Sigh...

I've been in a fog all week....more or less dazed. I'm not depressed or angry or even overly happy - just here, but emotional. The tiniest little things have brought tears to my eyes this week. I feel as though I have been moving in slow motion all week. I'm starting to come out of my fog though - I can feel it. Life has been rather uneventful this week, which is probably a blessing considering my fog.

My grandma had bypass surgery on her leg this week, and it was successful. She got to go home yesterday afternoon. I'll probably give her a call later today to see how she's doing.

Things are progressing on our video projects. We had a meeting yesterday afternoon, and I see some $$$ coming our way in the near future. I've started getting myself back in shape so Glen said I can look into getting a gym membership again with part of the money. I've never been one for lots of exercise, but I'm looking forward to having lots of energy and feeling much better about myself. My body has been through a lot in the last year and a half. I'm strangely excited to start exercising again! :) I need to really kick in gear with the video script - it's going to be a lot of work.

Last night, we were mystery shoppers at the Cheesecake Factory. It was nice to have a night out that was basically paid for, plus I get leftovers for lunch! Afterward, I curled up to watch Grey's Anatomy. The first episode did not disapoint! I can't wait until next week!

Today, I'm going for a walk to enjoy the beautiful weather and planning to get some work done in my scrap room. I need to prepare for the Scrap Pink crop I'm going to tomorrow...so looking forward to it! My sister is visiting this afternoon so we're getting Fazoli's! Yum! We usually order the kid's meals because it's so much cheaper and more than enough food. :) I would like to get a movie or even go to a movie tonight. We'll see how the day goes.

Have a great weekend! Hopefully, I'll have some projects to post soon!

My head is spinning...

It's been a really long time since I have really been so engrossed in reading that I didn't want to put my book down - since I stayed up until 1:30 in the morning. I love Harry Potter, but even then I wasn't quite this obsessed. Several of my Rusty Pickle Chef friends told us all to read Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. I put it in the back of my mind and then when we were at the mall Saturday night, I finally bought the book. I started reading as soon as we got home and had to make myself fall asleep. The next day we had church and I went to a craft show (more on this in a minute) and then I spent the entire afternoon reading my book. I didn't move until 5:00. I got soooo caught up in the romance. It was just beautiful and the characters were so complex. I felt myself understanding their emotions and being reminded of my blessings all at the same time. There were moments I was in tears.

I had to break off for a while though because we had a church event. When we got home, I looked up the next two books in the series, New Moon and Eclipse at Walmart.com. I asked Glen if he minded if I ran to Wal-Mart and he said no (I think he was relieved to watch football by himself). I felt like a crazy person speeding off to find them! Wal-Mart had Eclipse but there was no way I could start reading the third book without reading the second. By this time, it was 8:40. I nervously hoped Barnes and Noble was still open and hopped on the interstate. I was in luck! I bought New Moon and sped home so I could curl up in bed and read. I was up until 1:30...I just could not put the book down. This morning I read some more before I had to get ready for work. I checked out Stephanie Meyer's website this morning and her next book doesn't come out for another year...how can I wait that long now that I'm so into it???? There's even a movie going to be made. Anway, you have to read these books! :)

At the craft show yesterday, I came home with a Caramel Rum Swirl soy candle. It smells amazing. I can even smell it all the way upstairs and downstairs from my main level. I walked around the entire show smelling candles and I'm so glad I found this one. It just makes my house cozy!

We went to the Amana Colonies Friday night and Saturday for another work meeting. It was fun, but hard work as Glen and I took lots of pictures and video taped for future projects. It was soooo cool to hear the testimonies of the mentor couple we taped - they all obviously have a passion for marriage and why it's important to work at our marriages as much as we do anything else - our jobs, our home, our friends, etc. Glen and I left a little early and spent some time together. We went into Amana and walked around and bought some yummy things - some pumpkin bread, raspberry strudlecake coffee and summer sausage and cheese. We went to Coralville to the mall for a while and then headed home.

Tonight, I'm going out with a few girlfriends from my small group - we're going to see The Nanny Diaries at the theatre. I'm feeling rather emotional today so I better pack some tissues - I tend to cry at every romantic comedy I see.

