Happy Monday!

Well I guess Monday is more like it! Who the heck is happy on Monday? Well maybe those of you that don't have to work are! It was a great weekend tho! I got tons of scrapping done! Did 3 pages Friday night (yeah, one took me 3 hours or I would have done more), had the house to myself all day Saturday got it cleaned in no time and then had some more scrapping time! And then on Sunday I scrapped some more with some of the girls at the LSS where I teach! Of course now I'll probably be banned from scrapping for at least a month but it was fun!

I got 6 pages done yesterday and on Saturday I completed one of the Junkitz Box books. Those are too fun! I ordered one of the July kitz from the Junkitz website (those things rock) and used a few sheets of the paper, the book, one of the flowerz and the foam stamp and it came together very nice! I still have a ton of stuff left over to do something else with too!

So now the weekend is over and it's back to reality! Man I need to win Powerball so I can scrap every day! But then again I need to play Powerball to win it! :) Have a great Monday all!

Saturday, a layout share and chit chat

It's Saturday! Woohoo! Saturday is my favorite day of the week. God knows why since it's also the day I clean house! That's the one part I hate about it! ;)

So one of the scrapping sites I go to Scrapfriends is having a month long contest for their birthday celebration. It ends 7/31 and I haven't been able to participate in every challenge (there's a new one everyday!) but I've done a few. They have amazing prizes and tons of them! Well one of the contests is all about Altering and the grand prize layout is going to be judged by the King of Altering himself TIM HOLTZ! I decided to enter this one because I had the perfect photos just waiting to be scrapped!


So what if everyone else over there things I'm sucking up to the teacher! LOL! I did a ton of altering (you can see the details over at my 123 gallery) and this layout is definitely the longest one I've done, it took me 3 hours to complete it! Anywoo I hemmed and hawed and stressed over it and now it's done! It may not be the winning layout but I had fun doing it!

No results from the Cat Scan yet but the antibiotics seem to be doing the trick so thankfully it maybe just a bad bacterial infection. Thanks for all your well wishes!

Well I guess that's it for me today, I have to go clean so maybe I can scrap some more. Have a wonderful weekend all!

Hey Mary! HI!

So Mary has challenged me to update my blog every day! I have no idea how I'm going to do that because I usually have nothing much to talk about so today, I'm just shouting out hello to Mary and to anyone else reading my blog!

Happy Friday All! Have a Great Day!

Cat Scan Day

So I've had this stomach thing for a few days and finally went to the doctor after Tueday night some not so normal side effects began. They put me on two very strong antibiotics for some bactierial infections in my intestines and bowels (ICK) and took blood and today it's a Cat Scan to see if there are any signs of Colitis, Chrones Disease or some other problem that I can't even begin to spell that starts with a D! Last night I had to drink this contrast stuff and it was not fun! When you haven't even been able to eat anything let's say drinking this stuff that makes your liquid thick is not a fun time! I had to drink 30oz of it! I didn't think I was going to make it and afterward I had a rough time keeping it down. But then I knew they would have to reschedule the Cat Scan and that I'd have to drink it again so I kept it back! LOL! Fun Times!

Tonight I'm teaching a class at the store. Last I heard there were 6 signed up so it should be a good one! It's an accordian tag album that is beach/summer themed and came out very cute so I hope they like it!

Well that's it for me today, off to the hospital! Have a great day!

My Friend Jen!

Today's post is a tribute to Jen Caputo. We had a great time when we spent the day in Boston with her and Adam and I was finally able to scrap a page from one of the photos taken as proof this past weekend. I used some of the new toys I bought too, Rhonna Farrer's Acrylic Stamps (that I had to have thanks to Rachael), Basic Grey book plates, and very fun chipboard arrows. Oh and of course one of my favorite lines of papers Chatterbox!

So the story behind the photo on this page is the gianormous bowl of French Onion Soup! We had decided to order off the appetizer menu for dinner after eating so much chowder for lunch. Well when they brought out this bowl Jen and I burst into a fit of laughter. I have to say, it was the best French Onion Soup I've tasted in forever and it filled up Jen, Adam and I darn well! BTW, that is the purple beer in front of the bowl too! ;) And doesn't Jen look adorable?! I could never look that cute with a bowl that big in front of me, I'd just look like a glutton!

Yeah, yeah, I'm rambling, here is the page! Enjoy! And have a great night!

