White Winter

Living in the desert, having snow is a rare thing. When it does snow, it doesn't stay for long, we actually had school cancelled because of snow. I think that is a first time that I ever recall. Pretty crazy!! Here are some pics of Ash, she's much more photogenic than I am! Gotta love a White Christmas! Yay!

So Thankful

for family and friends, for freedom and faith, for all the little things that get taken for granted on a daily basis. Thanksgiving was very nice this year, my sis and her family were able to come from up north and spend the holiday with us. Ash and I cut out of the weekend a little bit and headed to Vegas. My girlfriend had bought tickets for her girls to see the JONAS BROS!!! and they each got to invite a friend. So, Cass invited Ash to go!!

Ash captured some fun pictures of little things that made her smile as we spent the weekend in Vegas..........here....................

She took over the camera and started "documenting" our stay!!! I know I wouldn't have taken the same pics she did, but it's fun to see things from her perspective. The Paris has some really nice rooms, I would highly suggest staying there if you ever get the chance. A caution sign, our room number, and Paris Blvd, where you can shop, spend the day in the spa, and then go get married!

<<<<<<< something to quench our thirst and directions on where to go when we had no clue how to get out of there!

<<<<<<<<<and of course the cutest JONAS BROther EVAH...

..Ash insisted on getting these flip flops at Santa's workshop...Hello..I could have made some exactly like them...I guess sometimes it's more fun to shop than create, I dunno..I kinda like to create, but she had to have them.

We picked up Jordan when we got into town and he hung with us the rest of the day, which made me extremely happy. I miss my boy. He's such a good kid, and I'm not just saying that because he's mine, he actually is a very good kid.

We braved the mall on Saturday.........what a nightmare, but we survived and Jordan was laid back and happy to just be hangin with all the girls, (a couple of cute girls, I might add!!) So here's us, the latest but maybe not the greatest pic ever, but it captures memories and moments and that is another thing I am thankful for.

Score!!!

So exciting! My son's basketball team played their 2nd game last night and won! Jordan got to play most of the 4th quarter and scored 4 points, 1 rebound and got 1 foul. Woot woot!!! I didn't get to see the game live and in person since he's two hours away and it's difficult to get to Vegas and back on a school/work night, but come Friday, I'm heading that way for his next game! The game was recorded though and I'll be able to see his mad skillz........

Ash starts her basketball games this Saturday, so we will be up to our eyeballs with games and travel and practices and more travel....but, it's all good and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Hopefully I'll get some decent pics of Jordan in his Wildcat b-ball uniform! Need to get busy on a b-ball mini album for him!!!

Scrap space and a couple cards

Here is my scrap space, it's in my bedroom, so space is limited. I did my own version of the clip it up, I used a decorative curtain rod and hung up my letters, rubons, etc..with paper clips. I thought of using Christmas ornament hangers, but got impatient. I will probably redo the whole thing if the ornament hangers work better. It's definitely not my "dream" scrap room, but when space is limited you have to work with what ya got!!

Here are a couple cards I made, I used the threading water punch that I won from Patter's blog

http://triplethescraps.blogspot.com. That was too cool to win and I'm hoping to play with this punch a lot. I really haven't done too much scrappin lately. I've kinda been a bit lazy.....but I've done some reorganizing and purging, so at least I feel like I'm accomplishing something!!

On too some non-related scrapbook news........My son made the varsity basketball team at his school in Vegas!!! Way too go Jordan!!! I was definitely more nervous than he was to find out if he made the team. I was hoping that he would have stayed here and gone to my old high school and played ball for the Panthers like I did, but he's in Vegas and making the team with that kind of competition is just plain AWESOME!!!! So, instead of being a Panther, he's a Wildcat!! That's close enough!! So, I'll be burnin up the interstate to watch him play ball....and super excited about it!

So, enough of this, I'm off to watch the most recent episode of True Blood.....one of my guilty pleasures

Me...20 years ago!

