I was taking a bath...

...today the way I normally do: I turn the water on, drop bubble bath in and close the door and concentrate on some of the OTHER fifteen thousand chores I have to do daily while the tub fills. Baths are not just a cleansing for me...they are an OCCASION. A chance to read, an opportunity to meditate...sometimes even a break from Kea. Not today, though. As is the case 90% of the time, when the little homey hears the water running, he strips. But, that's fine...I'm enjoying these last months of bathing with my little one because when he turns three, the community baths stop. Because three was the age that Ahmad pointed at my breasts and said, "WOO HOO!"...which was when OUR group baths abruptly ended...but I digress. So, when Kea and I got into the tub today, the water was cold. Not "BRRR! My teeth are chattering" cold but tepid. I LOVE extremely hot water. One of the biggest struggles I had being pregnant was that I couldn't take hot baths. So, my mind was telling me to just get out of the tub until the hot water built up enough but that would have meant dragging Kea out kicking and screaming (I think he was a diva in a past life because he can stay in the tub longer than Mommy!) So, I waited...and waited...and waited for about twenty minutes. Why am I sharing this with you?? I have ALWAYS been one of the most impatient people that I know. I'm like the JG Wentworth commercial, "It's MY money and I need it NOW!" So, my prayer...EVERYDAY...for the last few YEARS...is for God to bless me with patience. I would get frustrated at first because...well, it wasn't happening fast enough. But, now I see great improvement. I ask God to guide my words every time I feel like telling someone off and I praise Him for every little step I take towards zendom...like NOT turning that hot water handle with my toes just to CHECK (one of my MANY varied talents...turning the water on and off with my foot...what??! YOU can't?!) Give me another 20 years...you all will be calling me "Big BUDDHA Kee!"
So, Kreatorville was featured on ScrapScene and a couple of people contacted me to subscribe (PRAISE HIM!) One of the ladies, Sharon lives right here in Louisiana! Not exactly in New Orleans...but too close to split hairs! I was getting all excited thinking about having someone close enough to scrap chat with and then I had a visit from the crazies. Not the movie...the memories. I started thinking about some of the CRAZIES I've run across in my life so I sent up a quick prayer ("God, PLEASE don't let this lady be crazy and decide that I look better as dinner than a scrappy pal...in Jesus' name...Ahmen!") and then John and I went over to drop her kit off. Sharon turned out to be...
















...one of the SWEETEST ladies I've met in a while! (scared you, didn't I?! Sorry, no stories of human sacrifices tonight!) She was so warm and welcoming! And she's definitely my kind of girl because the scrap room I saw was filled from ceiling to floor with supplies...and that was just ONE of them!!! You read right...I think Shar said that she has about fifteen other rooms filled with supplies...I can't be sure because my eyes were filled with tears and I was hearing angels!!!! Can you imagine playing with all that yumminess???? To top it off, Kea was soaking wet and she told me to come in and change him...right in her bedroom. ANY one whose not afraid of a little Kea pee is GOOD in my book! I'm excited about kreating with Shar because I've only had that experience one other time. Hopefully, we'll be able to get together sometime this weekend. Now, if she just HAPPENS to offer me some GUMBO while we're kreating...well, I might NEVER leave!

The February Kreatorville kit...

...has been revealed! This is one of the pages I kreated using it:

Everything but the dress form is included in the February kit... The silver and rhinestone heart
also!!! Go over to kreativity.kreatorvillekraft.com to see the full reveal...you WON'T be disappointed!!!

Please keep my husband...

...in your prayers. There was an older lady in his life named Mrs. Christmas. She is actually a friend of his Mom's but he was closer to her. She had cancer and was in remission. Mama Christmas had to have surgery about a week ago but she was on the mend and scheduled to go home when she took a turn for the worse. John got the call last night, so he went to the hospital today and spent a few hours talking to and praying with her. At first she wasn't responsive but she eventually acknowledged that she knew who he was with a series of hand and eye signals. He came home to eat dinner with his family and had been here for about 10 minutes when he got the call that she has passed away. I'm so grateful that he got to spend a significant amount of time with her before she left us but I'm SOOO grateful that he wasn't THERE when she left us. He's hurting and I just ask that you lift him, as well as her blood relatives up in prayer.

Let me warn you...there will be sex...

...talked about in this post! But, first...let's talk about why I felt like this

all week long. Well, for my foreign readers and for those of you who have generally been residing underneath a rock this week...

THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS BLEW OUT THE COLTS IN THE SUPERBOWL!!!!!

You have to understand how we celebrate here in New Orleans. Every year, my Daddy hosts a playoff party and the next week, my uncle Gerald hosts the SuperBowl celebration. My Dad and Uncle Gerald are not blood related. But, they HAVE been friends since they were FIVE so he's as much my uncle as the ones my Grandmother gave birth to! Soo, every year our families get together and party for the playoffs, Super Bowl and Mardi Gras. We have our off screen entertainment

our family photo ops...

