Catching up...

I spent some time with my best friend today...keeping her company while she babysits. During the course of our conversation I said "Oh I didnt tell you..." at least a dozen times.

There is something wrong with that picture!! I dont even have that much going on in my life and I have neglected to share it with her...the one i share everything with! It was an ahha moment for sure!

All that brings me around to here...another "friend" i've neglected! So...heres to best friends and catching up :)

• Still jobless but waiting to hear from a great opportunity.
• Still in love with my niece who gets smarter and funnier EVERY DAY.
• Still addicted to Zuma (its a computer game...not ZIMA the drink) and Facebook.
• Still scrapping...made a bunch recently that I really love! If youre nice I will show them to you...soon!
• Recently had an ahha moment about my church and how much i love it! Seriously, they have been my "family" for 15 years now...and thats something i need to stop taking for granted.  Plus harvest dinner is in the 3 weeks and that starts the eating season :)
• Still surrounded by lots of babies that i love!  really i love them MORE than if they were mine!!  its so freakin cool to watch them grow up...BP is pulling herself up on stuff and starting to figure out how to get around using furniture.  It is the coolest funniest thing to watch her mind work!
• Still in debt but its UNDER 5 figures now so that is super cool...esp. with 5 months of no job.  Getting ready to buckle down again and live like no one else...after christmas....heeheehee
  

So I think youre mostly caught up on the important (and unimportant) ask me questions if you want more info!!

oh...and thanks for reading :)

New art...

Confessions...

I have a new obsession...

YARN

the expensive yummy color drenched cuddly kind

Dont worry...i make stuff with it too :)

Im a knitter!! **blush**

New art...

In case you were wondering...yes i still scrap! These are for a challenge at studio calico to use some of the absolutely awesome exclusive stamps...and since paint has decided to disappear off my computer i cant resize to post in the gallery...so here they are :) lucky you...getting to see them too ...haahaa

anybody there?

just checking...i know i dont post regularly enough to be interesting so its ok...i understand!

im thinking about making this a book blog?

maybe if i win this...
http://megwaiteclayton.com/1stbooks/?p=55#comment-130

Another super cute outfit!

Nantucket Weekend GIVEAWAY!!!!

Dont worry...im going to post these ALL the time! If you want to see how cute it is though...you really should click through :)

cardstock makes me happy...

well pretty much any paper...lol

Cool lady Lisa D is giving away cardstock...so Im recommending you go read her blog! Shes funny and cool and makes great pages too!!

Plus she used to have blue hair...lol

Done!!

Finished last night...2AM...its freakin 740 pages!!

now i get to go read all the stuff people are saying about it...apparently its controversial..haahaa Seriously, its her book, shes the author, she gets to write HER VISION.

Oh and I want to win this...cause really, its the cutest thing EVER

PaperDoll Frock

So in love with handmade!!

This is super adorable...and I have two baby girls just this size!!

Popcorn Bloomer and Blouse GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

and this one....would look fantastic on a certain girl who lives for dresses...

fields-of-gold-frock-giveaway

Buy old not new...

Mostly I think I will just keep blogging about all the new "hobbies" i keep getting myself into!

Vintage...to me means something old, well loved, beautiful, quirky, colorful or memorable.

So yesterday I went "thrifting" to see what i could find. I dont live in town thats particularly "vintagey" but I thought i would give it a go!

I found a pretty totebag (handmade by someone else), a white pyrex bowl (my current collecting obsession) and a quirky mug holder (that says MUGS..lol). Pretty happy with my finds!

Than i was on etsy...i cant stay away. And found a lovely girl (PonyParty)selling THESE:
Why would I be excited about these? Cause they are my gramas plates!! I bought these and messaged her for more...shes on the hunt for me now!! Oh...and she threw in some GORGEOUS green Pyrex (no i dont know where the obsession came from)! Im so excited to have these lovely treasures...and Rachel was great to work with! amylynn...you need to check out her stuff...i saw stuff i wanted to buy you...if i was rich... HAHAA

So...old stuff is cool...and no i cant do this ALL the time...but I got a little bonus...paid off another bill...and got a tiny treat...yah me!!

For the love of sugar...

