Welcome home...

Just a quick post today......

I get home at 5:00 from a long, hard day at work, get the mail, put my things down, fling my shoes off, get a drink of water, pet the kitty, pet the other kitty, quitely tip-toe into the bedroom to give Mike a "good morning" kiss, (because for him, it is morning....) I slowly and quietly open the door as to not startle him, and this is what I am greeted with! HA! I just had to grab my camera! He never knew I did it!

I know we drive each other crazy, but I do love this man!

Weekend over..... What now?

Well, I can only reflect on my weekend right now, because I can't stand the thought of waking up at 5:30 in the morning to get ready for..... W-O-R-K...... Just can't do it.....

Friday night - date night. Mike and I actually had some alone time together. This is an unusual occurance for us. We went to Providence Place Mall. Took in a movie (You, Me and Dupree) and got some grub at Dave and Busters. The movie was pretty funny even though it got some not-so-great reviews. Dinner was good. Had something new.... Something I have never tried.... something in Mike's salad that HE didn't want to try. It was called hearts of palm. I have heard of it but never had it before. Not bad.... not good, but not bad.

Saturday was girlfriend day. I got to "work" with Donna at Michael's. Now, it wasn't so much work as it was playing. I got to use the Cricut (LOVE it! Soooooo much better than the Quickutz. Not as portable, but lots of other options. I hope this ends up somewhere in my house!) From there, we went to AC Moore in Warwick and then to the SB store in Pawtucket, which we missed by 1 hour! Who knew they closed at 2:00??? Anyway, here is something that I know she would never share, but I am proud of her and want everyone to see it! This was an article for the local RI paper, the Valley Breeze. Check it out if you are in RI any time soon. I found mine at The Ice Cream Machine (my favorite!) in Cumberland. Congrats Donna... No matter what you say, you will always be a star in my eyes! Donna, I had such a great time with you. Laughing, sharing, talking. I love you! Thanks for always supporting me!

Sunday we went to Slater Park for a cook-out that was put together by one of Mike's supervisors. His co-workers and their childred/grandchildren were invited. We had a great time there. Mike had a good time "playing" with the boys. Jimmy and Mike were the reigning horseshoe champions; a title Mike takes very seriously. Especially since he hasn't really played since he hurt his back. But he took a pill and was feeling fine, beating everyone that played against him. We went to Uno's for dinner. From there we came home and I sat at my table for a little while and did a page with some of the new things I got at AC Moore. It didn't come out good enough to share here.... sorry.

... And now, I sit at my computer with eyes glassing over from complete exhaustion. I don't know why I am so tired lately. It isn't like I am doing much. Maybe it is from all the fresh air I got today.

So, with that I will sign off. Have yourself a wonderful week. Long weekend for me.
Thursday is BonJovi and Nickelback. Friday we are off to Conneticut where we will be camping. Sunday is the PawSox game.... Home on Monday. Boy, another busy weekend..... What is a girl to do? Take pictures of course!

Is it Friday..... Again.....

Here I go again. Wishing for Friday to come..... Wishing my life away..... I decided today that I want to win the lottery so that the bill collectors will stop calling and so that I can stay home and craft full time. I don't like going to work. I don't like it when people blame me for errors in their paychecks. I always tell them that 'YOU PAY YOURSELF... ONLY YOU CAN PUNCH YOURSELF IN AND OUT". They just don't listen. No one ever wants to admit that they are wrong and take responsibility for thier own actions. It is very tiring..... very.

Well, on a happier note, I did get a little scrapping done the last couple of nights. Here are 2 things that I have completed recently for my DT assignments for MPA. You can see the picures better at the MPA galleries. What do you think? This is a twist on the basket that we made at Amy's Stampin Up Crafty Girls last night. I changed my design to be just a plain square box and then put a handle on it. I thought it would make a cute gift bag.... Or just a cute "what do I do with it now" project. That is usually what happens to most of my projects. They end up on my shelf.... Sad really. All that heart and soul gone into them to only collect dust. See! i need to win the lottery so I can build a bigger house and have a studio where I can create AND display my work.... Ahhhh... and then I woke up!

