Got Flowers?

This is a photo Robin took of me... love the dimension.

Scrap space

This is my scrap "room" aka CLOSET
in the new house. My desk in in a cove
off the family room and I have my
printer station and bookshelf full of
albums there as well. Inside the closet
is all my GOODIES! Paper, embellies,
and so on. Thanks for peeking!! PS Those
cute PURPLE storage bins all came from
a RAK from Jayne on our Monkey Chat
group!! The baskets are thrift store
decor' I made myself! Darla

Take it to the limit...ohhh yeahhh! Take it, to the limit baby!

Wow! Remember THAT song? A day or two ago for me, ok, early childhood? LOL Great song though. Love the Eagles... so classic, so awesome.

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/e/eagles/44532.html

OK I that said. I am jumping off another bridge here...taking yet another leap in my scrapping creativity! I am so inspired by so many of the ladies blogs I read. Just amazing. So on top of doing the Effer Dares www.fortheloveofeffers.blogspot.com now I am joining in on Rhonna Farrer's {21} challenge too! Once again I am joining in late but I am so excited to embard on this journaling experience!! www.rhonnafarrer.typepad.com So cool. You choose a goal, something you want to make or break as far as a habit and then you journal out your 21 days of doing it. SO cool! SO fresh! I am on day #3 and having a total blast with it! I am so stretching my mind and creativity with these 2 journals and I am still getting in some scrap pages and the circle journals I am in too! Love all the new product out there and all the wild and crazy ladies who design and produce it all for us to buy! I am getting to where I am constantly checking out blogs from these great teachers and designers to learn more and be inspired. Some days my magazines do NOTHING for me but a quick browse to a blog will open windows in my head.

Yup, I will take it to the limit. One more time. :O)

me

Random Facts About : ME

This probably won't be the most interesting or entertaining reading you have ever read, but here is some random facts about yours truly. ME

1. I love purple.
2. I love cheesecake.
3. I have 4 kids. 2 boys.2 girls.
4. I am dying to try to loose some wieght, need a push.
5. I love to talk on the phone.
6. I have THE CUTEST lil' pink cell phone!
7. I am the baby of 12 kids in my family.
8. I do not like lima beans.
9. My dream car is a 65-67' Ford Mustang
10. I drive a white Dodge minivan, which I love
11. I never went to college.
12. I love scrapbooking.
13. 13 is my favorite number!
14. I love to watch LIVE basketball but hate watching it on TV
15. I love the Oregon Coast
16. I am almost as close with my sister in laws as I am my own sisters
17. I wore braces for over 3 years in HS
18. I hate pennies. eww ick gross! Totally gross me out!
19. Cottage cheese, right there with pennies!! ick!
20. I like to stay up late at night... all alone, total peace and quiet to myself.

there ya go. Intersting? No?

me

HAPPY APRIL YOU FOOLS! :O)

HAH A I could not resist that one.... fools!

So, another month is here. I still do not quite know where Jan, Feb and March went but that is all good. I have lots on my plate right now with the kids and so on....seems like I am never home anymore. Trying to develop a good schedule and struggling. Also trying to add in some good walking time and better eating habbits.... trying.

That is about all here. This weekend consisted of cleaning garage, dealing with kids, and tonight we got to go to a play... "The Sound of Music" where our friends dd Lauren played a lead role. Very fun and very entertaining. Tonight clocks move forward... less sleep, oh noo!

Goodnight! Happy April...YOU FOOLS!

Self Evaluation Time: Do I Need a Raise?

OK Silly me, really, a raise? Maybe? OK, no. Praise? Yes! I think so anyway. I feel like someone out there has to appriciate my efforts in being a SAHM and if it is not my dh, kids or roomie, then it would have to be me? Right? LOL Self Evaluation = Self Appriciation!

Sometimes I feel like I am this built in housekeeper, maid, taxi, cook, laundrymat, dishwasher, janitor, babysitter, and pet attendant. Now obviously, I am just doing my part in our home, after all I wanted to be the SAHM and I wanted 4 kids and happy lil' family. Right? But at times it is just overwhelming and sometimes you just feel under-appriciated. Not that I expect every person to walk in the door and thank me for every clean shirt or every dish washed... although an occasional 'thanks' would be well receieved... but more like, SHOWN appriciation for thinsg. Not trashing a clean kitchen or throwing clean clothes in the dirty basket. Stuff like that. I feel like it is reasonable to be cleaning up after my 5 yr old. I don't feel like it is reasonable to be cleaning up after a 12 and 14 yr old ... or adults. I scrub the bathrooms in the upstairs 3 times a week...every week. That leaves one bathroom to be cleaned. ONE. Yet, today, once again I was in there scrubbing the toilee' and emptying trash and sweeping floors. I don't even USE this bathroom! I think a chore chart is in order and I think young and old will be included because obviously people cannot see what is right under thier noses and although I am responsible for trying to run a nice, clean, comfy home, I am not anyone's maid and certainly do not need to be cleaning up some of the messes that I do. I figure I spend 2 hours a day cleaning and doing dishes and other major housework...that does not include the neverending loads of clothes that are constantly in the washer! I earn my keep by golly! Yup, I need a raise....

