New !!

SCRAPBOOKER’S CLUB HOUSE ANNOUNCES:

THE NOVEMBER 2008 “CHALLENGES BY DESIGN” COLLECTION!

November 1, 2008 will bring a “Challenges By Design” Collection to Scrapbooker’s Club House.

We can’t wait to reveal the challenges that the SBCH Design Team has planned for November!

Come over to the Club House and see what the Design Team has in store to challenge you and get your mojo goin’! You’ll be getting layouts done and cards made…Isn’t that what it’s all about?

Come join us and be inspired & challenged: meet new friends, too. We’re the friendliest scrappin’ spot on the ‘net and for your convenience, we have a fully stocked store just stuffed with scrappy goodness!

Here’s where to find us: http://www.scrapbookersclubhouse.com/home.htm

And here’s the Challenge Forum: http://www.scrapbookersclubhouse.com/forum/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=13
The Scrapbooker’s Club House store: http://www.scrapbookersclubhouse.com/oscommerce/catalog/

Update

I had to drop out of the competition (below) because it's month-end at work and they've decided we all have to stay until all our edits are done. This means long, late days and less creative time. I shouldn't have procrastinated beyond the weekend, but I thought I could manage it under the wire again.... just goes to show that my theories aren't always that sharp!

Ah well! More opportunities are always around the corner!

Moving on to Step 2

Creatively Yours is having a 2-step designer search and I've made it to the second step. Here is one of my cards (my personal favorite) the other can be seen on the CY blog with my "mini bio"

Now I've got to get on that second step and get creating with the Layout Sketch!

I made this card for my coworker's birthday, she LOVEs H'ween so I did it up with my last-year's stash of Scenic Route papers, MM and Prima flowers, Imaginesce (black) bling and rubons and K&Co (TOT & Jack O') Bling. I put a black glittered "Happy Birthday" on the inside to complete the sentiment.

Surprise!! Free Concert....

It was Friday after work, I was driving around, trying to help my mom finish some last-minute things before she would be leaving for her vacation and Cindy called me and told me she got tickets from her boss to see Reba and Kelly. Well, not only did she have tickets ($60 tickets), but they were 11th row, floor seats!

The catch was that we both needed to get from clear across the valley, Cindy to pick up the tickets from her boss who was too miserable with a cold to enjoy her tickets and I had to drop my mom off at her car and get across town to meet up with Cindy at my sister's place (so that we could take only one car). We needed to do all this and get downtown by 8 pm (it was after 6).

I borrowed my sister's camera and was determined to smuggle it in in my bra if I had to. I'm glad I didn't have to because her camera is much bigger than mine!! I just hid it in a pocket of my giant bag that couldn't be seen in a cursory bag check. Of course, there were many others there with cameras so my "covert operation" wasn't really necessary.

The show was preceded by the swearing in of 14 new Air Force recruits, which was met with a heartfelt standing O and whoops and cheers of support. We are a pretty supportive state, and quite proud of our servicemen. We are home to Hill Air Force Base.

Reba & Kelly put on a terrific show, the stage setup was one of the finest I've seen in a long time and the musicians with them were amazing. The opening act was Melissa "Barbara Jean" Peterman.

Hilarious!

I'm so glad I got to see this show and although I was not really a Kelly Clarkson fan, I think, now that I've seen her live, I am.

It's OFFICIAL

Last night we finally made the last payment on the December Disneyland trip! I'm so excited!

It's been 18 months since my last vacation and I'm really ready for another one.

I've heard nothing but good things about Disneyland for the Holidays and I can't wait to see it for myself.

I'm aware of the possibility for rain and the probability for crowds, but I'm excited nonetheless. I've been there and experienced extremes of both, so I'm not worried.

I can't wait for December 8!!

For the First Time

My li'l man, Jules- he loves me, I know he does by the sweet way he runs up to me when I come to visit. He's such an exuberant little boy and full of cuddles. Today is the first time he's talked to me on the phone, and the first time he's actually said my name!

