So a couple more...

And Ally had a great idea to SHOW the picture of the kit (slaps head..why don't I think up these great ideas??). So here is the February Sweet Pea Scraps kit!


And here is a project and a layout I did (the others are below) with it. I seriously have another layout in the works and still have 3 FULL sheets of paper left over...and some scraps. So with this kit I've already created 5 layouts and a project...one more almost finished and leftovers. Crazy huh??

So I need to tell you the story about the wedding layout. As a gift I made my friend, Amy, an 8x8 album for a brag book. But I thought it would also be fun to do some random pages in 12x12 for her as well (the 8x8 used the same papers etc). So they've been married for a year last October. *sigh* And I still have 9 pages left in their 20 page album. Isn't that horrible that I've not completed it yet?? It's my goal to get it finished as originally my goal was to give it to them for their 1st anniversary!! But anyone who knows me knows that I'm a SLACKER! But that's not the worst part....there are 2 layouts in the album that I absolutely despise...I look at them and think...what WAS I doing?? So without a doubt I will be rescrappin' them before the album is given to the not so newlyweds anymore. :) So Amy....if you ever read this...I'm SORRY that your book isn't finished yet...but I promise that I will kick it up a notch and get it completed for you. :)

So here is my project....I found these file folders at Staples on clearance (cuz I'm cheap) and had a brilliant idea..which doesn't happen often so I had to run with it!! I altered the front cover of this cool file folder (notice the red strip...the front flap tucks under it to keep all papers together without spilling out!) and decided it would be perfect to keep the boys' school papers in. I JUST cleaned off the top of the fridge (where I throw their papers) and let me tell ya....I seriously need to weed and thin them out! Well since these folders only hold about 30 sheets I figured if I had one for each grade then I could keep the best papers and tuck in here. I'm thinking I'll even be able to 3 hole punch it and add right in their albums!

And in other news...I'm SICK. Which means I'm a WHINER. My throat is killing me...(did I whine about this yesterday by chance??)....my head hurts...my EARS hurt...and I think I'm getting the body aches. But today is month end and tomorrow is statement day at work and there is NO WAY that I'll be able to just go home and sleep. Sucks to be me!! :)

So yesterday the principal called and left me a voice mail to return her call. I know..that's what I was thinking too...UHOH..what did they do?? But really it was just to ask me a question. There is a little boy in 5th grade whose sister was diagnosed with leukemia (I know..can you even imagine??). Well he's been living with his dad who has been driving even FARTHER than I have with the commute to school. So she was simply asking if I would possibly help this father out (the mom is in Seattle living in the Ronald McDonald house - and they are divorced) by taking him to school and dropping him off. I can't see that this should be a big deal right?? Since I'm already going to school anyway?? So I'm now just waiting for the dad's phone call so we can get all the details crunched out. I think it will be fine....just always a little nerve wracking for me because I have to talk to someone I don't know. :) I know...I'm such a chickenshit.

Oh and....

a few new Sweet Pea Scraps layouts..all from the February kit!!

Right NOW!!

So my friend Kimmy tagged me with a Right Now ditty. So I have to list some things that I'm doing RIGHT NOW!! :)

-So right now...I'm feeling like CRAP!! I have a sore throat, a cough, my ears hurt and I wanna go home. And I'm SUCH a whiner when I'm sick...so beware!!

-Right now I'm still in shock over the Random Chaos DT. This is the first thing (besides a manufacturer) that I have tried out since applying for the Sweet Pea Scraps DT!! Crazy. But I'm really excited.

-Right now I'm wondering if I can find a way to make a Pirate birthday cake for Auston's party. I don't bake...but I think I wanna attempt it!!

-Right now I'm actually caught up at work but it's month end so I know tomorrow will be HELL.

-Right now I found a new diet called the Blood Type Diet. Holy crap....I've been trying the Diet Sense diet from my mom and eating 3 oranges/1 egg/toast and potatoes. According to this diet I can't have ANY OF THAT!! Goodness.

