I am alive!

Hello!! I'm so sorry I ditched the blog for awhile. I've been busy and that's the truth! I ended up not being able to do the page a day thing...it was just too time consuming. I will try to catch up after the house is painted.

Physiology is going well so far. I had a quiz last Friday and missed two. It seems most people missed the same one I missed. I have another quiz this Friday and possibly an exam on Monday. I don't know if I am quite ready for an exam but if we wait any longer I will have too much to process.

We just started painting the interior of our house this weekend. Why oh why did we decide to do this? It took most of the day on Saturday to paint the ceiling in our bedroom, scrapbook room and upstairs hallway. I was supposed to be painting a little today, but I don't know if that is going to happen now.

I had my nail appointment this morning and then met my friend Celeste for lunch. We went to Red Butte Cafe. I was so glad that she was able to get away from work for awhile to meet me. She mentioned in her comment on my last post that we NEED to get together soon and I had just read that comment this morning so on my way to my nail appointment I gave her a call and she said yes! It was great to catch up with her for awhile.

I checked Lisa Bearnsons blog this morning and found out I won one of her drawings that she had. I can't wait to get my Hot Chocolate kit from her! Yay me!

After I get Cameron from school I should probably do the painting that I told Michael I would try to get to. Well, I need to put some groceries away and get ready to leave to pick up Cameron.

Still more house layouts

Getting closer to being done with the house layouts.Today I have plans to find some new lamps for my bedroom and possibly one for the family room. I am tired of the ones we have. I may even look for something to decorate the master bedroom with, but I doubt it since I really want to paint it first. We will be painting our entire house soon...oh how NOT fun that will be. We are doing it ourselves and are planning on painting the ceiling too. UGH! First we need to buy one of those Little Giant ladders. I'm a little leary of standing so far up to paint our walls, but I will have to be the one to do it since Michael won't get on the ladder that high up. I wonder why!

Other things on the agenda for today:
Plan some menus
Go to the bank
Head to Gardner Village to pick up a Valentine table runner pattern
Go over my notes for physiology
Listen to my physiology lecture from yesterday
Pick up the clutter in the house
Take Cameron to the doctor
Take Cameron to ice skating
Watch a little TV
Read a book

More house layouts

I think I only have about 7 more layouts to do on the house and then I think I will be done with it unless I add some outside yard pictures.I took Cameron to the ice rink today so he could show me how well he did yesterday during practice. I decided that I would try my feet at skating too. I spent $3.50 to go around the rink ONE time all while holding onto the wall. Oh my heck, that ice is slippery! I don't see how Cameron does it. This was my first time ever on ice skates and most likely my last. Cameron wanted to hold my hand and help me away from the wall. How sweet, but I would most likely have crushed him when I fell.

Shannon and I went to a punch needle class at the fabric store, Pine Needles, in Gardner Village yesterday. It was fun. We made a little heart. I would post it, but it is on the counter in the kitchen and I don't feel like getting up to get it and scan it. You can click here on Pine Needles and then on punch needle on the site to see what it is. I wanted to buy the punch needle, but they wanted $42 for the darn thing. I looked online when I got home and it is about the same price with shipping from other places. I might have to bite the bullet and buy it so I can make more cute little projects.

Yes, another layout.

So far I am doing good getting my one page a day done. Hopefully I will be able to keep it up even after school starts becoming more demanding.

Just another page

Here I am documenting...my kitchen (in case you couldn't figure that out). If you have read my comments, my friend Lilian, has the exact same countertops as we do. She has said we have great taste...I guess I will believe her.

Start of school & a layout

Today was my first day of the semester. It was pretty boring as all we talked about was the syllabus and how she tests. Since I already had this instructor for anatomy I pretty much knew alot of what she was saying and I had already looked at her syllabus online. I have already started reading the chapters for Friday. Hopefully I will stay on top of the reading this semester.

Here is the scrapbook page for today. I had fun with this one. I am not liking the ripped paper (the brown and red long strip) so I will pr0bably mess with it later. I am going to find a different brown paper for underneath the red to make it look better. I had fun figuring out how to thread ribbon through a hole and to cover up part of the flower. I've had this photo editing software since I got my Mac this spring, but I didn't know how to use it. I've had fun learning. I do like the layout this time though. It is pretty fun making pages about rooms in the house. Off to read more of my physiology book and watch a little television before I head to bed.

