Laura Vegas

got sarah’s invitations done for her birthday party. she has them all put in envelopes and ready to go. i made up 18 of these … anyone else gets an email invite. lol!

i made these using some premade making memories card packs that i got ages ago. i had a few pads of those along with matching envelopes. then i just pulled out scraps of ki memories pattern paper and then cut out some cardstock half circles. the "you’re invited" is one of those $1 stamps from michaels … and i used some crappy cheap ink … so i don’t know if they’re even dry yet (and it’s 9 hours later. lol!). then i used some american crafts plastic flowers and added some making memories brads in the centers. a few cards i had to use paper flowers on … because the white flower wasn’t showing up. then on the inside i just printed out the party info on white cardstock and adhered it down. super simple … but i think they’re super cute. love the bright colors … i even pulled out some of those color/paper combos and set aside for some future layouts.

in other news … i finally had to order some albums. seriously, i can’t find mini albums anywhere around here. so i placed a small order so i can replenish my stock. always nice to have some on hand since i tend to do a lot of 6×6 albums. so hopefully within the week my baby gifts will have a place to go. lol!

i have the next 3 days off … and i need to get busy on some scrap stuff. the invites were about all i did all weekend scrap related. i have some projects that i need to get started on. and some pictures to go through. and some pictures to print out. and layouts to put away. i am out one day though since i’m tagging along with sarah’s class on a field trip. but those other 2 days need to be super productive! wish me luck!

first up i wanted to share these 2 layouts. melissa frances was kind enough to send me some product to play with … and here’s what i came up with. first layout is ady and the second one is ariana. don’t you just love the glitter letters! i do love them … however my anal self wasn’t big on glitter everywhere. lol! i’ve got glitter stuff … just never use it because i’m worried about the mess. but i think these were worth it!

i’ve been super busy these last 29 hours … i’ve been going since my last daycare kid left on friday afternoon. i’m starting to lose a little of this "get up and go" energy … not really sure where it came from to begin with. lol!

• have been to beverly’s craft store 3 times in the last 3 days … how sad am i? lol! each time going for something i looked at and didn’t get the time before. picked up some new making memories pattern paper … which they’re actually sending me, but i wanted to go ahead and get so i can get a head start on a few things. everything i do starts with the paper. lol! also picked up some fake pears to stick in a basket that i’ve had empty on my kitchen counter … they were all 50% off … so for about $10 i filled my huge basket.
• i braved walmart … and not the one here in my town. and the one i went to was quite scary … i think a few times i actually feared for my life. lol! it was dirty, messy, and packed with the bad side of town. i was only there because it was close to the craft store … and that’s the only place i can find my cheap foot lotion. the foot lotion that i use about 4 times a day to slather all over my tired, achy feet … and then pull my comfy little socks over. and i needed the foot soak too … a few times a week i fill up a tub of hot water and soak my tired tootsies … and then do the lotion. ohhhhh … it feels so good. and the stuff is cheap … like $2.97 a tube. lol!
• jenn is going to love this one … i finally went to victoria secrets and bought a good bra. lol! i had gone with dina and deneen a few months ago … but got chicken and had no desire to shop for bras. i hate it! but i was in serious need of a good one … and jenn kept telling me to just go. they were on sale 40% off … although no white or black. what’s up with that? i love color … but not there. lol!
• took sarah to target today. needed a run for household stuff. detergents, sponges, storage bags, snack bags, sandwich bags (why do all the bags run out at the same time), shaving creame, toothbrushes, toothpaste, crackers, cereal, stuff, stuff, and more stuff. and sarah decided she just had to have a new purse … with the matching wallet. it’s cute … black with some fun teal and pink skulls on it. cutesy ones … not scary. lol! she’s got it all loaded up and has been carrying it with her all over the house.
• went to home depot to get a bracket for sarah’s closet. i wanted to move her closet rod back to the top since she can reach … we had it moved down low. sarah and i emptied everything out. i took the rod out … and the brackets and shelves that i had in there. i started to patch up the holes from the brackets since i was moving the shelves to the bottom of the closet and the rod to the top … and i noticed how dingy the walls looked. maybe it’s just that they’re white … our whole house is painted … so i think the white just looked strange. next thing you know i decided to paint the closet. i had a can of yellow paint that i’ve never used. so yellow it was. i was a little concerned that the yellow was too dark. but i think it’s the fact that sarah’s room is a green on the top and pink on the bottom. so the yellow looks a little wierd now. but my mom is going to paint over the pink with the green … so it’ll look better then. and yes … i could totally paint it myself … i just really hate painting. i’ve done my entire house … numerous times. but i detest doing it.
• then i had sarah do a quick clean through some of her drawers while i had the big trash bag up there. and i realized she had pens and pencils thrown all in her drawers. what happened to her pencil cup? who knows. so i told her i’d make her a new one. dug out my little cans of spray paint that one of the companies sent me years ago … and decided to go with hot pink. then i looked at some white wooden cd holder drawer thing that was on her dresser … decided to spray paint that too. did the drawers in hot pink … and found a can of yellow in the garage to paint the outside. it looks so cool. i think i’m also going to add some rubons or doodling on the sides … in black (which sarah seemed to think would be wierd).  i know all this may sound crazy … colors all over the place. but i have a plan.
• and in between all this … laundry, regular house cleaning and organizing. the one thing that’s missing is scrapping. lol! i have a few things i’m really excited to work on … and yet i have all the stuff sitting out and havn’t touched it. maybe it helps that i know i have 3 extra days off this week! lol!

