Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I'm dressing up my text for the holiday...whatta ya think?


now if I can just get blogger to cooperate so I can change my header....

Be sure to check out my new kit, Most Wonderful Time of the Year...named after one of my all time favorite Christmas songs. This huge 68 piece kit is perfect for pictures taken during this most wonderful time of the year. Its full of textures and colors of reminiscent of holidays past. This kit is very flexible so can be used for things besides holiday pictures. It's can be purchased here or here for 5.99.

Here is a layout I created using it. I will be giving away a qp based on that layout. All you have to do is guess which milestone my 4 month old daughter just accomplished. Every correct answer will get the quick page and everyone who answers will get a 25% coupon on all my products. Here is a picture of my doll, Zaniyah.


She is growing up all too fast for me...today the first ________________...tomorrow she will be driving...lol...

Mon 11/27 Blog Prompt - Digital Scrapbook Place

What was your favorite childhood cartoon, comic, or TV show?

I know I haven't done one of these in FOREVER but I could not resist this. I am such retro cartoon freak! I love Boomerang and have hipped my kids to really good cartoons such as Super Friends (With or Without the Wonder twins!), Jem (truly outrageous...ooh ooh Jem is truly outrageous), Fat Albert, Land of the Lost, Captain Kangaroo, School House Rocks, Wonder Woman, You can't do that on television....I could literally continue this for days.

Coming soon to a theater----wait scratch that!

Coming soon to layout near you....the best thing since sliced bread---the hot potato...ok that was kind of lame and in my own defense, its after midnight and I am running out of steam! But I just had to preview my latest creation Brag Book sketch templates! These aren't your ordinary, plain jane (or even fancy nancy) 12x12 squares! They aren't even 8x11 rectangles that you oblong folk like!
These are super cute, totally original, 4x6 mini layout templates. Now you may be thinking WHY on earth would I want to create mini layouts in this size? Well you can take advantage of all those next to nothing 20 prints absolutely free offers that all the major photo sites, drug stores, and warehouse stores seem to be advertising. You can also purchase a brag book from your local dollar store (Dollar Tree is my favorite) fill it with said free or low cost printed layout and VOILA instant stocking stuffer for grandparents, godparents, anyone who loves that special kid or kids of yours! Here are two layouts I made!


Thats my darling MeMe who seems to be toddling away from babydom as fast as she can. She looked so grown up in her latest pic that I just had to contrast it to her newborn pic.

This is uses one of the sketch templates as well as my Candy Apple Cotton Candy kit. fonts are Kristen ITC and LD Delightful.

The second layout is also of MeMe....she is just so adorable with all her different expressions.

Journaling reads MeMe was all ready for our Fall Clean Up day! Her face was so serious I had to snap this picture! This is my Floral Dreams kit and another layout template. My MIL, GMIL, and various other assorted aunts and uncles will be getting Brag Books as stocking stuffers.
These will be in my store in next day or so....stop by and check them out....

>>>>Here they are<<<<

Who doesn't like free?

Check out my new freebie Spiced Latte Lite. It matches my Spiced Latte kit and allows you to "try before you buy" It's three touchable papers, 1 tag, 3 glass heart charms, 4 stitched circle frames and a bonus art deco element.

Stop by the store, snag it and let me see what you do with it!
Spiced Latte Lite






Make sure you check out the full kit while you are in the store! It has so much more in the same lovely color scheme.

Spiced Latte





You also see my new spring inspired kit, Floral Dreams, here
Here is a small preview of this 56 piece kit:


Are you missing spring? Still have Easter pictures to scrap? Or maybe its pictures of your garden in full bloom that are being neglected. Well now your problems are solved. This floral kit is perfect for any of these occasions as well as many others. The papers are soft and sweet. The elements are just plain old cute!

Toot Toot

Check out my recently published content on AC:
Digital Scrapbooking with Paint Shop Pro

RIP Gerald and other important news

"Gerald LeVert, one of R&B's most soulful voices of the last decade, died suddenly Friday at his home in Cleveland, Ohio. Levert, the son of Eddie Levert of the O'Jays, was 40 years old."

