Scraps of Our Life

OMG!!! It's Gonna Snow

2010-02-12T18:50:00.000-08:00

I am updated my blog.
Seriously, here in beautiful Hilton Head Island it is snowing.

I don't know who is more excited me or the kids?!? We had our first snowball fight. Soon we will head out to build a tiny snowman.

More later, I promise I won't make you wait 2 1/2 months;)

WOW!!

2009-11-22T14:10:00.000-08:00

Has it really been a month since I updated my blog??? Sorry about that.

I have not been able to do much scrapbooking as I have been preplanning pages to take on our big crop next weekend. I am sooo looking forward to a weekend getaway. I just hope I have enough projects to work on.

I thought I would tell you about this new obsession I have come accross. It involves this...

And these.....

Those combined with this site....

http://www.hotcouponworld.com/index.php

I have saved a lot of this in the past 3 weeks!!!!!

Friday night I went to 2 stores. The first store I saved $72 and spent $40. The second store I saved $76 and spent $70. Saturday I hit store number 3 I saved $60 and spent $30. In total I bought about $300 of groceries and spent $140. I also received coupons for money off my next shopping trip, 20 cents off every gallon of gas at sunoco and some mail in rebates totaling $20!!!

Now all this savings did not come with out a little effort. I have collected coupons from everywhere, reading forums and studying coupon policies. But it is all worth it when I see my fridge,freezer, and cabinets overflowing. It has become a game.

Next I need to move from my coupon wallet to a big 3 ring binder with Baseball card sleeves. All to be as organized as I can be.

My new addiction: Super Couponing:)

I Love Fall!

2009-10-28T16:26:00.001-07:00

Fall has always been my favorite season of the year since I was a kid. After moving to Hilton Head I lost a lot of those feelings as our fall usually ends up in December and January. By this time it's Christmas and I am rushing to decorate, bake cookies and celebrate.
This year we decided to head north for fall break. This totally brought back all those wonderful fall feelings. Last night we went trick or treating. Contessa dressed as Cleopatra and Winston dressed as an Army Soldier.

Today we went on fall photo shot at Gettysburg Battlefields. The trees are so amazing right now.

Still more fun fall traditions planed for the week. stay tuned! I can't wait to scrapbook all these new photos.

Our Fall Break

2009-10-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

Last night the kids and I boarded an Amtrak train and headed north to Pennsylvania.
The train ride went well and we arrived in Baltimore at 8:30am.

We spent the afternoon playing in the mud.

Yes, I am stuck in the mud! Luckily Winston rescued my shoe for me.
Figures I only brougt 1 pair of shoes!
We did find our pumpkins and set back to Mom and Dad's to carve them.

Lots of work but they turned out great.

Tomorrow we trick or treat!

So Much Inspiration at The Online Crop

2009-10-24T16:14:00.001-07:00

I have been having so much fun creating challenges for the first online crop over at The Scrapbook Studio!

Check out the layouts below for our recent challenges.

It's not to late to join. Head over there now!

Who's Ready To Crop?

2009-10-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

I am hosting an online crop October 23-25. An online crop is the best thing next to going to a live crop. Lots of inspiration, cool challenges, prizes, and getting to know other scrapbookers. The first challenge will be posted by 8am Friday the 23rd(Eastern Standard Time)
By Monday evening one lucky scrapbooker will be crowned Queen of the Crop.

Follow this link to the Scrapbook Studio to join in the fun.

To get the party started early I am challenging everyone to post an invitation to all your scrappy friends to join us for our first online crop. Please post to your blogs, facebook account or any other online community. To earn 2 points simply link your post here or on the events thread at The Scrapbook Studio.

Hope to see everyone there! Thanks for playing along.

A Few Layouts to Share From The Weekend

2009-10-13T18:31:00.000-07:00

I was only able to spend three hours at the crop on Saturday. ( Thanks Sherry for inviting me!!) No, I did not accomplish all these layouts in 3 hours but I did get a jump start on them.

My first two page layout uses pictures of Winston riding his dirt bike with his friend. I enjoyed playing with the sports mode on my camera and panning as he zoomed by to get the blurry effect of movement. Winston thinks it looks like he is sliding into the turn.

A simple layout about a day on the boat.

A page for my sister's scrapbook.

I don't even get invited to the Shrimpfest yet here I am scrapbooking her pictures for her. You know what her excuse is??? That I live 700 miles away... go figure?

Winston's first time to acolyte at church.

I liked the layout and pattern papers of the first layout so I decided to use them again. My sister went to see Keith Urban in concert this summer.

Thanks for looking.

Another Sketch Challenge

2009-10-11T18:02:00.003-07:00

Page Maps has another sketch contest on their blog.

Here is my layout....

And here is the sketch...

I was able to do a good bit of scrapbooking this weekend (finally) so I will share more in the next couple days:)

What Has Kept Me So Busy?

2009-10-08T17:28:00.000-07:00

We found out Labor Day weekend that we could have a ton of paver bricks. I know just where I am going to put them!

This is only the first load of pavers.

I want to make a patio under our firepit. Lots of weeds to pull and ground to level. Also a quick lesson in math for Winston as I challenged him to measure and figure out the area of my rectangle and figure out how many pavers are needed. He is so smart!

Winston acolytes for the first time at church. 11 years ago I was pregnate with Winston when we joined Island Lutheran Church.

A boat ride on Marc's boss' boat.

Marc was supposed to go with me and the kids, but he messed up his back pretty good. On the way home from picking up our second load of pavers, our trailer snapped. Luckily just before we were going to turn on 278!

Winston cleared out the woods to ride his dirt bike.

Not only did I layout my patio, I layed pavers for a sidewalk leading to the patio. Widened my garden and planted many butterfly attracting plants.

I just need to add the gravel inside the boarder.

Contessa joined the volleyball team as the team manager. Great experience!

A Dolphin Cruise aboard the Vagabond with my Girl Scout Troop.

Dolphins, Dolphins, Dolphins! What a show!

Turtle patrol with the Girl Scouts.

We saved 13 baby Loggerhead Turtles!

And today I finally scrapbooked a page!

I was inspired by a contest at The Scrapbook Studio. Check it out. I love Sketches!!!

Saturday, I will be snaking away for a few hours to scrapbook with the Savannah girls. I was afraid to scrapbook this past month for fear I would have nothing to scrapbook this weekend.

All I can say is...

2009-10-07T16:51:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!!

Since school has started we have been so incredibly busy!
Hmmm, I wonder what today will bring? So far my kids have not remembered even though we talked about it all week and the newscaster just said today's date as we are waiting to go to school.

Cuttin' Through The Brush

2009-09-20T16:22:00.000-07:00

Since Labor Day Weekend, Winston has been hard at work cutting a trail through the woods to ride his dirt bike. Here he is the first weekend. He is still getting the hang of the bike.
(Please scroll down to turn off the music to listen to the commentary.)

With one week of riding under his belt, Winston invites his friend Jackson over to ride. The boys plan to add on to their trail once the weather cools down at bit.

The look on the boys' faces are priceless!!!!

PageMaps Sketch Inspiration

2009-09-07T12:47:00.000-07:00

Page Maps has another great sketch on their site. The sketch is a 12 x 12 layout that I used in 8 1/2 x 11 format.
Here's the sketch... and the great prize pack.

And here is my take.

The wedding cake was made by my sister at her bakery, Seasons Bakery in Gettysburg, PA.

Check Out What's New

2009-09-07T06:09:00.000-07:00

Take a peek at what Cecile is up to over at the Scrapbook Studio. She has put together a pretty incerdible kit club.

Strut your Scrap Contest update

2009-09-03T04:01:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who commented on my blog and the Scrapbook Nook Message Board. Guess what We Won. I will receive a $75 gift certificate and Jamie will receive a free kit!!!
Yeah!

What could you possibly do for 15 hours?

2009-09-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

This is the question that is always asked when I tell a friend that I will be scrapbooking for 15 hours on a Saturday. You can just imagine the look on their face! And what do we do when we are scrapbooking? My friend Sid summed it up quite well. We take beautiful pictures and paper and cut it all up and then glue it back together!

Here we are settled in for the next 15 hours.

We have endless hours of entertainment by Our Queen Scrapper ~ Jamie.

And here is what I came up with...

So, who is hosting the next crop?

First Day of School

2009-08-18T12:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked the first day back to school. It is hard to believe that this is the last year of elementary school for Winston and Middle school for Contessa!

Before dropping Winston off to school, I asked him if I could take a picture of him getting off the school bus. Five years of going to school and I have not gotten a picture of him and the big yellow school bus??!!
I got a quick and booming "NO!" I asked "Please??? Can I use my cell off camera and pretend I am texting?" I did get permission to sneak a photo.

Well the moment came when he hopped off the bus and of course what did I have in my hand? My big camera. I did not want to miss the moment!

