I've been letting ...

...my eyebrows grow.

I normally have EXTREMELY thick eyebrows and I like 'em that way!  I mean, I like them LUSH...not Al B. Sure-ish!  (For my R&B-challenged peeps...PLEEEEASE Google "Al B. Sure"...you're in for a treat 'cause I REALLY look like that if I let my 'brows go untamed!)  But because I'm not a professional, I have times when I cut one too thinly and then have to cut the other to match.  So, I've been letting them grow for the last month so I'll look cute in my sister's wedding pix!  Plus, my 40th is in November and I'm gearing up for a big celebration.  TODAY, I got to the point where I just COULDN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!  Bushy brows bring me back to high school when the only taming I was allowed to do was a spit-and-slick!  Plus, I needed to take a picture for the aforementioned event.  So, I prayed real hard...used a SLOOOW and steady hand and got to cuttin'!  It's STILL not a professional job but I think it's decent

I think I'm still gonna go and try the threading (has anyone else tried that?) before the wedding.  I just saw on the Today show Friday that reapplying lip gloss is an addictive behavior...Kathie Lee said she wakes up from a DEEP SLEEP to reapply it!  She's a LIIITLE more obsessed than me but like my brother-in-law says...my lip gloss be POPPING!!!!

Do you know we can still smell it?  Marsh fires my BEHIND...there's something much more sinister going on out there...DUN DUN DUHHHHHH!!!!!

I've had these two projects 

recently featured over at Platinum Scraps.  We don't do the whole trick or treating  thang but we do dress up and go to the Children's Museum.  Kea 1st wore the doggie costume right before he turned two and he was LIVID!  He didn't want that CRAP on his head...his hands...he wanted OUTTA THERE!!!  We took advantage of the fact that he could still fit into it last year so we recycled it.  Man, what a difference a year makes!  When I asked him to pose for pictures, he really hammed it up...he was HEElarryous!!! With the double page spread, I happened to be going through our family box of pictures and ran across several different photos of me and  my older boys.  We used to take pictures a few times a year.  I thought for sure that once my family was complete we would go like ONCE A MONTH for pictures but that hasn't happened...my littlest hasn't taken pictures since his christening a year ago;  BAD MOMMY!  I've been kinda holding out because I wanted to take some on location shots. But, since Sears sent us a coupon for a free photo session plus $50 in pictures, I broke down and made an appointment. Hopefully I'll still get my outdoor shots before my birthday!

Lastly, if you like scrappy stuff hop on over to Kreatorville for the opportunity to win a prize valued at over $200!!!!  Don't miss out!!!!

Just AWFUL.

It's bad enough that we're thinking about Katrina right now.  Yeah...I KNOW it's been SIX years and other places have experienced weather disasters since then.  BUT...when you don't have a hospital, WalMart, movie theater near your house...you can't HELP but think about the cause of these things not being around any more!  I THOUGHT my focus would be on praying for those affected by Irene this week.  But here we are...dealing with crap again.

When I awakened Monday morning, our house was filled with the smell of smoke.  I went around smelling all the outlets but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from.  This was about 7AM and I don't normally turn the TV on when it's just me and Kea (he watches TV in the back).   I was SOO scared that I called my husband at work to tell him he might have to come home because something was on fire.  That's when he told me about the marsh fires.  When the little and I went out Tuesday I realized that the ENTIRE city looks like this

There's no escaping it.  I could smell it in Wal-Mart; everyone in the Social Security office was coughing Tuesday because it was coming in through the vents.  To make matters worse, we live about a mile and a half from where the fires are actually burning.  Thank God John and Ahmad have awesome immune systems and haven't really been affected.  The littlest has been plagued by congestion, coughing, vomiting and fever all week.  There's no where that I can even take him to get him into clean air except almost 100 miles away!  I've been coughing and looking at so much vomit all week has my belly feeling wonky. John saw somewhere that a vinegar and lemon mixture helps to dissipate the smoke smell.  I placed a bowl of it in almost every room.  Don't get it twisted...THAT crap doesn't smell like roses either.  It helps though so I guess it's more like the lesser of two evils!!!  It did rain today and should rain for the next few days so prayerfully we can get back to normal next week!  The teen's second football game is tomorrow.  I doubt that the littlest and I will be able to go if the smoke is still thick...SUX!!!!

