Wendy Reed's Sweet Me Designs

gotta check these out!
I've been a fan (no, not a stalker, a FAN!) of her scrapbooking for some time, but check out her SWEET bags for sale!

Sweet Me Designs

ScrapStreet WebRing!

I created it tonight just for all of us! It's super easy:
Look to the right over there ~~~>
See the blue box that says ScrapStreet Artists?

Click JOIN.
Fill out the form.
Add the html shown when you sign up
and then you'll be approved!

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

and show how proud we are of the art and talent at

ScrapStreet Magazine!

Can you handle 12?!

12 days of croppin' that is!! at CreatingPages.biz!

Jennifer came up with a very ambitious crop - full fun for a full 12 days! We started last night and will be going on into December!! Come join us...here's schedule of events:

Friday (Nov 24)

online crop: 6-10 pm cst; challenges and games every hour!

Saturday (Nov 25)

online crop: 6-10 pm cst; challenges and games every hour!

Sunday - Thursday

more fun and challenges every day!

Friday (Dec 1)

online crop: 6-10 pm cst; challenges and games every hour!

Saturday (Dec 2)

online crop: 6-10 pm cst; challenges and games every hour!

Sunday - Tuesday

more fun and challenges every day!

PLUS!

Due to the success of the Runway Project... another surprise build-a-layout contest within the crop! For CP members only, there are 12 days of 12 challenges! The first three challenges will be up by the end of this weekend, & you can join anytime!

Happy to be Thankful

My autumn scrapbook, ladies first:

Just wanted to share...

I have so much to be thankful for.

lookie! it's me!!

Here I am!!! how cool is this?!

http://scrapstreet.com/artists/artistlindsbio.htm

hair I am!!

Forgot to tell you what I did last week!!

I haven't done the page for it, yet...will I?

Before:

After!!

But you will see a new profile pic around town...

Here I Am!!

It's been a weird couple of weeks. I've been doing digi all month, which is fine; but in reality, I've been so scared that I was losing the drive and the will to pick up paper - losing my love of scrapbooking. It wasn't even missing MoJo this time, and I have no problem inspiring others and chatter - it was the drive for the actual art. Especially seeing all these incredibly talented women who are closing down their blogs, saying goodbye to scrapbooking - our inspirations seemed to be dwindling lately.

However, I picked up ScrapStreet's November 'Stillwater' Kit and did a layout both for a Cyber Crop at TTT and at my good ol' Yahoo group. I like it and I am so relieved that I still have the ability to create a page I like.

My only other goal today, while Matthew is away, is to get my paper project for the Runway Project at CP started. The girls have been so wonderful thinking up creative ways to interpret our daily challenges - I've got miles on the catwalk to catch up! See the gallery!

Anyway. I think I'm back. And it feel so good.

Wanna see it? Here's McKenna!

ScrapBooked My Walls!

LOL...even Doug was supportive of this!

Just a few thumbtacks, binder clips, a plastic hammer (apparently now Matthew thinks I'm as cool as Handy Manny :) ) The ONLY good thing about the fact that the downstairs is the only place we haven't renovated is ugly paneled walls that I don't mind sticking lots of holes into!

10 Nov...

and I haven't done a paper layout yet in November! I've been so busy digitally this month, that I haven't even LOOKED at paper supplies... I'm NOT turning digi...I'm NOT turning digi...I'm NOT... well, maybe I am, a little, and that's okay! Good things will come of it, you'll see soon. ;)

This month's banner up there I made with ScrapStreet's November kit called Embrace - made by Spink and Dora...isn't it delicious?!

So I've been up to submitting for the magazine, practicing digital at the road trip at the Streets, getting dt stuff done for CP - really cute kit comin' up! - and putting on the Runway Project with the girls at Creating Pages. That's really turned out quite cute~

the Runway Project....

is here!! CreatingPages.biz

keep CHRIST

in Christmas, please!

