Live to create

Busy month of May!!!

2009-06-03T22:48:00.012-04:00

**Beware: this post will be photo heavy!!!

WOW! May flew by because it was super busy for me! Here's what took place...in a nutshell...

-I started the month with a super fun girls scrapping weekend in Ocean City! Tina, Effie, Jamie & I stayed @ my family's place & we had an absolute blast! The only bad part was that Jocelyn couldn't come down :(

-We went to Jake's Spring Fair @ school and tried to clean out the garage by selling some stuff @ the Flea Market!
-I spent Mother's Day with Jake and my sweet brother! He took us to McGregor's in Havre De Grace for brunch and a little antique browsing! It was a perfect afternoon!

-My friend Jocelyn celebrated a big birthday this year so her daughter threw her a surprise dinner @ The Melting Pot! It was so hard to keep this quiet but she was truly surprised! Awesome food, yummy drinks and fun friends!

-The very next day we were all together again for lunch @ Nick's Seafood House with our scrapclub girls! I missed getting a group shot but I love this one of a few of us on the cute stools!

-Jake's cub scout pack "graduated" from WOLF rank to BEAR rank! So proud of my scout!

-Jake got glasses! (See tire photo)
-My cousin James came up from Florida on business and for a family visit! So good to see him & spend some time together. Wish we lived closer!
-I spent Memorial Day weekend outside doing yardwork-blah! I also caught up on shows I had on DVR. Very productive!
-My brother, Matt helped put up a tire swing for Jake. (He did all the work!) It was a dream of mine to put one up for him & I smile everytime I see it!

-We celebrated my friend, Effie's birthday with a surprise dinner thrown by her husband. She was totally surprised!

-I visited the Geppi Entertainment Museum in Baltimore with my best friend, Val! We went to see the Barbie exhibit since we were big into Barbie back in the day! Val still has hers! This place was soooooooo cool! If you ever get the chance, it's definitely worth a trip. I'll post more photos this weekend. Here are a few...

-This past weekend was booked with fun plans too! Saturday was spent @ Jeremee's graduation party! Congrats to him & his beautiful girlfriend, Bree!

-We finished out the month with baby Kate's Baptism! The church & the ceremony were beautiful and Kate was as cute as ever! She's such a happy baby (well, maybe not after being plunged in the water)! Effie & Cory will be the best godpaprents!

Whew...told you there were alot of photos! I downloaded over 300 just for this month. And I didn't even take all that I wanted to b/c of issues with my flash! Thank goodness for scrappy friends who always have a camera!
Looking over all the photos today made me think about how thankful I am to have so many wonderful people (both family & friends) in my life! I don't know what I would do without them!

XOXO

Blogging vacation=craftroom makeover

2009-04-23T19:55:00.006-04:00

Ok...so my blogging vacation was longer than expected! Life gets in the way of blogging sometimes. The main thing that has kept me busy is the revamping of my craftroom! I have had so much fun putting it together! Everyone has been bugging me for some photos so here they are...

I've been waiting for 6 years to have a nice space that is all mine! You may notice that the paint job along the ceiling is not the best. I did that on purpose (well, mostly) because I'm planning to put up some moulding. There are still a few things I need like a lampshade, a stool, some casters to raise the work table up and some organization in the closet. Eventually, I will store albums, photos, memorabilia and paper scraps in the closet. I love knowing exactly where everything is! Makes it super easy to get stuff done and to put things away! The thing I am most proud of is that since I've been collecting "stuff" for years, I didn't have to buy anything besides the Making Memories tool carousel, which I got from
Two Peas for $15.00!!! I was so excited about this find because @ Michael's it's $40.00! SCORE! I bought the paint too, of course and a trashcan that I scored for $2.30 on clearance from Target!
I ordered the Cuckoo clock art from Modern Dose that I blogged about a few weeks ago. It should be here any day! All the furniture was repurposed from what I already had. I purchased the antique cubby hole thing a few years ago with the money I made on my first published ideabook (with Pinecone Press). It was a fabulous find & worth every penny! The worktable is a computer desk, which works perfectly (except for the height). My new trashcan fits perfectly in the space where a computer tower would normally go and the pull-out shelf, normally for a keyboard, houses some tin buckets with pens, pads of paper, etc. I could go on & on but I don't want to bore you with ALL the details. If you have a question about something specific, just leave me a message and I'll be happy to answer it! If I could fit a comfy chair in there, I might never leave my happy pink room! Thanks for checking it out!

xoxoxo

PS Forgive me for all the photos in the post. For the life of me, I can't figure out how to post them in an album or a slideshow :oP

Love my girls!!!

