Take Note

A lesson in tough love

2011-02-17T08:33:00.000-08:00

so most as i've mentioned before would say that i go overboard with my discipline. now i don't take the switch off the tree in the backyard, nor do i use a paddle, but i'm telling you my words could probably silence the worst heckler in the apollo theater. i like to think i inspire, but sometimes i think some of my words might hinder. in a typical frustrated mother mode i might say that my child is being silly about getting upset over such a little thing, or i might say don't be so retarded about it. i might even throw out some curse words. i know horrible, huh! and i admit if i could rewind time like i can with my directv dvr i would. i would rewind, pause, and search for other words on the menu or i might google it. but as always i voice what i have to say at the moment. i tend to get caught up in the moment and just word vomit all over them. i'd even like to say i'd want to fast forward through the heartache and remorse. i would love to say i have a lot of proud parenting moments, but i probably don't. when my children just give the slightest trouble i'm right on top of it handling it in the most extreme way. from calling the cops on my own children to punishing them with requested suspensions, yes i handle things in a very extreme manner. in the end though it is not whether i won the battle or that i like to watch my child suffer through the consequences of their mishaps, but a way for me to show how much i love and care for them, that i would go through anything to make sure they grow up to be what i have imagined all my life. wonderful, beautiful, inspiring, loving, hardworking adults! that's when i'll back off and that's when my job will be over. but as i tear into them with passion and determination when i lecture about something that might seem so minor for other kids to do, i watch the tears flow and think that sometimes this lesson in tough love, tends to be a hard lesson for me to swallow as well. i just pray, God please don't let me screw this up!

i always feel like somebody's watching me ...

2011-01-26T20:03:00.000-08:00

yes, i do. because while i'm eating my club today and picking out the roast beef (which i don't ever remember being in a club, but o well) and not that i don't like roast beef, but it wasn't meshing well with the other meats ... anyway ...

i wonder sometimes if someone's watching me eat either in the room or on camera, like that show that used to point out random people and the things they do and don't know they are being watched. which is really creepy, but also probably very embarassing. like are they watching me as i drop food on my clothing, wipe the boogers off my child's face, or pull my panty out my butt. sometimes i wonder if while i chow down my whole meal they are looking at me and saying is that skinny beeoch for real. is she really gonna eat that, or no way is she gonna eat all that, or watch she'll eat it all and then hurl it later. though you might not like to hear it, i do eat and don't hurl, just letting you know. and yeah, you probably don't want to know, but i don't even weigh 100 lbs, but i am healthy. not anorexic, contrary to what the stupid doctor said after i went to him to figure out how to gain weight. i eat as much or as little as i want. i turn 35 next week and as everyone tells me it's going to catch up with me i've given up on that and just started thinking who cares anymore! i'm good with it, it's sometimes frustrating when someone says it must be nice to be so thin, but when your child's friends start saying, "hey i have a shirt just like that" it's not so wonderful. it's kind of annoying when someone whispers, "huh, kids having kids" yeah i know don't complain at least you look young, but sometimes just sometimes i want to scream,

"hey, i'm a grown woman people, i haven't set any guiness records in having children too young that goes to someone in brazil, well i think." okay so maybe i won't yell all that - i might end up hoarse.

really ... really ... i'm not kidding

2011-01-19T08:50:00.000-08:00

so yesterday was an ugh day for me and many things went crazy wrong, which all the little things put together made it one great big mess. but one of things i'll discuss here that happened was my email was hacked into. typically spam will get sent and it will be some sort of money scam, but no that couldn't be the case. my hacker had to be some psychotic dexter sexually disturbed serial killer. the messages seemed pretty random and maybe came out of excerpts from a book, but they were disturbing to say the least. some of the messages talked about things i'd rather not even mention, b/c they are vulgar, but things like "you and Tom could put the bodies in a plastic bag" is just one example. i mean really this is probably going to be a great laugh later in life, but right now i'm just worried that a swat team will appear in my front yard, b/c on my contact list i had some very important professional people that i was actually trying to get writing jobs from along with representatives, oprah, even the president. i'm just hoping they got my apology email to them and that they know i really don't have a secret life that involves "yellow liquid", "body bags", or "homophobia". i'm really not that type of person. so ugh to that day, and hello to a new one!!!

just a note: if i didn't apologize to you enough before, i am very sorry my evil hacker disturbed your wonderful day yesterday, like seriously do people really not have better things to do with their lives than to hack old lady's emails and sent random messages. you know there are starving children on the streets people, i mean not mine, o who am i kidding they probably are mine or my husband, since i haven't cooked in days.

dear friends and family ...

2011-01-13T12:04:00.000-08:00

you might say it's inappropriate, you might say did she just write that, but i just want it noted that if i die in a car accident, please don't memorialize me at the scene with a big purple teddy bear ...

a simple cross would do ...

or just flowers, really it's fine.

first of all i'm not a huge fan of purple, tho i might wear it sometimes. secondly, teddy bears not my thing either. i'm really kind of hoping that a message would be posted or something maybe like
WATCH OUT!! and i know what you are thinking, whaaaat!! i know really only things like that are left for the young, but just in case. i can say tho i've really almost been there, it was a close call,(see my journey in another blog i used to have) and as i'm passing some crosses on the road i was just thinking man i hope my memory doesn't go to waste. man i hope that instead of updating my gravesite that those who knew me best would instead fight for the underdog, stop a bully, work on helping those in need, take the time to spend precious moments with loved ones, or just get up and do something. i pray i left enough words to live by even if it started with, "go zig-zag ..." or "it was a linoleum floor ...". i pray that the images left behind aren't all pretty and that they remember my good, bad, and ugly. for we all need to live in the now and the future won't be such a slap in the face.

sorry that is all ... if i offended you i apologize.

editor's note: after reading this, i thought i'd just mention that this is not a suicidal blog post just me word vomiting again, so no need to worry.

It always seems ...

2011-01-05T21:25:00.000-08:00

us @ a n.o. hornets basketball game, we were blessed with tickets in club level
by our very generous doctor, had a blast!

to me that i usually get the short end of the stick when it comes to life. but i guess it's only fitting since i AM only 5 foot. but i'm not sure i would know what to do if the doors were always open for me. i'm pretty sure it would look similar to a scene in a movie when you ram into the door several times and finally on your last try you back up to ram it, only to get through with ease b/c someone else has opened it and you go flying through smacking into the coffee table spilling red wine all over the beautiful creme carpet. so i'm okay with not expecting the doors to open for me because in most of my accidents there has always come some revelation, a lesson worth learning, whether it be smacking straight into the door head on and knocking some sense into me or just having a whirlwind of events at the opening of one finally. recently, we've been knocked down a few times, but what i love most about my family is that they don't let it get them down. we celebrate in the little things, the little blessings that get blown our way from time to time. we don't have the biggest house or yard on the block, we don't have all our dishes or laundry done, we don't have the finest china or luxurious vehicles to drive, heck at this moment we don't even have a wall in my kitchen. (hint to husband: please get that done in 2011). but what we do have is each other, spirit, friends, family, love, kindness, generousity, and the belief that all will be okay. so my little word this year is BELIEVE! b/c what i've noted more than anything in this family is they believe, they have belief in themselves and others. this challenge, that i've never participated in before is from ali edwards, for those nonscrappers, she is the it girl in the scrapbooking world and has challenged all who care to participate in having one little word to live by each year. and here is mine and what i hope to get from it.

i believe there is good in us all
i believe that anything is possible
i believe that i will not hide all my husband's fishing poles this year
i believe that we will make it through our difficult time
i believe that others will too
i believe that i can survive the 300 hundred children that will enter through my doors to play b/c i feel like
the kool-aid house sometimes
i believe in myself, i'm putting an end to self-doubt
i believe my children will make a difference in this world, they are going to do BIG things with their lives
i believe that Jesus will take the wheel when i need him too
i believe in God and i have faith in his direction

sometimes ...

2010-12-28T11:46:00.000-08:00

i think that maybe i should have written that down. with me you never know what will come flying out of my mouth and i don't mean like cheetos or milk or any other food or liquid substance. sometimes i just say things and think later. and i'm not thinking aww i shouldn't have said, heck no sometimes people just need to hear tha truth!! but i think dang i should have wrote that down. i could have a book by now, it's possible, don't doubt it. i know kind of strange just a array of word vomits in a book, but hey anything can happen - i mean if you can write a song about a stanky leg then who's to say i can't have a book on just crap i say. i mean really i could have written a song about a stanky leg, heck i could have written a song about some stanky diapers, walls, tables, chairs, butts, husband, and children. maybe i should start writing songs ...

It's Been a long time ...

2010-12-26T22:57:00.000-08:00

i can't even begin to try to catch anyone up on what's been going on!! b/c honestly i don't even know myself. sometimes i forget if i've eaten or not. sometimes i wonder if i peed today. so how could i really tell you what's happened in the last couple of months. well, here's what i do remember:

husband lost a job
husband got a new job
i started teaching
i stopped teaching
still writing for pov
still sewing dolls
still scrapping and teaching crafty classes
still working on remodeling house
still losing my mind
now pursuing my masters degree
now taking writing seriously

now looking back ...

hunter with cousin carly

my personal witch, claire

the big man of the house, seth

my real man of the house, hubby clint

me, clint, and claire

hunter and i

me losing it!!!! too many kids!!!

my BFF paula, couldn't have made it these last few months without her

i think that about sums it up

so to now be current, here's where i am now in my life wandering around aimlessly wondering what else i can accomplish before i turn 40. i mean really i only have 5 years left, so i need to get to steppin'. my years are catching up with the number of jobs i've had so i'm guessing i need to start planning out a new career right? LOL well, maybe we'll see! you never know what i'm scheming up next.

so what?

2010-08-30T19:41:00.000-07:00

one of the hardest things as a parent is to know when to just shut up or when to speak up. sometimes i think i do the latter maybe a little too often. i'm what you call, as i refer to, an extreme mom. i could probably be featured on the animal planet channel spinning off of the show most extreme animals. the show might go a little something like this:

first they would go through 10 - 2 of the most extreme moms
and then here's where you would see my picture, michelle gautreaux rolling in as the #1 most extreme mom
forget the king of the hills, this lady will have you heading for them
they would then graph me in green, localizing all my dangerous points which might include my fierce voice or my quick & concise manuevers when it comes to a child on the run from my wrath
i would definitely have to say though that the focus would be on my punishments - always extreme, always over the top

but i do hope in my segment they might mention that i am compassionate, i love deeply, i give whole heartedly, and i expect nothing in return. b/c even in that sense i'm extreme as well, just ask my middle school child who i embarass daily.

on to other news ...
announcement: i have three stories in PoV this month - can i get a whoohoo!!! ("WHOOHOO" okay that was supposed to be you). one of the stories is on some young talent in the area, jenna nicole guidry, the second story is an inspiring underdog story, the engineering team from nicholls, and the third is a story that motivates you to do your part in the world, keep terrebonne beautiful.

I'm so motivated ...

2010-08-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

to just write, write, write. i'm beginning to feel like a real writer. i just love PoV, they have given me the confidence to continue and to really explore who i am through writing. i've enjoyed every piece and have been so inspired by each person i interview. i take a little something with me each month. i feel so blessed to have met the people i have met through this job. crossing paths with so many of them have led me to new and better paths. i love finding the wonderful people of this world and telling their story. i want to do this for the rest of my life. i might have finally decided what i want to be when i grow up. lol
my july story was on SoLA and my august story was on Raymond Champagne, which btw made the FRONT COVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i know, i know, like i know! (that's me having a conversation with you).
something to think about: at times we think that things couldn't get any worse and sink really low when obstacles are thrown in our path, we start throwing the pity party for ourselves and think what more can happen, what else (it comes in threes right?). sometimes even wondering why o why does God seem to think i can handle this? you are his children, any good father would have that much confidence in their child. they give tough love and the reward in the end is always great! i'm consistently reminded of this on my journey through life. i would like to say i'm always positive and that when things, like bad things happen to me that i get on my peppy skirt and cheer my way through my situation, but i don't. i cry, i bitch, i cry, i bitch, and i cry some more. good thing my husband only has to put up with a few hours of this, b/c after i finish off my bitchapalooza i resolve to get my shit together. which is great, b/c i let it all out and move forward. but i started thinking do you really want to hear all of that or would you rather just hear me sing, "it's the climb" yeah, i thought so, bitch it is. but this time around when we were dealt a hard hand we became really proactive early and tackled it head on, b/c we were determined to get through and i'm telling you the reward has been awesome. so take note people, take note ...

My June PoV

2010-06-15T20:44:00.000-07:00

So excited about it, it was published at the beginning of this month. It was not until I saw it that I believed it was being published. I grabbed so many copies that the lady at the customer service desk in the mall must of thought I was a freak. I wanted to run throughout the mall and say look that's me, even the pictures are mine. I know so lame, but this is big step for me and hopefully only the first one to many more. After I turned in this article, I was asked to do two articles for July so be on the lookout for those July 1st. How cool is that?
Here's the link to This Old Hotel

Gautreaux's to the Rescue

2010-06-15T20:17:00.000-07:00

no those are not our dogs, but they are the neighbor's. one saturday morning, seth took out our dog smokey and heard wimpering coming from the shed. on further investigation we discovered 4 puppies, but no mother. in a rush to get to a baseball game, we decided to leave the puppies there for the morning and take action after the game. after hunter's game we came back to find the mother adding more puppies to the underneath of our shed, so we followed her to find out where was she taking them from. it was our next door neighbor's dog and she was pulling them out from underneath her shed. wasn't sure why until we looked under the shed. there was a turtle the size of a small dinner plate and it was on top of one of the puppies. my boys grabbed a shovel and managed to take the turtle out, put it in the back ditch and saved the puppy, but one puppy had already perished. the turtle had been eating it. so hunter rushed under and grabbed the puppy ever so carefully to place him in a box and proceeded to carry out a burial with seth. it was so wonderful to see how much they cared for animals. we cared for the mother and other puppies in our garage til our neighbor returned home, even trying to help the puppies find milk pumping it into their mouths while we settled the mother down. the neighbor then came for her dog (that she thought was a male) and left with her and the puppies. we found out days later that all the puppies had died and that the mother was not taking care of them. she was really just a young pup herself, i'm not sure she even knew what to do or how to protect them from the rain and sun outside according to the neighbor. the kids were all devastated. they took such pride in rescuing the pups only to be disappointed that their efforts didn't save them. i tried explaining to them that death is a part of life, but alas it didn't ease the pain. all i could do was express how proud i was of them for taking a chance, making an effort, and doing something - b/c most people don't even do that.

so my first assignment and the art show ...

