It's been a year! WOW!!

So I'm just surfing the web, checking out some new stuff and pondering all the little things in life when I decide to create a blog for my photography business! Why haven't I done this yet? Oh wait, I have a blog, hahaha. So I log on and take a look at what was going on in my life the last time I updated my blog. It was a rather desperate blog and a little depressing. I have come so far since this time last year!

I was pondering what I was going to do with my life and trying to make some decisions about what and where my life should be and go. I enrolled in college and to date, am 1 class short of my AA, which I am taking this Summer. I am transferring to the local 4 year university in the Fall to finish my BS in Journalism and have plans to attend UF Law school after that. I am in such a better place this year! My husband is now officially a police officer and things are starting to really pick up for us. Emotionally and financially.

I am teaching cake decorating classes and a local high school's community education department and really enjoy meeting the different people and teaching them what I know. I am very excited to begin my special 8 week summer course featuring Wedding Cakes! Many people are excited to experiment with Wedding Cake design and I am excited to teach them.

My photography business is picking up and I am having more fun taking family and wedding photos for the many people who select me as their photographer! I have newborn shoots scheduled and a wedding in June.

Just getting up in the morning is easier knowing I'm not giving up. I'm going to make this thing called life work for me and my family. I have dreams and desires that I will make happen. With God supporting us and our decisions, I am more confident we can make this happen!

Classes start on Monday, so I hope to post more, but can guarantee nothing! :) Good Night all and remember to just keep living!!

New Year..... New Me.....New Plans....

Well, Day 2 of 2010 is well under way and I am seriously trying to figure out my life! After nearly 6 months of waiting, hoping and praying... Mike will be starting the JSO Police Academy Training program. So we will finally have an income again. I have never been more relieved!

But now to more pressing concerns. As I have vowed never to be left in this situation again, I am unsure as to what to do with the remainder of my existence. Do I venture back to college as a non-traditional student? Do I start a business? Do I pursue a career in music? With all of these options, I have never been more confused! The facts are fairly simple. I love to sing and I have a great voice, I love photography, I am incredibly smart and resourceful and I desperately need to have a creative outlet! These things are 100% positive! So what to do with all of this mess?

I can't spend the next 6 months trying to decide what to do! I need to actually start doing what ever it is I'm going to do and be successful at it by the time the 6 months are here! So here I am, trying to figure out which direction to steer my life in, while I play catch-up on bills and try once again to get out of debt and out from under all these financial strains!

If you have any advice, I would really love to hear it!

Happy St. Patty's Day!!!

I hope everyone out there in blog-land has a very happy drinking holiday!! :) We all need an excuse to drink more right!! I'm a closet lush!! LOL Just kidding!! I would never get up before noon...... oh well.. maybe 2 o'clock!!

Anywhoo!! I finally got my scraproom set up about a month ago and was catching some flack from fellow scrappers about not posting pics! So I figured (since I'm drunk j/k) that I would go ahead and do that now!! Warning: Images contain pink! I can't help it!! I love that color!! :)

This is the view from the left rear of the room.....

This is the view from the right rear of the room....

This is the view from the living room.....

This is my printing station.....

This is my computer, photo editing, cricut desk.....

This is some media center storage (above my binding station)

This is my binding station....

My MM Embellishment Center...

My Clip it Up's and storage.....


That's it!! I spend the majority of my time in here!! :)

Visit from a friend!!!

I was so excited Wednesday to have a friend come into town... the circumstances that brought her here were not the best, but I so wanted to see her. She moved away 7 months ago and it just really stinks!! We spent half the day together Wednesday and then had dinner Thursday evening and she came to stay at my place Thursday night! Friday we went out to dinner with Marisol and Kerry (our other 2 best buds!!) at Daruma's Japanese Steakhouse!! I had sushi for the first time (Mary's idea) and then we all went out for tattoo's!! Such a girl bonding moment!! LOL We spent the day running around between errands and shopping and a SU Party (at Robyn's another best bud!!) and then finally crashing back at the house to drink coffee and wait for 3am to get here! Then we packed up the car and I drove her to Orlando to catch her flight back to West Virginia. :( Such a sad day for me!! BUT I will get to see her next weekend! We are going up to visit my family and Mary!! Is another tattoo in my future??? We'll see!! Here is a pic of my recent tat!!

