Christina's Creative Expressions

Memories of the Christmas past

2012-01-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

I know it seems a bit late to be posting Christmas crafts, however I had to wait until Christmas was over to do this project. I have always hated throwing away the wonderful cards people have given me over the years. Until now I kept the cards in a kind of file folder. Until I saw this idea on pintrest....

Doesn't Yoda make a great model? Anyway, back to the project, it will make a great holiday decoration displayed on a plate holder. I want to make one every year to hold all of our special cards. The great thing about it is you can open every card and still read the inside What a great way to shre the memoroies of previous Christmas'. To make one of your own all you need is 2 pieces of chipboard , your favorite christmas papers, embellishments, 3 jump rings and your favorite adhesives. Share with me if you make one I would love to see what you come up with.

Original ideas from eighteen25 here.

I have a slight new obsession ...

2012-01-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

in the form of this

and this

I have read constantly about Doctor Who on another blog I read constantly. Miss snark herself, the scrappy jedi. My friend Desiree has been after for me for months to watch it. One day while trying to decide on something to watch on netflix I made a command decision and put it on. I was hooked. While the family has been home due to that lovely storm we have wizzed through the first 4 seasons ( we did start before this week tho) of the new Doctor Who. ( For those who don't know this british tv show has been on since around 69 and stopped filming for 10 years in 1995 and resurfaced in 2005. 2005- present is considered the new one.) Watching season 3 Jack the leader of Torchwood was introduced into the Dr plot and we realized Torchwood was a spin off. SO we watched 2 episodes and I had to tell Chris NO got to finish Doctor Who first. I have to say if you are a geek gurl like me and if you have not watched these shows. Hop on Netflix now...run don't walk and enjoy the Doctor!

The winter Wonderland I craved..sorta

2012-01-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

If you haven't been watching the news Washington State was hit by a very big winter storm. I had read that the average snowfall here is about 2.19 inches a year so they are prepared for snow. It isn't a new thing ...HOWEVER.....we got about 6-10 inches depending on where you live.

See??? Doesn't it look lovely coming down?

This picture cracks me up ..my solar lights as ice cream cones.

My van is under that stuff somewhere. I love this weather ,I really do.

While I found the snow enjoyable, what I failed to think of is this stuff melts and when it melts even slightly and the temps do not rise above 33 then you get ice. LOTS AND LOTS OF ICE. This was coming off vehicles ...

the houses...

and the trees. This is what the trees look like normally

this is what they look like weighted down with all the snow and ice. That's a lot of weight on such big trees.

That is where the trouble began. You see we had icicles this big ...

and this thick

on everything. It caused trees to break and cause accidents and road closures, and because it was on everything we lost power for for 24 hours and some places are still without it. The roads are still icy and the kids and husband have had an extra week of vacation because of this. I am not complaining at all. We had the best family night because of the power outage. We played board games by fire light until midnight and then had a lovely morning hanging out until the power came back on. While it may have not been perfect I can say I still love this weather.

CAN IT REALLY BE A CRAFT POST?

2012-01-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

Darn tootin it is! I find my self with a few projects I have been wanting to do and I found the time to do one. I made some we moved cards!!!!

This is a SUPER huge deal to me because being military I promised myself I would not make them until we had our own home. While I know they could have been more inventive I am thinking bulk, ease, and of course postage. There's a lot of these puppies to mail out! Of course the photo can be better as well but I just used my scanner. I have been frazzled and a bit off kilter with a stomach flus making it way through every family member and then we have had this snow/ ice storm going on. Pictures to come. .....

Walking Dead has invaded the shelves

2012-01-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

I saw a preview a few months back on the Daryl Dixon action figure from Macfarlane toys and at the time was not a huge fan of Daryl. So far this season he has grown on me. I think he is a total asset to the group and I love that they have added squirrels to the figure. It just cracks me up! Of course group one would not be complete with out our unsung hero Rick Grimes and as always the zombies themselves. Lovin the one in purple LOL like you didn't guess that already right?

On other Walking Dead news I finally got to read to The Rise of the Govenor! OHHHH wow I couldn't put it down ...even tho I had an inkling how it was gonna end and I was right. But when put in the context of the comics the relationship between him and the girl has me a little icked out. I think they need to incorporate that into the show. Maybe as a flashback when they find the govenor after Michone gets done with him? That would be a few episodes I would definately stay tuned for. If you don't subscribe to AMC's news letter to get walking dead updates you should they have a preview if the first Feb. episode. And it just fueled my hate for that nimrod Shane! UGHHH! Stay Strong fellow Zombie Survivors Feb. will be here before we know it. Then we can all hate SHane together. Wussy!

HEY Ho.....Let's ..BOWL!

2012-01-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

This was by far one of the more fun things we did in Hood. When Desiree's husband came home for R&R we had a family bowling night. The Bowling alleys on post are always painted in bright colors so they can do cosmic bowling. I thought I would have a hard time matching this up but nope I had a lot of fun with this one.

I started off spritzing the paper with some smooch in vanilla to make it look cosmic. Then I had some funky 70s paper from Hobby Lobby that I bought back in Texas that matched the colors perfectly. I also attempted my first accordian flower. That was fun but decided I need better adhesive to make it stick down. A sparkly brad fron K & Co. completes the cosmic look. So that's the only other page I made in the apt now I need to get busy making more pages and projects. No more excuses now that I have the room right?

I did do something...

2012-01-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

..in the 5 months I lived in that apt. It was just so cramped and when I did do something it made everything look so cluttered. I hate clutter ..then leaving it out till I was done wasn't an option. But I did get this done.. My daughter has been obsessed with singing since she was a toddler so chior was a natural choice for her.

I loved the colors on the sassafrass lass music note paper that I really wanted to use it but the picture didn't blend well with it. So I changed it to black and white and went with the colors on the paper. Add a doily and some Basic Grey brads and we have a winner. 2 down in Kylas 2011 album!

The before and now...

2012-01-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

As promise an update on what my house looks like now! Just ignore the sheet curtains. I want to wait until I have something I really like in the rooms , but I hate knowing the neighbors can see in my rooms. Funny because the ones in the back don't bother me being open. Maybe because it just woods back there. Anyway on with the tour. To see the pictures larger just double tap!

Ok so I did a collage thing so you can see the house empty and how it looks now. This is the entry.

This is the living room....

Kitchen ...

Laundry..

Master Bedroom...

Master bath.... all downstairs....

Upstairs lookin into entryway again...the bench is a gift from my dad and brother.

Hall is still empty except the computer table thats there where cynthia is standing LOL

starting at the end of the hall or front of the house if you will is kylas room...

Then where you see the light coming from is the guest / scraproom and yes it is all purple and Star Wars! I even have Star Wars pez sitting on my ribbon holder.... Yoda was a Christmas gift from my dear fiend Desiree.....

Across from Michelle's room is the upstairs bath....

And here is the messy teen room....

As you can see there is still a lot to be done and decorate. I am not gonna rush it though. I am going to look around see what I love and add a little at a time. If you see any ideas or have any thoughts feel free to share. Only thing non negotiable is the guest scrap room that is staying Star Wars LOL! If cricut ever comes out with a Star Wars cartridge I am in trouble!

Christmas 2011 .....

2012-01-07T16:37:00.001-08:00

It's been busy busy in the ole houshold. With all that has been happening I just wanted to share a few of the happy pictures from Christmas this year.

Our tree....in the teeeny tiny apt that we had.......

The big kid with his cartoon ....oh sorry anime

Apparently the boy has wanted and wanted this one for some time now and he couldn't find it unless it came with the Wii in a bundle. Well Ry the ole mom came through.

Michelle was happy to torture her brother with this one.....plus she still has yet to beat me at the game

Kyla's top game on her list...takes after mom this one does!

In case you are wondering I got a few goodies too...This laptop case....not harajuku but I still like it.

This book was in my stocking..It's about zombie stromtroopers..did you hear me ZOMBIE STORMTROOPERS! I can not wait to read it. I haven't had a chance to sit down and enjoy it.

Santa also brought me this cool Gorilla tripod... I can't wait to test it out when it stops raining

Michelle got me an autographed copy of this..... funny cause I don't even read them but I love it.

Lets see Chris got me a hard drive, which was on my list, Kyla got me a dolphin made of glass , and I got 2 sweaters. Not a bad Christmas just too bad the very next day we statrted moving. And here it is Jan 7th and we still are not completely done. However I will be sharing pictures tomorrow of what the current state of the house is with all our furniture and stuff. Hope you guys had a nice holiday season.

The big reveal

2011-11-29T00:00:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons my blog has been sorely neglected , other then the lack of inspiration , is I have been super busy. A few weeks ago when I was looking rather slummy I had run to Toys r Us to get a gift and asked the store manager if they were doing seasonal hiring yet. Well I got hired on the spot and have been working nights since. When I am not doing my normal everyday stuff I have been searching my new time suck in the form of this lovely website....

But with great reason, see because on top of everything else we recently bought our very first home.....

