End of the Year, end of a decade..

It's that time. Time to reflect back on the year past and look forward to the new year to come. This year is a little more special because it is also the start of a new decade. Lots of people are reflecting back to what was popular 10 years ago compared to now. It's funny how things change. For me, one year at a time is enough! I can't remember back ten years to reflect on them! LOL! Here's my list of reflections for 2009 and looking aheads for 2010.

As inspired by Ali E. and The Simple Womans Daybook.

Outside my window...Lots of snow and beautiful sunshine! It is winter in Iowa.

I am thinking...about reflecting on the last year and what I can do and will do for the next year.

I am thankful for...my husband, my family, my health.

From the kitchen...nothing today, we are eating out! But, lots of vegies and healthy foods are being served around here.

I am wearing...my hair in curls, make-up, my orange blouse, and my dark jeans! It is New Year's Eve!

I am creating...this blog post! And in general, lots of goodies for my Etsy shop.

I am going...out with my husband!

I am reading...a mystery novel. It is ok, not my usual, but something to keep my mind occupied.

I am hoping...that this next year is filled with lots of goodness for us both!

I am hearing...hubby getting ready to go. I need to get moving too.

Around the house...lots of creativity going on. And some cleaning up. Trying to simplify around here a little.

One of my favorite things...today is my socks! They are new, match my blouse, and they are very soft!

A few plans for the rest of the week(year): Lose weight, eat healthy, be happy, love my husband!

Happy 2010 everyone!

New Photos Listed

Got a couple of new photo prints up on my Etsy Site. Would love for everyone to check them out and spread the word!

Thanks everybody for your support and all your help in this!!

Just in case I don't post again for a few days-Happy New Year!

Awesome blog giveaway

Posting about this totally awesome blog giveaway! Would love to win these goodies!

http://wwscrapdivas.blogspot.com/2009/12/wild-west-scrap-divas-huge-blog-candy.html

What I made my Sister

Just wanted to show a couple of bookmarks I made for my sis for Christmas. I gave these to her along with a book and a Barnes & Noble gift card. Pretty cool if I do say so myself! LOL!

In fact, I like the one with the flower on top so much, I think I'll make a few to put in my Etsy shop!

The first one says Sisters rock! and the second one has her name on it.

Thanks for checking them out!

How was the holiday..

So Christmas is past and we all survived. Did you? Well, I hope so! LOL! It was a good holiday for us this year. We celebrated with my side of the family Christmas Eve as we usually do. Had some yummy soup and chili for supper and shared lots of laughs! Christmas Day was spent with hubby's side. Had a more traditional meal with ham and yummy pie. And, lots of kids and present unwrapping and game playing! It was good.

I received a few really good gifts this year. My sis got me a very pretty necklace! I love it! And, her and my step-mom picked out a nice wallet for me. I've been needing that! Hubby got me a gift card! Awesome! And a lens for my camera. We're still kinda working with that one but I think it'll be pretty cool! Plus, I guess there is another gift coming! So, I get to have a little "after Christmas" gift!

I hope that everyone had lots of fun, laughs, and love during their holiday!

On a side note-I'm working on a few things for my Etsy shop, so keep an eye out for that!

Twitter information

I just wanted to post this link to this website. This is a very informational article with lots of details and links. If you have any questions about Twitter or what to do with it, this article will definitely help you.

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/03/the-ultimate-guide-for-everything-twitter/

Cool stuff that I like

Here's some neat things that I have stumbled upon, come across, seen, and found recently. Thought it would be fun to share.

(Also, Honey, or Santa, if you are reading this, I may like one of these as a last minute Christmas gift or stocking stuffer.)

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Wreck-This-Journal/Keri-Smith/e/9780399533464/?itm=1

http://www.curiosityshoppeonline.com/172thingstodo.html - This is a little quirky, but looks kind of fun and funny!

There was also a calendar/journal that I saw at Barnes and Noble but I can't find it online. I can't remember the name of it and after going through about 500 calendars/planners on their site, I don't see it. Anyway, it was a planner type calendar but it was more of a journal with writing prompts in it and blank pages. Very cool.

Also, there are a ton of awesome things on Etsy! A ton! But here are a few things I have marked fav over the last week or so.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36583623

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28534617

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34988334

Ok, that's a pretty good list for today! Check out this cool stuff and let me know what you stumble across when you surf the web. Link it in a comment here so I can see it too.