A great day!

I had an awesome morning - I went up to Memory Bound in Ankeny where I met with Dawn and Kellie (the owners) about teaching some Rusty Pickle classes up there. I'm very excited about it because it's just really difficult to find Rusty Pickle product around here. Memory Bound is a fantastic store - they carry a lot of great lines and are really up on the trends. I have some ideas for classes that I can't wait to start developing. So, if you're in the area be sure to check out Memory Bound's website toward the end of the year for my classes in January, February and March! :) We might even do a Rusty Pickle Saturday!

On that note, I better keep moving...we might make a run to the Farmer's Market tonight and I have not done much today - other than errand running!

Have a great night!

Rusty Pickle Fundraiser for Utah Family

Tracy Armstrong lies in a bed at Utah Valley Medical Center bullet holes in his wrecked body, paralyzed from the armpits down with the use of only his left arm. Just after sunset on Friday, August 3rd, Armstrong was about to show a Las Vegas family to their room at the Blue Springs Lodge, nestled in the mountains at Panguitch Lake, 200 miles south of Provo near Brian Head ski resort. Jason Hines enter the office of the lodge and pulled out a .38-caliber handgun and started shooting 4 rounds point blank at Tracy. There was not a confrontation between Armstrong and Hines before he shot him in this random act of violence that has changed a family's life forever. Armstrong was taken to Garfield Memorial Hospital and later airlifted to Utah Valley Hospital where he is in stable condition.

Tracy is the father and the sole supporter of a family of 11. The family has kids ranging in ages from 3-22 and one son serving a full time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The family's $10,000 insurance deductible is only one of many new burdens. In addition to the insurmountable medical bills, there is a list of specialized equipment the family will need in order to bring Tracy home - just to name a few : specialized wheel chairs, a special van with a wheelchair lift, a special hoist that will lift Tracy out of his wheelchair and transisition him from one place to another and the complete remodeling of their home to make it handicap accessible so Tracy will have somewhere to go once he is discharged. He will be in rehab at UVRMC, 200 miles away from his Panguitch home for an unknown period of time.

Ever since we were made aware of their heart-breaking ordeal, we've thought long and hard about what we could do to help. It is for this reason that we have decided to host a fundraiser for Tracey & Lynn's family in hopes of relieving some of their financial burden so that they can focus on what's most important- Tracey's recovery and bringing their family back together. With the help of Rusty Pickle, Lasting Impressions & Zions Bank, we are hoping to raise $20,000 for the Armstrong Family. Please join us and show your support. Rusty Pickle is doing a fundraiser for Tracey Armstrong. You can check out his progress on his blog here. Rusty Pickle has set up a blog telling about their scrapbooking workshops they will be holding in Utah and Arizona over the next couple of months to raise money for the family. Check it out here. There are several options for helping the family out. $5 buys a raffle ticket and $20 buys 5 raffle tickets for a chance to win a $500 scrapbooking prize pack donated by Rusty Pickle. You can read all the details for the raffle and buy the tickets here at Legacy Scrapbooking.

Rusty Pickle Sneak Peeks!

Here's a look at the new Rusty Pickle lines coming out for Memory Trends this week. French Market is just gorgeous...I got to work with it on the "Fall Family Fun" product kit I designed (I'll show picts of this later this week). I LOVE the looks of Chocolate Kisses and the new acrylic albums look awesome! The shapes are the same as the new chipboard albums that Rusty Pickle released at summer CHA. I can't wait to get my hands on the new albums! :)

Yesterday was a good day - got some cleaning done and had company over last night for dessert. Our small group is starting back up again and we're going to be going through a Dave Ramsey book on finances. Should be good! We also set the date for our next girl's night out! We have lots of ideas for fun things to do. The next two weeks are just jam packed full for me - I have something scheduled about every day!

Well, better get to work! I've got plenty to do here too...have women's Bible study tonight where we'll come up with a plan for the fall.

Have a great Tuesday! :)

A great weekend and some new Rusty Pickle projects!

