Re-doing.

Okay, so... I may be a *little* obsessed with organization. A little.

I re-did my scrap room. Again.

But this time, I'm pretty sure it will stay. I LOVE it. The one before was nice and all, but it wasn't colorful enough, and I wasn't as inspired as I am now. And that's what's important.

I posted a bunch of photos on Flickr, and I have descriptions of every photo. I really tried to be as descriptive as possible. And that was fun. :) Photos are actually not that great. I REALLY need to learn how to use my hubby's Rebel. Sheesh. Or maybe I'll just have him take some better photos when he gets home! LOL.

Re-capping.

Warning: This post is picture HEAVY DUTY. Not just heavy. No ma'am. No sir.

So I spent my 4th of July weekend here (well, the view from my parents' front yard in Pagosa Springs, Colorado):

... visiting my parents at their bakery:

And we visited Jeremy's mom and step-dad in Albuquerque:

And *of course*, I had to take a handstand photo at Camel Rock on the way back to Austin...

Can you believe I lived in Colorado for lots of years and even in New Mexico for a few months, and I didn't have a handstand photo in NM?! WEIRD! I thought this one was pretty cool. My toe really is pointed too... these are just weird shoes. :-p

Our trip was eight days long. Not nearly long enough, considering almost four of those we spent driving. Ah well. At least we got to go! We also were able to attend our 10 year high school reunion...

Not a great photo, but how do you get 100 people in a photo without it looking crazy?! LOL. This was the photo of our class WITH significant others. :) We're about 3rd/4th from the right. It was pretty fun. Well, *I* had fun. Jeremy is not a fan of large social gatherings. He amuses himself in other ways...

At the time, I didn't even *notice* his size 11 shoe next to my head. This is the first time I'm seeing this photo. I'm sure I was telling a story in this photo. Not sure what story. It looks like I'm talking about guns. Or the sky. It looks as if I might be scrunching up my nose, so I could be telling a story about how I don't like olives and mushrooms. But I don't remember telling a story like that. Or guns or the sky, for that matter...

We were able to attend the parade in Pagosa, but I didn't take photos. Not sure why. Hmm. I did take photos of my friends and I *during* the parade though! HA! That counts!

I didn't crop the top of this photo because seeing photos of downtown Pagosa makes me happy. :) So in this photo? Happiness abounds. :D Julia (on the left) was one of my best friends in high school... and still one of my best friends to this day. She was on my gymnastics team in high school too.

And Jen (on the right) was our coach (and boss when I worked there). She started coaching there in 1996, and she is THE BEST. She taught me pretty much everything I know about gymnastics (and handstands... though I could always whip her behind at those ;-) )! We became *so* close, and I love that whenever we talk, it's like we haven't been apart. To spend this day with them was awesome. They are two of my very favorite people in the whole world.

Which is why... it made this even sadder...

*sigh* Jen retired. After 25 years of coaching gymnastics (yeah, that woman is FORTY! Can you believe that?! Yeah, she's HOT! Tee hee), she closed the gym and is taking up animal communication. I'm happy for her, but sad at the same time. Very bittersweet.

So after we cried over the gym and took home some trophies (much to Jeremy's chagrin...), we set off fireworks in my dad's front yard. And when I say "we," I mean my dad... because I cowered inside on the couch... afraid we were going to get caught. Tee hee.

The dogs (my dad's dog Bailey, and our pup Ruby [we left Amber at home with friends]) did NOT like the fireworks. Bailey went to hide...


... in the bathtub. LOL. She knocked over all kinds of stuff on her way in there! And Ruby doesn't like the bathtub, so she just shivered closeby...

They were in there the WHOLE night! And that was fine. We put a water bowl in there and a bed. They seemed happy as they could be as they shivered uncontrollably.

Then we went to our friends' house, and I took photos of Libby writing her name with sparklers...


I can't believe I caught this "L"!! SO COOl. :D My Canon has a fireworks setting, and that's what I used. How crazy is that?! I just found out on this trip. LOL. Perfect timing.

