Isaac and crew came down for a quick visit last week which was nice.  The kids both had a wonderful time with them and we’re looking forward to them coming back to the States permanently in May.  Vacation!!  Anyway, I did manage to get a few good photos, of course, did you expect any less?  Isaac is still all about his music.  He sat there in the living room belting out his song and playing for all he was worth in the midst of all the family chatter.

I kind of had a bummer last week.  I lost a month’s worth of photos.  I managed to recover some, but all my pictures from my trip to Virginia are gone, and most of my pics from Isaac’s visit are gone.  Pictures really are priceless.  Anyway, nothing else new to report.  I’m working on a promotion at work (STRESS!!!), working on a new digital kit for the Apprenticeship Program at Little Dreamer Designs (see my digi blog), and still scrapbooking of course.  Oh!  I’m also redecorating my living room…again.  I can’t help it.  I’ll have to take a pic when it’s done.  But that’s all for now!  Happy scrappin!

So I didn’t jump on the band wagon with the whole New Year’s Resolution to lose weight thing.  Way too stressful.  Let’s be realistic, I’ve got enough on my plate right now without having to worry about losing weight too.  But I did finally make a resolution of sorts.  It was actually more like an epiphany.  I decided this year, no more help.  Having a net there, my parents to bail me out if I can’t pay a bill, wasn’t actually helping me, it was making me dependent on them for stuff.  I’m almost 30 years old.  I need to be able to support myself and my kids.  So with that thought in mind, I had a new resolve to change a few things in my life.  I immediately started discussing possibilities of promotion with my boss.  I’m excited to report that things are looking good with that and there might be some huge things happening in the near future.  Something I’m terrified of, but again, I have to do whatever it takes.  It’s hard for me to go outside of my comfort zone.  It’s really scary to have to “start” over again, but I’m doing it for my kids and our well being.  So wish me luck on this new adventure we call life in 2008.

On a more artistic note, I’ve been playing around with the idea of redecorating (well, repurposing) my living room.  Everybody who knows me, knows that I can’t stay put for long artistically.  I’m constantly changing my surroundings.  Inspired by the show, Clean House, I’ve decided to have a yard sale in the early spring and clean house!  I’ve chosen my new style and it’s going to be part modern with a funky twist.   I actually created a collage canvas (it’s not yet completed) of part of my mantra that is the center inpiration for the pallete I intend to use.  Check out the sneek peek below! 

I hope everyone’s new year is full of wonderful things.  And of course I want to thank God for the blessing that I have in my life.

I’ve been published!!!! My first time ever! I’m so excited and can’t stop smiling about it. This is the page from Digital Scrapbooking Magazine from the Feb/March issue (it actually hasn’t come out yet.) I received an online version for being a subscriber.

What’s extra cool about this is that some of the products I used in this LO were ones I created myself, so I’m listed as the designer along with Sassy Scrapper Designs!

My boss at Michaels has let me do an entire display of digital scrapbooking products, featuring the magazine and my actual printed & framed digital scrapbook page. I’ll have to take a picture when it’s all done.

I just wanted to thank everybody who has inspired me and taught me so much in this past year to help make this part of my dream come true!

This is a post in a forum at ScrapHappyKT that I wrote.  I hadn’t realized how stressed I had been about everything, and then while writing this, I came to a wonderful conclusion about everything.

“Oh man, I thought I was alone! I haven’t wrapped any presents yet, and my house is a wreck! I have to work all the way through Christmas (and we’re open till 11pm at Michaels).

I’m hosting Christmas this year at my place because my parents have been through a lot lately and haven’t been able to do much. My father has recently been diagnosed with a rare form of Lukemia, but after his Chemo a couple of weeks ago, his blood work is looking great. So we’re all thrilled. This form of cancer is very treatable, but still very scary. So I want this Christmas to be extra special for everybody.

I volunteered to do everything so my parents don’t have to worry or stress. I even took all of the gifts that they bought my kids to wrap for them, so they didn’t have to worry about it. So, needless to say, there are gifts everywhere that need wrapping, a house that needs cleaning, and groceries all over my kitchen. (My cupboards have never seen so much food ) Auuuggghhh!!!!

Wow, I didn’t mean to pour so much out. (Maybe I’ll scrap that). Anyway, it’s good to see that I’m not alone.

Maybe we all worry too much and forget that this time of year, we really shouldn’t worry as much. Do the best you can and everything else will work itself out.

(Don’t forget to charge those batteries for the camera and get an empty flash card ready! We’ll have lots of scrappin to do when this is all said and done!)”

So everybody chill, and enjoy your holiday!!!!!

This morning, after only being at work for 2 hours, I got a call from Rita, Tarrah’s sitter.  My poor angel was sick and throwing up.  So, cleaning up my mess at work, I ran home to get her.  She’s okay.  She got sick a couple of more times, (once in the driveway), poor baby, but she’s recovering.  She layed in bed all day with Blue and Magenta, watching her Nick Jr.  While I couldn’t get her to really eat anything, at least she still knows how to have a good time, even when she’s feeling poorly.  I put her in Dylan’s t-shirt (laundry day), and she ran around the bedroom so happy and glowing that she got to wear “her Dylan”’s shirt.  So cute!  Anyway, I got some great shots today of her, even if she was sick.  This one is my favorite.

I have really exciting news to share with everybody!  After over a year of trying out for different creative teams, I have finally been invited to join Digital Candy’s CT!  I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for being so supportive of my goals.  This has been a very rough year.  You can find the website here:

(it’s Canadian!)

We had a great time this year again on Thanksgiving.  Mom and Dad were able to join us.  Bob ended up cooking the entire meal (thank God) leaving me able to spend time with my family.  Thank you Bob!  Some of the highlights of the day were, Dylan finally got to see what was under Uncle Caleb’s hat (he thought he was born with it on) and Grandpa got to see Cars the movie and see what all the hub-bub was about.  Here are some of my favorite pics of the day:

This is definitely the shot of the day. We had quite a weekend, with Tarrah and I both being sick. I had so much housework to catch up on, so I dragged the kids to the laundry mat. It’s so funny what catches their attention, isn’t it?

These are my two new favorite photos of my darlin’s. They both turned out so well. The reason I love Dylan’s pic so much is he is actually smiling and it’s genuine. He really looks happy, so maybe we’re finally on the road to recovery and healing.

Tarrah’s always happy. Her photo is a fave because of it’s artistic look and feel. She’s starting to pose for me. How cute is that? She put on her new dress and wanted Mommy to take a picture of her in it because it was pretty. My heart is melting.

I also have an update about my health. I’m feeling sooooo much better now. The drug finally kicked in and is doing it’s thing. I have been actually able to make it through an entire day at work without feeling like I wanted to curl up and die. The pain is still there, slightly, but it has lessened so much. I actually have energy. I feel more like my old self again, and believe me, my boss has noticed. It’s also evened out my wild mood swings. No more crying at the drop of a hat. Thank GOD. There are some yucky side-effects, but the doc says to stick it out a little longer and it they don’t go away, we’ll try something else. My blood work did come back abnormal for muscle inflamation, so they’re running it again. I’ll keep you posted on that. But it’s looking like more and more, I’ve inherited Mom’s fibro.

I don’t want to end this post on a downer note, so I just wanted to let ya’ll know, if you wanted to see these fabulous photos scrapped check out my digi and my paper blogs! Have a fabulous weekend!!!

I have to share some of my favorites from yesterday! My kids are soooo freakin cute. I might have to do an entire scrapbook album of just Halloween pictures. We had a great time this year. Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Jenny came, (oh! and Luna too!)