Happy Thanksgiving (a bit late)

I know it's after the fact, but I hope everyone had a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving. I woke up early, cooked much of the morning and fiddled around here and there. We ate around 1PM and then Nathan called, which was a wonderful surprise. And then it started snowing! Tiny little flakes dancing around, but it really made the day magical. Kara and I headed off to work at 5PM, which we volunteered for, and we got home a little after 10. It was crazy busy, but fun and everyone seemed in a great Holiday mood.
Kara and I had to be back to work by 5:30AM yesterday, so we decided that we would hit Toys R Us for their Black Friday sale since it's right next door to M's. We got there at 3:45AM and there wasn't much of a line yet, but it quickly filled up. By 4:30AM the parking lot was packed and the line was wrapped around the store down the road. So glad we got there early. We were also in and out quickly and got Guitar Hero 3 for the Wii and a few other things that were on our list and then headed out the door to work.
We worked from 5:30-2PM and I think by 10AM we were both wiped out, but it was a steady stream of busy at work and everyone was in a great mood and we had fun. All the employees brought items to eat and we had a huge spread of anything you could imagine. In fact there is even enough food for today, which is nice. It's not often we can graze at work all day. :)
It was snowing heavily by the time we walked out the door and we were still hyped up from the shopping spirit so we made our way over to Walmart (I was seeking an Ice Blue DS bundle for myself). The DS was gone, however we decided to pick up some gifts that are really going to make the true meaning of Christmas present in our household come Christmas Eve when we have extended family with us. It's enough to make me cry right now. Even my dh cried because he also knows how much this is going to mean to some people. (I am not going to spill the beans because there might be eyes out there. ;)). My heart is full. That's the only way I can explain it.
I decided to try one more time to locate that DS online last night before bed and I am so glad I did because I found one and it's on it's way to me. :) That's my Christmas gift that is going to be wrapped and placed under the tree. Now I remember what it's like to be a kid.
I know it's boring to read all this withouth any pics, but I have just been busy and haven't had time to do much of anything. The next few days are long days at work and when Wed. comes and I have a day off I am going to create something. At least I hope to.
I hope your weekend is a great one and if you are/were out shopping you got some great deals! Enjoy each and every moment of the Season, I know we will.

more MAA projects

TGIF! I have some more projects to share with you that I created with fabulous My Acrylic Album pieces.
First off is a "button tree" I made with a left over page from the tree album and plenty of buttons. It was actually a quick project and I like how it turned out.
I also have an album that I created to send back to Dee to keep as a display/example piece. I received the boy skull and crossbones album, but I had to "girly him up". Making Memories was extremely generous and sent each DT member some product from the gorgeous Paperie collections to complete these albums with. I have to admit that I was a bit worried about having to create with the "greenhouse" Paperie collection. I mean it's stunning and all, but green is not my favorite color and I usually struggle with it, however, once I dug in this album came together quickly and I really like how it turned out. In fact I want to keep it. I don't want to send it back to Dee (pretty please can I send something else?!). The best part is that even after using all the stuff I did, I still have a lot of this gorgeous collection left. *sigh* I am going to miss this album, but if it helps promote MAA then I am more than happy to help. This is the first time I have had to create something that I wasn't able to keep so I am having some separation anxiety. heehee.
(some of the photos are really dark, sorry about that)

I am working on another album and I hope to have it up sometime next week, but we'll see.

Have a great weekend!

an ornament and a Christmas 2006 MAA album

I just love Christmas music. There is something about it that lifts my spirit, especially when it's cold and snowy outside. We have a local radio station that plays Christmas music 24/7 from about Thanksgiving through the New Year and the kids know that during this time the radio is tuned to this station and that is all they are allowed to listen to (at least in the living area, they can listen to whatever in their rooms.) *grin*. As I was driving home from work today I was pleasantly surprised to hear the station playing Christmas music already. I got really excited and started singing along. I must admit though that it's difficult to be in the spirit when it's in the 50's and warm, nonetheless it was still uplifting.

