...and it rained.

It rained pretty much all day today. I mean REALLY rained. At one point it got pretty stormy and I was getting a little freaked out. Up here on the hill the clouds look like you can touch them. The wind was all crazy and for a minute it looked like it was gonna get REAL bad. Luckily it didn't! We just got a ton of rain! I'm not complaining! Besides the fact that we need the rain because some portions of our yard look like straw I happen to love rainy days. Especially when it really cools it off from 100+ to low 70's, it clears the air, and we get beautiful sunsets like this:

My big camera's batter was down so I had to use the little guy. He does a pretty good job, but I always say humans cannot truly capture the beauty of a sunset. Painters get pretty close, but nothing compares to seeing it. It's been so hazy and hot lately that this is the first good sunset we have had in a while.
Remember when I told you about getting my Uppercase Living box stuck under the gate? Remember when I told you how I tried to pull it out and whacked my hand on the gate motor? Well I took a photo of my hand. (It was pretty hard to do, by the way.) It probably sounded like I was making a big deal out of nothing, but I am an A+ clutz. I do crap like this all the time. I will have a huge ugly bruise somewhere and Eric will say "What in the world did you do now!?!" I always have no answer because I can't remember. I whack a part of my body on something every single day.
This photo cracks me up. I forgot I took it until today. This was at Outback yesterday when we were waiting on our food. Incredible what will entertain this goofball. These are my tanning bed glasses if you can't tell. I haven't used them in forever, but thank goodness they were there! Much better than him trying to talk to the people in the booth behind us like he normally does. I love this little gap toothed boy! ;)
Well hopefully Eric's mom will come tomorrow! I have no idea what we are doing this weekend. Hopefully I will get a vehicle. I would love to go to the lake! We got the new taco in! (There is a photo of this in a previous post.) The other taco was ripped and we had to send it back to get a new one. I will be prepared this time with knee pads! LOL Hopefully no bloody lips! Mine finally healed!
Okay I'm going to go watch some 90210! I LOVE it!
NIGHT!!!!
LUV APRIL

It's on Baby!

My own Uppercase Living site is on!!! YEAH!
Go HERE to view the catalog!!
I'll post again later I just had to share!
LUV APRIL

Naked Training is Shear Genius!

Haha! I love that title!
Okay I have devised a plan to potty train Brodey. I call it Naked Training. I strip him down naked and he has to pee pee in the potty. Right? Wrong! He comes running into the office and dances naked in his cowboy boots! LOL (I'm dead serious, by the way! I would prove it by posting a pic but someone would report me to Blogger. Hahahaha)
Okay so he really does pee pee in the potty when he's naked. If he isn't, he is just too busy to tell me he needs to go. I have to watch him very carefully and actually ask him if he needs to go. He usually says NO I have to go get my gun or NO I have to go get a drink or something other than go pee pee. It's a daily battle.

Okay on to something more entertainging...SHEAR GENIUS! I love this show. Everyone is so catty this season! It's great!! That's actually why I'm posting so late. We went to Tulsa after Eric got off work and I watched the recorded episode when I got home. Thank goodness for DVR! I LOVE that thing! I come home and git List and it shows me my shows! It's like Christmas every day!


I just love this kitty. I'm so glad someone didn't want her so that we could have her! As you have probably read someone dumped her at my Meme's house and my parents brought her to Brodey. He tells her "You are my best friend." So sweet! She tortures the other cat and it's so funny! They get along pretty well now. They did fight, but now they just stalk each other!

I'm pretty excited. Tonight (or probably in the morning because I'm tired) I get to set up my Uppercase Living website! My very own! I'm so excited! Everyone will be able to view the catalog and I think actually order from there! When I get it set up I'll link it! Yeah!

Okay I am going to bed. I am so tired. I didn't really do much today so I don't know why. My back is killing me so I'll have to say goodbye until tomorrow!
GOODNIGHT!!!!
LUV APRIL

Babies on Sale..Aisle 2

Brodey was watching the first of Tarzan today where the mommy gorilla finds him as a baby. Brodey has this dazed expression with a smile and says:
"That baby is so cute. I want to play with him. I want one."
I say "You want a baby?"
"Yes I want a baby. I want a baby brother."
I say "Well I don't think Daddy will go for that."
"Well I'm gonna get one."
I say "Well where do you think you are going to get one?"
"I'm going to go get one at the grocery store."
He is totally serious and says this last line as if I'm an idiot. Don't I know all babies come from the grocery store? How could I be so stupid?!
He has been obsessed with babies every since he saw Keith's little baby girl. He wants a baby brother so bad. He even says he will take a baby sister! HA! How do I explain to him that the return policy for a real baby isn't the same as a pair of shoes?
The little guy really cracks me up sometimes. He is a mess the rest of the time, but it's conversations like this that make me love him even more. Is that even possible?

