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}}

CT Call Change

** Due to an overwhelming response, I am closing my call for lemonheads this Friday, March 2nd. I have lots of things in the works for next week and can use all the wonderful girls I can!! Thanks to all of you who are applying!! It's going to be a super hard decision! **

Short & Sweet
That's what this is going to be today. I have TONS of stuff on my plate and need to get working on them!! :) So, here's a little heads up for my regular blog readers...Saturday is my 30th birthday! AND...I'm going to celebrate a whole week of it starting on Friday, March 2nd and going all the way through Friday, March 9th. LOTS of fun stuff planned...you'll need to tune in here for more details. Also, here's a little hint...keep your calender clear for this Friday night at 10:00 pm, (March 2nd)...a little birdie told me there just may be a chat with me at Elemental Scraps to start off birthday week!! ;)

Comments....
So, what the heck?!?! Only 1 or 2 comments a day? Where are you guys? ;) I LOVE seeing comments when I log on here and I'm just not feelin' the love, chickies! (And before you ask...yes...I am that pathetic that I will shamelessly beg for some! LOL...)

Happy Hump Day!
Have a wonderful hump day, girls! I'll be back tomorrow with more to throw at 'ya! {{HUGS}}

It's a CT Call!!! Looking for lemonheads! Also a little enabling... ;)

So...it's time! I'm having my first ever CT call!! :) I really want to get my name out there a little more and need some wonderful, FUN girls to do that for me! So...what are you waiting for??? Read on! ;) (text version is under the pic) This call is officially open until March 9th, but I will be picking girls THIS WEEK because I have some big stuff planned for March 2nd-March 9th...so hurry up and get your applications in!! You can see my designs here.

For those of you who can't see the pic, here's what it says! :)

Are you sweet? Or are you sour? I need some LEMONHEADS!!

I‘m new to the design world and need my first Creative Team! I’m looking for girls who would like to help me promote my designs, give me their input, make new friends, and most importantly - HAVE FUN!

Requirements:- 1 layout per kit/template I put out- Posted in at least 4 galleries- participation in a CT forum so that we can get to know each other

That’s it! Simple, huh?!? Then, apply!

If interested, send me the following:- Your “real” name- Your username at DST- Link to your most complete gallery- Other teams you are on - Why you feel you’d be a good fit with me, my designs, & the rest of the CT. Interested? Email me at melaniecolosimodesigns@gmail.com

Boring Day

It's a boring day today. Christian had school this morning and Ava & I went to Sams Club to do a little shopping. They had out all kinds of outdoor things already!! YAY!! Bring on the springtime! So, I saw this swingset and I just "need" to have it for the kiddos. It's expensive, but we just got our tax refund money back...think I can persuade Jarrett? Cross your fingers, okay?

Cambridge Wooden Swing Set with Slide

A little more enabling...

Then, I was at DST last night browsing through the threads when I see that my friend, Cori, makes these AWESOME little girl outfits! I mean really, I was friggin' blown away when I looked through them! They are SO unique and so gorgeous. I'm picturing Ava in one already... ;) Here is her "about me" page at her EBay store and here are a couple of my favorites...and yes...I just "have" to have an outfit like this for my little angel!! :)

And on that note...

I'm done for today! :) So, get your CT applications in quick! I'm eager to look through everyone's galleries!! I am already dreading the hard choice though... Thanks so much for your support, girls! Also, hurry up and go buy my 2 newest items at the store...I need to make some money to buy that swingset!! ;) LOL... Have a great day! {{HUGS}}

Relaxing Weekend & 2 New Products!!

