Bubblegum

Katie's Guide to Growing Natural Nails

2011-07-17T07:55:00.000-07:00

As many of you faithful Bubblegum readers know, I have a slight obsession with fingernails.

Getting gel nails stress me out. I want MY nails to be pretty. NO OVERLAYS. About a year and a half ago, I was having really bad problems with splitting and peeling. It actually go to the point my nails were so thin they were painful. Thus, I began my quest on improving the overall health of my nails.

Here are my steps (and the necessary products) essential to growing natural nails (according to my exhaustive scientific research over the last year and a half):

1. Make taking care of your nails a priority. I know this sounds dumb, but you really do have to set aside time to follow all the steps.

2. Start taking a vitamin with Biotin in it. I recommend Sundown's Hair Skin and Nails vitamin. Recommended by both my dermatologist and my hairdresser. Go figure.

3. Keep your nails painted at all times. Not just with a clear coat. With COLOR. I don't know if it's because you can see a color when it chips and know you need to touch it up or if color is stronger, but just painting your nails clear will not really help them grow. Even when I was having nail problems, I always had at least a clear coat on. You have to use a color.

4. Paint your nails at least twice a week. When I say paint, I mean basically give yourself a manicure. Remove all old polish. Completely repaint from the bottom up using my 4 element polish recipe (see below).

I have also tried out MANY nail polishes and products that promise growth, nail health etc. After all my research, the formula below seems to work for me:

Katie's Natural Nail Manicure Recipe:

1. Start with Nailtiques Formula 2 on your bare nail. I swear by Nailtiques. Nothing else works on the natural nail like it. My mother and I have used it for years and I have to say alot of my nail troubles started when I strayed from Nailtiques. In my opinion, it truly is the best.

2. Follow up with Orly Bonder Rubberized Base Coat. I started using this because I thought it was the closest thing to the gel nail polish that I had gotten at the salon. Use one coat of this on top of the Nailtiques and I truly think it prevents chipping and makes your manicure last longer.

3. Two coats of color polish. Any kind you like.

4. Finish off with Seche Vite top coat. This is the best top coat I've ever used. It's widely held to be the best for a reason. If you accidentally brush up against something, SV will prevent that from ruining your manicure.

5. Let it dry completely.

This manicure will last between 4 and 7 days without a chip. It just depends on what you do with your hands during that time. However, once my nails start to show any wear at all, I remanicure them.

More Layouts

2011-06-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

Just a few of the latest layouts.
Hope you all are staying cool in the 'ham.

Layouts

2011-05-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

A lot of these were done for on line crop challenges over at Cocoa Daisy.

Lucky me, I get to scrap with some friends AGAIN this weekend! yay!!!!

My Review of Country Strong

2011-05-22T06:11:00.000-07:00

As a blonde who came of age in the 1990's I have a slight obsession with Gwyneth Paltrow. She's the icy beauty you love to hate, but can't get enough of.

My fellow 90's blondes Leah F. Jackson and Karly Field. and I have been wanting to see this movie since it came out. Unf, scheduling conflicts abounded and we were unable to see it together. I finally caved and redboxed it Friday night. The following may contain spoilers so be warned!

Basically this is a movie about Kelly Canter, an alcoholic country music superstar, that is being forced by those around her to leave rehab early and do a short, 3 city redemption tour (dubbed "Encore"). Her husband and manager, James (Tim McGraw) seems to be the main driving force behind the encore, removing her from rehab a month early and putting her directly in front of an arena full of people. While in rehab she meets an aspiring singer named Beau (Garret Headlund) who she hooks up with and demands that he go on tour with her as an opening act. James has been grooming his own up an comer, Chiles (Leighton Meester) a pageant type who Beau dubs "Country Barbie". The movie focuses on this 3 city tour showing with the requisite affairs, breakdowns, tender moments of truth and something about a bird. After coming apart on stage in the first show, not showing due to drunken bender in the second, Kelly finally does her star thing and hits a homer for the final show in Dallas. Then she kills herself (which I did not see coming until right before it happened). Blah Blah Blah. Love and fame are not compatible. Blah Blah Blah.

Here are my issues with this movie:

1. Why is Kelly and alcoholic? Kelly and James's marriage is a big focus of the movie. There are many many references to how happy and in love they were in "the beginning". However, we don't know if she's always been a mess or if something happened (the stress of fame, affairs, some tragedy in her childhood, etc) that was the catalyst for her breakdown. The movie opens with James taking her out of her second stint in rehab so clearly this wasn't a new problem, but we never find out what was really going on with her.

2. The James/Chiles story. Esp. early on, the movie hints that Chiles and James are having an affair. However, there is never anything to really confirm or deny this. The longer the movie goes on the more it seems like they aren't. It was confusing and it really bugged me.

3. If you are depending on an alcoholic meal ticket, have more handlers. James convinces Beau to join the tour (oh yeah, he had to talk Beau into joining the tour bc Beau DOESN'T CARE about success in the music business. He just wants to play good music for people that will appreciate it. Uh huh.) under the guise of "taking care of Kelly". Basically he wants Beau to keep her occupied and away from the bottle during the tour. James hon, if your main goal is making money off your performer wife and the number one thing you need to do is keep her sober enough to perform, in addition to inviting her lover on tour, you need to do the following:
a. Hire (yes HIRE) additional handlers to watch her so she is never alone and thus can never slip a sip. That's what they did with Robert Downey Jr. for a while. It seemed to work ok for them.
b. Have a NO BOOZE rule on tour. I mean, if you are the big rich important Country stars you claim to be, you should be able to keep alcohol away from the alcoholic.
I mean, I have no experience with this kind of thing, but I can figure out that much.

4. Does James actually love Kelly or not? So, James doesn't really care about Kelly's well being (since he took her out of rehab early) and apparently doesn't care if she is sleeping with some other guy (bc really, it seemed like James thought it was better for her to be screwing around with Beau instead of drinking bc at least then she'd be sober enough to perform), but then when Beau admits he was sleeping with Kelly, James punches him. Kelly tells James she got "one of those Brazilian Bikini waxes" one night and he tells her he just took an Ambien (I laughed out loud all by myself at that). Before the last performance, he is about to open up about how much he loved her when they first met (and Kelly stops him presumably to table the discussion), but then immediately after the concert he doesn't go talk to her or look for her or anything, thus allowing her to overdose on pills and then have enough tim to let them actually work into her system so her life cannot be saved. I guess they USED to be in love, but then they grew apart or lost sight of whatever, etc. etc. etc. It would have been more clear cut if the presumed then not presumed affair with Chiles was more defined.

This movie was supposed to be a vehicle for a 2nd best actress nod for Gwyneth, and you may remember the reviews were not good. I wasn't expecting a lot. Gwyn's performance was fine, not great, but fine. Her southern accent never wavered and was pretty good. She was def. not afraid to let the mascara run all over her face if need be. The script was thin and the character development was non existent.

The best part of the movie was Garret Heglund's performance. He was really dynamic on screen. Apparently, he was in Tron: Legacy, but a cursory review on IMDB revealed he also played Perecles in Troy. For those of you that don't remember was Brad Pitt's young "cousin" that died when he dressed up as Achilles and tried to attack Troy. Then Achilles (Brad) went bananas and killed everyone. That was him. IN Troy he was all pretty boy. In Country Strong, he was gruff around the edges hottie and it was quite a difference.

Anyone else have any thoughts.

Addiction

2011-05-18T05:25:00.000-07:00

I confess. I am addicted to Pure Barre.

I would go every single day if I could.

Disney Wrap Up

2011-05-15T17:11:00.000-07:00

Note: This post is old. I had did it a while ago and for some reason, everytime I tried to log into Blogger, it was acting up.

PK and Pirate J at Cinderella's Royal Table

Me with Sleeping Beauty

Last week, the Prom King, the kiddies and I all went to the land of the Greedy Mouse (aka Walt Disney World in Orlando). I am still tired from the trip and we got back 3 days ago.

We left on Sunday morning and our plane landed about 1pm Orlando time. We then took the Disney Magical Express to our hotel (the Beach Club). After going up to our room we went to get on the bus to the Animal Kingdom. And we waited. And we waited. And we finally took a cab bc it was now about 3:30 and we hadn't even seen the first park.

We had a great time that first day at AK. The highlight was Expedition Everest, aka the Yeti ride. J and B have a "thing" for the Yeti/Grassman/Sasquatch so they were super pumped to ride it together. PK isn't really one for the roller coasters and it was a little much for him. So I rode it with J the second time. It was REALLY fun!

That night we had a character dinner at 1900 Park Fare where Jason met Cinderella. He is now convinced Cinderella is in love with him. Sometimes I wonder how we are going to instill self confidence in that boy.

The next day was spent at the Magic Kingdom, where Cam did the Bippity Boppiti Boutique (she chose to dress up as Sleeping Beauty) and J did the Pirate's League (Pirate Name: Richard Bladecutter). J and I rode all the fun rides while PK and the Tiny Princess rode the kiddie rides (but not the Tea Cups bc that would be too intense). We ended the day at Cinderella's Royal Table where J got to spend more one on one time with Cinderella plus Snow White, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty and Belle. Watching the kids during the whole Castle experience was my highlight.

We were all exhausted by that time so we just did a half day at Hollywood Studios the next day. J and I rode the Tower of Terror (waited an hour in line for a 7 1/2 minute ride). We had lunch at Pizza Planet (where the salad is actually pretty good) and then used our fast pass to ride Toy Story Mania. TSM is a real version of the Wii game of the same name. I beat PK at it so that was nice too!

Thanks to the help of our Disney Vacation Planner, Brittney Smith, we made a good call on the hotel. The Beach Club had a really cool pool which we took full advantage of on Tuesday afternoon. It was a nice change of pace from the parks and it had an awesome water slide (that J went on about 57 times).

On our last day, we decided to forgo Epcot and hit AK again. The "exotic petting zoo" was closed by the time we got there on Sunday so I really wanted to do that before we left. I was thinking, "Disney exotic petting zoo probably means like Koalas or Monkeys or something. Maybe a Kangaroo!". Not so much. They had goats, sheep and some burros. Wow. Exactly the same animals we have at our local petting zoo.

In hindsight, I think we would have fared better if we would have had a higher adult to child ratio. We know several people that have gone with either just one child or all their kids but grandparents. In fact, I highly recommend that the grandparents foot the bill for the whole trip. That is certainly the way to go.

Design Sponge is speaking to me

2011-04-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

Just a few weeks ago, a DS editor came to Birmingham and raved about it. As if I didn't love the site enough, this catapulted it to the top of my list.

NOW, they did a "Living In" segment about one of my favorite movies from my childhood. Heathers

When I saw this movie, I thought it was the ultimate in cool. It originated some of the best lines in cinema:

"What's your damage?"
"F me gently with a chainsaw."
"Corn Nuts!"

Right now, we are waiting for the second round of bad storms that debuted this morning around 5:30 am.
Driving around today, I saw a ton of damage. Lots of big old trees uprooted and laying on top of crushed houses. I pray for the people affected and for those waiting and hoping to avoid the storms.

Happy Easter

2011-04-25T17:08:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday filled with too much good food and candy. Here is the fam out on my parent's porch.

Not the best picture of me ever. I think I may need to go back to blonde. Any comments on that?Also had some time to do some scrapping this weekend. You know I loved that.

