And they're off!

Today both of my kids headed back to school. Part of me was happy to have some free time back to myself but another part of me was already missing them. And to be honest, there is a big part of me that is dreading the alarm clock that will be waking me and the roosters up. I've never been much of an early morning person and unfortunately, both of my girls have taken after me on that. We were all up early this morning and ready a head of time. I was really surprised that Alyssa went to school more casual. Usually she is one to want to dress up for these types of occasions. Jenna wore her new jean skirt and a top. I was able to snap a couple pics of them before they left. They were so unbelievably sweet for so early in the morning. Alyssa is just thrilled that she no longer has to ride the bus to/from school. I can't blame her for that. I remember how glad I was to get off the school bus. Jenna was a little nervous for her first day, but she did great. She has the same first grade teacher that Alyssa had. I feel much more comfortable that I know the teacher. There are a few kids from her kindergarten class in her first grade class so that helps a bunch too.
While the girls are at school, I'll be focusing on my job. That still sounds pretty strange. I'm already spending the money in my head and I haven't even earned it yet! LOL!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Has it been 5 days?

We've had a little bit of car drama in our house this past week with K's car. It caused us to do a little bit of car shopping thinking that he would get another car to do his commute in. So far, the issue with his car has worked itself out and hopefully, it will continue to run fine. In our car shopping we found a gem of a car...a little white Honda Civic in excellent shape. When K decided to keep his car, we decided to offer it to Alyssa. There was a catch though...she has to help pay for her 'upgrade' in the Honda world. In the end, she decided that she wanted the car so she is now the proud driver of a 2000 Honda Civic. I think she will really enjoy her new ride!



My job is going really well. I'm learning more about fuel operations than I ever thought I would. I'm sure there is more to learn, but so far I am understanding it **well, for the most part**.

I had something really neat happen to me this week. A friend from high school contacted me through classmates.com. Talk about a big surprise but it **totally** made my week! It's hard to believe that it's been almost 20 years. A big SHOUT OUT to my friend Lee from ND! WOOHOO!!

I'm supposed to be working but got a little side tracked on my blog. It's been 5 days since I posted so I wanted to update. Have a great weekend everyone! It's our last weekend before school starts. We're hoping to make it a good one!

Even Hershey knows it!

This was on one of my Hershey kisses. Word spreads around fast! I guess I do ROCK!

Milk & Cookies...life is good!

Jenna had a friend stay over tonight. Some of you may recognize that cutie as Jenn's dd. It's amazing how much they have grown up. It seems like yesterday when we were going to playgroup together and then having lunch at McD's. **sigh** They had a great time playing. They swam until dark and then came in to play Barbies. It's so neat to listen to them have real 'conversations'. I had Alyssa run to the store for some chocolate chip cookies and we baked them together. Don't think I'm getting all happy homemaker on you again...I had Alyssa get the pull apart kind. Separate, bake, and eat! The girls thought this was great. So for their bedtime snack, we had milk and cookies. I forgot how good it is to dip a fresh cookie in milk. Yum, yum! Have I got anyone wanting chocolate chip cookies yet?

My hubby was Mr. MachoMan this weekend. He spent the majority of the weekend putting up sheetrock in our new room. He had to redo some of the electrical boxes too. It sure is coming a long nicely. He found a really neat tool to help make the cut outs for the wall sockets so much easier. I think he ended up with 6 sheets put up. That is a total of 12 sheets that we've put up in there. We have 4 more to put up and then we'll be ready for the next delivery of sheetrock. I'm not sure how many more we'll need. I'm guess 12 more for walls and then we'll have to do the ceiling. That'll be tough! I'll take some pics soon.

Hope everyone has a great Monday!

Why does being a good parent make me feel bad?

For the most part, I had a good day with Jenna. She had instigated an episode with Alyssa in which a hanger was thrown by Jenna at Alyssa. When Alyssa tries to defend herself, Jenna threatens to come tell. I know that is not the whole story when Jenna tells since Alyssa is 16, and well...she doesn't throw hangers or hit Jenna out of anger, even though if someone threw a hanger at me, I might be highly inclined to retaliate. After wading through all that and talking to Jenna about it, we went on with our day..having lunch with friends, renting a movie, and hanging out at home. We grabbed a bite to eat for supper and went shopping at Big Lots.

I guess I should mention saying that we've had a hard time with Jenna being whiny and having a sassy attitude. It's been going on for quite some time and we aren't having much luck in breaking that bad habit.

So tonight, at the register, she wanted candy and since she had behaved well in the store, I said yes. Right as I was paying the cashier, I said something to Jenna. The sassy and the whiny just popped right out of her. I was quite embarassed and irritated at the way my child has just talked to me. So quite calmly, I handed the candy to the cashier and said, "Have a treat on me" since I had already paid for it. Then I took Jenna's hand and out the store we went.