2009-03-09T20:51:00.003-04:00

Jocelyn sent me some photos from our get together and this is my favorite one...

Just wanted to send some loving to my scrappy girls!

March comes in a lion...

2009-03-09T08:24:00.006-04:00

and it definitely did this year...with a couple of inches of snow on Monday. Then we ended the week with temps in the 70's!!! Crazy, right?! I'll take the warmer days, thank you very much! I went to my favorite antiques/collectibles shop, Now & Again, in Fallston on Saturday and I had to break out the flip flops! So happy to see painted toes again! The dogs were loving the warm weather and that they got to drive around in the car with me! All of these things bring me to my weekly list...

10 things that made me happy this week

1. Nice neighbors who clear the snow from my driveway!

2. Baking this cake and making this card for nice neighbor...

3. A clean house that has stayed relatively clean.

4. Finishing "The Hour I First Believed" by Wallie Lamb. It was a little long but still worth reading.

5. Receiving handmade TY card from Jamie & handmade birthday card from Jocelyn!

6. This old typewriter...

and these treasures from Now & Again Antiques...

7. Playing Hide & Seek with Jake

8. Wearing flipflops & painted toenails...

9. Beautiful "I Love You" art from Jake!

10. Scrapclub birthday celebration with my most favorite scrappy girls in the world! They ROCK!

All in all a good week! Let's hope the weather stays nice and spring-like! Go find what makes you happy!

10 things that made me happy...( a little late)

2009-03-05T10:59:00.006-05:00

Yeah, so life has gotten the better of me lately and I didn't post my 10 happy things for last week. At least I have a clean house and empty laundry baskets. That's good, right?!

Here's what made me happy last week...

1. Makeup shopping @ Ulta with Tracy. New makeup is fun!

2. An early birthday card (handmade) from Jake!

3. Watching Jake climb a tree in the front yard. Love his imagination!

4. New library books! Can't wait to dig in!

5. Zeke, my so very bad but so very sweet bed warming, snuggling dog!

6. Double-feature movie day with Tracy! He's Just Not That Into You and Slumdog Millionaire---loved them both!

7. Caramel Apple Cidar with double whipped cream from Starbucks...mmmmm!

8. A finished layout...

9. My new hairdryer with the retractible cord...oh, and it's PINK!

10. This clock I made...

I need to seal it and add a hanger so, it's propped against the wall for now!

A close up. The numbers are woodburned into the face.

I saw a similar one on Design Sponge and knew I wanted one! It was fairly easy, fun & inexpensive to make! Can't wait to hang it up! Maybe it will help me be on time more often. Nahhhh, probably NOT!

Hopefully, I'll be back tomorrow with 10 things from this week! Now, Go BE HAPPY!

Current Wish list...

2009-02-25T17:06:00.005-05:00

Here are 5 things I'm currently coveting...

It's a print from JennSki's Etsy Shop. So cool and would be perfect in my basement!

Another print from Etsy. This one is from johncgolden's shop. All the prints from his Lunestrella series make me happy!

Is this not the coolest cork board you've ever seen?! Not only do I love her Hoop De Doo's but she's an amazing scrapper as well.

I Love the Expetit system with the desk from IKEA and it will fit perfectly in my basement as an office/computer area. It's nice to dream!

And finally...

I'm drooling over this clock from Modern Dose...just perfect for my future studio!

Now all I need to do is win the lottery or find a sugar daddy! Can you tell Jake was home sick again and I had some time on the computer today?! Happy Hump Day!

With a little help from my friends...

2009-02-24T17:29:00.004-05:00

Weekend started badly (won't bother going into it here) but ended up being wonderful thanks to some of the best friends a girl could ask for!!!

After Jake's basketball game on Saturday, I went to scrap all day @ Great Scraps with my girlies, Tina, Effie, Jamie, Debbie,Logan and Laura. Unfortunately, we were missing Jocelyn. who was sick. She was definitely missed. I created a minibook that Effie came up with, a page from a kit Tina gave us and a page of my own. Lots of talking, eating & laughing! FUN! FUN! FUN! Got home late and couldn't sleep so I scrapped a little more and watched TV!

Then, on Sunday, I met up with my friend, Tracy for a double feature movie day! We saw "He's Just Not That Into You", which was filmed in Baltimore. We didn't recognize too many places though. I think they dressed them up to look alot differently than they normally do, for example, some of the resturants. It was so good! Loved it!

