Happy 4th of July America

Happy 4th of July America! I hope you have a wonderful holiday today. I'm going to be headed out soon to see my best friend Jia. This is probably the last time I'll see her for some time. I'm always excited to see her.. I miss her so much since she left for Ohio. And this visit.. I will NOT leave my camera at home! I can't believe I left it last time.

Yesterday was a big day... Michael had an orthodontist appointment in the morning. We were told that in six weeks he will be getting his braces off! Kevin is happy about that.. although he would have preferred them off yesterday. Michael is excited to get them off to. And let me just say... it has been a nightmare with him having braces. He doesn't brush his teeth well enough or often enough. I will be so happy to see those braces gone!

When we were on our way to the Orthodontist appointment yesterday we drove through the little town of Kennesaw. It was 9 am and people had come by with their chairs and blankets, put them where they wanted to sit last night for the firework show and left. I couldn't believe it.... and I couldn't believe how many there were. Now I know why we could never find a good spot. They were all taken at 9 am that morning!!

When we got home I noticed a bird flying in to a tree nearby. So I grabbed my camera so I could take pictures of these adorable robin babies. Aren't they adorable? They look about ready to leave the nest!

What else did we do yesterday? I went into work and picked up some things to bring home. I worked from home yesterday, because there was a contractor coming in to make some repairs to our apartment. The apartment building has settled a lot and the walls are just caving in. I didn't want him to be here with the kids alone so I decided to pick up some things and work from home. I ran a few errands between work and home and then we spent the rest of the day at home. They did the repairs and that took the majority of the day.. although.. they really didn't get started until after lunch. When we got home there was plastic on the floor, but nothing had been done. Then the contractor came in and told me they were going to lunch LOL! They came back about an hour and a half/two hours later and began working. Hey.. I'm not complaining! The work got done and it looks so much better. That's why you contract.. you make your own hours.

Last night we went to church for a concert.. It was the Georgia Symphony. The Mount Paran North chorus joined in at the end. It was a really great show. And.. there were fireworks after the show. So we enjoyed our firework show last night on the 3rd. Apparently there were several places doing fireworks on the 3rd. That was it.. Now my oldest is here and we are getting ready to head out to Grayson, Georgia to have a nice day with Jia and her family. I hope you enjoy your day.. here are a couple of good photos from last night.

Goodbye Monday

I was going to leave work a little bit early yesterday until I went out to start the vehicle and I got "click click click". Don't you just love that! So I went back in to the security desk and asked Sherman (the security guard) for a jump. He went and got the portable charger box and the maintenance guy helped me. The box didn't work... not enough juice in it. I really wish I could remember maintenance man's name; I am just terrible with names! He took the portable box back and then rolled my vehicle to the spots behind me. He then pulled his car around and hooked us up. I went to start the engine and it still wouldn't start! It was so completely dead. We let it sit there for a couple of minutes and we finally got it started. And I didn't have to use AAA. I went and got a new battery so we are all set for this morning now. I wish batteries would give us a bit of a warning instead of just dying like they do!

I came home and started working on a card while I was talking to Kevin last night. I was able to get it finished. It's a pretty simple card. I used a sketch from Cardabilities ~ Sketch #58. I also used the color challenge at Denami Addict ~ Challenge #2 and it is a birthday theme for Crafts and Me Challenges ~ Challenge #90. Here is the card:

I used bazzill cardstock for the actual card and the brown is also bazzill. The lighter purple is from a Club Scrap box. These are all scraps except for the dark purple. I used Cappuccino and Honeydew twine from The Twinery. I used Copic YG03 and BV00 to add some detail to the lighter purple and green balloons. I used my blender to help with that. The white detailing is from a Sakura pen-Touch white opaque pen. I used Wisteria ColorBox chalk ink for the stamp and edging around the box there. The stamp is from Stampin' Up set I have. I believe that is it. Entered in challenge Day 30: Color Challenge @ 365 Cards.

This morning we go to the Orthodontist for Michael. He should be getting his braces off soon!! Kevin is ready for him to get them off now! Michael is ready too. We will see what they say. I hope you all have a terrific Tuesday!!

