Monday, August 23rd, 2010
Tonight we hosted our first "football party". Nathan's fantasy football group had their draft tonight, and a few of the guys came over. They all sat in the kitchen at two card tables with folding chairs and their laptops - kind of sad actually. We might not have couches to sit on yet, but we do have wireless Internet and a big, giant TV that you can see from about five different rooms in the house.
Sunday, August 22nd, 2010
This fall our women's bible study is studying the book of Esther. In order to introduce the study and invite some ladies from the church to join, Lisa asked a few of us to dress up as some of the key characters. She asked me to play Esher.

If you've never done a Beth Moore Bible study, I highly recommend them. If you are local to Parkersburg, and think you might like to join our biweekly women's study, feel free to contact me for more information.
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
Today is my mom's birthday. She and I both took the day off from work and drove up to Columbus. We did some shopping and had lunch at Brio's - our favorite!
Sunday, August 8th, 2010
This afternoon we had Josh and Kyla's wedding rehearsal. The wedding is actually next Saturday, but Kyla will be in Pittsburg taking her dental hygiene test on Friday, so they had the rehearsal a little early. I know that Kyla is stressed about getting everything ready and figured out, but I also know that they are both really excited for their big day to finally get here. I know I'm excited to finally have Kyla as official part of the family.


Saturday, August 7th, 2010
Tonight some of our neighbors, Gary and Sharon, stopped by and brought us a pie. They are seriously some of the nicest people you could ever meet. Gary even came down and mowed our field for us when we needed to install our septic tank, and now Sharon brought us this beautiful pie.
Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Tonight we all went out to eat for Grandma's birthday. Olive Garden had a 35-40 minute wait, so we went to Outback instead. Mom and Justin are both on travel for work, but the rest of us were all there. Dad's brother even drove up from Kentucky, so Grandma had both of her boys with her on her birthday.
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
Today is my Grandma Reber's 82nd Birthday. I know it may not be polite to reveal a lady's age, but I think 82 is a number to be proud. Especially if you are as active and fun-loving as my grandma is at 82. She is one amazing woman, and happens to be one of my favorite people.

Happy Birthday Grandma! I love you with all my heart!
Saturday, July 24th, 2010
Today I went to Charleston to participate in the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk. All over the country, groups of photographers met up to take pictures around the cities. We actually had a pretty good size group in Charleston. I'm usually only into portrait photography, but today was actually a really neat experience. I haven't had time to edit any of the photos, but as soon as I do, I'll be sure to share them. The walk also gave me a really good opportunity to practice my settings and learning my camera. I spent the whole day with my camera on manual and really worked on nailing my exposure and understanding metering.
Sunday, July 11th, 2010
Mandy has been my best friend since we were both three years old. Growing up, she was the closest thing to a sister that I had, and I love her and her family like she was my sister. Mandy is quite the photog herself, so when she asked if I could take some shots of her family, I was completely honored.
Sunday, July 11th, 2010
I couldn't help but share a few more of my favorites from my session with Mandy's family. I love this one of them all cuddled up.
Thursday, June 10th, 2010
The guys won their church league softball game tonight, and my husband was a total rock star! First of all, I think he looks quite studly in his uniform.
Saturday, June 5th, 2010
Today I attended Kyla's wedding shower. Kyla's bridesmaids did a great job at decorating. They made this rice crispy cake with Kyla's theme and colors. Isn't it cute?
Saturday, June 5th, 2010
Today is my parent's 30th Wedding Anniversary. We all went up to Hocking Hills and did their zip line tours. It was sooo much fun! I'll have pictures to share soon. We were pretty wore out from the day, so I didn't make them get their picture taken today, but I'm planning a photo shoot for the near future. Thirty years is a pretty big deal! So for now, here's a picture of the cake.
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
Four years ago today, I married my best friend. These four years have gone by so fast, and yet most days it also feels like we've always been married.

We spent most the day waiting around for the health department and running other various errands for the house. We actually had plans to go out to eat this evening, but we were both just too tired. Romantic, I know. But we did spend the entire day together, which is what really matters.
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
I'm blogging tonight from my hotel room in Washington, DC. Actually, I'm just typing my thoughts, but won't actually be posting them. Our hotel charges $13 a day to use their wi-fi! Seriously?!? What kind of expensive, fancy hotel charges to use their wireless Internet? Even McDonald's offers free wi-fi. So then I think, "Hmmm, most hotels have a business center with computers and Internet access." So I call down to the front desk and ask, "Sure, the business center is down on the ground floor across from the escalator. We have several computers available there." After I trek down there, and finally find the "business center" which from the outside looks like a Kinkos, I sit down at the desk and read a sign that says, "Internet access 24 cents a minute." Seriously??? No, seriously. Funny how the lady at the front desk didn't mention that.

So, I guess I'm not catching up on my blogging tonight. Guess I'm not checking out the new releases at DHD that are 30% off today only. So when my blog is out of date - don't blame me - blame the Renaissance!

They're just lucky that Bones and the Office are both new tonight, or they would have one unhappy guest on their hands.

Anyways, here's what my room looks like.

Saturday, April 24th, 2010
Thursday was Bryce's 25th birthday, so we all went out to eat at Japanese steakhouse Fusion. Fusion is one of those places where they cook everything in front of you on the hibachi grill and kind of make it a show. It's expensive, but definitely fun to do every once in awhile.
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
I just found out that you can find me on Barnes and Noble listed as the Photographer of a book they are selling!
Sunday, February 7th, 2010
My family all went to Justin and Heather's house to watch the Superbowl. Drew Breeze was Nathan's fanatsy quarterback this year, so we decided to root for the Saints.
Sunday, January 31st, 2010
Tonight we turned the keys over to the new owner. It seemed so weird being in the house and knowing it was likely the last time. I'll admit I totally cried. I didn't think I would be that emotional about it, but just the idea that we were never going to be in our "first house" ever again was just so sad. At least I held it together until I got to the jeep, and didn't break down bawling in front of the poor guy who bought the house.

Of course, I took lots of pictures, so I'm sure you'll be seeing more scrapbook pages in the future of all our memories in our first house.
Saturday, January 30th, 2010
Today Mom and I went to Mat and Angie's baby shower. I've known Angie all of my life and Mat for a good portion of it, so it was neat to see them so excited for their new little one.

Angie's mom did such a good job decorating; the church looked really nice. I just loved the cake.
Sunday, January 24th, 2010
Today is Nathan's 27th Birthday!!!

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010
Today was moving day. We actually have another week or so before we have to be out of the house, but the weather was so nice and the Pickens men and their trucks were available today, so we decided to go ahead and move most of the big stuff.
Saturday, January 2nd, 2010
A few people at work had told me that Avatar was a good movie and that we should go see it. First of all, I'm not a movie theatre kind of person. Personally, I just don't like paying $8.50 to watch a movie in an uncomfortable chair with no pause button - let alone the price for snacks. I would much rather watch it on DVD laying on the couch with sweatpants on. Plus, from the previews of Avatar I gathered that it was a sci-fi movie, which isn't normally my thing either. But then someone said that it was playing at the 3-D theatre in Athens, and that it really was worth watching. So we got a group together and decided to go see it...

Seriously, it was awesome!!! Again, not a sci-fi fan, but this actually has a really good story to it.
Friday, January 1st, 2010
I thought it would be fun to look back through my archives for the year and pick some of my favorites. There were so many that I loved, but I tried to narrow it down. So here is my Top 9 of 2009...

