Home is WHERE your heart is...

The cutest MICKEY ever !!!

2011-02-22T05:02:00.000-07:00

My baby turned 2! Feb. 20

We had a great 3 day weekend , but there was no relaxing at all , I want a DO OVER! Saturday we had football and prepping for Preston's Birthday on Sunday . Sunday was his Mickey Party , he had so much fun and was so excited when we started decorating and when the cake arrived. I was very fortunate to find the sweetest lady here on island to make his cake, like I said before no more cakes for me . I think I will limit myself to 1 a year ..heee hee

This cake was perfect in every way , she nailed the details perfectly ..as I had a specific CAKE in my mind and she was able to totally create it for me!!! I was putting off cutting it ,it was just too cute!

Like i said before , shopping here pretty much sucks and I have to order just about everything online.

Thank goodness for ETSY, I found this fabulous shop last year and ordered all my cupcake liners and sprinkles from JENNIFER , and she had the perfect things for me this year too !! Make sure to check her out !I ordered a bunch of cupcake liners from her so I could make these little mickey ice cream cups ,they were a hug hit with the little ones. I put them out on a cupcake stand right before serving the cake.

here are a few cute photos of him from the day . This one where he is saying WHY IS EVERYONE SINGING TO ME!!! It was priceless to see this look on his wittle face!

This is where he decided he LOVED the reaction he got from all of us when he did this over and over opening his presents!

and here he is learning from a friend how to use his party blower!

It was a great day and we are so thankful to have such great friends here on Okinawa to help celebrate our sweet boy!!

A year and then some ....

2011-02-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

Wow I left blogging land well over a year ago , but not completely! I still read everyones blogs just about everyday! I know what is going on in....just about everyones world ..lol
I am not quite sure why I felt the need to take a break from it all . And I do mean from everything . No crafting , scrapping anything of that sort was happening for me. I think this Island has a little bit to do with it. This summer will make 3 years for us on Okinawa and we are here until the summer of 2013 ...whooa
To say I have island fever is an understatement!

I have been trying to get the motivation back to start scrapping again , crafting is out of the question pretty much until I get outta here . The shopping is HORRIBLE!!!!!! I did order some new scrap stuff not that I needed any but hey maybe it will help with my mojo issue.. Any excuse is good to shop right???
My Bestie decided she was going to start scrapping again as well and even keep track of it . So I am following in her footsteps and am proud of myself for actually finishing one page so far!

I am going to add a little tracker on my side bar . I haven't set a specific GOAL for myself really , except to get back into creating again! So hears to that :)

My boys are growing like weeds and my daughter just turned 18 ..holy cow did I just type that ???? Here are a few recent photos of them :

Britni and some of her cheer buddies , at one of their last games . She is a bit saddened that this is her Senior year when it comes to cheering .... She is the one in the center

Heres Austin last month turning 11! His dad and I worked hard creating that cake from scratch and I think I learned my lesson ..no cakes in my future!

And last but not least here is our little Pnut who is turning 2 this Sunday!!!

I ordered his adorable invite from this great shop , Thanks Melissa!!

And I was able to find a lady here on island to custom make his cake, I told you no more cakes for me !

Well I have lots to share , but unfortunately I have lots of laundry too!!

So thats all for now , off to do the laundry and read some blogs :)

weekend recap

2009-12-06T16:25:00.009-07:00

Have I mentioned I hate Mondays..even more so when you had such a nice weekend. DEAR MONDAYS: PLEASE GO AWAY ...lol

Friday hubby went in to work for a few hours and then came home so we could finish up Christmas shopping and had a quick lunch. Of course I forgot a few odds and ends that I will need to still pick up but for the most part we are done! YAY .. Christmas shopping is not so fun anymore for me when I have to order almost everything on line!
We got all the lights and tree up and decked the halls. It looked like Christmas exploded in this teeny house we know call home. I was quite surprised that our little Pnut is afraid of the Christmas tree. I thought it would be a constant battle to keep him out of it, but so far he has not wanted much to do with it and has had a few shouting matches with the Angel hanging out on top..lol

I did put him down in front of it to snap a few pics on Saturday and he wanted to rip open presents instead!

Community center where we saw Santa

Saturday I spent most of the afternoon wrapping gifts while hubby entertained the boys. Then we took them out to see some lights and Santa. Austin didn't sit on his lap of course( all though ) he still believes. Preston we thought would scream so daddy did the quick hand off so I could snap a pic or 2. He did so good not one tear or holler he just kept staring at him and then would turn to look for daddy. It was too cute! Santa told him he was the best baby he had seen all day and would be getting a lot of presents haha :)

we headed back home and dropped off the boys with my neighbor and hubby and I had a date night afterward.
We went to see

Ja had never seen the previews and thought it would be a chick flick but it wasn't. We both really liked it a lot! Its based on a true story about
Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.
A definite must see !

Sunday was my day to get out with the girls , a bunch of us go once a month for our pedicure and massages . Great way to relax on a Sunday afternoon! All the girls got some sort of snowflakes which I got last year so I opted for a simple red white and silver design with polka dots super simple and still holiday ISH ..hehee

later that night we headed to the other side of the island (where we had never been) to try out a new Thai place with a group of friends. This is one of my friend Joannes favorite spots to eat on island. We ordered a fried rice dish and some Thai Pad at a zero spice level , it was still a tid bit hot for the both of us but tasty! Austin loved his garlic chicken and rice meal and wants to go back he says. That rarely happens here we have the hardest time finding anything off base he likes. It was a fun night and we are lucky to have such great friends here!
That brings me to MONDAY ...back to reality and grocery shopping ooh how I hate that part!

Hope you all had a fab weekend as well!
I am off to hopefully get a new banner up on this blog before I leave!

A must Share for Sweet Kate

2009-11-22T17:08:00.003-07:00

This brought so many tears to my eyes reading her story. Please stop by her amazing website if you can .

Pray For Kate

Her parents have started a wonderful Toy Drive

To bless the kids on the oncology floor of the pediatric hospital (Phoenix Children's Hospital) who are in the
hospital during the Christmas Season with fun gifts & toys!
Such a wonderful idea! Click here to find out more.

Please share with your family and friends, so we can help make this effort a successful one!

Cheeseburgers in Paradise

2009-11-09T19:03:00.013-07:00

Hows that for a CHEESEY title???

(Sesoko Island Bridge)

Well the weather has been beautiful here in Okinawa for the past few days , didn't last long though , the rain is back.
We enjoyed the nice temps over the weekend by having a BBQ with our neighbors. The babies had a blast hanging out after dark and especially liked the music and the Tiki torches..

We decided to head up north a bit since it was so nice out. I had read about a hamburger place called CAPTAIN KANGAROOS and wanted to give it a try . So glad we did! It was the best burger we have had since we landed on this rock!

It was not very BABY friendly , we sat on couches and ate at coffee tables , So it was a task to hold on to him , next time we go we will be bringing his little chair for sure. Ja says we have to go up that way and grab a burger at least once a month ..haha

few random pics from inside

One of the burgers

Austins Chicken and fries

When done there we headed over to Sesoko Island one of our favorite spots on Island.
There is not much there it is just smaller island off of the main one. The beaches are always less crowded and the water is beautiful , shells are usually abundant . So it was a fun afternoon walking on the beach for us. Preston seemed to love it this time now that he is older. I even put his feet in the sand :)
He loves when Daddy lifts him up in the air!

I <3 <3 this pic !!!

The kids are out for the rest of the week here and I am sure we will be busy. Lots of Cub Scout activities this week including a Vetrans Day Flag ceremony.
Hope everyone has a awesome week where ever you are !

My Monkey and Mummy Mohawk boys

2009-11-02T16:40:00.007-07:00

Thankfully I took these few pics a couple of days before Halloween. Otherwise I wouldn't have any, due to terrible weather! In Austins 9 years of Trick or Treating it had never rained..oh yea BECAUSE we lived in Arizona and not on a dern tropical island! We didn't keep the boys out very long because we were all getting soaked and Preston was fit to be tied having to be in his stroller with the top down , when he could here all the commotion around him! I did get to take him to a few doors and he was all smiles . Austin had his buddy Tyler with us and they were more concerned with going to the SLAUGHTER HOUSE afterwards. Needless to say we paid 25 bucks and only Tyler and I made it through ... it was pretty scary!!!

Well just a quick share of my little tricksters ..off to try and watch some of the SAINTS game . My dad's family lives there and they are all HUGE fans! Weird to be watching MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL on a Tuesday morning! Wish I was there at my dads with the rest of them:(

Have a great week everyone!

End of Oct. , REALLY?

2009-10-25T17:42:00.019-07:00

I can not believe we are nearing the end of October all ready! Where did this month go? All the cute ghosts and monkeys will be out soon :)
It rained cats and dogs here this weekend. Kind of a nice change though we got to bundle up in coats and all ..when we went out. You know mid 70's to us on this island is FREEZING ..haha

We had a busy weekend with lots of birthday parties . 2 of my good friends both had little guys turning 1. Preston had tons of fun and partied it up till about 11 pm that night. No crying or anything I was super impressed!Here he is with his Pretty Princess girlfriend Zoey at Roberts party. This is his new KISSY FACE he constantly makes, we think its just too cute!

Before the rain we had a nice weekend with lower temps and we decided to take the boys to the Okinawa Children's Zoo. We hadn't been there yet . It was a fun a morning. Not a zoo like we are used to back home but it worked. I was laughing at the fact that there were roosters and peacocks in glass cages , don't those usually run around free at zoos?

Austin liked the alligators and the hippos we got pretty close to both of those .

Oh and I wanted to show you these. Okinawan Fruit bats. They are everywhere here , we have them in our trees in our front and backyards , they are more common here than birds!

And this , well the Japanese have some seriously funny signs all over the place here but this one takes the cake! Posted out in front of the Tigers cage!

Preston got his first ride on a Choo Choo train and loved it

My babies

And somewhere in the middle of the busy weekend I managed to watch this movie twice!!! So dern funny!

Looks like it will be another busy weekend ahead , with Halloween coming up(hoping we get to a haunted house with Austin ) and I am having a Scentsy Party. Gotta get planning the food for this one.

Before I go I took these when he turned 8 months!

Hope your weekend was good one!

I want my wisdom teeth BACK!

2009-10-12T18:08:00.009-07:00

Oh what the heck was I thinking! I have had my wisdom teeth that were not causing me any PAIN for years now. I go to the dentist here and he says Oh those bad boys should have come out LONG AGO and was all dramatic about it. So they schedule me to have all 4 removed. No worries , right? Everyone I talk to said piece O CAKE!

WRONG WRONG WRONG

I have to be the exception to the norm , ya know? I have been in excruciating pain for a week and high as a kite on percocet. I pretty much slept for a week ! Still have no idea what is causing the pain it is not the holes left in my mouth at all , its my upper right and lower right jaw, it kills. Pounding pain all the way into my ear and down my neck , then my jaw gets so freaking tight, that I can hardly open my mouth. Ja took me in last thursday and they were closed for TRAINING! But I did get to see the DOC on call , lucky me! He starts out by telling me he is a pediatric dentist and doesn't have much experience with adult extractions! OH MY WORD ..at this point I wanted to shoot someone. So he treated me as if I were going to get a dry socket and stuffed it full of that grotesque smelly crap and then proceeded to give me a shot that made me cry! Neither did a DERN THING!!! I went home and took 2 more percocets and a motrin and knocked out. I continued that through the weekend...
Here we are on Tuesday and I am still hurting all though not near as bad ..just praying it goes away all together so I can function again! Poor Preston , has barley seen me in a week!

Speaking of my SWEET P
Hard to believe he is approaching 8 months (20th)

He got his first tooth 2 days before I got all mine yanked out..kinda funny..
He is working on a second one now.
He is pulling up on everything in site
He is FINALLY crawling
He is still waking up at least once a night
He is such a joy to us!

Austin has been keeping busy with school and doing well ! He got 2 A's and the rest B's on his first report card. He really likes his teacher Mrs. Haynes and seems to be enjoying the 4th grade.
Here he is with his ROBOT he had to create for a BOOK REPORT this weekend. They had to make a life size paper doll on their main character...his turned out pretty cool!

That was about all the crafting that has taken place in this house .. I still need to finish my houses , hope to start feeling better soon ..SO that maybe before HALLOWEEN they will be done haha!
For now they still lay on the table looking like this

Hey I did manage to get a new banner up on this blog , did ya notice?
Hope every ones week is off to a great start!

Making changes....

2009-09-29T19:08:00.003-07:00

Please excuse my NON MATCHING blog at the moment, I am in the process of redoing it for fall , but ran out of time ! Hopefully I can get it and my Halloween houses done and posted here soon!

Unbelievable!

2009-09-22T16:11:00.002-07:00

Ok so everyone fears something and anyone who knows me well knows I am terrified of Lizards! I can handle spiders, roaches, most other types of creepy crawlies but LIZARDS , GECKOS what ever the heck you call them I am running the other direction and my heart is beating out of my chest!

So living on this tropical island has turned into a bit of a challenge for me , I am constantly looking for them in my house , after having lived here for a year and maybe seeing one..now all of a sudden I have seen 3 in a month!They have been in our bathrooms , so I assume they are coming in the drains or vents , which is so not making me happy! They don't usually stand a chance against my BROOM! I know that sounds horrid ...BUT when you are THAT AFRAID you just want the suckers dead!!!

