Laura's piece of Paradise

It has been a good day here in Florida.  Windy and Cold, but it has been a very good day. We had a lot of fun on Christmas.  There were  plenty of surprises, the biggest one for me, was a new Cricut Imagine. WOW! What a lot of fun that thing is.  I am having a blast learning how to use my new toy and yes it is definitely a toy. My family does like to spoil me. I guess we really all love each other and want to spoil each other.  Look at me, all surprised and happy.   Branch got his Kinect and has been having so much fun playing Kinectimals...it is really cute. He chose a tiger and named him Rajah! :) Bethanie got several books for Christmas this year, and this one is the first one she started reading so I guess she likes it best so far! :)  Rajah got a BIG BOX for Christmas.  He loved the imagine box and right there he is in the wrapping paper and looking so darn cute.  Love this kitty!  Billy is...

Happy fall everyone! Boy it has been very busy this school year. It was kind of funny though because I have all the same students from last year plus one more. School started and new rules and regulations so I have been busy as ever just trying to get things set up. It is getting there but it just moving slower than I want. This is when I really could use Samantha's twitchy nose trick in Bewitched! Billy has been home for months it has been awesome! We have been having so much fun together, it is going to end soon though. Billy has a trip planned in mid-October, he will be gone a week, but it will be a LONG week. We really like being married! :) Branch is sitting in front of his giant t.v playing a game. LOL Bethanie caught him a little off gaurd with this photo. It is cute though! (do you see Bethanie's drum set...yes it is real, and yes it is loud, and yes she is very good)! I am still grateful for hearing aids though! This is homecoming week for Bethanie so it ...

So I am creating a little bit again. It felt good. There was a challenge in the Cricut Circle to use cartridges you have never used before. I seem to be collecting a lot of cartridges and not using them lately. So here it is to at least try to get some use out of all this "stuff" I have. Or if your Billy "scrap crap." :) The recipe is Picturesque cartridge, Gypsy font, Winter Woodlands, and Doodletype. I fused all my words together using the gyspy. The only cartridge I used in the machine was picturesque only because I couldn't wait to link it to my gypsy to do that pretty tag. I love that tag. I glimmer misted the tag and then attached it to some bazzill dot cardstock. The butterfly I "think" is Heidi Swapp, I got in a Cocoa Daisy kit or a Lifetime moments kit. I don't know, it was floating around my work table begging to be used. So I did. I attached some Kaiser pearls and some crystals of unknown origin to it using KI gloo. The li...

Ok, so here I am trying to get creative again in Scrapbooking. I have been creating a new me and creating a lot of stuff for school, but now it is time for me to create for ME!!! I have joined the Cricut Circle and have recieved the coolest cartridge called French Manor. NOT FOR SALE! It has just been brand newly hooked up to my gypsy and is all MINE MINE MINE...mwahahaha! I have also joined BPS in a class which I haven't done since Hawaii! Seriously! So, it was time! I am hoping to do the Library of Memories if Stacy has that available this year. I truly am looking to jumpstart my creativity as the Southern Scrap Escape was cancelled and totally bummed me out for a couple of months. I am seriously reorganizing and purging some things that I have had for a long time and really not ever a huge fan of. Tried it and used as much as I'm ever going to use and time for the rest of it to go away. Now, back in the day where I had to have ALL of the papers in a line. I have grown up s...

SCHOOL I am so excited school is out for the summer. I have so many things planned, but mostly it is planning for next year! I hope to get my autism endorsement this year with just my classroom experience. I won't have to finish the classes I started to get it and that will take so much stress off of my day to day work. HOME PLANS Home life is great, Billy is home for the summer *keep your fingers crossed* Bethanie has started drum lessons to go with the drum set we have in our game/music room. UGH! I am just grateful I can take my hearing aids out! LOL . Branch is still in guitar and is looking forward to working for A+ Marine this summer again. I am looking forward to getting to sleep in some of the time and and playing with my kids, dogie and hubby! :) I am starting to feel happy again, but always there is sadness in there. MOM Every day I wake up thinking of mom. It was really neat that I woke up this morning while dreaming about being in the middle of a conversation wi...

