Live, Laugh, Love, Scrap

Country Fair

2012-01-22T00:00:00.003-05:00

I'm starting the year with a bang!!! I'm living my OLW everyday and I can honestly tell you that it feels so good. I've used my January kit " Country Fair" to its fullest potential. It's amazing to me how many layouts you can do with just the main kit. I'm done hoarding these beautiful kits every month and not creating beautiful layouts.

The Sunday Sketches by Studio Calico have jumpstarted my creativity and with them I've made three layouts, an original layout and a birthday card for a friend.

Journaling reads: D had an awesome day with the Boy Scouts. He was invited to ride the float thru Coral Gables. They won for best use of creativitiy. What a great way to start 2012 and his journey in Boy Scouts.

Journaling reads: This little girl makes us all so happy and joyful. Gracie is such a happy baby. She lights up a room. When I'm with her I can't help but carry her and snuggle her and give her tons of kisses and tell her over and over again how much I love her. I'm so proud to ber her Godmother. I plan on spoiling her to pieces...

Journaling reads: I love my Vera Bradley Stadium Blanket that Jorge gifted me for Christmas this pas December. The "Happy Snails" pttern is my all time favorite. It give me joy every time I use it.

Journaling reads: I truly love us... We make a great team. We work well together. We love unconditionaly. We listen to each other. We make each other happy. I love that we get to spend the rest of our lives as husband and wife.

I have some scraps that I plan on making some cards... I'm making it a top priority to give out more cards this year... Cards are such a nice personal touch...

I'm really happy on how I've stretched this kit and can't wait to get my hands on February's kit from Studio Calico. It's filled with new releases for CHA winter 2012. I haven't even been looking at sneak peeks because I'm holding true to my promise of using up my stash before buying new scrapbooking supplies.

Goodnight... I'm exhausted from a fun filled day.

Happy New Year!!!

2012-01-02T22:08:00.000-05:00

The end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012 have been amazing thus far. I have been blessed with amazing friends and family that it fills my heart with so much happiness that I truly am grateful for.

We brought in the New Year at Schnebly's winery for the second year in a row. Good times, Good times I tell ya.

I wish you all a wonderful New Year filled with a plentiful of love, happiness, peace and family. I'm looking forward to a New Year of new ventures, new goals and new dreams to make a reality.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-26T10:21:00.001-05:00

to all my family, friends, bloggers and stalkers too. LOL I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Mine was filled to the rim with greatness. My home was filled with family and friends this holiday season and that is truly what I enjoy the most.

The festivites started on December 23 for my brother and cousins birthday. Since my brother was leaving for Christmas and New Years to celebrate with his wife's family, we celebrated a couple of days early. It was great spending time with the cousins and exchanging Christmas presents. I sure hope someone in my family took a picture blowing out the candles because I sure would like one. Hint!Hint!

December 24 was celebrated at my in-laws house. It was great to catch up with old friends. I haven't seen this couple since our wedding day almost 7 years ago. This was a nice surprise for my husband. My husband and his dad have a tradition of making a big in a "chinesse box". This really doesn't translate well in English but they roast the pork for many, many, many hours and then we eat it in a minute...

Christmas morning gives me so much joy. My boy was so surprised that he got everything he asked for. Since he doesn't believe in Santa I really need to make him sweat a little so he can have some type of surprise. For weeks, I've been telling him since he didn't make his wishlist that I was not spending any money on stuff he wasn't going to use. We took him to Universal Studios with a friend so I told him that was his gift. The look on his face was priceless.

Even I received some great presents. My husband played a joke on me and wrapped my presents with newspaper.

We visited family and friends in the evening, exchanged presents and just had fun...

The best way to end the evening was seeing my beautiful God daughter Grace on her very first Christmas... I love this little girl so much and it's so awesome to have a baby in the family again that I can spoil. This is one of my favorite photos. D looks terrified holding her and she is having a ball.

I'm off to pick up the mess in this house and continue working on my December Daily. I'm determined to finish before starting any new projects.

Peace, joy and happiness...

OLW 2012

2011-12-15T14:35:00.001-05:00

Hi y'all... I am diligently working on my December Daily. I'm behind a couple of days but I'll play catch up on Saturday before I leave on my mini-getaway... I love vacations even if they are short...

Anyway... I've been thinking of my new year resolutions for 2012 and my biggest goal is to "SAVE". It started with the concept of just saving money but it's evolved into a lot more for me. So my One Little Word for 2012 is "SAVE".

Save is defind as:

1. to rescue from danger or possible harm, injury, or loss: to save someone from drowning.

2. to keep safe, intact, or unhurt; safeguard; preserve: God save the king.

3. to keep from being lost: to save the game.

4. to avoid the spending, consumption, or waste of: to save fuel.

5. to keep, as for reuse: to save leftovers for tomorrow's dinner.

I'm really excited about my word and the possibilites I can accomplish in 2012 if I stick with it. Have a happy Thursday and I'll be back with more DD photos this weekend...

December Daily Day 1-4

2011-12-05T22:14:00.000-05:00

(PHOTO HEAVY POST...)

I wish I could post these daily but I'm being totally realistic in this journey. It took me awhile to decide on the design of each day. I want it to flow easily. I also wanted a technique I know I could do without resizing photos because Photoshop doesn't like me. I need straight out of the camera photos. So my Epson PictureMate printer is truly my workhorse during this project.

Day 1

Each day has a front and a back side. I'm keeping the journaling consistent througout the album. I'm writing one story each day. If you click on the photo you may be able to see the journaling.

Day 2

Each day is divided with a Hambly overlay with ribbon on the edge. This was a great project because I really used a lot of ribbon that was sitting around for an eternity.

Day 3

This was my second annual Boy Scout Christmas Party.

Day 4

Well that's all for now. I hope your enjoying the process of your December Daily...

December Daily 2011 Album Cover

2011-12-05T20:13:00.001-05:00

I'm excited to be posting again... I jumped on the Ali Edward's bandwagon and I'm attempting yet another December Daily. I say this because I've been unsuccessful in completing an album as of yet. I'm determined to get it finished this time around. Please wish me luck...

This is my album cover, spine and inside cover. I loved how Ali's cover turned out so I made my cover similar but with a pop of color. This was an interesting journey for me because I am a simple scrapper and I hardly ever use techniques. I painted a layer of Claudine Hellmuth Studio Gesso and then gave it a couple of layers of the semi-gloss acrylic paint. I had to be extremely patient and my friends know I have none. This is big peoples...

When it came time to emboss, I visited Damaris. She was my cheerleader and guide in getting it straight and done correctly...We laughed alot because I kept saying " I'm scared "

The inside cover was misted with Mr. Huey exclusive from Studio Calico's December Daily kit by Ali Edward's.

Thanks for stoping by. Days 1 through 4 to follow. The picture taking took longer than actually creating the layouts. LOL

Giving Thanks...

2011-11-30T09:40:00.000-05:00

I'm back!! Did you miss me? Well I sure did miss blogging. My home computer wasn't working for a couple of months and of course that's where all my pictures are and that is the computer that I use for blogging. I don't like laptops.

I'm thankful for my wonderful family that I get to spend quality time for all special occasions. I value these special moments. My hubby was away on business this Thanksgiving so I was a bit bummed but I made the best of it.

My brother and sis-in-law...

We had a total of 24 people for Thanksgiving dinner...

Me and my not so baby, baby!

My cousins... You can totally tell she had food in her mouth. LOL

My thirteen year old cousin that looks like a man. I have to remind myself time and time again that he is only a kid. He has a heart of gold.

The leftovers...

My niece and her friends...

Black Friday started way to early but my friend Damaris and I had a blast. We started at 8:15 pm on Thursday and we didn't get home until 1:30pm on Friday. I finished most of my shopping and got some amazing deals. I'm looking forward to Christmas and my December Daily album.

Now that my computer is up and running I hope to be blogging more often. I sure hope I didn't lose my faithful followers.

I need a challenge

2011-09-01T17:04:00.000-04:00

My mojo took an extended vacation this summer. I found this challenge on Pinterest and then again on Trish's blog so I figured I'd jump in and give it a whirl, and hope it will spark my creativity. I plan on making them Instagram prints and creating a fun little mini.

DAY 1

Happy Thursday...

And I'm back...

2011-08-30T17:06:00.000-04:00

Hi y'all. Did you miss me? I sure missed my blog and all the blogs I read. I've been out of commission for awhile but I'm feeling oh so better. My vertigo is ALOT better. I have moments here and there that it repeats but it isn't 24 hours a day 7 days a week. If this is what a cruise is going to do to me, I'll have to skip these types of vacations. Boo!

Schools back in session and my life is back to schedules, homework, boy scouts and holding the fort down. My creative mojo has taken an extended vacation. I have at least four beautiful studio calico kits that haven't been touched. I hope to work on that this weekend and next.

Have a wonderful week and I hope to have some pretty layouts to share...

Happy Birthday

2011-07-24T23:16:00.000-04:00

to me... I had a wonderful birthday weekend. My birthday celebrations began with dinner at PF Changs with Vanessa and her hubby. I had my favorite dish, Mongolian Beef. It's a winner every time for me. I received most of my presents from my wish list. It was great time with friends.

After dinner, Jorge and I went dancing with our friends. It's been way to long for me but after awhile at the club I realized that it's no longer my scene. I'd rather have a get together at home with my close friends and family. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time but it's hard to hang out and dance when you can't move or talk.

Thirty-seven has proven to be wonderful. I'm so excited because I'm leaving on vacation this week. We are going on a Caribbean cruise on one of the biggest ships out. I can't wait...

Don't know if I'll be able to get back to blog world but I promise to post a recap of my first trip to CHA. It was an amazing trip.

Have a happy week.

CHA

2011-07-16T20:16:00.001-04:00

Sorry I've been MIA... July has proven to be a very hectic month for me. I've been blessed to be able to go on three vacations this month. Tomorrow I'm heading out to CHA (Craft and Hobby Association). I'll be hanging out with my buddy Damaris checking out the latest and greatest new products debuting this month.

I haven't had enough time to see all the sneak peeks but from what I've seen thus far, I'll be coveting the following companies.

1- Pink Paislee
2- Studio Calico
3- American Crafts
4- October Afternoon

I can't wait to meet new people, ooh and aah on the wonderful new products and not to mention get some free stuff... Too bad I can't buy anything. (my hubby is happy about this)

We're leaving a day early so we can go sightseeing in Chicago. The top three things on my list are

1) Skydeck Chicago
2) Magnificent Mile
3) Navy Pier

I decided to take along a mini album to start journaling, collecting photos with my Polaroid camera and memorabilia. Here's a sneak peek at the cover. I have a couple of other embellies I'll be adding once I get home.

I'll be adding updates on facebook. If were not friends than request me here so you can check out all my great finds.

Baby Grace

2011-07-06T13:42:00.000-04:00

Meet the beautiful little girl that has stolen my heart... Don't tell my boy because we don't want any jealousy... She is a perfect little princess. My BFF is in love and it melts my heart when I see her hugging her and taking in her scent. Oh that baby smell makes me want to have another child but don't worry that ship has sailed for me. I'm enjoying every minute I have loving on this beauty.

I took this photo a couple of days after she was born. Look at those lips, I swear she's already smiling especially when she's beginning to fall into a deep sleep after her bottle. Priceless..

Look at those perfect 10 little toes... When she stretches she curls up her toes... Makes me smile every single time.

Here she's about a week old. She loves to have her hands around her face when she sleeps. She doesn't want to be swaddled. She wants to be free...

I can't wait to get my order of photos to start scrap booking Baby Gracie layouts... Her mommy and daddy are truly blessed and they are wonderful parents. I'm sure going to have fun spoiling my God Daughter.

Happy hump day...

Birthday Wishlist

2011-06-29T13:01:00.001-04:00

Hi all, I'm back with a sneak peek at my Birthday Wish list. My birthday is in 25 days and I'll be turning the big 37. It's really sad that I can't remember my age but when I hit 30, I stopped couniting. I guess that's a good thing because I'll be in my thirties foreva. LOL

I have the cutest brown Polaroid camera but guess how many photos I have taken? Three photos peoples... That's all and I've had it for almost a year now. So I decided to take it on vacation and actually use it for a fun project I'm doing. I'll fill you in on another post.

