Ta da!

I finally got a digi layout done after I decided to play along at Sketch N Scrap. They have a couple of sketch challenges each month. I went with Sketch N Scrap 15 

When we went to Bears camp this summer, we took a driving tour to check out the barns.  There are LOTS of them throughout the county.

I used 2 Peas My Guy kit for the quilt patterned papers and 2 Peas Farmers Market kit for the tag and title bar.

The circle was drawn with CK Scrapbook Designer Deluxe

Thanks for stopping by!

Scrap Chat

For my fellow "paper punchers", (DH's pet name for my scrapping friends). Here are a couple of questions for you.

1. What scrap challenge sites or blogs do you frequent?
2. What scrap project and tutorial sites do you frequent?
3. What are your favorite embellishments?

I am looking for more inspiration to kick up my scrapping mojo.
Thanks!

The Tourists Amusement Park edition

We went to Six Flags this past Thursday - of course it's been in the mid to upper 70s for the last two weeks and THAT was the day it soared back up into the 90s.  We still had a good time and stayed to close the park down!

(disclaimer: all photos taken with my phone, so they are not the best quality!)

Park overview:

DD with Daffy

 

Our first roller coaster of the day....she didn't handle it well but bounced back quickly!

 A spin in the tea cups

 He hid most of the day when I got my phone out to take a picture... 

 DD & DH off for a rid on the Little Dipper

 Waiting to ride the Viper 

 Viper over, waiting to pull back into the station  "I need to go again!"

 DD with Bugs

 DD with Pepe

We all almost threw up after riding this one....ugh!  DH watched from the ground (smart man!)

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Following is the half-time perfomance of DD and her fellow poms camp attendees from Friday evening.

It is a Michael Jackson medley

(she's the blond with the ponytail & dark glasses)

It's me! Part 1

I invited you  leave me questions you wanted me to answer about myself.  Here are your questions, my answers and links to blogs of the asker (please visit):

Valerie of Val's Outside Voice asked: "how in the hell do you read so fast? I would love to be able to just pick a random book to start reading but because I'm soooo slow, I have to be really picky. So, how do you do it? Skim? Took a fast reading course? Skip certain words or phrases?"    Val, I have always been a quick reader. I usually have more than one book in progress at a time (usually a book and an audio book). That helps me accomplish getting through my book goal each year.

Jenny Lilac of Jenny Lilac asked: "Is Jenny your full name? (It is mine.) What are your favorite kinds of scrapbook pages to do?"  Jenny is not my full name.  My full name is Jennifer Michelle.  My favorite kinds of scrapbook pages....hmmmm....that's a little tougher.  I would say my favorite kinds to do are of our vacations and places we visit.  That being said, I really enjoy playing with paper and glue (and my Cricut) doing any project.

Laura of Who's This Chick? asked: "what are some of your favorite scrap Manufacturers?"  This is a really hard one to answer. There are so many amazing scrapbook manufacturers out there.  I enjoy Bazzill and Basic Grey the most.  If it counts, I would also like to add Cricut/Provo Craft to that list too.


Disneypal of Peace, Love & Understanding asked: "which hobby do you think your prefer the most, crochet or scrapbooking?"  WOW - another tough question!!!!  I really enjoy both. It's easiest for me to crochet while we are watching TV or a movie or to take in the car.  Scrapbooking is my "I want to be along or hanging with some fellow 'paper punchers' (as DH calls my scrap friends).  So I can't really say as I prefer one over the other - they are both very enjoyable to me.

Staci of This Black Butterfly asked:  "What kind of camera do you have? How long have you been scrapping?"   I use a Sony Cybershot as a camera. I hope to upgrade, someday...   I have kept scrapbooks my whole life but have been scrapbooking since 1999.

Lisa Rukin Swift of Remember the Good Times asked: "Where do you scrap?"  I have a little corner in our back room where my "craft desk" is set up.  (picture to come soon)

Kelly of Inspired Me asked: "what is your favorite dessert?"  My VERY favorite dessert is chocolate chip cookies!!!!!!!!!  I also enjoy yellow cake and lemon pie.

My mom asked: "How many national parks have you been to?" If you count all the National Parks, Historice Sites and Memorials....45 to date.  And please don't ask to pick a favorite because I think there is something special about each of them. You can click on the National Parks & Sites tab under my blog title to see the whole list of NPS sites and the ones we have visited.



Thank you all for your questions!  I will have to do these little sessions more often....I enjoyed answering you.

Monday gratitudes

I'm looking to start the week on a positive note! Here is what I'm grateful for this morning...

*My family
*A roof over my head & food on my table
*A gorgeous weekend
*A little time to scrapbook & write this past weekend
*Time with my husband & kids
*A short work week
*Reading a good book on the deck in the sun
*An author asking if I would like to review her book (gives me a thrill!)
*All the wonderful blog visitors and posts (THANK YOU!!!!!!)

Have a fantastic week!

Your mission...

Should you choose to accept it...
Post a question you would like me to answer (in the near future) in the comments and I will do a "getting to know Jen" segment soon!


