Lots going on!

Life has been super busy for me lately. Glen and I are working on preparing our house for our adoption home study on the 26th. It's pretty overwhelming! Once that's over, we will be working on our scrapbook and video to show to potential birth mothers.

I had a biopsy of my small intestine last Friday to confirm whether or not I have Celiac Disease. I should know the results by the end of the week. I was pretty much out of commission Friday and Saturday.

Had a scary thing happen in my family last week - my 13-year-old cousin was one of the Boy Scouts at the camp in western Iowa. It was awful waiting to hear the news from my aunt that he was okay. I talked for over an hour with my cousin (his sister) the next day. We're the same age so we're pretty close. It was a very traumatic experience for him - the boys had to run toward the tornado to reach their storm shelter. Tyler was okay besides a scratch on his leg. The Boy Scouts were extremely brave and administered first aid to those who were hurt - doing exactly what they were supposed to. I'm so thankful he's okay!

We had a busy day yesterday doing an all-day video shoot for work. I crashed when I got from it - I was so exhausted!

Here's a couple cards using the Cupcake line from Upsy Daisy Designs and a ribbon kit from Savvy 'n Sassy. I've been itching to be creative so hopefully I'll be able to do some crafting soon.

Well, I best be doing something with my life today. I'll try to post again soon. We would appreciate your prayers for our upcoming home study!

Disney!

Mmm... don't know what's up with these pictures but here's a couple from Disney. Okay, so after laying on the beach for 3 days, we decided to trek up to Orlando. We stayed at the Buena Vista Palace which was a beautiful hotel, and I don't think I've slept in a more comfortable bed. The hotel was right near Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island. Let's just say there was a big convention going on that made it possible for me to be the only woman in our hotel. It was comical to say the least! *wink* We went to Magic Kingdom the first day and it was just that, magical. This was my very first trip to Disney and I felt 5 years old all over again. I'm seriously the biggest crier and as soon as I saw Cinderella's castle, I started crying. I have never wanted a little girl more than when I kept seeing these adorable little girls all dressed up in their princess dresses. We went on several rides and saw a few shows. We stayed for the parade and the fireworks which I absolutely bawled through as they were completely choreographed to music about wishes and dreams. For someone that's only thought about her wishes and dreams for the past 5 years, it was an emotional moment for me.

The second day we visited Animal Kingdom and went on the African Safari and saw the Bug's Life 3-D show...both of which were amazing! Other than that we just walked around. It was extremely hot while we were there. We finished the day by visiting Epcot which I just loved! It was very fun going from country to country. We had a margarita in Mexico and a beer in Germany! :) Donald Duck also told me to call him in Mexico! HA! We finally got our pictures taken with all the characters in Epcot. Glen kissed Minnie Mouse on the nose and I'll never let him forget the difference between Pluto and Goofy. Yep, he messed that one up! Easiest thing to keep them apart? Umm...how about checking Pluto's dog tag? :)

After Epcot, we got spiffed up and walked through Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island before we absolutely crashed for the night. The next morning we drove to Clermont to see Glen's aunt and uncle and then headed for home. We drove almost all the way to Nashville before we stopped for the night. And then drove from Nashville to good ole' Iowa the next day. Now, the funny thing is we had PERFECT weather the entire trip UNTIL we crossed the Iowa state line. As we rolled into Bloomfield, the tornado sirens went off so we had to take shelter in a gas station for 20 minutes. The electricity was off and everything! I was shaking so badly as I've never not been home when I needed to take shelter. But, all was fine and we continued home! We missed all the crazy weather in Iowa while we were gone and luckily did not have water in our basement or anything.

Well, I best be getting busy! I'll be back with some projects soon! :)

An ER visit, 2800 miles and a tornado later...

we're back from Florida! :) My life is usually not without drama and the past week and a half has definitely not been an exception. Thursday the 29th (the day we were supposed to fly out) I ended up in the ER for dehydration due to complications from my Celiac Disease. I got an IV with fluids and some meds for nausea and I felt so much better. When I've been really sick before, it seems like I just need a boost of fluids and then I'm fine. Rather than completely lose out on all our money, we decided to drive to Florida instead because our hotel at St Pete Beach was not until Sunday. So armed with Icy Hot patches for my back and some meds for nausea and cramping, we were off! We drove 12 hours to Nashville, TN on Friday and then 12 more hours to Lake City, FL on Saturday. Driving down there was pretty awful, I must admit! Georgia was such a long state to go through. We went through Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and then Flordia to get there. It was neat to go through some states we had never been through and the drive between Nashville and Chattanooga is beautiful! The morning we woke up in Nashville I was pretty sick again but we decided to keep on trucking down south.

A 28 hour drive later...we finally made it to St. Pete Beach Sunday afternoon around 2:00 only to find the resort did not have our reservation. Glen and I were nearly hysterical laughing because we felt like we had been through hell to get there. It took about a half hour to get things figured out before we could check in. We brought our things to our room and immediately got ready to hit the beach. I can't even begin to describe to you how beautiful the beach was. The water was a perfect blue color and the sand the purest white. It was warm but not humid and with an awesome breeze. Basically once we got to the beach, our days went a little like this...wake up when we want to, put our swimsuits on and grab a beach tote, get a private cabana, slather on the sunscreen, lay there, maybe get up for a dip in the ocean, lay there. I kept looking around thinking "This is the life!" I read and read every day we were there and got through 3 books - P.S., I Love You, This Lullaby and The Other Boleyn Girl - all of which I strongly recommend. Eventually, we would get some lunch and clean up for the day. Then take a nap, eat some dinner and walk along the beach at sunset. By the second day, I was kind of feeling like maybe I was too bored with nothing to do. We almost took off for Disney the third day but then decided that maybe we could handle doing nothing a couple more days. Seriously, we are go-getters on vacation so for us to stop and not doing anything was almost an anamoly. We did go for a drive to St. Petersburg and spent some time on the Pier and we also drove up the coast to Clearwater Beach. Our resort was really nice so I feel like we chose it well.

