Young Originals

Week 1- Robert Muraine The Great- So You Think You Can Dance

2008-05-23T08:15:00.001-07:00

Oh my flippin word!!!!! you seriously must see this guy. Watch the whole thing. From "So you think you can dance" last night. Watch Mia's face through the whole thing. She is the judge on the far left.

Annabelle

2008-05-21T07:19:00.000-07:00

I would like to formally introduce you to Annabelle. She is the cutest little/big puppy ever. Well, not really. I personally don't think Pit puppies are cute. However, she is my new grand daughter so I have to think she is cute.

Annabelle is 10 weeks old. The girl must weigh 20 pounds by now. She is going to be a big girl. Did I mention I totally LOVE the name Annabelle. Very Victorianish.
This is when we took Annabelle to the lake in Sonora. We wanted to make sure she new how to swim. She would not go in the water on her own. Matt picker her up and took her out to make her swim back. Before we knew it she was going out on her own to fetch the stick.

Annabelle had a hard week. She went to the River with her Mommy and Daddy. When they were out there a full grown Pit attacked her. The owner punched his dog in the face to make it let go. That did not work so he shoved his dogs head under the water so it could not breath. He let go of Annabelle at that point.

Mommy and Daddy rushed her to the vet. Her left ear was almost tore off. She got 10 staples around her ear. The owner of the other Pit did go to the vet and paid for the damage his dog inflicted. My guess is he was scared they would turn him in and he would loose his dog.

A week later Annabelle's ear was draining gunk. Daddy took her back to the vet. The first Vet did not stitch her all the way nor did they clean out the wound. Daddy took her back out to the first vet. They fixed her right up. Now she has 12 staples around her ear. Poor little girl. However, it made mommy and daddy more concious of the damage a Pit can cause. They will be more careful with her training now. That's a good thing.

HOT SHOT

2008-05-12T07:17:00.001-07:00

This was one of the Hottest Shots of the day. I love how Matt, the groom, is in the background and how they put Drew up in the tree. Very untraditional, and I love it. This layout went together in about 30 min. I must be on a roll with the quickie layouts.

I did not create at all this weekend as my DD and SIL took me to Sonora for Mothers Day weekend. It was great fun, but I am glad to be home. More on that adventure later.

Happy Monday

It's Been Months

2008-05-08T07:18:00.001-07:00

It's been months since I have created a layout. Life got a bit busy. I also had to put my new "Studio" together before I could create anything. Who would have thought I had so much stuff it would take so long to organize it all? I will share my new space soon. I love it.

This Layout took about 30 min. No joke. I don't think I have ever created that quickly. Usually takes about 4 hours. This time I wanted to just go with the flow and not think about the outcome to much. It was fun and I was pleasantly surprised.

I did do one more layout that day but that is for sharing in a later post. Maybe tomorrow. Who knows?

I Might Be Back

2008-05-06T07:43:00.001-07:00

After months and months of no blogging......I might be back.
I wanted to show you my new "Word Wall" in my new home. I totally LOVE it. The little words I got at Michael's for $1.00. What a bargain. I repainted them to match my theme. I got the "Family" on sale at Mervyn's. The other big words are just wood letters I bought. The "Simplicity" came from this little hole in the wall store in downtown Sonoma. It is all metal and needs to be painted a different color. I am asking you.....What color do you think it should be?

I have created my Studio in my extra bedroom and a couple new layouts. I will be sharing those in the following days. It's good to be back. Missed you all.

Retail Valentines Eve

2008-02-14T06:18:00.000-08:00

I never really thought about what it is like in the stores the day before Valentines. I mean I KNOW Christmas shoping is crazy. Now I know Valentines is crazy too. Not 3 weeks worth of crazy like Christmas. But Valentines Eve crazy. The lines were long for about 3 hours straight. I was exhausted. I did notice a few facts worth mentioning.

1) There are more women buying Valentines product the day before than there are men. I am calculating the ratio to be about 10 women to every 1 man. Does this mean the men don't shop until the actual day? Or does it mean that men really are more prepared for this holiday than women?

2) Very few men buy stuffed animals as a gift to thier loved one. While 7 out of 10 women DO buy a stuffed animal, or 10. I thought that was kind of interesting.

3) Children are better behaved during the Valentines rush than they are durring the Christmas rush. I wonder if this is because we are not reminding them to "Be Good or the Valentines Cupid won't come" constantly. Worth thinking about.

4) Men do not group shop for Valentines like women do. You will see a lone man shopping and looking rather embarrased. While you will see 3 and 4 women shopping together. Kind of like when they go to the bathroom in a restraunt. They just can't go alone.

5) Valentines cards a so NOT cheap. What happened to cards that were $1.35? They are now running from $2.99 on up to $9.99. For a Card! I guess this tells you how often I buy cards these days.

6) Out of all the gifts being sold, I found the lone man buying the heart shaped box of candy and a little stuffed animal to be the most romantic. Every time one came through the line my head just screamed "What a lucky woman". This surprised me as I always thought that particular gift was so un thought out. Normal. Does this mean I now think traditional Valentines is romantic? Hmmmmm.

7) Some women give out Valentines cards like they were Christmas cards. Buying 15 to 20 cards at a time. Ok, lady, think, you can not possibly send out 20 cards to friends and family by tomorrow. The mail is not that quick. AND..... I thought Valentines was for your mate or children. NOT the entire family. Oh, and don't forget, they are not shocked when thier bill is $80.00 for said cards. I would have a heart attack.

8) Very few people buy Valentines for their animals. I rang out one lady that had rawhide hearts for her dog. A miniture poodle. Only one. Now at Christmas EVERY ONE buys gifts for their pets. Do you NOT love your pet? They deserve to feel the LOVE too. Might as well, your buying for the whole family anyway.

9) At Christmas a lot of people will tell me Happy Holidays, Happy New Year or Happy Thanksgiving. Not one person said Happy Valentines.

And the last fact I noticed on Valentines Eve.

10) I am soooooo glad I am not a fourist at this time of year. woot woot!

Treats

2008-02-13T06:54:00.000-08:00

A mom and her daughter are checking out last night. They have, I swear, 8 boxes of Rice Krispies and about 30 bags of marshmellows. The girl was about 8 and grinning from ear to ear.

Me: "Ummmmmm Rice Krispy Treats?"
girl: "yes"
Me: "For your class"
girl: "For two classes!"

It is 8:36 pm when they came through.

Me: "Wow, that's some project. Are they due tomorrow and you didn't tell mom until tonight?" (keep in mind my daughter did this to me on numerous occasions)
girl: "No, they are due Thursday" (like that gives them oh so much more time--today is Tuesday)

I am looking at the mom like....girlfriend you got a job ahead of you. She is giving me the same look back.

Me: "That is so cool. Are you making them by yourself or is mom helping you?"
girl" moms helping"
Me: "your mom must be very nice?"
girl: "oh she IS"

Here is the good part...............

Me: "well next time you should have her help you make POPCORN BALLS...."
girl: (gets all excited) "POPCORN BALLS??????? What are those?"

Oh my god...are you kidding right now? Have popcorn balls completly disappeared from our list of treats? We explain to her what they are. She gets so excited she is jumping up and down right now.

girl: "Those would be so COOL. Can we make THOSE?"

The mom just grins and says "Next time." She gives me that BIG eyed look and I just mouth the word "Sorry" as they leave. It was all good though. The mom enjoyed the conversation as much as I did. The girl was just too cute.

But seriously folks. When DID we stop getting popcorn balls for every occasion? I remember getting them for Halloween Trick or Treating. In all different colors. They were my fav. I even made them myself at least once a month. It is a sad sad time when the young folks of our day have never seen a Popcorn Ball.

Super Excited

2008-02-07T06:20:00.000-08:00

I am so super excited about this. Yesterday morning I decided I want a funky little Chandelier for the corner of my new living room. I went on Ebay and immediatly found this little jem. Exactly what I had pictured in my head. The auction had 9 hours left and I won. This little baby is all mine. So super excited. I am thinking I will stain the crystals with Adirondack inks. For some reason I have a blue/tealish type color in my head. I can not wait to get it. Another SCORE!

Total SCORE

2008-02-05T07:58:00.001-08:00

As most of you know by now, I am moving. Time for me to focus on ME. I am so excited about this new change.

I want my new home to be airy, bright and funky modern. The other day I SCORED BIG TIME. I got this chair from a friend of Andi's. Renee is a home decorator and stager. She was getting rid of a lot of stuff. I got this chair for $25.00. Totally not kidding here. $25.00. Actualy I got two of them for $25.00 each. I could not believe my luck.

NEW KiDS ON THE BLOCK- Please don't go girl

2008-01-29T07:40:00.001-08:00

And Then you get One of These

2008-01-28T07:05:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it's 9;10 pm. The store closed 10 minettes ago but we are not done ringing everyone up. Keep in mind.......I am tired, cranky, and hungry. It's been a very long day.

My customer hands me a shirt and pants. "I need this in a bag. Don't get them wet." Okey Dokey. Not a problem right? "I said don't get them wet!" ME: "Yes, I know" I hand her the bag.

She hands me another shirt and pants. "I need these in a bag." I put them in a bag. THEN she hands me another shirt and pants. "I need these in a bag." Now I am thinking "lady...........are you kidding me right now? Please tell me you are not going to do this for the whole cart you have there?" But of course I can not say this out loud to her. I put them in a bag.

Lady: "Do you have a bigger bag? Put the three bags you just filled into a bigger bag."

Me thinking "Oh HEElllll NO" But I do it.

She hands me a spatula and a can opener. "I need these in a bag" Are you catching the part where she is handing me all of these instead of putting them on the conveyor belt like most normal customers? Are you catching the part where we are past closing and I can go home when I am done ringing her up?

She hands me then hands me 6 items from the dollar section. "I need these in a bag" I am trying not to say anything to her for fear it will come out all irritated sounding. Which I AM......but.......customer service ettiquette says I can not do that. Dam rules........at which point she says. "NOw put that bag into another bag"

Then I ring up her last item which was 8 plastic boxes the size of shoe boxes with plastic lids. You know the storage kind. She is digging for her money. To make things go a little faster I walk around to her cart to put the boxes in. Then I think............"what if I put them in there wrong. Ok, don't put them in" I set the boxes back on the counter by the cart. She gives me her payment and I tell her I was not sure where she wanted the boxes.

Lady "oh put them in a big bag." Dam I should have put them in the cart anyway. I put the lids in a big bag and she says "and the bottoms can go in another bag"

Me: "Can we put them all in the one bag?" Knowing the big bag totaly will hold all of these.

Lady: "I would prefer two bags so it does not bust out."

15 minettes it took me to get her out of my line. I was sooooooooo DONE for the night. And, WHY do these people wait until closing to check out? AND, do they know we get graded on how fast we ring them up? I think she was a spy testing me. She had to of been. No one REALLY does that stuff to cashiers. RIGHT?

Girl Panties

2008-01-22T07:03:00.000-08:00

Another customer post! I am finding my customers to be quit entertaining.

This man comes up and has one item to purchase. A pack of little girls panties. This would not have been so alarmning if he had not of said.

man: "I opened them to see how big they were."

Sure enough on pair of the panites were out of the bag. My head was yelling "pedofile, oh my gosh, pedofile". I must of looked at him with a horrible sickening look all confused like.

He quickly added "they are for my dog"

me: "WHAT!"
man: "my little dog is in heat. If I don't put panties on her it is just a mess."

I was so relieved and even giggled at this.

Me: "you do know they make doggie diapers?"
man: "yes but you can rewash the panties and use them again."

Now I have heard every thing. Seriousy, panties on a little doggie. He has a great idea though. Still giggling over here.

He did NOT!!!!!!

2008-01-19T06:35:00.000-08:00

This man comes to my register last night. He was probably about 35, had not shaven in a couple of days and his hair was all messy. He was not in shape if you know what I mean. You know the pot belly that most men get when they get older. His shirt was at least 10 years old, stained and had a hole in it. Underneath the shirt there must have been another shirt holding something in the chest pocket as it was protruding. He had salt and pepperish colored hair with a chubby face. His hands were dirty like he was a mechanic or something along those lines. Overall, he was not someone I would be attracted to.

What happened next is what made this man "My Customer of the Day". He was purchasing some cold medicine. For some of you that don't know, we have to ID people who buy cold medicine to be sure they are 18. The register itself prompts us to ID the buyer. His friend noticed the register prompting me and asked why we ID for cold medicine. I told him why and my man says "Come home with me and I will show you my ID".......................

My head screams """""WHAT? He did NOT just say that!!!!!!!!""""
I try to ignore the comment. I tell him his total is $23.63.

Wait it gets worse...................

He puts his payment on the counter. $23.65. All is good right? NO! In my head I am thinking the total was $23.69. So I look at him waiting. He looks back and says "thats it". I shake my head a little like I am a dork and say.........."Ohhhh, I was thinking 69" (like in 69 cents) his friend starts to laugh and so does he.

My head screams """"""CRAP! I did NOT just say that!!!!!!!""""

I try to ignore it but then he says "And why where you thinking 69?"

My head screams """""OH MY GOSH! get this man OUT of my line. Seriously, do I LOOK like I would be attracted to you? GO AWAY NOW!Ewwwwwwwww!"""""""

I ignored his comment, gave him his 2 cents change with my head down and moved on to the next customer. That was such a BIG Ewwwwwww. Gross. He may have been missing some teeth too. Not sure on that one. I was totally grossed out.

