OOPS!

I can't believe I've gone so long without blogging. It's been crazy busy the past couple weeks, as it has been for everyone, I'm sure.

We had a great Christmas. The girls didn't get any toys (per our request) but the girls each got a cd player boom box which they LOVE from Grandma and Grandpa Spangler. They got all three Spy Kids movies, and a lot of books and art supplies, among other things. They were happy. I got a few DVDs I had been wanting and a 2 Gig memory card for my camera. Woot!

I also got my bow painted Christmas weekend. It looks SO awesome!

Well, I guess I'll end this for now...need more coffee...

Friday...Christmas Shopping day!

I'm about to venture out into the wildness of the mall. I have to go Christmas shopping. I haven't the faintest idea what I want to get anyone; I guess I'm just going to wander aimlessly around the stores until I stumble upon something that looks good.

The girls aren't getting toys this year; they get clothes, books, art supplies, videos. We're going to buy toys, but they're going to go to a couple families who need them a bit more than we do. Hopefully it will teach the girls to be generous and have compassion. At least that's the idea. We'll see how it goes. Anyway, my divas enjoy clothes much more than toys anyway!

Monday I had surgery to have a tubal ligation. No more kids for me. It was an easy procedure; they did it laproscopically. I was able to go home that evening. Recovery has been fairly easy, just a bit sore like a truck ran over me, but I'm mostly better. I'll definitely have to take it easy today while shopping. Can't overdo it.

I'm missing my dad a lot this season. I wish I could hear his voice and listen to his laugh. That's the one thing I hate about the holidays. I want my dad.

Anyway...off to shop. Have a great weekend, everyone.

Chat with Heather and Fee!

Hmmm...It's Tuesday. Man, was our Thanksgiving weekend busy! First we had a family dinner here on Thursday. Cora cooked our meal for us! Andrew did the oven stuff, but Cora made the green bean casserole, the mashed potatoes, the yams, and the cookies.

She was very excited to be the chef that day.

Friday night was the annual Euchre party at Andrew's brother's house. We had a really good time. I won the "boobie prize", which goes to the schmuck in last place. Heh....The boobie prize is all the quarters put into a jar when someone has a failed loner hand or gets Euchred. There was about 10 bucks worth of quarters in there! Woot! :) As the beer gets consumed, the cockiness gets more prevelant, so the more quarters go into the jar! Excellent!

Saturday was dinner at Andrew's dad's house. Drama over there. Long story.
I also did a photo session at the bow club Sat. afternoon. Two girls from the club who are Recurvers like me. I got some shots of them with their bows. They haven't seen these yet, but I think they're going to flip for them.
Here are two I did...

Sunday was dinner with Andrew's mom at his brother's house. More Euchre, more food. Can't beat it.

Help Our Troops...

Just wanted to post this site on my blog....

http://www.anysoldier.com/

You Know You Want To...

The Digi Chick is having a huge Black Friday Sale...

Check it.

Sarah has been sick the past couple days. Yesterday she was throwing up and had a fever. I thought she was done throwing up, but she just did it again. Poor kid.

We're going to have a small dinner tomorrow for just us. Cora wants to help prepare the meal, so she and Andrew are going to sit down tonight and plan out what they want to cook. He really wants to do this with her, so who am I to refuse? I'm perfectly happy to sit on my couch and watch movies all day. Friday night is the annual Euchre party at Andrew's brother's house. That is ALWAYS a blast! Saturday is the father-in-law's dinner at his house (he's remarried), and then Sunday is the mother-in-law's dinner at her house. Makes for a lot of traveling, but we have fun. Luckily everyone mostly lives within an hour of each other.

Welp, I'll end this with a few layouts I've completed the past few days. Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving, everyone!

Papers: Misty Mareda's Basin St. Blues Kit at The Digi Shoppe
Cardboard and eyelet: Jen Caputo
Photo Corner: Jennilyn
Bracket and paper strips: Lauren Reid
Fonts: 1942 Report; Lima Bean; Acoustic Bass

Papers, elements from "Back In Black: Fresh" kit by Amanda Rockwell.
Heart brush: Fee Jardine
Fresh Foliage Brush: Jason Gaylor
Paper tear and Folded corner action: Jen Caputo
Date stamps: Heather Roselli
Alpha Stamp: Michelle Coleman
Font: Indian Poker

Papers: Jen Wilson
Word Art: Marsha Zepeda (available in the boutique)
Swirls: Jen Wilson; Amber Clegg( The Digi Chick "Indian Summer" Collaborative Kit)
Flower: TDC Indian Summer Collaborative Kit
Paper Tear: Jen Caputo
Fonts: Elizabeth; Apple Scruffs

Friday, baby!!!

Yeah Ok, it's Friday. I got up this morning and went to the bow club to shoot with some of the best archers in the state. I must admit, we didn't get much shooting done; we gabbed most of the time! But I had fun, and it was good for me to be there with the good shooters. They teach me a lot. Andrew got the girls on the bus this morning. Thanks, sweetie! :)

I got an A on my research paper from hell! I was SO excited to get that paper back. I can resubmit it and try to get the full credit, but I figure an A is an A, so why tempt fate? We're on the homestretch now, and I can see the end of the semester. Phew! I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas break. I'll definitely need a break before the next semester of more Biology, Chemistry and Calculus. Good times, eh?

