My life, my love, my reality...

Fun new sites!

On of my favorite things to do is search the internet, check blogs and find brand new companies to shop at that I never would have found on my own.  I love that about blogging.  I have found some fabulous finds and I am going to share them with ya'll today.

First up: The talented Heather Bailey.  Oh man she makes me swoon.  I don't even sew. I don't know how!  But I hope to learn with her beautiful fabric and oh so fun projects. Just look at these strawberry pin cushions!

Gorgeous eye candy!   Plus, she has a fresh line of Patterned paper and embellishments for the devoted scrapbooker.  I hope to pick some of her line up real soon. 

Lately, I have been heavily into vintage and shabby chic.   I have browsed through different magazines such as Romantic Country magazines and I found this site and shop through a regular read of mine: Sadie Olive owns an online boutique in Southern California, and her stuff is gorgeous.  You can definitely get in a lot of trouble there, so browse wisely and with caution.  But don't blame me if you end up spending a fortune!  

And if you are looking for a fun purse for the summer....look no further than Etsy.  I recently requested from my husband this purse from the Pink Lemonade Boutique there. Gorgeous no?  I hope to have that purse in my hot little hands soon and in time for my birthday! You can also check out the Funky Bag Lady as well. Great purse shopping there.

Looking for new stamps to try out?  Check out the Unity Stamp Co.  They just released their new sets last night, so I had to check them out and I am very impressed. So I grabbed just a couple. And if you order in the US, you pay just $5.00 for shipping. Not bad at all!  So quick go check them out before they are completely gone.  They are great!

Well that is all they new sites I have for right now.  So whenever you have time stop by! Have a great day!

Tiff~

Happy Hump Day!

I am sooo glad it is finally Wednesday.  That means only a couple more days until Friday, a day I am so looking forward to. 

Last night I told you all that I was going to try and get some scrapping done.  Mission accomplished. I finished a card for a certain person.  *Pam, if you read this....you say NOTHING! =)*

Here is the card:

The prego stamp is called Pregabella from the oh so fabulous Stamping Bella.  I had bought a few of the Bellas from her awhile ago and I finally got to play around with it.  I colored her in with my copic markers that I purchased from Eclectic Paperie and I used Crate Paper's Blue Hill collection.  And as you can see I used my Threading Water border punch....fabulous!

Next layout is of me and Madi in our shades:

I had a sketch, but I didn't follow it at all.  Used some Heidi Swapp flowers and the paper and other embellishments are fromStudio Calico's May Kit.  I love their kits.  They are always gorgeous and I always get tons out of them.

It is a good thing that I was able to get some time alone, because today started off really crappy! Pardon my french people, but seriously.  I woke up at 7:30am. Had to get dressed, get Madi ready for her babysitter's and then I had to stop for gas.  Only when I stopped for gas and grabbed my purse, I realized that my wallet was not in there! WHAT!  I am seriously trying to rack my brain to figure out what the heck I did with my wallet.  I have a feeling I left it at Madi's daycare.  Please Lord let it be there! Otherwise, I am screwed!

Dan and I plan on having a nice dinner at home tonight.  I told him I was craving steak.  Nope, not prego.....just really want some steak.  Because it sounds delicious.  We also discussed the Philippines on the phone today.  I was feeling really sad that I wasn't going to go with him when he leaves in July (for two weeks mind you!)  I really want to be with him.  He suggested that Madi and I go with him.  He leaves in  July....how the heck am I going to request time off to go to the Philippines for two weeks?  He suggested we talk about it and pray really hard!  I would hate to be without him for two weeks.  And I think it would be a great experience for Madi to see a different country (she would get her own passport and have a stamp that said she visited the Philippines and any other country we would have to stop in due to layover!)  What do you all think?  We are planning on having another baby by next year, so this may be the only time that we will be able to do this together until they are older.  Prayers and input are much appreciative (as long as you are not mean.

Well, that is all I got for right now.  Will post tomorrow!

Tiff~

The weekend has come and gone

I swear! Three day weekends go by too fast!  And I really wanted to tell you guys all about my weekend, but I can't for the life of me remember what the heck we did on Saturday. I think we went to Target to pick up some much needed materials, but again, I can't remember what they were. *smile* Oh well.  It was fun shopping though. 

