My Digital World

Crocheted Baby Blanket

2012-02-11T14:09:00.002-05:00

So, amidst my crazy nursing school schedule, keeping on top of my studies, family stuff, etc., I managed to finished a crocheted blanket for an expecting friend. I'm debating whether or not I want to weave a satin ribbon around the edging. I thought it might be a good way of personalizing the blanket when we find out what she's having, you know, make it more boy/girl specific.

I survived the Pharmacology Calculations Test!

2012-02-09T12:37:00.001-05:00

I am so relieved! We have 3 chances to take this test, and I passed the 2nd round. We are not allowed to use a calculator and there are some difficult conversions on this test, converting from 3 different systems; apothecary, household, and metric. It wouldn't be so bad, but that apothecary system is confusing and involves fraction like 1/600 or 1/34. And, there were many conversion facts to memorize. About 1/2 my class failed the first test, but by the 3rd, EVERYONE passed! We were told this was the first time in about 8 years that EVERYONE passed this test! I'm so proud of my classmates. :)

My break is almost over...

2012-01-05T10:16:00.005-05:00

Well, the three weeks off over Christmas was a MUCH needed break. I spent the 2nd week babysitting a couple of my former daycare kiddos since their current sitter was on vacation. It was nice to see them and Lord knows I needed the money. Things are definitely rough financially without me working, so I need all the prayers I can get to keep us going while I'm in nursing school!

Here are the books I'll need to carry to class every day this semester. All 5 of them, though that med-surg book is the size of two, so it's more like carrying 6 books.

I have my bag packed & ready. This backpack that Tony got from the basketball southern conference is very sturdy & just about the right size. All 5 of my books fit in the big pocket, my supplies & nursing 102 syllabus -all 198 pages- fit in the middle pocket & my lunch bag fits in the front. I don't even have my pharmacology syllabus yet. That'll need to go in there, too. I don't have enough room for a binder, so I have the units stapled together so I can easily access them during class lectures. The syllabus outlines the topics/objectives for each unit & includes the clinical check-off sheets.

Unfortunately, I can't use my cute 31 tote this semester since I have much more to carry. That tote worked out very well for me last semester, but I'll be able to use it again for my third/final semester of this program.
I weighed my bag on the bathroom scare & read 25+ lbs. And, that's without my lunch, snacks & drinks in it. *sigh* That'll be a bear to carry up & down 3 flights of stairs. On the bright side, maybe it'll help me lose the 6 lbs I gained over Chrsitmas break & the other 6 I gained since starting the practical nursing program!

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
I had planned to spend this last week ~~studying~~ and brushing up on my math skills & learning conversions to prepare for my pharmacology class (today is Thursday & it starts on Monday), but I haven't had much chance to, yet. Today is the first day all week that I've been home alone with no distractions, so studying is definitely on today's agenda!
Wish me luck!! I am off to study.

[Oh joy. Studying during my break]

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I am liking blogger's updated editor! Nice!

My 'Cranberry' Necklace

2011-12-22T14:23:00.002-05:00

I had a little time to make some jewelry

2011-12-22T14:13:00.003-05:00

I love being on break and actually having time to be creative!

Home made peppermint bark and dipped pretzels...

2011-12-19T10:52:00.003-05:00

I had never tried this before, but they are yummy! I'll be passing these out to my neighbors.

Christmas Cards!

2011-12-19T10:47:00.001-05:00


Find the folded tree template at InkspiredTreasures.com

A friend posted some cards she made and inspired me to make some, too.
I didn't think I'd have time to make Christmas cards this year, but these were really fun & easy! The same pattern can create so many different looks. If I'd had more time & wasn't in a rush to make them & get them mailed, I'd have gotten more creative. Well, there's always next year!

2011 is almost over & I haven't updated my blog since the year began??

2011-12-19T10:45:00.000-05:00

Wow...what's wrong with me? Oh yea, I started nursing school and that takes up ALL my time! Ha! So, it was tough, but I did survive my first semester! Now...I have a MUCH needed break for Christmas and I have been enjoying my time making sweet treats, jewelry, and Christmas cards. :)

2011-01-17T19:03:00.001-05:00

School on MLK Day?

Yep, the schools used MLK as a snow day make-up, today. People were picketing and protesting in downtown Charlotte, complaining that having school today is racist. I disagree. Two years ago, the kids went to school on Memorial Day as a make-up day. People complained, but I didn't see anyone picketing! Really, how is going to school on MLK day worse than going on Memorial Day?

I just discovered that I can use Word to create blog posts, so I'm using this post to test try it out.

‘Little Angel’s’ miraculous recovery

2011-01-14T15:27:00.000-05:00

‘Little Angel’s’ miraculous recovery

Katie is a very special little girl who attends my church. She is living proof that God DOES answer prayers.

Yep! I got SNOW for my birthday!

2011-01-10T13:56:00.002-05:00

All the schools are closed, including the college, so I don't even have to leave the house, today. None of my daycare kiddos made it in, so it's just me & the family! I sat up the tripod Tony gave me for my birthday (very cool tripod with a pistol grip & ball head so I can position it any way I want) and snapped some shots of the hungry birdies that are all over my back yard. There must not be many feeders nearby, cuz they're definitely going to town on mine!

Although I can't go to my on campus class, my online Intro To Computers class is still ready to go. Ok, I'm off to download MS Office 2010 so I can do my assignment. Jeez, even with the student discount, this is an $80 hit to my back account!! I'm hoping I can charge it to my financial aid account. Time to go find out!

Winter 2011

2011-01-10T13:50:00.001-05:00

14 pictures
Click here to view these pictures larger

It's muh Burf-day!

2011-01-09T19:55:00.002-05:00

Ok, so not only is tomorrow (Jan 10) my birthday, but it's also the start of the spring semester. I'm supposed to go to my anatomy class on campus tomorrow evening & as well as start on my online computer class. But, there's a good chance that we will have a winter storm tomorrow with lots of snow, so my class may be snowed it. So....I guess I'll find out tomorrow....

Addison's Album 2010

2011-01-01T15:12:00.001-05:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Here's to making 2011 our best year yet!

2011-01-01T14:46:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a safe New Year's Eve! Tony & I had a quiet evening sipping appletinis & watching the Nightmare on Elm Street remake. The kids had plans of their own. Man, I loved the original when it first came out, way back when. Uh-oh, my age is showing!
My 4th semester of pre-nursing starts on the 10th, which is also my birthday. I'm taking 3 classes this semester; Anatomy & Physiology I, Intro to Computers, and College Study Skills. I'm hoping I pass all these classes with A's as I have all my previous classes & I REALLY hope that I'm accepted into the LPN program THIS fall. Wish me luck!!!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

2010-12-30T21:04:00.002-05:00

It's been forever since I've posted here! Time really gets away from me when I'm busy! I have a short reprieve from school before the next semester begins on Jan. 10, which is also my birthday. (no need to mention my age, ahem.) I've actually started a new site at shutterfly for sharing my pics, etc. Feel free to check it out: http://carriesphotocorner.shutterfly.com/

We had a great Christmas! The only thing that could've made it better is if we could've gone home to Indiana to celebrate with the rest of my family. It's so hard t be away over the holidays. But, the weather is just to unpredictable to make that 12 hr drive in December.

I did find the time to create some digital scrapbook albums as gifts for my daycare families! I cut it close, though. I almost didn't finish them in time! I finished up one of them just a couple hours before I had to give it! Nothing like last minute!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-30T21:03:00.001-05:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Snow in Charlotte/Dec.2010

2010-12-30T21:00:00.001-05:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

This is an album I created digitally, then printed out as a gift for one of my daycare families....

2009-12-30T11:40:00.005-05:00

All the digi kits I used were free downloads from various websites and various creators. There are too many to credit them all. I saved all the photos used in this album, and some that didn't make it into the album to a disk and included it with album. This is the 2nd year that I've made these albums & I just love giving them as gifts.

More Christmas Cards using the Winter Wonderland Cartridge

2009-12-21T11:42:00.002-05:00

More Christmas cards using my Winter Wonderland cartridge....

2009-12-20T19:33:00.002-05:00

Sorry about the bad photos. I was in a hurry to take the photos, sign the cards and head out the door.

Wow! Life has gotten away frome me!

2009-12-15T22:03:00.007-05:00

I have definitely been busy these past few months! My first semester in college has been great. I took my Expository Writing exam tonight and my math exam is tomorrow night, then I'm off until the next semester begins Jan 11.

I took the ACT this past Saturday. That was rough. I won't know my score for 3-8 weeks, but I'm not expecting much.

So, I actually dusted off my Cricut machine and used it to make some Christmas cards!
I only used the Cricut to cut the star on the nativity cards. The nativity scenes are paper pieced. I found the pattern for those on scrapbooksetc.com

It's been so long since I've bought a new Cricut cartridge that I decided it was about time I bought a new one. So, I used my brand new Winter Woodland cartridge to make these cards...

From Crafts

Well, I aced that math test!

2009-09-09T23:05:00.002-04:00

I actually got 100% on the test, plus 4 extra credit points! I was so excited! I hope I do as well on this Monday's test.

I have had so many computer headaches this week! It all started with a rootkit-gen virus on my laptop. I had to reformat my laptop, and since I've never reformatted a computer before, that was a scary task! But, thanks to a wonderful person at an online tech forum, I was able to figure it out. Then....I had to reset my router and reconfigure my wireless network. OMG! That took me 3 days to straighten out! And, in the midst of doing all this, my cat got sick and I had to take her to the emergency vet. They put her on an antibiotic and and she's back to herself again, thank goodness.

I wish I could say as much for my laptop. While I did manage to get rid of that nasty virus and get everything back online, my laptop continues to type very slowly. *sigh*

Trying to type anything is very frustrating because I have to wait for the computer. Anyone have any idea how to fix this?

