Favorite Movies?

This weeks SSD Blog challenge is a favorite movie post. I've got a few and they are all old because I haven't seen any new movies in a very long time! But these movies I could watch over and over again...
Grease I love the music, it makes me dance in my seat
Dirty Dancing I love me some Patrick Swayze in this movie AND it makes me want to take dancing lessons
16 Candles I love me some Jake Ryan!
The Breakfast Club I just love how they all hook up with the most unexpected in the end
Pretty Woman because I just love happy endings
and I bet there are more but I cant think of any right now!

How about you, what are your favorite movies? I can guarantee I haven't seen them! LOL!

School Days

My friend Debbie Hill is so talented! She designed this little file folder book for a class she taught in Canada. I just loved it and of course couldn't go to Canada to take the class so she sold me a kit. Debbie, Dawn and the other Debbie came over on Saturday night to scrap and I put my kit together! We had a great time and here is my finished product:

Deb still has kits left for sale so if you want one just click on the link to her blog and let her know you are interested! :) Thanks again for coming over girls, it was fun and I can't wait to do it again!

Happy Valentines Day!

I love Valentines Day and I'm not a hopeless Romantic or anything but I love hearts, flowers, and especially candy! Well I got all of the above and then some today too! I thought I had got all my gifts this morning when Michael gave me a beautiful card, a fun Pink Duffle bag for my trip to TX, some yummy comfy pink sweats that say PINK on them (these were both from this store), lots of chocolates including Cadbury Orange Cream (are those new) eggs and he called my mom behind my back to watch the boys and we have 6:30 dinner reservations! OK WOW! And then I'm at work eating my lunch and I get another box with this:

I am too spoiled! I hope all of you are too! Enjoy your day! XOXOXOXO!

Valentine's Day Quiz

How much do you really know about Valentine's Day? I only got 5 out of 10 so me, not much! LOL!

Take this quiz and see:

http://triviapark.com/quizzes/valentine.html

WOW! My Gloomy Day Got a Bit Brighter!

I WAS not in the best of moods today. The whole job thing is starting to get to me I think, plus it's nasty outside and we are supposed to get snow tonight. But notice I said "WAS" because Lizzy plopped me with not one but two awards! How cool is that?!

I am not sure if Lizzy found me or if I found her but I've had fun reading her blog and was excited to see she likes reading mine too. Thank you Lizzy for the fun awards!

And since the proper thing to do is pass these along I'm going to share these awards with Debbie, Kristi, Janette, Lynette, Donna, and Dawn!Enjoy girls, I'm glad to have you in my cyber and tangible world! :)

More Scrappy Stuff

I played in the scraproom again on Saturday. Made this altered pail to hold all y loose pieces of ribbon that are too short to do anything with: And two more pages for the Disney Album. I honestly think this thing should be complete around 2010! ;) For this one I finally took the BG Periphery papers out of the bag an used them instead of just admiring them! Man I love those papers!
and one more:

I am seriously making a dent in my stash! And if you believe that I've got some ocean front property for sale in Arizona for sale! ;) Have a great day!

My Job

So the Sweet Shoppe Blog post this week is for us to tell about what we do and since I'm job hunting I figured this is a great time to do it because you never know what prospective hiring manager is reading my blog right? ;)

So I work full time for a telecommunications company. It's a small company of about 500 people total between Massachusetts and India. I work as a Release Engineer. Which just means that I support software engineers and build software. We also version control the software and release it. It's also known in some parts as a Configuration Manager. I've been in this line of work since about 1997. I do not have an engineering degree. I kind of fell into my first job in this field because I had the right security clearance. I was asked to "help out" until they got someone with the right qualifications for the job cleared for the project. Well it turned out, I liked it, learned fast and asked my boss if I could stay in the position. The rest is history!

So if anyone needs a Release Engineer/Configuration Manager I'm your girl (and I'm even willing to relocate to warmer climates)!

Happy Monday!

Go Pats!

Happy Superbowl Sunday!

