My Weblog

Busy, busy.........

Well, Joe left early to go check in at his office and then head off to training.  He still has training today, tomorrow, and Friday.  Yesterday they talked about the compensation package and he is very enthusiastic about it.  I know that at the place I worked, the sales people made WAY more than anyone else.  And all of the rest of us were treated as being there simply to serve sales.  Of course, it's always a bit that way, but was even more so in this particular industry.  Of course, my telling him that didn't mean much.  I'm pretty much invisible and his hearing really fails when he's around me.  But, he sat next to two people yesterday who are working for a competitor and they were marveling at how generous the commission structure is, so he was impressed.  With the Lord's help, in the next year we will go from making about 80% of what we need to pay our bills and live to making 200%.  What a blessing this is!  He came home carrying a new "briefcase" as he called it.  (It's really a portfolio, but I kept my mouth shut.)  It has the company logo on it and he was impressed to be given such an item when training isn't even complete.  I have to admit, that is pretty generous.  A lot of companies won't spend a dime on you til you've been employed there for months and months.

It is possible that November and December will still be tight.  I look forward to a time when we are not totally broke at Christmas.  I'm sick of feeling guilty because I've bought gifts for the family.  Apparently it takes a while for them to get payroll set up so he may not get a paycheck til mid November or later.  And, the sales office where he's working will be closed for 2 weeks in December.  He will be selling mostly to locals, which works fine because the company has 64 locations, but the theory is that locals will not want to leave hearth and home during the Christmas holiday.  I know from experience that even the Strip gets much less traffic around Christmas, though the sales office at the resort will still be open.  But, no matter when the money comes in, we will be on a very strict budget til we get some debts paid off, so I suppose it does no good to be woeful about a slim November and December.  The months that come after will be equally slim as far as what we can spend.  The difference will be in what we can pay! 

Joe's plan is that shortly I will be selling as well.  I'm not 100% behind that plan, but it does have it's upside.  First, if I can make $100,000 a year, I'd be silly to sit here, no matter how much work still needs to be done in the house.  Second, spending days on end with the dogs is not exactly stimulating to the brain.  And, if I can make $100,000 a year, we can meet our financial goals that much faster.  I've always thought I could be good in sales, it's just that everyone who looked at my technical education wanted to pigeon-hole me into an accounting job.  And, truth be told, I am just SICK of accounting.  I would point to my time at the IRS as sales related, more or less.  People think that someone who is audited HAS to agree with the auditor's findings.  Not true.  And, worse, the auditor has to explain to every person who is audited that they can talk to a supervisor, go to Appeals, go to court, file a claim for refund, etc.  Yet, with all that, I managed to do pretty well in securing agreements from people.  And, as a manager, there was a lot of negotiation that was required to deal with cases where my agents could not secure an agreement.  We shall see.  We will be waiting a while because Joe will get a bonus if he refers me to work there and we're holding out for that. 

I had a big deal dinner planned for last night--Swiss Steak, Mashed Potatoes, and fresh green beans.  But, one of Joe's escrow officers was desperate to get an outside signing done so off he went to make $150.  He came dragging his poor hungry butt home around 8:30.  By then, since I'd expected him at 5:30, the steak was falling apart, even though I'd cooked it on the lowest possible setting on the stove and had even turned off the heat for a while.  We skipped the green beans and I had dinner on his plate within 15 minutes of the time he walked through the door.  That seemed to help a lot with his energy level and his mood. 

Tonight is babysitting night.  Normally Will would have swimming class tonight.  I'm hoping Jennifer opts to let him skip that.  He will be SO wound up over the prospect of going trick or treating and later so full of sugar that it'll take chloroform to get him to sleep anyway.....  Apparently the plan is that Joe and I will hand out candy at Jen's house while Jason takes the boys out to collect their candy.  The kids really hit the streets as soon as it gets dark, and that's around 6.  We don't get out of swim class til 7 and then we still have to get from there to the house.  I'm really hoping she doesn't want them to START the halloween thing at 7:30.  I have to talk to her about that.....  Joe won't be around til late.  They announced yesterday they'd let them leave early, but probably no earlier than 4:30.  He can't even get here before I have to leave to pickup the boys.......

Oh, I've been meaning to mention that Atticus has learned to wave!  I'm not sure he knows what it means, but if you wave at him, he'll wave back.  So cute!  And, Jennifer has her first parent teacher conference at Will's new school.  It was so great to hear so much positive feedback about him.  Last year was just so awful for him in school.....

Okay, scrapbook pages and then to work:

This photo is about 22 years old and still beautiful. I used LaWanna Desjardin's Lavendar Kiss for this layout. The flower is by Holly McCaig. The ribbon and bow are by Ronna Penner. You can find this paper pack of LaWanna's at Scrapbook Bytes.

I don't know why but I really like this photo. So, I'm subjecting you to it REALLY large! I used blue paper from LaWanna Desjardin's Retro Funk kit. LaWanna's products are now available exclusively at Scrapbook Bytes. The idea for the large translucent letters across the photo comes from a layout in the current Simple Scrapbooks. The baseball embellishments are by Dani Brath.  Note:  this page was featured in an article in a digi magazine as an example of simple but excellent scrapbooking.  That is Will, wearing #11.

You've heard of Daddy Day Care? Well, this is Grampy's Day Care. Photo taken at Atticus's older brother's ballgames. I used paper and elements from Funky Playground's August Collab kit. The alpha is by Andrea Burns.

DGS is a city boy, born and bred. If he's ever climbed a tree I'd be shocked. Grandpa put him up in this tree and, of course, Grandma grabbed a few quick shots! I used Lynn Grieveson's Check It Out Paper pack for the graph paper. The other paper is from her Jungle Jive kit, recolored. The bows are from Lynn's Frayed Knots element pack. The flowers, glitter, and the swirls are from the August Funky Playground Collaborative kit. The buttons are by Ange Barton and the tags are by Eve Recinella. Lynn Grieveson's products are available exclusively at Designer Digitals.

DD snapped these photos of the boys, playing with Will's Thomas the Train stuff. Of course, the two boys have very different ideas of "playing"! Love that Atticus crawled right over the tracks to get to his big brother and the trains! I used Mary Fran's newest creation, Making Tracks. You should also check out Making Tracks Too and the Little Bits that goes with this kit. Cute, cute, cute. Mary Fran's creations are available at nitwitcollections.com.

DH and DGS were exploring a peninsula that juts into the reservoir. Actually, when there isn't a drought in that area, it might even be an island. Anyway, in a typical male bonding move, they had to practice their Tarzan yell. I used Mary Fran's new kit, Little Men for this. The bracket (recolored) is by Kim Christenson. You can find Little Men, along with Little Men Too, and Little Men Little Bits, and Mary Fran's other great designs at Nitwitcollections.com. Oops, almost forgot to mention that this started off with a Cookie Decorating Template by Theresa Ferguson.