The second movie we saw was "Slumdog Millionaire". This is by far the best movie I have seen in a loooooooong time! I can't say enough about it! LOVED LOVED LOVED IT! It deserved each & every Oscar it won! It will stay with me for a long time! Run to see it if you haven't yet!

I tried to stay up to finish watching the Academy Awards but fell asleep before "Best Actress/Actor" and "Best Movie" were announced. I figured that the DVR recorded them but..............NO! So I had to read the paper the next day to see who won!

Yesterday, I got a 7:30 am call to substitute for Media (library)@ a local school. Pretty easy day but I was tired from lack of sleep over the weekend and had a massive headache when I got home. Jake arrived home not feeling well either. No fever but coughing alot. ICK! I know he wasn't feeling well b/c he asked if he could lay down in my room to watch some TV & he never does that! This kid can't sit still for more than 5 minutes so I knew something was up. He stayed there for the rest of the night (until bedtime).

Today Jake is home with me. Still no fever, just some nasty coughing. We played some Bakugan, baked some cookies and he took it easy. Just what Dr. Mom ordered! Hopefully, back to school tomorrow.

Thanks again to my awesome friends for making my weekend fabulous!

Happy Tuesday!

TGIF

2009-02-21T00:01:00.004-05:00

It's FRIDAY and that means it's time for me to post 10 things that made me happy this week
(told you I'd try to post once a week..yah ME!) Here goes...

1. New music from I-Tunes

2. These shoes from Target. I "needed" a pair of cute heels to wear with jeans!

3. Jake asking "What does H-E-L-L mean and why do they say it at weddings like in sickness and in hell?" Now THAT is hilarious!

4. Reading before bed instead of watching TV.

5. Scrapping with Effie & Jamie for Jamie's birthday on Tuesday

6. Love notes from Jake even after V-Day

7. Making fun gifts for scrappy friends

8. Lunch @ Qdoba. Yummy!

9. Catching up with old friends on Facebook

10. This photo...

How can I stay mad @ such a cute dog?

Now go find something to be happy about!

30 Hershey nuggets, an extra large Hershey bar, 5 Hershey Kisses and a huge jaw breaker

2009-02-19T23:47:00.000-05:00

This is what Zeke, my black dog, helped himself to this week. Not to mention the trash he got into...TWICE. OY! Here's some of the evidence...

I was so proud of myself for finishing these nice little gift tins early. They were meant for some scrappy friends I'm seeing on Saturday. But Zeke decided to help himself by mauling the tins to get to the chocolate inside. So much for the cute gifts. Let's just say I was not happy...AT ALL. Don't worry the vet said he'll be fine. I wasn't too worried because I think he has an iron stomach!

FREE DOG TO GOOD HOME!!!

Happy Hearts Day!

2009-02-14T17:36:00.003-05:00

Wishing everyone a very happy valentine's day!

XOXOXOXOXO

Glass half-full...or 10 things that made me happy this week!

2009-02-13T08:59:00.004-05:00

Usually I'm a glass half full kinda person but the past 9 months or so have sometimes made it difficult to see the good things. This week I've made it a mission to seek and find little things that make me smile and or bring me joy. Here they are...

10 things that made me happy this week:
1. Seeing my mom's expression when we surprised her with a 65th birthday party.

2. When Jake brings home empty ziplocs and bottles in his lunchbox because he knows we recycle.

3. Relaxing in a clean house.

4. The warmer weather, even if it was only for a few days.

5. New fun scrappy kit from Studio Calico

6. This hat...

and this vest...

Both of which I bought for Jake!

7. Jake reading a whole Capt. Underpants book while we ran errands. Big accomplishment!

8. This photo...

9. Jake's 100% on his math test

10. Getting new music from I-Tunes

Hmmmm...maybe this will become a weekly post. What made you smile this week?

Party photos as promised...

2009-02-11T11:59:00.001-05:00

Well I didn't take as many photos as I thought. Jake was pretending to be paparazzi so I have lots of photos of surprised people with strange expressions on their faces! Anyways...

Celebrating 65 years young! (Ignore the bib. It was a gag gift!)

Jake looks pretty stylin', right?!

Mom and Aunt Rhoda, her best friend

My fabulous best friend, Val

The super cool photo candles I made for each table. I used lots of old photos of my mom @ various points in her life. Everyone loved these!

And finally, the cute paper flower centerpieces that only a papercrafter can appreciate! I used a kit from Papersource mixed with some Hambly.

I need to remind myself to take more photos at special events like these. You'd think a scrapbooker would know these things!