2010-05-06T06:48:00.000-07:00

you can't help but walk away from the art after dark show and really feel inspired by others and though i was a bit disappointed in sales, it was an awesome turnout. i got a lot of interest in my booth. i have to say it is invigorating to be around other artists and to even think that i would be where i am today. so here's shot of the show and my work. If you'd like to see more, I'm posting on my OneCreativeMama site today.

my main goal with my art is to try to upcycle, recycle, repurpose, or whatever you want to call it. in the picture you'll notice i cut a record into the shape of a guitar and made a clock and then took the covers and made notebooks and bookmarks. some of the records were broken in the process of cutting so i turned them into some mixed media art. which was really a lot of fun to imagine what each piece could be. this one is my fave and it's sold. i have others that you can see on OneCreativeMama

since the show, i've been crazy busy with so many more things like gifts, prom corsages & bouquets, headbands, softies and plenty of other things like storytelling, prom planning, volunteering for way too many activities at my kids' schools, but the one thing that i had to turn in on monday that i was most excited about was my article for POV. i was able to write my first feature on the thatcher place in houma, where i featured my art for art after dark. it gets published in june and i'm just thrilled, as well as being a little impatient for it to come out. it's not my first article i've ever done, but it's definitely a step up from the school newspaper or yearbook that i've done before. as soon as i can i will be sharing.

well, on to my life - i feel as though i'm in uncharted land. i have learned so much about myself in the last year and opened my eyes to a new me. i've taken chances on myself that normally i wouldn't have done. i feel inspired by the little things and i'm definitely taking note.

Another writing from junior high:

Ride of Your Life

Anticipation

Nervousness

Fear

of what lies ahead

no knowledge of where the ride will take us

Jump

Bumpy

Heart Pounding

wanting to get off this crazy ride

wanting to go back

Zig-Zag

Loop

Gripping

tighter and tighter to what's around us

then suddenly

Stop

Release

Ease Out

walk onto yet another ride

another ride of your life

very excited to announce ...

2010-03-29T01:38:00.000-07:00

that i've got a offer to be a freelance writer for PoV magazine. i can't explain in words (note: kind of funny huh, cuz like i'm supposed to be a writer) what this means to me. it's a stepping stone for me, but wow what a great first step. they are a wonderfully creative staff and i'm so ecstatic to join them. i love writing so i can't wait to get started. as a little girl and still to this day, when i begin writing or typing the more passionate i am about it, the faster my fingers go and i actually begin to sweat. i tense up and words just start spewing everywhere (sorry to those who have been in the line of fire), but my whole body reacts to the words i lay out. i love every second of it. i pray this leads me to completing a novel, b/c that is truly something i've always dreamed of.

soooooo, in celebration of this awesome news i'm turning back the hands of time and digging out each day writings from junior high (when i first started putting my feelings down) all the way through college (where if i remember correctly i really get deep). this ought to be interesting.

here's one from the 7th grade:

The Truth Hurts

Go ahead give me an excuse

Give me a reason that will make it all better

Think of something to wash away my pain

Imagine up a story to stop my tears from flowing

Because your lies have made me happy

Your truths have hurt

try on my shoes for awhile ...

2010-03-15T17:21:00.000-07:00

try on my shoes for awhile
before you judge.
take a close look at my shoes
before you tell me what you have to say.

do you see the worn heels?
do you see the places i've been?
can you see the shoe from within?

now take a stroll awhile in my shoes
before you tell me how you feel.
now start to run and take some strides
before you cast your lies.
slow down and feel the burn
before you finally decide.

because you'll never know until you've fully walked in my shoes, what it's like.
so please don't pretend you do

now take them off and walk back to your life -
a lot easier, right?

editor's note: this is not intended for any one person, so please do not come back to try to sue me for slander or whatever the heck else you could sue me for. just taking note of other's lives as well as mine. sometimes we just need to step back and try on someone else's shoes for awhile and it's just kind of sad when we don't.

our last day

2010-01-28T09:16:00.000-08:00

i say our last day, only b/c the day after christmas, we were in the airport and went straight home.

so back to christmas morning ... of course santa had to find us in new york. hunter was a little concerned, but i told him if he prayed to god that it would be fine, b/c like santa and god are best friends and they talk a lot. he was okay with that. so when we woke up we found our stockings full and presents everywhere. well, we did have to limit santa to the size of a suitcase. the kids were actually really surprised at the gifts they got and very happy about our trip.

after the wrapping paper was torn apart, the cooking began ... a cooked a ham, sweet peas, baked some macaroni & cheese & greek rolls, as the kids played with their new toys and watched christmas story (clint's favorite movie) for the umpteenth time. (their was a marathon on all day, in case you didn't know).

we ate our dinner, though i have to say i lost my temper when the housekeeper enjoyed our dinner more than the hunter and claire b/c they were being so picky. i treated the housekeeper to a special dinner by leaving it on her cart and she knew exactly who it came from b/c my cooking was smelling up the halls and i have to say it was really good.

after dinner we packed up and marched out to the snow one more time to bid it farewell and of course leave our mark in nyc with a gautreaux snowman.

clint was asking passerbys if they wanted to take a picture with it. he said it was so good that people were going to stop and take a picture of it and next to it.

hunter had to end it with an angel and that's it everyone. our wonderful memorable nyc trip. it was exhilirating, memorable, and momentus all wrapped into one. wow, i feel so sad now. i have no more to share about our trip. o well guess we'll have to go on another one. HEEHEE! wonder how clint will like that!

new stuff

2010-01-28T05:31:00.000-08:00

on my creative blog . and the ending to my new york trip soon!

Christmas Eve

2010-01-25T21:43:00.000-08:00

i think pretty much everyday we woke up late and really took our time getting places, not what i had planned. but hey remember i said earlier the plans blew away with the blizzard. the kids woke up with excitement that morning anticipating their long awaited visit with santa @ macy's. by far the best santa i've ever seen. the line was so long, yet very entertaining. santaland had so much going on. we started the line with loads of pictures of santas & parades of the past. we then were called aboard santa's train to the north pole by this guy.

the conductor was so authentic, had a megaphone, great voice, and truly lived his part.

as we entered santaland, everywhere you turned there was something to see. the elves were busy working, getting the line moving, taking pictures, and greeting the passerbys. they were so friendly and really did a great job of getting the line to move.

the details that went into each of the scenes was just beautiful, you really couldn't see it all.

seth has said he always wanted a tree like this and i of course said it would be impossible. again i was proven wrong by macy's that nothing is impossible and there really are miracles on 34th street- seth gets real excited seeing it and states, "look mom, i told you, you could do it." so after walking through santaland at the end we met up with santa only to have claire refuse to take a picture - figures!

we spent a little time in macy's exploring the very small toy section and claire loved the puppets. we thought about venturing out to see all the window displays, but halfway down the kids were more excited about getting to the zoo than seeing window displays. we walked around a bit and clint got to see the madison square garden, which totally made his day. yet i'm sure he would have liked it more if we would have seen maybe a fight there. o well maybe next time.

so we walked to the next subway stop, and along the way were harassed and followed by people trying to get us to buy tickets to the ny skyline and the empire state building.

they not only followed us one block, but some would have probably treked the second if i had not stepped in. clint was just encouraging him after i specifically said stay the course and don't make any eye contact. he thought it was hilarious, i found it annoying. and even more irritating when one of them said we looked like millionaires and i barked back that neither one of us even had a job - so there. i know a bit overboard, but if you would have heard them you probably would have too, well maybe not, i tend to over react.

so after that fiasco, we entered the train and got off at columbus circle, wow is all i can say. there was so many different booths at the holiday market that i'm pretty sure my brain was on creative overload and probably came up with 20 different careers i could pursue.

from there we walked around central park up the east side to the central park zoo. the park was as beautiful as the day we got there. here is where the kids mentioned that enchanted was filmed. that's my kids, they'll be pros at scene it in no time.

we thought about riding the horse and carriage, but they actually stunk real bad, with their poop bag in tow.
when we arrived at the zoo, the kids loved that it was still full of snow and animals that they had never layed eyes on.

we then walked over to the children's zoo and boy was that full of photo ops. they basically had a playground at every stop.

this old tree was the entrance into the children's zoo and also the hiding place of the very friendly squirrel that ate out of a young girl's hand and followed her around. that i probably could have handled without a heart attack, but the peacock following us, was no good for my ticker. i don't do birds, ask my hubby. (just kidding), but really i don't like birds especially those flying around or following me.

so after the zoo we took a lovely stroll from there all the way to our hotel on 72nd, which was a long walk. i personally loved it, it was invigorating, but hunter of course was complaining again, so we had to make games along the way and he rode on clint's back a few times. ms. claire the diva she was, had no problem, since i think we would have to surgically remove her from her stroller once we got home. the walk home was the last thing we did that day in the city, besides me braving the crowds to visit the market for christmas dinner and watching christmas movies together. it was a great ending to a busy day.

to be continued ...

claire's new york birtday partay!

2010-01-17T21:06:00.000-08:00

so like i said earlier, claire told everyone she was having her party in new york. well, don't know how i'm going to top that for next year? but we were able to exchange those christmas spectacular tickets afterall and best of all we got to see it on none other than claire's birthday, which of course only added to the queen's request for her party. our tickets were originally pretty high up, but i was told that any seat in the hall would be perfect. that all the seats had a great view. well, i would never have imagined that our seats when we exchanged them were center stage, fourth row. i was worried b/c any seat i've ever had on the floor was terrible b/c if you are not in the first two rows you are straining your neck to see the show. but the stage here was elevated and the floor sloped down, so even the kids had no problem seeing the show.
radio city music hall was beautiful, inside & out. the show was all around us. there were singers everywhere, organ players, an orchestra, and a wonderful audience that was captivated by the show, so no disturbances.

claire loved the ballerinas, dancing dolls and teddy bears that were part of the skit of 2 boys finding the perfect gift for their sister (now how is that for a coincidence 2 boys, 1 sister, gift), but of course claire was really tickled pink when she saw santa.

hunter loved the 3D show in the beginning, we put on our 3D glasses and watched santa land at radio city. his eyes lit up when hundreds of santas came out dancing at one time. i really wish santa would teach me that trick then maybe i could have the mounds of laundry & dishes done while i scrapbook and watch desperate housewives.

seth was just amazed by the rockettes timing and loved the soldiers falling. they made it look like slow motion falling one into another, it was amazing to watch how they did it.

we (adults) enjoyed it as well, i just kept thinking what discipline it must take to put on a show like that. it was full of entertainment - music from an orchestra, organs, singers, dancers, storyline and i loved the manger and the birth of jesus re-enactment at the end - it was absolutely beautiful.

after the show we headed out to times square once again to find what else but chocolate. first stop M&M WORLD! in times square. like really this place was 3 stories, you could probably total up all the m&m's that my family has eaten in their lifetime multiply that by a gazillion and there was still more in that store. there were walls of m&m's that all the kids had to do was grab a bag and start dumping whatever color fancied them.

this is about the closest we got to the statue of liberty b/c of the cold weather on the water. at least if she crumbled to the ground, it won't melt in our hands and it would definitely taste yummy. i know corny - b/c like it's not really made of chocolate, really it's not.

for the entire trip, claire was an issue when it came to picture taking. i know she will definitely not be a model, b/c she doesn't take pictures on demand, which poses a problem later in the week again.

this was just too cute!

of course across the street was more chocolate that we just had to investigate. and with a sign that included reese's, clint was definitely in like flynn!

the store was a lot smaller than i imagined, so don't be fooled by the signage outside. but it was full from top to bottom with chocolate. we decided a variety of chocolate would suit us, so we got our bucket and spun the chocolate wheel. we were real chocolate factory workers as we watched the chocolate pour out the spout into our bucket. all that hard work was rewarded in chocolate, now how's that for a "rewarding" job.

now if you know my kids choco milk is their favorite; something we even made up a song & dance to in order to get this liquid bliss. well when claire saw this giant bottle of chocolate syrup with an o so familiar label she yelped with joy and then almost cried in agony when she found out it was just a money bank.

after our trip, we decided to just go home and get some dinner in. i walked down a few blocks to big nick's burger & pizza joint and we had some of the best italian food. this place was so rinky dink, it's style was eceletic and so many languages were being spoken there i thought i was back in the newark airport again. the food was very reasonably priced as well with the price being under $40 for all 5 of us.

now, we couldn't have claire's birthday without a cake and how convienent, there was the crumb's bakery one block down on amsterdam. so i snuck out and walked in to this deliciously quaint bakery and was greeted by the most interesting bakers. they were funny, sweet, and i could tell they loved their job. i of course wasn't going to get any specialty cake, b/c i'm sure i needed to order that in advance, (shame on me if i didn't know that being a baker's daughter) so i settled for a cake on display and boy i'm glad i did.

the lack of a fancy schmancy cake was made up by the melt in your mouth 5 layers of chocolate cake and buttercream icing for only $25.

and i tell ya, their cupcakes were huge, enourmous and wow the variety was absolutely ridiculous. if they didn't have what you were looking for then all i have to say to you is, "you are too dang picky".

claire was truly satisfied with her cake and loved every bite! and that ends her "new york birtday partay"

to be continued ... (can i just say as i typed those little dots i wonder why do we type those dots when we want to pause or continue something and why three and then all of sudden a thought came into my head that i must share, you know how when something is revealed and we hear the music dun, dun, dunnnnn, well like i said it's a thought)

where we left off

2010-01-11T12:49:00.000-08:00

so we left off on monday evening ... well of course after this crazy day we slept in and i think the kids were still a bit jetlagged from the crazy trip. i woke early to just sit on the windowsill (which btw was like 10' long and 3' deep) to write. i was inspired by the landscape, the sun, the busy bustle, & the snow.

we didn't get out til lunch so we ate in our room a late breakfast. took the subway downtown again to this time none other than TIMES SQUARE - wow!!!

the kids loved it, b/c the billboards were so gigantic (note to self: build vocabulary to include other words than gigantic). very flashy and tall buildings really had their heads spinning. it was a bit slushy in the streets due to the snow melting near the buildings, but wasn't hard to get around. the crowds of course were crazy with tourists, some frustrated, but hey HELLO it's christmas & new york people - deal with it. even my two traffic light town, gets a little more crowded around this time of the year.

so, of course our first stop had to be to TOYS R US! this thing is, no i won't say gigantic, massive (i'm working on it - i need a thesaurus), i'm talking three floors baby! there is a ferris wheel in it along with a big barbie house and 200 ft. jurassic park dinosaur (well at least that's what hunter said).

this guy was pretty scary, claire wanted nothing to do with him! she was "scary to him".

Lego people everywhere!

Really cool stuff, everywhere, up, down, and all around!

i was able to do some "santa" shopping while clint took the kids on the ferris wheel (they are on the scooby doo one)

and boy was it difficult narrowing it down to items that would fit in the plane and being able to hide them from them as i carried giant bags of toys convincing them it was for our godchildren. the lines were crazy, but i passed the time talking to a lady who worked in the city and was from jersey. it was probably the first real person i small talked with since getting there. she actually thought i was from the area or the bronx, b/c of how i said certain words. the tourists were so grouchy that i'm glad i was able to meet up with a friendly person.

