Boy, wouldn't you like to know....

TGIF!

2012-01-20T15:13:00.000-06:00

Thank goodness it's Friday! I'm soooo ready for the weekend!

I'm to see a high school friend tonight! YAY! She just bought a new condo so I'm getting the tour and then we're staying in, having dinner and chatting! Is it sad that I'm so excited to go see an old friend and stay in?? lol

She's adopting one of our puppies! I don't know which one of us is more excited! (I'm pretty sure I'm the most excited because these little suckers are MESSY! I'm tired of bathing them....)

Aren't they adorable? They're Puginese (part pug/part pekingese). We only have six of them so if you want one, let me know! I'm ready for them to find new homes ASAP! lol NOW would be preferable....

I STILL haven't cleaned the rest of the hall cabinet from the last post....Jimbo has been home at night & for some reason he thinks he's more important than cleaning the cabinet. (Can you see me rolling my eyes?)

I've been working on a Lego blanket that I saw on Pinterest. This is one block. I think I need about 140 of these suckers....After working on it for 2 weeks, I have 30 blocks done. Yeah, it's going to take FOREVER but I'm really hoping to have it done by #4's birthday in the middle of February. Think I can do it?

Have a great weekend! I'll see you on Monday!

The $2.99 Closet Organization

2012-01-20T14:42:00.000-06:00

Remember those New Year's Resolutions you made? Well, I don't make resolutions persay but I do think of things that I would like to focus on changing in my life in the coming year....I guess it's technically a resolution but I would never call it that because that label just sets you up for failure! lol

This year's "life change" I want to make is to get my house organized. The main areas of my house are usually neat and tidy but anything that is hidden NEVER gets any attention. Well, that might not be true....I clean it and then 6 months later when it needs done again I put it off and off and off. You get the picture - right?

I've decided to conquer one small area at a time and work each night for a few minutes on it. I'll save the larger tasks that just can't be broken up into smaller jobs for the weekend.

The first area I've had time to tackle is my hallway cabinet. Yes, we have cabinets in our hallway. No, I've never seen them in another house before either. But they're AWESOME!

The only money I spent on this organization was $2.99 which bought that white shelf thingy. I'll probably buy a few more of them and some baskets for the towels (& some new towels). For now, I used some Tupperware to help keep them from falling off the shelf.

Anyway, here's the before (I forgot pics of the other side & my pics are dark because I was tired and it was night because I work during the day):

Pretty bad - huh? That's what happens when you have four boys who "don't know where anything belongs".

And the after photos:

Yes, when you have four boys (three teenagers) you NEED a pot that big! It is the 2nd most used pot in my house!

Still left to tackle:

I didn't have time to finish because I had to run pick Jimbo up from work early. I'm going to try to fix that nastiness tonight.....Wish me luck!

Homemade oven cleaner

2012-01-19T13:00:00.000-06:00

I've been reading lots of different ways to clean your oven on Pinterest and I truly NEEDED to clean my oven.

I have a self cleaning oven (actually, I have a stove with two ovens) but my kids and I have asthma and we can't breathe when the self cleaner is running. Jimbo tries to remember to run it when he's home alone but it's just not at the top of his list of things to remember.....

He finally remembered to run the self cleaner just after Christmas and the next night I made some of my infamous "chicken sh!t" (I'll share that recipe another time) and it boiled over. Oopsie!

This weekend, my mom was here and I baked cherry turnovers for breakfast on Sunday. Smoke was rolling out of the oven and my was absolutely shocked that I hadn't cleaned the oven.

So, when the oven cooled, I gave cleaning the oven with a homemade oven cleaner I found on Pinterest a try....

I sprinkled the bottom of the oven with baking soda and then sprayed it with vinegar. I let it sit for 15-20 minutes while I was browning hamburger for Sloppy Joes for lunch. Then, I wiped it out while the Sloppy Joes were simmering in their sauce.

What a difference! Try it! You'll be amazed!

Curly hair

2012-01-18T11:56:00.000-06:00

See all those curls? They're from a sock. True story.

I saw this on Pinterest a couple months ago. At first, I laughed and thought it was rather odd. Then I thought, why not try it? What do I have to lose besides an unmatched sock that was destined for the trash anyway?

The first time, I put my hair in the sock for a few minutes and used a blow dryer on it.....And I had some pretty good curls show up!