Ash decided to go as an 80's person...is there such a thing??? So, since I grew up in the 80's, basically she was going as ME 20 yrs ago! Man do I feel old. Really old. Anyway, she was decked out with blue eyeshadow, crimped hair, rainbow leg warmers and lots of bangles on her arm. I drew the line at her wearing thermal underwear with boxers over them...(yes, unfortunately I did wear that......and out in public, what an embarrassment to my mom-sorry mom!) So here are a few pics of her!! I think these pics were more scary than alot of the costumed trick or treaters that showed up at our door................

Decorating Halloween cookies..........yummy!!

No she's not grumpy... ;)

Yeah, so I've slacked off a little bit in the world of blog.........it's not like I had a goal to blog everyday, or even every other day.....I'm figuring I'm good if I get more than one or two a month, and yes I OVERUSE........................................................lol.




So when Ash was a baby, people would tell me she looked like the Olsen twins. I was usually not too pleased with that observation because I thought they were ugly as babies. I know, rude huh? I mean babies are supposed to be cute, and I guess they were cute, in their own ugly way, kinda like a pug is ugly/cute!! So as Ash has been getting older and hittin those tween years, I've been hearing more along the lines of her lookin like Cameron Diaz. I think this pic really reminds me of Cameron...what do ya'll think?









So here are a couple more of her, we went to a church activity with the youth and hit a corn maze, at night, in the dark, with a bunch of tweeners and teeners!! The ear piercing screams could be heard from miles away!
















There were a few farm animals around too, on account of it being held on a farm and all. I thought this little guy was adorable.

Pig in a Blanket anyone??!! This struck me as hilarious, my ex-husband is in a band called "Pigs in a Blanket", so named because the majority of the band members worked for the police dept. Pigs/cops, get it? Anywho, it got me gigglin a little bit.

On another topic. My dr. put me on a strict low-fat diet with 45 minutes of cardio a day. My cholesterol levels were way too high, and with my heart issues I have to be careful. So food, to me, is one of life's simple pleasures, and he's gonna take all the fun out of that. He didn't say I couldn't eat sugar though. Thanks heavens for that. In all honesty though, I really do need to change my eating/exercise habits. I'm happier when I exercise, I feel better and in the long run will be very beneficial for my health.

Here are a couple of cards I made. The penguin is from the Joys of the Season cricut cartridge, and the birthday one is just a quickie I threw together.

I've been working 4 10's now, since the beginning of Oct. It makes for a really long day, and when I finally get home, I don't feel like doin a dang thing. However, I'm really diggin the long weekends!!!

And with that said.........I'm outta here!!

Lizzie

Interesting that I end up being Elizabeth. Pride and Prejudice is the only Jane Austen movie that I've seen more than once. I've seen the newer version with Keira Knightly and the A&E version with Colin Firth. Have to say I definitely liked the newer version better, I know, I know...I have arguments with the guys in my office as to why the newer one is better. They all like the older version. That's fine!! I love taking quizzes...it's fun. So take it, and see what Austen character you are!

Take the Quiz here!

That's my Girl!

Ash started out scoring the first goal of the game this past Saturday!! Gotta love it!!!

I just wanted to say that I LOVE this GIRL! It's just been the two of us for most of the past 6 years. J lived with us for two of those years but decided to move back to Vegas with his dad. That has been real hard, but he's doing well, and he's such a great kid.

So for the most part, it's just been us. She is such a sweet girl, and even though we are headed into the teenage years....the attitude hasn't been too bad! Hopefully we can keep it to a dull roar and survive the hardest parts! She is very loving and gives me about 4 good night hugs each night before bed. :) She is in the tween stage....trying to develop into a young lady, but still holding onto childhood. She still likes playing with her dolls and all her little pet shop toys, she still is afraid of the dark, she still likes to pretend she is the mom when playing with her dolls, and that is totally fine with me!

