Win Win Win!

Win some blog candy at Blueprint Sketches!!! Thanks for the link Shanna!

Another Challenge

I got this sketch from Shanna, thanks Shanna!

This is for the Dec. Use It Challenge, the Multi-Photo Challenge and 1/5 for the Dec. No Shopping Challenge.

Dec. Use It Challenge - Punches
I punched each picture with a 2x2 square punch and also punched the scallops around the white metallic paper. Extra thank you to Holly for the ideas and help!

This is a lo I am giving my friend for Christmas. She just got married in Nov. Thanks for Looking!

Getting Ready

My friend Annie got married this last week and I did this page for a challenge on sb.com.


For the JKL Challenge:

Just one picture 5x7
Kaliediscope of color (at least 4 different)...I've got metallic gold, metallic copper, metallic silver, and metallic purple and metallic blue...you can't really see the metallic :(
Lacing

The journaling says:

Annie getting ready to
marry George Cummaro.
November 25, 2008

TFL.

Me Lately

For the GHI Challenge on scrapbook.com.

G- Gold
H- Hexagon
I - Imagine in Title.

Journaling reads:
HARD TO IMAGINE...
...I tried to raise you without God's help. I pray you always turn to God in times of joy and times of pain. Never forget Proverbs 3:5-
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
I love you, Mom 11/2008

The story behind this page is very difficult. This week has been really rough. I am having a really hard time accepting what has happened and trusting God. I don't ever want my girls to doubt the Lord and His plans.

TFL.

Today

I went to the most beautiful-ist Michael's Craft Store today. It was huge like a warehouse. It was like a Costco of a Michaels. I will have to go everytime I am in that town now.

Besides that I took the grandma to a dr. appt. today and she is doing a ton better.

We also got 2 new kittens and I am in love with them!

Here are some cards I've been working on. TFL!

GO CHARGERS!!

We are pretty big Charger fans and I was so happy they won against the Raiders today. We went over to my best friend's house to watch the game on their gigantic t.v. and they are Raider fans. Neener Neener!

This weekend went by very fast and it's almost Monday again. I need some kind of ritual to get the girls ready for homeschool. Some kind of morning ritual. Any ideas?

Friday

So today hubby had a job interview at a new company. Same kind of work, just new company that offers more benefits and has five offices in WASHINGTON!!! Only downer is he might have to use his own truck.

Anyway, the girls and I went to pick him up from the car shop where he gets his work truck serviced once a month and since he was running late, we had to go to his interview with him instead of being dropped off at my friends house. We sat outside in the bazillion degree heat but saw this cute butterfly. The girls insisted I take a pic.
Can you see it? It is yellow and black?

Anyway, hubby said the interview went wonderfully. So we were driving to go visit Tori, Adam and Elijah whom I haven't seen in about 6 months! and hubby's friend calls and says he pretty much got the job and he gets a work truck which we were hoping for because the job is kinda out of the way (still closer than his current job, but he has a work truck there). Hubby was super jazzed. He even played with the baby! Isn't she grown?


Anyway, then when we finally got home I got this gigantic box in the mail from Simple Scrapbooks. Hubby said, "That looks expensive." and walks right by it into the house. I was overly delighted. Squealing like a child because I had forgotten a couple weeks ago I got an email saying I won a gift. Here's what was in it:
1. acrylic frame from Pageframe Designs

2. a 12 x 12 leather album from we R Memory Keepers

3. a tiny Party in a Box from Martha Stewart Crafts

4. a paper and accents pack from Heidi Grace Designs


Am I lucky or what! And to top it off, the girls' friends called and invited them for a sleepover so I dropped them off! What a wonderful day. So now I am scrapbooking and had to let you all know.

LSS Contest

LO I did for the body part contest at the LSS. Wish me luck! I scraplifted this layout from Shanna.

Scrap Page

I just finished this lo and had to post it to share. I really love the way it turned out. I need a contest to put it in...LOL. Thanks for looking!

I also found some pics of the girls feet in shoes while we were shoe shopping. I am going to try to get it done tonight also and turn it in to the lss and see if I can win anything! Keep your fingers crossed!

New Job?

Hubby's been looking at a job change and I have been encouraging him to move to a job that also has offices in Washington. So we can re-locate...

I can't wait. If you haven't noticed, I am trying my hardest to get outta here. Washington is my new obsession.

