Wow! It's been a VERY long time since I last updated. I can not believe how time flies!

I've obviously been pretty busy, but don't ask exactly what I've been doing, because it's not very exciting. The only really exciting thing is preparing for our trip to Texas. It's a mere 13 days until we depart. We're still figuring out what we'd like to do while we're there. I had mentioned seeing a Medieval Fair/Dinner, which I think would be COOL! Oh, and let's not forget the possibility of attending our first ever RODEO! I never would have thought I'd be luky enough to go to one, let alone take some photos. I'm really looking forward to that. If any of you have any ideas or information on some good activities...please let me know.

Easter was fun up at my parent's house. It was great to see everyone. Those kids are so stinkin' cute! My Aunt Connie even joined in our festitivities. My husband helped me prepare the main meals. He's such a dear! We fed anywhere from 13-20 people. It was delicious! I'm not thrilled that we had too much snow to have the egg hunt outside, but it's been a long time since there was snow for Easter. So, I'm not complaining. I got some really cute pictures of the kids. I'll be posting them later.

I made it back in time on Monday to help win the championship for our volleyball team on the co-ed church team I play for. It was fun, but maddening. Sheesh! I can't believe the season is over, but I welcome the 6 month break. Hopefully, I'll be in better shape come October for another great season. We finished 2nd in the league and won the overall championship.

I've been lucky enough to receive advance sketches for layouts/cards from Di Hackman for her blog. There's nothing like a bunch of cool sketches and examples to go with them. Take a minute and check out her blog. It's very cool! Here's a couple things I've done for her.

Who's ready for some serious Spring time weather? I'm waving my hand furiously! I am so ready for sunny days and 70 degrees. I want to kick those kids outside to explore and burn their energy. Okay...okay...I would like some great outdoor shots as well, but I'll settle for wearing them out.

I don't really do any outdoor sports during the Spring/Summer, but I'm waiting to hear if I can possibly get on a beach volleyball team for one day a week. Sand is harder to play in, but at least I'll get a little sun. I like to look more tan than ghost-like.

As it turns out, the kids and I will be in Michigan for quite a few days on and off this Summer. Nick, my eldest son, would just like to stay for three months with my parents. It ain't a-happenin'! It's bad enough, or good enough - however you'd like to look at it, that the kids will be there for two weeks straight WITHOUT me! I'm looking forward to some "me" time, but I'm a control freak when it comes to them and many other things, if you'd ask my dearly beloved Mother. I just like to know constantly that they're safe, and I won't have that luxury when they're there. Believe you me, I'll be calling at the very least EVERY day! You may be asking exactly what I'll be doing whilst the children are away...well, let me tell ya...a whole lot of whatever I WANT! I can't wait, but then again, I can.

Thanks for stopping in and taking the time to comment. Your thoughts are great appreciated!

Shawn

Believe it or not...I survived the island! I remain shocked as I tell you that I won the Survivor Contest over at the Scrapbook Chalet by a small margin of 22-20. I am now the proud owner of a Cricut die cutting system, as well as the Guest Designer for I believe April. I used a Becky Fleck sketch and photos that my great friend, Angelina took to create Week #10's layout. It was an ad challenge where the ad was comprised of 4 letters that were cropped photos. We had to draw our inspiration from the ad. It took me HOURS to figure out what I was going to do. I dreamt about it..I thought about it for days...I drew sketches and jotted down ideas. When I finally did the layout, the day it was due, my idea to crop letters out of a photo and place on the same exact photo creating a shadow effect just popped into my head. I really didn't want to use the letters as a title and not have the remaining pieces of the photo. It just wasn't large enough and I felt the rest of the photo was important. I was lucky enough to have some SEI So Girly patterned papers left from my Design Team projects over at ScrapNCircle that matched Kaila's jacket in the photos perfectly.

It was a thrilling contest filled with absolutely AMAZINGLY TALENTED women. I am honored to have been in the contest with them. I thank everyone who voted for my layout. It is greatly appreciated. Congrats to Amber and Didi who also won prizes with their creations! You ladies are AWESOME!