We close before the end of the year and I have been researching for ideas on what to do with my house. I am so used to not being able to change anything where we live that I am finding my brain is shutting down when I think about what I want to do in our rooms. So how about a grand tour ?

This is the view when you walk into the house...

Through that doorway on the right there where my guest bath on the left is ...

with my laundry off to the right....

the back door leads to the master ..

Master bath

closet door in on the left

Here is the living room blurry people we had just found out we got the house LOL

My kitchen

Tiny back yard with retention pond in back

View from half way down the stairs

View from top of stairs

Hallway at top of stairs with linen closet, bathrooms on the left

Upstairs bath modeled by my lovely Cynthia LOL

Long hall upstairs

computer area upstairs

all 3 rooms upstairs have a walk in closet this size

Can you see why I am doing research now? I have no idea what I am gonna do with all that space LOL what do you think?

Walking Dead Spoiler

2011-11-28T14:10:00.001-08:00

OK Yes I have an issue that is going to ruin the season if you haven't watched so far. The Walking Dead episode last night was the mid season finale. I guess no more episodes until after the holidays ?????

So this season so far has had some very on the edge of your seat moments. It also has had some serious secret keeping going on. Shane has steadily been losing his dang mind to put it mildy and when Glen told them about the walkers in the barn we all knew he'd be more then ticked. However to go against the man who has given you shelter and food by ripping open his barn and killing the zombies that were in there was a step across the edge. The second one if you include him giving Carl a gun . I knew that eventually they would find Sophia....I just didn't think they would find Sophia like this.....

And what has me on this tangent is Shane started the killing and shooting and when Sophia walked out he didn't have the gonads to pull the trigger. Once again even though Shane hates to follow Rick he left that play in Rick's hands. I am seriously hoping Shane has an accident real soon!

Rest assured fellow zombie fans and friends and family if you ever turn into a flesh eating zombie I promise to be the one to pull the trigger. I hope you would do the same for me please don't wait till I am munching on your face and leave it up to someone else. PLEASE!

Ok that being said I have some news to share and even 2 layouts I have done. Scary in and of itself.

2 on Tuesday

2011-11-07T18:47:00.003-08:00

Sorry it's been a hot minute and I know it! Thing is I have been very uninspired lately. Truly I have no desire to do anything crafty , witty or useful. Unless you count pintrest. In which case I have been on a roll! LOL. So to help me get something up on my blog I am joining up with Andrea for her...

Today's topic

What’s your Christmas wish list? What do you hope to receive from Santa?

Well honestly the first thing on my list is something I desperately need. Seriously I really do but I hate the normal conventional ones I have seen in stores. I ran across this lovely laptop case on Amazon.

What's not to love? Stylish , funky and useful!

Second is another really useful thing I have said in the past I just didn't want but am finding a severe need for as of late...

A 1TB external hard drive because after our road trip this summer I have pictures scattered from here to kingdom come and I need some place to store and organize all of them.

Now this is being realistic because what I really want for Christmas is a house with an unlimited credit card to IKEA. Then maybe my long list of cool stuff to create on Pintrest would be made...

So now run on over to Andrea's blog and let us all know what is on your wish list?

The Dead have returned

2011-10-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

and I am missing it. Season 2 of AMCs The Walking Dead premires tonight and I sit here WITHOUT cable, dish, etc to watch. (I may seriously bust out some cash though if I see it's on hulu plus.) Wallowing in self pity over the fact, I wanted to share something for people who may have missed it.

Remember Bicycle Girl?

Well she's pretty iconic among the Walking Dead die hards. AMC did a series of webisodes on how she became a ~~walker~~ crawler. They are pretty dark and had my heart racing in my chest going NO NO IDIOT DON'T DO IT! If you haven't seen them check them out here. Just a little tide over to the premire tonight.

In other Walking Dead news , ( said in my best Kermit the Frog voice) there has also been the release of an actual novel. In the graphic novels there is the quintisential bad guy called the govenor. He is one twisted soul. This is his story. I for one can not wait to read it. He was really whacked and I would love to know how he got there. I also read there is a video game in the works? Well I am not a gamer but I may just have to try that out.

On a side note , I saw that my zombie plan post got a lot of readers. SO apparently readers don't want to see the scrapbooking and crafting they want the undead. Not that I blame them LOL.

It's my favorite time of year- decorating for Halloween

2011-10-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

For me the holiday season starts with the anticipation of Halloween. Horror movies and scary decor were always a staple growing up with my mom. I tend to not go evil spooky but more subtle I guess. This is the best part of our apartment. I have a mantle! Isn't that runner awesome! I won it from Andrea over at My Chihuahua Bites about 2 years ago. (wow has it really been that long? )

I have always wanted a scary mini tree. Some thing I could decorate but nothing ever suited me till this year. I saw this awesome glitter tree in Michael's.

I didn't like the ornaments they sold with it so I found some smaller ones at Kohl's. The darling witch candles also came from Andrea. She's so awesome.

The group of candles is my daughter Kyla's idea. She picked out everything, the tray, the stones (which have ghosts and bats mixed in ) and well she wanted black candles with webs but I overrode her and went with the purple. Of course I backed it up with my special purple LED lights I had hanging in my old scrap room.

I usually have the pumpkins set up in September as fall decor and just leave them up through November. I just added the witch and the eek for a fun Halloween look. If you look in the background of the top right you will also see my ghost tealight holder above my window. Glitter pumpkins courtesy of Andrea.

On the opposite end of the counter I have random stuff. The jackolanterns were a gift from a friend many years ago and the bat and ghost are from a toy store in Germany. Ahhhh Kinderland how I miss thee. The flask was Kyla's doing as well. I am starting to see a trend with this kid. LOL

That's about all my little apartment could handle. Of course it's probably a good thing for hubby's wallet as well.

Showing my freaky side

2011-10-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

So just in time for Halloween . I decided to do something a little crazy and I dyed my hair purple.

Ok it's not all over purple because well I think I have this age hang up that people would look at me and say at her age really? So I went with peek a boos and I have to say I am loving it.

Anyway on to the reason for the title of this post. Andrea over at My Chihuahua bites

posted in Sept about how her freak flag flies. Well I had commented that have a slight ~~obsession~~ fascination with zombies.

Yesterday she posted 'in part 2 of super freak 'that she has a plan in case of a zombie attack. Of course I had to comment on that and here's what I left...

Dying here because just the other day I asked Chris Am I weird that when we buy a house I will probably have a zombie apocalypse plan in place and even if my ideal dream house is in a bowl i won't buy because we'd be zombie fodder? I am telling you just by planning for that we will be secure for just about anything....well unless its like the whole 2012 thing.

Let me elborate. In every place we have lived we, and yes it is we because my hubby and kids are included, have devised a zombie apocalypse plan. For example, right now we live in an apt on the 3rd floor. We know how we'd block off the stairwell, we know how we'd get out to forage for food, and we feel pretty confident that we'd be ok here. Across the main street that runs in front of our complex there is a housing complex that does sit in a bowl. There is no way you could keep zombies from smelling your flesh and over running that chain link fence and eating your brain. Even if it is a gated community.

Yes I agree maybe it makes me a little odd to think this way, but we never know when something the government is working on will go wrong. Even the CDC has instructions on how to prepare.... makes me wonder what do they know that they aren't telling us?

We've done it at least 20 times

2011-10-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

and we never took pictures. I even worked there for a year and still no pictures. I had to rectify that the last time we went to one store the girls still love but I feel the girls may be outgrowing. BUILD-A-BEAR!

I used old stickers that we have had forever and I stuck with the main colors of the store. I love that the girls still enjoy the store, though its more for collection purposes now then play.

By the way, welcome to the month of spookiness. I love October, but guess what?
Only 86 more days till Christmas. LOL!

I never showed you...gasp!

2011-09-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

With everything that happened before we moved I never got to show you the other2 completed quilts we made for Desiree's daughters. How dare I?

So the first one is for her middle daughter whose favorite color is blue and who is in band....

This one is for her youngest daughter who has a varied interest and whom we wanted to have a patch of fabric that everyone picked out to represent themselves....

Aren't they a hoot? I am so glad we were able to get all three done before I moved. I wish I had room to sew here in the apt. I still have my quilt with everyones patches to finish for me. I really should get it done before winter so I have a cozy lap quilt.

Death Star PR: 10 Reasons Why the Dark Side is Just Plain Better

2011-09-25T15:25:00.005-07:00

I saw this on facebook I belieeve and I laughed till my sides hurt, So I had to share.

Death Star PR: 10 Reasons Why the Dark Side is Just Plain Better: Some people would have you believe that the Dark Side is "evil", just because you have to murder the occasional person or blow up a pl...

Seven Quick Facts About Labor Day

2011-09-05T08:56:00.001-07:00

1. What is Labor Day?

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the contributions of America's workforce.

2. No one knows who started it.

There is still some doubt as to who is actually the first person to propose the holiday for workers.

