Laura Vegas

i think i've been in a blogging funk this past week. or maybe that's because i really don't have anything to share. i feel like i can't post without a picture. and if there aren't any pictures … there is no post. lol!

 

this is what i was working on last weekend. i did 6 layouts … none of which i can show you. sorry … that was just mean. lol! i kept bringing this basket of stuff up and down the stairs each day … trying to get my mojo working on it. fun product, a great die cut machine, great photos … you'd think it would all just magically come together. but sometimes, it takes more work than others. but the end result was some of my best work i think. work that i can't show you. sorry … mean again. lol!

then, after all that creative work … my mojo took a break. from the layouts, anyways. which was ok … since i was able to work on some other projects. including photo organizing … getting the sports album going. the travel album that i've been saying is THIS close to being done for the past few months … is seriously THIS close to being ready to share. so, so close! just have some journaling to add in … and some titles. hopefully, in the next day or two i can share.

my project 365 photos are two weeks behind now. i have photos for a lot of the days … but i'm also missing photos for a lot of the days. lol! i'm sure i have some that i've overlooked … so i'm not ever sure where i stand. all i know is … they're not organized enough to actually share or type up a blog post about them. maybe i'll share them later. i guess as long as the album gets updated, that's the important part. but i do like sharing them on my blog too … i think i journal a lot more on here than i do in the actual album.

i also have about 8 layouts in the works. 3 of them are for other people … scrapping friends that i'm swapping photos with for fun. i feel bad that i pushed them to the side. i have some DT layouts that are so close to being done too. even started one tonight that i'm really excited about. i pulled some 7 year old photos off of some old layouts … and i'm re-scrapping them. in some weird way … i'm going to go from 4 layouts to just 1 layout. that feels good. and gives me lots of ideas too … but ones i'll have to give some though to before starting. it involves tearing old albums apart … and that could get messy.

i'm going to cut this short. my computer is acting super slow right now. i'm typing … and it's taking forever to even catch up with what i'm typing. the curser is about 10 strokes behind me. i have no patience for this. lol!

took these photos last week … and they totally crack me up. i think i've mentioned this before … but my girls love to play ball in the house. not outside … but IN the house. soccer is the biggest sport. next up would be volleyball. and then there is softball. alyssa had found this mini soccer ball at her dad's house … it's attached to one of those stretchy cords and you strap it to your wrist. so you can kick the ball … and it always comes back to you. so why not use if for some pitching practice, right?

 

so here is alyssa, getting ready to pitch to sarah … who is catching. the jump rope laying on the floor? i think that was left over from volleyball … they use that as the net. look at alyssa … giving me the wink for some reason. a sign of the trouble to come i think. but you'd think sarah would be prepared … seriously, look how padded up she got.

 

i think she's wearing about 4 jackets … and even 2 pairs of pants. fuzzy socks and slippers. a couple of hats … and a scarf wrapped around her face. not sure why she's still holding the volleyball from the previous game.

 

they're close enough that the ball really does make it to each other. it bounces back from the cord … so i'm not sure sarah ever actually caught one. and trust me … it bounces back hard! i can't tell you how many times it's come back to get them. lol!

 

and least she uncovered her eyes at one point … so she could see what was coming at her.

 

and it just wouldn't be a game if they didn't give it all they had. they don't understand the meaning of "take it easy". they play hard … and they play rough. and yes … someone did get hurt just a few minutes after i took these photos. it always happens!

i just noticed you can see my partially painted walls in these photos. lol! in that last photo, you can see the yellow that i've been painting. and along the bottom, is the beige that i had before. i hadn't done any edges or trimming. and i also havn't touched the paint in over 3 weeks. i decided that overall … i wasn't liking it. only in the playroom area … i liked that up against the green walls. but the rest of it was bugging me. so as of today … i'm repainting it. with the original beige. at least i didn't have it all done. lol!

for the first time in almost 2 years, i took my camera to one of sarah's softball games last night. yep, it has been that long. i took photos her first season in 2006 … lots of photos. in the 2007 season, i took photos at just one game. which actually worked out … since i got photos of her doing all the important positions and it totally summed up the year. in the 2008 season, i didn't take a single photo … which is just absurd. and this season, i just keep forgetting. anyways … here's some from last night.

