Up Close and Personal

Fa la la la

2009-11-29T15:14:00.000-06:00

Now that Thanksgiving is over I can officially move onto Christmas. It was so getting on my nerves that every store I went into since before Halloween was playing Christmas music and putting up decorations. Um hello, where did all the other meaningful holidays go?!? Don't get me wrong I love Christmas and the true meaning behind it, but I can't stand when we get in such a rush that we just bypass all the other important things.

I just love the smells, sights and sounds that are associated with this time of year. Makes me want to start baking some cookies, while listening to some Christmas music right now. Okay maybe I will wait until later this afternoon to start baking. lol..... Yes it may be the most hectic time of year, but it is the most magical as well. I absolutely LOVE Christmas!!

So this weekend we cleaned and rearranged the livingroom for the Christmas tree. The kids and I finally got the tree put up and are working on decorating it, but we are trying to wait for Brad to be home from work. I think I am gonna buy a new tree topper and tree skirt this year, as long as I can find the perfect ones. ;) Looks like I am gonna need some new lights this year too.

Is it wrong that I want to go out and get more smaller trees to put throughout the rest of the house? I kinda want a smaller one for my scrap desk to decorate and match my scrap area. One added to the kitchen table as a centerpiece would be great and one in the entryway would also be nice. Hmmmm..... what to do.

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Now for a little sad news. Starting Tuesday I will have a new boss and really don't know what to expect as we haven't even met them yet. This will make the second time I have been through a change of hands at this store, so I at least know what to sort of expect. However, it has been great to work with the Haney family and get to know them all more. Melissa you have become a great friend and I will miss seeing and talking to you in the store. Don't think you can get rid of me that easy though. :) We need to do some more girls nights out soon. I think I may miss picking on Seth all the time too, it is always fun to get him all worked up over nothing. lol......

I will leave you with this quote:

The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine upon

you and be gracious to you;

The lord turn His face toward

you and give you peace.

~Numbers 6:24-26 NIV

Smiles,

Angela

A great Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T11:03:00.000-06:00

Well we actually had Thanksgiving spread out over 2 days. We spent Wednesday, after I got off work, over at Brad's brothers house. We ate and the kids all played together. Can't believe how big Hudson is getting.

Then Thursday we went to my parents house and ate. Of course we watched my COWBOYS play some ball and whoop some rear. :) The kids went on a mini hayride with my dad at the tree farm and got to see some cute little animals. They were super excited! Plus they got to play Yahtzee with Nana so they were more than thrilled. Have I mentioned how much my kids just LOVE board games.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing at home with the family and watching more football. Dylan and Maddie have bronchitis and are still trying to get over it so they didn't like me much cause I wouldn't let them go outside a whole lot this week.

I had to work yesterday so no black friday shopping for me. I have never been so I would love to go at least once, but there is that small thing of having to have money to shop right!?! Maybe next year.

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Now I want to show you some things I have worked on this past week. Nothing big but anything is great when you are in a rut.

The layout was for a challenge over at SplitCoast Stampers during the Virtual Scrapbooking Night Weekend Crop.

This mini album is for sale at my The Art of Paper: 101 Etsy shop.

Smiles,

Angela

Sweet November

2009-11-10T03:56:00.000-06:00

We are smack dab in the middle of holiday season. I gotta say I just love Thanksgiving, I mean who doesn't love yummy food and day of football with my Cowboys of course. What more could a girl ask for?!? :)

Yesterday was the mass flu shot clinic at the schools here. All 3 kids had brought home permission slips for us to sign to be able to get the flu and the H1N1 shots at school. So I snatched up the opportunity to not have to sit at a doctors office all day long and signed and sent them back. Maddie came running in the door yesterday afternoon so proud of herself. She kept telling me "Mommy I didn't cry". Hopefully this is one less thing I will have to worry about this winter.

Here are some snowflake that I have been working on lately. Aren't they just cute?!? I just love using my stickles.

I am in Christmas gift mode right now. With money being tight this year I plan on making a lot of gifts and really need some ideas. So what are you planning on gift wise for Christmas?

Until Next Time,
Angela

Touchdown

2009-10-31T20:59:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween!!

Dylan's last football game for the season was this past Tuesday. Of course just when I thought I would have a small break he moves on to basketball the very next day. HUH?!? Guess the saying "No rest for the weary" is true. It was such a crazy game though. The field was soooooo muddy and by the second play you couldn't read half of the teams numbers on the back of their jersies. As if that wasn't enough at the end of the game some of the boys decided they wanted to do a slip and slide through the middle of the mud and they were a mess. lol..... Thankfully Dylan didn't decide to do that one. :)

This week was red ribbon week at school and the elementary kids have been dressing up for the different days. Monday was "Mixed Up Monday" and Maddie had so much fun with that. Tuesday was "Teddy Bear Tuesday" so Maddie picked out her favorite bear to take, but she really loved that she got to wear her pajamas to school. Wednesday was "Wild Hair Wednesday" and she thought it was a great idea to use my acrylic paint in her hair. Thursday was "Tiger Pride Thursday" showing off her support for the Tigers was fun. Friday was "Famous Friday" she dressed up as Hannah Montana country style. Did I get any pictures? Nope! I was working and her daddy decided it wasn't her forte. So I may be recreating this week just for the pictures. :)

I have been working on some Halloween treat jars for some friends this week. I think they turned out real cute.

Smiles,
Angela

Kids, Creations and New Adventures

2009-10-19T19:14:00.000-05:00

Can you believe that I am posting again in the same week. WOW!!! lol....

Thursday we had a football game to go to after school and work. My goodness did it get freakin' cold! Dylan has been a little bummed this year as he hasn't been getting the ball like he had hoped, being a wide receiver and all, but his 1 interception Thursday night made up for all season. He was so happy and proud of himself and I gotta say that I was quite a proud mama myself. Did I get the interception on camera? Of course not (the camera was tucked away in the carrier at that time)! I do have to admit that I am glad that there are only 2 junior high games left this year. It has just taken over all of our extra time lately and I am ready for a small break; until he moves onto basketball.

As for the girls dance practice started last week and they are super excited. They can't decide if they like the dancing or the cute outfits they get to wear more. lol..... Priorities I tell ya'! Right now they are practicing the "Tiger ChaCha", which is too stinkin' cute.

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Now I wanna share another Halloween card with you that I made this week.

I really need to give the credit for the design idea toDenise from SplitCoastStampers.
Denise's card

I used:

Doodlebug paper

Unity Stamp

Staz-On ink

brads

Bazzill cardstock

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I have been debating for a while now on how to move forward with my Etsy shoppe and have come to a few conclusions. First I will be starting a new blog that will be dedicated to my Etsy shoppe creations and different uses for them. I will also be opening up a new Etsy shoppe with a name that matches my blog name (when I can come up with one). I am hoping that this will make it easier to locate and remember. This is really something I have been wanting to do for a while now, but really never put my thoughts and ideas into motions. So now is the time!! I will keep you updated as it progresses. For now though my old etsy shoppe is still up and running, so shop away. :)

My problem right now is coming up with a fun, catchy name that is also easy to remember. For some reason I am overthinking it and am just drawing a major blank. Any suggestions?!? No really any suggestions are greatly appreciated and welcomed!

Happy Scrappin',

Angela

Holiday Countdown

2009-10-14T19:02:00.000-05:00

Can you believe that Halloween is just over 2 weeks away? The holiday season is just around the corner and I am soooo not prepared, but I WILL be.

Halloween has turned into such a fun time for us here. I love getting the kids dressed up and taking them out so I can get some fun photos of them. Then of course we go around town and get some candy, of which I snatch a few of my faves from them at the end of the night.

Here are a few Halloween goodies that I have been working on recently. Did I mention I love the bright fun colors that are associated with Halloween??

This is a card featuring "The Boo Crew" stamps from Unity Stamp Co.. Isn't that Dracula stamp just so darn cute!?! I used some Doodlebug pattern paper for the background and Copics to color in the image and dabbed some ColorBox ink around the edges of the cardstock to give it some color. Also pop dotted the stamped image for a more 3-D look.

These are some embellishments I have been working on lately. I think they would be a great addition to a layout, cards or even a mini album.

I used the "Unlucky 13" stamps from Unity Stamp Co. for these. I pop dotted the moon and spider for the 3-D effect. Added some stickles for a little sparkle and inked the edges for some pop.

Happy Scrappin',

Angela

Some Projects This Week

2009-09-08T17:30:00.000-05:00

Well for the first time in a long while I actually got some real scrapping done this weekend. I finished a 2 page layout and a mini album. WooHoo for me!!!! It feels great to get some mojo back.

The layout is a Halloween layout that is so cute and ready for Halloween pictures to be added to it. I just love the vibrant, fun colors of this layout. It will be going up in my etsy shoppe later this week if you are interested in getting your hands on it.

This mini album is just too darn adorable and I really enjoyed putting it together. It was so freakin' easy to do thanks to PaisleysandPolkadots .

Now what else can I finish this week?? I am in the scrappin' mood finally and I don't want my mojo to fade away into the long slow sunset.

For those of you that don't know already I am having a sale on all my greeting cards at my etsy shoppe Creative Creations so stop by and see what goodies you can find. :)

Smiles,

Angela

Summer is Over......

2009-08-29T13:42:00.004-05:00

Wow we have had one CRAZY summer this year. I am so glad that school is back in now, it at least gives me some sort of regular schedule. Now maybe I can get back to updating my blog on a regular basis.

This summer was filled with baseball, softball and t-ball; not to mention all the other summer activities we had going on.

Dylan started junior high this year, which also means he has started junior high football. Abbey started middle school and so far she really loves it. Let's give it a couple more weeks and then we shall really see. lol.... Little Maddie started 2nd grade. It just makes me happy and sad at the same time seeing all my babies grow up right before my eyes.

My computer completely crashed with a major virus earlier this week so we had to go out and purchase a new Dell computer. Gotta say so far I am super stoked with the one we got. It was normally $500 but we got it for $300 so I say what a bargain. Of course I wanted to share a picture. Didn't snap a photo of the CPU yet though.

Hopefully tomorrow I will have a layout or 2 to share with you.

Happy Scrappin',

Angela

Layout Examples

2009-05-06T19:11:00.003-05:00

I have been away far too long it looks like, but I wanted to share some layouts I have completed for Susan's free sketch class going on this month over at TSR. You should go check it out if you have a moment.

Sketch #1

Sketch #2

Sketch #3

Smiles,

Angela

Busy Busy

2009-04-03T18:16:00.003-05:00

Since this has been the first week of my no longer babysitting days I have kept myself busy with cleaning house and making things for my Etsy shoppe. So I just thought I would share with all of you.

I definetly miss having little miss around, but since she only lives like 5 minutes from me I will be popping in on occasions to see her. She is such a cutie pie and just like one of my own, but I got to give her back at the end of the day. :) I just can't believe she will be 2 in just a couple of months. It just doesn't seem like it has been that long at all, she was only 5 weeks old when I started watching her and my oh my has she grown.

So since she has gone I have been able to make a lot of different things. You can check them all out on my Etsy shoppe, but here are a few.

Now off to get some pizza and then work on a page or 2.

Have a great weekend all,

Angela

Inspirational Unity Blog Hop

2009-03-28T10:00:00.011-05:00

HAPPY HIP HOP!!

