BIRTHDAY DAY!!

Today has been a fairly good birthday. It would be better if I was a completely well girl!!

My mother called as well as my son Marc, and my brother. Also, a surprise! My girlfriend Marsha called from New York!! I love hearing from people. It was great to talk to everyone. Especially my brother. We are lucky if we talk twice a year each on our birthday. We had a nice long conversation also. We both decided to keep in better contact.

I will blog more about my family tommorrow. I am pretty tired tonight. I also, promise, promise a freebie tomorrow also.

All in all it was a good birthday. I promise to be a better blogger tomorrow. I am just so tired tonight.

Have a great day.

Happy Scrapping

I'MMMM BAAACK!!!

It's me again. The Diva of Diva's Designs!! lol I have a lot to share with you this week. As of now I am blogging from my sick bed!! LOL Yes, I just so happen to have caught the Flu! Yes, with a fever and everything. It is hard for me to believe. I havent had the flu in years. Why now, why a day before my birhday. Well, that is the way it goes sometimes. I have a fun week planned and hopefully my health will not get in the way!

I got a new computer for my birthday. I have been spending the time that I feel a little better getting things set up and to a place where I can work on it. It is an hp computer with all the bells and whistles and a 17" screen which is what I really needed. I larger screen so I cam see my designs better. I watched a full length movie on it last night. That was neat. The sound was totally awesome too. Just like in the movie theater. Too cool.

Tommorrow is a great day!! That's right I was born!! lol

I have devised a special in my store!! Yes, that is right a huge, huge, sale. All of my kits no matter the size are all on sale for $2.00 each! The sale starts tonight at Midnight eastern time and runs until midnight on the 28th. You heard it right. $2.00 each. You had better take advantage because I can guarntee it you will never see it again!!

I am going to be 47 years old. Ughhh!! I really feel it too! This winter has been bad. Everyone in the family has been sick a lot. My fibromyalgia has been bad this winter also. Bummer. I know that it has been tough for everyone.

On a brighter note. My son has settled well at his new assignment at Balboa Naval Hospital. As the week goes on I will tell you more about his new job. It is fantastic and seems to fit along with what the rest of the families missons in life has turned out to be. I know this will define his career in the military and if he plays his cards right will give him notority not only in the military world but also the civilan world.

Here is a preview of my newest kit and remember tomorrow it will be on special for $2.00!!







I hope to see you in my store tomorrow. Also, check back for a little freebie tomorrow put together by my CT Member Chantal Miller.

Hope you all have a great day and please pray that I will feel better tomorrow!

Happy Scrapping!

That MIDDLE child ... OH MY!

My youngest son, and middle child, Richard, is by far the most "simple, yet complicated" of all my offspring. He is definitely his "own man", very independent, and tends to keep to himself. He is my child who is the most easy-going and flexible. He does not make life a drama. While he lives only minutes from me, he is very involved in his own life, and makes his "appearance" infrequently. However, he is probably the most "family-oriented" of my three. He would NOT miss a family function, even if it meant changing his own plans. He has a very strong personality, is subtly generous, and I can ALWAYS count on him when needed. He is actually the "strength" that binds us when the chips are down.

Richard exhibits many personality traits of his paternal side. He has followed in his dad's footsteps in the martial arts. Over the years, he has studied both Judo and Karate, in which he holds a black belt. His father was a National Champion in Judo in the late '60's, and an alternate one year for the US Olympic team. My son is awaiting being called to service for our local police department; his dad is in law enforcement, too.

Growing up, Richard was our "problem" child. He is very inquisitive, and is a dare-taker. I believe this is due to his "middle child" need, to compete with his siblings, for his share of our "attention". Richard excels at everything he does, but often at a cost. Somewhere, around age 10, we had a "strange" conversation with his teacher at report card time. She was distraught; Richard was the class "clown", and she really felt if he were to pay more attention to her, he would be getting better grades. She was rather insistant that we "discipline" our son, because his behavior was holding him back! Now, all this is fine, EXCEPT the child did not have a grade below 95! How do you tell your son he is "not working to the best of his ability" with that average. Like the "good" parents we were, we sat Richard down and tried to explain all this to "the boy". I was not surprised at his response, "Well, obviously, I learn everthing she teaches with no problem, so I don't HAVE to keep paying attention to her!" Now how can you argue with that?

He was the child you would "test" us through those teen years. This child of mine was the one who tried the alcohol, smoking, Halloween pranks, etc, AND when "caught" would fess right up! Go figure.

Richard has a charisma, charming expressive eyes, and a gentle smile. To this day, when asked, or TOLD, he must do something ... or NOT do something, he will bat those long lashes of his, smile and nod, and then proceed to do exactly as he wants. He is SUCH a "good boy".

Here is a layout I have done of my sweet "baby" Richard. I used my PUPPY DOG TAILS TWO kit, available in my store.





I also have a QP for you today. Please don't forget to download today; the link will expire tomorrow. (link has expired)




I have had a wonderful time this week, sharing a bit about myself and my family with you. Thank you for reading my "ramblings", and sharing your comments. You can still keep in touch with my daily, on my own BLOG! Grab your favorite beverage, listen to my music selections, and read more. FREEBIES can be found there often!

Oh, Those Firstborn's!