Scrapbook Chalet is getting ready to launch another great contest with the grand prize being a gift basket full of products worth $250! Be sure to check it out and enter soon!!! Just click on the link, go to the message board and look it up under Chalet Contests.

We're about a month away from taking our long-awaited trip to Texas. And when I say "We" I mean my Husband and I...just us :) You read it correctly! We are taking a litle 8 day vacation to visit friends in Texas. Chris is actually Charlie's best friend from high school. They were in each other's weddings. The first and last time we flew on a plane was in 1996 to go to Chris and Becky's wedding. So, it's been a while. Charlie's parents are nice enough to watch the children for the week we're away. I'm excited, but nervous about what may or may not happen on the plane. If I didn't have to fly I'd be ecstatic! I just don't want to take 24 hours to drive down there. We're planning on going to a bed and breakfast for the weekend we're down there with just the four of us. Chris and Becky have two children of their own. We're easily entertained and just are happy to see them and visit. We're all counting down the days, because we haven't seen each other since May 2000.

On the homefront, there is mud everywhere...not just outside. These children and husband of mine have tracked mud into the house on numerous occasions. I can't wait for the dry season. So, I not only have to deal with a trashed house, but mud all over too. Needless to say, it's a cleaning day today. I better get back at it!

See ya!

Shawn

ScrapNCircle SEI So Girly papers...

These papers and accessories were a dream to work with! I'm just thrilled at how fast I whipped these projects together. Ordinarily, I am a very slow scrapper, but with these products, ideas and inspiration just came to me! Just in case you can't tell, the clock has pictures of my husband feeding our children sour worms like little birds. It was a site to see, let me tell you! For a closer, more detailed view of these projects, just click on the image.

Please be sure to checkout the ScrapNCircle website to purchase all your SEI needs/wants!

Thanks for stopping by!

Shawn

Can you say, "AHHHHH?" That's my cyber-scream. I am fortunate enough to have made it into the final 2 for the Scrapbook Chalet Survivor Competition. I can not believe it! A big THANKS to EVERYONE that voted for my layout this week. I'm just stunned. For this past week's challenge we had to create a layout using a Pencil Lines sketch. The original sketch has a half of a heart, instead of an egg. We have, what I believe is, the toughest challenge yet for Tuesday. It's an ad inspiration. It's very cool, but I'm going to have to borrow a thinking cap to put on for this one. My husband is, of course, cheering me on emphatically. Yes, emphatically. Because, as some of you know, the grand prize is a CRICUT!!! Not to mention, the winner will be a Guest Designer for a month at the Chalet. The good news is I still win a $50 gift certificate to the Chalet's AWESOME store!!! I'm a winner either way.

Speaking of the Scrapbook Chalet, the new Creative Crew has started posting in the gallery for the Chalet's April Kit. And, can I just tell ya how amazing the designs are!!!!??? Those girls ROCK! So, if you have a minute, or two be sure to skip on over to the gallery to see what the new crew is cranking out!

Another great site to checkout for awesome products is ScrapNCircle. The Design Team's Reveal is today, so be sure and visit the gallery to see what we've come up with this month using SEI Girly papers. I love working with SEI, especially the girly stuff. I have so much more to create! Awesome, awesome line of paper, stickers, buttons, brads...you name it! Get over to the Shoppe before it's all gone!

Lastly, but certainly not without merit, is my darling Mother's extreme weight loss. Can I just say that she has been an inspiration to me in the last several months as I've tried and tried to stick to some sort of diet to lose my personal spare tire? Who ordered that tire anyway? Obviously it doesn't have a return policy. - LOL! Anyway, she has managed to lose 47 pounds since August 2006. She's a bean pole! She's actually thinner now than in this after photo that I'm posting. She's on the Michael Thurmond's 6-Week Body Makeover. She eats 5 small meals a day and then an evening snack, if she so desires. Oh, and let's not forget she exercises everyday for about 45 minutes (walking). She did the body blueprinting for her body type and sticks to the "allowed" foods. She's boosted her metabolism and can go on little binges with little effect, but she tries to refrain from hindering her progress further into the world of slenderness. If you haven't guessed, I am currently trying to do the same program that she's been doing to help boost my metabolism and lose that nasty "tire" I spoke of earlier. Thanks, Mom!