Speaking of Brodey being a mess, he has given up nap time. It started about a month ago. I thought at first it was just a phase and he would start taking naps again. Nope. He wakes up around 8:30 or 9am and falls asleep at about 7 or 8 in the evening. Now don't get me wrong he goes pretty much nonstop all day, but he does take rests. I guess he has rest time now instead of nap time. I actually tried to lay down with him today and ended up falling asleep MYSELF! I guess if he wants to take a nap he will.

The piano tuner came today bright and early. I had to actually wake Brodey up. He is such a pill to wake up. I know I know just wait until he starts school. I think of when I used to have to wake my brother up. It was horrible. I would strip all the sheets off his bed and drag them into the living room so he would get up. Okay back to piano tuner lady. She was VERY nice. I felt bad because I'm not even sure the piano has even been tuned before. My mom said it has, but she also said who knows if they did a good job.
She was here for over 3 hours. I felt bad. She said the piano does have beautiful tones, though. That's good. My Meme bought me this piano when she wanted me to start taking lessons. I was about 4. They don't even remember who they bought it from, but the piano lady said that it was built around 1950. I had no idea it was that old. It certainly doesn't look it! Thank you Meme for taking such good care of it!
Oh yes and do you notice all that wall space above where the piano goes? Oh yes! I have big plans for that wall! The plans include this huge awesome metal thing I got at Hobby Lobby and an Uppercase Living expression about music! I'm waiting to get that in before hanging up the metal thing! I can't wait!!!
Okay I was talking to Jen earlier and I was supposed to get off and go clean up the dinner mess. I posted this instead. Hehe! I am off to clean up now, I promise!!!!
NIGHT!!!
LUV APRIL

A Quiet Weekend & a New Obsession

It was the first quiet weekend for me in ages! It was awesome!! No drama...just fun!
Friday night Eric's mom came to stay! Yeah! We got up Saturday and after I cooked breakfast we went to Tulsa. We actually went to look at cars, but I had to take advantage and to by the mall! I had a coupon for Victoria's Secret and you can bet I was gonna use it! I got a free pair of panties, more panties that weren't free, and a really cute pink dress. I got the new girl at VS, but I was really nice and patient. I SWEAR!!! The poor girl was so nervous. This was tax free weekend, school starting, AND the first of the month. The mall was a mad house and this poor girl was learning the ropes on one of the worst days of the year. It was kind of bumpy, but okay until I get home and realize that she didn't take off the huge plastic sensor on my dress! :( I have no idea why it didn't go off when I left the store and some huge guy tackle me! I guess I'll have to wait and take it back when I go next. No way am I going to try to take that stupid thing off myself and get ink all over the dress. Everyone would be like "Hello! Did you steal that!?!?!" LOL!
Okay besides that minor setback I also made it by Yankee Candle, The Body Shop, in and out of the Gap (I know a FIRST for me), and to the As Seen on TV store. Yes that's right. I had to stop by and get the Pancake Puffer! It's so cool! I tried it out on Saturday and it's so much fun! It makes pancakes into these cute little bitesize puffs! It was a good mall trip!
After that we were supposed to make it by a couple of dealerships, but one closed early and Eric was pretty mad. He got over it finally and we went to eat and were suppoed to go to a movie. That diddn't happen. The movie theater by the mall we went to was not so inviting. Let's just say it was fun to people watch...for about 10 seconds. We have to find a good movie theater somewhere in Tulsa. If you have a suggestion, PLEASE let me know!!!

Sunday was a perfectly lazy day. We all swam for a long time. No that isn't a little girl that looks like Brodey in the photo. Haha! His good floaties blew away and these were left behind by the previous owners. Doesn't he look good in pink? Teehee!
I need to get his hair cut something fierce, but he isn't into it. He got used to going when we lived in Edmond. I can't find a good place to take him around here so I usually let him get it cut when I get mine done. When we went on Wednesday he wouldn't let them do it. I think it's because my parents were there and he didn't want a stupid haircut cutting into his Nan and Papa time! Eric and I keep talking about buzzing it off, but we haven't got the guts up yet.

Behold my new obsession. Uppercase Living. This is just a teeny tiny tip of the iceberg.

My start-up kit came today and I got a bunch of different samples. I HAD to try one out! This one is a tad bit too small for this space, but I just had to do it! It was so easy! It's just like applying a rub-on but easier! I am totally addicted! I can't wait until my order comes in from Erin's party!
In a couple of days I will be able to open my own Uppercase Living website! So excited!!

