Monday, June 30, 2008

Summer seems to have already passed me by....

and I have only been to the beach once!!! How can this have happened? I think it's called a JOB. Huh, that's right, I decided I wanted to be a working sahm. Ha! I am heading there this weekend. We haven't been for the 4th of July since we have had kids. I know it is going to be crAzY! Sandestin is a pretty popular spot and for the 4th, we may not be able to move on the beach or at Baytowne. The best thing about this is that my children will not be coming until Saturday or Sunday. Whew! I don't know if I could keep up with them over such a busy holiday weekend! John Connor is a treasure hunter and likes to find seashells by the seashore. So, he wanders around until he finds treasures. That makes for a mom who has to keep her eyes peeled constantly. That is really hard when there are sooo many people to watch! You know there will be some characters there this weekend. I can't wait! I also have a new book to read, The Art of French Kissing.......thanks to Amy Tan. It is really cute. I started it yesterday and am halfway finished. I am trying not to finish before I leave. I did buy a couple of extra books, just in case!

You are probably thinking, "didn't she just say that her kids were gone for a week?", and now she is going to the beach without them? Yes, I did. and yes, I am. I do feel guilty, but come on, I need to go to the beach without my kids........just for a couple of days! They will be there on Sunday and we will hang out with Nannie and PawPaw for a couple of days. Hopefully, the crazy's will all have gone home!

Big month coming up. I had hoped it would be a laid back end to the summer, but it is jam packed with stuff! fun stuff, at least. I am going to Atlanta to market and then CHA in Chicago! I can't wait for that. I can't wait for the 25th of the month. I am going to Ross Bridge! For a girls weekend. A free weekend for me. They are having a FAM, which is a familiarization weekend, for girls only! I was invited to check out the place! I can't wait! I will get a massage and pj's and be pampered.......all for FREE! Of course, they will try and talk me into having an event there. I mean, who says we can't? Right? You never know......

I also had GREAT news about John Connor's teacher for 1st grade! Emma and I had a little party. John Connor was pretty excited, too! It makes me ready for school to start. I can't believe it's only 5 1/2 weeks. CRAZY, I know.

Watching a little Wimbledon. I love that they all wear white! It's so preppy. Such a tennis thing. I love the difference between Wimbledon and the US Open. At the US Open they pull out all the stops and are very dramatic in their selections. Federer wore all black last year......shoes, shirt, socks, shorts and headband. He looked GOOD! Sharapova had on that red dress with sequins on it.......you would never see that at Wimbledon! I love it! I tend to see fashion EverYwherE! So inspiring.

Monday, June 23, 2008

What about that face?



Have you ever seen a face with more beautiful features? This girl has it all. Gorgeous blue eyes and enough freckles to make you just want to stare. I love the saying, "A face without freckles is like a night without stars." That is what I think of everytime I look at her beauty. I think one reason I love them so much is because neither Connor nor myself have them. They are hers and hers alone.

Playing around in iphoto with pictures tonight. I get so caught up in it and want to play with all of my pictures. I'm so glad it is simple to do in this software, since I don't have the photoshop. I really need to get that on my computer...........

A couple more I played with.....

Etsy Shop

Have you ever looked around on Etsy? This is the place to go if you want adorable handmade "stuff". I love hanging out there and just window shopping! Well, 3 of my super creative friends have opened an Esty shop! How fun is that? The name of it is Paper/Hanger. You will find adorable reverse applique shirts on there and cute little planners and notebooks. You have to go check it out. These 3 are on the ball when it comes to thinking outside the box and getting something done about it. I got to hang out with them this weekend at the crop and they are just fun to watch!

My kids are at my mom's house. Do I need to check into what it takes to keep them at home? They have been gone or doing something every week this summer. I feel like I haven't seen them at all! I kinda miss them! It's funny that I have so much to do that I don't stop to miss them, but when I think about how quiet my house is.......I get a little sad. They are on the go kids. They do not like staying at home. If someone invites them.......they are gone! Maybe next week we can do some mom and kid stuff. I hope so.

Speaking of a nice and quiet house. I read a cute book last night......Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch. It was a very easy read. I was about to fall asleep as soon as I started it at 9:00, but then it picked up and I couldn't put it down until I was finished! Connor and I went to the bookstore last night and I bought 4 books. I had 5 or 6 and had to narrow down. I guess with the kiddos gone, I might get a little reading in. I still haven't bought those Twilight books. I've got to remember them when I go. Maybe next time. We are planning a beach trip after the 4th of July and I will try and make those my reading material!

So, go check out Paper/Hanger and get yourself something cute! I'm sure there will be lots more genius creativeness to come........

Sunday, June 15, 2008

In need of a good challenge

Everywhere I look, I see challenges. Note: this is on the scrapbooking front. There are plenty of challenges in other areas, not the same application.

So, I want to start doing these challenges. Well, as the owner of a scrapbooking company, shouldn't I be the one tossing out the challenges? I believe in "the more you do something, the better you will get". So, with that in mind, I will take on a few different challenges and hope that it sparks me into coming up with my own.

The first challenge I am going to work on this week is Amy's photography challenge. I posted this picture from the beach.......but, I need to do this more often. Therefore, working on this challenge.....

I need another challenge in the actual scrapbooking related realm. You know, a layout or something. So, if you have one.......challenge me.......I will take your challenge and raise you one!

The beach was great this weekend. Very, very crowded. The water was awesome. The waves were perfect for the kids to play in. Not too big.....today when we left it was like a lake. No waves. Emma and I walked out pretty far to the sandbar looking for sand dollars, but we didn't find any. Someone said they saw a baby shark and that was enough for me. We headed for the shore! I never saw anything, but I didn't want to take a chance! I took this great picture of my kids with Connor yesterday. There were huge dark clouds coming in and everyone started packing up. We stayed to wait it out. It sprinkled a little, but it was gorgeous light. The sand and ocean are great reflectors! Look at those baby blues on Connor and Emma! Aren't they gorgeous? Not to mention John Connor's......his have so many colors in them, it's hard to say exactly what color they are. Surfer kiddos..