And that's it. Hope you enjoyed the re-cap. Now to start scrapping the photos...

Scrapping.

I'm pretty sure scrapboooking is one of my favorite things to do. It just makes me so happy. :)

So I got the June Studio Calico kit, and I did this layout right away...


Older photos of my niece, Brenna (taken by Jeremy), that I've been really wanting to scrap. I can't believe how much she's grown. These photos are almost THREE years old. I just can't believe it.

Joy Madison and Stephanie Howell of the Studio Calico design team really inspired me here. Joy inspired me to do the scallops over the photos. And Steph inspired me to do my journaling over spots. :) I love scrapping my handstands. :) All products are from the May and June SC kits...


And I've already scrapped this story of Alaura and me, but I didn't really like the layout, so I thought I'd re-do it. :) Got these SEI papers at Winter CHA this year, and I was so excited to use them. :) I added white AC Thickers... of course. :) Ooh! And I love the mini alphas by Making Memories...


Can't wait to scrap some more with this June kit. It's so awesome. :)

Planning.

For about three months, I've been planning a trip home to Colorado... for my 10-Year High School Reunion.

And the other day, my mom says, "Hey! Did you know that your 10-Year High School Reunion is the SAME weekend you're going to be in Colorado?!"

Tee hee.

I heart my mom.

p.s. She is a *very* bright lady. In her defense, she works NINETY hours a week. (No, I'm not exaggerating.) Okay... some weeks she may *only* work eighty...

Smiling.

I've been kind of in a slump lately. For the past several weeks. Just feeling very... not myself. It's been strange. But then the other day, when I started scrapping again?! I felt SO good! I guess I forgot how much I love to scrap. Or how much I enjoy it. It was such a nice feeling to realize that I'm in a better mood if I'm sure to do something crafty. Tee hee. Lots of smiles here now. :D

Last night, I finished this layout:



*sigh* I had such a great time doing this layout. For several reasons...

1. My nieces are the most beautiful girls in the world. :)

2. I used up ALL (but one) of my Sassafras chipboard flowers.

3. I used a scalloped square punch to make the photo corners (I just cut it in half; then cut the centers out).

4. I actually used a *colored* background! (go me!)

5. I got to use some Thickers I had not opened yet. :)

6. My nieces are the most beautiful girls in the world. :D

And I can't wait to scrap some more...

Crafting.

Sometimes, I can be a real dork. Soooooometimes... ;)

So... I have these red shoes, right?! Super adorable red mary-janes?! Remember?! Yes. And sometimes when I wear them with a non-red outfit, I need something else red (according to my friends at Studio Calico... and you know, most women...) to "tie" it all together. So I jumped on Etsy to find a cute, red bracelet. Well, I sifted through about a hundred bracelets before I realized something...

Hey! I'm crafty!

Yes, after scrapbooking and altering stuff for about three years, I'm just realizing this.

I could make my *own* bracelet! HA! And it would be free! Well, relatively free. :)

I called my mom to tell her this. I was like, "Hey, Mom! I'm crafty!" And her response in a very cute, I'm-trying-to-be-cool-but-can't-really-pull-it-off voice?! "Ya think?!?!?" That made me giggle.

Anywho, I got to work with some yellow ribbon, some red buttons, a little red flower, embroidery floss and a needle. Oh! And then I picked up some snaps at Michaels. :)


I REALLY love this bracelet. I can't wait to wear it! Yay. :) And my arms are kinda hairy. Sorry about that.

And posting this reminds me of something else crafty that I did recently...


I have my oven mitts (because they're cute) and my apron (because it's this one ... the cutest apron EVER) hanging on the wall in the kitchen. This red oven mitt was boring, so I sewed on a felt flower (from American Crafts) with blue embroidery floss. Much cuter now! I'll try to take a photo of that whole wall sometime, but it's really hard because the fridge is in the way. LOL. And I'm not sure why you'd want to see a photo of my kitchen wall...