Friday, January 1st, 2010
Happy New Year everyone! I hope your started off as happily as mine did...
Thursday, November 26th, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! I know that ours will be a busy one, and we have an awful lot to be thankful for.

This is the first of a few thanksgiving dinners we will be attending. Jeanie and Grandma Hess stayed up half the night cooking for everyone. Doesn't that turkey look good...
Saturday, November 14th, 2009
I've been processing the pictures from Jacob's session yesterday, and I wanted to share a few more. Is he not so cute?!?!
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
Today is this little guy's birthday! My big brother is turning 28 today, so if you see him, make sure you wish him a great big Happy Birthday!

Monday, October 26th, 2009
Here are some of the things bugging me right now...

Most of you have probably heard me talking about my obsession with Slimfast Optima Cookie Dough bars. I don't care if they are made by Slimfast, they are awesome, and I am addicted. Occasionally Kroger's would sell out of them which was inconvenient, but they would eventually restock, and I typically had a stockpile to get me through the rough patches. Well, the other day my mom went to the Slimfast section at Kroger's and saw a "Closeout Sale" sign under my beloved bars. Not knowing exactly what this meant - she bought all they had. And God bless her for it! Since then we have found out that it was in fact a closeout sale, and they are no longer carrying them. Kroger's is probably the place I shop most often because it is so close to our house, but is by no means the only grocery store around. So for now, I didn't panic and just planned my next trip to Walmart. Standing in the Walmart aisle I was saddened to find that they no longer had a Slimfast Optima section at all! I called the CVS close to our house and asked if they had them, "We no longer carry those," was the response I got. There are a few other places in town that I want to check, but at this point I'm not holding my breath. I got online to do some searches just to see what my options were. When I searched on Walmart's site, this is the message I received: We found no stores within 100 miles of 26101 that carry this product. Do you know how many Walmart's there must be within 100 miles of here! And none of them have them!!! I have found some random stores online that appear to still have them in stock, and I'm beginning to think this may be my only choice. If you are one of my local friends or family, and happen to see them in a store, please call me immediately, or better yet buy them and I will pay you back! This is what they look like:
Sunday, October 18th, 2009
One of my very favorite activities at our church is Baby Dedications. I just think it is so neat to see the baby's family come and promise to raise their child in a Christian home and make sure that the baby grows up knowing Jesus. I also love that part of the baby dedication is the church promising to nurture the baby and support it in it's Christian walk. The whole idea of it just makes me feel like we are one big church family, and we are celebrating this new addition to it.

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
I am completely done with Kiley's pictures. I just can't get over how many pictures we got in the short amount of time that Kiley was there. Clearly I had an extremely cooperative model. So the sad news is that this will be the last sneak peek of Kiley's pictures, but the good news is, that you can see all of the cutenss plus several others that I haven't shared on the blog, in Kiley's gallery

Here are the last few of my favs. It was seriously tough to narrow it down...
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
I am just about done with editing the pictures. I should definitely have them all finished up tomorrow evening. Until then, here are a few more of my favs...

Monday, October 5th, 2009
I love this one! It is a little less technically artistic maybe, but to me it is one of the ones that seems most like "Kiley". She is just a happy little thing, with a smile that lights up the room.
Sunday, October 4th, 2009
Still sorting through the hundreds of adorable Kiley pictures, so here is today's sneak peek. I warned you she was cute...
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009
I had the opportunity to photograph Baby Kiley again yesterday. Kiley is now a year old, a bundle of energy, and full of cuteness. She is such a talker - I seriously don't think there is anything she can't say. I am just getting the photos uploaded, but I wanted to go ahead and share one, so you can see just how much cuteness there is to come in the next few days.
Sunday, September 27th, 2009
Earlier this week, I mentioned that some of Grandma Reber's family came in for a visit. The plans started with Grandma's nephew Michael and his wife Nancy. Once we all found out that they were coming, three of Grandma's sisters also decided to make the trip. It was so neat to see Grandma and her sisters together. Plus, I know it meant a lot to Michael that they all came in to see him. Of course I took the opportunity to get some pictures of the whole gang together.

Here is Michael and four of his aunts.
Saturday, September 26th, 2009
Today we went to a baby shower for Katie and Baby Addy. It was a very nice shower with good food and fun games. Plus, Katie and Wayne got lots of stuff to help them prepare for their new arrival.
Sunday, September 13th, 2009
Mom's birthday was almost a month ago, and Dad's was a couple weeks ago, but tonight was the first chance we all had to celebrate together. Apparently some people find golfing more important than their mother's birthday. Frankly, I would never do such a thing. he he So finally tonight, we all went to Outback to celebrate.

I'm not sure why, but I always seem to forget my camera in the car when we go to restaurants, so I end up taking pictures in the parking lot! This was one of those times. At least I got the evening captured at some point.

Happy Birthday Mom and Dad! Sorry it took us so long - I blame Justin :)
Tuesday, September 1st, 2009
This handsome fella is celebrating his birthday today. Now he isn't as young as he was in this photo, and he doesn't own a motorcycle anymore. But he is retired and living the good life!

Happy Birthday Daddy! I love you!!!
Saturday, August 29th, 2009
Today the guys hosted a cornhole tournament. They leave next Friday for the big, church softball tournament in Roanoke, Virginia, and they decided to host the 1st Annual Liberty Street Church of God Cornhole Tournament to help raise money to support missions in Paraguay.
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
I made a little ABC Book of different pictures of Nathan and I using Carina's new kit.

I'm planning to print it as a little bound coffee table book.

For credits and more info, please check the scrapbooking section.
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
Today this pretty lady is turning 73! Not only is she a pretty lady, but she's my grandma and an all-round amazing woman.

Happy Birthday Grandma! I love you and can't wait to see you!!!
Saturday, August 22nd, 2009
Well... today was the day! Overall I think everything went pretty well. I finished the half marathon in 2 hours 6 minutes and 42 seconds - a 9:40 pace.

Kyla and I got there in plenty of time, and we were both pretty pumped for the race.
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
I'm going to have to interrupt all the Faith sharing, but it's for a very good reason. Today is my mom's birthday! Not only is she the most amazing mom in the world, but she is also one of my very best friends. So I would say that means she deserves her own post on my blog. Now I'm not going to tell you how old she is, but I will give you a clue… you would need to add 49 candles to the cutie's birthday cake below…
Thursday, August 13th, 2009
I decided to do a heritage layout using some of Grandma Large's and Pap Bill's old wedding pictures. I really wanted to find a way to make the layout and still preserve the way the photos look - some were black and white, some were faded colors, and some had a vintage look to them.

Journaling reads:

January 18, 1957
On this day, Bill and Naomi pronounced their love for one another and were married as husband and wife. They both remember the day as one of the most important days of their lives. The preacher was late getting to the church, and Naomi’s brother had to go and get him. He had overslept after taking an afternoon nap. They both remember Bill’s friend showing up drunk, while inebriated trying to burn his tie, and then eventually passing out in the church. Later Bill’s cousin and some of their friends got in a car wreck on the way to the after-wedding party. Thankfully the next fifty years went much smoother than the actual day of their wedding, and despite it all Naomi is just thankful that so many of their friends and fmaily could be there on that cold winter night.
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009
Tomorrow is my Grandma Reber's 81st birthday! So today we all went out to eat at Olive Garden.

picture coming soon, I promise
Sunday, July 26th, 2009
This morning we kind of did a practice run of the half marathon. We ran pretty much the exact course with the exception that we stopped and started in the same place which actually made the run a little bit more than 13 miles. Kyla and I both felt pretty good and were glad we got to see what the course was like and where the hills were. It was actually a pretty good run despite the fact that it decided to start pouring down the rain at mile 11 and we got lost at one point and ran about three blocks too far. So we actually ended up running about 13.5 miles, which makes me feel more than confident in our ability to finish the half at a decent pace.
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009
Just finished up this layout using Carina's new kit called Petal Patch, which is releasing next Tuesday.

