my christmas wishes...

merry christmas!

i can't believe it is that time of year again!! wow!

where has the time gone!!?

i didn't wish for much this year...

but they are very important none the less.

time...

with my husband

with friends

to relax

to let it all soak in

health...

smart decision making skills...

it is a low key christmas for us, but that is just the way i like it.

may all of your christmas wishes come true too!

the end of an era...

on sunday i was released from Oakbrook Ward Young Women. it was a very sad day...

i have been in yw for 4 years and have seen these girls grow up right before my eyes!

i love them each for so many different reasons!

here are just a few pics from the last 4 years!

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things i am grateful for...

this handsome man...

the very best friends a girl could ask for

my supportive family

my job

my health and the health of friends and family

the gospel of Jesus Christ

my talents

my car

internet

cell phones

cameras

my love for music

lip balm

accessories!

tv shows

gum

band aids

electricity

all of you...

the list goes on and on and on...

but that what is on my mind today!

happy thanksgiving!

wow...

i know! it has been a really long time since i have done just a good old fashioned post! here you go... ;) random thoughts mixed with a few events!

my birthday was great! we made my all time favorite dessert: chocolate delight!

it was amazing... as usual! the bad part was that i had to share with my mom... cuz she loves it too! usually i get most of it to myself! ha!

my good friend jeff went to hawaii with his sister in october too! what fun for them! here is one of the many pics he sent me while he was there!

i would have never guessed he was a tourist! lol!

nice shirt and shoes there buddy. :) looking good!!

my best friend's brother and his family also came out to visit! it was sooooo much fun to see them!

he has 3 girls and they have all grown up so fast! and are so beautiful!

this picture is: kevin, his wife robin, and their oldest daughter kenzie.

and another visitor too!!! my mom's cousin and his wife came to visit too! what a fun month of friends and family visits!!

ian and sara were on their way to california for the month of november and stopped here! we were so lucky to see them!

such a fun weekend!

in other news and events...

my mom flew out to indiana this morning to spend thanksgiving with my uncle steve and aunt paula! when they were her visiting last month they invited her to come out! i am very excited for her! she hasn't been back "home" to indiana since 1991! she is going to have such a fun visit! and i am a tad jealous! i love indiana and visiting my fabulous family out there! all 3 of my cousins still live in the area and i would love to see them too!

yesterday we had an early celebration of thanksgiving with our friends since mom will be gone for thanksgiving! it was so fun! we ate and laughed and play games all day! i am so blessed to have them in my life!

i am feeling a little bit overwhelmed with all of the projects i have going on! i am in the middle of making my christmas cards! they are very cute... but more time consuming than i realized they would be!

i have started 3 t-shirt quilts! one of them is from all of my creating keepsake shirts i wore when i travelled with them. another is just random shirts of mine over the years and the last one is random shirts of kevins! geez! i really need to get these done so i can have my living room back!!

and my last project i have is my christmas gifts for my family and friends. a couple of weeks ago we had a craft night at church and i bought a ton of this particular craft to make. well... i went a little over board! ha! they are really cute and fairly simple, i just need to find the time to do them!

i am also hosting bunco in december! i am excited and nervous! excited because i love bunco and i do think its fun to shop and plan a party! plus in december we usually go potluck, so the only thing i have to cook is the ham!! easy! but i am nervous because i am not sure where i am going to put everyone! i will have my christmas tree up and i have too much furniture in my living room! so there might be some major remodeling during the christmas season to accommodate my tree! ha!

well... i better go work on those christmas cards... :) have a good day!

OH. MY. GOSH.

i am in "font lovers" heaven!!!!!

i just found a website that i can get tons of free fonts!!!

LOVE THEM!!!

http://www.getfreefonts.info/

check it out!!

very very very very very very very very very very very very cool!

:)

happy christmas?

according to the retail world, which i am very much a part of, the christmas season starts today!! november 1st!!

i had to work this morning and when i went in there was a small crew of people that had been there all night setting up everything christmas!! trees, ribbon, wreaths, wrapping paper, ornaments, toys, food... the list goes on!

so there you have it... the christmas season has started! and in the spirit of christmas i thought i would share this fun picture!! :)

don't tell anyone... but i think i am going to celebrate thanksgiving first... and then christmas!

crazy... i know! :)

this, that and the other!

my birthday was last week and i wanted to share a few pics of the exciting day! i have more, just haven't downloaded them to the computer yet! :)



first of all... the end of september i came to work and my office was totally decked out! streamers, balloons, birthday banners and a cool countdown chain!



as you all know i totally love my birthday! so the decorations were awesome!!



as i was leaving work the day before my birthday i came out to my car... looking like this...



i just have to say! i loved it!! :)



the tires were "spotted"



balloons tied to my side mirrors



writing all over every window!

the front said "happy birthday" - but it was done backwards so i could read it while i was driving!
the back window said "honk its my birthday" fun!



there was also writing on my car paint too- that is the only thing i was a little worried about... wasn't sure how it would effect my paint.



there were paper confetti sprinkles all over the car.. windshield, back window... everywhere!



and to top it all off... it was shrink wrapped too! :) crazy! but fun!

i have more to share... but it will have to wait for another day! :)

the best day of the year!

i have loved fall since i was a very little girl!

the leaves

the cooler weather

the beautiful colors

the presents being wrapped

the cake

being the birthday girl

my very favorite day of the year is...

