WOW, has it really been 45 days? (pic heavy)

I can't believe it's been that long since I posted! I've been up to the usual....working (both jobs), cooking, cleaning, scrapping, cardmaking and watching sports :-) I attended another online crop a few weeks ago over at Two Peas in a Bucket. It was fun and I got A LOT done! Here's what I accomplished during that weekend:

CARDS

products used were: Bazzill cardstock; K&Co Wild Saffron patterned paper; K&Co rubon; Studio G stamp; ribbon from stash

products used were: Bazzill cardstock; K&Co Wild Saffron patterned paper; Hero Arts stamp

products used were: Bazzill cardstock; K&Co Wild Saffron patterned paper & lady bug 3-D sticker; Making Memories metal sentiment; EK Success punches

products used were: Bazzill cardstock; K&Co Hannah patterned paper; Studio G stamp; EK Success & Martha Stewart punches

LAYOUTS

products used were: Bazzill & Paper Studio cardstock; Making Memories 5th Avenue Sophia patterned paper, letter stickers & diecut flowers; American Crafts journaling spot; Martha Stewart & Paper Studio punches; Darice bling ; ribbon from stash

Products used were: cs- Bazzill & Paper Studio cardstock; SEI Oasis patterned paper & fabric brad; Creative Cafe & Prima flowers; American Crafts & Making Memories letter stickers; Bazzill Stitch'z template

products used were: Bazzill & Paper Studio cardstock; Making Memories 5th Avenue Sophia patterned paper, clear shape & journaling spot; Fiskars punches; Darice bling ; Cricut Storybook title; ribbon from stash

products used were: Bazzill & Paper Studio cardstock; Making Memories Chelsea's Place patterned paper, chipboard title sticker, epoxy sticker, clear tag; Making Memories jewel brad; Cricut Storybook diecut flower; Daricebling flower

I also wanted to let those of you who are interested know about a some anniversary blog candy that is being given away at Passion for Crafts. Debbie has put together an AMAZING assortment of products for one LUCKY winner!

I'll be back later to post an update with details of the goings-on in my life for the past 45 days :-)

Random Photo

Can somebody please tell me what the fascination is with wearing pants that have words written across your butt? Especially if your butt is not a size 6 or less? Really, when you're not a tiny person it looks like you have a billboard on your ass! This lady obviously didn't ask her friend 'does this make my butt look big?' before she left the house.....too bad :-(

quick post...........restaurant deal

Someone posted a great deal on my fave message board that I thought I'd pass along for anybody who happens to stop by my blog. You can purchase $25 gift certificates to local restaurants for $3 at Restaurant.com. Just input your zip code and set your search parameters. Once you're done adding to your shopping cart, input the discount code: PREZ. This will take 70% off of your purchase. I'm not sure how long this discount code will last, so you may want to hurry. I've purchased $100 worth at $12 for a few restaurants that Mr. R and I have been wanting to try. Good luck!

Busy, busy bee!

Well hello there *waves* Has everybody been as busy as I have in the last 2 weeks? I hope not! At work, our Pension Coordinator graduated from nursing school and has taken a position on a nursing unit in the hospital. Guess who got to take on 80% of her duties...........ME! As if I didn't already have enough on my plate! I don't think my boss took into consideration the amount of time it takes to deal with retirees, beneficiaries and employees with 401k questions/requests. For the first 2 days after I was given these new duties, I was interupted every 10 minutes to sign authorization forms or meet with a retiree who problems with their benefits. I formulated a system on day 3 and so far it's working out. Please believe I will be requesting a significant pay increase during my next eval. We eliminated a position that cost the department $45k, so I'm gonna need some of that to make it's way toward ya girl!

I have caught a few spare minutes here and there to get a little scrappin' done. I participated in an online crop over at Two Peas in a Bucket last Friday. It was my first time participating in an online crop, but it was fun! The offered hourly challenges/chats and gave away prizes for all four hours. I won the prize for completing this layout for the 9:00 challenge:

I also completed this layout for the 8:00 challenge:

Here is a layout that I completed last week using a Becky Fleck PageMap:

So how was your Valentine's Day? Mine started out a little so, but turned out to be pretty good. Mr. R was called away to the group home for a busted water heater and a possible pipe leak in the foundation......NOT GOOD! We didn't really get to see each other until after 5:00. He did call me earlier and led me to my hidden V-day gift! I had not mentioned it to him, but I'd been looking to purchase a new handbag. He knows that I love Coach, so I found this stuffed behind the sofa in our family room:

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my hubby? It's very rare for him to take time to plan a surprise so this makes his gift even more special because I knew he had to think about it. Usually, he gives me gift cards because I'm so picky that he likes for me to pick my own gifts.

We also made our way down to Daytona for NASCAR Speedweeks (pics to follow in a later post)! I love NASCAR and have been going to the track for the past four years to watch these crazy guys do even crazier things at 200 mph! At first, Mr. R thought I was crazy for wanting to watch guys drive around in circles for hours. That was until I got him to the track last year for his first race. Now he's hooked. We're hoping to be able to make it to Atlanta for a race this year also....we'll see how the finances shake out.