We stayed there so long that it took most of the afternoon and we were getting quite hungry. earlier in the year, i did a "little" research on nyc and found this jewel near times square, so we stepped on in to a live "off broadway" show in a diner, Ellen's Stardust Diner.

forgot to take a pic of the outside of it, so i borrowed these from another site. it was a subway train you entered into and the diner was just adorable.

it was fab!!! the waiters and waitresses sang all around the diner, it was quite entertaining, delicious food, but a bit expensive. but we enjoyed our time nonetheless. the singers were so good, i told clint that maybe we could move to the city, i could write on my windowsill and he could sing here. perfect, right?
we had a great time here, listening to christmas songs, old songs, and new.

we loved this song, sorry about the video, this is exactly why i don't normally film.

and i know crazy as it may be that's it for tuesday, but wednesday was quite interesting - stay tuned.

so, most of you know ...

2010-01-04T18:12:00.000-08:00

that we took a trip to NYC for Christmas and since november it's been a whirlwind planning for the trip and going. it was quite an adventure, so to avoid repeating myself to everyone here's the story of

The Gautreaux's take New York
by storm (literally)!

friday morning seemed like any other typical morning, we ate breakfast, went off to school, i volunteered at seth's school reading for a winter activity, came home finished cleaning the house and packing for the trip, flipped on the news and voila biggest blizzard to hit the northeast in years headed to new york. now really what are the chances. we never go on trips like this, was i supposed to take this as a sign. so i called continental, sure enough flight cancelled from new orleans, la to newark, nj. continental rescheduled us to a different flight that worked out arriving at pretty much the same time saturday, but on a bigger plane going to houston, tx then on to newark, nj. no problem right. we went to bed with visions of new york and rockettes dancing in our heads. got up real early, headed to the airport, checked in, bags - no charge - awesome! got to the gate to find out our houston flight was still okay, but they closed all flights to the northeast. what did that mean we would be stuck in houston. now i have nothing against houston, but i've seen it enough times and don't really want to spend my holiday there. so matt @ the gate tried really hard to reroute us. he did a great job, he was of course a little taken by our sweetie, Claire, who kept insisting that she was having "a new york birtday partay" and we were scheduled to see the christmas spectacular @ 9AM on sunday.

the only flight he could get us on was from houston to dallas and then dallas to newark the next day arriving at 11PM. we took it and later found out thank God we did, b/c some who didn't get on that flight were stranded for days. so we got on the plane to houston with the kids being very excited about their first plane ride. each picked a flight to be on by the window.

Hunter's eyes lit up at take off and Claire was in awe about how high we going up.

So we landed in Houston that afternoon, stayed overnight at the hilton with nice little overnight packs from continental and then woke up to get back to the airport again, off to dallas, then on to newark.

not so bad right ... well didn't expect that radio city would tell us we couldn't exchange our tickets or get a refund, but our hotel was more than gracious to assist us anyway they could.

so that night we arrived in newark, nj in 2-3 feet of snow. the kids while waiting on the shuttle went out and play in the snow. well the shuttle never showed and we had to get a refund and take the bus, not realizing they would just drop us off at the bus terminal and we would have to get a taxi to the hotel @ 1AM. needless to say when we arrived all i was thinking of was getting rid of all our luggage, it was a pain in the neck to lug that around (10 bags, jackets, 1 stroller, 1 booster seat, and 5 bodies). the taxi driver and bus driver before almost wrecked. so, it was a nice surprise to arrive and get a discount of $45 off our bill a night. this hotel rocked, hotel beacon is great, very friendly, helpful staff, wonderful location in upper west manhattan. our room was great, the bed divine, though we were really tired that night, so it might have been some delerium setting in.

there was the beacon theater next door, deli's all around, starbucks on the corner, 24 hour pharmacy around the corner, central park 3 blocks down, and so much more.

we had a kitchen as well in the room and it worked out great with the market across the street.

though, i need to mention this market is like no market or store we are used to. you know how you always get one of those recipes that you can't find the ingredients for, well i'm telling you this market had all of that. The Fairway Market took some getting used to and though i couldn't walk out with more than a few items b/c of walking (as i was informed by one man who looked at my basket 1/4 full and said "wow you have a lot there, not walking I suppose.", i preceded to put things back when i realized.) we did great and saved a lot. prices were not as bad as i thought, maybe $1-$2 more than we pay. i thought everything was quite reasonable for nyc, but i seriously had to improvise when no one could tell me where the velveeta cheese was. (their cheese section pictured above)

our first day of course had to be spent in the snow, so we walked to central park. the kids were amazed by the buildings and how some people lived "underground". the buildings were beautiful and i could have just stared at them for hours.

we got to central park and of course had to start throwing snowballs and making snow angels and claire really got into it, but could only manage to throw snow.

I don't think you can go wrong with any shot you take in central park or

anything involving snow for that matter.

caught these along our walk, so then as we exited the park, we looked right and saw the american museum of natural history, so we walked on in to soak up some of the warmth (it was 17 degrees our first day, but still doesn't compare to our cold here).

we probably should have spent a whole day and night here, but the kids were worn out as you can see from the pics. this was the coolest display, the whale was gigantic. it was really difficult getting a good picture b/c the lighting was so different in each room and i'm definitely no pro. the museum had 4 floors to it, but the boys favorite part of course was the dinosaurs.

of course last but not least we hunted this one down and he was quite popular, b/c everyone was taking pictures in front of him.

DUM, DUM WANT SOME GUM, GUM

after we breaked from here and learned to never eat inside of a museum again (too expensive and stale).

we walked back to the hotel. seth and i ventured out for awhile and found a few stores and this along the way. how beautiful, trees on the street?

after we came back we made our first trek of many to the famous 72nd sub station and rode the subway. though it was a bit scary b/c of the busy bustle and fast trains, it was thrilling to the kids and when we got on the street and showed them the grating and told them that the trains were right underneath us, that just heightened the experience. it was actually pretty easy getting around and we didn't once feel unsafe.

took the subway downtown to the rockefeller center and the sights were absolutely gorgeous. we didn't get to ice skate, b/c the lines were crazy long by the time we got down from the top of the rock and it was getting pretty cold.

now i have to say the best thing about the top of the rock was the line, strange as that may be, the lines in new york usually go by quick and they entertain you along the way. it began with the swarovski crystal chandelier, up the stairs and into the line around the center exploring all the history.

i can't imagine being this high and not being scared. they are just chillin like 800 feet in the air. while we walked around we took a picture on one of these and below us was a computer simulation of people working on the skyscraper the kids loved that.

we then got into the elevator to go 70 floors up to the top of the rock and boy was that more interesting than we anticipated.

it was definitely cold way up there and when we went to the top, top i had to hold onto my hat. i'm not big on heights but this was actually done where i felt safe. the glass surrounded the entire perimeter. we then explored more inside and hunter loved this part.

try as i might i couldn't get a photo of this, so i stole one, but when you walked in, it picked up where you were and labeled you with a color. the entire room responded to sound & movement with lights and sound. definitely, one of the coolest things the boys saw.

hunter also said he loved the crystals.

the entire center would probably take days to tour, it's a like 50 of our malls in one.

we then headed home to the beacon to rest once again.

so that ends day one

to be continued ...

Our 5th Anniversary ...

2009-11-23T19:01:00.000-08:00

i know what you are thinking only 5 years, what young little rookies, still newlyweds. still in marital bliss. if only i could say that without laughing. because reflecting back in our little time together, we were not completely happy all the time and we are okay with that, we did not always get along and we are also okay with that, in fact sometimes we irritated the shit out of each other so much that we wouldn't talk or look at each other for a few hours (well mostly i didn't) but we are still okay with that. because when we took our vows we both agreed that through thick and thin and the good and the bad, and might i mention sometimes the ugly we would get through it. we accepted each other's faults and realized early on neither one of us would be perfect, but that no matter what we would love each other. i still love him even though he has absolutely no idea how to behave in a fancy restaurant and he still loves me even though i refuse to clean the fish he brings home. what we have noted in our short time together is that what we have by the book should not work, but somehow we make it work. and that's because we work at it everyday, getting to know each other and inspiring one another to push forward. so yes my marriage might so far have been a short one but our love is endless. even if he thinks his pink slip from work after getting laid off is a suitable 5th anniversary paper gift for me.

Vote for KA

2009-10-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

and no it is not for the fraternity, sorry my college days are long over, tho sometimes i think maybe i'd like to relive them and then i remember the cop, no shoes, a bet, and a jungle party ... then i skip on back to reality and say to myself you couldn't relive it even if you tried, mainly b/c i don't shave my legs as often and i get drunk off of the neck of a beer.

so on to what this post is really about .. kaylaaimee (aka KA). i originally met kayla online through SISTV (scrap in style TV), she worked there and was a fashionista (like on the design team). i then got to meet her irl at a scrapbooking event last year held by SISTV. in meeting her, i found a kindred spirit. tho i'm a bit older and older looking and we don't often keep in touch, i can definitely relate to her in a lot of ways, such as being very petite, which will lead to the rest of the post, but i'll get to that later. she is trying to land her dream job and i would really like it if some of you could help. there is no signing up for anything just click here and vote, and please be sure to read below her picture what she wrote and then you will definitely see why she deserves this.

so to end my post, i have to release this to the world, well at least to the 11 followers i have ... i can give blood, (and i don't mean to like the twilight cast, but i have to say i wouldn't mind edward, uh nevermind) like what i'm saying is for the first time in my life i weigh enough to give blood (besides being preggo), but i'm kind of afraid to do so in fear that once i do that they will have to stop midway to tell me i can't b/c i lost 5 lbs. in the process. i know go ahead say it i make you sick, that's okay, b/c most of you don't know i have struggled all my life to try to gain weight and tho that might sound stupid to some of you i'll let you in on why it's not:

i'm finally able to shop in the big girl's section and i don't mean plus size people, i mean that i can finally shop in petites and juniors and not like some store like babygap or gapkids.
i finally look like a mom and don't get dagger looks from the women on the street or comments like, "kids having kids"

but it is a real big milestone in my life and i just thought i'd share and tell you, "i don't think ya ready for this jelly!"

Dino-mite

2009-10-21T11:08:00.000-07:00

FOR A FRIEND ...

What???!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-10-20T21:58:00.000-07:00

"Finally! It's happened to me, right in front of my face!" HEEHEE! and no it's not a job for the hubs!

Anyway, what i don't get:

and yes there is plenty, but i'll try to keep it to a minimum here.

Ghetto fab booming radio systems in rust bucket cars and trucks.
Men pimping a hat backwards in a mini-van.
The newspaper, no really i don't.
Why are the marshmallows not down the same aisle as like the graham crackers, hershey bars, or hot cocoa. (well actually my husband told me the reason and i don't like it, to make me spend more money along the way, it's a merchandising strategy, well it sucks).
Why do people give out way too much information, o wait that's me, o well.
Why can't the bagger at the grocery store, just bag the dang groceries flippin' right, before i lose my everlivin' mind, i even line the crap up together and they are still doing it wrong, don't you have to have like at least a high school diploma for stuff like that. crap i think i learned that in kindergarten, blocks with blocks, dolls with dolls, just like cans with cans, boxes with boxes - ugh!
Why don't all toys you buy in a store just come with the batteries. why do i have to try to remember to buy the dang batteries for a toy that is obviously not going to wear it's batteries out due to the fact it's wrapped up tighter than homeland security.
Last one, i promise ... why do people who are married, not listen to their vows, doesn't it say like through thick or thin, good times and bad, like hello that might mean ya gotta work at it people, you don't just marry somebody and the end! in order to live happily ever after, it might require you to get up off your lazy butt and work for the happy ending ... labor of love.

so enough of my ranting, just had to spew out some word vomiting, i feel better now.

O Starbucks ...

2009-10-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

how i love thee, let me count the ways ...

the music spilling out of the speakers pleasantly into my ears ("love and happiness, ain't nothing wrong")
the sounds of the diverse coffees being blended by the baristas.
intellectual conversations and debates on the economy
women outside plucking their eyebrows with no shame in their game
friendly employees checking on me
beautifully displayed artwork demanding coffee
INTERNET FOR FREE
women in spandex inspiring me to maybe exercise, (i said maybe)
smashing smiles from all around, patiently waiting for their fix
employees walking in with cokes
no children running around, high on caffeine
no questions of "when are we going to leave?"
no one talking to me at ALL!
my java chip frappachino gliding down the wasteland of my body to inspire me to get up off my ass

yes, Starbucks, i thank you for the wonderful morning, now i begin my day feeling rejuvenated and full of hope that the world isn't that bad, now off to Wal-mart.

o well there goes my hope and maybe even my rejuvenation.

so excited ...

2009-10-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

getting my crafts together, craft room organized, and starting a new adventure in my life ...
http://www.onecreativemamahere.blogspot.com/.

Check Me Out!

2009-09-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

i know i really sound like a dork, but i had to improvise, here's the video. for those who don't know i was a featured artist at the Art After Dark in downtown Houma. i don't think i ever thought of myself as an artist, until my good friend Re (also an artist) convinced me to just do it. i did and i'm so glad i listened to her. i kind of think this just found me in way. i was told that i would be considered a textile & mixed media artist (whatever that is supposed to mean). but anyhow i'm growing quite fond of that label, it has mix in it and i love to mix things up, even if it's a few minds or maybe some tracks like i've always wanted to do that - o well, maybe next time. i believe the Lord has blessed me in so many ways by having so many awesome people cross my path. many of you believed in me, before i believed in myself. i owe you big time! thanks for putting up with my indecisiveness, low confidence, & downright pitiful complaints. so above is the video, here's my article link and i'm also supposed to be featured in some other articles. below are some pictures i snapped at the event and some other stuff as well ...

Country Bumpkin Headbands & Bracelets ... Dirty Record Line ...

Part of my display ... Country Bumpkin Bunny ... DJ, Teenage Sock Doll

Canvas Blank Journals ... Just Words ...

i'm selling all these items online and at local stores. i'm also doing personalized dolls, record clocks, and canvas art. things have been very busy as i'm getting plenty of orders.

Just Puttin' It Out There

2009-09-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

well, what do i have to say about the uneducated talentless artist who with one swift move took down the sweet country gal ... well ... well ... do you really want to know? yeah, well why not. i don't know if it's b/c people don't learn like the golden frickin' rule or something in kindergarten, but it seems to get worse and worse every year. i mean did this guy have such a hard life, like in the ghetto, and just feels like he never got a break that he has to tear into everything he's not happy with. look i didn't have a perfect life, but you don't see me going around rippin' mics out of people's hands and like throwing a little hissy fit, cuz it didn't go the way i wanted to. o the F well, you poor guy that the world doesn't get put on spin cycle for you. who died and made you king, o wait i forgot you think you are the next king of pop. now that would be a song lyric that alanis morrisette could add to her song, "It's a talentless artist, trying to judge talent. Isn't it ironic, don't you think?"

****editor's note: i noticed that i was kind of direct with my words toward him, so if in some alternate world he happens to read this ... i've got one more thing for you ... get a pacifier and suck it!

How do you know your husband is a cajun ...

2009-08-28T07:52:00.000-07:00

well first of all, we are looking at remodeling our home and have been going over each room and the way we want it to look, but was having a hard time trying to figure out what we wanted for our bedroom. i then asked him, my husband of course, "okay, bey' if money wasn't a issue where would you want to take me." he responded, "to the bedroom" i said, "no, i mean anywhere in the world, like somewhere real romantic and then we can mimic that in our room." again his wonderful response would be ...