My son, Michael, my eldest son, came into the world,in a flash. Well, he WAS past his due date, however, he was speedy once he decided to join his mommy and daddy. I awoke around 7am, had a bit of a backache, ate breakfast, and by 7:30, my (ex)husband, convinced me I was in labor. I was supposed to take my parents car in for repair, but I was FORCED to call them to say I would not be available, I was being made to go to the hospital. So off we went! In "those days", Lamaze was the thing to do. We had taken all of our classes, and BOY could I breathe! Daddy had his tennis ball to massage my back, and some candies to suck on. Our plan was to have a nice, enjoyable, day of LABOR. Boy were we fooled ... I was taken to the OB and examined. As my sore back was being massaged, I asked the nurse if she thought I might have the baby by suppertime. "Girl, you are going to have this baby by LUNCH!" This definitely was NOT the "horror" stories I had heard about labor. In fact, I was STILL doubting I was actually IN labor. Finally, doc arrived and examined me. I could not imagine what was going on, when suddenly he ran to get the nurse. They whisked me off to delivery, where my newborn made his appearance after 3 little pushes. And, the nurse was totally correct .. the time ... 11:28am!!!

Michael has ALL the characteristics of a FIRSTBORN. Although he is a high achiever, he defintely competes with his younger siblings for attention and applause. Of course, that is HIS due! He is very independent, dependable, responsible, and a man of "authority". On the other hand, he is very sensitve, not always in a good way, a bit spoiled and often manipulates his siblings.

At the age of 11, he decided he needed a "job"; his allowance was just not enough! So, he walked a few blocks to a florist shop which was owned by a family friend. Returning home, he was proud to tell us that Sal had given him a job, for $1.00 an hour, every Saturday and one other night a week. Michael held that job until he was 16 and able to get a "real" job. He was given regular raises and became best friends with the owner's son. To this day, Sal calls him during Christmas, Valentines and Mother's Day, and Michael goes to lend a hand.
Now, though, he does it for free!

My son is really keen on dogs, and has had more than his share over the years. Mostly, AFTER moving out of our home. I have been more than a bit "disturbed" at his "acceptance" of the dogs. He didn't seem to mind the fur, dirty paw prints, chewed shoes scattered around his house. Often, he would tire of the pet, and find someone who could "take care of it better" than he could. For that I was always thankful. Once, he commented, "I can't imagine people having kids, if a DOG is this much work!"

Well, the time came when Michael and Erin decided to start a family. Even though he was almost 30, I couldn't help but remember the remark comparing babies and dogs. It kinda "scared me!" When Erin was in her last trimester, we were at my stepson's childs christening. The baby was a bit fussy, and he was holding and rocking him. MY SON asked, "What do you do when you get 'tired' of holding them?" WOW ... now I was REALLY scared.
Well the day came when Michaela made her entrance in the world. I will NEVER forget the awe, love and pride on my son's face. I am so glad to say, my fears were all put to rest.
Apparently, that sweet little bundle created a man out of my little boy. I have been surprised to see how much "parenting" he learned while being raised by us! I am happy to say that, because of work schedules, Michael was the primary caregiver for his daughter for the first two years of her life. He witnessed all her "firsts", and found her first tooth.
He did without sleep, to rock her, when she was colicky. He has held her on his lap when she got her shots, and taught her the alphabet, color names, and reads to Michaela every day. And his PATIENCE, my my, I NEVER thought I would see that softness in Michael!

With every photo taken, I can't help but smile with a mother's pride, at the love my son and granddaughter share. Just another of God's miracles!

Today, I have a beautifully framed photo of Michael and Michaela.
The pic was taken two summers ago, and it is one of my favorites.



AND, for YOU, three FREEBIE frames.



Don't forget, get your download today. The link will expire tomorrow.
(sorry, this link has expired)

Cats

I think cats are one of the most magnificant of all God's creatures. I do not really remember when I was first attracted to them, but I distinctly recall the first cat who owned me!

I had begged and begged my parents for a cat for the longest time, and was always told no because we lived in an apartment. During the summer between second and third grade, my dad built a house for us. At last, I thought, I can have a cat! My mom was really not particularly fond of those "animals" ... as a young girl, one had jumped out at her, and scared her half to death. Then, one day, Mom and Dad told me I could have a kitten. A coworker of mom's had a new litter, and we could go and pick one out. There were "conditions" of course ... it could NOT be a girl cat.

That weekend we took off to get MY cat. It was the LONGEST ride. Finally, we arrrived at the woman's home, went inside, and were led to the cellar stairs. She opened the door and several cats, of all colors and sizes, ran up as fast as they could.
Except, for this one BEAUTIFUL, tiny little black kitty with white paws...THAT "animal" regally made her way up those steps. Well, I fell in love in that one instant. As things go, and you can probably guess, it was the ONLY female of the litter. I know that Mom said "oh, no", BUT, the ride home with my wonderful pet, the black and white kitty, sittin on my lap will never leave my memory. At the tender age of 8, I chose a very "unique" name, too. I called her "Kitty". She was with us for many years ... a few too many, probably. She became very sick and my parents had to put her down, a few years after I had moved out of that house my daddy built.

Over the years, I always seemed to be able to "charm" my (ex)husband, who was NOT thrilled with CATS, either, to allow me to have my pets. We almost always had at least one, and a few times, two cats, who allowed us to share "their" home.

All my children "inherited" my love for kittens. We did have one "tragedy". Our Samantha had birthed her litter in our fireplace. (Our dog, Missy, ACTUALLY woke me up in the middle of the night to "show me" the new kitties). A few days later, Samantha decided to move her babies to a sleeping bag next to my son, Richard's, bed. Well, Richard came to me, holding a "dead" kitten ... he had "no idea" what happened to it! My suspicions were confirmed several years later, when an older Richard confessed he had gotten out of bed and stepped on the kitten. He did not know they were snuggling in his sleeping bag! Even today, as adults on their own, my kids have NEVER been without feline companionship.

Just a short time after I purchased my own home, I decided once again, I "needed" a cat. Early one Saturday morning, I headed off to the local adoption clinic. There I found my present "royalty" feline sisters, Punkin and Baby. I had to leave their brother behind, unfortunately, cause I just could not affored 3 cats at that time. Today, I still am amazed by my "kitties". It has been scientifically proven that pets lower our blood pressure, and make us happier with life.

