Prayers Please...

Jarrett's grandma is in the hospital and not doing very well at all. If you could all please send any prayers that you have to her and Jarrett's family, I would totally appreciate it! Thanks!

Sick kids....again!
Yep...both kids are sick yet again! Ever since Christian started preschool, it's been the never-ending round of germs here!! Ugh... They are starting to feel better now, but it's just SO tiring!! I hate seeing little ones sick. They just don't know how to handle it, KWIM? Cross your fingers and hope this round is gone soon!

Preschool Mommy Things
I'm the snack mommy for this week! They are focusing on circles, so the snacks I bring in are supposed to be in that shape. At least I got an easy shape, right?!?! ;) I'm thinking of making Andrea's infamous cake balls. Christian loves them and they're easy to make. Also, Christian said he wants to make M&M cookies. I think it's so darn adorable that he gets so excited about doing special stuff for his class. When I told him it was our snack week he was thrilled! LOL...

Also, I'm one of the class moms in charge of the Valentine's Party! If you have any ideas for easy games/treats/crafts for 3/4 yr olds, let me know! I've been browsing the web and have found a couple, but I'm always up for more ideas!

Weekend
The weekend was pretty calm and boring around here. Went to Jarrett's parents' house on Saturday night and my family came here last night. My sister just got back from Mexico and wanted to show us all her pics and stuff. Oh, and she got THE cutest shirts for the kids! They're in the wash now, but I'll take pics to show you!

World of Wheels Pics
So, I know we went to this last weekend, but I'm just getting around to posting the pics. This was seriously like a dream for Christian! He is obsessed with all vehicles and this was just right up his alley!

Meeting Lightning McQueen! Notice we just "had" to wear our Cars hat & shirt! LOL...

Christian saw this car and said it looked like "Snot Rod" from the movie Cars. ;)

The kids were fascinated with the size of some of the trucks they had. These wheels were bigger than they were!!!!

And....in Christian's hand, you can see his favorite thing he got the whole night long! Even though we bought him a shirt (that cost TOO much!), snacks, etc...he loved the FREE catalog one of the cars had next to it! LOL... These guys saw how much Christian loved their big, green car and gave him that racing parts catalog that it is featured in. He hasn't put it down since then!!!! He carried it around all night and was too stinkin' cute with it!

Have a great Monday!

Hope you all have a wonderful day! Nothing much planned for today except for snack making and MAYBE a little sled riding if the snow hasn't completely melted yet! ;) Talk to you all tomorrow! {{HUGS}}

Whew!

I've got ALL kinds of stuff to share with you today! So, grab your hats and hold on! LOL... ;)

Hubby of the Year?
So, remember last week when I told you Jarrett was running for Hubby of the Year? Well...he's officially been crowned! :) He has been nothing but supportive with how much time I've spent on the computer this past week getting stuff together for the store and then he comes home from work with these....just because! He knows I'm a little frustruated with things right now and he knows that I LOVE flowers! After all...who can look at these and say they're not happy!??!

Aren't they gorgeous?!?!? Christian got a real kick out of them too. He kept saying that I got them "because they love me SO much" and that they were for "our sweet momma". Does it get much cuter than that, I ask you??!! I think not! :) Little Ava keeps sticking her nose in them to smell and is even climbing up on the table so that she can get a better view. LOL...

So, I made a LO with my new kit to show Jarrett how much I love him and that he's earned his reward! ;) Also, I used Andrea's new Vintage Photo Frames...aren't they the best?!??!

You can see it here too.

Amazing Digi Race

Okay...so I am having so much fun doing this! My partner, Laurie, is fantastic! I just love her to death and we make a great team! The first challenge for this week was to use a sketch provided to us. Of course, I took it and made it into 2 pages! LOL... I just can't resist!

Here it is! Credits seen here.

Surprise Gift

A couple of weeks ago, Yen was having a contest on her blog where she chose random people to win a prize. Well, guess who was one of them! ME!! :) I won this book. It came in the mail today and I can't thank her enough! And then it made me start thinking how lucky I am to have friends that live all over the world. Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, England, Canada, etc...it's amazing! All because we share the same hobby and have gotten to know each other better. How friggin' neat! Anyways, Yen, Love ya, girl!

Happy Thursday!

LOL...I just saw that Gina tagged me with the same one from yesterday! Guess you girls ALL want to know more about me! ;) So, Ms. Miller...consider it done! LOL... And before you ask...yep...I'm just THAT darn good that I knew you were going to tag me with this! Wanted to get a jump on it, ya know! ;)

Hope you all have a wonderful day!!! {{HUGS}}

New Products and Some Tags!

I've gotten a couple of tags over the last couple days and I haven't gotten to them yet. SO...it was a boring day around here yesterday and not much to talk about, so I'm doing them! :)

Kirsty , Bretta, & Yen all tagged me with the same thing. LOL... (makes it easy on me, huh!??!)

List 5 cool/unknown things about me.

1. I love to garden! Once the weather starts to warm up even a tad, I'm outside buying flowers, planting, re-planting (lol), moving things around...I just can't stay away! It's a total addiction and I can't even go anywhere that sells flowers without me drooling over them.

2. I listen to absolutely EVERYTHING when it comes to music. I don't think it's possible to find anyone more eclectic in their choices. I love alternative rock, pop, dance, country, classical, big band/swing, oldies, hard rock, easy listening...you name it, I listen to it! The only thing I never got into was opera though...don't know why, but it just doesn't hit me!