Scrappin' Blah

So I posted two new layouts on Scrap Your Crap blog but I haven't really been working on pages lately. This layout is the pic of hubby's electrocution scare though. I joined this swap thing on Scrapbook.com and I have been making cards. I made 5 cards and I should get 5 back that other people made. Isn't that kinda cool? Then hopefully I can get new ideas and go on from there. I really want to use this heat embossing tool thing but haven't bought one yet so I have stopped scrapbooking...like a strike or something...LOL. I haven't even made a page for the lss contest. It's different anyway...I have to use body parts in my pictures. Like toes or noses or fingers or something. I don't really take pics of body parts...do I? I can't think of any on hand and I don't feel like digging through boxes of photos. Actually, now that I am thinking of it...in my older days I took pics of hubby's tooshie, but I am pretty sure once I had the kids I threw those out so no one would come across them and ask, "Mom, why do you have a pic of daddy's tooshie?" I can just imagine how that conversation would go!

1st Field Trip

I'm sticking it out with the homeschooling. It hasn't gotten easier but I did realize if I talk quieter to the girls (not screaming and yelling!), they respond better. Go figure! LOL.

Today we have our first field trip through the school. We are going to the Escondido Children's Museum. I already know where it is because unfortunately, I thought it was last Friday and we showed up and no one was there. That shows you just how good I'm really doing...

After the museum, I am taking Grams to the doctor. She went back to the hospital for a few days because of the nausea and they ended up saying she had pancreaitis. She's doing a lot better now.

Last weekend (during the horrific Charger game) was my friend Carrie's baby shower. I am so excited for her! I can't wait until she has that bundle of joy. Babies are cute and exciting....but if you have two the first time, everything changes!

Tomorrow night is a fundraiser for Breast Cancer. We are playing Bunco and I can't wait! I used to play a monthly bunco thingy, I think I'll try to get it started again. It was so much fun!

Oh yeah and my new place I want to move is Washington State. Maybe Summer, 2009. Wish me luck!

Homeschooling....

I expected homeschooling to be hard. I expected frustration and fighting. I expected to be overwhelmed and for the kids to "not get it" until I pull my hair out. I expected hunger strikes and if she doesn't, I don't have to type arguments. So this is our second week of homeschooling and it is a lot harder than I expected. Don't get me wrong....it is still everything I expected but x 2. I have my first breakdown, I mean teacher conference today and I am just praying and praying she will build me up and tell me...I can do this and that she will be here to help. I also pray she doesn't give me an easy way out. We are still on the waiting list for the Montessori program (full schedule school) and I don't want her to tell me that there is an opening because I am afraid I will take it and give up just like that. Please pray for my patience and pray for the girls to have patience with me because although this is their first year homeschooling and it is way different than regular school...this is also my first year being a teacher. People say that being a mom is being a teacher and I agree...but in a completely different way. I used to teach them what I wanted them to know and now I teach them what they have to know and they are not so willing to learn the have-to's. Thanks for listening.

Broke Compooter!

My computer was down for 2 days! 2 DAYS! Can you imagine? I got a lot of scrappin' done though but not much work! SSssshhh...don't tell the boss. We haven't been doing much around here. I have been watching a cat and checking mail for a friend down the street and I think they are coming back today... Tomorrow night, the girls and I are housesitting for a week for another friend that has a dog and a cat. We are very trustworthy peeps! People are always asking us to feed their animals and water their plants and check their mail. We always say yes. We have a lot of favors saved up! LOL. I could leave for months and months and people would owe me housesitting and dogwatching and catfeeding and plantwatering. Too bad we never go anywhere :( Anyway, the grandma is doing great on her own and I am getting nervous because homeschooling starts next Monday.

Oh yeah, I fed some horses with my friend from church. It was so cool but scary. Those horses are so intimidating with their size. I was a little scared. She has six of them! Next time we go, we are going to ride them. Yay!

That's it for now. Just wanted to update...hadn't been on in a while!

Summer's almost over!

I feel like summer is almost over and I spent the majority of it in the hospital or rehabilitation home with grams. But luckily, Grams is back at home (which is great and she is doing wonderful!) Tomorrow I am taking her to the dr. to get checked out. This will be her first visit after getting released.

My husband is doing wonderfully. He got his stitches out last Sat. and you can barely even see a scar. He's still gorgeous thank goodness or I'd of had to leave him ;D

Last weekend Harley went to Legoland with my friend Annie and her boyfriend and her son Xavier. They had a blast. While she was there, Shawn and I spoiled Chloe rotten. We went to the country fair in town and Chloe got a pass to ride the rides all day. She met up with a few friends and tried to show off and went on some really scary rides. Needless to say, we left before I thought we would...
After my nap (yes I napped after that 103 degree day at the fair with no shade!) my friend Sandy and her husband and Chloe and I went on a hike to see bats. It was very boring. The hike guy took us 10 steps and we stood there and looked for bats. Then we went back to the fair and us girls got hair extensions. I got a burgundy one and Chloe got a hot pink one. She is so cute! Harley is really looking forward to Chloe leaving because she knows something great is going to happen on her alone time with her parents....I better get to planning something good!

