Whew..what a day!!

Today was such a busy day for me. My cool new friend Emily had planned to come over and use her awesome photography skillz to take pictures of the kids. I cleaned the living room and the family room from top to bottom and it took me ALL day! It amazes me how long it really takes to do things. Now of course this was very deep cleaning and frankly needed it very badly and I am so glad that it is done. I also cleaned the kitchen but like usual that only lasted about 5 minutes before it was a total wreck again :P. I bathed the kids and ironed their clothes and she came over and it was great. they were both shy at first but then warmed right up to her. She spent about an hour with us and I am so excited to see the end result!! She is seriously so talented!! Then I had to go to the Relief Society birthday celebration. It ended up starting an hour earlier than I had thought so I was REALLY late. But it all worked out in the end. We had a dinner and just talked, it was nice. I scrapped the other night with the new Weeds and Wildflowers kit, I seriously love that kit! Here is my page. It says "I'll lean on you and you lean on me and we'll be ok. -Dave Matthews

I have a easter page in mind for Asher but haven't really figured out the direction I really want to go with it. Well I am so beat from today that I am hitting the sack early, so adios.

It's been a while

It has been quite a while since I last posted. I have not been feeling too well with the cyst and all so I took a little break. My friend Lisa took the kids because after the last post I had to go back to the ER and spend the night due to horrible pain. It turns out the the cyst had started to hemorrhage. The pain was the blood entering into my abdominal cavity...YAY! :P It was the worst. I had to have so many invasive tests done and in the end there is nothing they can really do for you. I have to go back in next month to have it checked. If it is not gone then they will do surgery. So while Lisa was watching the kids she was filming them and asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up. Her little girl Julia said a princess. She asked Asher and he stopped what he was doing looked right at her and said "When I grow up I want to be a sunflower" What a riot!! I didn't even know he knew what a sunflower was! I did some scrapping yesterday and surprisingly this page came together in under 3 hours! I know CRAZY!


I used the grommet overlays that Christina Renee at www.funkyplaygrounddesigns.com so graciously gave to me, I love these things!


I also used the wonderful papers from Janel Kretschman at www.pinkpoodlestudios.com (not open yet) the papers are called "Acid Rain"

You can check my gallery for the other credits. I have been stalking Weeds and Wildflowers for about a week waiting for their new kit to arrive and last night it did and man was it worth the wait!! Gorgeous!! Their website is: http://weedsandwildflowersdesign.typepad.com/



Can you believe all that for $6.50!!! Outta this world!!! Those flowers are so stunning!! I so want to be on their CT! I think I would give my right arm! Well Today I did some visiting teaching in the form of a brunch and it was really nice. It is nice to get some face to face adult interaction sometimes. Well that's it for now. Peace out.

I am soooo Loopy!

So I have an adventure to tell today. I don't know how well I will do considering I am high on Vicaden(sp?) right now. Yesterday right as I was finishing up my post here I started getting really sharp stabbing pains in my abdomen. I waited for about 10 minutes and when it didn't let up and in fact was getting worse I called Aaron. He was worried I had appendicitis and so he came home. I went to lie down on the bed and felt much better by the time he got home. He was getting ready to go back to school when it started again. This time was much worse than the last. He took the kids downstairs and took me to ER. We got there and the pain was subsiding again! I was really stumped. We went back and they started doing all their test. They thought I actually had a kidney stone and sent me to get a CT scan to rule out the appendicitis completely. On the way to get that done the pain started up again. Going over all the bumps in the wheelchair was HORRIBLE!! I was still in a lot of pain when we got back and the nurse went to go and tell the doctor I was back. They were just a few doors down so I could hear their conversation. They proceeded to talk about Anna Nicole Smith for about 5 minutes before that "sweet" nurse decided to tell them that I was in fact in a ton of pain. I couldn't even move to push the help button. They finally came in and gave me the good stuff into my IV, and in about 5 seconds I felt like I was floating. I got real sleepy. They came back in a while later and told me that the result of the scan was that I have a 5 centimeters large ovarian cyst! They sent me home with a prescription for the Vicaden. I felt good all day, a little weak and took it easy because when I picked up Violet it started to hurt again. It started really hurting tonight and I took one of the pills. It did nothing for the pain and made me super dizzy and nauseous! So no more of those for me! I did scrap a page today. It's really simple because I wasn't feeling too good. It's another photo from the photo shoot from last year. I swear I love every single picture! I also got the inspiration from mguray at www.2peas.com. Here is the link to her page:
http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1113496


Well I think that is all I can manage in my dizzy and crazy lady state. So until next time.