3. Sometimes I go DAYS without seeing anything other than cartoons on the T.V. Nothing. No programs, no movies, no news, nothing! Just Diego, Dora, Handy Manny, Little Einsteins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, etc...and to tell you the truth, I don't really mind! These shows are DARN cute and really teach stuff to the kids! It's amazing what they learn just by hearing it in the background!

4. I still talk to my mom every single day on the telephone. No fail. Even if I just saw her the night before, I still have to talk to her the next day. We've always been close and she's really the only other adult I talk to on a regular basis except for Jarrett!

5. Hmmmm....having trouble thinking of another one! LOL... Well, no surprise here, but I spend a lot of my free time on the computer with you digi girls. :) Even though I haven't met any of you IRL, you are still my friends and I care about all of you! Sappy...stupid...whatever you want to call it, it's true! I'm hoping that digi takes off and we can have a huge get together somewhere! I'd love to see all of you and give you a huge hug!

Now, here's who I'm tagging! Mary Elizabeth Katie Gina Karen Heather

New Products
I loaded some new products into my store this morning! A kit called Kiss Me and a 2 page template called Button Up. (It's the template that I gave away here last week.)

Kiss Me

A great kit for Valentine's day, anniversary, or just an everyday "I Love You" layout. Includes: 6 Textured Patterned Papers 4 Textured Solid Papers 5 Ribbons 2 Tags 3 Painted Wood Hearts 1 Silver Chain 4 Silver Hearts (2 as charms to hang from the chain) -No drop shadows are included with kit. For display purposes only.

Button Up

Clean and simple 2 page layout. These pages are also strong enough to stand on their own if you don't choose to use them together. Includes: 2 PSD files 2 TIFF files Previews Instructions for use.

Okay, girls!

That's enough random rambling for today! Thanks again for taking the time to read it! {{HUGS}}

Wow...what a day!

Yesterday was interesting for me. Such a huge mixture of emotions....excited to get up and running in the store, nervous that it was all for nothing, exhausted from staying up till all hours of the night this weekend, extremely high when I got notice that someone bought something from my store, to kinda low when I only sold to 3 people. :( Hmmm...yes, I'm a stressed out, tired nutball today! LOL... I know it's going to take time to get better and get on my feet, so hopefully it'll all work out in the end.

My very first customer was Marci (m1218p)! She is such a fantastic lady and I was THRILLED when I saw that I sold something!!! :) Anyways, she made a beautiful heritage LO using my Butterfly Kisses kit. I wanted to share it all with you so you could see how pretty it is! Thanks again, girl!

Credits are here.

And I want to send a HUGE thank you to the other girls that purchased something. It seriously made my day and I appreciate it SO very much! Also, to all of you wonderful girls who took the time to comment here, send me an email, PM me....THANK YOU!!! It all means more than you know! {{HUGS}}

Okay...so very short entry today. I'm still tired, both kids are sleeping, and I think I'm going to go take a nap! :) Not much thrilling going on today anyways and my eyes are starting to blur looking at the screen! LOL... Happy Tuesday to all of you!! {{HUGS}}

It's official!!!!!

I am officially a designer at Elemental Scraps now!! :) Today is their grand re-opening of the shoppe with a gorgeous new look and I'm a new addition! I am so very excited and there are lots of great sales/offers over there by all the designers, SO GO CHECK IT OUT!!!! My store is here. :)

I'm really excited and also really nervous about having some things in the store. Hopefully I'll sell at least ONE thing! LOL... Here's a LO I made using a kit I made, Butterfly Kisses.

Credits here & here.

The House

Well, we spent the ENTIRE weekend getting the house together for someone to come look at it yesterday. It's not even on the market yet, but it's someone Jarrett knows through work. Hopefully they liked it, because we spent a LOT of time working around the house. Between that and getting some stuff ready to go into the store, I've been up 'till at least 3:00 am for the last 3 nights! Yep...I'm exhausted!!!

World of Wheels

The World of Wheels was a lot of fun on Friday. It's a whole bunch of cool cars. A lot of classics, Grave Digger (monster truck), and of course....LIGHTNING MCQUEEN!!! Christian had a fit. Seriously. He wanted to wear a Cars shirt and his Cars hat so that "he could show it to Lightning McQueen". LOL... Of course, he wanted to know where all the other Cars were though...especially his favorite, Ramone!! It was so fun...I don't know who liked it more, me...or Christian!! ;) I'll post some pics tomorrow.

That's it

Okay, everyone! That's it for today! I'm exhausted and have to muster up the energy to take care of the kids! I think it's going to be a "chill out movie day". Shhhhh...don't tell anyone! LOL... And keep your eyes open for another freebie this week, okay? {{HUGS}}

I'm totally flattered...

by all the support you girls have shown me. THANKS!!! I've been having some fun designing a few more things over the past couple of days and can't wait to share with you! :)

Big News
I got offers by a few different stores to start selling with them!!! :) I'm going to start with just one until I get my feet wet and see how it goes, but I am SO excited!!! This store is fantastic and has a great group of girls that I can't wait to get to know better. SO...want to know where it is???? Elemental Scraps!!! They are re-vamping their store and when they have the grand re-opening, I'll be there! I am just thrilled beyond all belief and I have all of you wonderful digi girls to thank for it all! All of the stores that offered me the opportunity were FANTASTIC and I hated turning anyone away. Thank you all!!! {{HUGS}} I am seriously a little overwhelmed by how great everyone is being about this!

New Kit and LO
Andrea Burns posted a new kit yesterday and it's GORGEOUS! One of my favorites of hers! And she has a contest for it too! Check that out here.