You should be joining me from Amy's blog. If not you should really start over at Angela's blog and hop through this World Record Inspirational Blog Hop. You wouldn't want to miss any of the amazing creations these ladies have put together for you today.

Here are some projects I made using some of my Unity stamps.

This card was made using the Unity set "It's the 4th" and a sketch from CupCards {to go}.

Paper Studio Cardstock
DMC embroidery floss
Unity Stamps (UK-162*~~It's The 4th Set)
Staz-On ink
Dew Drops
Pattern Paper unknown

These cute little cupcake embellishments were made using the Unity set "Cupcakes A'La Yummy".

Unity Stamps (Cupcakes A'La Yummy)
Bazzill Cardstock
Pink Paislee Office Lingo paper
Color Box ink
Staz-On ink

Now hop on over to Kim's blog for some more Unity love.

Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.
~Danny Kaye

If you don't know about Unity **gasp** you REALLY need to check them out by clicking on the link above. Angela has some super duber stamps and an amazingly talented Design Team.

Smiles,
Angela

Happy St. Patty's Day

2009-03-17T20:14:00.004-05:00

I didn't get to pinch anyone today. :(

Got up this morning and made some green eggs and pancakes for breakfast to start the day off right. Sure was YUMMY!!

Of course they all had to get decked out in their green attire for school. Maddie had crazy hair day for her class too, so that was a little bonus.

Well this is gonna be a short and sweet post tonight. Still have some cleaning and laundry to do. I have been reorganizing my ribbon storage and getting some challenges done for the month long party over at Willow Traders this past week. So hopefully tomorrow I will have some layouts and cards to show you. Until then enjoy the rest of your evening.

Smiles,

Angela

TGIF!!

2009-03-06T18:45:00.005-06:00

So today is Friday Friends at the Card Sketch A Day Blog and this is the card I came up with for the sketch. It is to late to be featured on the blog, but wanted to share it anyway.

Supplies:
Paper Studio Cardstock
American Crafts Cardstock
Bo Bunny Press Splendor Papers & Cardstock Sticker
Color Box Ink
Thread
Flowers
Buttons

I also received my prize for the Christmas Card Challenge I won for February over at SplitCoast Stampers. Yay!! Lots of great stuff for St. Patty's Day.

One last thing. If you have a moment stop on by the Scrap-Room Blog and check out my post for today. It is a tutorial for those priority boxes that your all your kits come in.

Smiles,

Angela

And just like that............

2009-03-04T15:31:00.010-06:00

Basketball season is over, but not without a few bumps in the road. This year we have had more bumps, bruises, scraped up knees and busted lips than any of the other years combined, but it was fun while it lasted.

Here are some photos of Maddie's tournament game.

On to Abbey and some photos of her game.

Last but not least my son Dylan, who was accident waiting to happen this season.

We are already gearing up for softball and baseball. Abbey has her first practice tomorrow. Which is just nuts cause it is still quite cold out. They all seem to need new equipment too so there goes any extra moola I thought I might have. I do love the softball and baseball games though. Gotta stock up on my sunflower seed stash.

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Even though I have been sick with a cold and tonsilitis I still was able to get a few cards and layouts done this week. I finished my 10 Christmas cards for the challenge over at SCS during the month of February.

Supplies:

Bazzill Cardstock

Unknown pattern paper

Brads

Stickles

Ribbon

Threading Water Punch

Color Box ink

Here is a birthday card I did 2 of for my Etsy shoppe. Most of the things I used to make these cards came from a Paper Posies kit.

Supplies:

Pink Paislee Office Lingo papers

Bazzill Cardstock

Fancy Pants Ribbon

Doodlebug Jewels

Unity Stamps: Cupcakes A'La Yummy

TSR Stamps: Make a Wish

Staz-On ink

Martha Stewart Winter Snow glitter and glue

Stickles

Here is a layout I did for a challenge over at Willow Traders. They are having their month long Anniversary celebration this month so you should check it out. Most of the items are from a Paper Popies kit.

Supplies:

Pink Paislee Office Lingo papers

Color Box ink

K & Co. Urban Rhapsody glitter rub-ons

Flowers

Brads

Doodlebug Jewels & alpha stickers

EK Success Memory Pencils

Unity Stamps: Eco Chic

American Crafts Thickers & rub-on alpha

Until next time,

Angela

Challenges

2009-02-24T16:29:00.004-06:00

I was able to get a few layouts and cards done thanks to some challenges at TSR and from the Unity gals. WooHoo!!

First the card was for a challenge from the Unity gals during Hip Hop Thursday. You had to use 3 of an embellishment on your card. I used 3 dew drops on my Shake Your Tail Feathers card. Isn't the birdie adorable!

**This card is for sale in my Etsy shoppe.**

Supplies:

~ Bazzill cardstock

~ blue pattern paper

~ Cuttlebug embossing folder

~ Unity Stamps (UK317A)

~ bling

~ dew drops

~ zig writers

Next up is a layout I did during the weekend online crop at TSR. Barbara posted a round layout challenge using a sketch from pagemaps. It is a layout of Maddie and my dad (her papaw) when he was on leave from Iraq for my sisters funeral.

**I used the June '08 Paper Posies kit plus some of my stash.**

Supplies:

~ Bazzill cardstock

~ K & Co. Urban Rhapsody papers

~ Pink Paislee Office Lingo papers

~ zig writer

~ buttons

~ embroidery floss

~ bling

~ Doodlebug Loopy Lou alpha stickers

~ Bazzill Blossom

~ Fancy Pants ribbon

Then lastly but certainly not least a layout using a sketch by Pam. It is of the girls playing hopscotch in Sept. '08. They were just learning how to really play the game.

**I used the June '08 Paper Posies kit plus some of my stash.**

Supplies:

~ Bazzill cardstock

~ Pink Paislee Office Lingo papers

~ K & Co. Urban Rhapsody glitter rub-ons

~ Doodlebug Loopy Lou alpha stickers

~ zig writers

~ Stickles

~ brads

~ dew drops

~ flowers

Alright now I am off to make dinner and get the kids ready for ball practices. Enjoy the rest of your evening.

Smiles,

Angela

Layouts and Cards oh yeah.........

2009-02-19T18:01:00.003-06:00

So while I have been busy cleaning house I have still made some time to scrap. WooHoo! Here are a few layouts I have put together.

For this layout I used the August 2008 TSR Making Memories Noteworthy kit, plus some things from my stash. I used the TSR February sketch by Susan Costanza.

Supplies:

~Making Memories Noteworthy Delaney papers

~Bazzill Cardstock: Dark Sand, Brocade

~Embroidery Floss: DMC #822

~Chipboard Alpha

~Fabric Brad

~Bling

~Zig Writer: Pure Black

For this layout I used the June 2008 Paper Posies kit, plus a few things from my stash. I used sketch #9 from Inspired Blueprints.

Supplies:
~Pink Paislee Office Lingo Papers
~Bazzill Cardstock: Cupcake, Dragonfly, Lily White
~Zig Writer: Pure Black
~Etsy Journaling Block
~Bling
~Embroidery Floss
~Unity Stamp: Hey Chick UK317A
~Staz-On Ink: Jet Black
~Buttons

Here is a card that I made before Valentine's Day, but never got around to taking a photo of it til now.

Everything on this card is from my stash. The hearts are pop dotted to add the extra dimension to the card.

Smiles,

Angela

Long Time No Post.........

2009-02-16T08:05:00.008-06:00

It has been a while and I am sorry about that. Actually been very busy with kids sports and trying to organize my house. Though I don't the later one will ever actually come to a conclusion.

I have been making some altered boxes to store my kits in. These are what I have done so far.

Valentine's Day was basically just another day here. The kids had ball games all day and none of them were in the same town. We had to go to 3 different places for their ball games. That night we all just hung out together and ate some pizza.

Right now I am in the mood to create some cards. Hopefully that means I will have some to show you in my next post. So stay tuned.

Smiles,

Angela

Ice Storm 2009

2009-01-29T06:54:00.007-06:00

The ice storm swept through Arkansas these past few days and I am so thankful that it wasn't as severe for us as it was in 2000. School was closed yesterday, but back on for today. We didn't lose any power here in Charleston, but I can't say the same for those in Ft. Smith and many other cities in Arkansas. I pray that they can restore power quickly to those thousands of families without it.

Brad was driving home from town the other night and I am so grateful he had his window rolled up. He said he was driving down our road to come home and all of a sudden a huge icicle fell and crashed against the window (lucky it didn't break the window either). I don't even want to think about what would have happened if he had his window down (though it is only 20 degrees, so the odds of his window being down were nil).

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While we were pretty much stuck home in this storm I did a little scrapping and altering. It felt great to scrap some photos again. Now I need to order some more since these will be all scrapped rather quickly. haha.......

I altered this box at the request of my MIL who wanted me to make her something to put my cards in at the store she works at. So I altered this box using things from my stash. Can anyone guess what the box use to be?

I made this layout using a sketch from 52 sketches 52 weeks. I used the Aug. '08 Paper Posies kit and some things from my stash to put it together.

Then last here are a few cards I have put together as well. The first card uses the TSR Oct. '08 Basic Grey Offbeat kit and some things from my stash, it is also my own design. The second card uses the Unity "Two People Fell in Love" stamps and things from my stash and I used a sketch from the CSAD blog.

Smiles,

Angela

Finally............

2009-01-23T18:02:00.004-06:00

After months and months of searching I finally found a Wii Fit today. Can you believe that there hasn't been a place around here that has had them since before Thanksgiving or even longer. I snatched it up and am excited to start using it tomorrow morning. Since my schedule keeps me from joining a gym (not to mention funds since it would be a 45 min. drive just to get to a gym) I think this is just the thing to help me get on the right track of getting fit. We shall find out if I feel the same way tomorrow. haha........

I also have a few cards to share . I used the Oct. 2008 TSR Basic Grey Offbeat kit and several things from my stash to finish them both. For the first card I used the Unity Sketch that Amber posted over at SCS. For the second card I used sketch #144 from the CSAD blog.

Now I am off to see if I can watch the episode of Private Practice I recorded last night. Have a wonderful evening all.

Smiles,

Angela

Blog Award

2009-01-21T20:50:00.002-06:00

First I was awarded the Your Blog is Fabulous Award by Aphra. I am very thrilled that she chose me. If you haven't checked out her blog go check it out now.

I am now suppose to list 5 of my addictions (good thing it is only 5 or this post may never end, haha) and tag 5 worthy winners. So, up first are 5 of my addictions.

1. Starbucks~I LOVE this place.

2. Scrapbooking~Just ask my family and friends how addicted to this I am. ;)

3. My computer~Gotta check out my favorite websites and kit clubs.

4. Hoodies~I just love these things.

5. Funky Socks~They are truly an addiction. If I see some anywhere I gotta buy a pair or two.

Now to my choices for winners. And they are.......

1. Nicole~Seriously she is an amazing person.

2. Amber~A wonderful person and very talented.

3. Jennifer~Amazing work!!!!!

4. Susan~Seriously love all her sketches.

5. Shawnna~Such a sweet, sweet person.

Don't forget to check out each of these wonderful ladies blogs and be inspired.

Smiles,

Angela

Cards..............

2009-01-12T20:09:00.004-06:00

I wanted to share some of the cards I have made for my Etsy shoppe.

