It's Finally Friday Not that it matters to me any longer, but I just thought I'd put that out there for those of you that it matters to. It's been wow these past few weeks. Been crazy busy here. Between work and working on projects. Work was going great until my hip and back started killing me. Was doing a lot of hours working the store, and it was just to much on it I guess. So I had a chat with the acting manager and I'll be doing more classroom things instead so I won't be on them a much. I'm saddened to find out that an LSS that I taught at for years is closing. This Saturday is her last day open. I'm going to make a trip down to see her today and pick up some goodies. She's offering 60% off everything left in the store. I hope there is some good things left. It's quite a hop down to her store. But it'll be nice to see and chat with her again. We haven't chatted in so long. Well I just wanted to pop in here and say HI. I can't wait to share with you the new site that's coming. You'll all love it .... Have a great weekend.... Hugs from Charm City

Wanted to Share some.... (I took this first thing this morning. It's the neighbors little house in their backyard. I just loved the blue against the white snow. And with the trees covered, it looks like a little cabin in the woods...) of our good fortune that we received yesterday and last night. We had alot of fun earlier playing in the snow. The neighbors dog came over for a play date with Mystic to. She is such a playful dog. And huge, is she ever so massive. Her name's Daisy. Kaitlynn's off sledding. Can't wait to see how much fun she had. I got a swap package a week or so ago and these photos will be great with it. I can't wait to play.... Well have a great Sunday!!!! Enjoy all of our white stuff.... Hugs from Charm City!!!! This is my favorite photo

White Pearly Stuff Oh ya BABY!!!!! We got it...I can't believe we finally got some snow. It looks so beautiful outside right now. I just had to take some photos this morning of it. WOOHOO!!! IT'S A SNOW DAY!!!! I can't wait to get out and play. Kaitlynn's SNOW DANCE finally worked this year. The trees are so pretty when they are freshly covered. Not much going on here otherwise. I did finish my layouts for the contest. Now I'm going to start my "C" cards for my ATC swap that I'm in. I know I'm late, but I just had to get these other projects out of the way first. And did everyone hear that Cammy had her baby? Oh my. What a beauty she is too...I just love little babies. They are so precious and innocent. Innocent of the world's demise. Well I just wanted to pop in and say HI. I hope everyone had a wonderful week and even a better week ahead. Here's a couple of photos that I snapped this morning...ENJOY!!! Hugs from a very pretty white Charm City Well the photos aren't uploading right now. I guess something's going on...I just got a report for Kaitlynn, she said we got 12" of snow.....woohoo!!! Let the play time begin...

GOOOOOOOOOO STEELERS!!!!!!! WOOHOO!!! I am so proud of them. I can't believe that they took the game last night...woohoo!!!! At least one of my teams made it...it's been awhile...way to go guys!!! Today is officially my first day at work. I went for another interview last Friday for the assistant managers job at the store, but I didn't come out of it feeling warm and fuzzy. So it's not looking like I'll be getting that position. But I am going to be teaching and working with customers so I am still a happy camper. And I did get a call from the other store that I interviewed with the other day. They were at CHA in Vegas when he called. He said that I will have an offer in the mail this week. So I'm interested in what they are going to offer me for their store. I really want to work for them, but I'm not getting bennis with them. And this is one thing that I needed for my family and I. I guess God works in mysterious ways. Here's a project that I worked on ther other day and thought I'd share it with you all. I just picked up Architectural Decor book by Linda Gillum the other day and was so inspired by her work that I had to try it out. This is one that was in her book. Although I changed the process alittle, it still looks like her project. If you get a chance and want to step outside of your normal box, I would highly suggest getting this book. All it is, is foam (2 different size foam sheets), paint, glaze, newspaper and some glue. What a cool project. And some add your own wall art to your space. I have another in the making that I'm using paper on instead of paint. I'll share that one as soon as I get it finished. I picked up the foam and the book at Michaels in the flower foam isle. It's not the green foam, but the white moldable one. Really fun to work with. Have fun and if you make anything I'd love to check out your projects. Here's another project that I made the other day to. I just picked up some of the C. Cole papers and wanted to make this project. It's not a very good photo, sorry. The can opens up to add some hidden goodies inside for that special person. A great friend of mine is in the hospital and I thought this would be a great thing to send. Instead of regular flowers, this will last forever. I'm thinking about adding a quote/poem on the front. Well I hope you like the projects I've shared. I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead. Thanks for stopping in.. Hugs from a very cold Charm City