THEN I try to view Kreatorville's blog (kreativity.kreatorvillekraft.com) and I kept getting a "Server Not Found" error message...wha????  After several hours of back and forth I was told that the confusion should be cleared up in about five days...{{{SIGH}}}

On a positive note, I had a card

posted on the Platinum Scraps blog.  This is the card I made for Ahmad for his birthday.  His favorite color is red...a boy after my own heart!!!  And my last project as Guest Designer for Color Combos Galore

has been posted.  These are pix from my sister friend's 40th birthday celebration.  I really loved being challenged by the combos...I'm sure I'll play along again soon!!!


Well, gotta make the donuts!  NAH...but I DO need to sleep so I can get up early.  I have a list of 73 items to finish before next month!

In the last twenty days I've...

...enjoying talking to/spending time with the teen.  He just got an Iphone from his father so I've heard a LOT of "C'mon Ma!"  in the last few weeks

(You KNOW I'm lovin' that!!!!)  

*been playing around with party decor 

My sister is getting married in October and we're celebrating my 40th in November.  I was soo excited when Ray told me that she wants a vintage feel for her reception decor!  Add to that the fact that our celebration colors are almost the same!  I'm decorating Mason jars for her party and with a few changes, I'll use them the next month...can you say WINNING???

*Speaking of winning...this sweetie peetie has given me this

If you've never met Cindy...go on over!  She is the CUTEST lil lady I've ever seen!!!  To answer the twelve questions:

Favorite color: Red
Favorite song: I love SOO many songs!  One of my faves right now is I Give Myself Away by William McDowell
Favorite dessert: Oreo cookies WITH Lay's Original chips!  Yep...TOGEEEEETHER!!!!
What wizzes you off at the moment?People who make promises which they don't keep!  Just tell me "I MAY be able to"  DON'T say you promise...TICKS ME OFF  
My favorite pet: Somebody else's
Black or white? Both,please!!!
Biggest fear: Not using up every ounce of my kreativity!
Best feature: My kreativity!
Everyday attitude: Don't ever look back and regret that you didn't live each day to the fullest
What is perfection? Good food and good times with good folks
Guilty pleasure? Pinterest, scrapbooking
When you're upset. . . it shows all over my face!

So, I have to give this award to six peeps who interest me and {{GASP}} they're not all scrapbookers!!!

Charity who has a beautiful blog design with beautiful pages displayed there!

Amy who works like a ROCKET LAUNCHER to churn out beautiful kreations!

kidtropolis.  They continuously inspire my desire to give my boys rooms like movie stars' kids!

Pinterest.  I'm continuously caught up and forget to feed my family inspired by this site!

Miche who amazes me EVERY.TIME. with the versatility of her art!

Milla and Kahli. I don't know these ladies...I just ran across  their blog yesterday.  But I love their blog design and the CONTENT...these ladies can wring a thrift store DRY!!!  Plus, I think they're beautiful (IDENTICAL TWINS!) and sweet as 7up cake!!!  I've been so inspired by their decorating already!I guess they ACTUALLY count as two people, bringing my count to 7!  Oh well...this IS my blog! 

If you can, check out these blogs and let me know if YOU think these ladies rock as much as I do!  And thanx for the award, Cinds...love you, lil lady!!!!

*I FINALLY finished stenciling the walls in our bedroom and bathroom.  The teen was soo amazed he asked me to do his walls too!  I'm not sure I like ANYBODY enough to do more stenciling right now!!!