all this because i’m working on changing sarah’s room. it’s actually going to be her birthday gift. i really want to have it all done while she’s at school. that would be so cool to have her come home and have a brand new room. but i realized that her birthday is on a wednesday … and it happens to be early release that day … so they get out of school at 12:15. so that won’t work. may have to do it tuesday … with the daycare girls being my helpers. lol! you can only imagine where that would get me. i’m hopeing my mom’s free!

so i ordered her a new bedding set … i love it. it came a few days ago. i also got the matching window stuff … even the curtains to go with the valance. the curtains i think will just complete the look. just to give you an idea of colors … either black or white background … and tons of colorful stripes and polka-dots. it’s so colorful and cute. and i even ordered some paper lanterns that i thought would be cute to hang up around the ceiling. they’re dirt cheap and super fun looking. i have no intention of putting lights in them … but you could if you wanted. now i’m just trying to come up with some other cute colorful things to add to her room. i have all sorts of things that i’m crafting from things i already have laying around.

so i guess that’s it for now. hopefully tomorrow i can work on some scrap stuff after me and sarah go to pick up alyssa at her dads. oh, almost forgot … need to do her birthday invitations too. i told her they’d be ready to pass out on monday. almost forgot!

that’s all i got for you tonight. i had this post all thought out in my head. but then i typed up a few emails … and not quite honestly i’m tired of typing. lol! so will do that tomorrow instead. goodbye!

havn’t done a randomness post lately, have i? here goes.

