New Store with AWESOME designers!

A few months ago, I answered a CT call for a new designer named Jenny K. I loved her designs immediately. She picked me, and I was so excited, she was my 2nd CT! I have come to know Jenny and she is so fun and wants to do the best job! She is a grateful lady and always there to praise and encourage! I want to encourage her today...for her tomorrow!

She is opening a store! Sunflower Scrap. Her very own! Jenny has been so busy, zen carting, and creating the site it has been crazy for her. But still she keeps up with her CT, and keeps creating new things! I am honored to be on her CT. One of the great perks being a CT for a store owner, is being able to work with a collab, which is a collaboration of all the designers in the store... So you get one huge kit with different takes on a theme and colors. I know you will love this collab, and it is FREE with a purchase in Jenny's store tomorrow: I did the layout in the previous post, give me Your eyes. It is a HUGE kit, and you will be creating with this tons of layouts...I plan on doing another one this afternoon!

Jenny! You are going to do AWESOME! Thank you for taking a chance on me in your CT!

Thanks for reading!
Anne

Never lose your joy!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaah

I had let the day get away from me...forgetting why I do things. Then I went and got the kids from school, swung by the church to see my ever laboring hubby and came home to the sounds I love, kids boppin' around, doorbell ringing, and now drills being drilled by boys with extra wood to create with!


I had a relaxed day planned, of scrapping. I did a layout that I loved...I mean I smiled and remembered taking the picture. The people in the photo are our first convert to Jesus Christ here in Yuba City...it hasn' t been easy peasy, but she is making it...and I love her!


I got it all done, and remembered that it had to have stars and the word dream..that was all wrong. Growl...challenges are to inspire not be regulators....I wanted to quit the race, admit the whole thing is dumb. But I hate to quit anything...I have 4 challenges left....so I will complete the race with my dear partner.


I am supposed to guest CT next month, but am sending an email today that I have to decline the invitation. That is the right thing to do.

Here is the layout from my heart....I call it "give me Your eyes"...as I love that song, and it is my cry to have a heavenly vision for the lost and the potential that God has for each one I speak too. Ahhhhhhhhh....what a nice feeling, refocus...and be still!

credits are fun, because I can't tell you yet, but I wll soon, you so want this kit, it is a collab from a brand new store...with some designers that are going to blow the doors of the scrapping world right open! They are so good, and this kit is so HUGE!

Thanks for reading!
Anne

Never lose your joy!

Monday-26th PK is a good thing!

Doing your homework at the church? Yep, Gman is a PK! It is a good thing in our home...and when we first told the kids that Dad was going to preach...Anna yelled, "oh yeah, I'm gonna be a PK!" We have good examples before us, that the kids have seen first hand. Malah and David, now married with their own little one, that could be a PK too! My Pastor's wife Stephanie; whose parents were long time missionaries in the Philipines. Her example and stories of being a PK are set in stone in my kids memories. I am so thankful for the gratitude of these that have gone before us. Although Monday was work all day at church, pick up the kids at school, each pop a bag of popcorn, and back to the church. Life is still life...homework has to get done, but how many other kids are helping make a beauty salon into a church building after school?

The south wall had drawers attached to it with these huge bolts that Tony had tried to unscrew out. No deal, they are in this heavy duty cement rock wall. The boys worked on loosening them for long time. I went over and hit one a few times back and forth and it broke off! Perfectly in the wall...a patch job of mud and we would be fine...but there were 5 more...I had only done one that Gman had loosened. So while G finished his math and English, Eric went to work...he got the rest out! He used channel locks to bend them back and forth after he got them warm from the hammering of back and forth...I am telling you, this boy is smart, smart, smart!
You can see the grimace on his face. That is Dad behind him, doing the taping so we can paint over that very magenta wall!