For credits and more info, please check the scrapbooking section.
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009
This week's digital challenge at 2Peas was to use a scrapbook template or quick page. Audrey has a ton of great templates, so I pulled one from my files and came up with this.

For credits and more info, please check the scrapbooking section.
Monday, July 20th, 2009
Here's a recent layout that I did about how we all look up to Pap Bill.

For credits and more info, please check the scrapbook section.
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009
Here's my latest scrapbook page using Audrey's Pieces of Me kit that is releasing on Tuesday.

For credits and more info, please check the scrapbooking section.
Monday, July 13th, 2009
Tonight we ran 12 miles! This was two miles further than I had ever run before, so I was a little nervous about it at the beginning but I actually did pretty well. It was hot and humid and for some reason the last two water stops were missing. The River City Runners normally set up water stops every 2 to 2.5 miles along the course, and they let us know ahead of time where they will be. Well tonight they weren't there - at least not the ones I really needed! It's pretty disheartening when you get in your head that you just have to go a little further and then you know you will get a quick break, and then when you get to that location there is no such stop. Not only are we thirsty, but it almost makes you mentally more exhausted. On the bright side though, I finished it and at a pretty good pace. At this point, I feel pretty good about being able to finish the half and am actually just excited for it to get here.
Saturday, July 11th, 2009
This weekend we went up to Pittsburgh for Chelsie and Joe's engagement party. The party was at Joe's parents' house; they have 16 acres just outside of Pittsburgh on this beautiful piece of property. It was a nice evening, and everyone had a good time. We spent the night at Chelsie and Joe's townhouse. It was so good to see Chels, and it gave me a chance to get to know Joe a little better.

I wanted to get a picture of Chelsie and Joe together, but they were both so busy mingling the whole night that I never managed to get one. Instead I'm sharing one of Chelsie and I and some of the other bridesmaids. (left to right: me, Bree, Chels, and Ashley aka Porto)
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
I’ve actually been planning this layout for awhile. I did the journaling months ago, but then never got around to making the layout. When I saw Carina's new photomasks I knew they would be perfect with this layout. Just in case you can’t read it, the journaling says:

"I am currently working as an Oracle DBA dealing with the outsourcing of my branch • I absolutely adore being an aunt, but I'm not quite ready to be a mom • I make a lot of plans and say a lot of things that end with the phrase "maybe in the next house" • I watch the news now and I actually really cared about the election for the first time • We only own one car, and I drive a total of about 10 miles a month • I feel like there are never enough hours in the day • I'm lovin' my life at 25."

I’m thinking I might try to do a layout like this each year, just to see what has changed, what is the same, and what’s going on in my life at the time.
For more information and credits, please check the scrapbooking section.
Sunday, July 5th, 2009
I have some bad news about the topsy turvy. We were out of town Wednesday and Thursday, and when Nathan went out to water the tomato plant on Friday morning, he found it completed wrecked. We had about 15 tomatoes on it, some that were pretty big, and now they are all gone. A few of the branches were broken. Even all of the flowers that were on it are gone. We’re still not exactly sure what happened, but we’re pretty bummed about the whole situation.
Saturday, July 4th, 2009
Happy Fourth of July!!! We had a great day with of family fun. Yesterday we spent the day out at the river lot with my family. We played a good bit of cornhole and did some cooking out. We play cornhole with the Pickens side of the family all the time, but not as much with the Rebers. Their lack of experience was certainly not showing though, because Justin and Heather kicked all of our butts! Heather is a seriously awesome cornhole player. I’m not sure she ever took a turn where she didn’t put at least one in the hole and most of the others on the board. At one point in the evening, after she had crushed Justin in a singles game, she looked at him and said, “You know our kids are going to be athletic because of me, don’t you?” LOL That line is going to make for an excellent scrapbook page…
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
This week Audrey has her family tree kit on sale and it coordinates with these adorable siblings quotes. So of course I had to make a layout of Justin and me when we were little.

For credits and more info, please check the scrapbooking section.
Monday, June 22nd, 2009
This week Audrey is releasing her new Honeybee kit. It is so cute! Last night I got the chance to make this layout with it for Faithers.

For credits and more info, please check the scrapbooking section.


Sunday, June 21st, 2009
I have the best dad in the world! He does so much for us, and we are so lucky to have him in our lives. So for Father's Day we all went out to eat at Outback. After that we took him a chocolate cake from McHappy's along with my card and a gift bag full of Lemon Propel packets. Let's just say, I have learned the secrets to making dad happy :)

Happy Father's Day Daddy! I love you!!!

And yes, I know Father's is spelled wrong in the title - I like it that way!

Saturday, June 20th, 2009
This morning, Nathan and I watched Faith for a little bit while her Daddy was painting. I just love having her! She is so funny these days. I got some really cute pictures of her when she was outside playing with Milo. ...and by playing I mean squealing with delight every time he looked at her or did a flip trying to scratch his back on a pole, but quickly scurrying out of the way if he actually started to walk towards her.

After Jeanie picked her up, I went for a run while Nathan got his hair cut.

We spent Saturday evening at the river lot playing corn hole and sitting around the fire.
Friday, June 19th, 2009
My favs for the week...

1.) Computer geeks. I am so, so happy that my computer is working and that it only took a day or so to get fixed. I'm so grateful that I have friends that are so willing to help me figure things out and willing to loan me spare computer parts in the process. I'm also pretty proud of myself that I was able to test things and replace the video card myself.

2.) AWS day. We are lucky enough to work at a place that allows an alternate work schedule. So basically, I get every Friday off and Nathan gets every other Friday off. Today happens to be one of the ones that we both have off. I love when we both get to sleep in and just spend the day together.

3.) Free samples. I love free samples! I sign up for them pretty much any time I see an offer, and this week it seems like I have gotten a new free sample in the mail every day. If you would like some free samples of your own, check out Money Saving Mom because she is constantly posting about good deals and free samples.

4.) Lunch time surprises. Thursday when my mom picked me up in the morning she said Dad said he put a surprise in my lunch. When I went to get my lunch, I was happy to find not one, but three surprises! I had a fruit cup, a couple chocolate chip cookies, and my sandwich was on a crescent instead of the regular bun. Do I have a good dad or what?

