Breaking the rules...

Okay so I am not supposed to do more than one post per month and all,but for my few friends who read this, I thought why the heck not ? So I have been quite busy being a "creative genious" lately. Ha ha. And well, I have either been Christmas shopping, wrapping presents or crafting. Here are a few things that I I have made in the last 2 weeks. Here are some Christmas cards that I made. Got them sent out for the most part.

A Layout of Adam holding a turtle at a pet store. He is a big animal lover and has explained to me that the animals "understand" him. This is a pic of my niece. She is just so cute. Anyway I tried out some Prima paintables on this one. I painted and inked it. Then I embellished it a bit with stickles.

This is a little door hanging Noel sign that I made out of coasters. Got the coasters from Jenn a long while back. Love that girl !
Lastly, we took the kids the other night to a neigborhod in Brea that has a amazing Keeping up with the Jones' light display. The lighted homes go on for blocks. Beautiful and amazing the kids loved it.

Okay, that is it for now. I am tired and I feel like scrapbooking !

Oh I am horrible..I know

Hello all if there are any of you left that read my blog. I have been just bad, terrible, an awful blogger! No good I know. And so much has happened since I last posted (yes 2 months ago). So lets's just say as of right now, all is good. I am trying to get my Christmas shopping done. I am hoping that tomorrow I can at least accomplish the rest of the kids gifts.

I have been spending a lot of time on Tallyscrapper. I am addicted and having a good time making/creating etc.

Also in other news which no one else cares about but me... Duran Duran have released their new cd. I am mixed about it. Some songs I like others..no. They collaborated with Timbaland; a completely different sound then their norm. Here is Falling Down. This one I like,but the video well, it is not for the kiddos. It is kind of harsh..but the song...I like the song.

This Friday is my DT dinner with the Red Bee team. I am looking forward to that.



Happy Birthday to Echo. One more birthday coming up...Illyse on the 18th. If you are reading this..I can't wait to give you your presents.

Here is a little craft/ornament I made with puzzle pieces. I think that I will make another and put the boys pic in each one as a teeny present to my MIL .
Okay I am off...now you guys get off my back..tee hee kidding. :)

A month at a time !

So I guess that it is going to take me a month or so before I get back to my blog. Oh I am so bad..I know! So much has happened in such a short time. The biggest event in the last month would be Nicholas' illness. He got really really sick, the Dr. thought it was a virus and then less than a week later he had a fever of 105.3 ! It has been awful. He is slowly getting better, no more vomiting or fevers,but he still is kind of sluggish. He even had bloodwork done and his white cell count was 27,000 ! What was determined was that he had a bacterial infection. He is returning to school tomorrow,but cannot participate in PE or sports until the 20th of this month.

In other news, of course I have been scrapbooking. I think that I have been in a silly mood and it is reflecting on my pages. Here are two examples:

Lastly and most importantly I have signed up to be a Chemo Angel. This is an organization that assigns a person to a cancer patient to send weekly cards to. I signed up on Monday and TODAY, I was contacted . I have been assigned a little boy with neuroblastoma, he is 4 years old. I already made him a card and a treat. I will send it out tomorrow. Tough thing,but I think it can really make a difference in the day of a cancer patient. If you are interested and want to check it out...here is the link http://www.chemoangels.net/Chemo%20Angels%20sub%20content/chemo_angel_qualifier02.htm .

Enough for now..hope all is well with all of you. Big hugs :) Christine

It's about time !

Oh gosh I am so bad at keeping this up,yet I have had so much going on. I get caught up in things and lose track of time! Anyway I digress, First let me say school has started for both the kids and myself. I think the kids might like school a bit better than me at this moment. ;-) This year was a bit hard only because Adam is no longer in preschool. He just started kindergarten and Nicholas is in 3rd grade. Wherever does the time go? Here are a few pics from the first day of school. As much as I am completely sentimental about it, I know it is so good in so many ways to have them both at the same school. Nicholas has someone to watch over and Adam feels like he is a big kid now...going to the same school as his brother. Good for both their self esteem.

So mom has to let go and just get used to it. No more babies, no more preschoolers !

