Layout a day: July 5th

Here is today's layout!

I didn't realize what a challenge this would be as I try to use my stash and use older pics in my layouts. I'm really struggling, lol.

This is a bright, simple layout of my darling son when he was three. He's all of seven now, lol.

Thanks for looking!!

We're changing the name of the store...

...to "Scrap and Sauna."

Our air conditioning went out in the store today and, lucky for us, it was ONLY 120 outside. I was a completely sopping wet fool all day long until I closed down the store early. I just could not take it any longer.

I did manage to get the class kits all ready, so that is one thing that is done.

Please, cross your fingers that the air is working tomorrow!! I'm a sissy when it comes to the heat...especially if I'm indoors!!

Layout a day: July 4th

Here is today's layout. I'm really happy that I'm staying on track after getting off to a late start!!!

This is a plain-jane layout as I'm trying to use my stash and keep on my spending freeze.

Thanks for looking!!

Happy Independence Day!!

Today, we have a whole lotta NOTHING planned!! D is working part of the day, the store is closed, and the kids are home from rec. So, each kiddo picked out a movie to watch, we're gonna junk it in front of the tv all day long and then watch the fireworks from our back yard. C is sick today (has been for a couple of days), so we want her all well before they leave for soccer camp next week, so we're staying home tonight.

Have a fantastic holiday!!

Holy carp it's been a long time!!

Where, oh where to begin??? It has been ages since I posted and I am ashamed!! So much has happened but there is no way I can get caught up now, so I will just begin with today. :)

My friends and I decided...well, my friends decided after I bullied them into doing it...to do one layout a day for the month of July. Any extras are just that, extra. But we are to commit to one layout a day, either one page or two.

Well, we got off to a fantastic start. Not.

I forgot on Sunday and almost on Monday until S called me to remind me, lol. She, by the way, had not done hers either, lol. So, then I called D...who was shopping in Vegas...and told her she needed to hurry home so she could do her daily layout. Hahaha. Then, I called and left T a message, and she was "conveniently" out of town. Uh-huh. Great starts for all of us.

I completed two layouts on Monday, to make up for Sunday, and then I did a layout today, so *I* am current (nanny-nanny-boo-boo to you all). And here they are:

More/New pics of the store!!

So, we've been really busy with the store, and everything is coming along swimmingly!! Things are coming together, and we can really see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Here are a few current pics of the progress we've made so far. I hope you enjoy them!!

D, H, and M working on the flooring:


A view from one of the inside doors. All the painting has been done, and all the new flooring is in!!




Another view of the window with the curtains against the brown wall and next to the pink slatboards:



One of the inside doors in the middle of the pink slatboard:


And here is the front of our side! Fresh paint, pink door, new sign, and new handrails (they still need to be stained):

So I think I'm getting sick.

Ugh.

I think I'm coming down with bronchitis.

Everyone has had some sort of funk these past few weeks, and luckily I avoided it. But now I think I'm coming down with something. I have shortness of breath and it makes me cough. Plus, I have wonderful drainage down the back of my throat. Ick.

So, tomorrow I'm on the phone to see if the doctor's office can squeak me in so that I can recover before our liquidation sale on Monday!!!!! I *have* to be well for that!!

Wish me luck. ;)

If I wasn't so tired, I'd be exhausted.

(copy/pasted)

Man, am I BEAT!!!! I can barely keep my freaking eyes open right now!!!

I am trying this new thing...where I get up early (for me) at 5:30, and get my "work" work done right away. Then, I get ready for the day (go through the S's, lol). Then, I run errands or do whatever in the time frame that I would be at the store (when it opens). Then, I come home and do homey stuff and then go to bed at a decent hour.

Only, I haven't made it to bed at a decent hour in two days and I'm exhausted!!!!

I forgot what it was like to work like a dawg!! I need a wife!!

I'm trying to get ready so that I can balance everything when the store finally does open...and we're getting close to that!! I also have not taken a *coughcoughnapcoughcough* in a few days, so I'm extra tired.

