Nice Weekend!

It was a very nice, relaxing, and productive weekend and let me tell ya...it was MUCH needed! we went looking at modular homes on Saturday with my parents. These are the homes that you order to be what you want and they are delivered to your property in 4-6 weeks. Nice, huh!??! ;) So...my expectations were pretty low just because I've never seen them before. I was absolutely SHOCKED at what I saw!! They were very nice inside and much bigger than I expected. For a LOT less money than building from scratch with a contractor, we could get a bigger house. Anyways, that's just one of the options we have right now. And it's not at the top of the list either.

At the top of the list is moving into my parents' house. They are talking about the fact that it's too much for them to handle now and that they want to downsize. They live in a gorgeous stone house that is almost 180 yrs old on 3 acres of property and a VERY quiet street. This house has been in my family forever and I would love to live there. We would put an addition on and renovate inside a bit to make it more "us", but financially it is still the best bet for us. We just need to work everything out with my parents and my sister to see if it's going to happen. Don't you wish that money grew on trees to make life easier?!?!?

Date Night
My parents kept the kids overnight on Saturday and Jarrett & I had "date night". This consisted of dinner out and then shopping around to see how much money it was going to take to fix up the house before we sell it. We also watched 2 movies over the weekend. Starsky & Hutch and Friday Night Lights. I have to say I wasn't impressed in the least by either one. They weren't horrible, but not good by any stretch of the imagination either!! We've been watching movies more often and actually using the Blockbuster Online that we have and it is so nice!! I've been staying off the computer as much too and it's a well needed break I think.

Productive Sunday
We picked up the kiddos, painted our split rail fence, raked out the flowerbeds and cut back the dead stuff on my perennials, raked up leaves by our fence in the backyard, picked up TONS of sticks, and just overall cleaned up a bit outside. The kids were playing and just enjoying the gorgeous weather and Christian has proven himself to be quite the little helper!! (Guess who picked up 97% of the sticks?!?!?) :)

Misc Mumbo Jumbo
Here are a few little odds & ends...
~ The weather is GORGEOUS here the last few days!! 70 degrees and sunny!

~ I finished a couple LOs and will post them in the next couple days.

~ I have been digi shopping crazy this past week!! I got TONS of goodies at Gina Miller's sale last week and finally caved in and got some Lilypad goodies too. I seriously need to go on a spending freeze though...I'm buying more than I'm using!!!

~ I'm working on some new stuff for the store. Hopefully I'll get them done in the next couple of days.

~ Have an Anniversary Committee meeting tonight at my church. Yippeee!!! (dripping with sarcasm there)

~ Having the in-laws over for dinner tomorrow night.

~ Christian gave me crap again today about not wanting to go to school. Ugh. I hate that!!! Today it actually started before we even left the darn house!!! Then, he refused to get out of the car in the parking lot of the school. {rolling eyes} He was fine 2 seconds after I left and happy as a clam when I picked him up. Aye-yi-yi....what am I gonna do with that kid!?!??!

Sayonara
That's it! I'm going to enjoy the weather and open some windows!! Hope you all have a great day! {{HUGS}}

Been a LONG week...

Ugh. So sorry I haven't been posting this week! :( It's been a rough one! As a lot of you know, I do a lot of volunteer work for my church and this past weekend, we started working on our Silent Auction (which I am the head of). We got together to stuff almost 500 letters the other night and there is just so much "behind-the-scenes" stuff to get done for it. I'm also a co-chairperson for our 150th anniversary committee and there is a whole year full of stuff going on for that too.

Other than that keeping me busy, it's just been a crappy week. The weather is rainy and gross, Christian had a fit when I dropped him off at school on Tuesday again. :( Yes...I had to leave him crying again AND it was their picture day! Then, Wednesday, I got a horrible stomach thing that was just killing me. It was so bad, that I didn't even take Christian to school yesterday because I didn't think I could handle it with my stomach!! :( UGH...it's still not feeling 100%, but it does feel better. Also, my knee has been killing me! As a lot of you know, I had surgery on it a year ago and it hasn't been the same since. How in the world can I only be 30 yrs old and be falling apart so bad!?!?!??

Anyways...enough for the downer talk. I'm hoping that next week is WAY better and I promise I'll be on here more often updating. As for now, I'm going to take a shower and chill out. I started working on a really cute kit last week and haven't gotten around to touching it again. Maybe I'll do that too! Have a great weekend and thanks for checking in!! {{HUGS}}

Fun new product and storewide sale!!