My Mojo is here to stay....

Or at least I hope so! I have really been enjoying my room and seem to be getting a lot more done these days! I am enjoying some of the MB's that I am a member of and the challenges are too numerous to count! This is a Croppy Cat challenge over at {SAS}sy . Basically the challenger picks out a member gallery, and you visit that gallery and choose a layout to lift from. This is my lift of her original! It was really fun and a great way to try out things that you might not normally do!! I really enjoyed it and you all should check out their MB. It is loads of fun over there!! AND it is a bonus that you get a lot of scrapping done with all the challenges!!

More layouts done!!

WooHoo!! I feel like I am on a roll and don't want to slow down. I have joined a few message boards and been taking advantage of the challenges they have been providing to keep my mojo going!! Some are sketches, some are croppy catting, some are just techniques! Anyhow I am loving it and when I'm not cropping, I'm sleeping!! I'm very proud of these layouts. I made them using leftover papers from my Scrappy Gourmet March 08 Featured Designer Kit that I purchased last year! Mary Shirley is an awesom designer and you should defiinitely go over to the SG and check out her newest kit!! Just don't buy the last one!! It is mine!! LOL

This next one is from some Pink Paisley that I just HAD to have and then was afraid to cut it cause it is just too beautiful!!! LOL

Back at it again!!

This weekend was really rough on me!!! I am having some procedures done that will shut down the baby-making oven for good. I have 3 beautiful children, but if I keep having them.....they will all never get a completed scrapbook!! LOL

The first of my 3 procedures was Friday morning. I had a historoscopy DNC. Checking for cancer cells, etc. Just making sure my uterus is healthy. I seemed fine, since it was an out patient procedure, came home took my meds, and at 6pm didn't feel too bad. So I went with my friend Robyn to a Stampin Up party at another friends house. I was fine until about 9:30pm and then my whole world kind of fell apart. The numbness wore off and I couldn't stop the pain even with the meds. I seriously thought I was dying!!! So I spent the rest of the weekend in bed with that amazing man of mine waiting on me hand and foot, sleeping in until 1pm everyday, and not being asked to do anything!!

So today, feeling much better I check my blog and see a new comment on my birthday post!! I was so excited to see that I had won the Friday Free For All contest over at Page Maps!! Becky posted my winning layout on the blog and said some super sweet things about it. I can't tell you how excited I am!!! It was a really beautiful sketch and I had such a good time working on it!! Plus it has a picture of that beautiful little blond girl I'm so fond of!!! It is posted in an earlier post on my blog if you want to take a look at it!!

So now, I've been working on some projects using my zutter BIA and will be posting pics of that tomorrow!!! AND I almost forgot!! Here is my layout for the JPS Scrap Challenge. Once again I used a half-map from Page Maps archives to do this layout. It was beautiful, I just love their stuff!!

My day today

Well, today was my birthday! I turned 35! WOW it feel like only yesterday I was just a little kid with no responsibilities! LOL Those days are long gone!! Now I am blessed with 3 beautiful children and a wonderful husband who just makes me smile. I am the luckiest girl alive!! He especially knows how to make me really happy!! My birthday festivities kicked off with me getting to sleep in until 10:30am!! Then I did some laundry (no requirements today, just felt a little lazy for not doing anything! ) and just kinda hung around the house playing with the kids until this evening. For my birthday he got me

1) A zutter bind it all!! I just love that they are now pink!! Totally matches my scrap room...
2) the Your Story laminating and book binding machine and
3) a new espresso/latte maker!!! WOOHOO!!

I thought I was in heaven!! Then his mom came over and watched the kiddos while he took me out to Outback for dinner and then we spent some time just walking around the mall and talking. After we got home then we all celebrated with cake and ice cream. I just love my man!!

I just had a really nice day and I thought I would share it with all my scrappy buddies!!

Getting my Scrappin Mojo back!!

WooHoo!! I'm feeling great!! I've spent a lot of time getting my scrap room organized, purged a TON of old product, gotten some new ideas and applied them to some projects! I've tried some things that I've always wanted to try and just never got around to. And I have a lot of old school techniques that I'm attempting to revive on some newer, fresher paper and layout ideas!! I feel more creative now than I have in years!! What a wonderful feeling. I'm still trying to take some pictures and/or scan in all of the projects I've been working on. I will post them as I get them on the computer!! For now, these are some cards that I have been working on getting ready to submit for a DT call. I had a 6X6 SEI paper pad laying around that I just couldn't bring myself to part with, so I made use of it with these cards! I was really pleased with the results and hope you like them too!!