So onto my UNBELIEVABLE STORY

Katie a friend of mine and our babies are out shopping on base. We are in the baby section of course , because we all know our babies dont have enough clothes ..lol.
I am looking at a rack of new Carters Jammies they got in , nice snuggly fleece Jammies. When I let go of a pair on the rack I feel something hit me on my chest , It was as if someone across the room FLUNG some rubbery thing at me , I stopped a second because as far as I know it was just me and Katie back here... well I feel something move and look down and its a damn LIZARD a BIG LIZARD , Fat and brown and OH MY GAWD , I am soon screaming and yelling and jumping around with my arms in the air ..he falls off and runs somewhere I run the opposite direction, Towards the COACH purses OF COURSE! Leaving my poor little angel in his car seat , he was scared half to death by my screaming and was crying big crocodile tears , thankfully Katie rescued him since mommy was no wear to be found!

Needless to say I will be shopping online for a while!
Oh what day that was.....

Moving right along....

2009-09-13T22:23:00.006-07:00

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I couldn't make this little booger smile for anything! He was too interested in what I was doing behind the camera. That is so his personality as of late ..he is a little BUSY BODY! He has been up on his knees rocking back and forth for the past week, I don't think it will be long before he takes off crawling! We have all ready rearranged the house ahead of this big event. I so forgot what it was like to have to BABY PROOF ..wow!

My 4th grader is all ready done with 2 weeks of school and is loving it so far. A lot different than what he is used to ... Mrs. Haynes keeps them super busy . He has monthly book reports and LIT circles that he will be having reports for too and reading his 6 chapter books a quarter ..wow
He loves coming home to his little brother everyday

I have been keeping busy trying to get a little crafting of some type in here and there. I have bought enough scrap supplies the past month to open my own store! I have actually been using a bit of it though so that's a plus!
Not sure if I shared these ones or not:

I have started 2 other pages and should be working on those while Preston is napping but instead I am on here!
So how many of you have pulled out all your HALLOWEEN decorations yet? I got the boys costumes in the mail last week and have been contemplating pulling it all out and getting started on it ! I love this time of year! Hoping to also alter some houses for Halloween I bought , will post pics when I get them done :)
Oh and thanks for all the help with choosing Pnuts costume, we went with the monkey and Oh My goodness I just want to eat his little cute self right up!

And last .. I had a dentist appt. this morning and found out my wisdom teeth will be coming out Oct 5th ... all 4 of those suckers . I am so NOT looking forward to this! I will be asleep so thats a PLUS :)

Well I think I will get off here and go organize some more of my craft stuff and MAYBE start some laundry .. notice I said MAYBE..lol

Hope everyone has a great week!

4th grade , another new school year has arrived

2009-08-30T18:19:00.005-07:00

So its official I have a 4th grader! He was up and excited to start the new school year this morning! We found out on Friday he had gotten the COOL teacher he was hoping for Mrs. Haynes. And I think he was quite impressed with the new classroom too . They are a paperless class and have their own laptops , which made it feel like a college classroom instead of grade school . Cant wait until he comes home and I get to hear all about the 1st day. I have to admit he has only been gone a few short hours and I miss him! I know PRESTON does , he is such a great big brother and always so helpful with the little Pnut.

The back of his cool shirt he picked out

Off he goes.. we'll miss you !

Help me decide!

2009-08-23T16:26:00.004-07:00

I have been looking at Halloween costumes for the boys Austin has decided he wants to be a NINJA, just not anything from GI JOE so we have been looking for the perfect one, but I cant decide what I want for Preston.....

I wanted him to be a monkey all along because I call him Monkey toes a lot ..lol

But then ,when searching I found a cute SQUIRT costume (turtle from Finding Nemo :)

And of course now I cant decide!
Which one do you like?

Under the weather

2009-08-05T17:20:00.015-07:00

So we have all been hit with the sick bug in this house , even my sweet baby boy. I finally caved in and went to the Doctor after a week of non stop coughing , he says its just a viral thing going around island... I say it needs to move out of my house ASAP! Preston hasn't done too terrible I just feel bad when he is coughing , last night I let him sleep with me and made daddy move on out of the bed , so he could sleep propped up a bit and I could keep an eye on him. Between that and the sound of pounding side ways rain and howling wind I GOT ZERO sleep! We have a TYPHOON lurking out in the waters , thankfully I think we will just have some nasty winds and rains for the next few days and the brunt of the storm will be felt by someone else!

I have been tracking it HERE

We did venture out with some friends to the Kokusai Festival , other than the terrible HEAT , it was a great day :)

(Our friends Sue, Rob and baby Roberto)

We ventured into all the funky cool shops and even took some pics, my fave are the pottery places and all the SHISHAS , here are just a few of the thousands we saw.

(My faves)

The streets were filled with thousands of Eisa dancers and Taiko drummers
This little girl was so good ,I snapped a ton of pics of her!

Of course we had to stop into a few of our favorite spots like this one :

Always fun to look but never shop , they pay double and sometimes 3 times more than what we pay for ours! Craziness ....

Here are just few random shots from the day

(Dragon fruit ,very popular here and so yummy in a smoothie!)

(Tapioca drinks ..not as yummy as they look !)

These last pics are funny because no matter where we go off base Preston is like a tourist attraction! We can not walk 5 feet without getting stopped and someone having to touch him and smile and ask how old he is , they say its the BLUE EYES.. but this girl was almost in tears over him .

School starts here on the 31st ,its been so nice having Austin home , he is such a good big brother and always willing to help out with Preston. But it will also be nice to have a schedule again ! I am sure he doesn't think so , but he is looking forward too taking taiko drumming at school this year!

And before I sign off I want to introduce Miss CAMDEN FAITH

I am so Happy for my Bestie Kristin and her family they finally have there Princess she arrived on the 21st of July . I only wished we lived closer with our little ones!

Hope everyone having a great week!

Summertime ,scrapping and saying goodbye

2009-07-11T02:22:00.011-07:00

It is definitely summer on my side of the world! The humidity is here in full force! All though the evenings we have been having some nice breezes and able to actually sit out back with the neighbors. Last night was a sad one , our great neighbors Brandie & Jerrod and their 2 girls were with us for the last time. AS I type they are on a jet plane headed back to the USA after having lived on island for the past 5 years. I know they were ready to get back home and start a new but we sure are going to miss them! Here's Brandie putting Pnut to sleep last night ..awee
Just looking at it I get teary eyed. WE meet so many wonderful people moving around but always have to leave them behind ..

We have spent a lot of time with them over the past few weeks before they headed out , but we have also been hitting the beaches! Preston got his toes in the water for the 1st time and seemed to love it . Austin has become quite the snorkeler and wants to learn to scuba dive , so he started swim lessons this past week to get more confidence, he is loving it so far.

Preston also went swimming for the 1st time , here he is in his cute little swim trunks

One of my Besties back home is due with her 2nd baby in a few short days..a girl Camden Faith . I am so excited for The Baxters and cant wait to see this precious little angel. I only WISH we lived closer now that we both will have little ones again because neither one of us ever dreamed of having more!

I did finish a layout today , surprisingly because this week I have done nothing short of laundry and hold a baby all day , yea he is going through THAT STAGE ... hope it doesn't last long! Oh I did get out and get my toes done with the girls. Don't love them because she put my palm trees upside down ...lol

Heres my page I did for a celebration over on LABEL TULIP

and a close up of the details

Well we have some friends coming over in a bit to drop off there kiddos so they can go out for a bit so I suppose I need to wrap this up for now. Hopefully I will be back to scrapping in the morning , feeling creative!

Here's is one more of my cute little man
4 months old

Hope everyone is enjoying there weekend :)

We have been here a year!

2009-06-28T19:29:00.009-07:00

June 9th was a year since we left our friends and family behind and started our journey to Okinawa. I suppose since I was pregnant and have since had Preston , it hasn't felt as if it has been a year. He sure keeps me busy!
We have seen a bunch this past year on this little island , but I still have a TO DO LIST for us to slowly cross off.
I am going to post it here so I can come back and make sure to blog about them or at least post a few pics!

- Bios on the Hill

- Fukushuen Chinese Gardens - I really want to go here in Feb. when all the Cherry blossoms are in bloom!

-Ryuku Mura park
At several places throughout the park you have the chance to participate in the local crafts. You can buy a ticket to paint Shisa dogs, try your hand at bingata or pottery

- Pineapple Park
Where they make and sell yummy wine!

-Nago Castle Site Park - again need to go here when the Cherry Blossoms are blooming

- Hiji Falls- Gotta be in shape for this one , I here it is a hike to the falls!

- Neo Park - Sort of like a zoo

- Nishizaki Shinsui Park

- Okuma -Preston has to be a bit bigger before we commit to camping anywhere, but we really want to go here!

-Cape Hedo - The only Cape we havent been able to make it to yet

I am sure I am forgetting a few!

I really am missing home after being gone this long and hoping now that Prestons passport is in (dont even get me started on that..) that we can make a trip home in Sept. or Oct. I cant wait to see my family and for them to see our new little man~
Speaking of that little man ..check him and his cute little hat out. This hat from the GAP supposedly is an EXTRA small . I think they are full of it because it looks huge on him! He turned 4 months . He is so much smaller than Austin was at this age. He weighs 13 pounds 8 ounces and is mostly wearing 0 -3 months clothing still with a few 3-6 months thrown in , hes my WITTLE guy for sure :) He's rolling over both directions and he is pretty demanding all ready but he is the center of our world for sure!

We went to a new beach this weekend and Austin had a blast snorkeling. He starts swimming lessons next week so we can get him certified next year to scuba dive..he is very excited about that!

Hope everyone back in the US has a fabulous 4th of July . We have a few parties and events going on here , should be fun ..
I came across these cute cupcakes this week on a few blogs and wanted to share, so cute and simple Might just have to bake some !

You can find them on this blog
INCHMARK

Well better get my butt in gear , because as we all know the house doesnt clean itself!
Hopefully with in the next few weeks things will slow back down around here and I can starting scrapping and crafting a bit again . I did receive my 1st LABEL TULIP kit in the mail today and cant wait to play with it!
I will leave you with pics of this fun kit
Have a fabulous week :)

Did I mention I hate rain?

2009-06-12T19:06:00.010-07:00

(pic I took out at Ikei island we went to a few weekends ago)

Wow I knew moving to a tropical island we would have a rainy season but I guess I didn't really know what that meant after living in the desert for 9 years! What it means is we are stuck in the house or inside! the 1st 2 days of summer break and it has barely let up at all. We had to cancel our beach day but we managed to make it to PET BOX and saw some really cute puppies (don't worry I am not a sucker anymore! WE left them all at the store ) then we tried to hit up our favorite off base ice cream shop called The BIG DIP, but we get there and find out its closed for remodeling! UUGH

So we end up at old faithful Baskin Robins here on the base, but by time we got back home we had to sit in the car for 10 or 15 minutes because it was storming again! That wet cold stuff is NO FUN I tell you! Lucky me I live on a rainy tropical island where more of that wet stuff is in our forecast this whole week! WE did get invited to dinner at a new Sushi place we haven't tried yet called Yoshi's and maybe if the skies let up long enough we might actually go! Oh and to top it all off my car has a leak somewhere in the back and the seat is getting wet and starting to smell...just great!

Preston is getting so big and he is at that FUN stage , loves to play and laughs at everything , he is a very happy baby!

Here he is with his adorable little girlfriend Zoey or as we call her Zoe Zoe , she is 2 months older than he is ... They are so cute together!

I have still been trying to scrap here and there when my little P- nut takes a nap and I even joined a new kit club , I have never done that before but there kits are just way too cute! And hey whats better than getting new stuff in the mail every month!
Here are 2 new pages I did recently :

this is Austin at one of the cool roller slide parks we have here

This one is one I did with a photo My buddy Maria took right before Ja left for the year in Korea ....

I am really enjoying scrapping again , now If I could only have more time to do it!

and before I go.. I wanted to mention my beautiful friend Serene. I have told you about her before here on my blog .. she had both kidneys removed yesterday and will be having a transplant in about 8 weeks or so . So far so good she is awake and of course in some pain but doing well . Please keep her in your thoughts as she has a lot still to come !

Cleaning house and goofing off

2009-05-28T20:23:00.005-07:00

Not much going on today , Austin is on a field trip to the AQUARIUM which he was very excited about, he never gets out of bed on time for school usually and today he was practically up before me with excitement. I remember those days as a kid and I love when he gets that way! Next week they go bowling and the following week will be his last day in the 3rd grade..wow , that went by FAST!

Preston is growing like a weed and developing quite the personality these days. He laughs all the times and has started hollering and even snorting..so cute! He loves when his daddy and big brother come home at the end of the day!

I have been able to do a few creative things .. I finished another page for Preston and started a few others that I need to finish up! I knew I needed to do a NICKNAME page for him because it seems we call him by everything BUT his name! I usually call him Sweet P or P nut the most , daddy calls him nutter butter , P dog and P nut .. he has a bunch of them so here's his page documenting his wittle nicknames.

Like I need another reason to sit at this dern computer.. but atlas I have found one!
Have any of you hear of Polyvore??
OMG such eye candy on this place . I have seen lots of images used from you girls here in blog land , such as Jenny Heid,Katies Rose Cottage , Leeisbella and many more.
Here is a simple one I through together

Oh so blue by monica2125 featuring 1928 jewelry

Here are a few others that caught my eye check them out!

vintage set by natascia featuring Juicy Couture accessories

powder room by ۞ maloonie ۞ featuring Monsoon accessories

Untitled by Duki (very busy) featuring Monsoon accessories

Let Them Eat Collage Cake! by torilink on Polyvore.com

Ok well laundry is calling my name.. cant ignore it this time!
Let me know if any of you have a polyvore account so I can add you to my friends list!

