So Busy NOT Being Busy!

Hey everyone! I'm still here...busy not being busy. I kind of took a step back from scrapping and blogging. I was beginning to feel drained...like I was creating out of necessity and not out of desire. So it's been like 2 months since I've done gallery submissions, I've barely blogged, and haven't done a ton of projects, but it was a much needed break. I had a chance to step back and reevaluate things.

Are you ready for Christmas? I am but I'm not. Usually, Christmas is a big ordeal. The presents don't fit under the tree and spill out across the room. I like to do a little decorating, not over the top simply because I don't have enough decor for that. This year, something is missing. It doesn't feel necessarily like a bad thing.

You know what it is? When you eat a meal, you have 3 choices. You can either:

a) eat like a bird and walk away hungry;

b) eat until you are satisfied;

c) eat until you need a bucket.

Right now, our Christmas is at "B" level. Things are satisfactory, not alot of stress with gift buying (not having a huge budget kinda helps things). Everything is wrapped and under the tree, except for a few oddly shaped gifts that are just going to appear with a bow. It's not spilling out into the living room, but there's still a decent amount.

Last night I baked about 12 dozen cookies and packaged them for each of the offices in Josh's building. I hope they enjoy them...I'm not Martha Stewart or anything. lol. I made cinammon sugar cookies (shaped like bears), green tree sugar cookies, red heart and star cookies, and chocolate chip cookies. I also added some cookies I had brought back from the Netherlands and little mini candy canes.

Tonight we're off to a friend's house to have Christmas Eve dinner. Josh and I didn't want a typical holiday meal, so we've all agreed to crab legs, shrimp, fish, and steak. If only we had a sushi restaurant close enough to deliver to us (man I miss Zushi Sushi). Anyhoo, I hope everyone has an awesome holiday! I'll post work, ss soon as I figure out what I haven't posted already! :)

xoxo

Sebastian is sliding down a wooden ramp at the park behind our house. And Anberlin is off to the side, building a miniature snowman.

yes we can.

Well, once again it's been too long since my last update. I'm becoming a bad blogger and in part it's due to just being sick of the internet on top of not really having a lot of time in general.

I was pretty sick last week and because of that, I had to drop out of the Project Catwalk finals at SiStv. It was a very hard decision, but in the end, I just couldn't finish my 5 projects.

My trip to the Netherlands last month was so wonderful. The design team who managed to come really bonded. I am leaving on Thursday again to teach at Scrap-a-Ganza and I can't wait. There will be a couple more designers from my team there that I haven't met yet.

Speaking of, I have some work to finish up for my workshops. I just wanted to let everyone know that I was indeed alive and kicking, just neglecting my internet world. Will update soon with pics.

xoxo

Off we go!

If a couple of hours, the kids and I are going to Amsterdam for ScrapbookMate's Openhouse. I'm really excited (and nervous). It's a bit over a 5 hour drive. I checked out the "Time Traveler's Wife" book on audio from the library to help pass the time and escape boredom. Usually Josh does the driving so I can enjoy the scenery, but not this time. :(

Here are a few pics from the past week. The weather has been SPECTACULAR, although I do believe it is taking a turn. It rained all day yesterday and now it's chillier.

Ok, off I go!

xoxo
Jess

Holy Cow!

Time flies doesn't it?


So what's new in my life? Well not a lot, but as usual, I have been busy. Next weekend I'm off to Amsterdam with the kids to do a retailer's openhouse at Heidi's warehouse. I've been designing new projects for various manufacturer showcases and I designed a workshop too. I'll be teaching a card workshop, complete with an ADORABLE house. I call it...get ready for it..."House of Cards." LOL. Genius, right! Josh says I'm a goober. Anyhoo, during the workshop we will build this cute house from scratch:



And there are 6 cards inside. 4 of them have an interactive element to them and I'm really excited about it. It also seems I will be teaching the house part of this workshop for the November retreat!


I took my car to get an oil change today and then dropped it off at a Honda garage to have the timing belt changed. Well, that won't take place until Monday, but I was in that city anyways, so I figured to save gas, I might as well drop it off. I had to walk 35 minutes to the train station with the kids. They were excited to ride the train....it's been a long time. Monday afternoon the car should be fixed. Cross your fingers that my new tires come in this week too.


On the way home, we stopped and played in a semi-wooded area to play with the leaves that have fallen. It's so pretty. Being from south Texas, you don't get to experience a true "Fall." I took lots of awesome pics of the kids. I"ll get them edited and uploaded later.