3. America's 1st Labor Day.

The first Labor Day celebration in the United States can be traced to New York City's Union Square on Sept. 5, 1882. It was designed as a way to appease city workers after numerous strikes and in some cases even violence.

4. Oregon was the first state to make it a holiday in 1887.

By the time it became a federal holiday in 1894, thirty states officially celebrated Labor Day.

5. A rejection of Communism.

President Eisenhower designated May 1 as both Law Day and Loyalty Day. Each of these were specifically aimed at replacing the communist holiday with a religious or patriotic one. In many countries, May Day is also Labor Day.

6. No white clothes the day after the holiday.

In the early 20th century, white was the uniform of choice for Americans well-to-do enough to decamp from their city digs to warmer climates for months at a time: light summer clothing provided a pleasing contrast to drabber urban life. If you look at any photograph of any city in America in the 1930s, you'll see people in dark clothes. By contrast, the white linen suits and Panama hats at snooty resorts were a look of leisure.

7. End of summer.

Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer.

Lake Mowich

2011-09-04T00:01:00.059-07:00

This Friday we headed out to the Northwest side of the Mount Rainier National Park to Lake Mowich with Chris' troop. The lake is glacier water from Mt. Rainier and it is Crystal clear. I mean CRYSTAL! Can you see the logs in the water???

I loved how I was able to capture tadpoles swimming in the clear water.

The flowers I captured on the trail. Something about their placement spoke to my heart.

Here is Chris' LtC putting Kyla in his Kayak. She thought that was so cool! He told her what to do in case it tipped and everything.

After we ate we decided to take a hike. Boy was that interesting. Let's just say that I was over and under and crawling over some terrain. I should be the talk of the troop on Tuesday. LOL But here is Michelle taking a rest.

This is what was waiting for us at the end of our hike. A very long waterfall....so beautiful.

And the hike would not have been complete without a family shot at the base of the waterfall.

Yep I can certainly say I am really starting to enjoy Washington. Just make sure you have some OFF when you come to visit and hike because those bugs are merciless.

This was the tops

2011-09-03T00:01:00.001-07:00

So remember me saying Cynthia got me cake decorating classes for my birthday? Well August is always so crazy here that I forgot to take pictures. I did remember to take them of my final project though. Here is my cake creation.

A close up of the roses

Those need to be practiced on a little more but I love how they look. The best part is the cake was really yummy to. This was my belated birthday cake as the class was cancelled that day. It was worth the wait!

It's eerie..

2011-09-02T00:01:00.034-07:00

Bacis Grey's Eerie card kit that is.

I have been wanting to try one of the BG card kits for a long time now but a couple of things stopped me. The price (usually around $15 per kit) and a bias of why should I buy a card kit when I can do it myself. Well I found this kit for $5 at Big Lots so I said ehh why not?

The kit comes with everything to make 8 complete cards. The only thing you need is adhesive and a black pen. It comes with instructions on how to put together each card along with a website for a colored printout and numbered punch outs, chipboard, and rubons.

Here are finished products...

In some cases ,I added my own touch and some of the extra rubons. I also changed the pumpkin card completely because it was a happy harvest card and that just didn't mesh well with the Halloween theme.

It took me about and hour and a half to complete all 8 cards and the only complaint that I have over the kit was the chipboard did not stick well and I wound up using my own adhesives and glue dots to get it to stick. For $5 I think I would do another of Basic Grey's kits, for $15 I think I would give it a even a 3rd thought.

The Graduate

2011-09-01T00:01:00.032-07:00

Ok it is sinking in fast. I am getting older FAST! Even my friends kids are starting to graduate. How did this happen? Especially when said graduate and I ACT the same age ...lol ok not really but we had some moments. So meet Cassie(face)...

I found the 2011 paper online and just spritzed it up with some Smooch Spritz in Vanilla shimmer. Cass isn't overly feminine so I didn't want to add flowers in her school colors and somehow the whole skull and cross bones thing didn't think quite fit either so I settled on butterflies. Nothing fancy or overdone and it befits the girl who like to argue with me over whether or not Nightmare before Christmas is a Halloween or Christmas Movie.

On a side note...Welcome to September!

The holidays will be here before you know it and Cynthia and I Couldn't be happier.

She's already dabbling in Halloween decor and candy her favorite holiday.

I am trying to plan out Christmas. Not because it is my favorite holiday I just believe in being prepared. BRING IT ON!

Eeyore therapy

2011-08-31T00:01:00.001-07:00

My friend Desiree collects postcards and when we left Fort Hood she asked me to pick up some along the way. I was happy to accomidate her request and when came time to send them of course I had to throw a smile her way.

I have always loved this pattern paper of Eeyore because you never see him smile. I also loved the sarcastic sayings on the paper. Sarcasm, Desiree and I are long lost pals, you see. I know she probably isn't a big fan of Eeyore but I couldn't help myself. Next time Desiree I promise to use something more appropriate. This time though I felt Eeyore was the perfect guy to put a smile on that lovely face of yours. Miss You.

Friends that play together

2011-08-30T00:01:00.003-07:00

Remember that goodie mail I got awhile back and I had said I had already inked up the hula hoop girl?

I turned that image into a fun card for my friend Bridgett.

Again losing my crafting Mojo has not been in my best interest, but I still love how she turned out. I got to use my new Copics. Yes my very first ones. I can not believe I waited this long to get them. Now I hope the classes I will be taking in Nov shows me the full potential of these little beauties.

On a Brighter Note took Kyla to go get her one school shot she needed yesterday and her enrollment is now complete. She can start school next week. I was utterly amazed at how scared she was over a shot but I was tickled too because she asked to hold my hand and hug me. I think my fear of needles has rubbed off on her. Good maybe it'll prevent her from getting tattooed.

I am a year older , but wouldn't say wiser.....

2011-08-29T00:01:00.052-07:00

I just celebrated my 37th birthday this Saturday. Yep I say it loud , age is a state of mind. I had a really good day. Hubby made me breakfast while I made icing for my last cake class. Cynthia got it for me as a birthday present because she knows I have been wanting to take them forever. Then around 1 Cynthia headed over and when I opened the door I was greeted with this wonderful ,sweet bouquet...

and I mean sweet.That is all chocolate lollipops people! I got her addicted to them when I made them at Halloween but she went and made it into a hobby. I LURVE it! I see a sugar coma in my future.

At Cynthia's arrival I got to open my presents, the first one I opened were these....

Yes ! I had bought the first comic after seeing the TV show and really wanted to see what the books were like. HOLY CROW the season does NOT follow these books at all! Michelle got me issues 2 and 3 and using some birthday money from my parents and in laws I bought the 4th. I am trying to save the bulk of my cash for when I attend a CK convention in Nov. But I just couldn't resist.

Kyla got me a favorite that I always love, Bath and Body works. The added bonus was it was all Halloween stuff! My favorite holiday! She really does know her Mommy. She got me 2 hand soaps to decorate the bathrooms, a soap topper in the shape of a spider,a hand sanitizer in sour drop and holder for my purse, lotion for me and a small one to carry in my purse.

When I went out to the comic store to go get my 4th comic I saw this in the case by the register..

Yup ,I squealed like a little kid at Christmas and bought it as well. I see some uber fun happening with my ice tray and some awesome drink coloring I got at Michael's.

I have always told my husband we don't need a Bluray player. DVD is just fine thank you. Until I learned that the Star Wars saga was coming out on Bluray. Then I told him I MIGHT consede. Well he got himself a Bluray player for his birthday so he got the other major gift on my list.

I won't have it in my geeky little hands until the 16th of September but knowing I have a set with my name on it makes me dance a little jig to the Max Rebo band. I can't wait.

Goodie mail is the best....

2011-08-19T00:01:00.013-07:00

There is nothing like getting good mail at a new address! I got a goodie package from Italy from my pal Jeanne! Isn't this card awesome! Yellow and purple our 2 favorite colors blended in a master piece! Much like us Right Jeanne? Plus sunflowers???? My heart skips a beat when I look at it.

The goodie part is this 2 new Maggies! Ohhh the cuteness...

The hoola hoop one I had already used when I took the picture which is why it looks inky. I love them Thank You so much Jeannie! You rock and I love you! THAT. IS. ALL.

It isn't all black and white

2011-08-18T00:01:00.023-07:00

One of my favorite stops on our odessy was a last minute stop in New Mexico to see my high school best friend Mat. I have not seen him in over a decade, but we talk when we can and when crisis mode hits we still turn to each other. Even the girls were amazed at our relationship. At one point during dinner Kyla looked at her dad and said WOW they are so much alike !?! His reply was And that's why they can remain the best of friends.

I wanted to make the card seem timeless like our friendship so I chose to work in black and white.

Even though I think a spalsh of color for the amount of crazy we have had in our lives together would have been good. I don't think I could love this card more.

Thanks a Bunch!

