Living in my shoes

Pmupkin Patch!

2008-10-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

Took Sam to the pumpkin patch and corn maze today, we had a great time trying to find our way thru the maze, it was fun find all the posts and punching our map. Sam was loving it, and we got some huge pumpkins too!

So here are some pics from our day....

I am waiting....

2008-10-18T17:49:00.000-07:00

for Wed, oct 22nd, That is when I get on a plane , by myself , to Las Vegas. I cant tell you all enough, how happy I am to get away! Not to mention I get to see my mom! I have all sorts of fun plans, with Mom, and Kelli ( you read that right) and Then also with my Friend Tammy that lives there. I hope to spend time by moms pool on Thursday or Friday...

anyway, that is what I am doing this weekend, packing for Vegas, and getting Sams costume ready since I wont be coming home till a couple of days before halloween.

playing catch up

2008-10-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

It has been a week, I will start with that. No , first I will tell you all how mad I am that I have had a roast cooking in the crockpot since 11am and now, at 8 pm, its still not finished. I guess we are having it tomorrow, but that is not the point, the point is, that was my dinner tonight! I think it was too big... next time I know better.
Scott and I had a great time last weekend for our anniversary, WOW, it seems like that was a lifetime ago, so much has changed since then... but let me post some pictures for you from our night out, The pictures of the steakhouse, and the Paramount were taken from our hotel room windows. Scott had planned it all perfectly. We walked out of our hotel , and walked across the street, and after dinner we walked one block up to the Paramount to see Phantom of the opera. Which was wonderful by the way. we had a really good time, The picture of the dinner table was what we were seated at. They told us the had to put the finishing touches on our table before they sat us, that must have been what they were talking about. And the food was amazing, I have never, ever tasted a steak like that.

Move on to this week, IT has been wicked. We have had one fight after another, and it ended up very bad... Not wanting to go into detail here, All I can say is that it hasnt been good. We cant seem to function in every day life, Its all great when we have the rare chance of being alone outside of the house, but bring us home, and we cant function. In fact , I dont like him. Which isnt good. I can say I have an appt with a counseler on Tuesday, it should be interesting... I will go alone at first, then, if I want, Scott will join me. Where we are right now is , HE is wanting this to work, and I am done... I will let you know how it goes.

Ok, Done for now, I just felt like I needed to keep you all updated!

Big night this weekend!

2008-10-02T21:11:00.000-07:00

Scott has planned a big night for us on SAT. Our 7th anniversary is on Monday, and after all the birthdays and the trip this summer that I planned, I told him I was done planning, and if he wanted to do anything for our anniversary, it was up to him to plan.
We will be staying at the paramount hotel for the night, Then we have dinner reservations at Ruth Chris Steakhouse, and after dinner we will be seeing the Phantom of the opera. Not to mention the morning , which I am having a pedicure, and then shopping at Sephora at the new Westfield Shopping mall at South Center. ( Meagan, All those links were for you! I know how you love doing that!)
I will have to post after with pictures and Details, but I must say, I am just impressed with his planning!

And on other news, the red sox are in the playoffs again this year, and again they are playing the Angels. the won game one last night, and game two is Friday night, and I have to tell you, I am so happy that they are OFF on SAT , cause I cant say that I would have been able to keep my mind on the Phantom, when the red sox were playing a playoff game!!! Thanks GOD I dont have to deal with that!!!

Scrap Pink Event !

2008-09-28T10:26:00.001-07:00

We had our second Annual Scrap pink event at the Scrapbook Nook on Sat. A portion of the proceeds goes to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. IT was a huge success, and tons of fun, And if your a fan of pink, then this was the place for you!
It was a very long day, but tons of fun, We had severval people that were with us last year as well as this year, I never could get them all in one picture, but I got them here and there.
The beautiful cake was made By Jenns Sweet Cakes, it was very yummy and very popular around here.

The last picture of Julie, Myself, and Jill. They are the ladies that I scrap with at the friday night moonlighters, about once a month. Jill was also my roommate at the Keepsake Cottage earlier this month.

the Keepsake Cottage!

2008-09-17T19:17:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I stayed at the Keepsake cottage, its a wonderful scrapbook retreat cottage located in Auburn( very close to home). the cottage will sleep 14, we had ten ladies, IT is wonderful cause the hostess, Katie, cooks all your meals for you, from Friday at 2 till sunday at 2, all you need to worry about is Scrapping! ( or holding your place in line for the cricut expression, cause Katie has 55 cartridges) .
( I dont know why the above paragraph is underlined ,and I sure dont know how to remove it, lol)
workspace for the 14 ladies!

Lynette and I on SAT, we were tired, not much sleep the night before!
katie takes pictures of all her guests the night before the leave, you cant tell in the picture, but she has a beautiful view of MT Rainer.
I got a bunch of layouts done, 30 total, it was a wonderful weekend, nice to get away, and very nice to not have anything to do but scrap for the whole weekend!

again, I dont know what I did to this post, if it links you somewhere, I didnt mean to!! LOL
the first picture was the room Jill and I stayed in, all the rooms are different, all just as fun as the one before, Her youngest daughter Molly, picked out the decor for my room!

catching up

2008-09-13T22:45:00.000-07:00

I am sorry, I have been busy, I will post more tomorrow...

I got a new Laptop!

2008-08-27T21:09:00.000-07:00

It arrived a week ago, I have been playing with it since then, trying to get use to Vista, and the new laptop. Then on Sat, I ordered another NEW laptop! The first one is a big one, Big in memory, ram ,and has a 17 inch screen. After playing with it for a few days, I made up my mind to get a smaller one. I got a 15 inch DELL, A RED ONE! I am loving that its red! I wanted to get pink, but I learned my lesson with my pink phone, I cant pass it on to anyone in my home, so I didnt go with the pink laptop. So Scott is taking over ownership of the old new laptop, and he will just use it as a desktop anyway, so the size of it doesnt matter to him one bit. Besides, dont men like all their stuff to be big?
We are winding down here this week, getting ready for school to start on Tuesday. I am looking forward to Tuesday! we are finishing up the shopping this weekend, ( nothing like waiting till the last minute). and then on Friday the 5th, I am going away for the whole weekend to the KEEPSAKE COTTAGE, its a weekend scrap retreat and it is located only 10 mins from home! the best part is, no cooking for the whole weekend! there are 10 of us going, I hope to get all of Kelli's Disney trip done for her, then I can move onto Shellys album for Scotty, and Hey, I might even get something done for myself!

thats it for now, have a great Labor day weekend everyone!

just comparing pictures of Alec

2008-08-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

top pic was his prom in June of 07.Botton picture is from Today from his friends Brandons wedding. He is down about 50 lbs from the above picture. He looks great, and I couldnt be prouder! I know how hard it is to lose weight, and he is doing great at it! funny how they are almost the same tux!

A big week for Sam!

2008-08-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

He had his 6th birthday on SAT august 9th! we had a small birthday party. I really really dont like parties, to much work for me, even for the little ones. Here Sam is finishing up the beautiful sidewalk art that he and his friends made. We finally washed it of on Thursday when we watered the grass.

And this is Sam playing his new nintendo DS, he didnt know what it was when he opened it! I had to show him. I didnt want to buy anymore toys, I am sick of toys,, I have had 19 years of toys. So I went way out there and got his this. Its so not me, But I thought it was the best thing for him.

Sam had a great day with his friends, And on Thursday this week ,Alec took him to Chuck E Cheese, they had a good brother bonding time there.

So Alec called me on Thursday and said " Mom, Yeah, Sam lost his tooth" ( first tooth mind you) I said " Oh Good for him!" Alec, " No, he lost, lost his tooth, down the drain when he was brushing his teeth"

CRAP, I was sad for Sam, and for me, it was his first tooth, it was the time to start the ritual of the tooth fairy, and instead , we had to get creative and write her a note. No tooth for the tooth fairy to save, just a note.... I am sure she was sad too.

Here is a picture he has a second loose tooth now too!

I have no kids tomorrow night! Alec is in a wedding, ( I will have pics of him in his tux on Sunday) Brett and Jake are at Jeffs all weekend, And Sam is going to Scotts mom tomorrow for the night! Now if I could only get rid of Scott I could have the house to myself! LOL

Meet Owen Christopher Tobin!

2008-08-12T21:55:00.000-07:00

He arrived Tuesday morning at 8:40, weighing in at 8 lbs 15 oz. He is adorable and looks like his mom I think. Proud parents are Jenn and Chris. Jenn is one of my dear friends and weekly scrappers, We all went to the hospital tonight to meet the handsome little man. I got him to wake up and visit with me for a while.

Thats all for now, I just got home after being gone all day, Heather and Karen and I went to dinner after meeting Owen, so a long day, and need to get ready for tomorrow.

A few weeks behind

2008-08-10T21:09:00.000-07:00

But, We had a great time in Idaho! I have posted 5 pics, and I didnt even post the pics from Silverwood. But considering I am so far behind on my blogging and events, I think 5 will have to do. The boys had a great time in the canoe's, Brett and Jake did a great job, much better than Alec and Frankie, Who bumped a few boats on their way out to the lake, lol. I told them I was taking pictures for their my space, they were cool with that.
Sam and Scott went out too, I was going to go, but it was very windy that day, and I didnt feel like going out in that thing.
Just one of the beautiful sunsets that I got to see from our deck.
If I didnt give the camera to Frankie, you wouldnt have known I was on this trip, This is one of the few pics of me on this trip, Scott did come out and take pics of me and sam feeding the ducks on our last day.
IT was a peaceful vacation, even with 4 teenagers and a 6 year old. They all got along, and no-one was ever left out of something. They played games at night, and I even joined in them one night and we played monopoly. I laughed alot at the things they were saying, at times I had to remind them that I was there and to watch what they say. They play the game very differently than we played growing up, they have lots of trades going on, including at times, food is traded, lol. They will give immunity to certain players for certain things, but only for a certain number of times. I dont know who makes the rules up, but they all seemed to know what they were doing.
next time we go on vacation, I am taking a friend, cause I was the odd person out. Scott had Sam, Alec had Frankie, Brett had JAke. I had myself... it was peaceful, but at times lonely too.

Anyway, that is all for tonight, I have more pics to post, and Sam had a birthday this SAT, so I have pics of that too, but I am going to go for now. more later...

Read post Below

2008-07-26T18:51:00.002-07:00

I found a look a like meter online, and I put in pics of Sam, me, And Scott, and then Sam , me and Alec, Why Alec you say? cause I have always thought Sam was Alec's "Mini me" interesting , so overall, Sam looks more like me, cause its my genes that Alec has in him, and Sam looks the most like Alec, lol, if that makes sense......

OK< off for Vacation to Idaho's Lake Pend Orielle, and Silverwood, will post when I return..

Shumate Look-alike Meter

2008-07-26T18:51:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Free family tree - Free genealogy

Shumate Look-alike Meter

2008-07-26T18:43:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Snoqualmie Falls

2008-07-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

Picture from above the falls, its great and all, but I wanted to go down to the bottom!
view from above. This was the moment that I knew I wanted to go down there! ( click on the pic so you can read what I wrote)
This is where we were making up our minds if we continued on the rocks or not.
do you see Scott and Sam in the center of the picture below?
this view was worth it all!

Sam crashed out on Scotts Chair around 6 pm . He was wiped out, But he was so happy, I heard him telling Alec that he fell down on the rocks and didnt even cry even though he hurt himself. He was very proud. It was a great day!

Wow! That was my first thought. Not when I first saw the falls from the top, but when I turned the corner after we had hiked all the way down there, off the trail, over the bridge, over a ton of rocks, and turned the corner and saw the falls from the bottom. WOW. It was worth every friggin rock I had to climb over, the friggin hills I had to climb back up, the sweat that I felt, (ick), and the soreness I am sure I will feel tomorrow!

Sam was such a trooper! In fact, Scott told us both many times " good job guys, you didnt complain once" or something like that. I think he didnt think I could do it, I dont think he knows his wife very well....

It was a beautiful day out here in the Pacific Northwest, and I , the sun lover that I am, wanted to be outside. But I wanted to do something I had never done before, so I suggested we go here. Scott had been years ago, But Sam and I never. ( Brett didnt want to go, Jake was at Jeff's and well, he couldnt have gone anyway, and Alec was playing Softball). So off we all went. Scott told me about the walk to the bottom, so I was prepared and had my tennis shoes, we all did. We had parked the car and walked over to the falls. I knew instantly that I wanted to go to the bottom, I wanted a great picture!! so we walked back to the car and got out shoes. All we took was a bottle of water and the camera, then off we went. When we got to the bottom, and went walking on the footbridge, and it just ended. Just ended, the falls were there, but we were not close to them, not like I wanted. and Scott didnt remember it being that way. So we turned around, but as we were going back, there were people climbing over the footbridge and climbing down the side of the ROCKY hill to the bottom. We stood there at this spot and just looked at each other, He said " What do you wanna do?" I said" I came here to get a great picture, I want to go to the bottom". so He lifted Sam over the bridge, and I climbed over, and he climbed over. and I led the way. I was going damn it, I was getting the damn picture for my scrapbook page, and I was putting my feet in the friggin water!!

I am so glad we did, it was so great. Like I said above, I wont sugar coat it for ya, the hike back up sucked big time, I hated it, but IT was worth it!

On another note, Jake is doing great. Stitches have been out for a week now, starting on the 21st he can transition into shoes two hours a day, then four hours a day, then six, and so on. Just in time for out family vacation to Silverwood on Bretts Birthday, the 27th. His ankle is feeling great, and he does feel tightness in his heels, but Dr. McDreamy says that is normal, and he may feel it for some time.

Ok, off for now!

Update on Jake!

2008-06-26T22:55:00.000-07:00

I promised I would update, But I dont really have anything much to say, He has ventured downstairs the past two days, and has hung out on the couch and with his brothers. I took these pictures on WED, Again, he wasnt thrilled, but oh well. ITs the least of his worries, I am sure, lol.
He washed his hair, and other vital body parts today, so that was good, he cant wait to take a shower, which wont be till Monday night. He still hasnt put weight on it, but he also hasnt needed the pain pills, he took one today, and one tonight before bed, last night he slept 11 hours all the way thru, I am so glad that he did that, he is a side sleeper, so its hard to sleep on your back. When I came home from work tonight I made him dinner, and then hung out with him for a while in his room. I just feel so bad for him, its gotta be lonely. His phone has gotten a workout, the texting..... So glad we have unlimited texting! he still has my laptop, and he has movies and tv, today he was watching the NBA draft. He plans on trying the scooter out tomorrow on the hardwood floor. wish him luck!

