My Gazebo, and Rock Fountain

Well--Blogger wouldn't let me upload more than one photo earlier. It said they were, but it lied. LOL So--I thought that I would try a separate post.

DH is going to set the arbor at the entrance to the gazebo in cement. It's just setting there, for now. That's why it has the wood on each side to hold it together temporarily. He'll paint the trim by the roof after his broken toe heals, so that he can climb a ladder. Poor guy.

The picture of the fountain was taken before we painted the house. That wall behind it is pure white, now.

Here are pics of the house all painted, and the new roof, of course.

It feels really good to be finally getting the house fixed up. Mostly minor stuff left.

Up and Downs

So many ups and downs in life. I just shared some wonderful news, and then, I received some tragic news last Sunday.
Our nephew--my husband's youngest sister's youngest son--was hit and killed by a hit and run driver. So tragic.
Not only were they buying a house, and going to get married--his girlfriend was due to give birth to their daughter--their first child--any day.
So senseless. They still haven't found the person who hit him, and ran like a coward. The family is devastated. Life can turn on us so quickly. So sad.

When some of these things happen, they have a way of making you appreciate the little things in life--the simple pleasures that we take for granted.

I love a nice hot, soothing cup of coffee in the morning. It just sets my day off right. MUST have that coffee. LOL We just got a brand-new Starbucks in town--our first one!

I love to sit out in our gazebo in the backyard. The weather is getting just right, now. Nice, and cool with a nice breeze. It's so peaceful. We have a rock fountain that lights up. I love the sound of the trickling water. It's nice to just sit, and watch the fountain.

I like to enjoy the company of friends and family. Just sitting, and talking. It's nice to just chat, connect, and share each others lives--with my online friends, or offline.

I like to go down to the beach, and watch the ocean. It's really nice to go early in the morning, and watch the sunrise at the oceanfront. You can sit on a park bench, drink a nice cup of coffee, watch the seagulls and the water, and watch the sun come up. The beach is only 5 minutes away, yet I rarely go appreciate it.

I like to close myself off from the world, and spend time in my scraproom creating. I can lose myself for hours. It's so relaxing.

I like to sit in bed late at night reading scrap mags, and watching TV.

I like spending time with my hubby. I like playing with my dog. I like talking to my grown children, spoiling my grandchildren, and playing my piano.

There are so many simple pleasures. Take time to stop, and smell the roses. Life is so short.

I'm Back!

I've been shamed into updating my blog by she who shall remain nameless. LOL :)

I'm afraid that it's been a wild few months. Life has a habit of getting in the way of things, I'm afraid. But--moving on--it's time to update with the latest news.

My first born--my son--asked his girlfriend to marry him last night. He has been quite excited as he planned the entire night for quite some time. There were a few glitches--things didn't go as perfectly as he'd planned. But--everything worked out, and she said, "Yes!".
They are now officially engaged, and in the process of looking for a house. I'm so happy for them.

They also recently bought a pure-bred female Golden Retriever puppy, and named her Kiley. She has grown very quickly! She's not a little puppy, anymore!
This is Adam's fiancee Larissa at home with Kiley:















This is a sweet picture of my son Adam with Kiley out on the patio. I love this photo. :-)





















I can't believe that it's almost the holidays, already! Where does the time go? I'm glad that we got our house all painted. Adam plans on coming home for Christmas. I'm so happy! :-) I want everything to look nice when he gets here.

I also have been given a blog challenge to name 5 things that I want to accomplish before the end of the year. Hmmmmm--I'm not a big goal person, but here goes:

1. Achieve, or surpass my scrapping goal of 60 LO's for the year.
2. Get a good start on eating healthier.
3. Be more productive. I need to get the house in shape--purge, organize, and clean.
4. Push myself to try some different things in my crafting--more techniques that I haven't done, yet.
5. Work on keeping in contact with friends, and family more.

Whew! That was tough for me. LOL I'm not used to thinking of goals. I guess I should push myself more. :-)

Tonight we're going to BBQ a couple of boneless, skinless chicken breast on the grill. They're marinating in Teriyaki sauce, right now. We'll have a nice salad, and a green vegetable with them.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

Somebody Stop Me!

I've now gotten hooked on those ATC's. I have so much else to do, and I'm thinking of my next ATC design.
I did one for a challenge, and was told that they could be very addictive. I can see that, now.
These pictures don't do the cards justice--they're much clearer, and more colorful in-person. But--it's the best I could do with pics. My scanner is making shadows for some reason, but that's another story.

I need to finish getting my photos in order, and file all the patterned paper I just bought on sale at Michael's. I have that 3-Day crop next weekend at Timeless Inspirations, and I need all the "ammunition" I can get!
We're going to be broken into two teams, and I want everything in "apple pie order", and ready to go before Friday.
I get soooo much done at those crops! It's amazing. And, we have so much fun! It really gets me pumped, and gives me the motivation I need! LOL :-)



I hope you enjoyed the ATC's. I'll see you online!

Storage!

I have some new storage for my scrappin' stuff. The two problems were all the scissors, and ink pads. How do you accomodate them, and keep them handy at the same time? You custom-make what you need, if necessary!
We cut a piece of plywood to size, painted it sunny yellow, and--Voila! Hang it, attach some hooks, and you're all set. (I would have chosen a pegboard, but hey--we already had the wood.
Then, I took a wooden box that had been sitting around for years--pounded some small nails for shelf brackets, cut up some balsa wood--and, Voila!, again! Instant ink pad shelves. Easy.
