I'll post more tomorrow about the rest of our adventure to Orlando and back home. Here's a sneak peek of my top 3 highlights - 1) Being the only woman staying in our hotel...hmmm. 2) Getting hit on by Donald Duck. 3) Taking shelter as soon as we got in Iowa.

I'm still trying to catch up on laundry, unpacking and the 300 e-mails in my inbox. If you e-mailed me, I promise to get back to you soon! Back to real life... :(

Bye until next week!

I probably won't update my blog from the road as we're heading out to Florida in the morning. I hope we have a good time because the last few days have been awful! I threw my back out Sunday morning and have been almost flat on my back. Sitting hurts the worst. I'll be going to the chiropractor again in the morning. I've also been having trouble with symptoms related to Celiac Disease. We looked into canceling the trip but we wouldn't get a refund so we're going no matter what. I'm ready for a break and hoping that sitting on a plane will go okay.

See you when we get back! :)

Paper Posies, Part 2

Here are the rest of my projects using Paper Posies May kit. This was such a fun kit to work with! I'm excited to work with the June kit this weekend - it's full of Pink Paislee and K & Company.

Whew...it's been a busy week on TV! I was soooo happy David Cook won American Idol!!!! I really thought David A. would win it because of the way seasons have gone in the past. This time I think America really got it right. David C. was so much more polished and professional and completely original. So thrilled for him! I was crying when he was singing his last song. I was also happy that Kristi Y. won Dancing with the Stars. She was sooo good the whole season. I watched some of So You Think You Can Dance last night. Love that show! We went to see their tour in Minneapolis last year and it was fabulous. This is a show I look forward to every summer. The other show I'm planning on watching is The Bachelorette. I think the last show I'll need to watch is Lost but we'll be gone so it will have to be when we get back.

I've been super busy at work. In fact, I'm heading there shortly. I have to do two weeks of radio programs for when we're in Florida (which is why I'm working extra). Isn't it crazy how hard we work to go on vacation? And I'm not just talking about work, but at home too. I always like to have the laundry done up and the entire house clean so I can come home to a clean house.

This weekend will be very crazy for us as well. Tonight I'm going to crop til I drop by myself and hopefully be very productive. Saturday (and this is very newsworthy for me) we have the first part of our adoption home study at 10 a.m. It's at the adoption agency so nothing at our house yet. It's only supposed to take an hour so it shouldn't be too bad. We're excited to get things moving. Saturday afternoon and evening we have a wedding in Ottumwa so that will take most of the days since it's a 2 hour drive there. Sunday I'm working in the church nursery and then my youngest sister is coming to stay overnight and help me clean for the home study. She's broke so I'm hiring her to help me. I'm also hoping she'll go swimsuit shopping with me. I also have take meals to 2 different families on Sunday that just had babies so I'll be busy cooking.

Well, I better get my day started. I'll probably blog one or two more times before we leave next Thursday. Enjoy your holiday weekend! :)

Paper Posies - Part 1

Here's the first half of my projects using the May Paper Posies kit. Our 3rd celebration is still going on if you want to stop by the message board for a bunch of fun challenges! I'll post the other half of my projects later this week.

I had a wonderful weekend. We went to see Prince Caspian Friday night - it was fabulous! I've had the opening date for this movie on my calendar for literally months. It was a lot more violent than the first one but the special effects were better too. I'm already looking forward to the next one but it doesn't come out until 2010. I should probably re-read the second book as I think I did that after the movie came out. We also went out to dinner at Applebee's before the movie. It was nice to have a date night! Saturday was a busy day that ended in getting dressed up for an outdoor wedding for a couple from church. It was a beautiful night for a wedding and then the reception was held in our new church addition. I had an absolute ball at the reception! I love to dance so I was on the dance floor most of the night shaking my groove thing! A couple of the guys in our small group like to dance too so I was dancing with them and their daughters. Glen doesn't like to dance but I did get him out there a couple times. Sunday was a pretty low-key day.

Over the weekend, I spent quite a bit of time out on our deck lounging in the sun and reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer (author of the Twilight books I'm obsessed with). I finally finished it, but I definitely want to re-read it. I was bawling by the end. Stephenie is such a beautiful storyteller. She has this amazing way of making you fall in love with her characters. I definitely recommend this book - it debuted as #1 on the NY Times Best Seller List!

I have a busy week ahead! We have small group at our house tonight and another wedding on Saturday night. I'll be working some extra hours this week. I need to fit in a shopping trip and do some cleaning, work on scrap projects, and there's a bunch of my shows ending this week. Sounds like a tough life, huh? :) Well, I'm off to get busy...much to do today!

Update

No new photos from me today but I'll share some work soon. I've been busy trying to take care of me the past few weeks. I finally got results back from my blood test and the doctor is suspecting Celiac Disease. For those who don't know what this is, it's an autoimmune disease that causes damage to your small intestine when you eat gluten. I will be having a biopsy of my small intestine to confirm this is what I have. CD can come on at any time in life and you can have it but not be showing symptoms. I've been having quite a bit of anxiety when I eat anything because I don't know if it will make me sick or not. It's also been difficult to make plans because I don't know how I will feel on any given day. I also managed to get strep throat last week but am feeling so much better now.