5.) Baby tomatoes. If you remember awhile back we planted a tomato plant in one of those Topsy Turvys. Surprisingly enough, we haven't killed it. In fact, yesterday I found these two little tomatoes.
Thursday, June 18th, 2009
So this is going to be my official rant about how irritated I am right now with Dell…

I ordered a new Dell laptop on June 2nd. I did the build your own version, but I didn't select any options that didn't come standard on their website. When I placed the order, they gave me an estimated delivery date of June 17th. I even asked at the time if that was a pretty accurate date, because I was considering upgrading to overnight shipping to make sure I got it fairly quickly. The lady assured me that they almost always meet or exceed their estimated delivery dates. Ok, great! So I left it with the 3-5 day shipping and waited for my laptop. I don't believe in calling and constantly asking the status of something, but I do frequent their website where I can view the status of my order myself. After a week or so of being "In Production" I logged on and found my estimated delivery date had been moved to June 29th. Quite unhappy with this news, I sent an email to my sales rep. and also called the customer service line to find out what happened. They basically told me that this happens a lot and wasn't something to be worried about. When I asked why the delivery had been delayed, they explained that they can't see any of the details about the account, but it typically happens if parts are late getting to Dell or if something was on back order. They gave me nothing to make me feel better about the situation, and said they couldn't be held accountable if their vendors were late getting stuff to them. They couldn't even promise that it wouldn't be pushed back again later! We asked to speak with a supervisor, and she told us that it is a typical thing, but she assured us that the laptop would be here by the 20th. Still not what I was promised in the beginning, but better than the 29th… I logged in the next day, and the estimated delivery date was now June 24th. I was incredibly frustrated, but I did want the laptop, and I had waited this long, so I basically just accepted it and waited. What's really funny is one of the customer representatives that I spoke with initially told me that I couldn't even cancel the order at this point if I wanted to. She said I would have to wait until I received it, and then ship it back – me paying for the shipping! She said by indicating that now on my file, she could save me the 15% restocking fee that I would be charged. Are you kidding me??? The supervisor we spoke with said this was not the case, but still absolutely ridiculous for their customer service to tell people. So I wait… today is the 18th, a day after I was supposed to receive the laptop. I log in today, and find that my estimated delivery date has now been moved to July 7th. How can it seriously take a computer company more an entire month to build a computer??? Two days ago we called, and they told us it was in the "boxing stage" and would probably be shipped within a day or two. The online status is still "In Production" but the supervisor could see the location of my order in the production process. They said it was still in the boxing stage and had no idea why the date had been moved. All through this process no one has ever offered anything to try and compensate for the poor service. We asked if they could upgrade me to overnight shipping for free to try and get the delivery soon, and they said they weren't able to change anything about the order after it was placed. They never once offered to throw in a free bag or extra battery to make up for the inconvenience, which is something Dell used to do all the time. Absolutely nothing! I checked the status again, after I spoke to someone, and the date is now moved to June 30th. The whole thing is just ridiculous, and I am really disappointed in the customer service at Dell. My estimated delivery date has been changed like 6 times, and I don't have any real feeling of security that it won't be moved again. I would like to think that this was just a fluke and not an indication of the decline in Dell's service, but my co-worker ordered a laptop for his father-in-law for Father's day a week or so before I ordered mine, and they have done the same thing to him. His delivery date has been moved several times, and he has been given no real indication as to why. He and I are both still waiting…

So if you have some free time today, please call Dell and tell them that you were planning to order a new computer, but after reading this you have decided not too… :)
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
The last couple of days have really felt like a rollercoaster ride at times. Monday was kind of a crappy day, but then some things got better on Tuesday. Just feels like everything is so up and down.

First off, Monday as I was waiting for my mom to pick me up after work, she calls and says that the jeep is not where she parked it. I asked if she was sure she remembered where she parked it, because ever since she took her new job at the other building, she doesn't have a consistent parking spot anymore. She assured me she was at the right place and that one of her new co-workers was on vacation and offered to let mom use her spot for the week. She said there was a sign in the front of the parking lot indicating where cars would be towed to, so she said she would try calling them and see if they knew anything about the situation. I told her I would go ahead and start walking her way. So in my high heels and with all of my bags (purse, gym bag, lunchbox, etc.), I start the trek over to the other parking lot. I get to the Southern Parking lot, and my mom is nowhere to be found. I call her back, and ask where she is. Apparently the spot she was using was in the RCDI lot, so I continue my trek up there. She calls the towing company and sure enough they have her jeep. Mom explained that she had permission to park in the spot and asked why she was towed. The towing company said his guess would be that sometimes the owner of the lot does spot checks and if the car doesn't match what they have record they have it towed. We were both livid. Not only were we now going to have to pay to get mom's jeep back, but we were without a way home and I was supposed to meet my running group at 5:30. Thankfully my entire family works at Public Debt, and Nathan happened to be working until 6pm that night. Mom calls my dad and told him to meet her at my house, and we begin the final leg of my long walk up to the other parking lot where Nathan's jeep is. Mom quickly runs me by my house, while I half change in the car, half when I actually get to my house, and then drops me off at the park to run. I'm still not sure how we made it on time, but we did – just barely. Mom and Dad take Nathan's jeep back to him, so he has a way home and then go over to pick up mom's jeep from the towing place. We were all still pretty frustrated about the situation, but our anger subsided a little when we found out that the spot mom was supposed to be in was 113, and she had parked in 131. Doesn't make the situation any less frustrating, but makes us feel better that the towing company was called because someone complained and not because of random spot checks. I still find the price that the towing company charged a little ridiculous considering they only towed the jeep a half mile, and they charge a day's holding fee when we know they didn't have the jeep longer than an hour or two.

Despite all the chaos, I did make it to my running group on time. We ran seven miles, and even though I finished it at a pretty good pace, I really didn't feel that strong when I was running. Plus, my friend Kyla was about five minutes late getting to the park and missed the group.

So, after the towing incident and my long, hot run, I finally get home. I had planned to do some scrapbooking on the computer to unwind from the day. Problem was my monitor was a plain, black screen. I checked all the connections, made sure everything was plugged in correctly, rebooted stuff – nothing!. At this point, I wasn't sure if something was wrong with the monitor or if something was wrong with the PC, but either way it made me seriously depressed. I had people waiting on CDs of pictures from me. I'm now on two scrapbook Creative Teams, and was really dreading the idea of having to tell them my layouts wouldn't be ready on time because I had no computer! Thankfully though, I am a computer geek. Granted, I am a software computer geek and not a hardware expert, but computer geeks have computer geek friends, and with their help I was able to figure things out. First, I got an extra cord, so I could hook the monitor up to my laptop and check to see if it was the problem or not. The monitor was fine, so I turned my suspicion the video card. Even though I just replaced the video card or year or so ago, I was almost hoping it was the video card and not something worse. Again, at this point, I was more concerned with how long it was going to take me to get the computer fixed than how much it was going to cost, and with all the frustrations I have had with Dell waiting on my laptop to get here, I didn’t even want to think about having to order a whole new PC! So the plan was to buy a new video card, and hope that was the problem. I had just accepted that fact that if that wasn't the problem I was going to have to eat the costs of the new video card and continue my search when my co-worker mentioned that he had an extra video card that he had salvaged from an older computer. We weren't sure if it was the same size, but he said I was more than welcome to try it. I took it home and opened up the PC. It was the same size, so I replaced the video card, hooked everything back up, and said a little prayer as I pressed the power button. I was pretty excited when I saw the Dell boot screen on my monitor.

Here's a picture of my old video card that my co-worker took with his camera phone. The fibers you see sticking out of the gray capacitors aren't supposed to be there. It looks to us like the heat-sink (the big black square) on the card got too hot and basically cooked the capacitors. My new video card has an on-board fan, so hopefully this will be avoided in the future.
Monday, June 15th, 2009
Some of the highlights from the week...

1.) My big, scrapbook news. I still can't share all the details yet. Hopefully by Monday or Tuesday I will be able to, but suffice to say I'm pretty excited about it.

