Thursday, January 31, 2008

Snow day!

As unbelievable as it may sound, there has been a snow day declared for the schools here in Tennessee. John is ecstatic and is outside building small snowmen and checking out the icicles.







Actually right now he is gathering up some snow in big plastic bowls we have so I can soak some of our dishes in it and try to get them washed. We still have no water ughhhhhh. So now I have to make the call again, she came quick yesterday and had someone here very quickly but the fix didn't last for long so at the end of clearing out the pipes to get rid of the sediment, we lost the water again. Personally I think there is a leak somewhere which is causing the pressure to leak out but who knows? All I know is we have no water and it's really working my nerves.

Have a great day I have things to do including finishing up my Grab Bag for Divine Digital! Sales start tomorrow!

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Stone Accents Studio Newletter

OK here it is, back by popular demand is the SAS-Y Newsletter link. There are a ton of freebies in this issue as well ;) There are also a lot wonderful previews of all the new items you can find in the store, team calls, new challenges, Free with Purchase kits and more!

SAS-Y NEWSLETTER

Spring Cleaning is coming early for me. Check out these 5 kits currently on clearance for only $2!




Designer Give-Away Challenge with CanDesigns runs through February 15 ~ Purchase my Twilight Dance at 50% off (you must request the coupon in the challenge thread), scrap a layout using it, and receive a bonus gift from me. Check out some of these Awesome Layouts which were made for the Designer Giveaway Challenge!



by tripmom06:



by beachnut999:



by Marvelyn:



by ljd2007:


Be sure to come by and check out all the fun!

I was vindicated, then everything hit the proverbial fan

So my oldest son comes home with a flyer yesterday and says to me "You need to go to this so I can have my lowest grade dropped off in my Social Studies class" My right eyebrow goes up and I read the flyer. It's a special meeting for parents as a premise for the 3 hour or so long interactive "speech" (for lack of a better term) the kids will be experiencing today. Of course I am annoyed because not only do I have to do something that counts toward improving his grade (I already did my school years by myself thank you) but it was at 6:30 that evening! Hello, the boys get home at 4:00 and there's a meeting I now need to go to at 6:30. Oh and I forgot to tell you what it was about. Bullying. So now, of course I am complaining because this to me is nuts. Why should I have to get dressed to go out and spend a few hours of my time for this? What is this guy going to tell me about bullying? I grew up in Brooklyn, I was one of the few little white girls in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood and had glass bottles thrown at me once as the kids chased me home. That was 6th grade - I don't run anymore. I literally snapped one day because I had had enough of this one girl who had been sticking me with pins, tripping me etc for years. Point is, WTH can anyone tell me about Bullies that I don't already know? My philosophy with Bullies is if you are surrounded by Bullies and there is no other way for you to get out of it unscathed, look for the biggest one and beat the sucker to a pulp. 99% of the time, the rest of them will leave you alone after that. Always walk away when you can but if you can't............. I despise bullies and just the thought of it sent me off to this meeting with a sour taste in my mouth compounded by the sound of my own voice saying to myself "don't go in with an attitude, bite your tongue, don't say anything" So, ok I make dinner an hour early get ready and we go. There were a lot more people than I thought there would be and it starts. About 10 minutes into it all I find I am laughing, this guy is actually making it fun and is talking about family values. He tells us the story of how he met and married his wife and how their 2 children came to be. His oldest child is the compliant one and the second one is the strong willed child. He does a great imitation of a 4 year old crossing the line literally. If you're a parent you've seen it, you tell a child not to cross a line and they will literally step over an imaginary line in your face. Anyway he gets toward the end of it and he's talking about how to deal with each type of child, their pressures etc., He starts to sound like me ;) I grin and turn to look at Alex who just looks and me as if to say in his best Jack Sparrow voice "There will be no living with her now" I was right, this man who has traveled the country, given speeches and written books is practically quoting me. WOOOHOOOO I have been vindicated! I have someone who is not me say the same exact things I have been telling Alex. YEAAHHHH. Now as we leave I am smiling because of this and am happy the whole way home.