Customer of the Day

2008-01-16T07:20:00.000-08:00

Three younger guys come to my cashier line the other night. Guy #1 has this cute tie with Martini Glasses on it.

Me: "Cute tie."
Guy 1: "Thank you"
Guy 2: "Is that a pickup line?"
(all laughing)
Me: "No."
Guy 2: "Oh, that would have been a good pick up line."

Guy 2 buys nothing. Guy 3 has a tie also but his has Champagne glasses on it with bubbles.

Me: "Oh, CUTE tie. Love the bubbles."

They all look at me

Me: "THAT was a pick up line."

(all laughing)

Guy 2: "Obviously, it was the bubbles that did it. I am going to have to use that line."

They were a fun group of guys. They were going to Tahoe for the weekend and they needed ties for the night life. I love when I have a good time with my customers.

7 wonderful Years

2008-01-13T10:29:00.000-08:00

Every 2 years I get a "Years of Service" award at our annual Christmas Party. This year our Christmas party was canceled due to the passing of a co-worker. My boss's wife, who worked at Benchmark for 9 years. But that is a different story.

We had our monthly company meeting on Thursday. The awards were given at the meeting that should have been given out at the Party. I was so thrilled to receive this amazing Lenox Crystal vase for being with the company for 7 years. I have actually been there almost 8 years. Carrie and I were the only ones awarded 7 years. This vase is sooooo heavy and it is about 18 inches tall. So BIG! It is amazing and I am honored to receive such an awesome award.

Shopping

2008-01-08T07:04:00.000-08:00

I went furniture shopping last night. Getting an idea of what I want. This I think was my favorite. The colors in the picture are all wrong though. It is really a dark brown with Robins Egg Blue accents. So stunning and pretty.
This was one of my other favs. It is a soft sage green with yellow and orange accents. Not sure which one I like better. They are both really comfy. The second one you can sit up a little better without leaning back. What do you think?

Blood for no Reason

2008-01-04T06:47:00.000-08:00

Those of you that know me know I am a huge fan of saving peoples lives. Meaning I give blood any chance I get. Every time you donate blood you save three lives. 50% of the time I try to donate my Iron is not high enough so they turn me away. But I try every time. I have not been able to even try for a year as I went to Honduras on a vacation. Honduras has a high risk of Malraia.

Yesturday, the blood bank came to my work. I was so excited to be able to donate again. I got three co-workers to go with me. They tested me and the Iron level was great. Whew! Super excited now.

I have bad bad bad viens so getting a needle into my arm is always a problem. After swiveling the needle around in my arm a bit they finally hit the vien. It's all good. I figure I can go through a little bit of drama and pain to save three people. Right?

I am laying there for 24 minettes. Aparantly my blood is running a little slow. They moved the needle around some more and pulled the skin tight around it. Seemed to work better by still flowing slow. One of my co-workers finished in 5 minettes. GREAT! I am a slow flower. We finally get all done and all is good.

As I am sitting there eating my little snack Jessica (co-worker) asks me about my psoriosis treatments I have been getting at the Dr. The nurse is listening and is amazed the Dr. is giving me the treatments I am getting. The treatments are meant to stop the immune system which in turn treats the skin problem I have. She asked what meds I was taking and I told her.

About 3 minettes later she comes up to me and lets me know that one of my meds does not allow me to give blood. WHAT??????? I just went through all that for nothing. They had to destroy all the blood they just took from me. Yep, I had a great day.

Two Jenz

2008-01-03T07:16:00.000-08:00

I adore this photo of my Jen and her best friend Jen. They don't take very good photos together. So when this one popped up I was thrilled. Not so thrilled with the layout though. Could have been so much better.

I think I have made a huge decision with my living quarters. Not sure yet. But I am almost positive. I would share but I am not completely ok with it yet. However, I am looking for big changes in 2008. And this one would be BIG.

The Hotties of the Group

2007-12-31T06:53:00.000-08:00

Here is a layout of the guys in the wedding with the Groom. I love that they wore black with Red Ties. They were all supposed to where Cowboy hats. We changed that so they could were a black hat to fit their own personality if they wanted.

I especially like the large doodled frame in this layout. And the extra big ric rac. Lets not forget the doodled buttons. Love those too.

Sizlin

2007-12-30T07:14:00.000-08:00

You all are going to get pretty tired of Wedding Layouts in the next year. With about 3000 photos it will take me that long if not longer to scrap them. No, I will not scrap them all. Just my favs. Problem is........there are sooooooo many favs to do. Seriously, the 3 photographers did such an amazing job.

This Layout includes some very old paper from Rusty Pickle. I think I have about 6 sheets of this paper. See that tassel embellishment on the top left. Well that had a tassel with a maroon color. Now, why on earth would the manufacturer put a RED jem with a maroon tassel? So I took of the tassel and made my own out of real Red. Turned out good. Also, on the buttons. I did not sew them. I doodled on the buttons to make them look sewed. So much easier.

Still My Girl

2007-12-29T06:20:00.000-08:00

This layout started out as a lift from Elsie's 52 challenges book. I made a few changes but not really enough to call all my own. It's a good mixture though. I totally love the title. She is still my girl no matter what. That blank green space on the left side will house either journaling or a picture of her when she was younger. I have not decided for sure yet. What do you think?

Something Old Something New

2007-12-28T06:54:00.000-08:00

I seriously love this photo of Jen in front of an old truck parked on the side of the road. Don't know who's truck it is. But it reminds me of my grandpa's truck. Old and Blue. Built tough like he was.

I used bubble wrap on this layout for the red dot pattern. Love that stuff. I also took some lace and folded it up then stapled it down. Another one of my favorite techniques. For the words "some thing" I wrote it in freehand then to make it pop I put Glossy Accents over the top. It made the words pop just like I wanted them to.

A Gift For Nikki

2007-12-27T07:05:00.000-08:00

I made this lamp shade a couple of years ago for a magazine in the UK when I worked for the fab Helen Bradley. The publisher misplaced the lamp shade for so long. About 4 months ago it apopeared in the mail. I was so excited as I thought it was gone forever. When I made it I intended to give it to Nikki for her Studio. Well, there it was all cute still.

I did not tell Nikki it re-appeared. I saved it for her for Christmas. When she opened it her eyes got all big. She was either very excited or she was a good faker. She is making things for people all the time but she rarely receives something hand made herself. I hope she really does like it.

My Favs

2007-12-24T07:33:00.000-08:00

I thought I might share my favorite ornaments from our tree. Each year I have a great time bringing out the ornaments and reminising about each one. This year was especially fun since I had not seen the ornaments for about 3 years. This lovely pipe cleaner ornament was made by my lovely daughter Jenni when she was in pre school. There is a green and yellow one on the tree also. They are always the first ornaments I hang with a smile on my face. She hates it when I hang them as she thinks it is embarrasing. I don't care though. I think they are fabulous.
These cute little reindeer were made by me about 10 years ago. Every year Jenni and my niece Kendra and myself would start making ornaments around Thanksgiving. They are made out of a mixture of stuff you already have in the kitchen. I can't remember the ingredients but I believe it was mostly salt. You could form anything you wanted or simply use a cookie cutter for your pattern. Then you bake them but you need to remember to put a paper clip in the top as the hanger. We seemed to forget that part quite often. After baking we painted them and then sprayed them with a varnish for shine and protection. I used to make them for every ones gifts. It was a long process as I made about 20 a year but it was so fun. The girls looked forward to it every year.
Now these gorgeous little beauties are hand made by a lady that lives somewhere in Sonoma County. I found her at a Christmas Craft Fair. She makes these out of goose eggs. She uses a high speed dental drill to cut out all of the intricut little patterns then fancies them up with formed papers and glitter. They are simply amazing. I bought these for friends a couple of years. Some how I lost track of this lady so I may never get more.
This ornament was purchased by Jenni's dad and myself on our first Christmas together. That was like 23 years ago. It is still one of my favs as it reminds me of our time together and how happy we were then. There are about 5 more ornaments the two of us purchased together but this one is my absolute favorite. It is made out of glass and always hangs at the top of the tree.
And this little elf was also made by me. Again, it is the dough recipe. I think I made 30 of these that year. I just love the cuteness. Merry Christmas to all of you.

Dreamer

2007-12-19T07:07:00.000-08:00

I so LOVE this layout I did at The Scrappery retreat last month. I was inspired by a member of SIStv. I do not remember her name so I apologize. The trick here is to do a layout using all white or clear. No color. I think it turned out great.

Challenge Club at The Scrappery will be given this challenge tonight at the meeting. I will not be there as I have to work my 2nd job. However, I wish them luck and all the creativity to complete thier challenge. Anyone else up for the challenge? Go for it.

The Missing Tree

2007-12-18T06:46:00.000-08:00

Our tree has been missing for about 3 years now. Not that is was physically gone. It has always been upstairs in the closet with all the other Christmas decorations. Two women in the house did not want to carry all that stuff up and down the stairs.

Matt is here now. Meaning we don't have to lug it all anymore. Sunday while I was at work Matt set up the tree with the lights. He even decorated outside. Something Jen and I have never done. When I got home from work I was expecting to see all purple lights on the tree. Real purple. Not the fuchia they sell in the stores. Purple that was special ordered years ago. Matt decided that was too girlie so he added Red that I had purchased for the wedding. It actually looks good and I like it.
Jen and I hung the ornaments when I got home. We now have a Tree and I am loving it. I will share my favorite ornaments in another post. Christmas is in the house.

Chocolate Chocolate and more Chocolate

2007-12-16T08:29:00.000-08:00

My bosses 35th birthday was a couple of weeks ago. I decided to make him an all Chocolate cake as Chocolate is his favorite next to Cheesecake.

I got on Food Network to find the ulitmate Chocolate Cake. This cake is called a Chocolate Chocolate with Chocolate Ganach. Yep, super rich and oh so yummy. The comment I love the most that day was "OMG, I just gained 10 lbs looking at it." Jason was super excited and could not believe I made it. His eyes got big as saucers. I love it when he does that.

I did learn a thing or two when making this cake. Most important was to let the ganach cool a bit before pouring it on the cake. I can not tell you how long I had to keep scraping the ganach back onto the cake. The other thing I learned was to be sure the sides of the cake are seriously smooth and cut down. It was too bumpy for my taste. No one else seemed to notice but I did.

And Life goes On

2007-11-29T16:12:00.000-08:00

No pictures for you today. Sorry. Just a couple updates.

Matt has been so excited lately. He has been working full time at a Ranch out on Roblar Road. He loves it. He asked me he other day "Is it wrong to wake up looking forward to going to your job?" the big dork. He is working with the horses, animals, barns, tractors, setting fences all kinds of stuff he grew up doing. He said he feels like he is home. Oh, and he will be starting his 2nd job at Fresh Choice next week. All the issues that kept him from working in the past are taken care of. he is super excited about that too.

Jen started working at her previous job a week after she got home. This is the same job she was working at when she left for boot camp. They were happy to bring her back and will be promoting her in January. She has been working there full time on top of babysitting for her best friend.

Married life for the two of them is so cute to watch. You can see the love in their eyes still. Sometimes I stand upstairs or in the other room and just listen (or try to) to the way the communicate. I love that they are so happy together even during the rough times. They encourage each other in ways none of us ever thought they would. And yes, just like any other marriage, they have some moments but they get over it pretty quickly.

Me, I am just me doing what I have always done all my life. Making it work so I have a reason to complain if it isn't working. Living by my moto "You Never Fail Until You stop Trying."

Weird post I know. I just wanted to post SOMETHING instead of NOTHING.

More album and Black Friday

2007-11-26T06:04:00.000-08:00

Thought I would post more of the Baby Album I was asked to complete. But I would rather tell you about Black Friday. I got to work at 6am. The line to get into the store was clear down by Burlington Coat Factory. The parking lot was full. Holy smokes that is a lot of people. We had coffee outside for the guests that were in line. Inside the store I go.
They put me on an express register because I am so new there. They did not want me to get over whelmed. Ok, that was a good thing. So all of the cashiers are standing there, 15 of us, when they open the doors. It was so cool. Some of the guests started running. But still it was pretty calm. It took 15 minettes to get them all inside the store.
The first person to come to the registers was about 5 minettes later. The madness began. But really, there was not madness. Everyone was in a great mood. No guest had to wait in line longer than 5 minettes to get out of the store. I can not tell you how many guests told me we were the best store and so freindly. It was a great day. So much fun.
I did hear horrer stories of other stores. Lets see. Wallmart guests were fighting in line before the store opened. One guest tried to break through the line with thier car and almost ran over a little kid. Seriously, that is what I heard. At Toys R Us the line to the register was around the perimitor of the store and then did the "S" line thing.
The line for the registers at Kohls was around the store. The guest that told me that walked into Kohls, saw the line, and walked back out. I heard Mervyns was pretty great. Oh and the Santa Rosa Target was not so good from what they said. So, I think I am pretty happy our store was so great. Each Cashier had maybe two people in line to get rung up at a time durring the rush of the morning. After that rush they came straight to the registers again. Pretty cool day.

