KrisG... just me!

Funny Wedding Video

2009-07-23T15:28:00.002-05:00

A friend from Facebook shared this video and I thought it was so great I just had to RE-share! It is a wedding party entering to the song FOREVER.... you must watch and be amazed!

All That Glitters and QP freebie

2009-07-01T07:56:00.006-05:00

RebeccaPSP has an awesome freebie on her blog called "All That Glitters" and I TOTALLY went overboard and used EVERY SINGLE ELEMENT of the kit for my LO, haha. Of course there's a bunch of other papers but I couldn't figure out how to use all of them. Anyway, here's a preview of the kit and below is my LO, which is available as a QP if you'd like.... just click my LO to get it. And make sure you visit Rebecca's blog to snag the kit too. Have a great day!

Just a LO...

2009-06-30T14:15:00.002-05:00

Playing again... a simple LO. This was created using DSG's Daily Petals kit by Carena's Designs called Orange Spice.

Whimsical Garden by Rebecca PSP & QP freebie

2009-06-30T07:44:00.006-05:00

Rebecca PSP has a new kit called Whimsical Garden available at My Life & Scraps and I had the pleasure of creating a couple LOs with it. Awesome summer colors! She uses beautiful palettes for her creations. Yeah, the pink kind of stands out but I didn't have any other pics, LOL. Above image is clickable.

I also made a QP from the first LO above. Here it is! Please leave some lovin' if you snag it. Have a great day!

RAKed again... woohoo!

2009-06-19T22:02:00.006-05:00

I got RAKed again... this time by the DIVINE Dorothy Howell of Dorothy's Creations with her awesome new kit called Soft & Gentle. It's gorgeous with soft colors and I fell in love with it the second I saw it! I met Dorothy AGES ago... in another lifetime when I was learning about scrapbooking... and just recently happened upon her blog. Click HERE to check it out! She has CU Sunday's and creates the most fabulous kits. AND you can buy this kit now while it's still on sale at Divine Digitals. What a beauty.... thank you Dorothy!

And this is what I did with it! This is my granddaughter, Tayli, at her preschool graduation. Click image to see it larger.

Look what I got... for only $1 each!

2009-06-16T16:27:00.006-05:00

Stacey's Scraps has an AWESOME deal going on at her Scrap That Idea store right now. Until midnight on June 17th, EVERYTHING in her store is only ONE DOLLAR! What a deal! I'm very limited on funds but couldn't pass up the sale... this is what I got, woohoo! Hurry, before it's too late! I can't wait to play!

Another RAK... woohoo!

2009-06-15T18:11:00.005-05:00

I was visiting Miss Erin's Scraps yesterday checking out her fabulous designs and snagging up all of her awesome freebies (hurry before they're gone!). And today I find this cute little mini GIFT in my mailbox, woohoo!!! Thank you Miss Erin!!! This is what I did with it.... one of my newer grandbabies, Arty Jr!

~Credits~
Kit - Thank You by Miss Erin Scraps
Smile Wordart - Everyday Wordart by Snowflake Beach Designs using Miss Erin Scraps papers

Color Me Happy!

2009-06-14T11:09:00.004-05:00

I created this last week sometime... can't remember when, but here it is. I used Vicki of A Work in Progress's kit called Color Me Happy... AND it got published in the weekly newsletter, woot! This is my darling grandbabies, Tayli and Emma. You can get this kit HERE at Vicki's Scrap That Idea store and visit her BLOG to check out all the other awesome stuffies she has! 100% credit to Vicki's kit.

As IF.... KimB!

2009-06-14T10:57:00.004-05:00

As if this awesome lady needs any pimpin', KimB RAKed me!!! She has the most GORGEOUS kit out right now called Mezzaluna and I got to play with it!!! Stop by her STORE and pick it up while it's still on sale and her BLOG to snap up an awesome addon! This is what I created... again my "other" daughter's gorgeous wedding dress. 100% created using KimB's Mezzaluna kit!

A couple MORE Valentines....

2009-02-14T15:12:00.011-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day! I don't know how I did it, but I missed posting my day 3 Valentine! I love this kit by Fraisinette.... called Mon coeur est à toi (My heart is yours in English).

Credits:
Kit - Mon couer est à toi by Fraisinette
"Happy Valentine Day" graphic found on Google image search, no credits listed

And today's Valentine!! I used Osten "The Dude" Wilkin's BRAND NEW kit called Tortured Love. You can get it in his store today HERE. AND if you join his forum and participate in the Embellish It! Challenge, you can get soooooo much more of Tortured Love for free... just for participating! Here are some previews of Tortured Love:

And here's my Valentine using his kit:

Credits:
Kit - Tortured Love by Osten "The Dude" Wilkins
Fonts - TXT Sloppy Script
Poem - Ben Jonson, The Forest--Song to Celia

I'm a CT!!!... not sure what I'm in for (yet)

2009-02-13T14:04:00.011-06:00

WOW! I never even considered it before, but I was asked to be on Scrappin' Brat's creative team!! I have mixed feelings here... excitement that someone actually LIKES my layouts, but then I'm not sure I really want to make a commitment to "scrapping on demand". This is so new to me but I thought I'd give it a try on a TRIAL basis. I recieved my first kit today SO you'll be seeing a lot of her kits shown off here. First things first.... she has a SALE going on right now... February 13th - 28th!! Go check it out! Her links are under the ad below.

Scrappin Brat's Scrappin Digi Kreations store

Scrappin Brat's Scraps blog

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And here's another Valentine I created for the Valentine challenge at OWD. Have a great day!

Kit - Olde Tyme Rose collab from Heritage Scraps - Kate McClellan, DigiZines by Teri, Jean Daugherty Designs & Designs by BubblyKori
Fonts - Beyond Wonderland, Ellida

Introducing....

2009-02-11T13:19:00.007-06:00

I FINALLY got to see my new grandson, Arty Jr, last night! Boy oh boy, is he a little chunker, haha! He was born almost a month early and still weighed over 9 pounds! He was in an incubator for the first 20 hours or so "just in case" but now he's hanging out with with his fellow baby friends in the "gallery"!!! I got to hold him for 20 minutes last night and fell in love... how can a Grandma not love such a darling!?! I haven't gotten the pictures off my camera or memory stick yet, but this is one that my son gave me that's ONE HOUR after his birth. You can be sure you'll be seeing more picture of him in the coming days!

Credits:
Kit - Tout Simplement by Fran at Imagine by Fran
Fonts- NipAndTuck, Bradley Hand ITC, Missy BT, Morning Limerick BT

And... I just wanted to show you another Valentine I created for Osten "The Dude" Wilkins. He has a challenge in the forum to get his hearts (scrap hearts!) if we "torture" him with lovin', haha! Anyway, he's my DAY TWO Valentine! A POET I AM NOT!!! Hahaha!

Credits:
Kit - My Grungy Valentine kit by Scrap U
Lips - from Sweet Valentine Kit by Tempus Fugit
Envelope w/ paper - Vintage Floral Bonus Envelope by KylieM Designs
Font - Liorah BT

See ya later!

Happy Valentine's Day... almost

2009-02-10T14:35:00.004-06:00

Well, I haven't been able to get to the hospital yet to meet Arty, Jr (my brand spankin' new grandson) so I've been trying to keep busy. The anticipation is killing me!!!! I love NEW babies... they're so little and cute and chubby (at least this one should be chubby at almost 9-1/2 pounds, haha). Soooo I finally got time to play with a couple GLORIOUS and BEAUTIFUL kits by Linda Walton, aka bobbysgirlforever, aka Bon Scrapatit Designs (say THAT three times fast, LOL). I just couldn't decide which kit I wanted to use so I combined them!!! You just HAVE to run over to her blog and check them out... GORGEOUS kits!!! Some pieces are from an awesome kit called "Forever Mine" which is still available on her blog... RUN!!! And the rest is from another beautiful creation called "Love Me Tender" which you can still get at Linda's store at Digital Candy for an excellent price!!

:::Note to Linda:::
If you're looking, I sooo tried to upload this to your slideshow but couldn't get past 5%... grrrr. If you could snag it and upload it that would help so much! I tried for 4 hours, LOL. THANK YOU for the use of your beautiful kits!!!!

Anyway, here it is!! My Valentine to you all! Have a great day!

I'm a GRANDMA again!!! ... and a LO

2009-02-09T22:24:00.005-06:00

My son and his wife did it again! An hour ago, my new grandson was born!!! Arthur William Hxxxxx was born at 9:13 p.m. weighing NINE pounds 6 ounces!!! In "other world" speak, that's 4.3 kg. BIG baby... little chunker!!! AND he was three weeks early! No pictures yet... she had a c-section and can't have visitors until tomorrow... but you can be sure I'll get some tomorrow! I'm so excited... another boy, wheeeeeeeeee!

Instead of pacing the floor like I would have (waiting for the baby to be born), I decided to play with a couple photos I have of my Grandpa Tess from when he was in the Army. This doesn't do the gorgeous kit justice but I didn't want to make it frilly. After all, it's the ARMY, haha. The kit is called Romantic Heritage and it's by another of my favorite designers.... Dawn aka Snowsmoon. You just HAVE to go check out the kit... it's gorgeous and FREE on her blog, Welcome to My Digital World!

And here's my LO...

Credits:
Kit - Romantic Heritage by Snowsmoon
Arrow - CU fleche carton by Simplette
(recolored using Snowsmoon paper and color)
Fonts - 2Peas Champagne, Blackoak Std

I'll try to come back tomorrow night to post some grandbaby pics!

I'm ALMOST a Grandma again & more LOs....

2009-02-06T19:39:00.008-06:00

My oldest son's wife, Kim, went to the doctor on Monday and had an ultrasound (pregnant again, haha)... and the baby is already 8-1/2 pounds!!! He's not due until the first week of March but just keeps growing and growing. When I talked to her the other day, the doctor had told her that if she goes full term the baby could be 1- to 11 pounds!!!! I'd die!!! Well, since she's had c-sections with the other two, this will be no different... her "date" with the doctor is February 27th. Of course, if she goes into labor early I could be a grandma again ANY DAY!!! I can't wait... another grandson!!!

Okay, I'm not sure if I'm getting used to this or I'm just bored lately, haha! I actually did TWO MORE LOs!!! The first one I revisited some pictures I recieved from my "other" daughter, Jessica. I love looking at the gorgeous dress she wore. She's been married over a year now but always think of her when I see RED! This awesome kit by Line was black and white so I did a bit of recoloring. I really think I need new pictures of her!

Kit - Dark Angel by Line ~~ some pieces recolored
Red Paper Overlay - 05_O_Edge_Flourishes by Suzanne C. Walker
Black Paper Diamond Overlay - 1-way_diamondoverlay by 1WayUp
Font - MC Sweetie Hearts

This next one is from another awesome kit called Rainbow Ride by Irene Alexeeva that I bought a few weeks back. I just HAD to have it and found some time to play with it yesterday. She really has the most beautiful kits! These are my grandbabies... my favorite topic to scrap! AND I won Masterpiece of the Day at OWD (Osten Wilkins Designs forum) two days in a row!!! What an honor!!! This was today's winner.The other winner was "BFF" from the previous post.

Kit - Rainbow Ride by Irene V. Alexeeva
Kit available HERE at her Scrap Orchard store

I'm off to watch some tv... I feel like all I've done is stare at the computer making all these LOs! Have a great day!

A couple more... with Amore! and a new kitty too!

2009-02-05T15:48:00.006-06:00

I've been hanging out in the forum at Osten Wilkins Designs a lot lately and just got this fabulous scrap kit by KimSmith Designs (she's a guest designer) for the monthly download called Amore. Such pretty colors... I just couldn't help myself. This first one is of my granddaughter and her best friend.... they're so cute together. This was taken at Tayli's birthday party where she had a clown/ face painter. What fun!

