at work....no really!

You probably know that my husband quit his job at Merrill Lynch in November and opened his own investment firm (Lokken Investment Group). I expected that somewhere along the line he would need me to help out in some way or another at least until things got up and running and he could hire another employee besides his assitant Carrie.

Didn't take him long...I working already. His purchased this huge marketing program/system called Bill Good Marketing and made me his "computer operator". It falls to me to learn the system and how to operate it and get the first few (at least) marketing campaigns up and running. And then I'll be in charge of maintaining the database etc. etc.

Anyway. I'm at the office today. Still leaning the system and currently waiting for a call from software support. Apparently some macro isn't running properly and my test campaign failed. There isn't much else for me to do until I can get back in the practice system and so just that...practice.

And so I blog.

Course now I've run out of things to blog about. So I'll end it here while you're still somewhat awake. Enjoy your day...until next time....

(by the way, no layouts or photos on this computer at the office so nothing pretty to post)

It snowed!

We never get snow. There's about 4 inches out there I guess and it's still coming down. Blowing like a banshee though so there won't be any playing today.

The kids are home. There was no doubt about that...last time it snowed we got a WHOLE HALF INCH and they closed so I knew when they said 3-8 that as soon as the first few flakes fell they'd call it off. And sure enough, at 10 pm the phone rang and it was the announcement.

We just don't have the equipment in Delaware to deal with this kind of weather.

Makes my life easier anyway. Now Jonathan doesn't have to drop me off at the surgery center (my colonoscopy is today), drive to Georgetown to pick up Claire then come back to get me. She can just stay home with Jess.

Tonight I feast! Amazingly, considering that I haven't eaten in 36 hours and counting, I'm not that hungry. Gives me a little perspective for those afternoons when I'm starving 2 hours after I've had lunch. I'm not cooking though...we've got fabulous left-overs calling my name!

Just a few more 2008 pages to post and then I can scan and share the pages I've made this year so far. I love how this one turned out using some of my favorite papers ever...Dill Blossom by SEI.



Thanks for looking and have a great day. Later!

Lazy Sunday

We don't have too much on the schedule today so I'm enjoying a relaxing day at home. Claire is supposed to have a riding lesson later but it's a "wintery mix" out there so I'm thinking it will be canceled. We've already done the grocery shopping and I'm caught up with all the peamails concerning my Huge Purge sale on the For Sale or Trade board at TwoPeas. I think I'll try to finish the page I started yesterday and work on some page kits for the crop at Ally Scraps next month.

Anything to distract me from the fact that I'm starving to death. Well, not really. But it sure feels that way. I'm having a colonoscopy tomorrow and on clear liquids today. Fun stuff.

Today's page is a quick and easy one I did with all the cousins from the Lokken side of the family. Love this picture!



Couple more emails just popped into my in box. Better go check it out. Until next time...

I need new albums!

Hard to believe that I actually scrap enough to fill up entire albums but it seems that's the case. I was just showing Hannah the pages I got done at Dana's a couple weeks ago and when I tried to put them back in their spot they wouldn't fit.

So I thought...I'm just going to do it. Sort them by kid, put them in date order and PUT THEM AWAY!

Easier said than done. Oiy.

I started with Hannah. Her pages were all in a post bound album still so I got out a new American Crafts album and started over. I wasn't going to open those new AC albums because I want to switch to the We R Memory Keepers leather D-rings, but I had no choice. I haven't scrapped as many pics of Hannah (for lots of reasons none of which are because I love her any less) so her pages all fit nicely into the album.

Then I tried to work on Claire and Jessica's pages but didn't get very far. I didn't feel like taking apart the old post bounds to put in older pages (when eventually I'll trade them) and don't have any new albums for the newer pages.

What I need is to buy about 16 brand new WRMK albums and start completely over. But at 30ish dollars a pop that isn't going to happen anytime soon.

I knew I should have gotten them before Jonathan quit his job.

So I put them all back in the 12x12 box, shoved them on the shelf and tried to put it out of my mind. And I suppose that will work until my next crop with Dana when I add another dozen or so pages to the mix.

Here's another of the pages I scrapped in 2008 and never got posted anywhere. This is Jess at one of her many band concerts. It was only 2 years ago but she looks so young to me here!



Back to scrapping for me. Until next time!

TGI Monday!

Most people really look forward to Fridays as it means the end of the work week and some relaxing time at home. And as much as I love the weekends, ours tend to be so jam packed that it always feels so good when it's Monday and I can get things back to normal and organized.

Today was no different.

I did have a few unusual things on my plate today. It's Quiz Rally time again so there's lots of (not so) fun Pony Club things to do. And Belinda switched me from Tuesday to Monday this week so it was a scramble this morning to get things ready for her.