2.) Hannah. I got to talk to Hannah this week. She filled me in on all the wedding plans and how Andy proposed. It sure seems like the girls are giving the guys are pretty hard time with these proposals. I miss Hannah, and it was just fun to catch up with her.

3.) Upcoming photo shoots. I have a couple of photo shoots planned. Nathan's cousin, Brittany, wants me to take some maternity pictures for her so she can send them to her hubby over in Iraq. Brittany is the one of the cutest mommy-to-be's I've ever seen, and I think it is such a neat idea, especially since her husband will just barely make it back in time for the birth. Also, Tara asked if I could take some 2-year-old pictures of Faithers, which is always fun!

4.)Evan. The little guy went home to New Jersey yesterday. I already miss him! But on a positive note I have tons of fun pictures from his visit and lots of new scrapbook stories. Plus, I'm sure his mommy and daddy are glad to have him home and actually get to talk to him for more than 20 seconds a day. Evan's not real big on talking on the phone, and would basically snub his parents each night when they called

5.) New pictures of Faith. I finally got all the pictures from the last week or so uploaded, and I adore some of the ones of Faith playing at the church picnic. They might just be some of my new favs.
Monday, June 15th, 2009
I was selected for another digital scrapbooking creative team! I love being a part of Audrey's creative team, and it has been so much fun to use her new kits each week. And although I certainly have no shortage of kits to use with all of her wonderful designs, Carina posted an announcement on the 2Peas forum saying that she was looking to add some members to her new Collections Team. Carina is an amazing designer, and I honestly applied without even thinking that she might actually pick me. Even when she sent the email out to all the applicants listing who she had selected, I still kept thinking, "Surely their must be another Lori P." I know my husband probably thinks I'm crazy for trying to be on two creative teams, but I love it! I love that it forces me to scrap each and every week. I love how different and wonderful both of their designs are, and I just feel so honored that they both asked me to help display and promote their work. The Wedding Kiss layout is actually the first one I did using Carina's kits. You can read all about her announcement of the new team here.
Sunday, June 14th, 2009
We had a nice relaxing Sunday. I took a nap. We spent some time at the river, and basically just enjoyed the last day of our weekend.

Although, I didn't get to see any of them today, I want to wish Wes & Tara and Mandy & Josh both Happy Anniversaries!

I even had a little time to scrapbook today...
For credits and more info, please check the scrapbooking section.
Saturday, June 13th, 2009
Today was a pretty busy day. Kyla and I ran nine miles this morning. We had originally planned to run ten, but neither of us was feeling the greatest. We still have awhile to go before the half, so we figured it was better to go with how we felt rather than push ourselves.

After a little cleaning and housework, it was time to get ready for Whitney and Adam's wedding. This was the second Saturday in a row that we attended weddings, but I love a good wedding, so no complaining here. Whit looked beautiful, and they all did an amazing job decorating the reception. We hardly recognized the DuPont Activities building! I took a few pictures so hopefully I can share some of those in the next day or two.

But until then, here's a layout I finished up last night using Audrey's sales products for this week.
For credits and more info, please check the scrapbooking section.
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
Tara reminded me yesterday that I never got around to sharing the pictures I took of the little ones on Easter. It was really cold that morning, and the kiddos were pretty miserable, but we managed to get a few cute ones anyways.

Below is a collage of some of my favorites, but you can find the entire gallery here.

Now you may be thinking that Faith is crying in the middle picture, and wonder why in the world that is one of my favorites from the day. Believe me, anyone will tell you that I hate to see Faithers upset about anything, but I like the photo for a whole different reason. I have a soft place in my heart for little girls and their daddies, and I just love how she's all surrounded by him. Big, strong Wes becomes so gentle and comforting when his little girl needs him. And that's why I love it!
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
So I have some exciting scrapbook news...

First, my Play layout was picked as last week's 2Peas Digital Weekly Challenge winner. You can read the announcement here if you're interested. I won a 2Peas gift certificate, so I can't wait to go pick out some fun new stuff.

My other exciting news I can't share all the details yet, mostly because I don't know all of them, but it's a pretty cool opportunity for me, and I'm extremely excited about it. So basically at this point, just stay tuned...
Monday, June 8th, 2009
This week Audrey is releasing several new scrapbooking templates. I used one of them to make the layout below for Faith. Journaling reads:
Faith never really went through one of those phases where kids are overly clingy to their parents. She is always around so many different friends and family that want to play with her and dote on her, and she willingly embraces them all. But when she is really tired, or if she falls down and gets hurt, no one can comfort her quite like Mommy. She’ll happily accept any playmate that might be handy, but nothing can be substituted for the security and love she feels when she is wrapped up in Mommy’s arms.

For credits and more info, please check the scrapbooking section.
Sunday, June 7th, 2009
Today has been a very busy Sunday for us. At church Faith was promoted from the nursery to the Little Rocks kids group of 2 and 3 year olds. They had her go up front and gave her a certificate, and then had her dance along while the other kids sang their songs. It was so cute! I can harldy believe she is almost two, but she is going to have a blast in the Little Rocks class.

After church, the Pickens' ladies and Pickens' to-be ladies went to Brittany's baby shower. It was a lot of fun, and we took Faith with us, which always makes things interesting. Brittany and Baby Chloe got a lot of great stuff, and it was just great to see everyone and visist for a little while.

After the shower, Jeanie and I went to the church picnic where the boys were already. They had a big cornhole tournament (which Bryce and Marvin won - way to keep the Picken's title guys. I also got a ton of cute pictures of Faith playing at the park. Hopefully, I'll be able to share a few of those shortly.
Saturday, June 6th, 2009
This morning Kyla and I ran ten miles! This was the first time we had tried this distance, so we were both a little worried about how we'd do, but it went great. We both felt really good, and averaged about 9:37 minute/miles. Half marathon here we come...

Friday, June 5th, 2009
Highlights of the week...

1.)Evan. We have had Evan for a little over a week now, and it is so much fun. I have memory cards full of pictures of tee ball, bug finding missions, playing at the park, Burger King trips, and just everyday fun. I'm trying my best to write down all the funny stories and the creative one-liners he comes up with, so hopefully I will have some fun, new Evan scrapbook pages very soon.

2.)Kyle and Katie got engaged. Kyle is Nathan's cousin, and he proposed to his girlfriend, Katie Wednesday night. Katie is super sweet and will be a wonderful addition to the family. If you have been reading the blog very long, you might notice this is like the 5th or 6th engagement in the last month or so. I'd say we'll be attending our fair share of weddings next year.

3.) Wes, Tara, and Faith made it back from the beach. Sounds like they had a wonderful time. Faith came back with her first freckles. They are little tiny, but are so cute! I'm hoping to capture a couple good shots of them before they start to fade.

4.) My laptop. I had been researching laptops for week's now, and I finally ordered one this week. I am so excited about it, and check on online Dell status constantly. How long can it seriously be "In Production"???

5.) Anniversaries. This week Nathan and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary and got to spend some nice quality time together. Today is my parents' 29th Wedding Anniversary. In this day and age, I feel pretty luck to have two parents that have always been there for me, and that have provided such a wonderful example of a loving and happy marriage. I love you both! Happy Anniversary!
Thursday, June 4th, 2009
Yesterday, Nathan and I decided to get some chocolate covered strawberries for our anniversary. We went ahead and got a dozen, so that we could share some with the Fam. When we offered one to Evan, he was pretty excited to say the least. He kept saying, "Oh Nathan, you're my best friend. Oh Nathan, I'd do anything for you." His mommy, who is already back in Philadelphia, is a huge fan of Holl's strawberries, so we thought we would take some pictures of him eating it, so she could enjoy them vicariously through him.

picture coming soon
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
First off, I ordered a new laptop today, and I am pretty excited about it. One might even say I'm totally geeked about it (Channeling my pea pal Jodi there).