**You can also order directly from me by using the contact me button under my profile. I take custom orders, so contact me if interested.**

I am trying to work on Valentine cards for the girls to exchange at school and am contimplating whether to make any for my Etsy shoppe or not.

My super awesome friend Nicole sent me her BIA (Bind It All). I already have plans for it tomorrow and cannot wait. Thank you so much Nicole. You Rock!!! I have wanted one for a while now. Just think of all the projects I can get done. WooHoo!!

Also wanted to send a shout out to Shawnna for being so awesome with helping me learn all the ropes. I know I am probably getting to be quite bothersome at this point but she has been terrific helping me learn what I need to learn.

Well that is all for today. Maybe tomorrow will a more happenin' day.

Smiles,

Angela

TGIF..........

2009-01-09T18:01:00.004-06:00

TGIF doesn't even begin to say it all. This week has been one heck of a roller coaster and I am now ready to put both feet on the ground and rest. HAHA!!

First 2 puppies show up at our house, which means someone dropped them off and left them. They have been tearing up everything outside. Every morning I have to go clean up trash that is all over the yard. They are the cutest things though and I love animals, but we really don't need anymore. Plus Maddie has issues with having dogs and cats in the same area, thanks to a horribly mean dog that ended up leaving her with a few scars. So these cute little guys will have to be taken somewhere.

Then the little girl I watch has been so sick this week, and she hasn't wanted to do anything. I felt so bad for her, but luckily she has started feeling better and is back to her honory self. Today she helped me sweep and then of course all she wanted to do was eat potato salad.

Then we get another flat tire on our stinkin' dirt road. GRRR!! Next month we will be getting new tires for the Blazer and hopefully this will stop happening so much. I just wish they would pave this road, but I swear I think this is how the county makes their money. LOL!

However some really really great things have happened as well. YIPEE!! I am so excited, can you tell!?!

First we now officially own the blazer (jumping up and down here). It is paid off and all ours. No more vehicle payments feels just so AWESOME.

Then my big news is..........I am now a new moderator for TSR. This is something I am very excited about. Tammy has put together a wonderful online scrapping community and I am so glad to be a part of it. I have made some wonderful friends there and am so glad to start this new adventure. This has been so hard to keep to myself and am glad that the secret is out now.

This week has also been about organizing for me. I have been going through my scrap area (for starters) trying to organize it better. I have several Stickles and needed a better way to organize them, but didn't want to spend a bunch of money to do it. So I came up with this idea. It is a shirt box that someone got a shirt in at Christmas. I decided to alter it with some paper and paint to make a Stickles organizer.

I will also be updating my Etsy shoppe with lots of Valentine's Day items Saturday night and Sunday. Stop on by and see what I got, you may just find something you need. :)

Smiles,

Angela

Been Awhile.........

2009-01-05T06:06:00.004-06:00

Well it has been awhile since my last post and the New Year is now upon us. With the New Year comes some goals that I have set for myself. I don't like to make resolutions because I always end up breaking them somehow, they kinda feel like rules. So I set goals, but also remember that things happen that are out of my control.

2009 Goals

~spend more time with my family

~get out doors more

~read more

~take more time enjoying my hobby

~get better organized/declutter

There are more but these are my top goals right now. One of which I am already on pace with. HAHA!!

I started reading Twilight the Sunday before New Year's and got so into the books that I couldn't put them down at all. I finished all 4 books in 4 days. I hated that they ended and wanted to keep reading more. There were a few pages that ended up with tear stains and Brad would just give me this strange look when I would belt out a laugh all of a sudden. Really awesome books.

This past weekend the kids officially started their basketball seasons. Maddie's team played in teh afternoon and Dylan and Abbey both played at 9. Gotta love not being able to be in 2 places at once, NOT. This meant I had to miss someone's first game of the season. :( Since Abbey's bio is one of her coaches (a whole other issue) I chose to go watch Dylan's game.

I was sure glad I wasn't Dylan during his game. His man was a good foot taller than he was and boy were they on each other like a bee in honey. The boy kept shoving on Dylan and I just knew it was a matter of time before Dylan was gonna get mad, but he kept his head in the game and we won.

Maddie's team played an older team. We are all 1st graders with 1 kindergartener on our team; and the team we played were all 2nd graders with 2 1st graders. We tried our hardest and the girls really did their best but we lost by 4.

Also finished a project that I had started several months ago. I took one of my many accumulating priority boxes that I get my kits in and had cut it and painted it in hopes of altering it. Well, it just sat there forever and I kept saying I would finish it up later. Well, later was yesterday.

That is all for now. Hopefully I will have some more news to share later this week.

Smiles,

Angela

The Day After

2008-12-26T06:14:00.003-06:00

It is the day after Christmas and the fog has sort of lifted around here. I have a bunch that I need to do but I am just feeling blah today and don't want to. Of course after I finish my coffee I may feel differently.

The kids got so much stuff yesterday but I think they all just love what Santa brought them, the XBox 360 and Rockband 2. All day that is all that we played. The girls love the song The Eye of The Tiger. Dylan loves his new cell phone, I had to pry it away from him to eat dinner. I got the whole Twilight series and am ubber excited. Brad got some weightlifting stuff he wanted.

We are going to my BIL some time today to eat and exchange gifts, not that we need anything else though. Today was the only time we could get all of us together with all the kids.

I have a sale going on at my Etsy shoppe so you should go and check it out. All Christmas items are 40% (the price has already been reduced). Everything is on sale at least 20% so don't forget to stop on by.

Smiles,

Angela

Down To The Wire.......

2008-12-22T05:39:00.003-06:00

3 days and counting until Christmas. We are getting down to the wire and I am happy to say that I am ready (I think). The week ended with me getting sick, the car needing new plugs and a whooping 3 flat tires (all at different times).

I wasn't able to do exactly what I wanted for teachers gifts because I got sick, but the kids said they were happy with what I did get them so that is all that matters. The parties were fun and now they are enjoying being out of school. Abbey is bummed that she had to go to her bio's, but she will be home Christmas afternoon. We still miss her though.

I finished a couple more layouts for the girls Christmas presents, but since I didn't feel like doing anything except sleeping and laying around I am behind. So it is crunch time and I have a lot of layouts to get done before they wake up on Christmas morning. I used a sketch from Stickers n Fun and some kits from TSR.

Also joined a challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers for 2009. It is called the Christmas Card Challenge and all you need to do is make 10 Christmas cards a month through November 2009 and you should have all the cards you need for Christmas. Finished my first set and I am happy with the way they turned out. It is something different, but they are so cute. I used the wand from the "Spunky Princess" set from Unity.

I will hopefully be able to upload some photos of the kids Christmas plays later today or tomorrow. They all did such a great job and all the plays were so cute.

Until next time,

Angela

Baby It's Cold Outside

2008-12-16T18:59:00.009-06:00

There was no school today due to ice. It sleeted most of the night last night and everything froze. When I went out to check this afternoon it was around 27 degrees. Wonder what it is now? You can practically ice skate on my driveway right now it is so slick. The ground had at least an inch of ice (I know a lot of you are use to this but here we don't see that too often). Poor Maddie was walking out to get the paper and slipped on the ice in the grass and fell on her toosh.

This is how much ice that was on the trunk of the car even after it warmed up a couple degrees. The doors were frozen shut and it was under the car port.

So we baked cookies and drank hot cocoa in the morning. Then I made lunch and we all just relaxed. Now the kids are watching Horton Hears a Who right now as I type my blog entry for today.

In the meantime I did get a few layouts done last night and early this morning for the girls Christmas gifts since I didn't have to wake them up for school today. I used a Pagemaps sketch from Nov. 2008.

With that I leave you warm wishes as I go get comfy in some toe socks and jammies to watch The Mentalist.

Merry Christmas,

Angela

Whoop Whoop...............

2008-12-14T20:23:00.005-06:00

We are State Champs. YAHOO!! Everyone had the Tigers picked as the underdogs and boy did they underestimate us. The papers even quoted the coach as saying "we have already dusted off our trophy case". Fountain Lake was anything but a team with good sportsmanship qualities. The team they played in the Semi-Finals was demolished 70-0, which to me just proves bad sportsmanship. When you are ahead by so much you should pull your starters out and put in your back ups. They wanted to scare us and they were the one's bewildered at the Championship game. The entire Fountain Lake team (coaches and all) ran out in front of our cheerleaders while we were singing our Alma Mater, trying to intimidate us and instead they unleashed the ROAR. So now this should be a great Christmas since my BIL is the head coach and all.

I have also decided on the albums I am making the girls for Christmas. When they wrote out their Christmas list for Brad and I they both put that they wanted me to make them scrapbook albums so they could just add photos. So I am making them each a YIR (year in review) album. Already have the first pages done, which technically happens to be the last month.

When I first finished this first one I thought it was good but the more I kept looking at it the more it just didn't feel complete so I added just a few extra details and I think it looks a lot better.

Here is the before

Here is the after

Here is the second page

Since I am not going to be able to decide which album will go to which girl I am going to make all the layouts and then do some kind of picking system to determine who gets which. But before I get ahead of myself I need to finish the rest of the months.

Talked to my mom and we have found out that my dad may not be getting to get home before Christmas. They are still crossing their fingers but apparently the plain that they were suppose to fly back on got used by someone else and now his unit is doing the waiting game.

Tomorrow I will begin trying to get cookies done for gifts. Mainly for Brad's boss and a few friends. Also got to get the rest of my Christmas cards out the door and into the mail. Gonna be a busy week for sure since it is the last full week before kids are out for Christmas break.

Merry Christmas,

Angela

Oh Where Oh Where Did You Go........

2008-12-11T21:09:00.008-06:00

I have had a lack of mojo for the past few days and it totally stinks. I have all these projects/ideas going through my head all the time, but I just haven't had the desire to put them on paper. Finally today I broke out my very first Unity stamp (cherries) which I got last week and several different things from my stash. I also used sketch #5 from the Card Sketch A Day Blog.

Now if only I can work on some layouts. I really need to get about 20 pages done before Christmas for a couple of presents. Where has the time gone? This year has just snuck up on me and I am not ready at all. This has been the worst year when it comes to be being prepared. Definetly going to be a New Year's resolution.

Here are some photos of a winter themed paper bag album I put together. It has been done for a while but am just now getting around to posting photos. I am such a slacker.

Tomorrow our high school football team plays in the Championship game at Little Rock and everyone is so excited. There has been all kind so fun going on around here in our little bitty town all week. Tomorrow we are having a little send off in the middle of town as the boys take the long bus ride up there.

GO TIGERS!!

Smiles,

Angela

Happy Feet

2008-12-08T20:20:00.007-06:00

In an earlier post I mentioned I am a lover of socks fun and funky, well I now have 2 new pairs of Christmas socks to add to my collection so far this year. I love these 2 pairs, but now I need to get me some toe socks.

Okay I just noticed that my knees are totally swollen in these photos. Just ignore them, they get that way by the end of the day. I got my daddy's knees, which while very painful at times kinda cool to think about. I got to see a xray once that shows my knee caps sitting just outside the grooves they should sit in. Hey when life hands you lemons you make lemonade. :)

I made this cute winter themed picture frame to add to my Etsy shoppe tomorrow along with some layouts and cards. It was tons of fun to make.