And I had to send out that email request for donations for the Polar Bear Plunge for Claire!

Mr. John but a team together at The Jefferson School and Claire decided to wants to plunge. It's this Sunday and she's really excited. I'm not sure she realizes just how cold it's going to be! I do think that the water temperature is just a bit higher than the air temp will be so it may not seem that frigid. I am really proud of her desire to help other people though. That's one of the amazing things she's learned at The Jefferson School.

Here's a link to her page at First Giving in case anyone is interested in donating to Special Olympics. We have to get that page updated as her real goal is $250!

It's time to cook dinner now. My family has requested Sloppy Joes and tater tots. How exciting. I'm not really a tot fan myself...unless they're from Sonic. But they eat 'em up!

Until later...

Planning to be Productive

I tend to start most days thinking "I wont sit on my butt all day. I'll actually earn my keep and get a few things done today." It doesn't always work out that way.

In my defense, I'm not a total slacker. The house is 95% clean, 95% of the time. the laundry is usually pretty well caught up. Bill are paid, there's food in the house and life run pretty smoothly.

But there's always more that could be done. Always. Lots more.

So as soon as i finish this game of Monopoly at Pogo (a bit part of my problem this past month), I'm going to get up and get moving.

And on today's list is:

laundry. i'm on a Monday/Thursday schedule these days
plan dinner
load jonathan's digi frame
put away the christmas paper
edit and order pictures
go to dry cleaners

Not a bad list. But all things that need to be done today. I should probably do a little Wii Fit exercising too.

And so I'm off. But first...another of those unposted layouts I have from last year. This one is a scraplift (but I can't remember of whom). Photos are from our cruise a few years ago.



Thanks for looking and until later....

it's that time of year again!

time for CHA!

i get so excited seeing all the new product sneaks. always gets my creative juices flowing. not that i ever do much with it. ;)

Queen & Co. has some information about their new release on their blog and i'm liking what i see so far. less packaging and cute new products...can't go wrong on either count. check it out!

and hopefully, this chance to win a prize on their blog, makes me get back to blogging again. i'm not sure why i can't make this a habit...i do enjoy posting!

have a great day! until next time...

It's the Weekend!

I'm up and at 'em early this morning. Jess is at Tony's this weekend so we're making the trek to Dover Saddlery before we meet up with him to return her saddle. Thank goodness it's under warranty...who knows how much it would cost to repair the stirrup bar!

After our hour there (I'm sure there are lots of other things she "needs"), I'm headed to Let's Dish. Tony is picking Jess up there. Afer I dish, I'm going to stop in at my grandfather's while I'm in town and take him the kids' school pictures.

Long day on the road but all things that need to be done.

Hopefully tonight I'll feel motivated to scrap. If I keep sharing old pages here without making new ones the page party will be over before I know it!

Here's today's layout. I was so happy to find this paper to match Jessica's suit perfectly. It was the one time I specifically looked for paper to match photos. Pictures taken at our beach.



Until next time...

Haircuts and Birthdays

Actually those are both singular.

Sophie isn't going to school today, not feeling well, so I have to drive both this morning and this afternoon. Puts a bit of a cramp in my style today. That extra hour on the road makes a difference! But the good news is...I get a cut and color today. The color is no big deal, I'm on my regular schedule for that, but the cut will be dramatic. I've been letting my hair grow, and grow and grow, and it's time to whack it off! I'll try to get a decent picture when i get home and show it off.

Today is also Jonathan's birthday. Nothing too celebratory on the schedule but we'll have dinner tonight and I'll make apple dumplings per tradition. I bought him the new Warren Buffet book he wanted and might try to figure out something else today (though I have no clue what). He's got a heavy day at work today, bigwigs down from Wilmington, so he'll need a relaxing evening at home tonight.

I'll leave you with a couple pictures of Claire and Sophie taken at Punkin' Chunkin' this year. They are such good friends! Hope she's feeling better soon.



Until next time...

Lots to do and More Pages

I've finished the prep for Belina already and have my errand list ready to go. The rest of the week is pretty stacked up so I need to stay organized. Today I have to get pet food, we're out of all 3 kinds, drops some things off at the thrift store, go to the post office, look for some new jeans (though this probably wont happen) and hit the bookstore for a birthday present for Jonathan. Shhh, don't tell. Then I pick up Claire from school early for a doctor's appointment. It's just her regular yearly visit so it should go fairly quickly.

Here are the other 2 girls with their Disney face paint pages:





It's a good thing I had Dana's help with titles on these...one was hard enough!

I'm off to get breakfast. Have a great day! Until next time...

