Okay so I was going to get an eliptical machine for Christmas, but it's taken awhile to finally get it!! We got a smokin' deal from Corey's little bro Ryan (he works at a sporting goods store and got it for a little over cost), and Corey put it together last night! I'm really excited, but now I have no excuses not to get in shape (not that I had legit ones before, lol). So here's a picture of my new best friend.

In other news our anniversary was really nice last weekend. The kiddos had a sleepover at Corey's parents and we just had a pretty simple night out by ourselves. It was really nice to go on a date and we didn't even talk about the kids. We went to a nice place and the highschool was having Junior Prom so there were tons of couples. We ended up talking and laughing about our highschool years (we didn't know each other then). After that we just went rented some flicks grabbed some munchies and headed off to Sherwood Hills to stay the night. It was nice and relaxing and it reminded me that I really do like Corey, lol.


I just made this layout with a picture that we took of ourselves. I used my great friend Ange Barton's new Nine and a Half kit and also the very sweet and generous Traci Murphy made this torn heart!

PS. Ange is having a creative team call right now!!! Go check it out!

So things are looking more Springish around here (knock on wood) and I'm LOVING it! It's funny how much the weather has to do with my mood.

Since I've been really into recipes lately I decided (along with my friend Tana Coleman) that it would be fun to start a Recipe Circle Journal! I think that it will be a lot of fun, low key, and help get some recipes of mine that are sitting around, organized and looking "pretty." Please join in if you want!

So this morning I was asking Corey if I needed to call his parents to see if they can watch the kiddos for our anniversary (even though we didn't have a plan). He said that he had already done it, he was planning something, and that the kids were actually going to have a slumber party at Grandma's. I was pretty floored, and now I'm feeling a little guilty that I didn't ever think that he's plan something.

Yesterday I was out for a walk with my friend (since it was so nice out) and a man from our church pulled up and wanted to talk to me. He asked if Corey and I would talk in church in a few weeks and then he asked if we'd also SING!!! YIKES!!! DOUBLE YIKES!! We cannot sing worth anything. I told him that we can't carry a tune and he said that it didn't have to be good. Why would he want us to sing if it's going to be bad, lol. When I told Corey he about died. So it's his job to somehow get out of the whole singing gig. Too funny!

I guess that's about all that's up with me! Tonight I'm going to water aerobics again! I have to say that I really enjoyed it the other night. I thought that it was going to be a bunch of "old" ladies, but it wasn't, and I really got a working swimming laps. Wish me luck (and try not to picture me in a bathing suit)!

Here's a picture of the picture that I took of Abby the other day! I used Amy Tanabe's new kit My Star. LOVE IT!

Just playing a little catch up with my Simpy You layouts and also my 21 Day Challenge. I'm still behind, lol, but not as bad!






































Today if finally SUNNY!!!!! I think that Spring might actually be here (knock on wood)!! Have a great day where every you are!

Okay, it's not an emergency, but I need some advice from you creative ladies (and guys?). It's my sixth anniversary on Saturday and I have now idea what to do. I'm 99% sure that Corey has not made any kind of plans. He has to work and he won't be home until around sixish so it's just going to be an even out. If anyone has any fun ideas that aren't too expensive please tell me. I can't think of a thing besides dinner and movie, lol. Which would be okay, but would love to do something else. I haven't even gotten him anything, argh! Throw out some gift ideas while you're at it, lol.

I'm going to go to water aerobics tonight with my friend for the first time (don't try and make any mental pictures, lol) so I pulled my swimming suit out (scary). I'm counting on there just being a bunch of old ladies there so I'm not totally embarrased, lol. Anyway Grace saw it and said.

"What is that Mom! It's so BIG!!!"

Then she put the halter part and ran off using it as a cape. It was a pretty funny, yet a little sad at the same time. I love the color and style of the suit, but definitely wished that I could shave (speaking of shaving I need to do that, lol) a 1 off of the size.

Anyway sorry about my randomness! Here's a layout that I did with Gina Miller's Build You Own Bulletin Board Kit! So much fun to play with!!