Credits:
Kit - Amore by kimsmith designs aka vkimmycat
(background is bg4 desaturated)
Fonts - mayuge, Bradley Hand ITC
Wordart fonts - Tekton Pro, Chateau, Bernard MT Condensed, Bimini, Edwardian Script ITC

This next LO is with the same fabulous kit.... I had to recolor my BLUE carpet to go with the colors of the kit, haha. Anyway, this is my NEW KITTY!!! She has been a stray that was hanging around the house since she was born. Last weekend she was sick and let us bring her inside (it was 0 degrees F. out there!). We nursed her back to health and now she wants to stay in ALL the time! She loves us... we love her... she's a keeper! Her name is Puff -- named this because when she was born she looked like a little puff-ball of black fur.

Credits:
Kit - Amore by kimsmith designs aka vkimmycat
Fonts - MC Sweetie Hearts, Annie BTN

That's it for now. Have a great day!

A Valentine LO

2009-02-01T14:11:00.005-06:00

Here's a quick LO I did before I get ready for SUPER BOWL (woohoo). I did this in about 5 minutes... fastest one I've ever done, but LOVE this kit... love the doodles! The kit is Lovely Valentine by ScrappinDove. It was a freebie on her blog... check it out HERE. My granddaughter and I at an end-of-summer festival.

Kit - Lovely Valentine by ScrappinDove

My Tarot... ???

2009-01-30T15:20:00.002-06:00

I have a few more LOs to share but I'm getting ready for dinner so nooooo time! I thought I'd share this cute little "test" that tells you what tarot card you are. Here's me (though it doesn't ring true in my ears!).

You are The High Priestess

Science, Wisdom, Knowledge, Education.

The High Priestess is the card of knowledge, instinctual, supernatural, secret knowledge. She holds scrolls of arcane information that she might, or might not reveal to you. The moon crown on her head as well as the crescent by her foot indicates her willingness to illuminate what you otherwise might not see, reveal the secrets you need to know. The High Priestess is also associated with the moon however and can also indicate change or fluxuation, particularily when it comes to your moods.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Freebie papers... catching up finally!!!

2009-01-19T13:45:00.015-06:00

Anybody want a freebie??? Is anyone interested in my failed attempt to create digital papers? Hahaha... yes, I mean failed. I was playing around with different settings and commercial use overlays and here are my results.... THIRTY-THREE digital papers... all 12x12 inch... all 300 dpi! If you want them, click the links below the preview. And please leave a comment if you snag?! Thank you.

KHG_33experiments-1.zip
KHG_33experiments-2.zip
KHG_33experiments-3.zip

Soooooo... what have I been doing? GOING CRAZY, ahahahaha! No, not really. December was a very long month for me. Hubby lost his license temporarily because the meds he was on gave him a bad reaction. He passed out while driving and hit a tree! All is well now (and the state decided to let him drive again!) but everything took soooo long to do because we had to rely on other people for transportation. The Friday after Christmas we were finally mobile again.

New Year's Eve was anything but eventful. DH and I rented a movie, watched a bit of TV afterward, then at 11 p.m. we watched the ball drop in New York, haha. How exciting, huh? I actually stayed up past midnight to toast in the New Year with my Sparkling Spring Mineral Water and listened to all the fireworks going off in the area.

After the 1st, I decided to do some "spring cleaning" in January... closets cleaned, furniture moved, and lots of Purple Heart donations. I'm not even close to being finished! Every day is another corner.

I even DELETED my favs folder!!! ... on purpose of course. I was spending wayyyy too much time browsing blogs and forums. So here I am starting from scratch with only 4 of my favorite blogs and 2 forums in my favorite places! This gives me so much more time to do other things.

Somewhere in all that time, I found this AWESOME forum at Osten Wilkins Designs (OWD). I have to admit that I'm addicted! It's still a fairly small group of scrappers and/or designers, but every day I see more. I even decided that will be my future gallery home for all my LOs (plus here). Below are a few of the LOs I've done with The Dude's kits. (The Dude = Osten Wilkins... he calls himself that, as does everyone else there!)

First is one I did using Winter Wonderland. This is the Christmas tree at my son Bob's house.

Kit - Winter Wonderland Jan09 "Club Dude" kit by Osten Wilkins Designs aka "The Dude" (some pieces recolored)
Fonts - Formal436 BT, Kingthings Calligraphica and CU glitter

This one I created for the Embellish It! Challenge at OWD. It's my granddaughter Tayli building a snowman.

Kit - Winter Wonderland by Osten Wilkins Designs aka The Dude
Date Box by Jillybean Designs
Fonts - vtks untitled, Lucida Caligraphy

Here are my boys and their families... and no crying or whining kids! This was done for the Font Challenge at OWD.

Kit - Happy Holidays by Monna Lainson and Osten Wilkins Designs
Glitter - CU glitter by megadoodle
Font - Exmouth and Broadway

And this was done for the Download-a-Day Challenge with Kimmy at OWD. The pictures are of me and my sister in 1963 at my maternal grandparents house. I miss them all!

Kit - Winter Wonderland by Osten Wilkins Designs aka The Dude
Sketch by kimsmith designs aka vkimmycat
Fonts - MeaCulpa & Curlz MT
Frame created using sketch and papers from OWD's Winter Wonderland kit

Next up... I WON A KIT!!!! Ziggle Designs and Amanda Heimann created this gorgeous Valentine kit called Smooches (available HERE at Scrap Orchard). She chose a random reply on her CT blog and it was mine, wooohooo! Here's what the kit looks like:

And below is what I did with it! It's my darling granddaughter Emma playing in the tub. Check out how she dressed!!! Hahahaha! And the Ziggle CT blog even spotlighted it in today's post! NEVER BEFORE! You really have to check out some of the beautiful designs!

Kit - Smooches by Ziggle Scraps (Kami Leonard) & Amanda Heimann
Crumpled Mat Template by Helena Jole
Font - Austins Hand
Pics - my granddaughter, Emma (isn't she cute!)

I've done quite a bit more scrapping but I think that's enough for today. I'm going to try to keep up with posting.... Have a great day!

SPARTA!!!

2009-01-06T15:04:00.005-06:00

SPARTA!!! Love this video, haha!

If the video doesn't work go HERE
Don't forget to turn off the music at the bottom of the page

Denim and wood... love it!

2008-12-03T14:35:00.008-06:00

Happy Holidays! Are you done shopping? I have ONLY just begun! I was planning again on going out on Black Friday... and then thought better of it. Only CRAZY people shop on that day, haha! The mall near me had several reports of injuries on that day (from all that pushing and shoving) so I'm so glad I didn't. Nonetheless, I still have seven grandchildren to buy for... soon I hope.

Change of subject.... look at what I found!!! Barbara Lee at Just Passing Through came up with the cutest kit called Wood Meets Denim and is giving it away FREE on her blog! Go check it out here and leave her lots of love if you snag it! She's got a bunch of beautiful other creations to check out too... and her blog is decorated with her new kit, LOVE IT!

Well, I love denim and wood sooooooooo I played (rather quickly) and made a bragbook page... my bluejean babies! I'm planning on making a bunch of these too... love the look! I hope you have a great day!

Credits: Wood Meets Denim kit by Barbara Lee

Can't Touch This...

2008-11-14T13:35:00.003-06:00

Hi, just popping in to share a video my "other" daughter, Jessica, has posted to youtube. I love it!!! She is such a kook! This was Jessica and Jason's "Wedding Dance" last December.

~can't touch this~

Playing with the faeries...

2008-11-12T21:07:00.006-06:00

Vicki Parker ("A Work in Progress") has done it AGAIN!!!! She has collaborated with Sara (Sweet Blossom Designs) to create another FABULOUS scrap kit! It's called "Enchanted Forest" and is simply gorgeous!!!! Go check out their blogs to see the true beauty ((the links are their names above). Here's a small preview but it doesn't show ALL the pieces OR all the beautiful layouts they've shared... or the quickpages... or the alpha.... JUST go look!

Anyway, I was just playing around... not really trying to make a LO, but came up with this. It's funny, this picture was originally of Tayli and Emma looking and touching a FISH! Daddy goes fishing every October for salmon and this is their amazement. Haha... see what a bit of extraction can do?

~Click image for larger view~
Enchanted Forest kit
by Vicki Parker ("A Work in Progress") and Sara (Sweet Blossom Designs)

Christmas... last year

2008-11-11T10:47:00.005-06:00

One of my all time favorite scrapbook designers is Vicki Parker of "A Work in Progress". This month she is hosting a great challenge at The Scrap Pad using the awesome kit called "Mistletoe Magic". This was a collab of Vicki and Chere Nordstrand and I love it! You can ONLY get the kit if you're signed up for Scrap 'n Art's newsletter this/last month and it's FREE!

Well, I didn't have any "snowy" picutes yet, so I used last year's pictures of Christmastime. This is Christmas 2007, Madilyn, Austin, Tayli, Julie, Emma, and my sons and wives. This is what I came up with! Check it out... I have white space!

~Click image for larger view~

Merry Mistletoe kit created by Vicki Parker & Chere Nordstrand for Scrap n' Art
Font is Freehand591 BT

Ohhhhhhhhh balls!

2008-11-06T09:54:00.007-06:00

These are pics that were taken of my granddaughters while visiting in St. Louis, MO awhile back and couldn't find the right color kit to scrap them with. This was my FIRST attempt (I'll be "starting over" soon, LOL). Well, TWO of my FAVORITE scrap designers worked together with this FABULOUS collaboration! My LO doesn't do the kit justice (never does, haha). Vicki Parker aka "A work in progress" and Linda Walton aka Bon Scrapetit Designs aka bobbysgirlforever created this gorgeous and colorful kit called FESTIVITY... how good can it get?!?! I used primarily pinks but there's sooo much more to work with. Check it out on Linda's blog and Vicki's blog! You won't be sorry!

And this is what I created with it, LOL. Overcrowded... as usual... haha. This was done as 8x10" instead of square this time. Now don't laugh!!!! My extraction looks like something out of the movie "The Ring" where the girl is crawling out of the TV! You have to see the look on her face to know what I mean, haha.

~Click image for larger view~
Kit Festivity by the wonderful collab team, Linda Walton (Bon Scrapatit Designs) and Vicki Parker (A work in progress)
Fonts: Cricket, Kozuka Gothic Pro H

This is me...

2008-11-05T15:21:00.008-06:00

.... hahaha... in HIGH SCHOOL that is. The year is 1976. Yep, hippy hair and fugly clothes and colors (though I didn't think so at the time). Check it out, I'm wearing a blue and orange shirt with the icky wide collar, ugh!!! I think those were the days of bell bottoms (again) or elephant pants... I can't remember. But I'm sooooo glad those fashion trends don't grace my wardrobe anymore, hahaha.

Anyway, I used a really cute freebie kit that's coming in pieces called Doodledidei by Nicole (aka NBK). Lots of doodles and funky colors. You can pick up the kit at her blog AND you can even get MORE for creating a LO and sending it to her! Of course I went soooo overboard with adding "stuff", as I usually do, but I just couldn't stop. I would have used ALL of the gazillion doodles if I had enough room, haha. There's also a link there to Doris' (Tempus Fugit) blog which has another awesome "doodley" kit called Hippy di Hip with tons more doodles and fun colors! I'll be back with another LO (hopefully) soon with her kit!

~Click image for larger view~
Doodledidei Kit by Nicole (NBK)
Fonts are LB_Sandbox, Elephant

I leave you with this thought:

Heritage Photo...

2008-10-27T20:58:00.005-05:00

Woohoo! I got the rest of the papers from Snowsmoon on her blog today and looky what I did. This is an old old old picture.... not sure what year exactly... of my maternal grandparents. I really want to re-scrap some of the old pics that I have so I started here. Of course I just HAD to use Snowsmoon's fabulous Fading Summer Kit again... because I have more papers, haha! I didn't "fancy it up" much because I didn't want to take away from the picture. Anyway, here it is! Have a great day.

