p.s.

ps: I finally got it.. I wasnt pressing the Transparent button to get rid of the white box on the signature.. gah! :O)

Cant help crafty~

Sometimes you just cant help being a crafty person. I am just that.. a crafty ol' soul. If it looks plain Im going to dress it up.
Coffee cup decorations courtesy Mr. Happy Camper rubons from Cosmo Cricket ;)

A cry for help~

Well.. as you can see, Ive revamped my blog.. once again. I love it right now... but this is driving me crazy.... this being

this.. my signature. How in the world do I get it to not show the white box. Ive tried program upon program and cant get it. I bet I spent 3 hours on it yesterday alone... thats THREE hours at my job that I worked on this. well maybe not that long.. but Im pretty frustrated.

Anyone willing to help a chick out?... I'll send chocolate.. or .. or something.. please??????

Workin' with Daddy~

Last week our sitter called in sick.. just so happen to be Take Your Child to Work Day! How perfect was that? So.. before we even knew this was a *special* holiday... hahaa we decided that we wouldnt take the day off, instead just bring Hunter to work with us.

Todd just had to read water meters that day so Hunter could walk around with him and carry the flashlight. They came across several friendly dogs, a goldfish pond, many neighbors and a few toads. Also, along the way as you can see Hunter picked up his faithful pop gun. hahaa I guess he thought he had some protection from the *wild creatures* he and Daddy may come across.

It worked out really well. Hunter was very well behaved, even when he had to spend about an hour of his time in the office with me. We listened to Disney tunes and he helped me stamp some envelopes. At the end of the day he earned $10.. we took him to walmart that night where he promptly spent all $10 on a new set of Legos. ;)

Wow.. Im overwhelmed~

I have so much to blog about... I wish I could be more constant.. but I just never have time anymore. Gah! Im drowning... overwhelmed for sure!

Lets see... FB.. the downfall of so many.. now I know why my friend Amy has never signed up for it. It has been nice being able to keep in touch with my brother and family more often.. but it does suck away your time. ;(

Scrapbooking.. I love it.. just have no time. CS has put on a fabulous birthday party and the sketches just keep getting better and better. One of these days I seriously need to sit down and work. I want to, but I need glue dots folks.. you never know how much you need them until you dont have them.. grumbles!

WLJ.. the weight loss journey took a detour through China, Italy and Mexico. I havent gained which is good, but havent lost either. I need to go back to concentrating on portion control and not eating out for lunch. And cut out that damn soda!

Work.. busy as always. Its up and down. I love my job-the things I do.. but sometimes the people and the boss get on my nerves.. same with anything though. I have started a new Safety Program for the company. Little thanks I'll get, but it will look dang good on my resume' ;)

Moving.. we are still trying to sell and look for jobs/move. I get panicked when I think about the time for Hunter to start going to school drawing nearer. To complicate things.. tonight is the Kindergarten round-up at the school here. I dont even want to go ya know.?! I think often that we are just going to have to take a leap and DO IT. Todd is grumbling more and more often about his job and how he wants to quit. I have gave him my wishes that he would just quit, even if he doesnt have a job.. find part time stuff and look back home. Concentrate on getting his face out there. We'll see.

The boys... they are just GREAT! Everyone kinda had the sickies and are still coughing due to all the pollen. So miserable and they all 3 sounded horrible!
1}Hunter hasnt had a soccer game in 3 weeks.. so hopefully this coming weekend he'll get a game in... altho they are calling for more rain. We have considered signing him up for tball, but I am none too happy with the Parks/Rec here right now.. and all games are scheduled on Sat. mornings.. which I hate! Will post about his day at work with Todd this past week.
2}Justice is doing dandy. He didnt complain too much this time he was up about being bullied at school. So I hope that with some seating changes that has helped. Also getting him to understand personal space and respect. His Dad and I have decided that just to be on the safe side we would like to have him talk to a professional, just in case he is depressed or something like that. He wants to talk to us, but usually breaks down and doesnt communicate his feelings very well. We are hoping that this will help .. someone can teach him the correct techniques. Justice starts baseball real soon.. already practicing. I hope I get to catch some of the games this summer!
3}Preston has turned in his 2weeks at work and is just about ready for Law Enforcement training classes to start. They start May 1oth. He has been doing a lot of fishing lately and had absolutely no luck in the turkey hunting department. But he is still trying. ;) He and Rachel are doing well. She is down to her last final weeks of her first year of college. Im sure she is stressed to the max right now. But will definitely be a help for Preston once he starts I know!

