Saturday, December 10, 2011

10 Things

For my 10 things post this month, I am going to share why I haven't posted in FOREVER! I have good reasons, really, I do!

10. Our dog Sweet Pea has been feeling neglected and needs attention whenever I can give it to her. Getting on-line becomes less important when this sweet thing needs a walk and some love!

9. The holidays: It becomes a time that goes by quickly and you're not sure where all the time went. But it sure was fun!

8. House addition: We are looking to add a master bed and bath. We've been working with a contractor and trying to figure how to make it happen. We need more space and unfortunately, our house is worth less than we paid for it right now!

7. Friendships: I'm trying to see my friends more and my husband literally kicks me out of the house some nights when my girlfriends call and want to spend time with me.

6. Family: I've been wanting to spend more time with my family, but the husband's family needs lots of support right now. My father-in-law was diagnosed with lung cancer a couple of months ago. He seems to be doing pretty well with the chemo treatments, but my mother-in-law is running herself ragged taking care of him. We've been trying to support them as much as we can.

5. Nerdy Girls seems to be out of commission. The website I was on the design team for hasn't posted a monthly contest in quite some time. It forced me to no only make a blog post every month, but it also got me to scrapbook at least once a month.

4. Sleeping: I've been doing a lot lately. My sleeping pattern seems to be changing and I'm not sure when I'll ever find normalcy again!

3. School: I've been working on an added authorization so I can officially be a special education preschool teacher. Right now, I have a temporary credential. I'm taking on-line classes that are a month long and it extremely time-consuming! Luckily, I only have one more week, then I get a nice long break!

2.My new job: Going from high school to preschool has been a struggle energy-wise. There is also a learning curve. I was at the high school for 10 years. I knew what was expected and how it all flowed. I'm still trying to get a flow going without needing a nap everyday!

1. And the number 1 reason, which really affects all the other reasons: I'm pregnant! It's been a trying and anxiety filled time! The first trimester knocked me off my feet. I literally came home from work and slept for almost 2 hours during the month of September and October. It's our first and the reason our house just isn't quite big enough. It's the reason poor Sweet Pea is getting less love. It's the reason that my job is so exhausting. We're half-way through (20 weeks!) and we are very excited! The photo is from 3 weeks ago. Not much belly then. I'm still not very big. Only people that know me can tell.


So now you know! I can't promise to blog more. Living life has become difficult enough. I will try though. I think I can post at least once more before the year ends.
Would you like to see more 10 things on the 10th lists? Check out Shimelle's blog. There are lots of great lists!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

October Color Combo Blog Hop

Hi! Thanks for joining our blog hop today. If you arrived from Sugar and Scrap, thank you for hopping all the way down to me! If you are here and didn’t come from the previous blog, I am listing the hop below my post so you can go start back at the beginning if you wish!

Welcome to the Color Combo Blog Hop!! My life has been so busy, I have not posted since the summer! An update on where I've been will follow in another blog post.

I had a choice of three combos this month. They were all gorgeous, but this was where I settled.

Isn't it just beautiful? I wanted to photograph some leaves, but it gets lighter later and darker sooner and winter just kept me from it. So, I made a scrapbook page of my Thanksgiving last year. I don't think it's quite finished yet. I want to add something to the space on the right, but am not sure what yet. If you have ideas, please let me know!

It's made with My Mind's Eye So Sophie papers. The glitter stickers are Making Memories and the ribbon is from my stash. I just love the glitter stickers.

I glued down the velvet ribbon first and decided the layout needed a little more purple to pull it together. I added the purple on top of the velvet. I like the effect.

I also added a movable element on my page and hid the journaling. I didn't think about it when I made it, but I should have photographed how I did it. If you want to know, ask! I'd be happy to tell you.



Thank you again for stopping by and joining the blog hop! Your next stop is Handmade by Kirsty so please continue on to see her beautiful creation!

The entire hop:

www.abstractsmixedwithextracts.com

http://suealthouse.blogspot.com

http://xnomads.typepad.com

http://michelleroycroft.blogspot.com

http://throughthecameralens.typepad.com/

http://scrapyourlife.net

http://spud-pickle.blogspot.com/

http://curlyscrapbooker.blogspot.com

http://1200somemiles.blogspot.com

http://sugarandscrap.blogspot.com

http://alyssephotographs.blogspot.com

http://handmadebykirsty.blogspot.com

http://adriennefalzon.blogspot.com/

http://helenascreativemaven.blogspot.com

http://digipage-blog.everything-digital-scrapbooking.com/

http://scribblesstickingstitchingstroking.blogspot.com/

Thursday, August 18, 2011

August Color Combo Blog Hop!!

Hi! Thanks for joining our blog hop today. If you arrived from Adrienne's, thank you for hopping all the way down to me! If you are here and didn’t come from the previous blog, I am listing the hop below my post so you can go start back at the beginning ihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giff you wish!

This month's color combo is very summery. The sample picture is of a clementine. Who doesn't love a clementine?? I love the orange and green. And, well, I just love gray with everything!!



I had time and was inspired to take photos this month. I have one zucchini plant, which my dad says is the wrong way to grow them and the reason why I have only gotten two zucchinis this year. I just didn't have the space for more plants with all the things I wanted to grow. Anyway, while it doesn't make very many zucchinis, it does make a lot flowers, which are very similar in color to clementines.




