Re-capping.

Okay, so I haven't posted in a while, but I've been super busy. And my news! I have news!

Okay, wait. My posts are always way too long, so this post will get to the point when I tell you what's been going on.

My awesome news: I got a job at a scrapbook store! A *certain* scrapbook store (that requests to stay nameless, so we'll just call it Sharchiver's to keep it inconspicuous ;) ), and they offered me a job teaching! Yay! LOVE.IT. Also love the discount. :)

Christmas shopping is nearly done. Yay.

Thanksgiving was... weird. We *tried* to go out of town, but there was a big accident that forced us to turn around. So we went out to dinner and a movie instead.

Saw Twilight. I liked it. Jeremy even liked it.

Making a super awesome Christmas Organizer mini album (I use the term "mini" very lightly). Can't wait to show that here.

Had a party to celebrate my published page, and this card was my Make N Take (to look like my layout... cool, yes?!), and is this owl punch not the cutest punch EVER?! It's by Martha Stewart. I don't care if she did wear an orange jumpsuit, that woman has cute punches!

What else?! OH! I made the MOST delicious chocolate chip cookies! They are the softest ever (think Soft Batch cookies), and I can't stop eating them. I may have a stomach ache later.

I'm working quite a bit, but I love it, so it's okay.

My body hurts since I quit gymnastics. Go figure. :p

My brother is welcoming a new addition in June. Exciting. :)

And I want a baby. *sigh*

Besting the Day.

Yesterday? Best.Day.Ever. Okay, well, not ever, EVER, but best in a VERY long time. Probably like... best in a few years.

Saving.

Time to save some money, Y'all! (That's right... I say "y'all" now because I live in Texas. Oh, that reminds me of a cute story! If I think about it at the end of this blog post, I'll share it!)

Anywho, after the irrelevant button was hit several times after my first sentence, I will be sharing with you how YOU can save money this week.

Not sure if you watch Oprah (I'm not an Oprah fan, but this week... I am... just a bit ;) ), but she's having a "Clean up your Messy House Tour" right now. And guess what?! She featured The Container Store on the show! And guess what is even better than *seeing* The Container Store on Oprah? Why, getting a discount at The Container Store *because* of Oprah, of course!

So... if you go on Oprah's website here, you can get in on the 20% discount too (until November 19th)! It's okay if you don't have The Container Store in your area because the coupon works for online and phone orders TOO! I know, I know... you are super blessed that I work for The Container Store and can be an enabler today. I know. I know. Thank me later. ;)

I know what you're thinking, "Oh Reyanna! This is super wonderful and fabulous! This MUST be the good news I've been anxiously awaiting to hear from you!" And I will reply to that, "No, my friends, it is not! I still have wonderful news to share. Not today, but soon." :)

Now on to regularly scheduled posting...

One of the coolest things about The Container Store is that they sell scrapbook organization! WOOHOO! I have this awesome paper storage thingy (featured above), and it's SO much better than the one you find at Michaels or other craft stores because this one has SIX shelves! No other one that I've found has six! Ha! I love that you can put stuff on top too. Yay! :D

And also, our Stockholm collection is FABULOUS! I have LOTS of those boxes. And I love that they come in all sorts of fun colors. (I'm pretty simple, so I love the white with colored pattered paper in the book plates, but the deep purple [which, unfortunately isn't offered online], is beautiful!)

One other thing I love is our photo storage stuff! The Stockholm Media Binder is PERFECT with the 4x6 and 5x7 photo sleeves as photo albums (Stacy Julian and Library of Memories lovers, take note and get rid of those Pioneer binders)!

And you know, we carry other products like WD-40 in the form of a pen (in store only... or just e-mail me if you desperately need one), an acrylic organizer that holds 24 lipsticks or chapsticks, and of course, no closet is complete without Closet Rod Organizers. Some of us just can't tell by *looking* in our closet which shirts are short-sleeved and which ones are long-sleeved. Oh no! We need labels to tell us. :)

And what holiday shopping would be complete without a trip to Gift Wrap Wonderland with our fabulous paper choices (more in the stores!) and unique stocking stuffers?! None, I tell you! None!

