Scraps-n-Boltz

NSD celebrations

2009-04-27T16:56:00.002-05:00

It's been a long time since I've had a chance to scrap, so I'm shooting to play this weekend!

Easter

2009-04-12T15:02:00.002-05:00

Happy Easter everyone! He IS Risen! We are so fortunate for that!

Yesterday we did our 7th Annual Easter Egg Hunt at the VFW.

Find more photos like this on Picayune VFW Ladies Auxiliary

You can read about it HERE.

Americans Unite

2009-03-16T13:01:00.003-05:00

Did you watch GLenn Beck's 9*12 project special! It was great! Please, if you are an American and tired of the path our country is heading, please check out the912project.com. It's not a political party debate or a religious debate, but it is about principals & morals. Please review it, what do you have to lose?

FANTASTIC Speech!

2009-03-14T17:28:00.003-05:00

I may not always be the biggest fan of Rush's, but this is an excellent speech!

Quite A While

2009-03-14T14:50:00.002-05:00

Yes, it has been quite a while since I've blogged....or done much of anything. Been going through a rough patch, to say the least. But things are beginning to look up. If I hadn't mentioned, Michael's retirement ceremony was very lovely. And the reception was a lot of fun. Of course, that was back in November and he retired the end of January. He flies to Houston tomorrow for an interview for a very good job, God willing!

My mother was diagnosed with lung cancer in November also. The news came days before her hip replacement surgery, that subsequently, she did not have. January, we found out she also had lung cancer. She was scheduled for surgery for this month, but found out end of February it had already met to her liver & hip. Now we just found out it also in her knee. She had 5 days of radiation on her hip and she just had mega chemo on Thursday. But she is doing well so far. She has been keeping her spirits up. She will be coming down in less than 2 weeks and I am anxious to see her.

She went to a wig bank today and they gave her a short hair cut so they could fit her for a wig and gave her a wig. She said it was fun to try them on. This is a WONDERFUL program they have through the ACS. I am grateful! And I know Mom is too!

My boss is so great! I don't have much vacation time left because I already used most of it when I went to Maine in November. I was already booked to help her recoup after hip surgery, but still went when it was canceled due to the cancer. He has already told me he would make sure I could take paid time off to spend time with Mom. He told me from the beginning....God comes first, family comes second and work comes third. If either of the first 2 come knocking, the 3rd one can wait. I'll probably take a couple full days off and work some part days or nights. Actually have 3 bosses, and they all are wonderful. But Paul is the one who hired me. They are so wonderful, that's why I am still there for over 3 years!

Okay, have to run. So many things to do :) God bless!

p.s. I get to talk to Dave Ramsey on Wednsday! I am sooooooooooooo psyched!

Another Freebie- in the same day?!?!

2009-02-03T09:28:00.002-06:00

Is Shannon AWESOME or what???? Two freebies from SILLY BEANS SCRAPS in one day! Woo Hoo! Life doesn't get much better than that! She also has a matching Glitter Sheets for her Rockstar Wedding kit!

I just love Shannon's glitter sheets! She puts in such attention to detail and it looks so real. Notice how the top, right glitter has like 4 or 5 colors mixed together! Looks soooo pretty! And you don't have to worry about spilling it on the floor! :) All you have to do, is visit Silly Beans Scraps Blog!

I know what you're thinking now...are you going to show us the kit? You really want to see it, don't you? Of course you do! You've been sitting there just dreaming about what kind of gorgeous papers she may have made, or the elements, ohhh yes! The elements are terrific. Okay, here you go.... ROCKSTAR WEDDING

Get it now at GDS or GDWI

You can get it for $2.00 off at GDWI because you can use it for the Color Challenge Shannon is hosting this month at GDWI!

New Freebie!!!!

2009-02-03T08:58:00.003-06:00

Am a little frustrated this morning. Have been trying for over a half hour to post on DST to share a great freebie availabale for 24 hours only! Luckily, it isn't listed yet, so time hasn't started, LOL. Silly Beans Scraps is offering a fabulous ALPHA to coordinate with her So Saree kit! You can only get it at GDS as the Daily Download! It will be available for 24 hours once it is posted....so, if it isn't posted yet - check back a little later!

This is a phenomenal kit. So if you have been looking for something fresh & new....you HAVE to grab this kit!

And look at the goodies she has to go with the kit....

IMAGES ARE CLICKABLE!!!

Me Again

2009-01-18T17:04:00.003-06:00

Okay, I am doing lousy on taking pictures everyday. But I still want to do the best I can of keeping track of my year. Of course, my creativity is still hiding, so I have yet to try a digi LO yet this year. Time has also been limited. But I have agreed to be Silly Beans Scraps CT Leader (as long as she doesn't expect any LO in the near future, LOL) She has a fantastic kit coming out soon and I can hardly wait! So without further ado, here is your Sneak Peak at So Saree!

One of the qualities I love about Shannon as a designer is she strives for originality. She doesn't just change the colors up on her accesories & repackage them in the same week just to have a lot of new releases.

I ask all my friends to keep my Mom in your prayers. As many of you know, she was diagnosed with lung cancer back in Novemeber during routine pre-op test for her hip replacement surgery (which she did not have). When they biopsied the cancer, they found it is a type that tends to spread. She has had numerous test, that often led to more test - including a breast biopsy for a lump that just 'popped up' one day right before I came home from visiting her in December. We received word on Friday, that it too is cancer. No idea yet if it is the same type of cancer though. Mom is trying to stay in good spirits and even said "You know God has to be involved in it, because it is too screwed up for him not to be". We know it is in his hands and pray daily for us to keep our minds and hearts open to him to understand why this is happening.

Well, I have to run to the store to get some tomatoe paste to put in my chili. Mmmm, this is one of the best batches I have made in a long time! Talk to y'all again soon!

A New Year

2009-01-12T09:12:00.006-06:00

Okay, it's 12 days into the new year and it's time I start a fresh year. Things have been crazy and I have felt a bit crazy myself. So much is up in the air right now, but I'm not TOO stressed as I just keep reminding myself to put my life in the hands of God. That's the only way to do it right.

As you know, Michael is suppose to be retiring from the Navy as of the 31st of this month. (BTW, yes, his retirement ceremony & reception went great! More about that later). Last week we found out he has 2, possibly 3, umbilical hernias. I call it his alien baby and already told him I want to get a picture of it before they fix it. We have his surgical consult this afternoon and hopefully surgery will be scheduled within the next day or so. We are both a bit hesitant as we both remember the problems I had last spring when my hysterectomy was botched and I did not have the best of luck in the hospital for the 2 weeks I was in there. It looks like it's the same hospital he'll be in.

Normally & hopefully they will be able to do the surgery with very small incisions, but there is a chance they will have to cut him open too. His hernias are rather large. They are often no larger than about 2 inches, but his is more like 5 inches. Even the doctors were taking pictures of it as they had never seen one so big. That's my baby! LOL

He has had some violent coughing fits and they believe that is what has caused the hernias. This is the time he was suppose to be doing some job hunting, but as I said, it's in God's hands. This may actually delay him from being discharged from the Navy. Might not be a bad thing.

