2012 plan and Make Something Monday

Hey all. Thought I'd share with you a rough "schedule" of what I'll be doing on my blog. NO, I won't be posting everysingle day. I'm going to try, just because I enjoy blogging, but if I don't blog a day or two (or three) a week, I'm not gonna beat myself up about it. And I don't think the 3 people that read my blog are gonna care, either. So here 'tis.

I pinned this on Pinterest from here (if you don't know what Pinterest is, hang in there. I'm sure I'll be talking about it all the time).

So yes, Make Something Monday is going to be dedicated to...guess what...you got it!!! Digital Scrapbooking. It IS what I "make" most often. (BTW, no matter what the post is scheduled to be about on any certain day, be prepared to see some digiscrap stuffs comin' your way. I can't help but share this stuff!)

(For those of you that don't really care about my digiscrap hobby, you can skip this paragraph.) So quick overview of my scrapping life. I am active in 2 forums, Sweet Shoppe Designs and The Digichick. I am a CTM (Creative Team Member) for the most amazing designers. Misty Cato, The Digichick, eNKay Designs, Etc. By Danyale, Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs, HGD by Laurie Ann, Queen of Hearts, and Jen Yurko. I am also guesting for Jeanye Labaya Designs for the month of January. I CT for designers that I ADORE and have no problem shouting to the world how awesome their designs are.

Since I've been away from blogging for so long, I'm of course not gonna show every LO that I've done since the last time. But I will show you a favorite from each of my awesome designers.

Click here for full-size picture and credits

Click here for full-size picture and credits

Click here for full-size picture and credits

Click here for full-size picture and credits

Click here for full-size picture and credits

Click here for full-size picture and credits

Click here for full-size picture and credits

Click here for full-size picture and credits

Click here for full-size picture and credits

OK. Yeesh. That took a long time. Someone had better appreciate this...

I'll blog atcha soon!

Happy New Year, friends!

 Hi everyone! It's a new year! I'm excited. I have big plans for this year. This is the YEAR OF ME!!! mmmmmmmwaaahhaaahhaaahhaaaa! That's not as narcissistic as it sounds. We all know how we tend to not make time for ourselves. Not take care of ourselves. Not do things for ourselves. I'm going to try my hardest to take care of ME this year. Well, I guess I'll help take care of that one kid. You know, the one that lives in my house for some strange reason?

In the digiscrap world around this time, everyone's all abuzz with the "One Little Word" phenomenon. It's a class given by Ali Edwards. I have no idea what your actually supposed to do in the actual class, but I'm doing my own thing with OLW...cause that's how I roll. I've chosen a OLW that I can apply to many aspects of my life. Yes, I'm sure I'll scrap about it (already have, as a matter of fact), but that's not my main focus. I want it to be a constant reminder of how I want to/should be/am going to live my life. My One Little Word this year is:

Good word, huh? Yeah, I picked it myself. This is a word I can use throughout my everyday life.

I can use it with my family. We can actually get up and do stuff. Go places together. Do projects together. Just BE together DOING thing together more.

I can use this at work. Other than prompting me to actually get some stinkin' work done, I can use it to encourage myself to move above and beyond what I am doing. You know, make something of myself.

I can use this, of course, in exercise. Which I WILL BE DOING. I am ready to do this thang.

As you can tell, I can really use this in so many applications. And I will be. I need to do this, not only for myself, but for my family and friends...anyone who holds me important.

This is the first LO I've done for OLW. I think it has just the kind of feel that I was looking for.

Click to enlarge

The Daily Details by The Digichick Designers (Jan. collab)
My Words Only V.5 by Captivated Visions

So for now, that is all. I will be blogging regularly again. This is another thing I'm taking ACTION on, and I'm determined in. Not that anyone reads this pathetic little blog, but I enjoy blogging, so I'll be doing it.

Until next time,

Beware

You've been warned.

Controversy

I try not to touch on too many controversial subjects on my blog. I have friends who have very differing opinions on a lot of things, yet we manage to remain friends. I've decided I can no longer keep quiet on this front. I may make some enemies here, but I'm prepared to defend my position...to the death*. Here goes nothing...

If you don't cook with onions, you're a wimp.

There I said it. No onions? Wuss. "I don't like onions!" Weenie. "Onions smell so bad!" Get over it!

Onions are the one thing in my pantry (actually, I keep them in my fridge veggie crisper) that I'm never without. If an onion  can possibly be used in a dish, I'ma be there with it. They can bring a tang to a dish like no other. They can even bring a little heat with the right onion. Yet, when you cook them down, they have the most mellow, sweet, and savory taste. They are very versatile and bring flavor out in almost every meat, especially meat of the beef and pork persuasion.

I bring this up, because whenever I'm chopping an onion (which let's face it, is practically every day), I always have this nagging voice in my head. I shall not name names. But an old friend of mine (we are no longer friends...I won't say it's because of onions, but it didn't help the friendship any) claimed she was the best cook in the eastern hemisphere (See?! That should tell you right there how smart SHE was). She was very prideful of this fact. Yet, she was also prideful of the fact the she didn't use onions because "they're gross!!" Did I ever throw in her face that you CAN'T BE A GOOD COOK without using onions? Nope. Never. I'm too good a person for that. Did I start bringing my onion-laden dishes to our get-togethers and relish in the praise they received? You betcha. Because onions are hella good, I'm telling you!

So be down with the onion. If you're afraid of them, I'll let it slide if you give them another try. Be adventurous. You've never heard Wolfgang Puck say "onions are icky!" That's because they're a cook's best friend. And I need a friend, because I ditched that other chick.