The girls had no homework and were antsy to get painting...Tony gave me that look and said, "The twins are gonna paint?" I know he was remembering a year ago in New Mexico, I had let them paint a wall and it was a disaster..they couldn't follow directions, flipped the brush everywhere and I almost killed them. (okay I didn't almost kill them, exageratting here, but my patience level was lower than...ha ha). I reassured them, that they had grown and could do this...I made a face of oh I so hope they have and continued to show the girls what to do. They washed the wall first and you could tell that they remembered the last time they were given the chance to paint too...because they were following my directions to the T! I showed them how to tape the edges, and put up the drop cloth. Then poured a plastic cup or paint for each of them... shoes must come off, as Absolutely had walked thru the paint on our last adventure of "mom shows twins how to paint". So I forbade them to walk off drop cloth til I had inspected. They ripped off their shoes and socks...oh the eagerness! The did a marvelous job, Anna was so maticulous, and Abby, well she got bored thru it..and just wanted to go look in the dumpster with the boys...(that is another story)

So they have all had a go at doing

something in the church, I go into mom mode, and check Gman's homework...trying not to growl...although G doesn't quake in fear anymore at my growly...he is fearless as I draw circles around all the ones he got wrong...we work thru the math...I do fine and actually know what I am saying...Then English...for crying out loud...I have to double check with Eric to make sure I remember the rules for quotations, parenthesis and capitals in titles...English and Spelling are not my stongest...ha ha...I don't even do spell check well...

Don't you just love that apron? It is the one my kidlets got me for Christmas!
Monday' s 365 pics is actually 5 pics, because it was that kind of day....and I like the rule book to this challenge...there isn't one!

Sunday-Our people see it, the 25 Jan 2009

I used this picture because I love how little Christopher is watching his Pastor. He loves him! Tony is fixing a ceiling tile. You can also see the platform is built and is so sturdy! Everyone was so excited to see their church...Next Sunday our first service in our building...it just does something for the congregation!

Saturday 24th-big day

This is Saturday at the church to be building. Dan came from Oroville at 9am and the boys worked all day, til almost 6 that evening! The wall went up, the door opening went in, the platform was built! I wanted to put it all in today, to share with my friends who sent us here! The awesome church of Alamogordo!!
The Platform goes up...there is Gman...holding the wood. Eric is going to help! Dan has a lot of patience! Tony is directing...no, he is helping! Anna made a statement, "This is so cool to see how the church is made, we get to see it all" Doesn't that just sum up pioneering? You get to see it all!

See the hole in the pink wall? Yeah Dan! See the new wall? Yeah Dan! That is Dan, the body going thru the new opening! The fan on the ceiling is also moved back...Yeah my honey! The black sinks are gone now, and the lovely plumbing is left! It will all be hidden behind a curtain....yeah Target! It is actually starting to look like a church! Yeah God! The kids love seeing it happen...

Eric got into helping...he has really stepped into a new realm since we got here. He is our head usher, and has one under him. Gman...who sometimes forgets that the offering bowl is not a hat or a baton that should be twirled. Needless to say, the sound of the bowl being dropped happens rather frequently. So Eric gives G the look (I think he learned it from me...maybe, my honey does a good one too).

Eric loves to help and he really does help. He fixed the bathroom door, it wouldn't lock, he took it apart and jimmied the thing, and now it wooks just fine!

My honey, officially the Pastor of a church with a building now! On the phone! He does more leg work on that phone...You can see how much weight he has lost...he has a this new work out program. It's called working minimum wage as a stocker for Target! tee hee...he is toting around bags of dogfood and movin' stuff up and down. Bending and lifting, it is like having a gym membership for free! I tell your our life has really changed! See the sky? We have had rain alot....it is wet and cold and damp...I am not complaining here, just stating fact.

This is the official picture of the day, because my daughter Absolutely got into the camera! ha ha...I usually give one of them the camera now, to get a different perspective and me in the pics! Abs is taking a picture of herself in one of the many mirrors still left from the beauty shop at our new church building...behind her is the reflection of our front door. It is backwards and plays a bit with my head...you can see our Mazda minivans front end parked.

Friday 23 January 2009

I am doin' a twice a week upload...but journalling the pics is very important to me...

Our kids hadn't seen the inside of the church yet. We went the first time and although they were with us...the landlady and the prior tenant were there and having 4 additional bodies looking around didn't seem good. ha ha... so they sat in the van and waited! Precious kids!

