A Christmas Message

Each Sunday from now until the Sunday after Christmas, I want to share with you quotes, music, etc to help remind all of us the true meaning of Christmas.  This week's quote comes from a talk given by Gordon B. Hinckley back in 1983.  I am sharing only a portion of the talk here, but there is a link to read the entire message.

"He whose birth we commemorate this season is more than the symbol of a holiday. He is the Son of God, the Creator of the earth, the Jehovah of the Old Testament, the fulfillment of the Law of Moses, the Redeemer of mankind, the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace. . . .

" 'And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!

" 'For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father--

" 'That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.' (D&C 76:22-24)."

"This is our testimony to all mankind. It is our gift and blessing to the world. He is our joy and our salvation, and we will find Christmas of greater meaning in our own lives as we share these truths with others.

Gordon B. Hinckley, "What Shall I Do Then with Jesus Which Is Called Christ?," Ensign, Dec. 1983,

Thank you for taking a few moments to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.

New CT - Kiki Halbert

I was on the CT for 4 Shades of Blue, but she retired as of December 1st. :O(  So, I decided I had time to add another creative team.  I am now a member of the blog team for Kiki Halbert Designs.  I am excited to be part of the team.

Kiki sells at two stores, Funky Playground Designs (under the name Recherche by KH Designs) and Scrapbook Elements.  You will find links to both stores on the sidebar.

I recently did a layout for Funky Playground Designs using Masks He's Wearing and Grass Stains by Recherche.

(Also uses Every Day Alpha and Waves by Michelle Batton.  The fonts is DJB Boy v Girl by Darcy Baldwin.  Photo by Happy Astorga)

I am excited to be a part of Kiki's team.  You can see my first blog post for Kiki here.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, I truly hope to be more faithful in updating my blog..

Billion Points Video Contest

I created a video for the "Shop Your Way" billion points contest.  If I win, my points will be split with Habitat for Humanity and St. Jude's Research Hospital.  To help me win, all you have to do is click on the link below and vote for my video.

My Billion Points Video

I appreciate your help with this!!

Happy 9th Anniversary!!

Today, David and I will celebrate nine years of marriage.  And I want to let David know how glad I am that he came into my life and that we are able to spend not only this life together, but all of eternity.  I cannot imagine my life without David.  He is my best friend and I love him more than I can ever hope to express in my blog.

I recently created this layout for the August Got It challenge at OScraps.  I haven't shared any layouts on my blog in a long time.  Today I wanted to share this one with you.

This day I married my best friend...

(Created using Merkeley Designs products. 

The photo is from Roger Bee photography. 

You can get full credits here.)

David, I love you very much and look forward to many more years together!!

Scrappers Choice Awards 2010

Okay, in a moment of pure insanity, I've decided to enter three layouts in the Scrappers Choice Awards 2010 at DigiShopTalk. I'm not nuts enough to enter any in the best overall layout categroy, but I did enter layouts in three different categories. Below are the layouts I entered. If you could look at them and if you like the layout, there is a link below the layout to vote for it. You do have to create an account to vote and you can vote once a day in each category (through May 25).

This layout is entered in the "Best AAM (all about me) Layout" category.  You can see full credits for the layout here.

And here is the link to vote for this layout: http://www.digishoptalk.com/awards/entry/1214

This next layout has been entered in the "Best Nature/Scenery Layout" category.  You can see full credit here.

And here is the link to vote for this layout: http://www.digishoptalk.com/awards/entry/1215

And finally,I have entered this layout in the "Best Journaling" category.  You can see full credits here.

And here's the link to vote for this layout: http://www.digishoptalk.com/awards/entry/1216

Thanks for checking out my layouts!!  Your vote would be truly appreciated!!

Challenge Time - What Changed It?

The April Got It challenge is now up at OScraps. For this month's challenge, you are asked to scrap about the date that changed things for you.

For my layout, I scrapped about my decision to meet David at the airport when he flew out to meet me rather than wait until the next night when we were supposed to have our first date at the Olive Garden. Here's my layout.

Everything used in the layout is from Merkeley Designs. You can see the full credits here.

My New Gig

I've got a new CT gig to tell y'all about.  No, I haven't left any of my teams.  I am still with Michelle Batton, Merkeley Designs and 4 Shades of Blue.  However, I am now on the CT for the new Funky Playground Designs.

