A New Week...

so it's sunday and we have a new week ahead of us! tons of things to do and enjoy. i love sunday for that very reason. it was nice to go to church today and get rejuvenated. we also spent some relaxing time with the family, watched a few movies, and did a bit of scrapping. what a way to start a week. it's the last full week off before the kids go back to school. we've still got some school shopping to do and a few last minute things to get done. it's kind of bittersweet. it's also just gone by so fast. it seems like it goes by faster every year.

so last week while i thought i didn't have internet i was going to tell you a cute story. i had completely forgot about it until friday when i was relating the story to my parents. so you all know that we have 2 new puppies, which we've now had for 2 weeks. plus we puppysat for a week for my parents. well since the 3 puppies are all sisters we were keeping them in the same crate. we're trying to get them used to going potty outside. then also at night they go into there crates for bedtime. well i came home late a few nights last week. the first two nights the puppy crate was sitting on the coffee table downstairs that sits in front of the tv. yet the tv was off. i came up and asked craig why the crate was there. he said he was letting the puppies watch the movie with them. i kind of laughed to myself and thought okay whatever. well i was out again a few nights later. this time i came home to a quiet house. everyone was asleep. i walked into the family room to find the crate back on the table with the animal channel on. i couldn't help but break down in laughter. i had to give my hubby a hard time about it. yet he's convinced that they love to watch tv and that he thought they would enjoy the animal channel. yep i think we're all growing attatched to those puppies. they already feel part of the family.

so off to relax a bit before i head off to bed. have a great week and remember to enjoy the small things!!!!

oh by the way if you haven't already figured it out the little cartoon on the top right corner of the page can be enlarged when you click on it. it changes daily. gotta love that little dose of humor!

love this...

okay so a few weeks ago michelle told me to go check out a video on ali edwards blog. i linked over to it and realized my sound wasn't working. so while i was at DM i used the computer, but no speakers. dang sometimes the cord on my speakers comes loose. i tried like 3 times to connect the wires and figure out what was wrong. i couldn't get them to work. well yesterday tuesday when i was trying to get my internet working i was looking thru things and found the volume control. so i clicked on it and it was on mute. i think those 3 yr. old fingers were at it again. i know most of you may have looked there to begin with, but all this computer stuff is way over my head. so it takes 10x as long to figure out something all you smart ones know! so i got to look at the video earlier today. i'm glad i waited to watch it with the volume. the music is 1/2 of it. it's absolutely wonderful. it made me realize how lucky i am and that things are always better than we think they are. so grab a tissue and go check out the video.

CATCHING UP...

INTERNET
well i've been without the internet since monday night. and no access to my emails either. i thought it was a problem with the cable company. the past two days i've been away from the house a lot so i wasn't able to call the cable company until 5 min. ago. i know we all hate those times when they put us on hold and we listen prerecorded junk. well i was somewhat grateful for that today. while i was on hold it told me to unplug the modem and hook it back up and then try and hook up online. well i went to do that and realized that the modem somehow had gotten turned off. okay that's when i felt like an idiot. so i can hang up. thanks i saved myself embarresment with the cable person. so i'm up and going again and need to get caught up on everything that's been going on.

AUTISM AWARENESS EVENT
the autism event at devine memories last week went over really well. i feel lucky to have been a tiny part of it. they raised lots of money for autism speaks. they will be a part of the walk next year in march. it was such a fun weekend. michelle, jen, and sandy are all awesome. they have wonderful stories and experiences to share with others and it was so wonderful to be able to help for such a wonderful cause! thanks to the ladies that took my class to support this wonderful thing!

HEIDI SWAPP
heidi, emily, and colton came to visit devine memories this past tuesday night. it was so fun to be there and see all the women that came to learn more about the product. heidi had some fun ideas and showed us a peek of her new product. i can't wait until it's in the store. and as a special treat her son colton came along. okay some kids have personality and this one did. you could spot it coming a mile away. he was very cute and charming. we had a fun night learning new things and watching heidi scrap a picture for someone. thanks heidi!

FAMILY
okay so kam is at scout camp this week and will be home on sat. can't wait he's been gone for 2 weeks. yikes school starts quick and he's going in as a freshman. i'm completely nervous. they just grow up too fast. kelsey is away with her dad and won't be home until tomorrow night. she's been gone for a week. we miss her a ton also. she's my sitter. aliya's doing okay with them gone i've tried to keep her busy. she'll be so glad to have them home again!

