Laura Vegas

trying to catch up on my project 365. i got behind … in a big way. so if there is any way you can actually see my technical info on these pics … ignore when i actually took them. lol! i reworked them all to fit into the last 2 weeks … doing my best to get them all in the most accurate days. and please forgive the drab colors in my photos … my indoor shots are really killing me lately. here is week 9 and week 10 … 14 days worth. journaling short and sweet … since i have so many.

day 53 … february 22nd. sunday is indoor soccer day … going on our 4th month and the girls are having lots of fun with it still. i so wish i had smell-o-screen … so you could get a whiff of the inside of these bags. cleats, shin guards, soccer socks. it's truely a smell that will knock you out. you can't appreciate just how bad it is until you have experienced it.

day 54 … february 23rd. this is about the only time you'll ever see joe on the computer … when he's checking his umpiring schedule. i'm actually his secretary. i get the game assignments … and i accept them for him. i just sort of casually toss out "oh, you have a game tomorrow". lol! when he does the varsity games … he has to coordinate with the other umpire on the schedule as to what color they're wearing and who's doing the plate and the bases. some of the guys email .. and i just email back as if i'm joe. i thought it was funny today, when one of the guys replied back "thank you laura". guess they're on to me!

day 55 … february 24th. just a small look at my unfinished projects. this basket holds mini albums that i have yet to finish. that yellow one on top is the album i did for the grandma's … the one i never finished sharing with you. lol! and the one underneath that is one that i offered to make for my brother a few months ago … about his first ever hole-in-one golf experience. eventually, i do get to these.

day 56 … february 25th. taxes … so NOT fun. this pile sat on my kitchen counter for 2 months. all my paperwork and bills from 2008. all my daycare record-keeping. all my receipts from the entire year … since just about every one has something business related or deductible. and this pile sat untouched until a few days before my appointment. then i rushed like a crazy person to get it all ready. but february 25th was tax day for me … so glad this pile is gone. 

day 57 … february 26th. the girls hanging out and playing the keyboard. it was cute to see them sitting there together … usually they do it seperately. this is right outside their bathroom at the top of the stairs. and almost every time they walk by … they play something or hit a few buttons. and i think sarah looks adorable in these footed jammies she dug out of somewhere. lol! makes her look so little!

day 58 … february 27th. the girls LOVE playing scene it. i think we have about 5 different versions of it. their favorite is nickelodeon channel … but my favorite is the newest disney channel one.

day 59 … february 28th. alyssa participated in a "quizzing" event for awana's on saturday. i think there were 4 others in the group that went from the church … and they all competed with other churches. she does so good at this stuff … memorizing, remembering facts, knowing her stuff. although after the quizzing was game time … and she wasn't a part of the game team. so she got pretty bored just sitting there with her leaders … and ended up leaving early.

day 60 … march 1st. i had taken sarah out to do a little photo shoot on saturday. i was so excited to get the photos edited … and even had some ordered and printed by sunday morning. by sunday afternoon (less than 24 hours after taking the pics) … i was almost done with a layout using a few of them. can't share yet … but aren't all these colors gorgeous!

day 61 … march 2nd. what you'll find on our fridge door. 3 bottles of soda. the pepsi is for joe. the caffiene free diet pepsi is for me. and the sierra mist is for the girls. although they usually have dr pepper or root beer … they like those better.

day 62 … march 3rd. shoes, shoes, and more shoes. this is the table by our front door. i knew exactly what i wanted … and had my mom built it for me so that it would fit the small space and fit the baskets. i love custom designing something to fit just what i need. and of course, love having a handy mom that can build my ideas. lol! these 6 baskets hold most of the girls shoes. lots of vans and converse going on in there. although we're finding that as their feet get bigger … we can't fit as many shoes in there!

day 63 … march 4th. not a great shot. ever since painting her room, i'm finding it really hard to take any pictures in there. and she always has her curtains closed … which gives this weird blue tinge. but whatever … this is her on a typical day doing her homework after school. she had to make a comic strip this week … and was not enjoying it. in the end … it actually came out really good! and yes, that's her favorite hoodie … wears it ALL the time.

day 64 … march 5th. just a shot of our mantel over the fireplace in the family room. a few candles … that have never been lit. in two of the candle holders, i have coffee beans inside … sort of for looks, but also great for whiffing. and those are fake lemons in the other vases. those green letters spell "US" … and are from making memories. i got so far as to paint them green … and never did anything else. and that photo frame … there's no picture in it. just the one of the fake people that comes in every frame. lol! and it's been up there for about 2 years like that. pathetic … i'm going to put something in there today. promise!