So....I want to know what Kristin, Julie, Aly and Lindsey are doing RIGHT NOW!! :)

Wow!

Totally surprised!! I sent in a submission for a new challenge blog by Janelle Richmond...called Random Chaos. I thought maybe this would get me to scrap during the week as it seems I just never have the motivation to scrap during the week! AND...I actually made the team! I'm really excited...and I see that my fellow Sweet Pea Alison Cope made the team as well! Congrats Aly!! Anyway...just really excited and VERY surprised that I'm one of the girls chosen!

SOOOOOO excited!!!

My friend Heather and I are heading to her mom's cabin in a few short hours for a big girl sleepover. :) tee hee A whole day/night and possibly another day of scrappin'. Cannot WAIT for the break! It'll be so much fun! I do know that she invited her sister in law to come as well...and that's totally cool..the more the merrier!! I just so need a break. My kids are driving me NUTS this morning. Seriously they are off the hook. How does that happen???

Soo...need to clean up the house a bit...and do some laundry...pack up my stuff and get ready for my weekend away. Oh and I'm totally guilt free about this because I took Monday off to stay home with the boys since they have no school. :)

Have a great weekend!

It's FREAKIN' cold!!

brrrr....seriously I'm SO not a winter person...I know I know...I am totally living in the wrong state!! :) Yesterday it was -23 below without windchill. It was flat cold. Like so cold that it wasn't even slick out...so cold that my truck door was frozen shut...so cold that Shawn didn't work...so cold that the boys had inside recess. Yuk.

Today is a bit better...it's 9 above. :) Shawn worked up until now...their trailer door wouldn't open...their nail guns were frozen and wouldn't run. So he's off for the day. And I'm at work...because it's fairly warm in here.

So I'm totally rambling...and I lead a very boring life. :) My friend Heather and I are going to have a weekend scrap...just the two of us...at her mom's cabin. I'm excited as we haven't hung out in a LONG time. I miss her company. I need the break too...so it'll be a good thing!

Here is a layout I did for Sweet Pea Scraps...LOVE the February kit!! Hopefully I'll finish up my assignments this weekend!

So last night we had taco salad for dinner. Auston had a fair helping...took a bath...got his jammies on...sat down next to me. I feel this hand on my shoulder and a sweet voice whispered..mom can I have a cheese stick? I whispered back...I don't care. So he eats a cheesestick. A few minutes later...another whisper...mom can I have a fruit cup? I whispered back...I don't care. He eats his fruit cup. A few minutes after that...yet another whisper...mom can I have a yogurt? I whispered back...I don't care. Then I said...Bean..are you GROWING? He giggled and said...I'm growing so big that I won't fit in your lap! I'm a hungry boy am I?

What is my grocery bill going to be like when he's a teenager?? ACK!

I was TAGGED!!

A LONG time ago apparently...by Julie to list 7 random facts about yourself. Let's see....

1) I eat raw hamburger (not store bought..my parents give us beef every year for Christmas!)
2) I grew up on an 80,000 acre cattle ranch
3) I have 4 tattoos and my nose pierced.
4) I had a rare nerve disorder my senior year of high school....it lasted almost exactly a year.
5) I used to ride sheep in rodeos when I was a little girl.
6) I can't quit biting my fingernails.
7) I was Salutatorian in a class of 8 (doesn't make me sound too smart eh?? I had a 3.9 GPA).

So gee...I'm not sure I even know 7 people that have blogs!! lol How about.....Missy, Kim, Lindsey and Annalisa. Well....4 is better than none right?? :)

My Scrap Area!!

Well I thought I would finally post pictures of my scrapspace...as I've been promising I would for quite some time now!! And it's nice and clean so what better time than now?? So the picture on the left is my entire scrap area....taken from the hallway...and yes...that IS my washer and dryer there. And yes...that orange thing in the bottom left hand corner IS my laundry detergent. :)

On the right is basically the same thing but a little closer up.