LoveNote at The Digi Chick

And here's a LO I made using it. These are the pics of my friends, Missy & Dwight, from their last pregnancy. Credits can be seen here.

Weekend Plans

We don't have much planned for this weekend. Tonight, we're going to the World of Wheels with my parents. Christian is obsessed with cars in general, so he's going to love it. THEN, we found out the life sized Lightning McQueen is going to be there!!! AHHHH!!! Christian is going to literally have a stroke when he sees it! LOL.... I'll be sure to post pics on Monday! The lady is coming to look at our house on Sunday night, so there will be a lot of cleaning/de-cluttering/hiding before then. Want to make the house look as good as possible, 'ya know?!?! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I'll be back to chat on Monday morning! {{HUGS}}

What a great day!

Well, let me tell 'ya! What a great day it was yesterday!! :) :) :) I was a little nervous about putting myself out there and doing this and I'm thrilled with the support you all showed me! THANKS!!! {{HUGS}}

All of these links are still active. I just copied and pasted them from yesterday's post.
Template link download #3
Paper Download link #3
Element Download link #2

If anyone is still having problems getting them, please email me at melaniecolosimodesigns@gmail.com :)

I still have a few surprises for all of you that came out of yesterday that I can let you know in the next couple of days. I promise! I totally appreciate every single thing that all of you wrote yesterday both here and on the forums. It means more to me than any of you will ever know. It's really nice to feel so loved and to feel so gratified by something that I am doing for myself. Not the kids, not Jarrett, not the rest of the family, not church...just me! I LOVE IT!!! ;)

Hubby of the Year Award goes to...
Jarrett!!! :) Yep. He's the absolute best! I was published in Scrapbook Trends January issue and couldn't wait to see it. I've been trying to wait patiently for the complimentary copy they are sending me, but it's been KILLING me! So, I started calling around to local scrapbook stores/craft stores/bookstores and NO ONE carries the darn thing! {rolling my eyes} Long story short, Jarrett called places while he was at work and found a store an hour away that had it. Then he drove there on his lunch break at work (An hour up AND an hour back!!!) just to get it for me. And ALL without me knowing! Yep...Hubby of the Year award...here he comes! :)

No Fit!!
And we had NO FIT at preschool today! Hallelujah!!!! :) He told me the other night that he's scared something is going to happen to me and that I'm not going to come back. How sad!! :( Jarrett & I have spent the last couple of days reassuring him that I'm okay and nothing is going to happen. Thankfully it worked. At least for now...{fingers crossed}

Great Day Vibes
coming right back at 'ya! :) I hope that you have a fantastic one! See you all tomorrow! {{HUGS}}

And the winner is.....

****HOLY HECK!!! You girls are nuts! The templates maxed out again?!?!? And the papers too??!!?? YAY! Here's some more links! Template link download #3
Template Link Download #4
Paper Download link #3
Element Download link #2

***ADDED MORE LINKS! :) I heard the templates were maxed out! Just added some more links here: Template link download #2 Not sure why you need to log in to yousendit to get the papers/elements. I have to run out the door to a meeting, so I'll check into it when I come back, okay? Thanks again for all the nice words, girls! {{HUGS}}

***Edited...the links are good now! Before, only the template one was working! Sorry! :) Thanks for all the nice comments, girls!

RAJI! She guessed it correctly first! :) I'm going to try my hand at designing! I'm a little nervous about it, but I've had fun playing around making a few things already and would like to share 2 of them with you today. I'm going to hand out some freebies for a while until I get better and can find a store to sell at, (hint...hint...) ;) so check back often! I have some different ideas in the works, but kits and 2 page templates are going to be the basis of it all. (And I'm sure I'll throw some 1 pagers in there too for you girls that don't like the doubles!) :)

So.....without further ado.....here's a peek and the download links! (If the links expire or you have a problem, just let me know!) It's a mini kit and a 2 page template. I need to work on my elements a bit more.... ;)

Soft & Sweet Mini Kit
Download Papers HERE.
Download Elements HERE.

Download papers

And a LO I made using it.

This is my LO for the Amazing Race this week.

Doodled vines are by Traci Murphy. Template by Janet Phillips.

First Template Freebie
Download here.

And that, my friends, is it for today! I'm going to try to contact Raji to get her a GC right now! How exciting! Thanks for playing along with my little game yesterday! I've really been trying to think of a way that I could get more obsorbed into the community that I love so much and I think this is a good way to start! You girls have always been good to me and I'm proud to call you all my friends!!!

And Julie Jewels....if I ever get to selling at a store, you're my first girl! I promise!!! :) Love ya!

I have some hubby of the year news for you too, but I don't want poor Jarrett to lose the love he deserves. SO...I'll tell you all tomorrow about how lucky I am! :)

Have a great Hump Day! {{HUGS}}

Think someone guessed it??!?!

Well....you're right! :) Guess you better check back tomorrow to find out what it is! ;) (yeah...I just LOVE to torture people!) LOL...

Thanks for all your guesses, girls! It was fun to see who was saying what! Especially some of the funny creative ones I got! Don't worry...you'll all get a little consolation prize! ;)

{{HUGS}} See you tomorrow!

My Surprise....think you know it???

