MIA...

I was doing so good too with blogging at least weekly then... nothing. Shame on me! Actually I didn't realize how long it had been since I last blogged. Time seems to be going by so fast. I can't believe that Christmas is less then 2 weeks away. The boys are going to their dad's for a week, so it will only be Chuck and I for Christmas. I kind of wanted to have them for Christmas as I feel that this may be the last time we will be all in the same area to be together for Christmas. Next year so much may change, we will just have to see.
Here is my layout this week. When Shawn gave us December's sketches back in early November I knew what I wanted to do with this sketch. I saw a Christmas layout with Santa in his sleigh with reindeer flying through the sky. The only thing I needed to get was a Cricut cartridge for the Santa and reindeer. How lucky I was when I went to Walmart at midnight on Black Friday to look at the sales and especially the Cricut cartridges that they had on sale for $20, when I found one with exactly what I needed. I was so thrilled. This is probably my most fav layout that I have done so far.

Long Week

Last week was a long week for me, anyone else? I did get my layout for Nuts About Sketches done early so that left me with some extra free time and I spent it probably cleaning. Our weather here has finally changed to Fall and our winds have kicked in too. With this wind comes the wonderful and fun job to remove DUST. It finds every little crack to come in, let alone when the front door is opened. We don't get it as bad as some people in the apartments because we are kind of tucked in a little corner. Well, here is this weeks sketch and my layout. I thought that with this week being the week before Halloween I would do a Halloween layout of my boys. This was a fun Halloween for us as this was the first year Ben could walk completely on his own. As you can tell they wanted the candy before we went trick or treating and had it all over their faces. I have always put a little handful of candy from our hand out stuff into their buckets so they are not empty when they go out. :)

It is so different now. With them being 19 & 17 there is no more trick or treating, actually there hasn't been for awhile now. I miss it, making the costumes, putting on face paint, going through the candy when we got home and picking out one of my favs! It was always so much fun. I remember the first time Ben asked to go with his friends instead of the family. I thought I was going to cry.

The next step will be the grandkids and I can't wait! But I did tell my boys that they better wait for a few more years!

New Sketch

Here is this weeks new sketch! I had a really fun time putting this one together. My dad truly is my hero and always will be. When I went through my divorce he had the shoulder I could cry on. It was an abusive marriage and my dad did so much to help. He went to almost all my court hearings, he helped get me back into my house after my ex moved out. He even bought me a cute stuffed dog to help me cheer up (I still have it). My parents even paid for my attorney.

When my dad got cancer, I was there to help him. As he was going through chemo his hair started to fall out and my mom asked if I could shave my dad's head to halp ease the pain because she couldn't do it and I couldn't balme her. I think this was when it truly hit me that I may lose my dad. He is still here and doing great. He is in complete remission right now. :)

I'm daddy's little girl, his first born, and he is "My Hero."

Didn't make it

Well, I didn't make it on the design team for Scrapbookers Anonymous, but that is ok. I had so much fun doing the sketch for it. I have to admit though that every time I try out for a design team I am getting some more photos scrapped whether I make it on the team or not. :) But I did want to go ahead and at least post the layout I did do.

It is of my friend Morgan and her baby girl Zoe. I actually scrap Zoe a lot because she is so photogenic. In these pictures Morgan decided to climb into Zoe's crib. When she brought me these photos i couldn't stop laughing. They are just too cute. At the time Zoe is about 10 months, now she is 2 yrs old. I did two new techniques on this layout too. The pinwheels and the zipper flowers. I have done pinwheels before but the ones where you flip the paper over and secure it down, and I have to say that when you are doing very small ones it can be a pain in the butt to secure them. I saw these new ones it another layout and thought that they would be perfect and so much easier! They are so simple to make, you cut out 2 squares, one smaller then the other (I used square punches to make mine), then on the back side you draw lines diagonally and into quarters. Now you cut the lines down to within 1/8th inch of the center. Then cut out every other one. Now glue the smaller one on top of the bigger one and embellish as you please. Very easy. Now the zipper flower is a lot harder and you can find tutorials all over the internet for them.

I'm now going to get back to scrapping. I need to start working on next weeks sketch for NAS. I hope you all have had a great weekend! Type later.

Did It Again...

So here is this week's sketch and my layout of it. I really had so much fun doing this one. My brother and I have a great relationship and I have always wanted to do a layout about us and this sketch was perfect. My mom absolutely loved it too.

