I missed you Sketchy Thursdays!!!!

So....Hubbs got me a BOX...kid you NOT....a WHOLE BOX....of scrappity stuff I had on my 2 Peas Wishlist!!!!  Ummmm....there were TONS of crackle paint, distressed stickles, liquid pearls, distressing ink in lots of colors, and like 5 huge wooden Hero Arts stamps!  Aaaahhhhhh.....I made my wishlist thinking...yeah right, my family won't get me this stuff cuz I've already got A ROOMFULL of scrappin crap!  But Hubbs came through!!!!  And as I usually complain about how much of a TYPICAL MAN he is....this time it WAS TO MY BENEFIT!  "HOW SO?"....you ask?   Well, being the typical guy...especially the guy who does NOT KNOW A THING about scrapping...he was like....holy H*LL...what do I get...as he looked at my mile-long wish list....so what does he do?????  He BOUGHT THE WHOLE DANG WISHLIST!  Ha ha!  I was cracking up!  I was like "oohhh you shouldn't have...it cost too much"...but BOY WAS I GLAD HE DID!

Anyway, on to my share.  I have SERIOUSLY neglected one of my favorite challenge blogs....Sketchy Thursdays because of...well....life...Holiday prepping, present making, house-cleaning...you know!  So....I realized I could still make the "second chance" challenge!!!!  So....I cranked out one of my most favoritest cards EVER!

I don't know WHO will get this...but if I ever part with it....it's going to be a super special person!  He he!

I got to play with LOTS of my new stuff!  Take a look!!!!!

Oh yes...almost forgot to mention...I went scrap digging to come up with the elements of the card!  The only thing I had planned was LOTS of stickles, liquid pearls and distressing ink! 

That there in the center...the backing of some Prima Flower packaging....uh huh....I'm sooooo happy I saved it!  It looks so prettiful!  I used my FAVE distressed stickles in Vintage Photo....LOVE IT!

I added tons of my OTHER favorite stickles....Diamond....it is SOOOOO freaking sparkly....I so WISH you could see the full effect!!!  Sigh.....

So, my escape to my craft room was well-enjoyed.....the kids barged in as I was adding finishing touches.

We are headed over to my Uncle's house to eat dinner and drink champagne and party with my cutey patootey baby cousins and my parents and hopefully my other aunt will be there too.

TOMORROW you will hear my news......I couldn't resist but have hinted at it here on the blog and unless you remember what it usually looks like...you might miss it....

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!  Have a safe one!  I do hate watching the news New Year morning.....I just pray people are safe....

Hugs,

Mo

Out with the OLD.....

Aaaaaahhhhhh.  As much as I LOVE the Holidays....I am soooooo relieved when it's over!!!!

I have had good food and seen my family almost everyday for some reason or another.  My sis Emmy is visiting from California and I am sooo appreciative of my family.

I've had some recent fun news but will share someday soon!...heh heh

I just wanted to say how thankful I am for all of you and for all the goodness in my life.  I actually sat there on Christmas day at a family party just looking around and I was tearing up because I was just so darn happy for supportive family, great family friends, good food, health, peace and just having the job I do (even though I complain).

This past year we've done some great things as a family and we've got MAJOR plans next year.  I took TONS of photos this year and I am so proud of myself.  I've also expanded my scrapping skills and had the opportunity to nurture and develop it!  It's amazing the growth!

But...as I am a PISCES...I LOVE LOVE LOVE me some CHANGE!  So, I'm working on my Resolutions and plans for the New Year!  I'm playing around with some new bloggy things and I may even retitle the blog!

I hope to keep to the Man of the Week because I enjoy doing them....and I hope you all do too!  I just have had many unexpected issues in the last couple months so slacked a bit on the posting on Mondays...sorry!

So...as I'm working on my resolutions...I'm curious....WHAT ARE YOURS?

hUgs,

mO

Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to share our Family Christmas photo and wish all my friends a Happy Holiday!

It's going to be a VERY busy day today running around to different family parties!  I loved the family photo above....even Hubby is smiling...he hardly ever smiles in pictures!

The kids looked so stinkin cute!

Until next week!!!!

Hugs,

Mo

Remember that mini book I promised?????

Okay, as promised, here are the pages to my Fall Mini Album!  This one went quick because I chose to keep it fairly simple.  The pages were 8x8 pages and I used a lot of cute embellishements!  Because I used a kit, it made it so so so simple!