Christmas is coming

I haven't done very well at getting stuff on this blog like I want to. Oh well. I have good intentions which means something right?! We did our Christmas shopping this past Sunday. We hadn't started at all and we got almost all of it done! And, it went pretty well! We went into the stores after making a pact with each other to remain calm and patient, take our time, and not expect to get done fast. This really helped our attitudes I think and we just slowly made our way through the stores and the crowds. Like I said, it ended up well. We have just a couple more little things to finish up and I think that's pretty awesome!

I did add a couple of new colors of tags to my Etsy shop today if you want to check them out. I am also going to offer a few vintage pieces. Looking to put those up later today or tomorrow.

Here is one site I found awhile back that is dedicated to Christmas organization and getting ready for the holiday. Has lots of good pointers, ideas, and references. Also, I think a lot of these things would be useful all year round. In organizing our lives in general and getting ready for other holidays or events.

http://christmas.organizedhome.com/simplify-your-holidays

That's it for me for now. I have some pics of something I made that I want to post but I don't have them edited yet. Hopefully later. Have a good Wednesday everyone!

Another show

If you want another chance to check out my MIL/SIL jewelry and some of my crafts, they will have a table at a show in New Hampton on Sunday. I'm not exactly sure if this is a craft show, or what it is. But, they will be at the community center in NH from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Sunday the 13th. They will have a nice selection of jewelry on hand for you to look at and probably some soaps and bath salts. I plan on having some Christmas gift tags available also. Feel free to stop by!

Prima goodies

It's that time again. Prima is displaying a nice collection of their goodies. By posting this display on my blog, I have an opportunity to win some of these goodies! Oh, how I wish!

I have A LOT to say

So, prepare yourself! Sit down, get comfy, grab a drink or a snack and get ready because this is going to be a long post! As you can see, I haven't posted since Thanksgiving and I have some stuff to talk about. Ok...

So, first off, the reason why I haven't posted. I have been sick! It all started the day after Thanksgiving with swollen glands and a stiff neck. I spent the next couple of days on the couch with a sore neck and throat and absolutely no energy! Then the cold symptoms really started kicking in. Sore throat, sneezing, nose blowing and even a couple of days with no voice! As if that wasn't bad enough then I got a cough. Now the crappy thing about this cough is the fact that it seems to hide all day and then in the evening and at night when it's bed time I cough and cough and can't stop! It really sucks and I am still experiencing it! And the worst part is not being able to get to sleep at night! I have had this cold for 11 days and it doesn't seem to want to go away. I'm better then I was, but definitely not 100%. If anybody has any sure ways to get rid of this cough and tickle in my throat, please share!

This past Saturday was the craft show in Fredericksburg. My MIL and SIL had a table there with their jewelry and soaps for sale. They did pretty well I guess. I was really impressed by the show. I didn't expect too much for a small town, but there were a lot of sellers and also a lot of people there shopping. It was a really good turn out and that was pretty awesome. Josta & Co. (their company name) had a nice looking table. Unfortunately they probably needed another table and weren't able to get one. But, their products were well displayed and looked really nice! They had some new jewelry pieces that I hadn't seen and they were really beautiful! Like I said, I guess they did pretty well on sales so that was good. Since I was sick all week I didn't get as much stuff made as I wanted. But, I did have some gift tags and some photos for sale at the craft show. Unfortunately I didn't have any sales but that's ok. Hopefully I got my name out there a little. That leads to my next story...

I made my first Etsy sale!!!! Today! I am so excited! I was posting my Christmas gift tags in my shop and I was in the process of putting up the second item when I noticed I had emails. And, the emails were a sale on the first set of tags I put up! This was in less then five minutes! OMG! I'm still bouncing off the wall about this! Hopefully this is the first of many sales! Not only on Etsy but in general. I actually had Denny put up a flyer at his work advertising my tags. So maybe that will bring me some sales too. Please check out my site and see my new tags that are for sale. Also, they can be custom made to any color/pattern so let me know if you want something different then what you see.

www.posdesigns.etsy.com

Let's see...what else? Christmas is coming and we haven't done a darn thing yet! LOL! I think we'll be doing some shopping this weekend. Just in time for all the snow and really cold weather! Great timing. But oh well. In fact, maybe tomorrow we'll set up the tree and some decorations since it's a blizzard outside and Denny will probably be home all day.