Jake had Surgery this morning

2008-06-24T18:09:00.000-07:00

Now I know what your thinking, Did I really have someone take our picture? Well, no, But because he is a minor, they had to take our picture. And they were nice enough to give it to me. I just wish I had my eyes open. Anyway, Surgery for what you ask?

Well , he had the tendons in his calves, lengthened. ( is it calves, or calfs? I dont know, but whichever I will be using the first) they were very short, and have been his entire life. He has always been a toe walker, but its only been the last year or so that we have been away that it is a medical thing, and we have been trying to fix without surgery for the last year. And Thats not all, while we were at it we thought we would have his ankle scoped to see what is going on in there, since he has injured it so much, and has constant pain. Which was a good thing we did, cause he had tissue that was shreaded like, and getting caught in his bone socket, in between the bones, yuck.. So the surgery was a huge success, the DR was very happy , he said Jakes Tendons were extreamly tight, but he got them moved / lengthened to where they should be.
Getting Jake in the house was a bit of an issue, there was no way he could use crutches, even though the dr has allowed weight bearing as tolerated on the leg that just had the tendon done, the other leg, he cant put any pressure on for a week. its a good thing we had Alec, and Frankie, and Brett. Frankie and Brett helped Jake out of the car, and then lifted him onto Alecs back, Alec then gave him a piggyback ride into the house. Jakes not a small kid, so yeah for Alec for being so strong! Alec and Frankie then carried him up the stairs and got him into bed. We will see how it goes, I have been taking care of him, just made him dinner and got him more pain pills. I gave him my laptop to use, he has his cell phone, and PS2 and the TV, I dont think he could ask for more, except maybe, to be able to walk. I will keep you updated, I promise!

A week full of Baseball and Sex!

2008-06-01T13:26:00.000-07:00

what a week !

I was busy every night this past week, with lots and lots of sstuff going on, I didnt get home any earlier than 10:15 all week. Lets Recap:

Monday night, Memorial day.

Jake and I went to the Red Sox , Mariners game. We got there before the gates opened, And we stood outside those gates for almost 1 hour waiting. But we got in, and I got what I wanted, which was great pictures of the Red Sox and batting practice.

It was a great game, good times with Jake, The Sox won. the bad part of the whole night was the migrain that started halfway thru the game, and didnt go away. I dont know how I got home, honestly, We even stopped at a gas station to buy something for it, but , it was one am before I was able to sleep , waiting for it to go away just enough so I could sleep.

Tuesday Am: Woke up very tired, feeling like I hadnt slept at all. The sox are still in town, but I had no plans to go to the game this night, instead, I had plans to do some things at home, go tan, run some errands, ect. At 4:11 I got a message from Kimi, asking me if I wanted to go to the game, ( we had talked about going eariler, but she didnt think she was going to be home). We made plans to get the tickets at the box office, and that we would meet at Target at south center , and drive in one car from there, at 5:45.

We are both driving , and on the phone, she gets a call from her ex husbands wife, wanting to know if she wanted two tickets to the game, they were sitting on her desk and she couldnt use them, Kimi told her yes, and here is the cool part, the seats were behind home plate!! The ex'x wife worked near where Kimi and I were meeting, and she met us and gave us the tickets. Kimi and I drove to the game, and we had an absolute blast! Manny hit homerun # 499 and it was completely awesome and amazing! The sox didnt win that night, but I didnt care one bit, I had a blast with Kimi, and it I just love watching those boys play ball!

WED, May 28th Alec's 19th Birthday!!

I had a big day or night, planned for him, and us. He and Frankie and I had 5th row seats to the Red Sox game for this night. And to top it off, I had Jason arrange for us to be on the field while the Sox were taking batting practice! ( Jason is the Head of security at Safeco). Sam and Scott also had tickets to the game, sitting in a different section than us.

So I took Sam out of school a bit early, and he and Frankie and Alec and I were off to Seattle, We had a late lunch at Pyramid Ale , which is across from Safeco. After lunch we spent somet time in the team store, where Sam picked out a new Red Sox shirt. ( Yes, they were selling them at the Mariners Team store, Go figure,) We were still early to meet Jason, but we headed over to where we were to meet Jason. Jason was running a little late, and we ran into the friend of mine that had introduced me to Jason to begin with a few years ago! They were waiting for Jason too, and we all ended up on the field together. IT was so fun! I have some great pictures of that time, Sam had a blast ( see pictures below) he got JD DREWS autograph, and he loved standing in the on deck circle. HE was told not to go on the grass, and he stood with his toes right to the edge of the grass. It was too cute. I was Giddy that I was that close with the men that I love watching play the game that I love. Also when we were on the field, Alec noticed "juliet" from lost, she was not on the field, but in the first row, signing autographs with people, and taking pictures. She posed for this picture for me, but I didnt get her autograph.

the Sox didnt win for Alec, in fact , the score was 1-0. But it was a great game, I loved every minute of it, and Alec had a great time too.

Thursday...

Jake had a baseball game, start time 8:00 PM!! IT was another late night for me, and the baseball continued!

Friday night:

SEX AND THE CITY MOVIE!! 7 of us went, 5 ladies, and 2 husbands. And the men were great, Laura's Husband thought of everything, he Knew that we couldnt watch Sex without cosmos, and he snuck cosmopolitans into the movie for all the ladies! It was a great touch, and we loved the movie. How can you not? WE had cosmos before, during and after the movie!

I worked on SAT, so it was a long week...

Maegan, this post ( that took me three different times to write) Was for you!

Check this out!

2008-04-25T20:52:00.000-07:00

Look at these adorable little red sox players that now have a home on my shelf in my scrap room. They are surrounded by all my favorite pictures, including one of My grandma and my mom and her sisters. anyway, they are adorable, and they were given to me for my birthday.

did I mention they remind me of Sam, or Alec when he was little? I love them!

A hallmark moment, and I missed it

2008-04-24T22:42:00.000-07:00

but lucky for me, a co-worker/friend of mine did see it, and passed it on to me. so I now have this memory etched into my mind, and I didnt even see it....

Laura was sitting at a stop at the cross walk by Sam's school. She is watching the kids cross the road, Crossing guard lady with the stop sign high in her hand in the middle. And there in front of her goes this Adorable little boy, with his cars backpack on his back, his jacket bundled up tight, holding his older brothers hand, and looking up at him with the biggest smile you could ever imagine, big brother is looking down at little brother, smiling back at him and they are clearly sharing a silly moment about little brothers day at school....

Laura said it touched her heart, seeing them exchange those smiles, Those were my boys Brett and Sam, and even though I didnt see it personally, I can see it, I can see my sons sharing that moment in my mind. I love that they , without even knowing it, made Laura's day special , just letting her wittness that exchange, made her day brighter. I love that when she told me about it, I could picture it, I loved the smile she had on her face when she told me about it. I love that even now, two weeks later, I have tears from writting this.

I love that things that happen when we are not around can make us happy, and we dont even have to see it for it to do so.

This and that

2008-03-28T19:08:00.000-07:00

Well its been a couple of crazy weeks around my house. Some good things, some not so good things, we will try not to focus on the not so good things.

Jake got his braces off! Yes I have pictures, but not posting them yet, I havent gotten it with the before pic for you and you need to see that one to get the full effect. He looks great though!!

I had a birthday, Scott and I went away for my birthday weekend, Here are a few pics from where we went, and some reading material I brought along. We had a very good time the first night, the second night I wanted to kill him way too much togetherness, By Sunday AM he was nice to me again and made me a birthday breakfast.

the rest of my birthday sucked, Anyone who knows what happened, will agree with me, But I will just leave it at that for now.

Moving on, I had surgery on WED, the DR removed my lump from my collarbone area. Still dont know what it is, He told Scott he didnt know what it was just by looking at it, it was the size of a large grape. We are waiting biopsy results, keeping fingers crossed that it is nothing serious. I am still very sore, and the boys have all been very helpful this week, Jake told me to call him or text him If I needed anything ( we are in the same house, mind you) Alec has been a huge help getting sam to school for me, And Brett getting Sam home . Scott has been a trouper as well, he even fasted with me the day of the surgery to be a " united front" with me. That was sweet, But I told him to go eat when I went into surgery, lol.

The red sox opened their season in Japan, the game was on at 3 am, I DVR'd it and watched it later, lol. I would have gotten up the day of the surgery to watch it but knowing I couldnt drink anything even water, I stayed in bed and slept.

The other morning I was getting ready for work, and Sam was watching tv, I hear him say " Would they stop talking about Barrack Obama already?" I LOL'd at him. The kid is 5 and he is sick of hearing them talk about Obama. Granted he watched the news with Scott, and the today show with me every morning, but still.

ok, off for now.

Well it must be time for a post!

2008-03-01T21:44:00.000-08:00

This will be quick, I am just taking a break from Scrapping. It is my yearly weekend in Portland for a scrapping convention, maegan and I come down here yearly for a scrapping weekend, This year, Marie( Maegans friend ) joined us, and our weekend was extended to three nights! I also for the first time stayed in the hotel by myself, and can I tell you how wonderful this time has been for me? OMG it has been heaven. The time to do what I want, when I want, I can scrap, I can drink wine and scrap, I can drink wine and take a bath, I can even drink wine and blog! I am loving the bed too! I am in a little studio at the residence inn , I love it!
it was also the day that the tickets for the Mariners went on sale, which means the RED SOX tickets for when they are here, went on sale. I was online at 9:55 ready to buy my tickets! they will be here for Alecs 19th birthday, so of course, I got us tickets for that day , in fact, I got Alec, Frankie ( Alecs BFF) and Myself 5th row field level tickets!! I cant wait for that game! I also got two tickets for Scott and I on Memorial day, and when they are here again in July I got six tickets for all of us one day, and two tickets for another, after that I was broke. Of course on Thursday before I left for Portland, I got Scott and I Alan Jackson Tickets for May 9th. Scott loves Alan Jackson, I like him, but if I want to go to concerts with my husband, I need to start finding people he loves, and I like!
Ok, I am off to do some more scrapping before I call it a night, I have gotten 10 - 2 page layouts done this weekend! I want to crank out two more before I go to sleep!

What a couple of weeks!

2008-01-21T19:19:00.000-08:00

It has been a crazy last week, Many different emotions have gone thru me, Long story short, I found a huge lump in my collarbone area a week ago SAT. I had several DR apts including an ultrasound( which revealed it was 2 inches big, and was a complex cystic mass) I had a biopsy on Thursday and my dr called me back tonight to tell me that it didnt reveal anything bad, just that the fluid had protien in it, He is having another ultrasound done in two to three weeks and if it grows back he will drain it again, have it tested for something different ,and most likey remove it completely. Sounds good so far, But I gotta tell ya, I had my own funeral planned when I didnt know what it was. Makes you rethink things I will tell you that.
It makes me rethink my relationship with my sister, and the non relationship that I have had with her since June, I thought I would go to my grave not talking to her, not without her saying sorry, now I am not so sure, I am NOT saying that I am ready to pick up the phone and chat up the weather with her, What I am saying is that I am open to talking to her again, Life is to short.
Also, I am going back to weight watchers on wed with a friend, I feel this will help me with my weight loss and I can continue on loosing. I have lost 57 lbs to date, But I have not lost a lb since July. Its great that I can maintain weight, that I know now, I also know I can lose weight, so now its time to lose some more, and maintain again. Here is to a healthier me this year!!

Is it still Christmas?

2008-01-11T22:18:00.000-08:00

You would think so, if you visit my blog looking for new posts. I keep meaning to post, even have some new years eve pictures to show you, but I keep forgetting, for my blog time goes to the store blog, and not here....

Anyway, I am sorry, I have been busy.

today was a day... I had highs and lows today, All having to do with friends, or ex friends as the case may be.

First I had a very good friend come into the store to say hello, I havent seen them in months, and it was great to spend some time with them and just see em.

Next, later in the work day, an old co worker, and ex friend came in, said ex friend didnt give me the time of day, even after I went up to her and said hello and asked her how she was doing, I got the cold shoulder. Ouch... I had hoped time had healed some wounds, I had hoped she still wouldnt hate me, I have to be honest, I miss her, and I think about her often, and wonder how she is doing. it is clear, she doesnt feel the same way.
does it mean something when one person has clearly moved on and gotten passed something, and is ready to move on , and the other one hasnt? I mean, I wasnt expecting a hug and a smile, but I was hoping she felt different, I was hoping she had felt like it was behind her. I guess not yet.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T14:44:00.000-08:00

It has been a good day for the boys!

I heard Sam at 4 am talking to Scott, telling him that Santa brought him a bike!! I got out of bed and asked Sam if he had been downstairs, he said " yeah and I have a bike"! Sam went back to bed, and I couldnt sleep after that cause of every noise that I heard I just knew it was Sam downstairs again! I was a little upset cause I didnt get to see the reaction on his face when he saw the bike. But I also had to clear up a little issue, Sam didnt get the bike from Santa, it was from us, Normally I wouldnt care, But as Scott was putting the bike together last night, it was missing a bolt. And Santa wouldnt have messed up on such a thing, so we had to tell him it was from us , and from a store, and that we would fix the problem tomorrow. Here is Sam getting his Pajamas on Christmas Eve.

Ok, then after the stockings, it was time to give the boys the WII, I had to give it to them first, cause so much of what was coming after that was related to it. I gave JAke a Box with a "W" in it, and Brett and Alec boxes with the "I"'s in them. At first they didnt have a clue what it was, they all looked at one another and me like what the hell?? Jake held up his W and said, Its A W, Wow, lol. Then Alec and Brett held up their I's and said they got I;s... then it just kind of clicked for Alec, And he said " its a WII" , You got us a WII?? I heard that from a few of them, and then I gave them the real box.. It was very cool.

Brett and Jake got guitar hero III from Jeff, They had asked for it for the PS2... I had fun playing with them after they opened the WII they talked to one another about hoping Jeff got them it for the WII and I said I had never spoke to him about it, so how would he know? they were thrilled to see I was lying! .