I know, Bad Mom!

I LOVE Sketches!

2009-08-11T13:05:00.000-07:00

Have I told you how much I love sketches? Well I do! Each month I go to PageMaps and print the latest sketches. This month they are offering a contest using the sketch below.

Below I rotated the sketch to make it work for my photos. And to fit the requirement of being a summer layout.

Winston's last day of school with his teacher, Mrs. Kecmer.

Our "Staycation"

2009-08-09T15:58:00.000-07:00

Just think next week at this time we will have butterflies in our tummies as we prepare for the first day of school.

This past Friday we decided to take a little "staycation". At 10am we set out for Tybee Island.

Our first stop was Fort Pulaski. We just love checking out Civil War forts and battlefields.

It is really amazing how men were able to build forts such as this one. After 100 years there are no cracks in the bricks from settling. Amazing.

Our next destination was the light house. 178 steps to the top!

Three days later , my legs are still shaking. Marc and the kids went up the first 50 steps and called it quits. But don't fear, I made the climb to the top to snap a picture.
What a view.

Our next stop was the beach.

What could make this day even better? Seafood at the Crab Shack and strawberry daiquiris!
CHEERS!!!!

Strut Your Scrap

2009-07-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

Each month my mail person brings me the most amazing box of Scrapbooking goodies from My Scrapbook Nook. Each box is filled with such great product. I am about to show you 3 layouts that I recently created using the goodies from my kits.

But first here is where I need YOUR help. Simply click HERE and "post a new reply" that you saw me strut my scrap. Then our names will be posted in a drawing. The prizes are a $75 gift certificate for me and a scrapbook kit for you. Don't worry if you don't scrapbook I will create an album for you using the kit.

With all this excitement anyone who comments on this post and over at The ScrapBook Nook will be entered to win a layout designed by me.

Thanks so much for taking a peek at my work and entering us in this fun contest!!!

So what are you waiting for????

I Dare You!

2009-07-28T06:32:00.001-07:00

I love page contest, I always have. I guess its just the competitive nature or for bragging rights. I dare you to enter the page contest at The Scrapbook Studio in Pooler, Ga. You have until Friday to submit your entry using 50% of product sold at Scrapbook Studio. I immediately found a page to enter. Cecile already has several pages on display. There is some good competition out there!

While at the LSS on Saturday, Jamie, Kristine and I were talking about the good old days, before Savannah Scrapbooking, when we would enter page contest at Say Cheese. We would fiercely compete against each other. We did not know each other at the time and it's funny that we have become good friends through the years.

For a few giggles I thought I'd post one of my WINNING pages from Say Cheese. The category was punches. You were to use many different shaped punches on your layout. I can't remember how many hours this page took to create, but it was worth it.

Can you imagine making each farm animal with several different punches?

I double dog dare you to share your oldie but goodies!! LOL

Turtle Patrol

2009-07-26T13:34:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday, Contessa and I set out for an experience of a lifetime. Helping the volunteers of the Coastal Discovery Museum on Turtle Patrol. We met Jamie and Pat at 5 in the morning. It was still dark as we boarded the gators. We headed north to begin checking on the Loggerhead Turtle Nests.

Once checking on the nests and helping 2 babies find their way to the ocean we headed south along the shoreline.

We came upon crawl tracks from a momma loggerhead turtle.

We found an old nest, probably the first one of the season. there was no survivors of this nest. Only 2 feet away we found the nest laid by the momma who made those massive tracks. we discovered 105 eggs in this nest and moved it safely to the dunes. Nest number 155.

we boarded the gators as the sun was beginning to rise.

In the next nest we helped 24 turtle find their way to the water. Look as this baby swims between my feet.

What a beautiful morning!! I hope we get to do this again sometime soon.

And here are the layouts.

Pattern Paper by fancy pants.

Pattern Paper by Bo Bunny.

June bug Layouts with Basic Gray

2009-07-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

A quick show and tell using Basic Grey's Junebug products.

Lastly is a mini accordion album or a display for a shelf to welcome summer. You can either display as is or add small photos of your favorite summer activities.

A Method To My Madness

2009-07-14T19:10:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to scrapbook the past few days and I just could not find anything inspiring to scrapbook. Then it struck me. So I decided to walk you through my thought process. Scary, I know:)
Step One: I have to start each project with a clean desk. I usually watch HGTV while I scrapbook. Even at crops I need to clean everything up before I start the next layout.

When I see my empty desk my mind flashes back to a sign I once saw that said "If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, then what is an empty desk a sign of???" No wonder sometimes I have a creative block?!?

Step Two: Selecting the pictures.

Step Three: Now to find pattern paper and cardstock.

Step Four: Next I turn to my stash of sketches. I love sketches!!!! I have been using them since Becky Higgins came out with her first book.

Follow the links to the left for some sketch inspiration.

Step Five:Here is the sketch I chose...

I love how the bracket looks like a bow in my archery pictures.

Step Six: laying it out

I trim all the photos, glue everything down and embellish.

Ta Da!!! The Finished Product:

While I had my camera in my scrapbook room I decided to take a few photos to share.

Storage for embellishments and paper.

Wall above the pull out couch for guest or just relaxing.

I have a family loyout that goes on this wall but I have not hung it yet.

My Desk

A few framed layouts

Home Again

2009-07-12T07:13:00.000-07:00

Well we picked Contessa up from the airport on Friday. She had a great time at camp! Both of her flights went well with no problems. I guess she will be flying alone more often now. Oh, the possibilities that have opened up for her now.

I had bought her a camera for the trip. She can come with over 130 pictures! I wonder where she got that from? I can't wait to hear the stories behind them all.

Can you imagine? 7000 square feet of Scrapbooking Bliss. After picking Contessa up we traveled south to hit a huge scrapbook store that I have often heard my friend Jamie rave about. It was worth the 1 hour drive out of our way.

The Crop Shoppe in review....

I picked up this...

And this.....
I love Fancy Pants. YUM!!!!

I give this store 10! They had everything you could need. Every theme imaginable. Lots of new product. ( I am a collector of new product)This store will is a must.

Next we traveled home and stopped in to see Cecile at the Scrapbook Studio. I picked up Junebug from Basic Grey. Very bold colors and patterns. Look at all this product!!!! Cecile is AWESOME! Thanks:)

Probably something I would not have bought for myself. I have completed a layout and an accordian album. I also have 3 other layouts in the works. I will share soon.

I Love New Product!!!

2009-07-07T06:05:00.001-07:00

Who doesn't love new scrapbooking goodies? I sure do! Well I have started to dig into my new stash of supplies from my recent trip to the Scrapbook Studio in Pooler.
This colorful stripes is from Basic Grey's Marrakech line.

I am so loving this new line from Bo Bunny! Mango Luau. I am glad we live by the beach. I will definitely be taking many trips and photo ops so I can use it up!

This last layout features pattern paper from Pink Paislee's Fetching line. When I pulled out the archery pictures I did not think I would find anything decent to use, but I am glad the way this layout turned out.

Now off to a hot soak in the tub with my new issue of CK!

Finally Summer

2009-07-01T17:39:00.000-07:00

Today finally felt like summer. The kids and I spent the day at the beach soaking up the sun and catching some waves. I did get to rub it in to my Mom who called as we were relaxing on the beach and she was working. It is so hard living on an island!

Contessa was hard at work helping build a sand castle with Tyler.

I was able to harvest two zucchinis today. For the past month I have grown the largest zucchini and squash I have ever seen!

Here is a zucchini next to a ruler. And this isn't even the largest zucchini to come out of my garden! I am looking forward to making more zucchini bread. Yum-O so good! Winston suggested adding chocolate chips. He loves the bread so much that I dare not tell him it has zucchini in it:)

Tomorrow, back to reality, cleaning the house and running errands.

A Few Layouts Accomplished

2009-06-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

This layout feature pictures my sister took when she went to see Taylor Swift in concert. I love the large picture with Taylor at the piano. I used Walgreen's photo collage prints to have several smaller pictures so I could get more pictures on a page. This takes more planning in the beginning but I am able to get more pictures on page and still have room for embellishments.

Back in October I went to the Girl Scout National Convention in Indianapolis, IN. The white outline flowers were done on a transparency, tracing the flowers on the pattern paper onto the transparency. Then I trimmed the transparency to lay under the the cut out pattern paper flowers. this was a fun technique.

Too Hot To Play Outside

2009-06-28T14:11:00.000-07:00

So, I will spend the afternoon inside scrapbooking. This layout is a total scraplift and it was so fun to copy.
Here's one from Winston's Spring Soccer Team.

I just finished a layout for my sister from her recent concert to see Taylor Swift. The pictures are amazing! I have a few other layouts to scan before I can share them.

Now Is It Time To Relax?

