Finally have time to blog and alot to say, but not enough time to say it, LOL. Let’s start with the sneak peek at the new ACOT collab kit, Creativity:

Available Friday!

Now, I also did one this morning. This photo was a sleeper, I guess. I didn’t realize I had it until I was digging through the photos from their birthday party last year. Anyway, I rarely like photos of me, but I actually like this one and it was begging to be done with Michelle Coleman’s Think Pink papers:

Now that we have those out of the way, I have to talk about our weekend. DH had to go to the state fair to see the livestock show because he had animals in it. He didn’t want to take us at first because he was afraid we’d get tired/bored being at the show all day (and he was right, we would have, 5 year olds can only take so much sitting still and being quiet). But, my CT member Haley lives nearby so I got in touch with her and she came over to meet me and the kiddos on Sunday at Barnes & Noble. We had the best time. It was like we had known each other forever, we chatted for hours. Her daughter, Abby, is only about a month and a half older than my two, so they played and had a great time. We thought we were going to get kicked out of Barnes & Noble, they were having such a great time, LOL. But it was really fun to meet Haley and I’m so glad we got to go. Of course, we didn’t leave there until almost 8 PM and it rained all the way home, which made for a long trip back. This is how tired the kiddos were: they told me to turn off the TV! They slept most of the way home, they were wiped out.

I should get up and get moving, this is my day off and we have a birthday party this weekend, so I have stuff to do here. The kiddos want to go to town which is okay since we have books that need to be returned to the library. We’ll probably hit the park next door and feed the ducks, too, while we’re up there…it’ll be a good day. But I gotta get up and get started.

Hope you enjoy yours!

don’t tell anyone I said this, but I’m really beginning to hate DST.  It is so like Junior High over there, I can’t stand it.  I see beautiful stuff passed over daily (no, I’m not talking about my own) in favor of mediocre stuff done by the “popular” girls…and I hate it.  I get so sick of seeing the same names over and friggin over again.

Okay, rant over…

I am so bored.  I just seem to keep migrating back to the computer and checking the same message boards over and over.  I don’t know what’s wrong with me today…  I did get a little work done at DH’s office, just fed the kiddos lunch and now it’s naptime.  As much as I don’t need to fall asleep, I probably will ’cause I was up kinda late watching CSI (the second time it was on, with satellite we get the west coast channels which makes everything on the networks play a second time about three hours after the first time, so it started at midnight).  Got up early, so I got about five hours of sleep.  I have bookkeeping to do, it was one of two things on my list for today besides just working for DH.  I got the other one done, the guardian peas site is set up for the charity kit that Michelle Underwood put together for her family members that lost their baby boy.  So, glad to have that done.  The bookkeeping will probably be tonight after the kiddos are in bed.

I was going to put a pork tenderloin in the crock pot for dinner, but even though it said use or freeze by tomorrow, when I cut into that vacuum packaging, a funk filled my kitchen.  yuck.  So, I took out a package of ground deer meat and we’ll be having spaghetti.  The kiddos are also in desperate need of a bath, so that will be happening tonight.  Hopefully, after nap, we’ll go back down to DH’s office, I can get in a few more hours, we’ll come home, DH will bathe the kiddos while I cook, then we’ll have a little family time before the kiddos go to bed, after which I’ll do my bookkeeping…ugh.  Long night ahead of me.  But the bookkeeping job is the best paying one I have, so I have to get it done.

Oh, gotta brag for a sec…got my grades for the first term in the mail yesterday and I’m proud to say that this blog belongs to a straight “A” student!  Yay, me!

Okay, if I don’t get this nap thing started, we’ll never get back up in time to do any work this afternoon…have a happy day.

and that’s all I have to say today.

What is up with people?  I am amazed at the lack of consideration people have these days.  It’s 8 AM on Sunday morning and there were just people here looking for my DH.  He works here, on the ranch, so it’s not like he requires an appointment.  But seriously, it’s 8 o’clock on Sunday morning!  Do people have no respect for the fact that he might have a life?!?!?  Geez!

Okay, I’ve been tagged, well, twice actually.  Brenda and LaWanna both got me so I guess I’d better do this thing…it’s the five weird things about you one.

1. Um…weird?  I totally grew up in the city and now can’t imagine having to live there again.
2. I’m not really that crazy about Target.  I want to love it, I really do…but really, give me WalMart any day.
3. I like supreme pizza but then I pick about half of the veggies off of it.
4. I used to work in an egg breaking plant (okay, not weird now, but come on, doesn’t that sound like a weird job?!?).
5. I have four dogs and six cats…that’s kinda weird, isn’t it?