Math 60

2009-08-26T23:41:00.003-04:00

I was relieved to find out that there were other students confused by the sign on the door saying that our math class was canceled. So, I was not the only one to miss the first day of class!
The instructor reminds me so much of my high school algebra teacher! He seems nice & I was very reassured when he said none of his students have ever failed this class! Lets just hope I'm not the first. Seriously, I'm going to give it my best. The higher my GPA, the better chance I have of getting into the LPN program next fall!

We have a test on Monday! He said this class goes by fast & we have a test every Monday. I hope I can keep up! I tend to jumble things when I try to learn too much at once. Well, this is all refresher material for me, but I was never good at math.

Made it through my first ENG 111 class!

2009-08-26T10:04:00.003-04:00

Tony took half the day off and stayed with my daycare kids so I could leave in time to go to the business office and then the school book store before my 5:30pm class. He's so sweet. I don't know how I'd get through this college thing without him. He's so supportive and helpful.
So, I have my books now! That's a relief. I was worried about starting without them. Good thing too, because my first assignment is to read chapter one!

My first English 111 class went really well. My instructor seems to be a very nice, energetic person. The class seems pretty laid back with a variety ages ranging from 18 - 40's. So, I'm not the oldest!!

Since I missed my first math class, tonight will be my first one. I'm nervous about that & am hoping I didn't miss too much. ugh. Wish me luck!

I showed up for my first class and.....

2009-08-25T14:50:00.003-04:00

when I got there, there were several people standing by the door looking confused. Someone said the class had been canceled. Sure enough, there was a big yellow sign on the door saying that my math class was canceled! So, I went home.

This morning, I called the college to find out what happened. The adviser said the class was still in the system and that she would look into it and call me back. A little while later, she said there had been two of the same math classes scheduled in that room for the same time & the other class was canceled, not mine. Ok, so it never donned on me that there could have been two math classes scheduled for that room. She said I wasn't the only one to call and they should have made the sign clearer.

The business office has processed my payment, so I can pick up my book voucher and get my books, today! That's a relief. I was worried about starting classes without books, especially since I've now missed my first math class. I'd really feel silly walking in there tomorrow night without books!

The financial aid office told me that my file is almost complete! Yayyy! This means I won't have to make that big payment in Oct!! What a relief!

Today is the first day of 4th and 7th grade for my boys! It's also Timmy's 11th birthday! This is the 3rd year in a row that school started on Timmy's birthday. Poor Timmy. He was not happy about wearing a uniform this year. His school has a new building and decided to add a uniform policy to the start of school in the new building.

It's also my parent's 36th wedding anniversary!! Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Lots of important events, today!

So, I've decided to go back to school!

2009-08-20T21:56:00.003-04:00

I have been wanting to go to school for years but have been dragging my feet. So, I finally decided to go through the LPN program at a community college.

I called to find out what I have to do, and they scheduled me for placement testing last Tuesday. I did really well in reading & writing, but not so great in math. Per the test results, I needed to register for Math 60 and English 111(pre-req for the LPN program).

I showed up at 8:00am this morning like they told me to. I waited in line for over an hour to get a number. I was given #92 and told to have a seat until I was called upstairs. Two hours later, my group was called up. Then, we sat for another two hours while the counselors called people into their offices, once by one. Thankfully, there were free sodas and snacks.

Finally, 5 hours after I arrived at the campus, my number is called and I go in to talk to my adviser. She registered me for Eng. 111 and Mat. 60. She tried to get me to take the psych requirement as well, but I don't see how I'd have time since I babysit all day and can't afford to quit. All the online classes were full, so that was out of the question.

So, my first class starts THIS Monday. I'll have English every T & Th, 5:30pm-6:45pm and Math every M & W, 7:45pm-10:55pm.

My son's birthday is on Tuesday & I'll be in class all evening! I feel terrible about that. I'll also miss his open house due to my classes. And, his Monday night cub scout meetings will be tricky. This is going to be hard. I hope it's all worth it.

And, my financial aid hasn't kicked in yet! I had to pay nearly $260 today! That was bill money, so something won't be paid this month. That was the down payment to the payment arrangement. If my financial aid doesn't kick in by October, I'll have to pay $480 then! Wow. I don't know how I'd come up with that much money.

I've already filled out the FAFSA and qualify for quite a bit, but the school won't be accepting anymore financial aid info for a couple of weeks. I'll be in there first thing when they do!!!

Gold Panning!

2009-08-13T11:44:00.002-04:00

On July 22nd, Tony, Timmy & I headed to the Latta Plantation to tour the grounds and do a little gold panning. Brad went on a camping trip with his youth group & couldn't go with us. He had a wonderful time, though!

Timmy was the only one of us that found any gold! Go Timmy!

Mineral Make Up....

2009-08-13T10:29:00.002-04:00

Not usually what I share here, but I just thought I'd share my mineral make-up opinions.

I have been a Mare Escentuals user for more than 5 years, and love it. But, with my shrinking budget lately, I've been looking for ways to save money. So, a few other mineral make-up lines I've tried recently are; Maybeline, L'Oreal, Bath House Minerals, LA Minerals and Faerie Organic.

Personally, I did not like the first three and felt that I wasted my money on those. So, when I found LA Minerals and Faerie Organic, I was very happy to see that they sell sample sizes on their websites. I ordered foundations in various colors from both.

Upon arrival, I preferred the LA Minerals because they arrived in convenient, sample-size sifter jars, whereas the Faerie Organic arrived in ziplock baggies. I purchased some very inexpensive jars from the dollar aisle at Target to put my Faerie Organic minerals in because I found it very difficult to work with the baggies.

After a couple weeks of using the both brands, I'm happy to say that I will be ordering more Faerie Organic minerals and I think this will now be my preferred brand. Their colors seem to blend better with my skin and wear longer than BE or LA Minerals. However, I do believe that all 3 are good choices.

Here is the price variance for the mineral foundations:
Bare Escentuals: .3oz/9g jar is $25.00
Faerie Organic: 30 gram jar is $18.00
LA Minerals: 30 gram jar is $19.95

I'm not sure, but I think the BE may be measured by weight, whereas the other two are measured by volume. That .3oz size BE jar does fill the palm of my hand and last several months. When I order and receive my full size jar of Faerie Organic, I will post a picture of the two jars side by side to compare size.

I have read posts about people complaining that BE caused them itching and irritation. In 5 years of use, I never had a negative reaction to the product, so I cannot relate there. The other two brands boast that they do not use preservatives, artificial fillers or talc like BE does. Since they do not contain preservatives, you just have to be very careful not to get the product wet. I always use mineral eyeliner and apply it wet. I can still do this, but I have to be careful not to get any moisture into the jar. This simply means that I tap a small amount of the liner shadow out of the jar, and I use the tip of my liner brush to wet it and apply. With BE, I would tap a small amount into the lid and wet with my brush, then close the jar while the lid was wet and didn't worry about it. Since a preservative free makeup is healthier for me anyway, I don't mind the slight inconvenience.

I hope you find my review helpful!

Hummingbird!

2009-07-18T00:54:00.002-04:00

This little hummingbird visits my feeder several times everyday. Normally, he scares off easily if we're nearby, but he was being very brave the other day. I was outside with my daycare kids and he flew within a few feet of us and sat at the feeder as though we weren't even there. The kids (ages 2 1/2 - 8) all sat so quietly so as not to scare him away. And, I was able to get these shots. I've tried photographing him before, but my zoom only goes to 200 mm and he never let me get this close before.

Father's Day Fun & Crafts....

2009-06-23T12:57:00.002-04:00

This is the Father's Day craft I did with my daycare kids....

I had the kids collect the sticks, and used hot glue and yarn to put them together. Timmy helped them make Father's Day cards.

We had one of Tony's favorite's for dinner, shrimp, corn-on-the-cob, and ciabbata bread with grlic butter....yummy.
Tony set up a slip n' slide for the kids, and they had fun playing with water balloons.

We went to the NC zoo this weekend....

2009-06-15T22:52:00.000-04:00

There are too many pictures to post them individually, so here's a slideshow. (and this is after some serious weeding)

Tony had to work & I wanted to do something fun with my boys. I've been wanting to check out this zoo for quite awhile now. It's a little under 2 hours away, and the drive was definitely worth it!

This zoo is huge! I wish we had gotten there sooner, but we rushed to get through the end and skipped a couple of exhibits. I saw several animals I had never even heard of before, and saw a few that I'd never seen in person before, like the polar bear and the red worf, even thought it was sleeping in a far back corner. I really liked the arctic fox too, but due to the type of encolosure it was in, I couldn't get a photo worth sharing.

The polar bear was our favorite. He was so playful and active and as he swam around and played with a tire. It was as though he was putting on a show.

The sea lions were great, too. They really seemed to enjoy the attention they were getting. They repeatedly came as close as they could to the people and put on a fun show.

Family Day at Crowder's Mountain State Park

2009-06-10T22:36:00.003-04:00

This past Saturday, Tony and the boys and I headed out to Crowder's Mountain State Park (about 45 minutes away) for some fishing and canoeing.
When we got there, we were very disappointed to find that the lake had been drained!!
Here, you can see the dry ground that used to be the lake...

There is only a small amount of water left. The ranger told us there was a leak, and they had to drain the lake to repair it, and that it has been fixed for months, but they're still waiting for the ok from the county to turn off the valve and let the lake fill up again.

So, since fishing and canoeing was out of the quiestion, We decided to do some hiking. Here is a shot of the mountain we climbed, taken from the park office.

We went on about a 3 hour hike to the top of King's Pinnacle(the 2nd highest mountain in the park). It was tiring and part of the trail was steep and rocky, but the amazing view and the time with my family made it well worth it.

Here are a few shots from the top of the mountain...

