Retail Therapy

So, I decided to do some Black Friday Shopping. No, I didn't wake up at the butt crack of dawn (would have kinda liked to, but no), but we did go. After a morning at home, I loaded the kids up in the truck, and we drove an hour to the "city". We went to Coos Bay, and played at the park for an hour. It was the same park that we used to go to when my 2 oldest were little. That was kinda fun.

My mom and dad were gonna meet us down there after she got off work (Dad had the week off) at 1-ish. After the park, we decided to go to the movies. Now, I usually don't go to the movies, since they're SO expensive, but I figured that it was the day after Thanksgiving, and we hadn't been in a VERY long time, and I needed a break. So, we went to see "Bolt". Great movie! The kids were very good, too. I sat by Eme and Jim. Tom and Joe sat in front of us, and Jake sat off to the side a bit. The theater was only about 2/3 full, and all with families. So it was very kid friendly. I was a little worried, since I was taking 5 children to the theater by myself, but it tured out great :)

Then, we headed over to the Dollar Tree. I gave each kid a basket, and told them to pick out one present for each sibling, and parent. They each needed 6 things in their basket when they were done. With a little coaching, they picked out presents for everyone. It was pretty fun, but VERY hectic. My eyes were bugging a little when we finally got to the truck. Keeping track of that many kids and letting them have the freedom to browse was a very fine line - hehehe. But, I left with all 5 kids, so I count that as a success.

I decided that my next paycheck from Scraporchard would fund Christmas this year, and since my sales is going SO well, we went Santa shopping ($50 per child - what do you guys do?) Now, doing this with 5 children is a bit tricky. My parents had caught up with me at this point, and we all headed to Wal-Mart. Once in, we told the kids to look for things they'd like for Christmas from Santa. We put it in the cart, so that we could "write it down easier" for Santa. Good ploy, eh? We found stuff for Jim (from Cars, of course), Tom (Star Wars stuff), Joe (fakie GI Joes/Star Wars), and Eme (dolls, stuffed animals, and Littlest Pet Shop). Jacob wanted to save his money. I still can't believe we actually fooled them. Yeah, we're just putting it in the "we're thinking about it" cart - hehehehe.

I wasn't sure what Captain America and I were gonna get the kids this year, but decided to go with a family movie (Doctor Who Season 4) jogging suits, and jammie pants. Even Captain America and I got the jogging suits. They were pretty cool. Eme, Joe, and Jim's were only $4 (pants and jacket), and Captain America, mine, Tom's and Jakes were $8. The Christmas jammie pants (well, the little kids got jammie pants and tops) were pretty fun. Everyone needs new jammies every once in a while. Plus, Walmart had a TON of $2.00 movies, and who can pass up a movie for $2.00. Hmmmm, what else did I get. Oh yeah, a memory card for my camera, 2G for only $7.00, and an $8.00 pair of LEI jeans. That was a sweet deal :) That was it, I think.

We did dinner at Burger King, because it was close. The kids were STARVING, and it was the most quite we'd seem them all night. Wow, they were intent on that food. LOL! They each got crowns, and of course, Jimmy wanted me to wear his, so of course, I played along. I DO love wearing BK crowns, don't you know :)

We decided to hit K-Mart (although I'd already spent my wad) on the way home. On the way, we swung by Goodwill to let my mom look for something, and I went on in, leaving Jacob in charge of the kids for a few minutes. When I got back to the truck, I again noticed the crown on my head. Hehehehe. I bet the Goodwill ladies liked that - I didn't even have kids with me to play it off - LOL!

When we got to the KMart parking lot, I took off the crown, and Jacob said "Oh good, cause it doesn't really matter if you wear a crown to Goodwill, because no one shops there. But EVERYONE shops at KMart". Yeah, see, I teach my kids right. LMBO! Let's dress up to go to Wal-Mart/K-mart - hehehehe. Too funny.

Didn't really get anything at Kmart (besides pull-ups, which were on sale for $6.50, and something else. Can't remember now.)

Then, we headed home. The little kids all fell asleep. About 1/2 way home, while passing through Reedsport, a policeman pulled out behind me, and followed me through town. Then he pulled me over. Great. I KNEW I was going the speed limit, because I put the cruise on when I saw him pull out.

Well, he said that I kept going over the white line, and wanted to know if I'd been drinking - LMBO! Um, no, no alcohol for me. I just have a MONSTER of a truck, and it fades really bad. He took my license, registration, and insurance, and after a few minutes, let me go. He just said "Well, next time the police are behind you, make sure you drive straight". Yeah, I'll keep that in mind. At least I didn't get a ticket. That would have been a real downer on the trip - LOL!

Mom and I got the little kids to bed when we got home, then wrapped presents. We're taking the Santa presents to my Aunts house, so no one finds them - hehehe. I have a VERY sneaky 9 year old. When he was a little kid, we used to call him Sneaky Tom, and he's never grown out of it - hehehe. We stayed up WAY too late (it's 1:46am, and I'm still blogging - hehehe), but had a lot of fun. PLEASE, little kids, let me sleep in!

Anyway, I love shopping :) Which is why I made this WordArt :) Hope you all like it, and if you're anything like me, you can use this WordArt too! Click on the image below to go to my box.net account to download the PNG file :) Thanks!

