A Chocolate Kind of Life

Blog Candy!

2010-05-24T20:40:00.002-04:00

You have to head over to Passion For Crafts and check out her scrappy blog candy! Today is her birthday and she is giving away an amazing amount of goodies!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-22T21:49:00.000-05:00

This year has gone by WAY too fast. It honestly feels like we just celebrated the New Year of 2009 last month. I am truly amazed at the blessings we have had this year, the biggest one was of course the birth of Tyler. He is already over 4 and a half months old. It is awesome to see the new things he is learning everyday. Noah is really starting to love his little brother and loves to play with him. I'm very thankful for that. He likes to help me by putting Tyler's pacifier back in his mouth, singing to him or dancing around while Tyler giggles as he watches.

I have been working on a layout using the picture above for my parents for the past few nights. It's definitely a different style than what I normally do, but its so my mom. (If that makes sense.) I'm using the Paper Dolls Cricut cartridge if that gives you any idea. I'm going to frame it and give it to her for Christmas. I will upload a picture of it when I'm done. I just hope it turns out the way I have it in my head! Isn't that how it always is?

If you are willing, please post your resolutions. I always love to hear what everyone else is going to be working on. I feel so typical this year, which isn't normally me. My big two resolutions are to lose weight and save more money. Yup... the typical ones. I have a few pounds (or more, ha!) of baby weight to lose and I want to save money for a vacation. My other resolution is to read the Bible this year. I haven't ever read the whole Bible and this year I am bound and determined to do it. I have a woman's daily devotional that takes you through the whole Bible in a year and I'm very excited about it. Oh, this is funny, that is another resolution I have. (I guess a resolution.) I want to get back to scrapping more. I miss it, I miss you guys and I miss having a creative outlet. It's just been that crazy with 2 little boys.

I hope you all have a blessed Christmas and a very happy and safe New Year! I have some exciting things planned for my blog for 2010.

Hello! Hello! Hello!

2009-12-03T15:51:00.007-05:00

Is that an echo I hear? Is anybody out there? Gosh, I feel like such a bad blogger! I never knew how busy I'd be with a toddler and new baby. Tyler is already 4 months old! Can you believe it?!?! I have to share a picture of my boys, of course, right? Noah is really starting to like the idea of being a big brother I think. Well, most of the time anyway.

I can hear all of you saying it now, "Come on, lady! Isn't this supposed to be a scrapbook blog? Enough with your kids already!" Haha... Ok! Ok! I hear you. Now on to some layouts. I've done 4 layouts since Tyler has been born. Yes, you did read that right... 4. That averages out to only 1 per month. The interesting thing is that I did the last 3 layouts within the past month. If you would like more detailed informationand products used, please stop by my scrapbook.com gallery!

(Photo by Lilyblue Photography)

(Photos by Kristy Photography)

Amazing giveaway!!!

2009-11-10T10:55:00.003-05:00

Kathy over at The $30 Weekly Grocery Challenge has one of my all time favorite giveaways! You can go here and enter to win The Britax Marathon CS! This is an awesome car seat. I already have one for my older son, Noah, and now need one for Tyler. The Britax Marathon CS retails for $299.99! So, you can see why I'm hoping I win. Ha!

Leave a comment to let me know if you entered. Good luck!

Deal of the Day Sites

2009-09-22T15:36:00.008-04:00

I am a junkie for those Deal of the Day sites. I check quite a few of them everyday. I usually don't buy anything, but when I do, it's a great deal! Those sites always have products that are near 50% off of their retail price! I thought I'd compile a list of the sites I know of here. If you know of any more then please comment and share!

General
-Woot

Scrapbook
-Crop Chocolate
-Peachy Cheap
-Scrapbook Steals

Baby/Kids
-Baby Steals
-Green Baby Bargains
-Baby Earth
-Mama Bargains
-Baby Half Off
-Kids Woot

Menu Plan Monday (9/21-27)

2009-09-22T12:27:00.004-04:00

Yes, it really is Tuesday. I'm just a day late and, from my grocery bill last night, more than a dollar short. Last week went very well. I only have 1 meal carrying over to this week. DH was gone one of the nights so I got Applebee's for DS and me. Their Grilled Shrimp 'N Spinach Salad is one of my weaknesses. Here is this week's plan:

Monday- Grilled Chicken and Mostacholi with Broccoli
Tuesday- Chili with Corn Bread
Wednesday- Chicken Enchiladas
Thursday- Hamburger and Baked Beans
Friday- BBQ Chicken, Cheddar Pasta and Cauliflower
Saturday- Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes and Mixed Veggies
Sunday- Open

If you want to be part of Menu Plan Monday, all you have to do is go to orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday.

Menu Plan Monday (9/14-20)

2009-09-14T22:17:00.012-04:00

I'M BACK!!!!

...well, mostly back anyway. It really is great to be back, too. It has been an insane 6 weeks since Tyler was born. Noah seems to be having a bit of a rough time being a big brother at the age of 2, so I can't guarantee that I will be consistent again with the blog quite yet. For those wondering about where my layouts are at, I can't even get to my desk let alone even think about scrapping. So, needless to say I won't be having much scrappy related things on here very soon.

Here are some obligatory pictures of my absolutely adorable boys!

Now on to the beloved Menu Plan Monday!

I've finally gotten back to planning my menu and grocery shopping on Mondays. My oh my it was quite a challenge to figure out how to go grocery shopping with a 2 year old and a 6 week old. Well, Noah sits in the shopping cart in the top where kids are supposed to sit and I wear Tyler in a Moby Wrap, which by the way I *love*!!! I'm posting a picture below of me wearing Tyler in the Moby Wrap at the zoo, just to give you an idea. Anyway, on to this weeks menu:

Monday- Hamburger Helper (Gosh, I am so embarrassed to say that!)
Tuesday- Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff
Wednesday- Grilled Mojito Lime Chicken, Spanish Rice and Corn
Thursday- Slow Cooker Pork Roast with Potatoes, Carrots and Onions
Friday- Tator Tot Casserole
Saturday- Open
Sunday- Slow Cooker Chili

If you want to be part of Menu Plan Monday, all you have to do is go to orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday.

My little one is finally here!

2009-08-09T09:52:00.003-04:00

I'm sorry that I haven't posted this sooner, but life in our house has been beyond crazy! Tyler Scott was born on Saturday, August 2nd at 8:11pm. He was very close to being born on his brother's birthday, which is the 2nd, but he decided that he wanted his very own special day. Tyler weighed in at 8 lbs 1 oz and was 21 inches long. We are all totally in love with this little guy! He has been a great baby so far, but just has his days and nights confused so we aren't getting much sleep. Here is a picture a from just after Tyler was born, one from right before his first bath and one from his first day home.

Update!

2009-07-20T18:26:00.005-04:00

I'm sorry that I have been MIA lately. I am still pregnant and 10 days away from my due date. So, this baby really could come at any time. I'm hoping for sooner rather than later just because I'm so darn uncomfortable. A few things:

-I will not be doing Menu Plan Monday for at least a few weeks. Right now we are just trying to use whatever we can from the freezer and cupboards or ordering food in until the baby comes. After the baby comes, we have a lot of friends that have offered to bring us meals. I feel so very blessed by this!

-I did do a little project for the nursery over the weekend. When I was pregnant with our first son, my DH made a night stand for the nursery. I used scrapbook paper to cover the top and it was very simple. This was also before I started scrapping. Well, this time I did a little more to the top of the table. It is still simple, but not as simple as last time. I used my Cricut to cut out the baby's name, tree truck and the individual leaves. I am seriously in love with it! I really do love how simple it is. I really didn't want to overdo it.