I'm Just SAYIN

2009-05-13T20:11:00.001-07:00

Oh how I love him so!

Want more American Idol videos? Click here.

I scrapped!

2009-05-10T16:25:00.015-07:00

I hope all you Moms had a wonderful Mothers Day! Ours was nice , we went bowling early on in the day and then headed out to the beaches. It was a great WARM day ..its really starting to heat up here in Okinawa, but thankfully the humidity hasn't surfaced too much yet!
Here are a few random pics from the day

The littlest bowler ...

Our neighbor and good friend Brandie with her girls ..her hubby is gone to Korea

Me and my baby boy hanging out by the caves at the beach while the big boys explored

My babies at Zanpa Beach

Talking to daddy!

He wasnt always happy...

I did manage to scrap a page last week and even start another! I also got another box in the mail full of new goodies...better put them to use! Still waiting on all my new camera stuff..BOOO

I also went and had another wonderful Cocoks pedicure and massage , heres my super bright but cute new toes! Dont know If I mentioned it or not... but all there nail art is HAND PAINTED! Super talented I might add! I am going to get a picture of my girl Miyuki next time!

Well this was challenging typing with a baby on my lap so please excuse any typos!
Off to feed said baby and work on some more scrapping!
Have a great week everyone!

the weekend again..wohoo

2009-05-01T00:26:00.007-07:00

Its the weekend again ..my favorite time of the week . We have been going out and sight seeing and of course hubby gets up with our little guy and I get to sleep! Oh how I love the weekends! HAHA

So here are a few pics of the new short hair , Austin took the 1st pic last night and then hubby and I went to Chilis for my birthday lunch today and I had him take one of me and Preston. You know how it is ,us mommies are always taking the pics! I never seem to make it in very many , but I wanted one on the day I turned 35 ..oh yikes I am getting up there ain't I?

No special plans for my Birthday since we have Cub scouts tonight and they only have a few more planned activities this month, before it ends . Hoping to get to the Lilly Festival over on IE island tomorrow (if its not to windy)and maybe dinner at Sams By the Sea. I was hoping my new lens would have gotten here by now so I could take it to IE and play around with it but alas still waiting ... hate having to shop online for EVERYTHING!!!!

I wanted to let you all know about a sale my super sweet blogging buddy S ARAH over at
GYPSY MERMAID
is having soon ......

You can find out more here on this POST
Hope you can stop by and help her out :)

I have been SCRAP shopping again , now If I could just find the time to actually scrap it would be great! I told myself since it is National Scrap Book day this weekend I had to at least get one page done! WISH ME LUCK! I do have a page planned out for Preston so that's a start, right?

Before I go ..has anyone tried making their own baby food? I have been looking into it this week and think I might give it a try when its time to start feeding him. I am just hoping I can find enough variety here on the island to be able to do it...don't think I have seen any butternut squash or yams since I been here lol. If anyone has any tip please let me know I would appreciate it :)

Well off to Cub Scouts!
Hope you all have a fab weekend!

So soon....

2009-04-22T20:45:00.015-07:00

It really does amaze me how fast these little ones grow! Hard to believe that we welcomed this precious little one into our lives 2 months ago. He is such a happy baby ,smiles all the time and is starting to make all his cute little noises. Sleeping is going much better ..yay for me!
He LOVES LOVES his bath , playing with his big brother and the cutest thing ever ..when his daddy rubs the bottom of his feet together, he gets a huge smile on his face and even giggles sometimes..so precious!

I have started going to the gym and trying to lose these THIGHS ...that seem to have gotten bigger when I was preggo and I so hate them! I want to fit in all my old clothes again but have to work those off first! Took a break today though because I am feeling a bit sore and don't want to over do it.

I was FINALLY able to find somewhere to get my haircut! I am so glad I ventured off base for this and gave RUMIKO a try it was wonderful!
She speaks VERY GOOD English is VERY friendly and she really knows how to cut hair unlike a lot of people I have seen here. Her place is by appointment only and she is booked for weeks out and now I see why. Its very charming once you go inside with dark wood floors and simple furnishings. There are only 2 chairs (since she is the only one cutting there) Upon sitting she quickly served myself and a friend who came along for the experience the yummiest glass of lemon tea. After our consultation she brought me to a smaller area where I sat in the neatest and comfiest black chair to have my hair washed. It was all electric and positioned like you were laying in a recliner..if you can picture that. Rumiko puts this linen cloth over your face so that you can close your eyes and enjoy the amazing head massage and delightful smells of the shampoo and conditioner. So citrusy and the massage was Divine for sure!
I was so impressed at the way she cut my hair , never once did she take out a pair of scissors! It was all done by hand with a razor and I have to say it was amazing! I must have told her that a few hundred times! I don't have a pic of my hair to post just yet , I got all rained on this morning taking Austin to school and haven't straightened it again as of yet , but next post I promise. I don't think I have EVER enjoyed getting a hair cut as much as I did at RUMIKOS , she really pampers you and does a awesome job on your hair! I would recommend if you are here on OKINAWA and need a Salon this be the one! My friend was so impressed she made an appointment before we left :) Oh and did I mention she spends at least an hour pampering and making you beautiful all for 3500 yen , wowzers!

We didn't ge to try out any new places last weekend because of cub scouts and of course RAIN , hoping it clears up this weekend so we can take a ferry to a smaller island called IE , and go to the Lilly Festival. Hubby says it does not sound fun at all , I told him to be quiet, no one said I wanted you to have fun ..lol! Austin is just excited that we might take a ferry somewhere..so keep your fingers crossed for us!
Here are a few pics from a cape we went to a while back located not to far from us
and a popular point here in Okinawa

CAPE MANZAMO

My boys being silly in the car

This is Maeda Point one of the most popular dive spots on the island
At Maeda Point, you can see chromis, eels, tube worms, anemone, clown fish, lion fish, schools of squid and an occasional turtle. There are a series of 77 steps that lead down into the water , pretty neat

I am going to order a new lens for my camera and was thinking I need something for all these outdoor photos I will be taking.
Does anyone have this one?? If so would you recommend it? I am thinking that might be the one, along with a polarization filter so I can get bluer skies and less glare because that is all I seem to get in the middle of the day when we are out! Let me know girls :)
Tamron 28-200

Hope everyone is having a great week !

Out and about

2009-04-12T22:51:00.019-07:00

(He smiles all the time now)

Hope everyone had a relaxing Easter weekend!

I have been reading blogs weekly but have very little time to comment or post on my own! You see I have a baby who only cat naps during the day , and it makes for busy days that's for sure! No complaining though because he is doing much better at night ..yay

We have been out and about seeing sites here on the island for the past few weekends and trying out new places to eat. The latter is still taking some getting used too. They eat A LA CART at most places and of course there is SUSHI a plenty . I am not find of either . So its been difficult finding anywhere off base that I love to eat! We did find a place that serves good Pizza and has a gorgeous courtyard called the Pizza House.

You dont see many places like this here so pretty

Went to CAPE ZANPA and climbed all the way up to the top of the lighthouse , baby and all .
The view was incredible

(up on top of the lighthouse)

We also walked over to
Zanpa Misaki Recreation Park , where they have a small petting zoo and lots of grassy areas for the kids to play and this 30 foot Shisa dog really was neat to see.

I have a lot more scenery pics from places we have been but I will share those another time .
Here are a few pics from Easter , we spent the day with our neighbors and good friends Brandie and Jarrod and there girls . we really will miss them when they leave in 12 weeks! First we went to brunch where we ate way too much! Then we headed home for an egg hunt with all the kids in our area , can you believe I didn't take a single pic??What is wrong with me! The rest of the afternoon was spent just hanging outside with lots of laughs (good times) The weather was gorgeous AFTER the egg hunt of course!

Preston and his 1st Easter bunny

Brandie & Jerrod

Austin ,Mckenzie & Kelsey at brunch

Katie & Little Miss Zoey our other neighbors

Love this one even with the beer lol!

Well I have bombarded you with photos thats for sure! But before I forget.... I have to show you the photos of my pedicure from Cocoks , we girls here are spoiled with an hour long foot and leg massage and the most intricate toe nail art I have ever seen!I have been going at least once a month and getting the cutest designs , here are the current ones.
So if you hate feet look away now...haha

and this one I stole off KATIES blog just so you could see some more amazing toe art!

How cute huh?

Ok well time to go start dinner ..and fold some more laundry, hopefully I can catch up on my blog posting this evening !

Have a GREAT WEEK !

2009-03-23T17:25:00.005-07:00

There has been a lot of this going on these days

I can hardly believe he is all ready a month old. Time sure does fly when you are changing diapers, washing bottles and trying to get a baby on anything that resembles a schedule! The latter has not happened as of yet , but we are still working on it. He has his own time frame in mind ..I think.

I did manage to craft a little bit during one of his cat naps last week. Cant share what I made , it is for a friend who I have not mailed it off to yet!

Speaking of friends , one of my besties is hosting a NEW SWAP for all you interested. Hop on over to Marias at the Junkkdrawer and check out this fun

MARIE SWAP

Well hubby will be home in just a few to go and drop off his car at the shop, its leaking some kind of fluid ..lol , so I have to drag myself and the baby out in the rain (did I mention it has rained for 2 weeks!)
Hope everyone is having a fab Monday!

2009-03-06T18:44:00.009-07:00

I cant stop kissing these little cheeks!

Where does the time go? I can not believe he is all ready 2 weeks old! I just love snuggling him and I think that has become a problem ... you see he will no longer go in his bassinet or anywhere for that matter when he is still awake. So in the middle of the night when I can barely keep my eyes open and his little eyes are WIDE awake staring at me , I have to hold him until he is asleep.
Guess I need to work on putting him down some more.
The good news is he has decided he can be a bottle baby and has drank 3 ounces every feeding for the last 24 hours which = him sleeping 3 to 4 hours at a time ...WOHOO!!
Oh the things you forget about these wee little ones.

I received the cutest package in the mail this week from my sweet Bloggie friend Sarah at Gypsy Mermaid

I adore this card and envelope!

She sent some handmade burp clothes and an adorable onesie for Preston that match his room with monkeys, so thoughtful.
She also sent something for me , which made me feel very special! The cute little Easter pail decoration with adorable little chicks! This was one of the few things she had that survived the horrific hurricane that they experienced. How sweet is that?
If your reading this girlie , I truly appreciate it all!

So pretty I didn't want to open it!

(burp cloths)

(top of the onesie)

Oh and before I forget my hubby , who I have to dote on for a minute . I am so thankful for him, he has been home with Preston and I since he was born and I couldn't be more thankful. He is such a huge help , tackling the dirty diapers even. He let me sleep until noon one day this past week, when he took the baby downstairs and that was heaven . He is such a good daddy and a great husband!
We just celebrated our 13th anniversary a few weeks ago and I was so consumed with having the baby , I forgot to post my new bracelet he surprised me with

I love it of course , thanks babe!

Time to go get ready to try and find some newborn diapers on this island. I didn't buy a ton of them seeings how my DR. kept saying he was going to be a BIG BABY and now we are almost out of that size and cant find them here on our base..they have every size BUT newborn ...CRAZY!
Have a great weekend everyone!

Good changes

2009-03-02T22:31:00.005-07:00

Wow its been a long time since we have had a baby in the house and I forgot how functioning on very little sleep actually is! For the most part Preston is a very calm and happy baby , we have a slight difference of opinion though...he thinks he needs to eat every hour or 2 ! I tell him you are a bottle baby not a boob baby !!! You are supposed to go longer than an hour and you are supposed to actually drink the bottle not fall asleep ! Poor thing such a rough life..lol

Austin just adores his new baby brother and he loves to hold and even feed him. Ask him if he wants to change his diaper and he's outta here! haha
He loves for Preston to wake him up for school in the morning and tuck him into bed at night, so sweet!

I have decided I really need to get with it and start scrap booking again , I only have 1000 pics and hes just a little over a week old ..hah

well its that time again ...its been a little over an hour and hes demanding a bottle!
Thanks to everyone for all the sweet comments and well wishes!

Preston Shane

2009-02-22T07:31:00.005-07:00

February 20 th ,2009
2:21 am
7 pounds 5 ounces
20 inches long

Thanks for all the well wishes , we are doing great and will post again soon!

Still waiting...

2009-02-16T02:06:00.003-07:00

So we have walked and walked until me and the hubby cant walk anymore!
I have my 37 week appt in the morning and I am hoping for some good news.. Why is the end the longest???
I am so ready to meet our new little guy and starting to get a bit impatient ..lol
Since I have cleaned and RE CLEANED every nook and cranny possible , I decided to sit down for a few and change the blog. I love how it turned out! Make sure to scroll all the way to the bottom to see my cute baby tidbits...

I will be back soon with some good news hopefully! Hope you all had a fantastic weekend :)

The sweetest...

2009-02-10T16:25:00.014-07:00

I am a lucky girl , truly I have some of the sweetest friends and family ever! Maria organized an online baby shower through a blog for me . It was so fun to be online with everyone chatting and playing GAMES. She really thought of everything , sending out little party packs with BINGO cards, water bottle labels , cute little stroller pins for us to wear and even a party favor with candy. Here are just a few pics she had posted on the blog for the shower...
How pretty, huh?

It was such a fun morning for me and really made me feel like I was at home with all of them , but I cried a lot because it made me miss all of them even more!

