It is all about the TUNES!

Music shopping makes me so happy.

This weekend I bought a couple of new CDs and I have been so happy listening to The Kaiser Chiefs, “Your Truly, Angry Mob.” I am LOVING this CD and the band! You really need to go out and buy it!!!

It has been so long since I bought myself some new tunes. I am usually hesitant on buying new music. It bothers me if I don’t end up liking what I buy. I always get excited when I actually like the entire CD {or at least most of it}.

Another great CD that I bought was Dashboard Confessional “Dusk and Summer.” Cause everyone needs an emo moment. I was a bit bummed to find out that it did not have all the songs I was expecting or that iTunes showed that it had. I guess there is a deluxe version out there that I was not aware of. Sure wish the stores carried that deluxe version too. I will just have to buy the extra versions of the songs when I can. But still….this is another great CD!!! Buy this one too!!!

Now if I can only find any CDs from Vega4. I looked all over town and NO one has any. I really don’t want to buy the CD thru iTunes. Anyone have an idea where I can buy a Vega4 CD?

I am also excited about the new widgets at Last.fm. I love that they refresh from my profile on their own. You can see the actual widgets over there on the left sidebar. I am so easily amused. You should get yourself a last.fm account too! Cause it is cool!! :)

A quick get-away

Today we went up the Mountain.

Oops…

I guess I kind of forgot I had a blog.

This past week has been a blur and the thing is…I don’t really think I did much of anything. LOL!

On Mother’s Day, I went to spend time with family. It was the first time we got together since my Uncle passed. It was good for me to be there. It was good to spend time with my Mom and with the family.


One of my Aunt’s even made me a birthday cake. My birthday was in February but with everything that was going on, a cake was not top priority. I did not even expect her to make one so it was a nice surprise. So Happy Birthday to me…..again. When I called to see if anyone was home so that I could pick up my cake, my cousin told me it needed a “moist test.” Basically….he wanted a piece. I was planning on giving him one when I went to pick it up. I went the next day and I found that he already performed the “moist test” on my cake. LOL! This is the cake I got. I never knew that a “moist test” required such a large sampling. LOL!



Friday, I got out of the house to run some errands and do some shopping. I really want some Capri pants. I went to one store that was having a sale on Capri pants and they only had 2 sizes! Everyone was asking about other sizes and the gal told me that they would not be getting anymore in since they were basically last season. Now this is where I am confused. It is barely summer. How could they be last season? I did manage to buy a couple of cute tops and some new music, so my day was good.

I wrote in my last post about not being eligible for financial aid. Well I need to contact the financial aid office and speak to them about my situation. I should have called this week but the number was on the computer and I rarely turned the thing on this past week. It is good to get away from the computer sometimes. However it does make for a long blog post.

Sometimes I'm a favorite, sometimes I'm not

I have been busy this past week taking even more assessments. I am all tested out! NO more math, PLEASE! My brain hurts!

First, there was the original test I had to take when I first went to job services to show my education placement. Then I had to take another computerized test that again told me my education placement and what jobs I should look into {which was also discussed and tested in the required Employability Skills class}. I really don’t know why that 2nd test was needed but it is a new one that is required.

Today was another long day. I went to the school I want to attend to take the admissions test. I realized I really should eat before I take these tests but I don’t want what I eat to upset my stomach. So, I never eat and then the day just seems to drag and it is hard to concentrate on the test.

After the test, I got some bad news. I passed the test with no problems but it appears that the money I earned last year makes me ineligible for any grant money. {The county will pay from some but I need grants to pay for the rest of the tuition} It does not matter that I have been out of a job for months NOW; it is all dependant on last year. Also, I have too many college credits already. So basically, in order to have someone pay for my school, I need to be dirt poor (longer than I have) and be stupid. I wrote an email to my case worker stating that if I had been told that I was ineligible because of my prior earnings BEFORE I took all these tests then I would not have even bothered. The government sure does make it hard to get money that rightfully belongs to a person. I have never needed it before but now that I do, I am out of luck.

On a better note. Someone picked one of my layouts last I made last year {<--- That one over to the right} as one of their favorite layouts over at SWG. I am really touched. It always surprises me when people like what I make. I don't know why.

and today’s title is….

