Byyye!

I'm leaving for SISaversary tomorrow morning! I'm so excited! :) I'm guessing I'm not going to get much sleep... since it's already 1:30 and I'm only half packed, haha. Tomorrow is going to be a looong day. I have to drive to Jenny's, which is about 3 1/2 hours away, then we're on our way to Tennessee from there. We're stopping overnight in Conway, Arkansas to stay the night though. Why Conway, you ask?? Because that's where Kris Allen, the winner of Idol this year lives!! We're hoping we might see him. It's a longshot... but you never know, right?? ;)

Here is a layout I just finished tonight, all about how tall I am! I'm only 5'8", but when I was younger I always wished that I was shorter. I don't mind it anymore though. Everyone's first reaction to me, especially when they meet me online and then meet me in person is "omg, you're so tall, you don't look like you'd be tall!" lol!! Just warning you all in advance that in case I meet you I'm not short, k?? :)


Here a few new pics of Alex! He was pretending to be a doggie tonight. One of his new favorite things, lol!



I am going to go pass out now so I at least get a few hours of sleep. Have a great week!

Love,
Jill

Why Oh Why?

I have received some HORRIBLE news this past week. Sobe is discontinuing their Adrenaline Rush energy drinks! I seriously drink these religiously, at least one a day! I know, I know, they aren't good for me, but I loooove them. I've been addicted to these babies for years! Why would you do this to me Sobe, why?? So now I need a new energy drink to try. I've tried quite a few that I don't like. Not a big fan of Monster, Rock Star, Redbull, any of those. Does anyone have any suggestions? Give me some good ones to try guys, there's gotta be another one out there that I'll like!

For now, I would like to offer a moment of silence for my dear, longtime friend. Goodbye my good ol' Sobe Adrenaline Rush, you've treated me well....


Sighhhh.... okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way, on to the fun stuff! :)

Today was a card making day! I was in the moods for cards again. Here are the few I have finished so far. I'll probably make some more tonight, have a ton of ideas, plus I'm so AWAKE for some reason, probably not going to get much sleep again!




Some things I have been excited about as of lately....

Music: The new Red CD!! I put my fav of their new songs on my playlist ---> Even my MOM likes the song, so you know it's gotta be good! :) She usually hates rock music, haha.


TV: I love watching those day time Judge shows. My favs are People's Court and Judge Judy. Yeah yeah, judge me all you want, (haha, judge!), but they are so entertaining! Perfect TV shows to sit and scrap to! :)

TRUE BLOOD started again last week! Let's here it for True Blood, SUCH a great show!!

Fashion: Never was a huge fan of tank tops until this summer. It's too freakin HOT to wear anything else, plus I've toned and tanned my arms a lil more this past year so they look a little better than they have in years! Not great, but not bad either. :D

SISaversary!! Now that I have my babysitter lined up, my money in order and my SUV all ready to go, I can finally let loose and be completely excited about our trip! I absolutely cannot wait! Only 2 days til Jenny and I leave for TN! :)

Well, I am off to try to wind down a get a little sleep. I hope everyone had a great Father's Day and a wonderful weekend! :) I will be back soon!

Love,
Jill

Thank You Pink Paislee!

Happy Friday everyone!! You have no idea how excited I am that Friday's finally here! It has been a LONG week. We finally found a babysitter! We interviewed with a lady that runs a daycare from home. Alex, John and I really liked it but didn't think we had much of a chance of getting Alex in. She was interviewing 4 different families and only had one spot available, but she called last night to let us know she picked US out of everyone! I was in shock but so so relieved that we finally found a good place for Alex. Now I can definitely go to Sisaversary! I was so scared that I was going to have to cancel if I couldn't find a sitter in time. I would have been so disappointed. No worries now though, that's a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. :)

I was super stoked today when I saw the Pink Paislee Blog!! I have the honor of being their Guest Designer this month. :) I LOVE their products, they are one of my favorite Scrapbook brands ever! Thank you so much Pink Paislee! :)

Here are the cards and layouts that I created with their "Enchanting" and "Fetching" lines:

I had so much fun making them! Like I said on their blog, their papers and embellishments are so fun and easy to create with. :D