PUPPIES
okay i think whiskers will go home today. kinda bittersweet. 3 puppies way too many!!!! she's cute and fun, but my life will be easier when she goes to her new home with my parents. they just got in late last night. so i'm hoping they pick her up today. we'll miss her! they are doing so much better. they stay in the crate during the day and get to go out for potty breaks thru-out the day. they've even started to whine and let me know when they need to go potty. it's so nice out right now that they've been out all morning. just have to keep and eye on them.

CLASSES
okay so i have a few classes in aug. that will be coming up before i know it. for dates just check on the devine memories calander. i'm trying to get things caught up, so i should have pics for you hopefully next week. then the projects will be at the store.

UPCOMING EVENTS
okay just a little teaser. michelle, sandy, and i will be teaching at the ck convention in phoenix in september. i'll have more info. to follow. i might even try and put up a pic. so you know what the project looks like.

well i think i've gotten caught up on the happenings around here. i'll try and stay on top of things now that i have connection to the internet!

random happenings

*captain crunch for breakfast (true treat around here)
*unloaded dishwasher
*cleaned dishes and kitchen
*took a nap
*played with aliya
*load of laundry
*lunch with aliya, kameron, and hubby(yummy chicken salad)
*cleaned pantry(dogs have been in there)
*mopped pantry
*cleaned mop, broom, and garbage can
*going to get cleaned up and go scrap and enjoy good company
*looking forward to tomorrow to rest and relax

4:15 with breaking news...

well maybe not breaking news but just a quick run down on today's events. The dog we're babysitting has a name now. aliya won out. the dogs name is "whiskers". aliya is happy about that.

went to the dentist today and had my teeth cleaned so my mouth is a bit sore.

working on my autism class for tomorrow. i'm done cutting all the wood and now i'm off to spray paint them. i only have 2 hrs. so i've got a little bit more prepping than usual. but it should be a fun class.

the ac downstairs isn't working. so everyone has been hiding out upstairs.(two separate units) thank goodness it's cool up here. now to get it fixed.

cleaning up after puppies. completely normal when they aren't house broken yet. thank goodness they are on the linoleum.

dealing with one whinny 3 yr. old. hard when it's hot and your trying to get ready for a class.

and still the day hasn't been half bad. just an ordinary day at home.

Lazy Lasagna

okay so i had a few people ask for this recipe. it's something i got about a year ago. i love it and so does my family. they couldn't even tell that i didn't use real meat in it. try it and see what your family thinks. by the way the way the meatless product i use is in a green bag it's called morning farms crumbles. you can get it in the freezer section near the veggie burgers. i just use the whole package. you can also substitite 2 eggs for the eggbeaters. plus if your trying to eat healthy this has the weight watchers points below. have fun and enjoy. let me know what you think! still no name for the puppy.

Lazy Lasagna

1 jar (26 oz approx) tomato sauce with Italian spices
2 pouches (1 cup each) frozen Boca Meatless ground burger
1 container (24 oz) fat free cottage cheese
1/2 cup eggbeaters
2 cups shredded part skim mozzarella cheese, divided
2 cups rotini pasta, uncooked

Mix spaghetti sauce and ground burger, set aside. Mix cottage cheese, eggbeaters, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese in a separate bowl. Spray 13x9" baking pan with cooking spray. Spread 1/2 of the sauce mixture into prepared pan. Cover with layers of uncooked pasta and 1/2 of the cottage cheese mixture. Top with layers of remaining sauce and cottage cheese mixture. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese on top. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before cutting to serve.

Makes 8 servings @ 6 points per serving

2+1=3...

yep 3 dogs. okay before you fall off your chair, i didn't get the 3rd one for us. my dad fell in love with our new puppies and told my mom about them. they decided that they would want one. yet the last one had already been spoken for. i called and let them know if things fell thru that i knew of a home for the last little girl.

so i'm glad to say that last night they called and said she was available. we went and picked her right up. i called my dad and he sounded excited. here's the catch though. my mom is out of town right now with my sister that was in a car accident. my dad is leaving on saturday to go pick her up and won't be back until next week. so we are dog sitting for them. so right now we have 3 dogs with us. when you have 2 what's one more right? so i told my dad last night that if she was going to be staying with us she needed a name. so i'm posting pics so him and my mom can see what she looks like. then hopefully we'll have a name for this little girl today, instead of dog. oh aliya already is calling her whiskers. you can't tell in the pics, but all the hair on her face sticks out. it's so cute.

so i've taken a few pics last night and this morning of what she looks like. let me tell you trying to photograph a puppy is not an easy task! especially when her 2 sisters are trying to play with her. so i finally got a few shots and hopefully they can get an idea of what she looks like. she's the smallest of the three and pretty mellow. so i'll have to post as soon as i know her name. in the mean time have a wonderful day!
 