TODAY!!

its my birthday!

and i love it! i wait all year for this one special day!

and it is here!!!

a sneak peek...

yesterday we had a photo shoot for our christmas cards.

oh. my. goodness.

i love them!!!

a friend of mine, julianne howes, did the pics!

she is really amazing!

here are just a couple of our fav's...
can't show you the one we have chosen for the christmas card... cuz that one is a surprise!

love... love... love... them!

the wonderful visit!!

we had such an amazing time last weekend!

my uncle steve and aunt paula were in utah!! they live in indiana and we hadn't seen them in several years!

they were here for a librarian conference (they both are librarians) in slc and took some time to see us too!

friday steve came up and spent the day with us! we visited for a bit and then made picnic lunches and took them up the canyon. the leaves were very pretty so it was a nice day for a drive. on the way back we stopped at aggie ice cream for a little treat! delish!!

we then headed over to cox honey to check out what cool stuff they have. steve is a bee keeper and since he was visiting the "beehive" state, this was a must! :)

after checking out the yummy honey we went home to visit some more. we pulled out lots of pics and chatted about the haps in each others lives. it was a fabulous afternoon!

for dinner we decided to go to the beehive grill. super good food and a great atsmosphere!

we had a fun day! it was so great to see him!

sunday morning steve flew home but paula stayed for the closing lecture. after it ended mom and i picked her up and we went to lunch at sego lily cafe in bountiful- very cool place. paula is an amazing woman and it was wonderful to be able to just sit and chat with her for a few hours before she needed to get to the airport.

i sure love these 2 people! they are cream of the crop in my book! :)

American Cancer Society

my friend, julie, is walking for the American Cancer Society soon! i am excited for her and this cause! i lost a very good friend to breast cancer a few years ago and do everything i can to help support the fight against this horrible disease!

here is a little off of the website:

"Today, there is more hope than ever for people facing breast cancer. However, there is much work to be done to find promising new treatments, increase awareness about the importance of mammograms, help all women get access to screenings and care, and connect those impacted by the disease with the information, day-to-day help, and emotional support they need to wage their battle against breast cancer."

i know that money is tight for everyone right now, but if you can donate, please do.
every little bit counts!

thanks and have a great weekend! :)

CE

creative escape was such an amazing experience for me!

a true "once in a lifetime"...

there were 9 amazing teachers and 8 creative projects.

here is a glimpse of these teachers and classes.

loved it...

deb crouse & paula cheney- hidden treasures

deb and paula were incredible! they work for 7 Gypsies and have a great portfolio/trunk show of very imaginative projects.

their trunk show was very cool! they had a card that was made out of metal window mesh! i really liked it!

it was fun to start this adventure with these gals! they started off

the class with a great video. they wanted to remind all of us why we scrapbook and why we create. it was very emotional and it really brought all of this back home!

the project was created out of chip board. i will probably put mine on an easel. we learned some great techniques about building a surface for our project and inking. we had made an embellishment the day before at the "technique boutique" for this project and that was very informative.

i didn't finish the project in class, but i really loved it! and enjoyed these ladies energy, creativity and sense of humor! what a great start to a great week!

heather bailey- free spirit bird book

heather's trunk was full of such bright and cheerful colors! she designs not only great scrapbooking supplies, but fabric too! she has some really cute patterns!

my favorite is the birthday

candle ring stacker! she also has a fun purse pattern too!

this class was a bird mini album that was filled with all of the

heather's colorful designs and papers. lots of chipboard and flowers too!

it was a pretty cute project and supplies, but the class felt very rushed to complete! lots of steps, pages and parts to

each page. i had to skip a few steps, but finished the album for the most part.

i learned lots of neat technique,

just lots of stuff packed into this

project!

carol wingert- crowning moments

carol had a cool trunk too!

kinda an old world feel to her stuff.

this project was a 3 dimensional pyramid that let you see inside the box. it was done in all white, which seems to be a signature for carol.

we weren't really looking forward to this class- the project didn't seem really functional. however we were pleasantly surprised with how much we loved carol's style and the versatility of this project! throughout the class we grew to like the concept of the project more and more.

it can be used for lots of holidays and activities.

baby/wedding showers... favors or treats.

halloween... candy corn colors filled with treats.

christmas... tree shaped and paper.

very cool pattern that i will definitely use again!

tim holtz- moments from the journey

tim... where do i start! he is absolutely amazing!!! he is funny, creative, fantastic and great!! :)

his trunk was full of very vintage things... that is one of the things tim is known for- lots of vintage touches.

the project was a tiny little scrapbook album sitting in a mini suitcase. it was a fabulous class! i really loved tim and his sense of humor, his style of teaching, project and techniques using grunge board. we used his ink dabbers, alcohol ink, tim's stapler and distress stickles.

at one point time told us "when the paint dries, sand the board... when do we know it's dry? if you touch it and it isn't wet- it is dry!" HA HA! so funny! he said "you laugh, but i get that question more than any other!" wow! his sense of humor kept us laughing most of the class!

he focused on: Imagination- Anything is possible. he played parts from willy wonka and the chocolate factory- he loves willy wonka because anything really is impossible. your imagination can take you anywhere. very inspiring!

sorry... this picture is a tad fuzzy! bummer!

lynette carroll- unforgettable wall art

lynette is such a cool lady! she is from austrailia and has a fabulous accent! her trunk was very cool! lots of details in her work!

her project was a cool black and white wall hanging. very classy looking. lots of details! lynette loves the details! she

said that when she scrapbooks she doesn't use a paper

trimmer... she uses an exacto knife and a ruler! wow!

we also used foam tape as a major adhesive. she said she loves foam tape- even buys it in bulk! it was fun to give a little dimension to the project!

and... what a small world it is in the scrapbook industy! kris and lynette got talking and realized that they had met before! lynette used to work for K&I and taught at the conventions that kris and i used to teach at. several times kris would teach in the same classroom and they would swap projects! :)