Anyhoo...here are a couple layouts I've cranked out in the past few days.

This uses Fee Jardine's new "Flossie" kit.


Using Heather Roselli's Schtuff (Growth Spurt, Silly One, Day Planner 2)

Memories 2 by Amber Clegg

Brrr....

Guess it's official. Summer is gone. I was trying to deny it of as long as possible. Can't do it now, as I'm freezing my scooby doobies off.

Spent all day at the bow club coaching at the Kids' League at the bow club. It's a lot of fun to help the kids, but MAN I get SO tired after it's over. Some of the kids are getting really good.

Tomorrow we're heading down to Farmington Hills to hang out with Andrew's brother and his family. I'll be taking their kids' pictures as well. Andrew didn't go hunting this weekend because the weather is nasty.

I'm going in for surgery on December 4 to have a Tubal Ligation (tubes tied). The IUD I had wasn't working out for me, so I've decided that this is the right course to take. We're done having kids. Pretty easy procedure; I won't have to stay the night in the hospital most likely. My doc was telling me that there's a new procedure that can be done in the doctor's office. It's called Essure. I opted to do the other procedure, as the time to wait for infertility is two weeks as opposed to three months. Ok...I'm sure y'all wanted to hear about my fertility. I digress.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Good Morning!

Sarah's home with a cold. Poor kid can barely speak. She was not happy about having to stay home though.

It's been a pretty quiet week. Got my research paper turned in last week, so that's a HUGE relief. I'll be ready for Thanksgiving break. After that there's only a couple weeks left of school.

I've decided to change my major from nursing to Molecular Biology/Biotechnology. It just SOUNDS cool. I'm really excited. LOTS of Biology, Chemistry and Physics, but I'm such a nerd for that stuff anyway.

Everyone should head on over to The Digi Chick and spend 10 bucks. Then you can have this awesome kit!!!

Here's a layout I did with it.

Stupid Tigers!

Yeah they lost. Blah blah. Congrats goes out to the Cards. The Tigers just forgot how to play baseball. Painful to watch, really.

Let's see. Not much going on. Working like mad on my research paper that's due on Thursday. I'll be glad when it's over. It's mostly done; I just have to type it and polish it a bit. Shouldn't be hard.

Ugh. I just realized that on November 7, the girls will be out of school since it's election day. Now I have to find a baby sitter for them all day instead of just when they get off the bus. Guess I'll be calling Grandpa! :)

What's your favorite YouTube video? Link me up with your faves! I love to watch good stuff on YouTube.

Mine is definitely:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGQMyN75LFQ

Welp, guess I'm off for now. Later!

Yeah, they did it!

My boys tied it up at 1-1! Wonderful game last night. Too bad that they'll win the World Series in St. Louis. It would be WILD if they went to game 6 and took it in Detroit. I apologize to any St. Louis fans, but my boys are gonna TAKE IT!!!!!

I sat and watched the game and studied last night. Big Microbiology test tomorrow. I'm tinkering with the idea of changing majors from Nursing to Medical Technology. Kinda not sure what I wanna do now. Both careers are cool, but I'm not sure I can deal with all the aspects of nursing. Lots to think about.

Guess I have to get my house straightend out. I always slack off while Andrew's hunting. It's pretty wrecked. Off I go! If I'm not back in a day, dig me out from under the laundry and the dishes!

I'm a Deer Widow

Andrew left for his week-long hunting trip yesterday morning. It'll go by pretty fast since I'm busy like crazy this week. Two exams, helping teach the Archery class on Monday night, working in Cora's class for a bit, eating lunch with Sarah Wednesday, Andrew's sister and husband are coming into town on Thursday. WORLD SERIES!!!! Bummer that my Tigers lost game one. That's alright, though...they're gonna STOMP some serious butt in the next three games...RIGHT???? Right!!!

We spent yesterday at the bow club. I helped in the kitchen and out on the line with the kids. That's so fun! Those kids are so cute! Some listen, and some don't. It's frustrating because a lot of parents don't really understand the mechanics and technical aspects of archery. They expect their kids to shoot bullseyes with this bow they bought at a garage sale with no site or correct set up. All we can do is try to teach them correct form, and hope the parents invest in better equipment. The kids start out at 5 yards, and when they shoot a certain score, they can move back to 10 yards, etc. Cora's at 15 yards already, and it was the second week. She and one other boy (about 14 years old) were shooting from 15 yards. It was so funny to hear the buzz around the room when my 7 year old got up to shoot. Everyone was amazed. I'm a mean mommy, though. The rule is that if a kid forgets to get their arrows out of the target, they have to do the chicken dance to get them back. It's supposed to be a fun thing. Cora forgot her arrows, so I gave them to John to call her to get them back. The poor kid started crying. Guess who had to do the chicken dance for making their daughter cry? You guessed it. Me. Funny stuff. But she didn't forget her arrows again!