Okay, girls! I posted that I have a little surprise for all of you! But NO ONE knows what it is! (Except Jarrett and my friend, Missy) Some of you have been saying that you think you know what it is and I want to see if you really do! ;) SO....here's a little contest for 'ya! Post your guesses here as a comment on my blog as to what my surprise is. The first person to guess it right, gets a $5 gift certificate to one of the girls I CT for. Your choice of one out of these designers: Andrea Burns, Janet Phillips, Lie Fhung, Misty Mareda, or Janel Kretschman. I'm curious to see who guesses it first! :)

Another Bad Day

So...another fit at preschool today from Christian! :( Again...just not wanting me to leave. And yes. I left him crying AGAIN. Yep. Momma-of-the-Year award here...I'm telling you! {rolling eyes} After I left him, I hid around the corner and he only cried a couple of minutes though. Thank goodness!

Do any of you have any ideas on what I can do to stop this? It's happened twice now in the last 2 weeks! I'm open to any suggestions!

New Goodies

Fhung has posted some gorgeous new goodies at her store! Be sure to check them out if you get a chance! She also has some new freebies posted!! :)

Check it out here!

Check out the add on here!

The Wedding

So, I needed a book to read before I made it to the store to get the 4th Outlander book. I've had The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks sitting on my nightstand for a while now and decided to pick it up. It was so darn good, I finished it already!!! I've been reading before going to bed and I just couldn't put it down! It is SUCH a beautiful romance story. Oh...the kind that any girl would just LOVE! Especially if you have kids and put them first in your life, you should definitely read this! What a great, GREAT story! I'll definitely be grabbing more of his books!

Start Guessing!

That's it for today! Start guessing and I'll post either tomorrow or the next day (depending on if someone gets it right) what it is and who wins! :) Good luck! ;) {{HUGS}}

How???

How in the world can the high temp today be 59 degrees and tomorrow the high is 32 degrees?!?! WTH??!?!?!? I am sick of the rain...sick of the cold...sick of it all! Either give us enough snow so that my little ones can have fun playing in it or give us the springtime!!! Ugh...

Work Weekend
So, we worked all weekend on the house getting it ready for the lady to come look at it this week. Just finishing up little projects that have been sitting on the backburner. Jarrett's parents took the kids overnight on Saturday and my sister came over to help us. We got a lot done, but it still feels like there is so much to do! KWIM?!? Just being paranoid, I guess!

So, we were so busy working around the house (and I went to church yesterday), that I didn't even listen to a message on my answering machine until late last night! Didn't even notice it was there!!! It was my friend, Missy, saying that she was in Pittsburgh (she lives 4 hours away now) and that she wanted to see us! HELLO!!! That sucks! I didn't get to call her back and she was leaving late this morning so there was no chance I could see her or her kids. :( Bummer, huh!?!?

My Weight Loss
So now, officially, I have lost 23 pounds since June 1st!!! :) Yipee!!! I am so happy and feel so healthy! I've been going to the gym regularly again, eating well again (for the most part!), and drinking my water...oh...I'm feeling so good! I still have 20 pounds more that I want to lose and I'm hoping to get that done in the next 12 weeks. I know...a HUGE stretch, but it's worth a try! I definitely want to lose as much as possible before the beginning of March. I turn 30 on March 3rd and want to look HOT for it! (Maybe it'll take some of the sting away!) LOL...

My Surprise
So....I mentioned last week that I may have a little surprise in the works! ;) I think I'll be able to tell you all this week....hopefully... ;) Some people are curious and think they know what it is....SO....how about this! I'm going to have a little contest here at my modest little blog! I'll give you details tomorrow or the next day! :)

Amazing Digi Race LOs

Just realized I forgot to post these! Here they are! My sign of the times LO and my ATC.

Credits seen here.

Credits seen here.

Happy Monday!
Hope you all have a fantastic week! Thanks again for checking in! {{HUGS}}

I've been tagged!

Yen tagged me on Friday, so that's all you're getting for today! ;) I'll be back with my normal rambling tomorrow morning...I promise! :) Hope you all are having a great weekend! {{HUGS}}

3 Things Survey

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. Melanie
2. Mel
3. lemonyr (lemon-ee-r....my dad's nickname for me when I was little was lemony (a play on my name) and I added my maiden name initial when I needed a screen name!)

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
1. lemonyr
2. jarmel (JARrett & MELanie)
3.

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. Eyes
2. Smile
3. Lower Legs

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON’T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. Stomach
2. Thighs
3. Skin (I have the bad skin of a teenager!!!)

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
1. Dutch
2. German
3. Irish

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
1. Anything happening to my kids/hubby
2. Deep Water
3. Robbers/Stalkers (I am forever worried about someone breaking into my house with us in it!)

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. Hair Brush
2. Chapstick
3. Diaper Bag (lol)

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW: (ohhhh...caught me on a lucky day! I'm ready for church!! lol)
1. Black Pants
2.Dark Grey Sweater Turtleneck
3. Silver Earrings

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTISTS: (I'm VERY eclectic!)
1. Matchbox 20
2. Brad Paisley
3. Louis Armstrong

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS:
1. You've Got a Way (Shania Twain) - our wedding song
2. What a Wonderful World
3. You are My Sunshine (sappy...I know!) lol...

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:
1. Honest
2. Romantic
3. Loyal

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE (in no particular order):
1. I love to digi scrap.
2. I lived in Mexico once.
3. I love Walt Disney World.

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE PREFERRED SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
1. Arms
2. Smile
3. Eyes

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1. Digi scrapping
2. Gardening
3. Photography

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. Go back to bed!
2. Move out of our house and into our dream house.
3. Eat something chocolate/salty and very bad for me! ;)

THREE CAREERS YOU’RE CONSIDERING/YOU’VE CONSIDERED:
1. School Teacher
2. Personal Trainer (for like 2 seconds!) lol
3. Something with my digi scrapping.

