Laura Vegas

i did one more page today for my christmas journal … still have a few left that i hope to get to in the next few days to finish it up. and i had another page from last week that i missed posting. unfortunatley … i missed the good sun by minutes. so these are a little blurry … will retake them tomorrow. and btw … i added an album on the sidebar that has all my journal pages in it together.

day #26 … to journal about the "day after" christmas and what goes on. the day after around here is all about the clean-up and putting away process. i spent all day this year sorting, unpackaging, and putting away stuff. but i have to do it right away … can’t stand to wait and let it all sit around. plus … having little ones around makes it more necessary to get things done. we’re all for sharing around here … but not the super new stuff. lol! haley was here last week that day … and she would grab stuff that i was trying to clean up … and then take off. i think the chapsticks were her favorite. lol! everything on here is making memories.

day #18 i think … to journal about the christmas menu … what you’re eating on the big day. this is our menu from our saturday get-together with joe’s family and friends. that was a good meal! lol! christmas day was at my parents house … a lot of the same good foods. i photographed this page 4 seperate times … lighting issues, and then the red foil circles were showing up super dark … finally realized i had to get it at an angle to get the red to show. heidi swapp chipboard letters … and everything else is making memories.

and i was printing off some of my daily prompts the other day … and realized that for once i was ahead of the game. day #29 was to make a title page for our album. and i did that last week … yay me!

also wanted to share the mini-albums i made for the grandma’s this christmas. these were super simple … 4×4 KI memories felt albums. they each have 20 pages … so that’s 40 back to back. i simply cut my photos down to 4×4 and then added in 4×4 pieces of pattern paper. super simple embellishments and some ribbon. these are not great photos … i took these really quick on christmas morning after i finished them … and before handing them out. lol! and i just took a few of the inside pages … you’ll get what i was doing though.

just spend a relaxing day around the house today. joe was sleeping since he worked last night. the girls were actually playing together super nicely … they have polly pockets and lil pet shop stuff everywhere. and i actually scrapped … some actual, regular layouts. i think the last layout i did was about 2 months ago. lol! but i got 3 done today. i’m holding off on sharing them since i’m submitting the for a call … even though i’m dying to share one of them. the photo collage on it took me FOREVER … but so worth it in the end! i’m also working on getting all my photos caught up some … i have tons of misc photos that need to get stored on my external harddrive … just ones that never made it to the right folder and got overlooked. so off to finish up that!

i feel like i should do some reflective post tonight … looking back over the past year and everything that has happened. but i’m not really like that. lol! i will take a few moments to sum it all up … for journaling sakes.