Commisioned Baby Album

2007-11-24T09:53:00.000-08:00

One of my co workers asked me to make a baby album for a shower she was throwing. We talked about the likes and dislikes of the mom to be. She is more earthy, hates pink and her favorite color is purple. We don't know if she is having a girl or a boy.
We talked about how the album would be "SIMPLE" and the price. The price we agreed on would be $75.00 for the finished product. Being that it was "SiMPLE" it did not take me long to finish.
We talked about what the theme would be for each page. At the end of the album are extra protectors for the mom to make more or for the giver to add to later. Or maybe leave the album as is.
Most of the papers I used in the album were Basic Grey. I wanted the album to have more of a shabby chic look since mom was more earthy. I really like the look. Notice it is not really babyish in look. But more classic/vintage.
On this page the piece that has the title on it comes out of the pocket so mom can add more photos OR can write on that piece. There are more pages I will share later. For some reason Blogger only allows me to add 5 photos at a time. Not sure why. But whatever.

Why I am single

2007-11-21T07:34:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I am a little late posting me on Halloween. With all the time it took to make the cake for the bakeoff I did not have time to make up a costume too. So, the morning of halloween I just added a touch of mascara and lipstick then I smeared it. Off to work I went.
When asked what I was, I just told them this is how I wake up and it's the reason why I am still single. Everyone got a good laugh. Oh, and the hair.......yea, it's very ratted up. It took me forever to get it out. Kind of hurt. So, don't try this at home.

Prince and the Pea

2007-11-20T06:30:00.001-08:00

About a week ago I washed the doggie beds as they were all dirty and gross. When they were dry I took them out of the dryer and dropped them onto the floor. The next morning as I sat here blogging I looked over and noticed Joey laying on all four of the beds. I was reminded of the story "The Princess and the Pea." It was just too cute so i snapped the picture for all of you to see.

That morning I went to work and told a couple of my co-workers what he had done. A couple of them had never heard the story of the Princess and the Pea. WHAT????? The rest of us (the older ladies) could not remember the whole story. So, I thought I would share it with you. It was written by Han Christian Anderson. I thought it was a classic story until the young girls at work told my they never heard it. What kind of fairy tales do moms tell their kids now a days?????? Hmmmm, kind of makes you wonder.

Here's the real story....................

The Real Princess (The Princess and the Pea)
by Hans Christian Andersen
Illustrated by Edmund Dulac

There was once a prince, and he wanted a princess, but then she must be a real Princess. He travelled right around the world to find one, but there was always something wrong. There were plenty of princesses, but whether they were real princesses he had great difficulty in discovering; there was always something which was not quite right about them. So at last he had come home again, and he was very sad because he wanted a real princess so badly.

One evening there was a terrible storm; it thundered and lightninged and the rain poured down in torrents; indeed it was a fearful night.

In the middle of the storm somebody knocked at the town gate, and the old King himself sent to open it.

It was a princess who stood outside, but she was in a terrible state from the rain and the storm. The water streamed out of her hair and her clothes; it ran in at the top of her shoes and out at the heel, but she said that she was a real princess.

'Well we shall soon see if that is true,' thought the old Queen, but she said nothing. She went into the bedroom, took all the bed clothes off and laid a pea on the bedstead: then she took twenty mattresses and piled them on top of the pea, and then twenty feather beds on top of the mattresses. This was where the princess was to sleep that night. In the morning they asked her how she slept.

'Oh terribly bad!' said the princess. 'I have hardly closed my eyes the whole night! Heaven knows what was in the bed. I seemed to be lying upon some hard thing, and my whole body is black and blue this morning. It is terrible!'

They saw at once that she must be a real princess when she had felt the pea through twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds. Nobody but a real princess could have such a delicate skin.

So the prince took her to be his wife, for now he was sure that he had found a real princess, and the pea was put into the Museum, where it may still be seen if no one has stolen it.

Now this is a true story

Burning Buns

2007-11-19T05:26:00.001-08:00

Last night we had family night. We watched a movie and ate popcorn as we cuddled on the couch with one blanket. Jennifer has been craving Cinnamon Buns ever since she got home from Boot Camp. So Matt, being the good guy he is gets up and puts them in the toaster oven to bake. All is good. Right? Yep, until his next smart move.

He is at the computer and all of a sudden needs to go to the store. It was late but I got up and loaded the dogs in the car. The entire family takes off to the store. As we are driving down the road I all of a sudden ask Matt. "Did you turn off the oven?" "Ummmmm NO." AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

I am in the far left lane. We have already driven all the way out of our complex. (We live in the back with about a million speed bumps). Matt tells me I gotta turn around. Jen tells me to drop her off she will take care of it. Matt tells me to "pull over and Jen can run across the Golf Course to the house." I start to get into the right lane when Jen tells me "No." She does not want to run across the golf course. So I get back in the left lane.

Now I gotta drive a ways to get to the stop light to do a U Turn. Joey the Chihuahua is on my shoulders as usual. I start complaining that it is 10:13 at night and now I gotta take longer. We finally get to the stop light. I am panicking that the house could burn down. As we are sitting there I look in the side mirror. I did not like what I saw and I was not real sure I was seeing correctly. So I tell Matt "get the dog" no reaction "take the dog!" as I push Joey off my shoulders Matt takes him. The light turns green and I turn. BLINK BLINK BLINK. Red and Blue lights start flashing. Dam! I am getting pulled over. Now I am really not a happy camper.

The cop said "I pulled you over because you did an erratic move back there." I agreed and told him the whole story about why I did that. Mind you I am sitting there in my oh so HOT (not) jammies. He looks as though he believed my story and was going to let me go. But then he asked me if I had been drinking and I told him "No Mam" oh my god I just called him Mam. "Sir" crap! What the heck is wrong with me? I just called him MAM! Dumb ass!

So he makes me put my head out the window and follow his finger without moving my head. Great.......now he thinks I am drunk. I pass the test of course. Then he asked for my license. Yep........left it at home as all I did was grab the keys. BAD MOVE! He takes my name and license number and tells me to hold on. Wait....wait.....wait........At which point Jen says......"NICE move mom!" Matt says "I have been there many times." "OK I AM NOT YOU" They both shut up. Kind of!

My "MAM" comes back and says "Debbi?" "yes?" "What are you going to do about your warrant?" "WHAT! WHAT WARRANT?" I am about ready to just die at this point. "you have a warrant out for your arrest for your animals." "WHAT?" Then it hit me. I forgot to pay that stupid fine for the dogs barking. "Oh my god. Are you kidding me?" "I can pay it in the morning. What time do they open?" he tells me they open at 8am and I tell him perfect I don't have to be at work until 9am. "ok. you be sure and do that." He let me go.

All the way home Matt and Jen are like rubbing it in and laughing at me. As you can see the buns burned and we had to go to the store again to get more. I took my purse this time and did not make an irrational move. I am going to the courts on my way to work this morning. I can not believe I forgot to pay that stupid little $100.00 fine. UHG!

Totally Embarrasing hehehehehe

2007-11-16T07:34:00.000-08:00

Everybody knows I LOVE to embarasse and play practical jokes on people. I got the Son in Law good. REALLY good! Just know that posting this picture of him will embarrase him too. So this is going to be a double whammy.

First.....we were making dinner a couple weeks ago and I look over at Matt. He is leaning over the counter with the A1 bottle up to his eye. I am like "WHAT are you doing?" He tells me he is looking for the sauce and he laughs. Oh my gosh! Hold that pose....I get the camera so I can send Jen a picture of her funny husband. I could not believe he actually let me take the picture. If he would have known I was going to post it here he probably would not have let me take it. So that alone is one embarassment. He will flip out. Gotta love it!

Now the funny one. So we are at the airport going to pick up Jen. We are both so excited to see her. You know those moving walkway thingys? The ones you stand on and they move. Matt gets on the one moving from the parking lot to the terminal. I get this wild hair. No one is on the one moving from the terminal to the parking lot. So.....I run and jump on that one and start running all animated like. Matt looks at me with this "What the heck are you doing?" look. So, I stretch my arms open wide and start yelling, "MATT.....DONT LEAVE ME.....DONT GO TO YAMIN.....PLEASE MATT DONT LEAVE ME" Well his eyes got about as big as saucers. He started turning left and right like he was gonna run. There were people in front and behind him. HAHAHAHA no where for him to go. He had to stand there as I am still yelling. "YAMIN IS NOT THE PLACE FOR YOU.....PLEASE DONT LEAVE ME MATT.....PLEASE" (those of you that watch Friends will know what I was talking about)

I thought he was going to just die. Seriously. I was about ready to pee my pants laughing. Just the look of panic on his face alone was hysterical. And no where to run. That is the moment when you just want to hurt your mother in law really bad.

Time for the Count Down

2007-11-15T05:33:00.001-08:00

I made this Advent Calendar for a class to teach at The Scrappery. So far it has taken 9 hours to design, and really, it's still not done. Little tags still have to be made and ribbons connected to put into each envelope.

The entire thing is mounted onto Canvas which I painted and then stamped on with bubble wrap. Loving the bubble wrap lately. I used last years Basic Grey Christmas papers. The letters and the numbers were cut out with my Sizzex. The word Christmas, the light bulbs, Snow Man, Holly berry, lights on the tree, the snowflake and the number 25 are covered with Glossy Accents to help them pop.

Each of the envelopes, template made by me, are distressed with dashes around the edges to make them look stitched on to the canvas.

I like the outcome of the project. But, heck, that is a lot of time for a two hour class. We wont be able to finish it in class so I have started to create instructions for the project. That is not a small feat. And then I still need to recut and package up the bits and bobs for each envelope. Yep, thinking this is gonna take another 9 hours. What was I thinking?

The Witch Cake

2007-11-14T06:48:00.001-08:00

Totally fun goodness cake style. We had a bake off at work for Halloween. I had this image in my head of a 3 tiered witch. My first attempt at a themed tier cake. This goodie is about 12 inches tall with three cakes. The bottom layer is a white cake with lemon filling. Orange frosting with a web design. The spiders around the bottom were a last minette addition. I am so excited how they turned out as I did not practice it first (I know Helen......practice practice practice)they just turned out right. The middle layer is also white cake with lemon filling. The frosting under the fondant is purple. And the top layer is just white cake carved into a circle (that was not so easy) with the green frosting.
The middle layer has fondant I dyed black. It was not black enough for me so I sprayed it with black food coloring spray. Matt helped me lay the fondont on the cake so the front of the cape was smooth and covered the middle layer in the front. The back came all the way down to the bottom of the first layer. I made the fondant ruffle so it looked as though the cape was flowing. Then I took an edible powder sheen and painted it onto the cape to give it depth and highlights. That was fun but it was a first time for me to use this product.
Love the head. I made the frosting all bumpy by patting the spatula all over the head. Then I added the eyeballs with red bloodshot veins. I adore the red blisters all over her face. Just made her a little more scary. The hat, well, I knew I had to do something to reinforce it for the drive. So I took some thick wire and made a cone. Layed it on her head and applyed the frosting around it. It is the only part of the cake besides the arms that is not edible. Then the hair. I know I should have done the hair first but I was not thinking. I did it after the hat. It was a new frosting tip I was dying to use. I just love the hair.

I had to transport the entire cake about 15 miles, so I re-inforced the heck out of it with wooden dowls. Normally I would put the dowls in each layer of cake and set the next layer on top. But this time I put the dowels Through two layers including the cardboard each layer sat on. It turned out VERY sturdy and made the trip with no problem.
I won two of the three trophies given out that day. One for "Best Execution" and one for "Tastiest Treet". Our marketig girl made these trophies. I simply ADORE them. Aren't they the cutest. She thinks she is not creative but I beg to differ. I think my favorite comment from a co-worker that day was, "Debbi, could you have not brought a normal cake. That's the cake of the year."

And a added tid bit......Matt helped with the decorating the cake. And he LIKED it. He took the leftover fondant and made the feet. His idea by the way. Then he made the arms out of wire for me. He did a great job and he admitted to having fun. It was also his idea to give the spiders red fangs. Yep, he is creative himself.

Guess Who's Home

2007-11-13T05:42:00.000-08:00

My Girl is home from Boot Camp. We are all very excited she is back. And NO she has no desire to go back and try again.

The only regret she has is that she never got to actually train. She wanted to train. She craved the training. But they never even let her try. When she got to Parris Island her asthma started to act up from the humidity and the air quality there. When her body started to react she admitted to them she had asthma. They put her right into FRP (female rehabilitation platoon) until they could do testing. There are 5 levels of testing. They give you pills to take that makes any normal persons chest feel tight but you can still breath. In an asthmatic person it will cause you to have an asthma attack and you will not be able to breath. Jen did not make it past the 3rd level before they told her they would not go further and her levels were off the charts.

She also hurt her knee while she was there but she did not tell them as it would have taken longer for her to get home. Her experience was horrible. She said they take away all your emotions and every bit of personality you have. You can not smile, laugh, cry or even say "bless you" to the person who just sneezed. She only got yelled at by the Drill Instructors 3 times. Once for saying "what"? She should have said "this recruit did not hear you, Sir". Opps.

Jen is having a little bit of a hard time re-adjusting to a normal life. Not too bad though. She is having nightmares every night about boot camp. I am sure that will pass in the days to come. I caught her in a daze eating the other night. Eating like she was back in boot camp. She did not even realize she was doing it. I pointed it out to her and she just breathed out and said "oh my god."

The one thing she was most excited about when she got home was to take "A real Shower and wash her hair" They give you 15 seconds in boot camp to shower. Yes, 15 seconds. Which means your hair does not get washed. The girls have a tone of gel in their hair and it is pulled so tight the folicles are kind of popping out of your head. She said some of the girls had huge bumpes all along thier neck from it. To stop the itching they would put hand sanitizer on thier head. Gross huh?

