Storming the Castle

Despite all the guards at the castle gate, a dragon (or maybe it was a Trojan!) managed to get past them. Some how, some way, I got some spyware on my computer yesterday that was leaving pop-ups. (Because I have cable internet, they happen even when I'm not online). And not only was I getting these annoying pop-ups, my computer was running v-e-r-y slow. So I sent all the soldiers out to kill the beast, and they were victorious! The castle is now at peace, the Trojans have been defeated, and I can now get back to doing what I enjoy ~ documenting the lives of the 3 princesses who occupy the larger, un-invaded castle. If only I didn't have to go to work to pay for the up-keep of said castle!!

I've Been Tagged

Leslie just tagged me!! (OK, she tagged me a few days ago, but I've been busy!!) So here goes ~

4 jobs you have had in your life ~
*Sales clerk @ a Halmark Store
*Manager at a clothing store
*Receptionist/Service Mgr for security screen door co.
*Mother/wife (the hardest job of all!)

4 movies you would watch over & over ~
*Gone with the Wind
*St. Elmo's Fire
*The Breakfast Club
*The Secret Window
(Yes, I'm a child of the 80's!)

4 places I have lived ~
*Massachusetts
*Mesa, AZ
*Tempe, AZ
(I pretty much stay in one place!)

4 TV shows you love to watch ~
*ER
*CSI (the original)
*Crossing Jordan
*24

4 places you have been on vacation ~
*Disney World in FL (over 20 yrs ago!!)
*San Francisco
*Las Vegas
*Massachusetts (to visit family)

4 web sites you visit daily ~
*Scrap Mommies
*The Digi Chick
*Scrap Artist
*FernLili's (of course!!)

4 of your favorite foods ~
*Chinese
*Mexican
*Strawberry cheese cake
*ICECREAM!!

4 places you would rather be right now ~
*the beach
*Hawaii (on the beach!)
*Ireland
*curled on the couch (where I'll be when I'm done watching 24!)

4 bloggers you will be tagging ~
*I'm gonna skip this part, 'cause I think I'm prolly the last digi scrapper to start Blogging, & everyone else has been tagged!

Burning

I've been backing up all the files on my hard drive. Burning them onto CDs. I started with the kits I've made, got 3 discs full, and have moved onto kits I've purchased. That has been taking for-EVER!! I have so many kits; both freebies & purchased!! I think it's going to take me the rest of the week to get them on CD. Then I spent part of the weekend updating my web site. I had a bunch of layouts, by both me & my Creative Team Members, I needed to upload. So between messing on the 'puter & spending at least SOME time with the girls, my Blog has been ignored just a bit. But, last week I did get one layout done. Yeah!! I used my new kit ~ Stupid Cupid to scrap one of the pictures of Darien from our photo shoot last weekend.

A Simple Layout

Here is one of the pics from our photo shoot the other day. Although Savannah is not smiling, I love it. I had no clue how I was going to scrap it, ended up just doing the black back with the brush work & word art. I think it looks a bit elegant. Here is "Always Believe" ~

Photo Shoot

I wanted to get some newer pictures of the girls to give to family, so yesterday we had a photo shoot. Savannah bought a new flat iron, so they all straightened out all those natural curls so many others pay a ridiculous amount to get put in. It is so hard to get the older two to NOT pose for the camera! They like to think their America's Next Top Models & doing these ridiculous poses. I wanted them to just look straight into the camera, but then they looked like they were peeved. (Which they were 'cause I wouldn't let them pose like silly models!) Then there was Darien.... She would not smile. She wanted to do "serious" poses, which again, just looked like she was peeved, or a deer caught in the headlights. I only got a few good pics of her, because the only smile she would give me looked fake.

On a Roll

I couldn't wait to use the Christine kit I just got from Scrap Mommies! Here is another LO with 2 yr old Savannah ~ 'Oh the Joy'. These were taken at a park in Palm Desert, CA & she just looked so cute with her Daddy!