I've been checking out a lot of different Christmas related stuff online lately. Thinking to post about some of the best stuff I've seen. Maybe save that for tomorrow or another day soon. There's a lot of great ideas out there so if you need some ideas check out the web because you're bound to find something to help you!

Ok, so, that's probably enough for today. Hopefully got you all caught up on things in my life. Remember to check out my Etsy site and Josta's site too! Enjoy the blizzard and check back here soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I probably won't be on the computer tomorrow so I am posting today. I hope everyone has a good day, whether you are with family, friends, or unlucky enough to be working! No matter how you spend your day, remember to take a moment and reflect on what you are grateful for! I think that this is something we should do regularly, no matter what day of the year it is. But, with the thanksgiving holiday, it is a strong reminder to stop and reflect and be thankful.

I am thankful for my husband! I am a lucky woman to have him in my life! He is the best!

I am thankful for my sister! She is a sweet and beautiful young woman!

I am thankful for friends and family! Everyone I know is very supportive of me and that makes me happy and feel good.

I am thankful for scrapbooking and the creative outlet it provides me!

I am thankful for the computer and internet and how it helps me with my creativity and learn new things and also to communicate with people.

I am thankful for good food! I love food! Yummy!

I am thankful that monetarily we are doing fine. We have been lucky to not be affected by the recession.

I am thankful for many other things, but really, I can't post them all!

Again, Happy Thanksgiving to all!

New prints for Sale

I put up new prints on my Etsy site today! Please check them out! If you have any questions or anything, you can contact me on that site or through my blogs or email.

Thanks for peeking and please let me know what you think.

www.posdesigns.etsy.com

SWEET!

Ok, a couple of posts back, I posted about a giveaway that I was entering on Donna Downey's blog. Well- I WON! Yay! Yahoo! How very exciting! I can't wait to see the goodies I won. Lots of good scrapbooking stuff. The goods came from Blue Moon Scrapbooking http://www.bluemoonscrapbooking.com/

so check them out. And, check out Donna's blog and the goodies she makes too. This woman is awesome. http://donnadowney.typepad.com/

-So today I am thankful for giveaways! I have won a few and it's always very exciting and fun!

-I am also thankful for grapefruit! Yes, I know it's silly but I'm silly! LOL! Grapefruit is yummy and I am happy that it exists!

Have you checked out my MIL and SIL Etsy site yet? If you haven't, you should. They have added some more jewelry to their store and I really like a lot of it.

Josta & Co.

That's my post for today!

Today I am Thankful for...

Just in case you are wondering why I am posting these thankful posts, here is the story. It's all because of all of those blogging scrapbookers! There's a couple of sites that are challenging to post everyday what you are thankful for this month. Obviously this is something that should be done year round, but since it is the month of thanks, it is a little more out in the lime light. So, since there are these challenges going on, some of the women I read regularly are doing this. So, in turn, it leads me to think about what I am thankful for. I won't post daily, but when I think of it, I am going to try and get a post up. So, on to today's thanks...

-The local library. What a great way to get those books I want to read and not pay for them! Heck yes!

-My awesome washing machine! Just doing some laundry today and I am happy to have a good machine that works really well.

-My hubby! Seriously, I am thankful for him every minute of every day! : )

Entering a Giveaway

Donna Downey has a really awesome giveaway on her blog today! I am posting about it here so that I can get another entry and so that all of you know about it too!

http://donnadowney.typepad.com/

What's going on

We're trekking up to Rochester (MN) tonight to stay at a hotel because Denny has an early morning appointment at Mayo. Just a yearly check up everybody-don't get excited! But they want him there at 6:45 a.m. for heaven's sake, so we are going up tonight. He has one appt. early and then a second one at 1:00. So, we'll have a little time to waste in town. I'm thinking it sounds like a good time to hit the mall! Probably won't buy anything, but who can resist shopping?! Especially in a state where there is no tax on clothes! I also think that a quick trip to Michaels craft store sounds good too. I usually don't buy much there because I think they are expensive, but I still like to go look. And, you never know what might be on sale! So, that's our Friday.