~ click image for larger view ~

Fading Summer Kit by Dawn Mills aka Snowsmoon's Design
Commercial Use Round Template by Pillowgirl Scraps ~blog~ ~store~
Fonts Tropicali Script BTN

Another LO even!

2008-10-26T21:57:00.005-05:00

Here's another picture of Tayli and Emma enjoying the fall days! This time I used Snowsmoon's oh-so-gorgeous Fading Summer Kit. She hasn't sent out all the pieces yet but I couldn't wait to use it. Here's the parts she's GIVEN out so far... (she is soooo generous!) Check out her BLOG!

And here's my LO. Click the image to see it larger.

Fading Summer Kit by Dawn Mills aka Snowsmoon's Design
Fonts Tropicali Script BTN & Forte

Halloween Mice

2008-10-25T16:59:00.006-05:00

Okay, can you tell I'm trying to get some scrapping done? I'm cheating again with a QP. This is another great quickpage that I found at Divine Digital. The kit was created by Royanna Fritschmann and put together into a QP by Rebecca Labbe. I only added the picture, the mouse and some writing.... voila! This is what Tayli & Emma will be fashioning for All Hallows Eve. I think they're adorable! They'll be sure to get tons of candy with these costumes!

~ click image for larger view ~
All Divas Eve QP by Rebecca Labbe of Divine Digital
(Kit created by Royanna Fritschmann of Divine Digital)
Mouse extracted from photo
Fonts are vtks_untitled & Annie BTN

This one I did with a FABULOUS kit by Kim Smith that she posted as a daily download at ScrappinDigiKreations this month. I added a couple things and recolored a couple pieces but thought it was too cute to pass up scrappin' with. Tayli doesn't look too happy to be a mouse, haha. Aren't you impressed? TWO layouts in one day!!!!

~ click image for larger view ~
Hallowhimsy Kit (daily download Oct'08 at SDK) by Kim Smith
(slight recolorations of staple and eyelet)
Destroyed Paper Template by Mira
Glitters from Lullaby Kit by Elodie
Font used is Journal

It's cold... and autumn! UGH!

2008-10-22T10:18:00.009-05:00

It's a bragbook this time! I used SotoDesigns awesome Fools Hollow Fall kit. It's gorgeous! You really need to check out her stuff... she has an awesome Breast Cancer Awareness kit on sale right now for only $2. This is my oldest son and his kids (my darling grandbabies!) at the pumpkin farm a couple weeks ago. Not much going on. It's cold again... ughhhhhh... so I'm staying inside a bit more. Okay, a LOT more. I can't wait for summer again!

~ click image for full size view ~

Fools Hollow Fall kit by SotoDesigns -blog1- -blog2- -shop-
Font is AdLibBT

Autumn Sparkle...

2008-10-21T10:45:00.008-05:00

Another LO, but this time I CHEATED! This was created with the GORGEOUS Autumn Sparkle Quickpage by Teri Mayo. I added a couple things (pictures for one, haha) but wanted to share. I made this as a gift to my oldest son and daughter-in-law but in 5X7 format for printing and hanging. Okay, bye again!

~ click image to see it larger ~

Autumn Sparkle QP by Teri Mayo
Silver Flower by Kristy08
Black Bead Alpha by Krakatuka
Date Box by Jillybean

I'm finally back... I think

2008-10-17T12:22:00.006-05:00

Well, it's been a few months since I've posted. Summer is such a hard time to find time. In July, my son had another premie baby born at one pound (see a couple posts back) and it was just a hectic time. With the hospital being 1-1/2 hours away and visiting, and other summertime things, I didn't have any spare time for scrapping... or blog-hopping for that matter (my favorite pastime lately). It's getting cool out now so I'll be inside more. I missed everyone

Well, yesterday, I saw on Bunny Cates' blog that she had an AWESOME bracket template freebie up at the DSO blog for the Daily Download. I just had to try one of them. The kit used is the Daily Freebe at Digital Divas Design (gorgeous Modern Heritage kit!). I didn't have any old pictures scanned yet sooooo I used my cute niece and my new nephew! He finally came home after 10 weeks in the NICU. He's now up to almost five pounds (2.2 kg) and doing fantastic. Older sister Julie, who was also a premie, isn't quite sure what to do with him yet, haha.

Kit - Modern Heritage - daily freebie at DDD
Bracket Template 1 by Bunny Cates
Fonts - CurlzMT, Vivaldi, Bradley Hand ITC

Thanks all for looking!

NERD!

2008-07-25T16:11:00.002-05:00

OMG, am I really a nerd?!?!?! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

MIA

2008-07-24T10:03:00.005-05:00

First off, I want to say I'm sorry for not answering anyone... or visiting your blogs for that matter. I've been VERY busy. Read on...

Yep, I've been a BAD blogger. Sooo much has happened in the past month that I haven't found many minutes to do anything. It started out with FIREWORKS galore. Every weekend from the middle of June through the first week August there is/was a fireworks festival somewhere in the Chicago 'burbs... and we visit them ALL! Our weekends have been full. The 4th of July weekend we managed to squeeze in THREE shows! And, because it's finally summer and NICE out, there are festivals everywhere too. So far we've been to Greek Fest (awesome food, fabulous heritage dancers), Kane County Fair (tons of critters, MONSTER trucks, haha), we saw Blondie at Summerfest in Milwaukee, then Joan Jett at Ribfest in Naperville (she's awesome!), and probably a few I can't remember right now. We went black-raspberry picking in the deep woods... can you say TICKS?!?! I had to burn a few off hubby but lucked out myself and got NONE. OMG, parades!!!! There is an endless supply of them recently, the longest being two-and-a-half hours! Of course, the grandkids are loving their summer with all the carnivals. This coming weekend, hubby is going Scuba Diving at a dive sight in Lake Michigan while I hang out on the sailboat (I hate water, but love boats... go figure). Of course there were a few birthdays thrown in there too. Julie turned three... our little special-needs princess. We bought her a tricycle that can also be pushed in case she doesn't learn to peddle. She LOVES it! I sure hope she learns to ride it! And Julie's mom, Amy, also had a birthday!

As if that wasn't enough, right? Well, on July 6th, my youngest son and his SO had ANOTHER premie. Jeremy was born at 1 pound 3 ounces and is soooooo tiny. No photos were allowed in the intensive care, and none of the pictures turned out well when he moved into the NICU because of the incubator reflections. FINALLY, on day eleven, he was removed from oxygen and the nurse took him out for a "sneak" picture. My son, Bob, is extremely excited to have a baby boy and is already making plans for fishing trips and baseball games, haha. I can see that Jeremy will grow up wearing a Chicago Cubs cap for sure! I'll be scouring the internet for sports clothes, haha. Anyway, here he is... scrapped QUICKLY because I need to leave soon to babysit the grandkids so my oldest son can visit the hospital.

Credits
Kit - About A Boy by Vicki Parker - blog "A work in progress"
Journaling Font - Peas Cassie by Rachael Scutt - blog Fonts for Peas
Name Font - Gills Sans Ultra Bold by Monotype Imaging

I'll probably be very scarce for at least another month until things settle down a bit. THEN I'll be able to check my email, if they haven't kicked me off for having full mailboxes, hahaha!

I forgot to post this!!!

2008-06-26T11:11:00.006-05:00

Oh my goodness!!! A couple weeks ago I did a Half-n-Half challenge at 3Scrapateers and TOTALLY forgot to post it!!! This is done with a FABULOUS kit by Linda Walton (aka Bon Scrapatit Designs aka bobbysgirlforever) called "Jeanealogy of a Man". Awesome denim and leather textures... I love this kit! I bought Part 1 and created the LO below. THEN we got Part 2, just for participating, and a gorgeous alpha for joining in a chat. I have to say, this is now my new FAVORITE kit (20 papers, 124 elements, plus alpha!). She has such talent! This kit hasn't been released to the store yet but you can find her designs at 3S HERE or visit her blog HERE to find out when it will hit the store (and don't forget to snag her "scrapatits" while you still can). Okay, so this is my "part one" creation... my oldest son, Art, and his daughter (and my oh-so-cute granddaughter), Emma.

Kit: Jeanealogy of a Man and Scrapatizer by Bon Scrapatit Designs/Linda Walton
her BLOG - her STORE at 3 Scrapateers - her STORE at Treasures to Scrap

2008-06-24T11:08:00.005-05:00

This past weekend was fun! Friday night we stayed home to watch TV... a relaxing way to start out. I think I was fast asleep by 9pm! Television does that to me though. The phone didn't even ring! How odd... I usually get a call from at least one of my kids!

Saturday morning, DH woke up and decided to have a garage sale (ughhh) and actually tried to sell all the stuff I had, at one time or another, thrown into the garbage. He is such a packrat!!! He'll save just about anything if he thinks he can make a nickel, haha. After 5 hours and with a profit of about $15, he packed it up for another time. He managed to get the pool cleaned out while waiting for people to come though! I will NOT do garage sales... at least not on the selling end. AND I won't go in the pool with people walking in and out of our backyard. I'm too old to be showing myself to others, LOL.

Then, Saturday night we went to a balloon festival in Elgin. There was tons of food, bands until dusk, train rides and a water park for the kids, and lots of happy faces. It was a beautiful day! About 20 balloonists set up their balloons for the Sunday launch in the park by the Fox River, and at dusk they ALL lit up! It was gorgeous!! But, dummy-me forgot to check the camera bag to see if the camera was actually in there. DUHHHH... I left it on my desk from last time I downloaded the pictures to my computer. I hope they do it again this summer so I can actually get some pics!

Sunday, I got a surprise visit from my oldest son and DIL. Can you watch the kids for an hour? HAHAHA... they NEVER are only gone an hour! But I took them, of course, and we had fun. Tayli kept begging to go in the pool but it was only 69 degrees out (F)... next time. So we ended up playing hide-n-seek. Emma had to get in on the fun too, even if she didn't know the rules! After an hour of running around the house, acting like a little kid, I was exhausted! I guess that's why adults (without kids anymore) don't play later in life... we don't have the stamina for it anymore, haha. They finally got picked up another hour later... and I took a much-needed nap.

Then we went to dinner at Olive Garden with hubby's mom, and hubby's brother and wife. It's one of my favorite places to eat.... the breadsticks are to die for! I had the Manicotti Formaggio, YUM, but my stomach felt it afterward!!! I'm "lactose intollerant" so everytime I have anything with cheese or milk, I DIE! Needless to say, I groaned and moaned almost the whole time at the fireworks we went to later in Cary for CaryDays. Silently though, so hubby didn't have a clue I was feeling like crap. I'd hate to ruin fireworks for anyway, haha. Anyway, that was my weekend... it ended with a bang (pun intended).

Somewhere in all that I actually had time to scrap! Okay, so I started this LO on Monday morning, but it was ALMOST still the weekend! Ahhh Scrap had their Grand Opening yesterday with a ton of freebies and games and sales. One of the freebies was for a challenge, Scrap Happens by Designs by Crazy Diamond and I just had to give it a try... scrapping "everyday life". So I used a template from a different challenge from STChallenges, scrapping with the quote "You can never..." and came up with this. What a mixture, huh? These are some of the many cats that visit us every day. Does anyone know of a farm in che Chicago 'burbs that need some "mice-catchers"?

-- Credits --
Kit: Scrap Happens by Designs by Crazy Diamond
Template: THD_t100 by Trish Heffner (Trish H. Designs)
Fonts: Ravie, Ryan BT, Princess BTN

Fireworks are here!