2009-06-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

Twilight Camp is over and it was fabulous!!! A few frustrating moments dealing with some of the adults, but the girls were fabulous! I only took over 300 pictures throughout the week.
Here are just a few fun photos.
Each girl was Knighted and received the badges they worked so hard on. We had jesters to make us laugh, we presented one of our CSA's with a banner displaying the logo she designed.

Here are our CSA's in costumes the made and a few Juniors blowing their ceremonial horns.

And for our new scouting year I announced our theme... "Together we can change the world"

Finally Finished

2009-06-25T06:47:00.000-07:00

I was able to find pictures for the 3 layouts I designed for Scrapbook Studio.

My scanner was not working so I photographed the layouts. Some detail was lost but you get the idea.

It has been a busy week trying to put together Twilight Camp for 58 girls. We are exploring a Medieval Theme and will complete the week with a Mid Summer's Eve Fair. The girls have been busy making their costumes to wear. Contessa models the basics of her dress. Hopefully the girls will finish them tonight.

One of the highlights for camp has been archery. Even for the adults. You should see the bruise left on my arm.

Who's The Biggest Loser?

2009-06-19T06:42:00.000-07:00

Yep, That would be ME! But am I sad about this recent status? Heck No! I played Bunco last night with a new group of gals and I walked away with $30! I lost 8 out of the 10 rounds. We had such a great time. Who knew losing could be so much fun?

Last Saturday was a lot of fun hanging out with my scrapbook pals, Jamie, Kristine, Sid and Eunice. As you can see from my last post we took a field trip to Scrapbook Studio. All the new product in this store is out of this world!!! I picked up my package of goodies to start playing with. I received The Zinnea Line from Little Yellow Bicycle.

I will tease you with a card that I made.

I do have three layouts ready. I just need to add the pictures. I hope to accomplish this task over the weekend. Have a good one.

A Scrapbook Field Trip

2009-06-14T07:33:00.000-07:00

News To Share

2009-06-08T12:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Winston and I were playing our new Paper Mario game for the Wii. We all chipped in for the $50 game. No one wanted to spend their entire $50 on a game that Mom wanted. Yes, I am a video game junkie. Anyway, we were stuck on Chapter 1-3 and decided to take a break. I was logging onto the computer to check to see if the Scrapbook Nook had announced the winners of round 2. They were selecting 10 people to move onto round 3. By my calculations I was tied for 11th place. I am about to click on the announcement when the phone rings.
The lady on the other end asked for me but mispronounced my name. "Great another sales call or survey. I corrected her and let her continue. Usually I say she's not here, figuring if they can not say my name it's not important. She introduced herself as Cecile from the new Scrapbook Store in Pooler, Scrapbook Studio. She proceeded to tell me that I had made the Design Team for the store. The Grand Opening is this Saturday, June 13. I can't wait to check out the store and all the new yummy product she has in stock. Check out her Blog here and the store website here.
And by the way, I did not move onto round three at the Scrapbook Nook. It was so weird to have such big announcements coming in at the same time.

some scrapbooking eye candy

2009-06-06T04:39:00.000-07:00

For the first challenge I am sharing we were to look around for a piece of inspiration and create a layout. My inspiration came from Winston's basketball.

My Super Star

This challenge we were not allowed to use pattern paper. But were encouraged to use journaling spots. I was glad to be able to use these pictures from Contessa's 14th birthday. I had been putting them aside for months. I made 2 layouts for the Keepin' it Real Challenge. I finally decided to submit this one using my blog as inspiration. This month's Creating Keepsakes Magazine came in handy when I learned how to copy a computer screen to a document for printing. So simple click alt + prt scrn and simply paste to a blank document. I will be using this technique often.

The one that I did not submit is about my gardening.

This next challenge was double or nothing. We were to use only shaped photos. No squares or rectangles or silhouetted pictures. I used Contessa's pictures from confirmation last weekend.

I also learned this fabulous new technique! The paper ribbon at the bottom of my layout.

A few cards to share....

Scrap like it's 1999. Using cardstock, pattern paper and stickers. I also got out my zig zag scissors. I'm lovin' this card though.

This card had to use 3 different pattern papers, a flower and ribbon. I promptly mailed this card to a dear friend for all her support lately.

This card is made for one lucky person from The Scrapbook Nook. Everyone was to make 1-2 cards to send to someone else on the board who inspired them.

This card is a gift card holder. K.I.S.S.

I'm So Excited!!!

2009-05-27T16:47:00.000-07:00

I made it! I made It! I made it into round 2 at My Scrapbook Nook!

Our first challenge is "Keepin' It Real"

Interpret this anyway using a recent self portrait taken by yourself. Take a look at the example.

I am open for any ideas?!?

Happy Anniversary

2009-05-25T17:35:00.000-07:00

Today Marc and I celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary.

I can't believe it!!!

Time for Some Scrapbook Layouts

2009-05-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

I have entered a contest over at My Scrapbook Nook. So I have lots of layouts to share!!!

This was from our vacation to Williamsburg last month.

Here we had to use the same picture more than once.

This one comes from strong emotion challenge. How all alone we felt after Contessa's diagnosis tp having a great online family for support.

This one we had to tell about our attributes but we could not say wife, mother, sister, etc.. We also had to use a Becky Flak Sketch. Love those!! And a butterfly. I was stumped until I looked up attributes describing my zodiac sign, libra. I did not list the true but unflattering attributes. (laziness:))

This one called for the use of over 20 buttons on a page. Not my favorite layout but I did get the 5 points I was after:)

A Two page spread showing Contessa and her friends at Heroes on Horseback tacking the horses. Not for the contest, but one I have not shared.

These two I did a while back. They are from my trip to Atlanta in January with my new friend, Pam. The World of Coke.

Lunch at Johnny Rockets.

That is all I hace for now. I have about 5 layouts I still need to scan that are laying on top of my scanner for the month. I also need a new album because I have pages 4 inches thick that need put away. Make that 2 albums. I know I will fill one right away.

A Little Closer To Summer Slow Down

2009-05-12T14:32:00.000-07:00

Well, we survived our crazy weekend with the MS Walk. This year Contessa and I stepped up and managed the walk here on Hilton Head.

The video that we shot back in March is finally up. Click on the picture below to check it out.

Contessa received her first pair of diamond earrings from Mr. Perry at Perry's Estate Jewelers.

We raised just over $10,500. Our goal was $12,000. Please consider helping us meet our goal by donating today. Click here.

Our weekend getaway

2009-04-27T17:45:00.000-07:00

Last week we ventured back in time. To the Colonial Days. The Torin Clan headed north to Williamsburg, Va. I don't know what we were thinking driving 7 hours for a two day trip?? I believe the highlight of Williamsburg was visiting the jail. Contessa liked seeing Winston in chains.

Tempting?!? Leave the kids in the stockade and have a leisurely lunch or sring them free? Hummmm...

Each afternoon, the actors of Williamsburg interact with vistors in a moving play throughout town called Revoluntionary City. Through the 2

hour program, you follow the actors through town as our Nation drafted the Declartion of Independance.

On Friday, we visited Yorktown, a Revoluntionary Encampment.

Enjoying the beautiful spring afternoon!

Happy Birthday to My Favorite Sister!

2009-04-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

Okay my only sister. I made this layout instead of sending a birthday card. I just can't get organized far enough to get it in the mail to reach you in time. Enjoy your day.

Where is my yard boy?

2009-04-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

I have been working in the yard non stop for the past month. I finally got around to taking some pictures of my progress. I still have lots of weeds to pull! I want to have everything done before summer when it is just too hot to work outside.

This winter I started a compost pile. It was nice to be able to put all our scraps for cooking into the compost pile. After all our heavy rains, I noticed I had pumpkins growing in my compost pile!I cleared a nice little bed next to the compost pile for my pumpkin patch. I just hope that those weeds right behind them don't creep over to the pumpkins! I found that 2 x 4 right there in that pile of weeds. I will look for more to build a box around their little bed.

When our stucco guys were her stucco-ing our house they left behind this old wheel barrow. I did manage to use it. Granted it did have a flat tire and it was so rusted that only one bolt held the bucket to the handles. After receiving a new wheel barrow for Christmas it was time to retire this one. I turned it into a flower garden. I love how it turned out. Unfortunately my hose doesn't reach that far so I have to use the watering can.

Here is my herb garden. It's pretty small now but hopefully soon it will grow. I don't know what happened to my rosemary? It was huge and three weeks ago it turned brown and all the leaves fell off???

Here I have started chives, thyme, basil, and parsley from seed. I am afraid to put it in the garden because the dogs have been chasing the birds into my herb garden. I need to put a small fence around the garden.

Here we have my vegetable garden. In November I planted Vadillia Onions. They should be ready in May. Next to them I have red onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and zucchini, and peppers. Meet Rebecca, we bought her last summer after we picked up Contessa from Victory Junction Gang Camp. This garden was easy. I just pulled a few weeds and placed fresh mulch.

