Scrap therapy

Scrap therapy! Okay so this layout is a little crazy and I thought my husband was going to tease me forever about taking this photo but it was very theraputic. Whether it be good or bad... this is what is going on in my life at the moment.. so Im going to scrap it. At least it made me feel better.

Speaking of Matt comes home tomorrow and I so cant wait. He went to a bachelor party in Las Vegas with his cousins. I have lots of hilarious text messages and blackmail worthy voice mails. I can tell he is having a great time. He's been gone for 3 days but Im really missing him. Especially today... Sunday.. when Im so used to spending the entire day with him. I will most likely be spending it with this book instead.

I got my last 2 Twilight books yesterday (Eclipse and Breaking Dawn) and I cant wait to dive in. I almost dont want to rush because I dont want it to be over. Im surprised how quickly I went thru the first two. It reminds me of myself 10 years ago when I used to read alot. Now I only read when Im on lying on a beach somewhere. Its been nice to get into a series again. Im just glad I got into it late. I hate waiting for the next book to come out. Im so impatient with things like that. I havent decided if Im going to drag Matt to the movie with me or not. If he makes fun of it I just may punch him. :)

I really need a new blog banner. I detest mine. Its 2 years old. Im just too lazy to make one. This is the only time Ive wished I could do digi. Hopefully tonight I can suck it up and make something.

Ive been a bad bad girl

I cant believe its been almost a month since I blogged. Ive had so much stuff going on and I just kept forgetting! It seems I only remember to blog at 3am while Im watching the fights on Big Brother after dark.

Things are getting better. The dizziness has improved and the MRI showed no problems with my brain. (Thank the Lord) I still have occasional dizzy days (usually when busy and running around at work)but its tolerable and no interferring my daily life like it was before. Im back to being a scrapping fool.. that is when Im not sucked into a book.

Last week I bought the first novel in the Twilight series. Ive heard so much about it I figured Id check it out. I was hooked. I read the first book in 2 days. I went to 2 stores looking for the 2nd book and Im now halfway thru it. Im trying to pace myself. I dont want to finish too long before the last 2 get here. Ive already bought them on Barnes & Noble. Reading never makes me dizzy and I can sit outside on my patio and get some much needed sun.

These layouts are the ones I managed to finish at my mom's last Wed. Im obviously really loving orange at the moment. The layout above is my lil nephew Wy at 4 months. He now has this adorable need to swallow his fist. I just love it.

Dizzy Blonde

I havent been around much because Im so darned dizzy. Anytime I moved my head to fast I have to stop and catch myself. Sometimes it also comes with a migraine or the severe queasies. The back of me neck hurts most of the time. Usually Im okay if I go slow, but its been almost 2 weeks. My Dr. thinks I have vertigo and only gave me Dramimine 2. (along with something stronger for the migraines) So basically Im a drooling dizzy mess when I am at work, but Im there.

It has been getting better! but Im going to call on Monday and ask for an MRI. Better safe than sorry.

I havent scrapped much because I get dizzy easily while looking down. I did manage to do Category Stories this week..... I had to cut up a coloring book to do it.The caregory this week is favorite childhood character. Luckily Santa Claus gave me a disney princess coloring book a few years ago. It was fun to color and alot easier than trying to print without a computer hooked up to my printer. :)

I also got to see Dark Knight yesterday! I was so excited I somehow convinced Matt to stay up half the night and go with me. It was so awesome. Heath Ledger's joker is so deliciously dark. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I wasnt sure I liked Bale's batman until this movie. Go see it! Its worth the $8

We wnet to the midnight movie Thursday late. The first theater we went to.... over an hour before showtime had 1500 seats and they were all SOLD OUT.We called another theather 20 minutes away and were able to buy them over the phone with my credit card. They were sold out by the time we got there. (At least 1000 seats)Im still shocked that many crazy people like me rush to the midnight shows.

In Heaven.....

Since Ive been crazy for the last month I seemed to have forgotten to mention that I made the Design Team for Scrapbook Heaven. It is a super fun site with a great blog and a store full of scrappy goodness. And all you Caardvarks fans... we also have a NEW card kit designed by past Caarkvark Bety.

