It's all in the packaging.

Sometimes I like the giving of the gift bag and card more than the gift itself. I love it when someone we know has a baby. I love browsing all the new cute baby stuff and hey-it's a great opportunity to use my giraffe die (which I see is going for several 100 $ on ebay lately). wha?!? This gift bag, I'll admit, sucked up several hours of my time one afternoon but isn't it too stinkin' cute?? I stamped all the little giraffes and then painstakingly colored them in and added some glossy accents to the snouts. Found a good use for what's left of my paper stacks(what I didn't already donate to area schools)-just trying to use up the stash-and I think the green paper was perfect! Then I used a couple border punches including the leave it to weaver punch that I couldn't pass up with a coupon and really had no idea if I would ever use it. Now I know what it's good for!

It's fun packaging gifts in a special way. Even if it just ends up in the trash at the end of the day!

There's really no excuse...

I'm just a bad blogger. Life just gets in the way sometimes and I forget to update this with cool pics and other fun stuff. So we made our what's now becoming annual trek up to the DC area and I always love going up there. Know why?!? It makes me really appreciate where we live and how we live now. I have to admit it. I HATED living there 8 years ago and sometimes I long for big city life and excitement but then I get my quick fix on a week long trip like this and I'm good again for awhile. I don't miss things like the ever present parking lot called roads up there and I'm oh so thankful for my driveway and garage!! We truly are spoiled down here in the middle of nowhere and sometimes I need a swift kick in the a@# to remember that.

So last year we rode the train down into DC and I got some amazing shots down there-all of which I have yet to actually scrap-- and this year we decided to revisit one of our favorite spots, the Annapolis waterfront. It was gloomy and raining on and off all day but I was feeling nostalgic and really wanted to go see if the old restaurants were still there and if it just looked the same and it did!! It just felt like fall down there and made me not miss the passing of summer so much. We also checked out the townhome we lived in there (our military quarters that we also lived in there for awhile had long since been condemned and bulldozed-seriously) and the old neighborhood looked exactly the same! Well, they now have an extremely cool playground for the little ones that I would've died for back then for Chase and they don't take care of the yard nearly as good as we did :) We visited with my brother and his family too and it was just a nice trip all around. These are all shots of Annapolis.

Another year...Another CKC...

So hubby and I are back from Charlotte and hubby had such a great time he wants to go back next year :) No, he didn't hit CKC with me. Scrapbooking is just not his bag. Actually, his bag holds a butt-ton of Taylormades and he managed to find himself in golf heaven on Friday. He just went on and on about what a great day of golf he had. I couldn't get a word in edgewise about the sb convention. Too funny! I have to say I'm stinkin' proud of myself this year. A few days before leaving for Charlotte, I was really a little bummed that we had made these plans since I'm drowning in product here. I have a stack of paper sitting on the sofa in my scraproom desperately seeking a home and not enough layouts in my lifetime to use it all. But-I focused my energy elsewhere and scored BIGTIME on new QK alphas!! What's a girl to do when they're all on sale like that?? So, I picked up a slew of new ones (well, pretty much the rest of the new release I hadn't already bought) and just 20--yes, that's right--20 new sheets of paper. Some Pink Paislee and some sheets of the new BG lines. Oh, and some really cute Pink Paislee owl stamps. I couldn't resist. So, unlike last year where I came back with stuff that wasn't even product I really use, I bought stuff I LOVE and had a FAB time!! I think it made a huge difference that I knocked out all my shopping in a couple hours and then went to lunch with my friend Yvonne and just had a relaxing time. Hubby and I had the rest of the day to ourselves and it really felt like a little mini-vaca. I might even do this again next year...

My guys are trouble.

I did this one today in honor of their completely immature behavior whenever they get into the pool. Any pool. Most times I hang around for a bit and then make a speedy escape when I see a hotel manager making their way over. This particular night during our stay in Orlando, I didn't even go down to the pool. I was WAY too into Project Runway and figured I'd meet them down there when it was over. Well-no worries. They came back to the room after just 30 short minutes. Seems my hubby (while wrestling with my son in the pool) somehow managed to pop a guy in the face with his fist (totally unintentional) and they were so embarassed they left the pool. At least that's the story I got. Am I sure they weren't asked to leave by hotel management? no. Am I the only one that deals with this every stinkin' vacation??

I'm in love...

with the MM Passport line!!! I've had these papers laying around for a few weeks now and just wasn't sure what to use them on. Well, duh. Vacation, what else?? I had some kinda fun on this one. Sadly, the green paper I used on the lettering doesn't show up when photographed but it stands out nicely IRL. I'm having camera issues this week.For all you QK freaks- it's my(hangs head in shame) first use with Biography. I know, crazy, huh? Used all kinds of awesome stuff from this line and I'm SO glad I picked up the stamps! And the scrap mojo continues...

How's this for creepy??

Been busy today with mojo flowing and decided to knock out these pages for the CJ I'm involved in. This is Rebecca's (flowerpower) CJ Do You Believe? and focuses on the paranormal. We had a bunch of questions to choose from and I chose to answer whether I believe in ghosts. This was partly due to some playing around in Photoshop yesterday and creating a photo collage for something completely unrelated. Hubby was so blown away by the results, he suggested I do it again for this CJ. I have to say, I'm stinkin' proud of the creep factor on this spread. It came out just as twisted as I predicted it would! The merged images are pics of my great-grandmother and I just changed the opacity for extra ghostliness. No matter how hard I try though, I just can't capture with the camera the transparent elements on this. Kinda like taking pics of ghosts, I imagine?? It was fun and I'm covered in ink and paint tonight. oh-and adhesive. Definitely a change of pace from my norm and I think the girls were expecting cutesie out of me. I think they'll be surprised and hopefully a little creeped out!