 

getting ready for her first at bat … i think she was the second hitter.

 

she hit a perfect bunt … just perfect. i actually don't like that they tell them to bunt so much … i cringe every time they try. but she did a great one.

 

made it to first. you can see the girl by the umpire that still has the ball … never even had a chance.

 

waiting … all ready to run.

 

i know this is super blurry … but she made it home.

 

she played second base last night. nothing too exciting came her way … in all honesty. she's been playing catcher a lot this season … i was hoping to get her catching. but good stance at second base.

 

next at bat. i nearly missed this one. didn't even realize it was my kid up there … they usually don't get through the line up so fast (in was only the second inning).

 

she hit this one good. i can't remember where it went … out to left field somewhere.

 

more at second base.

 

hanging out in the dugout. they played this game at the stadium park. all the teams get a few games here … and then the rest are played on normal fields. but this is cool, since they get a real dugout.

 

she was so close to batting a third time … here she is waiting, since she was on deck next.

 

the had an excellent game … and won 8-2. i think this is their third win … and it was well deserved.

 

doing the tunnel for the other team. this is always funny. since lots of times, both teams will go to do a tunnel for each other … so they end up on opposite sides waiting for each other. and then it's just whoever gives in first. lol!

 

and i had to get one of alyssa … watching the game and reading. she's not into softball … she did one year and decided soccer is more her sport. so she gets to hang out with me and watch.

speaking of softball … i just got done ordering the girls softball pictures from the last 4 years. i had printed a few of them … and have done all of one layout. but i have an idea for a sports albums that i've been meaning to do. including both soccer and softball. figured i'd start with softball … since i have less photos to sort through and edit. hoping to get that going over the next week or so. i'll share when i get to it … although don't hold me to it. lol! it's kind of like my travel album that i've mentioned … that is SO close to being done. it's sitting here on my desk right now, in fact. i have good intentions … really, i do!

just wanted to wish everyone a very "hoppy" easter today!

 

as seen in the april cards magazine. they usually like us to wait longer to share our published projects.  but i'm hoping this is cool … since the card won't have the same effect in another month or two. lol!

supplies –
pattern paper – wrmk, scenic route
trims – rusty pickle
rubons – doodlebug
foam letters – american crafts
epoxy butterflies – making memories
other – staples, string, cardboard

once again, mary and i took an extra week to do this challenge. i guess that's why we like to keep this so casual … because sometimes we get busy or forget. that was our reason for missing last week … we were both super busy with other stuff. this week … i just plain forgot. more on that in a minute.

this week, we kept the challenge just between the two of us. one reason being the paper we choose. here's what we decided on using:
1. SEI "poppy" paper collection
2. chipboard 
3. buttons 
4. circle punch 

like i said .. i totally forgot. mary happened to mention this late thursday afternoon … and i realized i had totally forgotten the challenge. so i thought about what i would do. then i totally forgot again … and didn't think about it until about 9:30 last night. i pulled out a few of the papers and a photo i had laying out that matched … and threw the base of this layout together in about 10 minutes.  

we have both gotten this paper pack numerous times in our goodie boxes from scrapbook trends. so we thought it would be fun to make it part of our challenge. i'm not sure i would have used this paper without the challenge … although i do like how it turned out. and luckily, i had just gotten the matching chipboard frames in a goodie box on wednesday … that made this layout even quicker. only thing was … i couldn't remember the other 2 items for our challenge. i knew the paper and the chipboard … but drew a blank on the other 2 things. so i just figured i'd work them on the layout once mary told me what they were. lol!