• family. been a good year for the family. girls are growing up so fast. sarah turned 8 … finished 2nd grade and is halfway through 3rd grade. alyssa turned 11 … finished up 5th grade and is halfway through 6th grade. both girls had an excellent soccer year. their 5th year playing soccer … fun to see them grow as players. alyssa did year-round soccer this year … while sarah took another try at softball. both have done great at awana’s at the church … participating in a few choir programs also. joe’s doing good. still working hard at safeway … doing the night shift. stepped down from night crew manager a while back … but has taken over more responsibilities with ordering and displays. umpired another year for high school baseball … getting ready to start up again soon. golfing whenever he can … with tournaments every month.
• work. work is good. we’ve seen 5 new kids this year come to our daycare. we’ve been able to see 3 seperate babies growing up right before us … sharing in their little lives. we did have a few kids leave us … and we miss them. had some changes this year that we’re still trying to figure out … but will probably never understand. but overall … a good year. crazy year though … in a "tons of kids running all over the place and driving me crazy" kind of way. lol! but it’s all good … love them all!
• health. this one is a tough one. still hard dealing with having a "chronic pain disease" that i know will never go away … and will probably get worse. and yet … i am so thankful that for the moment i’m getting by. i go through my days and do all the things that i’ve always done. i may be in pain … but i can do them. i think in a lot of ways … i’ve mentally accepted that the pain is a normal part of my life now. so i deal with it. and while it’s not great … i’m glad it’s not worse for the time being.
• friends. i am so thankful for all my friends. the ones in my everyday world … and all the friends i’ve made online. unfortunately i have had a few friendships change recently … maybe for good. but through the bad times … i have found that my true friends have been there for me and supported me. i appreciate them more than they know.
• photography. wow, has my photography seen quite a year. not to sound full of myself at all … lol! but such a difference between the photos i took at the first part of the year … and what i take now. i still have tons to learn … and sadly, i am not that good about getting in there and getting serious about learning. but i have learned some valuable tips and skills … and i do believe it shows. i’m grateful for all the mini "photo-shoots" i have had this year. love to be able to practice on my friends and family. so glad they let me shove my camera in their face time and time again.
• scrapbooking. been such a great year. i feel like i came into my style so much this past year. i owe a ton to my mentor … she took the time to give me some advice and help … and inspired me to start printing my own photos. may not seem like a big deal … but it has changed the way i scrapbook. i have had some amazing opportunites this past year … and i am so thankful for every single one of them. and i love that the opportunities have been so diverse … love being able to work on so many different kinds of projects and seeing how they all work. while it’s hard to keep quiet sometimes about stuff that is going on … i am so thrilled that i have "stuff" to keep quiet about! lol!
• blogging. i blogged a lot this year. just last week i decided to start my "blog book" … and i uploaded all my posts from 2007. i knew it was a lot … but it turned into 440 pages worth! love to go back and read all my old posts … to see what was going on back then. i have made so many great friends through my blog … i appreciate every single comment that is left here … and i love finding new blogs to read through those comments. and while i’ve been told that i blog about things i shouldn’t be blogging about sometimes … i wouldn’t change any of it. this is my journal … and i like to keep it open and honest … i don’t want to pretend the bad moments don’t happen. besides … the good stuff far outweighs the bad stuff.
• cooking. how can i leave this one out? lol! it was a year ago that i got my rachael ray "30-minute meals" cookbook. it has changed the way i cook. seriously. i hated to cook before. and while i’m still not always thrilled to do it … i have realized that it really doesn’t take that long to cook up something good. it doesn’t have to be hard or time-consuming.

i think that sums up things pretty good, don’t you think? i’m sure i’m forgetting something … but i can’t think of it right now. no big plans tonight. joe is working as usual … he’ll be at the store to ring in the new year. just the girls and me here. i’m not sure if they want to stay up until midnight. they’re realizing that they have to get back on schedule for school … they go back on wednesday after being off for almost 6 weeks. we’ve been sleeping in a lot more lately … so we need to get back to our routine. alyssa keeps telling me that "i don’t want to stay up until midnight" … and i had to explain that she doesn’t have to … it’s not a rule or anything. lol!

so … here’s to 2007. and like sarah said today "goodbye 2007 … bring it on 2008!!!".

figured i’d better update this blog … before all my loyal readers stop coming by to check on me. lol! i feel like i lost track of everything these past few days. no real reason really … not super busy or anything. don’t know what i’ve been doing really.

