Whew! I need a day off from my *EXCITING* weekend...

This weekend was FABULOUS! (My new favorite word...)

My hubby surprised me on Friday night when he took "his girls" out to eat at Applebee's. (They have 4 things on the menu that Annde will eat...) It was a fun and relaxing. I came home and packed my stuff. It was a good thing too because at 3am, we lost power. {Apparently a branch came down on a power line 4 houses down.} And, the dork we live next to decided to start his generator... at 3 AM! Does he really think his refridge couldn't stay cold for 4-5 hours without power so that the rest of the neighborhood could get a few more hours of sleep? ARRGGHH!! Some days, I really want to punch a hole in that damn thing it's so freakin' loud! He ran it the rest of the night and all day until 5pm when the power came back on. And he wonders why he didn't get invited to our little picnic last night!

So, after little sleep, my hubby got up and took my daughter shopping. Yep, Daddy Daughter shopping day. And it went really well. I was surprised because I expected at least one meltdown from one of the them and it really didn't happen. He took her to Osh Kosh and he said it was a "kid in a candy store" - oh no! Is this what I have to look forward to? A clothes hound? - she saw the sundresses and took off... tossing them over her shoulder to my Mom-in-Law and saying, "I want this!" and "This too!!"... then it was socks and undies and shorts and shirts and soon, Dad was $100 poorer. And it took a total of 15 minutes!! ahahaha Then, while they were shoe shopping, she found a mirror on the bench, sat down, pulled the colored lip balm out of her little Easter Purse {she took it along to hold her "Mommy day $" and 5 of her Favoritest Pets (Little Pet Shop)} and proceeded to look in the mirror while smearing lip balm all over her lips (and face of course). My hubby, Mom-in-Law, and Pop-in-Law were laughing their butts off but didn't take a single freakin' picture!! I even sent the pocket-sized camera with him and all 3 of them own camera phones! Sigh... I'll have to find another way to scrap it... :)

Where was I, you ask? I was at the Scrapbook Zone's 6th Anniversary Crop Party! It's the first time I've scrapbooked in a store and it was awesome. I sat with Stacy (my DT buddy), two of her friends, and my BFF, Tracy. We had a great time. I will post what I got done as soon as I finish journaling them (tonight). I only got a mini-album for my sister and 3 pages done but I had so much fun doing the make-in-take and the games (I was the only member of our group not to win! Sigh!!). I will definitely do that again!! :)

After church on Sunday, I planted hostas (thanks, Mom-in-Law!) and went to the silly Neighborhood Membership meeting. I have to go or I can't buy a key for the "Park"... where we drop our boat for the summer... It's a 2 acre park with picnic areas, playground, boat ramp, docks, etc. I say it was silly because sometimes, okay... every year, someone says something that I can't believe they actually said or believe. This year's winner was, "My 18 year old son is responsible enough to have a bonfire with his friends without supervision throughout the summer. After all, this park is an extension to each our backyards, right?" Okay... first of all, that's great you think your child is responsible. Can you REALLY say the same thing about all his friends? Can you really say that all of them should be able to set a large fire in a lush area (although there is a small fire pit) and that with peer pressure, there will be no funny stuff or drinking going on? Are you sure that they will properly put out this fire each and every time? If you are so convinced, keep the bon fire in your own real backyard... not in mine! I could not believe they discussed this for 1/2 hour and then passed it! The park closes at 10pm and the sun goes down at 9-ish. Is someone really going to have a bonfire in 1 hour? AHHAHAHA Next year, I am going to put forth a motion to ban all bonfires unless a board member is present and it ends on time. It will piss off this family and probably a lot of others, but what the heck! I don't like the idea of fire during the summer... We've had enough accidents in this world with underage drinking...

Sunday night, the barbeque with the other-side neighbors - Tim & Jan & Nickie & Kyle - went well! There was so much food and fun. Definitely something to repeat! We ate steak, chicken, shrimp (all but me and Annde), potatoes, corn, asparagus... Everyone was very full and very relaxed by the time it was time to call it quits. It's so nice to have a neighbor to share fun experiences like this on. When we move, it will suck that we can't bring them with!

Well, I'm off but I will try and post my stuff from this weekend with the exception of the mini-book. {My sister deserves to see it first!! I'll post it Friday...} I have to do nametags for the crop this weekend, Steph-style! You can check out her stuff at the Homegrown Hospitality link to the right... She's got the cutest tote bags for sale too... check out the link on her page. I am definitely getting one for me!

Design Team Pages For April and a Little Bit More...

Wow! I can't believe how fast the month of April flew by!! Can you believe it's already May? This month is full of absolutely fabulous things to look forward to (and scrap, of course!).