 

found out the other 2 things were the circle punch and buttons … so those were easy enough to add on. just a few punched circles from the pattern paper scraps … and added a few buttons with mini brads. and some foam letter stickers for my title. super simple … probably spend less than 20 minutes on this entire layout. not bad.

make sure and check out mary's layout HERE. now, we know that not everyone will have the "poppy" paper collection. but we're hoping that most of you have some sort of SEI paper for this challenge. as always … we'd love to see if you play along with us!

supplies:
pattern paper – SEI
cardstock – SEI
chipboard frame – SEI
punch – ek success (circle), stampin up (scallop)
buttons – basic grey
brads – making memories
thicker letters – american crafts

saw one of these pages up on the MM blog today … and figured it was ok to share them.

i created these months ago … long before i even knew it was the just chillin collection. just knew it was some super cute papers. and one thing about doing things so far in advance … is that you don't always have the real product to work with. so those super cute badge brads? to me, they were just a paper piece … i thought maybe they'd be epoxy circles or something. as you can see on the photo on the MM blog … they have replaced my paper circles with the real product. so if you're thinking i was crazy for adding almost an entire package of them to one layout … it's honestly, because i didn't know what they were at the time. lol! although that is still a super cute idea!

and thanks again to deneen's daughters (well, 3 of her daughters and another friend) … they were very willing to come over and let me take some quick photos for these layouts. without any warning too. i called … and 20 minutes later they were here for me. didn't even plan the outfits … but they turned out perfectly!

today is my official "intro" day over on the jillibean soup blog. they have been introducing the design team members for the past week … and have more left over the next few days. there have been lots of great projects … so be sure to check them out. here's my first few designs using their amazing products.

 

 

aren't these the cutest papers! and the journaling sprouts are so much fun. i'm also in love with the font on the alpha stickers … so cute. you can find the complete suppy lists and some additional info over on the jillibean soup blog.

these were a few more layouts in my super, duper old stack of unfinished layouts. check them out. my apologies for the cruddy photos. yesterday it was 80 degrees and sunny out … today it's gloomy and raining. lol! anyways … ignore the black background … i have these on my ikea shelves.

 

this layout was inspired by my all time favorite scrapper, erin clarkson. actually, it's a total lift of one of her layouts … from 4 years ago. i can prove that … because i had this page torn from a magazine. the issue? march/april 2005 scrapbook etc.

 

i had the same exact papers … same cardstock … same metal flowers and mesh … and even the same stencil die cut letters. i had cut the papers and brushed the edges with white paint .. and had assembled all the papers. but that was as far as i got. no photos or title. i have seriously had this in a bag for 4 years. any time i clean out that pile of unfinished stuff, i come across this. but i always kept it … because i still love this layout of erin's after all these years. her style is amazing!

 

i had the layout on my desk and was determined to find some photos to use for it. i also had these photos of alyssa's birthday party from 2 1/2 years ago sitting out. took me a while … but i finally realized that i could use the photos on this page. these are all 2×3 photos … i had them all printed at costco (4 on each 4×6 photo) and then just made my own collage on a piece of white cardstock.

 

i had my metal flowers painted the orange like erin used … but changed them to green later. so i did have a few things that ended up different … but still all her idea!

 

so i have this in 2 seperate parts of my shelf … so pretend the black shelf piece isn't in between the two pages. did that even make sense? i had started this layout ages ago … all the papers were there and the diecuts. but i had printed out the photos myself into these small sizes (smaller than what is on here) … and had them randomly all over the 2 pages. kind of resembled a photo sneeze. i didn't like the look anymore .. so i tore them all off. i had all these printed at 2×3 at costco (once again, 4 on each 4×6 photo) and made them into my own collage on white cardstock. i like the look much better like this than i had before.

 

i just added some chipboard letters for my title … nothing original. and i would love to add another diecut to that top left corner. but i can't find my package of them to match. i'm actually thinking i gave them to someone. oh well.