• christmas was good. the girls got some fun stuff … but not too much, luckily. lots of clothes, new little camcorders, they’re very own laptop to share, tons of games, new shoes, etc. no dolls whatsoever … nice to not have to unpackage bratz dolls and polly pockets for once. lol! everything is put away … and has a home. joe got some cologne, a new wallet, and some clothes. i got some cooking stuff, slippers, the last season of "gilmore girls", and a fun little scrapbook kit.
• took down all the christmas decorations today. still have the lights on the house to take down … joe will get those on his day off. i usually wait until new years to take down the tree. but yesterday while i was watching the daycare kids … i started on it. figured i might as well get started … that way i wouldn’t have to use all my time off for it. i do miss the lights in the house though. now the fireplace mantle and the table by the front door just look boring. lol!
• the girls both got gift cards to build-a-bear … so i took them and amanda there on thursday. alyssa decided that she had enough bears … so she just picked out some outfits for them. the cutest soccer outfit, a karate outfit, and the most adorable little sweatsuit … along with a "high school musical" shirt and a "hannah montana" shirt. sarah got a new bear … and a couple of outfits. a fancy dress,  and a sassy pink and black sparkly outfit. amanda got a new bear too … and a fun "it’s about ME" outfit. and it all took us only 2 hours to pick out! lol!
• i havn’t touched my christmas journal since those last 7 pages i did. i know that honestly i won’t finish them all … so i decided to go through and pick out about 8 more that i really want to include … and then get those done. i have 16 pages done … so that will be a good sized album. and being that christmas is over … i’m not sure how much longer i can keep scrapping it. i did find some more of the pattern papers and stuff this weekend … hated the idea of running out right at the end.
• also finished a baby album for my cousin’s wife to give to her friend. did that make sense? lol! she had photos collected for the baby’s first year … and wanted them in an album. i have to admit … i have a hard time scrapping other people’s stuff sometimes. so i kept it really simple. in fact … joe saw it and asked if i was really done with it. lol! i started to second-guess myself there for a minute … and then realized that most people (meaning "non-scrappers") would consider my take on "simple" amazing. lol!
• had a fairly easy work week. this was the first year i took christmas eve off work. so i really only had 3 days this week. we were missing nikolas and ariana this week … since they were both home all week … they’re moms had the week off. and matthew was gone all week. we just had haley and amanda … nice and quiet.
• i got my books from shutterfly this weekend … the digital books i had won last month. love them!!! there was actually a mix-up with the kind of book i had actually won … i never did find which book it was supposed to be in fact. but since i had my books already designed … they were super nice about switching out my codes and getting my order in. i will have to show you some pics of it. i’m not a digital person … but i just love the way this book turned out!
• i have some assignments and projects i need to work on. i can’t even remember the last time i scrapped an actual layout … one with photos. lol! i have some in mind though … and some i need to think about. so i hope to find some time for that this weekend.
• this afternoon i went out to meet alyssa and her dad to pick her up. while i was gone i guess i had a visitor. trace … one of my daycare kids that left a year ago … came by to see me. joe said it was the funniest thing … as soon as he opened the door he just walked right in and strutted over to the family room like he owned the joint. i can totally picture him … the funny way he used to walk around. lol! and i love that … that a kid can be gone for over a year … and walks in like he never even left. that means the world to me … to know that they still remember me and remember being here. so sorry i missed him!
• speaking of missing little ones … miss adyson had a birthday yesterday. little girlie is 2 yrs old! even though i havn’t been able to see her in over 2 months … i hope she knows that i’m wishing her a very special birthday. and that we all miss her like crazy!

guess that’s it for now. just wanted to do a quick update. hope all is good with everyone!

too tired from my "unpacking, sorting, and putting away" activities today to talk much … so i’ll just share some more of my journal pages with you. i did update the last 4 pages with better photos. i ended up doing my title page and 7 more pages all from start to finish on monday … not too bad, right?

this is my title page for the journal. this is one big chipboard word! keep in mind these are all 8×8 pages … so this awesome "joy" word from making memories was a perfect fit … plus, i adhered it using pop-dots so it’s extra bulky! and i love the little sticker on the bottom that says "created by the head elf"! lol! making memories flocked paper, rubons, chipboard word, ribbon, metal tree … 7 gypsies sticker … circle sticker from the CK card kit.

day #9 … to journal about some of your family traditions. i really couldn’t think of many … is that bad? need to make more traditions next year! making memories pattern paper, ribbon, stickers, line art stickers, chipboard accent, glitter brad … 7 gypsies sticker … heidi swapp chipboard letters.

day #13 … to journal about gifts … how they get from under the tree to the person they’re meant for. and tell me we’re not the only family that uses a laundry basket in the center of all the craziness to catch all the wrapping paper? lol! making memories pattern paper, stickers, line art stickers, chipboard accents, ribbon, chipboard letters … and one little 7 gypsies sticker at the bottom.

i have one more … but apparently i forgot to get a picture of it. i don’t think it really matters … but i’m trying to keep this all in order. but since i’m not working in order i keep getting confused. lol! i pull pages out and then add them back in … double checking over and over to see if i got them in the right order. maybe numbering them would have helped. lol! the other one i had done was the "menu" page … what we all ate on the big day. so i’ll add that in the next time!

