Come on over to www.scrapbookeronline.com and enter the December Contest! Good luck to all!


Show your holiday spirit at SCRAPBOOKER ONLINE. Share your favorite holiday with the ladies of SBO. Enter our contest and you could be the winner. Share with us the memories your faily and friends just can’t wait to see when they browse through one of your family albums.

Contest Rules/Details:

• Submit a scrapbook layout or album showcasing your favorite holiday.
• Only one submission per person will be accepted.
• Include journaling, if possible.
• Please forward journaling in plain text along with the photo.
NOTE: No previously published work will be accepted.

1. All images will be displayed in our monthly contest gallery.
2. Open to US and Canada residents only
3. Please include a supply list.
4. Our winner will be notified by e-mail and must respond within 2 weeks of notification.
5. Winner will be announced in our monthly newsletter and on our site.
6. Winning Layout: Our Design Team will select one winning layout. The winner of this contest will receive a $25.00 gift certificate from our on line store.
7. All entries must be received by December 29th, 2006.

Submissions can be made by emailing December2006Contest@scrapbookeronline.com or by uploading it to the "December 2006: Holiday Spirit" contest gallery.

User registration is required

December Contest Deadline is December 29th, 2006

Thanks to all my sisters at SBO ww.scrapbookeronline.com) for the nudge to update my blog...you guys rock!

Where do I begin? It's been quite a while and I really wish I could be like my friend Nikki (www.workmanship.blogspot.com). She's an awesome blogger and I really love how we're able to peek into her daily life! :) Thanks Nikki!

Well, since my last post, at the beginning of August...

**I celebrated my 31st birthday. Sheesh...I don't feel like I'm 31 at all. I received many beautiful birthday cards, my parents took Dan and I out for my birthday dinner, my very best friend took me out for dinner, and we talked the night away, I received money towards my Pentax underwater camera, a gorgeous handmade mini-album from my dear friend Marjorie (www.minmaui.blogspot.com), an issue of "Cards" from my cool friend Carolyn (www.carolynlontin.blogspot.com), a cute "Fresh Watermelon" decoration from newly "American-ized" friend Krystin (www.calicanadiangirl.blogspot.com) and lots of birthday wishes from special people in my life! I apologize if I missed anyone! Love you all!

**I threw an all day (10am-3am) scrapbooking party at my house for my sister, SIL and my very best friend Brenda. Her SIL Amber also stopped by and we had a ball of fun! Lots of laughing, giggling, eating and of course, some scrappin'! It was so much fun that we're going to try and do it quarterly. Just gotta love scrappin' with people who love it as much as you do!

**Went to Siesta Key, FL for vacation and had a fabulous time with my hubby. I don't think I could ever get my fill of that place. We even rented a convertible to cruise up and down the Keys...ahhhh, paradise! We were also lucky enough to fly First Class on the way home just by asking if we could have exit seats! (love having more leg room!) Love how the village smells like the ocean, the palm trees never stop swaying, the sound of night life, the sandpipers and the sugar white sand under my feet everywhere I go. Love that it's on the sidewalks and follows you wherever you rest you feet.

**I became a Guest Design Team Member for the greatest scrapbooking community there is... www.scrapbookeronline.com!! And I'm having the best time with it! Wow...what an awesome experience to work the most talented Design Team! I'm also lucky enough to work with Beth(www.milestonesandmarkers.blogspot.com) and Holly (http://www.scrapbookeronline.com/gallery
/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=1418) as GDT members as well! Such talent...I know I'll learn so much from all these lovely ladies! And I'm sure I'm going to be so sad when my time is over!

**I spoke with 2 of my online scrappin' friends on the phone...Maryfrances (www.mfabbri89.blogspot.com), owner of Scrapbookeronline. What a terrific lady! And gotta love that Boston accent! I can tell she's a riot and would be the life of the party! And also my dear friend Marjorie www.minmaui.blogspot.com). Oh gosh...she's just the cutest thing ever. Wish we could have met when our vacation's overlapped in Florida but it was not to be this time. I LOVE how she says my name in her sweet, tiny voice...Neecole? Love ya Marjorie! ((hugs)) to both of these awesome sistas!

**Both of my parents had birthdays in September and look as beautiful as ever!

**My summer flowers/flowerbeds are all done and cleaned out for the season.
Out of the 4 Chrysanthemum's I planted last fall, only 1 returned, but it's huge and a welcoming site for fall. Also, cut back my wild rose bush and hostas. And now to do my fall decorating inside. I can't get into it. In my mind, I'm still soakin' up the Florida sun...ahhhhh. It's just not fair that it's 85 degrees somewhere else. Maybe I'll decorate in a week or so...maybe not.

