An Oldie but Goodie

I heard these lyrics in the car on the way home from Kohl's today. It's from an older song from Pat Benatar (gotta luv the videos she put out in the 80's!) but they still hit home. Funny how lyrics can be so comforting.

"Close your eyes and try to sleep now, close your eyes and try to dream
Clear your mind and do your best to try and wash the palette clean
We can't begin to know it, how much we really care
I hear your voice inside me, I see your face everywhere, still you say

We belong to the light, we belong to the thunder
We belong to the sound of the words we've both fallen under
Whatever we deny or embrace for worse or for better
We belong, we belong, we belong together"

Thanks to my girls who left me messages and phone calls. Your support means the world to me. Huge hugs of thanx...

Back to the Kohl's shopping experience. I have to say that I'm a regular Urban Outfitters and Off Saks shopper. Not to mention those weekly trips to Marshal's. But I decided to bite the bullet and try out Kohl's after seeing their new commercial during the Emmy awards last weekend. Well, let me tell you. I hit the MOTHERLOAD! They had those cool flared capri pants that hide my Colombian bootie. And after the 80% discount..... THEY WERE 5 BUCKS!! So of course I had to buy a pair in brown and a pair in grey. I have a pair in black and just wearing them brings back wonderful memories from December/January. Funny how a piece of clothing can do that for you. Now that I think of it, I wore those pants back in May for the first time...when I was working the Pink Martini booth. And I just recently wore them this past January for a special occassion. Both times I wore those pants I had a wonderful life changing experience that I will never forget. No wonder I love these pants :) Perhaps I'll start wearing them everyday, lol.

Sometimes life is HARD...

but you get through it with the help of your friends and your loved ones....thank goodness for them. It's been a rough couple of weeks but I'm hoping to get on the upswing of my emotions soon. Sometimes you just can't have what you want. But somehow, knowing that what i want is out there but I just can't have it, makes it somewhat harder to deal with. Perhaps one day...you just never know what life is going to serve you. And my plate is so full right now that I need to take some time to be grateful for what I have. And to be grateful for the time I have been given to enjoy the love and happiness I've experienced. 32443

I think I'll just throw myself into some serious artwork. That always makes me feel better. Like the famous quote says, Art is the easiest way to escape, without leaving home.

Here are a few layouts I completed recently for Hambly and Dream Street using my new line, Story of a Seed.

Sarah has been growing up by leaps and bounds lately! She's talking so much now that it just shocks me and brings tears to my eyes at the same time. And some of the things she comes out with just CRACK ME UP!! When I asked her where her chupa was this morning, she shrugged her shoulders and said "I don't know mommy..maybe over there...maybe over here...i don't know" I nearly died laughing....she had the perfect diva attitude to boot, lol. And now she sings the whole Itsy Bitsy Spider song complete with hand gestures...but only when SHE feels like it. I wonder where she gets that from???? ;)

Up to my eyeballs...

...in scrap schtuff! I kind of let my scraproom get WAY out of hand over the past few months. And with the influx of new goodies from CHA, it seems to only be getting worse. To paint an accurate picture for you, I've actually moved from my large scrap desk to the FLOOR. I have a huge sectional coach and the entire thing is covered, as is the coffee table and all of the surrounding carpets. Its scary I tell ya. So today I finally put my foot down and decided to organize the mess.

I put all my "old" supplies (old meaning purchased before Summer CHA..sad but true) into an enormous leftover moving box we had around. Almost everything has been moved from the floor to the shelves and storage units my husband so wonderfully built for me last year. Now I'm attacking the arduous task of organizing the mountains of pattern paper, cardstock and letter stickers I have amassed..HELP!

Here's a layout I did for Hambly and Rouge de Garance. I get such a kick out of mixing crazy color schemes on layouts...and this one is no exception. I just hope I don't blind any innocent blog readers with the bright green ;)

Another day in paradise, lol...

My house is semi-clean (meaning the main floor is presentable but the bedrooms are a totally different story...and don't even ask about the scraproom). My daughter is semi-dressed (meaning she has a cute Children's Place top on and her pj bottoms). My projects are semi-completed (meaning some are done and some are still sitting quitely in my head...oops!). But I am completely happy this morning. Sarah and I shared a bowl of Honey Nut Chereos and are now watching Bambi all snuggled up n the coach. I couldn't ask for more. Except maybe for someone to come and clean those darn bedrooms.......

These are a couple layouts I did with my Story of a Seed line with Dream Street Papers. I found out last night that they also go perfectly with Disney pictures...who knew! I've got a project to photograph today and I'll upload it tomorrow to show you what I mean ;)

Sarah's new favorite line to me when she wants to have me all to herself is, "hey mommy, what are you doin' there?" Which she has now said at least five times. So I'm off to watch some more Bambi :)

New Schtuff....

