-Blog and Run-

Sorry to have to blog and run,
but I have a lot of shopping to do!
I quickly made this page
after seeing the faces my girls
always make while shooting photos.
I swear, 1/2 of the pics taken
had these goofball faces :)



All my Christmas cards are in the mail...
wooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooooo!
Have a great weekend!
-Jody

-Pages Of Christmas Past-Part 2-

Good morning!
I've crossed a couple of things
off my holiday to-do list.
The cards are bought and most are addressed,
I even shot the annual Christmas photo last night.
Here's a sampling (and I only took about 20 shots!)...







I even completed 1 out of 3
scrap assignments.
Go me!
I haven't been able to scrap for me,
so here is another page from Christmas past.
I loved this photo or Erin
gazing at the tree...
it just makes me happy :)



I hope your to-do lists are smaller than mine!
Back to work!
Have a great day!
-Jody

-Pages of Christmas Past-

Good morning!
10 days 'til Christmas
and I need about 20 days
to accomplish everything on my to-do list.
3 scrap assignments,
shopping/wrapping for just about everyone's gifts,
taking the annual Christmas card photo,
addressing the envelopes of which I haven't bought yet,
baking over 500 cookies,
and working at my "real" job.
Calgon, take me away...to a rubber room, preferably!

So because of this,
my next couple of posts will be
pages from past Christmases.
First up, Megan as a baby,
who I wrapped in Christmas lights.
She was not happy, hence the title,
"Un-merry And Bright":



One thing I have accomplished
is that I was asked to take photos
at Erin's school for the annual
gingerbread house making festivities.
I shot and edited 50 adorable pics
for the yearbook.
Here is Erin and her masterpiece:



Have a great Tuesday!
-Jody

-Just Imaginisce-

Good morning!
There is a giveaway
over at http://www.writeclickscrapbook.com/
we were given some great Imaginisce products to work with.
The 1st page I made is 2 blog titles down, "My Snowman"
and my 2nd page is of Megan from last winter
posing in all her snow gear glory.
I called this one "Snow Pretty",



I love the soft blue & green color combo
here with the b&w photos.
It wouldn't have worked with
the original pink/purple combo much, huh? ;)



Hope your Thursday is a good one!
-Jody

-Good News, Bat News-

Ok, so lets do the good news first.
I have a new page to show you,
go me!
This photo still cracks me up
every single time I look at it.
Erin in her Bat costume from Halloween.
Did I mention how much I love this kid?
Oh yeah, in every single solitary blog post, sorry.
:)



Now for the "bat" news...
thanks for all your comments about "Twilight" yesterday,
you all got me pumped up to watch it.
That being said
I did not read any of the "Twilight" books.
So I came into this movie
just hearing all the hype.
I've got to say after watching it...
I just didn't feel it.
:::BIG sigh:::
I thought Bella was flat in her performance
and that Edward was a vampire based on
a brooding Dylan of "Beverly Hills 90210"
No one wanted to come away loving it more than me.
:::another sigh:::

I hope we can still be friends ;)
Have a great Tuesday!
-Jody

-Wintertime Is Here-

Well, it's official.
Winter is here
as you can see from my new blog header.
This kind of snow I can deal with,
where there's just a lovely layer of white
but the roads are still drivable.

Erin was SO excited from the moment she woke up
waiting patiently for the 1st snowflake to fall.
She couldn't wait to build her 1st snowman
of the season, all by herself.
She named him Frostbite.
Have I mentioned how much I love this kid? :)


*Imaginisce papers and rub-ons*

Ok, so I rented "Twilight" one week ago
to see what all the fuss is about...
and I still haven't sat down to watch it.
:::sigh:::
Have you seen it?
Which "team" are you on?
I know without even seeing it
that I am going to be an Edward fan.

Have a great day!
-Jody

-Her New Normal-

Happy Friday to you!
I need to get my act together
and start Christmas shopping.
Do me a favor...
if you are one of those people
who has all their gifts bought and wrapped
don't tell me.

I just finished a page about Ryan.
It will be nice when I can scrap about her,
without bringing her illness into it.
I think it will always be in the forefront
of our minds.
The scars, her limp, are still here...
She gets frustrated at times that she doesn't
have her old life back.
But I keep saying this is her new normal.
All in time...she has come SO far in just
less than one year.



