Okay, I did it----------------->

Look a little below to the right, and you will see me. Yes, it's me. Several of my friends have pointed out to me that I don't have a picture of me on my blog. So, I figured they were right, so I bit the bullet and added a picture. I'm not often in front of the camera because I don't think I photograph very well, but I did have this pic from December. Happy now, girls???

A MUST read!

I seriously hope that she does mind me doing this, but if you have a few minutes to spare, you absolutely MUST stop by my friend Shawna's blog. She is one of the funniest, most down-to earth gals I have ever met (or not met, since we have never actually met in person.) I "met" Shawna a few years back when we were both on the Memory Creators design team. I knew that I liked her from day one. This girl can make you spit soda through your nose...LOL!

She writes from the heart, and her way with words is simply incredible (especially the 4-letter ones)...LOL! And in my book, there is nothing like a perfectly placed 4-letter word to spice up a sentence.

For those of you who have ever watched Spongebob, I believe Patrick referred to these as "sentence enhancers." And I quote, "That's one of those sentence enhancers. You use it when you wanna talk fancy."

Seriously, though, Shawna just has such a way to tell a story that makes you want to keep reading. She is just "real." She stopped by my blog, and I am so glad that she did. Since Memory Creators closed shop, I have lost touch with so many great gals. I followed the links and ended up at her blog...what a blessing. If you haven't noticed, I have added her blog link on the right (another thing that I hope she doesn't mind). I certainly do not want to miss a word of what she has to say (not even a 4-letter one!) If you happen to read this, Shayna Lou....I love ya to bits!

I think I know what the problem is.

What problem, you ask? Well, I know that I just scrapped the other day, but I have to honestly say that I have not been feeling it. I just have not been feeling all that creative. I feel "blah" like I have lost my enthusiasm. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE scrappy supplies. The truth is that I could "collect" them until the cows come home. However, I have come to realize one thing...it's not the supplies that fuel my fire. It's the pictures. I am motivated by pictures. And I have to be honest and say that I have been a huge slacker in the picture-taking department. I guess being busy with school and University, I had to put some things on the back burner. Fun outings have been one of them. Hence, I have not paid much attention to my camera. So, I am going to make a promise to myself that I am going to pull that camera out and get clicking. Can't scrap without pics, ya know!

And speaking of pictures, I have been collecting the weekly photo tutorials from Two Peas. They are on week 10, and I have not even started yet. I am NOT a fabulous photographer, and I have TONS to learn, so I was going to join in on this fun to improve my skills. But, of course, that did not happen. Fortunately, I have each week saved, and I am going to challenge myself to start reading and learning. After all, what is life without goals?

And since I do not like to make a post without a picture of some sort, here is one of my Mom and Ryan (with his super-cheesy grin)...why, oh why, can't he just smile nice? This one was from the one day I did drag my camera out...my Mom's 60th birthday. Can you believe she is 60? She looks great to me! Shhh...don't tell her that I told here age...she'll kill me! Peace Out!

Feels good.............

Okay, I don't know what you all were thinking about when you read my title...but I'm talking about scrapbooking...dirty minds!

I'm talking about getting some time to sit down and scrap today...woo hoo! Feels like it has been forever. I still have a little work to do for my University class, but I put it on the back burner to do something FUN! So, I used some of my new goodies from my last post to create this layout of my sweet niece, Emily. She is my poser. Since Ryan has pretty much had it with me following him around with my camera, I have turned to following Miss Em. She never complains and actually LOVES getting her picture taken. Maybe it is a girl thing? This particular picture is from her kindergarten graduation :

Love the Fancy Pants felt soooo much, and I also got to use one of their adorable little stick pins (upper right hand corner.) My scrappy package also contained some patterned papers from Dream Street Papers. It's the blue background here in my layout...love it! Now I am off to clean up my mess and maybe watch some T.V., which does not happen very often! Have a good one!

Fancy Pants

No, I did not go clothes shopping. I was referring to the Scrapbooking company, Fancy Pants Designs. My good friend, Stayce, inquired as to what kind of scrappy goodness I received in the mail, so this is my reply. Over the past year, I have taken a liking to their stuff. It's not like I did not like it before because I did. But, I think that my style is evolving a bit. I have been moving away from more graphic papers toward more subtle designs. That could be because my favorite manufacturer, Arctic Frog, closed their doors at the end of 2007. I designed for Alannah and AF for about a year. Loved their stuff. It was just so "me." Sidenote here: I also met a lot of wonderful girls while on the DT there. Lots of talent and just so sweet. I do miss being on that DT. Anyway, I have not been able to find a manufacturer that creates graphic papers like Alannah did. In the meantime, I began using some Fancy Pants papers that I received as part of a "goodie box." I really enjoyed working with their stuff, and have since began buying it. Not only do I enjoy their papers, but they have some great embellishments, too. Like these:

Which, by the way, were a part of my scrappy package. I cannot wait to get using these. They are wonderful! As soon as I opened the box, I tore these babies right out. I love the feel of them. So soft! And they are cut so nice and are so easily removed from the sheet. I do not like to wish my life away because it is short enough the way it is, but I cannot wait for Sunday to come so I can scrap!

I have not forgotten my blog.

When I started my blog up again, I told myself that I was going to blog everyday. That, however, is just not possible. First, I don't always have something to say each and everyday. That may be hard to believe for those people who know me, but it is true. And some days are simply more uneventful than others. Second, real life has a funny way of getting in the way of things that I consider to be "fun." It just so happens that this week is "progress report" week at school. I have been spending my free time at home getting my reports ready to mail out to parents. I am happy to report that I am done, and they will be mailed tomorrow.

The good news is that I did get my scrappy package in the mail yesterday. I have a sketch all ready to go, and I can't wait to get scrapping. A little side note here for those of you who scrap. Before I actually create a paper layout, I create a digital version. I know it sounds like twice the work, but it really is not. What it does for me is it gives me the chance to "perfect" my layout before I even touch a scrapping supply. I can see where I want things to go, move them around as needed, try different embellishments, test different fonts, and experiment with colors, etc. By the time I pull out the patterned paper and print the pics, I am more than half done. The rest is cake.

So, even though I have not even touched an adhesive, I am actually half done with a layout. I think I might actually have a chance to scrap tomorrow...now that is what I call fun!

Non-scrappy weekend=(

So, I had it all planned out that I would scrap this weekend. I had my new punch, and I was just waiting for some scrappy goodness to be delivered by the UPS man. Unfortunately, Saturday's mail did not bring my package. I waited and waited and hoped and hoped, but nothing. So, I spent my Saturday with these two adorable faces:

I can't complain because it was a nice day. They played so well together, and they had fun. That's what matters. Then, I spent today finishing up all of the homework for one of my University classes that I am taking. In all, it was a productive weekend, just not scrappy production. So, I will once again stalk the UPS man tomorrow and hope my package arrives. Just something to look forward to!