Well, on a lower note I knew it would happen but just wasn't sure when. My sister Rebecca's husband has stopped returning calls and paying back money he owes us, which means he won't be keeping us in contact with my niece. I loved my sister more than she will ever know and I know without a doubt this isn't something she would have wanted, but we don't want to fight so when my niece is old enough I hope she finds us.

On a more positive note I have submitted for my first DT call. While I would love to get it I won't let myself get too disappointed if I don't. I mean this is my first time ever submitting so all is good. Boy will I be soooooooooooooo happy if I do get it though.

Well we are suppose to get some winter weather tonight. Oh how I would love to go to bed and wake up to drink my coffee with some newly fallen snow. Guess we shall see though.

Smiles,

Angela

The Cookie Monster.......

2008-12-06T18:59:00.005-06:00

Well I ended watching a movie last night and fell asleep so I missed posting yesterday. By the way "Hancock" is a good movie but definetly not as great as what I thought it would be. Can't complain too much though because it is Will Smith (he is such a cutie). Anyway back on subject. Here are a couple of the cookie recipes I will be making this year.

This first recipe is one that I got in a recipe swap once and they are soooooo yummy and easy to make to boot.

Snickers Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup peanut butter

2 eggs

2 T vanilla

3 cups flour

1 T baking soda

1 T baking powder

2 (9 oz) packages mini Snickers bars

Mix butter, sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, eggs and vanilla together. Add flour, baking soda and baking powder and mix together. Wrap 1 T dough around a mini Snickers bar adn roll into a ball. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until very light brown. Be sure to not overbake. Makes approx. 4 dozen.

This next one is a recipe of my grandma's. She use to make these a lot when she was with us.

Walnut Squares

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup flour

1 cup walnuts

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix brown sugar, egg and vanilla together. Sift remaining ingredients together and then add to sugar mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes in a greased & floured 8x8x2 cake pan.

I HAVE BEEN TAGGED

I was tagged by Jacqueline today. Thanks so much. :)

This tag involves 7 fun random facts so here it goes.

1. I love Elvis. He died (supposedly) before I was ever born but he was a hottie and I love all his music and movies.

2. I absolutely love toe socks and any funky fun holiday socks too.

3. Love playing in the snow having snowball fights and making snow angels.

4. I love candles, my favorite is Creme Brulee.

5. I still like watching the Disney channel with my kids. :) Shhhhh......

6. I sing at the top of my lungs when I am in the car and a good song comes on. As long as I am alone that is.

7. I enjoy watching musicals like Oklahoma, South Pacific, The Music Man, Grease, etc. etc.....

Now I am tagging these 7 ladies so they can share 7 random facts with me.....

~Amber ~Nicole

~Barbara ~Susan

~Amy ~Heidi

~Emily

Okay well I think that is it for tonight. Want to go watch Prince Caspian with the kiddos.

Smiles,

Angela

OH RED.....

2008-12-04T18:53:00.007-06:00

In order to "try" and save some money for Christmas this year I decided to dye my own hair this time around. HAHAHA!!! I haven't dyed my own hair since I was in high school (shocking I know). Well I may be matching Christmas this year. GASP!! Someone please tell me it isn't too RED or Pink. Santa may not need Rudolph this year, he can just ask me.

I am not feeling so well today and am afraid to take my temp. The little girl I babysit has been sick aso I know I am catching it now. UGH! With that I never got around to my cookie prep, but when I do Emily I will post a few recipes. ;) Hopefully it will be tomorrow.

Here is a photo of the girls looking under the tree. They didn't want to get up. Of course the lights are better when it is night but hey it is still pretty during the day too.

Finally, this is a card I made this morning using sketch #87 from the Card Sketch A Day Blog.

Smiles,

Angela

The Tree

2008-12-03T19:26:00.005-06:00

I added another string of lights today but I am thinking that I need to add 1 more string. What do you think?

My girls are so sweet. I came home yesterday to see a box already under the tree. Apparently the girls, with Brad's help of course, decorated a box and put some things in it for me to open on Christmas. Well Maddie just couldn't part with her My Little Pony so she took that back but there is still a filled box under the tree for me to open on Christmas. :) I can't wait to see what they wanted to share with me.

I need to make my list of what cookies and treats I plan on making this year. Guess that will be on my agenda tomorrow, along with all the things I need to finish up for our little craft thing for the girls dance team on Saturday.

If you don't have your Christmas cards purchased yet you should check out my Etsy shoppe. I have several different kinds there.

Smiles,

Angela

23 Days And Counting

2008-12-02T08:20:00.003-06:00

Can you believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone and now Christmas is upon us? This Thanksgiving was a bit difficult. This was the first Thanksgiving without my grandma and my sister. I miss them both so much. So our Thanksgiving was small and quiet.

We got our Christmas tree up and it is almost completely decorated. This year I need to run to town and get some more lights to add to the tree. I love to lay under the tree looking up and see all the colorful blinking lights. It has rubbed off on my kids too because I will walk into the living room and see them laying under the tree just staring up. I will see if I can get a picture without them noticing me tonight. I can never get a "surprise" photo anymore it seems.

This Christmas my dad will be home for good. His tour in Iraq is over and he will be home a week before Christmas finally. Right now they are trying to make the switch over and get all their belongings together so hopefully he will be home.

Until tomorrow,
Angela

Welcome

2008-11-18T07:52:00.005-06:00

I want to officially welcome Hudson Crue (he is gonna be called Crue) to this world. My nephew was born yesterday at almost 1 in the afternoon and he is just a doll. He weighed in at 8 lbs. 7 oz. and is 20 in. long. He sure does have a temper, but no red hair in sight for now.

Momma seems to be doing well, but poor dad has pneumonia and has to get ready for football playoffs this week. So they will be quite busy and very tired.

I am sure I will have plenty of photo opportunities later, but he was being stupborn yesterday. He acted like he was bored of us with that big yawn going on and then he acted like he was hungry or something. :) Sure is a cutie though.

Smiles,

Angela

I Need A New Computer

2008-11-17T08:11:00.004-06:00

Well nothing real exciting this weekend which is actually a good thing since my computer decided to crash and I had to do a complete system recovery. I tried everything to fix it before I had to do that and nothing worked. GRRR!! So now I have lost way too many photos to even say and I have to redownload everything. Sometimes I just want to scream when I realize just how much I depend on all this technology.

Abbey went to her bio's house this weekend. Again Dylan didn't want to go so he stayed with Maddie and me. We actually got a lot done this weekend considering. I decided to rearrange the livingroom and the kids helped. Brad lucked out because he had to go to work. In the process of moving things I have injured my knee quite badly actually. It hurts to bend it and it has 3 huge bruises as does my shoulder. I keep forgetting I am not as young as I once was. Though my livingroom is done and it is ready for Christmas decorations and the tree come the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Another discovery I found this weekend was that Brad has some white hairs, which I find very amusing because he has always said that red heads never get white hair. LOL!! Boy was he wrong, though he is saying those aren't white they are blonde. I hate to burst his bubble but they are white.

By the end of today I should have a new nephew to take lots of photos of. Hopefully I can upload my picture software so I can have some photos tomorrow, but we shall see.

Anyway, hope everyone has a good Monday and that you had a relaxing weekend.

Smiles,
Angela

We Are Conference Champs!

2008-11-10T11:01:00.010-06:00

Friday was a big night for our town's football game. Not only are the Lavaca Arrows our biggest rivals, but this game also determined who got home field for the playoffs. The Tigers didn't just beat them we Mercy ruled them. WooHoo!! We are conference champs and we don't have to go anywhere for the playoffs. Everyone has to come to us.

Before each home game our church does a Tailgate party out at the field. Here is the youth minister turning the hot dogs and Dylan standing there waiting for one. He acts like he was hungry or something. Actually I think he just wanted to stand somewhere were it was warm. Friday was a very cold night. Perfect football weather.

Our pregame festivities included the Chick-fil-A Cows doing some cheers with our cheerleaders. We serve Chick-fil-A sandwiches in our concestion stand so every now and then they come by for a visit. They are just too cute doing some cheers.

Before the Tigers head to the field for the game our spirit line makes sure they give them a big welcome. Dylan and Abbey are somewhere in that big crowd. The picture doesn't show the whole line but it goes from the middle of the field to the endzone.

Here are a few pictures of the game. My BIL giving out a play to one of the boys and then a play on the field. It was dark so not all my photos came out really good since most of the time I didn't get a chance to adjust my camera to specific features.

Now only if my Cowboys come back after their bye week and win some games. That will make me a very happy lady. :)

Here are a few layouts I have been working on. They are done using the PaperPosies July 2008 kit and some things from my stash. I have listed these on ebay to see if I could sell them.

Here are a few cards that I made from the scraps of the kit and some things from my stash. I am taking these to a craft fair that we are having next month.

Hope everyone had a good weekend and was able to relax for a little while anyway. We have about 2 1/2 weeks until Thanksgiving. I can smell that turkey now. YUMMO!!

Smiles,

Angela

Cards & A Mini Album

2008-11-07T13:25:00.006-06:00

Not much of anything has gone on this week. Just the same ole routine, but tonight is the Charleston/Lavaca football game. They are our biggest rivalry so this game will be packed and a lot of fun. KLA!! Plus it is perfect football weather right now.

So I wanted to share some things I made using the PaperPosies July 2008 kit.

This mini album was so fun to make. I really love the October Afternoon Detours papers and embellies. Of course I added some things from my stash. It is going to be part of a Christmas gift to Dylan and Abbey's art teacher.

These are some cards I made using the same kit.

Happy Scrappin',

Angela

Halloween Weekend

2008-11-03T16:52:00.006-06:00

Well as usual I am behind on posting. Friday was kind of mixed for the kids. While they had fun at school with their parties and such Halloween night was kind of a dud. It just happened to fall on high school football night and well our town is big on our football. There wasn't many people giving out candy but we made it fun and the girls really loved getting dressed up. Dylan opted out of dressing up this year (he is growing up so fast) and was my helper since Brad had to go to work.

Of course this is what I get when my kids have a whole day dedicated to receiving a LOT of candy. LOL!

Then Saturday was just spent running errands and cleaning house. Nothing real exciting going on.

Sunday started out fine and then in true Loughridge fashion we had to have some bad luck. As I was washing dishes last night I noticed my feet were getting soaked. So I look under the sink and find that a pipe had broke. Had to do dishes so I took some electrical tape and wrapped that puppy up until I can get the little round doodad to fix it. Nothing else could happen right. HAHA!!

Well you gotta know I am a huge Dallas Cowboys fan. They are my team through thick and thin and let me tell you this year has been a lot of thin. I was so ready for them to beat the Giants yesterday. I do like the Giants and don't have any problems with them at all, but they had to go down playing my Cowboys. Man oh man was I totally pitching a fit, screaming at the t.v. when the 'Boys went down in a blaze of something. Awful, awful game. Thankfully next week is a bye week and then Romo will be back and hopefully so will Felix Jones.

Today has been spent uploading things to ebay and finishing up a snowman ornament to put on Etsy tomorrow. If you wanna check out my ebay items my username is aloughridge over there. Anyway, gotta get ready for football tonight.