 

so nice to get some birthday photos and layouts done. i tend to avoid those types of layouts … birthday and holidays. maybe because there are always so many photos. doing the collages like this is perfect … make the rest of the page pretty easy to finish.

here's the thing … today was a little crazy.

started off not feeling totally great. i've had this constant ringing in my left ear for about 4-5 months now … along with some head pressure. some days it gets to me more … and today was one of those days. i avoid the doctors … because usually, it doesn't do me much good. i'm always told i'm fine … and to try something silly and call if it gets worse. but today was a day where i felt like i had to take action. and for once, i got an appointment without much trouble. had grammie come over to watch the kiddos and went on my way. doctor was pretty good this time. i think he sensed that i was worried … and that i wanted something to prove if i was ok or not. anyways, i have a few tests lined up for wednesday. one of them being a hearing test … that just makes me feel old. lol!

the kids were great today. my girls are home all week from school for spring break. they love to play with the little ones. and they even found something to keep themselves entertained during naptime … when i make them be quiet. the little ones were in excellent moods today. a little whiney in the morning … but that's usual. after naps and lunch … they were very happy kids.

it was a gorgeous day out … i think we may have gotten to 80 degrees. a little before 5:00pm, the girls decided it was way too hot out … and went to grammies for a swim. yes, they're swimming already. usually, the first "official" swim isn't until easter day … but they took their first swim sunday night. anyways. joe slept late today … and i was feeling too tired to cook dinner and hadn't taken anything out anyways. so by the time the girls got back from grammies … we had to scrounge up what we could find for dinner. lots of leftovers … which was actually good to use them up.

joe left for work a little before 9:00 … and about 5 minutes later, calls me to tell me the car just stopped. as he was driving on the freeway … just stopped. so he's on the side of the road. at night. just so happens, as he's talking to me on the cell phone … a co-worked drove by and saw him and stopped. which i think is crazy … since i would never notice anyone on the side of the road at night. then a cop car stopped and they decided the car wasn't starting and couldn't be jumped. so he calls for a tow truck. problem is … our coverage will get you towed 5 miles for free … and anything over you have to pay for. he's in the middle of 2 cities … and both are definately more than 5 miles into town. nothing else we can do … we have to get the car back here and to the auto shop. so he waits for the tow truck … and his co-worker waited also, so that she could give him a ride to work and then back in the morning. he called me when the driver left … so that me and the girls could go to the auto shop to meet him and pay him.

meanwhile, the house has gotten super hot … it's 79 degrees IN the house. so i open a window upstairs to help cool it down. i think that's how the huge freakin bug got in the house. it was a huge, leggy, flying bug. it was on the girls bathroom door … so i was tracking it and trying to find something to swat at it with. i yelled at alyssa to go get me the hand towel in my bathroom … the one hanging on the ring by the sink. i tried my best to get the bug … but i failed. i told them i would be brave and go in the bathroom with the bug .. and closed the door to get it. it was up behind the toilet and i thought i could smush it. but it moved and i freaked … and i may have screamed like a girl. which the girls pointed out … i AM a girl. but still. then i just started whacking away at it with the towel … knocking over lotion bottles and getting my heart rate going. finally got it … and picked up all the legs that landed all over. went to put the towel back on the ring (which now seems gross, need to wash that thing) … and the ring falls off the wall. it has been loose for a while now … but strange how it picked tonight to fall off.

we went out the front door and noticed there were tons of those same disgusting bugs all over the front of the house … kind of spooky. we go get in the van and start to head over to the auto shop. halfway down the street … the same sort of bug is IN the van with me, by the drivers seat. so i'm fumbling around for kleenex as i drive … and i might have been swerving a little. sarah is getting all upset … thinking i'm going to crash. i'm whacking away at thin air … because i really can't see anything. it was right by my head at one point … gives me the heeby geebies just thinking about it. of course, our driver side window doesn't work … so i couldn't roll it down to get the bug out. i'm not actually sure if i ever did get it. but i tried … a lot.