2011-08-17T00:01:00.029-07:00

This one is for my brother Ector who took us all over Denver and showed us big city life really isn't all THAT bad again. Moving with the military we have gotten out of touch with the Las Vegans in us and have gone to only moderately big townish.
I have said before I struggle with masculine cards. I don't know why but that and vintage just throw me off. That being said I realize now that I don't have a picture of this completed card.
See I was just going to leave the card like this....

Then when I thought it was to plain I added 2 embossed resist images that I forgot to take pictures of.

Well at least you have a general idea. Blame August it is the busiest month of the year for me.

Birthday Girl

2011-08-16T07:19:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday was Kyla's 12th Birthday. When asked what she wanted to do she said I want to go to the zoo. So off we go to find this....

Before we headed off though kyla got to open her present from mom and dad. ...

I would like to say thanks to the incident at Fort Hood, my belief that kids should not have a cell phone before 15 was shattered. The girls will be going to 2 different schools this year and so I felt it is a needed item for my kids. Not to mention everything else Kyla has had happen to her last year. Ok moving on from that...

I will spare you the pictures of all the animals however I finally got a family picture I like ...Thank You Cynthia!

We were joined of course by our best pals the Mainvilles ( She hates when I put up pictures of her.) But I do it out of love I promise! I know I know 2%...

Then the family went off to rest while I went to my cake decorating class Cynthia got me for my birthday. And see, in all the running around THAT I forgot to take a picture of.....{sigh} Then we took Kyla to eat in her favorite restaurant the Outback, where she opened her presents and got some free ice cream.

Our waitress didn't want to embarass her so she told Kyla we won't do any loud clapping or carrying on. Then Lucas, who is 3, saw the candle started a round of Happy Birthday which we all joined in laughing hysterically. Awesome!

At home Kyla requested a red heart shaped red velvet cake. That wish was granted!

Happy Birthday Kyla!

I really hoped you enjoyed the day!

A simple Thanks will do

2011-08-15T10:37:00.000-07:00

I haven't been feeling the crafty mojo lately , but I wanted to get some Thank You cards out to the people who allowed us to stay with them on our month long odessy to Ft. Lewis. This one is for my dear friend Stacy Hodges. I have known her for many years and have not seen her a lot recently( Thank You Military!). I really had a lot of fun hanging out with her and her best friend Lucy.

I have no idea what was up with my camera with all those spots. i have recently just cleaned it. Anyway I am off to take the girls to the pool seeing as they have been bugging me about it all week.

Bite of Seattle

2011-08-05T00:01:00.004-07:00

Our second weekend here was spent heading up to Seattle for a taste of Seattle festival. The cool part was it was right by the space needle. Even though we didn't take the time to see it up close and personal. I can not wait to go back! I even won a gift card off facebook to one of the featured restaurants.

Of course we went with our long lost friends ...The Mainvilles. We missed them so much! Though she may not be happy at seeing this picture of her up here.

This was a really cool fountain we ate lunch by and the kids ran around tempting fate on getting wet even though it was cold outside.

Kierstn Loved running Michelle up and down the side of the fountain. Michelle was exhausted on the way home LOL.

Lucas just did his own thing but wound up under the water getting sprayed in the head.

This was a first good day trip here in Washington. I can not wait to go exploring the area some more.

A full day of beauty

2011-08-04T00:01:00.006-07:00

The day after we played at the beach we decided to go on a nature hike to another botanical garden.
Just look at the places the hike took us along the Oregon coast.

Along these bluffs you could see seals coming out of the ocean to bask in the sun. However those pictures were a bit blurry as I had to use my long lens and my hands shake horribly and I didn't have a tripod.

I love the Pacific.....

After all the ocean beauty we made it to the garden where I fell in LOVE with the array of roses. I love the 2 tone of this one.

and these. These were by far my favorite ones.

I started playing with the settings on my point and shoot and I have always loved peach roses so of course I got some shots of those.

As we were leaving I caught a glimpse of these.

Man if I didn't kill every plant I cam into contact with I surely would be planting some roses bushes when I finally got a house.

The place I missed the most

2011-08-03T00:01:00.002-07:00

And who can blame me with beauty like this?

OHHH Pacific Ocean How I have missed thy calming effect on me.

I have a fear of heights and my stomach curls when I take pictures like this...

The next day we went to play at the beach even Chris was excited to go.

Grandpa playing with Michelle.

Daddy Helping kyla collect shells

When we left that day Kyla gave us a HUGE thanks. She said it was a lifelong dream to collect shells at the beach and see crabs in the sand. I am so glad we were able to to do that for her. Nothing like realizing you have fulfilled your kids dreams.

Staying with Grandma

2011-08-02T00:01:00.002-07:00

Grandma has a pond on her property complete with Kayak. So when the girls saw this they started in on we want a ride dad. You can't say no when grandparents are around so off they go...

Michelle first..

Then Kyla...

One of the best things the kids did ,in their opinion ,was riding a four wheeler at Grandma Gayna's.

Even Kaiser got a ride.

Then we took a family trip up the hill on the quads...

and YES Montana is a beautiful as I thought it was gonna be.

Little stinker. Even after that daddy let her give him a ride around.

Yellowstone

2011-08-01T00:01:00.003-07:00

We were lucky enough to have the chance to drive through Yellowstone National Park on the way up to Montana to see my mother-in-law. I am so glad my husband was determined to take this route. Otherwise I would have missed this view....

The girls were so thrilled to see snow in June...

The view of Lake Yellowstone.

Even Kaiser went out to play and even went swimming

Read the sign it is explaining the next picture and why Michelle wanted her picture by the sign...

The only picture of Old Faithful that I have. Didn't have time to watch it erupt.

If you look closely at the steam you can see the colors coming from the water.

Clay pots erupting.

A different geyser erupting.

Going into the park they tell you to watch for buffalo. They weren't kidding.

That was taken from the road driving out of the park. The only thing we missed seeing was bears. maybe that's a good thing?

Wyoming was unique

2011-07-31T00:01:00.001-07:00

We only drove through Wyoming but we had lunch at the most interesting place...

Lots of interesting photo ops....

At this point I really did feel like the Griswalds on National Lampoon's Vacation. I totally see this being a place Clark would love to visit.

Tour of Denver Day 3

2011-07-30T00:01:00.002-07:00

One of the first things you see when you go into the zoo are polar bears. The way they have viewing areas you get really up close and personal to some pretty big animals.

This guy was walking around and came right up to the glass.

I got a kick out of the how do you measure up, and my husband at 6'3" is looking up at the Polar bear. Now he knows how I feel.

This one cracks me up. At 5'4" I am taller then my brother. Seeing him come up to a polars armpit coupled with that grin just made me roll with laughter.

Dori and Marvin (?) , Nemo's Dad . I know People always say Dori and Nemo but I think its unfair because it was his dad that took the journey. ... ya ya I know totally off topic but I think the dad deserves some props.

Looking at the wolves

Peacocks were running around free..

My brother and his roommate knocking waiting for the kids to move so they could play bongos too.

This day was super fun as that night when we went home we pulled out some bouncy balls. 7 to be exact and had a bouncy ball "room toss". We closed the doors to rooms and on the hard wood floors and walls we bounced the balls all over the room and chased after them. That was the best night ever according to Kyla who shares her dad's love of bouncy balls. I have a bucket full in the bathroom for playtime. This just cemented Uncle Ector's status of the super fun uncle. We wound up losing a ball in the battle and I was informed just recently it was found. Guess we can let them keep it as a souvenir from our time there.

Denver Day 2

2011-07-29T00:01:00.002-07:00

I can't say I have ever really been to a botanical garden but I am glad to make Denver the first. As we walked in the cactus wall amazed me. I have never seen cacti in the shape of flowers. GORGEOUS!

As luck would have it, the gardens was also hosting a Bonsai tree competition. You would look around an vote for your favorites. I took pictures of my favorites. In fact , I wonder who won????? Hmm (note to self call brother and ask if he knows)

My kids just love to pose for their mom in the Japanese Garden.

This was cool they took a tree ,added some huge metal dragonflies , and VIOLA! cool art!

This is why I love my brother Ector LOL . I just said Dude pose like the statue. He just ran over and did it. No questions asked. He makes me laugh.

This is from the scripture garden ...Very pretty.

Of course there was the purple flowers. I had to snap a picture of those.

I can not wait to scrapbook these.

Touring Denver Day 1

2011-07-27T00:01:00.068-07:00

When we finally got into Denver, we decided to head to the downtown aquarium first. This was just a photo op too great to pass up.

I have never seen a fish that huge. ....Bigger then an ADULT stingray!

Ok this was just cool looking!

At the aquarium there is a sting ray tank where you can pet and feed them. I have always found sting rays to be quite graceful and wondrous.

When it came time to feed the stingrays Kyla just jumped right in , but Michelle showed some apprehension about sticking her hand under a stingray...

You can see me here in the turquoise shirt trying to talk her into feeding them telling her they won't hurt her and it was fine and easy even.