Schtuff

So I found out yesterday that I am at risk of being laid off in March/April. This could not have come at a worse time (is there a better time?) as after 5 years of begging and pleading I finally convinced Michael to refinance and give me an addition. Yeah, well that's no happening now and I may have unfinished plywood stairs for the rest of my life at this rate! And I don't get my honkin big family room. :(

So I'm on the hunt for a job again. It took me 6 months last time, I hope it doesn't take that long again! I'm also cracking down on my spending and going to try to get some money into savings before this happens. Two months isn't long but every little bit helps right? Funny, I found this out on Friday, and it was confirmed yesterday. On Thursday I booked a flight to Texas to see my friend Amy for a weekend. Michael gave me some of his extra money from plowing a few weeks ago and told me I couldn't use it on bills so I said, hmmm, I need a visit to a warm climate. I had held on to that money for 3 weeks in a drawer for an emergency or something and then decided the heck with it I'm using it. It wasn't a lot but it would have paid a bill later when I am not getting a paycheck! Isn't that always the way?

I sent off my two altered items to Creative TECHniques magazine for publication! YAY! Hopefully I did all the instructions/photos right so they are happy and maybe will ask me again for stuff!

I also did some cleaning up in my scraproom. Man it was a mess. I made a pile of stuff to get rid of, got a few more baskets for storage and moved my sewing machine off my table into the armoire so there is more room for friends at the table. Debbie H, Dawn and Debbie F are coming over in a two weeks and we need some space! Another thing killed in the refinance idea is the cabinets for my room. Oh well.

And while I was down there, I also did some scrapping. Got 3 more pages for the Disney album done!

So that's it for me today, gotta go search the job boards now! Have a great day!

Middle Name Game

Got this from Lisa!

Here are the rules:1. You have to post the rules before you give your answers.
2. You must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden name).
3. After you are tagged, you need to update your blog with your middle name and your answers.
4. At the end of your blog post, you can tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and that they need to read your blog for details.)

Yeah, It's supposed to be a tag but I'm not tagging anyone, if you want to play come back here and let me know so I can read your version!

M - Mother
A - animal lover
R - rambler
I - immensly enjoys baseball
E - eats too much junk

What Kind of Coffee are You?

I am:

You Are a Cappuccino

You're fun, outgoing, and you love to try anything new. However, you tend to have strong opinions on what you like. You are a total girly girly at heart - and prefer your coffee with good conversation. You're the type that seems complex to outsiders, but in reality, you are easy to please

What Kind of Coffee Girl Are You?

Which is very appropriate!

Cards Anyone?

In 2006 a very good friend of mine's husband was being deployed to Iraq. Over at 123-Scrap, Chris came up with this awesome idea to make cards for the soldiers. Not just cards to send to them but blank cards for them to use to send back to their loved ones while they were deployed. This project was so well received we have sent thousands of cards and have received amazing feedback from both the soldiers who have used the cards and from people who are making the cards to send over there. So many people have told me how much it helps them to be able to give something back to the soldiers. So we are gearing up to start the 2008 mailings to the soldiers and I want this to be another great year so I'm spreading the word where I can.

So if you would be so kind to post word on your blog and/or to make some cards here is where you can get all the details:

http://cardsforsoldiers.blogspot.com/

or if you would like more specific info and to see some of the feedback go here:

http://123-scrap.com/forum/index.php?showforum=44

Thanks in advance! Have a great Wednesday!

Been Getting My Hands Dirty

Yep, been down in my scraproom the last two weekends in a row! FUN! I know I do a lot of digi scrapping but I still love the traditional stuff just as much as ever! Here are a few things I've made:

This is Jake (my 12yo) when he was about 5 months! Awwwww! :)

An altered barn star using the new Basic Grey :This photo frame album is hybrid and uses a digital kit by Traci Reed called "Aint No Sunshine"And a couple more for the Disney album:This one looks much better IRL, it scanned really badly! Thanks for looking! Happy MLK Day!

Laughter is the best Medicine

We all need laughter in our lives. My very favorite YouTube video:

Lia Sophia Jewelry Anyone?

I'm having a catalog party. Anyone interested?

They are having a great special for January, buy one item get two at 1/2 price! And get this, the one item you pay full price for can be the cheapest item! Cool huh?

If you are interested, here's a link to the catalog:

http://www.liasophia.com/sites/lisaruppel/page-catalog?CatID=15&TotalPages=61&PageNum=1

Long Week

It's been a long and a difficult week. I'm glad to put it behind me but I'm also glad I went through it too. Does that make sense? Well maybe it will after I explain a bit. It started out with a snowday on Monday, then a wake, a funeral and another snow delay to end the week.