"to the camp."

enough said.

School Dropout Resolution

2009-08-21T06:41:00.000-07:00

so if you read before this little stinker wants to drop out of school in the first grade and mom going to jail really doesn't matter. i have tried all the bribing, rewarding, and punishing i could think of, put out some timers, ignored him - nothing. even talking to the counselor and principal didn't seem to phase him. so what does any mother in her right mind do (LOL - cuz i'm not) break out some

80's music and dance and sing all morning long while they dress, brush their hair & teeth and even in the van on the way to school. hey it worked for two days so far, i say that's progress. so don't worry when you see me on the road and it looks like i'm having seizures in my van @ 8AM, i'm just getting my kids pumped up for school - sorry teachers!

My heart aches today ...

2009-08-18T13:59:00.000-07:00

for today is the day that i found out that this young girl passed away last week. and why is this sitting on my heart so profoundly --- because i once was her teacher and not just any teacher, but her health teacher. the teacher who taught about drug abuse and passionately told stories of my own friends who abused and suffered. i was the teacher who spoke to them one on one about the consequences and what life could be like without drugs. the teacher who told them that yeah life sucked sometimes, but we all have to struggle it's what makes us who we are. i was the teacher who stuck by my word to be the role model they needed and didn't experiment, i was the adult who faced adversity, poverty, & discrimination with strength and determination, not using & abusing all for the purpose of leading them in the right direction. i gave it my all that year, i put my heart and soul into them that year, i ripped my heart out and layed it on their desks for all of them to see that - yes life can be painful, but that they had two choices in this world - to be happy or to be miserable - and that drugs was not the answer. and though i didn't stick around for the years to come, now i wish i had, i had hoped that my words would have. and why now do i mention this, b/c it makes me reflect on what more could i have done. what more could i have said. truthfully we'll never know, none of us, but boy it makes you hold your loved ones a little closer knowing that somewhere deep down they might be struggling with something only they know. i truly adored this all smiles girl and to her family i pray that they find peace in all of this. and to her classmates i say to you: choose happy no matter what misery is going on around you. choose happy no matter what walls are crumbling. choose happy when nothing else seems to matter anymore. choose.happy. choose.happy. but do it on your own like i know you can. get through it, like i know you can. take the adventure like i know you can and bring others with you b/c the journey is not worth it without company in the end it won't matter if you won or lost, it will only matter if you got through it and helped others get through it as well. i went to HJH with the intention of making a difference in the world, changing it one student at a time, what i never realized was how much teaching them made a difference in me, it changed me, it made me believe in myself like i hadn't before, it made me - feel fulfilled and i miss that and i miss all of you. please if you are reading this all my fellow HJH students - please know that you are special to this world, so live like you are special - take care of yourselves.

may you rest in peace Brittany, the good Lord is by your side.

Lower School Dropout

2009-08-12T21:43:00.000-07:00

lower school dropout

no graduation day for you.

lower school dropout

so we are only what like 4 days in and already Hunter is ready to quit. the first grade, not 9th, not 8th, or 7th, no 1st grade. like seriously quit school, not just not go. so i explained of course like any mother what would happen if he didn't get an education. you know the usual you'll be a bum on the side of the road and never be able to read and someone will then make you sign papers and steal all your money. and you'll never get a job or have clothes or money and then you'll be a desperate dope fiend - okay so i overexaggerated some, but hey i was grasping at whatever i could to get him to go to school - i even went the whole mom will go to jail route - his response, "well how long would you be there?" then proceeds to tell me he'll visit me. great! thanks Hunter, be sure to send some stuffed brownies when you do.

so i'm baaaaack!

2009-08-05T19:54:00.000-07:00

i know that scares you to the core! i mean i'm sure you are walking into wal-mart right now looking around thinking - good grief i hope that i don't run into that lady that yells at her children all the time, they must invest in plenty of tylenol.

cuz yeah, i yell at my kids and i'll even do it in front of you, the wal-mart employee, and the cop in the next check out line. dang it i'll even do it in front of social services, heck i worked for social services, i'll be glad to call some of my peeps while i yell at them. my children are not going to litter, do you hear me? never and if i catch them when they are twenty so help me God - i will do what my 7th grade teacher did to someone that littered and dump two weeks worth of garbage on their front lawn and see how they like it. and no i'm not some like environmentalist, though i once was in Greenpeace (hey, i loved whales). but my children will not ever just throw stuff on the ground and then just walk away. so, i got some stares as i told my daughter that she needed to pick it up and put it in the trash, but i got even more when she didn' t and i raised my voice to explain to her that she "needed to respect the store and not trash it or we would just live in a world like wall-e and i know you don't want to live in a world that stinks like your brothers." well, she cried a tear and i'm sure all felt so sorry for the drama mama, even my son who pointed out people were staring, which i didn't notice b/c like i said, i was on a mission to convince my daughter that her tootsie roll paper as small as it may be would trash the world we love and destroy life as we know it. well okay maybe not like that bad - but you see where she gets the drama from.

Pros & Cons

2009-07-30T21:57:00.000-07:00

well first off this has been some adventure.

Cons (what i won't miss):

the wind - sand and contacts mixed - not good.
no oven - no homemade cookies - me want coooookkies!
no toaster - so much for a vacay, breakfast is not so simple without it.
one TV - i can only watch so much animal planet - i wonder what the dog whisperer could do for my kids.
one bedroom hotel room 250sq' - can you say rats in a cage.
rude people - like no one smiles here and just stands there in the middle of the aisle looks at you trying to pass and then looks away then you try to move their buggy a little and still no reaction, no excuse me, no o sorry let me move that for you. o no that would be too much for their little heads to wrap around instead they are trying to decide if they frickin' need green giant corn or the wal-mart brand, just take a damn corn already and move it along.
slow people - no i don't mean stupid, just ssssssssssssslllllllllllllooooooooooow as molasses. they don't know what fast food is here. i mean some might enjoy the laid back atmosphere, but when i got three screaming starving kids (who haven't been fed, b/c no oven) wondering where their food is in the back of my van and i haven't had my coffee that morning i come through drive thru thinking I can get my meal in under 20 minutes. is it too much to ask.
having to carry my mace with me everywhere i went - yes, just for a moment get your laughs as you picture me (90 lb woman) carrying my mace and aiming it at anyone who doesn't back the chump off!
spanish - no offense to any of you who speak the language or who are spanish, but can i just say i suck at it, like really suck. i've learned a few things, but i failed this 3 times in college and when you feel under pressure to speak the language it doesn't help the learning process. at least not for me. i get all flustered and then can't even speak english. then to top it all off the signs are in spanish, the labels are in spanish, even the billboards are in spanish, radio stations are in spanish, thank god my tv had a translation button. But i have to say, "donde puedo obtener el café?" is about all the spanish i need right now. (where can i get coffee?)

but to say this was not all worth it for my one pro, i think not!

PRO (what i will miss):

my husband

Yeah, that's my kiddos ...

2009-07-28T09:28:00.000-07:00

so i went to schlitterbahn waterpark in south padre island (sorry no pics) this weekend with hubby and kids and realized - dang i did a pretty decent job of raising the kids so far. it only took me 10 years to figure it out, but hey rome wasn't built in a day. my kids politely waited in line, excused themselves around people, patiently waited for the kids to get out the tubes, looked out for little ones and kindly opened doors for people. so yeah i'm giving myself a pat on the back today.

okay, so the nice stuff ends now, you might want to stop reading.

but i got some beef to dish out with the other kids & parents there. ooooo it totally burns me up when there is a kid who will literally push my kid down to get on the slide first, bump into them without saying sorry and then cut in the line or stand on the slide making my kids and others wait their turn longer. boiling - BOILING was i, well if you ain't gonna parent your child then i will and if you don't like it then do something about it either punch me or grow up and be a parent. not saying i'm perfect, but come on - i would rip my child apart if they did those things - well maybe not literally, but you know what i mean. so yeah i did tell those kids excuse me my child was here first, and yes i did say you need to move, and again i did say do not push my kid. then to top it all off, i might be a little on the rough side sometimes, but when it comes to being polite i really try, so like i was dumping water out of the child seat inner tube and happened to lose it in the wind and it hit a woman next to me and i immediately said i was sorry, yet no that was not good enough, she gave me an ugly look, and i again said so sorry and she remarked whatever. the nerve. so i being pissed off by the irresponsible parents and rude children said, "i said i was sorry, that should have been good enough" and walked away.

so i took note this weekend of how lucky i am to have the kids i have even if i would sometimes rather shoot myself in the foot than listen to them whine.

The Scrap World

2009-07-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

Since joining the scrap world, about 4 years ago, opening a scrap store, closing it, and now doing scrap events - I have never been involved in so much drama - I mean really. NOT exaggerating - like some women can be so caddy and really bust up some drama in the scrapbook world. I guess b/c most scrapbook women are emotional women by nature (not saying I'm not one of them), but come on. SAVE THE DRAMA FA YA MAMA!!!!
Like I have never encountered more unhappy people in my life, that it almost makes me want to stop scrapbooking (okay, my husband just looked at me like he shit on himself), but seriously if it wasn't for the awesome friends I have I wouldn't get involved and I wouldn't do what I do. Not only that, besides those that are CRAZY, there are many beautiful women scrapbooking that I have met along the way that started scrapbooking for the same reasons I did and not for notoriety or popularity.
Ugh! I say - Ugh!

So, like here's the deal ...

2009-07-26T00:28:00.000-07:00

I've had probably 7 blogs over time and I just need to stop already. My first blog, I lost the password and email too, so I can't access it (still working on that), my second blog I changed b/c of business - but then was mixing too much business and pleasure and then I just got the third one going and it's kinda just floppin'. Then I have the 30 other million blogs I have for Girls Gone Crafty and I keep obsessing about designing new ones. ENOUGH!!! Wow, I really need to get out more often and off this computer. My first blog (The Mother Load) was my favorite. It's still there, looking like a train wreck. I actually went back and read through all of my posts ... and I think that's why I'm starting over with this one and I'm going to keep it old school again (which I'm really good at, hence the wonderful flip phone I still have) and really simplify everything, get down to the basics, and savor the moments and just take note. So, I hope those out in blogland that I met so long ago and those who have followed along these years, will stop and take note with me. (no grades involved)

So much has been going on ...

2009-06-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that my event is around the corner and I'm just getting back from TN and I have to much to do to be here. So once I get things done, I'll be sure to post some pictures and tell you some great stories. I'm sure all of you are like anxiously awaiting by the computer to read what I write next.

Whew!

2009-06-14T18:48:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile and I'm so busy getting Girls Gone Crafty ready. We have updates on classes if you'd like to view them.

But on to what's going on in my life. My life has always been surrounded by writing. I love to read, always have, love to write since I was a little girl. I wrote poetry @ 12 and continued well into my twenties. I always said I would write a book, but never did. Two years ago I finally got an idea for a realistic fiction book, but kept putting it aside. I didn't get the mojo behind it that I needed until recently. I basically was just sitting with a friend one day talking about it and then something sparked in what she said and then I felt it. My mojo, WHOO-HOO! I wrote a good bit of it, but got stuck and gave up and now I've got it. And when they say it just writes itself, it really does. So after I get the little spark of inspo from my BF, I get an email from a bookstore featuring a seminar on self-publishing. Okay, so is that a sign or what. I went and the lady loved my idea and she is going to now copy edit it for me. If I can finish it in a month or so, she can help me to get it on shelves in 4 months. WHAAAAAT! I'm like wo' woddie!!!! LOL
So, when you see that strange crazy LA name Gautreaux on a book called Take Note, pick it up and buy it please!!!!!! I'll keep everyone posted with a summary and what's the progress.

2009-06-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

Be Free

Chim-Chimney, Chim-Chimney Chim, Chim, Chiroo. No we won't be making a mantle for your fireplace or teach ways to clean out your chimney, but what the lovely Anna Bess Simmons will be teaching you is how to alter a piece of roofing tin. Crimped & punched by her wonderful husband just for us, Anna Bess will show you a beautiful way to alter this item to become a wall hanging using several techniques.

Class Materials

BYOB Bring your own basics

Red Line Tape

Embroidery Needle

Stapler

Timber Brown Staz On

Class Time

Saturday, Class A - 10AM-12PM

Cost of Workshop

$28.00

(you do not need to attend Girls Gone Crafty Crop to take any of the classes being offered on Saturday)

Lookie, Lookie ...

2009-06-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the exciting offers we are making:

Win a chance for a free spot to Girls Gone Crafty just by signing up as a member for free on our chat forum.

If you refer 10 friends and those 10 friends sign up for Girls Gone Crafty, you will have earned a spot to Girls Gone Crafty.

If you refer 5 friends and those 5 friends sign up for Girls Gone Crafty, you will have earned some Crafty Cash to spend in the stores at the event.

So get to it, you have earned some time for yourself. Sign up @ Girls Gone Crafty
email me if you have any questions @ girlsgonecrafty@gmail.com

Pump the Pump the Party!

2009-05-26T10:16:00.000-07:00

I'm super pumped - I'm going to Sisiversary at the end of this month, which if you are not going you need to. It was a blast last year and I plan to go every year until they stop having them or kick me out and get sick of me.

I'm also pumped about our own event, Girls Gone Crafty in July. We have so much planned and it looks like it's really filling up fast. I'll be advertising on a billboard soon, so don't miss out if you haven't signed up already. We are also pleased to announce that we will have the Glitz Girls from Glitz Designs coming to our event to teach classes on Saturday. OMG - isn't that awesome! I really didn't imagine this event growing like it has in the past year. Little ol' me with my little ol' idea and voila this event is going to ROCK!!!!!

More details on all classes coming soon when I get final confirmations from teachers.

But on to other news: I don't know what direction my life is going in right now. We are kind of at the fork in a road waiting for a couple of street signs to tell us where we are going and there is no "Telma" in my car (GPS name), and I believe all the signs are still down from Katrina! LOL So, while waiting I'm just chillin' with the kids until I get some gas siphoned up my butt to get me into motion.

Yet Again!!!

2009-05-08T16:13:00.000-07:00

Girls Gone Crafty is having another online crop here. It starts @ 7PM tonight and ends @ midnight on Sunday.
Our Grand Prize is a Xyron for the person with the most posts. Other prizes will also be given for random things.
So, don't miss out on the fun and stop on in!!!
Have a great weekend!

Online Crop Tonight @ 6PM

2009-05-05T07:04:00.000-07:00

Come and join us in our forum (here) for an online crop tonight @ 6PM.
Challenges will be issued, prizes will be given, and chatting will be done.

HMMM!

2009-05-03T19:44:00.000-07:00

Girls Gone Crafty will host an online crop in our forum. Just join us @ 6PM on Tuesday, May 5th. Challenges will be issued and games will be played. Jump in @ anytime. It's going to be a lot of fun.

I can't believe the school year is almost up. I'm anticipating the summer, but at the same time it will be a busy one. We have a lot planned and hopefully summer school isn't one of them.

