I've Entered a Contest!

I've never entered a contest like this before--you know, where you had to make something, but decided to take the plunge! GinX is having a contest of sorts, and I thought it would be cool just to see if anything came of it. Wouldn't it be cool to win some goodies??? Even if nothing happens, I had fun making this little album. I'm actually going to make more of them. I got these beer coasters from an antique store, and covered them with GinX's His Christmas Wish papers. I love that collection. Probably because I love Christmas Story, which this collection is taken from. I used Ralphie's Secret Decoder, Flick's Flagpole and a couple of others I can't remember at the moment! lol Then I just cut up the papers, added a little bling, a couple of buttons, a few Primas and some doodling, and VOILA! An album! If you want to see what the fronts and backs look like, click here and here. Wish me luck!

I'm Back!

Have you ever seen a pizza that looks as good as this? This is the famous--in my mind--Harris Pizza! OMG! Denny and I both thought we'd died and gone to heaven! lol We got a half sausage half pepperoni. The crust is thin, but they put a ton of meat and cheese on it. The sauce has a kind of sweet taste--not tomato-y. It just works, that's all I can say! lol After we checked into our hotel room and put things away, I ordered the pizza and we made a bee-line downtown to get it! lol We parked down at the levee, just as I said we would, and enjoyed the heck out of this big beauty! lol What a guy Denny is! He held it in his lap so I could get a pic of it, and even suggested holding up the bag it came in so I could snap one of it, too. THEN he even hands me the reciept and says "you'll probably need this, too"! lol Is he awsome or what? :)

We had a pretty good time while we were gone. Denny and I usually go our separate ways when we go up to Davenport. He spends most of his time with his parents, and I get to see my Dad and some friends. This time was no different. I hung out with my Dad at his favorite bar, had lunch with an old friend--I used to work for her in her restaurant when I was still in high school--and had dinner with my girlfriend. She's the one I made the coaster album for, and she loved it! Thanks for the compliments, BTW! :) We lost our asses at the casino, but that's not unusual. We had a great time, tho! Can't wait to do it again! lol We got to eat at Rudy's Taco's, our favorite Mexican restaurant together, so we did manage to squeeze in a few minutes with each other. So can you see a pattern here? Visit and eat. It's all about the food! lol

Going Home

Woo hoo!!! We're going to get out of town for a few days! I've been so busy getting ready for our trip, and tieing up loose ends, but I think I have it under control. I had a bunch of errands to run today, plus laundry, plus I had to make spaghetti sauce for my Uncle's BD tomorrow. That was total disaster. :( I burned the first batch! lol Poor Denny ran to the store tonight to get some more stuff for me to make another batch. I have a really good recipe from a friend who got it from a lady when they were stationed in Italy. So Ragu won't cut it anymore! lol I think it was finally done cooking at midnight. But it's good, and it's not burned! :)

We're going to be going back home to the IA Quad Cities. I love going back there to visit, but not sure if I really want to live there again. As soon as we get checked in to the hotel, we're going to go to our favorite pizza place--Harris Pizza, on 3rd St. That one is the original one, and it's just a carry out. Back in the old days, we'd pick up a pizza and just drive around, or find a place to park and eat it. That's what we're going to do this time. Pick it up and head on down to the levee by the casino and eat it! I love it down at the levee. IMO it's always been a cool place to go, but since the casino's been there, there have been tons of improvements, and the lights from the casino make it so festive! Love it! I'll try to get some cool pics and show you.

How do you like the coaster album? I made it for my girlfriend and I'll give it to her when we go up. Aren't these papers cool? They're the Signature Suite papers. One lady at the crop Sat. night was using them to do a heritage album. It was gorgeous!

See you all when I get back! :)

Here's the 3rd digi layout I've done--of Dakota, naturally! lol I love retro stuff--30's, 40's, 50's--you name it! While this may not be everyone's cup of tea, it's definitely mine! My tastes run from one extreme to another. I'm eclectic, I guess. I just love a whole lot of different things. And it shows in my scrapping--just look at the 3 digi layouts I've done--my decorating, and who knows where else! lol But anyway, I had fun doing this one, too! In the archives here somewhere, I did a paper layout of my Mom using this same kit. I just printed out the papers and started scrapping. If you love retro, I urge you to check out Kathryn's site listed in my faves on the side here. She has got some of the coolest retro stuff I've ever seen! Plus there's a gallery on her site, so you can get some ideas. Worth checking into. Commercial over! LOL It may be a few days before I get to do anymore, but keep checking in. I've got some busy days ahead of me. I'm watching Dakota tomorrow afternoon, Libby and the kids will be over tomorrow night, I have a birthday present to make, and my crop is on Sat. All fun stuff ahead of me!