On Monday we headed over to my parent's house to hang out.  I didn't get to see my Mom for Mother's Day because she was really sick from her medication and treatment. She is feeling much better, Praise the Lord!  She still feels really tired and nauseous on some days, but it is much better than we anticipated her feeling.  It was good to see my folks and I know they enjoyed seeing Madi.  They hadn't seen her sweet face in a few weeks and my Mom would call every couple of days to see how she was doing.  Oh and I made my family those famous Apple Dumplings for dessert. Once again...a BIG hit! Check out the Pioneer Woman and seriously....make those dumplings! They are amazing!

By the way....anyone in Southern California notice how much gas was this morning? $4.00 people. $4.00 stinking a gallon.  So pretty much between childcare and gas for my commute to work.....there goes my entire paycheck from APU.  Not literally, but pretty darn close! Ridiculous! 

Tonight is the Studio Calico June Kit reveal.  The party starts at 12 midnight Eastern time....so for Pacific time peeps, hit up the website at 9pm to grab your kit and some add-ons...they will go fast! I unfortunately won't be there because my home computer is still on the fritz.  Lame. 

This weekend I started a new bible study by Beth Moore.  She is by far one of my favorite bible teachers.  She gets us deep into the word and she stays in context to scripture.  You really learn a lot from her studies and you will learn the word and memorize scripture by the end of it.  She expects it of you!  The study I am doing is called Living Beyond Yourself: studying the fruit of the spirit. On day 3 and I am amazed at the findings.  So much to gain from the book of Galatians.  So much truth and knowledge.......you can't help but grow when you are in the Word of the Lord daily, coming to Him for your daily portion.  So if you don't currently have a bible study or are in the Word, here is a good place to start.

Well, that is all I have for now. May I leave you with a couple bits of scripture that I found convicting and encouraging this weekend.

"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20

Have a great Tuesday!

Some fab stuff!

So this weekend was good and bad.  Of course on Saturday it was national scrapbooking day, and although I was feeling particularly under the weather....I headed out to my lss and picked up some goodies!  Madi came with me and we had a lot of fun together.  She ran around the whole store.  It is a little hard to shop with a two year old who is not caged to her stroller!

She did manage to let me take a picture of her though:

She loves scrapping....gotta start them young. 

By the afternoon, this was her:

She was out cold!  Of course I should have been taking a nap, but no....there was too much cleaning for me to do to be able to enjoy one.  Such is life!

And I also got to purge some supplies that I have not used and I probably won't use.  I am giving them away on this blog!  Check this out!

TONS of stuff that I am giving to one lucky person!!!!!!!! 

And do you see that?  That is a Sassafrass poster.  Yep, that is going in there too.  Yippee! So just leave a comment on this post and I will pull the winner on Friday May 9th.  Blessings!

Tiff~

Friday People!

Tomorrow is National Scrapbooking Day.  That makes me oh so excited as I get a few hours to myself just scrapping and shopping to my little heart's content.  Oh how I love special days like this...especially when it has to do with one of my favorite hobbies.

Today, since I unfortunately have to work outside of the home, Dan brought my little Madi to my office as a treat.  And then we headed out to lunch at one of my FAVORITE Mexican food restaurants "The Whole Enchilada." Delicious I tell you. And of course, My dd just had to have a photo taken with me.  Yes we are attached at the hip and we have the exact same personality. Scary and hilarious all at the same time.  I love it.  It does make me wonder if/when we have more children what their personalities will be like.  And between you and me, I think Dan is secretly hoping for another little girl.  I think he likes the idea of having girls in his house that he can protect.  And Madi loves her daddy....ABSOLUTELY! And he is a sucker for it.

So after my delicious lunch, it was back to work and it has since died down over here on my end.  So I took a little break from the file perusing and decided to check out an old scrapbook kit favorite.  And oh goodness.....I just about died!  This gorgeous kit must be in my hands.  It is a lot more expensive than what I would normally pay for a paper kit...but I saw her blog and again I almost died! I mean look at what you can do with that kit!  I may have to do some convincing of my hubby for this one.  But if he says no, that is okay....because it's not like I don't have any paper that I can't use.  I will just need to find some of those chipboard dolls and chipboard albums to make my own banner.

I am loving all the vintage and french inspired decor lately. Simply gorgeous.  I think I am starting to find my style.  I am loving the soft pastel palettes that are appearing all over websites.  Just discovered this site on a favorite blog of mine.  Had me drooling!  Shopping is turning into public enemy number one!

By the way....thank you for praying for our college student.  Dan tried to visit him yesterday, but apparently a lot of family were trying to get in to see the mother.  I believe they took her off life support at 6:00pm yesterday.  I have not heard any other updates since then.  Again, thank you!