...these three men who have collectively waited over ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY YEARS for the New Orleans Saints to win a Super Bowl...

...my three cheesin' guys...

and just generally a WHOLE LOT of SCREAMIN'!!!!

(Winning the Super Bowl brings the ghetto out of me!) Our family celebrated for two days and we've had a TIME trying to catch up on the tasks that went undone during our celebration! THEN, it's Mardi Gras time here...we probably won't fully recover until NEXT weekend!!!!

I know you're probably wondering why I'm blogging on love day...well, my WONDERFUL husband gave me the biggest part of my present YESTERDAY! BAYBEE, I put my cute shoes on

and we drove to Biloxi to see this man

MR. JEFFREY OSBORNE!!!

This man has been entertaining for SOO many years and he is one performer who TRULY hasn't been affected by the passage of time! When the show opened, his band and background singers were onstage, but Jeffrey started singing offstage. He was SOO clear and precise that my husband, who sang in the choir for a number of years SWORE that it was a recording playing! John RAVED the entire show about how AMAZING the man sounded! And he did when he sang...On the Wings of Love....Concentrate on You...Only Human...PARTY HEARTY...Back in Love Again...We Both Deserve Each Other's Love (my favorite song on our wedding CD!)...baybee, I....CUT...UP!!!!! He was AMAZING and SOO down to Earth! He came off the stage and went through the audience letting his fans "WOO WOO WOO!". When he said good night, I shared my Patti LaBelle experience with John.

It was 1999 and my best friend, Emanuel bought me a ticket to see Patti LaBelle because I was 28 and had NEVER been to a concert. My friend and I grooved along with Patti, watching her sing her HEART out. At the end, she said goodnight and every one started filing out of the auditorium...only to rush back when Patti started singing again. Maybe 10 SECONDS after I finished telling my husband about PATTI, JEFFREY came out to sing another song! FLIPPIN' AWESOME!!!! The sign of a great entertainer, I tell ya!!!

Afterwards, John and I waited along with a hundred others for an autograph. You HAVE TO love an entertainer who performs for two hours and then calmly signs autographs and tickets for his fans! I love that he didn't rush anyone, patiently answering questions and posing for a million pictures. When it was our turn, he signed a CD for the Willis Family and I took this picture of my husband and Jeffrey

My husband, in turn took this

You know, as a scrapper, I could spend DAYS obsessing over how I missed having a great shot of myself and Jeffrey Osborne but really, I'm not trippin'. Life is SOOO short! I had a GREAT time...I got OTHER good shots of a great entertainer...AND I have an excuse to get John to take me to see Jeffrey again!

SOOO, because my husband gave me such a wonderful love day present, I got this

and this

for him! I'm so excited to see his reaction! I'm a firm believer in keeping the excitement in a marriage! I love being able to give him a gift today that we'll be able to use over and over. The checks are all marked "UOME" and have tasks like "lap dance" and "one striptease". I'm excited because being handed these checks will force me out of my comfort zone and (in the words of the immortal El DeBarge) OOOH...I LIKE IT!!!! And, the BOOK! I ordered it from Urban Outfitters and when I opened it, I just smiled. Some of the positions...WOW!!! There are SOOO many I'd like to try...some that I know we could NEVER attempt. Like the one on the cover...looks interesting, right!?! But,alas, I'm a big girl and I'd hate to be in the emergency room with my husband on February FIFTEENTH,explaining to the doctors that my husband's spine snapped attempting to HOIST me during position NO. 435! Naw, some of them we just have to DREAM ABOUT!!! The book also has space for NOTES on each page...you know so you can document which positions made you WOO WOO WOO...AWWWWWESOME!!! I'll be back soon with some scrappy/Mardi Gras related pictures...how soon depends on how many pages we cover in our lesson book tonight! By the way, the winner of the Making Memories cutting mat is Princess! Email me @keandra@kreatorvillekraft.com with your info and I'll ship that out to you! I haven't forgotten about the Saints giveaway...I'll get that together this week! HAPPY LOVE DAY!

,

Praise Him...