Wow, Friday Can't Get Here Fast Enough

I'm SO ready for the weekend. Not sure why though, since I have two exams to study for. Guess I'm a glutton for punishment. Andrew's leaving for his week-long hunting trip on Sat. morning. All day Saturday the girls and I will be at the bow club for the Kids' League. Lots of fun, but it totally exhausts me. The girls have a blast shooting with the other kids. I have a blast showing the kids how to shoot.

Guess what I get to do all day tomorrow??? I get to cook hunting food for Andrew. Yes, that's right. I get to stay home all day and slave over the hot stove. That's alright though; it'll give me time to work on my HOF entry. Woot! :)

I can't believe that St. Louis and New York went to game 7. Wonder who my Tigers will play in the Series? We shall soon find out! GO TIGERS!

Hump Day!

Woot! Halfway through the week!

I took my first lab practical exam in Microbiology yesterday. Not too bad. I think the fear of the unknown was the worst. Pretty easy exam.

Not much planned today. I'm going to walk with Cora's class on their library field trip this afternoon. The town library is very close to the school.

My boys made it to the World Series!!!! It was pure magic watching the last play of Game 4 against Oakland. Gotta love baseball!!!!

I'll become a Hunting Widow this weekend. Andrew and his brothers and dad are going up north for their annual hunting trip. He'll be gone from this Sat until next Sunday. Figures, I have two exams that week, with no one to wrangle kids while I study. Dat's alright, though...I can handle it!

Go check out The Everyday Digital Scrapbooking Blog! Lots of great tutorials and inspiration to be found!
Also, take a gander at the Sweet Shoppe's blog. Great stuff there, too!

Here's a layout I did the other night.

Papers: Manda Bean's Table Scraps Collection: Serrano Chile Salsa
Brushes: MissM
Stitches: Manda Bean's Scrapperware Pack
Fonts: Smudger's; Hootie!

Ok...I am such a GEEK...

But I loved this video from YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7A2D2M4ZcU

Woo Hoo!!!

GO TIGERS!!!! They're on a roll! Hopefully they can make it to the World Series. Very cool stuff.

It's a dreary day today. Lots of rain. We're supposed to get SNOW tonight after midnight. Can I tell you how much I'm NOT happy about that bit of news. Guess that's what I get for living in Michigan.

Yesterday was my dad's birthday. He would have been 64. I miss him terribly.

Ewwww....It's COLD!

Cold morning. I hate the cold. Have I ever mentioned that before? I'm SURE I have. Luckily my allergies have lightened up a tad. Finally. I was ready to chop off my head.

Well, shoot. I don't have much to talk about today. I rented Flight 93 yesterday. I was curious about it and wanted to see how it was done. I cried. Very powerful movie. It made me remember, and I never want to forget what happened that day. Those folks are true heroes. See it, if only to just remember.

Here's an image of Sarah from the other day at the park. I just love it.

I had a few story boards printed up this week, and expect them to arrive today.

Guess I need to go to Michael's and pick up frames for them. Credits include Andrea Victoria, Shabby Princess, Michelle Coleman, Traci Sims.

So, In True Tiger Form...

They lost of course. Sigh. Looks like it might be a short playoff run for the stinkin' Tigers.

Yesterday was a GORGEOUS day. I took the girls to the park for a few pictures. Sarah's never as into it as Cora though. I got a great one of the two of them together. I can see it being blown up BIG and hung on the wall in the living room.

Friday is the Homecoming Parade. We're walking in it with Flint Bowmen After the parade, we might actually go to the game. Not sure if the girls would be bored though, but we'll see. I think they'd love the band playing...that was always my favorite part.

Welp, I'm off to do my research paper. If anyone wants to do it for me, I pay VERY well! :)

I SO don't wanna go to school!

But I guess I have to. Can't miss any of the exciting lecture about MICROBES! Woot! :) Not much else going on today. Last night I was at the bow club helping out at an Archery class that the Community Ed Program put on at our club. A couple of guys from the club volunteered to teach beginning archery. They wanted me there to demonstrate how to shoot a recurve. It was pretty fun. The poor folks were overwhelmed, I think, but it was the first night. Hopefully they'll relax and have fun with shooting. There was one woman in particular who was scared to death to shoot. She was convinced that the string was going to take her nose off or something.

Detroit and New York tonight at 8 PM EST! GO TIGERS!

Wow, it's a dreary Monday!

It's raining. Luckily the temp will get to 72. I'm SOOOO not ready for fall. I hate the colder weather and the dreary days. Give me SUMMER!!!! Sigh... I digress.

I've got a nasty cold. The weather changed the other day, and it totally messed me up. My head just might explode any minute.

The girls are off to school, and I'm sitting here updating my blog. Later this morning I have to go to class. I'll probably stay there and work on my TWO research papers I have due this semester. Bah.