-Once Tyler is here and I get into the swing of being a mommy of 2, I have some great plans for this blog. So... stay tuned! I really think you'll like it.

-Psst.... I also plan on doing a giveaway when I get back into the groove of life. :-D

Menu Plan Monday (6/6-12)

2009-07-06T10:16:00.005-04:00

I have to say, last week was the best week so far with sticking to our menu plan! We ended up going to a BBQ on Saturday so we shifted the steak to last night. Yum! Anyway, this week is again, a super crazy week! I don't think our schedules are ever going to let up. We won't be home much. Here is this week's plan:

Monday- having pizza with friends
Tuesday- Health & Wellness Conference
Wednesday- Our Third Anniversary!!! Date Night!!!!
Thursday- crock pot pork roast with potatoes, carrots and onions (yes, again)
Friday- beef enchiladas
Saturday- grilled steak, baked potatoes and broccoli
Sunday- Spaghetti

If you want to be part of Menu Plan Monday, all you have to do is go to orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday.

Menu Plan Monday (6/29-7/5)

2009-06-29T10:04:00.002-04:00

Our vacation was awesome! When we got back last week we just ate stuff in the house and went out once. I don't think we did too shabby. It is so strange to be back into the real world now and back to the "normal" life. The good thing is that my freezer is still fairly well stocked so my grocery bill this week is going to be pretty small. This makes me very happy! Here is this weeks plan:

Monday- Cheeseburgers, Broccoli Pasta and Mixed Veggies
Tuesday- Crock Pot Pork Roast with Potatoes, Carrots and Onions
Wednesday- Tacos
Thursday- Chicken Sandwiches, Stuffing and Peas
Friday- Spaghetti with Garlic Bread
Saturday- Steak, Rice and Green Beans
Sunday- Open

I really have to give a shout out to Heather from Miracle's Momma Designs because she has also started to do a menu plan! She talks about it in this post and I have to say that she is actually inspiring me! She has planned for an entire month, not just a week! At least her husband has stopped bugging her about what is going to be for dinner that night.

If you want to be part of Menu Plan Monday, all you have to do is go to orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday.

DAD Album & Maternity Photos

2009-06-27T08:32:00.008-04:00

I wanted to share the mini album I made for my husband for Father's Day. This is my first real mini album and it was quite the challenge for me. I stressed about this thing for so long because I didn't really have a real clue where to even begin. Well, after working on it for about a week in any spare time that I had where DH couldn't tell what was going on, I finally got it finished! We were leaving on our vacation last Friday so I had to get the album done Thursday night. I was up until 12:30 in the morning finishing it up. I'm so glad that I got it done because he truly loved it.

On the very back of the album I wrote letters to him from the perspective of our sons, one who is still in the belly. Those are personal, so I didn't take pictures of them.

I used my all-time favorite BasicGrey collection on this album, Offbeat. I used the paper pack, rub-ons, chipboard, and buttons. I also used a little of the Lime Rickey collection. I love how both of those collections are so "boy". I really think that if I could only choose 2 collections to use on the rest of my scrapping forever, I'd choose those 2. I seriously LOVE them! Anyway, here are the pictures:

(Edit: The base of the album is a Bo Bunny Word Album. It is made of raw chipboard and can be seen here in the sb.com superstore.)

I also wanted to share a couple of the maternity pictures that my life-long friend, Sarrah, took of my family this week. I am in love with them! She has just started doing professional photography a few months ago and we were her first maternity session. We only have 4.5 weeks until my due date! Baby Tyler is going to be here before we know it!!!

No Menu Plan Monday...

2009-06-24T12:44:00.005-04:00

We are back from our vacation. We had such an awesome time, but I'm glad to be home. We are super busy the rest of the week so we are going to wing it on dinners around here. I will be back on Monday with next week's menu though.

Also, some time this week, if I get time, I am going to post pictures of the project I did for my husband for Father's Day. I altered one of those Bo Bunny word albums that spelled "DAD". My husband loved it and I think it turned out very well for being my first mini album.

Two Recent Layouts

2009-06-16T15:31:00.006-04:00

I have been getting some great use of my Cricut Expression lately. My husband bought it for me on Black Friday, then I was so sick with "morning" sickness that I didn't scrap for a few months. Now, I am finally figuring it out and I am in love with it!!! These two layouts were embellished primarily using my Cricut.

I used the Die Cuts With A View Citrus paper stack in this layout, Cuddle Bug. I really love the majority of the papers for fun boy pages. I used the Storybook, Doodlecharms and Home Accents cartridges for all of the embellishments and Thickers for the title. I hand doodled the stitching around the scalloped circle. I really love how the layout came out! That is one of my favorite pictures of my son. He was just over a month old. Ah, such love! Journaling- "Here you are at just over a month old and sleeping like an angel. You were so soft and so warm, all I wanted to do was cuddle with you. Why couldn't you stay this small forever? Sweet Noah 9-6-07"

This next layout, "Hey Mommy" was super fun! I wanted to do a safari theme for the layout because the hat my son is wearing in the picture reminded me of a safari hat. I used 2 cartridges on this layout: Storybook and Paper Doll Dress Up. The paper is Die Cuts With A View's Animal Crackers and the cardstock is Bazzill Bling. I can't tell you just how much I love, love, love Bazzill Bling cardstock. That just may be a whole other post all together. Anyway, I don't know what made me think about them, but I used deco edge scissors for the photo mat. I haven't used my deco scissors in a very long time. They are actually in my Making Memories Desktop Carousel sitting right in front of me and I happened to notice them when I was working on this. I think the decorative edge is one of my favorite parts of this layout... go figure! The monkey and "monkey business" are DCWV Safari Kids Boy rub-ons. Journaling- "It's amazing how much you could make my heart melt every time you would pull on my leg and give me that look. You will always be my sweet baby boy- even when you grow up."

I hope you all have a fantastic rest of your week and weekend! I probably won't be back until mid-next week. We are going on a mini vacation from Friday until Tuesday. We are so stinkin' excited!!! It will be our last get-away before the baby comes. Tyler will be here in roughly 6 weeks! I still can't believe that it is that soon!

Menu Plan Monday (6/15-21)

2009-06-15T11:06:00.001-04:00

You can find last week's menu here, it definitely didn't go as planned. So many things came up and we had to change a lot and move things around. This week isn't going to be much better. Tomorrow night we are getting our maternity pictures done that I had to reschedule from last week. We will be eating pizza with our friends, the photographers. Wednesday evening I have a doctors appointment and then we are going to tour the maternity part of the hospital. Thursday we are going to see my mom and then we will be on vacation until Tuesday! It's just going to be an absolutely CRAZY week. I sure can't wait to get on that vacation. My husband and I need the time away so beyond badly it isn't even funny. So, with all of that, here is this week's plan:

Monday- Grilled Chicken with Pasta and a Veggie
Tuesday- Pizza with Friends (Maternity Pics- rescheduled)
Wednesday- Very busy night, so it’ll be fast food.
Thursday- Out
Friday- Vacation
Saturday- Vacation
Sunday- Vacation

If you want to be part of Menu Plan Monday, all you have to do is go to orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday.

Menu Plan Monday (6/8-14)

2009-06-08T16:12:00.003-04:00

Last week's menu plan can be found here. Not much changed from this week to how we did last week though. Here is this week's menu:

Monday- Ravioli with Garlic Bread
Tuesday- Track Banquet for DH, Frozen Pizza for DS and Me
Wednesday- Meatloaf with Alfredo Pasta and Peas & Mushrooms
Thursday- Grilled Chicken with Stuffing and Green Beans
Friday- Out with Friends
Saturday- Seasoned Grilled Pork with Rice and Veggies
Sunday- Open

If you want to be part of Menu Plan Monday, all you have to do is go to orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday.