2008-06-22T10:58:00.006-05:00

Busy busy busy. I love this time of year. Every weekend, sometimes twice, there's fireworks in almost every town. Last weekend I talked my oldest son and his family into coming with to the Elk Grove Village fireworks and carnival. I soooo love the sparklies and the BOOMERS are my favorite, though my grandchildren thought the world was exploding and CLUNG to mom and dad, haha. Anyway, this is another challenge LO that I'm finally getting posted. We were to use the template PLUS 3 triangles. I had no clue what to do with the triangles, LOL. I used digiMom's Designs awesome Americana kit (I'll be using that kit a LOT this month I hope if the pics turn out okay). Well, I probably won't be back until after mid-July... it's a busy time of year. Gotta have some WARM FUN! Happy 4th to those in the USA... and for those in the northern hemisphere HAPPY SUMMER!

Credits
Template: EricasTemplate12 by Templates by Erica
Kit: Americana by digiMom Designs
Doodles: doodles-alu-froisse by Lilou
Fonts: Forte, Bernard MT Condensed, Poplar Std

More challenge LOs...

2008-06-07T13:04:00.007-05:00

The first week of template challenges is over at STChallenge finally. I got them all done, LOL. I'm not too happy them... why do I have to over-clutter?! Anyway, here they are.

June 6th

Template: No26 by Moriginals
Flower doodle: cc-OSB-Glitter01 by Kymm (creative.chaos)
Buttons: FunkyButtons by Tara Dunstan Designs
Brads & Denim papers: Jeanealogy kit by Linda Walton (Bon Scrapatit Designs) - Store link
Word tags: Commericial use DSM_CDD_Bursts by DigiskrapNMomma - recolored
Fonts: Britannic Bold, Bernard MT Condensed, Annie BTN

June 5th

Template: THD_t99 by Templates N More
Kit: Saturday In The Park by Bonscrapatit Designs (Linda Walton)
Fonts: Impact, Julietrose, Lemon Chicken

Coupla LOs

2008-06-03T22:51:00.006-05:00

Just a couple of layouts I did for challenges at the STChallenges googlegroup. You can see the challenges at Twisted Scrapper. Not much to say... or I'm too tired to chat. Either way, here they are.

June 2nd template challenge... I overdid it, as usual.

Template: Template 8 by MOriginals

Kit: Desert Wind - May collaboration kit at Digital-Scrapbooking.org (link to kit)
Fonts: vtks untitled, Saloonkeeper

June 3rd template and color challenge... I like this one. Isn't Emma a clown? She was so tired Sunday night but wanted to PLAY! As usual, click on pics to view larger images.

Template: Racketty Scrappety Template 11 Square by Racketty Scrappety
Papers, elements, words: created by me using "Gettin' Dirty 02 Paper Templates" - Commercial Product by Royanna Fritschmann - STUDIO RA Designs at Divine Digital

Fonts: Bauhaus 93, Cheddar Salad BTN Quill, Bimini, Gills Sans Ultra Bold, Liorah BT, AdLib BT

Well, g'nite!

Gas prices?? Jeesh...

2008-06-01T10:30:00.004-05:00

Just a photo of the gas prices... and this was AFTER the price went down about 15 cents per gallon yesterday. And look at the price of diesel! YES, I live in the Chicago area. I can see $5 (USD) coming this summer. I've been busy busy busy, but this week I'm GOING to scrap! I have so many lovely kits I want to play with.

Have a great day

Memorial Day weekend... and 10 random facts

2008-05-26T10:30:00.007-05:00

I've been really busy with the long holiday weekend here in the USA so no scrapbooking. It's Memorial Day, to honor those who died in military service, AND somewhat warmer than it was last week. Saturday was finally gardening day and I got so much cleaned up! Sunday was a parade in Dundee, the next town over from me (where part of "Road To Perdition" with Tom Hanks was filmed). After that we went nature hunting! I have some pictures I'm going to scrap soon of the critter we got to see.... I just have to figure out which kit to use, haha! Today is RibFest in Elgin so we'll be coming home tonight with red mouths and sticky fingers. AND tomorrow I finally get to go to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago! I've wanted to go forever and I finally talked hubby into going (he isn't very adventurous). Anyway, that's my long weekend.

I have some random facts I found about Memorial Day that I never knew before... some that I did:

1. Memorial Day began in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania on May 5, 1866.
2. The official birthplace, declared by President Johnson, is Waterloo, New York.
3. Later in 1868, The date was changed to May 30th so it wouldn't coincide with a major battle date.
4. Memorial Day originally was called "Decoration Day" because the cemeteries, grave markers and memorials were decorated with wreaths, flags, crosses and flowers.
5. It wasn't called "Memorial Day" until 1882 as an alternate name. It's official name wasn't changed until 1967.
6. In 1971, the official date became the last Monday in May... one week later than Canada's Victory Day. This was so it would create a long weekend holiday.
7. In 1911, Moina Michael decided to wear and sell red poppies to honor military veterans who had died. This began the official "Poppy Day" in the United States.
She wrote this poem entitled "In Flanders Fields":
We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.
8. The Indianapolis 500 (car racing) is on Memorial Day, every year since 1911.
9. Memorial Day is considered the unofficial beginning of summer

The photos above are from the parade on Sunday in Dundee. I hope everyone had a great weekend too!

Happy Birthday Atasi!

2008-05-21T11:52:00.008-05:00

Last weekend, my friend Atasi had a birthday party. We celebrated at North Beach and had a blast (if you have one nearby, you gotta go)! Free food, balloons, cosmic bowling, sand volleyball, dance floor in one room and awesome band in another, a mega-huge mega-alcoholic drink for the birthday girl AND open bar for the rest of us for three hours! At the end of the night, everyone danced to work off the alcohol for almost TWO hours before I'd let anyone actually drive, haha. Anyway, I made a LO using MOSTLY a new kit Kristine (WenchdGrafix) made... AND I won it for picking the name, King's Carnival (wheeeeeeeeee... it was free!). Here it is! Happy Birthday Atasi! And thank you Kristine! Click image for larger view.

Kit Wenchd Grafix' King's Carnival
Swirlies are from Carjazi-Wenchd Collab Kit
Bows, flowers and stitching from WenchdGrafix' Plum Pudding Kit
All of the above credited to
Kristine Pocock of Wenchd Grafix
and Diane of Carjaziscraps
Letters and frame swirlies glittered using Tara Donovan-Kostyrski for Moo Two Designs – CU Glitter Metalics and recolored by me
Font is Forte

It's Monday... and I just figured that out!

2008-05-19T16:30:00.009-05:00

Where did the weekend go? I woke up this morning looking for hubby but couldn't find him. It didn't even dawn on me that he'd be at work... I thought it was SUNDAY! Well, I finally figured it out when I turned on the TV at noon and the daily soaps (ugh) were on half the channels.

Okay, so now it's late... almost 4:30 p.m. and I NEVER blog this late. But, since I've been trying to come here at least twice a week, I thought I'd better come and at least post the next "challenge" LO that I did. These... again... are two of my grandchildren, Tayli and Emma. The picture is a couple months old but hadn't scrapped it yet... I dunno why! Anyway, I was visiting Digital Arts Cafe and found that they had opened a forum that I didn't know about... AND that they had a fabulous new welcome kit called No Milk No Sugar! Needless to say, I had to sign up! And of course there's a couple challenges... one to do a LO and the other for a Quickpage Exchange. I first did the quickpage and decided I actually liked it, haha. So I did the LO using the QP! I actually won a $5 gift card for the boutique too!!! This is SECOND thing I won today... second thing I've won EVER in scrapping!!!! The other is from Kristine but I don't have that yet, LOL... that's for another day when I can brag, wheee. (Here we go... going off subject AGAIN). Anyways, here's my LO and if you want the QP you'll have to join the DAC Forum and create a QP for the exchange, hehe. (Or wait until after June 19th when the exchange is done... maybe I'll post it here) Click image for larger view.

Credits
Kit - Digital Arts Cafe Team - No Milk No Sugar
Fonts - Calligraph421 BT, Bickham Script Pro Regular, Bradley Hand ITC

That's it for now... almost time to start dinner... CIAO!

Dandelions.... and a LO

2008-05-15T09:56:00.006-05:00

Yes, it's that time of the year! I have them in my yard even though I used the supposedly effective Scotts Turf Builder Plus with Weed Kill, haha. Maybe the dandelions are growing heartier than in previous years, because it's always worked before. Ah well, in a month I can spray again.

Speaking of dandelions... Vicki, made a gorgeous scrap kit called Dandelion Dreams and I was playing with it last night... and came up with the LO below. Go check it out on her blog, "A work in progress", along with all the other fabulous kits she's created. Click image for larger view.

Dandelion Dreams kit by Vicki at A work in Progress
Font is Johann Sparkling ITC

Lookie... COWS QP freebies!

2008-05-12T16:34:00.008-05:00

The first thing I thought when I saw Kopperhead's Kit called Cowlicks was that I HAD to do something with it. I live NOWHERE near a farm but I love the country look and decided to play. I just got permission from her to share these QPs I made BUT you have to go check out her totally FREE kit on her blog too at 100 Things (Maybe More) and leave her some lovin'... those are MY terms, haha. While you're there, check out all the other great kits she has! She's been releasing a kit a week, a bit at a time. This week she's sharing a beautiful kit called Beachside Bride.

Okay, here's the LOs I created... the cows pics were soooo stolen from Google's image search (I have no cows in my area). Click HERE grab the free QPs (without the cow pictures of course)!!! Click on the pics to see them larger.

If you snag, please leave some lovin'! I'd love to hear from you if you stop by. Have a great day!

Blogthing... Flipflops!

2008-05-10T11:38:00.004-05:00

I found this interesting! My DREAM is to live in San Diego!

What Your Flip Flops Say About You

You are a warm, friendly person who simply enjoys life.

You don't complicate things for yourself. Life is too short!

You have a super optimistic attitude, and you have figured out how to be happy.

Everyone wants to know your secret... and it's a lot more simple than they might think.

Your ideal warm weather place: San Diego

The Flip Flop Test

Just a couple more LOs

2008-05-05T18:58:00.007-05:00

A couple more challenges done... not well mind you, but done! These two are for the forum at Scrap Orchard. For some reason, I have a really hard time with challenges!

The first one is the "Cherry Pickin'" Technique challenge. We were supposed to pick out something from a photo and highlight it... so I picked my darling granddaughter, Emma, to be PICKED ON! This was from the last sleepover... she found my Harry Potter stash of "stuff" and I snapped the pic, haha. I HATE that Nuk-y in her mouth, but the picture is cute nonetheless. Click pic for larger image.

Napa Valley kit by Pineapple Plantation Designs
Fonts - Harry P, Parseltongue
Template - Rose McDigitals RMcDD_STMega2_78

This next one was an Ad Challenge at Scrap Orchard and I chose some pictures of one of my "other" daughter's wedding. It's also for the color challenge at Little Dreamer Designs blog. I thought her dress was GORGEOUS... but she wore TENNIS SHOES that had the word "Bride" embroidered on it, haha. Love it! Click pic for larger image.

Pink paper by Fei - FEIstuff_rayoflight_solids
Fonts - Riesling, MsMadiROB
CU Glitter in font - THD_GP2 by Trish H Designs at Templates 'N' More
CU bow - Amy Watson, Amy W. Designs

That's it! I'm off the cry and moan about my migraine, haha. I'll be back with more challenge LOs soon.

Another challenge LO...

2008-04-30T10:51:00.004-05:00

This morning I tried doing another challenge (you can find it HERE), this time at Divine Digital. Here again, I used pics from this past weekend of the three girls, all my daughters. (Read THIS post to read about our "reunion" We had to use the word BLOOM somewhere in the LO and I couldn't figure out how else to use that word with these! Anyway, here's my attempt...

Credits
In Bloom Kit by Cyndi Wetmiller/Wetfish Designs
Fonts used are VTKS REFUSED and Sputnikk

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

I've been tagged....

2008-04-28T18:56:00.003-05:00

Wow, two posts in one day!?!?! That's a first!

I have been tagged by Vicki - you gotta love this lady! She designs beautiful kits and is so friendly! I actually have an online friend in England, woohoo!! It's amazing to me that you can "meet" people from everywhere in the world.