Chris at this point decided to come over my shoulder to take pictures of me feeding them fish. In this picture you can see the stingray hugging the wall of the tank looking up at me because I had just fed it. I was turned talking to Michelle asking her if she wanted to try it holding a fish out to her....

lol see the splashes?

What Chris didn't capture was when I turned around to feed the fish to the sting ray again it was (no kidding) 2/3 out of the tank hovering next to me and the scream that radiated out of my mouth and carried across the aquarium. The splashes were so high it got all over the front of me....

so for the rest of the day I smelled like fishy water. Never let it be said we are boring because whoo did we give people something to talk about for quite some time.

It was interesting to say the least...

2011-07-26T12:20:00.000-07:00

The picture says it all doesn't it? This is from one of the stops we made on a whim because my daughter saw a sign for Billy the kids grave. She started squeaking at me to stop so we turned around and walked into the museum that was there first. The 2 headed calf was just one of the things kids found cool.

This is something I found cool ...

I have always enjoyed those movies and to see autographed copies of the scripts and props and see the area it was filmed was truly a highlight. At this point I was glad we stopped. Thank You Michelle.

We headed out to the small cemetary and I took these for a friend of mine who is fascinated with old head stones. I have to say seeing just how old they were was pretty neat.

Finally we got to what we stopped for..

The weird thing is that wasn't the original head stone. This is ...

The reason they made a new one and stuck them all behind bars is because people kept taking the stone. Seems like an odd thing to do but people do weird things lol.

Update: We are FINALLY unpacked. Now we are just waiting for the movers to come and check out damages and pick up the boxes. We have settled in and now it's time to think about enrolling the kids in school and so far we are loving the area!

It's been almost a month...

2011-07-15T13:05:00.002-07:00

since anyone has heard from me last. But here is the latest on what's going on. Since the last posting We have also visited Wyoming, Yellowstone, Montana, and Oregon. We have arrived at our destination of Washington and had to find a temporary home in an apartment. This will be home for the next 9 months until ... 1 we get on post housing or 2 we decide we really like it here and we decide to either rent or buy.

For now we are living looking at a bare place with just internet because we have no yet received our household goods. This means eating off paper plates, not having all our cooking essentials and sitting/ sleeping on the floor. This adds up to very cranky teens who are used to having everything at their disposal when they are not traveling. The other thing they are not happy about....the apt is not set for them to have cable in their rooms......OHHHH the drama that caused let me tell you.

SO for now I am hoping to spend some time catching up with everything we have done on our trip , but I already have already been super busy here. The first was getting the apt , and setting up everything such as food. During the week I had broncitis and have been coughing up lungs and wondering how one nose can hold that much gunk. This weekend I have a scrapbook convention in Pullyaup with Cynthia followed by a night of Phase 10 and then Sunday is the Comcast Bite of Seattle. Music, fun and food vendors GALORE! Housing goods are SUPPOSED to be delivered Mon. ( this is a gamble as any military family will tell you) Then begins the unpacking and the where the heck am I going to put all this stuff puzzle.

Wish me luck!

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-18T22:01:00.003-07:00

To all the Dads out there how about we take a few parenting tips from the ultimate dad Darth Vader.

How To Be The Best Dad In The Galaxy (Behaviour & Communication)

Doing a quick check in

2011-06-17T07:02:00.002-07:00

The whole driving across half the country thing has been an experience. I am learning that even LISTENING to the Simpson makes me want to fall asleep and that for some reason when your kids leave the house they called home they get rather testy. I have tried explaining that it isn't hard on just them but pre teen/ teen agnst is hard to get through to.

So far we have stopped in my Anton Tx to see my Mimaw, Albuquerque, NM to see my dearest friend Mat whom its been 13 years since I have seen, up to Fort Carson , CO to see a friend I haven't seen in 6 years and currently we are residing at my brothers house in Denver. We have had some interesting stops though and as soon as I can find my camera in the lost pit that is my van I will post some. I can not wait to share them. For now I must run we are off to visit the Denver aquarium today.

It's a wrap

2011-05-31T22:01:00.002-07:00

Today we have packers in the house to box up our home to prepare for sending it's contents on it's way to Fort Lewis. The last month has been a blur and I can hardly believe its upon us. I look forward to living in Washington and the many place we want to see when we get out there. I will also be living near Cynthia again! I think the only assignment that could give Washington a run for its money would have been Germany.

Needless to say my posting may or may not be sporadic as I think my broken android is a wifi hotspot. I need to test that out. Here's hoping for the best!

Remember them

2011-05-29T22:02:00.002-07:00

Keeping them in stitches

2011-05-28T22:01:00.001-07:00

My friend Desiree has had a lifelong desire to make quilts for each of her 3 daughters. Well her sewing machine was not loving her so we came up with a plan. She cuts the fabric and I do the machine sewing. Here is the top to her oldest daughters quilt I helped make. This is what the big project has been for the last month I am here in Fort Hood. While I will probably not miss Texas all that much, I will miss her and our antics. At least her daughters will have a little something to remember me by.

Sometimes he's a genius

2011-05-27T22:00:00.001-07:00

For our anniversary this year my husband went to Archivers with me and picked out a book so WE, yes WE, can work on an anniversary book of our years of marriage.

Each page will highlight what happened that particular year of our marriage. I think it's gonna be harder then he thinks. We aren't that exciting. However here is the first page from that album.

That is a scan of baby Michelle's ultrasound. She was the biggest highlight of that first year and deserves to be center stage...ohh wait she's a teen now..nevermind. HE HE. Just Kidding we were very excited to have a new baby. Plus we moved to Germany. I can not regret that decision ever!

And we close the book

2011-05-26T22:01:00.001-07:00

on 2010. Yes this is the last of my 2010 pages for the family. I am now caught up to recent years.

I went a little crazy with the flowers, but I loved the flow of them. On this page you can also see the sheer flowers from the fabric fancies flowers from Prima. The accents are from that Colorbok kit I bought from Wal-Mart.

Now I hope I can just keep up with pages as they come up and stay caught up.

minimalist?

2011-05-25T22:01:00.001-07:00

I believe I am tired of Thanksgiving pages. I need new ideas to make them alive and exciting again. I think all scrappers face this with the inevitable holidays and birthdays. I like the page I just think it needs wow and I just didn't know how to bring it to the table so to speak. I am thinking of online classes. Has anyone done these often enough to give me a good recommendation?

Catwoman ..of a different color.

2011-05-24T22:01:00.002-07:00

My daughter is not ready to commit to tween costumes yet. And too big for kiddie ones. So she opted for a cat mask and going as a tiger.

I used up things I had in my stash for ages. I believe the ribbon on here is over 3 years old. Now that amazes me that I held onto it for that long. The pattern paper may even be that old as well because I believe it all came from the same swap. The accents are all from the Making Memories Spellbound line and the border was done using a Matha Stewart border punch.
I am sadly going to miss out on the trick or treating soon as well. Maybe not, I mean really what is the right age to stop going out for candy?

AZZZUUULLLL ....take 2

2011-05-23T22:01:00.002-07:00

On this layout I was determined to use the Sea World logo paper to finish it off. So I used blues and bright colors from the costumes as my accents. I went semi circular again with buttons , punches and brads.

And I love the flowers I picked up at Micheal's from Prima. They are called fabric fancies and feature glitter, sheer and sparkly flowers.

This page may not be as well done as the previous Azul pages but I love that I was able to do these without using my famous paper pack.

It's on the grid

2011-05-22T22:01:00.002-07:00

I love the look of grids. I never thought of myself as a linear type person but I love the clean look of them. And LOOK no Tahiti paper LOL. I believe I have run out of that paper now.

The first page was used making a random grid of pictures through out the day and just some buttons. Yes I love my buttons they are my go to embellishment.
Page 2 features my favorite pictures of the girls and Shamu.
Add buttons, bling, flowers ,stickers and some stamping and it seems to finish it off. Yup even without my Tahiti paper and using paper from a kit I rather like the look of this layout.

the ole guadalupe

2011-05-21T22:01:00.001-07:00

River time again! I hope my girls appreciate the fact that not only do I suffer putting these layouts together , but I make you my readers suffer as well. I mean how many times can you guys look at the same pictures?
At least I am getting some use out of one of the 2 nesties I have. ..spending freezes stink I tell you.
Well this one didn't focus on the fact that it was DD birthday and I know I do not need to mention the paper. Even I am shaking my head over seeing it over and over again. I guess I will just say it was a running gag?

Epic Fail

2011-05-20T22:01:00.002-07:00

I liked the way the page started out I really do....but, now what? I need a title somewhere I suppose and more embellishments, but as with my other daughter, these stickers are what my daughter chose for her page.

I just have no idea where I want to go with this. The longer I look at it the more I cringe. Scrapper's block strikes again! What is your input or suggestion?

the PUPS

2011-05-19T22:01:00.002-07:00

I didn't really have a photo of my older DD with the pups of the house so I just gave her a random one. Ok I will admit he looks pretty cute and harmless here.