Have you heard of LIFE 365? Well, you take a picture EVERY DAY! This way you remember even the little things. We're only on day 12, so get started now. It's not too late. Then you can blog them, or scrap them. But what a great way to remember your whole year. These are some tips I found on another blog:

TIPS ON HOW TO DO IT

Here are six tips on how to create your own Project 365:

Bring Your Camera Everywhere
Yes, everywhere. Get in the habit. Grocery stores, restaurants, parties, work, and school. Going to a movie theatre? Snap a pic of the flick with your phone–there are photo-ops everywhere. If you have one of those tiny tiny cameras, you have no excuse not to have it in your pocket all the time. And if you don’t? Camera phones are a great substitute.
Make Posting Easy
You can install blog software like Movable Type or Wordpress on your own site and create an entry for each photo, but for true ease of use, try a photo sharing site. Flickr will let you post a week’s worth of photos in 2 minutes flat, and fotolog and Photoblog.com are geared toward a photo-a-day workflow. Making it fast and easy means you’re much more likely to do it.
Vary Your Themes
Try to capture the day’s events in a single photo. Perform photographic experiments. Take a photo of someone new you meet, something you ate for the first time, or something you just learned how to do. Take a photo of something that made you smile. And don’t forget to take a photo of yourself at least once a month so you can remember how you’ve changed, too.
Tell a Story
Use your blog entry, or your photo description, to explain what’s going on in each day’s photograph. How good did that dinner taste? What made you want to take a photo of that stranger? It’ll help you remember down the road, and it gives friends following along a better appreciation of why you took the photo you did. You don’t need to write a lot, just enough to add some color.
Don’t Stop, No Matter What
This is perhaps the most important tip of all. You will get tired of taking a photo every single day. Some days, you will consider giving up. Don’t. The end result is worth the effort. Remind yourself why you wanted to do it in first place.
There will be times you’ll think there’s nothing interesting left to take a photo of, and times you’ll think you didn’t do anything exciting enough to take a photo of. There’s always a great photo to be made.
Get out of the house and take a walk. Or stay inside and look around. Take a photo of something important to you. Take a photo of the inside of your house so you can see how your taste has changed over the years. Take a photo of anything, just don’t stop.
N.b. It helps if you’ve told your friends about the project and asked them to follow along. Their encouragement will keep you going!
Post early, post often
Plan on going through and posting your photos at least once a week so you don’t get backlogged and feel overwhelmed. Ideally, post every day or two. Again, spend the time up front to make sure it’s quick and easy to post. It’ll make all the difference.

I really think I want to give this a shot. You can do it by day, or even by week or month. I would suggest daily or weekly so it doesn't get overwhelming. Make the uneventful days count too. Will help you remember all the blessing God gives us that we at times take for granted.

I really need to get back on track with my digi scrapping. Lack of creativity, fear of PS CS3 and lack of time are tending to get in the way. But my dear cyber-friend Shannon (I got to meet her and her family right before Christmas!) of SillyBeanScraps has asked me to be her CT Leader. What an honor! I surely do not want to let her down. Well, I need to get to work, so more later!

CHALLENGE!

2008-10-17T10:44:00.002-05:00

So my friend Shannon (Silly Beans Scraps) asked for a suggestion for the Oh No You Didn't challenge at Digital Candy. So I suggested having everyone scrap a funny or embarrassing moment. Of course she had already thought of that. So here is the LO I created for it.

Here's the journaling:
Mom sent us a box and said it was imperitive we had it for our wedding night. that our marriage depended on it. It was a challenge in itself to figure out how we would get it as it was was it was being delivered the day before and we both would already be in Port Aransas. In July the ferries would be crazy busy. Betty swung by our house to bring it back to the island as she had to go back to Ingleside anyways. The future of Our Marriage has been protected.

We called mom when it was time to open the box. Mom put a bit of this and that in it and our guest had a blast wondering what would be coming out of the box next. Sometimes items left them wondering what we were suppose to do with ‘that item’. By the time we got to the costumes mom made us the guest were rolling on the deck and trying to refrain from peeing themselves.

We had originally considered having a sponge bob wedding. Since we couldn’t find a proper cake topper, we decided not to. However, Dave showed up in snorkel gear to perform him best man duties and mom made you a sponge bob costume and turned me into the dirty nymph. Everyone found it hilarious that mom sewed a fish popping out the front of your shorts. I could not resist taking a picture of you in the bathroom. Was trying to get a shot of the ‘fish fountain’. So you had to get even & busted in while I was going to the bathroom. And I think that has been how the 4 years of our marriage has gone... having fun, being silly and always trying to surprise each other. i love you (& your fish) with all my heart. I am blessed to have you!

We had so much fun! Not so sure my husband was too thrilled that I posted the LO online, but it's okay. He understands.

Just wanted to remind you about an AWESOME sales going on! Silly Beans Scraps has her GRAND OPENING SALE with 25% off until this Sunday at goDigitalScrapbooking!

Am heading out soon for the NJROTC leadership retreat, so I have to run for now. TTYL!!!

WHIRLWIND

2008-10-15T13:29:00.003-05:00

Wow, there is so much amazing stuff going on in the digi world! I told you about my dear friend Shannon who just stepped into the designing world as Silly Beans Scraps. Go to her blog and you can find the story behind the name. :) First she opened her store at Digi Design Resort. Now she has just opened a store at goDigitalScrapbooking!!!! And to celebrate she is having a fantastic 25% OFF SALE!

Also, she is going to be hosting her very 1st SPEED SCRAP on Friday Oct. 17th at GDS at 10 pm EST. So bummed I won't be here for it. This is the big weekend for the NJROTC Leadership Retreat my 4 year old & I are chaperoning. LOL It should be awesome, can't wait to share some pics & LO with y'all!

Duchess Designs has some great sales going on over at Get Digi With It! Head on over to the DD CT Blog - I made the last 2 post there :). Go take a good look at her new blog(pax). I've been complaining about the look of my blog for long enough. So soon, it will be so pretty! Yippee. (And it's on sale, I LOVE a good sale!) Do you have her mini-kit Peyton yet? NO???? You're kidding! No time better than NOW to go get it - get the coupon code on the blog and get it NOW for only 99 CENTS!!!!!!!

Guess who came back from her hiatus!?!? I'm sooooo excited! Tanyia's Pretty Pixels!!! She is fired up and ready to roll! She has a FREEBIE paper pack on the BLOG! Hurry up though, it will only be on there for a week and will not be in the store!

Plus, check out Mondays post for a challenge. :) There's big news coming, so keep posted! Oh, and how can I forget she is having a HUGE retirement sale! (The products, not her LOL).
For TWO WEEKS you can get these ten items for .99 each :) Yep less than a buck for full kits, alphas, and more!!!

The items can be found on pages 6 and 7 of my Exclusive Digital Candy STORE!

Trish H. Designs is having some computer issues and may be a day late posting up the Candy jar challenge #25. Along with Chaos Lounge, Trish hosts this challenge twice a month. They ALWAYS have the best mini kits to use for this challenge. Has to be one of my favorite callenges! Don't forget to sign up for her blog newsletter! Trish & the CT are very generous with RAKs!

Okay, I am exhausted now. Plus I just talked Tanyia into using one of my FAVE kits of hers as her ONEderful Wednsday $1 special. And since we are getting it up so late, you can get feelin' fresh for $1 until midnight tomorrow night!

ADMIRATION

2008-10-08T14:24:00.005-05:00

I have a true admiration to those bloggers that blog on a daily or near daily basis. I know we all have lots to blog about, but sometimes can't find the time to. So I will try to catch things up by working in a backwards fashion. As much as I can before I take Joy to the vets at least.

So I am on vacation this week from work. I really needed a break. Not as productive as I'ld like to be, but not wasting the time either! Took Jonathan to the dentist this morning. Suppose to get his bottom 2 cavities taken care of (got the top 2 done last week). Didn't happen though. He was just too upset and the dentist will not push it as she does not want the kids to be traumatized. Good thinking! Nitrous (happy gas) seems to have the reverse effect on him. He just cries harder. So we rescheduled for next week and I will give him some benedryl before we go and skip the happy gas.

I had to get some fall/ winter clothes for the boys yesterday and grocery shopping. Crazy thing is we go once a month to Gulfport (hour away) to the commisary and it's worth the trip. I'm still excited I bought 40 pounds of chicken for $12!!!! I hit the clearance & sale sections at the outlet stores. Was able to get a pair of jeans at the Nautica store for Tony for $15!!! I refuse to pay for a name. Don't mind paying for quality, but not a name.

Okay, I'm back. Didn't even know I was gone, did you? My mom called and then it was time to take Joy to the vet. We got bad about taking her for a while. We had 2 dogs and just couldn't afford for both. Found a good home for the other one (he was constantly marking his territory in the house!) So back on track with my baby girl. We've had her for almost 5 years.