Next we come to my shade garden. I expanded it back to the fence this year. I added Elephant ears and cana lillies.

Here we come to my latest project. In between our red tip bushes are so many weeds! I am working on clearing out the weeds and then I will add the mulch. I have daffodil bulbs planted in front of the red tips.

Here is what I have finished so far. I have lillies planted in front of the fence.

Springbreak is Here!!

2009-04-11T16:17:00.000-07:00

I have been able to sneak a few scrapbook layouts in, between work, scouts and working in the yard. The first layout showcases Contessa's bravery in getting her ear's pierced.

The MS Society is working on a piece to put on the MSgiants.org website. They asked if they could interview Contessa. The reported wanted more than just a sit down interview. So we travelled to Charlotte, NC for the interview. We met at Perry's at South Park. Perry's is an Estate Jewelers. Mr. Perry surprised Contessa with her first pair of diamond stud earrings!!!

I really like the colors of this layout. The pattern paper came in my Scrapbook Nook Kit. At first I was not sure if I would use the papers because they are wedding inspired, but the colors were perfect!

This layout is about one of my dearest friends, Julie. We met 4 years ago when our daughters Girl Scout troops merged. Over the years we have become closer with every Girl Scout event we do.

I found the inspiration for this layout in Making Memories magazine. (I believe) It was said that this was one of the best pictures that I could find of my paternal grandfather. Yes, that's me in the upper right hand picture holding the baby, my baby sister!!!! Those preteen years, sooo awkward!!!

Okay, now I am in the mood to go crop. Talk to you soon.

So Many Post Worthy Events...

2009-03-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

Too Little Time!!!!

It has been a busy two weeks! Each day I thought, "Gee, that would be good to blog about." and then I got home and just couldn't find the time.

First some scrapbooking show and tell. The first two layouts are from our summer trip to Gettysburg Battlefield. The first is a trip to Eisenhower Farms. The kids became Junior Secret Servicemen.

The next two layouts are total scraplifts.
The first comes from the Nov./Dec. 08 issue of Scrapbooks etc.

The next scraplift has wonderful color combinations as well. This one is from Aug./Sept. 08 Scrapbook Etc.

Too Cold To Go Outside

2009-03-01T12:05:00.000-08:00

I was able to get out yesterday to work in the yard for a short time. A storm has blown in and dumped buckets of rain! And a cold front to remind us that it is winter. They are actually talking snow tonight. Unbelievable!!!
So after napping and doing a little bit of nothing I did get some scrapbooking done. Here are a few layouts to enjoy.

Walking home from the kid's bus stop each afternoon I enjoyed watching the trees turn bright colors.

These photos were taken at Lewdew Gardens in Maryland last summer with Nanou and Aunt Sophie.

My favorite layout from the weekend was inspired by a layout in the Feb./March 09 issue of Scrapbooks etc. As soon as I saw this layout, I gathered all my materials and set to work.
I was inspired by their Inspiration section using photos from "then" to scrapbook now.

A few more layouts

2009-02-27T18:26:00.000-08:00

Some of my recent layouts I have been wanting to share. This one shows Contessa's school picture from the fall. (Sorry the scan is dark)

I found the inspiration for this layout in a magazine. I loved the Little Yellow Bicycle Red lace paper as the photo mat.

Back in October, Contessa's Girl scout troop went camping. The Girls earned their Wildlife badge and went Kayaking. I made the fun flower by cutting 4 circles with my Cricut, each 1/2 inch smaller in diameter. I crumpled each circle, smoothed it out then sanded and assembled. I used a large brad in the center. I loved how it turned out.

Two Page Layouts

2009-02-08T13:28:00.000-08:00

Shuckin' Oysters
I used pearl brads in the centers of the flowers to go with the oyster theme. No, we did not find any pearls in our oysters.

Great Wolf Lodge
This summer we visited with old friend and new from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society at the Great Wolf Lodge.

A Gift From God
Mitchelville Beach has to be one of my favorite places to walk. This beach is wonderful to enjoy all the little gifts from God.

Christmas Morning
This layout is a little hard to see when it is placed on a white background. With the white background I am able to place many colorful (busy) pictures.

New Single Page Layouts

2009-02-03T14:47:00.000-08:00

For Christmas Contessa received Sing Star after playing it for hours at a Girl Scout Sleepover earlier in the month. We had such a good time singing along Christmas morning. We didn't sound as good as the pictures look.

At church, Contessa played the role of Mary. Now everyone at church calls her Mary.

This layout is from St. Nicholas Day this past December. Winston wanted the new Brett Favre jersey since football season began. Contessa received the last 2 books in the Twilight series. Who enjoyed the books more? her or me?

Hershey Park was one of my favorite summer get away places. I loved going to Chocolate World and riding through the big oven. I never got tired of the same tour year after year.Each summer we would also go to Ocean City, Maryland. We would spend the day at the beach and pool and stroll the boardwalk at night. We always stayed at the BeachMark Motel. I wonder if it is still open?

Today is Groundhog's Day

2009-02-02T13:33:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my little Groundhog.

Contessa turns 14 today. I can't believe how the time has flown by!

To celebrate Contessa's Birthday, she decided she wanted her ears pierced. She had asked the girls from scouts all wekend where she should go to have it done and if it hurt?

We arrived at the Mall. She was so excited. We checked at two stores. The first store the lady looked just way too young to be able to pierce someone's ears. We walked out of the store and made our way to the Piercing Pagoda. As we selected the pair that would be the perfect first pair, you could see the nervousness on her face. The first earring went in without a problem on to the second. Whew... both ears done and it wasn't that bad! A little tender but all in all a success.

Happy 14th Birthday Contessa!

Yes, I am still here.

2009-01-25T17:30:00.000-08:00

For the past 3 weeks I have been busy putting layouts together for our 4th Big Water Scrapbooking Retreat. I had 40 layouts planned to complete. I managed to finish these 8 layouts.

I even dug through my old photos and put these layouts together.

The Best of 2008

Our Christmas Palmetto Tree

Girl Scout Troop 15 trip to Hunting Island.

Trip to 97.3 Kiss FM. Thanks T*Lovely.

Our Summer trip to Gettysburg National Cemetery.

Tubbing at Ski Liberty.
I have 17 more layouts that just need the journaling and then I can show you. I have 17 layouts ready and waiting. The best part is I have the pictures, sketches, papers and embellishments all set to get started.

Something to share

2009-01-01T16:13:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone.

Today Sonya and Scott joined us for our first oyster roast. Yum Yum!

We had to move the table into the sun because the shade was just too chilly! I also tried two Rachael Ray Burger recipes. Both Delicious!

A Fresh Hot batch was placed in front of Contessa. She was all smiles from ear to ear. I think she out ate everyone at the table.

We will definitely do this again!

I forgot to share this back in November....

My good friend Julie was having coffee with a gal from Pink magazine one morning. They were talking about interesting folks they know and Julie brought my name up. A few days later I received a call to see if I was interested in having an article written about myself and scrapbooking. Of course I was interested.

Click on the magizine cover to read the story.

Let It Snow

2008-12-30T11:57:00.000-08:00

We really hoped it would snow while visiting family in Pa but it is hard to have snow when it is 60 degrees outside. Luckily Ski Liberty makes snow!

We all survived the evening. No broken bones. Not even a roll over. After tubing we went for dinner at TGI Fridays where we celebrated Winston's 1oth birthday!

Merry Christmas to All

2008-12-28T06:37:00.000-08:00

Wow, December has been a busy month! I think I did everything I wanted to do this month.

Since we spent Christmas in PA with my family, we did not find that perfect Christmas tree and decorate it. Instead we decided to run electricity out to our Palemetto Tree and decorate it.

Here I am on TOP of the 6 foot ladder trying to get up enough nerve to venture up the extention ladder.

This is as far as I would go. When Marc comes home from work he can finish it up. With the outside of the house decorated, it is time for the next item on the list.

For two whole days I baked Christmas Cookies. I made all my old favorites. I did not try any new recipies this year though. I made so many trays for friends that I was only left with a dozen of each kind to take to PA. I have always wanted to have a cookie exchange and invite a few friends over. At the last minute I tried to pull it off but Only April and I bake so everyone else just enjoyed our cookies. It was a lot of fun. Maybe next year I can be organized enough to make it work the way it is meant to be.

At church, Contessa palyed the part of Mary in our Advent service.

Santa came early to our house and left this awesome 42 inch flat screen TV. Thanks Mom and Dad!!!

We arrived in PA with a thin layer on ice covering the roads and side walks. Of course, the kids and I were dressed in our PJ's for the long trip. Marc like to leave at 9pm and drive through the night. We pulled in at 7:30am. We had fun "ice skatting" on the side walk. Winston di question why the rain was so hard. He has lived in the south so long he never heard of sleet. Unfortunately the weather never got cold enough to snow and the ice was gone in a few hours.