*We've been celebrating a few birthdays.  My niece

turned 20 a few weeks ago and we celebrated my sister's 40th with a dinner last night.

*Of COURSE I've been kreating!!! You can GO HERE to see some of the projects I made with the August Kreatorville kit.  But I also made this page

for the vintage sketch challenge.  I love that I was able to incorporate one of the handmade titles 

from the July kit!  Remember you still have two days to crank out a page to participate in the challenge and be in the running for a scrapbook.com gift card!  C'MON...you can DO IT!!!

*I've had a few pages and cards showcased over at Platinum Scraps; my last page (as August Guest Designer) was revealed this past week at Color Combos Galore; I finished the two page spread 

 which will be featured in the September Page Maps newsletter.  I'm also preparing some pages because in October, I'll once again be MASTERFUL!!!!

Today I'll be twisting the teen's hair...his dreds have to be FRESH for school tomorrow (ahhh...the life of a high school football player!!!) Afterwards, I'll do a little cleaning before turning in early. After my sister gets married in October, she and her husband will stay with us for a week.  My goal for the next few weeks is to completely clean/decorate/organize before that time.  I have a party and the holidays to prepare for at the end of the year and I want that to be my sole focus...pray for me PLEASE!!!!

My teen is back...

...in the place to be!  We're off early in the morning to get a few more things for school (he'll be starting his sophomore year on the 15th).  And even though I COULD focus on some SERIOUS negativity right now (like blah blah BLAH...it's the same ole SAME OLE!!!)  I won't even go there.  Too many blessings right now to let the same foolishness stress me...ya feel me???  This first page was the first I completed as part of my guest designer stint at Color Combos Galore and was actually posted a few days ago

The combo this week really lent itself to a boy page.  And the inspiration picture just BEGGED me to scrap a beach picture!!!  This shot was taken on a beach in Biloxi (Mississippi...I just LOVE spelling that really quickly!!!)about three years ago.  Those stars?  The envelope that the stamps are in when you leave the post office!  You should REALLY go and visit the site!  There are some VERY talented kreators over there...check 'em out!!!

I have two new projects posted over at Platinum Scraps too:

This page was inspired by the sketch last week.  Even though I normally do 12x12's for my and my husband's scrapbooks...I love the idea of switching it up and having different sizes all thrown in there together!  And EVEN THOUGH my chin makes me look like Jay Leno's love child here, I love this picture SOO much because of my husband's amazing smile.  This was taken early on in our relationship when he was still trying to impress me. Now I just get the "men don't smile"  look most of the time!  I also took advantage of the card sketch this week to kreate a card 

for one of my classmates who just turned 40 a few weeks ago.  That piece of patterned paper is actually one of my all times faves from SEI...I may cry when I use the last sheet!  It has this AMAZING texture and beautiful shimmer to it...what were we talking about again?  Seriously...go check out the challenges at Platinum Scraps; they're sure to get your mojo rolling...get cha motor runnin'...head out on the highway...lookin' for adven...it's like 1:30 in the morning...I can be crazy if I want to!!!

My Chary threw down the gauntlet over at Kreatorville...she challenged us to scrap vintage pix this month.  I...ummm...stole borrowed a few from my mom...one when I was 1 1/2...one of me at seven and the third with my sisters (I was ten).  You have to go over to Kreatorville and check that one out...our expressions have always made me laugh!  If you decide to take Char's challenge and/or work with the sketch this month, there's a linky tool at the end of this post...share a peeky to your projects there and you could win a scrapbook.com gift card!!!