Scrappin!!!

Woohoo! My best scrappin bud Karen is in town! She's my faithful scrappin pal, the one I went to two CKU's with, every crop with, cropped at home with and she's staying at my house! They got here Wed. night and will be here till Sunday morning. I have the day off today and it's supposed to rain so guess what we will be doing? I thing I'm taking a trip to Lighthouse first tho because the Junkitz stuff finally came in!!! I have to go see what came! As if I didn't spend enough last night, we had to meet some old co-workers in Westford last night so we stopped at Michaels and Ink-About-It. I bought some tips for my Japanese Screw Punch and some Autumn Leaves Scroll stamps that are just gorgous. Both some expensive ticket items! Also got some of the new Daisy D's papers, oh they are gorgoues, and some Chatterbox papers from CHA winter since we don't have them at the store. But man I have been dying for Junkitz! I did get a few things at the convention but hopefully there is still some left for me when I get in there!

Going to work on some class samples today and get some vacation photos scrapped at the same time. Bonus!! I love that! I also have some new Bazzil accordian albums to play with they look very fun! I see some early presents in the making! And need to decide what papers I'm going to use for the recipe box and card box classes. Lots to accomplish! It will be fun to have Karen here to work with! Just like old times!

So hope everyone has a fab Friday!!! I am off to shower and stuff!

For Rachael and Lesley

The Key Lime Pie was pretty darn good! And yep, I took a photo of that $22 pie! Here it is:


Are you licking your lips? Yeah it was that good but I'm glad my mom was the sucker that paid $22 for it and not me! Sorry mom! ;)

So there you have it, the most expensive pie I've ever eaten. At least I had two slices of it and it satisified 8 people (2 of us twice!) :)

Home Again

It was a fabulous vacation! The boys were great, the weather was cooperative for the most part and the island was beautiful! It's definitely a high priced place tho! We went out to a DINER for breakfast and it cost us $50! Now when I go to a diner I think cheap and as far as I'm concerned $50 is not cheap for breakfast! Especially at a diner! LOL! But the food was great and it was on an airstrip so the boys loved watching the planes come and go.

Get this, I only took 90 photos all week! Of course some of those got deleted so I may have ended up with 80 in the end. What a bad photographer I am. Not like my friend Rachael who takes 200 photos when her kids are playing in the backyard! LOL! Here are a couple of my favorites from the week.

The first one is Jake on the ferry ride over to the island. And the second one is Josh digging at the beach.

I wanted to get photos in the dunes but we never got there at the right time and they were also all roped off and protected. I'm too chicken to break the law or to teach my kids too so I wouldn't do it anyway!

So now I'm off to pay the bills I let go until after we got home! Happy Sunday all! Have a great day!

Day 5

and it's been wonderful so far! We've had some terrific weather, the island is beautiful, the house is very comfy and there is not much I can complain about! Today is a bit overcast and we need a break from the beach because mom's face is a bit swollen and Josh's calfs are a bit pink on the back even with a 45 on them so we are going to do some sight seeing. We've gone to two different beachs so far, South Beach and State Beach. South Beach had some serious waves! Josh was a bit scared and stayed right onthe shore and I didn't blame him. State Beach was the complete opposite and he was in the water all day! There were no man-o-war thank goodness after all the stuff we heard on the news but there were some regular jellyfish and a few crabs.

Let me tell you, this is a pricey place! We saw a sign for homemade Key Lime Pie and since I love Key Lime Pie we decided to get one. $22 later we had no pie, it was on reserve because they were sold out. Now I would not have paid that, I had already gone out to the car with the boys, since we were ordering one. My mom went ahead and paid for it even after hearing the price! This thing better be the best thing since sliced bread for that price!

Jake and I have been going on a bike ride each morning. We found a great 4 mile loop that follows a bike path for most of it which is terrific! We only have to ride on the road for a mile of it. I am happy to be exercising while I'm here since I have eaten homemade donuts and fudge so far! I try to be good and then something else yummy shows up! I am also glad Jake wants to ride with me since last year I had to walk alone last year!

So I'm off to get ready for our ride! Have a great day/week in case I don't update for awhile again!

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!!!!