Remember his sacrificies for us?
I'm thinking typing all of 'Christ' is the smallest payback I can think of.

black and white

So this was an ad-inspired page from the ScrapStreet in Paris fair this weekend - I LOVE this layout! I actually had to do some real cutting with scissors for those flowers AND I used transparencies, which I haven't used in ages, but it's fun nonetheless. Not sure why the scanner AND the camera hated this layout, but here are the details:

cs: Bazzill
pp: WUBE
cb flowers: Magistical Memories
flowers: Prima
brads: MM
bling: Heidi Swapp
font: Batang, 2Peas Funky Doodles
tag: 3 Bugs in a Rug
Ad Inspiration

J:
Mother & Daughter
so alike ~ yet ~ so different
mommy & mckenna: temperamental
mommy: wild child ~ mckenna: mild child
mommy & mckenna: sleep anywhere
mommy: sleeps a little ~ mckenna: sleeps a lot
mommy & mckenna: outdoor lovin'
mommy: cold weather gal ~ mckenna: wants to be warm
mommy & mckenna: eyes of blue
mommy: eyes like diamonds ~ mckenna: eyes like glass
mommy & mckenna ~ all girl
mommy: sporty girl ~ mckenna: girlie girl

ScrapStreet.com Pit Crew...ME!

I am HONORED to tell everyone that I was invited onto the Pit Crew for the ScrapStreet.com magazine staff!! I am THRILLED, to say the least!

I also made it to the final round of SS's 5-week "500" contest and am a last minute cover finalist for November!

shopping spree for YOU!

MYSTERY SHOPPING SPREE

Today's the day shoppers! For the next 24 hours (yep, we extended the sale an extra 12 hours) you can enjoy store wide saving of up to 45% off! Because of the popularity of this sale, orders will ship next Tuesday (October 24, 2006). IMPORTANT: Actual shipping charges will apply during this time period, even on orders over $35.

CreatingPages.biz

Runway Project

(don't tell anyone - but this is out of MY idea notebook!!)

Join us at beginning November 4 for two (2) weeks as we work together to build a project, piece by piece, design by design, element by element!

It's CP's own Runway Project! Here's how it works:
Every other day, for two (2) weeks, the DT will give YOU a Runway Project challenge or element that you must use to create YOUR own project.
Any project may be created (one or two page layout(s), altered items, etc.) as long as it is created in the sequence of steps CP provides.
You will be required to upload a picture of your project after each and every step.
You can join in at any time, as long as you take pictures of each step.
There will be no elimination during the competition; however, in order to be eligible to win, you must have a photo uploaded of each step prior to the deadline (November 18).
For more information, please stay tuned!

goings-on at Creating Pages

Lots going on here...Let's catch up! - There are 3!!

REFER-A-FRIEND contest:
For the entire month of October, I want you to bring your friends to CP!!

For every member who refers 7 new members to CP, I'll enter them once into a drawing.

Referring member and new members must reach at least 25 posts to qualify.
New members can then refer other new members, too.If any referring or new member posts 1,000 times in the month of October, their name will also go into the drawing.

All you have to do is get your friend here, have him/her post {to} her hello and then keep on posting!

I'd love to rak the winner a CP kit of their choice.In appreciation for CP, Linda and all of her hard work, this month, the RAK/prize is on me.

Contest end date: October 31st.
Draw date: noon EST November 1st.

Mind Your Z's & Q's contest:
Okay, so here's the deal. We all have hundreds, if not thousands of those letters leftover that we never use.
K's
Q's
U's
V's
W's
X's
Z's
the list may be endless in your alphabet boxes...

I want to see you use those letters,
specifically leftover letters, in unique ways.
Any letter type will do: chipboard, sticker, even stamp!
And item will do: page, layout, altered item.

Maybe you'll substitute one letter for another...
Maybe you'll use a letter as a shape...
Maybe you'll cut, paste or alter a letter.

Whatever it is, let creativity flow and think outside the alphabet!
All layouts must be newly created and are due October 31st!

the most amazing charity CROP!

starts tomorrow!!
PLEASE come by and see what's happening.
Tell them I sent you.
If nothing else, PLEASE help out by making cards to send to the NICU. Details below.

visit CCaS

Card Details:
Along with raising funds for the NICU, we are going to be donating homemade cards for the nurses to give to the parents of the preemies in the NICU.

These cards will be used by the NICU nurses to provide the parents with a stamp their babies foot.

If you would like to make a card, (or ten ) please follow the attached details for consistency purposes.

Details of Cards
The cards should be at least 4x6 in size. You can provide cards with or without envelopes.The design of the card can be geared towards a boy, a girl, or it can be unisex.

The card should leave room for the babies name and the birthdate.

The inside should be either a light colour or white, or have a white insert page. This is where the footprint will go, along with the date.

Completed cards can be sent to:
Creative Crafts and Stickers
30 Alanadale Avenue
Markham, Ontario
L3P 1S3 Canada

I will be taking the cards to the hospital in Ottawa sometime in October. If cards arrive after I have already been to the hospital, I will continue to forward them on to the NICU nurses.