So I need the following in order to make it work for me:

Polaroid film (in the event that I get so involved using it, I can't run out of film)

This film too because it's darn cute: (Just for fun photos)

This camera case to protect Polaroid camera.

This Michael Kors watch. My friend has it and I have to comment about it every time she wears it so this must mean that I really, really love it and I want it...

Studio Calico Gift cards... They need to add this feature on their website.

I want two of these beautiful wire mesh magazine racks from Pottery Barn .

Finally these sunglasses from Costa Del Mar. My hubby introduced me to this brand and I have owned and worn the same pair for almost 3 years. They are costly but the polarized lenses are amazing and long lasting. Their warranty is also amazing. So I need to sport a new pair for my upcoming vacation.

That sums up my birthday wishlist... Thanks for checking out my must haves for the summer. Have a happy hump day.

Winner Announced / Studio Calico

2011-06-27T14:39:00.002-04:00

Just a quick note to let you know that I have chosen a winner of my "RAK". My technologic handicap did not allow me to get all fancy on choosing a winner so names in a bag totally did the trick for me. Fair is Fair so (insert drumroll here).

Melissa Huie

you won!!!Whoohoo... Send me your address to oftheangels(at)hotmail(dot)com and I'll mail out your box of goodies by the end of the week.

Have you seen Studio Calico's July kit. It's so beautiful and suttle. I know I'll be making beautiful layouts of my upcoming vacation. The add-ons are all amazing but I put myself on strict budget because I haven't scrapbooked in forever and I just have kits stacking up again. Aghhh!!!

Well I've got to get back to work. I was supposed to post this last night but I was just plain o tired. Have a happy Monday...

Scrapbook & Create Florida 2011

2011-06-23T22:47:00.001-04:00

( you still have time to join in on my fun RAK that one or maybe two lucky followers will win. Entries close this weekend and will be announced on Sunday. All you have to do is follow my blog)

So many wonderful things are happening around me that it's hard for me to focus on just one thing to talk about. So today I'm going to talk about my wonderful friend Damaris. She has created an amazing scrapbooking event that will be hosted in Ft. Lauderdale this November.

I am over the moon excited for her because this has been a dream come true for her. Some of the most amazing women will be teaching at this event. I'm not going to tell you who because I want you to see for yourself who will be teaching. Head on over to ScrapbookCreateFlorida for all the details on this event.

I've also created a facebook group here. Join our group for fun fabulous giveaways. So many wonderful sponsors have joined in on this event and you sure don't want to miss out...

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. I will be visiting my God daughter this weekend and taking lots of pictures so I can blog and brag about her.

Can't Sleep

2011-06-19T23:05:00.001-04:00

because I'm so excited about meeting baby Gracie tomorrow. Vanessa wrote her baby a beautiful letter that brought tears to my eyes. You can read her post here. I'm so happy, excited and blessed to be a part of her life. My son is 12 years old already and doesn't want to be treated like a baby so Grace is here to fill that void in my life. I can't wait...

This is one of the hundreds of photos we have of her two baby showers. I haven't even attempted to edit and print them. It was a beautiful vintage theme shower and I must say it was beautiful. You can see some of the detail shots here.

I'm off to try to get to sleep because tomorrow is the big day. Goodnight...

Smash Book

2011-06-19T01:38:00.006-04:00

(Don't forget to follow my blog for a chance to win a RAK.. Read post below)

Thanks to my friend Lou, I'm over the moon excited about getting a smash book. You see, I'm a visual girl. I don't read descriptions, I just like pretty pictures when creating. Don't tell me how great a product is just show me and I'm in. After seeing Lou's book in motion I knew this was something I really wanted to have. So guess who's BFF in the whole wide world (just brown nosing here for extra points and presents LOL)

I'm starting with this book because A: blue is one of my favorite colors and B: One of the pages has a rooster and I love roosters. So there's my expertise in choosing a smash book. Genius I tell ya...

I bragged and bragged and bragged about these books with Vane that she broke down and bought everything in the collection for my Birthday!!! Whoohoo... (Doing the happy dance)

Here are some of my favorite items in the collection:

I can't wait to get started smashing my book. I'll definitely post pictures as soon as I get started. If you need or want some more inspiration check out the Smash Blog.

Last but definitely not least, I want to wish all the Daddy's out there a wonderful Father's Day. I truly have lost the joy of celebrating this holiday because I lost my dad several years ago to cancer. I will however take today to celebrate him and all the wonderful things he did for us. He was a wonderful father, husband, brother, friend and human being.

Check me out...

2011-06-17T13:32:00.001-04:00

I am over the moon excited about my new blog design created by my friend Anilu. She did an amazing job creating my happy space in blog land. She executed it from start to finish. She had tons of ideas and we played with colors back and forth until she made sure I was happy with the look. I totally recommend her so if you jump on the bandwagon let her know I sent you.

So I've decided to give one lucky follower a RAK in celebration. All you have to do is "Follow Me" and I will select a winner next friday. Those of you that are already following me will also be included. I have so much beautiful scrapbooking stuff that is not being used. They deserve a home that will actually use it...

My mind is spinning and I have so many things to post about. My life is full and I've had so many blessings. I definitely will be back more often sharing these blessings with you.

Stay tuned...

Under Construction

2011-05-29T19:50:00.003-04:00

Please excuse the mess while I update my blog visually for your viewing pleasure.

Inspired...

2011-04-16T11:18:00.000-04:00

My scrap space is clean and organized for the most part. My desk is free from clutter with some of the most amazing collections I've recently bought so inspiration is in the house.

Studio Calico is having a blog hop and I've hopped over to all the design team members blogs and was so inspired by the layouts using Country Side and State Fair that I cut into my stash and created this layout for their weekly challenge. I love it and I'm loving these notions...

I'm gonna keep on scrappin... Happy Saturday

Xoxo,

Ady

Where in the world

2011-03-20T10:43:00.000-04:00

is Ady! Needless to say that I have been on the road to recovery and catching up on life. I have fully recovered my vision since my last post. I don't know if it was my nerves in my eyes adjusting themselves with time or if my vision returned because of accupuncture. Either way I can see 100% again with no vision loss. My eyes still get tired by the end of the day and my night vision still bothers me but I'm able to drive and fully function again... I am one happy Puerto Rican.

I'm still not out of the woods because I have to undergo some testing to really get to the root of the problem but I feel so much better.

On to fun stuff. This weekend we are celebrating the birth of my son. His birthday is Tuesday but with school and work there really isn't much time for play so we celebrated yesterday with a Movie party. He had a great time with his friends and family but lets just say that my day didn't start off that well. I'm a party planner peoples. I am extremely detailed oriented when it comes to parties and a control freak. I want everthing to go off without a hitch. So when we decided to do the movies, I thought " this is going to be laid back, easy going and stress free" I made the arrangements three weeks in advance put a deposit and was assured by the general manager at the theater that all I had to do was show up and everything would be done for me.

Guess what? We show up yesterday and they didn't know I was supposed to be there! WHAT!!! Stress levels increase, sweating begins, right eye starts twitching out of control. Manager explains that he was unaware of a party but that they would get the ball rolling. Twenty hungry kids, one hot party room equals one stressed out mom. I almost lost it but I took control of the situation and went into commander in chief mode.

My son didn't even realize what was going on, he told me that he was having a great time. That's really what it's all about at the end of the day. He loved his party and I am one proud momma.

Today I plan on taking him to pick out his gift. The boy has been saving is cash, gift cards to buy an IPAD 2 and he made his goal so we are off to locate one or possibly order it. Who knows.

Have a happy Sunday.

Xoxo,
Ady

Well on my way

2011-02-26T17:13:00.000-05:00

to recovery!!! I'm so happy that I'm feeling better and seeing better. I don't have that pressure in my eyes that was driving me insane. I don't have double vision while I look straight (I still have it when I look sideways) but I see improvement. I feel as if God is removing the bandages from my eyes allowing me to see again. This has been a truly hard time in my life. I really took for granted my precious life and I don't plan on doing that anymore. I am one lucky girl.... I hope to continue getting better daily but I'm not gonna give up trying to find out what exactly happened because I guarantee you that this will not catch me by surprise again.

On to some fun scrapbooking stuff...

I'm loving Studio Calico soooo much. I love the kits they put together but I'm oh so loving their two new releases Country Side and State Fair. I pre-ordered both of the new collections they just released but I also purchased the whole Elementary collection of their last release.

I'm at a point with my hobby that I'm only buying what I know I'm gonna use. No more "it's so cute" or " I can possibly use that". I'm investing way to much money to just give stuff away or sell it at dirt cheap prices. I'm going off tangent here... Focus

No more hoarding beautiful paper... It's meant to be used peoples... I finally started putting together my son's book. I'm so behind on his albums that it scares me but I'll get to what I can. Here are a couple of layouts I made for his school album. Simple and to the point...

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful weekend..

xoxo,

Ady

From the home front

2011-02-22T22:22:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

Thank you for all the wonderful comments you've left me, the phone calls, the emails and the facebook messages. I appreciate every single one of them. There are no significant changes with my vision but I am feeling better most days. I start getting acupuncture and that has helped my upper back and neck pain significantly.

On to other news... I have taken the time out finally to organize the past four years of photos on my computer on to a hard drive. The pictures filled up my hard drive and my computer is sooooo slow. It's quite an undertaking but the results are oh so worth it.

I received Happy Mail today... I purchased March's kit from Work In Progress. Let me just say it is packed with great products. Not to mention I got my pretty little hands on For The Record, one of the newest releases from Echo Park. LOVE IT...

I'm not scrapbooking much (actually not at all) but once I do start I"ll have plenty to work with. Well I'm off to rest. I feel good tonight. If I push my limits I'll sure pay for them in the morning.

XOXO,

Ady

Missing all the things

2011-02-12T09:51:00.000-05:00

I used to enjoy doing. I took for granted all that I was able to do and accomplish in a day. I took for granted that I have a blessed life and gave too much attention to the negative things that surrounded me. Now, I'm dependend on my friends and family to get me through this stage of my life.

On my last post, I mentioned that I had vertigo. Well, after seeing 3 specialist it was discovered that I infact don't have vertigo but left nerve paralysis or 6th nerve palsy. It's a nerve condition that doesn't allow my left eye to shift to the left and causes double vision when I'm looking straight. In the morning the eye is relaxed so it's easier for me to function properly but my mid day the eye is weak, my head pounds and my shoulders are tensed. It's all related because I'm forcing my eyes to function how they always have. Unfortunately by the time I get home I'm mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted.

I'm not driving so my SIL and brother are taking turns taking D to school and me to work and bringing us home at the end of the day. I've never felt so blessed that I get to work with my family every single day. They are definitely helping me to get through this.

Thank God for my hubby... He's been a trooper holding fort at home. He's been cooking, cleaning, helping D with homework so I can just rest. He's my rock and I'm so grateful for him. I LOVE HIM to pieces...

My friends, what can I possibly say about the wonderful women and men in my life. Thank you for all the calls, emails, text and the wonderful words of encouragement you give me. I love you all very much and I'm so grateful to call you my friends.

We still don't know how I got this because all my results have been negavtive (Thank Goodness). All have been confident in saying this is temporary but it's been one month and I show no improvement. I've been surfing the internet and getting feedback from some of our Dr clients and we (my brother and I) that have medical degrees from the University of researching the internet and watching Dr. Oz on t.v. think I may have signs of Multiple Sclerosis. I've read it extensively and I know I've had some of the symtoms. Not always, not consistently but I have had them.

So Monday morning, I'm making some calls and getting the ball rolling on getting more test done. I can't leave this alone. I need to COMMIT to getting my health better for me. I want to continue running, exercising and enjoying my life again. It's a battle I wasn't prepared for but it's here, it's real and I'm ready to take on the challenge.