The JOYS of Motherhood

Who ever said Motherhood was all JOY and LOVE and GOOD STUFF? Carol Brady? Mrs Cleaver? Claire Huckstable? Well, you are all phsyco Moms and it is a good thing you are living life on the TV! HA!

OK so today was the start of SPRING BREAK for my children. Should have known with the word "BREAK" in there that we'd be in for trouble! HA! Basically on day number one we had wars over helping Mom with the house. Mom says 'when do I get a spring break' the kids come back with smart ass replies and grunts and moans and Mom stomps out ticked off. Mom proceeds to clean the whole house herself all the while begrudging the evil children threatening to never fix them another meal as long as they live. War over? not yet. Mom then sulks in bedroom while kids continue to play with NO weight on thier fat little heads of any sort. Are children born with NO conscience? Geesh! So, Mom calls all children to the livingroom where she proceeds to explain how the sink gets full of dishes, the laundry pile grows and how meals show up warm on plates on the table. (oh, and how the taxi runs and so forth) THEN Mom explains how dishes get washed, clothes get folded, and meals get cooked. Kids get smart mouthed AGAIN and Mom gets mad AGAIN and so it goes. Finally as a last result Mom goes for the 'tender' side of the moment and ends up in tears and even more flustered than when she started, phone rings, Mom goes into hiding in the bedroom. KIDS SIT THERE!!! Apologies? No! Get busy? NO! ANYTHING???? ANY SIGN THAT THEY GIVE A FLYING CRAP ABOUT THIER MOTHER?? uhhhh no. Sure makes a Mom want to do anything for anyone egh?

Was finally able to draaagggg a few minutes of help from the kids. Still upset, still angry, still hurt. Cannot believe they just don't care. *sigh* Guess they will think twice next time they can't find a clean sock or need a ride somewhere? ack!

{went out for pizza for dinner}

M and T

15 yrs and a 4 kids and he is still HOT!

WARNING: Parental guidance suggested. Rated "H" for hot!!

I just have to say how much I LOVE my honey to bits. You'd think after 15 years, 4 kids, countless moves and jobs and some really MAJOR trials that our marriage would suffer in some departments... but let me just say... I LOVE MY MAN. I know that like most, we have our moments of not so nice times but in the big picture no one understands me more, no one cares more, no one loves me more than my honey Ed. Is he a bit of a control freak? yes. Is he an inscessent teaser? yes. Does he joke and play when all seriousness needs to be taken. yes. Does he have mood swings worse than any PMS'n woman alive? yes. (oh sorry Ed) BUT... when it all rolls down, the day is done and we are in bed at night he knows what makes me happy and THAT is just one reason why I love him. Need I say more? :O>

Tid Bits to share...

OK Lot of little tid bits to share with you today. You know my life IS SO EXCITING these days! ha ha ha

OK So the BIG NEWS at our house...dd Tiffany cut off all her hair! We took her in to the salon and she cut off 13 whoppin' inches of hair and donated it to LOCKS OF LOVE. I am proud of her for wanting to do something worthwhile with it too. She looks totally different but cute as a bug. I keep calling her Ms Sassy now! Crazy to look at her after 9 yrs of all that hair!! A bit sad, but change is good.

Had an awesomely awesome Family Date Night last night. Our good friends and thier kids came over for a family bbq. Had YUMMY burgers on the grill....bbq baked beans...chips....salad. YUM! Great time was had by all! Love having them here to visit...such special people in our lives. I would hate to ever loose them as friends.

LAZY day here I fear! LOL I was hoping to get the family going and get to Church today, but somehow I dont' see it happening. We run run run all week and then Sunday is the one day we can really lazy around... it is hard to get going and do it. *sigh* Choices.

Well, off I go to see what damage needs repaired around here. Hope you all have a nice relaxing Sunday and a nice week ahead.

