Ordering.

(Papers: October Afternoon; Chipboard: Basic Grey, Maya Road, American Crafts;
Punches: Fiskars, EK Success, Martha Stewart; Markers: Copic (for chipboard)
Flowers: Creative Imaginations, Prima (cut to be a clover for March);
Font: 1942 Report; Tools: Bind It All, Crop A Dile)

I have had a very productive week. And when I say "productive," I mean I got some projects done, caught up on my Jenni Bowlin class at BPS, AND... perhaps the most exciting thing...

I uploaded and ordered 350 photos on Shutterfly!! WOOHOO! (That includes some 5x7s and 8x10s for gifts.)

And the best part?!

ALL those photos were only $33... including shipping!! I combined FOUR coupons I had. 150 free photos and free shipping. YUMMY! :D I can't wait! I NEED some more photos to scrap. :)

So... the project I did yesterday. The one above?! (You can click to enlarge photos.) It's a birthday and event calendar. And I've been wanting to do this for like... umm... a year now?! And I finally was just like, "Dang it! Enough already! I'm getting this DONE!" And I did! All in ONE day! Woohoo. :) And it makes me SO happy hanging in my scrap room. Ahhhh. :) I'm not done filling in all the birthdays/events. I'll probably just do that as the year goes on. :)

Okay, I've got to get ready for work. I'm leaving in 40 minutes, and I'm not dressed in appropriate attire. ;-)

Clipping.

I altered this box for my niece, Mairen. Cute, yes?!

I absolutely HATE these alpha stickers (they were free with purchase one day at Archiver's). HATE them! LOL. I'm sorry... I do. Not sure why. I see them on lots of pages, so I know they're loved out there, but for some strange reason, they bug me.

But... they look SO cute on this box with these Basic Grey chip stickers! So... I'm glad I had them in my stash.

Now... for the quick story behind said box.

My sister, Shaina, decided to ask her daughters about their favorite hobbies and/or sports. This is how the conversation went...

Shaina: "Girls, I want to ask you about your favorite hobbies and sports! Alaura, what hobby or sport do you like best?"

Alaura (age 7.5): "Art! Definitely art! I love art!"

Shaina: "Awesome! And Brenna, what's your favorite?"

Brenna (age 7.5): "Umm... running! And... swimming! Oh! And basketball! I love all those!"

Shaina: "All good sports! And Mairen, what is *your* favorite hobby or sport?!"

Mairen (age 4.5): "Collecting dirty toenails!!!"

Apparently she said this quite emphatically. I laughed SO hard when I heard this. My sister says she goes around the house picking up toenail clippings, and she puts them in one of her drawers. I asked my sister if she had a box in which to keep them, and it turns out, she doesn't. And of course...

... being me... working at The Container Store and all, I suggested I get her one. And do you know what my sister said?!

"Reyanna! Don't encourage this! It's gross!"

Tee hee. But being the cool and fun aunt that I am.... * insert devilish laugh here * ... I marched my butt over to The Container Store to find her a small box for said toenails. And I altered it for her using yellow, black and green... her favorite colors. :D The box is big enough for her to also store nail clippers and even nail polish should she so choose. :)

Mairen LOVES it. :D

My sister hopes it turns more into a pedicure kit... LOL. We shall see...

Practicing.

I used to not like mini albums so much. I guess I just needed some practice.

So... I practiced. And I practiced. And I took a class from Kelly. And I practiced some more.

Now... I LOVE them! They are just so fun! I finished this mini (you can click on it to enlarge it) in 3.5 hours one night. It was a true mini album in an evening, and that rocks my socks off. :)

I'll be giving this mini to my niece, Mairen (Mary Beth). I took these photos of them at their first trip to the ocean in Narragansett, Rhode Island. I ended up taking lots more photos of Mairen than I did of the Twinkies (Alaura and Brenna). It wasn't on purpose... it's just that Mairen had to stay closer to us because she was so young. Ah well. I'll have to make minis for her two sisters now! :D

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics. Papers and stamps: Upsy Daisy Designs. Border punch (threading water): Fiskars. Scallop punch: EK Success. Thickers: American Crafts. Mini alpha stickers: Making Memories. Buttlerfly punches: Martha Stewart. Binding machine: Zutter Bind-It-All.

