Feeling Loud and Colorful Today!

I don't know why, I just felt like doing a loud page, so I chose my loud child to feature!(LOL) I hope everyone had a good Labor Day! I didn't do much this weekend which was just fine with me. You know, sometimes I LOVE to have nothing to do with nothing planned for the weekend. As Martha Stewart says, "It's a good thing!" I did go out to see dad today, and he's still weak from his heart surgery, but that's to be expected. Say a little prayer for him when you get a chance! Be Blessed!

Altering Me!

I've been in an altering mood lately! This is a switch for me because I've never considered myself to be into the altered arts, but I'm so feeling it right now! Here are a few items I've altered that I really like. One is a cards lunch pail that I've had for a while, and the other is dominoes! I really had a good time making the dominoes because it allowed me to really be artistic! I love the way they came out too! Tons of fun! And hey, I've moved on to round 4 in the ScrapsAhoy Idol Contest! Now I need the help of my family again! I need votes in order to move on to round 5, so if you've got a minute or two will you go over and vote for me again? If you aren't registered there you can't vote, but it only takes a second to register, so PLEEEEEZE help me stay in this contest by voting for me! Here is the direct link:http://www.scrapsahoy.com/content/round_4/round_4.htmlThanks guys!

Boy, I've really been a bad blogger lately, but there just haven't been enough hours in the day here lately to get everything done I would like to get done! Well, school is going great! I have the sweetest class ever! I really have a ton of scrap ideas I need to get out of me so this weekend I'm gonna try to focus on doing some good stuff. I also haven't taken the time to check out the new calls so I'm gonna spend some time looking at those too! Maybe I have some scrappy stuff that is publishable! I was on a publishing high this past year, but it's slowed down to nothing because I haven't submitted anything. I have no idea why, but maybe I can get the ball rolling again! Anyway, here are some DT assignments I did for Imagine, Create, Scrap http://www.imaginecreatescrap.com using 3 Bugs in a Rug stuff. Okay, I'm out! Be Blessed!!

The Tag

Here is the tag I made at Red Lead Paperworks!

Okay, this week has been like a whirlwind! It was the week my own kids started school, it was the week I actually taught my new class of students, it was the week my daddy had heart surgery, it was the week I made it to round 4 of the ScrapsAhoy Idol Contest (thanks for your votes!), and it was the week I ended by going to the coolest store I think I've ever been to! I could write a book on each of the above topics, but I think I'll focus on the last one. If you ever get a chance, you need to visit Red ead Paperworks in St. Louis www.redleadstl.com ! All I can say is,"Wow"!! This is a store for the scrapper who is also a true artist; not just a hobbier. They had classes and demos constantly! And the people were the most amazingly helpful, nice, and talented folks I've ever met in a craft store! Love this place I tell ya! Too bad for my family, but great for me! I'm glad it was a pay week for me, cause I think I spent the grocery money in this place! (LOL!) Anyway, here's a cool sparkly tag I made during my 5 hours in this store! Be blessed!

Okay, I must have really been tired when I made my last post because I didn't upload the layout! Here it is... for real! Be blessed!

Back To Work!

So this was my first week back at work. I am sooooo tired!! You would think that after teaching 15 years, I would'nt be so tired! I think I forget how much work we do and how much preparation it takes to get your classroom ready for a new year. This week only the staff is back. The kids don't come until next week! Now, that will be a week! My own kids start next week too, so I'm gonna have to get back into cracking the whip to get them going every morning! Well, I think it's past my bedtime! Oh, Here's the layout I did for round 2 of the ScrapsAhoy Idol Contest. I want to thank everyone who went to ScrapsAhoy to vote for me! And with your help, I made it to the 3rd round!! I'm gonna ask for your help again, but for now I just want to say thank you!! Take care and be blessed!

Good Things Happen Everyday!

Something really wonderful happened to me the other day. I got an e-mail from Pamela Scruggs who is the Artwork Coordinator for Stampington & Company http://www.stampington.com telling me that a wonderful woman had contacted her about my work in the June/July issue of Legacy Magazine. She said that this lady loved my work so much that she wanted to send me a gift. I was like, "Are you kidding me? Someone liked my stuff so much that they want to send me a gift?!" Well, let me tell you that this totally blew me away! I would never think in a million years that someone liked my work so much that they would go through the trouble of contacting the magazine to get in touch with me! Well, you can't imagine how good this feels to my soul. Things have been so crazy in my life here lately, and this is just the kind of medicine I needed to get myself back to my happy place. And you wouldn't believe how sweet this lady is! She is an amazing person herself who I am thrilled to get to know! It just goes to show you that good things do happen and you never know where your next blessing is coming from. Be blessed all!