Blessings. Darla

HUG everyone that you love today... you never know.

OK Forgive me. I get a wee bit mush-mush sometimes, and even more weepy when I get mush-mush, however, this is important.

STOP whatever it is you are doing....go to someone you love, or care about and give them a HUG. DO IT.... *RIGHT NOW*! Tell them you love them and how much they mean to you.
RIGHT NOW!

OK...so some of you are home alone, call someone you love and just say I LOVE YOU. If you are at work or somewhere else, tell someone you care about that they are special to you. Let those who are important in your life KNOW IT TODAY.

Life is too short and we have too many important people to worry about the stupid little things. What if you didn't get to hug your kids ever again and hear them say "Mom".... what if you went to bed tonight and you didn't get a last kiss goodnight from your spouse and tommorrow they were gone?

You get my idea. Too much tragedy this week. Too much sorrow. So, don't take those you LOVE for granted. TELL THEM NOW.

I love you my good friends who read this blog and care for me... I appriciate you for your sweet kind ways and I want you to know you are important to me each and every day. I love you.

Darla

DRIVER: "Slow down and let me off the ride..."

I keep thinking things will settle down. The big move. The kids new school. Changes in routine. So on and so forth. Sometimes I feel like I am on one of those twirly whirly rides at the amusement park that goes around....and around.... so fast, so dizzy. JEZZZZZZ SLOW DOWN!
However, I have discovered *I* am the driver! What a reality check! I need to slow it down, reschedule, reevaluate my time. Me. 100% me. Wow....so, now I have no one to blame but myself I guess I can quit with the excuses and make a better game plan? Hmmm

OK so, since the move, I have made a priority of the housework, somewhat of a schedule for cleaning and I (if I say so myself) feel really good about that. I have never kept such a clean house. 6 weeks of clean dishes, made beds... caught up laundry?! WHERE IS DARLA? LOL
I have also gotten good at my sleep patterns. Going to bed earlier and getting up with the kids and NOT coming home to go back to bed. again...WHERE IS DARLA? Anyone who knows me KNOWS this is SO not me. But these are good changes and I need to stick with them, good routine. So, I taxi kids, I clean house, I sleep well... I am cooking more, spending more time with the kids... what am I missing? Why do I still feel so spread out? Ed and I have not been doing date night on Sat night... no pull there. I have not been going scrapping. No pull there. I guess I just need to squeeze in some ME time and feel more balanced?

OK so if you read this, I totally just had a conversation with my wee little brain and figured something out. I need some play time...for me or alone with just dh?! Is that what I figured out?

yea.... I need off the ride, I am getting dizzy! ROTFLMBO!

EFFER DARES - Sick Puppies - Scrapbook MB Changes

WOW do I have a lot to cover in one short BLOG entry. I will start with the EFFER DARES. OK.
So, these ladies are wild. I thought this would be a fun and funky way to do some really creative art and play a bit more with my own brain. Uhhhh no one told me I would be SOUL SEARCHING when doing this! OMGosh I am just overwhelmed. Taking a breath, a break, a mental breakdown! GOOD LORD they are working my emotions over. I just finished EFFER DARE #5 and basically discovered I hate my body and I love my soul. Hmm. DEEP STUFF.

Sick puppies. Haven't used that phrase in YEARS. But, not the trendy funny catchphrase here. We have a sick puppy. I {think} and I say that with a lot more knowledge than I should, that we gave lil' Libby pup too many treats yesterday and then MOMMY (aka : me) caved to her swooning and gave her steak scraps last night after dinner... uh, ya, scraps with Montreal Steak Pepper Seasoning. OOPS Bad Mommy. So, after 3-4 piddles on the carpet, lack of MOVING all night (had to PICK HER UP ) and take her outside and then a GRUMBLING TUMMY this morning I have concluded lil' Libby needs less treats, more TLC and praise. Lesson learned.

MB changes. OK how to approach this without writing a book? CKMB is changing formats to a more updated version. Many are not happy. Many are already moved to SSMB and having a good time there. (same as old format at CKMB) Many are chatting at Monkey Chat too. All good. I was rarely going to old CKMB anyway, so no biggie. BIG controversy with some. NOT with me. I am sick of some walking on others alllllllllllllllll the time. That is why I faded out to beging with. I am going to post on CKMB before the change and say my peice too. I sat back too quiet for too long. For now, I will continue with my GOOD BUDDIES at Monkey Chat and I will start to post at SSMB too. New beginnings, close of a chapter of a gooood loooong book in my life.

and in the words of FORREST GUMP

that's all I have to say about that.