WHEW!!! It's Finished... My HOF is complete. Now I just need to make it off to the post office in the morning and mail it in. I am so glad that I finished this. I ended up changing out 3 or 4 layouts. But all in all, I'm happy with the ones that I chose. I just hope they will be too. Even if it's only to admire the work and meaning behind them. The diet thing has been going. I just wished they gave more foodage in the containers to eat...lol...and I can't wait to try some of the recipes that Pam has shared with me. They sound yummy. Thanks Pam...you are so sweet... Although I know I can't change out some things to fat free or low cal. But for the most part I can. And I really need to get off of this pop thing. I have cut it down to 1 a day. But still, that does not help me any. Our little poochie went into the doggie hospital the other day to get his manly's removed. It's been a long time coming. He's been driving our neighbors crazy, not to mention all of us here. He's just like a man. Panting and pacing until he gets some...lol...sorry I just had to add that. He would sit at my feet (no matter where I was) and pant and whine. It would drive me crazy. Then if he was able to slither out beneath your feet to get out the door, the neighbors would come and pay us a visit. So we are hoping this will CURVE this URGE!!!! So when he came back home today I seen what they had done. I've never seen this before. And I'm thinking to myself, man, I will not let this happen to Scott. No way, no how. To much fun there to take them away...heehee..but all in all, he's doing fine. Still panting some and alittle whining. But the vet says he'll get over it in time. Well I hope that time comes sooner and not later. Here's a little project I made today for a contest. I had so much fun with it.I got these KI papers and have been wanting to use them. So I thought this would make a great project for it. What do you think? I really like the outcome... Well I'm off for now. I need to start working on my DT projects now that HOF is over. And then I'm going to try for the contest at scrapbook.com. They've upped the anti this year. $20,000 contest. Check them out. If you don't want to enter, hop over there and check out all of the wonderful layouts that have been uploaded so far. Some very creative and talented ladies.. Have a great Wednesday... Hugs from Charm City

Today's the Day Today is the first day of my real DIET. I can't believe I said that. Not to mention writing those letters. I am so disgustingly over weight. The most I have ever weighed in my lifetime. And it's time I do something about it. I went out and purchased a scale to weigh in on every week. I'm going to do it right. The weighing in and measuring once a week. Now I need to make a book to capture all of these mussings from my journey. Scott is even doing this to. So maybe I'll make him his own book. Maybe not. Don't know if he will write his mussings in a book, but I'll ask. But I know for me, I'm shooting for May as my first goal. They open Seacrets back up then and I want to look some what decent when we go back down there to PARTY. So wish us luck. We are on a mission. For the first time in my life I purchased weight watchers, lean cruisine and heathly choice dinners yesterday. We are reading packages and comparing info to what other things we would have picked up instead. And let me tell you. It was such an eye opener. I couldn't believe what I have been putting into this body for years and not thinking anything about it. And to tell you the truth, those dinners are actually pretty tasty. But they do leave abit of a hole in the belly. I am now a proud worker b. I got a job the other day when I went on another interview. The lady that I will be working with is just the coolest. I get paid to scrap. What better kind of job is there. Well ok, other than getting a photography job, this is second to none....lol.... I am coming along with my new layouts that I needed to replace the first ones made for HOF. I am all finished with them but one. So I'm hoping to get this done today sometime so I can get get everything put together and off into the mail. I also received my first package the other day from the Design Team that I'm on. And my oh my. That was one awesom package. I can't wait to play with all of the goodies she sent. And I can't wait to tell you all where's it at. You will so love this new place on the net. I am so blessed to be in company with some extremely and creative scrappers/designeres. I can't wait to see all of their creations. They will all knock your socks off. The unveiling will be soon. So keep checking back.... Well, I'm out of here. I need to go and put laundry away, try and figure out how to cook a tenderloin that's not BAD for the CURVES...lol...if anyone would like to share recipes for the weight watcher kind of thing, please, by all means do. I need so much help in this category. Hugs from a very windy Charm City