Lastly... my health.. goodeness. This Friday I go in for oral surgery. Last Friday I went to the surgeon and the bad news is that my failed root canal/crown has turned into a nightmare and I will have to have surgery to remove the failing tooth/roots from the sinuses. Yes the sinuses are involved and they arent letting go of that there tooth! The good news however, is that no one ever PULLED the tooth=pulled the sinuses out of place causing even more pain. So the objective is to cut into the gum delicately around the roots and release them from the sinuses. Hopefully they will remain intact and if so all is good and thats that. Buttttt if they arent then the sinuses will have to be cut and there will have to be a patch reconstructed over the opening of the sinuses. He swears to me that only 1 in 15 have to have this.. but Im thinking since I dont have insurance and am paying out of pocket cash.. I'll be that 15th hahaaa. Im praying not and he seems to be real nice in preparing me for the worst. Still... 24 hours of excruciating pain with the following 2 days of some mean pain to follow. Hopefully he will hook me up with some strong pain meds and I can sleep the pain away. Thank goodeness its the weekend.. I couldnt work with that going on. No way.

Sooo.. now you have the scoop on my life. Whats going on in yours?

Ive Gone Bananas!~

Ive gone bananas over these sock monkey items lately.. oh man.

My little brother had a sock monkey growing up .. his name was Sammy Davis Jr.... Hunter then got one when he was little .. I cried I was so happy. He named him Cotton. We even had Cotton as our Christmas tree topper last year!

Since seeing the new Kia commercial with the sock monkey getting the MOM tattoo Ive been looking around Etsy and found that I can have one custom made with the MOM, or there are some Etsy sites that have custom name ones. SOOOO cute.

Lately on tv Ive noticed lots of people wearing the cute stocking hats. The other day on US of Tara the daughter in the show was wearing one while ice skating. ADORABLE! And right after Christmas I actually saw these slippers at Target.. but they didnt have my size.. I just could have cried!!! Havent seen them since and have had a HARD time finding them online!
So.. below are the links for these sock monkey items.. Take a gander at them.. and I hope you can find as much joy in them as I have.

slippers

etsy shop for baby monkey hats

tattoo'd sock monkey

I put the sock monkey with the sewn in MOM tattoo on my Mothers Day List... what is on yours? ;)

eta: my little brothers sock monkeys name!

Friday catch up~

Well soccer season started 2 weeks ago... the first game was kick ass. Hunter kicked 3 goals and did great. He wasnt shy or anything. This past weekend his allergies were soooo bad he couldnt even run 10ft. without stopping. I felt so bad but he insisted on playing. Then we had team pictures afterward.Funny though, we followed the directions and went where Parks & Rec told us to go and we show up but the rest of the team did not. Needless to say no soccer pics this year except for what I'll be taking. And still after a quite lengthy letter to the Parks & Rec Director this is still a sore subject with me. They have decided to resolve the issue by having the photography company handle it. They want to photoshop Hunter into the team photo... say what?... where they going to get his photo? They didnt think about that I guess. So is some random soccer player going to be edited into the teams photo. Ughh what a stinkin' mess.

In other news.. last weekend we had a 3 day get away to my Dads. As usual it was a much needed break and good time to get back to the country! We celebrated Prestons birthday... and basically relaxed!

Justice and Preston turkey hunted although they came up empty handed... I think they had a great time bonding. I sat my happy butt on the porch most of the weekend soaking up the beauty of the bees buzzing and the tulips that were in bloom.
We had a bbq for Prestons bday and some pinapple upside down cake.. his fav. Visited with the kids, watched The Blind Side and visited with my niece and nephew and my brother Daniel.

