It's Done!!!
I have to renew my teaching license this year, and I FINALLY got my paperwork signed and mailed in to the Ohio Department of Education!!!
Okay, it's been a ton of hassle since Notre Dame College STILL hasn't sent me my transcripts (GRRRRRR!!!) At least, I got the paperwork all signed thanks to an awesome LPDC president! Now...to get those stupid transcripts so I can get my $$$ back! If I don't get them this week, I will have to wait a whole year to get any reimbursement (anther huge GRRRRRRR!!!)

On to some scrapping news...I've been thinking about DT's a lot lately. I mean, I REALLY wanted to try for a spot over at {SAS}...and I'm so bummed out that I didn't. However, my head...my head KNOWS that I just won't be able to handle it once school starts and the last thing I want to do is flake out on someone (I've had it happen too many times over at FH2S and it just stinks) However...my heart...my heart is saying something else. Right now, I'm on vacation and I can stay up late scrapping and spend my days scrapping. But...that won't be the case once school starts. Then I'll be overwhelmed trying to figure out what the heck I'm going to be doing each day for 100 minutes with each group of 8th graders while driving the kids back and forth to soccer practices and cub/boy scout meetings. So, I know that I made the correct decision...and I can try the next round. Now, if I could just get my heart to understand....

More scrapping news...I'm getting a TON of scrapping done! I just wish that I could be a faster scrapper. I mean really...there's no reason a single layout should take me all day...especially if it's not that complex (rolling eyes here). However, I'm moving through the challenges over at {SAS} and hopefully will earn a few more charms this week (yep...I've become just a tad obsessed with those babies)

Okay, enough rambling for tonight. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to share some more layouts...especially ones that I created special for my grandpa right after my grandma died (he took the album and I just got it back to update and organize for him)
Have a blessed evening!

Well, it's already Friday and I haven't posted since Monday. It's not that it's been a super busy week...unless you count baseball all but one night and soccer registrations two nights...plus a whirlwind of scrapping! Ahh...I just love the lazy days of summer when I can stay up late and scrap...and then get up the next day and scrap some more!

So, let me share some of my latest creations. All of them were created for specific challenges over at {SAS}:


This last layout was completed for the {SAS} Guest DT spot. We had to create something with movement and it was the perfect chance to play with this CC spinner. Just a fun (but serious) layout for Kaleb. He gets so upset sometimes when he doesn't get the answer that he wants:

Okay, I guess I need to start on some laundry (trying to do a little each day so that it doesn't get overwhelming) and some scrapping.

Have a wonderful Friday!

Good Monday Morning! Yep, it's the start of another work week (or in my case...just a week) I love summer vacation!
Today, I plan on doing nothing but scrapping. Since Thursday I have pretty much spent my time either cooking or cleaning and while my house looks wonderful (and organized) and the food for the cookout on Saturday and Mom's on Sunday was awesome...I'm ready of life to get back to normal. So, last night a made a list of challenges from {SAS} that I want to work on, and hopefully can get a couple of them finished today.

Okay, before I go, I wanted to share some pictures of the guys golfing yesterday.

This is my dh in his cart, and Zack with Crazy Papaw Willy. They stopped by the house after the first nine holes before heading off to the last nine (my parents live on the golf course...hole three is in front of their house and hole nine is to the side):


Here the guys are on hole nine. Jon was first, then Zack, then Crazy Papaw:


Finally, Grandpa. At 89 he can't go out and golf any more (something he's always loved to do) but that didn't stop him from taking a cart and going 18 rounds (around the course) with the guys:
Okay...time to head off to scrap. Have a wonderful Monday :)

Happy Father's Day, Everyone!
It's a beautiful sunny (HOT) day here, and we are planning on going to my mom's for some food, family, golf (golf for the guys) and fun! I can't wait...it's been a while since I've seen some of my family (plus...GREAT picture opts!)