Here are 7 random facts about me:
1. I wanted to be an architect when I grew up. (I made it through drafting class but I'm NOT an architect)
2. My ears have been pierced six times. I'd probably get them pierced again if I thought I could afford more earrings (I have very sensitive ears so have to buy the "good" ones).
3. I am not religious but I think spirituality of some kind is very important in this world.
4. My favorite colors are black.... and black. Okay, other colors too if they go with black.
5. I can watch my favorite show on tv and read a book at the same time AND know what's going on in both, but only hear half of what people say to me (aren't I multi-talented? haha).
6. I think bald men are sexy. (Howie Mandell and Will Smith... love 'em)
7. I am a pack-rat but hide it well. I have "stuff" stashed in some of the strangest places.

Whew, that actually took some thought!! OK, so now I get to tag the following:

Kay comes by and leaves me great comments once in awhile... you're tagged! Besides the fact that she makes some beautiful kits, she is creating a beautiful heritage album on her blog that I love! Go look!

Elisa is another that has come by to comment on my LOs. I love her creations too and visit her often to see what new and exciting things she's working on. You should check her blog out!

And last but not least, I'm tagging Kristine, hehehe... as if she doesn't get tagged enough! I stalk her daily on her blog (not really stalking, I guess, haha) and love her digi-kits (I used one of her kits to make my header). Besides that, she's an awesomely funny person and love her to death. Tag, you're it!

Of course, if you're reading this, they YOU are tagged too!!! Let me know if you accept the tag so I can come visit!

A strange Sunday...

2008-04-28T09:43:00.008-05:00

I woke up yesterday, Sunday, assuming it would be a normal day, doing laundry, watching movies and relaxing. But noooooooo! At about 4pm I got a phone call.... not one you get normally and totally unexpected. Not unpleasant... just not "usual".

Before I say anymore, I have to tell you a short story about me. Actually it's a longgggggg story but I'll make it short. When I was married to my first husband, we were going through extremely bad financial times. I was the only one working so things were really tight. Besides that, I just happened to be extremely fertile and just kept getting pregnant!!! Well, rather than trying to raise a handful of kids in a poor household, I contacted my lawyer and asked him to find a family who couldn't have children... this being after my first two children (my boys). In 1980, I gave Jessica, a newborn, up for adoption. After that things got better and my ex got a job. Within a year I had another daughter, Laurie, who we kept because finances were much better! Welllllllll, shortly after that, I was the only one working again.... and of course I got pregnant again (I swear, he only had to LOOK at me)!!!! The day I found out, I contacted my lawyer again, and had a family ready and waiting right away. Lisa was adopted to another family who had no children. Before anyone asks, YES it was hard to do emotionally, but NO I had no afterthoughts... I always thought they'd be better off with a "stable" family.

Well, a few years back, Jessica found me and my ex and brothers and sisters. It was a fabulous reunion! We all met up and talked and questioned and..... let's just say, it was surprisingly nice! What gorgeous kids I have (yes, I'm prejudiced in that respect)!!!

Now back to yesterday's phone call.... LISA CALLED ME!!!! She explained that she was my daughter and I think I shrieked! I know I woke my cat up for sure, haha. A couple hours later, I met her and her boyfriend, Mike, at the mall and things just progressed from there. Yes, it was a little awkward, but it was fabulous! Jessica and Laurie had planned on searching for her awhile back, but I had no information as to where to start. Anyway, she's GORGEOUS! About 45 minutes later we were on our way out to see my kids (that I raised) and she got to meet EVERYONE except her biological father (my ex). I think she was probably extremely overwhelmed... after all, she just found out she had 4 brothers and sisters.

And I got some pictures!!! I just HAD to! I have several but I scrapped one right away... this picture is of ALL my kids (nope, there aren't anymore running around out there!). Lisa, the "new" one, is wearing green. And that was my Sunday night. I can't wait to talk to her again! Click image for larger view.

Created using Urban Grunge kit by Cinzia Loosemore
You can find this kit and more HERE at DigitalFreebies

A new LO....

2008-04-22T19:51:00.008-05:00

Wow, it's been awhile since I blogged... I'm sooo bad. But I'm here with a new LO.

There was another challenge this month at Boo's Blossoms and I had to play. We had a sampler kit to work with from Booland Designs and it's amazing all the different looks we achieved!! Go check out all the great LOs HERE! Our goal was to scrap what our spring meant to us. Well, I finally got a picture without winter coats... as close to spring as I could get. In the Chicago suburbs, flowers haven't budded, trees are bare and the rivers are all very high from the melted snow and tons of rain we've gotten lately. Here's what I came up with.... my granddaughters again (go figure, haha). It's hard to tell but they are both holding GREEN leaves!

Kit used is Spring Passion Sampler by Boo Silva at Booland Designs
LO based on DSG April Template by Carena (Digital Scrap Girl)
Alpha is from BoolandDesigns Spring Passion Kit by Boo Silva - buy the complete kit here
Leaves are Wyvern's Gold Wrappers by WyvernWench, Sue Irish, SAS Member,

cropped and recolored by me.
Journaling font is Tekton Pro - it can be found here

On another note, I found out I'm going to be a grandma AGAIN!!! My younger son has informed that they have a baby boy due in late August! These are the parents of our princess, Julie, so we are very much hoping there won't be complications this time. I can't wait!!! A GRANDSON!!!! Woohoo!

That's it... cya!

I type how fast?

2008-04-14T13:23:00.004-05:00

LOL... I've never known my typing speed. It's been AGES (years and years and...) since I took typing in high school ON AN OLD FASHIONED, NON-electric typewriter and I think I was at about 20 words per minute then. I guess keyboarding is a bit easier, LOL. NOT where I want to be... I'd rather be faster (like maybe 120 wpm, haha) but here it is! I found this great test on the internet to test your speed and accuracy. Fast and easy... only 60 seconds! If you want to check your own speed just click below.

55 words

Thanks to everyone who has left me a comment or message. I really love reading them (HINT HINT Mom & Dad)! I try to answer all of them if you leave me your email or blog address. Have a great day!

I've been tagged... and a few bragbook LOs I made

2008-04-09T11:02:00.013-05:00

She did it AGAIN!!! Kristine tagged me... this time with SEVEN things about myself.

1. Link to the person that tagged you and leave a comment on their blog, so that their readers can visit yours. ~~~Kristine's blog WenchdGrafix Designs. Visit her blog!!... she has some awesome kits on sale THIS WEEK ONLY! She also has some awesome freebie samplers.... go check it out!
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share 7 Random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 random people at the bottom of your post, linking to their blog. Let each person know by leaving a comment on their blog. (if you don’t know 7 bloggers, just tag who you know)

Seven things about me:

1. One of my most craved snacks are sardines... but they have to be King Oscar double-layer in olive oil or I won't eat them. Hubby won't come near me when I'm eating them, haha... and I passed on my craving to my oldest son.
2. I HAVE to have the TV or music on to read a book... don't know why.
3. On an average, I get about 5 pictures per 100 taken on my digital camera that I ever actually keep. I'm a TERRIBLE photographer! Either that or I need a new camera!
4. My favorite TV shows right now (and my nightly ritual for the week) are Dr. Who, Ghost Hunters, The Riches, Medium, Lost, Haunted Places, and whatever stupid old horror movie Svengooli has on Saturday late night. (that's one for each night)
5. I wear at least one ring on every finger... four on a couple... and they're all silver or platinum. I don't like gold or diamonds (YES, I'm a female!)
6. I want to have Johnny Depps baby.... hahaha. It's impossible (I'm "fixed") but I sure would love to try. [[ Okay, Mom & Dad... pretend you didn't read that! ]]
7. I do butt wiggles and butt crunches while I'm at the computer to keep from getting flabby, LOL. I'm sure you REALLY wanted to know that, hahaha!

I have to tag 7 people. There aren't that many who come here so I'll just say that ANYONE who comes here and reads this has to do it! Let me know if you do so I can come visit!

************************

Next, I want to share a couple bragbooks I made for my mom and dad. They've never met a couple of their younger grandkids.

These first two I made with an AWESOME kit by Vicki at A Work in Progress called Doodle-icious. You really should go check out her blog! She has a lot of really kewl stuff to share! I love her designs. After these were printed, I found all kinds of stuff I would have or should have done... as usual. You can see the full size 6x4's by clicking on them.... for printing purposed for mom & dad!

This is Tayli on Easter. She ate sooo much candy that she was bouncing off the walls.
Credits
Kit Doodle-icious by Vicki at A Work in Progress.
Butterfly by Boo Silva at Booland Designs from her Granddad kit.
Template used is Template215 by Andrea Gold and modified by me for bragbook size.

This is Emma, Tayli's little sister, on Easter. She's guilty of handing out all the candy to Tayli, lol.
Credits
Kit is Doodle-icious by Vicki at A Work in Progress.
Template is March_template_Left by Karen Maggie for Scrapbookgraphics and modified by me for bragbook size.

This one I used a different kit... I love the colors on this kit. Visit Fran over at Imagine to check out her beautiful kits!

This is Julie, our little miracle girl. She's finally starting to sit still for photos!
Credits
Scrapkit is Picoti by Fran at Imagine.
Overlay & alpha Little Birdie coordinate by Gabrielle at Take My Breath Away.

That's it for me! I have tons to do now. I wasn't even going to blog today until I saw that Kristine tagged me, haha. Ciao!

A new LO...

2008-04-01T16:24:00.007-05:00

Well, yesterday I felt a little better. This cold/flu/whatever is really kicking my butt! It took me a few hours to do this because my PSP kept "erroring"... grrrr! I think I REALLY need to get my Photoshop reloaded! Anyway, I created this using the Daily Petals download for March at Digital Scrap Garden. I love the cool colors! These are two of my grandkids... as usual! Click the image for a larger view.

Kit By Ladybug Graphix - Too Cool Daily Petals Download at DSG

Well, I'm off to take more Nyquil and Excedrin. This bug that's got a hold on me WILL go away... one day...

I'm alive... and I've been tagged!

2008-03-30T11:35:00.003-05:00

Well, I've been gone for awhile. TONS of sleeping and have done NOTHING as far as scrapping! The past three weeks has been the pits! I ached so bad that even my hair hurt! I'm starting to feel a bit better but still can't breath well. I don't ever remember feeling this bad in my life... and for so long! Anyway, I'm still alive. Sooooo.....

I was tagged yesterday! Thanks Kristine!!!

I must tell 6 things about me... that you may not know...
(1) My favorite comedian is Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean). I've been a fan of his since the beginning and even have the whole OLD Mr. Bean series on DVD.
(2) I have over 300 gig of FREEBIE scraps burned on DVDs for my personal use! That doesn't include the kits I bought. (I've majorly slowed down searching for freebies, LOL, and buy more that I love now.)
(3) I am homebound due to panic attacks, migraines, allergies and insomnia.
(4) I have three children that I raised and two more that I gave up for adoption at birth to WONDERFUL families. One of them found me (and she's gorgeous AND successful)!
(5) My pet peeve is liars.
(6) My dream is to move OUT of the Chicago area to someplace that is always warm and not humid. Arizona and New Mexico would be ideal for me.

Now I’m gonna tag the ANYONE who reads this. Please let me know so I can come and comment! Thanx.

Hopefully I'll be posting again soon! This cold/flu/whatever it is has GOT to break soon! HUGZ

I'm sick....

2008-03-20T18:06:00.004-05:00

... so be careful. I think Kristine breathed on me when I visited her blog. She had the cooties too, so I think you can catch it by blog-hopping!!

::: cough :::
::: hack :::
Aaaa-chooooooooooo
<< sniffle >>

(( sigh ))

I'll be back after I'm done sleeping 20 hours a day... for a few more days anyway.

