CHA Sneek Peeks!!
I think we could all use a peek or two. This year's summer CHA is being held in Orlando, Florida. Doesn't that just sound heavenly? Truth be told, though, that whenever I worked a booth we worked from about 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. I NEVER saw the city and was too tired to do much more than a quick dinner with friends. But the Orlando mixed with scrapbooking supplies does sound wonderful. :)
Here are some peeks I thought I'd share from Little Yellow Bicycle's "Trick or Treat" line:


The new Valentine line:




The new Christmas line:



The new Album Elements line (this one is faith, which I LOVE):



You can see all the yummy goodies in each of these lines at the Little Yellow Bicycle website.

Here are some of the Karen Foster Design projects I created for this show. You can see the themes by the projects:






There are so many cool new things to see. My pocketbook is going to take a beating once again. LOL!

2Peas has entire forum devoted to chatting about CHA and even some sneak peeks from the companies themselves. Be sure to check it out!!

I'm Wishing . . .

That I had a big fat, unexpected check coming in the mail today!! Hee, hee. Don't we all?!! I must talk about wanting that a lot because now when Jim-bo and I head out to the mailbox he chants, "check, check, check!" Sometimes it actually works too! I should probably take him with me regularly, right?!!

So I'm about to purchase some stuff from 2Peas, and I thought I'd share a few things I'm either buying or wish I could buy!

The first is this DARLING owl punch. How cute, huh?!!




The next item is this awesome paper set from Martha Stewart:



Oh and lovin' this "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" digi kit from Michelle Underwood. I love EVERYTHING she makes!!


This entire line from K&Co is just too stinkin' cute!!



And then there's gobs and gobs of stuff on major discount right now to get ready for new CHA stuff. Here's a chipboard set I already own and LOVE:

And I know it's a little early to be thinking about Christmas but Halloween, Fall, and Christmas themes will be popping up all over at CHA, and this line from Cosmo Cricket is so fun!!



So now that I've enabled you, I'm off to finish up my cart. Don't you love packages (and unexpected checks) in the mail? It's like Christmas!!

Little Boys = Gray Hairs!!
I have a very cute six year old for sale! Cheap!! Disclaimer: he says the most off-the-wall things, and causes all sorts of trouble, and has lately been spotted having gi-normous temper tantrums.

Seriously?!! Aren't six year olds too old for tantrums or fits? Sheesh!!

So we head out to our town parade: Fiesta Days. I had to wake the kids up at 7:30 to be out the door at 8:30 a.m. We are still on summer time and that is a bit early for everyone (me included). So I can tell right away that the boy is tired, but I figure it will soon wear off.

But I was wrong--dead wrong!! Half way through the parade, he gets upset with his sister about "taking" a piece of candy that was thrown between his legs. Good grief!! The boy already has a good size pile of candy going--heaven forbid that he should give up even one to another person. So I called him out on that. Then it was the very cute neighbor girl who did something apparently unthinkable because she got the "look" and some kind of talking to. That got him a time out behind the candy throwing lines.

That lasted 2 seconds and he tried to run back to the streetside. Umm, I don't think so. That is totally 2 year old behavior and I gently took hold of his arm and pulled him back even farther so we could sit and talk about his behavior.

That turned into a hitting fest--all him, not me (thought I'd better say that). The nice thing with a third child is that you're either too tired or too calm to really let things get to you too much. So I just scooped him and carried him to the car--all the while taking a few half-hearted punches and pinches. We sat in the car for the rest of the parade. I just calmly watched from the van while he went from exploring the van, to crying, to exploring again.

He's going through a stage of anger right now. We are eliminating things we think might contribute and we are discussing how to talk without using our hands or mean words. And I'm not against a long time out if necessary or grounding. I'm mean like that. ;)

So I really can't spare him 'cause I kind of love him a lot; but I thought I'd put a few feelers out there. LOL!

I am still working away--thanks to a good 3 hour nap on Thursday afternoon. I completed a challenge for 2Peas. The above layout is a digital layout based on another layout I've already done, which is a scraplift of myself. You can see all the yummy digital supplies linked here.

And then I completed two more LYB cards. Pretty soon I can share the new release goodies as CHA--the big scrapbooking tradeshow starts next week. Still have several deadlines that I'm working on.




On another note, anyone coming to the Provo CKU?? I will be helping Little Yellow Bicycle with their class on Friday night (I believe). Hope to see you there!!
Excuse Me While I Lay Down and DIE!!


I'm so stinkin tired. Sheesh!! CHA wipes me out every time. I think I've got all my ducks in a row and am on top of my deadlines, but I always forget to factor in real life. But I just shipped off my Little Yellow Bicycle goodies to arrive in Orlando, FL. Now I NEED a nap.