I was talking to my sis, my niece wanted to talk so she said "Hi" and started telling me all kinds of fun things they were doing right then (Mommy was cooking dinner and she and Julian were playing cooking) then I hear a "drive by" "Hi Shay Yah"! What a sweet moment. I remember it wasn't long ago that Belle was calling me "ShayYay" and now my sweet buddy can "say my name". I won't linger long over the fact that he said my best friend's name over a month ago, but "CiCi" (for Cindy) is much easier to say than "ShayYah"

He's just shy of 23 months and his vocabulary is FINALLY becoming more intelligible and it's mulitplied in just the last couple of weeks.

What a cool moment.

An Outing with Grammee

Today was a fun outing with mom and my niece and nephew. We had wanted to go to Liberty Park and the Tracy Aviary but it was chilly and rainy so we had a contingency plan, the Living Planet Aquarium. Belle usually asks to go four places, the park, the zoo, Lagoon and to see the "big fishies and the little fishies" so we were sure our plans would be fun for her either way.

As we pulled away from their house, I told the kids where we were going. She had asked if we were going to the zoo so I told her it was too rainy. She followed that up with a request for Lagoon, definitely too cold and rainy for an amusement park. I told her we were going to see the fishies. She informed me that the fishies were in the Quararium. Very good for a 3-year old!

We met with Grammee (my mom) and headed in the direction of the Aquarium (I still want to call it a Quararium) but we were very early so we filled some of the time with breakfast and song at Starbucks (we were having a grand time, especially mom when they played the old western classics). We didn't kill enough time at Starbucks, so we were trying to think of something entertaining to fill an hour. Everything I tried was met with comments from the back seat "I want to go to the quararium, where is the quararium?" "It's up the street" "Let's just go to the quararium up the street"

How do you argue that logic? You don't without a tantrum, and I didn't want any of those so I went to the aquarium and parked. I let her know that they were still closed and we'd have to play and keep busy for an hour. They did well for the first half hour because the rain let up a little and we were able to get out and do a little running and walking. When the drizzles came back and escalated to a downpour we hurried back to the Trailblazer and huddled under the open hatch while the kids played in the very back until they finally opened the doors.

Things went very smoothly, and Belle was very taken with the Jellies. As we left the exhibits, she asked for a Jelly from the gift-shop. I didn't know if we'd find what she wanted so I warned her that we may not find one, but we were both pleasantly surprised when we not only found 3 different plush Jellies to choose from, we found that one of them was pink and purple (her very favorite colors). We couldn't interest Jules in anything, every toy we would show him would get looked at, we would be told "no" and he would put them away.

We had just enough time for lunch before we needed to get the kids home to mommy and daddy, and Jules was just too tired to eat. He fell asleep not 2 minutes after we left Wendy's.

It was a nice outing, I'm glad we got to do it on a cold and dreary day.

A Good Score

Today was my day off. I did a lot of bartering of my daily tasks in order to get the day off just so I could go to the Making Memories Warehouse sale and I was so happy to be out. I got there 15 minutes early and waited very well (I'm not a patient waiter) if I do say so myself. Once inside, I was on a mission, I only had a few "must haves" in mind. Flowers, brads (not the teeny standard ones but different ones, unique, fun, beautiful... and trims, any I knew I didn't already have. I would also keep my eyes out for some of the Tiny Type sticker letters because I was feeling like a bit of a schmuck after the spring sale where Heather had requested some but I couldn't find any.

Today, I scored! Lots of Buttons and Blooms, a few 5th Avenue and Noteworthy embellies and trims, some gorgeous brads (flocked, flowers, etc.) and, and, AND.... the Tiny Type alphas!

I filled my box without a care for price - then it hit me, I have $100 cash in my pocket plus a few ones to get over the sales-tax hurdle... Ok, pull out some things that I don't REALLY need.... ring up the rest.... how much? $122??? Take some off. Add these (I am blushing to admit that this was about the tiny types - they were in my overflow pile)... $100.69? Good to go!

Oh, hey.... I have a few more $1's in my pocket, give me the rest of that stack of tiny types, I want some too.

It was a good haul! I got home and went through things, rearranged buttons and flowers, and discovered I really need a new system for my flowers and buttons!!!

I've got to put my thinking cap on for that....