, pastels for Easter.....you get the idea!  I think that would be really cute.  I would use a plain clothespin on the bottom and hang an appropriate seasonal photo on the bottom.  Doesn't that sound cute???  I am going to suggest it to Angela and see if she thinks I should make it like that.  But for now, this is it as I know she needed this project back relatively quickly.

Thanks for looking and make sure to check Pat's blog tomorrow to see who won the Scrapbook Cafe Saturday Night Challenge.

Time Flies!!

Its been almost a week since my last blog post!  I had one of those "home parties" this past Thursday so the beginning of the week I was power cleaning and making sure I was ready.  I didn't do anything scrappy until yesterday and that was just more finishing up of some layouts that were 75-90% done.  So I got them done and in the albums.  Friday after work I took the kids out to get some new Spring/Summer clothes, plus Matt needed a new baseball bat and they both needed new sneakers.  By the time we got home I was literally exhausted.  I remember sitting on my bed to put some stuff away (ok, Mom got a new top or two) and the next thing I knew it was 7am Saturday morning and I slept in my clothes not even under the covers!  That's NOT like me.  I need my covers!  Saturday was spent doing the laundry for the week and cleaning up a bit.  Today was my fun day.  Two members of the Scrapbook Cafe design team (Jen and Pat) were at the store today doing Make & Takes.  Susie has been bugging me to go up to the store so she could show off her layouts so instead of hanging in the house in my jammies, off we went.  I guess we stayed about an hour and a half.  Susie did each of the Make & Takes and of course I shopped.  The good thing about Spring Cleaning is you find things you thought you lost.  I got a $25 gift certificate to the Scrapbook Cafe from one of my best friends for Christmas and shortly thereafter I "lost" it.  Well needless to say, I just found it and spent it today at the Cafe!  I picked up quite a bit of the newer Fancy Pants papers and a couple of their Glitter Cuts.  Sooooo pretty!  I got some Nemo stickers that I need for a Disney layout I am working on and a cute HS flower stamp.  They were on sale so you know, I had to get it!  LOL!  And I added two new colors to my ever growing Glimmer Mist collection.  I have not yet used them...and have 4 colors now.  Oh, and can't forget the Doodlebug Sugar Coated pink chip letters!  LOVE them!  I restocked on the Creative Cafe scallop ribbon which I seem to be using a lot lately and got the new Basic Grey Rub-on tool and my very first package of Tim Holtz' Grungeboard!  Can't wait to give that a whirl!  Here's a picture of today's haul....having that free $25 to spend was fun (yes, I added to it but the bottom line is I got a TON of stuff for not much $$)!

While we were there I picked up the newest Design Team kit.  YIKES!!!!  Here's the before picture....its a "screen door".  I have an idea or two bouncing around my head thanks to Jen but I think I will let it sit until tomorrow to see if anything else comes to me. All I know for sure is I see some bling and little pink flowers flanking my screen door!  Tune in over the next couple days to see what the ultimate result is!

Don't forget, you still have plenty of time to enter the Scrapbook Cafe's Saturday Night Challenge.  This weeks challenge is to create a layout with fabric incorporated into it.  I've got a busy Monday ahead of me and don't feel super creative tonight so I'm probably going to sit this week out.  Stop by Pat's blog for complete details! 

I hope everyone has a great week!  I will try to post a little bit more this week.

 

Reminder....

Tonight as I was getting set to get my shower and call an end to the day I called Matt & Susie to tell them it was bedtime.  They were in the playroom watching TV.  No answer.  I got up and went into the playroom to see what they were doing and this is what I saw:

And in a flash I am reminded what an incredible life I have and how absolutely incredible my kids are.  I can't imagine missing even one second of their lives and feel guilty and just a little bit selfish for being here to be able to snap this picture of them and their daddy isn't.  But I thank God that I am and that I am these amazing little people's mommy.  Of course tomorrow when I show it to them, one or the other will say they were only sleeping together on the chair because one or the other wouldn't move!  Heaven forbid they admit that they love each other!!  So I'm off to bed with a smile on my heart tonight!