Almost Friday!

Yeah! Heheh...Not that Friday is some big huge day around here. I don't even get to sleep late Saturday morning. Andrew and I are going to a tournament that starts at 9 AM. So, I'll have to drag my butt out of bed at 6:30 to get ready to go. Luckily the girls are going to their Aunt and Uncle's house for Friday night. We'll have Friday night to ourselves. :)

I'm still without my computer!!! This is torture! The motherboard and processor came Monday, but of course the power supply and video card we already have doesn't fit with it. Grrr...so we had to order those and they should be here tomorrow. Man, I've been going through SERIOUS scrapping withdrawals! I haven't made a page in over a week!!!!

So, I'm reading Wicked by Gregory Maguire. It's about the life of the Wicked Witch before Dorothy came to Oz. It's very interesting, and a pretty good read.
I'm almost done with it, so I need to find another book to read. Any suggestions? I'm impatiently waiting on Harry Potter 7 to make its appearance. Maybe I should read the first six again to refresh my memory on what's going on. Yeah. That might be a good idea! I've only read them a million times already...but I seem to find something new I missed each time I read them.

Ok. Enough rambling from me. Later!

Giveaway!!!

This is too cool...go check out The Everyday Digital Scrapbooking Idea Blog for a chance to win a copy of Scrapbook Dimensions magazine!!!

Freaking Computers...

So, my desktop has been having "issues" for a while now. It decided that the week I was in Traverse City was the week to explode. My motherboard is toast. Luckily, I am married to a techno weenie, and a new motherboard plus accessories is out for delivery on a UPS truck.

Saturday Andrew and I are going to shoot in a tournament, and the girls are going to their Aunt's house for the day. It'll be my first outdoor tournament, but I'm excited. I got really sunburned yesterday. I hate when I do that.

For Mother's Day, I got breakfast in bed. French Toast with strawberries and whipped cream. Also, I got bacon. Surprisingly, bacon tastes awesome when combined with french toast and whipped cream. I was in heaven. I did have to fight the girls off the bacon, though. I love Mother's Day.

Vacation, Baby!

I'm in Traverse City, MI. We're in a condo right on the shore of East Traverse Bay, which is a bay off of Lake Michigan. The girls are having a blast getting sand in their hair and walking around in the shallows. It's been beautiful so far, and hopefully it stays that way. Tomorrow I plan to take the girls to Elk Rapids and walk around the town. It's a cute little town right on the Lake. They've got the best Cajun restaurant called Pearl's New Orleans Kitchen.
Wonderful food!

Unfortunately I didn't bring my memory card reader, or I'd have photos to share. I might just go buy one tomorrow.

Poor Andrew is home all by himself. He's been spending most of his free time up at the club; big shock there. I did bring my bow with me, and might go to the local pro shop here in town and utilize their indoor range to shoot a few arrows. I'm supposed to be shooting in a tournament on the 19, so a week of no shooting won't bode well for my score. We shall see.

Ugh. I have no scrapping program. It's 10 at night ,and the girls are SUPPOSED to be asleep. Now would be a perfect time to scrap a page or two. Instead, I'm watching Man vs. Wild. This guy has no sense.

Welp, I'm off to get my bottle of wine busted out.

Man I Love You Tube!

Check out the gem I found this morning on You Tube! I used to LOVE me some New Kids. They rocked!

School's out for me! I took my last final yesterday, and I'm SO excited to finally be done for the summer. Now I have to get my house cleaned...it's a mess.

Next week the girls and I are going to Traverse City, MI for the week. My mother-in-law has a condo there and we're gonna spend a week on the shore of Traverse Bay. Woot!

My sister-in-law's Senior prom was Saturday. I went with her and got some shots of her and her boyfriend before the dance. This is the third year I've done this for them. Here's a shot I just love. I love her expression as he kissed her.

Welp, I'm off to clean the pigsty of a house. Later taters.

Lake Michigan

I was going through old photos and found this shot. I played with and came up with this. It fascinates me.

A Paper Tear I Made

So, I was playing with my scanner the other day, and made this paper tear. Thought I'd throw it out there for anyone else who wanted to play with it.