Irish Proverb: "Beware of people who dislike cats."

Today, I have made a qp for you using my SPRING IS BLOSSOMING kit, found here, and ON SALE NOW for only $2.50.

Meet my kitties...Punkin and Baby ... and enjoy your QP. Remember to DOWNLOAD today! (sorry, link has expired)

I hope you have a wonderful day ... See you tomorrow!

Daughters ...Oh My!

My lovely daughter will turn 25 on May 14. I don't know her "story", but as my youngest child, and ONLY girl, she has demanded attention since BEFORE she was born. In my seventh month of pregnancy, I developed some problems, and my doc wanted to perform an early C-Section. Fortunately, we decided to "ride things out" if possible, and not only was Lynnsey not born prematurely, but she was born past my due date. This has been the THEME of her life ever since ... always late!

Around the age of two, we became concerned because she was not developing her language skills like our boys did. I mean she "babbled" ALL the time ... but no one could understand a word she said. Of course, with three older brothers (the eldest is her step-brother), we realized she did not really need to speak English to have her every wish filled. She would say, "blah, blah, blah", and one of the boys would speak up and tell us, "Lynnsey wants ..." It has become a joke around our house, because once she started, to this day, I don't believe she has ever STOPPED talking. Once, I picked the kids up from day care, and asked them to please be quiet as a mouse because "Mommy has a very bad headache." My sweetie, spent the entire ride home, telling me loudly, clearly, AND repeatedly, that she was going to be a good girl and be very quiet 'cause she didn't want mommies head to hurt.

The boys love to tease their sister, and have done so at EVERY opportunity. We had just moved into a very large house, and were celebrating our youngest son's birthday ... but we had somehow "lost" Lynnsey. We were shocked when we noticed this pre-schooler, carrying her brothers (LARGE) cake, down the hall. We all started to run for her, and I guess we scared her half to death...in a WHOOSH, she dropped his cake upside down on the carpet. They have NEVER have let her forget that. She got quite upset about it, too, until recently. In fact, a few years ago, my mom asked Lynnsey if she was dressing up for Halloween. My son, Richard, spoke up and said, "Yeah, she is going to be a CAKE-DROPPER!"

Lynnsey and I have a very close relationship. A few weeks before her tenth birthday, she decided she needed to talk to me about "this period thing". After I stopped choking, ( I did not think I needed to have THAT talk for another year or so), we cuddled under some blankets on the couch, put on some music, and she got her first "very" basic lesson in the facts of life. She has always been comfortable talking to me about her "teen problems ... like boys", and now, her young adult issues. For that I am thankful.

My daughter is a very social young lady. She has a bright and optimistic outlook on life, and her smile lights up her entire face. She is on the "go" all the time, and often is a bit "ditsy."Which brings me to her faults ... THE GIRL IS STILL ALWAYS LATE!

For today's FREEBIE, I am gifting you with another lil' mini. I have also scrapped a page to introduce you to Lynnsey. Hope you like!






Remember to get your FREEBIE today; the link expires tomorrow.
(sorry, link has expired)

Mothers

I mentioned earlier that Mom lives with me. A few years ago, she became ill, was hospitalized, and seemed to become increasingly confused after being discharged. It was then I decided she needed some supervision, taking her medications, and doing those day to day activities. I now know she has Alzheimers dementia. That means, we have our "good" days and our "not so good" days. If you were to spend 15 or 20 minutes chatting with her, you would think she is ok. However, she is really no longer "my mom". It is strange when the child becomes the caretaker for the parent. My kids help me often; Lynnsey cleans Mom's room, and helps with showering, hair styling, and those "girl" things. My son's take her for rides and play cards with her.
"GG" and my granddaughter, Michaela, argue over coloring books!

Mom was a very smart kid in school. She graduated near the top of her class, then worked a full time job for a while, before joining the WACS during World War II. She had wanted to become a nurse, but her parents did not "approve" of that career choice, so Mom never made it to nursing school. I guess money was tight in those days and she just could not afford it without her parents help.

My mother was a "stylin" lady. She used to tell me how she would always buy outfits, complete with shoes, undies and coordinating accessories! She enjoyed sewing, and would stay up till the wee hours of the morning making doll clothes for my Barbie.
I would awake to find my doll, dressed to the teeth, many mornings.

She did not meet and marry my dad till her late 20's. My dad was quite a bit older than she. He was 40, the youngest of several children born to my grandparents. He had 8 older sisters, and one twin brother, who all seemed to "guide" his life. His family was a bit skeptical when he married mom (they were strict Catholics; she a Methodist), and so much younger, but over the years Mom won them all over with her charm.
Funny thing, though, it was Mom who made sure I was "raised" Catholic, and it
was she who brought me to Mass every Sunday.

I have no siblings, due to miscarriages after me, and my mom was determined I would NOT be a "spoiled" ONLY child. I think back and believe I actually had LESS than many kids in my neighborhood. Seems to me, in my younger years, I was denied a lot of things, because no one was going to say "Marsha is spoiled!"

She rarely knows the day of the week, and really has no idea of the season or the year. She has forgotten that most of her family and friends have passed, and often confuses our names. However, to make the "best" of this situation, I often find myself laughing over her confusion. A short example for you ... last weekend mom was sitting at the kitchen table playing solitaire as I was doing some cleaning. Our conversation went something like this ... Mom: "I haven't seen Lynnsey in a while." Me:
"No, she is busy with work and her own life, but visits when she can." Mom: "Is she still seeing Ben?" Me: "yes", Mom: "How nice; they make a cute couple." Mom: "You said she moved to an apartment on Fuller Road (true). Does she like it there?", Me: "Yes, she has a lovely apartment." Mom: "Now, is her dad, David?", Me: "Yes" ... a short time passes, and I am thankful that today is a "good" day, THEN, Mom said ... "Now, tell me, who is her mother???!!!". Well, I thought I was going to wet myself, and was giggling inside! My simple answer ..."I am!" ... Mom: "oh?"