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
1. EVERYWHERE!!! ;)
2. Walt Disney World
3. Cruise to the Caribbean

THREE KID’S NAMES YOU LIKE: (okay...so I'm not going to pick Christian & Ava, 'cause that's obvious! lol)
1. Isabella
2. Colin
3. Ben

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. To Travel the world as much as possible
2. Watch my kids get happily married and have their own families
3. Build our dream home/garden.

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A BOY:
1. I like to drink beer out of a can/bottle. No fancy drinks for me!
2. I’m not scared to speak my mind.
3. I can drive Jarrett's big 'ole pickup truck and STILL look hot! ;)

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL:
1. I LOVE pink!
2. I like to have my nails/toes done.
3. I love to shop

THREE CELEB CRUSHES:
1. Brad Pitt
2. Ben Affleck
3. Matt Damon

THREE PEOPLE THAT YOU ARE TAGGING:
1. Julie (MRS2A50)
2. Andrea Burns
3. Angelina

Yipppeeee!!!

Today was a MUCH better day on the school front. No crying or not wanting to go. In fact, Christian just gave me a quick kiss and went running into his class. LOL. Thank goodness! I was totally not looking forward to another episode like on Tuesday! ;) Thanks to all of you for letting me know I wasn't nuts! LOL...

Finished Voyager!
So, I finished Voyager by Diana Galbadon. It's the third book in the Outlander Series and I LOVED it! I don't find much time to read, but since the new year and going to bed a little earlier, I've been making time at night right before turning off the lights. These books were recommended to me by Andrea and they are fantastic! SO not something I would pick up by myself, but they have me totally obsorbed! They are about a woman who accidentally goes back in time and ends up finding her true love. It's a great romance...just unbelievable, the kind that every woman wants. The first book...sucked me in as soon as she went back in time, the second book...not so good, but NECESSARY to the plot, the third book...again, sucked me in. I'm going to buy the 4th book this weekend hopefully.

Speaking of Andrea...

She has a new kit out! Winter's Grace. Absolutely gorgeous! There are the prettiest crocheted snowflakes! AND it's on sale!!!

And here's a LO I made using it. (template by Janet Phillips)
Also, she's having a HUGE retirement sale on older designs. Check out her store here. Her designs are just gorgeous and full of detail. If you haven't used any of her stuff yet, give her a try! :) (And no...I'm NOT just saying that 'cause I'm on her CT!!) LOL....

A little surprise...
I have a little surprise in the works. And of course, my new loyal blog readers are going to hear about it first. I have to keep it a secret for now, but maybe sometime next week I can let the cat out of the bag! Shhhh.... ;)

Losing my mind?
Do you ever feel like you're just totally losing your mind? I do...almost on a daily basis! LOL... I forget to call people back, return emails, etc...etc...etc... A couple of days ago, I emailed Shelly about the Biggest Loser challenge and the list of girls we would like for our team. I went into LOTS of detail creating my list in a Word document so that I could copy/paste it into the email to her. Ummm....I wrote a little note at the top of the email about why I didn't choose the other girls, a little BS-ing about non-related stuff and sent the email. Closed out of my Word document without saving. (I totally wouldn't need this list again or for anyone else) And guess what I get back. An email from Shelly saying "Ummm...was there supposed to be a list of names attached to that?!?!". AHHHHH!!! I forgot to copy/paste the damn thing! Needless to say, she got the Readers Digest version after that. {rolling my eyes}

Then, I get an email from my good friend, Melissa, tonight. She just had a gorgeous little baby girl a couple of weeks ago and when she was pregnant, we took some pics of her. This was at friggin' Halloween time. HELLO!!! Guess who totally forgot about them? Who totally didn't proof them yet? Who totally didn't get them to her at all? Yep...you got it! Me again! LOL. She's just too darn nice to say anything before now. When I took them, we were SO overwhelmed with life. Then the holidays came and I just completely forgot about them. Ugh...calgon take me away! So...I'm going to work on those tonight for her. And maybe a little surprise for the baby's room too? Shhhh...

Rambling
Yep, I'm a big talker in person too. LOL. Hopefully you haven't grown tired of reading this yet! I truly appreciate all of you that take the time to comment! Thanks! I was told today that I can't email you back unless you have your email address set up in blogger or give it to me some other way. SO...let me know your email! ;) I'd love to thank you!!! Happy Thursday! {{HUGS}}

3 and a half years

and Christian hasn't shown a sign of separation anxiety. Only once a while ago he did get worked up when Jarrett's parents were going to babysit him so we could go out. And that was bad enough. SO...guess what happens yesterday...you got it! A MAJOR hissy fit inside his preschool. He woke up saying he didn't want to go. Whatever. That has been normal recently. He just doesn't like to get his butt up, dressed, and moving fast in the morning. He gets over it by the time we're in the car and he's all excited to see his little friends. So, yesterday we get all ready, to school, taking off our coat in the hallway (the whole time yakking away to his teacher about how much better his belly is feeling), and BAM! Right after he kisses me good-bye, he starts crying. Just a little. I ask what's wrong, he just says he doesn't want me to leave. I give him a big hug and try to walk him into his classroom telling him it's going to be okay. Nope...not working. In fact...I can't even get him in the room! He won't even pass the darn threshold!!! VERY long story short...what started out as a little crying turned into a HUGE fit. Crying, yelling that he didn't want to stay, hiding behind the door, hiding behind my legs...and there's me. Ready to start crying too! :( And all of this while holding Ava who is SO ready to be out of there! LOL... Not a fun time! His teacher told me that this is normal after XMas break because they are used to being home with you again. She told me to just leave and he would be fine in 5 minutes. If not, they would call my cell phone.

