on a ROLL!

wow.
So, I've been a bit busy making stuff!
I've made a bunch of cards, tags, things for my Etsy shop, AND hairbows! AND, I've even made dinner for the family & laundry!
Yanno, if I didnt have to do the laundry, I could get a LOT more cards & such done.
stoopid laundry.
stoopid housework.

ok.. moving on...

This week, my Grammie is celebrating her 21st birthday... YES, 21st! heehee!! I think after turning 30, EVERYONE, for the following years, should have their 21st birthday. heh.
SO with that, I made her this journal.
ok, so I didn't make the journal, I did alter it. I hope she likes it! She always says she likes my little paper roses, so I made a bunch of them, and made a cute gift! :o)
Happy Birthday, grammie! :o)

Here are some other cards I've worked on this week. I had more, but my camera is giving me fits, and refuses to cooperate!

must be a male.

HAPPY first day of FALL!

Besides having my feet buried in some tropical sands and the ocean waves crashing over me, my next favorite thing is

FALL!

I adore the fall weather! I love the cooler temps, that feeling of slipping into your favorite jeans with your favorite sweatshirt, and cuddling with my honey... I do just love it. LOVE. IT.

In honor of the first day of FALLLLLL, here is a card I made... Meanwhile We couldn't enjoy it for the NASTY rain ALL WEEK LONG, and the (still) humid temps out there... sheesh. C'mon, NC! Get with the program here! If I can't have the tropical sunshine & ocean roar, gimme the FALL WEATHER!

More Cards!

I worked on some cards for a challenege, and ended up being too late...
o well.
that's ok, cause I'll keep these around for future card-needing events.

Here are my creations!

Hair Bows!!

Sometimes I get an 'itch' to do some crafts or things that I haven't done in a long time...
this weekend was it!
I started looking through Etsy, and different hair bows, and decided to pull out my major stash of ribbon, and make summore...
Here's what I've come up with, and all are listed in my Etsy store...

Aloha Paradise!

What do you think?

I also take custom orders for hair bows... just email me!

It's fall, and you know what THAT means!!!

... It's FAIR TIME!!!
eeee!!

Gorwing up, I had the BEST memories of heading to the Gwinnett County fair every fall ...
These last few years, the kids were too short to really ride anything fun, so we decided to go this year, and EVERY ONE of them could ride!
yes!

So, we headed to the Cumberland County fair in Fayetteville, NC, and had the BEST family time...
We were so excited to share with the kids about all the things we used to ride, the things we did, and the fun we had, and they were ready to 'do this'

Paid up, got in, and got rollin...
things were going GREAT.
... til the Gravitron. 
Ever been on it?
WELL, if you haven't, lemme edumacate yous... heh.

This ride used to be my FAVORITE.... FAV-O- RITTT....
um.
err..
notsomuch now.

I think my first mistake was getting on this thing still fighting this sinus infection. This ride makes your whole body  feel like many pounds of pressure is holding you down, and honestly, makes it hard to breathe...
yea.
stoopid. stoopid. stoopid.... STOOPID!
I came off this thing feeling like I could puke, and my sinuses were THROBBBBBING!
pain.ful. was the name of this game...

but, I sucked it up. The kids were having a BLAST, and I didn't want to discourage their confidence...

We did the 'hang ten', and the 'tilt a'whirl' ... and wow, are we old. We are too old to enjoy these shenanigans anymore... seriously.
we came home & the boss man & I had to snack on saltines to calm an upset tummy... sheesh! oh, and tums, and ginger ale.. good golly.

BUT, the oldest conqured some rides I thought he'd NEVER do, and over-came his fear of heights, and rode a lof of things on his own... We were quite proud!

I did manage to grab a few pics & a couple videos of our own fun...
Hope you enjoy them!
... as for me..
well, I'm not watching them again til the pepto has had time to kick in a bit.

The girl & daddy ... in front of them is the oldest and twin A... lil boog is sitting next to me...

The oldest, daddy & the girl on the ferris wheel... boy giving me the Shaka! :o)

Winner, Winner!!!

Got ourselves a winner!!!

**This post**  was all about a scrapbooking software giveaway. I let it go for about a week, and only had one response.

SOoooOOooo..... Congratulations, AMANDA!!!! You are the big weiner... err, WINNER!!!!

here was her comment...

scrappinboysmom said...

OK, well...I like the Oh Boy pack. 'Cux I only have boys and wouldnt know what to do with pink if it slapped me upside the head! I have some questions about digi scrapping for you! When you buy one of the packs can you use the 'elements' (whats the right word here?) more than once? Do you miss paper scrapping? I dont get much time at all to scrap anything. I have to keep it all packed up in my closet so I only pull it out when I have several hours to work on it at a time. Im thinking digi scrapping is something Id like to try out so I can get some more done!

September 9, 2011 12:25 AM

You'll be notified soon on your winnings, and all the details!!! Congrats, lady! Hope you enjoy it!!!

sometimes... it's just the little things.