Holy Saturday

2011-04-23T05:44:00.000-07:00

Philippians 3:10-12
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. (NIV)

Shrugging

2011-04-18T16:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, I went to see the new movie Atlas Shrugged. It's based on the tome of the same name by Ayn Rand. After the Bible, it ranks as the book people say has been the most influential on their lives. Count me in that group. I've read it all the way through - twice.

I have eagerly awaited the film adaptation of one of my favorite books for years. To fully cover all the aspects of this classic coming to film will take more than one blog post. Today, I start by reviewing the cast.

As my friend Brandon (who, along with his wife, the famous Karly attended with me yesterday afternoon) said, the actors aren't going to win any Academy Awards. In fact, my favorite character in the movie (who I could have SWORN was Richard Roxborough) was most recently playing "Cooter" the werewolf on True Blood last season. No lie. I thought he did a good job.

The chick that played Dagny was extremely wooden. In the book, she is passionate - supremely passionate - about her work and her work ethic. In this rendition, she was mildly interested. Maybe she was Dagny on too many antidepressants. Granted, according to the book, she is an engineer, so maybe they were going for "dorky math geek", but that was the wrong call. I mean, I am an ACCOUNTANT for crying out loud and I actually think I would have made a better Dagny.

Ellis Wyatt was played by the same guy who played Dick Stenzlin in LA Confidential. At least I recognized him. I thought he was a little bit overplayed, to be perfectly honest. You can do larger-than-life without screaming so much.

James Taggert's character was also kind of middle of the road. He needed a touch more righteous indignation mixed in with his desperation. He is the second most pitiful character from the book with Hank Reardon's brother winning that particular contest.

The dude who played Wesley Mauch was spot on. He sounds intelligent. His manner invites trust and comfort in his words...unless you are actually listening and comprehending what he is saying. As my Mama always said, the devil isn't the ugly horned creature you see at Halloween - he's smooth and attractive. Not that this old dude was attractive. His words were "comforting". All the talk about "equality" and "fairness" and "balance" sounds nice. In actuality, its anything but.

But I digress into the message. This post is meant to deal with the acting.

Finally, the cruelest cut of all. The casting of John Galt.

When reading the book, I always envisioned Leonardo DiCaprio as Galt. In the book, he is practically made of gold. A demigod, he is strong, attractive, intelligent and forthright. So, who did they cast to be the shadowy, hat-wearing John Galt in the movie?

Dan Scott

For those of you unfamiliar with One Tree Hill, he also played John Sears on 90210. Both characters are smarmy asses. In real life, the man's name is Paul Johannsen.

Now, I make no judgement on Mr. Johansen himself. I am sure he is a perfectly lovely person. In fact, he is a very nice looking man. Unfortunately, I can't block out his past as John Sears/Dan Scott (and "Bolt" from Soapdish - deep cut right there).

Now, I did read today that he might be replaced for "Atlas Shrugged - Part II and III". Let's hope Leo climbs on board.

The big day

2011-04-09T04:17:00.000-07:00

Come by and see us at the Mt. Laurel Spring Festival!!! I've added a bunch of new pieces just for this festival. As always, they are all one-of-a-kind so once it's gone, it's GONE.

I might have made a good pioneer...

2011-04-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

I have this problem. It's genetic. I can't just BUY something I need. I have this strange compulsion to MAKE things that I could very easily (and in many cases cheaply) purchase.

Take for example, notebooks. They are readily available at pretty much every kind of store - WalMart, Target, Drug Stores, Big Lots, maybe even like Lowes.

However, a store bought notebook would not be good enough. I had to make my own with a pack of loose leaf, three binder rings and two pieces of chipboard. I embellished it with some tiny little banners (cut from Lily Bee papers). Voila.

Now, it's so pretty that I don't want to write in it.

jewelry, layouts and a fun 80's Band

2011-03-27T06:18:00.000-07:00

This little guy is sold already : )

I've been on a jewelry making tear preparing for the Mt. Laurel festival. I've also been working on some layouts (fun).

And also finding time to hang out with Friends. PK and I went to the Comedy Club last night with the Fields and the Harpers to hear John Caparulo who was HILARIOUS. Seriously the funniest comedian I've ever heard live. I didn't stop laughing.

Here are Karly, Michelle and I posing with John in the parking lot.

Afterwards, we got all crazy and went to see an 80's cover Band called The Raygun Administration. They were so much fun. They had crazy 80's Flock of Seagulls hair and skinny ties. The people watching was also excellent.

New Designs

2011-03-25T04:17:00.000-07:00

I've been busy getting ready for the Mt. Laurel Spring Festival on April 9th. Hope to see all of you there.

Also, check out our Facebook Page for Delightful Lime! My jewelry isn't the only thing available. The Sip N' Seat has been a big seller. Just wait until you see the insulated bags...perfect for the lake or the beach or the ball park!

HE IS HOME!!!!

2011-03-19T13:50:00.001-07:00

Pics from the airport on Thursday. We were all so happy to see Daddy. Cam pulled his backpack around for him, and all the way to the car.

Thank you again so much for all of your prayers. They worked!!!!! Praise the Lord for His faithfulness.

Great is Thy Faithfulness

2011-03-12T05:16:00.000-08:00

I love this hymn. It was one of my favorites from growing up. I am currently watching this in my daily life in an extra highlighted way.

My Dad left Wednesday afternoon en route to Manila, Philippines for a mission trip. He spent Wednesday night in L.A. and then headed to Manila via Tokyo.

He did not make it to Tokyo.

The earthquake that rocked Japan caused his flight to be rerouted to Sapporo (in Northern Japan). He landed there safely and then caught a flight to Tokyo (yes - I don't know why he went to Tokyo - a better chance of getting out I guess?) He sent Mom this email this morning:

"In Narita-overrun with thousands of stranded folks! Korean air no openings for 4 days. Americansays can fly home Thursday earliest. Delta is last hope, JAL cannot get me to Manila either, not sure they are flying there yet. Stuck in Tokyo for now. No sign of Roy. Keep praying."

As a believer in Christ, I believe that all things work according to His purpose. It is no accident Dad didn't make it to Manila. It's no accident he is now in Tokyo. The Lord wants him there for a reason.

Dad's mission trip may have been diverted, but I believe God has put him in his current situation to serve the Lord's higher purpose.

Granted, as humans, we worry for our loved ones when they are in mortal peril. My Mother and I are greatly worried over this and Daddy is constantly in our thoughts.

However, something happened yesterday that gave me great comfort.

Yesterday morning, when I went to get my wedding ring from the ring holder (where I ALWAYS put it), it wasn't there. I searched the house high and low for about 10 minutes (bc I had to take J to school) and resolved to perform a more thorough search once I got home that afternoon.

The kids didn't recall seeing it. Brian hadn't seen it. I looked all over the house for it. I couldn't find it.

My Mom came over for dinner last night. She looked for it. No Dice. Finally, I went through the trash bag we just threw out (a lovely experience, let me tell you). No ring.

Mother misplaced her wedding rings a few years ago. She looked everywhere for weeks looking for it. One day she looked up and it was on top of a salt shaker. Apparently, where she had left it weeks ago.

Last night, after I had given up looking for my rings, I looked up on the chest where my ring holder was and noticed my rings sitting on top of a perfume bottle - apparently where I had left them yesterday.

I know this seems like a little thing, but I truly think God was sending me a message. Brian, Mother and I had looked all over that chest. In the drawers, in my jewelry box, in my ring holder, but my rings sat safely in plain sight on top of a perfume bottle. I don't recall ever having put my rings there before and I'm not sure why I did it on Thursday. I think God was sending me a few messages:

1. I am faithful in little things, I will be faithful in big things.
2. I am watching over your precious Daddy. I will keep him safe.

I also don't think it was an accident My Mom was here for the whole looking for/finding the ring. Since her ring losing story was very similar, I think God used this situation to send the same messages to her.

Another interesting/cool item: The name of the perfume I had placed my ring was "Sake". How 'bout them rapple tapples.

More March Beautification!

2011-03-02T04:51:00.000-08:00

Went out last night and celebrated the first day of March with some sweet friends of mine. March Beautification is turning out to be my favorite holiday season.

The great weather is still holding out so that is also nice.

So, as I mentioned in my last post, I am full on trying to come up with the ultimate at-home manicure. Based on recommendations from friends and the world wide web, here is what I have so far (from the base of the nail up):
1. Develop 10 Calcium Treatment (to try to strengthen my sad, peeling, weak nails)
2. Orly Bonder (rubberized base coat). This go around, I didn't wait for the Bonder to dry before putting the color on. I read that it worked best that way. We shall see.
3. 2 coats of Orly Galaxy Girl (dark purple with sparkles!)
4. Seche Vite Quick Dry Top coat (going to do a layer of this every day to protect).

WELCOME MARCH!!!

2011-02-28T14:54:00.000-08:00

Goodbye to the two worst months of the year (with the exception of a few birthdays of some important people in my life).

To usher in the new SPRING season and MARCH BEAUTIFICATION, I purchased the darling Toms Wedges above. Once I break my feet in (bc they have gotten soft, being pampered in socks all winter), these will be oh, so comfy. I love them!

As much as I love getting my nails done with Gelish, I just don't have the time to run by there every other week. So, I am trying a combo of Develop 10 Calcium Gel (to presumably strengthen my nails) and Orly Bonder which is a rubberized nail polish that is claims to make your manicure last TWO WEEKS. Which, as you may remember, is the same claim that Gelish and all the other gel nail polish make.

I would take pics, but its raining here. Not enough light. I painted them Friday and they still look good.

HAPPY MARCH BEAUTIFICATION EVERYONE!!!!!!!

all kinds of crafties

2011-02-20T05:39:00.000-08:00

Still loving my Silhouette. Been playing around with the new fabric cutting interfacing making all kinds of appliques. I made this monkey shirt for Teenie to wear to her Birthday Party today : )The sock monkey was a free download shape from Silhouette. I hand stitched it with embroidery floss

Now, on to some J heavy pages:

Have a wonderful day peeps.

One of those weeks...

2011-02-16T16:24:00.000-08:00

I have been SLAMMED busy since I got back from the beach (which was way fun by the way). You know when everything hits you at once:

Work Deadlines

Extra Work Projects

Teacher Appreciation Week (which you found out about the Saturday before it started) - a new gift for each day of this week

Our Church's semi annual consignment sale for which I had to not only prepare my stuff for sale, but I also work at.

and to top it all off, my annual physical was today.

At least its been lovely weather. It feels like spring here! It's saving me. Hence the necklace above. To me, that necklace is spring. I made it with Sassafras metal flowers. I have been looking for some enamel flowers EVERYWHERE when I found these. This particular piece is not for sale : )

AMF.

2011-02-04T06:25:00.001-08:00

Headed to the coast. I am not bringing Tequila this time. Because, as I learned during my last beach trip, 3 oz of wine and 3 oz of Tequila are NOT comparable. Just FYI. My public service announcement to you.

Have an excellent weekend peeps!

jewelry and the comedy club

2011-01-24T14:04:00.000-08:00

Last night, Karly, Michelle and I went to see Loni Love at the Comedy Club. She was amazingly hilarious! I love how she offended everyone, but was still nice about it.

Here is Karly telling the owner of the Comedy Club that he needs to get better food.

I also made some new jewelry this weekend. I have been searching all over for this little colorful owl. I love him! I wore him to the CC last night.

I also ordered some Sassafras metal flowers from 2P's and made this necklace. I just poked a hole thru the center and attached it to a spacer with a brad. Super easy and I LOVE IT!!!

just another new years resolution...