Man, I just can't get *enough* of those Martha punches. And that journaling stamp from Upsy Daisy is AWESOME! :D

Starting.

I REALLY want to scrap my wedding photos. In 2002 (when we got married), I took all the photos and put them in a simple red, embossed-leather, photo album. It was so nice to have them all there to look at.

Then I started paper-scrapping them (my VERY first page is my family on our wedding day), but realized that I wanted a bit more skill before I tackled the whole project. I do have about five wedding layouts completed...

So I honed my scrapping skills and felt like I was ready to take it on.

But THEN... my sister suggested I do a wedding album in 8x8 instead of 12x12 or 8.5x11. Her reasoning was the compact size gave the feeling of an intimate wedding, a cozy feeling. That made sense to me.... considering our "modern elopement" with a guest list of about 20.

Easy enough. I can do that.

But THEN, I started thinking about what kind of look I wanted it to have, and my brain keeps picturing a *digital* scrapbook. *sigh*

I'm not a digi scrapper. Sure, I've done ONE page. Sure, it was fun. But whereas doing my wedding album should be enjoyable, I'm thinking that if *I* try to do this digi project by myself, I will end up very frustrated. I've already tried to do a page, and it's not happening.

So... I did what I *know* I can do. I edited a few photos. LOL. This one is one of my favorites I did today. At least I have *something* to show for my hours and hours of research and work on this project.

And I've decided...

... since hubby is a digi scrapper, this will be a joint effort. He'll sit at my Mac, and I'll sit next to him. I'll give him sketches and ideas, and he'll pull together the images, papers and elements... working his PhotoShop magic as I sit there and critique (and direct...). :) And I know he'll come up with his own brilliant ideas.

That's the plan. He, on the other hand, doesn't know about this venture. Not only does he work 50 hours a week right now, but he has extra paper-work to do at home, PLUS he's taking two classes (including Calculus) at the local community college right now. *sigh*

Wish me luck... :-D

Hurting.

I'm SO accident prone! Seriously. You know, I *try* to be safe. I *try* to be conscious of things that I can fall *into* or... or... things that can fall *on* me. ;-) But it doesn't matter! They just... *find* me.

And without the flash, so you can see the blue! :-D

Today, as I was coming into work... like... before I even *clocked in*, I got injured. LOL. You know those automatic doors? The huge, heavy metal ones that are at stores? Well, today, I accidentally knocked it off the track. (Oops!) My boss watched me do it, and she laughed at me. :-p

Then she was like, "It's okay, Reyanna, no big deal... just pull it HARD back onto the track."

"Hard." I know that word. What that means to me?! Use all the strength I can muster. Problem with my strength is... I've got lots of it from doing these:


And therefore, pulling "hard" caused the door to not only go back on track, but to go *through* the track, and off again toward me. Tee hee. My boss laughed again, and then said I had to then go get a ladder to put it back at the TOP of the door. Sheesh.

So... I go get a ladder (and a friend to help me). She pushed one way, I pushed another, and we got it back on the track, but my hand was in the way as the track met the door. Really, there was NO way to get those doors back together without my hand being there. I should have thought to put some gloves on, but I didn't.

My poor hand got smashed. I've never had a black and blue goose-egg on the palm of my hand. Pretty cool, yes?! I wish this photo showed that it's twice the size of the other hand. LOL. Ah well. You get the picture. War wounds from The Container Store. Organizing is dangerous business, y'all! ;-)

And to cheer myself up, I made marshmallow brownies when I got home. Yummm-mmmy! I'd never made them before; never eaten them before, but boy, are they tasty!


My hand feels SO much better now that I have brownies in my tummy. :-D

Cleaning.

I had quite a big shock this morning.

*I* own a lipstick!

*gasp*

Oh, wait, let me start from the beginning...

So... this morning I woke up, and I really had this urge to clean and organize. Okay, that's most mornings (and evenings) but often my urge to scrapbook (or eat) overpowers the urge to clean and organize.

And really, my house is already fairly clean and organized, but I knew my bathroom could probably use some going through and cleaning and throwing out of old products. And *that* would give me a great opportunity to put drawer liner in my drawers! Yay! :D

(Now, don't get all judgmental ;-)... usually putting drawer liner in my drawers does *not* excite me. As a matter of fact, I've never done it! But all the containers are sliding around in my drawer, and it's driving me bonkers!)