This is them (3 of 'em, I don't know where Gman is ) beginning their investigation, lead by my honey!

Right where Tony is will soon be a wall, those black squares are sinks (hair washing kind) come out and the platform will be there. See the magenta wall to the left? There will be a cut out door way there to get back to bathrooms all the way forward or turn left and thru another door to the other side of building. That is where the Sunday School room, Nursery and Ladies bathroom will be! The tile (lino) is in great shape! The trim on bottom is just like the trim in Alamogordo Church..woo woo! And the carpet for the platform is the industry blue...like in Alamo too...no red zone at the altar thought...tee hee!

The back wall (the brown one with white square) will have a curtain across it...the plumbing is inside the wall! Unable to cap off at this point, will turn it so that we can put the deep sink (in the 3rd bathroom) on the back side of that wall. (Phase III or remodel)! ha ha

Until further notice!

Just to let you know DST is having some major problems...well to me in the gallery! The blank pics you see were linked to the pics I have there...so please be patient, and they will figure it out..I hope, and the pics will be back...

Thanks for reading!
Anne

Never lose your joy!

Tuesday thru Thursday...got a rhythm happening

20 Jan 2009

I lied! I said the last reflection pic was last week....but this one was not planned! so that kinda makes it different and well it has zebra print...so that is an automatic okay! Some of you may remember that my hubby, Preacherman is well ha ha a pastor...for reals....that is the whole reason we moved from New Mexico 1300 miles to California. He is starting a new church, we met at a hotel, with a lovely foyer with a full bar...lol...

but now, we have a bonifide building, well we will once we, get the zebra off the wall and paint the hot pink, or magenta walls and trim a soft white or cream! I was zooming around our just signed and shaken hands for building we will be having services in on 1 FEB!!! So you get to see the before and a reflection of me...but the after won't reflect, cause this will be a bulletin board for stuff! and won't reflect...did that make sense?

And I know it is dark, see the big 9volt flashlight on the counter...there isn't any electricity yet, so I was flashing around in the semi-darkness....I tell you I am a wild woman!

21 Jan 2009
Okay, so two pics and both are dismal failures...but I didn't read the 365 rules..but being perfect was not a requirement...thank goodness...cause I had the most roaring fire going in the house...I mean it was roasting...so hot we had to turn fans on...I sat and smiled and was so darn proud of myself...I thought, Anne, take a picture and show all 9 people that come to your little blog what a pioneering woman you can be...so help from any one who has taken a picture of a fire~is there a trick? I didn't even begin to play with the speed or apatures or the other nifty buttons, cause I was in such a let down at the moment of camera clicking....

22 Jan 2009
It's raining in California, and that's a good thing! I wanted to capture some peach groves....I am totally amazed at the vegetation that grows in this huge central valley. After 20 plus years living in the high desert of New Mexico, you can only imagine my slack jaw looks at the green things that pop out of the earth here! Soooooooooooo....I am pulled over on the road, pondering if I want to get out...all the pics I am taking are focusing on the raindrops...so I play a bit, think of Pioneer Woman's guest teacher in Photography this week, beginning, middle and end..and I look at the oncoming traffic and begin to grab, the cars with lights, the grove behind and the mirror of my sporty but still a middle age mom minivan's mirror! I liked it...it is a story in a picture....

Just because it was fun to do!

I cleaned today, on my hands and knees scrubbing cleaning today! I conquered the bathroom floors and shower! I am victorious! I steamed cleaned my living room, dusted and cleaned the whole room. I made the biggest and hottest fire...it is still sweltering in the room...but feels good because it is rainy and chilly outside!

We have bible study in our home tonight and I am all prepared! Hopefully people will come...lol. We got our building for the church yesterday, so only one more service at the hotel! That is a great relief!