I did this layout last night for Faithers using Audrey's cool new word masks.

For more info and credits, please check scrapbooking section.
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
Three years ago today, all of my dreams came true. Three years ago today, I married my best friend and my one true love!

Today was Nathan and my third wedding anniversary. Some days it hardly seems like it has been three years since we said 'I do' but then again, it feels like we've been in love forever. We had a really good day together. We both left work a few hours early. We went out to eat at Applebees, we stopped at Holl's and bought some of their delicious chocolate covered strawberries, and of course we took our annual anniversary picture.
Monday, June 1st, 2009
I ran with the River City Runners tonight. They are a big group that get together on Monday nights and train for the half marathon. We did a five mile loop, which for me now should be no big deal, but it ended up being a pretty good work out. The whole process was little more disorganized than I expected, but hopefully that will get better as the summer goes on.

This week I am working with Audrey's sale items, and as soon as I saw her Love Wrangler kit I immediately thought about these older pictures of Evan dressed up as a cowboy riding a pony.

For more info and credits, please check the scrapbooking section.
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
Tonight, I decided to use Audrey's sale kits for this week to make a layout for Evan.

Journaling reads:
Evan loved coloring Easter eggs. First, he dipped them in the dye, and then painted each of them individually with the sponge. I just love the look of concentration on his face.

For more credits and more info, please check the scrapbooking section.
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
that's right! My favoritest little buddy is in town! This is a quick snapshot of him that I took tonight during our bug search. He's proudly displaying the gnat that he caught.
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
Audrey's new kit this week is called Sweet Celebrations, and it coordinating quite nicely with my pictures from Faith's 1st Birthday. This one is about her opening her presents, but I might end up doing another one where she is eating her cake, because this kit is filled with some really cute cupcake type elements and papers too. I can hardly believe that in less than a month Faithers will be celebrating her 2nd birthday!

For credits and more info, please check the scrapbooking section.
Monday, May 25th, 2009
I was inspired by Jodi's venting and decided to have a slightly different version of Five on Friday. One that I have decided to call Moaning on Monday. Instead of the things I'm liking this week, this is the stuff that is bumming me out.

1.) Jon & Kate + 8. Tonight's season premiere of Jon & Kate + 8 season 5 was sooo sad! For those of you that don't know, rumors have been flying that the couple is separated, that Jon is cheating, etc., etc. For the longest time, I simply dismissed all of these rumors. I always try to think the best of people, and always believe that things will turn out alright in the end. After tonight's show, I'm sad to say my optimism is gone. The two of them already talk like they are divorced and neither of them really seem like they are even willing to fight for their marriage. The two are clearly separated, and it doesn't seem like that is going to change any time soon. It broke my heart tonight when little Alexis was talking to her daddy, and telling him she missed him, and said, "Daddy, I don't want you to go away any more." I know it is a reality TV show, and maybe I shouldn't care so much, but it just kills me to see two people who once seemed so happy and so in love, to show such indifference for one another now. I'm praying that they can work things out!

2.) Movies these days. It's like they don't even make good movies anymore; even the few recent ones that were decent had horrible endings. In the last two movies I watched, either the main character or the main character's love interest dies. Please don't spend two hours making me feel attached to this character and then just kill him/her off. I'm not for this she grew as a person, and should be glad she had the experience crap. Whatever happened to happily-ever-after???

3.) Kroger's Slimfast bars. Our local Kroger's has been out of my Slimfast bar boxes for week's now. How long does it take to realize you are out of stock? Wal-mart would never let something like this happen! Even if they don't have a fancy barcode system like Wal-mart, how has no one noticed the big hole in the Slimfast section where the cookie dough bars belong?

4.) Allergies. I have lived with allergies for most of my life. I took shots for several years (which did me no good), I have prescription pills, nose sprays, and eye drops. I'm not really sure if it is because I have been running outside so much or if it is just something about the weather right now, but I have been pretty miserable for the last couple of days. My eyes just burn and itch all the time and no amount of eye drops or medicine seem to help.

Well, that is my venting for now... felt pretty good.
Friday, May 22nd, 2009
1.) Running. I ran nine miles yesterday, and it actually felt pretty good. Don't get me wrong - it was hard. I had to really pace myself read: run slowly, and I felt like I was dying the last couple laps, but I made it, and that's what counts. For those of you that don't know, I'm training for the half-marathon in August :)

2.) Andy and Hannah got engaged. Hannah is one of my dearest friends and was one of my college roommates. I lived with Hannah when she and Andy first started dating, so I feel like I've really seen their relationship grow.

3.) Chelsie and Joe got engaged. Chelsie is also one of the 224 girls, and is also one of my very best friends. I got to talk to Chels earlier this week, and she told me the whole story of how Joe proposed and some of the wedding plans. The wedding will most likely be on a beach somewhere, and Chels mentioned this one place that had a bright, pink house that they could stay in and use for the reception. For any of you that know Chels, you know quite how fitting having her wedding reception at a bright, pink house would be. Just so Chelsie, and I love it!

4.) Grandma and Pap arrived today. I love having them home for the summer months! I even got done with work early tonight and was able to go out and see them for a bit.

5.) It's a holiday weekend! I love Fridays when I know I have another 3 whole days off.

Thursday, May 21st, 2009
First off, I want to say a great big woo hoo for Kris becoming the new American Idol. I think Adam has an amazing voice, but I was super excited that Kris won. All day yesterday, people kept asking me who I thought would win, and I would say Kris. The response every time was, "Not who you want to win, who you think will win." My answer was still Kris. I really thought he could do it. Did anyone else see him and his wife hugging at the very end of the show? How sweet was that!

Here is my latest layout. It is some older pictures of Evan when he was at the beach with Pap and Grandma. I used Audrey's sale kits for this week.

For more info and credits, please check the scrapbooking section.
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
One more of Jacob. I promise I will have the whole gallery ready pretty soon.

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
I'm now processing all of the pictures from Jacob's smash the cake session, and smash the cake he did! I have seen several one year old's eat their first cake, but I have never seen any that went at it quite like Jacob. By then end, he had that cake everywhere. It was so funny! We did the cake at the very end of his shoot, and he was actually getting a little tired, but after the first couple of bites of icing, he perked right up.

I've posted all of the other ones and some of the cakes pictures to his gallery. I will continue to add pictures as I get them processed, so be sure to check back.
Sunday, May 17th, 2009
Since right now my blog will only let me upload one photo per post, I thought I would spread Jacob's sneak peaks into a couple of different posts. hint, hint to my design and development staff, who keep promising me new features

Saturday, May 16th, 2009
Today we had Jacob's photo shoot, and I'm happy to report that it went really well. He put up with us through several outfit and backdrop changes, and was really fun to shoot. He is such a happy, cute baby. I'm still going through the couple hundred pictures that I took, but here is a sneak peak at one of them.

I warned you he was cute!
Friday, May 15th, 2009
The five things I'm liking this week:

1.) My new running buddy. Kyla called me this week and asked if she could go running with me on Saturday. She is home from college for the summer and is hoping to run the half marathon in August too. I can't tell you how excited I am to have someone to train with!

