Lovin' Sundays

I love Sundays for these reasons...

waiting for basketball to start...

 watching Nakiah block shots, rebound, and make the sweetest pump fake move ever!...

time at the big park...

snacks...

 movies and cuddle time...

in a bit Ev will go down for a nap and i will get to scrap!

then just before dinner i will run 5 miles.

after that I'll hang with Hottie and catch up on some of our shows.

I've got this all figured out and now Sundays really are the best. This is what I meant when I talked about finding balance in my life. Now that I have 3 day weekends I feel like I can do it all. One day dedicated to chores and not so fun stuff. One day to take the kids and do stuff they would like to do. And Sundays are a bit of both with some time for what I want to do...scrapping, of course! 

Anthro Love

I have a confession to make.

I think I'm in Love with Anthropologie.

I mean, look at this....how could you not?...

A-MAY-zing glassware and kitchen stuff. Including THE prettiest aprons. EVER.

Stunning decor and beyond fabulous clothing/shoes/accessories.

Super cute stationary stuff that is hard to find anywhere else.

Darling furniture.

Crafty bits hidden around every nook and cranny...HELLO old time-y spools! Come to Mama!

A beautiful wall of different colored wood planks. more pretty cups and journals.

Mock Bedroom/Bathroom set ups to. die. for.

Seriously, can I just move in?

I would be thrilled to make my home look like this one day. *sigh* (wistful look off into the distance) one day.

The one and only not so great thing about the store Anthropologie is that it is a bit rich for my blood. Maybe one day I will be rolling in the dough. Then I'll be able to actually purchase some of these to die for items. For now I will just drool, dream, take photos, and be jealous of the people in line who are actually able to take some of these goodies home. ;)  

I was so inspired by my new love that I decided to create a layout...

removed for publication

I used the January Studio Calico kit (Brooklyn Flea) + some extra stuff... like Crate Paper trim, Smash Stamp, and Washi tape.

Make It A Good Day

Today was awesome sauce. Admittedly, it didn't start out great. Luckily I am a believer that things can turn around and that happened. Yeah! (The power of positive thinking is amazing.)

Today I:

*Worked from 7am to 315pm (Like a dog!)

*Threw on my running gear and ran 11 miles. (I kick so much butt!) (Don't look too closely at this picture or you may spot my hairy legs...ew.)

*Drank a d-lish smoothie with fruit, spinach, and protein powder (Thank you Hottie and Vitamix!)

*Got happy mail. (Studio Calico January kit- booya!) and Studio Calico December Daily add-on (Thanks to my friend Susan....you are the BEST!)

*And best of all....Received another email request for layout publication (Toot, toot! Sooooo exciting!)

Wouldn't it be amazing if I could make it a good week? I hope all of you in the blogosphere have many good days and great weeks ahead.

Lucky Girl

My daughter might just be one of the luckiest girls on the planet. Because she has this guy for a Dad...

Journaling reads:  When we found out we were having a girl the two of us were thrilled. Still, I never could have imagined what a Daddy's girl you would be. You favorite place is in his arms, you smile the biggest when he walks in the door, & he is the only person you want to cuddle. The best part is he feels the same way...//This is the best part of the day for you both. Cuddle time.

Loving the trim by Crate Paper turned into flowers, Amy Tangerine mixtape background for the title, and pattern embellishments by Studio Calico(which is no longer available. Hey, you snooze you lose.)

I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I get bummed out that every morning when she wakes up she calls for him first...and lights up most when he's in the room...and wants all of his attention, all of the time...But when I see him with her it makes my heart swell with happiness and pride. Like today for instance. Evareaux has been glued to him since he got home from work...they prepared dinner together...he gave her a bath...made her giggle her head off putting on lotion...and is now giving her plane rides on his legs...while she dives in for kisses...

