Yet Another *NEW LOOK*

all hallows eve is almost upon us so i thought i might just redo a little early. i like it. it's definitely me.

So I opened my own Etsy Shop

Hopefully a good start for me. I just really wanted to do this for myself for a while now and I finally just sucked it up and opened shop. I have some notebooks and floral embellishments up for sale right now. but i have some other projects in the works. some paintings and card sets. I'm working on it and hoping its going to be a good thing.

i {heart} monkeys ; )

Justin had taken me to the zoo earlier this month and we ran into Tim. We spent most of the day with him getting some camera lessons and I got to use his sweet zoom lens. I got some awesome shots of some of the animals with it.

Then a few days later I went with my Mom, Jackie, and Gage and got some really great shots of my little man and somemore of the animals. I just love taking picture at the zoo.
here is the little dude feeding the giraffe . I was so proud of him there was a time that this would have totally freaked him out, but he was all gung hoe about it. Not even scared a little bit. Way to go buddy you are rocking the whole brave little boy thing. Mom, Jackie, and Gage. Cute picture. It's different spending the day with Moms not being one myself. they just always have that MOM air about them because ....well because they are Moms. I wish I could be there with them. All in due time, I guess. We both have to be ready, right?
Anyway, Gage has been cracking me up. He has left the baby stage of his wee little life and entered into that of a little boy, with all the dirt, energy, and toughness that goes with that title. Although he does still break into the spontaneous crying thing when he really does not want to do something. I found this out when I took him to the new jungle playground they put in at the Jacksonville Zoo, he really did not want to go down the slide and even ran away from me and Jackie, the wrong way I might add! I totally had to run to get him. I laughed so hard and felt a little bad about it because he was so upset. But it was so damn funny with Jackie going down the slide and getting her butt all wet and Gage running away screaming in the other direction. There was just no convincing him to go down the slide not even if mommy went too. Anyway he redeemed him self later he just prefers apparatuses of the monkeying kind. That boy is quite
the climber!

Happy Halloween Everyone

like the new look. well it's only for the holiday, but i have to say it's pretty cute. well i'll be back tomorrow with a real post and some pictures too. i spent all day out side working in my flower beds. got to finish laying some pine straw then i'll get some pics up.

Well hello stranger............

OK OK I know long time no see. I've just had so much going on. Well first I'm no long working at Scrapbook Heaven. . . . long story, no need to dwell. I have on the other hand, been working with Marla and Dwight on the landscaping business and has been really great. We are trying to grown as much as possible in the next year so Justin can join us. oh, i painted the living room a lovely color named "Parrot Green".

and i found this really cool "crafts" at the thrift store for $12 which has been making me so happy for the past few weeks to see it in my living room. Livie turned 17. You know this is a big thing for me. Justin and i started dating when she was 11 and now she's almost grown. this freaks me out in two major ways....... 1. well the obvious SHE'S ALMOST GROWN!!!!!!!!!!!.....I feel like she's my baby sister and that's just crazy to me that she's 17 and doing all the things 17 year old do, poor Justin I think he's more freaked out than me but it's not something he likes to talk about. and 2. it just makes me feel old that she'll be a grown up next year. i really liked the barbie doll playing Lizzie Maguire watching Livie. and I'm sad to think that Livie is gone for good and replaced with a grown up, even if i do really like the grown up she's become. oh well they all grow up some time. it's just weird to feel this way martin and i are so close in age it was not noticeable with him. in fact he was out of the house before me so.......yeah I've never experienced this feeling. it makes me sad and happy and confused but wiser all at the same time. oh gosh life ...............life has had my mind in a bind lately, trying to figure out what I want for the future, for Justin and me together. I think he forgets there's no I in us. but then I'm not perfect either so I'll just keep reminding him. he loves me and that's something I'm sure of and for than he gets everything i am no questions asked. OK I'm getting a little heavy and probably not making sense anymore so I'm gonna end here. I'll be back soon with some more exciting posts. ta for now.

My baby boy

today he got fixed. we left this morning at 8:15 to get to the vet. he hates car rides so even though he got in the car with little effort, he was shaking in the back seat, enough so that it was shaking my seat too. he seemed so scared i considered turning around and coming back home. but eventually he calmed down enough that we could get on with it and go to the animal hospital. once we got to the vet he was is usual sweet self letting every stranger that called to him give a pet while wagging his tail. they don't give you much time before they take your pet though and i was terrified to leave him, i though i would have a chance to stay with him for a while at least till he was settled in. after they took him i could see him looking for me while the vet techs weighed him. i was desperate to keep my eyes on him, I've never just handed my dogs over to anyone, let alone to have them cut my dog open. but it was something we had to have done so i bit my tongue and let go, at least for that little while. they said call around 2:00 and we'll let you know when he will be ready to go home, so i left and waited by the phone all day just in case something went wrong i could rush back and get to my baby. and at 1:50 i was calling to find out (sorry but i just couldn't wait another 10 minutes i had to know) they said he was doing fine and i could come get him at 2:30. hooray my sugar bear was fine! so i let the others out to potty, put them back up and off i went to get my boy. while i waited they said that after i left he kept looking for me, i could of cried, my poor boy had thought i left him for good i was sure. but soon they brought him out to me, the look on his face i could tell he was stressed and disoriented. i have never been so ready to go home and i don't think my boy had ever been more ready either. he never jumps right in the car but this time i didn't even have to say a thing he jumped right in. on the way home he cried and whined most of the way home making me feel even worse than i already did, not sure if he was in pain or mad at me for having him fixed. so now we are home and i;m very happy to have him home. he's sleeping now. i'll give him the pain meds at 8:00 like the doc said and we will move on.