Look Santa found us 700 miles from home.

Winston was thrilled with his Wii. (we all are!!)

Contessa has been asking for a DS for ages now. She is so thrilled!

Now we are off to go snow tubbing. Hope no one breaks a leg, arm or any other crazy body part.

Merry Christmas all!

Our 15 Minutes of Fame

2008-12-06T06:59:00.000-08:00

Last night, the Girl Scouts took a trip to Savannah to see T Lovely at 97.3 KISS FM. The girls meet her last spring at the Natasha Benginfield Concert. We were finally able to take her up on her offer of stooping by the studio.
The tour began with a tour of the 6 studios. In the station manager's office, they pulled out two autographed guitars. One by David Cook, the other by Daughtry.

Each girl was able to introduce a song for the top 5 at 9. Each recording took many tries. They either stumbled on their words, giggled or spoke too softly.

97.3 KISS FM also loaded the girls with an Autographed poster, cups and cd's! This was a teens dream come true.

After the radio station tour we went down town for a hunting ghost walk through the squares. Luckily the rain had stopped and it wasn't too cold.

On the way home we were each able to hear ourselves on the radio.

New Inspiration

2008-12-03T18:54:00.000-08:00

As if this time of year isn't crazy enough, I signed up for The Got Sketch Mini.
The first challenge went up today. Of course it was torture all day having to wait to get home to crop. Here is my take on the sketch.

Sight Seeing
Of course there were a few requirments to this challenge. I used the colors from the Got Sketch Mini Banner. Had circle embellishments and used Pop Dots.

There is still time to join, but hurry it only last one week! Best of all it's FREE!!! Stay tuned for more Got Sketch inspired layouts. So much for getting Christmas Scrapbook Gifts complete.

I thought I would also share this layout I completed last night. All those little letters were so tedious. phew!
Heroes On Horseback

A few more layouts to share

2008-12-01T17:24:00.000-08:00

I have been busy the past two days putting the finishing touches on the layouts I started on Saturday. In order to pack light to go to a crop, I take the basics.
Great Pattern Paper and only Bazzill cardstock
Basic tools, paper trimmer and adhesive
I can not go without my sketches. Page maps and Valerie Salmon are the best.
If I know there is a certain embellishment that I want to use I bring that too.

During the crop I complete 75% of my layouts. When I get home I finish with the embellishments, title and journaling. I can never complete my journaling at a crop with everyone talking and laughing.

Grey Squirrel
The title is very light. It's above the striped paper.

Untitled
I scanned this page and realized I forgot the title. I am still pondering this one.

Okay, I have one more layout that I want to finish before I start on the Christmas Gifts.

A few of my recent layouts

2008-11-30T10:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was able to take a day just for me. Yeah Me!!!
I decided to go Scrapbooking at A Scrapbook Boutique. I was thrilled that Jamie and Kristine were able to meet me for some scrapbooking fun.
Here is a peek at my most recent layouts.

Just Swinging Around
I used Bazzill Bling to make the flowers. Inpired by Chatterbox Embellishments. Yum-O

Foot Action
I was inspired by a layout in Jamie's "Bright Ideas" notebook. I love the green and orange color combo. I also like the torn paper mats under the photos.

When dining at Lady and Son's, I was instantly inspired by the paper dollie placemat. I promptly folded it up and placed it in my pocketbook for this layout.

Grateful
This summer were decided to have our picture taken during the Civil War Era. The kids and I spent the week learning about the Civil War.

Our Beach Visit

Goodbye Elmo

Twilight Test

2008-11-26T18:48:00.001-08:00

Twilight Test from Dumb Spot!

Dumb Quizzes | MySpace Quizzes & Quotes | Make a Quiz

All I want for Christmas

2008-11-26T10:15:00.000-08:00

For the Scrapbook Room.
A DVD player so that I can watch a movie while scrapbooking.

A new Cricut cartridge would be fabulous. I love all the scrolls, accents and letters.

(Click for a larger view)

For the Kitchen.
I love to try new recipes and when I saw Rachael Ray has her newest cookbook available, I knew there would be many new meals to try out on the family. Yum-O!

I wish that these bakers were red but blue will do.

I received two sets of these dishes last year and I love the pattern! I just need one more set. Ya know 8 pieces just is not enough.

I am missing over half my measuring spoons? Some people have sock monsters in the dryer, me? I have a spoon thief.

I did already receive this fun cookware set as an early present. It was so needed. The little teflon coating on the bottom would flake off into my food. And I will admit I was passing it off as pepper. To complete the set, I am looking for another 2 qt. saucepan to match. I can only find a 1 quart pan.

For the House.

Anyone who has tried to call us lately, understands our frustration. We will talking on the phone, in the middle of a conversation when all of a sudden the call is dropped. This will happen several times throughout the call. I feel so bad, that someone will think I am hanging up on them.

For Me.

A Stein Mart Gift Card. My absolute favorite place to shop for clothing and shoes and jewelry and.....

Twilight

2008-11-20T11:49:00.000-08:00

The countdown to the Movie Twilight has begun. Contessa bought the book during Fall Break. She was instantly glued to the pages. Reading everytime she had a free minute. On our trip to New York, she bought the second book in the series.

The story is about a teenage girl who moves from her Mom' in Pheonix to live with her Dad in Forks, WA. Bella becomes intrigued by the Cullen Family. She takes a special interest in Edward Cullen. She is so intigued by his stunning good looks and super human strength. Bella puts the clues together and finds out that Edward is a vampire. They spend more and more time together and fall in love.

I picked up the book last Friday after the girls at scouts began discussing it. Later that night after Contessa went to bed, I picked up the book and was instantly hooked. Last night I started book two. Santa better hurry with books number 3 and 4. It's that good!

Happy Birthday

2008-11-12T16:44:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to the Best Dad in the world! MY DAD!!!

Thank you for everything you do for me and my family. I love you. Happy Birthday!

What are you doing today?

2008-11-04T04:06:00.000-08:00

The only thing I HAVE to do today is go VOTE. Our schools are closed today because they are polling places. I have already decided who I would vote for. For me the choice was easy.

Conversations at our dinner table have been very interesting. The kids have been telling us what they have discussed at school and what their peers believe. It's amazing how impressionable our youngsters are and how important it is to give them a strong foundation.

So, The kids and I plan to spend the morning waiting in line at our polling place. Hopefully the wait won't be too long. Or that my daughter won't try to impress her opinion on an innocent bystander.

I'm watching Fox News now showing the long lines. It is so good to see everyone exercising their right to vote.

So what are you doing TODAY?

My Girl Scout Weekend

2008-11-02T08:28:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here in the airport with my dear friend Julie, waiting to catch our flight back home. We had a really good time here at the 51st National Girl Scout Convention. This year the convention was held in Indianapolis, IN.

Opening ceremony was Thursday evening. We met the other girls and ladies from our council. The presenters shared story weaving with us. We had the opportunity to find someone that we did not know and shared our story with them about how Girl Scouting has brought us to this point.
On Friday, Halloween day we had a great time. We visited the convention hall to check out the exhibits and vendors. we received lots of goodies. Girl Scout cookies, water bottles, journals...

Imagine my surprise to see K and Company with a booth doing a little make and take using their Girl Scout line. My only scrapbook fix for the weekend. Though I took lots of pictures that I will be able to scrap.

Friday night Little Brownie Bakers, you know the company that makes all those yummy cookies, treated us to dinner at a fabulous Italian Restaurant. This picture is the ceiling of one of the dining rooms. The restaurant seemed to go forever. Plenty of little dining rooms.

Ahhh, Dessert. DEATH BY CHOCOLATE!!!!

We also celebrated Juliette Low's Birthday today. Without this great woman there would be no Girl Scouts. Isn't it amazing how much this woman looks like Juliette Low?

The city was really pretty. I would have loved to spend more time sight seeing!

Next Convention 2011 Houston, TX!

Fall Break

2008-10-29T15:58:00.000-07:00

Our school district has added a fall break to the calendar this year. The kids and I have really enjoyed the break. On Sunday my Mom and Grandma (Nan) arrived. A day early, yeah!!!

On Monday we did some much needed cooler weather shopping. With the cold temperatures here this week it sure was easy to pick out those warmer clothes. We went to the beach to take a few pictures.

On Tuesday, We headed to Savannah to eat at Lady and Sons Restuarant. You know, Paula Deen's restuarant. nan and I really enjoyed the food. Mom was satisfied eating Contessa's grilled cheese sandwhich. After lunch Nan took a moment to pose with Paula for a picture.

Okay, so it was only a cardboard cut out, but a girl can dream right?

Here is the layout I made from the trip. I even used the paper dolly placemat from the restaurant.

