12 on 12 November

Is this really November's 12 on 12? Is there really just one month left to this year?  It flew by a lot faster than I like. 

On my way to Shop Rite there was crazy dense fog.  Very hard to see through in some areas.

Did a little damage today.  Got clothes for everyone but me.  I'm keeping the Kohl's cash for myself!

Still re-stocking the fridge & freezer.  Today has been a total errand day.

Still catching up on laundry.  Grateful to be able to do it from home instead of lugging it to a laundromat, which I thought I was going to do during the power outage.

She's modeling the clothes I got her today.  She loved them all!  Not all clothes should be hand-me-downs.  She needs some new items that are just hers.

Needed an afternoon pick me up.  So tired and no time for a nap.

Under attack from fruit flies.  Trying out a trap I found on Pinterest.  Hoping it works, since they're bugging me. HA!

 

Making flash cards to help Marissa study for her vocabulary test.  These words are hard for sixth graders!

 Re-discovered some never been used fun stamps for my Project Life album.

All ready for bed.  She really needs a room makeover.  She looks too tiny in her bed.

Spent some time printing pics for Project Life while having gummi bears.  I eat the red ones first since they're my least favorite, saving the yellow & green for last.

Filling in pages of my 30 Days of Thanks mini album.  Keeping it very simple just so I can keep up with it.  I don't have a lot of time to get fancy with it right now.

This month was hard.  I was so busy with normal, boring stuff that towards the end of the day I realized I wasn't close to having my 12 pics.  It was a very boring Monday.

Project Life September 2012

I know it's now November, but here's my Sept. Project Life pages. Took me forever to be able to get decent shots of these.  They're still not the greatest but better than nothing. 

I think when I did these pages, I was in a "get it done" frame of mind.  Which means I kept it simple.  Seems to be a new theme around here for me, I guess.  I used a lot of washi, stamps, Silhouette cuts & letter stickers. 

Another month of 12 on 12, went with an orange theme this time around.

I had a lot of pics for this week.  I like how they all fit in. 

This is probably my simplest page, but I like it. 

Fell in love with the new Seafoam edition for next year but I could easily make my own from my stash....that is if I decide to do PL again. Still up in the air. I've really enjoyed it this year, a lot more than the first year I did it. We'll see how I feel. 

And Then There Was LIGHT!!

After running some errands today, I felt the start of a massive headache.  I'm not sure if it's a sinus headache or just plain being tired from not sleeping well.  I stopped at Dunkin Donuts for some coffee and donuts for the girls. I was happy to see this Christmas cup.  It put a smile on my face. I needed a little JOY in my life.

I was at the end of my good humor.  Short tempered and frustrated.  The storm has affected me hard.  It was downright depressing in fact.  The littlest thing could have me choking up in tears.  It was pathetic.  I don't like feeling powerless, who does?  With a new storm hitting us today, I was worried for the kids.  The constant worry was taking it's toll.

Both Joe & I spoke with the power company and got different stories on when we might get power back.  We couldn't get a straight answer, no hope of a "when" or anything.  Joe at least, heard maybe Friday but definitely by Sunday.  WHAT???  We had enough of this.  We are planning on getting a natural gas generator so that we will never be without power again.  Of course then, we will probably never get another storm, but I'm OK with that. 

So once I picked up Marissa from school, the girls and I hung around the house watching the snow start to fall.  We kept occupied as much as we could but it was getting dark.  I finally left the girls in front of the fireplace in the family room to go sit in the kitchen to stare into space, I needed a breather from their bickering.  All of a sudden there was a loud noise & the lights came on!!  Noticing the time it was 6:52 almost the exact same time that we lost power....strange.

I was shocked & almost didn't understand what happened for a split second.  I freaked out (in a good way) & hurried to call Joe who was on his way home.  He couldn't believe it either.  We were all so thrilled to have power back!  We went around the house turning off lights that had been left on & making sure things worked.  I couldn't wait to do laundry!  I am SO thankful that the power came on & we didn't have to sit through tonight in the dark & worry about keeping warm while the snow fell.  I feel like Christmas came early.  I can't express how thrilled I am.  It truly is the little things in life that make you happy.

I pray that the people that lost so much more than I did, feel settled and peace soon.  