My sisters spent a couple nights at my house over the weekend. They're both poor college students so I hired them to help me deep clean my house in preparation for our home study that will be coming up soon. I got a lot done but still have a lot left to do. I honored my mom for mother's day last weekend so Sunday was pretty low-key for me. Mother's Day is actually a very painful day for me so I didn't go to church. There was a baby dedication at church which is really the main reason I didn't want to be there.

Well, I guess that's about it for now. We're getting super excited for our Florida trip in two weeks. I had to rearrange our travel plans a little bit and now we're staying in Orlando the first three nights and going to Disney World. Then we'll drive back to St. Petersburg and stay on the beach. I'm looking forward to lots of sun and relaxation. I have a bit of shopping to do before we go. I want to get a new swimsuit and I still need some shorts. :)

Have a great day! :)

Hmmm...

I haven't been feeling the best the past couple days. I had the worst migraine I've ever had yesterday and ended up with a migraine hangover today. NOT FUN! Here's my projects with the April Paper Posies kit...had a lot of fun working with this kit! I'll have projects from the May kit soon in time for the 3rd anniversary celebration.

I had to do a little shopping this weekend because the majority of my spring/summer clothes don't fit. I've dropped 3 sizes since last year. It makes me feel great but my wallet has taken a bit of a hit. My silly hubby said I should just put on more weight...he seriously wasn't thinking when he said that! :) I'm still trying to find some shorts that are decent especially in time for our trip.

Well, that's about it from me today! I have some deadlines to finish up before the end of the month, which is yes today.

And Shay, if you check my blog again I put a reply to your comment in my last post. Thanks! :)

YES!

I'm posting today with FABULOUS NEWS! I'm sending the last of our adoption paperwork to the agency today!!!! Now it's time for us to focus in on getting our house ready for our home study. It's a good time to be spring cleaning anyway.

Lately I've been trying to hold off with sharing every single bit of Twilight information on my blog, but this video I have to share with you. Click HERE to see a video released through MTV that is a promo put together by Summit Entertainment, the production company behind the movie. It's about 4 minutes of Twilight HEAVEN! Seriously. I might as well camp out in the theater when this movie comes out because I'm going to have to see it again and again. Every theater that is showing the movie might want to be equipped with oxygen masks and drool rags.

I had THE best mail day yesterday! I got my issues of March/April Paper Trends and a great goodie box. The May Paper Posies kit came in the mail as well. We're celebrating our 3rd anniversary and this kit is full of Prima! Be sure to stop by the message board for lots of challenges and fun prizes during the month of May. And finally, I just got my hands on ALL of the new Rusty Pickle! Can I just say the rub-ons are to die for and perfect for cardmakers like myself! The paper lines are also DELICIOUS! I can't wait for some play time.

So, I bet you're wondering what this photo is about, right? Well, come May 29th that will be me on the beach at The Alden Resort in St. Petersburg, FL!!!! Glen and I are taking a little babymoon and spending a week in Florida. We'll be at this resort for 4 nights and then we're heading to Orlando and going to Disney World. We're sooo looking forward to this trip and feel incredibly blessed that this opportunity came about. We need to get away. In July we're also celebrating our 5 year anniversary and we always said we wanted to take a big trip so this is what we're doing!

Anyway, enjoy your Tuesday! I'm pumped about American Idol tonight!

Tweet

Here's a new card using Upsy Daisy Designs new line, Tweet. I love the colors in this one - blue, brown and a lime green.

I've been feeling "okay" over the weekend. Friday was a bad day, and morning seems to be the worst for me.

This weekend I attended the Just Give Me Jesus event at Wells Fargo Arena. Anne Graham Lotz spoke at the event and it was totally FREE! My sister and a couple of her friends from college and my aunt all came and stayed at my house. Anne's message was very simple and straightforward. After her talk, she invited the audience to join her around the platform to accept Jesus into their lives. I, of course, was crying as literally hundreds of women gathered around her to pray. It was seriously one of the most moving moments of my life to see all those women become my sisters in Christ! When I was going through a particularly rough patch in my life, I read a book by Anne called "Why?" As in, why do bad things happen - natural disasters, diseases, relationship issues, etc. It was a powerful book that really spoke to me so I'm glad that I was able to hear Anne speak in person.

Well, I better get moving. I have tons to do around the house today and errands to run. By the way, I have a new headshot of myself for my blog. I needed some pictures of myself for other things so I decided to update my blog and avatar pictures as well. Glen and I had a little photo shoot! :)

Have a great Monday! :)

Flutter

Here's a card using the new Flutter line from Upsy Daisy Designs. When I first got married, I was totally obsessed with butterflies so I'm excited to see how popular they are becoming in scrapbooking supplies. The chipboard butterfly I used is from Scenic Route. I used Ranger crackle paint on it and then spritzed it with vintage pink Glimmer Mist before I inked it with Ranger walnut ink. I also used some vintage lace and a vintage button that I got at an antique store.

All of my test results from last week came back okay so now I'm going on to see a specialist since I'm still not feeling up to par. My appointment is next Thursday.

Glen and I had a fun night out last night. We were Mystery Guests for The Cheesecake Factory! We basically get our meal paid for and fill out an online survey afterwards. It's a cheap date night and who doesn't love that place?

All for now! I'm off to work.

:)

Vroom!