Ok thats all for now, I have to go start dinner!

taking up a lover

2007-12-17T18:51:00.000-08:00

I will have a normal work schedule.... I dont know if I know what to do with one, Never in my life have I had one. I will work 9:30-6 ( 5 on Mondays and Tuesdays) Mon - Fri. No Saturdays unless I switch with someone, No nights , unless I switch with someone. Starting in Jan. This is a very insane thought to me, it will take some time for me to adjust. Being home on the weekends?? Crazy. I think I will have to take up a lover or something cause Saturdays in the fall in my home are not a place you want to be, unless you love College football, cause that is all its about at our house. The summer time is another story, I cant WAIT to be home all weekend in the summer,.. so that solves it, I will take up a Fall lover.. I hope Scott doesnt mind...
I did it! I got out all my Christmas cards! Today they went to the post office, delivered by Alec, who also took my moms box, the only one I had to mail. I had Alec take it today of all days, after I heard that today was the busiest day at the post office of the year. I told him to expect a line and to bring Frankie to keep him company. Alec said it was a half hour wait. not to bad I think.

Maegan, you will get a laugh out of this : Sam and i were looking at your blog, and he said " Oh I like that picture of Santa and some pretty girl I dont know" LOL... I thought it was cute and so honest...

Its been a while....

2007-12-14T19:14:00.000-08:00

I kept thinking that I would post tomorrow... then tomorrow would come and I wouldnt post....

I have been so busy, just so drained emotionally as well, so my thoughts have not been " post on your blog Tami" , not at all.

I will spare you the emotionally draining part, I am just busy. I have been getting ready for Christmas, making a few gifts, but not many. Planning my classes for next quarter, and making my Christmas cards. Speaking of which here is one of the pictures that I took for the cards:

This is not the one that I used, but it was one that I took when taking the one that I used.

I am looking forward to the Portland convention at the end of FEB, I love going with Maegan, I hope she has booked our hotel?? Maegan, when you read this, have you booked our hotel room yet?

I also have been looking for places to go for my Birthday, I am going to get away for a weekend with Scott, no kids, no worries.. just us... lets see how that goes.

Happy thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T10:45:00.000-08:00

Just one of the things that I am thankful for this Thanksgiving, The Boston Red Sox are World Champions!

Seriously, I am thankful for many things this year, the normal family thing, LOL. That I have a great job that I love, Everyone is healthy, Everyone still lives at home with me, that stuff. I have things that I wish were different, but I am thankful for what I do have. I love the memoires that I will always have from this year, nothing can take that from me.

I am home cooking today, just the boys and Scott and Myself. I will post pics later.

red sox banner picture was lifted off of redsoxchick.com

How Sweet it is!!!

2007-11-19T18:05:00.000-08:00

Its about time!!! I have been waiting for this day since Oct 28th. For the Red Sox to Re sign Mike Lowell. I waited through the time that the red sox had solo negotiation rights with him for them to close the deal, when that didnt happen, and he went into the open market, I will be honest, I began to worry, We offered him a 3 year deal, He and his team wanted a 4 year deal... I listened to talks of The Yankees throwing a 4 year deal his way ( trust me I got a little sick over that) talks of him heading to LA.. all the while he said he wanted to stay in Boston, Boston said they wanted him to stay in Boston, Red Sox Nation wanted him to stay in Boston, So what was the problem?? Well Today I am happy to say that it has been announced that they have agreed to a 3 year deal!!! its not official YET, word is Tuesday or Thursday, But WHOO HOOO!!!! I can Have something else to be Thankful for this year! I love Mike, and I would have hated to see him go!!

I thought I would share a layout with you all

2007-11-18T22:04:00.000-08:00

It has been a very long time since I have shared anything scrapping related with you, I have been busy and not doing too much, but lately I have been getting the scrapping done. This weekend alone I did 5 , two page layouts. This is just one page of a two page layout, the other side is of the Kenny chesney concert, where this picture was taken, When I did the layout I did it with the thought in mind that this page could work alone too. While I dont get to spend too much time with Maegan, the time I do get to spend with her is great, she is a great friend that I get to be me with, someone who doesnt judge, and knows what to say. I cherish our friendship.

Fun and Exciting project ahead for me!

2007-11-15T18:29:00.000-08:00

I have to share this here, I will be working on three albums for a Lady named Julie Nordstrom, Yes, the same Nordstrom that owns the Nordstrom department stores. Julie is the wife off one of the sons. This is huge for me! I will be doing one of their oldest daughter, One of their son Sam, and one of their trip to London. I came into this from a customer who had been the secretary for Mr Nordstrom, ( or something along those lines)she did one album for them but had to give them up due to a new baby, and she knew that I did this, so she passed on my name to Julie, Julie's assistant and I have been in contact and she will be dropping off all the materials on WED. I am so excited to start this project, and you can bet I will buy myself something wonderful with the money that I make!

Lisa Bearnson!

2007-11-03T19:28:00.000-07:00

Lisa was our guest at the scrapbook nook on thursday night, and her good friend from high school even tagged along! ( the gal on the right in the first pic)She spent about 3 hours with us, and was so fun to be with. She told us some great stories, made us laugh, and even shed some tears. She took pictures with everyone, and asked about them, truely a great person! She is sending everyone that attended ( 60 +) a gift of their choice ( ali edwards kit, or Becky's card kit) Plus, a digital scrapping kit, ( that I just may try out)!

Here she is signing our front counter, and I love her quote, isnt that the truth? What I loved most about her visit was how truely happy everyone was when they left. That was so wonderful!

WORLD CHAMPS!!!

2007-10-29T07:59:00.000-07:00

They did it again!!!! And this year, they were expected to do just this, and the didnt dissapoint! They have been in first place since april 18th, and never looked back ( ok, well, they looked a few times in Sept cause they were feeling a bit crowded by the skankees) , But they did it!!!
Having gone to Boston this year has made this World Series win very special to me!! It is " SO GOOD, SO GOOD!!!

Here they are celebrating after the win!!

And Look who is on the Wheaties box, Our Pitching GOD!!! I will be stalking the stores till I find a few boxes!!

AND HERE IS MR MVP himself!!! MR. Mike Lowell!!!! I took this pic of him in AUG when they were here in Seattle, And I totally called it, I told Alec Lowell was MVP, and Alec didnt agree with me, But he was nice and said, " You called it" when it was announced!!

I am beyond happy right now!!! CONGRATS BOSTON RED SOX!!!!!

(all pics lifted from Boston.com, except the one of Lowell that I took in Seattle)

Chess anyone?

2007-10-14T16:56:00.000-07:00

Can I tell you how long Scott has been waiting for one of the boys to want to play chess? YEARS... you can tell just by looking at the chess board that it has been sitting untouched for years, ( not kidding , 6 years at least). Last night, Jake asked Scott if he wanted to play. Jake had played for the first time the night before at a friends, Scott jumped at the chance. and even though Scott won, he was very impressed that it was only Jakes 3rd time playing, I had to take pictures when I looked over and saw them playing, the look of concentration on Jake's face was something I had to get a picture of.

The game board has since been dusted..

Compare Jake this year to last year

2007-10-07T11:50:00.000-07:00

The pic on the Left is this year ( Kentwood) last year on the right. Boys change so much in one year ( 8th-9th grade) He has grown over 4 inches in the last year, Changing the way he looks.. It makes me sad to see these two pictures together, but then I also enjoy watching him grow into such a enjoyable young man.

Seriously, I am no slacker ...

2007-10-01T21:43:00.000-07:00

I took that title from Maegans Blog, I read that the other day and thought the same Darn thing about my own blog!! while I may not have been posting here, I have been keeping up the Stores Blog, and that has kept me busy. you can check that out here: http://scrapbooknooknews.typepad.com/

anyway, Lets hope I can have more posts on this blog in the month of OCT.

Quick rundown on the on goings here last month.

Alec is going to Highline, taking a couple of classes ( ten credits) and is also working at UPS M-F from 5-9:30. So far, So good

Brett has been doing ok in school, he is having trouble in his AP history class, but I hope we got a handle on it and things will improve. Also he has a job at KFC , he works about 10 hours a week, not alot, but enough for him.

Jake is doing well in school, he had no problem adjusting to High School. He is the starting center for the freshman football team, and he plays in the band as well.

Sam is doing great in All day Kindergarten, he has made new friends and he loves school. one new friend James lives at the end of our street, and Sam walks to school with him ( and myself and Gina) a few days a week. Sometimes Alec takes Sam, sometimes I do, just depends on what time I have to be at the store. He asked if he could have a sleep over with JAmes, I think he is a bit young for that, so right now I said no.

I have been busy, and for the last two days very sick, I dont even have a voice, I hope tomorrow I wake up with one,

The Red Sox won the Eastern Division Friday night! First time in 12 years they finished over the Yanks in the East. Next step , The Angels......

I leave you with a picture from one of Jakes Games, he is the one holding the ball:

And he's off!

2007-09-04T20:46:00.000-07:00

Sam's first day of School! He is off to kndergarten, YEAH SAM!
HE had a great day , Daddy stayed home from work so he could take Sam to school and pick him up. Sam had a good morning, picked out what he wanted in his lunch ( he is all day!) and got himself dressed, then we went outside to take some pictures, it stopped raining for the moment for this. Then we went over to the School.

Here is Sam and Daddy walking to School, Sam was yelling back at me to hurry up, lol.

when we got to his room he told the teacher that he was SAM, she asked if he was Samuel, and he told her that he was " Samuel Isaac Burton Shumate" it was a total Forest Gump Moment if you ask me, lol. She show him his seat and he picked out a coloring book and started coloring away.

The bells kept ringing on us so we thought it was time for us to go, I was a little worried about leaving him, but then Scott told me that he will be fine, he just overheard Sam saying to the boy next to him " Hi, My name is Sam, who are you?"
So we left. I went to work , Scott went home.

Sam had a great day, HE said he learned to read today too, but he didnt want to read to me. Maybe tomorrow......

Boston Part 2: Cape Cod

2007-08-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

The weather could have been nicer for us, but it didnt rain, and from where we came from, that was a bonus! It was a great time down the Cape. That is what it always was for me growing up, "Going down the Cape", even now, that is what it is. So here we go with the pictures. The first one just tells ya where we were, Its a scrapbooking thing in me, You write where you are in the sand, it tells it all!

Next Picture, is Me and Hope, She was the only one that went to the Beach with us on our last day down the Cape, Alec was Sleeping since he had woken up so early to go deep sea fishing, He didnt catch anything, But Brian did, he caught a Shark that he had to throw back, and a bass that he got to keep, Alec didnt seem to mind that he didnt catch anything, and I think it was what I wanted it to be for him, A life long memory.
The water was so very warm, it felt so good on the feet!

Isnt this fabulous? I want this house! I love this house! I want the view that this house has! I dont care which house in the picture, I would even live in the light house, I just want to be there!!! I love This picture!!!

ME At Cape Cod!!!! right near that FABULOUS house!!!

Ok, this picture has a story to tell, I was holding Brians Hand cause he kept putting his fingers over my head, and I wanted a good picture, and we were already on our way to being very intoxicated. Coleen ( my cousin) and I drank a good size bottle of Absolute, and then added a few beers to that, pictures were taken of the drunk fest, but I cant show them here, lol. We had a GREAT night of talking, catching up, and laughing, So much laughing went on with the two of us , it was truely a great night, and the fact that I do remember the night, I must not have drank too much!
All in All it was a great time, we shared many memories of Our Grandmother, shared some tears, shared secrets, and made more memories for the next visit to share when we drink way too much, way too late into the night, just the two of us!

It was a great Vacation, I loved it all!

Boston Part 1: Fenway Park

2007-08-22T21:54:00.000-07:00

Can I tell you how Amazing this trip was?? IT was AWESOME! the day at Fenway was insane, it was so awesome I cant even begin to tell you how great it was, but I will try, so Lets Begin:

This picture, Alec and I stood in the street, and My Cousin did as well, to take the picture of us. Why did we stand in the middle of a busy Boston Street you ask? The CITGO sign in the background is Infamous , when ever you watch a RED SOX game from Fenway, you will see this Sign above the green Monster, IF you have never noticed it before, you will now , trust me.

I dont even have to tell you where this picture was taken, But I will, Outside of Fenway. Those green doors open and that is where you enter if you enter from the front. IT was a glorious site for the eyes, let me tell you! Alec was Amazed, as Was I, even though I have been there before, IT was a long time ago , I went countless times when I was a tween , but it is very different to go with your son and see it as an adult.

Inside Fenway!! Alec took this picture of us, the blue wooden seats in the back are the original from when Fenway opened in 1912! ( we learned that on our tour, lol) we sat in them too, and they were very hard, the seats that we sat in for the game were much more comfy.

A nice lady took this of us, that is the Green monster. The problem with this pic is the lighting, if anyone can fix this for me, please email me and I will send it to you. IT is a great picture with the Monster behind us, it is a picture to be cherished forever.

while the game was going, I took this one.

Do you see that score? We were a sad bunch at Fenway till the bottom of the 5th. where you can see we took the lead, It was AMAZING. Just AMAZING. we got two runs with no outs and had the bases loaded ,and Big PAPI came up and the very first pitch , WHAM.. a GRAND SLAM!!! the park went Wild, we went wild, it was insane! it was insane, I yelled so loud, High Fived the guy in front of me, it was awesome, that game was the best, nothing compared to it! we went on to win, 10-5, it was awesome!

Ok, enough for tonight, I will update tomorrow night about the rest of our trip!

Alec and I are off to Boston!

2007-08-15T19:43:00.000-07:00

And Fenway Park!!! We leave for the Airport in 45 mins for an over night flight. We go to our Game on SAT, then we go to Cape Cod on Sunday till Tuesday when we come home! Cant wait to go, I will Blog when I get back!

Happy Birthday Sam!

2007-08-09T18:55:00.000-07:00

Sam is 5 today! He had a great day too! We had his birthday at Chuck E Cheese, ( fun for him , not so much for me)! But its his day, so I let him party his heart out at his favorite Party place. Here are a few pics:

The girl in his picture is Jules, Who he told today " I love you Jules" awwwww how sweet, Her daddy gave Sam some pictures that Jules has been making for Sam, and one says " I LOVE YOU SAM LOVE JULES" she painted it for him. Isnt that just the cutest thing? they met in pre school, and they havent forgotten one another. They will not go to Kindergarten together, but hopefully they will stay friends.