Download Here

Wow. I'm Tired

For some reason, I couldn't get to sleep last night. I went to bed around 11. Got back up around 11:45. Got back in bed around 12:30. Got back up around 1. Watched a movie. FINALLY fell asleep around 6, and was up again at 7:15. I just couldn't turn my mind off. Lots of stuff swirling around in there. Now I'm at school, trying my best not to bonk my head on the keyboard in the library as I type this. Gotta be quiet in the library, right? :) I'll survive. Lots of caffeine. Although my chemistry class almost put me over the edge. Man, balancing equations is hot stuff, eh? Please excuse this post if it gets a bit goofy, I'm a bit punchy, going on one hour of sleep.



I did watch "The Holiday" with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz. WONDERFUL movie. Really great chick flick. I never expected Jack Black to be a good "love interest", but he's an ok guy. I usually don't like him much at all.



I think I might finally be over the worst part of this cold. Yesterday was terrible. I was coughing and sneezing all over the place. I'm a bit congested today, but feel a bit better. Now if I can take a nap.....hehehe...



So like, I'm in a size 6 pants. That's SO awesome. I haven't been in a size 6 since before I got pregnant with Cora. I'd still love to lose another 10 lbs, and probably will once outdoor archery season begins. Walking to a 70 meter target bale and back 20 times a day will definitely burn some calories. Plus I've started working out a bit more as well. Gotta tone up. I've not been doing anything drastic to lose weight, just watching what I eat. It was amazing how much sugar I was consuming. Shameful, actually. Cokes, sweet tea, coffee...man, it adds up. I never thought I would get used to Splenda, but now that I am, it's not bad at all. Much better than developing diabetes in 10 years, which would have been my fate if I had kept going. I've also lowered my fat intake. I've tried to increase my protein, since I need muscle tone to shoot archery. Not too worried about carbohydrates, as they're needed for energy. I do try to stay away from foods with a high sugar content, but I am definitely not low-carbing it. I have found that chocolate is my weakness, and if chocolate happens to be coupled with peanut butter, it's over. Anyway...I'm excited.



Hmmm...what else can I ramble about? Oh yeah. I want one of these:

Isn't it just the purtiest thing you ever did see? It's a leather quiver ( it hangs off a belt around my waist, and holds arrows). They're too cool. Of course, it's not a necessity at this point, but maybe for Christmas.

Welp, I guess I'd better get this done and get to class. If you've read this far, you rock! Happy Thursday!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok...huge milestone moment for me....I'm actually wearing my Guess jeans. Yeah, the ones that I bought about 11 years ago, before having two kids. I've lost about 13 lbs, and these jeans FIT AGAIN!!!! I'm extremely excited!

Ok...that's all for me...off to strut my stuff in my skinny jeans!

Is it NOT APRIL????

Yeah. It's snowing. In April? Yup, in April. We've got about 3 inches on the ground. Sigh. I hate Michigan in winter. Oh wait, it's SPRING! HA! Not today it isn't. There's a poor little Killdeer sitting on her nest in the backyard. I bet she's freezing and saying to herself, " I thought it was safe to lay my eggs!" The buds were just starting to come out on the trees. Here's our forecast for the next week:

We're Home From Nationals

We had a BLAST!

We left early Friday morning, and got to Louisville around 1 PM. Traffic was non-existent, so the drive was very easy. Once we got to our hotel, we settled in and then drove over to the Convention Center where the event was taking place. It wasn't too busy Friday night, but there were a lot of people there practicing. We saw a lot of our fellow Flint Bowmen members there.

Saturday morning we got to the Convention Center around 9 AM. Cora's and my shooting time was 11:30. Poor Andrew didn't know where he should be; with me or with Cora. He stayed with Cora of course. I was fine shooting without him watching. I shot a 282 out of 300 the first day, and a 272 out of 300 the second day. I took Second Place. Cora took Second Place as well. We are both pretty excited to have done so well in our first major tournament. There were over 1400 shooters at this event, so it was a pretty big deal.

Here are a few pictures from our weekend.

Cora shooting on Saturday



Me shooting on Sunday







Archery Tournament or Comedy Central?


Cora polishing her medal.

I wasn't able to watch Cora get her medal, since my shooting line was shooting at the same time as her awards were being given out. I started out pretty shaky on Sunday. I wore my Flint Bowmen shirt, and that was NOT a good idea. The sleeves are pretty big, and even though I thought I had a solution for the sleeve being in the way, I had to improvise. Now I know I can't wear that shirt to shoot in!