X-Men: The Last Stand comes out on DVD on Tuesday! I'm SO renting this! Yeah, I'm a geek. Can't wait to see this movie. I'm just now looking at the Blockbuster site, and there aren't many new releases I care to see...maybe Annapolis. That looks good. Yup, that's about it. Looks like the movie industry is a tad dry lately. Everyone should give me some suggestions on movies to rent. What do you love?

Those darn Tigers! They had ONE game to win to clinch the division. Did they do it? HECK NO! Now they go to New York to play the yankees in the first round of playoffs. No big deal, we can take 'em! :) You gonna watch, Charlene? I used to be a HUGE Braves fan. But then they started trading and selling all the players I'd grown to love. Pretty soon I lost interest. It's not fun watching a team when you don't know ANYONE on it. Well, I guess they have a few guys left like Chipper and Andruw Jones. Whatever.

And yes, it's that time of year again. Not baseball playoff season. Not football season. It's hunting season. My house is a disaster area. Andrew's been on a rampage of "organizing" for deer camp. There're cans of food on my living room floor. There are plastic spoons, forks, plates, and any other miscellaneous crap you can think of. Sleeping bags on my bedroom floor. Stupid camo hunting suits. Dirty hunting boots. And of COURSE none of this stuff can be washed, because we wouldn't want to mess up the scent, would we??? Sigh... Someone better bring home a deer this year or there will be hell to pay. Yeah, they call it DEER Camp, but it's really BEER Camp. They get their feelings hurt when I say that, but it's SO true. I'm not even positive they actually go out and HUNT. They probably just sit in the tent and drink Milwaukee's Best all day. Wouldn't doubt it a bit.

Here's my little sis in law, Lara before her Homecoming dance on Saturday. Ah...to be a Senior again.

I've been tagged!

Well, Sinead tagged me on her blog, so I guess I'm gonna grin and follow the rules!

Write 5 weird things about you or your pets. Tag 5 people.

I have to write about 5 weird things about me. Wow, where do I begin???

1. I'm an English/Grammar Nazi. I cringe every time someone says "Nucular". Grrr...I love "W", but I wanna smack him sometimes. If you're a college professor, you SHOULD be smarter than I am.(that's another peeve I won't even go into) Sigh...

2. I LOVE ketchup on my scrambled eggs. I thought it was something I picked up from my dad, but he always said it wasn't him. ??? Not sure where that one quirk came from.

3. I'm a total movie geek. I like to know who's in a movie, what he/she was in before, and who with. I'm really good at recognizing an actor and being able to tell you what other movies they've been in before. I KNOW I got that one from my dad. Yes, I'm a freak.

4. I'm left handed, but I only eat and write left handed. Everything else is done right handed: shooting, playing pool, using a mouse, etc.

5. My hands are always cold. Winter, summer...doesn't matter. They're always cold.

Ok..I'm taggin':

Fee Jardine

Kristin Cronin-Barrow

Heather Roselli

Deanna Hall

Charlene (Berekah) (GO TIGERS!)

Weird Al Strikes Again

Ok...I LOVE Weird Al. This is his new song, "White and Nerdy". TOTALLY awesome!!!!

Anyone Need a Sketch?

Here's a sketch I threw together. Sometimes we all need a tad of a kick in the pants to get inspired. Maybe this'll do it for you.

Enjoy.

It's Raining...It's Pouring...

And my husband is snoring...Yup...he's asleep on the couch while watching the Michigan State/Notre Dame game.

I'm trying my darndest to finish a book for History class; it's due Monday. I HATE having to read a book for a class...it makes the book 100% more boring. And it's only worth 10 points on the test. Grrrr...

Pretty boring weekend so far...just a lazy couple a days. Studying for a couple exams I have next week, but I'm not too worried about them. Easy stuff...hehe...

Sorry about the boring post. Guess I'll share a couple layouts from recent days.

Papers: Michelle Coleman and Jen Wilson
Watecolor flowers: Ida from Catscrap
Swirl brushes and inked overlay: Michelle Coleman
Fonts: Pea SDFlenner; Cry Kitty; For the Hundredth Time
Inked Alpha: Tracey Lee

Papers from Andrea Burns' Downtown Unique Kit
Flower: Kimberly Giarrusso
Paint Stroke: Maya of Scrapbook Graphics
Swirl Stamp: Shabby Princess
Fonts: Pea Sue's Print; Ma Sexy; Prissy Fat Boy

Poor, Neglected Blog

Man, I've never gone this long between posts. Just goes to show you how freaking unbelievably busy I've been the past couple weeks. School is awesome, but man it's seriously cutting into my scrappin' time! Like right now, I want to scrap SO bad, but I have to finish this post and make sure I have all my Microbiology homework completed before I go to class. *Sniffle* In between classes today I have to go to the library and get started on my research paper. Fun.