The new Vroom line is available from Upsy Daisy Designs. This line is soooo cute for little boys and has some fun colors in it for other projects. Loved working with it!

I had a fairly good weekend! I got caught up on some projects and got our taxes done! Yippee! Such a good feeling to get all that done. I made sure to rest up as well and actually got my appetite back. I had a bit of a set back today, however, as I slept really poorly last night. I had to get up to take Glen to work this morning and ended up going back to bed for a while because I felt so yucky. It was absolutely gorgeous in Iowa today so I went for a long walk and just enjoyed the sunshine. I know it did me good! Not much new from me otherwise - I'm just hanging out watching Dancing with the Stars right now.

Enjoy your night! :)

What a week!

Well, my week was shot to heck pretty quick after my last blog post. I was SICKER than a dog and barely left my bed or the couch. I finally went to the doctor on Wednesday and had some tests done. My blood pressure was super low - only 94/48 - which might have explained why I was dizzy and so lethargic. We originally thought it was my thyroid but that came back okay. I'm waiting on some test results but the good news is I'm starting to feel better. I also went to acupuncture yesterday and I know that made a difference. I can tell whatever it is I'm going through is definitely hormonally-related. I just want to feel like myself again! I started on some herbs too so hopefully that will help. I can tell they gave me a burst of energy. So since my week went to heck - I'm extremely behind on everything! I got caught up on some DT assignments and have about three days to get our taxes done now. Yikes!

I'll post some more work soon - I have projects with the April Paper Posies kit and Upsy Daisy Designs projects using the new lines as well. Here are a couple projects for Rusty Pickle using Chocolate Kisses (on the card) and Island Summer (on my layout). Good news - had some cards picked up by Paper Crafts for their Card Creations 6 issue. I was in this issue last year and it's definitely one of my favorite special issues they've done. Can't wait to see this one in print!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! :)

Lovin' it!

The weather, that is! Holy cow! Saturday was the most glorious day of 2008, by far! It was nearly 70 degrees here. I was outside a lot and had the windows open in my 4 seasons porch all day. The breeze blowing through was delicious!

I had a somewhat busy weekend. I took off Thursday after work to head to my sister's apartment in Maryville, MO. I spent a couple night with her there and then came back Saturday morning. We had a good time together. Sunday was a crazy day! I worked in the church nursery (had some screamers this time around - grr), then had a baby shower and finally, young adult fellowship. Glen and I made some headway on adoption paperwork and we're almost done!

Today I have a lot of my agenda - gym, cleaning, laundry, scrapping and I'll hopefully get to our taxes - yep I'm such a procrastinator. We also have small group tonight.

Here's to a productive Monday! :)

Oh, and here's another Rusty Pickle card using the Grandma Pickelicious line.

April Fool's!

I'm sorry but I think April Fool's Day is about the lamest holiday ever! Maybe it's because everyone I know tries to trick me in a very lame way. Take for example, my husband...this morning he tries to get me out of bed by saying it's a winter wonderland outside. Then he comes back and says it's 9:00 (I have to be at work by then). I mean, seriously...did he really think I would fall for it? :)

Well, I didn't make it to the gym yesterday. I was Gloomy Gloomerson all day but managed to get a lot done around the house and errands run. I felt better about myself because I was so productive. Watched Dancing with the Stars and the Bachelor last night. British accents just make me melt! :)

Here's a new card for you using Rusty Pickle's Grandpa Pickelicious line. I used a tracing wheel on this one for some faux stitching.

I'm trying to wake up this morning. I was up until 1 a.m. reading Chicken Soup for the Adopted Soul and bawling through the stories.

*smooches* :)

Odd week

No new picts to share today, but I'll have some soon of Rusty Pickle projects. It's a gloomy, rainy, dreary day here...yuck! I had an odd week last week. I felt pretty crappy for most of the week. I just couldn't seem to get over that stomach bug, but I'm really hoping I turned a corner. We also had the weirdest weather. One day it was over 50 and the next day we had a thunderstorm. Next thing I know it's sleeting and then we got a couple inches of snow. It was all gone the next day. Iowa weather is just strange!

I had some fun mail last week...got my April Paper Posies kit (yum) and my March CARDS goodie box. I LOVE to get packages in the mail because it feels like Christmas. I've even told Glen to go box up some of my stuff and put it out front for me just so I can open a package. He hasn't done it yet. HA! Guess I'll just have to keep buying stuff then. :)

Glen and I had a date night Friday. We haven't been out together in the longest time. We went to Carlos O'Kelley's for Mexican and then went to the cheap theatre to see Never Back Down. I'm a huge action movie fan and this movie had plenty of it plus some tasty eye candy. :) The bad guy in this movie plays the 'bad' vampire in Twilight so it was almost like getting a sneak preview of what he's going to be like. We came home and watched Casino Royale again. Love me some James Bond!

Saturday morning, I felt yucky so I slept in and then got ready to go to my parent's house. I just went home for the night. It was nice to spend time with my family. We went out for supper and then stopped by my grandma's really quick to say hi. I also went out with my sisters for a couple drinks and to dance as there was a band up town. I saw a couple high school friends, which was fun to catch up. Sunday, I spent some more time with my family and then went out to see my other grandma and grandpa. I was home by about 6:00. Glen and I watched Legends of the Fall last night. When that movie first came out, I was obsessed with it! I really fell in love with Brad Pitt in this movie and even wanted to name my first born son, Tristan. HA! :)

So today, I need to head to the gym and do some cleaning. It's amazing how my house can fall apart when I leave Glen home! :) I also have some scrap work to do.