Tuesday I bought some document boxes at Target. I was surprised to see them on the shelf as I have heard lots of chatter on the scrapping boards and I never could find them when I would go out to shop. I bought five and now the hard part...deciding what to put in them.

First, I decided to use one for my chipboard shapes. I have a lot of chipboard. I did not realize how much until I filled one of the boxes. These boxes are not deep but as you can see from the photo, there is a lot of chipboard that can fit in it. I did not have room for my Basic Grey holiday chipboard so that is still in the package. I usually keep everything in it’s packaging. Maybe now that it is all OUT of the packaging I will know just what I have and actually use it. I threw away A LOT of packaging.

I had tons of ideas rushing thru my head on what to put in the boxes but I read that one gal at CMK used hers to store her foam stamps. I have been looking for a solution to organize my foam letter stamps. They fit perfectly in the box and I quickly filled the rest of the boxes I had purchased. I only purchased five but the store had tons so I went back today to buy more. I was surprised to find that they were ALL gone! Even the broken one I saw there the day before. I cannot believe they sold out in just a day! I even went to two Targets!

That did not stop me from spending though. I stopped by one of the local scrapping stores to find they had new stuff that I just had to buy. Then off to Michael’s which should be renamed “Martha’s” I swear the entire area that once housed scrapping supplies is now just Martha Stewart crafts. None of her stuff really jumped out at me. I mainly wanted to find some clear stamps that they sell for $1. I went ALL over the store and finally found where they should be. I missed the boat on those as well as there was only one package left. I did manage to find a rotary cutter on sale for $19.00 {down from $40}. Is that a good price? Do I need this cutter? I don’t know if I should take it back or not.

…and for today’s crafty content I give you this card. I made it for my Aunt. I hope she likes it.

Today was Tuesday…

…and I did not realize it until the day was pretty much over. I even looked at the calendar and made appointments. The days really do kind of run together since I have been staying at home. It is hard to believe there is everyday life going on outside my window.

Yesterday’s clouds did not us bring any rain. So, B decided to grill some steaks. {actually he wanted to grill on Sunday but was not feeling well} It was nice not to have to be the one cooking dinner. Since I have been at home, I have been doing more of the cooking that B used to do. B LOVES to cook {he used to work as a chef} and I know he misses it.


Today we had some more pretty clouds. I liked today’s clouds much better. They were fluffier & puffier {still grey} but you could see the sky. Such an awesome blue!! We did not get any rain except for some sprinkles as I brought stuff in from the car. I have a feeling that some parts of town got more rain that we did. Hopefully, there will be actual rain in the near future.


And look at this. Another page scrapped. This time it is pictures of the youngest, the twins. I really do need to hurry up and scrap more. These pictures are from 2004!

I am all out of titles

Today seemed to pass by way too quickly. I think it is because I have dial-up. I like to blame EVERYTHING on dial-up! LOL!

Before I knew it, B {or my Scrubby} was home from work and there were grey clouds in the sky. I was surprised to look out the window and see these clouds. It was so shiny just a bit earlier. The tree is what really caught my eye. It does not show up very well in the picture but the bright yellow buds were such a contrast with the darkening sky. I hope we get a little rain from these clouds and that they are not just passing by.

I am still out of work. I have made the decision to go back to school. I called the school today and found out I am not eligible for the class that I wanted to take. Good thing I called them before I filled out all the paperwork. There sure is a lot of paperwork when you go thru a County program but I now know what my next steps are and I hope to make all my testing appointments tomorrow and be on my way to a new career.

Oh and here are the scrapbook pages I completed this weekend for the festivities at CMK. I sure did have fun working on these pages. I think it was just what I needed!

Whew!

Saturday sure was a long day.

My in-laws picked us up and we drove downtown to the Folk Festival. The weather was perfect (even though I did get a bit of a burn on my arms). This was my first time going to the festival and I liked it (although I think I may have been the only one). I would have loved to have gone and just hung out on the grass listening to the music. I have to say I was pretty surprised that I did not run into a single person that I knew. At this event I would have thought that there would have been at least one person. Maybe they all went on Sunday. :)

Most of my time was spent following everyone else around. It seemed liked we were always trying to catch up to where B’s aunt had wandered off to. But, we did get to eat some good food and did a bit of window shopping and while part of the group went to get some cash, I got to listen to some of the performers.

How cool is this?