• now that all my shows are over i have nothing on tv to watch. i have, however … watched about 6 lifetime channel movies in the last week. lol! i have even taken to scouting on the quide trying to find good lifetime movies to record … and anytime i’m watching one and i see a commercial for one … i stop watching the one i’m on and go find the other one on the quide so that i don’t miss it.
• and last night i will admit to watching tori & dean’s "inn love" reality show. i’ve heard about it … after all, i live for my weekly gossip magazine. but i have never seen it. i stumbled across it last night. and i have to admit … i found it quite entertaining. i even found myself searching through the quide trying to find out when it was on next … the guide goes about 9 days ahead … but i couldn’t find it. i will though!
• i will also admit to you that last night i was really craving chocolate big time. and we had none. i’ve also been big on ice cream lately … french vanilla, lots of chocolate sauce, and a ton of nut topping (as in about 1/3 of a can). but we had no ice cream either. so i made myself  a small bowl (and i do mean very small) of nut topping … with chocolate sauce on top. is that gross?!?! actually about halfway through it kind of was.
• tonight i made up a baby mini album in about an hour. i was planning on making one for alyssa’s teacher (she’s having a baby if i wasn’t clear on that) … and time just got away from me. then alyssa informed me that this friday is her teachers last day (they still have about 3 weeks of school left … or is it 4 weeks?). they’re having a party in class tomorrow for her and i wanted to have something for her. it turned out cute though. although it was a little harder because she doesn’t know if it’s a boy or a girl … so it had to be good colors either way.
• i will admit that i have 3 more baby mini albums sitting here unfinished. i started them all about 2 weeks ago … and was doing so good. then i realized that i had no mini albums to put the pages in. for the longest time i had 6×6 albums coming out of my ears … and now, i have just a few … and of coarse they’re not the right colors. i even went last week and picked up an album for one of them … but realized after i got home that i got the wrong refills to go with it. so i have to make another trip before i can get it all together. and sadly … one of them is for a previous daycare parent of mine … and she had her baby over a month ago. how sad am i to be this late with a gift? lol! and i know erika is reading this … yes, one is coming your way soon … i promise! hate to ruin the surprise … but maybe having you know about it will get me motivated to finish. lol! i now risk you "outing" me on your blog for my terrible procrastination!
• also did 2 layouts today during naptime … love when i can get the kids to sleep at the same time. a few years ago i had about 6 kids here during the day … we’re talking little ones. 5 of them boys between the ages of 9 mths and 2.5 yrs. people actually bowed down to the fact that i could get them all to sleep within minutes of each other. ok … mabye no one bowed … but they were impressed. lol! anyways … these layouts were done for a manufacturer that sent me some product to play with. will take some pics and share when i can.
• it’s way too quiet around here these days. except for noisy kids. lol! i was watching a lifetime movie last night … "my name is sarah". it’s about this lonely women who accidently joins an AA group … and then stays for the company. i can’t tell you the whole story … i still have half the movie to watch. but i thought it was so funny that she would keep checking her answering machine and her email all day … and never had any messages. one time she got all excited because she had 3 new emails in her inbox … they all turned out to be junk. lol! you know … the viagra ones, the salespitch ones, etc. i had to laugh … because that’s me. i’m constantly checking my email … even though on most days … there’s nothing going on. lol! and my phone never seems to ring. and every time i call anyone … they’re not home. it’s no wonder i talk to myself all the time. lol! i’m seriously my own BFF.
• i’m taking 3 vacation days next week … whoohoo!!! i think i’ve only taken 1 day this year … and that was for the scrapbook expo back in february. actually i have 3 of my daycare girls that are going to be gone next week … so 2 of those days i wouldn’t have had anyone here anyways. lol! so i officially took the days off. i think i’m going with sarah on her field trip one day … although today she informed me that it was all day. as in over 6 hours. that may be too much fun for me. although it is the chocolate factory … and i think some cheese factory.
• i was so pissed at myself on monday night. we had a busy weekend … on the go way too much for a holiday weekend. so the girls were asleep and i was finally going to settle in for some tv time … i just don’t watch much tv on the weekend. i always grab my sleeping pill and some water before sitting down … everything on me tends to really tighten up at night, so it’s hard to get up more than i have to. i grabbed another pill that i was going to take right away. but before i realized it … i took the sleeping pill. lol! as soon as i swallowed it i thought … hey, that was a tiny pill … not the big monster one. i had taken my sleeping pill at only 10:00pm. i never go to bed before midnight. i was so pissed because i knew the rest of the night was going to be a blur. i kept thinking that i was going to just konk out any minute … i usually take that thing about 15 minutes before bed. i did manage to stay awake for an hour and a half though … not sure i remember it. lol!