Josh is gone on a field mission for 3 weeks. :( It's so lonely without him. The kids keep asking where he is every 5 minutes. When he was deployed for the year, they were too little to really realize he was gone, so I wasn't asked about his whereabouts. Now...aye aye aye. They're driving me batty.


Well, I don't have much else to update. Oh, I didn't talk about my birthday last month. It was lowkey, as it seems to be every year. Josh got me a Wii fit! And it arrived on my birthday (I was so happy). My parents bought me an awesome Singer Curvy Sewing machine. It's pink. :) I've used it a few times. I have a cute little sewing project that is for the environmentally conscience...or for those who want to be. Hope to share it soon. :)


Here are some of my latest projects:

These are using the Daisy line from Love, Elsie.


I am in love with this little mini. I used a 7Gypsies enveloped mini (thanks Liz!!) to hold all of the postcards I've collected from the various cities we have visited in Germany so far. It's also kinda a Heidi Swapp spotlight, as all the embellishments (minus the MM metal tag and the hat pin) and papers are from her World Traveller line. Inside the envelopes are obviously the postcards. On the front is the city name with just a few pics from that partiular trip. Then on the back of each envelope, I used a library card/pocket. The library card has information like a brief history, food that is unique to that city, what to see, and where to eat. I also have a deck of playing cards that has all the sites of Germany, so I added the city card in the pocket. Those postcards that are too big to fit in the envelopes, I added to the wired binding.

A friend (Kristi) pointed out that one of the great things about this mini is it uses older product, but it's still really cute. I have a bad habit (as do many scrappers) of letting my stuff rot with age in my scrap area. I'm trying to get better about it and rediscover what I have. I mean, things are so old, they become new again.

Here is a Birthday layout from Sebastian's 2nd Birthday. See, you can use flowers on a boy layout! lol. I've been asked how I store this in my album. I just slit the side of the page protector so the chipboard can stick out. Once it is in, I made a few stitches to close the protector up.
This is my 2nd layout for my "Say it in Scrap" guest designer spot from last month. The topic was envy, so I chose to do a LO about MJ's visit here. It outlines the 9 days and what we did. The photos were taken at the Bamberg Residenz...Man, I need a haircut.

Awwww, my little Anberlin! I don't really know what she was supposed to be that Halloween, but she sure was cute. The dress was entirely too big. I waited until the last minute to try and find a costume and it was the only thing I could get my hands on. I pinned up the sleeves a bit and safety pinned the back so it would fit better. This layout uses a lot of the "Little Yellow Bicycle" halloween line, plus loads of embellies from a Jar of Whimsy miss Mandy Kay sent me. I am so in love with that jar.
This is from the first week of the "Project Catwalk" finals! I made it to the top 25. There's alot of tough competition, so cross your fingers for me. I really want to win!! This challenge we could not use patterned paper, so I cut circles from a magazine to make the Dahlia flowers. The woodgrain tape is from CER who is the bomb for sending it to me. The photo is of Anberlin playing with the colorful tissue paper Mandy used to protect my Whimsy Jar. She played "ballerina" all day with it. :) Such an active imagination.

2 sets of ATC's for a swap. The last one I discovered a new technique. I'm holding out on sharing that for now simply because I might need it for a challenge/dt. But it's pretty cool.
Super quick card for our neighbor's little boy. Super old paper and stickers put to good use. :)

Ok, that's it! Anberlin fell asleep in my arms and Sebastian is snoozing on the couch. Think I'll use the quiet time to work on a pop-up book!

xoxo
Jess

It's November 07 all over again! (photo heavy)

We caught it again.

The stomach flu.

This is the 3rd day of preschool Anberlin has missed. I feel really bad, like she's falling behind. But it's pre-k...how far behind could she fall? Hopefully not far.

Just when I think the kids are on the mend (and have gone 8+ hours without spewing), someone gets sick. Again.

So that's what I've been dealing with since Saturday afternoon.

I will be teaching workshops in the Netherlands next month, which is totally and completely exciting. I'll be teaching at the ScrapbookMate warehouse for an openhouse event for retailers. Then I will be teaching at the Scrap-A-Ganza event in Harlaam in November. Karen Burniston, Michelle Van Etten, Cheryl Mezzetti, and Lida de Witte are some of the instructors. Then there will be a handful of the Daily Inspirations dt teaching as well...Moniek, Lucy, Natalie, Emma...I can't wait to show you some sneaks on the classes I will be teaching! I also have some super cute make and takes in store for those attending!

I still have not finished editing all of my pics from when MJ was here. Shame on me, I know. I must have ADD b/c I find it hard to stay on task. I'm always jumping from one thing to the next. Anberlin started school last week, so I'm slowly adjusting to the new sleep schedule.