Update: I just learned from Dan that our student's mother passed away a little before 7pm last night. But praise God.....she accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior.  So we know that she is in His arms free from pain and praising our Lord.  God is so wonderful to His children.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend and that if you are a scrapbooker, you have something fun to do for NSD.  Talk to you all soon!

Tiff~

Gotta love goodies!

So yesterday, I didn't have to pick up Dan from work as he had evangelism training at the church and he was going to get a ride home.  So I picked up Madi from Daycare and stopped by my parent's house for a little bit.  My  mom is beginning her treatment for her Hepatitis C, so prayers for her are much appreciated! 

After that, Madi and I headed over to my LSS and I decided to pick up some fabulous goodies that I have been dying to have.

Do you see the Pink Paislee goodness?  Oh yeah.  I am super excited.  Super.Excited.  I can't wait to play.  I have some projects that I need to work on this weekend. Hopefully, I will have some success with these layouts and it will help me be able to stay at home with Madi.  *smile*

And I also picked up some Heidi Swapp papers.  Delicious.  Fabulous!  Can't wait to use them as well.  And I am currently stalking the Papertrey Ink blog, because I am awaiting the release of their new stamps and colors.  I love that company. 

And Big NEWs in Arbonne!!! They have announced brand new products today.  I am so excited about the new Seasource Detox Spa set.  Doesn't that sound delicious?  I want that set.  I need a detox..and a spa treatment. 

They have also added a new set for FYI (For Young Individuals).  I LOVE pink.  I love this company.  They are always coming out with fantastic stuff.  Love that. 

Will update on Monday regarding our weekend.  Dan is preaching at all the main services so he is really excited.  I definitely feel that this gives him tons of experience in preaching at larger services and helping him grow in confidence.  He will hopefully start going back to school to finish his Bachelor's and then onto Masters in Theology.  I know he would love to pastor a church someday.  All in God's time. 

Love!

Tiff~

Some ramblings

So last night my hubby and I were watching TBN (Trinity Broadcast Network for those who don't know) and we saw a music video for a new artist named Britt Nicole.  She rocks.  She has this single called "Believe" and I loved it.  Already have her album downloaded from Itunes.  Love that.  She kind of reminds me of Ashley Simpson...at least in her video.  She is good! Check her out!

It has been rainy all weekend, so our family really hasn't done anything too eventful.  Dan is at church today and it doesn't look like Madi and I will be joining him tonight due to the fact that Madi got sick.  She has a nasty cough and a runny nose.  I am praying it doesn't turn into anything worse....like the FLU!  It sucks this season...seriously.

Did a layout and a card today.  The layout was inspired by the song  "Believe" by good ole Britt.

I wanna Believe

The journaling goes like this: I wanna believe, I wanna believe in love again. Tired of living this way, tired of everyday, so will you help me. I wanna breakthrough.  I wanna believe in you.

And here is my little card:

I think I might send this to my friend Bre who found out she just may be having a little girl.  I know she is really excited!  And  I think all the pink and lavender and green  and chocolate colors will make her smile.

Friday night Dan and I had our young adult small group.  For Dan, I think it was almost life changing.  I totally agreed with everything our guest speakers spoke about, since I had been working on them personally.  But for Dan, for some reason, they hit him like a ton of bricks.  And today he told me that he was going to really consider helping me pursue my dreams.  I can't really reveal too much right now, because he and I need still need to talk about what that looks like and how that will work now that we have a child.  But I have to say that I am extremely excited...and scared...completely nervous!!!!!!!  But God willing, it will  work out.  Maybe not exactly how I think, but it will work out if it is His will.  I believe that. 

Still eating those Fat Daddy cupcakes. I have 3 left.  And they have all been extremely delicious.  Dangit....so much for trying to lose weight.  Delicious desserts get me every time! Dan told me not to buy anymore for awhile.  I think I will honor that.  I don't want to turn into a cupcake. LOL!

Made some purchases from Papertrey Ink.  They have gorgeous stamps.  Been  looking through my Stampin Up! catalog and I am seeing some punches and stamps that I would like to grab so I can make Madi's birthday party invites as well as party favors.  I love making homemade items for parties and such.  I think it makes it more personal and often you can save tons of money in the area of decor and spend more money for food....the  best part! 

Well, I have some dishes to wash and laundry to do...and a little  one to take care of. Talk to you later!

Tiff~

Too much fun

I am seriously starting to love my weekends again. For awhile I wasn't taking the time to do things for myself after a long work week, and it was starting to take a toll on my family life and my attitude.  This is part of my New Year's Resolution to take care of my mind, my body and my spirit...and so far I am seeing some incredible improvements. 