Did you know Kaiser means king? And boy does that name fit. He runs the house with his moods and obsessive clinginess.
Here I matched Love, Elsie Daisy line with DCWV Mango Frost papers. I even broke out the Cricut with this one to cut out the scalloped circle and side thingy with the paw print on it. I am sure there is a technical name for it, it just eludes me at the moment.
Man is he lucky he's a cute dog. I mean Chris just couldn't say no to that face. And this is why I now have a dog.

The B is back

2011-05-18T22:01:00.001-07:00

While my other daughter did not get a bandaid slapped on her and Junie B. is not her cup of tea, I totally caught her digging the show a couple of times.

Funny thing was we forgot that she was even coming. My kids had summer reading camp that Weds. and I was with a friend and we ran to the Px for something. We saw the bus and went OHHH DUH Junie B.

Anyway love the papers by American Crafts here because the weird crazy colors of Junie B. seemed to go rather well with them.

Riding the waves

2011-05-17T22:01:00.001-07:00

I only wish it was at a beach on the ocean, but Lake Belton was fun too. This is my daughters layouts our family boat outing with our family friends. She had the best time out there tubing with daddy.

See?We even got a thumbs up from her.Here she is thinking she's so cool with her pal in shades.

I am not even going to mention the paper pack . I have praised it way too much the last few weeks LOL!

The Hat

2011-05-16T22:01:00.002-07:00

Isn't it uber cute?Never would I have guessed my daughter would buy herself a HAT with her birthday money. A sign that rammed me in the head she's growing up.

Some random thoughts looking at this
Clothes over books and toys????
She looks so much like her dad.
Maybe she will out grow the jeans and tees phase.
Man when she decides she's ready to date I'm in trouble.

They just get to this point too fast.

Famous People RULE

2011-05-15T22:01:00.001-07:00

Ok so my daughter thought so at least. She begged and begged to go meet the author of her favorite books down in Austin. This was the point we realized our kids are spoiled rotten because our parents NEVER would have driven 45 min to take us to met someone. I find it ironic how much my DD looks like Erin hunter in that picture. Premonition? Let's hope so because those Warrior books are pretty darn popular.

Very non traditional

2011-05-14T22:01:00.001-07:00

Yes boys and girls this is an Easter layout.... I couldn't go pastels with this page because of her shirt and this one was challenging. Weird colors in the background, her shirt, and my youngest acting goofy. I will say this I had to scrap it. This was not only my childrens last egg hunt, it was done in the dark by the lake. While I could not get pictures of that it was wild seeing the lights go out and hearing kids and seeing flashlights bobbing everywhere. Very cool.

It is sad to know the kiddos are all growing up and not doing the little kid things anymore. I Just don't want to believe it. I really need a niece /nephew to have fun with.

Safari gone wild

2011-05-13T22:01:00.001-07:00

Looking at this layout I remember that weekend. It was so busy. While I only used 3 pictures for this layout I can remember the decor, the games, the craziness of her party. I can say this though she had a blast. I even used the remainder of the ribbon that I bought to make her banner with and the pattern paper I used to make candy bowls. That was another really well used paper pack.

DADDY!

2011-05-12T22:01:00.002-07:00

Yup today is a holiday in our family. It's daddy's birthday! I am probably breaking a bizzillion rules putting up his picture but oh well .

Winter? In Texas? again....

2011-05-11T22:01:00.003-07:00

As promised here is page 3 of the pages I made using the BoBunny Midnight frost line. You can see pg. 1 here and page 2 here. I will admit I did buy one of the packages of embellishments just for that snow angel tag for that picture. Funny how we can remember what pictures we have at home to go with embellishments but we can't remember if ran out of toilet paper in the 2nd bathroom. AHHHH The minds of creative Geniuses.

For example,

2011-05-10T22:01:00.005-07:00

I know I have been talking a lot about Tuesday Morning lately. So I wanted to share with you just an example of what you can find there and the insane prices. This particular trip I found some luscious ribbon (retails about $5 a package), a large branch punch (retails from $14-$18 ), a huge pack of American Crafts remarks alpha stickers (retails at Hobby Lobby for $8), Package of American Crafts homemade stickers (retail $5-$8) and yes I found Star Wars mini Lunch boxes (retails for no joke about $4).

If you can enlarge the picture do so and check out the price stickers for yourself. I paid just $4.99 for the punch, $2.99 for the ribbon, $2.99 for the alphas, $1.99 for the stickers and a whopping .99 cents for my beloved lunch tins. That's just $14.94! That's the price of the punch retail! I have even seen a bind it all for $45 and ott lights (?) for like half of what I have seen them at Hobby Lobby. If you haven't check to see if you have a local Tuesday Morning I highly recommend you check them out. And it isn't just a craft store. I would compare it to Big Lots, with better quality items because they are not this years new home decor items. Worth the look,this has become one of my all time favorite stores.

Something a bit off the beaten path ....

2011-05-09T22:01:00.001-07:00

disaster even struck while on hiatus. Look at my phone....While I loved the idea of touch screens, I just knew this was unavoidable. I am rough on phones I know that, but the sad part is I was really taking care of it. It fell out of my pocket and fell face first on the pavement. I cried and cried. Ok not really , but I just know I will never hear the end of it from Chris.~ Sigh~

Quick story ...anyone who frequents my blog knows I love purple. I also love sunflowers. My kitchen/dining area has been sunflowers for as long as I can remember because, well purple kitchen appliances and cookware are recent developments. When they did start coming out though I was frustrated. I had already spent a small fortune getting things I loved for my kitchen and the only thing out to match purple was grapes. Nope ,did not wanna go that route. So I kept my sunflowers. Then of all places wal mart was my inspiration in the form of fabric combining my color and what I already had, So part of what I did when I wasn't posting was to make a set of six of these for my table....
and this for my window....the valance,not the stained glass. That was made my beautiful friend Cynthia.
I am over joyed that I can keep yellows and greens for my table but go purple in my kitchen! Best thing I can do since I can't paint walls. Thank You Wal Mart ...you kind of restored my faith in you.

I got the joy , joy , joy ,joy....

2011-05-08T22:01:00.002-07:00

down in my heart....LOL Sorry how many of you will have that stuck in your head today now? I apologize profusely Jeannie....na not really. It's been awhile since I stuck a song in your head! However with this title it just jumped out at me...

This sums up the holiday season in a nutshell. We spent it with friends, baking and of course with the opening of the gifts. The products from this came from a Colorbok kit I got from Wal-mart that was like $20 before Christmas and I got it for like $3 after. Major Deal! Well that's the end of youngest DD 2010 album. She is officially caught up as well! SCORE!

Enjoy The day!

2011-05-07T22:01:00.001-07:00

To all my lovely friends, birth mothers, adoptive mothers, mothers who have felt the loss of a child, and those who want to be mothers. A very joyous Mother's day! We all know there is no better job in the world! Also...

to my much older brother (ok 2 years) a very Happy Birthday. Have fun, be safe and try not to dance on too many bars!

Everything old is new again

2011-05-06T22:01:00.002-07:00

When looking through your stash do you ever run across pieces that you have held onto forever and ever just waiting to be used for something even if you don't know what it is? That is what the title of this page is. My friend Amber made this for me YEARS ago as part of a birthday package. It never seemed to quite fit any of the pages I worked on and I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it . It just sat in a file folder all lonely until I got the little Indians at hobby lobby for my Thanksgiving table. They looked so much like that stamp set and it worked well for dd's Thanksgiving page. PERFECT TOPPER! And did you notice the pattern paper strip across the bottom ? Can you guess the line? Can you? I am telling you best 10 bucks I ever spent!

ohh you little devil

2011-05-05T22:01:00.003-07:00

I thought it was funny that when I asked my youngest DD what she wanted to be for Halloween ,in August mind you, she knew what she wanted to be. Half angel , half devil. I always ask my kids why they chose their costumes. Her reply ..matches my personality. How could I say no to that? Mainly because it's so so true~Another page made exclusively with Making Memories Spellbound line. Yup told you I had a lot and was hoarding it! I think they should do a show on scrapbook hoarders. I would watch it. Maybe I would learn a few things.

Furry Family

2011-05-04T22:01:00.001-07:00

Our dog Kaiser joined us in November of 2010. I had pictures of the occasion, and you have seen him in pictures before. I did notice though that I had not made a page just for him for our girls. I decided it was about time so here is our youngest DD with the furry family member.

Funny thing is this dog is scared to death of her. If you enlarge the picture he has that HUH? Why me? look on his face. The pattern paper is from the DCWV Sweet Stack and once again I embellished with the Love. Elsie line from Tuesday morning that was a great find. Never did I think I would be using a dog line of products seeing as I was dead set against having a dog.

Laughter is food for the soul

2011-05-03T22:01:00.002-07:00

One thing about being a military kid is losing your friends. You vow to stay in touch but at young ages it never truly happens. I do remember some of my good friends as if I saw them yesterday though and I think for DD this girl will be one of them. I am just glad we have pictures. I don't have any of my childhood friends.