Even more blog candy!

2009-06-05T21:18:00.003-04:00

Melissa at Creating from the Heart has an amazing amount of blog candy! You can click here to go directly to her post for the giveaway. She is giving away all of this:

~ 1 Queen & Co. Bucket of Summer ~ a tin pail full of yummy embellies
~ 5 different Basic Grey Rhinestone Stickers
~ 1 Basic Grey 6x6 Lime Rickey Pad
~ A Sizzix BIG Shot Machine with some cutting and embossing templates

How amazing is that?!?! Make sure to head over there to enter for a chance to win!

Blog Candy

2009-06-02T15:22:00.002-04:00

The ladies over at Picture to Paper are doing a blog giveaway right now! They are giving away the Lime Rickey card kit. You can enter by clicking here, it will take you directly to their post. Good luck, everyone!

Dirt Tutorial

2009-06-01T22:22:00.002-04:00

I have finally gotten my first tutorial done!!! A warning first, these pictures aren't all that great. At least I did get some pictures though, thanks to my husband for taking them! Next time I will not be using my Ranger Ink Non Stick Craft Mat. Yes, I absolutely LOVE that thing, but it does not photograph well. Anyway... here we go!

This is the first, well only, but certainly not the last, layout I've used dirt/sand on. I used some of the actual sand from the sand box that my husband and son were playing in.

Here is a close up of the dirt/sand detail of the layout.

1. Gather your supplies!

Supply list:
~Chipboard, Grungeboard or something similar
~Paint, I used Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber in Espresso
~Sand/Dirt, nothing with rocks- you want fine sand
~Tweezers
~Non Stick Craft Mat or Scrap Paper

2. Apply the paint to the chipboard!

I use tweezers to hold the chipboard so that I don't get paint all over my hands, but they are definitely not needed. Apply the paint fairly liberally so that the sand has something to really stick to. I used the Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber in Espresso because the dabber makes life so much easier and the color is similar to the sand.

3. Add your sand/dirt!

I don't let the paint dry at all before I add the sand/dirt. It is best to add it when the paint is very wet. I add a very generous amount of sand over the paint on the chipboard. You can look at the picture below to see exactly what I mean by "generous amount".

4. Shake of the extra dirt!

It is important here that you use tweezers to lift the chipboard to shake off the extra dirt. You don't want to rub the dirt here. You don't even want to shake the chipboard too hard.

5. Let the piece dry... overnight!

Yes, make sure that you let the piece dry overnight. You want that sand really set in the paint. I wouldn't use a heat tool to help it dry faster. Here is where you will need to dig for patience.

6. Rub off extra dirt.

(I'm sorry, I don't have a picture of this...)

I take a paper towel and lightly rub off the extra dirt. There will be some that just will not stick into the dried paint. I also scrape lightly around the edge to knock off the dirt that is giving the chipboard a rough edge. You want it to have a smooth edge.

7. Attach the piece to your project!

Menu Plan Monday (6/1-7)

2009-06-01T10:04:00.006-04:00

Last week's menu can be seen here. I really think we did good last week. We have 1 meal carrying over from last week, which isn't too bad. It seems that I need 2 "open" days per week. I feel like I'm carrying over 1 meal every time and that we go out to dinner or get fast food twice a week. In any case, I'm going to continue scheduling 6 meals a week for now. Here is this week's menu:

Monday- Chicken Fajitas with Black Beans
Tuesday- Cheeseburgers with Rice and a Veggie
Wednesday- Jambalaya with Biscuits
Thursday- Ravioli with Garlic Bread
Friday- Meatloaf with Alfredo Pasta and a Veggie
Saturday- Foil-Pack Chicken & Mushroom Dinner
Sunday- Open

If you want to be part of Menu Plan Monday, all you have to do is go to orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday.

Where is the tutorial?

2009-05-30T16:31:00.004-04:00

Yes, I know that I said I would have the tutorial up here at the beginning of the week. I'm sorry that I haven't done it yet. My husband and I totally underestimated how long those darn invitations where going to take us to make! We finally got done with them and got them in the mail... yesterday. Last night my hands just wanted a break from all of that insane amount of work. Tonight I am hoping to do the tutorial, get all of the pictures and either post it on my blog tonight or tomorrow. I'm also going to put up a picture of the finished invite that we mailed to my sister-in-law. I must say that I am very proud of them. Thank you to all of you for your patience with me.

Finallly... some layouts!

2009-05-26T13:51:00.009-04:00

I am finally putting a few layouts up here. I have been super busy with making wedding invitations for my sister-in-law. I'm hoping to get those finished and mailed out to her in the next couple of days so that I can get back to my scrapping life!

This layout was probably the most fun I've ever had with scrapbooking. I hadn't ever really tried distressing like this, but I *loved* it!!! I mostly used the Heidi Swapp Edge Distresser to get the effect on the papers. I have to say that the Archaic Collection from BasicGrey that I used is awesome and so much fun for little boy layouts. The best part, for me, on this layout is that I actually used real sand from the sand box that my boys were playing in. It was a blast and I plan on doing a tutorial of how I did it this week. I'll get it done and posted up here as soon as I'm done with those wedding invitations. I have detail pictures below of the sand on the word "dirt". I got the "dirty" look on the paper by taking some Tim Holtz distress ink and sort of smudging it with my finger onto the layout. I just wanted a completely dirty feel to this and I think I succeeded.

(Photo in layout is by Kristy Photography.)

Lil' Explorer was another fun layout for me because I had never used Stickles on a boy layout nor had I ever used that many Stickles on 1 layout before. I also used my Cricut quite a bit. It was humming away using the Storybook cartridge. The paper collection is Chloe's Closet by Making Memories. I guess that it was exclusively sold at Michael's stores. It is a beautiful collection with great colors for outdoor layouts.

The journaling says, "You are a little explorer, indeed. Ever since you were able to walk, well run, you were into everything you could get your hands on. You have always been so curious of everything around you. You especially love to be outside and play in the grass at the park. Please always keep that side of you! We love it."

"Where are you?" is probably the most active layouts I've ever done. I'm really trying to do a lot of new things with my scrapping and this layout pushed me some. It was the first time I had ever used a Bazzill Stitching Template and let me tell you, I loved using it and love the results. It was also the first time that I had made the effort to use papers from different collections. I used papers from 3 different collections actually; BasicGrey's Offbeat, Cosmo Cricket's Cogsmo and a stack from Daisy D's that had primarily monkeys on the paper. I cannot think of the name of the collection though.

The journaling says, "You were just learning that your toys could be under the couch. Then you figured out how to lay down and look under there. Your daddy and I thought it was so cute when you'd have your butt up in the air while looking under it. Sometimes we wonder if you could ever be any cuter!"

I scraplifted this layout from 2 different places. One was Pencil Lines Sketch 126 and my friend Luzma's layout "Beauty".

*For more information on products I used on any of these layouts, please see my gallery. There is also a link at the top of my blog. If you have any specific questions, please leave them in a comment and I will definitely answer them in my next blog post.

Menu Plan Monday (5/25-31)

2009-05-25T11:03:00.004-04:00

Last week was pretty similar to the past few weeks. We had meals that carried over to this week. Jambalaya from last week was supposed to carry over, but I just don't want it this week. We did go out to dinner once last week because I felt we just needed it. Heck, I needed it for my sanity. I'm super excited about this weeks menu because we are grilling out just about every single day. This makes me happy. I love summer a whole lot!