is that enough randomness for you? just enough to convince you that i really am quite crazy?!?! lol! back in the next day or two with some pics … i hate posting without pics. thanks for stopping by.

don’t really feel like saying too much right now. what was supposed to be a relaxing weekend actually had me going non-stop … and now i’m super pooped. so i thought i’d share a few of the pictures i took of alyssa and sarah a while ago.

hope you all had a great weekend!

i know i promised these a few days ago … i love how i always promise to post things and never seem to follow through. lol! but i finished these 2 layouts this afternoon at naptime.

i just love this picture of alison … one of our good friends and one of my very first daycare kiddos over 5 years ago. this was one of my favorites from when i took some pics of her and her sister last december. i just love that sassy look in her eye … i think it’s the cutest thing. although i’m sure her mom sees this look quite a bit … and it’s probably not so cute! lol! i had fun with the embellishments on this. aren’t those new flowers from making memories the funest things? i love them … love the colors. i layered them along with the metal rims that are used with their tag maker … i like just using the rims without necessarily adding any paper or anything to them.

the story to the "hubba hubba" layout? i was digging through my lil davis stash looking for some stuff to use on a few more design team layouts for this month. i came across this older rubon (the entire title and definition is one rubon … pretty cool!) … and the first think i thought of were these picture of jeromy that i had taken last fall. jeromy’s little brother, sam, was one of my daycare kids for a few years … and i took some pictures of the two of them last november. sam is super cute too … but i just loved these pictures of jeromy … loved his smile and all the freckles sprinkled on his face. after getting the pics on there and the rubon … i actually read the definition. is it wierd that it says "eye candy" and "hottie" … and there’s a picture of a 7 year old boy?!?! lol! he’s well on his way to being those things though … and i’m positive his little brother will do the same. also an over-due congrats to their whole family … their mom just had a baby girl about a month ago! havn’t seen her yet … but i’m sure she’s as cute as her big brothers.

here’s a picture of the frame i made last friday. it’s not a great picture … should have taken a picture of it without the glass in it. but you get the idea, right? this whole idea came together so last minute last friday … and it was with the intent of a birthday gift for my dad. but after i got done … i didn’t think i could give it away. don’t you hate it when that happens?!?! so with about an hour to spare, i sent joe back to target for another frame … and i reprinted all the pictures and made an entire new frame. except the other one was a white frame … and i used browns, blues, and just a touch of light pink. i love the other one too … hard to pick which to keep and which to give to my dad. lol! i hung this in our little entry way by the front door. i also took a couple of the oak 12×12 frames that i have laying around and i found some black spray paint in the garage to paint them … to which i’m pretty sure my mom would freak that i spray painted super good quality oak frames. lol! i put some cork in them and hung them next to this frame with the pictures. looks good above the black storage shelf that my mom made me … has baskets in it for the girls to put their shoes and stuff. what would really complete that entry way is if i ever found a decent sized fake tree … not too big since theres not too much room there … but not to little either. someday.

that’s all i got for now. hoping to get a little creative this weekend. 3 day weekend. whoohoo! and we really don’t have much going on. which is nice … especially after being so busy last weekend. have a good one!

have to add this: sarah was sitting up here with me watching tv tonight … and she was super busy writing away on her clipboard. i didn’t even think to check on what she was doing. so she’s getting ready to go to bed … and i ask her what she was working so hard on. she hands me my copy of her "wish list" for her birthday which is coming up. i guess she wrote one out for everyone … each on a nice sheet of red cardstock. i sat there reading it … and then after a few minutes did a double take. i asked her where she got the cardstock. she said she got if from their paper stash. i told her that "no, you got it from my paper stash". she looked surprised and asked how would i know.