Thanks for staying and reading this huge post. I needed to get this off my chest and on to paper. Thank you all again for your concerns and prayers. My pitty party ends today and today I take control of my life again. I definitely can't drive yet but I can definitely do everything else in my life. I always tell me son with respect to school "Slow and Steady wins the race". Today I'm taking my own advice and putting it to use.

Have a great weekend and I'll keep you updated...

Xoxo,

Ady

Six Years...

2011-01-22T17:10:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we celebrated six years of marriage... It was perfect evening for the three of us. We went to dinner at Samurai. I hadn't been there in almost 14 years so it was definitely a treat. D'Angelo had been wanting to go for a long time so it was definitely exciting for him too. I'm not feeling to well these days. I'm suffering from Vertigo and it's kicking my you know what. It's such uneasy feeling but I really wanted to go somewhere because all I've done for the past 72 hours is sleep.

The food at Samurai was delicious... Jorge handled the camera and I'm so glad he did because I probably wouldn't have taken one single photo of our anniversary. Shame on me!!!

I love him more than words can express. He is my rock and keeps me grounded when I get lost... He's an amazing husband, father and friend and I'm so blessed to have him in my life. I look forward to spending the rest of my life by his side. We make a great team.

I'm off to rest my eyes... Even spending a couple of minutes making this post is hurting my eyes. Gots to go..

XOXO,
Ady

Redland Riot Road Rally

2011-01-17T22:36:00.000-05:00

Happy Martin Luther King's Day!!! Don't know if any of you celebrated but I sure did with a no work day full of scrapping delight... I had a wonderful day with my scrappy sista's Vanessa and Damaris. There is nothing better than spending the day with two great friends, yummy food, field trip to Burr's Berries for shakes and lots of scrappy time.

Today I made five layouts (two of which are not quite finished) almost finished using two kits (makes me so happy to go through them because it will then justify my purchasing of new kits). Studio Calico's January Who's Who was great to use for my outing this weekend. I scraplifted two layouts from the amazing design team girls.

Vanessa and I along with two of her work friends went on our second annual Redland Riot Road Rally hosted by the owner of Burr's Berry Farm. The concept is to visit local growers in the Redland/Homestead area and answering questions for a scavenger hunt. It's gives a boost to the local economy because you can't resist some of the pickings...

We answered all the questions correctly but so did 15 other groups. We lost at the tie breaker but who cares, we had a lot of fun. Can you believe that I only took a handful of photos? It's quite liberating putting the camera down and just talking, exploring and enjoying the sites. I took enough photos to make a couple of layouts and to fill my Project Life... Not bad if I do say so myself.

I'm off to clean up before heading to bed. Have a wonderful rest of the week. I sure hope I can continue scrapbooking and catching up on some old kits because CHA is coming up and I know there are a bunch of collections I NEED!!! LOL

XOXO,
Ady

Happy New Year & OLW

2011-01-04T23:56:00.000-05:00

New Year's Eve was a wonderful, stress free evening with family and friends. We wanted to get out of the house but not too far away. Guess where we went? Yes, to our favorite local winery in Homestead. Schnebly's Winery hosted their first annual New Year's Eve bash with food, wine, a band and fireworks. The best part of the evening was when we picked up our tickets and were headed to the seating area when long and behold, the owner of the winery which happens to be a good friend of my hubby's greeted us and invited our group to the VIP area. What!!! We had a private area with our own liquor, lounging area and awesome service. What else could we want! Well, we could have had seconds of dinner. LOL

Here are some of my favorite photos of the evening.

Vanessa and I (I don't know if it's the angle of that photo but wow I look skinny, LOL)

My brother and I

My hubby and I (The most amazing guy eva)

Sharlene, Yvette and I shaking our grove thing, Yeah!

My niece, brother, sister-in-law ringing in the New Year!

Group shot!

Just us girls!

Peter Schnebly (the owner of the winery)

The only shot of the fireworks worth sharing

Here's to a New Year filled with love, kindness, peace and joy. Thank you for visiting my blog this past year. I hope to devote more time, energy, creativity to it this year. I have so many things I want to accomplish so it brings me to my next topic One Little Word. For those of you who don't know Ali Edwards created this series a couple of years ago. OLW is when you pick one word that you want reflected in your life, something you want to change, add or experience within this year.

I've been picking my word for the past three years. I've thought about it, journaled somewhat about it and I may have worked on it in my everyday life but I didn't make it a priority in my life. This year I plan on approaching it a bit differently. Ali is offering a class on OLW thru Big Picture Classes. I love the concept so I joined in on the fun. The class is slow paced so I won't feel overwhelmed and she makes awesome references on how to make our WORD vivid in our lives. If your on the fence about taking the class I totally recommend it. At the end of the year I'll have this album filled with prompts about my word "COMMIT"

Here are my pages for the month of January, I'm done and I've put it away until next month. I hope to add my accomplishments for this month. I have my fingers crossed...

Well peeps, I've taken more time than I should have. Thank you for finishing the post. I know! My post have been way to long lately. I'll try to keep them short and sweet. Thanks for stopping by and keep a look out for a RAK I will be hosting very soon...

XOXO,
Ady

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2010-12-30T19:29:00.000-05:00

Tis the season... I've had a wonderful holiday season with my family and friends. Santa was good to me this year and he was also good to my DH and DS. Everyone was super duper happy with their presents. I spent the entire day at home enjoying our time together. My family came over for breakfast and dinner. We spent countless hours eating, playing, laughing and talking. I can't think of a better way of spending the day.
Here are some of my favorite photos of the day:

Snuggling in bed before Santa arrives...

A special visit from his brothers...

The look of awe for his new bike...

The total fake out on my part because I went to the store bought and gave it to my mom for her to wrap for me... Don't blame me it was her idea. I hate getting money because I always spend on everything except me.

Taby and Lola with Bath & Body works lotion and body spray...

Hysterical laughing attack but I can't remember why :-(

Family portraits in front of the tree... Lola is Tabitha's BFF.

Technology at it's best. We are all addicted to "Angry Birds"

Should definitely be our Christmas card for next year...

Definitely my favorite photo of the evening... This is how life should be all the time.

That's all folks... Hope you enjoyed a peek into our Christmas and I hope yours was just as wonderful. I have a lot of goals in my head for next year. I'm looking forward to a new year of health and happiness.

Looking forward to many new things in the new year especially anticipating the bundle of joy that will be joining our family. NO! Not me... My BFF is expecting and I'm so happy. I'll have a baby of my own that I get to spoil and love on ...

I wish you all a wonderful New Year and I hope to be back to posting more frequently but I'm not going to make any promises...

XOXO,

Ady

My December Daily

2010-12-08T15:13:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, sorry I've been MIA. Life has been a bit hectic with the holidays so my computer time at home has been non existent. So much has happened in our lives in the recent weeks that it's hard to document it all but I'm definitely gonna try.

My family went to Disney World Thanksgiving weekend. It was so much fun for us and the kids. We had a great time and the weather was perfect. I have a bunch of great photos that I need to edit, print and do something with.

My brother had a wonderful idea to get the family together to watch KOOZA, a Cirque De Soleil show here in Downtown Miami. We ended up with a group of 25 friends and family. What a great show. I was oohing and aahing the whole time. Loved it...

I've spend some time with my scrapbooking buddies

We bought our Christmas Tree this weekend and I've been slowly but surely decorating it but it's been a slow process because my baby is sick with the flu. We have been home for two days and now I'm starting to feel under the weather but I'm taking lots of meds because I can't afford to get sick too.

So what am I doing with all these wonderful memories? I'm doing a December Daily album by the one and only Ali Edwards. It's been a slow process because Photoshop and I do not understand each other but I'm happy to say that my first week is almost complete. My second week is documented but not printed as of yet but HELLO... This is an accomplishment for me.

Here's a sneak peek. Well, I'm off to tackle another project to take full advantage of my day off. Thanks for stopping by.

XOXO,
Ady

Inspired

2010-11-17T14:06:00.003-05:00

Its official... I am in holiday mode... Sorry Thanksgiving, I skipped you this season but believe me I have given plenty of thanks to my blessed life. I'm still purging from every nook and cranny I can find at home. It's amazing how much stuff we can collect for absolutely no reason. My resolution for "TODAY", if it doesn't serve a purpose then reuse, reduce and recycle. It's been so liberating for me and I feel that my home flows nicely...

This past weekend my hubby and I cleaned out our shed. We organized and purged everything in there. I started opening Christmas bins so I started decorating as we purged. I haven't even gone through two bins yet but I pulled out my favorite decorations thus far. I have a bunch more of decorations I don't use anymore so those will be going to my cousins house for their enjoyment.

Well, I've been blog hopping a lot and visiting my favorite blogs. The inspiration out there is so overwhelming. I secretly wish I could take the month off from work so I can play and create all the beautiful things I've seen but alas that's just a DREAM.

I'll share a couple of these blogs with you today so you can be inspired too.

April Meeker: I met her at Spark and now I frequent her blog religiously. Check this post about an advent calendar. I started buying nick knacks for my son so we can start Dec 1. I already have a beautiful advent calendar I bought a couple of years ago. I'm writing down little messages for my son with clues to where he can find his gift. I think he'll love it.

Side note: My son is 11 and he's growing so fast. This year he's only asked for a bike and nothing else. I think this will be great for us to bond and look forward for the season especially because he knows the TRUTH about SANTA...

Ali Edwards: Her website is FULL of inspiration all the time. This year I'm focusing on starting and finishing my December Daily. I have attempted this twice before and have yet to finish one. Her concept this year is super easy to follow so I'm hopeful that this is the year it gets finished....

Becky Higgins: She just released sneak peeks on her new PROJECT LIFE for 2011 and I'm in love with it. I really think I'm going to do this next year. At my pace, no rules, just fun.... Crossing my fingers. She also has some beautiful Christmas card downloads that are free. I really like one of them so it just might be my card for this year. We'll see.

Last but not least, I visited Karen Russell's blog a bit ago and was flooded with emotions when I read her post. I've been struggling with this for awhile, wanting to go but not making it a priority in our life. This is on the top of the list I need to grasp a hold of.

Well, I think I've lead you to a bunch of places for reading material. I hope you enjoy your travels in blog world as much as I have. Have a wonderful rest of the week.

XOXO,

Ady

Window shopping

2010-11-03T21:08:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to share a few things I'm coveting now. I received the Vera Bradley catalog in the mail yesterday and all I have to say is SWOON!!! I love her handbag collections. I already own 4 handbags and a traveling collection. My SIL's sister introduced me to these handbags ten years ago and I've been a fan ever since.

These are her newest lines that I'm adding to my Christmas Wishlist this year. The Buttercup collection is perfect with it's pink and yellow combination... They also have a beautiful watch that comes with a gorgeous box but it's not on-line but trust me when I say "It's amazing".

I'm off to do some much needed house work. This little post has taken me much longer than what I had anticipated. Happy Wednesday!

Xoxo,

Ady

Life is wonderful.

2010-10-24T21:43:00.000-04:00

I spent an amazing weekend with my son. No fighting, no tantrums, no attitude, no confrontations. We did lots of talking, baking, eating, shopping, tv time, homework, scrapping and snuggling. We miss Jorge tramendously but we made the most of the weekend and we are ready for a new week.

I have the most amazing friends. Damaris invited me over for some one on one scrapping time. It felt so good to cut paper, talk and put together a scrapbook page. I'm not finished but it still felt good... Vane and Richard came over a visit on Saturday. I know they love me and just wanted to make sure I was ok on my own. Thank you girls, I LOVE YOU...