Another Day Without Power

Yesterday before heading out to vote, I got a text from a parent at Gianna's school asking me if I got power back. Turns out she did as well as a few other streets near us. I got very hopeful that our power would be restored.

I went off to vote, then took the girls to the library for some new books. I immediately tried the light switches praying they would work, but they didn't. I didn't lose hope. I figured it was a good time to clean the fridge so I can just re-stock it once the power comes back, and got to work. I only managed to get the fridge done before running out of daylight, but now I was losing hope. It didn't help when I got a call telling me where to go if I needed shelter in the new storm that's coming. I figured if we got that message then we were not getting power.

I'm very cranky at this point. Maybe cranky isn't even a strong enough word. I think it'd be safe to say I'm pissed off. I keep telling myself that we're ok and we still have a roof over our heads but its hard when we see houses behind us fully light up, glowing with power. Joe heard we might not get power back until Friday. Lets hope not for my sanity!!!

Our town has 5 schools altogether. And as of yesterday 4 of them got power back. So today schools were open for those schools. Meaning Marissa finally went back to school today but Gianna is staying home with me.

I'll be working on cleaning the freezer today. Then I have plans to play scrabble with Gianna, until pick up time for Marissa.

Running out of patience....

I'm sorry, I'm venting.

Halloween 2012

This is the second Halloween in a row that we've had no power. This year we went to our town trunk or treat that they pulled together for the kids.

The girls were so excited to have some sort of Halloween. Marissa was the Mad Hatter and Gianna was Monster High's Rochelle Goyle. It was cold and trying to convince the girls to layer clothes under their costumes & wear coats was interesting, but they did somewhat. Most of all they got candy and they're happy.

I took better pictures but need to upload them. For now, the iPhone will do.

Still Waiting

Still without power. Sitting in the dark, all 4 of us piled up on my bed. The girls are bickering, who's touching who, who's bored, etc.

This whole without power thing is OLD. I'm beyond being over it. I won't lie, some days are ok and others are downright depressing. The simplest thing could set me off in tears. Phone call from the school saying there won't be school again tomorrow had me tearing up.

Yes I know we don't have it real bad. We have the fireplaces to keep us warm. We have a roof over our heads. Some people don't have anything. I feel bad for them. No, actually, I feel awful for them. I know some people lost EVERYTHING. My sisters friend had her house flood and her house is destroyed. She is homeless and staying with relatives. I am thankful that we survived this storm unscathed. We aren't close to the shore where there is so much devastation. Our house shook HARD that night the storm hit, we had some small to mid-size branches fall around our house, but our house is fine. I try to remember that we don't have it nowhere near as bad as some people do but it's hard. I'm not perfect.

It would be nice to have an idea of when we might get power.I've heard rumors that we'll get it back Wednesday but I'm not sure. More parts of our town got power back so i stay hopeful. Whenever we come back to the house after being out I cross my fingers that the power magically came on while we were out but so far nothing.

Trying not to give up hope. Spent some time in my scrap room today while the sun was shining and put together a "Thankful" mini album. It was very therapeutic. Joe took the girls out to his shop for some work & recharge our devices & I got some uninterrupted creative time. I needed that. I'm thankful for that.

With candles burning, I'm still waiting.

We're OK

Checking in to say we're ok. The storm was brutal. Extremely windy and we lost power for good at 7pm Monday, after it toyed with us a few times.

No damage to our house, but around town I've seen some people with tree damage. It's depressing, but puts things in perspective a bit. Yeah we don't have power but we are ok. We have a gas fireplace in the family room that keeps us warm and a wood burning fireplace in our bedroom that keeps us cozy at night. Joe lit the water heater so we have hot showers. It's not horrible.

We heat up soup on the stove and eat a lot of peanut butter but two nights ago we found Fuddruckers had power and have been eating there the last two nights. We're ok. Milkshakes help.

Today I'm going to venture out to Target to get some more staple supplies (Play-dough is a must!). I plan on killing some time there let the girls plan their Christmas lists and pretend things are normal.

During the day it's not so bad. The nights are the problem. We go upstairs to our bedroom light a fire and play card games, War being a favorite. We listen to the news on a battery operated radio an wait until we're tired enough to fall asleep. I sorta feel like "Laura Ingalls", going to sleep so early! The girls are sleeping in the room with us. We layered lots of blankets on the floor and they like their little "nest". I don't sleep well waking up during the night to make sure they're ok an covered up. Then I wake up early.

