Scrappy Gifts

Last week I started & almost finished three spreads of photos from this snowfall, but they aren't finished yet so I'll post pictures next week after they are - that is speaking in faith that I will finish before next week. ;) My scrappy supplies are so disorganized along with some of my photos. But I'll talk more about that later.

This week I want to share pictures of a Christmas gift my best friend gave me this summer. Yes, this summer. It was made for Christmas but between busy schedules, airline luggage restrictions & more busy schedules I got it about a month ago. It was like Christmas in July, except August! I was so excited to see this after all of the not so subtle hint dropping there was. ;) It's so cute! I have it sitting on my buffet along with some pottery I got a great deal on while in New Mexico & a cute votive candle holder that was on clearance. :D The colors are perfect for my living room - brown & blue. I think I've decided it's purpose will be whatever I need it to be at the moment, currently it's holding entry slips for a Mary Kay drawing I'm doing for all new customers I facial, another day it could be holding scrappy supplies and another day something else. We'll see.

Tada: Isn't it the cutest?

My ToDo: OH boy! Where do I begin? Literally? As I mentioned above my scrappy supplies are in disarray, photos are unorganized in every way they could be (printed, computer - what have I printed??? what needs to be printed? etc.) and I feel so behind that I just want to throw my hands up and walk away. Which is what I do most of the time & would explain why everything is such a mess. So I'm going to start somewhere & that's getting my thoughts/plan organized.

• Get page protectors for my finished pages & put into albums so I can see what I've already done.
• Make a list of milestones, favorite pictures, etc that I want to put in Lydia's first year album.
• Order prints from that list.
• Get scrappin!

I'll be happy if I get the first two checked off of this list. Who am I kidding, even just getting the first one done will feel like a huge accomplishment.

Thanks for visiting! I hope everyone is having a great weekend. If you want to join in on the scrappy fun or get some scrappy inspiration click the button above!

Look What I Can Do!

Haha, made ya look! ;) Well, after 10 days of not posting I suppose I should. I'm sure ya'll are just waiting on baited breath for what I've got to talk about huh? No? Good! I'd hate for you to get your hopes up. So here's the run down of the goings on for us in Kennessee:

* I let the kids eat a popsicle out of the box I bought at the beginning of the summer - this is the second or third time they've done this so they REALLY enjoyed it & I got proof that I didn't completely deprive them as kids.

* Michael now has a twin bed! He still fit in his toddler bed {he's on the smaller size} but I've been wanting to get him one. I found one on a yardsale sight - great deal & just what I was looking for. It has three drawers underneath & a bookshelf for a headboard. So not only can he sleep on it but it's functional as well! However, he is still sleeping on a toddler mattress which is placed on his twin bed. I haven't had a chance to go get a mattress but hope to do so next week.

* With the new functional bed in Michael's room I have moved his dresser into Lydia's room & will soon be freeing her from baby jail, otherwise known as the crib. I'm nervous about the transition into a toddler bed. She can be trouble enough without free reign, I'll have to triple check that all pens, crayons, markers & other things that can be used to leave a mess for me to clean later are put well out of her reach before bed. I am very excited about decorating her room though, have some fun ideas that I hope to execute over the next couple months.

* We recently marked 12 months of my husband being deployed. Looking back it's gone by a lot faster than we both thought it would, though there have been times for both of us that it felt like it would never end. We have made it through this far & only have the slow stretch home now. In a few weeks I'll find out just how much longer we have - I'm crossing my fingers for good news but trying not to get my hopes up. On about the same day we've crossed the two year mark of Shawn being active duty.

* I got my hair cut! Well, not all of it. I have decided to let it grow out some, it's been about a year that I've had the shorter 'do & I'm getting a little bored. I'm thinking about new colors too but not decided on anything yet. So this time I just cut my bangs. I had the sideswept look but it was grown out & not doing anything for me. I felt frumpy or unfinished even when taking the time to 'do' my hair so now I have bangs. I'm happy with it and will probably keep these for a while, I haven't had regular bangs in years. I sent a picture via cell phone to my sister & she asked me if I colored it or got a new style too. An $8 plus tip bang trim can go a long way I guess.

* Other than the above it's been the typical taking Michael to & from school {which he is LOVING btw}, trying to keep the house clean, fighting the laundry battle, running errands, cooking meals & working my business.

Thanks for dropping by!

7 Years

This morning I did an odd thing. I made a cup of coffee, sat on the couch & turned on the news while the kids played in their rooms. I haven't watched the news in nearly a year, because my husband is deployed, because of the tragic events that happened seven years ago. As I watched the news clips showing the attacks and some of the aftermath the thoughts & feelings I had that day came rushing back fresh. I lived in California, so far from it all, but it hit so close to home. I was 19, I was scared, I was sad for all of the lives lost & the family members they left behind. I didn't know what the future held for our country. Never in my lifetime was our soil attacked so viciously and in such a large scale.

I felt that we needed to take action against those who attacked us. The points that were attacked - World Trade Center & Pentagon (possibly an aim for the White House) were not random. They were attacking what they hated in our country - capitalism, military & a government founded on democracy. We lost more than innocent lives that day, we lost a sense of security and care free living. But also on that day we heard of heroic acts such as that on flight 93, they took back control of the plane & thwarted the plan of the enemy, all of the firefighters, police & service members who put their lives at risk to save others.

About one month after 9/11 I met Shawn. He wasn't in the Army yet but had talked about wanting to join, he had wanted to for a few years. Five years after the attacks he did join. And now he is overseas, defending the freedoms we value in our country. He is helping a people who had freedom withheld from them by a ruthless dictator. Giving freedom to others, I believe, is part of our responsibility as a world power that was founded on freedoms.

Today as you think of those who were lost in the tragedy of 9/11 also remember those who have fought, gave all, and continue to fight defending our country & keeping the fight off of our soil.

P.S. On my playlist there's a song called "How to Save a Life" by The Fray - it's a remix dedicated to 9/11. You may need a tissue.