And guess what? Today is the grand opening of the store under new ownership.  And you are definitely gonna want to stop by cause there is a sale going on.

And don't forget to stop by the Chat Room tomorrow night. You might even find me hanging out in there. :O)

Layout - Week One Pics

Here is the layout I created of my week one pics.  (It's a two-page layout.)  As you can see from the pics, it was a very cold week in Florida.

Left Page

 

Right Page

 

Everything I used is from Michelle Batton. You can find the full credits for the left page here. Credits for the right page are here.

Here is the journaling for those who would like to read it.

Day 1: Got the new year started off right with a sushi dinner at Ankai. I do love my sushi.

Day 2: Got some work done in the backyard. David took down some Florida Holly and I helped haul it to the curb.

Day 3: Sazume is now under the blanket. It's the start of a very cold couple of weeks.

Day 4: This tree was the last of the Chrsitmas decorations still up in my office at work.

Day 5: It is 37 degrees in South Florida. That is so rare.

Day 6: Yes, that is ice on one of our cars. Brrr!

Day 7: I think this was my fourth cup of hot chocolate. There were many more cups to come.

Weekly Recap - February 8 - February 14, 2010

I can't believe another week has past. Time seems to be flying by. (Yet moving so slowly some days. lol)

I'll admit the first part of the week was very slow. I spent a good part of the week working on the first two challenges for ADSR5. You can see how they turned out on my ADSR5 blog.

Our Friday night "date night" was spent watching Beverly Hills Chihuahua together. We didn't do much, cause Saturday night was our big night.

On Saturday, David went with a friend of ours to pick up a "new to us" washer and dryer. We haven't had a working dryer in years, so I was very excited about that. After he got home, we both spent some time working on the garage, so we could get it in. We then headed to a local Thai and Sushi restaurant where we celebrated Valentine's Day.

Sunday was officially Valentine's Day. I gave David a subscription to Motorcycle Classics magazine. I received a tin of Godiva's chocolates and a stuffed animal. We also took a very long nap after church. :O)

That's about it for last week. Not a lot going on. I think this coming week will be much bigger.

I do want to close with another layout to share.

The picture was taken at Christmas time. And yes, that is me. The layout was created using Just Love and Borders in a Snap #7 by Merkeley Designs.

Weekly Recap: February 1 - February 7, 2010

Yes, this was supposed to go up yesterday. But I'll be honest, I was too tired to remember. lol You'll know why in a minute.

Well, the week started out uneventul enough. Then on Tuesday, one of our dogs, Sanosuke, got sick while we were at work. He's fine now, but it was a lovely way to be greeted upon arriving home.

On Friday, we started celebrating David's birthday early. AT work, there was a cake for him. And then for dinner it was all you can eat steak at the Golden Corral.

Saturday morning, we started the day with another trip to Golden Corral. This time for breakfast. Then we headed to the Savannas to spend a little time in the sun. After a quick trip to Best Buy, we were off to Cowboys in Ft. Pierce for lunch/dinner. If you live anywhere near a Cowboys (there are three: Ft. Pierce, Okeechobee and Sebring) then you have to go. The BBQ is wonderful.

Our Sunday began at 1:30 a.m. so we could attempt to see the last night launch of the Shuttle. The shuttle launches about 2.5 hours north of us. Alas, it was canceled nine minutes prior to takeoff due to low clouds. The roads were so busy after the launch ended that it took like two hours to get to I-95. Needless to say, after we got home it was off to bed for us. And the day included an afternoon nap.

The layout I did yesterday will be going up on my ADSR5 blog. However, here is one that I finished on Saturday. Yes, this is another one of our wedding pics.

This layout was created using Winter Wonderland, an OScraps collab.

That was out week. I'll be back again on Sunday with another update. And who knows, maybe you'll see me before then. lol

Busy Layout Week

It's been a busy week for me layout wise.  I shared a couple of my layouts with you yesterday.  I am working on one more layout that I hope to be able to share with you on Sunday. Of course, I have a couple of layouts to share with you today.

The pictures for this first layout were taken when we went out to Lake Okeechobee on the day after Christmas.  Alas, my camera was having issues that necessitated it being sent to Canon, so a lot of the photos I took that day can't be saved.  But I did get a few I could use.