I'm officially on vacation!!! Tomorrow I start packing for Martha's Vineyard and we leave bright and early Saturday morning! So if you don't see me for a week that means I got no hookups and I'll see you when I get back! And if you do see me it will be very limited because it will be on dial-up! YUCK!!!

Thank goodness I have a great boss who let me take an extra unscheduled day tomorrow! Because I have way too much to do. I have to pack for me and the boys, find all the beach stuff in the basement, pack some scrapping stuff, go to Staples and get photo paper first to print out some photos so I can decide which scrapping stuff I'm actually going to bring. I am not bringing it all this time. Way too much to pack and unpack! So I'm going to be smart and plan pages! Yeah right! LOL! I'm also going to see if we can find Jake a Skimboard (thanks September!), go get a few more beach towels, and more sunblock! I'm worried that mine from last year may be expired and I don't want to burn! I really would like to get a few other things but they are out of my price range so I'm stopping there.

So that's it for me, I'm outta here. If I don't see you have a terrific week!!!

Happy Independence Day

To all my patriotic friends and happy tuesday to all my non-American readers! :)

It has been a fun-filled weekend and I even got a little scrapping snuck in for good measure! I got three pages done in a weekend with no scrap plans what-so-ever so that isn't half bad! ;)

It started out with Saturday and house cleaning day, not so fun, ended it with some yardwork where I finally got started planting flowers. Actually got everything 1/2 off since it's so late in the season! Then BIL and family called us to go out to dinner so we met them at a BBQ place and had a great meal.

Sunday Michael and I met up with Jen Caputo and her boyfriend Adam in Boston and we had a great day. We started out in Fanieul Hall where Adam and Michael got picked to help out the Street performer. That was too much fun to watch! We laughed a great deal. Then we walked over to City Hall Plaza for the Chowder Festival and ate our fill of chowda! From there we went to a Mexican Restaurant for Sangria and Margarita's. From there we went over to Fenway and took the tour of the park which was very cool. After that went to Boston Beer Works where Jen, Adam and Michael sampled beer. After that it was off to another Brewery called The Sunset Bar and Grill for Dinner. Man this place had some great food with HUGE portions!! We had some great garlic fried calamari and Jen got this bowl of french onion soup that was more like a pot! It was giant! All our jaws dropped when we saw them bring it to the table! Three of us ate out of this bowl of soup and man did we get full from it! And it was the best I've ever tasted too! Not only that Jen got me to drink beer! And that is an unbelievable feat! I HATE Beer! I mean hate! When Michael drinks it I don't even like to be near him! I hate the smell of it even! So she orders this beer and it's purple! Looks just like grape juice and it even smells good! So I take a small sip and it tastes like fruit juice! It was really good! I couldn't believe I drank it! Jen was so proud of herself! ;) So after dinner we hit the road and we got home at 10pm! It was a terrific day!

Today we went to a BBQ at my BIL's house. They had just a few friends over so it was perfect. I spent most of the day playing with all the fish. He has two huge ponds one of them has a few of our old Koi in it. I tried to get one of my old Koi, Blackie to come up and eat out of my hand and before I left had accomplished what I set out to do! I couldn't believe how much she had grown! I so miss having fish! Can't wait to get our pond going again!

It was a great weekend and I have a very short week before I leave for Martha's Vineyard on Saturday for a week! Oh and for any robbers thinking about steaking out my house, my husband isn't going with me and I own a Pit Bull and two attack cats who also aren't taking the trip! ;)

Happy 4tht All!

It's Friday!

And for all of you going away for the weekend, Safe and Happy Travels! We are not going away for the first time in who knows how many years! Since the inlaws are in Alaska we will be hanging out at home. Well except for Sunday Michael and I are headed into Boston to meet up with Jen Caputo! How fun is that!! I read on her blog that she was going to be in town so I emailed her to see if she had time to meet up! Can't wait for that! Stay tuned for photos! :)

We are doing lots of yardwork tomorrow! I'll have photos of the boys working hard too! ;)