I sat down this afternoon all my list complete and thought about scrapping my challenge for the week in the NDiSB race. I pondered and looked thru my stash of frames and journalling, and had inspiration hit! I made a to do list of my day...it looked rather blah, so I added some coffee stains and then found a coffee cup about to be spilt...I played with the shadows and viola: (hmmm, I think that is viola...a type of string instrument, if you know how to spell the word I am looking for please let me know! lol )

The challenge was to use 3 different frames, but no pictures. I smiled while I put this together. Tomorrow to the schools for my 2 hour torture...just kidding, I like it! Then I can scrap some stuff for Charlie (my slave driving, but award giving boss)....

Thanks for reading! ~Anne ~Never lose your joy!

I am so back and ready to go!

Just a pop in to tell you,


I had the best time relaxing and away from the internet! Was a good break. These taskmaster designers...woo hoo...how I love them all. I had thrown some extra weight with the NDiSB challenge on my plate and kinda went nuts-O keeping pace. I have made some adjustments and promises to myself. So I am back to more joy and no stress! Here is a layout made from yesterdays get away! It is all done with PillowGirls kit; Timeless Romance. Be on the look out for free give aways of this kit soon! lol

journalling;

Being together as a family on a "fun-fun" day to Collins Lke. Our first time there. We laughed and enjoyed the quick day trip. Anna tried to catch fish with a hand made pole complete with a line and hook with weights that Eric found. Bait hunting brought a millipede and a worm that gave their lives. The boys scouted for finds. Gabriel whittled. Abby brought home clam shells without the clam animals in them. We finished the best ice cream cones!

I make my poor family pose in these abscure ways. But I wanted to catch this..we are on the shore of a lake. Isn't that pretty? I loved the colors and how we looked, my butt doesn't look too big huh? no answer needed...Michele, stop laughing, you will choke....ha ha
I am off to wake my little children who slept like rocks all night!

Thanks for reading!
Anne

Never lose your joy!

Friday thru Monday

I took Friday thru Monday off from the internet! I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the kits the designers I CT for were putting out, the challenges at the NDiSB race and just life on the net in general. So I challenged myself to 3 days without the puter. I did it! I feel so rejuvinated and like my priorities have been placed in the right order. It was hard...sad to say...but I read books, magazines I had piling up, cleaned my house in record time, and spent good fun time with my family. So here is a catch up for days 16 thru 19.
I won an award! It is an internet award...and I was really touched with the kindness in the words of Chris (aka Chreamps). I am a bad award getter, cause I dont' continue the chain. I do appreciate the sweetness of the award and the acknowledgement from Chris; who if you go to her blog is enjoying being under like 20 feet of snow. I have not figured this woman out, she wears mittens indoors... Pop over to her Blog and see. She also always leaves fun comments and never admonishes me for my bad english.
16 January 2009
I had two kids with strep throat today, so I cheated a bit, and pulled a picture from yesterdays jaunt with the camera and the morning sun. I am mesmerized by this walnut grove I drive by every morning to bring the kids to school. I love the feel of the branches and how much the sun can change the look of the grove. I have not added the sunbeams. This is straight out of my camera...an old Kodak point and shoot. I love it! Spring is getting so close here in California. Soon the trees will have green and buds with flowering. I love this time of year, because it means sweltering hot days of summer are closer. (I am a summer time girl) The kids are out of school, and life takes on a slower pace. Don't you think the walnut trees are kinda haunting looking?

17 January 2009
My hubby gets up at 3 or 4am almost everyday. Why? Because he provides for his family. We moved to California with support from our church in New Mexico to start a brand new church. My hubby gave up a big government job because he knew he has a calling from Jesus Christ to preach the gospel. I totally back him. We have no debts, and believe this is the total will of God for our lives. To make ends meet a little closer, my hubby works stocking shelves at Target. I help by having his red shirts clean and stacked to make it easier for him in the early morning...this is his side of the dresser...I posed the gorilla (a gift from the G-man), but I am so thankful for my hubby...that his sacrifice and humbleness. I know this church is gonna grow with a Pastor that loves God, me with our kids, and people so much!