Have a good week.

weekday recap, a lil' football and a lil' card making

So what did you do with yourself this weekend? I spent most of yesterday re-organizing the garage and purging (yet again!) some clothes and shoes. I'm trying really hard to only keep things that I use. I've found that my life is much less stressful when things are decluttered, organized and in their respective proper places.

Now today is somewhat different. I'm spending the better part of my morning completing work for Mr. R's business. Did I mention that we're small business owners? Probably not.....anyhoo. I have handled the admin/HR portion of the home healthcare business since it's establishment 1 and a half years ago. I try to support him as best I can and making sure all employment guidelines are being followed is my way of doing that. Of course this is free of charge (as best he can tell), but here lately it has begun to interfere with my day job.....you know, the one I actually earn a salary for doing. So, I've decided to set office hours for the homehealth business. This week was the trial run and everything went pretty well. Aside from one of the employees thinking it was okay to yell at me because her trifflin' tail submitted a direct deposit form for an account that her bank closed! In her words "I went in to close my savings and they closed both accounts." Now yall know that heifa knew that was a lie when it left her lips! So she got a "Mmm hmm. Well per the authorization form you signed, you will be responsible for the $35 rejection fee." That's when the yelling started and that's when I had to remind her that this is a business and her place of employment so she *might* wanna lower her tone! We'll see how my evening and weekend schedule works going forward. I'll keep you posted.

So, what am I doing with the rest of my day.......preparing for Super Bowl XLIII of course! We've invited over a few friends so I have plenty to keep me busy before the first guest arrives around 6:00. I'm not making the wide variety of food that I normally do. I have my eye on a dvd/navigation system for my truck and I was not about to drop $300 to feed this group! Here's what I have on the menu:

• Wings (honey BBQ, mild buffalo & teriyaki)
• Fried fish sandwiches
• Spicy Spinach, Artichoke & Shrimp Dip
• Seafood Pasta Salad
• Fruit Salad
• "No Yo Mama's Banana Pudding" (this is a Paula Deen recipe & it's the best I've ever had!)

I was also able to get a lil' card making done this week. Here are some Valentine's Day cards I was able to finish for my friends:

After today, it's back to the grind. I hope you all have a fun, productive and stress-free week :-)!

Scrappin' the time away

Okay, so I didn't keep my 1 post/1 week resolution.....but, who's noticing anyway? Moving on......

Before my weekend crop, I hadn't enjoyed my hobby for at least 3 months. The holiday season was a very busy one for me with work and family, so I didn't have time or the motivation to set aside time to scrap. I'm participating in a few challenges over at Two Peas in a Bucket so I have plenty of inspiration to draw from. Here are some of the layouts I've completed:

My little cousin and her new hubby. There's nothing like young love.

RJ riding his favorite gift from Santa (aka, Granny) this year. This bike is all he talks about.

8 things that defined my 2008

I've really been enjoying my hobby more lately. I think it has something to do with my favorite Christmas present.....the Cricut Expression! I love this thing for it's versatility and it's no-fuss approach to diecutting. I've also been trying to use up some of my stash instead of hoarding all the cute stuff that finds it's way into my shopping cart. So far, it's been exciting to see the supplies actually get used for it's intended purpose.

That's all for now. Tomorrow we're heading to an out-of-the way seafood restaurant. I haven't been there in 6 years, but I distinctly remember it being some of the best food I've ever tasted. I'll post updates at a later time :-)

new year.....new rules......new me!

I've decided to make a concerted effort to maintain my blog at least once a week.......HEY, baby steps first, LOL! Did you make any resolutions for 2009? I didn't make any official resolutions, but here are a few of the things that I want to accomplish this year:

• Be more active (my ass is getting too big!)
• Take at least 3 trips with Mr. R and RJ that require us to leave the Sunshine State
• Obtain my PHR certification (more titles = more $$)
• Have 1 weekend a month to myself.....no Mr. R and no RJ
• Scrap at least 4 pages a month or a total of 48 for the year
• Experiment more with my cooking (then refer back to the top of the list)
• Develop and STICK TO a budget plan *THIS IS A BIGGIE*
• Tell my extended family I love them more

To make sure that I'm starting the year off right, I attended an all-day crop at my favorite local scrapbook store (LSS) on Saturday, Scrap n' Stuff (http://scrapnstuff411.com/). I always have a good time there and I even manage to get some scrappin' done :-)! I'm also trying some new muffin recipes this weekend (look for updates with pics next week).

Updates on my projects:

• The wedding is over and I thank God that it is!
• The 2nd baby shower is over and the mommy-to-be had a blast

Here's a pic of my little man enjoying one of the waaay too many Christmas gifts his Granny got him! She never follows instructions, but then again what grandparent does? I have no idea where she found a Huffy bike small enough to fit him, but she did and he enjoys it just about everyday :-)!