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Hot, Hot, Hot.........

and I'm not talking about my husband........even though, wow, look at him! He is hot, isn't he?

Did you do anything outside this weekend? Wow, was it hot or what? Connor and I played in the Rick and Bubba Summer Slam Tennis Tournament this weekend. It was so HOT! I played on Friday at 3:30 in the afternoon and got beat. I was really glad I got a few games off her, she was good! Connor and I played mixed doubles at 6:00.........still very hot! We won! It was worth the heat! I had so much fun playing with him. We had never done that in a real match. Only playing against friends and that was only, like, once! We were pretty proud of ourselves!
Since I lost, I had to play another match in the consolation round. Meaning, the loser's bracket! I was just glad I got to play again. I met my opponent at 8:00am on Saturday and yes, it was so HOT! How could it be that hot that early? I don't know, but I took my time and WON! Yes, I was so happy. So, I get to play in the championship round of the loser's bracket! hehe Connor and I played again at 3:30 on Saturday and guess who we played? The girl that beat me in my first match! OH no! I didn't want to play her........again! But we did and we tried, but came up short. We lost. I asked her to take our pic.......thanks, Toshiba! This might be the last time we play together. Who knows!

The kids got to hang out with Aunt Kathi and Anna Marie and Abby. They had so much fun. They read books and went on nature walks and fed the goats! Such fun adventures these kids have! They spent the night on Saturday night and got to go to Aunt Kathi's church. They love it there! Bible School is the week of June 21st.......It is so much fun. They went last year and can't wait to go back this year.

This afternoon the girls, Maggie and Emma, were hanging out and I couldn't help but notice those gorgeous freckles of Emma's and thought I need an updated picture of them! They are so much more prominent in the Summer! So, we went outside and took a few pictures. They were sharing an icecream. Lucky girls.......they will probably be inseparable for the rest of the summer!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

A little something we've been working on........


this is a little sneak peek of Scripts......the new kit club from Scrap ETC!

Everything has been running pretty smoothly in the past month. I can't believe it. It was so hectic for the first 4 months of this year. I never thought I would feel like I had a routine. I have an incredible team helping me with Scrap Etc stuff and I can't tell you how easy they make my life. Virginia, Brittney, Katie, Vanessa and Gretchen are 5 of the most supportive people I have met.
It's incredible to me how they have taken me under their scrapbooking wing and helped me through this crazy adventure I'm on. They are probably some of the best designers in the business and I am so lucky that they live right here in Birmingham! They all have different qualities and we will all get together on Skype and have a "meeting". haha! We have become addicted to this really cool place. The emoticons, in themselves, are more than enough to keep us entertained!

I just find it incredible that I have made such wonderful friends in such a short time. I feel like I can call on them for anything and they will do everything in their power to help me out. I was talking to a customer on the phone last night and we were discussing how amazing this scrapbooking world is. We can travel all over the country and meet people that love this hobby and instantly you have a new, best friend. She goes to all kinds of events, like the one we had in April, and meets up with a group that she met 2 years ago. I love that.
If you aren't a scrapbooker and you want to be, you should try and find a friend to hang out with. It makes it so much more enjoyable.

I just wanted to thank them. They are Super Stars!

Monday, June 2, 2008

I have the best MIL and SIL!

They took my kids to the beach last Wednesday for the rest of the week! How awesome is that? She called on Tuesday and asked if they could go. The only problem with it is that I couldn't go too! I really really wanted to. Too much going on. I couldn't.

Man, why did I go and buy this store? I could be spending my whole summer down there! Oh, well. Scrap ETC has been tons of fun. I do love it! A lot! There is so much to learn and so much that I want to do with this company!

So, back to my kids being gone for the week. They had a blast! Emma called every day with lots of stories to tell. They love the pool. Not so much the beach, like me. There was a lady from New York there and she named them all different names. She was REALLY loud and would get the whole pools attention! She named Emma...........SupahStah and John Connor..............Johnnie Unitas Skipper! How funny is that? They were very entertained by her.

There cousins, Katie and Cooper, went with them. Katie is 5 and Cooper is 2. Emma was Cooper's keeper. She loves to take care of babies! I remember doing the same thing to my cousin, Rusty, when he was a baby. The little ones aren't too fond of it. They would rather be running around.....not carried and taken care of! I think they had so much fun just being together. They don't get to just hang out with them very much. They have lots of cousins and if we are at family functions.......everyone is there and it's not as cozy! I think they got lots of cozy time! They were going to come home today, but decided against it. I think they are crazy! If I didn't have to be home......I wouldn't ever come home..........but, I think we've established that.

John Mayer in concert......August 29th! Tickets go on sale Saturday! I can't wait! I was never a huge John Mayer fan until I went to his concert last year. I'm not a big fan of going to concerts, either. This man can play the guitar like no other. I was mesmerized. Obviously, you know this. His music is playing on here. Lots of it. Have you read his blog? He's kinda funny, too! Jennifer Anniston.......move over!!

You know how my kids were gone for 5 days? They both grew so much. Isn't that amazing when you can SEE changes in them? I love it! Oh, and they both got haircuts! Love that Susu likes to do that. John Connor's looks better than it ever has. I will have to start taking him to her to get a haircut! no more HeadStart.

Blogger is doing something crazy and I'm really worried this won't post. Hopefully, I can save it.
Ok.....off to VBS! and pilates! YES......summer is here!