Monday I spent 4 1/2 hours cleaning our LR carpet. Let me tell you, we invested in an Oreck Oribiter 2 years ago and I am soooooo glad. I use to spend 6 hours on my hands & knees scrubbing the same carpet. It is sooooo much easier with the Orbiter. Normally wouldn't have taken so long, but with the boys & dog, there were a lot of stains. Plus I use it to clean my wood & tiled floors!

Sunday, we took the boys & Joy to the beach. Was so much fun!

We had a fabulous time. DH & I actually were able to relax. The kids and Joy played hard. Definitely need to do this more often.

Okay, have to go get little guy from school! Bye!

BUSY, BUSY

2008-09-24T09:27:00.002-05:00

Oh yes, the schedule has gotten busier lately. Went to my 1st football game since high school! (Only a few...18...years ago, LOL) Wow, did it bring back a lot of old memories. Actually, think I may have gone to a game a couple years after graduating, but it's still been a while. I was in marching band, so hearing the bands play actually made me long to pick up a flute again. Have to say, my 15 yo's uniforms are sharp! Better than the uniforms I had to wear! Can you believe I forgot to bring my camera? (Bad mommy!)

I helped out a little bit with the NJROTC concession stand (we handle the visitor's side concession stand). This Friday night is the rivalry game against PRC! BIG game! So we are going to cool hotdogs, burgers and I am going to make pulled pork for sandwiches. Here is a neat little trick I just learned - can be used for home too....

tip: Use the bags used for cooking turkeys or roast in the oven to line your crockpot. Makes for super easy clean up and the food won't burn. Works great for chili & cheese sauce, stew, but not for water (I'm told, so not going to try it).

I'm definitely going to do this. I am going to pick up 2 pork shoulder roasts tomorrow, get up at 3 am Friday morning, put them in the oven at 225 degrees and go back to bed. Let it cook all day while I'm at work. Will leave work early, go home and pull the pork, mix with a couple bottles of BBQ sauce and put in my lined crockpot. Tasty & good profits!

Saturday will be very busy too. I am helping my dear friend Tammy sell t-shirts at a fundraiser for Devin Funk. See HERE for his MySpace page to read more. He is an 11 yo boy from Slidell, LA that had his arm removed (to put it nicely) by an alligator on July 30, 2008. The doctors were unable to reattach it. They had the Car-Show fundraiser scheduled for Sept. 6th, but Gustav made them have to reschedule and it is this Saturday.

Tammy is part owner of Xpressionsplus and have they donated the printing cost of 400 tshirts to be sold. And she has asked me to help her at the booth.

And just as a reminder, I HERE IS THE LINK for the post that has the main list for scrapbooking items and be make-up I have for sale.

FUNDRAISER

2008-09-21T18:29:00.001-05:00

This is the link to the main post for items for sale for the fundraiser. It has links to the different groups of items I posted
http://southernconservativescrapper.blogspot.com/2008/09/items-posted-for-fundraising.html

MISCELLANEOUS

2008-09-21T17:31:00.005-05:00

Here is another group of items. There is a little more but not sure if or when I'ld have time to post it. View pictures HERE

G1 - (Not pictured) Due to the weight of paper, I put 1 package together. It contains 350 sheets of 12x12 paper & cardstock, 7 12x12 sheets of transparent vellum (you can print on it) and 10 12x12 sheets of chipboard. This will sell for $45 (including shipping)... that is only 12 cents a sheet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

G2 - Karen Foster rub-on - brilliant

G3 - bottle caps - pastel-love (2)

G4 - bottle caps - halloween

G5 - painted binder clips - baby boy

G6 - large vintage wood word - road trip

G7 - large vintage wood word - vacation

G8 - large vintage wood word - friends

G9 - bottle caps - red

G10 - large vintage wood word - graduation

G11 - large vintage wood words - summer

G12 - large vintage wood words - family

G13 - chipboard shape - ice blue

G14 - K & Co home improvement 3D stickers

G15 - lg. wedding bears stamp

G16 - 6 pc small stamps set - wedding

G17 - hand stamped by stamp

G18 - dream stamp

G19 - destination clear unmounted stamp

G20 - adhesive back jewels

G21 - plaid crafty dye inks set/6

G22 - buttons

G23 - sew crafty mini sewing machine w/ boobins & book

G24 - Wilton 8x8 scrapbook tablet - 40 patterned papers, 6 die cut phrases pages, 6 die cut tag pages, 8 die cut border pages, 4 die cut alpha pages - 700+ pages

G25 - bag of flowers and buttons (2)

G26 - 1 lb. scrap pack - cardstock

G27 - making memories, funky with fibers

G28 - photo corners 240 pc, black (2)

G29 - boy mini medals (4)

G30 - girl mini medals (3)

G31 - mom tag

G32 - ribbons

G33 - black 8.5x11 archival photo paper for 3 ring binder - 10 per pack (5)

G34 - karen foster metal tag lines - sports

G35 - ribbon & fibers

BOHEMIAM TRANSFER TITLES
G36 - mother, my little prince, me and my sister, like father~like son, brothers, favorite guy

G37 - feb, april, may, june, july, aug, oct, nov, 2006

G38 - surf's up, riding the waves, by the sea, on the lake, sandcastles

G39 - outdoor adventure, camping out, nothing but blue skies, little fish, gone fishing, summer, winter

G40 - all natural, simply perfect, best friends, the love of my life

G41 - full of spunk, free spirit, drama queen, delight

G42 - 100% authentic boy, my little explorer, such a handsome boy, this boy, charmer

G43 - all boy, a boy's life, friends, cousins, best buddies

G44 - ticket pockets (2)

SKELETON LEAVES
G45 - pink/yellow

G46 - pink

G47 - green

G48 - blue

G49 - natural

G50 - 54 stitched adhesive letters & #'s

G51 - MM 3 metal charmed quotes - children

G52 - MM petite signage, self adhesive - all boy

ITEMS POSTED FOR FUNDRAISING

2008-09-18T09:55:00.041-05:00

Okay, I have spent my whole day off taking pictures and posting items on here. If you are new to my blog, let me give you a quick explanation....my dear husband is about to retire from the US Navy after 24 years of dedicated service. I have been saving money for his ceremony & reception, which we ate up a bunch of it when we evacuated for Gustav. So I was asking for donations and was willing to send scrapbooking supplies & be bare minerals to people who donated. There were a lot of questions about specific items, so I told everyone I would post pictures. I warned everyone, I have A LOT of items. So I posted pictures into groups today ~ and this isn't even all of it. I just don't have time to do anymore today as it's almost time to pick the kids up.

This is how it works: find what you want and offer me a reasonable donation amount (keep in mind, I will be mailing the items to you). Email msac4@bellsouth.com me your want list with donation amount. 1st come, 1st served! I will go in the order of emails received. I will keep the blog updated as to when items sell as much as possible. I will give you my work address & phone # to send the money to. I would like to stay away from PayPal because of fees, but will accept payment there. This is also one of the reasons I am not doing this on ebay (fees and time), but I am a registered user tami3476, so you can see I am a real person and a good rating!

Here are the groups I listed today:

stickers 2

tools

embellishments

ribbon & fiber packs

stickers, embellishments, wood

stamps

be bare minerals make-up

miscellaneous **newly added

This is most of everything and not sure if I will be adding anymore. As things are sold, I will try to stay on top of it & adjust # available or turn the text to red and put ~SOLD~.

RIBBON & FIBER PACKS

2008-09-18T09:55:00.040-05:00

I HAVE 7 PACKAGES OF RIBBONS & FIBERS PACKAGED JUST FOR YOU THAT YOU CAN SEE HERE! F1, F3, F5 & F6 are SOLD

STICKERS 2

2008-09-18T09:55:00.039-05:00

When a number is listed after the description ~ ie. (2)~, that notates how many are available. When you tell me the code of what you want, let me know the number of them you want. If you do not tell how many, I will assume you only want one. Pictures are HERE.