I have always been a huge fan of Gerald Levert. I guess you can say it is in my blood because both my mom and grandmother are huge O'Jays fans. I grew up listening to them so when Levert debuted back in the eighties, I was an instant fan. Through all the stages (new jack, adult contemporary) weight changes (big Gerald, slim Gerald, finally medium Gerald), I always loved his voice. My Forever Love is one of my all time favorite love songs.

I feel so bad for his family. I know the heartache of an unexpected death of someone that young and how devastating it is.

On to some good news....I have a SECRET!!!! Hopefully in a few days I will announce it. Stay tuned because freebies will be forthcoming to celebrate!

Freebies

This was my gift to participants in my sketch Challenge last month at SBP. And I am offering to anyone who wants to play. There is also my try at the Font Challenge for CSE yahoogroup. Feel free to grab it as well.



http://www.4shared.com/dir/959612/1f5e2caa/Freebies.html

New Layouts and other stuff

I have not really been scrapping mood. But I got picked for Neverland Scraps (thanks Wendy!) CT and had to fulfill my commitment. Well she has great Haunted Halloween kit that is perfect for scrapping pictures of dd cheer photos. I LOVE how they came out! I also used her Breast Cancer Charity kit to create these layouts of my dd Kailin and Zaniyah

What I am listening to

So here are the rules:
List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether or not they have words, or even if they're not any good, but the must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instrucitons in your LiveJournal/blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

My seven songs:

1. Lets's Stay Together - Lyfe Jennings( Cant recommend this cd ENOUGH...I LOVE LOVE LOVE Lyfe!)


2. My Love - Justin Timberlake


3. My Life is His Hands - Kirk Franklin


4. Every Time Beat Drop - Monica


5. Kitty Kat - Beyonce


6. Finding Myself In You - Brian McNight


7. Entourage - Omarion...I can't HELP but like this song. I usually cant stand his voice but this is so danceable!!!

Girls Nite Out

My Best Friend won tickets to the Blue Man Group and is taking me with her!Its tonite at 8 in Pittsburgh which is about an hour away. So thats about 5 hours with NO kiddos and NO hubby....go me!

Please excuse the dust

I am in process of remodeling my blog! I signed up for the beta version of Blogger and it got rid of my three column template. AND it wont let me use it either....so I have to totally redo my template. Homeschooling is taking up so much of my time....wahhh I dont have time to scrap! Here are some of my latest layouts.

Thurs 8/31 Blog Prompt - Digital Scrapbook Place

Thurs 8/31 Blog Prompt - Digital Scrapbook Place: "Okay, I know it's not officially the last day of summer, but (in the US) after this coming holiday weekend, all kids will be back in school. So, what did you get out of summer this year? Did you learn anything? Do anything new? Wrap it up for us!"

Well as all who frequent my blog even rarely should know, I got to finally meet the latest love of my life. Zaniyah is a darling baby and already three weeks old. Watching her grow is so bittersweet cause she is my last. So much of my life has been defined by my being pregnant or just having had a baby. But that chapter is over. I am still a mom but not ever going to be a new mom again. And even after nine times, it saddens me. I don't feel like less of a woman or any nonsense like that. Just a little glum that never again will I be able to feel my baby growing underneath my heart. On the other hand, I am ecstatic about having MY body back (not in the original condition but still works for the most part!). I look forward to being able to have the energy and stamina to enjoy doing things with my family instead of being tired and swollen and any of the other myriad of things that hurt, ache or just generally bother you when pregnant! I wanna ride amusement park rides, take the kids for walks in park, go grocery shopping without needing a break!

Thurs 8/24 Blog Prompt - Digital Scrapbook Place

Thurs 8/24 Blog Prompt - Digital Scrapbook Place: "Thurs 8/24 Blog Prompt
What do you like best and least about where you live?"

I live in a community with a very diverse ethnic mix. We have a high concentration of Greek, Italian, Jewish, Puerto Rican, Polish and many other ethnic groups. And with this we have GREAT mom and pop resteraunts where you can get authentic cuisine...cooked the way it was in "the old country" =). (Why does it ALWAYS come back to food with me????)