2011-01-17T15:42:00.000-08:00

Srsly? No comments for the last post. I am slightly heartbroken.

So, this weekend I did some home decor that I've been meaning to do for a while. I used the Silhouette for alot of it. Here is a recap.

1. Foyer Stars - I did a layout with this as the background a long time ago. I thought it would be cool to do as a canvas. I got some 12x12 canvas board and layered some patterned paper in a star shape on them (after painting the background glossy black). It gives color to our sad, tan foyer.

2. Text Wall Hanging - I thought this would take like an hour. It took all freaking day. I used some cheap vinyl stickers I got on clearance with my Silhouette vinyl to make this pic about special places for me and the PK. Here is the "in process" picture.

Here is the finished product:

I will never do this again. It was a pain. Although, I do like the result.

3. Sports Themed Pictures - J informed me that the precious canvas paintings of animals he previously had in his room were "kind of babyish". I needed to replace them with sports stuff. Like, "football and baseball and boxing and stuff like that". As I dried my tears, I found these cool "grunge" balls on the Silhouette site. Here is the baseball. A football and basketball are to follow but I ran out of time. Busy season and all that.

No Words - Just Layouts

2011-01-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

Decorating

2011-01-03T05:36:00.000-08:00

My resolution for 2011 is to decorate my house. I have done lots of "decorating" but nothing is ever finished. This year, I want to finish something. Alot of things actually.

There were a few little home decor projects I wanted to get done. So, yesterday, I did a few.

First up is a little picture for Cam's room. I had this piece of Crate Paper patterned paper that I just LOVED. It was so pretty, I couldn't use it. I couldn't bear to cut it. So, I decided to display it as the background to a picture so I could look at it all the time.

I got two metal dress forms a few weeks ago at Hobby Lobby 50% off. I like the edgy, femme theme and that is what I'm going for in Cam's room. I cut out two dress forms with my Silhouette and glued them on the paper. Then I framed it and hung it in Cam's room. Easy.

About a year ago (see, told you I was slow with the decorating), I bought a bunch of paper lanterns. My original plan was to hang them in Cam's big girl room, but it didn't quite work out (as you can see, I went in another direction). So, yesterday, I took six of the white ones and hung them in the playroom.

They kind of look like clouds.

So, it's not finished, but it's a start. I also made three canvases using some patterned paper scraps that I am going to hang in the foyer. I haven't photographed them yet so I will save that for another post.

Happy New Year!!!

A White Christmas?

2010-12-28T02:45:00.001-08:00

Seriously! We had one. The first on record in like 100 years. Cam even made snow angels!!!

PK and I were discussing how we had never seen a white Christmas in our entire lives. My 3-year-old niece said, "This is the first White Christmas in my whole life too!".

anticipation....

2010-12-22T04:18:00.000-08:00

I am really not the hugest fan of Christmas. Now, the birth of Jesus is fabulous and that part I really am happy about (for lots of reasons), but the "Christmas Season" as it has come to be in our society really grates on me.

However, I've got to say, even the Grinch in me is excited about a few things this "Christmas Season". Here are just a few:

1. Watching the kids open the gifts we got them. Because J has been talking about Super Mario Party 8 for like 4 months. Because I think Cam will flip when she sees her Princess Ariel doll.

2. The gift I got for my Mom. Its the gift I've always wanted to give her. I hope she likes it : )

3. Christmas Candlelight at Church. I love that we have a church that is "ours". Brian and I picked it because we loved it. Not because we had friends that went there or because our parents went there. We love our church because that is where God wants us to be. The Christmas Eve services really get it right. It's about a Savior.

What about you, dear readers? Any Christmas faves?

Little Things that are awesome - 2010 edition

2010-12-19T04:56:00.001-08:00

Hello Blog Reading Peeps!

I am a simple person. Small things make me happy. There have been alot of small things that have brought me joy this year (and some big ones). I want to share a few of the "little" things that I have deemed "Awesome" in 2010.

1. Baha Burger - Take my advice and Build Your Own with Lamb, provolone, grilled onions, pickles and mushrooms on a wheat rosette with a side of sweet potato fries. You will LOVE it. For those of you that have the kiddies with you, I'd go to the Baha in Hoover - they have a wider variety of kid friendly burgers. They also have more room. The Baha that I frequent, their Colonnade location, is small and VERY busy.

2. L'Oreal Infallible Lip Gloss - the hands down winner of the most awesome lip stuff on the planet. Not only does it last forever, but the shade Truffle is the perfect not too much, not too little color. Do yourself a favor and go buy a tube TODAY.

3. Gelish gel nailpolish - I've said enough about this product recently. Love it. Sweet Chocolate is my favorite color.

4. Tokyo Pen Shop - Another thing about me: I am CRAZY particular about my pens. I can NEVER find any that have a fine enough point for my tastes. Enter the Tokyo Pen Shop. Check out the Hi Tec C (recommended by Martha Stewart) and the Sarasa Stick (my personal favorite). Lots of colors too!

5. Lash Boosting Serum and The Falsies Mascara - Use the serum at night and during the day under your mascara. The Falsies really does make your lashes look a mile long.

6. Bejeweled Blitz - It's addictive. I play it at night to help me fall asleep. I think it cost 99 cents on my touch. LOVE love love.

7. The Mukka - I bought this for myself with some birthday money about 3 years ago. It is the first thing I reach for in the morning. A perfect latte every time. Better than Starbucks.

8. Home Delivery Dry Cleaning - Seriously, none of our clothes would ever be dry cleaned if I had to take them and pick them up. Hip Hip Hooray for home delivery

9. Old Navy - The kids and I might as well be sponsored by Old Navy. That is pretty much all we wear. Not as expensive as the Gap, but still stylish.

10. Reading - Mostly due to the purchase of an Amazon Kindle end of 3Q this year, I have kicked my reading up a notch this year.

Scrap-a-palooza with the Silhouette

2010-12-15T13:51:00.000-08:00

Still having fun with my Silhouette when I can get a chance amid the holiday goings on. And work. And kid stuff. You know how that goes.

I used the Silhouette to make the titles for both of these layouts. I also used it to make the film strip edges on the "gift" layout.

Speaking of gifts...Noel Mignon is running an AMAZING contest. Upload a layout with the theme "gift" and link it on their blog and you are entered to win TWO (yes two - one for you and one for a friend) of the December Bedford Falls kit. That is a nice giveaway. Wish me luck!

Crafty McCraftiness

2010-12-12T08:37:00.000-08:00

The Prom King got me a Silhouette for Christmas (or more accurately, I purchased it on sale and informed him that was my Christmas gift). I have been having a really good time with it. Making tags. Making layout titles. Making cute little tee shirts...

I bought these cute little Peace tights a few weeks ago and couldn't find a shirt to go with them. So, I downloaded this little peace heart from the Silhouette online store and used some Dark Pink heat transfer material to make a shirt specifically to go with these pants. The pinks match perfectly. I would have gotten Cam to model, but she is using her unique 3-year-old ability to concoct her own outfits this morning (which means she is wearing a grouping of mismatched, seasonally inappropriate clothing).

I also made some cute little star ornaments with Sculpey clay and American Crafts ZING! Embossing powder for Cam's teachers at school. They were super easy and very fun to make. The kids like to pick out the colors and pour the embossing powder on. I like to pour on lots of UTEE and watch it cook.

I printed a nice little Christmas phrase on a fourth of a sheet of white cardstock and attached the ornament with a glue dot. It looked kind of colorless, even with the ornament, so I took a light green marker and drew a little border too.

Hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season!!!

Things I have already done to screw up my children

2010-12-09T23:45:00.000-08:00

If you are just joining us, please read the previous post where I describe the situation in which I found myself listening to talk radio.

If you are back, I know you are waiting on pins and needles for me to share my additional thoughts on the interview with the shrink with the game pieces.

As the interview was wrapping up, and the shrink was continually aghast at how three-year-old girls were all starving themselves in an effort to look like a cartoon character, the talk show host said, "It's amazing how early we can screw up our children".

Again, this entire story is about a group of little girls, that included girls as young as THREE, and their cartoon game piece preferences. Because little Sally did not want to play with the fat piece, she is screwed up and her parents are to blame.

Right around this point, I am guessing that the shrink that conducted the study does not have any children. I am also starting to wonder if the talk show host does or if he was just talking without thinking. Because, I would hate to think my parenting skills are going to be judged by what gingerbread man my daughter chooses next time we play Candy Land.

Now don't get me wrong. There are some very bad parents out there in the world. People that are twisted and end up raising twisted kids. I wholeheartedly agree that parents are the single biggest influence on a person. As a parent, I feel it is my duty to do my very best to provide a stable and loving home for my children. As a Christian, it is my duty to teach them about Jesus and the way He wants us to live our lives. I take my job as a mother VERY VERY seriously.

However, since all parents are people, they can never be perfect. Have I made mistakes? Absolutely. Will I continue to make mistakes in the future? In the words of Sarah Palin, you betcha. Am I going to try to do my best NOT to make mistakes (even though I know I will)? Oh yes!

I know it is quite acceptable in our society to blame your parents for everything that is wrong with you. I'm anorexic because my Mom refused to let me eat Twinkies for dinner. I'm a cocaine addict because my Dad didn't hug me enough. I cheat on my wife because my parents never taught me to love! It's not my fault! It's theirs.

Give me a freaking break. While it may be beneficial to probe your childhood or adolescence to figure out why you do what you do, at the end of the day, you have to take responsibility for your own actions. Did something about the way you were raised in the past have an effect on the way you lived in the present? Certainly. Now, take responsibility for it, change the behavior if need be and move on.

It is quite possible that I have the two best parents on the planet. I am an only child and I am very close to my Mom and Dad. They provided me with a wonderful and happy childhood. Did they make some parenting mistakes? Sure. Is the way I act today partially shaped by the way I was raised? Absolutely. So, when I am a bad person and do awful things, is it my parent's fault? No, because I am an adult and I am responsible for my own choices.

So, that's it. Aren't you all glad I had insomnia?

Michelle Obama is making my 3 year old anorexic and other bedtime stories

2010-12-08T23:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, since I have been having car issues this week, I took J to school in the Prom King's car. Since I was literally being fueled by adrenaline and anger yesterday, I couldn't be bothered to change the radio station in his car. He had it tuned to talk radio - whatever local station carries Rush Limbaugh - I don't know the exact station.

One of the news items covered a study done with 55 little girls somewhere in Arizona in which some learned-type person was trying to study the girls' perception of body image. The girls were told they would be playing some type of game (for whatever reason, I imagined Chutes & Ladders), and given a choice of three game pieces: one thin, one "normal" and one fat.

The shrink that conducted the experiment and the show host were all in a tither because most of the little girls did not pick the fat game piece. In fact, some of the little girls even REFUSED to give the shrink their thin or normal game piece when she tried trade them for her fat one. THE HORROR!!!!!! I mean, some of the little girls in this study were AS YOUNG AS 3 YEARS OLD!!!!! Three and they are already on the precipice of anorexia!!!!!!

This leads me to a couple of thoughts:

1. Lets not let a study that is partially comprised of three-year-olds cause us to make any snap judgements about our society. Here is a news flash for our shrink: three-year-olds aren't really known for their well thought out decision making. I know. I have a three-year-old living in my house (and it's a girl! bonus points!). If you gave my daughter a thin game piece and tried to trade her for a fat one, she may or may not trade with you. However, I don't think her decision would be based on the general stature of the piece. It would be more based on which one was wearing pink or what hairstyle it had. Better yet, she might not want to trade just because SHE DIDN'T FEEL LIKE TRADING. Maybe she hadn't had a nap and wasn't going to agree to do anything for you at all because she is three and that is her prerogative.