From the top of the mountain, you could see downtown Charlotte, about 20-30 miles away!

Yes, they are dangerously close to the edge.

My sons think this photo should have a castle in the background..

I had an interesting morning....

2009-05-28T20:40:00.002-04:00

It was about 10:15am, and my daycare kiddos were napping, so I sat down at my computer for a bit, and behind me, my cat is just going completely crazy!! Then I realize, she's chasing a wren in my bedroom! My bedroom windows were barely open, but this little wren managed his way in through a hole in the screen and through the about 2 inch opening of the window. So, I immediately put Jasmine in another room (I definitely did not want her getting ahold of him, and she was getting close) and closed the bedroom door. I called Tony at work, I don't know why, I guess it was just a reaction...hahaha, and I called my neighbor to tell her about the bird that was now flying into my bathroom skylight repeatedly. Just as I was planning to go into the toilet room to open the window and pop out the screen, it flew in there. So, of course, I was afraid to go into that tiny room with a frantic bird! It finally came out, and I opened the window, hoping to shew it back in there and out the window. But, it then flew into my bedroom (the dividing wall between my bedroom and bathroom does not go all the way to the ceiling, the bird was flying over the wall)and got itself stuck when it flew into a corner and fell behind my paper storage cart. I then opened my bedroom window as far as it would go and popped the screen out. I pulled the cart out, being very careful not to hurt the bird, until it was free from the corner and he flew around frantically for a few more minutes before finding the window and getting out.
I'm just glad the poor little thing wasn't hurt. I love to watch birds outside in my yard, but they need to STAY OUTSIDE.

Surprisingly, through all that, the only droppings he left behind were on the linoleum in the little toilet room.

Carolina Chickadees...

2009-05-28T19:53:00.003-04:00

Tony was outside watering the garden the other day, and I just had to bring my camera out because there were about 5 of these cute little Chickadees playing in the water spray. They would then dry themselves off on leaves. It was so much fun to watch! They are quick little boogers, so it was hard to get a good shot of them, but here are a few:
This one was sitting in the water shower

Here he is drying himself on some leaves:

just a couple more...

Brad's first orchestra performance!

2009-05-14T22:45:00.002-04:00

Wednesday night was Brad's first orchestra performance! He's the 6th grade lead cello-ist. He looked so serious & did not want to do it, but he did great! I'm so proud of him. They only played two songs, Old Mac Fiddle and Pachabel's Canon. He looked so handsome all dressed up. When we walked in, one of Brad's classmates said, "Oh, hi Brad! I didn't even recognize you." She wasn't used to seeing him all dressed up. Grandpa Jerry and Grandma Arlene and Nicolas were able to come see the concert, too. At first, Brad was embarrassed, but he felt much better when it was over.

Mother's Day...

2009-05-12T09:27:00.001-04:00

I had a nice Mother's Day. Timmy and I got up and went to church together, while Brad and Tony stayed home and slept. Before we left, Timmy gave me a pretty book mark that he made at school and a wooden tray that he built and painted in scouts. I love them both!
At church, I helped the two-yr old class make flowers for their moms with pipe cleaners and cup cake liners. They were all very proud of their 'carnations'.

Timmy made me a beautiful card in Sunday School. It as sooo sweet! Inside read(spelling errors included) 'Your the best mom ever! You helped me with my progect. You do my laundry. You even feed me, buy me clothes and I have a shelter because of you!'
He also drew a picture of himself sitting on the edge of a road that read 'Me without you' and below the pictures said, 'I'm hungry and cold' LOL How cute is that? Well, thank goodness he has me so he's not cold and hungry, right! :)

When we got home, Tony made yummy grilled chicken salads for lunch and Brad gave me a very sweet card. He took the time to cut out paper shapes piece together a flower on the card. Very sweet!
Tony also made grilled fish for dinner, and I spent the day relaxing and socializing with my neighbors. It was a very nice day, so most of my neighbors were outside enjoying the weather.
Very nice!!

What a Beautiful Day!!!

2009-04-20T11:51:00.003-04:00

This Saturday (April 18th) was an absolutely beautiful day! It was warm and sunny! I picked Brad and Timmy up from their camp out around 9:00am, then we came home for awhile. They complained that there was no one to play with outside, and were hanging out inside the house playing video games. I was tired of being in the house and said, "Boys, get you shoes on. We're going to find something fun to do outside!"

So, we went to the Raptor Center in the Latta Nature Preserve just down the street from us. We had not been there in a long time, and I was dying to try out my 200mm lens there. When we got there, we found that they were having an Earth Day festival. Bonus! We picked a good day to go.

Brad, resting on the bench..

Timmy, walking down the path

While we were here, we saw a flight presentation and the raptor presentation. (In case you don't know, raptors are birds of prey). For the raptor presentation, they had a hawk, a horned owl and a screech owl, in a ring and talked about them. For the flight presentation, we watched a barn owl, a hawk, and a horned owl fly around various perches and to their trainers. I'm still learning my new camera, and didn't get very good flight pictures, but here's one...

After the Raptor Center, we decided to do some exploring. I had been looking online and found a scenic overlook that I didn't know about just down the road from us. So, we decided to look for it. On the way there, we ran into a Scottish Festival. So, we decided to check that out. That was fun, but if I had know about it, we could have planned to go during the Highland Games, which seemed to be the highlight of the festival. We still enjoyed the Scottish music, dancers, etc...

The families or clans had booths set up

band competitions

Brad poses with the guns...

From 2009

Timmy poses with the swords...

more Scottish music...

Raingutter Regatta and Camp out...

2009-04-20T11:44:00.002-04:00

Last Friday, April 17th, was Timmy's cub scout Raingutter Regatta/Rocket Derby meeting. We missed last Monday's den meeting because that's the day we were traveling home from Indiana, so Timmy did not get his kits for the boat or rocket. He found a boat he had made a few years earlier, and took that to the race. Timmy came in 1st Place!! Woohooo, go Timmy! He didn't have a rocket to use, so we didn't participate in that one.

Brad and Timmy both stayed for the camp out. Since there are no bathrooms here, I chose not to stay. Can you blame me??

Here's a shot of the painted rock on the lake (Mountain Island Lake)

Signs of Spring!!

2009-04-20T11:06:00.002-04:00

I just love spring! The weather is getting warmer, flowers are blooming and everything is green again! What a difference just one week makes! I don't even mind the rain. Actually, I am thrilled to see all the rain we've been getting because we've been in a drought for 2 years now, so it's good to finally see my lawn healthy and green again! Tony has been busy seeding and fertilizing it since the drought killed most of the lawn, but it is pretty again! Here are just a few of the many pictures I've been taking around the house....
I love it when the Bradford pears bloom. They're so pretty! Unfortunately, they do not bloom for long.

dogwoods...

and, we have lots of daffodils and tulips in bloom right now...

I don't know what these little flowers are, but they're pretty

lucky shot with my 200mm lens...

We're Home!

2009-04-15T13:23:00.000-04:00

The boys and I had a wonderful spring break and Easter holiday in Indiana with our family. The week went by way too quickly, though. We were sad to see it end, but it's also good to be home. Tony, Peanut and Jasmine were happy to have us back. Tony is soooo sweet. He unloaded the car, did laundry ran me a bath and cooked for us when we got back. He just kept hugging me and telling me he was glad to have me home.:) We got home just after 9:00pm Monday night, and Tony took Tuesday off so he could spend the day pampering us. He said he's had his fill of peace and quiet for now...lol.

The drive was soooooo long, but definitely worth it. I can't narrow down what pictures to post here, since we took over 700 pictures while we were there! Well, they're not all keepers, so when I can I'll load my favorites into an album and post the link.

What a difference a week makes! Everything is sooo GREEN here now! There are tulips and daffodil blooming in my front yard, the trees have their leaves back, the dogwoods are in full bloom and my lawn is green again!! (thanks to Tony's hard work -we've been in a drought for 2 years, but we've gotten a lot of rain this spring and with Tony fertilizing and re-seeding the lawn, it's come to life again!)

I won't have any daycare kids this week. This is good because maybe I can get some scrapping done, but bad because I won't be making any money. Oh well. But, I do have one more Christmas lay-out to finish up and then I'm planning to start on Halloween. My wonderful friend Susan took me to this wayyyy cool scrapbook store in Mishawaka, IN called Pages In Time. I have never seen such a huge scrapbooking store before!!! I found some really cool Halloween papers that I'm planning to use very soon. I was a good girl. When I walked into that store and saw what they had, I set a limit for myself and said I would only buy Halloween papers. Man, I really wish Charlotte would get one of those stores! All I have here are the big chain craft stores and they don't always stay stocked on the latest items. I get tired of seeing the same papers every time I go looking. This store had soooo many that I'd never seen before! And, they were stocked in all the holidays, which is good for me because I tend to scrap by theme, and not always at the appropriate time of year.

Ok, I have a ton of pictures to sift through, so I'd better get busy! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and spring break, too!

Busy Week!!

2009-03-31T15:05:00.002-04:00

So much to do this week! Timmy had a pack meeting last night. The boys played games, ate cookies and when the meeting started, Timmy's den leader chose Timmy to instruct the color guard and lead the Pledge of Allegiance. If you've never been involved in scouts, you probably don't know what I'm talking about. Timmy went up on the stage (we hold the pack meetings in a church sanctuary) and he said, "Color Guard, attention. Color Guard, Advance", then, two lines of boys march out from the opposite end of the room, with one boy holding the American Flag and the other holding the scout flag. When they reached the front of the room, Timmy said, "Color Guard, post" meaning; they were to post the flags. Timmy then lead the Pledge of Allegiance and instructed the color again, "Color Guard, retreat", which sends them back to where they started and finally, "Color Guard dismiss". He did a fabulous job!! I was so proud of him. Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera in with me. :(
The pins he received are: Athlete, Craftsman, Forester, Geologist, Naturalist, Scientist, Engineer, Cycling, Fitness, Ultimate, and Aquanaut. His group has been very busy!