SO...
after a few days of feeling like I'd been hit by a big 'ol barrelin' down the road truck, I saw a doc today... I have a sinus infection.
imagine that.
**rolling eyes**

I'm seriously tired of the ickies. ALL. THE. TIME. really. all the time.
My sinuses are always going crazy, and my allergies... sweet Lord... don't get me started...

ugh...

anyway, sometimes it's the little things that make the awful things OK again. or at least, make the awful things disappear for a minute...
my minute?
well, that would be my oldest making his pizza breathe tonight.

..yea, I'm that mom that feeds the kids pizza & cereal on the nights when dad is working late (or, in our case, dad is at school...)
besides, I'm sick, feeling like a whiney 2 year old, and didn't want to fix dinner... waaa waaaaaaa...

So, here was my entertainment. My oldest. On YouTube... he's stoked.

Looking back

It's been 10 years.
September 11th.

Just about everyone has a story of where they were, what they were doing, and what they remember about September 11th, 2001. I'm no different.

This day is filled with a million mixed feelings for me.
First, I was a newlywed. Tim & I had just gotten married on June 30th, 2001. I knew about this military life I had just married into. I knew about the dangers, the stress & the uncertainty it brings. I also knew about the huge amounts of pride that came with it.
This day tested all of that.

We lived in a rental home right outside of the Fort Bragg, NC main gates. Not anything like home, and not a town I wanted to be in.

My oldest child, "JT", was only 8.5mo old that morning. A wee baby.
We got up early to start our day. An absolute beautiful blue sky morning.
I remember putting JT in his highchair to start breakfast around 6am. Usually, I would turn on the radio, or TV for background noise, but that morning I didn't as I didn't want distractions... we had to be somewhere...

I fed baby J, and soon after, we loaded up in the car & headed on base. We went to the doctor, stopped at the commissary, then came home. But before coming home, I noticed a lot more cars around base. A lot more traffic, but thought nothing of it.

Coming home, JT was asleep in his carseat, so I took him in, and put him down for a nap.
Phone was ringing... off. the. hook.
I honestly thought to myself 'geeze! Can I put the boy down first!! stop calling!!' This was before we invested in an answering maching...
Little did I know it was just about every family member making sure we were safe.

I finally reached the phone, and answered all cheery-like
'hello?!'
'Tara?'
'ya, mom. it's me.'
'Tara, turn on the tv.'
'err. OK. Gonna have to give me a minute mom. got groceries in the car.'
'TARA. NOW.'
...
when mom says my name like that, she pretty much means business.

'mom, what's going on?'
'baby, I don't know. *sniffling*..'
'MOM, what's going on? What happened? WHY are you crying? mom?'
'Tara, this isn't an accident'

... a few minutes pass ...

'oh my God. MOM!! OH MY GOD! ANOTHER PLANE, MOM! MOM!! MOM, ARE WE UNDER ATTACK? **hysterics**'
'baby, I dont know!!! Where is JT? Where is Tim?'
'uhhmm. I ..I-- um, JT is in bed. Uhmm, Tim is at wor--TIM. I gotta call him. mom, I have to go.'
'Tara, call me back in 5 minutes.'
'uhhm. ok.. yea, I'll-- um, ok.'

panic dialing.
hands shaking.
busy tone.
dialing.
busy.
dialing.
busy.

I swear I did this for what felt like 3 years.

call.
busy.
call.
.....dead silence....
calling...
busy.

my phone rings.
'HELLO?! TIM!! TIM!!!'
'Tara, its mom. Did you talk to him?'
*crying hysterically* 'no, mom! I don't know where he is! What do I do mom?! I'm so scared mom. Where is he?'
'Honey, I dont know. I want you guys home'
'I can't leave mom! I can't leave without him knowing!!'
'I know. Stay calm.'
'mom, let me hang up. In case he tries to call.'
'ok. I love you!'
'**crying** i love you too, mom. I love you too.'

frantic calling..
busy..
calling..
'this number is unavailable'
'WHAT?! WHAT!!! no... no-no-no!!!'

*watching tv*
It was all a blur.
I just remember fire. planes. tv talking, but no words. buildings on fire.
... and no communication from my husband.

*phone rings*
my thoughts were 'geeze mom, ugh!'
'Tara!'
'oh my GOD! TIM!!! Tim are you ok?! Tim! What's going on? *sobbing*'
'Tara, listen to me, I am fine. I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere. I need you to listen. Bad things are happening right now.'
'I know! Are we under attack?'
'I dont know. I just know that we've been told terrorists.'
*terrorists?*
'Tara, where is JT?'
'He's napping. Saw the Doc today, he was tired...'
'OK. I need you to STAY PUT. I know first reaction is to leave, but you being on the road is NOT a good idea right now.'
'ok. just stay here? til when? are you coming home?'
'no, baby. we're on lockdown. I have to go, babe. Lines are jammed up & they give us 3 min to call home.'
'okay. Tim, I love you.'
'I love you too, Tara. I'll call when I know mor----'

lines cut off & tears started falling.
baby starts fussing.

