Taking Pam's (from Bad Girls) challenge to upload my favorite 2008

layouts. You'll notice a theme here (or not) LOL! Grandbabies!!!! But not only the subject is a fav but I love the different styles and papers. Enjoy!

Well it appears my mojo has

done packed its bags and went on a vacation. So no wonderful layouts or mini books flowing from my cool tools. However, there are still really awesome photos of the grand kids coming in. Owen in the Santa hat w/the fascinating bow. And Christopher and Connor in front of their pretty Xmas tree. Both looking quite dapper in their winter duds. It was cool to watch them or rather Christopher open his presents on the webcam. I LOVE TECHNOLOGY! It rocks!

Merry Christmas to all......and to alll

a good night. God's blessings to you and your families.

I'm so in a mood.....

and I have this totally cool screen saver that makes my lame photos rock. Totally. We blew through DC on our way to NJ and as you may not know its one of my favorite cities. Well yeah I do have a few. bwahahaha! I love the memorials and finally, only because Tom knew, how to get the Marine Memorial. It sits on a rather inconspicuous corner near the Arlington Cemetery of which I would never think to look. Its totally awesome as are all the memorials in DC. Really. If you've never been, you need to put it on your bucket list.

The details totally absorb you, and although my boy is Army it speaks to all. On my totally cool screen saver that makes my photos rock, it flashes between DC and my family Thanksgiving. And it warms my heart and takes my breath away that there are so many brave men that have given their lives for our freedom. My darling sweet firstborn is one of them. I'm so glad that even though NOTHING can replace them that there are memorials that honor them. And that they remind us of their sacrifice. Daily. God bless them and their families. Always.

O tannenbaum.....

here's our humble tree. It's a Norfolk pine (real) that will be planted when the holidays are over. i put cards we received on it (so no taping on the walls or door frame and removing the paint when they come down). I found some pine cones in the back yard, a bit o'lace, some mardi gras beads and wa-la. It's leaning sort of like the pix on my layouts. bwahahahaha. Merry Christmas!

XXOXOXOXO......

SAYS IT ALL! I bought the bazzill heart for future use and the future has arrived. I love how it worked out especially with making memories flowers and pp. Noteworthy and 7 g's came totally in handy and love the lil davis file folder. The little dots were made with this ITTY BITTY hand punched and lovingly (ahem) adhered. bwahahaha. I was thinking of french knots but thought it would be too cumbersome. Silly ME. LOL! I made the print b&w because we ALL had different colors on. LOL! It was after all a Holiday and while it looks like Christmas it was Thanksgiving. Love this photo - totally. Had to reload because *gasp* forgot the journaling. AND it was a total PIA to get this shot. DONE. *insert grimace*.

Since I have a few new million readers. snort.....

that may not know that Tom's family's BIG holiday and his parents were adament that every FAMILY member needed to make a BIG effort to make. You could invite friend or foe, but YOU had to be there. After his sisters were grown, they took over hosting and cooking duties, rotating between the three of them. This year is was Ginny's turn. As usual we had a blast, from the stuffing making party (a tradition-were ANY female can participate in the drinking of wine, dicing the veggies, breaking up the bread and doing ALOT of stirring and wine drinking. lol) to the eating. I was totally pleased that Liz was able to make it for the stuffing making party. And I was really pleased that Nick and his family were able to be there for Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving was totally pleasing. For sure. My BIL Alan is a total good sport - with the apron and has become "the carver" no matter what house the turkey is in.

Hush Little Baby......

keep on snoozing. Nothing better than a pretty sleeping baby. lol! Can't go wrong w/7 gypsies and these papers and stickers came w/November's Bad Girl Kit! Yum-O! They are just perfect as is my Con-man. Some people mentioned he favors Shane too. Honestly all I see is baby Nick. Seriously.

I know you had to KNOW this would be a

layout! Its just too stinkin cute for words. DH came up w/the title so it was a coordinated effort. All Scenic Route, Petaloo, Quikutz of course. They make ya wanna scoop them up and just smooch away. Which I did. bwahahaha! Can't wait to see them again. Soon.

Loving the moment......

I just love everything about this photo. My son doing what he does best - SLEEPING (I do have more proof). LOL! and HIS son taking right after him. What a moment! I have also gotten hooked on this special paper - the companies have made some gorgeous ones and I believe I have them all. Or maybe my pal Brooke does bwahahaha! Creative Imaginations made the die cut circle - Creative Cafe I believe, I did pick it up awhile ago, the rest is basic grey - ya can't EVER go wrong there. Prima & Imaginesce flowers, and bling. Looks pretty and manly at the same time. snort.

Two Thumbs UP

If I can direct your attention to the first photo. You'll see my boys giving 2 thumbs up. LOL! After that they totally lost interest. In the multi-colored starred pj's is Connor, Owen in the turkey suit. They are both adorable and sweet. They were too funny during the shoot, each leaning into the other, losing interest and basically looking like two grumpy old men. bwahahaha!