Well, I am off to do more "Spring Cleaning", even though it's practically already summer! I spent all of yesterday organizing, cleaning and throwing stuff away. I have already filled 4 garbage bags full of stuff to give to goodwill and I'm sure there will be more. I don't even know how we collect all of this junk! We just went through all of our stuff last year when we moved! I also filled a HUGE box full of scrapbook stuff to send off to my friend Sarah in Montana. It seriously hadn't used any of it in years and needed to get rid of it. I know Sarah will get more use out of it than I would! I still need to take the box to the post office to mail off to her. I'm a little scared to find out how much it's going to cost to ship. It's HEAVY! Oh well, still worth it. :)

OH, I started a facebook awhile back! It's been so fun chatting with all of my fellow blogger and scrapper friends on there. Add me if you have one HERE!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Friday! Have a great weekend too! :)

Love,
Jill

Soo many things to do, so little time! I seriously should start off every blog post with that phrase because it's what I am always thinking to myself!! I wish I could just stop time right now for just a little while, wouldn't that be wonderful?? I'm sure everyone feels the same way that I do! :)

Well, this week I have been running around like crazy trying to find a sitter for Alex. His old one is shutting down and her last day is Friday. There is a daycare center that I REALLY want to get him into but they don't have a spot available for a few weeks. I can't even find a home daycare near me that isn't full, it's soo annoying! I need one so desperately because I am supposed to go to Sisaversary next week. If I can't find someone to watch Alex, I can't go. Hopefully I'll find someone. I haven't totally given up yet, even though things are looking pretty grim.

John also just found out this week that he might have to move to either Texas or Arizona for work some time in the near future. I'm really not happy about it at ALL. I just got used to Oklahoma, don't really want to have to get used to another place all over again. I'll keep everyone updated. It isn't quite official yet.

Anyways, sorry, all I'm doing is complaining! :D I swear I'm usually not THIS much of a complainer!

Other than all that fun stuff, everything's been pretty normal around here. Just hanging out with the boys. Something that I really noticed and started thinking about today is how my cat is really protective of Alex. I know I've talked before about how she acts more like a dog than a cat. She fetches, she gives kisses, she follows me everywhere, those are just a few examples of her dog-like qualities! She's been following Alex around more and more lately. When Alex gets in trouble and we put him in his room, she sits in front of his door until he is allowed to come out. Any time he cries she runs over to him and stays close. When he runs around on the porch she watches him intently the whole time, especially when he gets close to the railing. When she rides in the car with us she sits in HIS lap now, not mine! I'm not too happy about that though, lol. She used to be my little driving buddy and she'd sit on my lap or my shoulder, but not anymore. :( I am SO pleased that she follows Alex everywhere now though, follows him around like she's his protector or something. It's just so sweet, I love my kitty. :) Although I am a little bit confused as to WHY she follows him around. He is so mean to her sometimes! All the hair pulling, the hitting, she doesn't try to run away, just sits there and takes it like a man. I think she likes it at times!

Well, here's a layout that I made on Monday, while watching the new Charm School and New York Goes to Work, might I add. Love those shows!! I like Daisy of Love too. Ahh, trashy TV is so enjoyable!


I really need to get movin and get more scrapping done! I'm so behind on photos it's unreal! I really need to get me the new October Afternoon "Cherry Hill" and "Ducks in a Row" collections. Those might inspire me a little bit more if I had them. :) They are SO cute! I'm also still dying to get my hands on the Sassafras Lass "Bungle Jungle" collection. I have been good and haven't been buying as much Scrap stuff lately. It's really hard though! :( PLUS Summer CHA is coming soon. I know I'm going to totally break down once that stuff starts coming out for sure, haha.

I've been working really hard on clearing old junk out of the house. Kinda like Spring cleaning, but in the summer! Guess what that means?? I'm going to be doing a TON of giveaways!! Here's my first givaway, which is an Etsy one. Just trying to get rid of a bunch of junk I made for the craft fair earlier this year. So here it is! One lucky winner will win all this stuff! The pink thing is a scarf, I think it might be hard to tell from the pic. Just sign this blog post and I'll draw a winner this weekend!


I hope everyone is having a great week, I'll be back soon!

Love,
Jill

Happy Saturday!!