Some sad news for my family...my Lola (grandmother) in the Philippines passed away. My mom left to go home on Sunday to visit her remaining family and to lay my Lola to rest.

So in lieu of not having enough hours in the day, this is going to be a scrapbook related update. Here are all of my latest works:

Catching up on Project Catwalk...I'm still in the top 25 as of last week. Once week 11 starts, everyone starts back at zero and the competition is going to be harsh! lol.

Week 6: The Old Man at the Zoo. An important lesson about living each day to it's fullest and loving those around you with all your heart. It's german custom to wear the deceased spouse's ring on the pinky finger next to the wedding band. An old man approached us at the zoo and talked about his wife dying...truly a memorable moment.
Week 7: 16 Days of... Texture was the theme, so I used leather adhesive cut into strips and wove it for the background. Then I searched through my stash for anything that had a rough, smooth, or different texture.
Week 8: Let Me Holla Atcha. This was supposed to use SiSTV as inspiration, so I chose the color scheme and JJ's and the gal's constant use of "holla." Photo was taken in Wiesbaden at Warmer Damm.
Week 9: 1,2,3..Read to Me. This was supposed to use a product in an innovative way. So I used backwards brads for the sun rays. I stamped swirls behind the sun and then poked through the designes with a paper piercer. My inspiration from that was some paintings at a museum in Nurenburg.
Week 10: Have Faith in Your Dreams. This was a scraplift challenge. A DAILY INSPIRATION BLOG: I made this Teacher's Survival Kit for Anberlin's pre-k teacher. The tags read:

-A rainbow to remind you that after every storm there is a calm and a star to remind you to shine!
-An eraser to remind yourself that everyoe makes mistakes. That's ok; we learn by our errors.
-Clothespins to help you "hang in there."
-Candles for those days wen you feel you need to light a fire under you students.
-Tea bags to remind you to take time to relax daily.
-A gift to remind you that your students are a gift to you and you are a gift to them.
-A puzzle piece to remind you that without you, things would not be complete.
-Animal cookies for when your classroom seems like a zoo.
-Smiley faces to remind you to wear a happy face.
-Rubber gloves for when you need a helping hand.

Weihnachten in Deutschland (Christmas in Germany). Made this a collage layout b/c I'm behind on my scrapping! All the photos are from December 07. I really like this idea. I think I may try to do a scrapbook with layouts like this, for each month.
SAY IT IN SCRAP: I am the guest designer over at the challenge blog, Say It In Scrap. MJ took these photos while she was here. Aren't the kids getting big?!! BTW- look at Anberlin's bangs in the photo. Now remember it.... (will come back to this in a minute).
SCRAPMOJO: Here are some of the latest challenges:

Anberlin was slowly introduced into her school days. First her teacher came to the house to meet her. Then she went on Wednesday for a full day, but with only 6 other students. Then on Friday with everyone, but it was a half day. Then Monday was her first full day with everyone. And she hasn't been back since. :( But I think tomorrow she will be back. She seems alot better, but better safe than sorry.

And no, she has no seperation anxiety from me. In fact, when the teacher tells the parents it's time to go, Anberlin is the first to say, "ok, mom/dad. go home now."
And finally, a card I made for Josh's best friend's wife who had a baby last month. LOVE this sizzix die cut. In fact, I have a mini album in the works using this die.
Sebastian turned 3 on the 14th!!! Oh my goodness, where did the time go? It seems like yesterday I was in labor for 14 hours, pushing for 2, before finally getting a c-section (sheesh, right?). That experience is movie-worthy. lol. Josh and I still laugh over that whole day. Some highlights:

• Contractions started on Monday. By that night, I was hurting.
• Tuesday at 4 am, decide to go to the hospital.
• Nurse asks, "are you in labor?" to which I reply in a strained voice "YEEESSSS."
• Josh says, "you are??" (yeah ladies, I still don't know why he thought we were there if I wasn't in labor).
• After an hour they sent me home since I needed to be 2 more centimeters dialated to be admitted.
• On the way home, car starts overheating (radiator had a crack? I don't remember).
• Went to our army base to get coolant or something, but it was still early and the stores didn't open until 9 am. So we sat in the parking lot, waiting.
• Still having contractions.
• Had to use the restroom, so begged an commissary employee to unlock the doors and let me in.
• Finally got the coolant and went home.
• 11:45 am, water broke. Freaked Josh out.
• Get to the hospital (yeah, car still had steam coming out), but no parking. Found a spot ON THE ROOF.
• luckily there was a wheelchair.
• Checked in. Got into bed, but water still leaking...made a nurse slip in it (ew.).
• Didn't get an epideral until a few hours later. I was screaming, cursing, I made Josh leave with Anberlin (we didn't know anyone in Georgia who could watch her for us).
• Finally started pushing at 10 pm. At 1 am, I couldn't do it anymore. I didn't sleep Monday night, or Tuesday...no food...no energy. C-SECTION TIME!