This Saturday is National Scrapbooking Day and I am going to spend it doing what I love: Scrapbooking!! It's also the Scrapbook Zone's 6th Anniversary so I will be celebrating both events at the Zone all day cropping! For the All-Day crop, I decided to bring my Best Buddy, Tracy as a Mother's Day/You rock gift. We are going to have SOOOO much fun!! This will be the first time that I've done an All-day crop at a store. Stacy, my fellow DT member, and I are going to crop together for the first time too! Fabulous!! I am kitting and printing pages like mad to have enough stuff to do for 12 hrs! Sunday, we're FINALLY having the neighbors over for a Grill-Out Lunch (Poor Jan is working 7 days a week right now and she's on 2nd Shift)... They have been so good to us since they moved in last year and we really want to thank them for everything they've done for us.

Then, next week is the Mega Meet. It will also be my first time! I am going to help Kevin from the Zone set up the booth and then work the booth - I've never done that either and I am sooo excited!! - on Thursday. It gets even better because I am taking my customer on Friday to it too! How great is that? Mixing business and pleasure!! Then on Saturday - IT'S FINALLY HERE! The Team REACH Breast Cancer Crop! I am going to be teaching 2 classes at the crop too: a beginner's class and a class on using sketches. I probably won't get much cropping done - My plan is to finally finish the 2 Cruise books from last year so that Kevin W. will stop harrassing me (just kidding, Kev!)...

Next week is also my Sister's Birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUSAN!! (I am going to finish the last part of your present at the Zone crop and get it out to you super fast!) And then Sunday is Mom's day! I can't wait to spend the weekend with my fabulous daughter and hubby. Even if we just fly a new kite or grill out, it will be great!

Then - to follow up those great experiences, we're doing Virginia Beach for Memorial Day. You better believe I will be taking lots of pictures! We're going to see some friends - the ones who set me and Steve up on our first (blind) date... We haven't seen Tim, Robin, and the girls for over 4 years so I can't wait to see them and catch up. I can't believe they've never met Annde?!?!? Plus - it's Tim's birthday so we will have a great celebration! (aka - parents night out with Aly and Mel watching Annde :) )

So, look for more exciting posts from this month!

Since I haven't posted a layout here in a while so I figured that I would slap some up that I did for the Design Team and for various contests at Coordinates Collections:

This page was done using my DT kit for April. I love the colors and what the page documents: my child's rapid growth over the last year.

This next DT page was done from our first day outside when the weather finally warmed up here in Michigan. I love the felt pieces with the stickles...

This next DT page is not really me but I actually love it! Using the new Basic Gray line, I documented my daughter's likes and dislikes at the age of 4. While she's not quite there yet, I doubt she will suddenly like taking naps or eating veggies! AAHAHAHAH... Although, she did just find out she likes orange and red peppers. That's my girl! I liked the Bazzill paper (pink) that had the flowers and circles punched out of it. Instead of using the whole sheet, I used just a corner of it to embellish. I really liked how it turned out.

This was actually a really fun DT project. It took me 2 weeks to decide what to do with this great package of wood panels. The front is some of the fun Annde pictures from the last 6 months, each documenting an Annde trait. The back describes why I chose those traits. It came together really well... It will be up at the Zone if you want a closer look at it...


This next page was done using the Coordinate Collections Kit "A Few Good Men". I love how bright this paper was and how well it coordinated with the sweater Annde was wearing for the Family pictures taken that day... Here is Annde posing next to the page:

It's almost Friday so I hope that everyone has a fabulous weekend and tune in Monday for the 411 about the Crop... See ya later!!

Cool Pic I took during the recent storms

I took this picture during the recent severe storms in Michigan / Ohio. I spent 5+ hours driving in this weather trying to get home from my company's plant in southern Ohio and when I got home, this was the view on my front deck. Fabulous! My hubby mocked me taking pictures in the hail and rain but it was so cool watching the clouds roll and move with the quick moving storm. I had heard this song not too long ago and absolutely love it. So, when Faith Sisters (see the link to the right) had a Faith scripture challenge with the phrase "His Presence", I knew this picture would be perfect! Enjoy!

I'm a Winner!!

I won! Okay, it wasn't the lottery but I still love it when I win stuff!! This time, being a triplet actually helped. (Thanks to Jon and Jeff and of course, Mom and Dad, for that one...) I won this prize from Lisa Bearnson's personal blog!

She asked a question about what "Good things come in 3's!" and I responded that being a triplet was a good thing... So, she chose my answer as one of 3 people to win from 674 entries!

Fabulous!! I get the CKU in a box, a Celtic Woman CD, chocolate, and chips (her 3 c's). I can't wait to throw a scrap at my house so I can share my goodies with my closest buddies!

Here's the link to her blog where you can check it out. http://www.lisabearnson.com/blog/

Hopefully, your day is lucky too!

Grant me some patience!

One of the things that drives my husband nuts about me is my lack of patience. In a world that is so focused on the instantaneous (think cell phones, the internet, 24 hour news), I think I have lost the ability to just sit and wait.

There's a lot going on in my life right now that requires patience and I just haven't got it. I want Steve to find a job off the road NOW, I want to have our second kid NOW (well, maybe now+9 months), I want to find the connection I used to have with my job again NOW, I want Grace-Commerce's new home to be finished NOW, I want Annde to be potty trained NOW, I want a million dollars NOW... (Okay, I just threw that one in for fun because I was having such a great time listing things!) All of those things require patience and understanding that the world and my life doesn't work on my time table for change...

