Its me

Thanks everyone for the wonderful birthday wishes. You guys are too sweet. I had a good day all in all. I worked for a few hours, then ordered dinner in. It was nice. I got lots of fun gifts. A crockpot cookbook, a Hilary Weeks cd(love her music), an awesome puzzle piece necklace from my sis, a beautiful pendant from dear friends, an outfit, earings, a basket of bath and body works brown sugar and fig stuff, and a gorgeous 3 circle pendant from dh. I think I racked it in this year. Oh I forgot to mention that my 11th wedding anniversary was on the 16th. I had been away at convention and then worked the store that night so I didnt get to see dh. But to my surprise he showed up at work with my dd and a dozen red roses and a sonic coke with extra ice. What a great day.

I taught "A Star is Born" tonight. It was fun. I must say I have the best "students" ever. They make each and every class so much fun.

Kim is getting closer to revealing the big surprise. Some great funky finds. But watch closely there are only a certain number available. October 1st is just around the corner.

Ive been thinking alot lately about the way I scrap. Its changed so much over the years. But the one thing I still have trouble with is journaling. Telling the story or emotion behind the photos. So I made this way cute composition book at CKC Phoenix with Katherine Brooks and Im going to put up weekly journaling challenges. It may be something simple or something a little more deep. Are you all game? Ill post a new topic every Thursday night. So heres #1

A simple one to start-
What makes you happy now. Simple right.
This is for my kids. I am bad and do not scrap myself at all. I want to change that. I want my kids and grand kids and great grand kids to look back at my books and know me for who I am now. At age 30. So there you go. If you scrap a page using your journaling or if you just want to share, email me at michelle@devinememories.net and Ill post it here. Hope you guys play along. I need all the help I can get with journaling.

Happy writing!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHELLE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!

HEY EVERYONE IT'S MICHELLES BIRTHDAY!
LOG IN ON THE COMMENT SECTION AND WISH HER A HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

okay so i wanted to wish michelle a happy birthday and thought
this would be a fun way of doing it! i just happen to know her
pass word! scary huh? not sure when the next time will be that
she actually checks her blog!!! but she'll be surprised if everyone
posts her a happy birthday!

sorry michelle i couldn't resist!
love ya, kim

Great weekend

CKC Phoenix was AWESOME!!! The ladies who took my cd case album class were fabulous. It made the whole weekend a great experience. Here are some pics.








Thanks girls for a great weekend.

Heres a cute picture of our new puppy Jedi. Yes another new puppy. Hes an adorable 9 week old chocolate lab. He has such a fun and snuggly personality.




I just wanted to do a quick update. More later.

Hello all!! What a busy crazy day. But what day isn't? Started out early, getting the boys ready for school, and getting hubby out to work. I tried to crawl back into bed for a few minutes but the diva woke up and had to get her ready for preschool. She started on Tuesday and Im so grateful she has something to keep her busy. At least for a few hours a week. Heres a picture of her first day. Cute little legs huh!



I meet a fun gal the other day at the store that was so cute. It was her first time in our liitle store and was so excited about all of our fun classes. I promised her I would post a sample from "Patterned Mania" being held on Thursday Septmber 28th from 6-9pm. Heres a sneak peak Amy;)



My zoo seems to be doing ok. Master Luke is growing. Hes also getting to be a big terd!!! Bitting and chewing everything. Thank goodness for bitter apple spray.





Heres a funny picture of Luke and Jasmine(the bunny). Luke thinks shes a chew toy.



My allergies arent so bad lately with her. I must be building up a slight resistance. But I am worried about my son. Weve had to start his advair inhaler again(which is normal for this time of year) But I just hope shes not making it worse. Ill need to keep a close eye out for that.

Convention is next week. Im getting nervous but excited. It should be fun.

Memory Trends is 33 days away. Vegas here we come.

Early

Oh its so early and late all at the same time. Im trying to condition myself for the all nighter tonight. Im so excited. It should be tons of fun.

Ive been cutting away for the last 4 hours getting my kits ready or convention. All 110 of them. The tips of my fingers are sore, my back is aching and Im only half way through my kits. Thank goodness I have more time. Heres a peak at my class. It will be Thursday and Friday night, September 14th and 15th at 7:30pm at the Phoenix CK Convention. I believe theres still room. Online registration is closed but you can sign up on site.





My next class at the store is also an altered album. Its made out of cd literature cases. The class is called "Creative albums". It will be held Thursday Septmber 7th 6-9pm and the class fee is $25. This is a fun and messy class with lots of paint and ink. The deadline to register is Tuesday the 5th by close. Call today. 480-813-2093





Ok one more class to tell you about. "Altered wall art". This month is a 2 foot by 2 foot wall board. You are able to choose your own patterned paper and color scheme the night of the class. This is one of my favorite classes to teach. I love the altered stuff that can be displayed. The class is Saturday the 9th from 10am-1pm. Class fee $32.




