(diva)logues

Forty freakin' four...

Age is just a number.  I know that.  But for some reason, this one sounds a bit older.  Although, I guess the next one will sound worse.  Quite frankly, in my mind I still think I'm in my mid 30's, and if nothing else I know I could outrun my 20-something self.  And Zumba wasn't even around in my 20's, so life is definitely MORE fun now than it was then.  But all that aside... I'm another year older.  And I suppose aging is a blessing, considering life is short & can be taken at any moment.  I know that all too well. 

I'm not going down without a fight though.  Skincare has become a MUST.  And thankfully, Bob has accepted that it's going in the budget.  LOL! 

Total BLAST over the weekend, from Friday through Sunday, celebrating with people I love & adore. 

So many funny & fun photos from the last 3 days, that there are too many to post.  Although I'm sure you'll see a lot of them on future scrapbook pages. 

Some are so funny, I can't post for fear that you'll know how much of a dork I really am. Well... no fear really, just a bit of pride... a very small bit, mind you.

Yay for a fantastic weekend!  Yay for Zumba on Monday!  And yay for lots of love in my life!  I am truly BLESSED.

And PS... thanks for all the sweet birthday wishes all weekend.  You all ROCK!  :-)

I'm just a wee bit proud...

Besides already being emotional about today being the last day of elementary school, Bryn received a Presidential Award for Acedemic Excellence this morning for maintaining at least a 3.5 GPA throughout all of 4th grade and 5th grade.  I didn't know what kind of award she was going to receive this morning, only that I was invited to attend because she was receiving something. 

Yeah... ummm.... tears in my eyes. 

And then I got tears in my eyes again when the principal asked the 2 school nurses to come forward so everyone could thank them for all they do every single day.  The head nurse has played such a HUGE roll in keeping Bryn safe & healthy at school with her food allergies from Kindergarten through 5th grade.  I am so grateful for her.  I'm really going to miss her!  I'm really going to miss this school, too.  It's been nothing but a FANTASTIC experience for Bryn and for us every single year.  I feel so lucky.  Hopefully middle school is more of the same.  New chapter begins in the Fall!  Can't believe it...

TGIF & HOORAY for the weekend!  Hope yours is a fabulous one! 

I believe it's time to party...

"... and may the odds be ever in your favor..."

I would just like to say that The Hunger Games is the most F'd up movie I have ever seen. 

Is that because I haven't read the books?  Someone please explain.  At the beginning of the movie I thought it was going to be about the Holocaust.  And then all the weirdly dressed freaky make-up wearing people came on & I kept saying, "What the hell is going on??"   

Although I can say I had a blast seeing it thanks to 2 very nutty friends.  Well, actually 1 is nuttier than the other.  Seeing movies with her is like reliving my high school years.  And I kinda like it.  LOL    

Anywhoooo... my Mother's Day was great.  But then again, just having Bryn for a daughter makes my life special every single day of the year.  She made me breakfast in bed yesterday & brought me lots of gifts.  The 3 of us had lunch together and then we had dinner with my parents & my sister that night.  It was a full day & I feel pretty lucky to have so much love in my life...  

I hope your Mother's Day was special too!

Happy Monday & have a GREAT week!

Kaysy's Kids...

Last night I had the honor of presenting a scholarship award to a high school student on behalf of my family.  My parents created the "Kaysy's Kids Scholarship" in my sister's honor & this is the first year of what will be an annual gift.  We (my parents, my sister Marci & I) reviewed the applications & essays that were submitted from students at the high school my parents both attended.  We chose that high school over the one my sisters & I attended, as it gets an exceptionally lower number of scholarship awards available, so we felt the money would be better served there.     

My sister had work commitments and my parents had previous commitments with an Autism fundraiser in conjunction with the Cardinals last night.  So while they were schmoozing with David Freeze, Matt Carpenter, Mike Methany & Tony LaRussa... I was presenting this scholarship on my family's behalf. 

Next year, they get to give out the award while I go stalk David Freeze.  Ahem.

The 3-leaf clover logo has been used for many things since my sister passed away... and D, K, M is my sister's & my initials... 

It was definitely a "feel good" night.   

Happy Friday & I hope you all have a FANTASTIC weekend! 

It is what it is...

Well... I suppose I participated in my own little version of National Scrapbooking Day, minus the Cinco de Mayo margaritas.  Or perhaps you might say I've "celebrated" the whole week. 

Yesterday Bob said to me, "You sure have been busy working this week.  You got a lot accomplished." 

I said, "Yeah, as you recall, it hasn't been such a great week.  And creating takes my mind off things." 

Seriously though.  I made 10 pages + 1 card in the last week.  I think that might be a record.  Would much rather it didn't take sucky stuff to get me lost in my craftroom, but such is life I guess. 

It is what it is. 