Since last we talked......

I have been dealing with a constant case of diarrhea and we've made a trip to Mexico and back.  There've been a few other happenings as well!

Joe took his licensing exam last week on Wednesday.  He passed and is, even as I type this, in his orientation/training class.  Yesterday they met from 8AM til about 12:30PM.  Covered mostly benefits.  Today......who knows?  I'll find out in about 6 hours.  They do have an excellent benefits package.  I read through everything while we were in the car over the weekend.  They will pay for a portion of his medical and he can cover me.  We don't know the cost on that yet--have to wait to receive a packet in the mail, but we're paying over $600 a month out of our pockets now for really poor coverage, so it's bound to be a savings.  They have a 401(k) where you can contribute up to 20% of your earnings and they match up to 6%.  You have to be employed a year before you're eligible.  The 401(k) is a great idea for the long term.  Right now, with our current debt load and income, we could be retired and on Social Security about 4 months before we'd have to think about losing the house!  But, we're planning on taking every spare penny earned in the next 12 months to work on our debts.  They do have disability insurance (that's Nevada's answer to worker's comp).  And, they offer life insurance.  We will be buying that!  Again, with the current debts, I'd be homeless in short order if something happened to Joe.  And we found out that Joe does get paid for this week of training--$500.  That will be welcome.  He just told me he has only 2 deals on his desk at The Good Loan Lender.  And, we do have some signing money, but that won't keep the wolf from the door long.  I'm not particularly worried because I am so convinced this job opportunity is from the Lord and meant not only to meet our needs but also to provide the harvest we've been praying for.  We've planted plenty of seed and we do so joyfully, grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the kingdom.  I'm not the kind of person who does a good job witnessing face to face.  Joe can do that sort of thing well, but not me.  But one of the ministries we contribute to makes the statement that for every dollar contributed, a person signs a decision card for Christ.  I think there WILL be a few crusty old diamonds in my crown after all.

We headed out of town, Yuma-bound, late Friday morning.  We arrived just in time for dinner.  I am greatly reducing my intake of wheat based products because I think they are what's causing my stomach problems.  So, poor me, dinner was a steak and salad.  The place we ate served these amazing dinner rolls, but I avoided them like the plague.  Truth be told, I've been off as far as appetite goes for a good week now.  I'm actually probably only eating about 1/2 as much as usual and subsisting on juices, trying to cut down on the trips to the bathroom.  In fact, last Thursday, I ate nothing--just drank juice.  I was way too afraid of what would happen if I ate solids and then tried to ride for 5 hours in the car.......  We managed to get all of our meds.  We also picked up some things for one of Joe's Gideon buddies.  And, we picked up some amoxycillin for Jennifer.  Not long ago, she had a breast infection--ouch, those are SO painful--and couldn't even find time to go to the doctor.  So, I had her research which antibiotics she could take while nursing and amoxycillin was on the list.  So, she is now the proud owner of 120 pills.  I don't even want to THINK about her going through another breast infection without help.   We were not happy to note that the Mexican meds are going up in price.  For example, last trip we got 100 of my blood pressure pills for $17.  This time it was 100 for $22.   But, that's still a bargain compared to  60 for $44 here.....  I should have made an appointment to get my teeth cleaned but just didn't get around to it.  Stupid of me since we probably won't be going back for 6 months.  Oh well.....  We crossed the border Saturday morning, got pretty much only what we'd come for, came back to the gold old USA and headed back home Saturday afternoon.  We are happy to report that the dogs survived our 36 hour absence.

We were tired on Sunday, mighty tired.  And, it got to be a messy, crowded day.  Church in the early AM, of course, followed by a carryout breakfast from IHOP.  Then I put together a grocery list and Joe ran to the grocery store.  Then we went to the Pumpkin Patch.  Everyone was a bit out of sorts and it wasn't all that much fun.  I felt bad about that.  Seems Jason lost his briefcase last week with scads of personal information in it--banking stuff, credit card info, kids Social Security cards and birth certificates, Will's adoption papers, etc.  So, besides making all the calls to cancel bank accounts and credit cards, he was pretty upset with himself and spilling it on everyone else.......  We had dinner at Denny's with the kids, then Joe made a run to meet up with the guy for whom we'd picked up meds so we could hand 'em off to him and get paid.  I have made the decision to quit taking HRT, so I was able to sell a couple of bottles I had here to his wife which recouped our investment in that little bit of drug inventory. 

Joe was supposed to help me with the babysitting last night but got called at the last minute for a signing.  It was an outside signing so he had to make the tough choice between helping me babysit and earning $150.  It should be easy for you to guess what he chose.  Unfortunately, my diarrhea returned with a vengeance yesterday afternoon (I had been foolhardy enough to have a piece of toast for breakfast), including, of course, a round of it just as I was scheduled to go out the door.  As it turned out, I was really too messed up to babysit.  With a not-quite-1-year-old crawling around, you can't afford to have a babysitter who has to spend 15 minutes + in the bathroom every half hour to an hour.  So, I ended up leaving the boys with Jason.  I haven't heard how that went.....

I got caught unawares with a scrapping project.  A good month ago, one of the scrappers who is pretty well known in the community lost everything in a house fire.  A digital scrapbooking kit is being put together to sell with the proceeds going to her.  I volunteered to do some quickpages (where the page is all done except for slipping in your photos, adding a title and some journaling) and then the back stuff started, followed by the sinus infection, followed by the diarrhea.  I promptly forgot what I had promised to do.  Thankfully, the lady coordinating the project sent out a reminder today as I had totally spaced it.  I've got the pages done now, just need to save them and upload them for her.  Phew!  And, this new store team is kicking my butt.  There's a weekly (highly recommended) page to be done and posted, plus a monthly one for which my team is responsible, plus another monthly one for which all the creative team members are responsible, plus they put together a special kit and needed pages from all of us for that.  I think I've done 4 pages that will be posted this week for that one store alone.

Well, enough of this.  I've got a To Do list as long as Alaska so I need to start on that.  Here are a few pages to hold you til next time:

There is no chance that I'll be able to return to my parents' hometown in the near future. But through robertpence.com, I've been able to see some of the sites I remember. I downloaded this photo from that site. I used Mary Fran's Americana Collection. I also used Neighbours, the solids collection that coordinates with the Americana Collection. The title was done with Alphawit--Americana ABC's.