day 65 … march 6th. doing a little "Wii'ing" after school. look at that concentration … they're really focused on their game. they were playing mario cart … one of their favorites on the Wii. i actually played right after taking these pics. but i stink … really, really stink. alyssa was appauled at how bad i was. "drive in the water so you go faster, don't drive in THAT water, run over people, now DON'T run over anyone, go up the ramp, not THAT ramp, press the "B" button to make sharp turns". no one even told me there was  a "B" button. lol! i told alyssa to take a picture of me playing … but she was too busy laughing her tush off to do it. lol!

day 66 … march 7th. the girls participated in the grand prix for awana's at the church today. they each got a block of wood … and had to decide on a car design. luckily, they have a woodworking grammie to help with the making of the cars!  alyssa decided on a propel water bottle … and sarah went with a Wii remote. alyssa was in the adult age group. she placed 2nd place for design … coming in a second to papa, of all people! she came in 3rd for the overall racing. sarah was in the 3rd-6th grade girls group. her car put in a good effort … but unfortunately, didn't place. but papa was nice enough to share one of his trophies with her. lol!

wanted to say "thanks" to everyone for their comments on my photos from the past few days. i'm in love with all of them … and have ordered tons of them already. have a few picked out to enlarge super huge on my walls … i've been meaning to update those for a while now. and these are going to be such a fresh addition to the house. and i got this card back last week. i had made this ages ago … and it got picked up for publication before i ever shared it.

i'm not very big on the monocramtic look. it's pretty … but i have a hard time using all one color. but this card worked for me … i like it. although it looks better in person … i promise. i have got to start photographing my cards and stuff on a nice background … and not the carpeted stairs. lol! the papers and printed acetate are all making memories … along with the flowers stamps. i heat embossed them with some distressed embossing powder. and adhered with popdots of course!

not sure what else is going on around this joint. i've been "off" all week … not as focused as i was in previous weeks. i was going on some projects … and then got sidetracked with photos and editing. then got busy with kids and life. and then sidetracked again with other random projects. just a whole lot of wheels spinning around and around … but not really getting anywhere. guess that's ok every now and then. as long as i get back on track soon … then i'll feel a lot better!

supplies:
pattern paper, printed acetate, glittered paper – making memories
flower stamps – making memories
sentiment stamp – hero arts
embossing powder – tim holtz
buttons – autumn leaves
other – string

after those photos of sarah … i knew i had to get alyssa out there for some new ones too. only problem? it's supposed to rain all week. and my mom informed me that the blossoms only last on the almond trees for about 2 weeks. so i knew we'd have to just play the waiting game and be ready to go at a moments notice. 

we were doing a quick grocery store run about 4:45 last night (after haley had left and sarah and joe were at softball practice) … and realized it was actually nice out. the rain had stopped. the wind had died down. and it was sunny … but not too sunny. so we did our shopping super fast … and raced home. i put away the groceries and got my camera ready … while alyssa changed into what she wanted to wear. and she dug out the black tutu i made a few years ago. i've taken pics of sarah in it … but never alyssa.  we ran over the orchard again … and did what we could in between the gusts of winds and cars whizzing by us. this was about 5:15 … and you can tell the sun was hitting us in a few of the pics. but i feel better knowing that i got some good shots in … just in case the rest of the week is bad weather or all the flowers disappear. lol!

did anyone notice that i didn't post my project 365 photos for last week? i'm not even going to apologize for the delay … i'll get to them later. because these photos were demanding my attention a whole lot more yesterday! and i'm not even going to apologize for how many photos i'm about to share … because i actually narrowed this down to my favorite 13 photos. there are plenty more where these came from. click on any photo to see them larger.

i'm not afraid to give myself props for this shot! to me … it's amazingly beautiful … and i'm quite proud of it. and this was the very first shot i took. here's the story. this is one of many orchards down the country roads that surround our very residential neighborhood. this is just a few blocks down from our house. i drive by this every, single day … and every, single day i have thought that it would be such a pretty place to take some photos. yesterday was the day i did it. i pulled over on the side of the road. there are orchards on either side. i told sarah to run across to the other side … and to walk down to the 3rd tree and stand directly in the middle of the grass area. i was on the other side of the road … i had my fixed lens on my camera and this ended up being the perfect distance. she was super embarrased … and very concerned about the cars whizzing down the road. she finally ran over … and got in position … for all of 30 seconds. i kid you not … she stood there just like this for 30 seconds … and then ran back to me. i took all of 3 photos while she was standing there. luckily, 2 of them were perfect and exactly what i wanted. her reason for running back to me? there were lots of bees. lol! which is true … they had crates of bees just a little ways down … i think they release them into the orchards to make the trees blossom. valid reason!