Anyway...last weekend was Cora's first archery tournament. I think Andrew was the most nervous out of us all. We could tell Cora was a tad scared, but once shooting began, she calmed down and RIPPED IT UP!!!!! It was SO fun watching her. She even got a perfect round (3 tens) for a perfect score of 30. That's a pretty big deal when anyone does it, especially when you're a newly-turned 7 year old! I of course got a picture with her and her arrows. A proud parent moment! Needless to say, she won first place. There was one other girl in Cora's division, but she was two years older than Cora.
We might have a future Olympian in our midst. It's what she wants to do, but who knows? She's seven, and dreams change like the wind when you're seven. I'm glad she has one though.
Sarah went with us to the tournament, and had a blast playing in the huge pine trees behind the archery field. She was SO full of sap at the end of Sunday though...too funny.

Cora Perfect End(round)

Holy Crap!

Wow. The past week has been crazy. I started my semester last Wednesday. I'm taking Microbiology, History, Intro to Professional Nursing, and Aerobic Conditioning. I've come to the conclusion that I've got to BUCKLE down and STAY that way in order to succeed in these classes. They're no joke. They're fascinating, and I'm going to enjoy them, but man, are they hard! So, if I'm scarce at times, I'm probably buried under a term paper on Treponema pallidum! I've taken online classes for the past few years, so to be back on campus was SO cool! I feel like such a student! It's awesome.

The girls started school yesterday. Sarah was SOOOOO excited to be going to kindergarten. She finally feels like a "big girl" now. Watching her get on the bus was excellent. Nope, I didn't cry, but I came close. My babies are growing up. Man, it happens so fast. Sarah's a bit on the shy side, so I was concerned about how she would handle having a bit more independence. I was scared she's be too shy to ask to go to the bathroom or something. Don't think that's going to be a problem at all. She's a dynamo!

Sarah waving to me as she lines up for the bus.
She and Cora are holding hands!

I'll Miss You, Andre

I grew up watching him play. Loved his flamboyant style, his balding head, his ass-kickin' on the court. He retired today after his loss to Benjamin Becker in the 3rd Round of the U.S. Open. End of an era.

What's your Favorite Movie?

I have a few. I guess it depends on what mood I'm in. Maybe instead of saying "Favorite Movie", I should say "Movies I Love". That's makes it a lot easier to list more than one!

I mean, I could list a LOT of movies. I'm a movie geek. I love to be able to know what actor was in what movie, and who he was in the movie with. It was a thing with my dad and me. We would watch a movie and recognize the actors from other movies. We loved to try to list the movies they were in. Geeky, I know, but it was something we would do together. Andrew couldn't care less if Actor A was in a movie with Actor B 20 years ago. Sigh...guess I'm weird like that. IMDB.com is the coolest website ever. It's the Internet Movie Database, for you non-movie geeks. VERY cool resource when you're arguing with someone about a movie and who was in it.

Who the heck knows why I'm even blabbering about this. Just somethin' I wanted to throw out there about me. Who cares, right? Eh...maybe no one. But it's my blog and I can blab if I want to! :)

The girls found out who their teachers will be this year. Sarah has Mrs. Prue for kindergarten, and Cora has Mrs. Harris for second grade. We go Wednesday to meet their teachers and find out where their classes are. I know they're both pretty excited. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle watching both my babies get on the bus. I've had a kid home with me for 7 years. It'll be so different having them both in school all day. I'll definitely mourn the loss of my sweet little toddlers who used to run around the house in their diapers. Now, they're both in school. Gosh, I get teary--eyed just thinking about it. I wish my dad would have lived to see them both get on the bus as well. He would have been so proud of his grandkids.

Gee, what else can I ramble about? Oh yeah, here's the layout I did today. Not much feelin' like scrapping today. I think I'm kinda in a funk. Anyway, here's the layout I did.

Summer Sorbet kit by Manda Bean and Robin Carlton at www.sweetshoppedesigns.com
Painted alphas by Fee Jardine
Paint Brush Strokes are from Maya's Stroke of Genius Paint Pack at www.scrapbookgraphics.com

Layered Sketch Freebie

I made a layered sketch today. It's my first, so if it doesn't work, please let me know! Enjoy!

Weekend...I'm gonna be lazy!

Yeah, I'm gonna be lazy today. Not doing much except sitting here and scrappin'. I'll probably go up to the bow club later to get my bow tuned. Plus my nephew (James) and his dad are going to come up as well to let James shoot. He's got the potential to be great. Hopefully he's allowed to pursue it.

Anybody wanna talk scrap? Maya of Scrapbook Graphics has started a VIP Club Email List where there will be lots of gabbing, challenges, inspiration and just plain fun. You know you wanna join!

The girls have one week left of summer vacation. They start the day after Labor Day. I think they're gettin' pretty excited about going back. Sarah's way geeked that she's gonna be a kindergartener! They both got haircuts yesterday. I'll have to get pictures of them sometime today.

Lastly, here's a few layouts I've done the past few days.

Papers, swirl brush, priceless tag: Jen Wilson Meaning 1.
Flower brushes: Adobe Exchange
Paint brushes: Meredith Fenwick
Alpha brushes: Scrap Artist and Fee Jardine Designs
Fonts: Carpenter; Pea Steph; Will and Grace

Sweet Strawberries Kit by Sandra Boddington at Sweet Shoppe Designs
Pea Steph
Alpha Stamps: Fee Jardine

Cosmic Kimono Kit by Maya at Scrapbook Graphics
Fonts: Witchcraft; Pea Cammi-Pea
Paint brush strokes by Meredith Fenwick

No T13 today...