"because you used my good orangepeel textured ki bazzill cardstock!!!"

gotta keep your eyes on that girl at all times! lol! remind me to tell you about this morning when she tried to sneak $1000 worth of electronic games to school. i kid you not. i think the scariest part is that we own over $1000 worth of electronic gameing stuff (she was kind enough to leave most of alyssa’s stash in her room). lol!

just a few things i wanted to get down so i wouldn’t forget. i need to do this more often.

• "now i can’t pick my nose".  said by sarah after i cut her nails. her nail get super long and i keep telling her she needs to trim them. tonight i finally just told her to get me the nail clippers and i took care of it. she told me she needed them a certain length because she uses them for "stuff". which she mentioned after i was halfway done. lol!
• "you cannot do that kind of stuff". said by alyssa while we were watching american idol … and i decided i could beatbox (is that what it’s called?) like blake. i even got the moves going on. apparently this is embarrasing to her … even when it was just us and sarah. lol!
• "i can’t. it’s complicated". said by sarah after i asked her if she could sit still for a few minutes. she was sitting right up against me and bouncing all over. that girl never just chills.
• "will those kind of clothes still be in style when i’m your age"? asked by sarah in reference to my clothes … which she’s always asking if she can have when she gets older. i told her they probably wouldn’t be in style then … which made her actually shed a few tears. lol! it was quite dramatic.
• "you don’t even wear any of your stylish clothes". said by alyssa after she asked me why sarah would want my clothes … and i had said that it’s because i’m the most stylish person ever.  i’m not sure what in my closet she considers stylish … but apparently not whatever i’m picking out on most days. to which i told her that my polka-dot shirt today was "rockin". lol! and she totally rolled her eyes at me. i swear … that kid has my sarcastic wit.

all this humor within a 30-minute time frame. the girls were a little upset that i wouldn’t let them stay up and watch all of american idol and see who wins. but i did let them stay up for half of it. so i have no idea who won yet either. as for the first hour.

• were they seriously playing the "big bird" song from sesame street when that big, yellow lady came up to get her award? i thought about it when she was already up there … she totally reminded me of big bird. and since i didn’t watch anything until they got to the final 12 … i may have missed out on a inside joke if it’s already been discussed. lol!
• the monkey thing was spookily funny. i already forgot what the actual animal name simon used was. but that dude was pretty scary looking … actually i don’t think he’s man enough to call him a dude. but when they showed that picture of the monkey … i was rolling laughing. those eyes were crazy. lol!
• speaking of simon … love that guy. he cracks me up. i keep catching his little left-eye wink … which at first i thought looked wierd. but now i think it’s hilarious … i’m a big winker with the kids … but mine are more dramatic. lol!
• kelly clarkson was good. i think she’s an awesome singer. i loved her that first year and voted all the time. i can’t say i honestly have heard much of her new stuff. but her second album is incredible. i play that thing all the time.

and on a total sidenote. related to kids … and something i have to laugh at because i have no choice. but you know how babies just always smell so good … you just want to inhale them right in. i love that about adyson. sure, she has her not so sweet smelling days (sorry jen). but that kid smells so good it’s just crazy. i’m always grabbing her and whiffin her up. but as they get older … they’re not so great smelling. i have got 2 of the smelliest girls. it’s a strange mix of sweat, dirt, grime, and who knows what else … and it can be bad. nothing is as bad as alyssa’s soccer socks though … actually her socks, shinguards, and cleats. omg … they will seriously knock you off your feet. since we usually keep her soccer bag in the downstairs bedroom … it has a kindof soccer sweaty smell in there. you can actually walk in the room and immediately be overcome with a terrible, awful smell … it’s bad. lol!