i went for a different editing look on this one. used the urban and vintage actions from maggie holmes on this.

then after she ran back over to my side of the road … i convinced her to take a few shots by the orchard that we were parked by. and i know i cut off her elbow on this one … something that's not "photographically correct". but it's still a good one.

every time a car went by … she would stop and look. maybe making sure that no one she knew saw her. she was so embarrased to be on the side of the road. i told her that people would think she was important … not just anyone gets their photos taken on the side of the road!

afterwards, we drove over to another location. one that we've been to before … ages ago. i should add that the shirt, the scarf, and the hat were all found in alyssa's closet … i don't think she minded though. sarah grabbed her own sunglasses to bring along too … those were her idea.

right when we walked down to this area … about 50 people came out of nowhere and were walking right towards us. it was kind of strange … the timing of it. there was no one there when we drove up. and no cars around. as soon as we walked down the hill to this spot (which is in a dead-end corner of the park) … all these people came down. i guess they were doing a savanger hunt of sorts … and decided to set up the finish line about 15 feet from us. yeah, don't mind us. lol! sarah was a little distracted … watching them and seeing what they were doing. but i was persistant … and got her to re-focus on me.

used the urban and vintage actions from maggie on this one too … i kind of like the mood it conveys.

time to have fun … these were all her idea! she always like to joke around and give me these extravagant poses. she's a funny one!

think she got the modeling thing down?!?! lol!

peace out!

time again for a challenge. i know quite a few of you played along last time … and we loved seeing what you came up with. for this challenge, mary and i invited the lovely heather ruwe to join us … she is the owner of scrapbook bakery. she has been sweet enough to have both mary and i as guest designers for her monthly kits … so this time, we wanted to invite her over for something!

for this challenge, we came up with the following guidelines:
1. enlarged photo … such a great way to draw attention to a favorite photo
2. diecut paper … just love the ki memories lace papers, so much fun to use
3. tags … i'm addicted to my white tags, use them all the time
4. stamps … i know all 3 of us really love our stamps

ask me to use an enlarged photo … and i think BIG! i use 5×7's all the time … so i wanted to go bigger. i have actually had this 8×12 photo laying around for about a year and a half. i'm not sure why i had it printed … maybe just to try the size. i thought it would look great on a layout … just never got around to it. and i had so many cute photos of alyssa from this day … and oddly enough, i don't think i ever scrapped a single one.

the diecut paper is the lace paper from ki memories. i really have to be brave to cut that paper … it's just so pretty and delicate. this paper was actually bright pink. but i wanted it to be white … i thought the look of white on white would look cool. i just love white … makes all the other colors "pop". i was actually going to paint the paper … cover it in white paint. seriously … that was my plan. took me days before i realized i could just turn the paper over … and that the backside was white! i know … sometimes my geniousness amazes even me. lol!

for the stamping … i used my screen shadow texture stamp by hero arts. i used some green chalk ink to stamp it on a white tag. and then i used some purple paint to stamp it on some white cardstock … and then cut a circle from it. i'm not sure why i never think to use my paints on my stamps. i actually don't have a very large ink pad collection … so i'm very limited to colors. but paint … i own a TON of paint!

then i just added some yummy ribbon … i loved how that shade of teal looked next to the purple and the green. i also added a title word from heidi swapp. i really hesitate to use a title like "cherish" on a layout … it's one of those titles that gets overdone sometimes. and i've used it many times. but i DO cherish my girl .. and it was just one of the words i had left in the package.  lol! i finished off the layout with some gems and staples. didn't even add journaling … it's one of those layouts that doesn't need any words.

and i was loving the products and colors so much … i made a matching card. i was always big on making cards with my scraps after each layout. but i've slacked on that the past few months. need to start doing that again.

make sure and check out mary's layout HERE … and heather's layout HERE. they're both super talented … and did an amazing job with this challenge. and we really hope you'll be inspired to play along with us … and share with us if you do!

supplies:
diecut paper – ki memories
ribbon – making memories
title and flower – heidi swapp
stamp – hero arts
ink – colorbox
paint – making memories
gems – hero arts
other – staples, tag

i was noticing that i havn't shown photos of haley and nikolas for a while now. in fact, when i went to load these photos onto my laptop … i didn't even have a "february" folder for them. which means i havn't taken a single photo of them since january. how rude of me. lol! these were all taken this morning … in about a half hour.

haley and "katie" the doggie. apparently, she forgot all about "happy" the doggie for today … it's all about katie.

nikolas just got a haircut … so cute with the buzzed head.

this basket DID have blocks in it … but those all got dumped out on the floor. because it's really not a basket, right? it's a hiding spot.

