Brandy's Design-iversary Sale!!!

Image is linked to Brandy's Blog!!!

Starting January 1, we will be celebrating my 1 year Design-iversary on my blog!

Each day in January, there will be a freebie download and at the end of the month, you will have a complete mega kit great for scrapping those winter photos and it is even versatile enough to scrap your everyday photos as well!

January 7, there will be a template challenge. Make sure you visit then to download your free template and every participant will be a winner with one grand prize.

During the month of January, I will also retire some my oldies but goodies to make room for 2010! Select items will be on sale for $1.00-$2.00. All other items will be on sale for 30% off all month!

Every customer in January will be put into a drawing to win all of my New Releases for 3 months!

10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1

Happy New Year!!! (almost)

It is nearing 8 p.m. here in the Midwest on the last day of 2-0-0-9! This is a year I am seriously glad to put behind me.

I can recall entering this year caretaking for my Aunt Maggie who had ostomy surgery in December of 2008. To her disappointment she came out of surgery with an ostomy bag. Who knew one little bag would require as much attention and care as a newborn baby? Thankfully it was only temporary and we looked forward to March when she would have her reversal surgery to remove it.

March arrived and the date for her surgery was set. We were excited. However, something else was about to take place this month that would over-shadow anything & everything in my life. On March 8th....a normal Sunday morning I received a frantic call from a friend informing me our Pastor had been shot in the middle of him giving his sermon. This is the second time in my life I have received utterly shocking news. The kind of news that literally sucks the breath out of your lungs. The kind of news you can NEVER prepare for....EVER.

The hours, days, weeks & months that followed "that" day have been like climbing Mt. Everest. Not that I know what climbing Mt. Everest is like other than what I have seen on TV. From what I understand just trying to do the simplest tasks require the utmost focus & energy. And, you are left exhausted. That is what life has felt like since March 8th.

However, life (as it always does) goes on. Surgeries, birthdays, earning a paycheck, housework, trips to the vet, stealing moments of joy with toddlers, scrapbooking, filling up the gas tank, grocery shopping.....life goes on.

And since life went on.....there is so much more to my 2009 than the 8th of March. May 19th I saw my great nephew (or is it grand nephew?) Caiden turn 1. Then, 7 weeks later on July 7th I watched as Trevor did the same. Oh how God knew I would need these bright, shining, silly boys this year. They have brought me endless smiles and scrapbooking moments.

I turned (gulp) 39 this year. Pardon me as I shed a few tears over seeing that in print. [sniff-sniff] okay, I am fine now. Oh no!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That means in 2010 I will turn.......no, I can't type it. I can't even thunk it!

New topic.....the year has ended with Mom getting her left knee replaced on December 7th. A blood clot in her lung set her back in the recovery process and after 25 days between the hospital and the rehab facility she came home on December 30th. She still has many weeks of recovery ahead and the blood clot medication/side effects will have to be monitored closely over the next 6 months. Despite it all, she talks of getting the other knee done once she is cleared of the blood clot. Prayers were answered far above & beyond what I asked for on her behalf. Thank you God.

Many, many, many other things made up this year. Too many to even list. But, important just the same. Even though I will turn ____ (still can't type it) in 2010 and knowing for certain there will be tears shed over hurts & disappointments (and the fact I will turn ___)....despite all this I am happy to turn the page from 2009 to 2010.

Maybe this will be the year I reach the top of my Mt. Everest. One. Day. At. A. Time.

Christmas Smooch

A page I worked on last night. The first one in awhile. Not completely feeling this one but hey, atleast I can say I scrapped! This is a photo of my mom giving my dad a smooch on the cheek after she opened her Chanel No.5

(Created w/ Warm Winter Wishes by Jennifer Fox Designs)

Snapshots of Christmas 2009

As I wait for my car to warm and snow on the windshield to melt I thought I would post some Christmas memories.

Dad and I loaded up his truck with Kruta donuts for the nursing staff at Memorial Convalescent Center, Christmas gifts and Miss Molly (who was very excited to go see her grandma). We arrived at MCC about 9:15 and proceeded to unload the truck. Jeff arrived soon after Dad and I so we all just visited for awhile.

After Jeff left we did our gift exchange. Every year since I have lived on my own it is tradition for me to go to mom and dad's Christmas morning. No matter when we do our big family gathering & exchange, our gifts to each other are always saved until Christmas morning.

Dad and I left about noon so he could let their puppies out. I immediately began to unpack my favorite gift and set it up. It is a Keurig Special Edition Single Cup Coffee Maker and I think it is the greatest thing since sliced bread!!!!

Here are some photos from our morning.

Mom being silly!

Have you ever seen BLUE mistletoe?? Mom is so happy with her Chanel No.5

A Christmas shot of me, Mom and Molly-Magoo!!

A photo of my new Keurig preparing a fresh cup of coffee of my personal enjoyment!

Happy Birthday Jesus

Luke 2:1-20

Christ Born of Mary

1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife,[a] who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Glory in the Highest

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold,[b] an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 “ Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

[c]15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely[d] known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Merry Christmas

Four More Shopping Days!

Isn't that nice of me to remind you just how few days are left before Christmas? As if the usual 5 minute turned 15 minute commute passed the shopping centers wasn't enough of a clue.

I had to go into a certain electronics store this afternoon. I had to get 2 gift cards and Aunt Maggie needed a battery for her cordless phone.

First off, I had NO idea where the land line telephones were since the only huge sign displayed is for "mobile phones". Just the way of technology I suppose. I just start walking in hopes of seeing what I am looking for and trying to squeeze through the crowds was.....let's just say ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU SCREAM EVEN WHEN WELL MEDICATED!!! I soon realize I am never going to find the telephones or batteries for the telephones.

Aunt Maggie suggested we wait for someone to help us. BWAHAHAHA was the sound that came out of me next. Hello? Do you "know" where we are? We will NEVER get assisted in here....NEVER.

With that said I begin walking in a new direction. Have I yet mentioned I am very hungry due to not having eaten lunch yet? I mean I was "really" hungry but, crow was not what I wanted to eat. However, crow is what I was about to be served when a salesman asks the one question I believe I have NEVER been asked before when in this particular electronics store...."Are you finding everything okay?"