Today we went on a Target spree. It's so wonderful when you can go to one store and buy clothes, costumes and groceries. Two hundred dollars and two hours later we were home and I needed a nap. LOL I've been tormented for weeks because my son didn't want a costume for Halloween. He kept saying he was too big to dress up, really 11 is too old to dress up. I couldn't accept that so I kept pushing almost forcing him to get a costume until he finally told me he didn't like to go to the halloween store because the props scared him. Poor thing... He's gotten so big that I think he shouldn't be afraid of anything but he is who he is and I have to accept that. Guess what? Target is not so scary but he thinks his costume is and I am one HAPPY momma. He loves his costume and he says that the best part is that he doesn't have to smile when I take my 200 photos. HAHAHAHA

Aren't these adorable... My amazing talented friend Trish sent me this recipe for marshmellow ghost that I couldn't resist making. I packaged them up for Vane's Halloween party. They are deliciously sweet.

I leave you with a photo of my sofa table. I was inspired to do a bit of decorating this year. I'm off to do some scrapbooking before the night ends.

xoxo,
Ady

Thank you...

2010-10-19T22:15:00.001-04:00

For all your sweet comments both here and on facebook. I read back my post and I was upset with myself that I let my emotions get the best of me. Life is hard sometimes but we must make a conscious choice to have faith and trust that everything happens for a reason.

I'm feeling better and I hope to continue to do so for me and my family. I took some me time yesterday. I was surfing on-line and picked out some presents to put on my Wish List. My family is already making their list and checking it twice so now they can come here and see my Wish List.
Here are a few of my top picks for this year.

This Fuji Instax camera takes the cutest wallet Polaroids. I bought it as a present for my BFF. We took some fun photos on her birthday and the quality is divine.

This is a great everyday watch. I can dress it up or down depending on my mood.

You can see the rest of my picks on the sidebar. I can't upload any of the Victoria Secret pajamas photos. I LOVE these pajamas. They are expensive but a) I always get them on sale and b) they last a lifetime. I finally had to cave this week and throw some away. They lasted me three years. Not bad, not bad at all.

Well, I'm off to cuddle with my honey before he leaves tomorrow.

I'm working on the bones of my December Daily and I'm super excited about putting this project together.

Thanks for lending me a friendly ear. I really needed to get this negative energy out and you were all there for support.

xoxo,

Ady

Wondering...

2010-10-17T22:32:00.002-04:00

If anyone reads this blog or if it's mainly for me to document my life. Either way I'm really contemplating if I will continue it for the new year. On to other stuff in my life right now.

totally unmotivated to finish purging my scraproom. I feel like putting everything in the garage sale pile.
haven't scrapbooked anything in a long time.
I've started a million scrapbook projects but haven't finished hardly any of them.
sad my hubby is leaving on a trip for 11 days and will be missing Halloween weekend.
going through some stuff with my son. He's in his preteen years and we are knocking heads.
still working on home improvements. I don't see an end to it.
actually looking forward to working on my December Daily this year. It's a simple format that I think will work for me and I'll actually finish it for the first time.
made my Christmas Shopping List and most of the kids are getting cash this year so it's putting a damper on my Black Friday shopping.
decorated the house for Fall and Halloween.
making treats for Halloween party hosted by my BFF's
made my appointment for my Holiday Christmas cards
still working out with my trainer ( not seeing to many results) probably because I'm not 100% vested in it.
having computer issues at home. Makes it hard to update my blog and surf.
looking forward to some postitive changes at work (crossing my fingers and praying)

This is what's going on in my life and in my mind right now. Too much to put into complete sentences but just as well because it really sounds like a downer. This too will pass because life has it's up and down's.

On to fun, happy stuff. Last weekend, I was given an awesome coupon to go to Miami Seaquarium that I couldn't pass up. My son, my cousin and I had a great day there. It's was worth the 2 hour wait to get in but I saved alot of mula that we ended up spending on food and drinks. LOL

Hope to be back with a more cheerful post. Unfortunately, this is all I have today. Peace Out!!

XOXO,
Ady

Home Improvements...

2010-10-03T20:24:00.001-04:00

are time consuming, stressful, painful, messy but oh so worth it in the end. Hey, happy bloggers my blog has been neglected for some time now. My house has been in an uproar for the past several weeks with walls coming down, other walls going up, plaster, sanding (lots of it) painting, purging, organizing and putting it all together again.

Here's a little bit of history of my house. I've lived in this house for almost 15years. It's the house I LOVE because I bought it with my hard earned money. It's the house that my son came home to at 6 days old. It holds many memories that I cherish both good and bad. My house is my safe haven and I love everything about it except two things. One, I wish I had more land. I don't know why because I hardly ever go outside. I guess it's because the house I grew up in had a huge yard. Two, I hated my laundry closet. It was so uncomfortable to use that I detested laundry.

A couple of months ago, I mentioned my dilemma to my brother (my go to guy for any home improvements). He came over to asses the situation and he came up with the most amazing idea eva!!! I was super excited but he had other projects at the time. Fast forward three weeks ago and here he was knocking down a closet in the hallway that had no function but to store junk. It was located next to the laundry closet. He worked on it on his spare time and the end result is an amazing laundry ROOM!!! Notice I said room and not closet. SCORE!!!

I have the most beautiful laundry room this house could hold. I forgot to take a picture of the before but feast your eyes on the finished room. I LOVE IT and I don't mind doing laundry anymore, it's funny because it's so user friendly that everyone in the house does laundry, even my 11 year old son.

Yesterday, I had a huge garage sale with my cousin. I purged from every room in the house, the junk closet, the shed and even from the attic. I still have plenty of stuff to go through but I was able to get rid of 80% of stuff that was not being used or was unwanted. My final project for the year is to go through all my Christmas decorations and purge. I have 15 years of decoration to either use, discard or sell.

Today, I'm working in my scraproom. I don't know what the heck it going on in here. Maybe, it's the notion that I buy too much and don't use enough or maybe it's because I'm a messy scrapper and I don't clean up after myself. I'm being honest here: I think it's both. Here's a little peek at what the room looks like right now. I have until 12/4/2010 to purge organize and get ready to sell all that's unwanted stuff. Wish me luck.

Well, I'm off to continue purging in here. Sorry for the long post but I'm not sure when I'll be able to blog again so I'm giving you all an ear full. LOL

Have a wonderful week!!

XOXO,

Ady

Sparked!!!

2010-09-14T22:48:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

All I can say is "What an amazing experience". I loved every single thing about this jam packed two day crafting event. I'll have to break up this post because I have so many photos to go through and Vanessa has a lot of the celebrity photos that I want to share so today's post is about decorations.

As we arrived to the event we were greeted by these three beautiful ladies.

Then, as we entered Noah's (venue location) we were greeted with bright beautiful colors of SPARK!

This was our meeting hall, where we gathered in the mornings, at meal times, and at night. The ceilings were decorated with playing cards, monopoly money, magazine pages, and yes that is Dear Lizzy's bicycle hanging center stage. There were chandeliers and dress forms and all sorts of vintage pieces. It was breathtaking.

Every table had a different center piece beautifully put together.

Candy, candy, and more candy. There was candy everywhere. This candy station was located on the third floor where most of our classes were held. You could enter this room at any point in the day and take a break, grab a drink, grab some candy or even grab some yummy vegetables and chips. They thought of everything.

There's definitely more to come so stay tuned. I would love to hear what you think so don't be shy and leave me a comment.

xoxo,

Ady

SPARK!!!

2010-09-07T14:00:00.000-04:00

Please excuse this fly by post but I'm getting ready to head out to SPARK! in Utah with my BFF and this poor blog has paid the consequences not to mention the mountain of projects my son is getting at school so my internet time is very low because we share the computer.

I'm so excited that I can't contain myself. They are offering a two day non stop crafting extravaganza. I'm sure I will be learning a lot and I hope to continue implementing this new found knowledge when I get home because I'm pretty much just a scrapbooker...

Will be back soon....

Before I forget, I took on on-line class with Dear Lizzy that was so much fun to do. Well, it was more fun for me because I did it with my mom as (she made some funny comments on how she couldn't understand why I didn't know how to sew) it's a long story but suffice to say I proved her wrong. Now I have to make her a shirt too...

xoxo,

Ady

School

2010-08-28T22:26:00.000-04:00

is back in session and I am one happy camper. I'm happy to report that my DS is loving Middle School. He loves the extra freedom of changing classes having free time after lunch to do as he wishes. His work load is spread out through two days which I think I'm going to like a lot more. I still have to get used to two book bags but that will come with time.

Here are some first day of school shots I took.

He loves that he doesn't have to wear a uniform, that he doesn't have to tuck in his shirt, he can wear any sneakers he wants... I love it too. He really looks like he belongs in Middle School already. He's growing up way to fast but I'm trying to enjoy every minute of it and trying to document it too.

I couldn't resist and I ordered this kit for this year's school journey from Studio Calico. Why you ask "well it's school based without being too kiddish... I don't like cutsie patutsie stuff. (not sure I spelled it correctly but you get the picture.) I had to preorder it which I don't usually like to do but a lot of the web sights I visited already had stuff not available so I caved...

I can't wait to start documenting this new phase in his life... Well peeps gotta go... The mojo is in the house and I have to take full advantage and scrapbook...

Xoxo,
Ady

Sneak Peek

2010-08-22T22:08:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone,

Tomorrow is back to school and I couldn't be happier. Fall is fast approaching and it's the time of year that I love the most.

I haven't been scrapbooking as much as I would like because I've started exercising with my family and that has taken a front seat in our home. We are doing really well on balancing diet and exercise.

I'm participating in a tag swap through Scrapoholicsqclub thanks to my friend Jo. I'll be swaping with 8 other women from all parts. It's going to be exciting seeing what each girl comes up with. I've been thinking lately as to what my "STYLE" of scrapbooking is. Well if I had to pick my style would be "SLEEK & SIMPLE". I love embellies but I don't like to have them all on one page. I picked what I love in this tag so it would represent me.

I love brackets, glimmer mist, banners and Jenni Bowlin. The tag is made of these and some more techniques and embellies but I don't want to give it all away because I want the girls to be surprised and excited to receive it in the mail.

Here's a sneak peek:

Well, I'm off to get ready for tomorrow. I need to send a prayer to my Heavenly Father to give my son some peace. He is a worry wort and he is very nervous. He's scared no one will like him and that he's going to get lost getting from class to class. I know he'll do great because he's a great kid, with a great heart and because his momma has taught him well. I'll be back with his first day of school update.

XOXO,
Ady

MIA...

2010-08-14T11:29:00.000-04:00

Sorry folks... I've been MIA from blog world. Things have been hectic for me and I have had no inspiration to blog about anything specific. My mind is spinning (literally) with ideas, photos, back to school, uniforms, work, health, excercise and family. I can't seem to stop and regroup and decide what comes first on this list. I'm doing a bit of this and a bit of that.

First, my family and I decided that this was IT... We are going to be heatlhy, lose weight and exercise. I'm happy to report that we've walked twice this week and we've cut out JUNK food too. We're starting to work on a meal plan and an exercise regimen. I'm hopeful that this time it sticks... I'll keep you updated.

Secondly, I have so many photos of Key West. I'm a bit overwhelmed so I'm editing and choosing the photos I love. I was a bit upset when I pulled out the kit I was going to use for my vacation and the kit just did not do it for me. I was sad because I was inspired to create and then NOTHING... I was about to go crazy and buy stuff but I put on the brakes "WAIT" and told myself " look around the huge mess in your scrapbook room and see if anything else inspires you before you go out and spend another fortune on scrapbook supplies."

Be still my heart my newest kit from SC arrived while on vacation and guess what? It's perfect for my KEY WEST vacation Whoohoo!!!

I have plenty to work with and the DT gallery is amazing. That's actually what inspired me to use this kit for KEY WEST. It's more pink than I usually use but it blends so beautiful with my beautiful beach photos. Not to mention it's such a happy kit to go with my so happy vacation.

Enough rambling for one day. I'll leave you with a couple of photos from the Keys.

Unfortunately my computer is utterly slow today so I can't seem to upload anymore photos... Will do so later.

XOXO,

Ady

Inspiration...

2010-07-28T20:21:00.005-04:00

What inspires you? For me it's seeing beautiful layouts in blog world. Jenni Bowlin's July's Paper Crafting kit was really pretty but I wasn't going to buy it because I really didn't need another kit but then my enabler called me and asked if I had seen the gallery. My reply "NO" because I really don't want to by the kit and I'm sure the layouts are beautiful. Long story short I went to the gallery. WHAT!!!!