I did a treasure hunt for Grace and her friend Dallin on Friday. Since they're four I cut out shamrocks and hid them around the house with pictures on them of where to find the next clue. I really can't draw so it took me a while to make them look good enough so that the kids would be able to tell what they were looking at, lol. Our house was originally built over 100 hundred years ago and there's a place on the wood floor that you can open and there's a little tiny cubby hole type of thing. I wonder if people used to hide valuables there or something. Anyway I hid a basket full of goodies in there. It was fun to be able to open the floor and see their little faces when they saw the "treasure." Then we decorated cupcakes and I ate way more that I should have (as usual). Now that St. Patty's over I guess now we need to work on some Easter decorations! Love Easter!!

So, something else nice happened the other day. Marsha Zepeda from The Digi Chick asked me to be on her Creative Team. It was really flattering to be asked and I'm excited to get to know her and the other team better! Very cool!

Right now I'm kind of obessing over finding good recipes (my husband's getting sick of my usual meals, lol). If anyone has a great easy recipe let me know. I'd love to have it! I found this website that has some really good stuff called Recipe Zaar. Yum! My friend Janae is a great cook and has given me some good ones. Here's a simple one that I'm going to try today. If you like cornbread, but never make it because it's always dry try this:

1 moist yellow cake mix
2 boxes of Jiffy corn bread mix

mix cake as directed and also mix up the cornbread mixes as directed. Then mix the two batters together. Put in a 9x13 pan and cook at temp. and time that the cake directions say.

Have a great Sunday!

The problem isn't totally solved, but I can make layouts without any problems now! So cross your fingers for me, lol. I've got a lot of catching up to do it seems. Here's a layout that I did today using Amy Tanabe's kit called Heidi's Colors. I lifted an awesome layout that Rhonna Farrer has in the Creating Garden at Two Peas. I also have the opportunity to use some of Jennifer Trippetti's new Tough Guy stuff which is really cool. Do I know even know any "tough guys?" Lol. Well I'm sure that I'll think of something. Later!

So since I haven't been able to use my Photoshop I've been thinking more about kids crafts! Go figure, lol! Grace is getting old enough that she get excited about every little holiday and since she really wants to be a "crafter" when she grows up I guess that it's my responibility to nurture that craftiness. I was reading Lauren's blog yesterday and it really got me excited for St. Patricks day. She really goes all out and has a blast with it. I also just got my April issue of Family Fun and it's really getting me excited about Easter. I've always had some really good intentions when it comes to doing fun things for holidays, but the holiday usually passes without me having done anything. I guess it's time to do some fun stuff!

In other news: If anyone has any great ideas on how to get Grace to stop wanting to get in bed with us I would be delighted to know. She says that she's scared of the dark so we put in a night light. Now she says that she's scared of shadows. I think that she just loves climbing into a warm bed with mom and dad. She's been needing some new sheets so today we went and got her these sheets. She's so excited, but we'll see how long that lasts. Please leave me comments if you have any ideas! Abby's problem doesn't lie in the bedroom. More like the bathroom if you know what I mean, lol!

There's some new awesome digi stuff out there this week that I want you all to check out!! My good friends Ange Barton, Meredith Fenwick, and Amy Tanabe have some new stuff!!! These are some fun colors to play with:

Paper Pack Eight by Ange. Coming out this Thursday!
Little Man Page Stack by Meredith
My Star kit by Amy

I just hope that I can do some scrapping soon!! Have a great week everybody!

So I think that my computer has some virus problems or something. I guess that it's time to take it in for some fixin'. I should also take my external that's been sitting on a shelf for the last few months. I really have a love hate relationship with computers. When I try to use Photoshop now it will only let have one thing open at a time. So not scrapping lately. I really hope that I can get them both fixed this week. Cross your fingers for me, lol. I have started a few house projects though. I started painting a hutch, but ran out of paint so that didn't last too long, lol. I'm also working on doing a wall display that kind of looks something like this. Definitely more pictures, but that idea. I guess that's about all that's going on around here. Here's a typical Brady family picture.