That's it for now. I've got to clean, because and this isn't the ONLY reason, I'll be watching/guarding/protecting a total of 8 kids tomorrow! That's no typo, Folks! That's a big whopping 8!!! Wish me luck!


Shawn

Looky! Looky! My darling friend, Angelina, took these awesome photos of my daughter. Thanks, Girl! You so made my day!

Here's another creation using the Scrapbook Chalet's March 2007 Cherry Arte Kit. It was a blast to work with! If you'd like to see more, you can either visit the gallery, or scroll down to see what I did with the Junkitz Tin Box add on.


I am in the process of cleaning, laundry, baking bread and organizing my scraproom. You know, there isn't enough time in a regular day and the fact that we lost an hour today just doesn't help! Oh, and let's not forget that I'm trying to get the kids to actually help clean-up THEIR stuff! Yeah...not going so well. We're going to be disposing of a lot of items, I can tell ya that right now! I'm sooooo in THAT kind of a mood!


I can smell SPRING! I can see the mud! I can see the sun! It's gonna be great to get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine (minus the mud)! I'm ready!


Volleyball on Mondays and Thursdays is coming to a close. I have no more than two weeks of Thursday and approximately 5 weeks of Mondays. I'm going to miss it, but I'll be happy to have those nights free to work on other things. It will be here again before you know it anyway.


That's about it for today.


Thanks for stopping by!


Shawn

I made it to The Final THREE at the Scrapbook Chalet Survivor Contest!!! I am so shocked and excited! Congrats to DidiR and Hardcorescrapper as well! I had to scraplift a layout done by Carla. "Piggies in the SAND" is my lift of her "Hugs and Kisses." I am absolutely thrilled and look forward to the next challenge, which is using a sketch from Pencil Lines. If you like sketches, especially with examples, go checkout that awesome site!

Now, I must go and prepare for Stamp Club and scrapping at my friend, Lori's house tonight.

Thanks for stopping by!

Shawn

Book of Me - these are my final entries into the book from the challenges presented at ScrapNCircle. I had a lot of fun completing them and getting out those old photos. Wow! You forget how old you're getting when you look at photos from high school. It's been 15 years for me since graduating. I can hardly believe that.

Just so you know, you can also purchase Bazzill cardstock over at ScrapNCircle for $.40 per sheet! Yes! I just received a bunch that I had ordered. So, so pretty! Ya just gotta love that stuff!

Jodie K. won the March Guess Designer Spot and is doing a great job on the message board and in the gallery! She has a challenge going on right now for leaving love in the gallery. Also, ScrapNCircle has the May Guess Designer Spot up for grabs. Be sure get over there and check it out!

The Scrapbook Chalet just posted some challenges for March. Hurry up and go sign up! It started this past weekend, so there's still time to jump right in! You HAVE to go checkout the gallery! It ROCKS!!!!

Well, I've jumped on the weightloss bandwagon again. As I'm sure I mentioned, DH and I are taking a trip to Texas in April and I need to shed some of these pounds. We are flying and don't want to be the target of "dumping" excess baggage - LOL! I even worked out today! The heck you say...no REALLY! I was dripping sweat and everything! Anyway, we're pushing like 55 days until we leave, so I needed to get hopping.

Blake has his full speech evaluation tomorrow. He had "passed" the previous evaluation, but I pretty much said that she hadn't really gotten the full effect of his problem. So, tomorrow they're going to really "test" him. I'm not anxious or anything, I just want him to get the help he more than likely needs. He starts Kindergarten this September. I mean, catch a clue, People!

I have volleyball tonight and am, of course, taking the three kids with me. It's actually working out well. They behave almost perfectly and DH still gets to go shoot his bow. So, it's not considered a night where he's watching the kids. I feel less guilty about going to volleyball on Thursdays now. We have about three weeks left of Thursdays, so that will be over soon. I need that, there exercise!!!

That's all for now. I have to do my job as President/CEO of our little ebay business now. It's my "other" job.

