Is it December yet???

Today I went shopping....disguised as errands! I did get everything on the list...and just couldn't resist a few extras. I really shouldn't be getting anything Christmas right now knowing there is just no where to put it right now until I get the rooms done, but I couldn't resist. I just love the holiday. I love the music.....I love that there are holiday parties, I love that both Kate and I's Moms are coming to spend a week at Christmas with us. I love the two new rooms in the front of the house and can't wait to have people over this year and see how great it looks. It is so nice not to have insulation hanging from the ceiling , or stained rugs and half painted walls. It is nice to look out and see a room all done.
So today I treated myself to a few decorations, and pillows, and Christmas rugs. It was just fun looking and playing with all the Christmas stuff. When I start decorating I will post pics.

Also found that hard to find gift for Josh....shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Can't tell till Christmas!

So What do you like most about the season?

Work , play , party!

Well here is a picture of what I have been doing alot. Dust and all. But the room is almost done! Just need to tack in the shoe molding and do a little touchup. I am loving how the room looks! No more insulation hanging out of the ceiling, no more stained carpet...it is just beautiful now. Can't wait for our holiday open house this year, entertaining in these rooms are going to be just great. One more room to go....getting the flooring today and hope to have it done by tomorrow.
We celebrated Steve's birthday on Saturday night, Josh looked so handsome in his white shirt and jeans. Steve had a great night and we enjoyed seeing everyone.
This is one of my favorite pictures of the night. Merideth grabbed Josh's finger. He loves her so much already. I think they will be great pals.
Kate was in heaven as she got some baby time. She just loves holding her and I think remembering when Josh was a baby brings back great memories.

So this week it is all about finishing! Then this weekend I get to go and relax with my gal pals at a little scrapbooking retreat. All 1o of us will be scrapbooking the weekend away. I am planning on working on some Christmas gifts and getting my Christmas cards designed.

Can't believe it is almost Dec 1.....got to get the advent calendar out!

Thankful....

For this! There is nothing that is better then having this.
I will take any pain, any hurt, any thing that gets thrown at me....as long as I get to have this.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Count your blessings today , and everyday.....they are right in front of you.

the monday blogger....

I have sat down to blog several times over the last week.

Tuesday I was so sick I couldn't hold my head up long enough.

Wednesday I painted more and the day got away from me.

Thursday I had a girls day out .

Friday I painted more.

Saturday I was at the football field all day.

Sunday, more at the football field and finished painting.

Monday....... here I am.

I have been thinking about what I want to blog about today and every time I think about the 20 things I want to talk about, it is clouded by one thing. So I am going to get one thing out here, because then I can write about the other things.

I have gone thru alot of life redirection in the past couple months. I can't believe this all started about 2 months ago. Due to alot of different factors, alot of different people, and probably alot to do with life and how life goes.
I have been dealing with everything the best I can. I have really learned to take things one day at a time, deal with things as they come and I have found it is working. I had to learn to let things go. I had to learn that no matter what you do or say, it can be twisted and turned into anything. I had to learn there are just not so good people in the world. I had to learn that some people are drama driven. I had to learn so people can't let things go. I had to learn there is just some ugliness that you can do nothing about. But in all these lessons, I have also learned that there are some wonderful people in this world. That there are people that can keep your faith in people. I have learned that you can get hurt, stomped on , spit at and you can still rise above and keep your head up. I have learned that you can believe in yourself, even if no one else does.

I have also learned that no matter how much you remove yourself from the ugliness, it has a way of creeping back at you. Then being who you are, you have to just move on once more, you have to just let them bounce off. It is so sad, to watch this. To know that no matter that you have left , you have moved on....some just can't let it go. They can't survive without hurting another human being. They have to attack one through another person. They actually wake in the morning with a conscious thought to write words to hurt another. It is just amazing. It is so amazingly sad.

So I needed to get this out. I needed to release this. I now can move on once again. I have learned in the past two months, that leaving thing there to fester is not a good thing. You can't put energy into the negative and still have energy for all the positive things that you need to do. It is just too exhausting.

So today, as I move on.....

Today is my friend Kim B.'s birthday!!! Happy birthday dear one....You are the hippest 39 year old I know! Oh gawd...is that still cool to be hip?

Today the painting is done! Tomorrow the subfloor gets done, and maybe Thursday the pergo gets layed! Pictures are coming....I just need to get some good pictures!

Josh has made the Varsity Wrestling team!! He has a meet on Saturday, hope it is good one for him.

Wildberry Lemonades are GOOD!

Grungeboard is fun!!

59 Days till January Scrappin Away Vacation!

36 days till Christmas!!

only 3 days till that delicious Turkey and all the fixins!

167 songs on the ipod.....

2 great friends to help

12 gallons of paint and primer

one dance on the ladder

Kim doing the Temple Owls dance

Ruby making me skip one song

sweet potatoe fries

and you get this!

Home improvement at its finest!

So GLAD we are getting this done.

Life just keeps coming together.

Website in the works for the online store.