So, I walk to the end of the hall and around the corner. (Christian is screaming bloody murder by now!) And yep, you know it...I feel like "Mommy of the Year"! {dripping with sarcasm there} I can just hear him saying "I want my Mama" and "I want to go get her"...ugh...totally friggin' heartbreaking. But, I left. Tears in my eyes and ready for a mental hospital to come take ME away, but I left. The teacher said it was the best thing to do and I trust her opinion. She's seen this MANY times, I'm sure.

Sure enough, I come back around 11:00 (it's over at 11:30) and peak in the little window in his classroom door. There's my little guy. Laughing and playing with his friends and having a good time! Now, I've already been crying in my car and talking to Jarrett on the phone ready to have a complete meltdown. And here HE is, having fun!!! Little shit! ;) LOL... Then, (you're going to get a real kick out of this), when they open the door and it's time to leave, he has the audacity (sp?) to say to his teachers....ready???..."Can I stay here with you guys?"!!!! AHHHH!!!! We all busted out laughing and now I'm going to assume that tomorrow is going to be a good day. :)

KMart Sucks

Remember that line from the movie Rain Man? Well, yeah...it's true! At least the one by us does!! Every single time I go there, there's one flippin' cashier open with a long line and they have nothing that I want. So, my main purpose for going there yesterday was the plastic underbed containers they had on sale and my makeup was on sale for BOGO. Guess what...out of both!! Ugh...I walked out of that darn store with 4 things. NONE of which were needed! What a waste of a trip. I just hate that!

XMas stuff

Yep...ours is still up! Tree and all!!! We seriously need to get to work on that asap. I'm sick of looking at it and we're having someone come look at the house next week. I need to get my butt in gear!

See ya!

I'm off to work on a LO for Andrea Burns and my LO for the Amazing Race. Hopefully I'll have them up to show to you tomorrow or the next day! Also, I'm trying to figure out a way to get more visitors to my blog...any ideas? Am I just that boring? ;) Oh, and one last thing. Have a great Wednesday everyone! I'll see you tomorrow! {{HUGS}}

Relaxing day!

Today was VERY relaxing! Nothing planned, nowhere to go...oh..so nice! :) I did a little laundry (and before you ask...no...I didn't fold it right away like I said I was going to! In fact, 2 loads of towels are still in hampers on the living room floor!) LOL... Guess that's a new year's goal I really need to work on! ;) We all just laid around the whole day. Played with the kids, watched T.V., very low-key. I loved it! Tomorrow morning is a school morning though and that always makes it interesting! We're not very fast movers in the morning and Christian has to be at school at 9:30 am. AND his school is 20 minutes away. (We wanted him to be in the school district that we're moving to, so we had to compromise and do it this way for a year.) He's only in school for 2 hours though, so it isn't enough time for me to come home, lug Ava in and out of the car, and make it back. SO...Ava & I go on a grand adventure every Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours. Almost always some type of shopping that needs done. I'm thinking tomorrow we're going to hit good 'ole KMart. They have the makeup I use as BOGO and also plastic storage things on sale this week. Thrilling, huh?!?! ;)

Such a boring entry, but that's kinda how the whole day was...boring! LOL. Hope you all had a great weekend! {{HUGS}}

LOs for the challenges

Hee...hee...I forgot to add pics of the layouts I told you about last night! These are what I made for the challenges at The Digi Shoppe! Here they are:

The Day

Credits can be seen here.

Baking Cookies Page 1

Credits can be seen here.

Baking Cookies Page 2

Credits can be seen here.

The weekend is over...

and I have to say "I'm glad"! Yep...you don't hear that very much, do 'ya??!?! I love the weekends. I love having Jarrett home with us, I love that I can get a little bit more "me" time, I love that we can do errands together....everything about the weekend is great. UNTIL...it's full of stuff that you don't want to do. Especially today.

Church was just a killer. I haven't been there in a couple of weeks because I'm just feeling a little burned out by it all. It's a small church with a majority of the congregation being very elderly. Hence, the group of volunteers to head things up and keep the church running is very, very small. I find myself getting involved in too many things, getting in over my head and I think it's starting to take it's toll on me. When I leave church recently, I think "oh...I'm so glad it's over and I'm going home"...NOT GOOD. You're supposed to leave church feeling refreshed, revived, full of life and ready to face the week and what it brings you. Lately, I've just been wondering about who is going to ask me to do what when I go there and which person is going to get irritated by some comment I say. (The elderly group of members is VERY set in their ways and not open to many new ideas.) I'm trying to change this mode of thinking, but I just don't know how to do it. Any suggestions? I want to LIKE going to church again!

The rest of the weekend

Really didn't do a whole lot or get much accomplished! I had my annual reports for 2006 due for the committee I'm on at church, so I spent Saturday night with Jarrett trying to get it all to balance correctly. My mom & dad aren't very computer literate and had their reports for their committees that needed typing up. I did theirs too and turned all 3 in this morning.

Went to the gym yesterday morning (that makes 3 whole days this week!) and I'll tell 'ya what...I feel great! It's amazing how much impact it has on my mental state as well as my physical state. I just feel happier and more relaxed when I go regularly.

The girls at The Digi Shoppe had a New Years crop this weekend and had TONS of challenges/chats/events going on. I made it to the chat on Friday night and had a BLAST with all the girls there! I really need to make it a point to do that more often. :) I also did a couple of the challenges (wish I could have done more though) and played around a lot.

