Cards, cards, and more cards... Oh and sleeping in & our Wii introduction!

Aaahh - nice!!!

Kaye has had Holly over since Saturday and that means some serious sleeping in today - the first official day of Spring Break!!! The girls are actually STILL downstairs - but I hear movement now?! LOL?!

I have been busy over the weekend making some of those custom cards to fill my latest order... the hardest part is giving them away (well - selling them, I know?!) once you are on a roll because I start to really love them! LOL! It 's the same with the layouts too - but at least with them - I am using the clients photo's - so the temptation to keep them is not there! (OK - except for a couple of those Italy LOs! LOL!) Anyway - I think I am over halfway done now... I will get to work this afternoon I think and finish up! Gotta get paid for Spring Break money!!! Here are a few of the cards I made:

This means that I got to watch Pride and Prejudice (the theater version)... aaahhh - so nice! When Mr. Darcy is walking towards Elizabeth at the end... oh my! That is nice!!! LOL! I also started watching the luxurious 5 hour version, so maybe I can get back to that when I am finishing this project!? However, I have actual errands to run today which include the ever excruciating Grocery store, the Library, my date with Millie, and seeing how much longer I can keep Holly!? LOL!? THEN I will maybe be able to go downstairs and play (I mean work) some more!?

Yesterday at church we started a new Sunday school class - it is a marriage class/video with Mark Gungor... have any of you heard of him!? OH MY - he is HYSTERICAL!?!?!

Check out this video from YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuMZ73mT5zM

(It's about a 10 minute clip - but it is so funny - and so right on!!!) Oh my gosh... seriously - this guy is too funny and what he says is so true and really vital information to help your marriage!

So far - we have just watched the first part of The Tale of Two Brains... but he also talked a tiny bit about sex...

You can watch that portion here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqgsD-IhFtw&NR=1

Again - true and so funny! At one point, he drew a little anatomy picture! LOL! I was hoping to find THAT on YouTube! LOL! It was hysterical... He promised to keep it at least PG-13, so he began with the woman's heart... and then, several inches down - well, OK - I am gonna have to draw what he drew:

So - he went on to explain that to get to intimacy with women, you need to go through her Heart... ("Be nice to the girl!")... once she feels you have touched her heart, you can - well - you know... touch the place of happiness! But men, to get to intimacy, you go through the place of happiness to get to the heart. Of course, this is all in the boundaries of marriage... but in general, this is how men and women differ when it comes to sex... he is just so funny and has such a fresh (and honest) approach! It's gonna be a great class!

Last night, we went out with some good friends and had some coffee and visited while the girls were home hanging out together... we assumed that they were playing the Wii - because, well - if it is an option, why wouldn't you!? Now, neither Dave nor I had ever been exposed to this new phenomenon! So - when we got back from Starbucks, we plugged it in and proceeded to play tennis and bowling (mostly!?) for hours! Now - I have to say - I am so gonna need one of these!?!! Me?! I am so not a video gamer?! But I loved it - and mostly because it is finally something that I can BEAT DAVE at that is somewhat sports related?! LOL?! Right... !??!! It would never happen in real life - but in Wii Land... well - anything is apparently possible?!

I sold two sets of cards yesterday on Etsy too! Slowly, ever so slowly, my shop is taking off! I am off to make that dreaded grocery list and head out to run errands. I am FAIRLY certain that when I come home, I will NOT find a house surrounded by swat teams and assault weapons aimed at the neighbors... I can't be SURE... but - then again, I think it's safe... because I don't live in Boise!? LOL! Seriously Darcie?!??

Anyway - Scrap On!
~Karri~

Spring Break is around the Corner...

Ah yes - it is true... Kaye has 1/2 days today and tomorrow and then we are officially entering Spring Break. We have no exciting plans this year... we may head to my sisters for a day or two... but that is still up in the air... I am looking forward to sleeping in a bit and maybe just hanging out together, watching a movie or two, talking, maybe a little bit of shopping squeezed in there... we'll see?! Oh - we are so super mean parents that we are actually considering FORCING our (tennis star) daughter to take a 3 day Tennis Camp the first three days... it's only in the afternoon and it will be with the high school Tennis Coach and a few star players... but she is not wanting to go? She is intimidated to think of playing tennis in high school for some reason and she is still apparently shy and not wanting to go since none of her friends are going to be there?! It's so hard, because we have this only child and we SO want her to be active... she quit soccer in the 3rd grade and Tennis is the only other sport that she has expressed interest in... and she just so happens to be incredibly good at it. So we are trying to find the fine line of supporting and encouraging her, and pushing her just a tad to try new things or step out of her comfort zone - but we don't want to cross the line and become 'those' parents, ya know!? So - what to do? We are still undecided?! sigh...