I've been trying to get a usable photo of this for a long while. This is DGS#2's preferred method of having a bath--Cuddled in Big Brother's arms with Mama doing the washing. I used Mary Fran's newest creation, Waddles and Whimsy for this. I also used Waddles Too, the add on for bg papers and the Lil Bits add on. All of Mary Fran's products are available at nitwitcollections.com.

My DD took this photo of DGS#2> I know I'm prejudiced, but he's such a cutie! I had just edited the photo and run filters on it, etc., when Lynn Grieveson sent me links to her latest kit. This kit is called Amelie and it's available at Designer Digitals. I thought it was just right for this photo! I used a frame by Amanda Rockwell as a clipping mask for the scalloped frame. The flower stem is from Lynn's Lazy Days kit. The alphas are from various kits by Lynn, some used as is, some recolored, some used as clipping masks for paper from the kit.

In the 40's, if you were a "good" girl, and you were going out of town to see your boyfriend, you took someone along to chaperone. My mother's "chaperone" was Gladys, her best friend, and later her matron of honor. I used Kim Hill's Weathered Classics which seemed to have just the right feel for this page. This page was done for the weekly "CT Reveal" at ACOT where I am guesting this month. The digi CT is doing layouts featuring Kim Hill's products!

I had actually scrapped this page a couple of days ago. Then Mary Fran put her Bear Necessities kit in the store and I happily started over! So many cute embellishments in this kit. Don't forget to check out the add-ons. Mary Fran's kits are available at nitwitcollections.com.

I love this picture of little Atticus snuggled close to Mama, holding tight to her pajama top so she can't get away......I used Mary Fran's kit called Happy Go Lucky. I used a border by Andrea Burns as a clipping mask to create the border on this page. I used a freebie by Andrea Victoria for the butterfly's "trail". The cardboard is by Dani Mogstad. The alpha is a freebie from long ago by Jenn Star. You can find Mary Fran's kits at nitwitcollections.com.

When Mom's around and DGS is supposed to go with Grandma and Grandpa, there are always crocodile tears over the whole thing. Of course, as soon as Mom's out of sight, he's happy as a clam..... I used LaWanna Desjardin's Joy of Life, available at Scrapbook Bytes, for this page. The shoelace bows are from her Retro Funk kit. I've also used a ribbon and button element from her Hello Sunshine kit. The alpha is her Sunwashed Alpha also available at SBB. The corner tear is by Heather Ann Melzer.

I've found my man

I believe he's the man I've prayed for for quite a while now.  Check him out.  You won't be disappointed.

And the beat goes on........

Well, last time I posted, I was nursing a muscle spasm in my back.  That faded and was immediately followed by a sinus infection.  I've had so much drainage down the back of my throat I have barely been able to talk.  And, throughout the week, it's seemed that everytime I've laid down to "rest", the phone has rung before I've been horizontal for 15 minutes.  Thank goodness for Mexican antibiotics.  I'm on day 4 of those (it's a 6-pack) and last night blew all sorts of ugly stuff out of my nose.  But at least, the bulk of the drainage has stopped! 

We had a busy weekend.  Things on our schedule I couldn't duck in spite of feeling like caca.  Joe went to his prayer breakfast Saturday morning and came back and we went back to bed.  For 3 successive nights, with all that sinus problem going on, I couldn't sleep.  I kept waking up in the middle of the night too congested to try to go back to sleep or having dreamed I was being choked or choking someone.  So, we napped for a while.  Then we hustled out of here to go to THE CALL Las Vegas.  It was held at the Thomas and Mack Center.  While the center was not packed, during the time we were there, more than half the seats were filled, with a huge group of people sitting on the floor in front of the stage area.  And folks from all over Vegas, California, Utah, Arizona, and all sorts of other places were coming and going all day.  It started at 10AM and ended 12 hours later.  I have no doubt that if this would have been a 3 or 4 hour event like a basketball game or concert, the place would have been packed out with people outside waiting to get in.  But many people just couldn't stay the whole day.  We were there, listening to an excellent band lead worship, listening to a few speakers, and spending lots of time in prayer for Las Vegas and for our country.  Funny thing:  THE CALL was featured on the local TV news Saturday night.  We were called "religious crime fighters".  Seems the crime rate in Vegas Saturday night was down 38%!  Prayer DOES change things!  Joe and I are fantasizing about being able to go to THE CALL Washington DC next summer.  That would be a real treat in a lot of ways not the least of which is the fact that I've never seen our nation's capital.   Among other things, prayer was offered that the Holy Spirit would sweep in with a mighty wind and bring change to this city.  Saturday night, about 8PM the high winds started.  Trees weren't swaying, they were bent with the winds and Joe was hanging on tight to the steering wheel of the van to keep it in the proper lane on the highway.  Well, we prayed for a mighty wind.......

After we left the Thomas and Mack Center, we went to Lonestar Steak house and Joe finally got some meat, after 21 days of fasting meat and coffee.  He was thrilled!  Then we drove to the south end of town and I got to see the Las Vegas resort for the time share company.  It's VERY nice.  We wanted to see what one of the "rooms" looked like, but their sales rooms were locked up for the night.  We'll try that again soon.  They do have 2 pools, a very nice gift shop, a deli, movie rentals, and a health club on site--all things that are always valued by guests.  They're about a block away from the closest food store, also another convenience for guests.  It's probably about a 15 minute ride (hard to tell with the high winds) from there to the south end of the strip and they provide transportation anytime anywhere.  All in all, it looks like a great facility.  One to be proud of in terms of "ownership" and one that would provide a very enjoyable vacation experience. 