Here is a quick update on our zoo. The puppy is doing good. We had a good nights sleep last night for the first time since weve had him. How you ask? Its kinda funny. We are in process of training our other dog Leah at Petsmart. Well they said the best way the alter a bad behavior is by taking a soda can (empty) and fill it with pennies. When the dog does something you dont want them to do you shake it and basically scare them. They usually stop whatever it is they are doing bad. Well we put Luke in his Kennel last night and he started whinning right way so the husband went and got a can. Every time the puppy barked or whined he shook it. Then silence. We just kept it by our bed and shook it when needed. It was great. We are loving the can .

Jasmine, or Jazzy for short, is doing well. Thats the bunny. But Im afraid I am allergic to her. Allergies have been bad the last few days. But it would break my dd's heart to get rid of her. We are trying to think of an alternate plan. Maybe when it cools down a bit more we can keep her outside. But until then Im miserable. Itchy eyes, stuffy nose, and scratchy throught. YUCK!!!! But at least ds is still ok. We havnt had a problem with his asthma yet. But if we do, we will have to give her away. Darn husband. He just needs to stop bringing home animals. Crunch, one of our hamsters, got a new cage the other day. Its cool like Yogis now. But he does the same thing Yogi does at night with his food. He fills up his running ball, then when all is quiet, he runs so it makes tons of noise. m telling you my house is a zoo. Dh is now asking for a snake. If I come home to a snake, I think my husband will be homeless with 5 animals.

Well I dont think I can last any longer. Got to go sleep. Until next time.

Ive been tagged!!http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

Thanks to Amy I have been tagged. So here it goes.

IF YOU COULD BUILD A HOUSE ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD IT BE?
Anywhere next to my sister Jen. I miss her and would love to be able to see her everyday.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ARTICLE OF CLOTHING?
jeans that make my rear look good even on those not so skinny days

FAVORITE PHYSICAL FEATURE OF THE OPPOSITE SEX?
the eyes. Definatley the eyes.

WHAT'S THE LAST CD YOU BOUGHT?
ok so it was dottie loves rock from target. Jenna picked it out. It does have a few good songs on it though.

WHERE IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO BE?
On the beach with a good book. Its been way too long.

WHERE'S YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PLACE TO BE?
Outside in 110 degree heat. UGH!!

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO BE MASSAGED?
the back

STRONG IN MIND OR STRONG IN BODY?
depends on the day

WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?
6:30am weekdays, and as late as possible on weekends.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE KITCHEN APPLIANCE?
The microwave. We wouldnt eat without it.

WHAT MAKES YOU REALLY ANGRY?
ignorance and intolerance. And people picking on my kids.

IF YOU COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE
acoustic guitar or piano. Tough call

FAVORITE COLOR?
right now its a dark teal and chocolate brown. Changes often however.

WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SPORTS CAR OR SUV?
SUV definatley.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN AN AFTERLIFE?
Yes, absolutley

FAVORITE CHILDREN'S BOOK?
"Hungry little catapilar", and "Superfudge"

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON?
winter in Az.

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE HOUSEHOLD CHORE
bathrooms

IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPER POWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
ok this may sound super cheesey and beauty queenish, but world peace and total kindness.

IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO - WHAT IS IT AND WHERE IS IT?
a turtle on my ankle.

CAN YOU JUGGLE?
nope

THE ONE PERSON FROM YOUR PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK TO?
My grandparents on my dads side. I loved them so much. I wish I couldve sat down and asked all kinds of questions about thier lives. They passed away before I really "grew" up and found family history important.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE DAY?
When I have nothing scheduled and I can just do whatever I want.

WHAT'S IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR?
frames from IKEA, easles for the store, magnet boards, legos, polly pocket shoes, and lots of dirt.

WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SUSHI OR HAMBURGER?
Oh a big fat juicey hamburger with bacon and avacados. Yum!

WHO DO YOU TAG NEXT?
Kim and my mom

Rollercoaster ride

Wow!! This week has been one crazy rollercoaster ride. As I posted before my crazy husband brought home a new puppy. 4 weeks old. So tiny and so cute. I forgave him for that pretty much right when I saw him. But then Thursday I took my dear dog of 12 years to the vet. We ended up putting him to sleep. It has affected me so much more than I thought it would. I cried for 2 days straight, and still have trouble when I see those big brown eyes in my memory. The vets office(East Mesa Animal Hospital) was wonderful. Very compassionate. The nurse made me a paw print mold in clay. Everytime I look at it I cry. But I know this is a part of life that we all go through. As my husband told me, the wise man that he is, It is worth having the animals in our lifes with all the good memories. Life wouldnt be the same without them.

