Entryway is clean!

Man, this feels so good, I am really loving this challenge!! I may be singing a different tune when I have to tackle my scraproom, lol! So far everything that hasn't had a place has been piled on top of something else without a home in my sraproom. Luckily it has a door that I can close! LOL!!! Not only is my entry way clean...my living room is STILL clean, and so is my porch!! I probably should have figured this out a long time ago, but if I run around and do a quick tidy up as soon as Austin goes to bed every night, it stays pretty tidy in here! Anyways, it's late, and my mom is coming to pick us up in the morning to go to her house for the weekend (and I haven't packed yet!) so I need to get to bed! So, here are the photos of what I got done in my entry, and the closet. My mom and I will be taking the unwanted clothes to Good Neighbours in the morning. Oh, and I'm picking up a Doodlebug Chipboard House from the LSS tomorrow, that's what I've decided to do for my mom's Christmas present! Right...photos....bed......

Witch's Brew Cyber Crop!

I am so excited! I have recently taken over hostessing the BOM Challenges at ScrapAttack! And...I will be hoestessing a couple of challenges at the upcoming Witch's Brew Cyber Crop on October 5-7th!! This is so exciting to me because I have never been on this side of things before, and it is just SO FUN!!! Make sure you come and check out the crop and have some fun with us!! There will be challenges, games, and of course..PRIZES!!! See you there!!

And if that's not enough to keep you busy...Scraplovers is having their second birthday crop on the same weekend. Be sure to check that one out too!

Recent Creations

Just some of my latest work:

I Can't Live Without:

For a BOM challenge at ScrapAttack

I Cry When...
Also for a BOM challenge at ScrapAttack

Cowboy:
For a scraps challenge at ScrapAttack &
A Big Picture challenge at Serendipity.
Austin had to get in on the action while I
was doing a little self portrait session with that hat.

Sites From The Park:
For a microslide challenge at Serendipity.
I was playing around with the camera at the park
taking photos of different things.

Foxy:
For a sketch challenge at Serendipity.
Sketch from www.pagemaps.com

Big Brown Eyes:
For a BOM Challenge at ScrapAttack, a
dotted rings challenge at Serendipity, and a
sketch challenge at Scraplovers.
Sketch from http://sketches-r-us.blogspot.com/

Altered Paint Can and Keepsake Box:
These were done as a gift for my friend Lesley's
new baby girl, Blair.

Canvas Clock:
For a challenge at the LSS (The Paper Crate).
For the challenge we were given a sheet of Daisy D's PP,
a sheet of prism cardstock, and a strip of twill. This is what
I created with those items.

The living room is clean!!

Wow, I am impressed with myself! It looks amazing in here! My mom actually said to me the other day, before I was even finished, that it was the cleanest she had ever seen it. A compliment from my mother...that is a HUGE accomplishment, lol!!! And last night Stevie came in and damn near fell over at the site of my SPOTLESS living room! Of course it is not AS clean today, but it is still very clean, and as soon as Austin went to bed I picked up all his toys...good mommy!! LOL! So, don't my word for it, lol, here it is....

Before:

And After:

This week we are working on the entryway. Another spot that needs some serious work...let's just get it said and out of the way...my entire apartment needs some serious work!!! LOL! I have not been the gratest housekeeper, but I am going to change that now, it feels so good! I got started in the entryway a little bit already tonight. I had two GIANT bags of clothes that someone had given me a while back and I just tossed them in the entryway closet to be dealt with later...when my own mountain of laundry was washed, lol, 'cause I knew most of it would need washing before anyone was going to be wearing it! So, since I spent the last two days catching up on all my laundry, tonight I hauled those two bags out of the closet and sorted through them all...there is already a load of the stuff in the washing machine, washing as we speak! There is another two garbage bags full of stuff that we don't want/need that I have already told my mom will need to be taken to Good Neighbours for donation. AND there is one load of it waiting in the laundry basket to be washed, some to be given to friends of ours that will use it and some to be given to my mom's work (some ladies dress clothes). And, I still had a blanket and belt belonging to the wonderful friend who stayed here a few months back, flung in that same closet, and it is now in the donation bags...GOOD RIDDENCE!!! Dang this feels good, lol!!

Our first non-cleaning assignment this week is to (a) make freezer goodies (b) make a freezer meal (c) buy nonperishable items needed for holiday dinners or (d) buy new batteries for camera, etc. Well, since I have NO freezer, and I just bought new rechargable batteries before we went on our lttle vacation in July, I am going to have to buy some of the things I need for cooking holiday dinner. Well, there is a second part to this, buy 2 of each thing, one for donation to the Food Bank, but since I am usually a recipient of a food hamper during the holiday this seems a little silly for me to do! LOL! But, I will see what I can buy (or put aside from what I already have in the cupboards, ha!) that I will need for dinner.

And our second non-cleaning assignment, make one of our gifts we have planned to make and share instructions. I'm not sure about this one. I did get some super cute Reminisce patterned paper the other day that has the most adorable little penguins on it!! I was sooooo excited to see that, lol! I really want to make something cute with it for my mom, but I want to really think on it and make it something really cool.