Anyway, Friday night I had an Arbonne party that went absolutely fabulous.  I had the girls watch part of a DVD by Krista Embry (model and makeup artist for over 20 years) and learn some cool tips on applying eye  shadow.  The girls then got to play with some of the makeup that Arbonne carries.  Seriously, I love their stuff and one young lady, a cute redhead, found her perfect shade of red.  So  much fun!  It is amazing what the right shade of red can do for your face and you could tell in her face she had found a little extra oomph in her confidence and  her appearance.  She  was already a cutie...but I do believe she loved the results.

Saturday was a much more relaxed day.  We kind of just hung out and watched some tv and I got to read for a little bit.  Later that evening, Dan gave me some free time and dropped me off at The Scrappin Table to hang out while he and Madi went grocery shopping.  He thinks he can do a better job than I can and to be honest, he is faster at it.  So now we have tons of food for this week (and perhaps next week too) and I have some new goodies from my new favorite store.    Can't wait to play while Dan is watching the Superbowl.  Oh yeah....did you forget that was today?  I didn't, but only because I was reminded 20 billion times that today was the superbowl.  ha! And yes, we do have some goodies for today too.  I mean you can scrap, I mean, watch the superbowl without good food! 

Hope you all have a wonderful day.  I am going to try to clean up my  house a little bit before Dan gets home so he can feel comfy and relaxed and watch an exciting game. 

Tiff~ 

What do you mean by....

The topic tonight at our college group was the cost of following Jesus.  Tonight, Dan proposed a good question that I think all of us who choose to follow Jesus and trust Him as our Lord and Savior....Do we understand the true cost of following Jesus?  When we say "I will follow You Lord"....do we know what we are saying?  I think so many people speak those words and yet when walking with the Lord gets hard they leave, or they decide they need more time to talk and think  about that decision.  When Jesus says "Come and follow Me"  Go.  It really was a great night and I am sure many of our students really searched their hearts and their commitment to God.

I know the kids are really excited about Phil Wickham coming to our group on February 10th.  I know I am.  It should be a great evening with great worship and lots of new faces!  If you are in Southern California...come on over Illuminate at Knott Avenue Christian  Church at 6:00pm 2/10/08.  It  will be amazing.

Checked out Studio Calico this evening to see the beautiful kit that will be coming my way.  Sad thing is, I haven't even really worked on the January kit, so I think I should start on that tomorrow.  Picked up some other goodies from the Scrappin Table last night, so I need to play with those too.  Gosh...I am feeling really creative right now.  Too bad I can't do anything about it tonight.  Most of my stuff is in Madi's closet and she is sleeping.  To wake her up would be bad news.  She is a momma's girl and she likes to cuddle with me...which  means less sleep  for me! LOL! I mean what else is new.  I haven't really slept in almost 2 years.  And my mom said something  about not sleeping until you are really old..........

Arbonne is going okay.  I haven't really pushed it lately because I have been doing other things.  I think I am really going to take it to the next level next month and try to move up to District Manager.  I would like to make some more money and be able to get back home with my family.  It really means that much to me.  Been doing a lot of shopping too at Old Navy, Forever 21...mostly to keep up my appearance and not go back to the dowdy housewife I was slowly watching myself become.  I really stopped taking care of my appearance for awhile and it was starting to show everywhere.  I am happy to report that I am slowly coming back to my old self.  It feels wonderful.  Now onto being a better wife and mother.

I should probably go and get some sleep.  It is about 11am here and I am going to have to get up early tomorrow and get ready for my day.  A lot to do.  Love you all!

Tiff~

A fun Saturday evening

Tonight I got to attend the Grand Re-Opening of the Scrappin Table in Placentia.  I am so thankful that I have a scrapbook store that is local and I don't have to drive across country for.  Here are some fun photos of the evening:

The owner Michelle

Her darling girls

The Scrappin Table

Free Make and Takes!

Don't forget the food!

Me in the car after a fun filled evening at the Scrappin Table...on my way to:

Yes folks, I headed over to Ralphs because tonight my hubby and I were planning on watching the Miss America Pageant.  Now, I love watching pageants....have since I was a little girl and believe it or not, I won one!  LOL I am really proud of that can you tell? So I bought what you would normally eat while watching really hot and fit chicks walking on stage in bikinis......Junk food!  It really is the only way.

And tonight we watched as Miss Michigan took home the title of Miss America:

Have a great evening everyone!  Will hopefully update with more soon!

Tiff~

The owner Michelle