Super sweet Nicole H. sent this to me with her answers and asked me to answer the questions too, so I did! I guess this is like being tagged! It was really fun to answer because it made me think about the things I like. I don't know about you, but I never have time to think about me, so it was pretty cool. Thanks Nicole!! Things you may not have known about me..... A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Worked at Long John Silver's for about a week!
2. Clerk at a Beauty Supply store
3. Cosmetic Salesperson at Famous Barr
4. Hair Stylist at several Beauty Salons
B) Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. The Color Purple
2. Forest Gump
3. Ray
4. Steel Magnolias C)Four places I have lived:
(All of these are in St. Louis, MO)
1. Purdue Avenue
2. Clara Avenue
3. Kingsbury Place
4. Appleton Drive D) Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Big Brother All Stars
2. Hell's Kitchen
3. Biography
4. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
E) Four places I have been on vacation
1. Washington D.C.
2. Memphis, Tennessee
3. Long Beach, California
4. The Great Smokey Mountains F) Four Websites I visit daily:
1. Scrap-Tastic.com 2. Imaginecreatescrap.com
3. CreativeXpress.com
4. TwoPeasInABucket.com G) Four of my favorite foods
1. Spring Rolls
2. Chicken Wings
3. Imo's Pizza
4. Steak and Shake H) Four places I would like to be right now
1.Scrapbooking 2. Hanging out with family
3. On the beach
4. Shopping Here is a page I did of Michael and Tatum for a Scrap-Tastic DT assignment. Be Blessed!!

PLEEAAASE!!!

Okay, the voting is open for the ScrapsAhoy Idol Contest. Will you please go vote for me???? PLEEEEAASe, Pretty Please with sugar on top?? If you remember me now, I'll remember you when I hit the lottery!! (LOL) Here's the link. It only takes 2 seconds to cast your vote!! http://www.scrapsahoy.com/content/round_2/round_2.html Okay, be blessed you lovely people!!

Oops!!

I forgot to upload my digital page!!! Pray for me! (LOL)

Digital Me!

Hey everybody! I did a digital layout and it was tons of fun, but it was hard! I decided to give this new trend a whirl, so I enrolled in the fabulous Renee Pearson's digital class at Big Picture Scrapbooking http://bigpicturescrapbooking.com and it was a great experience! I think it was so hard for me because I'm a brand new user of photoshop and I really didn't know the program very well. Let me tell you that Renee is a great teacher and she answers every question you have in a timely manner! I love professionalism! Hey, I'm in the ScrapsAhoy Idol Contest and I need votes! PLEASE, PLEASE go to the site and vote for me! The competition is fierce (loads of talented ladies in the contest) so I'm gonna need some help. Here's the link: http://scrapsahoy.com . GO NOW! It won't take long! Okay, enough begging (LOL)! Here is my digital page. Remember it's my first so be kind! Be Blessed!!

Power to the People!

That's what we've all been saying in St. Louis for the past week! Get the power to the people! More homes are back in business today, but there are still 1 million families still left in the dark. Thank goodness our power came back on last night. 5 days without electricity, no food, no water, and my family was crazy in this hotter than hot St. Louis summer weather! We had to get rid of EVERYTHING in the refridgerator and then I had to clean it good because you wouldn't believe the smell !! UHGGG! Anyway, all is good with my family, but there are still those who need help. So...say a prayer for them. I did get to scrap and I came up with my favorite layout I've ever done! Hey, maybe if I suffer more maybe I can become famous?? Here it is. Be Blessed!

Blackout!

We haven't had electricity since Wednesday!!! The entire city of St. Louis and St. Louis County had a blackout!! I can't begin to tell you how horrible it has been! Thursday was the hottest day of the year-101 degrees!!! Thank God my mom's power came on Friday evening, so we're all camped out over here. The power company says they hope they can get our power back on by MONDAY!!!! I think I'm gonna have some kind of attack or something if I can't home before then! The city has gone crazy too! There are hardly any gas stations opened and only a few grocery stores opened. St. Louis City and County are huge to say the least so you can imagine the mess and hysteria! Oh, I forgot...we're also on a water boil order!! But we can't boil water because we don't have any electric!!!! Soooo, everyone is on the hunt for ice and bottled water and it's scarce! Trying to get gas and food today I saw at least 5 fist fights!! I'm also disappointed because I think I'm gonna have to drop out of the ScrapsAhoy Idol Contest. I have my entry done, but I can't upload it and retrieve my article by the deadline because it's on my computer. Oh well, I'll give it a go again next year. Actually, as I look at things I realize it could have been a much worse situation. I think of the Katrina victims and my sister-in-law whose house just burned down. At least we still have homes to go to! These people don't. Okay, we're blessed and you be blessed too!

Happy Monday to 'Ya!