STK 3 - ALPHA BUBBLE STICKERS - please choose color & number of each
Blue -1 Orange -3 pink -3 Green -1 purple - 1 lt. blue -2 orchid -3
red (cursive) -3 black - 3 white - 2 trio - hunter/navy/burgundy - 4
trio - pink/lt. blue/orchid - 2 trio - blue/green/yellow - 3

STK 4 - ribbon accents - adhesive back diecuts

STK 5 - clear sticker - family

STK 6 - sticko stickersaurus - little boys

STK 7 - karen foster rub on word - having fun

STK 8 - karen foster rub on word - snoozin' (2)

STK 9 - karen foster rub on word - dressed up (3)

STK 10 - spring fern tags (2)

STK 11 - school tags (2)

STK 12 - sports imagination stickers (2)

STK 13 - Romance " " (3)

STK 14 - friends " "

STK 15 - wedding " " (6)

STK 16 - party adhesive art domes (2)

BO-BUNNY CARDSTOCK STICKERS - please notate how many of each you would like
STK 17 - SWAK (4)

STK 18 - family (1)

STK 19 - princess (2)

STK 20 - Ooh La La (4)

STK 21 - sunshine (2)

STK 22 - butterfly kisses (4)

STK 23 - cottage kitchen alpha

STK 24 - she is (4)

STK 25 - mother's heart (1)

STK 26 - pet tag alphabet

STK 27 - posh pet (4)

STK 28 - sports stickers - set of 2

STK 29 - 3D Sticker flowers

STK 30 - tab stickers - fun (9)

STK 31 - wedding (6)

STAMPS

2008-09-18T09:55:00.038-05:00

These are stamps I have found so far, know there are a couple more - Click HERE to see pictures

SP1 - 16 pc mini stamp set w/ red ink pad. flower, balloon, cake, bunny, snowflake, pumpkin, david's star, santa, leaf, shamrock, turkey, streamers, sun, heart, present, US flag

SP2- Eiffel tower

SP3 - 4 sided animal stamp - tiger, zebra, elephant & giraffe - HAVE 3 of THESE

SP4 - music note w/ heart - HAVE 1 of THESE

SP5 - 6 pc small set - flower, water can, lady bug, flower seed packet & butterfly - HAVE 2 of THESE

SP6 - 6 pc small set - chinese symbols

SP7 - radio

SP8 - wedding rings

SP9 - Handmade by

SP10 - thank you

SP11 - paw

SP12 - heart box of chocolates

SP13 - Whispers archival dye based ink pad- fast drying, waterproof & fade resistant - used 2 or 3 times to ink paper edges

EMBELLISHMENTS

2008-09-18T09:55:00.037-05:00

What you see in the pictures HERE is what you get

EMB 1 - 6 section small organizer w/ charms, brads, decorations, metal & plastic buttons

EMB 2 - Queen & Co anchorettes, LG & SM round brads & sqare brads ~SOLD~

EMB 3 - 9 ladybug brads

EMB 4 - square & flower brads and grommets

EMB 5 - small 6 section round organizer w/ grommets of different colors & sizes

EMB 6 - misc - cord, metal words (love), snowflakes, stars, flowers & Queen & Co tag its

EMB 7 - fluer, heart & flower brads ~SOLD~

EMB 8 - pastel clips & mini brads

EMB 9 - irredesent firefly brads

EMB 10 - red heart brads

EMB 11 - colorful flower brads

EMB 12 - colorful mini brads

EMB 13 - misc. grommets

TOOLS

2008-09-18T09:55:00.036-05:00

Not pictured is my Cricut machine (6x12 paper size). I used it 5 or 6 times, in perfect condition. I also put the design studio sodtware package in the box. It has either the George OR the simple shapes cartridge in it. I apologize, but I forget which one and I already have it packed to ship.

See pictures for the following HERE

TLS 1 - tagger

TLS 2 - 17 galaxy markers, acid free 7 writes on dark paper

TLS 3 - pastel chalk pencils 12 pk

TLS 4 - Fiskars corner shaper - hearts

TLS 5 - glue dots 60 pk

TLS 6 - shape punch

TLS 7 - set 4 oval templates

TLS 8 - Cricut paper trimmer 12" w/ bonus scoring blade

TLS 9 - Making Gift Scrapbooks in a Snap, book, Memory Makers

TLS 10 - Creative Memories storyline template

TLS 11 - Quick & Easy Scrapbook Pages, book, Memory Makers

TLS 12 - misc. templates

TLS 13 - 6x8 memory book - have 1 available

TLS 14 - gel paints, blush, white & periwinkle

TLS 15 - Tomboy Vellum adhesive

TLS 16 - Plaid blending chaulks, Autumn

TLS 17 - set of 4 decorative scissors

be Makeup List

2008-09-18T09:55:00.035-05:00

As I promised, I am starting with my list. Think this may take all day, LOL. Here are the makeups I have. This does not include any of the samples I have or the brushes. I have a MEGA amount of scrapbooking items to get listed, so those will come after.

These are all new & unopened!

XXLG 9 g medium tan foundation
XXLG 9 g Light foundation
.57 feather light mineral veil
full-size (FS) thistle lipstick
FS Katelyn lipstick
XLG 2.8 g soft focus glee
small rose radiance lipp gloss
jewel lip liner
.85 trendsetter blush

Liner Shadows
firefly
root
fashionista
nurture
bark

Glimmer Shadows
fire opal (have 2)
firelight
bali
queen tiffany
morocco

Eyeshadows
kindness (have 2)
pure spice

All-over Face Color
hint of truth

Glimpse Shadow
peacock (have 2)

passionate plum
gold dipped
saucy
present

also have Avon Silver Lights, liqued eyeliner/eye writer

I know this is an untraditional way to sell, but am working on raising money for my husband's retirement ceremony & reception from the US Navy after 24 years of dedicated service.

Stickers, Embellishments, Chipboard & Wood Words

2008-09-18T09:55:00.028-05:00

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES

S1 - YELLOW & ORANGE ADHESIVE BUTTONS

S2 - PINK HEART GIFT TAG

S3- JOLEES CREAM ROSE BUDS STICKERS

S4 - STICKO LABEL LING - PATRIOTIC

S5 - EK DIARY COLLECTION - MILESTONE RUB-ON

S6 - EK " " " - SO SMART RUB ON

S7 - THE PAPER STUDIO - SCHOOL & ENCOURAGEMENT RUB-ON

S8 - MAKING MEMORIES - LOVE RUB-ONS

S9 - MARTIAL ART STICKERS - ***HAVE 6 OF THESE***

S10 - JOLEE'S DIMENSIONAL - TOOLS

S11 - ME 7 MY BIG IDEAS 3D EMBELLISHMENTS - BROTHERS

S12 - PARIS EMBELLISHMENTS

S13 - JOLEE'S DIMENSIONAL STICKERS - TRAVEL

S14 - CLOUD 9 EPOXY ACCENT STICKERS - TRAVEL

S15 - THE PAPER STUDIO 3D - PARIS

S16 - JOLEE'S DIMENSIONAL - 2 PK PLANES

S17 - JOLEE'S DIMENSIONAL - LONDON

S18 - JOLEE'S DIMENSIONAL - TRAINS (SET OF 3) SOLD

S19 - PAPER BLISS - ACCENT TAGS 12 PCS

S20 - JOLEE'S EMBELLISHMENTS - TEA TIME (SET OF 2)

LARGE WOOD WORDS
W1 - BABY

W2 - LOVE

W3 - 4TH OF JULY ~SOLD~

VINTAGE SMALL WOOD WORDS 3 PACK
W4 - BEACH, SUNSHINE, PARADISE - have 1

W5 - PRECIOUS, SWEET, CUTIE PIE (blue - boys) - have 1

W6 - SAME AS ABOVE BUT IN PINK - ~SOLD~

W7 - MEMORIES, MOMENTS, ALWAYS ~SOLD~

W8 - LAUGH, HAPPY, TREASURE ~SOLD~

W9 - BIRTHDAY, CANDLE, PRESENTS ~SOLD~

W10 - OUTDOORS, NATURE, DISCOVER ~SOLD~

W11 - FOREVER, ADORE, TOGETHER

C1 - CHIPBOARD SMALL PINK

C2 - CHIPBOARD SMALL GREEN

C3 - CHIPBOARD LG FLORAL VANILLA ~SOLD~

C4 - PAINTED BINDER CLIPS

C5 - BOTTLE CAPS - LOVE

C6 - CHIPBOARD ALPHA - LOVE AFFAIR ~SOLD~

C7 - PLAIN CHIPBOARD RIBBON SLIDERS 12 PC - decorate yourself

C8 - PLAIN CHIPBOARD FRAMES 24 PC - decorate yourself

Beautiful Day

2008-09-16T08:49:00.004-05:00

Such a beautiful day, woke up and it was nice and crisp outside. So funny how summer use to be my favorite time of year. Absolutely LOVED the heat (not so crazy about the humidity though). Yet now, I find myself becoming more partial to the fall. Still can not stand cold weather, but am enjoying the cooler, crisp weather so much. You know what this weather says to me? BONFIRE! We have a few every year in our back yard. It has been a New Year's Eve tradition for 3 years now....bonfire & fireworks and lots of friends!

