Project Life Roadblock

I had high hopes of having some 2014 Project Life layouts to share with you this morning, but alas - I hit a roadblock.  Even though I now have my handy dandy Canon Selphy picture printer, I had a lot to print (not just for PL), so I decided to just place an order at CVS.   With all of the sorting and crazy slow upload times, this project pretty much took the entire afternoon.  I was not a happy camper and it was just plain frustrating.  I have got to come up with a better organization system and a better game plan....if any of you have suggestions, please enlighten me!  I am seriously struggling!  Oh yea, and there is the other thing...a lot of my pictures just aren't that good.  I mean, I guess they will do....moments will be documented, but dang the pictures are lacking!  I have got to get through my Shoot Fly Shoot classes, so that I can step up my game.  It is really difficult to get excited about layouts with lackluster pictures.  In the midst of  a lot of mediocrity, I came upon this treasure.....my heart exploded!

This was from one of our ice days at the beginning of December.  My DSLR is REALLY old, so the preview screen is really small.  Sometimes, what I think turned out great is not really great and evidently the reverse is also true.

On a more fun note, I am going to an all day crop on Saturday.  Even though it is just one day, getting away from home with only scrapping to focus on seems to be exactly what I need to get my rear in gear.  That Disney album may get finished yet!

Random Runneth Over and Tuesday Tunes

Why yes, I am still alive....but I have had a horrible case of "I have nothing to say".....sad but totally true.  It isn't even writer's block I don't think, just nothing that I really thought you guys would be interested in.  There is a whole lot of random swimming around in my brain that I guess I can share in list form at which point you all may wish that I would have just kept it to myself.  Here goes nothing......

*my baby boy started junior high yesterday....which is scary enough as it is (at least for me), but this is his first time in public school - he has been in a bubble for the last seven years and mama is freaked out!

*I am beyond excited to FINALLY meet this sweet lady in person a week from Friday.  Katie is flying to the big ol' Lone Star Sate to see me for the weekend...EEEEKK!!!!

*the weekend after that I am heading to the Sunshine State with these beautiful ladies for Girl's Weekend round 2....Round 1 was Chicago 2012.  I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to some beach time and catching up with dear friends......MUCH needed.  Luckily Jennifer lives in Orlando, so she and her husband are playing hosts for Megan and I.  They have a beautiful house on the lake that I can't wait to see! 

*as I briefly mentioned literally months ago I finally got a DSLR....it was a gift and it kind of just fell into my lap.  Unfortunately the first night that I had it...the case was dropped and the fancy zoom lens that I had (although, I really had no idea how to use it) ceased to zoom.  Cue the tears...seriously!  There was actually a Nikon repair store not too far from home so I took it there.  The owner told me that although my camera was old, it was a great camera...all metal fittings and the new ones of course are plastic.  He was skeptical that the lens could be repaired, but suggested that I think about it and also check ebay.  I would have had to pay $55 just to have the lens looked at with no guarantee and then an additional $75 plus if it could actually be fixed.  I scored a perfect condition, totally functioning one on ebay for $107.25.  Go me!  I am back in business and ready to capture something great on my Florida adventure.  But remember, I still can't use that thing off of AUTO.  I do have two online classes through Shoot Fly Shoot that I am dying to delve into.  I am a visual learner so I am hoping they are really going to help me!  Can't thank KF enough for his generosity...I am beyond blessed! 

* I am still making progress at my new place, but there is still so much that I want to do.  I wanted to have my gallery wall done by the time that Katie came to visit, but I just can't commit yet.  I have a lot of ideas but am so chicken to commit, for fear that I am making the "wrong" decision.  I know - pathetic isn't it?  Still need curtains and the Expedit storage system for my scrapping supplies.  I did make progress on the outside a couple of weeks ago.  A friend from work came over and helped me with seven bags of mulch and she transplanted some plants from her place to my mine.  Some didn't take too kindly to the move and some are thriving.  I am getting compliments from several neighbors about the fact that I am taking care of the yard.  My duplex is a rental and apparently the last few renters did absolutely nothing, so I am feeling good that people are noticing.  I like for my place to look nice (although, I was not blessed with a green thumb)....even if it isn't actually mine but we are are planning on staying at least until Zachary graduates from high school, so I want to make it a home for us.