On Thursday, my dear friend Julie and I leave for Indianna for the National Girl Scout Convention. I am looking forward to a girl's weekend.

I am so sorry...

2008-10-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a month since I last posted a blog entry. Life has been so busy!!!
Let's see...
Marc celebrated a birthday and then I celebrated a birthday.
Contessa started Heroes on Horseback.
Winston has been busy with his travel soccer team.
I was finally able to sit down and scrapbook this weekend. Yeah, 3 layouts! I have not had a chance to scan them so I can share, I hope to that soon.
The family got me the Sex and the City movie for my birthday. We also rented Nim's Island, great movie for the kids! Made of Honor (Ahhhh, McDreamy) and What Happens in Vegas. I enjoyed both of these movies as well. Hint Hint.... I need a DVD player for my scrapbook room so I can watch movies and scrapbook at the same time;)

Got to run to soccer practice and Girl Scout meeting.......

Saying Good Bye To An Old Friend

2008-09-15T16:50:00.000-07:00

Today we had to say good bye to a long time family Friend, Elmo.

Elmo was our Lowcountry Lab. Part black lab, part who knows what? Elmo was 11 years old and was just miserable for the past month. He was in pain all the time. He had a hard time getting up, climbing the stairs and holding his urine. I took him to the vets last month. The vet gave me some medicine to try and said everything we are noticing is just old age. We have been talking to the kids everyday that this day was soon going to come.

It is amazing this day did not come sooner. As a puppy he missed us terribly when we left for work each morning. We would come home to a sea of white foam (from the couch and love seat) all over the living room floor! He would get into the trash can and eat what he could find and spread the rest all over the condo. We joked as we left the house each, "Did you Elmo proof the condo?"

A few years ago, when I was attending evening classes, I prepared a 9 x 13 pan of chicken breasts and rice for Marc and the kids. The pan was hot from the oven and I did not want to put it right in the fridge from the hot oven. So I covered it with foil and pushed it to the back of the stove top. The family would be home in 15 minutes to eat.
When I returned from class, i asked Marc if they ate all the dinner. "Sure honey it was good. Sonya made us Pork chops."
"Pork Chops? Sonya?" I said. "But I made chicken and rice?"
Upon some investigation of the kitchen, i found that glass 9 x 13 pan licked clean and pushed under the microwave cart!

We often said if it would not have been for Contessa he would have been long gone.

We are comforted knowing he is in doggie heaven playing with Muddy.

It's A Girl!

2008-09-12T17:21:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our family Hanna!

Hanna was born into our family today at 4:45 pm. She weighs 6.5lbs. She is very healthy and has a good set of lungs. Contessa was very excited to bring Hannah home to take care of this weekend.
For 3 hours straight, Hanna would cry, eat, burp and mess her diaper. Contessa was starting to become stressed.
When dinner was ready we took turns holding the baby while she quickly ate.
The baby would cry the whole time because we did not have the wrist band to let the baby know we were parents. It's all fun and games now, but Marc has declared he will Listen to that baby all night! Hanna is in our loving care until Sunday afternoon.
Finally by 8pm Hannah fell asleep in Contessa's lap. 30 minutes into her nap, Contessa emerged to get a bowl of ice cream before Hanna wakes.
I am so proud that Contessa has not given up on Hanna yet, but she is beginning to realize the hard work.

Back to School

2008-09-03T17:11:00.000-07:00

Well the kiddos went back to school 2 weeks ago. Yeah! But so did I, ughh.. No, it really hasn't been that bad. I made some changes at the PreSchool that I am really excited about and I feel refreshed and that spark for teaching was reignited!
I am finally getting around to posting pictures from the 1st and 2nd day of school. (It was raining so much the first day) It was also kind of dark at 7am plus with the clouds my pictures sure are dark. (I need to invest in some photo editing software)

Winston started 4th grade this year.

Contessa is in 8th grade. What scares me is that next year she will be in High School. How can that be possible? Here is a layout I did using the picture from the second day of school.

My inspiration can from Becky Fleck's PageMap Book. (pg. 75) The flowers were fun and simple. I punched a circle and cut triangle in towards the center to make a flower. I layered it on top of a circle cut the same size. Next I placed a small circle punch in center of the flower. I crumpled and unfolded the paper and sanded each one. My sewing machine is in the shop so I had to rub on all my stitching.

Catching Some WAVES

2008-09-02T11:19:00.000-07:00

I've never done a 6 x 12 layout before today. I absoluntely love using Becky Fleck's PageMaps. On her blog she has a contest using a sketch. Above is the layout I created following her sketch.

Look What I Got!!!

2008-09-01T17:16:00.001-07:00

I received this little award from my Scrap Pal Jamie! She inspires me in so many ways. So Thank You for the LOVE.
Now I need to name 7 other Blogs I love.

1. My all time favorite Blog is Jamie's. I check everyday, I will admit sometimes several times a day. Check out Jamie's Blog.
2. From Jamie's blog I go to Roxann's Blog. A very funny gal I met at Savannah Scrapbooking.
3. From Roxann's Blog I travel to Amber's Blog. Another Savannah Scrapbooking Girl.
4. From Amber's Blog I check out Jen Gallagher's Blog. I met Jen while scrapbooking at Savannah Scrapbooking.
5. I love the clean and bright colors of A Bit East Blog.
6. I also like to check out Donna Downey's Blog.
7. And of course Elsie's Blog is always fun.

Challenge Taken

2008-08-28T16:28:00.000-07:00

This is the last week of Summer of ScrapLovin' at ScrapLove. With this challenge we were to do something we usually do not do. I chose old pictures to scrapbook and a new technique. When I saw Jamie's Try it Tuesday video this week I was instatantly inspired.
YO-YO's.... My Grandmother made yo yo quilts. Growing up I always wanted one of her yo yo quilts. She only had 3 made and could not give me one because she needed 4. There are 4 granddaughters and to her it just would not be fair for me to only receive one. Now as she is admitted into a nursing home, her memories ravaged by Alzheimers disease, her yo yo quilts go on incomplete. When Dad cleaned out her house he did manage to find 1 yo yo quilt for me.

2008-08-26T19:47:00.001-07:00

Only 4 Days left of Summer Vacation

2008-08-13T14:05:00.000-07:00

I can't believe school starts on Monday! I have enjoyed being a stay at home Mom this summer. I always thought I would be bored to death staying at home, but I wasn't. I started with a pretty ambitious list of things to do this summer and I did most of what I set out to accomplish.
My original plans were to sit on the beach each morning. Didn't happen. I also wanted to ride my bike each morning before the kids woke up. Didn't happen either. But I did work on the yard a lot.
We bought this statue when we took Contessa to Victory Junction Gang Camp
Her name is Rebecca.

My vegetable garden to right of the fountain did not do to well this year. I was really bummed! I was looking forward to all the fresh cucumber, tomatoes and zucchini. Instead everything flourished and immediately fried. I planted some jasmine on the fence to cover it up some.
Victory Junction Gang Camp was a blast again this year. Michael Waltrip stooped by the camp this year. Contessa got a kick out of the pink swimming trunks he wore. My inspiration for this page came from Scraploves' weekly challenge. Use lots of polka dots and this picture. Our Girl Scout troop was very busy this summer. This layout is from our Tennessee Adventure where we went spelunking. this was such a great experience.

On April 26, I started Weight Watchers. My beining weight was 151 pounds. Now three and a half months later I have lost 15 pounds and counting. I made this layout marking this great accomplishment!

This layout I created to tell the story of why I scrapbook. This was an interesting challenge. The requirements: use 5 different pattern papers, 4 chipboard pieces, 3 buttons, 2 colors of cardstock and 1 5x7 photo of yourself scrapbooking. That's it, no other embellishments, paint, ink, ribbon, etc... At least I did accomplish my goal of doing an insane number of layouts this summer.

Tomorrow we will finally hit the beach! This is why we moved here right?

On Vacation

2008-08-02T19:34:00.000-07:00

This week the kids and I are on vacation. Poor Marc has to stay at home and watch the dogs(and work). At least this is his long weekend off work. What I wouldn't do to have the family go away for the weekend and leave me at home. Imagine how much (or how little) I could get done!

We are visiting my parents in PA. We spent the first three days touring Gettysburg and the battlefields. We do this every year and it seems they enjoy it more and learn a little more along the way.

While visiting the Eisenhower Farm it occured to me that Contessa could earn a Girl Scout badge while on this trip so we got the requirements and set to work.

Contessa and Winston became Junior Secret Servicemen. Here they are in the playhouse speaking to the Secret Service office.

Next we were off to the National Cemetary. This was a very interesting self guided tour done by the Girl Scouts. The tour begins by setting the scene after 3 days of fighting in Gettysburg. After the battle the surviors packed up and left for home leaving the wounded and dead behind for the people of Gettysburg to tend to.