 

I can't believe how fast kids grow up. I mean it's just crazy. J is a senior this year and after graduation will head out into the big bad world. AHHH...I can't believe it, it just doesn't seem possible. Time is precious, children are precious and before long, they are no longer children, but teenagers and young adults. I'm trying to enjoy and savor each moment, each stage of life while I still can, because the time will come all too soon when they will leave home and start their own lives, have their own adventures, and start their own families.

Happy World Card Making Day!

I got a late start today on card making, so I only got one finished, think I will just make several of this one and call it good! It's too late and I'm too tired to start on something different. This was Shanna's sketch from the Create My Keepsake challenge.

Sorry for the blurry pic...I SO need a better camera and a class!

A soccer moment and contest

With the coming of fall (my favorite season) comes soccer season. I love this time of year and even though I live in the desert, (not much color changing goin on here) I can feel the change in the air....the air is cooler, crisper, cleaner. LOVE it!

Speakin of soccer season!! Here's a proud soccer mom moment!! Ash has stuggled a little bit this season with playing a little too much with the ball......she's watched "She's the Man" WAY too many times! LOL, Well this game was completely different...no playing, she was serious. She scored 3 goals and had 2 assists. It was Awesome!! I hope it had nothing to do with the fact that her dad was there........and that it's just her improving her game........hmmm. I guess time will tell, but it sure was exciting to watch.









Shanna is having a contest over at her blog using one of her patterns..so on this layout, the first page I used her scroll frame for my journaling block. This was a trip to Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake with my Sis and her family, my mom and dad. We had a great time and it was fun to see all the animals....it was a little chilly and rainy, but those are the kind of days that I love!! Shanna's contest ends Friday at Midnight, so anyone that wants to join in still has time.

Out of the Blue

So I'm in the drive thru at McDonalds on Wednesday gettin my diet coke for the afternoon, they have the best fountain diet coke in town...I'm there at least once a day, sometimes twice, and I'm on a first name basis with the drive thru people, in fact I'm adding them to my Christmas list!! Oh, sorry back to my point of this whole post...I get a phone call from a 303 area code..hmm ok don't know anyone from a 303 area code........but it turns out to be a guy that I met 20 years ago when I went to Europe. Holy freakin COW!!!

He was in the group from CO and then there was a group from GA, my group from UT, and a group from CA, and we all went on this 15 day trip through Europe. We became pretty good buds on this trip, you get pretty tight with certain people you spend time with and hang with constantly for 2 weeks...... and he was one of them. We kept in touch after our trip, he even flew to Vegas when I got married, we tried to keep in touch and did for a few years, but it's been 12 years since I've even talked to him.

Well he was in Vegas for a conference, he had been trying to find my number, tried to remember my parents names, even tried calling the police dept to talk to my ex. Of course Chad doesn't know I'm divorced, he just remembers that I lived in Vegas and since he was there would look me up. He doesn't have any luck, but this conference also has law enforcement personnel in attendance and he figures he'll just ask someone if they happen to know my ex. The first lady he asks totally knows my ex, and Chad says well I'm actually looking for his wife, she tells him that we were divorced......well she ends up getting Mike's work number for him, Chad calls Mike, Mike gives Chad my number and there ya have it.........reconnected.

I took half the day off yesterday, drove to Vegas and hung out with Chad the rest of the night...it was SO good to see him, we sat and talked for hours, reminisced about Europe, talked about our lives, kids, divorce, work, etc. I finally had to leave and got home at 2 a.m., freakin dead tired and grateful I got home without falling asleep. So now we are definitely going to keep in touch and not let another 12 years go by without talking. In fact, I think the next long weekend I have, I might just head in his direction!!

baby gift

matching card!
lid
paint can!!

I kinda got suckered into making a baby shower container for parenting tips from the girls at work. I think it turned out cute, and after she takes out all the great parenting advice, she can put cotton balls or Q-tips in it!!

Did I mention??

That dating sucks? I'm pretty sure I have mentioned that before........let me do a recap of this weekends date/chats/break-ups.