After everyone called, and I gave all the info I possibly could, I realized it was after 9pm.
Somehow, throughout the day, I managed to feed the baby, change the baby, answer the phone, make calls, and stay in touch with family.

I remember at one point I went outside, after JT had gone to bed, to get away from the TV, and the stagnant inside air.

The first night was a long night.
I was so scared to be alone... I was scared I wouldn't be able to see Tim that night. I needed to hold him, I needed to talk to him.
I NEEDED to say that even though it seemed as if the world was falling down around us, we had a bit of a silver lining ...

September 11, 2001 I found out I was pregnant with our second child...

I had a million mixed emotions that day. That morning I was STOKED about being pregnant again. I prayed it would be a girl!!!
...then reality set in.
My God.
How selfish could we be?!
America was under attack, possibly AT WAR, and we were wanting to bring another child in this? Into the military life?! What if I lost Tim? I would be a single, widowed, mom of 2!!

what have we done?

But wait. We're in the land of the free. We're in AMERICA! We can over-come this!!! We're strong, we're not gonna BACK DOWN!!!!
This new life growing, that WE created was a tiny glimmer of hope of a better life. Better days... this child HAD to be. Meant to be.

... and that SHE was.
Miss Emily was born in May of 2002. Our sunshine through the darkness of 9/11.


...My story is a little thought for everyone to remember that even though in the moment, things seem like they'll never be the same; they'll never be good again. But that's not true.
well, not all true.
Things were never the same again. a LOT of good came from that dreadful day. Security tightened. The American PRIDE was shown through & through on every street, there was a gentle calm & compassion for your neighbor. Lending a hand wasnt so much a burden anymore.
...and we over-came our fear by welcoming a new life & a new start.

So, when all seems lost, and things seem like a personal HELL, it's really not. Sometimes we must tread through the dark dreary jungle to get to the sunshine, and start things anew.

For all of those lost, all of those left behind... your memory is eternal. *I* personally will never, EVER forget. I don't want to forget.
United we stand... and we'll NEVER fall.

What a SURPRISE!!!

Time has ended to enter the contest for the free software... BUT, the great news is the coupon code is still available for you!! 

If you have any qestions, PLEASE feel free to email me!!!

heehee...
Imagine my shock & pure EXCITEMENT when My Memories contacted my small, very new, but FUN wittle bloggy blog?!

They asked if I would like to try out their digital scrapbooking software, review it, THEN.... (as if they could possibly do more!!) said they would like to do a giveaway! *OF* said digital program!!
um, WOW!
SURE!!!

Now listen, I don't have too many followers, but I'm sure the word could spread like wildfire, and SOMEONE out there can enter right here for this awesome digital scrapbooking software...

First, let's talk about My Memories ... They have a great selection of various digital scrapbook kits. Prices to fit every budget, and even (get this) a FREE (eff arrr eeee eeee) section! FREE folks!

Besides that, they have a VERY easy to learn, user-friendly digital scrapbooking software program that is quite affordable. (And, if you wanting to dab your feet into digi'booking, but didn't want to spend half a paycheck & first born on photoshop... *this* is it!) My Memories Suite2 was a LOT of fun for me to play with...
There is a very small learning curve, and once you get started, trust me; you might wanna have a timer set, or ask the husband to pull the plug at about 4am or so.

I, myself, have Photoshop, and know it OKAY... I also have put together a LOT of movies through windows movie maker, so for me, playing with this program was kinda like taking a step down. BUT, that's OK!!! This is absolutely PUUUURFECT for the beginner & BEYOND!!!

My Memories Suite 2 allows you to make an album of anything... first birthday, summertime fun, winter frolics, etc, and will even let you ADD MUSIC, add your OWN narration, and you can even use your own collected digital scrapbooking kits.
Seriously, the list goes ON. and on....

The software usually sells for $39.97, but if you purchase it now through this post, you can use this code STMMMS62858 to save yourself $10, AND a $10 coupon to use in the MyMemories.com store. Think about it. That's like a FREE $20 just for purchasing the software thru reading this post, on my itty bitty blog!
Lucky YOU!!!

But, here's an ever cooler thing... My Memories asked me to do a giveaway... OF THIS SOFTWARE!! You can actually ENTER to win the ENTIRE program! SO, if you're interested (and, c'mon.. I KNOW you are!) here's what you do...

1. Visit the My Memories website. Take a gander through their kits. Come back here and

2. Leave a comment on this post telling me which kit(s) you like the bestest... YES, bestest! 

3. A number generator will pick a winner at random, and voila! You'll have yourself a new digital scrapbooking program that will include endless possibilities!!

If you want to learn more, here is a video from YouTube ...

As if you needed more of an incentive, here are some of the things I have created using the software.

...And here's some snipits from our Hawaiian Vacation... (i like these!)

See what I mean? See the fun I've had??