Well, Saturday is going to be crazy too. We have "Thanksgiving" with our friends Sat. night and I have to bring dessert. So I will be making that during the day Sat. I'm going easy this year. Brownies and Carrot cake. Sound good? Sounds good to me. We also have a b-day party that night too. Conveniently they are both in the same town. But, still not sure how we are going to fit them both in at the same time! LOL! I'm sure we'll figure out a way.

We've decided that Sunday sounds like a good day to do nothing! LOL! Can you blame us? I'm sure we'll do a few things around home, but it will be a good day to relax.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend too!

Also, if you want to know-I am now on Twitter. I don't really understand the damn thing, but I'm on there! LOL!

twitter.com/posdesigns

I might post again later with some scrappy inspiration. Haven't done that for awhile.

Today I am Thankful for...

-My husband! He is super awesome all the time but especially so when I don't feel good. Last night I had what I swear was a migraine and he is so sweet to take care of me! Thank you honey! You make me feel better just by being there for me.

-Sunshine in November! The sun has been shining the last few days and it is lovely.

-Creating! I love to create and I love to see what others create! Inspiration is all around and I really enjoy absorbing it.

My Etsy is live

I finally have my Etsy site up and running! Yay for me! It is a lot of work to get that thing going. You have to think of all your policies and costs and rules and stuff. Ends up being a lot of work. But, hopefully worth it. I just have 3 photos for sale right now, but I plan to add more stuff soon. Probably some more photos and maybe some scrapbooking stuff. Mini albums or something. Not sure yet. I would love it if you would stop by and check it out. And let me know what you think! The link is on the side of my blog but here it is too:

posdesigns.etsy.com

Been spending time on getting this going the last few days. But, I also created my first jewelry pieces! That was fun and exciting! My SIL and MIL have been making jewelry and I wanted to give it a try but didn't want to buy a lot of stuff I wouldn't like. So, I hung out with them and made a couple of things. Like I said, fun, fun! Still not sure if I want to buy the goodies to make jewelry though. Probably don't need to invest in more stuff that I might not do, and that would crowd up the house! Well, we'll see I guess! LOL!

They are also planning on participating in the craft show in F'burg. So, I decided to make a few things of my own to try and sell too. Right now working on some Christmas gift tags and some cards. Not sure if I will make anything else, but this is a good start.

I believe the show is Dec. 5th. Not sure on times but if you want to know, I can sure find out and post it here. If you're in the area that day, stop by and check out our stuff!

Another Digital Page

I did another one! I'm kind of having fun with this! I actually made this one for a contest. It was fitting because the contest was to make a page with the title-I love your smile. And, here I have all these wonderful new pictures of my sister from our photo shoot last Sunday! How awesome is that?! So, I made a page about her! Very exciting! Let me know what you think of this one. I put a little more time into this one but I think it's a little better then my first attempt.

Supplies: Alpha-Marie Stones, free digital scrapbooking, Font-Lucida calligraphy, Flowers-Sande Krieger, Striped pp and border-Katie Pertiet, Dotted and Vine pp-Crystal Wilkerson, Journal spot-Jessica Sprague, and Black frame-Katie Pertiet.

Cards I Made

These are some cards I made for my sister. She asked me to make cards for the senior cheerleaders at her school. She is a junior this year and I guess the underclassmen always do something for the senior girls. I was honored to do this for her and her friends. I am excited that she asked me to do it and I want to say-Thanks Christian for thinking of me and thinking my stuff is cool enough! Anyway, she liked them, I like them, and I hope the girls like them!

Another Prima post of goodness

Again Prima is giving away a beautiful collection of goodies. All, I have to do is post their picture of goodness and let everyone know how yummy it is! LOL! Love this picture. I am really into orange lately and this is awesome!

Sharing with you today

This is what I made for Denny for our anniversary last month. It is actually a 6x12 LO page. I have never made one in this size. It was a lot of fun and pretty easy because I didn't have as much space to fill. That was partly why I did it that way. I was a little behind making this and trying to get it done for our anniversary, so I decided to try the smaller size and see how it went. Well, I like it and I think it turned out pretty cool! He liked it too and that's what matters to me the most! : ) Not sure about storing it yet. They make sleeves for pages this size, but I think I will just slip this one into a regular 12x12 and call it good. Thanks for peeking at this and leaving me your opinion!