as of today … i’m 10 days behind. and i believe we still have 10 to go if i’m counting right. it’s actually through the first week in january. my album is already super thick … so hoping i can fit in 20 more pages. and i’m beginning to worry that i may not have enough pattern paper to finish … really trying to use all my scraps. i may have to track down a few more sheets to finish!

i know it’s just about over … but wanted to wish everyone a "merry christmas" from my family to yours!

the girls are back, celebrations are done, presents are opened. i have about a zillion gifts spread out all over the house … it looks like christmas went and sneezed all over the place! and i have daycare  kiddos coming bright and early tomorrow. so i’m thinking i should go and clean it all and get it out of their sight.

so more to come later. and i also have 4 more christmas journal pages to share! hope everyone had an excellent holiday!

wow … 2 posts in one day. shows you what i can get done when spending a holiday by myself. lol! so today is the 24th … and i’ve done 9 pages … which means i was now 15 days behind in my christmas journal. lol! you should see my desk right now … covered with pages in the works. i have 4 that are totally done and wanted to share them … but bare with me because by the time i got them journaled i had lost my good lighting for taking pics! i will re-take them hopefully wednesday and then replace them here … these are so blurry and bad.

edited to add: new pictures added … not quite so blurry as before. lol!

day #15 … to journal about who you visit or who visits you on the holiday. most of our years are the same … same people, same relatives, same places. so this basically sums up our schedule. super simple … in fact, i feel like i need to add something. making memories pattern paper and chipboard stickers … heidi swapp plastic letters.

day #17 … to journal about a gift that you had got for someone … one of those "i saw this and totally thought of you" type gifts. doesn’t happen often for me to be honest. lol! i decided to do one of the gifts i got for sarah. first time i saw these "webkinz" i thought they’d be perfect for her. although to be totally honest … i just went and got her 2 of these this morning. lol! making memories pattern paper, tags, metal snowflakes, brads … heidi swapp chipboard letters … and autumn leaves rubons.

day #22 … to journal our "to-do" list. i know, i know … my list doesn’t look that long, right? lol! i just couldn’t think of anything … although i’m sure there is more that i’m just too scattered to keep track of. making memories pattern paper, ribbon, line art stickers … heidi swapp chipboard letters … and buttons from my stash.

day #23 … to journal about our stockings. our stockings are old … and i don’t love them at all. is that bad? i want new stockings every year … just never look for any. i did see some on clearance last night at michaels … but didn’t get them. maybe i should have … they were simple and the perfect color. oh well. we never hang up our stockings until christmas eve … so they’re really only up there for one night. just too hard with the little kiddos running around … they would totally yank them down anyways. making memories pattern paper, trim, snowflake stickers, ribbon … heidi swapp plastic letters … 7 gypsies stickers … and daisy d’s tag.

hopeing to get a few more pages done tonight. would be fun to bring this album tomorrow and show the family. i never did do the album cover. i used a 8×8 album i had laying around … it’s super thick and can hold a ton of pages. i was thinking that i’ll add in all the cards we got this year … and maybe even do a few layouts with the pictures we take tomorrow. would be fun to have the entire christmas in one super thick album!

so, it’s christmas eve. i remember posting last christmas eve … and it’s pretty much the same this year. feels like just another day. kind of drab … kind of sad. except last year alyssa was at her dad’s celebrating … and this year both the girls are there. joe’s sleeping just like last year … because he worked last night, just like last year. i’m doing laundry and some cleaning up … just like last year. still have some "lifetime" christmas movies recorded … just like last year. lol!

just not the same here without the girls. but i know they’re having a great day. sarah went with alyssa … i know she has lots of presents under their tree, so she’s going to be loving it! i will miss them tonight though. noone here to hang up the stockings … put out milk and cookies for santa … and just enjoy the excitement that is "christmas eve". and then christmas morning … no one to wake me up wanting to rush to open gifts and see what came in their stockings. i’m sure they’ll be back around 10am or so … but not the same.