Here is the photo I took of my belly during the shower so they could do the toilet paper game..lol
I told you it was fun and just like a real shower :)

Now up until that day I kept receiving sweet gifts in the mail from everyone and sending out thank yous , but no one was responding to me which I thought was quite odd, but then I was like Ok so not everyone is 36 weeks preggo and stuck at home like you , they will eventually write you back.... only really no one did , because they didn't want to ruin the surprise!

I just want to say THANKS again to all of you for my special day , It really meant a lot to me!!!
Love you all!!!

Here are a couple of quick pics of his new room that is finally coming together , as things arrive in the mail everyday ..lol
So hard to have to order everything you want and WAIT ..I am not very patient!!!

It took a few days but I have finally managed to get all the clothes out of the crib and hung up or put away nicely in the drawers ..lol

His changing table is being re stained as we speak , his daddy was not happy that we could not find one to match his furniture exactly (in color) so he sanded it down and we got a stain in the same color..hes a good daddy:)

And I found a neat store here in Okinawa called NOTORI where I actually found a nice wicker laundry basket and some larger baskets with matching liners for the changing table. I had ordered some from target but decided I like these ones better. Once its all finished I will post a few more photos.

Last one is the quote I custom ordered from a fun Etsy shop called SINGLE STONE STUDIOS
I highly recommend them for all your vinyl needs ..lol
Such sweet people and wonderful communication , fast shipping ..cant say enough about them!

I wanted this quote to hang in his room because of this book, it is one of my faves

This photo makes it look tiny , but its not the letters are about 6 inches tall and 36 inches long , fits really nice above his bed....

So that's pretty much all I have been up too .
We did celebrate our 13 year anniversary this week and that was nice. I couldn't have picked a better husband , he truly is the best ..love you BABE even more after all these years...lol

I had an appt yesterday , I am now 36 weeks and 5 days WOHOO , there is light at the end of this tunnel ,haha. I didn't see my normal Dr. , he decided to take a 3 week vacay when I am about to have a baby! Anyhow she said I am on my way hopefully , dialated to 1 and 50% thinned , but he is still rather high . So we'll see...

Anyhoo hope all of you are having a fabulous week :)
Hugs

Quick post to remember our sweetie

2009-01-23T17:12:00.003-07:00

So this weekend was supposed to be a happy one . Austin turns 9 on Sunday and we are having his party this afternoon (Its saturday here in Okinawa all ready)

I received an email 2 days ago with some not so good news about our sweet Mocha kitty we left with our dear neighbors when we moved over here . As if that wasnt hard enough.....
I now have to tell our son who still cries to this day when he looks at pics of his kitty that he has passed away.
It seems that Mocha became ill very suddenly , was unable to use his hind legs to even stand up and had been spraying the house (so they thought) they brought him into the vet that day where he stayed for 2 days and only got worse. It turns out he had a tumor on his bladder that was cancer.
My heart goes out to our sweet friends Erika and Brad for having to go through this and there 4 children who love Mocha and will miss him dearly.

I still haven't told Austin as of yet.. I figure I would wait till his FUN weekend was over. I know it will be rough , he has never LOST a pet so to speak , other than having to give up his pets to move to this island.....

Sometimes being a mommy just sucks .... having to break your wittle ones heart!

A great weekend

2009-01-18T18:09:00.008-07:00

I didn't forget about my drawing , we have just had a super busy weekend!
But as promised the name will be posted TODAY ..at the end of this .........

Everything we had ordered for the baby finally arrived, minus one valance , so that was a HUGE relief. We got the whole room painted and I love it ! Hubby did such a great job on it. Made this mama HAPPY :) I will post a few pics as soon as I take some ..lol
Now I need to get ordering stuff for his walls ! I found a really cute ETSY shop called

SINGLE STONE STUDIOS

I think I may order a custom quote from her this week .

Austin competed in his first Pine Wood Derby on Saturday for the Cub Scouts. He had a blast and so did we! The boys were so proud of there cars and really enjoyed the day!

His cool car that Daddy helped him make

The boys waiting patiently to race there cars

He and his buddy Nathan So close , but he one this one!

Getting his trophy and awards , he took 3rd place overall and gets to go to nationals in march, wohoo!!

And before I go ... I used the Random number generator and the WINNER is #12 the super sweet CHELSEA from Paper Cakes!
Thanks to all my blog friends who entered :)

Off to work on a few more tags for this SWAP so I can get them in the mail this week!
Hope you are having a wonderful weekend :)

Things I love...

2009-01-14T22:51:00.000-07:00

Back as promised with my RANDOM things I love ....

Thanks again Britt for the Fun award :)

1. Since everything is baby now a days around here , I had to include something from this category.

How FAB are these PETUNIA PICKLE BOTTOM BAGS

I can't decide which I want to order , but hopefully by the end of the week I will have made up my mind ! These are my 3 top faves ..which do you like best??

Camillia Roll

Bordeaux

Tigris Roll

4. These yummy lip glosses , I have went through 2 this past month!

5. Girl Scout Cookies!!! Hubby brought home 4 boxes this weekend!
Oh how I love these little boogers in the FREEZER!!!

6.
These super cute Aprons. I have been a baking fool these past couple months , cant wait till I have the baby and can fit in one of these super cute things! Check them all out here....
BRASSY APPLE

7. And last but certainly not LEAST , all of my wonderful Blogging friends. You all make me feel like I am not so far from home!

Ok so I am supposed to pass it on , here goes to these sweet and talented ladies

Sarah
Nicole
Karla
Jennifer
Michelle
Kim
Tricia

Don't forget to leave a comment on the previous post for my 100th post GIVEAWAY

32 weeks & counting PLUS a Give Away

2009-01-11T15:48:00.007-07:00

It feels as though I have been pregnant for ever. I know that's how everyone gets towards the end , but man I do not remember it being this LONG..lol! I have had no energy most days to do the simplest of tasks around here. The newest issue is not sleeping at night..oh boy. This is not fun , at 4am before the hubbies alarm clock is about to go off I am just barely falling asleep only to have to get up 3 hours from then. I have resorted to taking some medicine at night to help out with this issue.

Other than that we are slowly but surely getting everything ready , we are still missing a few things , OK well MAJOR things ..he might be sleeping in his bassinet at night and his pack n play during the day a little longer than planned if his bedding doesn't ever get here, it is on back order until the 19Th of this month..fingers crossed that it doesn't get pushed back. We have his car seat but the matching stroller we ordered is still floating around in MAIL LAND somewhere!
Oh the joys of living overseas! On the positive side his daddy should have his room all painted by the end of the week , so that makes me happy :)
Ok enough of the rants....

I decided I needed to do something creative and actually FINISH it this time (what a concept huh?) So I decided to join this sweet ladies swap . It seems simple enough , I hope to get started on it later on today.

Thanks to BRITT for this fun award...

The rules say to name 7 things you love and pass the award along to 7 deserving bloggers.

I will post my list tomorrow , that way I have something to BLOG ABOUT!
Thanks again Britt!

Before I go I wanted to announce my 100th post GIVE AWAY!
I am so happy to have made so many good friends here online in the blog world and in support of all our Crafty Divas I will be giving away a 25.00 GIFT CERTIFICATE to any ETSY shop you choose. Leave a comment here on this post and I will pull a name and contact that person NEXT SUNDAY the 18th .
Good luck girls and Happy ETSY SHOPPING .

Hope all of you have had a nice weekend !
Be back tomorrow with my list of Faves...

Happy New YEAR to you all

2008-12-30T21:45:00.005-07:00

It's almost that time..well on my side of the world that is...
I hope everyone is enjoying there Holidays and finding some time to relax . We had a nice Christmas and for the first time in YEARS , stayed home all day. Austin loved not having to leave all his new toys and video games and being able to play with his daddy all day!
I just love this pic of him in his NIGHT VISION GOGGLES he got from his mawmaw..and YES they really work!

And wow check out my soon to be 16 year old! We got her a new NIKON Coolpix camera , or an ASHTON KUTCHER camera as she calls it ..lol
She and her girls have been busy snapping pics ever since. I can not believe how grown up she looks in this one! OH MY.....

Our New Years Eve plans are pretty low key , especially since this pregnant chic falls asleep before 9 usually and is up again at midnight..oh the joy of it all.
We will be headed to some friends for a BBQ and some games.

I hope all of you have a fabulous and SAFE New Years !

Santa Claus is coming to town!

2008-12-24T00:04:00.004-07:00

Wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Holiday this Christmas Eve. It feels so strange to be celebrating a day before all our family and friends back in the states. Austin couldn't be more excited though.
We baked goodies all day long and have dinner reservations in a few hours at Macaroni Grill (one of the few American restaurants on island)

Then we are going to attempt to find some lights to drive around and look at before we head home and track Santa HERE

Hope everyone enjoys this time with there families and loved ones!

Merry Christmas!
Hugs

Another sleepless night!

2008-12-21T03:08:00.000-07:00

It seems we have been non stop , and boy am I feeling it!
I suppose being 6 1/2 months preggo you are supposed to rest a little , but as we all know life doesn't stop just because we are having babies!

I have been up to my eyeballs literally with school and Cub Scout activities . Pretty thankful that the only thing that HAS to be done this week will be a visit to the DR (today) and a little Holiday baking. It's 3am here and I am up again... unable to sleep. Between this bebe constantly moving (yes his days and nights are definitely BACKWARDS!) I really am started to get aggravated by the whole non sleep issue , but hey whatcha gonna do?? Here are a few from the Cub Scout Christmas party we had on friday , it was pretty neat they invited Japanese scouts to come to it as well and there were about 20 or so there. They even brought goody bags for our boys, and there was a neat hand crafted ornament in it! I will have to try and remember to snap a photo of it!

(Austin playing the Dreidel game and a Japanese scout master watching behind him )

SANTA even stopped by for a while to bring all the kids Canteens for there upcoming camping trip and a Derby Kit for the Pinewood Derby next month ...

Here they are making Snowflakes ...

We had hubbies Christmas party for work on Saturday night , it was nice to get out , and I am happy to report I was able to find a pair of pants on this island to fit me!It took a while but I found them! I can't believe I am about to share these photos of me and my chipmunk cheeks , O'well these will be here as a reminder I suppose I can look back next year in horror and say I cant believe I was that big!

A quick share before I try and force myself to go back to sleep!

I just love this gals blog Jessica Enig, she always posts SUCH PRETTY THINGS..hehe
I adore her TARGET TUESDAYS , always something pretty and CREATIVE.
Stop by and check her out ! She even has a shop opening soon :)

Well its that time .. to go lay wide awake in bed and toss and turn staring at the alarm clock, sounds fun doesn't it???

Hope all of you are enjoying your weekend!

Blue and Orange baby!

2008-12-06T17:26:00.004-07:00

I have been up since before sunrise here in Okinawa to watch THE GAME!
I like college football but I love me some GATOR FOOTBALL!
Congrats to the BOYS on their championship :)
Sorry Bama fans..... better luck next year!!!

Ok must take a nap now before my pedicure appointment with Katie(my neighbor) this afternoon or I will never make it..lol

Cookie time!

2008-12-05T00:25:00.000-07:00

Its that time again everyone!
Head on over to Jessi's for lots of great cookie ideas! I have a list of things to bake and I am sure after today I will be adding to it! I am actually having a baking day with one of my friends here in Japan , Joanne. They live off base and do not have a normal stove. They have a Japanese oven , which has burners on top and a tiny drawer big enough to bake a piece of fish! I would seriously go nuts, I don't know how she does it. So she will be baking away here at my home :)

I made these yummy little treats last week and thought I would share them here , so simple and delish!

You can click on the recipe cards for a larger view... ENJOY

can't wait to see all the yummy recipes :)
Thanks Jessi for hosting!!!
Hugs

Super sweet

2008-12-04T11:52:00.004-07:00

(photo from Jenni B etsy shop)
You can find these lovely treats right HERE

The sweet and very talented Jenni B is hosting a wonderful giveaway , hurry on over you don't want to miss out on those SWEETS!

Also just wanted to mention my bestie Maria over at the JUNKK DRAWER is hosting this shindig...

Can't wait to visit all the pretty Holiday homes!

That's all I have for now be back soon !!

Wow Dec 1st.. really?

2008-12-01T02:22:00.008-07:00

Can you believe the year is almost over? It doesn't seem possible to me , I guess because we have had so much change in the last 6 months . With a lot more change to come!! Change is good though :)

I had another ultrasound this morning and everything looks fine with our new little one. I got some of the cutest photos of him . Including one of him grabbing his feet with his tiny wittle fingers. He was loving his feet this morning ..how cute is that???
This is my fave though of his perfect little head ....
3 more months to go :)

I have been in a crafting mood lately , I think its the Holidays. I hope to actually have something to share soon , as soon as I make myself finish up something . I seem to start a project and not finish and start up another one! I was in HOG HEAVEN a few days ago , walking through one of our stores here on base... where we get stuff from the states and what do I SEE

MARTHA STEWART WOHOO!!!

I haven't seen this stuff in a store since I landed in Asia ,so yes it was a BIG DEAL! Hubby thought I lost my mind ..haha ! Nope no losing of my mind just a lot of glitter buying and glue :)

I have been browsing etsy this evening looking at all the great stuff you amazing gals are whipping up and thought I would share some of my faves!

Check out these sweet SUGARED PEEPS

Lots of yummy sugared peeps in lovely colors! Available at Birds of a Feather

Look at this beauty

You can find it HERE in the Brandy Wine Boutique

Love these

You can find them HERE at the FABULOUS Frippelous Shop

We did get the tree up and the house decorated over the weekend . But when it comes to the outside we are not happy campers! All the new lights I purchased last year before the big move are working ...but we have lots of other stuff like our mechanical reindeer's and other light up stuff that need new strands of lights or some bulbs replaced and OMG we have been EVERYWHERE and can't find any! So annoyed because back home I could just hop in the car and run to the nearest walmart ...walgreens you name it and here...NOTHING!! OK my Okinawa gripe is over , thanks for listening,hah!