As if all of that wasnt enough, while I was at class on Saturday my husband calls me and informs me our daughter wants a bunny. I just laughed. He cant be serious right. Thats the last thing I need. Another animal in the house. Well he was serious. I got another phone call later saying we had a BIG bunny named Jasmine. 2 dogs, 2 hamsters, and a bunny. Who needs a zoo.




Its crazy. The dogs and the bunny are totally fine together. No growling, no eating, or chasing. The bunny is like 1 year old and potty trained. She just hops all over the house and every once in a while you see a bunny run across the hall. Kinda freaky. I was totally mad, and I still am a little peeved, but I said I would give it a try. Jenna just loves her so how can I take her away.

The good side to this rollercoaster is I think my inspiration is finally breaking out. Thanks to Elsie Flannigan, Katherine Brooks, and Ali Edwards. The class ideas are pouring out. The layout ideas wont stop coming. I think Ill be scrapping into the wee hours of the morning. Ive been having a block and its been making me crazy. But my work schedule is light this week and I think I can get some projects done. Wish me luck. That is if this cold I feel coming on goes away.

Keep an eye out in the next few days for peaks at my class samples. I will be posting dates and description in the next day or so.

New and old

Look at what my hubby brought home yesterday. An adorable bundle of fluffy fur.His name is Luke. Master Luke. Hes only 4 weeks old. So young to be away from his mama, but we are trying our best to take good care of him.






Look how this cute puppy eats. What a hoot. Hes such a lazy baby right now.




On the other end Im taking my dear dear old dog Kodi Bear to the vet in the morning. Hes 16 years old and I think hes in pain. My hubby and I have been putting this visit off for a while afraid of what the vet will say. But its time. I dont want him to suffer anymore. He has been a good dog. A canary at time with his wineing, but a great little companion. We love you boo boo bear.

Its been too long!

Ok Ok so Im a terrible blogger.

Heres what been happening. Hubby went out of town this past weekend and left me to dog sit one of his friends dog. At first I was a little peeved. I have TWO dogs already and they drive me batty sometimes. But Baeya is an adorable dog who I do not want to give back. Ive never said that before. She is just so cuddily and cute.






Im getting ready for my wallart class on Thursday. I love the way it turned out. Heres a sneak peak. Its a 2 foot by 2 foot wooden square just like what we have hanging on the wall at the store. You will get to pick out your own patterned paper and its only $32. Call by Wednesday night to reserve your space.





Ok, My life is boring. Just the way I like it. I will post again soon. Goodnight

I know Ive been a bad blogger lately. Going days at a time without posting, no pictures, and not a lot of detail. So heres some fun pictures of my last few days.

I had posted before about our new hamster Yogi. He is a black bear hamster, hence the name Yogi. He has a crazy personality. From the first night he would go over to his food bowl, fill his cheeks with food then run up his slide into his wheel and drop it all off. Then when it was nice and full he would run. It makes such a loud and annoying sound. To top it off he does it at night when everyone is sleeping. Or trying to. Then when I was taking his picture I thought he was going to leap right out of his cage and chomp on the camera. He is seriously one crazy hamster. But he is cute and hes growing on me.



My dear dear husband has finally joined the dads with obnoxious shirts club. Its hideous. All I know is I wont be seen with hm in that thing. UGH!




Tonight was our dear friends going away party. It was nice to just hang out with everyone at the store. We laughed, almost cried, and ate til our stomachs hurt. Good times like these is what friends are all about. You will be missed One L. We love ya.



The kids and I are hanging out with my sisters family this week. Our kids seriously are attached at the hip. If they are not together they are on the phone talking. I absolutely love it. I love their family sooo much. One day we will live next door to each other instead of 100's of miles away.

Tommorrow and Saturday Gina Lovato comes down to teach some great classes at the store. There is still room left so call and reserve your space. Each class is $35. Well worth it. Ill be taking the Saturday afternnon class. Come join me. Check out the samples on her blog.

Until next time.

Whats new

Oh so much. Im finally back to a semi-normal routine. I woke up today and scrubbed my house. Boy it needed it. It took me 8 hours but its done. Well except my dds room. Im kinda scared to dig through that one. I think it will take me another full day. Yikes.And I still need to organize my studio. But that is it. Im feeling pretty good.
I have classes to finish now but thats the fun stuff.
Over the weekend when I was working my dh bought my ds another hamster. At first I was a tad upset, but I came home and saw how cute he was. He is a black bear hamster and they named him yogi. He has a funny personality. Fits right in with the rest of the bunch.
Im so excited for this week. My sister and her family are coming up and spending some time with us. Our kids are the best of friends and we always have such a great time.

