A Part of Me

WHEW!

2010-01-12T12:33:00.008-06:00

happy new year! a few weeks in!

starting things off a bit rough! both girls have been sick this week. caught some stomach bug that's going around. it went from one kid to the next and back again. i have both of them home today but i think tomorrow they'll be good to go.

so i'm posting from my new little mac book pro i got for my b-day...i'm still learning how to use it but it sure is fun! i tell you this because i am going to

try and post some photos...just to see if i can. :) here goes:

ok, think i got it. piece of cake! next, master the video! (the flower photos are from a bouquet terry gave me for our anniversary) (the old wheel was taken in downtown St. Charles, Mo)

not much else is new. my mom is on the mend. she's doing pretty good. still struggling with her blood pressure and getting things regulated back to normal. gosh, it's been since november. she still hasn't been home since her surgery. i can imagine she is just so ready to be home!

not much else to chat about so i had better check out for now....hugs

A little behind....

2009-11-10T09:32:00.007-06:00

morning. thought i should get in here and at least post some pictures of Halloween before it's Christmas! time is flying. thanksgiving is just 2 weeks away and 45 days or so before Christmas. what? the weather here has been so nice i've been tempted to hang some x-mas decor outside. it just seems too early but i know it 2 weeks the weather will be much cooler and i won't feel like standing outside to decorate! what to do what to do?
anyway....here are some pictures from our trip back to Missouri for Halloween! we had a great time! kati was a bit under the weather but came around in time to trick-or-treat. we really had a lot of fun seeing everyone. it brought back a lot of great memories and good times! we miss everyone a lot!!! it felt a bit odd sitting in mike and danielle's driveway looking over at our old house knowing we aren't walking home at the end of the night. a bit sad, actually. but things are good now too and we do really like being where we are. just haven't found or connected with friends like we had....i guess what we had was special! :) i think the girls and i will plan a trip back this summer some time, maybe a long weekend. if they'll have us....ha ha

Surprise!

2009-10-18T12:48:00.007-05:00

so turning 40 wasn't so bad after all! Terry and my sister were in ka-hoots for months planning a surprise party for me. who knew so many people could keep a secret! the only part of the whole plan that i found to be somewhat strange was the fact that my dad and mom had not called to wish me a happy birthday. they're usually the first ones on the phone!
as far as i knew terry and the girls were taking me out to dinner. we get to the restaurant and my family (except for my brother and his family) were there to surprise me. what a great gift!

love you guys! thanks for everything! it will definitely be a birthday to remember and treasure.

11 Years Today!

2009-09-19T16:15:00.002-05:00

yup, 11 years married....10 years dating = 21 years! yikes! wouldn't change a thing!
although, it would be nice to know a good babysitter right about now. we miss you allison. :)

had an early soccer game this morning. then back home to load up our bowflex. we sold it to a really nice couple. our ceilings were just too low in our basement and to be quite honest i didn't really want a huge contraption sitting out anyway. i really like having a multi purpose space w/o sweaty equipment. unfortunately our tred mill remains but it's a good reminder for me... i had better get my arss moving again!

terry came home with the girls shortly after we had the heavy stuff loaded (go figure) with a beautiful bouquet, ballon and cake! the girls were so cute and excited, they could hardly wait to give them to me! they shopped the night before with dad also. he's so good about including them and making them feel as though their pulling one off on me! :) they told me they were going to the grocery store w/ dad! it's great!
better spend time with the family. i think terry is done in the garage. have a great wk. end!
hugs...

Stuff...

2009-09-12T15:16:00.011-05:00

just thought i'd pop in and post a few pictures. i said i would be better at posting so i had better follow through with that, huh!
not much is new....oh wait, we have a new addition to our home! fargo is back!

terry drove back to ND last weekend and picked him up from grandma and grandpas house. he was so excited to see us. i'm sure he was a bit confused at the changes but he has settled in. we have an underground fence that he isn't real fond of....it only took twice for him to figure out he shouldn't go past a certain point. although, when he saw the ups man the other day he bolted and didn't stop. ran right through it. i feel bad for him when he goes through it as it shakes him up pretty good. but he stays right next to me when we're outside. only bad thing is he can't quite reach the woods behind our house. when we lived in AK we taught him to poop in the woods, which he continued to do while living w/ g & g. so now he just poops in the bushes.
he looks so little in this picture but he's actually alittle over 90 lbs.
i had some requests for house pictures so here are a few of those. i haven't taken any indoors yet. i still feel like it's unfinished and still so many things i want to do....so you'll have to stay tuned for those.

a few friends that hang around. could do without the snake!
found a few raspberry sprigs amongst the flowers. they were yummy!

kati's first day back at gymnastics. i really like her coach. she takes class serious and it's not just play time for the girls. kati has really improved in just the 2 classes. i think she will start taking 2 classes a week or taking a dance class of some sort... rather than playing soccer. she isn't that interested in playing.
lauren in her second week of school....

lauren's first game! she started practice earlier this week and her first game was today. and she shoots & scores!

nancy...those were for you! :)

so that's it for now. need to get some things done around here! enjoy your weekend!

Long Over due Update!

2009-08-28T08:31:00.005-05:00

greetings! wow, it's been a while since i've checked in. life has kept us busy!
we recently made a move to the chicago area, which consumed much of our summer. it's hard to believe it's almost september! we're getting settled in and are loving our house and neighborhood. the girls started school this week and are both very happy! they really like their teachers. lauren was excited to find out she was on the 2nd floor and had a locker! cool stuff. we've jumped right into our routine of activities....lauren started gymnastics last night and kati will start on monday. we're getting the soccer schedule lined up as well. so it's pretty much back to noraml for us.
the transition from st. louis to chicago went smoothly. terry is adjusting to his commute, he kind of liked working from home but does like the structure . the girls and i like having him home every night for dinner as well. he won't travel nearly as much as he did with his previous position either.
i have to run but will leave you with a few photos of the girls on the first day of school....
lauren started the 3rd grade and kati is in kindergarten.

Happy New Year

2009-01-06T12:56:00.004-06:00

hard to believe another year has gone by. i know that sounds redundant but seriously, where does the time go?

our christmas was wonderful. my parents were here for 2 weeks. we celebrated laurens' birthday, christmas and new years together. i really miss being with our families during the holidays (or anytime for that matter) but to have my mom and dad here was a blessing. the girls had a great time with papa and nana.

so today is the 2nd day back from holiday break and the girls already have a day off. guess it started to rain in the middle of the night and with the temps dropping it turned into an ice rink on the roads. so we're home baking cookies...gee, just what we need after the holidays! ha ha

i was fortunate to have a few photo shoots over the holiday break as well. here are a few shots from them...both families were so much fun to work with. great personalities and so easy going.

i like black and white! :)

haven't made any new years resolutions yet but have lots of things that i would like to work on or accomplish! i turn 40 this year! yikes. i remember when i was little and 40 seemed soooo old! i don't feel old and i hope i don't look old. so i'm thinking i'll "embrace" 40 and make it a great year to remember, rather than dwell on the number! i have far too many things to be greatful and thankful for!

Wednesday...

2008-12-03T19:17:00.006-06:00

poppin' in to say hi. haven't talked with many but hope Thanksgiving was nice. we had a good time in wisconsin. the girls reconnected with their cousins and had a blast. as for me, seeing my dog Fargo was my highlight (sorry guys, no offense! it was great seeing you too :) i miss him. but i know it would be challenging to have him here. anyway...

trying to get ready for the holidays. lots going on. with lauren's b-day being so close to x-mas it makes it even more hectic. i'm hoping this year will be her last "big" b-day party. we're having it at "incredible pizza" w/ 13 girls. they have go carts, mini golf, tons of games and the pizza buffet etc.... should be fun!

my dad & mom are coming dec. 19th. so i'm trying to prepare for that.... planning a class party for lauren's class, a cookie exchange, a couple more photo shoots, an ornament exchange, swim lessons, a rams football game, dinner w/ friends and so on and so forth! i'm so glad i decided to put up our holiday decorations before Thanksgiving...everyone thought i was crazy but what relief not having to deal with that as well! i did managed to get our x-mas cards ordered! check that off the list! i always have ideas and things i want to do and create for the holidays but the days just fly by! it's only the first week in december and i'm feeling defeated already! uhg.

here are a few photos from a shoot i did a few weeks ago.

i know....cute kids, right! i think i had maybe one or two shots that didn't turn out. closed eyes or looking away...other than that they were all amazing!

and a few more from another shoot...ya, more cuteness! poor "D" wasn't diggin' the camera! unlike his sister who "ate it up!"

Catching up...

2008-11-03T11:22:00.006-06:00

just a quick update...and some photos to share. thanks again auntie kim and aunt shari, grandma donna, nana & papa for the halloween goodies for the girls!
they get a kick out of getting packages in the mail. they loved everything! here they are dressed up for the big night. lauren was madam dracula and kati was mini mouse.

we had a fun halloween night. we started a tradition last year with some neighbors to get together in a driveway with food, beer and a fire pit. the dads stayed back while the moms took the kids around the neighborhood. it was a lot of fun and the weather was perfect!

i had a couple of photo shoots over the weekend. these are just a few photos from one shoot. this is a friend/neighbor and her little girl. she was a lot of fun to shoot. very serious personality. but man she's cute!

oh, and here is my new car! it's a volkswagon passat cc. 2009. such a fun car to drive. the color is called light brown...not a real good pict. as far as showing you the color. we've never really been big car people but it's always fun to get a new one.

and just because this picture cracks me up! we took the girls to the pumpkin patch a week or so ago. they fed the goats and little horses. i don't know if they had fed them yet or not but the look this little guy is giving kati is too funny.

have a good week!

4 months later.....

2008-09-28T09:20:00.009-05:00

i'm pretty sure i have lost all fellow followers by now. ha ha even family members gave up on my ability to keep my blog updated. life just seems to keep us busy and i guess the last thing to go by the way side, is my blog. so to try and catch you up to date...

* busy summer.... lots of activities and family trips. we traveled back to nd for my grandmas funeral. (sigh) had the girls involved in vbs (3 of them). swimming lessons, a cooking class and gymnastics. we also managed to throw in a family wk. end getaway to a tree house... nestled in the tree tops along a river. (very fun wk. end) and then for me there was the 1st of many golf lessons to come. terry bought me a pair of clubs a few months back but i have only taken one lesson but really enjoyed it. school started in august and just 2 weeks later we took our family vacation to san diego for 7 days! what an amazing place! we just celebrated our 10 yr. anniversary last week. can't believe it's been 10 years already. we can actually celebrate a 20 year milestone, as we dated for 10 years prior to getting married! so in a nutshell that was our summer and now we're here. almost october! i've had a few photo shoots with some neighborhood friends (their children) and have a few more lined up so i figured i had better update my blog with a few new photos. looks like i need to clean up my blog too.....i haven't designed for a scrapbook co. for a year now.....need to get those links off, huh. i haven't created a single page in almost a year as well. i have so many photos to go through it seems so daunting at this point. so anyway, check back soon and maybe i'll have a new post! :)

here are some favorite photos from our trip to San Diego:

LaJolla! so pretty!

lauren is feeding the seal...see the fish?

i updated my flikr photo box to the right also. i added some of the photos from my recent shoots.

I'm Still Alive.....

2008-05-09T11:50:00.002-05:00

hellooooo! i'm sure anyone who was keeping up with my blog has probably lost all hope that i would ever come back! ha ha it's hard to believe my last post was feb. 1st. i think i had/have lost interest in blogging although i do still check in on a few blogger friends. i thought i'd post anyway and see if anyone is still out there....
all is going ok here. the girls are still keeping me busy. kati will be done with preschool in just 2 weeks and lauren goes until the first week of june. they had 5 snow days this winter so i guess they'll have to make those up. with school starting up again in august the summer is going to seem awfully short!
terry and i took a little trip in april. we flew grandma down to watch the girls for a week. we went to scottsdale. it was a crazy trip but fun. i have a girlfriend in gilbert who i hadn't seen in almost 10 years. it was so much fun seeing her and catching up on old times. it was as if we hadn't lost those 10 years. neither of us had changed all that much!
i haven't taken many photos lately either. so i can't even share those with you. i still haven't gotten back into scrapbooking. i still lack interest. i think if i were to go to a store that had all the new papers and embellishments i would probably be tempted.... right now our basement is in shambles so if i had interest i couldn't scrap anyway. we're having several can lights and outlets put it. our basement is unfinished and we really don't need the extra space so we've decided to do a "rough finish". just so it is more comfortable down there for the girls to play and do crafts. we're painting the cement walls, adding some carpet (nothing too fancy) and spraying the ceiling. we've also framed around the furnace and we'll hang a flat screen by our workout area and call it good.
terry is doing fine. busy with work and finishing up his classes for his mba. he took finals this week. he said it was tough but i can't imagine him getting anything but and A in both classes.
so that's pretty much it. i really need to take some photos of the girls and post them. hopefully on mothers day we can do that!
have a great weekend and happy mothers day!

OVER DUE!

2008-02-01T11:43:00.000-06:00

wow, it's been a long time since i've posted! life has just kept us pretty busy. the last thing i think of is posting on my blog. i think the novelty of it is wearing off and i have less and less to ramble about.

life is good. we're all doing fine. the girls are very busy. lauren is in gymnastics, soccer, volleyball and girl scouts and kati is now in gymnastics also and will start swimming lessons next week. (she isn't as excited about this as i had hoped! i won't be able to swim with her so she is a bit scared but i'm sure she'll do just fine) the girls had a snow day today. we got about 8" of snow last night. of course terry is out of town. never fails. so i was out shoveling by 6:30, my third time shoveling mind you! but i figure it's a good workout, so what the heck. this is only the 2nd snow fall we've had so i can't complain and i'm sure the snow will be gone within a few days!

so this is about the extent of it. nothing new and exciting to report...hopefully it won't take me weeks to post again and maybe i'll have something to chat about and more pictures to share.

have a great wk. end.

Holiday/Vacation photos....

2008-01-03T14:22:00.001-06:00

hi there! we're finally back. what a busy but fun holiday for us. our trip back to north dakota/minnesota/wisconsin was just over 2 weeks long (which is way too long, we found out!) but there is nothing like being with family during the holidays. we spent a lot of time eating, sledding, opening gifts and eating some more! even though 2 weeks seemed like a long time it actually went by pretty fast. it was a great trip and thanks again for those of you who put up with us invading your homes and keeping us fed! we're very blessed and greatful to have the families we do!
happy new year!

Just checking in...

