My children...

Maybe a once or twice a year they let me pin them down and take some posed pics of them. Here are a couple from last week. :)





I'm glad volleyball is finally over. My darling daughter had such a good season. It was her first year playing and she ended up with the Most Improved award at the banquet. We also had our first meeting at the community college last week to get things rolling for my son to join the Running Start program his next (Junior) year. Did I mention he turns 16 next weekend? Time flies!!!

The week before last I had a bit of a health scare. While I was at work I had this funny tingling and odd sensation in one side of my head. The office thought I should call and check with my doctor's office to see if I should be seen. Long story short they (the doctor) urged me to come to urgent care asap. We were there for about 4 hours that night where I was poked and prodded and given a CT scan to rule out a stroke, tumor, and aneurysm which were all clean. I've had two follow up appointments and 1 more episode since. They have decided to consult a Neurologist and order a MRA and MRI. They think I may be having TIA's (mini strokes) and they need to rule that out. In the meantime, I am having a little reality check about my health. Now that we are living back in a bigger town there is no reason I can't make time to swing by the gym. There are 3 or 4 within walking distance of our apartment. I eat fairly healthy but really don't get much for exercise so the kids and I joined the YMCA last week. Until the doctor says otherwise I have to avoid the weights and can do low impact activity only but that is a start.

Friday was my birthday. I'm telling you because you NEED to see this monstrosity of a birthday my darling daughter made for me all my herself.



Check that out. And when you cut into it it was layered with white and pumpking cake. Here- I saved you some...



Wasn't it YUMMY! Heehehehe.

I think I'll leave this post at this. I'll be back in a few days with a scrappy/crafty update. :)

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your Sunday.

Hey peeps!

I have been a bad blogger and I'm sorry!

About three weeks ago we went to the Great Wolf for the weekend and I had a cold. We got there and a few hours later I was down for the count. Yep. Me - the sole supervisor of 4 teenagers for that weekend - sick... not the best combo. The kids were really pretty good though and were helpful to me when they could be. Here's a few pics-



This last week I am finally starting to feel myself again. Just in time to get the seasonal flu shot today- yipee! Not. Lol! I don't mind getting the shot but the flu shot hits me harder than a tetnus and my arm is sore for a week with swelling, bruising, pain - the whole bit. But this is life. :)

Things haven't been all bad here by any means though. We bought this air purifier for our apartment and it is SO nice!



Although we are enjoying our apartment, it is an older one with single pane aluminum windows that get a little bit of a mold/mildew build up. Plus the city we moved to is one with many mills and thus has a fairly large pollution problem. On top of that, my daughter is asthmatic. So this little machine is our new best friend and boy does it do its job well. Lowe's baby!

For the month of September I was a guest for Lauren Reid doing some hybrid work. It was a lot of fun! Here are some of the things I created with her stuff-







And I've been busy creating for Val too - Spotted Dog Designs-









And now that I've flooded you with pics I should really wind this up. I'm feeling better and the kiddos too, so I should be posting more regularly. Darling daughters last volleyball game is on Tuesday this week. That will be the end of the season so we'll have more free time in the afternoons very soon... until the next sport starts that is. ;)

I hope you all have a super fantabulous weekend my friends!

A weekend get-a-way

The kids and I are heading out for a weekend away. A girl I went to high school with and reconnected with at our 20 year reunion this summer got a UNBELIEVABLE deal on a group rate at the Great Wolf. They were short one room to meet the group rate and posted so on facebook. (Thank you Angie!) It ends up that the kids and I were able to swing it and so...... Wahoo! Great Wolf here we come. :)

The kids are doing well in school. My son's been in a bit of a funk though and has a poor attitude lately. Daughter has a sinus infection and started a presciption yesterday. I have a cold. Run down a bit we are. I hope us getting away this weekend will rejuvenate us all.

Darling daughter had two volleyball games last week. She did awesome! She's been one of the team captains. And she's excited to be playing games now because she can really see all her hard work and extra practice in action. (This is her first year playing.) We have another two games this coming week too. :)

My son is a true testament to the old saying 'a way to a man's heart is through his stomach.' He's taking Spanish this year and quickly realized it was a lot of work. He got a bit scared and tried transferring out of it until the teacher held a "party" introducing Spanish food to the class last week. Ha! Now it's JR's favorite class. *rolling eyes here* Boys!

This year I am having lots of fun at work. I have a great schedule which is always a plus. I joined the secret pal thing the staff were doing. I love love love the pal I was assigned to. It has been SO MUCH FUN thinking up little gifts ideas for them. It's so nice to put a spring in someone else's step. It makes me happy.