The hardest part for Matt and I was not knowing what was going on with her at all. We got little tidbits of information but really nothing. We did not know when she was coming home until the day before. Then we did not know what time, or where, until the day of her homecoming. We did not know what medical tests they gave her until she got home. We did not know anything. It was rough for us all. Rougher for her. We are just glad she is home and things can be normal again.

Bad News

2007-10-26T07:43:00.000-07:00

Remember me telling you that jenni was put into a Medical Platoon in Boot Camp? They did testing on her to see if she can serve in the military? Well, from what we can gather, and it's not much, she has now been moved to the Separation Platoon. Meaning, she is coming home. They did more testing on her yesturday. I guess she failed her medical tests. But keep in mind we can not get much information. We do not know what tests they gave her or what medical conditions she may have. My guess would be that she really does have asthma and I never really believed her. What a horrible mother that makes me feel like. I am trying to stay possitive. It is hard. I feel like I should have known all along and everything we have gone through up to this point was for nothing. I am still proud of her for even going and trying in the first place. She is still an amazing young woman. She has done things most people would never even think of doing. I feel defeated for her and wonder what her future holds now that her one GREAT chance is gone. I keep trying to remember that this just means she was not meant to be there. God has a different plan for her. I just wish I knew what that was.

We have heard it could take up to 3 months for them to get her home at this point. That would suck. We have heard they put them on a bus with $90.00 cash. How horrifying is that to think she will travel across the United States on a bus. A single lonley female. Not very safe is it? That scares me. I wish I could find out more so I could feel more at ease. I will let you know if we learn anything new.

Marine Recruit Interview

2007-10-25T07:41:00.000-07:00

My friend Jaime works for PNN Network. She interviewed Jenni a couple days before she left for boot camp. I only wish she could hear this interview while she is gone. It would remind her of why she made the decision she did. Leave her a comment on the web page PNN set up for her support.

Thank you Jaime for sharing this information with us. It means so much to me. I really needed to hear her voice right now. I miss her.

http://cereals.pnn.com/3228-the-front-page

A Little Cuteness

2007-10-24T07:06:00.000-07:00

I made these on Saturday for the SIStv crop in Fairfield on Sunday. They were a hit. I used white cake and colored it orange. The icing is Buttercream. I think they turned out rather cute but there was another learning curve for me on these.

As most of you know, my oven does not work so I have been doing all of my cakes etc. in a toaster oven. I did not have a cupcake tin to fit in it. So, I got this great idea to use the new silicone baking cupes. All good so far. Right? Sure! The cupcake paper holders did not fit in the silicone cups. The cups are smaller. So I clip the edge of the paper to make it fit in better. Problem was, the paper still did not go all the way to the bottom of the cup. Most of these cupcakes came out with a rounded bottom and deformed top. Oh well, no time to start over. So I decorated them up anyway. They came out so moist and yummy. I have found a tin to fit in my toaster oven for next time.

My next plans for a cake are BIG. Gonna try something BIG. Can't tell you what yet because it is for a bakeoff at work. I don't want one of my co-workers cheating by reading my blog. I hope it comes out right.

She's a Recruit

2007-10-23T07:20:00.000-07:00

It's been a week now since Jenni has been in boot camp with the Marines. I can not tell you how hard it has been for Matt and I. I can not even begin to imagine what she is going through. She called us from the layover in Dallas crying to come home. I think she just all of a sudden realized she had really left and there was no turning back. She was so strong in front of us. It probably all caught up with her when she got on the plane. It was a horrible phone call. Matt and I were strong until we hung up and we both lost it.

Then at 11:30 our time, 2:30 am her time we got the "official call". That was even worse because she could only say to us what was on the script. "Recruit arrived safely at Parris Island. Do not send bulky items or food. I will send a postcard in 3-5 days with my address. That is good for now." Then we heard a click. That was it. Nothing else.

We got a phone call from Gunnery Sargent Monroe, the head of the recuiting office, two days later. Jenni had told them she owed outstanding traffic tickets. Gunny said we had to get them paid now or they would send her home. So, I went to the president of my company and got the money to get it paid. Not even an hour later Gunny called again and said Jenni had gone back in and told them she had Scoleosis, flat feet, headaches, HPV, and asthma. UHG! They had to have scared her real bad. Gunny said she is thining "what the heck did I get myself into, got scared and spilled anything she could to make them send her home.

So, long story shorter, they have her in a medical platoon. They did a lot of tests on her yesturday to see if she has asthma or not. If she fails the test there is an 85% chance they will send her home. If she passes, and I am sure she will, then they will drop her into the next incoming platoon there is. So, now she is going to be gone longer than we had planned.

I know she is having a horrible time. They all do. She will get through it. But her mind is not there yet. Brenda started and support group on yahoo for her. I would REALLY love it if you all could go there and leave her messages of encouragement. She does know the group is formed and I will be printing the messages to send her. I can't tell you how she knows but trust me she does. The address is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MarineRecruitJen/ ...... please leave my girl a message.'

Oh and this picture is of her swearing in to protect our Country literally 5 minettes before they took her from us. I will post her address as soon as I get it. Thank you all for your support.

Going away Cake

2007-10-11T07:51:00.000-07:00

Most of you know my daughter Jenni is going to Marine Boot Camp. Yep, leaving in 4 days. Last night her and Matt decided to have a going away party here in our house. There were about 35 young adults here to show their support for Jen. Her friends love her. This is the cake I made for the occasion. I tried really hard to make it look like the Marine emblem. Didn't quit turn out that way but it's close.

First off lesson one was never use parchment bags for Whip Cream. It's too wet and the bag will bust open on you. Lesson two was if your gonna use black, then put it aside and then use black again, get a new bag. Otherwise your old bag will drip black runny gunk all over your cake. Lesson three was when you run out of plastic decorating bags you can use a sandwich baggie but don't cut the hole too big or your whip cream will shoot out in a big splat right where you don't want it to land. Just wanted to share with you.

Most of Jens friends said they will still come hang out with me even though she will be gone. I believe some of them because they are amazing friends. I will miss her.

Lizzie's 1st Birthday Cake

2007-10-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

I had a great time making this cake. It took about 11 hours total including the baking. The cool thing is I used all whip cream. Even for the decorating. I was not sure how that would work as I have never worked with whip cream before. It worked out great. I now know it would not work for something like roses. It is far too thin.

Elizabeth turned one and her mom wanted the cake to not look like a cutsy first birthday cake. We talked about it. She wanted a tiered cake that was off kilter with strips, dots and swirls. Oh......and PINK. This is what we came up with. It was a hit at the party.

I used a 8 inch, 6 inch and a 3 inch pan. Supported it with wooden dowls and wa la! So flippin cute.

Give Me More

2007-10-05T06:57:00.000-07:00

This man is going to take Jen away from Matt and I in 11 more days. Yep, Gunnery Sargent Monroe will be taking her to boot camp. He looked amazing at the wedding. He walked me down the isle and then he was one of the men in her life standing along the isle to give her a rose as she walked down the isle. I think one of the dumest questions I heard that day was, "Why are the Marines here." Um, duh, because she is going in the Marines. People crack me up sometimes.
Before the wedding I told my photographers that I wanted pictures of Matt talking to Jen through the door. I am so glad we got these pictures. Matt was sooooooo NOT happy about not being able to see her the day of the wedding. He just could not understand the "tradition" and the "bad luck" thing. To this day he will not tell me what he said to her through the door. Anybody else that was there can't remember. So annoying. I want to know.

Ahhhhh, this is Jen on the other side of the door as Matt talked to her. How cute is that? He made her cry so whatever he said had to be good. From what people tell me Jen got rather impatient after she talked to him. She just wanted to "Get the show on the road." It was taking far to long for her liking.

I LOVE this picture. It was taken right after they talked through the door. I love how they captured this moment. She cried a lot throughout the whole thing. So much so that her eyelash fell off in the middle of the ceremony and landed on her dress. It was kind of funny. I am glad she did not freak out over it. It was what it was.
AHhhhh. The traditional carrying of the bride. They both look so happy. I hope it lasts forever for them. They are rather cute together. Even today they are. The only thing I have noticed that has changed since they got married is that Matt does not make my coffee for me anymore. Hmmmmm..........

Some of my Favs

2007-10-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I got 3 DVD's full of wedding photos. Can you believe it over 2000 photos. I am so glad we had 3 fab photographers. Each had their own style so we got a ton of awesome photos. This one just happens to be my all time favorite. Jen was sooo beautiful. She wanted to feel like a princess. I am pretty sure we acomplished that

I so love that her picture was taken in front of this old truck. Kind of reminds me of old meets new. And check out that train on the dress. Totally HOT! If you know what I mean. I can not even tell you how many amazing photos were taken. But I seriously love this shot.

This is a shot of all the girls next to an old building down in Railroad Square located in Santa Rosa. Love, love, love the building. I am so into non traditional photos. You know, the artistic look with the grungy non expected backgrounds. Loved the girls dresses too. Red is HOT

And then there are the boys. Oh yes, the boys. You gotta love them. They were all amazing and really got into the photos. I think they all did a fab job of being themselves and feeling comfortable for the camera. I can not wait to show you some of the other great pictures these boys took. They had a great time.

I love the looks on all their faces in this photo. You can tell they were all having so much fun, not posed at all. They just did what was coming natural. Having a great time. This photo cracks me up every time I look at it. More photos coming soon. How could I not share more when there are so many to choose from. I can not wait to scrap some of them.

Matt and Jen's wedding photos

2007-09-29T06:49:00.001-07:00

Brenda Smith is the BESTEST EVER friend. She made this amazing video of Matt and Jen's wedding on September 15. What a great keepsake for them. Oh, and for me, the mom.

I swear I cried when I saw this. If you were at the wedding you may cry too. I love the fun funky non traditional photos. So artistic and they are going to be a hoot to scrap.

The song playing is the song for the first dance. It is about a Back hills country boy and a fairy tale princess. It is SOOOOOO the right song for them. Describes them perfectly to a tee. The name of it is "Livin our Love Song."

For those of you that dont know any of us, I hope you enjoy the photos. And a BIG thank you to Brenda for putting this together.

Baby Shower Cake

2007-09-24T07:15:00.001-07:00

Here is the cake I made for Claudia's baby shower at work last week. I had to teach myself how to do the basket weave on the top. I missed that class when every one else learned. It was not as hard as I thought it would be. I think it turned out kind of cute. I was going to put roses around the bottom but they were not turning out good so I skipped that idea and just did a quick little border.

I did absolutley nothing this weekend except sit/lay on the couch. Watch TV and read a little Harry Potter. Talk about lazy and loving it.

The Look of Pain

2007-09-21T07:32:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I got to go to my daughters Marine PT (physical training). One Saturday a month all of the Poolee's (recruits waiting to go to boot camp) have a mandatory PT. Gunnery Sgt. Monroe leads this training. I was amazed at how well Jen did. She gave it her all and never gave up. She actually out did most of the guys that day. This photo was durring the circut training portion of the PT. After running as a group the Poolee's must run from station to station. They spend 2 min. at each station doing an excercise. Non stop. This was the crunch station. She did not give up no matter how much pain she was feeling.

At this station they had to jump down, feet go out, do a push up, feet come in, stand and punch. The look of pain on her face as she was doing this was amazing. Jen could not do a push up to save her life a couple months ago. She is pretty proud of herself that she can do them now. She will show any one that is willing to watch now.

Now this excersice amazed me beyond belief. They had to go from a laying down position into a crunch and then right into a standing position. Then they would have to go back down and do it all over again. Matt and I both looked at each other and said "there is no way she will be able to do that". Well, we were wrong. Not only did she do it she did not stop. My mouth was hanging open at the shear amount of pain in her face and determination.

Each time she started to stand a horrible grunt/yell would come out of her mouth. The guy she was paired up with was a real go getter. We got mad at himself because he could not do one more before they had to switch. He was amazing with Jen. We could hear him grunting along with her saying things like, "cmon show these guys up, your a bad a**, do it again, yea thats the way" and he was grunting right along with her. Each time her turn was done he would pat her legs and tell her how awesome she did. I was so proud of her.

This is when they were learning how to choke someone out in 8 seconds. Some of the guys were not paying attention and messing around laughing. Jen's recruiting Sgt. Brown got angry and yelled at them all. "you thing this is a joke moth*** effer, its not, you can kill someone, this is serious, now pay attention and quit effing around." Yep, he was mad as all get out.

This is the point where I really realized just how serious of a choice Jen has made. She will be learning how to kill someome with her bare hands. And, someone may be trying to kill her. Pretty serious stuff. Chances are she will not be in that position as women are not allowed in combat. But there is a chance. It was eye opening to realize these Poolee's will be taught to kill and not be afraid of that fact. They are all volunteering to dye for our country if they have too. That is beyond belief amazing. Don't you think?

Wedding Cake

2007-09-19T07:06:00.000-07:00

I have not blogged in forever and now you can see why. My Daughter Jenni got married to Matt this weekend. These are the only pictures I took myself. Can not wait to see the others. This is the cake I made for them. First off I must say I knew it would take a lot of work but really I did not know it would take as long as it did. There is 17 hours of work in this cake. No joke.
The bottom layer is chocolate with a raspberry filling. The middle layer is white with a lemon kist filling. And the top is both. That way, on their first anniversary they both can still have the cake they wanted for their wedding day.
This was the very first tiered cake I have ever done. The tiering was the easy part. It was the fondant that was hard. Next time the fondant will be better. All in all I think the cake turned out pretty decent for my first one.