It has been SUCH a busy Saturday today!! Well, we're probably not as busy as MOST people are on a Saturday, but for Alex and I it was. :) John has started to work Saturdays again for the past few weeks so Alex and I usually just chill at home during the day. We had to run errands today though, HOURS of them. It's my fault, I just put everything off all week. We went to the park after that, then came home. I got to sit down and watch a movie while Alex napped. It was amazing! It's been so long since that's actually happened! lol.

Here's a couple cards that I've finished so far. My LSS just got these new Anna Griffen, Crate Paper and Prima papers. They are soo bright, happy and pretty and they all go so well together! I'm having a ton of fun with them today. Today is a "card day" because I've been in a card making mood all day. :)



Here's a layout from earlier this week:


Love love love that pic of my Grandpa and Alex! :) You all knew that though!

Here are a few pics of my boys that I took at the park the other week. I love taking photos of them playing together, so cute! :) I have a TON of these park pics, I've just been lazy and haven't edited most of them yet.







OH, Alex has just recently entered his "Why?" stage. It's kinda cute, but drives me nuts at the same time! This is how many of our conversations go:

Me: Alex, take your toys to you bedroom please.

Alex: Why?

Me: Because we need to clean the living room.

Alex: Why?

Me: Because it's messy and we need to clean it.

Alex: Why?

Me: Because I'm your mom and I said so.

Alex: Why?

Me: Because I'm super smart and the best mom in the whole world!

I have to take advantage of the situation and brain wash my son a little bit. ;) Maybe it'll stick with him later on! lol. I love that Alex is to the point where I can pretty much have full conversations with him. He's so smart! :D It's so fun to just hang out with him every day, now that he's growing into more and more of an actual little person. You know what I mean? He calls me his best friend, it's so cute!

Well I hope everyone is having a great weekend! I am exhausted and going to bed before 10 PM on a Saturday, sad huh?? :D

Love,
Jill

Blast From the Past

Hi all! Just a quick blog post today! Here's a new scrapbook layout! Finally. I actually made this one a little while back with the Brellas and Wellies collection by Autumn Leaves.

I'm feeling way better today than I have since about last month! I still get sick to my stomach here and there, but I'm soo relieved that it's not constant anymore.


I hope everyone is having a great Wednesday! :)

Love,
Jill

Monday...

I'm SO sad that it's Monday... already!! Where did my weekend go?? I spent most of it sleeping, besides being awake for my Scrapbook class on Saturday, (which was a blast!). I don't know if I have a stomach flu or WHAT, I have been sick to my stomach for over a week now, ew. It's really annoying me, I have sooo much to do and can hardly do any of it, soo frustrating!! So, this past week Pepto, sea bands, chicken noodle soup and toast have been my best friends. :P

Besides that, things have been okay. Nothing too exciting to report :P No new scrap stuff to post, sighhhh. Hopefully soon! I just never feel like scrapping if I don't feel well. I'm sure that's how it is for everyone though. :)

I've been working on the Paper Crown blog lots! :) Just took photos of more of the new stuff on Saturday. Here's a little peek at lots of the new stuff Cindy has in her store, plus of course I have purchased just about ALL of it, haha!


Lots of new Jenni Bowlin, I love it all! Want it all!

A new Anna Griffin line. Normally I don't care for Anna Griffin, but this stuff is all wild and rockstarish :)

This cute fancy pants line!

You can go to the actual blog to see more, if you like! :D

Also on the blog are kits that we put together. There's a kit to make all three layouts for my beginner's class layouts:


Plus we just put a bunch together to make all three of my advanced class layouts. You can see more of it on their blog! Kits can be purchased for $35 at the store or through me.

Well, I have been getting pretty frustrated with the economy the way it has been lately. I know lots of people feel the same way as I do. We didn't really get hit until a couple months ago. John's dad's business has been suffering a little too, although it's picking back up now, thank goodness. John and I have been trying SUPER hard to be good with our money lately. We've been figuring out ways to bargain shop and save more money. It's HARD!! We are both shopping addicts! lol.