2. Aren't we fighting some kind of war against obesity? I can't turn the Disney Channel on for my kids without Michelle Obama coming on there with one of the Jonas brothers and that Asian chick that's on the show with the twins telling us to eat less and exercise more. Because being fat is BAD and NOT HEALTHY. Haven't they been telling us for years that the American populace is generally lazy and obese, and apparently this is causing a great number of health problems? So, is being fat totally acceptable for game pieces only? I'm confused. Let's ask Michelle which game piece she wants to play with. Maybe that will help.

I am sure the shrink's study was funded by some type of federal grant. I know that Michelle's little program is. Is it me, or does this seem counterproductive?

Stay tuned readers, for tomorrow I will delve into the second thing about this interview that made me mad....

How does OPI Axxium Stand Up?

2010-12-07T15:17:00.001-08:00

So, TOTALLY in the interest of science, I went to Venetian Nail Spa at the Summit to try the OPI Axxium gel nail color. Just to compare it to Gelish and see how it stood up. See, right after I took the picture in the previous post, my nail broke and my polish chipped. I finally peeled it off on Friday. That's when I went to Veneitan to try the competition.

Venetian doesn't have the 20 second LED lights that L'Amour has. They use the 2 minute UV version, thus the manicure took about 45 minutes. Somedays, I wouldn't mind lazing around in a nail salon for an hour, but today I was kind of in a hurry. The painting process took alot longer too. I think the color I chose (Black Cherry Chutney) was about out and she was kind of scraping the bottom of the jar for it - so that could have been part of the problem. Another drawback, the fancy Venetian treatment was $15 more than the L'Amour mani. For me, this is a great deal of money to spend on something so frivolous. That is a HUGE strike against it.

Now for the upside. This picture was taken today (Tuesday) and there is nary a chip or even any wearing to this manicure. In fact, I don't think a nuclear missile will remove this stuff. The tips of my nails would wear within a couple of days with Gelish (which I just chalked up to the laws of physics), but this mani looks EXACTLY like it did when I left the salon. The only exception is the grow out at the bottom. No chips. No rub off. I am amazed. What is in this stuff?

The verdict? Still out. The price is an issue for me. However, if this mani REALLY lasts 3 weeks instead of the nearly two from Gelish, it could be worth it.

A new Gelish Manicure, layout and necklace

2010-11-29T13:55:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday (so, 9 days ago) I got this new Gelish manicure.
I forget the name of the color. Nine days later, no chips, still shiny and looks great. Yay Gelish!!! I have gotten several of my friends hooked on it too.

Did some scrapping over the holidays. Here is one of the ones I made. I'll WOW you with the other ones later on this week.

I also made a few new necklaces this weekend. Here is one of my faves. Huge, Dark Magenta lucite beads. It reminds me alot of a necklace I loved at Anthro last fall (but never purchased bc it was $40). I've made other necklaces lately and I will post them later this week too.

Hope you all had a fun Thanksgiving and have lots to be thankful for!!!!

So Thankful...

2010-11-24T14:39:00.000-08:00

For this guy

For these kids.

For family, for friends, for a roof over my head, for health.

Most of all for the Lord and His Son our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Best to everyone on this Thanksgiving Day.

Because I have all the time in the world....

2010-11-24T03:20:00.000-08:00

I really want to make this. I have swooned over this Anthropologie bedspread for so long. I love all their bedding, but spending alot of $$ on a new bedspread just isn't a priority for me.

However, I woke up this morning at about 4:45 and started going thru my favorite Websites, including Made by Lex and found her tutorial for making one of these babies.
She claims it was easy and only took her 5 hours. It would probably take me 5 weeks, but maybe if my uber talented, seamstress Mom would help me, we could cut that down a bit.

What color should I do? I am thinking orange....

Dear AT&T, I hate you.

2010-11-22T15:49:00.000-08:00

I really REALLY hate AT&T.

They give the worst customer service of all time. Today, I spent two hours dealing with them because I had a bad battery in my phone. The first chick I dealt with took a look at it to make sure it didn't have "water damage" (no kidding). First, they tried to send me across town to their repair center (since my POS phone is still under warranty). I was like, "How much will it take to buy out my contract?".

I went as far as to go to the TMobile store and get info on a new account ($200 for 2 Droid Phones - not a bad deal).

I ended up going back to the AT&T store to get my payoff quote IN WRITING. The second guy I dealt with just gave me a new battery. I asked, "Why did she (the first girl - right next to him), not try a new battery?". He said, "I don't know".

Really? WTF. Seriously. Without the iPhone, AT&T cellular would go under.

Got a new Gelish Mani on Saturday. Pics tomorrow.

If anyone would like to bitch about AT&T, please do so. I'd love to see your response.

Escape Artist, Christmas Presents and a Manicure Update.

2010-11-20T05:31:00.000-08:00

Painted a precious cute picture at the Escape Artist Thursday night. Thanks so much Lynn for being the awesomest instructor ever. I am so excited about my little Santa!!!

Here is a picture of my wrapped Christmas Presents. Yes, Dear Readers. I am COMPLETELY done. No more gifts to buy. No more presents to wrap. I hope this will let me enjoy the season a little more this year. Probably not, but at least I can hope!

I really can't blame Gelish for this one. The formerly indestructable fingernails I had in my youth are gone and have been replaced with peeling, splitting, paper thin nails. Thus, one of the reasons I wanted to get regular manicures. Not only are my natural nails unsightly, but they had gotten so damaged, they actually hurt. So, two weeks in, they are no longer perfect, but its not Gelish's fault. I still consider it a success.

Almost 2 Weeks and Still Going Strong

2010-11-17T14:04:00.000-08:00

Nary a chip on these nails. They are not splitting or peeling (as they usually do) and they are even GROWING. It's nice. I'm going to see if I can go all the way to the 3 week mark. We shall see. Amanda got one too!

As for the layouts on the last post, why, yes Mrs. McElveen - you did spy some Junkitz on that layout. Good eye.

Been wrapping Christmas Gifts like a madwoman. I will photograph them soon and post. Went with a purple/gold/orange color scheme this year. Yes, it's loud and it borders on tacky, but I dig it.

Escape Artist tomorrow night. HP book 7 part 1 on Friday. Yay!

Gelish nails - Day 4 plus RayLa and some layouts!

2010-11-09T14:31:00.000-08:00

Today is the 4th day of wear on the Gelish manicure I got Saturday. I have nothing but positive results. Peeps are amazed that it still looks completely fresh 4 days after the fact. I haven't babied the manicure either. I do all the same stuff I've always done - wash dishes, clothes, kids, work, etc. Not a chip. No fading. Sometimes I think they start to feel a little sticky when I wash my hair, but once I get out they are still glossy and unflawed. I'll keep you posted.

Went to see Ray LaMontagne at BJCC last night. He is an amazing performer. He sang songs I don't like on the CD and I could have listened to them for hours. The opening act, Secret Sisters (two actual sisters from Muscle Shoals, AL) were phenomenal. I am going to download some of their stuff from iTunes. Levon Helms, who apparently is some kind of godfather of Rock & Roll, was also there. I think he was a last minute addition and he was all of a sudden the headliner. I can't complain - the concert was FOUR HOURS LONG.

I would have liked about 3 and a half of Ray and 30 mins of the Secret Sisters. I do respect all that Mr. Helms has done for music. I also respect he's been married to the same woman for a really long time and that he is a cancer survivor. However, I really was not wanting to see him in concert.

Also, we sat directly behind the Alabama version of Heidi and Spencer Pratt. They kept kissing and giggling during Ray. And Spencer had a bad, stale laundry odor. ick.

Did some layouts this weekend. They feature my favorite semi pro ball player! I finally got into the "banner" trend on the Throwing layout. I like the result, if I do say so myself.

Have a wonderful day!

Gelish!

2010-11-06T15:34:00.001-07:00

So, after the recommendation of my neighbor, Tara, I went and got a Gelish Manicure at L'Amour Salon today. I picked the color "Sweet Chocolate", as it was closest to the Metro Chic (Opi by Sephora) I had been using. This is a gel polish that is supposed to stay on your nails and not chip for two to three weeks.

Since my nails won't grow past the tip of my finger without splitting or peeling, I am hoping this will allow me to grow some nice, natural nails. I did the gel fill nails for a while and they left my nails in a very sad state. Plus the fact they would crack and I have an unnaturally serious fear of nail funguses (I think it's the Lamisil commercials with the cartoon fungus), I just couldn't do it anymore.

Since I have a renewed commitment to blogging, I will keep you all posted on the status of the Gelish Manicure.

Because there has to be pictures, here are some pics of some layouts I did this week. These are both a combo of the "Sweet Sue" and "Dear Diary" kits from Noel Mignon. All pictures courtesy of the ever brilliant, Virginia.

Bc Its been a long time...

2010-08-23T15:11:00.000-07:00

All layouts from Noel Mignon Sunkissed Kit and/or Sweet Sue Kit.

Life just gets in the way of blogging sometimes!

J started school. Still working. Been traveling. Looking forward to the beach this weekend!

Celebrated #34 and #11 on Saturday. Got some GREAT deals at Anthro (plus 15% for having an Anthro card). So so so ready for Fall and for Alabama Football.

New Layouts : )

2010-06-19T06:27:00.001-07:00

Did a few layouts last night with the Noel Mignon Sun-kissed kit. This could be my favorite kit of all time. The colors are divine. It goes perfectly with my beach pictures.

I also did a couple of layouts with my Crate Paper stash. Unfortunately, Brian does no like his picture in one of these, so I can only post the details. I used my new Daisy Chain punch and punched rows and rows of flowers and laid them vertically on the layout.

In the middle of a busy week and super duper busy weekend.

Have a good one!!!

Sewing

2010-06-07T17:22:00.001-07:00

So, I was totally inspired by this post to make a little bandana skirt for C. I did not add the ruffle, because I am lazy and had no other fabric. Don't look too close bc apparently (according to wise Mom) the tension on my machine was too loose. The front looks ok, but the back is all tangled. I hope it doesn't fall apart. Anyhoo, she likes it and I figure its a decent first attempt.

Played Super Mario Galaxy 2 ALOT today with two silly monkeys at my house (one that lives here and one that was just a visitor). The first level in World 2 is giving me fits. It's driving me CRAZY! How sad is it that I can converse intelligently with 6 year olds about video games?

Things that are Awesome

2010-06-04T04:37:00.001-07:00

You all know I love some fancy designer jeans. You all also know I LOOOOOVE a good bargain.

My Dear Friend, the Market Maven, Karly B. Field told me of a sale at Gloss at the Summit this week. Apparently, they were going to have True Religion jeans on sale for $75. Now, for those of you that don't know, the usual retail value of True Religion jeans is $300, thus, I do not have a pair. Well, I did have one pair, but they were fakes I bought off a street vendor in Soho, but I digress.

DFK and I walked into Gloss on Wednesday to take a look at the $75 TR (because I just COULDN'T pass it up). Here is what we found:

Immediately, we saw why they were on sale. They were covered with some hideous looking studs. I know the 80's are supposed to be retro chic right now, but really, some trends do not need to be revived.