"Why would you ask such a question dear sir? Do you NOT see the look of complete and utter confusion upon both our faces at this moment? Do people who are finding everything okay tend to walk on their tippy toes trying to see over the crowds of freakishly tall people in an attempt to find CORDLESS LAND LINE TELPHONES?"

Fear not, I turned on the filtering process in my head and what actually came out of my mouth was "Actually, we are looking for a battery for a cordless telephone."

He walks the opposite direction from where I was going and led us into a dark, dimly lit & very unpopulated part of the store where there was a very sad display of cordless telephones & accessories. Poor, pitiful little telephones....orphaned and abandoned by the "mobile phone age".

Alas, we found the batteries but guess what???? They no longer carry the battery she needed! SERIOUSLY? I took a deep breath before leaving our cozy, little, uncrowded nook and dove back into the crowds towards the check out lanes.

Oh, and don't get me started on those check out lanes. What are we......humans or cattle???????? Nuff said!

Oh yes, I so love shopping in a huge electronics store only FOUR days before Christmas!

So, how was YOUR day? I would love to hear the insane shopping stories I KNOW you have experienced. Come on, fess up!

Polka Dot Plum Christmas Sale!!!

Get it while it's HOT!

Polka Dot Plum is having a super sale today through the 24th! Head on over and grab some great kits by JENNIFER FOX DESIGNS or BRANDY DESIGNS!

K, gotta run.....must go see what great deals I can get for myself, hee hee :)

Well Wishes For Marti, 12-18-09

It is 5:23 a.m. as I begin this post. I fell asleep about 8 o'clock last night, therefore, awoke at 4:15 a.m. That's okay....I really don't mind waking up before the birds. Really. Shower is taken, it's such a peaceful time, and no rushing around like I normally do. Ahhhh, nice.

I have some "super-calla-fragilistic-espee-alla-docious" (see what a refreshing shower & good sleep does for me?) news. Mom went from baby steps yesterday morning to leaping & bounding her way into the care center in the afternoon.

She was incredibly worried, depressed, anxious over an issue she was having with her left leg. She wasn't able to lift it while lying down. I prayed with her and sent out prayer requests across the WWW and within 2 hours I was receiving reports she was starting to lift the leg AND several of her doctors had approved her to move over to the rehab center.

She was settled into a "private" room by late afternoon. The nurses thought it would be nice, after all she has been through, to be in a room all to herself. That or too many of her past roommates have complained about her snoring, LOL! Shhhh, don't tell her I said that :)

Lots of praises.............that's what I like to report! Gotta run, thanks for stopping by. And, thanks for the prayers<><

Well Wishes For Marti, 12-17-2009

Morning everyone. I am running late getting this post up today. Mom is having a rough start to the day. She has always battled depression (something she lovingly (not) passed along to me) and after 10 days in the hospital she is struggling. Understandably so, she wants to be home in her own bed....with her puppy dogs....able to sleep without so many interruptions, etc!

Couple the homesickness with the fact she is worried about not being able to do certain things with her left leg at this stage of the healing process. I hope today she will firmly voice her conerns to the PT's and surgeon and they can give her some concrete answers as to whether this is normal and will get better with time.....it is not normal but they can reverse it.....or whether there is really something to be concerned about. She is tired of having to constantly tell the different staff about the problems she has with that leg (even before surgery) and feel as though they are not grasping what is trying to say.

I prayed with her and asked others to do some extra prayer cover for her today. Two PRAISES are:

#1 She made it back down to the orthopedic ward yesterday
#2 She is down to 2% oxygen thru her nasal tubes & holding at 95%!!!

BABY STEPS!!!!!

Do you have some encouraging words for her today? She would love to hear them :)

God Bless<><

Well Wishes For Marti, 12-16-2009

Mom had a somewhat better day yesterday. I am praying she was moved back to the orthopedic ward sometime in the evening. The surgeon is getting concerned about her not being further along in the therapy process. Of course, this is due to the set back of the blood clot int he lung, which could not be helped. I will be going to see her about 11:15 a.m. today. I have a helper in the office so I am going to take my dad's usual slot.

Thank you to those who have left mom a message. I have printed them out and will take them with me today. Let's pray her over to the care center everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God Bless <><

Well Wishes For Marti, 12-15-09

I know this time of year is busy and sometimes getting out to visit or even getting a card purchased and mailed can be a monumental task. So, I am setting up a place on my blog where you can come and leave her a message, which I will then print and take to her at the hospital to lift her spirits.



Each morning I will place a new entry entitled "Well Wishes For Marti, (date)". I may have other posts for that day so just look for the well-wishes post. Click on the word "comments" under the post and type whatever you would like to say. Comments are able to be viewed by anyone else leaving a comment just so you know :)

You will be asked to choose how you want to "announce" yourself. The 2 easiest ways for those who don't have a Google or Blogger account is to choose either NAME/URL or ANONYMOUS. If you choose NAME you can just type your first name only and leave the URL blank. Anonymous is just as it states and you don't have to type anything BUT I ask that you atleast leave your name at the end of the comment so mom knows who left the message. You may be asked to type in a series of letters/numbers that look odd but this is just a security measure to keep spammers from posting in my blog.



God bless!

UpdateS

I have two updates to post. The first being about my mom and her recovery from knee replacement surgery. Her surgery was on the 7th and very soon after it was discovered she had a blood clot in her lung. This set her knee therapy & recovery back several days to say the least. But, she has been incredibly positive and strong through the process. Oh, she has had her moments of screams & tears during the really painful & frustrating times but seriously, she is amazing me with how well she is doing. I think she will be sent on over to the care center where the real "therapy" will begin on her knee. Thank you Jesus for Darvisets!!

My other update is to say I was accepted as a creative team member by Brandy Designs. I received the confirmation email. Awhile back I posted that I had received some disappointing and rather hurtful news from the one and only designer I was still creating for. Out of the blue I received an email to say my services were no longer needed. No explanation other than to say she is changing things up for the new year. It came at a time when I was already feeling some blues over other things in my life. I believe I would have felt the same way about the news even had nothing else been hanging over my head because I just really believe the designer, since moving to a more prominent store, just didn't think my style showed off her designs and I no longer was "good enough" to design with her kits. I came to accept it a few days later and see it as her loss, not mine.