I am still sick.  I am so sick of being sick.  My head is stopped up, my throat hurts, my head hurts.  I don’t know if it’s the mold or not.  I still believe it is, I think it got worse again because I had to spend some time out there night before last.  DH still hasn’t gotten it fixed, this is just a busy time of year for him with lots of sales going on that he has to attend.  I am seriously thinking of getting my computer out of there and bringing it in here.  I need to do my bookkeeping today (it’s a paying job) but don’t have QuickBooks on this computer.  I need to design and print invitations for the kiddos’ birthday party in a couple of weeks, but the printer is out there, too.  I don’t think I want to be out there for hours on end to get these things done.  It’ll be a pain, but I won’t move all the peripherals, just the monitor, CPU and external hard drive.  The biggest pain will be putting it all back.  The CPU is in one of those compartments below the desk and the desk is in a corner, so getting to the back to plug everything back in is a nightmare!  But what else can I do?

I’ve done almost no designing, just one small contribution to one of Keely’s latest kits.  I have one for an ACOT collab to get done and that’s all the actual design commitments I have for a while.  Well, except for the DSD November Megakit.  I want to do some scrapping, but can’t do it until I get caught up on everything else.  Besides the bookkeeping I need to do today, I also have homework.  This is my first real programming class, Visual Basic, and missing a class is kicking my butt.  When you only have class once a week, missing one is really bad.  I’m usually able to teach myself things, but this is really tough.  I’m trying, though and since I have class tomorrow night, I HAVE to get this done today.  It’s actually at the top of the list of priorities for today.

So, I should get up and get moving.  I need to do a little cleaning, then bring the ‘puter in here so I can get the bookkeeping done.  I think we’ll hang out outside for a bit today, since it’s going to be a nice day.  I hope you enjoy yours!

Dr. Phil’s Family First book. Has anyone read this? I have decided to take it one chapter at a time, but not only that, I’m going to read a chapter, then get DH to read the same chapter so we can work on it together. Honestly, he’s not saying that many things I haven’t already read. I used to work alot harder on being a great Mom, when my kids were smaller. Somehow, when I discovered Digital Scrapbooking was about the same time they were becoming more self-sufficient and I am afraid I made too many assumptions about what they were and were not capable of. I am afraid I expected too much. I’m afraid I let my priorities get skewed beyond belief. These precious babies, that i waited years for, these sweet little people who had always had a Mommy who went to great lengths to be sure that they had fun things to do and learning experiences every day and healthy eating habits and time outside to play and learn and grow…well, I didn’t abandon them, but I certainly let myself slide in the Mommy department and I’m ashamed to say it. Dr. Phil isn’t really teaching me that much, but he’s just reminding me of the things that I’ve known all along and how badly I’ve let things go over the last year or so. The good news is that I see it, I know it and I also know that my wonderful, beautiful little blessings are still such incredible little people that they’re okay. No, they’re better than okay. But they deserve so much more than I’ve given them in the last year. There is nothing, NOTHING in this world that deserves more attention than they do. Yet, I’ve spent time on the computer, designing, chatting, surfing message boards. I know it’s hard to be a SAHM, cut off from the world, with little or no interaction with adults. Yes, that’s true and I believe that’s why so many of us fell in love with digiscrapping. Not only is it art, not only does it allow us to preserve our precious memories in an everlasting format, but it gives us that interaction that we need. What is our job? Our job is our children, our families. Now, how often are we praised for doing a great job with that? Really? For most of us, it’s rarely at best. I learned in Health & Safety that women need to be validated. Men don’t understand this need because they don’t have it. Women do. And when we go to the gallery and tell each other how beautiful our children are and what incredible layouts we are creating, we are validating each other. I know and understand this, I really do. I think I have an even more extreme need for validation because my parents, even though they were great in most departments, were not good in that one. I think that makes me crave it even more. But it is something I have to overcome. It is something that I need to find within myself or, within my children. Why do I need someone else to tell me I have a great family? I don’t. I need to be thankful every day for the blessings I have and work hard to keep my family on the right path. It is so easy to let it slip away, especially when they are growing so fast. They’ll be in school in less than a year. I’ve thought of homeschooling so many times, simply because I hate the thought of them being corrupted by the mean world. Maybe that’s not a good reason, but they’re mine and I don’t have to justify it. I know, there are pros and cons, I’ve thought it all through. I’ll go to their school and I’ll see what I think. Maybe I’ll love it. The town is really a great little town, so if their schools are anything like the rest of the things they do, they’ll be great. But still, will anyone ever care as much about my childrens’ educations as I do? Probably not. That is just one more reason I want to get myself back on track. I want to be capable of keeping them at home and teaching them myself if that is what I feel is best for them. I want to have that option open. And if I am doing as bad a job at parenting in a year as I have been for the last year, I won’t even consider it. They deserve better. They deserve better anyway, today, tomorrow, next week, next year. Yes, I know, I’ve been a slacker and I’ve let down the people in the world who I love most and who need me the most. Seriously, if I disappeared from the digiworld tomorrow, how many people would care? I’m not looking for comments with that question, I’m just saying, I don’t mean nearly as much to the world at large as I do to my kids. Yet I’ve been giving the world at large so much more attention than I have my children. What is wrong with that picture? It’s crazy! Just plain insane. I see it now, I know it now and I am going to address it now. I’m just sorry it took me so long to open my eyes to it.

