IN A "NUTSHELL"

ya this is my day!

*cleaned and picked up (tiny bit)
*appointment
*aliya and i met michelle and jenna at "ink it" (found some fun stuff)
*crossed the street for lunch at the barbecue place. (yummy) which took me back to my school days. line like a cafeteria. picnic benches outside. restroom outside. then aliya walked in the mud with her new sparkly pink sandals on and got stuck and left her sandal stuck in the mud and then put her foot in the mud. followed around by the bees.
*stopped at another scrap store on the way to picking up kam. (yep once in awhile that happens) our conversation.
aliya: mom why are we here?
me: we're just looking.
aliya: mom what's the matter don't ya like "meshelles" store anymore?
me: yes i do.
aliya: mom are we going to go to "meshelles" store?
me: not right now. do you want some stickers?
*picked up kam only 10 min. late. dropped him off at home.
*took aliya to michaels as promised. she wanted stamps from ink it for her personal use. not gonna happen. so she picked out several at michaels and was very happy.
*beauty supply to get nail files. aliya picks up a nail brush and wants it for her hair. the lady explains to her what it is. so now she wants it. yep we got it.
*headed towards k-mart for 3x5 cards for kels's project. passing payless. (not good)
aliya: mom i want some new shoes!
me: you got new shoes the other day.
aliya: i didn't get new shoes today.
me: nope you got them a few days ago.
aliya: i want to get new shoes everyday! (definitely a shoe addict)
*barely step in the door to k-mart.
aliya: mom i want a new shirt, new shorts, and new panties.
mom: we'll see (i'm a pushover can you tell)
okay so we found new panties and head to the clothes, dang it they are having a sale! yep new clothes, new hat that comes with purse. new dress that will possibly be for easter.
aliya: now i need new shoes to go with my dress for church.
me: yep you do.
new shoes that happen to have another new purse with them. (uggghhh)
hey they have a pizza place in there. great timing for dinner! order pizza and head to the register. went in for 3x5 cards and leave with 3 dresses, 1 shirt, 1 pr. shorts, set of p.j.'s, hat and purse combo, shoes and purse combo, t-shirt for me, and a diet dr. pepper ( i needed one)
okay off to pick up pizza. standing waiting and going to enjoy my drink. yep i open it not paying attention and of course as i go to drink from it it's fizzing all over and goes up my nose and all over the floor! okay i've had soda come out my nose, but this was a first!

okay so what an eventful day. i keep telling myself that i can't take my 3 yr. old shopping anymore. she is an enabler! is that possible?

FINISHED

okay so this is the other layout i was working on last night. it was left sitting on my table. i figured i better finish it before it gets pushed aside for something else. aliya still loves us to read to her. it was something i got into a habit of doing when she was a baby. now we still have to read to her on a nightly basis. we just take turns. the other night craig got to pick the books and he was looking for the shortest ones! she always has to have more then one!

as a side note. michelle has made a badge for her son jaden for the 6 degree site that is accepting donations on many different charities. if you follow ali edwards then you are familiar with this. they are both trying to get donations for autism speaks. i have posted the badge in my lower right hand side. if you get a chance and your willing to then you can make a donation under this. it's going to a wonderful cause!

hope everyone has a wonderful week!

PLAY TIME

after hosting the virtual crop on friday i took a day off from scrapping yesterday. today i was ready to play again! i found the weekly challenge over at 2peas. it was to put your title on vertically. i love this picture of aliya. i took it at the park. she was playing on the slide and had the static electricty going on! okay off to try and get one more done!

FINALLY

i figured if i didn't stay up and finish this it might not get done! so this is the last layout for the last challenge of the night!

the journaling reads,
"when your dad and i got divorced you needed some consitency.

i found this book, "shake a leg". both of you loved

this book and would beg me to read it to you before

going to bed. i even got both of you copies to have at your dads.

i also decided to use the cover of the book as an inspiration for

this layout!

i had such a blast tonight! i got so much accomplished and i'm looking

forward to the "v" crop next month.

i think amy is hosting it!

11 PM CHALLENGE, #7

okay i'm slowing down myself! i can't believe how fast this night has gone!

it's been fun for me though! i haven't gotten this much done of my own scrapping in a long time! okay so here is the challenge!

do you have a favorite book from now or when you were a child? or do your children have a favorite book you read to them! you know a bed time story! it's that time! well you can switch this challenge up anyway you want.

-use one of those book titles as your title for your page.

-scrap and journal about a book you loved having read to you as a child.

-scrap about a book that your kids love or loved to have you read to them

-some how use a title from a favorite book and give it your own twist!

i'll post mine in a bit! hey then if you want you can read the book before you head

off to dream land! that's if it's short enough!