See my pretty ribbons? I love how they look on my little shelf. I did invest a little on the Making Memories jars....and the ribbons are all sorted by color. Below that is a tiny shelf with more Making Memories bottles...the small ones. These hold my buttons...also sorted by color. And the shelf I got at Target. What an AWESOME find!! It holds little containers which are perfect for the little stuff...like brads, grommets, little embellies that would normally get lost elsewhere. Again...sorted by color. I love that because my area is so small I need to use as much wall space as I can!

Here is a picture of my actual workspace...notice that it's not much larger than a 12x12 sheet of cardstock!! I admit that I sometimes use the dryer to hold extra stuff like papers and what not as it is a little extra room! Underneath my scrap table is a shelf...from left to right...the green bucket holds my sketch book and current magazines. One cropper hopper vertical file of bazzill and next is my cropper hopper vertical file of patterned paper. I *heart* these 3 drawer things. I have the drawers labeled by boy by year. When I'm finished with the layout I put them in the appropriate drawer. Someday I'll get them all in albums. :) Below from left to right...black Chatterbox album is my friends' wedding album which I REALLY need to get finished...she's been married a year in October. *sigh* Packet of patterned paper scraps and packet of cardstock scraps. Another 3 drawer thingey...same principle...other boy. Target cube which sucks. I just throw misc. stuff like plastic bags and extra paint brushes in there. Nothing exciting...especially since if I need anything out of it I have to move everything to the left of it because the dryer is in the way!!
And last but not least is my shelf which pretty much holds everything. I found these in the organization area at Walmart. They were pretty cheap....I think I spent $10 for both the shelves.

I spent a little bit more on the baskets...I found them at Shopko...a four pack for 50% off so I think in total they cost me $20. Then the different looking
basket was also at Shopko for $8. Top basket holds all my embellishments...thickers, stickers etc etc. I have plastic packets that I found at Michaels' (1.99 each) and I have everything sorted by color. It is the best thing ever for me. I didn't realize how much stuff I forgot I had as it was pigeonholed here and there!! I use stuff way more now!! Second basket from the top is full of all my alphas...that aren't on a sheet. Next basket is my tools basket. My adhesives, ink pads etc are there. It makes it easy to be mobile too as I just take that whole thing with me and have everything I need to scrap (minus pictures and papers of course!). Beside that are 2 skinny white baskets. The one is full of the 7gyspies stamps that I'm in LOVE with! And the one beside that holds paints and extra adhesives. Now to the bottom the basket on the left is all the pictures I still need to scrap and the one on the right are all my Heidi Swapp chipboard alphas and misc. chipboard stuff. The little metal can in the corner (behind dryer knob) is full of my beloved sharpied. :) And note...the February Sweet Pea Scraps kit sticking out there. Don'tcha wish you could see MORE of it?? teehee And there you have it. My scrap space from top to bottom. :) Thanks for taking a peek!

What a Lazy day!!

It's still early....10:22am...but the boys have been quietly playing in their rooms...I've unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher...started a load of laundry and have done a bit of work I brought home. But I have absolutely NO ambition. Seriously I don't want to do a thing!! I've even had the same layout out on my scrap area for 3 days and it's still not glued down yet!!

Honestly..I don't even feel like typing. :)

Yesterday was Mathew's first basketball practice. He just kept saying...THANKS for signing me up!! He was a little uncoordinated...but heck...it was his very first practice. I think he'll pick it up. He is so excited that he even spent his OWN money yesterday and bought his very own ball so he can practice at home. (where I'm not sure because he cannot bounce that thing in the house!!).

woohooo! It IS Friday!!

Thank goodness!! So my 2am thing...so did not pan out. My alarm went off and I just couldn't drag my lazy butt out of bed. *sigh* I tried...I really did try!!

My list from yesterday....went incomplete....

