My Girl....

.....always works so hard on her homework. She has always been such a good girl since she started school. I have hardly ever had to say anything to her. She just comes home from school and pulls out her homework. She has been this way since first grade. She is a perfectionist. And while it takes her alittle more time sometimes, it is paying off. Her first quarter grades this year are A's and B's. This year, they are keeping track of her GPA, right now a 3.4. She is big time, now that she is in junior high!!

I am so proud of her. She is turning into quite the young lady. While, it is sad to see her grow so fast, I am so proud of the beautiful young lady she is becoming.. just as beautiful on the inside as the outside. She is the most sweetest little girl you could ever meet. I am glad she is mine!!

Thankful

I was asked to be a guest on a new scrappy blog, The Scrappy Tree. It was started up by my friend, Gayle, and some of her Circle Journal friends. It is a great blog with some great projects, not just scrapbooking. They have altered items and mini albums..all kinds of things. I am honored to be asked. I was asked to make a layout of what I am Thankful for. This is what I came up with. I used a sketch from Ginger William's blog. Everything I used was from my kit from Scrapbook Deals 4U. I think this is the fanciest page I have ever made. I am very happy with the way it came out. Here is a more close up photo...
I am so grateful and honored to be asked!!! They also put some of my photos up as well!! Go check it out!!

Grateful

November is a month of showing gratitude, not that you shouldn't all year. But, with Thanksgiving around the corner, I think we take a moment this month more than others to reflect on what we are thankful for.

I wanted to take moment to say how grateful I am for this hobby of ours. I have met some extremely amazing people through this hobby...local, all over the U.S. and across the pond!! It is actually really enlightening. I wish I lived closer to alot of you!! It really has brightened my days and made them so much better. It isn't always easy being a stay at home mom for almost 12 years, who is home all the time, with a husband who works ALOT. You tend to feel alittle alone or isolated. This has made such a difference. I love all the encouraging words on my pages I create, as you all are the only ones who really do comment on them and appreciate them. It is so nice to have great friends who share your passion!! So... Thank You!!

New Idea and Technique Blog

There is a new idea and technique blog that just started up by Pam Callahan. She is an amazing scrapper with wonderful pages. I love seeing her creations in the galleries and in all the scrappy magazines. Looking for some great templates, ideas or techniques?? Run over and check it out here!!!

Check back tomorrow!! I have a new page I made for a few challenges to post on here!!

Paper flying over here.... and other randomness

...lots and lots of paper flying!!! I made the above pages with my November Mosh Posh kit. Lots of great Cosmo Cricket, Nutmeg paper!!! I still have more left for more LO's. I had alot of fun creating them. I think the G.N.O. still needs alittle tweaking, but overall, I am glad to get so much done. I even dug out some of my old photos from 2007.. lots of fall LO's lately!!

Speaking of scrapping, I have been asked to do a page and pick through some of my fall photos for a my friend's new scrappy blog. My page and photos are scheduled to go up on Friday. You can see them here. I am so excited for them. The blog and ning site look great!! I am so honored to be asked to be apart of it. The girls that started this are just amazing. Go check it out and join in!!

Other than alot of scrapping, we are trying to get ready for the holidays. I have been picking up things here and there, trying to finish up my Christmas shopping. Getting some things cleaned around the house. I have bags worth of clothes that don't fit my younger two. I am hoping the consignment shop will take them. As they don't seem to be going on Craigslist. Beautiful past holiday dresses of my daughter's. Ben's last year's winter wardrobe.. all in great condition!! I have my first Christmas decoration up!! Our holiday wreath we get every year from a boy scout that comes around. He is such a nice boy, but oh so very shy!

hmmm... let's see... what else have we been up to?? Greg has been doing some work to the van. It needed new struts in the front. That was no fun. He rented the tool to compress the springs, but still... a pain!!! He is now replacing the fuel pump in Laura's car. I love that he is so handy. It really does save us some money. Speaking of Greg, I just wanted to say how grateful I am to have him. He is not only pretty handy with the cars and what not, but he is just an all around great guy. Awesome sense of humor, a quiet person, a very hard worker. He is working alot more lately making sure we have everything we need.. lastly, he is really pretty supportive of my scrapbooking addiction!! He will even go scrappy shopping with me!! :) But, then razzes me about all I have. In all reality, I really don't have a huge scrappy stash. It is bigger now, than in the past. But, I completely maintain it is not my fault!! These scrappy boards and websites are the root of the problem!! They just put that stuff out there and taunt you with it!! Really, I swear! Well, maybe it is alittle my fault. But I digress, I really don't have all that much.

Lastly, I am sad to say, my baby is going to have a birthday soon!! I am not happy about it either. He is growing up so fast!!! I can not believe he is going to be THREE!!! On the way to taking his sister to school, he said he was going to have a party. He really wants a Toy Story themed party, but I bought some Thomas stuff awhile back on a huge sale. I think Woody and Buzz can wait til next year. We are in search of a big boy bed for him tho. I am having a hard time finding one I like. He has lighter oak dressers, alittle more contemporary style. We bought them a very long time ago for Laura. They were practical, quality and would take her all the way thru her teen years and beyond. Well, she has moved out and gotten her own things. But the bed I really like is this (definitely can not afford, but can dream!). It just doesn't look right with what he has... so I guess we will keep looking.

It is late, and I need to get to bed. Oh, and to let you all know.. the toys that were MIA are no longer missing. Never send your husband to help look for said toys.. he looks like the kids do!! I found Woody and Ben eventually remember where he stashed Otis. All is good again.

Blog Party!!!

Mosh Posh is having a blog party the next two weeks!!! You should go check it out!! They have some amazing things planned and awesome kits. Get yours before they are gone!! Leave them a comment and tell them I sent you. Scroll down thru my blog.. I have lots of LO's made with their kits!! Or you can find them here.

My Son....

...is going to work for the CIA or some secret service division for the government someday. He is good at hiding things and not telling where he put them.

He has one Webkinz animal... the pug, which he named Otis from the movie Milo & Otis. Wednesday, we were playing with Otis while sitting on the stairs going to the upper level. Wednesday night, Otis was MIA... yet to be found. I have torn apart this house... all three floors. Thursday night, at 2100 hrs (military time!!), he went to bed. He had Woody doll in hand. He got up Friday morning and was playing with Woody. Friday night, Woody is now MIA. Again, have spent the better part of the day so far, tearing apart this house and trying to think of all the places a 2 yr. old could hide his toys. I have come up with NOTHING!! I can not find them. Whomever took them did not even leave a ransom note! They are just gone. Disappeared into thin air.

If anyone has any leads to the where abouts of one fabric Woody doll or one pug Webkinz, please let me know!! Thank you very much!!

Stranger yet... I don't know what is up with my computer. But, months ago, on my MSN Messenger for the IM, the little icons, or pictures for who you are chatting with disappeared. This morning, miraculously, they are there. Weird. But lately, my computer has been acting up. I cant always type in apostrophes, use my directional arrows, forward slash or the home or end buttons. If someone has some explanation to this, it would be greatly appreciated. As is it a sporatic thing - which to me makes no sense. Sometimes it works and sometimes not.