Smiles,

Angela

Wear Red Day & Crazy Hair Day

2008-10-28T08:06:00.008-05:00

Well this week is Red Ribbon Week. For those of you that do not know what the Red Ribbon is for it is for the campaign against drugs. So our school plans fun things for each day. Yesterday was wear red day and today is crazy hair day.

Yesterday all 3 kids wore red but the only one that wanted to cooperate in time to take photos was Maddie. Dylan and Abbey kept goofing around and being slow pokes and I never got a chance to take their photos. Here is Maddie all decked out in her red though.

She was even wearing red socks and her lunch box, which was attached to the back of her backpack happens to be red.

On to today which is crazy hair day. I had a lot of fun doing their hair today. I think I used almost every ponytail holder the girls own putting up their hair. Then I took some colored gel and spiked it and then used some hairspray. I added just a smidge of Making Memories acrylic paint to each of their hair. Then there is Dylan. He told me I could do whatever but he didn't want and "girly" things in his hair. So that left the gel and paint. I covered his hair in the gold shimmer gel and then took 4 different colors of the Making Memories acrylic paint and went to town. LOL! Of course I had to make sure it didn't budge so I sprayed him with hairspray as well. I just hope that the acrylic paint comes out.

Someone please tell me that the acrylic paint will come out. LOL!

I think the kids may disown me after today. If I had more time I would have definetly done a lot more to their hair, but I ran out of time and they needed to run to the bus.

They will be let off easy tomorrow as it is colorful or Hawaiin shirt day. :)

Smiles,

Angela

Pumpkin Carving & A Photo Shoot

2008-10-25T20:11:00.012-05:00

We carved a pumpkin today. I was gonna get each of the kids a pumpkin for themselves but we were running behind today and I just didn't get them. So if I have time this week I will get a few more for the kids to carve because we all really enjoyed it. :)

I needed some new photos of myself so I had Dylan be my little photographer for a little while. He likes to take photos and he didn't do too bad a job either. I told him I needed them to be at an "off" angle. So while I moved around a little he did most of the work.

I also got a few layouts done using the TSR October 2008 kit. I am so glad that I was finally able to get some pages done.

The one above was done using the Basic Grey Offbeat kit . Also used some things in my forever yielding stash to finish this layout.

This one was done using the Cosmo Cricket Mr. Campy kit. Also used a Pagemaps sketch and some things from my stash to finish it.

Well that is all for today. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Smiles,

Angela

Happy Day

2008-10-20T17:52:00.007-05:00

It has been a while since I have posted here. Boy have I been busy. I am making these cute little snowflake ornaments and got an order for them. I am very excited about it too.

I am also working on some Christmas tree and snowman ornaments. Gotta get them done still. HMM!

Meanwhile this weekend was the monthly online crop at TSR. I hosted a couple games on there and had these big plans to scrap. HAHA! All I got done scrapping wise was 1 layout. The rest of the time I either chit chatted or cleaned my scrap area. It does look a lot better than it did. I have a few more things to do and it will be done. I will hopefully have some photos of it all re-done soon.

After school today the family played outside. We had some football going on here. My knees have been bothering me so I stayed out of the game and took photos. It was fun to capture the huddles and the laughing. My poor sweet Maddie got the hand off from Brad to run in the end zone. The only thing was she ran to the wrong end zone. LOL!!

Hopefully I will have some more to post tomorrow. Until then enjoy your day.

Happy Day,

Angela

Swap Pages & Update

2008-10-10T09:52:00.004-05:00

I have finished another set of swap pages for the TSR swap I am in. I still have several groups to go. Can't believe I signed up for so many but I am enjoying putting them together. So these are for group #6, which is an autumn theme. Hope they like these. I used a page maps sketch for these.

My FIL is home for now. He is doing okay so that is good. He has to go back in for a CT scan to make sure it hasn't moved and if that turns out okay then I hope that means he is in the clear.

Another Weekend Gone

2008-10-06T17:11:00.005-05:00

I am telling you anymore I can't wait for the weekend to be over with and sometimes could just pass it up. This weekend was no different.

Brad was gone to work on and off this weekend in between the storms. On Sunday he was at home talking to a guy from work when his mom called us. She was crying hysterically that Brad's dad had been shot. So Brad hurried around and got up to the hospital because we knew absolutely nothing other than that. When he got up there he found out that his dad and his dad's girlfriend had been outside in their yard and heard some people shooting down the way across the road and the pond. They were target practicing into a bale of hay with a 22. Well, a bullet went through the bale of hay and traveled across the pond and across the highway all the way into the yard into my FIL's back. When it hit him he knew right away what it was. He said it felt like a big thump and then his insides started tingling. It didn't go all the way through so they got him in ICU and got a CT scan yesterday. They found that it pierced his lung and liver but didn't do any "real" damage. So they kept him in ICU overnight to watch his BP and make sure no more bleeding was going on. There will be another CT tomorrow to make sure the bullet hasn't moved. If it looks good then they won't do surgery and just leave the bullet in there. God was watching over my FIL yesterday because if it would have hit anywhere but where it did he wouldn't be here today.

These people feel horrible as they should. We all know it was a bad accident and of course my FIL understands that it was an accident but they are truly lucky that it wasn't as serious as it could have been. It could have been a baby or child or someone could have been driving down the road at that exact time. This is a reason I do not own a gun and will never own a gun. Crazy accidents happen all the time.

Now on to something fun. TSR now has a new blog which is totally cool in itself because everyone knows that I am on the MB over there all the time. This month is also the 4th anniversary so they are giving away prizes on the blog. You can check it out by clicking on the blog link on the right.

God Bless,
Angela

A Birthday Wish & Some Layouts

2008-10-03T07:51:00.006-05:00

Today is my Dad's birthday. While we are here saying Happy Birthday to him he is in Iraq serving his country. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!! Stay safe and come home soon.

So today is Friday. WooHoo! Hopefully it will be a great weekend. Tonight I plan on going to our high school football game and then maybe scrapping later on tonight. For now here are some layouts I completed from the nycscraps class I am taking.

The above layout was for sketch #4 of the class. I used an ApronStrings kit and a few things from my stash complete this layout.

This layout was for sketch #5 of the class. I used a PaperPosies kit to complete this layout.

Here is a card I finished as well.

Smiles,

Angela

Quiet Time

2008-09-28T07:38:00.006-05:00

I love my quiet time. Of course it is always at 5 in the morning until it's time for the kids to wake up but I sure do love it. This is my "ME" time and those of you that are parents know that we get very little "ME" time. I sit and drink my coffee and either catch up on the internet or scrap. It is so quiet in my house right now. Can't believe the kids are still asleep, but I am sure that I just jinxed that. :)

So I have finished a few more cards for my little Etsy shoppe and another layout for the nycscraps benefit class I am taking.

The layout is for Sketch #3 at nycscraps.

The gift tags and cards are for my Etsy shoppe. For this last set "Christmas" of cards I actually used a sketch from SusieQScrapbooks blog "Card Sketch A Day", the link is on the right.

So I am loving fall, but here in AR I wish the weather would make up its mind. One day it is nice and cool and the next it is hot and UGH! I want to know 5 things you love about fall. I have a lot of things that I love about fall but here are 5:

1. FOOTBALL

2. cooler weather

3. Halloween & Thanksgiving

4. stews/crockpot food

5. t.v. shows

So what are yours?

Happy Scrappin,

Angela

Layouts & Cards

2008-09-25T13:49:00.005-05:00

Well the past few days I have been busy making cards and a couple layouts. Though I have been way into the cards and not so much the layouts. I think I just need a little creative break from the "layouts" part of scrapping. The cards just seem to come together so well.

I did finish a layout for Sketch #1 and Sketch #2 of the charity class over at nycscraps .

The above layout was for sketch #1. I used a kit from TSR to complete it along with a few things from my stash.

This layout was for sketch #2. I used a kit from TTT to finish this layout along with a few things from my stash.

I finished another set of Christmas cards for my Etsy shoppe as well. Check out my shop CreativeCreations . I am working on some gift tags and more cards as well as some home decor.

Smiles,

Angela

Happy Fall Ya'll

2008-09-22T08:34:00.007-05:00

Happy Fall ya'll!! Today is the first "official" day of fall. Our weather is celebrating by being so foggy that the kids almost missed the bus because we couldn't see it. How is your weather where you are?

Well this weekend didn't have any terrible glitches. WooHoo!! I got a lot done that I am very happy with.

I made some Christmas cards for my Etsy shoppe. I will be adding even more as this week goes on. So please feel free to share my shoppe with your friends and family. :)

This weekend was the weekend crop over at TSR . So I was able to get some layouts done. I alos hosted a bingo game that was a ton of fun. Of course I was on the internet all weekend so I din't get much done around the house. So after this post I have a lot to catch up on here at home.

I received my swap pages from Nicole . We are in a swap group with several talented ladies and I am so happy that I was given the chance to be a part of this. She really did a terrific job and I love each one of them. Now I need to find/take some photos to put on each one. Thanks Nicole!

I am also taking the benefit one-in-48 Class over at NYC-Scraps . All the proceeds she makes from this 2 week long class will go to the Save the Children charity. Here is the layout I did using the sample sketch she posted.

With all the hand-stitching I did this weekend my poor fingers are not looking to good right now. LOL!! I love hand-stitching, that is my thing right now. It just adds so much to a page.

I just heard the dryer buzz at me so I am off to fold some towels now. See you tomorrow.

Happy Scrappin,

Angela

Where Has The Month Gone?

2008-09-17T07:23:00.006-05:00

Seriously where has the month of September gone? It is already the 17th and I don't know what I have to show for this month.

The holidays are just around the corner and I have not even begun to prepare for them, except for a few homeade gifts for Christmas. I need an extra fall decorating push so I would love to hear about any ideas you have for decorating for fall. We live out in the middle of the boonies but I still love decorating.

Okay I have to bring it up. What a game it was on Monday Night Football. If you know me you know I am a HUGE Dallas Cowboys fan. They are my boys. :) The Cowboys/Eagles game was one heck of a show. I couldn't sit still long enough to do anything, I just kept pacing back and forth. Screaming at the t.v. when Romo (Cowboys) fumbled and laughing at Jackson (Eagles) when he made that bonehead play before going into the end zone. But my boys came out on top so I was very happy.

Here are some layouts and cards I did yesterday using the Scenic Route-Sonoma kit from TSR . I have enough scraps to make a couple tags and then I will move on to a new kit.

This one was a basic scraplift from Shawnna, check out her blog .

This one I just put together and will be adding a photo of our family. It will be my Year In Review album cover page.

These are just some cards I put together using what scraps I had left from the kit.

I have a lot of things that I need to do today but I am just so tired. We had 2 church softball games last night and I didn't get home 'til 10. Of course I had to stay up and watch Big Brother to see who won and straighten up a little bit around the house so now I am dragging this morning. Coffee just isn't doing it. Definetly see a nap in my very close future today.

With that I wanna say have a great day.

Angela

A Layout & Ramblings

2008-09-15T11:22:00.005-05:00

A layout I did using the tsr Sept. Kelly Panacci kit and a pagemaps sketch. I did add some ribbon and the lighter cardstock. It was a really great kit to work with.

I have been trying to work on some cards also so maybe I will have some to share tomorrow. A big MAYBE!!

