Weekly Feature

I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things after being gone on vacation...and I completely forgot about my Weekly Feature yesterday! Better late than never right...

Celebrate the friendships in your life with this handmade, hand cut word album :) Keep it for yourself...or delight one of your friends with a great gift!

The colors are pink and purple. The album measures 4"x12". Pages are made of heavy-duty chipboard. Each page is covered front and back with heavy cardstock. Letters are cut from patterned paper and place at end of each page.

Album is bound with two metal rings that are covered with matching ribbons and decorated with an assortment of scrapbook embellishments.

Michigan Memories

I got back yesterday from spending 4 days with my parents. I went with my uncle and cousin...and we had a blast :) I thought I'd share an overview of my trip with you and show you my lovely family!

When we got there Wednesday night, we relaxed for a little while then went to the Gilmore Car Museum where they have a cruise every Wednesday night. People bring their classic cars and park at the museum and then others can walk around and enjoy all the cars. We saw lots of neat ones...but no pics...sorry! We then had dinner at a local pub...yummy food :)

Thursday my mom had to work, so we had a guys' day :) We started out at a discount store and all of us found great items! And cheap too! I love to shop when things are so cheap :) We then went to two sport stores called Gander Mountain and D and Rs. I found a few more great buys...a cooler and a T-shirt for Jesse :) On our way back toward home we stopped at two wineries and did some tasting. I ended up buying 4 bottles of wine...so I think I'm set for a while :) I even got the guys to smile for a pic! (Okay...maybe not smiling...but they posed at least!) That night we went to some friends of my parents and saw their amazing house! Very nice people and we got a tour of the entire place!

Friday was girl's day :) My mom got off work early, so her good friend and I went to meet her for lunch. Then it was off to the casino and then to a movie. We saw The Proposal...cute movie :) Girls' days are always so much fun!!!

Saturday was the highlight of the trip. I just love going out on Gull Lake with my parents' good friends and enjoying the sun and fun :) We always have so much fun! I would love to live on the lake and have a nice area to go park the boat and wade around!

Here is me with my dad and mom.

My mom, me, and her good friend Lidy.

And our gracious hosts on the lake: Lidy and Tom :)

And I had to make sure and get a picture with my "sisters". Lucky is 12 and Pandi will be 17 in July...so this might be the last time I see them. This photo was a must!

I hope you enjoyed seeing my trip as much as I enjoyed being on it! Christmas sure does seem like a long time from now to see my parents again! But at least I got to enjoy 4 great days with them :)

LazyTCrochet...Featured EtsyBlogger!!!

Meet Tricia of LazyTCrochet! She's our featured EtsyBlogger for the month of June :) She was one of the teams earliest members...so what better person to feature this month :) Wanna see some of my favorites from her shop? Of course you do :)

Cool Blue Wrap

Loop D Loop Long Blue Wrap Scarf Fiber Necklace

Coral Wrap Fringed Stole

Pink and teal are two of my fave colors....so of course these all stood out! And don't forget about her blog either :) Read about her crafting, what's for dinner, and what her and her family are up to :) I hope you enjoyed meeting Tricia...now go visit her for yourself :)

Tomato Update!

My tomatoes are taking off wonderfully! And the pepper plant is right there with them! I sort of gave up on the topsy-turvy tomato for this year. It is still green, but VERY small. If it actually does anything...I'll be sure to let you all know.

Here is my large tomato plant. No starter on it yet, but I'll bet when I get back from my trip there will be :)

My small tomato plant has a few starters and I'll be anxious for these to be ready! I love to eat them on my salads!

The pepper is right there with it and has few small starters!

I love watching everything grow and bloom! I just wish I had more patience :) How are your gardens doing?

Wordless Wednesday-And I'm Off!

Scrap Room-Before and After

WARNING: Some of these photos may not be appropriate for young eyes! Okay, just kidding! I just wouldn't want your youngins to see these and think they are allowed to let their own rooms look like this! I had quite the mess!

This whole process was prompted by my wonderful uncle :) He had made my aunt a really cool paper rack and offered to make me one too! How Cool!!! So he came and took measurements and got started. I got to looking around my room and wondered how I was going to get the new shelving in my room...and where was I going to put everything that was there now! Time to Clean!!!

Are you ready? Here are the before pics:

The view you saw walking into my room!

My old paper rack...Yikes!

And the mess sitting next to it!

My Super Messy Work Table! How did I work here!?!

More stuff piled on the floor because it had no where to go!

And more!