We went back for 4 more bags of mulch and this was prior to weed pulling

*My dear friends Holli & Todd are getting married at Delaney Vineyards in Grapevine this weekend and I seriously could not be more excited.  They are the most fun couple and things have been pretty crazy for them since their engagement in December......they so deserve to have the most wonderful of wedding days....I cannot forget my kleenex!!!  I have loved doing little crafty projects for them for their wedding.  They are leaving little goodie bags at the hotel for their out of town guests and she wanted them Texas themed.

At least I warned you...I believe that was the worst case of random that I have ever posted at one time.  I guess I did have things to say just nothing on it's own worthy of an entire post...lol.

Finally, just to give this post some street cred (yep, I did jut say that).  I am linking up with Holli, Leslyn and Lauren for:

I LOVE this song.....I am quite sure that men like this no longer exist, if they ever did, but a girl can always dream can't she?????  I am betting that a woman wrote it, so of course I looked it up.  BINGO.....A woman did CO-write it.  Thank you Rodney Clawson and Ashley Gorley!  Enjoy!

Even though I was a day early, I am also linking up with Megan from In This Wonderful Life for Midweek Randoms, because lets face it....this post was ALL about the random.

Where Have I Been? The Very Random Pictureless Recap

I am sure that by now a lot of you are quite convinced that I have permanently abandoned my blog....and for those of you that are still stopping by, consider yourself hugged from the bottom of my heart.  I miss blogging that is for sure.  So here is what has been up....no excuses, just the facts

1. The lease on my new place started on March 1 (the lease on my apartment did not end until April 28).  For the better part of two months I had things in two places.  I truly thought this was a great thing - I could take my time moving...no rush.  In hindsight, I think it is better to just have a long weekend to move.  Although, had that been the case it would have been difficult to paint practically the entire place like I (along with a lot of help from some absolutely wonderful friends) actually accomplished.  Zach and I are settling in and getting things hung on the walls but still tackling the organization of our storage area....AKA the garage.

2.  This is busy season at my office.  From February through June is our busy season.  Two ladies in my office quit in early March....June is right around the corner and I am still there all by my lonesome.  It has made for a rough season.  Many nights when I get home, I cannot stand the thought of opening my computer after a 10 to 11 hour day.  Even to blog.  I have been making a valiant effort to keep up with my regular reads and continue to comment, especially where those comments frequently lead to a short email conversation!  You ladies know who you are...and I hope that you know that you frequently bring a smile to what would otherwise be a trying day!  For those of you that have wondered if I am still lurking....yep, I am right there with ya on most days....please know that I am the friendly lurker, not that one that you are considering filing a restraining order on.  Somehow I have managed to not lose but a small handful of followers through this unplanned blog hiatus...am I lucky or what???  I have never been one to be obsessed by numbers, but I noticed this morning that I had miraculously gained one....and it was none other than the one, the only, Lindsey from The Real Nancy Clue.  Lindsey is not for the faint of heart, but she is the real deal.  She is a huge fan of the "F" word and doesn't take crap from anyone.  I was also pretty blown away when Holly from Where We Can Live Like Jack & Sally showed up as a follower.  Holly is so funny and another blogger that above all keeps it real and doesn't sugar coat.  Those have been my recent brushes with blog celebrities...and during a blog hiatus no less!  Thank you to each and every one of my followers for sticking by me during this crazy time.  Do you have bloggers that would leave you star struck?  Or what about those ones that you may not be exactly star struck over, but you might just want to grab in a big bear hug because they already feel like IRL friends....(HELLO, Katie, Heather, Becky!!!!)  I want to hear about them.

3.  Finally, I am doing all the decorations for Zach's 6th grade graduation party.  I am not going over the top by any means...after all it is 10 boys. The moms will care, but the boys not so much.  It is taking a lot of time, but a lot of love is going into them.  I hope it will turn out the way I am envisioning it.  It will be consuming my long holiday weekend, but come next Tuesday night it will all be over but the crying....literally.  Zach has been at the same small private school since kindergarten and the thought of him being done there and moving on to public junior high scares me to death, not to mention the flood of emotions.  There will definitely be a post recapping that night....so be looking for it.