This is a glass pendant that my M-I-L bought as a gift for B's aunt. I think it is awesome and I want one for myself but they are a bit pricey.

Right across the street from the Festival was the AZ State HOG Rally. Talk about a lot of Harleys!!! I think the news reported that 1,500 cycles were expected.

With the Festival and the Rally, I don’t think I have ever seen so many people downtown at one time.

We were downtown about 4-5 hours and got home before the sun set. That is a good thing since I was able to work a bit on a scrapbook page. I can now say that I did something scrapbook related on National Scrapbook Day! GO ME! I am back on the scrapping bandwagon!

Pictures to come soon. But here is a peak.

All in all it was a good day.

Happy National Scrapbook Day!

I hope you are all scrapping the day away!

Me….not so much.

I don't think I will be scrapping today.

B's aunt is in town. He has not seen her since he was about 9-years old. He even took the day off work so he could visit with her. My M-I-L had planned for us to come over for the day. I think we thought we would have the typical visit – hanging around the pool and then eating something. Well….that is not to be.

On Tuesday, I took my M-I-L her birthday card (that's it over there on the left – what do you think?) and she told me that they were thinking of going up the mountain for the day. I was thrilled with that idea and I knew B would love it. She called last night to confirm that we were going up the mountain and that they would pick us up at 11:30am. B got home right after I hung up the phone, he called her back not even 30 minutes later, and the plans had already changed. See…..B's aunt is not just here to visit us but to also visit her first ex-husband (I think that may be the main reason actually). This man has 2 teenage boys and they were going to go up the mountain with us. But, within the time it took me to hang up the phone and B to call his mother back, the plans had changed. It seems these boys did not want to go up the mountain and that we were going to go to the Zoo instead and would be picked up at 1:30pm. Sigh.

So fast-forward to this morning. I hear that the weather is going to be really nice today so going to the Zoo during the hottest part of a desert day won't be so bad. B comes into the room and says his mother called…..well….no Zoo today. NOW we are going to a Folk Art Festival downtown and would be picked up at 12:00/12:30!!!! I have a sinking suspicion that the entire day is going to go like this. I guess I better hurry up and get dressed for this crazy day.

Happy Scrappy Scrappy!!!

Think of me often!! ;)

Get your 15 minutes of scrapping fame!

While blog hopping I came across this new blog that gives unpublished scrappers a chance at their 15 minutes of scrapping fame!

Here is a quote from their blog:

"So here's the scoop (as best as I can tell it) Obviously, we're starting a challenge blog highlighting unpublished artists and we made ourselves the design team (cuz we're cool like that). Anyways every 2 weeks we're picking a new guest designer...they must not have been published in a mag or a book. They're going to share a layout and give us all a challenge, then the DT will show their take on the challenge and we'll invite everyone who stops by to do the challenge too and post a link to it in the comments." - summary by Corey

It is a brand new blog and the first challenge was just posted this past weekend.

Check them out!

Your 15 Minutes

I have a scrubby!

From now on B shall be known as my scrubby! LOL! To see what I mean check out this scrapping mockumentary.

Or you can just click on the video links below.

This is the short preview:



And this one is just a bit longer:



You may want to watch both as they both are a bit different.

Now I wanna go to Scrap-a-polooza!!

I have class!

Today I actually got out of the house for something productive.

I had to go down to the OneStop for an Employability Skills class. I was so glad to finally be able to take this class as it is a requirement if I want to get additional job training!!

This was the 3rd time I have been signed up to attend. The first time, the instructor did not know there was a class and I was told that they could not reschedule me. I spoke to my caseworker and got rescheduled for last week. Last Monday, I was all ready to head to class and found out the tire was flat on the rental car. I did not make it to class that day and you cannot miss a day in this class. So I was rescheduled yet again for this week.

So far, I like the class. The instructor is very personable and funny. He is going to help me learn how to become a pro at job interviews. I have to tell ya….I really do suck at job interviews so I am looking forward to all I can learn.

Well….I have finished my homework (yep! Homework) and it is WAY past my bedtime!

Good~night!

....or should I say....Happy Early Morning to ya!

Tesla

Last Saturday night, B and I went to see the band Tesla in concert. They were playing at the county fair and B really wanted to go. It was a great show! We were pretty close to the stage and probably could have gotten closer. The only pictures that turned out were the ones that B took since he was able to hold the camera above most of the heads of the people in front of us.