Have a magnificent Monday! :)

So thankful

I don't have anything particularly provocative to share today so I decided it was time for a post of the things I'm thankful for since it's been a while that I have posted one. I think it's a good idea to do this every once in a while for a little perspective and to appreciate the little things in my life. I'm finally starting to feel better too (thank goodness!). Oh, and I just thought of one more thing...Idol was great last night! I LOVED David Cook! I'm sorry but the guy is just in a different LEAGUE! On to my list...

1) Spring weather - it's supposed to be in the 50s here all week!

2) New scrapbooking supplies - I have been trying to limit what I buy (have to watch the budget and all) but I couldn't resist a few goodies that have been released from CHA. The new Sassafras Lass is sooooo cute and I love the new 7gypsies collection.

3) Adoption miracles - I read a fabulous book last week that my aunt gave me called Treasury of Adoption Miracles. I bawled through the whole thing. Seriously. Each story just touched me in some way but there was one in particular that made me sob. There was a story about a couple who couldn't have children. The husband especially wanted a little girl that had blonde hair and dark eyes like his wife. They decided to adopt from Russia and got a call that they had a little boy waiting for them. They went over there and the orphanage told them there was a mistake. They didn't have a little boy, but a little girl. When they got to meet her, the man was startled. The little girl looked exactly like his wife - blonde hair and dark eyes. This story made me cry because Glen told me early on when we were dating that he could picture us having a little girl that had my blue eyes and blonde hair. This story gave me hope that it might still happen! :)

4) A clean kitchen - Of all the rooms in our house, the kitchen is the one that gets cluttered the easiest. There's nothing like walking through it and having it sparkling clean. I've been trying really hard to have discipline in cleaning up the kitchen.

5) Exercise - I've been trying extra hard to keep up in this arena of my life by running and hitting the gym. I have so much more energy and stay healthier when I exercise. The benefits are worth being sore or feeling like I'm going to pass out. :)

6) Being able to live vicariously through others - It has been a thrill for me this week to see pictures and video of the filiming of Twilight. I've been reduced to a squealing, giggling mess of a fan girl. *drool*

7) Iced caramel machiacto from Starbucks - Now that it's warming up, I'm going to treat myself to one of these. Lots of calories, but once in a great while won't hurt anything.

8) Great movies - I'm a movie fanatic! I love just about any type of movie - action, comedy, romance, you name it! About the only type that I don't like is horror, but I do like a good scare every now and then. I've been especially thankful to discover RedBox - movie rentals are only $1 a night. You can't beat that! I've been renting movies like they're going out of style. A couple recent favorites were We Own the Night and August Rush.

9) A kiss on the cheek - Glen leaves before I do in the morning. If I'm still in bed sleeping, he'll give me a quick kiss on the cheek before he goes out the door. It's such a little thing but it makes me feel very loved. Awwww! :)

10) Good friends - I have a couple of friend "dates" in the next few days. Coffee Thursday night and lunch on Friday. My friends are extremely important to me so I make time for "dates" like this alot and would do it more often if I got the chance.

Enjoy your Wednesday! :)

Happy Easter!

Here's another card using Upsy Daisy Designs products. My Easter plans didn't happen. I woke up yesterday with a stomach bug so I spent the day on the couch. I thought I was feeling better last night but this morning I seem to have relapsed. I think part of my problem is that I am dehydrated. Sorry for the short post but I'll update again when I'm feeling better! :)

A Sunshine Day!

Yay! It's the first day of spring and it's gorgeous out! I went for a walking workout last night. I call it that because I'm huffing and puffing by the time I'm done and it's not because I'm out of shape. I walk really fast and up hills, etc. Now that the weather is warming up, I'm going to start incorporating 2-3 walking workouts a week besides my gym time.

Idol was on last night and I have to say I'm totally disappointed that Amanda went home. I would have loved to see her on the tour. Kristy Lee has to go! I'm looking forward to Lost tonight and the new show that's on, Mis-Guided. I watched the preview the other night and it was hilarious. I LOVE the actress that stars in it! I can't think of her name but she's been in tons of comedies.

As promised here are a couple Upsy Daisy Designs cards using the Ice Cream Shoppe line. I have another card to post but I'll wait until tomorrow with that one. I just got all the new lines in the mail and I can't wait to start playing with them.

Yesterday might have been the day of bad luck for me but today I've had butter fingers. I was half asleep this morning trying to get Glen out the door. I was putting his lunch together and reached in the refrigerator to get out a big bowl of strawberries. I discovered too late that the lid wasn't on tight and dumped the entire bowl on my kitchen floor. Those were darn good strawberries too and I had a sticky mess to clean up. I also managed to dump half of my Bare Minerals make-up on my bathroom vanity while I was getting ready this morning. I tend to be a clumsy person but good grief! I'm hoping for a smoother rest of the day.

Finally, I'm saving all the goods for another post but I have absolutely been drooling this week over pictures that have been surfacing from the filiming of the Twilight movie. Holy cow! I've been squealing and giggling ALL WEEK! Someone is supposed to be posting amazing photos by this weekend so I'll direct you there when they're up. Let me just say as a teaser that if you're a fan and were ever in doubt of Robert Pattinson as Edward these photos will change your mind 100%. Robert literally oozes the perfection that is Edward and that's just from the photos...I haven't even heard a word come out of his mouth. I've also seen photos of the filming with both Edward and Bella and there is so much chemistry there it's just not funny. If I was Kristen Stewart, I think I might develop a little off-screen romance with Robert. I'm sorry if my Twilight talk is too much but you're going to hear me talk about it until at least December when the movie comes out. You might as well read the books so you can keep up with me! :)

Enjoy your Thursday! :)

Miss Grumpy Pants!