I also love the little apartment we are in. We found one in a lovely area near a grocery store, a beautiful park, and the city lake. All last month we rode our bikes everywhere. It was great fun and exercise. Our apartment building has 12 and we've met most of the people living here. Many are elderly and so friendly. And it's usually nice and quiet. The people that own the apartment have been painting and doing some other repairs to the building this last month. It's an older building but kept up pretty well and has lots of charm. I'll have to post some pics one of these days. Just thinking this morning, while having my morning coffee, of how thankful I am to be here.



Scrappy news- One of my favorite designers opened her new store yesterday. While working at {we are} storytellers, I met Val. Shortly after I came on board there, she started designing. I *heart* her stuff. Love the bright colors, the whimsy and flare, and the theme of her kits. She is awesome! If you haven't had a chance to see her stuff, stop by The Lily Pad and look her up under Spotted Dog Designs. You'll be glad you did! :)

I'll leave you with a few layouts I've made with her designs and then I must go pack.










Thanks for stopping in. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

The first day of school...

It's sometimes hard for me to believe that my kids are in 8th and 10th grade. Time goes by so fast.



Darling daughter is in the web "where everyone belongs" program which is basically a welcoming committee for the incoming lower classmen and new students. She's also in a leadership program this year. All the students that are in the web program wore the same shirts the first day.

The kids like the area of where our new apartment is. The other day is was bright and sunny so we rode bikes to the nearby park. Darling daughter is playing volleyball this year and so the kids practiced a little on the empty tennis court. I love it when they actually get along. heehee! Shhh! I took these on my cell phone when they weren't paying attention to me. :P











This summer the kids got together with all their cousins and had a fun couple of days at the beach. Here's a lo I did of their fun time. :)



Well, this evening I'm feeling bushed. So a quick post here and I'm going to try to get to bed early this evening. Thanks for stopping by. - I hope the rest of your week is so awesome and full of joy!

Summer is over so-

I’m baaaaaaaaack! Lol! It seems there is something in blogging that I just plain miss.

This summer was a whirlwind with the highs and lows – to many lows really - but alas the kiddos and I are healthy and well so I can’t really complain. As it appears, I’m going through the big D and don’t mean Dallas. The dear hubby has had a variety of problems lately which I thought was a midlife crisis we’d work through but it seems I was wrong. It takes two to want to marry and only one to divorce. So the kids and I moved last month to an apartment and are starting over.

Why is the unknown always so scary?

In many ways this move has been good for the kids and I. Lots of change and processing of things but we three are trying our hardest to make the best of things. Did I mention that I really do have GREAT kiddos!

And that was not all of the change this summer. In digiland – {we are} storytellers closed - which was a big deal in my little corner of the world. The site was my little scrapbooking home and had such a great purpose. It was sad to see them go.

I guess this summer was a season of change.

This past week, I returned to work after having the summer “off”. It’s nice to get back into a routine and focus on other things again. My kids have their first day of school on Tuesday. Darling daughter is playing volleyball this year and is in a leadership program so she has been doing things at her school for those programs the last couple of weeks. That has her very excited to return. My dear son – well, he would be just as happy to stay home and play video games rather than return to school. Boys! Lol!

As I am highlighting the major things from summer I feel compelled to make a grateful for list-

1. I am so grateful for finding a lovely little apartment in a nice area of town. And having such nice neighbors too is a blessing!
2. I am grateful that dear son completed his traffic safety classes this summer and earned his certificate.
3. I am grateful that I had opportunities of joining new scrapbooking creative teams when I lost my others this summer.
4. I am grateful that the kids and I have everything we need for going back to school and that I could afford (under the circumstances) all the fees at school associated with that.
5. I am so so so grateful that we are healthy and well.
6. I am thankful that this new life is teaching the kids and I the difference between needs and wants.

This summer before {wst} closed, I participated with a few of my friends in Battle of the Creative Teams. I was really fun. The challenge was to scrap certain themes, colors, styles, etc. together as a team and carrying the same vision between the 5 team-mates. It was four weeks long and it was quite a bit of fun. I think I’ll end the post with those four layouts from the contest.









And if you made it this far in my rambling post, thank you! It's nice to be blogging again. Have a super weekend my friends!!!

hello and goodbye

The summer so far has flown right by. We have definately made the most of it though. We've been busy with life in general. This summer we have been painting, assembling, rearranging, sorting and purging all kinds of stuff from or around the house. We took the kids to Great Wolf Lodge for a few days which was wonderful. And we are busy planning our up coming camping trip with the boat in tow.