We came home and listened to the wind howl......mighty wind.......Then yesterday morning, while Joe went to church and did his usher thing, I had been asked to babysit the boys because Jennifer and Jason had something special going on at their house and needed the kids outta there.  I picked them up around 8AM and it was well past 2PM before Jen came and got them.  Jen, of course, had nursed Atticus and had fed Will a cinnamon roll, but we no more than got in the car than Will announced he was starving.  So, I took them to IHOP where Will ate lots of bacon and at least part of the pancake that came with the bacon.  Atticus didn't like anything we had to eat, but when I ordered a side serving of cottage cheese, he was a happy little camper.  He ate all but two small bites of what was served.  Jennifer had asked me to take the kids to Target--seems Will had some birthday money he couldn't wait to spend.  He had permission to spend $25.  His mom wanted him to buy some educational stuff for his Leap Frog, but he had other ideas.  Since it was his money, I felt that I could advise, but couldn't say an outright "no".  So, we came home with some transformer toys that he really liked.  I picked up a couple of long-sleeved, long pants type outfits for Atticus, so I bought a movie for Will to watch in the van.  We would NEVER have spent money to have a DVD player put into the van, but it was already equipped with one when we bought it.  It does help to keep Will entertained.  Now we are in search of some very clean, very cute, very cheap movies for him to watch.  Yesterday I got him Cheaper by the Dozen which should keep him giggling and is certainly appropriate for an 8 year old boy.  I also picked up some laundry detergent and some fabric softener, my big expenditure for "me".  Haha  Atticus took a nice long nap.  I laid down with him because I didn't want to take a chance of him falling out of our bed.  My biggest problem is that once I have Atticus, I lose Joe.  I have no back up.  And, he seems never to be able to hear me when I call him, even if I'm just in the next room!  At one point I realized Atty had a VERY dirty diaper.  Unfortunately I had already peeled it loose before I realized the extent of the problem--he had poop everywhere!  I asked Will to get me a diaper and he reported back there weren't any.  Oh my goodness!  Yelling for Joe did no good.  Atticus was hollering and trying to dive off the couch head first and Joe was watching football.  Talk about no back up!  Finally I got Will to go look again and he found a diaper and some wipes.  Wow, what a clean up job that was.  I really think I should have just put the kid in the bathtub!  His mom changed him when he got up from his nap and said he still wasn't clean and I used 4 wipes and wiped everything in sight!  That's the first time he's caught me with one of those--next time he'll be having a bath in the middle of the morning!

Jen had thought she'd be picking the boys around 11:30AM, so none of us had had any lunch.  Joe went and got us something for "lunch" about 4PM.  Of course, that ended up being dinner too.  Then we watched the Republican debate.  I decided there are 4 men I could vote for...Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney, Huckabee, and McCain.  Right now, I think Huckabee is my number one choice, but I believe the other three will all do the job we need them to do.  I can't vote for Guiliani because of his wishy washy position on abortion and "gay" marriage.  I do believe that if it's Hillary Clinton v Guiliani, I would vote for him, no question.  Wishy washy is better than downright crazy, right?  By the time we watched the debate (the first and only one we've been able to watch) and listened to the commentators, it was 8:30PM.  We watched a couple of TV shows and called it a night.  What a weekend! 

Okay, I'll post some pages and then I've got to get something accomplished.

DGS1 spent a few hours with a friend of DD's Saturday. Her friend snapped this picture of Will and her daughter, Lexi. I used LaWanna Desjardin's super new kit called Hello Sunshine for this layout. This kit is available at O Scraps. I also used a template by Victoria Feemster. The alpha, slightly recolored, is by Faith True.

ust a photo of Will and his constant companion, his stuffed puppy. I used Little Miss Sunshine by Amanda Rockwell for this page. I used a photo corner by Robin Carlton, a photo prong by Faith True, and a heart by Dani Mogstad as clipping masks for papers from this kit. I also used a ribbon from a collaborative kit at ScrapdigiKreations. The alpha, recolored, is from Lynn Grieveson's Island Blues kit. You can find Little Miss Sunshine at amandarockwell.com. You can find Lynn's kits at Designer Digitals. This is probably weird, but I scraplifted a page from a calendar kit I bought last year. Sorry, I don't remember who did the calendar.

After spending the morning playing in the swimming pool, Atticus crashed in the shade of a bush for a little sleep. I used Kim Hill's new kit, Surf's Up, for this page. Kim's kit is available at ACOT. The gingham folded ribbon is by Faith True. I used On the Edge Flourishes by Katie Pertiet as a clipping mask for papers from the kit. The blue flowers are by Amanda Rockwell in an element pack called Flower Power. You can find Amanda's products at amandarockwell.com.

I decided that with photos of 4 of California's missions, I'd better get busy scrapping them before I can't tell one from the other! This is a holding tank for water built in 1829. Just behind it is a very modern Mission school. I used Nina's Grunge It Up paper pack for this. The cardboard slide mount and the paint splatter are from her Pimp Your Page #3 element pack. The photo corner (green buttons are recolored) is from her element pack called Take The Buttons. Nina's products are available at O Scraps and at NDISB.

When I dragged DH to Oxnard last year, he went only because it makes me happy to be there. And he claimed our hotel was a "little edgy". Now he wonders when we will get to go back! I used Lynn Grieveson's new kit, Splash, for this layout. Lynn's products are available exclusively at Designer Digitals.

Scrappin photos of Mission San Buenaventura. I used Nina's Grungy solids. The buckle and ribbon are from Nina's Pimp Your Page #6. The button/brad is from Nina's Prime of Life. The flower is from Nina's Josephine's Garden. The label holder is from Nina's Pimp Your Page 3. All of Nina's products are available at O Scrap and at NDISB.

The gardens at Mission San Gabriel are beautiful. I was amazed to find this teal colored flower. I've never seen anything like it before. I used Amanda Rockwell's new kit, Fly With Me for this page. You can find Fly With Me at amandarockwell.com.

short post and maybe some pretty pictures

Well, I'm still doing the happy dance but I am doing it much more carefully.  My back started to spasm yesterday morning when I woke up.  I've been taking muscle relaxers and mega-ibuprofen ever since.  I THINK the spasm is done, but I'm plenty sore.  This was a weird one.  Usually they go crosswise across my lower back.  This time it started below my shoulder blade and ran down to mid-cheek.  I'm going to dose myself up and go back to bed for the morning because I have to babysit tonight and I'm really concerned with having to lift Atticus around.  Joe will be coming along, but Atticus is not as comfortable with him as he is with me.......  We'll see how this goes.

Joe spent a bit of time at the company where he will be working yesterday.  They showed him a schedule of what the full-time sales people made last year.  The highest was around $400,000, and the lowest was $100,000.  Joe has done sales all his life and I expect him to do very well at this.  And, they have emphasized that this is NOT high pressure sales.  There is an internal training class starting Monday, the 29th and they want him tested and licensed before then so he will have to put some time in studying for the licensing test.  They pay 100% commission, but they withhold taxes and they have benefits!  For example, they have a 401(k).  They match all employee contributions up to 6%, at least that's what Joe thinks he heard.  And, certainly, if they have a 401(k), they must have medical coverage and possibly even life insurance.  We'll know more in a couple of weeks, but, certainly, everything we've heard so far has been very positive.  Even the saleslady we were working with at the thing Saturday was telling us this company is an "awesome" company to work for.  We shall see.......