Hey, girlies! We had yet another relaxing weekend around here...I LOVE IT!! ;) Did absolutely nothing Friday night...hung around the house on Saturday and my good friend Missy and her 3 little ones came over to see us in the afternoon (she doesn't live around here anymore and was in town) YAY!!!, nothing Saturday night, church Sunday morning (we had an ice storm and there were only about 30 people there!! I had to set up & serve communion, so I had to go out in it), and then last night went to my in-law's house for dinner. And HERE'S where it gets interesting...I thought we were just going over for dinner and it ended up that they were doing a little surprise birthday dinner for me! :) My 30th bday is on Saturday and they wanted to surprise me a little early since I wasn't expecting it. Sweet, huh!?!? Anyways, my MIL made a kick-butt dinner and we had cake/ice cream & presents. I got a gift certificate to Bath & Body Works from my BIL and a gift certificate to a local nursery from my in-laws. (I absolutely LOVE gardening & flowers...I can't always get all I want every year though because it gets to be too much money, so this is a great gift for me!)

THEN...Jarrett tells me that is just the beginning of my birthday surprises....hmmmmm...what's he got up his sleeve?!!? ;)

LO of the Day!

My How Bad? LO got picked as the LO of the Day at The Digi Chick over the weekend!! How exciting!! That totally made my day!

New Products

So, I put 2 new products in the store today! A kit and a template. :) They're both 20% off today and tomorrow, so go buy them!! ;)

Curly Cutie

Pictures Galore - 2 Page Template

Happy Monday!

I hope you all have a great Monday! I'm off to work on a few LOs and some super secret stuff. ;) Don't worry...you'll find out soon enough!! LOL... {{HUGS}}

Doing good!

I am doing SO good at catching up on things! I have my "to do" list in front of me and it feels SO darn good to scratch things off! :) Also, my stomach is feeling better today (thank goodness) which makes the day great!

Went Shopping

Ava & I went to good old Target this morning while Christian was in school. And of course...I got some goodies!! ;) Got the things on my list first of course, but then had fun looking at the Easter stuff, kid's clothes, garden stuff...yes...my mind is on spring!! I bought this dress and a little white hat for Ava for Easter. Not sure if it's what I'm definitely going to stick with or not, but I fell in love with it! Ava was wearing the hat all around the store saying "I pretty, Momma!". Seriously...does it get much cuter than that?!!? LOL...

Also got her this cute little shirt...

and this shirt in 2 different colors

She also got a cute Easter t-shirt that says "cute chick" with a pic of (what else...) a little chick on it. And Christian got a nice polo shirt that was on clearance. (Neither one of these on the website.)

Also grabbed them 2 new toys for a little surprise gift. Ava is obsessed with Ariel from The Little Mermaid, so I got her a really cute soft doll. (she has Snow White & Cinderella already like this) And Christian got yet another monster truck. Monster Mutt. (the one that looks like a big dog with it's tongue hanging out.) Needless to say...they were THRILLED!!!

New Layouts & Some CT Lovin'

I posted 2 new LOs this morning. First one is using the new kit from Andrea Burns & Kimberly Giarusso at TDC. Illuminaire (click here to find it.) Such a rich, gorgeous kit...check it out! Also, it's 20% off today only! ;)

And here's my LO using it. (Check out my sexy hubby!!) Click here for more details.

THEN...Lie Fhung (Ztampf) put out a friggin' HUGE collection last week! The Great Expecations-A Collection. (Click here to find it.) This kit is seriously amazing. If you've never bought anything from Fhung before, it's like Christmas when you open up one of her kits...they are FULL of stuff that's not even on the preview. Her designs are very distinctive and artsy...you can pick them out anywhere!

Here are 2 LOs I did using it. First one is when I was pregnant with Ava and is a 2 page LO. (the template will be up for sale in the next couple of days!) ;) Click here for journaling and details.

And the second one is for a weight loss challenge with TBL girls. You can read the journaling and see credits here.

See ya!

And on that note...I'm done! Whew... ;) Hope you girls have a great rest of the day! {{HUGS}}

Not much going on...

Not much on the schedule for today. My stomach wasn't feeling very well last night and today I'm still not 100%. Ugh...I HATE stomach issues!! More cleaning and knocking more to-dos off of the list for today.

New Template Up!!

So, I got a new template up in the store last night. Swirl Fun is a 2 page template that is also strong enough to stand on it's own. It's also 25% off until Friday, so go check it out!! ;)

Here's a LO I did using it.

Credits here.

