It's Here!!

It’s Here!! It’s Here!! My new computer, and I am so happy! It is different. I am not used to getting a premade system, with everything preinstalled. I like to put everything together, and to be able to install the programs like I want. I didn’t even get any disks with the computer. I have to make my own recovery disk so if there is a problem, I can just reinstall the factory settings and programs. But it is a nice one… a Pentium Dual Core, with 2 gb of ram, and a 320 gb hard drive. So now that I am getting serious about designing, I won’t have to fight my husband for the computer, or fight the computer because it is so slow… Things are looking up! Now if I only could find about 3 more hours in each day…

School...

I have my first big assignment for Brad’s class. My name and phone number are going out on the Halloween Party information sheet, and I will be coordinating the party. Sounds like they are going to have a very fun party! Brad has a great teacher, and I’m lucky, he is at one of the best elementary schools in the county. And I think the best part is, he really likes school. He likes his friends, and his teacher. That is such a big part of it. Now if I could only get my older ones back into school… lol… They have both graduated high school, but it is deciding which college, and what to study is what is driving me nuts... But honestly, they are good kids, so I guess I can't complain too much!

Patients, or lack of it...

I made it to the final round again this time in the DET contest, but I won't know who has been chosen for probably 2 days. I thought I didn't care too much, and really I will be fine whether I make it or not, but I have no patients!! I want to know, and want to know now!! lol... I'm really not a spoiled brat... Here are my two entries for the final round:

I would be thrilled if I make it, but if not, then I am in pretty good company. There are at least 2 if not 3 designers at DSP that made it to the final round twice, and not to be chosen for the DET Team. So since this is my second time in the final round, if I am not one of the lucky ones, I will take it as my omen that I should get real serious about designing. Which I am anyway. I signed up for another class, this time at DSP. When I get a decent kit together, I will put it up as another freebie here. Have a great day, and I'll see you soon!

Class Mom

Well, it is official. I am the Class Mom for Brad's kindergarten class. Brad is excited about that, not that I will be doing much in his class. It is mostly to help his teacher contact the other parents about fund raisers and parties and things. It is a little out of my comfort zone, as I tend to be a little shy, but it sounds like fun, and it will be good for me.
Brad is really liking Kindergarten. He told me over the weekend, that he has no mean kids, and everyone is his friend. To him, that is great, because in Pre-K there was a trouble maker that would get in trouble for being mean to some of the kids.
Oh yeah, Yipee! I made it past round 2. It is now the final round, and we have until 9/25 to post 2 layouts with the same kits and pictures. The first one we have to follow strict rules about not changing or creating anything, to just use the kit as is to showcase it. The second one, we have more freedom to create a masterpiece. I just love the kits we get to work with, but I don't have the perfect photo... Round 3 is going to be so hard, it is the best of the best, and me. Here is my layout that got me past round 2.

It was made with Lauren Bavin's - Rainbows End Page Kit and the word art is from Tina Chambers and is called Joy Radiates. I had a lot of fun making it, I hope you like it.

Life... and a little surprise!!

It is that time again... I have entered the Digital Elite Team contest at Digital Scrapbook Place again. I made it to the final round last time, but wasn't choosen. I am hoping to be picked this time. Here is my first entry:

I am also taking a Digital Designer Fundaments class at a different site. I am learning so much. I have been playing with designing, but have decided to get serious.

Hope everyone has a great day, and I will see you soon!

Priorities of Life

Again, I haven’t been around in a while, and actually I am just here testing something… I am playing around with this blog so I will know what I am doing when I officially start the blog for my website, www.yourfamilyvitamins.com. Hopefully pretty soon, once summer is over and Brad is in school, I will have the time to get back here and update as often as I would like. I haven’t even been scrapbooking as much as I want. I am signed up to take a class in August that will help me with my designing. It is something that I am really interested in, and want to get better at, but again, it is finding the time.
I know I have written about time here also. I should know better than saying "find the time" because it isn’t a matter of finding the time, it is a matter of "making" the time. Setting priorities and sticking to them. But it always seems like I try to make the time "after" we come back from vacation, or "after" I clean out the closests, or "after" I finish the garden. What high priority is the top high priority?
Today, one of my top priorities is getting my blog for You Family Vitamins up and running the way I want. I want to expand my client base, and make this a profitable website. We will see where tomorrow will take me.