I am not one (anymore) that wants to work for just ANY designer just to be able to say I "am" and to get free kits. I have to really like the designers work. I came across a CT call at Polka Dot Plum for Brandy Designs and after looking through her store I could really the versatility in her work and decided to apply. She is taking the rest of December off so I don't know I will be doing much for her until January. That is fine with me because with mom, Christmas and all the other demands that go with this time of year I have my hands full enough. I will leave you with some of Brandy's kits that I am itching to get my hands on and do layouts with. Each preview is linkable to her store at Polka Dot Plum....just click it!

Hospital Visits & Birthday Wishes

It is so hard to believe that the little guy, smiling "that sweet smile" in the photos below is 23 years old TODAY! He still has that sweet smile. I was all of 16 when he, my first nephew, was born. I still remember the excitement I felt as we prepared to leave for the hospital to await his birth. I remember the baby bed I kept in my own bedroom for when I babysat him every Saturday while his mommy went to work. I loved those Saturday mornings when we would eat breakfast and watch Winnie The Pooh on TV. I loved taking him for walks in his stroller up to Main Street or taking him to the park to feed the ducks or to Olin Mills for a surprise photo shoot for his mom and dad. Now, he is all grown up with a toddler of his own (Caiden, the Mini-Josh). I don't know if Josh remembers all those times we spent together when he was just knee high to a grasshopper. That is why I scrapbook photos like these shown below.

Happy Birthday Joshua Ryan!!!

Something else I am struggling to believe is the fact it is FRIDAY already. Mom had her knee replacement surgery on Monday and due to trips to the hospital and various errands I have not arrived home much before 6 p.m. every night. Most probably think "that is normal for me" but it is NOT normal for me and when it continues for days on end it begins to take its' toll on me. Couple that with the fact Mom took a turn for the worse (after doing so awesome) when they discovered she had a blood clot in her lung that was causing the low oxygen levels in her blood. We are hoping and praying she can be weened off so much oxygen and be moved to a regular room. She is obviously bummed about the set back because she wants nothing more than to get to working on this new knee so she can get home again. Home for the holidays.

That is my week in review...hospital visits and birthday wishes! Here's too a "just as busy" weekend I am sure!

Bye!

A Twist On Gift Wrapping

I super-duper love this idea I read about on The Creative Mama's blog today! It is a great way to be creative in your gift wrapping of smaller gifts.

After reading her post I am going to dig my Christmas paper back out of the boxes of scrapbooking supplies I packed up a few weekends ago. The only items needed are 8"x8" or 12"x12" pieces of Christmas designed scrapbook paper which you can get really cheap at Hobby Lobby when they run their sales....double sided tape....and a paper crimper as shown in her post which you can find by clicking HERE or on either of the photos below.

I know of a few gifts I already have that would be PERFECT for this technique! Wow, never would have thought I could get excited about wrapping Christmas gifts. To know me is to know I DREAD that part of Christmas. I love looking at the gifts when I am done wrapping them but just don't like the process of it. Probably because I don't really have sufficient space in which to be able to lay out all my gift wrapping supplies and do it neatly & comfortably.

Some ramblings...

Notice my new blog design? It's called Little Joys by Zoe Pearn. I can almost change my blog design without using the tutorial.....not quite but almost. Wanted something Christmaslike for December.

This month has me as a guest creative team member for Jennifer Fox Designs at Polka Dot Plum. It's kinda weird to jump in as a "guest" but I am slowly getting my bearings. Be on the look out for some layouts using her fab kits soon. For now you can check out her store by clicking HERE.

I have always said that when one door closes, another one will open. I am trying to remember that today of all days. That is all I am going to say for the moment. I know, leaving you hanging from a cliff, but I will explain in due time. In due time.

Well, I will leave you with a layout I did this morning. I have to get ready to head out the door for my Sunday School groups Christmas party. In the ever inspiring words of Tigger...

TTFN....TA-TA-FOR-NOW!

Christmas Circa 1991.....Jesse Allen in all his cuteness!!!

It's beginning to look alot

like the Christmas (winter) season around Scrap Orchard!!!! I tell ya, this one amazing group of designers!! Here are few of some of my favorites from the Fresh Fruit Friday selection this week. All of the kits shown below are linked to the Scrap Orchard store just by clicking on the previews. And, the BEST part is......these are all 20% off for the next week so what the heck you waiting for??? Get clickin' and grab some adorable Christmas & Wintery kits to work on all those upcoming photos!!!

I adore all these little snowmen!!! There is even a snow kitty & snow puppy! How cute?

Who doesn't love hot cocoa & marshmellows? This kit is perfect for scrappy those snow days!


I think my favorite element in this kit is the little lamby!

And I just love everything about this one!!!

There you have it.....some Friday Fave's of mine :) Enjoy & stay warm!!

Calling all Dreamologists

Full moon + ingesting 1 ES Excedrin + really naggy headache = WEIRDED OUT DREAM!!!!

I started to feel the pressure point headache coming on around 3:00 in the afternoon yesterday. This time it was around my right eye socket/right temple area & right side of my forehead. It was a little frenzied at the end of the work day so I thought it would pass once I left work. No such luck.

After making some dinner and cleaning up the kitchen the headache was still there. I tried to just sit down and rub my eye/temple/forehead but it would not let up. So, I did the unthinkable...I took just ONE extra strength excedrin because it was that kind of headache and I knew nothing else would kick it. I turned off the lights and TV, set my timer for 30 minutes and laid down.

Thirty minutes later it was still there but eased up a little. Enough that I was able to get a scrapbooking layout done for a designer I work for. I promised her I would get it to her by early evening and I emailed it at 7:06 pm! That's still kinda early, right? But, then the headache was completely back again. Ugh!

I finally gave up at 8:45 and just went to bed in total darkness and drifted off to sleep massaging my aching temple and eye. However, I think the excedrin caused my subconscious to go into overdrive because I had such an odd, gross, weird dream about my sweet dog, Peanut, who died several years ago.