And after I was all happy after realizing that I'm crafty, I also realized that I haven't scrapped since May 4th! FOURTEEN DAYS! So yesterday, I did two layouts and started a third. Here are the last three layouts I did:

[removed for publication]

This shopping trip happened TWO years ago, and I've been wanting to scrap it since then. But I didn't feel inspired until now. :) I really love how it turned out. I should have taken a picture of it in better lighting. Yuck!

And then this layout I did about this cRaZy house we saw in Newport, Rhode Island. Seriously, who needs 19 ladders?! They only had 3 or 4 dudes working. Laaaa-zzzy! And this cool-awesome-neato-wow paper from Studio Calico?! Perfect for this photo! I was so excited when it arrived on my doorstep. (My friend Michelle came up with the title for this layout...)


It's been a while since I've loved a layout I've done. Like... LOVED a layout. As in... finished it and said to myself, "I LOVE THIS!" That's rare for me. So imagine my surprise, when I finished this next layout in about an hour and then said to myself, "I LOVE THIS!" It doesn't hurt that my hubby's cutey face is staring back at me.

I love that I ventured from my go-to white cardstock. Black! Me! Yay! And... I don't like chipboard much. I don't like stickers much either. So it surprised my socks off when I did this entire layout with stickers and chipboard stickers (all Sassafras except the letter stickers, which are Heidi Swapp)! LOL. I'm growing, I think... LOL.


That is all for today. Lots of photos.

And I think I may be becoming crafty...

Introducing.

Last July, a cat appeared at our building. She was so sweet, purring and rubbing up against me and the puppies. She took a liking to them RIGHT away. Following them around, trying to cuddle them on our walks. Very sweet. The puppies loved it... at first. LOL. Then they were like, "Whoa, Kitty! Back off! I'm trying to pee here!" They snapped at her a few times when she didn't let up.

And she did.not.care. At all. She still followed us EVERYwhere. If she wasn't outside when we came out for a walk, she'd find us. And she'd follow us on our walk (again, brushing up along side of them while they tried to do their business). If she didn't like the route we were taking home, she'd go a different way and meet us back at the stairs.

A few months ago, she started following us *all* the way up to the 3rd floor. So... we let her in. Then we started feeding her and loving her. Hey, she loves us! And she's cute! And sweet! And hungry! And, and, and...





She doesn't have a family. So she adopted us. And we call her Kissa (which is Swedish for "cat"). I so enjoy having her in our home. She doesn't sleep overnight, and that's fine with me (and my asthma... tee hee). And when we move, I'm pretty sure we'll take her with us. :)

Flowering.

I would love to buy fresh flowers every day. They're just so... lovely. :)

I saw these at the grocery store tonight... for only $3.33... how could I pass them up?!

I heart flowers. :)

Reading.

Mairen (my sister's youngest) talked pretty late, but then she started reciting her alphabet at three. At age 3 1/2, she was sounding out letters and learning her sight words.

And now, at age 4, she's reading:



She is in Pre-School, but they're not teaching this at her school. My sister works with her at home.

Gosh, she's just the cutest. :)

Beautifying.

No. Way.

Seriously?!

No way.

There is NO way that is my sister and my 7-year-old nieces. *sigh*

I think every time I see photos of them I'm in shock and awe that they're my family. They are just SO gorgeous! Just gorgeous!

And Alaura? (on the right) She looks like she's about twelve. Not seven. LOL. Brenna has that cute haircut... that really keeps her around age seven. But really, Alaura has this smoldering thing going on. LOL. I can't get over it.

Shaina took them out to get *fancy* dresses (she fixed them to fit) and surprised them with tickets to see Taylor Swift. Apparently, they screamed and screamed... they just couldn't believe it. She has it on video. As soon as I teach her how to upload videos to YouTube, I'll post it here. Tee hee.

So they got all dressed up and headed out. They returned at midnight. They had a *fabulous* time. I can't believe how fast time is going.

