It's been a bit odd around here today...

(This post is going to be a bit random and all over the place so forgive me in advance...)

Today is definitely a day that is out of sorts around here. It's the first day of two-a-day football practices and that has meant MANY trips up to the high school.

Add to that the fact that I completely MISSED that yesterday was high school orientation!?!

In my defense, they call it registration when I consider registration where you sign up for classes and we did last spring so I just assumed that this was for new students. AND I only saw it up on the marquis at the school....no letter to let us know it was happening. So we are behind the power curve there and had to add in another trip to the school to pick up Jacob's schedule and pay his fees ($105...yikes! Didn't see that coming!) I feel like the total-loser-mom for dropping the ball on that one... Not exactly the way to start high school.

I do have a card to share today, but first I have to share a photo that I just found on my camera when I downloaded it today. Obviously Jacob has been playing dress-up Kat for football...LOL! If you can't tell here, she is wearing his Rams football jersey which drags the floor on her.

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I have managed to get a bit of creating done. It's just seemed to be fairly hit or miss this week with my stamping time so I have lots of things partially finished. *yikes* I am hoping that something gets done for hip-hop tomorrow! LOL! But here is a card that I did for this week's MojoMonday sketch (#99) using the Unity August kom (I love every single image in this kit and think I am going to run out of month before I get them all inky...)

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. August kom- following my heart

*Basic Grey paper collection

*watercolor pencils

*ribbon

*button

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And look what I received today from two very special friends...thanks Rita & Scott!!!

It's my 39th birthday and had plans for my post today, but it's going to have to wait until another day.... I have a list of things to do before I turn 40, but my thoughts/artwork isn't as organized as I had hoped that it would be at this point so it will be here sometime later in the week. Stay tuned....

Lazy Sunday Stamping...

We decided to take a break from life today. ;o) Actually, I dyed (grey touchup) my hair last night and you are not supposed to wash it for 24 hours and since Dh is out of town, I officially declared this a pj day in this household. It's rather nice to just have a lazy day at home.

I took naptime to play with today's CPS sketch (#128)

and the Unity exclusive-store kit, 100% Happy...

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. 100% Happy

*Unity Stamp Co. Birthday Chic

*Cosmo Cricket papers

*Memories brown inkpad

*ribbon

*copper brads

I hope that you are having a great Sunday!!!

Whew! It has been a busy week!

We are big Gilmore Fans in this household (we, being Jacob and I) and there is an episode where Rory and Lorilai go and visit Harvard. Jacob has always loved that episode and I think secretly wanted us to have a bonding trip like that. So after months of asking, yesterday we went to visit the University of Missouri (Mizzou!) Before you ask, yes, he has been to Texas Tech, but it's been a few years....

I took about 100 photos so here is just a small (well, not really) sampling....

The great thing about visiting colleges is the architecture which is one of my favorite things to photograph. This was some tile work on the front of one of the buildings... very 60's, but I love the look of it esp. with the aging of the concrete in contrast to that gorgeous turquoise blue.

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Then the next building over, Read Hall, was more indicative of the general architectural style of the majority of the old campus. Lots of stone and very European looking...just gorgeous!

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Click on this photo for a better view of it. LOL! I love that they are both wearing that same exact smirk...you can see them thinking, "Here mom goes again with the camera." A very un-Lorelai thing to do...

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Nothing says college like the random bicycles chained up everywhere.

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He was so embarrassed that I was taking photos of him, but we were in a very secluded little sitting area...no one saw, I promise!

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This was before she turned very 2-like...she was still happy here. LOL!

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Then they discovered a huge ant-pile attacking leaves right below where they were sitting. I made that work to my advantage later. Whenever I needed her to cooperate with me holding her, I would point to an ant on the ground and let her know that they were going to get her and she would immediately scramble into my arms. (is that cruel? With a 2 yo, you make it work so that there are no tantrums. LOL!)

