Did Some Layouts Today

I have spent the majority of today at my scrapbook table. I have been trying to put a dent in these cruise albums I've been trying to do for Hannah & Logan since we returned in June. Maybe they'll still remember the cruise by the time I finally finish! LOL

Anyway, I thought I'd share what I finished today. (I started a couple more but don't have them completely assembled yet.) Obviously, the journalling is missing, but I plan to go back and add that after I finish all the layouts for each album. Click each image to see a bigger version.

Logan's Dinner Layouts:

Hannah's Dinner Layouts:

Time Off Work

I've really been enjoying these last couple of days off work. Yesterday, I got up and cleaned the house and got ready for company. My aunt & uncle came over for dinner, which was really nice. We've been wanting to have them over for a long time now but it's hard to get an evening where we're all free. So anyway, they came over and while we waiting on all the food to be ready, we showed them our new Wii that arrived Tuesday. There have been studies that show playing the Wii helps Parkinson's patients, and so they've been thinking of getting one for Jim. They tried bowling on it and seemed to like it. It was fun playing with them! I think they'll end up getting one. Hopefully it will help him!

Today I've been a total bum as far as housework goes. I cooked breakfast this morning, but beyond that I've been having "me" time. I played around on the Wii a little this morning, and then worked on finishing up my stamp project. After many hours of cutting, stamping, and rearranging, I've finally got my stamps (with exception of two sets) reorganized in CD cases. I moved them out of the plastic drawers on the corner of my table where it was hard to get to them and into one of my Ikea drawers right by my chair. I'm extremely happy with the results! It freed up so much room, plus it's so much easier to see what I have and thus use them!

Now let's see if I can actually produce a scrapbook page or two...

Stamping Goodies

Friday I got two packages that I had been waiting on: my Stampin' Up workshop products as well as my EZ Mount Foam. I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed going through the SU box and seeing what everyone else got. It made me really excited about signing up in January (I'm still pretty sure I will) and getting my starter kit. Woo hoo! Until then, I can play with all the goodies I got Friday.

This weekend I unmounted every one of my wood-mounted rubber stamps, with the exception of a couple of SU alphabets. I ran of out of CD cases, and in fact used a couple of DVD cases from promotional DVDs we had received in the mail. Once I get some more cases, I will unmount the SU alphabets, as well as repackage all of my acrylic sets.

I'm really excited about my new stamp storage. Not only did I free up a lot of room, but now I can better see what I have and more easily pack my stamps up for crops.

Senior Pictures

Brandon's mom & brother drove up today after the meeting. After lunch, we drove to Tishomingo State Park and took the first round of Tyler's senior pictures. I'm really happy with some of the ones we took. Here are some of my favorites, pre-Photoshop:

Vet Visit and Other Stuff

Bogart had an appointment for his annual check up and shots yesterday. Duchess got to go along to be weighed since she's supposed to be dieting and losing weight. We also had another Boxer accompanying us: my friend Glenda's new baby, Razzie (pronounced Rah-zee). Glenda saved Razzie from a so-called "breeder...more like a puppy mill if you ask me. :( We took her with us and left her there so she can be spayed this morning. She's SUCH a sweet girl! I took a few pics in the car yesterday. They aren't the greatest, but I still wanted to share!

Bogart got a clean bill of health at the vet's office, but Duchess disappointed us when she stepped on the scales and had gained a pound. Argh! I guess we'll have to cut her food even more. We really need to help her get more exercise too. It wouldn't hurt me to get more exercise as well...

Changing the subject, I have seriously been considering signing up as a Stampin' Up! consultant since my workshop Saturday. I have done the home party thing so many times, and every time I get out of it I say I won't do it again...but Saturday made me really miss it. Plus how cool would it be to get that awesome starter kit and a discount on my stamps?? I'm weighing the pros and cons right now and trying to be realistic with what I will do with it and that I will probably end up spending more than I make. We'll see. If I do sign up, it will be after January 1st. Thoughts?

Speaking of SU, I still haven't closed out my workshop. I'll probably do that tomorrow or Thursday. Anyone want to place an order?

Stamping Weekend

Saturday I had a Stampin' Up! workshop. It was a lot of fun, and I had a good turnout. I think everyone enjoyed themselves. I learned a new technique using baby wipes & ink refills that I can't wait to use again, and I ordered some really cute stamps. My party's still open for a few days, so I'm not sure how much free stuff I earned yet.

Heather spent the night after the workshop was over. Rachel stayed over for a little while and visited with us, and then Heather & I scrapbooked some. Actually, I made cards and worked on straightening up my table while she scrapbooked. It was fun, but I wasn't able to stay up as late as I would've liked. I was just sooo tired!!

Heather got ready here this morning then drove back for her meeting. I waited on Brandon, who took the car and ended up having to work over, but by the time he got home I was feeling really bad. I was achy and getting a bad headache, so I took my temperature and found that I was running a low-grade fever. Nice. I'm pretty sure it's just a reaction from the flu shot I took Friday afternoon, but I stayed home from the meeting just in case.