Why is it that some people are just never happy? I mean you go out of your way to try not to offend them and to try and be as nice as possible but they just don't care. I figured when I got older that I would be able to stand up and say enough is enough but I find myself just sitting there taking it and then when I have had enough and finally say something there they are to say I am in the wrong for standing up for myself. Why is that? I also find it funny when someone apologizes to you, but in the same sentence some how makes it all your fault and that they really shouldn't be apologizing cause they didn't do anything wrong. What is up with that? Why apologize if you really don't mean it! Or how about when they blame their bad attitude on how bad their life is. PLEASE I had a rough childhood and somewhat hard adolescence, but that doesn't give me the right to treat people like dirt. I know I am not perfect and I have my moments but I would like to think that I wouldn't treat people like they aren't any better than dirt.

Brad always finds it amusing when I get upset okay MAD because I start DEEP cleaning the house. Not to be confused with depressed because that is when I sit in front of the t.v. and munch on chocolate. Sometimes I think he tries to make me mad just so I will clean. LOL!! When he walks in and sees that everything is just spotless his first words are normally "okay who pissed you off today?" or "what did I do?".

Now I can't end this entry all negative so here are some happy things. I am very thankful for all my wonderful friends who have stuck by me through thick and thin; you truly are great people. Also wanna say that I love my awesome family; I would be so lost without them. I love that I know God will never give me more than I can handle and that he is always there for me to lean on when I need him and even when I don't think I do.

Happy Scrappin,
Angela

Busy Weekend

2008-09-08T17:08:00.009-05:00

Boy was my weekend busy. It was the kids bio father's weekend to get them but Dylan didn't want to go so he stayed home with me. Maddie decided to spend the night at their Nani's and Brad was at work so it was just Dylan and I. We had decided we wanted to go to the Charleston High School Football game to see how my BIL is doing with his team this year. It was against our County Rivals-Ozark. Of course we won!!!! When we got there we saw Maddie all decked out in a cheerleading uniform which is funny in it's own way since she is on a dance team not a cheerleading team. So she was able to see her Nana and Papaw also.

Saturday we went up to Mom and Dad's also known as Nana and Papaw's for dinner before heading to the fair. Brad was disappointed that he had to go to work and miss out on some yummy brisket and french fries, but we liked it.

After dinner we went to the Charleston Fair. We watched the "Womanless Beauty Pageant", which was just hilarious. Then Maddie decided she wanted to get her face painted while Dylan ran around with his friends. Of course I had to have a fair burger and a funnel cake, it just isn't a fair without those 2 items. We waited around for a little while to watch people wins some prizes and then headed home for the night.

If my weekend wasn't busy enough Saturday I ended up with a flat on my blazer. Since Brad was gone and there is nowhere in Charleston that is open to fix flats on the weekends I borrowed one of the trucks from my parents for the weekend. No big deal right-WRONG. I woke up Sunday just to see that one of the tires on the truck was low. So now I had a flat on the blazer and a low tire on the truck which I thought was another flat. If that wasn't enough when Maddie got up she had a rash around her little face from the face paint at the fair. UGH!! So I had to miss church and take care of Maddie's face (which is better now) and to find somewhere to air up the tire on the truck so I could get a few groceries since we didn't even have any milk. Well I got the tire aired up, took care of Maddie's poor face, got a few groceries and even picked Abbey up from her bio fathers. What else can go wrong? Oh, the dryer dies on me. I put a load of clothes in the dryer before heading to my room to watch the Sunday night game and the dang dryer isn't working. Great more money going out the door that I don't have. Luckily the fix it man around here thinks it is just a belt. So hopefully that is all it is and he can get here tomorrow to fix it because 5 people in a house and no dryer doesn't make for a happy mom.

Now all I want to do tonight is watch Monday night football and scrap, but I know I need to throw in some dishes somehow. Hope everyone else had a better weekend then I did.

Happy Scrappin',
Angela

The Service & A Layout

2008-09-03T13:15:00.005-05:00

I actually ended up getting up real late. My alarm went off around 5 this morning but I hit the snooze button. Well I must have hit the off button as well because next thing I know Dylan is in my room saying "Mom school". I jumped up and it was 6:30, glad that he sets his alarm too. I was just so emotionally drained yesterday all I wanted to do was sleep I guess.

I still got a layout done this morning though. I got the inspiration from the mojoholder blog. I really like all their creations. You should check them out, just click on the name. Here is my layout. Just a couple photos that Dylan took of me. He isn't a bad little photographer. :)

Yesterday was my sisters funeral. It was a beautiful service and our preacher did a great job. It went pretty good with no "family" complications. Those of you that know understand where I am coming from. We had a photo slide show that we put together of some photos I had and photos my mom had of Rebecca. You can view it here if you would like photovideo . She will be missed, but I know she will always be with me. Thank you for all the support that everyone has given me. I don't think I would have made it through this time without it.

Angela

Layouts & More

2008-08-29T13:57:00.005-05:00

Today I have been working on layouts to keep myself occupied with something fun. I have done 2 layouts for the TTTBLOGPARTY so far.

This first one is for challenge #1. I lifted Lindsey's "Catch" layout from the Aug.#2 kit. I used the Aug. '08 kit #3.

This second layout is for challenge #2. Using the sketch this is what I came up with. I used the June '08 kit #1

My dad was able to make it in finally last night. He had a long flight back from Iraq, but he made it safe and sound. We also found out that the baby would have been a little girl. Although this is a very sad time I am just glad we are all together to support one another. I also want to thank everyone for all the support and prayers, it really means a lot.

Angela

My Sweet Sister

2008-08-27T17:33:00.004-05:00

This may be a little graphic but I really need to get it out somehow. So be caucious.

I received a phone call at 12:02 this mornging from my mother and immediately knew it wasn't good. She was at the hospital and my baby sister had passed away. She was only 25 going to be 26 on Halloween.

She had apparently started cramping early yesterday morning and just thought it was that time of the month so she just went on. She had gone to take a bath and when she was in there for a very long time they went to check on her and knew something was wrong. The ambulance came and took her to the hospital but her blood pressure was already way too low. When she got there we found out she was pregnant. Noone knew she was pregnant including herself. They said she was about 4-5 months pregnant and that she was miscarrying. The placenta had ruptured so they did an emergency c-section, but the baby was already gone and my sister passed shortly after. She is survived by her husband, 6 year old daughter and her family and friends.

We didn't always see eye to eye but we knew we would be there for each other no matter what and now I feel like I let her down because I wasn't there. I am her big sister and I wasn't there when she needed me the most. Rebecca was a beautiful, head-strong woman. I loved her so much and I truly hope she knew that.

I love you baby sis.

My Weekend & Swap Pages

2008-08-26T06:31:00.005-05:00

Shame on me this weekend. I didn't take a single photo. Though in my defense I really didn't do much of anything this weekend except grocery shop. Oh I did go to the Old Navy jean sale and snag me a few pairs of jeans. Dylan and Abbey were gone to their bios this weekend and Brad was at work. So Maddie and I just lazied around the house and scrapped all weekend. Sunday night we had softball practice for our church team and I realized yet again that I stink.

I also was able to finish the pages for the TSR Swap Group #3. I used a sketch from pagemaps June 2006. There are 2 of each set.

Blog Award & TSR Swap Group #2

2008-08-22T18:39:00.004-05:00

Thank you for nominating me Susan !

Here is how the award works:

1. Post the logo on your blog.

2. Add a link to the person who gave you the award.

3. Nominate 7 other bloggers who you think deserve it.

4. Add links to their blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message on your nominees blogs.

I am nominating the following blogs:

1. amberhelgasfamily by Amber

2. ourcrazylittleworld by Barbara

3. sassygirlscraps by Pam

4. myramblings by Jodie

5. madebynicole by Nicole

6. tranquilmoments by Sonda

7. mytreasures by Tracy

I also just finished my first set of swap pages for the swap over at tsr . I used this sketch by Susan you can check out her blog here .So without further ado here are the layouts I did for swap group #2. There are 2 of each design. Hope you gals like them.

Crazy 2 weeks

2008-08-18T18:52:00.014-05:00

Well I fell behind on keep track of all we did at Disney. We had such a blast!! I loved every minute of it (even when the kids were cranky and tired). I am planning on going back again in a few years during the winter months. It should be a lot cooler then. So what did we do for the rest of our time there you ask??

Here are some photos from Animal Kingdom.

On day 2 we went to Magic Kingdom. Boy was it HOT and CROWDED, but we managed. We rode a bunch of roller coasters like, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Orbiter and the list could go on and on. I even represented TSR wile there. LOL!! It was actually cool because when we were going through the line to enter into the park the man that was watching the kiosk to get in stopped me and asked me if I owned TSR. I told him I didn't but I was a member of it and he gave me a huge bag of "Pixie Dust" (Mickey Confetti) to use on my scrapping. :) Maddie's favorite ride was Splash Mountain, her favorite character that she met that day was Winnie the Pooh and her favorite show was the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. Abbey's favorite ride was Space Mountain, her favorite character that she got to meet was Belle and her favorite show was Mickey's PhilharMagic. Dylan's favorite ride was Space Mountain, his favorite character he met Winnie the Pooh, his favorite show was Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. My favorite ride was Space Mountain, my favorite character that I met was Cinderella and my favorite show was The Enchanted Tiki Room. Brad's favorite ride was Splash Mountain, his favorite character was Winnie the Pooh and his favorite show was Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor.

Here are a few pictures from Magic Kingdom. I LOVED the Spectra Magic Light Show at the end of the night.

On day 3 we went to Epcot. We did a lot of walking there. Wow was it a huge place. It wasn't as kid friendly as I had hoped but we still had a good time. We had just walked up to the LONG line for the Living with the Land ride and a worker called us over to the Fast Pass area and told us that he was going to fill a wish (for the year of a million dreams) and all we had to do was have Abbey do 5 jumping jacks. She rose to the challenge and we got to go straight to the front of the line, instead of waiting 30-40 minutes. We got to meet several of the characters and see a few shows also. Maddie's favorites there were seeing all the characters and The Seas with Nemo & Friends ride. Abbey's favorites were The Seas with Nemo & Friends ride, Living with the Land ride and seeing all the different cultures. Dylan's favorites were Living with the Land ride, seeing Pluto and the Honey I Shrunk the Audience show. My favorites were seeing Mickey of course, The Seas with Nemo & Friends ride and the huge aquarium and the Honey I Shrunk the Audience show.

Here are some photos from Epcot.

On our last full day there we headed to Hollywood Studios. That place was jammed packed with things to do. When we first arrived we almost immediately headed to the Sorcerer's Hat for the High School Musical Show. Dylan said his favorites were every single thing we did there. Abbey and Maddie both had the same exact favorites. They liked High School Musical Show, Indiana Jones Show and the Tower of Terror ride. My favorites were Indiana Jones Show, Lights, Motors, Action show and Tower of Terror ride. Brads were Tower of Terror ride, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster ride and the Muppet 3D show.

Here are a few photos from Hollywood Studios.

On the 14th (our last day) we really didn't have anything planned so we just packed up and left out that morning. Brad had decided that we were going to just drive straight through and not stop. I think we should have stopped. We did fine until we hit Jackson, Mississippi when we got pulled over and Brad got a speeding ticket. It is actually pretty funny in a way because Brad is not a speeder. I actually call him grandpa when he is behind the wheel because he drives so dang SLOW. But he really was doing 75 in a 65 so he got a ticket, which we now have to pay. We split the driving so we were able to get home at 4 in the morning on the 15th which just happened to be my birthday.