See what I mean...a scary mess. Now you know why I wanted you to cover your children's eyes! I can't believe I let it get this bad. But when I get busy on projects, cleaning gets put by the way side. And just a note: The rest of my house does NOT look like this! This is just my creative chaos :) I do keep the rest of the house under control!

And now for the organized wonderfulness:

My new paper racks!!! Thanks Uncle Dave!!!

There are 73 spaces for paper...and I still need more! There are also 6 shelves on the bottom for other organization...also all full!

My much cleaner work table! Wow...there was really a table under there!

Newly organized shelf. All of my albums in one place now!

I took the doors off this closet to better use it. I moved the shelf from where my paper rack is now into the closet for more room :) And I cleaned the closet and got rid of a bunch of stuff that never should have been in there to begin with!

And finally a place for my sewing machine! So nice! Thanks Aunt Peg for fixing it for me :)

And storage for all my flip flops! And yes, there is a shoe rack on both sides of the door...that's how many flip flops I have waiting to be made into albums!

What do you think? Uncle Dave did a great job on my paper rack, didn't he! And because of him...the whole room got a major cleaning it's been needing! Gotta love great family :) And none of this would even be about if it weren't for his wondeful wife...my Aunt Peg...who got me started on card making and scrapbooking through 4-H :) I really do have one great family!!!

Weekly Feature

As most of my readers know, I have new kitties at my house. And I think we are getting 3 more this week :) That will be the perfect amount for outside kitties! So in honor of the newest additions to my family...here is this week's weekly feature :)

Do you love your furbaby as much as I do :)

Celebrate the relationship you have with your cat with this one-of-a-kind I♥MYCAT Word Album!

The album is hand cut from heavy-duty chipboard and covered on both sides with cardstock. The letters are then covered with matching patterned paper. The album is decorated with lots of fun kitty cat scrapbook embellishments and bound with two metal rings that are covered with matching ribbon. Album measures 4"x12".

Our pets give us so much...now remember all of those special moments with this super cute album :)

First Ride

Yesterday we went to the lake and had a great time with some friends. I was hoping to ski, but the lake was very busy! With all the rain we've had lately, I guess everyone had the same idea to get out on the water :)

Today we went to a different no-wake lake where Jesse's brother and family were camping. We took the kids for a ride on the boat and they just loved it. They loved to run back and forth, help Jesse drive and most of all...honk the horn :) It was nice to just putt around and relax. And this was the twins' first boat ride :) See how cute they are...

Family fun...what more could we ask for :)

The Bright Side :)

As many of my readers know...our truck was recently broken into and my purse and Jesse's wallet were both stolen...along with all of their contents! It was a huge mess and a huge headache...but I always try and look on the bright side :) And when my new purse showed up today...that was pretty easy! I got this great purse on Etsy from a cool shop called DukDesigns. It is the perfect size and I love the pattern! I also love that it has three nice-sized pockets on the inside as well :) You should check out her other purses as well! And along with a new purse, I needed new stuff to put in it. So I got a new wallet and keychain as well. Oh yeah, and my cool new phone too :) So when life hands you an unpleasant situaion...try and look on the bright side :) It's always sunnier over there :)

Summer's Here-Blog Carnival Entry

One of our options for this week's blog carnival with the EtsyBloggers Team is Summer's Here. And since summer officially starts on Sunday...what better topic to write about :)

So what do I do all summer long? Well...I take every opportunity to enjoy the sun! A typical summer at my house looks something like this:

We try to make it to the lake a few times each year. We didn't do so well last year...as in-we didn't get the boat out once! But we're making up for it this year. We've already been out twice and we're planning on going again tomorrow!!!

We also try to go canoeing a few times. Canoeing is so relaxing. We have a nice new canoe with seat backs and I just sit in the front of the boat and get a tan :) Jesse does all the rowing and lets me just enjoy the ride. Don't ask me why I always take a shot of my feet...but I do it every time :)

We also try and go to the Lake of the Ozarks where Jesse's mom's boyfriend has a summer house. The house is back in a nice cove where we can play and swim. This is me and one of Jesse's cousins watching the fireworks off the back of the boat :)

We also try and go visit my parents once a year. Here is a shot of us enjoying Gull Lake in Michigan :) Can't wait to see them again this year...I leave Wednesday!!! I've got tons of hugs saved up for them!!!

And since Harley doesn't usually get to go with us to the lake or river...he has his own pool all to himself :) He loves to float and play in the water. He'll chase the bubbles when we fill it and splash around. He's so much fun to watch :)

Most of all, we just try and have fun :) The yard can be mowed tomorrow...let's go to the lake!!!