It's Not Too Bad...

Ok, so Divine Intervention working... I am exercising, but not losing weight. Hopefully, I will at least lose some inches. I couldn't get it in me to walk to the pool yesterday, so I asked hubby to drive us, and that we would walk home. Ya see... Stacy was at school (had the meet) and didn't have her bike; Rey was at the school next door and was going to walk to the meet and meet us (lol!) and didn't have her bike. So... my only option was to either get a ride and take the stroller, or stroll myself there. I am LAZY! So... I chose the first option.

Stacy did semi-ok at her meet. She really thinks it's a Sunday Swim or something, because her times (as well as her casual stroke) showed she wasn't giving it her all. She puts much more effort into her dramatic faces. I wish she'd put it into her stroke or kick, then it might increase her speed.

Rey practiced afterward. Her shoulder is feeling much better. The coach has worked them pretty hard since getting back from a clinic. These kids need it, and the coach, therefore, has my eternal support. Plus, she's a great coach! (as well as my friend... Go Robyn!)

And... I will be "working" the meet on Saturday from a different angle than usual. (Thanks, Desiree!) I am actually going to be an "Official" (in training). Bring out the whites (and khakis), folks, as Lisa is going to be a "Stroke and Turn Referee." Yes! I am on my way... lol! Anyway, it saves the team a great amount of $$$, which we could totally use, and could get me on my way to my officials certification. Yeah, me! I think it will be a blast. It's a sure-fire way not to miss one of my kids' events, right? Uh, huh...

And so... I've also been working on a couple of sketches and ideas for my scrapbook... I have a vision, but it is not quite coming on board. I have had lots of hits on a messageboard for my Beach Scene layout, but not many comments. Lots of hits, though. Those Cricut ladies are awesome! I was so happy with the layout and the way the new techniques worked, that I just wanted to share it and see if others were as excited as I was. Also... Karen liked the accordion so much that she asked how to do it, and (YEAH KAREN!) did one herself. She stepped out of her box! I just need other people to realize that even though something appears "difficult" that it isn't, and it can still be "simple".

Now, I'm at a loss. Like I said in yesterday's post, I'm working on this one layout for Michelle's Quincenera. I would like to do "The Princess & Marissa" angle, and I think it will work, but there are so many photos from that event, and I don't want to dedicate more than two pages to it... so... I'll have to do more hidden things. I like the "hidden" elements. They are fun to do. However, I am trying to use only what I have. So... I am thinking and thinking, because, of course, I want to go buy something new! A new "magical" paper, stickles, glitters, rhinestones... whatever... But, I need to make sure I stick with and use only what I have. That is my challenge! It's a good one. But I will succeed.

I have work to do tonight, as well as the layout for the Meet Program, which I hope to take to the printer tomorrow. And I've got to work on a couple of elements from my page... Today we will bike to practice... tomorrow will be a repeat of decision from yesterday (walk... or get a ride).

BTW... the walk home wasn't so bad. It was cold, but we kept moving and stayed warm, until we got home... then we froze while I looked for the garage door opener... Yikes! Gotta keep that thing a little more handy! With the wind blowing and the colder night air, our sunny Southern Cali wasn't so "sunny". Life is good... Now if only everything would work right! lol! Toodles for now! lisa

YAHOO!!! Who knew? and another ALERT!!!

For a bit of the morning, I have been trying to access my Yahoo account. It is "freezing" anytime I click on an e-mail. I assumed it was my computer. However, I am able to log in here and type this... as we speak! (LOL!)

For those of you who are nearby, or who would like to support my swimming kids, or even our team... SHOUT OUTS! are due today. Also, so are team/program sponsors to ensure publication in this Saturday's meet Program. If you are interested in giving an encouraging note to anyone on the team, or placing a business ad, please contact me by leaving a comment below or e-mailing me at info@mvaq.com. We appreciate any and all sponsorship and look forward to working with you.

Another DEAL ALERT! Tomorrow - April 9th, Walgreen's is developing one roll of film (per household) for FREE!!!! Yes... for those of you who still use the old 35mm (or still have some rolls stashed somewhere - I know I do...) you can get one roll developed for free... tomorrow only.
Since Marissa was slightly sick, and we stayed home from the pool last night... I played with my new Happily Ever After Cricut cartridge last night. It took me a while, but I think I've got it figured out. After hours of frustration, I realized I was actually doing something wrong... yes... ME! I couldn't believe it either! lol! But I did create my own version of Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). She is more Hispanic looking with dark hair, eyes, and skin... I thought it would be pretty cool to do a layout of a Quincenera (15th Birthday) with this being the "Princess." I still have to finish her by chalking and putting her in the layout and adding "sparkle", but I thought I'd show my "in-process" mode...

Oh yeah! Stacy has a high-school swim meet today... wish her luck! I'll be walking there... (Divine Intervention - lol!)

That's all I got for now... I'm going to run bot-checks and ad-aware (mal) so maybe Yahoo can get "un-stuck." Toodles for now! lisa

DEAL ALERT!!!

A friend of mine (thanks, Karen!) was nice enough to inform me...

MICHAEL'S ARTS & CRAFTS STORE IS HAVING A SALE!!!! - ENTIRE INVENTORY OF CRICUT CARTRIDGES ARE $39.99 - CUTTLEBUG IS ALSO 50% OFF!!!!