I love this photo of the line of pumpkins!  I created lots of pockets in this mini to put journaling tags in because I was limited with the amount of space I could use.

I collected a bunch of stash items like chipboard shapes and coordinating super old embellishements I had laying around.  I threw all the extra embellies that matched into a big box containing my kit I got from Simply Obsessed.  And as I created my pages, I picked through the stash items and used them in my mini!

I get soooo excited when I use up old items cuz that means I CAN BUY MORE next year!!!!  He he!!!

I used lots of extra alpha stickers for my titles and lots of prima flowers!  I did a lot of layering on photos...again because of the limited space on my mini pages!

I got to play with my mists and old die cuts!

And I used lots of black pages to showcase the lovely photos taken on that wonderful trip to the Pumpkin Patch!

All the pages were fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants designing.  I just "went with it" and let it flow......

If I added up all the time it took to make this scrapbook, I think it was maybe 3 or 4 hours.  Not bad.

Did I tell you how much I love the Fall?????

And I got to take photos with my babies!  Yay!  I'm actually IN this mini book!!!  This mini book was my present to myself.....

I played with my pink Glimmer Mist.....see the heart????  So cute!

I love little girls!

I took a bunch of wonderful candid shots of kids just being kids....

Look at him in his cute lil boots!

My nephew is too adorable!  I just wanna squeeze him!

"Diva P" loved looking around at all the pumpkins.

And my brother took this awesome photo!

This girl is too stinkin' cute!

Well, that's all for today!  I hope you enjoyed!  You got a mini you need to make?  My family LOVES getting scrapbooks for presents!  So, come on...if you got something you need to make...you can do it!  There's still time!!!!!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  I'll work on taking a bunch of photos of EVERYTHING I've been creating!  I still gotta crank out a couple more mini books!  Wish me luck!

Hugs,

Mo

Don't you know.....I'M NO PUSHOVER!

From Stamping with Mo: Crafting and Scrapbooking

Remember this layout?  It's one of my FAVORITES!  Inspiration for the layout was drawn from one of the challenges at All About Me!  So....I can't take all the credit!  And the fabulous Jen over at Challenge U 2 decided to use it as the #8 lift challenge!  How flattering!  Thanks Jen!

If you get a change, head on over and play along!

This layout reminds me of the other day at work.  Remember how I've said that Nursing is one of the professions that put you at risk for assault?  Well....OH YES.....I had to leave a room of a patient YELLING at me out of nowhere standing two feet away, waving her hands and directing all of her frustrations of the day on ME!  I just came in to give some pain medication (had no clue what's happened prior to the time I got in to see her).  I came in sweet as pie (as I always am)...and I tell you...SOME people think I will allow myself to get SH***ED on just because of my smile, my small stature and my kindness.  First of all, you DO NOT start yelling at a Filipino for no reason....we may be classified as Asian (you know, the stereotype of being passive) BUT we have that passionate Spanish blood that can boil and steam!!!!  (And the females are worse than the males....tee hee...as I insert another stereotype...I'm soooo baaaaad.)  NO WAY was I going to allow myself to be a stupid doormat!

Now, I understand that people are frustrated (that I TOTALLY get) but I DO NOT get why someone thinks they can yell in a public place where other people are sick...if not sicker than you and direct their anger at one person that did nothing wrong but be at the wrong place at the wrong time.  Did she do this to the doc????? Noooooooooooo.  Because some patients seem to save all the rudeness for the "little people".  Anyway, this was not just ANY yelling person, this was someone who looked like she was holding herself back from harming me and she made several movements toward me....yeah.  So I told her I wouldn't take the yelling and I was leaving and I did.  But not before she accused me of giving her attitude because I chose to speak up and say I would not stand for someone yelling at me.  I made some attempts to calm her down by saying "I'm sorry you're frustra(BUT SHE CUT ME OFF)" so I told her she didn't have to yell...and I swear...she WENT SUPER CRAZY!  So I left. 

It wasn't even a full moon!!!!  Ugggggghhhhh!  It's days like that when I HATE BEING A NURSE.  Anyway, OBVIOUSLY Miss Rudeness didn't get the memo.....I'm NO EFFING PUSHOVER biooootch!!!!!!

Thanks for letting me vent!  Nurses WILL fight for you and watch out for you to get things done if they can!  I hope today goes better!  Sigh.

Hugs,
Mo

Be Kind, REWIND! And a Lady unLump update!