(previously posted on amazon.com...not written by me)
Frosting Shots: Breakfast of Champions?
by AndreaLeigh on July 22, 2008

Much to the chagrin of dentists everywhere I'm sure, cupcake shops around the country have recently started offering shots of frosting to customers--a dollop of frosting in a small paper or plastic cup. "It's kind of the cut-to-the-chase evolution of cupcakes," says Tanya Steel, editor-in-chief of foodie Web site Epicurious.com. "I can imagine it being at parties. It's a great thing to have at an office party. It provides just a little bite of sweetness and yumminess without going whole hog."

"It's really about developing frosting for the person who can't keep their hand out of the frosting bowl," says [Beverly Hills cupcake shop] Sprinkles' co-founder Candace Nelson. "Some people are so focused on the frosting, they'll walk out with 10 different frostings of all different flavors." Maybe not the perfect replacement for those espresso shots first thing in the morning, but definitely a good way to suss out your favorite frosting flavor without chowing down on a ton of cake (not that I have a problem with that either). Read the full article here.

--AndreaLeigh

The only thing i can add to that is ...good thing i dont live NEAR those!

fabric love...

since I am now in love with quilts...i would love to win a free one...

http://oldredbarnco.blogspot.com/2008/07/win-this-quilt.html

This one is particularly gorgeous! I thought for awhile that this might be my next hobby but it seems a bit labor intensive for me so for now im going to try to score cool cheap old ones...or new ones being handed out like scrumptious candy!

Are you a reader?

Free Books??

http://trishsdiary.wordpress.com/2008/06/28/14-book-giveaway/

of course im blogging that!!

now if only i could get off this machine and READ them...

they are rather delicious just to look at and own though...

on another post she asks "what is the definition of a READER"

my comment turned into a bit of a mini essay....so i decided to post it here...

A reader LOVES books...sometimes in an unhealthy way...lol

I connect it to someone that can be talked into reading anything even if its "not their genre"

someone who has stacks (literally) of to be read books...but still wanders into bookstores...to browse

someone who finds it hard to part with even the cheapest paperback...

someone who cannot understand people who "dont read" (seriously...its a foreign concept that i dont know how to process...i dont even know what that would feel like)

someone who always has a bunch of recommends and is willing to hand over their copies to spread the love among friends

someone who has to make a list of what they read...and gets a lot of joy reading make through the list...

ok...im going to stop now though i could go on and on...lol

as you know...i fully own EVERY ONE of these statements....

I'll be doing this tommorow! www.shimelle.com
and
I will blog about my excellent birthday weekend!!

The other side

So far...30 feels just like 29

but i did put on extra moisturizer this morning :)

thank you blogland for all the well wishes...they made me smiley.
thank you IRL friends for phone calls, texts, and meals...love you all!!

And so it begins...

Saturday was my first 30th birthday party! (because i believe in celebrating my birthday as many times as possible) I showed up for scrapping and got a little birthday party too...complete with tiara :)

They planned all my favorite foods so we basically ate ALL DAY! Should i list them all? yeah...

Homemade banana bread...still warm (the way i like it) slathered with butter
sausage gravy and cornbread (better than biscuits, trust me)
grilled hamburgers ( i am never eating hamburger anywhere else...GOOD beef)
twice baked potatoes
asparagus (omg...it was perfect)
homemade salsa
ranch dip and veggies
deviled eggs
little smokies wrapped in bacon (haahaahaa...yeah...ALL pork ALL the time)
macaroni salad
swedish EFFIN fish
red licorice
AND birthday cake OF COURSE...lol Amy made this scrumptious banana cake with cream cheese frosting...i ate it ALL day...seriously...it was so funny...you know how you take a little sliver...and then KEEP taking little slivers...over and over and over...haahaaa. seriously one of my new favorite cakes!

omg...im so full just looking at all of that but it was a GREAT party...thank you BFF's
oh...and the scrapping? SOME of us got like 12 pages done...but NO that was NOT me...haahaa

i miss my hermiston girls...if i could be two places at once that would DEFINITELY be the second!
xoxoxo

going down...

My debts are decreasing at a slow but steady pace! Having just paid one off this month i wanted to do a little recap...

starting last year in Aug I paid off Target, September was Sallie Mae (that one had been around since 1995!!!) November was a doctor bill, February was a dentist bill, March was HSBC credit card, April was Neiman Marcus card, and May was Old Navy card!! Next up...gas card and Macys!