2007-12-09T13:09:00.000-06:00

so december is flying by as usual! i had to force myself to take a photo of the girls in front of the christmas tree (again) because i was just not organized enough to think of something else. so after about 25 shots i finally got this one...hopefully i can get my holiday cards done before we head out on vacation!

with that quickly approaching as well, i really need to get my ducks in a row. we are almost done with our shopping and i have done some baking... so things would appear to be in order. :) i love this time of year but i can't help but think it's almost over! i was in a store the other day and they were condensing the christmas items and breaking out the valentines stuff. i am really looking forward to spending time with family before the holidays. just to relax and enjoy the season, and even some snow! (it's raining here!) yuck!

i went to a candle light advent the other night at the church that we've been attending. it was just for women and each person who was hosting a table was to decorate the table. my friend was actually hosting the table but i did the decorating. i wish now that i had taken photos of our table. i never really think much of the things i do and think why bother with a photo. but it was actually pretty unique compared to the rest of the tables. quick description....i had taken tree branches and spray painted them white (wanted to spray with adhesive and sprinkle with glitter...just never got that far). i had 3 glass hurricanes (all 3 different sizes, the tallest being about 18" tall) i had the branches coming out of 2 of the hurricanes and silver ornaments in the other. from the branches i had silver snowflakes hanging. i had 8 smaller glass votives with glitter in them along with candles. they sat on top of white glittery snowflakes. and a few silver ornaments laying around. each place setting had a silver charger and a dessert plate that was frosty in color but had snowflake shapes all over them that weren't frosty. i made little napkin rings out of resin snowflakes (clear and about 3" in diameter). i strung ribbon though the holes and attached a metal rim tag that was handwritten and said, "joy", "love", "peace" or "hope". and also attached was a silver bell. probably pretty hard to imagine it all but it was pretty darn cute, if i do say so myself. :) ha ha

i took a few photos of kati the other day. she wanted to get dressed up so i thought i would jump at the chance to take some "pretty" pictures of her. (not necessarily her personality but she thought she was a "snow princess". ) the expression on her face cracks me up!

anyway, if you don't hear from me again until after the holidays...merry christmas everyone and a happy new year to all! with much love.....

Holiday Shoot Etc...

2007-12-05T12:33:00.000-06:00

hi! thought i'd take a break from baking cookies and post a quick note. i took some holiday photos for someone last sunday...how cute is this little play house! it couldn't have been more appropriate for the photos! i posted quite a few. i had them in a slide show but the slide made all of the photos blurry so this is a lengthy post. but the shoot was a blast and the kids (2 sisters, a cousin and a dog) were so much fun. very cooperative, they didn't get mad at me when i kept taking photos, they smiled nice. i didn't get "that's enough pictures mom, put the camera down now!" it was just nice. (only a few of the photos are edited w/ some color changes so far etc. )
not much else is new. we're getting ready to head home for the holidays. looking forward to that! we have a girl watching our house and kitty for us, so i feel ok about leaving. we're almost done buying gifts. just have a few left for our girls.
anyway, i had better finish my cookies and get kati out of the tub. she wasn't feeling well last night, ended up getting sick on my living room carpet! oh, i can't wait for the day that she can actually hit the inside of the bucket! so i spent the rest of the evening cleaning my carpet and cleaning up my messy kitchen from trying to bake cookies. fun times! (and yes, i stopped baking cookies after this event took place and i washed my hands. ha ha)

Hellooooo....

2007-11-20T15:20:00.000-06:00

so it has been brought to my attention that i need an updated post! guess halloween has been over for quite some time now! can't believe thanksgiving is just 2 days away... which means x-mas is less than a month away!

so what have we been up to....i did our holiday decorating this past weekend. i usually wait until after thanksgiving but we're planning on taking the girls to kansas city to the great wolf lodge. it's the largest indoor water park? we've heard a lot of good things about it. the girls are beyond excited! so anyway, i thought i'd decorate early so when we got back we could just enjoy it and i wouldn't feel rushed to get it all up. christmas is my favorite holiday so for me, the earlier the better!

i haven't done much in the world of scrapbooking lately or any other type of craft. i guess my time is being consumed by other things. but i did start working on a few of these little guys. thought i'd share them with you. it's just a lunch sack folded in half to make a pocket. i also glued the sides so the hot cocoa and chocolates wouldn't slip out. just a fun little party favor or teachers gift. i was planning on making chocolate spoons for the bags but haven't gotten that far yet. so i improvised and used the cute little wooden spoon for the photo! ha

i have a few photo shoots lined up. i'm hoping those go well. i have a couple of fun ideas for them so i'm hoping i get to use them! they aren't for a few weeks yet so when i get the photos done i'll post them if the families don't mind.

have you started christmas shopping yet? i haven't even made a list. i did get a few little things purchased the other day but we aren't even close. we're trying to avoid toys this year! with all of the recalls it's just easier to not buy them! which really stinks as for kids it's all about the toys! guess we just need to make wise choices!

let's see....i'm still pluggin' away at the gym. in fact terry and i just switched gyms. i am so excited! there is a new golds gym that i tried out a few weeks ago. wow! it's pretty tough to compete with a bright shiny new gym... with all of the top notch equipment and so much more!

the girls are doing good. kati has a bit of a cold right now. in fact she had me up all night last night. i think i finally fell asleep at 5:30 am. as i'm dragging myself out of bed at 8:00 (in a panic to get lauren ready!) i wondered how i managed when they were both babies and i lived on 2 hours of sleep for months at a time! ha ha i'll leave you with a picture of kati. cute smirk, huh!

Happy Thanksgiving! safe travels!

A Witch and her Kitty!

2007-11-03T13:12:00.000-05:00

just wanting to share a quick Halloween photo of the girls.... Halloween this year was a lot of fun. we couldn't have asked for nicer weather. 2 other families got together with us in our driveway for a little fall dinner spread and a nice fire in the pit. i have to give credit to the the guys who organized the entire evening. terry was on top of everything. by 5:00 he had the entire driveway turned into a little party pit-stop! :) have a good weekend!

Photo Slide

2007-10-29T20:47:00.001-05:00

i tried getting this photo slide to be on the sidebar but i am having a heck of a time....so here it sits! i would love to switch over to type pad but i have a tough time paying for a blog site when i can get this one for free! i don't have many photos on this slide but a few of my favorites and more recent snapshots.

not much else is new here. life is finally slowing down for us. well, not terry so much but the activities are coming to an end for a few months anyway. lauren played her last soccer game on sunday. she'll play indoor in january. so the break will be nice for all of us. we're also taking a little break from gymnastics as well. a new gym opened up not too far from our house and after a trial run lauren decided she would like to switch. i'm a bit relieved as my drive time is cut in half if not more! kati is doing good. both are trying to get over colds. nothing major, just a cough and runny nose.

i think we have finally found a new church to attend. i have only been to 2 services but i really enjoy it. it seems to be a younger congregation and very laid back. the first time we were all going together i had a dress picked out (not too difficult to pick out as i only have like 3!) when terry told me that i should maybe rethink what i was going to wear as it would be too dressy! so we get there and everyone or just about everyone was in a nice pair of jeans of khakis. i was kind of disappointed that i couldn't get dressed up but the second service we went to i had gotten over it and was relieved i could throw on some khakis and go! the music at the church is amazing. i sit there with tears in my eyes half the time. so i think this is a good fit for us. the girls really enjoy sunday school and it's nice that terry and i can go to the service alone and just be together and listen.

we carved pumpkins and made sugar cookies tonight. not quite sure why i signed up to do both in one night! but it turned out ok and the girls had fun. even the neighbor girls joined in to help cut out cookies. oh, i even made the pumpkin seeds! yum. lauren even liked them! kati, not so much.

one last thing.....HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIANE! the girls called tonight but had to leave a message! we were thinking of you! hugs!

More photos and I've been tagged!

2007-10-22T14:45:00.000-05:00

as promised here are a few photos from the pumpkin patch. (thought the relatives would like to see the girls) the photos are untouched, meaning i didn't edit any of them.

kati's first time on a pony. she loved every minute!

lauren cruising around on 3 wheels.

if you look close enough you can see the pumpkin in mid-air. this was hilarious. they were launching pumpkins out of these canons. they would go as far as over those trees which were at least 100+ yards away. such a country bumpkin thing to do though.

oh, don't we look like we're happy and having fun! :)

these pictures were taken about a month ago. i wanted to take photos of them at this wildlife preserve but i didn't realize or notice how dead the grass was until after i loaded the photos onto my computer. there is NO color....but thought they still looked pretty cute. it probably doesn't help that their wearing brown. ha

so cari has tagged me....i'm not really playing right as i am supposed to tag 7 others but i'm skipping that part. i've actually already done this tag a while back so i'm not sure i can come up with 7 fun/funky facts about myself. let's see.

1. i have to chew gum when i work out

2. the toilet paper HAS to go over not under

3. i can't sleep without a fan! (i bring one whenever we travel!) this goes way back to when i was little! i remember having friends sleep over and they would freeze to death!

4. i have to make the beds before i leave the house. (unless terry is still sleeping of course, which means i usually come home to an unmade bed!)

5. i don't have any tatoos

6. i no longer drink diet coke! only when there is nothing else....

7. (man, this is hard) ok, so i can't think of a 7th.

better run. have a great week.

Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself (on your blog, we all want to know them).

Catching up!

2007-10-15T16:36:00.000-05:00

hi....so it's been a while since i've posted. seems to be the norm! thought i'd get caught up....

the 80's party we went to was a good time! lots of fun costumes. and sadly enough it brought back a lot of memories. ha ha

terry went as a guy from "revenge of the nerds" (doesn't he look hot!) and melissa and i have on big ol' jump suits. my hair doesn't look quite as big in the photos but it was big. and my frosty eye lids look fabulous, don't you think. ha ha it was fun!

had another photo shoot a few weekends ago. i can't say it went that well. i did get a few decent photos but the odds were against us. i had to bring lauren and kati with me. which only meant an additional distraction. not to mention it was 85 degrees and they were in sweaters. (october has been very warm) so i got a few good ones but hope to retake now that the temps have cooled down a bit.

i wish this last photo would have been in focus better. i have to figure out how to shoot a moving target better....

an update on my father-in-law.....his open heart surgery went well. he is recovering nicely and i believe he has been cleared to drive already. prior to his surgery (about a year or more ago) he started to exercise daily and changed his eating habits. i can imagine that has been a huge help in his healing process.

i celebrated my b-day this past tuesday. terry invited a few of our neighbors out for dinner on saturday night to celebrate. we had a great meal and a lot of fun!

we took the girls to the pumpkin patch this past sunday. they each picked a pumpkin, rode a horse, played some games and watched them launch pumpkins from a canon. (i'll post pictures later...i keep getting an error)

i had better call it quits....the girls need to get to bed.

Photos to share...

2007-10-03T22:34:00.000-05:00

i took a few pictures today...of this little sweet pea! isn't she beautiful! (gets her looks from her mom!) i was able to edit a few but have several more i would like to work on. i wish editing came easier to me but i'm learning. i shot the photos in auto and in the AV mode. natural light was minimal but for this little peanut i didn't need much. so don't be too critical when you look at the photos....i'm still learning. there is one photo in this bunch i didn't edit, you can tell which one. and then there is one where she looks very tan! :) i think i over did that one! ha

Random Stuff....

2007-09-26T16:50:00.000-05:00

so once again several days have gone by since i have last posted! no big surprise there. just a few things to report....
* my father-in-law had open heart surgery today. thank goodness everything went just fine and he's now in ICU for a bit and then will spend just a few days in the hospital. i realize he still has a ways to go until he is completely recovered but it's just such a relief that he is out of surgery and he's on the road to recovery.
* thanks for the anniversary congrats and the e-mails.... our anniversary was very nice. we couldn't actually celebrate on our anniversary but terry took me out for a nice dinner followed by a cardinals game (they lost). he also came home with a huge bouquet of flowers and a card with some cash-o-la. which i am saving most of so i can buy some new clothes once i lose a little more weight!
* the girls are doing good. school is going great for both of them.
* i haven't scrapped or created a darn thing in ages. i did buy a crappy little chair from a thrift store that was painted red, white and blue and had sponge painted stars all over it. i am in the process of painting that black. it looks like an old chair with the rounded back and spindles. i thought it would be fun to use in pictures. i'd love to find a wheat field or something and use the chair in the middle of the field and take photos of the girls. lots of things to contend with though. sun, shadows, bugs, the girls and the fact that i would be in the middle of someones field. ha ha so we'll see if that ever happens. if nothing else i thought the chair would be cute on my front step with a vignette of pumpkins, leaves etc.....
* it's finally cooling off here. it was 90 just yesterday. i'm so over the heat! i'm ready for sweaters and hoodies!
* we're invited to an 80's party in a few weeks. not quite sure what we're going as yet....i'm thinking i'll do the flashdance ensemble. leg warmers are coming back baby! terry was afraid that i was going to parade around in a leotard. ha ha ah, no! i'll do the big sweatshirt and belt it, with the neckline ripped. wear some leg warmers.... i told terry he should go as vanilla ice. or mc hammer. too funny! this should be fun!
* no big plans for the wk. end. some soccer practice, a game and 2 b-day parties. that's about it.
anyway i had better run. take care....

9 Years Today!

2007-09-19T07:17:00.000-05:00

today we have been married 9 years! we actually started dating when we were 18 and 19 so we've been together for almost 19 years. i'm not sure how those years went by so fast but it doesn't seem possible. happy anniversary sweatheart!

Saturday...

2007-09-08T10:24:00.000-05:00

we've almost made it through another week! this one was a busy one!

kati started preschool on tuesday. the first day was great. i guess there were a few times that she wanted me or wanted to go home but she made it through the day and had fun. friday was a different story. we watched lauren get on the bus and that alone was enough to bring kati to tears. she wanted her sister! so i thought being as she was going to school that day as well she would be ok. well, she told me she didn't want to go to school. so we get there and she was fine, she had actually changed her mind.....up until it was time for me to leave. she got a little teary eyed which of course brought tears to my eyes....but the teachers got her involved in a craft with a few other kids and she was fine. she has made a few little friends already. when we were in the parking lot on friday she was saying bye to samuel....when we got into the car she said, "i love samuel."

oh brother!

lauren is doing great in school! so far we've received nothing but good reports from her teacher! she also started brownie scouts this week, which she is so excited about. lauren is such a social butterfly, she loves being with friends. so this is right up her alley! she was in daisy scouts last year but there were so many she didn't really know. she hasn't had soccer all week due to rain. so that has actually been a nice break. but we still had gymnastics on thursdays and have a few make up days next week. so we'll be on the go again next week.

as for terry....he took his gmat test the other day. the test to get his MBA. apparently the 2 degrees he currently has aren't enough for him! :) he passed the test (of course) and will start the program soon.

as for me....i continue to work out 4-5 times a week. i really enjoy going to the gym. kati loves it too. she has made several little friends in the play area and the people who work there get a bang out of her. unfortunately, i didn't make it back onto the creative xpress design team this year. i was sad at first but realized it's probably for the best. i just wasn't able to be as active in the online community as i should have been. my priorities have just changed and my heart wasn't really in it anymore. i loved creating the 2 projects every month but even that was getting to be a bother. so anyway....that chapter is closed maybe another one will open....

i had better run but here are a few of my favorite photos from the photo shoot i did a few weeks back.....

love the piggies!

we're off to a 40th surprise party tonight! looking forward to a night out! have a great wk. end!

Time Flies....