If the combination of the blog hiatus and this crazy all over the place post has not been enough to send you running for the hills then you deserve a medal....or maybe you really do like me (AKA a very young Sally Fields at the Academy Awards).  I hope that you have a wonderful weekend and hopefully you will hear from me again sooner rather than later!

25 Things You Just Have To Know About Me....or not

I was tagged by fellow blogger Brianne from Briantics.  I "met" Brianne when I was co-hosting the Sunday Snaps link up.  A newborn photo of one of her sons was featured one week.  

The purpose is just to share some random facts about yourself and then tag other bloggers so that they can get in on the action.  So here goes....probably more than you ever wanted to know.....

1. Where were you born? Ft. Thomas, KY.....a perfect little town.  Somedays, I wish that I still lived there, but honestly, I am a Texas girl at heart!

2. Were you named after someone? No, but I have a sneaky suspicion that my middle name has everything to do with the holidays - NOEL....two days after Christmas.

3. If you have children, how many do you have? I have a son.  I can't remember  life without him.  He is twelve going on twenty five, but he keeps me on my toes and we laugh....a lot!

4. How many pets do I have? 2 cats - Jack, who makes me question my love of cats on a daily basis, and sweet Jessi who thanks to Jack probably wishes my parents had left her as an outdoor roaming stray (due to Jack's endless full body slams)

5. What was your worst injury? When I was just a baby my leg was broken and in a little cast.  My leg got caught in a chair and when my dad went to pick me up it broke.  I was already crying prior to it happening so they didn't realize it until about two or three days later when I was crawling with one leg in the air....What the What???

6. Do I have a special talent? Sadly.....I don't think that I do.

7. What's your favorite thing to bake?  Ummmm....when God was handing out the baking (and coking for the matter) gifts, I slept through my alarm. 

8. What's your favorite fastfood? Bean burritos from Taco Bueno with lots of jalapenos

9. Would I bungee jump? Maybe, if I was jumping with someone else and they forced us off the platform...not sure I could make myself do it alone.  I feel the same way about skydiving.  Something tells me that once I did it, I would absolutely love it though.

10. What is the first thing you notice about people? For lack of a better description I would have to say their "vibe".  Are they warm and inviting or do they come off as cold and standoffish.  It is true what they say....you never have a second chance to make a first impression.   

11. When was the last time I cried? OK....you got me.  I cried watching The Biggest Loser last week.  And honestly, that happens most weeks.

12. Any current worries? I have been consumed with finding a new place to live in the district where I want my son to go to junior high and high school....GULP!

13. Name three drinks you drink regularly. Water, Diet Coke (shame on me), wine

14. What is your favorite book? Same Kind of Different As Me (seriously moved me) and Bloom by Kelle Hampton 

15. Would you like to be a pirate? I would have to say no

16. What are your favorite smells? Candles - white chocolate, cinnamon, Sensual Amber from Bath & Body Works, Perfume - Allure, Flower Bomb and Candy

17. Why do you blog? It started out as kind of an online journal and has now transformed into a place to showcase my scrapbooking.  I have also been so blessed to meet many amazing women!

18. What song do you want played at your funeral? Well, considering A Beautiful Day by U2 is my all time favorite song - hence the name of my blog, that one is a must.  I guess really not very funeral worthy, but it would make anybody that really knew me smile. 

19. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? I over analyze EVERYTHING.  It is a horrible trait and I would do most anything to turn off that part of my brain.  It not only drives me crazy, but those close to me as well.

20. What is your favorite hobby? Hands down scrapbooking.  I just started getting into it about 6 years ago, but now I can honestly say that I am hooked.  My son is twelve so that will kind of give you some idea of just how far behind I am.

21. What do you look for in a friend? Someone that is genuine and compassionate.  Is willing to listen but also real enough to tell me when I am full of sh#t as well.

22. Name something you have done you never thought you would do.  Have tattoos.  I have wanted them for a really long time but never thought I would do it.  Got my first one at 37...have three now and would love to get more.

