Sunday and A Little Glimpse of Chicago

I thought my relatively low key weekend would leave me feeling rested and ready to conquer the world.  No such luck....but I am feeling better, just seem to still be dragging a bit.  I have already recapped most of the weekend, but Sunday was very productive.  I got started on my next scrapping project.  I have to tell you peeps...I am loving it!  The colors are cherrry cobbler red, black and silver...very reminiscient of the wedding album I did in hot pink, black and silver.  Here is a little sneak peak....the last one you will get until this baby is done...so enjoy!  I can't spoil all the fun for the recipient now, can I???

2 page spread for a 12x12 album

 In other news....here is a little glimpse into my Girl's Weekend in Chicago.  I cannot possibly begin to share all the photos that I have received...close to 300 and that is just from Megan.  Jennifer told me that she has another 300 that she will be sending soon...and now maybe you understand why I decided that I might should leave the picture taking to the pros...lol.   I broke these down into sightseeing around Chicago for one collage and strictly St. Patrick's Day for the other.  I love the create a collage button in "Picasa 3".  Even computer dummies like me can create fun things with Picasa and make  it look like I know what I am doing.  Super Easy!!!

This first collage covers Navy Pier,  Millenium Park and the "Bean" - it was fascinating to me,  Yolk - where we had an insane amount of ridiculously good breakfast food - hello Red Velvet French Toast, a view from Willis (Sears) Tower, Sprinkles Cupcakes - Chicago, the famous "Chicago" sign, and a photo op with the Michigan River in the background.

The next one is all from St. Patrick's Day...and in case you are wondering that short sleeve shirt I had on Friday, made a repeat performance halfway through the day on Saturday because of the f*ing ridiculous unseasonably warm Chicago weather that weather.com completely flubbed on predicting.  Supposedely, 2012 was the warmest St. Patrick's Day in Chicago history.  How lucky for us...not!!!

The people watching on SPD was off the charts...in some ways I imagine it is like Mardi Gras in Chicago.  People dressed up, people dressed their pets up.  Not really any pictures of the parade...we didn't make it there long.  The amount of people there was truly stiffling and really so crowded that we couldn't see much anyway.  The Michigan River turned green was a cool sight to see.  It was amazing how green it actually was.  Our goal for the day was to hit up five pubs or bars during the afternoon having a drink at each...we weren't driving people!  Sometime during the afternon, it morphed into ten...but we rounded out the evening with eight.  We closed out the evening at the very crowded hotel bar.

That is the condensed version of our whirlwind trip...I will probably post one more round of photos when I get the other disc.  I think that Jennifer has some fun pictures from some places that we hit that Megan didn't have her camera for.  All in all, it was a really fun trip.  We all got to explore a new place and it was wonderful to catch up with friends that I don't get to see nearly enough of.  Hope you enjoyed the photos...and now I am off to get some much need beauty sleep!  Night!

Weekend Randoms

Happy Weekend!  I am finally starting to feel like myself again.  After my marathon of scrapping two weeks ago, my trip to Chicago and then the midnight showing of the Hunger Games Thursday night / Friday morning...honestly, I was plain wiped out.  Got a great night's sleep last night and plan on doing the same tonight.  I am definitley seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!
As promised, here is the link for photos of the scrapbook.  It was a challenge that is for sure, but once I got going it was a lot of fun and I am thrilled with how it turned out.  Now that I know what to do with a project like this, I will not hesitate if asked to do another one.  I am used to being all about the pictures, so this was a little out of my comfort zone.  Not bad, I came to realize, just different.  Sometimes, different is GOOD.

Click here to view these pictures larger

In case you were worried that I was doing all that hard work creating on my own....never fear,  I had a little help from a friend...

Jack adding his two cents to the project

We had a little shake up at work this week.  It was actually a really great thing, but was just a huge surprise.  In these tough economic times, I feel for anyone that loses their job, but I have to say, that one change has made a world of difference for my whole division and that can't be a bad thing.  TRUST ME!

Zachary started another soccer season this morning.  I don't want to jinx anything, but I have to say, the boys looked good!  They ended up winning 9 ~ 0.  Quite a few of the boys have played several seasons together and it definitely showed. Fingers crossed that a winning season is in their future...they certainly deserve one!

Half time!