"With the opening of the city's steel mills, Youngstown proved to be a popular destination for immigrants from Eastern Europe, Italy, Germany, Greece, and Ireland. In the early 20th century, the community also saw an influx of immigrants from non-European countries including Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, and Syria. Such ethnic diversity continues to be reflected in many of the community's neighborhoods, where a Hungarian Orthodox church may share the same street corner with an Italian restaurant." --- Quote from Wikipedia

Another wonderful benefit is the festivals and cultural exchanges that are yearly events here. We have very little racial polarity here and I love that about my town. It is the town I grew up in and cost of living here is GREAT ( live in a 4 bdrm, 1.5 bath 2000 sq ft house in suburb with great schools and my house is worth about 45k)

What I don't like about here is amount of violence. Our community has LOOOONG history of Mafia connections and corruption. Here is another quote from Wiki that NOT so positive

"Meanwhile, the city has attempted to come to terms with its troubling reputation for corruption. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Youngstown became identified in the public mind with Mafia-related murders (committed chiefly via car bombings). Consequently, the metropolis gained the nickname "Bomb City," and the phrase "Youngstown tune-up" became a slang term for car-bomb assassination. Today, however, the city has accelerated measures to limit the influence of organized crime upon all sectors of municipal life. For some observers, the climax of this ongoing effort was the arrest, trial, and 2002 conviction of former US Representative James A. Traficant Jr. on bribery and racketeering charges."

I have done several reports on our Mafia history and its fascinating in abstract or on paper but the effects on our lives can be devastating....

here are some nicknames for my town from the urbandictionary.com

1. The armpit of Ohio
   
2. Murdertown U.S.A in the 1950's & 1960's
3. Rundown Steel City halfway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh
4. Corruption

I am happy to say we seem to be ushering in a new era for my city and I hope it continues to grow into the great city it used to be.

Mon 8/21 Blog Prompt - Digital Scrapbook Place

Mon 8/21 Blog Prompt - Digital Scrapbook Place: "Happy Monday all! Today's prompt is from Laura Lou!
From racecar driving to rock stars, Dodgers camp to tossing a football with Joe Montana or playing in the Super Bowl, fantasy camps for adults make dreams come true. If you could design your own fantasy camp, what would it be like?"


My fantasy camp all stars would be :

1. Paula Deen


2. Rachael Raye


3. G. Garvin


4. Ina Garten


5. Bobby and Jamie Deen

I made myself hungry just thinking about these people. I love to watch their shows and pick up tips. I have used quite a few of Paula's recipes since my dh is from Texas and loves that Southern style cooking!

Tues 8/15 Blog Prompt - Digital Scrapbook Place

Tues 8/15 Blog Prompt - Digital Scrapbook Place: "Today, list 10 attainable goals for you and/or your family that can be accomplished within the next year.

10 attainable goals



1. Complete hours in timely manner for virtual school


2. Attend at least 3 home games to watch my daughter cheer


3. Complete my Field Experience for school


4. Visit dh family in Texas


5. Visit my family in Cincinnati


6. No tardies for the three kiddos in regular schools


7. Have a family portrait done


8. Have an anniversary portrait done of dh & me


9. Use our Y membership weekly


10. NOT BE PREGNANT next summer. After three summer pregnancies in three years, I can't survive that!

Mon 8/14 Blog Prompt - Digital Scrapbook Place

Mon 8/14 Blog Prompt - Digital Scrapbook Place: "Today's prompt:

Start 10 sentences with the words 'I love...'

You can elaborate as much or as little as you like from there. Have fun!"

This is almost TOO easy for me as a married mom of 9...so I won't take the easy way out and name each of my kids and dh....

I love ....

1. Snapple Lemon Flavor Ice Tea - this is my drink of choice


2. Roller Coasters - preferably the ones at roller coaster capital of the world Cedar Point


3. West Branch Beach - Dating back to childhood up until present, I have had great memories of time spent there


4. Good Books-- nothing like finishing up a good book


5. Muscle Cars - my 8 year old car aficiando has gotten me hooked on them...we love to go to car shows and take pictures


6. Scrabble -- I play a MEAN game of scrabble.


7. My DigiCam -- 8MP..whats not to love??


8. Brachs Candy Corn -- one of my fave treats


9. Summer Time - I love everything about summer and miss it terribly when winter comes


10. and of Digiscrapping!!! -- this is a no brainer

drumroll............................