This is all stuff I have had in my stash for years!!! I finally found a really good use for it, even if I can't tell you what product it is.

AZUUUULLLLLL

2011-05-02T22:01:00.002-07:00

I can not state this enough...if you ever get to Sea World San Antonio...if you only watch one show ...This is the one to see. And get there early like 30 -45 min early and get a bench behind where you see a lawn chair set up. Because the actor is FUNNY! It's also a splash zone so that was a bonus on a hot day.

For this layout I went circle crazy. It paid off. It doesn't hurt I love dolphins....
The costumes were awesome....
and once again Tahiti paper pack to the rescue. LOVE LOVE LOVE that paper pack!

What a way to spend your birthday...

2011-05-01T22:01:00.002-07:00

at Sea World. Yup we had a weekend long celebration for youngest DD's birthday. I figured if the older DD can have a week long celebration at Disney why can't her sister have a weekend?

For this first half of this page I used pictures from the Shamu show. I really love my zoom lens.

The second half of my page is just random pictures of the day. My daughter chose which were her favorites again...
I used the only Sea World kit I could find from Creative Imaginations. As a result I realized I feel limited by kits. I wanted to include water elements and Sea World paper , but what I could find just wasn't wowing me. So consider it a lesson learned!

Issues much?

2011-05-01T05:39:00.002-07:00

I know I have had frequent bouts of absences here lately. I have had Ryan here ( he left Tuesday) , had internet issues, and if you are new to this blog this won't surprise you , and knee issues again. Yes knee AGAIN! After 8 hours of walking and swimming at Sea World while Ryan was here my knee swelled so bad that it was very difficult to bend and walk. Needless to say I have been very stationary.
I will not go to the doc right now because (and military wives you will understand this) we just got orders to Fort Lewis, Wa . We leave in a month. If you think getting referrals are bad in the civilian world it can take about 6 months to get anything scheduled with army running the show. For arguements sake let's say my knee is bad enough they rush things. I have known since I was 25 that I will need knee surgery. My knees were jacked up from all the car accidents, cheering and work related incidents. It is unavoidable. They said it was a one time deal so hold of as long as you can. Well I now know that isn't true but I have to wait until I go to Washington because I have to drive a vehicle up to Lewis.
Enough of my medical issues and on to better things. I promise in my absences I have been crafting, I just had to upload the pictures. And well get a private moment to upload things on blogger! So here is something I did on one of my away stints.....

I bit the bullet and tried working with chain and ohh my I could not be happier how that necklace turned out. I was shocked however that as I finished it I had just met a new friend and she offered to buy it. It is no longer in my possession. I even had the earrings to match....

OHH that was a fun one to work on. Even though beading is not my main hobby I enjoy doing it when I find beads that scream at me to make something with them.

Sidenote Jeannie right before I made this I completed your dice/ Vegas bracelet for you. I just need to mail it !

Lazy birthday day

2011-04-21T04:17:00.002-07:00

Just so everyone is aware I loved the Love, Elsie lines when they were out. I was on a spending freeze and I couldn't justify what I would need them for seeing as they were mostly themed for things I didn't have to scrap yet(ie nature, travel, etc ). Then I found the store Tuesday Morning and hit the lottery. They had Love Elsie for a mere 3.99 for 4 , YES 4 , packages of embellishments! That's like finding this stuff in the dollar section at Target!
This also happened to around the time I was wondering how I was going to scrap our visit to Guadalupe river for dd's birthday weekend. At this point my Tahitian paper pack is pretty darn thin. So without further rambling here is what I did with said embellishments. ..

Yup I have to say I am still very much twitterpatted with Love, Elsie.

It should be a double header..

2011-04-20T04:24:00.007-07:00

The way life is throwing curveballs at me right now. Good thing I have things to keep me sane and the best part is RYAN is visiting. Yup I have been enjoying some time with the boy even though he really needs to be studying for his SATs.

I have been diligent on working on getting these scrap pages done and her is another fun page DD helped do.

She picked what she wanted on it and cropped some circles and told me where things needed to go. I think that's the best thing about this hobby. I can get anyone's input and it makes it more special to them because they helped work on it.

Somewhere along the lake

2011-04-14T06:19:00.003-07:00

This was by far one of the coolest things we did last summer. My friend has a boat and she invited us out for a day of tubing. The kids had so much fun because they had never really been on a boat they could actually get off of and play in the water. Never mind that they have had boat rides on famous European rivers. I mean that so doesn't count right?

Again DCWV Tahiti paper pack came into play and I finally inked up my Verve Hello Sunshine stamp set along with some Basic Grey stamps I have had for eons.

It's a mystery to to me

2011-04-13T04:05:00.004-07:00

Last year we did a mystery party for DD's birthday the kids had to solve a murder and animal release at the zoo. I didn't go with a jungle theme for this layout because I had just done older dds birthday in jungle prints ( safari was a big theme in this house this year.)On this page you see hubby being the inspector and telling the kids what they needed to do. Plus my cake. It had been awhile since I had done one but pretty good for freehand I think.
This page cracks me up because of my friend who said I am going yo be the victim. We even had a duct tape outline. ( man I miss having a reading couch in my bedroom.)
I notice a trend of when I get on a goal to get as many pages done as I can I tend to go really simple. I think it this case it worked.

That stupid Smelly school bus

2011-04-12T03:45:00.003-07:00

One thing I have noticed about a spending freeze and using your own stash is that sometimes you just don't have the right oomph because you have been looking and using the same stuff. I love these papers by American Crafts. They were the perfect colors for this layout of the visit Junie B. Jones made to our PX.It was such a fun time and the kiddo here got a band aid slapped on her arm during the performance. Again though I believe that there is something to be desired on this page. maybe if I had done button clusters instead? Ohh well baby girl loves the page and that's what matters right?

It's been a rough road...

2011-04-11T03:34:00.004-07:00

All I can say is it has been a tough week. All that illness in my house (I am still not over the crud), then I got slammed with a family ....situation, I guess is the best way to put it, then the whole congress budget crisis. Ohh we won't even go into what was happening at my house over that one. It will bring up feelings and thoughts that could land me in jail! All I will say is Mr. President don't bother with a reelection campaign. I promise your minions in the military will not forget that stunt. I can't even think about it It's making me mad all over again.

On to page 2 of daughters album. I am open to ideas of improvement on this one.

I used SEI Gerties Garden on this for a spring feel and maybe it's missing clusters or something Easterie I don't know but I am not so sure I am feeling the love for this one. Actually wait until you see older dd's layout it's even worse. This just goes to show you that bad days do happen in this house but life is not perfect and so I keep even bad layouts. I am only human after all.

2011-04-02T06:08:00.001-07:00

OMG between sinus' ,my kid having strep and family stuff going on I think I need a vacation. Bare with me until I get over this!

Winter page 2

2011-03-28T04:50:00.002-07:00

This is page number 2 I was saying I got out of 2 pieces of pattern paper and 2 packages of embellishments. You can see number 1 here. I am still amazed at the amount of snow in these pictures. Not to mention the giggle factor of the bottom left picture. Hubby got the daughter right in the butt~ He's such a cheater!

good habits?

2011-03-22T22:01:00.002-07:00

Ok so are you sick of seeing this brightly colored Christmas paper yet? I know I am getting there. It has been in my stash for many many years and I still have some....reminder to self you may love non traditional colors but do NOT buy huge paper packs of it.

Anyway, we decided it was time we got the kids debit cards. We took all the Christmas money everyone sent them and opened an account in their names. I think the look on the faces says it all. In fact my daughters exact words were credit cards? Had to nip that in the bud real quick.

So I said the 2010 journey of my album would be quick and there you have it it is done. Now I still have 2 daughters albums to share so I am not out of the game yet....

I'll have a purple Christmas thank you

2011-03-21T22:05:00.000-07:00

LOL ok so if you have hung around here long enough you know I love purple. You have also seen the Christmas tree in a previous post somewhere I am sure. Well I couldn't let it go unscrapped that I did have a purple tree once upon a time with my husbands blessing. I love it..I even got to scrap in purple which is not something I do often! This page makes me happy!

Giving thanks

2011-03-20T22:01:00.000-07:00

Last Thanksgiving I decided to just let the holiday pass on by without picking up a camera and snapping a thousand pictures. Instead I opted to cut out a bunch of squares and set them on plates and let people write what they were thankful for. I have 2 blank squares there because I was so busy I didn't fill mine out and neither did my husband cuz he's irritating like that. I think it gives a tribute to the holiday and the people we celebrated with without the pressure of having to photograph everything.

And this one time at band camp.....

2011-03-19T22:01:00.002-07:00

Sorry but the reason we went to the Veterans Day parade was because a friends daughter is in the marching band at her high school. There was constant teasing all summer to her about that phrase, so it all ways comes to mind when looking at these pictures.

My favorite picture is the one of the cross. I just loved it especially after 9-11.
of course you have to get pictures of everyone watching the parade and I love old military vehicles. They remind me so much of watching things of wars past and how much we have lost over the course of the years.