Many men had no identifcation on them.One gentleman died clutching a picture of 3 children. A local doctor took it upon himself to have the picture printed in the newspaper. A woman in New York recognized the picture of her children and was able to identify her husband. They were finally able to give him a proper burial. We were able to locate this gentleman's headstone at the cemetary.

After the Civil War, men received dog tags to wear so that no one would die unidentifiable.

Next stop on our tour was The Little Round Top and Devil's Den. The view from Little Round Top is amazing. This is one of my favorite places from my childhood.

Winston absolutely loved Devil's Den. He bought this little plastic sword at the gift shop and was off to fight the war. My weekly challenge over at Scraplove was to make a clear layout. This was a little challenging. The most challenging part was not having supplies. Remember, I am on vacation. I had to purchase all my supplies and use what little tools my mom has at her house. I am really pleased how it turned out!
"Sittin' On Top Of The World"
My background is an overlay as well as the overlays over the right two pictures. I used my Cricut to cut stars and the word world out of a transparency and painted around the edges. Who needs to buy ghost letters and shapes any more??? How's that for a cool tip?

My All Time favorite Layout

2008-07-17T15:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, This week at Scraplove we were given this sweet mosiac inspiration to create a page.

So many possibilities, right? The colors, Beach, black and white photos... the list goes on and on. So here is my take on the inspiration piece.

I am really enjoying my summer vacation. What am I going to do when I have to go back to work? I won't know how to act!

2 New layouts Featuring Winston's Soccer Season

2008-07-15T15:39:00.000-07:00

This layout was insired by a sketch by Tmouse at Scrapdango for a design team contest.

This layout is based on a sketch that I submitted for the contest.

I started 2 other layouts just for fun, but I am stuck on the journaling. I will post them when they are finished.

Scraplove Cybercrop

2008-07-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

I spent a busy weekend scrapbooking. Whew it was exhausting but look at all I got done:)

This Challenge is a favorite summer memory. A few years back I went to my childhood Girl Scout Camp and took a few pictures.

This layout required an usual shape, not the ordinary square or rectangle.

This Challange had me using only pattern paper. NO CARDSTOCK ALLOWED!

This was a color inspiration. Use only red, yellow, grren, blue and white.

The wing challenge. Use the word wing and wings in the layout.

I was excited about this layout. We had to use the lyrics to "Bubbly"

Here we have a sketch challenge.

This one uses an ad inspiration from Old Navy.

Check out more great layouts from other lovely ladies at http://www.scraplove.com/

I'm Trying Something New

2008-07-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

A summer long scrapbooking challenge. I always need a little kick to keep my layouts fresh. I am all about the prizes.
Check it out at Scrap Love
Now what do I do for the next week before it begins?

Scrapbook Store Review

2008-07-05T20:01:00.000-07:00

Yet another Scrapbook Store has been concured!! Your Scrapbook Superstore

In Sevierville, Tennessee.

I knew this store was on our way to Pigeon Forge and I warned the girls that we would be making the stop. After our visit to the Great Smokey Mountains we made the trip. 5 of us shopped for scrapbooking goodies the others did the grocery shopping.
This store was huge! But being large had its downfalls. The pattern paper was all scrunched together making it hard to see. After two rows I skipped the pattern paper. I skipped the 2-3 rows of die cuts. (You know the old ones we used 8-10 years ago!)
What I did find:
My Minds Eye Garden Party Kit and some Tennessee embellishments.
I give this store a.... 3.
The clearance store was hilarious! It was like a flashback in time. As I turned each aisle I found myself thinking "awe, I remember using that product.(9 years ago..)" This store is perfect for a beginner on a tight budget.

A Few Favorite Two Pagers...

2008-07-01T18:05:00.000-07:00

A few nights before the Natasha Bedingfield concert, I received the most excited call from a tenager in History! It was official, I lost my mind. What was I thinking taking eleven 13 & 14-year old girls to a concert in Forsythe Park in Savannah. We had the best time.

You can listen to a few of her songs while you look over some more two page layouts.

A weekend away at Big Water Trip #3! Sorry it is so dark, the fabric flowers from my may Scarlet Lime kit are bulky.

Twilight Camp 2008, took us on trip down memory lane. We are fortunate to live so close to Juliette Low's Birthplace. The girls earned the Archivers, Scrapbooking and Photography Interest Projects.
See why I have been so busy? At least I have photos to scrapbook again. On to the next layout....

Aahh, My Life Is Slowing Down For the Summer

2008-07-01T08:02:00.000-07:00

And it is about time! I have been able to scrapbook, work in the yard and just hang out. While on our Girl Scout Trip to Tennessee we passed an Old Time Photo Shop. Boy did we have fun. All those feathers and pearls and bottles of booze (no we did not empty them) and laughs sure did wrap up the day perfectly.
Our 13 and 14 year old girls sure do have lots of Attitude!

Thanks Jamie for scooping me into the threading water punch. I love it! ( I used it horizontally on either side of the white floral pattern paper.

I have been such a bad blogger

2008-06-22T19:09:00.000-07:00

Life has been very hectic and it just keeps getting busier. I did declare today that I would sit down and do a layout. Two weeks ago I joined the got sketch online class. I was finally able to get to sketch number 1. Everyone else is on sketch 6! I am really pleased in the way the layout turned out. I used products from my May Scarlet Lime kit.

After our weekend crop at Big Water where we watched all 6 seasons of Sex and the City, we knew when the movie came out, we would see it together. We spent the day croppin' at ASB, saw the movie and ordered cosmos with dinner. When the movie comes out on DVD, you know I will be the first to buy it. I loved every minute of the movie. I can not pick out just one favorite part of the movie.
well, it's time to get to bed. Contessa and I are leaving bright and early to head to Tennessee with the Girl Scouts. we will spend our first night in a cave. This will be an adventure!

A busy weekend

2008-05-26T18:27:00.000-07:00

A busy weekend turned into a busy 2 weeks. I thought every day how I should update this blog. I have many ideas of little tidbits I could share, but it's late and I am tired so I will finish the post I started two weeks ago.
Here is a picture of the new color in my dining room. The red, although I loved it, it was too dark. I found the inspiration a few months ago when I was sick with a stomache flu.

I finished the walkway beneath my new arbor. (Don't look at the weeds.)
We spent a girls day on the beach.
I was able to sneak in an hour to make this mini album for our wonderful assistant soccer coach.

And this was just one weekend. I promise more shortly. Today was the last day of school so I am looking forward to a little rest. ahhh...

Scrapbook Store Review

2008-05-11T06:03:00.000-07:00

Last week I made my way to another scrapbook store. This one is located in Savannah, GA.
A scrapbook boutique just opened about 3 weeks ago. The owner went all out in decorating the store. It is very cute with fancy fixtures. She had several complete new lines. For example, she had Basic Grey, Pink Paisley and Making Memories all of which I bought. She also carries Bazzill cardstock which is all I will use. The selection of colors however is small compared to our other LSS. I was slightly disappointed in the number of lines she carried, but I am sure the next time she purchases she won't have to spend money on new fancy fixtures, leaving more $$$ for the fun new products!
Here is a peek at what I bought.
Now if I can only find the time to scrapbook:(

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T05:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all My Favorite Moms!

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom! Thank you for everything you have done for me over the years. I Love You!
Each Mother's Day my family makes a trip to the beach for a walk. Today with the severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings, we are just hanging tight until the storms past. Hopefully we will be able to get out a little later this afternoon.
I made this layout last weekend at our weekend retreat. I love the tree rub on by Hambly.

A Few More Single Page Layouts

2008-05-06T18:34:00.001-07:00

I used my new Cricut Home Accents cartridge to make the title, picture frame, and flourish.

I love the orange and blue together.

Our weekend retreat

2008-05-05T19:09:00.000-07:00

The weekend was very relaxing. We did not get much sleep, but we did enjoy our time. I was able to complete quite a few layouts. I will post a few. Which one is your favorite?
Too tired to do more, maybe tomorrow.

Scrapbooking Goodness!

2008-04-24T14:02:00.000-07:00

In 8 days Our Scrapbooking retreat begins! 4 days and 3 nights to scrapbook! No intereptions, no puking kids, no worries. I am so stickin' excited I can't stand it! Over the past month I have been buying every bit of scrapbook goodness I can find. Yeah I went over board!!

My First stop was to Scrappin at the Pink House in Charleston.

I bought a new acrylic album, the new Zach line and some of the American Crafts Metropolitian line. On a scale of 1-5, 5 being the best, I rated this store a 3. They had a good bit of new lines that I had been waiting to come out. The only thing I did not like was the seperate rooms the products are displayed in.

After leaving the store we had to drive through Beaufort. What's in Beaufort? Another Scrabook store! Carolina Stamper. I bought some Tim Holtz grungeboard and American Crafts rub-ons and some flowers. I rate this store a 3 as well. Again the store is sectioned off. Each theme has it's own area. The store is so stocked that you can not step back and really see what is available.