I'm Excited!!

I know I haven’t posted here in a while, but I just haven’t thought about it. You know how they say it is hard to break a habit, sometimes it can be hard to start a habit. But I have great news that I just wanted to share. I registered my first domain name last night, I am now an official website owner!! It is www.yourfamilyvitamins.com. I am an authorized dealer of Vitamin Power products, and this will be my store online. The site is still under construction, I will let you know when it is up and running.
About my last couple of posts, I did make it to the final round of the DET competition, but was not chosen for the team. I am fine with that, as I never expected to make it as far as I did in the competition. I will just work on my skills, and be ready for the next one September. That really isn’t that far away.
When I get the pictures from Easter back, I will be sure to do pages and get them posted so everyone can see them. There were some great pictures!!

Round 2

Well, I made it on to round 2 of the Digital Elite Team contest at DSP. Here are the two layouts I submitted for round 1. The first one is Nathan and Heather before Prom a couple of years ago. I really think this picture is very elegant, and Lauren Bavin's Tuscan Romance kit was perfect for the photo. The second is last year at a pool party, Brad was goofing off and pretending to be a dinosaur in the first picture. The second he is just posing for the camera, he is such a little ham! I used Jamie Rousselle's Water Fun kit for the second layout. Such fun colors and elements, I just love it! As soon as I get my round 2 layout completed, and posted, I will get a copy of it here. Wish me luck!!

Daylight Savings Time

So how is everyone faring with the time change? Half my world changed, and the other half didn’t. Of course my body is part of the half that didn’t. It is not like I was late or anything, I was actually up early this morning, but I think that was more because Brad was running a fever again, and not that I was ready to get up. You know when your child is sick, you only half sleep anyway. I just feel off today, and so tired!! But in a couple of days everything will be better, and I will love the time change. I love it when it stays light later in the day. When it gets dark early, it is just depressing, I live for the sun shine!! I guess that is why I live in Florida.

Manic March Monday

Welcome to the first Monday in March. Isn’t March the month that comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb? I sure hope so, because if the last couple of days tells me how the rest of the month is going to go, then I am in for one bumpy ride. My two older boys are sick, I have doctor’s appointments for both of them today, and it has been cold… colder than I like! As long as it warms up by the end of the month. The last week in March is spring break for the schools here, so we are planning a camping trip to Fort Desoto! I am really looking forward to that. My in-laws take the boys when ever they get a chance, and this time our cousins and their little ones are coming also, so it should be a blast!! And just think of all the photo opportunities and the scrapbook pages that will come from this! I haven’t been designing much the last week or two; I am spending most of my time doing layouts for the DET contest at DSP. I am hoping, but I am not holding my breath… I have to try though, not only does it sound like a blast, but I keep thinking about all the free kits I can get by doing what I love to do… Anyway… I hope everyone has a great Monday!!

Preschool Meeting

I had my appointment with Brad’s preschool teacher today. It is almost the end of the Florida VPK, his graduation is Wednesday 3/21. The meeting went very well. It is just as I suspected… Brad is smart and sweet. He just loves helping around the class. He knows almost everything he should for kindergarten. (This isn’t what he needs to know to go to kindergarten, but a list of things they will test him on in kindergarten.) She said she has seen a big change in him where he really wants to learn now, and has calmed down and grown up. And before where he was getting into a little trouble (because of some of the other boys), she says that has all stopped, and he is listening great, and is a big helper. There was only one small area of concern, that he is having trouble with a couple of letter sounds in his speech. His hearing was tested, and showed no signs of problems, so she thinks it is more a bad habit he has gotten into. Letters like C,G,K,L,Q he is having a little trouble pronouncing correctly. I just love his teacher! Brad has been with her since starting in daycare when he turned 3, so she has gotten to watch him grow and develop. He isn’t a baby anymore. Now we need to get ready to start Kindergarten in August. I just can’t believe how big he is getting!!