A year to be so very grateful for :*)
Have a great weekend!
-Jody

-You're A Mean One, Baby Grinch-

Morning,
as promised the December gallery
is up over at Write.Click.Scrapbook.
And as always,
chockful of inspiration,
go check it out----->

My contribution for this month
was a photo of my girls from back
in 2000.
It was Erin's very 1st Christmas
and she wasn't around long enough to know
my obsession with getting the perfect
Christmas photo for our annual Christmas card.
I literally will shoot 80 photos
in hopes of getting one decent one.
This year was particularly difficult,
my very own "Baby Grinch":



Off to bring Megan to get her braces!
Have a great day!
-Jody

-Tell Me A Story-

Good morning!
Has everyone recovered from their Thanksgiving food comas?
Now bring on December!

I have been wanting to get this one down on paper
for the longest time now.
It actually happened in May of '08.
Erin (age 9) still loves when I read her stories,
so I wanted the journaling to feel like a fairy tale.
She read it this morning before school,
and in usual Erin form started to cry
after she finished reading it,
she loved it.
Mission accomplished :)



Tune in tomorrow for a new page
for the December gallery
over at Write.Click.Scrapbook.!
Have a great day!
-Jody

-So Very Thankful-

I just wanted to wish everyone reading
a very Happy Thanksgiving!
For me, it's a wonderful day spent at my home
with 25+ family members,
we eat so much,
but laugh even more than we eat!

Here was my Thanksgiving layout for last year,
the sentiment will never change:



And I am very thankful for this hobby
that has brought me so much joy
and so many lovely new friends.
So thank YOU for reading,
for commenting and for caring.
I hope your day is spent with people you love :)
-Jody

-By The Numbers-

Hey...remember me?
Wow it's been a whole week since I've last blogged.
Has absence made my blogged heart grow fonder?
I think so ;)

Busy getting ready for Thanksgiving.
Cleaning out my scraproom too.
Which is why my latest page is made with
older Basic Grey products.
I am guilty of hoarding papers I love
but very soon I will be able to wallpaper
my entire home in my patterned paper collection,
if I don't start actually scrapping with them.

Ryan was recently at her bff's Sweet Sixteen,
and I couldn't get over how lovely
she and her friends looked.
Sweet 16? Not so much.
Stunning 16, Heck yes!



Many times when I have scrapper's block
I'll think of a number title
and a page comes together very quickly.
Some past number pages, Megan's last years's birthday:



And her latest birthday:



And this was for Ryan's birthday last year:



So, the next time you are staring
at a blank sheet of paper,
just think of a number.
Works like a charm!
Have a great day!
-Jody

-All The Leaves Are Brown, And My Mood Is Gray-

Good Monday morning to you!
Is anyone else sick of fall already?
I just want summer back.
I think I am living in the wrong state.
I don't deserve to live where there are 4 beautiful seasons.
I just need to live where it's warm and sunny
ALL YEAR ROUND.
Vent over.

I had these K & Company 3D leaf stickers
that I wanted to use since last year.
Erin had made a huge pile of leaves recently
and the pull was too strong,
Megan just had to jump in the leaves.
I think it's a physical impossibility
to not want to jump into a pile of leaves
when you see one :)



I'm in a huge fall cleaning mode right now,
so off I go...
Have a great day!
-Jody

-How Many Days 'Til Thanksgiving?-

Another Friday is here!
I have SO much to do before Thanksgiving rolls around
and what am I doing?
Why making a new page, of course!
I was going through my October folder
and saw so many great photos of Erin
enjoying all the things that October brings.
And in an instant, the page was created.
I love her face at the "parade" pic.
That was the face-pose she came up with
at her school's Halloween parade.
When I asked her later
where on Earth she came up with that,
she told me it was the way the girl posed on the
packaging of her costume.
I tell ya, this kid cracks me up!
(She was a sweetheart bat for Halloween)



Poll for today:
I'm taking Erin to the movies
but don't know which one to take her to.
"A Christmas Carol" (heard it was scary)
or "Where The Wild Things Are" (too boy-ish?)
Any input would be so great :)

Have a great weekend!
-Jody

Please Don't Leaf Me-

It's a chilly November Monday morning here!
My husband spent the most of this past weekend
getting rid of every single leaf on our property.
I took a bunch of pics last week
of the 2 younger girls playing around in the leaves.
I spent most of this weekend
nursing a chest/head cold.
Not fun.

My page today is again a challenge
over at the American Crafts blog.
To use 2 AC products for an autumn page.
Erin was so funny,
getting on the ground to make "leaf angels"
She's very resourceful ;)



*Cardstock, Thickers, Rub-Ons and Flair
all American Crafts*

That's all I could muster for today...
hope your day is a great one :)
-Jody

-I Love, I Love, I Love My Calendar Girl-

How would you like to win a free calendar
from SRM Stickers by way of
http://www.writeclickscrapbook.com/ --->
Yours truly actually made a couple pages
for the giveaway itself,
as did the talented Marnie Flores & Autumn Baldwin:
Here are mine:





It will make a great personalized
holiday gift this season,
or you could be selfish like me
and keep it for yourself ;)
Hurry up, what are you waiting for?
Just leave a comment over at W.C.S site
and you could win...
it's as easy as that!