On to other news I have had a lot of great scrappy stuff happening to me. I recently placed 2nd in two different contests on Tallyscrapper . Which made my day! Here are the 2 layouts that won. Mission ME Challenge :

Show us your wild side:
So today today I must wait for a plumber to come and clean out the drains and then we are off to a birthday party. Hoping to squeeze some scrapping time in there! Have a great day!

Oh Happy Day !

Okay so today started off as a bit stressful. Had to clear my floors, vaccuum and prepare for the exterminator to come. Once I did that I had to leave the keys for him and not return until the end of the day. Yuck. I felt rushed and I still havent returned anyone's phone calls.

Then I went to school, bravely brought the boys with me and started organizing my classroom for the school year. The kids behaved wonderfully, I can't really complain,but getting my class room ready really put me in a funk. I can't believe that next Monday is the dreaded day. Sigh that bums me out. Anyway, then we went to Big Lots to buy some organizing tubs for my classroom. Cheap there and good brands. The boys were good too, except that they insisted on taking turns pushing the cart as the other directed the "driver' through traffic with hand signals and all. Too bad that didn't really help out since they kept on crashing into displays and other things. So that got me a bit worked up too. When I got into the car I felt like crying. Dumb..just stress. I luckily did not give into that stressor and just drove home feeling sorry for myself. I pulled into the driveway, parked, got the kids out and lo' and behold there were not one,but two packages in my mailbox...just for ME. Yippee...I suddenly got out of the funk...(however this is just temporary people) and brought those packages in. One of the packages was from a RAK that I won from Karen Wilson (from the unforgetables foundation) and the other was a set of Art warehouse stamps that I won off ebay on JULY 29th. I thought that they were for sure lost! Gosh I think those things came just in time...funny how things seems to come just at the right time!

Lastly I would like to leave you with this quote: "Mom did you know that the word for hello and goodbye is the same word in Hawaii...it is called "HELLO-HA". My teacher told me that today"

Adam Spina

I actually scrapbooked a page about me !

Well, so I actually just scrapbooked a page just about me,which I never ever do. I always focus on the kids, family and sometimes group shots of friends,but a single pic of myself...not really. I don't even have a good reason why, I guess I just feel full of myself by doing it? Although I never really think that of others when they do it. Anyway, it was good, it got me thinking and I am glad I did it. Here is my lovely page of "just me". The most fabulous part is that I got to use my brand spankin' new Daisy D's paper and embellishments. When I bought it, I wasn't sure what I would do with it,but then I was inspired by a contest on www.tallyscrapper.com .It just asked members to do a layout about themselves and so I went to it.

In other news The Red Bee just got the ROCKSTAR line in by DCWV. A special friend of mine loves me so much that she wants to buy it for me...is that love or what? I am so excited, I just can't wait to get my hands on it and use it. I know I will be able to get good use of it since I am a ROCKSTAR and my son Nicholas is in the making. ;)

I have been working on other projects lately as well, I also just hung up a Heritage project at the Red Bee of my gradparents. I am quite pleased with it. I miss them and the photo in it always makes me happy.
I am also working on a project with a new Frances Meyer kit to bring into the store on Friday. I will post it when it is completed.

Well enough for now...will be at the Red Bee Friday night for a DT meeting and then a scrap-a-thon. Well okay just some scrappin'but it will be fun. Got to spend the rest of my credit from the RB garage sale. Tee hee, can never have enough scrapbook supplies...RIGHT ILLYSE?

A day of MOURNING!

Oh no, I just posted to whine a bit. I know that some of you reading this will just want to slap me, but I just can't believe that there is only 1 month of summer left! Today is August 1st and Illyse and I have named it the National Day of Mourning. Well at least it is in our world. Really it is less than a month before I have to go back to my classroom to get ready for the school year. I have been really liking the stay home mom thing thoroughly...oh goodness! Oh well I guess I better start making this last month spectacular. I did actually have a fantabulous time the other night with my dear friend Lisa and some new friends too. We went to dinner and then a Tears for Fears concert....Yipeee. Can't let go of the 80's...too much fun. Here is a pic at dinner with Lisa and the girls.

Anyway for now I just have to make it last...stretch it out...and try to deal. Well at least this Sat. I will be going to The Red Bee to scrapbook. That will be FUN..
Okay enough for now......by the way how ya like my blog's new look?

A busy girl !