Two more layouts

I don't love or even like this layout, but I had to get one posted before midnight at Big Picture Scrapbooking so I quickly threw one together.Again, not loving this one either, but it is done. I found a paper tearing template online which made it MUCH easier to try my hand and digital paper tearing. I have been wanting to do layouts about our home so if we ever move, which is inevitable, we will have a record of our home. I don't have many pictures of our house in Washington so I made sure I took some of our home here in Utah.Well, school didn't start for me yesterday. My instructor never made it back from her Christmas vacation. It is supposed to start tomorrow. I sure hope it does because I was really looking forward to a new semester.

Ice skating and a layout

Cameron decided that he wants to take up Ice Hockey. I shudder at the thought of lost teeth, but from what I can tell they now wear face masks that will not allow the puck to enter and they were mouth guards. Before Cameron can begin ice hockey lessons he has to have a little bit of ice skating under his belt. He began his first lesson yesterday. He fell quite a bit but the instructor thinks they gave him too big of skates so on Tuesday we will try a smaller pair and see if that doesn't help some.Here is my layout for today. I have so many darn pictures that I need to get on pages that I will not run out before this months challenge is over. I might have to try and do a page per day in February too. I start school tomorrow and hopefully it won't be as challenging as last semester. Although I highly doubt it will since I am only taking one class this time around.

My layout for the day

I am doing the Layout A Day class at Big Picture Scrapbooking so here is Day 5. It's not really a class, but more of a challenge to do 1 page per day in January. So far I have done it. This layout uses the A Boy kit by Jackie Eckles @ littledreamerdesigns.com

More scrapping

I am LOVING this digital scrapbook stuff. I have completed more pages this year than I have in two years! Scary that the year just began. If I keep this up I might actually get caught up...HAHAHA!!!

This uses supplies from Little Dreamer Designs with products from Heidi Larsen & Michelle Coleman in the Jolly Jingle kit.This is from the Shabby Princess Holiday Magic kit with wordart by Cherie Mask @ 2ps

Happy New Year!

I haven't put new pictures on my computer yet from New Years Eve, but they will be coming shortly. Cameron did manage to stay up until 12:00. I was surprised that he made it and did it without a nap. I however, fell asleep watching a movie, but I was up to ring in the new year.

I've been having so much fun doing digital scrapbook pages. I did this page yesterday using the Deacon's Closet kit by Flergs @ scraphead.comI did this one tonight before dinner... using the Rough & Tumble kit also by Flergs @ scraphead.comI don't understand why they don't save as brightly when I save them for the web as they do when I have photoshop open, but at least they look good when printed.

Christmas is over!

I finally put away the Christmas decor yesterday. Normally I have it up into January, but since I will be starting a new semester on the 7th I figured if I didn't do it now I would probably still be looking at them on Valentine's Day.

We had a quiet Christmas in Utah. It just isn't the same without family, but we survived. Around 8:30 we started opening gifts. We usually take showers and eat breakfast before we open gifts so I made sure that I got up early so Cameron wouldn't have to wait too long. Little did I know he was going to sleep in a little bit. I finally went into his room at 8:00 and found him just getting up and making his bed. He took his shower and was then ready to start opening gifts. I had cinnamon rolls baking in the oven so we figured we could start opening.