Monday- Brats with Potato Salad and Baked Beans
Tuesday- Grilled BBQ Chicken with Left Over Sides and a Veggie
Wednesday- Leftovers or Order In
Thursday- Cheeseburgers with Pasta Salad
Friday- Foil-Pack Chicken & Mushroom Dinner
Saturday- Grilled Pork Chops, Alfredo Pasta and a Veggie
Sunday- Birthday Party

If you want to be part of Menu Plan Monday, all you have to do is go to orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday.

Menu Plan Monday (5/18-24)

2009-05-18T11:04:00.005-04:00

Well, we have 2 meals from last week that are carrying over to this week. So, I guess last week wasn't too much of a success, but again we were SO busy over the weekend that we just didn't have time to cook. We have been working on painting my son's new big boy bedroom. It is looking great, but not quite done yet. The good news is that I went to Sam's Club yesterday and bought enough meat to last us for at least 5 weeks. That means that our weekly grocery shopping won't be too expensive. I'm excited about that.

Monday- Fundraiser Spaghetti Dinner at A&W
Tuesday- Chicken Kabobs with Mushrooms, Onions and Green Peppers with Rice
Wednesday- Chicken Salad Sandwiches with Potato Salad
Thursday- Jambalaya
Friday- Tacos
Saturday- Grilled Pork Chops, Alfredo Pasta and a Veggie
Sunday- Open

If you want to be part of Menu Plan Monday, all you have to do is go to orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday.

Exciting News!!!

2009-05-13T16:17:00.004-04:00

Well, it is exciting news to me anyway! I am one of the biggest BasicGrey fans and am beyond excited that they are releasing two more lines on May 20. I'm assuming that the dog and bee are sneak peaks at what is to come with these two lines. With me already having a son and another son on the way, I think that dog is super adorable! I could totally see a collection just from that dog. The bee looks a little more feminine, but I can't wait to see what line is going to come from her. Not only do I just love the quality and designs of the BG paper, I love that they have all of the embellishments to go with the collection. My favorite embellishments that they have are the coordinating chipboard and buttons. Are all of you as excited as I am? The question today, if you are a fan of BG like I am, is what is your favorite collection?

Menu Plan Monday

2009-05-11T09:56:00.006-04:00

I think we did great last week!!! The only meal that is carrying over to this week is the Beef Tortellini. We went out to dinner twice this week though. We had something come up on Thursday night that was beyond our control so we didn't have the time at home to make dinner. Then on Saturday night we went out to celebrate Mother's Day. I feel ok about going out those two times because I spent just about $50 on last week's groceries since we had so much in our freezer. I am even more excited because I think I will only be spending about that much again this week because we still have quite a bit in our freezer. This will be the last week of using the freezer stocks as they are getting slim now. I will need to be working on getting them built up again in the next few weeks.

Monday- Beef Tortellini with Pasta Sauce and Garlic Bread
Tuesday- Grilled Chicken with Stuffing and a Veggie
Wednesday- Chicken Lasagna
Thursday- Jambalaya
Friday- Soup from Freezer with Biscuits
Saturday- Tacos (yes, again... we love them)
Sunday- Open

If you want to be part of Menu Plan Monday, all you have to do is go to orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday.

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T17:44:00.008-04:00

I want to wish all of those amazing mothers out there a very Happy Mother's Day! I hope all of you have had a great one! I sure did. My husband and son took me out to dinner last night and then today we bought landscape brick. Yes, it is what I asked for. We have been working on landscaping our front yard every since we moved in 3 summers ago. Let's just say that it has been in very rough shape. I am so happy with the progress we have made today!

I was fairly busy in the scrapping department the week before last. I made quite a few layouts! It felt so great to be back in my element and actually being productive. I'm sorry that the quality of pictures isn't very good. I can't seem to get a good shot of any of my layouts! If you have any tips for how I can get better pictures of my layouts, please let me know!!! The color of them is just awful. (If you click on the picture it will take you to my scrapbook.com gallery for more information and products used on each layout.)

(First 2 Layout Photos are by Kristy Photography.)

I have also taken on a big project that I am very excited about. I will be making my sister-in-law's wedding invitations and RSVP cards for her wedding on July 11 of this year! I will be making around 50-75 invites, she hasn't given me the final number yet. I sent her some samples last week for her to make some final decisions. What do you think?

Menu Plan Monday

2009-05-04T10:49:00.008-04:00

We did alright last week, again. We ate at home from Monday to Thursday, which is actually good for us. We didn't end up eating the nachos on Thursday, I can't even remember what we did end up eating actually. My husband and I went out to eat on Friday and Saturday nights since our son was at grandma and grandpa's house then last night we just went to Quiznos. We did so much house and yard work yesterday that neither of us were up to cooking or even had time to cook. I think overall we are just fine with our budget though. The nice thing is that our freezer and cupboards are so stocked that we only have to buy a few things for this week's menu! I am VERY happy about that!!! (So is my husband.)

Monday- Grilled Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes and a Veggie
Tuesday- Lasagna with Garlic Bread
Wednesday- Grilled Chicken, Pasta and a Veggie
Thursday- Beef Nachos or Tacos
Friday- Stuffed Pork Chops, Oven Fries and a Veggie
Saturday- Beef Tortellini with Pasta Sauce and Garlic Bread
Sunday- Open for Shifting

If you want to be part of Menu Plan Monday, all you have to do is go to orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday.

...and the WINNER is!

2009-05-02T11:23:00.003-04:00

Congratulations to Jennifer Moore!!! You are the lucky winner of my NSD Giveaway!!!!!!!!! Please email me at leesad113 @ yahoo . com to claim your prize!

NSB is finally here!!!

2009-05-02T07:01:00.005-04:00

HAPPY NATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY!!!

Seriously, this day is better than Christmas, for me! I have been planning all of my happenings and getting things in order for literally a month, at least. Yes, I am that kind of scrap dork! Are all of you as excited that today is finally here as I am?

I'm letting all of you know that my giveaway is still open! You have until 10:00am EST (7:00am PST) to enter. I will be announcing the winner sometime today! Be on the lookout for that a bit later.

Getting Prepared for NSD

2009-04-29T21:52:00.010-04:00

I am definitely feeling the buzz of excitement for National Scrapbooking Day! I cannot wait until Saturday, obviously as you can tell by the countdown on the right side of my blog.

If you are anything like me, than you will want to be prepared for Saturday so that you can get as much done as possible. Whether you are going to a crop at your local scrapbook store (lss) or if you are staying at home to scrap "with" some online friends like I am, it is important to get things in order. I have already started getting prepared and still have a few things to do. Here is a list of some things you can do to get ready for Saturday! Obviously some of these things won't be relevant if you are going to a crop and vise versa if you are staying home.

~Clean up your scrap area! You will want to start fresh on Saturday so that you can just jump right in and get started on Saturday.

~Get your scrapbook tote packed! Start packing your tote, bag or whatever you take to crops now so that you have time to think if you've forgotten anything. I can't count the number of times I have gone to a crop and had forgotten something. One time I actually called my husband to bring me my Cuttlebug plates because I was working on a specific project that needed them. The nice guy that he is, he loaded up our son in the car and brought me my plates!

~Make sure to have enough photos! Get more photos printed than you think you'd ever scrap in one day. You never know if you are going to have an amazing amount of mojo... you could very well possibly get them all scrapped!

~Print off or save a few sketches! You could even draw a few sketches if you have some ideas floating around in your head. The last thing you want is to sit down to do some power cropping and have an empty brain. It's good to have ideas ahead of time.