4 months?

2009-02-09T12:41:00.003-05:00

Wow! Have 4 months really flown by since I last posted?! I guess being without a computer for at least two of those months might make it harder for me to keep up on the blog, huh?! Anyways, thanks to my sweet friend Jocelyn and her wonderful hubby, I am now back in the on-line world! They were so sweet to help me out in my time of need!

I've been keeping busy with school, cubscouts, basketball, scrapbooking (a little), party planning, housekeeping, etc! I haven't been getting many substituting jobs because I think the pool has gotten larger with all of the layoffs and jobless people. I'm still looking for a FT job. Never thought it would take me this long to find FT consistant work. UGH! I just applied and tested to become a census taker. Hoping that will pan out. Got a 93% on the test and was recommended for a supervisory position, so I guess that's something!

My brother, Matt, his wife, Elisa and I just pulled off a surprise party for my Mom's 65th birthday on Saturday! She had NO IDEA! So glad Jake didn't spoil it. It was so hard for an 8 year old to keep quiet for so long, I'm sure! Uncle Matt said he would do something special for him if he could keep the secret and he did! We had the party @ Pazo downtown. It was just fabulous! The service was impeccable and everything worked out so well! I'll share pictures later once I get them off the camera! Good friends & family, good food and good times! That's what it's all about, right!

Hopefully, I'll be able to post more often and keep up with blogging this time!

Ciao!

Thursdays are the best!!!

2008-10-09T20:31:00.003-04:00

A new Spiced Pumpkin candle from Yankee Candle, some homemade coconut cream pie and Grey's Anatomy! Yeah, it is my favorite night of the week! I'll also be watching The Office, Kath & Kim and ER. (Addicted to TV much?!) thanks to my DVR. Definitely one of the best inventions ever! If you tune in to Kath & Kim, let me know what you think! It looks hilarious and who can't use a little more laughter in their lives, right?!

I <3 Michael Buble!!!

2008-10-06T21:16:00.002-04:00

I was lucky enough to attend his concert last week and let me tell you, it was one of the best concerts ever!!! He is an amazing preformer! He really connected with the audience and came off so sincere and real. And HE IS ONE HOT BOY!!! Check out
Michael Bublehere! I loved his music before but now I LOVE it even more after seeing him live! I've been listening to and singing his songs ever since! I'm a geek, I know...

In other news, my mom dropped off Jake's halloween costume today and it is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E! Can I say that about an almost 8 year old's costume? Anyways, he's going to be a cowboy. I'm so glad he hasn't wanted to be something scary yet. I'm just not ready for him to grow up even though it is inevitable. Just yesterday, this conversation took place...

Jake: Mama....(love when he calls me that)

Me: Yes?

Jake: I don't want to get older.....like grow up. I wanna still be little and play with my toys.

Me: Aww! You have plenty of time to play with toys buddy! And plenty of time to grow up!

EEK! My heart was breaking just thinking about him growing up! Heavy for a Sunday night!

Have a good week. Gotta go watch The Hills!

Reminisce entries

2008-10-01T00:42:00.005-04:00

WOW! I took a long break but I'm back! I've been in such a scrapping rut (well, really a LIFE rut but that's a story for another day). Designing some layouts for the Reminisce call has helped to pull me out of it. Here they are...

On this one I used one of their newer lines, Enchanted Autumn. So darn cute!!!

This line was primarily for Easter but I adapted it to use with some older photos of Jake trying baby food for the first time.

Here's a few pages of a Disney album I made using photos from our trip last summer. I love how well the Love Elsie alum goes with the Reminisce MAGIC line! Almost like they were meant for each other!!!

Oops...almost forgot this one...

This is an older line from Reminisce but it's so cute and perfect for these photos! Love the bright colors!

Wish me luck!

Two new layouts!

2008-07-09T22:03:00.004-04:00

I finally scrapped! It seems like it has been forever since I did some scrapping for me! All I've created lately has been for classes. Either the mojo has been missing or the time to scrap has not been there! Hate when that happens. Could also have been b/c my scrap area was in shambles! I cleaned it and the very same day I created two layouts! Think there might be a connection?! Enough rambling...

I created this one for a DT challenge over @ Scrapbook Nook ! Cross your fingers that I get selected for the design team! It's a great site with lots of talented ladies that I'd be honored to "play" with!

