Oh, yeah, Baby! I did it! The dishwasher has been repaired! I got the parts...I put that sucker back together...I ran it...it WORKS! It's almost been 2 whole weeks of cleaning those byproducts of cooking/baking by HAND! Well, no more, I tell ya! Life is oh-so-good! Oh, and it only cost $24, as opposed to $560. Another expense averted.

Kaila and I went to Fire Safety at the Neshannock Fire Hall in New Castle, PA. She was so excited. Although, I must say that I didn't take half the amount of photos as I took last year. It was a shorter presentation as well. Kaila was happy and learned very quickly.

I have one layout that I did last year that hasn't been posted yet, but it's so cute I just had to share. Kaila is only 3 years old here. She just kills me.

Here are a couple more layouts that I did using SEI Grandpa's Attic that you can find on sale at ScrapNCircle.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope to have some photos of our trip to the fire hall and my dishwashing saga soon.

Shawn

Can you say, "Busted?" I can say that, plus several other nasty adjectives. What on earth could I be spouting about? What is the one thing a lot of you women wouldn't want to live without? Well, if you said, Dishwasher...you hit it on the button. You win the prize! Kudos to you! My dishwasher has been down and out since the 12th, yes, the 12th of October. You may not think that that's very long, but let me set you straight on that little detail. When you cook, bake and make a mess as much as I do, a dishwasher is essential to your everyday operational successes. Today is the day. Today is the day that I pick my parts up at the appliance parts store and attempt, with great ambition, to restore my machine. The machine that I have braved through the last week and a half without. You never know how much you'll miss something until it's gone. Some few individuals would say that I jinxed myself due to the fact that I had my nails done and the actual name of my nail polish is...wait for it...wait for it..."I don't do dishes!" Can you believe that? Seriously, that's what it's called. My nails were done on Thursday...dishwasher busted on Friday. Imagine that!


Friday, I met Nancyroo at Scrapbook Station and we had a good time, just the two of us. Poor Nancy had to pry conversation out of me though. I wasn't really talkative and have no idea why. Sorry about that, Girl! Nancy's a Designer for No Bare Pages. Zip on over there and see some of her awesome creations. She whips them out like a pro. Oh, and you haven't seen the cutest little boy ever, you're in luck...he's all over Nancy's pages!


On the volleyball front...we had a tournament on Saturday. Can I just say that we didn't do so well. We pretty much "got served." I don't think our team really knew the actual competition that was going to be there. I hope if we participate in another one that we're a little more prepared. Thursday's volleyball was AWESOME! I got plenty of exercise that night. I was also sore/bruised the next day and I love it!


I haven't finished my layouts completely from Friday, but I do have a two-pager I did on Monday over at ScrapNCircle. ScrapNCircle has a lot of patterned paper on sale and will continue to have some sales until the store is done. Jeri has decided to close the online store. We had the opportunity to work some older SEI papers, which I LOOOOOVVVVEEEE! SEI...you can't go wrong. Here's one that I did last week using one of October's Pagemaps.

Thanks for popping in and listening to my rants!

Shawn

I ran my very first action using Adobe Photoshop 7.0. Can I just tell ya that that's about all I could do within a limited amount of time? There's a lot to this whole "photo-editing" thing. I have great respect for people who are able to zip all over the place doing everything..Ange..especially.

Anyway, here it is! I believe this action is called "Popstar" and I'm pretty sure my good friend, Angelina Schwarz, created it. Look how this photo just "pops!" Love it!

Well, I participated in an online crop benefiting Breast Cancer Research over at ScrapNCircle this past week. There were soooo many challenges, I just couldn't keep up. I'll be completing a couple additional ones within the next couple of days. It was seriously fun. Games, challenges..chatter...what more could you want? I used some really old supplies too. Ya gotta love usin' that up.

Here is what I created.

In other news, volleyball goes into full swing on Thursday starting off with a double-header for our team. Talk about a sore butt! Yeah, that's me. I keep saying I'm not getting old, but it is inevitable. I mean, I'll fight it until the bitter end, but my body is currently on strike....mainly in my neck/thighs/buttocks. It feels so good to be sore again!!!

I'm going to give a little shout out to my friends in Youngstown and Sharpsville. Hey, Chickies!!! Scrapbook Station this Friday...if you can make it. I know Jaci's pretty busy, but I'd still like to meet you! Roo, get your butt signed up and get on over there! I haven't seen you in ages. We'll have quite the gang. I'll get there fairly early, so let me know if I need to save your seats.

Thanks for stopping in!

Shawn

It's been a while... My darling friends keep telling me I need to "update your blog!" Yes, well, here is my update.

Here are several of the layouts I've been working on the last month, but not all of them. It's been a good scrapping month. I even managed to crank out a card. I know...wonders never cease. A lot of these are sketches from either Pagemaps or Scrapbooks, Etc.



One of the exciting things that I've done since my last post was get some acrylic nails put on. I wasn't sure how I would like them, or if I could even function with them. I'm here to tell you that I LOVE them! I'm actually going to get my first "fill" tomorrow. They're not at all what I expected. I've been procrastinating for years on getting them. I played volleyball with them last Thursday and everything. Love 'em! My darling friend, Lori has her own shop called "Jazzie nails." If you're ever in Saxonburg, Pa, be sure and check it out.

Another event, that I absolutely LOVE, is our semi-annual Scrap-a-Way. I look forward to this even immensely! The girls and I get together and scrap all weekend at a lovely hotel in Butler, Pa. I was able to complete 15 layouts while locked inside. Good food, good friends and great scrapbooking supplies. Ya just gotta love it!



Hunting season has begun for the Archer. My DH has decided to participate in this year's quest. I'm rooting for him all the way! Small game is also in, so Nick will also be "harvesting" for the family. I love his enthusiasm. Especially, when the freezer starts filling up with squirrels. I know some of you may think that's brutal, but I assure you that they are delicious!

School is going okay for all three children. Nick is non-chalant as ever with his studies, so that's a constant battle. Blake states that every day is "boring." And little miss Kaila LOVES it! So, she is a joy to get ready. We're still in the midst of field trips for all of them, but other than that, they have no extra activities.

I'm currently participating in ScrapNCircle's Crop for a Cure Crop. They have a lot of challenges going on right now and it's for a great cause.
Well, I have whiney children, so I must go locate some ymmy cashews to shove in their mouths.

Thanks for stopping by!

Shawn