So go... get a coupon. Shop. Have fun, Kids!

p.s. This post is too long now to tell you my cute story, so I'll just save that for another day.

Missing.

Coming home from my sister's house is always bittersweet. I'm glad to be home... in my own bed with my own food (two separate things... I don't keep my food in my bed...). And I love the fact that my clothes are chosen from a closet as opposed to a suitcase.

But then there's the bitter part. Leaving them. Them. The three most beautiful and perfect little human beings to ever grace the planet. Okay, of course they're not perfect. Mairen smashed my leg into a chair. Brenna yelled in my ear. Alaura said some sassy things. And candy was asked for at the beginning and end of EVERY meal... and some times in between. But... yeah, they're perfect to me.

I hadn't seen them in nearly 14 months. Eight days with them was Heaven.

I cried all the way to the airport. It didn't help that my sister turned on Fergie's Big Girls Don't Cry. *NOT* a good song to listen to when you're fighting back tears.

We had planned on the time before the airport being "Ani" time (their nickname for me), but plans got changed as things do. All we could do was go to the Sonic drive-through. (Still cool! ;) ) They all had their first root beer floats ever! (Brenna had a Dr. Pepper float though. Tee hee.) And that was fun. And as we approached the airport, we took this one last crazy picture.

I landed in Austin, safe and sound. But I cried all the way home. And I cried myself to sleep. I miss them. I miss my sister. How is it possible to love and ache for people THIS much?!

And I did get some great news today. But I can't even enjoy it. I'm just missing them way too much. And crying way too hard. *sigh*

I'll share my great news tomorrow. It's pretty fabulous... if I do say so myself. :)

Wasting.

Is it just me or does time seem to fly by more quickly when you're online?

Okay, it's 1:00. I need to leave for work at 3:00. I have plenty of time to read a few blogs!

One hour and 59 minutes later...

I love reading blogs. I could read blogs all day. Blogs are heavenly. And look at this... I've read fifteen blogs, and only twenty minutes has gone by. Wait a second... It's 2:59?! Holy Crap! I gotta go!

Sound familiar? A similar situation happened to me Sunday evening. I went to bed at 7:00pm (I'm sick, okay! I'm trying to get better!), and I woke up just a few hours later. I woke up hungry... again and also wanted some hot tea.

So I decided... well, while I eat my biscuit and drink my ginger tea with honey (which tastes like hot Coca-Cola, by the way... weird), I will catch up on my blog-reading... just a bit, so I can still get to sleep at a reasonable hour. And I hit the regulars and eventually land on Ali Edwards.

She happens to have this interesting blog post on cloth diapers. Stating they have "come a long way," she provides several links for our viewing (and, apparently, researching) pleasure. And for some reason, this piqued my interest.

I don't have a baby. I'm not pregnant with a baby. And I certainly don't plan on having a baby in the next couple years (though I'd like to...)

So why ON EARTH did I spend two HOURS looking at cloth diapers?! I was truly and utterly fascinated. I think I could now confidently teach a class on said diapers. And you would be upset with me if I didn't share some valuable cloth diaper information, now wouldn't you?! Of course you would!

Okay, I'm not going to go off on a bunch of cloth diapering hoopla followed by information on how to convince your husband to breastfeed or directions on how to deliver your own baby (they have Google for those types of things, People!), but I will share this:

Disposable diapers cost approximately $1000 per child (you know, till the approximate potty-trained age of 2.5). That's approximately 5,500 (I'm rounding up here because I like nice, round numbers) diapers PER child! EEK!

And cloth diapers? Cost LESS THAN a third of that ($250-$300)! And no, you don't have to rinse them in a toilet or a bucket like the "olden" days. MUCH easier (and cleaner...) now. How nice is THAT on our landfills? I'm just sayin'...

Interesting information, no?!

And speaking of wasting time on blog reading...

Bragging.