2007-08-31T07:15:00.001-05:00

so i figured i should probably submit a post as it's already been 8 days since the last post. the days just go by too fast! let's see...school is going great for lauren, she really loves it. next week on tues and fridays she'll start riding the bus...which is such a huge deal! she is so excited to ride the bus. funny how i know that will change in a few years! kati will start preschool 2 days a week, which are tuesdays and fridays. she'll go from 9am until 3. seems like a long day for a little girl but she too is very excited and can't wait to go to school. i took her to her open house earlier this week, we met with her 2 teachers and met a few other kids. one of which lives in our neighborhood so that will be fun for the two of them. i've already been trying to prepare myself for that day...you know the big drop off! i know it isn't kindergarten but i know i'm going to feel a sense of loss with out my little kati at home. so now the big question from everyone is...."what are you going to do with yourself for 6 hours, 2 days a week?" other stay at home moms are all excited for me and know that that time will be used to benefit everyone! but those who work outside of the home are a bit bitter! i'm not sure what they think i'll be doing but i'm pretty sure my ass won't be plopped on the couch watching soaps, smokin' and drinking diet cokes and poppin bon-bons! so rest assured....my free 12 hours a week will be filled with plenty of things to do. (can you tell i'm tired of defending my title as a stay at home mom!!!!!)

so what else....finished up an assignment for creative xpress....i had to create 2 cards and a layout....here are the cards....

lets see what else....oh, our weekend trip to the bed and breakfast and the wineries. wow! very fun. the bed and breakfast was so nice....i think when we go into something blind folded we tend to think the worst. but this place was so cute! it was an old home that had been converted into a b&b years ago but of course had been run down. the new owners had to do some work to get it up and running again. the 3 sleeping units were all separate with our own bathrooms! our room was upstairs with a little kitchen, sitting area w/a stone fireplace, bathroom and separate bedroom. it was all decorated in early american decor. the rustic look with plaids/florals.....some of the interior walls were still the old stone, big fat original wood floor planks and the breakfast was amazing! it would have been better had terry and i been feeling a better! i was at least able to get most of my food down, poor terry just sat and picked at his food! ha ha we drank way too much! way too much! we probably would have been fine until we ended up at a little bar and connie (my friend/neighbor) who was once a bartender started telling the bartender how to make some sort of shot w/ like 6-7 different liquors in it! hello! thank god i only had 2! of course at the time none of us knew just how much liquor was in that shot! but we had a great time and hopefully will do it again next year. i would love for terry and i to go back in the fall and stay a night...the girls might even think it's pretty cool

here is a photo of the outside of the b&b (apple gate inn).

this is pat and kim....

and danny and connie....

and terry and i.... these pictures we taken after about our 3rd bottle of wine (or was it our 4th?) and we were sitting out on this huge patio in about 100 degree weather. but we had a great time!

i hear the girls waking up so i had better close up....have a good wk. end...

good morning....

2007-08-23T11:50:00.000-05:00

just quickly poppin' in to say hi....and to share a quick link. a good friend of mine laura vegas created a layout for the making memories blog using the photos i took when terry and i were in california. she did such a great job on the layout. she sent me the actual layout (like what else would she do with it, right..... ha ha) but every time i look at the layout it makes me smile! it reminds me of how good our relationship can be.... this is why people scrapbook!!! have a good day! :)

Sharing my pain...

2007-08-22T14:31:00.000-05:00

i can't even believe i did this.....last night i was playing with my camera trying different shutter speeds etc.... my shutter locked up on me or so it seemed, it was just taking forever to open again because of the setting i had it on and the room was too dark....so i shut my camera off....in the process (and i don't know how this happened) i DELETED my ENTIRE cf card.....losing all of my photos i had on my card. good gravy!!!! i have all of my pictures on my computer so it's not like i really lost them all....i just wasn't ready to delete them from my card yet. i was in tears last night. and of course to add salt to the wound....lauren kept saying, "mom, i can't believe you did that!" gee, thanks! and then terry says, "why did you do that?" nice....my family is so sympathetic....
i have my photo shoot tomorrow....fingers crossed. no rain and a happy baby! :)
no new photos to share or projects. i did finish up my creative xpress assignments. i'm hoping to get some stuff done just for fun but we'll see....
this weekend terry and i and 2 other couples are going to a bed and breakfast and visiting several wineries. it's just for one night but i'm looking forward to it. we'll have a good time. better run for now.....

Stuff....

2007-08-19T20:53:00.000-05:00

so i thought i was going to be better about posting more often. ha!

we had a nice weekend....the last one before school starts. it's hard to believe tomorrow is the day! lauren is so excited. she picked out her outfit, got her lunch box ready, her backpack is by the door...she is set! oh, and my camera battery is charged!

speaking of my camera.....i wanted to take a few new pictures of the girls today. i thought being it was early in the day it wouldn't be so hot.....as it got later into our morning both girls, including myself were beading up! but i did get a few fun shots. i've also been playing around with photo editing, which i still have so much to learn. i use elements 4....which is all new to me. (well, all editing software is new to me...ha ha) here are a few pictures from today...

i love the last 2 photos of lauren. that look she gave me was full of attitude, don't you think!

i have my first photo shoot this week! i've never really taken anyone elses pictures but i would love to start! i need to get my feet sometime, huh. so i'm taking pictures of a little neighbor girl. she is turning one. so, i'm thinking the shoot will either be really easy or really difficult. ha ha i think i'm doing all of the photos outdoors. if i had some indoor lighting i would maybe attempt indoor or if there was a ton of natural light but just to play it safe i think we'll stay outdoors. that can even be tricky! wish me luck....

have a great week!

Back in the Saddle again....

2007-08-13T17:02:00.000-05:00

or so i'm trying....it's been a crazy busy month for us and i'm relieved to say september is just around the corner. i never thought that i would say i was anxious to see summer come to an end. i guess the 105 degree temps. might have something to do with it. we got a break from the heat by going to chicago and lake geneva this past weekend for a family retreat hosted by the company my husband works for. we had a great time. it was nice to finally meet some of the people i have been hearing about for a few years now. the resort we stayed at was amazing...evidently it used to be the old playboy mansion. this was the view from our room. it was so pretty and peaceful.

i'm getting ahead of myself with events....after getting off of the plane we headed to downtown chicago, on a friday afternoon mind-you. i'm so thankful terry is a good driver and knows his way around chicago. he had promised the girls we would take them to the american girls store before heading to the resort. i wasn't quite sure what we were getting ourselves into but we only lasted 45 minutes. 3 floors of elbow to elbow girls and parents and a few "brothers" who were less than enthused to be there! the girls each got to pick out a doll and an extra outfit and a t-shirt. everyone is equiped and happy!

i'm looking forward to getting back to our everyday normal lives. albeit sometimes hectic but nothing like the travel and running we've done this past month. my mom and sister came down to pick up my niece the week prior to our chicago trip. this was my mom's first time to st. louis. (my dad stayed back home as their selling their house) i think she had a good time although she doesn't do well in the humidity. but then again, who does?

i had promised in an earlier post that i would share the center piece i had made for the baby shower we (my bunco group) had for a friend of ours.... it ended up being several pieces instead of just the one. i had 3 white buckets already so i used one for the main center piece and the other 2 for little goodies. i hand painted the buckets with polkadots. the tray was a plain wood tray from michaels that i painted. i thought that would make for a cute piece on a little girls dresser along with the topiary i made. so here is a picture....

i just used a styrafoam ball and added the flowers using brads or pins. the butterflies are either my own or i also traced a few from a pattern of marth stewarts. the topiary has several butterflies on it. and no i did not make the cake. a lady in the area who has been making cakes for several years made it. it was delicious!

one more thing before i go....i have a friend in alaska who i have been meaning to mention because i think she does amazing work....she has a etsy shop and is selling some of the items that she makes. she's been sewing purses and aprons and recently little cute handbags. love these.... check her out....i'm going to have her make the girls and myself matching aprons! lauren has an apron and loves to wear it when she cooks with me but kati still needs one. so i thought matching ones would be cute! here is her link: michelle baker's etsy shop

well, it's back to the gym tomorrow! yahoo. thank goodness! i'm not looking forward to being sore all over again but the signs of not working out for a month is starting to show!

i've probably rambled enough....i'm just glad to be back!

photos from our vacation...

2007-08-01T14:56:00.001-05:00

i promised some of our relatives some pictures from our vacation...so here ya go! these are some of my favorites... i haven't picked up my photos from costco yet but when i do i'll get some sent out as well.

Back from Vacation....

2007-07-26T21:16:00.000-05:00

hey there!....just thought i'd pop in and say hi! i'm a little short on time as we just got back last night and i am still trying to finish up the laundry, and clean our house (i know, we were on vacation and i cleaned before we left so how could my house be dirty? not sure but it is....
we had a really nice vacation. it was a busy one but we were able to see a lot of people and do a lot of fun things. but after being gone for 15 days i think we were all glad to get home.
i need to cut this short but will be back another day to post some pictures i have promised to post and some details of our vacation.
glad to be back!

I'm Here....

2007-07-06T10:57:00.001-05:00

i'm such a bad blogger. or maybe i'm just too busy? busy doing what, i don't know? the days just seem to fly by. it's hard to believe summer is 1/2 over!

anyway, my august issue of CK arrived in the mail yesterday. so excited to see this little number in it....the article is about using shapes. i love the pictures of the girls. that was my first time being published in CK... i just noticed something though. if you look at my layout here and compare it to the one in the magazine my paper buttons are moved. huh? wonder if they fell off or someone thought they looked better w/ only 2 and in the center vs. off to the side. i'm all about balance and for some reason the one in the mag. looks goofy now. oh well. i guess no one would have noticed had i not said something. :)

hope everyone had a nice 4th of july. we spent the evening at a neighbors eating and shooting off fireworks, oh and sweating! geez, the humidity was terrible.

work outs are going good. it's been almost 3 weeks since i started. i wish my energy level would increase. ha! but otherwise i'm feeling good. workouts are getting easier and i'm not sore all of the time. so that's a good sign. my clothes are fitting better or i should say more loose. which is a good thing but may result in the need of a new wardrobe! (or at least that is my goal) and yes, i made sure to let my dear hubby know this also! ha ha

need to run...have a great weekend!

Checking In...

2007-07-01T09:48:00.000-05:00

hey there....figured i needed to post real quick. it's been a while.
some fun stuff....i got an e-mail from laura yesterday congratulating me for having a layout in the august issue. huh, i had no idea! :) they had asked for this layout a long time ago, so i sent it to them....thinking it was supposed to be in the top 10 issue a while back. i kept looking for the layout and even though i had already been compensated i had given up on seeing the layout in print. so my first time being published with ck and i didn't know it. ha ha more scrap related news. i got an e-mail the other day to do 2 layouts for Making Memories magazine for an article that will be in the jan. 08 issue. i'm done with one and almost finished with the second. it's such an honor (at least for me) when someone asks me to do work for them. i'm tickled and appreciate the opportunity! so thank you!
it's been almost 2 weeks now since i joined the gym. i'm still going strong. i did take the weekend off but i feel guilty for doing so. not sure if that is a good thing. i tend to put too much pressure on myself to do all of these things. i almost set myself up to fail. but i really enjoy going and even though i have only lost 2 lbs. my body feels stronger and firmer already. (don't get me wrong, i still have a ways to go!)
big date night tomorrow. terry got the two of us cardinal tickets. so we have a sitter and plan to head down to the game a little early. take in some dinner etc.
i haven't been to the new stadium yet so i'm looking forward to going. i'm not a huge die hard but it will be fun anyway.
sorry for rambling....i need to head out. the church where lauren and kati had vbs this past week is having a big party in their parking lot this morning. big blow up bouncy house etc....so we had better run. have a good week!

Disney collectors?

2007-06-24T13:30:00.000-05:00

a few months ago after terry finished building me some shelves in our basement i came across a large box of Disney beanies that i had collected several years ago when i worked in management for the Disney Store. i have never really been a huge fan but for some reason i thought i needed all of these beanies or that my children would some day need them. the last thing i want is 42 beanies to pick up every day....so before i put them on Craig's list or EBay i thought i would post it on my blog first. like i mentioned there are 41 beanies plus 1 "Cast Member" Mickey. ( i'm not suppose to sell this one because ONLY cast members should have them but i'm willing to send him to a new home, even if i'm breaking the rules :) all of the beanies have their original tags and are in good shape. i only have one that is doubled up, which is flubber. so if anyone knows of anyone who would like ALL of these send them to my blog and have them contact me. i'll give it a few days and then i'll put them up for sale elsewhere. i don't want my girls to see that i still have these otherwise they'll never leave my house. (kpbabb2000@yahoo.com)

Saturday...

2007-06-23T11:09:00.000-05:00

i'm not feeling overly inspired to write much about anything today but figured it's been a few days so i should at least post something. not so sure it's a good thing to post when you have nothing to really yack about or to not post at all. we'll see....

the weeks are flying by already. it's hard to believe we're in the 3rd week of june. we've been kept busy with swimming lessons, gymnastics, trips to the pool, trips to the neighbors pool, library visits, bbq's and just this week i joined the gym. i don't know if i have ever been so excited to join a gym. guess that goes to show you how uneventful and exciting my life is. ha ha i guess being a stay at home mom i often times feel as though "my" time is limited and i'm losing a sense of who i am and where i'm headed. i'm hoping my time at the gym will help me to figure this all out. not only losing the 15-20lbs. i'd like to lose and toning up but giving me the "me" time i need. i figure it's a good excuse to find time for myself. my husband can't discourage me for going to the gym, can he? the first day i met w/ a trainer. man, was i sore the next day. day #2 was even worse. but after day #3 i wasn't nearly as sore and by day #4 i was feeling pretty good. so i wasn't in as bad of shape as i thought. ha i'm taking the weekend off from the gym but hittin' it again on monday!

we had an eventful night last night! we went down to a neighbors house for a visit and came home to locked doors and NO keys to get in. kati decided on her way out of the door that comes in from the garage to lock it. i have caught her doing this before but this time i didn't see her lock it nor did i bother to check it. luckily i had my cell phone with me and my neighbor had called a locksmith not that long ago for her car. $70 later....our house is open. scary thing is he opened the dead bolt in about 3 minutes! i didn't think dead bolts were that easy to pick but he said their no more difficult than a regular door knob. comforting. i'm so glad we have an alarm system on our house! helps me to sleep better at night :)

i found a really cool blog today....if you love interior design this is a good one. desire to inspire. i haven't had time to look through the archives but from what i saw it was totally inspiring.

the pictures i added (can't have a post without a picture or two) are just some random shots of the girls. kati at the pool and lauren at the park. the pocket is an assignment we had to do for creative xpress this past month.

have a good weekend!