See ya and THANKS for stopping by!

Shawn

Wow! I made it through two more weeks for the Chalet's Survivor Contest! The competition is stiff! I thank those that voted for me from the bottom of my heart. It is truly an honor to still be surviving. Last week had to use 3 pp's, at least 2 photos and 10 embellishments. I created "Kaila has such a sweet, sweet smile" using one of Becky Fleck's sketches and Basicgrey's new line - Blush (love that stuff).

This week, we had to scraplift Leslie Ashe (New Scrapbook Chalet Creative Crew Member) this week. We had a choice between two layouts. I especially loved the one about what she loved about her son. So, I did the best I could with creating "Sweet Beauty" using Stampin' Up patterened papers. I just adore SU's papers!

Also, I was able to complete some of my DT assignments for Scrapbook Chalet. I altered the Junkitz Tin Book that came with the kit using the Cherry Arte and Dreamstreet Papers. Oh, man! That was so fun! I used photos of my daughter and nieces, minus one (Brianna). I'm not done yet! I still have another layout to do.

A HUGE congrats to the New Scrapbook Chalet Creative Crew!!! Be sure and check their work out in the coming months, or just pop in and look what they've been up to lately. It's AWESOME!

That's it for now!

Shawn

I'm back! I know it's been FOREVER since I posted last, but that dang LIFE of mine got in the way AGAIN!

I'd like to say I've been busy with happy things, but alas, it ain't so! We have a major problem with our septic/sewage system. So much so, that I can't do laundry...flush toilets...or take a long shower. It's a nightmare! The good news is that it will be fixed tomorrow. I took it upon myself to take a trip to the lovey laundrymat today to get some nasty washing done. It has been a good 10 years since I've set foot in a laundrymat. Hmmmm, I don't miss it! The washers are too small...they don't clean very well...and half of them don't work or steal your money! Sheesh!

Now, on to the bright side of my life. I made it through round 4 and round 5 of the Chalet's Survivor competition, thanks to my angel who voted for me :) I made an altered canvas and two cards for Round 4 and the "Fresh Flowers" layout for Round 5 from a Becky Fleck sketch. Man, I love them, there sketches! We also had an immunity challenge where we were to scraplift one of the member's creations (Isabelle's). My scraplift is called "Simply Kaila." I believe that Carla was the lucky winner of immunity this week. Again, some amazing scraplifting took place.

You really, seriously need to go checkout the Chalet's gallery! We have some absolutely gorgeous entries for the new Creative Team, as well as member's layouts/creations in general. It's truly inspirational! You may submit your entries until the 28th of February. Go to the Chalet's message board for more details.

Speaking of the Chalet...we have Karen Russell coming on the 23rd at 10:00 p.m. EST for a celebrity chat. So, if you'd like to chat with her...come on over!

Another project I completed was some magnetic photo frames for my Mother/Father's church meeting this past Tuesday. I made 40 of them buggers! My Mom said that everyone liked them. That's all that matters.

Lastly, tomorrow begins my semi-annual Scrap-A-Way with the girls! Can I just tell you how I need this??? After the nasty septic issue, I NEED some "me" time. I'm in the mood to create! Plus, a long, hot shower doesn't sound bad either. I believe they just remodeled the whole hotel. So, it's gonna be lavish...ha!

Thanks for stopping by!

Shawn

On to Chalet Survivor Round 4!!! Thank you!!! I seriously appreciate whomever voted for me!!! We had to alter something. I usually like to alter something that I'm actually going to use. I'm not one for altering something for decoration. So, I decided on altering a puzzle for Kaila. She's really been into puzzles lately and is quite good, in my opinion. I thought it would be interesting for her to have to put a puzzle together that had a picture of her and her siblings on it. I went with a "Seasons" theme and was happy with the results. I haven't altered too many things, so it's always a learning experience. I purchased the Creative Imaginations puzzle at the LSS for around $4.99. It's basically naked chipboard and really easy to work with. I used Stampin' Up patterned papers, SU cardstock, MM rubons and brads. I also added a Frostcreek frog charm.

