Aloha!

Sunday, August 31, 2008


I felt this picture was fitting to start off this entry. This was taken the evening we arrived in Kauai. It's the view we had the entire trip from our back patio of the condo we stayed in called the Cliffs in Princeville on the north Shore. We are so lucky to have been given a weeks stay here for our Christmas present last year from my husbands mom. She is so cute the way she wraps the leis up for us in a package and presents us with a week is Hawaii as her Christmas gift to us. She has been gracious enough to give us this gift for the last 3 times I have visited the beautiful island of Kauai and I truly appreciate the beauty of her gift.
We had quite a time getting to this beautiful view tho, we showed up an hour before our flight as we have times before only to be delayed with bag check outside the terminal. When we finally made our way up to the front of the long line they informed us that we had to have checked our bags 45 mins before our flight and since it was 40 mins before we were out of luck. Yep, you heard me right....5 mins short of the 45 mins time frame and they cut us off cold turkey. Now you can imagine the look on my face and the feeling in my stomach since the previous day I had driven my son and parents to the airport and seen them off a day earlier than us.
I went into complete panic mode. Here I am with a baby traveling and we missed our 7am flight to SF where we were to connect to a flight to Lihue. So I call Priceline via cellphone and they basically say "you're outta luck, non refundable or exchangeable tickets we can not help you BUT if United airlines wants to ok you to fly standby then it's entirely up to them...We get in an hour long line and finally make our way to the counter where a nice associate (let me just say I could NEVER do that job) basically tells us our next chance is a 4:45 flight out where she has 10 seats avail and if we want to spend and additional 300.00 (150.00 each) to hold them we can for sure get on the flight. We don't have 300.00 extra dollars right now so we basically have to wait and see....
Let me tell you, hanging out at LAX all morning with a 13 mos old is STRESSFUL! I totally called my friend Elise for moral support and to let out a few tears of frustration. Thank goodness for girlfriends! So we walked and walked in the stroller and watched some dvd's to keep our little one occupied. I am sure that the staff at the airport didn't appreciate the crushed goldfish on the carpet but whats a mom to do...
Then about 11am a very annoying family came walking up where we were hanging out and they had 4 teenagers all with attitudes and 3 adults and a baby a little older than Lily on a leash. I could never do that to my kid, I mean if I need a leash to keep an eye on my kid then I need to be a better parent. Just my opinion. So we strolling around the terminal and I go by one of the teens who talks to Lily and asks here where she's going. I tell her Hawaii, we had missed our flight and she replies so did we and we are flying standby on the 4:454 flight out. Ok...panic really sets in because remember how I mentioned there were only 10 seats and there are 8 of them...I take the initiative to walk across to the other terminal where a really nice gal is at the computer and I politely asked if could I ask a couple of questions about standby since I have never missed a flight in my life! She tells me she is headed to break but she'll be happy to help me out. All my years in banking customer service and me doing the same thing for my customers must have paid off that day is all I can say. She tells me how if they have mileage club rewards they will bump us from our seats for them. Now I am really panicked, so I tell her my story and about my parents already being there and I totally choke up. She is so sympathetic and understanding and I tell her how we could not pay the extra 300.00 to hold the seats and she says that's silly since they don't like to charge us if they don't have to. She then says she will take a look for me and we discover there are 17people waiting to fly standby for this 4:45 flight.
Ok NOW I am really panicked. She says well, why don't we get you out on the 1:30 to San Francisco and you can connect to the 4:45 to Lihue from San Francisco??? I tell her ok but what happens if we can't get on the flight to Lihue. She smiles and says don't worry give me a second to hide a few seats and you'll be just fine.
I can't believe it! She is talking while working but I am blown away that just like that, she has solved my problem and we are headed to KAUAI!!!!
So after finally getting to the island the real vacation began and we spent our days snorkling and laying on the beach. My parents we staying in Poipu and we were on the North Shore in Princeville. It was a little hard planning with 3 families but we made it work and had alot of fun. I mentioned to alot of my friends that we had planned to meet up with the photographer that took our wedding pictures, Ken Posney in the same spot we were married with my parents and the kids for a family session at sunset.This is the part of the trip I was looking forward to the most! From the first time I met Ken he just had this aura about him that was kind and so peaceful. He's just an amazing guy! Pls stop by his site and check out his work at www.kenposney.com/weddings.html His photos are truely breath taking and he captures images that are more beautiful than words can describe. I have spent alot of time since we met checking in on his site to see what he's been up to and how many new images he has for me to enjoy.
We had an amazing time with the shoot and I am sure we are going to love everything he captured. I know it seemed cheesy but Mat, Scott and I had matching Hawaiian outfits and we had the baby in a white Hawaiian dress. Us girls wore the Plumeria flower in our hair to capture the authentic Hawaiian vibe. I am so pleased Ken was able to meet with us and I look forward to many more years of family portraits taken by our friend.
So it's taken me all day just to get this much blogged and I am dead tired. I have to pick up my parents from the airport tmr at 5:30 so I will leave you with this image of my beautiful Hula Girl.