I did this one purely for myself! I totally need this reminder right now. The butterfly punch from Martha Stewart is my new obsession as is the notebook punch! I even dusted my sewing machine off to add some stitching. It went wonky on me and messed up the first layout but I was able to salvage the main parts and start over! Let's just say that sewing machine was not my best friend @ 1:00am when it would not work right! Hopefully, now that my area is clean, I'll be more motivated to scrap!

How many colors can you name in 5 minutes?

2008-07-09T16:31:00.003-04:00

Someone posted this over @ Scrapbook Nook! I thought it was cool so I'm sharing it! I got 41 (after my 2nd try! Let me know what you get!

41

OnePlusYou Quizzes and Widgets

I'll be back later to share some new layouts!

Good News!

2008-07-02T17:08:00.001-04:00

Just had to share that I made it into the top 25 for the design team call @ My Scrapbook Nook! I'm very honored and can't wait to work on the challenges we're given for the next round! There is some serious talent over there! Check it out!

Busy weekend!

2008-06-30T22:24:00.005-04:00

Whew! The weekend seemed to fly by. Friday, we went to a Twilight Farmer's Market @ Rockfield Manor after it rained a bit. Got some of the best cherries I've ever had! Yummers! Also got a huge bag of salad greens for $3.00. Let's just say we'll be eating lots of salads over the next week. Not a bad thing!

On Saturday, we ran errands (boring) most of the day than went to Kali's Court in Fell's Pt. to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday and Will's half birthday. Since Will's b-day (Dec 14th) falls in December, it's always hard to get everyone together with the holidays. So, June 14th (Elisa's b-day) has officially become Will's half birthday! Fun, huh?! The food, atmosphere and service was fabulous. We sat in the courtyard surrounded by lush greenery and beautiful flowers!

Kali's is known for their seafood, particularly fresh fish. Everyone loved their meal. I ordered roasted whole Bronzini and a roasted beet salad. Both were phenomenal!

Here are a few candids of us enjoying dinner and each other...

Thanks to my mom for taking us all to such a great dinner!

On Sunday, Jake & I met Matt & Elisa @ their community pool. Jake spent the first hour and a 1/2 jumping off the diving board. If I had an ounce of his energy, imagine what I could get done around the house! Unfortunatly, I forgot to bring the camera. Bad mom, I know. He did well practicing his swim strokes. Matt was trying to teach him to dive but he was more interested in perfecting his "moves" on the diving board. Crazy kid! He also found some friends to play with. His ability to make friends anywhere he goes is one of the things I love about him! After we wore ourselves out, Jake & I hit the REDBOX and got some movies. We watched The Game Plan, even though we had seen it. It's a cute one and I didn't mind watching it again. After I put him to bed, I watched The Bucket List". Pretty good but it made me cry so I woke up with puffy eyes today. Pretty, huh?!

We're looking at a busy week so I really hope I can check in again in a few days!

Long break but I'm back!

2008-06-27T00:05:00.000-04:00

Yes, I've been a very bad blogger. EEK! It's been a while but I'm back and will try my hardest to keep this up!

Where should I start?! Summer's going well. Jake & I have already spent some time @ the beach with my mom. Unfortunatley, my tan is already fading. Hoping to change that with a visit to my brother's pool (the one he belongs to) tomorrow. It will also be good for Jake to practice his swimming skills. He's been taking lessons for the past week and has another week to go. I'm amazed by what a fast learner he is. We're going to work on diving tomorrow. He can't wait to jump off the diving board!

The other night we had this fabulous dinner on our deck...

Angelhair with tomatoes & feta (found this on a blog but I can't remember where?!)

Greek Salad with homemade dressing

Homemade garlic bread made on the grill (yummy!)

This is what surprised us as we ate dinner...

Pretty cool, right?! You see there is a hot air balloon-riding company nearby and we've seen them occasionally but never right overtop of our house! It was so close we could shout to the people in the basket! Someday, it may be me in one of those baskets! It's a dream of mine to go up in a hot air balloon!
Photos coming to a scrapbook page soon!

I've updated my slideshow!

2008-06-24T02:21:00.001-04:00

WOW! Is it really February?

2008-02-01T20:04:00.000-05:00

Yup, the last two months have flown by! Sorry to be MIA...life has just gotten the better of me! Family, scrap class teaching, substituting, illnesses (yes, multiple ones) scrap room purging, etc has been taking all my time. Haven't even been scrapping much. Sleep is what I crave when I get time to scrap. Anyways.....my superstar friend, Mandy Kay gave me the push to start blogging again by tagging me for this...