I’m sorry for the vent, this is my personal journal as well as a blog and sometimes I just sit down and things start to flow. I will say that the decisions I’ve made make me happy. I want to scrap, I want to enjoy the process without the pressure. I want to shop and swoon over other peoples’ kits, LOL.  I am working more hours for DH now so I just simply don’t have the time to sit and create and post on message boards, so it’s not only a decision I made, but just a fact of life.  But I am happy with how I feel, happy with how I know my family will benefit from this change in me and that’s all that matters.  Every morning, I will thank God for my family and make a silent promise to be the best mom I can be and every night, I hope I can lay down to sleep and feel that I’ve done a good job in that department.  I truly believe that when this part of my life gets back where it needs to be, it will all fall into place.  If I’m a scrapper, fine.  If I’m a designer, fine.  If I’m a store owner, fine.  But of all the things I might be, I know that my highest calling, my most important job is being a Mommy.  And that is what I will do best.

well, no, not another layout.  I have tried twice today to scrap, but just couldn’t find a photo that I wanted to use with the kit I need to use.  I love the new ACOT kit, (see teaser in my last post), but I am looking for a fall photo and I just don’t have many of those around.  The last couple of years, fall here has been very funky.  Like today, for instance…we’re wearing shorts.  It almost hit 90!  Is that fall weather?  I think not!

Meanwhile, the Arctic Frog DT gals finally put Alannah and I out of our misery and sent through some layouts…they’re so talented!  I can’t wait to show off what they’ve done with my new collection…just a few more days!

I did buy a kit today and that’s really pretty rare for me.  But, now that I’m working at a real job and making a little real money, ROFL, I can afford to splurge.  I bought this one, from Dani:

I love the rich colors and there are some fun embies in here, too.  I looked at the Basics Collection from the Studio Girls, but gosh, I just can’t make myself pay $15 for a kit!  I mean, there’s some great stuff in there, really there is, but there are so many other megakits out there that are less than half that price, I just couldn’t do it.

Well, I just wanted to pop in for a sec, I’m on a roll, three days in a row!  DH has some visitors he’s out showing around, the kids are playing out in the shop and I’m in here, probably should be working, but I really don’t have anything to work on at the moment, so I’m surfing the boards and blogging.  I may go out and let the kiddos go hit the “dirt pile”, but I should probably go get the camera first, I still have no photos of them out there.  We can stay out late tonight, since dinner is practically done.  I have BBQ shredded chicken in the crock pot for dinner, just have to make some “sweet beans” (my baked beans) and some homemade velveeta mac & cheese to finish it out…yum!

Have a great night!

First, the DSD October Megakit is available, it was added to the store yesterday.  Here’s a peek:

This kit is HUGE and is only FIVE BUCKS!  Yep, you heard it right, FIVE BUCKS!  If you’d like to see all of the individual previews and a few layouts with it, visit the October megakit gallery here.  If you love it, and just have to have it, buy it here!

This one isn’t available, yet, but will be on October 6, so get ready!  This is the latest ACOT collaborative kit and it is GORGEOUS!

In other news, I still have this stinking cold and it’s driving me crazy!  Oh, I got my final grade for the last class I took, got an A, so I’m a 4.0 for the first term, that’s great news.  This class is Programming I, we’re learning Visual Basic which I actually kind of enjoy.  Call me a geek, I don’t care, LOL.  I have homework to do, but I can only do it on my laptop, which is at DH’s shop and I was so busy yesterday cleaning that I didn’t get it done.  Hopefully, I can sneak it in sometime today since class is tonight.  I have a little reading to do, too, eek.  We have a quiz every week for this class, so I need to be prepared.