Well its getting late here , I should wrap this up for tonight , hopefully be back in a few days with some craftiness and photos of at least my tree!

Thanks to all of you for the sweet emails and comments on my blog makeover!
Hugs!

New look

2008-11-24T03:20:00.002-07:00

Wohoo
I can't believe it, it took nearly all day long , BUT I gave my blog a complete makeover and I am loving it!!!

It was much more difficult than I thought it would be . I purchased a fun blog pack from
Shabby Miss Jenn Designs and then played with it all day.

What do you think?

Rain rain and more rain

2008-11-12T18:19:00.010-07:00

(tents going up the first day)

Well our camping trip was cut short by a few hours due to a crazy out of NO WHERE storm , I guess those happen when you live on an island. The boys all 100 of them and their leaders were set up in front of the bonfire on the beach to perform songs and skits for the families. Well lets just say it got dark, they lit the fire and boy we had a front row seat to getting electrocuted ! 100 yards from the ocean we all sat in our chairs umbrellas in hand to shield us from the rain . Talk about crazy. They then asked all of us to PLEASE go home as lightening had struck land near by a few times. it was all pretty crazy , 100's of kids and parents rushing in the rain back to their tents , ripping it all down as fast as we can and piling it into the vehicles soaking wet....

here are a few photos from the better moments earlier in the day...

This is them starting off on their beach clean up

Waiting to start all there fun activities that morning

This next has to be one of my faves from the day, Austin and his daddy working on an origami project together!

And a few from the fun Balloon battle game they all loved. Austin would have won except his balloon wound up with a slow leak and ran out of air before he could pop the other kids...drats!

All in all it was a fun weekend and the boys had a blast and earned lots of new patches and a few belt loops .

So we arrived home like I said Sat night instead of Sunday afternoon and man it has barely quit raining since then! I am a little tired of all the wet stuff , but the cooler temperatures it has brought are much welcomed!

I have been trying to get into a crafting mood again , but not quite there yet. I pulled out some stuff to start a few Christmas cards last night and didn't finish a single one! Maria and I decided we needed to do weekly challenges to get going , so our first one for this week is a Christmas plaque of some sort. I bet she started hers today while I was sleeping . I better get off here and think about starting mine!

But before I go here's a snippet of my ever growing belly , taken last night ...

@24 weeks

Wish me luck!

2008-11-06T05:00:00.005-07:00

We have our first FAMILY CAMP OUT for cub scouts this weekend. I am so not a camper !
My idea of camping is less than 24 hours and we are back home unless of course there's a hotel and pool involved..haha
We head out tomorrow afternoon (friday)and get home sometime Sunday. I am not quite sure how this is gonna work for me since I am 5 months pregnant and make 100+ trips a night to the bathroom ! I have been assured there are plenty of restrooms... I also know there are 100 families going , so this pregnant lady may be waiting in a few lines ..uugh
Austin couldn't be more excited. He has 3 classmates of his who are also in his group and will be going as well. They have tons of stuff planned for them , so he should have a great time..its me I am worried about,haha!
Here's my Little Cub Scout last week when he got his first patch

I have been busy ordering stuff for the new lil one , since I haven't been able to find very much here to buy. I must say between all that stuff and my Christmas shopping I am VERY TIRED of paying shipping and would just like to drive to the dang store!
I did find a good deal here on island , they have a website called Okinawa Yard Sales where everyone sells things . Well I decided to check it out and I was able to get a swing for the baby last night. It sells in stores right now for 129 and I got it for a whopping 50 bucks! Go me! Hey hey no shipping either..that ROCKS! The cool part was the lady selling it has a 7 month old who only ever sat in the swing like 3 times . So it is basically brand new. I may just have to keep my eye on that site!
We also got a crib and mattress this past week at the one and only furniture store here and now just trying to find some furniture to match , notice I said TRYING...good thing I have a few more months!

Well I suppose I should head upstairs to bed. We have a busy day with a parent teacher conference and there 1st report cards, and then getting all the last minute stuff we need before heading out to the beach to camp.
Hope all of you have a fantastic weekend!
Hugs

Todays the DAY

2008-11-04T02:08:00.004-07:00

Many of you will be waking up and heading to the polls soon. I will be glued to the TV watching the results roll in all the way over on the other side of the world, feels strange. My absentee ballot was sent in a few weeks ago and counted.
Do your part and make sure your vote counts today too :) No matter who you vote for!

I got this cute little button over on Delaneys blog , she has a few others if you are interested.

Hugs

Boo to YOU

2008-10-30T23:25:00.012-07:00

We are getting ready to get dressed for a fun night of trick or treating with friends. Austin has been excited all day , they were out of school today , so he is a bit antsy...

Yesterday was a fun filled day at school , they wore there costumes and went from class to class creating Fall and Halloween projects. Of course this mommy was a volunteer and it was a big hit with all 80 3rd graders. They made everything from tissue paper pumpkins to Qtip skeletons, they got to decorate and eat cupcakes and all sorts of other fun stuff. Can you believe I forgot to bring my camera?? Hopefully Mr Horton will email me the pics this week!

Here are my boys carving our pumpkins and DRILLING them .. I wanted to have some Martha like pumpkins too...lol

I cleaned them out but let them drill the holes....

Somewhere in the middle of all the carving and drilling they decided MR. PUMPKIN needed a paint job and took him outside.

Here they are all lit up . I think they did a great job!

Speaking of pumpkins, I received these two beauties in the mail this past week from my pal KARLA at Sugar Bear Designs . I just love these sparkling beauties!

Sparkly sweet treats for sure! Thanks again KARLA I love them!!!

Last but not least check out this little cutie . Austins art teacher Mrs. Kinghorn chose his sculpture to be on display in the school library for the past few weeks and we finally got to bring him home.

I call him Chicken Little doesn't he look a bit like him? I think he is too cute!

Well off to light the pumpkins and get him into his costume!
Happy Halloween to everyone!!
Hugs

snips and snails....

2008-10-25T22:43:00.003-07:00

Snips and snails and puppy dog tails , that's what they are made of! We found out this week we are having another boy! I wasn't convinced it was a girl but Ja sure was and he was shocked to find out there wasn't going to be an ELLA ...lol
We are leaning towards the name Preston , but if anyone has any suggestions for me feel free to suggest away!
In the mean time we have lots of shopping to do :)
Hugs

Such a doll ...he is!

2008-10-22T04:02:00.010-07:00

Oh I cant wait for my mail to get here this week because my sister sent me this little cutie pies school pictures! Can you believe he is only 2 and a half! Look at that smile!! I miss my little nephew so much , I do talk to him just about everyday on the phone and get to here his sweet voice. He knows exactly where we live since we have drilled it into his head..lol , he always says hes not going to OKINAWA...whaaa , please Jaxson come visit I miss you buddy!

Speaking of mail my Best friend Maria finally got her package from me today which contained the rest of her birthday gift...FINALLY , her birthday was almost a month ago! Anyhow I surprised her with a ticket to HEATHER BULLARDS ultra fab

Parisian Holiday Soiree
I was so excited to do this for her , and a bit sad that I cant take her myself , but I know she will fave a fabulous time! I can't wait to hear all about it and see all the beautiful photos I demand she take..hah@!

Ok well I better quit yapping and jump in the shower, we have an appointment later this afternoon to find out what this lil booger is we are having! Austin is super excited because we are taking him out of school to go with us . I will be back probably over the weekend to let you all know!

And before I forget because you know that happens a lot to preggo people , as I am finding out..lol
I want to thank everyone for the emails and well wishes and prayers for Serene, she has read most of them and was truly touched and wanted me to thank all of you as well! Please continue to pray for her :)

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Hugs

My Dear Friend Serene

2008-10-20T03:29:00.007-07:00

This week has been very rough. Being pregnant the tears come easy and in this case they dont stop. One of my closest and dearest friends Serene has become very ill. She has known for most of her adult life that she had kidney problems and that it could come to this , but it is still such a shock. She is a single parent to a wonderful 10 year old boy named Nate and my heart is breaking for the both of them.
She was told that in as little as 6 weeks from now she could need a kidney transplant. She had her surgery over the weekend to prepare for her Dialysis which she starts on Monday. Lets just say that was enough pain on its own , yet alone what she will be facing .She will be on Dialysis 5 hours a day , 3 days a week in hopes of drastic improvements.
Like I said before this is all such a shock , she is 34 and seemed to be in great health until this month, when she got this devastating news after becoming ill.
She is a strong woman and I know she is going to face this head on and come out on top , I ask that all of you keep her in your prayers for me ! I love you Serene!!!
Thanks everyone!!
Big Hugs,

Its Fall Somewhere!

2008-10-05T04:35:00.013-07:00

I am so longing for cooler weather! I have been told it wont cool off here until sometime in January and be right back int he 80's by March...ohh my not very much of a fall/winter!
That hasn't stopped me though. I have made.... home made Beef Stew and Potato soup in the past week. I will just have to PRETEND I have 4 seasons like the rest of you!
Speaking of cooking /baking I conjured up a new recipe last weekend and me and Austin got busy in the kitchen. He's a good little baker and hey he knew it was going to help him get closer to earning another CUB SCOUT badge so he was all for it...lol!
We love Pumpkin in this house and I am always making Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies in the fall , this time I turned it into MUFFINS and oh MY HEAVENS , were they ever good!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Preheat oven to 400

4 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 can of 15 ounce pumpkin
3/4 cup oil
2 Tsp. Baking Soda
2 Tsp. baking Powder
1 Tsp. Cinnamon
1 Tsp. Nutmeg
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1 cup Chocolate chips (or I am sure you can substitute nuts)

Beat eggs , mix in sugar ,pumpkin and oil

In another bowl mix flour,baking soda ,baking powder, cinnamon and salt . Slowly add Flour mixture in to pumpkin mixture beating well after each addition. Fold in chips or nuts...

Bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown

So in BABY NEWS we have an ultrasound to find out what this little wee one is finally on the 24th! I can hardly wait ! I have been ordering a few things here and there but only so much you can shop for when you dont know if its a boy or a girl.

A few weeks ago my sister sent me a link to this great site SANDBOX COUTURE
So many cute things calling my name like .....

these beautiful BURP CLOTHS

and these adorable little socks

And this BLINGED out paci holder ..LOVE IT!!!!

Notice a pattern? I love everything PINK!!

Ok and one last thing to share before I go get ready to start my day.
My best buddy Maria had a Birthday last month and I sent her some Delish Brownies from this company YUMMY MUMMY. Well at least I was on time with that portion of her gift!
I want to share a sneak peak of something else I am sending her this week along with her other GIFT!!! I cant wait for her to get this box !! So Maria if you are reading this:
PART DEUX is on its way as of MONDAY ...FINALLY!!

Heres a peak

Ok ladies wish us luck we are headed to a DEAL OR NO DEAL game tonight , where they are giving away 15 grand !!!

Hope everyone is having a Nice weekend!

Thinking PINK this month

2008-10-01T03:24:00.014-07:00

While most everyone is thinking shades of orange , black and GLITTER this month we mustn't forget to think PINK for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

There are many ways to support cancer research and one of my favorites that I contribute to every year is the Susan G Komen RACE FOR THE CURE.
One of my close friends CAMILLE is participating and while I would love to be there to support her in her efforts and join her that day I can not be . So I thought I would show my support for her hear in blog land ! Here is a direct link to her Fundraising Donations page,

http://komenphoenix.kintera.org/race/camrynlei

Your contribution will be greatly appreciated!

There are also lots of companies out there showing there support with lots of great products this month , here are just a handful I found , ENJOY!!!

I have this pretty little

Komen Floral Blossom Candle

from PIER ONE that is in stores now! The votive cup is actually flocked in soft pink!

PINK RIBBON COLLECTION Wear a pink ribbon.
Make a difference.

Your purchase of any product from the Pink Ribbon Collection will help Estée Lauder donate $500,000 to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation

From AVEDA

$4 from every purchase goes to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation

COACH
has several items in there TIME TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE CAMPAIGN

KITCHENAID
Each pink product that is purchased and then registered at www.cookforthecure.com will generate a donation of up to $50 to Komen for the Cure

100% of philosophy's net proceeds from the sale of SHE COLORS MY DAY will be donated to the Entertainment Industry Foundation's Women's Cancer Research Fund.

C.O. Bigelow is partnering with Bath and Body Works to raise $250,000 for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation through the sale of its CANCER VIXEN line

I also found this but I am not much of a yogurt eater but maybe some of you are!

You can find out more info on it here: YOPLAIT

Well boys and girls its this bedtime over here on my side of the world
Good night everyone!

Typhoons and hurricanes Oh my...

2008-09-14T19:38:00.007-07:00

All this horrible weather lately. My family lives along the gulf coast and escaped this one thankfully . My dear friend KRISTIN left Houston a few days before all the chaos and I am still waiting to hear from her again. Hopefully soon!
Then we had a TYPHOON coming straight for us , I panicked a bit because I have never been through one of these yet . And TO ME TYPHOON sounds much worse than HURRICANE! That again could all be just never having experienced one first hand and the thought of not being able to EVACUATE which is a little unsettling! But we got pretty lucky and it headed back out to sea and we have just had tons of WIND and thunderstorms. I did go out and get all the necessary supplies( batteries, canned foods, propane cases of water and candles ..) now we are the proud owners of a STORM CLOSET ...lol . Not that I had space for any of that !!!