The guys all went mushroom hunting one morning and before they left tried to catch a couple lizards off Dads porch.. one was the one above the other was a blue tail.. he was too fast for me to capture a photo of though. haa
Later that day we took Justice home and somehow Hunter came up with this idea that he wanted to learn how to skip rocks. So we picked up Dad and headed to Jefferson City and the lake {Binder Lake}. Todd and Dad tried and tried to show Hunter how, he just isnt quite coordinated enough yet. It doesnt help when Hunter is a lefty and they are righties. haha We let Hunter play on the playground while we soaked up some sun by the lake and chatted.


Left there and went to have a Mexican feast. I then took the back roads to show Todd some more of where I grew up and lived in the past. Lucky for me he loved it all! We were wore out by the time we got back to Dads, but watched a movie anyway.. then crashed!
Sunday afternoon we took Preston out back and gave him his gun, a new 9mm. The boys sited the gun in and got lots of practice in. Rachel even gave it a try.

Overall it was a great weekend away. Hunter says.. I cant wait to go back Mom. and I say.. me either! Its our community yard sale tomorrow.. Im hoping for some big bucks! Maybe some leads on the house selling too!

Have a great weekend!!! :)

Reveal Day!!!~

Today was another reveal day over at Creative Scrappers Blog. They have been celebrating all the month of April by doing a special Guest Designer reveal each Tuesday and Thursday. There have been amazing sketches and reveals..... and today was my day to shine! I was one of the lucky girls who got picked to create a layout based on a sketch by Lindsey Krauss for the April 13th reveal.

The above layout was my personal submission. I had a hard time with the sketch as it was for multiple photos and I rarely attempt those. I should as I take so many darn photos!!! Anyway.. I used papers from The Paper Loft that I had been hoarding for about 2 years. Did the layout of my niece Savana and her new puppy.. I think it turned out cute, but not as I envisioned. Isnt that the way it always goes though? Im rusty and need to get back into it. Ive missed scrapping a ton!

Please check out Creative Scrappers and their month long celebration for games, blog hops, amazing reveals/sketches and give-a-ways!!!!

Have a great week! ;O)

Yay.. its Friday!!!~

We are heading out tomorrow after soccer game and soccer pics to go back home. Its time to celebrate spring, a late Easter and Prestons birthday. I cant wait. I have so much to pack and do.. sure hope I can get it all done and we can make it to Dads by 1ish.

Im also eager to hear how turkey hunting goes too... Preston is taking Justice out for his youth season Saturday morning. Would be awesome if he actually got something. I know he would be so proud.

Going to leave you for the weekend with a couple pics of when we went to the St. Louis City Museum and Aquarium. Picture quality kinda stinks as I didnt have my camera, only phone camera... but....We had such a great time. Hunter CRIED his eyes out when we had to leave. Next time we HAVE to take Justice.. I know he'd love it too. And can you believe we all petted the stingrays! WILD!! But cool! :)

Todd and Preston climbed on these metal things that were 2 stories above everyone. They almost got stuck! haha

Preston and Todd petting the stingrays!

Rachel getting her ocean suit on! haha ;)

Have a great weekend!

Oh yeah?~

I thought Id do a little post about some oddities that you may not know about me.

1} I have all boys and LOVE it, but every once in a while I wish I had a daughter too.. so that we could go to get manicures/pedicures together!

2} Todd and I have separate blankets/comforters-I hate this and hate his.. except for when Im sick or really cold.. then I find it comforting... weird!

3} I have a VERY high tolerance for pain. Ive had many procedures done with no anesthesia and felt minimal pain. Im glad!

4} One time a fella I dated told me that he couldnt see my knuckles and it grossed him out. {Who said words dont hurt or stick with you?}

5} When I was little I used to freak out during storms. I mean scream and sob. One time my Dad beat me with a belt because I wouldnt stay in my bed during a really bad thunderstorm, thus making the thunderstorms even scarier for me. Gee thanks Dad.