And his Birthday cake, Even though I am the red Sox fan, Sam likes the home team. And as we speak, The home team is winning and Sam is watching the game.

Ok, off for now, I have a project that I need to finish.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM!!!!

2007-07-28T19:59:00.001-07:00

Well, yes, it has been over 2 weeks since I have blogged, But I have been a busy girl, so please forgive me.

It was Brett's Birthday on Friday , he turned 16 years old!! wow, I cant believe HE is that old, freaks me out a bit, but I better get use to it. He has gone to Jeff's for the weekend with Jake, and we will have cake on Sunday when he returns. We were going to go to Silverwood this weekend, but have postponed it till the 26th of August. Too much going on right now, and it will be better to go then.

Work is Crazy! we have expanded our store from 2400 sq feet to 5000 sq feet! the wall came down last night, I will post pictures next week when the carpet has come in and we have passed insepection, it is very exciting for all of us!

Today Scott and Sam and I went on Sam;s very first ferry ride. We went over to Bremerton , which is a navy town, But the town was dead, there wasnt anyone on the streets, it was crazy. But I did find a wonderful little Pizza place, called BOSTON, and it is all red sox stuff, the owners are from Boston, and they had one of the little rooms in their place painted like Fenway Park :it was very cool. Sam had a good day, he kept talking about how much fun the ferry ride was, that was all I needed to hear!

I really like the picture I took of the Seattle skyline, looks pretty good, you should click on it to get its full effect!

2007-07-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

IT is hot hot hot here in Seattle! Tomorrow will be the hottest day so far, could reach almost 100! Thank GOD for AC!! We will be staying inside keeping cool!

Over the weekend I went to the Kenny Chesney Concert. More than just Kenny played, Here they are in order: Sara Evans, SugarLand, Brooks and Dunn, and Kenny Chesney. It was a great show. Except that we left early into the Kenny Set. Yep, you read that right, We had been there since 4:30 in the afternoon and all was well. The drunks were behaving themselves ( and no , I am not talking about me and Maegan) all was well. Then Kenny came on, and all hell broke loose! Everyone was standing on their chairs and Maegan and I couldnt see a thing! not even on the big screen, It was crazy. on top of that, The drunks behind us, were with the drunks in front of us, and the joined them, 6 people in spaces for seats for 2! In front of us! it was so wrong on so many levels, Finally I grabbed Maegans hand and we walked up to where we could talk, and we made up our mind to leave. we were sitting in the 21st row on the floor, and we had to leave cause we couldnt see! But all in all, it was a great show! I had never seen the first three ones ( there was really four before Kenny, but we missed PAT GREENE cause we were in traffic) anyway, I had never seen Sara, Sugarland or B&D before, it was worth it just seeing them!

here is a picture that maegan took of the two of us, Someone was kind enough to take a picture of us while we waited in line for the Bathroom ( a good 20 minute wait) but this is not that photo!

Have a good day !

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

2007-07-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

It should be a great day! for the first time in decades ( for real) it is a nice day here in Seattle! it should reach 90 and we should have a nice night for fireworks! This AM bright and early Sam and I walked around our neighborhood and put flags in everyone's front lawn . Scott was wondering " what if they dont want one there" and I so kindly reminded him that if they didnt want one there on this day, then they are not truely Americans and they can go live somewhere else. One neighbor came out and THANKED Sam for doing it, he of course was one of three of us who had a flag flying on their house. Granted , we only have 13 houses on our street, but still. Old guy on the Corner, Us, and Major Paul fly our flags proudly. Anyway, should be a great day, I plan on drinking margaritas all day and hanging out in the sun reading a book. BBQ tonight with Scott's brothers family, ( what joy) and fireworks later.

In 3 short days Maegan and I will be heading to qwest field for the Kenny Chesney Concert! and it should be a beautiful day for that as well!

Last Saturday night Scott and I went to the Mariners game with a girl from the store, WE had some great Seats and I got a great pic . Here that is :

Me and Karen During the 7th inning ( She was glad I didnt show up in Red Sox attire ).

And then A picture of Richie Sexson, Whom I like very much, and I am not saying it is cause of his name or not, so you think what you want.

Have a great Day Everyone!

Red Sox game From Monday night

2007-06-30T09:53:00.001-07:00

I didnt tell you about the game on Monday night. 10 of us went, 4 of us ( myself, Shelly, Cari and Sam ) sat in the terrace club seats, very good seats where they serve you at your seat, and the other 6 boys sat in the bleachers, I was able to get a picture of the boys in the bleachers from our seats, it was very cool! The red Sox lost, but Shelly and I had a good time, and we laughed at Sam when he started crying cause the Mariners were losing at one point. The poor kid. But he was later very happy as you can see by the picture. He was a confussed fan if you looked at what he was wearing he had on: A red sox david ortiz tshrt, over that he had on a MAriners t shirt, over that he had on a Red Sox sweatshirt, and on top of his head was a Mariners Hat.He tried to be diplomatic, and he turned out cheering on the home team the whole game, What am I going to do with him?

Tonight, Scott and I are going to the Mariners game, where they will play the blue Jays, and I will happily cheer on the Mariners since the Blue Jays are in the Red Sox division and they are behind the Red sox ( 10.5 games behind, but still). Tonight I should be able to get some great pictures since we are seating in the 7th row on the 1st baseline. Going with a friend who had two xtra tickets, should be a good time.

2007-06-26T22:29:00.000-07:00

Wow, I never blogged about the Graduation? I have been busy for sure, Sorry I missed that one. Let me see if I can find a picture..

Ok, I didnt get one good picture of when he was at the graduation by himself,,My mom got some good pics, but they are on a disc and I dont have time for that right now. It was a great time, I was so proud of him, and I can honestly say, I only cried a little! I cried the most when he opened his wonderful gift from me! For those who dont know, I am taking him to Boston to a Red Sox game in Aug! we will stay a week and also go to Cape Cod for a couple of days, He cant wait to go and see Fenway Park for the first time. Here is a picture of him opening the Album which told him what it was: he wasnt sure at first what it was, but then I told him to go back to the first page, and start reading what it said... when he got to the page telling him where his seats were at Fenway Park ,he looked up at me and all he said was "WOW" kind of shocked, it was very cool! My MIL took this picture of a few of us watching him open it, I thought it was a cool pic: Not a very attractive side view of me, But that is my dad behind me, and my Grandpa in the Green, and Scott in the Alabama hat, and you can see someones camcorder in there too, just a great shot alltogether.

and this adorable pic is of Sam and his second cousin HOPE, and Cousin Sydney, they played music for us all, and put on a show, and Sam was right in there with them it was very cute, he had some moves that looked just like Elvis going on, lol.

And lets not forget Sam had a graduation of his own last week, He Graduated from PreSchool! look at him with his teacher Megan, and when they were signing songs for us. We went to Applebees after to celebrate his big day!

Ok, I must go, it is late and I have to get up early, I still have lots to tell you, but this catches you up just a bit.

IT must be time to blog

2007-06-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

I have been threatened by my dear friend Maegan that I have to blog or she would remove me from her favorites list, I cant have that happen, so I am blogging.

I have been very busy, so I have in fact had great reason for my lack of writting. Lets see,

I finished the album for the gal, she loved it, ( She cried, always a good sign) I was able to relax for about 1 hour, then I had to finish the major prep for my class that I had last week, about 6 hours total, and I wanted to scream and throw the friggin card that I was prepping for 16 people out the damn window, ( I sewed on it) it was by far, the favorite in the class, but I never want to see itagain! LOL . Class was over and I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders... all my focus could be turned to the Graduation. So that is what I have been doing, in fact, I stopped my decoration of the water bottles to blog here this AM. I have been working on Layouts that I am putting on two huge tri fold poster boards, and I still need to finish His Album, which is how he finds out about the gift that I am giving him.

I have been a cleaning machine, and the house is still messy, It was Scotts Birthday on Sunda, I asked if we could postpone it for a couple of weeks, but he didnt want to. so it was very lackluster.

I gave Sam a mightyfine Haircut, if I do say so myself.

Jake plays in the Championship game tomorrow night! I hope to be able to drag my sister Kelli and her kids out to it, I dont know if she can stand the cold weather considering she is coming from Vegas, But I told her she better come, cause he asked if she would. Then I go to the Airport to pick up my cousin and her little one, and my grandfather . My mom and dad arrive with their spouses on Thursday AM , then everyone will be here for the Graduation! The party is on Friday, and the Graduation is at 5:30 Saturday night, after that the Adults are going to dinner. On Fathers day ( what a treat to get to spend the day with my dad) we will have a BBQ at Shellys. IT will be a fun filled weekend for sure! My nephew will be staying with me till July 6th ( he is 13) then he will go home to Vegas, And on July 7th Maegan and I will go to the Kenny Chesney concert at Qwest Field and we will be sitting in the 21st row! I cant wait for that! ok, That is all for now!

Happy 18th Birthday Alec!!

2007-05-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

Today my baby is 18! I am freaking out a bit, But so far, its been a good Morning, We had Breakfast , just the two of us, and we talked about his plans this summer and beyond, Little does he know that I have my own plans for him this summer!

Here is a picture of us this AM, and also, A picture of us on This day one year ago. Look at me!! LOL down 55 lbs from last year! But this day is about Alec, not me.. But look at me! LOL

We will have a bbq for him later, he is out with friends now, and I am going to finish the Album that I am doing for A customer, 28 layouts total!!! WOW!! I have 4.5 left, so not bad.

Jakes Birthday

2007-04-29T17:23:00.000-07:00

I took him out to Breakfast on SAT am, then to his game. We had a good breakfast, just the two of us ( Alec joined us for a moment, when I had to have him bring me my debit card which had been left in his wallet) . Here is a picture of us before we went to Breakfast. ( Look at how much taller he is than me)

Then We went to His Game, he had a great hit deep to left field, he got a double off of it, here he is on Second base after it. Look at the size difference between him and the kid playing Second.

I had to go to work at 12, then Jake and his friends went to Godfathers and had pizza, They came back to the house and played basketball all night long ( Lynette saw them out there at 10:30 still, I pulled them in at 11pm.)

and that was about it. he had a good couple of days. the basketball hoop was what he bought with his birthday Money from family. Yeah for him!

Happy Birthday Jake!

2007-04-27T12:03:00.000-07:00

He is 14!! how crazy that is. Tomorrow we will celebrate his big day, But This AM he woke up to this. I cant let my sons birthday go by with out some sort of cake! HE will come home to ballons too.

Random thoughts

2007-04-24T21:59:00.000-07:00

I made a fun new game for SAM last night. ITs not new, per say, but it is to him. There are these CARS scrapbook papers and I wondered what to do with it, It has all the different cars on it. So I got two sheets and cut out all the different cars, and laminated them all, and then mounted them on chipboard. the gave them to SAM and we played the memory game all day long! ( I heard Scott played a lot tonight too). He loved it, and he did so well, it was so fun watching him think , and hesitate when he thought he knew where something was, but wasnt sure.

For all you scrappers out there, that thought about making the Doodlebug naked houses ( or whatever they are called) I got one to make for the graduation ( thinking centerpiece ) and the darn adhesive that comes on the house, DOESNT stick.. I will be emailing Doodlebug to let them know this, and that I dont think I should have to tape it closed on the inside. So far, I have only completed the roof, These are very cute little items, I must tell you . When the graduation house is completed, I will post a pic for sure.

Scott took Monday off to spend with SAM.... not me, SAM. He is already in the dog house with me ( and all the girls at work for that matter) For not saying a word about my weight loss... NOT ONE WORD.... even when I called him on it, I got a "WHATEVER" from him.. he says he has said something, But , NO. And then he took Monday off to spend with SAM. Which is great, YEah for them, good father son bonding time.... BUT WHAT ABOUT ME?? He is... well he is something I cant say on this blog, THAT I Will say..

I bought these for myself, and three other ladies at work, To wear on our Aprons...

If I have to explain what this is from, then you wont understand.

Jake will be 14 on Friday!! WOW.. that is just crazy.

Down 50 LBS!!!!

2007-04-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

As of yesterday, I have lost 50 lbs! I just have time for a fast post, with Pictures!!!

Staples in his head...

2007-04-07T19:15:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Alec got hit in the head with a discus in track. he was leaning over , cleaning up, and tossing them into a pile, a team mate had a stray one, and tossed it his way, towards the pile. Alec stood up into it. His coach saw it happening , and yelled for Alec to Duck, but it was too late. The coach called my cell ( I was at work) and told me what happened, and that he was taking Alec to Urgent care to get some stitches... they used 6 staples instead. He says he is feeling fine, and is out right now with his friends. I will be taking him back to urgent care on EASTER , to get it looked at again, to make sure it is doing well. Then On Monday I am going to make him an appointment with our Doctor.

I left work early today to get to Jakes Baseball game. Here are two pictures that I took, I love the one with the fence, how the Umpire, The Catcher( JAKE) and the batter. are all Framed inside the fence. The other one, I just like the look of concentration on his face. They lost, and his hitting wasnt all that great, But I enjoy watching him no matter what.

I am pretty sure the EASTER bunny will be coming to our house in the AM, you will have to check back to see if HE/SHE did.

ITS OPENING DAY!!!

2007-04-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

I love this day! Opening day for MLB... the start of a new season, everyone is in the same boat, everyone has a chance to Win. I love it!!

The red sox, didnt please me today.. they lost. That is all that I am going to say about that.

I worked today during the day, so I could get to Jake's game tonight, It was FREEZING... I should have taken pictures of everyones portable heaters.. thats right, Portable heaters. Running on Propane. There were four there all together, Four out of Ten parents had portable heaters with them. Have times changed, or what?

It was not Opening day for Jake that was on March 17th. But this was the first game that I got to go to. I was taking pictures before I was even out of the car, I pulled up and saw him running from first to second, So I started clicking away.. It was my first real chance to see what my camera can do, The two pictures of Jake on third, one picture playing third, one picture as the runner, I was behind home plate, That is how awesome my camera is!! JAke had a line drive to deep center, driving in two runs, it was an awesome hit, and it tied the game, I am sure he enjoyed hearing his name being yelled and all the cheering. Alec and His friend Frankie came to see a bit of the game, Jake always enjoys it when his big brother comes to see him.