Gah. I better make my first million on opening day....

Where do I start?!?!

So much has happened in the past month, that it will take me a month to tell you all about it!!! But I'll save the big news for this entry.

My friend and I bought a SCRAPBOOK STORE!!!!! An actual brick and mortar store, and we couldn't be more excited for it!!!

One day, we are discussing approaching the owner about buying into the store, and the next day, we owned it, lol. The timing was PERFECT, and everything went (almost) smoothly!! The store is not huge, but once we hit the big time, we can think about moving on up. ;)

Here are a few pics of the store. There are also a few afters (not many), and I'll post them after each "before" picture.

Here we go!! Click on any picture to make it bigger!

Here is the front of the store. We are going to put up awnings over the door and the window to the right. We are actually on the side/back of another store that faces the main street. That's my partner in there, lol.



The view from inside, by the front door:



This is the view NOW, and this desk is where the blue thing is in the above picture:



Another view from the front of the store, a bit away from the front door:



Here is another view, this time from the back of the store where the desk is now:



And here is the above-pictured window NOW with our new curtains (thanks, mom!!!):



We still have a lot of work to do in the coming weeks. We are having a giant liquidation sale in March (everything MUST go!!), and then we will close again for two weeks. During that time, we will paint, re-floor, and decorate, and also restock the store and our grand opening is April 9th!!! We will begin business that morning as The Scrap Shack!!!

Wish us luck!!!

Where has the time gone?!?!

I cannot believe how long it has been since I have posted!!! Wow!!

I have some very important, big news items in the works right now, and I am busting at the seams to talk about them!!! But I have to wait until everything is done, so keep checking back!!

Today is another busy day. Lots of work to do, and lots of things to do. My organization has been on hold for awhile, so hopefully that will be up and running some time soon. ;)

Keep checking back for updates!! *Ü*

Crazy days.

Man, things sure get crazy when I have a sickie kiddo at home. Thank goodness it wasn't her "usual" illness, but C has been sick for the past few days. I'm trying to get her well because we are going to see The Cheetah Girls on Sunday!! Woo hoo!! lol... We are also staying the night at The Paris, and going to have fun being tourists for the day!

I still need to upload pics from the basketball tourney; I haven't forgotten. Just been crazy busy!! So after I work today, I'll update again. Check back later!! *Ü*

Technical difficulties...

Blogger was down most of the day for me, so I was unable to do a well thought out entry today, lol. But I'll be back tomorrow!!

Happy Monday!!

Well, not really, haha. The kids are back to school, so that means a little more peace and quiet. But other than that, it's business as usual for me. I'm really jiving on the Motivated Moms chore sheet, and very happy that I'm keeping a clean house. And a happy mommy means a happy family, right?!

Today is a short entry because I really have to crank at work today. A few days off and I really put myself behind. You'd think I'd learn by now.

So hopefully I'll have time for another entry later today!!

TTFN!!

Thank goodness for Sunday.

We are not a religious family, but I am starting to really like the "Sunday is a day of rest" concept. We have been going like crazy lately, and it's nice to try and relax today.

The tourney went FABULOUS yesterday. Our girls team won three out of three!! They played back-to-back-to-back, so they were utterly *exhausted* when they were done. We almost lost the last game (22-24), but they pulled it together. I will post some pics once I upload them.

Today's agenda is pretty relaxing. I just finished a bacon and egg breakfast, the troops are fed and full, and the kitchen is clean. Just a few topical chores to do and then I need to work for a few hours. But that is no problem either. ;)

I hope you all have an exciting and relaxing Sunday too!

Glad we didn't want to rest today...

H has made the basketball A-team (lol, for all you 80s peeps) at her school this year, and we are so VERY proud of her!! But...along with greatness comes great responsibility. Like practice for 2.5 hours EVERY SINGLE DAY. And "tournaments" in another city an hour away for the ENTIRE day.