So that's all that's been going on around here. I finally got some scrappin' done. I'm still not working which is fine by me. I got second place at the LSS again out of the 2 layouts that were entered. I entered another one this month. The contest is using something not square or rectangle. I also posted it on Scrap your Crap for a using beads layout. I just don't have time to do multiple layouts! LOL. I did an inspirational layout for Noel's Challenges and it meant so much to me. I finally finished it and posted it tonight which is good cuz the deadline is tomorrow!

Here are the pages I've entered and another I worked on this week:


Thanks for Looking!

Too Stale? Pray it's God that spices it up!

I guess God thought things were too stale around here, not doing devotions, lounging in my p.j.s too much. So Sunday after church, I came home and my husband was not home. I called his cell but he didn't answer. I made lunch for the girls and then the 12 yo neighbor girl came over and said that my husband was in her backyard and that he was hurt. I said "What? My husband?" She said yes and said the ambulance is coming, her dad called 911... Needless to say I freaked out! I mean, my husband doesn't get hurt and if he does get hurt, he rarely even wears a band-aid. She stayed with the girls and I literally sprinted over to her house which is 2 houses down. I get into the backyard and my husband is laying on the ground with 4 paramedics over him. I see him and he's bleeding all over his face! I was so freaked out but barely showing it except for the rocking back and forth with my hands over my mouth! The neighbor sat me in the grass and said chill out.

The ambulance took my husband away and the neighbor drove me down to the hospital. We stayed for about 4 hours in the E.R. and he has MRI's and X-rays, heart monitors and blood and urine tests and all he ended up getting was 2 stitches in his cheek where he fell and hit his face on a rock.

Are you wondering what happened yet? He got electrocuted. Yep, that's right. And because he was unconscious for 30 seconds, they took him to the E.R. That was so scary. And it wasn't even the same hospital as the grandma :( He was cutting a wire for a sprinkler clock and got electrocuted.

Needless to say, today was very productive. I was dressed by 9 a.m. and out the door by 9:45 a.m. for the girls' swim lesson. We went to the post office (been meaning to do for days) and also the library (the books were overdue...) Then we went to get grandma's car fixed which I was supposed to do while she was in the hospital the first time. Then we visited grandma until 5:30 p.m. Very productive day overall.

Tomorrow I am planning to babysit for two different moms just to keep busy. I need to keep on my toes. Hubby keeps saying how lucky he was. I asked him if he though it was luck or God...he said "probably both". I invited Shawn to church on Thursday and will invite him again on Sunday. Pray that he goes. He was a Christian mission goer once....

Phil 1:6
...being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Amen.

Ugh.

Thursday already.... Where has the week gone? I wanted to take the girls to the beach or something fun like that but I am too lazy. I babysat last night for a friend and got home really late. So I woke up late and here I am still in my p.j.'s, blogging. We are going to go to the grocery store and pick up a few items so I will run by the scrapbook store and enter this page for the contest:

I spoke to the grandma about staying with us for awhile after she gets out of the hospital and she is not agreeing at all. She says she doesn't want to be a burden on our family and my work. I told her very honestly that it is more of a burden on my family and work for me to leave my home and go to her house and run errands and miss work. If she was here and I was working, I could help her with something and then just go back to work. (I work from home on the computer and making phone calls.) That is not something I could do from her house. So she said her neighbor could help take care of her and I could come visit on Sundays :/ Whatever. I told my husband I will just do whatever she wants. In the meantime, I will search for a house to rent. That way, if we get a room for her, she won't feel such a burden, right? They said she can't drive anymore for a while. She was really bummed out about it. She wasn't supposed to be driving anyway and she told me that she drove last week and I just went quiet and then she backtracked and said, oh, no she didn't. I don't want to say she's fibbing, but I will never know. They want to let her go home Sunday and she still can't make it to the bathroom on her own. And her neighbor is not even in town. I am checking her mail for her while she's gone. So, wouldn't you agree that the best thing for her to do would be to stay here for a little while??? I'm really worried.

Thanks for listening.