My friend Jill told me to look up and memorize Jeremiah 29:11 because she thinks it's perfect for what I am going through: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I need to hold fast to this and pray that at the right time, Steve will get a great job, we'll be blessed with Baby 2 (no, Tracy, not babies 2 and 3 and 4... :) ), Annde will be wearing cute panties, my job will improve, and Grace-Commerce will be finished. Oh, and I will win the lottery! I just need to keep a positive outlook and grow some patience inside.

I know that patience isn't one of my given traits, but with a little work, some positive attitude, and patience, I know that I can make my wishes a reality. :)

New Design Goodies!!

So, I stopped by the Zone today. It was very exciting to see my stuff on the wall and Tracy's box displayed right next to the door. I would have taken a picture but my camera battery was dead! Dang it!! Still very cool!

Funny story while I was there... when I walked in, my eyes were immediately drawn to this new paper in the *NEW* rack. I thought - Wow! I love that paper!! So, of course, I immediately picked up a bunch. I walked around, admiring the rest of the new stuff from CHA and then went to the checkout. AFTER purchasing, I asked for my DT kit and then grabbed it and quickly hurried out to my car to bust it open and find out what new goodies there were... To my surprise - there was the paper I JUST BOUGHT! AHAHAHAHA Kelley - you know me too well!! So, now I have two sheets of everything. Just think of the great layouts I could create! (Tracy offered to loan me some pictures so that I could scrap for her kids too!) It will be interesting to see how many different layouts I can come up with to go with that paper that won't look alike. Ummm... I see a challenge coming on! (The paper is everything to the right of the orange circle transparency - which I bought 2 weeks ago! too funny!!)

The other cool thing I found was some paper & stickers from Creative Imagination. I bet they don't think that it would be applicable to potty training but... Here's my spin on it. Annde was doing so well last week - 6 days of completely dry - including pooping every night WITHOUT being asked to do so. We were so sure she was totally into this whole thing. Then Sunday came and with it, 2 different panty messes... The first one, we chalked up to an accident. The second one, we determined was just Annde going back to her old ways. It happened again on Monday. Frustration!! So, we sat down and had a little talk and started the chart again. Hopefully it will stick again. Anyway, that whole experience led me to scrapbook this page. Hope you like it!

Well, it's 12:30am and its time to go get a couple of hours of sleep before I have to get up and face the world all over again... Nighty, Night!

Oops... Where did the time go!

Well... shoot! I guess that I haven't blogged in a while! Shame on me!

Life around the Patterson household hasn't been overly busy, just stressful. I have the typical problems at work while Steve is out in DC each week. The weekends just seem to fly by! There never seems to be enough time in the day. Add to it a 3 yr old who has discovered a love for the internet and my computer time gets cut in half!

This weekend was nice and warm. I even got a sunburn! Annde and I played outside the majority of the day on Sunday. Chalks, her trike, the swingset... we were all over! It felt so good to get outside in the sunshine... Here's some pics from that day. Annde was totally cool with me playing around with settings and positions for my camera. Maybe I am turning her into a little diva? When you tell her she's pretty now, about half the time she will say, "I know!" Time to nip that in the bud! I do that I am really getting sick of snow. Today, the weather has started to cool down again and there is a possibility to drop back into the 30s/40s again. Sigh! Will it ever warm up for good? Hopefully all the flowers coming up won't die!

While I hesitate to write this in fear that it will curse me, Annde has really gotten into the potty thing this week. I started a star chart for her so that she can earn some "special stuff" for doing stuff around the house as well as getting dressed for school/bed herself. For the heck of it, I threw "Stay dry all day - go poop and pee in the potty" and for some strange reason, the prize of putting a star on the chart has gotten her to start really working on the potty. The chart thing didn't work before but I guess she might be ready... {I can just hear my best friend Tracy going - "I told you so!!"} I still have to say, "Yeah!" Keep your fingers crossed that Annde doesn't lose focus!! (or I might pull my hair out!!)

I am also excited because I just found out that I will be helping out the Scrapbook Zone with their booth at Mega Meet 2008! It will be a lot of fun to be at the booth, helping people, and just being surrounded by all that scrapbook fun... Guess I need to save a few bucks for shopping too! Actually, my hubby and I just put in a new storage system for my scrapbook stuff (well... really its just shelves and boxes from IKEA but storage system sounds so much cooler!!)... so I will know what I can buy because I NEED it rather than just randomly buying stuff... Shhh!! I might do that too!

Two last things...

1. Happiest of Anniversaries to Jon and Cheryl! It's been a great year for them with the birth of Ben... Our best wishes to you two!!

2. Only 4 weeks to go until our Breast Cancer - Crop for a Cure event in Waterford, MI... Flyers are available for signup - just post or email me with your address and I will get one out to you. All proceeds go to help those walking in the 3-Day Breast Cancer event. I can't wait for the fun to start!! So, if you want to come, don't hestitate to contact me!!