I was pretty sad bc I need some new jeans, as all my old ones are developing holes. Some of the holes are not in good places. BUT I took a closer look at the jeans and realized the studs were just held in by weak metal prongs. I thought, "I can so pull these things off and have a normal looking pair of jeans". So, I went for it. They just happened to have my size and I can't pass up a deal that is 80% off.

That night, I successfully pulled off every single hideous stud from my jeans! Woot!

So that is my story.

Thanks also to Noel Mignon for featuring my "Teenie Faces" layout below on the NM Blog this week. That was a wonderful compliment!!!!

Scrappy Goodness

2010-05-25T04:46:00.000-07:00

Did a little scrapping this weekend. Heavy on the American Crafts.

Etsy Link

2010-05-15T15:02:00.000-07:00

For whatever reason, the Etsy link below didn't work.

you may have to type in

paperandhanger.etsy.com

I'm going to be putting some new stuff in soon! I just got a nice sized shipment of beads this afternoon!!!!

Yay! I love winning things!

2010-05-10T13:47:00.000-07:00

Last week, the challenge over at Noel Mignon was to do a layout about the origin of your name. So, I entered and I was randomly selected to win the Nikki Sivils prize pack! I love winning things.

This week's challenge is about Motherhood. Good thing it lasts two weeks.

For those of you that have been inquiring about my necklaces, they are also for sale at Mocha and Missions at Asbury United Methodist Church in Birmingham, AL. Custom orders are available too.

Etsy Additions

2010-04-30T00:52:00.000-07:00

I just loaded a few new necklaces to the etsy shop. Go check them out.

Danger! Danger!

2010-04-19T04:22:00.000-07:00

Those of you who really know me, are fully aware of my pen addiction. From as far back as I can remember, I have amassed pens of all kinds, colors and tip sizes. I like fine point. I like ball point. I like felt tip. I like gel ink. I love it all!

So in my latest Martha Stewart Living magazine, they mentioned a certain kind of pen I'd never heard of before. The Pilot Hi-Tec C. It apparently comes in many colors and in very fine tips. So, I headed on over to the Tokyo Pen Shop and ordered the "Cutie Colors" set. Seriously, I am so excited about getting this in the mail. I cannot wait.

This site has a lot of other choices if anyone else out there is a pen aficionado like me. You can even give reviews and stuff. It's nice to know I'm not alone in the world.

Also, thanks to everyone who supported me during my pity party (last post). I am feeling a TON better now. Sinus infection is on the wane!!!

Do you ever have one of those days?

2010-04-16T15:10:00.000-07:00

When I was in college, I had a print of this poster up on my wall. It best reflected how I felt most of the time. Oh boy, I didn't even know what I was in for in my 30's.

Most days I can cope fairly well. My relationship with the Heavenly Father makes that possible. Even with faith, He lets me go through some rough patches too.

Just kind of in a funk today. One of my readers complained I always write about scrapbooking on my blog, so I hope you are now happy I changed it up!

Me and Chinese Drywall

2010-04-02T14:05:00.002-07:00

You've heard all about the dreaded Chinese Drywall right? It was used during the housing boom from like 2005 to 2007 or so. Anyhoo, its, apparently, sulfuric and causes illness and small electrical appliances to break. No one is sick, but we have the small (and not so small) electrical appliances going haywire.

Yesterday afternoon, I walked upstairs to find it was 89 degrees. The air was blowing, but it wasn't cold. Great. So, I pulled out my cell phone and called Karly, who gave me the name of someone they recommended.

Later, as we were walking down to the neighbor's house, I pulled out my cell phone to make a call. I promptly got the message "insert smart card". No service. I charged it, I took it apart, I popped the battery. Nothing. Still didn't work. I decided I'd go to the AT&T store first thing in the morning.

Coincidentally, I needed to a lot of work today. So, around 7ish, I logged on to my work network and discovered about ten important emails that needed my immediate attention yesterday. Of course. I start working my way through them when my internet goes out. Called Charter. There's an outage in my area. They are working to fix it. blah blah blah blah blah.

So, the Crazy Reds and I went to our local AT&T Store to see what was wrong with my phone. Apparently, it was dead, and GOOD NEWS I was due for a new phone! Yay me. So, while the AT&T guy was setting up my phone, one of my children (still not 100% sure which) unplugged the power to all their computers in the store. Lovely. Poor guy couldn't get back on line to complete my transaction.

We then went next door to get J a hair cut. There were 4 people ahead of us and only one hairdresser. I was just happy my kids were no longer wreaking havoc on the AT&T Store. Fortunately, internet access was restored over there and I got a new phone. We didn't have enough time to get J's hair cut before the neighborhood Easter Egg hunt (which, of course, I forgot the baskets for). Oy. We left early bc the air guy said he'd be there "after lunch". I didn't want to miss him so I made sure I was home by 12:30.

But at least my children have been acting like perfect angels! Oh wait. That was a fantasy sequence. For the most part today, they have acted like they were raised by rabid wolves in a foreign country.

Still no internet access, but I did see a Charter truck working in the neighborhood.

I wait. and I wait. then, I waited some more. After that, the internet did come back (yay Charter - sort of). and then I waited. About 4pm, the air guy shows up... and so do Melissa and Christine for Mimosas. The kids came too. Oh! and Brian decided to come home early and mow the lawn. We did, however, drink our Mimosas from Waterford Crystal glasses. Can't blame me for trying to add some class to our Air Conditioner repair/grass cutting/preschooler drama afternoon drink.

Just to recap:

- Air conditioner: Still broken, but good chance of it getting fixed tomorrow.

- Internet: back on - 3 hrs of work billed today with more tomorrow. Thank the LORD for my Saint of a Mother.

- Phone: new and fairly cool

- Yard: looking good thanks to the Prom King

- Kids: Exhausted

Me and Chinese Drywall

2010-04-02T14:05:00.001-07:00

New Scripts Post

2010-03-28T06:21:00.001-07:00

I made a new post on the Scripts Blog today!

Hidden journaling and some goodness from Glitz.

Happy Palm Sunday!

Just ONE more reason to Shop at Target

2010-03-26T04:22:00.001-07:00

You can make these cute little bags!

When I get some spare time (what is that, btw), I am going to make some of these!!!!

This week's Plinky Prompts

2010-03-18T06:10:00.001-07:00

March 18, 2010

Plinky prompts from the last week

Thursday, Mar 18, 2010

Which whipped topping do you prefer: Cool Whip or real whipped cream?

Explain your allegiance.

I like real whipped cream. It tastes much better.

View answers

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010

What conspiracy theory do you believe in?

Besides that fake moon landing, of course.

The mob killed JFK.

Answer | View answers

Tuesday, Mar 16, 2010

Share three things you do every day without fail.

Everybody has a routine.

Read the Bible, read The Upper Room, brush my teeth

Answer | View answers

Monday, Mar 15, 2010

Spring is coming – what Easter candy are you excited to see back on store shelves?

Share what it is you like about this sweet.

Cadbury Eggs. Pure sugar. Pure genius.

Answer | View answers

Sunday, Mar 14, 2010

Who makes the best cup of coffee around?

Describe what it is about their brew you like.

Chez Fon Fon makes a really good cappicino.

Answer | View answers

Saturday, Mar 13, 2010

In the seemingly endless war between vampires and werewolves, whose side are you on?

Explain your affinity.

The Vamps. They are sexier. And Less Hairy.

Answer | View answers

Friday, Mar 12, 2010

When's it okay to quit?

Sometimes, it's more respectable to throw in the towel.

When you've tried as hard as you can and you start to get diminishing returns.

Answer | View answers

Thursday, Mar 11, 2010

Make a menu for a dinner party based on a favorite movie.

List the foods that represent or relate to the film.

this one is too hard.

God, His ways and the VoF

2010-03-12T16:08:00.000-08:00

This has been a pretty great week.

It started out exceptionally well with the purchase of this from Driver's Way. My dream Car. Henceforth known as the Volvo of Fabulousness. Be still my heart. Those of you who know me and especially those of you have taken a ride in my former car realize what a gigantic step up in the vehicular world this is for me.

I was on Cloud 9...until last night. The VoF started making an odd noise. I called DW this morning and took it into their service department this afternoon. Turns out there was a spring loose and they were going to order me a new one. They gave me a Chevy Malibu (aka the Malibu of Convenience or MoC) to drive for the afternoon. When I went to pick up VoF, they told me that they had also discovered something pretty seriously wrong with my car. Something about boots, I don't know. Not something that was bad in the short term but something that would have caused major problems down the road (like in 10,000 miles when my warranty had expired). If the spring had not have come loose, I might never have known. So, God loosened my spring so we could find and correct this problem before it was too late. Praise!!!!

More beauty reviews and a layout inspired by one of Campbell's dresses tomorrow.

Beauty Product Reviews (in honor of March Beautification)

2010-03-10T03:46:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be appropriate, as we celebrate March Beautification here on Bubblegum, to do some beauty product reviews.

I am very picky about my beauty products. They must be effective and easy to use. I don't mind spending a little more for something that has proven to be worth it but I am not going to start using La Mer just because it makes Jennifer Aniston look like she is 22. I can't afford it.

First up: L'Oreal Concentrated Lash Boosting Serum

As a fair haired, fair complected girl, I have to do all I can to make my lashes stand out. So, whenever I see a new lengthening/thickening lash miracle, I try it out. I am very interested in Latisse, but the fact that it costs $300 a pop and it could turn my green (yes Mother, GREEN) eyes brown is a huge turn off.

Last week as I was on one of my many prework Wal Mart runs, I noticed a big display for L'Oreal's new Lash Boosting Serum and Double Extend Lash Boosting Mascara. I decided to check it out. I purchased both and started using them that night. You use the serum at night and the mascara (which is basically a white base coat on one side and mascara on the other) during the day. The white base coat kind of makes your lashes feel crunchy and takes a while to dry, but I have noticed that my mascara isn't flaking into my eyes by the end of the day.

So, what about the lengthening claims? IMHO, its pretty hard for someone undergoing subtle changes to notice them. I thought my lashes might be a little longer, but didn't know if I was just "wishing" it. Then, my Mom came over this weekend and said, "Your lashes look really long!". So, I chalk it up to L'Oreal. They are slightly longer. Not fake eyelash long, but better.

Bottom Line: I recommend L'Oreal's new Lash Boosting Technology. It gets the March Beautification Seal of Approval.

HBD Leah!

2010-03-06T06:01:00.001-08:00

We ate at Do Di Yo's for Leah's Birthday last night. That is the happenin' place to be in the 'ham! It took us forever to get seated but once we did it was great. My main course was only so so but the appetizers and the desserts (pictured here) were outstanding.

Weather has finally turned warmer (thank the Lord!) and I am busting out the open toed shoes.

Also, saw this on Kellie's blog and thought it was the coolest thing ever. I will probably do the lyrics to I'll Stand By You by the Pretenders. That song says what I want my kids to know about how I feel about them.

Go check out my post on the Scripts Blog today. I actually did an event page! Shocker.

So many questions!

2010-03-03T05:04:00.000-08:00

Jam, Karly: this post is for you.

Several months ago, Friend Virginia introduced me to a site called Plinky. They email you several questions every other week or so for you to answer. You can go and answer on their site and see what others said. Or not. I'm in the or not category. However, since I love a good quiz, I thought I'd answer some of these questions on my blog. Also, I'd like all of you out there to participate as well. I'm starting with some old ones....

Thursday, Aug 27, 2009

What's the name of the dance move you created that sweeping the world?

Explain how it's done.

Yeah. Those of you who know me know I cannot dance. The name of any dance I would create isn't publishable on this Family Friendly blog.