Weren't they *just* babies?! Didn't I *just* see them for the first time seven short years ago?! I just can't get over it. And my sister... I knew she'd be a great mom. But I never really realized *how* good she'd be. She's amazing. Those girls are amazing. Her other daugther, Mairen? Amazing.

I'm so blessed.

Lounging.

Six years ago today, I got an email from Karen at Glory Ridge. Rosey and Reilly had puppies. (Well, Rosey had the puppies. Reilly just helped out at the beginning... ;)

We had planned on getting ONE puppy. ONE Shih-Tzu puppy... that was red and white and to be named Ruby. That was our plan.

So after much oohing and awwing over the six pups, we chose puppy #3. And she was Ruby. Right then and there. She would have been Ruby Tuesday, but she wasn't born on a Tuesday... so Ruby Monday she became. :)

We got updated with weekly photos. And at two weeks of age, one of the puppies was unclaimed. Puppy #6. There was nothing *wrong* with Puppy #6. She was cute enough... as a 2-week-old puppy could be. And NONE of Karen's puppies go unclaimed. They ALL get adopted by nine weeks of age. But most of them are snatched up the day they're born.

Jeremy took this as a sign. He whined and whined. Arguing that *he* needed a puppy too... so we could *each* have a puppy to love and cuddle. It wouldn't be fair to Ruby to not have a sister, to not have a playmate.

We debated that if we paid for Puppy #6 in full (we were making payments for Ruby over a 2-month period), we would get quite a discount and could then afford two puppies. *sigh* We just fell in love with her. We had to adopt her too. I told Jeremy to choose a name that was also a jewel or gemstone. I thought of Golden, but he came up with Amber, and it was perfect. :)

They arrived on July 13th... I think. LOL. Pretty sure. Amber was so timid... like a little lamb. And we had Amber Lamb put on her papers. :) I call her Lamb just as much as I call her Amber. Or Amber Lamber... or Lammie. Or Jeremy calls her Lamberto (said with thick Spanish accent)... LOL. We call her Nubbers and Ammie Lammie and Amber Bamber.

And Ruby is Roobs. Or Ruby Booby. Booby. Boobs (yeah, I know... we're weird). Bubs. Bubbers. Boobahs.

They both get called Ninja. "Come on, Ninjas! Let's go outside!"

We had photos of them EVERY week for the first two months of their lives. Then when they came home to us, we took LOTS of photos (of course). *sigh* Unfortunately, all photos from the first year of their lives were lost in our move from California to Rhode Island. The hard-drive fried.

That "fall into love" photo up at the top?! I took the photo, and the breeder inserted the leaves and title. And that used to be on her homepage. That's the *only* photo I have of them as puppies. *sign* So cute. :)

They are the best dogs I've EVER had. They are so wonderful and sweet and fun and beautiful and loving. They're our babies.

So today... Amber Lamb and Ruby Monday are celebrating six years by just lounging about... tee hee...

Amber on our bed... (which I need to make)...

And Ruby on her panda car seat (I took out of the car temporarily)...



Happy Birthday, My Babies!

Digi-Scrapping a Girly Tomboy.

I'm not a digi scrapper. But for some reason, I really got this urge to do a digi-page. So I did. Here it is... (you can click on it to read the journaling)

Customizing.

So... I needed a new purse. I hadn't gotten a new purse in two years. I searched and searched for the perfect purse... *sigh*... to no avail.

And then I headed to Etsy. I think I just typed in "Amy Butler purse," so that I could find the yellow/grey print (in 2nd photo) in *some* type of style. I looked at HUNDREDS of purses. I really wanted a cute style... unique... with personality. And it HAD to be the perfect size... to fit my wallet, day planner, sunglasses, reusable bag and a small water bottle.

I happened upon the store, ChasingElephants. I LOVED the style of the Huckleberry (and loved her other stuff too), so I emailed her to find out if she'd be willing to do a custom order. And she was. :) Yay.

