Sick...ick

Looks like I might have caught myself a little bug, and not the cute little ladybug either. I was feeling great yesterday. I even went on a fantastic run last night and really pushed myself, but right before bedtime the sniffles started. Today I'm just feeling extremely run down and can't shake this need to sleep some more. So, off to bed I go. I'm bummed I can't share anything crafty with you today. Maybe I'll feel better tomorrow :)

The bandwagon came...

...and I jumped on! I've been seeing a lot of ladies use this poky kind of item to hold up their cards for pictures. Check out Dawn McVey's blog and you'll see what I'm talking about. Turns out that poky thing is called a "floral frog" and is used to hold down flower arrangements. I hadn't really given much thought to getting one, but then I came across one at Michael's the other day, and it leaped from the shelf into my little hand basket! They're jumpy little buggers...

While showing you all my new frog, I thought I'd also share a great find from Staples. I found these pens on clearance for $2 (with tax). They're perfect for keeping in your purse because they're only four inches tall, but better yet, they're ideal for including in handmade paper crafting stationary sets. At 40 cents a piece, you can't beat it!

Today, I'm pooped. I ran nearly three miles last night in the sweltering heat (it's still around 90F when I go for my runs in the evening time) and my body is letting me know that we had a good workout. I'm actually going to get crafty now since I have some pre-orders to fill. Pre-orders of what, you might ask? Well, here's another sneak peek.

I can't wait to share what I've been up to!!

Tiger Love

Today I'm sharing another layout from the San Diego Zoo trip. I've been using all 4x6 pictures on my pages so far since that's what I had printed out at Costco a couple of months ago. I'm naturally simplistic and clean in my designs; hence the use of a lot of straight lines. This particular layout tells the story of my BFF's love for tigers. While she was on the prowl for these big cats, I was hunting down the hippos. I haven't done that layout yet, but I hope to soon!

I'm actually getting ready to pound pavement, so I'll blog at you all later!

I like the sound of crinkled plastic

Heaven help me it's true! The sound of plastic crinkling as I examine a new pack of paper at my favorite scrap store is just as alluring to me as the "cha-ching" of a slot machine is to a gambler. I was at Michael's yesterday and as I picked up the new Making Memories Halloween pack, I realized that the sweet sound of plastic crunching together in my hands makes me want to buy, buy, buy! LOL! My hubby chuckled at me as I told him this realization, and he likened me to Rebecca Bloomwood of Confessions of a Shopaholic. We had just watched that movie that night before, so it must have been fresh in his memory. Yes, not only does my hubby sit with me through chick flicks, but he tags along for the shopping ride, too. I'm a lucky girl :) I didn't end up buying the paper pack since I'm saving for other things right now, but I couldn't turn my back on these great stamps from Inkadinkado. I can't wait to unwrap them...

In other crafting adventures, I'm diligently working on making some really fun items to sell here soon. Here's a sneak peek.

Are these little guys cute or what?! I'm especially fond of this one.

Lastly, I have my panda bear spread to share with all of you. This layout is part of my scrapbook about my trip with my BFF to the San Diego Zoo last year. Who doesn't love cuddly panda bears?

It's back to the drawing board or bead board or design board...whatever it is, that's where I'm heading now. Ciao for now!

Hello world

Looks like I took an unintentional break from blogging! I've been enjoying the last few weeks of summer by hanging out with friends, scrapbooking, and running. We celebrated Memorial Day with the traditional pot-luck BBQ. Check out those ribs...yum!

Of course, I jumped in the pool with this cute little thing whom I've known since she was cooking inside her mama. She's quite the little water baby and enjoys spending time in the pool!

Just a few days before our BBQ, wildfires began to burn throughout our area. Actually, I wouldn't call them "wildfires" since that implies a natural event. These fires were set my mentally unstable individuals who have cost hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage, displaced hundreds of people and animals, and caused the death of at least two firemen. It's been a sad time here, but we're fortunate that the fires only caused minor disruption to our lives. We had smoke blow over us for a few days making my evening outside runs impossible. Normally when I run, I have a gorgeous view of some rocky mountains right next to our house. (Note: these are NOT the mountains with the fires.) This is the view I see as I start my run.
As I head back home, I usually see the much larger mountains in front of me, the mountains that are still being devastated by fire. To show you how bad it got over here, I snapped a few pictures of the smoke blowing in one evening. You can see the enormous cloud of smoke making it's way over the house (note the blue sky to the right of the picture).

Turning around 180 degrees, you can still see the smoke cloud moving toward us from the southwest (the smoke was moving from right to left in the picture).

Just a few minutes later, you can really see the contrast between the sunset sky and the dark ominous cloud of smoke on the horizon. The silhouetted mountains are in the range of the large Station Fire that has burned nearly 161,000 acres, and is the largest fire in this area in recent history. As of the time of this blog entry, the fire is 93% contained and is expected to reach full containment by Saturday evening. All of this caused by one individual. Sad.

Remember in my last post how I said I had done some scrapbooking recently? I finally snapped some pictures of my layouts! I'll share them over the course of the next few posts. This first layout is about one of my favorite parts of my trip to the San Diego Zoo last year with my BFF - the birds.



This past weekend, my mom and I attended our town's first annual Fall Festival. The town provided a bus tour of historical sites which was really a lot of fun. They had vendors of all sorts and live music. Unfortunately, by early afternoon the wind had picked up and we were baking. At least my feet got tanned this time!

Lastly, I want to share my movie-BFF's new blog: Staci Layne Wilson's Kix & Flix & Pix. Like movies? Like shoes? If so, this blog is for you! Staci is an entertainment reporter who happens to l-o-v-e shoes. She combines her two loves into one fantastic new blog. Seriously, who wouldn't want a pair of leopard high heeled shoes? (Yes, that skinny little thing is none other than Staci herself modeling her fab shoes.)

And you have to go check out the story behind these bad boys.

My weekend is jammed packed with errands to run and stuff to get accomplished. I WILL be back in a timely manner to show you the other scrapbook layouts I made as well as share with you an endeavor that's been months in the making. That post will include a giveaway that you won't want to miss! Blog at you soon :)