Work is crazy right now, Poor Crystal who is due on April 25th, and thought she was working till April 14th, had to be put on bed rest today, they may induce her next week. So it kind of threw us all for a loop with the schedule. Next week is going to be INSANE, cause the two owners will be on vacation ( spring break) . I think it will be a long couple of weeks, but we will get thru it.

Sam had kindergarten round up last Friday, he at first, didnt want to go in, didnt want his picture taken, didnt want me to leave him. But he did really well once I left to go into the next room for the parent part of it. He did write his name backwards though.. so he was MAS instead of SAM .

Ok, Head is killing me... bye for now.

Long time, no blog.

2007-03-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

So I have been reminded that it has been a month since I last blogged, and yes, this is true. But I really havent thought I had too much to say, lol.
Lets just go down the list of Kids:

Alec: Still searching for a car of his very own, He has the money for something, I dont know how great it would be, But , he wants something and he wants it now.
He has completed his senior project ,and now just has to do the presentation in April, then it is smooth sailing as he would call it. This is the boy that has 5 electives and 1 "real" class this last quarter.
He also has started hs Track season, and he is hoping to letter in it, that is his goal. He is planning his Senior trip for right after graduation, ( driving to CA with his friends) and then thinking of getting a new job since he will be 18 in MAY.

Brett: Has been a little dissapointted with Drill team this year, He gets up every stinkin day at 5 am to be at school at 6 for zero hour, and he hasnt gotten to do one of the drill competitions. He says next year he will be able to, I say screw zero hour if you cant do the drills.
He has also started umpiring again this baseball season for Kent LL. they have had more games rained out , then played so far, But who cares, it will improve soon.

Jake: His Baseball season is underway, and again, he has had more games rained out than played , but that will soon change. HE will also be going out for His Schools Baseball team, those tryouts start mid April. He is also doing the Umpiring thing to make a bit of money, he hopefully has his first game this SAT. Jake Also has a Birthday coming up at the end of April, he will be 14, and is now taller than me!!!

Sam: sam doesnt have a lot going on, except that he loves NASCAR racing... I have no idea why, I cant stand it, But he loves watching "HIS" cars going around the track. while the race is on the TV , he also has one going on in the living roomwith his Cars. Only the cars with numbers may be in the race. The ones without numbers are the "pit crew" and other people that hang out around the track.
HE also has kindergarten round up this Friday, I cant wait!! I am signing him up for ALL DAY KINDERGARTEN.... I have to pay for him to go, But who cares, This means I can work at the store in the DAYTIME!! I think we have it all figured out that I will only work 1 night, every other WEEK, which is HUGE considering I work EVERY NIGHT , night now! I am so excited about this, I cant stand it!

ME: ... Well I am doing ok, The diet is So SLOOOWWW going, I have to up the exercise for sure, I an going to buy the step bench and a DVD for it, so I can start doing that. I know that in the past, when I have had success with weight loss, it was when I was doing Step areobics. I will post a picture in a while.

Work is going really well, I got a rather large raise on my Birthday, ( I cant tell you what it is, in case anyone I work with reads the blog) I can say it will be nice to have that extra $$. Also Lesa and I will be in charge of a whole lot more around the store, including NSB, and other events. I cant wait to get into all of that!

Ok, I must run, Maegan, This was for you!

I opened my window today to scrap

2007-02-25T22:37:00.000-08:00

ya know, to let the light in, and this is what I saw what I sat down at my desk. I see some sort of Animal, Kip thought it was a fox, Shar thought it looked like a wookie? from Star wars, I thought it was a lion or something along those lines, Mae thought it was extreamly freaky and didnt think she would be opening her window if that was outside, And ALEC sees it as something we should sell on Ebay! ( he is wanting to get money for a car, lol) .

How long it has been there, I dont know, I usually dont open my blinds as far up as I did today, and I had recently moved my room around, so My desk hasnt faced this window before. It is hella creapy, for lack of better terms. What do you think ?

down -38 pounds!

2007-02-17T08:48:00.000-08:00

March 2006

- 38 lbs Feb 2007

I dont see a huge difference, But then again, I look at myself everyday looking for something, lol.

Have a good day!

FEB NEWS...

2007-02-11T18:44:00.000-08:00

So today I sent Alec off , for the first time, in my car.. all alone.. to do errands and to go to work. He got his drivers license on Tuesday. Have you done this with one of your own offsprings yet? After I got over the shock of the increased amount in auto insurance ( almost $200.00 INCREASE, a MONTH) And after we set major ground rules ( including if you get in a car accident and you are not dead or in a coma, you will quickly be dropped from my insurance, you will never drive my car again, AND you will pay the $500.00 deductible to get my car fixed), He was off. He was kind and text messaged me with each stop, to let me know he was safe, or more importantly, my car was safe. I am also making him pay half the insurance due to the fact that he didnt qualify for the "good student discount rate" and that he has a job. I kindly reminded him that this was NOT HIS RIGHT , as he seems to think, and I can take it away anytime I want, if he doesnt behave. Let me just tell you now, I hate it. I hate that he is driving in my car out there.. on the mean roads of Covington WA.

I Got Alec part of his Graduation presant last week, $700.00 part of it. I cant share it with you here, cause he just may read this blog and I dont know about it, But I can tell you, its AMAZINGLY wonderful, I dont think I can ever top this gift, And I cant wait to give it to him, Just 4 more months. If you are interested in what this fabulous gift is, feel free to email me, I will fill you in.

Sam and I filled out his Valentines for his school party today.. well , he did it, then I corrected them cause half of them were TO: sam, not FROM: sam....

We are waiting on a phone call in this house tonight, Waiting to find out what Team picked Jake for Baseball, Because he is a catcher, he already knows he made a team, The catchers were all told they were going to make it, and that they would get a phone call Sunday night as to which team.... Its Sunday night, Jake is waiting, He is cool though.. he knows he sealed his spot . I of course want to know who we will be dealing with for the next four months...

OHHH I almost forgot, I got the TODAY SPECIAL VALUE from QVC today! ITs this fabulous item:

Isnt it wonderful?? 10 x optical ZOOM 7.1 MP !!! Perfect for those baseball games, GRADUATIONS, RED SOX GAMES.. and taking wonderful family photos!!! I AM giddy I am so excited!!! I got it this AM, and I cant wait to get it!

On to other news.. I reached a milestone in my weightloss a week back, the 35lb mark!! I still havent taken a photo, but I will soon, It is so slow in the making, I hate how long it takes to lose weight. I wish I could just snap my fingers and have it be gone...

Ok, I do think that is it.. I will leave you with a little thing Sam said on Friday as I was taking him to school.
SAM: Daddy said I was going to have lots of fun on my field trip, But I dont think so.
Me: you will have lots of Fun Sam, I promise.

AFTER SCHOOL:
ME: Sam did you have a good time at the Library?
Sam: I had a REALLY GOOD TIME.... You were right...

How often do we hear that from our children??

My sister sent this to me, Thought I would post it here.

2007-01-28T17:56:00.000-08:00

1. What time did you get up this morning? 11am ( it was my day to sleep)
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?The night at the museum

4. What are your favorite TV shows? GA , DH, CSI LV, What about Brian
5. What did you have for breakfast this morning? Coffee, wheat toast with butter spray

6. What is your middle name? Lynn
7. What is your favorite cuisine? American
8. What foods do you dislike? Seafood
9. Favorite chips?Doritos
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment?Brad paisley, Time well wasted

11. What kind of car do you drive? Jeep Cherokee
12. What is your favorite sandwich? egg salad
13. What characteristics do you despise? tardiness, lying
14. What are your favorite clothes? PJ's
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on Vacation?Bahamas
16. Favorite brand of clothing?What ever looks good!
17. Where would you want to retire? ??? dont know
18. Favorite time of day? WIne Time...
19. Where were you born? Weymouth Mass
20. What is your favorite sport to watch? RED SOX BASEBALL
21. Who do you think will not send this back?COLLEEN
22. Person you expect to send it back first?MEAGAN
23. Pepsi or Coke? DIET COKE
24. Beavers or ducks? what kind of question is that??
25. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Night Owl
26. Pedicure or manicure? PEdicure
27. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? NOPE
28. What did you want to be when you were little? I dont know
29. What is your best childhood memory? Lilacs on Mark Terrace

30. Piercing? ears, belly button,
31. Ever been to Africa ? NO
32. Ever been toilet papering? NO
33. Been in a car accident? YES
34. Favorite Day of the week? SUNDAY
35. Favorite restaurant? RED ROBIN
36. Favorite Flower?DAisy
37. Favorite ice cream?Choc Chip Cookie dough
38. Favorite fast food restaurant? Wendys
39. How many times did you fail your drivers test? 0

40. From whom did you get your last email? Red sox yahoo group
41. In which stores would you choose to max out your Credit card? Any Online Scrap store, and The Red Sox Home store
42. Bedtime? after midnight

43. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? Alec
44. Last person you went to dinner with? Scott, Last night
45. What are you listening to right now? kenny chesney
46. What is your favorite color? pink
47. How many tattoos do you have? 1

there ya go, my answers. Feel free to post yours on your blog, Maegan, Jules, Cindy, Jayne......

update

2007-01-17T00:37:00.000-08:00

ok, So Tuesday Am, woke up at 5 am, looked outside, snow was falling, just started so it seemed. Turned on King 5 no report for Kent Schools... went and woke up Alec, told him to check it at 6 when he wakes up.. I go back to bed, Now King 5 is reporting a 2 hour delay for Kent Schools. Get up again.. this time knock on three doors, to tell all three boys, they have a two hour delay. Go back to bed again... check King 5 one more time just in case it changed yet again.. but no. So I close my eyes and go to sleep.
At 8 am I hear Sams door open, I also hear someone meet him on the stairs, Good I think, I can stay in bed a bit longer.... KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK on my door.. Its Alec, Telling me that they JUST NOW cancelled school for Tuesday! At 8 AM!! ok... I rolled over and went back to sleep ....

To night they have reported a two hour delay for the AM... thank god that I dont have to go thru that again!! Lets hope we get this boys off to school tomorrow, it will be a WEEK since they have been there!!
Now I am the first to tell you how great my boys are, I love them to death, But I am sooo Sick of them !!!! does that make sense?

its been two weeks since I blogged

2007-01-15T23:24:00.000-08:00

and you havent missed much, Snow, lots of snow... School has been cancelled for days on end.. good thing today was a holiday, or else today would have been cancelled too I am sure. Even Sam said to me today " Will I ever go to school again" ?? in his cute little whinning voice, lol.
It should warm up tomorrow, but that is after it snows again tonight....
I have enjoyed the time that I have had with the projects for my classes all done, It has been nice. I have had great sign ups for all my classes! It has been an exciting thing me for.. I had to wonder if my first set of classes in the fall was just a fluke on being so successful, I was worried about these three months, Would they like me again?? I thought about that alot, But they do! So much so that my card class that isnt till March 13th, Filled up , so I added another one! My FEB one filled up too, but it was time sensitive with Valentines cards, so I didnt add another one for that.
Anyway, I am still having continued success on my Diet, I am down 32 lbs now, and I will post new pictures when I reach the 35 lb mark ( Hopefully by the end of the month!) I had a MAJOR NSV today ( NSV = Non Scale Victory) I was trying on old clothes, and I tried on a pair of jeans that havent fit me since may of 2001 and they FIT!!! not as good as they had before, still a bit tight in the tummy, but I got them on and zipped and everything else~ That was so awesome ,and it made my stinkin day!!
Ok, Off for now,

lets go back a week

2007-01-01T22:33:00.000-08:00

This is from Christmas Eve, And darn it if I couldnt get a single picture of Sam with his eyes OPEN! the flash made him close them, I have about 20 of them, finally the last one he was sitting on the floor, sick of this nonsense. He was happy to pose next to his plate of Cookies for Santa, He loved his new CAR pajamas, and he couldnt wait to get to sleep so Santa could come. Christmas AM he was very happy that Santa came, and he was thrilled with all the goodies and the NOTE that Santa left for him. His favorite toy was the Play moblie Pirate Ship that he got, ( he thought Santa got it for him, but I set him straight that the old fat man doesnt bring EVERYTHING ) lol.

The other boys had a good time too, they got things they asked for ,and some things they didnt, but they enjoyed all their gifts.

Each year the boys get a new ornament from me. I hate the thought of them leaving me when they grow up, cause my tree will be empty! This was one of Alecs this year, I love this one, no explaination needed for anyone that knows me. This was the other one I got for Alec, sorry for the glare of the flash.

Ok, I am going to warn all my friends, This will not be a good year for me, Or at least the next 6 .5 months. it is KILLING me that Alec is graduating, I cry everytime I think about it, and I dont mean a little tear.. I mean cry like a baby.. I dont know how I will get thru this whole thing.... I have lots to do to get ready for it, and that will keep my busy, but I am so sad that my First born is this grown up.... I love him to death, he is such a great kid, any mom would be so lucky to have him for a son. .... Ok, I will stop now cause I am crying again..lol. I told ya!!

One more picture and I will let you go, This one makes me want to cry to, its of Brett, and he is in his ROTC uniform. IT hurts to see him like this for so many reason.. the biggest one is cause this is what he wants to do with his life.. Join the MARINES.. and while I am so proud that we have raised such a patriotic son, I hate that this is what he wants to do...

down 27 lbs...

2006-12-29T22:59:00.000-08:00

- 27 lbs.....

Can you even tell a difference? I feel the difference, But Can anyone see it? I have gone down two pant sizes! who hoo!! But can you tell...

PS, I had to take the shirt off after the picture cause it showed WAYY to much when I bent over even slightly, lol.