It was a Great Day.... Yesterday Scott and I had a "WE" day to ourselves. It was such a great day. We had alot of fun just hanging out together. We took off first thing in the morning before anyone got up and went off to the beach. The photos above are just a few that I took. We went to Assateague Island for a drive through to see the wild horses and deer. The deer were so plentiful on this trip. I've never seen them out so. The horses were hanging out in the parking lot again over by the beach area. No matter how many times I come here, I always enjoy our visit. The wind was whipping really bad though. The last photo is of the band that was playing at SEACRETS. This was the first time I had heard them play and they were great. They played oldies from the 70s/80's. And the bands name was John Maurer Band. This is my brothers name. Not to mention my maiden name... so I had to take a photo of them so I can send it to my brother back in MI. We took a stroll on the boardwalk and got some of those famous fries that we always get. They are one of the highlights of the boardwalk. Thrashers Fries...awesom place. Well I'd share a photo of Scott from yesterday, but he gets a little irritated with me at this sort of thing. So I better leave well enough alone...lol... We had such a great day and even a better time when we got home. We had the house to ourselves for a change. It was just so wierd not to have any of our kids here. We unpacked from our trip and went to bed. And this morning I woke to a note that asked me if I wanted to go to breakfast. WOOHOO...we haven't done that in awhile either. So we might be off and running this morning too... Well I hope that everyone has a great day. Oh, by the way. This morning when I got up to let the dog in, the tree in the backyard was gone. So they must have worked on it yesterday to get it out of our neighbors yard. I haven't called them yet to chat, so I wonder what they are thinking about all of this. Sorry Babe, I just had to do this. It must be that stubborn streak in me...heehee...I know you'll read this, so I want to thank you for suggesting we take off yesterday. I had such a great time spending the day together. I luv ya hun....oh, don't forget about our date Wednesday for the movies... Hugs from a very cold Charm City

A Blessing in Disguise This is what we woke to yesterday morning... we had a really bad storm and it took down my neighbors tree...it's a blessing to us, because we thought when it came down it would go right for our pool...and all of the neighbors behind us would get the water in their yards. ...but it only took out 3 fence lines and landed at the house right behind ours....didn't do any other damage than that...if you look in the one photo, you can see a swing set that it barely missed... The storm was really bad...I was up watching QVC around 2:30 am getting ready for bed when the electricity went out. The best part of the show too...I was so bummed...I really wanted to see how this lady used one of the products....but oh well...maybe next time... Today is the anniversary of my brother's death. I know he's looking down on all of us making sure things are ok. And I know there are things going on in the family that he would totally not aprove of right now. Mainly his eldest son. Just let me say this, I hope that my nephew gets back on track and headed in the right direction he needs to be. I know if my brother were here, his little boy wouldn't have gotten off track like he has. I just think it's a boy crying out. Crying out for his father that he can't have here on earth. So if I could ask, just say a prayer for him. I don't like the word death. To me it means the end. I don't know if it's because I don't like uncertainty, or what. I just know I don't like it. And I can't stand to go to funerals. I don't like to be sad and cry and see someone laying there that I just know won't be getting back up. I know everyone says that there's life afterwards, but still it's an end to life as we know it here. I have only had 4 people that were close to me die in my life time. I had some aquaintences from school passaway. But going to those 3 (my best friends parents didn't have a funeral) funerals were the worst time in my life. Well enough of that...sorry if I was a downer today for this little part of my post... Well I just wanted to pop in here to say HI to everyone...my HOF layouts are complete, but I am completely starting over on 3 of them...out of 10 these 3 I didn't care for...so I need to get crackin later tonight after we get back from dinner....going to get crab cakes tonight...WOOHOO!!! They are so yummy at this place.... Hugs from a very nice Charm City