I'm pretty sure that before I was published I promised myself that if I ever *did* get published, I wouldn't scan my magazine page and post it on my blog. I like to think I'm pretty modest and shy when it comes to stuff like this.

But if I would have *known* that I would be published in Simple Scrapbooks... aside from not believing that I would EVER, EVER in a million years be published in my favorite scrap magazine... I would have probably created an amendment to the fore mentioned rule.

Therefore, for your viewing pleasure: Page 96 of Simple Scrapbooks Magazine - November/December 2008 issue. (Let's just call this "sharing information" as opposed to "bragging," okay?! Please?! *insert sheepish grin here*)

Yeah, that's me. A whole page to myself. Me! Just your average Jane scrapbooker. And though I *asked* Simple if they would credit Paislee Press Designs in my products list, they are quite busy and must have forgotten.

See, the amazing Liz over at Paislee Press created these super fabulous digi mailing label frames, and I LOVED them! So I re-created them in paper (thanks to my trusty Fiskars). I credited her as my inspiration, but alas, they left it out. I still love Simple. But I wanted to give a shout out to Liz. Seriously, it's because of her. :)

***************************************

In other news, I went hiking a couple weekends ago, and it was FABULOUS! Austin's Barton Creek is SO awesome. Pics will be shown soon... I hope. :) Going again this weekend with a friend. YAY!

Then last weekend, I went out of town to visit family. Brought the puppies. And when I returned, their food bowls were nowhere to be found. Oh well, I thought. No biggie. They just get to eat out of Corelle instead. (Lucky puppies!)

And for two days, Amber would not eat.

You have to understand something about Amber. She eats like I starve her. She barks for her food, shakes uncontrollably until I fill her bowl, and once she has food, she devours it before Ruby even notices I had poured food in their bowls. So this was strange.

I would fill her bowl, she would sniff, perhaps eat one or two pieces, then walk away. Then she'd proceed to her barking and shaking like I hadn't fed her at all. I figured she just wasn't feeling well and would get over it. After the two days, I accidentally spilled some dog food on the floor.

And my ravenous beast of a dog returned. She ate every last piece I had spilled... within ten seconds of dropping them. *Insert light-bulb here.* So I did what any worried mother of a starving dog would do... I poured all her dog food on the kitchen floor.

A happy mom. A happy dog.

A happy dog, who does NOT like Corelle dishes...

Baking.

There is something unmistakably wonderful about fall... pumpkin muffins. I know I could make pumpkin muffins all year, but it's just not the same.

So I'm home from work (actually took a few days off since I'm stuck with a fever and sinusitis... again... ick), and I decided after Nap #2 that I'd make some yummy muffins.

I open up two recipes. Hmm... I'll make THIS recipe, I say to myself. And halfway through, I'm like, Nah, I'll make this other recipe. I've actually made this one. I know they'll turn out!

Then for some odd reason, I look at the first recipe, then the 2nd. Then I forget which one I'm making and figure that now it's more of a collaborative thing. Ah well. If they taste like pumpkin, and they're in the vague shape of a muffin, I'm good to go.

So it's painfully obvious by eating my muffins that any type of recipe was lost in translation. But just the same, they are super tasty!

Eating.

So I'm starting to feel a bit better. (YAY!) Went back to the doctor and got some cough syrup with Vicodin. Yum!

But what I really think help me feel better? Eating peanut butter sandwiches every day. That's right, *every* day. I got this yummy gluten-free bread from Whole Foods, and I've been eating at least one peanut butter sandwich per day.

Ohmigosh, and I found this new peanut butter! It's Smuckers Natural with HONEY! So it's just peanuts, salt, honey and divinity. Okay, I added the divinity part, but it must have at least *some* of that added because it's... well... divine. :)

Added a new header and photo today. Yay! Those beautiful papers and elements are from Paislee Press. Design by yours truly (okay, I just sketched it out for Jeremy, and *he's* the one who put it all together. He may be a tool sometimes, but that boy has mad Adobe skills). :)

Hmmm... what else is new? Oh! I'm getting in on this. And I'm pretty excited about it. I *really* wanted a blue one of those cute little albums, but they don't sell the blue color I wanted. So I made my own. Yeah, I like to take on more projects when I already have a million things going on, BUT... it's in the color I love... AND... it was free with stuff I used from my stash (read: paper scraps)! Yahoo! When it's finished, I'll post it. Promise.