Who knew that scrapping would bring me closer to my Grandmother?

I have been really busy the last couple of days. I have planned with my mom to do a book for my Grandma for Mother's Day this year. We gathered letters from everyone at Christmas time and thought it would be nice to make her a scrapbook centered around these memories. I admit I was stumped about how to pull it all together until I got my blessed Better Homes and Gardens Scrapbooks Etc. Magazine in the mail the other day. In it there was a 3 page spread about this woman named Irma Gabbard who made a beautiful book for her in-laws for their anniversary. I was in heaven. It was simple and elegant (not my ususal style) and exactly what I wanted for it to look like! I shamelessly have been scraplifting her example pages and love it! I wanted to do a black and green scheme and turn all the photos to b&w but couldn't find the perfect green like she had, so I went through all of my supplies and remembered that I had this gorgeous kit by Traci Sims called Blue Willow:

available at www.your-digital-dream.com
I thought it was just perfect! I love that her elements are actual items that she has scanned (I love it to look like the real thing) so with further ado, here are the pages so far. I still have a ton to do but feel good about my progress so far:




I am still waiting on photos and letters from my mom for all the other pages. I think I will get it bound at www.shutterfly.com They ROCK!! 50% off your first order and they do them in all shapes and sizes!
I also went to the beloved Weeds and Wildflowers last night, for all of you who don't know about them, GO check them OUT!!! They are brand new and catching on like wildfire! They seriously rock and are so generous! I am talking awesome freebies and amazing prices on kits ($4 for the whole STINKIN thing!) Here is their website:
http://weedsandwildflowersdesign.typepad.com/
They apparently asked a bunch of girls to join their creative team. Can I say JEALOUS!!! Here are some of the items I have picked up:


AND HELLO THIS IS FREE!!!



AND ANOTHER FREEBIE FOR THIS KIT!:


I decided to combine the two gorgeous kits both of which I purchased for a whopping $8!!! And also snagged those awesome freebies. I love the colors and thought they would be perfect for this photo, not too girly and not to boyish (perfect to put in both their books)


I used Teresa Ferguson's amazing new templates for this page:


Available at www.sweetshoppedesigns.com I just love templates! They make scrapping such a snap, and hers are so gorgeous! I am so happy to be working on her team. I am so thankful for this hobby and talent I never knew I possessed! It is seriously so awesome to feel artsy for the first time in my life and to be able to do that while preserving my family's memories!!
Well I think that about wraps it up. So until next time :)
See Ya L8TER SK8TER!

Feeling so much better!!

I am almost over the yucks! I feel like a million bucks compared to the other day :) Last night I went to girls night at Jessica's house. We just hung out and attempted to scrap, but didn't get anything done. Yesterday during the day I did do a page (the really funny one from my previous post) I did this for Teresa's and Lauren's teams. I used Teresa's new template and Lauren's new kit called Stompers. They are both available today at the sweet shoppe. Here is the page. It is called "Sharing...ain't it the pits?" hee hee

It is from last fall. The kids were "playing" together and both wanted to be in the car. Violet attempted to enter the car and was promptly shoved down by Asher. Crying followed. Then another attempt to enter the car this time successful and Asher smooshed her by sitting on her. She didn't mind either! Ah the joys of having two toddlers :)
We are babysitting our neighbors little guy this morning and I need to clean the house so this is a short entry. Until next time.

STILL sick up in herrrre!

So I am more sick today than yesterday...grrr...suckiness! I hate being sick. So that pretty much indicates that today was a very lazy day for us all. The kids are still sick as well. Well Josh's funeral was today. Diana went and said it was a good closure for her. I wish I would have been able to go and feel that for myself. Everyone else was able to be there and she said that the service was really nice. I have been feeling better about the whole thing until she told me about the funeral. I just felt so badly that I wasn't there and then I started thinking about the whole situation again and feeling really sad. I guess that is normal and I need to allow myself to go through these emotions. I felt a little creative surge today and scrapped a page. I hate it when I can't seem to get a page to look good no matter what. I actually really like this page. I cut Asher's hair into a mowhawk or a fauxhawk because I didn't bic the sides or anything. These are some pictures that I took the next day. He is so cute! :)

credits are in my gallery. Well I am working on a funny page but can't seem to pull it all together. Hopefully it will be done tomorrow. Until then....peace out~