Like in my house, it's time to assemble, rearrange, sort, and purge things in the computer. I've done a lot of thinking about my blog and I always have so many ideas for it. My vision hasn't been carried out though because it really is so time consuming. More time than I usually have. It seems like the little ol' blog always get pushed to the side so that I can do more pressing things. Which I suppose is one of the perks of facebook. Quick easy short posts. Add albums when you have time. Post quickly and reply to others with ease (one thing you can't do quickly with a blog reader). I have an account there where I keep up with my friends and will continue using it. The blog, however, is saying goodbye - at least for the summer.

Thank you and I hope to see you all over at facebook. My link is in the sidebar.

Jennifer

i HOPE

According to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, approximately 200,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and nearly 40,000 will die from the disease.

Please consider helping my friends Emily and Angela Powers in their efforts to raise $4,600.00 for this cause. To make an online donation go to www.The3Day.org. Click on the DONATE link and search for a participant by typing in Angela Powers or Emily Powers. You can also call 800.996.3DAY to donate over the phone. And if your a scrapper you can purchase this kit - i HOPE - at {we are} storyteller.com where all proceeds minus paypal fees will be donated.

Here's a pic of the amazing kit-



Thank you!



A quick update on the family. Well we are out for summer break which is nice. Haven't enjoyed it as much as planned just yet with the weather being so strange and the cottonwood bothering our allergies so much. The kiddos are away for the next few days so its very quiet. I'm cleaning and painting (the ceilings) and just trying to push through even though my sinuses and head are hurting.

Today though, my hubby is home from work and we are going to go out on a date night. Dinner and a movie? I can't remember the last time we were able to do that without children in tow. lol! I'm looking forward to it!

Here's a pic of dear son from the evening of excellence.



Here are a few lo's I've done recently-





And last- I am a lucky girl. I stopped in at the local scrap store the other day and found some really cool tools which I purchased. And when school was winding down I offered to make birthday cards for the employees for next school year over the summer. I was allowed to bring home (for the summer) the schools cricut expression and cartridges. I may use that to make a few hybrid things this summer as well. I guess it'll be a good way to see if I would use one enough to purchase my own after this one is returned. When my hubby returns to work tomorrow, I'll dig in out of the box and set it up. :)

My posts should be more frequent now that the busy time of the year for me is over. If you are still checking in, thank you!

Are we having fun yet?

Just a few more days.... and we'll be out of school for the summer. Yay! Can't wait. Until then, my head is just spinning!

We went to the zoo since last post. It was a lot of fun! We snapped tons of pics of course and here's a few. :)



We also went to the Evening of Excellence for my son where he was honor for his grade point average and two department awards. It was really awesome! His department awards were in English and Science. It was really neat that the high school organized this event to recognize all the students that put in the extra effort throughout the year. The pics for that evening are still on my camera so I'll have to share them later.

The garden is growing well and we have all kinds of goodies popping up. The corn is the only thing we had trouble with. It rained for days after planting them and so only half a row made it.

Father's day is coming and I searched high and low and thought of a great gift for dear hubby - an ipod touch. He loves music and games and has a really old ipod. When I was feeling him out, he ended up wanting to wait on that and buy a new GPS system that comes out at the end of the month. lol! So I got the ipod touch I had already bought, he gets my ipod nano and the new GPS when it comes out. lol! I'm a lucky girl!

No scrapping time, or time to play Sims 3, or play with my new ipod, but soon....

Talk to you again soon. Thanks for checking in!

Shhhhhhhh.......

The children are still sleeping. Let's not wake them. It's one of those moments where time has been flying by at what seems like a stealth speed for weeks and then this morning I woke to a lovely, quiet, glorious morning that seems to be lingering. I love it! Peaceful, quiet, and refreshing.

The highlights of the past few weeks? Let's see-

1. Darling daughter did really well in track this year. (Yay!- It's over!) She competed in districts but the coach won't tell her how she did until the award ceremony in a week. Oh the torture! lol!

2. Dear son is being honored with an award Tuesday night at school. He's a freshman this year and has had a GPA above 3.5 all year so our family is invited to attend this special award ceremony.

3. We planted our garden at the beginning of the month and then had a lot of rain the following week and we didn't know how it would affect the seeds. This week, we have everything up but the corn. The corn sadly did not make it. We'll be replanting this weekend in that area. :)

4. My husband has been having a list of troubles lately and finally decided to go see a doctor. He was diagnosed with ADHD. We were both surprised and after looking into it it was kind of crazy because he had nearly all the symptoms listed but we never would have thought of something like that. He started some meds for it and two weeks later, he says he is beginning to feel better. I'm so glad he is!