To kick off the new team we are having a Sketchapalozza party. If you love sketches, scrapping and prizes then you need to check it out!

I got to work with the lovely kit #1 with month... Pink Truffles. Here is what I came up with.

RIP dear pc

Last Thursday afternoon I lost something near and dear to me....

my desktop computer

....She was my friend and constant companion. I could always turn to her when faced with a boring afternoon. She will be sorely missed (May she rest in pieces on my office floor)

Okay but seriously, my PC crashed!!!! The sucker wont boot. :( Good news is the hard drive isnt fried so I should have no problems recovering the last month or so with of pictures. (I am lucky to have a hubby who is a computer master!) Bad news is she is definitely TOAST and I will have to buy another. Problm is I dont have $500 to do that at the moment. So until such time as I get a new computer I am stuck using Matt's ghetto laptop.

How can a laptop be ghetto you say? Its not that its slow or old, its just broken. I can only see the screen with a flashlight so I have to hook the moniter to it...and for some reason it cant hold a connection to save its life. Sometimes it lasts a 1/2 hour, other times minutes before I have to try and reconnect. Its a pain in the balls let me tell you.

Honestly ... even if it was new and perfect its still not MINE. I feel lost without bookmarks and I seriously cant remember which password goes where. So if I havent been around as much lately... this is why. Matt is going to buy me an ethernet cable so I dont have to rely on the wireless and can stay connected. Here's hoping that is soon. My house is way too clean already.

Productive

I got so much done today Im kinda proud of myself. I finished my errands very early and had the evening to cook and get a few things done around the house. I made a big pot of chicken noodle soup, chicken salad and prepped a bunch of stuff for later in the week. Dinner Tuesday and Thursday will be so easy as I have meals ready to basically dump into the crockpot when I get up. Its nice to have the fridge stocked full of healthy food. Im trying not to eat junk as much as possible. I just wish I could rid myself of the coca cola. I bought some Apple juice. Here's hoping it helps with the sugar fix. I really want to lose 20lbs.

I stopped at target and bought some fun things. A straw fedora and big white sunglasses to wear on the boat, a super cute hoodie, a few fun headbands for work and the Flight of the Conchords CD. I watched the HBO series and just fell in love with the goofy novelty band from New Zealand. Here is a song that just seriously cracks me up! They have many many more. Check out Youtube for lots of silly clips.



Unfortunately my productivity didnt include any scrapping... but there is always Wednesday :)Here are a few that I havent shared here yet. The 2nd one uses the ticked from the show and a photo of dh and I in front of the theater.

Anything Goes!

Matt and I had the pleasure of going to see a production of Anything Goes this past Thursday evening at the Porthouse Theater. It was just fantastic. Not only was the acting great but it was so funny! And the music.... wow! (I really LOVE musicals)

This was my first play at the Porthouse and it definitely wont be my last. The cool thing is it is an outdoor theater! Next time I will be packing a big picnic so we can go a bit early and enjoy the scenery. They have boxed dinners you can buy, but I think it would be oh so romantic to pack my own and bring a bottle of wine.

I cant wait for the next play which is based on Alice in wonderland. too cool!

Ive had some time to create lately and Ive had some fun playing with my supplies. I made this funky pink card for the latest Caardvarks challenge. Ive been loving the cardboard look that's been poppin up. I ripped a box top in half and then inked it pink. Then I added some black ink to the edges. I then had to glitz it up The birdie is a stamped image that I turned into an epoxy chipboard embellie.

Unfortunately the photo really washed it out. I need to take a picture is daylight. Im really proud of it... it looks so much cooler in person. I need to rip up boxes more often (its not like I dont have any with all the ripped open priority boxes in my hallway)

I also got to make a few ATCs. I havent played in this medium for probably 2 years. I dont know why I ever stopped. (well I never really got started I only made a few and they sucked!) I think Im hooked. Its a good way to use my stamps (which is a good excuse to buy more) I cant find my precut cards and I was too lazy to cut more, so I just used a deck of playing cards I had laying around.