In family news, Atticus has learned to wave.  And, he's all smiles when he does it!  He was funny Monday night.  He is apparently trying to graduate from 3 naps a day to 2.  He fell asleep in the car on the way to Jen's house.  Then, I woke him about 15 minutes after we got there.  He was still tired and cranky and clingy.  He always cries when I start to take his clothes off.  I haven't figured that one out and you'll see why.......  He and I sat on the floor and played with his toys for a few minutes.  Then, when bathtime rolled around, I took off his little shirt and pants and left him just in his diaper.  My back wasn't feeling all that great even then, so I started walking through the living room and down the hall with him crawling after me and protesting.  Protesting, that is, until he rounded the corner into the hall where he could see me standing in the doorway of the bathroom.  Then he hustled up, all smiles.  I had had Will start the bath water, so when Atticus caught up with me, I peeled his diaper off.  He crawled over to the outside of the tub where he proceeded to pull himself up and stand there, literally, bouncing up and down at the very exciting prospect of a bath.  He just looked so cute, standing there naked, bouncing up and down!

Well, that's all the news for today.  I'll post some pages and then I'm going to lie down. 

This photo was taken by someone at the University and Jennifer shared it with me. There will be an article about her published in a school publication. I used papers from the Virginia kit by Kimberly Giarrusso. The flowers are by Dani Mogstad and the brads used in the centers are by Mary Fran. I used Katie the Scrapbook Lady's Rounded Fill-a-bet as a clipping mask for papers from the kit for the title. Katie's products are available at ACOT and at The Digi Shoppe. I used Nina's Pimp Your Page 4 for the glitter paint splatters. Nina's products are available at O Scraps and at NDISB.

I loved this series of photos. Though his Mama prepared this food with great love and great care, Atticus just didn't like it. The background paper is from Lynn Grieveson's Somerset kit, available at Designer Digitals. The green alpha is by Andrea Burns. The white chipboard alpha is by Kim Hill from her new Cottage Charm kit, available at ACOT. Everything else is from the Funky Playground June Collaborative kit.

This is DH's grandson who lives in CA. We don't get to see him often. It is hard for both of them when they get together for a little time because they don't know each other well. I used Amanda Rockwell's new kit, A Boy's Journey, for this page. A Boy's Journey is at amandarockwell.com. I also used glitter splatters from Nina's Pimp Your Page 4, available at O Scraps and at NISB. The orange ribbon is by Natalie Braxton. Tears are by Grace Bennett.

I love this photo. It makes me love my camera even more than I already did. These grapes grow on a vine which has a "trunk" as big as a tree. This particular vine is over 200 years old. I used paper from Christine Nash's Brown Baggin' It, available at ACOT. The green papers are from Amanda Rockwell's Tastey kit available at Funky Playground Designs. The flower is from Amanda Rockwell's Threaded element pack at Funky Playground Designs. The stitching is by Manda Bean.

This is a rescrap of a page I scrapped long ago when I was doing rectangle scrapping. I used papers from Carnivale, the Customer Appreciation kit at NDISB, free with an $8 purchase. The yellow Ric Rak is by Amanda Heimann, her Just Ducky kit (check out her designs at The Digi Chick). The ribbon is by Kelly Shults. The stitching is by Andrea Burns and the Shimmer Stars are by Kristin Cronin-Barrow.

Did you know that December 27th is National Fruit Cake Day? I didn't either til I used Katie the Scrapbook Lady's Amazing Month of Memories class (currently available at ACOT). After seeing the prompt, I decided to create an ode to all the yucky fruitcakes my mother has sent me over the years! I used Mary Fran's High Elf Esteem for the papers, border, and ribbons. The alpha is by Dawn Stocsill (Miss Hunibuni) and the stitching is by Andrea Burns.

My DD sent me this photo of DGS2. He stayed for a little while with a friend of hers and her friend snapped this photo. I used LaWanna Desjardin's newest kit, Hello Sunshine, available at O Scraps, for this layout. Isn't it scrumptious? I also used a template by Kimberly Geswein.

What a difference 3 hours make!

Well, because we love to get away for a day or two and because there is NO money, we went to a timeshare presentation yesterday.  The promised "gift" was a trip to San Diego.  We visited San Diego a few months ago and could have stayed another two weeks and not seen everything I'd like to see.  So, sitting through a timeshare presentation when you're broke is pretty simple.  There's no chance you're going to buy something you can't afford and the reward, the trip, is something you just can't get any other way.  So, we went.  Well the promised 90 minutes turned into 3 hours, but, there's a good chance our lives have been changed forever. 

First, we were really impressed with the presentation.  This company has blanketed the west coast with new, debt-free resorts.  One thing that impressed me is that each resort is designed to "fit" in the atmosphere of the area around it.  For example, there is a town called Solvang in California.  It is known as a "Danish" village.  I was there many years ago and loved it.  Well, there's a resort there and it's built in exactly the right style to fit in with a Danish village.  There are resorts in a couple of areas that are mountainous or known as fishing areas.  The resorts in those areas are beautifully rustic.  The variety is amazing and there are 63 resorts in all with 4 more due to come on line within the next 6 months.  Second, this is the largest timeshare company in the US.  Third, they OWN RCI which is the exchange club that allows you to go anywhere, whether they have a resort there in company or not.  I could go on from there, but you get the idea.  This is a PREMIER timeshare company and I've seen the stats on time share from inside the industry.  When we reached the appropriate place in the presentation, we told them quite frankly that there was NO WAY we could afford to invest in such a venture at this time.  Well, the upshot of it all is that Joe was offered a job! 

We are still going to try to keep all the other balls in the air.  Joe's business is VERY slow right now, but because this is mostly working from 3PM til bedtime and on Saturday, it will afford him time to take care of whatever business comes in and still keep the lending business going.  We've discussed the signing business.  We will have Joe do the morning signings as much as he's able and I'll take over the afternoon signings.  We're not sure what we'll do about the evening signings......I guess I'll try to take on as many of those as I can manage as well, since they're the big money.  But since the signings are tied into the real estate/lending market, and since that market is crap right now, our hope is that I won't be overwhelmed. 

We talked a little while a few weeks back about our situation.  When Joe asked me to quit work and stay home, he indicated that if a time like this ever happened, he'd take a second job.  And, I've felt for a long time that if God wanted him to stay in mortgage loans, God would provide the clients necessary for us to pay our bills and eat.  That just hasn't happened.  So, in the meantime, I have watched him lose the good, easy deals to credit unions, and work his guts out on deals where the borrowers had crappy credit.  And, still we've lost money month after month.  A few weeks ago, I asked him if he thought God might be easing him out of lending..........  He said he, too, had prayed about it, but felt if that were true another opportunity would open up. 