Hospitals and Renting

Grams went back into the hospital on Sunday. She fractured her back in two places. I am really praying and praying that we find a house to rent. No matter what now, we are going to have to find a house she can live in. She is still not ready to leave her apartment and live with us, but I figure we can have a room set up for her so that if she can't stay on her own, she can come stay with us until she can be on her own and then go back to her place. We really can't afford two places though (hers and ours). I have no idea what to do...I am trying to just leave it up to God but it is so hard sometimes. Please pray for us.

On another note, the girls are driving me bananas! All they do is fight and I am going crazy. I set up this new disciplinary system where they get checkmarks if they break certain rules we have listed and then they have to give me back a quarter for every checkmark on Sunday from their allowance. It was working. But it is hot and I am stressed out and they are reacting to my stress. I just know that's what it must be...right? Because they are really good children overall....right?

I have no work today, so I am going to take them somewhere fun and hopefully free. I am mentally exhausted however and just want to take advantage of the day off and lay in bed. Yesterday they started swim lessons and love it. The lessons are on Mondays and Wednesdays. Maybe Thursday, if I'm not working, I will call Ang and see if we can come over and see her new house! There are some less expensive houses to rent in Temecula but I don't think the grandma will move there because she loves her Dr. and he is located in Poway. I found some houses for rent in Mira Mesa but there is no way we can rent it by ourselves. Grams will have to help us which means living with us permanantly. Is she ready for that? Are we?

Thanks for listening...

Sweating is gross...

Today is hot. No matter how still I am, I still drip sweat. I hate hot days. I prefer winter over summer all the time. No matter how cold I am, I prefer it over sweating. I always say, there's only so much you can take off...you can't take off your skin. But you can always put on more blankets or people. Humans generate a lot of heat.

Anyway, that wasn't what I came to tell you. I just got distracted because my office is like sitting in a sauna. I work in here all day with a fan blowing on me, in a little tiny tanktop and the shortest shorts ever that even my children are embarrassed to see me in and I still sweat.

But there I go again. What I really wanted to tell you was that my kids just left to go to the YMCA (insert song and dance moves here.) The YMCA in Santee is so awesome. For $4 (if you live outside of Santee, $3 if you live in Santee) you can spend 4 hours frolicking on playground equipment inside of a pool. They also have the coolest slide ever for 48' and above sized children. Which thankfully my children are tall enough. We went to the YMCA on July 5th for a birthday party for Chase and Connor and it was the coolest place around. I mean, for $4 you can do this:





So that was fun. My brother and his girlfriend came to pick the girls up and take them there because tomorrow my niece is leaving to go live in Utah with her mother. The court said she could go and I am a little peeved about it. I don't understand why a judge would let a child live out of state when the other parent is completely involved in the child's life. I just can't understand when there are so many parents that don't want to be involved and the ones that do aren't getting the chance.

So there's my rant...heat and judges. I am going to the scrapbook store now that my kids are gone to collect on my 2nd place award ($10). The next contest has to do with using a masking technique. I need to go get some stamps with my reward money. And then learn how to mask...

Wasting away in Computerland....

I spend a lot of time on Realtor.com looking for mansions I want to buy. I love the listings that have virtual tours. They are my favorite. That's what I do in my pasttime...or even when I have no pasttime and I am supposed to be working. I just shop for houses. Anyway, today, before I even starting looking for a house I went to a job website and found a job for my husband and THEN went looking in that same town for houses and guess what I found!!!!! I found this 5 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom house, with a pool in Texas of all places! I am really looking to get out of San Diego or California even for that matter. Not that the grandma is going to leave here or anything...but it's a dream. The only bad thing when I find a gorgeous house is convincing my husband to move away. He always talks about not having a job anywhere else. So I made sure I found a job first and then a house that is at a price we would NEVER get here in San Diego. So now all I have to do is convince hubby to get an interview there. Wish me luck! :D

Senior Complexes...Don't move there!

We finally got to the library yesterday. I am so impressed with my girls and how they are reading their chapter books. I was really worried for awhile that they wouldn't become bookworms like their mom. Daddy was a bookworm too but now has no time for that kind of stuff. I guess I just had to wait until they learned to read. Go figure. The library also carries movies you can check out. The only bad thing is they all skip horribly. The girls get really mad, but I just say, what do you expect for free?