I created this layout for the February Got It challenge at OScraps.  If you are looking for a challenge to get your juices flowing, this one is always fun.



This layout was created using Hey Lady by Merkeley Designs (the ribbon and the flower were recolored) and Frippery Flowers by Tracy Ann Digital Art.  The font is MT Script Bold.

This next photo is David and I leaving the Dallas Temple on our wedding day.  I know I scrap my wedding photos a lot, but I just love working with them.  One day I hope to scrap an entire album.



This layout was created using Hope and Paper Hearts both from Merkeley Designs.

Grab Bags Are Here

I tried to have a new post for y'all up last night. But I had nothing but problems with it. It is currently saved as a draft. Hopefully I will be back in a couple of day with that post.

For now though, it is Grab Bag time at The Digichick. And I have two I want to share with you.

This first grab bag is from Michelle Batton. Here is the preview.



And here is my layout using the grab bag. Everything on this page came from the grab bag, (And yss, that cute little baby is me. :O) )

The second grab bag is from 4 Shades of Blue Designs. Here is the preview for her grab bag.

 

Here is my layout using the grab bag.  Everything on the layout, except for the alpha, comes from the grab bag. The alpha is My Acrylic Alpha also by 4 Shades of Blue Designs.

That's all I have for today. Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday!!

Recap of Week - January 25 - January 31, 2010

Well, there was just not a whole lot happen this week.  I've been thinking about it for a couple of days and just nothing much happened this week other than going to work and coming home again.

On Friday night, we did manage to agree on not returning to a restaurant.  Usually, one of us doesn't want to return but the other one liked it.  Not this time.  We went to a new Japanese restaurant on Friday night and we were very disappointed.  Would much rather have gone down the street to the new Thai and Sushi restaurant where the food is excellent.

On Saturday, David spent some time working on the backyard and I worked on straightening up the computer room.  We then headed to Cowboys in Ft. Pierce for lunch.  They just opened and the BBQ was awesome.  I am not usually a pulled pork fan, but there's is excellent.  I would highly recommend them.  Can't wait to go back.

Last night, we watched Meet The Robinsons.  I really enjoyed.  It has a happy ending for just about everyone.  My kind of movie.  I'd seen parts of it before, but this was the first time I saw the whole movie.

Church today was shorter than usual.  Shorter than it was planned to be.  We were watching a broadcast to the Southeast region (South Carolina, Georgia and Florida) of the church when our satellite system at church decided to have issues and we couldn't finish the broadcast.  So, church was over by 11:30 a.m.  I have to admit, I could get used to that. lol

Yes, I skipped Monday - Thursday.  But really, nothing happened worth mentioning.

Before I go, I just finished this layout for the Eye Pop Template Challenge at Scrappers Online.  The kit I used is Naughty or Nice by Karrah Fredericks.

Have You Been to MScraps?

To start,I have another layout to share. This is a picture of my sweetie Sazume. She recently celebrated her 6th birthday (as determined by The Humane Society). She's been with us for a little over five years. She is such a sweetheart.

This layout was created using Spring Memories by 4 Shades of Blue Designs, Cindy's Ribbon Stash by Michelle Batton and The One I Love alpha also by Michelle Batton.

I suspect y'all are wondering why my title mention's MScraps. Well here's why.

The store will include fabulous designers like Bren Boone, Kelly Mickus, Lauraskathi and one of my favorites, 4 Shades of Blue Designs.

And Spring Memories is the first kit that 4 Shades of Blue will offer in her new store.

And for those of you wondering, 4 Shades of Blue Designs will continue to have her store at The Digichick and the products at the the stores will be different.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.  I hope to be back tomorrow with a recap of my week.  (I saw this on another blog and thought it was a great idea.)

Sharing Layouts Again

It's been a long time since I've shared any of my layouts on my blog. But I am going to start doing that again. I love creating layouts, so I want to share them with my friends.

This layout is about David's motorcycle and I think the title says it all. I will have to admit that I also enjoy the motorcycle. Would never have believed it, but I do.

This layout was created using From Boy to Man by Michelle Batton and Captivated Visions and From Boy to Man Stacked Papers by Captivated Visions. The Font is HM - The Pato by Heather Manning.