Great Wk. End

2007-06-17T13:46:00.000-05:00

so this weekend has been very busy but overall a great weekend. friday night started out with our monthly bunco group getting together. now, we haven't actually played bunco in months (don't tell our husbands...but i think their onto us!) but just getting together with neighbors and friends is always a treat. the host always makes great food and the beverages are usually pretty darn tasty as well.

saturday morning was the Susan Komen race for the Cure in st. louis. it was only a 5k but at 93 degrees and 65,000 of our closest friends joining us it was steamy to say the least. but what an amazing race. i wish i had brought my camera. but i knew with the heat i probably wasn't going to want to lug it around. if you ever have the opportunity to be a part of something of this magnitude or have never really given it a thought, it's definitely something everyone should experience at least once. we were all surprised at how organized and how smoothly everything seemed to go. with that many people you would think it would be a complete mess. the race got started on time and it took us an hour and 40 minutes to walk it. the first mile seemed like it took forever...i'm not sure how many people were in front of us but when we made it to the top of a hill it seemed as though there were miles of people in front of us and just as many behind us. it was just amazing. body after body. it probably sounds silly but it was so empowering. this is something i definitely want to do every year and get the rest of our family involved as well. lauren was pretty jazzed about it when i got home and said she wanted to race next year! st. louis just missed the record for most registered to race by 100!

i'm pretty sure my husband doesn't read my blog or at least not often but if by chance he happens to take a peak...happy father's day sweetheart! you're an amazing father and i probably don't tell you often enough. so thank you for all you do...for me, for the girls and for our family! i love you!

so i was looking around on line a bit ago and found a couple of cool sites. there is a new magazine coming out (if not already?) called Organize. i can't wait to get my hands on this one. and the other site is this one Sk*rt. a cool site for women with tons of information and ideas.

i'll leave you with a really good appetizer recipe....nancy made this on friday night for our bunco group. i have never had them before but they were so good.

i'm not sure what their called but you take cherry tomatoes and hollow them out a bit, then cream together sour cream (small tub), a bag of the hidden valley ranch dip and bacon bits. spoon a little into each tomatoe and chill. they were so good.

have a great week!

*the picture of the girls was taken a few weeks ago at the park.

Tuesday...

2007-06-12T13:47:00.000-05:00

well, i can finally post and say i actually feel pretty good. that flu bug just did not want to go away. it took a good 5 days before i didn't feel queasy. hate that. although, it did help me loose 7 lbs. love that!

first i need to wish my dear friend Laura a happy birthday! hope you have a super birthday and a great time at the concert!

summer is in full swing here. i took the girls to the park today for a picnic, we met some friends and had a great time. although, 82 degrees seemed a lot more like 102! poor kati and the heat just don't mix.

we haven't been up to too much. i'll randomly fill you in.....

saturday we made it to the pool.

sunday we just hung out. i guess terry golfed

monday i took lauren to the library to get her signed up for a summer reading program. she's so excited about that. after reading so many books they get a prize and win 2 baseball tickets to see the river city rascals (a minor league baseball team) we also had to try to find another bathing suit for her. target seems to have the cutest ones for the best price. i can't justify paying $25 for a kids suit.

then today was the grocery store, the park for a picnic and tonight we're heading out for a nice dinner w/ terry's cousin scott who is in town for business.

lauren has swimming lessons again on wednesday.

gymnastics on thursday

thank goodness soccer is over for the season! so fridays and saturdays are now free. i'm thinking about taking the girls to 6 flags on friday w/ some neighbors and then saturday morning myself and 2 of my friends are doing the 5k run/walk for the cure in st. louis. i'm pretty excited about that. and then saturday night we have a party to go to.

whewwww! busy, but fun!

i was looking through my pictures and came across a couple of things i did for pink martini a while back. i figured i could show you them by now.... the bulletin board and magazine box.

i had better see what the girls are up to....chat later....

Back from the dead....

2007-06-08T11:16:00.001-05:00

or at least that is how i feel. i ended up catching lauren's flu bug as did terry. so both of us were out of commission for almost 3 days. i'm still not completely back to normal yet but at least i can function.

so anyway, i have so much to catch up on, mainly laundry so i need to make this short and sweet....but thought i would share this layout i did of lauren before getting the flu. i used a lot of the jenni bowlin kit, some lil davis and making memories.

have a great weekend!

Not so Good!

2007-06-04T06:48:00.000-05:00

we just can't get a break! the 3 of us have fought off colds these past few weeks and now poor lauren is having to deal w/ some sort of stomach bug. we've been up since 1:00 am last night, dozing off for maybe 20 min. in between bathroom runs! uh! she is just drained. you know when you get to the point where there just can't be anything left, anywhere! (i know, pleasant post first thing monday morning, right!) ha she only has 2 days of school left and it looks like she'll be missing one of them for sure. i hope she's better by tomorrow, i'd hate for her to miss out on the last day of school.
so anyway, hopefully i'll be back soon with a healthier post! hugs....

New Summer Do's

2007-05-31T20:48:00.000-05:00

so these aren't the best pictures of the girls, as the sun was pretty bright and the wind was blowing but you can at least get an idea. we were at the park on memorial day when i saw a girl about kati's age with the cutest hair cut. just a simple bob, hair tucked behind her ear. i told terry i liked her hair. of course being the guy he is, he just shrugged his shoulders. well, later that night he said, "maybe we should cut kati's hair." so the next day we headed to the "plaid monkey", a cute hair salon for kids. this was kati's first major hair cut. she cut a good 4-5" off. the salon was really cute. they host b-day parties for girls also so there was a lot of glitter, boas and plastic high heal shoes. which caught lauren's eye! we were driving home from getting kati's hair cut and lauren says, "mom, i want to get my hair cut!" i told her she'd have to talk to her dad about that one! he has always wanted her to have long hair. i have mentioned cutting in several times and my idea was always shot down! but i knew if she told him she wanted it cut then she had a better chance of getting it cut. which only makes sense. it won't be long and we'll be in the 100's w/ 90% humidity! so we went back the next day and lauren got her hair cut! i'd like for kati's to be a little shorter but i was chicken!

i've been battling a cold for the past 2 weeks...i'm about tired of it! by mid day i'm feeling pretty good but at night when i go to bed i cough and cough and i wake up feeling like i've been hit by a mac truck! i keep telling myself one more day and then i'm going to the dr. ha ha i still haven't gone. i'm one of those people who has to be on their death bed before i go into the dr. i get that from my parents! not always a good trait to have, huh. but i don't feel like it's anything other than a cold. so i'll give it a few more days....LOL!

when we were in california on vacation we went to a very cool restaurant called "the slanted door". i guess it's a very well known (popular) restaurant. the food was awesome and the atmosphere was very neat. anyway, i asked for a diet coke (i'm not really picky but it always comes out as a diet coke vs. diet soda, although diet coke is my preference) the waiter brings me this bottle of diet soda. boylan diet soda. i had never heard of it before but it had a different kind of flavor to it. not like a diet coke. almost better. i can't even describe it but i've been craving one ever since!!!!!!!! terry and i went into a trader joes to pick up some goodies when we were there and i thought for sure they would have it. well i came across the diet creme soda which wasn't as good but not bad. i haven't found it here yet...darn it.

i thought i'd leave you with an old project i did way back when i was on the design team for scrapbook answers. i don't recall what issue it was in but i used a light switch plate cover as my album cover....

have a great weekend!

Blogger Burn out....

2007-05-27T11:59:00.000-05:00

hi there....so i'm over due for a new post. just haven't been in the mood to sit down and post i guess. since getting back from our trip i haven't accomplished much in the world of scrapbooking, other than an assignment and a few gifts i had to get done. i do have a few layouts to share that i finished ages ago but never posted. they aren't all that great so do expect your jaw to drop....i'll post in a minute.

not much else is going on. school is almost done. june 5. we had a few snow days that we had to make up, which at the time is great but now i'm ready for school to be over. lauren is itching to spend the majority of her time at the pool, which would be fine but kati hates the hot weather so spending hours outdoors with kati isn't going to happen. but she does like going to the pool. she only has one more swimming lesson left before she is done with her lessons. and then lauren will start up again.

soccer season ends pretty soon also. it's just too hot to play outdoors all through the summer. seems like we just started the outdoor league. the days just go by too fast.

i took the girls to shrek 3 on monday. they had fun and the movie was cute. it's just too bad that it cost almost $30 to go to a movie. we don't go that often so it's a nice treat for the girls.

lauren lost her 2nd tooth....(i know this post is exciting!) i had my neighbor connie pull it out. lauren was thrilled when the tooth fairy brought $2 and another letter and a few coloring sheets. i'm so glad she is easy!

so i've probably rambled on enough about random stuff.... here are the layouts i did....my scanner was giving me a hard time again, so i had to take pictures.

A Few More Photos...

2007-05-16T07:12:00.000-05:00

just a few more random photos from our mini getaway! i was surprised the photo of the golden gate bridge turned out through the car window. the photos that follow are: a door at the culinary institute, i guess the following 4 photos are also taken on the grounds of the institute. the huge brick mansion is the institute. it was amazing. i can't recall the name of the winery in the next photo. (the up close castle looking building) then a cafe we ate lunch at in calistoga. neat little town. then robert mondovi winery. the photo of us is at another winery, we didn't spend any time at this one but a guy offered to take our photo. i didn't realize i matched the flowers. then Alcatraz and us by the bay bridge.

We're Back!

2007-05-14T21:22:00.000-05:00

hi! we made it back from california last night...we had a wonderful time...a much needed adult getaway! but of course the time went by way too fast and before we knew it we were on a plane heading back home. terry had the trip pretty much mapped out for us by the time we arrived. we first flew into san francisco and met a colleague of terry's along with his wife. it was a pleasure meeting both of them and spending a few hours together. they took us out for lunch at the slanted door....which, those of you who are from california know that this restaurant is absolutely amazing. the food was so good....if it had just been terry and i, i'm pretty sure i would have gorged myself! we then walked along the bay shore (which is where the first photo was taken) our last stop was an eclectic little coffee shop surrounded by row houses (so san francisco)... the next day we headed to napa....(terry even rented a convertible..he thought of everything!) napa was perfect! the weather was beautiful, the scenery was amazing, the wine, the food......it couldn't have been a better vacation....other than maybe an extra day or two. we managed to see a lot in just 3 days. and would you believe we even took a cooking class together at the culinary institute. it was so much fun. we ate lunch there also which was probably the best meal we had... we went to several wineries for tours and tasting! (we came home with 16 bottles of wine!) it's probably a good thing our vacation was short as the food and wine could easily cause one to gain a good 5 lbs in a very short amount of time! the only thing we didn't do that terry had planned was our couples massage! when he called to make the reservation the spa only had male's giving massages on the day and times we could go. terry just couldn't quite get into having another man give him a massage so we had to nix that idea. ha ha.... so anyway, i could ramble on and on about our amazing trip but i had better close up. i tried to post a few more photos but it wouldn't let me. so maybe tomorrow i'll share a few more....

ps...donna...thanks again for taking such good care of our girls and for keeping them busy with fun projects, shopping and picture taking! they miss you already!

San Francisco here we come!

2007-05-09T22:48:00.000-05:00

just a quick post to say bye! terry and i are heading out tomorrow morning for california! i can hardly wait! i'm not really sure what our plans are once we get there...apparently terry has it all worked out. i'll be back with a full report and hopefully some good photos! grandma is all set to watch the girls while we're gone! i know everything will be fine but in a sense i'm kind of a control freak when it comes to my house and my routine etc....i keep telling myself to just let go! ha ha the girls absolutely adore grandma and they have all sorts of projects lined up. i was thinking it was going to be "easy" to say bye to the girls but as i was sending an e-mail to my friend michelle tonight i teared up just writing about it! this will be our first trip together, away from the girls since before lauren was born..... so this is huge! BUT....we're going to have a great time. ok....back to packing....hugs....

Tagged by Cari....

2007-05-02T13:12:00.000-05:00

so for those who read me but aren't involved in the online scrapbooking scene are probably wondering what being "tagged" means....well, this particular game is one where i need to come up with 7 random facts about myself and then i am to tag 7 people. (well, i'm not sure i know 7 bloggers close enough, who haven't already been tagged....this game goes on forever :) but it's fun, so i don't mind playing along (thanks cari!)....let's see....this may be kind of a challenge w/o making myself sound like i'm OCD....ha ha

1. i can't leave the house without making the beds and picking up! not sure why....

2. i always blow my nose after taking a shower or when i go to the bathroom. (my sister does this too....must be a family thing)

3. i have to have cream in my coffee.

4. i stand up when i scrapbook...

5. i have carried a coach purse since i was 18....it's my only indulgence! (besides food!) i usually get a new one every other year or so? and i have had the same coach billfold since i was 19!!! and it's still in perfect condition. it's the only one i've owned! goes to show you that it pays to buy quality! but i buy my clothes from target! ha ha

6. i wish i had gone to college (i would love to be a buyer or a residential interior designer!)

7. i hate having food in my teeth. i floss all of the time. if i don't have floss and we're at a restaurant i'll use a sugar packet. terry gets so mad at me....i just hate that feeling....

i actually had to stop and think about these....

so not much else is new. terry comes home today, finally. he's been gone for 6 days! the girls actually did pretty good this trip. i'm usually pretty frazzled by now but it hasn't been too bad. must have been the nice weather!
kati was supposed to start swimming lessons today....she had a temp of 102 last night and was as white as a ghost. so i thought by this morning she was doing better and she seemed to be excited to go but 1/2 way there she yells, "mom" from the backseat...and to me that means she's going to throw up!! or so it's been the case in the past. but she didn't but said she wanted to go home. so i checked her temp again and it was 102! bummer we missed our first class!
kati and i went to lauren's school yesterday for lunch. the kindergartners were doing a trial run through the lunch line. they were so cute. they were all so excited and thought they were pretty big stuff. oh to be a kid again!
better scoot....chat again soon....hugs

Monday Bloggin'

2007-04-30T14:50:00.000-05:00

hi! hope everyone had a great weekend. we had a busy one. terry has been out of town so i'm pulling double duty, again! the weather was absolutely beautiful. which lead to several outdoor chores and activities! one of which called for the use of a really sharp shovel! so i'm at a neighbors house picking up the girls from an afternoon of playing. kati had left her shoes by the sandbox. so we walked over and started putting her shoes on when i kept hearing this hissing and spitting sound and finally saw something more. here, not 12" away from us was a snake!!!! ya, holy crap is right! i hate snakes and spiders of any kind. so i can about imagine if anyone was looking out their window at the time they must have gotten a good laugh! melissa went to the garage and found a shovel and ended up killing it. she hates snakes too, which i could tell by the force she was putting behind the shovel! i was just thinking we could scoop it up and throw it in the pond across the road. i'm sure it wasn't poisonous but the fact that it kept striking at me and hissing was enough to scare the crap out of me. poor kati was just trying to figure out what i was screaming about. ha ha
so i just got an e-mail from Layle Koncar with Scenic Route....remember the duck watching layout i did (a few posts down) i entered into their kraft pattern paper contest and won! yah!!!! so i'm getting another set of their newest papers, stickers etc.... their one of my favorite manufactures, so i'm excited to be getting another set...(i chose the metropolis set this time!)
so by now i'm sure everyone has been to michaels and seen the new martha stewart line! wow! i was so impressed! it's very clean and classic. but she really thought of everything. there are kits for kids, kits for wedding stuff, kits for b-day parties....you name it. the packaging is very clean and simple. it's just very well done! i used to be a merchandise manager so i tend to analyze stores when i shop them.
well, only one more week! i think i mentioned it a while back, but terry is taking me to california! the napa area....we plan on visiting a few wineries, having dinner w/ a colleague of his and some other site seeing i'm sure. we're even flying first class! so i've never flown first class before so i had to get that in. ha ha i'm so looking forward to our little getaway! terry's mom is coming to watch the kids. they are so excited for grandma to come! i'm not sure how i feel about grandma spoiling them for 4 days and coming home to, "well, grandma let me do it, or grandma let me have candy!!" ha ha they'll all have a great time! we've never been away from the girls together so i can imagine after 4 days we'll be ready to get back home!
in my earlier post i had mentioned jen and her son joey. joey passed away over the wk. end. jen said it was rather fast and peaceful. he's in gods hands now.
stories like this are just so heart wrenching. and you know their are families and children that go through this every day. reality just sets in when it's someone you know.... god works in mysterious ways....but i bet he has a plan for joey!
sorry no photo today!
have a good week!