That's me today. I'm trying to have a better attitude because I know life could be much worse, but I've had a bad day thus far. I woke up late and with a headache and I have a sick husband. Anyone who's married should know a sick husband = a big baby. :)

Okay, so I'm running late to work but I'm in a pretty good mood so I start singing along to the radio not really paying attention. Too late, I see a cop and at the same time look at my speedometer. Crap! The cop points at me and turns on his lights. Double crap! I pull over and with shaky hands get in the glove box to get my insurance card and registration. He tells me I was going 47 in a 35. He takes my stuff and goes back to his car. At this point, I'm trying really hard not to cry. I've never had a speeding ticket before. I had a warning once when I was in college but that's it. He gives me my ticket and it's $90! As soon as the cop leaves, the tears start to fall. How traumatic! I called Glen and he's like why didn't you start crying as soon as the cop came to your door - it might have worked! I just laughed. I was more mad at myself than anything - I felt so stupid. I think it was a wake up call more than anything that I need to slow down - it was humbling moment that's for sure.

On a brighter note, I got two cards picked up for the August issue of Cards and I sold some scrap stuff on Craigslist. Too bad all that money is going to my ticket! :(

I'll post some picts tomorrow of my March Upsy Daisy Designs projects. Here's to a better day!

Grrr...

No offense to anyone in the insurance industry, but why is it you always get the run around when you call about something? For the past month, I've been trying to get an Affidavit of Health Insurance coverage for the adoption agency but have had no luck. I hope I'm finally getting somewhere. I can be nice to a point and then when I'm not getting anywhere...look out! :)

Here's my newsletter projects with the March Paper Posies kit. I had a lot of fun with the Love Elsie camera paper. I'm really looking forward to working with the April kit - it's Pink Paislee!

I've had a busy last couple of days and an even busier day today so I'm off! More soon...

Have a terrific Tuesday! :)

March Paper Posies

One of the most fun design opportunities I have is working with Paper Posies kits each month. It's one of the things I get to do - just for me. I love the mix of products Anna puts together. This month had products from Making Memories, Love Elsie and Daisy D's. As soon as the monthly newsletter comes out, I'll be sure to share my other projects with you.

I had a bit of a fun mail day yesterday. I placed an order with Tattered Angels and it came! I am totally in love with Glimmer Mist so I restocked on Coffee Shop and ordered a few new colors. I also got my hands on their new Glimmer Chips and they are fabulous! Very high quality and Victorian-looking. I can't wait to make some projects.

I'm finally starting to feel a lot better. I'm still not 100% but I'm thankful I wasn't REALLY sick in the first place. I have to go into work to finish my radio programs today and then I'm off until next Wednesday. I don't normally work on Friday's and Monday's, but I needed to use a vacation day by the end of the month and Tuesday's are my easiest day. I'll pretty much spend Friday and Saturday scrapbooking between loads of laundry and some light cleaning. My goal is to finish our adoption paperwork for the home study this weekend. I've been gradually working on my essay questions and Glen is finally home enough to work on his. I'm also planning on attacking our office (soon-to-be nursery). It's a disaster! As soon as the paperwork is completed, I need to turn my attention to thoroughly cleaning our house for the home study. This means doing things like cleaning the basement - yuck! Cleaning the office has a dual purpose though - I need to sort receipts so we can do our taxes. Let's just say I'm hoping for a very productive next few days.

Happy Thursday! :)

So Simple!

Just wanted to share a scan of the March/April issue of Simple Scrapbooks magazine with you this morning. That's my Summer Market layout on the bottom of the page with a really nice write-up about Des Moines and my hometown, Exira. I was super thrilled to get a page picked up for this mag especially since I don't really consider myself a simple scrapper. (By the way, you can click on the photo to see a larger image.)

Got a busy day ahead with work and cleaning when I get home. I have some projects I need to work on in my scrap room and then Idol is on tonight. Can't wait to see what the top 12 has in store for us!

Have a great Tuesday! :)

Seriously sick.

Well, I wasn't able to shake the sore throat ick that I picked up last week and it's now migrated to my sinuses and my chest. I sound fabulous. If I can keep from coughing, I should have a nice husky radio voice for my programs this week. *wink*

Had a great time with my sisters this weekend. They wanted to run some errands so we went to the mall for a bit. Despite not exercising for the past week and half, I've managed to drop a jean size which totally made my day. I also got the cutest white slip-on shoes which I won't be wearing until the snow melts and it dries up. I always manage to spend way too much $$$ when the girls come to visit.

It was a big weekend at my church! Internationally know Christian author and speaker Josh McDowell spoke on Sunday. We had an amazing turnout in our new building addition. And, I'm finally excited to say that I have my hubby back. He's been putting in insane hours at the church every night and weekend for the past 6 weeks working on the technical stuff - audio/visual, etc. all in preparation of this past weekend.

My sister, Jen, and I went with a high school friend of mine to see Nicole C. Mullen at another church last night. Nicole was fabulous! Her concert was full of energy but had these amazing and humbling moments. I cried several times!

This weekend I did some work on the March Paper Posies kit which I'll share soon. I also have projects from Upsy Daisy Designs to share. The project above is one I made for Rusty Pickle using my favorite French Market line and a wooden plaque I had in my stash from Hobby Lobby. I've had some good scrappy news lately - some projects picked up by Paper Crafts and Home & Heart.