I can honestly say that I think I got her attention with leaving her candy at the store. I explained to her that I wasn't going to buy her candy if she was talking like that, etc, etc. She cried all the way home and honestly, I felt miserable. This is not the first disciplinary action for this behavior, but I think it was the roughest. It would have been so much easier to just give her the candy, but I just can't have her continue on like this, kwim? I sure hope this will help her learn the lesson.

I got a job!

Big news around here...I got a job! I am very excited, not only about having a job, but about having a paycheck! That is always the biggest draw to having a job. Another perk...I get to WORK AT HOME! How cool is that? I am working on a project that will ultimately be for CHEVRON. How cool is that?



The guy that I'm working for is very cool, extremely laid back, and is very worker friendly. I have to put in 40 hours a week, but I can make my own schedule. I could work 10 hours a day for 4 days, split it up, whatever I want to do as long as it is 40. With the kids going back to school in a week, I think this will be a perfect arrangement. A big THANK YOU to my sister for the hook up!

The kids will be back in school soon. Hard to believe that we'll be back to the grind once again. Getting up early will be such a shock to everyone...including me. I've been enjoying my 9am wake ups. We've been buying some school clothes and supplies in preparation for the big day. Alyssa will be a Junior and Jenna will be in 1st grade. Time sure does fly!

Hope everyone is staying cool...another 100 deg day here!

The Tooth Fairy is coming tonight!

After weeks and weeks of wanting the "wiggly" to come out, Jenna finally pulled it out! She was over at the neighbor's and came home with her tooth in the bag. Yeehaw! I'm so glad it is finally out. Now to get the next one out...it's been wiggly for a while too. Her adult teeth have already started coming in behind those so no snaggletooth smile for us. It was kind of hard to get a pic of her 'missing tooth'. I'm proud of her for finally pulling it all by herself!

Jenna and I went geocaching today. We saw this really neat lighthouse out in the middle of no where. I'm not quite sure what the story is on it, but it was neat to see.



We stopped by a John Deere museum. Lots of old tractors around there. I saw this old gas pump. Gas was 39 cents a gallon! I would have loved to filled up there!



We had a nice day today, but it was just too hot to stay out for long. I'm ready for some cooler weather...heck, even 85 would do nicely!

Betcha didn't know....

7 things you might not know about me...

I've been tagged and have spent a couple days thinking about this. I'm not sure if any of this is actually blog-worthy, but here goes..

1. Every night before I go to bed, I pop my back. Just a little twist and it pops. When I was having back trouble, my back wouldn't pop & it was very annoying. I'm happy to say that everything is back to normal now :)

2. Most of the time, when I eat pizza, I eat the toppings first, then the cheese, and then the crust.

3. It doesn't take much to get me to cry while watching a movie.

4. Speaking of movies, if a theater has two doors, I will always pick the second door. Usually everyone else picks the first door, so I always head for the second.

5. I am an ex-military brat and have lived a variety of places...Michigan, NC, SC, ND, GA, and Guam.

6. Even though I have tried to get published in sb magazines, the only thing I've gotten published was a photo in the local paper. I was taking a photography class and took a pic of a local landmark. The next week, it burnt down. It's very possible that my photo is the last ever that was taken of it. I sent it to the local paper and it was published on the front page!

7. Some of my local friends will know this but maybe my online friends won't....I have BIG feet. Not only do I wear a size 10, I have wide feet too. It is hard to find socks & shoes that are comfortable. I would love to be able to walk into any store & find lots of nice shoes my size.

When I finished writing this, I realized that I had done a layout about this a few years ago. Here is the layout I did...lots of other tidbits about me :)




I hope no one has fallen a sleep reading this! I'm off to tag a few other people!!

A Frosty Layout for a Hot Summer Day...

I worked on this layout last night. After all the heat we've had, a day with some snow would feel so good! The poem came from a swap that I participated in. I added some diamond glaze to the snowflake on the poem to give it some dimension and shine. I really like the simpleness of this layout...seems kind of peaceful...just like a snowy winter day.

I just checked our weather. To say it is hot is an understatement. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a heat index of 127 around here!! I do hope it is a misprint, but after stepping outside for a bit, I bet it is not.

Champion of the Week

Photo: MaryBeth, Alyssa, and Ashley at football practice

Alyssa has been working at Taco Bell for several weeks now. I've been really impressed with how well she is doing at her job and how well she is learning to manage her time. A few weeks ago, she was recognized at work for a job well done and given the title of "Service Champion". Yay Alyssa!! As a reward, she was given free meals the whole week. Just a few minutes ago, she called me to tell me that she has been recognized as "Champion of the Week"! Wow! That is awesome! I'm so proud of my baby!

School starts in a few weeks. I'm not sure if either one of my kids is ready to go back. Alyssa will be a junior and Jenna will be in first grade. We've already picked up some of their school supplies. I am going to get them both a new outfit for the first day of school. I'm sure they both will need new shoes too. I'll miss them when they go back but I will enjoy a little bit more quiet time :)

Hope everyone is staying cool on this scorcher of a day!