Im not going to depress myself with how many more i have to go!

So...YAY me :)

oh...and since my sisser is coming home to me im NOT going to europe. dave ramsey says i have to pay off bills and then go when i can PAY CASH. hes entirely TOO SENSIBLE sometimes :)

Have you met my niece yet?

(shes 6 weeks old now and i JUST figured out how to "steal" pictures from facebook & post them)

~~~~Rebecca Joyce~~~~
(her onesie was homemade by me...it says "My Aunty {hearts} Me alot")

Here she is with Mommy
(isnt my sister RADIANT? seriously...she was born for this!)

Here she is with Daddy
(doesnt she have a CUTE daddy ;) )

...and the best news of all? They are COMING HOME to me this fall!!!!!!! I'm so thrilled I can barely talk about it for fear of crying happy tears! It has been TWO YEARS since I've seen my sister and ALOT longer than that since we spent any REAL TIME together! I miss her sooooo much and i really really cant wait to have hours of snuggle time with miss cutie patootie there!!

its already the 25th!

More picture taking all day!! YAH!!

scrappy slump again...

do i have too much stuff or not enough?

all day scrapping and im still not even done with one...

have i lost it?

If you were here...

I would go to church with you in the morning and be proud to sit next to you.

I would buy you flowers

I would take you out for steak and eggs and biscuits with lots of gravy

I would make you a mini album with pictures of all your kids and grandkids, so you could cry and hug me.

I would spend more time hugging you.

You were in all of my dreams last night, it made me desperately happy and desperately sad.

the BEST holiday EVER...

tommorow is NATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY!!

im so excited i dont even CARE how many people have made fun of me today!!!

im just so thrilled to hang with my girlies tommorow and play with paper and glue!!!

Im stocked up on cardstock, have pictures uploaded and CUPCAKES ready to go...

tommorow is gonna ROCK!!!

i shall share the goodness on sunday cause i dont plan on being home while its still saturday...lol

oh AND i have a very special piece of artwork on its way too me...from a special artist!!!

and can you believe that i REALLY made the cupcakes?? i KNOW...amylynn didnt believe it either....haaahaaa!!!

todays post is brought to you by WAY TOO MANY EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!
xoxo

A project I might complete?

SCRAP YOUR DAY

Every month, on the 25th, take pictures all day...make an album. First part easy, second part HARD...haahaa

In love with....

• babies- three new ones in the last two weeks! wow! two of them are far away from me so i'll love on the third one EXTRA

• google reader - i swear they read my mind!! it tells me when people post to their blog!! seriously...i dont have to check them ALL i just subscribe and bam...there they are! i have a shameful amount in my list...haahaa

• reading - devouring books again is so so cool!! i might have to fall back in love with the library and forgive them for being JERKS

• art - i totally want some of other peoples art to hang on my walls!! and ETSY omg...i'll take one of everything

tommorow is FRIDAY...i cant wait! a fun little party after work with my girls, a two year old party on saturday...and maybe some scrappy time <3

xoxo

Good bye

1924-2008
I love you grama!

Bravely NOT spending money

can budgeting be considered brave?

i know that going to portland for girls weekend with ONLY cash and not even my debit card would be considered brave!! and i came home with 4 dollars...whoohoo

this financial peace thing is HARD. sometimes i feel like im getting the hang of it and sometimes i feel totally overwhelmed. good thing i have friends in the class that are helping me with the hard parts.

getting my money under control will DEFINITELY be the most significant thing i do this year!

My sister turned 28 yesterday...ummm...what?? i was twenty eight not that long ago! what is going on with the world!! i feel like Joey..."we had a deal God" haahaahaa

oh...and shes very very pregnant! lol...i love love love seeing her get as big as a house...shhh...dont tell her i said that! its so cool to see her looking like a mom it makes me smily inside and i cannot WAIT to see my neice!

one more thing....trader joes was everything i imagined and more...i will be sending a shopping list with amylynn whenever she goes

xoxo my girlies!

girls i heart...alot

ok...so im sure you have noticed that i have a list of my best girls on the side of the blog now.

i need to clarify that this list is limited to girls who blog...now i realize not everyone blogs...and certainly not everyone i love blogs...

so this is dedicated to my "other" girls...you ARE my heart...

I cooked!

Apparently i can actually cook if im motivated enough!

Took a couple things out of the freezer, steamed a pot of rice and voila!