I think this one is just sweet......


I may just give this one to my sweetie for Valentine's Day this year!! ;) This was my first attempt at machine sewing on a card and using 3D elements on a card. (Makes it hard to stuff in an envelope!!!) lol


My second attempt at using a few less 3D elements!

This one didn't scan very well due to the drastic contrast between the brown and the pale pink shimmer paper. :( I was a little disappointed since this card is one of my favs! I really like the simplicity of the design and it remind me a little of stamping.... maybe.. a little....ok so maybe not so much.. hahaha!!

I hope you like these and keep coming back often to check out my blog!! I have some really new stuff coming soon and some things that might surprise you!

JPS Challenge

Wow!! I am so excited!! I just finished a layout using the yummy papers from the MM Sabrina Line!! I LOVE pink, so it goes without saying that I just had to have that line!! I searched the web over for a picture so you could see it, but I was out of luck!! :(

I can't post the layout yet since it is part of a scrap challenge that our little scrap group put together! It is a neat idea that I borrowed from an online community and just thought it would get our group out of our sluggish post Holiday slump!!! I'll be sure to post the picture later!! Just had to let out a little excitement!! LOL

Memories... Souvenirs of a well lived life

Well, I said I was entering a lot of contests and trying to get back into the swing of things. So here goes!! I just finished creating this one for yet another contest at Kraft Girl Kits here is the original sketch and then my take on it!! Let me know what you think!!

Where have I been????

It feels like years since I've been anywhere near my blog! Moving into the new house, getting Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years over with, then Abby's 5th birthday and then Superbowl!! Whew... I'm exhausted just writing about it!!

I am finally feeling crafty again and it helps having a scraprooom all to myself!! So creating is easier with everything where I can see it! I have found a few challenges that I am going to participate in to get me motivated scrapping again.

My DT term with Creative Scrappers ended at the 1st of January and I am so thankful for the time I got to spend crafting with some very creative ladies!!! A BIG thanks to them for letting me be a part of their wonderful online community!! If you ever get a chance, go over and check them out!!

So now that I am back in the swing of things, here is my first layout created in my new scrap room in my new home and in a new year!! What a combination!! Maybe it will be my lucky one!! This one was created for a contest over at PageMaps. When you have time you should definitely check it out!! Here is the original sketch!

House Drama.....

Here it is.... the day before Thanksgiving and I guess the one thing I have to be thankful for is that the financing on our house is done and we will finally get to close on Friday. After many extensions, heartache, letdowns and drama it will finally be over. I was supposed to leave on Monday for West Virginia but that trip got postponed indefinitely until the house stuff is taken care of. :( My Dad and kids were disappointed as was I, but I am thankful for our house and the fact that my kiddos will now have a new home with a big backyard and we won't have to worry about apartment living anymore. I am so happy!! Here is a picture of our new home.

Halloween Time

We had such a great time for Halloween this year. The 2 youngest kiddos had a party in the morning at pre-K and then another party in the afternoon with our playgroup pals. It was loads of fun and since they made out on the candy at both parties (and Mom was exhausted) we went to Ollie Koala's instead of the normal trick or treating. The kids had a blast! We also went ot Adventure Landing for a little pre-Halloween fun and the kids got temporary airbrushed tattoos (so did Mom lol) Here is a layout of my youngest getting his very first Tat!! I was so happy with this layout. I ran out of metal sheets (by Making memories) and ended up using an empty Dr. Pepper can!! This was also a DT reveal for Creative Scrappers!!!

Design Team Reveal

Well here it is.... another DT reveal from Creative Scrappers. I am so excited to be a part of this amazing group of women. There is so much talent on there, I can't even begin to try and keep up. In the midst of everything that has been going on I am struggling to find the time to scrap, but I am so grateful for the Creative Scrapper girls for keeping me motivated. Here is the DT reveal from the sneak peeks below.

OMG!!!!