Last night the street behind ours got their power back. A few other areas got power back too, so I go around occasionally and test the lights to see if the light fairy granted my wish (I've been sleeping with a flashlight under my pillow).

My kids haven't had school all week and even they can't wait to go back. They aren't happy about missing another Halloween but there was no choice. Supposedly, the state will make up the night for the kids when it's safe. I tell them it's ok, and we have to make the most of it. They understand but they're just kids.

Most importantly, WE'RE OK.

October 365

Usually I enjoy Ocotber.  The leaves really begin to change into gorgeous colors.  The cooler days that lead to things like cute sweaters & scarfs.  Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.  The girls LOVE dressing up and going trick or treating.

I must admit, we were all reliving last SNOWTOBER a bit.  Gianna kept asking if it was going to snow again.  Little did I know it was going to be even worse than last year.

The month did not end well for us with the arrival of Hurricane Sandy, and for that I'm glad October is over.

Ah October.  It's been a helluva month!

Scraps & Sandy

Around here things have been pretty nutty.  Marissa's had some crazy hectic school/homework going on that's left me drained.  On a positive note, I've been on a scrapping spree lately but all I have to show for it is this little snippet. 

The weather has been truly nuts here & pretty overcast the last few days so I haven't been able to take any pics to share.

We are due to get hit tomorrow by Hurricane Sandy.  How bad, I can't figure out yet.  It's supposed to touch down in NJ but down South of us.  That doesn't mean we'll be untouched.  Supposedly, we'll be affected, I'm just praying we don't lose power like they've been saying.  I spent most of today watching the news. 

The girls already have no school tomorrow & we're not sure yet about Tuesday.  They're excited about not having school, but worried about the possibility of losing power.  They're also worried how it will effect Halloween.  They remember being without power for 3 days last year & the lousy Halloween we had. 

Snowtober traumatized us. 

We went today to stock up on supplies & surprisingly the supermarket wasn't crazy.  We took in our outdoor Halloween decorations so they won't blow away.  Joe moved the patio furniture close to the house so it won't get blown over & we're just waiting. 

We have 3 HUGE trees in our yard that still have a lot of their leaves, yet have been falling like snow throughout the day.  The yard is covered! 

Hoping & praying things don't get as bad as the news says. I'm sure if it weren't for Joe I'd be freaking out more than I actually am.  As always, he's my rock.

You & Me

Here's the next LO I made using Studio Calico's "Daydream Believer" kit.  I really think there will be little left in this kit, and hope to get another LO out of it.  I love yellow & grey together and this just came together based on those colors.  Yes I know I *just* made a LO with this pic on it but I had accidentally printed it twice so I decided to go with it since I was inspired....plus the yellow sweater I'm wearing in it sealed the deal for me. ;)

                                                    

As quick as I started this LO, I had a bit of scrappers block with the title.  I had I kept moving it around, it needed something, until I came across the doily I had leftover from a different project.  I embossed it & used it as an anchor piece to my title that I also created with my Cameo (made it with 6 layers, then glued it together--my favorite part of the LO). 

I don't remember when exactly I bought my first Mister Huey, but I thought I'd give it a try (I had resisted for SO LONG).  I love the look but never thought I could pull it off.  Somehow or another, I started buying them and have an assortment of colors.  They came in handy with the mistable banners that came in the kit.  That's something I had never thought I'd use & was going to set it aside to give away.  While laying everything out for my LO, I realized I could use these & misted them with three different sprays. 

I thought I had a good system to take pics of my LO's but I haven't quite perfected it yet.  The yellows look so much happier IRL, maybe even a little *too* bright, but I'm ok with that.  I don't think Joe's seen this LO yet, but I hope he likes it despite the brightness. ;) 

So In Love

The other day I realized that I haven't touched ANY of the Studio Calico kits I've bought.  This bothered me, A LOT.  I am not a subscriber to the kit, I've come **this** close to subscribing but I held back.  To be honest, one of the main reasons I've bought some of the kits are for the stamps.  There I said it.  I've always looked at the kits and said to myself that I could easily buy the pieces that I love separately, until the stamps got me.  I've noticed that in most kits there's always a few pieces that I don't really love.  It's just not me.  I also realized that the stamps are sometimes just "eh".  There's a few stamps that I just don't feel inspired to use.  So I recently said No More Kits.  Not to say no more "forever", just until I use what I have.