6} Raw meat makes me gag and Im super paranoid about any meat/fish/chicken being processed on my counters. I have to bleach everything down after whoever is done.. even if they said they cleaned it.

7} Im constantly trying to think of new ways to do my hair and what color to use.

8} Id love to have a simply decorated home, but keep finding the CUTEST things to buy and thus clutter the heck out of my house. LOL

9} I would love to learn how to shoot a bow so that I could go bow hunting with Todd. Id also love to shoot competition bow or gun.

10} I once lived in a friends garage because I was too proud to ask to live in her home or anyone elses.... my son said at least we werent living in a box under the overpass. I still felt ashamed.. still do.

11} I cant stand toenails that are not painted. Yuck!

12} I love scrapbooking but ever since I got my own scraproom I havent done as much because when I go in there Im alone and feel disconnected and even as though Im being punished. Needless to say I dont scrap near like I used to because of it. Virtually not at all anymore ;(

13} I read between 30-50 blogs every week and try to comment on a whole lot of them, but for some like Stephanie Howell or Emily Falconbridge.. and a few others... I never comment.. too scared for some stupid reason.

14} I actually still have several pairs of undies that I bought about 10+ years ago.. They are sooo comfy and obviously still in good shape! No holes or anything! Now those are some good undies!

15} Although I wear jeans/tshirts to work now.. I wouldnt mind if I had to dress up in dresses everyday. I actually love dressing up as long as I have the clothes/shoes to wear!

16} I believe in the power of prayer and every night I thank the good Lord for keeping my boys SAFE, HAPPY and HEALTHY.. and ask for strength if not for me for others.

17} I love oatmeal cooked on the stove top only. Could eat it every day!

18} I go on OCD binges I guess you could call them and it usually has to do with de-cluttering the house. I either re-decorate, get new dishes or towels. If I am unable to do this during this time I get seriously depressed and actually hurt physically. So weird!

19} I know I shouldnt miss out on old classic movies.. but I dont care to watch black/white movies. I hope that I can change that someday. I really enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird so why not others?

20} I love Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez and some day maybe Hunter and I will actually get in that limo, ride to the airport and fly out to L.A. to see them in concert. {His dream} hehee

21} I have to blow my nose every morning. Im also addicted to Mentholatum, I cant sleep without using it.

22} I want to be cremated. And I want the songs from the movie Places in the Heart sang or played at my funeral.

23} Ive never seen the ocean.

24} It takes me forever to tell a story and I usually forget half of it or lose my place several times before Im done. Gah!

25} I cant grow finger nails for the life of me.. never have. My Mom has super strong and long natural nails though.. luckyyyy.


Thats about all I can think of right now.. What are your oddities.. or quirks? I mean.. I guess some of these things are neither but just things* about me.. Id like to learn more about you as well! ;o)

Its hard to believe~

he went from a handsome baby...

to a handsome man....

Happy 21st Preston! Im so proud of you.. you will ALWAYS be my baby!
I love you more than life itself!!! ;O)

Vintage Memories~

Tonight I was looking through the vintage Easter cards online and just started thinking and thinking. I so love vintage prints and remember a few from growing up that I was just enamored with. Do you have a vintage print that maybe you remember from your Grandparents house? Or a special photo or wall hanging? Perhaps a clock or something similar? This vintage print was nicely framed I remember in a thick black lacquered frame above my Great Grandma Overstreets {Little Grandma} bed. I believe my parents got the print from the auction they had after Little Grandma passed away. Mom and Dad had it on display in their bedroom as well. My parents house burned in 1991 and I think it went up in smoke as well. Since then I have been looking for my own print. I didnt even think to use the net to find it.. but now that Ive found it.. maybe I can find one that is in decent condition for the right price and get it framed and display it in my Master Bedroom!

I hope you'll share on your blog or with me here a print that brings back some sort of good memory for you! In the meantime... Happy Easter!!! I hope you have a lovely weekend!