Welp, I'd better get off here and get my house clean. It's a disaster!

One More Week

Nationals are coming. The new arrows I'm shooting break every law of physics ever invented, but they hit the middle. It's truly comical to watch them come out of my bow. They twist, bend, twirl, fishtail, and everything else you can think of. But they hit the X. That's all I care about.

Just got done writing my research paper. Who knows how good it was, but it's turned in. Phew. Now to study for my BIO exam on Tuesday. Is school over yet????

It was such a beautiful day today! Looks like spring is finally beating out winter. Finally. I feel my spirits lift a little more every day.

Welp, not much else to report. Just wanted to ramble a bit.

Woah Nelly!!

Ok, I got an awesome call yesterday afternoon. Fred from CK gave me a call...I was informed that I was chosen as an Honorable Mention in the Creating Keepsakes Hall of Fame Contest! Wooter! Ain't that the coolest news ever? Well, an HOF nod would have a tad sweeter, but man, Honorable Mention! I'm stoked!! To top it off, I went to the bow club right after my call and tied my personal best!

Today is "Work on Research Paper" day. I'll be up at the library furiously researching. It's due Sunday. :0

Is anyone else excited about Harry Potter 7??? I can't WAIT for this book to finally come out. And Harry Potter 5 (the movie) will be out about a week before the new book. Harry Potter Madness, I tell you! Yeah. I'm a geek.

Welp, off to do the mountain of laundry that is my dining room table. CIAO!

Happy HOF Call Day!

Yup, today's the day! This is the day that 2007 Hall of Famers are notified. Wouldn't it be a total trip if I got called? Not likely to happen, but man, what a rush! That would ROCK! I love my entry, so at least I got some really kick @ss layouts out of the deal. Can't wait to share 'em!

In Archery news, I shot a personal best yesterday!! Andrew got me some new arrows to play with, and let me tell ya, they're flying like a dream! We honestly didn't think they were gonna work with my bow, but they're flying better than my other arrows. I was getting so frustrated because I wasn't seeing the scores I should be seeing, and now that I have these arrows, let the games begin! I had so much FUN shooting yesterday. The fun was starting to be a bit scarce, so I'm glad it's back!

Welp, just a quick update before I go sit by the phone! Lata!

The Hurlage Continues

The stomach flu has run rampant in my house. Cora had it Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Andrew had it Saturday, Sunday and a bit of Monday. Now Sarah has it. Guess I'll be next. This does not bode well for getting to school to take my calc exam in the morning. Geesh...I've got my windows open trying to let the germs out. We're supposed to hit 65 degrees today, so that will ROCK!

Not much else going on around this neck of the woods. Snow is melting, birds are starting to make their appearance, and it's daylight longer! Woot!

Here are a couple layouts I've done the past few days or so...

Credits can be seen here.

Credits can be seen here.

Welp, I guess that's about it for today. Later taters!

Hurlage

Ugh...Cora's sick. She's been tossin' her cookies for the past hour. Lovely. She doesn't have a fever, just an upset stomach. Poor kid. It's Grandparents Day at school tomorrow, and it looks like Sarah will have the grandparents to herself tomorrow. Poor Cora. I'm hoping she'll be ok in the morning.

Has anyone seen the movie "Wimbledon" with Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst? I LOVE this movie! Really great flick, one that can be watched more than once. I highly recommend it.

Not much else going on around here...freezing as usual. I think we might start to thaw out next week. How refreshing!

I'm stylin' now!

So, I had my bow custom painted in December. Craig painted the riser and the stabilizer to match. Right after this, I got two new stabilizers and an extension for my main stabilizer. He took those Sunday night and painted them to match my original paint job. It looks SOOOOOO awesome! Thanks, Craig! You ROCK! I shot really well last night. I had a couple arrows where I thought "What the heck???" but other than that, it was a good night. Wonder how I'll do tonight? We shall see.

Oh! Check out what Heather Roselli has coming out at The Digi Chick on Thursday!!! This kit is SUPER cool!

And the Emoticon Add-On to go with it! This stuff is da bomb!


Here's a layout I did with it.




And my girl Fee has a bunch of new stuff coming out as well! I'll just show her kit:

Make sure you head on over to The Digi Chick on Thursday to pick this schtuff up!

Anyway...it's still cold. I'm still waiting on spring. Have I ever mentioned I HATE winter???