To circumcise or not...that is the question

So today we went to see the Urologist about Asher and getting him circumcised. We had decided to forgo it when he was born because we just didn't think it was right, but he has had so many infections and problems that we have decided to see if we can get it done. I feel so bad for the little guy. We got some ointment that we have to use for 6 weeks and then go back and the doctor will make the decision. I sure hope that we can do the right thing in this situation. Also tonight I went over to the old ward and taught the little 12 year olds how to bead. We made bracelets! It was fun and stressful. I had to take the kids because Aaron just "had" to go to orchestra even though this had been planned for over 2 months. The kids were of course into everything and then Violet got into the trash and found a nasty old brownie and almost got it into her mouth! Then she tripped and fell into a chair and got a black eye....so all in all what a great night :P. Then I went to pick up the ointment from the drug store and had to wait 30 minutes even though they said it would be ready 3 hours prior! And the lovely employee had the nerve to be a real jerk to me about the whole thing. I really wanted to tell her off but took the higher road and kept my mouth shut. See I can do the right thing sometimes :) Well I scrapped a page last night. I have not tonight...no inspiration I guess but I need to get going on the pages for Teresa. Anyway here is the page from last night:

This is for Laurens team. Love her stuff! As always, check the gallery for the credits if you are interested. Well I think that is all she wrote tonight.

Uggh...we all have the sickies

We all have the sickies at this house :( Violet started coughing a few days ago and now Asher and I are hacking too. Just Aaron is healthy. There goes my "I haven't been sick all winter" streak. Lazy day today. I am feeling better about the whole Josh situation. I guess I just describe it as I feel peace...for now. I had a meeting with the Relief Society president yesterday. They have asked me to be a committee chair for the community outreach program. I am feeling pretty overwhelmed by this. I just feel like I lack the skills to do this effectively. I have been out of the work force for 3 years now and feel very self conscious about talking to people in a business sense now. They are wanting to host 2 classes every Saturday for 2 months at a women's shelter here in the city. I am trying to think of classes that these women would enjoy. I think maybe quilting, beading, writing, budgeting, parenting classes would be good. I am glad that it is not until May so I have some time to enlist some sisters and think of more ideas. So my friend Emily is going to take my kids pictures next week and I am so excited!! Her skills are amazing! I need to get Violet's hair cut before then. She is sporting the Carol Brady do right now! Here is Emily's blog: http://www.emilys-little-world.blogspot.com/
I did get to scrap the other night. This is for Meredith's team. I wanted to make this page very simple so that the photo would just pop. I used one of Holly McCaig's photo actions on it:

check for credits in my gallery. I just adore this photo of Asher and love the way the page turned out! Well, I can't really think of anything else to write right now. Oh except the other day Asher said the funniest thing. We were making a bird house and he was so excited about the whole thing. When we were all finished he looked up at me and said "Mom, you are Bob the Builder!" LOL! So cute! I hope I am not that mannish :) Kidding aside I take that as a high compliment since Bob is one of Asher's idols. Also Violet has started talking in sentences this last week! This girl is just blossoming right before my eyes. I can't believe she will be two in June! Where has the time gone?

I am such a SMARTIE pants!!

Today was a bittersweet kind of day. Last night I got to go out to girls night. We went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then just browsed the mall. I of course could not buy anything, the $10 for dinner was enough with our budget :( It was really fun! When I got home and checked my email, I had one from Teresa Ferguson saying that I made it on her Creative Team! I am so excited and where I want to be with scrapping right now :) I made a page with Meredith Fenwicks Seafoam Kit. This is sweet Asher on the day that we got home from the Primary Children's Hospital:


I used everything here by Meredith save the stitches which are by Syrin and the drop shadow which are by Traci Murphy. I love the soft colors of this kit. I still can't believe I get to scrap with all of her designs! for FREE!

Lauren Grier came out with this darling number today:

I love these!!! So dang cute and can't wait to use them :)

So this morning I got to go and help out with the Habitat for Humanity house for the church. It was really fun to do! Loved the family and all the people that were there. What an awesome experience to be able to witness this family getting back on their feet and getting the home of their dreams! It was awesome. When I got home we decided to go to the zoo. In the meantime Diana called me and told me some very horrible news. Our friend Josh Ruzika had died last night due to a heroin overdose. I was so upset. I was so angry at first. I mean wake up guys! This is the third one to die from this! And all within the same group of friends. I just don't understand. He had moved to Florida last year to get away and had finally gotten clean. He must have relapsed and then died immediately. After the anger I was so sad for his wasted life and for the fact that I will never see him again. I have cried all day and my heart is aching so much. He was such a sweet and great person, I have so much love for him, I will miss him dearly. May you rest in peace Josh, you will be missed. I can't stop contemplating his friendship and him as person. Well anyways, we went to the zoo for about an hour and had a nice time. I really don't know what else to say at this point so I think I will stop here.