Happy Monday everyone! This is the start of a brand new week and I'm feeling great! I've got a few projects I need to get done so I'm gonna focus on that before school starts again. What are you gonna do with your time this week? Will you spend it relaxing and taking it easy? Will you be finishing up projects you've been putting off for a while? Will you do something positive for a friend, family or yourself? Will you help someone who is in need? Or will you choose to hurt yourself or someone else because of anger, resentment, or jealousy? Only you make the choice. Remember, your attitude makes a big difference in your altitude!! Be Blessed!

Thank You!!

I just want to say thank you to all of you wonderful people who wished me a happy birthday yesterday! I've got to tell you that I had the best birthday I've had in years!! It was just so perfect from beginning to end! Thank you everybody for caring and I love you all! Here's a page I did yesterday of my cutie little cousin Tatum. Take care and Be Blessed!

Yeah Baby! Today is my Birthday!!

Oh yeah! Today is my birthday and I'm pretty hyped! I must say that I thought I'd be going crazy because I am OLD! Yep! I really am and I'm cool with it! Today I am 42 years old and proud of it! I know... I look much younger right??????(LOL) It's okay if I don't cause I'm definitely getting better with each birthday. I may not be as cute as I used to be, but I'm definitely getting wiser! Let's face it, when you're young- you're dumb! Really! Think back to the way you were 10,15, or (for you older folks like me) 20 years ago. You were dumb, right? I know, me too! I'm just happy to be alive and happy to be me! Here's my latest picture of myself. Happy Birthday Me!!! Be Blessed!!

Wanna Be Published??

If you answered, "Yes" to the above question, then I have the perfect solution for you! Imagine, Create, Scrap! is starting an E-Zine!! (You know, a magazine on the internet!) That's right! The call is for 1. My Home Town, and 2. Getting Wild With Nature!! For more information click on this link, http://www.imaginecreatescrap.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4918 ! You better hurry though! The deadline for this call is July 15!! I hope to see you in future issues!!


~*Oh, If you get a chance please include my sister-in-law and my niece and nephews in your prayers. Their house burned down over the weekend and we need prayers to keep them strong through such a difficult time. God Bless!!

Busy

Boy have I been busy since I got back home! I am so backed up with projects it's crazy! I don't know why I'm complaining cause I love it! I've been making some cool stuff, but I can't share it just yet. I'll be able to really soon though! I entered the Scraps Ahoy Idol Contest http://scrapsahoy.com in June and I made it to round 1! I don' know how this one is gonna turn out for me because it's some serious competition going on! You should go check it out. These folks are serious about winning, so I think I better step up my game if I want to do well! Anyway, I got this cool package of Sassafrass Lass stuff from the fabulous Becky at Scrap-Tastic http://scrap-tastic.com and I made some cute pages! We're having a Sassafrass Lass Contest at Scrap-Tastic so you better run, not walk on over and give it a shot! You should also go check out our rocking gallery! I promise... you will be inspired to create! Here is one of my pages using Sassafrass Lass! Princess features my good friend Shelby's adorable neice Shayden. So, Go on over to Scrap-tastic and check out the Sassafrass Lass Gallery! Take care and be blessed!

I'm Back!

So I'm back from D.C. and I had a wonderful time! My cousins were soooo much fun! They're crazy I tell ya!! My cousin's house is gorgeous too!! She has SIX BATHROOMS!!! That's right, I said SIX!! Anyway, I hadn't seen them since my brother's funeral (which wasn't a fun time for anyone) so we really had a good time. I did a lot of scrapping while I was there so I came back with lots to upload!

Before I left, I went in for a visit with my nutritionist and my diabetes counselor. All I can say is I thought I knew so much about food before this visit. Now I know I knew nothing! What a wealth of knowledge these ladies have!! Anyway, I got a food plan from my nutritionist Michelle and I have been dedicated in following it. This lady really knows what she's doing. She taught me what food combinations I should eat at each meal and explained to me the rationale behind it. It totally made sense. Here are the biggest things I learned.

1. Carbohydrates and sugars are synonyms because all carbs turn into sugar!
2. Do not waste money on fat-free items. Manufacturers replace the missing fat with carbs! (which is sugar to
make up for the missing taste!)
3. Just because something is fat-free doesn't mean that it's low in calories!
4. Protien is our friend!
6. Portion control is the biggest factor in losing and maintaining our desired weight!
7. Eat regular food in smaller controlled portions. This way you won't feel deprived!
8. Use a measuring cup to measure out your portions.
9. Do not skip meals!
10. Don't say you are on a diet. You are simply making positive changes in your life-long eating habits!

I could go on for days with the valuable information I learned, but I won't! Hey, following my food plan I lost
4 pounds while I was in D.C.!! And I ate what everyone else ate, just smaller portions! I'm feeling really good guys!!

Here is one of the pages I made while on vacation. It's actually a remake of a page I did over a year ago that I never liked. Take care of yourself and be blessed!!