I started back in karate last night, Tang Soo Do to be exact. Didn't realize I had been out of it for so long (9 or 10 months). I had been having back problems off & on. So I finally put my dobok (uniform) on and walk into the living room. My 4 yo looks at me and says "Your still a green belt?" (15 yo & husband are both Red 2's- 4 levels above me).

My new friend Erica invited me to join Creative Impressions yahoo group. She saw my post about giving scrapbook supplies for donations and asked for her help to spread the word. She wasted no time! Thank you so much Erica. I have gotten so many emails and questions!

I do have tons of stuff. I spent over $1000 in the spring on supplies as I was going to make up some scrapbooks while I recovered from my surgery to sell to make up for income lost while I recovered. Well, the one surgery turned into 4 and well, needless to say it was a rougher than expected recovery & I didn't touch it. I have tons of stuff just sitting around and I am totally into digi-scrapping now (and LOVING it!).

My WONDERFUL husband is retiring from the U.S. Navy soon and we are having his retirement ceremony in November. We are having his ceremony at the D-Day Museum in New Orleans (he is stationed down there). Very excited as we will have the Picayune NJROTC doing the flags (our oldest is in it :) ) and hopefully will have the Navy Band playing. DH has found a beautiful shadowbox that we are about to order. It's shaped as a ship's wheel, very fitting seeing that he is a Quartermaster (navigation). Then we will have a lot of things to get that go in it.

Now I still have to plan the reception. Nothing fancy, just very nice. I haven't been with DH for all of career, but I am no less proud of him. He will have put in 24 years of service and sacrificing. I am so grateful for him, not only as my husband, but as someone willing to give so much of himself to guarentee my freedom.

So here I am trying to raise some money to cover the cost. I had a bit saved, but we had to use it to evacuate for Gustav. I have TONS of scrapbooking supplies that I won't use now seeing I am totally hooked onto the digital! I am a very generous person and figured since I was asking for donations, that I would reward anyone who made a donation with scrapbooking items or bareEssentuals makeup. Our schedule is very busy and don't have time to post it all on ebay (as well as hate the fees between them & paypal).

Make me an offer! I will post some pictures of specific items and let me know what you would be willing to donate for it. Most of the items are new, some used in very good condition. And if some don't mind, I add extra bits of stuff (lg. paper scraps & misc. embellishments) as extra thank yous. Not looking to get rich and know I won't make my money back. Just make a reasonable offer is all I ask (keep in mind I have to pay postage :) )

I have a LO to finish up tonight for a new budding digital designer http://sillybeansscraps.blogspot.com/ friend of mine. I am taking Thursday off from work, so that will definitely give me sometime to organize and post pictures. Thank you so much for all the interest, it is very much appreciated!

Oh, I also want to say that I will give you my work address. I will not post my address on , well, for common sense reasons. LOL Anyone who asks, I will also send you my work & cell numbers. It can be a bit scary to send money to someone online, but I promise you I AM LEGIT! Matter of fact, I am tami3476 on ebay for years now with good rating. Am avoiding ebay for time and fee reasons. And as always, you can email me at msac4@bellsouth.net. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

by the way:

Tami Romer

c/o Mississippi Auto Carriers

307 N Main St.

Picayune, MS 39466

Great Message

2008-09-14T11:06:00.002-05:00

I am not posting this link to the video for political reasons. Not in the mood to be political today. But this was a very touching message and I was surprised at the end of the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na509XTw3CY

We all have different opinions, that is just one of the beauties of living in the U.S.A. Whether you support the war or not, you should support our troops and the veterans. They keep things so you can keep your opinion. This isn't me being political, this is me being American!

God Bless the USA!

Another neat site

2008-09-12T13:37:00.000-05:00

You Are 80% Real

You know who you are, and you're pretty darn comfortable with yourself.

Like everyone, you struggle with the parts of yourself that aren't so great...

But you're good at accepting who you are and not dwelling on your faults.

As a result, you're confident, optimistic, and very real.

How Real Are You?

NAVY RETIREMENT FUNDRAISER

2008-09-11T09:48:00.003-05:00

I want to make an addition to a post I made about 3 or 4 back ~ I also have TONS of traditional scrap supplies left for those who hybrid, still paper scrap or make cards. If you prefer scrapbooking items rather that than full-size bare essentials make up, please be sure to email me which one you prefer. I have all kinds of new stuff that I will never use, so I will have something for every donation amount!

Duchess Designs Grows!

2008-09-11T09:31:00.003-05:00

It's official and I can finally tell you! Duchess Designs will not only be at Digital Candy, but now she is also at Get Digi With It! And what a great time for her to open her store there, GDWI is having its Grand Opening this weekend from September 12-14. There will be a 25% off sale across the store, games, challenges, prizes and lots of fun. Duchess Designs will also be hosting a speed scrap this weekend!!!!

Here is her newest blinkie (I love it!!!)

I am so sorry, I am not very tech savy, so please go to Duchess Designs CT blog to see the blinkie in action! We look forward to seeing you at DC & GDWI!

2008-09-11T08:17:00.003-05:00

In the United States, Patriot Day occurs on September 11 of each year, designated in memory of the nearly three thousand who died in the September 11, 2001, attacks. Most Americans refer to the day as "Nine-Eleven (9/11)," "September 11th," "Nine-one-one," or some variation thereof.

U.S. House of Representatives Joint Resolution 71 was approved by a vote of 407-0 on October 25,2001. It requested that the President designate September 11 of each year as "Patriot Day." PresidentGeorge W. Bush signed the resolution into law on December 18, 2001 (as Public Law 107-89). It is a discretionary day of remembrance.

Initially, the day was called the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for the Victims Of the Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001.

On September 4, 2002, President Bush used his authority created by the resolution and proclaimedSeptember 11, 2002, as Patriot Day. He has continued to make similar declarations every year since.

On this day, the President directs that the American flag be flown at half-staff and displayed from individual American homes, at the White House, and on all U.S. government buildings and establishments, home and abroad. The President also asks Americans to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 A.M. (Eastern Daylight Time) marking the first plane crash on September 11, 2001.

Some countries have also shared Patriot Day with the U.S. as well.

The above was taken from wikipedia. My question to you...do you remember where you were? Do you remember how you felt on 9/11 and for the days to follow? I do, very strongly. It was a day our lives changes for ever. not only in America, it had a great impact on the world. I could get into a great rambling about political views, but choose not to. That is not what today is about that. The day is not about me or you, it is for those who died that terrible day. The innocent people in the towers who never saw it coming. Our brave firefighters and police officers who went in to rescue people. Knowing at the moment they entered, there was a chance they would not exit.

My heart ached (and still aches) for Our Country and the families and friends of all that were lost.

Although I did not meet my husband until two years after that day, there have still been a couple times he has told me he wanted to go over and do his part. He has seen war before, it's not a pretty site. But he wants to defend Our GREAT Country! I remember how much my heart sank and I just wanted to cry out NO! Yet, I have tremendous respect for his dedication and knew from day 1 this day may come. So I smiled bravely and confirmed what he already knew - I will support you!