Misc. cardstock, AC pp, MM journal pp, Colorbok journal spots, Prima pearls, Cats Eye inks, Zig pen, HP photo paper, Daisy D rub on tape, Tombow adhesive, texture and frame on photo digitally done.

Inspiration Friday

Let's check out some inspiration today. I haven't done this in awhile and it sounds kind of fun. Plus, I have found a few things lately that I am loving!

Cathy Zielske is designing digital templates and other things!!! Love this! I am not a big digi scrapper, but I am a big fan of her. Glad to see her out there with some new products and ideas. Check it out:http://cathyzielske.typepad.com/my_weblog/ or http://www.designerdigitals.com/digital-scrapbooking/supplies/products_new.php

I found this site through another site the other day. Can't remember how I got to it, but I am glad I did. It is for kids I guess, but I think it is kind of fun! Who doesn't like a little coloring break in their day? http://scrapcoloring.com/

These products! I took a class from Hambly at Scrapfest last month and wow! I've always liked their stuff but never had a chance to work with it! Well, it is wonderful and I think I have found a new love! http://www.hamblyscreenprints.com/

Well, I think that is the inspiration for today! Let me know if you come across anything that you think is awesome and think I should check it out.

IKEA and me

One thing I didn't write about from our vacation was our stop at IKEA. The IKEA store is right next to the mall in Minneapolis. We went there Sat. morning before we left to come home. All I can say is OMG! This store is heaven! A heaven full of a lot of annoying people, but still heaven! LOL! That place was packed and we were there shortly after they opened. Maybe that was the problem. Anyway... Not sure if any of you have been to IKEA, or even heard of it. They are a furniture/home decor store. Their stuff is pretty good quality and cheap! I mean, hello, are you kidding me?, cheap! I've seen their stuff online and I've seen pics of stuff that other people have bought there. But, you don't get the full realm of what they have until you actually walk through their store! I was in love! I saw so much stuff that I liked and wished I had, could have, or will have! We found shelves that we want out in our pool room. I also found some shelving I'd like to have for scrap storage. And, they show whole room set-ups and I saw a kitchen that I am in love with!! Oh, dreaming I know! I sure wish they had stores in smaller cities. Like Waterloo or Rochester! That would be cool! Thankfully they have a website to order from.

Just to let you know-if you ever decide to visit IKEA-wear comfortable walking shoes, be prepared for a lot of people, and give yourself A LOT of time! Believe me!

Here's their web if you want to check it out: http://www.ikea.com/us/en

A Digital LO and other things

This is my first ever, all digital scrapbook page! Cool, huh? I have to say that I don't have a lot of digital supplies so I kind of had to do what I could. I have a lot of brushes and textures and photo enhancing stuff, but not really digital papers or embellies. I think I will definitely have to get some more stuff because I did have fun putting this together. I'm still going to do most of my stuff with paper. I really like working with the paper, glue, cutters etc. It speaks to my creative side a lot more then messing around on the computer. But, it was fun to try something new and helped me to see what I know and what I need to work on! Thanks for looking at it. Please, please leave comments and let me know what you think. Thanks so much!

Supply list-Stripe paper-Jeanine Beachtold

Blue paper-Jessica Sprague
Journal spot-Jessica Sprague-from Stories in Hand class
Flourishes brushes from misc. places
Frame-HO3 kit from Jessica Sprague class
Font-Procelain-misprintedtype.com

I have to admit that I didn't really finish the reports on our vacation! I had a couple of busy days last week and didn't take the time to finish. But, all I'm missing is our final day, which we spent making our way back home. We made a quick stop at Mystic Lake casino before we left the cities. Then we stopped in Northwood at Diamond Jo. We spent a little time there before we drove the final leg home. We got home around 9:30 that Saturday night. We were tired and slept good that night! That was our vacation! We really did enjoy it and were happy to get away from regular life for a few days.

Our Vacation Day 3

Are you anxiously awaiting the next installment of our vacation story? Well, so am I. LOL! I suppose that means I better write it, huh? Ok, here goes...