When we go visit the grandma and do chores the girls always get to go swimming. Today when we went, we found out they had new pool rules for the senior complex. The rules are ridiculous! For example:
1. Kids are only allowed in the pool from 1 p.m - 5 p.m. (Now this one I can understand because the old people want to go swimming in their own pool without getting splashed and stuff, but it's still inconvenient for my work schedule.)
2. Each resident can only have 2 guests in the pool at a time. (Now this is the one I am so peeved about!) 2 guests...well, me and both my daughters are already 3 guests! What's up with that! And come to find out that my dear old grandmother is the one that requested that rule!!! Because a lady she doesn't like has 6 grandkids! Can you believe that! She just kept repeating, well, some bad kids ruin it for everyone. Humph! Now she figures WE can go because the 2 guest rule only implies children and the parent can come for free so to speak. I said, what happens when I have another kid. She said we will worry about that when the time comes and she might not even be living here. (Which also means she'd be living with us!)

You should hear the gossip around that 55 and over community. If it's not about the residents parking in the guest parking spaces, it's about the new paint job in the clubhouse. If it's not about that, it's the kids living with their parents, if not that, it's the dang gardeners ruining all the plants with their bug spray. UGH! It's enough to drive someone crazy. I guess if you are a senior, you don't really have anything else to talk about.

So enough of that rant. Sadly, I have nothing else to talk about. All I do is hang out with the grandma and work.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my friends Amy and Tori!!!

It is also Shawn's dad's birthday today. So Happy Happy Birthday!

Family and Friends

Wow! What an exciting summer this is turning out to be. First updates and then I will get on to more exciting topics, like fireworks!

Grams came home from the hospital on July 1st. She is doing really good. She is staying at her own apartment, confident that she will not need her walker very long. I worry about her constantly. We live 35 minutes away, which is far if someone needs you to come over for just a minute to help with something. She has a boyfriend that has been helping her a lot. I am so grateful. In fact, I think I will make him a Thank you card today. The girls and I are going to see her tomorrow. She has a hair appt today and her neighbor is taking her.

The girls kicked butt in the CYT camp! The theme was High School Musical and for a week all we did was sing those songs. Now, everywhere I turn I hear parts of the songs in everyday conversations. It's weird. So here are some pics of the showcase. Harley got a line also, so she's at the microphone. My bro and his gf came to the showcase, which was nice because I got to see my niece again. So a pic of the cousins and then Torianne. Isn't she growing so fast?? She is already 12 weeks old!

We went to the Del Mar Fair for Harley and Chloe's flag raising ceremony with the Girl Scouts. Because they did this, we got in free. That's the only thing we got for free! My bro and his gf came with us. We have actually been seeing them a lot lately. I am happy about it. His gf is really nice and although I don't try to become friends with in laws...lol...we are really becoming friends. So anyway, we went to the del mar fair and you won't believe it. I forgot my camera!!!! So some other gs moms took pics of the flag raising ceremony and I took pics with my phone, but I don't know how to get them off besides emailing each and everyone of them to myself. So I have no pics of that.

4th of July was tons of fun. Did I mention my bro and his gf were there too? So was my best friend Sandy. I made some food and they brought some too and we played with the baby. All the kids jumped on the trampoline. The boys went fishing and then we ate my jello flag. I make this awesome jello flag with red white and blue layers. Shawn took the camera to work and I haven't downloaded the pics yet. But I will put that pic up here sometime. Torianne loved the fireworks and didn't fuss one time while I was holding her. It was her first 4th of July obviously. I felt so special to get to hold her while she watched the fireworks.

All right, that's enough for now I guess. Hopefully I can post more now that I am home more. Oh yeah and work started again...

Busy

I have been so busy! I have so much to say but no time and I haven't downloaded pics and I really want to show off the fish I caught on father's day...

Hubby's grandma has been in the hospital for over a week now because she couldn't breathe because of emphysema. She is better now but has to stay in the hospital until she gets stronger again. She lives on her own but we will probably be moving into a new place with her very soon. Please pray for us that we find a home that we all can live in and not drive each other nutty, but that we can afford! I have been trying to visit her everyday in the morning and Shawn visits everyday after work. We are out of money and gas is SO expensive. She wants to give me gas money so I can still visit her. I feel horrible! Like she has to pay me to visit. That feeling sucks! Anyway, I am going to spend the night there with her tonight. She is excited. I am going to bring some games.

Thanks for listening....

Next LSS Contest and Graduation

This contest was a little harder for me because you had to use 3 or more of a different brand of product on your page. Well, for some of us scrappers, we get a new product and put it away and don't keep the packaging. That's me, I have no idea what brand half my stuff is! Like my paper???? I just take it out of the wrapper and put it in my paper keeper. It has no label on the back. So anyway, here is the finished project. It took me 3 layouts, and I finally picked this one to be "good" enough for everyone to see. I'm wondering if it even matters because I might win by default again anyway! TFL!