All I have to say is that anyone over 6.6 feet really should not be up front at a concert ~ well unless I know you. LOL! The guy in question is the one in the white hat at the right side of the picture. You can see the top of the girl’s head that was in front of me. We were probably the same in height ~ so you can see that it was hard to see around this guy.

This was my first time at the county fair. After the concert, we walked around a bit looking at all the things for sale. It was pretty cold and our feet hurt so it was wonderful to finally trek back across the huge parking area to our car. In fact, my feet still hurt today ~ 2 days later!

Well...the car is back

Today we went to pick up our car from the shop that was fixing the accident damage. I must say I am not really happy with the place.

When I first went to drop off the car, I was really pleased with how I was treated. My mom had taken her car in to this place and so did B when we had the bumper replaced.

We got to the shop today and they had us pay immediately before showing us the car. Then we waited. We waited until we were told that the guy who tinted the windows had taken off with our car key but that he was not far away. Since they told us that the guy was not far away and the rental car needed gas before being returned, I told B that I would head out and by the time I got gas and got to the rental agency, I would not have to wait too long for him to pick me up. Boy were we wrong! Seems the guy with our key was much further away than what we were told. After waiting one hour, I called the shop to find out that B was still there and the guy STILL had NOT shown up. When the guy did show up he did not even have the decency to come in to bring B the key. He dropped it off with someone else. No apologies from anyone! In total what should have been a quick trip ended up taking a little over 2 hours!

When I finally got to see the car, I was very disappointed. The door is still dented and the paint is all sloppy (it dried in long drips) down the side of the car. Right after we paid our bill the gal at the front desk was trying to get us to go to a website to leave feedback about our visit. Yep! We are going to sure leave them some feedback!!

Thank you

Thank you to all who commented about my Uncle’s passing.

The funeral was last Saturday. It was a very long day. I really wanted to just sit still but found myself running all over the church talking to people. I think if I would have just sat still I would have lost it.

I think my Uncle would have been very touched and tickled pink (his favorite color) at how many people attended the funeral. It was standing room only. People had to park across the street.

I made a display board with pictures. I don’t know how I will do when I take it apart. I am okay as long as I try not to think about him being gone but I don’t know if that is good for me.

Adan "Don" Rodriguez

Adan "Don" Rodriguez joined the Lord on April 9, 2007. Adan was born July 31, 1948 in Lordsberg, NM. He moved to Tucson, AZ as a child, and spent most of his life there. After high school, Adan went to school to become a cosmetologist and practiced cosmetology until he left Tucson to proudly serve his country in the United States Marine Corp. Upon returning to Tucson, he attended Pima Community College and the University of Arizona where he studied Psychology. He indirectly applied his "people" studies during his long and fulfilling career as a cosmetologist and beauty salon owner. His salon was his home away from home, and his "girls" were family. His salon offered him the opportunity to make many dear friends, and deeply touch the lives of everyone that he crossed paths with. Adan loved life and lived it to the fullest. His vivacious spirit will never be forgotten, and will continue to live in the hearts of all his friends and loved ones. He is survived by his loving wife, Elma Rodriguez; son, Adam (Robyn Hill) Rodriguez; brothers and sisters, Tilly (Sammy) Martinez, Jesus (Gloria) Rodriguez; Bobbie (Larry) Carbajal, Irma (Manny) Urbina and nieces and nephews, Lupe, Joey, Pearl, Sammy, Jessica, Stefani, Michael, Manny, Belinda and Gloria Rene. Preceding him in death were his parents, Jesus and Paz Rodriguez; brothers, Joe and Ramon and beloved longtime furry friend, Hannah. Memorial services will begin at 12:00 noon, Saturday, April 14, 2007 at St. Cyril of Alexandria. As requested by Adan, attire should be bright and colorful, just as he was. No black, please. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona. Care entrusted to EAST LAWN PALMS MORTUARY.


Good-bye Uncle. I will miss you.

It's over

Sadly, my Uncle passed away early Monday (yesterday) morning.

My Uncle was an extremely popular and likable person. He will be missed by not just my family and me but by everyone he knew. He was the life of the party.

Today was spent hanging out with my Mom. Just running errands, answering the phone, and the main thing…..just being there for her.