I loved that neither one of them had a problem shoving cake in the others face. I did warn them ahead of time to decide if they wanted to do this or not. I have seen many a bride be very upset when the groom did this. It ruins the makeup. But Jen being Jen had no problem what so ever. They both shoved away.

And then they kissed dirty face and all. It was so cute.
The entire day turned out rather nice even if I must say so myself. I did get many compliments on how beautiful it was. Jen was stunning. Matt was so handsome I cried. The decorations in the yard looked awesome thanks to Mary Gail. All of the other decorations (guest book, cake server, etc etc) were altered by me. The food was great thanks to our chef Curtis, Tina, Shannon, Mary Gail and myself. Our DJ was awesome thanks to Justin and our MC Heather. Flowers were perfect thank you to Josie. And the photographs.......I have not seen them yet but I KNOW they got some GREAT shots thanks to Helen, Brenda and Nikki.

Me???????? I am kind of glad it is over. I just wish I could have enjoyed the day more and socialized more. I was so busy it was crazy. Crazy Fun!

What Are you Doing This Weekend

2007-09-08T06:59:00.000-07:00

The Crunch begins.......Jen's wedding is in 7 days. AHHHHHHH!!!!!! I have made lists that need to be made into more lists. I have purchased decorations, cake stuff, and most of the other goodies. I have tried to be organized but I tell you it is never good enough. I still have a ton to do.

Then yesterday, I got this hairbrained idea that I really do want to make favors. So I came up with a really unique favor idea. What was I thinking? I was thinking "oh how cute". So off to Tap Plastics" I go. This photo is of the beginning of the project. 81 pieces of 5x7 acrylic. Gonna make wall hangings for everyone. Waht a job.

What are you doing this weekend? Wanna come help?

Not Your Usual Sighting

2007-09-07T07:16:00.001-07:00

WOW! They MUST be hungry. This is not your usual every day sight. These cats do not necisarilly get along. Seriously!

So I came home today. One cat is yelling at me. I fill the bowl. Another cat jumps up there and yells. Now What? Grab another bowl and fill it when the third cat comes a yelling. Holy Cow! Grab the third bowl before the cat fight starts. Whew! No fights today. They were all eating happily.

Thats Jen's cat Roxy on the left. My cat Lady in the middle and Matt's cat DeeDee on the right. They are not friends. They kind of ignore each other. Until they get to close together and then one of them will warn the other to get the heck away NOW!

It's Friday and I can not wait for the work day to end. Yes, I know it has not started. But I got so much to do for the wedding NEXT WEEK. It's crunch time. Wish me luck.

My Little Creative Space

2007-09-05T06:46:00.001-07:00

I have not been creating much at home lately. Nikki and I were discussing why the other night. I think she hit it right on the nose. My stuff is always in my tote in the car because I take it back and forth to the store. I also don't want to pull it all out and make a mess on my dinning room table every night. Because then I would have to clean it all up to eat dinner. Yes, we eat dinner at the table as a family. Always have, always will. I think it's important.

After our conversation, I was wondering what to do what to do? Then I remembered I had given my desk top to my sister about 3 months ago. Hmmmm.....I could clean out the amoire and set it all up to be just my space to create. Most of you know the amazing organizational furniture I have for my stash. But there is just no room to actually scrap.

So Monday I emptied out the amoire of all my pile of hidden junk. Mostly scrap stuff I stuffed in there to hide from the general public. And I emptied out my tote to create myself a little creative haven. Where I can go and mess my little world up and dont have to clean it up if I dont want.

Of course I will clean it up after every Layout. But, if I have to leave in the middle of a layout or something. I can just slide the work top in and close the doors. POOF! No mess left. I am very excited I can work on something any time I want now. One of my favorite features is where the CD's usually go. Well, I put a blank CD in there and created little shelves for my flowers etc. And, the baskets, yep those are just too cute arn't they? What's your space look like?

New Layouts for you

2007-09-04T07:10:00.000-07:00

Couple new Layouts for you to see. This first one is of our very dear Julia. She is now a Sailor with the Navy. We are so very proud of her. I used the Hambly transparancy here and just cut it up. To adhere each piece I used Making Memories Jem brads. One of my staples in my stash. And of course the cute little gold velvet Prima flower added the best touch.

I threw this one together last night in my new little space. Will share the space tomorrow. The cute little flower is one of my favorite new embellishments to make from scraps. You may see a lot of these on my layouts soon. The journaling reads: Letting thesee two loose in the woods is never a good idea. Nikki misplaces everything and Brenda gets lost even with her navigater. The two of them together would get lost for sure.

This is me Journal--more pages

2007-09-02T16:28:00.000-07:00

Got caught up on my This is Me Journal Challenge last night. This one is "My Ultimate Mix Tape. I am not so good on the music front. Never have been. But I do love all kinds of music. Just cant remember which songs go with which groups. Kind of embarrassing if you ask me.
The background was done with paint and bubble wrap. Too cute.

This is My Drive to Work. I tried to make it all simple and stuff. But that does not always happen with me. I love the long skinny journaling here. And the "white space". I also love the frame around the outside of the page.

If you have not joined me in this challenge, you should. Been learning alot about myself and getting the "real me" down on paper for future. The website is www.thisismejournal.blogspot.com. Get over there and join me. It is not too late to catch up or just jump in and start where ever.

Acrylic Wall Hanging

2007-08-31T07:23:00.001-07:00

My first attempt at acrylic. I got the acrylic pieces at Lowes. Drilled my holes and then decorated to make it oh so cute. I did learn a couple things along the way. I would tell you how I did it but, I can't. You will just have to come down to The Scrappery and take my class. It is sure to be a great time. The possibilities with Acrylic are endless.

I took this picture at night with the LO hanging in a doorway. That is why it looks black. It really is clear. I think it is just too cute for words. Oh and I did "faux stitching" on it. So it literally looks like I stitched on acrylic. So cool.

I love this hanging. And I totally LOVE the pictures of the three of us looking like a family of Dorks.

One more thing. Matt got the air conditioner installed again last night. Who is ready to come scrap with me this long weekend. In COOL air. I am so excited. Cmon over.

The Power of Three

2007-08-29T06:38:00.000-07:00

I love this layout. The colors are so bright and the flower is just simply too cute. I got the title from the TV show Charmed. If you watch it you know what "the Power of Three" is. If you don't watch it....well.....it just means we are so much better when we are together.

To make the flower hand cut a small circle out of pattern paper. Lay that on another piece of pattern paper and hand cut a little bigger. Continue to do this until you have about 5 layers. When I say hand cut, I mean do not draw the circle and then cut, but just start cutting. The circle is not meant to be perfect. In fact it looks much better if it is not perfect.

Once the circles are cut, ink around the edges. The next step is to distress the edges. You can do this a couple of different ways,. Scissors work great. Scrape the blade of the scissors along the edge until you get a worn look. A distresser made by Making Memories works great for this also. It's a little black tool that has a blade in it. When the worn look starts to happen kind of crinkle, wrap, the edges up slightly. The leaves area created the same way you created the flower. Remember to hand cut the petals.

Now you are ready to adhere each piece into place on on top of the other to create the finished flower. In this case I also wrapped a piece of lace around the biggest layer just to add a little more cuteness. Attach a button in the middle. Either sew the button down or add a brad as I did. The stem is another piece of ribbon I found in my stash. Any ribbon will work. I just happen to find this piece of yumminess.

This is a great way to make those supplies last as I used scraps from my scrap bin. I never really thought about my scraps much. Until one night Nikki was throwing her scraps into the garbage. A "Fashionista" from SIStv was sitting there. She looked down and about had a heart attack. "your NOT throwing these away." Nikki and I kind of giggled until she created an amazing LO all on Nikki's "garbage". Yep, I am saving and using more of my scraps now. Thank you Kerri Lynn for making me "See the Light". I will not throw away a scrap.

My Favorite Friend at the Moment

2007-08-28T06:21:00.001-07:00

Another journal entry for the "This is Me Journal" challenge. I started this entry at 6:00 am and just had to finish it before I left for work. It got done but it is very different from what I had envisioned.

The background is made from bubble wrap and paint. A technique I kind of thought up 4 years ago and used for a A-Z technique swap. But I never actually did a layout with it. Now, some are starting to use this technique a lot. I should have kept doing it four years ago.

Challenge club 1 is tonight. This is going to be their challenge. It will be interesting to see what they come up with.

I am ready for Thursdays Journal Challenge to be announced. I am having a great time with this journal.

This is Me Journal

2007-08-25T21:49:00.000-07:00

I found this challange blog that seemed like so much fun. So, I decided to give it a try. This is the cover of my journal. The challanges will all consist of things about ourselves. They are giving out two topics a week. I challenge all of you to join me in this journey. There is still time to catch up. I did all three of these today. It was very easy. The web is http://www.thisismejournal.blogspot.com/ For my journal I had a 12x12 spiral album I cut up to make it 6x12. This is a new size for me and it is really fun.

This is my first page of my journal. IN MY HONEST OPINION. Yep, I found I am a really opiniated woman. Strong and determined in my ways. I think this rubs some people wrong as I am very outspoken in these thoughts. And look I used stickers for the first time in years. OK OK they are letter stickers but they ARE stickers.

This is the next page in the journal. MY HOBBIES. I came to the conclusion that any kind of art is a hobby to me. I love all kinds. Of course scrapbooking is my favorite and the most social hobby.

Ok, I challenge all of you to go to http://www.thisismejournal.blogspot.com/ and join me in learning more about yourself. And leaving the true you behind for future genorations.

Self Portrait

2007-08-24T06:54:00.000-07:00

Note to self: taking a picture of myself is not necisarilly a good idea.

I have a hard enough time getting non blurry photos without trying to do it off to the side with one hand. Not an easy task. If you don't believe me then just try it. I do have to say that this time turned out better than last time. Mostly because I look better this time.

Now if I had a digital SLR it might be all good. My birthday is coming for any of you wondering what I want. hehehehe.

Morning

2007-08-23T06:03:00.000-07:00

Cookie wanted to say good morning to everyone. This is what she looked like before I cut her hair. Yep, you might say she is cute. But I tell you when that hair gets all dirty and then it starts to get all matted. It's not so cute. That is when she needs a doggie makeover. See my last post about the makeovers. I can not wait until she looks like this again. Seriously, much better than all hacked up.

I feeling much stress these days. A wedding 3 weeks away, Jennifer leaving for boot camp in 7 weeks. And the mortgage industry has never been more stressful. Especially my job. We can not get stuck with any of these loans investors are starting to discontinue. If we get stuck with them, that is when we will start to get into financial trouble like so many other companies out there.

Here is a great example. Yesterday we had a loan that we were trying to fund. I could not let the funders fund it because it still had outstanding conditions to be satisfied in order for me to sell the loan to the investor. This particular loan was under a program that will no longer exist as of tomorrow. Which means the investor will not buy it after tomorrow. This loan is for $700,000.00.

The loan officer and the processors are pushing for this loan to get funded without the necessary conditions. One of which was showing a $20,000 lien had been paid before we close, evidence of closing cost of almost #300,000 and a 12 month mortgage history on a previous mortgage. Also, if we did not fund tomorrow the original note would not make it to the Warehouse bank quick enough to get sent back out to the investor by Friday AND we would not get the final HUD in time from the Escrow company.

I had to get involved and tell the loan officer and the processor's and their manager "NO" we will not fund this loan without all of these conditions in hand. They are not used to me getting in the way of funding a loan. So, of course, all heck breaks loose. I finally went to my boss, who is the president of the company, and told him what was going on. Thankfully he trusts me enough to stand behind my decision.

After about 3 hours of being stubborn, I finally won. They got us all of the conditions just in time to fund the loan. WHEW! Now why could they have not done that in the first place? Now the loan is funded and I still have two more days of hell to get this loan purchased by the investor or we will still be stuck with a $700,000.00 loan. I am confident I will get it done by today. One day early.

NO, I am not under any pressure. And this is just one loan. Never mind all of the other ones outstanding right now. No pressure at all. HELLO????????

My Nicoletta

2007-08-21T07:27:00.001-07:00

This is the super Fab Nikki. Whom I call Nicolletta. I wanted to do a page with all her qualities on it. Mostly because I did not take this picture of her and I could not think of anything else to journal on it. Someday we may look back on this layout and wonder "what was I thinking when I said that was a quality" but i dought it. She is amazing and I am so glad she is one of my best friends.

Doggie Makeovers

2007-08-20T07:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got a wild hair up my bu** and decided to give Cookie a hair cut. Normally her hair is all fluffy and big. Problem with that is it gets all matted and yucky. So, I just took the scissors and started hacking away. No rhym or reason to the method. Just pick up the hair and whack it off. Turns out looking pretty ugly huh? LOL she looks horrid. LOL

Joey was feeling a little left out. Looking like he really wanted to do what Cookie was doing. Matt decided we needed to give him a hair cut too. Not that he has any hair. Matt took him in the bathroom and this is what he looked like when he came out. Pretty manley I would say. He is the toughest looking dog on the block now. The funny thing is Jen was at work when we did this. She has not seen it yet. Matt and I were laughing so hard. Jen is gonna flip. I can not wait to see the look on her face when she discovers it. Bwahahahah!!!!!!!

Moral of the story. "Never leave mom and Matt home alone"

Eye Candy

2007-08-17T07:02:00.001-07:00

I love my ribbons. Don't use them as much as I used to but that is going to change. I gotta start using them again. I have so many more that I gotta wind and put into the cases.

