Little things that make me happy!

MAKES ME HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love to sit here at my desk and look
up and see that ..............................>
I have a bit of a "thing" about my ribbon stash for scrapping... it makes me very happy. And very broke. LOL
But aren't they all sooooo pretty?

I'M A SKINNY CHICKEN!!!!!

OK OK I am not a skinny chicken... YET! But I am working on it! (inside joke) Yes, I am still working on my "diet" which I'd rather call a lifestyle change and I am doing GREAT if I so say so myself! See HERE (to the left) this photo of me just as I was starting my new ME and I do not look very happy.... look at those CHINS hanging down there! ICK! ACK! yes, this new me is going to be awesome! What am I doing??

Well, on M-W-F at 9 am I got to our Church and do low impact aerobics, stretches and pilates with a group of Mom's..there are about 7-10 o f us, we take our kids, work out, stretch and talk and have fun while burning fat! Then I am walking 30 min every night with my honey Ed, who is also starting a new lifestyle change too. In between I am walking whenever I get the chance and also try to squeeze in one more 1/2 hr aerobics video a week. I am eating SUPER good right now, almost not sweets, no pop at ALL, tons of water and tons and tons of veggies and fruits! I can see a huge difference already and I FEEL SO GOOD! This is something I can do for a long time, I feel great and see such a difference ....... it is amazing I let myself go for all these years.
YEAH ME! (sorry, had to do it!)

What else? Kids are running me 101 mph these days with activities and freinds and school. Seems like there is hardly one day a week that I am not taxing someone around. All good though. Kids like school....getting adjusted and doing well. Have been babysitting for a friend, has been fun.....he is a good little boy and a great buddy to Micheal. That is about it. Just getting geared up for the Holidays to start rolling in...too fast, much much too fast.

Until next time. me

SOCCER Crazies Again!

Our BLUE BOYS OF SOCCER are coming again! Hee hee, thankfully this time they are not all coming to MY house to stay! My sisters' baby boy, Ted, is coming to town today with his HS Soccer team from Twin Falls HS to play against OUR home team Skyline! BIG GAME for both teams and a bit of a umphf! for us as we want to cheer for BOTH of them! Alas, we'll be kind and cheer for our dear nephew Teddy, he is a DANG good player (number 5 in the blue jersey in the photo above).... My sis family is soccer crazy, all three of their kids have played very seriously for years. We have enjoyed watching them progress too. They are kind of like my own 'first kids' before I had my own since I lived with them when they were all babies/toddlers! Teddy is a SENIOR in HS this year and I am just about lost over it all. Too too fast. Anyway, when their non school team came this spring for tournements we housed a bunch of them here and bathed and fed and 'babied' them for the weekend. (a couple of times) This time they are riding a bus over and back so I just get my sis, her dh and some friends over for dinner after the game... I'd love to get to visit with my nephew but I can't say that I am not thankful to know I will not be having 8 or 9 HS soccer players at my house. LOL GO TWIN FALLS! GO SKYLINE! yikes....

What a weekend! WOW!

SO.......this is part of what I did with my weekend!! We got a call Friday afternoon that Grandma 'Dude' and Pappa were coming for a visit from Boise... FUN! However, we had sort of made plans so we had to switch things up a bit, but nothing major. Dani and her
cousin had a sleepover Fri night and



were promised a "photo shoot" if they helped me out with the house and chores before the Grandparents came to visit. So we stayed up way to late on Friday, got up super early on Sat and hustled up on chores. (Dad took the other kids out yard sale shoppin' and big bro Chris went to a Battle of the Bands in SLC Utah for the day) So, we finally made our way out to get some photos done but it was a REALLY SUNNY day (not a bad thing unless you want to take photos!) and we had a rough time with shadows and squinty eyes and such! But, we all had a fun time and it went by way to fast! We will be going again soon before it gets too cold and snows. We hit a barn/spud cellar, an old Army Surplus Warehouse and a Park! These are just a couple of the pix we did, I have to go back through and pick savers, alter, crop, and print in b&w or sepia ect.... to our liking! But, it was FUN! We also had a GREAT visit with Gram /Gramp and the kids loved seeing them . Today we had a Childrens' program at Church which was long but cute. I am ready to curl up and watch some good relaxing Sun night TV with the family!!!!!

Me

The In Laws Are Coming...