Why am I motivated to cook? Ummm...its a BLIZZARD out there. I feel so lucky to be home safe and warm.



















These were taken 2 hours ago and it is STILL COMING DOWN!

When I have to be at work at 630 tommorow morning i probably wont feel that lucky...

More bravery

So...I gave a boy my phone number! Eeek!

I know its ridiculous that it should be this big a deal at my advanced age but it turns out romantically I'm stuck somewhere in early high school. Literally if I could have gotten away with a "check yes if you like me" note I would have gone that route. Instead I have friends that threatened me with bodily harm and all kinds of extreme embarrassment if I didnt JUST DO IT. So i saw him, gave him my number, and then ran away! haaahaa...seriously i thought i was going to puke afterwards or have a heart attack.

are you starting to get why BE BRAVE is going to be something i have to work on for a freakin YEAR?

Im pathetic...but I DID IT!!!

Hump day

working five days a week makes the week REALLY long. but we get new shifts soon and they are 4X10s which im happy about. cross your fingers i get the shift i want!

money is going pretty good right now. im still on top of everything and have a teensy bit of wiggle room so that makes me feel relieved. my finance class is starting next week and i am SUPER excited to buckle down and start saving for europe...

ummm...YES I SAID EUROPE!!! eeekkk...

thats one of my brave things...im going to fly to europe in the fall. my friends that love to travel, also known as the peace corps friends, have been putting this trip together and i never really thought it was possible for me....BUT my sister is having a BABY now so i have a HUGE motivation to BE BRAVE and go for it! eeekkkk...every time i talk about it i get that scared crazy excited upset stomach thing...omg...its really going to happen!!

xoxo

New year new word

You know I cant resist a bandwagon to jump on. Usually its an Ali E bandwagon :)

she says choose a word of the year....

my word is BRAVE

I'm tired of being scared to live...I'm going to be BRAVE this year

Lots of exciting scary opportunities have already presented themselves and with my new word to motivate me I'm facing the fear and being BRAVE

heres to the BRAVEST 2008 EVER!!!

the holidays are here...

that time of year when everyone turns loony just to save a buck...lol

there are traditions i do look forward to though...

thanksgiving dinner at church the friday before thanksgiving (kind of kicks off the eating early)
leftover turkey sandwiches
cookie crop at the daisy bucket (we swap homemade goodies...mmm)
all day cookie making with gina
bella notte dinner at church (a fundraiser where the youth group prepares and serves and everyone dresses up fancy)
cookie candy sale for the pregnancy center (you buy homemade goodies by the POUND)
christmas play at church
christmas brunch with the girls (my number one favorite tradition)
christmas eve service
waking up to the calm of christmas morning (hey...no kids means MY morning is calm)

can you tell im trying to focus on the POSITIVE? :)

Scrappy...

While I was procrastinating on doing my taxes, I did this:



I think it was time well spent! This was a "scrapjack" of Karla Dudley...love her stuff...lots of clean lines and little bits of stuff...right up my alley!

While in portland for the CKC, amy, stacy and me took tons of fun pictures...cant wait to scrap more!

To my readers...

LOL...i dont think there are any left.

im a horribly neglectful person...I guess its a good thing i dont have kids! ha

so i was supposed to have my wisdom teeth out yesterday...and didnt

i got a ticket for no seatbelt and not having updated tabs on my car...

i need new tires...apparently if you can see the wire stuff showing thru thats bad (whoops...)

two good friends just lost babies...heart breaking stuff...

all my babies are getting so big...another one year birthday party on saturday

tons of scrappy ideas in my head...until i sit down to actually do something

work is hard but good...new shift 545 AM to 445 pm....its not fun to wake up in the dark...at all!

anyone ever watched Ultimate Fighting Championship? its strangely hypnotic watching boys try to kill each other...mostly i just go for the food...amylynn rocks!

im eating a cadbury cream egg...my moms favorite!

so... happy easter my girlies...

love ya!

RAKiness...

heehee...yes I make up words!!!

(does anyone read this that DOESNT scrapbook? do I need to define RAK? let me know...)

I was awarded a prize from my online crop this weekend and got a box of scrap goodness from the super cool Kimberly!

a HUGE box full of soooo much yumminess!

Right on top...the coveted Hambly rubons...eeekkk!

a crapload of fun paper...including my favorite 7g's and some kickin AC