So, the days pass, she and I share many "Good Morning's!" throughout the day,
and I "miss" my mother. Thankfully, I have memories to scrap!

Here is a layout of Mom ... and a quickpage for you. Maybe YOU, too, want to scrap your Mother ... and thanks for "listening" to my rambling.

Remember, download the link today; it will only last till tomorrow.
(sorry, this link has expired)

Grandchildren

I thought it would be nice to talk about our grandkids ... well, MY granddaughter, in particular! Michaela, just turned 4 on March 28. She is an "only" child (so far), and the daughter of my eldest son, Michael. My son was the primary "caregiver" for her first two years, and so she is a bit "advanced" for her age. To say she is somewhat spoiled would be be an huge understatement!

Michaela has a wonderful imagination. A few months ago, she was "pretending" she was FOUR years old. However, she was being particularly "difficult" that day, and I was getting a bit weary of her antics. I sat down with her to "discuss" the proper way for a little girl to behave. Being the wise Grammy that I am, I explained to her that I was really looking forward to her birthday, because four year old little girls, ALWAYS acted nicely and did as they are told the first time! I had to laugh (to myself, of course) at her reply ... "Oh no, Grammy, because I AM ALREADY four!"

Parenting is very different today from the "old" days when I raised my children.
Back then we were "allowed" to give a spanking on the bottom when needed, or deny a child dessert if their meal was not finished. NOT TODAY! Michaela's parents use
"time out", and the "counting" system. On yet ANOTHER day, my little precious sweetie, was AGAIN being difficult. Even Little Bear (kids tv show) could not distract her from bouncing on my furniture. So I thought and thought ... what could I do????
Ahhhhhh .... I said, "Michaela ...ONE!" Well, wasn't I amazed when she immediately bounced her tiny butt down on the sofa, and sat perfectly still! She did, though, give me a "look to kill". Hmmmmmmmm .... maybe that IS easier than chasing a kid around the room, threatening to spank their bottom!!!

In the end though, it is all so worth while. Last night she was on the phone with my son....she sent me a "message".... TELL GRAMMY I LOVE HER! What could be sweeter than that?

I had a few requests to share some photos of Michaela. So, I made a quickpage for todays FREEBIE ... and here is my cute angel!

DON'T FORGET, THE LINK WILL EXPIRE TOMORROW ... so get your FREEBIE now! (sorry, this link has expired)

See you back here tomorrow.

Nice to See You!

Good Day everyone! My name is Marsha, aka Froggypond, and I am happy to be hosting our blog this week. I am even MORE excited, because I have designed a weeks worth of goodies to give to you!

I would like to share a bit about myself, and I guess the best place to start is at the beginning! I was born in Troy, NY, and have lived here most of my life. I am an ONLY child, so you can just imagine how "spoiled" I am ...(not)! I have 3 grown children: Michael, 35, Richard, 27, and Lynnsey, 25. I am Grammy to the most adorable, cutest, smartest, precious little 4 year old, Michaela. My mom lives with me, too. At the "tender" age of 84, she is in need of a bit of reorientation and help with her daily needs. I also share my home with two sisters, Punkin and Baby, my pretty lil' kitties.

Professionally, I am a RN. I am so fortunate to have a wonderful managerial position. I no longer have to work nights, weekends, or holidays, which is super for anyone in the health field.

I own my own home and can get "lost" in gardening or fall asleep for hours, floating in my pool! The downside of that, is it takes me away from my true PASSION ...designing! If they could only create a waterproof laptop, and the sun would always shine, my world would be PERFECT ...lol.

So, 'nuff about ME! Let's talk about you, and FREEBIES ... yah! I designed a lil'
mini for you today. It is on the masculine side, which I find myself creating a lot lately! Not sure why, since I love to scrap my dahlin' granddaughter, Michaela .. BUT here is a preview for you ....






Get it here (sorry, this link has expired) , while the getting is good ... the link will expire tomorrow!

If you are looking for "guy" kits, Froggypond says "leap over to my store, here."

Hope you have a FANTASTIC day, and see ya' back here on Monday.

Walkin' On Sunshine

Thanks so much to all of you for the wonderful name suggestions for my kit! I've decided on Walkin' on Sunshine, suggested by texjudy! Thanks so much, Judy - you'll receive the kit for free! The rest of you should also be watching your PM for a goodie from me. :)

I don't know about you, but I have a real weakness for grab bags. I guess it's because I like surprises and rarely ever get any. I even have to buy my own Xmas gifts - although my dh is getting better about that.. we've been married 17 years and I'm finally starting to get through to him. :) Anyway, I'll be putting my first Personal Use grab bag in the store soon, so be watching for it! I think you'll really be happy with the contents. :D

This is my last day on the blog. I've really enjoyed reading all the comments you've left for me! Starting tomorrow, Marsha (froggypond) will be hosting for a week. I'm looking forward to seeing what she has to say!

I'll leave you with another frame pack - this one geared more towards the girls.

You can download it here. (Sorry, this link has expired).