Here is my other project. If you saw my previous post, you can tell just how excited I was to get picked for the MPA design team. Well, what is a scrapper to do? Take pictures and scrap it! Here is the Thank you layout that I did to showcase all the FREE goodies that were sent out to the DT members. Just had to do a page about it.

Ok, I will share one more project. This is a coupon holder that I got in the $1 bin at Michaels. I covered it with Paradise and added a couple little touches....

Well, I am getting a little tired of looking at a computer screen right now. I think I will sign off. But first I will leave you with a quote. Since I spent some time with some good friends last night, this goes out to them... I love you, girls!

~Friendship isn't a big thing - it is a million little things. Author Unknown~

Well, I guess I am a glutton....

Hey! For punishment, I meant!

I actually applied to 2 more design teams. I don't know if I did it for the challenge, or if I did it because I really wanted it.... Both I think.

I don't want to give too much away... for fear that I might jinx myself.... but ..... I am really excited and crossing my fingers once again!

So, I got home from a long day at work and after receiving some very sad news from my mother......and on my front steps was a quite substantial package! (in the voice of Pepe' Le Pew... Por Moi???? Ahh, oui, oui! Are you SURE it is for moi? Contrair, mon frair..... or however you spell it....... IT IS! YIPPEE! I never get packages in the mail!!! This is just too exciting for words! At first I thought it might be the next circle journal that I am participating in.... but, non, non.... not so speedy... I slowly and delicately... TORE OPEN THE BOX....... and low and behold.... When what to my wondering eyes should appear, but an entire box of scrap goodies from FLAIR! (Hey, that kinda rhymed!.. think about it)... Look at all this AWESOME stuff..... And that's not all! Look at this one! Rub-on, people! I got rub-ons! Merry Freakin' Christmas to me! Unfortunately, I have now come down with a case of Scrap-phobia! I am afraid to cut it! I don't want to open any of the packages... I just want to take pictures of it! I am home alone tonight because Mike went into work early, so I have no excuses! I can sit at my table for as long as I wish without getting that evil eye, and I can't touch it! None of it. Can't do it.....

Can I just again say how wonderful I think MPA is? I mean, the really hooked me up! What a great paper line to start my DT assignments with. I have always liked Flair product, and I am awfully fond of one of the flair girls, who will remain anonymous at this moment in time.... OK, Donna Marie Cissio Bryant Durand, I mean DMCBD, I love you girl, but you knew that!!!! (See, DS, no one is safe! he he heeeeeeee) Anyway, I am really excited to be a part of this....I hope they like what I do............. (the goodies helped a lot too!) just JOKING!!!

Well, I wont bore you any more. Have to pack for our night away tomorrow. We are going to Gloucester for my nephew's birthday. Can't wait. I will have to take some pictures while I am at the beach for my new goodies.

Please say a little prayer for my mother's "significant other"... (boyfriend just sounds so... ugh.) We learned that his Dad passed away today. I love you Bruce and know that you are in my thoughts. I am here for you if you need me.

Have a great weekend everyone. It is going to be beautiful!

xoxoxox
Stacey

Well, can I just tell you....

...I had the best time out with my girls last night! It is always so much fun when we get together. You know, there is a saying that I just love.... A true friend really know you, and loves you anyway. The only part that was missing was Amy. She was away in Salt Lake City, UT (the scrapbooking and stamping mecca of the WORLD......) for her Stampin' Up convention. It was really weird not having her there, but Danielle filled in for her, so it was a little better. I can't wait for her to get back and share all the new techniques with us! Oh, and can I just say too, that the raspberry margarita was ROCKIN'! If it was a Friday night, I would have had 2! Mmm, Mmm, good!

Anyway, A closet scrapper friend of mine, who will remain anonymous at this point in time, recently sent me an email that included a list of 45 things that bring comfort and joy. Ok, I can't remember the real title of the email, but comfort and joy seems to work here.... I decided that I would include my top 10 from that list. Are you ready? Are you sure? Ok. here I go...... These are the best feelings in the world... to me.