I say this as my right hand is still throbbing. When I got home today from town I opened the gate like I normally do. This time, though, the UPS man had placed my Uppercase Living package on the inside of the gate and it had fallen down. When the gate opened it caught on the box and wouldn't open all the way. I jumped out of the car and tried to pull it out. Not possible. The package weighed 31 pounds and was HUGE. I could hear the gate trying to open and I just knew it was going to burn the motor up or something. (Ha I can hear Eric now blaming the gate blowing up on another one of my "hobbies." LMAO!!) It was so stinkin' hot outside and I was burning up in my black dress and trying to pry this box out when I decided to just rip it open and pull out the insides to slip it out from underneath. Ha! I got one good rip and when I went to rip again my hand slipped and slammed right into the gate motor. MAN it hurt! I busted the blood vessels all in the right side of my right hand. If you have ever done that you KNOW how bad that throbs. I was so mad at this point that I actually pulled it out and the stupid gate opened and then closed itself. It was so worth it, though! Haha! There were a ton of goodies inside!
Okay I am headed to bed. We have to get up early in the morning because after a few failed attempts the piano tuner is coming! She says it will take 3 hours. Fun.
Have an awesome Tuesday!
Night!
LUV APRIL

Does Brodey Look Smart(ER)?

Haha! The first thing Brodey wanted to do when he saw me in my glasses was to try them on himself! No surprise there! He looks so cute in them! I hope he never has to wear them, but he still looks handsome!

What did the hot dog say when he won the race?
I'm the weiner! I'm the weiner!!
That's what I was saying today when I got an e-mail letting me know I won a drawing on Kimber Mcgray's blog!! I am SO excited! It's an awesome end to my interesting week! LOL (I borrowed the photo of the goodies from her blog.)

Hopefully we will have a nice and quiest weekend. SO much more so than last. I don't want to go anywhere I don't have to! I really hope my mother-in-law gets to come. I would love to have a little uninterrupted scrap time!


If you happen to be in Edmond on July 16th come by Just 4 Keeps and take my stamp class! That's the layout we will be doing! I can't even tell you how much fun I have teaching this class! We are using Autumn Leaves stamps and Technique Tuesday Tiles! FUN TIMES!!!

You are probably like why in the world is she posting in the afternoon? She usually posts at midnight! LOL Well I'm afraid Eric is going to come home any minute and make me get dressed and go somewhere! We'll see if I get that movie I was promised this weekend! It might end up being on Pay Per View....fine by me! :)
Have an awesome Friday night!
LUV APRIL

Do I Look Smart(ER)?

I finally got my new glasses today! I almost passed out....HAHAHAHA!! I had to say that! LOL Of course I had to take a pic of me in them...trying to look smart. I think I look a little clueless instead, but I'm not taking another one! They are only for reading, though. That's fine with me!

I got Brodey's shirt today from Ollie Kate. It is ADORABLE. I let him open it and he was all excited about it. He had to wear it all day and refused to take it off until he and Eric went swimming tonight. Hopefully he will forget about it until I get it washed!

Every morning at the same time the kitty cats are waiting on us to go outside. Today they were waiting on my AND they were hungry. The raccoon figured out that the kitty food was on the table. I guess that just didn't cut it, because it also dumped out a 40 lb sack of bird seed. Yes it was more than half full. It took forever to clean that up. So I made Eric promise to put it up so we wouldn't have a repeat tonight. Do you think he actually remembered? HA!
Tonight he looks outside and he's like "OH! The mommy raccoon brought a baby with her!"
I'm still mad at her for dumping the sack of seed and I'm like "Oh fabulous. You put up the bird seed...right?"
Silence.
"Does that mean no you didn't put up the seed?"
He says "Um yeah."
I bring him the dust pan and broom. Not so cute now, right? WRONG!
He's like "So do you not have any cat food left?"
I'm like "NO."
"I like them to come."
"So you like to clean up after them and buy them food?"
"Well I like to watch them."
I'm like "Okay. I'm not cleaning up after them again."
He says "Fine."
So the raccoons and I have called a truce for now. They can come if Eric cleans up after them. Somehow I don't think that will happen.

Everyone disses Wal-Mart, but I've always been a fan. One stop shopping baby! LOL I grew up in Holdenville (population 5,000) and all we had was Wal-Mart. Now I live in Tahlequah and all we have is Wal-Mart. When I wear this necklace, no one believes I got it there! (The dress is from Old Navy) I think it's so cute! You never know what you will find there! ;)
I got a call in for a layout today from Memory Makers. They are doing this in-store pamphlet about organizing your scrap space. It sounds pretty cool! I love the layout I did, so I'm pretty excited! I'm just not sure when it will be out.
Yesterday when we went to Shawnee my mom bought Brodey a new movie. It's Tarzan. The Disney one. We watched it today and I cried at the end. Haha! I forgot how good it is!
Speaking of movies!!! Jen sent me the link today for the new Harry Potter movie. Gosh it looks so good. It's like Christmas watching it and hearing the music gives me goose bumps. It's awesome and I can't wait.
I think Eric and I might actually go to a movie tomorrow night. You are as shocked as I am, I know. If you have any suggestions, send 'em my way. I'm so out of the loop. There was a time when we had seen every movie out PLUS every new release at Blockbuster. Those were the pre-Brodey days!
Well it's late and I better go to bed!
Sleep tight!
LUV APRIL