~Have enough adhesive on hand! I learned my lesson last year. You don't want to run out when you are in the middle of your crop.

~Have some snacks on hand! Sometimes I will be so focused that I'll actually forget to eat. If I have a snack laying on my desk in front of me than I will remember to eat it. I definitely recommend some chocolate aswell!

Personally, I am staying home on Saturday doing an online crop at scrapbook.com and will have the house all to myself! My husband will be at a track meet and my son is staying the weekend with my parents. It seriously can't get any better than that! I have bought extra adhesive, some more Thickers and I still need to figure out lunch. I will not be cooking on Saturday, unless it only involves the microwave!

How are you spending your NSD and what are you doing to prepare? Leave me a comment and let me know!

The giveaway is still open! You can follow this link to enter!

Sketches

2009-04-27T21:46:00.007-04:00

I have wanted to do a post about sketches for a little while and now I figure is a great time to do it. I'm hoping maybe you will get some inspiration for NSD! It seems that I almost have a love/hate relationship with sketches. I'll use them when I have scrapper's block or if I find one that I really like. Sketches can be a very useful tool to have on hand for many different reasons. I'm sure you all understand why.

Here is a list of a few places you can find some awesome sketches:

~PageMaps
~Scrapbook.com Gallery
~52 Sketches, 52 Weeks
~Pencil Lines
~Sketch Lover
~Scrap Maps
~Stickers 'N' Fun

I know this isn't even a tidbit of all of the websites that have sketches, but its a start. If you have a favorite website for sketches, please comment and link to it. I'm always looking for new ideas!

Last week I was laying in bed, trying to go to sleep but couldn't because my baby belly is just getting too big to really get comfortable. As I was laying there I was thinking about scrapbooking stuff. (Of course, right? What else would I be thinking about? haha) Anyway, I started thinking about my next layout and what I wanted it to look like. I actually blogged about this here already, now that I think about it. So, I get this great idea in my head for a layout and just had to draw it right then! I have no idea how to make a sketch on the computer, so here is a picture of the actual drawing I did that night:

Funny, huh? Well, this is the layout that was produced from that crazy sketch: (The products used can be found in my gallery here.)

(Photo in layout is by Kristy Photography.)

I hope that something in this post inspired you today. Even if you just get inspired to try a sketch for the first time, to draw your own sketch or whatever it may be, let me know!

The giveaway is still open! You can follow this link to enter!

My Top 5 Things to do on NSD

2009-04-27T10:32:00.005-04:00

There are so many things you could do for NSD, but here are my Top 5. Leave me a comment and let me know what you will be doing!

1. Attend a crop! Attending a crop or a scrapbooking party is probably one of the most fun ways to celebrate NSD! Cropping with friends and other scrapbookers is a great way to get your creative juices flowing. Most local scrapbook stores will have information on crops in your area. Some scrapbook stores will even be hosting their own crops. There are also online crops on such websites as scrapbook.com and twopeasinabucket.com. I know that scrapbook.com will be having an online crop from 11:00am to 8:00pm EST. They will be giving away many prize packages. You can sign up for their website and be part of the action!

2. Shop! I think that I like shopping for scrapbook supplies better than actually scrapping. Your local scrapbook store may be having a sale just for NSD, plus most online scrap stores will also be having special sales. You don’t have to spend a lot either. A lot of the fun is just looking at all of the new products. You could just pick up a few new pieces of special paper, a new ink pad or a bottle of Stickles!

3. Try a new technique! Is there a technique that you have been too scared to try or a product that you have really wanted to use? Now is the time to try it out! Whether it be to try heat embossing, rubber stamping or even using bling on a layout for the first time. Just take the plunge!

4. Organize your supplies! Yes, there are a million and one ways to store all of your supplies, but it is important that they are organized so that you actually use them. Why not take some time out of your celebration of NSD to get things in order? You can get a ton of ideas on different ways to organize by typing “organizing scrapbook supplies” into Google, Yahoo or MSN.

5. Enter my giveaway! Click here and follow the directions to be entered!

Menu Plan Monday

2009-04-27T10:09:00.007-04:00

Well, last week was interesting. We did ok, but not great by any means. We went out, I think, 3 times, but for the first time getting back to menu planning we did ok. I'm hoping that we do a lot better this week because we are really trying to watch our money. I have a few meals from last week that have spilled over to this week. I am leaving Sunday as an "open" day in case we have to shift meals, go out to eat or something like that comes up. Something always seems to come up, if nothing does than we will eat leftovers or some soup out of the freezer. If you want to be part of Menu Plan Monday, all you have to do is go to orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday.

Monday- Marinated Grilled Chicken w/ Rice and a Veggie

Tuesday- Crock Pot Chili w/ Biscuits

Wednesday- Chicken Pot Pie

Thursday- Beef Nachos or Tacos

Friday- Stuffed Pork Chops w/ Oven Fries and a Veggie

Saturday- Beef Tortellini with Pasta Sauce and Garlic Bread

Sunday- "open"

***If you are looking for the NSD Giveaway, please click here.***

NSD Giveaway (CLOSED)

2009-04-26T10:26:00.009-04:00

I wanted to celebrate National Scrapbooking Day (NSD) by having my very first giveaway! In this huge prize pack, you will receive:

~Cosmo Cricket Cogsmo Paper Crafting Kit
~Cosmo Cricket Cogsmo Blackboard
~Cosmo Cricket Cogsmo Ribbon
~Basic Grey Offbeat Glazed Brads
~Ranger Clear Super Fine Embossing Powder
~American Crafts White Chipboard Thickers
~Pink Paislee Pop Fashion Borders
~Daisyd’s Sweet Baby Jane 8x8 Cardstock Pad
~Prima Clear Paintables
~Fiskars Medium Circle Squeeze Punch
~Adirondack Watermelon Paint Dabber
~Prima Crystal Flourish
~Basic Grey Urban Prairie Rub-on
~Plus more!

To be entered to win, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me how you are going to spread the word about my giveaway with a link to where you posted it. You can post it on your blog, twitter, facebook, a message board or wherever to receive your first entry. If you would like your name entered for a 2nd time for this giveaway, all you have to do is become a follower of my blog. You can do that by clicking “follow” on the right side of this page. If you are already a follower, leave me a comment to let me know and I will enter you in the 2nd time. The winner will be chosen from a hat and announced on NSD. This giveaway is only open to US residents. That means you have SIX days to enter. Good luck!

The countdown begins!

2009-04-25T16:51:00.009-04:00

Next Saturday is National Scrapbooking Day (NSD)!!! I am SO excited! I am sending my son away to grandma and grandpa's house and my husband has a track meet! Yay! I will have the house ALL to myself, so I will have no interruptions. I will be spending my day on scrapbook.com with my friends there. Did I say that I'm excited?! How will you be spending your NSD?

This week on A Chocolate Kind of Life, we will be celebrating NSD! I will be giving you some ideas on things to do on NSD, layout ideas, technique ideas... and maybe even a giveaway!

I love being a mommy!

2009-04-24T20:40:00.002-04:00

I really can't express how much I love being a mommy... 99% of the time. (ha!) Tonight after dinner, Matt (my husband) took Noah (our son) to the playground across the street to play. Noah was being a chatterbox, as usual. (He's 20 months old.) He was saying some cute things and putting many words together. Well, as they were on their way out the door Noah says, "I love you mommy, bye bye." It was clear as day and certainly melted my heart!

A super cute blog with a giveaway!