Lazy Day

I was so inspired and motivated about things in general yesterday and it all went down the drain today. It wasn't a total loss around here though...I got all the laundry washed, dried and folded and watched a movie we've had from Netflix for ages. It was Into the Wild and I *loved* it. I've been putting off watching it because it's 2 1/2 hours long but it was totally worth it. If you haven't seen it you should check it out. I also made a few phone calls that HAD to get made. Found out the Jessica's saddle is under warranty (the stirrup bar broke and it's only 14 months old) and not only are they going to cover repairs but they just might replace the entire saddle. Not a bad deal!

We're about to leave for the barn for Claire's lesson. Wanted to post another of those layouts that have been sitting around for a while. You'll see two more along the same lines as this...each girl got their face painted and thus a page to remember it by. This one is Hannah.



I think those butterflies are so pretty and compliment the art on her face perfectly.

Enjoy the rest of your day. Until later....

Scrapping again!

I've been in a sort of groove lately and enjoying myself with this hobby again. I finished a page today that I only started yesterday and just might even start another one tonight! I've done a few pages over the past several months but haven't been scanning or posting. I wasn't planning to bother with that again but decided today that I might as well just do it. So I gathered up all the pages I've done this year, scanned and resized. Not going to post them all at once, and might not even post ALL of them, but it's good to have them backed-up anyway in case tragedy ever strikes.

Turns out I've actually done 31 pages this year. And have 5 more that are really close to done but need some finishing touches. Scanned 15 today..what a chore that was!

So here's the first I'll post. I finished this one yesterday. It's bright and busy (Disney pages usually are) but I like it.



Finally used one of those Maya Road sheer journaling spots. I love them but haven't been able to figure out how to use them until this page! Yayy me.

Claire and Macy want to make more stickers (using my Xyron) but I'm out of tape. Sounds like a good enough reason to head to Micheal's! So I'm off.

Until next time...

I'm selling all this scrap stuff!

CHEAP!

This isn't a post looking for buyers....though you might think so since I haven't blogged in months. It's mostly to get the pics all in one place online so when someone is interested I have a place to send them.

I've been cleaning and purging. I think I'm going to put this all on CraigsList in one lump sum but I'm still trying to get a price together. Any thoughts?

Anyway..here it is in all its glory (descriptions below):












1) misc. chipboard embellies
2) flowers, brads/eyelets, page pebbles, sequins, beads, buttons
3) misc. chatterboex embellies, stickers etc, 13 Walmart mini albums
4) lots of love elsie, other stickers/chipboard/felt etc.
5) miles and miles of ribbon
6) mini albums - maya road, tim coffee, chatterbox, junkitz, bazzill, etc.
7) 4" (no lie) patterned paper. approx 400 sheets
8) 89 assorted alphas. 35% unused, rest used for a word or two
9) grommet setter, date stamp, chalks, heidi swapp and others tapes, mesh, QK rockers
10) misc. chipboard alphas

A Trip to the Library (with questions)

As part of our cutting down on costs plan we've decided to stop buying books just because. Jonathan still "needs" the occasional business book and sometimes it's easier to buy a book Jess needs for school, but the "let's get Starbucks and hit the bookstore" trips are on hold for a while.

So I decided we would have Family Library Night.

Now I realize that this is going to be no regular occurrence. I'm pretty much the only one into it. Well, Jonathan thinks it's a great idea but I'm not sure how often he'll be around to participate. Claire is game and actually enjoys going. Hannah's at school so she doesn't really count right now. It's Jess that isn't thrilled with the idea. Strange considering she inhales books like I do.

Tonight was our first trip. We went to the Rehoboth library because I thought they'd have a bigger young adult section (which they did). When we got there I thought, it sure is noisy in here for a library. Turns out they have a LEAP meeting there on Wednesday nights and the children's section was filled with DOGS! Neat program though.

So anyway.

Claire stayed in the children's section, Jess went off to look or sulk or whatever and I wander over to the fiction section wondering how to look for books in this library. When I go to Lewes I head straight for the new releases section and start reading spines. I didn't see a section like that in this library.

Then I realized I have an odd way of picking out books. At least, it seems odd to me. I can never remember author names I like. Well, I know a few but I've read so many of their books that I like to venture outside my box. And I never have a specific book I'm looking for. So I just wander the isles and start pulling books. If the cover looks interesting a do a QUICK skim on the inside flap and make a decision. Takes me about 4 seconds. Tonight I picked
The Cinderella Pact and A Conventional Corpse. That second one is 13th in a series and I've not read any of the first 12 so I'm hoping I can catch on quickly.

By this time the kids were done so we checked out. Walked the long way around to the car since it was so nice out and headed home.

My question to you is: How do you pick out books? Do you have a plan or just wing it? Do you even go to the library? Heck, do you even READ?

Until tomorrow...