View answers

Wednesday, Aug 26, 2009

List the worst pickup lines you've heard (or can think of).

Some people just aren't as suave as they think they are.

Answer | View answers

In college, one guy actually asked if I'd be his girlfriend for tonight. I laughed at him and walked off. Tool.

Tuesday, Aug 25, 2009

What's the last movie you rented?

Write a review.

Do people rent movies any more? We ordered a 24 hour pass for "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" for the kids a few weeks ago. They liked it. Buck Wild is a great actor.

Answer | View answers

Monday, Aug 24, 2009

If you could get any tattoo for just a week, what would it be?

Where would it be? Would you consider getting it permanently?

I think I'd get a butterfly on my shoulder blade. I would not get it permanently.

Answer | View answers

Sunday, Aug 23, 2009

What was the first plane ride you took?

Describe the trip – what was it like? Were you excited or scared?

I went to England when I was 10. I was very, very excited. I sat next to a very nice Englishwoman who offered me some chewing gum as the plane descended into Gatwick. Other than the fact it was a really long plane ride for a 10 year old, it was great.

Answer | View answers

Saturday, Aug 22, 2009

What continent would you most like to visit?

Explain why. Have you been there before? Is it the last one to check off your list?

Hands down: Australia. Never been. Always wanted to go. When I was in elementary school, I begged my parents for a trip to Australia. They never got it for me but they did go themselves shortly after I was removed from the payroll. They really enjoyed it.

Answer | View answers

Friday, Aug 21, 2009

What's your 'guilty pleasure' TV show?

You know, the one you watch but don't tell anyone you watch.

I am a sucker for old 90210 (90's version) and The O.C. episodes on SOAPnet. The first 2 seasons of each are the best. You cannot beat the Brenda/Dylan/Kelly love triangle. Nor can you beat the Marisa/Ryan push pull that went on for so long.

Craftiness

2010-02-26T14:57:00.000-08:00

So, because I love a good contest, I'm throwing my hat in the ring for the Lily Bee DT. They have yummy yummy papers and awesome rubons. Great Chipboard and Die Cuts too. Ok - so I like all their stuff. Thus, I am trying out.

Busy busy week at work. Gotta work some this weekend too. But GOOD NEWS!!! It will be March on Monday. Bye Bye Jan/Feb!!!!!

Birthday Party and I know someone Famous

2010-02-24T02:52:00.001-08:00

Miss Teenie had her birthday this weekend. It was a weekend long celebration beginning with school parties and ending with her big party at Pump It Up. Although, I'm pretty sure Jason thought it was his party too...

Check out the Apartment Therapy Blog to see a feature from our own Virginia! Yes my friends, she is awesome. So creative!

Here are a couple of layouts I've done recently. The first is an 8x8 for the Scrap Chic Boutique's birthday celebration that was last weekend.

This one is from the most recent Scripts Kit. It features goodness from Glitz, Jenni Bowlin, Making Memories, Lily Bee, Pink Paislee and AccuCut.

I also might know one of the MME Guest Designers for 2010 (no, its not me).

Just bought tix to the Amos Lee show in Huntsville in April. CANNOT WAIT! A fun trip with good friends. Something to look forward to.

February is ALMOST GONE!! Hooray! Time for March Beautification to begin. I feel a shopping spree coming on...oh wait, I have no money! Maybe I'll just paint my toes and call it a day.

Good things about Snow Days

2010-02-11T18:15:00.001-08:00

you get pics like this.

This picture was actually taken on our LAST snow day where multiple inches of snow were predicted, yet we only had flurries. Never you mind that schools were closed. Peeps freaked and life as we know it here in the 'ham ceased to go on.

Also, not sure why they are like 2 feet apart in this picture. It cracks me up.

More Layouts

2010-01-01T16:03:00.000-08:00

I really need to do a 2009 recap post. Good riddance to the last year of the aughts.

Here are some layouts I have done over the last few months.

More New Layouts!

2009-12-20T13:49:00.000-08:00

A little bit of December Daily from SCRIPTS!!!!!

2009-12-18T04:24:00.000-08:00

Well, the sun shined the other day AND I got home before it went down. So, I was able to take a few shots of my Dec. Daily album I made with the December Scripts Kit. It truly has been one of my favorites. Lucy has done a SUPERB job of putting together the cutest little "extras" for this kit. Check out the Scripts Kit Blog for more pictures!!!

In fact, if I were you, I'd keep an eye out for a BIG announcement from Scripts really really soon : )

Sips N' Strokes

2009-12-13T11:29:00.001-08:00

Last night I went to Sn'S with Belinda, Maleah, Stephanie, Jennie, Karen and Amy. We had a great time doing "Child of Heaven". Here is my final painting. Wendy LoVoy is amazing.

I am totally going to have to make this....

2009-12-09T16:18:00.001-08:00

http://www.designspongeonline.com/2009/12/diy-project-kristens-ruffly-felt-wreath.html

I think I would love this. How cute would this be? I need a wreath....

Also, I've made a December daily with the December Scripts kit. Unf, when I've been home its been too dark or too rainy to get a good picture. Maybe tomorrow....

Technique of the Week

2009-12-04T15:23:00.000-08:00

In the December Scripts kit, there's a cool little Fiskars craft knife. Of course, I had to try it out immediately, but what to cut....?

I grabbed this Pink Paislee sheet from my stash. I'd always liked it but didn't know what to do with it. So, I grabbed my new and oh so cool craft knife and cut some detail out of the tree. I wanted to make a little magical, whimsical tree, so I added some tulle peeking out from behind the cut details.

I also attached a few buttons and a tiny little gold bell (my favorite!!!). It needed more "light" things so I added two tiny butterflies made from ribbon and embroidery thread. I just cut about an inch and a half of ribbon (a scrap is all you need). Then, I wrapped some embroidery floss tightly around the middle of the ribbon and tied a knot, leaving the ends a little long. Then, I trimmed the ribbon to angle them at the edges to look more like a real butterfly.

November Scripts Kit

2009-11-27T07:18:00.000-08:00

I got the November Scripts Kit from Lucy week before last. It's awesome. It's a dead tie between the Nov and Dec kits on which is better. The colors in the November kit went really really well with the awesome pictures Virginia took of the fam a few weeks ago. She is such a talented photographer. PK said, "She even, like, got down on the ground and stuff to take pictures of us". He was impressed.

I had oodles of fun with punches and my sewing machine (and some fun ephemera). I used a J Crew tag and an Anthro tag in the "Face" layout and some scraps from a wedding program in the "Ten" layout.

Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful. I have so much to be thankful for and I hope you do too!!!

New Moon was so much better than Twilight, but really it had nowhere to go but up

2009-11-23T16:46:00.001-08:00

So, I saw New Moon last night with Friend Gretchen. She made the supreme sacrifice of seeing it again with me after she had already seen it on Friday night. She gives so much. Faithful Bubblegum readers may remember my scathing review of the Twilight movie when it came out last year. As a fan of the books, I hated the first movie. Low budget = crappy movie. Though, Twihards flocked in DROVES to the B- amateur flick.

I have to say, New Moon is head and shoulders (and entire torsos....but that comes later) above Twilight. Because I KNOW you are dying to hear my thoughts on the latest chapter of the Twilight Saga, here they are:

1. O. M. Freaking G. Taylor Lautner - Wowza! I was not super impressed with TL in the last flick. Something about his nose being too cute for the role. It wasn't believable. However, his performance in New Moon has completely changed my mind. I mean, what red blooded American female would not prefer TL's tanned, sculpted abs over Emo, Wimpy, Pale Vampboy? I kept trying to caress the screen in the theater. I mean, the scene in the RAIN!!!! THE RAIN! Friend Karly says she feels like a Dirty Old Woman bc she is half his age and was all about some TL (it makes my crush on JPW look normal). Cougar on Karl. Cougar On.

2. Jasper's Hair - Seriously? Seriously. WTF? Is the hairdresser for this movie TRYING to make him look like a french poodle? Its so wrong! Since Twilight, I have discovered that Jasper was on The O.C. (as was Rosalie). He played Kaitlin Cooper's sorta boyfriend or something. Anyhoo, he was pretty cute on The O.C. Mostly because he had a normal hair do. Still not a great actor, but I digress. Note to the Hairdresser on Eclipse: Please just give him normal hair. People actually laughed in my theater (Did I mention they screamed, gasped and woo-hooed for Jacob and his hot abs?).

3. Edward's lips are too pink.

4. Jessica - still my FAVORITE character (besides Abs Lautner). Her scene where she went to the movies with Bella was awesome. She was the most believable actor in the movie.

5. As I had heard from Karly the Cougar, this movie was way funnier. Good Call producers.

6. The part where Bella and Edward are running thru the forest when she is a vamp - Did they have to make it so ridiculous? He was wearing a vest? The running? Can't they just be acting normal? Who runs thru the forest wearing a vest and a flowing chiffon dress? Idiots.

7. The rain scene - There is this one scene where TL is shirtless in the rain. It is freaking amazing.

8. Dakota Fanning is a really good actress. She did so much in the one scene she was in. She is awesome.

9. This movie should be rated R - Not because of the abs (bc those were nice), but because Bella is a HORRIBLE role model for teenage girls. There is this one scene where Jacob is shirtless and Bella suggests they run away. He says, "You'd leave everything?" and she was all like, "Yes, I'd do it for you.". Granted, she was in the presence of the shirtless Jacob, however, that does not make it right. If my daughter did something like that, I'd slap her back to the 80's. NOTE TO TEENAGE GIRLS OUT THERE: Do not do anything just for some stupid guy!!!! These movies are NOT REAL LIFE!! Real teenage boys will screw you in the end. End of Public Service Announcement.

10. The kid who played Jacob has been at the gym a lot. And it has totally paid off. Chris Weitz knows his audience well and he showcased that sculpted torso to its fullest. Thank you Mr. Weitz. Good Job.

So, if any of you out there want to see it again and need a viewing companion, I will make the supreme sacrifice and go with you. I mean, I don't want to spoil it for you or anything, but there is this one scene, when Jacob is standing in the rain....

SCRAPPYGOODNESS

2009-11-16T13:47:00.001-08:00

I have been doing a little scrapping with my cleaning lately. I did this with the November Studio Calico kit. I really like the fact that it shipped early. Still using the oh so fun button stamps on this l.o. too.

We also had our annual football party this last weekend. I only took like 3 pictures. It was fun. Alot tamer than last year.

Craft Closet Tamed!

2009-11-11T05:45:00.001-08:00

So, here are the before pics of my Craft Closet. Its in the playroom and it houses my scrapping, jewelry making and gift wrapping supplies. Many times, I have to stop abruptly in the middle of a project (I wonder why) and can't get all my stuff back where it belongs.

Here is the FINISHED AND SUPER ORGANIZED result. You can even see the floor!!!

Joining the Clean Team

2009-11-10T05:18:00.000-08:00

Ok. I have so much cleaning to do its unreal. So join me, Virge, Brittney, GMac and Mandy in cleaning up for Fall. Check back here for updates.

Amanda - you know you will be proud of me when I clean something.

Recession Chic Planner

2009-11-01T10:27:00.001-08:00

Anyone out there remember my 2009 Planner? Well, since my LSS closed, I don't have ready access to all the cool new supplies. Also, since its all the rage to reuse and repurpose I went Recession Chic this year. Everything was from my stash.