2 new babies

well we did it. we've been debating rather we should give into aliya or not. she's been begging us for a dog since she could talk. so when she recently had her birthday the discussion came up again. well we thought we would wait a bit. well friday night we came home to a message about a puupy that we wanted to see. so yesterday morning we went to go visit the new puppies. well our intentions were maybe one and we left with TWO. the kids fell in love with them right away. of course it didn't help matters that craig and i thought they were darling also. we couldn't decide which one we wanted to bring home so we came back and asked if we could have them both. now that we have them we're glad to have both of them. they've been playing really well together and we hope this will help keep them from not getting bored.



well it took most of the day to decide on a name for the two of them. it was definately a battle. those of you that know aliya named her pink poodle from build a bear, "taco" know what i'm talking about. she wanted to pass this name onto one of these cute little girls. i think she even mentioned burrito. with 5 of us tossing around names these 2 little girls are lucky to have names. so the final decision came down to "tinkerbell" and "jojo". the little black one is jojo and the other one is tink for short.





kelsey and aliya have had so much fun being the "mommy" and aliya doesn't want to put them down. she thinks they always need to be held. hopefully she'll get tired of that real quick. they're so tiny we have to be careful.




it was actually half way decent last night so we supervised them while they played on the lawn. we have a swimming pool and they could fit right thru the gate so until they are trained they have supervised visits to the backyard.




















they are so much fun to watch play. they love to jump all over each other and wrestle. we had to explain to aliya that they weren't hurting each
other and that they were just playing. well it will take some time until they are trained and use to the house, but everyone is enjoying them.



on another note kameron left for football camp today. as a mom i'm already missing him and hope that he's okay especially since today was his birthday and because moms are good at worrying right?! he'll be home on friday just in time to do his laundry and pack for scout camp and leave at 5 am monday morning. i told him that i don't know what i'm gonna do without him. his response was that i would have to take out the garbage myself. ha ha what a sense of humor he has. well we'll miss him while he's gone.

not much else is going on around here. just relaxing and watching a few movies. since we're headed into a busy week. the autism awareness is this week at devine memories so if you haven't checked out the classes hurry on over there and do so. also i think there are still a few spots left for the crops. i'm definately hanging out for the crop on friday night. good food from the cheesecake factory, friends, laughter, and the best reason: it's for a great cause. so come join in on the fun and help out a good cause!!!

12 in 12

okay so i got my 12 in 12 done. i even had my daughter do one of her own. she had fun with it. we're going to scrap them together hopefully tomorrow. my day wasn't super exciting so i just recorded a pretty average day.
the first set of pics are kelsey's. she started with a shower then her key to turn the expander in her mouth. it was a harry potter marathon yesterday. she also enjoyed some treats. she became creative or bored not sure which. she took pictures of aliya and her friend. a few self portraits which she says she wants to keep practicing (yeah). flowers in the kitchen and then what her bedroom looked like before she went to bed. she's already looking forward to next month.

so my day started off early and forgetting it was 12 in 12. so when i left i had my camera with me and realized it was recycle day (dang it) went to lunch with michelle at tia rosa's. yum i love their mango salsa! aliya and jenna went to a bug party. we worked on autism flyers and just hung out. on the way home i noticed we were having a warm day. the traffic wasn't bad at all. came home to the harry potter marothon. kelsey vegging and a don't take my picture teen. i cut the wood puzzle pieces for the autism display(it's hot). found aliya playing with diapers and my ponies. one of my favorite recipes for dinner "lazy lasagna". last the book i'm currently reading(so far i'm loving it). so overall it was a relaxing productive day. 

MANY THANKS..

grat·i·tude ( P ) Pronunciation Key (grt-td, -tyd)n.
The state of being grateful; thankfulness.

right now this sums it up for me. in fact ya know the overwhelming feeling that you get and you just can't really describe it or explain it. i'm feeling so greatful and thankful for so many things right now it's very overwhelming, in a very good way. so while it's quiet for a few minutes i wanted to make sure to say thanks.

i have to first thank my wonderful hubby. i've been a bit busy lately and he just picks up the slack. i had class this morning and we have a party tonight for our little one. i came home and he had finished everything i'd started and then some. i don't thank i say thanks enough. i know i'm lucky and blessed to have him in my life. he helps balance me. my kiddos have also been so wonderful this week and i've had a few moments with the older ones that i will definately put in my journal. the moments that you say aaahhh that's why i'm a mom and love doing it. it's really worth it.