We have bought Austins costume all ready from this cool store BUY COSTUMES . He is such a HUGE Star wars fan and the minute he saw this costume that was all she wrote , he had me pressing add to cart and pay now....lol. I was very happy with this website..super fast shipping and not overly priced ,like a lot of other places I have ordered from since getting to Japan.

I signed up for BELLAWEEN and cant wait to see what fun stuff Teresa has awaiting us!
All though none of my craft supplies have made it out of the boxes and class starts tomorrow!
The hubby has another DR appt. this afternoon for his torn hamstring ...he still cant bend down
which means no carpet down and no craft room unpacked...uggh!

This weekend we ventured out and found some cool new stores . One of them was along the lines of IKEA and it actually had some crafty things such as clipboards, bulletin boards , flowers ...not a HUGE selection but I will definitely go back. We also stopped at a shopping center that was FUN for me , it was a mix between POTTERY BARN, CRATE AND BARREL, WILLIAMS OF SONOMA, and The BODY SHOP. I was excited to see such a place! The lighting section in the MAX PLUS store was incredible, some of the most gorgeous chandeliers I had ever seen and of course I didn't have my camera! Oh and Lots and lots of SOY candles too..YIPPY!
This is one of the beauties they had!

And before I head out to start some laundry I wanted to share this fun little site I came across this week.Many of you have it bookmarked I am sure but for those of you who dont...............
ONE PRETTY THING

I just love all the CRAFTY roundups !!!

Have a great week everyone!!!

CONGRATS and other random things

2008-09-07T23:02:00.016-07:00

(Photo from Dena's Blog)

My last post I linked ya to a giveaway and now I would like to say CONGRATULATIONS again to my buddy Mrs. DENA ROONEY -BERG! She has an amazing talent and I am so happy for her with her new GIG . As a designer for the UBER COOL Baby company The Peanut Shell.
She has designed these cute Hospital bags (you can find more on her blog) for the company and I am sure we will see much more of her amazing talents! I know I cant wait to find out what I am having , so I can order one of her gorgeous diaper bags!CONGRATS AGAIN!!!!

So school is in again (and going well) and I am home alone again. Only this time in a foreign land I have yet to figure out. Its quite different that's for sure. No crafting or craft organizing yet. I had planned on getting started over the weekend after hubby laid the new carpet in there , but it had to be put on the back burner again.... hubby wound up at the DR. on Friday with a torn hamstring. So needless to say he was out of commission all weekend, he even made me drive everywhere we went ! How dare he ..lol

How many of you are still holding out on putting up all the Halloween goodies? I keep seeing all the cute stuff in blog land and its killing me not to get it all out yet. Ja would know I have lost my mind for sure if I put it out this early. I was surprised last night to see a Halloween section here in our Toys R Us and of course had to pick up a cute new nick knack I found, but wont share just yet since I also bought one for my buddy Maria and I don't want her to see it !

We did manage to take a short trip this past month to the gorgeous Busena Terrace Beach Resort

(looking back at the resort from the Boat ride)

So much fun stuff to do there but being pregnant and in the dead of summer it was quite tiring!
The glass bottom boat ride was really neat and man you can't even imagine how much sea life we saw! Thousands and thousands right off shore , including those scary SEA SNAKES..YIKES. Wouldn't you know when we wen to get on the boat huge clouds rolled in and it was sprinkling , so the water wasn't the clearest they said but man it was gorgeous!

My guys checking out all the cool fish

the fish were so colorful (imagine some of your favorite fruity cocktails in those vibrant colors)
only since the water was cloudy and murky from the rain , they don't look so great in my photos but they were!

Cute trolley we used to get around the resort

One of the many restaurants, this one lets just say ..had a less than desirable menu for preggo people! Squid ink pasta and lots of other LOCAL cuisine , I cant quite come to try!But they had great deserts!!!!

here are a few more pics

Us hanging out at the cabana relaxin. Notice the roots on that head..haha! I need to find someone here to get it done!

Ok well I suppose I have yapped on enough for one day....
Time to start making the Chicken enchiladas .. I AM REALLY missing all the yummy food from back in AZ can ya tell??
Hope everyone has a great week :)
Hugs to you all!

Calling all FABRIC lovers

2008-08-30T23:00:00.003-07:00

I wanted to share an awesome giveaway with you all , my TALENTED blogging buddy DENA from the SUGAR SHOP is hosting over on her blog. She has a big announcement this week and is hosting a giveaway . I am hoping she is launching a new store with her fabulous creations! I am going to need an ultra cute diaper bag!
So stop by and check her blog and her wonderful photography and designs out :)

Back to school and somewhat NORMALCY

2008-08-22T01:37:00.009-07:00

Well things should be getting back to somewhat normal I suppose with school starting on Monday . Although we have boxes and boxes stacked everywhere you look in this house , so I guess normal isn't quite the word I should be using! Or stuff finally arrived on island this week. It has been tough trying to get it all organized and put away in this house. so much smaller than what we are used too and well I couldn't bare to put much of our stuff into storage for 3 years. So needless to say the closets aren't the only thing bursting at the hinges, we have wall to wall furniture too.

Today was open house at Austins new school and that went well. Pretty big school compared to what he is used to and for the 1st time he has a male teacher. Mr. Horton , he seems like a fun yet lets get down to business kind of teacher. Austin liked his name and teased with him saying Mr. HORTON HEARS A WHO... which Mr. Horton thought was really funny. He wasn't so sure at first when he knew he had a male teacher , but after meeting him and hanging in the class for a bit , I think all is well.

It is still hotter than heck here , the humidity is just brutal. We have been trying to do some fun stuff on the weekends with our friends Joanne and Bernard and there kids . We did make it to Kokusai St (lots of shopping) and were lucky enough to go on a festival weekend. Which meant lots of Eisa dancers and Taiko drummers. the kids loved it. I was able to find a small drum for my nephew that day , just like the ones the little taiko boys play. Boy my sister is just gonna love me isn't she!

Look what I found at the end of the street! it was fun to go in , but they wouldn't let you touch anything , they all had on gloves ..so funny. I still think it will be way cheaper and more practical to order from them online!

And I have some other news to share! We are expecting a new ANDERSON on March 5th! I was definately surprised and a bit shocked at first. We had talked on and off for more than 2 years about me not being a spring chicken (34 years young haha) anymore and if we were going to have one we better decide soon. So as the saying goes god works in mysterious ways . We are all pretty excited now but at the same time I have been a bit depressed being so far away from all my family and friends . i had my first ultra sound this week and would love to share the wee wittle ones photo ONLY my scanner is in 1 of the 100 unpacked boxes around here...lol
Now if I could just get past this morning/day sickness maybe i could get some unpacking done!!!

i have been ordering new craft supplies so hopefully within the month my house will be in order and I can craft with all you divas, who I MISS!!!

hugs to you all!

Still alive...

2008-07-08T23:27:00.015-07:00

(photo taken at a roller slide park, do we look HOT OR WHAT???)

Yes I am finally posting since getting here to Okinawa.`Thanks to everyone for all the emails!
We have been busy trying to adjust to our new way of life, making new friends and learning lots of new things! It has been a task just to get our internet to work. I logged on for days and all I could see was Japanese text!

I am not quite sure how I feel about it yet. I am TRYING to keep an open mind!
The humidity here is unreal! I am used to the 115 degree temps of the Arizona desert...PIECE O CAKE! This 88 degree 80 % humidity is a bit unpleasant! I spent the first week feeling quite dizzy and dehydrated I am sure.

I do need to attempt to get behind the wheel of the car again. I have only tried it once!`It was pretty scary being on the opposite side of the road and car!

My friend Joanne from high school and her family got here this past weekend. Pretty neat after all this time and we have boys the same age.

All in all I would say I am still NOT USE to it and its going to take a while, but I am gonna stay positive..haha!

I will leave you with some random photos I have taken for now..( FOR SOME REASON BLOGGER WONT UPLOAD MY PICS , I WILL TRY AGAIN LATER)

( HUGE slide made of all rollers , you use cardboard to come down on it)

(Austin coming down the roller slide)

( A GIGANTIC DROP slide , Austin only did it once!)

(sign in the entrance to the park , I HAD to take a pic, even though we arent sure what it means)
ANY IDEA ???

ARAHA BEACH

(very cool pirate ship for the kids on Araha Beach)

Hugs to you all ,I miss everyone! I feel so far away ... gee probably because I am right??LOL

Oh and I almost forgot ....
I experienced my first earthquake,lets just say not fun thinking about a 6.2 quake while living on an island!

Headed to the other side of the world

2008-06-16T16:07:00.001-07:00

Well the time has come, we have been here in LA over the weekend and fly out to Seattle early in the morning and stay the night there before we journey to Okinawa! Just wanted to drop in and say Hi to you all!
Miss reading everyones blogs and of course chatting with you all!

See you soon!

He's home !!!

2008-05-30T11:23:00.007-07:00

So my hubby came home to us for good, from Korea a week ago today. WE couldn't be happier!

Austin hasn't wanted anything to do with me since his daddy stepped off the plane but I understand. Its been non stop fun with dad! Between playing the Wii , Tech Deck stuff and all his new speed racer cars they went out and bought . Austin doesn't think there are enough hours in the day! We have also been going to the baseball field in the evenings when it cools off a bit. I am trying to keep him hyped up about our move to Japan (he is a bit sad ) Baseball starts a few days before we get there and I intend to get him playing right away , so he makes new friends soon after we arrive.

I have been busy with all the moving details and I think after a few phone calls to update our new address all will be done...finally. The movers get here on the 10th of June and should have everything packed and gone on the 13th . Its all happening rather quickly!

I am excited for our little trip to LA before we leave , with our great FRIENDS the RODARTES .
I am not sure how I would have ever survived this past year without Maria or her hubby !
We will be spending Fathers Day out on the SANTA MONICA PIER with the kids

Then we are going to take them to the TAR PITS
and other touristy stuff that's fun for kids. Hopefully Maria and I will have enough free time to stop in to Sweetpeas&Snapshots !

We will say our goodbyes in California and head up to Seattle to see my mother in law and her 2 sons before flying over to Okinawa. I will have the laptop and be checking in on the blogs from time to time and maybe making a few quick posts.

Tonight us girls are doing dinner and going to see the much anticipated SEX AND THE CITY which I have to admit ... I have never watched a single episode! Cant pass up hanging out with the girls though!

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Busy , Busy

2008-05-21T16:15:00.008-07:00

Wow the days sure are flying bye! I have had so much to do with getting ready for this move, that I barely feel like I have sat down. I did get a break this afternoon , I sat home and waited on the storage and moving companies to come out and do there estimates. So I decided to make a new banner and footer(scroll all the way to the bottom to see the footer) for my blog. Hey at least it was something creative! I don't know when the next time I will get to craft will be , I will have to live through all you crafting DIVAS for now!

So since I have nothing of my own to share . I thought I would post a few fun ETSY finds...

(photo from littleprettystudio)
Check out these awesome hoop.dee.do bulletin boards
Jennifer Pebbles of PaperandInk
makes these hip bulletin boards in all sorts of fun patterns

This shop EveryJotandTitle is filled with fun tags for all your projects

(photos from Everyjotandtitle)

I would love to order one of everything from this fun shop!

Digital Paperie

So many pretty designs and images on their paper products.

(photo from Digital Paperie)

This cute shop has FAST SHIPPING and a lot of fun PHOTO cards to choose from

Creative Apples

(photo from Creative Apples)

and last but not least check out this cool store with lots of fun DECALS for your walls

Elephannie

Well I suppose it's time to go throw something together for dinner. Tomorrow I am going to attempt to make this yummy thing.....

Pioneer Womans Carrot Cake

Wish me luck!

P.S. Hubby is home on friday!!!!

Great friends

2008-05-11T18:26:00.009-07:00

Hope everyone had a fabulous mothers day. Mine was good, lunch with Austin and then of course we did something he wanted to do ...lol so we went and watched SPEED RACER. Pretty cool movie for little boys I suppose. I would prefer to watch P.S. I LOVE YOU with Hillary Swank again , very sweet movie I rented this week.

Still no birthday pictures to share ,my friend who has them is a work aholic and promises I will have them soon. I still haven't had time this week to take a photo of my wonderful birthday surprise from Maria. But I was able to find a photo online to share....So she makes me this beautiful card and hands me a box at dinner , not just any box a COACH box. That's another thing we have in common as best friends , our love of COACH purses. So I start reading the card and TEARS start to fall , it was the sweetest ever!

here's a snippet form the card.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRL!

For four years you have been my best friend.

You have been there through the good and the bad.

This is a little token of my friendship. I have a matching one.

So where ever we may be in the world , when we wear them we

will remember our friendship.

See I told ya it was the sweetest ever! Now I haven't even opened the box yet. because I couldn't stop crying and thinking about how MUCH I am GOING TO MISS THIS GIRL!!!!

So I finally get the box open and see this beauty inside.......

I can hardly believe in a month I will be leaving AZ and on my way to Japan. We have everything pretty much ready to go , movers scheduled, flights arranged and we went in and got lots of shots (OH WHAT FUN) but better safe than sorry. My wonderful hubby will be home soon (11 days)and I am so ready to have him back for good! A year is a very long time....

Oh musnt forget that the sweet hubby that he is sent me gorgeous red roses
I think then I will be able to get excited about our new adventures to come!
For now I am too busy separating what we need to take and what needs to stay in storage, not a very fun task !
Oh and on a side note if anyone is looking for a new summery scent , I was given MARC JACOBS PEAR from another great friend and let me tell you , its SO YUMMY!