*of a small vegetable

New Scrappin' Goodies

I'm baaaack with some scrapping goodies for you all! I wish I could get you all to understand how much I love to digiscrap. It's so relaxing, creative, and just fun! And look at these kits! They are so gorgeous! I'm sure you'll find yourself wanting to run hand-in-hand with them through a flowery field. Wait...you won't? Well, that's just crazy talk, because that's the kind of reaction I have to them! What do you mean that makes me crazy...YOU'RE THE CRAZY ONE HERE.

Onward to the goodies!

This is the new release from eNKay Designs at The Digichick. What a cute kit!

Dear Tooth Fairy by eNKay Designs

Maylee's too young to have lost any teeth yet, of course, so I went a different direction with my LO. I've been wanting to scrap her night time routine for a while now, and this was the perfect opportunity. Plus, Daddy did a great job taking pics of her brushing her teeth. 

For that page (up there. Yep that one ^ ^), I also used one of Lacey Bittner's templates, the Cute & Quirky Templates, for this LO. Templates are WONDERFUL. I find them very helpful and I also find that they actually help my creativity and inspire me. Here's the template pack, that is awesome.

Cute & Quirky Templates by Lacey Bittner Designs

Next I have some news and some goodies. I was offered a spot of Jen Yurko's CT and accepted! I am ecstatic! Have you seen her stuff? She has the cutest doodles and she always has these cute little people in her kits. And she's awesome. So here's her newest release at Digiscrappers Brasil.

Pedal Pushers by Jen Yurko

Once again, I didn't have a pic of M on a bike or anything, so I did a photo-less LO of what to get her for Christmas, because we've been debating this at our house recently.

And last, but not least, Misty has a new release tomorrow at Sweet Shoppe. It manages to be beautiful and fun at the same time, and I love kits like that! Here's the sneak:

Check the new releases tomorrow!

Here's the page I did with this great kit:

So, go on...check out these kits! I know you've got pics that one of these kits is just perfect for! I know it!

Love to all!

Today's PSA: Read to your children!

You all know how important books and reading are to me. It's kinda my livelihood. This week, Kindle joined up with public libraries (finally) to include quite a few of their books for library patrons. This was good for the library world. But I still don't even know if I want an e-reader. There's something about paper. Having a heavy, paper book in my hands. Love it. Anyway, this isn't even what I was going to talk about.


If you want to have some quality time with your kid, and you want them to be the smartest thing since the light bulb, read to your kids! It's fun for all! (Well, there are some books that I've read to Maylee so many times, that I'd rather bite my own toenails off than read it again...but I always do.) It's interesting! It's relaxing! And if you're a mom like me, what's even better is watching your husband read to your kid. *Sigh. Few things make me happier than seeing a scene like this:

 

So anyway, if you're an adult...read a book! They're way better than TV or movies (though I still like those things, too). If you're a parent, read a book to your child! And if they don't like it, persist. Just reading books will help their vocabulary, social skills, and comprehension. It really is amazing what words will do.

Thanks for stopping by. And reading my PSA.

Some new LOs

Haven't posted in a few days (and I was doing so well, too!!), so I thought I'd pop over and show a few new LOs I've done. Yeah, I know...bore you with more of my "art." I actually don't know if I consider it art, though it is very important to me. Now, I have seen some LOs that I consider art. But mine...nah.

And just so you know, I don't scrap chronologically. A lot of scrappers do, but I came to the scrapping game when my daughter was already almost 2, so I have a lot of older pictures that I use to scrap. Oh, not to mention the the pictures I already scrapped, but scrapped when I WAS NOT good, so I like to use them over to give them the LO they deserve (not that I'm like some super-scrapper now. I still have a lot to learn and will be the first to admit it!). Anyway, enough rambling. Now on the the scrapping ramblings.

This first one is of my new...ummm....2nd cousin once removed??? It's my mom's first cousin's daughter's son. Can you figure that out for me, Val? (She's my resident genealogist). Anyway, my cousin Mandy had a gorgeous new son, Sammy. I wanna squish him!!

Noah & Co. by Lacey Bittner Designs
Page Template volume 3 by Thaty Borges
Font: CK Alayna

Maylee looks so little and smiley here. She's still little and smiley, but much bigger than THIS little and smiley.

Life is Bliss by Meghan Mullens
Template: Cluster Queen freebie

This was Christmas day last year. Maylee was being such a typical toddler. She got tons of new toys for Christmas, yet she played with the box. Huh.

What I Love About You by Daybreak Scraps
A Lot Of Papers Templates by Meghan Mullens
Font: Courier New

My sweet, sweet babies. Maylee loves her Daddy so much, and of course, he is wrapped around her finger. I love watching the two of them together. It makes my heart melt and my soul sing.

Occasionally by Polka Dot Plum Designs
Shabby Princess Project Scrap August Template
Font: Eight Fifteen

Beautiful, not 100+ degree days are here! We went to the park to celebrate! Maylee calls this the "curly slide."

My Happiness by Sugar Pie Scraps
Page Template by Thaty Borges
Font: Carrington

I love this picture. Maylee looks so sweet and it's so cute with her little boots. This, more than the baby picture above, shows me how big she's getting, I think.

Ribbon Stacks by Lacey Bittner Designs
Fresh ‘n Funky 2 Templates by Lacey Bittner Designs
Papers and elements from Sweet Stuff and Noah & Co. by Lacey Bittner Designs