I'm taking things out of my containers, and I notice a lipstick. I'm like, "Huh. How'd that get in here?!" I opened it up, and it's a rather pretty shade of pink. I decide to put it on. I put on the lipstick, and then I run to the kitchen to get my MAC lip gloss. (I don't EVER wear lip-gloss, so I thought that if *perhaps* I put it in a dish in the kitchen, I'd see it as I was walking out the door and grab it. That hasn't happened yet. LOL. And truth be told, I don't like MAC lip gloss. Too sticky for me.)

Anywho... I get the lip-gloss, and I put it over my lipstick, and I run into the bedroom, where my husband is *just* waking up, and I jump on the bed.

Me: "LOOK!!! I'm wearing lipstick! I OWN lipstick!!!"

Jeremy: "Uhhh.... it's.... different."

Me: "Do you like it?!"

Jeremy: *grin* "It's... different.

Me: "But do you LIKE it?!"

Jeremy: "It's just... different. I like you without lipstick or lipgloss. I just like your regular lips!"

Me: "Jeremy, this lipstick is like... the EXACT color of my lips! Seriously! Wait... let me show you!"

So then I run back into the bathroom, and I take the lipstick and lip-gloss off JUST the top lip. Then I re-apply the lip-gloss and run back into the bedroom and smile.

Me: "See the difference?"

Jeremy: "See! I like that! Maybe the lipstick just looked weird because you're not wearing any other makeup."

Me: "Jeremy, I have lipstick on my bottom lip, but not my top."

Jeremy: "Ohhhhh! I do see a slight difference. The bottom lip is more pink."

Uhh... yeah, attention to detail is not one of his strong suits, but then once I point it out, he's good to go! ;-)

Anywho, I decided to Google this lipstick, and it turns out that it's a $16 tube (on Amazon)!! Now, I *definitely* know I didn't buy it! LOL. So now, I'm almost positive I got it for my birthday. A friend of mine (who's totally into fashion and makeup) got me some makeup for my birthday, and she said, "You never wear makeup because you don't own any, so I thought that if I got you makeup, you'd wear it!"

She got me a cute little compact with three lip shades and four eye shades. Plus this lipstick. I had completely forgotten! LOL.

So anyhow, perhaps I'll wear some lipstick now when I go out places...

p.s. I meant this to be a short post, and it never turns out like that...

"I own lipstick! Wow! Amazing!

"I must have gotten it from a friend. Huh.

"Pretty cool. Now, I can wear some when I go out places..."

See?! How hard was that?

Well, thanks for reading my babbles. And if you got to the end of this post about friggin' lipstick, please let me know, and I'll send you some virtual Pixie Dust! You SO deserve it. :-)

Featuring.

I guess this is my week for features because I just got an email from SEI, and I'm featured on their blog today! Woohoo. :)

Okay, so... I'm taking Jenni Bowlin's class, and it is AWESOME! I have never been so inspired. Remember a few weeks ago when I got a few things at the antique/vintage store?! Well, I got a few frames, and I created this with one of them...

and a closeup of the center...

I used Playground (April) and Jack & Jill (May) kits from Studio Calico. The green chipboard heart is Heidi Grace. I got the vintage red label (on which I wrote "love") and the baker's twine from Jenni Bowlin (included with her class). And I was *stoked* to use this paper from Studio Calico! They, seriously, have the cutest papers ever! I hope hubby doesn't think this is too girly to hang in the living room. He hasn't seen it yet... tee hee.

And this month's Studio Calico kit is so fun! This is my 4th layout so far, and I had a great time with it. You'll never believe this, but... I used *patterned paper* as my background! GAH! Go me. :)

"In Our Yard"...

These photos are of me with my brother (Dack) and sister (Shaina). I'm in the purple overalls. I asked my dad about these photos, and he said, "Well, you know I used to do weddings, and I had a few leftover at the end of a roll, so I told you guys to go outside and pick up leaves, so I could get some cute photos. You all whined and didn't really want to pick up leaves. You liked playing in them though!" LOL. I'm three years old, almost four, in these photos. So cute! :D This page was a lot of fun. I'll have to do some more older photos in the coming days...