Inspiration took the best of me and I caved... Not only did I buy the main kit but I also bought the add-on kit. All because I feel in love with Lisa Dickinson's layouts. Her gallery was filled with beautiful layouts that inspired me to lift. (LOL) I have no shame as long as I give credit where credit is due.

The last three layouts were inspired by the other DT members but I added bits and pieces from here and there to make them my own... I am thrilled how they all turned out. Thank you ladies for the oodles of inspiration. Now on to my next kit because I'm feeling overwhelmed again with so much stuff.

BTW, I'm so excited... I'm heading to Key West for seven days of fun, sea, play, exploration and relaxation with my family...

Thanks for visiting...

Birthday Celebrations...

2010-07-18T20:10:00.001-04:00

I've had such a wonderful weekend... My birthday celebrations are in full swing and my birthday isn't until next week. I'm truly a lucky woman to have so many wonderful women in my life. Last weekend, our scrappy girls got together for a scrap filled Saturday to celebrate Lou's and my birthday. (I don't have photos of that day yet). I received so many wonderful presents from them. They are all wonderful women and I'm blessed to call them my friends.

Then yesterday, Vanessa and I took a class with Debbie Schuh called Tiny Tales... The best part of the class is that we had plenty of time to finish the mini... I really wasn't sure what to use it for but now I'm inspired to put baby pictures in it. She had so many wonderful memories, ideas and inspiration to share with us. I would definitely take another class with her. Oh and I suckered my BFF into giving me an early birthday present. She gave me the 7 Gypsies Artist Tray. She went as far as to purchase and make most of the goodies that go inside the tray. I was inspired last night so I started working on it already. I hope to have it finished later on tonight.

Today, Damaris invited me over for lunch, dinner, birthday cake and presents... I received 7 gypsies, Martha Stewart, Tattered Angels and so much more. Lucky me... She really treated me like a queen for the day... I truly appreciate all the little details, especially the birthday card that was simply beautiful.

Thank you ladies for showing me so much love and appreciation. I love you all very much and I'm so happy to have you in my life...

Well peeps, I'm off to play with all my goodies...

Lookie, Lookie

2010-07-15T23:22:00.000-04:00

at the amazing kit I won. Trish over at Work In Progress was having a contest and I was one of the LUCKY winners. I'm giddy with excitement. I love the Walk in the Park collection in this kit so I will definitely be hoarding it until I get back from vacation.

WIP is one of the blogs that I religiously visit everyday. She always has something up her sleeve. I tell her all the time that I want to be her when I grow up. She is amazingly talent, a great mom and she can bake like it's no one's business...

Again, thanks Trish for this beautiful kit. I checked and she still has kits available so head on over there...

I'll be back this weekend to share some of the layouts I've created these past couple of days...

XOXO,
Ady

Seaside Retreat...

2010-07-09T18:16:00.004-04:00

Who wants to join me? LOL... I'm actually referring to the newest line by October Afternoon called SEASIDE... This line is gorgeous but unfortunately we're going to have to wait a lonnnng time before we can get our hands on it. Luckily were spending a week in Key West this summer so this collection will be perfect for me. I'll have to be patient and wait for it's arrival. Here are a few of my favorite papers and embellishments.

This month is my birthday so guess what? The birthday celebrations start tomorrow so I'll be spending the day with my scrappy sisters for food, cake and lots of scrapbooking. I hope my mojo joins me because I have been uninspired to create for the past couple of weeks so I'll keep my fingers crossed. I have some great pictures from last weekend that I want to scrap so I hope I can get something done. Well peeps have a wonderful weekend...

XOXO,

Ady

All

2010-06-26T21:46:00.000-04:00

is well in my life again. Today my baby returned home safe and sound. He was so excited to share stories of all the things he did. He did mention a couple of times that how could I have sent him into the wilderness for nine days alone and if I would have been able to survive without my family. I totally understood where he was coming from and deep down inside I knew he was right but I strongly believe this adventure will help him grow and learn to be more independent. Everyone told me he did great but he was really homesick. I can't wait to see pics of the trip but I'll have to wait patiently for those. Here are a couple of pictures we took today when he came home.

I bought him a bunch of welcome home goodies. He really wanted some Crazy Bands so those were definitely a winner.

I love this picture of him reading a card I bought for him. I love that he's at an age that he can understand and appreciate the little details that I do for him. He keeps all the cards that I give him. It really makes me one proud mama...

These were the top three things he wanted to do upon arrival.

Take a long hot bath
Eat a plate of Mac and Cheese
Watch TV for as long as he possilby could.

He accomplished the first two but only lasted one hour on number three... Poor baby was exhausted and fell asleep holding up his chin. I tucked him in bed and gave him a kiss on his forehead. All is good again.

Goodnight!!!

Missing

2010-06-21T21:51:00.000-04:00

two very important people in my life this week. First, my baby boy. I sent him on a 9 day camping trip with his Boy Scout troop to Georgia. What was I thinking!!! I know this is great for him to grow and learn and become more independent and hopefully become less of a winer and less of a momma's boy but I MISS HIM sooooo much. I'm used to sharing him every other weekend with his dad and I actually sometimes enjoy the time alone but this is more than what my heart can take. I'm ok during the day because I'm either working or running errands but at night it's a whole other story. The same thing happens to him because he calls every night to cry and tell me he misses me too. He tells me amongst the tears that he's having a good time and they have done so many activites but he still wants to come home. I'm so proud of him. He's overcoming his fears and facing new challenges. I'm so thankful to be a part of a troop that has strong family values, how we have become an extended family over the years and how we watch over each other's kids as if they were our own.

Five more days and he'll be home. I can't wait to hear the stories and see the pictures that I hope they take.

ETA: He just called to tell me he's having a great time and they did lots of activities. He did get a headache and had to see the Dr. He's not drinking enough liquids but thank goodness they gave him something for it and he was fine.

The second man in my life that I miss so much it hurts sometimes is my DADDY!!! Father's day is never easy but as the years pass I cry less but I'm able to celebrate his life more and rejoice in the wonderful memories we shared. My mother and I went to his gravesite to take him flowers. It's so incredibly strange but I had the desire to take pictures of the gravesite to create a layout on how I was feeling that day. I don't know when I'll do it because I see the pictures now and I get an overwhelming desire to cry and scream WHY... Deep down inside I know why, I know he's in Heaven, I know he has no more pain, I know he watches over me and I know he loved us with all his heart but I want to be selfish, I want him here, I want to take more pictures, I want him to spend the weekends working on household projects with me, I want him to walk to the gas station to buy candy with D. I want to hug him and tell him how very much I love him.

So today, I'll just pray and remember and just cry.

Goodnight!!!

Hello Sunshine

2010-06-09T11:07:00.000-04:00

I am home today with my little one. He had his worst migraine to date and I had to take him to the ER. He was such a trooper and he didn't cry when they gave him two injections. One to help the migraine and the other shot was for the vomitting. I was really worried yesterday... Thank God all is well and he is feeling a lot better. He still has a mild headache but that's normal for everything he went through yesterday.

I was looking at some of my paper collections Monday night and I was inspired by this collection that I had to dig in and create with it. I made these three layouts between Monday and Tuesday before the above happened. The first one was scraplifted from the Lilybee Design Blog and the other two layouts are all me baby!!!

I'm super excited that I'll be taking a class with Debby Schuh on July 17 at Cherry Blossom Studio. We've never taken a class with her so I'm excited to add her to my list of celebrity favorites. We're taking the Tiny Tales class on Saturday afternoon. So if your in the area come join us for some happy scrappy time.

Well I'm off to take care of my baby... I have to enjoy this precious time because children grow so rapidly. Yes, I'm going through some emotional distress today. Have a wonderful Wednesday.

XOXO,

Ady

Ode to Scraplifting..

2010-06-01T20:56:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone,

Happy Tuesday... I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Many thanks to all of those who serve and protect our country. Many blessings to you and your families. I had a great weekend with family, will definitely post photos later this week.

I wanted to post all the layouts that I've created with last month's kit from Studio Calico. All I can say is WOW for the amazing design team and the 30 plus layouts that I loved... Too bad I didn't three kits in order to lift all 30 of them. This year I'm guilty of scraplifting. To be honest, I'm overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I have and I feel guilty just buying and not producing anything. You see I lack time... Time to create, time to play, time to just sit and allow myself to imagine a layout from beginning to end. I'm sure I could if I wanted to but this year I just want to use up every single thing I buy so Scraplifting has been my saving grace. This kit was simply amazing and versitile and just plain beautiful. I have three more that I'm going to work on tonight to finish up this kit and be ready for my next kit.

First off this is the kit and the add-ons I purchased:

I also bought one add-on kit and the add-on patterned paper kit. So without further addo, here are my scraplifted layouts from the design team.

Inspired by Kelly Noel

Celine Navarro

Emily Pitts

Stephanie Howell

Nicole Samuels

Kimmi Achord

Susan Weinroth

Cocoa Daisy Gallery

This post has taken me a lot longer than I anticpated. It's cutting into my scraplifting time. Thanks for stopping by and seeing my beautifully scraplifted layouts... Have a wonderful Wednesday...

XOXO,

Ady

Key West

2010-05-24T21:43:00.000-04:00

It's no secret that I love Key West. If I could afford to stay there every weekend I would. Last weekend our Boy Scout group decided to take a camping trip to Sugarloaf. This is our favorite campsite because we get to spiffy up and have a night out on the town Key West style.

I feel blessed to have found such a wonderful group of people that have the same philosophies on raising children. We get along so well and I consider them family. Not to mention that I trust my son with the other dad's in the group whole heartedly. They watch over him as one of their children.

Here are some fun photos from our trip. I even took my God Daughter Nina with us. She is such a wonderful girl. I love taking her on vacation with us. She knows how to have a good time and I never have had to reprimand her. I love her to pieces.

These are just a couple of my favorite photos. I'll be back with more because I am in a scrapbooking frenzy. I have made 11 layouts with Studio Calico's May kit. I am on a role so I'm off to create a couple of more layouts before the juices stop flowing and I lose interest. BTW, these layouts are total scraplifts. The design team is amazing and I had over 30 layouts that I loved to choose from. I'll be back later this week to share my lovelies.

I hope you have a happy Tuesday.

XOXO,

Ady

Testing...

2010-05-10T22:13:00.000-04:00

This is only a test... Just trying to figure out how to align the text... I'll be back with more later this week.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T15:28:00.003-04:00

Today I was awaken by the cutest little boy in the world that happens to be the light of my life, the reason for my being and the boy that can drive me crazy in an instant. LOL He jumped into bed with me to wish me a Happy Mother's Day and immediately told me to stay in bed so he can bring me cereal. I asked for permission to go to the bathroom first and freshen up. His response was to hurry up... He asked me what cereal I wanted and I said Cinnamon Toast Crunch. A minute later he came back to ask if there was a different cereal I might want instead because there was only enough cereal for one bowl and that's the one he wanted. I had to laugh because he was willing to go all out but was not willing to give up his breakfast choice. I agreed and proceeded to freshen up. Than I hear yelling from the kitchen "Are you in bed yet?", I quickly responded "yes, I am but can you bring the camera too". This moment could not go undocumented. He gave me my cereal and took a couple of photos. I almost had to tell him to stand outside to take the photo because I look hurt in the pictures but I love it all the same.

He also gave me a beautiful card and a picture frame magnet that says I Love MOM!!! Too cute... Not a bad way to start the day. Well I'm off to visit the in-laws. I wish all my blogger buddies a wonderful Mother's Day and a relaxing week

Here's the picture I was referring too.

XOXO,

Ady

Happy Birthday

2010-05-02T21:42:00.005-04:00

Mom!! This weekend between sending my son on his first camping trip alone, working at our Boy Scout garage sale to earn the boys extra cash for their summer camping trip, going to open house for D's Middle School and making deliveries we celebrated my Mom's 31st birthday.