FONT:
Retail - FontleroyBrown
Therapy - Felix Tilting

Sweet Time

So, how are we all doing today? Did we survive the food from yesterday? We had our "dinner" at 2pm, and my 7pm I was ready for another piece of pie, but that's all I had. Goodness, I ate a lot at dinner. I'm afraid to weigh today. Oh my - LOL! I did get TONS of pics of the food, though, and I'm SO excited about scrapping it. I just LOVE food - hehehe.

So, after Turkey dinner, we cam back home, and I think I must have had a little melt down. Maybe having my sweetheart gone for a major holiday was getting to me. Maybe being at a house that isn't my own for 122 days is finally taking it's toll. Maybe my kids were just tired and had too much sugar. I don't know. But I just needed a really good cry. Well, you kinda need a bedroom for that, now don't ya. I coudln't just cry at the kitchen table, with everyone coming and going. So, I had to wait for everyone to go to bed to get my "really good cry" in. Luckily, my hubbys was back from his evening out with the guys, and we "yahoo'ed" each other, and he let me cry to him, and I felt much better. Amazing, how good you feel after a really good cry :) I'm ready for the next 21 days until he gets here! I CAN DO THIS :)

Well, my Farmers Market is going FABULOUS! Hope you girls are having fun shopping there :) Any of you going out in the WEE early hours of morn to get a good sale? I did it last year, but am not gonna this year. My mom has to work, and I never did get ahold of my friend Maren to see what her plans were. Oh well, maybe next year :)

BUT, I am getting excited for Christmas. Now that Thanksgiving is officially over, it's time to the Christmas Season to start. I've tuned into the radio station that plays continuous Christmas songs, and my blog is all tricked out. Let the holidays begin!!!

This WordArt request is from Kim. I thought it fit my mood yesterday. I was ready for some happiness to finally find its way to me :) LOL. Click on the image below to go to my box.net account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work.

FONTS:
Sweet- Hyrule
Time - Hursheys

Nobler and Stronger (And HAPPY THANKSGIVING)

Hey, don't forget to hop on over to Scraporchard and check out the "FARMERS MARKET" sale! All of my WordArt packs are in there, for $1 each! It's too good to pay by!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Hope that you guys are enjoying your day, spending time with your family and friends! My kids and I are going to my Aunts house. My Grandma, my parents, and my Aunts friends will be there. Should be a GREAT time :) Well, how could it not be with ALL THAT FOOD!!! LOL! I went to my friend Maren's house today to make Thanksgiving food. She's and her family are going to Reedsport (30 minutes away) for dinner with friends.

Anyway, we made stuffing for her dinner, a cheeseball for my dinner, an apple and apple berry pie for her dinner, and Deep Dish Oatmeal Pie for my dinner. Oh yeah, did I ever give you guys that recipe? I don't think I did. Here it is, in case I forget again - LOL!We had a GREAT time :) I enjoy Maren, and am SO glad that I found her as a friend! I haven't really had a "girl" friend that I called all the time, and did stuff with, and shared stuff with before. This is AWESOME. So Maren, if you're reading this, I'm SO glad that we're friends! Everone should have a friend just like you!!!

My hubby is eating Thanksgiving dinner in the cafeteria with all the guys. I sure wish he was here with us. But, its only about 24 days till he comes home for X-Mas. I'm gonna keep that in mind tomorrow :)

OK, sad news here. My friend, LD, the graphic designer/cowboy, was injured a few months ago on one of his horses, and suffered a complication a few weeks ago from it. The poor guy! He had an aneurism, then a stroke.

He's really one of the nicest guys that I've met, and LOVES his family (especially his wife), and is so sweet. I really feel for the poor thing! His wife and him are SO in love, it's the cutest thing I've ever seen. He buys custom WordArts for her all the time. The lovey dovey kind that we just WISH our men would do for us.

So, this WordArt is for him. I really hope that he gets better quickly. His wife is gonna read this to him, so if you all would PRETTY PLEASE leave him a note of encouragement, I'd really appreciate it :) Click on the image below to go to my box.net account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work.

FONTS:
Nobler - York Script ES
Stronger - Will&Grace

AND, since it's Thanksgiving, and I'm SO thankful for all of you, I made you a SECOND WordArt today. Hope you guys like it :) Click on the image below to go to my box.net account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work.

FONTS:
Happy - KonTiki Enchanted JF
Thanksgiving - Will&Grace

FARMERS MARKET!!!!

OK, you guys! Talk about a BLACK FRIDAY sale! You know how at the Orchard, occassionally we have a "Farmers Market", where everything in there is ONLY $1? Well, it's back for the Holiday. Starting at Midnight on Wednesday (yeah, that's today), and ending on Sunday, we're having our Farmers Market. AND,

I'm putting ALL of my stuff in there! That's right!!!!!!!!! Everything (minus CU and Custom Wordart) will be in there, all for only $1!!! You can't beat that, right????

So, starting at Midnight tonight, BUY SOME WORDART, best price ever - LMBO!!! Here's the list of all of my wordart packs that each sell for $1.00.