Shake, Shake, Shake

Yes, it did! And this is Indiana! I was at work this morning, almost at the end of my shift. I took the big fork truck out to fill it up. I work in a very loud factory, so I had my ear plugs in - didn't hear anything, but all of a sudden the truck starting rocking back and forth. I couldn't figure out what was going on - I was standing beside it and it was filling up at the time. Earthquakes aren't exactly common around here. :) So I took the nozzle off the truck, then pushed on it to see if I could rock it - of course, it didn't budge. I figured I was tired and hallucinating. :D When I got back inside the plant, I had a text message from my oldest dd - she said it woke them up out of a dead sleep. Apparently it rumbled as well as shook. Then I checked my e-mail before leaving and there was an e-mail from my friend Carolyn about the earthquake. It's big news - all over the TV. It was a 5.4, with the epicenter about 24 miles SW of Vincennes. I was in Terre Haute at the time. Just let me say that I was very happy to find that I was not, in fact, hallucinating. :)


We have 4 dogs. Dh said all 4 of them tried to crawl up in his lap. And my youngest dd slept right through it. She's not a morning person. I guess we can honestly say now that she would sleep through an earthquake.

Today's the last day to get my A Spring Thing kit on sale for only $2.00! The Easy as 1, 2, 3 challenge ends tonight at midnight, too. So get your layouts posted!

Today I'm sharing some frames with you. You can download them here. (Sorry, this link has expired).
Have a great day!

Back To Work

Yep, I had to go back to work last night and I am ready for bed. That first night back is always a killer.

Blue24k2000 (Carolyn) and keiki (Donna), a couple of TSG members, met yesterday at our local bowling alley! Donna was in town for a bowling tournament, so Carolyn dropped in to see her. I was supposed to go along, but I slept through my alarm. Carolyn did share some pictures with me - I can't wait to see them scrapped!

How about a little more about me? What do I do besides scrap? Crochet! I love to crochet - I can remember my great grandma teaching me to make a basic chain using my fingers. I crochet mostly afghans. I get impatient following tedious patterns. My only problem is that I tend to give them away as gifts, so I don't actually have that many of my own.

There's a few of the afghans I still have. On the far right in the middle row is a bed I crocheted out of cloth for our poodle. The bottom is my crochet hook case. Well, the one I made anyway. I tend to use the bigger hooks and multiple strands of yarn these days.

I'm also a genealogist. Back to my great grandma again. :) I grew up listening to her stories about the family. Then, when I was a freshman in high school, my English teacher had a guest come in. He had a beautiful book he'd made from his genealogy research. I was hooked! I was the county coordinator for two USGenWeb Indiana counties for over 10 years. I just gave them up last November. I had to make a choice between my scrapping addiction and the genealogy sites. I think it's obvious what my decision was. :)

Today I have another stickit for you, made by my CT Kay! This one is also from my kit A Spring Thing.

You can download it here. (Sorry, this link has expired).

Wed., April 16 - The River

We spent some time over at the river yesterday. We have a "cabin" over there - it's actually just an ancient trailer that's only about 36' long, but it keeps the rain off of our heads. :) The river got up in the trailer when it flooded this year, so we have a mess to clean up. During the summer, you can find us over there a lot! We have a pontoon that we run up and down the river on, dh has his jon boat for fishing and we just got a jet ski last October. We really enjoy tubing down the river, too. It's just so peaceful and relaxing. Until we break out the karaoke, that is!

Here's a layout of me & DH on the jet kit - that's Tina Marie on Chris' lap. She'll follow him anywhere. I was surprised at how well the water in these two photos matched up! Used elements from Lynn Reloza's Beaches 2 kit.

And here's a layout of my two granddaughters singing karaoke. Aren't they sweet? I had this one put on a mug for my son-in-law. Used Lynn Griffin's Touch of Love kit for this layout.

Today is my oldest granddaughter, Lilly's birthday. She's 5 already! Sarah turns 3 on May 5. It'll always be easy to remember hers - she was born on 5/5/05! Since their birthdays are fairly close together, their mom has gotten by with combining their birthday party each year. This year it will be April 26 at the Children's Museum. And this bad, bad grammy hasn't even bought their gifts yet.

Since it's Lilly's birthday, I thought I'd give you all a gift of a birthday sampler. This is a kit in progress and will eventually be in the store. I'm calling it Birthday Party right now, but that's subject to change. :)

You can download it here. (Sorry, this link has expired).

Kim brought it to my attention that my Easy as 1, 2, 3 challenge was supposed to end on the 15th. I've extended both the sale and the challenge until midnight, April 19th. The featured kit for this challenge is A Spring Thing and is on sale for $2.00. You can find details on the challenge here.

New Store Grand Opening Sale!

Did you all know that the new store is open for business? You really need to run over and check it out! It looks wonderful. Many, many thanks to everyone who put so many long hours into getting it up and running! There's a store-wide 25% off sale going on, and if you browse around you're going to find some really great deals!

A Spring Thing... no, that's not the name I decided on for my Name That Kit! :) That's the name of a kit I already have in the store. It was the featured kit in my Easy as 1, 2, 3 crop/challenge this month. If you missed out on it, you missed out on 10 freebie brag book stickits! Kay, one of my wonderful CT members has created a beautiful brag book stickit from this kit and I'll be sharing it with you today!



You can download it here. (Sorry, this link has expired).

Name This Kit - Preview

Wow! Lots of responses to "Name This Kit" even before I have the preview up! Thanks so much for all of the suggestions. I'll keep a running list this week and let you all know what I decide - I may need some help with the final decision, too. :) Also, those of you who are not using your TSG usernames when you post a name suggestion need to let me know how to contact you so I can get your goodie to you!

Well, as I said before, I'm on a 21 turn schedule at work and today was "Friday" for me. Yep, it's the weekend!! This shift really took some getting used to, but I've been doing it for 6 years now and am just grateful that I have enough seniority to stay off of swing shift. Their long weekend each month consists of 48 hours. I had to work that shift for about a year and trust me, it's a killer.

I have a preview of the kit for you to take at look at. This is most of the kit. I'll have to do some better previews before I put it in the store.


