21 day challenge and new layout

Whew--I finally got day 4 of Rhonna's 21 day challenge finished. A sick kiddo this morning interfered with my plans. When I did get to start working on it, it took on a life of its own. It's something different than what I've done so far, but I think I like it. Check out the kit, too--that's Valerie Fowler's new kit Metabolize, available at the DigiChick Boutique. It's an awesome kit to work with!

Kit: Metabolize by Valerie Fowler, Flourish brush by Ashley Olson. Fonts: Waterfalls, SP Inspired, SP Toby Unleashed.

The other layout that I worked on last night is with Mari Koegelenberg's new kit Forget-Me-Not (also available in the DigiChick Boutique!) It was so easy to work with, too!

Kit: Forget-Me-Not by Mari Koegelenberg. Fonts: Roddy, Waterfalls

Big news--my sister found out today that she's having a BOY! Yay for her! She's already got a little girl, so a boy will balance things for them and will give my nephew Will someone cool to play with. We're super excited!

I'm supposed to be at my parents' house right now, but Maggie puked in her bed this morning and then had a NASTY diaper (ENOUGH said there, let me tell you!). She's been fine ever since, so I'm debating heading out after her nap. We'll see how things look then, I guess.

off to get some work done so that I don't have to work all night! :-)

Tired tonight...

Boy, I'm tired tonight. I'm going to turn in early tonight. I'll get up in the morning and, if Maggie lets me, work on my Day 4 layout for Rhonna's 21 day challenge, as well as a couple of other things. We're heading to my parents' house tomorrow morning for the weekend because my godmother and her family are coming into town for a visit. She calls herself my YFG--Your Fairy Godmother--and she's Maggie's GGE--Grand Godmother Extraordinaire. She's SUCH a riot and I can't wait! :)

Happy sleeping, all!

Check this out for a good cause!

Please consider checking out this auction on ebay:

http://tinyurl.com/zkgr3

A friend of mine is raising money for a mission trip to Bangladesh. Her son lost his two front teeth and after wondering, "What good are two front teeth, anyway?" his parents decided to auction his two front teeth off to show him just how valuable some things can be.

Day 3 of Rhonna's 21 Day challenge

Here's my layout for Day 3 of Rhonna's challenge:


Credits: **papers from Valerie Fowler's Trying 2B Girly and Rhonna Farrar's April Free Pea kit. Font is Waterfalls.

I've been tagged

Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. Online Writing Tutor
2. College Writing Instructor
3. Teacher
4. Restaurant Manager
Four movies you would watch over and over: (in no particular order)
1. Princess Bride
2. Heathers
3. Can't Buy Me Love
4. Beaches
Four places you have lived:
1. Elmore, AL (just outside Montgomery, AL)
2. Willow Spring, NC
3. Carrollton, GA
4. LaGrange, GA (and Navan, Ireland, just for good measure :) )
Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. Charmed
2. Bones
3. America's Next Top Model
4. Everwood
Four places you have been on vacation:
1. Ireland
2. Florida
3. Grand Canyon/Grand Tetons/Yellowstone
4. Outer Banks
Four websites I visit regularly:
1. http://www.thedigichick.com/
2. http://www.scrapbook-bytes.com/
3. http://www.ginamiller.typepad.com/
4. Earthlink Webmail
Four of my favorite foods:
1. Chicken Nuggets
2. Chicken Tacos
3. Roasted Chicken (gosh, do I eat a lot of chicken or what?!)
4. Roasted Potatoes
Four places I would rather be right now:
1. at the beach
2. in Ireland
3. at the Grand Tetons
4. in North Carolina
Four people I am tagging that I think will respond:
1. Gina
2. Angela
3. Val
4. AmyJo (she's got to have something to blog about! lol)
Four things I always carry with me:
1. keys
2. credit cards
3. cell phone
4. Maggie (seems like it, anyway!)

American Idol...