5 POINTS

after i got divorced i use to read this story to kam and kels before i put them

top bed. they loved this book and still do! it's now become

one that aliya likes to!

MY 10 PM CHALLENGE

yes your eyes are seeing correctly! my photo is blurry!

i only have 2 pictures of kelsey in this dress! i remember how much i loved

this dress when i bought it for her and then again when she wore it!

10 PM CHALLENGE, #6

okay this challenge is one i've been wanting to do and just have not taken the time to do so!

i'm sure this challenge comes from many different people, but i found it from elsie flannigan.
it's to take a imperfect photo and scrap it!

well i have a photo of kelsey when she was 1 in a christmas dress. i loved that dress and this is the only photo i have of it! the photo is very blurry, yet i can picture it in my mind

when i look at the photo!

this one is also worth 5 points!

i'll post my layout in a bit!

9 PM CHALLENGE, #5

This is another challenge i came across i think on 2peas!

I think it just helps break what we normally do! So this one is to frame your photo/s with words. This makes a great spot for your title! (the layout itself is worth 5 points)

I’m also going to throw a few twists into this one!
1. Use something you’ve never used before (scrap or non-scrap related) or a technique you’ve never tried. (this will give you 1 extra point)
2. Do away with something you normally use or do! Ex. I always use ink! So in this one I didn’t! I chose to sand everything to make me feel better! (this will give you 1 extra point also)
So if you do it all this one is worth 7 points.

for my layout i didn't use ink when i normally do and

i used a pipe cleaner to make the star! i've been wanting to put pipe cleaners on

something for awhile!

8 PM CHALLENGE, #4

so i was trying to find some different challenges for tonight and i think i found the idea for

this one over at 2peas! (can't remember, thanks though)

It sounded lots of fun and I was wanting to give it a try! Most of the time when we do our layouts we use pictures from one event. A birthday, a day at the park, or just pictures that were taken on the same occasion. So the challenge is to use pictures from different events. You could do a few different Christmas’s, you could find different photos of the same person at different times. You may even want to group a few of your favorite photos together. Be creative with this and have fun! Don’t second guess yourself! Just go with your instincts!

i found some pictures of aliya and craig together that i used. i'll post it on my blog in a bit! plus i found some pictures of aliya at the tabel with food all over her face. all at different times

i'm going to scrap that later!

okay now time to eat dinner! half the house did subway and half the house did filberto's

MY MEMORABILIA

okay so i dug through my drawer of stuff and found all kinds of goodies!

the first CHA i went to was last year in vegas! i went with michelle.

it was such a fun trip. that was the begining of a wonderful friendship!

the things i put on here are just business cards i must've picked up, some pins,

the pass i bought to get on the tram, and some paper samples that i recieved.

oh my badge is in the middle!

7 PM CHALLENGE, #3

OKAY SO THIS IS ONE OF MY DRAWERS FULL OF MEMORABILIA

THEN THE NEXT ONE IS CONTAINERS FULL OF

PAPERWORK AND OTHER STUFF. 1 BOX FOR KELSEY, 1 FOR KAM,

AND 1 FOR CRAIG AND I COMBINED.

(i keep aliya's in a file for now)

“MEMORABILIA” why yes this is pretty much what it says! Memorabilia could be just about anything. Something you picked up while you were on a trip or anywhere else. Pamphlets, ticket stubs, napkins, business cards, receipts. The list could go on! Just use some of it on your next layout. You can use photos or not. You might even want to take a recent receipt and use that in place of your photo and journal about your purchase or purchases from your day long shopping spree. This will be something you will look back on later on and enjoy!

MY 6 PM LAYOUT

i did this earlier today! my hope was to try and stay ahead of my own challenges!

i think i'm getting behind though!

6 PM CHALLENGE, #2

“ADDS” 2+2=4, 4+4=8 nope we’re not going to do addition, unless of course you want to! This is going to challenge you to use an add! From anywhere! Flip through your non-scrapbooking magazines. (if you have some). Look through your junk mail. Look through your grocery adds. Or even put a different twist on it and use a cover from a movie or music cd! Be inspired by the colors, the fonts, the layout, whatever grabs you take it and run!

OKAY DON'T SPEND MORE THAN 5-8 MINUTES LOOKING
FOR THAT INSPIRATION POINT!OR YOU'LL GET STUCK LIKE I DID! I CAN LOOK AT INSPIRATION ALL DAY LONG!

(this was my inspiration. you can use it if you want!)