18 Jan 2009

Okay, this is a wierd one, I know, but I am secure enough to say, I am a wierd mom. Although I challenged myself to 3 days away from internet, my brain was humming with ideas and ponderations. My MIL just had heart surgery (and doing well) but I wanted to make a card and incorporate the kids pics somehow. So I came up with using thier bodies for the alpha...woo hoo...My hubby stood on a ladder and took the pics, (I am scared of ladders, not heights, just ladders...)I arranged the kids on what I thought would be an easy erase sheet..but my boys had white socks on and shorts, so their legs are the same hue..ha ha..but I taught my 12 year old how to use the mask, so he did alot for me...the whole alpha will be up for view probably tomorrow or Wednesday on my blog...it is hilarious...my kids are gumbys...ha ah

19 Jan 2009

I took this picture yesterday, the last day of my away from computer (laptop and internet), I uploaded the pictures and did the layout early this morning, it fell right into place. I will upload it to Anne of Alamo later today. Please pop over and see the finished results. That is me (my larger than the rest of the family) shadow...lol We are actually on the shore of a lake here in northern California. It is only 40 minutes from our house! This was a great discovery for us...it is a beautiful get away, and so peaceful. We spent almost 4 hours there yesterday. No electronics, cell phones turned off...picnic lunch, hike to the dam, played a bit in the freezing water and enjoyed being a family together.

BE BACK TUESDAY

I am taking a 3 day off from puter!
Hope I can do this!!!
lol
be back Tuesday with a rejuvination!


Thanks for reading!
Anne

Never lose your joy!

Patience is my Worst!

I was going to post this tomorrow, but I am real excited about doing it, so you get it now....yep another chance to win a kit by Pillowgirl! She is really wanting to flood the scrapworld with freebies by her! I am busy, doing layouts so you get some ideas of just how awesome her kits are for you to use! This kit has 14 papers, 2 completely different Alphas and so many elements I have to take my shoes off to count! ha ha

It is a fun kit...and I was nominated for layout of the week(I find out Sunday if I win ....woo hoo) with a layout I did with this very kit! I hope you pop over to DST, the happy place and post. All you have to do is finish this sentence...BE ___________. Fill in the blank. I will take all the post and put them in a random number generator and pick 2 lucky posters numbers!

I was able to give 2 kits away today, (the Sherbet Kit)...they were not the first and believe me, they will not be the last! If you can't handle waiting til Tuesday to find out if you have won, just pop over to My Scrap Shop and buy the kit now!

Thanks for reading! ~ Anne ~Never lose your joy!

Monday thru Thursday!

I have been completely swamped by the NDiSB Race and everyone of the CT's I am on has had or will have a new kit in stores this week. One had 3! I really like to keep up with that before this blog. But I took the pictures. As a matter of fact I am taking tons of pictures every day! I went today and did some that will be in layouts soon! I am finding myself looking for things to show! Not all of these are perfect, but they all made me smile or learn. I hope you enjoy.
For the 12th, the reflections are interupted for Lady FluffyPants, our cat that adopted us. We moved into this house and she sat in the front and would let us all pet her. Slowly we found out she had been abandoned. I feed her outside til it got cold, and she figured out how to open the screen. She now sleeps 22 hours on my footstool. She is so fluffy....hence her name. Lady FluffyPants.

This is my 13th and last reflection picture...I played with different buttons, the apeture? goodness, and speed of something...to get this to work without a flash...hence the yellow glow...which I think is rather cool...that is a full body shot of me! This is our back slider,so you are seeing the reflection of the room I do my layouts on, and our dining room and all around meeting room

My son, G-man is very thin, but just a wiry dude, he plays hard and loves football, tackle football..he has this cut (very small) on his ankle and he pointed out to me that it looks like a smiley face! I thought it looked like two dots and a NIKE swoosh, but I of course had to grab the camera...this is my Wednesday the 14th picture...

I live in California, which invokes images of fast cities, oceans and shopping. Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm and Hollywood. Roosters are not what you expect to see in California! I live in a rather large city, but we are still considered rural! Agriculture is the main industry...peaches, walnuts and figs! Roosters are everywhere...this one is my favorite...I took a ton of him today...I will blog on him tomorrow, for he inspired a full layout too! I will join the masses in the spring, buying chickens. It is legal to have 10 chickens in your backyard! Eggs are expensive...so I am gonna invest in chickens!