A croppin I will go

Why is it every time I go to my mother's to crop I feel the need to somehow shove every bit of everything I can possibly fit into my suitcase and then panic that I will need something I didnt bring? I mean seriously... Im going to maybe a 3 hour crop. That is usually 3 layouts most of which are created with my current dt kit. But I obsess! I obsess AND make a mess of my scraproom in the process. Im digging out stamps and paint (like it will have time to dry.. hello) punches and tools. I could stop the insanity right now just by zipping up the bag... but I wont.

Fathers Day was so nice. I stopped to see my stepdad for a bit then headed over to a cookout at my brothers. I got to hold my wiggly lil nephew for awhile and enjoy the food and sunshine. My brother lives close to the municipal airport where there was an airshow. We had our own private view of all the planes from his backyard. We didnt need to hear what they were... my dad already knew and would tell us as they flew by. (he really loves anything with an engine) It was a wonderful day.

Here are a few layouts using the last Poppy Ink kit. Sassafras Lass (my favorite!!) and heidi swapp! Hello... how can you go wrong there?? Dont my nieces look sweet covered in MUD?

Camp!

I had the privilege of working in the crafts area of a camp for childhood cancer this past weekend. We created framed 8x10 "About ME" layouts to send home with them. It was so fun working with the kids. I just loved watching the create and play with the papers. I didnt give them an example on purpose. I didnt want them restricted to a certain look. I designed an About Me journal block for them to fill out and the just let them loose. Its interesting how some automatically went 8x10 and how others quickly chose 10x8.

Thank you so much to my tally girls, Sara R., Leah and Julie for their generous donations. It was so fun watching the kids dig through the piles of embellishments and get excited when they find the perfect thing.

Speaking of tally... its almost time for the June kit "Sweeet Emooooootion" to go on sale. (the song is soo in my head at the moment) You dont want to miss the Aerosmith inspired goodness of this rockin kit. (and I cant tell you how much I really LOVE Aerosmith.... I grew up listening to them) Here's 4 layouts I finished in the last 2 days using the kit




It goes on sale at tallyscrapper on June 15th!

da da dun daaaa

dun da daaaaaaaa!

Lemme tell you a secret...... I have a wicked case of the HOTS for Indiana Jones. (well Harrison in anything... but most of all as Indy) Needless to say I was first in line to see the midnight showing last Wednesday night. It was packed. They had 2 theaters holding over 600 people each full of crazy Indy fans in hats with whips and everything. I was SO po'd that I left my camera at home. I loved the movie. It was packed with action, villainous commies and close calls. It wasnt the best movie ever, but it totally caught the spirit of the series. I really enjoyed it and it was the perfect way to kick off the summer blockbusters. I a movie fiend. I have a list that Im waiting to see including Sex & the City, The dark knight, Hellboy2, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, Get Smart and The Happening.

Im behind on blogging and forgot to show you the creations from the oh so pretty May kit from Simply Obsessed! Here they are!! I Love the Crate Paper sweet branch line (and I dont usually like soft colors)



Crud... I cant find my picture of the card I made... Oh well I'll edit it later! Hope you all have a grand Tuesday! Im off to work. (ick)

Good news and sweet tally fun

Yippee!! We now got all the $$$ back that was stolen from my husbands account Part went in yesterday and I just looked and we got the rest of it back today.

Thank God there were no problems getting it back. I am blessed that I have an understanding landlord and we have seperate accounts. I cant imagine how bad it could have been under different circumstances. I didnt really lose anything.

Its time for another Category Stories challenge! This one is all about the sweet stuff. Candy. My ass wishes I didnt love it but its so damned good candy. Ive been trying to be good and keep this junk out of the house so I snagged the box of milk duds at the movies last weekend. Matt cracked up that I had to buy candy for a layout. You'd think he'd be used to my weirdness.

I used the oh so fabulous arent you upset you missed the sold out May tally kit for this layout. Actually for ALL of these projects. I just couldnt stop!



and another shout out to the Cleveland Caveliers who kicked Boston's booty tonight in Game 6!! Here's hoping they can do it again in #7!! *fingers crossed*

A spring fling!