I'm taking this class by Cathy Zielske, and ohmigosh, it's awesome! She is, of course, super fabulous, and I heart her... a lot. I'll post my pages soon. :) You still have time to get in on this (until October 8th)! It's kinda pricey for an online class, but it's TWELVE weeks long (so less than $10 per week), AND it's taught by Cathy Flippin' Zielske! Come on! Just put it on a credit card, and you'll be good. Tee hee. ;)

Anything else? Oh!! I've been meaning to tell you all. I started another really cool blog (actually, I have four blogs now... wow), and you should SO check it out. It's so cool! I promise! You won't regret it! :D

Otay, I think that's all for today. Meant for this to be shorter. Oh well.

Healing.

I'm sick. And time away from work gives me time to make things like this... and you know, rest and stuff.

Wanting.

Some people say that wanting things is never good. But this is not like that. We're here for a reason. And I want some things in this life... even if they sound silly. There's a part of me that seems to be forgetting why I'm here and who I am. I'm trying to remember.

I want to make people smile.

I want to make a difference.

I want to contribute.

I want to be helpful.

I want to ride my bike.

I want to rock climb.

I want to swim.

I want to dive.

I want to go to the movies.

I want to go out to dinner once and a while.

I want to go walk around downtown.

I want to go to the driving range.

I want to cuddle Ruby.

I want hugs… daily.

I want to write.

I want to have a computer without internet.

I want to scrap.

I want to be published.

I want to love.

I want to be loved.

I want to feel wanted.

I want to be with friends.

I want to surround myself with lovely people.

I want to be happy.

I want to feel peace.

I want to feel important.

I want to laugh.

I want to be silly.

I want to enjoy life.

Inspiring.

I've always wondered about monthly scrapbooking kit clubs. I never thought I'd like them. I didn't think they'd inspire me. I didn't think I'd be able to put stuff together and make it "my own."

Boy, was I wrong!

I remember a couple years ago... a magazine had a "low down" of monthly kits. I thought, "How on EARTH would I choose *if* I ever decided to get one?!" Then through Caroline, I found Studio Calico. Her layouts were just gorgeous, and that led me to their website. I finally signed up to receive emails, so I could get their monthly eye candy. (Their design team is *beyond* talented.)

I always said, "These are *the* kits to have! Really!" And I decided that if I ever took the plunge and got a kit, I'd choose them. And month after month, I drool over the kits, but I have never once bought one.

Until... this month's kit came out. Oh.My.Gosh. Could.NOT.Help.Myself. This month's kit is BEAUTIFUL! Blue, yellow and green? A vintage flair and a punch of red? Umm... hello!! LOVE it! So... I ordered the kit and one add-on. Received it in the mail YESTERDAY...

And in 24 hours? THREE layouts! That is INSANE for me! I can barely do one in a week! That is how totally inspired I am. I may just buy a kit each month now. I mean, granted I have been missing scrapping SO much (I'm working eight shifts per week between both jobs), but come on... inspired much?!

I've decided to scrap my senior photos (back from 1999), and I'm really stoked about it! I think this kit is perfect for scrapping them too! So the first two layouts I did are for my "Senior Photos Album" I'm working on. Should be fun! :)

Remembering.

I don't think I've ever posted this layout here, but today... my precious niece, London Michele, would have been FOURTEEN years old! :)

So in memory of her, I wanted to post it along with the journaling:

Well, here it is, London. The last photo. Un-cropped, with all of its imperfections. If I would have known these were going to be the last photos taken of you, things would have been different. I would not have used this camera. And I would have taken more than four photos of you that day.