A TWIST ALREADY!

so i know the timed challenges are a bit harder for most! they are for me! but they always get me scrapping and not thinking too much!
so here's a bit of a twist! since you are timed on this first one hopefully you'll have a few minutes left over :lol: so make a card with the scraps from challenge 1
yep and this is worth 1 POINT!!!!
REMEMBER HAVE FUN!

okay this is my layout from challenge #1 this is my before shot with clock and all!

this is my completed layout!

5 PM CHALLENGE, #1

“TIME” so what does time mean to you? Well I’m sure it’s a bit different for everyone. However in this challenge time is going to equal 10 minutes!

Yep you heard me! Your going to do a layout in 10 minutes.

This may be easy for some of you, but harder for most.

So go pick a photo/s and some supplies that you think might go with the picture. Grab a clock or timer and GO! Have fun with it and don’t stress about it.

Sometimes when we let go our creativity comes out!

Okay confession mine took 12 minutes. But much quicker than my normal layouts!
5 POINTS TO YOU FOR FINISHING THIS!

(i'll post mine in a bit)

"EARLY BIRD" CHALLENGE

okay even if you check in later and get this challenge you can still complete it and then count it! so get your stuff ready get something to drink (for me it's diet dp )

have fun clear up some space if you haven't already! this first one is easy!

grab some paper and ribbon and put together a card or a tag! this can be generic or for an occasion you have coming up! i love having cards on hand to give people. i just rarely take the time to make them! plus i don't feel like cards are my strong point.

they are just a step above journaling for me.

so relax and enjoy some time until we really get started at 5 with the first challenge!

if ya have time go crazy with the cards! happy card/tag making!

oh by the way this challenge is worth 5 POINTS

okay so i did make this card yesterday so i could try and stay ahead of the game!

i just used some paper from my scrap drawer, trim, velvet ribbon, vintage money wrapper, and a pink clothes tag! plus i had enough time to do some stitching.

'early bird"

okay so this is a post for the virtual crop at

devine memories

tomorrow night! it technically starts at 5pm, but i thought

i would change it up a bit. so if your home and ready to go then check back

tomorrow between 3-4pm. it will be an easy challenge just to get those

creative juices flowing!

so get ready for some fun tomorrow night and the next time i post it will be

the "early bird" challenge!

scrapjack

okay so this is my "amberjack" this is the challenge from scrapjacked. i did this over the weekend and wasn't sure if i was going to post it. it's not my favorite layout, but it's done. it's a little bit away from what i normally do. which is a good thing. lately i feel like i'm unsure of what "my" style is anyways! do you ever feel like that? maybe i'll find pieces of it while i do this virtual crop tomorrow night! anyways thanks for looking!

virtual crop

hey i'm hosting a virtual crop at devine memories.

this is something we have on a monthly basis. it's my turn to host it! i'm so excited! i'm hoping it will be lots of fun for everyone involved!

if you go over to the site and log in as a member tomorrow then you will be set to post on the site for friday. if you would rather post comments to my blog that is fine to. or you may choose not to post at all.

i will be posting the challenges on my blog and on the forum under general scrapbooking. i will post rules and point system tomorrow. this way you can get prepared for it. there will be prizes for the top winners. this is open to anyone in the united states! i'm hoping it will be lots of fun for all of us and maybe we will get to know some new people while we're getting some scrapping done.

CAN YOU...

balance a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich on a plate on top of your head?

WELL I CAN!!!!

i know i'm wierd. aliya thinks so to! i made her some lunch and she decided she wanted to

watch tv upstairs with her lunch. so she was carrying her gold fish and

one of her stuffed animals. i had her drink and my drink and something else in my hands.

i told her i would carry her sandwhich. she said how are you gonna do that mommy?

i got the brilliant idea of balancing it on my head. she laughed and thought it was very

funny. she even kept telling me to be careful not to spill it. and guess what i made

it all the way upstairs without dropping it!

short story...

okay just a quick post. today i decided to make cookies for the upcoming valentines day. aliya(3) and kelsey(12) both wanted to help. i'm good with that! they were both just so excited and giving each other hugs and kisses and just having fun. and then they had this cute little conversation.

kelsey: oh your my best friend!
aliya: well actually kelsey i'm your sister. (exact words)

oh my goodness i was laughing so hard it was just too cute! have a great night all and a wonerful wek!

quote of the day...

i really haven't kept up with this the way i've wanted to. so i'm taking a few minutes to post about todays quote from, "a fancy word for simple"

My weaknesses have always been food and men - in that order. -- Dolly Parton

current weaknesses

1. food

2. diet dr. pepper

3. bread

4. taking compliments

5. accepting help from others

6. saying "NO"