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More gorgeous architecture...this is the Student Union.

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It was starting to get really hot and steamy at this point and we had been walking around for about an hour so we decided to take a break on the steps in front of the library.

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This is Jesse Hall where a lot of the administrative work is done for Mizzou.

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Hanging out, Jesse Hall in the background. Kat was starting to get super-tired (only about a 45 min. nap on the drive in and really hot makes for an unruly 2 yo) so we were trying to give her some freedom to work out her energy by playing around in this huge green area.

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The kids heading towards Jesse Hall while I photographed its gorgeous exterior. Jacob was wanting to get some campus info from here.

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The porch of Jesse Hall...look at that gorgeous porch ceiling.

We had the stroller so were going to go into this building through the handicapped entrance which was directly below this porch. We got down there and started to contain Kat which ended in a serious tantrum from said 2 yo...and even more embarrassing for the 14 yo, because we were under that porch, it made her screams just echo all the more.

I sent Jacob in alone while I tried to get her calmed down. He said that you could hear her screaming all the way inside. Needless to say, he was too embarrassed to try to find someone to help him. Hmmmm, maybe this is why they didn't have any 2 yo's on Gilmore Girls (plus the fact that Lorelai doesn't like kids, although I will admit I wasn't too fond of my little one at this point either.)

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It soon became clear that no more fun was going to be had so we started wrapping up the trip and heading towards the car with a couple of photo/water breaks along the way.

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He was fantastic even though us girls were totally embarrassing. He even walked with us most the time. It may not have been what he had in mind, but I think that he had fun anyway....

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This is Jesse Hall from a distance...

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There were gorgeous flowers ALL over campus. I took LOTS of flower photos!

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Headed towards the Mizzou Tiger which is where we were parked.

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And no roadtrip is complete without a stop at Cracker Barrell which is where we had dinner on the way home.

If you live in the St. Louis Area...

....you NEED to be heading out to the Rams Training Camp!!!

I'll admit it, I am not a huge sports fan. I enjoy it when I watch it, but I certainly don't schedule my life around when the games are on tv. Jacob, on the other hand, lives and breathes sports. Part of that living and breathing sports means that he stays on ESPN radio 24/7 (101.1 FM here in the metro area) and they have been broadcasting live from training camp ever since it opened and he has been dying to go.

It's absolutely, completely FREE and open to the public!!!

I wasn't too sure if I wanted to go. I figured it would be crowded and boring and let's face it, neither of those things works real well when you have an energetic 2 year old. I could not have been more wrong. We had the best time!!! First of all, look at this....

Do you see how up close and personal you can be with what's happening? I wasn't this close to the action at Jacob's Jr. High track meets last year!?!?

The way this practice field is set up is that there are 3 fields that have this little hill on two sides. There are bleachers down right at the sidelines, but you can set up lawn chairs and spread out blankets (which is what we did) at the top of the hills (and then you are also in the shade of the trees.)

We absolutely had a birds-eye view and could see every little thing that was happening. These photos were taken with my camera that doesn't have any kind of zoom lens. Jacob got some amazing shots on my old Olympus that does have a zoom (I'll get those downloaded soon since the Mac isn't set up to handle that camera.)

The best part, it was completely fun and relaxed...like having a picnic in the park, but wait...Yes, that is a professional football team just steps away from us.

I would estimate that there was only about 100 people out there watching. So intimate, but yet a little sad. I can only guess that St. Louis doesn't realize what an amazing day out that have here...and did I mention that it is completely FREE?!?!?

She didn't even get bored. She thought it all was a great adventure!

You can see here, how few people are out there. That glimpse of a white tent down on the left is where ESPN was broadcasting from. Their afternoon show is called the Fast Lane and the hosts are... Randy Karraker, Bob Ramsey and D'Marco Farr.

And you can literally sit there and watch while the three of them are broadcasting and discussing all the day's sports talk.