This next layout contains a photo taken right after my most recent haircut. No big story behind this photo, just a pic of me.

This layout was created using She's So Krafty and My Acrylic Alpha both by 4 Shades of Blue Designs. Also uses Photo Holders - Bone from Merkeley Designs.

That's it for now. However, I will be working on more layouts this weekend, so I should have more to share early next week. (And I might just have a layout to share on Saturday morning.)

Day 11 - Day 16 (January 11 - 16, 2010)

Day 11: The Golden Corral Finally Opened

Yes, I know that doesn't sound too exciting.  But it's been more than five years since they originally erected the "coming soon" sign.  They really redefined that phrase.  This is my desert, chocolate volcano cake..

Day 12: Tennis Shoes For Too Long

I rarely wear anything but sandals.  Yet I wore tennis shoes or boots for almost two weeks straight. Boy was I glad to return to sandals.

Day 13: Return of My Camera

On the 4th, my Canon XS started making its way to Virginia for warranty repairs.  It returned to me on the 13th.  Kudos to Canon for the quick repair work.

Day 14: Helping with the Children at Church

My husband and I helped out by watching the children while the women had their monthly "Chicks in Aprons" class.  This is my husband playing ball with one of the kids.

Day 15: Date Night

From this point on, I resolve to take a picture related to our weekly "date night".  This week we went out for sushi, because we had a gift card.  Boy was it yummy.

Day 16: Lorenzo

This is our cat Lorenzo.  I needed to take a picture and she definitely needs to be in my "year of pics".  (Yes, Lorenzo is a girl.)

Day 7 - Day 10 (January 7 - 10, 2010)

Day 7: Hot Chocolate

This is a photo of just one of the many cups of hot chocolate I've purchased lately. And here is my rating for the places from which I've gotten said hot chocolate. Number one is Dunkin' Donuts. Number two is McDonalds. Number three is Starbucks.

Day 8: Mafia Wars

Yes, I have become obsessed with Mafia Wars on Facebook. So, I thought it only fair that it make it into this year's pics.  If only my IRL bank account had the kind of money my Mafia Wars account has.

Day 9: Cleaning the meetinghouse

In my church, the members take turns coming and doing light cleaning at the meetinghouse. Yesterday it was our turn. This is a picture of David mopping one of the bathrooms.

Day 10: Ice from the water bucket.

When David went outside this morning, he found this layer of ice in a bucket of water.  This should not exist in South Florida. lol

Day 3 - Day 6 (January 3 - 6, 2010)

Day 3: Doesn't Sazume look so cute under the covers?  And trust me, she did not want to leave.  Way too cold around here for her liking.

Day 4: All the Christmas decorations have been removed from my office at work with the exception of this lone little tree.  I need to find someplace safe to keep it until next year.

Day 5: This is the temperature our car was showing when we arrived home at 7 p.m. last night. Talk about cold!

Day 6: Yes, that is ice on my car. No, I haven't left South Florida. At 7 a.m. there was ice on both of our cars. Not frost, but ice. That is just wrong.

With the exception of today's "ice" picture, all of my photos so far have been taken with the camera on my Palm Pre. It's really a pretty good little camera.

Infinite Power of Hope

I watched this video today and I was struck by what an appropriate message the video shared. So, I wanted to share it with you. It's only a little over two minutes long, so please take a moment to watch. I don't think you'll regret it.

Day 2 - January 2, 2010

Yesterday, David cut down a bunch of Florida Holly that was in our backyard.  I then helped him haul it to the curb.  This is a picture of some of the holly branches waiting to be picked up.  (It looks pretty, but it's not native and it will kill out any other plant.)

It's 2010 and I am back.

Okay, I gave out early in 2009. However, I am starting a anew in 2010. And here is my first pic. It's of my first sushi of 2010. :O)

Welcome to 2010

Happy New Year everyone!!  I'll admit it, we were boring last night.  I fell asleep early.  Now David, he did make it until after Midnight.  And I did wake up to give him a kiss at 12:01 a.m., but truly not an an exciting night. lol

I have already completed my first layout of the year.  It's a look back at 2009.  The layout was completed for the Year in Review challenge at Scrappers Online.

You can see the full credits here.

Now I am off to see if David wants to go eat Sushi.  I know I do. :O)