Friday we left our northern oasis to travel back a little further south. After breakfast we hit the road to Minneapolis. Why you ask? For Scrapfest of course! What is Scrapfest? Oh, let me tell you. Once a year scrapbookers from all over the world gather at the Mall of America for lots of classes, crafting, shopping, star sightings, and meetings with the product companies! This is all put on by Archivers. Which is a totally cool store that is only found in big cities, i.e. Minneapolis or Des Moines. This is my third year of going and I love it! I have so much fun going to classes and learning new things and working with new product. I also go shopping and spend lots of money on cool scrappy stuff that I can't get around home! Can you tell this excites me? LOL! While I am doing that stuff, Denny wanders around the mall and finds cool things to do and see. This year he went to a NASCAR simulator. He said it was pretty fun! The photo below shows one of the main class areas and a small shopping area. There are at least ten more class areas that are just as big and they all have classes simultaneously. It's awesome!

So, anyway, back to our scheduled vacation program. On our way to the cities, we went past Lake Mille Lacs. Oh my goodness if this isn't one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen! This lake is pretty much big enough that you can't see the other side. It's totally cool! Of course we stopped and took some photos and enjoyed the sight. While we were there, there was a guy getting ready to go wind surfing. We watched him for awhile too, although we didn't have a lot of time to spend. He got his sail up a couple of times while we watched, but didn't really get on the board. It was cool to see though.

We drove to Minneapolis and my classes were at 2 and 3:00. We almost didn't make it in time for my first one because we ran into a traffic jam or something. But, luckily, we got there. After my classes we decided to go check into our room. I had booked a room at the Hilton Homewood Inns and Suites. Well, let me tell you, it was awesome! All the rooms here are suites and I mean a full suite! A little kitchen and everything! It was a really great room and definitely worth the price. If you ever go to the mall and want to stay overnight, I recommend this place. Plus, it is right across the street. Below, the view out our window.

This is the kitchen!

The bathroom. All Neutrogena products, very nice.

After some shopping at the mall we finally went to eat supper. No, we didn't have pizza again, we went to TGIF!! I love this place and we eat there every year because it is the only time we get to eat there. They have super yummy food. And, they are right across from the mall too! After supper we ventured to Mystic Lake casino. This place is huge! I mean huge! This is biggest casino I have ever seen! We usually go our own way in casinos, but not in this one. Because, we never would have found each other again! Quite an amazing sight and especially at night! That ends our Friday, our day 3 of vacay. I will fill you in on the final day tomorrow. Stop by again.

Oh, by the way, I wanted to share with you the gift that Denny got me at the mall. Just a little something as a surprise. He is so sweet.

Our vacation Day 2

Thursday 09/17/09 was the second day of our vacation. It was also our 4 year anniversary! We spent the morning doing a little driving. Looking at lakes, and seeing the trees and forests. Such wonderful scenery, you don't really get sick of seeing it.

We had a 1:00 tee time at Golden Eagle Golf course. Wow, this was quite the place! This course was super hilly! Ten times more so then Big Rock in Fayette. It was amazing and beautiful, but to be honest, almost too hard. Some of these holes were almost ridiculous! LOL! We did the best we could though and kept plugging on. It was also hot that day which made it even harder to keep going! Who knew that northern Minnesota in September would be 85 degrees?!

Here is a shot of Hole #5. This was a par 5 that dog legged to the left.

This is a par 3. I believe it was 185 yds. from the men's tee. Isn't this hole just amazing looking? It's gorgeous, but just plain scary! LOL!

These steep grade signs were not unusual at this course! Almost every hole had a steep hill of some sorts. A couple of the cart paths were steeper then 45 degrees! No lie. Have you ever been vertical in a golf cart going up a path and hoping the darn electric cart has enough power to make it up? Well, I have now and I didn't really enjoy it! LOL!

After our golf day we were tired and beat and lazy. We had planned on getting dressed up and going for a nice supper for our anniversary. But, neither one of us really felt like it. So, we had pizza again! This time we went to Zorbaz which was kind of a unique place with very unique pizzas! We stayed pretty normal with a bacon cheeseburger pizza but they offered ones that were really different! They even had one with peanut butter on it! ??? Too weird for us!

We spent the rest of the evening in our room. Watching tv, scrapping a little and snuggling! All in all, it was a good anniversary!

Don't forget to stop in tomorrow for Day 3.

Our vacation

What I would like to do is share with you some moments, memories, and photos from our vacation. I think I will share one day at a time. A little easier for me, and a reason for you to visit back to my blog!