I was JUST telling Mahd that we would go to the thrift store tomorrow after we go to Wal-Mart.  When the baby boy and I stopped in last week, I was able to get a Dean Koontz hardcover that I never owned for $3.  I have a literary crush on him but most of my books were lost...so I'm LOVIN' being able to rebuild my collection with some $3 finds!  I also got a few baroque frames that I'll spray for the living room wall once we decide on the color.  The boys get soo excited about visiting thrift stores because they know they're about to score new books!  I have no problem checking out the books and home goods...it's the clothes that I just DON'T have the patience to go through!!!  I'm not a secondhand snob...I feel the same way in Dillard's...Macy's...I don't have the patience!  My Mom looks at me like I was switched at birth because I will online shop...just no in-store visits for me, thank you very much!  She can stay in one store for HOURS...who does that???  Well, when I visited the SEI blog a few minutes ago, guess what I found?  Sarah Larsen is guest blogging for them this week and she hasn't talked about paper crafting yet...just thrifting!!!  Click on the SEI link to see the cuteness her and her kids have scored from thrift and secondhand stores.  Will I woosah and check those racks tomo...umm...later today?  {{{I GUESS!!!!}}}

There's just never...

...any rest for the weary mommy!!!  About two weeks ago, one of my aunties had surgery.  John and I visited her the day after and I promised to check on her again in a few days.  A couple of days later, Kea had a dentist's appointment so I decide to get the most outta my gas tank and combine trips.  After we left the dentist and took care of a few errands, we dropped Ahmad at football practice and utilized those two hours to visit my aunt.  We sat with her for about an hour and a half and went back to the field.  Mahd still wasn't finished when we arrived so I settled in to talk to my sister in Texas while we waited.  Kea climbed on my lap and I remember telling my sister that he felt like a hot box.  Now, I wasn't alarmed because his body temperature is naturally high (hence one of his nicknames...HOT DADDY!)and it WAS 100 degrees out that day.  Plus, he never stopped playing...he wasn't lethargic like you'd expect.  Well, we got home and he was zonked out and I just thought he was TOO CUTE so of COURSE I snapped a picture:

 Well, we got inside and he was still warm so I stripped him naked...that's how he normally rolls anyway!  After we had been here for about twenty minutes, he climbed into my lap and he was STILL a hot box and I knew.  He either caught something from one of the kids at the dentist's office or at the hospital and his temperature was 102.8.  So, we did what we normally do and alternated Tylenol and Motrin.  He never stopped playing but he woke up a couple of nights soo congested and once his nose was running all over the pillow...niice!!!  But, the fever subsided and we were just dealing with the congestion and cough.  Well, I fell asleep on the sofa Friday night and John awakened me around 3am with Kea in his arms and said, "Listen".  When Keanohn coughed he LITERALLY sounded like a puppy...or a seal barking.  It scared the HIZZIE outta me.  I took it for as long as I could...about 30 minutes...and then we packed him into the truck and drove to Children's Hospital...where the doctor told us he had croup. 

Croup (or laryngotracheobronchitis) is a respiratory condition that is usually triggered by an acute viral infection of the upper airway. The infection leads to swelling inside the throat, which interferes with normal breathing and produces the classical symptoms of a "barking" cough, stridor, and hoarseness. It may produce mild, moderate, or severe symptoms, which often worsen at night. It is often treated with a single dose of oral steroids; occasionally epinephrine is used in more severe cases.

The doctor told us he has a very contagious virus which brought on the croup.  So, we've kept him inside as much as possible which means...of course ...Mommy is all caught up!  I HATE being sick...especially because I'm in the middle of painting our house and reorganizing.  It's a good thing that I recognize how busy the devil is when you're trying to accomplish something so I just keep pushing on!

I can't believe this 

is one of my final assignments for the Examiner.com!!!  I have an assignment to turn in today and then one next week...THAT'S IT!!!  Irene  has been SUCH a pleasure to work for...I'll really miss it!  But, where one door closes...yada yada yada!!!  You can check out some of my work on the Platinum Scraps challenge blog (this

is my latest project for them)and of COURSE HERE.  I haven't forgotten that I promised to share pix of my hubb's birthday celebration but it'll have to wait a little longer...Mahd's birthday is this week and I have another celebration to plan...told ya...no rest!!!!