1. Laughing so hard your face hurts (yup, do this one ALOT!)
2. Spending some quiet, peaceful, non-talking, alone time with just my husband (don't do this enough)
3. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer
4. The beach - any season....
5. Laughing at yourself (I think I do this one every day, not because I want to, mind you)
6. Running through sprinklers and jumping in puddles (ok, I added the puddle thing)
7. Accidently overhearing someone saying something nice about you. (I'll let you know when this happens!)
8. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply (I love my Scottie hugs!)
9. Making new friends and spending time with old ones. (um, yeah, I think I covered that already)
and the #10 thing that is the best feeling in the world..... to me anyway, is..................................
10. Knowing you've done the right thing no matter what other people might think.

Taaaaa..... Daaaahhhhhhhhh! There, do you feel better? I know I do.

11. Ok, I just had to add one more...... anything CHOCOLATE! That REALLY makes me happy!

Thanks for the inspiration, Donna S...... I luv you, kid! Now get your ass out of that scrappers closet! We all know you rock!

Oh, and for those looking for some great message boards/galleries to brows, please go to MPA, because I will be one of the DESIGN TEAM MEMBERS (geeze, I still can't believe it! Breathe, breathe,....) for the next 3 months. Oh, you should go to Luv2 too. The ladies there are a real class act.

Here is a little picture of a visitor we had a little while ago. Don't worry, the slider was closed. But the dumb thing just sat there while I was flashing pictures all over the place. As you can see, Patches thought he was pretty cool too!

Well, until next time.... Enjoy the weekend. It is supposed to be beautiful in NewEngland.

Oh, and one more thing..... Drive fast and take chances!

Buh, byeeeee!

Pinch me!

OK. This is the picture in my brain this morning when I saw the winners of the Mississippi Paper Arts Design Team members! Ok, so it is just a picture of the fireworks we saw this weekend at kid's day, but I really felt like this is what my brain was saying! I can't even begin to explain just how happy I am to be one of the winners! ... and I am in some good company too! Donna B got in too! I am so happy for us! I am on cloud 9. I am happy as a pig in s*&$..... I feel so happy, oh so happy,..... OK. I have my moments, but I am OK after a while. Anyway, i will keep you posted as to the progress of my newest assignment..... Just too cool!

Here is a picture of a class that I will be teaching at Michaels in August. Know what it is???? Come on, take a wild guess.... still no clue???? It is an AOL mailer! You know the boxes that they send out and they inevitably get thrown away??? Well, I have a collection of like 9 of them, so I decided to do a class with them. Tell me what you think, honestly, OK. I made some cards too. Here they are... The cards are hard to see, but the use the same paper. It is actually one of the ProvoCraft Slab's, the Rob and Bob Studio. I love the bright colors. Reminds me of Doodlebug.

Another weekend gone.....

It always seems like I am wishing for the weekend and now that it is officially gone, because it is Sunday night already, I am looking forward to next weekend..... A vicious circle, I tell ya!

Spent some time with my friends on Saturday at Amy's open house. I am so lucky to have such great people in my life. I have been blessed with people in my life that mean the world to me. I truly wish we got together more often. However, when we do get together, it's like we start right where we left off last. That is a sign of true friendship. I love you girls!

Well, I will post some firework pictures later. Not sure how good they came out.... We had a great time at the parade though. Sat at Ocean Fresh parking lot right on the street. Mike and Em went to the fair afterwards and rode all the rides. I sat this one out this year. So glad they had fun together.

Mike finally bought a self-propelled lawn mower today. I have been telling him like FOREVER to bite the bullet and get one. He has always had his eye on a rider, but our wallet won't allow that. With the state of his back, it was really hard to walk and push the mower, and today it finally died anyway. It was like a sign.... So, needless to say, he was very happy for his new toy.

Well, it is 9:45pm and I have to wake up for w-o-r-k....... tomorrow..... Ugh..... I can't wait till the weekend!

OK. So here I am on a Friday morning, at my desk, at work, in my office, typing an entry for my blog instead of WORKING! Can you say... FOCUSING PROBLEM! Ugh.... I am so not here today. Ok, well I am physically HERE, but definitely not MENTALLY here.....