***FYI--if you are squeamish, you may not want to read about my dream***

I dreamt (sp?) I was walking him on a leash (I never walked him on a leash) and I went to pick him up and I noticed he had this enormouse gash on his right front leg. The gash was so bad, the skin was peeled away and I could see bone. Yeah, GROSS!

Of course, I freak and carry him to a veterinary clinic. The clinic was like some third world country clinics for humans.......horribly over-crowded with just ONE doctor to see them all. I was praying they would take Peanut in right away due to his injury and they did. The doctor said they had to do surgery right away and she whisked him out of my arms and said "follow me". I am trying to tell her he has a very bad heart murmur but she would not let me talk. I asked where I could go to wait and she says "no, you must stay and watch" Hello? Watch? Seriously? Again, she says "you watch or we don't repair him". And so, I watch as she injects him with meds to put him under. I watch as she flops him around like a rag doll while he is unconcious. Then she tells me his leg is broken in half and I watch as she removes part of the bone....stitches up the skin and then wraps the wound. All this was done in record speeds. She hands him back to me and without another word I am escorted out of the OR not knowing how to care for his wound or anything. Next thing I remember is he is walking around on all 4 legs (the one still bandaged from surgery) and acting fine. I was relieved.

How stinkin' weird (and gross) is that? I woke up sometime during the night to go to the bathroom and realized my headache had finally gone away but in its' place were the weird flashes of that dream.

Does anyone else have weird dreams, too??

Christmas Gift Idea

If I have said it once I have said it 100 times, I LOVE BLOGLINES!!! This morning I seen there was a new post from The Creative Mama. She posted about giving the gift of warm Christmas cookies but in a new way. Well, it is new to me. I love the idea and though I doubt I personally will get around to doing this I thought someone reading MY blog would like to know about it.


Below is the post I took from The Creative Mama blog:


The Gift of Warm Cookies by Tisha on nada
Every year the same question comes up -What am I going to give my neighbors, friends etc… for Christmas ?Normally I end up giving either fresh baked cookies or family photo sessions. Most of my friends want the family photo session :-)

But hey…respect must be given to the gift of Christmas cookies. I know I personally love getting them! I love tasting everyone’s yummy cookies and candies. I am sure many of you have received the Cookies in a Jar gift. I love those too!Anything is better than a fruit cake…right? (ok I know some people actually do like the stuff but I have no love lost for the stuff)

So when I was gabbing with my good friend, Shannon, the other day and she mentioned making and freezing all of her Christmas cookie dough right now so she can bake them closer to the holidays when a house full of relatives makes prep-work “interesting”, a light bulb went off in my head. Why not give them as a gift? What a great idea! I love warm cookies, fresh out of the oven. The Cookie in a Jar gift is nice, but my friends would still have to prepare and make the dough. Giving them cookies that are already baked is great gift idea but we all have so many during the holiday’s we can never eat them all and some just end up in the trash…gasp!

Most of my “mom friends” are so busy with day-to-day life, there is little time during a week to make homemade (from scratch) cookies. Wouldn’t it be a great gift to just be able to pull a container out of the freezer with several different types of homemade cookies, chuck them on a pan and cook just enough to make your family smile on a cold winter day?Perfect!

Thanks, Shannon!So my dear neighbors…guess you know what you are getting for the Holidays ;-)

11 years ago today

our lives changed forever in the span of a 60 second phone call. It's the kind of phone call that you NEVER dream of receiving but when it comes the whole world around you seems to pause for a short time and then when the play button is pushed again it seems as though you are the one going in slow motion and the world around you is going in fast forward. The kind of phone call that takes your breath away......rips your heart out of your chest......causes you to question so many things.

Dennis.....we miss you.

Congrats to Miss A!!

My dear friend's daughter bought her first car today....a VW Bug. I grew up in the 70's playing the "Slug Bug" game on road trips with the family. My brother loved when we played this game because it gave him a chance to "slug" me without getting in trouble. If you DON'T know what that game is then you are probably a child of the 80's or 90's and I am so very sorry for you, lol!

Anyway, this post isn't about me....it's about Miss A. and how incredibly excited she must be feeling right now. I remember the feeling of owning my first car.....such a huge step to showing I could be responsible.

To honor her big day I did a layout using some of the photos her mom sent me....

The Day After

Like most I spent yesterday celebrating Thanksgiving with family and all the trimmings. It was very odd not having Brian, Andrea & Trevor with us this year. Caiden was in a full swing good mood and him and big brother, Blake, went straight for the "toy closet" and proceeded to entertain themselves. We ate about 4 and then came clean up. I tried to do my part to help since after all Julie was up at the crack of dawn preparing the meal for us. I was home by 7:30 and it seemed like it was one of the "fastest" Thanksgiving I can recall having.

I thought I might get up and go to Target about 5 a.m. but yeah, THAT didn't happen. Nope, I chose to sleep until 7:45 thank you very much!

And, following my usual day after Thanksgiving tradition, I ate a piece of pumpkin pie slathered in Cool Whip for breakfast and enjoyed a cup of Starbucks via instant coffee.

At 9:30 a.m. I grabbed a trash bag, some boxes, my black Sharpie, my phone, and all sizes of ziploc bags and headed down to the basement. Can you guess what I was geared up to do? No? Well, I decided to tackle the dreaded Scrapbook Room. I taped up several boxes and stood in the doorway for several minutes just trying to decide where to start. Folks, believe me when I say it looked as though a tornado had blown thru that little 6x8 room. After about 30 minutes I got my organizing groove on and soon was separating the items I was keeping from the items I wanted to craiglist as well as fill up another 30gal trash bag of junk. It took me a good 2 1/2 hours or more to sift through it all. The room is by NO means cleaned & organized. All I really did was fill up 3 average sized boxes of scrapbooking supplies to sell on craigslist. What was left over is still all just sitting down there without much order to it. I seriously need to borrow my dad's super-sucker to go over the carpet before using my real vacuum. I have so many little buttons, brads, staples, etc all over that floor. It would kill a normal vacuum cleaner in about 2 seconds.

At 1:30 I started to Craigslist all the goods. In addition to the scrapbooking items I also listed 5 other items. Hoping now that I get some hits.