WOW...I got my Punch Bug!!! YIPPEEE Those of you who follow know how long I have wanted one of these cars! Going on 10 years! YIPPEE!!!! She is a final edition special edition. She is 1406 of 1500! She is so totally cool and I LOVE HER. Her name is Sunshine...just because the song "Good Day Sunshine" by the Beatles makes me Happy! I wish my Mom could see her, she would be so happy for me and the first in line for a ride. I miss you mom. Love ya and thank you for all the kind words and thoughts this year, you all have really made me feel better. Longer post later! :) Thanks for checking in me.

Gail Elizabeth Schaan July 30, 1940 -- February 9, 2010 I have no other words to say other than I love you with all my heart and I will miss you every day until we meet again. I love you. Bonnie said it better than I could. Here is what she said at our Family Memorial on Sunday. For Gramms , I Love you It's the little things that make up a year, and the years which make up a life. It's the little things that make up the memories. An I have an abundance of those. I liked to listen to her talk about the family's old stories. I loved to hear her talk about when she was a teenager living in MS. When she yelled at Elvis. That is one of my favorite stories, I must have asked her to tell me that story like 20 times. I remember when I was real young when I spent most of my time at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Grandma would let us go through the fence and into the next neighborhood as long as we were in hearing distance. We were never too far away if we could hear her cal...

Happy New Year Welcome 2010 I am hoping that this all finds you safe and sound and not too off kilter from celebrating the New Year. :) We have had a nice Christmas break and it is almost over. Tomorrow I will spend the morning in the classroom getting things ready for the first day back to school. I am looking forward to seeing my boys, but really not ready to go back to school full throttle. The only thing I can say is that I get to ease back into things before I have to start another Autism Endorsement class. I sure hope it is not as work intensive as the last one. That is really going to go poorly with moving to a new classroom and gaining another student. Billy will be a traveling man again in January. He will be gone from January 11 to Jan 22. At least he gets to go somewhere he has always wanted to go. He gets to go to Washington D.C. I am so excited for him. I am a tiny bit jealous, but someone has to hold down the fort and take care of the animals, etc. The standing order is ...

I got the job now I got the busy to go with it! It is really great, but a lot of stuff to go with it. Long story short, I have to have my Autism Endorsement on my Teaching Certificate by 2011. I am in classes to get that done. The good news I will have it around Christmas Time. This is getting done through the use of an accelerated program offered to the County and I took it and I am so glad! Billy is a traveling man again...he leaves tomorrow and will get back for good November 11. :( Green Day was Great. Carl was a BLAST! We did a lot of stuff while he was here. He made our End of Summer Bash so much fun! :) Making Plans to buy my Blue Bug!!! WOO HOO!!! I totally can't wait! :) Branch is enjoying work and the SITE program at Whiting Field. So Proud of HIM! Bethanie is just totally AWESOME! Such a great kid and helps out so much. I am going to go now. I really don't have much time and I'm making the Christmas Gifts for the Mom's again! :) The Calendars are coming out...

Wow what a busy July! I have been making lots of pretties for Scrapfest at Lifetime Moments. I have been having so much fun this year. I have made lots of points and done lots of things I am proud of. I even got cards done! (I really don't like making cards, but this way I have what I need through the year). I even won a prize for June. I won a 20 Gift Certificate to the store. YAY scrappy shopping! Bonnie and her Baby Dorian at Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. Awesome little guy, he is such a cute little baby. I can't wait to hug him and squeeze him! This is the story of how Branch got his name. Click on the picture to get a bigger one so you can read it if you are so inclined! :) This is just one of my favorite layouts from last month because it is just so Bethanie ! So fun. Just a little something for my MOM!!! Happy Birthday MOM!!! I love you and miss you and it was so great seeing you last weekend! :) Happy Birthday to my sister Jayne and have a Happy Anniv...