Z also got his first pair of glasses today.  Unfortunately, it looks like he has inherited my bad eyes.  He looks so grown up, I can hardly stand it.  He picked out the glasses all on his own, and I have to admit I think he did a good job.  He seems really pleased with them and is thrilled that he can see now.

Where did my little boy go???

After Zach's eye appointment, I went and got a massage.  I had a GC from last Mother's Day - ridiculous I know that it took me so long to use it.  It was heavenly - at one point I am pretty sure that I dozed off...it was just that good.  So all in all, there are no complaints on this weekend.  I am planning on continuing the trend tomorrow with a day of no pressure scrapbooking.  I always love diving into a new book.  Plus, I have new scrapping toys that I can't wait to try out!  I hope you are all enjoying your weekend!  Stay tuned for a plethora of Chicago pics in my next post....I believe there just may be a picture CD waiting for me in my mailbox.

Mini Chicago Weekend Recap

Just wanted to let everyone know that I have returned from my whirlwind weekend in Chi-Town.  It was a blast.....great friends, great food, great drinks and great times!  Too much for me to blog tonight, but definitely a fun trip.  Apparently, a bit of cool weather just wasn't in my future.  Those earmuffs. scarves and mittens that I had ready were a serious joke.  It was 80+ degrees when we landed on Thursday and for St. Patick's Day.... I believe they said it broke a record for the warmest in history.  Didn't help that I packed according to the advice of weather.com  that said it would be high 60's to low 70's.  I must admit it was rough, but we didn't let it put a damper on our trip and did our best to take the unseasonable weather in stride.  I will have a lot of great pictures to share, but it may be a couple of weeks.  I did something very uncharacteristic for me.  I only took about 5 pictures total....no really, I am serious.  Megan has a really great camera and always shares great pictures from her travels so I knew her pics would turn out great.  Jennifer was also taking some and so I just kept my little camera tucked away.  They are both going to send me discs and then I will definitely share.  I looked through Megan's on our trip back today and they turned out really great.  I can't wait to get my hands on the disc so that I can share!

If you haven't signed up for my giveaway (why the heck not???), there is still time.  Head over to Life After I Dew and get yourself signed up.  After all, the stuff is FREE!

I am heading off to bed....I am completely whipped and it is back to work for me to tomorrow.  I will leave you with one little sneak peak from St. Paddy's Day and a glimpse of the CRAZY green river...it was a sight to behold!!!

Me, Megan and Jennifer minutes after the river changed to green

Busiest Vacation EVER

This hands down, may just be the busiest vacation that I have ever had.  I have truly not even been able to catch my breath.  As I mentioned in the previous post.....I pretty much scrapbooked the entire weekend.  I finally finished Monday night - well I guess it was actually Tuesday morning, at 6:30 AM.  That was after we went to the Mythbusters Live show.  It was a lot of fun and we were on the 3rd row!!!!  Tuesday afternoon, I delivered the scrapbook - luckily I had a very happy customer and that always makes it worth while.  He emailed me this morning and said his wife is going to want one for their other son  - GO ME!!!  After that little adventure, we headed to the T-mobile store and I FINALLY put my big girl panties on and went android....if you call me and I hang up on you or you get a text resembling hyroglyphics, please don't take it personally.  I have been assured by more than one person that it will get better...I can only hope.  Zachary and I managed to put together an IKEA desk last night in just over 2 hours with next to no drama - I never would have thought...lol.  Furniture assembly has never been my strong suit.  Today, a friend and I rearranged about 75% of my apartment.   Before today, I didn't really know how much longer I was going to be able to stand it here, but I am amazed - it is truly a brand new place.  We even made the dining room very scrapping friendly with room for future storage.  Oh, and forgot the most important part - Zach and I can actually eat at the table absent of any scrapping supplies.  It is not as visually pleasing as I would like it, but it is just what I needed. 

So, Wednesday is coming to a close.  Clean sheets are in the dryer and I am packing my suitcase.  My flight leaves for Chicago in about 9 hours and other than being truly exhausted....I am so excited that I can hardly stand it!!!!  Two of my girlfriend's and I are going to celebrate  St. Paddy's Day in style in the Windy City.  Megan is flying with me in the morning, and Jennifer is meeting us from Orlando.  This is the first time any of us have been, so we are all pretty pumped.  I will obviously be absent until the first part of next week - that is why I am blogging now instead of finishing up my packing, but check back next week for a recap and I hope a lot of fun pictures.  All three of us are all about the pictures so there will probably be hundreds all together...and you think I'm kidding.