This doesn't have the nice orange or yellow in it, but I just love the bunch of tomatoes!

Thank you for joining us today! I hope we have inspired you to get creative. If you use the color combo yourself, let me know. I'd love to see what you do with it!

Now hop on over to bunnyfreak and see what else is in store for you!

http://amysoto.blogspot.com/

http://www.curlyscrapbooker.blogspot.com/

http://www.MichelleRoycroft.blogspot.com/

http://www.snapsandsnippets.blogspot.com/

http://scrapyourlife.net/

http://sugarandscrap.blogspot.com/

http://1200somemiles.blogspot.com/

http://suealthouse.blogspot.com/

http://craftygoodies.blogspot.com/

http://adriennefalzon.blogspot.com/

http://alyssephotographs.blogspot.com/

http://digipage-blog.everything-digital-scrapbooking.com/

http://scribblesstickingstitchingstroking.blogspot.com/

http://spud-pickle.blogspot.com/

http://www.scrapworthylives.com/

http://www.vsws.typepad.com/



Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Level Up Beat Down Rocks Petaluma

It has been entirely too long. The last few weeks have just flown by. I finished summer school and started my summer online class before summer school was over. In the middle of that, I went on a short vacation. Whew! Now, I'm finally able to enjoy some summer before I have to head back to work!

Last month Level Up Down Down played The Phoenix. They played a good set to about 4 fans. The rest of the bands were, um, quite different from them. I always love photographing at the Phoenix, but the lighting was not near as good this time, I do have several good ones to share with you though and quite possibly a couple new favorites.











These last two are my favorites from the night. I love how Stephen is off all alone and thought the black and white worked really well. I love the one of Russ because it has some movement to it. I just really love how I framed it and the look on his face goes with the warmth of the lights.



Thanks for stopping by today!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

July Color Combo Blog Hop

Hi! Thanks for joining our blog hop today. If you arrived from Helena's http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif thank you for hopping all the way down to me! If you are here and didn’t come from the previous blog, I am listing the hop below my post so you can go start back at the beginning if you wish!

The color combo for this month is just delicious! It reminds me of some of the colors I saw in Nicaragua 5 years ago. The summer hues palette comes from Design Seeds.

I chose to make a scrapbook page this time. I started out by grabbing the cardstock that matched the combo then searched for patterned paper I could use. I found the pictures that worked with the combo and my patterned paper. Then I set to work. It's a very simple layout that showcases the photos and the story.




Thank you for joining us today! I hope we have inspired you to get creative. If you use the color combo yourself, let me know. I'd love to see what you do with it!

Here's the whole train in case you missed out on anyone:

http://amysoto.blogspot.com/

http://scribblesstickingstitchingstroking.blogspot.com/

http://www.snapsandsnippets.blogspot.com/

http://scrapyourlife.net/

http://craftygoodies.blogspot.com/

http://www.MichelleRoycroft.blogspot.com/

http://digipage-blog.everything-digital-scrapbooking.com/

http://sugarandscrap.blogspot.com/

http://www.curlyscrapbooker.blogspot.com/

http://www.scrapworthylives.com/

http://www.vsws.typepad.com/

http:/handmadebykirsty.blogspot.com

http://throughthecameralens.typepad.com/

http://1200somemiles.blogspot.com/

http://helenascreativemaven.blogspot.com/

http://alyssephotographs.blogspot.com/

Sunday, July 10, 2011

10 Things

Welcome to 10 things on the 10th! For this post, I'd like to highlight 10 things I hope to accomplish with the rest of my summer. I'm teaching summer school for one more week and I'm taking an online class that lasts until the end of July; So, I already have my top two things that I know I'll accomplish!

1. Finish Summer School with a bang - this summer session has been tough. I'm teaching a group of pre-k students that are definitely not ready for Kindergarten. We are working on how to line up, how to sit for instruction and how to follow directions. One little girl hits students for no apparent reason several times a day. While I have enjoyed working with the age, I will be happy for it to end!

2. Finish my online class with an A! My credential only covers K-12 so in order to work with Early Intervention I needed an added authorization. I found an online university where there are 6 classes I need in order to meet that. The first class started July 5th. It is pretty intense because it's only a month long. I'm glad the first one is during summer when I'm not working full time. I haven't been to school since 2007! We'll see about the A...

3. Go to a Giants game. (Already Scheduled)

4. Go to Disneyland. (Already Scheduled)

5. Go to the beach with Mrs. Stafford.

6. Spend time with my niece and nephew.

7. Attend Scrapbook expo... not scheduled, but it should be!

8. Play trivia at Finnegan's at least once!
Craziness at the Irish pub!
9. Go rafting with the teachers.
This is last year's trip. Super fun!
10. Spend as much time in the hammock eating popsicles as possible.

I'm so excited to have some time off soon. This summer has been a lot warmer than last summer and I can't wait to spend time with friends and family enjoying the beautiful weather!
Did you enjoy this post? Want to see more? Head on over to Shimelle's site for the list of others 10 things!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Winner!!

Cheryl M. is our winner!! Contact me so I can send you the prize.