That's when my happiness got mushed and sucked right into the fan of doom. It has been extremely cold here on and off for several days and yesterday the wind was picking up and we had tornado warnings etc., So we pull up in our driveway and we see that the large wood and metal cover which covers our water pump has literally been blown over onto it's side, the heat lamp is dangling and just behind it about 15 feet, is am empty clothes line which was full of clothes before we left. Now, in the middle of mucky grass, 20-40 mph winds, rain and 30 degree weather, Alex and I need to put the top back onto our pump. It's the size of a decent sized dog house for those of you who don't know. Maybe 3 - 3.5 feet high and wide but like 4 - 5 feet deep. So Alex and I prop it on it's back and let it back down from back to front and then I walk over to the clothes line to see if I can see any of our clothes anywhere. I come across some lumps in the yard and grab them, clothes pins and all. The clothes pin holder is gone too. My hands are now frozen and I get into the house warm up and my boys think going out in the pitch black and trying to find our clothes in the freezing cold would be fun. They come back in, the heat lamp is on and plugged in by Alex, and he turns the faucet on and...... there's no water. So I say ok, just let the heat lamp do it's thing cause the water probably froze because of the wind chill. Yeah....... NO. We still don't have any water and now must call the landlord here to come fix it. No toilets, no showers, no washing dishes or clothes.

To top it all off, YES there's more lol, the roads apparently have iced up and after we got up at 6:30 this morning, we find that the schools are opening 2 hours later. So right now I am here with 2 kids that should be in school already and they are making me crazy. I have an appointment for their insurance next week so hopefully their medication isn't too far in the future. It has got to get here soon because they are starting to get antsy in school and I can't have that. They have been working too hard to loose their footing.

So, how was your day?

Friday, January 25, 2008

Just Because Freebie

OK here is a little freebie for you. Just Because brings 2 Papers, 1 Wrap, 2 Flowers and 1 Folded ribbon. I hope you enjoy this little gift. Please remember, NO FILE SHARING, no passing it along to a friend or giving it away from your own site etc. If you think someone would like this please send them here to download it ;) Also, leaving a little LOVE would be nice too ;) Just click on the image to start your download. Have a great day!

What a week

Are you tired of hearing me say how insanely busy I am? I am definitely tired of saying it lol. Anyway, I got hit with a bout of Crohns this week and it knocked me for a loop. Thankfully it didn't last as long nor was it as bad as my last major hit a few months ago. Now, once again I am trying to play catch-up. I have come to the conclusion that it is just my lot in life to never be caught up, and I guess that's ok because I am aware that things could always be worse than that.

On the homefront this week, Charles was asked to join football!! Woohoo, I was so happy, they had a race or something and the coach pulled him over and told him if he wanted to join football he could. He is fast event though when we were in Florida he hadn't been running around so much. I told him to wait and see what happens when he keeps it up and continues to run ;) Of course he needs his papers and stuff showing his physical that he had before we moved here so I have to get that paperwork together and I am not sure but I think that he needs a special sports physical. He was supposed to get the paperwork yesterday but he forgot ARGHHHH. He better remember it today lol.

John's pulling A's and one F, he didn't finish reading his book like he was supposed to and of course didn't pass the test. I reminded him 3 times but you know...... I was sick and wasn't on top of him enough I guess. Pffftttt. Kids, but now he knows the anguish of working hard and sabotaging yourself. Sometimes you gotta learn the hard way.

Well I should have a freebie up for you in a few minutes. I have been a bit slow but I finally managed to get one packed up for you ;)

I have to run and continue playing catch-up. Have a great day!!

Sunday, January 20, 2008

SAS Announcement

Important Announcement

Some of you may have noticed that we have been having CPU overages at the site. The good news about this is that it is partially because we have a lot of traffic on the site. So to give us some growing room I am going to have the site moved to a high CPU server. The move will take place on Monday morning after midnight. I have had varying time frames quoted from Blue Host about how long the site will have to be closed. I have heard it will take from 4-24 hours. This move will not change the address of the site. Hopefully after this is done we will not be getting any more of those annoying messages.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Good Friday Morning