Just a reminder, if you haven't signed up for my giveaway please give Shannon over at Life After I Dew a visit and sign yourself up - she so graciously offered to host.  There will be two winners, and it is good stuff people!  Tested and approved by me.  That is it from here folks, got to squeeze in a few hours of sleep.  Make note, this will be only the second time in my blog's history that there has been a post with no photos - the first being my very first post EVER.  Me no likey, but I will make up for it....promise.  Have a great weekend...Happy St. Patrick's Day...Luck O' the Irish...and all that other crazy green stuff!

A Giveaway Is DEFINITELY In The Air

Wanted to let you know that I am officially in the throws of my FIRST BLOG GIVEAWAY (sounds dramatic doesn't it????)....and yes, I am excited!  So much so that I am sitting down for a quick post before heading to the shower and then back to the scrapbook table.  NO, I am still not done, but I have made some SERIOUS progress.

Anyway, back to the giveaway.I started reading Shannon's blog awhile ago... www.lifeafteridew.com.  I LOVE IT!  She has a precious little family, a dry sarcastic wit that I am all about and above all GF keeps it real - and that is what keeps me reading.  When she began offering sponsorships last month, I jumped on board without hesitation.  Shannon graciously offered to host a blog giveaway for me if  I was interested.  HELLO....I have been wanting to do one forever, but with not many Followers YET  (oh how I adore the ones I have) I was obviously worried about lack of traffic.  Enter Shannon - problem solved!  Please stop by Shannon's blog and see what all the hollering is about....candles, and soaps and Starbucks OH MY!

A Scent of Scandal...fabulous candles (with a  naughty side!)

DeShawn Marie Vegan Handmade Soaps

Starbucks, Baby!

Happy Monday, Peeps!

Popping In For A Quick Post

I am just stopping in for a quick post before I permanently afix my rear at the scrapbook table (also once known as my dining table) for the duration of the weekend.  Behold the insanity!!!!

And this does not even include the stuff that blew all over the parking lot

There has got to be a better way!!!!!

Before you start panicking for me - this is pretty much always my MO.  Don't fret, I will pull it all together.  I always do and come Tuesday evening / Wednesday morning you will see the pictures to prove it.  Although I have that huge crafty deadline looming, I am officially on vacation.  Gotta love that!  I am looking forward to spending some quality time with Zachary as well as two of my girlfriends that I don't get to see NEAR enough.  It is going to be a good one...I can feel it!

Here is some randomness that is floating around my brain....

*I have already purchased tickets for the Hunger Games midnight showing...and I am really excited about it - May the odds be ever in your favor

*Zachary and I have 4th row seats to the Mythbusters Live show on Monday night

*after a week+ on "kitty Prozac", Jack is barely reacting to it at all...WTH?!?!?!?

*even though I did not meet my first weight loss goal, I still made progress and am not giving up

*Zachary spent the night with my mom last night.  I know she needs her Mimi time, but dang I missed him!

*Poor guy is nursing a sinus infection with a wicked cough...hope the antibiotics are kicking in and helping him out more today

*After work last night, I stopped off and got a celebratory drink (in honor of vacation).  Little did I know when I parked that there was a maniacal squirrel in the tree cracking nuts faster than you can imagine and chunking the remains onto the hood of my car....I was laughing but mesmerized at the same time....do you see him????

Wish I would have had a camera besides the phone....but yes, he is that big dark blob

OK, that is enough mindless babling for one morning, peeps.  I have work to do.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  Check back on Monday......you know that giveaway that I have been yacking about for what seems like months?  Well, I think (know) it may just be finally happening....with  a little help from a friend!

Seriously One of Those Days

To say this week at work has been challenging, might be a wee bit of an exageration....ok, actually not.  I have honestly felt like a human fire extinguisher.  I cannot remember a time when things have been quite this crazy.  All week it has just been one thing after the next.  I am grateful that I have known how to solve the problems or at least who to call to get the answers, but sheesh....does it have to be all at once???  I am sure that alot of it has to do with the fact that our company was purchased at the beginning of the year.  We are still working out a lot of the kinks on both sides....not to mention our busy season is in full swing.  Coincidence or not...who knows, but as of Friday at 4 PM I am on vacation!!!  I am one of those people that likes to have all the loose ends tied up before I leave for vacation...so at least I can enjoy myself and not worry about the mess I left behind.  So, are the work gods messing with me?  I think there is a fairly good chance.