The last few days have been pretty uneventful. Christian was off of school yesterday for an inservice day so we just got to bum around. It's rainy and cold here too, which just makes you tired and want to stay inside. KWIM? I cleaned the house a little and got some new stuff up in the store too! Productive, huh!?!?

New products
So, I love polka dots! I thought a fun line using them would be a great idea since they are so versatile. This is the first in the series. Polka Party - Primary Colors. They are available seperate or together in a bundle pack for the best bang for your buck! AND...everything in my store is 40% off until Sunday! :) YAY!

Papers


Ribbons


Doodles


Bundle Pack


Storewide Sale
Also, Elemental Scraps is having a storewide 40% off sale this weekend! Good through Sunday and valid on almost everything! So, go check it out! It's a great group of talented designers!!



St. Patty's Day
Anyone have any plans? I wanted to go to the parade downtown, but it's going to be too cold. :( I'm not taking the kiddos out in that crap, KWIM? We're going to go to my parent's house and have a few beers, wear our green (of course), and watch The Quiet Man. This movie is a tradition for us to watch every St. Patty's Day. It is a WONDERFUL movie and I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it! I've been reading a thread at DST about being a "leprechaun" to your kids. This is THE cutest idea ever! I'm thinking they might be too young for it this year, but I am definitely keeping these ideas for next year. I'm also going to do a couple of the little things like dying their milk green. :)

So, anyways....enjoy your weekend and your St. Patty's Day!! {{HUGS}}

My "date"...

I got to have a "date" with Christian on Tuesday!! :) He had a field trip with his school and the parents were allowed to go if they wanted as well. We got to ride a school bus downtown to Heinz Hall and see the Pittsburgh Symphony perform a "Tiny Tots" concert. TOO CUTE!!! It was "the tortoise and the hare" and was all about slow/fast music. I thought he may be kinda bored by it, but he wasn't! It was amazing. He was telling me when each instrument came in and what it was...just by listening!! And he was right!! Then, he recognized some of the songs they were playing because they were used in the cartoon Little Einsteins. One of his teachers were sitting next to me and she was shocked when he started humming along to it!! Yes...it was a proud mommy moment! There was my little guy...humming along to classical music, listening to the symphony, and pointing out the instruments. :) What a cutie pie! He fell asleep on the bus ride back to the school and it was so nice. He was snuggled up all against me in the seat and it was so quiet and relaxing just holding him.

I don't have any pics from the day because I didn't think cameras would be allowed in the theater. Dumb, dumb, dumb!! You weren't allowed to take pics during the concert, but I could have gotten some great ones before/after and the bus ride!! :( *pouting* Jarrett took one of the 2 of us before we left though, which is better than nothing! I'm going to try to find a couple of the theater online to use in a LO too.

We also got to go out with some friends on Tuesday night. My parents and my sister played with the kids at our house so that we could go out for my friend's bday. We went to a great little bar and had a few drinks and some dinner. They have THE BEST wings there! Mmmmm... We had a lot of fun and it was nice to get out.

Today was a nice, bum around the house day. I've been cleaning/organizing a bit in the house. We're hoping to get it up on the market to try to sell sometime in the next 4-6 weeks and I want to declutter a bit. There are a lot of little projects that need to be done before then and I want everything to look clean and clear. KWIM? We're going to store some of our stuff somewhere else so that the house looks bigger and not as personal. I've been reading up on some staging tips, so if you have any...let me know!

Hope you all had a great day! Talk to you soon! {{HUGS}}

Long weekend!

This weekend was a long one! Friday night was my chat at DST and we had a BLAST!!! :) Thanks so, SO much to all of you who came. 2 hours flew by before we even knew it! Anyways, I'll get the tattoo pic to you girls soon...I just need to get Jarrett to take one! ;)

Saturday, we went to Jarrett's grandmother's apartment to clean it out and get all the loose ends taken care of. We were there all afternoon and there is STILL more to do!! My gosh!! One really cool thing is that Jarrett and I are going to get her dining room set! We don't have a nice set ourselves and the family wanted us to have it. What a nice reminder of her that we will always have!! :) I have a beautiful hutch that was my grandparents when they got married. So, now, we'll have gorgeous furniture that has such meaning and a great way to remember them by. Jarrett's aunt's bday was also on Saturday and we went there to have pizza/salad with them. Nice times...