My allergies are KICKING MY BOOTIE! I'm about to go to Walmart and find some Sudafed PD, which doesn't have Pseudoephedrine. That's the ingredient that puts me flat on my butt.
My eyes are swollen from rubbing them so much. They're itching like crazy. I sneeze about 20 times an hour. Luckily my allergies don't last very long; just two or three weeks of hell! Not sure what's blooming in August in Michigan, but I don't like it.

Last weekend was an absolute blast! It was our bow club's Annual Fall Shoot. It was hard work getting ready for it, but it was so much fun. We kinda had a bit of friendly rivalry between compound shooters and recurve shooters.

Ugh...Young and The Restless had me bawling like a baby today. It was John Abbott's funeral. I've watched Y&R for about 23 years. Anyone else watch this one? It's the only one I keep up with.

Not much else going on. Anyone watch the Funniest Commercials show last night? There were some hilarious ones!!! Check em out!

Flint Bowmen Posse

I had Andrew get a shot of the 5 of us "Recurvers" at the Fall Shoot this weekend.

Will post more later.

Thursday Thirteen!!!

Thirteen things I gotta do before the weekend!

1. Clean kitchen
2. Balance checkbook (yuck!)
3. Watch Dirty Dancing! (WOOT!!!)
4. Put away laundry
5. Get cookies made for Fall Shoot Bake Sale
6. Go buy flour so I can make MORE cookies
7. Take the girls to their Grammy's so I can go work at the Bow Club (see the pattern here???)
8. Buy alcoholic drinks to accompany me to the bow club (it'll be a LONG weekend)
9. Pack my comfy lawn chair so I have a place to drink said alcoholic drinks.
10. Make a dish for the Potluck dinner Saturday night at the Bow Club.
11. Vacuum the living room.
12. Watch Young And The Restless!
13. Finish cleaning the computer room.

Ok...there's my 13.

I'm also remembering my dad. He died a year ago today of Esophageal Cancer. I miss you, dad.

Geesh, it's Monday Again?

Wow, the weekend FLEW by! Before you know it the girls will be back in school. I'm counting the hours! :)

Not sure what we're up to today. I should finish the book I'm reading so we can hit the library. Cora found a few Babysitter's Club books at a garage sale this weekend, so she's set for a while.

Anyone wanna come help me clean my computer room? I'm not quite sure how it happened, but it's a flippin' MESS. Wow. I guess I'm allowed th have one room, right? :) That's my project for the day; to get this room halfway presentable.

Gotta go get my books for the fall semester today or tomorrow. I'll be taking four classes. Not quite full time, but enough to keep me entirely occupied and sufficiently stressed out. I'll be up late a lot studying. It's really hard to study with two monster kids in the house...and when they're home from school, I'll want to hang out with them a bit. Both girls will be in school full time, so I'll miss 'em terribly!

Oh yeah! My layout was picked at The Digi Chick as Layout Of The Day 8/12. Pretty freakin' cool!!!

Got my Layout Blueprints book in Saturday night. It's really a great book! I can see that I'm going to use the sketches in it a lot.

Alright...enough rambling for one day. Later!

My children are officially MONSTERS!

Oh man, I can't even believe what they did last night. Andrew took them to the bow club. We're there at least 4 times a week, so they KNOW how to behave. Andrew was outside shooting on the outdoor range. The girls were inside. By the candy shelf. THROWING the CANDY down the inside range!!!! WTF??? I was SO livid after Andrew told me that, I couldn't see straight. The worst part was, there was someone in the building while they were doing this. Oh man. They got in HUGE trouble. They're now grounded forever, and will no longer be allowed to be alone in the bow club. They get to sit with me the ENTIRE day I'm there on Tuesdays and Wednesdays instead of playing on the playground with the other kids. Ugh. I should send them to military school.

Anyway...while they were vandalizing the bow club, I was at a production of Once Upon A Mattress. VERY funny.

Welp, I'm off here for now. Just wanted to vent about my devil children.

Thursday Thirteen...

Thirteen Songs I just LOVE to listen to over and over...


1. Crazy Love by Brian McKnight
2. My Humps by Black Eyed Peas
3. My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion
4. Drift Away by Dobie Gray
5. How Can I Live by Leanne Rimes
6. Against All Odds by Phil Collins
7. Footloose by Kenny Loggins
8. Open Arms by Foreigner
9. Hold On To The Nights by Richard Marx
10. Again by Janet Jackson
11. Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice (yeah, I know)
12. I'll be Lovin You Forever by New Kids (you got a prollem with dat???)
13. Blame It On The Rain by Milli Vanilli (Ok..so they didn't sing it...but the song rocks)


That's my Thursday 13. Hopefully I can do this every week.

Ahhh...

New Blog clothes! I like to change stuff around once in a while. Also, if you'd like me to add you to my Blog Stalker, leave your blog link in a comment. I'm looking for new blogs to stalk!