Last night I just couldn't sleep. Thoughts of mini albums, layouts, and cards kept dancing through my head. And then the husband's snoring crescendo reached new heights so I gave up the bed and headed downstairs to the couch to sleep. But at 3:30 a.m. I was still awake. Suddenly I hear the patter of the littlest feet, and "I'm hungry" from my 6 year old's mouth. So after a dose of allergy meds for all the sniffling and sneezing and bowl of cereal (in the dark) to quell the hunger pains, I was back on the couch trying to sleep. I must have finally fallen asleep sometime after 4 a.m. But of course my built-in internal alarm clock had me up by 8:30--that's totally sleeping in for me. I'm so TIRED!!! (I'm going to say that a lot in this post. LOL!)


If I could just turn off life for a few hours and sleep, I will be SO HAPPY!! We'll see, though, as my kids never need me until I'm either in the "facilities" or napping. It's ridiculous I tell you.


Before I hit the sack, I thought I share some LYB projects. I'm just going to load these puppies up and let you look without much talking--too tired!



















And now I'm going to bed. Don't call me. Don't e-mail me. Don't knock on my door. I will NOT answer. ;) ZZZZzzzzzz!








A Year of You Class at 2Peas!!

I will be taking the rest of the year to each "The Year of You" class at www.twopeasinabucket.com. I'm excited to follow in Robyn's very awesome footsteps in teaching this class. The class focuses on multi-photo ideas, as well as, fun techniques to try on your projects.

You can read more about this class and download the class pdf here! I hope you'll play along. July is a month full of photos at our house. :)

I'd better get back to work. Loads of CHA projects to work on. Just wait 'til you all the new releases. So very yummy!!
Good Morning!!

What are you up to today? Me? We're getting dirt delivered for our very own weed patch, which is our yard. We are finally conquering the yard after two years of living her. Landscaping is so darn expensive. Whoever made up the phrase "dirt cheap" has never paid for dirt before. YIKES!!

Speaking of gardening--the 2Peas Garden went up today. Here is one of mine based on the theme of "fashion." I have a leather skirt that I've had since the late 90's. Yep. I still have it. I loved that skirt. No I'm not a biker chick--well, actually I am since I'm on the Little Yellow Bicyle team; but I bought it when it was hot to where leather with blouses and such. I felt so pretty. LOL! Now I'm keeping it because it will make an AWESOME Halloween outfit someday--not for me since I can no longer fit into it, but maybe for my daughter. At the very least, it's a great conversation piece.



You can see all the supplies for this layout here.


Some other projects that I just loved in the Garden:

* This calming layout from Wendy Bretz.

* This playful layout from Kelli Crowe (I wanna babysit her fun kids).

* This awesome digi layout from Caroline Ikej.

On another note, have you checked out the Hero Arts Blog this week? They are making some awesome new changes and have lots of prizes to give away. BIG prizes!! Make sure you check them out!!



Family In Town

Sorry I've been MIA for the last few days. My brother and his fiance are in town and I've been spending as much time with them as possible.

Thank YOU so much for all your words of love and support. I feel very lucky to have such great friends. I am trying very hard to take care of myself. I think it's hard for women to do that sometimes. But I'm working on it. ;)

Just a quick layout to share from my Scrapbook Trends "Stories to Tell" June article. The theme was "employment", and I took these photos of Joey mowing my mom's lawn while we lived with her for a year. Obviously it wasn't his favorite thing to do, but we wanted to maintain chores as much as possible while we lived there. I'm very proud when my kids work hard and accomplish their goals.


What kinds of chores do your kids do? My kids think I'm the most mean and strict parent in the world. I'd love to tell them otherwise. LOL!


Families are Forever!!

Typically I dedicate this blog to work issues with a few sprinklings of my family life. But today I wanted to post about something a little more personal.

I am a Mormon. We call ourselves "Latter-Day Saints," which is short for the name of our church "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."

Today I had the opportunity to tour a Temple Open house with some of my siblings and my mother. The Temple is the building we attend for several reasons but one of them is to be sealed (married) for time and all eternity. If you have the opportunity to tour one of our beautiful temples, I urge you to do so. They are beautiful buildings and always have a quiet, reverent feeling inside.

We believe that when a father and mother have been sealed in the temple and live the gospel principles that when we die we will be reunited and live with our families for all eternity.

You can imagine the peace this has brought me after losing my son Joey. I know he is with a loving Heavenly Father waiting for us to join him in the next life. It gives me a great deal of comfort to know that he will always be my son and that I will get to see him again.