I used goodies from Misty Mareda for this LO and let me just tell ya...if you haven't checked out her designs yet, you just have to! She is phenomenal!! She has her designs at Twisted Lollipop right now and keeps adding new stuff all the time. Not to mention, she's a FANTASTIC person! I just love her! :)

Birthday Wishes for Julie
In case you didn't know, today is Julie's (mrs2a50) birthday!!! Julie is one of my favorite digi girls and just cracks my butt up every single time I talk to her!! Not to mention, she is talented beyond all belief!!! You can check out her gallery here if you haven't seen it before. Anyways, I just wanted to wish my special friend the happiest of days!!! {{HUGS}}

Credits here.

Short & Sweet
Well, that's it for now! I know...you're shocked aren't you!?!?! ;) Off to work on my projects! Have a wonderful day, girlies!!! {{HUGS}}

Lookin' good!

So, I got lots of stuff done yesterday and I'm feeling good! Still overwhelmed, but working on my to-do list to scratch things off. Christian had school this morning and was too darn funny. He was wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt and jeans and absolutely insisted on wearing his Easter tie from last year! LOL... When we walked into school, he went straight up to his teacher and told her to look at how handsome he was! ROFLMAO... I think my little stud has a thing for her! ;) Everyone got a big kick out of it though and it made him happy, so who cares, right?!?!?

More CT lovin'!

Okay, so today's LO is using Andrea Burns' new kit Sweetly and a template by Janet Phillips- Playing with Paper #1. I swear, since I joined Janet's team, I have hardly scrapped anything by myself!! LOL... Her templates are awesome and they go together so fast and easy!

Credits can be seen here.

I'm a guest!

And guess what...I got to be the Digi Dare #24 guest!! My sweet friend, Shelly, asked me to do it and of course I was SO excited! Thanks again, girl! {{HUGS}} So, here's my LO using my Kiss Me kit and the One Heart template I gave to you all last week.

Credits seen here.

And yes...I finally

bought food! LOL... Went to Walmart today and got a huge load of stuff so now we can avoid the takeout a bit more! (Go ahead Jarrett, feel free to praise the Lord!) ;) Oh, and we heard back from the girl that looked at our house and she's not interested. :( Bummer, but what can you do?!!? It's not officially on the market anyways, so now we just need to hit it a little harder to get it in tip-top shape before the spring comes.

Have a good one!

Hope you all have a wonderful day!! I'm off to work on my to-dos to get more done! Talk to you all tomorrow! {{HUGS}}

Some pimpin' today and catch up...

I'm trying to play a little catch up today. Not answering the phone, put the kids down for their nap, and just hitting it hard. I've been slacking on my CT stuff and I need to get more designs done for all of you! So...hopefully a day or 2 like this will get me back on schedule. The designers I CT for have been kickin' out some AMAZING stuff recently! My gosh!! It's hard to keep up with it all! I'll start with Andrea Burns today. I'll do the other girls in the next few days.

So, here are 2 new kits Andrea put out on Thursday. Both baby kits and both friggin' GORGEOUS! The little felt giraffe is seriously too cute for words. You can find them here. Softly and Sweetly. Here's a LO I posted using Softly. I went back and pulled out pics from when Christian was first born and it's so hard to believe he's going to be 4 in April!! Where does time go?!?

Credits can be seen here.

And did you see Gina Miller's new goodies?!?! My lord...this girl is a-friggin-mazing! When I was on her CT as a guest one month, I was spoiled rotten. Now I just have to buy everything I see because I can't break the mold! LOL... So, the new All About The Paper line came out and I was thrilled! I use the first AATP line all the time and this one is just as yummy! Downloaded it this morning and just HAD to scrap with it right away!! Also used a bunch of Gina's stuff I grabbed last week for her 6 month bash. :)

Credits can be seen here.

Weekend

This weekend was another good one. I am totally enjoying this whole "nothing planned" thing! LOL... Saturday, I went shopping with my sister at the mall. I seriously can not tell you the last time I went shopping and actually got to take my time and enjoy it without the kids!! Of course, I had crappy luck and couldn't find anything to buy, but it was still fun. Saturday night, we went to see a friend of Jarrett's who plays in a band. They play all cover music and they are SO good! This is the second time we've gone to see them and we had a blast. A whole group of us went, including my sister, and we just had so much fun. CAN NOT wait to go see them again!

