Abalone cove

On Saturday I was scheduled to work the closing shift. It's unusual but I was happy cause that meant that I had the daytime to scrapbook.
I did scrapbook but not as long as I have hoped for. It's all good though cause Mitch decided we should take a trip to the Abalone Cove Shoreline Park and see the fun sea creatures you can touch and feel by the tide pools.
The kids and him have been there before ( on one of those days that I was working all day) and thought that I might like to see the beauty of it for myself.
It was great! The weather was nice, the hike to the shore wasn't bad (and a little exercise didn't hurt me) and the fun I spent with my family was priceless. I can honestly say that I didn't mind trading my scrapbook time for this. Here's some pictures from our trip.....

When we got to the park, the sun was at it's highest so this is the best that I can do....


Here's Marcus proudly showing off a hermit crab. I cannot believe how much he's grown.


Here's dad and Maddie exploring what's underneath the water.


Dad finding a starfish.


and me and Maddie. One of my goals this year was that I wanna make sure that I have a picture in every activity that we do. I was going through my pictures from last year and felt kinda sad that I wasn't in on any of the actions. I took lots of photos but not a lot of me in it. So I'm changing that this year!


I was trying to catch a picture of the waves here.


We also saw some dolphins swimming by and sadly a dead seal on the seashore. Maddie freaked out about it and said that she didn't want to walk pass that again cause she was afraid the DEAD seal will eat her! Funny girl!

And since today was a historical day for the nation, here's my picture of it all. I wasn't one of those lucky people to see it in action but I did watch and listened to it. I was in the middle of my workout when Obama was sworned it. Great speech but not the perfect one to listen to while running, I might say. *smile*


Till next time,
Grace

don't know what to talk about.....

I really feel that there's a need to add a new post today since it's been a few days since the last one was added but frankly, I really don't know what to say???? Ok I do have stories to tell but I don't know where to begin. What's so important that I need to tell the world about? Hay, decisions, decisions, decisions!!!!

And because I can't decided, I'm going to make this post a smorgasbord (sp?) of all sorts of things......

First off- family is doing ok. We are trying to get Marcus to start reading but we're not off to a good start. He's very unfocused! I consulted my preschool teacher today and she says it's bec. he's not mature enough. I hope so but in the back of my head, there's a little voice saying that he might have some learning disability. I'm going to talk to his teacher tomorrow and see what she thinks.

Second- fun links....

I'm so excited to go to this! It's my first time and I can't wait to see all the new products that's coming out for scrapbooking. I know I'm going to be like a little girl in a BIG, HUGE candy store!!!

Did you know that SCS has a blog? and did you know that we give out friday freebies? Check it out here and you might just win something fun. *wink*

It's winter but it doesn't feel like it here in SoCal. I know I shouldn't complain about my 85 degree weather considering some states have average highs of 35 but I still want it to be a little cooler so I can make this. I just love this dessert for winter time.

One of the things I love about my job is that I get to see new clothes come out. I just love the new colors that Aero has instore for spring.
I want to buy this,

this,

this

and this.

Went on a date with hubby last friday. We went with our good friends the Williamsons and we ate here. It was my first time and I liked it. I loved the tri tip and the St.Louis Ribs.
Then we watched this.

Great movie. It's one of those that makes you think about age and death.

And finally a couple of new layout shares....
You're One of a kind

Sweet Makers

Thank you for stopping by and till next time,
Grace

An inside look....

I was looking at my scrap space today and thinking that it needs a new makeover. I got cool storage stuff from the mall garbage and I'm itching to add them into my space. Yes there are actually good stuff there if you're lucky!

But before I do that I wanna look back at this page (which btw can be seen in the Memory Makers special issue on Organization) and talk a little about how I store my crap.... I mean my stuff!!! LOL





Here's what the journaling says......

The biggest hurdle for me while creating a space that I can be inspired in is organizing everything. Two biggest concerns was (1) the cost of organizational supplies/containers if bought and (2) my need to have everything be visible. After months of collecting things to be recycled and much thought of how I create, the mission that I thought was impossible is finally done. Woohoo!!!

Mission #1- Display recently finished projects

Made an easy and quick line with ribbon and clothesline pins.