I decided it was going to be another "computer-free" weekend. I hardly got on at all and it was kinda nice!! Jarrett & I watched Ladder 49 on Saturday night and it was SOOOOOO good! Whoa...tears were pouring out of my eyes the whole darn movie!! You seriously have to watch it if you get a chance!

Sunday, Jarrett's little sister had a cheerleading competition downtown and we went to see her. There were TONS of squads there and it was really neat! Christian was having a blast hitting on all the little cheerleader girls sitting in front of us. Yeah....he's my little stud! LOL. He gets his charm from his daddy! ;) We all went out to dinner afterwards and it was really nice.

Baby news!!
So....did you all hear that my beautiful, wonderful friend Andrea had her baby yesterday!?!?!? YAY!!! Baby Bean Burns is here and healthy! You all have to wait until Andrea updates to see what his name is though! ;)

Short & Quick
That's it for today!! It's 70 degrees here today and I am going to ENJOY it!! :) It's supposed to be in the 30s-40s again soon enough. Ugh... Have a great day, girls! {{HUGS}}

Almost over....

My birthday week, that is. :( Today is the very last day!! On a good note though, I'm hosting another chat tonight!! This one is at DST and is at 10:00 pm EST. We had a BLAST last week! I'm hoping you all decide to come again! We did brownies last week...cupcakes this week! (Yes...I LOVE cupcakes!!! I'm not a "normal" cake eater.) SO, bring your beverage of choice and meet me there! :)

This is also the last day for my sale! My whole store is 30% off until tonight at midnight, so go check it out! I've added lots more goodies this week and here's another!

Gorgeous Grid

Challenge

That also brings us to the last challenge. Remember, you have until Friday, March 16th at 8:00 am EST and they must be posted in their respective thread at ES for them to qualify for a prize!

Challenge #7: Present Challenge: Scrap about a favorite present that you have given/received. What were your feelings about it? Why is it your favorite?

Lookie here!!!

Jarrett told me to get the laptop bag that I wanted for yet another bday present. (yes...I am SO spoiled!!) ;) Of course, I wanted something fun and girly. Not the "normal" black bag! I went with the Mimi Laptop Bag that so many digi scrappers love. I was totally torn on which color to get...pink? lilac? kiwi? Hmmm...decisions, decisions... I went with the kiwi green! It looks SO pretty and I can't wait to see it!! I just tracked it online and saw that it should be here today! YAY!!

Oh...and here's a great coupon I found if you want to use it! (It took $28 off of my order!!) It's for 40% off any one item at Joanns and is valid until 3/31/07 Code is: MARA740

Blinkies

I have 2 little blinkie things for ya too! First off...if you want to show your support for me, feel free to sport the "I'm a Fan of Lemonheads" blinkie here. I would really appreciate it!! :)

Secondly, there is a CUTE new blinkie going around right now and rumor has it if you're spotted wearing it there just may be something good that can happen to you!! ;) You can grab it here!

Another little enabling note...

I saw these CUTE Italian charms over at DST and thought you all should see them! One of the girls, Juliana (pennylane), decided to try her hand at making these and she is doing a GREAT job!! She RAKed me for my birthday and sent me the "got mouse?" charm. Okay...I LOVE IT!! :) And wasn't that sweet of her? She also makes custom charms from your picture/idea. Seriously...I am going to get these for gifts for people. They would LOVE to see the kiddos on a charm of their very own! You can check out her blog here and that is also where she's selling them. Give her a little support if you can, she is a GREAT girl and I'm really excited to get to know her better! :) Thanks again, girl!

Weekend?

So, what about you, any big weekend plans? Nothing much around here. I'm still feeling crappy and I think it's starting to officially hit the kids today. Ugh. And on a quick sidenote...I am SO glad the clocks change this weekend! I hate when it gets dark so early! Have a great weekend and don't forget to come to DST tonight for the chat!! (10:00 pm EST) {{HUGS}}

Ugh...I'm sick!! :(

I'm sick and miserable! Ugh...sore throat, runny nose, achy body, tired, upset stomach, etc...and I think the kids are starting to get it too! :( SO...anyways...I'm a little behind on bday week activities. Let's try a little catch-up, eh?!?!

Challenges

Day #4: Color challenge: Use the color BLACK in a LO. A lot of people shy away from black, but I just love it! I think it adds an interesting contrast to a page!