Emily Bronte
Doodly XMas
Wedding Invitation
Reading
Simple Home
Simple Family
Thanksgiving dinner
Simple Thanks
Simple Thanksgiving
Simple Autumn
Pumpkin
Christmas Card
Holiday Card
Monkey Business
Religious Christmas Card
Military 1
Hoceky
Deployment 1
Outdoor Phrases
Christmas Phrases
Say Cheese
Overcoming Trials
Dog
Inspirational
Inspirational 2
Home 2
New Brother/Sister
Dickens Christmas
Getting Hurt 2
Getting Hurt 1
Getting Sick
Halloween ABC's
Halloween 3
Halloween 2
Halloween 1
Family Page
Education
2009 Script Calendar
2009 Basic Calendar
Mother Page
Freedom
Emerson Friendship
Birthday Page
Kid Page
Literary Halloween
Friendship
Love Cluster
Inner Self
Season Cluster
Family Cluster
Child Spiral
First Day of School
Baby II
Newborn
Work Attitude
Secret Identity
Birthday Attitude
Busy
Dulcet
Pool
Standards of Success
Swimmer Attitude
Sports Attitude
Attitude Mega
Pregnancy Attitude
Travel
Vacation
Military
Nature
Sweetness
Time
LDS
Parenthood
Good Night
She Dreams
Life's Lessons
Children
Laughter
Country Stars Patriotic
Kid Attitude
Princess Attitude
And You Smell Like One Too
Teen Attitude
White Wedding
SK8
Toddler Attitude
Baby Attitude
Ethans Backyard
Girls
Loss and Death
Boys
Grandmas Lap
Love
Friends Mini
Families Mini
Babies Mini
Sports
Fancy Pants
Hamptons
In Bloom
Doldrums
French Quarters
Friends
Babies

Holy cow, what is that, like over 110 WordArt packs? OMGosh! When did I possibly find the time to make that many Wordart packs - LOL! Hopefully my kids aren't terrible neglected - LOL!

So, click HERE to go to the Orchard (just look for the "Farmers Market" link on the left hand side of the page - starting at Midnight Wednesday night), and pick up some of my FANTABULOUS WordArt, and at a GRAND price :) Try it, I know you'll LOVE it ! hehehe.

Cutest Little Baby Face

The little kids and I went to the library yesterday for story time. WOW, it was fun. About 5 other moms with young kids from church were there too. It was a TON of fun. We should do this everyone Tuesday - LOL! I also had 2 more parent/teacher conferences. Emeline is doing SPECTACULAR! And even Jacob is doing great. Well, he needs to be more organized. THAT's an understatement. But she said that he's a very nice, polite, and engaging child. I'm SO glad that's the way he is at school. I see glimpses of that at home, but we get a lot of the fighting, angry, willfull child at home. Thanks goodness someone else sees what a GREAT kid I know Jacob is :)

My hubby has been out in the field for the past few days, doing training exercises (um, not camping - hehehe). He's been sending picture messages of him and his buddies. Wow, men in uniforms with sunglasses and big guns. What's not to love - LMBO! I've always loved a man in uniform, and now I have one all to myself (well, if he ever gets done with trainings!!!).

The kids and I watched "Flicka" last night. What a nice movie. It was a great time :) Watch it if ya get the chance. What little kid doesn't like a movie about horses :)

Switching gears :) I know I'm not crazy (yeah, I know what you're thinking - shame on you!), but I can't seem to find who requested this one. I KNOW that I saw it in my inbox. Oh well. Whoever you are, I hope you like it :)

Well, looking back over my files, I've already done this one. LOL! And it wasn't even that long ago - it was NOVEMBER - hehehe. I'm getting too old for this - hehehe. But, this looks different from the other one, so here we go. I think I might even like this one better :)

Click HERE to go to scraporchard to download the zip file, and remember, you need to be logged into the gallery in order to get the WordArt :) Thanks! And as always, leave some love if you like my work.

Scrapbooks

OK, ok, I know that some of you have given me awards, and you think that I'm a HORRID friend, because I haven't done anything with them. I'm SO sorry, but you know how it is when life gets away from you. Or, I could just say that I was saving them all up so that I could post them all at once. Yeah, that sounds MUCH better. Like I planned it that way, yeah! We'll go with that excuse...er... answer, I mean. I meant to do it :) hehehe.

So, here are the awards that I've gotten since ... um... like JULY, so instead of doing them each separately, I'll just try and combine them all. They usually carry some sort of stipulation where you have to say, what, like 7 things about yourself? I can do that - hehehe. Here goes:

1. I ROCK at making fires - seriously. If you want someone to go camping with you, and need an expert fire maker, I'm your girl - LOL! Everyone needs a good skill, right?

2. I HATE talking on the phone. Phone phobia, more like it. I don't mind talking if someone else calls me, that's cool. But don't ask me to call you, or else I'll get an almost panic attack - hehehe. My shyness comes out then. You knew I was shy, right?

3. I was a band geek in school. Hey, don't knock it till you try it! You might like being a band geek too! Definetly keeps one out of trouble - hehehe. No one invites the band geek out to the drinking parties, now do they - hehehe. I just LOVE the clarinet, and enjoyed all the time I spent in music over my 4 years of high school.

4. I've never tried alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs. Really. Not even a sip. (if you don't believe me, ready #3 - LOL). And I don't really feel like I'm missing anything - hehehe.