Do you feel LuckY?

2011-03-18T22:01:00.002-07:00

Remember how I went through and scanned all my old magazines and idea books for ideas and payouts I liked? Well how lucky was it for me I found one that used the same line of scraps I have had in my stash forever? It was perfect for this picture of baby boy!

I have had the paper so long that I no longer remember who made it. I wanna say doodlebug since they matched the stickers I had for it so perfectly. Again probably a main reason I never throw out anything you never know when it will come in handy. I mean all of the paper and ribbon were all scraps that I had no idea why I was keeping but did. Waste not want not!

Pink Posie

2011-03-17T22:01:00.003-07:00

This page was inspired but the glasses baby girl was wearing in the picture. I loved how the flowers on the Basic Grey lemonade paper looks like the shape of said glasses. Just a few added stickers and I completed the page. As I sit here and type this though I am thinking maybe I should have added some tulle or folded paper flowers under the bees? May need to revist this page at a later date. For now she sits gloriously done in my album. I miss you baby girl and can not wait to be near you again!

2011-03-17T05:34:00.004-07:00

We are in the midst of spring break , which explains my bloggy absence. We also have Just celebrated my oldest daughters 13th birthday! Yup I am officially a mom to 2 teenagers and in a mere year and five months I will have all teenagers. Yikes ok enough about my aging....

M is really into anything peace sign so her whole birthday theme revolved around it. Even her cupcake cake....
I am telling you more and more every year I swear I can do better then what I buy cake wise. Do I do it? No. Why? Because hubs says sitting in the same house with me working on a cake is like waiting for a nuclear reactor to go off. I am edgy and don't talk to me and just plain cranky till I am done. Even I admit to it! So store bought stays on the list .....anyway back to the birthday girl....

We had her birthday party on Fri. night because her birthday falls on Spring Break every year and we know hardly anyone will show up because of it. So a sleepover with 3 friends and some friends from out of town came by for the party and then lunch on Tues. to celebrate her actual day. Plus it is tradition in our house that you do not get mom/dad's , or grandparents gifts until your actual birthday DAY!

Before her dad handed her her gift he said NO SCREAMING! (He hates being embarrassed in public.) So I promise she is really excited to see her gift from mom and dad.

It has been in use constantly for 2 days now. She loves it. I can't wait to scrap it. Speaking of I do have more to show you on the way Just need to sit and blog about it. By the way......

Showtime

2011-03-10T03:32:00.004-08:00

I know it has been a few days, but it's been a busy few days. I have been on a yard cleaning kick. So raking , spraying for bugs and sweeping up cobwebs is what life has been all about lately. Ohh and getting ready for another birthday sleepover. House cleaning and laundry are on the agenda for that today. I figured as long as I am up at 4:45 am I had time to share a page.

This one is of one of our favorite shows we saw at Sea World. Azul. One of the actors was a very entertaining vaudeville type guy. He was so funny he has us all in stitches before the show even began.
The stunts and costumes were AMAZING!

I also have to say I have gotten more use out of the DCWV Tahiti paper stack then I ever thought I would. LOVE IT~ The title background was made with my handy Cricut off the story book cartridge, another purchase I didn't think I would use often but boy was I wrong.

Peace, love ,and aneurysms

2011-03-04T03:52:00.005-08:00

I knew my daughter's birthday was coming up. I didn't realize it was less then 2 weeks away! One of those the time was going by me faster then my brain could process. I usually spend a month or more in planning. Oh well good old sleep overs to the rescue. So here is the theme my daughter went with ...Very retro and very much my Michelle! And here is the last min invites I made to go with the theme....
Let's hope with the beginning of spring break people can come and join baby girl for the party.

Famous whales

2011-03-02T03:51:00.003-08:00

On Kyla's Birthday ,while in San Antonio, we spent the day at Sea World. Again one of those things my kids love to do. They can spend hours just looking at animals. One of the kids is going to wind up a vet I tell you. Or maybe my dream job Marine Biologist. Anyway, you know how it goes you take a trip and get a bazillion pictures! Here's a few my favorites...Page one is random shoots through out the day I loved...
Pg 2 is the Believe show featuring Shamu. It saddened me to see the trainers outside the water due to the accident of the trainer just a few months before at a Sea World. I mean I get its safety for them, but that was what made me want to become a marine biologist, seeing the trainers in the water with the animals training and being fantastic with such amazing creatures.
I am happy my baby girl got to go play there for her birthday. I hope it is one she will remember for a long time!

Guadalupe River

2011-03-01T03:48:00.004-08:00

About an hour away from here lies the river. It is no more then like knee deep on me at 5 foot 4 inches so it's more like a stream. The currents are so strong however that you can take tubes and float down the river. We met up with my aunt and uncle who live in San Antonio. ( In fact it is my Auntie Diane whom I think of every time I hear Guantanamera. See that post here.) Had a alot of food and good times!

I used an out dated scrap line no longer in production called Love, Elsie for all the embellishments. If you have never shopped in the store Tuesday Morning you are missing out. I was informed of this by Jediflame (with that name how can I not love her?) on her blog here. Then auntie Diane informed me about it so I scoped out a local one I didn't know we had. I got a bundle witch included the chipboard frame, stickers, and alphastickers all for 3.99! These things retailed for that a piece when they were new. It was a steal and I will confess I love Elsie! She's younger then I am and I want to be her if I ever go up! Check out her blog here.

Where the wild things hang

2011-02-28T03:59:00.004-08:00

I love that my family loves to go to museums and zoos. I love that my kids will sit there and just stare at the animals wondering what its like to be around them in the wild. I love that my husband is willing to drive us 2 hours to go to one. For father's day we headed to the Dallas Zoo for some fun family time.

That first picture cracks me up. That is the big statue they have out front so people know where the zoo is. I took that picture at the Mcdonalds down the road.

These were my favorite pictures from the trip. Ones that we all could all stare at again and again and again.
I let the layout be simple so the pictures could be the focus again , but it was so well worth it. I think this has to be one of my favorite pages to date.

Wet and wild

2011-02-25T04:14:00.003-08:00

The girls first time out tubing on the lake. In all honesty it has been so long since Chris and I had been in a tube that it may as well been ours too.

I went for way simple on this layout because I didn't want to distract from the photos too much because all of our faces are priceless! And I will honestly say that yes, my friend and I were the only ones that flipped. So not my fault of course she was bouncing up an down and got sent flying. Since the tube was lopsided out I went. Highlight of my day...

A kiss to build a dream on

2011-02-24T03:42:00.004-08:00

I have known Kim since my middle child and her middle child met at the age of 3 and literally feel hard for each other. They have only recently, at the age of 12, stopped calling each other boyfriend/girlfriend. I have seen her go through through a divorce, remarry, go through cancer, and divorce again because of it. She has met a wonderful man who has the best sense of humor and is great for her boys.

It was simple at home affair with just family and close friends. I was so happy to be a part of her wonderful new marriage and so I had to scrapbook just a small portion of their wedding.

I wish them all the best!

I am royalty!

2011-02-23T04:34:00.006-08:00

I got selected for this weeks Colour Queen Courtiers! Such an honor because when I look at some of these talented ladies I am in awe! In case you missed it here were the colors...

and here is my card which says it all!

My Presidents filled weekend...

2011-02-21T07:08:00.002-08:00

As in how many dead ones we have spent. I am in serious heart pounding mode. We know with about 85% certainty we are moving to Fort Lewis, Wa. this summer. Well we knew in our small little car we couldn't make that drive with the required military you have to have stuff, 2 preteens, a dog, and they require. My husband decided it was time to trade in Charlie ( that's what the kids named the car) and we went looking for a bigger vehicle. Well, we found one...However we got a better deal by not trading in the car and so now we have 2! That has been a long time coming and I couldn't be more excited, I mean scared, ok about 98% excited and 2% scared? Ok mostly scared pray for my husband promotion!

Then hubby also had decided he wanted to upgrade our living room (kinda) so inorder to do what he wanted to accomplish we headed out here...

after much looking around and my kids playing house and everything else you can imagine in that store. Part of my living room went from this...
to this...
My husband loved the expedit shelves when we went shopping there a few months back because we had never been to an Ikea before. We have every intention of buying boxes or something to make the dvds look more organized but for now this is how it sits.

And just for giggles a friend of mine bought me this and just to prove what a geek I am I am sharing a picture.
And yes I do wear it. It's so warm tho I only got to wear it twice. It will however come in handy with the winters in Washington!

Challenge me

2011-02-19T06:04:00.004-08:00

It has been a long .....LOOOOOONNNNG time since I have participated in any challenge let alone a CARD challenge. But with these colors who can't be inspired...And here is my simple card for submission....

It has been so long since I have worked on a card that I feel rusty, but pleased all the same. If you ever in need of color inspiration head on over to ColourQ. They have a sidebar full of past color challenges that are sure not to disappoint. Visit them here.