That night, I wore my hair in the sock all night while I slept and the next day I had even bigger curls! Whoa! How cool is that?

Now, a couple months later, Jimbo is begging me to wear my hair in the sock when I come to bed. LOL He absolutely loves it! He's always been a curl lover but I think his real love is not having to be careful about laying on my hair at night! And I have to admit I love it too! I don't have to get my hair pulled all night long (yeah, it's not kinky.....it just SOUNDS kinky....) because it's busy getting curled in my neat little bun.

The real bonus is.....I can just take my hair out of the sock and go to work looking like I worked hard on my hair. YAY! No time spent on my hair leaves more time for sleeping and we all KNOW I need my beauty sleep! :)

Yum yum! Honey Chicken

2012-01-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

When I went to Texas for business a month ago or so, I made a new honey chicken recipe for my kids and they LOVED it! They kept asking me to make it again but do you think I could remember where I found it? Or even what the recipe was? Nope! I finally found it again today.....

I know you're wondering how the heck I made this for my kids when I was working states away.....you weren't aware that I'm wonder woman? lol Yeah, I'm not. Surprise, surprise!

Actually, I always try to plan meals for the boys before I leave on my trip. I try to make sure it's stuff that they can prepare themselves because Jimbo isn't home when they need to eat dinner. I don't like to have them eat fast food every night while I'm gone because (a) it's expensive and (b) it's not good for them....But mostly (a). bwahahahahaha

Before I left, I mixed the sauce and put it in a Ziploc bag with instructions written on it in the refrigerator. Yes, I also left them a detailed list of instructions (including what day to eat it & which meal, where the chicken is in the freezer, etc.)....I went so far as to put the foods they'd need while I was gone into a special bin.....because after all, they're men and we all know men can't do anything on their own. Am I right?

This particular recipe was one that allowed Jimbo to toss the frozen chicken tenderloins in the crockpot before he left for work, dump the sauce on it and turn the crockpot on....Pretty much the ONLY kind of cooking Jimbo can handle. Seriously. The kids have fired him from cooking soooo many times....It's hilarious! (Jimbo doesn't think it's funny....)

Anywho, they've been wanting this chicken again and I couldn't find the recipe....But I just happened to stumble across it on Pinterest again and we'll be having it this week. This time, I'll actually get to try it! YAY!

Check out the recipe from Mmm Cafe....I dare you to make it for your kids while you're on a business trip!! :) They'll love you for it!

New focus on an old blog....

2012-01-16T10:44:00.000-06:00

I've been pondering this idea for awhile but recent events have made me realize it's time to do it! In the past few weeks, I've had several people tell me that they always thought I was a stay at home mom.....

I haven't been quite sure how to take that.....Is that a compliment or not?

The reason I'm not sure is because I have four boys, work full time with a rather ridiculous commute and a husband that works odd hours so he's rarely home when the rest of the family is home and my extended family doesn't live here. Heck, I even travel a few times a year for work. WHY would anyone think I was a SAHM? (Not that there's a single thing wrong with being a SAHM.....When my kids were younger, I was a SAHM but I'm not now and I can't quite wrap my brain around WHY people would think that? It makes no sense!)

DH says people think I'm a SAHM because I'm so danged good at everything that I make it all look so easy......I'm sure he's sucking up but hey, I'll take it! bwahahahahahaha

So I decided to revamp this old neglected blog of mine and document my daily life....Ya know, my life outside my full time job.....However trivial it may be.....

I'm really not sure what you'll see here.....I assume you'll see cooking, cleaning, crafting, organization, home decor, book reviews and probably just me being goofy but we'll see...You will definitely be seeing all the crazy stuff I've been trying from Pinterest!

I hope you join me for the ride! :)

Sassy Lil' Sketches Design Team Call!!!!

2011-06-16T15:24:00.000-05:00

It is that time again!

We are looking for a few talented layout and card designers for Sassy Lil' Sketches and Sassy Lil' Card Sketches.

How to apply for our August '11 to January '12 Sassy Team

Please send an e-mail to sassylilsketches@gmail.com with the following information:

1) specify LAYOUT or CARD DT in e-mail subject line

2) your full name

3) your email address

4) your blog address (or online gallery if you do not have a blog)

5) a short bio

6) one layout or card (depending on which team in which you are applying) based

on any Sassy Lil' Sketch/Sassy Lil' Card Sketch on our blogs. Please include the date of the sketch you used.