"haley? whr r u?" says nikolas. if only you could hear him talk … it's the cutest thing.

there she is!

and yes, he still makes these faces at me when i ask him to give me a big smile.

haley said she had to go potty … so i started to put my camera down. until she told me that "i'm going to read my newspaper on the potty" … which was so funny that i had to bring my camera with me. and her "newspaper? it's really just a page i tore out of a magazine i was looking at … it had butterflies on it.

yep, the girlie is potty trained now. didn't take all that long once she was ready. i think she had all of 3 little accidents when she started (with me anyways). and she's been good ever since. although some days, we sit here forever … waiting and waiting for her to finish.

and nikolas just waits and waits too. usually, he's on the other side of the gate … but occasionally i bring him over to join us. and he unravels the toilet paper when i'm not looking. and plays with the little springy doorstopper thing … which haley then says "scares me". good times.

and since the camera was in the bathroom with us … and we had nothing better to do than kill time waiting … why not take a group shot. fantastic shot, right? super blurry and orangey on my side … typical flash glare on haley's side … lovely!

and our other group shot from the morning. ignore the orangey, oak furniture all over … i detest it. this is us. i'm sitting on the couch trying to take some pics. but nikolas is hanging all over me and getting in my way. those pink, fuzzy things are my slippered feet … and he's hanging off my legs. i thought it was kind of funny!

that should about make up for my lack of photos of them … at least for the month of february!

i get asked this quite a bit. how do i get so much done? i wish there was an easy answer. some magic pill that i could recommend. some grand solution to fitting so much in … in so little time. but i don't.

i'm a multi-tasker. one of the biggest multi-taskers that you'd ever meet. one of alyssa's teachers told them that there was no such thing as multi-tasking … and i said "then he's never met me". lol! i can literally do about 18 things at one time. and i'm like that from morning until night … seven days a week. i actually thrive on having too much to do .. and not a lot of time to do it in. i don't LIKE it necessarily … but i tend to do my best when i have a lot going on. now mind you … i gripe about it the entire time. i will complain left and right about all the stuff that poor-little-me has to do.

i also have my "zone". and when i get into my creative zone … there's no stopping. i get going on projects or assignments … and a lot of times, it gets me so inspired that i start new projects along the way. that creative rush is a good thing … and i always feel like i have to take advantage of it when it comes. because once i slow down … it's hard to get it started again. like right now. i just spend the past 2 weeks doing sooooo much stuff … more than i've even shared about. i had numerous projects for 5 entirely different things going at once. and as of tonight … all that stuff is done and taken care of … and my desk is clean. so i'm free to do whatever i want for now. and guess what? i have NO idea where to start or what to do. see, i got out of the zone for all of 1 day … and now it's going to take me forever to get back into it.

i also have a mind that never shuts down. it never stops thinking … it's never quiet. there are always 37 different things going through my mind at any given time. that is NOT a good thing … trust me. there are days where i wish i could just chill … just do nothing. but my mind … it's going and going … thinking and thinking. i go to bed with ideas and things-t0-do running through my head. drive me crazy.

i will admit that multi-tasking really has it's downfalls though. sure, i get a lot done. but i think sometimes that i have SO much going on … that things don't always get the attention they deserve. you can do 18 things at once … but that doesn't mean that all 18 things will be done in the best way. kwim? for the most part, i can do bunches of stuff at once … and still pay attention to everything and everyone around me. but i do have my moments when i get so caught up in something … that i retreat into my "zone" and can't be bothered. lol! 

and no, i don't sleep all that much. i get asked that a lot too. lol! i think i'm lucky if i get 6 hours of sleep a night. not that i scrap at night … because i really don't. i just fit it into little pockets of time throughout the rest of the day. i work at home (daycare, in case you didn't know that part) … and am pretty busy taking care of kids, wiping noses and tushies, feeding and comforting, yada yada. so i can have stuff out for those free little moments of time. i do "this" while the kids are eating … do "that" while they're playing nicely together. do "this" and "that" while they're napping. i really get a lot done in small amounts of time … just here and there. and it does help that my girls are older and can sort of fend for themselves. when we have our downtime in the evenings … me and the girls hang out upstairs together. they're doing their thing … and i do my thing. side by side.

i'm not even sure if that all made sense … or if i left you all thinking i'm just plain crazy. lol! i was seriously trying to stay focused as i typed that up … and to get my thoughts out in the same way as i was thinking them. then again … by now you'd know that i also have about 36 OTHER things going through my head right now. lol! and for anyone that's a long time reader of my blog … remember those "random" posts i used to do all the time? where i would spew forth anything that was going through my head? yeah, i think this post qualified as one of those!