Now, for all of you that stopped by during the {SAS} Blog Hop...THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I have been totally overwhelmed and humbled with the response from everyone. This hop was a ton of fun, and I am so in the next time that Lauri decided to do one!

Speaking of {SAS}, I have decided that I just can't try for the DT right now. I would love to be a part of this awesome team, but on Friday I was so unsure so I sat down and talked to my husband and saw that it just wasn't the time for me. In August, I head back to school. This year, I'm teaching a whole new class...a 100 minute language arts block instead of my normal 50 minute English class. Right there, I need a lot of time to figure the class out...get everything organized...it will be like I'm a first year teacher, again :( Add to that the fact that soccer goes into full swing on August 1, and since I'm the secretary of the board and Jon coaches at least one team...and all three of the kids play...I lose even more time. So, right now is just not the right time. I would hate to make the team (long shot) and then fail to uphold my end of the committment. This was a really hard decision to make, but I know it's the right one. Plus...there will always be more calls, right?

Okay, off to fix some pototato salad for today, and maybe work on a layout or two. Before I go...I want to leave you with the four layouts that I completed for the call (the altered item is still not finished, but I will post it soon):

This is my dh and dd after dh took off her training wheels. This was such a sad moment for me, so this one is all about the journaling.


This next layout is another one of my heritage ones. This is my Great-Aunt Milly. I'm not sure the year, but I'm thinking they were taken some time in the 1940's.

This layout is one I did for my oldest, Zack. Just letting him know that I'm always here for him, even as he gets older.


This final layout...just lots of fun and lots of pink and glitter!


Okay...NOW I'm off to make that salad! Have a blessed Sunday, all :)

Happy Thursday, All and Welcome to the {SAS} Blog Hop!

If my blog is the first place you have come welcome! To make sure you don’t miss out on any of the great {SAS}sy blogs I suggest you start at the beginning of the {Blog Hop} by visiting at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking and then work your way around the rest of the blogs.

With that said, let's talk Thickers! Can I just say that I am totally and complete addicted to them! In fact...here's a look at what I currently own:

I know...sad, but I love them and use them ALL the time. They are perfect for titles and with all the great new styles (and old), how can a girl go wrong? Want to see some of the newest styles? Well just check out the store at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking...Lauri has is stocked with some of the latest and greatest styles (plus...wonderful customer service and super quick delivery...it's AWESOME!) Check out all that glitter...*swoon* Also, if that's not enough...Lauri is offering some great deals on sets of Thickers!

**Here's a sneak at a layout that I'm working on using the new glitter Thickers...straight from Lauri**

Okay, enough chit chat, I want to show you what I've done with these amazing goodiesThe quickest and easiest way...use one style for your title. With tons of different styles and colors you're bound to find one that will work for your layout.

Here are just a couple of mine:

The next way I like to use mine is to mix them up, either with other Thicker styles or with other types of alphas (this is wonderful when you don't have all the letters in a particular style). Here are a couple of my layouts where I did this:

The shape Thickers is something thing that I'm just getting involved with, but they can also add just the right touch to a layout (and again, they come in so many awesome colors and styles!)

Here are just a few of the ways that I've used mine:

Okay....I can admit it..I'm addicted to my Thickers! Now, before I send you on your way to the next blog...let me tempt you just a little bit more by showing you ALL the awesome Thickers that Lauri has to offer at the store: Thickers Accents, Thickers Chipboard, Thickers Fabric, Thickers Felt, Thickers Foam, Thickers Foil, Thickers Glitter, Thickers Puffy and Thickers Vinyl. Besides the great selection...check out the awesome prices!

Hopefully you're enjoying the Scrap Attack Scrapbooking {Blog Hop} today! There's definitely a lot of inspiration showing up on everyone’s blogs. You probably got to mine from Jen . Your next stop on the hop is Michelle. There are 16 total blogs so make sure you hit them all! Scrap Attack Scrapbooking will be donating prizes from all comments left on all 16 blogs so make sure and comment so you are eligible to win!