2.) WV Interstate Fair Concerts. Every year our local WV Interstate Fair brings in some country singers/bands to play in the evenings. They aren't always the biggest stars, but sometimes that have some pretty good entertainment or singers that are just becoming popular. Every year I get an order form early, so we can get good seats. This year I ordered tickets for the Zac Brown Band and Luke Bryan - both of which have a couple of really good songs.

3.) Best Days of Your Life. I'm the kind of person that when I find a new song that I love, I can listen to it over and over again on repeat. I'm that way right now with Kellie Pickler's new song, Best Days of Your Life. It is just kind of fun song that she co-wrote with Taylor Swift who I'm also a big fan of. You can read the story behind the song and watch the video here.

4.) Jacob's photo shoot. Tomorrow afternoon I am taking some pictures of our friend Melissa's little boy, Jacob. He is turning one in a couple of days, and we have a full day of pictures planned for him. He has big blue eyes and curly blond hair, so get ready for some serious cuteness!

5.) Emma. As I was processing some of the pictures from Mother's day, I keep coming across this picture of Kris and Emma, and every time I see it, it just warms my heart. Emma in Nathan's younger cousin, and she was born with some very serious heart problems. Poor little thing has been through countless surgeries and all kinds of therapy and treatment. When we have large family get togethers, they don't normally get to stay very long, because Emma gets upset easily when there are a lot of people in a crowded area or just a lot of stuff going on. But little Emma has come a long way! She and her mom got to stay all day, and Emma did wonderfully. It is a miracle that this little girl is still with us, let alone walking around, blowing kisses, and climbing stairs, no less! I don't have very many pictures of Emma, because I'm always afraid the camera or flash will scare her, but I'm so glad I have this one. I just love to see her and her mommy relaxing and enjoying the day.
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009
This is a layout of Nathan and I. The picture was actually taken just a week or two ago. I used Audrey's Branch and Berry kit.

For more info and credits, please check the scrapbooking section
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
This is another layout that I did for Evan using Audrey's Rockabilly Quickpages. I'm not usually a big quickpage fan, but these are so cute! Plus, Audrey is putting them on sale on Thursday, so be sure to check them out.

For more info and credits, please check the scrapbooking section.
Monday, May 11th, 2009
This is a recent layout I did using Audrey's Rockabilly Quickpages.

For more info and credits, please check the scrapbooking section.
Sunday, May 10th, 2009
We had a wonderful Mother's Day. We spent time with both families. We played some bocce ball and some corn hole, and just enjoyed the day.

I just want to wish all the moms out there a very Happy Mother's Day! Especially to my mom - You do so much for us, and I can never thank you enough. I love you, Mom!
Thursday, May 7th, 2009
Marvin and Jeanie have these plastic deer in their backyard that Faith likes to ride - its actually pretty funny. They don't move or anything, but she likes to sit on them.

Audrey releases new digital kits on Tuesdays, and picks some older items to put on sale on Thursdays. This week was my turn to work with the sale items, and this is what I came up with.

For credits and more info check the scrapbooking section.
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
Audrey asked me to design a new blinkie for her AUDacious designs website.

For those of you that don't know what blinkie is, basically its an animated image that people use to advertise something that they support or like. Kind of like a bumper sticker for the Internet. People add them to their websites or in their signatures on forums. Their kind of fun to make.
For this one I used the Photogenic collab kit
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
One of the thing I like best about where I work is my cross stich group. Any time someone in the office is going to have a baby, we pick out a cross stitch pattern, and each of us do a square. Once all the squares are finished one of us put the squares together in a quilt, and we give it to the mommy/daddy to-be. I finally got around to editing the pictures from Eli's quilt. This was the second quilt we did for Mandy (some time I will have to share the pictures from Meredith's too.) The pattern was called Endangered Young'uns and all of the patterns were of baby endangered species. Since Mandy is one of my very best friends, I put this one together.

You can check out some more pics and a better look at all the squares here.
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
One of my fellow peas, NDJane shared a Photoshop action with us all today, and I wanted to share some of the pictures I tried it out on. These were just some snapshots of Faith, but I really like how they turned out. If you are interested in the action, you can download it here.
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
Tonight I tried another recipe that my pea pal Jodi shared with me. I'm not really a big fan of banana bread, but I knew my mom was. Plus, it gave me the opportunity to use my new, pretty Paula Dean stoneware loaf pans. I made one with pecans and one without. I think they turned out pretty well.
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009
I have some pretty exciting scrapbook news to share. A few days ago, I mentioned this new blog that I found. Well, the author of the blog is also a digital scrapbook designer, and she recently posted a call for applications for new members of her Creative Team. For those of you that aren't scrapbookers, a creative team is a group of scrapbookers that have access to a designer's products before they are released for purchase and create different layouts and such for promotional materials. Anyways, and I hope you see where I'm going with this…, I applied and was chosen to be part of her Creative Team. I am so excited to be a part of this process, and I can't way to see what all comes out of it. If you want to read my new CT bio or find out more info about the other ladies that were chosen you can read all about it here: Audacious Designs Creative Team

I decided to go ahead and share my bio image here. It was designed by Audrey, using her Photogenic collab kit
Monday, April 20th, 2009
Let me start off by saying, Nathan and I are not pet people. Neither of us gushes over little furry friends and neither of us have ever had the desire to have a pet or the inconveniences that come with taking care of one. Having stated all that, I'm now going to tell you we have a cat. I like to think that he adopted us instead of us adopting him. This little guy had been wandering the road in front of our house, crying at each doorstep for a few days. One night as we were entering our house, he was at our front porch, crying. Not just a regular cat cry, but a sad, pathetic whimper. I said something like, "poor little thing is so skinny, I'd feed him if I didn't think it would lead to him never leaving." Well, that was all it took. The big, kind heart that resides in my husband noticed how skinny the little guy was and immediately went to get him some milk and a can of tuna. He went to town on that can of tuna like it was the first thing he had eaten in a year; we were pretty sure he was going to try and eat the can. We left his food and milk on the back porch, and went inside to fix ourselves something to eat. Half way through dinner Nathan announces, "I think I would like to name him Milo." I replied with, "Milo it is then." We think he used to be someone's house cat, because he has no front claws, and his tail has been bobbed. We're not sure if someone is missing him or if someone just left him to fend for his own outside. There have been a few times when we will hear him crying outside, and some other cat or dog has had him pinned in a corner. We're pretty worried about how he is going to protect himself without any claws. We're thinking about calling the Humane Society just to see if anyone has reported him missing, but we don’t want them to come and take him if they are just going to keep him in a cage or eventually put him to sleep, so for now we are still checking into things. As I anticipated, every day since that first night Milo comes by when we get home from work and cries for his dinner. For awhile we just gave him what we happened to have in the house: tuna, a little milk, some leftover turkey, etc. Tonight we not only bought him cat food, but also a little house. I would say that makes us official cat owners.
Sunday, April 19th, 2009
I'm not sure if I have mentioned it before or not, but my pea pal Jodi actually went to a culinary school, which is great, because I know nothing about cooking. A fact that both my mother and my mother-in-law can attest to based on the 15 phone calls they both receive every time I go to the grocery store to try and buy ingredients. Did you know that baking powder is not at all the same thing as baking soda? Something I learned this weekend – thanks Jeanie! Anyways, back to the point of my post… tonight I had the opportunity to try the calzone recipe that Jodi shared with me. They actually turned out pretty good. Tonight we just made traditional pepperoni, cheese, and pizza sauce calzones, but I think this recipe would be pretty good with other ingredients too. Although mine were probably a bit messier looking than hers would have been, I thought I'd share some pictures anyways.
Friday, April 17th, 2009
1.) Girls day out - Mom and I went to Columbus yesterday. We had to pick my Grandma up at the airport, so we figured we might as well get some shopping in first. We had a blast, like we always do! I got a new stainless steel trash can for the kitchen, a new pair of shoes, fabric for a new quilt, my "should have been Easter dress", a few other items, and a wonderful day with my Mom.

