SOOOOO STOKED!

this chick and this chick are flying in next month for my bday!!!!

i'm so super excited i can't even stand it.

and if that wasn't enough this chickie might be coming in too!!!

whooooo*haaaaa!!!

anyone else wanna fly in?
seriously.
let me know, you have a free place to stay!

OH....

i've been away too long.
i swore i wasn't going to be gone long again, but look at me.
things have been crazy around here, especially at work so that has kinda been draining and kept me from living my normal life....lol. but i've taken the past weekend to relax and get refocused.
scrapping has helped.
ALOT!!!!

so here is a result of the most recent therapy session :)






the recent scrap mojo




ACCCCCCK!!! THIS LO JUST MADE catwalk and picked by ms. big sis herself :)



for the recent jack




an older jack

GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE!!!

good morning sunshine has been updated with some new goodies.

have a happy monday!!!

WELL....

....how is everyone's oh*eight so far?

today i have had an excellent day. house to myself. i haven't heard it this quiet in god knows how long. i'm loving it. the whole not speaking thing is pretty awesome too!

i've spent the day....

catching up on blogs.

scrappin' a lo.

making more stuff for etsy and snapping some shots of em (update will be shortly :)


baking some key lime cupcakes which i cannot wait to try!!

my version! i swear, the green "frosting" i could eat by the spoonful...sooo good!!


i'm pretty much just having a great day.
but i thought i would take a sec and do a lil new year's eve recap since yesterday's post was mostly my hopes for oh*eight!




we are really not into new year's eve. i could care less if we go to a party and i care less if i even make it to midnight. its just not really a holiday that i put too much thought into.



well the past coupla years, we have gotten together with greta and her clan and this year wasn't really any different.

michael grilled out, we shot some fireworks, and exchanged presents.

i couldn't wait to give greta her presents (in another post...i plan on posting all the christmas gifts that i made this year....well at least the ones i snapped photos of...lol) and was equally excited to see what she got me.

we had decided that we would do a "handmade christmas". neither one of us needs anything and i always enjoy giving and receiving hand crafted lovlies.

boy did i rack up.

first, greta kinda cheated and bought me a gc to noel mignon and some of the marah johnson card scrappy goodies that i have been oogling for quite some time. but i'm not complaining that she cheated in the least :)

and now on to the handmade schtuff...


prima ornament


hambly owl necklace


handmade card and heidi swapp mask


an album for me to put lo's of all of our self portraits

and...


an awesome "friend" album for me to put pics of the two of us in.

see i told ya i racked up :)

so all and all it was a nice and quite new year's. greta's clan left around 1030-1100-ish. michael started a fire and we put the kiddos in bed (only to discover that mikey was in bed watching fireworks out his window and reading one of the captain underpants books that simone and max sent him. and i am here to tell ya, seeing that swelled my heart like you wouldn't believe. i even jumped in bed with mikey a coupla times to watch the fireworks with him. he was convinced two of our neighbors were having a competition to determine whose fireworks were the prettiest :)

once the clock struck midnight, michael gave me a kiss that made my knees buckle, we watched a lil murder she wrote (of course!) and then hit the hay.

a nice relaxing evening to start the new year off right :)

oh man!
i better get...i wanna few relaxing minutes reading or watching something on tv before everyone gets home :)


darn it!
one more thing.

i like to make lists. i usually don't make them enough but when i do i find that they keep me organized and nothing is more satisfying then crossing something off. whether it be a grocery list, to*do list, or lists to help me prepare for an event.

so i decided that this year, instead of throwing them away, i would snap a photo of them (first?), add em here, and be able to see what all i got done this year. anyone is welcome to join me if ya want, just lemme know so i can be all nosy like and read your lists too!!!

without further ado, here's my first list for oh*eight

HAPPY OH*EIGHT!!!

pic taken by your's truly on new year's eve night.


i hope everyone had a fabulous and safe new year's eve night and that you're spending the first day of oh*eight feeling relaxed, being a lil lazy, and just enjoying the day!!!

that's on my agenda anyway :)

ya know, oh*seven was a rough year for me...well us. ya know with all the house brew*ha*ha and living at mom's (not living with mom per se, but living in someone else's house and not having my own). so i have been looking forward to oh*eight for well...quite some time.

i'm very excited about this year and i have many hopes for it. its an even numbered year...i tend to like those more. i turn 30 next month (eeeek!), and well, i just have a lot of things that i would like to accomplish this year. i'm not going to say resolutions, b/c who the hell keeps those??

so i am going to call them.....da*da*da*dum.....

my "oh*eight hopes"

and here they are:



*to be more positive. quit being a "glass half empty" kinda gal

*learn more about my camera and take a ton of pics.

*start a family game night and stick to it.

*have a garden this year and produce a bounty of beautiful veggies. have the kiddos be a major part in this with me.

*get rid of my black thumbs....i guess maybe this one should come before the one above ;)

*journal and journal and journal and journal.

*feel relaxed 85% of my time

*climb a rock wall (i need to find one first...i wish we lived in an area to hike, but we don't).

*quit smoking for good!!!!! seriously, this is the one i wanna accomplish the most!

*cook more homemade meals. make the time to do this. i love to cook and i usually do, but i'm usually not prepared and then come home from work and think "what's for dinner?".

*create a menu and stick to it...making my life more calm!

*be and stay organized. if i would just realize the stress this would reduce in my life.

*be more frugal. realize the difference between "wants" and "needs" (even though i really do "need" elsie's jack + abbey line...i really do!)

*use up the goodies in my scrap room. why have it if i don't use it?

*write letters and thank you cards and get them in the mail.

*keep up with birthdays and get stuff out in the mail in a timely manner.

*get my ass off the couch!

*do more crafty*schtuff with the kiddos.

*keep my etsy shop updated with goodies (and hopefully sell something or two :)

*learn more about photoshop

*answer emails immediately

*make more real life friends

*vamp up my sewing skills (or lack there of actually)

*scrap more!!!!

*read, read, read. and start to read some classics.

*keep a cleaning schedule and stick to it so i'm not bombarded with a buncha chores at once.

*i HAVE to go to work everyday so i might as well find something about it i truly enjoy and quit bitching about how i can't be a stay at home mom. start crafting there if neccessary...lol.

*go bowling more often

*take a photography class

*quit being soooo competitive

*start exercising more and watch the junk i eat. i am not going to call it dieting.

*quit putting everything off until "later". i'm such a procrastinator and this has to stop! my life is by no means easier b/c of this. as a matter of fact, something usually comes up "later" and then i'm running around bitching at everyone b/c of my own lateness!!!




well i guess that's a large enough list now to start my oh*eight off with.

what's your "hopes for oh*eight"???

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!