Thank you for all of your support.

Jen, Creative Crafts and Stickers owner

Donna Downey

Donna Downey will be chatting at Creating Pages tonight 9 pm EST.
Come chat with us and get to know her!!

Donna's blog

CP Croppin'!

Feels SO good to sit at a crop with friends after such a long and not-so-fun week. Come play and see!

Creating Pages

Fall into Scrappin' Cyber Crop!

Friday, Sept. 22 6pm-9pm

and

Saturday, Sept 23 6pm-9pm

AND I made my first {successful} blinkie for the crop!

Special thanks to Jennifer Halleck and Michelle Boeckermann who tried and tried to help me. Alas, there is no hope for help.

But I got it done!!

ps...thank you for all your well-wishes and prayers for my daughter, McKenna. She is home and mostly peaceful and getting back to her old self. Couldn't have done it without the support of friends like you.

design team!

Oh, c'mon - you know what this is about! I finally broke thru! My longest-lived and favorite little site has chosen me, of 3, for their new design team!! I couldn't be flying any higher right now! More on some amazing things happening over there soon ...

Also!
*Just got back from our quick trip to Georgia to see my brother and family, and my nephew's 6th birthday - you know, gotta create the memories to scrap...
*Matthew started preschool today...
*Went back to work today for the new year!

lil black horse & a cherry tree...

so an otherwise bleary, rainy, bad day turned out pretty ok! First I see "Olden Days" (the one with matthew's fishing gear) atop the How Much is Too Much blog - winner! That was a more-than-nice surprise, and much-needed. --- So Wendy Reed was heading up this challenge & we've been chatting via email; apparently she's really as sweet as her work. Thanks, Wendy!

...and THEN, I head over to TTT for a quick visit and see via the boards that "Basket" (the one where mckenna IS the laundry) was chosen by the dt in their September newsletter. Ain't they sweet? It's one page I loved everything about BUT the arrow and wasn't too sure of, but a lil validation once in a while isn't so bad!
BTW, as for the title of this post, it's just my favorite song at the moment - even tho it's a Big Black Horse...

a few more little flowers

it's my thing.
my newest thing.
flowers.
made from anything.
today: made from anchorz.
tomorrow: metal-rimmed tags. I'm on it.

a little more about mag called...

ScrapStreet...
had one chosen by them out of my gallery for their September mag {coming tomorrow}. What's more is I used a stamp and an ink pad given to me by my brother for my birthday last month. That's just plain cool.

a little lovin'

baby's got bling

just lovin' this LO of mine...that's all.
{can I say that? is this vain?}
who cares, she's a doll!

a little more cherryArte...cp's 8-weeker is over

CreatingPages.biz's 8 week contest is over... :( Had lots of fun and lots of challenge along the way! I'll link my 8 layouts and take a look at GoodBye Keuka - it's in cherryArte's gallery, too.

Lil' Spark challenge: use bling
Play Ball challenge: add dimension
RoadTrip! challenge: use We R Memory Keepers
Happy to Be challenge: use arrows
GoodBye Keuka challenge: quote <~~~at cherryArte.com
Ready to challenge: use American Crafts
safe challenge: art inspiration
June challenge: all about a month

what else am I up to this month? I submitted aHead of Fashion to OnePageAtaTime's fashion contest. Not gunning for that one, but I had the pics, so I finished the LO. I've also been completing an average of 2 pages a day bc of the GDT challenges at Creative Crafts and Stickers! 2 is a whole lot for me! Not gunning for that, either, but it's fun and you know how I love math! My Pages at CCaS

help make this crop not so little!

I was at Creative Crafts and Stickers today and saw this...let me ask you, what is your favorite message board doing these days?!

It is with great excitement that I announce that from Sept 27th to October 3rd, Creative Crafts and Stickers will be holding our first annual Charity Crop.

During this crop, a portion of all sales will be going to the Rich Little Special Care Nursery (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit - NICU) at the Civic Campus of the Ottawa Hospital (located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada).

As many of you know, in the past two years, my sister has had two premature babies, with the second one born this past May. I am so very impressed with the care and dedication that the Neonatal staff have shown for my sister, brother in law and her premature babies. Children are our future and getting a supportive and loving start is very important.