Good news!!! I GOT A JOB !!! I have a job next school year at my favorite school! I am going back to Pea Ridge Elementary. WOO HOO!!! That is the coolest news! Ok...Now here is some other news... My Dear sweet Bethanie is growing up. :( It makes me sad and happy at the same time. Here are the pictures to prove it! She got her hair cut and dyed tonight. She loves it! She is also going to Horse Camp this week and next. She just got back from Tennessee from seeing Hannah. Bethanie says this is one of the best summer's of her life! After all the sadness and stress from last summer, this summer is much better. Here is another experiment with my brand new camera...I just love this picture of Billy! He is my sweetie and I love him with all my heart. He has been indulging my need to take as many pictures as I can! :) He loves me with all his heart and for that I wake up happy every morning. Ok, so far no other news. I'll share some pretties tomorrow! :) Hugs,

Yippee...It is here!!! My new Camera...Wow!!! I have been wanting a Digital SLR for at least 5 years...and here it is! :) WOO HOO!!! I got a Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 Megapixals and some really great pictures... Bethanie outside wow!!! You can see all of her freckles! :) Click on the picture...really! :) Branch was in his Rocker when I walked in on him watching t.v. He even let me see his beautiful eyes! :) I am very excited about this camera. I am so happy I have a family that is going to let me experiement! :) They understand, they get it and they love me. How lucky am I to have family that loves me so much. Sad news today about Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson...wow...MJ seemed so young. Tomorrow Billy and Bethanie are going to Tennessee to see Hannah. Bethanie is going to stay for the week. She is so excited...she has been packed since last night! Ok. More pictures tomorrow and more news I'm sure. 2 Posts in a week, it has to be some kind of record! Check out ...

I'm going to plug a favorite place for me to go. http://www.cocoadaisy.com I totally love these kits and this website. It is one of my most favorite places to go on the web. Ali Edwards hangs out there and after seeing the folks in the Design Team and and awesome owner...Tricia...WOW. It is everything I LOVE LOVE LOVE in a place. Great ideas on how to use the kits, great kits, and wonderful customer service. The people in the Forum are friendly and fun...it is just an all around fun place to hang out. Tricia has announced a Design Team call and here are some of the things I'm going to submit to see if I could even have a chance. :) She draws such awesome people, but at least I will give it a shot! The paper is BoBunny Calypso Dream, and lots of matching cardstock and ribbons. The cardstock colors are all Bazzill and are: Pomegranate, Kevin, Pauly Poo, Java, and Lemon bliss. The flowers are old SlimLine Accucut die cuts. I crumpled the paper and inked and then put them tog...

I LOVE SUMMER!!!!! We've been to the beach, taken Branch to work, taken the dog to the Dog Beach. Played the box game, (cornhole for you mid-western folks) played frisbee...walked the dog, gone swimming, LOVED sleeping in. All of the above and we have been out of school for less than a week. Oh yes, and then the regular stuff...Branch with guitar lessons, and Bethanie with Horseback Riding on Saturdays! :) What do we have planned! :) Bethanie is going to go to Tennessee to see one of her Best Friends, Branch is going to work, I'm NOT...:) We are going to go see Green Day in August and we will be going to the beach at least once a week for the whole summer. WhY? Because we live close to it and it would be a terrible shame not to go and enjoy the breeze and the water! :) Job stuff...Do I have to talk about it? I Don't really want to, so suffice to say, I'm out of work and the room is sad again... I believe I will work again someday soon, but right now, I'm just think...

Happy National Scrapbook Day & Cinco De Mayo Well, National Scrapbook Day came and went (5-2-09) and boy did I get a lot done for it! LOL Some of it really good! :) I played mainly at A Peek Into Yesterday online like I normally do. I hit a couple of other sites too. Cocoa Daisy and Lifetime Moments. I really like Cocoa Daisy's kits and so cool to chat with Ali Edwards the week before NSD. I even won a May Kit! That saved me a little bit of money. Next month I will have to pay for my kit. (my last one :( Here are the layouts I made over NSD... And then some family and job news!:) This was supposed to be a digital challenge, but seeing I'm Photoshop Challenged I printed all the elements on sticky back transparency and stuck them on my layout! LOL. The ribbon actually was a NSD gift a few years ago from that store, so I finally used it. (At least 4 years ago)...so if I listened to all those ladies to "purge" my stuff, I wouldn't have had it! LOL Oh darn, I just ...