I have a very busy weekend ahead of me.... First, tonight is the first night of Fireworks (a teaser, of sorts) at Kids Day. This is an annual event for North Attleboro... Instead of having our Independence Day celebration on the 4th, we incorporate a little "kids" fair, complete with rides, games, dough boys and blade meat sandwiches, and 2, 2, two days of fireworks. (I hear an echo!) Well, it actually started on Thursday night, but since I didn't go, I don't count that day! This is put on by the North Attleboro Fire Fighters every year and every year it is a great hit! Kids day has always been special to Mike and I. When we lived on Freeman St. we would have our annual cookout and walk to the field for the fireworks. .... And..... it is when Mike actually proposed to me! (insert giggle)... 8 years ago! Boy, that was a lot of years and a lot of beers ago! We will be married 7 years on October 2nd. Where has the time gone????

Saturday, we continue the Kids Day celebration with a fire truck parade in the morning... I love the parade, although they keep changing the route and it really pisses me off! ... and MORE fireworks at night! Woo hoo! Amy is having her Stampin Up! catalog release open house from 4 – 8 in Woonsocket, RI. Ugh! The new stuff is AWESOME! They even have chipboard now! I so need to win the lottery! I just want EVERYTHING! Click here to browse the new Stampin Up! catalog, and check out her art gallery while you are there too! It came out pretty good, if I do say so myself : )

Sunday, I am "working" at Michaels... Not sure what time or what exactly I am doing. Demo and samples, I think. Then, maybe, just maybe, take a ride to Hayward field for the Attleboro fireworks that were cancelled because of "RAIN" on the 4th (gee, big surprise there, huh?)

OK. Well, I should probably get back to work now. Let's see if I can post this and not get caught.... Ooooooo.... the drama!

Thought I should post a photo too... I am still learning here, so go easy with me.... I did the wedding canvas that I made, since i was talking about my proposal earlier.... Some of you have already seen this, so look away!

Have a great weekend everybody!

OK.... I'm very confused....

Is it Monday or Wednesday???

Having a day off on Tuesday really threw me for a loop today. Other than the fact that it was payroll day at work, which I know is Wednesday, it felt like a Monday all day. I guess I should be happy that I only have 2 more days until the weekend and not 4!

I think it is funny that I started this blog. I don't have any funny things that happen to me that I can talk about. I don't have my own children that I can brag about. It is just me and my husband. Just the 2 of us. Boring, simple us. No one has been here. That is how boring I am. I am afraid to tell people that I have this blog. I am afraid that they would come here to find a witty, funny, bright story about this girl from Massachusetts that is completely addicted to scrapbooking and paper crafting, only to find that I am nothing.

Well, I thought I would brighten things up a bit by changing the color of my font.... Wooaaaaaa! (holding hand over my heart) Big step there, I know.

Anyway, our 4th of July was pretty mundane. (Big surprise for the boring girl!) We did some work around the yard. I planted my flower boxes finally. Went to Lowes to get a cheapo patio set that folds up and the chairs and umbrella store in itself. It was on sale for $98. When we got home i realized that it rang up at $68! What a bargain! The good girl in me said I should go back and tell them. The devil in me, which usually wins, said, Awwww, hell with it. The stupid shall be punished! After all the things around the house, we went to Kathy and Glenn's house to catch the fireworks in Bellingham. Had a great time with the boys. I just love them so much. Had some dogs and burgers and it started to pour! Needless to say, the fireworks were cancelled. We came home, got an ice cream and lit some sparklers instead. We made the best of it.

Well that's it for tonight. Looking forward to Kids day this weekend, Amy's open house and working at Michaels on Sunday. Very full weekend ahead for me!

buh bye!

Where has the day gone?

I have been over Amy's house working on some Stampin' Up projects since 9:30 this morning. I JUST got home. I feel like I have done nothing all day. Helped her with her website. Check it out - it came out pretty cute... Amy's stampin up site and worked on some card samples for her display board. Got the new catalog too.... OMG! I so need to win the lottery!

Haven't had much time to work on my own stuff. I have been getting really distracted with TV at night lately. I sit down to work on something and that's it.... all creativity is GONE in a matter of seconds.

No Emily tonight. Not sure what we are doing yet.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July.......