I've been quite intrigued with how our society has shifted to a blameless one. We focus all our energy on finding ways out of being responsible for it, but it could be a little easier if we just faced things head on and took responsibility. I've mainly encountered this in our school system. I've probably been in the system for 10 years off and on and see it everywhere. Especially with the blame always falling to the teacher. I will not say every situation that this would be true, but what are we telling our children when we don't give them ownership over their lives to some degree. What are we telling our children when there are no consequences or we dismiss their consequences. What are we telling them when we accept them failing in a class and look to the teacher for the reason "they" are failing. Are we telling them that what they did was okay or that it is someone else's fault, and are we telling them that they don't need to take responsiblity for their own work and that someone else is to blame when they fall short. I truly think it's something to ponder over.

Announcement:

Class to be held on Saturday, May 16th @ 1PM @ Scrapalicious

We Are Family

(taught by me)

Create a one-of-a-kind canvas art to be featured in your home displaying the family you have been blessed with. Learn how to use mixed media to create a work of art to hang on your wall or as a gift to someone else.

Cost $25

I know ...

2009-04-25T08:39:00.000-07:00

I post a lot of videos but this one is hilarious. This man is going to show you how to scrapbook using tools out of your garage. Love It!!!!

Let Me Tell You

2009-04-21T15:23:00.000-07:00

As anyone who knows me, they know I'm always doing something. Always changing things in my life. I love change, I love the feeling of something new, I love the great attitude I have about changes and how I can bounce from one thing to another in the blink of an eye. The downfall is I also look like I quit a lot of things, but really what I'm doing is moving on and I do that quickly and quite often. I can't say whether it's good or not, which I usually can, b/c I've always felt everything is black & white and not grey, wrong or right, not in between. So, it's kind of weird that I'm not sure what to say about my life and its' path. Today, I was asked by a classmate of my son how many jobs I've had and do you know that when I started listing I actually stopped at 30 and gave up. I'm 33 years old, whoa there is definitely something wrong with that. I really think I need to decide and quick what I want to do permanently. I've got a lot to think about.

Maybe I'll decide what I want to be when I grow up before I'm 40. LOL

At least my sons know what they want to do:

And my daughter knows what she wants to do:

Hoedown!!!!

2009-04-13T18:22:00.000-07:00

After seeing the Hannah Montana movie today with my daughter and lots of girls. I have to learn this dance, she and I have been practicing it, I know pitiful.

But who can resist, the beat & dance is so catchy!!!

So Like ...

2009-04-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

I've been having one messed up week. My temper has totally gotten the best of me. I've really been on edge. I think the full moon out has somehow disturbed my childrens' bodies and made them crazy. Okay, just bare with me I need some kind of reason for their irrational behavior, so I don't go to bed thinking I must be the worst parent in the world b/c I can't manage my own children. I so need to frickin' get some craft therapy soon or I might just throw red paint all over myself and run out into the streets looking like Carrie. Well, okay maybe I won't go that far but it was a nice visual release for me.

So, I'm planning one of the biggest scrapbooking events in this area for the summer (Girls Gone Crafty) and let me tell you it has not been an easy task. There are all kinds of things on the back end of this event that you don't even realize that an event coordinator has to go through to get it together. I do have to say though that I'm super excited about it and that soon we'll be releasing lots of visuals and info for you to drool over.

On to other things ... we have a forum set up for you girls attending (and hey even those not attending), just go to Girls Gone Crafty and click on Yo, Let's Talk. Get yourself in there and start chit chatting about anything. This will be a great way we can all catch up, keep up, and meet up.

And this basically describes how I'm feeling right now! LOL

If you are having a bad day then watch this ...

2009-04-02T06:56:00.000-07:00

2009-04-01T08:31:00.000-07:00

How funny is this, just thought everyone could use a laugh and this is no joke!!!!
What do you think of those pelvic thrusts? And here I thought Randy Jackson's show had some talent.

New Updates

2009-03-31T19:23:00.000-07:00

New updates are at Girls Gone Crafty Blog. Wow, ladies can I just say we have gotten an overwhelming response for this, so don't wait too long on purchasing tickets, we have limited space this year and I don't won't you to miss it.

Just getting back from Scrapfest in Mandeville and I can't believe I didn't even take pictures. That's how busy we were. But if you look at Vera's Blog you'll see some of the fun.

Be on the lookout for deets on National Scrapbook Day, May 2nd @ Scrapalicious!

Hubby and I had a date awhile back, so I'm really late with this picture.

I love having nights with him. He is so much fun and we can really cut loose together. I have to say I'm very blessed to have him in my life even if he doesn't know how to put his dirty clothes in the hamper.

New Updates

2009-03-23T11:23:00.000-07:00

We have some updates at our event blog be sure to check them out.

Here are some layouts that I made recently using stuff from Scrapalicious:

So, life has been quite different for me. My pride took quite a punch with being sick with pneumonia so I'm really learning that being independent is not completely neccessary. We all need family & friends and if they are true they'll pitch in even when you don't call. Usually it takes me to get hit by a mack truck (LOL) to realize I need help or assistance, but this time all it took was getting sick. I guess God feels the need to remind me of that every few years. I'm just very lucky to be surrounded by the supportive family & friends I do have. Very blessed. I'm looking at the world in another light yet again. The world is definitely worth taking a second glance at once in awhile.

Girls Gone Crafty

2009-03-22T07:18:00.000-07:00

So the time is finally here. We are holding our Scrapbooking & Craft Event. This time it will be in Houma at the New Holiday Inn on Martin Luther King Blvd. These exciting two days full of crafting, scrapping, designers, games, challenges, prizes, and much more will be held on Friday & Saturday, July 10th-11th from 9AM-12AM. We will also have one full day, Saturday, of great workshops taught by some really talented scrapbook designers. Click the link to the right and it will lead you to loads of info. If you have any questions at all after visiting our site please contact me @ girlsgonecrafty@gmail.com. We only have a limited number of spots available so don't wait too long to register. It's sure to be an inspiring event. Hope you can join us.

YAY!!!

2009-03-12T21:17:00.000-07:00

Many have asked what the cost of the kits are offered at Scrapalicious. Well, they are only $29.99, but if you sign up for 3 months then they are only $26.99. I know what a good deal, huh?

So, we've decided that Girls Gone Crafty will be held in July. We will post all our little secrets soon, but I can tell you that it will be bigger and better than last year. We will have more vendors, more goodies, more prizes, and more fun. We will also be added some special guests from the upcoming Scrapalicious Design Team and as well as some designers from some well known scrapbook manufacturers. Each of these will be teaching workshops throughout the two day event as well as our "famous" scrapbooker who will teach all of you during the crop. We will also add a buffet style meal each day to the cost of the event. As it looks now we will only be able to seat 200 and it will probably be held in Houma. I really think seats will go quickly, so don't hesitate to buy. We also listened to a lot of suggestions from last year and made plenty of improvements, which means I won't be rapping for ya'll. LOL I'll post more later along with a video.

All I can say is I'm super excited, like pee in my pants excited about this year, b/c I have a lot of women who are helping me craft this sucker up and you are going to love it.

Just Keep Creating! Creating! Creating!

2009-03-10T18:59:00.000-07:00

What a week! Whew, my pneumonia really kicked my butt!! I had to let go a lot of pride and get help from others, so I guess that was God's way of telling me I needed to take a step back and really take a look at what I was doing in my life. So, in this self-discovery week of course I scrapbooked here and there, hope you enjoy.

My first layout here is a Halloween one that I actually inked the edges of the pictures and then added a touch of clear crackle.

Scrapalicious is now offering monthly kits and here is what the luscious kit looks like and this is what I did with it as a project. I'll be posting more pics and a video of more ideas for the kit soon.

I also played around with some new product from Scrapalicious (Prima, Pink Paislee, Cosmo Cricket, Tim Holtz, & Hambly).

This is a couple of projects I've worked on this year for my home one is a canvas and the other is an old window frame.

New Day

2009-03-01T21:26:00.000-08:00

So, I'm finally settling in here at this blog and hopefully I can keep up and maybe we can have a little fun here as well. So, first I want to mention that you will see many changes here, as always. Does that surprise any of you? Nah, didn't think so. I will soon be posting a lot of upcoming kits you can purchase and some really fun videos, pictures, and ideas. This blog just seemed logical due to cost of the upkeep of the other website. One feature might I add that you will enjoy here is the forum in the comments section. It works just like a regular forum except under each post. This way we can still chat. Also, you'll notice to the right is my playlist player, that so many people had enjoyed. But instead of actually setting it to play when you open the blog, you have to press play to enjoy. No more getting caught peeking at work. BTW, I take requests. LOL

I'll also soon have an update on Girls Gone Crafty and the kits within the week, so keep checking back. I'm working really hard on projects, websites, & kits and teaching middle school on the side. Whew! Just writing all that makes my head spin.

I leave you with this:

My Diva Daughter!

Off to Greener Pastures

2008-10-27T18:36:00.000-07:00

I'd like to say that might be what I'm doing, yet I really don't know what I'm doing. I love to craft, I love to scrapbook, I love making things with my hands for others and myself. I love knowing years from now, someone might look at what I've made and it will bring them joy. B/C that's what life's about bringing joy into other's lives. At least that's what I want my life to be about. I want it said in the end that I did bring JOY into the hearts of others with my words, my actions, and that I was an inspiration to another to bring joy to others as well. It's kind of scary knowing that maybe if there was no tommorow that I didn't accomplish this, that I didn't get to reach my soul's aspirations before my last breath. I think that would really hurt a lot more than most realize. I guess that's why I'm always going after big dreams and that I can't dream in a box that my adventures are always in wide open spaces that contain no boundaries. My heart doesn't know how to contain itself. When I think of the things that I've ventured into sometimes it becomes overwhelming and a feeling of unsuccessfullness fills me, yet then I look forward and say to myself that was just a stepping stone. The stepping stone to my next adventure, the next turn, the next soul's aspiration. I believe there is more to life than the life we live everyday, that if we challenge ourselves to reach every once in awhile it's then that we realize our potential and then just keep reaching. Sometimes I might reach too far and fall and when I fall trust me I fall hard, probably just as hard as I climb. But I don't take the falls and just lay there, saying "I've fallen and I can't get up." trying to reach for the panic button, instead I get up (well of course after crying for a few hours) and say this is just my next step.

Life is literally what you make of it. What you make of it. There has always been two choices I've given myself in this life and that's I can either choose to be happy or choose to be miserable. I of course choose to be happy, I mean who wouldn't, yet many make the choice of unhappy.

Recovering

2008-09-07T16:58:00.000-07:00

In the process of recovering from Gustav, so our site will be up and running a little later than anticipated, but if you are looking for a place to chat with other scrappers come on by our Creative Forum and let the creativity flow or just vent a little to others (b/c you know I will).
We are awaiting to see if we are going to be hit again by the next storm before starting on anything. So our next adventure will probably be postponed til October and will end up being a halloween treat. Stay safe everyone and until next time I bid you well ...

2008-08-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

TWILIGHT SALE

Wednesday, August 2oth

9AM - 9PM

Lots of new stuff!

Our last day in the store with products will be Friday, August 22nd.
Thank you to everyone who has been supportive and I hope you join us on our new adventure @ www.onecreativemama.com, which will be up and running in September. Sign up for a free account now.

New email address onecreativemama@gmail.com

Off & On

2008-08-13T06:20:00.000-07:00

You will see us at the store, if you are passing through be sure to stop, we still have plenty of items to sell. Our last day in the store with products will be August 22nd. Please pass the word! We will still be emailing everyone and also be starting something new. If you'd like to kind of get a head start on the site you can go to www.onecreativemama.com. We are still getting it together, but feel free to peak in.

YUCK!!!

I absolutely hate talking to operators on the phone or the machines when you call a company and you have to press like 50 million numbers to get to the dept. you need to talk to and then when you do get to them, they are like reading from a script. I know legally they probably have to read from their computer screen, but ugh! I hate it! I actually had it happen to me yesterday and couldn't follow what she was saying, so I asked her for a minute could you speak english and not read from the screen and just answer my question. I mean I could never have that job - what a crappy job. Hopefully it pays well.

Note: For those who have these "crappy" jobs, I will pray for you and I'm sorry if I offended you, because you like your "crappy" job.

Unfortunately ...

2008-08-07T08:09:00.000-07:00

Due to many changes at the store, we will have to close our doors. Saturday from 9-4, we will be discounting plenty of items, but some of our stuff will now get sold online. We are in the process of getting that started. Products will still be made available to those who need it, so don't hesitate to drop us an email and we will keep everyone informed as to when we we start online. We will still have crops every so often, so be on the lookout for those (location TBA). Our Girls Gone Crafty event will still be held at least once a year. We will be attending several scrapbooking events and teaching classes there. So, we are ending one chapter and beginning a new one.

Kelly & I have enjoyed the ups and downs of this business, the new friends we have made, the inspiration we have drawn from and the wonderful community that has supported us this past year. I hope & pray that all of you enjoyed it as well and will continue to keep in touch with us.

On to other news ...
I STILL GOT IT! Did you hear that?
Yeah, me 32, 3 kids and a t-shirt & jeans. And I kind of got asked out on a date by an 18yo, well here's how it went.
Boy: What's your name?
Me (feeling awkward and looking around): Michelle
Boy: Where's your boyfriend?
Me (wanting to run really far away): Do you mean my husband? He's at work.
Boy: Oh! Well, what are you doing after you leave here.
Me (now I'm seriously like freakin' out, lookin' around for a camera): Ummm, going home with my three kids.
Boy: Does your husband take care of those kids, b/c if he doesn't I would for you.
Me (at this point, I'm trying to contain my laughter, b/c I'm thinking something I don't want to say, like what do you mean you can take care of my kids, can you even produce sperm, but instead): He does just fine, thanks. (and I walk away quickly)

Just thought you'd enjoy that!

I will update soon on Girls Gone Crafty with plenty of pics & some videos.
Lots of fun had by all, so you don't want to miss the next one.

Random Post ... Please continue about your business

2008-07-29T20:22:00.000-07:00

There should be a law put into effect that all men must marry and sign over all their rights, kind of like a power of attorney thing, to their wife. I mean they are not using their brains anyway. They are totally incapable of making an actual decision, ok let's retract that maybe they are just not making it with the right head. Like fa' real - fa' real (said in my wonderful high pitched voice)! Now this is not to say every man is a complete idiot, but face it - some are and they don't think about who they hurt in the process.

Note: my husband is not the reason for this post.

But to some degree, each man is incapable of making decisions. Like my husband can't pick out a place to eat to save his life. Like really we would probably still be sitting in some parking lot making a decision on where we should go to eat and that was last week. Of course, some are worse than others. Some make life changing decisions without consulting with their wives and then they wonder why they are divorced, lonely, & poor. Stupid decisions! Stupid men!

Note: please do not hold me responsible for said men getting angry about reading this and making stupid decisions. What am I talking about, no men read this, but if they did - Consult with your wife, before you do anything. You'll be in less trouble in the long run. And to those who do consult with their wives, kudos to you. You deserve the Best Husband Award, well actually if you can win it competing against my husband. Good Luck with that!