If you don't want your shelves to move, you can just dab a dot of glue where the nail meets the wooden shelf.
Also pictured, you can see my Xyron machines I got as gifts. I am so happy. They make things so much easier!
Coming to this station is a new ATC. It's being worked on, and will appear hopefully sooner, rather than later. I think that it's going to come out great.
You can sign up at Timeless Inspirations.com, and you'll be in time for the Family Feud Crop. It's 3 days--March 17-19th. It's going to be a blast! That's where I'll be.
Y'all come back, now!

Do You Do ATC's?

I had heard somewhere--most likely in one of my many scrap mags--of the ATC's--Artist Trading Cards. I hadn't really thought of doing one--what would I do with it?
So out comes a challenge on a site to make an ATC. What the heck, right? But--what premise? What theme? I didn't even know where to begin.
It seems that the only "rule" is that they have to be 2.5" X 3.5". Well, I perused some galleries, and checked some out. There were a lot of Vintage sorts, some cartoony ones, and some really weird stuff that I don't want to know what they were! :-O
I had some graphics that I really like, and put the angel as the center. Then, I decided on an inspirational theme (maybe it would get my creative juices flowing, right?), and came up with some of my favorite words. A lot of them, scrappers have on their walls of their studio. So--here it is.It looks bigger in the scan than in real life. Of course, being the "rebel without a cause" that I am--I had to do a 3.5" X 2.5". He, He, He. Hey--I gotta be me! LOL :-)


So has anyone out there made one of these? I can see where they could get quite addictive. I may have to get one of those baseball card binders to keep them in--if I don't use them for page accents. Hmmmm--so many possibilities!

In other news, I have completed 16 Layouts, 2 altered items (a can, and a Sarabinder), 2 cards, and an ATC. Not too bad for February 22nd!
With the crops, challenges, and contests--I'm getting a lot done. I think I'm scrapping faster than I used to, also. I'm learning. :-) It helps having my scrap space organized. And--the more equipment and tools I get, the faster I can go. I just have to keep making space for all the new stuff. Aiy-Yie-Yie! Oh, well. I'll manage. Hee, hee, hee. :-)

Our weather here has warmed up, but we desperately need rain. I hope that we get some soon. I just hope and pray that we don't get any more hurricanes this year.

Well-stop in any time--hear y'all? :-)

Cool Teeshirt Design From My Blog

This is how mine came out, Abby:

Pretty cool, right? Tee Hee Thanks! http://http://www.snapshirts.com/custom.php

Anyways, I can finally do my tag from Abby from about 3 weeks ago. Hopefully, Blogspot won't eat it this time!

4 jobs you've had:

1. Waitress at my Dad's restaurant.

2. Asst. Service Manager at Ford, and at Lincoln-Mercury dealerships.

3. Manager of an exotic bird quarantine station.

4. Warranty Coordinator over two Ford dealerships.

4 movies you could watch over and over again:

1. Overboard

2. Pretty Woman

3. Casual Sex?

4.Wizard of Oz

4 places you've lived:

1. Newark, New York

2. Jacksonville Beach, FL

3. Brownsville, TX

4. West Palm Beach, FL

4 TV shows you love:

1. Cold Case

2. Law & Order (all of them)

3. Big Brother

4. Survivor

4 web sites you visit daily:

1. Timeless Inspirations

2. The Untamed Scrapper

3. Weather.com

4. Blogspot.com

4 places you've vacationed

1. Watkins Glen, N.Y.

2. Canada (all over)

3. Spain (all over)

4. Key West, FL

4 foods you love:

1. Veal Parmigiana

2. Spaghetti

3. Pizza

4. Homemade Macaroni & Cheese

4 places you'd rather be:

1. My daughter's to see her and my grandchildren.

2. My son's to visit him.

3. Buying a bigger house.

4. Building the ultimate scrap room. >:->

4 bloggers you tag:

1. Torreh

2. Lissa

3. Kim

4. Share

I think that I've fixed my blog! Thank you Abbykins!!

February 6th, 2006--Happy New Year!--Finally

I am soooo glad that 2005 is over with, and we’re into a brand new year. Whew! With 3 hurricanes in a year here, my being so sick over and over, and then, the holidays—I’m ready for some peace and quiet!

So—I’ve been organizing my scrap room. I even took pics. I’ll share some, so that you can see where I scrap, surf the web, watch TV, and just about everything but sleep. LOL
Here’s most of my main desk area:














This is to my left:














This is to my right:



















This is behind me to my right:














Once I got things sorted, and set—I was ready to scrap!

I went to a three day crop this last weekend. I got 7 LO’s, and 2 altered items done! WhooHoo! And, I was honored to be named the Timeless Inspirations Scrapperbowl 2006 MVP! I am so flattered, and honored!
I was also on the winning team—the Steelers team.And, they won at the real Superbowl, too! LOL It was a fabulous crop full of fun, games, and challenges!
I can’t wait until the next one!

Well—I’m back, and there will be more coming soon! Stay tuned!