I was fortunate he was not able to go. But to all the friends and family of our service me & women that have gone ~ thank you, thank you, thank you! And God bless you!

And for those that do not have intimate contact with service people that have been there and seen it first hand ~ all I ask is you do not believe all the media bias that airs. We are making a difference, we are NOT losing, we are not there to take over and it's not about the oil. And today is not the day for us to question the whys, it's a day to be grateful that there are so many men and women willing to defend us and keep the battles off our soil!

NAVY RETIREMENT FUNDRAISER

2008-09-10T21:11:00.002-05:00

Okay, still working on raising funds for DH's retirement ceremony from the Navy. I have a bunch of stuff I should put on ebay, but limited on time and all the fees.... blech! So here is the deal, I have 15 full size authentic, new bare mineral items. So, for anyone willing to make a $7 donation, i will send you a FULL SIZE bare escentuals/bare minerals product of my choice (no extra for shipping). I also have tons of samples (was selling them on ebay, but just don't have the time, but they were made in sanitized area). So for any donations of $2 I will send you a few samples. Any donations over $7, will get a full sized item AND samples! Please email me at msac4@bellsouth.net for information.

FUNNY JOKE ON EXPLAINING OUR LIVES

2008-09-10T13:09:00.001-05:00

Subject: Life explained

   The first day, God created the dog and said:

   'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark
at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give
you a life span of twenty years.'

   The dog said: 'That's a long time to be
barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back
the other ten?'

   So God agreed.

   On the second day, God created the monkey and said:

   'Entertain people, do tricks, and make them
laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life
span.'

  The monkey said: 'Monkey tricks for twenty years?
That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give
you back ten like the Dog did?'

   And God agreed.

On the third day, God created the cow and said:

   'You must go into the field with the farmer all
day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk
to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give
you a life span of sixty years.'

  The cow said: 'That's kind of a tough life
you want me to live for sixty years.. How about twenty and
I'll give back the other forty?'

   And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created man and said:

  'Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For
this, I'll give you twenty years.'

   But man said: 'Only twenty years? Could you
possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the
ten the monkey gave back, and the ten
the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?'

   'Okay,' said God, 'You asked for it..'

   So that is why for our first twenty years we eat,
sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we
slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten
years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren.
And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and
bark at everyone.

   Life has now been explained to you.

   There is no need to thank me for this valuable
information. I'm doing it as a public service

COOL NEW SITE

2008-09-10T10:21:00.002-05:00

It is at least a new site to me....www.wordle.net

It takes words you enter, or in this case, I put in my blog address and this is what I got....

You can play with the color, font, amount of words and even more options. Such a fun site! Well, must get back to work. Just wanted to share this cool site with you. Please take a moment to read some of the older post, there's not many.

Oh, and a quick thank you to all that left comments yesterday! You really made my day :)

hugs!

LOTD - Lay Out of The Day! Yes, me!

2008-09-08T10:09:00.004-05:00

I got an IM from Shannon late last night and I couldn't believe it! She told me my LO I had just created was chosen for LOTD. Since Duchess Designs is the featured designer at Digital candy this month, they are letting Maria & her CT chose the LOTD's. Shannon assured me it has nothing to do with the fact I am on her CT as well. I believe her, they're not like that.

It started out as a challenge for ChrissyW's blog and the template was a freebie on her blog. I used a kit from Dreamscape Designs - Munchkin Man. I really had fun creating this LO and I was satisfied how it turned out. Here, i would like to share it with you.

I am just so excited. Oh and this all came about after I found out I won the flair challenge at Digital Candy that was hosted by hauntedonecat (Wendy). i just had too much fun with this challenge and was the first flair I ever made. I figured IRL I am a dork (but such a cute & funny one), that in the candy world it would equal a goober.

Well, i guess I should get back to work now. Just couldn't wait to share :)

UPDATE

2008-09-01T23:46:00.002-05:00

So far, so good. Not sure if the house sustained any damage yet. But from what we've heard, it should be okay. Now we just have to keep an eye out for Hanna, Ike and possibly Josephine???? Ready for this season to be over!

Anniversary

2008-08-29T20:17:00.001-05:00

Today is the 3 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. We had moved here 2 months prior and were hit hard. But we at least at a home to fix, so we considered ourselves VERY greatful. We received the call from the Navy today - mandatory evacuation at 8 am. We'll be lucky to be out of here by noon. We have a room reserved in Nashville, closest we could get to Millington. We like to be optimistic - so it will be a mini-vacation! Must get back to packing!

Great News!

2008-08-28T16:08:00.003-05:00

I'm so excited, I just had to share... I got an email today offering me a permanent spot on Duchess Design's CT!!! Woot! I was getting sad as I was coming to the end of my guest spot for August, so I was thrilled to accept the position! Now I'll get to wear a crown on my picture! :) Just truly a great group of gals to associate with and Maria is a great designer!

Gustav

2008-08-26T12:57:00.002-05:00

Oh yea, we may have a hurricane on the way. Personally, I feel it's hard to guess where it's going until it gets North of Cuba. Then you'll know if it will cross land or stay on water. They must feel this one can be bad, because I am already seeing sandbags in front of a lot of local businesses. Tomorrow Michael will pick up the last 2 sheets of plywood we need and top off a couple more of our gas cans (from Katrina - think I bought 11 of them & brought back from Texas).

Michael could be mandated to evacuate from the Navy. If so, we have to go to Millington, TN. Though, we were discussing maybe going to Jackson at first to see what happens. Then either, we won't have as far to drive to come home or we can continue to TN.

I bet folks in FL are getting nervous. There wasn't an inch of FL not effected by T.S. Fay. Hope they don't get hit by Gustav too.

Newest Layouts!

2008-08-26T11:27:00.004-05:00

Yes, getting my challenges at Digital Candy done up. Did you know that you earn points from posting & challenges that will earn you FREE gift certificates!!!! How cool is that?

Okay 1st LO are my boys at the airport when oldest got home from Europe. This was for the journaling challenge and I had to recreate the template by Jill & Jack scraps that I like -- it got flattened. The kit is Rockin Robin by Duchess Designs (hint-hint - my new presents :) )

2nd LO was Tony a few years back trying to be a wild child. this was for the Sweet Elements challenge. Glitter (except the flourish) is by Trish H, flowers are from Vintage Flair by Dreamscape Designs and the rest is from Rockin Robin by Duchess Designs (don't you love here glittery swirlies?)

3rd LO is from the night we played with Jonathan's Cars dominoes and was for the Scraplift challenge (off of gonewiththewind - Angel Girl). I do love how this LO turned out! Paper , elements & alpha from AWP - The Great Outdoors & Hazy Days. Photo key chain from foxydesigns.

4th LO is from the Candy Jar challenge. Kit is from Trish H.

I have to admit, I honestly have a hard time keeping up with who made what & what pieces I use.

GRAB BAG

2008-08-25T12:16:00.002-05:00

Have you noticed Duchess Designs Regal Sweet Bag #3 she has on Digital Candy? I just got it today and OMG, can't believe what she had in it. Grab it now for $3, because she will be revealing it on Sept. 1st and you will still want all the items, but spend a lot more. There are 5 great items in the bag....for $3! Sorry, don't mean to get carried away, I just LOVE a great bargain and this goes beyond that! I'm dying to show you something from it, but guess I'll have to wait. Really looking forward to working with all of it tonight and then I'll show you some LO's.

I Named a Kit!!!!!

2008-08-21T10:00:00.002-05:00

I have put in suggestions for new digi kits on a few different occasions. Knowing very well, I'm not so good at it. However, Holli Hobbi over at Digital Candy had a new GREAT back to school kit and the person who suggested the name received the kit for free. I really loved this particular one because I could use it just as well for my 15 yo as I could my 4 yo. I must have put in about 20 suggestions and imagine my shock when I received the message she chose one of mine.