No more scrapping, yesterday.  Did a few other admin things for DSD and then spent most of the time cleaning.  Still not done, I really did some DEEP cleaning, closets, cabinets, things that have been really junked up and needed to be dealt with.  I still have plenty to do, but I feel good about what I’ve done so far.

Decided to try Spark People for weight loss support and it’s okay, but it’s so hard to track your food.  I mean, breakfast and lunch aren’t so bad, but when you cook dinner, it’s hard to find an exact match in their database for your taco recipe, KWIM?  So, I am going to try to stick with it as best as I can.  I think exercise and drinking more water will make a huge difference, so that’s really what I’m going to concentrate on now…oh, yeah, and avoiding ice cream, my absolute biggest weakness.

Okay, gotta do some DSD work and then get ready to go to work for DH…have a great day!

I’ve been scrapping, thought I’d show off a few new layouts. So, here we go…

First, with my Sweater Weather kit, here are three:

I’m loving this kit and so are my CT members. You can see some of their layouts in my designer gallery at DSD.

Next, I did this one with Amber Clegg’s Li’l Dainty kit, available at The Digi Shoppe. I love her mix of elements and have to say that this is one of my favorite recent layouts:

We had a busy afternoon, yesterday. We hit WalMart and the bank, had lunch at MickeyD’s, went to see the MIL’s new apartment and then came home and let the kiddos play. I need to get some photos of the big dirt pile that they’ve been playing in. We are doing some construction, building a new sale facility and offices for DH’s work and the dozers have made a huge dirt pile…what do kids love more than dirt? Nothing that I know of. It was hilarious when I showered them last night (I was afraid the bathtub would be filled with mud if I let them take a bath), you could see where I would run the soapy washcloth down their legs, they were sooo filthy! But they had a great time and DH and I had a chance to talk about my digital stuff and the time I spend on it and the fact that I could really do much more for our family if I spent more time working for him.  I’ve been giving alot of thought to that.  Sometimes I feel that the design work I do is a complete waste of time. To spend hours working on a kit and not sell it really hurts. The kit I used above, Sweater Weather, hasn’t sold even once, yet. I’ve said it before, so forgive me for the whining, but when Alannah, a totally unbiased opinion who hasn’t been tainted by the whole popularity contest that is digital design, says my kits have spoiled her so much that she’s been disappointed when she bought some of the other kits she bought, I KNOW my quality is good. But I’m not in the popular crowd, I guess, so my stuff doesn’t sell. I get really frustrated at the advertising, I just don’t want to beg people to buy my stuff. I know I make top quality designs, yet they’re constantly overlooked because I’m not in the right crowd. Every time I go to DST, I just get bummed out from seeing the same names over and over and over. But that’s just the way it is. DH asked me if I didn’t just get some satisfaction out of just creating the stuff. Yeah, I do. I used to even more. But with the time constraints that I have, to spend hours on a kit and sell it once or twice or not at all, well, the frustration over not selling it seems to be more than the satisfaction I get from creating it. It just isn’t fun anymore. That’s the bottom line, it isn’t fun. I know, I’m sorry, I’m whining again. Well, I am saying right now, I am on an official design break. I will continue to be involved at DSD, it’s my site, well, mine and Kim’s. I will continue to do the collaborative kits at ACOT because, well, frankly, at least that seems to pay me a decent rate for my time. But designing kits otherwise, I just don’t have it in me to do it anymore. I may design for myself, but I don’t have to if I don’t want to. Working for DH regularly will afford me the opportunity to purchase a few kits now and then and as admin at DSD, I have access to the stuff there, so it’s not like I’ll be going without things to scrap with. Oh, and I’m on Ashley Olson’s CT, how could I forget that? She’s been on a roll lately so I’ve had some great stuff to work with from her. I also have set up several stores, those designers are always happy to contribute to my stash, LOL. So I can scrap and honestly, I do enjoy that, though there’s the comment factor which continues to reflect the popularity contest. Oh, well, I have a flickr gallery that I share with family and friends, I can print out layouts for my albums, make gifts for Christmas, even dig out the paper stuff and eat some paste, ROFL. I just need to find satisfaction from doing the stuff, not from getting compliments from others.
Guess that’s enough for now. I need to get moving on laundry and housework. I also have 52 invitations to trim out for a friend’s baby shower, plenty of housework to do and a horrendous cold, still. It just won’t go away. Everyone in the house, except for DH, has it. Yuck.

Thanks for putting up with my vent…and for reading my blog when it’s consistently whiny, ROFL. It’s good therapy anyway .