Thanks so Miss Miranda I've got my Photoshop working (better at least, lol). Thanks Miranda!

My great friend Ange designs at The Digi Chick which you all know by now, lol. Anyway she just created her own website (by herself might I add) and it's pretty cool. Check it out!

Here's a layout that I made using her most recent paper pack called Seven!

So my computer is once again freaking out!!! I can't even make a layout now, ARGH! If I open up more than a few things at once is says the "scratch disk" is full. So I'm sitting here really really wanting to work on my Simpy You layouts and my 21 Day challenge layouts, but it's no go. I also have some great new stuff from Meredith Fenwick, Ange Barton, and Amy Tanabe, but all I can do is sit and drool over it for now, lol. Okay I'll stop complaining, maybe this is a sign that I need to clean the house or play with the girls more today.

Here is an alphabet that I made a few weeks back and totally forgot about it, lol. I was just looking through my stuff and it jumped out at me. It's not anything too fancy, but I hope that you like it. It also includes numbers. Leave me a comment!!

I got my meet my sweet little nephew Nicholas this weekend. Yesterday we went to his blessing. He's definitely the little "wild card" in the family. He's so adorable, but we can't figure out whe he looks like. Corey wasn't liking how much I wanted to hold him. I kept looking up and Corey would be walking by mouthing "don't get any ideas," lol. It was so fun holding a little baby again, but I've definitely got a lot of work to do (like 50 pounds worth, YIKES) before I can get serious about babies again, lol. Grace has so much fun playing with her cousins Simon and Isaac that when it's time to go there's always crying involved. We definitely need to visit them more.

I got to see my cousin Trina (my closest cousin growing up) who I haven't seen for a few years and is moving across the Country next week so that was good timing. It really is still weird to me sometimes that we are old enough to be Moms and have kids, lol.

So today I'm taking Grace to her first day of story time at the library. We were planning on walking, but there's a 70% chance of rain. The skys are so clear and blue right now so I'm trying to decide if I should risk it (that means sending Corey with the only car that works, lol). Anyway, I'm going to work on catching up on my 21 day challenge layouts and get them posted today!

Meredith Fenwick and Kim Christensen have been working like crazy to make two CDs named His and Hers. Tonight they're going to be up for sale for the first time and they're having a crop at Scrapbook-Bytes at 10pm est. Meredith sent me a few kits to play with and they are AWESOME! The previews on her website are great, but don't do them justice. Anyway here are two layouts that I threw together using Countryish (from Hers CD) and Swim Trunks (From His CD). On the Smile layout Grace picked out that heart to use and had me put it in her hair. She also asked me to put that little flower on her wrist to look like a bracelet. The other day she said that she wants to grow up to be a "crafter" just like me. Too cute and I'm excited to have another "crafter" in the family, lol.

Why is it so hard to just eat healthy and exercise???? I was doing so good and then Corey called and said "let's just go out to eat tonight." Which shouldn't be a big deal, but when I get there and open the menu then it's all lost, lol. The evil part of my brain (that obviously wins out 90% of the time) was saying: "Well if I'm ging to spend the money I might as well enjoy it." To top things off, we pulled out the the parking lot and Corey started driving the opposite direction of our house. Lo and behold we also went out for ice cream. Yeah!!!! I'm so weak!!! Needless to say today I'm starting over, lol. Other that that things are great!

I'm going to try and work on a simple brag book for my Mom. She's bee wanting to show off her 13 grandkids for a long while now and I just found a cute 4x6 album that I could use. Wish me luck.

Today I made this simple layout using stuff from two of my favorite (and very new might I add) designers and friends. The papers are by Ange Barton and the elements are by Amy Tanabe. There's a slide challenge it Scrapartist that's really fun!

I'm loving this 21 Day Challenge and I've even recruited some of my non-digi friends (you know that friends that I can actually see, lol). I'll catch up more tonight, but for now I'm off to go for a walk!!