Mission #2- Displaying my Creative vision

Framed my mantra and proudly displaying it on my shelf.

Mission #3- Keep all “go-to” items in one place

Used a buffet utensil container to house most frequently used adhesives, pens and small tools.

Mission #4- Ribbons in spools

Grabbed an old tortilla warmer to house big and bulky ribbon spools.

Mission #5- Embellishment storage

Recycled food glass jars. I altered and labeled them, now everything is in plain sight.

Mission #6- Vertical storage for papers

Recycled USPS Priority boxes to house my 12x12 papers. Going vertical takes up less space.

Mission #7- Need enough room to work

Claimed a small dining table that we’re not using as my work space.

Mission #8- Tunes to inspire

Placed a boombox on my smaller table so I can play my favorite tunes while creating.

Mission #9- Staying on top of things

Made a calendar to jot down all the important dates I don’t want to forget.

Now I have a space that will inspire my creative pursuits. June 2008

I wanted to share this cause maybe there's something here that'll inspire you. My big organizational vision is to reuse and recycle. Although it doesn't look pretty, I like the hodge podge of all sorts of glasses/jars and containers to use in storing my scrapbook stuff. I like that it's free and that I'm actually helping in keeping my world green. *smile*

Oh and I have an old post about my space too. Check it out here.

Till next time,
Grace

One Little Word

Today I wanted to scrapbook so I was looking for some inspiration and came across one of my favorite challenge blogs- One Little Word.
I really like their concept and now that a new year is upon me, I'm going to try to play along with all their "word" challenges.
Here's my take on their word for this week which is START.

I was going through my pictures today and came across these shots of Maddie in one of their preschool's activity. I loved that I was able to capture such action shots like the one of her actually in the air while jumping through the obstacle course.

I'm also into the grids right now and I did that with my pictures filling in some of the grids with fun Making Memories flocked embellishments that I got at Michaels in their clearance section a few months ago. Gotta love great finds!

Another thing I love about this page, I was able to use the beautiful "Cricut" expressions that I still have on loan from my mom. Hay! The beauty of that machine hasn't really died on me yet! LOL.

Thank you for looking and Have a great weekend.

Till next time,
Grace

09 Pocket calendar/planner

I mentioned a few posts ago that I'd be posting a tutorial on my 09 planner at the SCS message board. Well I just posted it today, complete with my own monthly and weekly template (in pdf file) and instructions. You can learn more about it here. But for now here's some of the pics of the project.....













Till next time,
Grace

I'm such a lucky girl....

Everybody in my family knows how I'm so obsessed with scrapbooking. I've even gotten my sisters and my mom to join in the bandwagon. Although they don't scrap as much as I do, they can't hide the fact that they're attached to their paper trimmers and adhesive in some way or another. *wink*
Anyways, the person that I got hooked on it the most is my mom. Hooked enough that she (and I know she's going to hate me by telling the world this) set her alarm to wake up at midnight just so that she can watch a scrapbook thing at QVC not too long ago. Yup she's obsessed now too. *laugh*
So it wasn't long till she started coveting the Cricut Expressions. She's told me that she wanted to get one and of course I was smiling from ear to ear about that! I could just imagine all the fun things we, (coughing) I mean I, can do with it.

And finally she purchased one on Saturday at Walmart.


and can you guess who gets to TEST DRIVE that baby!!!

MWAH!!!!

Yes, I've been somewhat preoccupied this weekend fooling around with what I consider as one of the most genius thing man ever invented.

Ok, ok, ok, I know that the last statement is kind of a stretch but look at what I've done this weekend with it.....







And I have more stuff that I cut, just because.

Oh how I love the Cricut Expression and my Mom. She sure knows how to make this daughter happy.

Love ya Ma. *wink*

So that's it for now. If by any chance, I'm AWOL from bloggin in the next few days, you know what I'd be doing. Hehehehehehe.

Till next time,
Grace

acting like tourists....

The day after New Year's Day we went to Downtown LA and toured Chinatown. None of us have been to that part of downtown so it was a great adventure. The kids were so intrigued by all the neat toys and knickknacks people were selling, I was very inspired by all the "red" I saw and neat inspirations and Mitch, well Mitch was a great sport for tagging along. *smile*

Here's some of the pictures we took....



