I’m having so much fun getting back into creating, rather than designing. Designing is fun too, but it really takes a lot of time and I found I was never getting to use the products I created. So I’m happily back to doing what I love to do best. Capturing memories, putting them on pages and in projects. Having fun.

This photo makes me laugh every time I see it. This IS Bailey and Bella. This IS Bappy and Bippy. This IS our girls and their friendship. Just love it. I also had fun working on a forgotten technique in the TNT Challenge at Inspiration Lane.

Credits: Tami Miller “Chatterdoodle” and Kim Gehring “Funky Frames”.

This one is all about my hubby. I wanted to just put MINE in big letters. Because he is. But that seemed a bit. Possessive. But anyhoo, he is MINE and I am HIS and that makes me happy. This was created for the February Template Challenge at Inspiration Lane!

Credits: Kim Gehring “Boy Oh Boy” and Jen Yurko “February Template” forum freebie.

And last but not least, I like this one a lot. I have lots of photos of Isabella sitting on her Dad’s shoulders. At various times, for various reasons. And no matter when or why, Scott always said yes. No matter how tired he was, no matter how heavy she felt. He can’t do this anymore and I know it sometimes makes him sad that she is too big to do this. Such lovely memories for all of us. I created this one for the February Quote Challenge at Inspiration Lane and it was even chosen as Layout of the Day on Friday. Pretty cool!

Credits: Papers are from Tami Miller’s “Craft Box Basics”. Tag with screw is from Tami Miller’s “Serenity Fields”. Split rivets are from Steel City Scraps “Date Snippets”. All are available at Inspiration Lane. The Love in chrome was made by me. Other elements are from the Songbird Ave Feb 2010 Collab Kit “Port Au Prince”.

I took some time out yesterday to play with some digital goodies. It’s been awhile and it felt really good to create some layouts from some of my favorite photos. I created these layouts with kits from Tami Miller and Kim Gehring. I’m on their CT now and am loving the new goodies that are creating. I also created these for the challenges at Inspiration Lane, which are very cool and a lot of fun.

This first layout was created for the Ad Sketch Challenge. We had to use a specific ad, it was a film festival poster, as inspiration. I used Tami Miller’s beautiful kit, Serenity Fields, for this one.

The mock wedding was fun. The synagogue does this each year with the fourth graders which felt a little odd, but when I thought about it… they are young enough for it to NOT mean anything other than a chance to dress up, but old enough to understand the traditions and the various parts of the ceremony. Isabella informed us she was divorced, before she even made it to the reception! Although she did agree to have her picture taken with her newly divorced un-groom. It was a fun morning.

This photo of my husband resting on a bench was taken at the zoo last year. I like how the sun was in his eyes through the trees and he really was quite peaceful. I used Kim Gehring’s Hippie Chick to create this layout, and I used it for the Playing with Numbers Challenge, which pushed me to be super minimalist by only allowing a certain number of items/elements on the page.

I encourage you to check out Tami and Kim’s kits, they are really beautiful. AND to check out the digital challenges at Inspiration Lane, there is something for everyone!

So. You might have gathered from my previous posts that I’m trying to organize, simplify, take more time for family, etc. Oh. And be healthy, err, healthiER, to be honest about it. Not trying to run any marathons this year, just trying to stop the ever-spreading backside.

So one of the things I wanted to get a handle on was cooking. Eating at home is infinitely better for so many reasons. I can control what goes in our mouths, I can control how much goes in our mouths, its cheaper, and its faster than getting in the car, deciding where to go, sitting down, ordering, waiting, eating, waiting, and driving home. I would rather spend that extra time doing something else. So in one of my many blog reading sessions, someone (sorry, don’t know who) posted a link to Once A Month Mom which caught my eye and being the type-A person I am, decided instantaneously to give it a try. Last Saturday, Scott and I shopped from her grocery list, using some of what we already had in hand. We got everything we needed for a marathon cooking session on Sunday.

And marathon it was. I took no photos because I was too busy cooking but from 9am to 5pm, we cooked. With a 1 hour break for lunch.We ended up with about 30 dinners, 20 breakfasts, and about 10 lunches. Seriously, in 8 hours. Our freezer was completely confused when we got ready to load it up. Had no clue how to handle that much food, but where there is a will, there is a way. So now, we have meals.

We’ve been eating them this week and I have to say, they are all yummy so far, and our dinner time is easy. We spend more time talking, less time cooking, and we don’t have to GO anywhere. I love that. So, the food and dinner situation is under control. And even school day breakfasts for Isabella and breakfasts and lunches for Scott. Sweet. Oh. And the entire grocery bill for everything we cooked, plus some extra snacks for Isabella, and some household cleaning items, was under $450. I don’t know how that compares to your food budget, but that is HUGE for us when I think about how much we have spent on restaurants, fast food, and even groceries bought several times a week for various meals.

And yes, we’re still married after spending 8 hours in the kitchen. We rocked it. It was fun and awesome. Reminded me how totally GOOD my husband is. Did I mention how much I love him so? Well, I do. He’s the best. And I will try to remember to take photos next month.

I had so much fun and took a few photos and then got home and lost track of time. For those of you who are not completely addicted to crafts like me, CHA is the Craft and Hobby Association trade show. They have two per year and last week was the Winter 2010 show in Anaheim, CA. I got lucky and was able to go, literally last minute, thanks to my awesome hubby who understands my need for paper, adhesive, markers, and yes, even my Tim Holtz addiction. So here are some of my photos from the trip.

This is Shimelle doing a make-and-take at the consumer show on Saturday afternoon. I went to the consumer show, held before the industry trade show, specifically to meet Shimelle. Shimelle has online scrapbooking classes full of inspiration and ideas, and has a wonderful, sparky outlook on life. I love her blog and her classes. It was a joy to meet her in person.

Canvas Home Basics was another favorite of mine. Since I like to do more than layouts, this gem of a vendor really caught my eye. I can see canvas on layouts, yes, but I can also see canvas on all sorts of home decor, cards, you name it, I can put some canvas on it. They even have rugs. Gonna have to get my hands on one of those. Seriously.

And this is Janet. Janet of J Designs. Janet of the shopping spree maniac Janets. Janet of the “wanna share my hotel room” Janet. Love Janet. I met Janet two summers ago at CKU Houston, she was one of our little gang who have stayed in touch. Many have been to other retreats and conventions together since that fateful meeting. I have not. But I am this year. And it started with hanging out with Janet at CHA. And her helping me spend money. Oh my.

Okay, I’m going to post more photos over on the Scrap N’Art blog because I had lots of fun checking out vendors for the magazine. Head over there if you want to see more!