Woo---what were some of those American Idol contestants thinking this week?! Boy, I wasn't impressed by song choices tonight. I liked Chris (just cause I always do, not so much because he was that good), but his last note was just off. WAY off. Mandisa I usually love but not so much tonight. The song just didn't seem to work for her. I liked Taylor--it was an interesting change for him. Paris did a great job, and so did what's her name--the one who did the Christina Aguilera song (I can't ever remember her name!). I wasn't impressed by Ace or Lisa or Bucky or Kelly or really by Elliot. I don't mind his voice--it's his face that I can't look at. He looks like such a dork when he's singing!

Anyway, I wonder who's going to get the boot. My guess is that it'll be Lisa, Bucky, or Ace. We'll see who it is. :)

Day 2 of Rhonna's 21 Day challenge

Hey...if nothing else, maybe Rhonna's challenge will get me to blog more! lol Anyway, here's Day 2:

Quote by Rhonna Farrar. Papers from Mari Koegelenberg's Country Charm. Fonts are SP Inspired, SP Toby Unleashed, SP Pretty Purkage.

I'll try to get back here later to post some regular posty stuff...gotta get some work done now while Maggie sleeps, though!

Day 1 of Rhonna's 21 Day challenge

So I've been intrigued by Rhonna's 21 Day Challenge. I thought I'd give it a shot. Here's my Day one:

I used Valerie Fowler's Trying 2 B Girly kit and Kim Christensen's stitching from Mellow. The font is Roddy.

Family dinners

Today's blog challenge at DigiChick is to write about a favorite family dinner...

My dad has always taken over the duty of cooking Sunday dinner. This is especially true of the last ten years since he has traveled all week. He's so happy to be back at home with my mom and able to putter around the house and the yard that he really relishes Sunday dinners. Sometimes when the weather is nice he grills steaks outside. Yummm...he also does a big tray of mushrooms and onions, too. :)

During the cold months, though, or if someone special is coming, he usually roasts a chicken or two inside. He makes the chicken drunk by dousing it with a bottle of wine during the course of the cook-time. YUM!! Throw in some super yummy roasted potates, and that's plenty for me to eat! There are usually other veggies, too, like carrots or peas. Dad's specialty with the roasted chicken is his stuffing. It is stuffed inside the bird--a no-no these days, but not something he's going to change. It's not the traditional Southern stuffing (of course--we might live in the South, but most of what we do is VERY Irish, even after 30+ years in Georgia!). He uses fresh bread crumbs, onions, parsley, sage, and butter to put together a bread stuffing that is DE-LISH! :)

I've had some terrific meals over the years, but nothing will ever surpass one of my dad's roasted stuffed drunk chickens with yummy crusty roasted potatoes! :)

Who Invited the Sickies back??

Ack!! Poor Maggie was so sick on Thursday--throwing up every 30 minutes. She just hung out on the couch all day long. She seemed better yesterday, but today she was wiped out for at least half the day. Poor little munchkin. Then she was joined on the couch by Chris, who also seems to have caught this lovely stomach virus. No puking from him, at least, but definite nausea. I thought I was dodging the bullet, but the nausea has hit me tonight. We'll see what tomorrow holds. ICK--i hate the sickies!

On another note, I got the craziest spam comment tonight from some anonymous poster who was telling me about some mystery shopped opportunity. What the heck?

On CT commentary, I'm happily working away on stuff for the next De-Zine. The kit for April is GORGEOUS (just wait--you'll love it!), and we're working with some other neat things, too. I'm also working on stuff for Mari K, Val, and Marsha. I'm so happy when I'm busy! :)

I'd also like to thank everyone who so nicely commented on my HOF layouts. You guys are too sweet! It was nice to share them finally and to get some positive feedback on them. This has been a great experience for me, even though I didn't win. There's always next year, right? :)

Ok, off to get a little sleep just in case I'm up overnight with sickie #1 (Maggie) or sickie #2 (Chris).