Anyways, I'm talking about this mainly because I have recently discovered tailoring. I took a couple pairs of my pants into a tailor shop recently. I had one pair of skinny jeans cut into capris, perfect!! They were too short before and of course I wouldn't wear them, but now that they're capris I've been wearing them a lot! I also brought in a pair of high waisted pants that I thought might look cute, but oh my, they looked awful on me! I cannot pull of the high waisted look, I'll tell ya that much! I had part of the waist cut off making them into normal pants and they are perfect! For just $20 I pretty much have two brand new pairs of pants that I will wear ALL the time now, when before I probably would have never worn them. Saves a ton of money. I've going to take a couple more pairs of jeans in to get fixed soon. :) I'm just throwing this idea out there to my bloggie friends, I think it's definitely going to save me money to get pants that I already own altered instead of going out and spending even MORE money on new pairs of pants!

Although I AM trying to save money, here are a few pairs of shoes I've been dreaming about lately...



I NEED them ALL, you don't even understand! lol. (That's what I always say to John when we're shopping, "but John, I NEED it, you don't even understand!" hehe)

Anyways, I would like to thank those who have ordered items from my etsy shop this week, thank you thank you! :) It means the world to me! I'm just going to leave the stuff at all the reduced prices for awhile, before I take my shop down. I'm also going to have a give away on my blog some time this week, I'm giving away lots of my Etsy shop jewelery, scarves, hair things and whatnot. I just need to get rid of everything! haha. Please stay tuned for that, plus I'll be scrapping again soon, promise!

I hope everyone had a great weekend, love ya!

Jill

Etsy Sale and New Paper Crown Blog!

Happy Monday!! How was your weekend? Mine was pretty fun! I taught my first class at Paper Crown on Saturday. Let's just say... not many people signed up, but it was actually pretty nice that everything worked out that way! I worked with the nicest gal named Renee. She is so fun!! I can't wait until my next class next Saturday. Since this was my very first class I didn't really know what to expect, now I will be totally prepared for the next one!

I have taken on the job of building a new blog for the Paper Crown store. I'm so excited about it!! I have taken LOTS of photos of all the new, fabulous scrapbook supplies in the store right now, I'll be updating the blog many times a week with photos of all the new goodies. On the blog you will find all the dates, times and overviews of every class offered in the store. There will be lots of new info, photos, interviews, and tutorials featured on the blog. It is going to be so much fun!! Please go check it out if you have time, promise you won't be disappointed. :)

I'm also having a HUGE sale in my Etsy Shop right now! Everything is marked down 50% or MORE!! My sale prices will be up for 2 weeks. Here are some of the items up for sale in the shop at the moment:

Handmade felt flower embellishments. Perfect for scrapbooking or any other kind of craft project! The sale price is just $1.00 for a pair of two! Offered in multiple colors.

Tons of jewelery! All the jewelery is handmade by me. Style is VERY important in my book, so you know everything I make it going to be stylish. :) I made every pair of earrings and neclace to go with almost any outfit. You can wear them with a casual day to day outfit, or dress up a fancy night outfit! The possibilities are endless!

Here are some gift ideas, just to get your head turnin. :)

These adorable stretchy flower headbands would look perfect on any little girl! Or an older gal because come on, I wear them too! :) Along with a pretty pink neclace to match, perfect! She'll be the only one in school with these one of a kind fashion accessories!

With 4th of July coming up, it's the perfect time to start buying all of your red, white and blue coordinating gifts! How about a handmade red and blue scarf, along with a red headband and some blue flowers??

My handmade scarves are marked down to just $6.00 each, by the way. I am a scarf hoarder, I know there's lots of ladies out there who hoard them just like me! :)

Alright, I'll stop going on and on about my Etsy. :)

I don't have any new scrappy stuff to share... YET! But I will soon! I was playing with lots of paper last night. :)

Whooo watched the MTV movie awards last night?? Twilight kept winning awards like crazy!! Gooo Twilight!! They showed the first trailer for New Moon too. Who's excited?? Only 5 1/2 months to wait! Which by the way is wayyy too long. Anyways, here's the trailer if you happened to have missed it:



Sooo exciting!!

Also, if you're looking for some AMAZING entertainment, go read these reviews on Amazon for the Three Wolf Moon Shirt! You will NOT be disappointed. I was laughing so hard at these reviews I was crying!!

Well I hope everyone is having a greeeaaaaat Monday!! :D Talk to you sooon!

Love,
Jill