Well, I did it. I applied for another design team and can't wait to see if I made it. Since I have been doing layouts for Nuts About Sketches I have fallen in love with doing a layout each week and I love the doing challenges so I applied at Scrapbookers Anonymous. It is a new scrapsite and I am loving it. I really like the monthly challenges. This month you need to use 3 different pattern papers from 3 different manufacturers all on one layout, and trust me it is not that easy. Each month will be a different kind of challenge so I can't wait to find out who has made the team.

Well, I need to get some chores done so I need to get off this computer. Type later.

One Big Hole

Here is this weeks Nuts About Sketches sketch and my layout. I hope you like it. My layout is about a field trip I went on to Tonto Natural Bridge with the 7th grade class at Snowflake Jr. High. I was an Instructional Assistant at the time. It was so beautiful to see this amazing bridge. I know that it is hard to see in the pics but if you look real close you can see some of the students in relation to the size of the hole. I will try to get a better pic of that for you. It was really hard to make the climb back up though. I thought I was going to die and I wanted to when I finally did get to the top. :) It was so much fun and absolutely beautiful to visit.

Zipper flowers

Here are the up close pictures of the zipper flower I made and put on my layout.

New Layout

Here is the latest layout I did for Nuts About Sketches. I hope you like it. The zipper flower in the top right corner is something I just learned how to do. It was so much fun to create!

Today I got a great package from my mom. She told me she was sending me a bag for my laptop that she had given me along with a birthday card, but that wasn't it in the box. Along with that stuff was a really cute Tinker Bell fleece blanket (I LOVE Tinker Bell), a Tinker Bell place mat that I have on my desk, a cute little Tinker Bell lunch box that I am going to use for my photos, a heart keychain, a pair of Tinker Bell earrings, and a Tinker Bell house key. I love it all and it was such a great surprise. Thank you Mom!!

My Card

Today I decided to make a card for a scrapbook site that was having a contest. I had to use black, burgundy, yellow, and white to create either a layout or a card. I thought about it and decided that it would probably be easier for me to make a card. It took me about 3 hrs to make it and to me that is a long time to make a single card. I always take a long time when scrapping because I look through all my options. I pull lots of things out and decide how that looks then put them back and try something else. This can go on for about an hour in itself. I need to learn how to chose materials faster. I did learn from someone that the way she would do it was only give herself so many minutes to chose say what cardstock she was going to use. I did try once to only give myself only 5 minutes to chose the pattern paper I wanted to use and it ended up being 30 minutes which isn't too long, but when it was 30 minutes for that then 30 minutes for the next thing it adds up and the next thing I know I have spent 6 hours on a layout and I'm not even finished! The one thing that helps me the most with getting layouts out faster are sketches. They are my time savers. That is the number one thing I love the most about being on Nuts About Sketches Design Team. The sketch is there for me! Once I do have all the paper, pictures, and embellishments then it is usually 2-3 hrs for me to finish, but that is for a single page.

Well, I am going to work on some jewelry now as I found a great necklace that I want to make. Type later.

A Few Layouts

I wanted to get a couple new layouts on my blog today. I finished these in the last couple weeks and realized I didn't have them up. Shame on me! These are layouts I did for a crop over on Simply Obsessed. I love it there because they usually have a crop a month with great prizes. They sure get me motivated to get some pictures scrapped. I have so many, a few hundred, pictures I want to get done, plus all the new ones that are being taken. Someday, maybe I will catch up.

Not much has happened since the last time I blogged. My husband has been real busy with making furniture. I need to post some pics of his stuff, it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! He has made me a coffee table, a TV cabinet, and for his lizard, a new stand. Right now he is working on a cutting board thing. I'm not sure about it. He uses exotic woods and really pretty hard woods to make his stuff. Mostly it is purple heart, orange perduke, and black walnut. I never knew that wood could be so beautiful. I want him to make me a spice cabinet like they have in Chinese stores. The ones that have like 50 or more drawers in them. I love them and think it would be great storage for all my embellishments and stuff. The drawers are usually only about 6"x6"x 8". Some of the cabinets I have seen are so ornate with a lot of Chinese design on them. I'm not sure how soon this will happen, but I'm hoping not too long. I told him I would like it for Christmas. :)

Thw weather here is finally cooling down. The past week has been so nice. I don't think we even got out of the 70's. It really feels like Fall now and I have been kinda wanting to get out the Halloween decorations. Last year I didn't get to put a whole lot out because that was when I was dealing with my hands not working and it was so painful to move my fingers. This year though, I am ready to turn my home into a crypt. I think I have more Halloween decorations then Christmas ones. It is my husbands favorite holiday too. Well, I am falling asleep while I am typing so it is time to head to bed so off I go, type later.