Well that's all for now. I guess I should get washing the laundry that wont wash itself, oh that would be a WONDERFUL MOTHERS DAY PRESENT ...lol!

Night everyone!

Still here

2008-05-05T08:52:00.002-07:00

Wow its been a while since I have even been able to sit down and read any blogs or post on my own. I know I owe a few emails as well , didn't forget you all. I just had a rather busy ON THE GO kind of week.

I turned the big 34 last week . Eww ..haha!
It was a wonderful week though, lots of shopping and lunches with friends. A wonderful birthday night out including a fabulous dinner at a Italian restaurant , put together by my wonderful amazing friend MARIA. I cant tell you how much fun that was ! I will have to post about the most wonderful thoughtful gift she gave me as soon as I take photos or get all the photos emailed to me from the other night. Needless to say just reading the CARD I CRIED!!!! I love you girl!!!!
Then we all headed out to the SANDBAR for some drinks and dancing. Thanks again to all of my wonderful friends for such a great night!!! I love you all :)

I received my JUNQUE SWAP from BRITT and have yet to take any pics, but that's on the list of must does this week too..haha!
Short post for today though, I am supposed to be getting ready for my girls day lounging by the pool. Lots of yummy food and relaxing with friends for CINCO DE MAYO!

Be back soon!!

,

Tutu Cute!

2008-04-23T12:45:00.007-07:00

Maria and I had a fun time dressing my real life BABY DOLL up for some photos yesterday. She didn't seem to mind at first but after about the 5th change of clothes she wasn't so keen on the idea of smiling for the camera anymore.

Isnt she sweet??

These are just a few of my faves!

Oh how I am going to miss her sweet little face!

Junque and other stuff....

2008-04-15T12:38:00.013-07:00

I couldn't help but redo my blog when I saw the wonderful blog banners from Polly over at COUNTING YOUR BLESSINGS . How sweet is she to offer them free. You can find the link on her side bar , amongst lots of other pretty things! Don't forget to check out her store too, she has some really pretty things there! STORE LINK

Speaking of pretty.. have you seen these GORGEOUS SHEET MUSIC PRINTS ala the sweet and very talented Natasha Burns?? I was so happy when she updated her shop and I was able to snag one of these beauties!

Make sure you stop by HERE soon if you want one , I see she has sold out of a bunch !
(photos from her website)

Wanted to post a few snippets for my partner Britt for the JUNQUE SWAP

Hope she likes everything I sent, this was a fun swap!

Where did the weekend go? This was the first weekend in along while we didn't have plans and places to be everyday. Kind of nice just to lounge at home for once. We did hang out over at Maria's on Friday night for a bit. She helped me make a teeny weeny pink TUTU for my little Hailey bug, who we are going to take photos of tomorrow. My last day keeping her will be this Friday, I am all ready a bit sad . Gonna miss her for sure! I will post some photos this week from our little shoot.

Can not believe a year has almost passed since my hubby moved over to Korea. Or that in a few short weeks we will be moving away from a place we love. Austin is quick to point out he has never lived anywhere else and I know he is very anxious and a bit nervous. I am EXCITED beyond belief that I will have my sweet husband back, but also a bit sad to move on from a place we have called home for almost 9 years now. Military way of life thats all....
I know one day we will make it back here to retire hopefully!

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend wherever you are :)

Great weekend

2008-04-14T12:03:00.008-07:00

Ok my pretty little things is acting up for some reason (maybe because its a MONDAY ) who knows. But I still wanted to share them anyhow.

1. front yard bouquet, 2. sparkly buttons, 3. Couronne Charm, 4. Junque in My Trunk ~ Box Peek, 5. Meet Millie, 6. Antique Rose Hanger, 7. Mint Green Crepe Paper Flowers, 8. Porcelin Rose lamp base, 9. recycled message board, 10. Junque in my Trunk Swap, 11. Teal Vintage Flea FInds, 12. Earring Mania......., 13. Snowflakes!!, 14. spring french style basket ~, 15. IMG_2025, 16. Decorated Bottle & Soap, 17. Hope Springs Eternal collage 08, 18. junque in my trunk swap, 19. vintage lace and millinery, 20. Barn Bling, 21. Sweet Apron, 22. Mini Paper Crown, 23. Tiny Pink Dancers, 24. handmade vintage crepe paper & millinery pretties from fleamarket studio!, 25. Vintage glass buttons, 26. Untitled, 27. vintage pyrex bowl and saucer, 28. Button Jars, 29. Spring Wreath, 30. Vintage Eggs with Yummy Trims

We had a fun weekend out at PIR watching our favorite Nascar drivers. Of course Austin cant make up his mind exactly who his fave is. So he wound up getting 6 new cars to add to his growing collection and this cool new Junior Hat.

We had awesome seats this time in the grandstands and could see all the pitting action.

And when they all turned off there engines due to a red flag , they were right down in front of us, Austin thought this was way cool.

And here you have the winner who I happen to LIKE (wont say it to loud ) Austin wasn't happy that my driver won..lol!

I have been busy wrapping all my goodies for my JUNQUE IN MY TRUNK partner BRITT, in between folding laundry and sorting through tons of paperwork that needs to be gone through before we move. I don't know how we have acquired so much stuff/junk since moving in this house a little over a year ago!

I will be back tomorrow to post a few peeks of Britts JUNQUE. Till then .....

A little of this and that....

2008-04-07T15:17:00.012-07:00

So blogging and crafting haven't happened much as of late, but I sure have thought about it! I have been busy putting JUNQUE together for my swap partner Britt.

With our move quickly approaching and still waiting on Austins medical clearance , it has been a wee bit stressful. I did get to take a break from the worry for a bit over the weekend , Molly ,one of my closest friends came into town with her family. The boys had a ton of fun hanging out all weekend. I met her , her mom and aunt at the zoo early Saturday morning with the kids. It was perfect weather for the zoo. I love this photo I took of them. Wouldnt you know the photo of us is not on my camera..lol!

Here are the boys on the SKYRIDE across the zoo, they thought they were so cool going on it all by themselves!

And here's Austin(well his hand) feeding a giraffe. That was pretty fun!

I wanted to share this lovely little giveaway I won over at The Sugar SHOP, Dena is one of the sweetest girls ever .Look at this adorable fabric she gave away and I was lucky enough to win!

Here is a planter I found while on vacation in Florida , It will wind up in my bathroom eventually , for now its holding some pretty minty lace.

and some pretty new flowers waiting to be used

My days with this cute little face MISS HAILEY are ending soon. I am really going to miss watching her , she is a great baby and good company during the day. Her family is moving off to Alaska. Austin just adores her.....

Hope every ones week is off to a great start!

Passports are in!

2008-03-25T08:25:00.014-07:00

Well we are one step closer to Japan! Our passports came in over the weekend and I was able to get them yesterday. Now all we are waiting on is to hear back from the base we are moving to ,that they have adequate doctors for Austins medical needs. The poor kid has bad allergies and had 5 surgeries just over a year ago to help control them. Happy to report that since then , he has been A -OK and not on a single medication.

We had a blast on our vacation. Like everyone always says... it was great to get home and back to sleep in our own beds. I sure do miss my little cutie pie nephews all ready! Not to worry I took lots of pics of them!Here is my sisters little guy Jaxson, he cant say my name correct just yet so he calls me "ANT CACA "how cute is that??
and here's Brit with my brother and sister in laws little guy EASTON. Such a happy good baby he is.

Austin couldn't get enough of the beach. He didn't care that the water was still cold he wanted to be right there in the water every second.

and the teenage girl is just like her mom and would rather just lounge on the beach, although I think she did have fun burying her brother in the sand!

Of course we had to go to one of the BEACHY tourist spots(Fudpuckers) for lunch. Austin loved getting to pet an alligator. My sister on the other hand wasn't so sure ,even with his mouth taped shut..

I was also lucky enough to spend the day with 3 of my bestest girls eva and there kids. WE had not all been together in almost 5 years. That was a fun day , I sure wish we all lived closer!

Fallene,Stacy, me and Serene

I suppose I should get off here and fold the laundry that isn't going to fold itself! I have tons more photos to share of our trip , who knows maybe I will blog again later today.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

2008-03-22T17:11:00.002-07:00

We have been home for a few days and trying to get back into the swing of things. I had a lot of last minute running around to do for Easter. I think I am finally ready. We will have an egg hunt and dinner over at Marias with the girls and some of our other friends. I know the kiddos are excited!
I hope to share some photos from our trip later this week and to get caught up on all my blog reading! For now just wanted to wish those of you who celebrate Easter a wonderful day.

What next?? Florida that's what!

2008-03-04T09:05:00.005-07:00

Ever had one of those weeks were all you can think is what next??
We had some rather horrible news about our big move last week, and that sent the rest of my week into a tailspin for sure! Hopefully we have it all resolved and it doesn't rear its ugly head again!
Then my computer decided to freak out on me and start shutting itself down every 15 minutes or so. Ja tells me its probably a power issue and needs to be cleaned. I think I may have over reacted a bit( Honey if your reading , I DIDN'T JUST SAY THAT ...lol)
Needless to say that same afternoon I cam home with a new computer.
Now the fun part EVERYTHING is still on the OLD computer...uugh....no photos, no photoshop , lots of missing programs. I know in the end it will all work itself out, but until then its a headache! I have started small and I am making some progress. So no photos of the new haircut , because I have no photo programs on here yet!

Thankfully we are going on vacation this week. We leave Friday for Florida. I can hardly wait.

Well thanks for listening to me vent about my awful week, this week is shaping up much better. See you when we return from the beaches on Mar, 18th! Till then take care everyone :)

Monday ,all ready?

2008-02-25T08:24:00.004-07:00

Good morning all, hope your weekend was a good one. I for one think it went by way too fast. Mondays are my least favorite day of the week!

I took the plunge and chopped off all my hair again , to prepare for summer is what I always tell myself. We will be in the midst of moving when it reaches 110+ here. I will have to get used to humidity again..oh boy what fun! I will make sure to have Austin snap a photo of the new do this afternoon. We are starting to get all of our ducks in a row so to speak for the big move. I have all the passport paperwork filled out just need to get the photos taken this week. Then I need to work on our medical and dental clearance , they want to make sure we do not have any underlying health issues that they might not be able to care for.

I wanted to give a big thanks to the sweet and talented Miss SARAH of Gyspy Mermaid Life she awarded me this cute award, she always SPARKLES my day too with her sweet comments!

So I guess its my turn to pass along the blog award to some other wonderful bloggers, who's comments and blogs SPARKLE my day!

Maija a local gal, so thoughtful and sweet ! We really must meet!

Jennifer -Talented and sweet mom of 3 , who I wish I lived closer too!

Dena -Bag Designer EXTRAORDINAIRE , really needs to get her shop open...lol NO PRESSURE DENA!

Karin - You will easily be hooked on her blog I WARN YA! Beautiful

artwork and the girl can write like no other! You crack me up Karin :)

Ok so once again I didn't finish up any craft projects but my house is CLEAN from top to bottom. literally. I must have been living under a rock because I had never seen or heard of CLOROX GREENWORKS . A girlfriend from back home had called over the weekend and mentioned this new stuff. So glad I went out and got it! I wiped down every baseboard window sill and blinds, cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms and the floors with this yummy stuff. The whole house has a FRESH clean lemony scent and I love it! Makes it really feel like spring! Each product contains over 99% natural ingredients that are biodegradable, so you really are being GREEN.

You can check them out here

Well now that the INFOMERCIAL is over I guess I should get in gear for the day, have a few errands to run and yes HONEY the post office is at the top of the list, your box is on its way!

Have a great week!

Spring Fever

2008-02-20T21:08:00.009-07:00

1. spring, 2. pink and white, 3. Spring swap, 4. Spring Chick Boxes, 5. Sweet Spring Egg Baskets, 6. Vintage Easter, 7. Tulips, 8. Spring Blocks, 9. Spring Bunny Completion 012, 10. signs of Spring......, 11. Oh Baby! Happy Feathery Friday!, 12. Strawberrys, 13. These pink twirleebirds are almost as cute as me!, 14. Detail Easter Wreath, 15. pink bird, pretty eggs, 16. Rhubarb "Tea"

I definatley have been bitten by a little spring bug here. WE have had warmer temps the past week or so and I love it! Also quite a bit more rain than usual here in the desert, as I type its coming down outside again.
I pulled out the Spring and Easter things today but didnt get around to unpacking very much, that 4 month old little bebe keeps me busy!
I hope to get to that and to finishing up the Easter boxes I started last week, notice I said HOPE, always something keeping me from crafting..lol!
I did shop though,always time for that. Isnt it great that we can sit here and just click away and have instant gratification! I would like to thank NATALEA for always sharing her fun ETSY finds and great shops. I ordered from a new one today PINK ROSE PASTRIES, stop by and check her out.

Here are a few photos from when I unpacked a bit of stuff today

Last week we stayed super busy. We went and saw the SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES on Valetines day , I have to say it was rather cute. We also went to build a bear and since Austin is gettting to old and has a few too many bears we decided to make a bear for my cutie pie nephew who we will be going to see next month in Florida, cant wait!

He had a friend sleep over on Friday and then Saturday we picked up his BEST GAL PAL Miss CHLOEY and met a friend of mine at the rollerplex. Boy it had been a while since I was on roller skates , but hey check me out I didnt fall once!