So I had planned on getting ONE purse. One with the grey/yellow Amy Butler fabric, but first I wanted to make sure the purse was the right size and style, so I purchased one (Amy Butler red with white polka-dots) she already had in her shop. It doesn't really "go" with my wardrobe, but it was SO cute, and I figured I could just give it to my sister (who would LOVE it) after I carried it a few times. :)

The purse arrived. Perfect. Perfection. I wanted it a bit thicker, and Stephanie (who is wonderful and sweet and lovely) came through. But while I was looking for fabrics at QuiltHome (to see if perhaps I liked one better than the Amy Butler), I happened upon this gem by Heather Bailey (in 1st photo). *sigh*

It was SO beautiful. And lovely. And soft. And warm. And lovely. And wonderful. And I couldn't decide between the two. So... I figured... hey, they're really not *that* expensive. Three of Stephanie's purses are half the price of ONE Coach purse. LOL.

What price can you put on a homemade, one-of-a-kind, I'm-the-only-person-in-the-world-with this-*exact*-purse purse? Ummm... none. None, I tell you.

And that is the story of how I got the two (okay... three) most beautiful purses in the entire world. :D

Saving.

Happy Earth Day!

My "one word" for the year is *Save.* And I love doing my part to save the planet.

I thought I'd share my favorite earth-saving products and ideas today. :)

1. My first one (and very favorite) is reusable water bottles. I really wish more people would carry them. I cringe when I see 12 and 24 packs of plastic water bottles in the grocery stores. Most of those don't get recycled in the end.

And even if you recycle, you're still saving the earth (and your money) if you buy reusable/non-disposable water bottles. :)

It's... what... like $10 or so for a 24 pack of water bottles these days?! So why not just spend that money on WaterWeek water bottles?

You get five in one pack for $19.99. They even have children sized ones (10 oz.). They're dishwasher safe, and they come in some great colors! (The are actually a MUCH lighter color in real life than the website shows. The photo I have here [also from their website] is more true to color.)

We JUST got these water bottles in at The Container Store the other day (they're not sold at their website as of now), and though I haven't purchased them yet, I will be doing so this week. :) I already have several water bottles in my house, but these WaterWeek ones are 16 oz... perfect to fit in my purse!

I also love Nalgene 32 oz. water bottles. You fill them up twice, and you have your water for the day. There's a water bottle out there for everybody! You should have at least two per person in your household, so you can have an extra while one is washing. :)

2. Re-usable bags. If you don't own at least one of these, you're out of the loop. Seriously. :) I own like... 10-15 of them now. LOL. I love the ones that fold up really small. The 24/7 Reusable Bag is my favorite. The pouch is *attached* to the bag, and it takes like 5 seconds to fold into itself. I carry this one in my purse... always. :)

3. Say "No bag please!" If you're buying only two or three things, and you don't have a reusable bag, just carry the things out to your car. If they're small, you can fit them in your purse (you know... *after* you've paid for them). Most stores ask these days, but some forget. I never ask for bags anymore. I know I have tons in my car if I forgot to bring one into the store. LOL.

4. Turn off the lights in a room when you leave. Even if you're just going to the next room, turn off the light. Doing this a little every day will save lots of energy. :) Also, if it's light outside, you can always open the blinds and curtains, so you can have lights out during the day. :)

5. Turn off your computer monitor when you get up to: go to the bathroom, get a drink of water, get some food, take the dog out to go potty, etc. :) Not only is this good for the environment, but it'll save you money... we've had the SAME LCD computer monitor for five years! The life on them is only supposed to be 2-3 years.