Thanks for reading today! Let me know you were here. :-)

Telemarketing.

You know... I don't understand telemarketers these days...

T: "Hi, is this the Rumplestiltskin residence? I'm calling from Sears... about your washing machine!"

Me: "Nope, sorry. Nobody here by that name. Perhaps you have the wrong number. Or perhaps you have the *correct* number, but they just don't have this number anymore." (I pretty much say this EVERY, SINGLE call I get.)

T: "I'm looking for John... John Rumplestiltskin."

Me (maybe if I try it slower...): "No..... I'm..... Sorry.... You.... Have.... The.... Wrong.... Number."

T: "Do you live at Monkey Lane?!"


Me: "Nope, sorry. Whoever you are looking for is Not.At.This.Number."

T: "OHHHH! Sorry."

<<<>>>

I don't like to be rude. And I don't want to be rude. To my knowledge, I'm not saying this in a rude tone. But seriously?! How many different ways are there to say that? I used to say, "Nope, sorry! Wrong number!" And hang up. But then they'd call back ten seconds later. Because technically they *have* the right number, it's just not the person *they* want. *Should* I be rude?! Ack.

OH!

Once I got this other call, and they were like...

T: "Is Mr. or Mrs. Joe Tenderness there?"

Me: "Umm... no... nobody here by that name."

T: "Well, then let me tell YOU about this great offer to win a trip to the Bahamas! What's your name?!"

Me: "Ummm... no. I gotta go. My.... errr.... kids... are... getting into my patterned paper stash... :-)

<<<>>>

Of course these names are made up. Nobody really called and asked for *these* people. But I did have a customer today at The Container Store who lived at Monkey Lane. Tee hee. So I thought I'd throw that in here. :-p

When my cousin was in a fraternity, they had a contest to see who could keep telemarketers on the phone... the *longest* just by talking to them and asking them ridiculous questions...

T: "We have some great deals with your phone company right now. And we'd love to give you a service of 10 cents a minute per call!"

X: "You want to GIVE me 10 cents for each call I make! That sounds AWESOME!"

Tee hee... stuff like that. That *does* sounds like fun... but I think I have better things to do than talk to telemarketers...

You know... like *blogging* about telemarketers... ;-)

Ooooh! And I was asked to participate in a Studio Calico challenge, and my page went up yesterday on their blog. This layout was so much fun! :)


I liked the painting. :-)

Wordling.

Today, I made this... :-)

and this...



They're both the same words, but in different orientations. And I printed out the 2nd one, and I framed it for our room. :D

EEEEE! I get so excited about stuff like this. :)

Gasping.

So, just like every Monday, I woke up yesterday morning and called my dad. My mom and dad have Mondays off, so it's great that I get to have a conversation with them for longer than 15 minutes. :) Mom was already gone doing errands, but Dad and I got to chat for a while.

And then...

... a knock on the door...

Me: "Dad! I have to go!! The man in the brown shorts JUST dropped off my kit! It's now sitting at my front door. EEEEEEEE!"

Dad: "What? What do you mean?"

Me: "Studio Calico, Dad! It's my favorite day of the month. My kit has been delivered!"

Dad: "Oh, right. Studio Calico. It's like a club or something."

Me: "Yup! A kit club! And this month, I got the main kit AND two add-ons... as a birthday gift to myself. And if you stay on the phone with me, you will probably be ignored while I look through it." *insert crazy-big gasp here*

Dad: "What?! What's wrong?! Did they forget something?!"

Me: "No, I just didn't expect my Melissa Frances stuff and Bingo album to be sitting on top, and they're SO awesome! I have to go!!"

Dad: "Oh, okay. Have fun!"

Me: "Oh, I will! Believe me... I WILL!"

And I was right. :D I scrapped the day away...

This is the first layout I did. My niece, Mairen Elizabeth. I gave her the nickname, Mary Beth, and my sister HATES it. Of course, that just makes me use it more. LOL. My sister took this photo of her daughter though. How cute is she?! GAH! She's adorable. :D

(patterned papers, rub-ons: Basic Grey; alphas: Sassafras)

Then I decided to get all crazy with the Sassy papers. Don't you *have* to get all crazy with Sassy papers?! It's like... a law. I should challenge myself to do a SUPER clean and simple layout with Sass... just to see if I could do it. Anyway, this one was fun. I used a Maya Road circle as my template...

