{christmas rundown}

The holidays are over, and I am sad :( Why is it that by the time I am ready to sit down and enjoy Christmas, it's over? I complained earlier about stores putting out Christmas merchandise way too early. Well, they also get rid of it way to early. It's the same in our own neighborhood. No more lights on houses. Christmas trees taken down the day after Christmas. It's sad. Christmas lasts for 12 days!! I always leave my decorations up until the Epiphany, usually the last ones in the neighborhood to take them down. I don't care. I love the way my house looks and feels during Christmas, and I want to enjoy it as long as possible!

Everyone here had a fabulous holiday! We now officially have way too many toys in the house. Some of the new favorites include:

These for the little girls (pink for Jessie, black for Helen):





An iPod for the oldest boy and girl:

Morgan got this one:



And DH got this one:



Our family now owns every single new generation iPod! My dad has the iPhone, I have the iPod touch, Morgan has the Classic, and Ed the nano. Apple should pay us endorsement fees ;)

Speaking of iPods, my favorite new accessory for my touch:



WooHoo! I can now listen to my iPod at night. This baby automatically sleeps my iPod, and I can wake to any playlist I want.

Alex got just about every single toy they make with this logo:



Seriously. I'm not kidding.

But I have to say, Santa knows our family quite well. He brought the best present of the season to the whole family:



This thing is SO MUCH FUN!!!! I knew DH and the kids would enjoy this, and of course DD#1 is a pro already, but I can't believe how much I have enjoyed it as well! We have entire family showdowns. It's so addicting. Even Grandpa got in on the fun!

All in all, it was a wonderful holiday, and a wonderful year. I'm looking forward to making 2008 even better! Cheers!

{getting my craft on}

I've been in a crafty mood lately! I finished up my Scrapologie layouts earlier than usual. It was bittersweet - our very last Scrapologie kit! Ranjini has decided to no longer continue the kit club, so I'm out of a job. :( She will still offer some fabulous vintage kits, though, so continue to look for amazing stuff from her.

I've also been finishing up some last minute gifts for Christmas. It's just not the holiday season if I'm not doing things until the very last second! This is the state of my dining room table at the moment:







It doesn't look like it, but that's actually a very organized mess ;) Besides, I love how it all looks spread out! So I think it will stay there a few more days.

latest layout

My oldest was a candy-cane-twirling elf in the local parade this year. I made her pose for some photos:



I was so happy with this layout that I used a modified version of it for my Christmas cards:



I'm not sure if I will have time for another bloggy post before Christmas, so here's to a very happy holiday! Cheers!

{a nice surprise}

I woke up this morning to a message from Amy this morning pointing me out to this:



Yes, that's the featured page of the day at 2Peas and that's my layout!! WooHoo!! It was one of my November projects for Scrapologie. I am tickled pink!

Cheers!

{let's get festive!}

I can't tell you how honored I was when Emily and Angela came to me about doing this kit. I loved their idea of a black, white, red, and kraft paper kit. Working with them and O.N. Designs was a dream! I had so much fun creating my part, and I am so so happy with how this kit turned out! It is the must-have kit of the year, if I do say so myself. I even used it to scrap a page!

{festivities}

How's this for a tease? ;)





I was lucky enough to work with Two Sisters Designs and O.N. Designs to create this magnificent kit! Called "Festivities" because it can be used for just about any holiday, it has a modern black, white, red, and kraft color scheme. This thing is huge! So big that I had trouble fitting everything on the preview. It will be available here in the shoppe Friday, and I know you will not be disappointed!

{before & after}

DH was the perfect husband Tuesday. Stayed home from work so that I could go to the dentist. While I was gone, he cleaned the entire kitchen, with a little help from the wee one. Braved the cold to put up outdoor Christmas decorations. Endured my pickiness about where to place them. Helped kids with homework so I could get some work done. Put wee one to bed. We women love to complain about our husbands and tell ourselves how it's a woman's world, and how they can't live without us (which, of course, is perfectly true!). But once in awhile, I'll (secretly) admit that I couldn't live without my man. For these little reasons, and so much more.

That being said, I do have to do my wifely duties and note that it is a rare occasion when DH cleans the kitchen! I had to document the moment. Perfect chance for my before and after comparison of the island.

A little background: Ed just loved to hear me complain about the kitchen that he built me to my specifications, after I had spent a year planning our new home. He reminded me that it was what I had asked for. True. BUT.... you never really know how something is going to work (or not work) in a new house until you actually start using it! The island was one of those things. I wanted it to be a place where the kids did homework, ate their afternoon snack, where we all cooked dinner together. It was none of those things. The bar was too high - it came up to the kids' chins when they sat there. The lights got in the way of the TV (above the fridge). There wasn't enough work space, and everything got piled there. The raised bar cut off the view to the living room, when I really wanted an open space.

Finally, he got tired of my whining, and with a ton of help from his dad, he broke down and built me a new one! Well, the old one is still there, it just got re-worked. It has the same footprint, but twice the workspace! The seating area is still there, but it is now concealed. No raised bar, so the kids can eat comfortably. I painted it a glossy black to contrast with the rest of the kitchen. It is now everything I wanted my island to be! The kitchen that I complained about for so long is now my favorite room in the house!