I'm hosting the Garden Tour this week! And as a special incentive to encourage participation, I'm offering a $5 coupon to my store to anyone who participates at least 15 days in the month of April! There's still time to qualify for the coupon, so head on over and check it out! It's easy to participate - just post the link to a layout, any layout, in the gallery. Then visit the other stops on the tour and leave some love. Piece of cake!


Since you've stuck with me this far, I have another little gift for you. This is a 4x6 bragbook stickit made from my "Name This Kit" kit. :) You can download it from 4shared (Sorry, this link has expired).

Help Me Name This Kit

Hello, everyone! I'm Pammy Yates and I'll be hosting the blog this week. I'll start by telling you a little about me. I've been married for 17 years, and have 2 daughters. My oldest is 24 and married, with 2 daughters of her own. They are the cutest little things you ever saw ... I know, I know, all grandparents say that. Mine call me Grammy Pammy - it sounds so cute coming out of their mouths. :) My youngest daughter is 12 and in the the 6th grade.

I work full time at an aluminum factory and just got switched back to C crew - my hours are 10:30pm to 6:30am. I thought it would be hard to get used to again because I was on days for about a year and a half, but I didn't have any problem with it! I work 21 turn, so I have different days off each week. The great thing about it is that I get a 4-day weekend once a month - it's like a mini vacation!

I have a new kit that I need a better name for. I've been calling it "Vibrant", but thought I might get some help from you on a better name. :) I don't have a preview yet, but I do have a small sampler. I'll get the preview of the entire kit up asap. I'll be giving away bits & pieces of this kit here on the blog this week. Anyone who helps me out by giving name suggestions will get something special at the end of the week! Here's the preview of the sampler.




And you can download it here. Sorry, this link has expired. With the new store, we have a new ftp and I haven't figured out how to link to it yet.

See you tomorrow!

MIA

There I went being MIA again. Sorry about that :)

Quick update on Zach (my youngest): His temperature never really dropped from the 99 range on Wednesday and after another restless night it was up to 101.7 Thursday morning. My gut was telling me this had turned into more than just a cold. I went ahead and tried April's suggestion which didn't seem to make a difference with his cough. Thanks for the suggestion though April, I will keep it in mind for next time...although you should have seen Zach's reaction to it - lol - He was fine at first then all of a sudden he scrunched up his face and shivered - lol. So I tried the onion-sugar syrup and I had to admit that it is fine at first but it does have an after bite ;). (Also, thanks Grammadianne for your suggestion of warm milk/honey/lemon/butter...I had tried the warm tea/honey but didn't have lemon in the house. I will keep your idea in my file for next time also!) So I called and got him an appointment to see the doctor yesterday morning and my gut was correct. It has turned into more than just a cold. He was diagnosed with bronchiolitis and the doctor put him on 5-days of a steroid along with continuing the Albuterol...as well as instruction that if the temperature raised any more or the coughing/wheezing got any worse to come back in so they could see if it has turned into pneumonia or an ear infection. Thankfully he seemed to be a tad better last night and actually slept in his own bed for a couple hours without coughing the entire time. Today the coughing wasn't nearly as intense as it has been, and he didn't have a fever most of the day, but the wheezing is still there and has changed sounds a bit...so we will have to keep an eye on that. Now if Zach comes through this without it changing to pneumonia, and Drew and I get through this (yep, we have both caught it) without it settling too much in either of our chests, I will be VERY happy :)

I have very much to be thankful for in my life right now too! We did not end up getting all the rain and dangerous weather in our area like they were calling for on Wednesday night/Thursday. It did rain pretty well over night and there was some flooding in our area (thanks to ground that was already over saturated), but our basement didn't flood again and it has pretty well gone down in our town. South of us has not been so lucky. Down in Branson they have had to open up the flood gates at Table Rock Dam to release the record level high water... (photo taken from Branson Daily News) and of course this has caused major flooding down stream. When you talk to people that have lived here in the Ozarks their whole life, all they say is that they have never seen it like this...and they are right since it is setting all sorts of records. Please keep all of these people affected by the flooding in your thoughts and prayers!

I really hope that you will all be back for next week!! You shouldn't have to put up with my lack of blog then since the wonderfully talented Pamela Yates will be your hostess here. I had the chance to work with Pammy in the TSG Design 101 mentoring class earlier this year and I really looks forward to getting to know more about this sweet lady during the next week.

Before I go for the evening, I would like to give a small peace offering to apologize once again for pretty much abandoning you all this week...and a thank you for being so understanding about it. It is nothing big, but I hope you will be able to use these two SticKits I created using the beautiful TSG April Mega Kit "Spring Sorbet" Grab these 2 SticKits HERE (Sorry, this link has expired)

Hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing Saturday!!

Attention TSG Shoppers!!

We have some big things planned for our store! Unfortunately, in order to implement them we will have to close the store for a few days. Our store will be closed starting Thursday morning for maintenance and upgrades and will re-open on Monday morning.

Not to fear though, we will be re-opening Monday with a whole new store front with cool new features for you the customer! Not to mention a RAWKIN' sale to kick off our Grand Re-Opening!

Thanks so much to each of you for being loyal TSG customers and helping our garden grow!

~Michelle Rodriguez
The Scrapping Garden

I'm SO Sorry!