I need more time

2006-12-14T12:07:00.000-08:00

I just need for time for life... there are not enough hours in the day, not enough time with the boys, not enough time to create, not enough time to think, Not enough time to sleep. What is a girl to do? I know that its just cause of the time of the year that it is, But seriously, I NEED MORE TIME!
And here I sit, typing away, when I have three different projects sitting on my desk, all with a due date of the 24th,. Yes, Christmas. On top of that, ITs my Time of the month, AGAIN, this every three weeks thing must stop. I have major cramps and I really just want to crawl into bed and pull the blankets over my head. My Christmas cards are not all addressed, I still need some peoples addresses... ect ect....
Yesterday was my four weeks on Weight watchers, I have lost 9 lbs in those four weeks, So yeah, I should be happy, but I was really hoping for more. Makes a total of 24 lbs loss if you combine ( and hell yes, I will) the 15 I lost in April, and May.

came home from work the other night to hear that Sam burned his fingers on the iron. Scott left it unattened when he went to log Brett onto the computer ( Brett has to be logged on due to the things that he had been looking at online) Sam pulled his little stool up to the iron and touched it with his little fingers. He has three little blisters on those little fingers.... Needless to say I yelled at Scott, letting him know that you dont leave Irons unattended when you have a 4 year old in the house.. His comment " OK MOM" ... ok Dumbass.

Sam has his little pre-school program at school tomorrow night! I cant wait to see him up there singing! I will be sure to post some pictures. Ok, I am done, everyone have a good day!

I have been busy

2006-12-10T22:28:00.000-08:00

cant stay and chat, I am scrapping, But I wanted to show you some cards I made today! More tomorrow!

My Class tonight!

2006-12-05T12:18:00.000-08:00

ITs a pocket Calendar, from pine cone Press. I didnt want to do this one, Or let me re phrase that, This wasnt my idea, It was Sharee's, one of the owners. I told her I would do it as a class. and As of last night, I had 13 people in the class ( it is full at 15). I love this little thing!

Dont stick things up your nose

2006-12-03T22:27:00.000-08:00

dont we as moms, tell all our children that? I know I have said it a hundred times over the past 17 years, its just part of being a mom, you dont let your kids stick things up their nose.
Well My wonderful dear 4th son Sam did just that on Friday at pre-school, He took a bean that he should have been gluing onto some craft, and stuck it right up his little nose. So far in fact that it got stuck, They were about to call me, when he blew it out. I asked him why he did that and his answer was : "Cause I just did".......

Another weekend has gone past , I cant believe how fast this year has gone, I was talking to a friend today and they were doing a Santa charity thing, and I asked if it was the same one that they did last year, yes it was. But Oh My God, it doesnt seem like it has been a year, Where is the time going? before you know it I will be considered middle aged!

Talked with Scott again tonight, he left me with " you have a husband who loves you, and wants to take care of you, what more do you need? " He thinks I am waiting for my knight on a white horse to come sweep me off my feet, Um No... Sleeping Beauty I am not, I dont think that man walks among us , But a warm hug and a " honey can I rub your sore tired feet" every now and then wouldnt hurt. Untill that day, I will rub my own damn feet!

Weight watchers was opened on Thursday, down another 3 lbs, Great for being Thanksgiving, now lets just do that ... oh.....30 more times?? LOL..

Have a good week everyone!

Baby Its Cold outside!!

2006-11-29T10:38:00.000-08:00

19 degrees.. 19!! that is cold for us in the Seattle area, we are use to mild winters... we are on our second day of school closing, This all started Monday night, it came down very fast, I was at work and we closed the store an hour early. It was still a slow drive home, normally a 7 min drive turned into a 30 min drive, Lets just say I am glad I have 4 wheel drive! I made it home safe and sound, and stayed warm inside. Come Tuesday, I had to cancel my class at the store, I post poned it till Thursday, Lets hope it goes off then. The store closed at 3 Tuesday, I dont know what is going on today. I can say I drove out this AM to go to my weight watchers meeting and it WAS CLOSED!! Do you know how mad I was??? VERY MAD.... Home safe and sound.
Here are some pics from yesterday:

I have been a bad blogger lately

2006-11-27T09:40:00.000-08:00

I have let this get away, I havent posted in over a week. I would like to say that it has been because I have been so very busy, that I havent had a feww moment, and while that is partly true, it is also cause I have had nothing to say, Nothing exciting has happened to me at all. Yes, Sam has said some cute note worthly things, But I didnt bother to note them. Bad mom I am. All the boys had report cards, and only one is worthly of noting here , and that was JAKE, 4 A's 2 B's ( and one of those B's was in BAND) the other B was really a B+ and that is in Algebra, 9 th grade math, and he is in 8th grade, so YEAH FOR HIM!!! the other two.... not much to say except that Brett is now grounded till I see fit to take him off, and I told Alec to drop a class, He insists that this class that he has the bad grade in is the only one that he has learned anything in.. so he doesnt want to drop it. UGHHHH I wanted to shake him!
Speaking of wanting to Shake someone, SCOTT would be that other someone. We kind of got into it this weekend, And he made a comment that bugged me to no end, he said, And pardon the pun, " I am all about keeping up with the Jones's" that is what motivates me to do everything in my life!!! What the hell???? I was hurt that he thought that about me, but More hurt that he doesnt know me at all if he truely thinks that about me, Seriously, ?? He really thinks that is me? I couldnt even begin to understand where that came from, when I asked for a example, I didnt really get one, I got a random one... to do with the boys playing baseball?? not too sure what that meant, but OK.
Ok, I have to go get some things done, but I will leave you with a Sam Quote:
SAM:" I dont like to eat Black Turkey" ...
ME: " Sam, there isnt a Black Turkey"
SAM: " I dont want to eat a Black Turkey"
ME: " Sam, the turkey is white, not black, where did you see a Black Turkey"?
SAM: " On TV, I dont want to eat a BLACK TURKEY"!!

Check this out!

2006-11-14T15:09:00.000-08:00

The Store owner got this email from a customer last night:

I just wanted to tell you that Tami in your store is SPECTACULAR!!!...She has always helped me find things in the store and she always GREETS everyone with a wonderful smile!!! She always helps them find what they need.

She makes me want to come back in and bring my friends in as well!

I just thought it is good to tell an owner when they have made such a great choice in an employee.

Thanks
MaryAnn

How cool is that? Susan from the store forward it to me last night. you never hear the good stuff, so I think that is very cool.

Ok, I have a class tonight, My hand hurts from punching 375 circles.. yes, 375 circles... TWICE!! it was very annoying, and I am not looking forward to doing this again when I have the same class in TWO weeks. I did a repeat of the class cause the first one filled up so fast!
Here is the class:

Ok I am off !

Are you sitting down?

2006-11-06T23:42:00.000-08:00

two post from me, in the same friggin day! I know, Shock of your life, but I had to share these funnies with you, coming to you from my Friend Sharon, the one who sat near the man with gas in Jury Duty last week.....

This one is my favorite!

Enjoy the funnies!

I had a post and now its gone

2006-11-06T08:32:00.000-08:00

It even had a picture of Lisa B in it too... from a class that I took from her on Friday at the convention, And it was here, and then it just vanished. The blogging gods are not with me today.
I will recap: Went to the Bellevue convention on Friday , Took two classes, one from Lisa B.
The other had the potential of being very good, BUT the gal that was scheduled to teach it, didnt, and no-one said why , I was upset cause I picked the class based on the teacher, I will be writting the company today to ask for an explination on this matter. I had a great night Friday night, A good night sleep, A much needed good night sleep, after a highly emotional week. I dont usually sleep well, but Friday night , I did.
Before I forget, here is the Picture that the first post had: I dont know who she is talking to, and I dont know the lady in the back, this was the best picture that I got, so here ya go. I did get a chance to talk to her, I called her over to mine and Zora's table, and told her how we met on her MB years ago, and have been friends since.. I didnt tell her that we no longer visit her MB, cause she didnt need to know that detail.

I spent all of Sunday putting class kits together for my class Tuesday night, When I Wasnt doing the class kits, I was making my mothers Birthday present. I have been working on this since the summer, I cant show you now, but I will show you after NOV 22, once I know she has it in her hands, It was ALOT of work.. but all worth it cause she is my mommy.

I also told you in the post that has since vanished about Sam, and how he tells his big brothers what to do, It was cute at the time, but now I dont feel like re-capping that, so you missed out on a Sam story, Have a good day!!

2006-10-30T23:42:00.000-08:00

a couple of Pictures in My Grandmothers Memory, Rae-Rae passed away Sunday afternoon in Boston, And while We all knew this was going to happen, it doesnt make it hurt any less. I know she is in a better place, and is dancing and singing where she is, I know she is happy now.. but I am hurting, I am sad to have lost such a great lady in my life, I have so many wonderful, happy, funny memories from my time with her, I will cherish them and always share them with my boys. I will always remember her with her smiling face and how she would break out in a song whenever she felt like it. .....

In these pictures are the same two ladies... My Great Grandma Ramona, And My Grandmother, Rae-Rae . the picture on the left was taken in the early 1920's, the one on the right was taken on the 4th of July in 1976. .. This is how I will always remember her, Happy and full of life...

I just Scored 240 cards ....

2006-10-28T21:11:00.000-07:00

for a class I am teaching in Nov. .. 240 cards... 12 x 20.. 12 cards.. 20 kits. Why am I scoring them You ask?? ( that is what a Co-worker asked me) My answer: Because I want them to actually finish the 12 cards in the 2 hour time slot. I pre-cut everything, and if Me scoring them the cards for them will help them, then there ya go... Because seriously, how many of us have half finished projects from Conventions, or classes, Projects that we say we will do, and we never do? And I dont want that for the people that pay me money to take My class.. I want them to say, " Hey, we like taking classes with Tami, we leave with a finished project! ".... So again,.. 240 cards just scored... Wine anyone?

At the store today...

a lady came in and said she had never scrapped ,and wanted to do an album for her son, all four years of his Football for High school, ( he is just now a freshman) she wanted to know where to get started. She didnt like the Album I showed her, The fact that it had page protectors was a turnoff for her. She wanted to plop everything of the page and use photo corners . She mentioned having newspaper clippings and was going to laminate them. I told her she should spray them with the Archival spray, so they wont yellow and fall apart, Again, she said she would laminate them.. again I said, Spray them first... She wasnt listening to me. She wanted the album to have more pages, Said that she could fill the whole album with the first year alone, I suggested more than one album, maybe one for each year.. she said no, she wanted one for all four years, and then for college too... ( she must think he is something) .. I left her alone after that, So my question is : Why ask for help if your not going to take it? From someone who knows what they are talking about too no less... Makes no sense to me...

Conversation with Sam tonight when I got home:

Sam : I have shorts on today, its not hot, but I dont care
Me, : I see that Sam, why dont you have pants on, its really cold out:
Sam: Cause, this is what I ... The Sky is Blue mom....

LOL, Where that came from I have no idea, it was like it just hit him, HEY, the SKY IS BLUE!! it was pitched black when he said it to me too.. To be four again, you can have random thoughts and say them outloud, without people thinking you didnt take your meds....

Updated pics!

2006-10-19T12:42:00.000-07:00

This is the picture of Alec and his date, and Friends from Homecoming. He had a fun time, they all were very grown up for the night, Dressed up, A limo, dinner at a very Fancy restuarant. I am sure it was a night to remember.. He is doing good, the ankle is healing, the swelling is coming down ,and even though he shouldnt be, he is walking without his crutches, He is very anxious to get back to working out and getting ready for wrestling season, which starts in just a month. I will keep you posted on his progress.

I was able to get to another of Jakes Football games this week, They lost, But it was fun to watch, I love being able to take pictures of him too , I am not sure if I can get to another game, I think Tuesday I will be able to get to that one for a short time, then I will have to leave to get ready for my class, I may not even be able to make it to another of Jake's game... At least I got to two of them! I would have liked to have gotten better pictures of him on the sidelines, They are good to scrap He is # 55, the center in this photo..

The boy that was injured last thursday at Jakes Game is still in his medical induced coma, But he has progressed nicely. They wont know much till he wakes up, the extent of his damage, he may be totally fine, but they just dont know. He has responded to certain things that make his outcome look bright. Keep him in your prayers, His name is Zackery. His Family have set up a website to let everyone keep up on his progress, they update it daily, and you can read about how he is doing, the site is http://caringbridge.org go to " a caring bridge site" off to the right, then in the spot enter a caring bridge site, you enter " zackerylystedt" all one word, and you will be taken to his site , I suggest you start with the first entry in his journal, where it explains how he was hurt, then they have updated it daily with his progress.

Football injuries, Homecoming, and A prayer ...

2006-10-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

First I need to ask all that visit my blog, even if your not the praying type, to please Keep a young boy named Zach in your prayers. Zach is an 8th grader, who was playing football For His School, Tahoma, Against Jakes Team, Mattson, on Thursday afternoon, Zach took a hard hit from one of Jake;s team mates early in the 1st quarter, he stayed down for a bout a minute, but then got up and went to the sidelines. He told his coach and his Dad that he had a headache, but went back in at the end of the game, after two plays he went back to the side line where he collapsed, had a siezure and stopped breathing. The medics were able to get him breathing again, where he was then life flighted out to Harborview Hospital in Seattle. He underwent surgery that night to release the swelling on his brain, they left his skull open in two places, and his outlook doesnt look good at all, he has been in a coma since this happened. Zach is an only child, and his parents are just devasted. That is all I know right now. Also keep the young man Dalton, who hit him, in your prayers, it was a clean hit, just a freak thing, and I am sure Dalton is just a mess as you can imagine. I will post anything when I know it.

Moving on to My Son ALEC, who injured his ankle on Friday in a pick up football game. I was happily scrapping away at my store ( doing a LO of Alec wrestling ) and he called, telling me he couldnt walk, he thought he should go to urgent care, Alrighty I said, He got a ride there, where I met him, and his hugely swollen ankle.. Keep in mind, this was the DAY BEFORE homecoming Dance. Xrays showed he has a chip bone and a very sprained ankle. So on Crutches he went.... I am sure his date is thrilled, but HE wanted to be sure he still went, promised he wouldnt dance, he just said he was NOT missing this. Here he is when he and his Friend Frankie stopped by my store so I could see them, before they went to pick up their dates:

Handsome young men if I do say so myself. I will post pictures of them with their Dates when I have them.