My favorite sites:
ScrapHappyKT
ScrapInStyleTV
Webkinz (sad, I know)

Challenge Faves:
One Little Word
Category Stories
Dares

Guilty Pleasures:
Way too much TV
Chocolate/Peanut Butter Chex Mix
Lots of Magazines (cooking, decorating, scrapping)

Babysitting fave:
Video games, Disney Channel and Webkinz

Creative Fave:
My KTDT girls, of course
I'd be here all day if I listed all the sites & blogs I visit for inspo!

Clothing fave:
Ann Taylor Loft
Dark jeans
Funky & fun shoes

And I tag....

Shelly B
Wendy R
Shelley H

Thanks Mandy for the push to get bloggin' again! I promise to try to keep it up! Now I'm off to make a new banner!

It's that busy time of year!!!

2007-12-10T12:03:00.000-05:00

Well, what time of the year isn't busy, right?! Lots of stuff going on...

I started substitute teaching last week. I worked 3 days, the first one pretty much kicked my toush but I think this is the perfect job for me because I can pretty much work when I want (or need) to. Like today, I needed to stay home b/c Jake is sick:( He's not thowing up anymore (she says with her fingers crossed) but he still has a fever. Poor guy.

Friday night, Jake started basketball practice! We were a little late signing up but were relieved that they could fit him in b/c he really wanted to play! It's so funny to watch a 7 year old who has no idea how to play basket ball try to play basketball. He looked so cute dribbling and blocking! He's as tall as some of the nine year olds so I think this is a good sport for him!

Saturday we had breakfast with Santa @ Jake's school. Pancakes, sausage, OJ and Santa! Fun stuff! Photos to follow! We also went to cut down our tree @ Jarrettsville Tree Farm. We've been going there for a few years. Matt & Elisa came with us and cut one down too. The weather was perfect. When we got there, snow was still on the ground. By the time we left, a significant amount had melted! Crazy. We took our family Christmas card photo and I've been too busy (lazy) to download it. I really hope it came out! need to get those cards done this week. We also don't have a single decoration up yet. Will tried to do some outside lights on Saturday and some were not working so I think he gave up on that & played basketball with Jake!

Yesterday, I went to my scrapclub holiday party! Good food, good friends good fun all surrounded by scrappy stuff! What more could I want! We sure missed some of the girls who couldn't make it!

Today, I'm making some Christmas gifts, prepping for this class that I'm teaching tonight @ Great Scraps and taking care of my poor sick baby!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I resigned from the Scrap Naked Challenge Blog Design Team. The owner of the blog went MIA and hasn't posted or been in contact with anyone for almost two weeks. Weird?! Sorry to anyone who joined in on the first challenge. I'm at a loss as to what could have happened:(

Happy Monday!

Gingerbread House 101

2007-12-07T09:21:00.000-05:00

I finally broke down and bought a Bind It All machine! It was on my Christmas list so I guess it's an early present! Let me tell you how flipping cool this thing is or better yet, let me show you...

I created this book for my mom but I love it so much I'm keeping this one. I'll make her another one! I'm also using the Bind It All in my Month by Month Minibook class @ Great Scraps next month. I'm thinking maybe I'll teach this house-shaped book in February with a LOVE theme. What do you think?!

Some fall photos...

2007-12-04T08:50:00.000-05:00

We live right down the road from this wonderful park and I get to drive through it almost everyday!

Here's a few of Jake & me! Jake took the photo of me-not too bad, huh?!

As I type this all of the leaves have blown off the tree and there is a light dusting of snow on the ground! YIKES! Not ready for Winter yet!

November was a busy month!

2007-12-03T23:16:00.000-05:00

Whew, November seemed to fly by. We were very busy this month! Here's a synopsis with a few photos!

A few days after Jake's party, he was in a play! I signed him up for a class called "Be A Star" where he learned about acting, rehearsing lines, costumes and set design! At the end of the class, all the actors and actresses put on a play titled, "King in the Kitchen". Jake was cast as the Guard. The group did an amazing job despite one of the main characters was out sick! Jake's favorite part was when, while holding his left hand out, he says, "I'm sorry, your Highness, I'm already married." Too cute! Here he is in costume...

Last month, I attended a training for substitute teaching. I am officially ready to start subbing for K-3rd grade! Just waiting for the jobs to roll in!

Thanksgiving was wonderful as usual. After Jake & I watched a bit of the Macy's Day Parade, we headed to my mom's house! Yummy food and great family & friends! We sure missed Val & Jim (with Jim's family) and Mark, Michelle and Madden (in mexico) though! Can you believe I didn't take a single person photo? I took a few of the Thanksgiving Table and Will took one of me with the pups but that's it. Oh well, there's always next year!