We are heading to Alamo today for a basketball tournament. Now, when *I* think of tournament, I think of the best-of-the-best hashing it out for number one. But these kids JUST started playing again, so I'm not too sure what to expect. I only know that we have to drive for an hour, there are three games, and we won't be back until late tonight.

Wish us luck!!

Pictures will come later!!!

Busy, busy, BUSY!!!

Wow. Who knew that housework could keep a person so busy?! But I do love a clean, organized house, so I keep going until I'm satisfied...which will probably be never.

Organizing is a sort of passion of mine. I always tell D that if we were rich, I'd have every single item in our house organized, in a box, with a label, all matching. Ahh...a girl can dream, right? But the same thing always happens to me: I get in an organizing tizzy, I buy some boxes to store stuff in (I buy what the budget will allow), and then I organize. When I need more boxes (and the budget allows)....they are always gone. So. I have hodge-podge storage boxes.

I think that I need to win the lottery, collect my winnings, and spend a weekend in The Container Store. It's the organizer's Disneyland. *sigh*

I've come to a conclusion.

In my many, many diet programs I've gone through, I have come to the conclusion that there is one product I MUST have to keep my sanity.

Coffee.

I love to drink coffee in the mornings. It's not so much the get-up-and-go factor because caffeine doesn't really affect me. I can drink a huge Starbucks frappuchino and then crawl into bed, lol. I believe it is the way it makes me feel. Coffee makes me warm inside. It warms my hands. It tastes good. It's comforting, but not in the way that a cheeseburger used to comfort me. Can you relate? Am I looney?! Wait. Don't answer that.

So. I have decided that in order for me to succeed in my current program, I am going to allow myself to have a morning cup of coffee. It gets my day started, gets me warmed up, and makes me happy.

On a roll!!

Yesterday went *fabulously* well, with almost all of my little goals I set getting accomplished. I can't wait until it just becomes upkeep and not major cleaning.

Today is day two of my cleanse, and I'm feeling just a little hungry. I am down two pounds this morning though!! Yippee!! I was starving yesterday, so I did "cheat" and eat a few pieces of lunchmeat and a few carrots. Heck, I went from eating huge...to drinking, lol. Cut me some slack. ;)

I got up again at 6AM today and exercised!! Two days in a ROW!! You're witnessing history here, folks. I feel great, though, and I'm going to slowly start increasing my time by the end of the week.

D is home sick today. He's been fighting bronchitis for a week now, and working NYE on the strip didn't help him much, so he's taking a breather from everything today. I hope he doesn't throw off my groove.....;)~

What is this strange word...exercise...?

Today I began my quest to lose weight. I got up, and I exercised for ten minutes STRAIGHT!!! lol...

Adding to the exercise, my friend and I are doing Isagenix, which is a body cleanse, with a lovely side effect of weight loss. And weight loss, dear readers, is our friend.

Isagenix is a program that is designed to go after the toxins in your body. When we ingest toxins, our body does not know what to do with them, so it surrounds them with fat and stores them in your body. When you lose weight, you do not lose the toxins because your body is afraid of letting them go. The cleanse attacks those toxins, you lose those fat cells, hence the weight loss!!

I am not going to post my weight because gawd knows there aren't that many numbers, lol, but I'm excited to see some results!!

Happy New Year!!!

A great big welcome to 2007!!!

Ringing in the new year was uneventful at our house, as always. The man had to work and keep the city streets safe, and the kids and I sat around, watched movies, and put away the Christmas decor. It's nice to have my house back.

C fell asleep at...oh...11:55pm, lol. I went in and shook her up and made her come downstairs! H and Z came down, we watched the countdown on tv, the girls popped poppers, we called the man....and we were done. Happy new year everyone. Now go to bed.

Today is the first day of 2007, and I'm starting out on the right foot! Hey, there's a blogger entry, right?!

I've already downloaded my 2007 motivated moms planner, which helped me TREMENDOUSLY last year in keeping my house clean and my sanity in order. That is, it helped me when I used it, lol. But this year EVERY DAY will be used!!

I think today I will organzie my office area. Baby steps, right?! ;)