On another note, the boys finally graduated last night. We went to their graduation and it is so exhilarating to watch a new group of high schoolers going off into the world. They are all so full of life. I give them a year if they aren't living at home! LOL...there goes my pessimistic side again!

Congratulations Josh and Chris!!!! Now go get a job!
Proud Parents!

Happy Father's Day!

I know there are only about 3 people out there that read my blog and all 3 of them are women, but I wanted to say Happy Father's Day anyway!

A wonderful conversation between my daughter and husband yesterday:

H: Hey dad?
Dad: Yes darling?
H: Jonny asked me today if I have guitar hero and I said yes, my dad.
Dad: (speechless) then, awww!

He just picked her up and said I love you!
I made this page a couple months ago!


My hubby has played the guitar before I knew him. He plays by ear though, so last father's day I got him guitar lessons and he still hadn't used them yet. So I scheduled him an appt. for yesterday and Thursday of this week and he went yesterday all excited and the guy wasn't even there. So he is looking forward to Thursday. The guy better be there... :/
Another guitar page with daddy! TFL!

New Fish!

Pics of our fish finally!

No work! Lots of scrap time!

I am so good at scrap-lifting! Here's what I've been working on.

Altered sketch from Shanna! Thanks!


I learned this hidden message technique on Nicole's blog! Thanks! I made these cards for the girls' teachers. I make a gift basket for them to say good-bye. This was perfect.




TFL!

Scrap, Hair and Prayers!

I did this page yesterday for the Scrap Your Crap challenge. I think it turned out pretty good.

I got my hair done and I got some red low-lights and it looks fantabulous! That's not very humble...but I couldn't believe what she did to me! Yvette is great!

I bought The One Year Devotion for Kids book and we have been doing them every morning. The girls like it and it has stories that the girls can relate to. I tried to buy this specific devotion book for the girls that was for ages 6-9. But they were out. I like doing this every morning because I never make time to do my own. So we all do it together. Last night I was praying for Harley before bedtime and she said I do my prayers so good! It made me feel good because I really don't pray in front of people. Only the kids. I told her practice makes perfect. Plus, as I grow in my relationship with God, I'm not too nervous to talk to him as a friend anymore ;-).

God bless!

I love Jesus!

I am so on fire for the Lord! I love going to women retreat's and this year was by far the best one I've been on. The Lord is so good to me. I love Jesus! I will post pics and tell more later...

God Bless You!

Here Fishy fishy fishy...

We are fish people. We have fish, we kill fish, we buy more fish. It's a vicious circle.

So there are these fish called Discus. They are gorgeous wonderful fish. We had a couple...they died. I haven't wanted to buy any since because these are not inexpensive fish, but since we have been so careless with our money lately, we thought we should buy some. For the little baby fish (2 inches, adults are 5 inches) it is 5.95 and we bought six. They are random and you don't get to pick the colors or type of discus. But not too expensive right? The shipping was $56!!! Oh well. My husband is happy.

These fish are so high maintenance!!! We have to set up a whole new tank for 2 weeks for them to de-stress (are they all female or something for crying out loud!). Then do water changes (where you take out 30% of the water and put in clean un-tap water) every other day!! I need to get a job to get out of here!

The fish came today. The tank was not set up yet. I set up a new tank, I went to the store and bought a filter, an air pump, and some live plants to keep the ph low in the tank. Pretty plants though! The fish are still not in the water. The tank has to be at 82 degrees or something. The heater isn't working and hubby said take out the heater from the big tank and he will buy a new one for it... The water is warming up as I type . I just want to see my baby fish. (They bag them in blue bags so they can't see out to minimize stress. I am stressed!! I don't even know if they died on the way here!) You can't open the bags until they are ready to go into the water. I will post a pic when they get in the tank...but before they die :(

Not pessimistic....just realistic (says the pessimist!).

Here's a pic of our established tank that they will end up in if they live and a tank mate:

Scrap page Contest!

I went into the Scrapbook store today to purchase some...thing..lol...and Kathy told me I won the scrap page contest!! Isn't that great!!! However...no one else even entered. So it's kinda bittersweet. I get a $25 gift card to the store. I am so delighted...

Our town is so little and the scrapbooking store has been here a year. I don't even think a lot of people know about it. I also asked Kathy if she wanted to be involved in my circle journal and she does! Oh joy.