The intent of this crop is to give back to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and allow them to better support other families who need their services.This NICU Charity Crop will include challenges, online classes, games, prizes and a raffle of donated products. A portion of all sales will be donated to the NICU area, and all orders will receive a goodie bag filled with items from our sponsors. We are also asking that all participants create Congratulations cards for the nurses to give to the families with babies in the NICU. More details about the cards will follow.

In order to make this event a huge success and allow us to make the largest donation possible, we have asked for contributions from manufacturers in the scrapbooking and stamping world. The response has been fabulous!

Donations will become prizes, a part of the raffle and/or sponsor donations in the goodie bag.

To date, we have the following sponsors for the NICU Charity Crop:
3L
3M
7Gypsies
Adhesive Tech
Ampersand Art Supply
Atomic Cupcake
C-Line Products
Clearsnap
Craf-TDRG Publishing - Annie's Attic
Donna Downey
Everlasting Keepsakes
GelatinsGenerations
Karen Foster Designs
Keeping Memories Alive
May Arts
Me & My Big Ideas
Memory Makers Magazine
Michael Miller Memories
Natural Designs in Scrapbooking
PhotoMix
PiggyTales
Ranger Ink
Scrapbook and Cards Today
Scrapbook Eh Wholesale
Scrapbook Max
S unshine Designs/Nuggitz
Sweetwater
Time to Stamp
The Beary Patch
Treehouse Designs
We R Memory Keepers

I have also been asked to write an article for the December issue of Memory Makers to tell the story of my nieces and how it inspired me to hold this crop.I hope you all will join us for the crop and will consider making a donation to this great cause. I am hoping to go to hospital in the fall to present the cards and a cheque to the NICU staff.Together we can make a difference!
*** I will update the sponsor list above as I get more confirmations back.

Jen - Owner Creative Crafts and Stickers

click the link to go to the thread - I hope to see you ALL there!!
Creative Crafts and Stickers Charity Crop

a little dare for you...

and I hate to use the word "dare", since it's already out there, but this truly is a dare in a sense that it'll take guts to do this...
I got one of those forward emails from a friend today. Instead of forwarding it (I hardly ever do) I challenge you to do a LO about one, or all, of the following. Make sure you come back and show it to me =)

B - Babe
I - In
T - Total
C - Control of
H - Herself

B = Beautiful
I = Intelligent
T = Talented
C = Charming
H = Hell of a Woman

B = Beautiful
I = Individual
T = That
C = Can
H = Handle anything

the email:
BITCHOLOGY
When I stand up for myself and my beliefs, they call me a bitch.
When I stand up for those I love, they call me a bitch.
When I speak my mind, think my own thoughts or do things my own way, they call me a bitch.
Being a bitch means I won't compromise what's in my heart.
It means I live my life MY way.
It means I won't allow anyone to step on me.
When I refuse to tolerate injustice and speak against it, I am defined as a bitch.
The same thing happens when I take time for myself instead of being everyone's maid, or when I act a little selfish.
It means I have the courage and strength to allow myself to be who I truly am and won't become anyone else's idea of what they think I "should" be.
I am outspoken, opinionated and determined.
I want what I want and there is nothing wrong with that!
So try to stomp on me, try to douse my inner flame, try to squash every ounce of beauty I hold within me. You won't succeed. And if that makes me a bitch, so be it.
I embrace the title and am proud to bear it.

B - Babe
I - In
T - Total
C - Control of
H - Herself

B = Beautiful
I = Intelligent
T = Talented
C = Charming
H = Hell of a Woman

B = Beautiful
I = Individual
T = That
C = Can
H = Handle anything

a little croppin' this weekend!

I'll be over at TTT this weekend for a fun crop - I stayed up waaaaayy too late last night, and I'm sure tonight won't be any different! I hadn't been visiting lately and I received an email about the crop. I decide to go. I decide to chat. I decide to do a few challenges. I decide to stay up too late - and THANK GOODNESS I DID! You HAVE to go see the kits they just sneak peeked - I reserved a Rhapsody Kit, but I really was thinking about getting all 3! It's well worth the price, so go see!!!
Oh, and if you go? Tell them I sent you! Then we're both in for scrappy prizes!! See you there!

little signature

Found a little signature thing... other than the "little" thing (which I almost quit the other day). Decided that all of my layouts will have a title that goes like this: "SAFE (the one with Proverbs 29:25)".
Why? Why not. I'm thinking this might annoy people to no end, but it's for me and totally FRIENDS inspired.
BTW, "SAFE" is my week #7 entry at creatingpages.biz series contest. =)

going a little vertical!