5. Um, my life is such an open book, I don't even know what else to tell you all - hehehe. Let's see. Oh, here's a good one. I have issues with wearing white shoes with jeans. I know, I know, I'm weird. What can I say. I feel like I'm saying "LOOK AT MY FEET" or something. Yet I can see that it looks cute on other people. I know, I'm weird. It probably doesn't help that my feet are a SIZE 9 1/2.

6. I don't like my food to touch, unless it's meat/potatoes/gravy. I don't want my corn mingling with my rice, or my green beans touching my potatoes, or stuff like that. Food should stay on it's own section of the plate - hehehe.

7. One more. These are hard. Here's a dumb one. I don't like banana flavor. But I do like Banana bread, and firm bananas. Other than that, not so much. Banana pudding - yuck. Banana ice cream - gross. Banana candy - no thanks. At least that's SOME treats that don't tempt me - hehehe.

OK, looking back on the list of 7, those were lame - oh well. Now you know a little bit more about me. I bet you were just DYING to know those things - hehehe.

So, I'm supposed to go and give this out to 7 other people, and make them do it all over again. But, since I'm SUCH a slacker, we'll just call it good. Sorry :) Consider yourselves all spared. hehehehehe.

We had Parent Teacher conferences yesterday and today. I went to Joe's yesterday. He's doing well. Much better from the beginning of the year. I know that some days it's hard for me to function, I don't know how the litte buggers are managing. Must be hard to be living at someone elses house, with none of your stuff, and still function all day at school. Kudos to them. Today is Eme and Jakes (Tom's teacher had a death in the family, and is rescheduling them for December).

OK, so I've been forgetting to do this the last couple of posts. I got an email from Doreen, who wanted to know how to change the color of a WordArt using PSE6. Well, girls, I use CS2. Anyone know how to do this, and wanna help out Doreen? Just leave a link, or directions, or something in the comment section. Thanks, you guys!

This WordArt request is from Kittie. What a cute saying :) I'll bet, that since you all digiscrap, that you all have use of THIS one :) hehehe. Click on the image below to go to my 4shared account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks, girls :)

OR, click HERE to go to a different location to download the WordArt. 4Shared was having issues this morning, so I'm trying out someplace new. What do you think of the new place?

FONTS:
Scrapbooks - Stamped DSG

Laughter

So, I made it through another day :) I hate being sick. I got through singing time at church, and the kids learned the 2nd verse of our Christmas Song. That was good. I didn't have a huge giant coughing fit like I thought I would (forgot my cough drops). That was good. Jimmy had a HUGE poopy accident in his nursery class. That, not so good. You know the kind I'm talking about. The "just throw the undies away" kind of accident. Yeah, gross. I know. Good thing I didn't puke - hehehe.

I tried to watch the movie from last night, but fell asleep again. Sick, warm fires, and movies just don't mesh so well. And, since I know that my mom reads my blog, MOM, just read the normal text - ignore the small print! My kids were PERFECT while I was sick (spilled the Amish friendship bread starter pack on the kitched floor). My little angels (also spilled orange juice concentrate in their bedroom). Perfect in every way (a roll of toilet paper and water in a bathroom sink don't really mix).

I'm making the flyers for our Ward Xmas party this year. Wanna see? I thought they were pretty cool. Sick or not, I still like making flyers - hehehe.




This WordArt request is from Mari. I thought it was a nice one. Click on the image below to go to my 4shared account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work.

FONTS:
Laughter - Grinched

Be The World

OK, gotta be honest with you guys. I'm not feeling the best tonight (pre-publish, remember). I sure hope I'm not catching what Jacob had (he's feeling all better, thank GOODNESS!) I took some fake Nyquil, and I think it's starting to kick in. I have a nice burning in my stomach, and I'm getting a bit light headed. So, hopefully the WordArt is fine. Never design under the influence - LMBO! You never know what it'll turn out looking like - hehehe.

Today was a good day :) We spent a relaxing morning at home, watching TV, and letting the kids take turns on the computer. We did a little organizing, and I have to say, that the house looked better at the end of the day than at the beginning. That's always a good thing - LOL.

We decided to have a pizza/movie night. We got a take and bake from Papa Murphys, and rented "Star Wars: Clone Wars" and "The Forgotten Kingdom". Star Wars was a no brainer, giving our families LOVE of the movies. It was pretty good. We all watched that one together. The pizza was pretty good too! I think it was my first time having pizza since staring the diet back in April. Or maybe I had it one other time. Can't remember :) Anyway, it was pretty tasty.

Then, after the little kids went to bed, we watched "The Forgotten Kindgom". Well, the big boys did. Captain America called, and he and I chatted. I think that all of the talking made me miss him, and since I was feeling a little under the weather anyway, there were a lot of tears. I usually just turn off my feelings, which makes life a lot easier to deal with, but not tonight. You know, a good cry is REALLY good every once in a while. Especially when you're best friend is on the other end of the line, telling you that he loves you, and that every thing is gonna be ok. You know, I know that everything IS gonna be ok. It might be hard now, but I know that it's gonna work out :) Less than a month before he comes back for a visit :)

As for "The Forgotten Kindgom", I got to watch the last 15 minutes, and I must say, it was pretty good. It had Jet Li, and Jackie Chen, both of which I enjoy. It's more "fantasy" than some Kung Foo movies, which serves me well :) Me and my sci-fi, you know! I'm watching (well, kind of) while I post this, and it's really pretty good. I'll have to watch it again tomorrow with the kids.

