Your Bucket List

Do you have a bucket list? A list of things you want to accomplish before you die? Well, that is our first challenge to you over at the Forward Progress blog - scrap your bucket list. This is mine:

Warning - the journaling is long! I got deep on you all ;-)

I was reminded tonight how unpredictable life can be. That no matter how much we plan, we simply do not know our destiny. We do not know the course our lives will take, and we do not know how long we will be here. This reminder helped me to realize something when it comes to my bucket list – what I want to accomplish before I die. You see, there are plenty of experiences I would like to have in this lifetime…I’d like to finally go parasailing, travel through Europe, go back to Australia, go on many more cruises, own a boat and live on the water. But with the reminder that life is short and should not be taken for granted, my true desires for my bucket list have changed. Sure, I’d love to have those experiences I’ve listed above, but what is really important to me…. What is most important to me is the way in which I live the remainder of my life. Because although those big experiences are fun to strive for, they are not my every day. However, the person I am, the way I live my life… that IS my every day, and the type of person I am is what will be most important to me as I take my last breath in this world. I want to live a life of integrity. I want to have more patience. I want to be kind. I want to do more to help others, and I want to do my part to help the world. I want to continue to make genuine connections with people and surround myself with love and laughter. I want to be a good mother. I want to live a life of peace. I don’t know how much time I have left in this lifetime. I do know, however, that I want my life to have mattered.

I'm off to start our fun, busy day. Lisa next door and I are taking our kids to a music class and then we're heading to the movies to see Madagascar 2.

Oh, and for those who were wondering... So You Think You Can Dance was awesome - crappy seats and all, lol!

CMK November kit

So, this is the second month we are doing something a little different over at CMK. The design team is posting inspiration from the November kit weekly. If you haven't seen this already, you can check out our inspiration from week 1 here and from week 2 (which just started today) here. Here is my week 2 layout using the gorgeous November kit:

These pics are from my 31st birthday two years ago (hmm, can you figure out how old I am now? ;-) I can't believe how little Noah looks - he was 18 months old here! I found out I was pregnant with Chloe just a few weeks later :-)

Everything on this layout is from the November kit except for the little white photo corner. I also used embossing powder and glitter on the clouds that I got out and layered, and I used foam tape to add dimension to the clouds and the letters.

I am so excited - i'm going to see the live tour of So You Think You Can Dance in Baltimore tonight with 3 girlfriends! I went last year, too, and we had great seats on the floor just a few rows back. Our seats aren't as good this time, but i'm sure it will be great. We're going to start off with Mexican food and some margaritas... can't beat that! Happy Monday everyone!

Sneakie peekie...

So, remember that cool new prompt/challenge blog, "Forward Progress" that I told you all about? Well, the fun begins in just one week from today, whoo! Next Saturday, November 15th, we will have the reveal of our first prompt. So, I wanted to drop off a sneak peek of my layout...

I hope you all will come check us out next week!

In the meantime, i'm having fun working with all my DT goodies and will hopefully have more to share soon!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Slacker checking in....

Yikes, it's been almost a week since i've updated my blog, but in my defense, I had a very busy week ;-) Noah's school party was a lot of fun, and Halloween the next day was great, too! We ended up bringing our candy out to the middle of our cul-de-sac so all of us families could hang out and give out our candy together. It was nice, too, because me and Tony both got to take the kids trick or treating together for the first time ever since we always had someone manning the candy table. I knew Noah would enjoy trick or treating, but Chloe really enjoyed it, too! This is the first year she was old enough to really get it (at least a little bit), and by the end of the night, she was a pro at going up to people's doors.

The kids each had two costumes this year :-) My little witch on Halloween:

Buzz Lightyear before his school party:My fairy princess for our party:And our robot on Halloween:

Our Neighborhood party on Saturday night was an absolute blast!

The devil meets Frankenstein...

Being devilish...

Here I am with Snow White and a gynocologist...

And I even met Martha Stewart!

I spent the whole day leading up to the party preparing themed food, so between that and the actual partying, I was pretty exhausted yesterday. The kids seem pretty beat today, too, after such a full few days - Noah didn't take a nap today, and he fell asleep on the couch after dinner. Tony took him up to bed at 6:30, wow!