A Bit O' Blarney

Do you like free scrapbooking kits? This is my most recent submission to Saturday Night Live, a group of great artist who get together to do a small part of a large Mega Kit each month. We take people of all skill levels. Make a small contribution, and you can have the whole Mega Kit for free. It is hosted by Digital Scrapbook Place. For more information, you can find it at http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21286. We would love to have you join us.

Additional Layouts with my kits

Here are a couple of layouts with other kits I have made. I am including two here, because the post before this had a layout with my most recent kit, Spring Fling. The first is the New Years kit, but from the colors could very well be used for Summer and/or Beach themed layouts. The photo of two of my sons was taken on a dock at a McDonalds on the Intercoastal Waterway. This is one of my favorite photos of the two of them. We had fun that day. The brotherly love really does show through.

The second layout is a picture of my uncle and his grandson making Christmas cookies. It is a family tradition that has been passed down. I used my gingerbread men border, and single. I also used a couple of papers I made up. I don't have a link to the kit here, but could very easily send a sample page with pictures of everything. A couple of posts back were some samples from the Christmas Kit also. I used them to make 4x6 quick pages to print pictures.

Thank you for taking the time to view these pictures.

Spring

I am so ready for spring. I know I don't have it as bad as most of the country, but I am tired of being cold just the same. Spring on the west coast of Florida is a beautiful time. We get this really great gulf breeze, warm sunshine, and a bright blue sky. With the temp. about 80 degrees, it makes for some wonderful outdoor activities. I am can't wait, I am over the damp, foggy, cold weather.
Speaking of Spring, I have been working on a new kit the last couple of days. It is called Spring Fling, and is full of bright cheery colors. I made a layout of my cousin and her daughter with part of the kit. I wanted to get more elements on the layout, but my style is more simplistic, and just couldn’t seem to add more stuff to it. Hope she likes it. It is funny, I know the kit is rather girly (and I don’t even have any girls) but I love the happy colors. The next kit I am working on is more neutral in the browns, greens, and a splash or orange. Another great spring kit. As soon as I have them finished and available I will update here to let you know.

Time Flies

Were has the time gone? I can’t believe it is already February. I just sent off a bunch of Christmas photos to be printed. I know it sounds late, but I scraped them. I made 4” x 6” ploppers with a couple of holiday kits I had made. The greatest thing about that is Christmas photos have a lot of miscellaneous stuff in them besides smiling faces and great gifts. This way I can edit out the extra stuff and highlight the best part of the photos. Also being in 4x6 format, they are so easy to just upload to your local photo shop, so in about an hour and about 20 cents, you have great looking memories. The grandparents will just love them!! I have included a couple of samples here…

Superbowl Sunday

Football!! Yeah! Today is the Superbowl, and I actually have a team playing. Being from Tampa Bay, I am routing for Tony Dungy and the Indianapolis Colts. It would be such sweet justice to have Tony win the big game!! It also means lots of good food, so here goes the diet today.

I did a layout for Josh last night, and I just love the kit. It fits him so perfectly. I have another photo of him I want to scrap and possibly frame. The kit is the Hard Out Page Kit by Lauren Bavin. (I just love her work.) Josh is 18 and likes to think of himself as a punk, but in reality it couldn’t be farther from the truth. In this picture he was actually helping teach his 4 year old brother how to play baseball. I am not that trilled about the expression on his face, but the picture is just so him. With his hat a little off center, and the fuzzy face. He is my joker, my rescuer, my helper. He is growing up into such a nice young man, I am very proud of him.

Here I Go...

Well, the first thing I have learned about blogging, don’t try to start something like this during the holidays!! Not only is life too fast, but things are way to crazy to even think about something like this. Now that life is starting to settle back into our normal crazy routine, I really want to start to concentrate on designing. I love to create new things, and have just fell in love with digital scrapbooking in the last year. I am going to put up a couple of the kits I made last year as freebies. I will include a download link so if anyone is interested, they can go get them. If you use them, I would love to see what you created, please send me an email.

The first is Key to my Heart Page Kit for Valentines Day, and my New Years Page Kit with Word Art Add On. Just go here to get the downloads.