We spent some time going thru boxes and albums looking for old photos of my Uncle. I was hoping to find (and sneak home) my favorite picture of the two of us. But the spot was empty in my baby album and my Mom mentioned something about the photo being framed at my Uncle’s house. I only know of one copy. I think I will need to sneak over there to snag it back. :)

not good news

My Uncle is not doing well. He has a brain aneurysm and doctors do not want to operate at this time and just want to wait. They tell us he has a 10% chance to live. He was just recuperating from his 2nd liver transplant and he gets hit with something not even to do with the transplant. I am really starting to freak out.

My car needs a vacation

My poor car has been thru so much!!

From getting the bumper crunched to the license plate stolen, to being stolen itself.

Now, it has been in it’s first official wreck.

On Tuesday, poor B was in an accident on his way to work. He barely even got down the street before the car was hit by a man on a bicycle. B said that the guy was okay but since he was on a bicycle they had to take him to the hospital. We have not heard any updates on his condition.

The entire back driver's side window is shattered and we can barely open the door to get in or out of the car.

The claim's adjuster has been out to take pictures twice. She came out on Tuesday but lost the pictures so she had to come back out today. I don't know when we will get it fixed as our deductible is $500.00 and as you know....I don't even have money for rent. :(

Heidi Swapp paint not American made :(

I know that a lot of American companies make their products overseas.

I notice that a lot of my scrapping products come from China. I understand that.

I really like the Heidi Swapp paint and even though it is more expensive than the Making Memories paint I buy it. Well I don’t think I will do so anymore.

I just found out that Heidi Swapp paint is made in India. I think I will be sticking with the Making Memories paint that is made here in the good ‘ole U. S. of A. You would think that if the product were made overseas then the price would be less than the product made in the USA. That is what we as consumers have been told. Actually, I think it is more that it keeps the COSTS down for the companies ~ that means more money in their owners’ pockets. I find it very interesting that the HS paint made in India is sold at a higher price than the paint made here, in America.

It is all so very sad.


P.S. ~ You know I read what I wrote above and all I can think is “bitter much”? I guess I am. I must be at the anger stage. It has been exactly one month since I have lost my job to outsourcing. I guess what makes it really hurt is that the people that have taken over the jobs are the same people we worked with everyday. When you get to know someone enough to get wedding invites to travel to India, it makes it hard. Yeah, I think I am at the anger stage. So what comes next? What is after anger?

Steady, As She Goes

I finished another page the other day.

Actually, I pretty much finished up two pages but one still needs some journaling and since I plan to handwrite, I need to psych myself up for ruining a page. I really don’t like the look of handwriting on my pages. But this page is quite different (I think) than what I normally do ~ so I am going to attempt to handwrite and if I screw it up then no one will ever know (or see it).

This page has been sitting on my desk for a little while now. I finally put it all together. It is about time too as the pictures are from 2004!!

I am trying to get out of my comfort zone. I actually used different elements for my title and for some reason I find that to be really hard for me to do. I used paint on part of the title, stickers for another and cut-out lettering that I then painted for the last part. I am very proud of myself for using my paint. :) It may take longer to complete a page since I have to wait for the paint to dry, but at least I am using the stuff.

Supplies used:

Bazill ~ cardstock
Making Memories ~ paint “dusk”, glitter glaze, letter stickers & stamps
Heidi Swapp ~ white paint
Scrapagerz ~ letter template
QuicKutz star diecuts made with some fuzzy red paper I have had I think since I first started scrapping over 10+ years ago! (Using my stash DUDE!)
Red ric-rak
Framers tape

…in other news. I went grocery shopping today. Very weird to be at the grocery store at noon on a Monday. I took care of some paper work, did some laundry and made dinner. Pretty full day. Much better than staying in bed all day. :)

Speaking of paint

I have a project that I have never shared.

Back in February, I made my first altered project.

Nothing fancy but I like it.

I made it and filled it with chocolate for my SOSF Valentine fairy.

My LOST theory

All I can say about last night’s LOST is OH. MY. GOSH!!!!

I knew that we would probably find out about how Locke ended up in the wheelchair but I sure was not expecting it to happen the way that it did. The entire episode had me screaming. What I really liked about it was that I actually enjoyed watching it.

I do have some theories about it though. Like when Ben said, he would let the prisoners go as soon as Jack was off the island. Well…..since Jack will not be off the island anytime soon, I have a feeling that the prisoners may be having an extended stay in the company of the OTHERS.