New Layout

Here is a layout I finished today. I have very few pictures of my boys when they were very little because of a terrible divorce, so I love doing layouts of the ones I have. My boys are my dreams come true, they are actually miracles because of a condition I had I never should of been able to have children. I did not find out about this until after I had my hysterectomy at the ripe old age of 29. I so wanted more children too, but I will just wait for grandchildren. :)

Next Number in Line

Since I am on the Design Team at Nuts About Sketches, I want to start posting the weekly sketch along with my layout based on it. Here they are.

I figured it is a good time for an update :) To explain my post title, I had my birthday over this past weekend and I turned the BIG 4-0. When I was talking to my mom Saturday night, when she called to sing me the yearly traditional "Happy Birthday", I explained to her that turning 40 was not that bad. It was just the next number in line to me. I do however feel that I no longer have to compete with the younger generation. I don't care if I go out without makeup or whether or not my toe nails are polished. That doesn't mean I am going to let myself "go". I still have standards, it's just I am in a whole different age group now and it is a lot more relaxing. Those of you who have past this monumental birthday know exactly what I mean, and those of you who haven't will understand when you get there. Just please think when your birthday comes around with that number that proves you are getting older that it is just the "next number in line".

Another thing that has happened this past week is my son Ben got a job at our local Taco Bell. I am so proud of him. It has actually been a dream for him since he was 12 to get a job there. He loves their food. His fav is the double decker tacos. He will start his first day some time this week. He can't work more then 20 hours because he is still in school, but he already has plenty of plans on how he is going to spend his earnings. Clothes are at the top of his list, then getting a new video game system next. He is a hard worker and loves to please people so I know he will do great there.

Well, I am going to get back to scrapping. I want to get started on next weeks sketch. Sorry, you won't get to see it until Shawn posts it on the site. :) Have a great day!

Nuts About Sketches

Here is this weeks sketch and my layout based on it. Go check out NAS!

I Made It!

It has been a couple weeks and a lot has happened in that time. For one, I finally got my computer back from my dad which is why I haven't posted lately. Actually, I got my mom's laptop. Before they went back to California, it was decided that I would get my mom's laptop because she was already looking for a new one and she would just give me hers. I was so ecstatic about this! I haven't had a laptop since my old one died 3 yrs ago. I missed it so much. I loved just sitting in my chair, relaxing and typing away on my laptop. So earlier this week the laptop showed up, and the best part was my dad had taken all my info, pics, docs and everything else that was on my desktop and put it on the laptop. I have my world again :)
The second best thing that happened was I tried out for an online scrapsite design team and I MADE IT!! My first one! It is for Nuts About Sketches. I have done 2 layouts for her now and it has been so exciting seeing my work on a website. When I got the email a dn saw my name listed on the site my entire day just got so much brighter. I will be the DT for the next 6 months doing a layout every week. That is one way to catch up on my photos.
Another great thing is my son Ben got a job at our local Taco Bell. He is so excited about it. He is already making plans for the money he will be making. The only thing he is not sure of is wearing non designer shoes! I will have to admit that he is very much vain about what he wears. It usually needs to have a well known name that is popular with the kids like Aeropostal, DC, Etnies, etc. Now HE will be able to purchase whatever name brand he wants.
Well, time for bed. I want to get up a little early tomorrow and get some scrapping done for the crop one of the scrapsites is having right now. Type later, goodnight.

Hello

I just wanted to take a quick moment to stop by and say a quick "Hello". I'm getting ready to go to bed as soon as Chuck gets back from his nightly security walk around. I am so glad that it is really cooling down at night, it makes it much easier to sleep. I have a really hard time sleeping if my room is hot. In fact I won't sleep and I HATE the idea of having my ac on a night. We usually just put a fan in the window and that is just enough to blow cool air around the room. Last night we had a storm come through so I didn't even need to put the fan in the window. When it started raining though the window had to close.
I can't believe that my parents went back home a little over a week ago. I miss them so much, especially my mom. Her and I are so close. The hardest thing I did was move 570 miles from her. We are best friends. I want them to come back. Dad still has my computer and believe me I miss it so much. Even though it was slower then a snail or the husband getting out of bed in the morning, at least it was mine and I did not have to borrow my husbands all the time. I am getting tired of hearing, "Are you done yet?" I hope soon that my computer will find it's way back home to me.
Well, he has returned home and I am heading to bed. I'm really tired tonight as I did not sleep very well last night. Sleep well everyone!