I used plain old cardboard for the cover. I took some Creative Cafe rubons (some of my faves) and layered them along the right side. I used some Prima number stickers for the 2010 (wasn't that a movie?). I used some painted binder rings for the binding instead of Bind it All this year. I just can't ever get all that mess to line up right.

I used MME and BG Patterned Paper (mostly some Urban Prairie I had been hoarding) for the Month-at-a Glance Pages. I reused the week-at-a-glance papers from my class that I drew last year. However, I realized thru using my planner this year that I didn't like having the month-at-a-glance split up. So, I cut the aforementioned patterned paper from my stash into 8.5 x 11 and used it. I made one generic month template and printed copies onto the PP. For some reason, the scanner function is not working on my printer, but the copy function is!

I am still decorating the inside and its so much fun! Why do I like planners so much?

Scared?

2009-10-31T17:50:00.000-07:00

You should be!!!!!

More to come soon. In fact, I have my Recession Chic 2010 Planner to unveil. I've taken the sheets from the 2009 Version and gone recessionista.

Happy Halloween!

Scrapalicious and other Weekend Events

2009-10-12T03:05:00.000-07:00

Had a great weekend! B was out of town playing in the Kiva Cup (congratulations to USA - first time winners) and Mom and Dad watched the kiddies one night while I scrapped. I got these 4 done. The purple one titled "Stop" is for this week's Urban Anthology's Got Talent contest. Just fyi. Don't forget to vote here for me in last week's challenge (shameless vote ho).

Mom and I shopped her new Target and spent way too much money. I went nutzo over clothes for the kids. I did get part of Cam's Christmas present and lots of gift wrap stuff. I also got the cutest coolest jacket too. I really think Anthro had one just like it last year that I tried to buy but they only had one left and it was someone elses (I saw it on the rack where they hold clothes for people about to try on. I thought it would be rude to poach - but I almost did). I love Target.

Got some great beads this weekend and made a new necklace too. The things I can do when I don't have the kids! I'll try to get pics of my recent jewelry creations up sometime.

J had a tee ball game yesterday. Amazingly enough, this bright light appeared in the sky yesterday and made it all possible. I forget what you call that thing. J's team won! (well, technically they don't keep score so I just chalk them up to moral victories each time they play. J did well. He hit every ball without the tee and was aggressive going after the ball in the field. So proud of J!)

Also did some work work last night. Its so frustrating to work for over 3.5 hours and get like one tiny, miniscule thing accomplished. Nothing like spinning your wheels. It makes me want to beat my head against something hard.d

Praise Him! Baby Grant came home yesterday. All is supposed to be well, but let's all keep praying just in case ; )

Busy week at work. Looking forward to more fun fall colors.

Playlist

2009-10-01T17:36:00.001-07:00

Cool layout from Scripts.

I love pandora.

Scrapalicious

2009-09-24T05:24:00.000-07:00

So, long time no blog. As usual, my excuse is work. I am crazy busy. Insane in fact.

However, due to the stress, I have needed to do some crafty stuff to balance myself out.

Check out the recent offerings:

Also, I'm trying out for the DT at Urban Anthology. I'm a sucker for a contest.

Best Wishes to Karl and Virge on speedy deliveries next week!

Mii so Funny

2009-08-26T16:28:00.000-07:00

I have started creating Celebrity Mii's on our Wii. I got the idea from looking thru all the noses one has to choose from when creating a Mii. One was basically two dots, and I thought, "That looks like a Michael Jackson nose!". So, I created an M.Jackson Mii. It is SPOT ON for MJ. Its hilarious when he shows up on our baseball team. Now I am inspired to create more celebrities. I am going to do Britney Spears, Madonna, Jason Bourne (or Matt Damon as Jason Bourne) and maybe Leonardo DiCaprio. Who else should I create? I know there are some funny ones out there. I am very open to suggestions. Depending on how they turn out, I may post the pics on my blog or on FB (since only like 2 people read this blog).

Just in case you were wondering, we've already created Mii's for our entire family, all our close friends and a few babysitters.

By the way, today absolutely sucked at work. Thank the Lord for Toad Hollow and Pandora.

Layouts

2009-08-19T04:13:00.000-07:00

Warning my NSBR Readers. This is a SB heavy post.

Did some scrapping this weekend. I also uploaded some to my Gallery at SIS (link above) but for some strange reason, SIS doesn't like Safari so I can only upload one layout per day or per few hours. I did a lot of one picture layouts bc I only brought like 8 pictures to the weekend.

I got my Cocoa Daisy kit on Monday (too bad I didn't get it before I left) and am so eager to play with it. I have one layout in the works using some of the pics from the weekend and I hope to finish it soon.

Have a great day!!!!

God is GREAT!

2009-08-17T15:51:00.000-07:00

Fabulous news today from the friend health front. Lots of prayers answered. Praise Him!!!!!

Had a great weekend out of town with some great girls. Got a lot of scrapping done. Used the Scripts kit and some new stuff from My Mind's Eye, American Crafts, Basic Grey and Lily Bee. They also had an AccuCut on the premises. Pics to follow soon.

Below is a picture of our "Door Desk". Brian did a FANTASTIC job on this. We got the door for the top and the shutters for the sides and the front from On a Shoestring in Bluff Park. Brian and my Dad did the skeleton of the desk over in my Dad's shop. Then we got a 1/4 inch thick piece of glass for the top from Nelson Glass.

As soon as I take some pics of my layouts and stuff I'll post them!

Happy Weekend All!

2009-08-09T04:51:00.000-07:00

Good Sunday Morning! It's been a great weekend so far. The extra 40% off the sale price at Baby Gap has been pretty awesome. AND No Sales Tax (except for Jefferson Co. bc they are too poor to give up the revenue - their own fault really).

Got the hair CHOPPED off on Friday. Four inches gone. I went for the Ashley Olsen cut in this month's Marie Claire.

PK and My Dad worked really hard on our "door desk" this weekend. It's not quite finished so I'm not going to post pics yet. We still need to paint the insides and get glass for the top. I am going to dedicate an entire post to it soon.

The above LO is from the August Scripts kit. I embossed the Jenni Bowlin chipboard star with American Crafts Zing Orange Glitter embossing powder. I know the background paper is busy but I LOVED IT. I had to use it. I love the Sasafrass "extra" border at the bottom that I used as a little border for the picture.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Hopeful - and possibly new hair

2009-08-04T18:22:00.001-07:00

A fun layout I did for an AC challenge. I did not win. However, I don't think they pick the winner based on merit. I think you just enter and they draw. So, I'm not like sad or anything.

Very hopeful about some things this week. Letting go of some grudges and bitterness because it truly isn't worth it in the long run.

I am also hopeful that one day I will get this. Not any time soon, of course. But like by 2012 (which isn't that far off, really). It makes driving the crappy Accord that I have now worth it if I know this will be my next car.

Hopeful also that all the people I know that have big worries on their minds will find that the Lord answers their prayers, and that all the things they are worrying about will not come to pass.

Saw the Hangover this weekend. That was a funny movie! I love that Andy Bernard was in it and that he had a solo. I love the Chinese Gangster. I loved the part with the kid and the camera phone and the rematch with the taser. So funny.

Also thinking of getting my hair cut like this. She is my style icon even if she has a few screws loose.

What a good week

2009-07-24T15:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a recent layout I did with pics from J's birthday. J refused to let me take a decent picture of him. He is turning into a carbon copy of his Dad that is for sure.

It was a good week. Got things accomplished at work. J did have a fever virus, but it didn't hold him back too much. I've got stuff lined up for the kids in August and we are redecorating our office this weekend! Sweet B painted the office Benjamin Moore Split Pea. It is my FAVORITE COLOR EVER!!! Can't wait to show you pics of the whole remodeled thing!!!

Got a funny email from my Pop this week. It had this quote in it:

"Silence is Golden. Duct Tape is Silver."

made me giggle.

I want to put Shelter by Ray Le Montagne on repeat as loud as it will go. I so regret not going to see him when he was in town.

Not too much longer before we go to Vegas with the McElveens and the Halcombs. Gretchen and I are trying to set up the Bromance for all time between PK and Lee.

Have a fantastic Weekend.

Vegas, Work, HP and other stuff

2009-07-19T08:04:00.000-07:00

Not too much longer before our Vegas trip to celebrate a decade of matrimony. I am still trying to talk PK into renewing our vows at one of the drive in wedding chapels. He won't budge. I mean, how cute and fun would the pictures be? Above is a layout I did about our last Vegas trip. It was heaven.

Busy days at work folks. Busy days. Blessed to have a job.

Saw HP with my parents Friday night. I really liked it. It made me want to read book 7 again. Unf, its at my Mom's and I forgot to ask her to bring it.

Scrapped my little heart out last night with some American Crafts goods. I am trying out for their DT again this year. Seriously, I am going to wear them down one day. Last year may have been the "good but not good enough" year but I am hoping I can have a victory in '09! Since I am addicted to Zing I used alot of that last night. A couple of lo's did not make the final cut, but I will post them in the gallery today. I still have to photograph them.

Weather is amazing here in the ham. What a nice blessing.

greasy hair = I will see people I know

2009-06-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

I know this. Why did I doubt? Every time I just run out to like WalMart or somewhere else glamourous and think, "It's not a beauty contest. No one is going to see me" I see someone I know. Not someone who sees me showered and clean on a regular basis but someone I haven't seen in YEARS. Case in point, I saw a partner from my old firm (who I haven't seen in about 5 years) and a guy I went to high school with (who I haven't seen in about 15 years). I was attempting to pull off a headscarf look today bc I had to put something in my hair last night that kind of made it have a permanent wet look. I don't think I was successful with that fashion step out.

WE have been the laziest people today. The kids and I have done nothing but watch tv. I did a layout but I"m not sure I like it.

Busy as a Bee

2009-06-25T18:21:00.000-07:00

We have been some busy folks here at the Casa.

Busy at work.

Busy being out of town.

Busy with birthday parties and school and what not.

Been working with the June Scripts kit (yummilicious! Cute KI, Cosmo Cricket and Oct. Afternoon Paper - the Thickers are mine).

So sad about Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon. So sad.

More to come later.

Craftiness

2009-05-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

I have not blogged in a LOOOOONG while. Just too much going on to blog.

So, I have a few pictures to show you what I've been doing.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T15:05:00.001-07:00

He is risen! We went to Friday night church instead of Sunday morning church so I missed singing "Christ the Lord is Risen Today". It's my favorite hymn.

It has been a busy few days. Didn't have to work Thursday or Friday so we had playdates both days.

On Thursday, V and I played "Mothers of the Year" and did an art project with the kids. Here is "Cam's". I put it in quotes bc I totally did the whole thing. She was not so into the art project. I took lots of pics but I'm just too lazy to put them on the blog. Basically, we got some 8x10 canvas boards, painted the background, made an egg template, painted a white egg on the canvas, then laid the template down again and let the kids "decorate" the egg with paint and stamps, oil pastels and glitter.

Friday we went to the mall with MJ&J and rode the carousel, ate Chic fil A and walked around. Seriously, I really needed one of those kiddie leashes.

Saturday we had family Easter dinner #1. Sunday, Easter dinners #2 and #3. I think my children have eaten more than their weight in candy.

I have a small, teenie confession to make. I have purchased the Twilight DVD. Just the regular DVD, not the mega extended version. I know, I know, I know. I totally panned the movie here on this very blog last fall, but I seriously think they edited it a little bit before the DVD release. Yes, the makeup is still horrifying and the hair is still bad, but I didn't laugh out loud once the second time around. RPattz (thanks Cleolinda) is pretty cute, I must admit. Also, I found some links to pics from New Moon and WOW they listened to the general public and hired a decent makeup artist. As V said, the real test will be when we see what Carlisle looks like.