Hula girl












Finally!

Thursday, August 21, 2008


Alright so I am debuting my new "DO" I could not handle my hair long any more. I took the baby and she sat so sweetly in my lap while the woman washed and then cut 6 inches off my hair! Gosh I am so lucky to have such a well behaved little girl. I love my new haircut and it's just in time for our vacation. I can not even tell you the lightness I feel with my hair. I was getting so tired of wearing my hair in a bun with a clip all day.I almost feel sexy again! hee hee So I bid you all and ALOHA! We are off to Hawaii and I will be back Sun the 31st and bloggin it up about my trip and the kids. Until then...SCRAP IT UP!!!!

I finally got bit by the Bella Bug!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

My good friend Jenn from Cafe Mom has been kind enough to send me stamped Bellas from her private collection to play with and I have fallen hard. Here's a card I made for a challenge in a Bella group also on Cafe Mom.

So I took the plunge and visited the Stamping Bella Website http://www.stampingbella.com/ and placed muy first order. I had a small commission check from CTMH so what better way to spend it right? Can't wait to get my new stamps and create some amazing cards. In the mean time Jenn sent me more Bellas yesterday and can you say Bella Licious!!! Thanks Jenn, you're the best girlfriend!
Now to the good stuff. I spent the mroning scrapping this little layout for a challenge in So Cal Scrap. It's their weekend Online Crop and I am trying to participate as much as possible. This one is called Happiness and it's a submission to the Flower challenge which called for using 15 or more flowers on a layout. Hope you likey I sure do. Now off to clean the boys room and that will prob take up the rest of my afternoon.


A close up of the butterfly

Bling Bling just the right thing part Deux...lol

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Wow, what a busy day. So I went to bed at 3AM!!!! Am I freakin crazy, I am so not 19 anymore when staying up late and then having to get up at 9am was a snap. We met my mother in law for a nice breakfast (her treat!)at Dinah's. Lily and I snacked up scrambled eggs and banana but pancakes and mommy had two cups of much needed coffee. We had a really nice time chatting it up with Mombo and playing with Lily. She is just growing so fast. I can hardly wait for my parents to get their hands on her next week when they come into town Weds. Every time I think about how much closer I am to hugging my mom and feeling her hug me back i tear up...like now :)
So we checked out a few apartments in El Segundo after breakfast and I had found an ad for something cheaper than what we are currently paying but...it was sooooo small. There was no dining room. You walked in the door and there was the kitchen, I mean right there! We could never fit our furniture in that place and with me being home all day I am sure the walls would close in on me. That's not even the worst part...there was NO PLACE TO SCRAP! Nothing, Nada, Not happening so I told my husband no way no day am I living there to save a buck. The main reason we are actively looking for a new apartment in El Segundo is to get Scott into the Jr. High. They have their own school district and one of the best and public so we are really hoping to find something that will fit us.
Finally came home about 2 p.m. and I kid you not I have been cleaning my entire scrap space from top to bottom. I am throwing stuff out that I don't use. Creating a donation pile of card stock I bought and was like "what was I thinking????" Do you have those moments when combing thru your stash? I am really picky about my embellies and bling and quality items now. I can't believe I even settled let alone spent my money on some of this stuff! It's pretty funny but coming along well. I organized all my letters and chipboard by color. I also organized my stickers and stick ease. It's been a work in progress but I can honestly say I'll be done by midnight. Maybe I'll post a pic when I am done...ha ha
So last but not least the layout I posted last night with the addition of the bling. If I have not said it enough, get yourself some Say It In Crystals Bling, it really does make a page don't ya think???

Bling Bling, it's just the right thing!

Wow, I can't believe that a week has gone by since I have posted anything! I have been pretty busy this week with my WAHMGrabGroup and other things. In my grab group I am hosting a Business Builder and my fellow shoppers are building their way to a CTMH shopping spree! Currently the build is at 64 bricks and that's a great amount to buy some awsome products from my site, especially the clearance sale! As a matter of fact the sale is going so well that they are adding items Aug 18th.
So my other favorite hangout when I am not scrapping it up at Bad Girls is So Cal Scrap www.socalscrap.com This weekend is their cyber crop and even tho we went to the Dodger game tonight I found a way to get at least one challenge completed. Here is the page when I first finished it

here is the sketch that we had to interpret


I am pretty beat so i will show you how the bling is just the thing tmr am :)
OH and this is a first time RAK for my site. Whoever wants to join the fun and complete the sketch too, post the link to your layout here and I will reward a random poster with a RAK! Let's see who really reads my blog :)

Inspiration from Defeat

Saturday, August 9, 2008

It's amazing where we find our creative inspirations really. I have seen posts where layouts are inspired by a design in a shirt to advertisements in a magazine. For me tonight inspiration came in the form of deafeat. My favorite card group in Cafe Mom, Card Makin Mamas had a couple of challenges up this week I wanted to try... 1st up was the stamped image with white pigment ink and chalking technique that I just couldn't seem to make work for my images. I made 3 cards and this one made the cut but not really my best work in my opinion.