I {Heart} Challenges

I really do love challenges and sketches! There are so many of them all over the blogs too! I can't believe how many you can find! It really helps to get me motivated and try new things. I'm hoping I can find an easy way to compile a list. Even with Feline Playful I find it hard to find what I'm looking for, especially if its for a layout or card. Right now I have them listed in a word document. There has to be an easier way to keep track of them all! \

I worked on one today. It is a card and I used a sketch from The Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge and I used the color scheme from 365 Cards: Day 121. I also used a free digital image which will work for the challenge at Totally Papercrafts Friday Challenges. The digital image was a freebie from Bugaboo Digital Stamps. I really love their images. And one last one, Bearly Mine Challenges. they have a Anything Goes Challenge going on right now. Also, the ribbon and bows challenge at Totally Stampalicious. And here is my card:

 I used all scraps for this card. Black cardstock is bazzill and the cardstock with "sew" on it. Some of the papers are from Club Scrap and others are KI Memories. I used some black ribbon that I had. Thank you came from Nobody Sweeter Stamp set. I just coated the thank you and not the rest of it with my Noir Palette Hybrid Ink. The sew and much are some letter stamps that I have. I have no idea where they are from but I have a couple of different sets. I love them because they are just the perfect size for what I need a lot of times. I colored the mouse using Copics C2, C3, C5, C6 and 100. The needle is silver.. I used Adirondack Mixatives Silver to coat that.  The thread is just black DMC. I inked the frame behind the mouse with my cat's eye inks.. rouge for the large inking and then a combination of warm red and Dark Peony around the edges. And I think that's it. Oh!! And I LOVE my little floral frog! Got it on ebay.. I just love that thing! I kept seeing them everywhere and then when I finally figured out what it was and got one. LOVE IT! Its just perfect for cards. Entered Challenge Pretty in Pink @ 365 Cards

I got recognized at ScrapMuch? as the June Sketch Winner. Wow!  How great :)  THANK YOU!! I couldn't be more excited! I really enjoy the sketches there. I think I did a few of them last month. You should definitely check it out!

I was also so happy to be recognized at Let's Get Sketchy. I was recognized as one of the top three for the week. THANK YOU So much Let's Get Sketchy! I love the sketches and I look forward to them!! I really appreciate the recognition :)

Now it's time to get back to work. This should be a pretty easy week I hope. My best friend comes back in town on Wednesday so I will be spending the day with her. I will probably work from home Thursday and Friday. I love holiday weeks! Have a great Monday everyone!

All Confused Today...

I'm all confused today! It must be the heat! I could have sworn it was Saturday today. Where did the weekend go? I missed church this morning (shaking my head in shame). I have no idea what happened. Maybe it was being out in the sun all day yesterday.. Ummm.. that should have clued me in.. I was in the sun ALL day yesterday at my sisters. What other day would that have been? LOL Oh well.. really threw my day off today.

We had a really good day at my sisters. We stayed in the pool most of the day.. She grilled steak and chicken which was fantastic. I was exhausted when I got home though. I hopped in the shower and hit the bed and I don't remember anything else. She was handing out gifts yesterday too! She gave my son an IPod nano, Bailey got an IPod Touch, and she gave me an HP Tablet. Wow! Generous gifts!


Today is suppose to be another really hot day. I'll be sticking to home for the most part. I told the kids I would take them to the used CD store across the street and let them pick something out. So, we will do that and then come right back home. I'm going to try to work on some challenges today!

I hope you all have a great rest of your weekend!!

This is my ragdoll, Highlight. She plays fetch with my hairbands. Too cute! You fling it across the room, she chases it, picks it up and brings it back.

Society of Stampaholics

Deborah is having an amazing giveaway on Society of Stampaholics worth $200. Please go over and take a look! Not to mention she is amazingly talented and you will love her work! :)

Last Page

This morning I have finished the last page that is going in the album for Kevin and I. Now I just need to talk to the attorney and find out what other paperwork needs to be sent over to Kevin, make sure I have everything and then get it in the mail to him. Mail takes at least two weeks to get to Australia and that doesn't matter how you send it. I don't think we've ever had anything going either way get to its destination before two weeks.

The attorney contacted us a couple of days ago to get additional addresses for Kevin back all the way to when he was 16 years old. That is not an easy task remembering every where you have lived back since you were 16 years old! Kevin got it all together though and I sent it over to the attorney. Now that the attorney has gotten back in touch with us it has made me anxious. I know it is getting closer, yet it is still so out of reach.

This morning I'm helping Bailey finish these cookie pops at Laura Beth's place. I had her bake the cookies last night, so this morning we will melt the chocolate and finish them up. We are going to take them to my sister's today. Bailey is enjoying making them too! Pictures.. I need to get some pictures! Once we finish those up we are going to head to my sisters to hang out for the day. That way we can jump in the pool when we get hot. It should be a good day.

I hope you all have a wonderful day.. stay cool!

I used the newest sketch from Got Sketch? Cardstock is bazzill and the patterned papers are all Doodlebug.