We didn't do anything special on my birthday except sleep in. My calves have never hurt so much in my entire life and I use to work at a job where I stood all the time. Brad ended up having to go to work that day as well so it was just another day here. Guess that is how it is when you have kids right!?!

So that brings us to the present. The first day of school and Dylan's 11th birthday. I kinda feel bad for Dylan because for the rest of his school life his birthday is going to fall on the 1st day of school or the day before it, unless the school district changes when school can start. I finally caved in and Brad and I got him a cell phone for his birthday. He does however have restrictions. I just don't understand who in the world an 11 year old has to call that he needs a cell phone for, but I like the fact that now I can get a hold of him when he isn't here in case of emergencies.

Kids loved the first day of school. They all came home excited about their new teachers and all the activities that there are planned for the year. So the school year is off to a great start.

Animal Kingdom (Day 1)

2008-08-11T07:11:00.004-05:00

Well I can't upload any photos to show, but I sure can type about all of the fun. I promise to upload photos when we get home. :)

So yesterday was our first day at Disney World. We arrived to Port Orleans Riverside, with only 1 minor problem, at around 10 in the a.m.. Our room wasn't ready so we headed on over to Animal Kingdom until it closed at 8 p.m.. Boy were we exhausted but we had a ton of fun. Got back to our room and settled in. Must tell you it is a very lovely room. A lot better than we are use to staying at. LOL!!

So now our favorites you ask well here ya go:

Maddie said her favorite things at AK: Her most favorite ride was Expedition Everest (she loved it), Festival of the Lion King show, It's Tough to be a Bug show, she also loved the ride Dinosaur.

Abbey said her favorites were: Her favorites were Expedition Everest, Primeval Whirl, the Festival of the Lion King Show, It's Tough to be a Bug show, and the Dinosaur ride.

Dylan said his favorites were: Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, Festivale of the Lion King show and Kali River Rapids.

Brad said his favorite thing was the Dinosaur ride and eating. Of course just to be a difficult dumbass he said his favorite thing was leaving. HUH!!

My favorites were Expedition Everest, Dinosaur and the Kilimanjaro Safari.

It was quite hot but we did okay. Everyone started getting cranky at the end so this time we will be coming back to the room for a small nap. Goot eats too. We ate at Tusker last night for dinner and it was really good. For lunch we ate at Restaurantosauraus. So far so good on getting the Dining Plan.

Today we are off to Magic Kingdom so we will have more favorites.

7 years Today

2008-07-28T14:19:00.006-05:00

Well we have made it another year. :) Today is Brad and my 7th anniversary. I am so blessed to have met him and be able to spend the rest of my life with hom. Some days it feels like this time has just flown by but other days it feels like it is barely creeping along. Wouldn't trade any of them though. He has been my rock and I hope he knows that I will always be there for him.

We were going to celebrate this weekend but I managed to get a cold with the fever and everything. So instead I got to spend the weekend at home mostly in bed while he worked. Of course I did get on the computer and have some fun at the online crop over at TSR.

Brad sure does know how to spoil me though.

He did say that he wasn't asking me to marry him again though. Isn't it pretty? It needs to be sized about a half a size and then I can wear it. :)

I didn't do so bad for him though.

No hopefully we can go on trips without getting lost. Yeah, right.

Well I plan on making a nice dinner for all of us tonight. What you ask, I have no clue yet. I need to go take a look at what I have in the fridge.

Still have plenty of cleaning and packing to do though. We leave for Disney in just under 2 weeks and I don't have a whole lot ready yet.

It's Up

2008-07-19T15:35:00.006-05:00

Well I got my Etsy shop up. I will be adding to it as I can in the next week or so.
Check it out here.http://aloughrige.etsy.com/ .

I got my prize from scrapbookdeals4u for Scrapvivor today. It was their June kit. Very nice.

Thank you to them. Can't wait to use it.

Opening an Etsy Shop

2008-07-16T20:25:00.003-05:00

Well I am diving into the world of Etsy. Still pretty new to it all and am still trying to set up shop. I think it will be great though once I get it up and running. I love to create and could use the extra $$ so this would be perfect; well as long as people want to buy what I create. I need to make a banner and take some photos of some things and then it will be good to go. Hopefully in the next couple of days.

I did this layout for the sketch contest going on over at the pagemapsblog using the sketch they posted. I really love the sketches that Becky has and I even bought the book.

The Weeks End

2008-07-11T19:22:00.006-05:00

Kids are home for the final weekend. They are going back tomorrow evening and then they only have 2 weeks left over at their bio-fathers house. They are both along with all of us here counting down the days. Dylan is really taking it harder than Abbey but I keep reminding them just 2 more weeks. So hopefully it will be done soon. They went for a small hike up the hill in the back pasture. Now they are all filthy and tired.

In the spirit of keeping up with Scrapvivor even though I am no longer on the "island", I finished a layout for the final challenge. The challenge was to handwrite journaling with at least 100 words. The layout is my sister who finally tied the knot. For those of you who know me, know my past well enough that I am just so happy to finally see her moving forward in her life. A lot of heartache and pain we have endured and this is a happy moment for her and I.

Of course they would call Brad to work today so he is gone for the weekend. It totally stinks, but it is a good thing right now. With the job market the way it is he is one of the lucky ones that has a great job right now.

Off to do some more scrapping.

4th Place

2008-07-09T19:34:00.005-05:00

Well it is official. I have finished in 4th place for Scrapvivor. Which is good, but still sucks that I can't go on. Oh well, back to my life I guess. I am sure that Maddie and Brad are glad though. They get there wife and mom back. I did do a layout for challenge 12 though. Which was to alter chipboard.Dylan and Abbey will be home in 2 more weeks. Yay! We are all excited. Then in just 1 month we are headed to Disney World for our vacation. Very first trip to Disney World for all of us so we are all super excited.

My anniversary is at the end of the month so I need some ideas from you gals reading this. He is such a picky guy it drives me nuts. He doesn't wear any kind of chains or anything, no watches, he doesn't need anything really. I have thought about buying him a GPS but don't know that that is a "anniversary" gift type thing. What do you think?

Big Brother 10 starts on the 13th. I just heart that show. BB9 was kinda disappointing though, so I hope this one makes up for it. My DVR is set to go just in case I have a mom duty to go to.

Okay well the dryer just buzzed at me so I am out of here.

Sunday

2008-07-06T09:56:00.005-05:00

Nothing exciting going on today. Just Maddie and I hangin' around the house. Brad is at work and will hopefully be home later on this afternoon. He has no cell service where he has to go so I don't get to talk to him much. So I guess Maddie and I will tidy up around the house and while she plays the Wii I will do some scrappin'.

Here is the sketch for Challenge 11 that susancostanza made for us. You can check out her sketch blog by clicking on her name above.

Now here is a layout that I completed using her sketch. It is Maddie making some seriously crazy silly faces. She was playing outside in the yard and when I walked out this is what I saw. So I just had to run and get my camera.

Have a happy Sunday everyone. Enjoy the beauty of the day and your families.

Tired

2008-07-05T10:13:00.006-05:00

Man am I tired. We have an eventful 4th of July. I think I will be napping later on today along with Maddie. It doesn't help that I can't sleep past 5 a.m. even when the alarm isn't set to wake me up that early.

So Dylan and Abbey came home Thursday night to spend the 4th with us. We went to Brad's brothers for a BBQ and to swim. Lots of food and water.

Here is a family photo of us in our "patriotic" shirts. Just realized I need to fix my hair better. Oh well.

Dylan just hangin' around.

Maddie finally got brave enough to go down the slide. That was the first and last time for her, at least for that day.

The girls just chillin'.

Poor Maddie got burnt on her shoulders so we didn't get to go to the fireworks. The good thing about where we live though is that you can see them from our house. So we still watched.

Off to check out who moved on and you left the camp in Scrapvivor.

Another Round

2008-07-01T18:37:00.007-05:00

Well I am now in the final 6 of Scrapvivor. It is really heating up over there. We found out the winner receives not 1 but 4 kits. That is very exciting news. Don't think I am gonna make it that far but I am going to give it my best shot. I have almost finished 2 Christmas presents from doing this challenge so that is really a great thing. Challenge 10 is putting the title or journaling over the photo. So here is my first layout with that done.

Abbey lost her last game last night so she is done for the season. Her team came in second place, which is still really good. But they were really disappointed in themselves with how they played the tournament. I kept telling Abbey there is always next year and that is what she needs to focus on. Dylan is still in it. They have not lost a tournament game yet. They play tomorrow night to determine first and second. So it will be another long night, but once it is over it is over.

These are a couple of photos I took last night at Dylan's game that I thought were great. Dylan is getting an out for the team. He plays 1st base and does a really great job at it too. Of course, I may be a little bias. LOL!! Doesn't the boy look like he is falling in the second photo, he really doesn't fall though. Can't believe I got that shot.

This is Abbey getting her trophy. I am very proud of her. She played her hardest and that is all that matters.

Now off to get dinner and get to scrappin' before I am voted off next.

Weekends Over

2008-06-30T06:32:00.006-05:00

You all know that the kids came home this weekend. Well we had all these plans to do things with them. None of it happened the way it was suppose to. We were suppose to go to Chuck E Cheese, the park and some other things we had planned. The weather decided to tell us differently and it rained and stormed the whole weekend and Brad ended up having to go to work. So they were each others shadows the entire weekend. Where Dylan and Abbey went Maddie followed. I took tons of photos only to find out this morning that half of them aren't existant any longer because my memory card is damaged. How in the world???? Of course the ones that are still there are ones that the kids weren't cooperating with me.

This was one of the few that are still there and as you can see they didn't want to do anything I asked them to. It was right after one of Dylan's baseball games and right before all the rain.

So challenge 9 for Scrapvivor is to use sewing "notions" which is right up my alley. I love the hand-stitched look. Of course I didn't get much scrapping done over the weekend so I have to work very hard today to even have a chance. I have managed to get one layout completely finished though and I just love the way it turned out.

Well now I have to get busy creating and cleaning house. Enjoy your Monday!

Is This Week Over Yet?

2008-06-24T16:19:00.007-05:00

Dylan and Abbey will be home for the weekend so I am really excited for it to get here. We are going to take them to Chuck E Cheese so long as Brad is home from work and we don't have a ball game going on with any of them. If so then it is pizza and a movie at home with lots of board games. We have all been missing them so much and will be glad to have them back for the weekend. Only 5 more weeks til they are home for good. YAY!!

I am still in Scrapvivor over at Willow Traders. Can't believe I made it to the final 8. WOW! There has been some serious work created and it is just awesome to see what all 50 of us have created. It has been a lot of fun and I have accomplished a lot. Plus I am learning to make cards and that is great. Here are a few layouts and cards from the past couple of weeks of Scrapvivor.

Then we also had a photo challenge. We were suppose to capture "personality" in the photo. So I made it my mission to get a few of those types of photos. Maddie even wanted to do it by taking some pictures of me.

Mogley (our cat) decided that she didn't want Brallie to eat lunch anymore but to pay some attention to her instead. Brallie was more than willing to pay attention to her.