Not much going on today. We're goin' to the bow club for the league. Big shock, huh? Seems like we're always there. I'm actually shooting really well. Figures, since we're about to change everything so I can go to stronger limbs. That's ok though. I'll be able to shoot longer distances and get in some of the fun outdoor tournaments next year.

Here's a layout I did last night for Justine (bellbird). It's her daughter Alyssa. I had a blast using her photo!

Papers from Growth Spurt by Heather Roselli
Flower: Ginger Thibodaux
Doodle: Fee Jardine
Leaves: Carrie Stephens
Notebook Paper: All About Me Kit by Kristin Cronin-Barrow and Holly McCaig
Stitching from Poolside Paradise by Laura Alpuche
Beaded Wire: Vintage Diva by Fee and Laura (recolored the beads)
Paint Brush: Meredith Fenwick
Alpha Stamp: Scrap Artist

Crappy Weekend

So like, Friday night I spent in the ER. I was having a terrible pain in my right side, and of course thought it might have been my appendix. So, I went in to get it checked. The ER was the busiest I've EVER seen it. I've never waited more than half an hour to get into a room, but this night the wait was three hours. Fun. Luckily the pain went away after some IV fluids and dose of Potassium, as my K was pretty low. Not cool.

Anyway, all is well, and I'm back to normal.

Andrew did really well at the State Shoot this weekend. He didn't win a medal, but now he's nore determined to practice harder and get better for next year. I shot my best game ever yesterday afternoon. I was pretty geeked.

The girls and I are going to walk around their new school today to get a feel for where things are. School starts September 5, which is Cora's birthday. She's excited to be going to school on her birthday this year.

Welp, I'd better get this done so I can start on the laundry. YAY!

Friday again!

This week flew by! The girls had VBS, and I was commissioned to be a leader for Cora's class. We had a total blast! I had a few kids who were in my Sunday School class. A bunch of fun. I'm sure tired though.

Tomorrow is the State Shoot at the bow club. I'm going to help out with the shoot, so I'll be gone all weekend. Andrew's going to shoot in the tournament. He's pretty nervous, as he's never shot in a tournament before. I told him he should go for it.

Not much else going on this week. Busy and boring.

A Very Worthy Cause

Manda Bean's mom was recently diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma (Breast Cancer). Over 60 designers teamed up to create this kit to help pay for her treatment and other expenses.

Please buy this if you can. I lost my dad to cancer, and I want with all my soul for her mom to beat this devastating disease. It's only 10 bucks, but it all adds up. Please help.

Available At Sweet Shoppe Designs

Tuesday Night Chick Flick

Watch Sixteen Candles this weekend, then join us for some girlie fun!

We're Home

Ugh. I had a huge post written, but then Firefox pooped on itself and it's gone. Grrr...

Anyway, we had a good time in Colorado. We stayed in a small town outside of Boulder called Nederland. Andrew's sister Theresa and her new husband live there. He owns a business called Door To Door Organics. It was a really rustic, pretty town.

The wedding was at the Wild Basin Lodge in Allenspark, CO. Gorgeous rushing river, and the wedding was held on a little platform next to the river. It was a gorgeous day.
The girls were flower girls. It was moving to see the pride in Keith's eyes as he walked with his only daughter.



We also went horseback riding in Roosevelt National Forest. Cora and Sarah each got their own horse and had a blast. They were led by guides, but they didn't care.

Now were home. I'm SO glad to be back!

I have more photos on Photo Bucket if anyone wants to see them.

Goin' To Colorado

I'm leaving tomorrow for Colorado for a wedding. I'll be back Monday! Later dudes!

Do Nothing Hang Out Day

That's what today is. We've been on the go every day for a couple weeks now. It finally caught up to Cora, who had a total meltdown yesterday. So today is Do Nothing Hang Out Day. It's 9:30 AM, and Cora's still conked out. Guess someone needed sleep, eh? Poor kit. She can go and go, but when it catches up to her, it's not pretty. We're gonna play outside a bit, watch a bit of Lord Of The Rings (the girls LOVE this), and sit on our fannies.

Sarah got her glasses Tuesday. They're just SO cute on her! I'll have to snag her to get a few photos. She's still on her photo strike, so we'll see if I get anything. Maybe I'll bribe her with a popsicle! :)

We leave for CO on Thursday afternoon. A three hour flight to Denver. Monday I have to find some "stuff" for the girls to do on the plane. I need to go to the library and get the next two books in the set I'm reading. None of us have ever been to CO, so we're looking forward to seeing the mountains.

Tomorrow I'm going with my sister-in-law Lara, her friend Betsy, and Lara's dad Larry up to Larry's family farm. Lara wants me to take Senior portraits up there, and I'm going to finish Betsy's portraits up there as well. It's beautiful, with lots of cool stuff. Plus I don't have to take the girls, so it's like a mini-vacation. I was going to go up tonight, but remembered going up North on Friday in the summer is a BAD idea. Everyone else is also traveling, so I'd be in LOTS of traffic. So I'm going to wait until early Saturday morning.