I had fabulous weekend at my parents. When I got there, my sisters and I headed to Atlantic to run a couple errands and then see my grandma. We spent a while there and then came back home. The girls went their separate ways (to see boyfriends) and my mom, dad and I went on a date together! We went to the Redwood's in Anita, which is one of my favorite restaurants back home. It was nice to spend time with just the two of them.

Sunday morning, I got my hair done (it needed it) and then the girls and I went for a walk. Mom made my favorite for lunch (roast, mashed potatoes/gravy and corn) and then we went out to my other grandparent's house. I spent a little more time at mom and dad's and then came home. All in all, it was a great weekend for visiting. I just hope I don't get a cold because mom and the girls were all sick. When I got back home, Glen and I got some groceries, made popcorn and watched the Emmy's on TV. I also poured myself a glass of wine, grabbed a book and filled up the foot spa. I relaxed for about 15 minutes...it was sooo nice! My hair stylist and I had a good discussion about how women never seem to take time to relax. I decided to start right away! :)

Here's a couple Rusty Pickle projects I worked on last week. I used the Git 'R Dun line on the card and Princess Bride on the gift bag set. I used my new silver Glimmer Mist on the flowers and chipboard - I am in LOVE! It's the coolest way to cover chipboard! Thanks to Vicki C for enabling me to buy some!

Have a great Monday! :)

September Memory Works kit

Last night, I made a couple cards with the Memory Works Express kit and wanted to share one of them with you. The patterned paper is Basic Grey Recess and the diecut behind is Daisy D's, buttons are American Crafts and rubon is Basic Grey. This card just screams fall to me. I love working with kits that mix manufacturers so well. Memory Works and Paper Posies both do that beautifully! I'll share a layout or two with the kit as soon as I finish them.

We went to a matinee of The Bourne Ultimatum last night. LOVED this movie! Matt Damon is fun to look at! :) But, really the movie was just all around awesome. The action just never stopped...tons of fighting and suspense. I LOVE a good action movie which has to come from my dad. He always watched them with us even though he didn't have any boys. I also loved the way this movie was shot...very abstract. Glen wants to own the Bourne trilogy, which is okay with me.

Anyway, I better get moving and head to my folks!

Have a great Saturday! :)

One down, one to go!

Whew! I worked all day yesterday getting that Rusty Pickle product kit ready to go! I still had to add photos to one of the albums and was sooooo frustrated when I couldn't find the photos I wanted to add to it. Our photos are incredibly disorganized right now....I could just cry. There are two sets of photos from last fall that have vanished. One of which is our family Thanksgiving from last year at Glen's parents. We took tons of photos of Mary and I cooking that I still want to scrap. What I need to do is take an entire day and organize the photos and back them up. It's a huge task but I know it needs to be done. Anyway, after I finally found some good photos to use, I wrote out instructions and finalized my insert and template sheets. It was all in the mail via UPS around 6. I might have a couple things to type up yet, but it's on its way to Utah as we speak. I still have one more class kit to design but hopefully it will go a little quicker as it is modeled after an album I have already created.

After we went to UPS, Glen and I ate at CiCi's pizza. There's nothing like eating at a good, cheap pizza buffet! They have the best cheese bread sticks and I love their salad bar. When Glen and I do eat out, we try to keep it cheap and/or use a coupon. We might eat at a fairly nice restaurant (as in more than $10 total) once a month or so. I'm trying really hard to cook a lot instead of eating out. For me, it's just pure laziness when I don't cook. In the summer, we grill a lot which is so easy. I really like fall and winter though because we eat a lot of casseroles, soups, and crock pot meals.

I made some cards with Rusty Pickle supplies last night and will share soon. Today, I'm working on more scrapping projects and have some submissions to make. Tonight, we're going on a date to the movies! We haven't been to the movies for a while so I'm excited to go! In the morning, I'm headed to a work meeting and then to my parent's house by myself. I'm really looking forward to it! Sometimes it's just nice to be there by myself. I'm hoping to spend some quality time with my sisters. I'm also going to visit my grandparents. My grandma just celebrated her 84th birthday so I want to be sure to see her! :)

Have a great Friday! :)

An adoption update...