We drove up to northern Minnesota and stayed in Crosslake for two days. While we were there we golfed at two courses on the Brainerd golf trail and did some sight seeing. We left on Wed. 09/16/09 at 7:00 a.m. It is a six hour drive to Crosslake. Not counting potty stops and road construction. Which by the way I kept track of on the way up. We encountered construction eight times! The landscape and scenery there is beautiful. You can really see a difference once you get past the cities. You start to see more lakes and more trees and more wilderness! We really enjoyed the beauty of it all.

The first thing we did was to check in to our hotel. We stayed at the Pine Peaks Lodge in Crosslake, Mn. It was a lovely hotel and I would recommend it to anyone staying in that area.

After that we went golfing! We had a 3:00 tee time at Whitefish Golf Club. This course was gorgeous! We loved it! Every fairway was tree lined and not very wide! The fairways were sodded grass (wow) and the greens were big, well manicured and accepted balls very well! It was fun and just a great place to golf! Unfortunately we were a little tired and worn from the long drive and we didn't golf all that well. But, it doesn't matter because it was wonderful just to be there and to see it. The people there were very pleasant also.

These are pics of Hole #9 and Hole #12. The par 3 is over some water. Not too hard of a hole but very pretty! Also, Denny and I both parred that one! Yay for us!

After having some pizza for supper, we made a drive to Walker, MN and went to the casino there. It was about 45 minutes north of where we were. We had a good time although we didn't really win any big money! LOL!

Well, that was our Wednesday. I'll be back tomorrow to share some more photos and stories!

April page

Guess What? I finally did it!

I quit my job!  It finally got bad enough at work that I couldn't take it anymore!  I seriously feel so relieved!  It's like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.  I am so happy that I took this step and so is Denny.  I still have 6 days left to work and I can't wait for it to be over!  LOL!  I'll be looking for something else later in September.  For a little while I'm just going to enjoy the day to day and dabble in this and that!  I'm sure we'll have to make some changes to our lifestyle but I think we'll be happier!  Well, I will anyway!  ; )  

Finally a new page!

I finally got a page done! I am so far behind on my monthly album! Last year I kept up really well with it but this year seems to be opposite. Hopefully one of these days I can sit down and turn out a few months worth. Love the blue green color on this one. I thought it really set off the pictures. Thanks for peeking!

Prima goodness

Prima put together a grouping of some of their fav products. I love this display! Not only are the products wonderful, but I love the neutral tones of everything they picked out! Very inspiring and beautiful! Check it out.

Another wonderful giveaway

Another great giveaway on this blog-http://keepsakesbymelissa.blogspot.com/

Super awesome giveaway!

Check out this blog for a super scrappy giveaway!

http://keepsakesbymelissa.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-blogaversary-giveaway.html

New stuff

I know, I know, I have been really bad about posting. I really haven't been on the computer too much lately. And, when I am, it's just for a short time. We've been pretty busy with outside stuff, especially golfing! I have also been using some of my time to follow an online Photoshop course. I am learning a lot of cool stuff. That's why I am posting. To show some really cool photos that I edited and jazzed up using techniques I have learned. I am so excited to do this with more photos that I take. Please leave me comments on what you think. Thanks!

Check out Hero Arts

Hero Arts is a pretty cool stamp company. I really like their products and their designers. I can always get inspiration on their blog and website. Well, they are giving themselves a makeover and along with that they are having a big giveaway! So, I am posting about it here, to help give myself a chance to win. And, to help advertise their cool site of course!

http://heroarts.com/blogs/club/

Look Up

Did you see my new header at the top of my blog?!  Isn't it totally cool?  My wonderful and very talented hubby designed it for me!  With a little of my help too.  I Love it!  Thank you to him for being patient with me and helping to make a cool design!  

Good things to reflect on

Ali did this on her blog the other day. She got it from the Simple Woman's Day Book. Today Cathy Z decided to copy the sentence starters and fill out her answers also. Well, if two of my fav scrappers are doing it, I'm gonna do it too!

I'm filling it out at work right now. I think my answers would be different if I was at home.

Outside my window... It is really hot and I am glad I have air conditioning!

I am thinking... I would rather be scrapping or golfing, instead of working.

I am thankful for... my husband.

From the kitchen... tonight we might grill steaks. With that I will probably have some vegies.

I am wearing... my work shirt and slacks.

I am creating... in my head right now. I am always thinking about some sort of project etc.