7) one layout or card (depending on the team in which you are applying) that showcases your individual style.

We welcome international applicants.

Sassy Lil' Sketches expectations:

1) Layout Sassies: Create one layout a month based on a Sassy Lil' Sketch.

Card Sassies: Create two cards a month based on

Sassy Lil' Card Sketches.

2) Share your monthly Sassy Lil' Sketch creation(s) on your blog and any online galleries which will allow you to do so.

3) Join our Sassy Lil' Sketches Forum. While active participation is not a requirement, it is encouraged. The forum is how we will communicate with our Sassy DT.

A note from us:

Our sketches are designed by Cherie to be shared with the scrappy world. We maintain the two sketch blogs for fun and inspiration. At this time there is no compensation for our Sassy DT members except the pure joy in inspiring others to create. We hope you will apply to be one of our Sassies!

Thank you,

Cherie and Katie

June Mid-Month Mix Up!

2011-06-15T08:41:00.000-05:00

Sara from a Piece of Scrap asked me to create a sketch for their Mid-Month Mix Up....Today is the 1st day!!!!

If you love circles, this sketch is right up your alley! If you create a sketch, make sure you stop by Piece of Scrap & post it!

Enjoy!

New Sassy Sketch Reveal

2011-06-14T10:23:00.000-05:00

It's the 14th & that means there are new sketches at Sassy Lil' Sketches!

I gotta say that I LOVE this one! Obviously, I'm partial to these sketches (for a good reason) but I LOVE this one! The design team really did some amazing work with it! You need to check it out!!

If you create a sketch using this layout, make sure you upload it somewhere online & share the link with us on Sassy! You'll be entered in the prize drawings! You can enter as many times as you want....You just need to create that many layouts using this sketch! Or create cards using the card sketch! We always have the most generous sponsors so if you win, you're definitely going to get something awesome!!!

Don't forget, we also have a card sketch up on the card blog! I'd love to add some followers on to that site so if you can share it with your friends, I'd be eternally grateful! ;)

If you're looking for a fun place to hang out, check out the Sassy forum! We'd love to have you there!

SLS June 7th Reveal & My 1st Ever Quilt

2011-06-08T11:59:00.000-05:00

It's another awesome month at Sassy Lil' Sketches! We just have the best sponsors! They're so generous it just amazes me - especially since we don't have any guidelines for a suggested prize.

Anyway, the June 7th reveal was yesterday on both the Layout & Card Sketch blogs and as always, I've come through with a couple fabulous sketches! ;) Can you hear the sarcasm in my voice? lol If you know me, I'm sure you can!

If you think I create fabulous sketches, wait until you see what the design team has done with them! WOW! You'll see, THEY are the fabulous ones!

Use the sketches to create a layout or card and link it up to the blogs to win one of the terrific prizes from our sponsors!! You can enter as many times as you'd like so get to scrapping/card making! You have all month!

___________________________________________________________

I have to admit that I've been slacking a little (okay, maybe A LOT) on scrapbooking and card making! It's a tad bit embarrassing to admit that I create all these sketches and I can't remember the last time I scrapped! EEK! But, I have a good reason....Really, I do!

I started quilting and sewing! YAY me!

Somehow, some way, sewing on my scrap pages/cards made me start sewing on fabric. If you know me a couple years ago, you would be totally shocked! In fact, the only reason I even had a sewing machine was because Jimbo built a play house out of PVC when I was a daycare provider and we needed to create the fabric cover for the play house.....And Jimbo sewed it! (True story!)

That machine broke last year after sewing on one too many scrapbook pages and Jimbo insisted on buying me a decent machine. My mom happened to be with us when we were shopping & she ended up with a machine too. I've since upgraded the "decent" machine I bought last year and so has my mom!

A few weeks ago, my mom and I took a class to become certified Sulky instructors. I don't know if I'll ever teach sewing "professionally" but I'm certain I'll be mentoring a few of my scrapping friends! I learned to free motion quilt at that class and I used that knowledge on this quilt....

So, here's my first ever quilt! I must admit I'm in love! I made it to sit exactly where it is.....On the new leather sectional. I have enough fabric to make some pillows to match. I think I'm going to try to find some more fabric to make another quilt to match....Not the same quilt but another quilt using that same fabric. That leather is chilly to sit on and we have a big ole' family so one quilt is NOT enough!