More old photos from last year here, with another random mix of products.  Gee that never happens.  My craftroom floor looks like a grenade hit it, so I kinda just keep picking up stuff that matches & going with it.  I'm fairly confident that when I bought these Crate Paper chipboard stickers last year that my original intention wasn't to use them with some old and new Nikki Sivils' paper, but it works for me so it's going in the book! 

 

The red paper is from Nikki Sivils' Audrey collection.  The blue background paper in the middle is from Nikki Sivils' It's Raining, It's Pouring collection.  I just cut off the scalloped border from it.  I used a SRM school sticker and some tiny little Want 2 Scrap bling on my tree & on the door.  Love their bling! 

Bryn had her bestie spend the night last night & now they're off with her friend's dad seeing the movie The Avengers.  I haven't heard boo about it, but I have read quite a few comments on Facebook about how much people love it.  Have any of you seen it yet?  Hopefully it's age-appropriate & NOT scary.  That girl does not do scary movies.  Nor does she even do movies like Elf.  Remember when I mentioned how much she cried & had to stop watching it only a half-hour into the movie?  And I was thinking... it's Will freakin' Farrell... how sad can it be??! 

Just wait until she gets to be my age.  Everything will make her cry.  Or yell.  Or laugh.  All in a matter of minutes.  LOL

Currently...

• Finishing choreographing a new Zumba dance to Turn Up The Music.
• Working on projects to meet a May 1st deadline.
• Downloading the book Fifty Shades of Grey, but waiting to read it since I have a feeling I won't put it down once I start it...and I have to meet that deadline first!
• Taking Bryn to the brand new American Girl store... and reigniting her interest in dolls.  Love that!
• Running on the treadmill.
• Watching my face peel off all weekend from the strongest peel my spa offers.  Younger looking skin please.
• Cleaning the house.
• Attempting to put a HUGE stack of completed scrapbook pages into the books... chronologically.  Why do I wait so long to do this??
• Thinking of all the events I HAVEN'T documented from 2011 yet.
• Listening to Bob mow the lawn.
• Getting ready to go out to dinner for Bob's birthday tonight and having family over for dinner tomorrow to celebrate.
• Looking through my closet for an outfit to wear with a hat tonight, to conceal some of the face peeling... LOL
• Drinking Decaf Soy Lattes from Starbucks.
• Planning to teach Zumba for another middle school field trip next week.
• Trying to steal extra hugs + kisses from Bryn.
• Shopping for birthday and congratulations gifts.
• Wondering if Bob will get me Crazy Bowls for lunch today... 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

"If you're looking for me... I'm with the girls on the dance floor...

... I'm easy to see I'm with the girls on the dance floor..."

LOVE that song.

We had a fun weekend... especially on Saturday night at my sister's going-away party.  She's moving to Denver next month.  Even though she travels A LOT and I don't get to see her regularly, I'm not looking forward to her living in another state again.  She lived in Dallas for a few years after college, but moved back here right after Bryn & Sydney were born.  So she's been here for almost 11 years now.  Everyone keeps telling me it's a new place to visit, but I like visiting with her here thank-you-very-much.  I travel enough as it is.  I've been to Denver once to ski... over 20 years ago... so I guess I'm looking forward to going back?  Really I have no choice though.  I'm going.  She can't get rid of me that easy! 

 

I have a mess of scrapbooking products all over my craft room floor for an upcoming project I've been working on... which has been making practicing Zumba interesting.  I haven't slipped on any paper yet, so all is good so far.  So... with these projects in mind, I had been going through all my photos on my laptop and ran across my Mud Run photos from last year.  I had been planning to make a mini book, since I already had all the photos printed... over 100 of them.  But... I decided to use these photo collages I had made last year for my blog and went with a pretty simple design that allowed for 24 photos + a boat load of journaling.  The journaling was pretty much cut + pasted from my blog post last year and is probably easier to read here if you're interested. 

My HELLO tag sticker came from the Simple Stories Fabulous collection... 

Did Spin class + a little running this morning.  Came very close to having to sub an abs class + a Zumba class tonight, but someone else offered at the last minute after I was still getting texted & begged this morning.  Thank goodness!!  I've never taught an abs class.  In fact, I don't think I've ever taken an abs class.  I prefer flabby abs.  LOL.  Bryn has her Zumba class tonight.  And yes... I will be checking for shaking body parts if you remember that conversation.  Then I'm getting up at the crack of dawn for Spin class tomorrow morning and subbing a Zumba class at 10:45am.  If you're local... please come dance with me! 

And this weekend is Girls Weekend in Phoenix.  So extra work-outs before I leave are definitely in order! 

"Are you happy now, Clark? She's deaf."

