Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
One of the things that I love about 2Peas is the awesome digital scrapbooking community! I have some really great digi friends there, and they always come up with great challenges for us to all play along with. Recently we did a digial morph scraplift challenge. It's kind of like the telephone game, but with a layout instead of a message. Each person does a layout and then passes it on to the next person in the chain. That next person scraplifts the layout and makes her own version of it, and then passes it on to the next person. You only see your layout and that of the person before you. It's really neat at the end to see how much the layout has changed with each turn. If you want to see the entire chain, you can check it out here.
Below is the layout I did for the morph. For credits and more info, please check the scrapbooking section.
Below is the layout I did for the morph. For credits and more info, please check the scrapbooking section.
Sunday, June 28th, 2009
I've been meaning to share some of the new recipes that I've been trying, so I decided to recap some of them on a Supper on Sunday entry.
I've found several turkey burger recipes; this one was for stuff turkey burgers, so I thought I would give it a try. It was actually pretty good. It was stuffed with mozzarella cheese and roasted red peppers. Our favorite turkey burgers recipe is still the one out of the P90X recipe book, but this one was definitely worth trying. If you want to give it a try, you can find the recipe here.
I've found several turkey burger recipes; this one was for stuff turkey burgers, so I thought I would give it a try. It was actually pretty good. It was stuffed with mozzarella cheese and roasted red peppers. Our favorite turkey burgers recipe is still the one out of the P90X recipe book, but this one was definitely worth trying. If you want to give it a try, you can find the recipe here.
Saturday, June 27th, 2009
Today we celebrated Faith's second birthday. The day was filled with great food, little swimmers, chasing bubbles, hitting pinatas, opening presents, and enjoying little laughs. Faith was dressed like the little princess that she is, and there was no question who the birthday girl was..
Friday, June 26th, 2009
Noteworthy items from my week...
1.) Laptop. My laptop finally came!!! It actually came much sooner than the last updated estimated delivery date that Dell gave me, so either all of my complaining helped or they just don't know what they are doing. I'm still pretty peeved about their customer service, but so far I really like that laptop.
2.) More power to the computer geeks. Last week I talked about how lucky I am to have computer geek friends that stock pile spare parts, and this week they came through for me again. The video card that my friend gave me last week came with an onboard fan, but the fan required its own power adapter. I had an extra power cord in my PC, but it couldn't quite reach to the video card. I looked at some places online, and it was going to cost three times as much as the cord cost to have it shipped to me. Sure enough one of my coworkers said he had an extra one at home that I could have. So now my new video card is hopefully staying cool and happy.
3.) Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcettt both died yesterday. Both were Hollywood icons and it's just so crazy to hear about them both dying so young. Farrah obviously had been sick for awhile battling cancer, but Michael's death was a pretty big shock to everyone. I've watched some of the documentaries they had about him, and I honestly am starting to feel bad for him. Sounds like he had a pretty traumatic childhood.
4.) Time off. Today marks the first of my ten days off from work. Nathan and I took a few vacations days, and I'm really looking forward to relaxing and getting some stuff done around the house.
5.) Audrey has been sharing a ton of new kits this week, and I'm taking full advantage of my new laptop to scrap with them. The layout below is made with her Starry Night kit that is part of her BOGO sale this weekend at We Are Storytellers
For credits and more info, please check the scrapbooking section.
1.) Laptop. My laptop finally came!!! It actually came much sooner than the last updated estimated delivery date that Dell gave me, so either all of my complaining helped or they just don't know what they are doing. I'm still pretty peeved about their customer service, but so far I really like that laptop.
2.) More power to the computer geeks. Last week I talked about how lucky I am to have computer geek friends that stock pile spare parts, and this week they came through for me again. The video card that my friend gave me last week came with an onboard fan, but the fan required its own power adapter. I had an extra power cord in my PC, but it couldn't quite reach to the video card. I looked at some places online, and it was going to cost three times as much as the cord cost to have it shipped to me. Sure enough one of my coworkers said he had an extra one at home that I could have. So now my new video card is hopefully staying cool and happy.
3.) Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcettt both died yesterday. Both were Hollywood icons and it's just so crazy to hear about them both dying so young. Farrah obviously had been sick for awhile battling cancer, but Michael's death was a pretty big shock to everyone. I've watched some of the documentaries they had about him, and I honestly am starting to feel bad for him. Sounds like he had a pretty traumatic childhood.
4.) Time off. Today marks the first of my ten days off from work. Nathan and I took a few vacations days, and I'm really looking forward to relaxing and getting some stuff done around the house.
5.) Audrey has been sharing a ton of new kits this week, and I'm taking full advantage of my new laptop to scrap with them. The layout below is made with her Starry Night kit that is part of her BOGO sale this weekend at We Are Storytellers
For credits and more info, please check the scrapbooking section.
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.
For credits and more info, please check the scrapbooking section.
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
This was the first week that I had the opportunity to work with one of Carina's new Collections. Today she is releasing her Garden Vignettes Collection at 2Peas. These are really beautiful papers and elements. Below if the layout I created with them for Faith.
For credits and more info, please check the scrapbooking section.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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… :)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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...
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.
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.
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!
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
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.
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.
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.
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.