Happy Sunday... It's a long over due post from me. So much has been happening around here these past couple of weeks. I have been so busy trying to gt my layouts finished for HOF. Can you believe it? I'm going to enter this year. I'm not expecting anything, just the sheer accompliment of finishing the contest and entering is good enough for me. But if by some chance I get HOF (a girl can dream) or even honorable mention (another dream here), I'd be so thrilled with joy. I have all of my assignments completed but one. The journaling. Leave it up to me to save my worst for last. I have a few ideas on how I want to scrap this subject, and have been searching my computer for photographs, but haven't set this in stone yet, sort of speaking. I just read that scrapbook.com is having their layout contest again this year. They've upped the anti. $20,000 buckaroos this year. And only 3 layouts this time..WOOHOO...this will be another one I'm going to enter. The entries last year were so faboluous..and I enjoyed seeing who won all of the goodies. That's got to be one hard job. Judging a contest. I'm so glad that I don't have to. There are so many wonderful and very creative scrappers out there. My hats off to all of you judges out there that do this. I have to share some good news though. I got first place in the Creative Xpress contest for December. $75.00 bucks to spend in their store. Man, I love that place. They have a great online community too if you get a chance to check them out. Well my daughter is finally back on line. They have moved into their new home back in MI on the water. I can't wait to take another trip there to visit. We got hooked back up to MSN with our video cameras and it's so nice to be able to see and chat with her, Joe and the baby. Bayleigh is such a little sweetie. She's blowing kisses to the camera and says I Love you grandma. But today she got herself into a little pickle while we were chatting. She got busted writing on the wall...lol...I guess what comes around go around..huh Amanda...heehee...I hope you got that washable paint that I mentioned to you the other day...if not, you might be rethinking it...heehee... Here are some photos from our bedroom and livingroom that I promised everyone. Just keep in mind that I'm still not finished. But I did want to post some here for everyone that has been asking...the water picture on the wall in the living room behind the couch, has the wave sounds and the water ripples in the photo. But that darn cord is driving me nuts. It looks so out of place. Anyone have any suggestions on how to hide this? Please send them my way. We have another one over top of the entertainment center. I went for a couple of interviews this past week. Yep, I said it. Looking for a job finally. It's time I get back out there. Scott won't leave, so I have to...lol...no, really, I want to get back into teaching again and working at a store with customers. But I do have some resumes out for photography jobs. I would love love love to get one of these. Even at the beginner level would be great. But we'll see how things turn out. It depends on the man above. What he thinks will work best for me and my family. Well this is it for now. I hope it won't be to long before my next update. I hope everyone's year has been good to you so far. I disconnected the lounger and put it seperately. I really like it better over there by the window. I sit and watch tv and read my mags and such here...really cool spot... Well have a great week ahead... Hugs from a very windy and cold charm city

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!! We had a great night celebrating with our little one. It was nice to hang out and play some games with her. Although she doens't take loosing to well. So what does a mom do to make her little one happy? Let her win. They let off fireworks around here. Scott and Kaitlynn loved setting the ones off we picked up at South of the Border this past summer. They were kind of cool. I just couldn't get any great photos of them doing it though. So no New Year's layout from me this year. Although I made us a great dinner. We got steamed shrimp, twice baked loaded pototoes, home made BBQ wings (cooked,fried and then baked) and some dill dip with celery and crackers. I just had to throw in something that was alittle nurishing...lol... Here's a photo I took today using my new funky lense. It's awesom. I am so loving playing with this. I just wish I had the one that was on order. We're taking the tree down tomorrow and I really wanted to use it for the lights on it. Oh well, I'll just have to find other things to take photos using it. Here's a layout of yet another ornament on our tree. I'm such a coke a holic. I know, I shouldn't be. They say that just drinking one can of coke a day with minimal excersize, you will gain 10 lbs. in a year. So now I know where all of these pounds have come from over the past years. LOL..I really need to kick the habit. I have tried so many times it isn't funny. I just need that extra umph that it gives me. Well I hope everyone had a great New Years. My family and I are wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2006. Hugs from Charm City