OK, back to WordArt before the drugs TOTALLY do me under :) This WordArt request is from Beth. Hope you like it, girl. And also hope that I did it right - LOL! Things are getting a bit fuzzy - hehehehe. I think it's time to walk away from the computer - LMBO!

FONTS:
Be, the - Rambler Script JF
World - Pussycat

Possibilities Happen

Well, my parents left for Utah today. They're doing an early Thanksgiving with my sister and her family. My grandma is going with the too, and they're dropping her off at her sisters house in Idaho. I HATE traveling in the car, so I'm fine with staying home :) LOL! I know they'll all have a TON of fun, though :)

My oldest, Jacob, is still sick. Did I tell you he's sick. I think he has the flu. Puking, fever, extreme tiredness. The other day, he woke up to puke at about 7:30am, then went back to bed. He didn't wake up until 4pm. HOLY COW! Then he went back to bed at 6:00 pm. That's how you know that they're really sick. Poor kid. Anyway, he went to school Monday, was sick Tuesday, sick Wednesday, 1/2 day Thursday, and I thought he was better today, but they sent him home after 2nd period. Oops. I guess he's still sick. Older kids take being sick a lot harder than younger ones, have you noticed? I sure hope he's better today :)

Got to talk to my hubby last night. They were done with their field training (yeah, it's army camping - LOL), and got a weekend pass. It's so nice to be able to talk to him for hours and hours, even if we don't say anything important. It makes life feel a little more normal to be able to talk about random, non important stuff with your spouse. So girls, don't take that for granted. It would be something you'd miss if it was taken from you :)

This WordArt request is from Jo Ann. This is a silly thing that her 7 year old grand daughter said, and thought it would make a cute WordArt. Well, what do ya think? I think it turned out dang cute - LOL! Click on the image below to go to my 4shared account to download the PNG fiel, and leave some love if you like my work.

FONTS:
Possibilities - Elise
Happen - eight fifteen

God Made Cousins

So it's Friday already :) How do the days just keep slipping by? Less than a week till Thanksgiving - goodness!

My parents are going to Utah this weekend to visit my Sister, so the kids and I are gonna get the house to ourselves. And yes mom, we'll keep it clean and safe - LOL! Captain America should have the weekend off too, so we should get the chance to chat a lot, too! Woohoo!

We had a TON of fun at our Enrichment meeting (Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment Meeting) last night. It was a dinner, where people brought either soup, pie, or rolls. YUMMY! My friend Maren made the BEST tortillini soup. I'll HAVE to get her to give me the recipe, so I can give it to you guys, because honestly, you'll LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

After dinner, we had a little program, where we learned about Thanksgiving, and had a few special musical numbers. I got to sing a song with a group of 4 others. It was really pretty. Especially since we didn't practice before hand, and we did parts - LOL! But, it's a primary song that we sing ALL the time at church, so it was pretty easy. It's "Love One Another". So pretty.

The part that stuck out in my mind the most out of the presentation, was when the lady said that she was so glad that we had Thanskgiving before Christmas, because focusing on our blessings helps us be in the right spirit for service at Christmas time. How true is that! I really hope that I take opportunities this year to serve others. Sometimes when you're feeling down yourself, the best way to pull yourself up is to lose yourself in service.

After the program, we had pie, then had an ornament exchange. We were all supposed to bring a Christmas ornament (either homemade or inexpensive), with a favorite Christmas saying/story/poem/experience/thought on it. So, I got a few Dollar Tree ornaments, digiscrapped a few tags (which I had developed at the store), and tied them on. SO CUTE! But, I ended up with the BESTEST one. My friend, Maren, does Stained Glass, and made an ornament of baby Jesus. OMGosh - it's SO cute! I'll get a pic tomorrow. But, it was sure a GREAT evening.

This WordArt request is from Rose, who has 2 children, and her sister has 4. She thought that this saying would be PERFECT for their families. And I bet it'll work for a lot of your photos too! Click on the image below to go to my 4shared account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work.

FONTS:
God, Made - Felix Tilting
Cousins - The King & Queen

Beautiful Baby 2 - Look at Me Now

Be prepared, this is a VERY long post - LMBO!!!

First off, I have to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all of you who send good hormones my way. Johnny came yesterday, so I'm all happy, and my hormones are getting back to normal. Heck, the next time I need something, I'm gonna have you guys help me out - LMBO!!!

AND, I ate ice cream last night. Just had to be honest. So, for all of you trying to be good to get my coupon, you can cheat once - LOL! I know, I know, I resist the cinnamon rolls, and eat the ice cream. To each his own weakness, I guess - LOL!

OK, you guys! I thought I was SO ahead of schedule. I had 5 new WordArt packs done for this week, and 4 for next week. I was all set. Then, I found out (see, I don't pay attention too well all the time - LOL!) that we're not releasing new products on "Black Friday", but having an AWESOME sale. SOOOOOO, I have 11 new products to release on Friday. Yep, 11. I've been SO productive - hehehe.

I'm REALLY excited about my SIMPLE line. They're pretty, if I do say so myself. hehehehe. I'm not vain, or anything - LOL! And, the collab with Annick Philibert was SO much fun. She's got great stuff! And, she's a SUPER nice girl :) So, below is my 11 new WordArt packs - have fun checking them out :) They officially release on Friday, but you can pick them up by following the links below. They're on sale for the first week for $2.00 each.