But, the one major theory that I need some help with is this:

A lot was mentioned about Ben being stuck in the wheelchair while Locke was free to walk around. Ben does not heal as quickly as other people. I have read before on some message boards that Ben has not healed that quickly in the past (for example when he was beaten) when the other survivors, such as Sawyer (when he was shot) mended extremely fast. Locke did bring up the question, how DID Ben end up in the wheelchair?

My thought is this…..Is Ben receiving all the pains and ills that the survivors are being healed for. Locke was in a wheelchair and the island healed him. Now Ben is in the wheelchair. The one woman from the first season, she had a tumor and the island healed her from the tumor. Did Ben get that tumor? The only thing that I am not sure about is this; did Ben have the tumor BEFORE the plane crashed? Is that why he was so interested in Jack being on the plane? I think I heard on one of the episodes that he had the tumor for quite awhile. Of course, my theory goes out the window if the tumor was present before the plane crash.

That is where you all come in.

Did Ben have the tumor BEFORE or AFTER the plane crashed?

…oh and on another tangent.

Do you think Locke burned down Hurley’s paper box company?

got paint?

I think I need to use more paint.

I have way too much!

Some of these paints I have not even used. Never even opened. As you can see I have not even looked at them recently.

Shake.

Shake.

Shake.

Shake.

So now as you can see....all my paints have been shaken and I think I need to start using them with all these foam letter stamps I have sitting around.

This one is going to France

I finished another card.

This one is going to my sister, in France. So ummm, Z, if you are reading this. Stop one sentence before and close your eyes, QUICK! LOL!

I find it weird that my cards are so cutesy looking. It makes me wonder about my scrapping style. Are they the same? Are my pages “cute”? Is that weird? Do people like "cute"?

I told myself that I would ONLY use left over products on these cards. Since I have not scrapped in awhile, all I have “leftover” at the moment is cardstock. Plus, if the cards are flat I don’t have to worry about mailing them. I guess I just wonder if they are boring.

Today was just another day of things not really working out as planned. I was supposed to have a training class at Job Services at 8:30am but when I got there, I was told that I had the wrong location, even though my paper had the location I have been going to all along. I guess this class was scheduled and the trainer was never told. The trainer came up to tell me that I had to drive to another location on the other side of town and beg them to let me in since they do not allow latecomers. I decided instead to just skip it. I did not have the gas or time to waste driving all over town, I need a job and I am tired of all these classes. So instead, I paged my Uncle and now I have a clearer view of what I need to do. I still don’t know if I will be going to school or looking at On-the-job training but at least I kind of know where to start.

Then I went to pick up my new glasses. They took forever to arrive and then they were not even correct. I was supposed to get the Transition lenses but I ended up with the regular lenses. Also, they are Burgundy in color and I just don’t know if I like them. I found out AFTER I purchased them that you could change the color. I have worn glasses since I was in high school and NEVER knew you could change the color of the glasses you order.

Oh….and Cairo found a new friend. NOT!

What a day!

Today started out normal enough. I dropped B off at work and I had a few errands to run. Nothing too big as it was one of B’s short workdays. I also did not want to do much driving around as one of our tires sprung a leak. We have low profile (read: expensive) tires on the car. These tires came with the car and we have just replaced them as needed. Well I have never had to replace so many tires and at $100 bucks a pop, they are not cheap! These tires are always getting nails stuck in them. In fact, they probably all have nails in them right now. We know for sure that the back tire has a huge nail but so far, it has not lost any air. We were surprised to see one of the newer tires had multiple nails. It was losing air and we did not know if we could get it patched.

So after dropping off B, I went to Job Services to finish a test and chitchatted a bit with my case manager and my uncle, who also works there (YAY Me for having family ALL over the place!).

Then I was able to get the tire patched (Thanks Dad!) pretty quickly by taking it to a place my Dad told me to – someone he has taken his cars to in the past. I think it also helped that he met me there. It was going to be an almost 3-hour wait but the guy just went ahead and fixed my tire soon after I arrived.

Today was also the day I had to mail in my agreement to sever my working arrangement (read: gag-order). I don’t really know what to call it. I had to sign a legal form stating that I was let go and that I would get some money if I never ever said anything bad about my prior employer. So as of today….I am NO longer employed. :( Want to hear something weird? I worked there exactly 7.5 years to the day.