Thanks for looking! I hope you drop by Sassy Lil' Sketches to find your scrapping mojo!

Randomness!

2011-04-26T14:22:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! We had a terrific time! Although, it was interesting.....Jimbo tried to burn down the house when he was boiling water. Yes, water CAN catch on fire. Who knew? We do now. AND Parker swears that colored eggs lose their color if they get cold so we cannot take them out of the refrigerator.....

Yep, it's always interesting. lol

If you haven't checked out the new sketches at Sassy, make sure you do! We have lots of prizes to give away this month! www.sassylilsketches.com

February 28th Reveal at Sassy!

2011-02-28T00:00:00.000-06:00

Today is another Sassy Reveal on both the layout and the card blog! Make sure you check it out!

Here is today's layout sketch:

We have three amazing sponsors this month! The prizes they're giving away make it worth your time to create a layout or card and link it!

http://www.cosmocricket.com/

http://www.expressionsvinyl.com/

http://laurettasdigitalstamps.blogspot.com/

Easy Tiger....

2011-02-22T17:00:00.000-06:00

On my lunch hour yesterday, Jimbo, Levi and Parker picked me up for our lunch date. While we were driving, Parker and I were in the backseat and this pop can on the floor kept attacking me. Finally, I'd had enough and started smashing the pop can.

Parker held out his hand and said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy tiger!!!"

LOL The things that kid says......I'm wondering where he heard that!

Today is another.....

2011-02-21T09:55:00.000-06:00

reveal day at Sassy Lil' Sketches & Sassy Lil' Card sketches!!! Stop by and check it out!!!! The design team created some fantastic examples!

Sassy Lil' Sketches February 14th Reveal

2011-02-14T10:21:00.000-06:00

Happy Valentines Day!!! I hope you're getting spoiled today!

Check out the blogs to see the sketches! http://sassylilsketches.blogspot.com and http://sassylilcardsketches.blogspot.com

The Sassy Lil' Sketches sponsors this month are Expressions Vinyl and Laurette's Digital Stamps!

The Sassy Lil' Card Sketches sponsor this month is Cosmo Cricket!

You have until March 5th to complete your layouts and cards! I can't wait to see what you do!!!

Blog Candy!!!

2011-02-10T13:09:00.000-06:00

Brenda Rose from the Sassy Lil'Sketches design team is giving away some blog candy because she's almost to 300 followers!

If you can, please help her make it to 300 by signing up to follow her if you haven't already! You'll be helping yourself out too because Brenda is very inspiring! I love her!

http://roseblossomlegacies.blogspot.com/

Sassy Lil' Sketches February 7th Reveal

2011-02-07T00:00:00.005-06:00

What a reveal it is today!!! We have MORE exciting changes at Sassy! WOOHOO!

We've added a card blog! We'll be releasing weekly card sketches! The blog address is http://sassylilcardsketches.blogspot.com. You can access it from www.sassylilsketches.com too!

The Sassy Lil' Card Sketches blog will be awarding a monthly prize to a lucky participant! The rules are the same as the layout blog....

This week's layout sketch:

The Sassy Lil' Sketches sponsors this month are Expressions Vinyl and Laura's Digital Stamps!

This week's card sketch:

The Sassy Lil' Card Sketches sponsor this month is Cosmo Cricket!

You have until March 5th to complete your layouts and cards! I can't wait to see what you do!!!

The big 4-0

2011-02-02T12:49:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was my birthday! I am now the big 4-0!

I share my birthday with my oldest son, Levi. He was born on my 21st birthday exactly 21 years and 12 hours after I was born - to the minute! Weird - huh? Anyway, he turned 19 yesterday. I think I'm having a harder time with that than turning 40! It seems like just yesterday that he was a beautiful little baby boy. Now, he's a handsome man! EEK!

Jimbo went above and beyond this year! Saturday, he took me to Omaha for the night. It was extra special we haven't stayed in a hotel alone since before Parker was born. Actually, I don't think we've been alone overnight anywhere!

Plus, we went shopping! He bought stuff for me from Archivers, Sephora, Victoria Secret and Barnes & Noble! Hooray! Best of all, he bought me a Color Nook!

He surprised me with a carriage ride in the Old Market! It was incredibly sweet because we took the carriage through the park where we had pictures taken with Parker when he was just a tiny baby. Awww!