Did my first vertical today, but you'll have to hop on over to CreatingPages.biz to see it, as it's in the 8 weeks series contest. I'm pretty proud of most of the work I've done this time (last time I didn't make it passed week 3 or 4...) Anyhoo...check me out: Ready to

Did I mention I also joined the Pageant at ScrapTastic and the Effers Dare Contest. Hey! I just found out that I'm way behind my scrappy goal for the year, apparently I was headed for last year's 1st goal and wasn't doing the right # per month, so I'm going to need all the challenge I can get~

The only thing I love more than scrapping the memories is making them.

a little bit of BINGO, a little bit of ScrapStreet

Okay, so I know the BINGO thing has been out a while, but last night I finally did one of my own! I had a blast doing it! Over at ScrapStreet, Spink challenged me to do a page about scrapbooking BINGO-style. Well, it took me 6 hours and 15 minutes but here's the finished product: Besides the fact that I'm (winner by default, y'all) getting some really cool prizes for this ("SEI memory album and new line paper samples, alterable purse, ellison t-shirt, and anything else i can fit in the box!"), doing this page was a whole other experience; I can't remember the last time I a) scrapped ABOUT myself, b) scrapped FOR myself, and c) looked at all - and I do mean ALL - my old layouts! And ya know what? I learned that I've been scrapbooking AC/LF a whole year less than I thought!
BTW, I was also a Saturday Night Scrap guest hostess there at ScrapStreet last night and put up a sketch challenge and a challenge called Opposites Attract - this fulfilled the Opposites challenge (Large dots, small flowers; paper salon vs. SEI; bunch of flowers vs. line of flowers.) Every Saturday we're there playing around and working for blinkies, which is one of the unique characteristics of ScrapStreet - hope to see you there!
A little note about ScrapStreet: I am just loving this place! You've heard by now of the amazing e-zine, but have you really looked through all the streets? Did you know that have both digi and paper KITS? (one of which I won and one of which I ordered!) Have you visited the message board? It's a board where people are there JUST having fun. I'd imagine it's hell on dial-up users, but the blinkies are a big, fun part of the game. It's not all about competitive scrapbooking and who has the most toots and the most design teams and publishings. Although there are some incredibly talented people there, mostly, it's just FUN. Light. Full of inspiration and fun. The challenges are one of a kind (just experienced my first ROAD TRIP - guess the url (location), complete the challenges and move on!) I didn't get far, but I had fun doing what I did. I tell ya, that place makes scrapbooking, particularly online scrapbooking just plain fun - did you forget it's supposed to be fun?
(for whatever reason I can't add any more images, but I have pics of the prize and the blinkie for the night...why does blogger do this to me?)

about that little hip thing...

We're all better! Some of you know that my now 4 1/2 month-old daughter, McKenna has been battling hip dysplasia, which we found out at 2 weeks old. She hasn't had any dislocation, and her case seemed minor at first, but it took two braces and about 3 months to get to where we are now; we just found out Wednesday: healed! Her 3rd sonogram reveals a wonderfully shaped and realigned left hip! We were supposed to have 10 weeks to wean off the brace when we got to this point, starting with taking it off 4 hours a day for 2 weeks, but we even get to START the wean with 8 hours a day! I can't tell you how much happier she was today, with her first 8-hour break. We finally have our baby back! It's just that... she's so mushy now, I almost don't remember how to hold her!!!
BTW, on a side note: I thought that being braced would hinder milestones, but we took it off of her Sunday, put her on her belly, and she flipped to her back like a pro! She was so proud of herself, it was amazing! Of course I have the pics to scrap...just haven't gotten there yet!

surprised myself a little today...

When asked "What is your profession" among other questions at the forum at From Here to Scrapternity, this was my answer:

What is your current profession? First and foremost, I'm a SAHM. And I love it. I found out only after I had Matthew that this is what I was built to do. I worried so much in and after college about what career I was meant for, but all that was answered with my kids. I much prefer sitting on the floor with them than anything else in this world - yes, even scrapbooking. They temporarily relieve the world of greed, competition, temptation and the other complex issues of the world outside. (And whenever you haven't heard from me in a while, don't doubt that I'm near the computer, just that the little ones are much more important.) There are some times, mostly the evenings, when all I do is sit and just look at my kids. Matthew is a treasure and so full of energy and personality, that he's enough comedy and entertainment for an entire auditorium. McKenna and I seem to have conversations just with our eyes and after Matthew goes to bed, we just sit and look at each other, sometimes for hours. There just is nothing like it.