Thanks for stopping by!
-Jody

-We Are Family-

Just popping in quick to let you know that
it's a new month over at www.writeclickscrapbook.com/
where the theme was "Family Stories"
Such wonderful pages this month,
I laughed, I cried, I was inspired.
Every year for Thanksgiving,
I host @ 25-30 family members
and we all go around saying
what we are thankful for.
And that was my inspiration for this month:



Have a great day!
-Jody

-I Want Candy!-

Happy 2 days after Halloween!
Hope yours was an enjoyable one.
It rained on and off the entire day here.
That doesn't make for good trick or treating.
But we made out just fine with all the candy.
I wish I could say the same about photos
of my girls on Halloween.
This was the 1st time I didn't get the annual
Halloween photo on the front porch.
First of all, Ryan (16) wants nothing to do
with the holiday, she is above it. lol
Megan (12) wants nothing to do with me
being around on Halloween.
And Erin (9) was not happy with the
weather situation.
But even so, I managed to snap a photo of her
checking out her Halloween loot and made a page
for the weekly contest on the American Crafts blog.



*Cardstock, Patterned Paper, Letter Stickers & Stickers all American Crafts*

In honor of Halloween loot,
what is your favorite candy?
Reeses Peanut Butter Cups here!
Thanks for stopping by!
-Jody

-Orange You Glad Its Almost Halloween?-

Happy Almost Halloween!
Back in ancient times, when I was growing up (the 60's & 70's),
the night before Halloween was called "Gate Night",
a.k.a. a night where all the teenage miscreants
would gather all the toilet paper, eggs and shaving cream
they could get their juvenile delinquent hands on
and attack their neighbor's homes, cars, etc...
Good times, I tell you!
Luckily, these days (now that I own cars and a home)
that seems to be a thing of the past.
Does or did this happen where you live?

Anyhoo, big day here for the kids,
they get dressed up for school
and my littlest has a parade.
I go there and take photos for the yearbook
(They call me Mrs. Paparazzi because of my zoom lens)

Today's page was made from last night's photos
of my 2 youngest dds carving pumpkins.
The disgusted faces and shrieking
that was involved with removing the guts
of the pumpkin was very scrapworthy.



I love using orange on a page,
some people may not think so,
but they are not living on the edge like me.
Hey, let's revisit some OBG orange pages of mine, shall we?:



Did you know there is no word that rhymes with orange?



While I love the color orange,
the truth is the orange itself (fruit & juice)
is one of the things
that makes me nauseous on smell alone.
This was due to my mom forcing me to drink
orange-flavored Tang as a kid.
That and applesauce are 2 things you will never see me
put into my mouth.
How dare her try to get me
to eat and drink healthy as a child!
;)

Happy Halloween everyone!
-Jody

-You Wear It Well-

Morning!
Hope you all had a great weekend.
I spent the most of it
creating pages for some upcoming assignments
and playing around with my computer.
A computer savvy friend sent me a new program
so you can track people who read
your blog and I was busy playing with that too.
I find it fascinating all the different countries
who have visited this blog.
France, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Australia,
Spain, England, Switzerland, South America
...is that not amazing?!
Thank you for visiting :)

On to the latest page,
when I took Erin to our local fair this summer,
I remember taking this photo and saying,
"Look, you two are wearing the same outfit!"
so that's where the inspiration came
for this clean and simple page.:



Have a great day!
-Jody

-Smile, Though Your Wallet Is Breaking-

Happy Friday to everyone :)

Over at the Ella Publishing Blog, Lain & Angie
are running a contest with the title
"I Love Your Smile"
My poor kids unfortunately got the
crooked teeth gene from both their parents.
In the next year,
all 3 of our girls will be in braces at one time.
*Ouch* to our wallets!
Anyway, like her mother before her,
Erin is teased at school about her smile
(kids can be cruel, as we all know)
I just wanted to put on paper
how much I adore her smile.:



Have a great weekend!
-Jody

-Where's My Head? Asleep.-

Ok, so we finally got to a pumpkin patch,
the weather has been so awful here,
everyday I would plan on going, it would rain.
So here's a new header...for now.

I am busy working on 2 assignments
so I have no new pages to share.
But then I realized
I had one I never posted yet.
I was asked to create a page a couple months ago
by the talented Stacey Michaud
for Scrapstreet.com online magazine.
I had to use "prepositional phrases"
(on, in, beside, over)
as my journaling.
Once I found this photo of Andy and Erin
from our Cape Cod vacay,
it all fell into place.