Afterwards, we went to a lovely Mexican restaurant and discovered we're incredibly old and stuffy! lol It seemed like everyone there was drunk! But the food was good! We're sooo old, we decided not to go to the bars or the casino like he had planned and went back to the hotel room and ate fried ice cream while watching tv in bed. But I wouldn't have had it any other way!

The next day, we went shopping a bit more. Then, we met the boys at Laser Tag in Lincoln and played a game with them to celebrate Levi's birthday. It was soooo much fun! I was the top scorer in the first game and I think the boys were shocked their momma whipped them! LOL Then, we went to lunch to celebrate Levi's birthday.

When we got home, the boys had MORE gifts for me! They gave me accessories I'd need for my Nook.....

Yesterday, Jim surprised me with flowers and a cake! He had a cheesecake for Levi. I cooked dinner for Levi and he chose steak with asiago cream sauce and bacon onion potatoes. YUM! Good choice, Levi!

I feel soooo spoiled! Thank you, Jimbo! It was a terrific birthday!

January 7th Sketch Reveal

2011-01-07T13:58:00.000-06:00

WOOHOO! The first sketch of the new year is up at Sassy Lil' Sketches!!!

Link your layout to the Sassy Lil' Sketches blog by February 5th for the chance to win prizes from one of our fabulous sponsors! Enter as many times throughout the month as you'd like!

Paper Sponsor:

Digi Sponsor:

If you're looking for a great place to hang out and meet new people, stop by our new forum! We're having a lot of fun in there getting to know each other and share ideas!

I'm so happy.....

2011-01-06T09:40:00.000-06:00

I actually scrapped last night!!! I can't remember the last time I scrapped!

Don't get too excited though.....I didn't actually FINISH the page! lol I was misting, printing, cutting and sewing so it took a lot of time. I'm hoping to finish up the details tonight and share tomorrow.....

YAY!

WOOHOO! It's finally time!!

2011-01-01T11:11:00.002-06:00

Katie and I announced the new Sassy Lil' Sketches Design Team today! I'm so excited! I can't wait to work with this group! They are all so incredibly talented!!! I feel so blessed!

I can't even begin to tell you how hard it was to pick this team. We received so many applications from people with amazing talent we were just shocked! Thanks for everyone who applied! If you didn't make it this time, make sure you reapply next term!

Even though I'm incredibly excited about the new team, it makes me sad because we had a fantastic team this last term and some of them are leaving. :( I can't thank you all enough! You were so wonderful and have done so much to help Sassy grow! I hope you all continue to hang out at the forum so we don't lose touch!

Thanks to you all!!!

Happy New Year!!!

Our Christmas Lights.....

2010-12-20T12:09:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!!!

This is our 2010 Christmas light display. We have 25,000 lights with 120 channels of animation. You can hear the music on your car radio while you watch the lights.

My blankie

2010-11-24T10:36:00.001-06:00

A couple weeks ago, Mom came to visit and we spent the weekend quilting. She is making a beautiful quilt for my bed (it's my Christmas gift) so she worked on that while I cussed my way through this minky "quilt".

After sewing the pieces for the front together, I decided I needed to add a ruffle to the edge. Mom had to leave about that time so I was on my own. I made the ruffle myself.....On my own. lol I'm not experienced enough to be doing that. Really. Not. Experienced.

Here's my first minky quilt:

I took this picture with my cell phone right after I finished it.....Notice it's already being put to good use? Yeah, there are two kiddos under it! My oldest and my youngest. That picture made all the cussing worthwhile....put a tear in my eye.

The sewing may be FAR from perfect but my minky blanket is L-O-V-E-D!

Now, everyone wants one.....I've already started another one! ;)

Hooray!

2010-11-22T16:40:00.000-06:00

The lights are working! WOOHOO! He's been having technical difficulties but Jimbo fixed 'em!

I've spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday programming the lights.....I'm supposed to turn them on tonight while Jimbo is at work and see what I think! I need to program the commercials but we're getting close!!! I'm sure we'll be ready by Black Friday!

YAY! I'm getting excited!

Santa Claus is coming......

2010-11-15T17:00:00.000-06:00

Jimbo turned some of the Christmas lights on for a test for the first time last night! WOOHOO!

For those of you that don't know, Jimbo has a Christmas light fetish! Seriously. A. Fetish. He puts up about 25,000 lights and they're controlled by over 100 channels on the computer. They dance in time to the music that plays on our radio station.

