Boston 2007

We are here in Boston enjoying the sunshine and the not so sunshine. Each day is a mystery what the weather will bring but no matter what it is, I LOVE it!!!! Cloudy and rainy, go visiting family and friends. Cold and clear, walk the beach and enjoy the brisk wind!!! Hot and sunny, Beach anyone? So far we've had it all! There is nothing like the air here. I can't explain it. It is just so crisp and satisfying. So far we've hung out at Fenway Park and The Cask N' Flagon. We've been to the beach, the movies, met the triplets, bumped into old teachers, been to soccer games, and cookouts, had our ceremonial Chinese food and Steak and Cheese sub from Vickies, dined at Schooners, Billy had lobster at the Ocean Club, he went to the Red Sox ~ Yankees game at Fenway, and I could go on and on! The kids are having a great time with all their cousins. I don't think we will ever go back! Here are some pics of the other day at the beach. Have a great June!!!

Lilacs in the Spring

Lilacs in the Spring. Blooming, casting its sweet aroma. Creaking wood on the stairs. I pass by, the sounds of home to me. Coming and going - blooming, bustling life. Laughter and laundry.Grandpa on the couch. These were all constants in this big life filled house. The Matriarch always held a smile. I sit and she rubs my head for a while. Her pleasant demeanor set the tone. It was the place we called home. That big house on the hill holds so many memories - still. I can see the lilacs blowing in the breeze. The private drive, Mrs. McClusky's. The winter months sledding, skating on the pond. In warmer days riding bikes, taunting the summer kids that didn't belong. I can still smell the salty air and feel the breeze in my hair. We'd play for hours, never had a care. We were happy. Life was simple then.

American Idol and BShorty!!!!!!!!!

Whoooooooooo, Blake is still standing. There is no question that Melinda is the most talented by far but just a perfect voice isn't always what the audience calls for. Beat Boxing is making a comeback! Be prepared to see a lot of it in the upcoming months. I think Jordan is a perfect candidate for AI. Blake would actually (probably) be better off by NOT winning because he would be open to sign with who he wants. There are already folks lined up outside his dressing room door, believe it! I think we will be seeing a lot of him in the future. No matter what the outcome of Next weeks show is.
I know there are folks out there who don't care for Blakes style of music. I totally understand the nay Blakers but if you know the current music trends, plain and simple Blake is HOT! Blake is a true artist, performer, entertainer. He is just what the DJ ordered.
Not everyone is into country but Carrie Underwood was incredibly talented for her genre and the same goes for Blake and his.

May 2007

What a busy month so far. Everyone I've talked to has been feeling the same way. The kids get out of school in less than 2 weeks. We've had teacher appreciation last week, Mother's day, Bridging ceremony's for Daisy's and Brownies for the girls, final meetings, overnight trips, SAC meetings, school fund raisers, homework and school projects, and most of all Nana and Pop Pops 40th Anniversary Celebration.

I've been working on some DT assignments for the School of Scrap. What awesome sponsors Lisa's had lined up!!! Not to mention the opening of The Store, whoooooo!!!! www.theschoolofscrap.com I've also had the last two weeks of choosing the spotlight student and sketch of the week. I love every minute of it!!!

It wasn't until I had a quiet moment tonight after the Mother's Day festivities to realize just how quickly this month has gone by and that the kids only have 9 days of school left. Could someone please 'splain to me how this happened. My baby is going to be in 4th grade and Jal will be going into 1st grade. I had a little cry for myself because time is going tooooooo fast and I don't know how to get off the gerbil wheel for a moment so I can sit back and savor it.

We will be going on vacation at the end of the month and I am so excited for all of us to get away together and spend some quality time! This will be the longest summer for us because of the law change that doesn't allow student to return to school before August 20th. I am happy about the change because it was getting ridiculous!

Hope everyone had a happy mothers day today! I know I did. I am so thankful for my husband and children!!!

April 2007

Happy Easter! I hope every one's taxes are sent and tucked away for another year that will inevitably fly by. We are in the last 9 weeks of school for the kids. It almost makes my heart ache. I sound like a broken record when I talk about how fast time flies. On an exciting note, I am anxiously anticipating our summer trip! We have a super long one this year because the school schedule has changed. We will be taking advantage of that extra time and spending an entire month in Boston.

I can't wait to spend time with my family and friends. I am not sure if I will be happy to come back to Florida when it's all said and done or if I will want to stay there permanently. Time will tell. Maybe a month long trip will settle my question once and for all. Do I want to move back? Believe me, I hope the answer is no because I don't think it's ever going to happen through no fault of my own. Realizing I don't want to move back would sure make my life a lot easier. Still, I can't help but yearn for the 4 seasons and the smell of the salty air and listen to the roar of the ocean. There are some things that are just part of who I am. The bain of my existence. The ocean feels like a natural part of me and without its rhythmic dance I feel incomplete.