just thought of one more funny thing … but this one was about joe. yesterday he got up pretty early in the afternoon … not sure why. so he had only slept about 5 hours. and then he umpired … but these are now much later games than he usually does. so by the time he got home and ate dinner it was pretty much time to go to work. he wanted to lay down for a bit first … but i told him that it wasn’t worth if because then i can’t get him to get up. so he showered and got ready. but he was still complaining about being tired. so i told him to "man up". lol! i think i heard that on a lifetime movie i was watching earlier that day. so this morning he tells me that some dude at work was complaining about something … and some other guy told him to "man up". joe said he was laughing and told this guy that i had told him that same thing that night. lol! and another thing. anytime joe is talking about anyone from work … let’s say it’s some guy named mike (i usually just insert any name i hear him talking about) … i say "mike’s an idiot". lol! in a very serious way. it’s pretty funny when i say it. maybe you have to be there?!?! lol!

ok … next post will be a little more pleasant. lol! i still have to share that frame i made. and i have 2 layouts that are almost done that i want to share. just to give you an idea where i’m headed … i have one layout called "sassy" and one called "hubba hubba". lol!

here’s what’s on my mind at this moment:

• sarah’s got this thing lately at bedtime … basically trying to prolong actually going to bed. keeps coming out with a question … something hurts … she forgot to mention something. and i snap at her that it’s bedtime and give her that evil look i’m pretty sure i’m famous for. then she says … "you’re the best mom ever" in her sweet voice. lol! i say "thank you sarah" … and then snap at her once again that it’s bedtime.
• what is it with motorcyles and music? they go roarin by here with their super loud engines … and the radio blaring. i mean … can they even hear it when they’re riding? i have this one dude going by all day long. annoying when i have my windows open too.
• and the wind around here … it’s gotta stop. yes, we have temps in the upper 80’s … i think today it was suppose to be in the low 90’s. but the wind is crazy these past few weeks. like some serious, strong wind that can knock you over. and totally ruins any hairstyle you possibly had going on. even worst when you’re wearing fake hair! lol! never know what’s flipping up the wrong way or coming loose.
• i’m seriously bored lately. just not excited about anything. just the same old stuff day in and day out. let me first say that i love these daycare kids … i truely do. but sometimes i get really tired of doing my job. it’s just so boring sometimes. picking up the same toys … changing the same diapers (well, not the same diapers … but the same tushies) … fixing the same meals and cleaning the same plates … filling the same sippy cups and making the same bottles. all while being stuck in the same house … day after day. that’s all i’m saying! lol!
• i say "seriously" a lot lately … and "awesome" too.
• why is it that my kids can’t sit still long enough and be quiet long enough to actually get to watch even one song on "american idol"? as soon as someone gets up to sing … sarah’s yapping and jumping all over the place. and alyssa is being sassy with some comment towards her. can i not actually listen and hear how they did? and what is it with everyone always "booing" anything simon says? they may not like it … but he knows what he’s talking about. i agree with his critiques about 90% of the time. i wasn’t actually into this seaon too much … but i’m rooting for jordan.
• why is it i watch rachael ray’s 30-minutes meals almost daily … and then can’t remember what to do with the chicken? lol! i know i’ve seen her do some fun things … but i can’t for the life of me remember what. although whatever i threw on the chicken tonight was crazy good … bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, grill seasoning, poultry seasoning, sweet paprika, vegtable oil. as rachael would say … "yummo"! and i seasoned up some tator tots. i thought it was so funny on one of her shows and she mentioned that tator tots were pure genious … and that she was tired of "food snobs" saying that they were no good. i had never thought to season them though. threw on some garlic salt and some grill seasoning … they were awesome! the girls got worried when i said i seasoned them … but they loved them.

that’s it for now. man … was i in a griping mood or what! lol!

i don’t think we could have done more this weekend if we tried. lol! first this picture just to grab your attention and make you want to read through to see what it’s about!

let’s start with friday. girls had school. i just had one daycare kid for half the day. i got some last minute idea for a birthday gift for my dad … ended up making 2 entire framed pieces because i liked the first one so much i didn’t want to give it away (it’s already hanging up by the front door … will share a picture tomorrow). a few hours after school got out … we headed back over for the carnival they have every year towards the end of school. spend a few hours there playing games, eating snowcones and cotton candy, and chatting with friends. then headed straight over to my parents house to have a little get together for my dad’s birthday. hung out there, had ice cream sundaes, and gave my dad his presents. headed home to fill alyssa up with allergy meds after the dog got to here too much. lol!