My mom & my sister are nuts.  Thank goodness, I'm totally normal.  Ahem.  I just know the cooking instructor was glad to see the 3 of us return for another class, considering how much we'd rather chat & drink Sangria than actually cook.  We participated in the cooking though and had a ton of fun at this Spanish-themed class.  Paella was the main course.... ummm YUMMO!  Or maybe all the fruit in the Sangria was the main course?  LOL 

At one point, my mom was given the task of flipping the slices of bread (to be served with the tapenade we made) on the open flames on the grill.  The idea was to put them on the grill & flip each one to the other side before they burned.  Only the flames were so high that the smoke was getting in my mom's eyes, so she was stopping to rub her eyes frequently, while each piece was getting a bit too black.  Finally Marci said, "Geez, Mom.  Just let me do it.  You're not doing it right."  Marci quickly figured out how hot it was by the grill though, and that it wasn't as easy as it looked & said, "Are you happy now, Clark?  She's deaf."  I burst out laughing!  It's just one of the many stupidly hilarious quotes from the movie Vacation... which she quotes from all the time.  My mom, on the other hand, had no idea what she was talking about. 

Oh.... the laughs.  

Insanity not only runs in my family... it sprints!

"I wanna dance... and love... and dance.... again..."

Last night as I was tucking Bryn into bed & saying good-night, I told her I'd see her in the morning after my 6:30 Spin class.  She said, "Yeah... I'll just be waking up & eating breakfast when you get home and you'll come in the door yelling, I'm ready to start the day!"  I laughed... because really I do usually say something obnoxious like that when I'm coming home from a butt-kicking workout that early in the morning.  At 5:55am when my alarm goes off, however, I'm not exactly thinking "I'm ready to start the day" though.  And just to aggravate her, I burst through the door this morning and yelled that.  She smiled.  She loves me.  

I registered Bryn for the new Zumbatomic class at the Y (Zumba for kids) and her first class was last night.  The instructor for the class couldn't make it though, so I subbed the class.  I had 9 awesome girls, aged 6-12.  It was lots of fun!  Well... minus the part when we got in the car & Bryn said, "Did you have to shake your boobs?"  Not only don't I have much in that department to shake, but I told her I wasn't shaking them & I did try to change the dances and make them appropriate for kids. 

Seriously?  Like I would stand in front of her class & shake my boobs?  

Welcome to the tween years.  I'm still wrapping my brain around this phase we are now in, of whatever I do being questioned.  Next week, we shall see if the real instructor shakes her boobs too.  LOL 

Ok, so what else...

Mother's Day is around the corner, so I needed to come up with a Mother's Day card for the next Nikki Sivils E-Blast that goes out to all the retail stores.  Also... it will be nice to have a card already made for the occasion, since I seem to be doing things at the last minute lately.  I used the Audrey collection to assemble my card... 

I added a staple to the center of each of the heart cut-ups and then pulled each side of the heart away from the paper to add some dimension...

I'm attending another cooking class with my mom & sister tonight.  I'm sure there will be something amusing that happens... there always is... so more on that tomorrow!  You can be sure, though, that I won't set my wine glass on the food prep counter this time... just incase the wine police is watching.   

And PS...

I'm LOVING this new Jennifer Lopez song. 

Monday = FUN day...

Happy Monday... now one of my favorite days of the week.  And I know... most people dread Mondays.  It's a FUN day for me though... umm... my Zumba class, of course!  I had lots of fun people dancing with me today... and even had a handful of young "Spring-Breakers" that came to my class after their Easter sleep-over.  Bryn was off school & partipated in my class today, too!  So much FUN! 

Our Easter was awesome.  The weather was incredible yesterday... so once church was over, we spent the majority of the day outside.  Lunch with family and then dinner with friends... it was a special day from beginning to end... 

And making my Monday even better... I received an email today that made me pretty excited.  And nope... it wasn't a publication request, but it's pretty dang cool!    

Monday = FUN day!  

All good things must come to an end...

...or must they?

Since I'm coming back to AZ in a couple weeks for a rescheduled girls weekend, I'm not so sad about leaving our home-away-from-home today.

Our home-away-from-home means... Yard House for happy hour, Green for vegan ice cream, Whole Foods for lunch, PF Changs for carry-out, lots of time at the pool, Gordon Biersch, lots of running on the treadmill, a little shopping, fun times with my friend Sally, who lives in Phoenix & just sold her house in 24 HOURS, and much, much more!  We packed in a LOT in just a matter of a few short days...

Really SAD that Picnik, the free photo editing site, is coming to an end soon, but did find the Diptic app, so at least I can still create photo collages using my iPhone with a bit of funky editing.  But I am still pouting about Picnik... POO!  Guess I better keep using my phone instead of my camera?  If nothing else, it is a LOT lighter to carry. 

And why did I even bring my camera on this trip when all I ended up using was my phone??? 

As much as I LOVE to travel though, there's no place I'd rather be than HOME...

Monday... FUN day...