So, I am counting yesterday's encounter as an answer to prayer in several ways.  First, we have next to nothing saved.  We've been unable to add anything to our meager retirement funds during the course of our marriage.  And, we've exhausted our current savings, just trying to keep the bills paid and food on the table.  And we know that our God has promised to meet our needs.  In fact, we know that He wants to bless us and, God knows, we need to be blessed.  There is a verse in Proverbs that promises that God's blessing brings wealth and with the money, no trouble comes.  I've been claiming that and I believe this is the fruit of that.  I've actually been praying that the Lord would give us $750,000 over the next 10 years, over and above what is needed to pay our current bills.  That is about the only way we will ever be able to survive retirement.  Having worked in this industry, I know that it is totally possible for a good timeshare salesman to earn 6 figures and Las Vegas is the biggest timeshare sales area in this country.  That means, my crackpot $750,000 prayer has been answered!

So, once again, Jehovah Jireh lives up to his promises.   I walked out of that timeshare sales office, doing a singsong "My Daddy loves me, My Daddy loves me".  Joe sees the same thing here as I do, so it's not just me going off the deep end.  If I'm over the edge, so is he.  We haven't seen a single timeshare sale yet, but we are both sure this is God's answer for us, either short term or long term--which , we do not know. 

So that is my news for the day.  Jen, Jason and the boys are in the northwest this weekend, visiting Jason's family.  Jason will travel on business tomorrow, but Jen and the boys will be home tonight.  I spoke to her very briefly on the phone last night and she says Atticus is clinging to her, feeling that Jason's family are "strangers".  It's just a phase all little kids go to, and we see it as well, particularly with Joe.  He knows me pretty well now, so I have much less of a problem, but sometimes he even shies away from me.  I'll be anxious to hear everything she has to tell about their weekend.  I would imagine the weather in that part of the country should be fantastic this time of year.

Well, I'll post a few pages and then I have to go.  Have a blessed day!

I found this cute photo of DH and his older brother. They were all dressed up for church, 1959 style. I used Lynn Grieveson's new kit called Hugs for this page. I also used a photo corner by Marcie Reckinger which I enlarged, recolored and reduced opacity as a stamp on the corners of the page. I did this for an Ad Challenge at DSD. Lynn's products are available exclusively at Designer Digitals.

I did this layout for the scripture challenge at DSD. Just a letter to my very special DD. I used a mini kit by LaWanna Desjardin called Timeless for this page. You can find this mini kit at O Scraps. The polka dot ribbon is by Gina Miller. I used an alpha by Lynn Grieveson as a clipping mask for papers from the kit for "gift". Journaling says: Dearest Jennifer, For years, when you were a little girl, I used to tell you that you were my reason for living. It was the truth. I got up in the morning so I could go to work so you'd have food and shelter. I went to bed at night so I would be healthy enough to be a single parent. Many times I would have given up, but for you. It was "you and me against the world". Things got rocky during your late teens and I was afraid that somehow I'd lost you. Worse, maybe I'd never get you back. I was heartbroken. But over the years that has changed and I am so grateful to be able to say that today we are good friends. We talk, either by phone or IM, daily. It fills me with joy that we have such a relationship. It has always been my greatest wish. You make me so proud. Sometimes your strength, your intelligence, your abilities just leave me in awe. I wonder, how could I be related to you? But I am and it is a joy and a privilege, only made richer by the two beautiful grandsons I now have. Truly you have been the gift of a lifetime to me, a gift only God could have given me. I couldn't be happier. Love, Mom

My stepdaughter (age 13) was so proud of herself that she took this photo on Jonathan's first day of kindergarten. I had to scrap it for her! This is DH's grandson. I used Kim Hill's Teen Spirit kit for the page. I added a border by Gina Miller and a swirl by Ronna Penner. The alpha is by Dani Mogstad (recolored) and the torn paper/ribbon combo is by Corina Nielson. The tiny beaded alpha is by Kimberly Giarrusso. Kim's Teen Spirit kit is available at ACOT.

In September, 2006, we spent a few days in the Oxnard/Ventura area. I really enjoyed seeing the Olivos Adobe which was originally built, obviously of adobe construction, in 1847. I loved using this multi-photo grid to layout some of the photos of the interior. The grid is by Heather Ann Designs. I used paper from Marcie Reckinger's Nevaeh Mist kit, available at ACOT (on sale). I did this for the ACOT CT--I'm a guest CTM this month and this week's focus is on blocked layouts.

We go to California fairly often, primariily because we can drive there inexpensively and DH's daughter still lives there. One thing that always blows me away is the beauty and variety of flowers we see there. I used papers from ACOT's Celebrate Life collaborative kit. I recolored one of the papers to get the pink paper. I also used a template from Kissed Studios. I am the Guest CTM at ACOT this month, and the CT's focus this week is on blocked layouts.

Just another cute picture of DGS. He's such a little stud! I used Amanda Heimann's What Goes Around kit for this layout. Amanda's products are available at The Digi Chick but you have to buy her grab bag to get this! Other credits include: Doodled Border by Gina Miller, Doodled Alpha by Kate Hadfield, Cardboard Hearts (Called Color Me Stitched) by Amanda Rockwell (at amandarockwell.com), Words to scrap by by Doris Castle, Green journaling paper by Nina, Orange journaling paper (recolored) by Jen Wilson.

Found this old family photo and decided to scrap it. I know the lady on the right but neither my mother nor I know the one on the left. I used the Cottage Charm kit by Kim Hill for everything on the page except the flowers. The flowers are by Eve Recinella. I also used a sketch from the Through My Eyes Sketchbook by Amy Teets. You can find these products by Kim Hill and by Amy Teets at ACOT. I did this for Katie the Scrapbook Lady's journaling challenge at The Digi Shoppe.

Wardrobe Woes

Well I have decided I'm in trouble wardrobe-wise.  We really don't have a lot of "fall" or spring here.  But when we do, it's pretty confusing.  You start out in the morning wishing you were wearing your woolies and sweat pants/shirts.  By 11AM, you're ready to strip down and put on shorts and a tee.  And, by 7PM you want to go back to your woolies and sweats.  Now, I'm pretty well fixed for shorts and tees.  (Well, actually, I WOULD like one more pair of shorts.)  And, I'm pretty well fixed for sweats.  I NEED stuff for the crazy days of spring and fall.  Something with long pants and long sleeves, but not as heavy as sweats.  We don't turn the heat on til our teeth are chattering, so definitely long pants and long sleeves.  I have exactly 4 such outfits.  So, I've been looking on e-bay for another outfit.  I don't want to spend more than $20 for it.  I could use more than one, but will have to be satisfied with one after conferring with Mr. Budget.  I'm watching two sets I really like, so say a prayer I'll capture one of them.