I am REALLY sorry I haven't been around consistently this week! My youngest has been in the process of coming down with something so I have had to focus on him a lot. Last night was the worst so far. I was up most of the night with the little guy (he's 19 months old) trying ease his breathing. About 3am this morning his breathing became really labored for him (his poor little chest just got sucked in with each breath, but his coloring stayed fine), so from then until about 4:15am I was in the bathroom runny a steamy shower and then outside in the cool night air...back and forth. This seemed to be just a little helpful, so I finally gave him some Albuterol (we have some on hand since my oldest ends up with wheezy coughs a lot), and that relieved him enough to get a little sleep...well some sleep after he finally settled down. The Albuterol really hyped him up :) Today his breathing has been ok (not perfect, but not struggling like he was last night), but the poor kid is coughing constantly! The latest thing I have tried (from suggestion of the nurse at his doctor's office) is warm decaf tea with some honey in it. He LOVED it, but I didn't really notice a difference. I also just tried some straight honey. Again he enjoyed it, but still coughing. So any suggestions you might have that I could try would be appreciated! Both my boys seem to have a weakness in this area and often colds settle in their respiratory system, so this is nothing new to me. I am just praying it doesn't turn into pneumonia like it did in February!

ANYWAY, I say all that to give a little explanation as to why I haven't been around here much :) I know, excuses, excuses ;) I have also been around here so much, that I seem to have run out of things to talk about. You all pretty well know all about my family and I at this point ;) I wish I had an exciting area of the country to talk about like Tina was able to share with us, but with living pretty much in the middle of the United States, there isn't that much exciting happening...unless you count the tornadoes we seem to get often around here. In fact, we are suppose to have chances of those around here tomorrow afternoon. I LOVE spring, but I do NOT like the tornado season that comes with spring :) But there are MANY things to love about spring too. Like the blooming bradford pear trees...

This Week at TSG

Well, looks like you all are stuck with me again this week :)

I would like to take today to remind you of all the great crops happening this week at TSG!

Tuesday, April 8th:

Easy as 1,2,3 Crop ~ 2pm EST
Join Pammy for this fun crop that she is taking over for Cheryl.
Here's how it works:
1. You purchase Pammy's featured kit to use to make your layout.
2. She will give you a coordinating freebie(s) during the crop.
3. Post your layout by the deadline of April 15th and you'll get the posting bonus shown below - 8 4x6 bragbook stickits from the featured kit!
The featured kit is "A Spring Thing" is available HERE in the TSG Store.
It will be on sale for $2.00 until midnight, April 15th.

For those of you who can't attend the crop, but would like to participate in the challenge, you can still get everything available. All you have to do is purchase the featured kit, create your layout, post it in the Easy as 1, 2, 3 gallery, post the link to your layout here and I'll send you the posting bonus shown below PLUS the coordinating crop freebie(s).

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Grow Your Elements ~ 7pm EST
Join AScrapbookDiva (April Sevigny) and Froggypond (Marsha Connell-Torre) and see the HUGE, ELEMENT PACKED, MEGA KIT they have created for this months challenge.
In fact, they got SO carried away creating "A Country Easter", that they had to move their crop to the SECOND Tuesday for this month. It just took them too long to zip everything up and get the previews and files into the TSG store!

You can purchase our kit ... NOW AT 57%OFF ...yup, only $3.00... till May 7!!!!!!!!
This is a deal you will NOT want to miss. Remember, AFTER THE CHAT, there will be additional elements which you will receive if you have purchased our kit.

Although the main theme is Easter, there are so many soft pastels that this kit would be perfect for any Springtime layouts.

What is the Challenge?
Use as many of the featured element as possible in your layout without making it crowded, or take the focus off of the picture. You may use all of the element freebies in your layout or pick one or two an use many of them. It is up to you.
Every month there will be a featured kit and "featured" element freebie you will get at the chat.
There will be a posting bonus if you use a different kit. If you use the featured kit you will receive the posting bonus plus another gift for using the featured kit.

Come to the Chat on April 8 at 7pm to find out what the Element of the Month is.

You have until May 7 to complete the Challenge.

Post your layouts HERE

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Wednesday, April 9th:

Getting Swirly With It! ~ 9pm EST
Join MickeyB for this exciting sounding new crop!! The crop title is just a hint of what the challenge is!
Do you love using swirls in your layouts? This is the challenge for you!
Meet Michelle in the chat room at 9:00pm (EST) on April 9th for my Getting swirly with it crop!

At the chat she will be giving out some swirls/doodles for you to use in a layout. Make a layout using the crop gifts and as a posting gift you will receive Michelle's Basic swirl/doodles set! It isn't even in the store yet!

Here is a preview of the posting gift:

Make sure to post your layouts in the gallery (challenges) HERE and post a link for your layout in this post.

This challenge will be open till April 30th!

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Don't miss out on these fun crops and make sure to check out all the great challenge in the TSG Forum -- HERE!!

Well...It's Still Friday Where I Live :)

Can I count it if it is still Friday CST (11:42pm actually)? lol The day sort of slipped away from me without me realizing it. I'm not even too sure where the time went to. Don't you just hate those days that sort of slip away from you without you really knowing where your time went? Besides doing some school work with Drew, the only thing I can remember accomplishing was moving some of the office things downstairs to what will now be the office. Oh, and I did watch a really cute movie with my boys. My parents took Drew to see "Alvin and the Chipmunks" around Christmas and they all came back saying it was cute. So when it became available from Blockbuster on-line I immediately requested it. And I must say it is really cute! I grew up listening to the Chipmunks' Christmas every year on the record player (ah yes, the old vinyl records) at my grandparents house so they bring back very fond memories. I really enjoyed hearing some of those old songs on the new movie. In Drew's words, it was a "2 thumbs up" :)

As an apology for missing Friday, I thought I would share a little SticKit (grab it HERE -- sorry this link has expired) I just made using the TSG April Mega Kit, Spring Sorbet which you can pick up in the TSG Store HERE for just $3.49!


In case I don't make it back later today (yep - it is officially midnight my time now), I hope you all have a nice Saturday!

Not Much to Tell

There really isn't much happening around here to tell about today.

