Sunsets

I was sorting through some photos and came across a couple of sunset photos.  The picture on the left was taken during the Oct 2007 fire and one on the right was taken last month. It's amazing that something as horrible as a fire can create something so beautiful and dramatic as a sunset.  I cannot believe that there has been 3 or 4 fires in the last five years... Still, I love living in the SC valley ;)

Fall is here --

and so are the fires :( .. We escaped the smoke and took the kids to the beach to camp.... for the first time. They had a great time (and I had a great time taking a ton of photos).
We had fun playing in the ocean and practicing writing our name in the sand. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend

Dreaming of a White Christmas

The weather has been just beautiful! The boys have enjoyed flying their kites in our backyard.

I hope you enjoyed your weekend ;)

More Pics to share

Here are a few more pics from our trip...Lots of fishing, running, playing and visiting with family. Such a beautiful place ;)

Vacation

Just got back from our vacation in Wisconsin...Such a beautiful place! Here are a few of the hundreds (yes, I took a couple of hundred) pictures. More updates later!

Today

I'm really enjoying today. I had the day off, and although it is 103 degrees outside, I'm enjoying me time. I got a chance to read a few of my favorite bloggers and see what they've been up to since Provo {ehem, Erin, Lori}. Maybe I'll be able to break out my camera today and take a few photos, after I go to a couple of craft supply stores ;)
I had a chance to put away most of my goodies from the sb'ing stores, now I only need to finish all of those projects.
I have a number of projects that I would like to accomplish, most having to do with the house. I want to finish decorating, organizing and cleaning etc. We have lived in our house for almost 9 years and we still have bare walls downstairs. We painted, but we only have a few pictures up. A few weeks ago, I picked up a couple of books ("Photos Style Recipes" & "Photocraft" ) and I am now inspired and a little anxious to get a little creative. Both of these books are packed with wonderful ideas and I highly recommend them.
OFF TO MICHAELS!

Just a quick post

I just wanted to post a little something while I'm eating my lunch at work, at my desk of course :)
I just took a moment for myself & peeked at a few of my bookmarks and found this little gem. It is for Inspire Magazine (they also have a blog). This website makes me smile. So many cute things to see. This month's artist is Teresa (ala Foof Fa La!). Enjoy.

Do you have a website that makes you smile or that you have to read every week? Please share some of your favorite websites with me!

It's been a while

I've been really busy lately and haven't kept my blog up-- so to the two of you that read my blog, I apologize :)

I just came back from Provo and had a great time. The CKU SOCAL to PROVO bus tour was fantastic. I haven't had a chance to post all of the pictures, but I will soon!!!

I don't know how Jessica was able to coordinate all of this, but she is a miracle worker ;) Stay tuned for more pics!

Catching up...

I still have some catching up to do -- photos, wash, blog etc. I had a wonderful time the past weekend, no sleep -- a lot of chatting & a bit of scrapbooking ( I actually finished a few pages this time!). How do you follow up a weekend of going to bed AFTER the newspaper arrives??? --- You go to Disneyland! Yep, we took the family to the mouse house on Monday. Had a great time.

I have a number of pictures to download and crop, fix etc., but as soon as I finish I will post some more! In the meantime, please hop on over to Ms. Erin's blog (see cute picture) for a chance at winning a goodie bag with some GREAT stuff.. but hurry, contest ends soon ;)

A quick post

Just a quick post before I go back to my weekend crop. I am having a great time with friends at the Crop Binge in Santa Clarita. Great food, great goodie bags (love Hambly!), great cause!

There are a number of charity raffle baskets...and they are LOADED! One of them has a bunch of Cosmo Cricket . Mental note... buy more raffle tickets! I won this really cute lacing card kit.
I hope you have a beautiful Saturday!

I won the lacing kit & Basic Grey sanding tools... YEAH!

Summer !

Summer has finally arrived as you can see by my brown thumb (sorry Mom) and the shrieks of laughter as my boys go barrelling down the slip and slide. And to think, last week I was worried that the squirrels would eat the Basil (hence, the garlic). Hmmm no more worries!

I decided to try and take photos every week to and get jogging down my "creative path". I posted two of these pictures on Shutter Sisters blog. I really love this website!

Big Boy

It's been a little while since I posted, but I have some new photos to share (and a new blog!)

I discovered the Shutter Sisters by accident and I *LOVE* their site. I hope to learn lots from them and their flickr group as well.

Lots of fun stuff has been going on. My son is officially a big boy now (sniff, sniff). He graduated from preschool and now will be a kindergartner AND on the same day he graduated, he read his first book!

I was looking through my photos this weekend and came across a photo I took of my lil' one. Did I tell you how much my boys love High School Musical?

A new Chef!

In honor of Kim and her recent Rusty Pickle news :) I took this picture a while ago, and think it is only fitting that I post it now...