The other wardrobe problem has to do with undergarments.  I have no shoulders.  In spite of the fact that you can find me working out with weights 3-4 evenings a week, I still have no shoulders.  So, slipping bra straps have been making me crazy.  So, I finally decided I am going to buy racer back bras and that's that.  I managed to snag 2 on e-bay that fit and that makes me happy.  I'd love a couple more, but.........  And then there are seat covers.  I buy only one brand.  I buy only 2 styles of that brand.  Living in the desert, cotton is a must.  Anything else is just asking for misery during the summer weather.  So, I'm shopping for seat covers this week.  It just so happens the bras and panties I wear are made by the same company.  E-bay has a zillion bras (NOT in the style I want) and very few panties with exactly 2 offers in my size.  I've got both on my watch list so you can throw a prayer heavenward for me about panties too!

We still have not been able to get Matt to come over here and help his Dad carry this carpet outside so it can be measured.  He's been busy volunteering to help build or remodel a boys and girls club.  That's certainly a worthy cause, but.........  So, we have these two huge rolls of carpet taking up half the width of the walkway in our hall.  We also have a two huge rolls of padding, one parked temporarily in the sewing room, one parked temporarily in the baby's playpen which is in the hall.  Now, you may wonder why the playpen is in the hall.  Well, simply because we don't have a baby monitor. We put Atticus down for a nap in our room, and we close the door so the dogs don't go in there to sniff him, lick him, etc.  And if he wakes up, we don't hear him.  BUT, if he's in the hall, we can hear him fine.  But, for now, if he's here and needs a nap, he has to go on our bed because the playpen is a storage unit for carpet padding!  I'm so torqued at Matt.  We only need him for maybe a half hour, but he can't be bothered.  We've been waiting weeks.  The carpet is just too heavy for Joe alone or for Joe and I, and it's really bulky.  So, some extra muscle is required to get the job done.  I am now trying to get Joe to go over to a certain street corner not far from our house.  On this street corner, one finds all sorts of day laborers who are willing to hire out at reasonable prices for a few hours or for a day.  I'm hoping he'll do something about that today.  We could probably get all the help we need for about $20.  It really is a pain, walking up and down that hallway a zillion times a day, hanging on to the wall!

Well, the tax extensions expire Monday.  Joe has been nipping at my heels to print ours out.  It's been basically finished since April, but......  I finally printed it out last night and got it ready to go.  Unfortunately we have NO money to pay the balance due which is quite substantial.  I really don't know what we're going to do about that......  After I gave it to Joe last night, he just sat there staring at it for the longest time.  We normally have a savings account where we stash money all year long to pay the taxes.  But his business is so bad, we've had to live off of that money for several months now.  We are faithful tithers and givers, always have been, so I'm looking for some floodgates to open from heaven.......

Well, enough of that.  How 'bout some scrapbook pages?

While we were in San Diego in April, we wandered through Old Town. I enjoyed seeing Casa de Estudillo. So interesting to see how people lived so long ago. I've used papers and elements from Lynn Grieveson's new kit, Florence, available at Designer Digitals today. I also used Nancy Comelab's Photocluster #8 and a ribbon by Heather Ann Melzer.

Another photo from the CD I received from my cousin. I was surprised to see this photo of my uncle, fishing. I never knew that was something he enjoyed. I used LaWanna Desjardin's Creekside, available at Scrapbook Bytes, for this layout. The stitching is by Andrea Burns. The doodles are by Lisa Whitney.

This photo was taken while we were riding in the car. Unlike most babies, Atticus hates being in the car because being in the car means he has to be in his carseat. I used a kit called Breath of Spring for everything on this page. I did this page for the lyrics challenge at Elemental Scraps.

Another photo of my parents from the wartime years. I used Amanda Heimann's Red, White and Denim paper pack, available at Plain Digital Wrapper. The red brad is by Kathy Moore. The velvet star is from Toni Berman. Amanda Stevens at NDISB has a set of "Wartime Stamps" made from some of the historic posters of that era. I trimmed off the stamp edge--perfect for my layout!

Just playing with a new template from Kissed Studio and the FPD collab kit for July. I'm not on a CT for either store, but Kissed Studio was one I'd never heard of and they have some great templates there and the FPD collaborative kit is chock full of goodies!

We saw this little cutie often at DGS's ball games. I couldn't resist taking her picture. Credits are as follows: Pink Cardstock, Black Paper, Ric Rac, and flowers: Amanda Rockwell's Fruity kit available here: http://www.funkyplaygrounddesigns.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=699 Cardboard Heart: Color Me Stitched available here: http://amandarockwell.com/boutique/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=9 Tag: Amanda Rockwell retired kit Clipped flower: Bella Gypsy Designs

Came across this old photo and had to scrap it. It's my mother and her two sisters, and there's a stamp from the processor dated 4/9/40. I used Lynn Grieveson's new kit, Hugs, available at Designer Digitals. The flower is by Deb Pearson and the button/doodle is by Nina from her element kit called Take the Buttons, available at NDISB and at O Scraps

So, I can vent here, right?

I mean, after all, this is MY blog.  I can say what I want here.  THIS is the way my life goes.......

We have needed new flooring throughout the house for a very long time.  Now, we are not talking shabby....we are talking large holes worn through, aggravated by a very chewy puppy or two along the way.  It's really pretty sad.  We want hard flooring in the main living areas and carpet in the bedrooms.  This has been a matter of considerable prayer.  In fact, I'm sure the Lord's ear is permanently bent from all my jabbering into it.  Well, the hard floor which should NOT be a problem still is a problem--we won't talk about that just now.  But, about three weeks ago, a friend of ours called and said her son had just bought a house.  There was new carpet down in the house which he didn't want--he wanted tile.  So, all we had to do was come pick it up.  Yeah, we could handle that.  Joe managed to round up his son and away they went to get the carpet.  Later the lady delivered padding as well.  Today, she indicated that her son still had a large piece which he was now willing to give us as well.  Apparently, in the upstairs of the house, there was a large kool-aid stain.  So, they'd held onto this large piece of carpet in case they needed to replace the stained area.  Well, they were able to clean the stain out of the carpet so this large piece was up for grabs--either we came to get it or it was going in the trash.  So, I got very brave and said yes we wanted it before consulting with Joe.  Well, thankfully he agreed.  He contacted the guy and worked out some pick up schedule for this evening.

Meanwhile, Joe has been on a Daniel's fast--no meat--for about 10 days.  I've been scouring various internet sites and wracking my brain, trying to figure out what to feed him.  We were watching Food Network's Giada De Laurentiis last week do a vegetarian segment and saw a penne pasta recipe I thought I could replicate and that looked good to him.  So, I've been chopping and roasting vegetables, cooking pasta, shredding cheese, etc, for over an hour.  The kitchen is hot, but it smells good already--the smell of roasted vegetables--Zucchini, red bell pepper, summer squash, onion, garlic, mushrooms.......  He walks into the kitchen and says in a rather nasty voice:  "So, I guess I have to go pick this carpet up by myself." 