Getting back into the swing of things

Whew--it's been a whirlwind of a week! Paula and the boys were here and we all had a blast. Let's just say that this house isn't big enough for 4 kids, though. Everyone got on really well, though, and we spent lots of time at the zoo. I'm going to upload some pictures later. :)

I thought I'd share my rejected HOF layouts here so that they're all in one place. Yep, I got rejected. I don't feel bad, though, because there were only like 5 digi gals who got it and probably another 5 or so honorable mentions. Those are pretty slim odds, really. Besides, I did this for the challenge, and I really think that it brought my scrapping to a new level.

Babbling aside, here are my HOF layouts:

Paper is from Nancie Rowe Janitz's Lime Tea kit. Overlay is from Nancie Rowe Janitz. Photo prongs by Jen Wilson in SBB's Fiesta kit. Stitching from Kathy Moore's New Year's Eve stitches.
Fonts are MA Simple Pleasure and CK Fashion.
Journaling reads: There’s a line in a Steve Martin movie that compares life to a roller coaster’s ups and downs. Steve Martin’s character says that he wishes there weren’t so many downs, but his wife reminds him that without the downs the ups wouldn’t be half as sweet. That’s how I try to think about life. There are, of course, many down moments, and when I’m in the midst of those moments, I might stop and wish that they weren’t happening. Then I see Maggie’s face, and I remember the years of downs that we had while waiting for her to join our lives. Without those downs I wouldn’t have my beautiful child and I might not realize the precious gift that life has given me. So bring on the downs! I can handle the bumps that life throws my way as long as some of the upsare even half as sweet as my beautiful Maggie.

papers from Dani Mogstad--Spring Bouquet, doodles from Angie Briggs, Brad and flower from Taran Conyers' Delight kit, tabs from Gina Miller's Deck the Halls kit, font is 2Peas International.

Papers from Nancie Rowe Janitz's Pink Chocolate kit (ScrapArtist), Chipboard letter from Shabby Princess' Sweet Serenity Kit, Fonts Pharmacy and CK Letter Home

Papers from Gina Miller's Fruit Parfait kit. Soft edges overlay from Michelle Coleman's Free Spirit kit (ScrapArtist), Flowers and brad are from Taran Conyers' Delight kit., Fonts are SP Purkage, Scriptina, and 2Peas International.

The journaling reads: I will never forget the day that this photo was taken, Maggie. You were four days old, and it was just your 2nd day at home. We put you down for a nap in the pram and then spent your whole nap time staring at you in awe and wonder. We couldn’ t believe that you were here--our little girl. We waited so long for you, Maggie. There were many many times along our journey where we thought that we might never be so lucky as to have a little girl--and certainly not a little girl as wonderful as you are ! We prayed so hard to be blessed with a child . We cried many tears and dreamed so many dreams . Little did we know the wonder that reality would bring . You are more than we ever hoped for, Maggie. You are certainly more than we ever dreamed of. Even from the very start, you were not shy about expressing your own personality and letting your preferences be known--no camera flash in your face, please! You are the happiest little girl, and you approach life with an energy that is unmatched. These were some of the things that I wondered about on Day Four of your life. I can’ t wait to see what the years ahead bring! Love, Mommy

Layout based on a magazine ad for the new magazine Wonder Time. Font is Effloresce Antique

overlay and brad are from Nancie Rowe Janitz's Pink Chocolate kit (recolored). Tag and pink paper are from Sara Carling's Sweet Rubbish kit. Stitched flowers are from Sarah Batdorf's Arboretum Guide kit (recolored). Font is SP Purkage.

papers from Michelle Coleman's Free Spirit paper collection (ScrapArtist.com) (green paper is recolored), ribbon created with paper from Michelle Coleman's Free Spirit , eyelet and ring from Shabby Princess' Urban Kiwi kit (ShabbyPrincess.com), alpha from Shabby Princess' Sweet Serenity alpha, quote from Michelle Coleman's Free Spirit kit, green ribbon from Jen Wilson's All Tied Up bundle (recolored), staples from Silly Bird Nut's Taken kit

papers from Gina Miller's Miss Shabby Pants (recolored)., Chipboard letter by me using paper from Gina Miller's Miss Shabby Pants and Atomic Cupcake's Chipboard Action., Fonts are Scriptina and A Yummy Apology.

doodles from Angie Briggs' Chocolate Covered Elements, Fonts are Scriptina and 2Peas International.