After mailing my packet, I decided to stop of to get a drink before heading over to pick B up from work. I was in the drive thru, waiting. I put the car in park to grab something off the floor and could not get the car OUT of park!!! I was stuck there right in the middle of the drive thru. I was so embarrassed!!! They had to close down the entire drive thru for about ½ hour until I got someone to check it out (Again….Thanks Dad!). Luckily, it was easily fixed and I was only one hour late picking B up from work. Yeah, he was not too happy but what could I do?

I am a card making machine

One of my goals for this year is to cultivate my friendships (old and new).

I wanted to make sure not to miss anyone’s birthday and thought an actual card would be much better than an email or E-card. I am not really a card maker. Well not lately anyway. I was a stamper long before I scrapbooked and only used my stamps for cards. I have not stamped since I started scrapbooking (well maybe once or twice) and I have never used any of my scrapping supplies for cards.

So, you can see how surprised I am that I seem to be a card-making machine of late. LOL! I think it all started with the SOSF valentine exchange where we had to send a handmade card. I then went on to make a card for my mom and now this card for one of my good friend’s birthday. I sure do hope she likes it.

MCR ROCKS!!!

Last night B and I (along with my nephew) went to see the My Chemical Romance concert up in Phoenix. I have been waiting to see this show since I bought the tickets back in January. We had such awesome seats in the first section by the stage. We were supposed to be in the 8th row but ended up sitting in the 7th row. I have NEVER been so close to a stage before! I just wish I could have snuck in my camera as others were able to do.

As for the show, the band played all their songs in order off of "The Black Parade", as The Black Parade. Talk about theatrics! There were flying balloons, confetti and lots of fire. Being so close to the stage, we could feel just how hot those flames were.

The show was AWESOME!!! MCR really do know how to put on a show and the encore lasted forever!

And so did the ride home. I drove us up to the show but on the way back home, I got sick and B had to drive. We even stopped a couple of times on the way. I have not been sick like this in YEARS! We got home somewhere around 2:30am and I think I finally felt well enough to sleep around 4:30am. I still have a bit of a headache even now but I am feeling much better than last night.

Is it Saturday?

Wow! You would think with me being out of work and all that I would have tons of time on my hands to write for my blog. It seems to be just the opposite. My calendar is filling up and my to-do list is growing. I don't even know what day it is today.

On Thursday, us "dislocated workers" (how is that for a term?) had a meeting with the Unemployment office and Job Services. All I can tell you is that I am more confused than ever. First off, we did not even get the letter stating that we were signed up for this meeting in our exit packet. You see….from what I hear we were not supposed to be let go until the end of next month but to make the paper work easier on the company they decided to lay off the seven of us in my group. But since it was all done so quickly, our packets did not include all the info it should have.

So back to Thursday's meeting. It was supposed to be from 1:00 to 4:00. Lots of paperwork was filled out and I did not even have time to read it all. We were just told to follow along and fill it out and sign it and hand it over. Come to find out the one gal with Unemployment gave us totally WRONG info and when we questioned her, she got VERY defensive. So we did it like she told us to and now all of our Unemployment claims are being denied.

Then there was the TEST. They told us we were to take a test. A test that was supposed to take about 2 hours to complete. We started the test around 4:00 (when the meeting was supposed to end) and then we were interrupted to fill out yet more forms. So of course, when 5:00 came around I was not finished. Who knew that an SAT type test was required? I have not taken Geometry since 10th grade!! On Monday, I have to go back and finish the test. I am NOT looking forward to it at all!

Hello Mojo!

It's back. Well it was 12 hours ago.

How sad is this? See this scrapbook page?

I started this page over one year ago at the Scrappay Diva's sleepover (or was it 2-years ago?) and finally finished it last night/early this morning. It was pretty much finished except I added the velvet flowers, doodling and journaling. Yikes! I even used my own handwriting!!! Even with just adding that little bit it still took me hours to complete. Now isn't that silly?

I have to tell you, I have many many pages in different stages of completion just stacked and hidden everywhere. I was actually going thru a stack of pages and pulling the completed ones to put in an album. I found that all my layouts had the pictures falling off the page. Some even fell off completely. I use the Hermafix tabs and even the Tombow permanent glue but they do not seem to stick on the Bazzil cardstock. I don't know what to do.