Cameron loved coming downstairs to find a Seahawks pennant hanging on the tree. He showed Lucy her presents and we gave her one of them to keep her busy while we opened gifts. I thought for sure Cameron would want to open his big Santa present (the green one it the middle covering all the other gifts) first, but that waited until almost the end. This was his reaction when he finally got it open. He was puffing up his cheeks and making a funny noise...too excited. We bought him all the other lego sets to go with it. He had received the Mars Mission Base set from Santa. This was the only thing he asked for when he went for his Santa visit this year. I also bought him a chihuahua Webkins that he had been wanting ever since I showed him online what they were and what you do with them. They are a virtual pet that you play with on their website. I don't think he has actually tried yet since their web server was terribly slow Christmas morning. I'm guessing lots of children got new webkins for Christmas.My parents bought him two of the things he has been asking for since July. A Starcraft PC game and the Optimus Prime voice changer helmet. He was thrilled when he opened them and just said, "How did they know?"Michael and I weren't going to exchange gifts since we spent money in Vegas just a week prior, but we did anyway. His big gift that I bought for him was the Bose speaker set for his computer that he has wanted for the past two years. I think he was happy. He went and set them up when we were finished and I could hear them all the way in the front room.I had a computerized Christmas. Michael bought me the newest operating system for my Mac and the updated iWork and iLife packages. Now I just have to figure out all the new features on them. I also got new headphones for my ipod and a Bamboo Fun tablet for picture editing. I still have to play with this more to figure out all it can do too. My parents bought me the Bind-It-All machine for making scrapbooks and other fun things.For those of you that know me, and it should be any of you reading this, you know that I don't like a messy house. Well, this was bothering me for a few hours after we opened gifts.
I took Cameron to finally get his hair cut this weekend. It was getting too long and unruly. He had wanted to grow it out so when you blow up from your mouth it would move...try it with your hair. I have no idea why he wanted it long and wanted to be able to blow it, but after trying it long for awhile I just had to tell him it wa finally time to cut it off. This photo isn't very good, but he had the girl give him a faux-hawk. He wants me to do this for him now. I should have taken a picture from the side to show the whole effect.One last thing...I have been playing around with my digital scrapbook stuff again. I finally got it all organized this weekend and had time this morning to make this layout. The papers and happy button are from a kit by Jackie Eckles from Little Dreamer Designs and the ribbon and bookplate are from Kristie at the Shabby Princess.
What are you doing to celebrate the coming of 2008? Cameron plans on staying up until midnight. He better take a nap today if he really plans on doing it. We are just going to have some Ritz crackers and little smokies with cheese in them as a snack (this is what my parents have always done so we do it too). I forgot the Martinelli's cider..I might have to make a run to the store to buy it.

Well, Cameron wants my computer so he can play Starcraft so I should get going. His computer is broken so he has to play on my computer until Michael gets his working again. Until next time...Have a safe and Happy New Year!!

Happy Birthday Lucy!

Today Lucy turned 1. Cameron was excited to celebrate her birthday. We put his birthday bow from his build-a-bear bear on her and gave her a gift. She LOVED her gift. Cameron had to help her open it as Michael was afraid that she would start opening other things that don't belong to her. Her gift was a Bully Stick...she chewed on that thing for 3 hours before coming to me to go outside.

Snowing and Jim Shore

I left work early yesterday to finish up some Christmas shopping. When I came out of the first place I was faced with a very dark sky, hail speeding down and lightening. This was strange considering I wasn't in the store very long and it was a nice pleasant day when I went in. The hail made for a very slippery drive to the next place which wasn't very close. When I finally left that store it had begun snowing very heavy wet snow. It took me 20 minutes to leave that shopping area due to all the cars and the heavy snow. It also took me about 60 minutes to cross the valley to get closer to my house...normally a 10-15 minute drive. Oh what a fun time this Christmas shopping turned out to be! I have a hair appointment today at 12:30 across the valley and it is still snowing. I have to go since it has been 3 months since I last got it cut and I want it done before Christmas.

Yesterday at work we exchanged Christmas gifts. I received a European facial from Erin, the assistant that I work with, she just finished esthetician school and has a spa set up at her house. I can't wait as I have never had one before. Now I just need to find the time to set up the appt. with her and get it done. Joyce, our office manager, got me a Jim Shore snowglobe. Last year I decided I wanted to start collecting Jim Shore pieces. Here is the snowglobe that she bought me...This was my first piece that I bought last year...
I bought him this year...I just bought this one this week. I stopped in Jolley's pharmacy and they had all their Christmas stuff 40% off. Jim Shore stuff NEVER goes on sale so I had to buy him. I think he is great. One side has the nice list and the other side has the naughty list. The naughty side has coal in the sack. Too cute!
All of these are much more prettier in person. The colors are so vibrant and the faces are great.

After my hair appointment today I need to venture out and finish shopping. Michael is so hard to buy for. I have no clue what to get him other than the few things I have already picked up. I have nothing for his stocking yet except for some candy. We weren't going to exchange gifts this year since we spent a lot of money in Vegas, but he went out and bought me something since I had to have something to open on Christmas day. I really didn't need it, but if he thinks I do than that is fine with me. I thought I was done shopping until he bought me something. Oh well!