Good Saturday to you all ! I am in a hustle bustle crazy mode today, the In Laws Are Coming, a Relative Nightmare.... he hee.. joking. Seriously, my MIL and FIL are headed over for a visit today and I am a bit stressed trying to get everything done. May not be many updates this weekend with that going on either.

Other than that? Things are good. Oldest is off to SLC Utah to a battle of the bands concert for the day, kids are helping me with the house and we MAY even squeeze in a photo shoot of dd and her cousin too. Sunday is the children's singing program at Church, not sure I am ready for it or the kids LOL but it will be cute, bc it IS kids.

Big stuff egh? Yuppers, should be a fun weekend! Hope I survive it all!!! Later.

Richard don't love me back.......

Maybe Ted D Bear will have to do? I can snuggle him while I cry my eyes out over Richard Simmons?! Hee hee! OK here is the deal. So, I went to doa workout today...so motivated, so pumped and so dissapointed in myself. YES, I AM so out of shape that 'Sweatin' to the Oldies' was going to do me in....so I switched off to Denise Austin (have done hers before) and it was ALL floor excersizes (bad deal for Darla) so I finally got mad and put it the Good Housekeeping video from like 1983? HA HA HA We are talking Jane Fonda style ladies, belted leotards, hightop Reebok's and the oh so cool head bands to match! whoo whoo let's "WORK IT LADIES" ....... funny enough, except THAT was the video I ended up sticking with on my workout! The video IS old, but the moves are well spelled out, good and I could FEEL them working (LORD !!! could I feel them) and it was not too fast paced, not too energetic and perky...you know? Nevertheless, I did SOMETHING which is better than NOTHING and I feel good. (My legs and abs won't feel good tommorrow I am sure, we can ask them, ok?!) At least I am motivate enough to do something on my own for once! So far I am down 8# and 12 inches for the past month! Can we say HAPPY?

LOVE THIS MAN!


Yup, you read that right, I DO in fact LOVE Richard Simmons, even back in HS I thought he was a wild and crazy femmie goofy guy with a HEART OF GOLD. I have loved to watch his shows, interviews and so forth over the years, I love the work he does and the committment he has. Such compassion and care for strangers and for sickly obese people. So, since I have begun this diet/excersize program I have been thinking about him a lot and how much he could motivate me. LUCKY for me someone let me borrow an old old copy of "Sweatin' to the Oldies 2 " and I can once again be moved by Richard Simmons! I can't wait to get the video in the VCR and rock out and have some fun and burn some butter baby! Darla

Prayers for "DOG" and his family

OK some people think we are weird-o for watching the show, let alone being fans of Duane Dog Chapman and his crew. Honestly, I think the show could do with a lot less shots of Beth's, uh hem, 'boosum' and A LOT less of the bleeped out profanities ... that being said, we LOVE the show "DOG The Bounty Hunter" and anyone who has watched can't help but fall in love with the family who is getting the bad guys off the streets, doing their work in the name of the Lord and being so family oriented and such good souls. We love them, all of them , Dog, Beth, Leland, Tim, the whole crazy crew!!!! And yes, I let my kids watch the show! ALL of them! They need to know that GOOD and GOD will prevail in the end. Do I wish there was less beeped out language, of course, but even with that in mind, I still think the show is ROCKIN' AWESOME! My dh and I and all 4 of our kids watch it, my good friends both in real life and online all watch it and my SISTER who is a "God fearing" devoted Baptist is totally HOOKED on the show.... there is just something amazing about them.

So, I know there is a long road ahead of them with the problems in Mexico and so on, but I also know that GOOD and GOD will prevail and you can't keep a good man (and his family) down! Blessings to the Champman Family!! Prayers for Dog, Beth, Leland and Tim!

Love My Family

Just some silly pix of my family. Gotta love em'! Great kids (most days) and a super fun loving dh who busts his butt for all of us. We have so much fun together. This summer we did a lot of fishing, backyard bbqs and playing basketball in our culd a sac.....just fun times. I love them each so much and I am so thankful for each of them and the blessing they are to me. What a great great dream come true for me. XOXO

YOU.

Be WHO you ARE
and SAY what you FEEL
because those who mind DON'T matter
and those who MATTER won't mind.