We had a blast over the weekend... lots of fun with family & friends on Friday & Saturday night!  Well... minus the part when Mizzou lost, that is.  The weather has also been fabulous around here, even though we also had a huge spring-like thunderstorm over the weekend.  This "winter" has been unseasonably warm and I love it.  Snow is nice around the holidays, but I don't need it during this time of year!  I'm ready for fun in the sun right now! 

So... with warm weather outside, it was the inspiration I needed to get around to doing something with these zoo photos we took at the end of last summer.  It's a mix of mostly new product I've recently received..."Caribbean" twine from The Twiney (more on them soon!), KI Memories "Hot Date"paper & letter stickers, Nikki Sivils "Audrey" border strips, SRM Stickers flower border sticker, Dear Lizzy chipboard pieces, a couple other random scraps of paper AND 2 old, old, old (did I say old?) animal stickers (Me & My Big Ideas... I think??  Lost the packaging)...        

Hope your St. Patrick's Day weekend was a blast.  No one got pinched around here... we were all wearing our GREEN!

It's Monday... my fun day, Zumba day!  Woot wooot! 

Hope you have a FABULOUS week, everyone!

"We know who wears the pants in your family..."

image

Long day so far beginning at 5:55am when my alarm went off so I could do the 6:30 spin class, which has become part of my new work-out schedule.  The class ROCKS.  I'd prefer a more reasonable hour to spin, but for now it's working for me and I'm still back home in plenty of time to help Bryn get off to school.  Yay!   

After that I had a rescheduled appointment to take my Tahoe to the dealer.  Long story, short... I took it in last Wednesday.  Sat there & waited for the repairs for 45 minutes before Glen, the service manager, came out to tell me that "George wasn't quite available to work on my vehicle yet & I know that Bob always wants George to work on it... so could I take you back home instead of letting you just wait?"  

I said, "Umm... maybe someone other than George could work on it today & I'll let Bob know I said it was ok?" 

He said, "Oooooh... I know that look!" 

I'm thinking, ummmm... actually that was a nice look??  It does get worse though.  Haha

Anyway, it was apparent that even if someone other than Geoge was going to immediately (yeah, right)  start working on my car, it would be at least another hour before it was finished.  I called Bob... he said it wasn't that big of a deal anyway & to reschedule for another time.  So I rescheduled for today at 10:00.

This morning I asked Bob to call Glen & tell him that anyone could work on the Tahoe today, that it didn't HAVE to be George... just incase they didn't believe me that Bob said it was ok! 

So, when I walked in today, Glen said to me, "I had to try not to laugh when Bob called me this morning.  We know who wears the pants in your family."

I said, "Well, Glen... as you can see... I'm not wearing a dress today." 

LMAO!!!! 

Reminds me of the movie "Raising Arizona" when Holly Hunter is ripping on H.I. in front of his 2 friends & John Goodman's character says, "Well, we know who wears the pants in your family H.I."   Such a dumb movie, that is Bob's FAVORITE movie of all time, but that line made me laugh out loud!  LOVE IT!!!    

Anyway, Glen proceeded to randomly give me $h#t for the next 2 1/2 hours that I was there waiting, and I gave it right back.  Funny guy.  If it weren't for him, I probably would've been way more annoyed about how hungry I was getting, considering Bob told me I'd probably only be there for about an hour.  Yay me!

But... I've finally fed my face and Bob just texted me that he was bringing home dinner so... all is good!  ;-)

And here's another card that was posted on the Nikki Sivils' blog yesterday, along with a tutorial for the new page I posted... 

The card was made with the Exit Here collection for Nikki's booth at the Winter 2012 CHA Trade Show.  If you missed the Nikki Sivils post from yesterday, you can see it here!   

And yay for wearing pants.  Preferably ZUMBA pants... you know what I'm sayin'... ;-)

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas...

... but texting your friend about it while you're there, is perfectly ok.

Had a fun, fun weekend in Vegas!  Came back home to computer issues on my laptop.  But they were resolved this morning via remote access.  Thank you Geek Squad!  I'm the geek using Geek Squad.  

AND... while they were getting started on my laptop, I snagged Madonna tickets on my iPad.  Woot woot!  I'm nothing, if not a great multi-tasker!  ;-)

Anyway... back to Vegas.  It was a combination of a lazy & crazy weekend.  Our day usually revolves around where we're eating next.  Seriously... it's amusing.  It's also a good thing we work-out while we're gone... because I can barely hold my gutt in right now & I ran the 2 days we were there!  Good thing the weather was too chilly to put on a swimsuit.  Or actually... maybe I wouldn't have ate as much if I did have to put it on?  Nah... probably not.

We stayed at the Venetian.  The place is HUGE.  They have 7,000 suites.  We had the smallest size suite & it was big... 650sqft.  Even had a sunken living room.  The biggest suites must look like a house.  I'll never know, unless Garth wants to take me there some day.  More on him in a bit. 