(patterned papers: Sassafras, Basic Grey [just the punched flower];
chip flower: Maya Road; brad: American Crafts; alphas and brackets: Sassafras;
mini alphas/center die-cut circle: Making Memories)

Had to do one more layout for the day. Decided to do a clean and simple one. I really had fun with this one... probably because it took about 15-20 minutes. LOL.

(patterned papers/journaling card: Studio Calico; chip shape and brad: Maya Road; rub-on: Lily Bee)

This photo of Jeremy and me with our friend Laura and our RI landlords... so fun! They are CRAZY! See, look at their eyes! ;-) They are so much fun and so silly. I miss them SO much. I had lots to say about them. I love journaling. :D

I'm sure I'll do more layouts of them because they were really our honorary parents while we lived in RI. They took such great care of us. They made me GF food ALL the time. Cakes, pies, cookies, cakes, more cakes... :D Mmm... I miss them even more now. LOL.

Well, those are my layouts for yesterday. Hopefully, I'll get to scrap some more after work today...

*gasp*

I love scrapbooking. So much.

Finishing.

Well, first off, this is my 100th post! YAY me!! I meant to have a blog-birthday celebration on March 5th... my blog turned SEVEN years old! WOOHOO! Well, okay, *this* blog didn't turn seven years old, but it marked seven years of me blogging. I started on Diaryland, then I had a blog on LiveJournal, MySpace, Scrapbook.com, and then here. :-)

I must say though... I do like Blogger best. :-D But can you believe it?! SEVEN years of blogging? That's crazy to me. Maybe if I get bored next week, I'll post some of my first blog posts. They were pretty funny. I was in college, so they were silly. :-p

Anywho... I finished my 6x6 mini album! YAHOO! It ended up being super-easy to put together at the end, and it did get easier to do pages as I went on. Phew.

So... here it is. :) This is the back cover and front cover...


Then the first page about how much I LOVE Friends. :D

And, of course, a page about handstands. :D (Which was actually added at the end of my page-making because I made a mistake and punched the Friends page wrong. Oops! :-p It worked out. I needed handstands in there.) Then a page about scrapbooking...

My next two favorite things: Studio Calico and my camera (and I was SO excited to use that film strip transparency I got at CKC 2007. I NEVER thought I'd use that, but I still kept it around. See, people, it pays to hoard! ;-) )...

These are two of my favorite pages (design-wise): The Container Store and the Internet. :-)

Oh, and I had SO much fun putting this yellow/silver page together. It's about my most beautiful bag. :) I also love the page about the ice cream. Yummm... ice cream...

Then Adventure and my super-cool friend, Elizabeth...

Mmm... fruits and veggies. Plus, The Phantom Tollbooth. If you like a fun story, and you enjoy poking fun at the English language (or you're a grammar guru), then you'd like this super-awesome book!

Also, two of my favorite pages. I just really like how they turned out. :-) Dark chocolate and Iced Tea... yummmy. :-D

and... the end. This page was SUPER fun to make! LOL. See the parentheses?! I traced chipboard pieces, and then colored them in with my Copic markers. Ohmigosh, those Copic markers! I wish I could color with them all day! They are SO nice. :-)

And that's all. :-) I've decided to do a 6x6 mini every month.... with a different topic each month, but using that month's Studio Calico kit. Should be fun. :D

Reverting.

*sigh*

Okay, so I love scrapbooking, but sometimes I try new things... like adding more to a page or doing the whole "collagey" thing and forgoing my "I LOVE WHITE SPACE" motto. And you know what ends up happening?! I *don't* like it! Ugh. I'm just... not good at it. LOL.

So... I got a Bind-it-All for my birthday. WOOHOO! Well, actually, I got *money* for my birthday, and then quickly went to Archiver's to spend it on said Bind-it-All, but I got it *on* my birthday, and that makes it doubly special! YESS!!!