The first step is hanging them. Since we had so much snow last year, the lights were buried under literal feet of snow for months and we had A LOT of damage.....Which equals a lot of fixing.....Personally, I don't know HOW he deal with it! I helped separate the little trees and check to make sure they were working and I thought I was going to need do some heavy drinking to get through it! ;)

The second step is plugging them in. I know plugging them in sounds easy but imagine plugging in all those extension cords and making sure that each strand is plugged into the right slot. It's a hot mess!

The third step is testing them to make sure he got the cords right.....He had a few blue/greens switched around but he fixed it and I think it's good to go now! WOOHOO!

The fourth step is programming the songs......Usually, we program the songs first throughout the year but we decided to wait this year until they were all on the house. We'll see if this is easier......

I always complain about the lights but seeing them on is just so breathtaking that I can't help being excited!

I'll share videos when the lights are up and running! The show starts on Black Friday! ;)

Veteran's Day

2010-11-11T10:22:00.000-06:00

Please take a moment today to say

to all our Veterans!

James Averill, U.S. Air Force

Digi Images

2010-10-29T14:38:00.000-05:00

I think I'm going to start drawing some digi images.....I need to figure out a way to share them with you but this is what I did today. I have them in PDF, JPG and transparent PNG.

Do you like that idea???

Your newest Sassy sketch is up!

2010-10-28T09:50:00.000-05:00

I might be a little biased but I'm loving this sketch! I need to use it soon and so do you! If you link your layout to the Sassy Lil' Sketches blog by November 5th, you'll be entered in a drawing for a couple of fab prizes!!

The 21st Reveal is up.....

2010-10-21T09:25:00.000-05:00

at Sassy Lil' Sketches!

This is my layout from the sketch! I posted this on Creating Keepsakes and it was featured in their weekly gallery highlights awhile back. I was incredibly honored!

If you use the sketch, make sure you link it to the Sassy blog! We have some amazing sponsors again this month!

Don't forget the Card CRAZY! event we have going on....We're giving away an additional prize for that!

14th Sassy Reveal

2010-10-14T15:51:00.000-05:00

This month is flying by! It's already time for the 14th Reveal at Sassy! AND my brother is getting married on Saturday!

Here's the sketch:

Make sure you link your cards/layouts at the Sassy blog because you could win some wonderful prizes!!! This month, we have some seriously amazing prizes from Blue Hills Studio, Sassy Designs & Cupcards{ToGo}!

Card CRAZY! at Sassy!

2010-10-11T15:16:00.000-05:00

We revealed the 2nd sketch for our Card CRAZY month at Sassy Lil' Sketches!! Make sure you stop by and check it out! If you use the sketch, you could win a mini kit from Cupcards{togo}!!! Their kits rock! Definitely worth making a card or two for!

Here's my take on the sketch:

This is from the "Love is" cartoons.....Remember those? I used to collect them when I was a kid so I created this card for Jimbo and the inside has little "Love is" quotes.....He laughed at me but I think he liked it! lol

First day of college.....

2010-10-04T16:02:00.000-05:00

Today is my oldest son's first day of college!! YAY!

I'm such a scrapbooker that I made the poor guy suffer through having his "first day of school" photos taken this morning! If I remember, I'll share his pics later.

Since we have lots of colleges here, he's able to live at home this year and attend one of the community colleges. He's in the Transfer of Science Program plus an Associate of Arts in German. After the community college, he hopes to transfer to UNL to continue his science degree.

Big Milestone!

2010-09-29T18:42:00.000-05:00

A couple days ago, Parker lost his first tooth!!! YAY!

Sadly, he doesn't have an empty hole where the tooth was because his permanent teeth have been in for awhile now.

Here's the tooth:

And the proud little man:

He was so excited! The Tooth Fairy brought him $2!!!!

New Sassy Sketch!

2010-09-29T18:30:00.000-05:00

Here's the sketch:

If you create a layout using this sketch and link to the Sassy blog, you'll be entered in a prize drawing for a chance to win a Cricut cartridge from Memory Miser or digital images from Digital Designs!

Actually, you can use any of the sketches that were posted throughout September to get an entry. Yes, you can get more than one entry by using all the sketches or if you use a sketch twice!

In the month of October, we're going Card CRAZY at Sassy! Cupcards{to go} will be giving away one of their mini-kits! If you haven't seen their kits, go look now! They're fabulous! You'll want to win a kit!