Here is an album I created with a wonderful acrylic Tree album from My Acrylic Album. A star shape also comes with the album, and I used it to create an ornament instead of keeping it with the album. If you haven't checked the site out lately, you should! There are several new items as well as a DT call. :)

I hope your week has gotten off to a great start! Mine has! I found an amazing deal about a week ago and splurged just a bit. ;) I ordered a Cricut Expression, the Jukebox, the Design Center, some cartridges and several other goodies to go with it, and when I arrived home today, a big ole box was waiting for me. It was like Christmas. I cannot wait to get some time to sit down and play. I am so excited!

it's a party!

It's a birthday party! Little Monkeys (StoreMoreStamps) is celebrating their first birthday and you get the presents! Want to know more, well read on!

Alma, from The Cats Pajamas stamps, was quite generous and donated 2 stamp sets to each DT member to play with (lucky us!). I just have to say that these stamps are fun and whimsical and cute as can be! I must have been under a rock because this was the first time I have seen or even heard of them, but I am now a huge fan! We each got to play with "You say It's your Birthday" and "Smells Like Cake" sets. These sets are perfect for adding a little fun to anyone's birthday! Be sure to check out the other wonderful stamps that Alma carries, you will want to add them all to your collection. :) Thanks Alma!

I created a card and a coordinating treat bag. As soon as I saw these stamps I thought whimsy and pink with a bit of elegance.

Speaking of stamps, are you looking for a great way to organize all your acrylic stamps? Check out the Store More Stamps storage system set!. This unique system gives you the room to store you fabulous stamp collection in a colorful and efficient way. There are many colors to choose from, including a brand new set, Apple. It's quite pretty and I can almost smell the orchard. You can also alter the storage box to suit your decor or personality.

Okay, time for the fun stuff! Take a minute to go leave a little love on both the Little Monkey's blog and The Cat's Pajamas Blog then come back and tell me how you currently store your clear stamps and how the Store More Stamps system would help you out. You might just be the lucky winner of these great prizes:

a "Smells Like Cake" Stamp Set from The Cat's Pajamas! and a set of Sleeves with Inserts from StoreMoreStamps.com

Thanks so much for stopping by and celebrating with us!

things happen in three's

This has been a crazy week for our kids. Ashlyn fell down the stairs on Friday night and landed on her elbows/forearms on the brick landing. She hit hard, and I have to say that I am surprised that she didn't break anything. I fully expected to pick her up and see bone sticking out of her arm, and by the grace of God she just had a large scrape. Her angels were watching over her for sure and I was shaking for a long time. That being said, she still has some discomfort and swelling in the area. I took her to the clinic on Monday morning to have it checked out because she was having some pain but because she could use her arm fully, they wouldn't do an x-ray. They said that unless it's obvious, they don't want to expose her to radiation unless necessary. *sigh* I was told to bring her back if she's not feeling better in 2 weeks. Well, I am not going to wait that long. If she is still having pain through the weekend then she is going back and I will not leave without an x-ray. My mommy gut just feels that something is not right.
And then Sunday night, Skylar dropped a wooden easel on her foot. I took her to the clinic on Monday night because she was having a hard time, even though she managed to make it through school AND volleyball practice. They did an x-ray and determined that there wasn't a break (which I figured), but needed to wait until the AM for a Radiologist to look at it, so they put her in a shoe just in case there was something going on. Well I got a call Tuesday morning to get her in for a walking boot because she does have a few areas that appear to be fractured, but they aren't for sure. So we have an appt. tomorrow with an Orthopedic dr. and she will more than likely have to have an MRI so they can see the injured area more closely. It's going to be a fun day tomorrow.
And then yesterday morning, Debbie called telling us that Emily had fractured two of her lower vertebrae (at least that's our understanding) because she fell out of her bedroom window. She was being kept in the hospital overnight and should be sent home today. She was in a lot of pain and will have to wear a back brace for awhile, but thankfully there should be no long-term damage. We really don't know what she was doing sitting in her bedroom window, and it's a second-story window, but she was evaluated and found that she did not try to harm herself, which is what our first thought was.
So, it's been quite interesting around here to say the least. I am still nursing my ankle, but it is feeling better, which is a good thing.
I am just hoping that this is it for awhile, my mommy heart cannot take any more.
I'll be back soon with some scrappy projects. :)