6. Recycle. This is a long-time favorite, and I'm sure most people are sick of hearing about it. LOL. But it really is important to recycle papers, plastics, cans, etc. "If we each do a little... we can do a lot!" ;)

7. Limit your use of sandwich bags. You can try these on Etsy. SO cute! Or just type in "sandwich bag" on Etsy to find lots more from other sellers. :) I have specific plastic containers I use for my hubby's lunches. One size fits TWO sandwiches... perfectly! Try reusable plastic containers for fruit, veggies, nuts, chips, etc. Anything you can put in a Ziploc bag, you can probably put into a reusable container. :)

8. Buy a lunch bag instead of using brown bags. The Gourmet Getaway Tote is a favorite of mine (three new colors JUST came out, and those should be online soon). For something a bit smaller, I LOVE the Cool Keeper from Vera Bradley. :) And they JUST came out with new colors. How cute is that Bali Blue?!


9. Instead of buying something new, try to use something you have on hand... or alter it to change the appearance. I make my own mini-books using 12x12 raw chipboard sheets and a book ring (okay, I showed this yesterday too, but it's still worth mentioning... LOL):

And I really wanted a cute little clay pot in my studio, but I just had this ugly beige one. So... I got out my acrylic paints, and I painted it a nice robin's egg blue! I love it. :) Now, it makes me smile every time I see it.

You can paint just about anything. My sister actually taught me this. I would have never thought to paint a planter's pot! LOL. But she'll paint ANYTHING a new color before buying something new. She even painted the pedestal of their dining room table to give it an updated look! LOL.

I hope some of these ideas were helpful! What are *you* doing to save the planet?!

Burning.

So at noon yesterday, I get a call from my friend Katey. She asks me if I want to come lay out. I don't lay out. I'm just very pale, and I burn SO easily, and laying out is just not something I enjoy.

But I really wanted to hang out with Katey. So I jumped in my car and headed over there.

Before I left the house, I realized I'd need sunscreen, but remembered that I had sent it with Jeremy on his business trip. Ah well. I'll just borrow Katey's...

But Katey's sunscreen?! SPF 4. I should have known right then. I should have remembered back when I was 13, got burnt, and went through the very traumatic experience of being called "Racoon Eyes" for two weeks. I should have set a timer for 20 minutes. I should have worn clothes. Shoulda. Woulda. Coulda.

Notsomuch. When I got home, I was a *bit* pink. Went to work, and they all noticed I was a *bit* pink. They asked to see my tummy... a *bit* pink.

And three hours later?! I almost cried sitting down for my break. My jeans rubbed against my burn, and OH.MY.GOD... that hurt. I rushed into the Ladies' Room to check out the damage.

OH.MY.GOD. I could barely move. I was in SO much pain. I haven't been this burnt since... well, I don't even *remember*! I was limping as I left The Container Store. The manager on duty goes, "Are you limping?! Were you limping earlier?!" Uhh... no. I was not limping earlier. My sun burn HURTS. HURTS SO BAD.

When I got home and got undressed, I almost cried at the vision in the mirror. I look like I let someone PAINT on me!

Aloe, vinegar, cold water, ibuprofen... all my friends right now. :)

There is a silver lining... since Katey and I lost track of time (obviously), we also forgot to "turn" and let the sun also get our backs. So I ONLY have this horrific burn on my front (you know... except for where my bikini was... that's white as Bazzill's white cardstock).

Why is this a silver lining, you ask?! (Not counting how ridiculous I look from the side...) I can lie on my back, and it doesn't hurt at all! So there you go... at least I can lie on my back!

Sitting? Walking? Wearing clothing? Not three of my favorite things today.

I also wanted to share this fun project... :D

[Products used: Studio Calico April kit (Hambly rub-on, Sassafras paper whimsies), Jillibean Soup (papers, alphas, journaling spots), Crop-A-Dile, book ring, staples.]

Craft Critique is celebrating Earth Day, and I made this little project to show how you can recycle and re-use supplies. :) The front and back covers of this book were made from 12x12 chipboard sheets that came in packages of patterned paper or cardstock. :)

This book took me under 30 minutes to complete, and it was a lot of fun. (I ended up giving it to hubby because he really liked it.)

Please leave me some *cool* thoughts... ;-)