That's it!

I'm tired and want to just "wind down". It's been a LONG day! Hope you all had a great weekend! {{HUGS}}

Got to sleep in!

Yep...you read it right...I got to sleep in today! Yipppee!!! Until 9:30! The kids usually get up around 8:00, so this was a real treat. Christian needed to get up to use the bathroom around 7:30, then I begged him to come in bed with me so I could sleep more. That little guy didn't wake up until NOON!!! He hasn't slept like this in forever. I'm thinking that he just still isn't feeling well and his body is catching up with him. But boy...that 9:30 was a godsend to me! :) Thanks, kids!

Amazing Digi Race

I also got to do my LO for the Amazing Digi Race first challenge last night. We had to scrap a goal for the year 2007. ONLY one goal. I had fun with it because it actually made me do a page about Jarrett. Poor guy doesn't get many pages because I'm always doing the kids! Laurie is my partner for the race and I'm so excited to be doing this with her! She's a wonderful person and a terrific scrapper...let's do it, girl! :)

Credits click here

Exercise/Food

I was doing really good for about 6 months and then decided to slack a little over the holidays. I didn't go to the gym for a month!!! Ugh...I felt so crappy overall and couldn't wait to get back to it. I went this week on Tuesday and Thursday and aiming for tomorrow morning too. I really want to get in the swing of a schedule again...it really worked out for me that way. Also, I cooked dinner every night this week!! And it was healthy!! Yep, try to pull yourself back up into your chair and slow your heart rate down. I don't want anyone having a heart attack here! LOL. I'm thinking that tonight may be the night for takeout though. Hmmm...should I call Jarrett now!?! ;)

Weekend Plans

Friday: Nothing big planned so far. We were going to go see a band tonight, but with the kids being sick, we're not going to.

Saturday/Sunday: Also, there is a woman who may be interested in buying our house! We weren't going to put it on the market until at least this spring, but she casually mentioned to Jarrett that she was looking for a house like ours in the area we live in. Ummm...tell me we wouldn't be nuts to show it to her!!! So, she's coming next weekend, so we need to de-clutter and finish up little projects this weekend/week so it's ready when she comes.

Sunday: The kick off of our 150th anniversary at church. I'm one of the co-chairpeople on the anniversary committee, so there is a lot going on! We are planning a year full of events/fundraisers. It is a tiny church, so there's only so much we can do, but we're going to try our best to do a great job! This weekend, we are stringing up a large banner in front of the church stating 150 years that will stay up all year long. Also, we had some beautiful bookmarks made for the pulpit and lecturn that are embroidered and will stay up all year long. We're going to tell the congregation what we have planned for the year and try to stir up some excitement. Anyone have any fun ideas for things we can do? Also, I'm in charge of setting up/serving communion AND taking collection this week. WHOA...talk about a lot going on in a 3 hour time span! LOL.

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday to all of you and have a fantastic weekend! {{HUGS}}

Overwhelmed with love...

I'm having one of those sappy days where I just can't believe how lucky I am to have the people in my life that I do. It's simply overwhelming sometimes. In a good way, of course! :) Hmmmm....where to start off?!?

Digi Community

I love the digi scrapping community. Seriously. A lot of people just don't "get it", so I don't talk much about it in my "normal" life. But everyone in it has truly affected my life. And continues to do it every day. Just from looking at your beautiful LOs and getting inspiration and sharing in your special moments, to reading your blogs, to talking with you in chats, to being on the same CT as you, BS-ing on MySpace and posting funky comments, to talking to you and asking for advice/help on the message boards... You are all a special part of my life and I consider each of you my friend. Even if we never have met face to face. (Overrated, if you ask me!!!) LOL...

2 particular people have really went out of their way to make my day recently and I want to share them with you. It's the little things that really make a huge difference.

• Sue (sphmaz) - I posted on a thread about hard-to-find XMas toys that I was looking for some of the Cars movie diecast cars. Especially the yellow Ramone. (he is Christian's favorite!). Sue was nice enough to PM me and tell me should would keep her eyes out for it. Then, the very next day, told me she found it at Target, bought it, and needed my address to ship it to me. ALL of this in the middle of holiday craziness with her own life to attend to. Unbelievable. Now, she's going to keep checking to see if they have any of the others I still need. Can you believe this? A totally random act of kindness that will make a 3.5 yr old VERY happy!!!
• Bretta (bretta), Amandajane, and Rachel (scarlettcharm) - A thread was started today at DST about who your favorite scrapper is. All 3 of these wonderful women posted little 'ole me as one of their favorites! :) Yipppeee!!! What a huge, huge compliment and definitely made my day. All by just taking a few minutes to post in the forum. Yes, it's the little things in life....