The second was a sketch challenge and I tryed my best but after 5 sheets of cardstock cut to try to copy this sketch I scrapped the whole idea. It just wasn't speaking to me.


So finally after I spent a few hours away from my scrap table and got miss Lily down after a fussy evening, these are what I came up with. I call them Inspiration from Defeat...


I got a cool award today!!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008


After the day I had, I soo needed a lift! I check my blog to find that Kristapista, a pal from Card Makin Mamas gave me a cute lil kudo!

It's pretty cool, I think. My day started out pretty grim but as the afternoon came around things cheered up. I have a few orders for some more Scraptastic Accordion Albums and I finished one for a friend and mailed it off today. Here's the cover.
I also want to give props to my pal Cass for finding the website that helps you bling up your blog. I saw she had recently made changes to her and followed the same link that's in the left hand corner of my blog and kicked it up a notch around here. I think it looks pretty darn sweet! Thanks Cass!
Now I have to figure out my 7 ladies
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

What a day!

Well it started out terrible and ended on a high note! First off today was the kickoff of this month's Constant Campaign for Close To My Heart. Everyone was so excited to take advantage of the great deals on stamps and paper kits. I got up early to be ready when the launch happened at 7 a.m. and to place an order for my friend Janene who is out of town. It was just ridiculous. The website could not support the traffic and they were locking up and freezing, I mean it was a joke really. Then the phone started ringing with my customers frustrated and worried they would miss out on the stamp sets they had picked out weeks ahead of time. it was just a mess, then I get myself a cup of my good ol' morning Joe to calm my own frustrations and what happens next, yea my phone rings again and I go to pick it up and drop it right into my morning coffee...ARRRRGGGGG!!! Blackberry...toast! Yep it doesn't work at all! So I am hoping that drying it out in a bag of rice all night as suggested on a website for this issue will help cause I will be so dang bummed if my phone is done. It was a gift from a friend who upgraded to an Iphone and I appreciated her kindness more than you know (have you seen how much those phones cost!)
So after that morning I needed a walk and off Lily and I went to the post office to mail an Accordion Album I made for a customer. When I got back I had a couple emails from some City Mommies inquiring about my scrapbooks I make and it turns out I may have a couple orders! My friend also wrote me again asking for another handmade album for a new baby so the day was picking up. More later...

A couple of first's for me today!!

Sunday, August 3, 2008

So my new obsession is looking at blogs, scrapbooking ones to be exact and then finding more cool blogs off of other blogs to look at. There is so much talent and beauty in all scrapbooking blogs I have seen so far. I find so much inspiration and creativity in their posts and gallerys of artwork. I recently discovered a blog off the Bad Girls Site called The Design Experiement, http://thedesignx.blogspot.com/ I loved the blog and the ladies contributing and the challenges they have posted so much that I decided to give this weeks challenge a whirl. No keep in mind I saw this posted last Sun night and saw that I had until 7 p.m. to post a link to my submission tonight. I planned to work on this right away, I even took the pics I had in mind that same day but then the weeke started and I had Scott's birthday and a project I am stuill working on for a client and then another friend emailed me about an Accordian Album she wanted for a little girls 1st birthday gift. I also had to get the card challenge designed and cut for my Scraptastic group as well as get the new challenges and page maps up. Oh and did I mention that I am also in a weight loss group and the owner PM's me to be a team leader. I have a serious problem with not being able to say NO.

Sooooo I finally found time to scrap this challenge today, before going to my first class at Sonja's Scrap Spot http://www.sonjasscrapbookspot.com/contents_spot.htm

We made these really great Explosions boxes, my first! If you live in LA, you've gotta check out her shop, it's super cool like her!

So I literally finish the layout right before I need to leave for the class at 3 and (remember I have to post by 7) and I am uploading the pics to my Photobucket account http://s224.photobucket.com/albums/dd279/shoegal90045/ and my computer truns off. EEEEEEEEEEEEEkkkkkk!!!! I was so mad! So I restart and get it going again and I have to re-type my journaling and what happens...yes you guessed it! It shuts down again! So I run out the door all flustered because after the class I have to come back home instead of heading straight to the gym like I had planned.

I finally got the darn thing uploaded and in time for the challenge! Hooooray! Oh and I also forgot to mention that while I was typing my journaling my printer ran out of black ink so I had to print it in brown which I think the black would have looked much better. Anyway, here it is!!

Wow Wow Wow!!!

Friday, August 1, 2008

So the August Kit REVEALS went up at 10 p.m. tonight on Bad Girls and all I can say is WOW! Wendy sure keeps the bling coming and my credit card just says CHA-Ching!! I love everything and wish I could have one of each! This month the budget is keeping me to only my sub. Oh well, I will sure look forward to seeing what the ladies come up with this kit...OMG I just realized I forgot to check out the designers gallery! I spent 2 hours just looking and looking at the kits LOL...

Here's a layout I did from a sketch challenge on another cool site I found called So Cal Scraps. It's a pic of my lily and my bff Roxy's daughter Hannah. So cute!
 
site design by designer blogs