So...why not leave me a comment and let me know some of your favorite ways to use your Thickers!

Have a Wonderful Thursday!

It's Wednesday and I've been working on my altered item for the DT call over at {SAS}. It's going to be a birthday present for my mom (her birthday is in October) and if I don't do it now, well I'll never get it finished. So...this is a good thing.

I just wish I was better at altering items. I mean, I get into it at times...but most of the time it just scares me :(

In other news, I REALLY need to get the middle school yearbook finished, but have to run into school to pick up some things.

This weekend is going to be a busy one...we are having a cookout with friends on Saturday and then heading into Mom's on Sunday for another cookout. Guess I won't be doing too much scrapping this weekend (but should get some awesome pictures to work with next week)

Lastly, tomorrow at 9am EST the blog hop over at {SAS} starts. It's going to be a ton of fun! There are 16 participants and even a chance at prizes...so make sure you join us in the fun! You can start at the {SAS} blog and then jump around from there (each blog will give you a link to the next blog to visit...and all you need to do is leave a comment to be eligable for a prize!

Okay...I'm off to continue working on my altered item. Have a blessed Wednesday!

Good Tuesday Morning, All!
Today is such a special day in this house...it's Kaleb Michael's birthday! I can't believe that my sweet little boy is 9 today. He headed out early this morning with Daddy to work, and then Grandma Sue was going to pick him up and take him shopping...he was so excited he was in bed by 9:30 last night!
In other news...the {SAS} Blog Hop is just two days away! I'm so excited! I have my post all ready to go, and can't wait to see what everyone else has done/created.
As for the DT....still haven't decided for sure if I should do it, but already have one layout finished...so maybe I have decided...???
The crop this weekend at From Here 2 Scrapternity was wonderful! Everyone RAWKED the challenges, and I have all the prizes packed and ready to be mailed out :)
Well, guess I'm off to do some more scrapping. I'm working on my last sketch challenge in round 1 at {SAS} so should be getting a charm...if I can get it finished. Then on to working on my altered item (something I'm going to give my mom for her birthday...so it's a win-win situation).
Well, have a blessed Tuesday :)

Good Morning, Ladies! Okay...I have to admit that it's just waaaay to early for me to be up (especially since I didn't get to sleep until almost 2am because of the FH2S crop), but Kaleb has a 9am make up game....so here I am.
The crop is in full swing over at Scrapternity, and I sure hope you drop by and check us out. The more, the merrier.
I haven't done a ton of scrapping the last two days because of working on the yearbook and getting everything ready for the crop...so today I'm ready! I spent several hours last night organizing my supplies and found so many "new" fun things to use.
Okay, time to get a move on and head to the game.
I hope you have a WONDERFUL Saturday!

Welcome to Friday!
It's been a prety busy day. I've spent the majority of it working on the crop challenges and forum over at Scrapternity. The crop will start tonight around 8:30 and run through Midnight EST on Sunday. **BTW...it took until today to realize that the crop blinkie...well it has the wrong dates on it (blushing bright red) Oh well...guess that's just how my month has been...lol.
Anyway, if you don't have anything to do this weekend, we'd love to have you come over and play with us. There are eight great challenges and several games.
In other news...I'm trying to decide if I should try for the design team over at {SAS}. When I joined the board, I wasn't looking to try for the team. I just loved all the challenges and all the chatting. Now...now I'm thinking about it. I guess, I need to figure out if I have the time to put into being on the team...and do I have what it will take to get the required items by the due date.
Also...will I have what it takes to be a part of the team....thinking....thinking....thinking....
Okay, off to work on some laundry. I need to get Kaleb's uniform ready for pictures tonight and then his game. After that....time to scrap :D
Have a WONDERFUL Friday!