I also signed the girls up at the Community School here in town. They offer two programs. One program is home-based and you can go to school 1 1/2 days a week. The other program is a montessori academy where you would go full time but learn at your own pace. They are both pretty full and they will call me and let me know where we are on the waiting list. I am praying and praying if it's God's will for me to homeschool. If so, then I better pray for patience with these children!

(1 Corinthians 10:13)
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

In other words: God will not give me more than I can handle.

Circle Journal

I just found out what a circle journal is and I am very excited to start one! I am going to try to pass one around here in my town without making people mail it. I really don't even know enough people that scrapbook! How crazy is that!

Tonight Sandy came over and we made the centerpieces for the tables for the graduation party. I think they turned out pretty cute. I forgot to take pics! Oh well...

Only 2 1/2 weeks left of school! I can't believe it's almost summer.

There goes time flying again...

Update: Photo of the centerpieces:

Tired!

Church on Thursday with Sherri as the guest worship was so AWESOME! I had such a great time and I even went up and got some extra prayer with the prayer team. I never know I need extra prayer until I can't stop crying :D Who likes being condemned anyway? I sure don't! But I do love the after affects. I feel clear and re-filled with God's love. Same thing happened today. I think God is molding me ;)

I'm still working on putting some music on here. I will have to ask Ang how she did it. I did a scrap page to hang in my office to remind myself to pray pray pray about everything, and then WAIT for God's answer. I always try to take things into my own hands. We've been talking about trusting God with everything... Inside the brown square with the blue bird is a list of things to remember to pray about...


I have barely been home at all this weekend. On Friday night I went to my friend Sandy's house until 1:30 a.m. and then again all day yesterday and last night until 12:30 a.m. This is what we got done! I am so happy! I think we did a great job. Both her sons are graduating and all we have been working on is invitations and then lei's and then these collages. We still have a couple more projects to do but then I'm done! Sandy still has to go to her sister's house and help her with HER kids' collages and decorations. I think it would be cool to have a sister with the same age kids. Anyway, what do you think of the collages?


Today after church I hung out with a bunch of friends from church. They get together almost every Sunday to eat dinner and hang out. I had so much fun. I am really trying to change things around. That's something God is working on too. Who I hang with and my language around them...

Other than that, Hubby has tomorrow off, which I am happy about. I have no idea what we are doing yet. Hubby was talking about taking his boat out on the lake. Maybe he can take the girls and I can do some more scrappin'! That would be awesome.

Until Tuesday...I hope!

It's been awhile!

Wow...I won't say it again about time flying...

I've been scrappin' and helping a friend get ready for her sons' graduation party and scheduling my summer. It's already busy.

We did get our plumbing fixed. Our friend brought this cool electric snake that ate up whatever was blocking the pipe. Everything works fantastic now.

We might go to Legoland this weekend...ssshhh....the kids don't know yet. Hubby is still deciding. He is a last minute decider which is hard because I am a month ahead type of planner. So I will just keep Sunday open in case he says yes.

My sister is going to go to church on Sunday with me. We are going to go to early service (8:30 a.m.) in case we get to go to Legoland. She has been telling me she wanted to go this week. I am very excited. I think she really needs to know God is on her side. She is having a really rough time right now.

Speaking about church...a really really great singer is coming to do guest worship tonight. Her name is Sherri Youngward. I don't usually go to Thursday night service because the kids can't handle Friday mornings if we go, so I have tried to prepare my husband on the fact that I am going to church tonight and leaving them home... I have invited my mom and my sister to come. I don't think either one will make it because we live so far away and it is a Thursday night. They both have to work tomorrow. I am also excited because next weekend (May 30th) is the Women's Church Retreat. My mom went last year with me and is going again this year and I am so happy. (If I can figure out how to do it, I will add Sherri's music to my blog!)

I am very very happy for my friend Ang and her family. They are buying a home! I am very jealous but also very happy for them. When I see my friends my age doing things like that, it gives me hope! Congrats Angela! I love you so much!

I put my scrap page in the contest in town and I am the only one entered so far. So what does that mean!? I'm winning!!! Yeah for me...lol.

That's pretty much it. I've changed our extra bedroom into an office and it's great. Me and my cat spend all day in here. So needless to say, the house is a disaster...but my office is beautiful. I have even started decorating! The girls got some new summer clothes that look absolutely darling on them. Why are they so cute?

Oh yeah, regarding the solicitating actor people. It turned out we were gonna have to pay a lot of money and we almost did it, but we decided to put the girls in CYT instead. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's Christian Youth Theater. We thought it was expensive before, but now we have something to compare it too and it is cheap! The girls don't even get to be in a play until they are 8 years old. So we will let them take some classes, see if they enjoy it and then they can decide if they want to sing or not. They still need background people I guess, right? Either way, they are excited. That's all I care about. Harley was a little bummed about not getting to be on t.v. but she got over it quick when I said for less money she can have swim classes, hip hop dance classes and the CYT classes this summer is based on High School Musical. She is now very happy.