Ok so .....Heres the thing about Austin and Chloey, you cant say its his girlfriend because he gets VERY MAD , but his teacher says it is very apparent all the time, he looks out for her, helps her and plays with her everyday. She says its the cutest thing the way they are together... OH MY hes only in 2nd grade!

I had never really taken them places , we have had her over to play and vice versa. They had so much fun skating and then I took them out for ice cream afterwards, I still cant believe it ! Of course I had the CAMERA! SO I will leave you with a few pics of them.

Hope you all are having a great week!

Happy Valentines Day

2008-02-14T07:49:00.001-07:00

Good morning everyone! Today is the big day. We get to reveal ourselves to our SECRET ADMIRERS. I have allready seen the things I sent out posted this morning! I am still trying to figure out who my admirer is though, she left no clues :)

Here are a few snippets of the things I sent out to my gal.

Now here are the SWEET TREATS I received from my admirer...I will be going to FIND her out as soon as I am done with this post..lol!

There were lots of wonderful goodies, yummy box of chocolates, a beautiful tussie filled with so many pink cute things, a lovely cherub candle holder and 2 little cherub plates , plus lots more! I love it all , thank you so much!

My youngest sweetie lost his 3rd tooth last night (finally) he was so happy to get money from thte tooth fairy this morning and valentines from mom! Look at that toothless grin .

Wishing all of you a wonderful day with lots of love!

I have been busy working on some cute Easter boxes, I will get photos up of them soon :)

Off to see all the other Admirers goodies and to see if I cant find out who mine is!

Super Tuesday

2008-02-05T14:36:00.000-07:00

Is not so super when you have a cold or are coming down with something!

I did still get out first thing this morning and VOTE though. AS many of you know my hubby is in the USAF and we need a commander in chief that supports them!

I finally found a bit of time last night to start putting everything together to mail out to my SECRET ADMIRER , for Jenn and Cheryls fun sw ap

Hopefully I will get a few SNEAK peek photos of them before they get shipped out tomorrow!

We had a SUPER weekend amongst thousands of other SUPERBOWL Fans. WE spent friday evening having dinner with friends down in the middle of all the chaos and we attended the parade and fireworks/laser light show. The kids were amazed! Of course we shopped and got our Superbowl Tshirts and such. Here is Austin painted with his fave team , the guy doing the face painting was having an issue whenever someone wanted a team other than the GIANTS or PATRIOTS.. OWELL Mister!

And one of me and Brenna in front of the fountains being silly ,thanks Austin! All in all it was worth fighting the crowds!

Saturday it was MOMS only..lol. WE got all gussied up and headed out with the masses to a club in Scottsdale. Had a fun time , had lots of drinks and danced our butts off till they threw us out. I didnt quite like how I felt the next day but hey gotta have fun every once in a while!

And just incase you missed it :

The very talented CANDICE CARPENTER has a new shop opening soon !
I believe her grand opening is March 15th. Stop by and check it out! I can't wait!

No time for crafting

2008-01-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

Wow this past weekend was a busy one! This week is shaping up to be the same . I spent most of yesterday getting the newly turned 15 year olds new cellphone turned on for her before school was out. If that wasnt headache enough, I then have another problem with my car! As I type I have taken it into the dealer and I am waiting on a call to see what is wrong. Wish me luck, dern cars! Hey at least this time it didnt try and drive off with me...haha!

So there has been no time for crafting but of course I am still picking up supplies here and there. I need to work on my Swap project so I can get it in the mail this week to my secrect admirer! Ok and sister if you are reading look away... I have a project in mind that I want to make for her too. She will be the Birthday girl this coming Monday!

I am getting excited about TV again because BIG BROTHER will be back in just a few weeks and of course LOST starts this week, thats my hubbies fave! I still need to go out and get season 3 we have the other 2 and I know he wants that one for sure! Who else has a MUST watch show?

I hope to put all my fun finds and buys to use soon but until then I will share some of them with you.

Have a Great week!

My super cute mini heart feather wreath I love this thing!

Lots of fun Valentines day picks , the white ones with the rose are from Maria some of her Thrifty finds! Thanks girl!

Yummy boxes !

Floral sprays with the cutest velvet bunny

Birthday Breakfast

2008-01-25T09:03:00.000-07:00

My baby is 8! Thanks for all the Birthday wishes!
This morning I surprised him with a birthday breakfast before school. Austin has had a really hard time this past year with his daddy being gone and was very adamant that he didn't want to have a party with out his dad. I even tried to get him to have one while he was home but he didn't want that either. WE did have a fun filled day before he headed back to Korea ,an early celebration if you will. He got new Wii games and another pair of Heelys since his feet wont seem to STOP GROWING!
I still wanted today to be some what fun of course. So I pulled out the party supplies, had all the presents wrapped and baked some cinnamon rolls (HIS FAVE) and topped with 8 candles. When he came downstairs he was QUITE SURPRISED! He said to me later on "MOM you are being kind of weird about this day"
Ahh do you suppose he is getting to GROWN up??
I have to run to and up the cupcakes and be at school today at 2 for his classroom celebration, MORE FUN!!
Here are a few photos I snapped while he was opening up some of his presents and of course talking on the phone to his daddy who called to wish him a Happy Birthday.

WE have a very busy weekend planned and I am in need of some down time , wouldn't you know it? I am still trying to adjust to having a 3 month old around ,she wears me out!

Have a great weekend everyone

15 and 8 Oh my!

2008-01-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

My babies are growing up and growing up fast! Where does the time go? They both have birthdays this weekend , Austin turns 8 on Friday and Britni will be 15 on Sunday...crazy! She is super excited to be able to get her learners permit finally! He is happy to be turning 8 like the rest of his friends who all seem to have a birthday a month or 2 before his..lol. I am thankful that they are both GREAT KIDS! Love you GUYS!

I came across a fabulous artist this past week that I am sure most of you all ready knew about!

Miss SUSIE SCOTT

I was lucky enough to snatch up one of her adorable creations and was so happy when it arrived this weekend. It is just adorable!

Check out her etsy Here SUSIE SCOTT STUDIOS

I have been working on my swaps and have finished up everything for Natalea my partner for the Sweetheart Box Swap and hope to get to the post office today! Its been a challenge having a 3 month old around and getting anything done. I forgot just how much work wittle bebes are!

Have a great week everyone!

ell-ohh-vee-ee ( Pretty little things January)

2008-01-17T09:28:00.000-07:00

1. Love in Black, 2. Key To Your Heart, 3. valentine garland, 4. Vintage Gate Valentine Collage, 5. mini hearts, 6. Simple Valentine Cone, 7. Felt Heart Brooch from Heidi, 8. Yum!, 9. Love - A Soldered Shadow Box, 10. loverly picks, 11. Fragile Handle With Care #1, 12. Somebunny Loves You, 13. Swan Valentine, 14. Cupcake mug, 15. Pink Too!, 16. Valentine Tags, 17. Red roses for etsy, 18. Handmade old-fashioned Valentine, 19. Valentine's Day bracelet, 20. fpx243664, 21. pink roses for Valentines.2, 22. Valentines Day Cupcakes, 23. pinkheart, 24. b4 swaps! 014, 25. Valentine Tussie, 26. Sis Boom Boing, 27. Sewn Paper Valentines, 28. Valentine Tree, 29. Felt Valentines, 30. Valentines Day Table

A SWEET DAY

2008-01-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

Am I a lucky girl or what?

I was having a totally BLUE MONDAY since Ja had returned to Korea and later that afternoon I check the mail to find a box from the oh so TALENTED and SWEET Natalea Kandefer my partner for the SWEETHEART BOX SWAP. She really put a smile on my face when I needed it, Thanks NATALEA!!!

All this pink who wouldn't be HAPPY??

This gorgeous box made of wonderful goodies and filled with all sorts of yummy things! She included a Yankee Fresh Cut roses Candle and let me tell ya , it smelled like a DOZEN ROSES when I opened it up :) I love the sparkly heart ornies!

How cute are these HEART DISHES I love THEM! They found a home in my kitchen yesterday.

The smaller box in the middle is hand painted in the prettiest shade of pink and glittered to perfection of course and I just love the vintage image she chose for the top, so pretty! I placed it on my bedside table with a vase full of flowers near and I put my jewelry in it when i went to bed last night.

A close up of one of the bowls. She also sent a jar of yummy sprinkles and a recipe card .I know I TOOK a photo of them and I seem to have deleted it...hmmm

Thanks again Natalea for being such a GREAT PARTNER!

and Thanks for all the sweet comments and emails yesterday , those helped to brighten my day as well!

Monday Blues

2008-01-14T08:32:00.000-07:00

I have made it through one day and I am trying to get back on track. He called from Korea around 5am to let me know he is half way around the world again...
I don't remember it being this hard the first time. Maybe that is because I didn't know what to expect.
We had such a fun time while he was home and it was really hard to say goodbye. Going to try and stay busy and hope the next few months fly by and keep in mind we will be headed to a TROPICAL ISLAND soon .

I hope to get busy on my swaps now that I may have some free time. I say MAY have free time because I started watching a friends baby this morning and she(Hailey) is just 3 months old and we all know babies can keep you busy . That is part of the reason I decided to watch her to occupy my time.

Jenn & Cheryls Secret Admirer Valentines SWAP
and
Marias Sweetheart Box Swap

Tomorrow night we are headed to another Hockey game , we love HOCKEY and we love the COYOTES! I actually just found a new bed set for Austins room and I am going to redo his room before we head to Japan in all COYOTES stuff, he will love it! Maria and Tony and the kiddos are going with us this time , should be tons of fun , I think its there first HOCKEY game.

Well off to take out something for dinner and I think little Miss is getting hungry here too.
Have a great week everyone!
I will leave you with a few photos , some from a Hockey Game and a couple from bowling on Friday

Are YOU a SWEETHEART???

2008-01-05T11:58:00.000-07:00

Well we are home and what a blast we had!

I have lots of photos only I haven't even began to upload them yet! I might get to them sometime this week , but then again maybe not since this is our last week with Ja. Boy time flies....

Here are a few from Snobowl in Flagstaff , we had a ton of fun up playing in the snow. Austin loved it but was really ready to leave once he got cold. I thought It would be hard to drag him outta there but he proved me wrong!

ARE YOU A SWEETHEART ?

If not you need to hurry on over and sign up for this fun swap at http://www.thejunkkdrawer.blogspot.com/

Maria is hosting this sweet one and I am sure you wont want to miss out so hurry on over before the 7th to be included!

I also wanted to mention here something that happened when I hosted my swap. I know these things happen but I hate when they do. I usually would not mention any names but with the CIRCUMSTANCES I feel it s Ok to do so.

I had tried several times to reach ALLISON JACKSON from ONCE UPON A DAISY blogspot on her partners behalf . I never got a response. She however did get a package from her partner and never sent out anything in return as she had stated. Upon us trying to contact her a few more times , her blog was mysteriously shut down and her email GONE . I hate that this happened but understand that there a people out there who do this . I just want to make sure this same one doesnt get away with it again.

Ok girl I suppose I should getoff this comkputer and unpack.

Hope everyone is off to a great start this New YEAR!!

Sedona here we come

2007-12-29T13:42:00.000-07:00

The kids loved Sedona so much this summer that we decided it was a must to go back. So we are taking a few days next week and heading up to the Radisson Poco Diablo Resort for some cooler weather and fun. This time we decided to do the offroading PINK JEEP tour . All of us are pretty excited to give that a try. All though Ja thinks he can drive it better since he is an avid offroader himself haha!

I have had a few minutes to stop and check on some blogs , and I know I owe a few emails to some of you. I will be back soon , I miss all of you!

HAVE A GREAT NEW YEARS and BE SAFE !!!

From our home to yours

2007-12-24T21:29:00.000-07:00

MySpace Graphics

MySpace Graphics

MySpace Graphics

He's home!!!

2007-12-20T20:50:00.000-07:00

I have been on cloud nine!
We are a family again , at least for the month....but I am not trying to think about that!

I wanted to pop in and say hi and also let you know about a few things . First my buddy MARIA at The JUNK DRAWER will be hosting a new SWAP soon . She will be posting all the details after all the holiday hoopla so stop on by and check it out.

Also the sweet Ms. Bren is having a FUN GIVE AWAY over at her blog . So hurry over , I am sure it will put a smile on your face !!

If I dont check in for a bit you all will know why , but just incase.... I want to wish you all a Wonderful Holiday and A GREAT NEW YEAR!!!

Delightful Delicious Delovely

2007-12-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

1. Sugar plum dining room, 2. Christmas 2007, 3. Super Luxe Ornaments!, 4. white xmas, 5. Dreaming of a White Christmas~Bottle, 6. Christmas Centerpiece, 7. Tiny ice skater shadow box by Rhea, 8. Details..., 9. joy, 10. Merry and Bright, 11. fireplace mantel, 12. winter buckets, 13. snowflake bucket, 14. Christmas 2007, 15. Glittered snowfalkes, 16. sneak peaks holidays kris hurst stuff 015, 17. Vintage Style Ornaments, 18. Snowflake, 19. Christmas sneak peek, 20. Christmas Napkins & Coasters, 21. vintage christmas treasure, 22. vintage Christmas swap 2006, 23. Christmas Tag with Vintage Santa, 24. Silver Set, 25. Christmas ornaments, 26. Christmas trees - red white trees, 27. Christmas Dressform Ornaments, 28. Christmas Candles, 29. xmas pic 2006 027, 30. 3 Santa Ornaments

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by my blog during KARLAS party , it was great fun! Also for all the sweet comments you left about my hubby coming home!
Hope you all have a great weekend. We will be cleaning and shopping and waiting for MONDAY , our HAPPY DAY!!!