From 2009

The other thing keeping me busy this week is getting everything in order and packed for our trip to Indiana this weekend! The boys and I are very excited to be spending spring break and Easter with my parents. Since we live 12 hours away, we don't see each other often enough.

I raided Wal-Mart's movie bargain bin and picked out 5 movies I thought the boys might enjoy during the drive. I also picked them up some sketch pads and pipe cleaners(they're both very creative with those things). They will have their Nintendo DS's, too. So, hopefully, they'll have enough to keep them busy during the drive. I just can't wait until we get there!!

I got a new lens for my Nikon D40!

2009-03-25T11:27:00.003-04:00

The UPS guy dropped it off yesterday afternoon while Timmy, two of my daycare kids and I were going for a walk. I saw him turn down my street and hoped he had my package. He Did! Of course, the camera came with the 18-55mm lens, but I wanted some zoom and bought the 55-200mm lens. That was the most I could afford right now. Maybe next tax check will get me another..*wink, wink*. Here are a few shots I snapped with it yesterday....
Lilly, the baby girl I babysit...

Timmy... not much of smile, but he was busy climbing trees and catching bees and this was the best he'd give me..

This is Kayli, the 5 yr old girl, and big sister to Lilly, that I babysit. She's playing in the flower petals Timmy knocked off the tree...

And, of course, my sweet little Peanut

What a mess!

2009-03-24T11:26:00.002-04:00

This is what my deck looked like last week...

And this is what it looks like now...

Here's how it looks when you open the back door...

The guys put the steps there so we can still use that door, but they will be gone soon, too.

Last week, Tony started cutting up the railings and benches..

I went out to help him, and I have to say that sawsall tool is pretty fun to use, but of course, that's the day I got sick and ended up spending most of that evening in the bathroom. I won't bore you with those gory details, but that was the WORST case of the stomach flu I've ever had! I threw up all night, was down all the next day and threw up again on the 3rd day! Wow, am I glad that's over. Unfortumately, Tony is laying in bed sick right now. Man, I hope it doesn't hit him as hard as it did me.

Anyway, on Saturday, Tony started tearing apart the rest of the deck, and our neighbors came over to help. Aren't they awesome! I love having helpful neighbors. :)

We even put Brad to work. He helped stack wood and remove nails.

Yes, I helped, too. Although, I was the one with the camera, so you don't see me.

I'm glad the old deck is gone, because that means we're that much closer to the new deck, but I REALLY hope it doesn't stay this way very long. Our yard is such a mess right now! Tony reseeded the lawn and has straw laying everywhere, there's still that big hole in the corner that will someday become a pond, and there are privacy fence panels leaning against the tree waiting to be put up, and now the whole deck mess! Whew! We have a lot of yard projects going on right now. It'll all be worth it when it's done though.

Oh, in case you're wondering why we tore the deck down in the first place, it was old and was becoming unsafe. The previous owners didn't build it properly anyway, and with the wood beginning to weaken, split and rot, we decided we need to rebuild it before someone got hurt.

As for the privacy fence, our new neighbors have a doberman pincher, and since I babysit, I just don't want to take any chances on the kids sticking their hands through the fence and getting bitten. We still haven't met them, so I'm hoping they won't take offense when we get that fence up. It is only going on that side of the yard, after all.

I'm a little late posting this.....

2009-03-24T10:25:00.002-04:00

but I wanted to brag about my smart boys. They've been on the honor roll all year, so Tony & I took them shopping to pick out a reward. Our first stop was the hobby shop, which I knew would be expensive, but after looking at the prices of the models (nearly $80 for a descent one) Brad decided to shop online. Timmy is an impulse buyer, and opted to get the RC helicopter that he's playing with in this pic:

I bought the boys RC helicopters for Christmas last year, but Timmy's broke and this one was better. Hopefully, it'll last longer.

Here's Brad with his new model. Of course, he chose the Ferrari, his dream car.

I'll post more pictures of Brad's model when he finishes it.

I got a new camera!

2009-03-09T23:16:00.002-04:00

I have been wanting to buy a DSLR camera for a long time now. This past Saturday, the boys were with their day, Tony had to work all day and I had a free day. So, I took the time to browse around and ended up coming home with the Nikon D40! I'm so excited! This camera is surprisingly easy to learn and use right off the bat! So, I've been taking pictures like crazy...lol. I'll only share a few. I wouldn't want to bore you! Here are some of the first pics I took with my new camera...
my engagement ring....

My kitty, Jasmine. She is usually difficult to photograph, but I think these pics turned out very nice...

And, the weekend was too warm and pretty to stay indoors (today's high was 83, big diff from the snow and freezing temps less than a week ago!) so the boys and I went to the park to enjoy the weather, and of course, a chance to play with my camera...
These were taken Sunday afternoon, 3/8/09

skipping stones

Snow Pics!

2009-03-09T18:15:00.003-04:00

I'm a little behind posting these, but we had some real snow on March 1 & 2! It rained all day on the 1st and snowed all night, so we woke up to this beautiful blanket of white! It sooooo reminds me of home! I moved to NC in 2003 and this is the most snow I've ever seen here!

This is our future pond. It was just an empty hole, but the rain filled it and then it froze.

The boys had a GREAT time sledding down a neighbor's steep driveway and playing in the snow. The downfall though, is that Memorial Day is the make-up day. Bummer!

We get so little snow here, there we don't even have a snow shovel! Tony had to improvise and used a board to clear the driveway...lol

4 More Pages Completed!!

2009-03-06T11:41:00.002-05:00

These are all Christmas 2007. Know what that means? I only have to finish Chritmas 2008 and my Christmas album will be current!! Yayy!

Ok, Here are the first page. I used my Cricut to cut the title and the swirls. I journaled on vellum so the patterned paper would show through. You can't tell in the photo, but the pattern in the circle is the same as the border going down the page, just a smaller print and only in green. I added skittles or dew drops (whatever you want to call them) around the edges. I followed a sketch for this L/O which used brads around the circle, but I thought the clear dew drops added a Christmas light effect.

This one is sort-of hybrid. I printed the pictures, journaling and the border on the left all on one sheet, intending to leave them that way, then ended up cutting them apart. I cut the stockings and candy with my Cricut, and added fibers for the stocking cuffs.

These next two pages are hybrid, and aside from 3 brads, everything them came from the Paper Pizazz Busy Scrapper's Solution Christmas Papers pack. This was such an easy way to scrap! I just printed my photos and journaling on one sheet, and added the embellishments. I cut the alphas and elements out of the pack with a craft knife, mounted them on cardstock and pop-dotted them. Super easy! The papers for the above pages came from this pack as well.

Christmas Eve 2006

2009-02-27T11:44:00.002-05:00

I am now finished with Christmas 2006! On to 2007!! :)
I added a filter called 'ambiance' to the photo of the Christmas tree. Tony told me there was too much dead space in that photo, so I added the ribbon down the side. Do you think that was a good idea? The title was cut with my Cricut using the All Mixed Up font. You can't tell in the photo, but that little Christmas tree to the right of the title is metal.

When I was a little girl, we always opened one small gift on Christmas Eve. I've always continued this tradition with my boys.

Two traditional pages added to my Christmas album...

2009-02-25T10:57:00.001-05:00

These are also from 2006. This was actually our first Christmas with Tony. I really wanted to play up the blue because Tony and I both have blue eyes and I just LOVE him in that blue shirt he's wearing. But, I also wanted to incorporate orange, since that was the brightest color in the pictures of Brad & Timmy, and blue and orange contrast, nicely. So, I searched and searched and searched for a patterned paper that had both blue and orange that would work on these pages. It's not very Christmassy, but the Bohemia line paper I used was the only one I had that worked. To give it a more wintery look, I used a snowflake border stamp along the edge of the patterned paper and colored them in.

I played a little with the coloring on the smaller pictures of Tony and I, but let the blue show through. I just love these pictures!
The word 'Joy' and the Christmas tree are metal. I've had them in my stash forever, and now I've finally used them! They were perfect for this page. I used a stencil for the doodeling. I could never get it that perfect on my own!

I just finished these two Noah's Ark fleece blankets...

2009-02-24T11:34:00.003-05:00

One of my daycare families just had a baby boy this past Friday. Mom was actually scheduled to have a c-section today, but little Thomas decided that he didn't want to wait. I am thrilled for them, but I am sad that this means I won't be seeing sweet little Chole for awhile. :(

Mom and baby Thomas went home yesterday, so Tony, the boys and I are going to go meet him this evening. I'll also be taking these fleece blankets that I made for little Thomas and big sister Chole. I hope they like them!

I really wanted to find patterns to match their bedroom themes, but there aren't many places here that sell fleece, and I had to settle for what I could find. So, I thought it was cute to get the pink & blue Noah's ark patterns. Besides, these are the extra soft & snuggly fleece -another reason I chose these.

Christmas 2006 pages

2009-02-05T11:04:00.002-05:00

I did two more digital hybrid pages last night. I printed the photos and journaling out in a template on one sheet.

Then, I added the patterned paper, embellisments and mounted onto matching cardstock.
The trees and presents are popdotted and stickled and were cut with my Cricut from the Doodlecharms cart.

The 2006 and jumbled memories are stickled and were cut using the Graphically Speaking cart.

More snow....

2009-02-04T14:31:00.000-05:00

I took this picture last night...

Doesn't look like much, right? Well, it got the kids another snow day. We didn't get much more than you see there and it was all melted by noon. But, from what I hear, the southern side of our school district got quite a bit more snow than we did and were also dealing with black ice. Too bad our district is soooo large. Maybe they should've only closed the school in those areas instead of the entire distict?? Oh well. That's not up to me.