Happy Christmas Eve I wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We are off to go and see santa this morning. I know, waiting for the last minute is not a good thing. But hey, when you are totally busy, things happen. Last night I just received an e-mail that said I was a finialist for a design team. I answered the questions and sent it back. A little while later, I get an e-mail that congratulated me to their team. I am so syked. I have been trying to get on a design team for awhile now. I was wondering if it was something I was saying, doing, not making or just how I scrapped that no one wanted to me to be on their team. I guess I was just getting the holiday blues. But this has made my day and I can't wait to share it with Scott. Like he'll be all excited for me...lol...he did understand how I wanted to be on the other team I just tried out for. But I guess this is what the man above intended for me instead. There's even an offer for me to go to Vegas for the CHA show the end of January. I am so hoping that I can make this show. I have always longed to go there. Oh well, enough of that for now..I will let you know more details as soon as I can... The above project is my unloved 3-D project I made for the Junkitz Design Team call...heck, they didn't even want to purchase this one...oh well...it'll make someone a happy camper when they get it for their birthday with goodies inside. The zipper on the top is totally functional. And I took a couple binderz and took them apart for added elements for the sides of the box... Well I'm off for now. I hope everyone has a wonderful day...and thanks for stopping in... Hugs from Charm City

Check out my new cool lense...

I just got this new lense today. It's like an octagon/kaleidoscope one. It is soo cool. This is a photo I took after we left the camera store just playing. I can't wait to figure it totally out and get some cool ones.

Our house smells alot like Christmas. Scott is in the kitchen baking his famous choc. chip cookies. Making the dough for his peanut butter cookies for tomorrow to bake. He has these recipes he's gotten from his Mom and he makes them every year. I love to see a man in the kitchen. Although he won't let me take his photo so I can scrap it. But I'll try to sneak one in so you all can see him. Maybe I can even get him to pose...lol...fat chance. Kaitlynn and I are doing the cut out and hersey kiss drops tomorrow after she gets out of school. So that will be fun.

I took some other photos of our house with the lights. Tricia and Scott didn't do much outside, but it still looks nice. I just need to add something under the front window. It looks kind of bare there...sorry it's not the best photo, but I'm still learning...

I'm off tomorrow to finish up my last minute shopping and to get my hair cut for the holidays. I am really lovin my hair short, so I'm sure I'll go with a new doo of some sort like that.

I hope everyone has a wonderful night. Hope to chat with you all tomorrow...

Hugs from a very brisk Charm City

It's starting to look alot like Christmas.... I wanted to share some of the photos I took tonight. I am still trying to learn my camera, so I play alot with different settings and such. The first one is one of our tree. Not that great of one yet, but I'm still trying. The spiral tree is one of 2 that we have in our front yard. The santa is our welcome santa that is at our front door and plays different music. He's a cutie. And I had to post my Mark Martin ornament just for my friend Debbie. I'm sure she has plenty of Dale on her tree, but I just wanted to share one of mine that's on ours every year. The angel came out so pretty and I just had to share her. If you look closely, you can see me in the colored bulbs...no matter how hard I tried to stay out of the photo, you could either see me or my camera in each one that I took. But I still love how it turned out. I can't believe it's been 15 years since I purchaed the snowman scene one. How time flies when you're having fun....lol...and the last one, is one of the stocking holders we have to hold a stocking for santa to fill on Christmas. I hope everyone is doing great. We are almost ready for Christmas. We are having a total of 24 family members here for dinner. Our little house really doesn't hold that many people at once, so this will be very interesting on how it turns out. We have a 25lb. turkey and my mother in law is cooking the ham. Oh how I love dinners like this. It's just to bad that we don't do this more often throughout the year. Well I'm off to bed. Scott and I are on our way down to the camera shop tomorrow morning. He said he will get me my lenses that was on top of my Christmas list for my camera. I would love to get a new tri pod to, but I don't think that's in the cards right now. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday. Stay safe and try to stay warm... Hugs from Chram City