Anyways, I am typing like a mad woman here, trying to get everything out, because blogger has a maintenance scheduled for 11 tonight. It is still over an hour away, but I have realized the last couple days, I get a bit overly paranoid and worried about things, lol! So, I'll be back tomorrow with some of my latest creations and scrappy news (nothing too exciting, lol!)

More Living Room Cleaning!

Well, as I have been cleaning the TV stand and computer desk I have been moving things that didn't belong on either of them onto the dining room table. So, that was my next thing to tackle, was the table! What a moutain of mess I had piled on top of it...don't ask where it got moved to, I'm sure you will see in the near future, lol!! Anyways, here is my accomplishment for today...The bit of mess behind the table is actually on the kitchen counter, and I wouldn't want to get ahead of myself by cleaning that up! LOL!!

Now I have room to srap, wooohooo!!! And I got some *cute* photos of myself last night. Now, that is not something you will hear me say very often, I absolutely hate almost all photos of myself, but these ones turned out pretty good! And pretty fun too! A couple weeks ago at Scrapattack the question of the day was "what kind of music do you listen to?" Well, my answer was that I am a country girl. Wendi did not believe me!! She said I did not seem like a country girl from the photos she had seen of me...hence the cowboy hat in these photos, my pink sparkly cowboy hat, lol! Just for Wendi!

The last one is my favorite! So, I am having a pretty good day today, probably has to do with not hearing from Brian and all his whining and self pity crap! And to make the day even better, a UPS man showed up today with a RAK from Tina at 2Jills from a cybercrop a while ago, and holy awesomeness! I'll leave you drooling over all the Primas she sent while I go make some dinner and get to some scrapping!!

Holiday Grand Plan Challenge

Over at Scraplovers.com Linda is helping us get ready for the holiday season early by giving us challenges following the Holiday Grand Plan. Last week we cleaned off our porches and started making lists for cards, gifts, etc. Boy did my front porch need that cleaning (no thanks to Brian and his disgusting cigarettes!!). It looks great now, except that the next day I came home and a cat had sprayed on it already. The joys of apartments with too many uncontrolled cats in close proximity!

This week we are working on the living room. Boy does mine need this! Since my living room doubles, triples, quadruples even as my dining room, bedroom, computer/scrap room...oh and Austin's playroom, it is the messiest room in the house and never gets fully cleaned. A quick tidy here and there but NEVER a deep clean. But, it's getting it now, and I am so proud of myself and so happy with what I have accomplished already, just this afternoon!

Here is what my TV and Computer spaces looked like this morning and what they look like now:

Another part of this weeks challenge is to answer at least 2 of these questions, but I am going to try and answer all of them if I can!

· Do I see Holidays time primarily as a time for entertaining friends and renewing long lost acquaintances or as a time for family? We do a little bit of both during the holidays. The week before Christmas we usually spend visiting friends, dropping off cards and gifts, and presents depending on how close of a friend it is. Then Austin and I usually spend one day at my parents house, sometimes Christmas Eve, sometimes Boxing Day. Christmas Eve we usually end up at my aunt and uncle's for dinner with them, my cousins, and my grandma. Then on Christmas day it is just us. I'm not sure who 'us' will be this year, whether it will be 3 or 2, but either way, just us!

· How much emphasis do our Christmas activities place on the spiritual side of Christmas? (or Hanukkah) Honestly, we do not place a lot of emphasis on the spiritual side of Christmas. Sometimes we go to church on Christmas Eve with my aunt & uncle and family, but otherwise we don't do anything. Once Austin is a little older and understads a little more I would like to put a little more emphasis on it.

· How involved is my family in the Holiday preparation? Totally not involved! LOL! It's allllll ME! My parents often provide the turkey, roasting pan, and sometimes some of the veggies, depending on how I am doing financially. And they often get a phone call Christmas morning with questions on how to cook things! I am only 23 after all, lol, not exactly full of experience when it comes to these things. But, other than that, preparation is all me...cooking, baking, making/signing/sending cards, buying/giving gifts, decorating. Austin does think he is helping with some things though, lol!

· What activities are particularly important to our family at Christmas or Hanukkah? To myself? We don't have a lot of activities that we do. There is a little town light up celebration downtown that we like to go to and watch Santa come down off the roof, and go for a hay/sleigh ride aound downtown. And I like to go for walks and look at the diferent light displays. Oh, and of course we have to take Austin to the mall to have his photo taken with Santa!

· Why do we observe the traditions we do in our house? I don't really know that we have any traditions yet. When I was still at home, one tradition we had was that the tree was never put up before December 18th, because my birthday is on the 17th and my parent's didn't want to take away from that. But, I don't continue that tradition in my own house, and my parents don't know that I am out of the house either, lol!

· How important is an elaborately decorated house, homemade gifts or food, to my feelings about the Holidays? I HAVE to decorate my house. Not necessarily elaborately, but it has to be decorated, I don't know why it just doesn't feel like Christmas without decorations! And I must make homemade gifts for certain people, people I am closest too, because so much more thought and caring/love goes into a homemade gift. And Christmas is about thinking about and caring about and loving those around you!

· What would my ideal Christmas be like? This year it would be ideal to just get through it without and drama or arguments. If that means Austin and I spend Christmas just the two of us, then that would be wonderful!