She's been counting backwards for many years now. At this point she's going to start denying that I'm her daughter. We all went to Schnebly's winery to celebrate another wonderful year in her life. Omar, Liz and Taby joined us. We had a lot of fun and drank a lot of wine.

I adore my mom... She is real, down to earth and tells it like it is. She gave me the strength I needed during many difficult times in my life. She was never disappointed in me and if she was she never showed it. She lifted me up when I was down and has always loved me unconditionally. She adores my son (more than she loves me) and that's totally fine with me. I hope to be as good of a mother as she's been to me. I didn' t agree with a lot of the things she did as I was growing up. I was very sheltered but I now understand why she did what she did and I can respect her for it.

Here are some fun photos we took last night.

All these photos were taken with my new 50mm lens that Karen Russell suggested... I love how the photos turned out...

Thanks for visiting my blog. I hope you have an awesome week, I'll try to be back with more stuff later this week.

XOXO,

Ady

A little bit

2010-04-14T19:29:00.003-04:00

of randomness today. It's Wednesday, I'm knee deep in projects with my son. I don't do his projects but I nag until it's done. I buy the supplies, help with the correct research, search my scraproom for stuff I'm willing to give up for his projects. Well, I started nagging at about 7:00pm so I'm patiently waiting until he finishes dinner so he can start on one of the four projects he has. Not to mention a Science project he just threw out this morning on our drive to school. Needless to say it's gonna be a busy couple of weeks. Oh did I mention the hours and hours of homework he has to do in the midst of the above. Oh well, I did it and survived so he will too.

Here are some random layouts I finished this past week. There all from different events but I really need to catch up with my scrapbooking. I'm starting to feel overwhelmed again with kits so here goes. We all know they are scraplifts but I'm totally happy with it because I'm actually getting stuff done.

Gotta go, he just finished dinner and is starting the search of stuff in my scraproom.

Goodnight...

Kennedy Space Center

2010-04-12T18:36:00.004-04:00

WOW!!! I wish I was a kid again so I could experience things again... At least I'm able to enjoy them now as an adult with my child. D and I had a great weekend camping out at Kennedy Space Center. The team that put this together did a wonderful job at putting together a jam packed evening for our troop. We met an astronaut, made and launched rockets, watched two IMAX movies, ate astronaut ice cream and slept under a rocket ship. D'Angelo really made the most of this trip and learned so much. Who knows, he might end up being an astronaut someday. They sure made him feel that he could if he really wanted it.

Useless trivia: Did you know that 11 out of 12 astronauts that walked on the moon were Eagle Scouts? This bit of information really impressed our boys that are embarking on the journey to earn their Eagle Scout.

I was emotional watching the live footage of the first man of the moon. All the astronauts spoke with such passion of their different missions to space and how they felt looking back and seeing Earth from so far away. It made them appreciate life so much more. I was teary eyed... YES I know, I'm a cry baby.

Here are some favorite photos from this weekend.

That's all folks... Have a wonderful week...

Ady

Jenni Bowlin...

2010-04-07T23:06:00.005-04:00

edited: I forgot to mention that my BFF in the whole wide world had all these layouts readily available for my scrapping pleasure so it took me a whole three hours or so to lift them all. She even gifted me the vintage milk cap that's on the last layout... I must give credit where credit is due. LOL... Do you forgive me? LOL

I forgot to post these layouts that I totally scraplifted that she lifted from the Jenni Bowlin Inspiration Blog. I used this kit up way to fast so I ordered more goodies from Damaris because I feel that I didn't hoard this kit long enough. This was my favorite release for Winter CHA 2010. Go Jenni!!!

Again, I can't say enough nice things about Donna Downey. I loved her class, the album, her personality, her inspiration, her CHA releases and the list goes on and on. I would definitely take another class with her.

Well that's all folks... Goodnight!

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T21:06:00.005-04:00

What a fun filled long weekend... I'm sad it's almost over but I feel blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family.

We celebrated a birthday, a wedding, cleaned the bay with D, went to church, saw a movie and spent an entire day with my hubby... Not bad for a fun filled weekend.

Here's a recap in photos...

Surprise party for Richard's birthday... I used my new lens that my DH gifted me for Karen Russell's photography class. I love the sharpness of the photos. I can't wait to learn more.

Devin and Christine's wedding was simply beautiful. With Schnebly's Winery as a backdrop they made a beautiful couple. Her bridesmaids wore yellow dresses that matched perfectly with their outdoor wedding. They are surely going to have some amazing wedding photos.

Sunday lunch at Outback... Yummy food with great laughs and many inside jokes...

I'll leave you with two layouts I made this week with Cocoa Daisy's March kit. I used inspiration from the gallery to create these layouts.

Well friends, family and fellow bloggers I'm off to spend the next couple of hours with my hubby before the night ends... It's not everyday that I get him all to myself...

Goodnight,

Ady

Birthday Blessings

2010-03-28T20:54:00.006-04:00

Hi everyone, sorry I've been MIA. A lot has happened the last couple of weeks and I am just now able to relax. My son has been very busy with Cub Scouts, camping, birthday and projects so you know what that means. When he's busy, I'm busy. It's been such a rewarding month for me and I'm so proud of my not so little boy.

Let's recap: He was accepted to two International Baccalaureate Spanish programs. Yes, it's a lottery to get in the programs but never the less he is a great student and deserves to be in this program.

He achieved his Arrow Of Light for Cub Scouts. This represents an achievement of four consecutive years as a Cub Scouts with all of his requirements met.

He bridged over from a Cub Scout to a Boy Scout at the Webelo Woods camping trip where our team won trophy of the year in competition. It really paid off all there hard work in practicing every sunday for the past two months.

We celebrated his 11th birthday party with friends and family. He actually celebrated three times. Once with the Boy Scouts, once at school and my dear friend Damaris picked him up from school and bought him a birthday cake and than we took him to one of his favorite restaurants for dinner. Is he a lucky boy or what? Actually I'm a lucky mom to have been blessed with him.

Needless to say it has been one crazy month for me. Not to mention that I've had technical difficulties at home with my computer so I haven't been able to visit blogs or leave any comments. I'm up and running and life is good.

Today I took pictures of my niece in different spots of Homestead. We decided to drive by a beautiful orchid nursery called RF Orchids to take some pictures in the entrance. When we arrived the owner was outside talking to some customers. He noticed that I was taking pictures of her and invited us on a tour of his gardens and encouraged me to take photos inside. Needless to say I took some beautiful pictures of her in the gardens and we had a great time.

There is so much more I would love to talk about but really who has two hours to read one persons blog. I'll be back soon with more to share. Thanks for stoping by and for your comments. I hope to visit my fav blogs soon. Have a wonderful spring break week.

XOXO,

Ady

All things vintage

2010-03-10T22:46:00.005-05:00

I don't know how I let this happen. Maybe it happened because my dear friends Vanessa and Damaris love all things vintage and they secretly sent subliminal messages to me but I am loving all things vintage these days. I'm eyeing a bunch of things from 7 Gypsies that I really want to work on but I have to control myself. Yes, I'm pacing myself. Here are a few of the CHA 2010 releases that I hope to have soon.

Vanessa gifted me this photo display for Christmas. It's waiting patiently in the corner of my scrap room to start playing with it. I promise it will be completed by the end of the year. I'm being totally realistic about it. LOL

I'm envisioning the Avignon collection in this beautiful Printers Tray that will hang in my bedroom with trinkets hidden in each cubby. BLISS...

One of the sheets of paper from the Avignon collection. I love the mixture of blues and greens. Those two colors together make me very happy.

Tags, Tags and more tags. I am so lifting this layout by Mou Saha... It's a beautiful layout.

Totally adorable tags to hang on my photo display... I can't wait.

I just want them... I don't know what I'll do with them as of yet but I will find a home for these beautiful cards.

These are just a few of the products from 7Gypsies. If you haven't visited their blog or website you must. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Well, it's late and I'm tired. I'll be back soon with some other Vintage Findings in my collection and a beautiful layout too.

XOXO,

Ady

Sharing

2010-03-04T21:01:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone,

Can you believe I'm posting for the second time this week? OMG... I wanted to share two more layouts I had completed with my December kit from Cocoa Daisy. I implemented extra embellies that I purchased from Damaris a while back.

At first the layout said Me! but as I was about to take the photo I felt that the upper right side felt too plain. I decided to add Loving to the title which meshes well with what I journaled. I'm gonna share with you what I wrote because I know we have all gone through the same at one point in our lives. I think that talking about it really helps in the healing process. I tucked the Jenni Bowlin journaling card inside the envelope.

It reads:

I'm learning to love me for me. I'm learning to love the skin I'm in whether fat or skinny. I struggle with my weight but today I feel beautiful and it shows.

This layout features Webster's Pages. This paper is so beautiful and it lends itself to so many possiblities. I'm glad I have two sheets of paper for the entire kit. WhooHoo... I also have the matching embellies so skies the limit with this line.

I have been so productive this year with my scrapbooking. I haven't actually counted but I think I've done around 20 layout pages, 1 6*6 album and a mini album. If I continue this way I may be caught up by the end of the year. Cross your fingers.

Well peeps, I'm off to scrapbook. Thanks for stoping by and keep an eye out for an upcoming RAK with a LOVE theme.

XOXO,

Ady

Happy Again...

2010-03-02T13:45:00.003-05:00

Thank goodness my blahness is over..... I was a bit over myself these past two weeks. I'm over it now and I'm ready to take on the world. Well, maybe just the scrapbook world that is.

I'm so excited to be taking Karen Russell's Photography Workshop which starts March 29, 2010. I can't wait to use my camera to it's fullest potential. Registration is still open for the auditing class which is the one I chose to take.

Secondly, my baby turns eleven years old. He's growing up so quickly and he's becoming so independent in certain aspects of his life. I'm so proud of him and I'm so lucky to be his mom. He hasn't asked for anything this year. He's learning the value of money and he doesn't want to ask for stuff just to ask. He says he really needs to think about what he wants as a present. Ahhhh

Third, I'm looking forward to following along with Ali Edward's a Week In the Life. I took a class with her a couple of years ago at CKU and I really enjoyed the process of putting this album together so I'm taking the plunge again. It's labor intensive but I love the end result. I'll be able to put into practice my photography skills in this project. I see it as a win, win situation for me. I love the simplicity of the paper and embellies that Ali uses so I'll be able to utilize a lot of paper and embellies that I have lying around that don't really have a purpose at this time. I'm super excited.

I have a bunch of layouts to upload so I hope to get to that later this week. I had a fun sleepover at my BFF's house. Just imagine: 16 hours of uninterrupted scrap time, Cheesecake factory lunch and dinner, all the Coca-Cola in the world, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and endless trips to the computer to look at beautiful scrapbook goodies on-line and yes some on-line goodie purchases. Total bliss...

Will be back soon...

XOXO,
Ady

BLAH...

2010-02-24T22:31:00.005-05:00

This is my current state of being. I'm pushing myself to get things done around the house. I feel down and out... I laid in bed all day Monday and wasted a perfectly good day. I guess the body needs it sometimes.

I did however have a wonderful weekend. My hubby and I went on a date night to cinebistro to watch Dear John... I didn't shed a tear ladies... It isn't because I'm cold hearted or anything but because I cried my a@$ off while I was reading the book. I recommend you watch the movie first and than read the book. The book has so much more details that the movie just can't fit in and the book has a different ending... That's all I'm saying.

On Sunday, we had the pleasure of attending one of my DH buddies. The wedding was at Signature Gardens. I was so excited it was there because I was able to enjoy it as a guest and not as the bride. I'm so happy we had our wedding there. The service is excellent and the hor'derves are too die for. I munched on so many that I couldn't eat dinner. My DH had such a great time with his buddies. They hadn't hung out in years.

Here are a couple of fun photos from the wedding.

Hope to kick this blahness and get back to being fun, exciting and witty but this is all I have folks.

XOXO,

Ady

Pressed For Success

2010-02-18T19:17:00.006-05:00

(Warning: Photo heavy post...)

