This is My life

Just a few minutes...

...till I need to go. But, I wanted to pop in and say hello.  Alaina has gymnastics this morning which always makes the morning a rush...it is a half and hour into the town where her class is. We have to leave at 8:25 and BEFORE that I have to have all three kids up, fed, and dressed, have a cup of coffee (or two), make sure all the girls are off to school (and appropriately dressed!), check email for urgent work-related stuff, etc.  If you know me, you will know that I HATE being "busy" first thing in the morning.  I LOVE long, leisurely mornings where I don't have to gulp down my coffee and I can sit and read and stare out the window.  There is just something therapeutic about taking some time to start the morning right.  Oh well, not this morning!  BUT, I DID go to bed at 10 o'clock last night which was heavenly!  Jason stayed up put the dorm girls to bed so I crawled in bed around 9:30 and read for half an hour or so (can't tell you how long it has been since I read a book!) and then fell asleep instantaneously. Ah...bliss.

I don't have any pages to share with you today.  I haven't scrapped at all the last few days...I've been trying to get other stuff in my life done.  I have never been very good at moderation in my life...I tend to go whole-heartedly into ONE thing and the other things in my life get a little neglected.  So, I am really trying to work on moderation.  Learning to do a little of a lot of things instead of a LOT of just one thing.  So, it means that my scrapping will have to slow down.  I am not sure what this will look like in the end...probably cutting back on my creative teams...but I need to do something.  My days are VERY full right now but I NEED to make time to read, to watch a movie every now and then, to start running again, to cook more with the kiddos, to make random gifts for people (love doing that and I have been SO bad about it lately!) 

Anyway, one scrap-related thing that DID happen yesterday was that I got to see my first layout in print!  Remember when I told you that I won the best of show in the Photoshop Elements Scrappy Awards?  Well, my magazine came yesterday!  It was fun to see it actually see it in print! You can see the award announcement HERE .

Before I go, just wanted to update you that my calendar templates are up in my SHOP .

And here are two pages that Hollie (one of my awesome CT members) has done!

Have a great day!

Monday, Monday...

It never really feels like Monday here.  Our school operates on a four-day week and most weeks there is no school on Monday.  So, Monday feels like an extension of the weekend, which, since we work all weekend, isn't necessarily a good things.  But, Jason is off on Mondays so I LOVE that...love to have him home to be with the family and to give me a little breather.  That is what I am doing today...I have a bunch of things that I need to finish up.  However, I am soooo bad at doing "a little here and a little there."  If I want to get something done, I need to do it all in one go.  I need quality uninterrupted time, which, with three kids three and under, is a rarity.  But, with Jason home and a long list of "to-do's", I am getting away.  I have a calendar template project that needs some finishing touches, I have some emails to write, I have a few scrap pages that need to be done, and generally I just need some quiet time.  So, I am taking the morning to be by myself.  Granted, I will still be in the same building but I am hoping my kids don't find out :)

Saturday was supposed to be a super-fun family day.  The dorm went to Lincoln to see an air show so we had the whole day off.  Blissfully, Jason let me sleep until 9 (when Levi just couldn't wait to eat any longer).  So, we got up, piddled around a bit, and then got ready.  We had planned to go to Pizza Hut for lunch (Alaina had been asking for weeks) and then to the pumpkin patch for the afternoon.  Living overseas, going to a pumpkin patch is something we have never done.  I was really excited!  So, off we went for a nice buffet lunch at Pizza Hut, then a quick stop at the gas station, and then...NOTHING.  Car. Was. Dead.  At the gas station.  Just wouldn't start.  After about 15 minutes I got it started so we left the gas station and drove to a mechanic who said it was probably just a fluke. So off we went again.  Then, before we drove out of town we stopped somewhere, turned off the car, and...nothing.  Dead.  Got it started one more time, Jason drove us home (without turning off the car), went to a different mechanic, and they decided it was most likely the started.  Errr.  Oh well, hopefully it will be fixed today.  Oh the joys...

Levi had a big day yesterday...he started on solids! I always put it off as long as I can since it just makes life more difficult.  But when my babies stop sleeping well and generally get more fussy, I know it is time.  So, I've seen it coming for a few weeks.  Sleeping less, fussy more.  Last night was the big night --everyone was home, he had been especially fussy, and I had finally bought formula to mix with his rice.  At first he wasn't so sure about it, but after a few minutes he was opening up like a little birdie. I'd shares some pictures with you but my computer doesn't seem to want to DL pix right now.