thanks for all your good-luck wishes for my dinner on saturday. it all went good. i was crazy in the kitchen for hours on end. don’t get me wrong … people did offer to help. but i didn’t want anyone helping with anything … mainly because i just had sooooooo much going on at once. i was in my "cooking zone" and didn’t want anyone breaking my concentration or i’d lose track of what i was doing. lol! everything turned out … and tasted pretty good. the turkey breasts worked great … although i cooked up 5 of them (forgot joe’s brother was bringing ham) and we only needed 3 … so lots of leftovers.

i did something good today. and i’m not sharing this because i want a pat on the back … or because i want you to think i’m this giving person, or because i want recognition. i’m just feeling good because for once i thought about doing something for someone … and i actually did it. i’m the kind of person that thinks of doing things for people all the time … but then i forget or get busy or sidetracked … and never do anything in the end. like when i go through the drive-thru at starbucks and think "wouldn’t it be nice to pay for the person behind me" … but then i chicken out, or worry that it will be the car that had like 5 drinks ordered. lol! and i’m very self-concious … so i always think about doing things … and then worry about what people will think or say about me (even though i’m thinking of doing good things … just never know). 

so this morning i ran out for a few very last minute things … and i passed a few homeless people up by the grocery store. i always feel bad just driving by … feeling like i should offer them some help … but not sure what they could really use. as i drove by today … i thought about all the extra food i have in my fridge. tons of leftovers from our dinner … a lot of which we probably won’t eat. as i was driving from place to place … i kept thinking i should put some together and pass them out. when i got home … i didn’t even take time to think about it. i didn’t say a word (as some of you know, i talk to myself all the time about everything!). i just took everything out of my fridge and started heating things up. i made up 2 big containers with the works … turkey, potatoes, stuffing, green beans. added some little things of cranberry sauce and dips … with baggies of crackers, olives, nuts, and cookies. added a bottle of sparkling cider and forks and napkins. without giving myself time to think … i packed up 2 big bags and got in the car. pulled right up in the parking lot at the grocery store and found 2 people that looked like they needed a good meal. they looked so appreciative and thankful. 

and it felt so good. i feel proud of myself … for finally following through and doing something for someone that needed it. even though today feels lonely and drab … i have so much to be grateful for. even though i don’t have my whole family with me today … i have a family. i have people to spend tomorrow with. i’m glad i had the chance today to take a few moments and remind myself all that i have to appreciate. 

hope you all have a very merry christmas! enjoy your families and your time with them! 

i think i’m ready. but i’m probably not. lol! joe’s family and some of his friends from "back in the day" are coming tomorrow for a christmas dinner. we have 20 people total. and i’m cooking! i do have a few things being brought … a veggie tray, rolls, green bean salad, spanish rice (joe’s family always has this) and a couple of pies. but the rest is all me.

so i’m cooking up boneless turkey breasts. joe got the meat guy to de-bone them all for me … i have 6 good sized ones in the fridge. pretty inexpensive really … so i figured we’d better be safe than sorry and get extra. i’m also doing mashes potatoes … and a gratin potatoe mix with all sorts of different varieties of potatoes. some stuffing … i don’t like stuffing … but others do i guess. lol! got some canned cranberry sauce that i’m going to spruce up with some good stuff. a spread-dip thing with little breadsticks and toasts. i just made some sugar cookies and have a 4-layer dessert that is in the works.

so you’d think i would be ready. but i havn’t thought about the time frame that all of this is going to happen in. lol! have to figure out how i’m going to do it … when i’m going to do it … and how to keep it all warm … and not have dirty dishes everywhere. the only thing out of a can is the cranberry sauce and the olives … everything else is completly fresh. so that seems to involve some chopping and mixing.

and i still have something for joe’s mom to finish. can’t tell … because all the grandma’s get one (we have 3) … and one of those grandma’s reads this blog. lol! i know, i know … it’s after 9:00pm … and i still have to finish them!