Denny and I went to Jonesboro, AR today. They built a huge Target there, so we went and I hit the $ spot. Jackpot! I got a bunch of cool scrapping stuff--rhinestone brads, ribbon, rhinstones, and some other stuff. And we got a bunch of Halloween stuff for the kids. I bet I spent a good 30-40 minutes in that section alone. Too much fun! After that we went to TJ Maxx. I like to go there once in awhile to get lotion. I love lotions and creams with shea butter, and managed to find one tube! Then we had lunch at Chili's. First time we'd ever been. The baby back ribs were pretty darn good! Stopped at Fred's and WM, and got home in time to watch Project Runway. I can't stand that rocker guy. What an ass! So that was our day. Hope you all had a good one, too!

I'm On a Roll!

I'm loving this digi stuff! I think it takes just as much time to digi scrap--at least for now!--as it does to paper scrap, but it seems to be more relaxing. And you don't have the mess! My layouts still seem to be scarce--like I need to fill up more space. But that's not me, even when I paper scrap. I have a hard time layering. It looks so cool on other layouts I've seen, but for some reason I just can't do that. I think I hate to cover up the beautiful paper I paid a fortune for! lol Guess I need to get over it, huh?! We'll see what the next layouts hold in store.

This is a cool kit, too, isn't it?! It's by Mindy Tarasawa. I love the flowers! I took this pic of everybody in front of the Snappy Tomato. We had been down at the river all afternoon, and were starving by the time we got done playing in the water! Glad they were still open! lol This is most of our crew. Jacob was with a buddy that day, so he didn't get to go swimming. Just to prove I do have other grandchildren besides Dakota, here's Katie on the left, her friend Miranda, Kelsea, Denny, and Libby. I love this pic! TFL!

I Did It!

I finally did it! This is my first digital layout! I got the the kit from Kathryn Balint, my favorite digital designer. The baby is me, BTW! :) I started playing with it tonight, and I think I finally have an understanding of the basics of digital scrapping. This was fun!!! There's so much to learn, but this was a good start. It's simple and clean, which is the way I usually scrap. I would have added some buttons on here, and typed my info on the stork card had I been paper scrapping, but I still have some learning to do. So you all check out her site! She has some of the coolest retro kits! There are a lot of other neat things, too so get on over there! :) Thanks for looking! :)

Happy Birthday, Libby!

Today my baby turns 30. Yikes! I keep saying I'm not old--my kids are! lol Doesn't seem like she should be this old yet. I was looking at pics the other day and ran across her first day of Kindergarten. She was so little! Now she's all grown up with 3 kids of her own, with the oldest being 13! Time goes fast, doesn't it? Libby, happy birthday to you. I love you! Love, Mom.

30 Days Beyond

This is my latest quick project. Mom wanted me to make a birthday card for her friend, so this is what I came up with. I used BG's LilyKate papers in the little 6" pad. It's hard to see, but there's a little blingage on the diamond shapes!

I've been so lazy! I need to get in gear and get some projects made! I'm making some Christmas gifts, and it will be here before you know it. And I want to do show this holiday. I don't know why I procrastinate so, because I love scrapping. Kevin, a guy I used to work with, told me--more than once!--that I always waited til the last minute, and 30 days beyond! lol It's true--but things would eventually get done. Thanks, Peggie! lol

Good Bye Steve!

You just never know, do you? I saw all the daring and goofy things he did, and figured that one day it would catch up with him. Yet never really thinking it would. Makes you stop and think a bit. He seemed to be a nice guy with a great passion. I keep thinking he was only 44. He had a wife and 2 young kids. What a shame. We're going to miss you, Steve. Goodbye and thanks!

First Haircut

Dakota had her first haircut Wednesday. It was actually more a trim than a haircut. lol The top of her hair was so long, and the back had some scraggly pieces, so Audrey decided it was time to even it up. It was such an event! Mom, and Denny and I were there with camera in tow. She was really good. She sat there and let the lady work on her. But notice who's wearing the cape?! lol I just thought that was kind of funny. :) Mostly what she did while sitting there was chew on her hands, or her mom's and slobbered all over the place! lol But at least now her hair lays well. I saw her today, and she looked beautiful, of course!