What made today "one of those days"?  Well I think that I have mentioned that I am working on an unusual scrapbook for a customer.  To me scrapbooks = pictures.  Lots of them.  The more the better as far as I am concerned.  Well, I learned a few months ago that not everyone agrees with me.  A very nice man asked me if I would be willing to scrapbook some every single piece of paper his son came into contact with during Kindergarten.  I finally managed to coax a few pictures out of him but not near enough for my liking.  So here I am with all the paper.  I had managed to organize the bulk of it...I had it in order and was just waiting for some page protectors to arrive in the mail.  They were expected to arrive today and I thought I would work on it during lunch.  I was getting out of the car this morning at work....cue the dramatic music.....and this is where things got really ugly.  I dropped the book and there were like 80+ sheets of loose paper flying all over the parking lot.  It was seriously windy this morning and within 45 seconds some of the paper was probably a good 100 yards away already.  Bless my coworker Mary and a couple of the truck drivers for helping me retrieve I believe everything.  Now if I just had a clue how to get it back in the order that it was in.  I firmly believe that this project is cursed. : )  Hopefully, this time next week when it has been delivered and no longer in my possession, I will be able to look back and laugh....but not now, not yet.  I am still more leaning towards crying over it.  I am particular about my work and can't imagine delivering something that I am not proud of.  So send those positive thoughts my way blog peeps...I am in the home stretch!

Source: etsy.com via Christine on Pinterest

More on the vacation soon...but for tonight sleep well!

I'm BAAAACK - No Really.....

For about 10 days in February, I was ROCKIN’ my blog – maybe you remember?!?!?!  And then….I fell off the face of the blogging world.  I didn’t mean to.  It definitely wasn’t intentional.  As I like to say “life happened”.  Work has been crazier than it has been in a long time.  Our season has definitely started.  I am on a serious scrapbook deadline  - admittedley self imposed (that is how I get things done people).  And, for the better part of a week, I was way under the weather.  It was not one bit fun, but I am on the mend and ready to get back to working out.  And that leads to my exercise derailment….to say I fell off the wagon would be the understatement of the century.  In my defense, a good portion of it has been out of my control, but I would be skirting the truth if I didn’t tell you that I am having trouble re-engaging.  Don’t worry, I am not giving up on the program or myself for that matter.  I am going to start over on the last phase of my Couch Potato to 5K that I had completed and get right back on the wagon.  I am still shooting for a 5K before the TX dog days of Summer take over – I will just have to be much more deliberate about it!  For the few of you that read regularly…keep on me!!!!  In case you haven’t noticed, I do my BEST work under pressure.

So, besides all that what else has been going on?  Well, along with neglecting my own blog I got behind keeping up with everyone else’s.  Me no likey!  I hadn’t realized how much I enjoyed catching up on my regular reads.  I am slowly but surely getting back in the swing.  Zachary finished up indoor soccer last weekend and will start outdoor in a couple of weeks.  It was a rough season, but there was definitely improvement.  I think that they are going to have a good core for next season, so hopefully things will go better.  Friday was the “talent show” at Zachary’s school.  In quotes because talent in most of the cases would be a stretch.  I think perhaps “variety show” would be much more appropriate….just saying.  According to a friend at work, Zach’s skit was a take off on the Gong Show from years ago.  The boys had faces drawn on their bellies, huge cardboard top hats and a dress shirt buttoned around their waists. 

Zachary, Andrew, Reid and Taylor rockin their belly faces

Handy work courtesy of  yours truly...hey, I NEVER claimed to be an artist

They whistled a song with their bellies????  It was comical though.  I am sure there is more that I am missing but I just wanted to get blogging again, so I will fill in any omissions on my next post…..much sooner than later.

WAIT....I am about to forget yet again.  February 22nd was my blogiversary.  Apparently, I let it pass with little recognition (OK no recognition), and for that I feel horrible.  I love my little blog...even though sometimes I am a less than stellar poster.  So on that note…..I am finally going to do a giveaway.  It is going to be hosted by Shannon over at Life After I Dew.  I am so excited and honored that she is hosting for me.  Her blog rocks and let me tell you, she tells it like it is – NO BS GOING ON OVER THERE!!!!!  Stop by and show her some love if you haven't already discovered her.  Stay tuned for details coming next week.

Sleep tight blog peeps! xoxoxo