One of their restaurants is owned by the Cheesecake Factory.  Ummm... hello.  We may have gone there more than once.  Again, I say.  Amusing.  

This next photo was the 3rd attempt at Bob taking a picture of me with this Italian accordian player.  And he really did have an accent.  But I could NOT stop laughing, so my eyes were either closed or half-open or in this picture I was ready to burst out laughing again.  Bob kept dropping stuff when he was trying to take a picture of us, so finally he says to me (in broken English), "Your papa needs to concentrate."  I about LOST IT!  Yes, Bob's obviously old enough to be my papa & yes, he's clumsy sometimes... oh my gosh... I am losing it all over again!  So, so funny! 

So much for all my sleeveless clothes.  Jackets all day! 

I accidentally put $20 in a penny slot machine.  Let's just say, I didn't exactly win big on it either...

Since Celine Dion cancelled her show we were supposed to see, we were on the hunt for something else to do.  Found out that Garth Brooks was in town last weekend (he's only there about 1 weekend a month), so we went online to buy tickets.  No luck.  I figured all 4 shows must be sold-out, but asked Bob to call the box office & check.  He called & we were in luck... 2 mezzanine tickets were available.  They told us it was a small venue though, and all seats were good seats so we wouldn't have a problem seeing the stage. 

We picked up our tickets from will-call & went to a bar for a glass of wine before the show.  I don't know how or why it happened, but while sitting there we noticed they gave us 5th row tickets!  All ticket prices were the same... $250/each... but still mezzanine or 5th row?  Ummm... thank you!!!  No photos during the show, but here's how close we were...

Had no idea what to expect.  Well, actually, what I expected was a big rock concert.  And that's not AT ALL what it was.  One of the most AMAZING SHOWS I have EVER seen though.  Just him & his guitar.  No band.  He told story after story about his life & songs that inspired him from the time he was 5 years old until he hit it big in the early 90's.  Then he would play each of those songs.  Songs from the 60's, 70's, 80's... country, pop, rock.  Finally ending the show with his own big hits.  Trisha even came out toward the end to sing 3 songs.  Not only is he an amazingly talented singer, he's an awesome story-teller & freakin' hilarious!!  I didn't want the show to end.  It was so intimate.  Like you were sitting in his living room, just captivated by him.  Bob saw him in the 90's, but loved this show even more.  I would fly out there again, just to see his show again, & fly home.  Incredible.  And I was never a huge Garth fan either.  But now I think I'll be the president of his fan club!  Haha

Every night we ate dinner around 10:00.  Probably why I had a migraine most of the weekend.  Did it stop me from having fun?  NOPE.  It did stop us from going clubbing at night though.  So... I suppose we'll have to go back soon.  Heehee.

Back home again!  So happy to see Bryn again, too.  I MISSED HER!!!

And YAY for my Monday Zumba class!  Makes me a happy girl.

There's no place like home! 

"A daughter is one of the most beautiful gifts this world has to give..."

The one thing everyone tells you after you have a child is how fast time will fly by. I don't think you can fully understand how fast it really goes though until you're actually experiencing it and one day you wake up & realize almost 11 years have passed in the blink of an eye. I went to school today to surprise Bryn with lunch. I had several teachers stop & say, "I can't believe this is Bryn's last year here already." I just shook my head. I can't believe it either. I think the real wake-up call happened last month for me during her middle school transition night.

I just keep praying... please God... let her be more willing to talk to me about future issues & drama with girls & boys than I was with my own mom. So far, she tells me about most things. Although I have checked her texts & see that there's issues on the bus involving girls that she's friends with. It appears in her texts that she stays in a neutral position...not taking either side... which is good. But the drama is just beginning sadly. I spoke to her about the girls on the bus the other day & she was so surprised & wondered how I knew about it. I said, "Moms have a way of finding out everything." ;-)

If only she could stay in half-day Kindergarten, coming home to eat lunch & take a nap, forever. I can't even say how badly I miss those days.

New chapter though! Just gotta keep trying to make each second count & remember to not take our time for granted. So easy to do...

Mostly the October Afternoon Schoolhouse collection on here. I love it... so sweet & girly. I added a SRM Baby's First Year sticker sentiment on top. Also used my Marvy scalloped heart punch to layer a couple stitched hearts...

Just reminiscing today. And I probably have a minor panic attack every time we are getting ready to travel without Bryn. It happens so infrequently that we leave without her so on the few occasions that we do... I'm usually ready to cancel the trip with second thoughts the day before we leave. Once I get there, I'll be fine though! And she's going to have a fun weekend, herself, I have no doubt! :-)

Sweet emotion....

It's Monday... aka. my day to teach Zumba!  Love that!