Michelle's Blog Candy

2010-09-22T11:12:00.001-05:00

Holy schmoly! Michelle is giving away the new Spellbinders Label 15!!!! Visit her blog for your chance to win!

Isn't she awesome???? I think she's awesome! ;)

If you want another chance to win blog candy, Katie and I are giving away a Cricut cartridge from Memory Miser and some digi images from Digital Designs this month on the Sassy Lil' Sketches blog......Stop by for your chance to win!!

Here's the newest sketch:

You can use any/all of the September sketches throughout the month just link your images by October 5th!

Good luck!

Sketches 4 All Guest Designer

2010-09-17T16:47:00.000-05:00

WOOHOO! I'm the guest designer at Sketches 4 All during their Sketch-A-Thon!!!

I'm giving away a RAK to a lucky winner if you join and use this sketch! I have no idea what it will be but I'm sure it'll be something fun!!! I'd decide in advance but I like to get something for you that I think you'll like and use....

Anyway, here's the sketch:

Here's my take on the sketch:

Yeah, yeah....I only have one brother named Bert (if you're observant, you'll notice my brother's name is kinda funny) but I had two photos of him and four looked better than three! LOL So I went ahead and used it!

I hope to see you there!!

Scrapfreak Kit Giveaway

2010-09-02T08:29:00.000-05:00

RUN to JessicaBree's blog and enter her giveaway!!! She's giving away a Scrapfreak embellishment kit!

There are lots of ways to win.....One way is to use a Sassy Lil' Sketches sketch. If you use an August one, you'll be entered in our drawing too!! YAY!

http://jessicabree.typepad.com/weblog/2010/08/scrappy-giveaway.html

I'm Sooooo Excited!!!!

2010-08-27T13:55:00.000-05:00

If you're here for the Sassy Lil' Sketches blog hop, that post is right here.....Thanks for playing along!! I'm having so much fun seeing everyone's layouts/cards! Love it!

Why am I soooo excited???? Because I posted the two layouts I did for the Sassy Lil' Sketches blog hop on Club Creating Keepsakes earlier this week. Last night, I was absolutely SHOCKED to see that they've included my baseball page in their Gallery Highlights! WOOHOO!!

Check it out!
Club CK Blog

Sassy Lil’ Sketches “Hidden” Treasures Blog Hop

2010-08-23T00:00:00.004-05:00

We are having a Blog Hop…Sassy Lil’ Sketches (http://sassylilsketches.blogspot.com) style! We want you to get to know our new Sassies. There are some pretty fabulous prizes to win, too!
August 23rd through August 30th, 9 PM. EST.

The "Hidden" Treasure Blog Hop starts at Sassy Lil’ Sketches (http://sassylilsketches.blogspot.com) where there are two of our sassy sketches and rules for the blog hop.

Here's my take on my sketches.....

After visiting Sassy Lil' Sketches you can choose which Sassy you would like to visit next. We recommend visiting every Sassy because we have "hidden" treasure at four of our Sassies' blogs.

The Sassies:

Aimee (http://optimisticscrappiness.blogspot.com/)

Amanda (http://amandajonesblog.blogspot.com/)

Amy (http://gebmom.blogspot.com/)

Brenda B. (http://brendasscrappyblog.blogspot.com/)

Brenda R. (http://www.roseblossomlegacies.blogspot.com/)

Carla (http://www.carlarausin.blogspot.com/)

Cherie (http://boywouldntyouliketoknow.blogspot.com/)

Cheryl (http://cherylswindow.blogspot.com)

Christine (http://scrappinshimano.blogspot.com/)

Deanna (http://momentstocherish-deanna.blogspot.com/)

Debbie (http://www.scrapenabler.blogspot.com/)

Denise (http://lalasworldblog.blogspot.com/)

Isabelle (Zabou) (http://zabouscrap.canalblog.com/)

Jessica Bree (http://www.jessicabree.typepad.com)

Katie (http://scissorsspatulasandsneakers.blogspot.com)

Kelly (http://www.meluv2scrap.blogspot.com/)

Laura (http://www.findingthejoyineachday.blogspot.com/)

Martine (http://scrapcatslove.blogspot.com/)

Nancy (http://homesclscrapper.blogspot.com/)

Rebecca (http://houseofhenrie.blogspot.com/)