But my experience in the temple today had extra significance. You see I would be delivering a baby today as this was my due date had I not experienced a miscarriage at three months pregnancy back in December. Yes. I would love to be holding a new baby in my arms tonight. I would love that very much as we would love to add more children to our family. But at the same time I feel at peace that it was not our time to have a child.

It has been difficult for me as my physiological response has been challenging. It was a frightening experience, and my body is taking its time getting back to normal. So although my spirit is at peace, my body isn't quite there yet. But I am trying to take good care of myself so that someday perhaps we can bring another child into our home.

I suppose I needed to write about this today because I feel like I would be ungrateful if I didn't acknowledge a greater power in my life. I have seen many blessings in our family. Even miracles. Some of those miracles were performed by angels like you who reach out to others in their time of need. I know that I am watched over and loved. I feel it every day.

So forgive me as I share this personal side of myself. I need to do it.

Love to you and yours on this beautiful, peaceful summer day!!

The Shocking Giveaway Results!
Ok, it's not really that shocking. LOL! But the winner is Gaby Alcantara!! Please e-mail me at js_gallacher@hotmail.com with your address. :)
So the kids are doing better. I'm just being slug lately. Working on that. My brother is in town from California with his little daughter. I haven't got to see her yet, and I CAN'T WAIT!! I plan to smooch on her as much as she'll let me. :)
Have a great Monday!

Jello Legs!!

I am so tired of not being in shape. It's depressing!! So today I hopped on my bike with it's amply padded seat (and I mean amply--not including my own), and I peddaled far enough that it was going to be a chore to come back. And it was beautiful--fields of golden hay being harvested, horses running in the morning light, cows resting in their fields. Just felt like I was off in my own little world. UNTIL . . . I came to the mother of all hills. Man!! I knew it was coming, but when I approached it, it didn't seem quite as steep as I remember. Until I started climbing, and then I was panting until I thought my heart would pop out of my chest, and I was pushing myself, "to the next fence post" and "ok one more fence post." And then I started to get worried that my slow tugging would suddenly succumb to the law of gravity, and me and my mean old bike would be heading backwards in a certain death tumble. So I hopped off my bike to walk it up the remainder of the hill.

Whoops! I didn't factor in the effort it was taking to climb that hill, and when I hopped off I collapsed as my legs gave way. Thankfully I was holding onto the bike handles so I only jello-fied into a semi heap. But there was no feeling in my legs, they had forgotten how to support the rest of my body. It was freaky!! So I gathered myself together, pretended no one could have possibly seen me on that abandoned road (ignoring all the houses along the road) and walked like my legs were asleep--one foot in front of the other. Total agony as they came back to life!!

I berated myself for not bringing my cell phone so my loving husband could pick me and my bike up, but I was all about tricking myself into exercising--and frankly--it WORKED!! I had to get back on that bike or return home hours later in a mess of used up muscle.

The one nice thing about going up the hill? Coming back down!! Cruising still counts as exercise doesn't it? ;)

Since the husband and kids were preoccupied this evening, I played around with another digital layout. My office is a complete wreck, and I couldn't justify making a new one without cleaning first and that is so NOT going to happen today. All supplies are from 2Peas, and you can see the layout and list here.

Have a happy 4th of July! We have no set plans at this time. Doing nothing is sometimes the perfect weekend activity.

Yep, It's Strep!!


We have had the yuckiest summer health this year. At the doctor's yesterday, the nurse was talking about how strange it is to see this much illness during the summer. Apparently the summer heat typically burns off most viruses, but it's been packed in the waiting room the last two times I've been. It turns out both my kids have strep. No fun!! Watching lots of movies and eating Otter Pops to ease the pain. Jimmy has been on the antibiotics now for a few days and is so much happier. I realize now just how sick and run down he's been. Now Katelyn feels awful, but hopefully will be better now that we were back at the doctors' yesterday.

Yesterday the Garden went up at 2peas. I've included one of mine at the top. It's a hybrid layout using many digital kits from 2Peas. (All my digital layouts use 2Peas kits. I love them!!) You can see the supplies here.

I also wanted to link you to some others that I loved:

* Jamie Waters has this one called "Thank you for being patient"--a tribute to all the menfolk who wait patiently while we shop. Cracks me up!!


*Kelli Crowe and I graduated the same year--'91; and her layout about her style back then is dead on!! Here's her layout.


* If I could wear yellow, I want to wear it like Kelly Purkey. Check her out here!

And here's one last one from me with the new Little Yellow Bicycle "Say What" stamps now available in the store.


Have a healthy day! :)
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