Okay, just one new page for you.  I didn't spend much time on the computer this weekend.  Here you go.  I used Corina Neilsen's BREEZE kit with some paint strokes and tags by Michelle Coleman.  This is my sister (six months pregnant) and brother in law.

Have a great day!

Hot apple cider and powdered doughnuts...

I really like the idea of fall.  I love the changing trees, the hot apple cider, the apple cider smell coming from my candle behind me, powdered doughnut holes, caramel apples, pumkins, rich orange and brown colors, etc. etc.  However, you will notice I said I like the IDEA of fall.  It all sounds and looks all fine and dandy.  But the weather...oh the weather.  I really dislike cold.  Like a serious aversion to it.  And now that I have lived in Malaysia for two years and my blood has thinned, I dislike it even more.  I just don't like being cold.  I want to go outside and ENJOY it and not be thinking the whole time about how cold I am and how the wind is trying to knock me over. And so with the title of FALL comes the cold. And THAT I don't like.  I do like one small thing about cold, though...getting warm.  There is nothing like slipping cold feet into warm slippers, or a hot cup of coffee on a crsip afternoon, or slipping into a HOT bathtub and falling asleep (yes, I do this frequently...that is, when I remember to lock the door so the kids don't come in).  Getting warm makes being cold *almost* okay.  So with that, HAPPY FALL!

I've had a good week...lots of stuff going on, lots more to do.  I am feeling more and more settled in our new house and our new jobs.  It definately takes getting used to, as any new place does, but it is starting to feel like "home."  And for that I am thankful.

The kiddos are doing so good...Levi is already five months and is just the sweetest thing ever.  Everyone we see just asks, "Is he always that happy?"  And I say, "Yep." He really is a treasure and I am still trying to soak up all that yummy babiness because it will be gone before I know it.  And then I either have to resign myself to the fact that baby days are over or endure pregnancy again.  Don't know which is worse.

Alaina on the other hand has completely and totally disregarded my strict instructions to NOT GROW UP.  Indeed, she turned right around and disobeyed me and is turning into a young girl. There is no baby or any toddler-ness around anymore.  And THAT I cannot handle.  My little girl is so grown up.  This little baby girl that I dreamed of ever since I was a little girl is now this real little person with all her own ideas, tastes, opinions, talents, thoughts, feelings.  Eek. I'm not ready.

Something AMAZING happened with Caleb last week...can't believe I forgot to mention it ealier.  Really, the impossiblem unbelievable happened.  We were at Fazoli's for lunch (where else?) and a man came up to us and said, "Oh, a little blondie!"  What??? Caleb actually has enough hair that you can see it AND assign a color to it? Huh?  Where did our little bald almost-two-and-a-half year old go??  (*smile*)

Alrighty...a few pages for you! I've been trying to scrap here and there when I get the time. Some are for CT assignments and some are just for fun.  A few I can't show you yet (new product releases) but I'll get them to you eventually!

This is the LAVENDER BLUE DILLY DILLY kit by Lauren Grier and Robin Carlton at SSD

This is just a fun one of some recent pictures of Caleb. I feel bad that so many of my pages end up being about Alaina (mostly because most kits out there are pretty girly).  So, I'm making up  for it with over 30 pictures of  Cabe.  See, I  DO take pictures of him ...they just don't always end up on a page!

Speaking of Caleb...

This is Shabby Princess's awesome new SILLY BOY::CUDDLE BUG kit.  I LOVE it!  It is boyish but with fun colors...not an easy find these days!  The journaling is just about how I'll do whatever it takes to win my little guys heart. IF he wants to be thrown around and hit and kicked (all because it makes him laugh) then I will go against all mom instincts and do it.  I'll rough house with him and be silly and win his little heart each day.

Wow!  Another Caleb one...I'm on a roll!  This ones uses Lynn Grieveson's SHELL COTTAGE kit and some elements from her ISLAND WINDS and LOVE LETTER kits.  I just love this picture of Caleb!

This is a picture of Jason's parents with Alaina.  Journaling just talks about how lucky she is to have them.  LO uses Meredith Fenwick's new MISUNDERSTOOD paper pack (at SBG), Mer's antique paper hearts, swirl brush, tag, and riboon tie all by Michelle Coleman.

And finally, as a birthday gift to Dani Mogstad, her CT lifted one of her LO's...I lifter her BANANAS OVER YOU LO...her's mine using Dani's OLD SCHOOL kit (exclusively at ACOT 

And now I leave you with one final question...

HOW CUTE ARE THEY?????

Have a great day!

Sooooo excited!!