I am working on a couple new classes for The Scrappery in Cotati. I am most excited about the acrylic wall hanging I will create this weekend. I think/hope it turns out really cute.

The Scrappery is going to be doing "Scrappy School" once a month at the store. On a Sunday. You can sign up to spend the whole day with 4 fabulous instructors. Can't tell you what we will be working on yet. Your day will be filled with fun and learning. AND you get to take away 4 to 8 really great finished projects. Gonna be so fun. Get a hold of The Scrappery if you are interested. www.thescrappery.blogspot.com.

I am also adding the altered All My Memories tote to the class list. This was so fun to create. I thought some of you would want to learn how to make your totes unique and truly your own work of art. It's easier than you think and I will be there to walk you through the whole process.

Now, for a little bit of a bummer. Remember when I told you the day was not going to be so good. Well, it wasn't. My full time job went through downsizing that day. It was really tough to see people leave that had been working with the company for so long. We laid off 11 people. It was a sad day for sure. I am very lucky to still have my job. Keep your fingers crossed we don't have to downsize more. Mean while I will kick myself in gear yet another notch so if it comes time again I will know I did beyond my best.

Natural Poser

2007-08-15T06:22:00.000-07:00

Nikki has this way of being able to naturally pose when the camera comes out. Kind of irritating in a way. If I were to try posing like she does, most of the time it would come out looking like some over age over weight dork trying to be all young and cute. I do love taking pictures of her. She is just so darn cute.

Today is not going to be a good day. I can not tell you why yet. I will be able to tell you tomorrow.

Jenni and I got a lot of the wedding stuff down on paper. I feel a little more organized now. We did not think of anything new. We just got our thoughts in black and white instead of rolling around in the head. Now I can let some of it go and think of new things.

It's An Addiction

2007-08-14T06:27:00.000-07:00

For most scrapbookers their camera is an addiction. Nikki is no different. This is her new digital SLR. I am pretty sure I am amazingly jealous. Seems all my friends have one. But not me. Anyone want to donate to the poor me fund so I can get me one too?

Four years ago I bought myself a really nice expensive camera. One I new I would want for always. It was the best camera in our group of friends for about a minette. Then they all went and bought the digital SLR. I feel camera deprived. Mine is still a good camera. It's just not the best. We all want the best. RIGHT? Someday over the rainbow, I too, will have the SLR.....

Rockin Good Time

2007-08-13T06:50:00.000-07:00

I did this Layout at the SIStv crop on Sunday. Jen says it is her favorite layout I have done so far. I kind of love it myself. The title totally makes it HOT. The journaling reads: "Who would have thought a country boy would steal her heart. She is such a city girl. You can take the city out of the girl but you can't take the country out of the boy."

This is the cake I made to take with us to the crop. It was chocolate/chocolate and oh sooooo yummy. I love cake.

A bunch of SIStv members got together on Sunday to meet each other and crop in Fremont. It was a 1 1/2 hour drive for us. But, it was sooooo worth it. We got to meet so many of our SISters. Kerry Lynn was there, she is one of our fashionistas. Such an awesome lady. She amazes me as she just started to scrap 8 months ago. It's always fun when you get to meet people you talk to online all the time.

For those of you who don't know SIStv you should. They are a scrapbooking web community that is very supportive and very positive. I love that there is no drama going on there. Everyone is very encouraging and just plain nice. If you have never been there or never heard of it go try it out at www.scrapinstyletv.com I promise you will love it.

Michelle Hill & Suzy West

2007-08-11T06:54:00.000-07:00

This Picture seriously ROCKS!!!!! Last night Brenda,Nikki and myself went to a crop 1 1/2 hours from home just to be with Suzy West and Michelle Hill. If you don't know these two ladies you should. They are two of my three very favorite Scrapbook instructors. Both of them teach at CKU and CHA as well as travel all over to teach at different events and stores.

The other fab lady in the picture is Lizz. She is super fun and works for Suzy. I think she looks alot like Gene Simmons in these photos. She will probably kill me for that but what the heck.

Suzy just opened a store 8 months ago http://www.bayareascrappers.com/ called Picture Me Perfect. She used to have a store in her garage. Yes, the garage. It was a huge success but just could not accommodate all of the ladies that wanted to come visit all of the HOTness Suzy has to offer. If you want to know how to use those canvas's Suzy is the woman to see. Brenda and I have been taking her canvas classes every year for about 3 years now. She is one of the reason we get so excited to go to CHA.

Michelle Hill is a designer for Lil Davis. She is seriously one of the sweetest most energetic women I have ever met. Her talent simply oozes out of her. I always scramble to get her classes as she is so much fun and has the cutest smile ever.

Now you put them both in the same room and you can not help but have a great time. There were only 10 of us at the crop last night so we got lots of time with both of them. Never mind that we had dinner with them before the crop. And they hung out at our table at the crop all night. They have the best stories and you can tell from the photos just plain crazy.

Michelle was supposed to fly home Saturday but we all talked her into hanging out until Monday and coming to the crop at Suzy's store on Sunday with all of the ladies at SIStv. We are in for another amazing day.

They Like Me

2007-08-10T06:25:00.000-07:00

I stole the title of this layout from Sally Fields (the actress) when she got her academy award FINALLY. It just seemed to fit this photo of Brenda, Nikki and myself. This is one of the few photos the three of us have together. One of us is always taking a picture of the other two. But never all of us together. I guess thats what happens when we all carry a camera.

We waited forever for the Love Elsie product to come into the store. When it finally came I had to go a little crazy with it. I think this is a very "Elsie" layout. I love it. It was soooooo much fun to create. Looking forward to doing more.

"19" by Waycross

2007-08-09T06:36:00.000-07:00

Wow. I was checking out Debbi (with no e on the end) blog today and found this video. Amazing song. Really makes you think about the young adults that make the decision to fight for our freedom. Beautiful song.

Waycross - 19 - video powered by Metacafe

When I was young the Vietnam war was still going on. Young people did not volunteer to join the military. None of them wanted to go. The "Draft" was in full effect. They were told they had to go. Many of them "ran" to Canada to escape going into the military.

I remember reading and seeing movies about when the war started and how drastically it effected the women. Most of the young men got Drafted. The states were left with very few men. Women were left alone, no job skills but had to learn rather quickly.

By the time I was a young girl the "Draft" was not as prominent as it was back then. My dad never had to go. He was in the medical field, was married, and had me. He would have been one of the last chosen. I remember thinking "Thank God, my dad did not get drafted." By the time my brother reached 18, the war was over and there was no more "draft." I remember thinking "thank God" at that time too.

Now, Jen has volunteered to serve in the Marines. These young people simply amaze me. The courage, the commitment, the dedication they have. I am thankful we have enough young people volunteer to where the draft has not been put into effect again. I honor and remember these young people every day. They are my Hero's!!!!!!

Happy Next Day Birthday to Nikki

2007-08-08T07:05:00.000-07:00

Nikki's Birthday was yesterday. Brenda, Curtis, Ron, myself all went out to dinner with her to Chili's. Nikkie always looks so darn cute. She can not help it. No mater what she does she is cute. Darn girl. Last night she was just oozing cuteness. I had a yummy Cajun Rib Eye. It was so good I swear. I must have more. Oh wait, I do get the leftovers for lunch. YUM!

This is the cake I made just for Nikki. It was Strawberry inside. I tried to get Nikki's colors into the flowers. Unfortunatly the teal and the blue were so close in color they looked the same. I know for next time. Jenni picked out what flower I was going to do on the cake. This particular flower is a hard one for me. But they did not turn out to bad on this cake. Thank goodness.

Let's not forget that Cookie (the brat dog) helped with the decorating. I got all done at midnight. Turned around to fold the box. I made one fold and turned around agian. There she was. On the chair, face first into the cake just licking away. Happy little girl she was. Until I yelled at her. She just wanted to help with the decorating so I left it there for Nikki to see. Happy Birthday Nicoletta.

No Sunshine

2007-08-07T06:35:00.000-07:00

This song was going through my head all day on Saturday. I figured it was a sure sign I needed to use if for a Layout title. What better photo to put on the layout than my two best friends. Nikkie will be very proud of me for doing a long multi font title. I also used some rubons from my stash. I have no idea where or when I got it. But I knew I needed to use it. It is a rub on I cut in the shape of a circle. Love it. Wish I had more now.

Speaking of best friends. HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKKI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can not wait to see you tonight for dinner. Cookie has a surprise for you.

Love Elsie

2007-08-06T07:25:00.000-07:00

I am loving this layout I did with the Love Elsie product. We waited so long for it to get to the store. I just had to use it right away. I had so much fun with it. There is another layout but I will share it tomarrow.

This picture is of Jennifer trying on wedding dresses. Journaling reads. "We had so much fun trying on wedding dresses. I just never thought my daughter would wear one before me. It's all good."

How Much

2007-08-03T07:02:00.001-07:00

(this post is not for the easily offended reader)

Oh this picture just makes me sing "How Much is that Doggie in the Window? Ruf Ruf"
We had locked her outside to go potty. She refused to go potty outside. We looked over and there she was on the table outside looking in at us instead of doing her duty. Dorky dog.

If that doggie was for sale, I sometimes wonder if I would buy her. Cookie is loving, but oh she is such a girl. She will scold any dog that comes around. She even scolds me. When she does this that girl with get about 1 inch from my face and all of a sudden RUF. It is rather loud and annoying to say the least. Especially when I am sleeping. Yes, she even does it then.

I can not ignore her when she wants to play. She will bring her dirty gross toy and drop it on my face. Not kidding. ON my face. Not my hand. Not my lap. FACE. Uhg.

When she wants to play with Joey (Chihuahua) he can not ignore her either. She will start growling and biting any part of his body that's the closest. Literally! One particular night I was hearing Joey whining and Cookie was growling. I looked over to see Joey standing VERY VERY still. Cookie's head was under his belly tilting upwards. I realized she had a hold of the poor little guys wee wee. He was sooooo scarred and all she wanted to do was play. She did not know what she was doing but he sure did. It's rather funny now. Joey still does not think it's funny.

Even though Cookie is a pesky dominant girl, I would probably buy her if she was in the window. She is just too cute for words. Ilove her.

My Little Navy Girl

2007-08-02T06:40:00.000-07:00

My Little Navy Girl Julia came home on leave for a week. It was soooooo great to see her. She looks fabulous. Lovin the new hair and the skinny minni.

She is in A School right now. Usually Navy Seamen are not allowed to go on leave until they get stationed. Julia is one of three Seamen that were granted leave while still in A School (job training). Her brother who is a Marine is being deployed. They let her come home to be with him before he leaves. What a surprise this was for us.

Julia is one of the sweetest girls I know. A kind heart anyone would love to have. She just ouzes kindness. The best part is she considers me her other mom. She called right after she got back to base to let me know she was safe. She also surprised me by inviting me to her A School Graduation. She said I was just as much a part of her family as her real family.

How sweet is that? I am so honored. I wish I could go. I can't because she gradusates the same weekend that Jen is leaving for boot camp. There is NO WAY Jen is going to allow me to not be with her during her last days as a civilian. Just NO WAY. I will be with Julia in spirit. I miss her so much.

Altered Totes

2007-08-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to alter my All Memory totes for a long time now. I was scarred to try it for fear of messing them up big time. No one wants and ugly tote. It's not like paper where you can start over.

I finally got up the courage and just did it. I stopped trying to plan out what it would look like in the end. Just let it flow as you go. That's my new motto.
The big tote in the first two pics was done with paint, stamps and a black sharpie.

You never know if people would want to take a class on altering these totes. So, I wanted to do each one with a different technique. Sometimes I am smarter than I look.

The medium tote was done with rub ons. These particular rub ons were a bit trickier than the making memories words I used on the first tote. They did not rub off so easily. Makes for a slow careful process. It was all good in the end. I love the colors of these rub ons.

The small tote was another story. This is where the "nobody want to carry around an ugly tote" comes in. Yep, hate it. Won't post a picture of it until I figure out what the heck to do with it. It is sooooo ugly. I tried to hand paint little flowers. I wanted white doodling. Since the white pen soaked into the fabric, I tried to paint the doodling on. Whatever you do, do not try that at home. Create and learn.

Roses

2007-07-31T06:03:00.000-07:00

Last night was the last session of Course One for cake decorating. Whew! We FINALLY got to learn the roses. They are sooooo fun. Now keep in mind these are my first six roses. NO practice before putting them on the cake. I think they turned out pretty darn good for my first time.

Next week we start course two. We will learn Royal Icing and all kinds of other flowers. Like mums, daisys, and I dont know what else. But there are a lot. And in the last week we learn how to do a basket weave with the icing. Can't quite figure out how that works. I guess that is why I am taking the classes. Huh?

Mika - Love Today

2007-07-30T07:18:00.001-07:00

Yep, discovered Mika on So you Think You Can Dance. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I tend to like groups with a very distinctive sound. Like The Cars or Pink Floyd. So in love with this song.

Time to Embarrase "The MoM"

2007-07-27T06:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got to embarrass my Sister Susan. TODAY.....I get to embarrass MY MOM. I am laughing just typing this because I KNOW she is going to have a kinipshion fit when she opens this post. Bwaaahahahaha........

This is a Layout my mom did of my daughter Jenni. This is not the embarrassing part as I think her layout is awesome. She did an amazing job. Kudos to you mom!!!!!

Now this is the embarrassing part. See, I never really knew my mom checked my blog. Never leaves a comment for me. So, today she emails me this in response to some of my recent posts. Gotta love her!