Never a Dull Moment

I could never describe my life as dull. Sometimes I wish it were so, but then my blog would be pretty dull too. That's no fun.
I used to ask my mom for a wig for Christmas. I never got one, but I came pretty close today. It was supposed to be a routine visit to the hairdresser. (And no I didn't pass out...HA!) I've been going to the same hairdresser for 17 years. He is the best. I don't have to tell him what to do. He has talked me out of horrible haircuts and into awesome ones. I used to photograph his family when I had the studio. I love him to death.
This visit he was supposed to put the color on my roots. We switch and do that and the foil every other time. So he starts putting the color on my roots and it starts to burn like crazy.
I'm like "Mike. It burns."
He's like "Oh don't be a wimp." I'm thinking okay I won't be a wimp. It burns worse.
"Mike it really burns."
He says "Really? Like how bad?"
I'm like "Like REALLY bad. Like it's never burned like this before."
He feels my scalp and says "April hurry rinse her off." (April is his assistant.)
I RUN over to the shampoo bowl and start yelling for April to "RINSE IT OFF!!!!! RINSE IT OFF!!!!" I was freaking out. It felt like knives in my scalp. I'm sitting there thinking after the month I've had it wouldn't surprise me if my hair fell out and I actually did get my wigs for Christmas.
So April gets it rinsed off, I have to sit there with some stuff on my scalp, and he checks it out. No hair loss and no burns...thank goodness. What was funny is that in that 30 second time period it actually colored my hair. I usually have to sit there for about 30 MINUTES. I was like awesome! It didn't make it blonde enough for my taste, but thinking of what COULD have happened...it was fine!
We think what happened is that I swimmed last night and I didn't get all the chemicals out of my hair from the pool water. Maybe stress...but I think that's a stretch. I won't even think about getting in the pool before my next hair appointment!
Well that's enough excitement for me. I'm taking my sore scalp to bed. Hopefully tomorrow will prove less eventful.
LUV APRIL

Oh P.S. If you tried to log in as a customer on the Uppercase Living site and it asked for your info, don't worry! I'm the only person that will get that! You know I won't bug you...unless I do already! Hahahaha!!!

Comic Relief

When ya gotta dance, ya gotta dance! Even in the booth at the Mexican restaurant!
Brodey has no shame. I have to say I'm glad. I have pretty much always been that way and Eric is the exact opposite. Eric wouldn't dance at a DANCE. I don't think Brodey will be that way. He will break it down anywhere if he has a good beat! LOL I really needed some comic relief.

We went to Tulsa last night to see what vehicles the dealerships had. I'm not sure what I want now. I just want something that isn't a rental car. Eric took me out to eat to put me in a better mood. It actually worked. We ate at Los Cabos next to Bass Pro. It's SO GOOD! I'm so glad I bought that little camera to keep in my purse! I wouldn't have those hilarious pics otherwise!


I'm REALLY trying to be positive. It's hard to not revert back to being angry with whomever did it and not feeling paranoid. I have been triple checking the locks on the doors. It's silly now that I type it out. It happened all the way in Holdenville, but it still makes you feel violated. See I'm getting all negative again. I just need to stop it and hope the police find out who did it.
When we got home last night the comic relief continued, although at first Eric DID NOT think it was funny. I had been cleaning out the whirlpool tub (hate those stupid things, by the way) and was in the last stage when I had to leave yeterday. I had left the rinse water in there to finish when I got home. Well I was letting the tub fill back up while I was washing my face and in came Eric thinking he would just take over the situation.
"The water only needs to be right over the jets. Good grief."
I just roll my eyes like usual and let him think whatever he wants.
So I said "Fine. I'm done cleaning it I just need to rinse it again. I think it needs a little more water, though."
Eric the know it all says "NO it's fine."
I'm like okay! So I go over and turn the jets on and water goes EVERYWHERE. It shot into Brodey's face and made him cry. It got all over the walls and window. Eric got soaked. I was so wet that my mascara was running down my face, water was in my ear, and my tank top was SOAKED. Of course Eric yells for me to turn it back off. So I go to turn it off and get even more soaked. As soon as I got it turned off I sat down in the floor and laughed so hard I was crying. It was like a total mix of emotions. It hadn't felt so good to laugh that hard in ages. This weekend had me so tense that it was the best feeling to just let go and laugh it out!
Poor Brodey finally calmed down. My hair was soaked and Eric was mad. I made HIM clean the water up. Guess he won't make comments about the water level the next time I clean it out! Hahaha!!!
One of the only good things to come out of this weekend was Erin showing me her Uppercase Living catalog. She held an open house for a friend of her's and the second I opened the catalog I was HOOKED. I mean hooked. Have you ever used a rub-on and thought man I'd like to supersize that and put it on my wall!?!?! I HAVE!
It's these awesome wall images that are similar to rub-ons. You can put them on just about any surface and they just peel off when you don't want them anymore! I have been trying to figure out what to do with my huge walls that are bare, and this is it! I actually loved it so much I'm selling it! You should check it out. On the right side of my blog there's a link. You have to enter in the ID And TOKEN that I have listed. Pretty soon we will have websites. I'm so excited about this. This came at the perfect time for me. A welcome distraction and hopefully a way for me to meet new people here! If you like what you see, send me an e-mail at massadmomma@yahoo.com!
Well hopefully things will get back to normal soon. I go get my hair done tomorrow! So excited! My parents will meet me and Brodey and I will have a good day!
I'm off to start dinner! Maybe we will swim when Eric gets home! Have a great evening!!
LUV APRIL