to you and yours. I am still not awake even though it is 7:17 am but I insist on sitting at the computer within 10 minutes of the boys leaving for school. This has been such a busy week - again lol. There are a million things you need to do when you move out of state that I hadn't even thought about. Little things like changing Health Immunization records over to your new state. You have to go and bring them your copies from wherever you were so that they can transfer the information over to a sheet with their name and logo on it. Personally I think it would be easier to just stamp the info and leave it at that but I guess not. I mean it's not even like they verified the information - which is really scary. You always think about the bigger things like school records, car registrations, insurance, putting in an address change for your credit cards and other accounts, getting new bank accounts etc, but the really little things.... you don't think about them. So anyway we have been taking care of all of those things this week in addition to the normal, everyday chores. I wouldn't mind it so much except that it's cold out there lmbo. It's been between 22 and 35 most of this week and even snowed the other night to the point that there was still snow outside the next morning.... for a little while anyway lol. I haven't adapted to the cold yet yet I must fight with the boys to get them to put jackets on - forget coats - it's not happening. Luckily they at least wear layers. A long sleeved thermal shirt with a t-shirt under it is apparently sufficient to get them from our font door to the bus. They will put one on if we are going out after 5 because it's almost dark by then and they have learned that it's bitter cold at that time but even then it's usually just a sweatsuit jacket. As for me, I try the layers but it doesn't work very well, I need a few sweatshirts and turtlenecks to alternate so I have layers. My heaviest coat I own is just a regular leather jacket and there are no buttons soooooo it doesn't help much lol. I freeze if it's under 75 lol. I like it when it's around 40 as long as there is no rain or wind and I am dressed for it but I freeze easily always did. Even when I was in New York and worked in Manhattan I froze but hey I can't help it, that's the way I am. I wouldn't trade living here. The boys like it so much better, their grades are better they have a ton of friends (thank God it's not like the old days where you had to pay for each minute you were on the phone cause ours rings from 6:30 am till around 10 at night lol) the air is crisp and smells wonderful, we can drink ice cold water right out of the tap, there are a ton of critters and the people are so nice. I think I have met only 2 people that weren't the whole time we have been here. It's awesome! Where else can you see a beautiful sunset like this?






Not too bad considering I used my phone for these shots lol. Again the camera was home and I really wanted these shots.

It's a little backwards from what I am used to, tax on food is just really annoying lol, things that were cheap are now expensive and vice versa. I think the only things that are the same are the price of a movie and gas. I am seriously considering giving up smoking - too darn expensive here lol and I am just getting tired of it. But I have quit before and gone back so who knows?

Well, that's it from me for now. I will be back later with my sales and the latest news from Divine Digital, Moo Two and Stone Accents Studio. Until then, have a great day!!

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Artsy Freebie

This kit is one I gave away at my first Chat. I am offering it up here again for you. There are 4 files in this kit totaling around 80 megs. Please no sharing of files, if you think someone would like this kit please send them here to get it. There are 6 papers and 43 elements including frame clusters, ribbons, buttons, vellum, doodles and more!!




Just click on the image to get to the folder and get your files. Remember to get all 4 files so that you get the entire kit ;)

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

STONE ACCENTS goings on.....

Have you seen all the new things going on over at Stone Accents Studio? There are new challenges, new kits and a NEW NEWSLETTER (I have the link for you!!!)

First let me mention the Designer Challenge which our wonderful Ms Candee is hosting for you. This time around the challenge is using my kit Twilight Dance which you can get for 50% off! Click on the image to go to the forum for all the details ;)



Here's a peak at the posting bonus I have made for this challenge:



NEW NEWSLETTER AT STONE ACCENTS STUDIO!!

Why am I shouting about this? Well because normally you need to sign up for the newsletter which means that you need to register in the forums first. This Newsletter is being offered to EVERYONE!! Come on, you know you want to click the link. Check out all the new goodies and the FREEBIES!!! Here's the link:

SAS-Y NEWSLETTER

Be the first to get in on the fun and great deals!!

Monday, January 14, 2008

You have to check this out!

My wonderfully talented CT and dear friend Tracy has created a freebie! Go over to her blog to check it out and leave her a little love ;) Just click on the image to go to her blog ;)

Welcome to Sleepy Hollow

That's what we lovingly refer to as the entrance to our road. At the end of our road (or the beginning depending on which way you are coming lol) there is a little white church with a graveyard in the back. Once you turn onto our actual road I swear the entrance looks like how I imagined Sleepy Hollow looked. What do you think?