2009-04-24T10:15:00.002-04:00

I stumbled on Melissa's blog Creating from the Heart and love it! Of course, I am in love with the PINK on her blog! :-) She made one of the cutest cards with an adorable envelope in her latest post. She is also having an amazing giveaway going on right now, too! She is giving away:

~ Basic Grey 6x6 Lime Rickey Paper Pad
~ EK Success Scalloped Edge Punch- Medium
~ American Crafts Circle Calendar Stamp 2x2and
~ A Crop-A-Dile II Big Bite!!

Can you believe all of that scrappy goodness?!?! All you have to do is go over to this post and follow the directions to be entered! Good luck!

I actually drew a sketch!

2009-04-23T16:50:00.005-04:00

I'm just sitting here on my living room sofa thinking about what I'm going to do for the rest of the day while my son is in his high chair eating a snack. My family has a chiropractor appointment in a little bit, we'll make dinner and then who knows what we'll do. It seems that most evenings are like that. I'm actually *really* hoping that I can get some scrapping in tonight! Last night was pretty funny. I was in bed, with the lights off, just laying there thinking. It has been pretty hard for me to fall asleep since my belly is getting fairly big. Anyway... I was thinking about scrapbook stuff and layouts. I have been in a rut lately and have had scrapper's block. I had a sketch in my head and had to draw it right then! I sat up, turned my light on and was so glad that I had a pen and some paper on my night stand. I'm really wanting to work on the layout that is in my head tonight. I have only drawn 1 other sketch ever, so this is an amazing thing for me! Wish me luck in two senses... one, that I can actually get some time to myself and two, that I can actually get a layout that looks somewhat similar to the idea I have in my head. (If I can figure out a good way to do it, I'm going to try and put the sketch up here for others to use, too. What program do most people use?)

YouTube!

2009-04-22T11:12:00.005-04:00

I think I have a serious addiction to YouTube! It has really helped my scrapbooking in so many ways. I'll see a new product in the sb.com Superstore, Michael's, my lss or wherever, buy it and then have no idea what I'm doing with it. (Yes, I'm that kind of scrapbooker.) For instance, Tim Holtz has a million and one amazing products that I would have had NO idea how to use if I hadn't of had a tutorial. I just go to YouTube and type either Tim Holtz, the product name or whatever into the search. I have also learned a lot about my Cricut Expression, the different features it has and some of the super cool things that it is able to do just by typing "Cricut" into the search box. Did you know that your Cricut can help you etch glass?! You can check out this video to see how! Have fun with whatever videos you can find!

Keep checking back, I will be having my very first giveaway soon!

New Format!

2009-04-21T22:56:00.009-04:00

I have been whining and complaining to my husband for months, seriously months, about how crappy my 2 blogs looked. I have our family blog and this blog. My husband and I reformatted our family blog a couple of weeks ago and I love it. I have been really wanting to work on this blog, too. Tonight I had some time to look for a template I liked. I finally found a website that peaked my interest and came up with this!!! What do you think?!?!

Menu Plan Monday

2009-04-21T10:44:00.002-04:00

I have really been slacking in my house with making weekly menu plans, grocery shopping and actually having a list when I/my husband goes grocery shopping. Yes, I do have a fairly good excuse since I've had horrible morning sickness for about 5 months, but it has cost us A LOT more money than it should have. It seems like we have been going out to dinner at least 2-3 times a week and every time we'd go to the grocery store it would be around $50-75. That adds up fast! Now that I'm 90% back to my old self, I really need to get back to weekly menu planning. I figure that if I also put them on here, it will help keep me accountable.

I'm shooting for having my "week" be Monday to Sunday since I plan on doing my grocery shopping on Mondays unless something comes up in my schedule. With that:

This Week's Menu Plan

Sunday- Stouffer's Chicken Lasagna with Garlic Bread
Monday- Baked Chicken w/ French Fried Onions, Mashed Potatoes and Peas
Tuesday- Crock Pot Pork Roast w/ Carrots, Potatoes, Onions and Mushrooms
Wednesday- BLTs w/ Oven French Fries, Flavored Noodles and a Veggie
Thursday- Ground Beef with Baked Beans One Pan Meal
Friday- Grilled BBQ Chicken w/ Flavored Rice and a Veggie
Saturday- Beef Tortellini with Pasta Sauce and Garlic Bread
Sunday- Beef Nachos or Taco Salad

Lunches- Chicken Salad Sandwiches and Leftovers

Prayers Needed

2009-04-08T22:13:00.001-04:00

A woman I know had her baby yesterday, 16 weeks early. Dawson William was born at 10:36am weighing only 1 lb. 11 oz. and 12 inches long. His mommy wrote about what happened here on her blog and also posted pictures of her little miracle. This all really hits home to me since our pregnancies were so close, our due dates were only 4 days apart. Just looking at those pictures, I know how big my little guy is. I can't imagine how scared Dawson's parents are right now. The whole family just needs all of the thoughts and prayers they can get right now.

I'm back!

2009-04-08T10:58:00.001-04:00

This is the first layout I've done since mid-January! I don't know if I'm all that happy with it, but it is so good to be back in the scrapping world. I had to scrap this picture though because it is just so cute. It was taken quite awhile ago one day when Noah was sick. He takes his binky (I need to change the spelling on my layout) and blanky everywhere with him when I actually let him have them.

The journaling says, "Oh the love for the binky & blanky that my little Noah has. We joke that he is just like Linus from Charlie Brown. If he could, he would have them with him all the time, but mommy and daddy say only in the crib or if he's sick."

To see the products I used on this layout, please go to my scrapbook.com gallery.

Welcome to my new scrap space!

2009-04-06T12:51:00.000-04:00

Since we are having our 2nd baby, we needed to convert my old scraproom to our first son's big boy bedroom. I had to move all of my stuff into our master bedroom. I have 1 wall and half of my closet. I think I'm doing quite well with the small amount of space I have. I really cannot wait until we get a bigger house!

I bought the desk for only $60 off of Craigslist and the cart that is to the left of my desk is from Target for only $30! That cart is seriously perfect for the Cricut and has so much space for storage.

If you have any tips for storage in my small space, please let me know!

Back in the saddle... I guess.

2009-03-31T16:05:00.000-04:00

Since we are having another baby, I have had to give up my scraproom for our son to move into for his big boy room. The baby will be in the nursery and my scraproom has moved into a corner of my bedroom. I have finally gotten 99% of my stuff out of my old scraproom and organized in my bedroom corner and my closet. I really do love my new little space so I don't feel like I'm really giving anything up.

Last night was the first time I have scrapped since January 12th. I did have a lot of fun getting back into it, but the layout I'm working on is not spectacular by any means. I guess at least I'm doing something to get myself back in the groove. It's just that I wanted to be happy with this layout. So far it actually is super cute, but it feels so very plain and I have no idea what to add to it to jazz it up. Now its back to the drawing board for the next layout I'm going to do to get my mind off of this one. Wish me luck!

A very sad day.

2009-03-30T11:50:00.000-04:00

Sorry that I have been MIA for awhile, but I have had horrible morning sickness with this pregnancy. I haven't even scrapped since mid-January, but I am hoping that I am back!

I received a very sad email today from my local scrapbook store, Pages In Time. They are going out of business due to the economy after being in business for 10 years. I also have to say that I feel very guilty. Yes, I would shop there if I needed something that Hobby Lobby, Michael's or Joann's didn't have, but that is the problem. I would shop at those other "big box" stores because they were cheaper with the abundant amount of coupons they would send out. I feel I am part of the reason that my scrapbook store has gone out of business. Now, I don't have the option of going to Pages In Time to get that certain piece of paper from that one collection that no one else has. I have a few "scrapbooking friends" that follow my blog, so I want this to be a lesson to you before it smacks you in the face like it did me. I'm just so sad about this.