Paper by me. The overlay is from Nancie Rowe Janitz's Pink Chocolate kit (recolored). Flower from Kim Christensen's Flowers, Flowers, Flowers set (SBB).
Fonts are 2Peas Goofball, 2Peas International, and 2Peas Peanut Butter.

So there they are, all 10. I know that they didn't win, but I'm pretty proud of them. :) I hope that you (whoever "you" might be) like them. :) Thanks for looking.

Paula's coming!

Ok, YIPPEE! My best friend Paula is in the car right now on her way down here! She's going to drive halfway today and spend the night in Columbia, South Carolina, but tomorrow she'll be down here. And the boys--the cutest three boys (other than my nephew Will) on the planet! Maggie is so excited that she'll get to take Jackson, Collin, and Ryan to her zoo this week. :) WHooohoooo!!! Can you tell I'm a little excited, too? :)

Gina had these questions on her blog this morning and I thought they were fun, so I'm going to answer them too:

1. Legal First name? Sinead
2. Were you named after anyone? Nope
3. Do you wish on stars? sometimes, when I'm feeling sappy. :)
4. When did you last cry? Saturday. I felt sappy. :)
5. What is your favorite lunch meat? maple honey turkey
6. What is your birth date? November 16
7. What is your most embarrassing CD/tape? I've got a cd of cheer/dance music that is left over from my coaching days!
8. If you were another person, would YOU be friendswith you? Is DUH an appropriate answer? I rock! lol
9. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Not really. DH hates it and I've tried to improve.
10. What are your nicknames? My dad calls me Shin and Paula's boys call me Aunt 'Nead (my favorite of the two)
11. Would you bungee jump? maybe if I weighed less.
12. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off ? sometimes
14. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? depends...Chocolate Chip from Baskin Robbins (or from most places). If there's a Coldstone Creamery, though, it's Birthday Cake with a little hot fudge, a little caramel, and some heath bar bits thrown in. YUM!
15. Shoe Size? 10
16. Red or pink? Red, just don't make me wear it--clashes with the hair
17. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? my weight
18. Who do you miss most? my friend Paula, but not for long! :) She'll be here tomorrow!
19. Favorite past-time? scrapbooking, of course!
20. What color pants/skirt & shoes are you wearing? no shoes, grey pajama pants
21. What are you listening to right now? sweet silence. Dora or Diego or the Wiggles will be on in a few minutes, though!
22. What did you eat for breakfast? nothing yet
23. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? chartreuse
24. What is the weather like right now? it's going to be in the 70s today
25. Last person you talked to on the phone? Paula--she called to tell me that she's tired of driving and she's not even in SC yet!
26. What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? eyes. I'm all about the darky smouldering eyes
27. coffee or tea? coffee smell but tea to drink
28. Favorite Drink? a drink drink? That would have to be a Mai Tai. YUM!
29. Hair Color? Red with lots of random natural highlights (seriously--my hair ranges from blonde to purple). Lately there has been more and more grey/white.
30. Do you wear contacts? no
31. Favorite Food? my mom's roasted chicken or turkey with roasted potatoes
32. Last Movie You Watched? How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
33. Favorite Day of the Year? Thanksgiving
34. Scary Movies or Happy Endings? Happy endings. I'm a sap.
35. Summer or winter? Summer
36. Hugs OR Kisses? how about both?
37. What Is Your Favorite Dessert? cheesecake
38. Have you ever won any awards? Yep. In high school I won Young Businesswoman of the Year in Junior Achievement. I also won trips to National Convention four years in a row. Don't think I won anything in college (was having too much fun then!). The students at my school picked me as Teacher of the Month a few years ago (before I got married and quit teaching high school, that is). :)
39. Do you have any tattoos or piercings? I have my ears pierced but I never wear earrings--what's the point? I've got so much hair that no one ever sees earrings anyway.
40. Living Arrangements? my lovely house with the great backyard with DH and Maggie and our two kitties (Meg and O'Neill, who is also called Fat Boy)
41. What Books Are You Reading? it's a Linda Fairstein book--can't remember the name at the moment.
42. What's On Your Mouse Pad? no mousepad
43. What did you watch last night on TV: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
44. Favorite Smell? I can still smell my Grandma's apple tarts baking in the oven, though it has been at least 10 years. The other favorite is Maggie when she snuggles close (on rare occasions!).
45. Favorite Junk Food? chocolate chocolate chocolate
46. Rolling Stones or Beatles? The Beatles
47. What's the farthest you've been from home? I'm not sure about comparative distances, but I have been to Ireland (obviously) to see family and I have also been out west. I think Vegas is the most west I've been.