First I had a date planned with V for Friday night, he lives in the Salt Lake area. I made plans with him because my friend Twila and I were going up to see our other friend Cheri...Twila ended up not being able to go and then I was kinda stuck with this date. I would have cancelled on him, but I already did that once to him and felt bad, wishing that I at least would have gone out once with him. So, not wanting to break his little heart (yeah right;) I drove up Friday afternoon so we could go out around 7ish. Well V shows up at 7:30....that to me isn't 7ish...it's 7:30ish.... ...anyway, we go to dinner. He says he's pretty hungry, I haven't eaten for awhile, but am not starving, so we go to this place called Rumbi Island Grill, check out the menu outside first, then he asks me how hungry I am...I said I wasn't THAT hungry, so he says well lets just order one meal and share it. Huh? Um okay .......so he orders and only orders us ONE drink..to share. At least he likes Diet Coke, but honey, I can down a half gallon of DC in one sitting and he has us sharing one 20oz. Oh my! Then we go to the movie, that's fine, I love movies......and he holds my hand and "cuddles" with me the whole movie. By this time, I was kinda hopin that maybe I would be excited to be "holding hands" with someone,but nah..........nope, not at all.
Movie gets over, he takes me home, we sit and talk for awhile and then he walks me to the door, a hug and a kiss....and there ya have it. Definitely not the worst date I've been on, just a little weird.

Was chatting with B online and he proceeds to ask me if I want to meet and make-out with him. Ummmmm, was there some kinda time warp that put me back in high school that I'm not aware of? Hello...do people still do that? Have make-out buddies??? I mean I guess if he was drop dead gorgeous I could justify a little gratuitous bumpin and grindin.......but then again.....NO. LOL. I can't just make out for the sake of makin out. There has to be some sort of relationship, not just friends with benefits!

Last one, I promise! I've been talking with J for over a month, we have had so many long deep, meaningful conversations, I really like him. I just don't like him the way he likes me. And I'm sad that we can't talk anymore,but it would be harder for both of us to continue talking when I know that I'm not feeling that way and I know that the more we talk, the more he likes me......hmmm such a dilemma because I really do need a good friend. I think it's hard though for men and women to be "just friends" somewhere along the line, someone starts to have feelings for the other one. ......and that is great if the feelings are mutual..it just sucks when they are not.

So, for right at this moment, I've only got one person that I'm still kinda chatting with, I hope to get to meet him someday soon, but if not that is totally fine by me!! This dating crap gets emotionally exhausting after awhile. Time to take a break!!

sketch #21

Just playin along with the sketch challenge over at Triple the Sketch, it's fun and I actually get some scrappin done!

Ash made her dad a birthday card......she wanted me to post it, so here it is!! She did a great job!

Happy B-Day Mom!!!

I made this card for my mom, her birthday is tomorrow. I won't actually get to see her because she is at my sister's house about 6 hours away. The card is based on sketch #20 at Triple the Sketch, the pink polka dot is a Heidi Swapp foam stamp with pink paint, I then outlined them in black and filled in with glitter. The Happy b-day and cake/flower image are both acrylic clear stamps, used water color pencils on the cake/flower, used some bling, pattern paper, and ribbon. Hope mom has a very good birthday!!











On another topic.....being single is starting to get real old. Dating sucks! I've been doing a little online dating, you can do everything else on line, why not date as well? One guy I have chatted with a few times just said "Hi hot panties" I said, "excuse me?" he said he thought I would appreciate that comment. Um, hello..........not. Who says things like that? I mean really. Needless to say I don't care at all to talk to him again. Ever. Sheesh. Is it too much to ask for a normal guy....and I know some of you may think "well, that is normal for a guy"........but please tell me there are some normal men out there that wouldn't say something like that.

A sketch layout

This is from Triple the Sketch.......it's my take on sketch #18.

Edit: The heart on this page is a pattern from Shanna!! Thanks! You can check out her blog My Next Thirty Years...she does awesome scrappy stuff.