Another LO

2008-03-12T10:30:00.005-05:00

This winter has GOT to end! I'm getting soooo sick of it. Yesterday it was close to 50 degrees... a warm trend for Chicago! But we still have plenty of really cold weather coming. The weather man is talking of MORE snow possibly. I need my WARM!!!

I did another LO... this time with a kit by MyDigiStyle called Watercolor Dreams - Jessica1. You can get it on Mabelle's blog... AND if you make a LO with her creations, you can get an exclusive addon! This time we were supposed to make a LO with the theme "Thankful" so here's mine. This is Julie, one of my granddaughters, who wasn't expected to live. She was born at about one pound and surprised everyone. She still has problems, has a permanent tracheotomy and feeding tube, but she now walks, plays and loves. She's our little miracle! Click on image to see it larger.

Kit used is Watercolor Dreams - Jessica1 by MyDigiStyle
Scalloped template is 10 template decoupe papier (4) by Digiscrap.ch
Font used is Lucida Handwriting

That's it. Not much going on since I'm still in "hibernation mode". Cya!

Another QP... my 2nd one!

2008-03-09T09:11:00.004-05:00

I did another QP for a challenge (it was supposed to be a LO but I couldn't really find a pic I liked). This time I used a really kewl kit by Dnadryad. She's offering it free in 8 parts and I LOVE the colors! As of today, she has uploaded 6 parts! Go check it out HERE and leave some loving! If you create a LO you can get the entire kit just for participating.

Here's what I created. It is 12x12 300dpi. Hope someone likes it!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD QUICKPAGE

My very first QP!!!

2008-03-08T14:41:00.004-06:00

Here's what I did! I'm kind of proud of it... it actually looks good, haha. I created this quickpage with WenchdGrafix Emerald Isle kit. You can get the whole gorgeous kit HERE... and you can download my QP at her blog HERE. NO, the monkey isn't included. Thanx for looking!

What are you waiting for? GO GET IT!

I made a QP!!!

2008-03-07T17:06:00.004-06:00

... but I can't show you... YET, haha. It's my very first quickpage, woohoo! And somebody actually LIKED it!!! Tomorrow maybe... sometime this weekend at least!

Ciao

New day, same ol'....

2008-03-04T09:43:00.008-06:00

Nothing new really... bored bored bored. I can't wait for SPRING to get here! I'm sick of hibernating.

I downloaded a bunch of mini-kits from Little Dreamer Designs created by "dreaming" designers. Each kit had 3 papers and 3 elements. This is the first one I played with... my friend Atasi who came to watch my son's best-friend's band, Hollow Rain, with us. All original music!

Click image for larger view
Kit used: Elegant Mod by Sarah Barber at Little Dreamer Designs
Fonts used: Freehand591BT and Bauhaus 93

I'm planning on playing with a few more at least, but for now that's all I have. I'm off to do my daily blog-jumping! Ciao

My parents, last Christmas

2008-02-26T22:24:00.004-06:00

I did a challenge LO for MyDigiStyle... at least I tried, haha. NOT the best but I did it! These are my parents who live in Tucson. Last year for Christmas/New Years we got to go visit them in warm and sunny Arizona. I have to say I'd LOVE to NOT have snow for Christmas every year! Anyway, I'm going to try to redo this one later... I think the colors are in the wrong spot or SOMETHING, huh? Ah well.... next time...

Kit used is AtticBox2 by MyDigiStyle
Click picture for larger view

Not much to talk about really. My migraines are still persistent... almost daily. I'm still hibernating because the groundhog said winter would still be here until the middle of March. It snowed today and more is expected on Thursday, ughhhhh! I can't wait until I get to put my pool back up and can open the windows!

What a week... and a LO

2008-02-22T18:09:00.005-06:00

It's been a lonnnnngggggg week! It started out leaving a comment on someone's blog.... and I'm NOT blaming the blogger or the blogsite! My computer CROAKED... literally. It made this deep raaaaabbb sound and then nothing... not even the blue screen of death... just DARK! Okay, panic set in immediately, I admit. After freaking out a few minutes (not a pretty sight), I took a deep breath and thought... just thought for a little while. So I decided to unplug the dang thing from the power strip and reboot (hopefully). Lucky for me, it started back up again but not without dumping a whole lot of my main hard drive... the one with Windows on it, grrrrr. Thankfully, Windows wasn't corrupted but tons of other programs were just gone! It's taken pretty much all week to get my email up and running, my graphics progs reinstalled (along with a gazillion plugins and all that goes with it), AND I even put Turbo Tax back on so I can now RE-finish my taxes! I'm not sure what made it make such funny noises when it died but I'm glad it wasn't TOO major. The only hardware I had to replace was the CD/DVD burner.... wondering if that could have caused the problem AND the noise?! Fifty-five dollars is a much better than having to buy a new computer!

So I'm back... finally. I've been using hubby's computer with Windows ME on it, ughhhh, but only to try to keep some of my mailboxes from exploding. His computer feels like a dinosaur to me, haha... and it was MINE at one time long ago....

Here's something I played around with right after I reinstalled PSP and PS. It didn't turn out like I wanted it to but... what can I say. This is princess Emma, my granddaughter, wishing she could go out and play. Click on the image to see it larger.

Kit's used: Darling Diva & Sacred Spring by S.J. Wright Creations
Paper Curls by Pineapple Plantation Designs
Commercial Use overlay by SweetMade
Fonts used: A&S Black Swan & MC Capone Outline

Well, I'm off to babysit the grandkids. Tomorrow I'll be spending the day doing the finishing touches to rebuilding my hard drive.... crossing my fingers that there aren't any more frogs haning out in my computer!

Yet ANOTHER LO!

2008-02-13T21:25:00.006-06:00

This one is a quicky... meaning I did it in less than an 2 hours, LOL. I joined a new group about a month ago called Digital Scrap Garden and, though I haven't done any of the challenges yet, I DID play around with their Download-a-Day kit. Here's what I came up with from the few days I've collected so far. This is Tayli... again... my granddaughter. As usual, if you want to see it larger, just click on the picture.

Credits:
Horse N Love kit by Karen Wallace
AlphaRed by digiscrap.ch

NOW, I'm going to watch TV... Ghost Hunters is on!!!

Another challenge DONE

2008-02-13T16:21:00.010-06:00

This took me FOREVER and a day to finish! I really need to get to learning Photoshop CS3 because PSP is sooooo much of a memory hog! I did a scraplift challenge over at Boo's Blossoms. The kit is really cute and they supplied FREE for doing this challenge! ANYway.... this is the LO I used to scraplift by Lois:

... and this is what I came up with... these are all my grandkids:

click image for larger view

Credits:
Blossoms Kit by Booland Designs
Lois's awesome LO for scraplifting

*****

Which reminds me! You really need to visit Booland Designs. She's having a 100 freebies giveaway!!!! It's day 4 now but there are plenty more to go!

Not much else going on here. I'm still trying to recover from all the COLD and the SNOW we've been getting here in Chicagoland! It seems like every other day we get a few more inches... grrrrr. YES, I've been hibernating! I think I'll go hide under my comforter now and try to stay WARM... ciao!

SDK Challenge... did it but...

2008-02-06T17:49:00.003-06:00

Well, I did this for a challenge at Scrappin Digi Kreations but I don't have permissions to upload to the gallery... ah well. I'm still going to share here. Love the kit they gave to work with!! Thanks for looking.

---Edit--- I finally got it uploaded to the gallery, woohoo!

Click HERE for larger image

Challenge Kit by June Schutrups - Cen's Stuff
Template used is kb-bling-template by Kimb's Designs (some modifications)
Fonts Used:
Mayuge (no TOU with font) can be found at fonts101
Tuna and Hot Dog on Rye by Kimberly Geswein and can be found at Dafont

... just me

2008-02-05T23:48:00.000-06:00

I took a personality test online. Can't you tell? Not much to say about that, hmmm.

My Personality


Neuroticism	58
Extraversion	77
Openness to Experience	66
Agreeableness	40
Conscientiousness	43

You rarely get angry and it takes a lot to make you angry, however you experience panic, confusion, and helplessness when under pressure or stress. You are not prone to spells of energetic high spirits. You tend not to express your emotions openly and are sometimes not even aware of your own feelings. You do not enjoy confrontation, but you will stand up for yourself or push your point if you feel it is important, however you believe that a certain amount of deception in social relationships is necessary. You are guarded in new relationships and less willing to openly reveal the whole truth about yourself. Mostly you work towards achieving your best, although in some areas you are content just to get the job done.

Take a Personality Test now or view the full Personality Report.

This is sooo cool!

2008-02-04T15:29:00.000-06:00

You have to watch this! A group from New York called Improv Everywhere went to Grand Central Station and did this. I would have stopped to watch too! You can read more about this video and the group HERE. They even had a No Pants 2K8 prank going on in January, but I'm not posting here, haha. If you want to check out that video on YouTube, go HERE.

Super Bowl Commercials...

2008-02-04T10:56:00.003-06:00

I ONLY watched the commercials for the Super Bowl yesterday so I missed the exciting ending. BUT I watched all the commercials!!! My quarterly picks:

:::::: Edited to delete commercials... ::::::
:::::: they're not on the website anymore ::::::
:::::: and it was just taking up space here, haha ::::::

Just playing... again

2008-02-01T12:45:00.000-06:00

Another quickie. I saw a challenge with a freebie mini-kit at DigitalArts cafe and just HAD to try it. The kit is called Happily Ever After and here's what I came up with. Go visit if you'd like to try. You still have a little time left to get more of the kit by trying. This is Tayli, one of my granddaughters, playing in the snow.

Click the image for a larger view

Snow... and finally Mom's gift

2008-02-01T09:27:00.000-06:00

Not much today. It's going to be a looooooonnnnngggg day! Yesterday it started snowing in the late afternoon and JUST stopped a little while ago. We only got about 8 inches of snow but the end of our driveway had PILES from the snowplows. It was over my knees and that was with the snowplow only plowing the MIDDLE of our road! Listening to WGN Chicago News, I heard we're in for a little more too! Needless to say, WGN reported 980 school closings in the Chicago area. This is a picture from my front window. See that red flag behind the bird feeder? That flag is 4 feet tall and there's a fire hydrant under all that snow! Thank goodness next Wednesday is supposed to be 45 degrees (F)... the snow might just go away before out next storm.

I've been wanting to post this picture forever (since Christmas at least) but I JUST got this off of my camera card. This was a gift from Mom.... she's a super-duper crafter... and had to share!!! The basket isn't part of the gift but it IS from my mom! She made me a tissue box and coaster set. Aren't they cute??? She is sooo creative when it comes to plastic canvas. Heck, she's creative in everything! You should see the house during Christmastime! Every corner of the house was decorated including bathrooms and even a "village" setup in the spare bathroom.... like walking into a craft show -slash- museum. So gorgeous. I'll have to see if I can find some pictures to show of when I visited them in Tucson last January. Oh yeah, the picture~~~

Well, I'm out of here. I have some snow-blowing to do!

Love hearts...

2008-01-31T09:55:00.000-06:00

Just a quicky today. I have house cleaning to do... it's way overdue! Anyway, in my blog hopping, I found this website. It makes customized candy hearts. YES, I'm easily amused! Below is what I made and HERE is the link to make your own! Quick and easy... totally cheesey!!!!

Grandkids...

2008-01-30T11:58:00.000-06:00

The damn cat (we call her Mama) woke me up at 4:30 this morning!!! I swear, the older she gets, the more NEEDY she is! She's about 15 years old and does it ever show! She was hungry and thirsty and wanted tons of affection in the wee hours. Of course I pretended to be asleep but she started her kneading on my stomach and meowing VERY loudly. I finally gave in when she started batting at the blinds (they're aluminum) and making such a huge racket that I thought she was going to wake up hubby. We did her morning ritual of getting fed, lapping up a half bowl of water, massive amounts of getting petted and purring her little heart out, getting brushed, etc, etc. THEN SHE WENT BACK TO SLEEP!!! Meanwhile during all this, I drank a quick ice-coffee (Starbuck Mocha Frappachino, yum) to wake me up, so I couldn't go back to sleep... grrrr. Anway...