Found Some Really Adorable Halloween

paper. Every single bit is Scenic Route. And I have more bwhahahaha *rubbing hands gleefully*. I'm on a roll and I like it. Since I commenced w/working at the ''club shopping entity in town" its been a juggling act around a wild schedule. But its all cool. I love the job - its physical and I unofficially lost 2 lbs. woo hoo!!!

So adorable Christopher - grandboy as a punk rocker. LOL! and on the little photo - a lip ring :|. Sigh. Hopefully its just a costume thing.

Boo!

Okay its a bit late but hey! tis done. At first I was having a "gasp" no Halloween paper issue and as I was rumbling through my stash, wa-la! Cool paper that has Halloween colors and double *gasp* they actually go w/the adorable costumes my two cuties have on! bwahahaha! Love how it turned out.

Whew!

This one was a long time coming. I love the photo because well its unusual for Shane to be still and two, its unusual for Shane so be snuggy. Yes yes I know the dang picture is crooked. Part of my charm - smirk. But I love the outcome. Yes I used pink because well I don't get to use pink very often and Shane likes pink. Anyway I think it showcased quite nicely despite the crookedness. Bwahahahaha!

How adorable are these???

Owen the turtle, Christopher the punk rocker, and Connor the dinosaur!!! Who could resist giving them candy??? What a fun Halloween!

Sort of like u......

bwahahaha.....Well they do sort of look similar. Take the Collins nose- its totally cute, so I'm glad he got that one. The eyes.......hopefully he'll get Nick's color - green/hazel - which would totally be like grammy's (no offense mom) lol! and the chubby cheeks. Other than that, not the hair, not the lips and not the size-so far. I know I know all that can change and will but for right now - it makes a cool page. Hmm....maybe I should aggravate Nick's dad for his baby picture and we'll see how that works:)

More pp from the BGkits. YUM. New 7 gypsies tag/thing I picked up at Whim SoDoodle, Tim Holtz grungeboard, MM paints and my favorite EK alphas and Plain Jane swirls.

The Final Test -

administered by the infamous and talented Wendy Rago from BadGirlKits owner extraordinaire! And the test is to alter something. So I did. A paper plate. Now for those of you who know me - this isn't the first. I altered my first paper plate in kindergarten and then again a couple of years ago. Picked up by Making Memories on their website. bwahahahaha! So since it worked once, I decided it would work again. Using a "fall" theme since that's what they had at Sam's Club, and worked Owen in quite nicely because, alas, babies are hard to pass by. And he's a cutie. It all came together. So just because I was expelled does not mean I couldn't continue to play. Which I did. It was out of the box, it was a challenged, and last but not least - just plain fun! I so can't wait to see who wins Top Designer. And they will so DESERVE that title because the talent on this board just plainly rocks and socks it to the scrapbook world! Honestly, it looks better IRL. Not quite so busy. I'm pleased and maybe the kids w/get this. But OH maybe not because I'M DA GRAMMY! bwahahhaha! And he's mine. :)

And I decided I'm going to be called.......

"drum roll please" GRAMMY! That's what I called my grandmother and she was a very cool lady. She could run circles around me. She was what a dub a "pioneer woman". She was always moving and doing-so unlike me who is content to oh SIT around. lol! She always knew what was "all the go" in the latest fashions, always served others, and always loved me unconditionally. Can't go wrong there except those are big shoes to fill.

I can't wait to see both g'babies in November. Dueling g'babies w/be so much fun.

Little Owen is a joy to behold. All layouts were done w/the October bad girl kit, and I have plenty more to use. It has been totally inspiring!

Change needs to be in the air........

BUT some teenagers just don't get it. Mine would be one of them. (I know you're surprised)snort. So instead of beating my head against the wall, kicking the dogs or smacking the kidlet (although smacking may at times be in order)snort. I found my mojo and got scrappy. Bwahahahaha! A mom's revenge (and I have some good blackmail pix)smirk. So it relieves the angst somewhat because seriously there's nothing worse than talking to the wall. So I can bare my soul w/o alot of sloppy huggy feelie stuff and get the point across. Life is messy, out of control but always an adventure.
oooooooo and the cool yellow heart was made out of see through tape from fancy that and mm puffy letters-which came from my totally awesome october badgirlkit CHECK IT OUT! yum! basic grey - can't ever go wrong there, ek, heidi.

The roaming gnome and his

stunt double is alive and well in my small town. Seriously. As you know I ride all over town and I see many sights. Alas, this is one of them that absolutely makes one think - what were they thinking of. Seriously. Scary. However it does make the ride pleasurable because ya nevah know what you're gonna see in my town. Bwahahaha!

