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!

Happy Little National Scrapbooking Day!

HAPPY NATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY!

I'm a bit crazed today! I'm having trouble keeping up with all I want to do! I started last night at ACOT - I love their crops - they are above the top! I got 2 1/2 layouts done yesterday and one today so far - but it's only noon. I'm also checking into CP, of course, cause it's just like home. I've also been popping in and out to CMK and FH2S - new boards to me, but such nice people!

In a little while I'm off to meet Becky Fleck! She's at Creative Gatherings and we're working on a mosaic frame with Urban Couture! I'm so excited! I would have taken the Color Me Happy brag book class this morning, but I didn't have a sitter =(

So happy day to you! And remember, I'm known as LindseyK75 all over the scrapping world - come say hi!

A Cute Little Quote

I came up with!

"My life is one gigantic scrapbook - each day, a new page."

It went through a few stages:
*I live in one gigantic scrapbook. Every night I turn over a new page.
*Each page makes a scrapbook, as each day makes my life.
*My life is a scrapbook and each day is a new page.