Dont forget this wekend Gina Lovato is coming over from California to teach some great classes. You can check out her samples at Devine Memories. Just scroll down to upcoming events.

Until next time.

$2700.00

Can you believe that? What an awesome weekend. The first annual Autism Awareness event at Devine memories went spectacular. I got to meet many new friends who shared stories, and opened up their hearts to hear ours. Like Isaih, who showed me his album with surfing pictures. There is a group of professional surfers in California who take autistic children and adults out on surf boards and surf. Amazing. There are so many amazing individuals out there who continue to give unselfishly. So inspiring. I also had the pleasure of seeing Tanner and jadens old speech therapists Jennifer and Amanda, along with Jadens OT Rachael. It has been several years. I know if I hadnt found such wonderful therapist my boys wouldnt be so far along today. A big hug and thanks goes out to them. I also had the chance of meeting Jesse from Autism Speaks. What a great gal. I hope we continue to keep in touch. I am especially thank for that I got to spend some time with my dear sister. She flew up from Utah just for the event. Love her tons. And Thanks to Kim, my mom Sandy, and Amy for keeping me sane through out the planning process. I know I was a bit nuts.

Thanks goes out to Kim Kesti, Susan Keuter, Carlene Federer, Allison Landy and Kim Hesson for donating their time and talent. Even if all classes didnt fill, your hearts where open. Thank you. You ladies are amazing at what you do.

The money that was raised will go to Autism reasearch and education via Autism Speaks. We are going to be gathering a team to walk for autism March 31st, 2007. Keep your eyes open for more details if you are interested.

My heart is so full. I am truely thankful for my friends and family. I am not lacking anything and for that I am grateful.

Thank you!!!!

Its almost 2am and Im exhausted but cant even begin to tell you all who came and participated in our autism awareness event this far how grateful I am to you. You have been soooo giving and so supporting of this worthy cause. I roughly figured out how much money we have raised this far and it came out to be over $2000.00 and we have one more day and night to go. Tears fill my eyes and my heart is about to burst. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! You all are the best. I will post pictures on Saturday night or Sunday morning. Again I am sooooo grateful to everyone, and my heart is so full. Thank you to evryone who is sharing their stories and thank you to everyone who asks questions and wants to learn more. We at Devine Memories thank you.

Update

Has it been a week already? Man does time fly. Alot has been going on. DH has been busy working on the additions downstairs. Check it out,





Its looking so good. Im excited to see an end to it all.


The week has come of the Autism Awareness fundraiser. STRESS!!! This is tons of work. But I am so excited to be able to donate to such a great cause. Unfortunaltely Ally Landys class had to be canceled due to a scheduling conflict. Cant those college students teach themselves for one day? So instead of her high school mini album Ill be filling in with a 5x5 mini album made with cactus pink paper. Can I just tell you how much Im loving this line. Ok so I just did. Its a favorite for sure. Heres the sample. Its also displayed at the store. The class will be held Friday July 21st 1-3pm and the class fee is $25.




Sign up today. Id love to see you there.

On the same note my mom and I finished putting together the autism raffle baskets. WOW!! Soooo much stuff. 23 raffles. Can you believe that. The raffle starts Tuesday the 18th so come on down to the store and check them out.

Its almost 2am. I guess I better get some sleep. Theres a fun but busy week ahead.

Monday Monday

Oh boy has it been a busy Monday. I havnt felt this tired on a Monday for a long time. I did get alot done however. Thats a good feeling.
I started a new project last night that is turning out way cute. Its out of the fun new cactus pink paper. Ok so the paper is not brand new but its new to me. Its becomeing one of my favs fast. I just love the colors. Ill post it in a few days when it gets finished.

I just want to send a quick HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear father in law. Hes always there for us and I love him tons. My dd just loves him to death too. We are lucky to have you Papa Jim.

A big Thanks goes out to those wonderful ladies who posted info on the autism event on the blogs. Every bit of advertisment helps.

Thanks Sherry, Colleen, and Leslie!

Thanks gals,
I had a fabulous morning hanging out with you ladies. You are all so fun to be around. And so easy going. I love that. I know we'll do it again soon.

Upcoming class

Thursday July 13th will be my altered wall art class- magnetized! We will be making a magnetic board to hang on the wall. You will be able to pick your own chatterbox paper and bazzil chip toppers. The cost is $28. Heres a sneak peak.