Brad's Room Is Finally Painted!

2009-02-04T14:24:00.002-05:00

Ok, so he wanted to paint it Jimmie Johnson blue, and you race fans know how dark that blue is. I had to step in and prevent Brad's room from becoming a cave, and I selected a lighter gray/blue for the background color, then we painted two stripes all around Brad's room in the Jimmie Johnson blue.

Tony had a great idea and used auto pinstriping in black ot outline the stripe..

I bought the unfinished wooder plack and the numbers 4 and 8 at a craft store, painted them Jimmie Johnson blue and yellow, glued them together and had Tony hang it up.

There are a few more things I want to do like add a valance in Jimmie Johnson Blue to his window and get him a couple posters and a display case for his matchbox car collection. Overall, Bradley seems happy. He said he loves the stripes and he thought the pinstriping was a great idea! I'm glad he's happy. :)

More Hybrid Pages....

2009-02-04T14:17:00.002-05:00

I did the digital part of these pages awhile ago, but last night, I printed and finished them up. These are from 2004

The doodles on the the bottom of these are free-handed and the snowfakes at the top are stamped and colored in.

One more hybrid lay out to post today....

2009-01-24T17:48:00.004-05:00

This is my favorite because this is the year(2004) we went home to Indiana for Christmas and my parents gave us our sweet little Peanut...

I printed those pages as 11" x 8 1/2". I really love scrapping this way. It's so much easier to get more photos on the page since I have so much more versatility on how to size, crop and arrange the photos. I dowloaded photo collage templates from Scrapbooks Etc. and used them for these pages. I think I see lots more hybrid pages in my future!

Christmas 2003 Hybrid Scrap pages

2009-01-24T17:42:00.002-05:00

Yes, I've been busy!! More hybrid pages to share...
Here is the digital portion:

Here is the finished layout...

I cut he snowman out with my Cricut and I printed the tree from the digital kit I used for he digital part. I also used stickles(glitter glue) on the the ornaments on the tree.

In did some scrapping!!!!

2009-01-24T17:32:00.002-05:00

Well, since my domain name is check out my scrap world and I did originally intend for my blog to be mainly scrap related, I guess it is about time I post some scrap pages!

I really love the convienence and versatility of digital scrapbooking, but I also love traditional scrapbooking as well, so I decided to merge the two and do some hybrid pages.

This is Christmas 2002...

These are the digital portions of those pages:
I then printed them and mounted them on cardstock and embellished. I had those pictues sitting on my desk for like two weeks and I just couldn't come up with anyhting. So, I decided to scan them into my computer and play with them that way. I'm much happier with this result.

Happy Saturday!

2009-01-24T16:55:00.000-05:00

There was no school Friday for a teacher work day, and both Bradley and Timmy spent the night with their friend, Devin.

Friday night, Timmy left with his scout troop and spent the night at the Catawba Science Center in Hickory, NC. I was busy babysitting, but Tony was able to leave work in time to take Timmy to meet up whith his scout leader at 4:00pm, and then the scouts and just a few parents all loaded up and headed out. Timmy said his favorite part was disecting a cow eye!!! I'm thinking.....eeeewwwww! But, Timmy was pretty impressed by it. But, that' my Timmy, so it really doesn't surprise me. Since I didn't go, I don't have any pictures, but I heard there were a couple people who took digital photos, so I'm hoping they'll e-mail those out.

While Timmy stayed at the Catawba science center, Bradley spent the night again with his friend Devin. So, we were kid free last night! Tony had to work early though, so we just enjoyed a quiet evening of Ghost Whisperer and Numbers...hehe.

Snow Day???

2009-01-20T09:33:00.002-05:00

Can you believe they cancelled school today for this.....

It isn't even snowing anymore and I can still see the grass! Man, when it comes to snow, these southerners are wimps! LOL They made such a huge deal about this on the news and people flocked to the grocery store to stock up. On then news, they said it was going to be a snow storm and we're under at winter advisory right now. Hmmmm. Looks pretty mild to me! I'll post again later if the weather really does get bad, but I doubt it...lol Since yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the kids have a 4 day weekend now. And, Friday is supposed to be a Teacher Work Day. Hmmm, I wonder if they'll use Friday to make up the snow day. Otherwise, the kids will get off with only 2 days of school this week!

We're still working on Brad's room. The boys went to visit their dad & Grandpa on Saturday and while they were gone, Tony & I went to Lowe's to get paint for Brad's room and started painting it. It's almost finsihed. I'm hoping we'll finish it by this weekend. I'll post more pictures when we're done.

Happy New Year, everyone!

2009-01-11T22:42:00.002-05:00

I know, I'm a little late posting that. I was sick on New Year's, so I just laid around and fell asleep early. We've all been passing around this nasty head & chest cold. It really seemed to hit me and Tony the hardest. The kids got lucky with this one!

We're still enjoying the wii! What a great buy that was! I still need to take the boys to Toys R Us to spend the gift cards they got for Christmas. I had planned on doing that this weekend, but I was just too busy.

Saturday, the 10th, was my birthday. Tony wanted to give me diamond earrings, but I wouldn't let him spend that much. We're doing better financially, but we won't be if we don't spend, wisely! So, I told him to buy me this really cute scrapbook tote that I'd been wanting. That will be very handy!

I had planned all week long to organize Bradley's bedroom. He is such a clutterbug!!! His dad bought him an air hockey table for Christmas, and once we got that in there, there was no room to walk! I really don't know what he was thinking buying something so big. He probably just did it to annoy me.

Anyway, this is what Brad's room looked like yesterday:

Awful, isn't it?? I'd get stressed out every time I walked by it. I don't know how many times I walked into that room and wanted to clean it up and just walked out because I felt overwhelmed. I don't know how Brad can live that way!

I ended up doing some other running around and such yesterday, and didn't have time to get to Brad's room. Last night, the boys had a sleepover at a friend's house and Brad still had a project due tomorrow, that he was just now starting, today. I have to say though, for being so rushed, his project turned out very nice! He had to make a fraction garden for math class. Here it is:

Isn't it great? Brad did this all himself. All I did was take him to Wal-Mart to get the supplies. It's made with play-doh, tissue paper, craft sticks, paper, floral moss and hot glue.
Now, for his bedroom. Brad helped me get out the trash, but that's about all he did. We filled an entire kitchen size trash bag just from the stuff under his bed!! Here's how it looks now:

Brad's bed sits really low, so I bought bed risers and several under the bed storage bins to keep his stuff more organized. I even went through all his drawers & closet. Wow does this kid have a lot of stuff! I wish I could've thrown out a lot more than I did, but Brad wouldn't have it. Anyway, this is the best his room has looked in a long time. We even managed to arrange it so there's not only room for that air hockey table, but there's even room to play it! Now, if we ever get that room painted, it'll look pretty good!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

2008-12-25T21:00:00.002-05:00

Despite the economy issues, this was a great Christmas for us. Tony, the boys & I had a relaxing day of gifts, yummy food and quality time together. Here's the boys with their big gift, the wii.

They are so happy to have it. The four of us had a bowling tournament this afternoon. That was fun. I'm sure this will be our new family fun night activity!
I made my first ever home-made apple pie this year and it turned out great! I'm so proud of myself. Tonny said this is a tradition now. I have to make an apple pie every Christmas...lol.

Here's Timmy with the fleece blanket I made for him.
He really likes it. Ian called this morning and said he really liked the one I made for him, too. I did Timmy's a little different. I tied the long sides but for the top & bottom, I crocheted the edges. I wanted it to be big enough for his bed, and if I had cut into it to make the ties, it would've been too short. This way is perfect. He was so upset with me for not buying him any fleece when he went to the fabric store to get the fleece to make some other blankets, but little did he know, I had already bought this one for him and was planning to make it as a Christmas gift for him. Timmy loves snuggly blankets and Yoda. LOL I bought Tony a Steelers blanket and Brad a Colts blanket. For the NFL ones, it was cheaper to buy them ready-made. I also bought Tony a shaving brush and a new stereo for his car.
I hope you all had a wonderful CHRISTMAS!! If you didn't see it, be sure to check out my previous post to see what I got for Christmas.

I got a RING for Christmas!!!

2008-12-25T14:09:00.000-05:00

Pictures do NOT do it justice. Tony completely caught me by surprise. I made plans to have dinner with our neighbors last night (Christmas Eve) & we had gifts to exchange with them (this is the family who's little girl I babysat for 4 years).

Anyway, when Tony was getting ready to go over there, he showered and changed into my favorite shirt on him & Dockers. I was assembling the album I was giving the neighbors & asking him why he was getting so dressed up to go next door. Then, he came over and said, "Ya know, this really puts a wrench in my works." I said, "What Does?" He said, "Going next door." Then (while I'm sitting at my desk working on an album) he got down on one knee, opened the ring case and said, "Will you marry me?" I was just FLABBERGASTED! I SO was not expecting that. I mean, I knew it was coming, but not right THEN. It took me like 30 seconds to even answer him. I was all caught up in the 'bling'. LOL Of course, I said, "Yes!"

Unfortunately, it's too big so I can't wear it until I have is sized. I'm planning to do that tomorrow. Timmy has two giftcards to use, so I think we'll all head over to the mall tomorrow evening, take me ring in for sizing and let Timmy use his cards.

I can't wait to wear it!!!!!

Made another blanket!

2008-12-20T21:42:00.002-05:00

This one is for Tony's son. He's really into skulls. Instead of the tied edges, I crocheted the edges on this one. I hope he likes it.

Snowmen!!!