Heat Wave in the Carolinas!

I just took a look at the weather. It sure is going to be hot around here for the next little bit.



Jenna and I went to Target yesterday and there was a small rain shower while we were inside shopping. When we came out, you could see steam coming up off the parking lot surface. I guess the pavement was just so hot that the water was evaporating off very quickly. It was really an odd effect.

Stay cool everyone!

Better look quick...

I got a very useful book called Organization Tips for Scrapbookers at CKC and started reading through it the other night. I became very ~inspired~ to organize my scrapping space. I spent many hours yesterday going through my scrap area...organizing, cleaning, purging **gasp**, just making it a happier space. I am so pleased with the results **see above** I did such a great job with the reorganization that I have a complete 12X12 drawer that is EMPTY! How cool is that?

One of the biggest things I did yesterday is organize my acrylic stamps. There were all tossed into a drawer and each time I wanted to use them, I would have to dig through to get it. My hubby had a bunch of cd cases in the garage (long story) so I decided to help myself (Thanks K!) to about 2 dozen of them. I put all my acrylic stamps in side the cd cases and labeled them. This is going to make finding my stamps so much easier. It takes up a lot less room too. I think I am going to love that system.



I also took all my embellishments that were in a notebook style organizer and organized them by color. No more flipping through the whole book to see if I can find something I like. Now at least I have a good starting point for finding an embellishment. Yay!

I only have one shelf on my wall for flowers & such. I put my pink flowers in a wine type glass. I really like the look of that. I am in a color embellishment swap and once that is completed, I hope to add more colored wine glasses to the display. I had two large shelves in my other room, but I left them in that room when I moved my stuff. I think I will go get another shelf or two for this room. I really would like to display more. The picture on the wall was drawn by my neighbor. She comes to visit me often.



Here's to an organized & clean scrap area! Anyone want to take bets on how long this will last?

I saw the sign...

I forgot that I had taken two more pics of signs in the garden area across from the Charlotte Convention Center.




I forget what the actual name of the garden area is but it is focused on literature. It is a really neat park area and if you are ever in that area, it is worth a stop by. There is a really yummilicious pizza place right next door that is great for lunch too.

I didn't spend a lot of time shopping at the Vendor Faire. I guess you can say that I had a drive by experience...really just glancing in at all the goodies. If you shopped each and every booth there, you would probably be there forever...not to mention, your VISA would probably get quite the workout! There is one booth I like to take my time at and that is the Embellish It booth. They always carry the latest & greatest on Basic Grey and some other popular lines. I splurged on a set of Crate paper with a matching Bazzill paper pack. Embellish It usually sponsors classes at CKC and the instructor talked me right into the Basic Grey file set. I also picked up a couple sheets of Basic Grey Phoebe to go with some that I already have.



Another one of my favorite booths to go to is the dollar booth. It has the same wonderful appeal as the dollar stores around here, but it's all scrapbooking! I picked up the things on the left from there and somewhere along the line, I picked up the Junkitz papers and quote book. There's transparencies in that one which I think is really cool!



I also picked up a new organization book and a couple of magazines from the CK booth. They give you a voucher to shop at their store in return for volunteering. I had such a fun time working at the CK store. I met so many scrappers that way. The most ironic part is that I saw a mom that I knew from when Alyssa was in elementary school! They had moved to a new school district and I hadn't seen her in years.

My favorite class was one done by Quick Quotes. I've taken a couple of their classes in the past and have not been disappointed. This one was no different. It was a class on embellishing a 10 X 20 canvas. I have never done that before, but I have to say it was FUN! I still have to finish up and add some photos to it. I should have taken the plastic off of this but here what it looks like so far:



I have to finish my projects from the Basic Grey class that I was talking about earlier. We did four layouts in that class...talk about fast paced! She is a great instructor and I always enjoy her classes.

Hope everyone has a great week ahead!

Good times

I got back from Charlotte tonight about 10:30. I went there for the Creating Keepsakes Convention. I was fortunate enough to be able to feed both of my 'addictions'...scrapbooking & geocaching! I cached my way there and back. I volunteered with CK, took a couple of classes, and did some shopping. There is so much yummy scrapbook supplies out there! I met up with some fabulous ladies and had lots of laughs. Good times. It's great to go away to recharge a bit, but it's also great to come home. I'll post more about the classes and tips that I learned later on. I'm really exhausted and need to head to bed.

You asked for it...you got it!

My friend sent me the recipe...yay! The recipe uses green cherries that I did not use. Also, it shapes the rolls into a Christmas tree, then you can add glaze to it, if you want. I am also wondering if you can do this with other fruits? Maybe some blueberries or apple pieces? That would be good.

Hope you enjoy it! Let me know how you do.



If anyone has trouble reading the recipe, send me an email & I'll email it to you. It really didn't show up as well as I thought it would.