I went to load the dishwasher today and look what I found.

My darling sons idea of putting his plate into the dishwasher. Well at least it got in the machine. Thats one step closer I suppose.

CONTEST

So I thought Id try and get some interaction with all you cool people and get to know you a little. Send me a layout any size all about you. What descibes your personality, whats important. If you havnt registered at devinememories forums yet, register and upload your page to the gallery- name the layout ME. Then pm me that you have uploaded it and what your user name is. I will choose a winner one week from today and announce it here Sunday the 16th.

THE WINNER
The winner will win a free class of mine at devinememories. Any class. They will also receive a $10 gift certificate to devinememories and a goodie bag. So get creating. I cant wait to meet you!


**Take a few minutes and visit the Autism Speaks websites. Read some facts, read about warning signs. What can you do to help? Attend our fundraiser July 20th to July 22nd at devine memories. All proceeds from classes and crops will be donated to research and education of autism. Devine Memories will also donate 20% of all sales. Lets help find answers. Visit devinememories.net for more information.

A Good day!!

What a day. A good day. Spent the day at the store and had an awesome sale. It went realy well. And I got to see tons of fun people. I came home to drywall. Yes, drywall and it got me excited for these new additions to be done. It looks way nice. So proud of my big strong manly man. He amazes me. His talents are endless. And then the pure joys of my life entered. My boys were cracking me up. Jaden came down stairs and wanted to help so he put on his saftey glasses and got to work mudding the drywall joints. It was too funny. Then he decided to help clean up. He started sweeping and called himself the janitor. What a goof.


Heres a picture of our wall. A WALL!!! The door isnt in, just imagining it all done.



My oldest funny man has a loose tooth. He trying everything to get it out. He just wants the dough from the tooth fairy. Its all about the dough.


Classes at Devine Memories
Ok ladies and even you guy scrappers out there, weve sen a lot of you lately, If you call the store by Friday the 7th, and tell them you read on my blog you will recieve 10% off any class. Even the Autism Awareness classes. There are still spaces left in all the classes. We want them filled to the brim for this excellent cause of autism research and education. Call the store today. 480-813-2093.
Class samples are on display at store and really are fabulous classes.


Ok all. Im off to dreamland. Early for me tonight. Im hopeing for a productive day, heck a productive week. Cross your fingers for me.

One week closer

Here it is. My to do list for this week. AHHH! Theres only 3 weeks left to the Autism event and my list is growing. But its all for a good cause so Im willing to stress just a little. All the major details are taken care of, now its all about the fine tuning.
But to add a little more excitment, my DH is deep into consrtuction downstairs and I have very little room for creating or for storing all these goodies that were getting from people. What a time to start.

Im in the mood to create tonight, so I think Ill take over the kitchen table like the old days and spend the night scrappin and creating. I was inspired today by the freestyle book. Everytime I look through there, I cant wait to jump right into new projects. I have some fun ideas for upcoming classes. And some new techniques to try.

This past couple of days I was yet again reminded how precious life can me. I sometimes feel invincable and forget that no one, not even me, is immune to lifes uncertainty. So dont take anything for granted. We never know what life will bring us.

MENTAL BREAKDOWN

Ya, thats right. I was so close to a breakdown today. The morning went well. I got up at a decent hour, went shopping with my friend Kim, and no drama. No drama is good. But then it was time to go to work. I needed to take my youngest with me today since I was only going to be there 2 hours, and my ds said he wanted to go. This meant my other ds had to go. He was not happy. He doesn't realize his own strength and kicked a hole in my wall. AHHHHHHH!!!!! Needless to say that just made me furious. A HOLE in my wall. Just one more thing to add to our to do list. But oh well my DH has a constrution zone downstairs anyway. We are enclosing a big family room into 2 rooms for the boys. It should be nice when its all done though. Ill be able to have my own studio again. That is worth all the displacement for a few weeks. Back to my kiddos, They were of course board beyond belief at the store and started playing tag and crawling all over the floor. I had customers and couldnt yell or control them. Talk about anxiety. So to you customers who were in there today with wild crazy kids running around, Im sorry. It really usually is such a peaceful getaway. Ok, not always peaceful, but a getaway.

While shopping we saw a cell phone covered in bling. And I so want to do that. I passed the idea by my husband and he said NO! He's no fun. But Ill get my way. When I get it done Ill post it. hehe

Off to bed. I have a long day tomorrow.

L8

Clarification

As Im getting ready to go to bed I realize that my wording at the end of the last post may be taken wrong. Coke in my veins is coke a cola the drink. Not the drug. THE DRINK!!