Saturday...

2007-04-28T10:59:00.000-05:00

just popping in to say hi. it's a beautiful day here so i'll make this short. my car needs washing, the garage needs a sweeping, my car needs to be vacuumed...possibly mow and plant some flowers in my pots! but yet i could also think of a zillion things i could get done inside as well. the list never ends!

i played around yesterday while kati took a nap. i actually finished up one layout that i submitted and then this layout of lauren on the monkey bars. i used pop dots behind the chipboard stars so my scanner didn't like that much! the picture makes the photos look really dark, but they aren't...

changing directions a bit....those of you who are scrapbookers will know who jen gallacher is.... i don't personally know jen but i wish i did... she has a 13 year old boy named joey who is dying. i'm not quite sure the history of his illness or when it all began. but he is in the hospital now and is just hanging on. i guess they brought him in the other night to find out his kidneys are now failing. jen posted a thread on 2 peas the other night that brought me to tears and i haven't stopped thinking about them. i can't imagine watching my child dye and having an ounce of strength in me to keep it together. i'm sure she is falling apart inside but trying to keep herself composed for the sake of joey and his siblings. it just breaks my heart to even think about what their going through. she had talked about "letting go" and joey finding peace and comfort.... ah, i just can't even begin to imagine.... my heart goes out to them...go HUG your kids!

well, my "to-do" list seems pretty insignificant now.... but i guess i should get moving.... the day is a-wastin'. have a great weekend....hugs...

totally random...

2007-04-24T19:36:00.000-05:00

hi there....so it's been a few days since i've posted so i thought i had better at least check in. i can't say i have anything exciting to report...

i did this layout earlier today...my scanner turned the little bird a funky puke color. it's green in real life. not sure why it did that but i couldn't fix it...i'm not really into the "bird" thing but these cute little felt birds came in jenni bowlin's april kit and it went so well with the scenic route paper i just had to use it. the black swirly stems are li'l davis as is the chipboard scalloped circle and the letters "us".

so i had a dentist apt. today. had 2 cavities filled. i have to say this dentist is by far the best i've ever been to. she is probably about my age and sweet as can be. i dread going to the dentist (as you may know from previous entries). but i barely even felt her give me the novocaine, it was amazing. i even had to bring my i-pod along just because i hate the sound of the drills on my teeth. not that the music made it feel any better or made it vibrate less...

well, the girls are in the tub (usually the best time to try and post...until they start throwing water or fighting!) so i had better wash hair and get some books read and get them to bed....

Productive...

2007-04-19T16:56:00.000-05:00

don't you just love a productive week! by the time the end of the week rolls around you're exhausted but it feels good to get so many things done!
so i went to "once upon a child" yesterday to drop off some clothes that i had in tubs from our garage sale last summer. i'm not sure why i hadn't gotten rid of them yet...i think i was hanging on to them because i just wasn't ready to let them go! lots of baby clothes and maternity clothes. anyway, i had never really shopped at a second hand store before. i have been there looking for junky furniture that i could spruce up but never looking for clothes. i had a few minutes to waste while they looked through my stuff so i thought i'd look down the isle that had lauren's size.... i was totally shocked! they had tons of cute shorts and skirts that looked brand new. i even found an old navy skirt w/ the tag still on.... i ended up buying 2 pairs of shorts and 2 denim skirts for $15. and it all looks like new! i couldn't believe it! i was so excited! now, don't get me wrong, there was plenty of stuff in there that wasn't so great! i love a good deal!
i finally finished up an assignment that had been hanging over my head. i had actually done it once but apparently didn't understand the assignment and i needed to go back and finish it up. with that being done i thought i could play around a bit since i had a huge mess going anyway....i did these 2 layouts....of course my scanner cut off a 1/4" off the right side of my pages. hate that thing.... the "silly girls" layout i used the jenni bowlin kit from april. i added the MM letter stickers. and the "duck watching" layout is one i did for the scenic route monthly challenge. the challenge was to use their kraft pattern paper.... i've been meaning to scrap these photos for a long time and the paper seemed to be a pretty good fit....

tomorrow i'm painting! we picked up some paint to touch up some of the rooms that haven't been painted a different color. when we moved in to our house the builder had painted every room a nice khaki color, but had used flat paint! so rooms like my laundry room and 1/2 bath off of my kitchen really need a new coat of paint! shouldn't take me too long. it's the prep work that takes forever....
i've been trying to type this entry all day...so i had better spell check and get it posted before i lose it....

MIA

2007-04-15T16:49:00.000-05:00

hey there! it's been a crazy few weeks around these parts! let's see....we went to omaha for easter. we met my family there for the weekend. it's a half way point for all of us, which makes the drive much easier. 6 hours vs. 11. the girls had so much fun playing with their cousins and spending time with nana and papa and of course their aunts and uncles! then we came home from that trip and had a few days of down time but were preparing for the arrival of my in-laws. they flew in on wed. night and just left today. we had such a nice time with them also. we celebrated kati's 3rd birthday while they were here. (april 13th) it's hard to believe she's already 3! (the photo of us was taken on her b-day)

life should get back to normal now this week. although, we still have lots of running around and things to do to keep us busy! lauren will go back to school tomorrow. she was on spring break all last week. we started outdoor soccer today! (i wish grandpa and grandma could have watched lauren play). their only 6 but so much fun to watch! it's amazing how much the girls learn and how their skill levels improve over just a few months!

and i just thought i'd share a few layouts i did for creative xpress....our assignments were to use the title "i believe" and to create a masculine layout.

so anyway....i had better start cleaning up my house and finishing up the laundry! have a great week!

My MM Idol jouney ends....

2007-04-03T19:59:00.000-05:00

hi! thought i'd pop in here and say THANKS to all who may have voted for me again this round...and for supporting me through this entire contest. i did not make it into the top 5. it's definitely been a fun contest and a great experience getting to know so many nice girls.... as much as i wanted to make it to the very end and be a part of the MM team, it was almost a blessing in disguise. we're heading out of town this week and i was wondering when on earth i would be able to squeeze in another project. i'm relieved that i'll be able to spend time with my family without being worried about the contest. so in a way, i think it was meant to be... so again, thank you....

I Can Relax.....

2007-03-30T16:28:00.000-05:00

hi....man, it's friday already. but the good news is i'm done with my MM Idol project! now i can relax and enjoy the weekend stress free until tuesday when the voting is over. their putting a fun twist to the contest....quite frankly it should have been this way a long time ago.... our projects will NOT have our names on them. the public will be voting on the projects themselves vs. who you know or who knows you.....i'm assuming our family and friends will recognize the people in the photos but the general public more than likely won't know. so it's cool.... oh, one more thing... we can't post our projects on our blogs or on any other site until after the voting is complete on tuesday....
nothing big planned for the weekend. maybe a little bbq'n but nothing major.
hope everyone has a nice weekend....later...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY T & TOP 10!!!

2007-03-28T07:22:00.000-05:00

WOW!!! i did it! i made it into the top 10!!! HUGE THANK YOU to all who may have voted for me!!!!!! we're getting down to the wire....only 10 of us left...the next cut is 5! yikes! i have to say this has probably been one of the funnest contests i have entered.... the other girls have been so nice and so supportive....it's been difficult to see some of them go each week.....
so we have our next challenge and my wheels have been spinning already! but i'll have to put in on the back burner for today....as it's my hubby's b-day!!!! he's coming home from san fransisco late this afternoon so the girls and i will want to spend some time with him celebrating his day!

My Challenge #4....of MM Idol

2007-03-26T09:25:00.000-05:00

good morning....here is my project for the 4th challenge.... a little luncheon with the girls! i just may have to follow through with my party planning and have the girls over! if you get a chance head to the MM Idol blog and vote.... lots of neat party ideas....

had a nice weekend. the weather was beautiful! i took the girls to the doodlebops yesterday. the show was pretty cute! they had a good time.

i posted instructions for the dress in an earlier post. hopefully their clear enough for everyone to understand. if not, please don't hesitate to e-mail....

have a good week.....

Instructions...Finally...

2007-03-23T10:40:00.000-05:00

hi....been busy trying to finish up my next assignment! i'm almost done...

i have some down time right now so i thought i'd try to type up some instructions for those of you who wanted them.... i'll start with the dress....

supplies: Basic Grey paper, Bazzill cardstock, Provo Craft eyelets, misc. ribbon from craft stores and buttons. a letter sticker, paper punch and scalloped scissors.

*i used 2 sheets of 12x12 paper...one being the pattern paper, the next the white cardstock. i marked off 1" sections. i then scored a line at each 1" mark. then fold your paper in an accordion ...back and forth.

*the pink paper is 9" l and 5" w. to create the scallops i traced a small ribbon spool and used my x-acto knife to cut the scallops. and then used a small hole punch for the holes.

* the white scalloped cardstock underneath the pink is only 7" l and about 2" wide....i created the scallops the same way as i did the pink paper and i added the eyelets. i adhered the white scalloped paper to the pink but tucking it underneath

*i have the pink paper folded over 1" on each side, so it wraps around the pattern paper. but make sure the fold is at an angel....so the dress will have that (A) shape. does that make sense?....see the picture above.

*to give the dress the curve it needed i used a piece of ribbon, tied a knot in one end, put that through the dress (picture above) and then pulled it through to the other side. pull it just a bit so the dress will bend. once you have where you want it tie another knot in that end. i know, it looks pretty "jimmy rigged" but it works....you can't see the back anyway....

*i just used adhesive for the ribbon straps but you could punch a small hole and string the ribbon through and then cover it up with the button. or if you felt really ambitious you could sew the straps and buttons on....even add stitching around the dress etc....

*the circle that has the letter "L" in it is just cut with my scalloped scissors.

* i added the white cardstock to the back of the dress at the end...just makes it more sturdy and looks like a little slip sticking out of the bottom. :)

* you could also add large scallops at the bottom of the dress...make pockets...the possibilities are endless.....

*the hanger i made using some craft wire....

if there is something i may not have been clear about or you need further instructions feel free to e-mail me or leave a comment.....

i'll post the belt instructions when i have more time.....

YAHOO...I did it!

2007-03-20T20:37:00.000-05:00

THANK YOU* THANK YOU* THANK YOU!!! for all who may have voted for me! i'm so excited to be moving on.... our next challenge is to create 3 things in a party theme!
thanks for the nice comments and e-mails as well! i still have to post instructions on my belt and i will also post instructions on how to make the dress as well....i'll do that in a separate post w/ in the next few days....i'll have to take some photos of the back of the dress to give you a better idea of what i'm talking about when i give you the instructions....so check back soon and hopefully i'll have those up for you...
i just got home from a day of pampering! had my roots touched up, had a pedicure and a manicure (not sure why i had a manicure, i don't have much for nails...but my hubby gave me a gift cert. at x-mas, wishful thinking on his part i guess ha ha ) oh, and i had a cup of coffee all by myself at a cute coffee shop! i almost didn't know what to do with myself.
thanks again....your support means so much! hugs!!! kori

MM Idol #3....

2007-03-19T09:11:00.000-05:00

well, here is what i came up with using just the basics!!! i used a 12x12 piece of pattern paper for the base of the dress....so it measures about 8" w x 12" l.

lauren was pretty excited that i made something for her room. she said whenever i make something it's always for kati's room. ha she's probably right.

so, hope you get a chance to vote..... i haven't checked out the other creations yet but i'm sure there will be some awesome projects/layouts.....

Sunday already....

2007-03-18T15:01:00.000-05:00

hope everyone had a nice weekend. we had an extra day as lauren had friday off for teachers meetings. i took lauren to the doctor on friday. she has been getting headaches...we've been keeping track of when and how many but it really just varies. so we thought i should just take her in to make sure it wasn't anything major. the doctor was having lauren do all kinds of different things...after he was done he reassured me that it wasn't a tumor. thank goodness! but we do have to have her eyes checked now and if they're ok then it's probably just from being overly tired.

we went to a neighbors yesterday for a craw fish boil....hmmm, that was interesting. i had never eaten craw fish before so i wasn't quite sure what to expect....they actually tasted pretty good...similar to shrimp. but man, i could do without having to rip those little suckers apart....i'll spare the details... it's a lot of work to end up with this little piece of meet. but we had a great time!

i'm done with my MM Idol project.....tomorrow is voting day! our challenge was to create something using JUST THE BASICS!!! paper, ribbon, buttons, brads, eyelets, stickers or rub ons.... oh and photos.... so i did just that.... it was actually a difficult challenge...as i really wanted to alter something (which they did tell us we could do after i had this other idea in my head, but we could only use the basics to embellish it) so i stuck with my original plan....i just hope it's unique and creative enough to get me to the next round.... i'm anxious to see what everyone else created... so if you get a chance...make sure to go vote!
i'll share photos of my project tomorrow....

oh, funny story....i was taking lauren to gymnastics on thursday last week....when i saw a cop coming towards us in the other lane about a mile away....then i notice the car he is trying to catch up to.... this guy must have been just filling up his tank with gas....as he had left the station with the nozzle and hose sticking out of his gas tank!!! unless he was stealing the gas, how on earth do you drive away, pulling the hose from the gas pump with you and NOT notice....hello? lauren and i laughed! but she just couldn't figure out why this man would want the hose.....ya, i couldn't figure that one out either! too funny!
how do you explain that one?

Top 25!

