Laura Vegas

wanted to give you a little something to look at while we wait for the entries to go up for the mm idol contest.

did this layout this morning while ady was taking a nap. i still needed one more layout for my lil davis dt this month. my other ones i’ve done i just havn’t been thrilled with … i think it was the colors. they all just seemed so dark to me. and i need bright colors. and even though i ended up with quite a bit of black on here … love the bright pink and the green dots. also have to say once more i love the 9×9 size. i’m still doing 12×12 … but the smaller size is so much fun to work with. floral pattern paper is autumn leaves. green dot pattern paper, chipboard letters and scroll (which i painted with black paint), and ribbon is all lil davis. tag is making memories, rubon letters are doodlebug, and clips are from the office supply store. 

and i love seeing up-close detail shots … so i’ll share a few of those too. always fun to see the layers and dimension.

i guess they’re experiencing some computer problems over at the mm idol site. heck … i know all about that! although maybe my problems are more with the computer user and not so much the computer itself. lol!

so the entries should be up soon and then the voting can begin. i’ll post my layout as soon as they go up!

i get these random disney channel songs stuck in my head all the time. this one is from the "jonas brothers" … it’s called the "year 3000".

"i’ve been to the year 3000. not much has changed but they lived underwater. and your great, great, great grand-daughter … is doing fine. dooooing fine."

i’m totally not sure what any of that means. but it’s a very catchy tune! lol! i’m such a sucker for all those disney channel soundtracks. i even listen to them when the girls aren’t here. and i do know the words to just about every song.

come back tomorrow morning to see my layout for the mm idol contest!

i’m done. i’m finally done with my layout for the mm idol contest. i literally spent all day on it. it was the pictures that took me forever. this is one picture from it … will make more sense once i post the whole layout. there are actually 16 photos on the page! a record i think. i have to take some pictures of it in the morning and get it all uploaded to the site. then voting starts on monday. i’ll post it first thing monday and give you a gentle reminder to go vote! lol!

in other news … friday really tested me. the day was going good. pretty quiet. ady was here and taking a nap. joe went golfing. the girls were at school. and i was working on my layout. then things started to do all over the place. seriously … within just two and a half hours time:

1. jenn came to pick up ady and hung out for a few minutes until it was time to get the girls from school
2. ruth, my neighbor, came by and needed me to make a few copies of some papers for her
3. alyssa’s dad got here to pick her up
4. joe got home from golfing
5. alyssa’s dad ended up walking over to the school to get all the girls
6. dina called to see what was going on
7. girls got back from school and dropped stuff everywhere
8. a lady from the state showed up to do a surprise inspection for the daycare. they don’t have to let you know they’re coming. and granted i havn’t had one since i started 5 years ago. but i was totally unprepared. luckily i passed!
9. amanda got picked up
10. alyssa went with her dad to his house for the night
11. i had 2 families come by to see me about daycare. i had already met with the moms and kids … but they brought their husbands to meet me … and to meet joe.

seriously … in only two and a half hours! i was so exhausted by the time this was all done. we then left to go over to jenns for dinner. they cooked us some awesome tri-tip and potatoes. we got to see ady take about 8 steps … she’s only done about 3 or 4 when she’s here. that girl will be chasing me around the house any day now! lol!

off to go relax with the girls for a bit before they have to go to bed. then i need to watch a few shows. not sure how i’m getting so far behind!

guess who tried to take some pictures of herself today?

i’m not one to ever get my picture taken. but i wanted a few for my layout i’m working on for the MM idol contest. i took out the remote i had bought when i got my camera over a year ago. i’ve never even tried the thing … it was still in the package. it’s the cutest little thing and works just awesome.

but i have no tripod. so i got my camera all set up on the kids picnic table. propped up my lens with a "friends" boxed dvd set (it’s been on my kitchen counter for weeks) and propped up my external flash with a towel. kept snapping pics trying to figure out what i was actually getting in the lens. figured out where to stand. took a few pics. ran back to see if i was getting anything. rearranged myself and tried again. and again. and again.

i uploaded my pics and realized that the burgundy hoodie i had on was not going to match the papers that i already have started on my layout. so i snuck into our bedroom (joe sleeps during the day since he works nights) and managed to quietly get my brown hoodie. went back outside to set up the camera again … and it started raining. well, really it was just drizzling … but in california that can be pretty serious. lol! then the sun came out and it was way too sunny. lost my overcast sky. i finally managed to get some more pictures in before i had to run and get the kids from school. oh yeah … and because it rained we have our huge lake going on the patio (otherwise known as the gigantic birdbath to all the local birdies). so i had to work around that … and i couldn’t sit on the grass because it was all wet. and because the camera was set up on a short to the ground table … i had to squat down for all these pics. too impatient to go get something to sit on.

i have to tell you … i was having fun! making faces and trying to "ham it up" for the camera … without looking like i was trying so hard. and the funny thing was … i like the goofy pics more than i liked any of the serious and smiley pics. not that they’re perfect. i had stray hairs everywhere and i realized i need a good tooth-whitening … oh how i wish i was lucky enough to have white teeth. lol!  although it was a nice change to photograph someone with green eyes. all the kids i ever photograph seem to have brown eyes. love my green eyes.