7. letting go of perfectionism

8. jumping from 1 project to the next

9. worrying to much about what others think

10. late night tv

a challenge

okay so i found this awesom blog over at scrapjacked. the challenge was to lift one of elsies layouts they have over there. so this is my take on it. i took this picture of aliya's toes over at the park a few weeks ago. i also took an extra one of just the sand. i wasn't sure what i wanted to use it for, but i ended up cutting out the leaves with it. i then sewed around them and put down some ric rac. i love the way they turned out. this was a lot of fun. i think because it was for me! if you have some time go lift the layout!

winter???, park, hotdogs, and 52 week journal

wow what a day!!! good though! is it still winter in az? it doesn't feel like it. it's been 81 degrees the past 2 days. i love that. i just hope that doesn't mean summer is coming early this year!

okay so i was surfing the net for a few things and came across something that i love! i'm definately going to make time to do this! so i thought i would share in case you haven't seen it already. i came across emily falconbridge's blog. she's doing this 52 week journal. you make one page a week for the whole year. the cute part about it is that your using a deck of cards as your base for the book! cute huh?! here is the link to her first week. week 2. week 3. week 4. week 5. then she will continue to post weekly challenges thru the whole year. i thought this would be so fun to do. plus it's small! so hopefully i already have a deck of cards and i can start tonight!

today we went to the park with some friends. it was so nice to relax and watch the girs play and just catch up on girl talk!

so while we were at the park aliya had to go potty and didn't make it to me in time. so she had an accident. well no back up clothes in our car. luckily michelle had a pair of jenna's capri goucho's in her car. before michelle had a chance to even get to her car aliya was stripped down to just her shirt! so we got the pants on her and in order for them to fit her we rolled down the waist and put an elastic on the back. jenna thought it was funny, because she said it looked like aliya had a tail. which is what everyone else was thinking.

so she was trying to see her "tail". it didn't seem to bother her!

on the way to the park we stopped at the dollor store to pick up some new sand toys. not in yet! so we did make do with a pink strainer and a kitchen spoon. if you look closely you can still see the tag on the spoon! we did find some scented bubbles though!

the girls seemed to think it was fun to fill the spoon

up in the water fountain with water and walk it across to the sand. this way they could make a sand castle. we had a fun afternoon with friends and the wonderful weather.

well after the park aliya and i headed straigt to target. she didn't want to stop at home first. she was interested in getting cinderella 3. i'm pretty sure i got some wierd looks about aliya's pants! oh well it was funny. so while we were at target aliya decides she's "starving" as she put it. so she decides upon a hotdog. i go for the soft pretzel. aliya usually doesn't eat the hot dog bun, but lately she's been eating it different. it's actually kinda funny. the hot dog stays on the bun with ketchup. she then tears the bun off down to the first bite of the hot dog. she then eats the hot dog until she reaches the bun again. then she tears more bun off so she can eat the hot dog. this continued until she was done with her hot dog and was left with small pieces of the bun in front of her on the table. the funny part was that she wanted to share my pretzel with me. odd! just thought i needed to get this little thing about her down so i don't forget it! it's those small little things that i love to remember as they get older! okay so now i'm off to make dinner!

CHA & DISNEYLAND

okay so we got back from ca. wed. at 4am. it was a great trip, but glad to be home!

the family and i left to ca on last friday morning. we got to ca. and went straight to disney land! it was so much fun to spend some time with the kids there! on saturday morning we headed back to disney land and i hung out with my family all morning long. later in the afternoon michelle, jen, sandy, and amy arrived. so i hooked up with them and we hung out doing disney land with just the girls! it was so much fun! definately a different experience! we had a dinner meeting that night and then i went to spend one more night with the family. they packed up and left sunday afternoon. we headed out to CHA on sunday morning!

let's just say it was amazing! last year CHA was in vegas. this year it seemed so much bigger to me! lots of new product and new companies! there was so much to see and i know we didn't see everything. we did have a lot of fun trying though!



i know everyone has a list of there favorites. i had several that i just fell in love with. fancy pants, crate paper, cosmo cricket, basic grey, petaloo, dream street, heidi grace, technique tuesday. these are just a few of the ones that i can still remember. as far as the new companies go tinkering ink and the paper element. there are a few others i'm just not sure of the names right now.

it will be so much fun watching the new product come in over the next few months! i know michelle and sandy ordered all kinds of fun product! so continue checking out devine memories often!

so on to these 2 photos! ya i took my camera with me! did i get any photos? ya a few of some layouts and then these 2! most of the time the camera got left behind in the hotel room.(not where it should be!) i know that there were some good pictures taken in our group though. hopefully i'll get a hold of them soon so i can share.

okay so back to laundry and picking up! just the normal things from being out of town and trying to get caught up!