... since nobody out there in "blog-land" is usually up that early, I started playing around. I used Kristine's kit "Into The Mystic" again (can you tell I like the kit?) and came up with this 4x6. NOT too happy with it but it's MY grandkids and I love 'em!!! That's Miss Julie (a Packer's fan) on the left, Miss Tayli and Miss Emma (loving sisters) on the right.

Click here to see it larger

Some news.... not good news though.
--- My daughter-in-law, Kim, was recently pregnant. WAS! She lost the baby last week. She was only a few months pregnant but she has a history of this so it was expected (sort of). She's feeling better now, but doesn't want to talk about it. I know for sure that they want ONE more though... sometime in the future ::: sigh :::
--- Also, last week we found out that Miss Julie probably will never be able to get rid of her tracheotomy or her feeding tube. A CT scan and MRI were taken of the brain that takes care of those functions and they're white. Which means those functions are getting worse. Nobody knows for sure what will happen. Julie is a miracle baby and has proven everybody wrong so far!!!

Not much else to say. It's going to be one of those days.

Just playin'... again

2008-01-28T09:38:00.000-06:00

Well, it's 11 days to my 49th birthday. I totally refuse to have another birthday until after I'm retirement age, LOL. It's still hard for me to accept that I'm this old! I think my kids and grandkids help me to feel still a bit young. I ran out of blogthing quizzes, LOL. So I went to the mySpace quizzes! I love the Happy Bunny quiz... I love these psycho critters!

I am an Aquarian! And this is soooo me!

What Does Your Birth Month Reveal About You?

February
Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislike unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizing dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.

What HAPPY BUNNY are u?

cute but psycho
ur crazy, and hott

Talking cats

2008-01-24T15:18:00.000-06:00

LOL!!! Talking cats! What will they think of next?

NEW HEADER... cats.. and email

2008-01-24T08:31:00.000-06:00

I got a new header!!!! Woohoo!!!! I was getting sooo sick of the other one. The awesome kit I used is called Into the Mystic by Kristine over at WenchGrafix. You gotta go check out her blog! She has some links to other creations with this gorgeous kit.

Well, not much news besides it's COLD outside. The thermometer says it's minus 5 degrees outside... that's fahrenheit!!! I'm nice and warm because I'm NOT going outside today, but I worry about all the stray animals in our area. This past summer, he made a "kitty door" on the garage just for this reason. It's only a small hole, 8in. x 8in. maybe in the side of the garage so stray cats have somewhere to get protection from the weather. Currently, I think there's five "wild" cats staying in there... poor babies. I've tried to so hard to find homes for them but a few are so hard to catch that I just let them be. Of course we keep a bowl of dry food for them, so I would think I'm attracting them here! We've actually been lucky. Only once we got a raccoon, but the cats ganged up on it and scared it away. HA! Is there anyone in the Chicagoland area willing to take on a born-in-the-wild cat with no shots and all? I have a few... you just need to catch them! We don't have the trap-neuter-release program around here. Anyway, I hope they all survive this terrible cold. The wind is supposed to pick up soon and that will make things worse.

Today, my goal is to go through my mail BEFORE I check out the blogs... which can sometimes take a whole day, haha. I have over 800 emails I've neglected for TOO long. I'm thinking maybe I should drop a couple YahooGroups!!! Maybe......

Ciao for now!

Hahaha, and another Blogthing

2008-01-23T20:20:00.001-06:00

Like, ya know, oh my gawd!!!! I have Paris Hilton on my playlist!!! Hahahahaha... bwaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhahahaaaaaa!!!!!! Here's the video, though I can't imagine anyone wanting to watch it, haha. SORRY, I just HAD to!

Okay, now THIS is scary. I'm NOT voting for the top two on this list!!!!! And I've never heard of most of the others! I'm thinking that I better hurry up and decide if I'm actually going to vote!

Who You Should Vote For

Barack Obama: 63%
Hillary Clinton: 56%
Mike Gravel: 56%
John Edwards: 50%
Dennis Kucinich: 44%
John McCain: 44%
Ron Paul: 44%
Rudy Giuliani: 38%
Mike Huckabee: 31%
Mitt Romney: 31%

Who you agree with on the war in Iraq: Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain and Mitt Romney

Who you agree with on the economy: Mike Gravel

Who you agree with on health care: Barack Obama

Who you agree with on taxes: Mike Gravel and Mike Huckabee

Who you agree with on abortion: Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama, and Rudy Giuliani

Who you agree with on gay rights: Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, and Barack Obama

Who Should You Vote For?

G'nite!

I have a dream RANTING and new Wacom

2008-01-21T08:47:00.000-06:00

I have a dream...

Today is Martin Luther King Day... a very important day in America's history. I think if Mr. King were alive today, he'd be proud of the changes he inspired in this country. There is no more segregation, it's against the law to fire someone from a job because of race, creed, color, gender (etc, etc), and there are people of every color in every job. COLOR is no longer an issue... but you'd never know that from listening to people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. I can't say that prejudice is gone... it's still very much alive, largely because of the rants of people just as Mr. Jackson. What makes it OKAY for an African American to kill his wife (as in the OJ Simpson case) while there are millions of Caucasians (and other "colors"!) in prison for doing the same thing? Shouldn't that be a MURDER thing, not a BLACK thing? Why is it OKAY to have a United Negro College Fund while it is against the law to have a WHITE college fund (that would be prejudice)? Why do they still call it the United NEGRO College Fund when it's "prejudiced" to call an African American a NEGRO? Stupid things like this keep prejudice alive, in my opinion. But then, who am I? I'm a white middle-class person with European background who's lived in the Chicago suburbs her whole life. I don't see the day to day hardships that some ethnic groups have to go through. Speaking of ethnic groups, WHY ARE THERE STILL ETHNIC GROUPS if we are striving for equality and non-prejudice???

These questions baffle me and of course, these are only MY rantings. I am NOT a prejudice person. You can ask my BLACK friend (she's from Jamaica and has asked NOT to be called African American). You can ask my AFRICAN AMERICAN friends, my INDIAN friends, my MEXICAN and PUERTO RICAN friends, my JEWISH friends, my BOSNIAN friend (though Bosnia is no more), my ITALIAN and Pakistani friends, my friends who claim no ethicity and too many more to think of right now... who are all my AMERICAN friends. When I talk to these people, I don't think to myself that I'm addressing any special ethnic group. I've never asked where they come from or why. They are my friends! And I'm not alone in this. By the way, ALL of my friends from other countries have learned English.

This morning I was reading in the newspaper about other local "dreams" which now have branched out to the ILLEGAL ALIENS! Okay, now it's being pushed too far. This is ONLY my opinion. I am still trying to figure out what RIGHTS these ILLEGAL people seem to think they have. After all, this is America and OUR constitution doesn't cover other countries, right? They have their own rules and regulations. Why do people who are here ILLEGALLY think that America owes them anything(???) like food stamps, social security, and health care to name a few? Sometimes I wonder if anybody realizes that issues like this cost our country a fortune every day. If I went to another country, would they support me just because?? I think not.

I have a dream..... My dream is that this country will one day OUTLAW frivolous law suits... those really piss me off... but that's another huge rant. My dream is that NOBODY will have to be put into an ethnic group.... who cares anymore? We're all American. My dream is that this country will one day be as prosperous as it used to be because of hard work and not whining about equality... we already ARE equal so shut up. My dream is.... world peace! Hahahaha, I had to throw that one in to let myself lighten up.

Anyway, that's my rant. So sorry, but I got angry reading about other dreams this morning. My dream is to visit France one day, but that's all it is... a dream, ha! GET ME OFF THIS SUBJECT!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!

Okay :::deep breath::: on a lighter note, I GOT A WACOM TABLET last night!!!! It's a small Wacom, a starter, but I love it! I was only shopping for a new mouse (mine died) but went a little overboard, haha. I can hear my mom now saying "What the heck is that?". Well, Mom, it's like a mouse but you use a "pen" for a pointer instead.

It's used mostly for graphic design, drawing and the likes. I've wanted one forever and now, thanks to the Christmas money (THANK YOU!), I now have one! Woohoo! Guess what I'll be doing today. YEP, trying to figure out how it works. I can't wait! Maybe my "creative juices" will show up again.... I've been in a huge slump in that department lately. Cya for now!!!!

Cats... gotta love 'em

2008-01-20T14:23:00.000-06:00

They say NO news can be GOOD news, right? Well, today is one of those days. I LOVE cats so I thought I'd share an email I received today.

Signs You Are Having A Bad Day

1. You woke up in a strange place

2. You had trouble getting out of bed

3. You washed your hair and couldn't do a thing with it

4. You feel like you have a hangover and you weren't even drinking last night

5. Your new diet doesn't seem to be working

6. You pulled a muscle when you tried to exercise

7. Your new hat looked better on you at the store

8. Your old hat doesn't seem quite right either

9. The dry cleaners shrunk your favorite outfit

10. You keep losing things

11. You have a stiff neck

12. You feel like you're in the wrong place at the wrong time

13. The boss chewed you out at work

14. You got caught in the rain at lunchtime

15. The lunch you had didn't seem to agree with you

16. You get no respect

17. You feel trapped

18. Traffic on the way home was brutal

19. Uninvited guests showed up at dinnertime

20. Dinner left you feeling a bit queasy

21. You think you're coming down with the flu

22. You're alone in the house at night and you hear a noise in the basement

Have a Purrfect Day!

It's been almost a week?

2008-01-17T15:59:00.000-06:00

... jeez, where has the time gone? Hmmm, I guess I've been REALLY busy clearing off my hard drive. Over 30 DVDs burned of "stuff" (tags, graphics, tons of scrap stuff, fonts, tubes, etc, etc) have come off since Monday. HOORAY, I have more room to COLLECT now, haha! Backaches, headaches, eye strain, carpal tunnel, you name it, I've gotten it this week! And of course hubby was a bit IRKED that he couldn't get on my computer for things he wanted to do, LOL.

Of course, I did my daily BLOG reading. I was HONORED by Kristine at WenchdGrafix Designs (yep she MOVED to a bigger/better site... reminding myself to add the link to my blog favs on the left!). You can read it HERE. I'm number 8. Of course I had to read them all... she's surrounded by awesome people! She's SUCH a sweetie, so funny and did I ever mention TALENTED? She's building an AWESOME freebie kit that one day SOON I'll be making a new header with. I'm so sick of the one I have, ugh!

So far today I've done almost absolutely NOTHING. Well, I can't say that because laundry is close to being done. But that practically does itself with an hour wait between loads. I DID check out Blogthings today and found this:

You are a Hippie

You are a total hippie. While you may not wear birks or smell of incense, you have the soul of a hippie.
You don't trust authority, and you do as you please. You're willing to take a stand, even when what you believe isn't popular.

You like to experiment with ideas, lifestyles, and different subcultures.
You always gravitate toward what's radical and subversive. Normal, mainstream culture doesn't really resonate with you.

Are You a Hippie?

Mom and dad, does this explain a bit about WHY I was such a rebel as a kid? Haha.

Well, I'm outta here. I still have about 3 DVDs to burn and I'm home free for a few months! Ciao for now!

I love this tag!

2008-01-11T16:50:00.001-06:00

Oh my goodness... I love this tag! This woman is the one that first "turned me on" to scrapping. I am sooooo envious of her designs! Anyway, I just got this one today and HAD to show it off. Her always list is Vanilla's Tags at YahooGroups in case you want to check it out! It's a VERY low volume group sending a time or three a month when she feels creative. Isn't it gorgeous!? Gotta run... I have a date with the chiropracter!

Blogthing of the day...