so … i have no problem sharing some of my goofy pics with you. this is me. i’m goofy … i’m weird … i’m quite funny and sarcastic. and i think the majority of the time i can be found with one of these looks on my face. lol! so here goes:

my "yeah, that’s right" look:

my "you neighbors better shut that dog up" look:

my "argh, the remote isn’t working" look:

 

my "oh my gosh … i’m stressing out" look:

my "my girls are right, taking picture is exhausting" look":

and check out my tiny little remote there in my hand in that last picture. i think i’ll be using that more often. gotta keep you amused, right! lol!

first i have to share this photo. i offered to take pictures of dina’s girls for her … finally got together today to take a few of tawny. great overcast day … perfect for pics. this is my favorite:

and you know how much you love my random stuff, right:

• just wanted to say "thanks" for all your nice comments on my news yesterday! i’m so excited about this i can’t even tell you! i’ve had such an awesome scrapping week. havn’t actually scrapped … but all sorts of other stuff with the scrapping is going on. lol!
• dina just asked if i had gotten my new issue of creating keepsakes magazine … which i did, but amazingly hadn’t even peeked in it yet. she mentioned that i might possible find my name in there. which is strange since i’ve only had one layout in ck and it was almost a year ago. they have a little section each month that list 10 scrapbookers who caught their eye … from their submissions. and i was on there! good to know they love my work … even though they havn’t asked for any of it! lol!
• started working on my "all about me" layout for the MM idol contest. i even drew up a sketch for my idea. i love my idea … so i hope it works once i get it actually going. working on some pics for it today. i’ll get you some info on signing up to vote. it’s in the hands of the people now. so every vote counts.
• wish i had taken more pictures of tawny now that i look through what i got. only edited a few of them tonight … will work on them some more tomorrow. and i’ve been learning this new trick for sharpening pictures … but not totally convinced i’m doing it right. they look awesome on my screen … but in certain programs they end up looking all funky. they print fine on my printer … but when i upload them to the online ordering sites and they look funky. i’m so not a fan of all this digital stuff sometimes. lol!
• i have 2 prospective daycare parents lined up. another daycare in my neighborhood is closing down. and it’s funny how small this world can be sometimes. my brother works with this ladies sister and was going to pass my info along … but then i realize that i already know the daycare lady … and then one of the parents knows my mom and is sarah’s awana leader at the church and is also one of alison’s teachers. confusing? i’m hoping it all works out … ady’s needs a new playmate!
• sarah’s still not feeling great. she’s better. but now her cough is acting up … the one she always gets when she’s sick … that leads to some slight asthma and involves bringing out the inhalers. and she’s not eating much … which i get because i never eat when i don’t feel good. but she’s a total snacker … so i know she’s not herself when she skips on dessert. lol!
• conference week next week … all the kids have half days at school all week. but turns out i have no conferences to go to. both alyssa and sarah are doing so good in their work that they’re teachers don’t even need to see me. so proud of them!
• still find my horoscope yesterday to be too funny. seriously it said "doofus"! couldn’t read my horoscope today … i got no "living section" of the newspaper today. got 2 of every other section … but not the important section … with the comics, advice column, horoscope, and tv listing. argh! now i know how joe felt last week when we didn’t get the sports section. lol!

i feel like i had some more random stuff i wanted to share … but can’t remember. the story of my life, right?!?!

i did it!!! i made the top 50 on the making memories idol contest!!!

i’m so super excited about this! i have to actually go read the contest rules more and see how they’re working it this year … i know they changed some from last year. i didn’t want to jinx myself too much … so i just entered my stuff and tried not to stay glued to the site. lol! the layout above was one of the 2 layouts i had to enter … the other one i entered just got picked up for publication yesterday! how cool is that?!?! there was also a project … one of the tote bags that i had done back in december. isn’t this layout so much more "me" than those last ones i posted?

also wanted to say congrats to kori who made the top 50 too … she’s one of my lil davis design team friends!

i have the first assignment … an "all about me" layout. have to do some thinking on this one. i don’t do too many layouts about myself. lol! and if you don’t mind, go sign up to get a reminder for the voting … yes, there is voting involved and eliminations. just like "american idol" … which by the way i’m just now getting into (i wait until they narrow it down to the 24).

and just for fun i read my horoscope for today:

"you’re playing in the major leaques, so don’t sit around like a doofus".

how funny is that?!?! it really says "doofus". lol! it must know how i’ve been sitting around doing nothing lately … not seeming to get anything done or get motivated on anything. well … i’m motivated now!

so … sarah has been sick this weekend. not terrible sick … just not feeling good. she had a fever … which went away for a day … and is now back. she’s got the runny nose and watery eyes … although i’m not sure if it’s allergies kicking in. and she’s just tired and short on energy.