So last night Jake and I went on our second walk. Wed night we walked 3 miles, last night our walk was cut a bit short by a slight scare that turned out to be nothing! LOL! We went thru the back of our development where they are building some new homes. So part of the development is pretty deserted after one empty house there are only woods. At that last house Jake tells me he sees a man peeking out at us from behind two pieces of heavy equipment. I tell Jake to pick up the pace and then pick up a few rocks. Because the houses where people are about a half mile away from us. So we finally get to the men who are working on a foundation and I talk to the head guy and he tells us there has been some vandalism on the exact house we are speaking to him about the last two nights. Then all of a sudden this kid that has been peeking out at us comes walking down the street. It looks like a teenager. Jake and I start walking away and the guy stops the kid. We head for home but we still have at least a half mile to go. The kid gets a talking to and then starts to follow us. There is about 1/4 mile between us. Jake and I decide to run because there a path in the woods that we can take to get to our house so he can't see us and where we live! We go in the house and tell Michael the story. Well as soon as I can talk because mind you I can't breath since it's been over a year since I've exercised at all and I'm way out of shape from running! So Michael gets in his truck and goes to look for this kid. He finds him in the back of the development and it turns out to be one of my neighbor's sons. Now I know this kid and he's a really good kid! Michael tells him he really scared Jake and I and he apologized but I still want to know what the heck he was doing hiding out there behind the excavator and backhoe by himself?

So that's my excitement! And now I'm going to get to work! Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!

Sad News

Well it was a nail biting game but in the end they lost 9-8. They played so well, were even leading in the beginning 5-1 but a few bad plays in the outfield and some very bad calls by the Ump and they ended up losing. It was so heartbreaking. Both teams played very well but honestly the Marlins deserved the win. And I am not saying that because my son was on the team. I honestly think they played better and that if they had not had a run taken away from them for interference that WAS so not there the game would have gone into extra innings and that would have shown us who really should have won! Anyway what's done is done, they made it to the Championships, and they really were a great group of kids! I am very proud of them.

Last night was the Celebration and they got their trophies! I forgot my camera! Thank goodness for camera phones! The photo isn't the best but at least I have one! Jeesh what an idiot I am! I made CDs for every parent on the team of all the photos at the game so I'm hoping maybe one of the parents maybe took a photo for me at least! Tuesday night is Josh's Celebration night where they will get their trophies and then we are officially done with Baseball! Woohoo! Now I can finally start some of the jungle cleanup!

OK well it's Monday morning and time to get to work! Have a great day!

Say it With Me Now...

Rain Rain Go Away, Come Again Some Other Day...

I need this rain to stop now! We have to get this Championship game in today! I so want Baseball to be over! Please!!! I want my life back if only for a little while!!!! Please Pretty Please with sugar on top!!! Yep I'd love to send rain to anyone who needs it really, I'd do it in a heartbeat! I don't care about not having to water the grass anymore! We have irrigation that we paid $5K for! I don't care about the flowers either, since I had no stinking time to get any! OK Whining Over! :)

The game is scheduled for 1:00 pm now instead of 9am. They are hoping the rain will be done by then. The pool party has been cancelled. The field will be soaked and the boys will be muddy as heck since they have to slide on every run in at the homeplate but if they can get that game in I'll be so happy! And if they win man that will just make my year! I have really loved watchng these boys get better and better with each passing game and I wouldn't trade it for the world no matter how much I complain! But yep, stick a fork in me cause I am well done! ;)

So I've got my classes for the Croppin at the Cape all ironed out! I'm going to work on some of the samples for the Christmas card class tomorrow. I'm so excited to also be finally teaching a Recipe Box class! And I'm going to be using the American Traditional Recipe Time line that I used for the project I did that should be published soon! I am stoked about this because that project came out pretty darn cool! I am teaching 4 classes and also doing a few M&Ts so I'll be so busy I won't have time to crop but it will be fun! Can't wait!

Hey, if you all read PaperWorks Magazine, there a a few toots in there! Our 123-Scrap Friend Tammy Malone has a great card in there, Connie P also has a 4 page spread in there and she uses one of Andrea's awesome easles in it! Way to go ladies!!!

OK, I'm off to finish cleaning so I have all day tomorrow to scrap! Have a wonderful weekend all! Hopeully I'll be back later to say we won the Championship!

It's Friday!

And guess what? It's going to rain tonight and tomorrow! Imagine that! Another rainy weekend! So the championship game will most likely be postphoned! I am wondering if Baseball will ever be over and if I will ever get my yard looking like it's supposed to for summer! The jungle of weeds has officially taken over! I don't think I'll ever get it back! And I'll probably never get flowers planted because no one will have any left or they will all be the dead ugly ones by the time I get to the nursery to buy them! 2-5 more inches of rain are predicted! HOLY CRAP BATMAN! So there goes the game, the pool party and the baseball celebration all to be rescheduled for sunnier days on my calendar! Well at least I'll get my house cleaned on Saturday and maybe have Sunday to scrap! That is a high point! LOL!