I was really tickled that I was able to visit 2 stores in one day but yet my scrapbooking bliss did not end here.

The next day we left for Pennsylvania to visit Marc's Mom. Once the kids and I got a few hours of sleep we headed to Gettysburg to visit my sisters Bakery. Yumm-o! And of course what is down the road from her Bakery? A scrapbook store.
Forevermore Scrapbook Store. This store also rates a three. Again a house converted into a business. Each room had a different theme. On this trip I picked up some rub ons and Fancy Pants pattern paper and ribbon.

After visiting mom in law, we happened by yet another scrapbook store in Belair, MD. ScrapMasters Scrapbook and Photo Cafe. This store scores a four. Nice open spaces and new products. I bought some heidi swapp ghost birds

The lady who rung me up said "geeze you bought all the new stuff I just put on the shelves today." My husband said "surely she does not know your scrapbooking obsession (addiction)?" What can I say? I have all the old stuff!

When we got back to Mom and Dad's, we went to AC Moore. Here I found some vinyl for my circut and some Queen and Co. felt boarder.

Five, count them, 1 2 3 4 5 scrapbook stores in 48 nours Woo Whoo! Have I died and gone to scrapbook heaven? The only thing I need is my weekend away to scrapbook.

Since our trip, I have ordered from 2peas, received my monthly kit club from Scarletlime and was the highest bidder on ebay for the new home accent Cricut die!

Big Water here I come!

Citizenship Day

2008-04-21T16:05:00.001-07:00

Today was Citizenship Day at our State Capitol. Winston was chosen to represent his elementary school of 2000 children. Children were selected by their character, discipline, service and leadership. After a speech given by our Governor, Mark Sanford, Winston posed for a photo op with the governor.

After the ceremony we visited Finlay Park in Columbia. This park has a beautiful man-made waterfall. We enjoyed walking to the top and skipping across the stones.

We are proud of YOU, Winston!

Ahh... It's Spring Break

2008-03-25T06:02:00.001-07:00

So many projects to complete this week. Step one is removing all the weeds from the flower beds in front and side of the house. My good friend Elizabeth has given us quite a few plants that will look great along side the house. Thanks sweetie! Second is to fix the holes in the wall in my dining room. I already painted the kitchen twice since we have lived here. The first time I painted I went way too fast because we were in a hurry to move in. My sheetrock and mudding project was not up to par. There was bumps and dips every where.How did these holes appear in our wall you ask? From these little darlings of course!

Tippy and Ellie. Some happy news Usher was adopted on Saturday. The sweetest lady adopted him. I am sure he will be so happy to be spoiled.

MS Awareness Week

2008-03-10T05:15:00.000-07:00

This week kicks off National MS Awareness Week. Contessa was diagnosed with MS three years ago today! Over the past 3 years we have had many struggles with her, both in school and with her health. She really has been a great sport about the diagnosis. She has learned to accept her illness and she loves to tell people a little more about Multiple Sclerosis. We have formed a team to walk in the MS Walk on Saturday, April 26 at Jarvis Creek Park. Please follow this link to register or donate to Tessa's Team. http://walkncp.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=WLK_NCP_ePledge

Thank you for your support!

Need For Speed

2008-03-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

Back in November, Marc and Winston went to Atlanta for a NASCAR Driving experience.

Marc was able to drive his own car and of course he loved it. Even with this being his third time racing he never tires of the feeling of his stomach in his throat! Winston was able to go on a ride along. Once he was buckled in the driver asked how fast he should go, would Winston be scared? Marc just laughed and told the driver... "Winston will put his hand out flat to stay at a slower speed. Thumbs up means putting the pedal to the metal." Would you know it, Winston was all thumbs up. He was clocked at doing 160mph on the backstretch!
When Marc finished his race he was clocked at 148mph. Boy, did Winston rub it in that he went faster than Daddy!

Adoption Day

2008-03-01T14:37:00.000-08:00

Today we spent 5 hours at PetSmart showing Usher. We took Usher in as a foster in November. He behaved very well and got along well with the other dogs. This one little girl feel in love with him but mom was looking for a puppy, oh well hopefully she'll change her mind.

Usher is a black lab mix. He is one year old and is going for obedience classes at PetSmart.

Contessa feel in love with this one.

This shot was just irresistible to miss. So many folks asked if we posed these pups for the camera. Looking cute all day is a "ruff' job, but someone has to do it. If you are looking for a nice dog to foster or adopt, please contact Palmetto Animal League for one of their many lovable dogs. (or cats)

A New Chapter

2008-02-29T04:01:00.000-08:00

With advice from a friend, I went a purchased this book. Yes, it was a purchase we needed to make considering I floated a check just to buy the book. Yes, it's time to make a change. Baby Step number 1, place $1000 in savings. The book says this may take a few months to reach, and with us this would but we refinanced our mortgage this week. Making step one easy to reach. We lowered our intrest rate by 4%, lowered our monthly payment by almost $200 and cahed out $19,000. Baby step two: Snow the debt. I will sit down this weekend and make a plan. I have been up late the past two nights trying to get through this book. I have made several notes and I am looking forward to sitting down to write our first budget. Did you know I don't even reconcile my checkbook, Yikes!

A new chapter has begun in our life and I am looking forward to living like no one else so that some day, we can live like no one else!

All in a Summer's Day?

2008-02-27T04:02:00.000-08:00

No, this isn't a picture left over from last summer. This photo was taken last weekend. The temperatures rose to almost 80 degrees and of coarse children just don't get cold. So, while you were shoveling snow and slipping on ice, we are here running through the sprinklers.

A few of my recent layouts

2008-02-25T17:55:00.000-08:00

Enjoy...

It's time to say goodbye

2008-02-24T07:40:00.000-08:00

For over a month I looked forward to the crop at Savannah Scrapbooking. A day to get away from the family, relax with some friends, get a few pages done, and enjoy the day. Yeah, it started out a bit rough. I let Usher out without a leash. My brush broke as I was brushing my hair. As Jill and I pulled out of the driveway, Usher followed us down the street. He was off to explore the neighborhood.
Jill and I arrived at Savannah Scrapbooking for our much needed day away. I took a picture of the store to add to my scrapbook.
Through out the day we saw why Jamie wanted a new page in her book of life. The bathroom was out of order! (again) How can one crop for 14 hours and not use the bathroom. Then there were these ladies who left greasy spots on her new carpet?? Ugh, can't even apologize? All in the day of the life of a scrapbook store owner.

Although the day was full of good times, it was bittersweet to say goodbye. We took a few last pictures to commemerate our time together. And we looked forward to laying on the beach at Big Water, sipping our cold beverages and watching hour after hour of our latest favorite sitcom while scrapbooking the days of our lives.
For four and a half years Jill and I have been cropping at Savannah Scrapbooking. It's hard to believe that chapter in our book has come to an end.

Thanks for the memories!

Is it sping yet?

2008-02-13T14:40:00.000-08:00

It won't be long. I am sooo looking forwad to the Sex and the City Movie makes it's debut!

What I wouldn't give to have a group of friends like the ladies in the show have. Yes, the wardrobes and shoes wouldn't hurt.

http://www.sexandthecitymovie.com/

What a great way to cure the winter blues.

Who's ready for a chick flick followed by drinks?

It's Girl Scout Cookie Time

2008-02-10T05:17:00.000-08:00

Two moving trucks arrived yesterday at the mall full of those yummy cookies everyone loves. For our initial order, we received 3300 boxes! Between the 11 girls that is a lot of cookies to sell and deliver. Be sure to look for us as we are out and about selling our cookies. The girls are planning a Tennessee adventure!

It's Offical

2008-02-04T17:31:00.000-08:00

We have a teenager in the house. Contessa turned 13 on Saturday. We celebrated her birthday at the Bowling Alley. Contessa invited her friends from Girl Scouts.

Have I ever told you the story of Ground hog's Day?
Thirteen years ago, I was about to give birth to Contessa. We had been checked into the hospital and awaited the doctor to arrive. When the doctor came in to deliver Contessa he instructed the nurses to turn the lights out. Marc and I looked at each other puzzled by this new birthing technique. When we questioned the doctor he simply explained... "If the baby sees it's shadow it will go back inside." Contessa's first gift from her daddy was a stuffed baby groundhog.

When the boys are away...

2008-01-27T14:55:00.000-08:00

The girls will play. Last night Jill and I got together to scrapbook.

Here is my favorite layout. I found the inspiration when I went on the blog safari.

I love all of these ladies. Each one is unique and such fun to be with. This is one layout that will be framed and hung in my scrapbook room.

Even though Jill and I could not go to Jamie's crop, we still had a good laugh seeing what keeps Jamie awake at night! LOL!!!