I have enjoyed my 2nd of 4 days off work. It's nice to be able to say I accomplished something besides sitting on my bum eating left overs.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Here are some of the things I am thankful for...

~~~Family
~~~Accomplished Tasks
~~~The puzzle time Blake & I had yesterday
~~~Sweet kisses from Caiden
~~~Tastebuds....oh how boring life would be without them!
~~~VOD - Video on Demand - I rented The Proposal while sitting on my couch in my PJ's last night...how cool! (cute movie by the way but not as good as I expected to be honest)
~~~Memory Boxes - I took a few moments to look inside one of mine downstairs today and smiled as I read some of the old cards/notes I had saved over the years.

Tuesday's Thankfulness

So, as usual, I exited the house later than I should have. One of the new traits I developed since March of this year and one I am not liking since I ALWAYS used to be a girl who arrived at her destination 10-15 minutes early. Sometimes more. I was known to arrive so early at times that I would just sit in my car because I was embarrassed to walk in that much in advance, hahahaha.

Anyway, I really wanted a Starbucks coffee drink and blueberry scone so I decided I could swing it even though I was running late. It's amazing how I can justify something for a SB coffee & scone :) On the way to my little piece of heaven-on-earth I was thinking that I didn't want a Mocha this morning but didn't know what exactly I did want. I pull in the drive-thru and I hear the attendant come over the speaker to the car in front of me and asked "would you like to try our new Caramel Brulee Latte?" The woman asked what was in it and I strained to hear the ingredients and OMGosh.....I knew what I wanted. So, with anticipation I pull up to the speaker and eagerly wait for her to ask ME if I wanted one, too. I can't believe I am this excited at 7:10 a.m. on a Tuesday morning. I truly am an addict!!

I think you can guess what one of my 3 thankful for's will be...so without further ado

1. I am thankful for Grande Caramel Brulee Latte's

2. I am thankful for my body being able to "so far" fight off what I think is a sinus infection trying to flair up.

3. I am so very thankful for the relationship I have with my brothers. We don't always see eye to eye about things but they are still my big brothers and I know I can count on them to be there if I need them.

Thankful Thankful Thankful

So, it is not even 9 a.m. and yet I thought I would jump on and list what I am thankful for today.

1. My new 3" thick memory foam mattress topper. It has made all the difference in the world in me being able to sleep in my bed. This morning I literally kept resetting the alarm and staying comfy cozy under the covers.

2. McDonald's coffee.......if I can't have or don't want to spend the $$ on Starbucks then McD's is the next best thing in my opinion. And oh how I need it this morning.

3. Having a job. I may not always want to be here but I am so very grateful I have it. God has been so good to us and our business over the last 20 years. He has seen us through very lean times and blessed us with some wonderfully abundant years, too.

Between Scary and Sacred

This morning at church Dr. Hufty spoke about what lies between the Scary and the Sacred a.k.a. Halloween and Christmas. That, as most of us know, is Thanksgiving......the forgotten holiday. From Sept 1st through Oct 31st we are subjected to stores filled with ghostly gobblins making wretched noises as we pass them by, all our beloved candies recolored in orange and black, racks of itchy costumes all in disarray. Then, on Nov 1st we walk in those same stores and the oodles of "scary stuff" is carted off to some distant corner of the store almost hidden away like a despised step-child and in it's place are "the sacred items" such as Christmas trees (prelit of course), aisles filled will red, green, blue, silver and gold glass ornaments, Nativity scenes of varying sizes and prices, and enough wrapping paper and Scotch tape to gift wrap the planet earth.

On Nov 1st the leaves on the trees are still holding on....still changing from luscious green to the warm tones of autumn. The crispness in the air is finally letting us know it just may be here to stay. It is such a sensational time to stop and reflect on yet another season of thanksgiving but WAIT, where did it go???

Dr. Hufty paralled this worldly transition from the scary to the sacred by using the scripture out of Luke where Jesus healed the 10 Lepers. With just His words he healed them and as those 10 outcasts went from the scary (the leper colony where they lived) to the sacred (to see the priests who would ritualistically cleanse them for entry back into normal society) only one count them, ONE, came back to Jesus and gave thanks for the healing. WOW!!!

So, my challenge to myself and anyone reading who wishes to take it on is this: While the world sees the need to skim over "the thankful" in an effort to do what they feel has to be done for the economy (pah-lease) I am going to take this time to stop and offer up my thanksgiving for the blessings in my life. I may not blog it everyday but at some point during the day I will quietly reflect on 3 things I am thankful for.

I will start with these 3 things:

1. Thank you Jesus for second (third, fourth, one hundredth) chances. Your mercy is amazing.

2. Thank you Jesus for my hilarious little Molly-dog who has rediscovered her toy box.

3. Thank you Jesus for Autumn colors and the eyes to behold them.

Photo by: Andy Cook

Image is linked to Rocky Mountain Reflections Photography, Inc. where you can view more awesome photos by this amazing photographer. I chose this photo for my post because I loved how it shows a gorgeous sunset, glowing Aspens and the snow-capped mountains.

Mother Hubbard's Cupboard....

NO MORE!!!

I work at my local food pantry once a month and have been for over 2 years. Actually, my Sunday school class volunteered to work together. It seems since the down turn of the economy our shelves have dwindled to less and less as the need has grown more and more. It saddens me to see such bare shelves and to tell some people "I am sorry but we are out of that item".

Today was Scout for Food day and you are probably familiar with it. If you aren't, it is where the Boy Scouts distribute a plastic grocery bag to every house in the area on a Saturday with a note asking people to donate items for the local food pantries. The following Saturday you are to place your filled bag on your front porch by 9 a.m. and the BS then go around and collect the filled bags and deliver them to the pantries. Before I left go to the pantry I volunteer at I filled my bag and then grabbed another bag and filled it, too.

We normally only have about 5 or 6 of us working on a given Saturday but today there were oodles of folks showing up to help out and thankfully so because this is a HUGE undertaking that requires many many people to get it done. The food is delivered to a building across from our pantry......items in the bags are tallied for a count and then taken to any number of tables to be sorted and boxed up. The boxes are then lugged over to the pantry and our "group" began to fill the shelves. We filled and filled and filled the shelves and it was so exciting to hear someone yell "no more room for chicken noodle soup! no more room for corn!"