I'm curious/anxious to see what next week's challenge is now. It has to do with Valentine's Day, that's the only hint we were given. I'm hoping for a card, or candy box/item.

There are only 16 more days until our semi-annual Scrap-A-Way. We spend 2 nights and 3 days in a hotel and scrap our hearts out. I can not tell you how much I look forward this this event. So, I'll be getting my page planners ready. I usually make about 15 of them for weekend. I'm a very slow scrapper, so that's more than enough. I do take "extra" photos, just in case I have a REALLY productive day.

Speaking of scrapbooking, I may have mentioned that I was taking my unwanted scrapbook supplies to sell at the LSS's Yard Sale. I ended up making over $300 in store credit! What's my first purchase you may be asking? Well, I did already purchase a couple small items, but my next purchase will be for...the Quickutz Revolution! Yes! I can't wait to put that puppy to work! I've had a Quickutz, but it was so strenuous to operate. I'm hoping this will encourage to whip those die cuts out more frequently.

Anyway, I must get back to work and accomplish some cleaning today.

Thanks for stopping by!

Shawn

Chalet Survivor!!!

I forgot to mention that I did make it to round number 2 and it looks like I'll be moving on to round number 3. Thanks to the angels that voted for me!!! If you haven't visited the gallery over there, please take some time and check these great creations out. They have some great photography and some awesome designs. This was challenge for me. We had to use 3 pictures regarding "Our Town." We also had the stipulation of using at least 2 patterned papers. I had to call my mother-in-law to see if there was anything interesting to photograph in our huge (insert sarcasim) town of Pulaski. She mentioned the Octagon house, which is really cool and then I thought about the sheep farm. I wanted the buffalo farm, but they were either not there or sleeping. I had the hot air balloon photo from July this year. I used the Scrapbook Chalet's February Chatterbox kit to complete this week's challenge.

I was also able to complete an AAM challenge at the Chalet regarding the 5 things I love about being alive. That was interesting to do as well. I also used the Scrapbook Chalet's February Chatterbox kit to complete that challenge. I'm all about killing two birds with one stone. Chatterbox papers work for a variety of layouts AND they're double-sided. You just can't beat it!

Margo has posted a "Chore a Week" over at Scrapbook Chalet and for the last two weeks I have chosen to clean Kaila's room. I'm not scared...I could MAKE the time, but this scrappin' bug has got me by the horns and it isn't pulling me in that particular area of the house. I know I still have 4 more days. It just isn't looking very good right now. I gotsta pick me a different chore. Is scrapping considered a chore? - :)

Laura (owner of Scrapbook Chalet) is currently taking pre-orders for items being released at CHA this Winter. SO, if you have a hankering for somethin'...check out the thread on the message board for further details. There is some seriously awesome goodies coming out!

I completed another page for my BOM challenge over at ScrapNCircle. I'm loving how this is turning out. I'm trying to use all Cosmo Cricket papers for the majority of this little album. That's some great stuff there!

ScrapNCircle is going to start to have an all day challenge day/evening titled "Thrillin' Thursday" once a month. I'll have further details when they have been finalized. It's sure to be a good time. There are a lot of spunky, energetic girls over there. They'll keep ya hoppin' with there challenges!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I really appreciate any comments you take the time to leave.

Shawn

Scrapbook Chalet's gallery is Hopping!

The gallery is being bombarded with Survivor layouts for Challenge #1 and they are GORGEOUS! Run, don't walk over to the gallery to check the entries out. Wow! The challenge was due today and hmmmm, here's mine titled "Priceless Smiles." We had to use a sketch from Pencil Lines. I added some bling and just couldn't stop myself! I used my Heidi Swapp mini iron for the first time on the "SMILES." It was very easy to use, but I had to put it down for approximately 30 seconds, as opposed to 5. Hey! It worked! No complaints here. Wish me luck for the voting tomorrow. I'm SERIOUSLY gonna need it!

I also completed two DT projects for Scrapbook Chalet using January's 3 Bugs Smitten kit. It is just so bold and pretty with its little bit of pinks thrown in. I still quite a bit of the kit left. I'll be completing a couple more things within the next couple of days.