Computer Error

2006-10-12T11:49:00.000-07:00

I have had computer problems, I am not sure what the problems have been, but it has taken me forever to post anything, even on other blogs, ( I finally got one on Maegans last night, but it took 3 tries!) So I havent been in too much of a mood to try to do this.
What has been going on?
It was our Five year Wedding Anniversary last Friday, I worked, We had dinner on SAT. We were going to go away for the night, But couldnt get the sitter thing together, Then planned to do it on the 21st, But I think not now. Honestly, once the day has come and gone, I dont have the desire. I do want to buy tickets to the NUTCRACKER again this year, And I have been looking into that, Scott does want to go again ( YEAH!) so I think we will do that, We had great seats last year, But Scott was Sick, and I was taking medication that made me fall asleep when I sat still, ( LOL, seriously, I fell asleep during the first act, and it wasnt because I was bored!) So we thought it would be fun to go when we were not drugged or sick. Sam will be spending the night at his Grandmas on the 21st, so maybe we can still go to dinner, I am off at two that day, so I want to do something!
I was able to go to one of Jakes Football games On Tuesday, I didnt get any pictures of him on the sidelines, cause he played the whole stinkin game, Both Offense and Defense. So Here is a picture but honestly, I think I am the only one who can find Jake, He is # 55. I did get this one shot of him on the side lines, Notice him tucking in his shirt, The coach yelled at all the boys before the game, telling them he doesnt want to see the T-shirts under their uniforms, so all the boys kept tucking in their shirts the whole time :

Onto other news, I have been busy with my Classes, I had a tool class the other night, it went well, Got thru it all in the Allowed time, They made two cards, learned how to use a bunch of Scrapping Tools, and They all had fun! Next tuesday I have a basic's class, and the following Tuesday I have my Bo-bunny Christmas Accordian album/tin Class. That one will be very detailed, but I am trying to make it go as smoothly as I can by pre-cutting lots of stuff. Ok ,Off to play with Sam.

I have been TAGGED

2006-10-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

My dear Friend Maegan Tagged me, I have to post the 5 weirdest things about me... ok, here goes:

Weirdism #1: I cant listen to people Chew... Eat .. when eating a meal with someone there must be Noise , a TV, a Radio, Chatter in a restaurant, if it is quiet I have to leave the room. This doesnt go over well with most men in my life.

Weirdism #2: I hate the noise of someones fork, or spoon hitting the plate or bowl.. IT gives me a sick sick feeling in my stomache, almost like an anxiety attack, its that bad, This also goes with the sound of people sticking their hands in a chip bag, Ever hear of putting them on a plate?

Weirdism #3: I ( like Maegan) wont prepare Raw Chicken or A Turkey, in fact, I have been having Fred Meyer Prepare my Turkey dinners for the last few years, cause I wont stick my hand in that thing , Chickens are just as gross, they smell when they are raw.. they smell like a bird.

Weirdism #4. I cant sleep in the same room with my Husband, We have realized that we sleep better alone, I have to sleep with a Fan going, and he cant, he says it kicks up the dust ( which I am sure it does cause dusting isnt high on my list of priorities) I have to have the window open even in the dead of winter, I need to feel the fresh air blowing in from outside. So, My Husband and I have not slept in the same room for well over a year, And I must say, I have been sleeping better and better since then.

Weirdism #5 I Cant listen to anything, a TV show, A Person on the radio, ANYTHING when they talk about the New York Yankees, I have to change it... Good or bad that they are going to say about that dreadful team, I cant listen, I turn into a child and stick my fingers in my ears and sing "LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA" the whole time... Its weird, and I think goes beyond my love for the Red Sox.. They just make me sick.

Now for The Rules:List 5 Weird things about yourself or your pets.Tag 5 Friends and list them.Those people need to write on their blogs about 5 weird things, state the rules, and tag 5 more people.Don’t forget to let the people you tag know by posting a comment on their blog!

So I will TAG : Jules , Shar, Jayne, Darla, and Cindy! ! Have fun ladies!

Had my first class last night!

2006-10-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

And it went well, it was a very involved class, this one was the Card tin, so the had to use the mod podge and cover the TIN and do the insides as well. There were a couple of ladies that were pretty much beginners to scrappin, so things didnt come as easy to them as some of the others, But It all went well, they finished in the time they had , and they all left with pretty tins! IT was a full house with the sell out of the class too!
I have a NOV class that has already sold out, so I added another date for that , ( that was the Advent Calendar class) . So far , so good! I think I will do a bit more pre cutting for my next tin class which is in a few weeks, just so they dont even have to think about it!

This was what we made last night:

What a week its been

2006-10-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

I have been working non stop at preping for my first class, Which is Tuesday Oct 3rd( yes, in 2 days) I have made templates, Cut 12 months to size, cut ribbon All for 15 people! it has been alot of work, and I am hoping it pays off in the end with a smooth successful class, The fact that it is SOLD OUT ( yes, you read that right) means that there wont be alot of wiggle room, so I hope all my preping and pre-planning works out for me and the students. I know most of the people in the class, All are customers, Some very regulars, two friends, so I feel good with who I have and I dont plan on being nervous!
But, I am sick, I have had a sinus cold since Friday, I cant tell if its getting better, or worse, I tried to rest as much as I could today, but that just didnt work out too well. I need to still do some things , but I plan on stopping all work at 9 pm and sit down in front of the TV and chill out for the rest of the night.
I had to ground Brett and Jake tonight, There is the standing rule that you need to be home from friends house's by 6pm on a school night, They were out together at Bretts Friends house, and waltzed in the door at 6:35, By 6:15 they were already grounded in my mind. When I asked them what time they should have been home, they DIDNT KNOW... Hello.. same time for the last 3 years... I told them it was rude of them to walk thru the door whenever they pleased, and not even calling me, Making me worry about them, I dont ask alot of them, But I do ask that they come home on time, and to let me know where they are... maybe now they will remember.

Sam on Friday after School
Sam: we beat the girls today
Me: doing what Sam?
Sam: Peeing and washing our hands....

LOL, And you always will Sam.

2006-09-25T12:10:00.000-07:00

DRopped Sam off at Pre School today, While we were waiting for the doors to open, one of the dad's asked me " have you ever seen the movie 'fever pitch' "? I said , yes, several times, Why? " Dad Said " cause that is what you remind me of" Thank you Dad at pre-school, I take that as a compliment. (for those of you who dont know it, My car is decked out in Red Sox stuff, My personalized Plate that says BOSRDSX for starters, the frame around the plate, 2004 world series champions, the stickers in each corner of the windows , One that says " Just say no, to the New York Yankees" the one going across the top of my back window, The one on the side window... You get the picture.) We then went on to talk about Baseball a bit, and about the Seahawks game yesterday.
Then I went to starbucks and Meet Sharon for Coffee, Where we sat and talked for 1 hour and 45 mins, It was fun to chat and catch up, and we will do it more often for sure. Then I went back to get Sam, and we are now having lunch, Sam learned how to STOP DROP AND ROLL today in School, and he showed me all he learned, He is so cute, he was rolling around on the floor back and forth, asking if he was done... all the while covering his face with his hands.

That is it for now, I have a busy week ahead of me, lots to do to prepare for my first class next Tuesday! I will be dropping Sam off at School on WED and FRiday and heading to the store to prepare, I love the paper trimmers we have there, I think I will have to invest in on for my home , but its a HUGE investment, ( around 200.00) , Huge for me. HAve a good day!

Class Open house was Today!

2006-09-23T20:20:00.000-07:00

And it was GREAT!! All the teachers had a great sign up tur out, and I did Great too! So far I have :
7 people for my Basic Grey Card keeper
8 for my Bo-Bunny christmas tin
6 for my Cards
9 for my Advent Calendar
2 for my chalkboard
4 for my pocket calendar

How cool is that? AND they can sign up UP till the day before the class! 15 is the most that there is space for in a class. I am So excited, I am Beyond excited! I am also teaching the Getting started class, and its free for anyone to attend, I get paid the same amount for 1 person as I would for 15, I have one of those every month and I have one signed up for OCT. My Tool class didnt do well at all, but I ran out of room on my table ( isnt that crazy?) so I wasnt able to set out the tools and projects for that one, But its all Good, I couldnt be any happier! And I have at least ONE friend in every class!
So , let me say to you all, thank you very much for the support you have given me, and thank you for attending my classes!

2006-09-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was the day, the day that all of the Class projects went up and people could start signing up for them, I didnt expect much on the first day, We are having a class open house on SAT and we have been talking about that for almost a month, And if they sign up AT the class open house, they get 10% off, ( I found out yesterday that they get 10% off till the end of the month as well) . I did have one person sign up for three of my classes yesterday , and one for one, And Many people take note of whats days what was on, I am hoping for lots of sign ups this SAT, but some of these classes go out thru DEC, so really, they can wait till the day before to sign up for them.... But anyone who ever has done anything like this feels the same way, you fear that no-one will like them, no-one will sign up... and your left wondering if your not as good as you thought you were ( haha, seriously though) .... Wish me luck, keep your fingers crossed, send good vibes.. all that good stuff.

On another note, can I just say that I LOVE my new co-workers? One is A younger girl ( she is young enough to be my Daughter, she just turned 18 in June) she and I work mostly together, three nights a week, and a few Saturdays, she is sweet as can be. And Lesa , all I can say about Lesa is that we are so very much alike, Like two peas in a pod, she is a joy to work with, and she is also one of our teachers, and feels just like I do.. She is just a great lady. Not that my other co-workers are not, I just wanted to comment on these great new ones!

IS it SAT already?

2006-09-17T00:55:00.000-07:00

well, its really Sunday already! but I havent been to bed yet, So its Still SAT to me. My week just seemed to get away from me, Between Getting Sam up and out of the house so early 3 times a week, and the fact that I wasted 6 hours of my day off with a Migraine , I feel like I have done nothing... But I know that is not true, So why do I feel like it? I put all the finishing touches on ALL my class projects, And I WAS DONE!!! WAS DONE.. key words.. I somehow forgot that we had agreed to make Make n Takes for the Class open house next SAT, Each teacher is going to make some.. so, I must have not wanted to hear this and I let it fly right over my heard, cause it was Thursday of this week when I "first heard of it" LOL... so I had to think some more? I thought I was done with that for a while... So I came up with a make n take, and I am just oh so cleaver that I am inserting a small list with all my classes and the dates, just so they dont forget, they will be using the new Making memories Notch Tool on this make n take.. ... And then I had to do My Teacher BIO For the store, A 9x9 Layout all about me.. Lovely. I did one tonight, And I do think it turned out pretty good, But I still need to add my picture , I was waiting till Wed when I get my haircut to take a new one. So what do you think?

Girls are pretty fine..

2006-09-12T11:52:00.000-07:00

That is what SAM thinks... but lets back track here a bit, I came home from work last friday to hear that Sam had declared that he didnt like little girls ( something to do with pre-school I am sure) So we talked about this for a bit, only to find out that everything I said ( like , Cari is a girl, and you love her ) he had an answer for.. " Cari is my cousin" " Auntie Shelly is My Auntie" .... so I gave up, I told his brothers about it, ( Alec knew he had never gone thru such a phase, lol) and had hoped they would tell him something good about girls. I dropped him off at school on Monday , and mentioned this to his teacher, in case he didnt want to sit near one, or something, ( I mentioned this AFTER she commented on Sams never ending supply of Baseball shirts, lol) Teacher Teri said ok, We will see if we can fix it.... Picked him up after school, and I asked him how he felt about little girls today.. and he said " Mom, Girls are pretty fine".. I tried not to laugh, and said " oh, you do like girls today?" and he said " yup, They wear pretty Clothes, I wear cool clothes, girls wear pretty clothes" .. Ok Teacher Teri, You said something to make him like them again....

5 years later....We will Never Forget

2006-09-11T08:02:00.000-07:00

Where we were when we first heard about the attacks on the WTC. It was just after 7 am when I walked into the living room, the boys were watching "spongebob squarepants" on Nick , and I noticed the light flashing on the phone meaning I had a voice mail. Much to my shock, I had several, first one from my mom in CA, she was asking me if I was around , where was I, why didnt I pick up the phone? ( my first thought was, 'mom, its a Voicemail, I cant hear you' )... I deleted that message, then My next one was from my sister Shelly, her message was a bit more disturbing, " Tami, where are you? Are you watching TV? the whole world is blowing up around us, At least that is what it seems like, call me" .. At this point I hung up the phone and told the boys to put on channel 5 , they did, and I wasnt sure what I was seeing... I just sat there on the couch and watched in shock, the boys were asking what was going on, where this was, ect.. I didnt even know what to say. I then called Scott at work, (something you just dont do) and asked him what was going on..That was when I first heard his name, 'Bin Laden'. Now, I may have heard his name before, But It didnt click, I had no clue who this monster was, but after hearing the way Scott said it, ( he added a few colorful words to his name) I never forgot it. I had to take the boys to school, I remember the drive with Alec, he was in 7th grade, and we listened to the radio on the way.. when he got out we told each other we love you.. it was a strange feeling, letting your children go that morning. After Brett and Jake got on the bus, I just sat in front of the TV and cried all day ( I didnt have to work), Thankful that everyone I knew and loved were safe....

Come visit my Scrapping Blog

2006-09-10T19:16:00.000-07:00

I have been busy working on all my projects for my classes, and I have added just a few of them on my scrap blog, Go take a look and see what you think..

http://myscrappingcreations.blogspot.com/

2006-09-06T22:33:00.000-07:00

FIRST DAY OF PRE-K!! I was Freaking out.. But Sam did very well. I have been trying to upload the pics ALL day, but something is up, Still dont know if it will work tonight, But It was time to post about his Big Day!

It worked.. OK This picture is from before we left the house,

And then it was off to School, We left a bit early Jake wanted a ride cause he had his SAX with him, So We dropped him of at School then arrived at Pre-K a bit early, so we waited in the car till the door opened, Then we went in, Found his cubby, Put his back pack in it, and we went in the other room and Sam found a spot on the rug, he wanted to sit on the "S" but another little girl was on it, And so I asked him if he wanted to sit on the "A" but he said no, ( I think it was cause there was a girl on the "Y", making it a bit too close for comfort, so he picked the "C" by this time I was trying not to cry, and I was taking his picture, Watching him.. he was so amazed by all that was around him, I knew he would enjoy his time there, But I on the other hand, wasnt enjoying MY time there, So I left quickly before I started to cry and he could see me, I told him to have fun, and I left. Here is a picture of that:

And then one more picture from before we left, Sam wanted me to take a picture of His Backpack.... :

When I picked him up he was so happy to see me, Jumped into my arms, we then dinned on MCDonalds, and Sam told me all about the playground... and that they sang the 'itsy bitsy spider'.. and that he ate his snack and drank his juice.