Good Time...Bad Times

What a weekend. What a weekend.
I have been looking forward to this weekend since I scheduled to teach back in June. I taught two classes Saturday at Just 4 Keeps in Edmond. I LOVE to teach. LOVE IT. So besides getting to do that, I also got to crop with all my Edmond girls! It was a blast as usual! No layouts done, but it doesn't matter! I can't even put into words how good it was to spend time with everyone. I didn't even leave until 11pm! FUN!
Eric, Rene, and Brodey went to Holdenville while I was in Edmond so we could go to the lake this weekend. So instead of driving back to Tahlequah, I drove to Holdenville. I didn't get to the lake until about 12:45 or 1. We all played horseshoes and went to bed.
We get up the next morning around 10 and we are messing around outside. Eric happens to look over and notice my car is gone. Of course at first we think no way it has to be a joke. So we went and woke up Tyler (Ally's boyfriend) and asked him if he put the car anywhere. He was like NO! WHY!?! We were like oh my gosh. My car is gone. It's really gone. I, of course, start crying. I LOVE my car. LOVE it. I picked it out and I love it. Well I guess I should say loved it. (I'm actually getting emotional typing aobut it.)
We called the police and they came out so we could report it. While we were making out the report the officer got a call in that someone had found it...and it was burned. I'm freaking out "like burnt?!?! What do you mean burnt!?!? Why would someone do that?!?! Are you sure it's MY car??!?!" Someone had found it somewhere way out and so Eric, Tyler, and Ally went to look. There was no way I could go. No way I wanted to see the car I loved so much like that. So I went to Eric's mom's. I called Ally after a while and asked her about it and she was like "oh my gosh April. It's gone. It's all burned up. Someone burned it up and threw beer cans all in it. I'm so sorry." I can't even understand why someone would do that. It's just so dumb. People have no respect for others.
We have been going to the lake for years and nothing like this has happened to us. We had some beer, watermelons, and food stolen several weeks ago and once we had a homeade porta-potty stolen. (That was before we had a camper LOL) This stuff happens to other people. I guess it was just wrong place wrong time. It's just so stupid to me. I can't even imgaine what would make someone do that other than some kind of substance. Someome said that in town someone's vehicle was vandalized and a car at Wewoka lake was stolen and burned. Who knows if it was the same person, but they need to find a hobby.
I was totally looking forward to this weekend. The first part was awesome, and the second part not so much. Jen was like "see you should have stayed the night!" I sure should have! I'm just so glad I didn't really have anything in there. There were a few movies, toys, and stuff but that's it. THANK GOSH I stopped by Eric's and dumped out my scrap stuff from teaching. The inside of my car gets dusty at the lake and I didn't want my stuff yucky. Oh my I shudder to think if that stuff had been in there!! I'll take dusty over burned any day!
The next vehicle I get will NOT be anything anyone wants to steal. No BMW's. I'm stuck in a stinking rental car because someone wanted to be stupid. Okay I'm done being negative. I've had a headache since yesterday and I need to go make dinner. Sorry this post was so down. Hopefully tomorrow will be more entertaining or uplifting! LOL
Good night!
LUV APRIL