I do want to remind you about the "Box of Dreams" crop with Georgia tonight at 9pm EST!! You don't want to miss out on that one!

Today was fairly uneventful for me. Drew had swimming lessons this morning (He has come SO far since last Septemeber when he didn't even like to get his face wet!). Then the boys and I had to stop at the grocery store on the way home for a few things (made myself hungry for the chicken & wild rice soup again - lol). The allergist did just call with Drew's results. Looks like he might have a very slight allergy to milk, eggs and oak trees. So he suggested that we take him off main milk products (milk, cheese, yogurt & ice cream) and eatting eggs (not to worry about items with some milk and eggs in them) for about 3 weeks and just see what happens. When I mentioned this to Drew the poor kid wasn't very happy. He LOVES milk products and every one I mentioned he would be having to cut out for awhile, he almost started crying. :( Looks like I will need to be running back to the grocery store to get some soy or rice cream milk substitutes for him.

Well, since it is 5:30pm my time, I guess I better go whip up that soup for dinner tonight. Need to make it tonight before we start the new diet with Drew tomorrow.

I Know I Promised...

I know I promised a real blog entry today, but can you believe it, I'm not sure what to even write about! lol

There has been a lot happening in my world since the last time I hosted the TSG Blog. We took my oldest son to see a pediatric opthamologist because we was seeing double sometimes. He checked out with 20/20 vision and the doctor believes it might have been from being tired or maybe even stress. We also pulled him out of preschool since he was having so many behavior problems and I am working with him at home on school work. This has really seemed to help him and the fits are fewer and most are less explosive. We also took him to see an allergist and are waiting to get the results back from the tests (poor kid's nose just starts bleeding out of no where pretty often). My youngest is in the midst of cutting his eye teeth - UGH! It has been a long, and evidently painful process for him. :( I had a tonsillectomy on March 15th - thankfully a pretty uneventful one. A few days after my tonsillectomy we had a TON of rain in our area and our basement had some water problems...which ment moving lots of stuff out of the way of the water, pulling up the carpet, sucking up the water, letting it all dry completely out and then relaying the carpet. We are still in the middle of trying to get everything moved back where it belongs. And of course I couldn't make it just a simple "move everything back where it came from". No, I decide this would be the perfect time to move our office to the spare room downstairs and then move Drew (our oldest son) into what was the office and Zach (our youngest son) into what was Drew's room. lol And the fun doesn't end there! :) We need to finish redoing one more closet with the ClosetMaid stuff we bought back in January, as well as fix the drainage problem in our backyard and do some landscaping.

Enough about my life, have you all seen the great challenges happening around TSG?

First, don't forget tomorrow evening (Thursday, April 3rd) at 9pm EST is "Box of Dreams Crop with Georgia Oliver"!

Also don't forget all the on going challanges around the garden:
ABC Challenge
Blueprint of My Garden (you have until the 21st to finish the current challenge)
Can You Face The Type?
Color Challenge
Daily Download Challenge
Grow Your Elements
Petals of Wisdom
Scraplift with Karen
Scrap a Masterpiece with Karen
And of course you can't forget the "Keeping it Straight" Challenge!! What a perfect way to keep all the information straight on all the challenges you are working on around TSG.
Whew! That almost makes my head spin :)

Ok, I think I will leave you today with something that isn't scrapbook related, but still something I hope you might enjoy. I am currently addicted to the following "Chicken & Wild Rice Soup" recipe. It is SUPER simple and I think it is delicious so I wanted to share it with you. The original recipe I got from Mr. Food on a noon news show about a month ago, but I have made a few changes. ;) Hope you enjoy!


Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

6 servings
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2 tablespoons oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup shredded carrots
5 cups water
1 (6.2-ounce) package Uncle Ben’s fast-cooking long-grain and wild rice mix
10-ounce (1 1/4 cups) chopped broccoli
2 cups chopped cooked rotisserie chicken (the already cooked kind from the store)
4-ounces Velveta cheese, cubed
1/2 cup (4-ounces) Cheddar Cheese
1 (10-3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken & mushroom soup
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1. Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and carrots, and sauté 5 minutes.
2. Add water, seasoning packet from rice, broccoli, and chicken. Bring to a boil, and stir in rice; reduce heat, cover, and cook 5 minutes.**
3. Add cheese and soup; cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve immediately.

**If you use the regular rice instead of fast-cooking, step 2 will take 25 minutes instead of 5 minutes.

Personally, I like to add more chicken, broccoli, carrots & cheddar cheese than it calls for in the recipe. :)

April Garden Gateway

The April issue of the Garden Gateway is now available You can read it HERE Go find out a little more about Dawn Mills of Snowsmoon's Design and the TSG Gallery Administrator Lilly Reinier!

And I JUST noticed I forgot to include a goodie from Pammyj in the newsletter! Oh my word!! She has a wonderful new kit that just came out today called "Swirled" - available HERE . For those of you who have already read the April Garden Gateway, I don't want you to miss out on the gorgeous goodie Pammyj gave me to include so make sure to re-read the newsletter (I have it included on PAGE 8 now)! Here is what you would miss if you don't go back I am SO sorry about that, Pammy!!

Completed...But Not Posted Yet

Ok, I just finished the April Newsletter and went to upload it only to find out that my hubby is using all my DSL bandwidth up and it was loading SUPER slow. (That's what happens when he runs 4 poker tables, a Skype chat as well as numerous AIM sessions.) SO since he he isn't sharing well, and instead of staying up until 2am waiting for everything to load, I will just post it later in the morning when he isn't being a bandwidth hog :) Sorry it won't be posted at the usual midnight time...but it is coming! Ok, off to get some sleep. If my youngest has trouble sleep and is up and down all night (like he did yesterday) I will try uploading it while I am up with him :) I will be back later. Night for now.