Playing in the rain

2008-08-21T09:54:00.002-05:00

We have had rain for about two weeks straight already ~ or at least feels that way. Had another good rainfall yesterday (my heart & prayer goes out to all in Florida and any effected by TS Fay) so Jonathan tells me he wants to go outside and play when we get home. At first I said no because it is wet. "I know", he says with the biggest grin. Okay, why not? He had so much fun. Daddy even took his shoes off and rain through the puddles (ponds) with him. I haven't downloaded the pictures from the camera yet, but will post a few when I do!

Is this right?

2008-08-21T09:47:00.003-05:00

I thought when your child becomes a teenager, especially once they hit high school, they try to do everything in their power to avoid you. With the exception of when they need something. Thankfully, I can say that is not completely true with my 15 year old. He makes the comment to me the other day during our conversation, "That's why I enjoy talking to you." I'm sure my eyes bugged out a bit and looked at him a bit strangely. "Because I can talk about things and use words ~ and you get it! Some of my friends either ask what that means or just look at me insanely." It gave me that warm fuzzy feeling, my son ENJOYS talking with me! And his Dad too. Especially now that he is in JROTC. As long as it is something that interest Tony, he is a sponge and soaks up every bit of information he can.

Slideshow

2008-08-18T16:01:00.003-05:00

2008-08-18T14:54:00.002-05:00

Here is the Vintage Flair by Dreamscape Designs, as well as the add-on for Vintage Flair. I am tired of having tons of recipes printed out or jotted down on just anything, So I've decided to scrap them and organize them. Might as well make the pretty too. That way I can say "Of course I'm not scrapping AGAIN, I'm organizing my recipes so I can cook delicious meals for you and the boys." Yea, right, he'll know I was full of it.

2008-08-18T12:01:00.006-05:00

I have a few digi kits that I want to show you. They are some of the new releases at Digital Candy. The 1st one is Sweet Boy by Trish H. Trish was so sweet and RAKed me with it. (A RAK is Random Act of Kindness). Having 2 boys, this kit touched me when I saw it.

The 2nd was another RAK. Summer's End by Chaos Lounge. I just love the soft colors and greenery. I think I have at least her last 3 kits. They are just so packed with so much. Great when you have a lot of pages you want to co-ordinate, but not have the same items on each.

Last, but NOT least... daydream by dreamscape designs. I love the colors in it, mix of elements and such pretty papers. This kit could be used for girls or boys, kids or adults...I love multi-purpose items!

What is your personal preference? Do you like it when designers keep rolling their great designs or do you like a little time between kits. I don't know if I have made my mind up on that yet. I'm too impatient to wait to see the next fab design, but at the same time I feel like I didn't have time to play with their last kit. No worries, I'll just have to lock myself up with my computer and have a night of scrapping! I have managed to do a recipe layout with the last kit from dreamscape designs, Vintage Flair.

New Color

2008-08-18T11:56:00.003-05:00

So I colored my hair. This morning, before work of all times. Normally I do light brown or red, but this time I went with a med. brown with just a hint of red. I was surprised that it looks better than the lighter colors. (Not sure why since my roots were pretty dark, LOL). the gals at work said it looks great. Just wonder what dear Hubby will say when he gets home??? I'm thinking he will like it. It took a few years off too. Not sure if it's because my grays are covered (for now) or the darker hair doesn't wash my face color out as much? Whatever the reason, I'm happy.

GAS & DIESEL

2008-08-13T11:39:00.003-05:00

How often do you find you tend to get a little 'tunnel-visioned'. Although there are some people who choose to be that way, many of don't even realize we get that way. We get wrapped up in our busy schedules, work, tending to our families and IF lucky, may even find a few minutes to call out own. Then something comes to our attention and we realize we never thought about it that way.

Let's take the price of a gallon of gas. And honestly, I don't want to hear from anyone who thinks the President is lining his pockets or the oil companies are raking us over the coals. But you may want to continue reading, because you may find your vision field widen.

There is no one reason as to why. Hurricanes has some to do with it. They mess with the rigs in the water, disrupt production and often cost the companies in many ways. So when they can get back to production, naturally they focus on the top demand - regular gasoline.

Also, with new regulations and laws, the refineries are having to create "clean" gas and diesel. That is going to cost, no getting around it. Not only for the process, but the research as well.

One of the biggest contributors is DEMAND! Do you remember learning about supply & demand in school? Not only has our national demand increased, but global as well. There are 2 new countries recently (last few years) that have opened up to the oil companies (I want to say China and So. Africa, but don't quote me). So, if you go from 10 billion people wanting 10 billion gallons to 15 billion people wanting that same 10 billion gallons....price goes up.

As far as the oil companies' profits, they make the same % of profit as they did 30 or 40 years ago. But when your production goes up, the profits go up as well. Don't be a hater of rich people. No, not all deserve the riches they were given, but ones that EARN it do. And NO, I am not rich by any means ~ unless you count being rich in blessings and love, then yes, I am extremely rich.

What do you do to survive the high gas prices? Some drive less, car pool or work from home. i personally have started driving 60 on the highway. luckily I don't drive on the highway much, because it drives me crazy! I tried 55, but I just wasn't willing to do it. Also, I take my foot off the gas peddle and coast to the stop sign or light and don't hit the gas hard taking off. I noticed I get an extra 3 miles per gallon. Doesn't sound like much, but it adds up. I may not be doing this entirely right, but it gives the idea... Say I drive 100 miles a week and I was averaging 17 mpg in-town driving. that means in 4 weeks I would have to buy 23.53 gallons of gas. Now I am averaging 20 mpg's and only have to buy 20 gallons for the same time frame. So, in 4 weeks, i save 3.53 gallons. Doesn't sound like alot, but when you figure our gas just got back down to $3.70 gallon, that would be a savings of $13.06 in 4 weeks. Over 52 weeks, I will have saved $169.78.

The high fuel prices are hard on me as well as everyone else. I'm not going to whine (too much) about it. Because I also look at it this way. I CHOOSE to drive a SUV ~ that's part of the American dream ~ being able to work for what you want! I CHOOSE to make some 'unnecessary" trips. But I also choose to make some changes to lighten the impact on my family.

Okay, so those were a couple of aspects of Thinking Outside the Box. Here's is another. The price of diesel. I realize the main idea I even give diesel a second thought is because I work for an car carrier transport company. Avg. price of unleaded in my are was $2.70 gallon in Sept. '06 and $3.80 gallon now. However, diesel was averaging in my area $2.90 gallon in Sept. '06. and is up to $4.70 gallon presently. So, whatever your gas price is, diesel is probably at least $0.70 to $1.00 more per gallon. Last quarter, our small fleet ran over 385,000 miles. And we purchased well over 90,000 gallons of diesel. We held our rates as long as we could, but we had to start adding a fuel charge at one point.

This will effect everyone for just about everything. How do the stores get the clothes, food and supplies you need and want? I guarantee there were trucks involved.

I'm done babbling now. I'm not trying to lecture or push my views on anyone. I realize there are times I need to reminded that there is a bigger picture and just passing it on to you.

I've been Interviewed!

2008-08-13T10:13:00.002-05:00

Shannon, doomfaeryshannon, from digitalcandy.com and Duchess Designs CT interviewed me last night and it's already on the Duchess Designs Blog. I didn't remember until the end it was an interview. We just started chatting and I guess I thought she would say something like 'Let's start'. Chatting with Shannon was such a joy! Check out Shannon's blog.

Canvas Art

2008-08-13T10:04:00.002-05:00

Okay, I'm a cheapie. Hate paying big bucks for things I can do at a fraction! I found this great tutorial for making your own scrap-booking LO's into canvas art. I haven't tried it yet, but I will! Especially with the holidays coming up. Oh, and what a nice gift to give to....oops, can't say it here. hehehe.

2008-08-12T15:47:00.003-05:00

Jonathan got Cars dominoes for his birthday.So Tony & I played with him last night. He beat us 6 out of 7 games :( (Yep, I won the one) We were playing when I realized how sweet it was and grabbed the camera. It pretty much turned into let's act funny & Jonathan decided to see how much he could beat up his brother. (I let Tony take a couple of pics with THE camera, hence the horizontally challenges picture of Jonathan :) )

Funny how many times a day it can go from "You're the bestest Brother ever" to "I don't like you!" Have to say though, for there being an 11 year difference they are very close. A couple of weeks ago, they stayed at a friend's house for a birthday party. At one point Tony got hit THERE and dropped to the ground. Jonathan went running up to him asking him if he was okay. And don't even think about hurting Jonathan, as big brother gets VERY protective (and at times, possessive). They are very sweet together.