2007-03-14T06:37:00.000-05:00

THANKS to all who may have voted for lauren and i! i've made the top 25... i told lauren, "we did it, we made it to the top 25!" and she says, "we did?" like she was surprised....ha ha little turkey....where's the faith? but she was pretty excited! so this means you'll have to check back next monday to see what we come up with (the 25 of us).... we're all a little confused right now about our new challenge so we're waiting for some clarification.
i finally went through 10 bags of clothing that was left over from our garage sale last summer.... i know, but i was dreading it and just kept putting it off. that's the bad thing about having an unfinished basement. you can put things down there and sort of "forget about them". so i sorted what needs to go to good will and some really nice things that i thought i'd take to once upon a child. i brought 8 bags of kids clothes to good will yesterday. man, that feels good. it's just been one of those things that has been hanging over my head and i'm relieved to have it done.
the weather has been so nice it's been hard to be inside....70's and sunny. perfect! but they say by friday we're supposed to have snow flurries. what? never fails.... well, i smell the coffee brewing....and i have priorities. ha ha
oh, i'll be back soon to give you instructions on how to make the belt. i've received several e-mails from people wanting to know how to make it....
thanks again for the votes!!!

My MM Idol #2 challenge....

2007-03-12T10:14:00.000-05:00

well, apparently the MM Idol site is being overloaded with voters so the server is having problems.... so being as you can't view the projects i thought i'd post ours here. lauren is pretty proud of our belt and necklace. she punched out most of the circles and adhered them to the metal rim tags. she even punched out several holes to join the tags together but her hand started to hurt after a while. :) the flower grommets on the belt are made by MM (making memories) along with the the clip, brad, and the "M" charm on the necklace. i didn't have many of their papers at the time so most of the papers are Scenic Route. anyway...hopefully you'll be able to vote soon.

Monday =Voting Day @ MM Idol

2007-03-12T07:27:00.000-05:00

round #2 voting starts today and goes through tuesday @ 4:00. i'm anxious to see what everyone else created! i'll post pictures of what lauren and i created after the contest gets going today. i hope MM describes to the general public what it is exactly that we had to do. lauren was pretty excited to be able to help me create our projects. she usually doesn't get to monkey around with my stuff.
had a nice weekend. we spent most of yesterday at the zoo with the girls. it was a perfect day for the zoo. we usually go when it's 98 degrees outside and it's just miserable. i made the mistake of putting chapstick on my lips every 20 minutes.... the chapstick didn't have an spf.....it took me a while to figure out why my lips felt like they were on fire! dah, they got sun burned! we ordered pizza for supper which just added fuel the burn....geez! i won't make that mistake again.
anyway, i'll return in a bit with some photos of our projects..... have a good day.
there is also a link off to the right for the contest if you did not save the site on your computer....

Top 30!

2007-03-07T07:46:00.000-06:00

yahooo....i'm movin' on!!! pretty excited to have made it to the next round. we've been given our new challenge (which is a fun one!) and you can all vote again come monday morning! (march 12th) thank you all so much for voting (even if you didn't vote for me...ha ha) the challenges will get tougher and of course the competition is always tough!

i thought i'd share a photo of a recent project i finished for a class i will be teaching at Page Makers....it's a portfolio that holds 12x12 pages....thought it would be perfect for unfinished pages or transporting pages from a crop to home.

anyway, have lots of errands to run today. our cupboards are lookin' pretty bare! i'm tired of buying groceries. anyone else tired of buying groceries! it depletes my budget every week! groceries have gotten so expensive. i never leave the store without spending at least $100 (and that is when i am shopping for 10 items!) but then i run to walmart or target for other grocery items like cereal (that are way overly priced in a grocery store!) and then there are all of the toiletries which is another $75 at least and then one more trip to the grocery store by the end of the week. good gravy! i'm over it!

thanks again everyone......i would so love to work with Making Memories in the near future! :) maybe travel and teach :) publish a book or two....ha ha ok, so i'm day dreaming.....it's a dream job, i'm allowed.....hugs to all.....k

Voting Day AGAIN!

2007-03-05T06:58:00.000-06:00

morning....well, here we go again! hope everything goes smoothly this morning for Making Memories...so make sure you hop over to the site and cast your vote.

Making Memories Idol contest...this round of voting goes until tuesday 4:00 pm. mst.

we had a nice weekend. although they always seem to fly by. lauren was to go to a daisy girl scout camp all day on saturday but due to cold temps and blowing winds they cancelled it. thank god. i can't imagine being outside w/ 6 year old girls for 8 hours in those weather conditions. after an hour they would have been ready to head home! so we ended up going to lauren's indoor soccer game. the games are really fun to watch. the teams are getting to be more competitive and their skill level is really improving. some of the parents sit on the edge of their seats the entire game. it's entertaining just to watch the parents! and then on sunday i taught my class at Page Makers....the ladies are always so much fun! never a dull moment!

just a few layouts i got done over the weekend...my scanner is giving me trouble so rather than toss it across the room i chose to take photos of my layouts instead. ha the soccer practice layout is one i did a few weeks ago for the li'l davis newsletter. the dog layout is of our dog fargo who now lives with my in-laws. he's such a good dog! when we lived in alaska (he was just 2 when we moved) i taught him how to fetch our newspaper. they would leave the papers at the end of the driveway and in the middle of winter who feels like getting the paper at 7:00 am. so i'd let fargo out and tell him to "get me the paper". he'd get the paper and bring it to me. not without tossing it around a little bit but none-the-less he'd bring it back. the only downfall to this training is that he started to bring me the neighbors paper and the neighbor next to them and the neighbor next to them. ya, we'd have 6-7 newspapers on our front porch before the morning was over. so my training has paid off....my mother-in-law doesn't have to walk the 1/4 of a mile to their mail box to get their paper. i miss him....he is such a good dog.

alright....i'll leave you with that.....have a great monday.... don't forget to vote!

Got me some Scenic Route lovin'

2007-03-02T10:08:00.000-06:00

so in the midst of all of my worrying about this contest....i received some fun news yesterday....Layle from Scenic Route e-mailed me to let me know that one of my layouts was chosen in a contest they were running! i feel kind of silly though as it's one of the layouts i used in the MM Idol contest. ha so i'll get a nice little goody box full of new Scenic Route products.... they are one of my favorite manufacturers so this is pretty cool! they run a different contest every month so go check it out....(if you're a scrapbooker of course....)
it's hard to believe it's already friday. my daughter has an all day daisy camp to go to tomorrow. then on sunday i'm teaching a class at a local store (Page Makers). so it'll be a busy weekend which is probably a good thing.... have to run and play with kati....have a good one!

MM is making it Right!

2007-02-28T20:41:00.000-06:00

hi there.....well, it sounds like Making Memories has finally fixed their computer glitches and fixed a few other errors etc.... i can't even imagine how stressful that must have been for them. to put on this huge contest and have your system fail! yikes... so if you haven't heard the voting will start over monday morning (march 5th @ 9:00 mst and go through march 6th @ 4:00 pm mst...for the first round) their wiping the slate clean and asking people to re vote.... so hopefully everyone will hop on their "puters" again and cast their votes! it's actually been really fun having this down time to get to know the other 49 girls.... gotta run...top design is on! later gators....

so Frustrating....

2007-02-27T19:52:00.000-06:00

so today was a bit of a mess over at the MM Idol site....their system crashed yesterday and their having a heck of a time! not to mention the fiasco w/ my name being posted on another gals layout!!!! they tell me their fixing it but i don't know how it's fixable. how do you know where those votes were actually supposed to go? i'll keep you posted.... i could go on and on BUT moving forward...i worked on this little number last night....(mostly li'l davis product. a little heidi swapp mixed in there)..... anyway....not much else is new since i wrote this morning....thanks so much for the nice e-mails i've received and comments on my blog....i really appreciate the votes and stickin' w/ me during the mess! it isn't over so we'll see where it takes me..... sounds like i need to go settle an argument in the bathtub....good gravy....hugs k

My Layout for MM Idol...

2007-02-27T06:52:00.000-06:00

so here it is....again, the darn thing looks crooked....hate that scanner....but it's not..... i'm a bit worried as they made a huge mistake and put my name on another girls layout....so it appears as though i have 2 layouts..... NOT good!!!! GO VOTE!!! :)

Create while I wait!

2007-02-26T15:12:00.000-06:00

so something funky is going on with the MM Idol site/computers etc....we're not really sure what's going on but in the meantime i thought i'd keep my fingers busy & my mind occupied... kati is napping, lauren is playing with friends, terry is doing his thing and i shall create....

had the flu this weekend. yuck! i guess it was bound to happen...both girls had it and when you're the one to clean up messes, empty buckets etc...it's inevitable. i was pretty bummed that i had to cancel a class that i was teaching at Page Makers on saturday but we're in the process of getting it back on the schedule...

so anyway...please keep an eye out for the MM site to be up and running...you should be able to vote soon...

Today is Voting Day!

2007-02-26T07:53:00.000-06:00

so today is the first day to vote! i'll post my layout after the contest gets underway. i figured i had better wait! so if you need a little somethin' somethin' to do go to the link below and cast your vote....for me! :) (but the competition is steep.... i am amongst some pretty amazing artists!) voting starts monday 26th @ 9:00 am (mst) and ends tuesday 27th @ 4:00 pm.
thanks so much!
http://www.makingmemories.typepad.com/mmidol/

finished....

2007-02-21T18:42:00.000-06:00

my assignment for the MM Idol contest....i like how it turned out, i just hope the rest of the voters like it....20 people get voted off the first round. unfortunately, i can't share my layout with you just yet. i can tell you it had to be about "me".... which led me to taking photos of myself in the bathroom mirror....i hate having pictures of myself taken so i had to resort to this....my new headshot....

other news...poor kati had the flu today....good thing, she took a 3 hour nap which allowed me to work-out, do 2 loads of laundry, clean and finish my assignment. she's feeling much better, so hopefully it's only a 24 hour bug.

around the house....my handy husband built some awesome shelves for our basement this past weekend....i really should be down there reorganizing and cleaning up... guess my excuse is that kati isn't feeling well. :) i better have it done before he gets back from being out of town or he'll think his hard work is unappreciated.....

i really have nothing else to yack about so i think i'll close up....a quick thanks to everyone who sent me an e-mail or left a comment about the contest....it means a lot...and i'm glad you stop by to visit.... hugs

Random stuff....

2007-02-20T12:54:00.000-06:00

got some good news a bit ago......i was chosen to be in the Making Memories top 50 of the MM Idol contest!!! yahoo......(click the link to see the top 50) i was so excited i haven't even looked over the other 49 :) i'm sure the competition is going to be tough....but non-the-less, very fun! now if i can just make it a little farther than i did the last time :)

here is the layout i did for the "how much is too much" contest....we had to use at least 5 of the following, tags, buttons, rub ons, material/ribbon and colors. my ribbon & buttons were too bulky so i had to take a photo of it....the scan looked terrible!

not much else is new....have to run....i'll check back in again soon..... hugs...

2nd Install from 2-14

2007-02-14T08:22:00.000-06:00

ok, so here are the additional photos i was unable to load in my previous post.... i did the layout for a challenge..."how much is too much" (HMITM). the challenge was to use 7 pattern papers, 14 flowers & 21 stickers. i wasn't sure if we could go over those quantities so i used exact amounts. (not sure why it looks crooked...it's not) fun challenge! (scroll down to see the 1st post of 2-14....) xoxo

Happy Valentines Day!

2007-02-14T07:51:00.000-06:00

lauren is so excited about it being valentines day today although, she is pretty bummed that she has a snow day! (can you imagine....i did backflips when they called school off!) we had a little winter storm that blew through yesterday. i usually watch the national news in the morning so i missed out on the school cancelations yesterday. so i bundle the girls up and we head to school. i guess my first clue should have been that i could barely see in front of me....i got to the school, which is only about a mile from our house (thank god) and there were all of 3 cars in the parking lot.... when i grew up in north dakota they hardly ever called school off. it had to be pretty major. school closures were even less when we lived in alaska! we just aren't prepared down here i guess.
any big plans for v-day? terry is coming home today after being in vegas. ya, i was painfully shoveling our large driveway while he was in vegas. :) doesn't sound like he had much time to play though....(i do have to say that a neighbor drove by on his 4-wheeler w/ a blade and cleared the other 1/2 of my driveway in about 5 min.!!! he saved me!)
not sure what our plans are for the day. probably take the girls out for dinner and maybe let them pick out a little something. terry is probably the most difficult person for me to shop for....he buys what he needs or it's just too darn expensive for me to even consider (on my budget, ya know) so i had a little photo shoot of the girls one day....always an adventure! i managed to get a few good shots so i blew up some pictures of them and framed them for his office or wherever he wants to put them. he's also getting a book..."for men only" by shaunti and jeff feldhahn.....a straight forward guide to the inner lives of women! a while back i had bought myself the women's version, "for women only." it was a very good book and something i should probably read again and maybe again! so here is the photo of lauren....i'm having trouble loading the one of kati....i had to crop the photos and edited them from color to b/w etc....
ok, so i can't get my layout or photo of kati to load....i'll try another post. the picture is too cute not to share. :) it's a typical kati....
hugs and smootches......have a good day!

This & That...

2007-02-02T11:22:00.000-06:00

morning....i have a few minutes before i have to pick lauren up from school so i thought i'd post some layouts/projects i did for creative xpress (old layouts that i am now allowed to share via blog)....
not much else going on....i'll leave ya for now....have a great weekend...

Progress Report....

2007-01-31T11:27:00.000-06:00

just poppin' in for a quick note....thought i'd let you know i finally stepped on the scale. with much hesitation i might add! i was praying for some results....even though i can see and feel that my body is changing the scale doesn't always show the same love....so it's roughly 7-8 lbs. that i've lost so far since jan. 1st....wish it were more as i used to drop that in a week back in my 20's but this time i'm doing it the right way so i guess i'm content and hope to get the same results, if not MORE next month!

thought i'd share a layout i did just this morning after working out...i don't recall ever doing a layout with my brother and sister...so i came across this photo the other day and of course made me tear up and get all emotional....the journaling just says...."my brother joe and my sister kim together at a family gathering...i couldn't be more proud to call them my family...i love them dearly and miss them like crazy!" (joe, kim and me) (my scanner sucks...the layout isn't crooked in real life)

looking forward for everyone to come back from CHA....can't wait to see and hear about all of the new products coming out... from what i've seen so far it looks like there are lots of fun new things.....oh, got some Li'l Davis lovin' in the mail today...geez, they sent the designers a HUGE box of goodies that i can't wait to play with!

alright, i won't bore you any longer...off to pick up lauren from school and then maybe take them to lunch? it's so cold here i almost hate to drag them anywhere....hugs....

Geez...it's been a while!