2008-12-12T09:09:00.002-05:00

I was inspired to make these snowmen after seeing them posted on another site. They're very simple to make. They're made but cutting a 2x3 into 6, 7 and 8" lengths (I had Tony do that for me). Then, I painted them white and attatched fabric for their hats & scarves with hot glue & used a variety of buttons, black gemstone stickers, paint, wooden pieces & sculptey clay for their faces. What do you think?

Cookies!!

2008-12-06T22:26:00.001-05:00

I decided I was in the mood to bake some cookies. Timmy saw me making them and wanted to help. Of course, if there's sugar involved.....he's THERE! hahaha We made sugar cookies from scratch and I even made some icing. yummmy!

Blankets...

2008-12-06T22:24:00.003-05:00

I made these fleece blankets for my nephews for Christmas. I hope they like them!

I got my party stuff, today!

2008-11-26T18:05:00.000-05:00

My Body Shop at Home consultant stopped by today with all the goodies from my party! I can't believe all the free stuff I got! I am soooo loving it! It all smells so wonderful & I'm wearing my cranberry scented warming booties as we speak! I think I'll be taking a scented oil bath later, too. *smiles*
Now, I only have 4 more parties to attend, lol.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2008-11-26T17:58:00.001-05:00

What are your Thanksgiving plans? Our neighbors invited us over for dinner this year. So, we REALLY have it easy. All I have to do is walk across the yard and enjoy a delicious meal with my family & friends! No cooking, no cleaning, nothing! Doesn't get any better than that!

And, the boys are spending the night with another neighbor tonight, so I'm planning to get up early and take advantage of some Thanksgiving Day sales. I won't be going out on Black Friday, this year. I've already gotten the 'big gift' & now I'm only looking for accessories & stocking stuffers.

Have a Happy and Safe Hoiday! Remember to be thankful for all that's good in your life.

Tony SOLD the JEEP!

2008-11-20T11:25:00.000-05:00

I can't believe he actually sold the Jeep! He's had that Jeep since he bought in brand new in 2001. He has babied that Jeep like you wouldn't believe. When I first saw it, I thought the yellow was obnoxious, but it grew on me & I kinda miss it now.
I can't believe how fast it sold, too!! Tony posted it on Craigslist and within one hour, the guy who actually bought it called him. The came and got it Tuesday night. Now, Tony has purchased a new motorcycle and will be going to pick that up in Hickory this weekend. He's also looking for another car. He really wants an older style (late 80's early 90's) mustang, but he's not found the right one yet.
I still can't believe he sold it. It only had just over 70,000 miles and it was in GREAT shape and was VERY reliable. I really hope he doesn't regret this decision. It was ALL his idea. I NEVER would've suggested that he sell his Jeep. He called that his 'other blonde'...lol.

My Party was a SUCCESS!!!

2008-11-20T10:19:00.003-05:00

I hosted a Girls Night Out party by the Body Shop at Home last night. If you don't know what that is, your local mall probably has a store in it called The Body Shop. I had one of their at home parties; the foot spa. It was GREAT!

If you want to check out their online catalog, you can look here: http://www.thebodyshopathome.com/web/tforthofer
NO PRESSURE, but if you place an order by Friday, Nov. 21st and enter my name as the host, I will receive credit for it. Right now, I'm only $20 away from the next level. *wink, wink* lol.

My featured scent was plum. I am GLAD I selected that scent because it was YUMMY! I think I will pick the plum kit for my freebie.

I had 10 guests & FOUR of them enjoyed the party so much, that they booked their own parties! One of my guests is even considering becoming a consultant!

Imagine; 10 ladies sitting around my living room with their pants rolled up and soaking their feet in little foot spas filled with stones, warm water and scented oils. I had the fire going and candles lit. There was a warm amber oil on a little burner filling the room with a sweet aroma. It was very relaxing and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

I won a free cranberry lip balm from a little game we did & I recieved a free body butter just for hosting a party. I LOVE the body butter. If you know me, you know I have very dry skin & this stuff is GREAT. I have more freebies and discounts coming to me, but we're going to wait until my show officially closes out before I place my order and figure out what I've earned.

I bought some scented oil at the party I attended. The vile is small, but it is very potent. I bought the pumpkin spice scent. I have a little crock that I put on one of those electric candle warmers. I put some water in it and added a few drops of the oil. My house smells yummy!

I am very impressed with the ethics of this company. The are striving to have all 'green' products and they refuse to do business with China because China insists on testing the products on animals. They said by 2010, they will be all 'green'. The whole business was started by one hippy lady who started creating all natural products out of her garage...lol.

All the products are great, by I am definitely getting a pair of those Cranberry heatable booties! My feet are always cold in the winter, and I know I am going to LOVE those!!! I'm also getting some body butter & and the holiday amphora, the star that you fill with oil. I want one for my Christmas tree and one for my car. I really like the bath gloves and the body scrub, too!

While planning this party, I was all afraid I wouldn't have enough guests to make it worth while. But, 10 was perfect. Not too many, not too few. I was nervous for nothing. I may have to do this again next year!! I've already been invited to 4 more parties, so I'll wait until next year to have another.

My First Fleece Blanket!

2008-11-18T15:51:00.001-05:00

I've been wanting to make one of these for quite awhile, and finally did it! It was pretty easy & I'm happy with the result. I'll be making more. This one is a birthday present for our neighbors boy who's turning one this weekend. I hope he likes it!

Gone Fishing...

2008-11-03T12:35:00.002-05:00

After church, lunch and a quick errand, the boys & I had a free Sunday afternoon/evening, so we decided to go fishing at the power plant. On the way, we stopped at The Old Store to get a jar of pumpkin butter (I couldn't go past there and not get it) and ran in the gas station next to it for some worms. The weather was beautiful and absolutely perfect for an evening at the park. It was cool, but not cold & we were there in perfect time to see the sunsetting. This park closes early, so we could't watch it go all the way down before the ranger kicked everyone out, but it was very pretty.
Seriously, as soon as Timmy dropped his line, he hooked a foot long cat fish! It gave him a run for his money, so Brad had to help him reel it in.

Trick or Treat!

2008-11-02T21:53:00.002-05:00

The boys really raked in the candy this year! Bradley ate so much candy today that he actually made himself sick. I tried to warn him, but, he had to learn the hard way.

*notice Jasmine in the doorway

The Boys had a Busy Weekend!

2008-10-28T13:35:00.002-04:00

From My Digital World

Friday night, the boys spend the night at their grandpa's and he took them to the Nascar Speedpark. They had a BLAST there.

Saturday night, I dropped Brad off at church for the youth group lock-in. Then went to Scare-o-winds (Paramount Carowinds theme park) and didn't get back to the church until about 1:00am. Then, they had hot dogs and stayed up until 6:00am! Bradley said Scare-o-winds was really scary, but he had a GREAT time. Needless to say, he was EXHAUSTED!!!

After dropping Brad off Saturday night, Timmy & I went to the Civil War Ghost Walk at the Latta Plantation. Tony had to work 8am - 8pm Saturday, so he couldn't go with us. They did a really nice job setting up all the ghostly scenarios and the costumes & acting were great! Timmy & I really enjoyed it. The only annoyance was a teenage girl in our group who was way to old to be that scared. She screamed and cried the whole way through until her boyfriend finally took her out. I was very glad to see her go. How is it even possible to be that afraid when you know it's all fake??? And, why would you go to something like that if you scare so easily?? She was literally crying tears and she screamed so much that it was distracting us from the event.

Then on Sunday, Tony put up a few Halloween decoratios. A spider web & a big spider. It's cool, but I'm hoping we can do more next year.

Monday night was the cub scout Halloween party. Since Brad is a boyscout now, he got to go out on the haunted hayride and scare the people on the hayride. Brad was in a scenario where he was to jump out and stab to girls to death. He said it was really fun...lol. He wore a robe and put blood all over his face. I didn't ride, but Timmy said the hayride was cool. I saw a number of kids saying that it was really scary. Looked like they all had a great time!

Peanut got a new jacket...

2008-10-21T23:39:00.002-04:00

Now that it's starting to get chilly out, Peanut needed a new jacket and I just HAD to get him this super cute little bomber jacket! Isn't he cute!

From My Digital World

Ok, I had to throw in a picture of Jasmine, too..

From My Digital World

2008-10-21T23:06:00.002-04:00

There was a spaghetti lunch after church this past Sunday. So, the boys & I stayed for lunch, then I sent Timmy off with his Core group (4th &5th grade youth). They were doing one of their 'Destination Unknown' trips. No one is allowed to tell the kids where they're going, so it's a surprise when they get there. They went to the Renaissance Festival.

After sending Timmy off, I took Brad to help me with some office cleaning. We finished JUST in time to have Brad back for his youth group meeting at 4:00pm. So, I headed home. I was sure poor Peanut would be ready to burst since he had not been out since before 8:30am that morning.

I relaxed for a bit then had to head back to the church to pick Timmy up at 5:15pm. He had a GREAT time. I knew he would. We went to the Ren Fest the last two years and we always had fun. So, we had about 45 minutes to kill before getting Brad from his youth group meeting. Since it takes 15-20 minutes to get home, that was out. So, we decided to check out the 'prayer trail'. Timmy's youth group had worked on cleaning it up and putting in new plants a couple weeks earlier. Timmy even posed for a few pictures for me.

So, about 6:15pm, we finally headed home for the day. Tony had to work from 1 - 8, so we barely even saw him all day.

From My Digital World

Ahhhhh! Look at the size of that spider!!!

2008-10-21T22:59:00.002-04:00

Man, I knew these southern bugs were big, but.....

From My Digital World

It finally feels like fall!!!!

2008-10-18T23:38:00.002-04:00

When the boys I came home from the store today, Tony had a nice, cozy fire going in the fireplace! As soon as I got out of the car, I could smell it. I just looooove the smell of a fire. So, I'm sitting in front of the fire right now as I type this.