This was my Christmas card this year. I was way to busy with school and work to have time to make any cards or buy any to mail out. It has almost been one week since school ended and I have enjoyed my time off so far.

Michael and I took a trip to Vegas on Friday after my finals and returned home on Monday. Cameron and Lucy spent time at Shannon's house while we were away. Lucy slept almost the entire time we got home Monday and returned to her normal self around 6pm on Tuesday. I think she was tired from spending time with Shannon's dog Cookie and a dog visitor named Fonzie.

Our trip to Vegas was fun. It was my first time there and I had a blast. We walked everywhere and Michael was hurting pretty good each evening. I always feel bad for him when he hurts. It has been two years since the dreaded accident and he still has pain. We went into many of the casinos and looked around. It is amazing how large they are both inside and outside. We didn't gamble much. I have this fear of losing "real" money as opposed to the "fake" money that I usually gamble with when Michael has his casino nights for his customers. I played craps with $60 and was up $115 at one point and I should have walked away, but the table turned sour so I lost all but my original $60. I thought another table would be better and ended up losing the $60. Oh well, I played for quite some time at the first table. I think I will stick to the "fake" money next time.On Saturday we took a trip out to the Hoover dam. It also was pretty amazing. That thing took years to build and was finally done in 1936. It sure has been around a long time. They are building an overpass so cars no longer will go over the top of the dam. That was pretty interesting to see too.While we were away I had sent a text message to Trish (a girl in my anatomy class I study with) to have her look up my final score and overall grade. I just couldn't wait until I got home to see how I did. Well, she finally texted back the next day to tell me that I had gotten a 90% on my final and an overall score of 95.18%. That is an A. I was thrilled. I proved to myself that I can take two science classes, work and have a home life and it all works out. This was a tough semester. Luckily I am only taking one class this next semester. Human Physiology...should be tough. I am taking it from the same instructor I had for anatomy so at least I know how she tests.

Well, off to dry my hair and head off to work. Have a great weekend!

I'm done!

As of yesterday at 3:00 I am officially done for this semester! The anatomy final was easier than I thought it would be. The girls I study with thought the same thing so hopefully that is truly the case. We study and fret way too much over little things, but they do seem HUGE at the time.

I just checked online and I got my A in chemistry! What a way to start my weekend. I hope I don't have to wait too long to get my anatomy grade. Before the final I was getting a 96.5 so I am looking to get an A in that class too. I never thought I would get through this semester taking both science classes, but I guess I proved it to myself that I can do it if I set my mind to it. I must say that I really didn't study as much as I should have. I was always thinking of better things I could be doing with my time and much of the time I actually did do the something better.

Done!

Well, I am happy to say that I am DONE with chemistry! The final last night was a tough one. I corrected it before I left and missed 7. That gave me an 83%. I had her tell me what my overall score was and it is a 92.5%, so an A-. I told her I want a A, not an A-. She said that she may be giving a few extra points depending on how everyone else does on the final. If she does then I will get my A. I can't wait to sell back my book today and get it out of my house!!

Today will be spent at the school studying with some friends for my anatomy class and then I have to finish up Christmas shopping so I can get them mailed off this week.

I found this on my friend Lillian's blog:

You Belong in New York City

You're the energetic, ambitious type. And only NYC is fast enough for you. Maybe you'll set yourself up with a killer career Or simply take in all the city has to offer.

What City Do You Belong In?

Last one for today

This digital scrapping is so much fun. What do people do with them? Do they print them? Here is another one I just created. This one used the free kit from littledreamerdesigns.com that you get when you sign up to get their newsletter.

Two posts in one day?

I decided to download some more digital stuff and this is what I came up with. I need to learn more techniques rather than just resizing, cutting and pasting paper and elements. When I have more time I will. I am supposed to be studying right now, but this is so much more fun. Here is my second digital layout and second page for the year. This is part of a kit from Grunge Boy by Michelle Coleman for Littledreamerdesigns.com

First digital scrapbook page

I created this scrapbook page below using a kit from Heidi Larsen of Littledreamerdesigns.com
I got the kit from here. I had to do some searching on how to use the photo editing program that I have, but once I found it it wasn't that difficult. I could see me doing more pages this way. It is amazing how fast this went together. Of course it a pretty simple page, but at least it is done. I can now say that I scrapped in 2007.