What adhesive do you find works best when sticking onto cardstock?

So instead of stressing over it, I decided to do something else and deal with the adhesive issue later. Well until you all tell me what glue I need to buy. LOL!

I decided to deal with this stack of unfinished layouts and other scrappy supplies that just seemed to have gotten lost in this ever-growing pile, once and for all. Instead of just moving the pile to a different spot, I decided to start from the top and actually complete these pages and put away the new scrappy items that are hiding in it.

So, the huge pile is gone - but now I have multiple piles. LOL! Not what I wanted to end up with. I have a huge pile of cardstock that needs to find a home. I also have a stack of unfinished layouts. I was getting tired and was afraid that the huge pile would get knocked over by my cat so I think breaking the pile down was the most logical. Now I just need to make myself complete these layouts before I do anything else. Wish me luck!

The Scrappay Results

Here is the layout that I made for last night's first ever Scrappay Hour.

I just wish the scan showed the colors a little better. The jewels should be pink and not clear. I really had a great time with this page. Especially since it is the first page I have completed so far this year! Now if I can just keep my scrapping mojo flowing.

Supplies used:

Bazzil ~ Cardstock
Basic Grey ~ Patterned paper
Making Memories ~ “Bordeaux” paint
Heidi Swap ~ Chipboard letters
S.E.I ~ Ribbon
My Mind’s Eye ~ pink jewels
Flower punches
Embroidery floss
Zig Writer
Deco scissors
White Uni-ball Signo pen

To see other finished layouts please click here:

Scrappay Hour #1 ~ Finished layouts

They all turned out great!!!

Scrappay Hour is a GO!!!

Head on over to the Scrappay Divas blog and join us for our first ever Scrappay Hour!!!

Don't forget to check-in and let us know you are there!

Scrappay Hour #1 ~ Check-in

Scrappay Hour #1 ~ Info

Scrappay Hour #1 ~ Supplies List

Cha-cha-changes

I have wanted to change the template on my blog for months now but I never seemed to find one that I liked. So I finally edited my old template and I still was not happy. When I switched to my last template I really really missed the white background. But I lived with it because I just LOVED the photo I used at the top of the blog. I could never find a new template that would work with such an odd sized photo.

Well things are different now. No more gorgeous photo. And surprisingly for someone that really only likes the 2-column templates, I really like how this 3-column template looks. So right now it is basic but I hope to spice it up a bit in the near future.

So what do you think? Is it too busy? I am going to change the colors around (you know the links and stuff). I kind of have an idea but what colors do you think would look good? I just know that the grey has got to go.

Here's mine

Starting this Monday the Scrappay Divas will hold the first ever Scrappay Hour! I am pretty excited about it as I have not scrapped in a long time. I just hope that I finish in time to watch Heroes. I may end up scrapping during the commercials. Good thing there is a second television in the room next door.

If you would like to join us for Scrappay hour please click the links below for additional info. We would LOVE to have you join us.

Scrappay Hour #1 ~ Info

Scrappay Hour #1 ~ Supplies List

Here are my supplies for Monday's scrap. Well most of them are here. I still have to decide on the embellishments and which one of the 3 different ribbon colors I will use. I must say...it sure is hard trying to find patterned paper with just 2 colors that will match the photos. I still have not decided if I will use the scalloped scissors or the buttons. I am going to have to wait to see what the instructions are first.

Another day down

I spent most of the morning at the dentist. I went in for an exam and ended up getting a cavity filled. Now my mouth hurts! I get to go back tomorrow and get a cleaning. The dental office is so cool with trying to fit me in this next week to get my teeth taken care of. B has been going to this dentist for years but this was my first visit. It is in a fancy office complex (we are talking glass walls/doors and marble floors) and I felt a bit under dressed in my jeans and sweater.

I am trying to get as many appointments as I can before my benefits run out. I have a feeling that I won’t make it to the regular doctor. It will be so expensive to get my teeth fixed that I may just concentrate on getting as much done as possible. I still have not decided.

Yesterday ended well. I helped my friend pack up her stuff and then we all met for breakfast/lunch. I also watched “Little Miss Sunshine.”

Have you seen it?

I really liked it. I am SO glad my family is NOT like that!