We went from bare nothing shelves to shelves overflowing. It's my understanding the count was approximately 9,000 items collected. Oy, thatsa lotta food! Sadly though, it will probably go faster than normal because like I said before, the need it greater this year. So, if I may put a little bug in your ear.....if you have an abundance of canned/boxed goods or toiletries such as toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, etc. then find out when your local food pantry is open and fill up one of the gazillion blue Wal Mart bags you might have stuffed in one of those handmade cloth bag holders and drop it off when you are out doing your errands. Better yet, let your neighbors know ahead of time and see if they will fill a bag, too. Trust me when I say "every bag counts and will be put to very good use for a family struggling to make ends meet".

It was a good day.

Always Changing

Came home from work today and filled up another 30 gallon trash bag before I let myself just relax for awhile. My back has been feeling much better since about 7 a.m. so I decided to go through my kitchen drawers. Just the drawers. There are 8 of them.....4 of which were major junk magnets! I stopped with the one bag even though I wanted to move on and do some cabinets, too. But (and this is really anal-retentive) when I start either the bottom set or top set of cabinets, I want to be able to work through them all in one cleaning. Say the bottom set one day and the top another or both in one day should I be so energetic. Just like the drawers tonight...I didn't want to stop until I went through them all. Ugh, it really is a sickness! Anyway, I knew I would end up aggrevating my back if I did a set of cabinets, too.

So, I scrapped instead. I purchased this kit impulsively.....yeah, I know, it's another sickness. But, I absolutely fell in L.O.V.E. with these colors....just look at them!

See what I mean? Really? Do you? Cause I ain't feeling the same enthusiam. Sorry, I forget not all "5" of my readers are scrapbookers, hee-hee! I am a brown-freak! Love me some brown in my clothes, my jewelry, my purses, and most definitely in my scrapbooking papers & elements. Brown just makes any other color it is paired with POP or in the case of this kit, ooze with yummy-ness :) Do the words "ooze" and "yummy" really go together in a sentence? Okay, so yet another one of my sicknesses coming out.

My big dilema with this kit is......can I have a drum roll please?????? Hello? I don't have any girls to scrap photos of. Hmmmm, I tried using some photos I copied from my friend's FB album but they are WAY too tiny and when you try to enlarge them they are just too grainy. And then I remembered. I remembered I had some photos from this past July of my friend holding her granddaughter. So, with excitement spilling out of me I start clicking my mouse frantically until I find the folder and YES! there they are and immediately my eye is drawn to one photo in particular and I didn't even bother to look at the rest cause I knew this was it. After doing some editing by turning the photo a soft sepia tone and blurring the background I was ready to start the layout. And here is the end result......

It really helps to have one darling photo subject to work around. Isn't Miss M. just a doll? And you can see how much her Grandma loves & adores her.

FYI, the bling-bling circles are from a different kit called Cafe Date by Irene Alexeeva at Scrap Orchard.

So, that has been the extent of my night as I have listened to the rain falling outside my windows. Thanks for stopping by :)

Sciatic Sunday

So, all that amazing work I accomplished yesterday has left me battling Sciatica today! Oy, the pain is so much fun, NOT!

Taking the down time to catch up on my Blogline postings.

While on SuzyQ Scraps blog I read about this new food site www.blogchef.net I am thinking I just might have to try these Pumpkin Brownies. What could be better than having 2 favorites in one bite....pumpkin & chocolate?

Ingredients:

¾ cup all purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup butter (melted)

1 ½ cups white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 eggs

¼ cup cocoa powder

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ cup pumpkin puree

½ cup walnuts (chopped)

¾ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon nutmeg

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and line an 8×8 inch baking dish with aluminum foil. Lightly grease the foil. In a bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.

Step 2: In a separate bowl mix together melted butter, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in the eggs (one at a time). Add in the flour mixture, a little at a time and stir until the batter is evenly moistened. Divide the batter in half evenly into 2 separate bowls.

Step 3: In one of the bowls blend in the cocoa powder and chocolate chips. In the second bowl of batter stir in pumpkin puree, walnuts, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

Step 4: Spread ½ of the chocolate batter mixture into the bottom of the baking dish. Pour ½ of the pumpkin batter mixture over that. Repeat the layers, ending with a pumpkin layer. Drag a kitchen knife or spatula through the layers in a swirling motion creating a marble appearance.

Step 5: Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool and cut into squares.

A Super Saturday

So, why was this Saturday super you ask? Because I accomplished MOST ALL of what I set out to do. Here is my day...

• I rolled out of bed about 7:20 a.m. and cranked out a scrapbook layout while I ate some breakfast. Multi-tasking at 7:30 a.m.??? Hello, who IS this person?
• At 8:30 a.m. I made myself presentable and ran some lidded containers over to mom & dad's
• 8:45 I was out the door to run errands
• Stop #1, the bank
• Stop #2, McD's to grab a soda (very thirsty this morning...I know, soda was not a good choice but I wanted fizzy)
• Stop #3, drive thru post office drop off box
• Stop #4, Pak Mail to purchase packing boxes & paper....more on that later

Back home I unloaded the boxes & packing paper and grimmaced at my junked up front porch. Last weekend I purchased a 40 ct box of Glad Flex Trash Bags and put them to good use so I decided it was time to use some more. I started pitching junk! When I was satisfied with the improvement of the porch I went in to tackle the dreaded bedroom.

My bedroom has been a catch-all (as well as my kitchen, too) Back when I last kept Trevor overnight I took a bunch of stuff from the livingroom and stacked it in the bedroom wherever there was space to do so. Was trying to avoid constantly running to keep Trev out of something he shouldn't be in. Just seemed like less stress at the time. Well, that "stuff" stayed in the bedroom along with the pack-n-play.....which also became a catch-all in & of itself!! OY!