It worked out so well for Thanksgiving, and now the kitchen looks so festive, all decorated for Christmas!

latest layouts

I've had a little more time lately for scrapping, and actually have some layouts to share! Shocker, I know.







I've taken lots of photos of all my Christmas decorations, and I'll post those next time. I think this one's long enough! Here's to new islands, and new kitchens! Cheers!

{two steps forward, one step back}

Every time I think I'm catching up, I find about 10 things on my to-do list that I've neglected. Sigh....there just really isn't enough time in a day, and the older I get, the more true that becomes! I know I'm way overdue on a way more interesting blog post, and it's coming. I promise. My daughter has a Christmas parade tomorrow, and I hope to get some cute photos I can post, along with the promised kitchen island photos. But for now, I leave you with this:




Cheers!

{cyber monday}

Hubby assured me that all online stores had their big sales on the MONDAY following Thanksgiving. Of course, I soon found out that all of digiland seemed to go with Black Friday. Oh well. I like being different :) This way, the turkey's done, and all your street shopping is out of the way, right? Spend a little time on yourself ;)

{feeling festive}

Wow, Thanksgiving is next week? As in 7 days from now? Really? How did that happen? Wasn't yesterday the 1st? I can't believe how time flies by when you're ultra-busy! It seems like that should work the opposite way. Shouldn't time slow down when you really need it, and speed up when sucky things happen, like waiting in line at the DMV, or at the grocery store? Makes sense to me. Let's campaign for it!

This year, the huge Thanksgiving get-together is going to be at my house. I have no idea what I was thinking. My house, that hubby and I painstakingly constructed ourselves 5 years ago, yet remains unfinished. Shower doors are missing. No backsplash in the kitchen. Cabinets still need painting. So what do I decide to do instead? Re-do the kitchen island! LOL It's been completely rebuilt, repainted, and re-tiled. It still needs grout, but it's looking fabulous! I'll post before and after pics when it's done.

But things are finally getting done. No, we still won't have shower doors, but things are getting cleaned up, and other projects are getting done. My scrap room is seeing the good side to this. Since it's also the office/guest room, it has gotten a complete overhaul before guests arrive. New bed, new bedding, new French doors, new artwork, and a thorough cleaning. I actually feel creative in here now!



I'm finishing up work/scrapping stuff this week so that I can clean and decorate all next week. My house has to be completely decked out for Christmas by Thanksgiving Day. It just makes it feel so much more festive! With our 6 Christmas trees, and infinite yards of garland, it usually takes me about 3 days. So I probably won't be online much next week.

I do have new products going in the store tomorrow, though. And with all this holiday stuff surrounding me, my new kit for November will be just as festive. Here's a little peek:

{latest layout}

On a side note, my little nephew is turning 1 this weekend! I was commissioned by my bro to do his invites. Happy Birthday Dylan!



Here's to sugared rims, tinsel, and white fairy lights! Cheers!

{halloween 2007}

The end-of-year holiday frenzy has begun. Halloween kicked it off, and is now over, so I suppose we are to move straight on to Christmas. My local Hobby Lobby has had Christmas decorations out since the end of August. I don't understand that at all. Are there really people who begin to decorate, or at least begin PLANNING to decorate, that early? I guess there must be, otherwise they wouldn't do it, right? I give kudos to my grocery store, who at least waited until the last pumpkin was out the door!

I can't even start thinking about Christmas yet. Well, that's not entirely true. I have already begun some early shopping, but that in no way includes holiday decor. The fact that I have already purchased FOUR Christmas presents is a huge accomplishment. I mean, we are a last minute family. I bought Halloween costumes two days before Halloween, when there was hardly any selection left (and yet, still nothing was on sale). But it always gets done, and more often than not, it gets done right. I WILL have the house decorated for Christmas on Thanksgiving Day, but not before then!

Speaking of Halloween, I had too much fun taking GOOD pictures this year. I never ever have good photos of the kids in their ultra-cute costumes, so I did it right this year. We had 2 pirates, and 2 witches. Maybe not original, but they were all adorable!

It was Alex's first time trick-or-treating (a HUGE deal in our neighborhood):







Morgan was his wench ;) :











These two are always inseparable:

latest layout

One Halloween layout done, 3 more to go!



Here's to last minute! Cheers!

{promised pics}

A blog post is just no fun without photos, right? Well, I have plenty of them this time! I spent most of the day editing, while I should have been working. These are all from a weekend spent at my mom's. I still haven't figured out the best way to save them for the web. It takes out so much color and leaves them looking kind of blah. Hints, anyone?

{my adorable nephew Dylan}

{paper hats}

{some urban processing experiments}

{being moody}

{my beautiful girl}

{games with daddy}

{4-wheelin'}

(this one's blurry, but i couldn't resist that priceless look on Jessie's face!)

My ultimate, yet unattainable goal in life is to take photos like These Girls. Talent galore.

{latest layout}

I was a guest artist for the Hodge Podge Challenge this week! I got to play with some talented ladies, and create a no-obligations layout for ME. It was quite therapeutic.



Here's to my oldest, who handles a lot in life and is always complaining that I never scrap her. Cheers!