I've been busy working on some Rusty Pickle projects the past two nights after work. I'm going to wrap up one of the kits this morning and get it shipped off to them today. As much as I struggled with it, I think it turned out cute! (I hope they think so too). :) I'll post a sneak peek of it in the next day or two.

Last night, Glen and I ran to Kohl's to get some shoes for him. We earned $20 in Kohl's cash from our last shopping excursion so we needed to get it spent by yesterday. As we were driving there, we talked more about adoption. (I know I haven't mentioned it too much here but we're trying to adopt.) The last three weeks I was on hold with any paperwork because we were waiting to talk with someone with church who was hard to get a hold of. Last night, we officially decided to go through Bethany Christian Services. I'm really excited to get going on the paperwork. They are a great agency and really concerned with the well being of the birth mother, which impressed us. We went to an informational meeting this spring about working with them. We're hoping and praying that God will provide the financial means to work with them. Adoption is extremely expensive and we do not have even a fraction of what we need saved up. But, Bethany has a loan program (that we hope we qualify for) that will loan out half of the adoption costs. Then, when you get your federal tax credit back you use it to pay back the loan. We still have to come up with a boatload of money, but the loan will help. We're going to do some video work for my workplace on a contract so we're hoping to put that money directly towards our adoption expenses. I also have a friend that keeps mentioning a doing a fundraiser for us so that would be a huge blessing!

I currently work part-time and I'm sure most of you are thinking, NICE...I'm jealous! I know many people don't understand why I did it. After the three years, we have spent trying to have a baby...I (we) was stressed out. I tried very hard to eliminate any type of stress in my life during all of our fertility treatments, but my job was a huge stress in my life. Some days, I dreaded going into work. I had to be there for the health insurance. That's really the only reason I stayed there so long. Now, I LOVE my job! Of course, I have my moments (who doesn't?) but all in all, it's a great fit for me! I can work a little extra if I want to and I can mix up my schedule a bit if I need to. We're still learning to live with half an income, but God has provided for us each time we were coming up short. He's provided opportunities with Rusty Pickle and future teaching locally that will help supplement what we're making. I'm very thankful to be we're I'm at. And, I have always wanted to be home with our kids. I know I'll probably have to work somewhere at least part-time, but I'll do it. I like to work, and it keeps my skills fresh. I'm just praying the "kids" part comes along sooner rather than later! :)

Well, I best get moving on some scrap work today. Have a great Thursday! :)

A hint of fall is here!

I can't believe how quickly it cooled off! Yesterday was a high of 58 degrees! That's down from around 85 or so this weekend. I wore a long sleeved shirt to work yesterday. I'm hoping I don't get a cold as so many other people have.

I had a fun mail day yesterday! I ordered some vintage buttons and bling from Jenni Bowlin and got some Glimmer Mist (by Tattered Angels) in three different colors. I tried it out on a piece of paper last night and LOVE the look. I can't wait to use it on my projects.

I'm in a bit of a scrapping funk. I'm trying to work on some projects with tight deadlines and I feel as though I have had to force my creativity. I'm hoping that works itself out so I can do some fun projects. Last night while I was scrapping, I watched the movie, Freedom Writers. It was sooooo good! I loved the messages in the movie....I cried several times, but that's old hat for me!

Have a great Tuesday! :)

A great weekend and some thoughts on fear...

We had a wonderful visit from Glen's brother this weekend. I won't go into details, but it was incredibly intense and awesome all at the same time. The last time Glen saw his brother was 11 years ago, and I obviously have never met him. It was really great for them to reconnect and get to know each other. He's really a great guy and I enjoyed getting to know him.

We also went to a neighborhood party last night. To be honest, I really wasn't looking forward to it. I'm really trying to work on this, but lately I have a problem being out of my comfort zone and I enjoy sticking around home. I sucked it up and went anyway, and actually ended up having a great time meeting some neighbors I probably never would have met if I hadn't have gone.