Click HERE to go to the Doodly Christmas WordArt Pack

Click HERE to go to the Wedding Invitation WordArt Pack

Click HERE to to go the Thanksgiving Dinner WordArt Pack

Click HERE to go to the Simple Thanksgiving WordArt Pack

Click HERE for the Simple Thanks WordArt Pack

by Chia

Click HERE for the Simple Home WordArt Pack

Click HERE for the Simple Family WordArt Pack

by Chia


Click HERE for the Simple Autumn WordArt Pack

by Slurpeegirl13

by Chia

by Minna

by Schnockflee

Click HERE for the Reading WordArt Pack

by Jaimee


Click HERE to for the Pumpkin WordArt Pack

by Flor

Click HERE for Emily Bronte WordArt Pack

And, here's that second part in the Beautiful Baby WordArt. Again, the request came from Beckie. Hope you guys like it :) Click on the image below to to go to my 4shared account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work.

FONTS:
Me - ATCitadelScript
now - BigMummy

Share Laughter

OK, I just want to say, I need to hang out with different people. My current circle of friends don't menstruate, and it's KILLING me - LMBO!!! My mom, aunt, and grandma are post menapausal, my friend Maren's had a hysterectomy, and my 2 friends I do preschool are both pregnant. My body doesn't know what to do!!!

I know this is what you all want to hear - my cycle - hehehe. Some people call it Auntie Flo. But, the best was one of my college roommate, Heather Basso. She and her friends called it "Johnny". They'd say "Johhny is at my house", or "Johnny came to visit". Funny, eh? All the boys wanted to know who that Johnny guy was, and how he got so lucky. Ha!

Anyway, "Johnny" last came on Oct 2nd. What is it now, like Nov 18th. Aaaagh! The PMS is gonna do me under. Hehehehe. And no, I'm not prego. DH took care of that in May of '06. Hehehehe. I know, I know, too much information.

So, just please send me good "hormone" thoughts so that Johnny can come, and life can resume as normal - LOL!

Oh yeah! I have to show you these FABULOUS Cinnamon Rolls that I made today. Yeah, I know, tempting you with desserts when we're supposed to be going without them. But I just LOVE to bake. And, I didn't eat them. But I sure did smell them :) hehehe.

(Hey, it looks like someone licked that first cream cheese roll - what's up with that!?? Jimmy.....)


Cinnamon Carmel Rolls

2 pkgs dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cup scalded milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
4 cups flour
2 eggs
about 3 more cups flour
2 tbsp soft butter (or more - LOL!)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon (or more)
some Nutmeg (optional)
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water. Let stand.

In a large mixing bowl, stir hot milk, sugar, salt, and shortening.

Let cool slightly, then add eggs, flour, and yeast mixture. Mix well.

Add remaining flour, mixing my hand, until dough begins to leave sides of bowl.

Turn dough onto lightly floured board, keand until smooth, elastic.

Place in greased bowl, turing over for thin film.

Cover with damp cloth and let rise in warm place until double.

Punch down, turn over, and let rise again until amost double.

Roll 1/2 the dough into oblong 9" by 18" on lightly floured board.

Spread with butter and sprinkle with mixture of sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Roll up tightly, beginning with wide side. Pinch edges of roll to seal.

Cut in half. Cut each half into thirds. Cut each third into thirds. (That'll give you 18 cinnamon rolls)

Mix butter and brown sugar in small bowl, then spread on the bottom of a 9"x13" baking dish.

Put cinnamon rolls on mixture. Cover, and let rise until double.

Bake 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees F.

Makes 3 dozen

Just make sure that you don't overcook these rolls. If they get TOO done, they're dry and nasty. So just watch it closely.

OK, so when they come out of the oven, let them cool only slightly. I lined a cookie sheet with
tin foil, then turned them out onto it, so that the yummy carmelized part was on the top. AWESOME! The other batch, I turned them so that the carmalized part was on the bottom, then put some AWESOME cream cheese frosting (cream cheese and powdered sugar to taste) on the top. Yeah, SO good. I didn't eat any, but I did take a bite, taste it, then spit it out. I know, I'm pretty pathetic. It tasted good, though - LOL!

It's WordArt Wednesday again! This request is from one of my CT, Jaimee. It's from the movie, Mama Mia. Haven't seen that one yet. Anyone else seen it? Good, bad, otherwise?

Click HERE to go to Scraporchard to download the PNG zip file, but remember, you must be logged into the Gallery in order to get the download :) Thanks! And as always, leave some love if you like my work.

FONTS:
available in the download :)

Beautiful Baby 1

So I went through my closet last week. Wow, that felt good. Anything that was too big, I got rid of. And not just put in a box in the garage, either. GOT RID OF. I invited my friend, Maren, over, and we went through the closet piece by piece. I tried EVERYTHING on. Anything too big went into a donate pile. She took what she wanted (about 5 BIG piles of clothes), and I bagged up the rest for the thrift store (5 large trash bags full). Now, all the clothes in my closet fit. What a great feeling :)

Then, yesterday, I went to Marens house, and we went through her closet. I got a few new things, too! She was making room for the new stuff I gave her. How fun is THAT!!! Gotta love new things, even if they're just "new to me". Hehehehe.