That's all for today,
we're getting ready to carve into
the big pumpkins we amassed yesterday.
Photos to follow...
Have a great day!
-Jody

-Songs Stuck In My Head~Part 3-

It's been awhile since I did one of these...
I have been listening to a lot of music lately,
when I feel a scrap-block coming on,
I put on some of my favorite songs
and instantly I can make a page.
This song by 3 Doors Down
called "Here By Me" was perfect
for a photo I recently took with Megan.



Here is one of my first pages I had made of Megan,
a sweet memory is always triggered for me
when I hear James Blunt's "You're Beautiful"



One of her last days as a 4th grader (3 years ago!),
she was in her school auditorium with about
50 other girls and boys watching a slideshow
of photos taken of them through their school years.
This song came on and imagine 50 little voices
all singing this song in unison,
while waving their little arms in the air.
This song just makes me happy.
Disclaimer:
I realize some of you
would rather have root canal
then listen to this song again,
and I can live with that ;)

And on that note...
have a great day!
-Jody

-A Kiss Is Just A Kiss-

Yep, it's Friday again!

I wanted to thank everyone who commented on my little camera poll.
It seems most of you have both a point & shoot, as well as a DSLR.
Tonight I am going to my littlest's Halloween school party
and I will be lugging around my Rebel XTi while cursing because
the lowlight conditions are wreaking havoc on the perfect photos
I wish I was taking. :(

Today's page has to do with kissing.
Are you affectionate towards your children?
I have joked that when my kids were little,
they should have had bruises from all the kisses
I planted on their faces.
Still do with Erin. Shhhhhhhhh.
I scrapped this photo of my 3 girls
on the way home from our Cali vacation.
I love the expression on Megan's face.:



I have a couple of "kiss" pages.
This first one is an OBG of Erin
and myself with a quote I love:



And another with Erin,
this time with her Dadddy:



It's snowing here...
crazy weather, we haven't even gotten
our big carving pumpkins yet
and the ground will be covered in snow.
Did I mention I hate snow?

Hope it's warm where you are!
Have a great weekend!
-Jody

-Candid Camera-

Hi there...
There are times that I take out
my rather expensive Canon DSLR camera
and am so frustrated that I don't know enough about it
(shame on me for not fully reading the manual)
and I have to take 20 shots to get the perfect one.
Then my daughter Ryan goes and buys
an inexpensive Nikon compact point & shoot
and gets the same photos I am killing myself for in 1 shot.
Look at the beautiful colors in this:



I would like to do a little poll today:

Do you own a DSLR or a point & shoot camera?
What is your opinion about either?
I am very interested in hearing your answers...
Thanks in advance!
Have a great day, I'm off to get a flu shot!
-Jody

-You Glow Girl!-

TGIF again!
Some of you, who have been reading this blog
since I started back in January,
know of my daughter Ryan's illness over the past year.
She was diagnosed in May of '08 with a rare bone cancer,
usually found in boys aged 10-20 called osteosarcoma.
This type of cancer afflicted
both Teddy Kennedy Jr. and Terry Fox.
Ryan, instead of having her leg amputated,
was able to have what is called a "limb-salvage" surgery.
Her surgeon removed a large portion of her bone
which housed the tumor
and replaced it with a metal prosthesis.
It has been a long, arduous journey for Ryan
as she tries to resume certain parts of her life.
She goes to intense physical therapy 2x a week
where they are trying to get full mobility back in her leg.
As of yesterday,
they were able to get an 80 degree range of motion,
which is fantastic!
We're hoping that she can get back to playing tennis,
which she was passionate about before her diagnosis.
I took this photo of her on the 1st day of school.
I think she positively radiates, but I know I am biased ;)



So if you were one of the many people
who said a prayer or simply had a good thought
for Ryan and her recovery,
I am happy to show you the result 9 months later.
Thank you so much!
Have a wonderful weekend!
-Jody

-Home Sweet Home-

Hellooooo...
Good Monday Morning to you all!
Getting ready to start decorating for Halloween here.
It's a big production as I have 100+ bats to tape up
all inside and outside of my house.

Speaking of houses,
my latest page has to do with my childhood home.
Over at 2Peas, the Flashback Friday challenge was to
scrap a special childhood memory
without using a photo.
Easy enough, music has been a major part of my life.
There isn't a memory that I have,
that music is not attached to it.
Growing up, my parents had a love for music
which did not go unnoticed by me.
I spent many an hour with my ear pressed against the stereo
memorizing song after song.
The Beatles were a huge influence on me
and to this day they are one of my favorites.:



Now this is an OBG (oldie but goodie)
page about the house I live in now.
My husband brought our dream home to life
by helping to build it every step of the way.
He is the best :)
Now if he could only clean up after himself...