so this morning i figured we’d go make a quick run to target for some more medicine. never seem to have the right kind of meds around here. and it’s never the flavor that she likes. lol! so i pack up alyssa and sarah and we make our way to target. find some medicine, a new soccer nightlight for alyssa in the dollar sections (ok, really it was $2.50), and a box of crayons for sarah. she’s been wanting the box of 64 crayons that comes with the built-in sharpener … apparently a few other kids in her class have this. well she saw the box of 96 crayons and decided that she’d be even cooler if she had that … that’s a lot more crayons than 64! how could i say no?

so we get out to the van and get all buckled up … and the stinkin van won’t start!!! that darn van has been tickin me off for quite a while now. this happened about 3 months ago and we got a whole new battery installed. then it was still dying out … had some wires replaced that were shredded. last year alone we spent nearly $2000 on van repairs. and now it won’t start?!?!?

i called my brother out who was fortunatly home for the holiday. he poked around the engine, but didn’t find anything. so i called AAA and asked for someone to come out and see if they could start it. my brother took the girls with him back to the house to wait for me. luckily the tow truck came pretty quick. but couldn’t get it to start … within about 30 seconds he was asking me where i wanted to be towed.

but to be towed you have to get the van out of the parking space in front of target! not an easy task. finally manuevered it out and onto the tow truck … and i hopped in for my free ride to the auto body shop. which is where my van now sits! i don’t even think i want to know what’s wrong with it … i have a feeling it will be pricey. i was just saying that we don’t really need 2 cars most of the time. joe works nights, so i can use the other car during the day if i need to. can’t fit many kids in there … but then again i don’t take all the kids out together very often. but softball is starting up … and joe starts umpiring soon. so i guess we’ll have to get the darn thing fixed.

and i’m convinced that this is all the nice little old lady receptionists fault. every time i go to pick up the van after getting some sort of repairs, she says to me … "come see us again real soon". nooooooo … don’t tell me that! don’t wish that on me! don’t jinx me like that! but she did! lol!

edited to add: well, i guess we’re only out about $450 this time. but i was told that if we want to keep the van driveable … we’re looking at a lot of money. apparently there’s a ton going wrong with it. it’s ok for now … but it’s basically going down!

just realized that i really havn’t shared any layouts for a while. maybe it’s just that i’ve posted so much this past week about other stuff. lol! i have a layout i did that i want to share using those cute pictures of sarah with the pigtails … but i used it for my entry for the making memories idol contest. so i don’t want to share it quite yet … hate to jinx myself. lol! so here’s a few quickies i’ve done this past week:

this started as a layout that i was going to put in an oak frame and give to trace for christmas … something that i normally do for all the daycare kids. btw … jenn, you’re is still coming! but then he up and left … so i’m just going to add it to my album. lol! the picture is 8×12 … so i really didn’t have to do much to the rest of the layout.

this layout does look better in person. i just couldn’t get it to photograph well no matter how hard i tried. i’m actually thinking of cutting out each tag and putting them all on a different color of cardstock. not sure. lots of fun lil davis goodies on here. i actually did the entire layout and had no idea of what pics i was going to add to it. i decided these pics would be good since they’re really not technically great … super blurry. but ady’s just too cute!

these colors look funky too … what’s the deal? lol! these are pictures of kylie and ashley … two of my daycare girls that left me a little over a year ago. they came to visit back in december and managed to get a few pics of them. used a little new lil davis product … and some old stuff of theirs that i dug out!

i’ll wait to share the other layout of sarah until they announce the top picks on MM idol. trying not to get my hopes up … but i love MM! otherwise i’ll share it next week. 

so far today is going much better than yesterday. i did have to get up super early this morning … and i’m NOT a morning person. jenn has a early class on thursdays (and i just found out tuesdays too!) and had to bring the girls by a little after 7:00am. sad to say i’m never up before 7:45 … even on school days. lol! luckily i’ve never had any daycare kids that needed to come real early. and jenn … don’t feel bad … i can get up when needed! lol!

and here’s a few picture i took of ashlen and ady yesterday. didn’t get any valentine pics of my own girls! lol! but i did get this great one of ashlen … which is a miracle in itself. lol!

and dina stopped by today after going by the school. always nice to get a little surprise visit during the day. and she ended up making a run to starbucks and picked me up one … along with a few extra straws to keep handy. appreciate it dina!

i was laughing so hard this morning when i read the comments on my last post. like i told dina … my blog is your blog. love seeing all the comments and hearing from everyone. loved hearing dina vent about softball and know that i’m not the only one. loved remembering that shirls has an annoying rooster as a neighbor … probably more annoying than a reving car. lol! and love knowing that i’m not the only one that hates when my straw has a hole in it!

that’s the great thing about these blogs. getting to know more about friends. making new friends. being able to share about your everyday stuff … no matter how boring it may seem, someone is bound to enjoy reading about it. i love reading blogs. i have my list of about 15 people (mostly other scrapbookers) that i check in on several times a day. i love hearing about their lives … about their scrapbooking … about their photography … whatever they’re blogging about that day.

anyways … just wanted to say "thanks". love that you keep coming back to check in on me and my thoughts.