This WordArt request comes from Beckie. This was a song, right? LOL! This is a 2 part-er. Look for the 2nd half on Thursday :) Click on the image below to go to my 4shared account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work.

FONTs:
Beautiful - ATCitadelScript
Baby - BigMummy

In My Arms

Hey girls :) How was your Sunday? We went to a picnic for a new family in our ward (congregation). It was pretty fun. Nice new family. They're from Wyoming, and he's a dentist. 2 little kids (3 and 1, or something like that). AND, I didn't eat any of the desserts - LOL! Salads, yes. Hot dog, yes. Bread with spinach dip. Yes. But sweets, no. Hehehehe. Aren't you proud of me - LOL!

I got to talk to Captain America a lot this weekend. It was REALLY nice :) He's gonna be gone on...um...camping? this coming week, so he won't be around to chat very much. OK, so it's not camping, but I don't know what the army calls it - LMBO! They're going out in the field. Field, camping, works for me!

This WordArt request is from Linda. She's expecting, and thought this saying would be PERFECT on some of her maternity pictures. I, too, agree that it would be great on maternity layouts, but I also thought that it would be good on so much more. I think it would be good on a layout with a pic of my sweetheart! Click on the image below to go to my 4shared account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work.

FONTS:
Arms - Scriptina
in, my - Selfish

Baby Face

My kids, my parent, and I went to a health fair today at the Middle School. It was mostly uneventful, but I think the kids had fun. They were giving paper bags with handles to everyone, so we had somewhere to store all of the handouts and such. Lots of food guide pyramids, a few drawings, some pencils, apples and oranges at one table, water and granola bars at the Costco table, and some guy at a jump rope table.

Jump rope - yep. Can't remember the name - Jump for Life, or something like that. Anyway, he had good handouts at his table, so we went to chat with him a while. My mom asked him about what his booth was all about, and he said jump ropes. He asked her about jumping rope, and she said "Well, I can't jump, because then I'd pee". I thought the poor little guy was gonna die of embarassment. I guess no 55 year old women have ever explained to him the facts of life and bladder control. As we age (and have kids), the bladder control goes out the window. Hehehehe. I got a good chuckle out of the whole exchange :)

So do you guys do Amish Friendship Bread? It's AWESOME, eh? My friend Maren gave me a starter bag a while back, and we made it with vanilla pudding. It was pretty tasty. She made hers with pistashio pudding and pistashio nuts. AND chocolate chips. It was FABULOUS!!! So, when I made my 2nd batch today, we used walnuts, chocolate pudding (fat free, casue it was all we had), applesauce (instead of oil), and a WHOLE bag of milk chocolate chips. Yep, definitely not on the diet.

So I'm pledging to you all know, that I PROMISE I won't eat another dessert until Thanksgiving. There. It's out there for everyone to see, and I'm gonna be good. I didn't diet so long to put back on the lbs. Since I officially got done dieting a few weeks ago, I've been adding a bit of junk food back in, and I think I've added a "bit" too much :)

So, who's with me? No sweets until Thanksgiving??? Come on, it's only 12 days. Then, we can all eat a big slice of Pumpkin Pie with cool-whip on Turkey day. I think it'll be FUN!!! But only if you all do it with me - hehehe.


I had an even better though! How about this. Whoever meets my goal (LOL, you like that, MY goal) of having NO sweets till Thanksgiving day, gets a 50% off coupon from my store. What do ya think? Is that worth it? So it's gotta be on the honor system. Email me after Thanksgiving, and let me know if you did it or not. And I'll send you off the coupon code. I know you all can do it :)

And if you're super skinny, and don't need to go without sweets, you still should, just so you know what use heavier/used to be heavier girls have to go through - LMBO! So, if you wanna play, just post here! Hey, we have to have SOME accountability, right?


OK, enough about that. Here's your freebie for the day. Just so you know, I designed this for you at 12:30am. Yeah, I was a bit behind on stuff. I got to talk to my hubby for HOURS and HOURS last night. He was on yahoo messenger, and so was I (I'm elegantwordart, btw). There's a video part, so he got to see the kids and I. We didn't have sound, and he didn't have a camera, but still, he got to see us. I think that really helped him out, to see us. Anyway, I just got off the phone/computer with him, and now I'm doing my post, then I'm going to bed. I'm SLEEPY!!!

So, here's the WordArt. I can't remember if this was a request or not. Let me go check real fast :) Yep, it's from Beckie. Hope you like it, girl! Click on the image below to go to my 4shared account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work. :)

FONTS:
Baby - Dulcimer JF
Face - ChocolateBox

Let's Dance

So, Branching was today!!! HE GOT IT!!! He was so excited when he texted me and told me. He picked Air Defense Artillery (ADA). There were about 10 slots, and he got the 2nd slot. He was pretty pumped about it.

So, it looks like he needs to do BOLC II (basic officer leader course 2) and BOLC III. He said that the army is SO in need of 2nd Lieutenants, and that because of that, the trainings are all jammed full. So, he's not even gonna be able to start that training until summer of '09. So, it looks like after he's done with BOLC I (where he's at now - graduation in Jan '09), they'll send him (and us!!!!), to where BOLC III will eventually be. And where will that be, you ask?