And I decided to make a mini album (with each page being a different patterned paper from Studio Calico's July kit). But you know what?! It's SO hard! It's taking SO long! Well, I *am* doing a 16-page 6x6, so really, that's a bit bigger than your average "mini." Last night, I did like... six pages, and I got burnt out. And I was like, "GAH! I need to just... go back to my roots... simple, simple pages, white cardstock, and have some instant gratification here."

So I made this...

(Blech, that's a bad photo. I need to wait until the sun is shining on my patio, so I can get a better one...)

You know that episode of Friends where Joey and Chandler both sit in their chairs together (right after they move into Monica and Rachel's apartment?!), and they let out these huge sighs of relief as they recline?! Well, *that's* how I felt after I did this layout.

*sigh* Ahhhhh... mmm... feels good.

And *that* felt so good, that I had to do more, so then I made this...


Finished that one this morning. *insert another big sigh here*

You know who inspires me *so* much?! Jody Wenke. Holy cow, she's amazing! Her layouts make me feel SO good. And I just stare at them and sigh, and then she inspires me to go back to my clean and simple roots and scrap like that too. Mmmm.... yummy... white space... ahhhh. :)

So, thank you, Jody! Thank you OH-SO much! I'm loving you more than ever today. :)

Wishing.

Twenty-eight years ago today, this super-cute boy...

... Jeremy was born. Actually, he was a very funny-looking baby (well... he was, and if I had photos of him as a baby, I'd show them!), but it's okay... he got MUCH cuter as he got older. ;-) He's five in the above photo. Too cute, right?!

Nine hours after *that* cutie was born, *this* cutie (umm... me, Reyanna. I can say I was cute, right?!) was born...


And she grew up a little bit, and was the cutest little beach-baby-toe-head out there...


And then when they got older, they met, and she fell in love. Then they parted ways. Then they met again, and he fell in love. And then after some convincing, she fell in love again. Then they got hitched.

And now... six and a half years later, we turn 28 together.

A bit about Jeremy at 28...

Jeremy is a man of simple pleasures. Silliness. Fun. Reading. Learning. Food. His dog (Amber). Sleeping. Me. More sleeping. And... some sleeping. And perhaps more of me... :D

In Jeremy's spare time, he likes to take photos of himself making funny faces:

I LOVE that he makes me laugh... every single day. I'll just be sitting at my computer, and I just *know* that right behind me he's doing a silly dance... waiting for me to turn around, so he can see me laugh with him. Awww... I love that. :)

Jeremy used to play golf *a lot*, but he hasn't since we moved to Texas. This next photo was taken on a work trip before he became obsessed with golfing. I remember him complaining about being forced on this work golf-outing... because he *hated* golf. Umm... yeah... I don't know about you, but when I *hate* something, I don't make faces like this...


And after a long day of golfing... or working... or... umm... sitting around the house doing a bunch of nothing, he likes to sleep...

His new phrase? Said in a VERY slow and drawn out, drunken with exhaustion voice, "I'm unusually tired..." It's not so unusual anymore, but now it's just funny. :) Whenever my dad calls, and I tell him Jeremy is sleeping, my dad asks, "Oh! Is he unusually tired?!" Gah. Too funny.

Anyway, when he wakes up, he likes to eat. He's really not a picky eater *at all*. I got so lucky. I get smiles and funny faces no matter what I make...


Another favorite of Jeremy's is cuddling with *his* dog, Amber. Six years ago, we only planned on Ruby. But after a few weeks, Jeremy begged me for his *own* dog to "love and cuddle." Funny how Amber (he chose her name) really did become *his*, and Ruby became *mine*. :-)



I love watching them together. She adores him.

You know who else adores him?


Me!!!

We have so much fun together. I think we hug and kiss more in one day (every day) than I could possibly count. He kisses me goodbye (while I'm still in bed...) every morning. The first thing he does when he walks in the door (you know, *after* hugging Amber, who has a panic attack if he doesn't get to her first...) is give me a big hug. And then he says, "Mmmm... you are so good to hug and love and kiss and squeeze!"

Well, Jeremy, *you* are so good to hug and love and kiss and squeeze! Thank you so much for being you. I love you so much! Happy Birthday, My Mister! :D

Aging.