**Our pug had a medical emergency last night. Poor thing. She was acting strange all day and then last night, she started shaking, panting and we noticed she was bleeding, so Dan ran her to the vet and turns out she has a severe UTI. My gosh. I felt so bad. Don't know how in the world she got it. She rings the bell to potty every morning and every evening. It's like clockwork. But, nonetheless, a urine test, 1 shot, an envelope of doggie Amoxicillin and $161.00 later, Dan brought the poor thing home. But, Dan said she stuck her cute pug mug out the car window the whole time and hammed it up! :) We'll take her back for a check-up in 3 weeks. Love my little Beijing Ling!

Well, this was fun and I'm sure I forgot many things along the way, but I think I can say I'm pretty well caught up...

Since I'm having so much trouble uploading pics, I put them all in an album for you! Click on the photo below! Once you reach my album, run your cursor over each picture for full caption or click on the photo for a larger view!

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Update!

Just couldn't pass up the opportunity
to wish my very best friends' husband a
Happy Birthday today!

Happy Birthday Aaron!

By the way...don't you look spiffie! :)

I do believe I'll be riding the scrappin' bus for a little bit anyway. I feel like I'm inspired to scrap. Or is it that I have a list of projects to do? Hmmmm...regardless, I'm having fun!

I received Patty's circle journal and her theme is "I like being a girl". I was a little nerveous about it, considering I haven't done many "girlie" pages and I don't use many pastel color schemes. But it was fun LO to do. I really do like being a girl! :) I just need to scrap a tag for her journal as well as a few other things that she's requested in her book. Thanks for the fun Patty!

Off to my table I go again. Today, I may start working on my nieces' album. There's really no deadline but the sooner I get it done, the sooner I get paid! I'd also like to try Corey's "Hand-write your title" Challenge. Even though my handwriting annoys me....LOL! Don't know if I'll be participating in SBO's August Contest or not. We'll see where I am by tomorrow nights deadline.

It's another scorcher here today. A good chance of severe weather will be bringing in a cold-front for the weekend! YAY! I'm ready for some cooling down! Enjoy the day everyone and stay cool!

On cloud 9, on cloud 9, on cloud 9!! I received the best piece of mail today (aside from all the lovely recipe cards from SBO's recipe swap..thanks ladies!)... our confirmation letter from Cathi in Siesta Key, Florida, (see my banner!) confirming our vacation reservations!! I can hardly stand it! This will be our 3rd year going and I can hardly wait! Awwwwww...I can already feel the sand between my toes! :)

In my scrapping world, it's been a very productive and creative last few weeks. I had an absolute ball participating in the SBO July Contest! I have 3 LO's and a card that I'm very proud of! All of the entries were awesome and I think it pulled some of us out of our scrappin' slump. Maryfrances, owner and Big Sis of SBO, posted Augusts' Contest Details today and it sounds like another fun one! Come on over and join the fun! You won't be sorry! Carolyn was also sweet enough to host a Christmas in July contest. The winner will be randomly picked and will receive a MM foam stamps/paint set. Which by the way...C's little boy Seth just picked the winner and she's holding us all hostage about it! LOL...anyway, the challenge was fun! I combined Carolyn's challenge with MF's "Friendship" Weekend Challenge and completed a LO using my good friend, Brendas', photo. Thanks for the super photo Brenda and thanks for the challenge C and MF! Here's my LO. (I tried to upload the rest of my LO's from July's Contest but Blogger is being a pain!)

On my scrap table right now....I'm looking forward to working in Patty's circle journal next. Her theme is "Why I like being a girl". Should be a fun project. I also need to start working on my nieces Sophmore HS year album. Her mom brought all the newspaper clippings, report cards, photos and awards over, so that's also on my list of things to start. I scrapped her Freshman year last year as well and it turned out nice. Add a couple of cards to this week's "to do" list and Corey's "Hand-write your title" Challenge and I'm all set. Hope I didn't forget anything! WHEW!

Bought a 1 GB memory card for my digi. I had a 256 MB card but with vacation coming up, I wanted one that would hold a LOT more photos so I went for it! Can't wait to fill it up! I have a feeling I'll be taking both of them! LOL...

Hope everyone is well. Look for my next post in the fall...LOL! Totally sarcastic there...I'm going to make a good, solid effort to keep this up. It's fun once I sit and post. I know if I'd do it more often it wouldn't be such a loooooooooooooooooong post! :)

BTW Mf....thanks for the push! ;)

Just want to take a moment to wish my beautiful friend Marjorie, a VERY Happy Birthday today! Wishing you much, much happiness on your special day! :) (pardon the date of this post....her birthday is July 7th and since she's in Hawaii and 6 hours behind, it's still her birthday in her world! LOL!)