Okay so again, I am quite tardy on the updating of my blog, but I must admit the month of July has just passed me by in a whirlwind. In the first week of July we went on our yearly San Diego Trip. We stay at a beach house and do all the San Diego "Stuff" that a tourist does in SD. We had a lot of fun. Of course my favorite part would be the beach. Notice though that there aren't any pics of me on it. I have my reasons!

A few days after our family vacation, it was my birthday. 37! wow that hurt just a bit. Am I really that old? I realize that in the grand scheme of things it is really still quite young,but how did that happen? Am I really that old? Am I going to start being the old lady at the concerts/live shows that I go to? Oh my. Anyway I digress, my birthday was fun and my kids/family really made it special. We went out for Mexican food and then returned home for cake and presents. The boys actually made my cake and decorated it. They were so proud!

Just 3 days after my b-day Illyse, Jenn and I decided to join Karen and Echo at CHA. Every summer Illyse and I plan a girl's trip. This time Jenn joined us. Since it was Jenn's b-day and mine we celebrated them in Chicago. Karen treated us to dinner downtown. We had traditional Chicago style pizza..YUM

CHA was fantabulous if I may add. Being the Rockstar that I am, I have to say that I was really excited to see the Rockstar themed paper in more than a few booths. Karen ordered the DCWV Rockstar line and I cannot wait for that to come in! We made a lot of make and takes and hopefully will be able to bring some new ideas to The Red Bee.

So yes now July is almost over and August will perch its ugly head around the bend and school will be back in session before you know it. Talk to Illyse and she will tell you...August 1st is a day of mourning for us. The countdown starts until we must go back and set up our classrooms. Eek! I like staying home. Gosh we are spoiled.

Tag..I'm it!

Well Echo decided to tag me...I know that this is her way of forcing me to keep my blog current. So I will play along! Here are my answers to the questions below.

My roommate and I once: got lost in Barcelona and walked we up and down the streets trying to find our host families house until about 4am

Never in my life have I: Been Parasailing(and I never will!)

High school was: fun and torturous at the same time.

When I'm nervous: I stumble over my words and reverse things

My hair: is a big curly mess most of the time.

When I was 5: One of the kids in the neigborhood had a friend over and they STOLE MY BIG WHEEL.

When I turn my head left:Is this a trick question?

I should be: cleaning my house and doing laundry,but I can't because the delivery man who was suppose to deliver my washer hasn't showed up yet. He is late late late!

By this time next year: I hope to be a re-doing my pool deck

My favorite aunt is: Barbara

I have a hard time understanding: prejuduce

You know I like you if: I cook for you

My ideal breakfast is: Fresh fruit, berries and melons, maybe some yoghurt

If you visit my home town: What you do there....stays there

If you spend the night at my house: You will be woken up by around 6:30 am whether you like it or not! I have 2 alarms that make sure of it!

My favorite blonde is: generally, I don't like them..just kidding. Never really thought about it.

My favorite brunette is: JT

The animal I would like to see flying besides birds:Elephants...if they could accomplish such a feat, it would encourage me to try new things that had previously seemed impossible.

I shouldn't have been: a chocolate lover...it shows where it shouldn't

Last night I: went to bed at about 8 pm

A better name for me would be: Guida

I've been told I look like:Elizabeth Taylor as a young girl in National Velvet...at least that is what Redd Foxx (Fred Sanford)told me when I was about 14. Maybe he was drunk.





If I could have any car, it would be : Some kind of sleek girlie convertible car,just for when I want to escape!

All right....Jana, Donna and Marra... I tag you!

Okay Finally I did it! I am updated :)

Okay Okay I am updating my blog! I am so behind,but I have been threatened to be taken off my friend's list if I don't update soon. I know bad bad! Anyway all is good here. I am counting the days until school ends. I can't wait! I want my summer! My last Day is June 15th!

SO yes, I am way behind here but I want to tell all of you that Team Adam raised over $2300! I am so thrilled about that and grateful as well. I have other friends who might join my team next year...maybe we can reach $3,000! Time will tell. Wait for next spring. Here are a few pics from the Walk. It was a lot of fun.

Once again I am filling a spot on the Red Bee Design team and I am really happy to be a part of the team. Not only is it a great experience,but I am learning so much from others on the team...not to mention I have a few new friends :).

Here are two of my latest layouts that I am really happy with!

Help the fight against Autism...and win a prize!