23. What are your favorite things to do? Spend time with my son...I know that soon he is not going to want to have anything to do with his mom - he IS practically a teenager.  Scrapbooking and hanging out with friends.

24. Any pet peeves? I hate it when people wait until the last minute to get over when the freeway is backed up - it is like they think that for some reason where they are trying to get to is so much more important than everyone else that is stuck in the same traffic.  It burns me up and yes, road rage happens.  Luckily, I am not packing heat...lol.  I also hate it when people smack when they eat.  There are no words to describe the things that run through my head when I am around that.

25. What's the last thing that made you laugh? My son....I don't know exactly what it was but he has a wicked little sense of humor and makes me laugh on a daily basis.  I adore that about him!

And there you have it.......25 random tidbits of info about moi'!  Thank you, Brianne for tagging me!

In return, I am tagging these fabulous ladies.  Stop by their blogs.....you won't be disappointed!

Katie from Katie Stories

Kaeley from My Mind's Lens

Megan from The House of Martinez

Heather from Our Life In A Click

Becky from Fourth House on the Right

Mary Jo from Scrapbook Treehouse

Tracy from Tracy's Treasures

Cyn from The Racy Redhead

Sarah from Love Sarah K

Nicole from Three 31

Weekend Recap or....A Whole Lotta Random

I rarely do this kind of post, but we had a lot going on this weekend.  As I mentioned last week, I was hired to address some wedding invitations and they were due yesterday.  After spending some quality time with Zach, I sat down and got to writing.  I was on a roll and didn't stop until I got to the end.  I delivered them Saturday afternoon...TWO DAYS ahead of schedule.  If you know anything about me, that is unheard of!  My customer seemed pleased and summer camp is that much closer to be paid off.  SCORE!!!!

First type of envelopes

Second type with inner envelopes

All ready to deliver

I am moving in three months...possibly less, and am determined to not move a bunch of stuff that I no longer need or want.  That translates into a major organize and purge.The focus of the project for this weekend was closets and dressers.  There are no words to describe the former state of my closet....it was a disgrace!  With that being said, I had every intention of taking a before picture and knew that once I was finished I would have the courage to share, as the result would be quite epic.  MAJOR FAIL!  I was three quarters into the project before I remembered about the before photo.  The after will not be near as impressive now, but here is a glimpse anyway.

Sorry about that larger than life view of my brassiere

Much to my surprise...there really was a floor under all that mess!!!

All that remains are those two top shelves and those will be organized/condensed before the big move.  The result was 2.5 boxes of clothes, shoes and purses to donate so far - mine and Zachary's closets and his dresser.  I still have my dresser to go.  A charity will be picking up all of my stuff Saturday morning, so I will be getting everything else boxed up by then.

Since the move date is still very much up in the air, I thought it would be a good idea to get a jump on boxing up some things that I don't necessarily need on a regular basis, so in addition to all the purging that was accomplished, I got about six moving boxes packed as well.  It is going to be a little crazy, living with all the boxes that are sure to be accumulating in the coming weeks, but it will be all worth it  when I am not pulling my hair out because there is so much to still do at the end.  I am doing my best to keep it as orderly as possible.  Once the donation stuff has been removed, that will free up a lot of currently packed space.

To the left is all the donation items....including that crazy heavy television, as well as a 99% packed book shelf
all that remains is my jar of shells from Sanibel Island.....can't bare to pack them away just yet

Packed boxes complete with cat photo bombs

I am sure that some of you are wondering....why isn't she driving the clothing donations down herself?  Is she seriously lazy....making those people come and pick it up!?!?  Well the answer is simple...in addition to the boxes of clothing etc, there is also this huge relic of a TV (see above pic).  I kid you not, it weighs hundreds of pounds.  Besides the inconvenience of it's ridiculous weight it still has a fairly good picture and there is really nothing wrong with it.  I figure if there is someone out there without one, it could be appreciated....no?   Which brings me around to my television situation.  I have not had cable for well over two years.  I got so sick of paying those ridiculous cable bills and so I gave it up.  I replaced it with Netflix and more recently Hulu Plus. I had no local channels.  For my birthday this year I got an awesome 40" TV that weighs about 30 pounds give or take.....HEAVEN!!!!!  Although I still don't have cable, with the help of an HD  cable and an antennae, I now have normal television once again and a pretty fabulous picture.