Had a fun time seeing family in Illinois over the weekend to celebrate 3 grandkids' birthdays.  The good news is, while we were there... we went to my favorite Mexican restaurant outside of Mexico.  YUM!  The bad news is... Mizzou lost to KU in overtime... even though at one point they were up by 19 points.  POO.  Bob was not happy.  LOVE those kids though, and I even managed to put together a very tricky Lego Batman airplane. 

I also found out my sister got a BIG promotion and will be moving to Denver soon.  Happy for her, but I'm going to miss her SO MUCH! 

POO again...:-( 

Here's another card I made for Nikki Sivils' booth at the 2012 Winter CHA Trade Show using the Exit Here collection!  I just used a journaling card, some letter stickers & some cut-outs, along with some ribbon to make a quick and easy card...         

I love quick & easy!  ;-)

Have a GREAT WEEK, everyone!  I'm thinking it's going to be REALLY great!   

What happens in Vegas...

... starts with what's in the suitcase, of course!  Here's just some of what will be packed in my bags soon.  Some old, some new... and lots of BLING!  

Bling in Vegas... hello... it's a MUST!   

And my swimsuit Valentine's gift didn't fit, so I had to order a new one... 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

     

Advil is getting packed first, just sayin'.  Might be necessary, especially if I make Bob stay out late dancing with me!  Well... not IF I make him... he WILL be!  Also... in looking at the forecast, I'm not even sure if we'll be able to sit at the pool, but we'll probably need warm jackets at night... thus the coat.  Gotta love the desert!       

And did I mention we have tickets to see Celine Dion at Caesars Palace?  I drove all night...to get to you.  Is that alright?    

It's going to be a FUN trip!  Our first trip of 2012... and I can't wait! 

Ok...ok.  Still have a couple Zumba classes to teach and attend before I leave... ;-)

Happy ♥ Day...

Happy Valentine's Day!  We'll be celebrating with our annual tradition of making lobster at home for the 3 of us.  It's too hard to get reservations at a restaurant and I'd rather celebrate with BOTH my Valentines anyway.  Plus... Bob & I already had dinner out with friends last weekend, so technically we've already celebrated.  ;-)

This year, Bob gave me a different kind of "bling" for a gift... a blinged-out swimsuit!  And since I have 3 fun-in-the-sun trips between now & the end of March... this suit will definitely come in handy!  I say that with hope... as I haven't tried it on yet.  It may not fit.  LOL

     

So anyway... since it's Valentine's Day, we were asked to create a Valentine-themed project using any of Nikki Sivils' collections.  I used one of our family photos taken by Fitzgerald Fotography LLC...

I went with a combination of Nikki Sivils' collections to make this page... Sugar Cookie, Max & Mollie, d Summer & the new Exit Here woodgrain paper... basically lots of PINK! 

Also... just another reminder to check out the "Box of Love" deal on the Nikki Sivils' blog.  There's been a great response already, and quantities are limited... so hurry! 

I hope your day is filled with lots of LOVE... and chocolate, too! 

XOXO

Winning...

It was a "winning" weekend around here... with much food, wine, basketball, football, family and friends.  The weekend began with a family dinner for my dad's birthday.  Every time we're together, it's constant laughter.  I always leave feeling very, very lucky to have the absolute best family ever.  I also end up wishing we could get together more often...

So... we did just that & we invited my parents over to our house on Saturday night to continue the party and watch the Mizzou vs. Kansas basketball game.  And woooooot wooooooot... Mizzou won the game.  So awesome!  We were all yelling & cheering... I was hoarse by the end of the game... 

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Sunday was of course the Super Bowl.  We watched it with friends.  I could've cared less about the game and was only looking forward to the Halftime Show.  Madonna did not disappoint.  Although I really don't like her new song AT ALL.  Her old school stuff rocked though, I was loving LMFAO & Cee Lo, too.  Also won $25 for some reason in the last quarter of the football game (or actually I guess I really won $5, because I had bet $20 at the beginning of the game).  I'm going to try not to spend that all in one place... that's some big winnings...

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And finally... I used random.org to pick a winner for my blog give-away & the #2 comment was picked...

CONGRATULATIONS, Teresa, who said:

So, if I post more than one comment does that mean I now have two chances to win????? ;)

Posted by: Teresa | February 01, 2012 at 02:19 PM

I'll get your prize out to you right away, Teresa!

And thank you, everyone, for the sweet comments... about my crafty projects AND my shoes!  LOL! 

Have a GREAT week, everyone!

I am a very lucky girl, with the absolute BEST family ever...

Just a quick reminder about the give-away on my blog!  The winner will be randomly chosen tomorrow night... Sunday, February 4... at 7pm Central time. 

Hope you're enjoying your weekend! 

"I'm sorry... I'm booked..."

We had our 1st no-school snow day yesterday.  So Bob & I got 3 trips planned last night to 3 different warm-weather locations (what is it about snow that makes me long for some fun-in-the-sun?)... 