So - in the past week (or so)... I finished that last spread:

I went shopping for some super cute Easter Paper and made this adorable little Mini:

I have officially lost over 20 pounds since the end of January and I am P-R-A-Y-I-N-G that soon, oh so very soon, I will be able to finally buy a smaller size pair of jeans!!?! I have been wearing the same size since I had my nearly 13 year old daughter?! Yeesh!? So - yay... it is working! But it is the first of many 20's that I need to lose - so it is just one step!

For Easter this year, I scaled WAY back on the candy dish detail of my decorating... not even buying candy for the Easter Basket until Thursday! Oh - and the Easter Basket - first off just let me say that I SO MISS the good ol' days of filler... you know, the egg shaped sidewalk chalk, the Easter themed playing cards, the crayons and ponytail holders... something that would take up some room other than the candy filled eggs and chocolate bunnies?! Yeah - I miss that! Now the 'filler' is clothes, body wash, makeup, lotions and potions, music... etc.!? And as far as the Easter Basket itself... well - my girl is a firm believer in Tradition and she refuses... REFUSES I say, to let me buy or make her a new basket:

Yep - Darcie - that is the SAME basket... we made them for Kaye and Chloe's FIRST Easter ever... and every year - Kaye makes sure that I know to use THAT basket... (It doesn't hurt that it is HUGE?! LOL?!) It has been well loved. I told her it was breaking (It is, after all, a PAPER CRAFT?!) and she said that she intends to pass it down to her kids...?! Right... along with that plastic kitchen at the end of the stairs that we still have?! Whatever?! So - among the little candy that I actually bought, Kaye scored the new Stellar Kart CD, the new Carrie Underwood CD, some super cute Bermudas, some bath and body wash stuff, a shower cap (OK - that is totally Dollar Store filler! LOL!), a paper lantern for her room, a headband, and yes - a wee little bit of jellybeans and chocolate! I bought some Lemon Chocolate Kisses at Target... so good! Not as good as I anticipated though because I thought that they would be milk chocolate and lemon creme... but they are white chocolate and lemon... still good - but luckily for me - not as much of a temptation!

We had a great service at church and then went over to the in-laws for our annual Easter Egg Hunt and Dinner... Kaye is now old enough that she is the Official Hider and no longer a 'hunter'!? Luckily we still have two little ones who make it fun! The boys are so adorable:

And of course... My Kaye:

We had a traditional Ham and Potatoes lunch/dinner and I ended up weighing and measuring all my food... skipping some options and making sure I had room 'left over' to enjoy a Reese's Peanut Butter Egg at the end of the night!!! Oh - within the first two minutes of the Hunt - my camera died... just the batteries but still - no replacements on hand... so I got all that pretty paper and I have only a few shots?! PLUS we completely forgot to take the annual Family Shot with everyone together...?! Sigh?! Oh well.. Easter was early - it was cold - nothing was in bloom?! LOL!? There's always next year, right?!

I have not yet begun work on the card order?! I know... I know... I will get it done super fast once I start which will hopefully be tomorrow!? Kaye has 1/2 day and then we need to buy our Carrie Underwood tickets... and then she is going to a friends for a sleep over... and THEN I should maybe be able to get to work! Dave has a gig on Saturday night and that will be nice... I will eat first and so I won't need to monitor the menu options too much. I am learning and one day I trust that this will be second nature!

If Kaye does do Tennis, then we will head to my sisters next Thursday... if she doesn't, we may go earlier!? We'll see?! It's kind of nice to have an entire week that is pretty much Wide Open!!!

It feels rather luxurious?! LOL!?

Scrap On, People!

~Kar~

All caught up... and what do you know?! ...A custom order?!

Yes way!!!