November CMD projects

It's been gloomy and gray the past few days. It's been raining pretty much non-stop. I suppose I shouldn't complain because we really need it, but it reminds me so much of living in the Seattle area and it was like this quite often. I miss the sun. :) It has been nice to hang out inside. I have been really productive around the house. Ashlyn's room is done! I set her bed up and moved her dresser and shelves upstairs. I even surprised her with some new Littlest Pet Shop sheets. That made her light up! I must say that it turned out well. The blue is soft and clean and fresh and relaxing and soothing. I want to paint the living room that color now. Today her task is to go through everything and get rid of things she no longer needs or uses and to move the rest upstairs.

I went to the Dr. yesterday. Of course my ankle was in very little pain. *eyeroll* I suppose it's a good thing because I don't want to regress. I do have some areas where the muscle has built up something that has caused some bumps, but they aren't anything that is going to cause things to get worse. She thinks my tendon is agitated which causes the muscle to become agitated, thus causing the area to react. I did everything right by resting it and I just need to continue to take it as easy as I can and take care of it just as I have been. I turned down a Cortizone shot in the area yesterday because I wasn't in the mood to tolerate that. If I am having problems in a few weeks or if I change my mind, she said to come in and get it. I am sure I will, I just have to be in the right frame of mind because having a needle poked multiple times around the area of my scar is one of the most painful things I have felt and I don't the mental strength right now. She gave me some heel inserts to try and suggested I get some different shoes and some different insoles to take the pressure off the area. So I went straight out and got some new shoes and am going to get the insoles on my way to work this morning. I also have to wear my ankle brace at work at all times. I don't have the support in the area of my ankle to handle the pressure of being on my feet or even walking around for long periods. We hope it was a fluke thing and that it continues to heal. If not I will more than likely have to quit working. I am not sure what I will do then since I am able to work around the kids with this job, which is the reason I am there.

Here are my final Color{Me}Daisy projects. Everything is made with the beautiful November kit. I struggled a bit, but am pleased with the end results.
Have a wonderful Saturday!

cards galore!

I've been a bit lazy about posting lately. I've taken a few days and pretty much stepped away from the computer and it's been nice. I made some decisions about a few things that have been weighing heavy on me, and even though it wasn't easy to let them go, I do feel that it was right for me and I feel good about that. Working has really narrowed my focus as to how I want to spend my free time. I have been stressing about being behind on projects, and having to devote time to things that consume so much time has worn me down mentally. I just stopped enjoying the process and it became a chore. I now have the time to focus on a few things and I am excited about that. That being said, I have stepped down as a DT member for Color{Me}Daisy. The kits are fabulous and the girls on the team are wonderful, however it was just too much. I have truly enjoyed my time there, and Michelle and her dh are top-notch. If you are looking for a super kit, with excellent customer service, this is a kit club that you are going to want. Michelle is so on top of things and you will not be disappointed.

Today I finally painted Ashlyn's room. It's been sitting empty since May when Nathan left and this project just became less of a priority than everything else. I feel guilty about that, so this is just one step closer to having it complete for her. Soon, very soon.

Onto scrappy stuff. I have some cards to share.... 12 to be exact. Plus a tag. I created them all with the fun "Let It Snow" Holiday card kit from Color{Me}Daisy. I wrote step-by-step instructions for each card, as did Mara Campbell, and these will be included with the kit. I just love Mara's cards, they are super! This is a great kit and a great way to get some of your Holiday cards done. If you happen to get this kit and create your own cards, I'd love to see them. Please let me know so I can check them out! It was a fun project to be a part of and I am happy with the cards that came out of the kit.

I'll be back with more scrappy projects tomorrow. I hope you enjoy these cards! :)