I could not tell you my process of working on the room and frankly I am sure you don't want to be bored with the details. All I knew was I wanted to P-U-R-G-E!!!!! I packed up all my summer clothes & shoes. I started taping up boxes and stuff I wanted to keep for when I get a larger home down the road I packed up. The rest was thrown out. I made a small pile in my livingroom of items I want to Craigslist. I know I should have done more than just trashed some of the things I threw out but I know me and it would never make it to its' other destination like Grandma's Attic. Just being honest....it would either sit in my car or somewhere in my home (where I am flat out-out of room) forever!!! I packed up 5 boxes and filled up 7 trash bags. How insane is that? My bedroom looks like a bedroom.....well, once I get the boxes moved to the basement it will look complete. However, the left knee and lower back just could not phathom carrying heavy boxes & containers down the steps. No, that is for another day when maybe I can sweet talk Josh into coming over after work and helping me.

At 3:30....6 1/2 hours after I started out, I was ready for 2 Tylenol Arthritis pills and some R&R. I laid down on my bed, set my timer for 1 1/2 hours, covered up and let the Tylenol take effect. Upon getting up I decided to tackle a few more little things. I rehung my newly washed mini-blinds in my bedroom (only got 1 set cleaned today) I then purged my bathroom shelves and straigtened them up and I managed to fill up another trash bag. OMG!

It is now nearing 8 pm and I so wish my washer/dryer were upstairs because I need to do wash but do NOT want to go downstairs. I still have lots more I want to pack up & throw out. The kitchen & scrapbook room are my 2 biggest jobs ahead of me. Something tells me I will be filling up the rest of those trash bags from those 2 rooms without any problems.

So, that was my super Saturday. It feels good to have actually accomplished something for a change.

Did you have a super Saturday? Leave me a note and tell me about it :) ~Hugs~

Countryside Christmas

by Studio Rosey Posey @ Scrapbookgraphics in on sale NOW!!! I told you I would be back to reveal the fabulous kit I used to scrap those layouts a few days ago. Here it is....Countryside Christmas. AND IT IS 25% OFF UNTIL NOV. 15TH 2009. Images below are linked to the SBG store where you can purchase this versatile kit.

Happy Scrapping!!!!!!!!!

Welcoming Miss O!

My sweet friends had a darling baby girl a few weeks ago! As all new, proud parents do, they sent out photos documenting the occasion. Below is a layout I did using one of the photos I just fell in love with. I adore the pose....the serenity of the moment. I had been waiting for the perfect kit to scrap with and it finally appeared in my inbox last night. It's another kit not being released until this Friday so you will have to come back then to get the low-down on where to get it! Until then, enjoy a little sample of this scrumptious kit.....

Welcome to the world Miss O! Congrats my dear friends, she is beautiful :)

New Kit TBA on Thursday!!!

But, in the meantime you can see all its' gorgeousness in some layouts I did. Come back Thursday to see where you can grab this lovely kit :)

Here it is as it was intended to be....a Christmas kit. This is Trevvy last Christmas. I have a feeling I know what kit I will be using to make my Cmas cards this year ;-)

And here I am showing the versatility of the kit by doing an Autumn layout with it. Another photo of Caiden playing in the fall leaves at Nana & Papa's house! To make the photo blend better with the colors in the kit I did the following:

1. I duplicated my photo and on the top layer I cut Caiden out of the photo.

2. Next, on the same top layer I blurred it and turned it a sepia tone.

3. Now, what was left was the bottom layer of Caiden showing thru in its' original color and the surrounding leaves are blurred and sepia toned. This is a new technique I just happened to teach myself recently....I LOVE IT!!!

Fall Make-Over

I decided it was time to do a Fall blog make-over! Considering December is just around the corner I don't know how long this template will be up, hee-hee! I was tired of seeing the summer design. Be on the look out for a cute holiday format coming in December :)

As I said the other day, this is Digital Scrapbooking Weekend. A weekend where digital scrapbookers get together and have loads of fun. Well, we ALWAYS have fun but this weekend there is just more of it (my opinion of course). I created 4 layouts yesterday for various challenges over at Scrap Orchard. Here they are...

A little 5x7 photo card I made for the winning team from our Scavenger Hunt Friday night using the kit, Apple Of My Eye by Tracey Howard @ Scrap Orchard. This was for the Slogan Challenge.

The Blakester!! This challenge I was suppose to use a typewriter & a handwriting font on the same page. I used the kit "Play" by DeCrow Designs @ Scrap Orchard.

And this little number was for a Scraplifting challenge. I got to lift one of Amy Stoffel's layouts. Isn't this a darling photo of Caiden? I used several kits...August & Autumn Harvest both by Amy Stoffel herself (I thought it appropriate to use her designs for the lift) and the word art is from Elegant Word Art by Bethany called Autumn Leaves Word Art Pack...all @, you guessed it, Scrap Orchard!

And this last one, using some close up shots of Caiden's sweet smiling face, was for a Template challenge. I used the kit "Kissing Frogs" by Lyndsay Riches. Caiden loves to give kisses so I thought it was appropriate to use this darling kit for the challenge :)

Memory Foam, Etsy, DSD

Say what?????????? Okay, give me time and I will explain. I am very excited for several reasons.

#1 Sold my beloved recumbent bike this week and with part of the money I purchased a 3" thick Memory Foam mattress topper for my current bed. Took it out of the packaging last night and gave it time to 'bounce back' into shape. This morning I placed the cover over it.....no easy task to accomplish by ones self but I did it. I then placed my down featherbed on top of that and tonight will be the true test to whether the $160+ dollars spent was worth it. If not, I will move on to Plan B....return topper & purchase a Doctor's Choice mattress from The Denver Mattress Company.

#2 Today marks the beginning of Digital Scrapbooking Day or DSD. It really goes the whole weekend but they call it "day". It's a super-duper fun few days in the world of digi-scrapping. I won't get to participate in the fun until tomorrow as I have other fun already planned for tonight. Believe it or not the fun I had planned long before I knew it was DSD was to attend a Digital Camera Scavenger Hunt with my church group. I will be a judge so I don't get to go out and take all the wonky pictures, bummers :( Tomorrow I really really need to go to Wal Mart very early and then I plan to come home and see what kind of trouble I can get into over at Scrap Orchard & who knows where else my mouse will take me!!!

#3 And finally, I am excited because I ordered the most adorable little, hand-knitted, camo hats w/ear flaps for all 3 boys for Christmas. Below is a photo of one very cute model showing off the hat.......