I did this cute minibook using my dt kit from Scraphype this month. It was so easy to put together. With paper that is so busy, like this new Scenic Route, you really don't need to do much to make the layout appear complete. For most of the pages, I used just one single subject photo (my adorable dd with little background distractions) and a few embellies. It literally took one night to do! Gotta love when things come together that fast.

I just got my new copy of Photoshop Elements. Loving it as usual. But it seems that CS2 has taken over as my "main man" program, lol. I love all the features and CAN NOT wait for the newest version to come out this spring. I'm also trying out the Photoshop Lightroom beta...pretty amazing so far. I love the features so far. I'll update on it later. Or go check it out for yourself at the adobe website. There's a free trail for 30 days....can't beat that :)

Better late than never, lol!

Here are some very long overdue CHA pictures. I've been taken out by some kind of flu virus, so for right now, uploading pictures that remind me of life BEFORE this icky sickness are all I can handle ;) ENJOY!

About Little Ole ME??

Have you checked out the new hybrid mag, Scrapbook Dimensions, yet? It's an awesome mix of traditional and digi scrapping...something the scrapping world definately needed! They have thier premier issue out in pdf form.....and if you look on page 14, you'll see an entire article about the DREAM STREET GIRLS!!! I am so so so excited about the fact that the mag found us interesting enough to spotlight our designing process. And if you look closely at the cover, you'll see all of our little heads together, lol! Deanna Shain did such a great job with the whole article...kudos to her!

Our Valentine's Day plans were thwarted by the rain/ice/snow mix that hit New York last night. We did end up braving the weather to go to lunch at Grand Luxe....THE BEST FOOD EVER. The restaurant was empty so Sarah had a ball running around and making Play-do "meals" for all the plates on the vacant table. Yes, I'm sure the busboy hates us now. I had the most amazing Flautas, Macadamia Nut/Coconut Chicken, and Lemon Chicken Piccata. My stomach is SO HUGE right now...so very attractive as well..eeek!! But it was so worth it. I'll have to get off my bootie this weekend and work out so I can get rid of this ever growing tire around my waist...lovely :P

Tagged....6 weird things about ME

Here goes nuttin':

1. I drink 2 liters of Diet Sunkist pretty much every day. If that diet sugar crap does cause cancer, I'll be the first to let you know. I try to drink it from a straw so my teeth don't rot before I'm thirty :P

2. I can't go to bed before 2 am....just can't....doesn't feel right. I'm a complete night owl. And crappy tv reruns are my guilty pleasure. I also think I need to be slightly bleery-eyed to actually scrap worth a darn.

3. I love blasting my Ipod and dancing all alone in my basement. It's not as much fun as dancing with someone else, but since I married a man who thinks the hip-thrust is a high form of dance, I'm kinda left dancing with a mirror as my partner.

4. I will NEVER clean the bathroom toilet. NEVER EVER. My daughter and I KNOW how to aim.......'nuff said.

5. I can talk on the phone for up to four hours a day..easily. Yet another reason why I am a night owl!

6. I simply must say "be careful" whenever some leaves my house. If I don't, I feel something might happen to them and I'll be to blame for not telling them to be cautious. I think it stems from my fear of anyone I love getting hurt in any way. I would protect them all in bubblewrap if I could!

Pinch Me!

One of my Goals for 2007 has been officially achieved!! I've been an avid Lifetime Moments shopper for years now. Since I've been a part of Dream Street, I've been secretly longing to see my paper designs being sold there. I clicked on the store today to do some damage to my credit card and what did my eyes behold? DREAM STREET PAPERS!! My favorite online store is selling my favorite line of paper to date. Pinch me.....or don't....this is too good of a dream to wake up from!

I can't believe I"m doing this again!

I'm going to try and start blogging again...at least I plan to! We'll see how long it lasts :) I've had lots of cool stuff happen over the past few months that I can't wait to get down on "paper". I've become a paper designer for one of the absolute best scrapbook companies out there...Dream Street Papers! I feel like I am part of a family of highly creative, loving and genuine people whose motivations stem from the good of the whole, rather than the promotion of the individual. It's truly been a wonderful experience so far. I went to Memory Trends in Vegas and released my second line, Cafe Chic. We immediately formed the most amazing bond together and had a kick butt time getting to know each other. Then, at Winter CHA, I released "Story of a Seed" which is my favorite line to date. But just wait and see what I have up my sleeve for Summer CHA! I feel like I have an extended family of instant friends who are there to support and nuture each other creativily and personally. It's a blessing I'm not sure I fully deserve but I am more than happy to work my butt off to make sure I don't loose it :)