I Want Some Pasta, Baby, Tonight

Savannah can be so funny sometimes (when she's not having a tantrum or fit over minor events. She IS after all 12 years old, & a HUGE drama queen!). The girls have gotten into watching Dancing with the Stars, especially Darien (the youngest at age 7), and were watching the premiere the other night. One of the dances was being performed with a song that I think Donna Summer recorded called Hot Stuff. Ya know "I want some hot stuff, baby. Give me some hot stuff baby tonight". As the dancers were dancing, & the song was playing, Savannah turns to me & asks, "Does that song say 'I want some pasta, baby tonight'?" I laughed so hard!! I told her "Yeah, it's the new Olive Garden theme song!" After I told her what the lyrics really were, we had a big laugh at what she thought they were, and were singing "I want some pasta, baby. Give me some pasta, baby tonight" for half the night! And she tells me I'm weird!! On a completely different note, here is a layout I did of Savannah when she was 2 years old. It's called banna boo, cause that's one of the nick names I used to call her, which I am forbidden to call her now, especially in front of friends (like I'd do such a thing!!). She was so cute (but fast becoming the HUGE drama queen she is today!) I used to love all the curls in her hair, but now at age 12, she absolutely hates them & works hours at getting her hair straight! (Which I can relate to, since I, too, have all those natural curls I hate & work for hours to be rid of & others pay money just to get!)

Shopping Trip (sort of)

I've been struggling with trying to scrap a photo of Savannah when she was just a month old. It's not the greatest pic of a baby, but there is just something about it I love. I just couldn't get inspired to scrap it in any way I really liked, so I junked the 4 tries I'd done, filed the photo, & gave up. Then I was browsing the forums over at Scrap Mommies & saw they have a contest to have one of your photos scrapped 3 ways by their design team. I thought ~ "This is it! I'll see if my photo will get picked & maybe they'll be able to come up with a layout!" So I submitted it & am hoping they pick me & I finally get this photo scrapped! Then I decided after all that struggling with trying to make a LO with this 12 1/2 year old photo, I needed to do some shopping. Now, I use the money I make from the sale of my kits to buy other designers' kits. And I was also going to use that money to buy a new video card for my computer since mine crashed (I'm using the girls', much to their dismay), but after "window" shopping over at Scrap Mommies, I just couldn't help myself. I know it may seem odd for me, a designer, to "promote" another designer, but Traci Reed does some amazing work. I've been drooling over 2 kits, Shabby Grapefruit & Christine for a while now, but then I saw a new kit, Cozy Winter, & treated myself to 3 new kits! So now the girls' will have to do without their computer for a little while longer, since Mommy had a moment of weakness & decided she needed 3 new digi kits more than a new video card!

The Spit Bubble

Well, I've been digging through all my old photos & trying to get them scrapped. Since my oldest is now 12, I guess it's time to take care of all those baby pics! I found one of her at 1 month old which was not the greatest photo, but I caught her with a spit bubble, which looked so cute! I used my new kit Confections of a Pre-Teen kit, which I must say, I can't get enough of! I love the colors, the papers, the elements, basically the whole kit-n-caboodle. Is it egotistical to go on & on about how much you like one of your own designs?? I hope not! Take a look; hope you enjoy ~

Ghouls

I've had a bit of a scrapping block lately, but dug up this photo from 10 years ago & had to get it scrapped. Called "Daddy's Ghouls" it's me, hubby Sean, & Savannah when she was just 2 yrs old! It was very difficult getting her to look like a grousome ghoul! So we went for the adorable witch for her & the grousome ghoul for me!! I actually had people complement me on my hair & say it looked good!! I couldn't believe people like my teased & ratty do! I used the free Halloween mini in the free Holidays Sampler from Shabby Princess (I L-O-V-E her stuff!)

Confections

I've been working on a couple of new kits lately. One of them I just love & couldn't wait to do a layout with it! I made up a set of papers, scribbled out some fun doodles & TaDa! A new layout was created! The new kit is called "Confections of a Pre-Teen" (Coming to the Emporium Wed. Jan. 4th). The colors I used look a lot like a pastry shoppe, but I didn't want to name it something so boring as say "Cupcake". While I was trying to think of a name, Savannah, (my 12 yr. old) was watching 'Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen', and the idea hit me ~ the colors are like confections, (which sounds kinda like confessions) and Savannah is a pre-teen! And she likes cakes & candies! Well, enough of that, take a look at what I did with part of the kit, & I'd love to hear what you think ~