I am going... to scrap this weekend because hubby is playing golf with some buddies.

I am reading... Jillian Michael's Master your Metabolism and also Scrapbooks Etc. mag.

I am hoping... that it cools off a little outside over the next few days! It is really hot and humid right now.

I am hearing... the radio playing. I always have it on in the background.

Around the house... there are the usual things that need to be done! It never ends!

One of my favorite things... foot rubs from my hubby!

A few plans for the rest of the week... work of course and hopefully get in some golf. And hopefully scrap on Saturday!

Well, that's a little look at me today. This would make good journaling for a layout. I'll post it when I get it done.

My new toy

For my birthday my in-laws gave me a gift card to Hobby Lobby. Thank you again! I used it to get myself a Bind it All and some accessories! And, I love it! The bind it all is a cute little machine that punches holes in paper/chipboard/etc. and then you insert the wires and it clamps them down. Then you have a wire bound beautiful little book or whatever you created!! It's awesome! I thought it would be hard to use but it really isn't. I really enjoy making mini albums and this will help me to make them even neater! I can use this for a lot of my scrapping stuff. Plus, I think there will be other uses too. Denny can maybe even use it for some of his jobs. Pretty awesome! Check it out!

http://store.scrapbook.com/pp-zu-2811.html

February LO

Here is my Feb. page for my monthly album. I have had it done for a week or so, but just got it up here. Let's see, it's already the second week of June and I just finished Feb. Not doing too good, by Christmas, I might be done with June's! Thanks for peeking and let me know what you think!

Scrappy stuff to check out

Here are a couple of sites that I am visiting regularly.  Please check them out.

This site offers a lot of great business information and insight in the scrapping world.  She also just revamped her site and it's looking good!

http://www.scrapbookupdate.com/

A lot of the staff members from Simple Scrapbooks mag. have started a new website together.  They are hoping to carry on the Simple philosophy and inspire people to create.  I am excited to see them start this new venture.  I can't wait to see what they come up with. 

http://www.writeclickscrapbook.com/

I'm going to leave you with those two sites for today.  They are definitely worth checking out and worth following in my opinion! Have a good Thursday! 

Random Blabbing

I've been doing a terrible job of keeping up this blog!  My hubby told me he stopped by the other day and I was like, oh the blog with nothing new on it!  So, that kind of made me decide I should throw up a post or two.  

No new scrapping stuff to show.  With the nice weather lately, I haven't done much.  Plus, we have been a little busy.  Hopefully one of these days I can catch up a little!  If I don't I'm going to be so far behind!  

This past weekend was my birthday!  Hubby and I spent a wonderful day out and about on Saturday.  I picked what I wanted to do.  We went for a drive to the river.  We went to Pikes Peak park and hiked the trail there.  Then we had a picnic.  I have never actually went on a picnic before.  It was lots of fun!  Except for the bugs!  LOL!  Then we walked around Prairie Du Chien and McGregor a little.  Visited Cabella's and ate at Prairie Pizza.  We also spent some time sitting on the bank of the river and just enjoyed the nice day and watched people and the boats.  Then to finish off the night we went to the casino.  We didn't do too great but it was fun!  Like I said, it was really a wonderful and fun day!  Sunday was actually my b-day and we had lunch at his parents' home.  Stacey's family joined us.  I want to say thanks to everyone for the b-day gifts you gave me!!  Super awesome!  I am very excited!  It was  very nice of everyone.  Then after lunch, of course, we went golfing!  Can't have a b-day without including golf!  All in all, it was one of the best weekends ever!  : )

Well, for now I think that's enough blabbing.  I really need to post more often.  Hopefully I can remember!  LOL!

Another great giveaway!

Here is another great site that has a really awesome giveaway going on!  Check it out! 

http://adamsacres.com/2009/05/02/scrapbook-giveaway-starts-today-enter-to-win-bo-bunny-art-bin-tote-ally-and-more-for-nsd/

My latest page

Here is the latest page I made!  I actually did this for a challenge for National Scrapbook Day on sb.com.  It was a really fun page to make and I am glad they gave me a push to do it.  I'm also really excited that I got to use some of my absolute favorite paper!  This is Basic Grey Ambrosia line and I love it!  I think it is beautiful.  I also used some stickers and flourishes from the line to accent the page.   Hope you enjoy the page!  Thanks for looking!