WOW is about all I can say.  I am sooo excited to have these fab ladies willing to work with my stuff.  Such a great variety...some seasoned scrappers/CT members, some newer ladies, all different styles, some I've known since I started scrapping, some I've just "met."  The talent just OOZES.  Help me welcome these awesome women...can't wait to see what they do!

And can I just say how much I LOVED looking through everyone's galleries?  I am so sad that I couldn't take on everyone who applied.  There were women who I kept saying to myself, "I can't believe I am saying no to this lady...she is so talented!" And yet as it is, I still ended up with 14.  It could have easily been 20!  So THANK YOU to everyone who applied!  I am truly honored!

Not as soon as I had hoped...

...but my new templates are up in my SHOP.  I was hoping to have it all ready to go this morning but life got in the way.  However, where I am it is still Friday (with 35 minutes to spare) so I still got them in when I wanted :)  Two new sets for you...

I had fun with these...some of them started as a scrapbook page and then I turned it into a template.  On others, I made the template first and then had fun watching it "come alive" as I used the template to make my page.  Here the pages you haven't seen...

I used Shabby Princess's ISLAND CHIC kit with this and Michelle Coleman's Hand-stamped brushes.

When I started this page I new I wanted some yummy warm orange colors.  Gina Miller and Holly McCaig's SPICED LATTE kit was perfect, so I went shopping at 6:30 this morning!

This is Nancie Rowe Janitz's OUTER BANKS kit (alpha recolored).

So today was a good day.  For the past month we have not had more than three straight hours of family time.  In a MONTH!  It has been crazy.  So Jason took some of today off and we spent almost the whole day out as a family.  It was WONDERFUL.  First, we took the kids to McDonald's for a snack and to the playland (the snack was so we didn't feel guilty for using the playland!)  Then we headed to our favorite place -- FAZOLI'S.  Man do we love that place!  YUMMY breadsticks!  Then we took the kids to the gym where Alaina takes gymnastics.  On Fridays they have a one and a half hour play time for kids.  For $5 the kids and play on all the equipment -- trampolines, pits, and big blow-up toys.  Not bad for $5.  So while they were playing Jason dropped me off at Hobby Lobby.  Now that is MY KIND of play place!  So much fun stuff.  I picked up a whole bunch of craft stuff that I want to do for gifts.  Oh, and by the way, did someone forget to tell the stores that it is SEPTEMBER.  Summer is not even officially over and there is a HUGE Christmas section out already.  I've seen trees, ornaments, stocking, etc. at MULTIPLE stores!  My goodness, Christmas is THREE MONTHS away.  That is ONE QUARTER of the year to go.  I am NOT ready for Christmas.  Okay, back to our day.  After Hobby Lobby and play time at the gym we stopped by a pet store and had a great time looking at puppies, fish, snakes, pigs (hey, it's Nebraska!), and bunnies.  The kids loved it.  Then home it was to welcome the girls back from school.

Then, Alaina and I made these yummy cake balls that Andrea recommended.  It was fun for the kids because they got to dig their hands into a cooked cake and crumble it up.  They had a blast!

Finally, about 8:30 tonight, I was able to sit down and get some work done.  So, it was busy but it was good to just be together as a family.  We needed it so much!

**************

In other news, I got VERY fun email yesterday...one of my layouts will be in the Inaugural Edition of the SIMPLE SCRAPBOOKS Digital Scrapbooking Magazine!  This is a huge thing for digital scrappers...our own magazine published on a regular basis.  I am so excited that I get to be in the first edition.  Not all of the calls have gone out yet so I am sure that we will be hearing from many more talented ladies who get to show off their talent.  Not to mention all the awesome ladies that make up the editorial and creative boards.  WOO HOO!  Yea Digi!

*************

My Creative team call is going well.  I am so excited to put this team together.  The talent of applicants just oozes and it will be SO HARD to narrow it down.  I am dreading the task!  There are so many factors involved with trying to put together a great team.  I have no doubt that it will be an AWESOME team!  And, obviously they are there to promote my products, but I really just want them to have fun and to get some pages scrapped.  If my templates can do that for them then I am happy.  The call ends on Sunday so if you are still deciding, come on!  Send in your application!  I'll be making my announcement on Tuesday.

Okay...ten minutes until midnight.  Check email, put the girls to bed, shut down the house, SLEEP!

Have a great day (night!)

I've got eleven minutes...

...oops, make that ten.  Ten minutes and then my computer needs to go off for the morning.  I get so much more done with other stuff when I just turn the thing off instead of walk away. So, I've got ten minutes to update everyone on my life (now what should I do for the other nine and a half minutes???)  LOL!