WhAAAT?  It's December already?  But I'm running outta time!!!!!  ReWIND please!?   Please?  I'm missing some days here!  Well, although I find myself scrambling for some time....the Christmas decor isn't up (in fact, my freaking PUMPKINS are still on my stoop), I've got a TON of presents to make folks for Christmas, I've got to spend the rest of my FSA (you know, the "use it or lose it" account) before the end of December, I've got Christmas gifts to buy for the kids (plus research to find out if I will INDEED get them fishIES for Christmas), and....and...there's more...I just know it, but I'm afraid to think because I'll just feel MORE frantic!

But I AM NOT complaining!  Because, as far as the "Lady Lump" goes, testing did not find any cancer!  Wahhoooooie!  So, flashback - I'm there, boobs bared....and we're looking for that STUPID lump....and the lady goes..."um...can you show me where it's at?"...and I'm like "oh yeah, right here" and I go to press on the area...and I can't find it!  All I can say is "ummmmm" and with a foolish smile, we proceed with the mammogram.  Yeowch!  But at the same time, I couldn't wait to get the boobie squeezing test done with!  And nex....we go to the ultrasound, though the mammogram seemed to show normal breast tissue.   Luckily, I get right in for the ultrasound...no waiting....and I think "Awesome!" cause I gotta high-tail it outta there and jump right into Isabel's Birthday celebration.

So the nice lady ultrasound tech starts looking.....and looking....and looking.  Again, I'm asked to point to where the lump is and I say "Well, the other day when we looked, it was here....." and I point to that area.  And we're kinda giggling cuz we can't seem to find that RASCAL of  a lump!  At this point, I'm a little worried because I'm freaking thinking "If they can't find it, how will I know?"....and I think some more and say to myself, "Dope!  THAT'S EXACTLY what you want to happen...for the lump to NOT even be there!"  And so I calm down and the Radiologist comes in saying "So, I hear we're looking for something that's not there!"  And we're all laughing.

But get this.  He's looking with the ultrasound and searching for a lump and he says to the ultrasound tech something like  "It's really easy, you can see right to her ribs."......uhhhhhh.....THANKS DUDE!  My boobs just got insulted!  But it was WAYYYYY funny more than insulting, and I'm sure he didn't give a second thought to what he just said.  He finds nothing and says the mammogram and ultrasound only show normal breast tissue.  Whew! Cool!

So, I'm still having some tenderness and the breast tissue is definitely feeling different now....which likely means the "lump" might have appeared as part of my "cycle"..darn hormones!

So, I'll just talk to my doctor to see if she wants to see me again but I think the craziness is pretty much over.

So now for some crafty stuff!!!!  I finished this mini album a few weeks ago.  It's FOR ME!  I scrapped the Pumpkin Patch photos using my Simply Obsessed November Kit.  I absolutely love the kits there!  And Heather, the owner is super sweet!

I'll show you the cover, because right now I don't have time to load up all the pics of the pages...so I'll do that on another post!

Aint it cute?  I made that humungo flower using a prima flower and some crumpled up paper circles which I bunched up and distressed.  I glued all the flowers on with a hot glue gun.

I LOVE MAKING MINI BOOKS!

This is what the kit looks like:

And CLICK HERE for a link to see the kit contents!

Here's another cute photo!  When we celebrated Gabe's 3rd Birthday just before Thanksgiving, we had a TON of leftover tokens...so after Isabel got out of school, we took the kids to Chuck E Cheese to use up the tokens.  My adorable cousins are to the left with my Uncle and my Mom (front right) and Dad and sister (not shown) came along to eat pizza and celebrate Bel's 7th Birthday.

I'm currently working on a mini book for Mom for Christmas.  To save money, I used Photoshop Elements collage function to create 2 small photos from a 4x6 print.  It's MUCH cheaper to print 1 4x6 than it is to pay for a 2.5 x 3 wallet!!!!

So that's my storytelling for today!  I'll work on getting the rest of the Pumpkin Patch mini book posted!  Thank you to everyone for all the love and support!!!!  It REALLY helped me worry less.  I spent a lot of the last couple weeks just playing with the kids and talking and laughing and vegging out watching movies with Hubby.  One day, we actually watched 4 movies on TV!  It's been so long since we actually hung out!

I hope all is well with everyone and I hope to do some blog visiting between today and tomorrow!

Hugs,

Mo