"Now I am old but some things I do remember and that was how your dad and I chose your name.You were named after your grandma Lovinger, your aunt, and me as far as your middle name goes and we could not use Dorothy as your grandmother and aunt we Dorothy Jean and Dottie Jean so for the same initials we went with Debra Jean. It was just that simple and no worse than when you said your new baby sister was going to be Suzanne Kay before we even knew if the baby was a brother or sister and when we asked how you knew you were having a sister you said because I asked Jesus to give me one. Now you have the entire story. Love you.Mom PS Susan isn't going to take to kindly to that awful picture you posted of her. AND for once I like my verison of Jen on the boat in her bathing suit that I did better than yours . My colors match the colors of her suit so that is why would send you a copy but don't have any idea how as I am old and computer illiterate. Love you again."

Ah she cracks me up. She did eventually figure out how to send the picture of the Layout to me. Obviously or I could not of posted it for all of you to see.

Now the rest of the world knows how I was named. (still hate it BTW). And she is right I do like her Layout better than mine. Way to go mom! I just love how she calls herself computer illiterate as that is what Jen says I am. Too funny.

Love you mom! Just had to mess with you today. At least I did not call you my grandma. Bwaahahaha.....

PS...she is sooooooo gonna kill me for posting this. I love it!!!!! Messing with "the MOM".....

Impersonating ME

2007-07-26T06:24:00.001-07:00

While on our "Sister Cruise" sister Dawn and I went down to the dinning room to eat breakfast. Sister Susan told us to save her a seat she would be "right down". Dawn and I waited and waited, ate our breakfast, waited, watched Susan's breakfast get cold and waited some more. About the time we asked each other where the heck Susan was here she comes with Sister Kim.

Dawn and I looked up and saw Susan in this hillareous red wig. We were like "what the heck?" as we started to laugh. Susan is walking with kind of a swish sway movement and says "I am Debbi.(that's me)" We were rolling on the floor. It was way too funny. I can't believe she brought this wig just to impersonate me. AND she wore it all over the ship.

Kim on the other hand was following way back looking all embarrased. She tried to tell Susan to take the wig off, don't wear that and had an "oh my God, I can't believe this" attitude. I KNOW she was thinking "these are NOT my sisters and I DO NOT know these people."

The other people at our table, whom we did not know, didn't get it. We didn't care if they got it or not. We thought it was way too funny. Leave it to Susan to do something crazy and unexpected on a trip. I am really glad she left her ugly teeth at home.

Storage Ideas

2007-07-25T06:38:00.000-07:00

The other morning I opened the cupboard to get a glass and this is what I found. Now I am pretty sure that IS NOT where the Milk belongs. Seriously!

The other night I finished off a milk jug and put it back in the fridge empty just to irritate Matt. It worked by the way. So I thought for sure Matt put this in the cupboard to irritate me. He swears he did not do it.

Then I got to thinking. The night before I had poured myself some milk. I went back to get more and it was gone. I wondered how it could disappear so fast. Bottom line........I am pretty sure I did it. What a dumb a**.

clown cake

2007-07-24T06:36:00.000-07:00

Yep! Made me a cake. A couple co-workers and myself have been taking cake decorating classes at a local craft store. We have been having a great time and learning so much. Last night we learned how to do star flowers (mine need some serious practice), shell boarders and these oh so cute clowns. I just love them. they have so much personality.

When I got home there were 5 young adults in my house. The cake pretty much got devoured. And here I promised a couple people at work I would bring them a piece. I do have two small pieces left.

I had ONE bite. Just to see how it tasted.I don't have an oven so I made it in the toaster oven. It worked. The cake tasted great. Not dry at all. Don't worry too much. I promise Jen's wedding cake will be made in a real oven.

SIStv challenges

2007-07-23T07:07:00.000-07:00

Scrap in Style TV had a bunch of challenges going for those of us that could not go to CHA summer. I am all for challenges so I jumped right in. Nikki did too. Won't surprise me if she wins one of the challenges. This layout combined a couple of challenges. Use something clear, use circles and use two different colors of paint. I painted the scalloped background on my layout.

This was my favorite from this weekend. The challenges were to do a layout using an entire package of embellishments. Had to be at least 5 of them in the package. Create a layout of a size you have never done before and use an office product on it. so I did a 6x12. And, scraplift one of the SISters. I lifted the fabulous Nikki.

This was Nikki's challenge she posted. Use at least three different fonts on your layout.

The grand opening of The Scrappery was on Saturday. It was tons of fun. Brenda, Joy and I hosted make n takes all day. We had food for everyone and prizes. Everyone got to pop a balloon to see what kind of discount they were to receive. We even hopped over to the ELI crop and gave away some prizes to those ladies. Some of them won free crops.

Baeked another cake last night in my toaster oven for class tonight. We will see if it tastes any good. We are making clowns on our cakes tonight. Might be tough. Wish me luck.

Dog Pile, Kid Pile, Whatever!

2007-07-19T06:30:00.000-07:00

The other day I opened one of my picture folders and found this picture. It makes me smile. Yes, it was a long time ago picture. But I love the fun memeory it brought back. When life with the kids was easier and not so grown up.

Thats Justin on the bottom, Heather's new boyfriend at the time. I think this was the first time I had met him. He is really nice. They are still together. And thats Heather on top of Justin. Heather is Brenda's daughter but I am her other mom. It's been fun watching her grow into a great young woman.

Pat is on top of Heather. Heres where it gets a little confusing. Pat was Heather's first boyfriend ever. Heather and Pat have always had a fun relationship. They usually end up wrestling and just playing around. Now, Heather is a tought girl. She can hold her own with Pat. That makes it more fun for him. I believe this day was the first day Pat had seen Heather with Justing. Forgive me if I am wrong but I think there may have been a little awkwardness going on. Not sure.

Jen is on top of Pat. (more confustion here) Jen and Pat started dating shortly after this picture. This was back when Pat was a little more normal than he is now. I learned the guy is somewhat intense and a little out there.

Rachel is on Jen. Rachel is/was Jen's bestfriend. Since graduation we have not really seen Rachel. She will call when she is fighting with her boyfriend. Other than that she's not around.

Casey is the child on the top. As usual. Casey somehow always comes out on top. She is just the cutest ever. Oh, and that is Ginger on top of Casey.

Some people would call this a Dog Pile. I call it a Kid Pile. Or Whatever!

Boys Are Dumb

2007-07-18T06:30:00.001-07:00

Sunday I was sitting at the computor minding my own business. Matt and his best friend, Brian,are out on the back deck doing who knows what. I was not really paying attention. But then I hear what sounds like two brothers bickering. This could not be happening. So I try to listen. I say try because I really am hard of hearing.

This is what I do hear.

"tap tap tap" giggle giggle
"STOP it"
giggle giggle tap tap tap
"Gimmie that"
tap tap tap tap giggle
"STOP" (insert profanities here)
LOL LOL whack whack

Ok, I gotta see what they are doing. I see matt with a stick about 4 feet long sitting in one chair with this devilish look on his face. He is whacking the stick on Brian's leg over and over again and laughing.

Brian, of course, is trying to stop him but giggling too. They both have grins from ear to ear. The harder Brian tries to stop him the fiercer Matt becomes. Matt was REALLY whacking him hard. Over and over. I could not believe they were doing this and enjoying it. But they were. They were having FUN.

The wierder part about is it they are both 21. Not two little boys. Grown (well trying to grow) men. I have never raised boys but doesn't this stop at some point in the growing process? I mean, are boys always this way? Watching them, I realized that I really am glad I only had one girl.

Boys are dumb!

Scene of the Crime

2007-07-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

We finally made it up to Michael's home last night to check out the back yard. Yes, this is going to be "THE PLACE" Jennifer gets married. It's fabulously perfect. We figured out where everything is going to be placed. And, came up with a really cool idea for decorating. Mary Gail is in charge of making sure the decorations are perfect. She is going to do a wonderful job. However, we just made it a little more detailed. So now we gotta call in the big guns. Curtis..........get ready........we got a big job for you if you so choose to accept it.

I am getting more excited now that we have been to THE place. It was getting dark last night by the time we arrived. I should have taken pictures. All I can say is PERFECT.

The Crucible

2007-07-13T13:27:00.001-07:00

I went searching on the internet yesterday for information on what a Marine Recruit has to go thru on thier last task before becoming a Marine. The last task, test, torture, a recruit must endure is "The Crucible". So far this is the only part of "The Crucible" I can find. Pretend you are a recruit, in the last test of becoming a Marine. 48 hours of no sleep and all of a sudden you must also endure this.

This is so well written I could imagine what Jennifer will be thinking and going thru. It made me cry yesterday when I read it. It made me cry agian this morning. Just imagine how she will be feeling. And you, if it was you doing this.

This takes place on the base Jennifer will be at for Boot Camp.

PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- It's 3 a.m. and Marine drill instructors interrupt your beauty sleep by slamming the door to your hut and yelling for you and your fellow recruits to get out of the rack, get your gear on and get outside -- NOW!

For the past 49 hours, you have had little sleep, little food, and you and your team have endured a physically, mentally and emotionally challenging test. You have been participating in the Crucible -- the culminating event of Marine Corps basic training.

Now it's almost over. By 8 a.m., your company will be on the Parade Deck of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot here, receiving the insignia with the symbol of the Marine Corps -- the eagle, globe and anchor. There's just one more hurdle to leap: a nine-mile road march.

At 3:45 a.m., the company assembles. Your feet and muscles hurt, but other recruits limp into place, too. No one quits. Everyone wants to finish. The end is close enough you can almost taste it. You shoulder your backpack and weapon and clap on your Kevlar helmet. Then you check your teammates' equipment. One last slug from your canteen and you're ready.

One of the drill instructors says that at least the weather is decent, and you have to agree. There hasn't been a drop of rain during this Crucible, and the temperature has gone from the upper 40s to the mid-80s. Right now, the temperature is in the 60s. It's humid, but nothing like when you got to the South Carolina lowlands 11 weeks ago.

That, you recall, was the last time you had any individuality. Since then, you have been addressed as "recruit." You've had to begin every sentence with "Sir, this recruit would like to know ... ." You have learned to hate the word "recruit."

The company steps out at 4 a.m. The pace is fast and the "accordion effect" occurs as the 481-member formation marches. Gaps appear and recruits have to step out quicker to close them. The march becomes easier as your sore muscles stretch. You watch some poor devils, obviously with blisters, try to find a way to walk that doesn't tear at their feet.

You notice Navy corpsmen, carrying at least 50 pounds of gear, checking out recruits who seem to be having difficulty.

It's still dark. No one speaks, as if the effort might be too much. Actually, though, talking's not allowed. An hour and a little over three miles later, the formation stops. As you drop your pack, you notice sweat has soaked through everyone's BDU blouses. You've got a 10-minute break, to hit the head and drink more water. Some recruits sit on their packs and check their feet. Too soon, the drill instructors are rousting everyone.

The other platoon takes the lead this time and you really understand what the accordion effect means. Drill instructors tell you to close up. "Don't run," they yell. "Just lengthen your stride." It doesn't work. You have to break into a trot to close up the space.

Again, there is no talking. You focus on the pack in front of you and let your mind go blank. The sky is lightening in the east and you are getting closer to the end of this torture.

A little over six miles into the march, you stop again. Your woodland pattern BDUs are soaked. You suck down some more water and get ready for the final stretch.

It's full light now. You look around and realize where you are: That's the gas chamber! You've marched past here a number of times. You could get back to Main Base with your eyes closed. Everyone trades a few quiet words. "You can do it!" "It's not far now," you say to each other.

The company starts out. As you march you look to the side and see the swamps of Parris Island. Birds are starting to sing and you see white cranes walking through the shallows looking for food. The sun clears the horizon as you approach Drill Sergeants Bridge. Just before getting there, the senior drill instructor starts a Jody call. You and your team pick it up.

"Hey, hey, Captain Jack,

"Meet me by the railroad track,

"With your rifle in your hand,

I want to be a killing man."

It makes it easier to march and takes your mind off those pack straps digging into your shoulders.

As you approach the base, you see two figures off to the left -- it's the base commander and sergeant major. You must really be close!

The Jody calls get louder as you reach the Parade Deck. Folks can probably hear you in Charleston!

Finally, you get the order to halt. The road march is over. You ground your packs, stack your weapons and put that heavy Kevlar helmet on top of your pack. The soft cap never felt so good.

It's 7:45 a.m. as the company forms around the half-size replica of the Marine Corps Memorial. The Felix de Weldon statue depicts the flag raising on Iwo Jima. You are called to attention and a color guard marches out and prepares to raise the flag on the sculpture. But first, the chaplain speaks a few words. He thanks God for helping you through the Crucible. He mentions all the difficulties you have surmounted, and he prays you will be worthy of the honor you are about to receive.

When he finishes, the first sergeant speaks. He tells you about the Marine Memorial and says you are about to join an elite company. The sculpture depicts real men -- four Marines and a Navy corpsman. The first sergeant tells you to never besmirch their memory.

The color guard raises the flag, and then your drill instructor begins passing out the eagle, globe and anchor. He passes you the emblem, shakes your hand and says "Good work, Marine."

Can you just imagine going thru this? How amazing it would feel? How hard it really is? It is truely amazing. I love what my daughter is doing for our country.