Happy-Happy-Happy FREEBIE

Sorry All

Please try this password

charlie

thank you for leaving a comment

I am so so sorry

PillowGirl gave me permission to give this QP away! I tell you, she is in a give, give, give, give away moood! Everytime I tell her I gave another kit away, she smiles a little bigger and bigger! So my hope is to pass on that happiness to you. Please accept this QP as a way I can give back!

The password is charlie . Here is the FREEBIE LINK. You should also be able to click on the image!

Thanks for reading!
Anne
.

Never lose your joy!

Buzz of Activity!!!! and a SALE!

Geesh!

I am typing this and using it as an opportunity to rest!

I think every designer got a big box of MOJO for Christmas, because they are all coming out with new kits! Remarkable!

I wanted to tell those who are wanting new kits but pinching those little pennies, rubles or other coins! Charlie is having a sale over at Snap and Scrap (which is all up and running very smooth now)!!! The sale starts this Friday....it's a good one!!

Thanks for reading!
Anne

Never lose your joy!

struggling with two layouts

I have two layouts up on my screen, I think I went into blending mania...I hate these both...have you ever spent hours on a layout and just hit the old..delete or closed it and when it says...save...you hit no and walk away....I am gonna do that...be back in a minute.

There, I feel better, tomorrow is Monday the kidlets are going to school, I have my grocery list done, I am going shopping, my dishes will be done, I don't have 6 people eating at different times tomorrow...aw....

I will scrap tomorrow, and tomorrow I officially become The Happy Helper...you might want to come here and see how to win a free kit, no talent needed!

Thanks for reading!
Anne

Never lose your joy!

Taking over the World

I shoulda gone in and lightened this, but I didn't...ha ha...perhaps when I have LightRoom, which is in my master plan for taking over the world....lol

Our church meets in a hotel conference room. There is a bar (not operating while we are there...har de har har) in the main foyer as you come in. I took this picture behind the bar, up close to the hanging cocktail glasses...

Can you see me, with my pinkie finger sticking up?

Life is a bit in overdrive right now.....self inflicted, so I am pretty proud of myself for keeping up with this challenge!

nominated for layout of the week!

I recently signed on with PillowGirl to be her Happy Helper, which means I take one of her kits, make a layout, her handy dandy awesome right hand woman Trish gives me coupons to give PillowGirls kits away! I start all this tomorrow, but I have been busy, busy doing layouts for PillowGirl (whom see previous post, I am so thankful for her, because of her freebies from years ago that helped this cheap woman learn to do layouts). So I do the layouts and you all see I upload to gallerys all over the web....why? Well it is good for the designer, and honestly I love seeing comments...I do! ha ha
But PillowGirl's main place of residence for her store and playing is at MSS, (My Scrap Store) and I uploaded two of the kits I have already done. Those silly but incredably sweet people over there nominated one of my layouts! I was beaming....I tried to explain that I was supposed to make others happy and they are messing up the program...ha ha
I am so honored when someone likes what I do...so I say thank you....and an even bigger thank you to JustJulz a fellow CT member on Doris Castles team who lives 2 miles from me. She graciously treated me to Starbucks (so you know I am already in her debt) and almost 4 hours of training on CS, LightRoom (which I am gonna buy soon) and blending..Julz can blend like no tomorrow...she is super duper fantastic....
This layout nominated is the first one I did on CS and done with the techniques Julz taught me...isn't that the coolest!
I hope you like it...it so captured my oldest son....all done with PillowGirls kit BE...available of course at My Scrap Shop!