That's it for today...
Hope your day is a great one!
-Jody

-Fall Into Fall-

Well I told you it was coming...
October is here!
So it's a new month, it's a new banner.
This one was of last year's Halloween.
Hopefully by the end of this month,
I will have a more recent fall photo to replace it with.
Notice the faces in the photo?
Pretty much exactly captures their true personalities.
'Nuff said.

There is a new gallery up at Write.Click.Scrapbook --->
where the theme was "Eye On Design"
I went to my trusted rounded cornered, color-blocked,
black and white photo design.:



So I leave you with a little tidbit
to make you feel a smidgen better about the fact
that fall is here with a vengeance......
Christmas is only 85 days away!

Have a great day!
-Jody

-Nuts-

Hello-
Today's blog title not only stands
for my newest scrap page,
but also for my state of mind of late.
Do you ever just have SO much to do on your to-do list
that nothing gets done in the process?
That's me right now.
It's so overwhelming
that I don't even know where to begin :(

Let's just get right to the layout.
Another sweet Erin page,
another page based on her shirt design
and another 2 sisters are
going to pout that their mother's "favorite"
had another page made about her.
Such is life. Deal. lol



How cute is that patterned paper?
And how cute is that shirt I got at Target?
And true story on the journaling too.
I can't say the moment I found out I was pregnant
was the happiest moment of my life,
but the moment she was born was.

Check back tomorrow for a new page
and a new month over at Write.Click.Scrapbook
and hopefully a new blog banner.
It's October already?
:::sigh:::
Have a great day!
-Jody

-Get Back, MoJo*!-

*also known as the inspiration that is Erin.

Anyway, I scrapped 2 pages in the last couple of days,
hopefully, my mojo is back.
The first one I can't show you yet
because it is the October assignment
over at Write.Click.Scrapbook---->
The amazing Elizabeth Dillow is hosting right now,
go check her out for some adorable scrap/craft ideas.

Meanwhile, I can show you the second one.
I saw this photo and immediately
starting singing the song,
"Let's Go Fly A Kite" from Mary Poppins.
It didn't hurt that I loved Erin's sweet face
and I liked how the kite's tail
looked like an "e" in the word kite.
Simple inspiration like that:



Here are some older layouts where Erin was the inspiration.
I found this quote and immediately knew what picture to scrap,
I love how her little body is peeking through the window:



And here she is enjoying a snack,
wonder where she gets her love for sweets?:



And finally, another song for inspiration.
I love the Queen song, "Bicycle":



There you go.
Thanks for all your comments
about how to get Mr. Mojo
to visit again.
I still haven't watched "Glee" this week.
I wanted to wait 'til I could watch it in peace.
Have a great weekend!
-Jody

-Have You Seen My Mojo?-

1) It has finally happened...
after 2 1/2 years of scrapping,
I have lost my scrap mojo.
I have sat in my scraproom
and made at least 3 different pages,
and ripped them apart because I just don't "feel" them.
Is this normal???
Am I just obsessing???
What can I do to get over this???
Can I stop overusing question marks???

2) Since I have no page to share,
and nothing of importance to share,
because I have no life,
I want to ask YOU,
"What TV show do you have to watch?"
What I mean is,
what show if mistakenly not Tivoed, DVRed or taped,
makes you go into a depression?
With that said...does anyone watch "Glee"?
I love this show more than life.
Between the witty (and sometimes raunchy) writing
and the great songs they showcase by the talented cast,
the show is right up my alley.

So if you have a sec...
could you answer either my mojo question or my TV question.
Many thanks!
Signed,
Jody <-who will be rewatching her favorite show
while not scrapping today.

-For Your Amusement-

Greetings once again on this fine friday!
Cool, crisp autumn weather happening in these parts.
And always with a clear blue sky.
Gorgeous!

I love going to carnivals and amusement parks
especially for the great spontaneous photo ops
my girls provide for me.
Check out Erin's face in this layout,
she never fails to inspire me daily with her wit:



I think I have 3 other photos waiting in my "to scrap" pile
from other outings to our local fairs, Disney, etc...
Here's one of my all-time favorite songs called
"The Circle Game" by Joni Mitchell
I remember my Mom singing this song on her guitar
and it brings back such wonderful memories :)
This was one of my very first pages:



Here's to hoping this weekend brings you
more joy than you can stand!
-Jody