What's In A Name

2007-07-13T06:43:00.000-07:00

I was reading someone elses blog today. They mentioned how they are not thrilled with their name. Hmmm....? Other people do not like their name either? Now I feel so much better.

I am on the freaky side of not liking my name. I for the life of me can not figure out what my parents were thinking. When I ask them this question neither one of them can tell me WHY? They don't remember how I got my name. That just reinforces the randomness and no thought process to my naming. They can not even say "oh....I just liked the way it sounded." What the heck? Did they pick the name out of a hat? Was I that special?

I HATE even saying my name. It sounds so harsh. No femininity at all. Just harsh sounds. Dull even. I don't even like saying it to other people with the same name. It sounds weird coming out of my mouth.

I will avoid saying my name loudly at all costs. When someone introduces themselves I mumble my name. That usually causes them to say "what?" Great! Now I gotta say it again. Uhg!

To remedy this horrid sound coming out my mouth. I make up an alias. Especially in a restraunt where they ask "What's your name" so it can be announced loudly for everyone to hear. How embarrasing. I used to use whatever name I could think of at the moment. In later years one name always came to mind. JENNI. Yes, I hide behind my daughters name.

Barista: "What's your name/"
Me: "Jenni"

At which point my friends (that don't know me well) look at me with this crazy look on thier face. I just grin and say "I always give a fake name." They all think I am wierd. Of course for the places I frequent they get real confused if I give them a credit card and it has my real name. Then I really need to explain why the two differnt names. Sometimes it is more hassel than I need.

But......Whats in a name really?.......

Love,

Jenni

Made me Laugh

2007-07-12T07:12:00.000-07:00

You Are a Mai Tai

You aren't a big drinker, but you'll drink if the atmosphere is festive.
And when you're drunk, watch out! You're easily carried away.

What Mixed Drink Are You?

Oh yea baby! I couldn't think of what to blog this morning. So I found a little test to take. Though I do not drink Mai Tai's I have to say the description is SO ME!!!! It made me laugh. There are a few people out there that can attest to this. Brenda being one of them. I think she is the only current friend I have who has seen it. I tend to have a REALLY good time when I drink. I don't drink often mostly because I am usually a little embarrased the next day. Go figure!

I dare you to take the test and see what drink you are.

More Layouts

2007-07-11T07:25:00.001-07:00

So Loving this picture of Jen and the Layout. Usually not my colors to work with but it turned out great. Question: Should I color the edges of the ghost letters or leave them the way they are?

I really struggled with this Layout. Something is lacking. Got any suggestions?

Cake

2007-07-10T07:45:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to my first cake decorating class. The instructor was a little frazzled but we learned. She showed us how to make Buttercream icing from scratch. Now I know how it stays so white. Then she showed us how to frost a cake the correct way. Hmmmmm. I always wondered how it came out so good when other people did it. We played a little with the decorating bags. When I say play I meant play. 5 of us all squeezing frosting onto the same cake at the same time. It turned out pretty ugly. I wish I had my camera. THEN...........we got to eat it. It was sooooo yummy. Next week.....I have to take my own cake and frosting to learn some technique. So fun...

Uploaded some layouts on SIS this morning. Sometimes I hate sharing my work for fear of not being liked. I need to do something different. My style is lacking latley. I wanna be Nikki. Her style ROCKS.....

A New Layout

2007-07-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

Here is a new layout for you to enjoy. I wish I could say I designed it. I lifted it from a add in a magazine. Different papers and I added stitching. I like it.

Saturday was my first crop back at the Scrappery. We had a really great group of ladies and one man. There were 10 of us. I got to meet Sylvia and Joy from The Pixies on Two Peas. Really fun ladies. Sylvia had me laughing all night. Linda B. got to come. Have not seen her at a crop in a long time so that was great too. I do enjoy her company. The rest of us were pretty much regulars off and on. It was tons of fun and great to be back with everyone.

Yesturday I could not wake up for nothing. I woke up once when Matt made me a PB&J sandwich. I ate it with my eyes half closed then right back to sleep. Finally woke up about 6pm. Made dinner, watched Big Brother, and then a movie with Jen. Then right back to sleep for the night about midnight. I hate when the day gets wasted like that but I must have needed it.

2007-07-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

hahahahahahah!!!!!! Michael just came into the store.....I made him take the finger test. He is the Middle Finger. I am laughing so hard right now. Why does this NOT surprise me? ROFLOL...... I know it does not surprise you too. AND he agrees with it. That makes it even funnier......

What Finger are YOU?

2007-07-07T06:13:00.000-07:00

Something fun for today. I never thought about what finger I might be. As I took the test I was a little afraid I would be the middle finger. Ok, I was a lot afraid. But NO, I am not the middle finger. Seems I am the index finger. Is that why I am always tying notes to my purse? Because it's just silly to tie string to your finger these days? Hmmmmm.......

You Are the Index Finger

You are ambitious, driven, and capable.
You aren't afraid to take responsibility for your actions - or place the blame on whoever deserves it.
You are honest, free thinking, and objective. You see things in your own way - and you aren't afraid to let everyone know about it.

You get along well with: The Thumb

Stay away from: The Ring Finger

What Finger Are You?

So In Love

2007-07-06T06:37:00.000-07:00

I am so in LOVE with this layout. So FUN! It started out as a pre printed transparency. I added tons of buttons, (my favorite embellishment by the way), and some printed paper. Turned out so great. And, it was soooo easy. I am going to have to use more of these from Autumn Leaves.

I had to work yesterday while Nikki and Brenda got to scrap. I wanted to be there but that is OK. I will be scrapping Saturday.

I am really excited about my first day back at The Scrappery (our local Scrapbook Store). The new store is so cute and bright. I will be there until midnight as we have a crop going. So fun.

My Fourth

2007-07-05T06:56:00.001-07:00

I love these shoes. Jennifer loves these shoes. Matt absolutely HATES them. When Jen first got them he swore he would not be seen in public with her if she wore them. He has gotten over that little moment. She wears them all the time. They are just too cute don't ya think. Journaling: "Jennifer and I both love the leopard print shoes. Sooo Cute! Matt hates them! Men have No fashion sense." (YES, I know I spelled sense wrong on the Layout. It's Nikkie and Tina's fault)

Miracle of all miracles. Matt actually volunteered to do a photo shoot with Jen. AND he admitted to having a good time. He hates photos. He refused for the first 1 1/2 years of their relationship. It used to really bother her. Now it's all good. He is begging me to go to Sonora with them so I can take more pictures of them. My how things change. Journaling: "Matt hates to take pictures. He avoides cameras. He did volunteer to do this photo shoot with Jen. Miracles do happen."

These are the layouts I did on July 4th, 2007. Tina came over and we just scrapped all day. We had sandwiches and guacamole for lunch. Dinner was London Broil and corn on the cob with a pasta salad. The London Broil was so flipping yummy. Then for desert Tina made a Key Lime pie from a recipe she got from Linda. I can not tell you how mouth watering yummy it was. I am so lucky she left the pie here for me to enjoy.

Nikki came over with Toby (her handsome min pin) to say hi. Toby had on his fourth of July hat. So so cute. He hates it though. They stayed for a bit before she had to go home. Ron was making her dinner.

I had a great day. Tina and I laughed and just enjoyed spending time together. We did not even turn on the TV or radio all day. Just a quite day in the neighborhood.

I hope everyone else had a perfect day too.

What Kind of Dessert Am I

2007-07-04T07:34:00.000-07:00

You Are Tiramisu

Light and lovely, you pack a punch.
You never overwhelm... but you always leave a lasting impression.

What Dessert Are You Most Like?

Ok. Not so sure that really describes me but I will go with it. What kind of Desert are you? I challenge you to find out and post it on YOUR blog. Let me know you did it so I can go there and check you out.

The ONE.

2007-07-02T10:49:00.001-07:00

So FINE.....I am going to cave and show you a picture of the ONE. The dress of all dresses. Our absolute favorite. I can not believe I am doing this. I really hope Matt does not cheat and look on here.

Ok, ready...........

HA.......and you thought I was not being very smart. Gottcha!

PS.....it's Brenda's fault. She told me to do it.

Dresses, Dresses, Dresses

2007-07-02T07:23:00.000-07:00

Dress shopping is an adventure. A exhausting adventure. This is the first dress Jen tryed on. She liked it a lot. We told her to hang on she will like others even more.

This was my favorite. The clear beading on it was stunning. Unfortunately she did not like it so much. Red is a very popular color this season. I think every bride there tried this dress on.

Now THIS one she absolutely LOVED. She looked like a princess. Too bad is was $1000.00. Clearly way above the budget Uncle Michael gave us. So she got that out of her head right away.

She totally loved this one too. This was in the running for THE ONE. She just had a hard time deciding.

This is the dress she liked the best online. But after she tried it on she decided it was not as beautiful as the one we ended up getting. All in all we had a great time but towards the end, she got hungry and grumpy. REALLY grumpy. Oh and by the way, mother of the bride dresses are ugly. Seriously. I don't know what I am going to do. Not only am I the mother but I will be her minister too. Wish me luck.

And People Wonder

2007-07-01T07:42:00.000-07:00

I called my dad a couple nights ago to give him some exciting news. This is how the conversation went.
Me: What are you doing.
Dad: Oh, I am standing outside the bathroom, your moms taking a shower. When she is done she is going to call my cell phone to let me know she's ready to get out. Then I gotta go to the office to get the lady to check the bathroom and make sure no one is in there so I can get your mom out."
Me: (confused) "Where the heck are you?"
Dad: We're camping. Been gone for a month"
(now the whole thing made sense. I couldn't figure out what he was talking about. My mom is really sick, so he has to help her do things.)
Me:"Oh, well I have two bits of really great news."
Dad:"What?"
Me:"Ok, well, Jennifer (my daughter) is getting married."
Dad:"Really? I knew that. I dreamed it."
Me: "no you didn't."
Dad:"yes I did"
Me:"no you didn't!"
Dad: "yes I did. September right?"
Me:'how did you know that?"
Dad: "I told you I dreamt it"
Me: "No, you didn't"
Dad:"Yes I did. Whats the other news?'
Me:"Oh, Jennifer just joined the Marines."
Dad:"I knew that too."
Me:"How?"
Dad:"I dreamt that too."
Me:"No you didn't"
Dad:"yes I did"
Me:"No you didn't"
Dad:"yes I did. I dreamt she joined the armed forces. Marines or Navy."
Me:" no you didn't"
Dad:"YES, I did."
Me:"no you didn't"
Dad:"yes I did. I gotta call you back in case your mom is trying to call me. Be sure to tell Jennifer I dreamt all that. She will think it is weird."
Me: "Ok, call me back and I will tell her."

We hang up. Jennifer comes home from a very long day. I had dinner ready. While we are eating the conversation goes like this.

Me:"Oh my gosh Jen. You wont believe it. I called Grandpa Young tonight. I told him about you getting married and the Marines. He said he knew and that he DREAMT it all. Isn't that the weirdest thing ever?"
Jen:(as her head pops up to look at me.)"What!"
Me:"yea, I know, too weird. Grandpa dreamt the whole thing!"
Jen: (she smiles and shakes her head) "MOM, I told him."
Me:" WHAT!"
Jen:"I told him."
Me:"When? You NEVER call your grandpa?"
Jen:"A couple weeks ago."

I just stare at her and then it hits me.......he was pulling my leg the whole time....He actually got over on me AGAIN....I couldn't believe he did that. Then Matt pops up and says...

"NOOOOWWWW I know where you get it from"

I still can't believe he can do that to me after 46 years. Now I gotta think of a way to get him back the big brat. The worst of it is.....I ALWAYS believe him. I should know better by now.

Marine "Welcome Ceremony"

2007-06-30T07:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Jennifer had her "Welcome Ceremony" into the Marines. It was really not a big deal but to me it was a "HUGE DEAL. They went through the booklet full of information and the training schedule she has to put herself on before she goes to boot camp. Then Staff Sargent Ramos taught her how to stand at attention as he read her Certificate. She looks so cute.

This is to certify that JENNIFER N. FOUST has successfully passed the required mental, moral and physical examinations and has been accepted for enlistment in the Delayed Entry Program of the United States Marine Corps.

The defense of our country and our freedoms is the duty and privilege of every citizen. The Marine Corps has a proud tradition of outstanding service to our county in peace and war.

Voluntary membership in this elite military organization is a clear demonstration of the American qualities of patriotism and loyalty."

I was trying to explain to Brenda last night how I felt about this. I don't think I can really explain it fully. You know how you feel proud of your child for such things as graduating High School or College. Now intensify that feeling by about 10. That is maybe an indication of how I feel.

My Nephew Matthew, now known as "Petty Officer Phrampus" joined the Navy. When I went to his boot camp graduation I gained so much respect for the boys and girls who volunteer to fight for our freedom. I was sooooo proud of him. But the proudness you feel for your own child doing this is so strong it is unexplainable.

Matthew used to be my #1 HERO. Sorry pal, move over, there is a new #1 HERO in my world. Now he is my #2 Hero. All of the other military personnel are Hero's too in my book. I am in awe of all our troops. They have so much more Courage, will power and drive than I will ever have in my life. They are willing to Die for our freedom. That is just mind boggling to me.

Now that I am a Marine MOM, I have a new respect for all other Military MOMS. Thank you for giving up your child for all United States Citizens. We have more Courage and strength than most mothers will ever experience. I never realized how important the MOM is until now. You too, are now my HERO. Thank you MOMS for raising these amazing kids.

PS......"YES" I am a blubbering idiot as I write this"