I've got a layout to post using the fabulous November kit from CMK. This kit is really gorgeous! These papers and embellies worked perfectly with the photos I took recently of Tony building the playhouse for Noah that my parents bought him.

I'm excited to watch everything unfold during election day tomorrow. I think that no matter who you are voting for, this has been such an exciting election, and I can't wait to see what happens! Happy voting, everyone!

Luxe-a-licious

Luxe is offering an awesome deal right now - they are offering free shipping on all orders over $25 from their online store, shipped within the United States through Monday, November 10th. The new lines are out, as are some new transparencies and new stamps, and you can check out the new lines and read more about the deal here.

Speaking of Luxe, I had fun mixing older and newer lines to create this layout. Not the best action shots ever, but they are of Tony and I playing around at Noah's birthday party a few weeks ago, and they make me smile. PP, transparency (arrow), label, letter stickers and stamp are all Luxe. I added a bit of ribbon and a few Prima flowers. By the way, Luxe stamps are sooo nice! They give off a very crisp and clean image - I was even able to stamp on the flowers, and you can still see the image perfectly!

So, who is getting excited for Halloween?? What do you all have planned? Our festivities start on Thursday, and I can't wait! Noah has his preschool Halloween party on Thursday, and Tony, Chloe and I will join in too. Friday, we're going to watch the nearby elementary school parade and have a fun night of trick or treating. And then on Saturday.... we are hosting our first annual Neighborhood Halloween Party! Should be fun!!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

More Fancy Pants...

Wow, did I ever have a happy mail week!! First I got the Spooktacular album kit that I won from Teresa Collins' site - it's so awesome, and it was so nice of her to send me it!! Then, the next day, I got the brand new releases from Fancy Pants and the newest releases from Luxe (along with some Ranger and Maya Road goodies, too!)!! Wow, I am a happy girl and can't wait to play with my new stuff :-) A big thank you to FP and Luxe!

I'm dropping off another Fancy Pants layout I just completed - the black and blue papers are from The Daily Grind line, as are the chip flowers and word. The pink paper is from the Happy Holidays line and the chip letters are from both the lines. The colors of the chip letters didn't work with my layout, so I decided to do the fabulous Leslie Ashe's challenge at CMK and use beads on a layout. I painted my letters white and then covered them with beads - so fun!! The felt, ribbon and rub-ons are also Fancy Pants (I covered the flourish rub-on at the bottom with stickles).

I took these photos just last week when we went to the zoo. I love how happy Chloe looks, and is she a natural with the camera or what?? Journaling reads: These are my favorite recent photos of you - I love how your joy and your supunk is radiating from you. Chloe, you are gorgeous on the inside and out!

Hope everyone is having a great week - happy Friday!!

Yawn....

Oh boy, I am tired this morning. I'm not much of a coffee drinker (although I do love those french vanilla gas station machine cappucinos - yes, I go all out, lol!), but I'm thinking today would be a good day to start :-)

Yesterday was one of those days in which Tony and I just wanted to trade the kids in, lol. Fortunately for them, they came with a no return policy. It was just one of those days in which they were tag teaming us with whining and not listening, and the day ended with Noah marking up chloe's walls with crayon. Ahhh, but today is another day, and it's already started out with me deciding that i'll keep them around, after all. :-)

I did get to go to a 12 hour Kreative Junkets crop on Saturday which was sooo much fun! It's always nice to have a "me" day to spend all day long doing something I enjoy. Not to mention that Lisa (next door) went with me, and I got to catch up with some of my old Recollections friends, so that was a treat, as well.

I finished up two more DT layouts for Create My Keepsake using Scenic Route's gorgeous Sonoma line:


Journaling reads: Always respect each other, protect each other, be kind to each other, love each other as fiercely as you do today. Love, mommy



These photos were taken just a few days ago, and I thought it was so funny that my daughter was playing in leaves while wearing short sleeves and a skirt - not your typical fall weather! Journaling reads: You've got to love Maryland - playing in leaves in 80 degree weather!

And two more Fancy Pants layouts:

Journaling reads: You have always loved reading. Whether you're "reading" the books yourself or being read to, books will capture your attention for a very long time!

Noah was so little in these photos - he was only 16 months old! Journaling reads: Your love of apples started when you were a toddler. It took you a long time to get through an apple, but you were persistent!

I've got to stop playing online now and finish getting myself ready for work. Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!