Lots of great new stock including Grungeboard, Lace Cardstock,

Queen and Company Felt, Elsie's Noel Collection and so much more!

Black Friday Crop at my house with great friends and good Food!

Ikea trip on Monday!

Outlet trip on Thursday!

Life is good!

5 Months from Tommorrow ....

I am going to be HERE!!! Oh I am so excited!
I have to say a few months ago that wouldn't have been true, and I have to say that in the midst of doing Life redirection, you often question yourself of the outcome. Well the outcome is looking better everyday. I have refocused my energy to empower myself and others. The ideas I have are starting to become reality. I am LOVING my hobby again, the hobby that 5 years ago began to make me smile , is now making me smile again. I am connecting with some great people, I have been doing some scrapbooking with friends. I have a great all day crop in a couple of weeks that is just going to be off the charts! S.A.V.E. classes will be posting in about 2 weeks and the projects are just amazing. I have 7 teachers that are just going to knock your socks off! All of them have come up with some amazing mini albums, calendars and altered projects.....also just for good measure one great Card Class!!

So the weekend is here and it is movie night! Oh I can't remember the last movie night we were able to have. Our friend Kim and her girls are coming over tonight and we are going to see "Wild Hogs" ....should be fun!

I know some of you are waiting on pictures of the home improvement , and they are coming! I hope to get some primer on the walls this weekend and start painting color on Monday.

Ok now I got to go....I have Grungeboard to play with!

Just Delish!

Ok so this is the dessert that was! I love sharing dessert, and we did just that.
Thanks Trish, Deena and Ali for having a little Girls Nite Out!! It was so good
to get together and just gab, eat and laugh till we cried! Talking about life, kids,
scrapbooking and catching up. Great friends are just wonderful to have. I am
so blessed to have people in my life that I can have fun with , depend on , and
eat dessert with!!

and we can't get enough of little Merideth!!


She was so wide awake on Saturday and just staring at us. I love that I get to be a part of this little ones life. Both Moms are doing great, they are all settling into the whole routine of being a family of 3 now.

The Construction crew is done!!! I now have a blank canvas of two rooms to paint and put in flooring. I think tomorrow I will go get the primer...I have a light weekend so I might be able to get alot done. Then Monday hopefully we start with color! Will share the progress soon!

Ok time to go fill a few orders that I need to deliver tomorrow. Night!

Home improvement with grunts!!!

Remember Tim Allen and his grunts....loved that!
Well we are in full swing here with the construction of the front two rooms.
It is really great to know in another few days the walls will be ready for paint, then it is
on to the flooring and wah lah it will be done! Well except for going to IKEA and picking out
the new dining room table and then the cabinets for the china and things.

It is great to have the new walls in the front, they are straight and not slanted. I can
actually hang things on the wall!!!

Also the new bigger closet is just heaven!

They do think they will be done tomorrow. With the walls sanded and the trim up. I haven't had much time to do anything this week, the dogs are a bit stressed out so I have been hanging with them and keeping them comforted. Cricket actually shakes when the air compressor comes on.

So today it is off to vote, and then to see the Bee movie with Josh. I like having him home and getting to go hang with him for a bit.

On the Business front, things are moving along....should see a draft of the new website by the end of this week, and hopefully have everything getting all pretty and ready for everyone to see soon. The online store will be up and running in November and ordering will be so easy!

Started doing some holiday shopping on line today :) Love finding that perfect gift for each of my friends and family. I will make 90% of my gifts as I do each year...but still a few bought things are on my list too.

So next week is Painting...and thanks to a few friends that have volunteered to come over it should go pretty fast. Kate is still non weight bearing and on crutches for about another month, so the help is a God send! Then it is on to laying the floor and being done by Thanksgiving hopefully. Having our black friday all day crop here, I would love to have everything finished!

I can't wait for all the scrapping time I will have in the very near future...Black Friday Crop , a weekend with my friends at the Weisel house...then it is off to Virginia for the Scrapbowl , oh and then ...did I mention.....going to hang with Cathy Z, Ali E. and Donna D. at the Inspired Artist Workshop in April!!!!! yeah a little EXCITED about all that!!! Life is good, nah life is GREAT!!!

Ok off to spend my day with my favorite little guy :)

Fall, Friends and Fun!

Ok so this picture just goes out to a friend to make her smile. It is her happy place

This is just for the beauty of it. I LOVE Fall and the colors it brings. I looked up into the sky when I got home the other day and automatically grabbed my camera and started snapping the beauty of it all

Another beauty, she will roll her eyes for me saying that! Love this girl, her heart and her spirit!! Not to mention she hasn't even tapped into all her artistic talent!

Everyone should lie on the ground and look up!
Last but not least....there is NOTHING that beats a Girlfriend day!!! These two clowns kept me in stitches all afternoon. I love them both so much, and they will never know just how special yesterday was to me. Antiquing and laughing and just hanging out.....you never know just how much you need that. Hope everyone gets a girlfriend day soon!

Today starts construction on the two front rooms....going to snap some before, during and after pics.