And that's the abridged version I suppose. There's more to it, like the 14 year old recovery room roommate...doped up phone calls to Josh (I called him and I fell asleep before he even picked up), not having any furniture at home other than a dining room table and chairs (we were sleeping on an air matress and had no couch). I'll have to go look at my old blog. Things have gotten a lot better since then. lol.

He doesn't look like a newborn, does he?

I didn't make him a cake, but made special cookies for him instead. :) I don't think he minded. My parents gave him a new train set, a Lightning McQueen bed set, a Thomas video game, and some other things. Our main gift to him was a new scooter (Anberlin got one too). Photos of that later.

Now back to Anberlin's hair. She chopped her bangs off.

Me: ANBERLIN!!! Why did you do that??!
Her: "But Mommy. My hair is just TOO long!"

Well, at least she still looks cute. My Dad bought her a Cinderella dress which she absolutely adores. We did a little photoshoot on her new princess sheets (from my parents again).

And I'll leave you with my new fave photo. This was taken in the residenz in Bamberg.
Next update will be photos from my birthday. :)

xoxo
jess

what's going on!?

Where oh where should I start? I guess I'll do a day by day break down, followed by scrapbooking stuff.

Well as most of you know, Michelle was here visiting! We had a blast, playing tourist. Here's the rundown of what we did:

September 4:

MJ arrived. The kids and I picked her up from the Frankfurt Airport. My GPS was on the fritz on the way home and we ended up getting lost. Here's what we heard outta Grace (that's the voice's name on our GPS...she's British):

"100 meters ahead, take a left."

*as I am about to take the turn, the directions change*

"500 meters ahead take a right"

*I bypass the left turn to take the right, and then I hear this*

"At the roundabout ahead, take the second exit."

Um. There was no roundabout. I was getting super frustrated b/c I was in a town outside of Frankfurt with no earthly idea as to how to get home. So I drove around and finally saw a sign to the autobahn. I found it, and even though I was going the right way on the autobahn, the GPS kept telling me to either turn right, left, or turnaround. After about 30 minutes, it corrected itself and we made it back safely.

That night we took MJ out to dinner at the village guesthouse for some German food.

September 5:

MJ, the kids, and I went to Rothenburg o.d. Tauber for a medieval good time. We went to St. Jacob's church... and the Kriminal Museum We munched on Schneeballen... and basked in the gorgeousness surrounding us.

After a few hours, we took the kid's back home (b/c they can only stand so much culture before it becomes a borefest). On the way home we stopped at a "Blumen" field to pick a sunflower for Anberlin. You see these flower fields around. Basically you can go and pick flowers and leave money for your little crop. Totally cute.

Lucky for us, the "candy lady" came around in her van and MJ was able to see what it's like to buy bread/pastries/candy out of a van.

Yum, right? I bought some candy for the kid's and a pound cake for Josh.

Later that night, after Josh came home from work, we went back to Rothenburg to do the "Night Watchman's Tour" except we got stood up. But it's ok, because we experienced Rothenburg at it's best. The towns people were dressed up in various costumes from different medieval times and had a parade to the town hall. After the procession, a beautiful fireworks display was shot off of and over the new townhall. All of my shots from the parade were crap since there was no real lighting. However, if you have access to MJ's flicker, she has some cool shots uploaded. MJ also did a quick review on how to do night shots (which I have never done before). It was quite an evening.

September 6:
MJ and I headed to Nurenburg, which is about 45 minutes away from me. Our first stop was the Germanisches NationalMuseum which boasts to be one of Europe's largest. The museum seemed to be built around an actual church!

This image right here is will relate to a layout I did. So remember it.
After the museum, we hit up some churches, walked around the downtown area, and then took a trek up a semi steep hill to view a fortress over the city.

You know, I didn't really take a lot of photos! MJ has here stuff stored on my comp right now, so I've been snagging some of her shots! lol. So obviously the photo's with me are really MJ's shots.

OK. I must end this for now, but I will continue tomorrow. Anberlin starts her kinda-first day, kinda-not tomorrow. Her preschool is trying to slowly get the kid's to get used to school, so she has tomorrow with only 6 other classmates. Then Friday she has half a day with her whole class (18 kids) and then Monday (my birthday) will be her first full day with all the kids! It's late and I should really get into bed. So more later. I promise!

xoxo