Thanks for reading!
Anne

Never lose your joy!

cause I had to wait til dark-2 fer

Can you see me? My face in the window...I was so so excited about this one turning out! Pay no attention to the cough syrup, the Precious Moment's wedding cake topper from almost 20 years ago, the plastic cup on my window sill! Look for my face, it is so eerie looking! yeah yeah yeah
This is the window over my sink where I do dishes for hours on end! I would scream and pee my pants if I ever looked up and saw a face in the window like that....ha ha, not necessarily in that order either...woo hoo

I had to wait til this evening to take todays, and I almost forgot, but my dear son E-Limo reminded me...so I knew what I was going to do, and snapped a few and this one turned out great, and then I see

"aw for crying out loud, I left my sticky santas up" I love how you can kinda see me in my fluffy pink robe with white clouds and yellow moons and my new Dollar Tree glasses that are magenta and I look ever so smart in them..they are 2.o for pete's sake...I am slowly getting worse and worse eyesight....

I took down the santas and rushed to put this on...I felt sad that I had to wait so long...tomorrow new places and new reflections....

Happy Helper starts her first assignment! Win the KIT!

I have taken on a new and fun responsibility.

WHY? WHY?,

because it sounded like fun. You will love it; I am

The Happy Helper

for PillowGirl!!!

What? What?

This is not a CT, it is more than that....and so much fun. I babbled a few post ago about the blast from the past layouts done in power point, and how PillowGirl has evolved(tee hee makes her sound like a Darwinian experiment) in her designs also! Well take a lookie at this layout done with her reloaded Sherbet Kit!

Do you like the kit? Wanna play with it? YOU can win it....there are two chances in The Happy Place over at DST. Just post a comment in the thread about what makes you Happy when you look at this kit? In three days, a mere 72 hours, I will take all the post numbers and insert them into this nifty keen-O truly Random Number Generator, not once but two times to find out what post numbers win the kit? Is that not the coolest and funnest thing? I played with the Random thing for way to long! But not to worry, if you don't win it, you can always pick it up at My Scrap Shop.

I did this little layout with the kit, and smiled all the way thru, as I had done so many layouts with this kit before all the upgrades and new things. My girls have grown up in pictures with PillowGirl stuff! Anna is playing on the snowmobile game at Chuck E. Cheese. She had a blast, and is quite the ham for the camera. She can say snowmobile, she gets stuck at mo momile...makes me laugh.

Thanks for reading!
Anne

Never lose your joy!

Week 2, Day 1

I am feeling a bit Alfred Hitchcock this week, taking shots of me in obscure ways, now this may just be today, but I got giggling at this, turn off flash in corners with mirrors...

I am a point and shoot girl, so I want to get angles and different perspectives...so notice the beautiful apron, that is my Christmas present, I love pretty aprons, with pockets...

We are living in a nice rental home, but it is a rental...and the walls are humdrum white. I am gonna put a bit of cream on them in the spring. I am a girl who loves color! Walls, floors everywhere! So you see the blandness in this corner of my dining room that is supposed to be a living room, and we also have our main computer there and do school and my little cute oak desk that is actually a little cute make up table vanity, but I use for a desk, because well it's cute lives. I fill my house always with plants, it makes me think that they are taking all the bad air, and using the chloro(something long and smart sounding) stuff and changing it to clean and healthy air.

I had to leave all my plants in New Mexico when we left, so I am slowly building up my jungle...so stay tuned for some different and wildly entertaining pics of me this week....

Heritage means so much...

My hubby got the scanner working to his computer, so I had some pics from my mom and finally got them scanned. Then Doris Castle sent an email, with preview of a kit coming...oh my gosh, it went perfect with the pics I had JUST scanned. I want to post it now, so my mom can see it...the rest will have to wait for it to hit the stores! I hope you all like it! I love it!

Thanks for reading!
Anne

Never lose your joy!

some of my beginner layoutS!

I want you to go down memory lane with me for a minute...go back 4 years...I just got a digital camera....I had fought my hubby, what if my computer is stolen by aliens and all my pictures are forever gone? I didn't like printing all them, and could not bring myself to cut the pictures for paper scrapping, so I began putting them on powerpoint presentations. Very raw, very blocky and I didn't discover shadows for a looooooooooooooooong time! I did a search for clip art (I had been in journalism in highschool in the early 80's and that is what we called it). Nothing, so then googled "scrapbooking freebies" and Pillowgirl was the first to pop up. My layouts begin to change with each freebie she gave away. These are two from a few years ago...