Shadow Box

2008-08-11T17:02:00.002-05:00

We found the perfect shadowbox for Michael's retirement! Seeing he is a QuarterMaster (navigator), what could beat....

I've already started saving. If I could get 365 people donate just $1.00. :)

I'm really looking forward to the ceremony as we have the Picayune H.S. NJROTC Color Guard doing the colors (they are one of the best in the nation!). Our oldest just started HS this year and joined the NJROTC. We are very proud of him (but never pushed him, it was completely his decision). Think Chief is going to have him on the Color Guard for Michael's ceremony.

I'll keep you updated on the rest! Would love to hear about other sailors & soldiers retirement stories and from the spouses too.

Survived the party! BARELY!

2008-08-11T16:43:00.004-05:00

Oh, and to think this little guy turned 4 yesterday! It was a very nice party, but let me tell you, Daddy & I were WORE OUT after 3 hours! And his face was dirtier than in this LO after the kool-aid and cake! He says to Daddy & I after everyone left...."My party's over, you can take the tree house down now!" LOL, not a chance! okay, i just tried to upload a picture of it & it won't go through. Let me work on it!

above LO done using Sweet Tart Team MEGA kit at Digital Candy!

Before I run, just wanted to share one more Layout (LO). okay, didn't go where I thought it would, but that's okay. That is Jonathan & his Bestest Uncle Dave on the 4th of July! I used a hodge podge of kits & elements, LOL. Papers, staples & swirls from Melothria. Stitches from July DC kit, some elements from Natalie Bird, About a Boy and also Scrappy Goddess, Boys Go Brrmmm. Paper tears from xquisite Designs.

Seeking Help with Retirement

2008-08-05T13:36:00.004-05:00

This is my loving & handsome Quarter Master Chief & husband. He retires from the Navy January 31, 2009 with 24 years of service. I am honored to have been by his side for the past 5 years and wish I could have been through more of it.

We have been more focused on getting debt free (You really should check out Dave Ramsey) and getting our house fixed that we got a late start on saving for his retirement ceremony and reception. We are not fancy-smancy people, but I would like to throw him a ceremony fitting for a wonderful man who has spent 24 years protecting our freedom.

So, I am asking anyone who would be willing to make a donation (even $1 is greatly appreciated) to send it to Tami Romer, 307 N Main St. , Picayune, MS 39466. Yes, that is my work as I am not going to post my home address on the web. LOL If you have an extra thank you or congratulations on retiring card to send it in, I will make a collage of his well-wishes for him.

God Bless!

`~LO was made using Heather Mannings - Some Gave All.

Life with Teenagers

2008-08-05T13:18:00.004-05:00

Not to get into details, but why is it you can think of your teenager and be filled with so much pride and feel they can do no wrong ~ then the next you wonder if YOU are going to survive having a teenager! I tell my Mom all the time, "I'm so sorry for anything I ever did!" And Continually try to remind my self that someday, when he is a parent himself, he will too understand what it means to be a parent. Yes, we are strict. And we do spoil the boys in some ways even if it's not materialistic. We encourage them, cheer them on and even give them a push when they need. And one of our biggest fears is that someday, one of the boys will come back to us when they are adults and say "Why didn't you teach me that?" or "Why didn't you warn me, prepare me?"

~The layout is of my Tony and the lyrics of Rascal Flats "My Wish"

I was a single mom for 10 years and things were rough for us at times. But we were close. We still are, well, as close as a teenager will let you be. I think about how quickly the last 15 years have passed and I want to cry to think how quickly the next 4 will fly. My DH took him as his son from day one. He stepped up to the bat in every way imaginable, which is more than I had ever dreamed for.

I'm just in a bit of a funk today. Have so much to do to get ready for our little one's b-day party this weekend. Need to order the cake, the supplies I ordered will be in tomorrow, still need to pick up Pinata stuffers and think need to get balloons. We should have the tree house finished for the most part for the kids to play on. Along with some kind of sprinkler, the kids will have a blast. Well, need to run as I'm working on some other plans as well.

ExCiTeMeNt!!!!

2008-08-02T09:47:00.002-05:00

I can hardly believe it! I have a Guest CT spot for Duchess Designs!!! I am still so new to the digi world, but I love it! So surprised for the spot, but am estatic! I will show my LO's I do on here too!

Back finally~

2008-08-02T09:32:00.005-05:00

Okay, I got all wrapped up talking to DH last night. We were discussing upcoming stuff for his retirement ceremony. Even though I have only been able to share in about 1/5 of his career, I feel he deserves a VERY nice retirement ceremony and reception. And I don't mean expensive when I say VERY nice, but it does cost. We were looking for a shadow box he will need for the ceremony. Found the perfect one, in shape of a ship's wheel since he is a quartermaster (navigator). There's about $350 not including the cost of mounting his medals, awards & everything.

We are having the ceremony at the D-Day museum in New Orleans. I'm excited and think it is fitting since we had his last re-enlistment ceremony (only one I was with him for) at a Maritime museum in Texas. But they don't have a private room for a reception. So we are going to look for a place around there or Slidell that we can rent a room. It would be nice to present those who participate a small token of appreciation if we are able. I'm excited as we will hopefully have the Navy Band there and we are hoping to have it approved from DS's school for the color guard of his JROTC present colors. Anyways you'll hear more about that as we get stuff scheduled.

We are BIG Dave Ramsey listeners and are working towards becoming debt free. We have already promised each other not to use any of our credit cards. We will pay them off, cancel & demolish the cards! So if we don't have the cash, we just plain can't afford it! So we have school shopping now, birthdays, retirement and Christmas all in a short span of time. I need ideas to help raise money for his retirement ceremony. I am about to start working on some personalized tumbled coaster (will be fun and hopefully profitable, LOL). Give me any ideas you possibly can.

Fundraising Ideas?????

2008-08-01T22:16:00.002-05:00

Ok, here's my thing. (You will find I speak very plain, and well, pretty blunt). i have been with my Hubby for a little over 5 years. He will be retiring from the US Navy in Jan. with 24 years of service. So his career had been long before me. He doesn't see it that way, so maybe it's just me. I have been through some of the 'typical' Navy Wife issues, but not in the sense that many military wives have. I will never try to take from them what the long-term wives have gone through, so I honestly feel 'incomplete' as a Navy wife. Ok, let me go back a little bit.

When I met him, he was on sea duty. We both knew when we met that this was different, that 'this' was going somewhere long term. (Which is soooo what I was NOT looking for at this time, but that story is for later). His friends accepted me right away and I just kinda chalked that up to a 'friend' thing. They were (and are) such great people! I miss many of them sooooo much! He was suppose to retire January '05. We had just had a baby, so he was going to extend when his recruiter suggested re-enlisting. So he decided to. We were stationed in New Orleans, but decided to live in Mississippi. But, we do not live in a Navy community. We like where we live, but it's not the same. So it's not until now that I realize what it really was that we have. I miss it! We always had people over to our house, our were invited to our friends. It's just a totally different life.

Okay, I will be back in a minute to explain what I am looking for.

2008-07-23T15:30:00.006-05:00

would like to put a plug in for my friend Tammy who has an awesome online store .... xpressionsplus.com

WELCOME TO MY SPOT

2008-07-23T11:04:00.000-05:00

I wanted a spot to put my digital LO's (layouts) up to share with family and friends. Also, can just speak about those crazy thoughts that pop into my head. You will probably hear much about my digital scrapbooking finds and techniques I learn. First place I would like to share is Digital Candy. They have a great forum, the shop is full of great items from some very talented designers and the gallery is a great place to get inspiration (don't forget to leave some love). The above is I believe the 2nd or 3rd LO I ever made. The pics are from when Jonathan was about 6 or 7 months old I believe. It was just too precious.