2007-01-27T19:02:00.000-06:00

hi! guess i've been a bad blogger, huh. haven't had much of anything new and exciting to yack about so i guess i've avoided it....no new photos or projects to share but laura has "tagged" me so this is my motivation to blog......(for those who have no idea what being "tagged" means, i basically just have to answer a bunch of questions...) read on....

are you...1. a cuddler? yes, but don't cuddle often enough
2. a morning person? yes!
3. are you a perfectionist? oh yes!
4. talented? i can't tap dance if that's what you mean....
5. in your pajamas? not sure if this question is asking me if i'm "talented in my pajamas or if i am currently in my pajamas....yes to the first no to the second. ha ha
6. left handed? nope

Last: 1. friend you saw: Beth (another soccer mom)
2. phoned: my mom phoned me today
3. sent text: no one
4. received text: no one
5. message over myspace: don't have a myspace page
6. instant message: have it but don't use it often...

last night: 1. wore: to bed? pj's my mother-in-law gave me
2. last night was: ok...i was feeling sorry for myself as terry got to go out with some neighborhood people and i had to stay home. no sitter....
3. got any plans: watching a couple of "dumb" movies (jackass and something else i can't recall)
favorite:1. number: 11 (old softball number)
2. color: right now? orange
season: spring
missing: my family
needing: a message
wanting: a pedicure

first thing you did this morning: took a shower
q: do you have anything bothering you? not really
q: what's the last movie you saw?: don't recall
q: where is the last place you went? lauren's soccer game
q: do you wish upon stars? yes
q: are you a friendly person?: yes
q: where did you sleep last night?: in my bed
q: what color shirt are you wearing? a khaki sweatshirt
q: when was the last time you really cried? last night
q: what was your last thought before you went to sleep last night? i had better not say, my mother in law might read this....and no, it wasn't about her...
q: what are you about to do? give the girls a bath
q: if you could drink anything right this second, what would it be? diet coke
q: what's your job position called? stay at home mom (some stuff on the side for a little spending money)
q: what's your favorite month(s)? june, october, december
q: what was your elementary school's mascot? a wildcat i think
q: what's your favorite bottled water? i don't care
q: what were you doing at 9pm last night? taking a shower
q: did you attend your high school prom? no
q: did you go to someone else's prom? yes
q: do you prefer coffee or tea? coffee
q: something red within 5 feet? yes (a dictionary)
q: how much french do you know? maybe a dozen words if that...
q: ever crash a car, been in an accident? no
q: do you look good in yellow? don't know for sure
q: do you sing? um, no...in the shower and car
q: ever sing in public? maybe at church once
q: least favorite color? purple
q: ever had dippin dots? yup!
q: how many driving tickets have you had? 2
q: do you own your own house? yes
q: at what age did you/do you want to get married? probably 25
q: have you ever been married? yes...once
q: how many kids do you have/want? have 2 wanted 3 or 4 but we're blessed with 2!
q: do you like anyone right now? this question cracks me up.... i like a lot of people....no one particular person stands out right this second....

well, there you have it....good gravy that took me forever....

Not Much of Anything...

2007-01-16T19:42:00.000-06:00

hi!...well, we survived the ice storm. we actually didn't get hit nearly as hard as most of the area....we never lost power and being as our development is newer all off the trees (in our yards) are still pretty small. so we didn't have to deal with any clean up. some people are still without power. i can't even imagine. i freak out when the power goes out for 15 min. let alone when it's 20 degrees and for 4-5 days! here are a few photos from our yard. the trees looked so neat... almost like coral.
i slipped in a little scrappin' time the other day...i used jenni bowlin's jan. kit for the layout. lots of fun vintage stuff.
i am proud to announce i am still doing well with my new years resolution (or "plan" as my sister likes to call it!) still working out every day. not every day is a "hard" workout of course. but i jump on the tredmill for at least 30 min. and use the bowflex and do a few other odds & end type things.... i'm still eating healthy but still drinking diet coke. that was never part of the plan so i'm not giving it up, at least not yet. ha ha i refuse to step on the scale and it's bad enough that my clothes aren't fitting any better. i know it's only been 2 weeks (now on 3) but i want that instant gratification....and so disappointed in myself when it's not there. but i have to keep reminding myself that it isn't going to happen over night and by the end of the first month i should start to see some results. or at least i would flippin' hope so!
ok, well it's story time before bed so i have to run....night...

Honest Opinion....

2007-01-10T10:42:00.000-06:00

morning....so i've been playing with photoshop elements a bit (not much) and followed some instructions that my dear friend Laura sent to me and this is what i came up with (bless her heart for typing these out and sending to me! so sweet!) ....not sure if i did everything exactly the way she told me...i was a bit confussed,(doesn't take much) not by her instructions but my lack of experience with elements....so tell me what you think of the photo.... is it still too dark? i converted it from a color photo....maybe if it were an outdoor photo it would be easier but i have the dark background. so i'm not sure....so frustrating. i would really like to get this all figured out so when it's time for me to go back to work once kati starts school this is what i would like to do (with the support of my dear husband of course)....i have always loved taking pictures but if i can take decent photos AND edit them as to where they look good them i'm set. :) i have a lot to learn though...

Back to Normal

2007-01-08T13:35:00.000-06:00

hi! well, lauren is back in school today and terry is traveling again...so it seems life is back on track. although, 2 weeks together was a nice break from the every day happenings....i'm glad to be back to our routine.
cute story... when i picked lauren up from school today she had this little piece of notebook paper in her hand. she said, "mom, look at what andrew drew for me." so i look at the drawing and from what i can make of it, it's a heart inside of an arrow....hmmm? we're driving home and i see her in the backseat studying this piece of paper....we get home and she's eating her lunch and out of the blue she says, "i wonder what the heart means mom?" i had a difficult time containing myself. i didn't want to bust out laughing and it's not like i would be laughing at her but at what i think the note is suggesting. so i was joking around with her and said, "i think it means he likes you"..... she just smiled....
it was pretty cute...i noticed she colored the arrow and the heart and has it on her bulletin board. i better go check out her class picture to see who this andrew character is...make sure he isn't shady....Ha ha
kati's potty training is coming along...she's doing great. i decided to train her the same way i trained lauren and that is without wearing panties around the house. she hasn't had a single accident EXCEPT for #2! and luckily i had her in a pair of underwear (she wanted to wear big girl panties, so i thought i'd give it a try) and the 2nd accident happened downstairs in the basement which is unfinished. she freaked out! and of course i think i did too! but the next day she actually sat on the potty and pooped. so i am thrilled with her progress. hopefully by her 3rd b-day (april) she'll be trained....except for at night and naps of course.... and i'm praying she doesn't take after her big sister and develop a fear of public toilets...you know the ones that automatically flush once you get up. well, to this day she hasn't forgotten about the toilet at the costco in anchorage that flushed "really loud" before she was even off of the toilet. geez, what a nightmare that was... she isn't afraid anymore but this happened back when she was 3.... poor thing was scared!
one week down....i've managed to work out every day last week and i ate healthy and cut out snacking! we did order pizza saturday night, which i felt totally guilty for eating but it tasted really good. ha ha i'm not stepping on the scale until next week though. i'm one of those that gets very frustrated if i don't get results right away....so i'm taking a different approach this time and hope it pays off... nor am i starving myself. i used to do that when i was younger too. but would gain weight back and then start the cycle all over again. so tired of that type of dieting/living... i even cooked 4 healthy meals last week....
i should be working on a class project and some assignments....sorry i don't have any photos to share today....have a great week!

happy new year

2007-01-04T15:17:00.000-06:00

so i'm a few days late with my new years greeting! hope everyone had a nice/safe holiday!
not much new here....although, i can report i've stuck to my new years resolution now for 4 days! you know, the traditional lose weight, eat better and exercise resolution....the one that usually lasts 2 weeks....hopefully this will be the year i stick to it and change my habits for good....
so i've been tinkering around a bit....just have a few projects to share... the layout scanned terrible, it isn't crooked in real life. then there is the valentines day card....i used a lunch bag and sewed around the 3 sides creating a pocket. then there is the large "fancy pants" flower in the oversized soup can. i used a foam ball at the bottom, hot glued in place and stuck the flower right into the ball. and finally i had to share the black and white photo i took of lauren. i still have so much to learn about my camer and using photoshop...i have the limited edition of photoshop so i'm not sure if i have all of the options that photoshop offers....but i did putz with the lighting etc...of the photo. not sure if it looks good or not....it's certainly not a "tara whitney" photo by any means....anyone have any tips or tricks they want to share feel free....

Up & Running....

2006-12-29T13:58:00.000-06:00

my adaptar arrived for my scanner so i thought i'd give it a test run....seems to work! so i'll share a few layouts i have done over the past few days....
so anyway....better get busy...i took the tree and most of the decorations down yesterday and have everything cleaned up for the most part.... kati is napping and lauren is outside playing with friends (it's like 60 degrees here again...) and terry is content sitting in his office listening to his satelite radio...which means i can do my own thing.....see ya!

ramblings...

2006-12-27T21:09:00.000-06:00

hi! hope everyone had a merry christmas. it's hard to believe it's come and gone already!
we managed to make it through all of our parties and hoopla...and am ready to move on... ready to take the decorations down and get our house back in ship shape.... i thought i had a handle on the girls toys/clothes prior to the holidays but i didn't...so i spent the majority of the day after christmas reorganizing/throwing toys and clothes. the girls just get bombarded with new toys and clothes from their relatives... we shouldn't have to buy them anything new for quite some time! so for those relatives who peek at my blog but never leave me a comment (ya you!) thanks again for everything!!! the girls loved everything and have played with everything (and i have picked up everything many times!).
my dear hubby got me a new canon camera bag for x-mas which houses 4 lenses & my camera of course....hmmm? so does this mean he will buy me 3 more lenses? ha ha not sure i'd even know what to do with 3 different lenses. i'm still trying to figure out my camera! lets see....i also got a spa gift card for a pedicure and manicure (always a nice treat) oh, a dock for my i-pod, $50 for i-tunes and box of yummy chocolates that i DON'T need..... (thanks dear) so he did good for not having a list....
i got a nice little surprise the other day. the design team at creative xpress was having a holiday card contest amongst ourselves...the staff at creative xpress would ch0ose the winning card....which to my surprise was mine....i'm not a card maker or at least not compared to some of the girls on the team....so i scored myself a new making memories runway bag.....green of course. very fun!
i've actually been able to scrap a few pages....but my scanner died...well, i guess it's probably my adapter that died...so i have another one coming and hope that's all that it is.... other than that not much is new....just trying to get back into the swing of things. i guess that won't happen until winter break is over and lauren is back in school....
have a safe and happy new years!!!

Merry Christmas...

2006-12-22T11:35:00.000-06:00

i just thought i'd stop by and wish everyone a Merry Christmas.... it's been crazy around here these past 2 weeks so i've neglected my blog....tonight is lauren's b-day party with her friends. i just finished up her "fish" cake...what a mess that was...geez i had this cute (or so i thought) idea to cut out pizza dough in the shape of fish and then have all of the kids make their own fish pizzas....mmmm, pizza dough does not cut well with cookie cutters. so i think we'll be ordering pizza and playing games. i'm so glad i tried to pre-cut the dough, otherwise we would of had a huge mess on our hands with 10 kiddos trying to make personal sized pizzas. ha ha it's only a 2 hour party so things should clip along pretty fast....and before you know it she'll be 6! (dec. 24th)
still doesn't seem much like Christmas around here....not a lick of snow is on the ground and temps have been in the upper 50's & 60's. i was praying for some of that denver snow to come this way but no such luck. i know, sounds crazy to wish for snow but Christmas just isn't the same without a dusting of the white stuff. (or at least for me....)
Merry Christmas to all....and here's to a happy, healthy New Year!
be safe in your travels....hugs kori

Just poppin' in...

2006-12-11T07:30:00.000-06:00

good morning...just wanted to stop in here and say hi....it's going to be a busy week so i won't have much time to blog.... i'm hosting our Bunco group x-mas ornament exchange on tuesday. i'm really looking forward to it....then on Saturday Terry and I are hosting a holiday party with several neighbors. but in between all of that it's swimming lessons, gymnastics and a girls scouts meeting. oh ya, and an assignments i have to get done and a class to teach on sunday..... i kind of thrive on being crazy busy though. sounds strange huh!

well the photo is our x-mas card this year. taking a family photo just wansn't happening and time was running out. so i plopped the girls in front of the tree and after 10 attempts and threatening to take gifts away if they didn't smile nice (ha ha....no joke, i had to pull out all stops, lauren needed to get to school, so i wasn't playing around.... poor girls... needless to say this is the photo i got after the threat....so they get to keep all of their gifts. ha ha like i really would have taken them away.....) i made another covered candy bar....this one i made using the pink martini papers....i taught a class on saturday and for this class i used the PM papers so i thought it would be fun to do a give away using the papers as well....

so that's that....i had better pull myself together and start my week..... have a good one!

More to share...

2006-12-05T16:08:00.000-06:00

i finally feel like i'm getting some things accomplished and crossed off my list...so i figured i could play a bit... i finished up a few projects i started....the big candy bar is a teachers gift...just wrapped with the pattern paper. so easy and cheap! (my friend michelle made these last year...got the idea from her...thanks michelle) i cut the pencils down with a hand saw and resharpened. i also finished my button ball.....it was cute before it got too many pins on it....now i'm not so sure i like it...but thought i'd share anyway...just another fun idea for an ornament. i really don't have much else to share...i had better get back at it before i get to cozy in this chair! take care.....

Not much...

2006-12-01T15:09:00.000-06:00

hi there...well, we dug ourselves out this morning. i think we only got a few inches of snow so to us that isn't much but when it rains before, during and after snowfall...it's a huge mess. it was so heavy and not to mention it was like chopping a block of ice...i'm pooped and i didn't even help that much. ha

i just wanted to share my ornament i made today. i used the Pink Martini rub ons and the letter rub ons are from doodlebug.....

did some x-mas baking yesterday and today. finished up our traditional sugar cookies w/ royal icing. lauren had fun and of course kati just ate the cookies.

i'm off to make some more ornaments...thought i'd do some cute button balls....

I shoulld be doing something else....

2006-11-29T13:19:00.000-06:00

hey there....i stopped to check my e-mail and figured i should maybe throw in an entry to my blog...i have a zillion other things i should be doing....
well, i'm finally done decorating. seems like it took me forever this year. there is always something else a person would like to do or add but my budget only goes so far. being as i like blog entries w/ photos i thought i'd share a few from "around the house"....
and then the last two photos are of lauren's bedroom...the dollar store border :) the photos are dark but you get the idea....i'm just glad it's done. guess our bedroom will be next but not until after the holidays!
thanks for the appetizer recipes and web sites...i have found several that look yummy and i'll attempt to make.
so that's it for now. i had better get up and get some things done!

Bring On the HoliDays!!

2006-11-23T20:04:00.000-06:00

happy thanksgiving! hope everyone enjoyed their day with family and friends....it was such a beautiful day here today. must have been in the mid 60's and sunny. i cooked the big ol' turkey meal w/ all the fixins' (ok, just a turkey breast but that still counts...darn thing cost as much as a whole bird!) everything tasted great....i have the darndest time with gravy...but it was good!
it's been a crazy week...lots going on and lots to do. i finally finished painting lauren's room. turned out pretty cute. 1/2 green 1/2 pink walls with a border in between w/ pink/green circles. found this at the dollar store of all places. i was a bit hesitant thinking there is no way this will stay on the wall....but so far so good. watch it will all be on the floor by tomorrow morning. ha ha
then on tuesday i started putting up the trees! i just couldn't wait anymore....what a fiasco that was....i had 1000 white lights on my tree....plugged it in, all looked great....5 min. later they all went out....ooops, i forgot i couldn't plug all of them into eachother....so i thought i had burned all of them out. took them off, unconnected them, plugged each in individually and they worked. uhg!! ok, this is good cuz at least i don't have to buy 10 more boxes of lights! so, i put them all back on the tree again, one of the strands is out. GEEEZ! luckily it was only the 2nd from the bottom....it took me like 6 hours to get this tree up....i'm still not done decorating the house but at least that is done.....
anyone have any fun/easy appetizer recipes they'd like to share. we're hosting 2 parties this month and i'm in search of some yummy fun appetizers....
anyone going shopping tomorrow? i have never had any desire to shop the day after thanksgiving! i am just not a crowd shopper....so good luck to those brave soles!
(being as i like posts with pictures...here is a card i made....supposed to be santa....)