With much ado...I would like to introduce

Zaniyah Ylonne Kelis
born 08/09/06 1:22 pm
6 lbs 7 oz
20 inches long

Tues 8/8 Blog Prompt - Digital Scrapbook Place

Tues 8/8 Blog Prompt - Digital Scrapbook Place: "Describe the most serious illness or accident that you have had.

Not accident prone? Someone else's illness/accident that significantly affected your life."

This would have to be in 2004 with the premature birth of my son. At 34 weeks, I was having contractions but they never established a rhythm. The er doc was concerned because although the heartbeat was fine, he was unable to get any fetal movement even after using a buzzer. They kept me in hospital for monitoring overnight and I saw high risk dr in the am. After a pelvic exam, he decided I was 5 cm dilated and he was going to give me pitocin to jumpstart my contractions. This was about 730 am. By 10:20 am, my darling Jorrell was born. He had a perfect apgar score and was doing great at first. However as the day progressed, they kept noticing that his tempature was dropping. during the night the nurse observed that he was having seizure. They transferred him to NICU where they gave him an EEG and discovered he had suffered a stroke before he was born. He was placed on phenobarbital to prevent further seizures and stayed 23 days in the NICU. His (almost) two years of life have been full of ups and downs, innumberable tests and doctors, weekly physical and occupational therapy and the love of my precious baby boy!

Mon 8/7 Blog Prompt - Digital Scrapbook Place

Mon 8/7 Blog Prompt - Digital Scrapbook Place: "I believe most of us have significant others in our lives, so:

How did you first meet your in-laws? Impressions?"


I first met the Wicked Witch of the South..I mean my MIL maybe a month after dating my dh. She was very friendly and charming to my FACE. However I soon found out that was an act. She is still nicey nice t o my face but has made terrible accusations about me (our oldest child together was born premature and suffered a stroke before he was born and spent 23 days in NICU, when my husband called to tell her he had been born, she insisted that he was NOT premature (and therefore not my husbands) because he weighed 5lbs and that I had convinced the doctors to lie to my husband about that). I can understand her not liking me but to say something like that during such a stressful time struck me as beyond vindictive. DH and I have been together three years and she STILL makes nasty remarks and even tells blatant lies about me to his other family members. I do not hate her but I do choose to keep my distance.

My husband's only sister is definitely her mother's child and too much like her mom for us to ever be friends. She is two faced and likes to cause trouble. DH and I had moved in together and she gave his ex girlfriend's mother our phone number, who then gave the number to her daughter. These are just a few of the incidents that have shown me the best way to handle both of them is with a long handled spoon so to speak.

The only other IL that I know well is my husband's maternal grandmother. How she ever raised my MIL, I do not know. She is sweet as can be. She has always been there for my husband and basically raised him when his mom decided she had other things she wanted to do. She has told me that she is happy that dh has me in his life and to pray for his mother but do not involve her too much in our lives. Her exact words were Wanda is miserable and would like nothing more than for you two to be miserable too.

Wed 8/2 Blog Prompt

---

Here's a two-part question for today:

In what way do you indulge yourself?

My number one way I indulge myself is my computer toys and time. I rarely do buy clothes or jewelry for myself but I love having the latest toys for my pc. I have an 8.1 MP camera. I also have an Ipod shuffle, 2 external hard drives, an internal dvd burner, a backup internal dvd burner AND an external dvd burner. My speaker system for the pc is better than one for my home stereo system. My next purchase is going to be a Wacom tablet. Soon as I find a great deal on one that is.....

In what way do you wish you could indulge yourself?

I should spend more time pampering myself spending time away from the family and the pc. I used to go out to lunch all by myself with a good book and just eat and read. It gave me time to renew myself so that I am not always so irritated by demands placed on me by family obligations.