Okay, my CT call.  Going good...keep 'em coming ladies!  I am really excited about how things are taking shape.  There are so many wonderful scrappers out there I just LOVE seeing what people can do.  I'll probably end up with a few more than planned but oh well, I just want it to be fun.  So gets those applications in!

I haven't scrapped a lot lately.  I've been in a creative funk (after a few days of the LO's just rolling out).  So, I've tried to do some other stuff to get inspired.  Nothing is really coming so I won't push it.  I do have a few new goodies to play with later so we'll see what happens.  I did do one LO, though.  I didn't really get any good pictures of Alaina on her first day of school so I had to work with what I had.  This is really different for me but I was just playing and having fun.  I used the BOOKWORM kit at DDE.  Such fun colors!

Can't decide if I like or hate the locker thing...may delete it before printing.  We'll see.

Well...that only took four minutes and I really don't have much to add.  So...I'll spend my extra few minutes checking email and then I'm off to start my morning -- computer free.

Have a great day!

It's a Call!

That's right!  It is about time that I do my first official CT call.  I think it would be good for people to see what people other than me can do with my templates!  My friend Hollie has done such incredible ones that I think it will be soooo cool to see what others come up with!  So, here's your chance.  Just send the information listed by Sunday sometime and I will make my final selections by next Tuesday!  I am soooo excited!  I already have two ladies lined up to work with me and I am excited to see who will fill the other spots. 

So, if you are interested, don't hesitate!  Because I do templates in different styles and I don't expect everyone to like everything, I plan to choose people of varying tastes/styles.  I want people to LOVE what they are working with.  So, show my what you've got!

****************************

In other news....we had no internet for most of yesterday.  I was hoping to get some computer work done but it conked out on me.  So, I got a few new templates done and a few scrap pages, which is always fun.  Unfortunately, I am not going to be able to post all of my LO's from now on.  Well, at least not my favorite ones.  I realize that if I really want to enter Creating Keepsakes Hall of Fame at the end of the year I really need to start putting some LO's aside so I have some to choose from!  I think one of the reasons I didn't enter Memory Makers Masters is because I posted EVERYTHING I made.  And since you can submit stuff people have seen, I had nothing to submit!  So, as hard as it is, I need to keep my fav's to myself.  But I'll show you some others, I promise :)

On Sunday I took a total computer break (other than checking email in the evening).  It was really good for me to really set Sunday aside from work.  Yes, now that I actually sell stuff, my computer is part of my job.  But, everyone needs a day set aside and it felt really good.  The kids and I did some crafts together and I did my first altered project!  I made some photo tiles which I LOVE.  I need to add a bit to them and then I think I'll get them wrapped up for gifts!  Let me just tell you, I *HEART* Mod Podge.  That stuff is the BEST!

Okay, here are some LO's I did over the weekend.  I still need to post some of these in galleries, but, you can say you saw 'em here first!

These are two of my dorm girls.  I used Mindy Teresawa's COSMOPOLITAN kit.

My sweet little Levi growing up tooo fast!  I used Shabby Princess's OLIVIA COLLECTION (this has got to be one of the most versatile kits EVER!)

For this one I used paper from the COMPASSION kit by Shabby Princess and Gina Cabrera.  The red paper is by Katie Perteit from her DST exclusive MAGNOLIA kit.

I think all three of these LO's will be coming out in template form this Friday!

And a few others...

Can I just say I LOVE this LO?  Sometimes I get in a rut, scrapping-wise, and it felt SO good to do something a little different.  Another LO using Mindy's COSMOPOLITAN kit!

I had been itching to get my hands on Misty Mareda's DAYLIGHT FADING Kit.  It is soooo yummy! So on Friday night I finally got a chance to play with it!  Stitching is by Michelle Coleman, price tag by Christy Lyle, family definition by Gina Miller, ruler stamp by Mary Ann Wise, and paper tear by Steph Krush.

This is MandaBean's CRUSHIN ON YOU Kit.  This is my BIL and nephew.  Aren't they cute???

This is MandaBean and Robin Carlton's SUMMER TIME SORBET kit.  And my sweet little niece Audrey!

And finally, a new LO using Lynn Grieveson's ORCHARD ROAD kit and CORK ELEMENTS:

Alrighty, then.  That's about it for today.  Got a list of stuff that needs to get done.  Have a GREAT day!

TGIF!

I am sooo glad it is Friday!  Granted, I don't have a normal weekend like other people do, but still, I like the slower pace and a chance to refresh.  Sleeping in a bit, church on Sunday, Jason home.  It should be good!