What else have you done recently? Well, I'm also a gymnastics coach to about 45 little competitors. It's an amazing job. I get wonderfully overpaid to do something I completely love with people and staff I completely love. I have to work very little (3-5 days a week for 3-4 hours) and I have co-workers who are very understanding that my family comes first. I also choreograph floor and beam routines for our gym, as well as publish the team website; I'm also currently working on webpages for each gymnast. I've also become somewhat the secretary for our team - but this is all on MY time and on MY paycheck! Did I mention that we were State Champions this year? In two levels and one individual all-around, as well as several event champions? Just a little gymnastics toot!

What is your dream job, or what have you been thinking about pursuing?I think I'm doing it. I really do! I came out of college and worked in a preschool daycare. I don't care for the daycare, necessarily, but I definately see preschool teacher in my future, after my kids are well into school themselves. We have a remarkable 9 month Masters program nearby that will provide me with all credentials to teach. I've always known that kids would be involved with my career. And that's exactly what I've been doing :)

Quick Little Note...

Gosh, it's been so long that I've posted that my browser didn't even have Blogspot in its history... I'm just here quickly to let you know I've been choosing more of the sitting around on the floor with my kids than at the computer scrapping. I have TONS of ideas and lots of work to do, but it just seems a good time to spend with family. I have a few weeks left of work for the summer and then I hope to get more time to scrap - naptime is always a good time and that's when I've been working.
So, just in case you're getting a little worried, just look DOWN (on the floor) and you'll see me!

My Little Starz

Happy July!!
First of all, ScrapStreet released their July magazine and it is just amaZing, once again!! Here is that layout I've been dying to show!

One of the most fun parts about this page is that it is Junkitz Athletes - wish I could say that this is the reason for the "Z", but the reality is, I just didn't have any more "S"s!!

Go see the magazine here at ScrapStreet July and the fun All American page, too!

Other business... I received my WUBE stuff from the ScrappersAnonymous Father's Day contest and wowie, do I love this stuff!! The magnetic papers are really fun - but I didn't realized that regular 12x12s would come, too! WUBE seems just my style: distressed, bold and oversized. Can't wait to get started on the pages!

Hooray! Won a Little Contest!!

at Scrappers Anonymous! Won the May/June 06 Fathers/Sketch contest with 4 others and the prize is WUBE supplies!! How psyched am I!?! Can't wait to get them and feel them and create with them and - hold it!! I have to create a card!?!? Uh oh... (help!!)

Because He Lives - My Little Story

edit: I did a page on this story! It's my first "Faithbooking" page. TFL.

I have no idea what compelled me to drive home 2 1/2 hours Saturday night. No one wanted me to, I was planning on staying at one of my favorite friends' houses, and it was pretty late {not to mention I'm just not as young as I used to be!}
It was a clear but eerie night and on more than one occasion, I thought maybe the Lord was calling me home. Why else would I be making this crazy drive in the middle of the night with my daughter in the car after the 3 hour drive up and a meet?
Let's start there. I drove up, leaving my house at 3 pm to a State gymnastics competition in Cortland, NY. We had a pretty good outing and won by 6 points, and put up some amazing scores, including one perfect 10.000 on vault. Tangent coming: I have mixed feelings about this; one, she'll never see that score again after this level, but two, it couldn't have happened to a nicer kid or harder worker. We win the meet, so we're all pretty stoked, and I just get this calling, and I tell Karen, "I think I'm going to drive home." Most people just looked at me like I was crazy.
I get to the car, with lots of help from some parents and another coach, say goodbye and goodnight and settle in the car, turned on, to nurse McKenna. I sat in that car still wondering why I was going home. I called Heidi and told her and she, too, thought I was a bit off my rocker.
I strap McKenna in and sail out onto the road. The WICKED soundtrack had been playing in my car on the way up and I listened to "For Good" for the hundreth time that day. Needing a change, I fished though the cds I had on hand, the ones still in cases, and I stumbled on Kristin Chenoweth cd. She's Glinda in WICKED and I love her other cd I bought at the same time as this one, the one I've listened to: "Let Yourself Go" full of old show tunes, and the one I stumbled upon that night, "As I Am." I pop it in and immediately notice Christian songs. What wonderful music! First of all, a song called "Because He Lives" I'm about to share with everyone because its words are amazing.