I can hardly wait to see what she cooks up!

I need a vacation

I need a vacation-- A girls vacation... I've been thinking about PROVO & can hardly wait ;)

NSD!! -- (Should be a weekend)

I had a wonderful weekend. I went to an all day scrap for National Scrap Day with Erin & Steph and completed (OK, 75% completed) a couple of pages... Anyone who knows me knows that this is a big feat for me. I need more than one day!
Beautiful weather again. Mr. Snowman has really taken a liking to his new area since we moved him to the backyard (he broke at Christmas time). He makes a good garden gnome, don't you think?

Beautiful Weekend

Such beautiful weather this weekend! We spent a good deal of time outside enjoying the sunshine. I tried to take a few photos in an attempt to "be creative", but unfortunately my model was not willing.

Scrapbooking links

For my fellow scrapbook friends... I have been trying to get inspired searching the internet...I wanted to forward some sites (Erin, you probably know about all of them already :) ).

One page at a time - Their kits are beautiful! I love seeing what their creative team has come up with. Elodie, is a designer for OPAAT. She also has a website, which is in French, but you can still see her amazing work!

I am always looking on Melissa Phillips' blog to see what she is working on. I peeked at Lime Tart's April gallery today too. Great stuff!

I currently have over 100 SB'ing bookmarks & 80 photography related bookmarks. So, I'll post more later..ENJOY!

I haven't forgotten you

Lately, I've been so busy with work and life issues that I haven't stopped to smell the roses.

I vowed this week, after visiting the happiest place on Earth, that I would remember to take care of me too.

I decided to read my new little yellow book & I put my poor, long-lost pink bracelet back on my wrist this morning

Now, if only I can learn to quiet my mind!

Mouse House

We went to visit the happiest mouse on Earth and California Adventure this past weekend & had a lot of fun...Have you seen the fireworks show over Cinderella's Castle? WOW!

A little tip to share ;)

Just wanted to share a little tip--

One way to encourage the little ones to eat fresh fruit & veges...
CHOPSTICKS!!

Creative Weekend

I tried to get a little creative this weekend & finally finished that circle journal that I've been meaning to complete for over a month now :)

Happy Mail

A little bit ago, I entered a photo in a contest and this past week...I received some Happy Mail ! I love free, don't you? Thank you to KOLO!

Collage

I got a little creative this weekend while looking though some more photos ...getting inspired for a project I need to finish and pass along ;)

Good Morning Sunshine!

Our first spring flower...

Time is flying by

I was sifting through some old photos last night...SIGH! I cannot believe that come August, I will have a KINDERGARTNER! Time is flying by so fast. Another reason why I need to start taking more photos and scrapbook those memories.

Favorite Photo Blogs

I love reading blogs that inspire me... Lately, I've been collecting a ton of photography bookmarks, most of them seem to be wedding related (hmmm.. go figure?) There are so many professional photographers out there and many have blogs. Why not get inspired by good photos?

I wanted to share a few of my new favorites: Sara Remington, Lauren Clark & Joe Photo. My definite can't-live-without :) --> Thomas Hawk and his photos on Zooomr (I usually check a few times a week & spend a lot of time viewing his photos).

On Friday, I stopped by a bookstore and picked up a magazine that was calling out to me. It's called Digital Photo & it's from the UK. It cost me about $12, but it came with a number of lessons on a CD. I love this magazine! I have learned so much in the last couple of days. I have to figure out a way to get a subscription. What are your favorites?

First Post

Ever since my husband sent me off for a mini vacation to Anaheim (CKU), I've found myself having an "itch" to be creative. I've always been a collector (of paper, how-to books, etc. ), but now my computer is overflowing with bookmarks of photography & scrapbooking blogs....and I've always liked to make a handmade card every now and then, but now I find myself looking at everything and wondering if I can alter it.

I've always had lots of ideas in my head, but I can never get started on all of them, because... well, I'm chicken. My friends, I'm sure, think that I suffer from Scrapbibliophobia... (if that's a word)
BUT lately I've been grabbing my camera and driving my kids nuts by taking tons of photos... and I found that I really ENJOY taking photos... and I'm getting better with practice.

I also discovered that I really enjoy the process because it's SAFE for me. I don't have to stare at a blank piece of paper and worry where to start & I don't have to wonder why it takes me an hour (++++) from start to finish. I love that if I don't like something, I can just delete it (no $$$ wasted!).

So here's the thing~~~ I want to get that way with all of my creative endeavors. I want to paint on all of those canvases and alter all of those books that my husband doesn't know about. I want to learn all sorts of techniques and learn how to let go.. and enjoy the process. I'm thinking that if I surround myself & my thoughts with creative, artistic people I'm bound to get inspired, right?

Well, here goes...My little blog, dedicated to my journey...