Day #5: Name challenge: Scrap a page about your name (first name, last name, middle name, username, etc...). Our name says a lot about us and everyone has some kind of a story behind it. How you got it, what it means, why you like it, why you don't like it, etc...

Day #6: T.V./Movie challenge: Scrap a page about what T.V./movies you like to watch. Why do you watch them? Why do you like them? What kind of effect do they have on you? If you don't watch much, explain why. Reasons?

Challenge Prizes: Remember that a link to your LO MUST be posted in the thread for that day at Elemental Scraps for it to count. Here are the prizes that you are playing for:

~ Complete 2 challenges and win one item of your choice from my store

~ Complete 4 challenges and win two items of your choice from my store

~ Complete all challenges and win two items of your choice from my store and a $10 coupon towards a future purchase.

These must be posted in their respective thread at Elemental Scraps by next Friday, March 16th at 8:00 am EST for them to qualify for a prize.

** BONUS PRIZE**

The Lemonheads and I will be choosing our favorite LO to win the bonus prize. It is for a $20 coupon to my store!! :)

New Products

I have 2 more templates that I put up! Don't forget that everything in my store is 30% off until Friday!!

Clean Lines

Strips & Stripes

Short & Sweet!

Feeling crappy and want to get you all some more new products made so I'm cutting it short today! Nothing much happening anyways. Last night we had a family picture taken at our church for their new directory. Tomorrow is "green day" at preschool. They are celebrating St. Paddy's Day a little early because next week is a field trip and they are off on Thursday. Christian is THRILLED since it's his favorite color! LOL...

Okay...I'm done for the day! :) Have a good one!! {{HUGS}}

Birthday Details!!

Okay...so first off...I'm a little late posting the 2 new products and the 2 challenges for the first 2 days of Slammin' 30th Birthday Bash week...sorry! Once you read the big birthday details below, you'll understand why! ;) Challenge Day #1 was coming to my chat at ES on Friday, March 2nd. :)

Challenge Day #2 & Challenge Day #3

So, there will be perks to completing the challenges I post this week. I'll give you more details on that tomorrow, so tune in! Also, this is posted at Elemental Scraps and you MUST put a link in the corresponding thread for it to "count" as being done.

~ Challenge Day #2 : Use one of the following quotes in a scrapbook page.

"Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind." -- Eric Hoffer

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. Author: Mother Teresa

~ Challenge Day #3 : Use the following font in a scrapbook page. The King & Queen font can be found by clicking here.

New Products

I'm going to release one new product each day of birthday week. Here are the new releases for Saturday & Sunday. Don't forget that my whole store is 30% off all week! (through Friday, March 9th)

Leave a Trail (2 page template)

Layers & Layers - 2 Page Template

Birthday Weekend...

So. I had the BEST birthday weekend ever!! Friday night was my very first chat ever and let me tell ya...I was nervous! I was so scared that nobody was going to show up and that I'd be in that big 'ole room all by myself! BUT...so many of you came! There were over 30 people in the room and we had a flippin' blast! Everyone had fun, enjoyed their brownies and margharitas, learned more about me, and won some prizes. Good times.... :) Thank you all SO much for coming! And don't forget that there is going to be a chat THIS Friday, March 9th with me at DigiShopTalk. 10:00 pm EST. This will be the end to my birthday week celebration!

Yesterday was my actual birthday. Got to sleep in a little bit and then got a call from my sister telling me to be ready in 1/2 hour because she was coming to pick me up. Not telling me where we were going or anything! We ended up going out to lunch and then going to the zoo. I absolutely, postively LOVE the zoo!! We have a membership there and go all the time. I have to admit it was kinda nice going without the kids for once. We got to set our own pace and do what we wanted. It was a little chilly, but it wasn't crowded at all either. Perfection!

When we came back to my house, my parents were there and Jarrett was almost done cooking dinner. Yes...you heard right...Jarrett cooked dinner for all of us! Chicken & biscuits, which is one of my favorite meals!! :) Mmmm...it was delicious! There were tons of balloons everywhere and we were just sitting around talking. To be honest, it was a little boring. THEN...the doorbell rang. 3 of our friends and their kids were there!! Talk about a surprise!! Then, for the next hour, the doorbell kept ringing and people kept showing up. My BIL, 2 of my very good friends from college that I don't get to see very often, and then...kicker of all kickers...one of my VERY best friends that lives in Buffalo, NY. 3 and a half hours away!!! He is like a brother to me and we have been friends for almost 15 years. We don't get to see each other very much either, but every time him & his wife come to Pittsburgh, they call us and we do something. I seriously had tears in my eyes over the whole thing.