Because He Lives

1. God sent His Son - they called Him Jesus,
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Chorus: Because He lives I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

2. How sweet to hold a newborn baby
And feel the pride and joy he gives;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because Christ lives.
(Chorus)

3. And then one day I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain;
And then, as death gives way to victory,
I'll see the lights of glory - and I'll know He lives.
(Chorus)

Now I'm really thinking that this might be my last night. I keep listening and find myself filled with hope - being directed as if His hand is laid upon my head. I mean, actually feeling Him touching me: heavier in body, lighter in spirit.

Another song strikes a chord: "Borrowed Angels", which I already have a list of people to share with.

Now, I don't know much Christian music, but I listened to that entire cd.
Twice.

A third song makes me almost stop the car.

Upon This Rock

When others see with earthly eyes
Just what they want to see
You will see the things that never die
You will know and recognize
By simple child-like faith
The priceless truth that
Others will deny.

When others say I'm just a man
Who likes to dream His dreams
When others call a miracle a myth
You'll listen for eternity
In moments as they pass
And see with spirit eyes
What others miss.

Upon this rock I'll build My kingdom
And on this rock forever and ever it shall stand
And all the powers of Hell itself
Shall never more prevail against it
For Satan's thrones are built on sinking sand
Upon this rock I'll build My kingdom
And on this rock forever and ever it shall stand
Upon this rock of revelation
I'll build a strong and mighty nation
And it shall stand the storms of time
Upon this rock.

If in a simple carpenter
You see the Son of God
If you would chose to lose
When you could win
If you would give your life away
For nothing in return
Then you are where
My kingdom will begin.

Not sure what it was, but I had never felt closer to God than in this very car trip.
I'm not sure if it was that it was a special day: it was my husband's and my 6th anniversary.
I'm not sure if it was that it was a great day: we had just won our second State Championship in the same year.
I'm not sure if it was that it was a milestone night: my car that night turned over 100,000 miles.
I'm not sure if it was the ambience: it was the night before a full moon and was the clearest of clear nights.
I'm just not sure.

But it was this night that I realized that I had everything I needed. My Lord. My family. My husband. A full family of my own. The less important: a great job, a house, a car, not riches, but some "stuff" that makes me happy. Anything else that I want or obtain, is just "icing on the cake," as they say.
How fortunate I am.

We made it home that night at 1 am.
We made it home safe and sound.
We made it home happy.
We made it home blessed.

A Little cherryArte

...will all be in the cherryArte gallery!!

Are you there? A new "Little" blog.

http://www.scrapblogs.blogspot.com/

My Scrappy Little List of Threes

I lifted this from Tanya's blog and thought I'd take a scrappy turn at it:

Three Movies I Could Watch Over and Over {while scrapping}:

• Sweet Home Alabama
• Save the Last Dance
• Coyote Ugly

Three Places I Have Been on Vacation {and will scrap one day}:

• London (1/2 way thru the scrapbook)
• Spain (don't even know where the pics are)
• The Dominican Public (too big a projec to start right now!)

Three TV Shows I Like To Watch {whether or not I'm scrapping}:

• American Idol
• e.r.
• House
• ...and I'll add Friends, bc it's still my favorite!

Three-make that- Four Websites I Visit Daily {all scrap-related):at this point in time:

• ScrapStreet
• From Here 2 Scrapternity
• CMK
• TTT

Three Books I Could Read Again:read? what's that? I'd rather be scrapping...

• Still working on WICKED
• anything by Shel Silverstein
• ???????

Three Favorite {scraphappy} Foods:

• I'm nuts: sunflower seeds, pistacios, pumpkin seeds, soy nuts; or even better yet: a combination of all of these!
• extra-large wintergreen lifesavers
• dry cereal:

Three Places I Would Rather Be:

• shopping at my LSS
• actually IN my scraproom scrapping
• creating the memories that I love take pictures of! =)

Three favorite companies:

• Junkitz
• Kelly Pannacci
• Junkitz

Three favorite things to scrap:

• my son
• my daughter
• my dog

My Funny Little Super Pooper

LOL - That's right. If you know me at all, you know my sense of humor; I've also always said the first reason I scrapbook is to preserve memories. Well, if pooping on the potty isn't a memory to preserve, I don't know what is! I'm definately not submitting this to any websites or anything; this layout is just for us [and for all of you reading about us =)]. Thanks to Dawn at Scrap101 Yahoo Group for her Friday Night Challenge - you really made me think over the top this time!!! ROFL...