In other news and somewhat related to what I just talked about, I bought a new Bible study book called "Overcoming Fear" by the fabulous Women of Faith speakers. I'm not sure if we'll do this as a group study, but I feel the need to do this by myself. In fact, I'm going to start on it this morning. I think my "comfort zone" problem has to do with some fears I have. I have always had a problem with anxiety and I know it's an area in my life where I really have to let God take control. I have horrible nerves, and I truly have to push myself to be in public situations at times. Most of the time, I am comfortable as long as I know someone. During the entire year of 2006 and the beginning of this year, we stayed around home for the very simple reason of eliminating stress in our lives. We went through some very intense fertility procedures that made this necessary. I've become very used to our "hermit" lifestyle and have had some trouble breaking away from it.

At church yesterday, my pastor said something really profound, "The more self-control we give up, the more God can use us." I was incredibly struck by this statement. I'm sure there have been situations in my life where I have just plain out avoided going because of fears I have had. By me avoiding these situations, I'm sure that I missed out on opportunities to build relationships, etc. Hopefully, you understand where I'm going with this and if you're a prayer, you might pray about this for me.

After our weekend, I'm incredibly behind on scrappy projects, so I'm going to get to work this morning before I head into my day job this afternoon. It's going to be a busy week with projects. I had lots of fun mail come this weekend - got some new American Crafts, Melissa Frances, some yummy Bazzill and Prism cardstock, and I got a ton of the new Rusty Pickle!!!!

Have a great Monday! :)

I made the cover! :)

This is the fall issue of Paper Creations magazine. My card is the "Happy Birthday" card in the upper right corner. I was thrilled to see it on the cover because I know that doesn't happen very often! :) I used Tinkering Ink and Sassafras Lass papers on this card and a Maya Road sheer blossom.

I'm finally feeling back to my old self. It took until about Wednesday for me to feel normal again. I felt like my head was in a fog for days...I was a major space cadet. I told my husband to put a pillowcase in the dish drain instead of the clothes hamper (if you want to know how out of it I was) :)

We've got a busy weekend ahead so I better run for now. Glen's brother is arriving for a weekend visit this afternoon and I've got some baking, cleaning and grocery shopping to do. Have a great weekend! :)

Not the weekend I expected...

So I had a pretty yucky weekend all-around. Saturday morning was good. We went to Kohl's and got Glen some new clothes and shoes. I didn't buy a thing (surprise!) But then while we were walking around, I just started feeling like something was off. We made a stop at Home Depot to buy mum's and then grabbed some lunch at Quizno's to bring back home. I ate just a few bites because my stomach just didn't feel right. I started falling asleep while I was eating so I decided to head upstairs to take a nap.

A couple of hours later, I woke up and started getting sick. You guessed it - I had the stomach flu! I'll spare you the gruesome details but it was pretty bad. I had a 101 degree fever and everything. I'm kind of a wimp, but this flu really took a lot out of me. It's amazing how much sicker you can feel with the flu as an adult and how kids just bounce right back. I finally started feeling somewhat better around 1:30 Sunday morning. My fever broke and I slept through the night. I stayed in bed most of the day Sunday resting and enjoying some of my favorite movies. Yesterday, I disinfected my entire house. I'm a big germ freak so I used Clorox wipes on everything and washed countless loads of laundry (all my bedding, etc.). My appetite is just not back yet so I took it easy on the food yesterday. Today, I woke up with a headache so I took some Advil and slept it off. I'll go into work this afternoon. Glen told me he was starting to feel sick this morning so he's staying home and trying to ward it off. I soooo hope he doesn't get sick - this flu was just nasty (and I just cleaned :)!

Remember how I took care of my friend's kids because she was sick? Probably not a good idea, looking back now! :)

Anyway, I'm looking forward to life getting back to normal. I'm sad that my parents were not able to come, but hopefully we'll get a visit from them in the next couple of weeks.

I'm very excited to get some happy mail over the next couple days. I've been saving up to buy some of the new things that came out from CHA, and I've bought a few things I really wanted. I already got some of the new Melissa Frances, but I'm also expecting some Basic Grey and American Crafts, for starters. I can't even remember everything I ordered at the moment! I'm just really looking forward to getting the mail!

Have a great day! :)