Sandra (http://buttonsandbowsandmore.blogspot.com/)

Shana (www.yayaprincessblog.blogspot.com)

Our awesome, amazing, and completely generous sponsors for Sassy Lil’ Sketches “Hidden” Treasure Blog Hop:

Xyron (www.xyron.com)

Thoughts 2 Paper (www.thoughts2paper.com)

Scrappy Jo (www.shopscrapbooksupplies.com)

Crop Stop (www.cropstop.com)

Apron Strings ( www.apronstringsdesigns.com)

Crop Chocolate (www.cropchocolate.com)

BoBunny (www.bobunny.com)

Back to School Photos

2010-08-18T17:59:00.002-05:00

Parker (1st grade)

Ladd & Parker

Ladd (7th grade)

Logan is in 11th grade but evidently, 11th grade doesn't rate 1st day of school pics because we didn't take any! lol Levi will start college in October.....I wonder if that will rate photos? Hmmm......

Operation $40K Giveaway

2010-08-10T13:17:00.000-05:00

Dannelle has a great giveaway going on her blog! Stop by and check it out!

http://operation40k.blogspot.com

You might wanna sit down......

2010-08-10T08:45:00.000-05:00

I'm sharing a page! I know! It's shocking!

A special thanks to my friends, Erin and Katie, who were sweeties and sent me a big box 'o goodies when I had my surgery back in March!!! The page is based on Amy's August inspiration sketch at Scrapfreak.

Scrapfreak also happens to be one of the August Sassy sponsors so if you like the kit at the Freak, you should create a layout/card (or 4) using my August sketches AND share them at Sassy!

Sassy Card Sketch

2010-07-14T15:21:00.000-05:00

The new card sketch is up at Sassy Lil' Sketches!

I'm loving what the DT did with the digi images from Peggy Loves Vintage! Don't you???

If you use the sketch, make sure you share it with us at Sassy because we have two GREAT prizes to give away this month!!! Snobby Walrus is giving away on of their awesome kits! And Peggy Loves Vintage is giving away some adorable vintage images! Those images are so cute on cards!

Hmmm.....Could we have the next Richard Simmons on our hands????

2010-07-09T13:31:00.000-05:00

This is what you get when our kid gets a CD in his kids' meal! lol

While I was checking this video out, I stumbled across this little goodie.....If you watch closely towards the end, you can see Logan hits Parker in the head with the bat. Check out Logan's face and hear Parker say, "Ow!"

Oopsie....

Welcome!

2010-07-08T15:42:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my first blog about me! I've had scrapbook sketch blogs for years but never one that I allowed you to see who I am or what I'm up to.....

I'd like to thank Katie for the name of my blog! I've been trying to think of something that fits me for a couple weeks now and just wasn't having any luck....So I asked Katie to help!

The "boy" in the name comes from the five boys I have. Alright, alright, one isn't technically a boy but he sure does act like it sometimes! lol

You can look forward to seeing stuff from all my adventures in scrapbooking, cooking/baking, sewing, crafting and maybe even a little home decor here and there....Along with more photos of my boys than anyone should be subjected to!

For now, I'll share the announcements I made for Levi's graduation in June....

I made all the announcements myself while I was on medical leave. I'd do a few steps of each card and take a break, do a few steps and take a break. You can thank Jimbo for all the stamping....I couldn't stamp without being in pain so that poor guy learned to stamp in a hurry!

This photo isn't a great photo because it was taken with my camera phone right before I mailed them....I realized I didn't have a single one leftover and he would never be able to remember them if I didn't take a pic right then! lol

I printed that background paper myself. I just typed the words in Microsoft Word and colored the background in. I printed it using our color laser printer. The strips of paper are from some line of 4th of July scrapbook paper but I can't remember what company it's from (maybe BoBunny?)....I used 4th of July paper because he went to NorthStar and the colors fit his school colors perfectly. ;)

Yep, that is sewing on those cards and yep, I sewed on each and every one of them! The picture is from Levi's prom night.....He liked that photo because he looked "fly".

The G is a stamp I borrowed from my friend. Jim stamped two for each card - one burgundy and one blue. Then, we punched them out and glued them together so they would be two-toned. The square is pop-dotted so they stand up a little. I printed the inside of the cards on the color laser printer....

Now I suppose I should scrap, bake or sew something so I can share it with you.....