Summer Hair & a New Camera

Summer has never been a good hair season for me. Not that it looks really bad, it's just that I have super thick hair and when I blow dry it the bathroom turns into a sauna. So you can imagine my excitement when I figured out the easiest hairdo for me EVER.
A few weeks ago I was at the lake and I ran to Eric's and took a shower. Eric was rushing me so I just got out of the shower, didn't even comb out my hair, put in some leave-in conditioner, and put it up in a high ponytail that you don't pull all the way through. That was it. I slept in it like that and didn't touch it until the next morning.
After breakfast the next morning I took it down. It wasn't 100% dry so I just left it down to dry. Madyson (Eric's sister) comes in the kitchen and says "oh I love your hair." I was like "haha sure." She said "No really! You didn't do that on purpose?" I walk over and look in the mirror and it's all wavy and actually looked really good! I couldn't believe it turned out like that from just putting it up overnight! The next day I thought I'd try it again just to see if it was a fluke. It wasn't! I did the same thing and got that same results! It's so nice to be able to swim with Bro and not worry about blow drying it. The pic I took today isn't the best, but I don't care! I have the easiest hairdo in the world! LOL
Oh by the way, I got a new camera! It's the one in the pic of my hair. I was SO EXCITED! I have been wanting a little point and shoot for a long time. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE my 20D, but it just feels a little silly to pull it out at a restaurant with that big flash and say "CHEESE!" Hahaha! This new camera fits right in my purse and it is so much fun!

I have a couple of obsessions right now. The first is pretty harmless. It's water with lemon. We have an awesome ice machine in our house and it makes the best ice! Throw a lemon in there and you have the perfect summertime drink! Don't worry, though! I haven't given up my Diet Coke! ;)
My other obsession is Esty. MAN I love that place! I bought the coolest address stamp HERE, a cool shirt for Brodey HERE, and a chic little camera strap for me HERE! I'm an online shopaholic and the post lady hates me! LOL She has to ring up at our gate and I have to let her in to bring me packages. But hey! I told her she could leave them in the mailbox, but she said no! :)
The raccoon came back yesterday. She, yes SHE, was eating all the kitty food. I was watching her through another window and noticed she has some very large tattas. She's nursing some baby raccoons some where so she can fill up on the kitty food any time she wants!
Well I better go start getting my class kits ready! Tomorrow will be a scrappy filled day at J4K! I'm so excited! I'm headed to Holdenville afterwards so I won't be blogging until Monday!
Have a safe and awesome weekend!
LUV APRIL

I have Fabulous Friends!

Today was a lonely day. I have days where I REALLY REALLY miss my friends. I get sort of down and miss living in Edmond. I love my home here, but I miss everyone and going to Just 4 Keeps.
To perk me up I'm posting the new book by Memory Makers called Fabulous Friends. That's the book and this is my layout in it:

Those are my friends from high school. I've known most since before preschool. I MISS THEM!!! I miss everyone! :( But posting about it has made me feel better!!
I can't wait until Saturday! I get to finally see everyone! I am teaching two classes at J4K and I am going to stick around and crop! SO SO excited! I never get any layouts done, but who cares! I'm there to visit! I scrap at home by my lonesome! Haha!

The other day when I went to the eye doctor, we went to see Eric at work! Brodey had a lot of fun! Eric cleaned his teeth and he got to clean his own! He LOVED that! None of the girls could believe he sat still long enough or would even open his mouth! We even got x-rays of his teeth! So cute! He is always looking at our teeth with his flashlight. I took a pic of him polishing his own!


LOL He did a pretty good job, too!
SO CUTE!!!
I found the most awesome blog through other blogs. (Sorry I can't remember which one!) I'm sure I'm behind on this, but I just had to share! Bloesem Kids is the coolest site I've found in a while! I already bought something from an Etsy shop I found on there. I'll post that tomorrow! You have to check it out! So fun!


Well the raccoon came back last night! Luckily he hasn't found the kitten's food on the table! We are going to wait up for him again tonight. It's fun watching him eat. He can totally see us at the door, but he doesn't even care. The cats will not even come out until he is gone! It's funny!

Well the boys just got out of the pool and I better go rinse Brodey off! Tomorrow is Friday! YEAH!!!! I can't wait for the weekend!
NITE!
LUV APRIL

It's a suuuuunny day!

That's Brodey's new line. "It's a suuuunny day!" He throws his hands up and draws out that uhh sound! It's hilarious!
That's exactly what he said today when we walked outside to go get the mail. He also followed it up with "Momma it's HOT!" I said "yes it is, baby!" He also dressed himself, I might add. Notice the boots, hat, and shades. So funny!
I got a new sewing machine recently and I am a sewin' FOOL! I think I have sewn on the last six layouts I have done. Yes SIX! I'm on a kick! Bro has a tv now in the scrap room and man is it helpful! I get so much done! He actually fell asleep in there last night watching The Jungle Book. I catch myself singing along with it! I still love that movie!
Well I'm going to head to bed. If I can find what Brodey did with the flashlight I might do some late night reading! :)
Until tomorrow!
LUV APRIL

We have a new cat.......HA!