I don't know if family politics would make me crazy but I know a nice walk on the beach in any kind of weather could rejuvenate my soul. You just can't grow up in a town like I did and not have it be part of you.

March is almost over

Wow, March is just about finished! This year is already flying by. We had a great St. Patrick's day weekend in Port Charlotte a.k.a. Po Sho. We went down to the docks and ate and drank green beer. Mike and Melissa always roll out the red carpet. The kids had a blast too!

What's new at the School? Check it out www.theschoolofscrap.com. Anyone from SOS who reads this post and leaves a comment earns 10 school bucks. Lisa will be revealing a fun way to cash in on "the bucks" soon so be sure to start collecting.

Check out Design class to see whats new for April. We will be adding to our chipboard album and also there will be a great new project to inspire you.

Thanks for reading.
Laura

Monday 3/5/07

Become a star student at The School of Scrap! Check out www.theschoolofscrap.com or come on over for some fun classes, contests, games, gallery, or just meet some new friends that share the same passion for scrapping as you do. At SOS you can earn prizes, school bucks, raks, or just plain old bragging rights!!

Check out my classroom to see whats new for March!!!!!

Anyone who reads my blog anytime in March recieves 50 Extra Credit points toward the end of the month totals. Just post a comment here and pm me that you did so and 50 EC points are yours!

May I wish you a Beannachtái Lá Fhéile Pádraig (pronounced: ban-ach-tee la fay-le Paw-drig) Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Have you heard the News? There's a new kid in town and it's name is Creative Cottage!!!!!!!! Whooooooo!!! Can I get a what! Can I get a What, what!!!!!!!!! We are all so excited. Maybe the "OTHER" store need not be visited by me ever again.

Check out www.theschoolofscrap.com for all the new classes for March! We have some new DT members so I think the fresh blood will make it fun and exciting. All us veterans will continue to deliver great classes but a bunch of the girls have switched it up too!!!!! We are also hosting a contest with some great prizes from Club Scrap AND Hot off the Press! They have some incredible product!!!

What's new with us?? Kelly will start soccer, we are in the midst of selling Girl Scout cookies and I am happy to report I haven't eaten a one!!! It's been hard but I am standing firm!!! They keep talking to me from the corner but I am NOT listening, lol.
Jillian got the Terrific Kid award at Cimino for her advanced reading!!! We were so happy and proud of her! She also joined Daisy's and is sooooo excited to get to be like big sister Kelly. They actually got to go to an event together last Friday night!
Billy continues to crack us up with his Billyisms. "Absolutely not", and "I'm gonna tell my dad that you're so pretty" whenever he want something. When he tells a story he says I did that tomorrow instead of saying yesterday. It is so cute to listen to him!!!!I both love and cherish the days I get to spend with him. All too soon he will be starting school and I will no longer have my babies, sniffle! It goes by too darn fast!

Anyone from SOS who actually took the time to read my ramblings get 50 Extra credit points in Design Class just for enduring it, lol!!!! Just post here that you read it and if you can't seem to post then IM me. I am a sneaky one!

Your Brain is Blue

Of all the brain types, yours is the most mellow. You tend to be in a meditative state most of the time. You don't try to think away your troubles. Your thoughts are realistic, fresh, and honest. You truly see things as how they are. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about your friends, your surroundings, and your life.

What Color Is Your Brain?

Confessions of a Scrapbooker seems to be the proper title for the newest event sponsored by the local Scrapbook Stores in the Tampa Bay area! We are going on a Treasure Hunt. Check out the link here: http://www.tampabayscrapbooktreasurehunt.com/

The goal is to hit up 14 local stores in a week (including the weekends). They really are all over the place. Zephyrhills, Clearwater, Sarasota, Lakeland, just to name a few. The biggest kicker is I am sooooooooo excited about doing it. You know you love scrapbooking when. . . . You agree to use up more gas than you could ever possibly dream just to complete the treasure hunt. . . . Spend days galavanting all over the place just to get your passport stamped. All for supplies you could get over the internet and have delivered right to your door. However, that wouldn't be as much fun now would it? I thought maybe I was crazy but when I went to get the passport bag I learned that just about all 500 bags sold out in approx. 3 days. So. . . . I guess I can find comfort in knowing I am not the only one crazy enough to do this, lol.

The true confession: I told my DH thats what I wanted for Valentines Day! No I don't want jewelery, or chocolates, I WANT SCRAP SUPPLIES AND I WANT TO DRIVE MYSELF CRAZY DOING IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hey, I never denied I was OBSESSED!!!!!!!!!

It Feb. already! I've been busy working on making altered mailboxes for the kids. I made a heart shaped book for my DH for a Design class I teach at www.theschoolofscrap.com

It was so much fun and so easy to do!

My mother and I went to a charity crop for her birthday and had a really good time. This was our 2nd year in a row.

My confession: I didn't even complete one layout. I find I prefer scrapping at home with all my toys right at hand!

Kelly got braces! Wow the kids are growing up too fast! She was excited and picked blue and green elastics. One side is bothering her now though.