I can't believe this!!

So I wake up this morning and go to the Sweet Shoppe and start looking through the forums. I notice my name Jooms in one of the titles and look closer and see that it says Layout of the week-Jooms!! I am thinking what in the world! So I clicked on it and it said that my Beautiful Flower layout was chosen for layout of the week and that I would get a free kit of my choice as my prize!! WOW! What an honor first of all, and then free stuff to boot? Nice :) So this is layout:

and here is the kit that I chose:

You can find it www.sweetshoppedesigns.com! I love those papers and swirls, so summery and fun! Here is the blog with more about my page:
http://www.sweetshoppedesigns.com/blog/

I posted a page for Meredith's team yesterday:

Check out my gallery on the right to see the credits. This page is very special to me. It is about Asher when he had to go to the hospital as a newborn and how I as a new mother felt about him and how much my love grew for him through this experience. I love that little boy. I see that photo and I just tear up.

Today has been an inside day which is unfortunate because it is beautiful outside! I had a lot I had to do and the day has just slipped by. Our backyard is all torn up right now and half the fence gone because the landlord brought a huge dumpster out back to gut the apt. next door. I really don't want the kids out there in all of that yuck :( I did clean my kitchen top to bottom today, vacuumed, did the dishes, and some laundry. I am exhausted. Pretty sad right? I am getting really interested in the raw vegan diet again. I need to get going. I decided that this time I will ease into it so I don't get so sick again. I can already feel the detox happening and I feel pretty yuck at this point. I am so addicted to sugar and I can physically feel it right now. I caved a little today and yesterday. But a lot less than usual. This is going to be tough I can tell, but I want to get back where I was. Tomorrow evening I am holding the first beading group for church! I am really excited and will have to write about how that goes. Well I can't think of anything else to say right now, so until next time.

Today was wonderful

Today was such a wonderful day! I got to go to church with my family and it was just what I needed. Had so many wonderful lessons and got the opportunity to sign up for the Habitat for Humanity and will work there this next Sat. It is going to be so awesome. We all got some naps today after church too so that was awesome. I finally finished up a layout that I had been working on for a few days. I have been using a lot of things from the Doodlie Love kit and I love it! Here are a bunch of pages that I have been working on:
This first one is for Lauren's team. The kit is called Lauren and Amanda rule the world. They are so funny. This is Violet on her first birthday. I had so much fun making this one:

This one is also for Lauren's team. The kit is my fave, the Doodlie Love. This is Violet in her photo shoot last year for Father's Day.

These last two are of Violet's birth. I did these for a challenge over at the Sweet Shoppe. They give you a template to work with and then you post it. I am considering applying for Teresa's CT using her templates, they ROCK! Anyways, here they are:

Meredith has come out with some awesome things lately and I am so excited to work on those in the next week. This is her new Sea Foam kit:

The colors are just gorgeous! Love the greens. And here are some awesome frames that I want to use for this page about Asher pretending to be a robot:


So that is that. Aaron goes in tomorrow to plan his fourth year and hopefully we can do some away rotations and go to Utah for one of them! That would be so grand. He starts Family Medicine tomorrow and the hours are so great! Some days he doesn't even have to go in until 10! Oh forgot to talk about the fact that Aaron took me out on a date last night! It has been about 6 months since our last date. We decided to trade babysitting with our neighbors. We went to an Indian restaurant and had some delicious food and the naan...hmmm so yummy. Then we went and saw Letters from Iwo Jima. I know rated R...it was really good. It had no swearing, it was just all about the 2nd world war. Basically these archaeologists dig up these letters buried in a bunker during the war. Inside are all these letters from the Japanese soldiers to their families that never made it to them. It was so heartbreaking. In the movie only one man made it out alive on the island. He was destined he felt to make it home to see his wife and baby girl that he had not yet met. I was crying pretty much the whole movie. It really puts a lot of things into perspective to see things like that. You hear about how many casualties of war there are but they are just numbers. It is when you hear their stories that it becomes so much more to you. You value your family and your life so much more. I feel this way every time I see a war film. I hate war and it aches that the world is so full of it. Anyway, it was a great film, two thumbs up. It was so nice to get out with Aaron, I hope we can do it again soon. Well I think that is about all she wrote tonight. Until next time then...