That is just way too good! That could be cheaper than eBay... However, they are not offering rain checks, so it is limited to what they have in stock, which is never the "popular" cartridges. Hmm... it still looks as if I may have to put stuff on eBay today to get a little "cash-in-hand!"

Also... if you have any Walgreens near you, I have discovered a great way to save $$$! I know... we've all tried refilling our ink cartridges in order to save money and to be more "green." We ended up with a mess and with cartridges that no longer worked properly. Walgreens refills cartridges, but they do it professionally and quickly! It usually takes about 15 minutes in the store. To refill a cartridge, color is $15 (sure beats the $34 for a new one!) and black is $10 (as compared to $19 for a new one!). I had them do it and have had no messes, with the cartridges printing just as well as before. There are some printers/brands they won't refill, but I have an HP, and it did just wonderfully! Go to www.walgreens.com for info about which cartridges they will/won't refill. Do not check out the "ink cartridge refill" box to find a location. Call the location nearest you, as they are not all registered with this service, even though they do it.

Today is semi-back-to-normal day. Kids go back to school - Spring Break is OVER!!! I go back to semi-normal routines... as normal as possible without a vehicle - NO! the other driver did not have insurance... oh well. Such is life. I am guessing this was Divine Intervention telling Lisa (me) to get off her (my) fat butt and EXERCISE!!! And so... we will be biking and/or walking to practices. At least I have Juan's car for the morning stuff. Oh well... that's my day planned... so far. Gotta drop off the kiddies... Toodles for now! lisa

I found it!

Coca-Cola stuff is one of my other passions. My brother, in answer to one of my quests for knowledge, put me in touch with this fabulous site: http://www.2collectcola.com/page/ACC/CTGY/TSB! They have Coca-Cola scrapbooking stuff like pages, all kinds of different stickers, borders, etc. The prices aren't too bad either. But hey! They have even more treasures than scrapbooking stuff! If you love Coca-Cola, like me, you will love this site! Thanks, Josh!

I have also now finally won the Tags Bags Boxes & More Cricut cartridge via eBay. Thank you everyone who helped try to find it for lower.

And... I also got "Happily Ever After" (which features Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, Mulan & their story fellows) and "Dreams Do Come True" (which features the remaining Princesses - Belle, Ariel, Pocahontas, Jasmine & their story fellows). These were on clearance at Walmart for $45 with no shipping needed! Juan actually bought one for me! Thank you! I love them, and so do the girls... especially Marissa. She thinks they are hers, but they can be used "for" her. There are some really cute things on each cartridge, besides the actual characters, so I am so psyched to test them!

I have a "lot" of Coluzzle stuff coming and can't wait for it to get here!

I just love all of my new toys. My girls are getting more interested, the more they see... However, they keep asking me, "Can you make me one?" My thought is that I would love to, but I really want them to take it up more and learn to do it themselves. Karen & I are doing another scrapbooking day today, so hopefully they will join in. Until later... Toodles for now! lisa

Back Again!

First, let me say that I've worked hard trying out new techniques and reading a lot... as you can see in this photo of my latest page. True... Labor Day 2007 was quite a long time ago... but I finally got it into my book.

These next two are "closer-ups" of the double-page layout.

Here, I did an accordion-style technique that allowed me to incorporate several more photos. There are photos on each side of the accordion.

Then, I used a photo for a pocket and added hidden "pull-out" journaling.

Also, on the first page, there are tags with several "faces". This allowed me to showcase the "flip-side" of things (Jr. made some really funny faces, that I put onto the tags) and do some more hidden journaling.

The letters and numbers are punch outs, sprayed with adhesive, coated with sand, then applied with "Crystal Lacquer" to make it shiny and raised. The letters ended up being pretty heavy, so I adhered them to the pages with with "red tape."

The papers, I cut and tore, to resemble the many layers of the beach and the beautiful day that we experienced. I'm very proud of these pages... However, I am for now on ordering my prints online, as I don't particularly care for the glossy and would rather get the matte finish. The glossy is just way too difficult to keep fingerprints off of.

This layout took quite a while for me, as there were several new techniques. I didn't want to do too many pages for the one event, so I explored my options so that I could do as many photos as I wanted without using a lot of space. This was very successful (at least I think so). The pictures of the pages do not do it justice. I also wanted the viewer to experience the pics, so I made it as interactive as possible, and added the pull-outs and flips.

Also, the use of Crystal Lacquer was something I've wanted to do since I saw the stuff at the the EXPO. The company who makes it, though will for sure be getting a letter from me. Although I love the final result, this was an extremely messy thing. Mess, I don't mind, but the product leaked from the bottle when pressure was applied. It also took much longer to dry than the instructions said. 15-45 minutes my foot! It took almost 24 hours! So... needless to say, I wasn't able to finish it when I thought I would be able to.

Oh yeah! I got to use the Crop-a-Dile Big Bite... now I really want one! The eyelet and brads were set through it. Gotta love that! Works like a dream!!!

I did another couple of layouts from the Butterfly Exhibit, but they are done. I need to finish off the titles and journaling, so my Cricut will be whipped out tomorrow, and I'm hoping to complete them.

I've been trying to not think about my beloved car so much, as it will be another 2-3 weeks. We'll see... for now gotta go! Today is "family day" as Juan's home and so is his daughter. I was hoping the sun would peek out so we could go bike riding, but so far, it is still gloomy and chilly. Yuck! Toodles for now! lisa