I don't remember where I found this quote....but I loved it and I love to read it over and over. It says so very much about how we are as people, always looking for acceptanct and approval of others........ who are we trying to impress? Are they important to you? In your life? Most often they aren't.......but you ARE important and your self esteem is key, don't let anyone beat you down, ever. A few weeks ago I did the above layout for a contest online. I was sorely sorely dissapointed that I didn't even make the first "cut". I was devastated and hurt and dissapointed and mad. But what it boiled down to was that I was trying to fit in with a 'crowd' that was not my own style, my own type. Amazing that I did this to myself. WHY? To fit in. And do those people MATTER to me? no. not in the least. Lesson well taken.

Some Fun Things.....

YUMMY Watermelon.... always a slice of fun! Dripping sweet juice down your chin, getting every last bit of pink flesh from the rind... savoring that sweet refreshing summertime treat! This was take at Chris' birthday party in June....just makes you want a slice doesn't it??

Ahhhhhhh Yellowstone Park! This was the end of the day, we were cooking chicken on the bbq pit and the boys were "gathering wood" for us?? They had a BLAST playing "see saw" on these old trees. FUN STUFF! We love our drives up to Yellowstone Park each summer... full long day of exciting sites, scenery, animals and wildlife and precious memories forever! Chris and Micheal boding ..... 10 yrs apart in age and the closest brothers you'd meet! Love these boys!

9-11

WE WILL NOT FORGET....

Now THIS Is Where I Should Live!!

SO... are these houses TOTALLY COOL or WHAT? I was thinking today of things that inpsire mre..........purple is a definate YES in that catagory. I love purple things, purple flowers, dishes, clothes, purses, ribbons, papers, if it is purple I am likely to love it. So, wouldn't it be SO COOL to live in one of these totally GRAPE-ALICIOUS houses? So cool...so cool!

Time Goes By Too Quickly!

Wow, would you look at this chubby lil' guy? Here is our 'baby' boy Micheal at just 4 months old.......seems like forever yet seems like yesterday. Crazyness! He was such a cutie pie too...super duper chubba legs and rolly poly belly. I tried to take these photos in b&w film, sort of a "mommy photo shoot" have you , but they didn't turn out too well. I was also using an old 35mm as well.......I'm sure if I'd had my digital cam I'd have done better. Or not?! But he sure was a little ball of joy.... where have 5 and a 1/2 years gone????? And WOW! Look at him now! 5 1/2 and starting school! Kindergarden is a huge milestone for kids.....esp Micheal since he didn't do preschool like our other kids did. He is doing great though and loving it all. Comes home everyday with his lil' backpack and a huge grin on his face! Nope, gone are those chubby leg days.....but now I get to have him run to my arms each afternoon for a big afterschool LOVE for Mommy! Guess I can deal with him growing up... for now.

Sometimes you just need...

CHOCOLATE! Mmmmmmmmmm. Yes, sometimes you just need CHOCOLATE! These cookies here, they are my dear wonderful hubby's very own special make of Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies.......absolute HEAVEN! I am not much of a cook or a baker, as a matter of fact, we joke that HE is Betty Crocker and I, well I am Chef Boyardee! No worries here though as long as I have him around I am guarenteed the finest chocolate chip cookies around! YUM!


Sometimes......................................... you just need chocolate. Yup!

Happy things.....

HAPPY SPACE! This is just one of my happy things... or places, I guess. This is my little corner of the world in our home where I sit and scrapbook and chat onine and email and design and create and talk on the phone........this is Mom's Space! I love all my pretty ribbons and flowers.....my stacks of beautifully textured cardstock.....yumm! I love love love my big flat screen monitor dh bought me....... and all the other goodies you can't see here, my awesome printer, hot pink computer case, my stash of pattern paper (more like warehouse), all my paints and embellishments and other goodies. Why is it that all these THINGS make me so giddy happy? Sometimes I just love to sit and LOOK at these goodies.........silly? no. I guess that just knowing that these are MY things that are all for ME and all about ME is very satisfying. I mean, being a Mom and doing everything for your family , which I love to do, it is sometimes hard to feel 'rewarded' for your work. I can do 3 sinks full of dishes, 7 loads of laundry, taxi kids all over kingdom come and no one so much as smiles and says 'thanks'.... you know? So, I think at the end of the day, when I have given and given of myself, my time, my 'talents', even though I love to do these things for my family, it is sort of a self reward to sit down in my own private lil' haven and enjoy the things that are just all about Mom.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!!