An amazing giveaway!!!

2008-12-21T09:54:00.000-05:00

Life as Lou is giving away an awesome box full of Cosmo Cricket. All you have to do is go over to her blog here and leave a comment! Simple as that!

She left this information on her blog as to what is going to be in the box full of Cosmo, "Who wants to win. . .”Oh Joy“, “Chemistry“, “Haunted“, “Little Boys“, “Little Girls“, & “Cogsmo” paper crafting kits with stickers and die cuts? Who wants to add 2 packs of blackboard (Haunted & Cogsmo), some ribbon, several sheets of several types of different stickers, a blackboard mini album and rub ons? You? Would YOU like to hit the Cosmo motherload?"

Ebates

2008-10-21T19:14:00.001-04:00

I wanted to tell you all about Ebates, a shopping site that gives you up to 25% Cash Back every time you shop online, but typically around 3-7%. You can shop at over 900 stores including The Children's Place, Barnes & Noble.com, Gap, Target, Buy.com and Expedia. Plus you get additional savings with exclusive coupons, free shipping offers, and limited-time sales! Currently there is a $10 bonus if you sign up. The thing I like about this best is that I am going to be shopping at these online stores anyway (I like to shop online since it save me gas money and time.) I might as well get cash back for doing it! To go directly to the website you can click on the above box.

Our Family

2008-10-16T19:32:00.001-04:00

I finished this layout the night before last and I used my absolute favorite paper line from BasicGrey called Urban Prairie. I have used it on most of the layouts I have done recently. I'm not even sure there is any BasicGrey line that I don't like. I mean, there are some I definitely like more than others, but not one that I couldn't work with. I also used 2 Prima flowers and the letters are actually from Target's Dollar Spot. I bought a couple packs awhile ago. I have used them a few times and I really do like them. I inked all of the edges with Staz On black ink. I *love* that ink and it gives everything such a defined edge.

I got my inspiration for this layout from CGMoon's layout *Happy* on sb.com. I just love her layout. It's so soft, beautiful and has such a great photo.

A Favorite Blog

2008-10-16T19:06:00.000-04:00

Yes, I know... this is typically a blog about scrapbooking, but this post is about food and one of my favorite blogs, Busy Mom's Cookbook. I have this blog in my Google Reader so that I can see her new post as soon as she posts it! One of my favorite posts of hers was a list of tips on how to save money. It was a good one, especially for this economy.

Well, today she posted her very first contest!!! She is giving away the book "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld. I have seen that book on TV and online everywhere! You can click here to enter yourself into her contest. Good luck!

I hope you love her blog as much as I do!

My Latest Layout

2008-08-30T21:24:00.001-04:00

I actually had fun with this layout. It isn't my best work, but I did use some new techniques and some new products. I used dry wall tape and grungeboard, which are both a first for me.

I got my inspiration for this layout from my friend Marlene's (Scrap4brains) layout "St. Paddy's Day Redux". I am in a Critique Group on scrapbook.com and our monthly challenge was to scraplift another person in our group.

My 101 Things in 1001 Days

2008-08-23T23:06:00.001-04:00

So, I stumbled upon this website and was excited! I started my own blog about my 101 things in 1001 days. The link is http://leesas101things.blogspot.com/. Check it out for more information!

scrapbook.com

2008-08-20T23:29:00.000-04:00

If you haven't checked out scrapbook.com yet then you need to! I joined sb.com at the end of March this year and I absolutely love it! I don't even want to tell you how bad my layouts were before I joined. I have definitely improved. There are some amazing artists over there and everyone is so nice! I have met some truly awesome friends there. If you do go over there, make sure you look at the gallery and mostly the forums. If you ever have any questions they are a great resource!!! That website is my #1 asset to my scrapbooking, for sure!

A Little About Me

2008-08-19T09:06:00.001-04:00

I've just come to the realization that a lot of you don't know much, if anything at all, about me. So, I've decided to give you some more light about who I am...

I am a wife to the most wonderful man God could have chosen for me, I am a mother to a very active, but fun 1 year old, I am a daughter to some amazing parents and of course a friend to the best friends a girl could have! I am addicted to all things scrapbooking and people may think I'm weird but I love the smell of new paper.

I have a great fondness for Cherry Pepsi, the Internet, The Caribbean, reading blogs, flip flops, family photos, house plants, spring, the color pink, Basic Grey, Biggby Coffee, comfortable pants, Young and the Restless and definitely sleeping in!

Where I Scrap!

2008-08-17T21:31:00.001-04:00

I wanted to give everyone a look at where I do 'my thing'. I just took this picture about 5 minutes ago because I actually just cleaned off my desk. In the next week or so I am going to be writing a blog about organization. I think that my current system is working pretty well, so be on the look out for that.

I hope everyone has had a great weekend and that you all will have a great week!

SPS Referral Contest

2008-08-11T19:12:00.000-04:00

There is a new Referral Contest over at Stamps-Paper-Scissors and anyone can play, even you!

The new SPS Referral Contest
August 1-31st

SPS is now releasing its new Referral contest for our registered forum members! We will be tallying up every member you register in the Month of August. On September 1st, the person who has referred the most members to the SPS forums will be noticed and will get a pack of supplies including a stamp set and embellishments from the NEW Close To My Heart Catalog!

FAQ

-Who qualifies? Any registered member of the SPS forums can compete in the SPS Referral Contest

-How do I refer somebody? When you refer somebody to the SPS forums, you or them must send an email to admin@stamps-paper-scissors.com and inform Ashley of the new user's username and your username.

Tips:
*Post your participation in your Siggy on other message boards (if allowed)
*Get a hold of friends that you have in groups
*Use swaps to your advantage

-How do I get started? Its super simple! To get started, go on the Referral Board and post that you will be competing in the SPS Referral Contest. I will add to the list and every time you refer someone I will add a tally next to your username on the list! Simply ask your friends to be active forum members!

-What qualifies the referred member? The referred member must post at least 3 times. They must introduce their selves and reply to at least two posts. Of course they can post as much as they want but to make sure that each person you refer is dedicated to this forum they must be active! If at any time we suspect any foul play, we will investigate. This is a simple contest and everybody deserves a fair chance.

***If you do go over to SPS and register, just let them know that Leesa sent you!** ;-)

My favorite layout so far...

2008-07-23T11:42:00.001-04:00

I finished this layout last night for this week's weekly challenge on Stamps, Paper, Scissors. I have been wanting to scrap this picture of Noah for awhile and was sort of just stuck on how I wanted to do it. Well, this weeks challenge was to use white space. I am actually proud of this layout and Matt (my husband) really likes it, too. I had the suggestion from a couple ladies on scrapbook.com to frame it instead of hiding it in a scrapbook. I think I just may do that!

This picture is of the detail of the leaves and flowers.

On another note... I am hoping to turn this blog into a 99% scrapbooking blog (with the other 1% of things about Noah, of course.) I was thinking of doing some tutorials, how-to's and things of that sort. I'm looking for your input or advice. What are some things you would like to see? I want to go in the direction of what you guy's want. :-) Now is the time to get your opinion heard!

I am a new Design Team member!!!

2008-07-18T20:17:00.000-04:00

Ok, I am just so excited right now! I was selected to be on the Design Team for Scraps, Paper, Scissors!!! Their website is http://stamps-paper-scissors.com/ and you can check out my page from there. I have only been scrapbooking since January of this year and I know that this is going to just make me a better artist.

I also wanted to share a mini project with you that I finished a couple nights ago. They are called Artist Trading Cards and are only 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches so they are super mini. When I first cut that size out, I was shocked at just how little it really was.