Feel free to click on the layout if you'd like a closer view.

Thanks for stopping by!

Shawn

Book Of Me - over at ScrapNCircle.

I've never done one of these books, so it should prove interesting. I have completed the first three pages consisting of a Title Page, Dedication Page and a Table of Contents Page. I used Cosmo Cricket papers for all of them, as well as some of my "old" stash. Imagine that! The book is only 7 x 7, so it's really easy to work with.

Roo has decided to two bi-weekly challenges for the Trimmed Scrappers over at ScrapJazz. I think this should work quite nicely due to all of my upcoming deadlines. Thanks, Roo! As far as the actual weightloss is going...it isn't. I'm having a difficult time getting back on track...still! I'll at least get some good exercise tonight at volleyball. We'll be playing 6 games again, so I'm bound to lose water weight.

I've accomplished quite a bit in the cleaning department. I had company last night and in order to prepare for their arrival there was much to be done, as I'm sure you can imagine. I finally cleaned the refrigerator, vacuumed the floors, scrubbed the kitchen floor, dusted the ceiling fan in the kitchen, dusted in the livingroom AND cleaned the bathroom...including the tub! I know...wonders never cease! I should be good to go for three more months - just kidding!!! I don't know about you, but a clean house just makes a lot of things better, or should I just say, "less stressful." I'm continuing to make progress today in honor of my 2007 word, "anti-procrastination."

So, in order to keep on track, I must end this post.

Thanks for stopping by!

Shawn

Happy New Year!!! I'm looking forward to a year of change, not only physically, but also geographically. Now just hold on! I'm not moving very far away from my current location. Heck, we may not even move at all, but it IS a possibility. We plan on looking for something this Spring/Summer. How exciting and scary at the same time! Do you realize how much CRAP you accumulate in the span of 10 years? It ain't pretty, Folks!

As far as physically, well let's just say I wish for a little less of ME! Here is Scrapjazz's Trimmed Scrappers Weekly Challenge #2 layout. My three year old daughter, Kaila, took this photo. Do you think she was a tad close? That's why I'm laughing. These are some of my problem foods. There's just not enough space for all of my downfalls...food-wise. I used part of The Memory Safe's Fancy Pants kit. So pretty IRL! Double click on the image for a closer view. I have an alterior motive for losing weight, besides feeling better about myself. We will have been married for 10 years in the middle of June and I want to do a photo portfolio for my DH. My good friend, Angelina, has agreed to take them for me. I think he would really be surprised. We all know that if I'm not thin enough they DARN WELL WON'T GET TAKEN! That's where the surprise will come in, if I actually lose the weight.

I have some other goals as well. There's a thread over at ScrapNCircle regarding inspiration by Ali Edwards (thanks, Michelle). She focuses on one word all year long. I decided that my personal word would be "anti-procrastination." I don't know about you, but I make excuses as to why things don't get done. Hopefully, this will be a word/action/personality trait of my past. I'm looking for a solution to a lot of my "problems" and focusing on this particular word will definitely put me in the right direction.

What are your goals for 2007?

One last thing before I zip out of here. As some of you know, I took a little trip to Michigan with my three small children to visit relatives. I mentioned in an earlier post that my Mother is losing weight and weighs less than I do. Her new nickname, given to her by me, is BEAN POLE! I've never seen her so thin! She looks great! She is technically still about 40 pounds overweight, but good grief! She looks soooo thin to me! I regret to tell you that I don't have any before/after photos, but I hope to within the next couple of months. She's my inspiration for a thinner, healthier ME!

That's all for now.

Thanks for stopping by!

Shawn

I just wanted to take a minute and post the layout I did for a challenge over at Scrapjazz posted by Nancyroo. Thanks for the challenge, Roo! I've lost a total of 9.4 pounds since December 12th. My ideal weight is 130, but I'll settle for 145. I'll keep you all posted.

I'll be heading to Michigan tomorrow, if all goes well. So, I'll be offline until Sunday/Monday.

Have a Happy New Year!

I won't be on for a while, so I thought I'd do a large update, if Blogger lets me.