I can't believe it has been nearly a month since I have done any blogging!! So if you can hang in there... this is going to be a LONG post!! :)

In the last month, DH and I have put an offer in on a house.... negotiated with the bank on the price (it is a foreclosure), signed our portion of the contract, (still waiting on the bank) secure financing and we are ready to lock in our rate!! But with the market fluctuating like it has, we may wait a week or so. That has been the home end of it. Anyone who has purchased a home KNOWS the hoops you get to jump through!!! LOL

In the meantime, I have been working on Team, Individual and Action shots for PAL Park Soccer League. That has kept me extremely busy lately! The shoot has taken longer than it should to finish for various reasons, but I was able to submit my last order for prints late last night!!! I am very excited about that part being over. Now delivery begins!!!

In the Scrapping area of my life (sound too compartmentalized? If it does, so sorry, my life is nothing but organized chaos!!!) I have been struggling to keep up with my duties for Creative Scrappers! I have been getting my assignments in just in time, or on the deadline. That is so not me!! I love to get my stuff in a week prior to when it is due. Hopefully once all of the house stuff and the business settles down a little, I will get back to my normal self! I did however get a couple of really fabulous layouts done (at least I think so). I am extremely happy with them and am truely glad that I am a DT member for Creative Scrappers. It has really given me the motivation to scrap. Lately I have just needed that extra nudge with everything else that has been going on. I'm going to post my last DT assignment and then post some sneak peaks for next week's DT Reveal!! Remember that you can visit the Creative Scrappers Blog to take a look at the past sketches and get some inspiration for yourself or just take a look around at what some of our fabulous DT has done!!!

Ready for some sneak peaks????

Just girl talk.................

Talk about procrastination! i have been so busy with this home buying adventure, that I didn't get my DT sketch reveal emailed to Creative Scrappers until last night!! I didn't even take the picture until 9:30pm!! WOW! I am so out of it!! We should be able to take a look at the DT reveal around Wednesday or Thursday of next week!! Be sure to stay tuned to see what is going on!

I also wanted to let you all know that the Creative Scrappers team has started posting challenges to get your design juices flowing and help provide some inspiration!! We have such a wonderful team of women that you might find it hard to pass up such a wonderful opportunity to learn from them through the challenges!!

Also.... my good friend Robyn has posted a little contest with a RAK gift for the winner, on her blog at Robyns Scrappy Nest. You can find her link to the right of my blog!! I will definitely get those sneak peeks out tonight and keep you all posted on the status of our home! I should know something tomorrow!!

If you are in the Jacksonville area and looking for some great people to crop with, you should check out JaxPark Scrappers. We rotate through 6 crops per quarter, from member hosted to in-store crops. There is a quarterly crop requirement of 1 crop. You can attend as many as you like!!! It is great fun and we always have an awesome time!! If you are interested, check them out and request to join! Just let them know that Angel sent you!!

Update.......

I know that it feels like forever since I posted on my blog. Since I posted about the DT reveal, DH and I have decided to become home owners. So we have spent day after day after day searching for a home. We have seen so many listings and seen so few within our budget and space requirements.

We found our house on Wednesday and put an offer in and we are now just waiting to hear back. In the meantime I'm dreaming about my soon (hopefully) to be scrap room. No longer will I have to share space in our bedroom! That is probably the most exciting thing! The second being the large fenced in yard that I can turn my kids out into so I can scrap!!!

While all of my energy has been fixated on this one area of my life, I have forgotten to post the DT Reveal over at the Creative Scrappers blog. I have also completed my second assignment for them and will more than likely be posting sneak peaks of that within the next couple of days!!

So let me know what you think of my DT reveal. The sketch was by Monika Martinson...

Scrappy Weekend

I had another fabulous scrappy weekend on Saturday. The guys decided to go to the poker room and left us to do our own thing...... so what did we do, we scrapped!!!! I'm so excited since I scrapped my first sketch layout for Creative Scrappers!!! Stay tuned for the Big new DT reveal on September 1st!! I can't do any sneak peeks just yet, but soon!!!

Had to do this sketch.....

I really thought I needed to do this one. I used Abby's pictures from the first day of school this year. I really like the way it turned out even though the picture turned out a little blurry. :( It's raining with the possiblilty of Tropical Storm Fay hitting us tonight and I had to do all my pics outside on the porch! Yuk!! Check out all the sketches on the Creative Scrappers forum. This is sketch 13 by Becky Fleck.