My first cj pages are complete...

Well, excluding my own, of course. These pages are for Shawna's (Saucier131) cj Say What?!? We were asked to do a 2 pager on a word(s) or phrase that we find ourselves using A LOT and try to incorporate pics of us using our word or situations where we would definitely blurt out our word. This was actually much more difficult than I anticipated. No, not figuring out which word or phrase is my signature but trying to find just the right pics for this. I think by now anyone who knows me knows how much the word "stinkin" flies out of my mouth. I felt some pressure in trying to fulfill the doodling requirements on these pages as well. I just don't doodle. Guess I'm just a neat freak like that. Must have order and all. I cheated and used templates but I DID come clean with everyone on that. And faced a bit of ribbin' for it too!

I need a 12-step program...

The first step is recognizing you have a problem, right? Ya see, I have this little sub-addiction to my main addiction(that being sb supplies,of course). I cave at the sight of a new QK release. I can't help it. There's no stopping it. Just when I think I have enough stinkin' fonts around here, I convince myself there's always room for one more. Or 4 more, whatever the case may be. So this last week has been interesting for my mailman. I wonder if he wonders what the heck I'm ordering?? I think the mailman knows more about our lives than we do.

So, with the release of the new 4x8 alpha,which I wasn't too sure about on day 1 of the release, I then felt compelled to finally pick up the 12" platform for the Rev. I mean, ya never know when you might want to buy a 4x8 alpha, right? Quickly realizing I had no real need for the 12" platform without a 4x8 alpha, I then picked up 2 of those. One just wouldn't be enough justification. But in order to truly appreciate that 12" platform I needed to cut something 12" long so I then picked up 2 of the 12" borders. After all, those scallop borders are stinkin' cute. But then we need to back up a step. Two days prior to this, I had already convinced myself that my true love lies in the 2x2 alphas so I shamelessly picked up "just one more" of those. Now this morning I see a deal on a third 4x8 alpha I would be a fool to let slip by.

All said and done, I have had packages arriving all week from various QK meccas around the country (because in order to really justify this I had to shop around for the best deals-none of which was possible through one store as many of these were sold out at one store and not the other) and my mailman can now cancel his gym membership since he's having to step out of his little white truck and walk up to the house to leave the packages.

And now I feel like I've done my good deed for the week in keeping him healthy and fit.
I wonder what QK will release next month?

Whew! It's been a crazy couple weeks!

But we're back from Orlando and gearing up for another school year! This summer has just flown by and I can hardly believe the kid will be a sophomore this year!! What an awesome-ly relaxing vacation we just had-believe it or not in Orlando of all places! Here's some pics of the week long seek for the ultimate thrill ride. I have to say there were a few coasters at Islands of Adventure that nearly knocked my socks off! I mean pee-your-pants exciting! The Hulk I believe was my favorite. If you've never been on it or heard anything about it-you WILL NOT be expecting what's in store for you at the beginning of that ride. Totally cool!

The best part of this trip had to be returning to the luxurious resort we stayed at down there. We looked forward to hanging out at the pool every day or having a few drinks on our florida room patio on the top floor. You've seen the cruise commercial with the teenage girl who scowls the whole time and won't be caught smiling or having a good time, right? That was Chase. Just too funny. Didn't know whether to laugh or scream at him but in the end, he asked if we were going back next year. WTH???

I'm sad to see the summer come to an end but looking forward to a few upcoming trips I'm taking with hubby later on this month. Only this time I think we'll leave the sulky one at home :)

Ready to mail!

I'm so stinkin' proud of myself! I finished my cj pages BEFORE the deadline, thank you very much. I only had a month to do these and procrastinated until this past weekend. I think I'm definitely one of those people that works better under pressure. So I'll stick this in the mail tomorrow and anxiously await the first journal to be sent my way! Unfortunately it will arrive next week when we're in Orlando on vacation so once again, I'll have only a few weeks to work on the 2 pager for that album --but no worries!!

We're really looking forward to this trip next week. Hubby needs a break from work BAD and I need a change of scenery AGAIN. I think I'm looking forward to going to Sea World the most. I know it's crazy but no matter how many times I visit that park--San Diego, San Antonio, and now Orlando--I NEVER get sick of it!! It's my absolute favorite and can you blame me?? They have been incredibly gracious to active duty military over the years and who can argue with free beer tasting??? Anheuser-Busch ROCKS. Plain and simple.

So my cj topic was "The little things in life that make you smile" and here's my 10 little things:

1. Sitting on the patio with my morning java in my favorite mug

2.Hearing The Cure's "Just Like Heaven" come on the radio, out of the blue

3.Abby's frog-butt

4. A warm sandy beach

5.My stuffed sea turtle

6.Wearing a new outfit

7.Eating cake-my guilty little secret

8. Getting a package in the mail-especially if it's a new Quickutz alpha!

9. Curling up on the sofa and watching "So I Married an Axe Murderer" on a rainy Sat. afternoon

10. Having friends over for a BBQ on the weekend

Doesn't take much to make me happy--obviously.