Dear Friends old and new... as you know my son, Adam, has Asperger's syndrome (high functioning autism). For the second year year in a row, I will be participating in a walk to raise funds for Autism Research. I will be walking with C.A.N (cure autism now) on Sat. April 28th. To help raise funds for my walk I thought that I could have a giveaway...here are the details:

For every $5 donation made to Team Adam walks,I will include your name in a drawing for a package filled with brand new scrapbook items. After making your donation, post a comment here to let me know your name, email address and donation amount.This package will include, Lil' Davis designs, 3M, EK success and Colobok products. A winner will be drawn at the end of April. Here is the donation link:

http://www.walknow.org/07losangeles/teamadamwalks

Take a peek!




All items have been generously donated by Lil' Davis and 3M (there might be a little bit in there from me too)! Remember every little bit counts! With your help you can help find a cure for autism!

(((HUGS)))

Christine

too long!

Well it has been too long since I have posted last. I am just so burned out lately. In the last week I have had more than my share of bad things going on. I had a friend die and another friend diagnosed with breast cancer. A lot of other yucky stuff too,but let's not get into that.

So I was perusing a few message boards and I found a cool blog that post sketches for scrapbooking layouts. Lately I need some inspiration, so I thought that these might help me out :0)

Lastly, I am really excited about my fundraising crop that is coming up. I have had a good response and also a good handful of SB companies have sent me donations for raffle prizes. I am really excited about that! So far Lil' Davis, Junkitz, DCWV, 3M, Heidi grace, Cloud 9 and Tallyscrapper.com have donated. It should be a blast and I think all the croppers will be thrilled.

Well I am tired now...I am off. Gotta go to bed :)

Lots of stuff

First and foremost what is on my mind right now is my walk for Autism research. On Saturday, April 28th I will be participating in the Cure Autism Now walk in Pasadena, CA. I think that most of you know that my son Adam has Asperger's syndrome which is a high functioning form of autism. As a baby I knew that he was different and by the age of 2, I was convinced that he was autistic. We had the worst time getting a diagnosis for him. It literally took me 2 years to convince others that it was true. On the grand scheme of things I know that I am very fortunate to have a son that is so high functioning. We have our challenges,but we have definitely come a long way. However, there are children who suffer from autism and do not have speech, cannot smile, have repetitive quirks/behaviors and have severe issues coping outside of their homes. This summer I had an experience that was completely heart wrenching to me. While in my son's therapy office,I overheard a mother talking to her son's therapist balling. She proceeded to say "thank you, thank you so much. This is the first time that I have ever seen him smile...oh my gosh I just cannot thank you enough". Her son was 2 1/2. Can you imagine not ever seeing your child smile? I will never ever forget that.

Autism has definitely affected my family and affects many others. In fact,Autism affects every 1 out 166 children and many kids go undiagnosed. If autism has touched your life in some way or if you are interested in donating to my team please follow this link. http://www.walknow.org/07losangeles/teamadamwalks

OTHER STUFF

As you know I work on the design team for the Red Bee in Tustin. Well, it just so happens that we are having a crafter's/scrapper's garage sale on March 25th. It is from 12-5 pm. Sellers will receive a gift certificate to the store for items sold. If you would like more info on the sale please visit www.Theredbee.com

Lastly I know that my links are only web addresses,but the link thing-ma-jig won't work on blogger. So please just select and paste. Thank you my friends :)

(((HUGS)))

Christine

Right down the toilet !

So the other day, Sunday to be exact, I went to the potty, flushed the toilet, pulled up my pants and pop...out it came and my phone fell right into the swirly abyss. Nice...I had to retrieve it. Needless to say...no it doesn't work.

But on a lighter side a new scrappy acquaintance wrote me a little poem :

Oh, dear, my phone
in the potty wet
it splashed, bad zone,
the saddest fate it met.

Written by Stacey Kingman

Why thank you.... haven't had poetry written for me in so long...I am quite touched.

So FYI: any of you who read this...I have lost all my phone numbers. Can you ever so kindly send me your numbers to store in my new phone ? Thank you :)

I WON I WON !

NO I didn't win anything scrapbook related, but I just did win tickets to see OK GO ! tomorrow night. Not only will I be seeing my treadmill boys, but also the Snow Patrol! How cool is that?! I am so excited. Me, I never win. I am always caller #19 out of 20 etc. And whee..look at this! I am so thrilled! Yippee! Tell you all about it later!