saturday we started bright and early. the girls had a 3 hour choir rehearsal at the church for their performance. alyssa missed most of it because she had a soccer game though. but my mom took sarah to choir … had to be there at 9am. alyssa had to be at the soccer field by 9am … an hour before the game (what happened to being there just 30 minutes early!?!?). she had a good game … played all but 5 minutes of the game … nice to see that. then i rushed her over to choir and she made the last 30 minutes (got there just in time for her solo). came home and had lunch and did some laundry. alyssa worked on her book report that’s due this week. we also missed closing ceremonies for softball in the morning … it was right in the middle of choir and soccer … so we skipped that. which was ok … because we had sarah’s pizza party for her team saturday night. the girls were having so much fun signing the back of each others shirts with markers. i even had one of the younger girls ask me to sign her shirt (she was sitting next to me for some reason and became my new BFF). i asked her if she knew who i was … and she said "no". lol! so i just signed "great job" and left my name off. lol! so after almost 3 hours of pizza, trophies, awards, cake, games … we headed home to veg for a bit before bed.

edited to add: i forgot to mention that joe was gone all day at a golf tournament. lol! he left just as early as we did in the morning … and didn’t get back home until about 6pm.

sunday … the girls had to be at the church at 8am for choir. that’s way too early if you ask me. lol! luckily my dad took them and watched them perform in the first service. these kids put on a great performance … and they do it for all 3 services, right in a row. my mom and i came for the second and third service. the girls did great. that picture up top is what they had to wear. all the kids had those tie-dye shirts … and then they all got those glasses. cute! they just love to sing and dance. all the songs have movements … little dances they all do while singing. there’s about 80 or 90 kids up there … so cute to watch. alyssa had a solo again this year … she did great and sang loud enough. and i was really surprised to see sarah so into it. she’s usually so quiet and bashful when up on stage … but she was having a blast and dancing away. guess it helped that she got to stand by a friend she knows from school. lol! so after 4 hours of performances … we got home. alyssa went straight to work on her book report and got it all finished up. i took an hour long nap. lol! then the girls went to my mom’s for a bit to swim. i came home and did some house cleaning and made dinner. after dinner i was so tired … but had some bright idea about doing some yardwork. remember those plants that the landscaper dudes hacked up last year in the front of my house? i actually have those same plants all around the front of the house (we’re on a corner, so it’s more like 8 of them spread out). they’re getting pretty big … and i was scared that the dudes would come this week and hack them up into little box shapes. so i wanted to get to them first. lol! i spent an hour outside trimming them.

on the bright side … we’re officially done with softball. and choir. and awana. yeah baby!!! all we have going on right now is alyssa’s soccer practice twice a week (2 hours each) … but she has the next 2 weeks off of games. and joe is only umpiring about once a week right now. it’ll be so nice to have some of our nights free for once!

and i leave you with this picture of alyssa. is this a normal picture? most certainly not. lol! this my friends … is a picture taken inside the house … with no flash at all! i know, i know … for most people, probably not a big deal. but i’ve always had problems with pictures in the house. i can just never figure it out. i mentioned a while ago that i think it’s because i don’t have any windows on the good side of the house. with the exception of the 2 small windows in the bathroom showers … i have just this one window … in the stairway by the window seat. this is where i always take pictures of my layouts now days … and i never use a flash on those. so i stuck alyssa there and took just 1 picture to try it. and it worked. lol! i’m definately going to have to try some more pictures on the stairs this week. except i have to get alyssa out of that ratty tanktop that she insists on wearing 24/7!!! lol!

hope you all had a great weekend … hopefully a little more relaxing than mine!