Some Stuff....

2006-11-18T08:28:00.000-06:00

morning....i just had this new entry almost done and i lost it. grrrrrrr..... well, at least you'll miss out on my ramblings....i won't go there again.
but here are a few things i thought i'd share with you....this 2 page layout i did for a class at Page Makers earlier this week. i was to use the theme thankful but i also wanted to use the scalloped paper and show them there are several ways to use the paper vs. just putting it in the center of your layout....

this next layout i used the Jenni Bowlin Nov. kit....i love this kit...the colors are so great. i really like how jenni customizes her kits. she creates something of her own and includes it in the kit. she's been making these journaling cards (not on this layout) that are so cute! i was getting 3 different kits a month but since being put on my budget i have cut back but just can't get rid of this one!

i have a few more classes lined up to teach in Dec. one of which will be this little paper bag album. lots of fun goodies on the inside....

well, i hope everyone has a great weekend. maybe i'll get my tree put up...we have 2 b-day parties to attend and i'm coming down with a cold so not sure how motivated i'll be....

have you ever noticed (my brother has) how i don't type with capital letters and a lot of times i use 3... in between sentences....so very frustrating to do spell check! ha ha ha have a good one!

morning...

2006-11-14T07:59:00.000-06:00

good morning. i just have a few things to share today. the layout was just for fun. i had been busy doing layouts for assignments and wanted to play... the album is something i made to send to my sister. she has a group of friends who are scrapbookers....& every now and then i make up kits for them. in the box that i'm sending this week, i decided to make up some albums that they could give as gifts. (the word Joy is from Li'l Davis)
anyone else have the christmas bug already? i've been itchin' to put my tree up!
a few years ago i decided to go fake...we had always had a real tree but realized that each and every year i was taking it down by myself, hauling it out by myself and cleaning up a huge mess, by myself! it's a nice looking tree so i don't mind.
i'm forcing myself to wait until next week... it isn't even thanksgiving for pete sake! so i decided i could at least riffle through my decorations and test all of my white lights... i have a little 2" tree that lauren is putting in her room. she wanted it in there right "now"...so last night we put some lights on it and i told her we could make some ornaments for it... she was pretty excited. the martha stewart holiday issue has some pretty cute ideas.

A few to share....

2006-11-09T14:27:00.000-06:00

well for some reason i am unable to load my pictures of my holiday paper bag album i did...i put 3 small lunch bags together, folded in 1/2, punched holes in the fold and tied the 3 together to make an album. some of you may have seen 2 of the layouts i posted today. but i haven't put them on my blog yet...
i've been busy working on assignments and enjoying our nice weather. it's been 75 these past few days. the girls and i just got back from spending almost 2 hours at the park! so nice.
had a photo shoot from hell yesterday. geez! first, i have to admit it was my fault. kati didn't get a nap...so before we even get to the park where the photographer is going to take their pictures, she is freaking out in the parking lot. (she is so not like lauren!) she wouldn't move. she just stood there and had a fit. i was able to take a few cute pictures before the photographer started but by this time they had dirt all over them, their hair was a mess as it was windy....uhg! so i'll be lucky if we get 5 good photos out of that batch. and here i thought if i were to hire someone to take their pictures they would cooperate for them. lauren was good, but i would hope so, she's 5. kati was ok for a while but she had several melt downs during the shoot. she definitely still needs a nap! i'd post some of the pictures i took but blogger won't let me for some reason.

Someone was watching over us!

2006-11-06T14:18:00.000-06:00

i got a phone call yesterday from my mom....i had just talked to her the day before so whenever i hear her voice on the phone and i had just spoken with her, it scares me a little. i usually get this feeling that something is wrong. she wanted to let me know what had happened to my dad....(heart skips a beat)...he had been working in his garage/workshop as he usually does when out of no where a bullet comes flying through the wall just above his window. it made a hole through the wall and traveled through the garage knocking a bunch of stuff off of the refrigerator. he couldn't figure out what was going on as it made this huge cracking noise. he said his first reaction was to just hit the floor...he laid there for a few minutes and then got up and looked around to see what in the heck had just happened. he noticed the hole in the garage and figured it was a bullet. my dad makes guns as a hobby, repairs them for people etc...so he knows a lot about guns to say the least. he's been an outdoorsman all his life....BUT apparently the dipshits who were hunting across the road aren't aware of a few rules....1. ya don't shoot your friggin' gun towards HOMES, where people actually live. 2.just because you see a deer doesn't me you just shoot at it without thinking, "where will that bullet land if i happen to miss that deer? hmmm 3. when confronted about what had just happened ya don't laugh and make up excuses! this was a group of men (older), one of which is a neighbor of my dad and moms....the guy who actually shot the gun was very apologetic but his neighbor was the one who laughed it off. my dad told him he didn't think this was funny as he could have been going to his funeral this week! he stopped laughing. i can't stop thinking about this and the thought of what could have happened if my dad had been using his drill press or another saw that was in the path of that bullet. makes me sick. i have never had a problem with guns (when used for hunting or by the police)...but when a gun is put in the hands of someone who is careless& just down right stupid everything changes.... i can't help but to think someone was watching over my dad and our family that day.....

i'll post a project and some layouts a bit later....had to get this off my chest first :) have a great week!

Friday....

2006-11-03T07:16:00.000-06:00

boy, i can come up with some catchy titles, huh! ha ha
how was halloween? we had so much fun. the girls dressed up like little geisha girls. kati who is only 2 1/2 had a blast. although, she pooped out after about 12 houses. she would open up her bag half was up the driveway and say, "trick-or-treat"....while all of the other kids had made it to the door and were on their way back to the street. she kind of got lost in the shuffle. it was too cute! they got more candy then they'll ever know what to do with....but the good thing is they have hardly even asked for it....so you know what that means. handfuls will disappear from their already hidden bags. seems wasteful but they just don't get much candy nor do they need it. not too long ago lauren threw up unexpectedly after she had eaten a ton of candy at a friends house....ya, so that was fun. guess their little tummy's just aren't used to it! so anyway, here is a picture of them all dressed up with the 2 neighbor girls....they even had the chopstick in their hair....(thanks grandma, they worked great)

well, i'm going to start teaching classes again! i've really missed it. i'll be teaching at a store called Page Makers, it's in chesterfield MO. i have to admit i was a little skeptical. just like with anything you never really know what to expect until you actually see for yourself. i have to say i LOVED the store. the space was great! very well merchandised (and having been a merchandise mgr. in the past this makes a huge difference in sales and the overall appearance of your store.... anyway.) she had a nice variety of product, a nice work area and just an overall neat store (of course i loved the cement floors!). the store owner, debbie was so sweet and easy going....so i think this will definitely be a good thing.

oh, remember when i entered the Making Memories Idol contest....well, for being one of the top 20 chosen Making Memories sent out one of their paper trimmers to each person. WOW! it arrived the other day....i love this thing! i've been using a fiskars for years and just never wanted to venture away from that....it was easy to use, light weight and didn't take up much room. well, move over fiskars....i'm lovin' this cutter. we'll see how much i love it when i have to change the blade.... but regardless, it's a nice tool....and what a great gift!
ok, i've rambled on enough....have a great weekend!

hola...

2006-10-30T16:11:00.000-06:00

Hi! hope the wk. end was good to everyone. It always seems to go by way too fast! Not much new here. Had a halloween party to attend and a soccer game that ended the season. Here is a pict. of the girls. Lauren is the second from the end. Such a cute group of girls...
and there is a story behind the layout....if i could slow down and read directions more carefully....i saw that maya road was having a design team call. i love their products! embellishments are my favorite! i love a good pattern paper too but fun embellishments just do the trick! so anyway....i crank out this layout, load it, send it etc.... THEN i go back and re-read their call w/ the details etc....turns out they wanted a "project" not a layout....so i frantically e-mailed them and thank goodness they didn't seem too annoyed with my lack of ability to follow directions....i created a project and sent that off....whew!
anyway...have a safe halloween!

Morning...

2006-10-25T10:16:00.000-05:00

hi....been a while since i've posted.... so i just thought i'd pop in here and show off my daughters kindergarten picture. i was pleasantly surprised! i was expecting the cheesy smirk, i don't wanna take this photo kind of look....but she actually smiled nice....and looks so cute....(ok, so that's a mothers opinion!) before i dropped her off i made sure to tell her not to let anyone do anything funny with her hair! ha ha (only a mother would give that advice!) i remember some of the frumpy helpers that would volunteer to help the students before getting their pictures taken....they'd comb your hair all funny, paste it down to your forehead or lick their fingers and wet down your hair. yuk! so needless to say this picture of lauren was a nice surprise! (the blue background was a bit brighter than i thought it would be though! yikes)
have a good week!

WHEWWWW!

2006-10-15T19:25:00.000-05:00

Hi! wow, it's been a while since i've posted...been a crazy few weeks.... my in-laws just left this morning after a weeks long visit. had a great time with them! i love having company! we've lived so far away from family for so long that it's such a joy to have family around whenever we can! we still live 800 miles away from them but at least it's a car ride vs. a 7 hour flight.
well, i celebrated my birthday this past week and my dear hubby got me the most awesome gift!!!! yup, a canon eos digital rebel xti! he also bought me an additional lens but i can't recall it's size..... i'm still learning but have played a little bit and love it! it's so fast! now i just need a new photo printer and i'll be set! ha ha (x-mas is just around the corner, right!)
i haven't worked on many layouts this past week...i did get a nice little e-mail from CK wanting a layout from me! first time being published in CK!!! very excited. i'm sure you've all heard the sad news about Scrapbook Answers? if not, their closing up shop. the pub. co. decided to close them up.....but none-the-less it's sad! there will be one more issue coming out, the november issue. so look for that!
thought i'd share a few layouts....the green layout is for Creative Xpress DT this month...we had to create a layout using our favorite color (i don't have just one but chose green as it's one of my favorites) and the hog heaven layout was just for fun... have a great week!

Random Stuff....

2006-10-05T13:46:00.000-05:00

Hi....i really don't have anything all that exciting to chat about...but i wanted to share a few Li'l Davis layouts i did for their booth at Memory Trends.... each layout has something new that their bringing out at the show...new glitter garden, printed flowers and the rockstar rounders....
to answer your question michelle...about the circles...for the bigger circles i used my coluzzle nested circles and for the smaller ones i have a sizzix die. i never thought i would use a coluzzle template for anything...until i had an assignment at CX....i LOVE it...i use it all of the time.
that's all for now....have to get back at it!

TGIF

2006-09-29T14:29:00.000-05:00

another week flew by! crazy...but it was a good week.
the design team for Creative Xpress loaded their layouts for Aug. into the design team gallery today...4 of the layouts i posted here are for aug. the "Learn 2 Skate" layout is for Pink Martini...this is the new Pink Squirrel line...so cute. the yellow paper has a faint turquoise grid on it....it's so cute. i didn't notice it until i started working with the papers...and the 2 strips of brown at the bottom that have the words on it....are also on one of the pieces of paper that came in that line....the words i cut out were so appropriate for this page...they say, " worn out and screaming, "woo hoo" & "preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways" too funny....
not much else going on...have some what of a busy wk. end planned. soccer, dinner and a b-day party and i'm sure other stuff will come up. i have some more assignments to get done but other than that...oh, and potty training...that's top priority. kati has used her potty 3x's now for me and i couldn't be more happy! i've been putting her on her potty for months now and she has never gone....so i'm hoping now we're at least on our way to "getting it".
have a great weekend! be safe....

New PINK MARTINI papers!

2006-09-27T10:58:00.000-05:00

hi there! thought i would share the two layouts i created for the new Pink Martini paper line coming out at Memory Trends in Vegas in just a few weeks!!! they were so much fun to work with...i think the Creamsicle line is my favorite but i haven't worked with the Pink Squirel line yet....so maybe i'll change my mind. the pool layout is the Flirtini line and the sisters layout is the Creamsicle line....the rub ons will be coming out at the show....

Here is my Secret....

2006-09-23T07:35:00.000-05:00

i had this in an earlier post but had to remove it due to it being a secret (and i didn't know it was to be kept a secret....oops) so now i'm putting it back out there.... got a nice e-mail a few weeks back from renee camacho (who is now the creative director for Li'l Davis designs, inviting me to be on their team! i know those of you reading this who don't scrapbook or aren't part of this industry are probably reading this and thinking what's the big deal...... the list of names on this team is amazing. such talent and to be designing for one of the manufactures i have always L O V E D! is sa-weet!!! i am so honored that they picked me out of the crowd!!!
here is there blog and website (hopefully the links work, i've been having trouble with adding links???) http://www.lildavisdesigns.typepad.com/

A Part of Me

WHEW!

A little behind....

Surprise!

11 Years Today!

Stuff...

Long Over due Update!

Happy New Year

Wednesday...

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I'm Still Alive.....

OVER DUE!

Holiday/Vacation photos....

Just checking in...

Holiday Shoot Etc...

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A Witch and her Kitty!

Photo Slide

More photos and I've been tagged!

Catching up!

Photos to share...

Random Stuff....

9 Years Today!

Saturday...

Time Flies....

good morning....

Sharing my pain...

Stuff....

Back in the Saddle again....

photos from our vacation...

Back from Vacation....

I'm Here....

Checking In...

*Disney* collectors?

Saturday...

Great Wk. End

Tuesday...

Back from the dead....

Not so Good!

New Summer Do's

Blogger Burn out....

A Few More Photos...

We're Back!

San Francisco here we come!

Tagged by Cari....

Monday Bloggin'

Saturday...

totally random...

Productive...

MIA

My MM Idol jouney ends....

I Can Relax.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY T & TOP 10!!!

My Challenge #4....of MM Idol

Instructions...Finally...

YAHOO...I did it!

MM Idol #3....

Sunday already....

Top 25!

My MM Idol #2 challenge....

Monday =Voting Day @ MM Idol

Top 30!

Voting Day AGAIN!

Got me some Scenic Route lovin'

MM is making it Right!

so Frustrating....

My Layout for MM Idol...

Create while I wait!

Today is Voting Day!

finished....

Random stuff....

2nd Install from 2-14

Happy Valentines Day!

This & That...

Progress Report....

Geez...it's been a while!

Not Much of Anything...

Honest Opinion....

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Disney collectors?