Materials:
*3 Bugs in a Rug Jovial pp & monograms & tag
*Basic Grey Urban Couture stickers alphas
*MM in bloom green brad
*Sharpie Ultra-fine tipped Brown

Got a Little Work Done

...on the blog. My sidebar is now satisfactory and I also added links to my scrapbook pages that I do have saved (still can't find most of them from last year.) I urge you to look with caution - and realize how much I've grown! LOL - Look for Lindsey's Layouts, and it should take you to Kodak Galleries.
My next goal is to design a header in PhotoShop and add it! I'm thinking of something like "My Favorite Things" theme...???

BTW, the new June ScrapStreet magazine came out today! My layout, 'Put Me In Coach' is on the sporty page!

A Little Annoyed...

So I just realized, upon visiting my own blog to copy the address, that when I changed templates, ALL of my side work is gone! I read the message saying that the information will be lost, but I didn't realize they were talking about all of the HTML I had worked on! I'm a little too tired to do it now, and I promised TTT 30 minutes of Yoga if McKenna lets me, but I'm on it. Soon.
BTW...Monica at TTT is apparently awesome! I emailed her with an idea for a transparency and she emailed me back within 20 minutes with it done!!! I guess there is also this wishlist challenge or contest; idk what it's really about, but I just worked on my wishlist today and went from 2 items to about $500 in 20 minutes!! LOL!

A Little More Good News...

Signed up at ScrapStreet yesterday.
Submitted a LO yesterday.
My latest LO of Matthew at dh's softball game was approved for the June mag today... how funny is that?!

What a silly and fun message board!

On a side note, I'm learning, with some friends from 2Peas, how to use my ImageReady to make blinkies!
I made one of my name, but it's not exactly working. Let me see if I can get it in here:

Yeah, see? It's not blinking...it is on PhotoBucket though: Lindsey
Okay, so it's not blinking on that link, either...but I'm working on it!

Off to do a ScrapStreet Saturday night red-white-blue layout from today's Memorial Day Parade pics...wanna see 'em? How precious are these?!?

Little Bit of Big News!

Go on over to From Here 2 Scrapternity! They've just announced their new design team and it is a whammy! (No, I'm not on it) but there are some extremely talented and well-deserving ladies who are, and many who I can now call my friend after hanging around there for quite some time! Good things to come, I'm sure!!!

Side note:
I'm almost done with my Kodak Gallery albums for all my LOs (that I can find!) I'll link them up shortly.

A Little Sad, A Little Annoying...

I've been trying to compile all of the layouts I've ever done and scanned in the last 3-4 years. I found all my early ones, especially from when Matthew was little - the one's I may not be so proud of, but I keep to show growth, you know? However, I can't find any of the layouts from last year! We're talking hundreds of scanned and save layouts that are missing! Since we got this new computer, I thought I had backed up all my scrapbooking files onto disk; as the matter of fact, I'm sure of it - but where's the disk? The only place all of my layouts are is at CreatingPages, but since their gallery moved, most of the layouts don't come up anymore except for a thumbnail. What to do? There really is no rush, I just wanted them to showcase me and my work... not sure what my next step is. For now, I have 2 Kodak gallery photo albums with all my work that I'll link shortly...Grrrr!!

Happy Little Mother's Day!

I'm a little mother, are you?!
I did it - today I completed my 2nd ever design team application. I'm desperately trying not to get my hopes up, as I didn't make the first one I tried. I'm so very new to the application process, and it was a big step for me to even try for this one - I'm not a huge fan of rejection! Failure, I can take - I learn so much from my mistakes. Rejection? just plain sucks! Anyway... time will tell. The good news is, I created 3 layouts that I really truly love (well, one I have to fix; it just isn't cutting it) and I'm trying to be happy with just that in case the outcome isn't exactly what I hope for... Nonetheless, I love the new little board and I'm having fun over there anyway. Making some new friends and enjoying chatting with Pam =)
C'mon over...let them know I sent you: FromHere2Scrapternity

My Little Project with Becky Fleck

Here it is! Took Becky Fleck's Urban Couture altered frame class at Creative Gatherings Saturday and had a blast! McKenna went, too and she was an angel! Becky insisted that McKenna be in the picture, too... Behind us is Amy Goldstein from Pink Martini - she brought in some adorable altered cd case kits - it's on my wish list!