Happy New Year!!

I know it has been a  little  LOT quite on the old blog the past two weeks!!  I hope you had a wonderful holiday season!!  We have had lots of food, family, fun, and my new job (that I like so far!!) all which have been keeping me pretty busy. 

I hope to resume regularly scheduled programming on Sunday 1/8.

And since I prefer to always post a picture with my blog posts, here is Shabby Miss Jenn's January Desktop calendar!!  You can get a free download HERE.

2011 has been an interesting year.  Here are a few highlights:
*Mike and I celebrated 25 years of marriage.

*Ashley finished her internship and got her Master's Degree.  I know great things are in store for her!!

*Josh is back in school/getting ready to start a new job that he is very excited about.

*My office of 9 years closed permanently, and I found a new job perfectly timed and planned for me.

*I was published in Paper Crafts again (which makes me jump up and down every time it happens!!)

*I am still learning/and getting better at not taking life too seriously and always looking for the silver lining!! 

I am anxious to see what 2012 will have in store!! It is always so nice to start out FRESH!! With a clean slate!!

Happy New Year blog friends!!!

Merry Christmas Friends!!

My life has gotten even more CRAZY over the past few days (my in-laws are flying in tonight for 2 weeks and I have not finished my Christmas shopping *ugh!!*), so I am not sure I will have time to update my blog until after Christmas *sad face*

But I wanted to post our 2011 Christmas Card Photo!!

Wishing you Peace, Joy &

 

Today and always!!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year Blog Friends!!  

*and because inquiring minds want to know~this location is in Scottsdale, AZ  (the major cross roads are 1st/Drinkwater Blvd).  Link is HERE

sending warm {coffee} thoughts...

Hi all!!

I hope you had a great weekend!!  I have been trying to wrap up all the Christmas details that I have  procrastinated about all month!!  This is the first year that I will probably finish my shopping on Friday December 23rd *yikes!!*  

My hubby even finished decorating the tree for me (I am just not feeling it this year~not sure why!!).  This is the first year that Ashley will not be home for Christmas.  She and Nate are heading to the COLD weather to celebrate Christmas with Nate's family in Pennsylvania.  We decided to have our Christmas celebration when they are both back in AZ, which is good, because it gives me some more time to get their presents, LOL!!

This week is my last week of training, and I will be thrown into the real world, LOL!! I think I will be okay!! In my opinion that is really how you learn!!

Here is a card I made for a friend of mine that will be getting a Starbucks gift card for Christmas (I HEART SB's!).  

OK friends!!  That is gonna do it for today!!

Have a FABULOUS Monday!!

weekly iPhone dump...

Surprisingly with my crazy busy schedule these days, I have managed to keep up with my weekly iPhone pictures~because there is always something to shoot!!

From Left to Right:

1.  Week 2 of training~I got my headset (this is my first time working in a call center), of course this pic was text-ed to my hubby, LOL!!.

2.  Working for a pharmaceutical company is just like working in a doctor's office, lots and LOTS of food (here is our PB&J day).

3.  I love when I plan ahead and leave dinner for the hubs to put in the oven!!

4.  Date with my hubby~at our favorite place~Chipotle!!

5.  Mike took a cat nap on Saturday with both the kitties, LOL!!

6.  Josh got an early Christmas present, and I might add he was pretty excited about it!!

7.  Packages are arriving!!

8.  Kodi~I LOVE that crazy dog!!

9.  Mike finished decorating the tree for me~can you guess which ornaments took center stage *wink*

Enjoy Today!!

December...

Happy Friday!!

I am so happy the weekend is here!!!  I have SO MUCH to get done over the weekend~I'm hoping to get my naked tree decorated tonight!!

Today is gonna be quick~here is post 3 of Christmas Card week.  I have lots of scrap Christmas paper laying around on my desk from my December Daily Album (which is also behind schedule, LOL!!), I decided to use it up on my Christmas cards!!  I also used Ali Edwards 25 Moments stamp set (which I am LOVING for my DDA!!) on today's card. Have you been following Ali's DDA posts??  I LOVE her pages!!! 

Well that is gonna do it for today~so many things to do so little time!!  I seriously cannot believe that Christmas is 9 days away!!  *yikes*

Enjoy your weekend!!!

holly jolly Christmas...

Happy Middle of the Week Day!!