It's true... I am now unofficially all caught up! I say 'unofficially' because my last 2page layout (Brian Regan Live) is laid out - but not glued down... so give me ten minutes tomorrow, and we are all done, baby!!!

I made several layouts last night at my Scrap Happy link at church and we all had a great time visiting and just being together (aka out of the house with no kids?!) Here is what I accomplished last night...

I got a custom order for about 40 cards... all different... and some photo cards as well! Yay! So - I will be busy for a bit... (well, you know me... at least for a few days?!) tee hee!

I am feeling better and have gotten back to my normal workout routine... I met up with one of my very best friends from Junior High and High School... we reconnected ten years ago when she was in town for our ten year high school reunion... (shut up - I can do that math and I know what that means?!) Then we lost touch again and thanks to Darcie, I signed up at Facebook and immediately found her again!

What fun we had today catching up and reminiscing and laughing at our memories (and lack thereof)... talking about growing up and getting our priorities in order and how some never do outgrow those high school games!? Anyway - thanks Darcie... if it wasn't for you - there is no way I would have logged on to Facebook! Annette, MaryAnn, and I were pretty much connected at the hips and we did everything together in high school... too weird?! We met at her parents house today so her little daughter would be able to play and be entertained... it was such a blast from the past pulling up in her driveway, visiting at the house, & checkin' out the old bedroom! Then, driving home, I took the backroad that took me to MaryAnn's folks' old home... so weird?!

Anyway - today is Good Friday... so important to stop and really remember and reflect on what that means! Tonight Kaye is having one of her great friends spend the night and we are planning on watching a portion of The Matthew Movie (The Good Friday part... through the BEST part!) and then we'll take Communion together... Here is a link to a great song by Brad Paisley and Sara Evans... perfect and powerful for today - well - any day but especially today! Check it out and have a BLESSED Easter weekend!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NaSROohLzs

Scrap Happy!
~Karrilee~

I was already thinking of updating anyway Darcie!

It's true... for reals... I was already gonna update today - but time got away from me... and then I got your comment and I remembered I had PLANS!? LOL?!


This week has sort of dragged on... I was feeling better on Sunday, went to church... visited a friend a bit... relaxed... felt like crud again on Monday... pushed through and went Grocery shopping and slept for a LONG time after that... Tuesday I went to my prayer meeting, and felt okay... but alas, no - it did not last?! Dave came home early on Wednesday not feeling well but he got plenty of sleep that night and went back to work on Thursday! (Praise God! I mean honestly... I was feeling better - but not better enough to have to take care of a... um, sick man?! Ya know?!)


So... this is me... feeling pretty good on Tuesday...
And this is my stack of Classics for the month:



Aaah - Poetry... gotta love it! After reading that book that Na talked about on her blog, the author made me want to revisit some of my old favorites... at least all this laying around was not wasted! I ran across a sentimental favorite by ee cumings... "i carry your heart" Let me give ya a little background... (time for true confessions here I suppose)... Dave and I dated for a short 3 months before moving in together... and even after living together for several months, and falling madly in love - we had never actually SAID the words... He was waiting for me to say it so he didn't put himself out there... but I was afraid to say it first... thinking it would pressure him to say it back not really meaning it. Sadly, this was a thought out plan that was carefully followed on my part. Aaah to be young and stupid again!? Anyway - I had a family crisis where I had to drive my parents over to Seattle for emergency surgery and while calling to let him know we made it and the surgery was happening right then, I got our answering machine... well - without even thinking... I ended the message with, you guessed it, "I love you!" (Oops?! I didn't even realize that I had said it?!) Anyway - fast forward two days to my arrival back home and my Dave has the house cleaned and dinner ready and the lights dimmed, and the cassette tape cued and ready to go... (Yes, shut up! I said Cassette tape... whatever!?) He sits me down and asks me to listen to this song... and hits Play and on comes Michael Hedges version of the famous e.e. cummings' poem "i carry your heart" So beautiful!!! Anyway - after the song, he sat down beside me and told me he loved me... it was priceless and so perfect... I then admitted to him that I had loved him for months but didn't want to pressure him into saying it back... which cracked him up because he confessed that he rewound the answering machine tape and listened to my message over and over and over! LOL!? Too cute!

Anyway - in addition to enjoying ee cummings, I ran across this little treasure:

"I do not love you" by Pablo Neruda

"I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way than this:
where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep."