NEED SCRAP ROOM INSPIRATION! Where to find it?

(CLICK ON TITLE).... This photo inspires me NOT to do this to my area... but (always a but) I am thinking

{PURPLE}

I want {PURPLE} in my sb closet/storage area. SERIOUS business here, I want {PURPLE} . What else says "DARLALOU" more than the color {PURPLE}?

OK so we moved into this great new house, I am loving it, even enjoying have my scrappy 'stuff' in a closet (out of kiddies hands and sight) and even though I dont' have a whole room to myself this is better because the old office was not enclosed and ANYONE and EVERYONE got to see all my messy stuff!

HOWEVER...

I don't want to have messy stuff. Right now I sort of have things set in the closet, made to fit wherever they would for now, just to get them out of boxes. Can't have the precious goods in boxes in the garage can we? LOL So I am browsing around for ideas and insperation for my lil' corner of the world and I know I can't have THIS ROOM:

http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=660137

...but aren't I entitled to something a wee bit fun and stylish? So, tommorrow I am going on a quest for CHEAP (aka inexpensive) storage...baskets, jars, plastic bins and so forth to decorate and spruce up in a {purple-ish} sort of way and then this weekend I am going to see if I can't make this lil' corner of the world more DARLALOU-LIKE...

AM I JUST NUTS?

First it is EfferDares
then it is my PINK phone
now it is a {PURPLE} scrappy space
oh, and organization? WHAT THE HECK?

{PURPLE} that is what I want.

A couple of kudos and misc info to share...

First off, THANK YOU to Robin/ ribinscraps for adding these photos to my blog for me, I WILL figure it out eventually. Baby steps, that is all it is for me, just baby steps. I WILL LEARN.

Secondly, the LO I did of Robin and her boys is indeed special to me but let me tell you, Robin took that photo of herself and her boys and did a FANTABULOUS job of it! She IS amazing! I love her photos and she does such an awesome job....really has an eye for it!

And lastly, I am hoping to get some new, better pix of our new doggie up on here soon. My camera battery done did died on me and I need to find the charger! So, eventually you'll all see "MISS STINKY FARTS" aka Libby... more close up and personal!

Other than that, I ain't got much to say! OH! If you have NOT checked out Cathy Z's blog today you MUST... it is a VERY GOOD laugh! http://www.cathyzielske.typepad.com

over and out!
darla

A layout I did with a Christmas photo I got from my very talented Photographer friend. She is for hire and does a lovely job with families and kids!

Grandpa and beautiful boy!

Some pics of the new family puppy!!

Being B R A V E

I am going to be BRAVE.
I am going to admit something.
I am going to be 'trendy'.
I am going to be creative.
I am going to have some fun.
I am stepping OUT of my box.

I am going to try the "Effer Dares" and see if it suites me. I need to do soemthing wild and fun and crazy and creative and, well, YOUNG! These gals are so young and funky and carefree and I just LOVE their site http://fortheloveofeffers.blogspot.com/ and I find myself really inspired by their work. Maybe it is the part of me that is longing to be young again? I don't know. BUT I am going to try it. Get my own lil' notebook, get my own list of the dares and just GO FOR IT!

am I going thru an early mid-life thing? oye!

It IS the {little things} that make me HAPPY!!

PINK makes me happy.
A PINK cell phone makes me even happier!
DH GOT ME A PINK CELL PHONE TONIGHT! I am happy....

It is a girl!... And, it is a cute little pink Sanyo scp200 and it is just plain cuter than a skeeters peter cute if ya know what I mean? Gotta name "her" too. She needs something snappy, cute, sweet, fun, princess-like, ya know? If you have any ideas send em' my way!

LEMON in my Diet Coke... and LIME too... they make me happy. Mmmmm ICE cold Diet Coke with LIME... yes, happiness in the simplest of ways.

My new funky age eye glasses make me happy! I feel "HIP" baby! (and a bonus, I can see the road when I drive at night too!) Oh yes, happy eyes, happy me.

and to finish off the list of {little things}

*my minivan makes me VERY happy

*fruitie tootsie rolls make me happy in the wierdest of ways

*spring in the air makes me happy and energetic I might add

*looking up at my jars of BEAUTIFUL scrapbooking ribbon ... overjoyed in happiness

*last but certainly NOT least...my kids playing soccer, tag, light sabers in the backyard, riding bikes, riding the motorcycle with daddy, sweeping the steps, anything outside in the springlike days with my family is complete and utter HAPPINESS for me these days

What makes you happy?