Ok..questions over! Happy Monday!

Such a slacker and lookee at my surprise!

I'm such a slacker. I'm online every day--you'd think I'd find a few minutes here or there to write a blog post. Oh well. I pretty much feel like I'm talking to myself anyway, and I can do that here in my head without having to type it out. Makes it less like I'm crazy that way... lol

So I've been super busy with doing layouts and page designs for the March De-Zine from The DigiChick. Things are looking good, though, so make sure to check it out. It should be available on the 15th in the DigiChick Boutique.

Maggie has been cracking me up lately (so what else is new, right?). First, we went to the zoo. We're members, so we go all the time, but this time she HAD to bring Mary (her favorite doll). Poor Mary has been all over creation with us, so that wasn't too shocking. The funny thing, though, is that she made me help her put Mary on her shoulders because she was "too heavy" to carry. lol--wonder where Maggie has heard that! She here she is looking out one of the viewing windows at the elephants, and poor Mary is hanging off her shoulders:

The next funny thing was her little conversation with Dora and Swiper the other morning. She has all these beads (they're cheap and she loves dressing up with them), and she's been carrying several sets around for days now. The other morning she had each set of beads set out on the floor separate from the others. Then she starts talking to Dora and Swiper as if they are in the room with her. "This one Swiper's and THIS one Dora's! NO swiping, Swiper!" lol This kid cracks me up!

The gold ones are Swiper's, by the way. lol She woke up from her "nap" (which lasted a mere 40 minutes, I might add) and came out to tell me that Swiper was in her room trying to swipe Mary and her Berry juice. I told her Swiper wasn't allowed in her room anymore. lol

Yesterday, we were outside and Meg (the cat) decided to try to take Maggie's Barbie Jeep for a ride. Apparently Barbie appeals to girls of all ages and species...

Finally, my dear husband surprised me the other day. I had such a rocky day on Monday that he told me that there was a surprise coming my way the next day (apparently it was all arranged and everything--he had just planned to let it be a total surprise). On Tuesday afternoon, the FedEx guy dropped off a package at my door. Guess what it was?

Yep! Roses! Ok, this was really sweet normally, but it's even more sweet if you consider that this is the 3rd time since I've known him (almost 10 years) that he's given me flowers. One of those times was when we got engaged! He's just not a flower giver, you know? But something struck him and he decided to send me a "just because" little pick-me-up present. :) How sweet is he?!

Ok. My mom is coming this morning to help me plant a bunch of bushes--azaleas, mostly. She said she bought a few more things, so God only knows what she's going to come up with. I'd better spend a few minutes in this house first, though, or she's going to think I'm a total failure of a housekeeper. I'm really much worse at it than she is--you could eat off this woman's FLOOR any time any where. I am just too tired to be all that worried about it after chasing Maggie around all day and working my few hours a day at Smarthinking (online, but still). Besides, any spare time that I have is obviously going to go towards scrapping. LOL Ok, I'm off! Have a great Thursday!

Such a slacker and lookee at my surprise!