Change of Hours!

2008-07-29T17:59:00.000-07:00

Due to staff changes, we will be open on Monday, Wednesday, & Friday only from 10AM - 6PM.

Thank you to all who have been so supportive & patient with the changes!

A Lot Has Happened ...

2008-07-27T22:58:00.000-07:00

My trip to Gulf Coast Scrappers last weekend was exhilirating! It was definitely the boost I needed for myself to keep creating. Our store did fabulous! As far as the comments, we really rocked and I can't wait to go back. My husband had no problem walking into a room full of women with 3 kids and said we should do it more often. Yeah, I think he just liked the attention. My daughter was even bribed with chocolate to go to a scrap table, so her and I had a little chit chat afterward about not taking candy from strangers (Just Joking, Christy).

These wonderful women were up for any challenge and I gave them one here using lace embroidery made by my Nanny, here are a few examples: (They did awesome!)

So after four days of being there with my wonderful customers/volunteers/friends and my husband & kids.

I really needed some down time, so you might have noticed we were closed a little longer than planned. First off, upon leaving on Sunday, my husband's truck had a little problem, well let's say a $1500 problem. We had to leave it at the hotel with my wire racks in the back to rush off in the van with the rest of the store to my godchild's birthday party in Houma (could not miss that - b/c I would then be voted the worst Nanny in the world). After the party was done, my van wouldn't start and so began our misadventures with chaffeurs from all over. Oh, and did I mention we also were heading to a wake and a baseball tournament for my son. Yeah, JOY, JOY! Oh, and also just to let you know yes I was an emotional wreck after only having 8 hours of sleep in 4 days, I kind of looked like Diane Keaton in Something's Gotta Give when Jack Nicholson leaves her and she cries for days -well I only cried for a few hours I'm not that bad off. Kind of funny title to the movie, now that I think about it, Something's Gotta Give - story of my life. So, to make a long story short, of course Super MOM came to my rescue yet again to save this poor pitiful damsel (did I say AGAIN!) and toted us around all five of us and $2000 later we got our vehicles back and were up and running by Wednesday, mind you my husband lost 3 days of work, so that royally sucked. But being the wonderful prince he is, he made light of it and said that maybe it was God's way of saying we needed to spend more time together - well, maybe I'll send Him the bill, next time. LOL

So, by Wednesday I was finally able to put everything back in the store and it took me nearly three days to put it back together to only take it apart again for Girls Gone Crafty. Oh, well. Then on Saturday, my dog, Smokey gets a hook stuck in his lip. WHAT>>???? I know - crazy! After my dad wrangles Smokey and manages to get the hook out we all head to my nephew's wedding, I know I can't believe I'm old enough to say I have a nephew getting married and wait it gets better, I'm going to be a great Aunt as well, did you hear that or read that???? b/c if you are old as I am you might need your hearing aid or glasses!!!! Where did my life go? Things just seem to be moving so quickly and my legs are moving slower. Even on the dance floor, never did I think I would say that! But I just don't have it like I used to, I know I'm not 80 but I used to really keep up with the young ones and give them a run for their money, but now I'm out on the dance floor asking what is that song and when did it come out and learning it came out like a year ago.

OK, so enough run on sentences ...

Girls Gone Crafty

We are opening up registration again for this weekend for any last minute scrappers.

Only 25 spots available so act fast.

For those already attending here are some tidbits you might want to keep in mind:

1.) If you are staying for 2 days, bring a sheet to cover your stuff at the end.

2.) Bring these supplies for Make-n-takes or share with neighbor:

Hole Puncher (any type)

Adhesive (wet & dry)

Scissors

6 wallet photos of a party (optional)

Assorted Alpha Stickers

Brown Ink Pad

Stapler

Distressor (or just use a sander, file, or scissors)

2 4x6 photos (optional)

1 wallet photo (optional)

Photos can be added later

3.) You will have assigned seating, but can move to another table as long as you stay within your group and not take a seat of someone you don't know.

4.) Check in is at 8AM every day and 5PM for 1/2 day participants

5.) We have over 30 prizes, lots of fun & games, loads of tips and creativity to go around!!!

6.) The photographer (Tiffany Bankston) will be there Saturday Evening to take some fun Photo Booth shots, so don't miss out this will be fun.

7.) Close to My Heart will be doing Make-n-takes in their booth throughout the day each day.

8.) Here's our schedule:

Each Day:
8AM - Check In

Coffee & Beignets

Drinks & Snacks throughout the event

9AM - Rev Up Your Scrap Engines & Let the Scrappin' Begin (everyone gets settled in to scrap)12PM - 1PM - Plate Lunches

2PM- Make-n-Take Group Rally (led by The Scrap Boutique)

3PM - SWAP (this will be a free for all at select tables, in which participants can bring their scrappin' stuff they no longer need and leave at the front desk and later go to the tables at swap time and pick up other people's scrappin' stuff they might need - "trash to treasure") Join in if you want, all are welcome to participate.

5PM - 1/2 Day Participants Check-In

5PM - 7PM - Plate Lunches

7PM - Another Rev Up

Daiquiris

8PM - Make-n-Take Group Rally (led by The Scrap Boutique)

Midnight - Fire Up the Hogs

SWAP (same as day)

End @ 2AM
Games will be held throughout the event, participation is optional. (the games will be between other activities and we will only hold about 4 of these a day)

Can't wait to see you there!!!

Soooo Sorrry!, I'm Sorry, SOOO Sorry!

2008-07-15T04:25:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd start in song early this morning.

I completely let the day get away from me yesterday while I was packing up the store to go to GCS, so I forgot to announce the winner for the Storyboard Challenge and that would be .....

Nicole Petersen

She journaled her daughter's routine ... great job Nicole ... and Congratulations!

So, since this week and weekend will be so busy we are going to skip the Challenge for this week and continue next Monday. As for our Design Team Challenge it will be put on hold as well and the deadline for the last challenge has been extended to the 21st of July, (so you still have time). At that point another challenge will be issued.

We are not closing, so when you walk in the store and you see everything going into boxes don't panic b/c your friendly neighborhood scrapbooking store is here to stay. (ok that sounded a bit Spidermanish???). So excuse the mess and sorry about any inconvenience.

Remember we will be closed Thursday - Saturday for the GCS event. Well, very busy so I will see you all when I get back, wish us LUCK! and on Monday I'll tell you all about it!

I leave you this week with some RAD (yes I said it - leave me alone - I'm trying to bring it back since I can't bring Sexy back at this point) storage stuff:

WOOOHOOO!

2008-07-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

October Afternoon has arrived, this new company released in the Winter and we couldn't wait to get something from them. Enjoy this eye candy and come by the store to purchase some are already selling and we just got them in yesterday. I barely got them in inventory and I was already selling them.

On a different note:

Girls Gone Crafty is like around the corner and many are asking questions about it and what exactly will be happening, well besides what you see on the GGC blog I'll go into detail.

The start of the event begins at 8AM on Friday & Saturday, I know early but don't worry we'll have coffee and beignets. You'll check in, get your TOTALLY AWESOME goodie bag (hey I used to live in the valley) and begin scrapping away, throughout the day & night we will be giving away prizes from our vendors & sponsors through challenges, swaps, and games. You have the option of participating so don't feel like you have to because we will be giving away doorprizes as well. You must be present to win. There will be plate lunches & suppers available each day, menu TBA. Our group make-n-take will be @ 2pm & 8pm each day (in your seat, you don't even have to move, cuz trust me you'll have many opportunities to move around). Teacher will be assigned to a group and will come by to assist you as you participate in the make-n-take. 5pm is when the 1/2 day participants check in and daiquiris will be available @ 7pm - 11pm. Stores will be open til midnight each night. The crop will end at 2am each day. If you are attending for two nights then you can leave your things at your table and it will be covered. I hope that answers a little bit more. Also, we are having a swap both days, so bring by any unused scrapbook & craft items to trade. When you check-in leave your swap bag at the front with your name and when we yell SWAP!!! those who brought things will go to tables to see what treasures they can find.

We still have spots left, so please let us know soon if you are going to attend.

Elaborating on a few things ...

2008-07-07T18:09:00.000-07:00

So I was asked a few questions on the Design Team Challenge so I'll elaborate a little more here.

You don't have to take a picture of half a desk and I have to really guess what it is, that's not what I'm judging on. What I'll be looking at is your interpretation of this game on a layout. Be creative with your layout whether it be the game itself on the page or your own twist on it. Can't give much more away, because I want you to get creative with it, so I can see where challenges take you.

Also, just to let you know what we will be doing with our Storytellers Design Team.

Here's a tidbit of info: I have big plans to create "something" (that I really can't say right now) but it involves my vision of storytelling in scrapbooking. So, basically the team will be a part of something really special that I would like to develop for our scrapping community. I know what a teaser, but I'd hate for my idea to be patented by someone else, b/c you know it's a million dollar idea?!!!! LOL

Good Luck to all!

CALENDAR UPDATE!!!!

Here's the sneak peak for our Family Tree class:

Here is a sneak peak of the Disney Album (created by Nicole Petersen):

(papers and embellishments will vary from what is pictured)

Also, if anyone is interested I'm holding a mini-shop for Kids on Friday, 11th. We'll be cookin' up a few crafts. Check our calendar for more details.

WHAT I LUV!!!
I love the scrapbooking community I have here at The Scrap Boutique and one of the things I love the most is the awesome talent we have. Talent that takes what they learn in their class and makes it their own. I call that American Idolizing it! This layout is just one of the many examples done in a class that was done even better than planned.

Love her layout created by Nicole Petersen

Whew!

2008-07-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

Well, what a weekend! I have to say you can learn a lot from your husband, if you care to listen once in awhile.

Here are a few quick lessons I learned:

1. That when you cast out a 10 foot net, that only 2 shrimp in it is a good thing.

(who would have thunk it and here I thought 50 would be impressive)

2. My daughter has female parts but is all boy, fish are her friends - ewww, gross.

(dang it, "Here I go again on my own").

3. Men are very hungry after they fish, very hungry, of course because they work so hard catching nothing at all.

So, the winner of our first Storyboard Challenge is .................. Elise Grabert

Congratulations Elise, come by and collect your kit!

Thanks to all who participated, it definitely wasn't

easy for the judges to decide.

So, Storyboard Challenge #2:

Enter a project or layout of any size on something in your routine. Whether it be during the day or night, weird or normal, tell us about something you do daily or at least very often. As always have it in before Monday, winner will be announced then. This week's winner will win some glitz & glamour.

The Storytellers Design Team Call:

Your first challenge:

I love the game of I Spy, my kids and I play it everywhere, it's one of those games that is very versatile and you can play it at anytime, anywhere. So our first challenge will play by the rules of this fun game. You must Spy something take a picture of it and scrapbook it. This can either be a project or layout of any size. We basically have to guess what it is or spy it in the picture. Be creative with your journaling and pictures. And HAVE FUN!

Challenge Deadline: Friday, July 11th

Girls Gone Crafty:

We have plenty of doorprizes arriving daily as well as more goodies for your scrap bag and just to give you a sneak peak of what is going on for our make-n-takes, here are a couple of photos.

Just a Sample

2008-07-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

Here's an example of our Storyboard Challenge:

What I did here is scraplift the layout of pictures and then tried to copy the orange dots and splash of blue at the bottom with title.

On to other news:
We will be closed July 4th & 5th and July 17th - 19th for the Gulf Coast Scrappers Event in New Orleans. If you are interested in attending the website is here.

Girls Gone Crafty has stirred up plenty of questions so, in order to answer them better I'm going to start posting them here.

One of the questions asked was what to bring and how to prepare for this crop.

These are only suggestions, but I've been to plenty of crops and trust me you don't want to overdo it. Bring your basic tools: scissors, trimmer, adhesive, pen, neutral inks, maybe a few go to stamps that you use often, and of course some photos. I like to pre-plan pages by putting at least 10 pages for each day I'm at a crop together. I might not know exactly what I'm doing with the page, but I'll put some matching patterened papers & cardstock with the photos along with any other sort of embellishments you might want to add or techniques you would like to use to enhance your pages. You might want to bring a spill-proof cup, wipes, & paper towels. As far as bags, I like to have a small tote for tools and a shoulder bag for papers, stickers, & rubs.

If you have any other questions please call, email, or comment here!!
I'll be glad to answer anything, well except for maybe a few psychoanalysis ones, because I'm a little out of practice on those and I might need a few of my own answered first.

Storyboard Challenge

2008-06-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

Just a few more pics from Sisiversary, here's a project that Kelly & Paula did in Gigi's class.

And here are a few make-n-takes

And this is the handmade album (unfinished) that I made in Sarah's class

So here's our first try @ Storyboard Challenge.

Challenge #1:

Flip through all of those magazines you have piling up in the corner and take note of those ads. Which ones strike you as inspiring? Try to scraplift the idea onto a layout. The layout can be any size and the due date for the Challenge is Sunday, July 6th. Email me your layout and a picture of the ad. Winner will be chosen and announced on the Monday along with the next challenge. Various prizes will be given each week. This week's winner will receive a scrapbook kit from Prima valued @ $10.

So, just to let you know I've been real bummed about not being a finalist for Creating Keepsakes' SOY, but moving on now. So instead of trying to find my place in this world, I'm going to make my own.

For a long time, I've probably preached to many of you what scrapbooking means to me and what it has done for my life. Some of you probably sitting there saying enough already. LOL Now, I'm turning the tables and I want to know what has it done for you. I want you to tell your story and show me your pages that tell your story, whether that includes your children, hubby, or anyone, b/c we have decided to have our very own design team here. I've been really thinking about how having a design team for our store would really help with a load of duties here and really add some zing to this blog & store. So anyone interested will need to email me and I will then send you your designer challenge. I think this is going to be real exciting, b/c I just love checking out all the wonderful scrapbook layouts of customers and never really get to see the finished product when you leave the store with all your great stuff. Be on the lookout for updates and deadlines as we will have plenty and for those not entering keep watch for the great design team we will be forming called, The Storytellers.

So Like I Know...

2008-06-19T21:30:00.000-07:00

I promised you fabulous blogging for all eternity and that everyday would be filled with tips and wonderful life changing things. Okay maybe not, but you get my point.
But let's be realistic here, my children are so whacking me out it's unreal. Like who knew your kid could seriously mass produce boogers all over the counter. Before I left for Sisiversary I thought "I think it might be better if I just shoot myself in the foot and then that would take my mind off of my wacky children." Though I adore them, they can sometimes really make it hard for a mom not to get reported to social services.
(editor's note: this is all in humor, please do not take the aforementioned story above too seriously, The Scrap Boutique is not held accountable for this person's actions - Kelly told me to tell you that LOL)

So, off to tell you a little more about what's going on here, well besides some new paper and embellies that have come in we are about to celebrate a year.
AAAAAAAHHHHHHH! isn't that exciting one year - like I've said before that's a big accomplishment for me I don't ever stick to anything longer than a year, just ask my mom. I'm actually quite surprised I've kept my husband for as long as I have or my children for that matter (ref. story above). I think I've might have had like more than 25 jobs and I'm only 32. And no my mom wasn't some kid slave boss working me in some China sweat shop, I've just held down 3 jobs plenty of times.