The last few days have been hard.  I'll admit it.  The adjustments we are making as a family are harder on us than anticipated.  It's okay, though.  It is forcing us to look at issues and situations and deal with them in good ways.  Reflection is good.  And so I am happy.  I have a wonderful life and even though times can be tough, I am embracing it.  Right now I can hear Alaina and Caleb playing the in the other room and I am reminded of what  BLESSING they are to me.  I have read a few blogs of mom's who for the first time are kid-free at home during the school day.  I read how excited they were for THAT day to arrive but now that it has, they are sad.  The time goes by fast.  I want to enjoy every moment of their childhood and not just push them through.  In fact, I want to enjoy every part of my adulthood.  I don't want to just dream of "what's next" and miss the blessings of today.  Okay, mushy reflections are over now :)

As promised, I have two new items in my SHOP today.  I love them. 

A Little Eclectic #4 and Simply Elegant #3.  Inked edges, lots of stitching, and beautiful floral stamps.  Just yummy (if I do say so myself!)

Okay, get them THIS WEEKEND for 30% off.  Just enter coupon code elegant for Simply Elegant 3 and eclectic for A Little Eclectic 4.  ENJOY!  And let me know what you think!

Okay, gotta run.  We're taking the kids out to play at the gymnastics place while we have a coffee date.  Should be good!  Have a GREAT day!

Is it Thursday already???

...I can't believe how fast the week is going.  I feel like we just got started. Wow...Thursday.  I guess this is what happens after a long weekend!

My computer break has been good.  I haven't completely been off, but I've been doing much less and doing more of what I WANT instead of what I feel like I HAVE to do.  Plus, having the computer off a lot of the day encourages me to do other things.  I still have a lot to do today...house cleaning is first priority...but the time has been good.  I have also been doing a lot of thinking...just about priorities.  Priorities in general and priorities when it comes to this whole scrapping thing. I just have to figure out where I want to focus my attention and limited time.  I am realizing I can't do it all -- scrap, design and sell, be involved in the community, striving to be published, and so many creative teams.  I just don't have the ability to give 100% to any of these things when I am trying to do them all.  There just isn't that much time in my day.  And really, even if there were time, I really don't want to be spread so thin.  So, I am figuring out some of those things and am trying to decide where I need to let go. 

Anyway...

Yesterday was a hard day, but it ended well.  The kids are just really struggling (as am I) with the new family situation we have.  For two years Jason and I were at home together with the kids.  This was SUCH a blessing.  I can't even explain it.  And now, with Jason gone most of the day, we are all struggling.  I know most families do this every day.  It is hard.  But also, in most families, when dad gets home at the the end of the day it can be family time.  But when Jason gets home is when my job with the dorm gets busy. So we are rarely just a family.  Meals are with the dorm, too, which makes teaching manners and just being together difficult.  Don't get me wrong, I do love community living, but sometimes we just need to be a family.  So, last night I decided not to take the kids into dinner and we had one of our good 'ol pizza picnics.  We used to do this about once a week in Malaysia.  The kids LOVE it!  And so even though Jason couldn't be there, it was just a fun time for me and the kids.  And you know what?  They ATE.  When we are in the cafeteria it is really hard to get them to eat anything.  But last night, when it was just us, they ATE.  Caleb had four pieces of pizza and two pieces of garlic bread.  Alaina had one and a half of each (which is a LOT for her!) So good...

No new layouts for you today.  Sorry!  Hopefully tomorrow.  And tomorrow I will have two new templates sets up in my STORE .  And, they will be 30% Friday and Saturday (just the new stuff).  I think I will do this every Friday when I load new stuff in. 

Alrighty then, gotta get started on my day.  Ciao!

Taking a little Computer break...

Yep, that's right.  I have some things that I have been neglecting the past few weeks as I got ready for the store opening.  So, I am going to be taking a bit of a break the next day or two.  Just need to get some things done, rest a bit.  But first, I have two VERY important things:

THANK YOU to EVERYONE who helped make my opening weekend such a success!  It has been so fun to be a bigger part of this digital community.  I have loved interacting with so many of you this past weekend and to see your precious memories recorded using something I have made.  It is truly humbling.  From the bottom of my heart, I thank you!

And second, it is my big sister's birthday!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY SALLY!  Hope it is a great one!

and...

Okay, quick before I go, just one page to show you.  I did this for the scraplift challenge at Digital Design Essentials.  I lifted Megan's OSCAR layout.

I used Gina's HELLO CHICKEE kit. Also, Gina's tag from BOOKBAG ESSENTIALS and doodles from the ART FOR ASHER collection at DDE.

Have a GREAT day and I'll "see" you around.