The first picture cracks me up. Billy cannot seem to keep his eyes open for the pictures I take. I've started having him close his eyes and then telling him to open just before it flashes. Almost all the pics I have of him are either with his eyes closed or of him straining to keep his eyes open and he looks so funny. Hopefully he will grow out of this soon.

Billyism's: Lately Billy has been talking into his Buzz Lightyear watch. So the other day he kept telling me his watch said we needed to go and pick up Dubba-D. That's all I heard all day. Later on when Dubba-D was here he got mad at her because she made him clean up his toys. So he came running to me and told me that his watch says Dubba-D has to go home now!

Happy Valentines day!

Ok, I've got issues! Who doesn't right. It is 1 in the morning and I'm blogging. Hmmmm, I have to get up with the kids and I have to be at Jillian's award ceremony by 8:15 am. Anyhoo, how about that American Idol in Seattle! Very interesting folks turned out for that one.

Have you Checked out www.theschoolofscrap.com yet? Great site for all you scrap addicts out there.

Ok, enough babble I need to update pic's. My neice Love came to visit on Sunday and Monday. The kids had off school and we had so much fun. My kids were fighting over her. It was nice to see them playing with their cousin!!!!!! Hopefully we will be seeing more of her She is sooooo cute.

Random pics
Daddy flipping pancakes for Mrs. Buck's 3rd grade class. Kelly was so happy her daddy volunteered for the read in. There was quite a bit of rivalry between the men and their pancakes. Is there anything they won't turn into a sport. First it was who's were the roundest, cooked the best and who's didn't stick to the pan. Daddy of course, being the cook that he is, had no problem with his perfectly rounded and cooked masterpieces! Look at those pancakes on that griddle!!!!!!!!!!

Billy and daddy on a tractor. We went to a birthday party for Hollis and the theme was a farm. They had it at a friends house who owns a beautiful barn and acres of property. Billy was very enamored by the tractor and he just had to try it out!

Them some more Christmas pics.

I haven't been on here since November. We had a quiet Thanksgiving and that weekend we had Jillians birthday party. We had a nice Christmas and New Year how 'bout you? I have made some Ressies' for the New Year, scrap related of course.

I would like to involve myself less in idle scrap projects and focus more on getting pages and projects done that I really need done. This is a particularly tough one if your familiar with

http://www.theschoolofscrap.com

Lots of good stuff to keep me busy there!!!!!!!!!

I would also like to get organized! Haaaaaaaaa didn't I say that last year? It's a perpetual problem.

I would like to enter the HOF contest but I just don't thing it will happen this year. It's a lot of work and I'm not sure I care enough to do all of it. That sounds awful I know.

Non scrap related~I would like to get my house on the market but that would mean all my scrap stuff would have to be put away. My first confession of the new year: I don't think I can live without my scrap stuff so I have no idea how we will ever get this house ready. Yes, my scrap stuff is THAT important. I can't even get my DH to hang curtains for me, its been months now, so I won't have to worry about him nagging me to get the house ready. Who knows maybe next year that will still be on my Resolutions list.

Try to contain yourself after reading such riveting news, lol! I need to go and download some pics.

Hello and Happy November

The month where 2 out of my 3 children turn another year older :-( .Ok, ok, I'll try not to complain. A time when families get together to celebrate the holidays, the official kick off for Christmas madness, and lets not forget Football, ahhh glorious football.

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect and think of all there is to be thankful for. Every night in my prayers I say why I'm thankful. What I've learned is it doesn't always have to be huge life events or happenings. I realize I am thankful for so many little things as well. It is a strange phenomenon too because I find this exerise of mine makes me feel good and helps lift my spirits.

Some examples include: I am grateful for this bed, my pillows~and boy do I have a lot of them, mount pillmore as they are so commonly refered to, my covers, the air conditioning and the fan (hey, I live in FL and its HOTT) I am grateful for a full stomach (no cracks please, lol) a roof over my head, for being an American, for my wonderful husband and my precious children. I often think about people in other countries who spend their entire day just looking for food and we have everything we need at our fingertips. I also thank him for the computer and for scrapbooking which is my obsession confession of the day! Just look around you and there is so much to be grateful for

So, what are you grateful for?

Heather Preckel is my new favorite Celeb!!!! I got to meet her yesterday at The Scrapbook shoppe. She is so genuine, talented, and just downright nice!!!! We made some serious kick butt pages. 3 to be exact. Then we made these flower pot things. I had so much fun. The other pic is of Lexi, Julie, and Heather. Whooo!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to get some pages done! I love how Heathers pages really pop. I love the 3D look to them. I was drooling looking at her album. You just want to touch all her pages!!!!! I love working with fabric and taking this class just reinforced that! I can't wait to finish my little purse album from when Bonnie and I went to the all night crop! I have two more pages I need to make my goal on www.theschoolofscrap.com I can't wait to get busy!!!!