Okay, so I know you want to hear about Sunday's Awesome Creative Crop Celebration from 10-10. You can come anytime, but please register so we can get a head count. We will have Chili Dogs & Fritos, drinks, snacks, doorprizes, games and we are giving you 3 make-n-takes for $25. Since it is our Birthday we will be doing a birthday card, layout, & banner. Don't worry about the time you come, you can pick up the kit anytime and make it anytime we'll be around to help and provide you with a sample and instructions.

As for our Girls Gone Crafty event I strongly encourage you to get to registering, b/c we are closing registration on July 15th. If you register after this date, we will have to make special arrangements for you and it might be costly. So go to the Girls Gone Crafty site and register now or just go to see all the new stuff added.

That's about all for now - I will be back next week to our regularly scheduled posts. LOL

What is goin' on?

2008-06-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

Yeah, we're back. Like really back to the real world. I can't even begin to tell ya'll everything but I'll try to tell our story - it goes a little sumthing like thiiiisss:

It started at 2AM on Friday

A road trip with "Tellma"

Of course she was the censored version telling me where to go
I don't think my version, "Tellma Uncut" would be so censored (though Mandi does a great impression of it, that we might be able to patent that baby)

On our road trip it wouldn't have been complete without a few scrapbook store stops and dancing and goofing off

Honestly, we had so much fun driving up there, we thought if we didn't have to pick up Paula at the airport in Nashville we might have turned around and ended it there.

So our ride though long was well worth the trip to a hotel full of women squealing like high school or sorority girls, with the other pageant girls running around with their screaming mothers. While I was mistaken for being apart of it, I promise you I wasn't.

So the guessing of sisters began as we entered the hotel and all I could do was just guess who was who b/c of the microscopic avatars or those who post their feet or other creatures.

We met our wonderful roomie, Mandi, who's stripper name is CandiMandi (she might be on Rock of Love 3, if she didn't have such a hot hubby) LOL
She was a wonderful addition to our old bittie group

We went downstairs to eat crappy chips that left an after taste in my mouth like I had been chomping on some leather like a dang cow. Needless to say I didn't get a frickin' doggie bag.

So, we started the event and it was like madly involved creativity everywhere and trying to meet all the sisters in between put my mind in a whirlwind.

We learned a lot from this event though and are super excited about bringing some of the ideas to our event GIRLS GONE CRAFTY

That night I ended up dancing like I thought I was 14 again to Vanilla Ice and paid for it later and sang or shall I say rapped "Baby Got Back" like I knew what I was doing or that I was from the 9th ward or something.

Sang another with Mandi "I love rock n roll"

Went off to our rooms to pass out at 1am or later can't remember

Then woke to 8am crop call and classes.

The games and extras were all wonderful and we really made some fun stuff which I'll post some of my classes later. But in general the creativity was THE BOMB.COM.

Kelly & Paula enjoyed Gigi's class the most and thought it was so inspirational and wait til you see what Kelly did, she actually let go of her inhibitions and really put herself out there.

Paula had to go smoke a cigarette after she couldn't get her frickin' stapler to work on her Hambly flowers in KL's class, but no harm done. I got it b/c I got it like that. LOL

At some point in the night I passed out and woke up with my scrap stuff laying besides me and Mandi, which scared the crap out of me, b/c I don't know if ya'll know this but I don't usually wake up next to a woman, so it kind of freaked me out. LOL

I'm such a suck up, but Ash is like my new obsession along with Jen and all the other fgirls

(sorry didn't have pics of all)
But as far as the ladies that we met I've got several bff's now!

(especially this lady here, TinaLynn)My Washington Women, who were funny as Heck!Mandi (again, yet too cool not to put up several times) and Bekka (someone I really wish I could have gotten to know more)My home girls Holly & Sasha And Paula is a Shot Calla, Shrimp Haula, Scrap Balla!!!!

And Kelly can take a sista out with an elbow!!! Daaanga! Watch Yourself! Show me whatcha workin' wit!!!

Until next time ...

I'll be back with more store info soon, we are still trying to catch up.

Back to Reality

2008-06-17T18:40:00.000-07:00

Like I truly don't ever remember being in a room with so many women and loving every minute of it. This weekend was so great. Paula, Kelly, & I had a blast.

I said I would do it ...

2008-06-07T09:09:00.000-07:00

I'm finally posting pics of my scrap area. I did a little clean sweep through it after the SOY contest basically hit it like a tornado, although it could have been my two year old that did it.

This is a hall closet converted to a scrap space, the only thing I have missing is a TV and computer, but that will come in due time.

As you can tell I'm working on something, it is a guest book for The Treehouse in Raceland. It's an indoor playground. Totally awesome!

Well, we will be away for a few days at the Scrap in Style TV's Sisiversary Scrap Event in Franklin, TN. When we get back I'm sure there will be many things to discuss and share.

In the meantime, I'm giving just til Sunday when we get back to have you all benefit from the low price of Girls Gone Crafty. We will accept registrations after but the price will go up to $55 per day. This is only because we will have to ship products in sooner and it will cost us extra.

Another thing I want everyone to know: We have Prima in the store. I don't have time to load up all the pics but I will when I get back. We also have loads of doo dads in felt and plenty of new ribbon, also duck & tombow adhesive refills. So come by before we go out on our adventure, to be sure and load up for those "scrapbookin' emergencies" while we are gone.

Email me if any of you have any questions at all.

Learn Something Every Day!!

2008-06-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

Well, what have I learned this week ...

actually let's just say in the past couple of days ...

Lesson #1: That I should pay close attention to how I say things and maybe put some of my educational background to use when I communicate.

ex. Hunter asked what was I sitting on and how long would I be sitting there, I was responded dumbfoundly, "What?" Hunter: "You just told someone on the phone that you were kind of going to sit on it for awhile."

Lesson #2: Never underestimate the superiority of a child.

ex. I have probably told Hunter a thousand times to not jump off the top of the sofa, but he doesn't get it. I came into the living room to witness Seth fussing at Hunter to not jump off the top of the sofa, b/c he could quite possibly break his legs and never play baseball again. It worked, now why didn't I think of that.

Lesson #3: That which is left out will always be destroyed by two year old.

ex. Layout on Table + Claire = Disaster & New Layout.

Lesson #4: Never ever, ever use staz on ink when said two year old is around.

ex. White walls are now black.

Lesson #5: Don't think for a minute, think in seconds b/c that's all it takes for it to whiz by.

Our events are going to fill up fast, so be sure to sign up soon! We are planning so much fun for our 1 year celebration!!! We have lots of ideas swirling about so stay tuned.

Here's what we've done so far this month:

Scrappin' 101

Mad for Grads

White Out

2008-06-03T11:28:00.000-07:00

Let's admit it, we've have all thought for a minute or a second that you could print white, well duh - you don't print white, but there is a way to "print" white text on your layouts or pictures.

1. In a new layer or document click on Text. You can move it, warp it, or change the size or shape depending on the program you are in.

2. You'll need either a background color, template piece filled with color or background layer filled with color. (This could even work on patterned paper)

3. You will then simply change the text color to white and either layer on top or bring forward.

See, very simple and it makes a cool effect.

Here you can see I played with the text on a photo.

As you can see we've done a lot of changes here mainly b/c I was having problems, but that's what you get for using things for Free.

So now you'll see to the right is our link to the calendar (you can now print it -YAY ME!)
Class & Crop sign-ups are on the right as well (reminder you don't have to paypal - you can always pay the day of)
Music playlist that you can mute quickly or pause, when the boss is coming around the corner LOL. I'm still working on it, so please bear with me.
Also, on the right is the link to Girls Gone Crafty - remember June 11th is the deadline before the price of the event will go up.
To the left you can now email us, sign up for rss feed, etc. I'll be adding more things soon.
I promise Kids Gone Crafty link will be up this week.

Frappuccino Friday

2008-05-30T04:36:00.000-07:00

As I'm sitting back drinking my Mocha Frappuccino, I'm thinking we really need more classes and I'm also thinking how long have I been mispelling Frappuccino (I think since I began this - what a dork! and I used to be an English & Reading teacher). Anyway we need to celebrate this month. We have been open close to a year - our first anniversary is June 23rd.

So here's what we haven't done:
1.) haven't pulled our hair out
2.) haven't lost any hair
3.) Kelly nor I have hurt each other in any illegal way LOL
4.) haven't lost hope in this crazy idea for our store to be fantabulous!
5.) haven't shut the doors

But here's we what have done:
1.) made some really awesome BFF's out of customers
2.) met the most talented people in the industry
3.) got to explore some really beautiful states on business trips
4.) learned that business is not just business
5.) gave a community a new look at crafts

How exciting is that?! So in honor of this wonderful month of June we have lots of stuff going on, be sure to check out our calendar at the bottom of this blog. We want you to celebrate with us! Soon, pics will be up of the projects & layouts, as well as more info on the Kids Gone Crafty Camp.

Upcoming Events:
Wednesday, June 4th - Scrappin' 101 1pm & 6pm
Thursday, June 5th - Mad for Grads 1pm
Friday, June 6th - Stamp a Stack Pizza & Slumber Party 6pm
Tuesday, June 11th - Father Knows Best 1pm
Wednesday, June 11th - Cardstock Creations 1pm
Friday & Saturday, June 13th & 14th - Closed

Tippin' Thursday

2008-05-29T04:47:00.000-07:00

Tip of the day: When I get stumped on journaling, I sometimes like to make a list of top 10 or top 5. This helps break down the journaling and makes a really cute page. Here's a great sample:

Layout by Nicole Hinrichs

Just an update, due to time, place, & other circumstances our Kids Gone Crafty (5-9) will now be mixed with (9-12). We will have plenty of help around for the camp to manage them all. I will update later this afternoon on the Kids Gone Crafty Camp Activities, some other things for Girls Gone Crafty and put up the June Calendar. We have been super busy. And I'm just realizing now that my Wacky Wednesday Post is gone - and it was a great post. I'll have to go searching AGAIN!

Techie Tuesday

2008-05-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

Though a lot of people are afraid to make the digi jump, most just don't want to because of how time consuming it seems to be. Yet once you learn a few tricks in Photoshop, it's actually quite easy. Brushes as you will soon see are so versatile and they make lovely accents, stamps, etc.

You can access several brushes online for free or at a small cost. My fave site Polka Dot Potato. Once you have brushes downloaded to your computer, click the arrow on the brushes palette and choose load brushes from the fly out menu. This will open a new window that allows you to navigate to the location where you saved the brushes on your hard drive. Once you've decided on a brush you want to use, you can use the brush tip shape window of the brushes palette to change the size or angle of the brush. Make sure your background layer is highlighted in the layers palette and simply "stamp" your brush by clicking the mouse.

Good Luck and if anyone has any questions feel free to comment here or email me.

Motivating Monday

2008-05-26T21:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been missing in action, but I have a good excuse I promise! Really I do!
I challenged myself to enter into a contest and not just any ol' contest. Creating Keepsakes Scrapbooker of the Year Contest and the layouts were due this week. I was trying hard to just complete them so I could get back to the """NORM""". And I did it. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I didn't give up, I just thought to myself there is no harm in trying and after I'm done I'll have 20 of my best to cherish and keep forever. I find out at the end of June if I'm a finalist, so wish me luck.

So to motivate you, one of the things I discovered while doing these layouts, is that I had plenty of undeveloped film and digital pics. I thought to myself that as much as I like to take the photos I've been using for layouts I needed to print out all of them and really get a system going on how I would be putting them altogether.

My challenge: Go out to your computers or cameras and take a stand against undeveloped pictures and come back to the Scrap Boutique feeling refreshed with a newfound inspiration. Now I just wish I could do this to my upper torso.

Techie Tuesday

2008-05-19T22:36:00.000-07:00

I was playing around with a few lo's recently and discovered crackle paint. I know it's like I'm Jacques Cousteau or something. Crackle has been around for awhile, yet I'm just starting to play with it on lo's. I've used it like you would normally on paint, but then I tried it on glimmer mist, then on top of grungeboard with glossy accents, then I went another go at it and put clear crackle, let it dry, then dyed the crackle with alcohol ink. Talk about cool effects.

So we finally have more albums from American Crafts, both canvas & leather, and 12x12 & 6x6.

Our Crop-a-rita has been changed from the 30th to the 23rd, so if you have already signed up and can't come please let us know, otherwise I will just transfer the names.

Memorial Day we will be open and will be having a sale.

Girls Gone Crafty still has available spots and now has it's own blog with info being posted weekly. http://www.girlsgonecraftyscrapevent.blogspot.com/.Remember deadline is coming soon June 11th.

The dates for Kids Gone Crafty are as follows:
June 16-20 - 5-9 year olds
July 7-11 - 9-12 year olds
July 14-18 12-17 year olds
more info will be posted soon and a blog for that will go up as well.

Upcoming Events:
Crop-a-rita - Friday, May 23rd 7PM

Motivating Monday

2008-05-19T04:44:00.000-07:00

Wow, the weeks are flying by. Our event will be here before you know it. We have a few new items in the store. More to come soon.

Most of the time, especially those moms out there, we scrap about others. Putting our story to the wayside. We end up never scrapbooking about ourselves, our journey, things that bother us, or things that bring us joy. I want you to take a moment and think of who you are at this time in your life and scrap about it, tell your story. You might say, "no one is going to be interested in that", but you'll be surprised about how many people actually read biographies over picture books. Which is similar to what we are speaking of here, except with a few more embellishements. People are naturally nosy and love to read about someone's life. So make it interesting, add a few descriptive lines, a quote, or just put on some music and start writing about anything you like. Who knows you better than you - Your Life According to You!

This came from another wonderful customer of ours, Mary, who shared a picture of her creative space, I love the clear compartments. Mine are not clear so it kind of requires me to dig through. This idea is great, b/c it saves on a lot of wasted creative time.

Girls Gone Crafty still has available spots and now has it's own blog with info being posted weekly. http://www.girlsgonecraftyscrapevent.blogspot.com/.

Remember deadline is coming soon June 11th.

The dates for Kids Gone Crafty are as follows:

June 16-20 - 5-9 year olds
July 7-11 - 9-12 year olds
July 14-18 12-17 year olds

more info will be posted soon and a blog for that will go up as well.

Upcoming Events:

Scrap Challenge - Tuesday, May 20th 6PM (class is filling up fast)
Crop-a-rita - Friday, May 30th 7PM

Frappachino Friday

2008-05-16T05:20:00.000-07:00

You might have seen this on an email somewhere, but I just thought it was so appropriate for our Frappachino Friday:

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee...You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.'

'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst , you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Girls Gone Crafty still has available spots and now has it's own blog with info being posted weekly. http://www.girlsgonecraftyscrapevent.blogspot.com/. Remember deadline is coming soon June 11th.