I didn't even realize Maddie was taking pictures at that moment but she did a really good job of capturing some "sugars".
This is what Maddie does when she is frustrated at the game. Apparently she was losing at Spongebob.

Now it is off to make some dinner and do some relaxing cause I just found out we don't have ANY ball games tonight.

Off To a Good Start

2008-06-09T09:48:00.006-05:00

Well I am off to a good start this week. I was up and at 'em early this morning (5 am) and did a load of dishes, folded some laundry and started a load. Then I began to scrap. Challenge 3 for Scrapvivor is to use a title from a book, movie, t.v. show or song on your layout. I have done 4 layouts so far for this but my new favorite layout is this:

Tonight we only have 1 ball game. Dylan is on a bye and Abbey's is tomorrow so we only have Maddie. I can't believe that they only have 2 weeks left before the tournament. Even better than that though is that Abbey's team is undefeated; you would understand my surprise if you would have seen them last year and in practice this year. I am so proud of them though, they are really doing a great job.

After ball season we are gonna have to actually come up with things to do in the evenings or it will be to dull around here. HAHAHA!! Not around this house.

Alright off to clean some more so I can enjoy some scrapping time later. Enjoy your day everyone.

Catch Up

2008-06-07T06:44:00.006-05:00

Wow! It has been a little while since I have posted anything. I joined this challenge called Scrapvivor (a scrapping take on Survivor) over at willowtraders and that has taken up a lot of the free time I have cause I really wanna win. We have done 2 challenges so far. Challenge 1 was making a monochromatic layout and challenge 2 was making cards from 3 different sketches. I was able to finish 15 layouts (1 point for each) and 32 cards (1 point for every 2). Here are a couple of my creations.

Then in the middle of that my sisters wedding was on the 31st of May. It was just a very simple and quiet wedding outside our church under the gazebo. Just family, but it was very pretty and very HOT. She was so beautiful. It was funny cause she is not the girl that wears dresses at all. She is so TOMBOY it is bad. My youngest said Mom why is Aunt Rebecca wearing a dress she never wears one. Then she told her she looked very pretty and needed to wear dresses more. So cute. My grandpa walked her down and gave her away since my dad couldn't make it in from Iraq. Here are some pictures but be kind I haven't done any editing to them yet. Planning on doing that later today.

Couldn't resist this last one. She thought for sure he wasn't gonna do that. She got it good. It was all up her nose and all over her face and some how it was even all over her shoes.

Well that is it for now. Gotta go run and see what challenge 3 is today and then I have to figure out a dessert for tonight cause we are going to a friends for game night and I am bringing dessert.

In Action

2008-05-23T05:51:00.004-05:00

I figured it was time to learn how to use my new camera and all the many features it has. What better time than when WillowTraders is doing a free photography motivation class for the next eight weeks. Week 1 started yesterday and it is all about someone in action. Here are some photos I took yesterday.

Today is the kindergarten field trip. They are going to the park and having a picnic, so there will be more photo opportunities. I can't believe that my baby graduates on Tuesday.

Hum Drum Day

2008-05-08T08:09:00.006-05:00

Well it is a not so sunny but ever so wet Thursday here in lovely Arkansas. My brother leaves back to NJ today to finish his training before heading to Iraq. My dad heads back to Iraq on the 17th.

I have tons that I should and could be doing right now but I am in a blah mood and really don't want to. It won't do itself so I will have to eventually get it done. But I did get a layout finished already this morning.

Grey's comes on tonight but I doubt I will be home in time to watch it. Thank goodness for DVR. We have all 3 kiddos practices and a volleyball tournament tonight so I will be very very tired. Though not too tired that I won't be able to watch Grey's.

Ball games start next week. AAAHHHHH!! I am no where near ready. We still have to get the rest of all of their uniforms and make sure they have all the required equipment plus I need some new chairs. Guess I am going shopping this weekend.

Well I think I may head outside and take some pictures of our rain soaked yard and see what I can come up with. Have a great day everyone.

Whirlwind Weekend

2008-05-05T21:24:00.008-05:00

This weekend has been a whirlwind of emotions for me. My grandma left this world to be with JESUS on Thursday. She was a great woman and I know she was ready to go. She has been paralyzed from the waist down for about 8 years now. I know in my heart that she is up in heaven jumping and dancing right now. We had the visitation earlier today and the funeral is tomorrow. Family has been trickling in all weekend. My dad was even to get leave from Iraq so he is home until the 17th of this month. She will truly be missed.

Then Saturday I was at an all day crop for NSD from 8 in the morning til 6 that evening. All I got done was my layouts for a swap I am in over at The Scrap Room.

I made 4 more 2 pagers just like this one minus the pictures, journaling and title. I had a bunch that I wanted to get done but was happy that I was able to get these done and out of the way.

Then at 6 I went to a birthday party for the little girl I babysit for. She turned 1 and she had some serious fun. She made a big ole mess of herself eating her cake.

Doesn't she just look too cute? She then preceeded to want me to pick her up but I left that one to her mom. LOL!!

Then yesterday we were able to enjoy the weather and be outside for a while. I had bought the kids some chalk a couple weeks ago but they weren't able to use it because the weather had been so wishy washy so they got it out and drew all over the drive way.

Gettin' Ready for the Weekend

2008-05-02T13:20:00.005-05:00

Tomorrow is NSD (National Scrapbooking Day) so I am packing up some stuff to go to an all day crop tomorrow. Hopefully I will get plenty done. It starts at 8 in the morning and ends at 8 tomorrow night. It should be tons of fun. Plus there will be all kinds of door prizes and classes and hopefully a ton of scrapping. I will only be able to stay til 6 though because I am going to a birthday party tomorrow night, but that still leaves me with plenty of time to get some pages done.

Can't believe that Brallie is turning 1. I have been watching her since she was 5 weeks and boy has she grown up. She is almost like one of my own anymore, but with the benefit of sending her home when she is acting up.

Also this month is the 3rd Anniversary over at Paper Posies and they are celebrating with a month long party. So if you want to have some fun and a chance to win some prizes you should check it out. Here is a layout I did for challenge #1. Use black and white and then a third color.

New Camera

2008-04-28T20:24:00.009-05:00

My Nikon D40 finally came today. Okay so really it hasn't been that long since I ordered it (about a week) but I have been stalking the mail everyday. Brad made such fun of me because I was taking pictures of the box before I opened it.

WOW!! Does it take much better pictures than my Kodak camera. Don't get me wrong my Kodak took some good photos (much better outside than inside) but this is soooo much better. I had a field day today. The kids and Brad will be use to the camera in their faces by the end of the week. LOL!! Here are some pictures I took today; these are all unedited.

Still have a ton to learn but had to share what I had. Between my new camera, babysitting and ball practices the day has been pretty eventful. I even forgot to scrap today. But I did get some cleaning in, not much but some.

Enjoy,
Angela

Happy Monday

2008-04-14T18:25:00.005-05:00

Today has been a decent Monday. The weather has been nice (kids outside playing) and I was able to get some scrapping in. Plus it was icing on the cake when I received not only my replacement ATG but my Page Maps book in the mail today. So I am grining from ear to ear. Gotta love a great mail day.

I started on my Mothers Day gifts today. Got a little swatchbook album done that I am going to be giving to a friend.
Need to get started on making the rest of the gifts for everyone else. I need to make about 4 more gifts. What about you?

Here is a layout I got done today using things from my stash along with a kit from Paper Posies.

It feels so good to be able to use up stuff in your stash and know that because of that you are going to be able to buy more stuff for your stash. LOL! Though I think I have a long way to go before I can come to that stage. :(

Have a Happy Day!!

Another Day

2008-04-09T20:15:00.007-05:00

This is a layout I did today for the LOAD for April at TSR. The picture is so yucky because it is horrible outside today.

Arkansas weather is so wishy-washy. One day it is a nice 70 degrees and then the next it is storming and 50 degrees. Just never know what to expect every morning when you wake up.

So very excited that my shows are finally back. I was missing all my "Gotta" see shows like; NCIS, Grey's Anatomy, Ghost Whisperer, Without a Trace, CSI:Las Vegas. My DVR sure does get a workout through out the week. So what shows are you excited to see back?

I Am Such a Slacker

2008-04-01T16:39:00.006-05:00

Man have I been slacking this past month. Hopefully I am back on track though. March really came in like a lion and I think it finally calmed down I hope. Abbey will be 9 on the 7th of this month and just don't know where the time has gone. Man it feels like just yesterday I was bringing her home from the hospital. My sweet baby girl.

Anyway, I got Brad good this morning for April Fools Day. I woke up at 5 like I always do and shook him like crazy and told him he was late and it was already 6 (he does reports for his job at 6 every morning). He jumped up freaking out. APRIL FOOLS to him. He still hasn't been able to get me back. :)

Here is a layout I finished today. For the layout a day (LOAD) challenge for April. I always start out good lets hope I can continue it through the rest of the month.

What a Week

2008-02-23T17:52:00.005-06:00

I have been fighting off this nasty bug for the past week. Popping NyQuil and DayQuil trying to keep my fever down but then my nose acts up and it is either stopped up or running. Wish it would just go away. Though for the first couple of days Brad was the sweetest at taking care of me but I think I am now on his nerves. I just keep praying that the kids don't get it. It totally stinks being sick and still having to do "mom duties". I have laundry and dishes and all sorts of other chores that have piled up. The kids and my sweet husband help when they possibly can but gotta have things a certain way or they just aren't right. Anyone else like that? It took me all week to get one layout down, so there goes my mojo and my attempt at the TSR L.O.A.D. for February. But on the bright side I have lost a few pounds. It is funny how I start the gym and then all of a sudden get deathly sick.

The kids had ball games today. Dylan and Abbey both won their games but poor Maddie stuck to her streak and they lost their game. There is only one more game before the tournament. I hope they win it just so they can have a moral booster. They need something to show them they are good enough because they don't listen to us parents. It is so hard when they are all kindergarteners and they play 2nd grade teams. I keep telling Maddie that next year they will be the team to beat because they will be the oldest (fingers crossed). Right now she is ready for T-ball.

Alright off to take some NyQuil, but here is the layout it took me all week to finish.

Today

2008-02-11T19:29:00.002-06:00

Well I am so sore today. I started going to the gym on Saturday and was doing fine until today. I think I over did it this morning. My body aches from head to toe. I am so excited though because I really need to lose about 15-20 lbs. and this will give me so much energy as well. My husband is a great motivator too, so I should reach my goal pretty easily. HAHAHA!!

Well I was able to finish a layout today. The TSR monthly L.O.A.D. is really gonna keep me motivated. I really like the way it turned out.

January layouts

2008-02-08T06:07:00.001-06:00

Finally did it

2008-02-07T12:36:00.000-06:00

Finally broke down and decided to start a blog. I figure it is just like writing in a journal only everyone can see.

A little about myself. I am a SAHM. Haven't always been a stay at home mom, I had a job but never was able to see my family with the hours I was working so now I am able to spend time with them. Sometimes too much time but I wouldn't change it for nothing. Been married to my wonderful husband for 6 years. He has had to put up with a lot from me. We have 3 amazing kids. My family means the world to me.

I love to Scrapbook. It is such a great way to preserve the memories of now for my kids when they are older. I also like to read, especially anything Nora Roberts and play volleyball. There you have it. A little bit about me.