Family

Well, my family went back home yesterday. I already miss them so much. My dad spent most of the week working on my computer though and in the end he had to take it home with him:( So now I am using my husband's laptop (and I hate Vista) until my computer comes back. My mom and I had so much fun while they were here.

Design Team

Hello...I have a few minutes to update. We had a great crop on Simply Obsessed on July 24-25. I had such a blast and I even won something! I got 4 layouts done which I was so happy about. I can't wait for the birthday day crop next weekend. I'm getting photos printed just for it.
Well, I did it. I tried out for the design tean at Simply Obsessed. A person sits there and wonders for awhile if her style and design are good enough for such a task. Am I good enough? Well, I thought I was and put in my application. We won't hear anything until Aug 9th but we can keep our fingers crossed.
I also signed up for Simply Obsessed's monthly kit. I have been wanting to for awhile now and I'm so excited about finally doing it. I love getting kits in the mail. Everything comes already coordinated and it is so easy and every quick to put a layout together. It should be here by Thursday!
I am so excited. My familiy will be here on Friday! I have not seen them for over a year and it doesn't even feel that long ago. They will be here for a week. Mom says that all she wants to do is spend time with me and rest. That is fine with me. Maybe I will put a better chair in my scraproom and she can sit in there with me and talk while I scrap? I love scrapping with my mom. Going through all the old photos is so much fun. I'm not sure what my dad or brother want to do though.
I'm heading off to bed. I need to get up a little early tomorrow to allow my neighbor to use our washer. She doesn't have one and her dirty laundry is backing up. Blog later:)

A Long Time

Hello. It has been a long time now hasn't it. So much has happened to keep me away from here. Having the first hand operated on and then Christmas. The start of the year brought my left hand having surgery, then the biggest thing change of all; my older son moving out the first of March. I'm just now getting use to it. It was so hard to deal with. I was prepared for him to be with me forever. My older son Stephen is autistic. It was something my dh and I had so excepted and were ready for him to live in our home the rest of our lives, and here he goes and moves. I was happy and depressed at the same time. He only moved 30 minutes away, which did make it a lot easier. I see him at least once a week. Also, his girlfriend lives here so he comes to see her a lot.
My younger son Ben, is going to be a senior this year. The time is flying by so fast. By this time next year, we could be empty-nesters. We are planning on moving to Las Vegas. Not in the city area but more in likely on the outskirts. I'm happy about it as I will be only 3 hrs from my mom instead of 8, but the idea of moving again. It is so not fun, especially out of state. But we will. You have to go where the jobs are and where we don't have to drive 3 hrs to get to a Best Buy or in my case, a Michael's or scrapbook store:)
Well, I think that is enough for tonight. I will try to post a little more often. This is not a guarantee, but I will try:)

~~Surgery Time...again

This one will be real short as it is a pain in the butt to type with only one hand, but I did want to give a quick update. I had hand surgery on my right hand this past Tuesday the 10th and everything went good. I had Trigger Finger and Carpal Tunnel. It will take about 6 weeks to heal then I will have the left hand done. I am going to definitely wait until after Christmas for it.
On to my weight. I have now officially lost 105 pounds, which brings me to 195. It has been so exciting being able to fit into smaller clothes! I can wear all junior sizes now, which is the best part. It has been a very long time since I was this size. I need to post some pics of this for you all to see.
Well, I told you this would be short. My hand is hurting and it is time for bed. Type soon, Julie.

~~Getting Older

Okay...so I try to write more often and I go 1 month between posts! All I can say is my life seemed to get extra busy lately. I'll start with the fact that on Sept 18 I turned the wonderful age of 39. I am not quite sure how I feel about this yet. As of right now, it doesn't feel any different then 38. My dear sweet husband made me a beautiful, expensive steak for dinner. I don't really like big birthday parties for me, my kids it is a different story, but me I like it quiet. My neighbors brought me over some gifts which was very sweet, and both my boys made sure they told me happy birthday. This is all I want really, for the people close to me to just tell me happy birthday. Then my older son turned the magical age of 18 in Oct. Now talk about feeling older! It is still a shock to me. He finally got his hair cut the other day and now he really looks older. Now to realize that my other son will turn 18 in a little over a year. Do I start having a melt down yet? How about my mid-life crisis? Nah, it can't be that as I already had it when I turned 25. Do you get to have a another one? LOL!