You wouldn’t be sitting on my bed. You wouldn’t have a silly dinosaur up by your head. I would have sat back a little so the photos would be more in focus. If I would have known these were going to be the last photos of you, I would have made sure they were perfect.

I didn’t know we’d lose you just a few weeks later. I wish I would have held you closer. I wish I would have kissed you over and over and over. I wish I would have taken more photos of us together… just me and you, my first niece.

I would have told you I loved you… not ten times a day, but every second I was with you. I would have asked, just for one night, if you could sleep in my room. I would have cuddled you every chance I got. I would have hugged you and never let go.

If I only would have known! But, Baby, I didn’t know. God was the only one who knew.

Yes, I would have done many things differently. But, London, there’s one thing I wouldn’t change, not for all the photos in the world.

I’m still so proud that I got to be the one… the one to take the last photo.

*******
We lost her to SIDS, January 26, 1995. I found the negatives for these photos last year, and I've really been wanting to scrap them and journal. I wrote poems and little stuff like that back in 1995 (I was in 8th grade), but I haven't *really* journaled about her till now. Felt good. Really good. Love scrapping as therapy. :)

Happy Birthday, London! We miss you and love you! :)

Dancing.

I've been coaching gymnastics for eleven years, and I've never been to a gymnastics convention. *sigh* I've been to a couple coaching clinics, but never a convention. And why? Well, either my gyms couldn't afford it, or I couldn't afford it. But by golly, I've always wanted to go!

So when I first started working for Capital Gymnastics, they let me know they wanted me to attend the GAT (Gymnastics Association of Texas) convention. SWEET! I was beyond excited. And 19 hours of pure convention bliss later, I'm happy as a scrapbooker with a box of paper on her doorstep.

I actually ended up helping *teach* a spotting clinic to novice coaches! Yay! I was accidentally placed in this class as a student, so my boss thought since I was there... might as well make myself useful. YES! Eleven years of spotting and getting punched, kicked, elbowed, landed on, stepped on, fallen on, bitten, whacked, peed on, vommited on, loved on, and hugged... a lot... has finally paid off! WOOHOO! So that was super fun. And my "volunteer" gymnasts were *so* cute! Loved them to pieces. (How much am I loving the name Violet? Too cute!)

So I took a few classes on tumbling and vaulting techniques. A class on how to deal with difficult children (tee hee... and this class was PACKED). And my favorite class of the weekend? Musical Warm-ups for Preschoolers.

It's very ironic that this was my favorite class, due to the following reasons:

1. I don't teach preschool.
2. I don't plan on teaching preschool.
3. The only time I do teach preschool is when I'm subbing for a college student who needs to study for a final.
4. And musical warm-ups? Let me tell you... *not* my favorite part about coaching gymnastics to preschoolers.

But the man who taught this class? Hysterical. He's a slightly overweight, middle-aged man, who LOVES to dance. I'm talking... *loves*. And I don't know about you, but when I watch a 48-year-old man doing the "Soulja Boy" and dancing to the Buckwheat Boyz, I laugh so hard I pee my pants.

This was the fullest class I attended, and now I know why! He taught about ten songs (with dances) that he, himself made up. He mixed his own CD of his favorite preschool songs, and he has all his dances typed out on PowerPoint. This man is the KING of preschool musical warm-ups.

The only thing I'm bumming hard about? Not having a video camera. Because long after I left the convention, I was still laughing hysterically at the sight of him dancing to Ice Cream N Cake. The little cheerleaders on YouTube do *not* do that song justice. Just picture that man doing the dance with ten times the energy (and more dance moves). Hilarious.

And don't tell anybody, but when I got home from the convention on Saturday, I played the Peanut Butter Jelly Time song and got up and did the dance he taught us. And I was laughing *so* hard, I was crying. Love it.

After the convention, I was talking with my boss's mother (who is the owner of Capital Gymnastics and the director of GAT and the convention), and she was telling me that she needed to get us new preschool music. Well, *I* told her to work her "Director of GAT magic" and have Randy send us his CD and list of dances.