This turned out to be a real fun project for me. At first, I was stressing the whole process of putting the album together because I wanted to use the perfect photos. I was between using random favorite photos or a theme... Really over thinking the process... I went back and forth for over a week. I was determined to finish this project before using any other kits.

Then, I came across these photos. Jorge and I went to Disney and Universal Studios without D'Angelo in 2007. Yes, you heard right. I went to the happiest place in the world and did not take my son and no I'm not a bad mother. It's just that mother's have to stick to there guns and follow through on threats. He was behaving bad at school and my final threat was taking this trip away from him. He continued behaving bad and I left him with his dad. I was so upset the whole drive up. I contemplated taking him but that would have back fired on me and I would be regreting it today. He KNOWS that when I threaten I follow through.

We ended up having such a wonderful time. A marriage definitely does need alone time and we were kids for two days and it felt good. So in the end these were perfect photos and so were the other thirty that I contemplated using. So my advice to you is "start a project, enjoy the process and have fun with it."

I hope you enjoyed a peek into our trip. Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

XOXO,

Ady

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-15T20:59:00.006-05:00

Hi everyone,

I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's weekend. I had the pleasure of spending time with friends and family.

Friday night, we went to Schnebly's winery with some friends. I tell you, Peter (the owner) should pay me for advertising for them since I probably have mentioned the winery several dozen times on this blog.LOL Anyway, the weather was really bad but we all went anyway and we had such a good time. I've been friends with these people for over 5 years. Our kids have been in the same Cub Scout Pack since 1st grade. I love hanging out with them and our children get along wonderfully. I hope they continue this wonderful friendship.

The joke of the evening was that I had planned a night out at some dump in Homestead in the middle of nowhere so we can drink under a tarp at a park. None of them read emails and didn't bother to look at the link that I had sent them so they were pleasantly surprised when they arrived. They already want me to plan the next outing. Give me time people, I will have had all my friends go to the winery at some point. It's a great place to just get away and have fun with friends.

Saturday was family day. My Aunt Margie came to visit from Tampa. She loves to watch movies so we made plans to take her to see " Valentine's Day. It was a great movie with great actors. I won't give anything else away.

Sunday was our day. My honey bunny surprised me by coming home early from work. Poor guy didn't see it coming but I made him work around the house. I figured we had done so much already that some manual labor would do us some good. I have a big honey do list. I re arranged the furniture in my bedroom and put some stuff in storage. After that we went to our church festival and than mass.

This is my newest Pandora bracelet. I really love Pandora and all of the charms in the collection. My DH has taken this to heart and has bought me over a dozen charms in the last month. I really need to photograph my other one too.

I hope your weekend was great. I can't wait to play with latest kit. Damaris put together a kit this month full of Jenni Bowlin goodness. It's the entire collection from her 2010 CHA release. Can you say "Beautiful". I plan on lifting this layout soon. Quantities are limited so email her at scrapbookdui@aol.com to order one of these yummy kits.

XOXO,

Ady

Happy & Sad

2010-02-07T13:04:00.006-05:00

all in the same weekend... I don't know how it's possible but it definitely is possible to be happy and sad at the same time. Let me start with why I'm happy. I had the pleasure of taking a class with Donna Downey at Scrapbooks N Stuff. Vanessa, Damaris, Esther and I had a great Friday night together. We celebrated Damaris' birthday very early this year but it worked out great because this my present to her. I love to give presents that people love and she truly loved hers this year... Go Me!!!

What an incredible teacher. She makes you feel as if you've known each other forever and she truly inspires you to think out of the box and get out of your comfort zone. I had a wonderful three hours of learning and laughing. I ended up with a beautiful project that I can't wait to finish.

I learned the art of painting. I'll be honest, I'm the type of scrapbooker that likes instant gratification. If I have to work to hard at it, I usually lose interest fast! This project required steps and I'm so proud to say that she peeked my interest and I stayed focused, intrigued and I couldn't wait to see the end result. I really truly learned a lot with her. Go Donna!!! I can't wait to take another class with her.

Wow, that was a mouthful. LOL Here are some great pictures I have with her so far.

Here are some sneak peeks at the album. As soon as I'm completely finished with it, I'll definitely post some photos.

On to the second half of my weekend. I was so energized after the class that I tossed and turned in bed for hours with excitement until 4:00am when I received a call that my aunt had lost the battle with ALS and that she wouldn't make it until the morning. At 6:15am my aunt passed away peacefully with her husband and children. I know this was coming, I know this is the best for her because she was so weak, I know she is in heaven with no more pain, I know she's there with my dad but none the less it hurts and it saddens me.

Have a wonderful Sunday and great new week.

XOXO,

Ady

Scrapbooking...

2010-02-02T19:45:00.004-05:00

Good evening everyone,

Guess what I'm doing? I'm scrapbooking and it feels so good... I love this hobby soooooo much... I created a couple of layouts this weekend with my Cocoa Daisy December kit. To be honest with you, I don't remember looking through this kit.

I scraplifted four layouts from the Divas, actually created one a la myself, and I made my Donna Downey Christmas layout too. I'm also working on another layout with my Collage Press "Joyride" collection. I'm still in Christmas mode and I better stay there for awhile because I have a lot of stuff to start and finish.

Thanks for stoping by... Have a wonderful Wednesday...

XOXO,

Ady

Recap...

2010-01-29T18:47:00.004-05:00

I've been fitting a bug so blogging has been the last thing on my mind. I really had all intention of posting last weekend but exhaustion took over and ya I had nothing...

Our anniversary was very nice and relaxing. We had the entire theater to ourselves. The food was delicous and it's amazing how they bring out the entire meal within 10 minutes of ordering. The movie was super cute. I definitely recommend it for a date night but keep in mind it's a total chick flick. My DH actually thought some parts were funny.

Saturday was Pine Derby for Cub Scouts. D worked on his car with both dads and he liked how it turned out. He won third place on the race so he was happy. (Well, he was upset at first because he thought he had second so a bit of persuation on my part and all was well in D land.)LOL The things we must do as mothers. I think I enjoy scouting more than he does. We have such a great group of kids and the parents get along so well. We always have a good time.

Change is always good. I sometimes don't see it because change scares me but with each passing day I learn and explore. My DH has been wanting to go to church. I too but apparently not enough do to research to find a new church. You see, my church is boring... I'm not going to pretend it's anything else than that. You mention church to D and he throws a fit. Really, that is not the reaction we should give when we talk about church. Long story short, my DH talked with a lot of his friends that do go and most of them recommended this church. We went, we conquered, we ALL loved it so I think we found a church that suits our needs. I'm not saying that I'm going to go religiously (no punt intended) but I know that this sunday I want to go and I'll just take it week by week. It's funny, because I cried so much... I guess I needed Church as much as it needed me.

Well peeps I'm gonna try to post more frequently because these long post are killing you guys. Thank you for reading and for all the comments you leave. Have a wonderful weekend.

XOXO,

Ady

Anniversary...

2010-01-20T22:13:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow I get to celebrate five years of marital happiness with my hubby. I'm proud to say that I am so fortunate to have found a wonderful man that loves me and my DS unconditionally. A man that will do anything and everything for his family. A man that picks me up when I'm down and washes away my insecurities with his positive words. We truly have a wonderful life and I'm a lucky girl. I love him with all my heart and soul.

Since our anniversary lands on a Thursday we thought it would be perfect to go to Cinebistro for dinner and a movie. This way we can do both at the same time and be home at a reasonable hour. I got to pick the movie... I'm a hopeless romantic so we are watching Leap Year with Amy Adams.

Have a wonderful Thursday.

XOXO,
Ady

Playing...

2010-01-16T07:44:00.009-05:00

I've been playing with my January kit from Cocoa Daisy. I decided to use it for last weekends outing. Vanessa, her hubby, me and my DS went on a Scavenger Hunt hosted by Redland Riot. The scavenger hunt was created to open up awareness on historical landmarks and agriculture in the Redlands. We visited a lot of local farmers, bought delicious shakes and ended the evening trying out different wines. It was a lot of fun except for the weather but we made the most of it and had a great time. I ended up with 95 beautiful photos. I decided to make a mini album with pictures and words a la "Ali" and you know what? I love it. It's simple, clean and truly depicts our day.

Today Vane and I headed to Scrapbooks N Stuff for some scappy time. I finished my mini album and copied this layout. The layout is a lift, I lifted from Vane who lifted it from somewhere else. That's funny...

I used the "Photographie" 97% complete journal stickers instead of the ones pictured above. I also sewed on most of the pages. WhooHoo I'm so domesticated. My DH actually thought I was gonna start sewing clothes. When I told him what it was actually for he just shook his head and said "another toy your not going to use". Well, I never!!!

Well peeps, I have a day off tomorrow and I'm determined to declutter our clothes closet. My son is collecting clothing to donate for Haiti. My thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Haiti and to those who are donating their time for relief efforts.

XOXO,

Ady

Photo Session and One Little Word

2010-01-08T18:58:00.007-05:00

Hi peeps, I'm back... I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's weekend. I had five fun filled days with my family in North Carolina. This is one vacation that will stay in my heart for a very long time. More on this on a later post so stay tuned for that.

(Warning, this is a very long post)

Today's post is on my Christmas photo session with the very talented Margie. We went to our favorite location in Homestead, Schnebly's Winery. Yes, we have a winery in sunny South Florida. The owner's are friends of my DH so we try to go as often as we can. I love the environment and I feel as if we are on a little getaway when we go there so we wanted the surroundings to reflect in our photos... I love my photos and I can't wait to scrap some of these pictures. Here are some for your enjoyment...

This was the winner this year for our Christmas card. It was the best photo of my son without a fake smile. I really need to work on his smile with him. It was so forced in most of the photos but this one was definitely a winner. BTW, I love that door. It looks so pretty in photos...

This one was a close contender until I saw his smile... What was he thinking? It's still a great photo and again I love that door...

This is one of the waterfalls on the property... Look how big my son is getting. Pretty soon I'm gonna have to stand in front of him. I guess this means I better lose some weight soon because he won't be able to hide my extra pounds anymore. LOL...

These two photos make me smile... Here I see my little baby... He loves to be silly and have fun.

This photo gets me all emotional because I realize that my baby is growing up and the days of carrying him and all the wonderful moments us mothers share with our babies really go so fast... Really the love of a mother knows no boundaries. I wish I can go back in time and have a couple of more years of him as a baby.

This is a great picture of my DH and me... I can totally envision a layout using this photo in celebration of 5 years of marital bliss...

This next set of photos are my favorite photos of me. My "One Little Word" for 2009 was believe. I wanted to believe in all things again... including myself... These photos represent the growth I made this year. This is the true me... Happy, Strong, Confident and Playful. Thank you Margie for capturing me perfectly.

On to my OLW for 2010. I thought long and hard and the best word to describe what I want to achieve this year is "Reduce".

By definition these are the following things I want to reduce in my life.

1- Consolidate my expenses. Reduce the unnecessary spending in my life.
2- Narrow down the things that really matter to me and let go of what's not important in my life.
3- Restore to righteousness and just do what is right at all times no matter what others might think or say.
4- Lose the weight that I have allowed myself to gain within the past ten years. I know this is my hardest journey but it is one I have to take for the sake of my health and the sake of my son. I want to be healthy and strong for him.

If you've never had a word than I strong suggest that you pick one and really apply it to your life. You never know, it might really make a difference. It sure has for me.

Well peeps if you've read this far than you totally deserve a prize. Thank you for taking time from your busy schedules to read a little bit of my life... I wish you all an amazing new year filled with love and happines.

Goodnight!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2009-12-27T22:42:00.004-05:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas... Mine was filled with love, laughter, hugs and kisses and a few good tears. As the years pass and the older I get the meaning of Christmas grows deeper and deeper in my heart. I enjoyed Christmas this year to it's fullest. I had the pleasure of spending it with my family. My family is truly amazing and I love them all to pieces...

Here are some great photos from Christmas Eve... First we went to my in-laws house and than spent the rest of the evening at my brother's house.