Anyway - finally, today - I feel nearly human again! I even got in an almost normal workout... and then... magic! A whole afternoon set aside for Pretty In Pink and A Walk in the Clouds while crafting some Easter/Spring cards for my Etsy store!!! aaaaah yes... it's true!!!


I have told my daughter for two years now that her 'Stalker' is her very own Ducky... every girl should have at least one Ducky in their Jr High and High School years... I had a couple myself and they are amazing!!! So - when she came home today she wanted to watch it with me... oooh... the joys of Pretty in Pink!!! So love that movie! LOL! (so did Kaye... and she SO saw that Ducky was her stalker... and that made her sad because, well - she loves Ducky - but like Andy in the movie, um - not like that?!)


Anyway - I AM feeling better... blowing my nose less, and coughing rarely... I hope to continue crafting tomorrow to Sleepless in Seattle! LOL! (I loaned all my chick flicks to Robbin as she recuperated and needed to buy a couple replacements?!)


Scrap On!
~Karri~

Concerts, Crutches, and Counting Calories...

Ah yes... it has been WAY too long since I have updated... and as Darcie pointed out, I have PLENTY to talk about... and I even found three C's to title this post with - so no having to change spellings or anything to make it cute! LOL!

So - my last post (not counting the cheater one I did last week about Craft Corner DEATHMATCH!) was way back in February and did, in fact, have some concert info... we did enjoy our Matt West/Jeremy Camp/TobyMac show... however, I have not yet mentioned the other 'concert' we went too yet! A few days after the big show, we went to a local big show... our most beloved Brian Regan did a concert at the gorgeous Capitol Theater on Thursday, Feb 28th. We had 4th Row Center seats and he was standing right in front of me! It was GREAT! The warm up act, Kermet Apio from Seattle, was hysterical! Seriously - he put on a great show and had us laughing hysterically before Mr. Brenemenammenamm came to take the stage! Then, much to our delight and surprise, Mr. Regan went on to do over an hour of ALL NEW material! Now, this is saying something since I basically STALK him online and have heard everything that has ever been recorded for TV or radio by him... so a full hour of new stuff was incredible... I entered the theater with a dangerously full bladder and have to admit to literally giving praise to God that I did not have any trouble... (and no, I did not down a steaming cup of coffee right before the concert... I learned my lesson LAST time... but I did drink an incredible amount of water through out the day?!) Anyway - a great show... I seriously love this man and if you get the chance to see him live, do not hesitate - he will not disappoint! Here are a few shots of that concert:

On to Crutches... Well - my daughter's nickname given to her by my sister used to be BamBam - because the girl is just tough! She has always been solid and strong and can take a beating... ok - not literally, of course - but the girl is constantly showing off her scars or bruises! She wears them like a badge of honor and with each new one I simply praise God that she has never BROKEN anything?! So - with that said, she went to a sleep over last weekend and was scheduled to be picked up at 11am the following day. The sleep over was at a friends' house for her birthday and the party was fairly small - all girls from church... so when I got a call from someone OTHER than my daughter at 10:50 saying that Kayelyn wants me to come and get her - I knew right away something was up!? I didn't ask though - because Dave was already on his way to get her. So at first, after hanging up - I thought that it was maybe some classic girl drama... but that didn't quote set well - Kaye would have called herself. I began, then, to get a bit concerned!? I started praying... and about 30 minutes later, Dave walks in and goes straight to Kaye's room and sets up her bed. (Not good?!) He tells me that she hurt her knee and can't walk - but she will be fine. Hmm? OK... I am not quite connecting those two facts but I am willing to wait and see. So - out he goes to retrieve her from the car and carries her down and in the house... I can see that Kaye has been crying and this is the fact that really worries me the most! My tough girl who can bodyslam a wall and not be phased... my girl who can crucify her hand on top of a cyclone fence and hang there without letting me know she is stuck and bleeding... my girl who can cram her knee into a screw on the Matterhorn at the fair and still enjoy the ride while blood trickles down her leg... (yeah - you get the picture!) This very same girl has tear stained cheeks and a runny nose and she is unable to straighten her leg. Nice... no more spending the night at the Pastors house, ok?! So - anyway - long story short(ened) - the girls were wrestling and playing around and one of them picked her up and bodyslammed her to the floor and something behind her knee sort of snapped and it locked up. It was pretty swollen and so we spent much of that first day icing it and elevating it and praying... she could move her toes and her foot so we figured nothing was broken and we just wanted to wait and see what it looked like when the swelling went down a bit. Luckily my Mom had crutches from her knee surgery last year and Kaye was able to walk around school and home using those for a few days... the swelling quickly went down within a day or so and she was able to slowly unbend it all the way... I am happy to report that yesterday she was able to walk around without crutches and only once in awhile do I notice her limp a bit... so it has been a full week today and she is healing up quickly... thank the Lord! Oh - and as a side note... um - even though I am an obsessive scrapbooker and I am all up to date and I only have one... I STILL forgot to take pictures of her injury - or even any of her on crutches?! I suppose I should still do that... even though she is better now... at least I should have a staged photo to document it, right? So - here ya go:

Lastly, Counting Calories... well - I can honestly say that in all my years of struggling with my weight - I never resulted to counting calories!? It just seemed too hard and I didn't think I could really stick with it... plus - I am not one to really like having anyone be the boss of me so much - and I was afraid those pesky numbers would start really bossing me around... however, I will say that since joining SparkPeople and using their Nutritional Tracker... I have lost over 15 pounds so far and have found that it is not as hard as I once thought!? Have I given up some things... of course, but it's not like I can never have them again - I just am learning that I have to be able to PLAN for them... I am not able to be as spontaneous as I once was when it comes to eating out or enjoying a margarita - but if I preplan my intake for the day - I can have almost anything?! I saw almost because, really - when is it a good time to preplan to take in a meal that normally runs over 1000 calories?! I mean - sure -I can do it... but in the end, it may not be worth the sacrifice. Take, for instance, my rare - um - 'occasion' to enjoy my once beloved China Express from Safeway!? Yesterday, seemingly out of the blue, I got SLAMMED with some sort of sinus sickness... I mean - honestly - the day before my throat was a little dry/sore - but not much and the next morning my entire head ached - like my bones even... my ears, my throat, my nose, my head... everything was achy and feverish... I managed to get my daughter to school and then rest (not sleep?!) the entire day until I had to go get her from school. In between my trips to drop off and pick up - I attempted breakfast and that didn't really stay down so well... and even though I KNEW I should have been at least drinking fluids - I just didn't have it in me... so I was weak and tired and barely made it home with her in the car before I went to bed and finally SLEPT... Now - this was yesterday, which was Friday. Anyone who knows us well, knows that Fridays mean Take Out or Eat Out... now, with all my changing habits and counting calories - this has come to be a stressful 'treat' and we have had to make changes... one of them was no more China Express.. Goodbye General Tso - I will miss you immensely! Anyway - last night - Kayelyn asked if we could have China Express and while Dave was saying no I found myself deliriously saying Yes! Enthusiastically saying Yes! I know, I know... I SHOULD have had chicken noodle soup - or 7up and Crackers... but I figured when else am I going to actually have ROOM in my calorie counting that I can actually HAVE this treat... and besides, what are the chances of me keeping it down?! So - my dear husband went out and bought China Express (AND Chicken Noodle Soup and 7up and crackers!) for dinner... I have to say - it could be because I was sick... or it could be because I haven't really eaten anything like this for over 2 months now, but the chow mien noodles tasted very starchy and not so appetizing, and even the General was lacking to my 'taste bugs' (as Kayelyn used to call them!) So - I had less than half of my plate and was able to keep it down... but was not tempted today at lunchtime to have left overs... no - today I am going for the Chicken Noodle Soup... this new lifestyle is becoming more second nature and I am finding that this is something that I can - and will - do!

As far as crafting goes... I have been in some sort of a slump... I did do a couple of digi's the other day and I will post those... I need to be making cards and just need to feel rested enough and back on track with my schedule to have the time to sit downstairs and craft! Plus - of course, I have all the concert photo's to scrapbook too! So - I need to get busy so I can stay caught up! It seems as though as soon as I get caught up again, the Lord brings me a new client and I am ready for that, so I better get to crafting this week! Here are my most recent Digi's:

Scrap On, everyone!

~Karrilee~