So guess what *I'll* have next week?! That's right, Baby! The most coveted preschool warm-up music of the century! You're so jealous. I know you are.

Finding.

Warning: These posts are starting to sound like I actually *like* to shop. Eek! I better make the next few posts about other things. :) And let's get this straight... I don't *like* to shop! I just like to have new things sometimes. :) There is *so* a difference!

So I needed to make an emergency trip to Gap to get these panties. Okay, it wasn't *truly* an emergency, but I *did* need new panties. Found some really cute ones!

And I had to walk through Dillard's to get to Gap. And there were these super-adorable red shoes... but I kept walking.

I read an article in Real Simple a few years ago, and it said that every woman needs a good pair of red flats. So from then on, I've been on the lookout! (And that's not the only reason! I don't let Real Simple dictate the stuff I buy [usually], but red shoes never go out of style, they can be dressed up or down, and they can liven up any outfit. So there.)

I even found this one pair of totally cute, red ballerina flats... at TJ Maxx. They were cheap, so I bought them. I wore them once. They hurt SO bad! So much for those! I'll pawn them off on some un-knowing ebayer, who doesn't mind shoes that inside, have miniature little people with knives.

My search for red shoes continued, but it's not like I was actively looking because well... a.) I hate shopping. And b.) I don't really *need* shoes. Oh! And c.) I hate shopping.

So I left Gap with a bag full of hipster panties, and I headed back through Dillard's...

What's the harm in trying on the cute, red shoes? Evil Reyanna whispered in my ear.

No! I don't really have the money right now to get new shoes! And I don't *need* new shoes! Good Reyanna answered back.

But do you need new *red* shoes? Evil Reyanna reasoned.

Yes! Why, yes, I do! Good Reyanna gleamed.

And Evil Reyanna and Good Reyanna rode off into the sunset... wearing pretty, totally comfortable, new, red shoes. :)

Framing.

Today I decided to take a trip to The Domain. The Domain is an outdoor mall / luxury apartment complex / office building place. VERY upscale. As in, when I go there, I dress nicely and pretend I have enough money to afford to buy stuff there. When in actuality, I just go there for the Clearance sections in all the stores.

Pity there is no Clearance section at Tiffany & Co. ;)

Since I was there, I decided to stop in at Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic because let's face it... all girls love to look at the over-priced girlyness in the form of calm and serene, floral wonderment that is Shabby Chic. :) One throw pillow for $225? Umm... no thanks. But it's pretty. :) I'll just sit here and admire, thanks.

I *did* manage to nab this super adorable grey/white/pink frame though (click on the photo to see it better)! It holds a 3x3 photo, which, I agree, is smaller than small, but check out this price! Okay... so it was on Clearance for $14.99. Down from... wait for it... SIXTY dollars!!! LOL. I had to grab it. Apparently it was marked down 75% off because of its "damage" (read: small scratches that add to its "shabby" appeal. I'm shocked and amazed that didn't double its value. Then again, perhaps it had a larger-outer-silver layer that fell off?). You know... it just goes to show you how much something is *really* worth and how certain people just pay WAY too much for things. *sigh* Certainly not I. Not I, my friends.

Also while in Shabby Chic (I spent quite amount of time in there), I saw these super-awesome prints (11x17-ish) that are replicas from the 1939 British Ministry. The saying is so delightfully British, isn't it?!

They are framed in frames with a touch of gold (enter impressed oohing and ahhhing here). I had *just* seen these for the first time last night (Etsy), and I really liked them! And this I find surprising because I usually don't like anything with crowns. They are *so* growing on me. There was no way I was paying for one of those prints though (especially at Shabby Chic). Plus, they didn't have the color I wanted. :) So I went home and made my own...

Cute silver frame: $1.99 at thrift store
Bazzill white cardstock: $0.50
Time re-creating it in PhotoShop: 5-10 minutes
Side-swiping having to pay $295 for a larger version that will be cumbersome later: Priceless.

They are both sitting pretty in my new scrap space (to be shown later). Mmmm... love me a bargain.

Keep calm and carry on. :)