but on the bright side … the entire house is clean and picked up. all the "big" baby stuff is out in the garage … the bouncer, the exercauser, the jumper, the booster seat … and all the larger toys like the dollhouse and shopping cart. the kids table and chairs from the playroom are in the garage. we have the large tables set up and chairs borrowed from my parents. bathrooms are clean. floors are clean. laundry is done and put away. everything is dusted. all evidence of "clutter" is hidden away in drawers.

this post read like a "mental checklist", didn’t it?!?! lol! guess it’s my way of running through everything … trying to figure out what i forgot! well … wish me luck! and hope you all have a great holiday weekend.

so a few of you asked for some christmas decor photos. i don’t have much, really. i tried to take some pics both yesterday and today … and i wasn’t very good at it. lol! but here’s a few for you.

our tree. i did good on the garland this year. every year for the last 3 years i have put on this wooden button garland … and every year i would have to go buy just one more strand because i would run short. but this year i got it on my first try. simple ball ornaments. and a few clear ones that i stuck some buttons and beads in. and a few i put coffee beans in … love the smell!

the fireplace … i know, self-explanitory! i still need to hang up the mirror … way too small for that spot … but it was only $10 so i couldn’t resist. the red christmas trees are super glittery … got them at walmart. my super cheap glass vases (like $3) filled with some more ball ornaments. notice there are no stockings hung up? that’s because they little ones would yank them right down … so we never put them up until christmas eve.

i do love this picture. this is by the front door. i was going to split these ornaments into 2 vases … but they only had 1 left. and the advent calendar in the background is from making memories … found it at target. everything was there … just had to put it together. although there is nothing in the boxes. lol!

this is by the front door. love the black shelf that my mom made me … the bottom 2 shelves hold baskets that the girls keep their shoes in. the top shelves are empty … usually there’s junk shoved in there (cleared it out for the pic). the frames i had spray painted black and added some cork inside. i never hang anything up there though. lol! i did find the chipboard "love" and stuck it there … trying to figure out what color to paint it still. ignore the fact that i have 2 "love" things up there. lol! the glitter "peace" i found at kohl’s for like 70% off.

and this is a terrible picture … but still funny. i was trying to get a picture of the super huge frames i put in the playroom … and the girls thought it would be cute to get in on the fun. these frames are 18×24 … love how big they are. i think one i get around to putting up some valences on the windows it will look even better. this is the playroom … which is where you would normally find a living room/dining room. the wall to the right of this is where i have all the daycare kids pictures. i have 16 frames up … all 8×10 … all of kids that are here with us or have been in the past.

that’s about it. sums it up pretty good. lol! going to cut this short … because i have about 17 zillion things to get done right now. have a good one! 

finally got to creating a few more pages for my "journal my christmas" class. did these 3 yesterday.

this was day #11 … to journal about your christmas tree. this year i actually used new ornaments. i had bought about 6 boxes of the glass balls … something we never have had. i got jewel-toned reds, greens, and pink. i put them on the tree … and then had every intention of adding in some of my more crafty-styled ornaments from the past years. but they never made it on … i like the tree simple like it is. this is making memories pattern paper, ribbon, line-art stickers, chipboard accent … rusty pickle tree sticker … and brads left from the christmas card kit.

day #14 … to journal about christmas music. i’m all about the more up-beat christmas songs. i have a small collection of christmas cd’s from over the years … but the ones i pull out the most are amy grant and harry connick jr. but this year i’ve been more into the disney stars music … i’m a sucker for their stuff (as i’m sure you’re all aware by now. lol!). making memories pattern paper and ribbon … rusty pickle sticker … and super old buttons from ek success.

and day #16 … to journal about a few things that you are thankful for this holiday season. just a few things i randomly jotted down. making memories pattern paper, trim, chipboard letters and accent, glitter stickers … and brads from the card kit again.

off to try and wake up a little. i had one of my kiddos show up this morning that i didn’t know was coming. lol! actually, it’s her normal day … but she had been away for the weekend and there was a mixup on what day she was coming back. i thought it was tomorrow … apparently it was today. yeah, i was totally asleep … and get a phone call that they’re waiting outside my door. lol! for some reason … this has really thrown me off today … i just can’t get going. but since i have 7 kids here … guess i better wake up!