Speaking of Miss Cleo (linked above), I cannot stop laughing at her recaps. They are endlessly funny. I especially like it when she tells Edward to, "shine on you prissy diamond". LMAO!!!!! Seriously, it NEVER gets old. I keep just laughing. She's from the 'ham, btw.

That's all I got peeps.

It was only a matter of time...

2009-04-09T05:39:00.001-07:00

Great news iPhone and iTouch users. Skype now has a free app. for the iPhone and iTouch. Skype everywhere I go? Youbetcha.

Also, Southwest is flying from the 'ham direct to LaGuardia. I mean, its like Christmas.

Wanted to share a fun little layout I did a few weeks ago. Just for fun. No kit involved. No challenge. No page call. Just my favorite colors and pictures and products.

Happy Maundy Thursday to all!

Rain? I'm not such a big fan.

2009-04-02T10:24:00.000-07:00

Dreary and depressing. Where is my pleasant, 73 degree spring weather?

Something I find funny (not depressing) is how normal, reasonable adults will go to GREAT lengths to hide goldfish death from their children. I thought maybe it was just this one friend of mine (coughcoughbelindacough), but apparently, its kind of wide spread. My friend has bought numerous goldfish to replace dying ones and has even told her daughter that she has "taken the fish" to the vet when it was "missing" from the bowl. It is cracking me up.

Did anyone see the google april fools day joke? It was funny.

Just wanted to include the above pic of Leah, Karly and me in NYC a couple of years ago. I really want to go back. really really.

Also, remember the "I need $2300 spend at Anthropologie" post? I now need probably twice that much to spend at J Crew. Their new spring stuff is to die for. Their embellished tees are to die for (and I so need MORE tee shirts). So anyone who has any extra cash, please send it my way.

Things that are Awesome - and I need your help!!!

2009-03-25T16:31:00.001-07:00

Things that are Awesome:

1. Spring Green

2. 75 degree weather.

3. Let it Be Me by Ray LaMontagne

4. being healthy

5. Toad Hollow Chardonnay

6. Salad

7. Movies on Demand (watch as much as you want for 24 hrs!)

8. Friends who really know me and love me anyway.

9. JCrew Driving Mocs (hot pink and crazy on sale)

10. Fresh Salsa

11. Insane Color Combos

12. VPN

13. Tiramisu

14. No more diapers!!!!!!

15. Sweet B

16. The Word and its amazingness

17. iPods

18. wedges

19. little arms hugging around your neck.

20. getting the inside joke on If You Seek Amy.

Also, I need your help out there in blogland! I am working on a new playlist called "Spring and Love". All I have so far are two songs from Ray LaMontagne and Umbrella by Rhianna (i know, I'm late to the Umbrella party - I really love that song). Send me your favorite awesome love songs. I need them for my Spring playlist.

Great Week

2009-03-20T06:04:00.001-07:00

This week at home has been wonderful. Lots of activities, beautiful weather. I feel so blessed!

Here is another layout I did with this month's Scripts kit.

The pics are from Leah's birthday party at Cocina Superior. Our waitress hated us. Or, more accurately, I think she just hated being a waitress. We had a great time that night.

Have a wonderful weekend!!! I am so glad Spring is FINALLY HERE!!!

March Scripts Kit

2009-03-14T06:32:00.000-07:00

The March Scripts kit could not have come at a better time for me. Since Teenie's birthday was recently, I have lots of birthday pics. Also, I have pics from Leah's birthday that will be featured on my next layout. I've started the layout but I have to pic up the pics at Wolf : )

I've been on the internet looking at Jamie Waters's gallery over at 2ps. I love her work. She is phenomethon.

I've also been working on some ideas for a journaling/technique book. Just a place where I can try some stuff out and write down some goals and thoughts. I hope to share some of that soon. Have a great, if rainy, weekend.

Espanol.

2009-03-11T05:30:00.000-07:00

So, I love looking at my sitemeter. My favorite thing to do is look at the "by location" section. Its hilarious because it's a list of Birmingham, Alabama; Pelham, Alabama; Valley, Alabama; Jakarta; Birmingham, Alabama; Sweeden...etc. etc. My posts about New York get alot of hits as "New York Bubblegum" apparently is a popular search. I also get alot of hits from my posts about Chuck Bass. The love of his badness is universal. I always click on the unusual ones (ie. out of the country or weird places like NYC or California) just to see what brought those people to my blog. Usually, its a link from Scripts or another scrapping blog.

Today I actually clicked on one from Mexico to look at what they saw when they landed in Bubblegum. It was my blog in Spanish! It was so funny to me. The title was "Chicle" (apparently Spanish for bubblegum). Even the comments were in Spanish. It just made me laugh.

Potty training the Tiny P this weekend. Wish me luck.

HIJACK!!!

2009-03-09T05:49:00.001-07:00

***Blog Hijacked by Brittney Smith**

Attend the Scrap ETC Event for only $10

Hello, scrapbook friends! Yes, you read that right! You can have a chance to attend the Scrap ETC event for only $10!

Here's the scoop:

I am participating in the 3 day walk to benefit the Susan G. Komenfoundation. You can read more about my part in the walk here.

Anyways, Lucy has so kindly agreed to donate a ONE space to the event.......to be raffled for my team!

A $399 value.....for only $10.00

It's very simple. You pay $10 for a chance to attend the event. Everyone that buys a chance will be entered,and I will draw one name to be the winner. Easy, peasy!

And the best part is......your $10 will go directly to the Susan G. Komen foundation in the fight for a cure for breast cancer!

So, will you help me? Will you donate $10 for one chance, or $30 for 3 chances, etc?

And, if you do......good luck! I am so thankful that Lucy has agreed to to this, and I hope that together, we can find a cure!

To find more details, and to donate, click here!

For updates and registration info:
ScrapETCEvent09

If you miss anything, don't worry, you can check it out

at Scrap ETC.com

Bestest

2009-03-07T04:55:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday to My Leah!!!! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful person in my life. The Lord didn't give me an actual, blood related sister, but he gave me two fabulous friends that are just as good. Leah is one of those. So HBD LJE! Hope your day is the bestest ; )

Anti Fairy Tales

2009-03-06T02:19:00.001-08:00

So, I have been thinking a lot lately about what my kids watch on TV. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot to choose from. Shows you think would be ok have content that is totally inappropriate for young kids. You have to watch with them every second or you will miss something you wish you hadn't.

Thus, this leads me to think about the movies I watched when I was a kid. I've always been a girlie girl so growing up I loved stories about Princesses and Grand Romance and the Knight on a White Horse and all of that. However, I'm not going to lie and say that didn't skew my view of the world and love and romance and all that. Because they did. I'm not the only one. I can think of a few women I know who have sat around waiting for the White Knight to come. It makes me sad to think of people waiting around not only for someone who isn't coming, but someone who does not exist.

See, in addition to the Fairy Tales, I also saw a few movies that offered a different perspective on love and life. I like to call it my "Anti Fairy Tale" list. First on the list is Gone With the Wind. Here's Scarlett O'Hara: The prettiest girl in the county, can have any man she wants and the only man she wants is Ashley Wilkes. Why does she want Ashley? Because she can't have him (Lesson One - We always want what we can't have). I kind of rooted for Scarlett to end up with Ashley when I first saw the movie (when I was ten at the Alabama Theatre - I still remember). Then my Mother (wisest of all the wise women in the world) said something that changed my mind. She said, "Ashley is a wimp. Why would she want him?". You know what? She was so right. Ashley was a poo. Scarlett was ten times the man he was. When the chips were down, she did what she had to do to keep her family going, to keep her head above water - the ultimate survivor. Of course, Scarlett was also kind of an idiot. She had her ultimate man in smoking hot Rhett Butler (who reminds me of PK, btw. I am a very lucky woman!) and she threw happiness away with both hands due to some idiotic childhood fantasy about Ashley Wilkes. By the time she grew up and realized that yes, Ashley is a poo, Rhett did not give a damn and she was left all alone in her big Atlanta mansion. I haven't read the GWTW fake sequel (not written by Margaret Mitchell = fake), but from what I know of Scarlett, she got him back. I mean, the woman kept Tara through the freaking Civil War, and still looked great doing it. She got her man back.

Another good movie on my Anti Fairy Tale list is Splendor in the Grass. The quintessential tale of shallow High School romance. Wealthy Bud loves Poor Deanie. Poor Deanie loves Wealthy Bud. Bud wants to get some. Deanie is a good girl. Bud cheats on Deanie with a "certain kind of girl" at the behest of his father. Deanie goes coo coo (because those intense HS relationships mess with your mind) and has to go to a mental institution. To send her to the mental hospital, her parents have to sell all their stock to pay for it. Luckily for them, it was RIGHT BEFORE the big stock market crash in '29 that ushered in the Great Depression. Bud's family lost all their money in the crash (and "go hook up with an easy chick" Daddy shoots himself in the head) and Deanie's family is rich. Bud marries some random girl and Deanie gets engaged to a Doctor from Chicago (I think its Chicago). In the last scene of the movie, fresh home from the mental hospital, Deanie's friends take her out to see Bud. She sees Bud (who, in all honesty, was good looking, but dumb as a rock) and his random wife and couple of kids. You can kind of see it on her face that she is shocked that all this time she was thinking of Bud as some kind of "ideal", and now that she's faced with reality, she knows he's not. Hence, the whole theme of the movie - the moment of the Splendor in the Grass is gone and it ain't coming back. So, Deanie (bc she is a good girl) goes off to happiness with the doctor (or whatever he was - it was something good).

I know there are more out there but its 4:43 am and I can't remember them at the moment. Does anyone else out there have any? Think Strong, Resilient Heroines who persevere and make it through all difficulties to come out stronger on the other side.

Can't wait to see what you have to say!

February Scripts Kit

2009-03-01T11:18:00.001-08:00

Hello All!

IT IS FINALLY MARCH!!! The harbringer of spring! Time for March Beautification! Goodbye crappy January and February!!!!!!!

Since we are all snowed in here in Alabama, its given me ample opportunity to get my February Scripts kit work done! I love the neutral backbone of this kit. I was able to do several different things with it!

The first one is very girlie. Cam really likes to walk around the house in my high heels. Its so cute. Luckily I've been able to snap a picture or two of this. I got the sewing machine out to do some outlining around the top and around the journaling block under the pictures.

I made these little rosettes out of the natural colored basting looking stuff (I don't know what its actually called - I am sure my Mom does). I sewed them with pink embroidery floss and tipped the edges in pink paint.
I used some of my old standby Heidi Swapp chipboard letters for the title. I used Glossy Accents on top to give it some shine and secured it with some bright green (my favorite color) embroidery floss.
I also had some really cute pics of J from when he went to the pumpkin patch I needed to scrap. The browns, oranges and greens were perfect for this layout.

I made little pumpkins to go on the bottom. Because I am all about the themes. Since I used the green for the background, I didn't have any left over for the tops of the pumpkins. I just cut out some of the little boots from the American Crafts galoshes paper for the tops : )

I also used some of the canvas around the edges. I frayed it a little to add some texture. I also fringed some orange paper scraps for yet additional texture.

I made a card too, but I'll save that for another post. Check out the Scripts blog for more goodies! I will post the directions to make the rosettes on there sometime soon!