My sweet, sweet Jarrett planned all of this as a huge surprise just for me! I guess all kinds of secret phone calls went on between him, my sister, & my mom and dad to plan all of this. Sneaky bastards!!! ;) I seriously was SO surprised and SO flattered that he would even think to do this for me. Man...he's a keeper, isn't he!??!?

Presents...

Oh! And listen to the presents I got!!! Seriously...unbelievable!! Jarrett & the kids got me a laptop (yay!!!!), PSE 5.0 ('cause my 3.0 won't work with Vista), and a Wacom tablet!!! YEP...it was a digi scrappin' girls' dream!! :) I CAN NOT wait to play with them all! From everyone else, I got a DigiShopTalk t-shirt, a beautiful silver locket necklace, a gorgeous jewelry box, tickets to a show in April with me, my sister, my mom, and a friend of ours, gift certificate for Kohls, gift certificate for Bath & Body Works, a beautiful wooden girl/plant holder for my porch, candle....hmmm...I think that's it. SPOILED, aren't I?!!? :) I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. What a way to remember my 30th!!!

And thanks to all of you wonderful girls who made cards for me!! They are all so, so gorgeous! :)

Come back tomorrow!!

I'm off to bed for the night now, but I'll see you all tomorrow!!! {{HUGS}}

Meet the Lemonheads!! And pull on your boots...

I'm going to have you wade through a LOT of info today!! :) Sorry, girls...it's been a BUSY, exciting week!

First off...Meet the Lemonheads!!!

Okay, so I NEVER expected to get the wonderful turnout that I did on my CT call. Especially being a new designer! I looked through tons of galleries and I can't thank all of you enough for giving me the pleasure of doing it. I wish I could have taken every single one of you. Jarrett laughed saying I was going to be the first CT with 50 people!!!!?!? LOL...Anyways, without further ado, here are the new Lemonheads!!!

And for those of you who can't see the image:
Meet my Lemonheads!!!
These girls are fantastic! Their personalities shine and their galleries are amazing! I am so lucky to have all of them for my team.
Laurie (LibbysMommy)
Laurie (Laurie Garza)
Shelly (Shelly)
Bretta (bretta)
Kim (MissKim)
Andrea (Andrea C)
Oriana (OrianaVianey)
Paula (scrappinmama)
Marisa (Marisa)
Marci (m1218p)
Rachelle (jaylensmom)

Thank you so very much to every single person who applied. It was a VERY hard decision and I wish I could have taken every single one!!Keep your eyes out for Guest CTs starting in April!

Slammin' 30th Birthday Bash Week
It starts today!!! Chat tonight at Elemental Scraps. 10:00 pm EST. Please come kick off the celebration with me...I've got the brownies baking and the beverages chilling! :) Also, this starts a week long SALE!! 30% off everything in my store until next Friday night, March 9th.

For those of you who can't see it...
I turn 30 this week! Come celebrate with me!

~Chat Friday, March 2nd Elemental Scraps. 10:00 pm est
~ New products
~ Daily challenges
~ Freebies
~ Chat Friday, March 9th Digi Shop Talk, 10:00 pm est
~ And, best of all....30% SALE!!! Valid on all of my designs and valid all week!! (Expires Friday, March 9th)

New Template
I have a new template up in my store and I just LOVE it! Circles: Over & Out And...don't forget that all of my designs are on sale all week! 30% off!!

Circles: Over & Out

Here's a LO I made using it using the new, amazing Wild Rumpus kit by Andrea Burns!

And here's a LO by Kim using my Curly Cutie kit! (Yippee!! My first CT LO!!)

SO....WRAP UP...

My birthday is tomorrow and I'm so excited!! Not sure what is going to happen yet, but I'm sure it will be a great day! Also, did you guys see the comment Jarrett left on my blog yesterday!?!? OMG...too freakin' funny! I just love that guy!!! xoxoxoxo So, see you all at the crop tonight! Don't leave me hangin' there in a chat room all by myself, huh?!!? ;) Have a great weekend! I'll post the first "challenge" tomorrow! :) {{HUGS}}