Okay, the arrangement of these photos are not how I would have liked...I'm still getting the hang of this blogging thing.

Hope you and your family had a nice 4th of July! Here are a few photos from our town's fireworks. Hubby and I had planned to go to my brother's to spend the day there but the weather was not cooperating so we didn't go. Bummed we were!! So instead, we started the day off by going to a small all-day carnival that's held at one of our local parks. Hence the picture of the funnel cake...can't leave a carnival with one...or two! Well, you could but that would just be craziness! LOL! We ended the night by watching our town's fireworks with my sister and her family, from our driveway. We have a really nice view, thanks to a tree that was struck by lightning a couple of years ago! And then after the "grand finale" of fireworks, hubby and I sit on the front porch and watch all the traffic. The park is so close to our house, that the streets are lined with cars, parked bumper to bumper. Lots of brake lights, families with strollers and oodles of teenagers! We just sat there with our dog and our sparklers! Happy 4th everyone! Hope yours was a memorable one!

As far as the scrapping world goes, I have a few challenges that I'd like to do..Janet's Mono challenge, Corey's Patriotic challenge and of course SBO's July contest. The sketch for week 1 looks awesome and I'd like to give it a try! And of course, there's always general scrapbooking thatI'd like to get caught up on. I was recently backing up all my photos and can't believe how many I've taken over the past couple of months! Better get crackin' on some LO's!! Happy scrappin' fellow srappers!

Thought I'd take my friend Nikki up on her Sunday blog challenge...even though it's Monday!
I never used to love summer because it was TOO hot and humid but for some reason, I'm really enjoying summer this year....Here's my list...

Top 10 Things I Love About Summer...

1. Watermelon...who doesn't love that sweet, pink, juicy
fruit?

2. Gardens...I love my veggies, herbs and flowers and I've
been blessed with a green thumb! Thanks Mom!

3. Swimming...so relaxing and refreshing!

4. The smell of fresh, cut grass...

5. Grilling out...it's easy and the smell of the grill just
seems to beckon summertime!

6. Driving in the car with the windows down, my arm
hangin' out, gettin' some sun!

7. New sunglasses...I LOVE new ones! It seems like I
always buy at least 3 pair...sheeesh...

8. Flip flops...even though I can't wear them anymore,
I used to love them!

9. Fireworks and parades...it seems to bring people out of
the woodwork!

10. Family bar-b-ques at Mom and Dad's...seeing the guys
playing frisbee golf, the girls on the porch talking and my
nephews running and playing all around. I love my
family!

YAY! How do ya like my new banner? I feel like I've worked on it for the past year. Slight exaggeration but none the less, I love it! Thanks for your help Marjorie! It's a pic I took when we were at our FAVORITE place to vacation...Siesta Key, FL. Looking at the picture takes me back instantly. I can smell the salty ocean (or Gulf I should say), music coming from the local pubs, the sand beneath my feet and the smell of suntan lotion takes me to my beach chaise.....awwwww. Back to reality though.
Plan to work on my ABC layouts today. I'm waaaaay behind but have enjoyed the pages that I've completed so far. But I still need to journal on them. I think that's what I'll do before I start anything else. Also need to get hoppin' on my Dad's Father's Day gift. Cutting a vintage license plate has me a bit nerveous but I know when it's all done, Dad will treasure it!
Off I go....

Talked to my new found friend Krystin, from SBO again on the phone this morning. This is our 2nd time chatting and we can always make each other laugh. Who knew one could spark up a friendship being so far away! She's in Alberta, Canada...Great talking to you again Krystin! Now get scrapping! I haven't seen a LO from you in months!

I was visiting my friend Marjorie's blog (www.minmaui@blogspot.com) today and saw that she had added this cool "subscription" service to her blog, so I decided to copy...LOL! Obviously, there's nothing exciting to subscribe to on my pitiful blog but if you'd like to know when I have posted something new, then type in your email address, hit "subscribe me" and it'll let ya know! Thanks Marjorie! Hope you don't mind! **smiles**

Thanks to my SBO sista's who've left me comments! You guys rock! Tomorrow's WAT (Wicked Awesome Thursday) at www.scrapbookeronline. Be sure to stop by and check out the DT's (design team's) awesome layouts! They're always inspirational and get my creative juices flowing!

My first blog posting!

Well, here goes....I've officially hopped on the blog bus!