He is a fantastic father to this little girl. She is an excellent daughter. And for those reasons I feel like the lucky one. (Besides, whenever he's not around I am next in line.) :)

Winning.....duh

While I don't support Charlie Sheen or find his problems amusing in any way there is one thing I can understand. Winning. During his break down not so long ago he answered a question in an interview by saying, "winning, duh." It's kind of a funny thought if applied to my own life. I want to be winning. everyday.

More often than not I find myself being really hard on me. Just recently I suffered a hard core sinus infection and for the first time ever, since living in California, serious allergies. Before long I began beating myself up. "This is not a good way to start the new year, sick in bed." I'd think. "I have so much to do and I am just laying here....""I can't believe I've called in sick to work, TWO days in a ROW! (I have never done that!)"..."It's the 4th and my Christmas decorations are still up."..."I can't believe I have skipped running, this marathon is going to be a disaster!" so on and so on. Then I though...."SNAP OUT OF IT! You are just really sick...rest and go to the doctor and take care of yourself. THAT is one of your resolutions...and a great way to start the year. NOT taking down the Christmas stuff!" 

Then I remembered another one of my resolutions....to give myself a break. So I did. I snapped out of it. I gave myself two days off of work to go to the doctor and sleep and sleep and sleep some more. And then something miraculous happened....I snapped out of being so sick too (aka my medicine kicked in). 

Then I:

put away all of the Christmas stuff

arranged all of the regular home decor

re-organized my scrap crap

cleaned under the bed

cleaned out two closets

organized under the bathroom sink

cleaned out the fridge

did the dishes

cleaned the living room

vacuumed

made dinner (frozen pizza, but it still counts in my book)

did 2 loads of laundry

began to go through the kids' toys & clothes for donation

WINNING....DUH!

I was up since 3am to go to work and up until 1030pm doing all of this. And it felt so great.

So this is the way I wanted to start the new year....taking care of myself first and then making time for all of the tedious and not so fun projects on my to do list. Balance. Time for work, time for play. I want to win at life this year, in my own way. I want to strive to stop all of the negative talk (in my head...yes, I admit I am a crazy person. I blame my Mother. hehe). Because just when I think I'm not cutting it I turn right around and kick so much @$$. Seriously, winning. 

And now I get to spend the day with my girl....

making a big mess in the living room. ;)

Later I will go to my local scrapbook store where I can hopefully pick up the new Crate Paper Paper Heart line (A-may-ZING!). And then I will make time to scrap a bit and start to prepare for CHA. This whole weekend is a win...and it's only Friday!

...and don't worry I am not so crazy that I believe I have tigers blood in my veins...


oh, and I forgot to add that I just found out that you can stream the entire series of Felicity (One of my old most favorite shows in the world!) online with Netflix right now! I can't wait to revisit this series. It's been so long, it'll be like the first time! Scrapping and Felicity this weekend. done and done. winning again.

Shoot for the Moon

Have you seen this baby?....

 Did you see my layout in there?!...

So glad that I can finally share this! I still can't believe I got the opportunity to be published in the December issue of Scrapbook Trends. Being published was one of my shoot for the moon goals in 2011...and I was able to meet this goal more than once. I am equally thrilled and stunned to see this actually happening. The feeling is hard to put into words. Let's hope I can feel it again and again in 2012! I like being in that atmosphere!

A First For Everything

So I've never really made a resolution before. I'm not sure why, it just never appealed to me I guess. Sure I set goals and make lists and try to be better, faster, stronger, throughout the year. I strive to be the best me I can be. I attempt to stop biting my nails (so gross that I do that, I know.) All that kind of stuff. You know, overall betterment. But I have never sat there on New Years Eve and resolved to do something in the new year.

There is a first for everything and I suppose this is no exception...

They are all pretty broad. In fact I have taken the time to write down more specific goals based on these resolutions and steps I'll take to implement them into my life accordingly. So we will see how it goes. It'll be a new me in the new year and I like the idea that I have it all down on paper to remind myself.

And of course I had to create a layout for the occasion, not the first and certainly not the last!