...for children who are old enough to watch their younger siblings!!! Jamani came home from Southern this weekend and asked if he could take his brothers out for the day. UMMM....HELL yes!!! John and I have only been out without a child TWICE in our entire relationship...we went to a concert with my sister and brother in law a couple of years ago and we stayed at the Hard Rock cafe a few weeks ago. As soon as Jamani said he wanted the little boys, we planned an impromtu date day! Ya GOTTA take advantage of EVERY opportunity, right? We saw this movie
and we both enjoyed it SO much! John didn't fall asleep ONE TIME so it MUST be really interesting! I wished Ahmad had been with us just to see what to avoid because he's friendly Bob...he talks to EVERYone! If you've seen it, you know that the end is supposed to really inspire you to live and ENJOY life but it just made me sad. We left there and went to Applebee's for dinner. I absolutely LOVE
Artichoke spinach dip! My husband has been promising to make some for me since we MET...do you think maybe I'll get some for Valentine's Day? HMM...guess we'll see! Sorry I didn't take any pix of the food but we were too busy chowing down! Here's a picture of us before we started eating, though
AHHH!!! Young love!
John and I have been together for a few years and from the beginning, he has attended my family's church, the church my Grandfather founded when my Mom was a little girl. Neither of us thought about the fact that he never OFFICIALLY joined the church. Well, starting next week, he'll be a youth teacher so he needed to be a real live member. Since Ahmad had never been baptized, he went up to make his intentions to BE baptized known this morning. Did Mama have the camera in church? OF COURSE she did!
The pix aren't the best because...well, I WAS interrupting the church service. But, our pastor was so tickled that he actually jumped in the shot. Another guy jumped in too after the pastor told him not to. So, if anyone wants to give me a quick Photoshop lesson on deleting an unwanted person from the picture...I'm open!
Well, I have a few more technological issues to smooth out before I take a nap...I have to be fresh to cheer on our boys!!!! If...WHEN the Saints win the Super Bowl, I'm gonna giveaway an AWESOME gift pack...GO SAINTS!!!!

Have you seen this...

...picture from CHA?
Teresa Collins decorated this chandelier for her booth at CHA. Isn't it BEAUTIFUL?!?!?
You all may not know this about me but I LOOOVE me some rhinestones!!!! My family used to joke about buying me a Bedazzler EVERY occasion...birthday, Mother's Day, Christmas...VALENTINE'S DAY!!! In my studio, I've covered my stapler and tape dispenser with rhinestones so when I saw that chandelier....well, I was on a mission. FIRST, I donated to Teresa's cause. You see, she decided that the chandelier would be better used as an auction item with the money going to the deserving people of Haiti (yeah, she's talented and just a DARN good person!). So, John and I donated to the cause but then Mama was on a MISSION!!! I....HAD...TO HAVE...THAT CHANDELIER!!!!! For those who don't know me well, let me let you in on a little secret: when I'm determined to accomplish something, I'm like a dog with a bone. And this time, my determination led me to this
YESSSSSSSS!!!!! I'm gonna start covering it tonight. I love it so much that I even asked John if we can get one for the living room if I cover it with pearls. I got his standard answer "Well see" along with the "look" and head shake. Sometimes, my husband doesn't see the vision until it has come to fruition. SOO, what does my chandelier have to do with any of you? Well, I mentioned in my last post that I'm reorganizing my studio. Little by little, I'm buying jars and containers and John is installing shelves to make my space as efficient and organized as possible. Well, when the chandelier came today, I realized that the box was JUST the right size to hold this
a self healing cutting mat by Making Memories. I got one to protect the desk that my husband made for me, but I have a few extra. Since I have a box to mail it in now, I can give one away to one of my followers! Even though this one is not magnetized like the one I have from We R Memory Keepers, it's a whopping 17x23...that's a WHOLE LOT of protection!!! All you have to do is make sure you're signed up to follow this blog AS WELL AS the Kreatorville blog @kreativity.kreatorvillekraft.com by the 14th. That's right! All you have to do is show your love for ME and I'll show my love for one of YOU!!! Spread the word!

Do you know what...

...this is?

ALL the freakin' pages my kreative mind told me to make last year!!!! I guess before I went on kreating all willy nilly I should have THOUGHT ABOUT having to HOUSE all of these pages AFTERWARDS!!!! I just got about six American Crafts albums which I filled up immediately!
So, I need to buy about EIGHT more IMMEDIATELY!!! But, even this big pile of pages needing to be housed can stop me from kreating!!!! Jennifer Yates, Kreatorville's January Kontributing Kreator, sent me an invitation to join Inspired Blueprints. Jen has done such awesome work for Kreatorville...how could I resist? Plus, I LOVE a good sketch/challenge site! This is the page I made for sketch #141
Ahmad picked a flower for me one day on his way home from school and told me, "for no reason, Ma...I just thought you'd like it!" With a STICK, I tell you!!!! I'm gonna have to beat 'em off with a STICK!!!
Pretty soon, John is gonna have to take me on another weekend getaway! When I get stressed/overwhelmed, I do stuff like this
I was cooking Cornbread Dressing (the BOMB!) and I needed to cut up butter over the top before baking. We don't use butter that often so we keep it in the freezer. Instead of me letting it sit out for a few minutes to soften up, I decided to cut a few pats off with a fork. The fork slipped off the frozen butter and stuck through my finger and under my nail. John came home, looked at me and asked, "Bay, what are you DOING?" If THIS picture is reason enough for him to take me out of town...I don't know WHAT IS!!!!
THAT hasn't stopped me from kreating, though! This month, the Kreators all decided to recycle something using the January kit. I chose to turn a peanut can
into a pin cushion. Now I have somewhere other than the WALL to stick all those needles!!! Everything you see on my project is available in the January kit. Anyone interested in subscribing to one can contact me @keandra@kreatorvillekraft.com. Don't forget to check out the KREATORVILLE KRAFT blog to see what everyone else kreated using the kit! And, I promise not to stay away so long again!