I'm such a slacker. I'm online every day--you'd think I'd find a few minutes here or there to write a blog post. Oh well. I pretty much feel like I'm talking to myself anyway, and I can do that here in my head without having to type it out. Makes it less like I'm crazy that way... lol

So I've been super busy with doing layouts and page designs for the March De-Zine from The DigiChick. Things are looking good, though, so make sure to check it out. It should be available on the 15th in the DigiChick Boutique.

Maggie has been cracking me up lately (so what else is new, right?). First, we went to the zoo. We're members, so we go all the time, but this time she HAD to bring Mary (her favorite doll). Poor Mary has been all over creation with us, so that wasn't too shocking. The funny thing, though, is that she made me help her put Mary on her shoulders because she was "too heavy" to carry. lol--wonder where Maggie has heard that! She here she is looking out one of the viewing windows at the elephants, and poor Mary is hanging off her shoulders:

The next funny thing was her little conversation with Dora and Swiper the other morning. She has all these beads (they're cheap and she loves dressing up with them), and she's been carrying several sets around for days now. The other morning she had each set of beads set out on the floor separate from the others. Then she starts talking to Dora and Swiper as if they are in the room with her. "This one Swiper's and THIS one Dora's! NO swiping, Swiper!" lol This kid cracks me up!

The gold ones are Swiper's, by the way. lol She woke up from her "nap" (which lasted a mere 40 minutes, I might add) and came out to tell me that Swiper was in her room trying to swipe Mary and her Berry juice. I told her Swiper wasn't allowed in her room anymore. lol

Yesterday, we were outside and Meg (the cat) decided to try to take Maggie's Barbie Jeep for a ride. Apparently Barbie appeals to girls of all ages and species...

Finally, my dear husband surprised me the other day. I had such a rocky day on Monday that he told me that there was a surprise coming my way the next day (apparently it was all arranged and everything--he had just planned to let it be a total surprise). On Tuesday afternoon, the FedEx guy dropped off a package at my door. Guess what it was?

Yep! Roses! Ok, this was really sweet normally, but it's even more sweet if you consider that this is the 3rd time since I've known him (almost 10 years) that he's given me flowers. One of those times was when we got engaged! He's just not a flower giver, you know? But something struck him and he decided to send me a "just because" little pick-me-up present. :) How sweet is he?!

Ok. My mom is coming this morning to help me plant a bunch of bushes--azaleas, mostly. She said she bought a few more things, so God only knows what she's going to come up with. I'd better spend a few minutes in this house first, though, or she's going to think I'm a total failure of a housekeeper. I'm really much worse at it than she is--you could eat off this woman's FLOOR any time any where. I am just too tired to be all that worried about it after chasing Maggie around all day and working my few hours a day at Smarthinking (online, but still). Besides, any spare time that I have is obviously going to go towards scrapping. LOL Ok, I'm off! Have a great Thursday!

Another beautiful day!

Gosh, it's going to be beautiful here again today. We went to the park in Prattville yesterday and it was almost 70 degrees! That's one good thing about Alabama--Spring comes early! Remnd me of this over the summer, though, when my blood is boiling!

So I was was talking to AmyJo last night and she showed me some layouts she did with Michelle Coleman's Snap Scraps at ScrapArtist. Michelle has a freebie up in the gallery, so I went to try it out. OMG, what a terrific idea! It was so easy to put a page together! Here's what I did:

Credits: Snap Scraps template from Michelle Coleman at ScrapArtist,
Girly Girl papers from Taran Conyers at Shabby Princess.
Fonts: Susie's Hand, SP Purkage, 2Peas International

I love the way it looks. It's different than what I normally do, but it was fun to work with the template. I'm slowly but surely learning how to use PSCS2. I play a little here and there. One day I'll get it all figured out! :)

I think we're off to the park again today. I should go to mass for ashes since it's Ash Wednesday, but the service at our church starts after Maggie should be down for her nap. She's only been napping for an hour and then sleeping crappy at night, too, but last night she had a great sleep and finally woke up after 6am! Today she woke up at 7 and is MUCH happier. Maybe she'll sleep better today and I'll actually get to do more than an hour's work during nap. We'll see. Happy Wednesday, all!