I can tell you all right now, I am not going to like this year, I have Sam doing this Pre-K thing, and Alec being a senior on me, I am not liking this growing up thing....

No Laboring for me today!

2006-09-04T21:58:00.000-07:00

I did nothing on Labor day... I did not labor AT all, In fact, I watched alot of TV... since I have been facing the fact that the RED SOX will not be in the playoffs this year, I have been in a bit of a bad mood, So I thought it was time to bring out the DVD's on the 2004 Season ( for those of you that have been living in a cave, The RED SOX won the WORLD SERIES in 2004). I started out with watching the Movie, " Fever Pitch" which is a great movie about a guy who is in love wht the sox, and how he cant seem to keep a love life when they are playing, But in the winter, he is a great Boyfriend, They just happened to film this movie the year they won the world series, they were going to end the movie with the sox losing, Just as they have every year for the past 86 years, But then, They kept winning, And winning, and WON, So they changed the ending of the movie... Just a little tid bit in case you didnt know. ... Then I put in the Fabulous DVD of the 2004 playoffs and WS games, Denis Leary is the narrator in this DVD, I love him. That one lasted 90 minutes, And I loved every moment of it. After it was over and I returned to the present day, I then went and took a nap, ( major headache, tried to get rid of it) .
School starts in the morning, Oh yeah..... I have a child leaving the house every hour starting at 5:45 am, Brett will leave then for Drill team for ROTC , Then Alec leaves at 6 : 45 am.. Jake to follow at 7:45, and on Sams pre-k days, he will have to be there at 8:45... Thank god I am a fan of coffee... But I am also a fan of sleep, so where does that leave me??

Red Sox Pitcher Has Cancer

2006-09-02T08:41:00.000-07:00

This was released yesterday, There had been talk all week that this was what was wrong with him, and it was just confirmed:

BOSTON (CP) - Baseball has become secondary for the Boston Red Sox as they deal with the news that one of their young pitchers has a treatable form of cancer.
The Red Sox released word today that left-hander Jon Lester has been diagnosed with a treatable form of anaplastic large cell lymphoma, and will undergo treatment within the coming week.
Lester underwent a battery of tests over the past week after battling a sore back.
He was diagnosed with enlarged lymph nodes, and a biopsy revealed the lymphoma.
Red Sox manager Terry Francona visited Lester yesterday prior to the Sox opening a four-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Lester is 7-2 with a 4.76 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 81 1-3 innings

Lester is a young guy, I had to chance to get a few pictures of him in July when he was here, and commented at the time that he was just a baby, :

I have whinned and groaned about how much they have lost lately, and how they have so many people injured, but those have nothing on this one. I wish him a speedy recovery..... I can say that the Red sox now have 10 people sitting out with injuries, and included are all of their starting pitchers.. so basically , when you are watching the RED SOX play, your really watching their AAA team play,...

Pre-schools

2006-08-30T23:01:00.000-07:00

that has been what I have been in search of these past few days, A Pre-school that has an AM opening for Fall ( yes, next week) for Sam. isnt an easy task to say the least, Because most people, ( the smart ones who are not wondering if their child should go to pre-school) do this in the SPRING.. But no, not me, The truth be told that I didnt want to send Sam to pre-school, I was perfectly content to keep him home with me, This is after all, the last year that I have him home with me, And I am PERFECTLY aware of how fast time flies ( perfect example is Alec, Who will enter the 12th grade on TUESDAY, 12th GRADE... I honestly remember HIS first day of Kindergarten like it was yesterday, I remember what he was wearing, I remember how we walked him to school Me pushing Brett and Jake in the double stroller, Alec walking beside us, And how excited Alec was when we entered his room to find that his little desk was in the same group as Kaitlyns, the only person he met at the 'meet the teacher' thing a few days before. Alec and Kaitlyn remained the best of friends for two years, till we moved to WA.) Anyway, getting off track here, TIME FLIES TOO FAST!!!!! I dont want another child going off to school, Pre-K or not!!! But Scott INSISTED that Sam had to go.. so off he will go, and I will cry and cry I am sure. But I must be honest, I will be crying all year with Alec graduating, Dont even get me going on that one!
Why must they grow up?

The Tshirt says it all

2006-08-27T22:48:00.000-07:00

Sam this weekend with His grandma at the hotel that he left his blankie at.

Long time no BLOG

2006-08-27T20:07:00.000-07:00

I have been busy.. Busy doing stuff... Thats my story and I am sticking to it!

Big story around here, Sam went away for the weekend with his grandma, She took him to the zoo, and the played in the fountains, and they stayed at a hotel in Tacoma, where they played some more. Sam arrived home today minus his favorite Blankie... NOT GOOD, And this blankie, by the way, use to be Jakes favorite Blankie, and when I gave it to Sam when he was 6 months old, he instantly became attached to it. He finds it in the dark just by touch.. ( maybe smell?) it was a Gymboree baseball blanket from 1997! there is no way you can find another one.. So what does Mommy Do? I first call the 800 # for the hotels, cause I dont know WHICH Sheraton she stayed at in Tacoma, they were very helpful, and told me which one it was, where I was then directed to lost and found.. back to the front desk I went when she couldnt locate My Mother-in-laws room.. Front desk told me what room it was, so Back to the lost and found lady I went to. They said they would search the room, and call me back....... Phone rings... I'm sorry, I cant locate the dirty old blanket... Maybe it got sent down the laundry shoot and it will show up in the laundry, if that happens they will call me back.... Hour later , they called! It was in the laundry shoot , her description of it " its kind of yellow with blue baseball caps and baseballs on it, looks like a baby blanket with some holes in it?" Yeah lady, that is the Must have, cant sleep without it, gone through two sons, smelly blanket, that I now will drive to Tacoma to pick up so sam can sleep. Thank GOD she found it!!

Again, we wont talk RED SOX,, they were just in town.. had tickets to all games... they lost ALL Games... thats all I am saying about that.

I am trying to start a Scrap blog, showing all my projects for classes, But that will wait till all projects are finished, and I have time to take the pictures and load them, But I have been working on getting the projects finished first!

the reason for my bad mood ...

2006-08-21T22:39:00.000-07:00

I am in a bad mood.... I have been since Friday, And I know why I am in this bad mood.. Its the Red Sox. They just lost 5 in a ROW in Boston, To the Skankees.... 5 In a ROW!! What the ??? this is crazy, it was heartbreaking for any Red Sox Fan... Alec came in tonight and said " we will not even talk about baseball".. No Alec, we will not... So There ya go, the reason why I have been in such a bad mood since Friday AM....

Flip Flop Family

2006-08-20T00:16:00.000-07:00

Last night when I got home and told Scott about my shitty day, he asked me what he could do to make it better, I didnt have an answer, so nothing. Well This morning I woke up to Breakfast, Coffee and He had emptied the dishwasher... I dont know if that was what he was doing to try to make things better for me, But it was a good way to start my day.
I finally got together with my sisters around 6 ish tonight, Shelly's DH Norm, took us to dinner, It was nice, Kelli wasnt very talkative, Shelly was thinking of all the many things she had to do before they leave tomorrow on their trip, But I just enjoyed being out . After that we went back to her house where Norm the bartender made me a couple of cosmos... We then took this fabulous picture , ( story on the picture, I have been looking at this Jolee's thing in my store for a couple of months, It is this adorable title, with flip flops, saying Flip flop Family.. I have been dying to use it, but I dont have a " flip flop family " in my house, so I got my sisters, Shelly, Kelli, Carrie and Myslef to take this picture, Kelli and Shelly thought it was crazy, ( although one of them did admit it was cute) and Carrie of course enjoyed it... So here is the picture that I had to have.

on to what my night has been like alone... well it has been quiet that is for sure... I took Shellys Dog tonight with me cause I needed some company ( he is staying with me while she is gone ) . I must say, I am not an alone person, I like being alone.. but not in this big house . Nope, Not a fan.

2006-08-18T23:40:00.000-07:00

Ok, For the past 5 years, I have had two last names, I have Been Tami Jones with the IRS ( actually I have been Tami Jones with the IRS since 1987, minor detail) And Tami Shumate with everything else, ( checking account, DMV, things like that). So today I go to deposit my check with my bank, The VERY SAME bank that I have had for 10 years, And Oh, excuse me, They wont take my Check cause its made out to TAMI JONES.... I went OFF on them Asking them where the hell are their Higher standards of Banking that they speak so loudly of( bank of America, that is there logo) the Bitch told me , THIS WAS their higher standard of banking, She then told me she didnt like my tone of voice, and I then Asked her if anyone has ever told her she was a bitch? ( Not cool, I know, But I was livid) I then left and told the bitch that I would go to another branch that would happily take my money, she told me she didnt think so.. But I did...and the other bank took it, No problem. But now I am pretty sure there is a flag on my account ( I am sure the bitch wrote it down) to not take Any checks with Tami Jones... So its time to change my name BACK to Tami Jones. Why , you ask? Because, I have been her since 1987, and I like it, its easy, I dont have to spell it for anyone, and I have three sons with that name. Scott on the other hand doesnt think its so cool.. I said I would make it JONES-SHUMATE.... to make him happy to cover ALL of my sons, Scott doesnt like it. I just about dont care... I will be heading to the DMV this week for a New licsence with the name JONES-Shumate...
That was just the start of my not so great day... I love my sisters, but it seems that we cant all just hang out, See, whenever Kelli comes here, She stays with Shelly, Never with me.. so there I always am, going to Shellys , and hanging out with them.. but I always feel left out, like I am missing out on the good stuff when I am not around, and when I am there, Well I feel ignorned really. I asked Kelli to stay here Sat night since I am going to have the house to myself, and Shelly didnt think that she needed to... Whatever I said to that, no biggie, But I took half of SAT off to hang out with them and then today I was told that they may be in Seattle ..... ok, So why did I take half the day off ? Why did I bother? cause when I said I didnt get off till 6 , I was told that was late... ok, so Now I am to call in the AM and find out if they will be home, and not go to seattle ( in shellys defense, she doesnt want to go, they got some free tickets to a movie for the kids and the kids want to go, ) I am so upset by this all that all I want to do is go home at 2 ( early) and be alone.... I hate when I feel like I am on the outside looking in when it comes to this sister realationship that we all have.... I am fine, one on one, as I think they are too.. and maybe I am the only one feeling this way, In fact, I know I am the only feeling this way. ok, I am done bitching....

What's a Girl to do?

2006-08-17T23:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, so, can I tell you how excited I am about Saturday? I will be home alone.. ALONE, for the entire night, Till Sunday noonish! Can you believe it? I am not sure WHAT I will do , But I am thinking about Scrapping, ( of course) and cleaning my scrap room... sleeping sounds good too, I am just not sure. My sis Kelli arrived today from Vegas, so I will be going over to Shellys to hang out with them, but I figure by 8 pm, here I will be, in this big house all alone.... whats a girl to do?

So Sam has been such a crack up lately.. tonight I was told that he was caught " getting rid of the dead roses", But the bad thing was, He cut all the Good roses ... yup, just snipped them off.. Scott found him with the prunners in hand.... Sam's reaction?? " Dad, I am really really sorry" ..... They were my peach roses too, he could have at least cut the red ones.

Sam also was yelling at his brothers yesterday.. it seems they were sitting on his friends.. Goodness, They should have seem them before they sat down.

On another note, I love Big and Carrie... the couple on Sex and the City... their relationship is so ..... real, so me.

Sam's 4th Birthday Party!

2006-08-14T22:11:00.000-07:00

This was During the Pinata, and after , they boys with all their goodies. It was a pull apart pinata, so they all just had to pull Hard, and all at once, They thought it was very cool. Sam had a good day, Played baseball with his Friends, It got a bit on the warm side in the sun, so we found shade under the big tree in the front, once we were there, we didnt go back, lol. I have to admit it, I am not a fan of parties at my house, The pressure of doing it right, making sure it all goes well, cleaning the darn place, ( that is my most hated part), I dont like it, period. But I better, cause in 10 months ( not like I am counting) I will be having Alecs Graduation party in the Same yard... I am already stressing over that!

I have my first offical TEACHERS Meeting at the Store tomorrow, I am so excited! I cant wait to get this going and start teaching, One of the gals there that teaches( and I know this happens with them all) Has a following, the same people always take her classes, with a few new ones thrown into the mix. I am hoping that happens to me, and that they are not Just all my friends! LOL, Several ladies, ( customers) are interested in my classes, ask all the time when they can sign up, so I am hoping that I have been there long enough, that the gals know me, and want to take my classes, Right now its Three a month, The first three tuesdays of the month. if the dont fill, then you cancel, so I am hoping for TWO a month in reality....

Ok, Off for the night, Lynette, remind me to send you pictures of your boys from the party!!

2006-08-13T11:17:00.001-07:00

I have neglected my blog since WED, I have neglected much in my life since WED. My sister called me late that night to tell me that my nephew, Scottys Check- up revealed that he is Diabetic. Her intial thoughts were shock, and had no clue what was coming next, Scotty had a baseball game that night, They figured they could go play , and then meet with the Doctors the next day, Yeah, Not so much, He was sent to Childrens Hospital in Seattle, where he then spent the next three days learning how to deal with his new life.( you should have seen all the books that they were sent home with, not to mention the needles, test strips, medicine, ect) He will be insulin Dependent for the rest of his life. But I must say , he is doing well with it all, for now. I was there last night at the house for his homecoming, and he handled the whole thing well, Checking his levels before he ate, Then giving himself the insulin after the fact, His friends wanted to watch, and Shelly and I both thought that was important that they did, that they knew Scotty was the Same Scotty that they always knew , ( these kids are 12, so common sense doesnt come naturally to them)they all went out to play after he did it, and they thought it was pretty cool too. We are going over today, Sam wants to give Scotty a band-aid, thinking that will make him feel better. ( how sweet is that?)
So today I will also be cleaning the house, Sam is having his Birthday Party tomorrow, with 5 little friends, How fun , I will take lots of pictures of course.