I completed some DT assignments for ScrapNCircle using Chatterbox papers, which I LOVE! The fact that they're doublesided is an added bonus. I also participated in ScrapNCircle's December Crop (Scrap the Halls) last weekend. I didn't do nearly as many layouts/projects as I had wanted, but I'm happy I did a couple. I completed "I just call him Dad." I did one more layout, but I can't find where I filed it. **Sigh!**

I just started participating in Scrap Jazz's "Trimmed Scrappers" challenge. Yes, we all know I'm a little pudgy and the fact that my own Mother weighs about 7 pounds less than I do is driving me over the edge. My Mom has been overweight most of her adult life. She hasn't seen her current weight for at least 30 years. She's wasting away! I'll see if I can get a photo of her after Christmas with me to show you the difference. I'm really happy and proud of her and for her. She's my inspiration for getting back on track. I call her with my progress and she calls me with hers. Anyway, ScrapJazz has a daily and weekly check in, not to mention some challenges posted by Nancyroo. I haven't completed the first challenge yet, but she's giving everyone extra time, so I hope to finish it within the next couple of days.

I'm not ready for Christmas yet, but I'm excited for the children. Their anticipation is overwhelming! Everyday I'm asked if Santa's coming. And everyday I tell them how many days are left. They get such a look of excitement on their faces. It's so CUTE!

I'll be traveling with the children to Michigan (6 1/2 hour drive) after Christmas by myself! I've done it several times, but I don't like to do it as well in the Winter. We haven't seen some of our reletives in months, so it's time...if the weather is good. That's the deal breaker. Bad weather...we stay put!

I have volleyball tonight! We have to play 6 games! Yes!!! I love it! I should weigh less on Friday AM. I just love that game!

Well, that's it for now. Happy Holidays, Everyone! Stay safe!

Shawn

I have two Scrapbook Chalet Design Team assignments completed and would like to share with you. I used photos that are from 1999 and 2002. They are of Nick and Blake. I used the Scrapbook Chalet's Nov/Dec American Traditional Designs kit. I did add a couple of additional items to each layout, but for the most part I used the kit.

It's snowing here! Finally! I hope to take the kids sled riding at my MIL's house Friday or Saturday. It's been several years since I was able to take Winter photos. We just haven't had a lot of snow, or it was to wet to sled ride. So, this will be cool if I can get some photos of the kids ;)

I'm going to attempt to venture out in the snow tonight for volleyball. I hope it's not as bad as the weatherman said it was going to be.

That's it for this short updtae.

Thanks for stopping by!

Shawn

I posted a New Sketch Challenge at Scrapbook Chalet. Be sure to check it out and see what you can create. I find that I go faster when I start with a basic sketch.

I plan on scrapping tomorrow evening, as well as the next couple of days after that. I have a lot of challenges/DT assignments I'd like to accomplish.

First on my list is a challenge posted by the Scrapbook Chalet's owner, Laura Gordon. She would like to see a layout created using 2 pp's, 3 photos, journaling, ribbon and 1 flower accent. Sounds easy, eh? It's due Monday the 4th of December. Oddly enough, I've already chosen a sketch I found at Heather Ann Designs posted by Jennifer. I believe it's a digital website, but the sketches are great!

Reminder - ScrapNCircle is having a cyber crop beginning on December 15 through December 17th. Feel free to pop in and complete a challenge, or two...or three ;)

Nothing gets my mojo flowing better than a good challenge!

Volleyball was brutal on Thursday! We had one straight hour of bump-set-spike...bump-set-spike! I was literally DRIPPING with sweat! We then proceeded to our next match, which was OK, but not nearly as grueling. I just LOVE this sport! It's basically the only exercise I get.

For those of you located in the Western PA area, did you get wet on Friday??? I got SOAKED! Kaila and I were coming out of the Dollar Tree and it was just an open faucet! It looked like I just took a shower. That's what I get for not having a hood on my jacket. Kaila was a little more fortunate in that respect. I can't complain though. The city I'm from, Grand Rapids, Michigan, was pelted with a FOOT of SNOW!!! Yeah, count your blessings!

Thanks for stopping by!

Shawn