i recently was led over to a page 4 all seasons … where the owner, shyloh, was looking for a quest designer for her march kit. it looked like a super fun kit … so i offered to work my magic with it. here are the 5 projects i came up with. and the only thing that i used that was NOT in the kit … is the plastic letters (for "sun"), the flower trim, the string, and the mini brads.

edited to add: since a few of you asked … nope, we don't have a dog. lol! alyssa is so, so, so allergic to dogs … so no chance of that here. this is my parents dog, jenny. it's a photo i took of her last easter … and i just thought it went with the "curious" title perfectly. and i know you probably can't read my journaling … believe me, i can't either. lol! i thought the cursive writing would look better on this … but i NEVER write in cursive. and it shows … seriously, half of the words are wrong and missing letters. lol!

and a card … because i had to use this birdie frame (rubon not included in kit).

shyloh is doing some giveaways and offers too. you can find all the details on their BLOG. it includes these next 2 layouts that i created.

these are pre-designed layouts that i made … and they will have them precut and ready to assemble. comes with the flowers and staples too. so all you have to do it adhere it all together. kind of cool! i actually made duplicates of these after i designed them … because i just LOVE the papers and colors. i still have to add photos to mine though!

so you can leave a comment here to be entered in the giveaway … and also will be entered for the giveaway if you sign up for her mailing list (by going HERE). the winning name will be getting these 2 layouts. and for the special deals … be sure to check it out HERE.

i know i promised another post on the school album process … and i will still do that. tomorrow i hope. i forgot that saturday is my "project 365" day … and i didn't want to skip it. so here goes … photos for week eight.

day 46 … february 15th. i actually took this photo today … but it shows just a few of the girls shows that were on sunday and monday. i could not get over how many new shows they had on the DVR. there were 2 new movies … "dadnapped" on disney channel and "spectacular" on nickolodeon. and "spectacular" was a musical … you know i loved that one too! then all their favorites shows had new episodes … "hannah montana", "icarly", "true jackson vp", "sonny with a chance", and 2 episodes of "wizards of waverly place". that kept them busy this week! and i always keep the movies on the DVR for a while … and the newest episode of each show. that way, if we have both DVR's recording … they always have something to watch.

day 47 … february 16th. the girls were off school all week. and i ended up with no daycare kids on monday … since the mom's had the holiday off. alyssa was at her dad's house, so sarah invited amanda and tawny over to play for the afternoon. they had so much fun. this was them after playing "scene it" … one of the girls favorite games.

day 48 … february 17th. you knew i was going to get this movie the day it came out, right? lol! anyone that knows me, knows how much i LOVE "high school musical" movies. and i thought it was funny when my neighbor called me about 9:00 that morning … asking if i had it yet. she was just as anxious to get it as i was. since i was going out, i picked it up for both of us. although, i realized that we never got the second movie. the girls tell me i don't need it … since we've seen it so many times. but it's a classic … we seriously HAVE to have these in our collection! photo credit goes to sarah.

day 49 … february 18th. my girls don't really play with this stuff anymore. polly pockets, bratz, myscene dolls … they just don't come out that often. but when they're off school and have more time … they do like to take them out and set up these little "worlds" all over the house. and they stay up for days on end. sarah's room is covered in bratz dolls right now … and it's been like that all week. alyssa had brought these magnetic polly pockets over from her dad's house … i think they had forgotten all about these little things. they're kind of funny … since you can stick them all together. they're making some sort of cheerleading pyramid here … and i think the one dude is in charge. lol!

day 50 … february 19th. i already showed this photo … and said a little about it. but i've been working on the girls school albums for the past few days. i've had these kits for over a year now … and am finally taking the time to put everything together. and it feels so good!

day 51 … february 20th. why is every photo i take of joe, one of him sitting on the couch?!?! lol! i was actually just grabbing my camera the other day to take upstairs for something … and figured i'd snap one of him before i went up. and he IS wearing one of his new hats. he always says that he has to have new hats for his teams before each season. and this past football season, i never let him get any. so after the steelers won the super bowl … i knew he would want the hats to go with the win. $70 later … he has 2 new hats.

day 52 … february 21st. sarah just saw this photo and asked why i took it. it's a photo of her pens on top of her desk. i had taken a clay flower pot … and spray painted it bright pink. and she keeps all her pens and pencils in there. i actually thought it was a pretty cool shot. took me about 12 tries to get what i wanted. lol!