2.) Tomatoes - Tonight Nathan and I put together our Topsy Turvy Tomato Plant. For awhile now we've been wanting to have a garden, but we just don't have a good place for it at this house. So I decided to compromise and try the hanging plant idea. We never knew there were so many different kinds of tomatoes. We decided to go with Better Boy and Beefsteak tomatoes for no particular reason. I'll be sure to let you know how my hanging plant experiment goes. unless I end up killing them, in which case I will probably never mention them again and hope that you all forget I ever planted them :)

3.) The Defining You class. I wrote about this class that I won yesterday, but I have been reading through some of it today, and I am even more excited. It's all about describing the characters in your life and has some great ideas for journaling. The class also comes with several scrapbooking templates.

4.) Tech support - The head of my Internet Operations Division (aka my brother) has been working on some upgrades for the website. He's making the whole thing a little more user-friendly for me, and hopefully adding some new functionality like allowing my readers to leave comments.

5.) I found out this week that John, Michelle, and Evan are coming into visit at the end of May. I miss Evan so much and hate the fact that they live so far away, so we always really cherish the time the times they come in town. In honor of their upcoming visit, here is my latest Evan layout.

The journaling reads:
Evan had recently started taking swimming lessons, so during his visit to West Virginia we took him to DuPont Park, so he could show off his new skills. He did such a good job! He swam back and forth from one side to the other. As he stopped at one side of the pool to catch his breath, a couple of young ladies stopped by and said, "You are such a good little swimmer. How old are you?" As loudly and proudly as he could, Evan announced, "I'm four and my mom's forty." The ladies burst out laughing. I looked over at Michelle who was on the other side of the pool deck blushing and shaking her head. What the women didn't know was that Evan and his mommy share the same birthday. So I explained to the ladies that every year they celebrate their birthdays together, and I think that's why he associates the two facts together.

The mini colored tags say: funny, the darndest things, HONEST, and mom and me

For credits and more information check out the scrapbooking section.
Thursday, April 16th, 2009
The NA-FUN layout that I did was part of a contest that they were having at Simple Scrapper, and today they announced that I won! You can read about the announcement here. My prize is a free enrollment in the We Are Storytellers Defining You class. I'm really excited about the class, and hopefully soon you will see some new layouts with all the new techniques I learn.
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
So I recently happened upon this new blog. I love how she focuses on the storytelling side of scrapbooking. She even offered this challenge and freebie kit/template which is what I used for the layout below.

Journaling reads:
Sometimes when I'm being silly I like to replace the 'TH' in Nathan's name with an 'F' and pronounce it Na-fun. I'm not really sure how it started, but I think it suits him well. Everything is more fun when Nathan is involved. He lets me be me, no matter how goofy that may be. Not only does he let me be silly whenever I want to, he never hesitates to join in the fun. It makes me think about the Gilmore Girls episode (every one of which he watched with me) when Dean is explaining to Max the secret to understanding the girls. Nathan doesn't just laugh at me, he goes with my bits, and I love him for it. If I randomly break out in a dance, he dances too. If we are riding in the car and I make up a ridiculous song, he chimes in with the second verse. I've always said being married to Nathan was like having a sleep-over with your best friend every day. I love the carefree, silly side of Na-fun, and I'm so glad I get to share all of my fun times with him.

The bottom (white) journaling block is the actual quote from Gilmore Girls:
Dean: Oh, and uh, go with their bits.
MAX: Their bits?
DEAN: Yeah, like, if you're eating pizza with them and Lorelai decides that the pepperoni is angry at the mushrooms because the mushrooms have an attitude and then she holds up a pepperoni and the pepperoni asks for your opinion...don't just laugh. Answer the pepperoni.
MAX: Answer the pepperoni.

For credits and more info check out the scrapbooking section
Sunday, April 12th, 2009
Happy Easter everyone! I hope today you can find comfort in knowing that you have been forgiven of your sins and rejoice in the fact that JESUS is Alive!
Friday, April 10th, 2009
Five things I'm liking this week...

1.) Excedrin Migraine: This stuff is seriously a wonder-drug. It must have been made for the exact kind of headaches that I get. I woke up at 6:30 this morning with my head thumping. After an hour of slipping in and out of conciousness each time waking up with my temples about to explode, I finally forced myself to go down stairs and take some excedrine. After 20 minutes of laying there with my eyes closed and pillow on my head, my headache was gone, and I was ready to start my day. Not only did I start my day pain-free, but with a super boost of caffeine. And since I don't normally drink anything with caffeine, it was quite a productive morning :)

2.) My parents came back from Florida on Tuesday: I was glad that they got to take a little vacation and that they got to visit Grandma and Pap. But I am even more glad that they are home. I find myself having things to tell or ask my mom off and on all day long, and I just like having her around. And what little girl doesn't feel safer knowing that her Daddy is only ten minutes away.

3.) My women's Bible study: This was the last week of our ten week study of the story of David. I have really enjoyed the study, and I feel like I have learned so much. If you are ever looking for a good bible study to follow, I highly recommend Beth Moore's. I can hardly wait until the next one starts up in the fall. I hope we all strive to have A Heart Like His

4.) Running: I ran seven miles on Saturday, and it felt so good. I wish I had time to run like that everyday. I'm glad it is finally getting warmer (I am choosing to ignore the two days that it snowed this week) and that I can get outside and just go.

5.) Spring cleaning: OK, so I don't actually like cleaning, but I do like the effects. Nathan and I have been cleaning out cabinets and closets and really getting our house organized. I've made some commitments to try and keep certain things neat and clean - dishes out of the sink, not dropping stuff in the entry way, keeping up with the laundry, and bringing my clothes downstairs each day. So far Nathan and I both have been doing a pretty good job, and I'm proud of us.
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
This is a recent layout about Faith. Right now she is the only one I have, and I can devote my full attention to her. It is crazy how much I love her, and I wanted to make a layout to let her know just how special she is to me.

Credits and more info in the scrapbook section
Thursday, March 26th, 2009
Tonight I decided to try another Tilapia recipe. This one used parmesan, so it's probably a few more calories than the other one, but still pretty decent. It actually turned out pretty good. I made it with some parmesan noodles and spinach. If you are interested in trying this, you can find the recipe here.
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
Lately I have been trying new recipes. We had some tilapia in our freezer that needed to be used pretty soon, so tonight I tried Baked Tallopia. It turned out great! The fish and vegetables were both delicious. I'm not a big fan of fish, but this really didn't have a "fishy" taste to it.

If you're interested in giving it a try you can find the recipie here: Easy Baked Tilapia
Tuesday, January 13th, 2009
This is a layout about Nathan and I on our wedding day. I love this Big and Rich song, and I thought it was perfect for how I felt that day.

Credits and more info in the scrapbooking section.