2008-01-11T13:59:00.000-06:00

You Are Not Prejudiced

Not only are you color blind, but you're also ethnicity blind, gender blind, and sexual orientation blind.
You don't judge someone until you truly know them. And even then, you're probably reluctant to judge.
You try to treat everyone equally. Everyone has a fair chance with you.
Good job - there's not a prejudiced bone in your body.

Are You Prejudiced?

That's me!

Dork Dance, huh?

2008-01-09T16:05:00.001-06:00

I just joined this group called Dork Dancing, LOL. Should be interesting! Hopefully I find out what dork dancing is, haha!

Thriller... prison style!

2008-01-09T15:17:00.000-06:00

I've watched this video at least a couple dozen times and still love it. This man, Byron Garcia, came up with the ingenious idea of teaching the inmates at Cebu Prison in the Philippines to DANCE! Yes, these are ALL men... some of them are just "special" men! Enjoy.

I'm not really THAT smart...

2008-01-09T10:39:00.000-06:00

... and I'm not gonna say what that little guy looks like to me!!!!

You Are a Total Brainiac

You're amazingly brilliant. Some would even say genius.
You're curious, thoughtful, analytical, and confident.

You take on difficult subjects because you want to... not because you have to.
No field of knowledge is too complicated or intimidating for you.

You've got the brains to do anything you want.
It's possible you end up doing everything you want.

Are You a Brainiac?

Quirk factor

2008-01-09T10:29:00.000-06:00

ROFL! NOT what my friends say!

Your Quirk Factor: 54%

You're a pretty quirky person, but you're just normal enough to hide it.
Congratulations - you've fooled other people into thinking you're just like them!

How Quirky Are You?

Migraine... Day 6!

2008-01-09T08:46:00.000-06:00

No news! Just the same ol' same ol' migraine/cluster headaches! This is day SIX!!! I've been spending my time laying on the couch dying. I feel like the pain is starting to ease up but that may be from the excessive amounts of Extra-Strength Exedrin in my system. Has anyone ever had a "migraine hangover" before? It's horrible... almost as bad as the headache itself.

I've tried everything I can think of to ease up my pain. I've gone through the list of migraine trigger foods and none of these work. I try to stay away from them anyway though I have a passion for cheese.

I've tried Imitrex, Topamax, Midrin, Hydrocodone, many pain killers (I can't handle the codeine), relaxation exercises, herbal medicines i.e. Riboflavin and Feverfew, etc etc etc! I've had a CT and MRI and they SAY my brain is normal (haha, RIGHT!). Anyone have any new and improved ideas on how to get rid of this dang head???!!! I've been thinking about looking into a head transplant. I've even started seeing a chiropractor which only seems to be making things worse.

I'm going back to hibernate on the couch. I think I'll try THINKING my headache away! My "biorhythm" says I'll be better next week sometime, haha! Ciao.

The Weather....

2008-01-06T15:33:00.000-06:00

The weather is crazy here. I looked at the bottom of my blog and saw that Chicago and Tuscon have the SAME temperature... 60 degrees! It's really cloudy and muggy here in the Chicago 'burbs, as is usual for us. But Arizona is only 60 degrees??? What's going on with this strange weather?! I'm sure the warm temperatures here have broken some kind of record. And tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same! I'd love it if winter was just OVER with... wishful thinking.

Lazy weekend. I spent HOURS arranging things on my computer to burn. I cleaned off over 20 DVDs worth! Now I'm ready for more downloading, haha. Scrapping freebies, here I come!!!! And I really need to make a new header. I don't like it!!!

How's that for a short post. Nothing new, nothing to say, bored bored bored!!! Here's my funny kitten pick of the day.... cya!

Another "Blogthing"... What Year?

2008-01-04T16:28:00.000-06:00

Somehow I doubt these results, haha. At least I don't belong in the '50s!!! I wasn't even born til the end of that era.

You Belong in 1995

With you anything goes! You're grunge one day, ghetto fabulous the next. It's all good!

What Year Do You Belong In?

Awww....

2008-01-03T22:52:00.000-06:00

My "awwwwwwwwww" video of the day! It's hard to believe these deer would get that close!

My Name

2008-01-03T17:10:00.000-06:00

I just took a different test at Blogthings... and this is mostly ALL ME!!!! Unbelievable! I don't know if I like being classified as "Type A" though. That makes me sound tooooo normal, haha!

What Kris Gliesmann Means

You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life.
You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip.
People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof, but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.
You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.
You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.
You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.
You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong.
You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know.
You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do.

You are deeply philosophical and thoughtful. You tend to analyze every aspect of your life.
You are intuitive, brilliant, and quite introverted. You value your time alone.
Often times, you are grumpy with other people. You don't appreciate them trying to interfere in your affairs.

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.
You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily.
Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.
You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.
At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated.
You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want.
You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way!

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.
You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.
You have the classic "Type A" personality.

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.
You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.
You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

The Pizza Test

2008-01-03T16:59:00.000-06:00

I saw this on another blog (you know who you are... Kristine, LOL) and just had to see what it said! Does this mean I need to go to Hawaii now? I wouldn't mind at all! Anyone have airline tickets they can spare? Haha.... yeah RIGHT! Here's ME!

What Your Pizza Reveals

People may tell you that you have a small appetite... but you aren't under eating. You just aren't a pig.

You are a very picky pizza eater. Not any pizza will do. You fit in best in the Northeast part of the US.

You like food that's traditional and well crafted. You aren't impressed with "gourmet" foods.

You are generous, outgoing, and considerate with your choices.

You are carefree and friendly. You should consider traveling to Hawaii.

The stereotype that best fits you is geek. You're the type most likely to order pizza to avoid leaving your computer.

What Does Your Pizza Say About You?

The Story of Julie

2008-01-03T12:41:00.001-06:00

My granddaughter, and daughter to my youngest son, Julie, was born a few months early at 1 pound, 1 GRAM. That was 2-1/2 years ago in July. She was immediately put on life support... and EVERYONE we knew was praying that she would live. The doctors gave NO hope of her living more than a few days. My son, Bob, and his SO were at the hospital every day even though they had an hour drive to get to the hospital... and the same to get back IF the traffic was good. Those were definitely hard times!

Julie stayed in the PICU and NICU until January (six months!) when she finally got to go home. But not without TONS of hospital equipment. Because she had been born prematurely, her lungs had not developed properly. She was on constant oxygen and a few monitors... which were NOT enough. A week after her release, SHE STOPPED BREATHING! Bob did the best he could after calling paramedics to give CPR. Thank goodness for TV shows because he kept her alive. Julie was airlifted BACK to the hospital. But, because of the time she hadn't been breathing, there were problems....

At the hospital, a tracheotomy had to be performed which meant MORE constant oxygen. Somehow, Julie lost her ability to swallow so she has a "breathing barrel", as I call it, which constantly needs to be sucked out to prevent liquid build-up. Without the swallowing reflex, she needed a feeding tube (attached through her belly button) and still has it to this day. Needless to say, she can't speak... because of the trach. She also is a "special" child. Her brain lost too much oxygen when she stopped breathing and lost some of her mental facilities.

Thank goodness there were no more non-breathing incidents! Today, Julie has gone through countless therapy sessions, both for breathing, swallowing, and for walking. She finally started walking a few months back! She's a terror now, LOL! There's a home-care nurse at their place for 16 hours a day except on weekends, so that the parents can shop, clean, sleep. Everyday she learns more and more. We are all hoping the trach will be removed one day. The doctors and the hospital have taken TOTAL blame for the problems created AFTER her first release from the hospital!

This is our Julie... she lives a hard life but she is sooooooooooo loved!

Kit used is Secret Garden (freebies) by Jenni at Chaos Lounge
Font used is decemberice by Eric Mynahan

Ciao for now. I'm off to clean the house!

Another Headache... Jeesh!

2008-01-03T10:59:00.000-06:00

OMG, I woke up with the WORST headache/migraine today! That's nothing unusual though, especially getting "cracked" by the chiropracter. I think he's trying to kill me!!! I started seeing my chiro a few months back to TRY to reduce my chronic migraines and now it only seems to be getting worse. I can't wait til he says I'm "fixed". This is killing me! In the meantime, I've upped my pain meds (Extra Strength Exedrin is my "fix") to survive this nightmare.

So, since I can't get up to do anything because of the pounding in my head/ears/face, I was looking around in YouTube and found this FABULOUS Christmas light show... one I had never seen before. I wish I could afford to do something like this! The STARTER package is over $400!!!! The software is Light-O-Rama and you can find info HERE at Showtime Products! So awesome! There's a demo version listed under Software but I doubt that would do much or last long, LOL.

I'll be back... working on something!

It's finally 2008!

2008-01-01T10:26:00.000-06:00

What a busy holiday it's been! Hubby has been off of work since Christmas Eve day and there's been a LOT to do. Christmas Eve, we went to hubby's brother's house to celebrate and exchange gifts. Lots of fun! This is hubby's son Bill, his SO Nicole & one of our grandsons Caleb. He looks so cute with a tie!

HoHoHoCard created by Ellie Lash

On Christmas Day, I finally got to be with my boys!!!! It's been quite a few years since we didn't have to celebrate on a non-holiday day.... woohoo! We went to my younger son's place. They made an awesome roast, with all the fixin's. After dinner we sat down with my grandkids and opened presents. What fun! I love the look on kid's faces when they recieve gifts. On the left, my oldest son Art, his wife and daughters Tayli and Emma... CUTE but sleepy! On the right, my youngest son Bob, his SO and daughter Julie... she actually looked at the camera for once!

Santa Baby QP by Connie Prince/DigiDiva Designs

THEN, on the 26th, I finally got the "kitchen makeover" started... well, more finished anyway. I started this fall stripping the REALLY old wallpaper. It took me almost a month! I think they used super glue!!! The project was put on hold when I saw the price of paint... when did the cost of paint go up!? Well, thank you Mom & Dad for your VERY generous Christmas gift. I now have the walls sanded and primed and ready for color! Hubby goes back to work tomorrow so I HOPE I finish! I am sooo sick of looking at yucky walls.

New Year's Eve.... stayed home and watched the last Pirates of the Caribbean. Another Christmas gift... I now have all three of them. I was asleep by 11:30 pm. I refuse to go out on "amateur night" as the police call it around here. At least I got to watch New Year in New York on TV, haha. Anyway, HAPPY 2008 to everyone!

Happy New Year

2007-12-31T09:47:00.001-06:00

~~Happy New Year everyone~~

Argghhhhhhhhhh....

2007-12-28T11:52:00.000-06:00

With all the time I spend on the Internet, you'd think I'd do better. But then, what do I care about the stuff they asked? Haha!

Get an Ultrasound career

Sorry I've been scarce. I've been sooo busy! I did at least find time to take down my blog's Christmas tree and decorations. I still need to make a new header... maybe for the New Year. Maybe next week after hubby goes to back to work I'll have time to blog. HUGZ

Just Playing...

2007-12-24T13:10:00.000-06:00

You Were Nice This Year

You Were 40% Naughty, 60% Nice

Okay, so you weren't *entirely* nice this year
But Santa doesn't expect a modern girl to be perfect
You were good enough - and you'll be rewarded for it

Were You a Naughty Girl or Nice Girl this Year?

Merry Christmas

2007-12-24T08:25:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone! I'll be busy the next couple of days (starting today) with hubby's family and my family, so this will be VERY short. I just wanted to wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Atasi is coming!

2007-12-21T18:13:00.000-06:00

Woohoo! I just found out one of my friends, Atasi, will be joining us tonight! If you never met her, she's AWESOME! She has a MySpace blog (and I flat-out refuse to sign up for MySpace, LOL) that you can visit HERE. She used to be the manager for Posin... a Poison tribute band... that's played all over the midwest. Needless to say, she's a "hair-band enthusiast". She's even published her own songs that she wrote, one of which you can hear at her blog. That song down there by Bon Jovi is dedicated to you, girl! Here she is! See ya tonight, Atasi!