I just cant stop creating with the May tallyscrapper kit "Spring Fling"

Holy crap its fabulous! Its so happy and fun. I have had it for 3 days and Ive already completed 4 layouts and Im itching to play some more. It calls my name from across the room. Its a must have kit if ever there was one. Did you see the handmade feltie mushrooms and the ribbon roses?

It doesnt go on sale til May 15th but you can stalk it here. Its a steal at $27 (there is a a mini book, a rollerdoodle, hambly.... seriously cool stuff) and for the first time EVER tally is shipping internationally so you gals across the seas can join the tally fun.

Here are a few of my examples. Another one is coming for the new Category Stories that will be up May 15th!


So far its been a pretty good week. My mom was away for Mother's day so we postponed it til next weekend. I was on my own on Sunday. Since it was a dreary rainy afternoon Matt and I decided to use a $20 gift card to go to to 2 matinees. We saw Baby Mama (my choice) and Iron Man (his choice) Both movies were great! Baby Mama was so funny. I love Tina Fey and Amy Poehler together. Iron Man was an awesome comic book action movie with great graphic and an actual plot (imagine that)

and one more thing..... GO CAVALIERS!!

All bets are off

We spent Monday at Mountaineer Casino in West Virgina. Its only about an hour and a half from us and one Matt's clubs was organizing a free bus trip! We even got food and gambling vouchers.

We started the morning by getting up early enough to go breakfast... then it was Bloody Marys on the bus. I think we were a bit tipsy by the time we got there and it wasnt even noon. We sobered up super quick when we found out they actually charge for drinks. (Ive never seen a casino charge for drinks when you are playing the tables)

It was a fun trip though... we didnt win much but we had fun playing. We played some roulette, slots, blackjack and then went over and bet on the horses. I got some great photos to scrap. It was the perfect amount of time. We never got bored and when it was time to go, we were ready. (Next time I want to go to the SPA and hang out in the whirlpool though) I saw that Blondie is going to be there in June and I really would LOVE to see her! Tickets arent bad... its gas I worry about. Ick.

Its also time for a NEW Caardvarks challenge! This one is HOT HOT HOT! Here is my flaming hot card for the challenge, but hand's OFF... It belongs to the Lovely HO as part of our Tallyscrapper card swap. Winner will receive a prize package from our sister site Itty Bitty Scrap Shack! Show us how HOT you can be.

Scrappy happiness

Im trying scrap therapy to make me stop obsessing about money. It seems to be working for far. I think it helps that I know in my gut things will be okay in a few weeks. Im such a worrier that Im surprised I am this calm. I know that its temporary.

There is a new Category Stories challenge up and it is a FUN one. (and you can win a SIStv giftcard) I actually used a page from Japanese Vogue that came in a kit (I think from Story of my Life) for this layout. I believe it was an ad for Louis Vuitton. I just loved the wicked vibes of the black and white and since there are no photos here, there was no need to worry about acidity (if you follow that rule.... I dont always)

Its going to be a fun weekend for crops! I get to play at both TallyScrapper and Simply Obsessed. If you are around and want to win some cool shiznit stop by either site. I promise you a good time. Tonight is my early night at work (I *should* be home by 10) and I plan on chatting and scrapping. (I already have my bottle of wine in the fridge chillin) I cant wait to check out the challenges.

To the assholes in Cali who took my money?

You are the lowest form of scum. How dare you steal my husband's debit card number and steal my money. Why do you think you are entitled to something that isnt yours? Do you think its a victimless crime? We arent made of money. That was our rent money you stole from us. Why am I paying for $800 of your gasoline? How are you doing this without the card? Do you work there? Are you running my card and filling up your friend's tanks. Dont think you will not be found. We have spoken to a detective. Gas stations have cameras. Since you were there 7 times a day for 3 days Im sure they will identify you. Was it worth it?
****************

The bank says we should recover most of the money, but not for 3 weeks. The account is already in the negative. Unfortunately my husband has direct deposit so we also lost his paycheck to the overdraft fees as well. The bank wont credit those until after the 3 weeks. Its going to be a sucky month. I just pray I am busy at work and can make enough money to cover and that my landlord is cool about the rent being late. (I think he will be. He's a pretty cool guy) Hopefully I can pick up and extra shift or 2 to soften the blow.