Yesterday was the Daytona 500 for all you Nascar fans. Personally, it doesn't do much for me. I like watching the last 20 laps or so, but that's about it. Now, my parents on the otherhand, LOVE it!! So, we went over there to pick up the kids and spent the day with them watching it. We had a good time and I actually enjoyed the cutthroat ending. Yes...you just heard me admit it...I enjoyed watching a Nascar race!! ;) LOL...

Today's Plans

Well, after I'm done with this entry, here's what is planned for today. Laundry, general cleaning around the house, doing a few CT layouts, putting together some new templates and designs for release this week, and working on some super secret news that I'm hoping to spill in the new few days. Then, tonight, I absolutely HAVE to go to Walmart and Giant Eagle. We have NO food in the house and are running critically low on lots of essentials. Thrilling, huh!?!? So, cross your fingers that I get it all done!

See ya!

Oh, and a big thanks to the Blog Party from Let's Scrap that stopped by here and left me comments yesterday. To be honest...I have no clue what it's all about, I need to investigate a little, but it was nice to see more comments! :) Hope you all have a great day!! {{HUGS}}

Party Day!!

Well, today was the big Valentine's party at Christian's school. Remember? With the 2 nutty moms that had everything planned?!?! *rolling eyes* Well...here's how it went down. First off, the other 2 moms got their kids to school 15-20 minutes late, then they both LEFT the school to go home and come back before the party started!! (it was about an hour and typically, the party parents stay for the beginning of class and start to set up about 1/2 hour early) I got to stay and see how Christian's "normal" school day begins and it was awesome!! The kids were all excited that "Christian's mommy" was there and kept playing around with me and talking to me. TOO CUTE!!! :) The other moms showed up about 5 minutes before the party was supposed to start and THEN they didn't bring all the stuff they were supposed to!!! We were each supposed to bring 4 shoe boxes covered in white paper so the kids could decorate them and use them for their Valentines...I brought mine...1 mom brought 3...and the other mom brought ZERO!!! We didn't have enough for all the kids in the class!!! *yes...eyes popping out of my head in disbelief right now* We actually had to empty and cover a tissue box in order to have enough. The teachers didn't get one and 2 of the kids didn't show up...and thank goodness or we STILL wouldn't have had enough!!! And did I mention that the shoeboxes were THEIR idea in the first place?!?! I had no friggin' input when they brought THAT up at the meeting the other day!! Aye yi yi..... *rolling my eyes YET again*

Anyways, the party was awesome! Christian was so, SO thrilled that I got to stay at school with him! He wore his cute little "Heartbreaker" shirt and asked me to spray some of Jarrett's cologne on him before we left this morning...I think he was ready to pick up some chicks!!! LOL... That's my little stud! ;)

Our Valentine's Day
Well, like I told you yesterday, we don't really celebrate Valentine's day with each other. Jarrett picked up food on the way home yesterday and also grabbed 2 little bouquets of flowers for each of the kiddos to give to me. Oh my gosh...they looked TOO cute walking across the kitchen floor saying "Happy Valentine's Day, Momma...we love you!". So adorable!! We've had snow and ice here the last few days, so we took the kids outside to play in the snow and ride their sleds down the tiny hill in our backyard. They had a blast and so did we!

I wanted to post some pics, but blogger is not letting me yet again today!! ARGH...Anyways, I can't get those darn kids to pose for pics anymore!!! LOL... guess I take too many pictures!!! Anyways, after the kids went to sleep, Jarrett and I snuggled on the couch and watched You, Me & Dupree. Cute movie...not as great as I expected, but still not a waste of time to watch!