Fort Bliss, Texas!!!! That's in El Paso!!! We're going to TEXAS!!! (well, I think we are - nothing is official until we're actually there, right?) I think that on the 28th of this month, we should be able to see what his orders will be. Then, sometime after the first of the year, we'll be PCS-ing to Texas!!! (PCS - Permanent Change of Station - what they call it when the Army moves you). So, that's our BIG news :) Yea for us!!!!

Oh yeah, and some more news. Did I tell you that we get to rent a cabin from Boy Scout camp for Christmas Break???? I'm SO excited to have a cabin for our little family :) It's got 2 bedrooms, 2 bathroom, and a HUGE common area. It will be SUCH a great vacation for us all!!! Thanks, Boy Scouts!!!

So, onto WordArt :) I made this Alpha from a TUT, but didn't really like it. But, I thought it worked in ths WordArt. So, here ya go! Click on the image below to go to my 4shared account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work.

FONTS
Let's - CK_Alis_Official_Hand
d,a,n,c,e, - alpha by me :)

Simple Apple

Thanks goodness it's Friday!!! I'm SO ready for Saturday to come. I'm gonna sleep in, even if I have to sleep with 2 kids sitting on me. Oh, don't your kids come and sit on your head when they're ready for you to wake up? No? Lucky you! I think I'm tired enough that I could sleep through that, though - LOL!

I'm SO anxious to know what Branch Captain America got! He said that they're branching at 1400-1600 EST. So what's that, 11 to 1 my time? I have to get kids out the door to school at 8am, then Preschool at 9:15ish, then Joe to the Kindergarten bus at 11:30, then walking/jogging at the park at 11:45, then lunch, then back to the house. My friend Maren, and I, are gonna go through my closet and get rid of the clothes that no longer fit me. Let me tell you, that's a GREAT feeling. She's gonna get a BUNCH of new clothes. Well, new to her - LOL!

OK, girls, I have something special for you today :) A few of my CT showed me some AWESOME WordArt the other day, and wanted to know if I could do a variation of it. Well, it may not be just like the ones they showed me (I guess if thy were, that would be bad, right - LOL! Don't want to rip anyone off) I have about 4 or 5 new WordArt packs coming out in the upcoming weeks, all wit the same "Simple" feel as this one. Just wanted to give you a little preview of what was to come :)

This WordArt is for my mom. We've been picking the apples off the neighbors tree (my dad asked if we could - there are 4 young men who rent the house). Even though we have verbal permission from one of them, it still feels like we should sneak over and get them - LOL! So, here's some of our "bootleg" apples - hehehe. They may not look pretty, but they're DELICIOUS!!! And that's a lot coming from someone who eats 3 apples a day, every day - LMBO!

This is the reason that I have a CT - LOL!!!

Click on the image below to go to my 4shared account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work.

FONTS:
Apple - bulkyRefuse Type
Delicious - Porcelain
All rest - Underwood Champion.

I'm the Hero

Well, tomorrow is the BIG DAY!!! My hubby Branches tomorrow (that is, picks his "job"). I sure hope he picks a good one. Did I tell you that he's thinking ADA (Air Defense and Artillery)? It's shooting down the missiles before they take us out. Nice, eh? Sounds safe - LOL! It's considered "combat", but without all the marching around. He's too old for all the marching , or so he says - LMBO! But when we know the branch, we'll have a better idea of additional trainings, and where they might be, and possible duty stations. Another piece of the puzzle!

This WordArt request is from Heather. I changed it a little. I made it "child" instead of "girl". Thought that more people could use it. I know, I know, it's a direct quote, but hey, i didn't want all of the people with boys to feel left out - LOL!

Click on the image below to go to my 4shared (speaking of 4shared, have you all noticed that you have to be loggen in to leave a comment? What's that all about???) to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work.

I'm, the, Hero - Lima Bean
All rest - Eras Medium ITC (in case you wanna change child back to girl - LOL!)

Tying the Knot

So, did you all observe Veterans Day? The kids and I went to a parade. It lasted about 3 minutes, but it was great. I always get emotion when I think about our country, our flag, our veterans, our soldiers. It was even worse this year. Good thing the rain was DRENCHING us so much, you couldn't see me tearing up. LOL! Check out these pictures. The rain was BRINGING it. We got soaked. But it was wonderful.

Their sign says, "We love our soldier and daddy", then in red, it says "Daddy Deprived for UR freedom".

They're soaked, and we were only out for about 10 minutes total :)

Here's Jimmy and I - I have water just RUNNING down my face :)

Poor little things. Their sign is SOAKED, and so are they.

Hopefully your day was a lot drier than mine - LOL! What else.... oh yeah! I have all of my WordArt for next week designed already. How cool is that! I'm actually a week ahead of myself. Woohoo! You're gonna LOVE these new WordArts! They're pretty cool :)

And, it's WordArt Wednesday again! This WordArt was a request from Cherri. It's really close to what she wanted - LOL! Hopefully it works for her. She's making Wedding Invitations for her Daughter, and wanted this saying (actually, we're tying the know), and is gonna tie a pretty ribbon around it. Nice, eh? Good luck to your daughter!!!

Click HERE to go to the Orchard to download this weeks WordArt Wednesday. Remember, you need to be signed into the gallery in order to download the zip file :)