I have something neat to share! On June 18, I am going to be part of a blog hop over at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking or {SAS}. I've never done one before, but it looks like it's going to be a ton of fun. There will be 18 different blogs to visit and the opportunity to win some great prizes, provided by the awesome staff over at {SAS}, too :) And, all you will need to do...visit the blogs that we send you to and leave a comment....that easy!

I'll provide more info as the date gets closer :)

In other news...it looks like I may FINALLY have a had on this asthma. For those that might not know, I became very sick at the beginning of May (NOT a good time when you are a school teacher!) After several days, I thought I may have whopping cough (it had been going around) and took some antibiotics. By May 26th I was still sick so I went back to the doctor (saw a different one this time...one I really love) and right away she said it sounded like asthma to her. I didn't want to believe her...no one in this family has asthma and I've never had any problems. But, I was desperate so I took the inhaler and got the chest x-ray...and waited. Nine days later I was back because I couldn't get off of the inhaler (I was taking it every 4-6 hours...more like 4). The chest x-ray was clear and so Michelle said that it was in fact asthma. I was so down and depressed at this point. I had no energy (hadn't had any for over a month) and just couldn't have bad days. I mean, it's not like I can up and quit my job, and even if I was home, I have three young children. Michelle was WONDERFUL and put me on a cocktail of meds: Sigular and Advair for my asthma, continued use of Zyrtec and Nasonex for my allergies, and a multivitamine.

One week later, I have to admit that I am FINALLY feeling better. I still have my moments, and my voice still sounds terrible (squeaky and like I have a cold) but at least the other issues are settling down and I feel like I am going to win this battle.

Okay, sorry that was so rambling, but this has really been a burden for me and has effected me in such a negative way. I'm just happy that I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Now...if I can just start to lose some of this weight......:( Better leave that for another post!

Okay...time to share some more of my creations. I've been so productive this week, and it's only Wednesday :D

Here is one that I did for my BOM. I did it as part of the Scrapping Playground Challenge over at {SAS}:

This next layout is one that I did for the Wacky Holiday challenge over at {SAS}:

Finally, these are all ones that I've done using various sketches. Again, found all of these over at {SAS}:

Good Wednesday Morning!
I know...I know...I say I'm not a morning person, but that is when I've done the last two post...lol. It's just that I'm so happy to wake up feeling well...all the meds seem to finally be working together and helping me....and I'm finally getting some energy back :)
Moving on to scrapping news, it's rainy here today and Zack has a friend over, so I'm going to scrap today (and work on the laundry...gotta love multi-tasking :D)
I'm having soooo much fun working with the sketch challenges over at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking. They are really helping me get my mom's pictures scrapped! So, I have one that is in progress on my table right now (from round 1...I'm all caught up with the current round) and I have a layout from the June sketch over at Scrapternity to finish.
I also want to figure out what challenges I want to host this weekend at our monthly FH2S crop.
Speaking of which, if you have any free time this weekend, come on over and join us for the crop! If you are not currently a member and want to join in the fun...just register and leave me a comment here and I will get you activated asap. Since the crop will begin on Friday night and run through Sunday, hopefully you will have some free time to come and visit us :)
Okay...enough rambling...time to get to work on this layout.
Have a blessed Wednesday!

Good Monday Morning!
Okay, I'm so not a morning person, especially on Mondays, but Summer Vacation sure does change my outlook :)
Today I'm hoping to get some more scrapping done. I need to work on my challenges for this weekend's crop at Scrapternity. Hopefully we will have lots of scrappers joining Pam and I for a weekend of fun!
Okay...of to get some work done (and maybe a little bit of cleaning, too...*gasp*....)

It's Sunday and I've have to admit that I've had a pretty productive weekend. Aside from doing lots of scrapping, I also worked on the house and cleaned the kitchen from top-to-bottom yesterday. Then today, I tackled Kaleb's room and purged and cleaned the heck out of that place. It makes me feel good to sit back and see that I got so much done.