Just call me - HOG-MA!

bwahahahaha! Everyone was warned! If that baby wasn't snatched up and held on to - he was mine - ALL mine - rubbing hands gleefully. As you can see I'M WAY TOO YOUNG to be a grandma - I'm stylin! He is sooooo sweet and alert - although I did get him to nap for a couple of hours. Liz and Kevin were very gracious in sharing. I alas was NOT. smirk.

As you can see we are both mouthy! LOL!!!! And how do you like the new 'do???? ME too! snort.

Bad Girls Top Designer - Class 4

oooooooooooo this is my entry for EXPELLED STUDENTS class 4. Sigh. Got caught spewing spitballs everywhere what can I say. snort. Class 4 - accessorize by Miss Bethany Kartchner- with more wonderful illustrations. Love accessorizing. This is Owen - photo taken by KevinDuffyPhotography. Who just happens to be the daddy. Love the Pebbles Inc paper and the Prima & Making Memories flowers & buttons. OO OO and hand punching&stitching too. Love it! And then there's spicy chicken by Quickutz. YUM! We're heading out SOON to check out Mr. Owen and can't wait. Can't wait 'til Class 5 - the pressure is OFF. bwahahahaha!

My brag book!!!!

bwahahahaha! and won't everyone be fighting over this one. (I can only hope-LOL!) I had the best time w/Cosmo Cricket - Jack's World. It was fun, funky and just perfect. I had a blast w/the stickers, and I usually don't do stickers but you just couldn't help it. I also made this book to put both babies in. SNORT. So now Owen w/be getting his own acrylic book. Yes those are eyelets in there. Amazingly easy enough with the crop a dile tool. Also have to admit I "lifted" that idea from my pal Brooke. She also gave the material that is used as ribbon and man it is just perfect for the line. AND this is the front and back which I'm sure you figured out. However, I put everything on the inside so I can pop it off w/o everything coming off from too much handling. Also the Bee Happy, Bee Silly & Bee Mine are takeoffs from the closing of letters when my Gram wrote to me after we moved to Florida. She always closed w/Be Good Be Sweet Be Mine-so I'm glad I can twist it a bit to make it mine. Also became known as the 3B's. LOL! Okay-Off to make Owen's book!!!

Class 3 - Less is More

bySri Sams. Here goes blogger. Again. Tilt your head bwahahahaha and enjoy Lynn doing less than more. That is soooooooooooo tough for me but there ya go and I'm really pleased w/the results because if I must say so - the photos rock. And now they get to shine.

The classes have been fun over at Bad Girls and also check out Class 3 gallery of you're jonsing for some awesome inspiration!

Top Designer - Class #2 - Patterned Paper!

Superbly illustrated, demonstrated and taught by Miss Emilie Ahern! I love patterned paper and loved the assignment. Of course you can't go wrong w/a gorgeous grandbaby happening either. That is precious Connor all snuggled up tight after hitting the world. You really really REALLY need to check out Bad Girls! Funny, sweet TALENTED ladies, awesome kits, and fun challenges!!!

I'm so jonsin for the next class!

Finalllllllllllly..............Owen Christopher

live and in person! Well sortof. I'll get to smooch nose when we get up there in October! Can't wait. Anyway this would've probably happened sooner except I belive I encountered technical difficulties. NOT that they could've been operator error. Oh noooooooo!!!

Born 9/9 he's a big boy at 8 lb 12 oz and came out just perfect.

off to scrap . smirk.

Had to let this one digest

a bit (pun intended) snort. I had a total of 2.4 weight loss yesterday at weigh in! Didn't see that one coming. At.All. And how cool is that??? On the heels of a gain from last week. Lost that and then some. which is totally unusual and I'm totally jazzed and fired up. woo ohoo!! love that.

BG Top Designer Class #1 - layering!

LAYERING PERSPECTIVES by Miss Cari Fennell and it was so much fun. I had sort of gotten away from layers and it was fun to get back into. I love the lo - featuring my great great grandmother and uncle Frankie and you know I adore heritage. Creative cafe die cut paper just rocks and K&Co, foofala, MME and then primas. I just love primas. The wood flourishes are by Kaiser - picked those babies up in San Diego. wooo hooo!!!! Took the green line to Old City and hiked. bwahahaha. It is a great store. But I digress.....check out Bad Girls and join the fun!!!

Flew home between storm actions.....

and it's so good to be home - but so hard to leave the g-baby. Tell me he's not the cutest baby-EVER!!! lol!!!! He does look like my handsome son. Since the ConMAN (smirk gotta have a nick name right?) liked being swaddled the only available kissin spot was his adorable nose. So I kissed it. ALOT.

Baby #2's mama is scheduled to go in late tonight to be induced. ACK!!! So hopefully, I'll have more photos to post. (I can feel your excitment - kinda like home movies bwahahaha)! It's just a bummer we can't be there to hold baby Duffy and smooch noses as well. It has just been so darn exciting around here. I'll have LOTS of STUFF for PAGES NOW. bwahahahaha!