I found them on www.etsy.com which is this awesome website where all these amazing hand-made items are for sale. You can get lost rummaging through this site for hours if you are not careful :)

Peace by Studio Rosey Posey

Lorilei Murphy....Studio Rosey Posey @ http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/ has a beautiful new Christmas'y kit out at SBG called Peace.

You can go directly to the kit in the store by clicking this link:

http://shop.scrapbookgraphics.com/product.php?productid=26230&cat=0&page=1

Wanna know the best part???? It is 40% off Nov 4-8th so grab it while it is on sale!!!!!!

Frightfully Fun Fall Frolic

Say that 5 times real fast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Living out in the boondocks, Brian & Andrea have no shortage of leaves whatsoever. So, I was very excited as fall approached this year because I knew the boys were big enough to get snapshots of them playing in the piles of leaves. Here is the layout I did using photos of Trevor in the 2009 Autumn leaves. I didn't have photos of Caiden when I did this layout. I do now so come back soon to see the LO I do with his photos.....got a GREAT one of him and his Pa Pa :)

This LO is one I did for my CT responsibility for Lorilei Murphy aka Studio Rosey Posey at Scrapbookgraphics dot com. I have said it before and will always say it "fantasy style designs are not my forte' " However, I thought I could pull off doing something with Lor's new kit, Spooky Night, using the ever-infamous clown in meltdown mode photo! And, by turning it to b & w it worked. I wasn't thrilled with my outcome but believe it or not, the layout was placed in the Weekend Gallery Standouts thread at www.digishoptalk.com That is a thread that people, when they see another persons layout that they really really like, can post it in the GSO thread as a way of recognition. Trust me when I say the gallery at DST moves extremely fast....lots & lots of layouts being posted every hour so the fact that one of my LO's caught someones eye before it had been basically pushed on to another page is a big deal. Ok, that is my toot-toot for the day ;-)

Thanks for stopping by....have a great day!!!

An Odd Sunday

With the fall time change I never have to worry about oversleeping since I am generally an early waker anyway. I thought, "no problem getting ready for church today". Only there was one big problem.....a sinus headache that woke me at around 4:30 a.m. I thought it was just the way I had fallen asleep with my head tilted over to the side but I did notice my left nasal passage was blocked, too. I got up and too 1 excedrin and laid back down. By 5:00 I was wide awake and still had the headache. Plan B.....I got up, took another excedrin and moved around some....turned on the computer and thought that would help. Nope, no such luck. Plan C.....I got dressed, brushed my teeth and ran to get a coffee and a bite to eat. I hoped MORE caffeine and something in my tummy would help. Uh, no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That just seemed to make me sick to my stomach. By 8:15 I realize this isn't going away none too quickly. I text a friend that I won't be in class at church and I now take 2 ibuprofens, lay back down and start rubbing my temple and eye socket. Molly curled up next to me and I became toasty warm under the blankets and drifted off to sleep while rubbing my head. I figured I would sleep about an hour or so. I awaken and lie there a moment to see if my headache was gone....yep, seemed to be. Cool. I pick up my cell phone to see what time it was and it was........get this........11:55......NO WAY did I just sleep another 3 1/2 hours. OMGosh, it was great sleep, too. Wow!

I also realize at this point that the blueberry scone I ate about 6:15 a.m. had long worn off and I was S-T-A-R-V-I-N-G hungry. I get up, put on my shoes, brush my hair, rub some powder on my face and drive out to get a bite to eat.

I played around with some scrapbooking layouts. I sifted through piles on the kitchen table. I bagged up some trash. I did some dishes. And, I pulled off all the nasty, plastic/magnetic photo frames from my fridge. I took out all the photos and pitched the frames. I absolutely LOVE having family/friend photos on my fridge but these frames are so many years old they are just gross now. The photos don't want to stay inside them so I have to put pieces of scotch tape on the edges. Kinda deflects from the whole purpose of having the photos up there to begin with. I have started buying these new clear sleeves that are completely covered by a magnet on the back side. If the sleeve is 4x6, the magnet is 4x6. The photos CANNOT fall out because the sleeve is just that....a sleeve sealed on 3 of the 4 sides. And they adhere completely flat to the fridge....even if your fridge has a bow to it. They are not cheap so I am buying a few sets at a time.

Oh, and I also watched a great movie today. I did alot of what I mentioned above during the commercials of the movie. It isn't a new movie by any means but I had never seen it. It is called Premonition with Sandra Bullock. OMGosh......AWESOME movie. I love Miss SB and will watch any movie she is in. She is just an incredible actress and tends to do movies with good story lines and not alot of GARBAGE thrown in. If you have not seen the movie (although, I am probably the only one who hadn't) you must rent it and watch it. Intense is the one word I would use to describe it.

At any rate....it was a pretty odd Sunday. I will leave you with a few LO's I did....

Trick or Treat??

What do you get when you mix together a Power Ranger, a Clown w/ a mohawk, and Tigger?? Three very cute halloween characters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are some snapshots of them and all their cuteness (and not so much cuteness as you will see).....



Ahhh, 3rd time is the charm....got a good shot with Caiden & Blake, yay!!



Is he not just adorable????????????????????



A great shot of Nana Julie & Caiden the punked out clown. BTW, the costume was handmade by the ever-sew-talented Nana :)



This photo just makes me laugh.....a little of the not-so-cute I mentioned above. Oh, the drama!

I like this one as it shows the Mohawk! Amazing what you can do with red food coloring & hair gel!

Oh my goodness....last year he was the saddest little pumpkin and this year he is the saddest little clown!

Blake, the Amazing Power Ranger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blake showing me how cool the red Power Ranger is!!!

He may be a Power Ranger but I think he got a belt from a nearby Elvis costume, hmmmm!

Tigger's don't just wake up looking so dashing.....it takes work!


It's like trying to put make up on a hyper-grasshopper!!



Save me Tanti, save me!!!!!!! Starting to lose interest in this whole halloween costume, make-up thing!

It ain't pretty......when you have to body lock him to get the make up on.....you know you have about lost all control of the situation.

One very sad Tigger!!!

And look at that, he is happy again.

And those are the snapshots of Halloween 2009 in the Parker Family!