Today, I am the exact age my mom was when she had me. I was born five days before her 28th birthday. And on July 30th, I'll be 28. This photo of her and my grandfather was taken the night before she had me. :)

For some reason, knowing this made me very emotional this week. I really did think I'd have children by now, and the fact that I don't... it's just... I don't know... makes me feel down sometimes.

My mom says she wanted a baby more than anything in the whole world. She always knew she wanted to be a mom. They named me on their wedding day, and her due date was nine months... to the day... from their wedding day. Of course, I was born eleven days late, but still... they planned.

She says she knew before she was pregnant that I would be a girl. They had no boys name picked out. They knew I would be Reyanna Joy.

I love looking at photos of my mom and me when I was a baby. The look on her face... it's pure joy.

And I love that. She really has been the best mom. The best mom EVER. I couldn't ask for better. I really hope I can be as good of a mom as she has been.

It's strange... even though I'll be 28, I don't *feel* that old. I look at my mom's face in this photo, and it's *really* hard to comprehend that she's *my* age. I still feel 18. I see wisdom and knowledge and maturity in her face. I don't see those things when I look in the mirror.

Perhaps after I have children, I'll feel differently. I keep saying, "When I'm 24, I'll feel like an adult." "When I'm 25, I'll feel like an adult." And now... I can say I'm "almost thirty," and I still don't feel like a "grown-up." What *is* that?!?!

Age is relative though, so I suppose it makes sense. People older than I am... they always say to me, "You're so young!" or "You're still young!" And now I say to them, "Hey! This is the oldest I've ever been!"

Well, it's true. ;-)

So maybe next year around this time... I can say that I'll be becoming a mom soon. And then 30 years from now, my daughter will write something similar in her blog...

Antiquing.

So... I'm taking Jenni Bowlin's class: Re-Purpose, Re-Think, Re-Invent over at Big Picture Scrapbooking. I chose this class because I wanted to be inspired. I didn't really have any expectations though. I didn't have ANY idea that I'd learn what gets me inspired... and then have tools to get inspired in the future.

I've never been so inspired! I couldn't sleep last night because I was so excited to create! I couldn't wait for this morning to get here, so I could see what was in store for the 4th week. This last week, Jenni encouraged us to go to a flea market. Fun!

Went to an awesome little vintage/antique store yesterday. I LOVE this place. She has WAY too much stuff for her space, and it's just literally in piles and on shelves and drawers. It's CRAZY! I feel like I'm in someone's garage! LOL. It's super fun to look through though. I was there for about an hour and a half yesterday. Phew.

I found some great things though, and I got some great prices. :D

The little tiered stand, I've already painted an antique white. I'll be hanging ribbon from it. :) Those two frames... I can't wait to alter. That bird cage will be painted black or antique white. Can't decide right now. The journal/book will be re-purposed (I've already removed the innards... ;) ). And that vintage *large* spool of string is just so cool. :)

I really enjoyed going through all the fabric and linens. Found the *cutest* blue gingham apron. Can't wait to wear it! :) Here are all the linens/fabric I got (inside a black silverware chest I got as well...)
The table runner (right above the apron) I would like to make into an apron. We'll see how that goes... LOL. Some of the prints are inspiration for my husband, who is making some digi kits.

In this lot is also a German Army hat. I can't believe how cheap it was. I was expecting to pay about $30. I think it was only $2 or $3 though. She didn't really tell me how much *everything* individually was (just a few things I asked about). She just gave me one price for the lot. A "packaged deal" she calls it. ;-)

Next I found lots of paper ephemera. Postcards, greeting cards, report cards (SO cool! Hubby will probably scan those and use those as digi elements too). A couple photos in here, which I LOVE. A goat kissing a dog, while another dog looks on. I'll have to make something with it soon, so you can see! ;-)

Also in this lot is a first aid wheel. Has anyone seen one of those? This wheel turns, and in one window you can see the diagnosis, and in another window, you can see the symptoms and treatment. For some reason, I find it really funny. Things like drowning, electric shock and internal bleeding. For things this serious, wouldn't you just call a doctor?! Or take one to the ER?! Hmm... maybe it was different back then... ;-) I'd never seen anything like it, so I had to get it.

Hopefully, I'll have projects using these items soon... ;-)