My Little Noah Pants

2008-06-23T22:51:00.001-04:00

I wanted to share a few pictures of Noah. He is getting so big! I can't believe that he is almost 1!!! It seriously feels like he has only been with us for a couple months. Its amazing how much love I have for him. Sometimes I just look at him and the emotion just takes over me. I love being his mommy!

Some Recent Layouts

2008-06-23T22:44:00.001-04:00

My Wedding Day Mini Album

2008-05-11T21:05:00.000-04:00

I just finished this mini album and I'm extremely happy with the way it turned out! It is my take on my wedding day. The base is actually a file folder! I seen this idea on a ladies blog and I can't remember whose. Enjoy!

Scraproom Progess

2008-05-05T17:42:00.001-04:00

Here is a picture of my new scraproom. It isn't completed yet, but it is getting there. Instead of going with pink and brown... I went with pink and black. It was much much easier to match colors. Yes, I know it is super messy! I am in the process of organizing it and trying to figure out where to put everything. Matt still has to finish my peg board that will go on the wall above my desk. (to the right) Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that he built me that desk! He even painted it pink and black for me. It is bar height and I love it!!!

I also scored these paper holders for FREE from Meijer because they were going to throw them away. I couldn't believe that the lady gave them to me for, yes I did say, FREE!

You know, I love scrapbooking!

2008-04-02T11:33:00.001-04:00

I do, and I mean, really do. It also seems that lately my love for it is ever increasing, too. I have talked Matt into letting me turn our office into a scraproom! I've started cleaning out our office on Monday to make way for the new stuff to come in. Now, when I say office I should really say junk/storage room. I'm too embarrassed to even take a before picture because its that bad. Anyway, I've been putting some ideas together of things I like. Of course my colors are going to be pink and chocolate brown. Now really, could I have decorated it in any other colors?! Ha! Here is my idea board for my new scraproom. What do you think?

I also took some pictures of a couple of the spreads I've done for Noah's First Year scrapbook. (I'm sorry that they aren't very clear!) These are the spreads for his 3rd and 4th months.

I have also found one of the best site (now, this is only my opinion) for scrapbooking. It's scrapbook.com and, of course, I had to join just to get some amazing tips and tricks from those very talented ladies. You can also check out my page here! Now don't judge because I am new and I'm still trying to figure out how to add things and all that jazz.

I love art fairs!

2008-03-13T09:10:00.000-04:00

Last month I went to an art fair with Amber and Lindsay and we had a great time. I must say that I found some awesome deals!!! The orchid print was originally priced at $60 and I got it for $15! It was already matted, which alone is worth the $15. The leaf vase was originally priced at $100 and I talked him down to $30!!!! I absolutely love this vase! (Sorry for the glare on the orchid picture. I obviously don't know what I'm doing with a camera.)

The East Lansing Art Festival is May 17 and 18... you know I'll be there! It is pretty much on the streets of East Lansing and is huge! The website is http://www.elartfest.com/ if you want anymore information. Let me know if you plan on going and maybe we can meet up! :-)

Being a mom...

2008-03-01T21:22:00.001-05:00

Being a mom is so difficult, but yet so rewarding. Last night I got maybe 4 hours sleep and that was not 4 hours straight either. Noah just seemed to be in a bad mood or something. He wanted to be up and that was not happening in the middle of the night. So, he laid in his crib doing his mad scream. I would go in there time after time and give him back his binky back, he would spit it out again, look at me and do his mad scream. He did this, I think, 4 times last night and they lasted about 30 minutes each time. Needless to say, I'm dog tired today. Well, my parents came down today for a visit. They arrive to our house with Matt finishing up the vacuuming, dirty dishes in the sink and all of us in our pajamas. I felt terrible that things weren't done. Of course my parents didn't care, they just wanted to see us no matter if we were stinky or not. Let me tell you, Noah put on as much charm as a 7 month old could. He was such a ham and so damn cute, if I may say so! That boy can take me from a bad mood to a great mood with just one little smile. Here is an awesome picture from today:

Those eyes melt my heart every time he looks at me like that. You know, I can't believe how much I love him. I still get so emotional and gushy just thinking about him. Being a mom is so rewarding and worth those sleepless nights!

Our special moment!

2008-02-24T22:53:00.001-05:00

Matt took this picture tonight and I jsut love it. Noah doesn't like to cuddle much anymore so I take every opportunity I can. He was being so cute and lovey. Ugh! My baby is growing up.

Holy Lotta Money!

2008-02-20T14:48:00.000-05:00

We want to get our basement finished this year since it will increase our property value a lot and it will be nice to have the extra space. Well, we have some water problems in our basement so we got an estimate today to fix the water problems. Holy crap... $7,344! I about passed out when I heard that amount. We were not expecting it to be that high.

Now it is back to the drawing board. My dad says that we can pretty much do it ourselves for a lot cheaper, but it will just be A LOT of work and time. Ugh!

Any volunteers wanna help out?

Our Blog Worthy Dinner!

2008-02-19T21:11:00.000-05:00

Last night for dinner we had Oven-Fried Pork Chops with Peas and Mushroom Orzo. It was really good, mostly because I *love* orzo!

Oven-Fried Pork Chops (from allrecipes.com)
-4 pork chops, trimmed
-2 tablespoons butter, melted
-1 egg, beaten
-2 tablespoons milk
-1/2 teaspoon black pepper
-1 cup herb-seasoned dry bread stuffing mix

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Pour butter into a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. Stir together egg, milk and pepper. Dip pork chops in egg mixture, coat with stuffing mix and place in pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Turn chops and bake for another 10 minutes, or until no pink remains in the meat and juices run clear. (I baked mine about 16 minutes on each side because my pork chops were very thick.)

Peas and Mushroom Orzo
-2 cups orzo
-4 cups chicken broth (or half water half chicken broth)
-2 teaspoons butter
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1/3 medium onion, chopped
-1/2 to 2/3 cup frozen peas
-1 small can (drained) or 1/2 cup fresh mushrooms
-black pepper to taste
-sprinkle of parmesan cheese, if desired

Directions:
1. In a dry medium saucepan, toast the orzo over medium-high heat.
2. Stir in the chicken broth to the orzo.
3. Turn the heat down to just under medium.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until the broth has evaporated and the orzo is tender stirring often to avoid sticking.
5. If needed, add more chicken broth or water.

New Furniture!!!

2008-02-17T12:27:00.000-05:00

I am absolutely super excited!!! We have been looking at coffee tables for literally months without finding one we like. We have been to every furniture store in the Lansing area without luck. Finally, at Value City of all places, we found the set we like. This is the coffee table we ordered. We also bought the sofa table to match and an end table that matches this set but not the one in the picture.

Also, we currently have a cheap crap entertainment center that we knew was temperory. I talked Matt into getting the entertainment center that matches our table set!!! I am so excited to pick them up on Wednesday!

The exciting thing is that this is a huge collection. I'm hoping in the not to distant future that we can get a dining room table and chairs. The funny thing is that the name of this collection is the Afts & Crafts Chocolate Collection!!! Yes, I love chocolate!!!

My Little Man

2008-02-16T12:32:00.000-05:00

A couple days ago my husband, Matt, came home from work to find this:

He woke us up while taking the picture. Yes, the picture is so cute but I was mad that he woke us up. lol Although, this picture is so worth it. I love cuddling with my little man!

Now it's about me...

2008-02-15T12:56:00.000-05:00

I am definitely not new to the blogging world. I've been blogging about my son, Noah, for awhile. Now its my turn to have a blog about myself, my life, my interests... It will be nice to have an outlet. Enjoy!