Well, yes.  You didn't tell me you needed any help.  You didn't tell me when you were going.  And, if I were to go, what would we do about dinner?  And, if I were to go, what would we do about all this good stuff I have ready to go into the oven?  And, by the way, doesn't it smell good in here?  Isn't it great that I've gone to all this trouble to fix you a meal you'd enjoy? 

It's such a great joy to live with such a kind, caring, positive person.....So now that I've vented about Mr. Wonderful, I'm going to go say thank you to the Lord who provided wonderful carpet for free in answer to prayer.....It's good to know HE loves me..........Dontcha just love a God who arranges for you to get FREE new carpet?

It's been a while....

There are days I wish I had never started this blog.  I'd have one less thing to feel guilty about when I don't make it on here to post in spite of my best intentions.  I marvel at ladies who seem to be able to carve out time to blog on a daily or every other day schedule.  How do they do it?

We had a good weekend.  We gathered up Jen and the boys and went to Gilcrease Orchards.  We had tried to do this several weeks ago, but it had rained the night before and they wouldn't let us in the fields.  That day we had to satisfy ourselves with buying a bit of fruit at the roadside stand they operate.  So, Saturday morning we tried again.  We DID get to go to the fields this time, but, sadly, they were pretty well picked over.  We found eggplant, but Joe won't eat eggplant so that didn't do us much good.  We also found zucchini.  I'm doing a roasted veggies and pasta dish for dinner tomorrow night with some of the zucchini and I'll make some zucchini bread with some of it as well.  We'd hoped to be able to pick some apples, but that didn't work out.  The rows of apple trees are REALLY long and there are rows and rows and rows of them.  We found a couple of apples on the ground but none on the rows we checked.  We asked about it as we were driving out and they told us some lady had just checked out with 15 pounds of apples but I swear I don't know where she found them. 

Anyway, it was fun to watch Will help Grandpa look for veggies.  And I got some great pictures.  Some folks were actually having picnic lunches from the back of their vans and trucks right there on the orchard grounds.  Other people brought their dogs.  It's an experience a city boy like Will has never had in his 8 years of life.  Next year, maybe we can start earlier, like around the end of April, early May, and actually get a lot of good, fresh, vine-ripened fruits and veggies.  I LOVE it!  I do have to say the apples we got a few weeks ago, the pears, and the cantaloupe were all excellent.

Afterwards we went to IHOP and had breakfast/lunch.  We used one of the coupons from the Entertainment book Willie sold us.  It got us one free breakfast so we've already at least partially paid for the book.  At $20, I for sure don't think we'll lose money on it.

Tonight I babysit again.  Jennifer just called and let me know she's got some vegetarian soup going in the crockpot for our dinner.  That is so helpful of her.  Mondays aren't too bad, but Wednesdays are tough.  It's great to arrive at her house to find dinner waiting.  Of course, it'll be vegetarian soup, but that's okay.  We're actually doing vegetarian here as well.  Joe is doing a Daniel fast--no meat--and he's given up coffee for three weeks ending on October 20.  October 20 is the date of The Call.  It is a day long call to prayer which will be held at the Thomas and Mack Center here in town.  They are expecting 20,000 people to come and pray for our world, our country, and our city.  Joe was talking about ushering for it, but I've asked him not to.  They would be expected to be there an hour early--7AM--and to stay til after it ends at 10PPM.  And it's all concrete floors and steps are a significant possibility depending on the area he might be assigned to.  I think that's all a bit much for him.  He ushered 4 out of 5 nights at the Holy Spirit conference which was held at our carpeted, one story church and was stiff and sore for days afterwards.

Well, I'm going to post some pages and then hop on the treadmill.  Have a blessed day.

This is another photo from a CD my cousin sent me with over 500 family photos. I used Nina's Inspire Me 1 paper pack for this page. The Curled Frame Distressed is by Katie Pertiet. The cardboard flower(recolored) is one of Amanda Rockwell's Big Lauren Lalas. The heart (recolored) is from a collaborative kit called Breath of Spring. The newsprint flower is by Tracy Ann Robinson. The swirl is by Anna Aspnes, used as a clipping mask for paper by Nina. You can find Nina's designs at NDISB and at O Scraps. Big Lauren's Lalas are available at amandarockwell.com.

Is there anything better than a photo of a sleeping baby? I used Nina's Fancy Office Bits and Fancy Paper Bits for this layout. I also added stars from the Pajamas for Love kit (recolored), a satin flower by Andrea Burns, and a "spray" by Genevieve Sass. You can find Nina's products at O Scraps and at NDISB.

DH has the habit of putting somewhere "for now". A few days later, since they're now stored in some inane place, things are lost and sometimes not recovered for a long while. That was the fate of a number of my family photos, including this one. I scrapped this page using paper and elements designed by LaWanna Desjardin in her new kit Green Tea. Green Tea is available at Scrapbook Bytes. I used a template by Jan Crowley to clip the scalloped paper. The satin flower is by Andrea Burns.

I recently received a CD with about 500 old family photos. I found this photo on there. I feel as though this layout needs something but I don't know what..... I used the mini kit, Color Blast, designed by Gina Miller and Amanda Rockwell for this page. I used a piece of paper from Tracy Ann Robinson's Artlines Companion kit as a clipping mask for the turquoise paper from the kit. The torn paper is by Nicole Pols. The journaling strip is from Amanda Rockwell's Glitternotes. I also used Amanda's cardboard edging. Amanda's designs are available at amandarockwell.com.

I could not quite believe I'd captured this cute face Atticus was making. I also liked that it shows his first tooth--appropriate when you're grying to growl like a lion, I suppose. I used Betsy Tuma's kit Frolic for this layout. The cardboard edgings are by Amanda Rockwell and are available at amandarockwell.com. The alpha is by Kim Christensen. Photo edging is by Ake Pangestuti.

I have a feeling this is how I will be remembered by my grandsons! I used papers from Nina's Friends kit (available at O Scraps and NDISB). The flowers are by Kay Miller and the stitching is by Andrea Burns. The bird is from the Tweet Element Pack by Lynn Grieveson. I substituted papers in the wing to better match the page. You can find Tweet at Designer Digitals.

I'm not paranoid, I swear I'm not! The vertical blanket stitching is by Anita Stergiou from the Ray of Light Charity kit, available at Pickleberry Pop. The circle stitching is by Sandra Boddington. The pin is by Jeanelle Paige. Everything else is from the new collaborative kit called Cheaper than Therapy by Katie the Scrapbook Lady and Brent Boone, available at The Digi Shoppe.