I am aiming for Wednesday next week to get this posted - I've gotten some great questions so far - keep them coming!

PS: I will add a link to your blog in my post if you leave a question.

It's my life...

So Dept (see previous post) called back and our insurance company made an error in processing the May claim. DD's provider IS in network, so we can continue to use them.  (I won't start my insurance ranting now...)

It's Wednesday! How has your week been?  It's been uneventful  at our house (thank goodness!). I've gotten a little scrapbooking and crocheting done. I took a few pictures before work yesterday of the sun and fog.

Your assignment for this post:  Post a question you would like me to answer (in the near future) in the comments and I will do a "getting to know Jen" segment soon!

I will get the rest of our vacation pictures posted here soon!
Hoping you all have a great rest of the week.

Why should it be smooth sailing?

Nothing in life is easy!  This is a lesson that I have experienced time and time again. I do my best to keep smiling and keep moving.

This time...we're back to DD's hearing.  We recently had to requalify for the assistance program (and we did).  I got a message when I got home yesterday from the dept. asking one of us to call asap about her May appointment.  So I call... the provider who has always done her hearing screenings, hearing aid maintenance, etc is no longer in our personal health insurance network.  Sigh!  So...now we have to find a provider that is in our healthcare network so we can continue to receive assistance.  I tell ya!!!!

So fortunately, the department is working with us to find a provider that is in network and that works with their department.  Have I ever mentioned what a pain jumping through government hoops is sometimes?

Smile & wave!

courtesy of milanfan.com

Don't get me wrong!  I am very appreciative of the assistance we receive and they are very open about programs/support that is out there for DD & for our whole family.  We struggled for 5 years to find a program that we qualified for and that had this much support.  I feel very fortunate.

The Tourists - Sites, Sand & Sea Edition

Part 4, Days 5 & 6 - Florida panhandle

(links in orange/yellow)

We got up and going the next morning - stopped for breakfast before heading toward our eastern most destination - Destin, FL

We stopped at Fort Pickens 

We toured the fort, DD earned ANOTHER Jr. Ranger badge

We drove to Destin, made a stop at the Hard Rock Cafe

 Then off to the beach!

We went to Henderson Beach State Park  We had to pay a small entrance fee but the beach was VERY clean and not crowded. It was a nice state park.

The day we were there the red flag (high surf) and the purple flag (marine life warning) were both out so we didn't spend a lot of time in the water, but there was lots of playing in the sand!

(and there's nothing better than a nap while listening to the surf)

We had dinner and headed back to Pensacola for the night.

According to DD we stayed at the "fancy hotel" (Super 8) because it had a jacuzzi suite listed on the brochure.

It was a decent hotel - the room was very spacious and clean.

We had hotel breakfast the next morning (1st day of summer) and headed to the Naval Station to watch the Blue Angels practice and visit the Aviation Museum

We went to the Pensacola Lighthouse and DH, DD & I made it to the top (177 steps). DS decided the stairs were too much and he waited in a big window well with a few other people.

Looking up from the bottom of the staircase to the top

Views from the top of the lighthouse (I was glad I made the trek!):

Fort Barrancas is also on the base and we paid a visit to that too (I won't post MORE fort pictures)

We had lunch and took naps at the hotel.  We drove out to Pensacola Beach to play in the sand for a couple of hours (still had high surf)

 Dinner that night:  (DD is still asking if we have Whataburger here)

The Tourists - Sites, Sand & Sea Version

Part 3, Day 4 - Gulf Coast(links are in orange/yellow)

Sorry it's taken so long to continue....

(this is a picture heavy post!)
[you can click on the pictures to see them larger]

We slept in on Monday morning, followed with a walk on the beach and breakfast at McDonald's.

We visited the Hurricane memorials in Biloxi

Katrina Memorial

 Hurricane Camille

 (note the bent flagpole & building frame behind the memorial...this damage occurred during Hurricane Katrina)



We were off the the home of Jefferson Davis (Beauvoir) - it was a lovely home and it was amazing to see how much restoration had been done with Katrina had happened - our tour guide was fantastic. AND...we sat in the rockers on the front porch while we waited for our tour
[at the time of our visit, June 2012 they were busy building the new Presidential Library and Visitor Center, which was housed at trailers at the time we were there]

 DD in the Rose Garden (which will be redone after the construction is complete)

 Ask DS about "Sean Connery" who was on our tour 

We decided to continue on a drive since it was the heat of the day and we were already in the van - so we headed west along the Gulf - there was still a lot of damage left from Katrina and a lot of rebuilding going on

What is left of a bank...the vault (yes, it was empty)

 The door was rusted open

 All along US 90, there are trees that were damaged by Katrina that sculptors Dayton Scoggins & Marlin Miller, has turned into works of art

Tree Sculptures

 We stopped in to get our Passports stamped, DD earned another Jr. Ranger badge and enjoyed a walk through part of the park

 Crabs:

We had dinner at the BEST BBQ place we found on vacation:

The Shed BBQ

 Talk about an ironic piece of "junk"

We changed at the hotel and played at the beach until the sun went down

You can click on the "travel" tag to see the other posts from our trip