SO...my to do list for tonight:

Clean my bathroom

Clean up dinner dishes - check

Start a layout

List an item on ebay - check

Read to the boys - check

Get boys to bed - check

SLEEP :) - check

Tonight I'll try again. :)

Soooo...all you out there with boys might get a kick out of this story. I may be a mean mom but I've always taught the boys to pee sitting down. I mean seriously...how well is the aim of a 3 year old just out of diapers?? Yup...my point exactly!! Well Mathew still does really well but Auston...he wants to pee like a 'big boy' (I try to explain the toilet versus urinal thing but it goes right over his head). So last night...I'm running a tub for Mathew and the bathroom reeks....and I JUST cleaned it on Tuesday. So I look around and sure enough...there is pee everywhere. *sigh* So I grab Auston's hand...lead him to the rag drawer and have him grab a rag...then give him the Clorox bathroom cleaner and lead him to the bathroom where I explain that he needs to sanitize and clean up his mess. Do you know what his response was?? Oh mom..this is FUN! He scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed!! In fact...I then caught him cleaning the TV with the pee soaked rag. *slaps head* So I'm thinking it may not help...I thought if I made him clean it up he would be more conscious...but oh no...he LIKES it. Maybe I'll teach him how to vaccuum. *wink wink*

Here's a layout I did for Sweet Pea Scraps. (my mom and Auston a LONG time ago!!) Have a great night!

Is it Friday yet??

seriously...some days I wonder why I even get out of bed!! Even with having Monday and Tuesday off...it feels like the longest week ever!! I'm sure it doesn't help that my kids are under a full moon of some sort and that I feel like I, myself, could be turning into some sort of creature...with lots of hormones!! The funny thing is...I thought that since I was gutted I wouldn't have these hormone issues but I'm thinking they must have surfaced somehow.

Anyway....insert the sixth sense of my kids that they KNOW that I'm not feeling well mentally....I think that's when they challenge me the most. I mean...tonight....Mathew is already bugging the dog...I asked him to, 'come here please' only SIX times. I literally had to go into my room and shut the door and count to a bazillion. finally I come back out....tell Mathew to grab his book to read and I'm typing away my frustrations. Auston is in his room picking up...of course he already got mad at me because I unpiled the pile of crap he had stacked against the wall...he told me I messed up his room. *sigh* Today I think I must win the worst mother of the year award (in fact...that's what Mathew told me so apparently it's true!)

SOOOO....on the flip side....the rest of the night is going to be stellar. That's what I'm going for...stellar. I'm tired of having rough nights with the boys. It seems it's always so rushed between getting home and getting to bed that we just never have time to enjoy ourselves...and maybe that's why we have these little run ins?? So that's why I counted to a gazillion...so we could start over and have a stellar night. :) I'll tell you tomorrow how it goes. :)

I'm hoping to start a layout tonight...one of my goals is to scrap a little every night. Usually by the time the boys are in bed...the kitchen cleaned up etc...I'm so exhausted I just head to bed. But since I don't get paid for Monday (my PTO for 2007 was all used up) I need to make up some extra hours....I thought maybe I would try to get into work at 2am tomorrow...we'll see how it goes...I'm not guaranteeing anything at this point. :)

I also need to start my ebay a day thing....I need to get some extra money earned for our Total Money Makeover.

SO...my to do list for tonight:
Clean my bathroom
Clean up dinner dishes
Start a layout
List an item on ebay
Read to the boys
Get boys to bed
SLEEP :)

Have a good night ya'll. :)

2008 Goals....

Yup...finally I finished it and can show ya'll. Here they are...my 9 goals for the New Year. They include: (but not limited too) - okay...I've always wanted to say that!!

*Spend more quality time with my boys...PLAY!!
*Scrap a little everyday.
*Lose that 20bls. Yuck!
*Stop biting my nails...*rolls eyes*
*Have a date night with my husband.
*Start my daily chore list again!
*Total Money Makeover. Enough said!
* Stress less. Breathing is a good thing.
*Take more pride in my appearance.
*Enjoy life...everyday!!
And the layout I created to tack on the wall of my scrap area to remind me everyday that I CHOSE to create these goals for myself.

Have a GREAT New Year...and remember if you want to share your goal layout to check the Sweet Pea blog (link on the right of the blog...) to see how to enter yours!