I will try to post sooner so I don't have so much to say...but I truly like to talk! Enjoy your long Memorial Day Weekend!

A callback....and still plumbing!

The girls were very excited because they got a callback! Friday we go meet with THE people and see how much this is gonna cost. You know how sometimes people say (like when you buy year passes to the zoo) just go twice and it's paid for itself; well this better be one of those times!
I talked to my sister and found out she took her daughter to the same place the Sunday before. She got "found" (approached and solicited is more like it!) at Grossmont Center. They never got a callback...

Do we look richer?

Anyway, regarding the plumbing...my friend's husband couldn't help us yet because his company truck, that has the big tools we need, had to go to the shop. Of course! Hopefully he gets it back tonight and we can fix this mess. I went to their house last night and babysat for a few hours. I brought the girls and gave them a shower. I also did 3 loads of laundry!

I still smell....just don't get too close...

Haircuts, Auditions, and Plumbing....OH MY!

On Saturday, I took the girls to get a haircut and they thought (and they were right!) that they were so darned adorable, they decided to dress as twins. Harley picked the haircut and Chloe got the exact same one. Shawn took the girls to a movie. He really really wanted to see IronMan, but I guess they were sold out at the time they wanted to go and the girls convinced him to see Horton Hears a Who. I think that is hilarious! The girls had a blast on their date with their daddy. So I'm assuming next weekend we are going to see IronMan and I will probably have to come along this time. I got to stay home and do some scrapbooking. I am entering a contest at my local scrapbooking store. Wish me luck!
Anyways...while I was at home scrapping merrily..my husband was being solicited by a company that wants our kids to be on t.v. while the girls were riding the carousel at Parkway Plaza. They all came home and told me and were very excited. On Sunday morning I got the girls to take showers and look gorgeous so they can go to their "audition" at the solicitation place...(I am very negative about this whole thing.) Anyways, after their showers, our plumbing went literally down the drain... and now we have a huge plumbing problem going on at our house. In our lease it says the renters have to take care of it...and we still haven't yet. Our toilet, bathtub and washing machine keep flooding up. It stinks like a sewer in my house. SO...I didn't get to take a shower and we didn't go to church yesterday because I was trying to help Shawn out with the plumbing problem...

We did however go to the audition (without a shower) and the girls had to read a line while being recorded. Not surprisingly, they acted very shy. We've done a few auditions before for commercials and even the show Dr. Vegas and they were always shy. Then we went in to talk privately with a solicitor. She said that if we get a call back, they are looking for kids to be in some shows that will be screening here in San Diego...which is a big deal because usually you have to go to L.A. to make a show. One of the shows will be like Barney and the other show will be a spoof on shows like Hannah Montana and all the shows my girls love. The lady said it will be a funny show with dark sarcastic humor...just what we need around here! Of course, we will have to take classes that cost $200 - $300 a month per child...on Saturdays...that will teach my kids to overcome their shyness and to make a good impression on interviewers in the first 5 minutes of meeting them. Apparently showbiz is all about first impressions!

So my husband is jazzed! For those of you who don't know, my husband went to a high school that was for performance arts. He is very animated. We have thought about putting the girls in Christian Youth Theater...but all the plays are singing and they are intimidated by that. They have been in one play and totally loved it! It was called The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. They each had two lines. That was almost 2 years ago! Wow, time flies. I haven't put them in another play since because the practices were until 8 p.m. and it just got to be too much during the school year.

* Please don't think we are the type of parents that have twins and want them in showbiz because they are "twins". When they were younger, we tried, but they were very shy and so I didn't think it was worth driving to L.A. for nothing. Now they are the ones that want to do it. Actually, it is Harley but Chloe goes along with almost everything her sister does. Harley wants to meet Hannah Montana and be on her show. She also wants to be rich, go figure. She thinks this is the way to go. It never hurts to try...right? RIGHT?????

As of right now, I still haven't showered...I have 4 loads of laundry to do and my house still stinks. I called my best friend because her husband is a plumber and he can come and help us for free (always a bonus) TOMORROW after work! Until then, I think I will try to go to my other friend's house for a shower and get a couple loads of laundry done so Shawn can go to work!

It's amazing what I take for granted. I never realized how much I like showering and using a toilet until I can't!