Christine

Just plain silly

Well It goes like this.... I have all this new Tinkering Ink waiting for me to play with it and it has just been sitting there. Then...I come along a post on Pubcalls saying that there is a relatively new Kit club looking for DT members. I decided to pull out that BEAUTIFUL Tinkering Ink and give it a whirl. And this is now my submission. I also doodled more than a bit...I wore out my white pen. I guess I need a new one.







These two 3 Bugs in a Rug layouts were inspired by two fantastic ladies. One day, the fabuluosly wonderful, Illyse surprised me with the chipboard tags. A few days later the lovely Echo brought me by the paper (another surprise). I guess my girlfriends know me too well. By the time I got my rear in gear to pick it up, it would already be yesterday's news. I must get better about that! What good friends! Will one of you buy me a new pen?

Tag? I've been tagged!

Well it seeems that this is an epidemic right now. I have been tagged by my friend Donna and apparently I'm it. So now I have to tell the truth...that I am not even close to perfect. Darn. I thought that I had you all fooled.

SO now I have to name 6 quirky things about myself. So here it goes.

1. Umm I am really freaked out by clowns. Yuck they are creepy. I have never, I mean never liked them. I don't like that you can't see who is under there. That is just wrong. Unfortuneately I feel that way about amusement park characters too (just not as strongly). As a kid I never wanted to take my picture with them.

2. I can't talk without my hands very well. I need them to express myself and when I don't, I get all tripped up. What can I say..now that's Italian!

3. When I can't sleep at night I come up with scrapbook layouts in my brain. Then somehow I can hold it there and remember how to create it days later.

4. When I cook I don't measure...I just do a pinch here, a sprinkle there. Then when my friends ask how I make things, I can't really give them exact recipes. I think they think that I am holding back on them.

5. This is really Geeky,but I am okay with it. Deep breath. I can't let go of Duran Duran. I thought I had long ago,but when they reunited and I saw them in '03, it was like I was 12 again.
I still love them and jump up and down and scream when I see them...in a cool and calm collected way of course.

6. I am convinced that people are actually reading my blog and find it interesting,but I actually may only be talking to myself...which I do often.

So actually I could go on and on and on,but I won't. I have to have some secrets.

Who will I tag. Oh Gosh who knows. Echo you are already taged. Most of my girlfriends don't have blogs. Hmm... this is a tough one. I will have to get back to everyone on this.

Signing off...Christine

A day for HUGS

Well a very Late Happy V-day to you ! This now has to be my very very very most favorite pic of my boys. Just took this pic of the kiddos this a.m. The way they hugged without any fuss was astounding. They don't hug they wrestle, they hit they cry..they are all boy ..snips and snails...you know how it goes! You would have thought that the world was coming to an end! So of course I had to do something with this photo! I made this on 5x7 canvas inked it and just put it all together...pretty quick. This became a Valentine's day gift for my Mother-in-law. Now I have to do something fabulous with one for me! However in retrospect....this pic is probably the best Valentine's present ever. My boys...yes my boys HUGGING. That is a wow for sure.

Sweet Treats for "the teach"

So I have been a busy little bee making altered paint cans for my kiddos teachers for the big "V" day. Here is a sample of one that I made. It was a lot easier to make than I thought it would be. Now I just have to stop eating the chocolate that I am using to fill the cans. Wish me luck!

CHA

So I recently went to CHA. Had a blast :) This is something that I hope that I will always be able to attend. I met a lot of great people and Scrapbook celebrities as well. Tee hee. Seeing the new product everywhere was overwhelming and exciting at the same time. It was great to be able to give some input as well. What a great opportunity I had. Here is a layout I did for The RED BEE. Some of my humor in it...as well. I make myself laugh,but I am not sure about anyone else :)

I don't know what I'm doing...what else is new?

So hello all. I have decided to join the rest of the world and create my own Blog. Hmm...that should be simple..well unless you are a bit on the technologically challenged side...like myself. So, here I am, don't know how to do this. I need help, a clue. Be patient with me...I'll get there soon somehow. I want to post pics and clever little things..but that may take awhile. So bear with me :)

Signing off, need a nap,

Christine