We saw a couple of deer in there too but the images are hard to see as I had to use my cell phone to take the pics and couldn't get as close as I needed. Also it had to be one of those quick action shots lol. We have seen about 6 deer, two skunks (dead peeeyeww) I believe a fox, turkeys, rabbits - oh my lol. I am loving it here. So are the boys so I am sooooo happy. They had a very good weekend this past weekend. Charles said it's the best one he's had in awhile so that made us feel good. His friend William came home with the boys on the bus and left yesterday around 4 in the afternoon lol. We took them to the movies on Saturday and they even took Johnathan with them! While the boys were there Alex and I went to Lowes to dream a little and pick up a few things we needed lol. We picked up some KFC on the way home, got some movies from the video store and shakes from Sonic. So their weekend consisted of hanging out, movies, video games, walking around etc. Friday night they went out for a walk around 7 and at 7:20 a car pulled up in my driveway. Charles walks in and says "Don't get crazy out but can you talk to the officer please?" I nearly flipped! I get up and he can tell by the look on my face that I am really peeved and all he keeps saying is "I didn't do anything wrong, I didn't do anything I promise" I greet the officer at the door and he says that they had received about 4 phone calls about 2 boys walking along the road and they were worried about them. (Insert raised eyebrow emoticon here) Apparently someone had also stopped and offered them a ride which thankfully they declined. But the officer said they weren't doing anything and they were very respectful the whole time. I said good they'll live another day and he laughed. Now, yes it was dark already here and there are no street lights, only the lights from houses and the occasional passing car but it was only 7 PM not 10 or 11 lol While I find it a little excessive for people to get upset over I am happy to know that people pay attention to what is going on and where kids are. So we laughed about it and the policeman went back to his beat. Of course the whole time before I spoke to the officer (things happen so quickly in such a short amount of time) John's tormenting Charles with "You came home with a cop! Mom's gonna beat your apple!" I told my boys if they ever came home with a cop I was gonna beat them so bad God wouldn't recognize them so Charles was nervous even though he hadn't done anything wrong and John just couldn't resist the verbal jabs. So it was a fun weekend lol. On the way home from the movies Saturday two of the boys fell asleep in the back of the car, it was so funny I couldn't resist taking a pic - I didn't have my camera just my cell phone so it's not the greatest but still funny I think.



So how was your weekend?

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

New Designs

Here are a few of my new Designs hitting my stores this week:






Be sure to come by and check them out ;) Also, don't forget about my new freebie just below this post ;)

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Freebie Time!!

Well the Holidays may be over but as a Mom I know there are still parties to be had! Children's parties, Valentines Day, Anniversaries, Retirement etc., So I made these little gifts for you ;) These are little the largest one is about 4 inches, the gifts are about an inch so they are great for invitations and even blog headers ;) They will work well as small embellishments as well ;) I hope you like them. Please remember NO FILE SHARING, send people here to my blog to download these and a little LOVE is always nice too ;) Just click on the image to start your download!




Here's a little preview of one of the prezzies ;)

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Lots to say....

and no idea where to start lol. I have been so busy and it has been an adventurous week. The boys went back to school yesterday and were happy to see their friends - report cards are next Thursday already ;) Our water pump froze! OMG I wanted to take a shower and all there was was drip drip lol. We got it fixed, it needed a heat lamp inside the little room it gets kept in. It snowed this week too, what an awesome sight to see lol. The boys went crazy and Charles ran out in his boxers and shirt! We were laughing so hard, John threw himself on the floor to mimic making a snow angel. Here's a layout I did:



I also used this layout to enter into the SAS-y Me Challenge being held by SAS-y Designer Darlene ;) You might want to take a trip over and checkout that challenge, pretty cool ;)

I have my Sketch challenge going on over there as well. Use this sketch (it's part 1 of 3)



and get this part of the Posting Bonus:




I am also happy to say - if you missed the Newsletter and didn't already know - that I am in the Designer Spotlight this month! I made a little Freebie for you that is ONLY available through the newsletter. It's a little preview of the Posting Bonuses for this month.



And to celebrate my kit "Tracy's Love" is on sale for 50% off!!



SALES!!!






See? Didn't I tell you there was a lot going on? LOL Ok, well I am outta here. I have a lot to do and a short time to do it!