Saturday night a bunch of us (some who hadn't seen each other in ages) got together at Rachael's house for a belated NYE party. It snowed here on NYE so we postponed it. Well about a half hour after the boys and I arrived the party was in full swing, the party took a terrible turn when Rachael opened the door to her Dad's apartment (he lived in an in-law attached to her house) and discovered something was wrong. We called 911 but it was too late. Her Dad had already passed away. It was awful in so many ways. You see Rachael was adopted an only just found Richard, her biological dad 9 years ago. It was such a fairy tale story as he never knew he had a daughter let alone 5 grandchildren so when he found this out he moved all the way from Las Vegas to New Hampshire to be with them. 9 years is not enough time but it's better than none I guess. I was at the wake Wednesday night and every person that came up to Rachael while I was next to her said how happy her dad was since they found each other. Those words just warmed my heart each time I heard them. At least Rachael has that knowledge to carry with her while she is getting over losing her wonderful Dad.

So while I hated to see my very good friend lose a loved one I am very glad that I was able to be there for her in that very difficult time and will be if she needs me in the days ahead.

Looking forward to next week! Hopefully I'll have something good to blog about! Have a great weekend!

Hubby Tag

Candice had this tag on her blog and invited anyone who reads her blog to play along. So if you feel like playing a game of tag . . . YOU'RE IT!!!

What's his name? Michael James Bumbaca

How long did you date? 5 years (we were high school sweethearts)

How old is he? 42 (for a few more weeks!)

Who eats more? We are both on a diet but he still eats more! This guy can EAT!

Who said "I love you" first? Him.

Who is taller? Michael, he's 6'1 and I am 5'4".

Who sings better? Ummm, me and that's not sayin much! Although, come to think of it, it may be him, I've never heard him sing! LOL!

Who is smarter? Michael even tho I was the better student!

Who does the laundry? Both of us. He puts HIS laundry in the wash and sometimes even the dryer but if I want it out of the basket I have to fold it!

Who does the dishes? Me.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you are looking at the bed, he does. If you are laying in the bed me!

Who pays the bills? I do!

Who mows the lawn? He does and he can't wait till the boys take over.

Who cooks dinner? Me unless I'm away then he tries!

Who drives when you are together? Michael unless he had too many beers! :)

Who is more stubborn? Definitely me.

Who kissed who first? Him

Who asked who out first? Neither one of us, his sister set us up by telling each of us the other wanted to go out.

Who proposed? He did.

Who is more sensitive? Michael.

Who has more friends? Me

Who has more siblings? He does. I have none, he has three.

Who wears the pants in the family? LOL! I let Michael think he does!

I saw this info on Tim Holtz's blog and wanted to share it with my few readers that may not read his blog. I think it's a great cause and hope you will pop over and help out! Info on the charity is below.

How It Works:
The four charity badges with the most unique donations through America's Giving Challenge will get $50,000 for their cause.
America's Giving Challenge runs only until January 31st.
Donate:
If you are able donate , please donate via the badge a $10 tax deductible donation. We need the most people possible to each donate $10 to A Place to Bark. In order to win the grant we need to have the most amount of donors, not necessarily the amount of money donated.
All donations made to A Place to Bark's Six Degrees Badge, will be matched by the "Zoline Foundation" up to $25,000.00!!! All donations up to June 1st will be counted for the matching donation from the Zoline Foundation.

Thank you in advance!

-3

Nope, not degrees like last week, pounds! In my first week on my official diet I've lost 3 pounds! Only 20 to go! LOL! I hate getting old. I used to be able to eat anything and not gain a pound. My metabolism started to slow down right around the time I stopped hairdressing and got a desk job. Imagine that! ;) Anyway this past summer I went off of a migraine preventative medicine that has one huge side effect - WEIGHT LOSS! I loved that side effect. Well the other side effect I guess it can do liver or kidney damage (I forget which one) over long term so my neurologist wanted me to stop taking it. Well I did and within a few months I gained 20 pounds and am actually more than I was when I started taking it! ICK! So Jan 2nd was the start of my diet but we are doing A Biggest Loser contest at work so the 3rd was my "Official Weigh In" day. Let's hope next week it's another negative number! ;)

Happy Thursday!

For Hallie

I am posting my newest Coach addition for Hallie since she said she would come to my house if I had some so I figured that would be a fun way to get to meet her! LOL! Anyway Hallie, my wonderful Husband bought me these for a belated xmas present because he got has got to make some extra money plowing with all this snow! What do you think? I have a matching purse too! You wanna come to my house now? ;)

Happy Hump Day all!