Knee Deep In Projects...

I won't be posting any Friday challenges for the next 2 weeks. Deadlines have creeped up on me and I'm frantically working on DT projects and CHA projects. Don't get me wrong, I am thoroughly enjoying myself LOL!

Wanna couple of new sneaks from {Pink Paislee}???


Yummy isn't it??! Rebecca and Holly will be in booth 424! They are downstairs in the new exhibitor section so be sure to check out the full release.

I had a dr. appt. the other day and I now have to wear a brace for the next 4 weeks to smooth out my incision. Still getting better each day though...

The girls are doing great in school, Hanna loves kindergarten SO much. We are really lucky, both the girls have wonderful teachers this year. Softball tryouts start for Taylor in March. I was hoping to get out and practice with her but there is a nice blanket of snow on the ground AND I have another 4 weeks of healing. That should give us about a month to warm up.

I REALLY hope Chad finds a job soon. I knew it would be hard when he got laid off, but I never thought it would be THIS hard. But it is. Not only on Chad and I, but on the kids too. They are so young to understand the situation so I only pray that our luck changes soon.

And I recently discovered that K & Co. has come out with a CUTE CUTE line called "Wild Saffron." I haven't bought K & Co. in YEARS but have plans on adding these to my collection:




Well, hope everyone has a great weekend. I'm getting together with my good friend Krista to do some much needed scrapping. Anyone want to come clean my room now LOL?!

Friday Challenge #1

I've decided that I need to be challenged more in my scrapbooking. So on Fridays I will be posting a challenge, specific challenges, and I would love for you to play! The first challenge is:

Write a Letter To Someone You Love




This can be to a child, to your husband, to a relative that has passed, a friend that has hurt you...the intent is not to give the person the letter, but more for it to be thereaputic to you, and getting down the story. This was an emotional challenge for me as I tend to scrap "rainbows & sunshine" so to speak LOL! And though my love for my father is unconditional, I felt compelled to write a letter to him as I stared at this picture. Most my questions will never be answered but it was still something I HAD to scrap about. Sometimes I forget that scrapping has to do with telling a story, whether good or bad, and it felt SO GOOD to do this. So I encourage you to give it a try....stretch yourself! And who doesn't need a challenge??!

If you participate I would LOVE to see your work. Please post a link to your layout here on my blog (if you wish to share) I know some of you will want to keep the journaling private which is totally fine! You could even use an envelope somewhere on your page and tuck the letter away.

On a different note, I wanted to share a "sneak peek" of the new line "Office Lingo" from{Pink Paislee} slated to be released at CHA winter 2008!!! Rebecca and Holly have been working so hard and I am anxious to see the full reveal. I know they will be a HUGE success!!!


I am recovering quite well from my surgery. It was a bumpy first couple of days but things are starting to return to normal {except for the lifting bit}. Thanks to all you prayed and sent me well wishings.

Scrapping Therapy

The surgery went well, thank you to everyone who has thought of me and kept me in their prayers. I am now the proud owner to an 8" long incision going down my abdomen. The hernia had been repaired, my muscles have been pulled and sewn back together, and I'm trading off a rather large scar for having some of my excess skin removed (YAY!) I'm healing, slowly but surely and this has been a lot harder than what I imagined. The hardest part is not being able to hold and carry around Chloe, who does not understand AT ALL why her momma can't hold her. This has been the only thing that has actually brought me to tears regarding the surgery. The pain I can handle, this I cannot.

Today I decided to do some much needed scrapping. I could only stand for a while but it felt GOOD, really good, to get some creative juices flowing. And Chloe just loved that I did a layout about little ol' her, even if it does showcase her OH SO COOL comb over {insert hysterical laugh here}. Wanna see??

I know she'll kill me when she's older but I love this photo!!! And I desperately needed a smile today.

I'm also tossing around the idea of starting weekly challenges on my blog. I'm ready to be stretched creatively, and not only scrap the happy times but also the not-so-happy ones as well. Stay tuned for more information on this...

Surgery Tomorrow

I probably won't be able to post for a couple of days as I go in tomorrow morning for a hernia repair. This is my first surgery so I am quite nervous. I will update in a couple of days...hope everyone has a great week!

My {Sweet} Husband

Chad and I have been married 9 years now and we have definitely had our differences. I'm the clean, organized, tidy, and uptight one and he is, well, not! I have been stressing to him these past couple of days of his need to step up around the house because of my upcoming surgery, and I will go crazy if I am laid up in a dirty house. I figured he was "half" listening to me while he watched t.v. and relaxed on the recliner.

Well today I got home from church and the dishwasher was running. Strange, I hadn't turned it on before I left that morning. I did a double take and the kitchen table was immaculate, the counters were cleaned, and all the pots and pans were washed! I also heard the faint sound of the washer and dryer going. What??! I couldn't thank him enough as this now gave me time to play a board game with the girls. He continued to do 4 more loads of laundry, vacuum, and sweep the floor. I am now stunned at this point because he has gone above and beyond his call of duty! A girl could get used to this!

About 2 hours later (after I got done playing a painfully long game of LIFE with the girls) he calls me into our bedroom. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the CLEANNESS of it all but there it was, spotless! You see, I have a spot in our bedroom, on my jewelry chest where I harbor all kinds of junk. Receipts, pictures, loose buttons, change, barrettes, ticket stubs, chap stick, pens, basically whatever comes from my pockets or purse that I don't know what to do with. (I know you have one of those spots too!) He had cleaned this off. Everything was gone. He asked me if I wanted to know where he put everything (or thrown it away) and I said DON'T TELL ME. If I don't know, I won't miss it, and I don't want to know what you threw away. He did tell me that I had receipts dating back to 2005 on there LOL! That is terrible!

Chad really left my jaw dropping when he cooked supper AND did the dishes afterwards. I love it! I just hope it continues!!! See, I guess I can be surprised after 13 years together after all!


I also wanted to give a shout out (and a little sneakie) to Rebecca and Holly who are the geniuses behind {Pink Paislee}. I stole this image from Rebecca's blog because I want all my scrappy friends to admire the total CUTENESS of these stamps!!! They will be releasing a big line of scrapping goodness at CHA Winter in February so be on the look out!

PS, the above layout is based on a sketch by Valerie Salmon, and was taken from her sketch blog, Got Sketch? Her website is FULL of amazing inspiration!!!