I made out really well at the store, today. I had several 'free' coupons that I had recieved through FreebieForce and I also had a number of $1-$2 off coupons. I ended up saving about $20.00, today. The free items were; a bag of Purina Complete Choice cat food -$6.97, Cascade Rinse Agent -$3.64 and Pedigree Good Bites dog treats -$3.62
Not bad!!

Brad's cello..

2008-10-09T20:07:00.000-04:00

I picked Brad up at school yesterday so he could bring him his loaner cello. He is really loving this! He's been practicing a LOT. I'm just glad that I don't have to go out and buy him one because that just isn't possible on my budget! But, I'm glad Brad is happy & I hope he learns to play the cello.

6 Foods That Drain Your Energy...

2008-10-08T09:17:00.003-04:00

I found this on another website & though it was interesting enough to share with my friends.

1.
Red wine. If you're a red wine drinker you are probably familiar with the euphoric sleepiness that accompanies it after a few glasses. But why? As we know, alcohol is a depressant, meaning it can have a sedative effect. What's more, scientists in Italy say they have discovered that the grapes used to make red wine have high levels of the sleep hormone melatonin which can explain its sluggish effect. So next time you reach for your favorite merlot, you may want to grab your pillow, too.
2.
Fatty foods. It looks as though a fatty diet can weigh you down in more ways than one. Fat is notorious for taking a long time to digest-somewhere in the realm of six to eight hours. Blood from your arms and legs is used to aid in the digestion process. This lessening in blood volume in your extremities can make you feel slow and lethargic. Contrarily, whole carbohydrates and proteins digest relatively fast-one to four hours-resulting in higher energy and a faster metabolism.
3.
Turkey. This fatigue-causing fowl is a famed for making the hours post-Thanksgiving dinner dreary. But is turkey really the culprit? Though turkey contains L-tryptophan-an amino acid that is metabolized into serotonin and melatonin causing sleepiness-it does not contain enough to produce truly tiring effects. The combination of simple carbs, fats, alcohol, and overeating that are often a part of Thanksgiving dinner is what ultimately makes you curl up couch-side.
4.
Energy drinks. Sure, they're great for that initial burst you need to get you over the three o'clock hump, but energy drinks offer counterproductive results in the long run. British scientists at Loughborough University found that those who drank the high-caffeine, high-sugar beverages had slower reactions and more lapses in concentration after an hour. The best way to combat sleepiness is a drink with useful amounts of caffeine--approximately 85mg--and a short nap.
5.
Low-iron foods. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) iron deficiency, or anemia, is a large contributor to daytime fatigue. Chicken, broccoli, pork, and peanut butter are excessively low in iron. In order to combat anemia, make sure your diet is well balanced. This means eating your allotted daily values in iron, carbohydrates, and protein to optimize your energy for the day.
6.
Skipping meals. Skipping meals can have a negative effect on your energy. Not eating results in low blood-sugar, contributing to fatigue. The tiredness, in turn, results in less energy for exercise and your daily routine. What's more, when your body is craving food and doesn't get it, your metabolism slows, consequently producing smaller amounts of energy. The best diet for energy and healthy weight loss is eating six small, well-balanced meals.

Here's the website I got this from: http://www.qualityhealth.com/psp/6-foods-that-drain-your-energy/featuredArticle.jspa

There are leaves all over my house!

2008-10-06T22:05:00.001-04:00

I was watching the news the other day, and they showed some pictures of the leaves turning pretty colors in the mountains & I got the bug to decorate. I just love fall & now my home feels like fall inside, too! Now, I just can't wait for the weather to cool down just enough to build a cozy fire in the fireplace. There's nothing more relaxing than get comfy next to a fire.

From My Digital World

I just love this picture!

2008-10-02T13:37:00.002-04:00

From digital pages

This is CRAZY!!!

2008-09-29T13:41:00.000-04:00

We can't find gas! This has been going on for about a week or so now, and it's just insane! I don't understand why the stations here can't keep gas in stock. Tony just left to look for gas and couldn't find ANY. He went to 5 stations, and they were all sold out!

WBTV has a list of gas stations on their site that were reported as having gas and it shows what time it was reported. There's only one near us listed right now, and Tony just left to see if they still have it. I hope they do because he's on empty!

I have been trying to call the station to see if they still have gas, but they must've taken the phone off the hook or something because I can't get through.

They stations that do have gas sell out FAST. Cars sit in line for 2 hours at a time waiting to get gas. Many stations have police officers directing people where to go and to keep the peace. On the news, I saw fights breaking out over gas!

Tony found gas for my car the other day & filled up. I never fill my tank because it's so expensive, but who knows when we'll find gas again.

I just don't understand what's going on here. It seems to just be a local problem. Why can the rest of the country get gas but us? How long is this going to last?

Cub Scout Den Meeting....

2008-09-27T23:04:00.000-04:00

From digital pages

You have to see this video!!!

2008-09-25T10:20:00.002-04:00

Someone made this video at the rodeo I went to and posted it on You Tube. This is the guy I thought was going to be killed!! Miraculously, he waked away from this!! Than the Lord...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO3YPop-pt8

Imagine seeing this live!! Judging by the angle of the camera, I was only a couple rows behind the camera person. There was a group seated on the floor just below us, so it had to be one of them. This was CRAZY!!!

The fall season...

2008-09-24T10:05:00.003-04:00

Did anyone watch the premier of Heroe's Monday night? It was good, but what's up with Nikki? Why does she think she's someone else? Did I miss something last season?

I'm so glad the new shows are back on. Fall is coming and my shows are back! I need to start working on my crocheting projects again. I love to crochet while watching my fave shows.

I watched that new show, The Mentalist and also Without a Trace last night. I enjoyed them. I'm looking forward to watching Bones and Criminal Minds tonight.

Mmmmmm, my house smells yummy. I have dinner in the crock pot & my house will be smelling good all day! That's another thing I love about fall. Comfort Food!

And, being the shutterbug that I am, once the leaves start to change colors, start looking for some colorful fall pictures from me!

What do you like about fall?

We went to a rodeo!

2008-09-23T11:00:00.002-04:00

Another busy weekend! Tony had to work late Friday, & Timmy spend the night with a friend. While I should've gotten my big cleaning job out of the way, I decided to have a little quality job with Brad, and we went out for pizza. Later, he was also invited to a sleepover, and both boys were gone for the night. By then though, it was too late to do my cleaning job. I really didn't want to be out until 1 or 2 am. I enjoyed my peace and quiet for awhile, but my neighbors were having a party & were being very loud. Tony went over then called me to come over & I figured I might as well. So, I went there for a while & my friend, Steph, and I just enjoyed laughing at how stupid the guys were being. Two of them (brothers) were trashed and were sharing all of eachother's embarrasing stories. We learned a lot of dirt that night!...lol

Satuday, I did more cleaning, and Timmy had a friend stay over. A job perk of Tony's is that he can sometimes get free show tickets, and he was able to get us rodeo tickets. He gave some to our neighbors & a couple other freinds, so there was a small group of us there, and it was really fun! Timmy's friend came as well. But, since Timmy had stayed with him the night before, they were up very late, and that poor little guy looked sooo tired. He kept saying he was enjoying the show, though. He fell asleep in the car on the way home in just a matter of minutes!

The rodeo was a lot of fun & I loved the opening ceremony. They started with a cowgirl waving the Christian flag and talked about how then can take God out of the government and schools, but not out of our rodeo! We are ONE NATION UNDER GOD!

I was using my brand new camera, but it was difficult to get a good picture. It was an indoor rodeo, but the lighting was poor, there was a haze in the air from the fireworks, and I am still learning to use this camera, so some of it was my lack of knowledge. Later, I found a setting that would have been beneficial to those conditions.
Here are some pics:

This clown was hilarious. Here, after he saw my flash go off, he actually posed for me. He started to move away a little too quickly though, and it's a bit blurred.

From My Digital World

This poor cowboy was trampled after falling off the bull. Thank God he was wearing a protective vest! He actually walked away from this.

From My Digital World

This bull didn't like the dummy. Poor George...lol.

From My Digital World

Now, this part was CRAZY! After the normal rodeo stuff, the cowboys actually challenged the bulls with nothing but them, a bull, and a barrell with a man inside it. They got more points for staying close to the bull and were docked for staying near the wall. Some of these guys were trampled and thrown around like ragdolls. I thought for sure someone was going to be killed, but thankfully not. One cowboy had to go to the hospital for facial injuries, but he was ok.

From My Digital World

Tony works at this arena, and he has to help get all that dirt back out of there.

Sunday, Timmy and Kyle were soooo tired that I just let them stay home from church with Tony, so only Brad & I went. I work in the nursery there, so I have to be there for both Sunday School and worship. They had a yummy lunch and the youth group kick-off afterwards. Now, I though I had to drop the boys off at church at 4:00pm for their meetings, and get them 2 hours later. I was going to have Tony go with me and help me do my big cleaning job, that I was supposed to do on Friday. But...at that meeting, I found out that Brad's youth group was not having a normal meeting, and that he would be staying at the church to go to the Amazing Maize Maze and they would call parents when they got back. I still had to figure out how to squeeze in that cleaning job, get Timmy at the church and 4:00 and pick him up at 5:45, then come back to get Brad whenever. Thankfully, the youth leader was understanding & said Brad could just hang out in the youth lounge until 5:45pm. And, instead of having Tony come help me with my cleaning job, I had him shuttle the kids around & drive Kyle home. I was finally home for the night around 8:00pm, and tony had made a delicious brisket for dinner. I don't know what I would have done without him!!!

I gave in...

2008-09-18T21:03:00.002-04:00

I was trying to grow my hair long, but I just couldn't deal with it and had it cut short againg yesterday evening. I just think it looks and feels so much better short. When it's longer, I have to flat iron it to get the goofy wave out & then I just feel like I'm frying it. Short, all I have to do is wash & blow dry. What do you think?