The last week of the month was Jake's turn to be Star of the Week @ school! He got to bring in some things that are special to him and a favorite book. He chose his Disney autograph book we made together, his new Build-a-Bear animal, Dakota, his Mickey Pirate hat, lots of photos and "Green Eggs and Ham". I got to come to his class one day and go to lunch and recess with him. Then the class got to ask Jake some questions and I read the book to the class! It was so fun to see him with all his friends! He was very proud to be Stsr of the Week and he didn't want me to leave!

I taught two classes this month @ Great Scraps. Here's a few photos of the Holiday Planner class...

I really enjoyed teaching this class because the students were so nice and really had fun creating this book! This makes me happy!

So here's hoping December won't be as busy! Yeah, right!

Jake's 7th birthday party!

2007-12-03T23:03:00.000-05:00

It's been a while and I have tons to share! First I want to share a few shot from Jake's 7th birthday party...

This is the cake I made for Jake! It was cute but not as cute as the pirate ship cake I made last year!

He'll always be my baby!

Jake and his friend Tyler climbing the rocks.

Make a wish!

Jake & his friend, Bennett.

The whole group after playing basketball, playing soccer, climbing rocks, and eating cake! I think everyone had fun! I know Jake did!!! Still can't believe I'm the mom of a 7 year old!

Scraphappy KT's first Online Crop!!!

2007-11-15T10:18:00.000-05:00

So, have you every participated in an online crop? If not, now is your chance! Join me and the rest of the design team @ ScrapHappy KTfor a weekend filled with cool challenges, fun games and fantastic prizes!!! We may even have a few surprises up our sleeves! You will not want to miss this!

If you can't join us this weekend (GASP!) You can still join in the fun because all month long we are celebrating our GRAND RE-OPENING!!! There are tons of challenges, contests, games. We're even hosting a Creative Imaginations Guest Designer Contest! How cool would it be to design for such an awesome company?! Go check it out and I hope to "see" you this weekend!

This one is all about me!!!

2007-11-14T20:14:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I have tons of updates to post like photos from Jake's b-day party, lost tooth stories, and other randoms bits and pieces but this post is all about me!!! I'm happy to share that I was selected for the Scrap Naked design team! I'm way beyond excited!!! Go check it out to see what it's all about! It's not what you're thinking, so get your mind out of the gutter!!! The first challenge should be up by tomorrow!

BBS to post some more updates!

Later.

7 years ago today...

2007-11-07T10:02:00.000-05:00

We welcomed Jake into the world @ 6:41pm!

He weighed 7.7 lbs and was 21 inches long. That same boy is now weighs 50 lbs and is 52 inches tall! Where does the time go...sigh...?

I've been a very bad blogger! I've got tons to share but it will have to wait because I'm off to buy Jake's birhtday present. This is what he's getting...

It's a Disney Mix Max, an MP-3 player that also plays movies. He asked for an I-pod. This is my compromise. I think he's gonna be pretty surprised! We're also headed to Build-A-Bear after school and to Rainforest Cafe for dinner. It's kind of a tradition! Happy birthday to my big boy!!!

Some fall fun!

2007-10-18T13:41:00.000-04:00

I'm behind on blogging yet again! I've got lots to share but I'll start with some photos from our weekend! We went to Lohr's Orchard on Saturday to pick apples and pumpkins. The day was gorgeous...just the kind of day you hope for in Fall. I see lots of apple pies, apple cake and applesauce in our future! On Saturday night, we took Jake to his first haunted hayride. It's a new on called Legends of the Fog. We waited over an hour to go on the ride but it was totally worth it. The ride lasted almost 1/2 hour and was pretty scary. Jake was speechless (a rarity) and wide-eyed the whole time!!! He was also partially buried under the blanket we brought!!! After it was over, he said he would go again! The three ladies next to me on the hayride had me laughing to the point of tears! They were screaming so loud and having so much fun! Totally contageous!

I'll be back later to post some new layouts/projects!!!

So proud of my crabbers!!!

2007-10-11T10:43:00.000-04:00

I have lots to share because I haven't updated in a while! These photos are from last Sunday. Will took Jake crabbing for the first time. Jake had a blast! I'm so proud of my guys! They caught a total of 1 1/2 bushels and split them with Will's friend, John. We ended up with 4 dozen, so we invited our friends, Val & Jim over. They were in town (from VA) for the Fells Point Festival downtown. The crabs were tasty and it was nice to share the bounty with good friends! So satisfying to catch your own dinner!