Then after the practice (and remember that this was their second workout of the day), several of the players came out and chatted and signed autographs. They could not have been more friendly or open. It was amazing! They didn't act like they were in a hurry to get out of there at all.

This is Kyle Boller (QB) signing autographs. That's Jacob in the blue shirt and gold hat...

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I think that this is Jonathan Wade. He ran over right after practice ended and was so unbelievable friendly and outgoing. Do you see this look that he has with this little girl? That's the way he was with absolutely everyone! He just seemed genuinely happy to be there and having fun with the fans.

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This is James Laurinaitis who I think was the Rams second round pick this year and that's Jacob standing right there by him to get an autograph.

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I cannot say enough good things about our afternoon out at training camp. Everyone, from the girl handing out flyers to the guys parking us, was incredibly friendly and incredibly gracious about the fact that we were even there. EVERYONE continued to thank us for coming out and supporting the team. I just think that it's sad that more aren't going out there. It was so fun and so worth the trip. You will not regret it if you do. There are still about 2 weeks of practices...you can find the details HERE.

I know that the Rams have definitely earned some new fans in this family...no matter what kind of season they have had or will have!

...oh, and we plan to go out there again next week when Jacob's not working out at his own football practices which start next Wednesday!

We're Hip-Hopping through August!!!

Hip Hop Peeps!!!

How are we already almost a week into August?!? Time is flying by and it's time for another Unity Hip Hop celebration! Yippeee!!!

Today we are featuring the Store Exclusive Unity Kit of the Month, 100% Happy!

This kit is only available for stores to buy wholesale to sell to you and I love it! Such amazing images in it and I still haven't gotten to get all my favorite ones inky, so keep an eye out as I will have much more to share with this kit!

I have a layout and a card to share with you today using this kit. This first project is my layout using that oh-so-versatile Bingo card that is in this kit...brilliant design! You just add whichever top you want to the bingo card. I couldn't decide on which one I liked best so I just simply used them all! ;o)

These photos are of Kat simply playing out in front of my parents house in Texas. You can see the simple joy on her face as she runs around so that "100% Happy" was absolutely the perfect stamp for this layout.

I got the layout done and it just seemed to lack a little something so I added in the butterflies from Bevy of Butterflies. I can already see that kit is going to be one that I use a TON just for added details like this!

Supplies Used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Exclusive Store kit- 100% Happy

*Unity Stamp Co. Bevy of Butterflies

*October Afternoon papers and card

*K&Company Die Cut

*flat-back pearls

*StazOn Jet Black inkpad

*ribbon

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My second project is a card that I created using the packaging that the Unity stamps come in. I have been saving these because I LOVE that little cut-out window on the front of the package. For this card, I stamped the star on the acetate using my black stazOn pad and cut it out. You may be able to see that a little better if you click on the window to enlarge the card....

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Exclusive Store Kit- 100% Happy

*October Afternoon papers

*MM ledger paper

*MM lace trim

*buttons

*StazOn Jet Black inkpad

*Fiskars border punch

*corner rounder

*Bazzill Kraft

*Unity Stamp Co. packaging

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Now you need to Hip HOP on over to....

***Renee's Gorgeous Blog***

Creating for Fun....

Yesterday, I sat down with the Mojo Monday sketch (#98) and decided to just play for pure fun and created the simplest card that I absolutely LOVE! I love it when that happens!!!

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Hodge Podge of Happiness (bird)

*Unity Stamp Co. Worn Music Background (kraft square)

*Sassafras paper (pink floral)

*MM ledger paper

*watercolor pencils

*Fiskars border punch

*Marvy Uchida scallop circle punches

*MM twill trim

*copper brads

*Memories brown inkpad

Around here, there isn't too much exciting going on. We are on week 2 of Insanity and I am LOVING IT!!! We have been getting up at 4:00 am for over a year now to work out and I'll be honest, the last few months that has been a real struggle, but right now I am finding myself waking up before the alarm clock and ready to get going on the workout. I LOVE THAT!