• A girls weekend for me in February to Phoenix
• A date weekend for Bob & me in March to Las Vegas
• A family trip to Bermuda in June for all of us (with Bob's company)

We just found out that Bob officially qualified for the Bermuda trip, so we're going out to dinner tonight to celebrate.  He was working really hard at the end of the year to make sure we went... I'm so proud of him.  Also keeping my fingers & toes crossed for a 4th warm-weather trip in the fall, but we'll see what happens.   

And speaking of travel... have you seen the sneak peek for the NEW "Exit Here" collection on the Nikki Sivils' blog?  CUTE, CUTE, CUTE!!!  Perfect for all my travel photos!

 

Happy Friday the 13th!  Have a GREAT weekend! 

Top eleven in '11...

Happy 2012!  We had a FUN & memorable weekend... a great way to ring in the new year!  And the Zumbathon was a BLAST yesterday.  Getting my tired butt out of bed that morning was the most difficult part, but once I got there... all was GREAT!  Best way to start the new year EVER!   

And following suit in annual tradition of the yearly round-up... here's my top 11 favorite pages from the past year...

Some trends I noticed while reviewing my work from this past year:  stars, word bubbles, banners & 8x10 photos...cropped to fit.

At least you didn't have to see an over-abundance of clouds & rainbows though.  LOL   

Hope you all had a FUN weekend!  And here's to making 2012 a FABULOUS year!

Christmas 2011...

Aside from my lingering head cold, sore throat, cough... oh and a 24-hour stomach bug that decided to hit me on Christmas Eve... Christmas was a blast.  We enjoyed every second with family... food, drinks, games, and so many laughs that it made my stomach hurt!  My dad is a total nut.  Hope your celebration was special too!

Also... just a quick reminder of the Nikki Sivils' design team call!  The deadline is the 28th, so hurry! 

You better not pout, I'm telling you why...

Well, today is the last day of school before Christmas break and I FINALLY started AND finished making the 28 treat bags for Bryn's class party when I got home from Zumba today... which, by the way, was amazing as always.  Not only am I "under-achieving" at creating these days, it's spilling over into everything I have to do.  Just can't seem to get motivated until I'm up against the clock & it's gotta get done this minute.  Is anyone else feeling like this during the holidays or is it just me? 

New Year's resolution #238... get inspired again. 

Off to school for a crazy 5th grade Christmas party!   

PLEASE make it go away...

Day #2 of a raging migraine.  But, the water has been shut off in our subdivision for some kind of water system repairs today, so I'm out & about until it resumes.  And besides, no amount of Advil helps my migraines and for some strange reason I do get an hour of relief when I'm working out (I guess it's adrenaline that helps?) so staying in bed is not an option anyway.  Thank goodness for Spin class... and a shower at the Y so I'm not a sweaty mess all day!

Bob & I had a fun "date night" on Saturday night, while Bryn & her cousin were with my parents.  They went to see a live "Grinch" show & then spent the night.  So, Bob & I had dinner at BARcelona, made a quick run through the mall to replace the gifts I had ordered online that never arrived in time because we needed them on Sunday (I'll have to ship those back now when they arrive!), then stopped for a glass of wine at Araka and spent the night at a hotel so we didn't have to drive home.  We had FUN!

On Sunday, we entertained Bob's daughter & her family, and Bob's niece for an early Christmas lunch since we won't see them on Christmas.  Another fun day with family... although I was the hostess without the mostess that day, since I was not feeling well.  I rallied though & made it through! 

Gonna have to get over all this SOON.  It's cramping my style and I've got too much to do!  LOL

Happy Monday and only 5 more days until Christmas Eve! 

Ho, ho, ho...

Who you callin' a ho?

I'm still on a Zumba high from this morning's pre-Zumbathon class with myself & 4 other fabulously fun instructors leading the way.  Such a BLAST.  The Zumbathon is gonna ROCK, people.  If you're local, PLEASE join us on New Year's Day from 10:30-12:30 at the Y.  Plenty of time to nurse your hangover & start 2012 off in a healthy and FUN way.  DJ Pru will be there with his strobe lights and I promise it will be worth your time!  No need to be a member either.  Message me for more details!!! 

Bryn has overnight Christmas plans with her cousin and my parents tonight, so Bob & I are off to our own overnight "date night" with plans to hit the city.  Love that.  But first the house needs to be cleaned & I need to get prepared for his daughter & her family coming over for an early Christmas lunch as soon as we get back home tomorrow.   

Oh & a couple of their gifts still haven't been delivered yet.  The joys of online ordering.  So not cool...  

"Good King Wenceslas looked out... on the feast of Stephen..."

Check out the Nikki Sivils' blog today for a chance to win a HUGE giveaway from Provocraft and also a chance to win Nikki's Gingerbread Land collection!

I have a couple Christmas cards on her blog today, too.  Both were made using the Gingerbread Land collection...