Have a great night! :)

Seriously.

If it snows one more time, I think I might pack up my stuff and head south. I am so sick of winter! I've been sick the past few days. I finally got the sore throat ick that other people have had so I've been taking it easy and resting up. But today, I have some scrapping to do. Both of my sisters are coming for visits this weekend.

Here's a simple card I made using Upsy Daisy Designs London Blush line.

Have a fabulous weekend! :)

A tease

Today it got up to 63 degrees. I went to church without a coat and by later this afternoon, the temp dropped to 35. I'm so sick of cold, yucky weather! Bring on spring!

Here's a project I recently made with Rusty Pickle's Island Summer line and scalloped acrylic album. This one was really fun!

I've had a busy yet relaxing weekend. My hubby took me out on a date Friday night. We went to see The Other Boelyn Girl which was fabulous. Saturday I taught at Memory Bound in the morning and then took a nap when I got home. I worked on some Upsy Daisy Designs projects that night. I've got a busy day tomorrow as we're hosting small group at our house. I've got cleaning and laundry to do and I need to head to the gym.

Have a great week! :)

News from Upsy Daisy Designs!

I've got lots to share from Upsy Daisy Designs! Amanda released 4 new lines for CHA. My favorite of them is Cupcake (I have one of the papers pictured here). To see all the lines, just click: Cupcake, Vroom, Flutter, Tweet

Amanda is also looking for two new design team members. Click here for details.

Finally, visit the new Upsy Daisy Designs Blog for contest information and design team projects. I'll be posting something new on the blog this Friday.

I had an insanely busy weekend. My grandpa and grandma celebrated their 50th anniversary with a huge party. It was fun but a ton of work. I went to the state tournament yesterday with my family. We went out for breakfast first and then went downtown. I saw tons of people I went to high school with. It was an exciting day but the team ended up losing.

By the way, if you're local and free this Saturday I'm teaching again at Memory Bound. I'm teaching two classes this time around.

I haven't been feeling the best the past couple days. I've been having headaches, an ear ache, the chills and stomach issues. I felt really bad today so I came home early from work to rest. Glen has been sick for about the past month so I'm hoping I won't get what he's had. I can't believe how bad both versions of the flu are going around.

Have a great night!

a couple cards

*** card removed for publication***
Here's a couple cards I created in the last couple of days using Rusty Pickle's French Market and School Daze lines. I think of all the Rusty Pickle products French Market has to be my absolute favorite. I love the rich colors and it matches my kitchen perfectly. I started working on a project using this line last night so when I get it wrapped up, I'll post it.

Watched American Idol last night. Some of those guys can really sing-loved the rockers, Michael Johns and David Archuleta for sure, the dreadlock guy was really awesome. Can't wait to see the girls tonight.

It's like -7 here this morning. I'm wearing a light blue button up shirt today and trying to think it's springtime. When it hits 40, I 'll think it's a heatwave. :)

Well, off to write and record my radio programs.

Have a wonderful Wednesday! :)

I let out an actual squeal this morning!

I'm giddy with excitement! Today during my morning visit to the Twilight Lexicon, I came upon THESE pictures!!! If you haven't gathered it by now, I am pathetically obsessed with the Twilight series - reading and re-reading the books and reading and re-reading tons of fan fiction - all in the name of waiting until August 2nd for the release of the 4th book, Breaking Dawn, and the release of the Twilight movie (as of right now in mid-December). Never in my life have I been so drawn into a series of books. If you haven't yet read these books, please do yourself a favor and READ them! So, if you're wondering what the pictures are above, they are photos of the newly cast Cullen family in all their vampire glory! Let me just say, MAJOR hotness on the part of the male Cullens and if you've come to know the characters on the intimate level that I have you would understand why I'm so excited. Photo #2 has them all looking very predatory - makes me wish I was the piece of meat they were stalking! LOL! :)

Anyway, enough teenaged-girl gushing from me today! :) Major news on the hometown front. My Exira girls' high school basketball team has made it to the state tournament! Very exciting for my little town of 1,000 people. I have the day off Monday so I'm definitely going to the game. I feel as though this win has been building since my days in high school - not that I was on the team, of course - but I was cheering them on with my fellow cheerleaders!

I've been working on some projects for Rusty Pickle the past couple days so I'll be posting them soon....one project I was especially pleased with! I just thought the Cullens deserved the glory today. HA! :)

Have a terrific Tuesday! :)

YUMM-O!

Just when I think the Pickle can't get any better, they go and release these! Yes, folks, those are rub-ons in all their glory! (Someone on 2peas posted this photo to their flickr account so I swiped it for my blog.) Can't wait to get my hands all over these!

Did you have a good Valentine's day? My sweetie got me a gift certificate for a pedicure which was a nice surprise since he doesn't normally do things like that. I watched Lost (and called my sister in between commercials about 4 times) and did some computer work. I have an uneventful weekend ahead which is fine with me. My Saturday plans got postponed so now I'm free to clean and catch up on some scrappin'!

Happy Friday! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Well, I seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth after my last post. We have been super busy! First things first, here's the last two sneak peeks of Rusty Pickle's new lines for CHA. The first one is called White Chocolate Bunnies and it's a new take on the Chocolate Bunnies line. The other line is called Pop Star and it's a fun black and white doodling line designed by the fabulous Rusty Pickle Chef, Rachelle Minett. Each paper is named for the characters in High School Musical...how fun is that?