The point of that whole rambling paragraph was that to top off the crazy busy weekend, Zach and I got to watch the Super Bowl in the comfort of our own home.  I had really forgotten how much I enjoyed watching a good football game and I think that me screaming at the television pretty much freaked my child out.  I live in Texas but am not a Cowboy fan at all....blasphemy, I know!  I  was really impressed with Colin K.... the quarterback for the SF 49ers.....so next season I will be cheering for the 49ers, win or lose.  Talk about blasphemy - a North Texas (pure Cowboy country)gal cheering on the 49ers.  Pure greatness!

Z and I being silly watching the game

Screen shot after the game

And finally,  I am not going to go into all the gory details but my son has gotten his electronics taken away until at least Friday and to say that he doesn't know what to do with himself is the understatement of the century.  Well apparently, 12 year old boys can bust out a Pinterest type project with the best of em.  Check it out....this is on his bedroom wall and actually pretty large.  Made totally out of Post-It Notes.

Post-It Notes does Mario

If you made it to the end of this crazy long, all over the place post, thank you for sticking with me!  I will be back tomorrow with my 5th, What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday.  It has quickly become my favorite link ups EVA!!!!!

A Whole Lotta RANDOM!

Yep, this is going to be one of those random, all over the place posts so bare with me.  I am so far behind that this is the only solution to the problem.

Back at the end of last year, I had my blog redesigned.  Overall, I adore it...it kinda screams me. BUT, over the past six months I have started to pick at it.  Nothing major, just little things here and there that have been nagging at me. So, with that being said A Beautiful Day is getting a little work done.  I am really excited to finally have it just how I want it.  Hopefully, after that it will only be header and button updates.

Speaking of the blog....my followers are SLOWLY but surely climbing.  Just shy of 50!  There for a while I thought it was never going to happen.  To keep the momentum going, once I hit 75, I will be doing a giveaway.  Haven't decided what, but it will be something fun.

A couple of weeks ago I went out to dinner with one of my dear friends Megan....she has made blog appearances before.  She and I live really close....like same zip code close, but schedules are hectic and sometimes it is hard to coordinate get togethers.  Anyway, we try to make a point at least every few months to get together for dinner and to catch up.  For our latest dinner she suggested this place:

Mind you I am not a traditional sushi fan.  I prefer cooked, plain and simple.  But Megan rarely, if ever, steers me wrong, so I took the plunge and dove right in. I AM IN LOVE!!!!  Feast your eyes on the Latino Roll:

 shrimp tempura, asparagus, ginger cream, cream cheese, avocao, crab, jalapeno, cilantro (I have mine minus the crab)

I seriously think I could eat this once a week, every week FOREVER!  I have already been back once.  If I haven't sold you on it yet, the martinis are pretty "Killer" too.

Our little apartment has grown by 4 feet errrr....PAWS!  Come back on Monday for all the details when I link up with Becky at Reinventing the Ordinary, for the Puppy Love & Cats Photo Party.

I finished my latest scrapbook last week.  As usual it was a big one, chock full of fun pictures just like I like them.  I am not going to get into specifics about money, cause that just isn't me but I was handsomely rewarded for my efforts. I cannot begin to tell you how rewarding it was to have someone actually realize all the hard work, not to mention heart, that goes into projects like this.   Don't know why the photo won't rotate, but it is kind of fitting, because when I saw the check, I did pretty much fall over.

Anyway, check back soon for the Scrapbook post.  Hopefully, I will get it done sometime this weekend.   Hope everyone is having a great week!  Wednesday is almost behind us, so that means we are on the downhill slide to the weekend!!!

On more thing....for those of you that read my previous post about Lucy, you have to read this: A Lazurus Moment.  It is nothing short of a miracle, and once again  proves in my mind that prayer is indeed a powerful thing!

P.S. Before I was able to post this, I hit 50 followers!  This may not seem like much, but I am THRILLED!  Thank you to all of my followers and especially the ladies in Texas Bloggers Facebook Group that made it possible to hit my first blog milestone.  I feel lucky to be connecting with such great ladies!