I have some recent pages and cards to share a little later!

ISO...

2007-09-30T22:41:00.000-04:00

the perfect wave!!!

This is my entry for
One Little Word Challenge Blog. It's late but I'm glad I got it done. Love these summer photos of Jake. He LOVES to boogie board!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I'll be poisting more new layouts tomorrow!

Nightie Night!

KT's is BACK!

2007-09-24T08:41:00.000-04:00

After over a month, ScraphappyKTis back!!! Right now only the forums are working but the gallery and store will be back this week! So excited to be able to chat with my girls! Go check it out!

Ready or not...

2007-09-22T16:09:00.001-04:00

...out they come!

Last Sunday, Jake knocked his tooth into his friend's head (BOYS!) It bled and the gum was bruised. It was also really loose. I took him to the dentist on Tuesday. He said it was fine and to let it come out on it's own. After three days of playing with it, it's finally out! I wasn't quite ready for that top front tooth to come out. It makes me a little sad. I was smart enough to take one more photo of him with his baby teeth. It's been two days and I still laugh when he smiles at me! He's excited to get special gold tooth fairy coins. We had to tell him the tooth fairy doesn't work on weekends!

Doodle All Day @ Big Picture

2007-09-18T17:14:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to give a shout out to Maelynn Cheung. She's teaching a very cool DOODLE class at Big Picture Scrapbooking. I was lucky enough to have a layout published in this book. I haven't seen it yet but the buzz is that it totally ROCKS! Go check out the class!

So honoroed...

2007-09-17T12:43:00.000-04:00

My OLW layout, Pure Heartbreak, is featured in the slideshow today here @ One Little Word! There is tons of beauty and inspiration there! Happy monday!

Ahhhhh...September!

2007-09-17T10:18:00.000-04:00

This was last weekend...

Full on waterslide action!

Jake's cousin Stevi goes watersliding in her clothes!

And this weekend, we woke up to 40 degree mornings. That's September in Maryland for you. I'm just not ready for cold weather yet!!!

The cake was a hit!

2007-09-10T09:36:00.000-04:00

As soon as the cake was nose-level, Zeke had to test it out! Kinda like the kid who has to stick his finger in the cake before it's served! They both loved the birthday cake as you can tell! Hats were not such a hit!

Clean Bill of Health

2007-09-08T12:49:00.000-04:00

I took my pup, Cody to the vet today for a check-up. I figured since he turns 13 tomorrow, he should probably get checked out. The vet said he is in great condition and looks wonderful for his age! No sight or hearing problems. She did recommend Glucosemine supplements (the same ones people take) to "oil" his joints as she put it. He doesn't show any sign of arthritis but she said it's a good precaution. He still runs around like a puppy and people tell me all the time he looks like a puppy. His nickname (along with yellow dog) is "the eternal puppy". The top photo is Cody & Zeke playing this summer. You can tell who has the upper hand! Zeke would be embarressed if he knew I posted this! The other photo is from last Spring! Told you he looks like a puppy! Love that guy! Jake wants to bake him a cake and celebrate tomorrow. I figured "Why not?", so we're making a peanut butter carrot cake! Pictures to follow!

Have a good one!

I moved!!!

2007-09-06T17:57:00.000-04:00

Decided Typepad was too complicated for a computer-illiterate person like myself! Hopefully, I can figure out how to move my posts over here! Anyone care to help?!

Well, I think we've settled in the the school year routine. I think it was harder for me to get back into it than it was for Jake to. We're trying to do homework as soon as we get home this year instead of after dinner. He hasn't had much yet, which is a good thing I guess! I'm meeting with Jake's teacher next week to go over a volunteer schedule. I'm excited to get back in his classroom and see all the little minds learning.

I finally took the plunge and joined the www.onelittleword.typepad.com challenges. I've stalked the site a few times but haven't joined in until last night The new word is PURE. It definitely helped get the creative juices flowing. I chose to do a layout on the pure heartbreak I suffered when I was told I'd had a miscarriage during my first ultrasound appointment last June. Not the happiest subject but it felt good to get it out. Usually I'm a happy scrapper who focuses on the fun stuff.

I'm hoping to work on some stuff for our scrapclub tonight. Since I'm in charge of the sketches and challenges, I should probably come with some examples, ya think? Our challenge is to GO CLEAR and I have tons of ideas...just need to get them done!

Time to throw some dinner together. Just Jake & I tonight. I'm thinking hot dogs and mac & cheese! mmmmmm!