"Real" Life

I am truly blessed by those around me in my "real life" too. It sounds sappy and gay, but it's so true. Yes...they work on my nerves from time to time, but that's a sign of love, right?!?! ;)

• Jarrett (my hubby) - I'll just post the things in the last couple of days that has made me feel so lucky. First off, I hated going to the gym so late after he came home from work. It left us no "family time" by the time we ate and I left. He is altering his work schedule to go into work an hour earlier so that he can leave at 4:00 instead of 5:00. Tell me that isn't great! Now, there won't be any rushing around and I can actually relax a bit! :) Secondly, I really want to start earning some money with my digi scrapping. Most guys would say I'm nuts, but he has been supporting me in every way imaginable. Even leaving it up to me whichever avenue I choose to go.
• Christian (my sweetie) - Covering me with hugs and kisses telling me I'm "his best momma ever". Seriously...does it get any better than this!?!? Then, telling me today that I "make him laugh" and "make him SO happy". Oh...the good things in life! :)
• Ava (my other little sweetie) - Climbs up next to me on the couch and pulls "our" snowflake blanket up over the 2 of us so we can just cuddle. Sometimes for 10 seconds only, sometimes for an hour. Making sure it is pulled up tight on both of us and patting it into place. Then, hugging and kissing you and holding your face in her precious little hands. Just heaven... :)

Still Sick

Yes, we're still sick today. Now it's not throwing up though...think the other end... ;) AND the real kicker. Now Ava has it too. Ugh... This is the first day of preschool that Christian has had to miss. I hate that he had to miss out (he loves going to school so much), but there was no way we were going today. Lots of rest to be had in our house.

New Purchases (Jarrett, close your eyes if you're reading this!) LOL... ;)

I bought a couple of goodies last night. I really need to start using things before I keep buying, but these darn designers are too talented!! All of these are by Ashley Olson at The Digi Shoppe.

Thought Bubble Blanks

All Star Paper Set

All Star Elements

One More Thing

Hopefully I haven't bored you mindless yet and you're still reading. ;) I really want to comment back to those of you who have been kind enough to leave me a comment. As soon as I figure the damn thing out, I'll get on top of it! I promise! So far, it's winning the battle! LOL... Have a great Thursday, everyone! {{HUGS}}

Starting off with a bang!

Sickness

Oh yeah...wouldn't want you to start reading my blog and be bored, would I?!?!? ;) Guess who was up all last night sick? Christian. Throwing up all over the place and worked up beyond all belief. Seriously, he gets himself so worked up that he can't get calm again and under control. Poor little thing had to have his sheets/pillowcase changed twice and stripped out of his clothes and showered once...all at 3:00 a.m. :( Poor little guy. Add to that, I'm not feeling 100% either. A stomach thing just like my poor little Christian. Share and share alike, right??!!

New Years Goals

Like a lot of you, I hate the word "resolutions". Resolutions are made to be broken, if you ask me! Hence, I'm starting a list of "goals" for the new year. Just things that I really want to work on in 2007 to make me a happier, less-stressed, better person. So, here they are so that you can all help to keep me accountable.

1. Exercise at least 30-45 minutes a day 5 days a week. (Gym 2-3 times)
2. Cook dinner at least 5 days a week. (Yes...we eat a LOT of takeout)
3. Do not let laundry sit in washer/dryer. Fold right away and get into drawers.
4. Return phone calls right away. (I have a habit of waiting to return them at a more "convenient time". Problem is...that time hardly ever comes!)
5. Keep track of everything on calender. (Meetings/Parties/BDays/Gym time/etc...)
6. Set up cleaning schedule and stick to it. (I usually wait to do an intensive cleaning after it's too far gone. Of course, causing myself LOTS more work!)
7. De-clutter house. (Get rid of things not being used. There is no need to have a house full of things.)

8. De-stress life. (Learn to say no. I have a very hard time doing this. Especially when it comes to my church. I get very caught up in "helping" others.)
9. Go to bed by 11:00/12:00 each night. (I stay up WAY too late now.)
10. Get up by 7:00 each morning. (I'd like to get a little jump on the day before the kids wake up.)
11. Set up a “do nothing night/family night” a designated day once a week. (No cooking, no cleaning, just fun.)
12. Grocery shopping same day each week. (I hate grocery shopping. Seriously hate it. Again, I put it off until the last minute and that's part of why we end up eating take out so much.)
13. Stay on top of digi scrapping/CTs/LOs. (Set up a schedule for each designer I work for and stick to it. I've been slacking a bit the last month or so.)
14. Start some sort of business with digi scrapping. (I need to make some extra money. I love digi scrapping and the community around it. I'm looking to figure out where I want to go with this. Whether it be designing products/templates or selling custom LOs/cards to "regular" people. Not sure which route I want to go as of right now.)
15. Eat better and try to lose the last 25 pounds this year. (I've lost 20 pounds since June 1st and want to lose 25 more by next Jan. 1st.)
16. Start a blog. (hee...hee...guess that one is done now! I just need to focus on keeping it updated!)

17. Learn more about my camera/photography. (I have had my Nikon D50 for a year now and haven't ventured out of auto mode once. Ugh...I just need to make the time to do it!)

Wow...that's a lot, isn't it!?!? LOL... Guess I'm pretty ambitious when it comes to the new year!

Layout Posted

I posted a new LO today. Not my normal 2 pager, but I love it!

Credits can be seen here.

Well, off to start working on my list of to-do's! Thanks for checking back again today! Happy Hump Day! :) {{HUGS}}

I caved in...

So, I finally caved in and decided to join the blogging world. I know...surprising, huh!?!? LOL. I really enjoy reading the ones posted by others, so I figured it was about that time.

Not that my life is very thrilling...I can't promise to rivet you every day, but I can make you laugh your butt off at the things that manage to happen in one 24 hour period in my house. Seriously, it can make your head spin. Life with a 3.5 yr old and an 18 month old is never really boring. ;)

So, grab your hats and hold on. Hopefully I won't put you to sleep! I'll start my regular entries tomorrow. And I'm a comment/praise hound, so please leave me a message! And if you want me to add you to my list of blogs, link me up! I'd love to get to know all of you even better! Have a great night and I'll catch you tomorrow!

Testing....still so plain! :(