7g's cardstock stickers, flowers, funky ribbons, and A WHITE GEL PEN!!!

thanks for the hook up you super sweet lady!

happiness

have i mentioned that art makes my heart happy, satisfied and full?

you must check out the PURE BLISS from this weekend...these girls ROCKED and there is days and days of inspiration in this stuff!!

Scrapgal Idea Gallery * Online Crop

heres my friday stuff:

Happy thoughts!

I hate the fact that that entry is what people see...so heres a little filler!

im having a super scrappy weekend...will post more later!

Bad words

I hate when I say something that doesnt come out right and people are hurt! Im a person who doesnt like to make people mad at me and will often keep my feelings to myself or not share my opinions or avoid confrontation JUST so I can keep people liking me! (I know...bad idea...but I cant stop, and besides thats not what this is about).

So I said something casually and without thought that hurt someone that is dear to me. Weeks ago. I found out about it today...by reading about it on MySpace and of course reading all the comments that people made ABOUT ME without any opportunity to explain or defend. Including a comment from ANOTHER friend that I would not have expected that from. Anyways, the fact that it was aired PUBLICLY without coming to me for explanation or even coming to me for an apology is what is currently making me PEEVED! One of my TOP TEN pet peeves...not knowing when someone is mad at you but EVERYONE else does!

Seriously I feel like Im in junior high. It makes me not want to crawl back into my hole and be antisocial (except for some of you...youre my lifelines)

Thats it...thats all i want to say right now...and YES i will continue to stew and dwell...for a little while!

I also HATE when I waste a WHOLE day on the internet...ugh! I mean, I found pretty stuff, but seriously...SEVEN hours!

If you could read...

all the blog posts that happen in my head you would certainly find it more entertaining than the ones that actually make it to publication!

I hesitate to set goals because the setting of goals gives you something to work for but it also gives you something to fail at. Unfortunately I am most likely to fall into the failing category. Somewhat of a self fulfilling prophecy I'm sure! So this year, for the first time in a long time i didnt even attempt the ritual of goal setting. No lists of the things i want to change. No remaking of the same list every year, lose weight, be smart with money, get out of debt, write more, scrap more, take more pictures, clean my house, eat better, learn to crochet, play piano, speak spanish and cook. I have lots of things i want to accomplish but in my self defeating way I can only see myself failing.

The one resolution I kept last year? Read more...52 books in a year! Im pretty proud of that...

Now for something more inspiring...go here...read this... My Friend Mary by Cathy Z
Someday I will write like this about my mom.

(oh crap...is that a goal?)
;)

Carol of the Bells

My christmas started Saturday! A fantastic brunch with my best girlies...beautiful decor, yummy food, a bit of bubbly and laughing till I cried! Cannot even put into words how much that meant to me...I'm verklempt just thinking about it!

On sunday was the choir cantata at church! They nailed it...so so beautiful! The kind of music that makes your heart swell and your eyes leak. Amazing! They sang carol of the bells and i got goosebumps. LOVED it! Sunday night was our sunday school kids program and play! One of my best friends Amy did all the hard work on directing and directing and it turned out FANTASTIC! The kids were so great...they said their lines loud and on time and sang great! So fun! Even the tiny kids belted out their song and rang their bells enthusiastically!

On Tuesday...I got to watch a little 4 year old sugar plum fairy! I cannot describe how amusing that was. Little kids have SUCH big personalities and they are fearless entertainers! So much fun to watch them shout their lines and twirl around the stage! And it was short...bonus!! Props to the teachers cause as Cari commented "its a bit like herding cattle"

Cari thinks I should talk about her on my blog more...we'll see! LOL

So...the countdowns almost done! If you dont buy it today before 3pm and get ONE DAY SHIPPING you arent gettin it for christmas and theres NOTHING i can do no matter what names you call me! Go Santa!!

My obituary...according to the quiz

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

is it a little weird that this came up tonight...just after i was reading about a tribute concert for Princess Diana? hmmm...

My mom was infatuated with her and so some of it rubbed off on me. I remember where i was when she died and the hoopla that surrounded it and how i stayed up all night to watch the funeral. So sad...it seems so long ago...i think its good to remember sometimes...