The dates for Kids Gone Crafty are as follows:
June 16-20 - 5-9 year olds
July 7-11 - 9-12 year olds
July 14-18 12-17 year olds
more info will be posted soon and a blog for that will go up as well.

Upcoming Events:
Pajama Party Crop Night - Friday, May 16th 7PM
Scrap Metal - Saturday, May 17th 12PM
Scrap Challenge - Tuesday, May 20th 6PM
Crop-a-rita - Friday, May 30th 7PM

Tippin' Thursday or a Tale of Terror

2008-05-15T05:01:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a lady who appeared at The Scrap Boutique after a long journey from work to hopefully end her day scrapbooking the night away. She began nipping, tucking, cutting, & adhering all in her reach until she came upon a terrible sight. Bubbles, and no not the sweet beautiful kind from a newborn's mouth or the wispy, fun ones blown from children all around. She came across a dilemma and turned to the clerk distressed, "Whatever shall I do I have bubbles on my letters where the diamond glaze* lays." The clerk seeing the damsel in distress rode in with a needle in hand and popped all the bubbles away. The clerk then warned the damsel that the next time she used this glaze that she not shake it, let it settle and turn it over to let it flow freely. And the damsel and her diamond glaze lived happily ever after.

*reference: Diamond Glaze by Judikins or Glossy Accents both are dimensional adhesive used to give an epoxy look to items on page.

Techie Tuesday

2008-05-14T06:38:00.000-07:00

I love hiding something on my page. It just makes it a little more fun and interesting for the person who might go through my pages later in life and make the discovery of the hidden journaling or picture. It's also a great way to hide journaling from the everyday person, things that you might not want them to see. Or a way of adding all those photos you might not have room for on the page. Here are a few samples that I have done, see if you can find the hidden journaling or picture (without me showing or telling you):

Okay, you wouldn't learn anything if I didn't show you. LOL

For the first one, there's a handmade book attached with photos inside. On the second you lift the arrow & ribbon and journaling is revealed beneath the photo and frame.

Girls Gone Crafty still has available spots and now has it's own blog with info being posted weekly. http://www.girlsgonecraftyscrapevent.blogspot.com/. Remember deadline is coming soon June 11th.

The dates for Kids Gone Crafty are as follows:

June 16-20 - 5-9 year olds

July 7-11 - 9-12 year olds

July 14-18 12-17 year olds

more info will be posted soon and a blog for that will go up as well.

Upcoming Events:

Crop Night - Friday, May 16th 7PM

Scrap Metal - Saturday, May 17th 12PM

Scrap Challenge - Tuesday, May 20th 6PM

Crop Night - Friday, May 30th 7PM

Motivating Monday

2008-05-12T15:02:00.000-07:00

Ugh! Mondays can be a drag and Blogger too. I do apologize to those subscribing to this blog who are getting posts late and are receiving double emails.

Anywhooo, I organized my craft area a little more this weekend and I will post a picture soon, but in the meantime I'm sharing with you a photo of a customer of ours neat idea for storage.

She bought this plastic basket from Big Lots for $5 that you would normally store plates, forks, etc.

Great Find Nicole!

If anyone else has gotten into the organizing groove as well or just wants to show off their craft spot or some cool nifty way to store stuff, email me @ michelle@buttoneers.com a picture and win some scrappy stuff.

Girls Gone Crafty still has available spots and now has it's own blog with info being posted weekly. http://www.girlsgonecraftyscrapevent.blogspot.com/.

The dates for Kids Gone Crafty are as follows:

June 16-20 - 5-9 year olds

July 7-11 - 9-12 year olds

July 14-18 12-17 year olds

more info will be posted soon and a blog for that will go up as well.

Upcoming Events:

Crop Night - Friday, May 16th 7PM

Scrap Metal - Saturday, May 17th 12PM

Scrap Challenge - Tuesday, May 20th 6PM

Crop Night - Friday, May 30th 7PM

Frappachino Friday

2008-05-12T14:55:00.000-07:00

I sure could use some hopefully Mother's Day brings some frappachinos my way. Coffee relaxes & rejuvanates me as crazy as that may seem. That caffeine kick is just enough to pull me through the day, hey at least it's better than cocaine.

So, everyone knows I'm loving the green movement like I talk about it every week, but I actually plan on taking a break from the making something new out of my old clothes and I might just go buy some new clothes and scrapbook with some new paper, cuz hey it's mother's day weekend and I deserve it.

So kick back relax and join me in a wonderful Mother's Day weekend:
My plans:
1.) Buy a Frappachino from Starbucks
2.) Buy new clothes
3.) Scrapbook with new paper and embellishments

YAY ME!

DON'T FORGET:
Girls Gone Crafty still has available spots and now has it's own blog with info being posted weekly. www.girlsgonecraftyscrapevent.blogspot.com.

The dates for Kids Gone Crafty are as follows:
June 16-20 - 5-9 year olds
July 7-11 - 9-12 year olds
July 14-18 12-17 year olds
more info will be posted soon and a blog for that will go up as well.

Upcoming Events:

Crop Night - Friday, May 16th 7PM
Scrap Metal - Saturday, May 17th 12PM
Scrap Challenge - Tuesday, May 20th 6PM
Crop Night - Friday, May 30th 7PM

On the REAL!

2008-05-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

I have finally decided that banning blogger might not be a great idea, but I did consider it for a moment, but then I thought - I would be letting down millions of blog reading fans if I stopped posting. Ah, well! LOL

So, I have to motivate you mid-week, give you a technique, tell ya' some wacky stuff and give you a tip:

Motivation is hard, especially since I can't even get my lazy butt up after this weekend, so here it goes. Listen to this song, Get Up Offa That Thang by James Brown and then get into those craft spaces and start getting organized. I know you are finished with all those photos right!!!! Even if you aren't, organizing your craft space won't hurt. In my past life I was a professional organizer so here are some of my secrets ... I don't have any, no just joking ...

Grab some boxes and label them with categories of items that are in your craft space. Include with this a box for trash and give away. (P.S. we are having a huge swap at Girls Gone Crafty if you want to save this box til then) Start in your space from left to right and back to front and begin placing items in the boxes. After you are done with this step, give it a real good cleaning and then decide where you will be storing everything and in what. Section your space into homes or centers and start filling it up with the items from your boxes. Keep your everyday use items nearby, while your once in awhile items can be put up and away. Hopefully this will help a little and start you on the road to creative organization.

As far as a technique, I've alway been a fan of diamond glaze or glossy accents and of course I'm sure you've seen the crackle one as well. This weekend I learned a new technique from a "sister". After crackling something, rub ink into the cracks and wipe the excess away. After some thought I started to think about paint, glitter, alcohol ink and the ideas are endless.

Wacky you say, well my week has definitely been wacky. My daughter now likes to polish her nails and is obsessed. I don't do nails. I really never have, but I probably should b/c my nails are horrible and please when you see me be kind and don't stare at them. I bought her polish anyway and now we have to do a different color everyday and she goes around showing everyone how pretty she is. I guess this is not the end of an era.

Here's your tip: Throw out the old scrapbook magazines. Tear out only what interest you and make a creative journal out of them by placing them in a journal and then decorating the front much like this one here done by messyhappyfundee from SisTV:

I like to pull from my journal when I've hit a creative block.

Girls Gone Crafty still has available spots and now has it's own blog with info being posted weekly. www.girlsgonecraftyscrapevent.blogspot.com.

The dates for Kids Gone Crafty are as follows:

June 16-20 - 5-9 year olds

July 7-11 - 9-12 year olds

July 14-18 12-17 year olds

more info will be posted soon and a blog for that will go up as well.

National Scrapbook Day was awesome and very busy. Thanks to all who helped and participated. We are definitely having another one next year, but hopefully even bigger.

Don't forget about Teachers & Moms this week!!!

Upcoming Events:

Mother & Child Crop - Saturday, May 10th 11AM

Mom's Night Out - Saturday, May 10th 6PM

Crop Night - Friday, May 16th 7PM

Scrap Metal - Saturday, May 17th 12PM

Scrap Challenge - Tuesday, May 20th 6PM

Crop Night - Friday, May 30th 7PM

Motivating Monday

2008-05-06T05:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, may I just say blogger is losing it's mind and I'm losing my religion. I have posted 5 times, okay 5 times for Monday & Tuesday's daily and it is not posting. What is the problem here!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had this really great post for both days and now they are lost in cyber space, ugh! I'll try to post it yet again later! And I betcha bottom dollar that this post will publish - that figures what a waste of your time - huh!

Anyway, we are giving out a wonderful discount to all school employees in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week til the 10th for 25% off your entire purchase. I know not a whole lot, but I hope you "appreciate" the gesture.

Don't forget about MOM!!!! either.

Upcoming Events:

Mother & Child Crop - Saturday, May 10th 11AM
Mom's Night Out - Saturday, May 10th 6PM
Crop Night - Friday, May 16th 7PM
Scrap Metal - Saturday, May 17th 12PM
Scrap Challenge - Tuesday, May 20th 6PM
Crop Night - Friday, May 30th 7PM

Sign up for any classes or crops online beneath the calendar.

Frappachino Friday

2008-05-01T20:11:00.000-07:00

So, this week has been a long week, but I'm really proud of myself. I got through it, I graduated to wearing Big Girl Panties! And I didn't once have to call Kelly to cry. LOL.

I have been working on so many projects, most of them at the same time (which helps a lot with my ADD), but so far one of my faves thus far is making drawstring bags out of old t-shirts my boys no longer fit, such as:

Isn't that cool, lovin' the "Green" Trend! So go into those closets and reduce, reuse, recycle.

Don't forget we still have spots open for our National Scrapbook Day on Saturday. Register right here online. View the National Scrapbook Day Post for full details.

Tippin' Thursday

2008-05-01T18:09:00.000-07:00

So, here's my tip:

This came from a customer of ours, Re Henderson. Lots of times we find ourselves a little overwhelmed with the several pieces of paper, embellishments and photos. What better way to keep your scrapping focused and not lose a special paper you bought for that picture of "him" at the zoo making faces at the monkeys than to keep it all in one place. Either use your clear page protectors or ziploc bags to store all the items you had planned on using for that photo. So each time you shop and see that perfect chipboard piece for a page you had in mind - bring it home and put it all together for that next crop.

Don't forget we still have spots open for our National Scrapbook Day on Saturday. Register right here online. View the National Scrapbook Day Post for full details.

Wacky Wednesday

2008-04-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

Yay, Me! I'm actually now on the right day. So, my kids are driving me up the wall. Well, maybe not all of them, well yeah all of them. Anywhoooo, I know they are just being kids and I'm so glad that they are still kids and not grown yet or teenagers (At least I know that, not that young guy at the car wash who when asked to clean my van {yes I know it's about time} asked if my kids were in high school - ugh).
There's so much more I need to teach them before they get to that age. I just feel like I can never catch up or keep up for that matter. I try to stick to my routine, but I'm a live in the moment person and sometimes I don't stick to the routine b/c I like to stop everything we are doing and sometimes just dance to James Brown or something. I guess I just need to accept that it is impossible and that I should just let it go. Well, maybe not the dishes as my husband would say, but all the other things that won't matter in the end.
So, my focus for at least the next 5 minutes will be to breathe and soak it all in, relax - and then return to the reality of my normal chaotic life.

Also, if interested we have gift cards for Mom or for Teacher Appreciation.
We have wish lists for Mom's or whomever wishes to leave a little hint for those shopping for them. When a wish list is filled out, it is then scanned and saved and the recipient is given cards that say: "I really don't want you to spend your money on me ... but if you insist then visit The Scrap Boutique for ideas. Free gift wrapping is included." to hand out.

We know have the Girls Gone Crafty access to the blog on the left of this blog. More updates will be given soon. We are now offering Friday for $20 as a half day starting @ 5PM - til. If interested just write that in the comments section of your registration form and I will note that. No half day will be given for Saturday. Please be aware though that a purchase of at least one full day will have to be made in order to receive your goody bag.

Upcoming Events:
National Scrapbooking Day SS Memory - Saturday, May 3rd
Mother & Child Crop - Saturday, May 10th 11AM
Mom's Night Out - Saturday, May 10th 6PM
Crop Night - Friday, May 16th 7PM
Scrap Metal - Saturday, May 17th 12PM
Scrap Challenge - Tuesday, May 20th 6PM
Crop Night - Friday, May 30th 7PM

"Techie Tuesday"

2008-04-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

Again, it's not Tuesday, but I'm playing catch up!

A lot of times I find some of the patterned paper might be a little too much for me, so I like to break it down. And no I don't mean I start doing the running man in my scrap room. I fussy-cut, now what is fussy-cutting you ask. Well don't fuss, I'll explain. It goes a little something like this: Choose a patterned paper and simply cut some of the pattern out, originally a quilting technique it has moved to paper. As you can see in my canvas here I cut only a "strip" of the patterned paper to break it up. It makes a wonderful accent if you just want to cut out a flower, paisley, etc. So, go cut something up, but just leave the fussing out - I've got enough problems of my own to hear. LOL

"Motivating Monday"

2008-04-29T11:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know it's not Monday, but hey better late than never. So I'm sure you have now gone through all your BD (before digital) pictures, all 5,334 of them this weekend, good girl! LOL We are now going to continue on to the AD (after digital) pictures, which I'm sure are just as scattered as the BD ones except your husband's not complaining about tripping on these in boxes. So if you have them on disc, card, or camera - take a day to download them all on your hard drive, I know a lot of work, but it will be well worth it in the end. You will then write down all the categories you would like them to appear in. This could be by year, theme, person, etc. I always choose person, that is my preference. So, I make a folder for each person and then I carefully start to move the pictures to their rightful folders. Just make sure you delete the ones as we said last week that might be out of focus, too dark, etc. Next be sure you also save all the new folders organized on a disc or some sort of backup. After you have done that you are well on your way to a lifetime of digital happiness. LOL

"Frappachino Friday"

2008-04-24T22:09:00.000-07:00

So, what can we craft up today. Are you feeling inspired by our dailies? Well I do hope you are, or I'm just wasting my time tapping at the keyboard aimlessly talking to myself. Which really wouldn't be any different than what I typically do anyway. I'm one of those talkers that will be on the phone for about half a hour before I realize the call was dropped or just talking away into the phone and standing in the McD's line and my phone rings in my ear.

So, I can truthfully I have not gotten real creative lately. I probably have at least 9 projects going on as we speak. So, what inspires you to be creative? What gets the creative juices flowing? What knocks out the creative block?

My answer: Organization. Once I get things in order around me I can better focus on my 101 ideas. Then I like to write a To Do list get it all out of my head and I then can start the steps to my creative adventure.

(And no this is not my crafting space, yet I like to just look at it, close my eyes, and imagine it is)

So what's your story?

I just noticed I say So a lot, HUH! So, I guess I'll have to be more aware of that next post. LOL

Upcoming Events:
Stampin' 101 - Friday 6PM
Crop Night - Friday 7PM
Get Digi Wit It - Saturday 11AM
SS Memory National Scrapbooking Day - Saturday, May 3rd
Girls Gone Crafty - Friday & Saturday August 1-2