Our family portrait photo... It's blurry but it's all I have so we'll have to make it work.

My sister-in law that I love to soooo much. We get together and it's non stop talking for hours. We never run out of things to talk about.

This is a Cuban family tradition that my DH and his father do every year. They roast a pig in a caja china (chinese box). They roast the pig for about eight to ten hours. This year's was the best I've ever had.

This is a group photo of my side of the family. I love how this photo turned out... Isn't it great.

Check out D's excitement with his Snuggie... He's wanted one for sooo long and Santa finally bought it for him.

This year all I wanted was a Pandora bracelet and my DH delivered. He bought me the bracelet with four charms. My sister-in-law and Vanessa each gave me one also. This is my reaction on all my photos this year. LOL...

Today we went to Jungle Island with my cousins, Vanessa and Richard and guess who? Yes, my wonderful husband took the day off and joined us too...

Here we are full of soap suds which they consider snow. It's all good we still ran through it and the kids had a blast.

It was a super jam packed fun weekend but now I'm on vacation mode. The tree is down, the decorations are being put away and I'm getting all packed up for North Carolina. I definitely won't be posting any more until next year but before I go I want to wish you all a wonderful New Year. May this New Year bring you joy, happiness and peace. Life has it's ups and downs but how we chose to live it is up to us. So make it count.

Thank you for visiting my blog this past year. Your comments and inspirations are priceless and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

If you've read this far you are all true blogging friends... Thanks...

Hugs,

Ady

Weekend Creative

2009-12-06T22:49:00.005-05:00

What a super duper creative weekend I've had... I don't know where it came from but I am so happy that it is here. I sure hope it stays for awhile. LOL

Today was Damaris' Christmas Crop and I made four Thanksgiving layouts. I was so inspired I came home and continued scrapbooking. Vanessa gifted me a banner from Trish that is so beautiful. I had a great time creating it and the time flew by. My hubby kept looking at it as I was creating it until he couldn't resist and asked me " Honey how do you close that". When I told him what it was he laughed.

Here are my Thanksgiving layouts:

My Christmas "JOY" banner that is hanging on the sliding glass door in my dining room.

Last but not least here is day four of my December Daily. I haven't finished day three but I hope to finish it tomorrow. Inside the envelpe is a letter that I wrote to D'Angelo. It's very emotional and heartfelt so I didn't post a picture because it's really for his eyes only.

Well peeps, I'm off to bed because it just hit me that I am super tired. Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope you have a happy week.

Goodnight,

Ady

December Daily 2

2009-12-02T22:39:00.003-05:00

It's me again. Wow, I'm impressed that I've blogged twice already. I don't know how long the momentum will last but here I am. I finished day two today on my December Daily. I ended up creating two layouts because I took a couple of cute pictures and I couldn't decide.

We went to my hubby's holiday party at FIU for the executive MBA program and I was able to meet some of his classmates. I also took a bunch of fun photos at home before we went so I used them all. I'm so proud of the fact that I am truly journaling... I'm somewhat of a who, what, where, when and why kind of girl.

I also wanted to share a cute Christmas present that's super easy to put together. I don't know if you know but my husband loves wine. We have an extensive collection of wine in our bar. Every Christmas he buys a couple of cases to give as presents. I wanted to do a little more than gift a bottle of wine so I bought these cute cookie boxes from Target to give along with the bottle

of wine.

Thanks for visiting and if you are doing a December Daily please let me know so I can visit your blogs too. I love getting fresh new ideas.

Goodnight,

Ady

December Daily 1

2009-12-01T23:53:00.004-05:00

It's the wee hours of the night and guess what I'm doing? Well, besides posting here! I just finished creating the 1st page of my December Daily. You know the concept that Ali created three years ago. I've tried to make it simple, not over analize it, blah, blah, blah but you know what? I can't... I can't do simple, I can't go with the flow, I can't just create and be done with it!!! Like my friend Damaris always says " If it's not beautiful than why bother".

I lifted the album design from Amanda (through Ali's blog). Why mess with great design. I'm gearing towards bright cheery colors this year. I glimmer misted the cover with Midnight Blue and I used a dabber around the edge. The dabbers are really thick so I mixed it with water and it went on like butter. The stars I used was from this awesome kit from Stampin Up that I purchased from my friend Esther.

cover:

inside album:

back:

I finished my Christmas tree and by the way I LOVE IT... I went with the non tradition colors this year. It's blue, pink and purple... I have two complete collections that I alternate with. This set hasn't been taken out in four years because my hubby really doesn't care for it but I wanted a change this year. The only thing missing is my beautiful Angel tree top that is MIA but I will find her by the end of this week.

Day 1

Well peeps, I'm exhausted and I have a mess to clean up. Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite. Thanks for stopping by...

Hugs,

Ady

Thanksgiving Day

2009-11-28T19:23:00.005-05:00

was perfect because we had great food, family and friends... My DH made a fried turkey this year and it was a total hit. It was juicy and tasted heavenly. The side dishes were out of this world too. My brother gave a beautiful speech that made me teary eyed. All in all it was a wonderful day. The great part for me was that I was able to enjoy myself in one place without having to worry about going anywhere else.

Black Friday was a good... I bought a lot of great stuff at great prices. Thankfully I didn't need to worry about buying electronics because I had already bought that stuff so I didn't need to make the long lines for those. Damaris and I walked, talked and spent some dough. I went home, took a long need nap and started wrapping up presents.

Look at the cute bags I made for presents. I stamped the brown bags using this Stampin Up roller with this ink pad. I love how easy it is to decorate a bag for any occassion. I'm still wrapping but I'm way ahead of the game.

My mom decided to stay a couple of days longer with me. I love it when she comes over so we made crafts together. I grew up watching her create stuff and let me tell you she's got skills. We spent hours talking , laughing and creating. I even had D'Angelo make an ornament for a school project.

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree... Oh how I love my Christmas tree... We bought it last night and it was the fastest tree we've ever picked out... On the first try.

If you read this far... Thank you...

I'm off to beautify myself for my Christmas photo session later with Margie at Schnebly's Winery. I hope you all had a wonderful long weekend. I know I sure did.

Have a happy week.

Hugs,

Ady

Thankful

2009-11-25T18:51:00.005-05:00

Hello peeps...

I wanted to take a moment to wish all my readers a wonderful Thanksgiving... May God give you peace and love. Remember to love with all you heart and to forgive with all your heart. Life is short and we only have one chance to live it so make it count...

I'm thankful for my beautiful family that I love unconditionally and who love me unconditionally. I'm thankful for my wonderful friends that have stood by me through all my ups and downs. I'm thankful for the great people I have met through scrapbooking because you get it. You get how much this hobby means to me.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy lives to visit my blog and for the comments you leave. Have a wonderful day with your families.

I'll be having a wonderful dinner with my family, in-laws, and friends... I'm so happy that I only have to go to one place this year so I can be home early to rest for the next big day.

Yes, I'm a Black Friday addict... I love the challenge and the addrenaline I get for the deals. LOL

Flower Power Challenge

2009-11-16T23:54:00.005-05:00

Here's my take on Challenge Three Flower Power over at Cocoa Daisy. I'm not one to use too many flowers even though I have a beautiful two tier basket full of them. I do like using one or two when called for. Thanks for visiting my blog.

I'm off to bed... I can't wait to work on more challenges. These challenges are a great way to stimulate creativity and in my case "use up my old inventory of yumminess". LOL

Ad Challenge W/Christine

2009-11-16T21:04:00.003-05:00

I'm having so much fun playing along with the Daisy Divas at Cocoa Daisy. They have created a weekend full of fun challenges. I wasn't able to do any this weekend but they are open until November 22, 2009. This is Christine's Ad Challenge. I consider it more like a lift because she used this tree that I've been hoarding for two years now and I had to put it to use before I sold it a garage sale for 25 cents. I love how it turned out. TFL

You should definitely join in on the fun. I'm off to my next challenge.

Jam packed weekend...

2009-11-15T22:03:00.005-05:00

Happy Sunday ... I've been in bed all day recouping from my weekend and now I have a boost of energy. Note: This is a long post...

On Friday my mom had a double catherization procedure on both of her legs. She's been suffering for many years and Dr's had said it was a pinched nerve. After a recent Stress test it was discovered that she had two clogged arteries in her legs and the Dr. felt that this was causing the lack of circulation in her legs and this is why she had so much pain. The procedure was quick and the Dr. says it went well. Know we wait and see if the pain subsides and she's able to walk again without a limb. Cross your fingers and say a little prayer.

Saturday was jam packed... I was scheduled for a garage sale at Scrapbooks N Stuff but I was double booked with cub scouts so Vanessa volunteered to sell my stuff at the garage sale. I ended up staying with her to set up and sell for awhile before I headed off to the cub scout event. Good thing I did... 90% of our stuff was sold by 10:30 am. Talk about timing. I'm so happy that I got rid of two bins of scrapbook stuff. I still have a lot more to go through but I'll have plenty of time to go through my stuff for the next garage sale in 6 months. Nana, Vanessa and the girls did an awesome job organizing the store, they provided us with drinks and lunch and gave us a wonderful incentive to use our store credit. If you haven't been by the store you should definitely go. They are doing a wonderful job in supplying us with products that we love.

The Raingutter Regatta was a success. D won a second place trophy for his boat. They had a great time. I love the cub scouts and I love all the families I get to spend time with.

Last but not least... I've been working on some Thankful cards for a challenge on BASB. This has been a great little project for me. I've been making cards everynight with scraps of supplies I have laying around that have been neglected. I love how they are turning out. I'm not holding my breathe that I'll win so I put the 7 gypsies carousel on my Christmas wishlist just in case. LOL I need to display these beautiful sentiment cards I'm making.

I wanted Jorge and D to make some cards but they have had so many school projects that really there is no time but D had a school project about Thankful and here's a picture of his collage. He drew me, Jorge, himself, our house and the dog. It turned out super cute.

Thank you for reading this super long post. Have a wonderful week...

Hugs,

Ady

So Proud

2009-11-10T21:37:00.004-05:00

of myself for finishing my Halloween mini completely. I am notorious for starting a project, getting bored of working on it and than putting it aside to the endless pile of I'll get to it later. I'm done peoples... I'm done buying products that I'm not using, starting projects that I don't finish and hoarding beautiful supplies I can't live without...

I'm so proud... I feel accomplished and now I can move on to some Thanksgiving and Christmas projects.

I'm only posting some pictures. You can find the rest of the album here... Thanks for visiting and enjoy.

I'll be back later this week with some more thankful cards I've made. Goodnight and Happy Hump day...

Over the Top

2009-11-06T22:24:00.004-05:00

Lookie at the award my friend Jo gave me... Thanks, Jo... I don't know how you do it but hats off to you for blogging almost every single day... Her blog has so much eye candy that you can't resist visiting her everyday. LOL

Here's a list of survey questions that come along with the award. You have to answer them with just one word. Here goes...

Where is your cell phone? table
Your hair? brown
Your mother? honest
Your father? missed
Your favorite food? sushi
Your dream last night? forgot
Your favorite drink? coke
Your dream/goal? complete
What room are you in? Scraproom
Your hobby? Scrapbooking
Your fear? sickness
Where do you want to be in 6 years? settled
Where were you last night? home
Something you aren't? perfect
Muffins? blueberry
Wishlist? iMac
Where did you grow up? Miami
Last thing you did? blog
What are you wearing? clothes
Your TV? off
Your pets? dog
Friends? amazing
Your life? busy
Your mood? worried
Missing someone? always
Vehicle? Endeavor
Something your not wearing? shoes
Your favorite store? Target
Your favorite color? green
When was the last time you laughed? dinner
Last time you cried? awhile
Your best friend? forever
One place that I go to over and over? Publix
Facebook? yes
Favorite place to eat? anywhere

I also get to nominate five people so Vane, Damaris, LaVerne, Sharon and Lou. Consider yourselves Over the Top...

Goodnight peeps... I'm going to scrapbook tomorrow and I need my beauty sleep... LOL