On the scrapping front, I finished one two-pager (don't do many of those) and then three additional layouts. Three of the layouts are for Mom's Christmas album, so I'm happy to say that I *think* I may have almost 20 layouts done for that (woohoo!)

In other scrappy news, I've found a wonderful new web site called Scrap Attack Scrapbooking. Pam joined before me and kept talking about it, so one day I decided to check it out. Wow...this is one awesome board! Everyone is so friendly, but there are also A TON of AWESOME challenges! I love that there isn't really any time limit...you can jump in wherever...and you can earn charms! Needless to say, their challenges are doing a lot to help me find my mojo.

So, before I head to bed for the night, I want to share my weekend creations.

This is the two-pager that I did. This is my mom and grandmother back in January of 1945.

I had sooo much fun playing with the October Afternoon goodies.

Now, the next layout is also for my mom's album, and it was done using one of the wonderful sketch challenges from Scrap Attack Scrapbooking:

This last layout is just one that did about the china cabinet that I recently inherited from my grandparents:

Well, I'm slowly getting my scrapping mojo back. It's still slow (until this whole asthma crud is figured out it's going to be) but I'm finding joy in sitting at my table and working.

Of course, it's been almost a month and now I'm so random with my scrapping. I have Mom's album to work on (I just love working with these heritage pictures) plus newer pictures of our day-to-day life. Right now I have three layouts in progress...and I need to slow down and make myself finish them all before moving on to something else.

Here is one of my current favs. See, I've finally decided that I need to change (my thinking, my lifestyle, myself) in order to make myself happy. So, this summer is my summer of change. I created this layout to document my committment to this change.

The journaling tucks behind the picture and reads:

Today is June 1, 2009. Today…I am starting a new chapter in my life. Things have not been great in my life for the past couple of years. I’ve been so unhappy with my weight gain and lack of self control. I’ve also felt totally inadequate as a teacher, mother, wife and housekeeper.
Today, that is all going to change. I’m ready…ready to make changes in my life and my attitude. I’m starting my diet today, and will be adding Alli to that plan on Thursday. I am going to add more exercise to my daily routine. I am going to go through this house, room-by-room, and purge and organize. I will make time with each of the kids…one-on-one…just so they know how precious they are to me. I will focus on my classroom and look for new ways to reach and teach my students.
So this summer is my summer of change. I’m going to change my life and my whole way of thinking. I’m going to get healthy (I WILL beat this asthma and I WILL lose weight). I will get this house organized, purged and cleaned. I’m going to show my husband and children just how special they are to me.
The summer of 2009 is the summer that I am dedicating to change…my change.

Before heading off to bed, I decided to share my three creations from today. With another layout already planned out, I'm thinking that tomorrow may be another great scrapping day.

This is a layout that I did for a May crop challenge at FH2S:

This is a picture of my great aunt. I am putting together several heritae albums right now.

Jon took this picture of Taylor and I at her Kindergarten Graduation this past week.

Today....I scrapped. This may not seem like a big deal, but for me, it was such a relief. Since getting sick at the beginning of May, I haven't had much energy or desire to scrap. Add to that the end of the school year and my mojo took a long vacation.
So today...today I sat down and just scrapped. I didn't scrap for any other reason then to scrap, and it felt soooo good. Don't get me wrong...I'm still feeling sick and worn out...but being able to scrap today helped me feel better and helped me to see that I am getting better.
Today....today was a good day :)

Well, it's only been almost three years since my last post. Not a great record (okay...let's face it, it stinks). However, I've decided to jump back on board and give the world of blogging another try.
Since I last posted, I've become co-owner at From Here 2 Scrapternity (http://www.fromhere2scrapternity.com/) a wonderful faith-based scrapbooking web site. We just recently upgraded the old board, and have added monthly crops. These crops are stress-free fun weekends for members to get inspired, chat and play some games. The next one is actually scheduled for June 13, 14 and 15 (perfect if you have some Father's day items you want to cross off your list)