I was about to go to sleep tonight and I walk by one of the windows and see that! LOL My first thought was gosh that's a big raccoon! I grew up in the country and have seen my fair share, and this was a big one! I'm whispering to Eric to look and trying to sneek to get my camera at the same time. He, or I guess maybe she, totally cleaned out the continuous feeder! It was so funny. Eric's genius self tried to open the door to get a better pic and he/she ran off. As soon as she was gone here come the cats! So much for defending their territory! LOL That raccoon was bigger than both my kitty cats!
Well enough fun for tonight. I'm headed to bed. I finally feel like my old self again after the date with the floor yesterday. :)
Nite!
LUV APRIL

Hello Floor!

I called my mom today and asked "Why can't I just do something normal? Like just go to the eye doctor?" She just laughed and said "I don't know. What happened?" Ha!
The last time I had an eye exam was in 1999. Pathetic, I know. Eric went with me and when the dr put the drops in my body freaked and I almost passed out. I didn't, though! I kept control, but I came pretty close. I can't say that for today.
I got there without a hitch and got back in the room. I warned the dr of what had happened at my last eye exam and he said okay! I had Brodey in my lap and I go through all the exam and then he puts the drops in my eyes. I was nervous from last time, but I was determined not to let it get to me. The drops made my eyes feel weird and that's when my body started reacting. I told the dr I was feeling a little creepy, but I was okay. He did the lights in my eyes and right after he did that I felt REALLY creepy. I said "Oh no I feel it" and it all went black.
I started to come to. I could hear them talking and I realized I was lying on the floor. The poor receptionist was holding my legs up and the dr was holding a wet washcloth over my eyes. When I could talk the first thing I said was "did I drop Brodey?" They said "no no they took him up front." I said "I'm so sorry." I was so embarrased. I DO NOT get embarrased easily, but this did it. I was wearing a dress and THANK GOD I had shaved my legs this morning! LOL
They made me eat some crackers and drink some water and I felt good enough to get up. I sat back down in the chair and within a few seconds I felt it again. He had to put me BACK on the floor until I felt better. Finally I got up and he told me he was watching me after the lights in my eyes and my pupils were HUGE. He said my head just went back and he grabbed Brodey and yelled for the girls up front. They took him while he and another girl got me to the floor. He said I'm the 4th person for that to happen to. That made me feel better!
It's 7pm and I still feel like crap. I feel all nauseous and creepy. NOT a good day. On top of that, I got Eric lunch while I was in town and proceeded to spill my Diet Coke all over myself. There had to be icing on the top of this wonderful cake, right?
Why can't I just have normal days? Go to the dr without a hitch? Cause then I wouldn't have anything to talk about on this blog! HAHAHAHAHA!
LOVE APRIL

Silly Kitty!

That is Brodey's new "best friend." Hehe! This has to be the sweetest kitty every and the silliest! She sleeps in the oddest places! This is the only photo I've been able to capture so far. I didn't even get her sleeping because she heard me. She was actually sleeping in my window basket. I looked out to check on her and there she was. I had to take a pic! She also loves to sleep in the empty hanging basket I have in the shelf on the back porch, under the wicker side table, and on Bro's swingset. She is so funny and Brodey loves her to death.
She was a stray that showed up at Meme and Doc's house. They couldn't keep her because they said they are too old to be tripping over a little kitty. So they sent her to Brodey! He couldn't love her any more!
I actually think the other kitty is starting to like her. They didn't get along at first, but she's warming up to her.

This kitty cat was born here and when we moved here Ashley ,the previous owner, took her to the people down the rode. Ashely said she cried when she took her because she had lived here all her life. :( When she told me that I said "oh she'll come back." And she did! I'm so glad! She is such a good kitty!
Well Eric is due back some time this afternoon. His fishing trip went well. I decided to stay here instead of go to Holdenville. I'm glad because I have actually gotten stuff done! No layouts...but Bro has to go to sleep some time! Hahaha!
Have an awesome Sunday!
LUV APRIL

Bruises and busted lips...

Bruises, busted lips, and skinned elbows is what I have. Thanks to this:

We call it the taco and no that isn't us. LOL It's a photo of the tube we got from www.sportsstuff.com. It's SO MUCH FUN but gosh it's dangerous! It's s triple rider so of couse we had to load it down! The problem is that it tears up your knees and elbows! Mom literally went and bought us elbow pads this week at Wal-Mart.
We also coulsn't resist hooking it up to the back of the boat with Big Bertha(the super big two person tube). Eric is saying all along "this is a bad idea...this is a bad idea..." He was on the taco with me and Danielle. Danielle's boyfriend, Jacob, was on Big Bertha. My dad swings us around and takes us over waves so big they are capping over. I swear you could surf on them. We hit the first wave and my butt pops up and as we came down my mouth slams into Danielle's fist. You can imagine the blood going everywhere. I bail off the back thinking that no one knows I'm hurt and Eric comes after me. Blood was going everywhere and all I could think of was "I don't want stitches...I don't want stitches..." Eric gets me onto the boat and we realize I that I don't need stitches and my lip is busted all the heck. So of course I jump off the back of the boat and climb right back on. Poor Danielle's hand was cut from my tooth. She was fine! Haha! It was so much fun!
What I love most about the taco is that Brodey can ride. It's so much fun! When dad goes slow he can stand up and crawl around on it. (With me holding onto him, of couse.) Fun times at the lake!