Before..

From My Digital World

After..

From My Digital World

Shooting!

2008-09-16T11:58:00.000-04:00

After church this past Sunday, we had a little family shooting session. Bradley had to try out his new rifle, and Tony got his out as well. Tony put some targets on the big oak tree in the back yard, and we sat on the deck & shot the targets. We laughed at how redneck we looked shooting off the back deck! These are air rifles, so while not as powerful as 'real guns', they're still quite dangerous.

Dad would be proud. I had good aim!

From My Digital World

Brad is soooo loving his new rifle.

From My Digital World

Tony...

From My Digital World

Timmy...

From My Digital World

After this, I took a power nap before having to go back to church for Brad's youth group,(4:00pm) Timmy's Core kick-off (4th & 5th grade youth group -parents had to stay for this one) and Timmy's first choir practice, and when it was time to pick them up, I was scheduled to help in the nursery from 6pm-7:30pm during a Christian finance class. AND, after that.... I still had one office left to clean before I could go home. Thankfully, it was an easy one that takes under an hour. I did the others Fri. and Sat. I grabbed Bradley some dinner on the way to the office since he had not eaten yet. Timmy had pizza at his meeting & wasn't hungry. So, we ended up getting home about 9:30pm and rushed to get the boys in bed so they wouldn't be too sleepy for school in the morning.

2008-09-13T22:20:00.000-04:00

This evening, we went to the Boy Scout Court of Honor for Brad. He received his swimming merit badge. Here's a pic of him getting the badge, but it was dark outside, and I was kinda far from him, so the picture isn't very good.

From My Digital World

When we left the meeting, we saw a house fire just across from Wal-Mart. The entire house was up in flames. I think though, that this house was vacant. There is a shopping center going in wehre it was, so I'm not sure if the fire dept. actually burned this house down or if there was another cause. It was cool to watch, though.

From My Digital World

Then, we went to Wal-Mart & Brad used his lawn mowing & birthday money to buy himself his first pellet gun. He is just tickled pink. Tony is going to teach him how to shoot tomorrow. Bradley is also going to a boy scout shooting camp next month, where he'll get to shoot clay pidgeons. He can't wait. Here he is with his new rifle (still in his uniform)...

From My Digital World

Cub Scouts...

2008-09-09T09:32:00.000-04:00

Timmy started back in cub scouts again. Yesterday was his first meeting. It looks like pretty much everyone from last year came back, plus 3 new boys. It sounds like this is going to be a great year for the den. Fletcher, their leader, isn't coaching baseball this year so he'll have more time to devote to the den. They're Webelo I's now, so they're in that transition phase from cubs to boyscouts & Fletcher wants to make sure they're ready to move up when the time comes.

Bradley moved up to boy scouts last year, and has really enjoyed it. He seems to be on the fence again as to whether or not he wants to stay, but I'm encouraging him to stay. I think it's really good for him.

The Latta Plantation.....

2008-09-08T16:22:00.000-04:00

After church, I had to take Brad to the music store to get a strings book for his orchestra class. He's chosen to play the cello & will be getting his loaner cello from the school this week. He's very excited.

Anyway, after that, we went home & then had to rush off to the Latta Plantation (only a few minutes from our neighborhood)to see the Revolutionary War reenactment. The Battle of Charlotte was at 1:00pm, and we got there JUST in time. Bradley is learning about this in school, and his teacher sent out an e-mail suggesting that we go. I thought it sounded like fun & I had a coupon for 50% off admission. hehe.

Tony was a trooper. It's the first day of football season, and he went with us without putting up a fight...lol. Just some minor complaints, but he admitted to enjoying the reenactment.

Here are some pictures...

We thought there would be food vendors here, but they only had doughnuts. We probably would've stayed longer, but we were all starving! We headed to Moes Southwest Grill for lunch, then home to chill for a bit. I had to head back to work at the church nursery from 6:00pm-7:30pm, then picked up some take-out Chinese for dinner.

Posting Pictures....

2008-09-05T13:12:00.000-04:00

I know, some of my pictures look a little odd. I'm posting them from Photobucket so I don't use up my storage space, and if I resize them in photobucket on on my pc before loading to photobucket, they always seem to come out very pixelated on my blog. So, I've been leaving them full size and resizing them in my post.

If you have a better suggestion, I'd love to hear it!

Birthdays!!!!!

2008-09-05T12:55:00.000-04:00

Timmy turned 10 Aug. 25 and Bradley turned 12 Sept. 4! I can't believe how big my sweet little boys are now! Bradley is nearly as tall as me & he started MIDDLE SCHOOL this year! He's in honors language and orchestra. He gets to bring his cello home sometime next week, I think. It's a loaner from the school. Thank goodness I don't have to buy one, because there's no way I could afford that!

We had a little birthday party on Labor Day. I know, strange day, but it falls directly between their birthdays, making it easy to have one party instead of two and since my weekends are sooo busy, this was a very convienent day for me. And, with the high gas prices, no one was going anywhere, anyway.

We had some friends & grandparents over for cake & ice cream

Did the gifts, they mostly received money, which always make them happy...lol

Then, we headed outside for a water balloon fight! That was the big hit of the party, and I don't know who had more fun, that dads or the kids!!!

Unfortunately, the LCD screen on my camera is broken now, which makes it very difficult for me to get good photos, especially action ones or close-ups.

Yarn Bugs...

2008-09-05T11:50:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was my last day with Kayli, the 4 1/2 yr old girl I've been providing daycare for since she was 10 mo. old. That was hard to swallow when her dad gave me the 2 week notice. I cried all that afternoon because not only is she like family to me, but I depend on that income, and right now, the competition is fierce. I had a family move away a few months back & tried to find another child to no avail. Well, this little girl's family is expecting soon, and then I found out that my other family is also expecting in the spring, so I decided to take on the cleaning jobs to get me through the maternity leaves and to not take on another child at this time. But, when they gave me that notice, meaning I'm down to one family that will be on maternity leave in the spring, I just didn't know what to do. I started putting daycare ads out and also applying for jobs, and just waited to see what would happen first. Well, I filled a daycare spot first. So, I have a new little boy starting on Monday. WHEW!!! And, since he's younger than Kayli and will be here more hours, I'm charging more, so that will help my budget as well. I will still keep the cleaning jobs for awhile though, at least through the spring until I know for sure that I will still have Chloe and the new baby once he/she is born.

Ok...the yarn bugs...lol. Since yesterday was my last day with Kayli, and she LOVES to do crafts, I searched the internet for something special to do with her, and I found a site for 'Yarn Bugs'. There were all sorts of different critters to choose from, and she chose the kitty. I pulled out all my yarn and of course, being the girly girl that she is, she chose pink and purple. She then insisted that her kitty had to have 'girl' eyes...lol. So, I drew the eyes on card stock and cut them out. Kayli helped cut out the feet & other parts and helped glue it all together. Under that yarn, is an egg cup body cut out of an egg carton...lol. She absolutely loved this craft! They even had boy scout yarn bugs!!! I may have to show those to our cub scout leader.
If you want to make some for yourself, just do a seach for 'Yarn Bugs', and you'll find them.

Me & My Hunny....

2008-09-05T11:36:00.000-04:00

I just throught I'd throw in a picture of my me & my hunny, too. He took me to the ballet for Valentine's Day this year and I had my son take this pic just before we left. That was such a thoughtful gift and entirely HIS idea! I had never been to a ballet before and I LOVED it!

I know, I'm posting a lot of stuff from months ago, but this blog in brand new and all these things happened before I started my blog.

And, I know I called this blog My Scrap World, fully intending on devoting this blog to traditional and digital scrapping, but I've been soooo very busy lately, that I have not had time to scrap in months! During the week, I'm an in home daycare provider, on Sunday mornings, I'm the Supervisor of Nursery Ministries for my chuch and in an attempt to stay on top of the bills with everything getting more and more expensive, I've taken on an office cleaning job over the weekends and Wed. evenings, in addition to doing cubscouts with my younger son, Timmy, on Monday evenings and then dropping my older son, Bradley, off at his boy scout meeting on Tuesday evenings, which is when I'm off to do my grocery shopping since the Super Wal-Mart is so close to the scout meetings. So...Thursday evening is the only day I'm not rushing off to do something! And, starting this month, I'll be dropping both the boys off for their youth group meetings and choir Sunday evenings. But, I'll probably save on of my cleaning jobs to do while I wait to pick them up, since I have a couple close to the church. The good thing about the cleaning jobs is that I have a lot of flexibility as long as it's finished before Monday morning.

My Mom....

2008-09-05T11:12:00.000-04:00

Last May (Memorial Day weekend) my mom came to visit us! Thanks to my wonderful Aunt & Uncle who were able to drive her here while visiting their family(THANK YOU Aunt Connie & Uncle Ronnie!), my mom finally got to see where I live!

I moved to North Carolina Sept. 2005, and then bought my house with Tony, Jan. 2006 and this was the first time my mom was able to come see me in NC! I've been home a few times since I moved, but not NEARLY often enough (due to money issues)and I miss my family sooo much!

I am sad that my dad wasn't able to come, but I am so thrilled to have had my mom here to visit and see where I live! I just LOVE these pictures;

My mom and Me...

Mom and my boys, Brad and Timmy

I added a photoshop element to them for a little added touch. I can't wait to see my family again! Not sure when that will be, though.

Here are a few more flowers....

2008-08-20T15:23:00.000-04:00

July 2008

August 2008

Here are a few pictures I've taken in my yard this summer..

2008-08-20T14:45:00.000-04:00

I just love that Tony has a green thumb and enjoys gardening. I have no clue when it comes to gardening & he definitely does a wonderful job.

June 2008