And... just to help get you into the spirit of Christmas... how about a little holiday music from one very crazy 10-year old who loves to use dramatic voices when she's on camera.  Not sure where the crazy comes from... because I'm perfectly normal, you know.  Also not sure why she's wearing our Mizzou tiger tail, that we hang from the back of our Tahoe for Mizzou games, as a headband.  I think we can just sum up all of those answers by saying... her & I have spent WAY too much time together in her last 10 1/2 years of life.  Poor thing... LOL

Have a FABULOUS weekend! 

I heart Photoshop...

We had a family photo shoot a few weeks ago.  It was great, for once, to not be the one behind the camera... or to be handing the camera off to someone else who you hope will take a clear photo.  Since most of the time when we have a family photo taken, it's with the self-timer on my camera, I decided this year we were going to hire someone to do it for us! 

If you're local & want an AMAZING photographer, check out Teri Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald Fotography.  I know her from Zumba, but didn't realize until recently when I saw photos she took of my friend & her son, that she was also a photographer.  She's fantastic.  So nice, so great to work with & so thorough.  Seriously... she spent over 2 1/2 hours with us and took I don't know... 300 photos?  There were a lot! 

We were outside in downtown St Charles.  Kinda chilly that day, too.  All poses & backgrounds were her idea... we just did what she asked of us.  And can I just say that I love her Photoshop skills.  Airbrush us to the MAX please... LOL       

Just some of our favorite shots.  I'm sure you'll see these pop up again on future scrapbook pages.  ;-) 

Her rates are totally reasonable & worth every penny!  Find her on Facebook and check out her website for more information! 

"Jack & Jill went up the hill, each with a buck and a quarter... Jill came back with two-fifty... a working girl, now work it girl..."

6 days without blogging & I'm not even on vacation.  What up with that? 

Aside from being totally uninspired & lacking in motivation to do anything scrapbooking-related lately, here's a little of what's been going on around here lately & keeping me busy... 

... a family photo shoot (more on that later)...

... had a moment of temporary insanity & allowed a 10-year old to talk me into putting the tree up the weekend before Thanksgiving...

... prepared this turkey (inspired by an image on Pinterest), since I SUCK at the Butterball version...

... found out at 7am on Thanksgiving morning that I was going to have to teach the 75-minute Zumba class at 9:15am, when my friend/Zumba instructor said she was sick.  Created a playlist & burned a cd at lightening speed to prepare for the class.  Had about 70 people in the gym that morning... total BLAST...

... spent the rest of the day at my parent's house with my family... being thankful, eating, drinking & playing board games...

... saw 2 awesome movies in one weekend with our friends... (Jack & Jill was HILARIOUS, especially since I was seeing it with my friend, who's a TWIN... LOL)...

     

... some Christmas shopping online AND at the mall...

... wore this mini dress & these thigh-high boots to a dinner with friends and someone said to me, "Cute dress!  Missoni, right?" to which I replied, "Ummm, no... this would be the much lower priced knock-off."  (as in Forever 21... LOL)...

... helping spread the word about the upcoming ZUMBATHON at the O'Fallon YMCA on New Year's Day morning, with DJ Pru, strobe lights, prizes & the BEST WORK-OUT EVER to start your 2012 off right!  EVERYONE welcome & I'll be helping teach a few songs, just sayin'...

... back home from an awesome Spin class now & I'm determined to get to work and meet a deadline that's looming.  In major need of inspiration! 

SOS please someone help me... 

"We ain't done... I said we ain't done..."

I'm meeting my mom & sister for a cooking class tonight.  We all know how to cook... pretty well, I might add... but it's always a blast & an excuse to get together so we try to do it a few times a year.  We're going to a new place tonight.  Hoping it's like the other ones we've attended where it's NOT a hands-on class.  I can cook at home, so I prefer to watch someone else do the cooking & be served, thank-you-very-much.  LOL  We'll see what happens.

Anyway, more often than not, if we're getting together my mom will ask me to bring a wedding card for her.  She has this thing about giving cards that have a "DKM" logo stamped on the back of them.  (DKM... as in mine & my sister's first initials.)  I NEVER have wedding cards already made.  NEVER.  In fact, the only time I make them is when she's going to a wedding, which seems to be quite often.  It's endearing & annoying all at once.  LOL 

So, I mentioned at breakfast this morning to Bob & Bryn that Grandma had asked me to bring a wedding card tonight, so I had to make one for her today. 

Bryn said, "Another wedding?!  How many weddings does Grandma go to every year... 70?!"

I said, "Actually I think it's 71.  And I should know because I have to make a card for every single one of them!" 

Frankly, this card looks more like it should be for a new baby... girl, that is... but I just don't have much in the way of wedding-themed stash sitting around (aside from my SRM Stickers) & the pink crepe paper was still on the brain... so it is what it is. 

All stamped & ready to go. 

Now let's eat...