5. We took the boat out. I don't know why, but that is such a calming and relaxing thing for me to do. I was so happy to hit the water. We've had our boat now going on four years. We were out on the water all of the time the first two summers and then last year we only took it out twice. With the combination of gas prices being SKY HIGH and the water level being SO LOW in the nearby lakes we hardly got out. This year is looking good and that makes me ESTATIC!

Here's a few things I've worked on while I was MIA from the blog-









And this week I am looking forward to- going to the zoo tomorrow with the kids. Going shopping while in Portland at IKEA. I saw in a mag a really neat shelf thing that held photo frames up on your wall (kind of like a chair rail) and it credited IKEA. So I'm going on the hunt. lol! Also, I'm invited to a stamping up get together with some friends from work Monday night. I haven't been to one in eons so it should be all new and FUN! Tuesday is the award thing for my son. This week Sims 3 comes out! I'm thrilled and hope to pick it up even though I know I probably won't have time to play it until I'm off for the summer. And and and.... lol! The best news of all - just 11 school days and 2 hours left before the kids and I are OFF FOR THE SUMMER! We are all really excited!

Did I mention yet the super fab and most awesome sale going on? Well, here's the low-down and you won't want to miss it! :)



Okay- I'll try to post again mid week. Thanks a million for stopping by for a visit!

Book Fair Thursday

There are a few hours left of the sale...



And how was your mother's day? Mine was very nice. We had a pj day and watched some rented movies all day long. It was so nice to just stay home and relax. The kids bought me a new coffee mugs from starbucks... its really cool and I'll post a photo of it soon. They still need to decorate it this weekend. They also gave me a bouquet of beautiful flowers and a balloon. And darling daughter made me a WONDERFUL card with a drawing inside that is just so cool. :)

Here's a few pics-



Did I mention that darling daughter made a scrumptious cake?



And here are the kids and I being totally silly in our pj's- lol!



No scrapping since last post. Things are always so busy this time of year. School for the kids and work for me is winding down which always make for extra work. Both kids had parent-student-teacher conferences this week and it was all great news. I'm SO PROUD of my kiddos! Tomorrow I have my own year end review too. About four weeks left until we are all off for the summer. I can't wait!

When my computer was down and they did a restore at BB I lost 1 big file that I apparently didn't have backed up. SO here and there this past week I've been re-creating a Itemized scrapbooking supplies. It's been kind of nice going through the folders of goodies and digging out cool things I haven't used in a bit or at all yet. Did I say that out loud? lol!

And I bought a couple of cool storage containers at JoAnn's for my physical scrappy supplies. I now have a better place for my papers and a home for a few things I just didn't know where to store. I'm really digging them and that I found them 40% off. These are by Jessware and they are awesome!



Well I have got to go. Darling daughter is up to her eyebrows in homework and calling for help. Have a great week all and thanks for stopping in!

Forks High School-

Darling daughter had a track meet this week at the high school where they filmed the movie Twilight that is. Really it is Kalama High School a stones throw down the road from us. But the geeks that we are- we had to take a pic in the parking lot. Now where's Bella's truck?!?! lol!

This week has been very busy. Here's a review in pics-

The track meet where daughter placed 1st in her sprint and long jump. Go McKena!





Planting the garden seeds-



Dear son got his permit last Saturday and has been learning to drive this week-



Luckily I have a three day weekend. I hope to get the housework done tomorrow so that I can play with my NSD goodies Friday night and all day Saturday. Wouldn't that be lovely!?! This evening, after taking the kids into the orthodontist, I've been playing around a little with the blog. Changing the look up a bit. So sorry if its making your reader freak out. Please bear with me for the next couple of days.

Before I go- I just wanted to send warm Mother's day wishes to my friends. I hope that it is a special day for you all with family. Have a great weekend!

{i}NSD- How did you fare?

Me? I spent more than I planned but enjoyed every minute I had shopping. And I found some of the best deals. I love great deals! Look at these-



And in a genuine blond moment, I bought those AGAIN. lol! So, if any of my readers would like these I will give them to the first person who let's me know and provides me their email addy. A little blog give away.

Last weekend I was able to do so much scrapping. It was lovely. Here's some of the things I completed.







Last week was so busy. Darling daughter is doing amazing at track. She did pull a muscle and so she is taking a break from the hurdles but still running and doing the running long jump.

Dear son got a book from the Dept. of Motor Vehicles to study. He took and passed his test Saturday. He's now got a permit now. I can't believe he's this old. Ack!

I didn't have a lot of scrappy time this weekend so this was all I made - TFL!



And now I'm off to work. I hope you all have a marvelous Monday and thanks for stopping by!!!