That's it!
Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day and got all you deserved!! :) Thanks for all the comments on the template freebie...glad you all liked it! See you tomorrow! {{HUGS}}

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

So, what do you all have planned? Anything? Jarrett & I stopped celebrating Valentine's Day a while ago. We don't buy presents or anything, just go out to dinner either the week before or the week after. It's what makes us happy and works out just right! No crowds and no expensive flowers/gifts. So...we'll be celebrating with dinner next week. Tonight is just fun with the kiddos. It's been snowing like crazy here, so I'm thinking maybe we'll go outside and play when Jarrett comes home.

Little Present for all of you...
Of course, I just "had" to give all of my digi girls a V-Day present, though! ;) (Don't be offended, Jarrett! LOL...) Here's a fun little template for you and also a coupon for my store at Elemental Scraps. Don't forget that I put out a new kit yesterday and it's 20% off until tomorrow!! ;)

Use the coupon code luvmygirlies for $2.00 off your order at my store. Valid until March 1, 2007.

And here's the template. If the links expire before you get it, please let me know and I'll get another one for you! Also...please leave a comment if you take it...I'd love to get a little lovin' back for Valentine's day! I also LOVE to see what people create with my goodies, so drop me a link to if you'd like!! :) (ugh...it's SO small!! Blogger is NOT being friendly with me today!)



And here are the links! They are all the same, so please only take one. Start with the first link, if it's expired, try the second.

One Heart Freebie Link 2
One Heart Freebie Link 3

Have a GREAT Valentine's day, everyone! Huge hugs and kisses to all of you!!

****ETA...did you see the cute comment from Jarrett?!?!? He came out from under his rock to post a message to all the digi girls!! God...I just LOVE that guy! ;)

Wonderful Weekend

Oh, it was such a nice weekend! Relaxing...calm...and back to normal. Thank goodness!! :) Went shopping on Saturday to return (finally) some stuff from Xmas...yes...I still had it!! *blushing* We went out to lunch at the Olive Garden and man...do I LOVE their soup, salad, and breadsticks!!! Mmmmm...SO GOOD! The kids also behaved. Miracle of all miracles. You never know what you're going to get in a restaurant...KWIM?!?!

Monster Jam
Friday night was the Monster Jam. A group of us all went. My mom & dad, Jarrett's dad & sister, me, Jarrett, Christian, and a friend of Jarrett's from work and his little boy. (my sister and Jarrett's brother had to back out at the last minute 'cause they were sick) We had a BLAST!!! Christian was on cloud 9 the whole entire time. He had his big ole noise reduction earphones on, sat on my lap, ate popcorn and had a HUGE smile on his face from beginning to end. We bought him the cutest T-shirt and a Gravedigger flag that he just loves. He also got a program and I wouldn't be lying if I told you he's thumbed through it a hundred times since Friday night. He was so wound up when we got home that he stayed up until 11:00 just playing "monster trucks" on the living room floor!!! LOL... He was setting up his cars and running over them with his monster trucks he has. Too darn cute! (Oh...and if you're wondering where Ava was...she spent the night with my MIL!!)





New Kit and LO
I put a new kit up in the store last night. I am so thrilled with how pretty it turned out! :) Hopefully everyone else thinks so too!! I really would LOVE to see some sales, ya know?!?! :) And here's a LO I made using it and also using a template I made for the Elemental Scraps Mega Kit coming out this week.

You can find Belle in Blue here and it's 20% off until Thursday!!! :)

Belle in Blue is a soft, pretty kit that is able to be used with just about any scrapbook LO. Wedding pages, baby pages, love pages, girly pages...you name it!! Kit is created at 300 dpi and has no drop shadows included. Kit includes: 6 Patterned Papers -4 Textured Solid Papers -5 Ribbons -3 Pins- 3 Gems- 1 Glitter Swirl- 1 Metal/Gem Swirl -2 Journaling Blocks -Glitter Alphabet (upper and lowercase)

LO can be seen here.

Back on the Wagon...

So...I'm back on the wagon this week! Eating well, tracking calories, drinking TONS of water, exercising more, scrapping away, designing more for you all...back in the swing of things! :) Don't forget to check back tomorrow...there just may be a little Valentine's present for all of you!! ;) Have a great day, girls! School was cancelled here today due to snow, so I'm off to play with the kiddos! {{HUGS}}