And did you all see on the news that the earth is the hottest it's ever been in 2000 years? How's that for global warming? Well off to get my bagel before all the good ones are gone! Every Friday my company has a Panera Bread delivery! YUM! Have a great day and a wonderful weekend!

Late Night Bloggin'

I have to work late tonight so I figured I'd post an update. Josh's team lost their championship game last night. They took it really well. I've seen kids older than them burst into tears and they all hung tough! Jake's team won his 2nd Tournament game so they are playing in the Championship game on Saturday! They won 11-5 and man did they play well tonight! I had to work the snack bar so I missed a lot of the game but what I saw they rocked! I pray they can do as well on Saturday and take the title!

The boys are loving their pool! Jake has been in it everyday since Sunday. Two of the boys from next door came over to swim with him for an hour this afternoon and I thought they were going to tear the thing down! But they had a blast! I was working while watching them so I didn't get to take any photos. Josh was in on the couch.

Well that's all I've got to chat about and I need to get back to work so you all have a terrific night!

Last Day of School!

The boys have a half day today and they are out for the summer! They are pretty psyched! I am taking the day off, picking them up and taking them out for ice cream! A terrific idea I got from my good bud Rachael! Then they are both invited to a pool party celebration from 2-4 and then it's the big Championship game for Josh tonight! Man I hope they win!

The boys swam in the WT Pool last night. If you need to know what the WT means leave a comment and I'll email you. It may offend someone so I best not type it out here! Anyway, it's one of those above ground pools that isn't a real above ground pool, it kind of looks like you blew it up! You can buy them at Wally World and they are soft sided. They have this cheap filter/pump with them and this really flimsy ladder all in the box for $200! But that's what the boys wanted to spend their allowance money one so it's now taking up a 16' circle in my backyard! Usually I'm pretty picky about how the yard looks but since this year between the rain and all the sports I haven't even weeded or put mulch down never mind planted flowers I'm not saying much about it! :)

Anway, that's it for me, I've got to get the boys up and go shower. Have a great day everyone!

Off to the Championships!

Josh's team won their second Tournament game so they play in the Championship game on Tuesday night! Jake's team won their first tournament game today so they play their second game on Wed. night. All of the coaches loved their baseball albums. A big huge thank you to Patty for saving the day with the Red Floss! Phew! Jake's coach made me walk it around and show all the parents (insert blushing smiley here)! Boy was it hot! I put sunblock on but forgot my chest so it is bright pink with a big flower in the middle from my Lia Sophia pendant I was wearing! LOL!

Tomorrow is Father's Day and I have no gift for DH, I have no idea what he wants or what he wants to do so we have no plans! He is being a pest this year! I guess we are playing it by ear!

My peonies finally opened! Man I've been driving around and seeing everyone elses and waiting patiently for mine! And now I've got a vase full in the kitchen! Yipee! They are sooooo pretty!!!

Well I hope everyone's Dad's and hubby's have a great Father's Day! Have a wonderful weekend!

Bloggin from Boston!

Well after the 3 hour drive in from home yesterday, today was much nicer! Only an hour and 15 minutes!!! There was no rain and no accident so it was very different!!! It did take me 2 hours to get home and being that it's Friday night and everyone goes north for the weekend I expect it to take me at least that tonight. But I made it on time for class today so I am happy! I actually got here an hour early! Got to get my coffee and play on the puter! Way cool!

So two playoff games tomorrow! And another very long day at the Field in almost 90 degree weather. Can you say SUNBURN? LOL! I will not be home until at least 8 tonight and I've got to finish the last coach gift! ACK! Father's Day is Sunday, when the heck am I going to clean my house? Anyone want to come do it for me?

It's time for class to start so I better run! Have an awesome weekend!

Blogger is Acting Up!!!

First I couldn't attach my page that used the burlap stuff in my last post! So here it is:

And then it makes me delete all my cookies to create a post! So how fun is that going to be logging in to every place I go today! UGH!!!

So aren't those stars cool? I have to find a good photo to use the hearts next. OK, off to get the stitches now, really! Cya!