This is one of my DT Layouts for Just 4 Keeps this month. At the lake on the 4th. That was actually last year. Bro has grown so much. I don't realize it until I compare photos or look at him now. Such a little man now! :(
Well I'm going to go (hopefully) work on some layouts. Eric is going to fish with Brandon and Keith this weekend. Bro and I just might head to the lake again! Haha! ;)
Have a good weekend!
LUV APRIL

New Habit

Okay I haven't been a good girl at updating my blog. :) I'm sorry and I'm going to try and do better!
We have been so busy this last month. Graduations, birthdays, holidays, sicknesses, you name it! I'm so glad all that's over PLUS I'm finally getting settled in here! I'm starting to know where things are and not be walking around in circles. We all love it here! I especially do because there is always something for Eric to do outside with Brodey. That leaves me to my scrappy room! I'm finally getting that space organized too! It majorly needs a clean up right now, though, becaue I just finished my class and design team layouts. I'll post those on the 1st.
Brodey and I took our annual 4th of July t-shirt photos. I took them myself with the self timer. LOL It was like okay push the button...run after Brodey...make him laugh...try not to smile so big. All that in 10 seconds. Haha! I couldn't find our t-shirts at Old Navy so I actually had to order them online. That's okay as long as I get the photos! Who knows how long he will continue this tradition with me, but I'm taking advantage while he's too young to protest. Hehe!
Well I better go. Starting today I'm going to make a new habit of posting daily. Let's see how well I do! ;)
LUV APE

Where have I been?

I'm sure anyone that reads this blog is wondering where in the world I am? Well I am comewhere inbetween Tahlequah and Muskogee, Oklahoma! We moved and we LOVE it here! I miss all my friends terribly, but I get to go back and teach class at Just 4 Keeps once a month!
This will be a short post, but I won't be a stranger again! I just wanted to let everyone know I didn't fall off the face of the Earth! Hehe!
I'll be back soon with pictures!
LOVE APRIL

Eggshells

I've been absent from the blog for a long time. I've been so busy with moving that I haven't had much online time for myself. I haven't had time to scan my usually message boards. I haven't even had time to scrapbook. But when I do I just go along. Merrily creating whatever comes to my mind. If a magazine happens to like it, they publish it. That's it. That's great.

When I first started scrapbooking I didn't understand why in the world people made their own embellishments. Why would you do that when there are all these wonderful things you can buy? Once I started getting more comfortable with the hobby, I realized what I loved about it. It was every hobby I had ever loved rolled into one. It was photography. It was decorating a page instead of a wall. It was arts and crafts.

I have always loved arts and craft. Making things with my hands. Getting dirty. Coming up with something beautiful out of nothing. Maybe out of something you would throw away. Like eggshells. That is what I love about scrapbooking. It is the ultimate hobby for me. Everything I enjoy doing rolled into one.

When I got the closed call for creating a project using eggshells from Creating Keepsakes, I was instantly intrigued. I was instantly challenged. I love having a product and asking myself what all I can do with it. Anyone who has spent any amount of cropping time around me knows this. This is also why I love Creating Keepsakes. They aren't afraid to think differently and creativly. They understand there is more than one way to use something. Even eggshells.

I accepted the challenge thinking what a fun way to use all those eggs you have leftover from Easter! I experimented with them and came up with a few fun things. Creating Keepsakes happened to like one of them so it got published. Then last week while I was packing some people on a website got all crazy over eggshells. Who knew people could get so fired up about eggshells?

Why NOT turn trash into treasure? Why NOT offer an alternative way of creating? Granted, it may not be for everyone, but it's for someone. When I first started I would have overlooked it, but now I think what fun it would be. What FUN it would be to make my own little something. What FUN it would be to get my hands dirty making something on my own. That's what it's all about for me. FUN. I don't scrapbook for anyone else but myself. I do what pleases me. If a magazine happens to like what I have done that's all the better. But I do realize it's not for everyone and that's fine with me. But you know what? No matter how crazy people get about eggshells, I'll still be creating and I'll still be putting it out there for people to love. Or hate. It may not be for everyone, but it's for ME and by golly I have FUN doing it.