I am plugging away at my Christmas to-do list, and I think I am making a small (very small) dent in it!!  My Christmas tree is still naked, but I know it will eventually get decorated; other things are taking priority right now, like mailing gifts to my family out of state and getting my Christmas cards written.  How are you doing with your Christmas to-do list???  I am trying not to stress over the fact that there are 11 more days until Christmas!!!

Here is Day 2 of my Christmas Card Week posts.  I found some scrap paper in my stash (I think I might have purchased this from Michaels).  I liked the candy cane look of it, so I made it the main part of the card.

 

Okay, and since I type my blog posts the night before and schedule them to post bright and early in the morning, I am off to {hopefully} finish my Christmas cards...

Enjoy Today!!

joy to the world...

Happy Monday Friends!!

I think I may be back on my blogging schedule *hooray*

I definitely have less time than I did in my last job, but I am so very thankful to have found a job in this economy!!  This weekend was CRAZY BUSY!!  Mike and I hosted a dinner at our church for all the leaders, workers and helpers.  You can see some photos from that on my previous iPhone photo dump post HERE.  It was a lot of fun!!!

Mike helped me out this weekend, by chipping in with my to-do list, so I had a little bit of time to get crafty on Saturday night (he ROCKS!!).  It was so nice to have a little bit of time to be creative.

For some reason, I am having a hard time getting into the Christmas Spirit this year, and I am not sure why??  I am thinking it may be because I am VERY behind schedule with my shopping, but I am hoping it kicks in soon~because I LOVE Christmas!!!

Since I have been trying to get into the Christmas mood, I thought I would whip up some Christmas cards; so this week will be Christmas Card week on the blog.  Here is the first one.  I really like the Half & Half  PTI die, but I have been trying to limit my craft supply spending a bit, so I improvised with an edge punch I already own (link is HERE).  Then just stamped a sentiment from Holiday Button Bits and an image from the retired SU! stamp set Merry & Bright.  Then just added some ribbon and a button and Viola!!  

Enjoy today!!!

{365} weekly iphone dump...

 
From Left to Right:

1.  In my training class, we had to write our name and a hobby to tape on the wall over our computer, here is mine.

2.  My new bed time...4:20 am comes VERY early!!

3.  Lunch packed the night before ready to go the next morning.

4.  It makes me laugh every time I see Dewey & Kodi together~I never thought they would be friends.

5.  Christmas ornaments still waiting to be put on our naked tree!!!

6.  Christmas Party at Church tonight~yummy spread!!

7.  Josh digging in!

8.  Ashley and my friend Julie 

9.  Josh, Mike and Jess, a few of my favorite peeps!!!

{365} 12.9.11 "O (naked) Christmas Tree"

Hi all,

Sorry that I have been MIA this week!!  I started my new job bright and early on Monday morning.  I now have to leave the house at 6am (which is an hour earlier than I am used to), so I am trying to get on a new morning routine.  Before (for my last job) I would get up earlier than I had to, so I could drink my coffee, check emails, and do my daily blog hopping before leaving for work.  But now that I have to leave a lot earlier, I don't have that extra hour to do my "fun" morning routine, instead I am sipping my coffee in a travel mug and listening to Christmas Carols on the radio.  

I finished the first week of training and I think I am really going to like my new job, which is always a plus!! right?  Thursday was the first night that I didn't feel like I wanted to go to bed at 8 pm, LOL!!  I think I am getting adjusted *smile*  But I sure am glad it is the weekend and I can sleep later than 4:30 a.m. tomorrow *woot*

Tonight when I got home, Mike and I (mostly  Mike), put up our Christmas tree.  We will decorate it Saturday or Sunday.  I am just happy it is up!!  For some reason I am having a hard time getting in the Christmas Spirit this year, not sure why.  Maybe because I still have so much to do???!!!

Here is our naked tree... (and if you look closely, you can see Dewey, sitting on the stairway landing~that is one of his favorite spots)
 

**And I want to thank Deb H for your sweet email today!! 
It made me smile!!  :)

Enjoy today!!

{365} weekly iphone photo dump...