Well yesterday Pillowgirl issued a call for one person Happy Girl. I could not say no. This lady helped me so much years ago, learn how to do scrapbooking. I moved on to using PSE and am now playing with CS. I had stopped doing scraps on the web (uploading) for about 3 years. When we moved to Cali, I started playing again, due to my friend Alamama being involved with ScrapMatters and issuing a challenge. That brought my blog back to life! ha ha

so now I am the Happy Girl for Pillowgirl...this means I am heading up her RAKs, and spreading happinesss to the world one kit at a time.

I am excited to be able to give back to some one who gave so much to me.

Stay tuned for lots a Happy Give Aways, I just have to find my wand............................................................

Thanks for reading!
Anne

Never lose your joy!

playin' catch up with the uploads!

Two pics for the price of one view...hey you get a deal! I am not real happy about the fish pic, and that could be I am not real happy about having fish! The kids had 8 of them, won at a harvesters (Halloween thing from a church in town, but not Halloween cause it is a church) festival. Lovely...we came home with 8 fish, my hubby put them in a gallon jug of water and they were there for a few weeks, ugh...lost a few...Yeah!

Then I weakened, like I do most times...and we got a fish bowl. More died. These two have survived weeks without food or water change so they get to stay....I even put the bowl on a low shelf in the dining area with hopes the cat (that isn't supposed to be inside, but sleep 22 hours a day on my footstool) would use it's street smarts and eat them...She didn't even look at them, but went straight for the Meow Mix in the cute little white bowl. The fish is from pic for yesterday-#6! I think the water needs to be cleaned again, then I will play with the real parts of the camera, those darn apetures and the other long name that I can never remember...

Today's picture: #7

The next is a big favorite. I do not own a dishwasher...never have. I like to wash dishes, but I hate to put them away....(that is why no dishwasher, they would just stay in there til they were all used, then I would feel like I was actually putting them away twice). But I love the sprayer in HOT steaming water and fresh bubbles...just a pretty picture to me?

Do any of you like doing dishes?

we are so in the race now!

Alamama and I spent hours on the phone giggling about scrapping and emailed pics and journals, just silly! Why? because we are doing the NDiSB race! This is our second challenge, and we nailed it! The theme is cabin fever! I take horrible pictures, hence why I usually take the pics! But my hubby wants me to be in more of them and it is true, don't want to be an album and they go what did mom look like then? So he took these shots at Chuck E Cheese...and they were perfect for the challenge...I look like I am about to go off the deep end huh? You go for 3 hours with 4 kids and every other child in the area to Chuck E Cheese and you will look like this too...woo hoo! Please click on the picture to get the whole layout...it is fabulouso!

Thanks for reading!
Anne

Never lose your joy!

Task Master Mother

Yep, Christmas vacation is still going here in ol Northern California...this starts the 3rd week that my children have been home....

it has rained, been freezing (no sorry to my dear friends in Norway and other parts of the country where they live in a walk in freezer), just a bit of a chilly wind that causes this sun deprived woman to shiver like a wet chihuahua. The kids have been inside ALOT....are you catching the gist of what is happening? They are on each others nerves which in turn causes me to want to throttle them.

So I bring out the big guns, math problems to the groans and disgust of all! They did multiplication drills, averages and long division! Oh the horror. I had my oldest disecting an eyeball on paper, quizzing him relentlessly on lens, cornea and other liquids in your eyeball...gross stuff there! My twins brains are full of 4 tmes and 3 times and I even made them do their 5 times tables.

I am expecting to be investigated shortly by some protection agency because I didn't allow them to let their young skulls become mushy and full of nothing!

Then to add insult to injury, ha ha I took pictures of my torture...gosh I love being the adult in the situation! mwha ha ha...

footnote:

for you who are looking to see some of these intriguing and somewhat stimulating pictures evolve into a layout, pop over to my other blog....Anne of Alamo! See pic #1 in all it's glory!