Randomness: Rants & A Couple of Great Raves

Before really getting into this post, I am going to apologize.  As I mentioned in my last post, I am having a really hard time lately focusing on any one subject in particular (adult onset ADD perhaps?).  Which in turn has led me not to post because I can't organize everything that is swimming around in my head into one topic.  But never fear, I have decided to just let it all (or at least a good bit of it) out in one post.  I will however, do my best to at least use paragraphs to separate my thoughts so it willl hopefully be a bit easier to follow along.

For those of you that don't know, I live in North TX.  We are having unseasonably warm weather and for the record, I don't like it one bit.  With temperatures in the 60s, 70s and almost 80s a day or two, it is not boding well for what we are going to get this summer.  For those of you that live in places where temperatures are in the 20s, 30s and maybe lower, you are probably thinking "stop your belly aching".  But trust me when I say that I would trade places with you in a heartbeat!  Winter is supposed to be frigid temperatures, snow, bundling up, fires in the fireplaces.....NOT flip flops and shorts.  People, it is just ridiculous!  Here ends my mini rant on the TX "winter" weather.

I am not a fan of AT&T.  Please understand - it has nothing to do with the actual service and everything to do with the CUSTOMER SERVICE (or lack thereof).  I have had them for high speed DSL for over a year and I would say out of that time, my bill may have been correct about 6 times.  The CSRs that I would deal with were generally nice and seemingly sympathetic to my issues, but after assuring me that next month everything would be correct, I would once again receive a crazy bill the next month.  There was rarely any documentation on the conversation that took place the month before.  Last week, I had had enough....after being transferred to six - yes six, different people all of whom I had to retell my entire story to as well as all of my pertinent information...I cancelled them and their jacked up nonsense.  Although we have been making do with limited internet since then, I truly feel like a weight has been lifted.  Silly I know, but true none the less.  This has been much more difficult for my son than it has been for me, but hopefully, barring any unforeseen circumstances we will be up and running sometime on Saturday!

Zachary is playing indoor soccer this season.  As a mom I can in all honesty say that he has drastically improved since he started playing a couple of years ago.  Unfortunately, his team is really struggling.  Only four of them have ever played together.  Trust me, it is not for lack of trying that they aren't winning.  They are genuinely giving it everything they have, but sadly falling a little short.  The games so far have been really close and I am just crossing my fingers that things will turn around.

I mentioned last week that I was working on a huge scrapbook - well, I am also concurrently working on a smaller , but much more difficult scrapbook.  Difficult because there are very few pictures and an abundance of Kindergarten artwork and school papers.  I have never done a scrapbook like this before and am frequently wondering if I will be happy with it once I figure out what exactly to do with it.  I gave myself a deadline last week, so the pressure is definitely on.  I think it will make my long weekend away much more enjoyable if I do not have this scrapbook hanging over me.......

Which brings me to my little weekend away.  I have two dear girlfriends that I originally met through work.  Although we no longer work together, I have stayed in touch and close to both of them through the years.  I am the lone single old lady of the group, but I really love these ladies!  We had been throwing around a "Girls Weekend" for well over a year and finally the planets have all aligned! lol  Drumroll please......we are spending St. Patrick's Day weekend in CHICAGO!!!!!  None of us has ever been before and we are so looking forward to celebrating the SPD festivities in Chi-town!  Stay tuned for future posts!

Megan, Jennifer and I -Cabo San Lucas 2009.  The next day we celebrated Megan's wedding!

I am one of those strong believers that everything happens for a reason.  I don't know how to describe this expect to say that I have a guardian angel of sorts watching over me.....praying for me and VERY gently pushing in the direction that she knows (and I know as well, but for some reason am pushing back), that I need to go.  As I type this I pray that she does not give up on me.  She is an amazing, Godly woman and I am so blessed to have her in my life - I can never express to her how grateful I am for everything that she has done and continues to do in my life.

Penny and I celebrating my birthday

OK, how was that for ALL over the map???  Maybe next post I will be a little more focused, now that I have all that randomness off my chest.  Thanks for baring with me til the end and enjoy the rest of your work week!