From Left to Right:

1.  Picked up a few organizing bins at Walmart.

2.  Finally dropped off my junk stuff at Goodwill.

3.  Bought some skinny jeans at Target (I feel so cool!!).

4.  The final walk through in my old office.

5.  My last Friday date lunch with my hubby *sad face here*  (I will be working on Friday's now).

6.  Went to Costco on Saturday, Mike and I both ate lunch for $3.

7.  Stocked up on the Costco sized Coffee Mate!!

8.  Went back to Costco on Sunday (today), because I forgot to buy my allergy medication.

9.  A little snack as I update the old blog!

**I am not sure if I will be updating my blog on a regular basis this week~I start my new job bright and early tomorrow morning at 6:30 am (with a 30 min commute each way), so I am anticipating that I may be a little tired the first week until I get acclimated to my new schedule.

Enjoy Today!!

craft room re-organization

Happy Saturday Peeps!

One of the things on my list to get DONE before I start my new job this Monday, was to re-organize my craft room.  It seems like stuff just multiplies in there!!  All week long I went through EVERYTHING and really purged!!  If I didn't think I would use it, I got rid of it.  I think I took out about 10 large bins worth of stuff.  Luckily I had someone that I donated it to, who will give it a good home!!

After that was done, my sweet hubby added more shelving to the room (since I had to incorporate some of my old office work stuff into the space, because I am doing some medical billing as a side job).  I finally got everything moved in and reorganized, and I think it will be pretty functional for me.

And since I love to look at other peoples craft spaces, I thought I would post mine (because inquiring minds wanna know!!).  You can see what it looked like before HERE.

on Friday, Mike took a trip to Lowe's to get more shelving and brackets to add more space for me (I love that it all matches)!! Then he worked his magic!!

Once that was finished, I started putting everything back in.  I kept most of it in the same spots as before, but it is nice to hot have it so cramped!!

View 1~This is my billing home office corner as well as my stamping/scrapbooking supplies. (all my markers, tools, punches, photo paper, envelopes, etc are stored it the bins/boxes).

View 2~Here is my stamping table/office desk.  This is where I get creative!!

View 3~This is the other end of the shelving unit, which stores my cards, adhesive, cuttlebug/Papertrey ink templates, magazines that I have been published in, books of online classes I have taken, camera gear, light tent (for my blog pic's), and my sewing machine.

View 4~This is the other side of the room, where my personal computer and desk is.  This is where I surf the web, do graphic design work for church and edit my photos.  Sometimes I share it with Mike, LOL!! (note to self...I think the cords under the desk need to be untangled and organized today!!  Adding it  to my list of stuff to do!!).

Well that is it.  My little space.  Hope you enjoyed the tour...now I have to get crackin' on the rest of my to-do list!!

Enjoy your weekend!!!

December Desktop...

Hi all,

Popping in with a very quick post tonight~I have been busy, busy, BUSY all day today.  I am trying to get all my "ducks in a row" before I start my new job on Monday.  I had a few moments to make a quick computer desktop for December, with Shabby Miss Jenn's free download.  You can find the FREE template HERE.  All you have to do is open the file (as well as a photo you would like to use) in a photo editing program, like Photoshop, then drag your photo under the desktop layer, adjust the photo, and save as your desktop~very easy peasy!!

I am off to get into my Jammie's and watch TV on the sofa with my hubs & Kodi.  Have a FABULOUS weekend!!!

{365} 12.1.11 working on my DDA

Today is December 1st (how did that sneak up on me so fast??).  I have been working on my December Daily Album, trying to get it completed (being sick sure put a crimp in my plan, grrr!!), so I can just add photos to it throughout the month.  I just have some embellishing to do and figure out the cover.  Here is a little reminder on Ali's Blog to NOT STRESS!!

 

Last year I ran out of steam, I have all my photos printed and completed pages 1-15, and then I stopped.  That is why I am DETERMINED to get the pages completed first this year, LOL!!  After the holidays I will assemble my 2010 DDA (I hate leaving stuff undone!!).

And of course I have decided to re-organize and change up my craft room, which is not the best timing, LOL!!  Mike is going to add some more shelves (since I am adding some work space to my room, I have taken on a little side business), I have donated several bins of craft stuff to Josh's girlfriend Jess (who also likes to paper craft).  I am hoping it is completed tomorrow!!  I will post pictures once it is finished, because I know how I enjoy looking at other people's craft spaces!!

I am also taking a trip to the Container Store with my friend Cindy on Friday (which is always FUN!!).  So I am not sure what tomorrow's post will consist of, LOL!!! 


Enjoy Today!!