One of my goals for this year was to be infront of the camera more often, to hand the camera to somebody else (that I trust with my nikon baby!) so I can get in the action. You can see a lot of that (of me) in this trip.


like I mentioned earlier, there were a lot of inspirations to be had at this place. Was very amazed at the beauty of all these umbrellas...


I'm not really sure what these were but was drawn to all the red and the heart holes. I can totally see me doing some type of altered item like this.


And of course I'm always inspired to get shots of my smiley babies behind great buildings.


the highlight of our trip was lunch here....


I heard about Philippe's from one of the girls at work. She was raving so much about it, I knew I just had to try it for myself. When we got there, the line was long so we walked out. But then Mitch probably saw the disappointment in my face so he suggested we brave the lines and try it. After all we went all the way over to LA to eat there. Woohoo!!!

It's a good thing that we turned around when we did cause after falling in line and getting our orders, we looked back and saw the line was double that when we started. Wow!

The kids was just the right height to see our sandwiches being made.


And here's what we had.....

Pork sub for me, Beef for Mitch and the kids shared a ham sub. Mitch had the chili, I had some potato salad and the kids loved the pickles. Plus Lemonade to drink. All unbelievably d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s!!! Seriously good. I've had a French dip sandwich before where they give you the au jus sauce so you can dip the bread yourself but here they dip the French roll INTO the dip creating for a crusty bread on the outside and soft but not too soggy inside. MMMMM!

So the verdict for Philippe's...

a major thumbs up!

and finally a picture of some happy and full girls....


Till next time,
Grace

finally some projects to share.....

I have to say this past week has been very productive for me. Not only did I get to go on some "trips" with the family and relaxed a little bit ( I needed it from the crazy time leading up to Christmas) but also did a lot of Papercrafting. However, I wanted to get my Christmas decorations down before the week's end but got too side tracked into making cute paper stuff that they're all still up and hanging. Hopefully this coming week, I'll be more balanced. LOL.

So here's some stuff that I did....

I like to give the teachers in Primary a little bookmark that has important dates for the coming year. This way they can be present in all of our primary activities and are aware of conferences and such. This year I made these......

I have to say I've been loving my scraps lately. The fact that there's no reason why NOT to use 'em is giving me such a creative boost. I say this cause when I make a page/project for possible publication I always have to take into consideration the products I use, so to get the chance to rummage through old (and I mean really old) papers and just use em just because, is truly making me happy. (smiling from ear to ear).



I still love making those flower clips. I also made a button one cause we have a guy teacher and I'm sure he won't be too thrilled to get a flower one. LOL. Did you know you can purchase some of these fine clips at my etsy store? Check them out here.

In the beginning of last year I was inspired by an article I read about Mantra's or visions. I liked the idea of having a "personal statement" that you'd live by. I made this last year and this year I made this.......



I used the same frame. It's simple and yet I LOVE IT!!! I'm really going to try to be a little more optimistic this year. Looking at the bright side of things gives me hope, faith and strengthens my belief that good things come to good people. There's always a light at the end of the tunnel, right?

I also used this frame as a sample for my word/prompt challenge at SocalScrap board. Check it out cause there's a prize involved. *wink*

Another challenge I'm hosting is- "Use it Up" Challenge. It's my own version of scraps challenge wherein I give you a specific product that you're supposed to "use up" on a page. This way we get to finish up more of diff. sorts of products, not only paper. Check the details here. It has a prize involved too. Don't you just love prizes?!

This month's product was numbers and here's what I did....


I love making goals for myself, even in the amount of scrapbook pages I'm able to make in a year. In 08 I wanted to do 200 but was only able to do 147. And being that I'm trying to be optimistic this year, I'm not going to think that it's a bad thing that I didn't get to hit my goal. 147 is better that nothing. See, the whole optimism thing is already working! LOL!



This year I'm going to keep my goal to 200 and hopefully get it checked off at the end of the year.

And finally a card, based off of this sketch challenge in the SCS board. I absolutely love sketches and challenges. They're probably two of my most essential scrapbook things, besides cardstock and adhesive.




So there you have it, some inspired creations that will "hopefully" inspire you too.

Till next time,
Grace