This week, we officially moved into the recommended diet and I can honestly say that I am stuffed. It consists of 5-300 calorie meals and the meal plan offers you 10 choices for each of those 5 meals. To give you an idea of what we are eating...

Yesterday's meal plan:

1. oatmeal with blueberries and walnuts

2. egg sandwich on english muffin, turkey bacon and tomato

3. roast beef pita and side salad

4. cold cuts, swiss cheese, tomato, and crackers

5. chicken stir fry

Today's meal plan:

1. egg white wrap with mozzarella and melon (so far I haven't found room to eat the fruit yet.)

2. nutrition bar (we eat Clif bars) and cottage cheese

3. chicken ranch wrap

4. tuna salad served in a tomato with crackers and English muffin

5. citrus baked chicken with honey-glazed carrots (but I don't like cooked carrots so we are substituting on this one.)

Unity is looking for a Guest Designer...

...and it could be you! Every month we hold a guest DT contest. Here are the details for this month...

We are doing a 1-2-3 challenge. You may use only

1 - Stamp (can use same image multiple times)
2 - patterned papers
3 - embelli's

***You may use only your June or July KOM's***

You have until Monday the 10th 5pm CENTRALto upload your card using keyword USGDC04

We will announce the winner Wednesday the 12th!

The DT takes on this challenge using the August kom and this is what I came up with...

My one stamp is that gorgeous little bicycle stamp from the August kom,

my 2 patterned papers are the polkadot and damask from Collage Press,

and my 3 embellishments are the tag, chipboard frame, and scallop trim.

I used my watercolor pencils on the bicycle and a bit of sponging to give it a more shabby, distressed look that I was going for on the card.

And, if I were able to add more embellishments, I would have added buttons along the trim here, but don't worry... I didn't cheat. These were just laid on top of the card for photographic purposed, not permanently attached. :o)

Supplies used:

*Unity STampCo. August kom- Following My Heart

*Collage Press papers

*7 gypsies tag

*Tattered Angels embossed chipboard frame

*MM scallop trim

*Memories brown inkpad

*watercolor pencils

*cardstock

*corner rounder

I hope that you will play along!

Nice Thoughts for August...

August is here and with it comes lots of happenings...my birthday (#39), back-to-school, the official start of football season, and Ben's 6 month-deployment.

Because of all of those things, I am busy in planning stage...trying to get organized, motivated, and did I mention organized for the next year of my life. Next year is the big 4-0 and I have some things to get accomplished this year. With Ben being gone, I will have extra time on my hands, but it is also so easy to slide into procrastination mode without him here because there is no one coming home at night to see that I didn't do anything all day (Jacob & Kat are fine with it) so I have big plans and I will share more about all of that over the next couple of weeks.

But with the start of August comes a new Unity Stamp Co. KOM. I say it every single month, but OMG, I LOVE THIS KIT!!!

This month there is an incentive kit to sign up as a new member of the kit club and I just had to have a play with it this morning when I saw the new CPS sketch (#127).

Isn't that sentiment simply the best (and it's in this incentive kit too!) "You're one of my nicest thoughts"...perfect for any thinking of you card!

Supplies Used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Mailbox Greetings

*Sassafras Paper collection

*Collage Press Ticket tag

*watercolor pencil

*Memories brown inkpad

*Fiskars border punch

*buttons

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The incentive kit: yours free this month when you sign up as a new member of the kit club....

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And August's amazing kit of the month. A full 8 1/2 x 11 inch sheet of red rubber images mounted on cling foam to use with your acrylic blocks and a HUGE bargain at only $24 plus $5 shipping. You are not going to beat that deal anywhere!

I'll be back tomorrow with another card using the August kom and the details about your chance to become a guest designer for a month for Unity Stamp Co!!!