My Anniversary

*Imagine little doodled hearts here*

hehe! Tuesday was our 2 year anniversary.... and even if it didnt go as we planned it was fantastic! Matt had to his building certification exam that morning and was supposed to go back to work afterwards. Instead he was home at 3, just as I was getting dressed to go get the food for dinner and his present. (I wanted to make Carmela's chicken rigatoni. I found a copycat Macaroni Grill recipe that I had already perfected.) I just threw on jeans and my crocs.

Anyways... we didnt end up leaving right away. He wanted to go with me and needed to eat lunch first. 2 hours later we are out the door, but had to stop at his dad's. An hour later we left to go get our presents... we had decided on his and hers cotton bathrobes (to stay with the traditional 2nd anniversary gifts)

Of course it hard to find nice bathrobes in April when its about to get hot so we went to several stores. (I did get some great bras!) Finally we found some at Bed Bath and Beyond. By then it was 8:30 and we were starving. So instead of cooking dinner we went to Outback Steakhouse. The food was fabulous as usual.

So instead of my romantic candlelit dinner at home on our wedding china, I went out in my jeans to Outback. Instead of going to the movies, we stayed home and watched big brother in our new bathrobes. Instead of having a drink out, we made alcoholic snow cones with the little machine we also bought at Bed Bath and Beyond. It was a fantastic night. I wouldnt trade it for anything.

Category Stories :)

Category Stories is UP!!

Make sure you check it out. We are giving away a Paper Pixie kit this month.

I chose the category this week and well... I did it as an excuse to make me scrap my crocs. My hideously ugly but oh so comfy crocs. They truly saved my butt in Vegas (we walked at least 10 miles a day) I always swore I would never own a pair. Im a shoe girl and I usually go for style over comfort.... but damn if Im not wearing them to work, to the grocery store, to run errands. Damn.

Anyway... please come and play along with the challenge! Its all about SHOES. Im giving max points to any tally gal that does one and links it to the blog. :)

A busy weekend.

Yay Wyatt! Im done with my antibiotic now so after the chaos of this weekend Im going to come snuggle you. I cant wait! :)

Its going to be a busy one. I actually need to start packing and trying on dresses. Matt has a big all weekend convention for one of his volunteer organizations (and he's in charge of half of it) Its about an hour north of us. He is already there and checked in to the hotel. I work until late late tonight and then I have to drive up. Im just hoping I get out of work before midnight so I can get a little hot tub time.

Saturday morning I get to go to a tools class my tallygal Fiskateer Sara! Its super psyched to meet her and Alicia and learn all about fiskars tools.

Other that is convention time until Sunday evening. I think Im going to take a little scrappy stuff in case I get bored. I know Matt is going to have to work most of the time (except banquet and party times) and he is the only one there I will know. *fingers crossed* I can find a few ladies to chat with :)

oh and just a hinty hint... you may want to watch Caardvarks tomorrow.

Welcome Spring

I love the way the air smells in the springtime. I love to fling open my windows and let the freshness in. The flowers are blooming, the birds are chirping and the grass is getting greener. There is just something about spring that makes me happy!

I got out of work super early tonight and went outside with my canvas and began to paint with bright happy colors. My creation is a little crazy (and still unfinished) but made me feel so good. My hands are still a little painty. I love it. I love being HOME in time to watch Big Brother live while I scrap. I love that I get to spend time with hubby tonight. Yes... today is an awesome day.

Last week I got to play with the springiness of the April Simply Obsessed kit. I finally got my hands on the NEW pretty pink paislee stuff. Here are a couple layouts and my "Welcome Spring" wall hanging (made out of a piece of cardboard) I cant wait to make cards with my scraps.

What a week!!

So many good things have happened to me this week and as part of my effort to be MORE POSITIVE I am going to share them.

It begin with the birth of my newest little nephew Wyatt Lee. He's an April Fools Baby. That is special because 4/1 is my late grandma's birthday. Isnt he the sweetest little guy ever? Unfortunately my mom took this photo because Im a little sick and cant go see the baby yet. I want to wait til Im done with my antibiotic.... just a few more days.