We worked on our video project that's helping pay for our adoption and had video shoots all day Friday, part of Sunday and Tuesday. We're only halfway done shooting it too! Videos are hard work especially when you're trying to do them the right way.

I've slowly been working my way through my scrap room cleaning and organizing. I'm trying to get rid of a lot of stuff I just don't use.

Last night, I took a Zumba class with a friend of mine from work. It's a Latin inspired cardio dance class. It was sooooo fun...I didn't even realize I was working out although I was sure sweating enough to be burning a lot of calories!

I'm totally pumped about American Idol...the top 24 are amazing this year so it should be a good season! And my favorite show Lost is on tonight...yay! Thank goodness the writer's strike has ended because I have been missing Grey's! I guess it's a good thing I haven't been holed up in front of the TV with the strike but I do try to multi-task while I'm watching my shows!

Well, have a great Valentine's Day with your sweetie! We're not going out tonight because the restaurants will be too busy so we're celebrating next week! :)

Under the Stars

Here's another Rusty Pickle sneak peek for our new line called Under the Stars. I love the possibilities with this one - camping, fishing, traveling, hiking, anything outdoor related, Father's Day, etc. Love the colors in this one!

I finally made it to work this morning. We got 8 inches of snow and they weren't recommending travel when I woke up so I did some things around the house. The roads were still crappy when I drove in. Better get busy...I have much to do as today through Saturday are insanely busy! :)

Stay warm!

Praise the Lord!

First of all, our formal adoption application was APPROVED! At this point we have a ton of paperwork yet to do including 10 pages of essay questions that Glen and I BOTH have to fill out. We need to have physicals and go to the police station to be fingerprinted. I'm overwhelmed with everything we have to do but so thankful we made it past this step!

In other news, the first picture you see here is a sneak peek of Rusty Pickle's new line called Gametime. Yep, it's that time again! CHA is this weekend in Anaheim and I'll have sneak peeks for you all week long!!! The muted browns of this line are great for other projects other than sports-related. If you want to keep up, be sure to visit Rusty Pickle's blog (www.rustypickle.typepad.com) this week.

I've also included a photo of a card I made using the Island Summer line from Rusty Pickle. Love the fun colors of this line! I'll tell you what...I wish I was the hula girl on this card right about now. We are getting hammered with snow and have more on the way. I'm so ready for spring!

Have a great night! :)

A fabulous weekend!

Love me some Rusty Pickle Petit Cherub! If you haven't seen this line, it's fabulous! Why? It's for baby boy, baby girl and gender neutral - you're completely covered if you purchase this line!

I had a very productive weekend which isn't over yet for me since I don't work on Mondays, but I had plenty of time for fun too! My sister spent the weekend with me and she was a big help. We caught a matinee on Friday AND Saturday. Friday was 27 Dresses - absolutely adorable movie! I definitely want to own this one since I'm a sucker for romantic comedies! Saturday was The Bucket List - good movie but kind of depressing. I did some not-so-fun cleaning in my kitchen. Organized and cleaned out some cupboards, cleaned out the fridge, that kind of thing. I also spent a lot of time in my scrap room. I decided to completely purge and clean my room. I have kits and paper, etc. that have been sitting around and I know I'm never going to use them. My room is getting a complete overhaul! I'm going to sell lots of scrap stuff on Craig's list (hopefully) and put it all toward adoption expenses. I've got some pretty good stuff I'm selling for way cheaper than what it retails for so if you might be interested in checking out what I have, let me know! Sunday, I reluctantly watched the Super Bowl (actually I just stayed in the same room as my hubby and sister and surfed the Internet!) I wasn't feeling very well yesterday afternoon and evening so I just hung out and rested and went to bed early. Oh yeah, Jen and I also rented a couple movies (can you say movie marathon weekend?) - Waitress (which was phenomenal) and In the Land of Women (this was pretty good...it had Meg Ryan (who I love), Adam Brody (a total cutie) and Kristen Stewart (who is playing Bella in the upcoming movie, Twilight that I can't wait for). All in all, a great weekend and I actually got some things done.

Have a great Monday! :)

Yikes! I'm up late!

I haven't shared a layout in a while so here's a new one from me using Rusty Pickle's Snowflakes & Mittens line. I also used some fabulous Rusty Pickle chipboard and beautiful vintage German glass glitter that I picked up at the Rose Mille in Stillwater, MN last fall. We take a photo together each Christmas so I always make up a layout and add it to our Christmas album. I think I'm all caught up now! I'll be sharing some more Rusty Pickle soon as well as the February Paper Posies kit.

This week has been pretty busy. I moved offices at work today. I've gone out to the movies, had Bible study, watched American Idol and then planted myself in front of the TV tonight to watch Lost. I also finished our formal adoption application on Monday, which was very exciting. We both have physicals scheduled and are awaiting to hear of our approval. If you want to pray for us, here's a few specifics you can be praying about: 1) approval of our formal application; 2) for financial provision (we're starting to pay as we go step by step); 3) for preparation of our house for our home study (I need to do some deep cleaning); 4) for wisdom and time to work on our video and scrapbook (I need to make 4 duplicates of our scrapbook that will be shown to prospective birthmothers). Thanks for all your positive thoughts and prayers! I'm planning on spending the weekend cleaning and organizing my scrap room so I can get started on that part of the process. You might also pray that I have a productive weekend! :) My sister is coming to spend the weekend with me and help out. Of course, we're going to have some fun too...we're probably going to catch a movie!

Have a great weekend! :)