I laid around all day until just a little bit ago when I was actually feeling a little better, so I got up and worked on a few more cards. I guess I'm in a stamping mood. (I need to get into a scrapbooking mood so I can finish the kids' albums!) I finally called it quits when Sam came in to "supervise" and wouldn't let me finish what I was working on. LOL

Serious Blog Neglect!! Catching Up: Part 2 (Trip to the Mountains)

This past weekend we went to the Smoky Mountains for a little R&R. Brandon's dad & step-mom were able to meet us for part of the trip. It was really nice to see them and spend some quiet time with them. Since they live 12 hours away, our visits are few & far between!

Here's the little cabin we stayed at in Pigeon Forge. It's called "Pine Ridge" and is owned by Terry Kay Cabin Rentals. It was absolutely perfect for our little group. There was a small living area & kitchen in the middle, complete with a fireplace, and then there was a master suite on either end of the cabin. The back deck had a hot tub and rockers and was enclosed, so it was perfect for the pups to be out on without us worrying about them wandering off. Check their website for more pictures of the cabin.

We couldn't leave until I got off work Thursday, and we didn't make it to the cabin until around 12:30 at night. Bruce & Deborah got there before us and waited up. We settled in and got comfortable and visited with them until 5:00 in the morning!! Needless to say I was sleepy the next day!!

Friday, we all took our time getting up and around. Bruce cooked us breakfast while Deborah & I took our laptops and ran down the hill to a nearby shopping center where we were able to check our e-mail. We were parked right outside this awesome little bakery, where I ran in and purchased a delicious pumpkin roll and some freshly-baked sourdough bread for later. After we ate breakfast, we all got ready and went for a drive on the Roaring Fork Motor Trail. Here are some pictures (Click for a bigger version):

This was taken at the first overlook we got to on the trail...right after we saw a black bear. Unfortunately, said bear lumbered off down the mountain side just as I got my lens cap off and my window down to take his picture. Wouldn't you believe it?


Here we are at the second overlook. Aren't the leaves beautiful?

Father & Son


This is looking down the road from the 2nd overlook. The yellow trees were gorgeous!


Mountain Stream


Hoping we don't fall in!


More Stream Shots:




Waterfalls

On our way back to the cabin, we stopped at the Pigeon Forge location of the Smoky Mountain Brewery. Their pizza is amazing. We split a "Brewmaster", a 4-cheese white pie with roasted chicken, garlic roasted tomatoes, and spinach. SO GOOD!!

Friday night we stayed at the cabin. The men grilled steaks, which we had with sauteed mushrooms, baked potatoes, and grilled shrimp. It was all delicious! Of course, we had to spend some time hanging out in the hot tub as well, and there was a fire burning in the fireplace. It was a great night!

Saturday morning, Deborah & I drove to Sevierville to the Scrapbook Super Store while the men watched football. I love their clearance store. Everything is 50% off the lowest price marked. We went there first and really racked up on some cute scrappy stuff. Next we went into the main store for just a few minutes and got some Stickles. Yay!

When we got back to the cabin, I fixed some jalapeno poppers to snack on during the football game. When it was over, Bruce & Deborah loaded up and headed home. The rest of the evening, we just hung out at the cabin. We watched a couple of movies, including "Up!" which was really good!

Sunday morning, we loaded up the car and left our little cabin. Instead of going straight home like we normally would, we decided to take a little drive though the park. We went through Gatlinburg to get there, and that was nice. It was a beautiful day and so we put the windows down as we went through town. If you've ever been there, you'll know it takes forever to get through Gatlinburg because it's always so crowded. We had a dog hanging out each window, and they were both getting lots of attentions from everyone around!

The park was really pretty. We took the Newfound Gap and came back out at Cherokee, which took several hours. There were lots of gorgeous colors from all the hardwood trees. The only bad thing was that it was really crowded. We had several places were it got backed up. Once it was due to another bear. This one was up in a tree. I didn't get a picture because I didn't see him until it was too late. Here are some pictures from our drive:

Above the clouds near Clingman's Dome:


At a visitor's center with the pups:


There were lakes south of the park that were just gorgeous!


How cool is this picture? There were photographers set up in a few of the curves on Hwy 129 and they snapped everyone's picture as they drove by. Their website was printed on their vehicle, so I looked them up when we got home and purchased this shot. It was totally worth $5.90! :)

We finally made it home around 9:30 Sunday night. We were both tired, but it was such a fun trip!

Serious Blog Neglect!! Catching Up: Part 1 (Gina's Baby Shower)

Wow, this is shameful. I have to do better with my blogging!! Let's see if I can get caught up at least on the last couple of weekends...

On the 24th, we had a baby shower for a pretty much life-long friend, Gina, and her hubby, Tim. They are expecting their first child in January. Growing up, Gina & her sister Vanessa were either at our house or we were at theirs. It's so strange that she's about to be a mom. I'm really happy for her though and know she and Tim will make awesome parents!!

The shower was a huge success. They had a great turnout and got lots of gifts. It was a lot of fun seeing people I hadn't seen in a long time. And all the decorations turned out great, thanks to everyone that helped us put it all together.

Here are a couple of the projects Vanessa & I did the weekend before at her house (click to biggify):

This was our first ever diaper cake, set on a piece of foam core board covered in adorable fabric. I cut little Emilia's name out with my Cricut & SCAL software.


I saw this stork on the Cricut message board and just had to copy it! I cut him out with my Cricut & SCAL as well, although the original image I believe is on the "New Arrival" cartridge.


And here I am with one of my oldest friends, Vanessa. I love this pic!