I also found out that I made the April - June Design Team at TallyScrapper (which is one of my favoritist places ever) The points are like crack.... You have to have more and you have to share(not that Ive tried crack mind you, but you get the picture) I should be recieving the vintage inspired April kit any day now. Im going to make my grandma dig out the old pictures!

Thursday I got to spend lots of time with my niece's rough housing and playing around. I love watching my husband dazzle them with his magic tricks. (yes I married an amateur magician)

On the way to my SILs house I found a cool scrapbook store. Now I'll be dragging Matt in there everytime we go over.

Then I found out that this layout <---- won the Glitz designs contest over at Create My Keepsake. I am getting this ginormous pile of glitz gorgeousness! I seriouly cant wait! It had lots of frosting and a rollerdoodle!

Other than work this is been one awesome week! Here's hoping next week is 1/2 as good :)

My Monday Night...

Its almost 5am and I just got home!

At 9:30 pm my mom and I were cropping away when our phones started ringing. Mindy's water broke (my SIL). At that point we dropped our scissors and said goodbye to the guests and started calling the phone chains.

By 10:00 we were off to the hospital. My mom is already crazy tired and all we'd eaten for dinner was chocolate and sun chips. We manage to find our way around the hospital late at night and find my lil sis and other brother already waiting. She was still in triage so we had to wait.

After another hour we got to go in 2x2 and visit for a bit. She just wasn't dialting. At 2am they gave her the drug to give it a push. By this time Im dying with cramps and my mom is looking mighty tired. She'd been up for almost 24 hours.

At 4 my brother comes out and tells us the nurse says he'll probably come between 8-10am. At this point my mom had to go home and get a little sleep. If she didnt I was going to make her anyway. I drove the 45 minutes home to do the same.

Now Im up wired from all the caffiene I chugged earlier and so wishing I was kissing my sweet little nephew's chubby cheeks! But NO... he has to be like his daddy and take his sweet a$$ time with things. hehehe

Here's to hoping Im and Aunti when I wake up :)

Here are the 3 layouts I finished before our crop was interrupted....The 2 here at the bottom use the March kit from TallyScrapper.

All things buzzy and purple

Late last night while my husband was sleeping I was in my scraproom creating with the beautiful Pink Paislee kit from Simply Obsessed and flipping thru the tv.

I came across an infomercial. Normally I change the channel, but this wasnt any ordinary infomercial.... and if you are easily offended please dont read any further.....

This one was selling *cough* Vibrators.... Seriously. Not a joke. It was either on Oxygen or the WE channel (I cant remember). I just started at it dumbfounded for a minute... like is this for reals? Who buys one of those things from the television in the middle of the night? I mean I know people buy them. Ive bought one in college (sorry Mom) but from the TV?? At 3am? Yikes!

I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants. I almost woke Matt up and made him look, but I really didnt want a grumpy hubby today. Please tell me Im not the only person who has ever seen this!! It was hysterical.

Today is MICRO day at Caardvarks. You girls know what that means... You only have 1 day for your chance at the prize! Get your purple shmurple cards in before midnight tomorrow. If you are new to Caardvarks... you must go over... iof only to see Lauren's Purple People eater card. (and yes Im singing it too Lauren) Here are mine:

Hoppy Easter!

Happy Happy Easter. (yes Im a few days late) Its been crazy around here. Im working overtime due to March Madness Basketball but I still managed to have a fun holiday with family.

I actually didnt feel rushed this year. We always go 4 places because both of our parents are divorced. (and drive too much) I made it thru the entire day on 3 hours of sleep. I was out the moment I hit the chair in my living room. At 10pm. That is like a normal person falling asleep at 4pm for the night.

I have managed to squeeze in scrapping to the wee hours of night a few times this week. It stinks not having my normal day off (where I get to scrap/clean most of the day) The extra $$ is good though. It means I can can buy some new stuff. :) Here are a few of my recent layouts :)



Road Sign stamp (stop sign) is Penguin Press.

oh and my super funky Caardvarks fruits & veggies card! Check out the blog for our most recent spotlight Rae Brathel.

Oh and watch for a micro soon!