i also have to put a huge thanks in here for such a sweet and wonderful friend. she came into my life at just the right time. i'm grateful daily for her and her friendship. i'm also grateful for the opportunity she has given me to teach at her store. i know she may look at me crazy some days and wonder what direction i'm going with something, but she gives me free reign on the classes and projects i do. she's absolutely wonderful. she's also got an awesome family to go with it. many of you know michelle, but if you haven't gotten to know her or meet her you need to take the time to stop in and do so. she's awesome and talented. (i think it runs in there family)

plus i have to thank so many gals from the store. too many to name names. i'm especially grateful for the girls that come and take my classes. we had a wonderful class and so much fun this morning. it made me remember how lucky i am to be able to do this. i've learned so much from these ladies and much more beyond scrapbooking. so thanks so much for being there.

and i can't leave out my heavenly father. because of him i have these wonderful blessings and opportunities in my life. i just sometimes forget to slow down and enjoy the process. even if it's hard we should try and enjoy it along the way right?! i just look around and feel so grateful for everyone and everything in my life right now and couldn't let the day go by with out saying

THANKS!!!!!!!

Productive Day

well today i had plans to work on a few layouts. i even had ideas swimming around in my head. so i went to pull the photos i had in mind and i couldn't find them! dang just when i've got ideas and i'm in the mood to scrap. so i did the next best thing. i organized and cleaned. ya i know it doesn't sound like fun, but it feels so much better. i got rid of a lot of things that i won't use and put things away so i won't feel so guilty when i sit down to work. i love having a clean work space it makes me feel like i can be much more productive. plus i found the photos i wanted to use. so maybe tomorrow i'll be able to sneak in a few minutes of scrapping. hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. happy creating!

Autism Awareness

wow i feel like i'm on a roll! i'm glad i went back to my list. it always helps me to focus better. i get sidetracked less often. so here are some pics of my class i'm doing for the autism awareness. it's scheduled for thursday, july 20th from 1-3. wow it's going to be packed with fun little things to do on your project. the sample will be at devine memories tomorrow so you can see it in person. so sign up for some fun and funky twists to making a book. plus remember ALL the proceeds go to the autism awareness.

wood u join me?

okay so this is a glimpse of my class at devine memories on july 11th from 6-9. it's a 2 pg. layout using some wood letters i cut out. we'll have fun painting them and creating this layout for some summer photos. so if this is a class your wanting to take, i'll give the first 3 people to leave a comment 20% off this class only. when you call to reserve your spot just let them know. i'll just match up the names to the book. so check your calendar and come hang out for some creative relaxing fun!

What color does your cell phone light up?

WHAT??? ya i was at wal-mart today and i usually keep my phone in my purse. when i got out of the car i grabbed it and i stuck it in my pocket. so i go and use the restroom and end up leaving my phone in there. didn't realize until i was done shopping, complete with ice. i get to the car and go to make a call and can't find my phone. it hits me, oh ya it's in the bathroom. i run back in with my ice, drop it back in the freezer and head back to find my phone. dang, no phone. no one dropped if off at layaway. so i head up to customer service. i explain that i left my phone in the restroom about 20-30 min ago and asked if it was turned in. okay so they want to know what kind of phone it is. i don't know it's a silver phone. well we can't give it to you unless you can identify it. so i'll give you the # and you can call it. so she says, what color is your screen when it lights up. WHAT? i have no stinkin clue. i know all the colors of tim holtz distress ink will that help? so after telling her over and over to just call it she finally does. no ringing??? so she asks the other lady where did you put it? right there on the counter. she picks it up and i say yep that's it. so she hands it to me and says you must have it on vibrate. the other lady says oh by the way yours is green. okay so maybe i'm in the minority here, but i was totally caught off gaurd and almost forgot my ice, the whole reason i was in the store.

so i get home from the store and running around all day and dh asked the kids to pick up while he worked on the garage. my son decided to add a little humor to the situation. so i came home to this sign hanging upstairs. on one half of the room i have my work space and on the other half is our movie/game room. so the sign says, "warning now entering moms territory". he told me that he picked up, but wasn't gonna even try picking up my stuff! ya that will be set aside for one day next week. i've still got a few projects i'm working on.

so tonight we were having dinner and just chatting away. i look over and aliya is sound asleep at the kitchen table. she hasn't done that in a long time. how come they are so cute when they're sleeping? just love to snuggle them when they look like that.