we get to the auto shop and i get an envelope to fill out to leave our keys. i set the alarm on the van … while we were sitting in it. because it was dark and we were in an empty parking lot. and it's not the best part of town. this made the girls really nervous. got the info filled out and tried to pass the time. but it was spooky just sitting there. finally, i figured we would just drive around until the tow truck came. of course, when i started the van .. i set off the alarm. figures. i knew where the tow truck was coming from … so we just kept going back and forth down those few streets. around and around. it was taking him forever. the girls were making themselves sick with worry. it was past 10:30 at night. finally, we see the tow truck coming down the street … and we flipped a u'ey to go after him. alyssa gave this huge sigh of relief … like everything was going to be ok now. 

so the driver tells me it's going to be $50 … since it was 10 miles over what our coverage allows. you see, the spot where the car died … just past an exit. so he actually had to go about 2 miles down the freeway to actually turn around … and then the 2 miles back. just to get across the road from where the car died. ugh. i actually figured that $50 wasn't all that bad … but maybe that's because it was so late at night … or the fact that i'm used to much larger car charges (which i'm sure we'll be facing tomorrow). i wrote up the check and filled out his paperwork. when i gave the check to michael (sarah got his name) … he says "girl, what's with the psychodelic circles on the check?". my checks have this polkadot circle pattern on them. but i can see how it might look a little psychodelic … especially late at night. lol! it was so funny though … he was a funny guy.

he got the car off the truck and parked. i got the info filled out and put the key in the drop box for the auto shop to find in the morning. i got the car seats out of joe's car … and all his umpire gear. michael helped me carry everything over to the van … and said "hi" to the girls. he was trying to close the door on the van and it wasn't closing … and i told him i have a button for that. he says "you girls and your buttons". seriously, it was so funny. he was the best tow truck driver i've had … and i've had a few.

an hour later … and the girls and i got home. it was 11:00pm. we were all tired. but a little wound up from all the excitement. we're all hot up here … house still hasn't cooled down much. i didn't get my shower like i planned … so i might stink a little tomorrow. my head still hurts and my ears are still ringing. i'm still sensing a bug on me … although i'm probably imagining that part. i have an early day … first kiddo at 6:45am. and i didn't get to watch any of my shows tonight. at least i got an assignment done tonight that is due tomorrow … just before all this happened. although i still have some assignments that i havn't even thought about yet. and i had layouts to share too … just never got around to taking pics today of them.  

yada, yada … could i make this story any longer?!?! i probably could. the girls will probably remind me of other parts to this in the morning. i know alyssa was already typing up a story in her "notes" on her cell phone. so i'm sure they'll have more tidbits that i forgot to mention. here's hoping that tomorrow turns out better. and hoping that the car isn't that much $$$ to get going again … or take too long. although with the way my luck was going today … i should probably be nervous! 

heather from scrapbook bakery was sweet enough to send me some product to play with. although this was about 5 or 6 months ago. i started these next two layouts the same week i got the product … but then somehow forgot about them. i feel terrible admitting this … i can be so pathetic sometimes. lol! i came across these this past weekend … tucked away with other half finished layouts.

 

this page was almost completely done. it had the title … had the journaling. the only thing it needed was the "?". yes, this page has been sitting around for 5 to 6 months … all for one stinkin question mark. lol! i dug and dug … looking for one that would work. never found one. finally just handcut my own from cardstock last night. how easy was that? lol!

supplies:
pattern paper – autumn leaves
ribbon – carolees creations, autumn leaves
chipboard – scenic route

 

this layout was pretty much done … everything you see here was done. i just wanted to add some journaling or something. although i had no idea what i wanted to say … or where i would even put it on the layout. i do this sometimes … since i generally leave the journaling until last. i finally decided to just leave it as is. so i didn't even have to do anything to this … just make the decision to accept it the way it was.

supplies:
pattern paper – crate paper
die cuts – crate paper
jumbo brad – heidi swapp
pearls – hero arts
other – string

make sure and check out scrapbook bakery … heather is having an april sale, with some kits at 50% off the original price. and stay tuned … i have lots more layouts to share this week. i got a lot of my unfinished layouts, finished … feels good!