Welp, I'm off to get under a blanket! Happy Tuesday!

Spring Break!!!

Yeah...whatever...

I'm off of school for the next week. It's snowing. Bah. The girls are still in school though, so I've got the house to myself. Boy am I gonna clean! After I finish this post, of course *wink*...

The National Archery Association National Championships are this weekend. Cora's shooting Friday night. I'll be sure to get a lot of photos, unless I'm coaching her. Andrew gets SOOOOOOOO freaky nervous when she shoots in tournaments. He's not able to focus enough to coach her. So, I step in in these situations. You should see the poor guy. He looks like he's ready to throw up or pass out. We can never tell which one. Heheh...
I don't get as nervous about her shooting. Of course I want her to do well, but let's face it; she's only 7. She'll be shooting against 11 and 12 year olds who are much taller than she is...Yes, size does matter. If she is taller, she can pull more weight. If she can pull more weight, her arrows will fly faster. If they fly faster, they are more accurate. This tournament is mainly for experience for her. She'll get to see other girls shooting recurve, which she doesn't see much of. There are FIVE of us at our club who shoot recurve. Me, Cora, two other older girls and sometimes Sarah (she's not as into it as Cora, and only shoots when she feels like it. Hey, she's 5).
Anyway...Cora's a bit intimidated about this tournament since it's the "Nationals". If anyone would like to send her well wishes, leave a comment and I'll send you her email address. She'd LOVE some warm fuzzies before the tournament! I'm SO proud of her composure and maturity. It's hard to remember she's still a little kid. She's also going to be shooting at another national tournament in Lousiville, KY at the end of March. I'll be shooting in that one as well. That's gonna be SO much fun!

Ok...I'm outtie...

Have a great week!

Can I Get A Woot, Woot???!!!!

So like, I passed my pre-calculus exam! Let me tell you how GEEKED I am about this! Give me Chemistry, Physics, Biology, English...anything at all. But give me Calculus, and I run the other way. I am SOOOOOO bad in math. I have to work twice as hard to get a passing grade in Math. Ugh. I'm glad I passed. Phew.

It's Friday, y'all! The girls are out of school today and Monday.

Not much else going on today. We're just trying to stay warm.

I leave you with a really cool youtube video. This is pretty sweet. Yeah, I'm easily amused! It says Inspector Gadget, but I think it's the Beverly Hills Cop theme song mixed in too.

Happy Weekend!

Ummm....Yeah...

It's freaking COLD!!!! Holy Crappaccino, Batman! Winter has hit with a vengeance. I'm not pleased. C'mon' Spring! Anyone else ready to thaw out?

Been busy with school and archery activities. I am pleased to announce that Cora is State JOAD Champion in her age group. She kicked serious butt! :) Now she's training for JOAD Nationals next month. Yeah, she's only 7. But it's been HER decision to pursue this sport. We're going to support her 110%.

I'm also pleased to say that I'm also a state champion on the Adult Female Recurve division. I had a blast shooting in that tournament.

We're going to Louisville, KY in March for a National Tournament that Cora and I are shooting in. Should be a good time.

Ok...I'm gonna show off a few layouts and then go snuggle under a BIG blanket!

Oops! I did it AGAIN!

Dang, this blog is so lonely! Guess I need to get here more often to update. Shout out if you actually read my blog! ;)

Anyhoo, winter has finally come, and she's come with a vengeance! It's FREEZING here in Mid-Michigan. Brrr! I'm going to have to bundle up and shovel a bit today. I hate shoveling.

My semester started Jan. 8, and boy am I busy! These classes are going to keep my hoppin'! Not sure how I feel about pre-calc, but luckily Andrew is a total geek, so he helps me with it. My professor isn't the best teacher, so I feel like a moron most of the time while in class.

Archery is going well...got new equipment for my bow, which made my left shoulder sore as heck from the extra weight. I guess I just have to let it build up. I'm too impatient for that. Andrew and I shoot tonight in a couples league at the club, and I shoot tomorrow in a ladies league. Those are so fun, but I take them a bit too seriously. I really get mad if I don't shoot as well as I know I can. Lighten up, eh? Andrew might have to skip tonight, since Cora's sick. We'll see. We don't want to spread the love at the club.

Welp, off I go to clean my living room! Lata!

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!