Welp, I'd better get this done; Lord of The Rings awaits.

Here's a sketch if anyone's so inclined to use it.

Ugh...Monday

I hate Mondays. I just can't seem to get moving. Today's pretty laid back. Cleaned the living room and am getting some laundry done. The girls are running wild around the neighborhood with their friends. Bawahahahahah! Cora is carrying the Walkie-Talkie so that I can check in on them. She thinks she's cool. I'm SO glad she does.

Sarah had her annual physical this morning. She got tested for Anemia; she wasn't happy about that. She was tough though. I mean, who LIKES having blood drawn?

Andrew took the girls camping this weekend. I took advantage of the solitude and saw Pirates 2. Not a bad flick. I liked how the end went straight into number 3. There were some pretty funny parts. A preview for The Guardian looked really good. It stars Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher. Ashton is actually a decent actor. It comes out in Sept. Guess I'll have to see it. Talladega Nights looks pretty freaking funny as well. I don't usually like Will Ferrell, but this movie looks great. I've been to Talladega, AL a couple times. Very interesting to see a NASCAR race. Yee Haw.

TGIF, Baby!

It has begun. Cora is SUCH a girl. I can't even imagine how it will be when she's a teenager. I took her school clothes shopping today, and it was just too funny to watch her flit around the store checking stuff out. She insisted I take her to the mall. That's never a good sign. We had a good time hanging out together. Sarah didn't want to go, so she spent the day at her Aunt's.

Less than two weeks until we fly to CO. The girls have their dresses, but I need to go shopping for mine. Something light and comfortable. Luckily it's not a really formal wedding, and I can get something pretty and comfy.

So, it's almost 10 PM on Friday night. The girls are watching Fellowship of The Ring. They love those movies. It's so funny; the movies I think would maybe be too scary for them they love. I thought Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire would be too dark and scary. Nope. Didn't faze them one bit.

Andrew's taking the girls camping tomorrow morning. Woot! Not sure what I'll do. Watch chick flicks, scrap, and sit on my behind. Can't beat that!

Wonderful 4th!

We had a great day yesterday. Awesome parade in the morning. The girls had a lot of fun. We had a cookout with Andrew's brother's family in the afternoon, and then went to see the fireworks. That's always so much fun. Not sure why, but sitting in the grass with a thousand other people waiting on fireworks always really drives it home for me. I'm SO lucky to live in this awesome country. Maybe it's watching everyone else just enjoy being together makes it so awesome for me. The 4th of July has to be one of my favorite holidays. I love the USA!

Sarah needs full-time glasses. Luckily she's far-sighted, so she may very well outgrow needing them.

Let's see...what else. Got some layouts done the past few days.

Bunch of stuff on this one. Papers by Angie Briggs; Doodles by Fee Jardine (Her doodles are da bomb!); Stamped Alpha by Jenn Star; Blue flower by Amy Knepper. Fonts are Carpenter and Pea Elizabeth.


This one is from Heather Roselli's "Growth Spurt" kit that will be releases at The Digi Chick tomorrow, July 6. This kit totally rocks the house. You know you want it.

Poor, Neglected Blog!

Wow! I haven't ever gone this long without updating. I've been CRAZY busy the past couple weeks. Thought I'd take a break and give the blog some lovin'.

Let's see. We found out that both girls need glasses. Cora needs them for reading, and Sarah needs them all the time. The good news is that they're both farsighted, which is likely to correct itself since they're so young. We're hoping that's the case. They both, of course, had a fun time picking out the perfect frames.

We went camping last weekend. It wasn't too bad, even though I DETEST camping. It wasn't horrible, but I won't be going back any time soon. The girls and Andrew had a lot of fun though, and it was fun to watch them. Andrew's trying to sweet talk me into going again, but it ain't happenin'. We were up on Andrew's stepfather's land up near Weidman, MI. We stopped by his farm while we were up there, and hung out there for a while. I got some great shots of Cora. Sarah wasn't havin' anything to do with the camera. She's on camera strike, apparently. I did get one of her eating a marshmallow.

She ate about half a S'More, then wanted just the marshmallows. Crazy kid...everyone knows that camping is all about the S'Mores!

Here are a couple shots of Cora.

I've been pretty busy with photos all week. I wrapped up all the headshots for the Fenton Village Players this week. They're doing "Once Upon A Mattress" this summer, so I've been getting all their headshots and their publicity poster all done. Pretty big job, but fun. Last night as I was leaving I got a rousing rendition of the Birthday Song. That was pretty cool.

Yeah. I'm 30. My birthday was June 26. Not sure how I feel about being 30 yet. Ask me in about 10 years. :)

Not sure what our plans are for the 4th. Probably just parade and fireworks. July 4th has to be one of my all time fave holidays. I just get filled with pride to know I live in this awesome country. Sure, we're not perfect, but darn it, America rocks. Wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I'm also proud that I'm forever a part of the tradition of the military. I can't even express how thankful I am for the men and women who fight and die every day to keep this country free. God Bless America.