Still with me??

So I dug into my oldest kit, "Daydream Believer".  This kit had me at Hello.  The colors are "me" and I knew I could make this work.  I dug around online for a little inspiration just for good measure, and then spread out the kit.  The yellow polka dots inspired me.  I wanted to do a LO about the girls and how they're my sunshine, etc.  My problem was I couldn't find a pic of them that went with the paper. Then I realized I could change things all together and printed off a few shots of Joe and I. 

Before I knew it, I had a LO.  This came together super quick!  I kept it very simple and love how it came out!  I also started another LO with this kit right away.  I believe there won't be a lot leftover from this kit, and that makes me a happy scrapper!

Vacation Memories Thru Instagram Mini-Album

On our trip to Florida in August 2011, I shared A LOT of our trip through Instagram.  I had a lot of pics that weren't "just Disney".  They showed all the fun stuff we did and it wasn't just characters from the park. I printed them all out and had an idea in mind to make an Instagram mini-album, using my captions from Instagram as my journaling (maybe slightly modified).  Of course, life got in the way and the album got pushed aside. 

I had just finished catching up on my Project Life album, when I came across the pics and the album I set aside  for it & decided to go for it.  I was inspired to get it done.  I soon realized, that I was getting the pages done quicker than I thought, which inspired me even more to finish it.

While the cover shows that it's mostly Disney World, we also snuck out to Sea World for the first time & those pics are included in this album, that's why I added the wave.... ; )

The best part was how thin I managed to keep the album! I've never made an album SO thin!  I stuck to a lot of stamping, Silhouette Cameo cuts, punches, labels & washi tape (of course!) to keep the bulk to a minimum, but was still surprised at how thin it was!

                                          

I had no plan for the album.  I just tried to keep all the similar pics together on a page.  At first I thought about just slapping the pics in "Smashbook" style.  While there's nothing wrong with that, that's not my style and you can see how the first few pages are much different from the rest of the album. 

 

I eventually noticed that I slowly happened to design the pages in a more grid design.

I took a TON of pics at Sea World but didn't Instagram then all. 

On this page I "cheated" a little.  I snuck in a few shots weren't on Instagram, but just went with it.  Don't tell anyone. ; ) HA!

The last page is very simple & plain but I like it.  The only thing I left out of the album was the date.  I realized it after taking the pics, so I'll just go back & add it late.  No big. 

The album shows that while you're at "Disney World", there's SO much more to see & do than what most people expect.

Pumpkin Picking 2012

Today we went to the pumpkin patch.  The girls found their pumpkins right away.  As they get older, the hunt is shorter.  However, as they get older they want the bigger pumpkins....no wait, that hasn't changed.

It seems like every year we go later in the day to find pumpkins.  Marissa had trouble with the sun in her eyes.  NOTE TO SELF: Go earlier in the day next year.

Gianna's biggest struggle was deciding between the "normal" pumpkins and the "warty" pumpkins.  She wants to carve it so she went with the smooth, normal one.

Another struggle as they get older is tolerating each other long enough for a pic together.  We've been really working on them getting along better.  It's not like I ask them to hold hands or hug all the time!  C'mon, work with me!!

A tradition of ours is measuring the girls. I fear Marissa will outgrow the sign one day.  Hope she slows up soon or she'll be as tall as me!

Gianna is slowly catching up to Marissa.  I tell her to enjoy her age now & not rush things.  She doesn't like being the youngest.

Every chance I get, I try to get a pic with Joe.  Marissa took this (out of many) and after a little cropping I love it. ;)

I love these pumpkins the most.  So pretty.

Gianna was not happy about posing in front of the scarecrow but did it for me. 

Both girls picked out a small white pumpkin to paint.  Love Marissa's smile.

Me and my shadow. 

I'm in denial that it's October.  When I can get away with it, I still wear flip flops.  I don't look forward to the cold, cold days.  It's bad enough how dark it gets early on.  Halloween will be here before we know it!!