so much to talk about after 10days away from here.

this dog....... what am i going to do with him. i was not ready for this yet. I'm not done raising him and Winnipeg yet. Millie wasn't even bleeding. maybe she's not really in heat yet. maybe he was just over zealous. Justin said she didn't want him to. she was just tired and he caught her. i am so not ready to raise puppies again. i mean it was always the planthats why we picked him, but i have so much to do in the next 2months now so as to not end up with any nasty dog fights. Millie was extremely protective with rocks and wins litter. she would not let tater with in 30 feet of the bedroom! so now taterhas to go to get neutered on wed. the 30th. I'm a little worried. i mean my guys are big and I'm accustomed to dealing with them, but I've seen tater scared before. now this dog is the sweetest guy i know, wouldn't hurt a fly, but when he freaks out he goes a little crazy trying to get away and I'm nervous to let someone else handle him. i know how to calm him down but do they?

why!why!why! I'm not ready for this I'm still raising two from the first litter! why!why! no! I'm not ready!

anyway on to happier news........look at my new fence! oh and new bushes! daddy came over Sunday and him and Justin put it up. Then they cut my grass! which really makes me happy because it had not been cut in months! months people! we own a landscape business and my lawn was not cut in months! this was due to a few things A. daddy has so many contracts now that he has a hard time getting up here to do it. B. Justin has one day off a week from the restaurant. and C. I've never cut the grass in my life but even if i had wanted to cut it my self we don't have a lawnmower at least not one that stays at our house, so my lawn was not cut in months! but now it is and i'm happy and greatful to my mens! = )

oh another little happy thought my new tape n roller plus. so happy to have this little gadget in my possession came in yesterday and i got to bring her home tonight plus two refills just in case i go through all 33ft tonight!

something for all you vayniacs and wine people out there here's the J-man and irock sporting their vayniac wristband and i personally think they both look super duper awesome and should be on the next photo montage and i don't know why Gary has not had them on it yet! anyway love we you gary your part of the southwell home and welcome anytime. and for those of you not in the know, if you like wine and/or your a child of the 80's go here http://tv.winelibrary.com/ it will change your wine world!

so this is Anzenas Cannonau di Sardegna 2005 vintage, Italian red wine. it was on the dryer end of my spectrum good though took me all night to id the cranberry juice flavor and i only made it to that because j helped me get there. all i could think was "i like this. i really really do but i have no idea what i am tasting!" the nose was tight(this may have been just me) so i was not having much luck with smell. i believe j said it was a manily grenache based wine but I'm not sure? when he gets home tonight I'll ask and update this. anyway i give this wine 85points because i liked it. would drink it again for everyday but it's not like the best wine ever plus i had a hard time pulling the flavors out and to me it did not seem to have much depth.justin thinks it drinks like water and still really liked it after 4days me, i'm still a sipper on this one. I'm pretty sure j got this at wine library for $10 a bottle so ya know for $10 it's a great wine.

just a note and please take my advice- your not gonna like this if you don't like dry wine and you'll think I'm crazy for saying this is good wine(this really is good wine) it if your an arbor mist or any other fake wine drinker. this is real wine not alcoholic kool aid. sorry if thats sounds mean but it took me quite a while to get to this point my self and j had to start me at the bottom with Rieslings (sweet white wine, grapes are almost over ripe when the make the wine so it has a high sugar content)

now this this here is something amazing. this Clos De L'Oratoire Des Papes

chateauneuf-du-pape 2004 vintage. j brought this home for $20 but that was wholesale from the restaurant i think he said its $50 a bottle at Le Clos. this wine is awesome it's been a week now since we drank it and still the bottle smells so nice like strawberries and Cherry's and chocolates. real fleshy red fruit. man i wish i was drinking it right now. french people make the best wine. i think if your having a special occasion and you want a nice bottle this one is it! it will make you feel so good inside i promise. it was on the sweet side but not desert sweet like fresh fruit sweet. we drank it with pizza (topping- feta,chicken,spinach,and artichoke hearts) awesome combo.

just wanted to share something fun from my studio i found this star photo holder at heavenly treasures a while back and spray painted it black to match my room. love it don't you!

and my dresser top redid it when Marla brought me my new couch and i forgot to take a pic. love love love waking up to this site at the end of the bed every morning. so many pretty colors to wake up to.

this was some thing we has for Sunday supper a while ago. not sure what the wine was i think it may have been the Bordeaux but I'm not super sure it really has been a while. anyway this is everything off the Weber grill night cause the oven heats the house to much night. the menu: ribeye steak, green beans and new potato's, grilled corn on the cob, and grilled corn tortillas (the fresh kind from the cooler section). it was yummy. i liked eating it.

and now i will leave you with some pretty eye candy from my studio. my last few projects that i have not had the chance to post on here till now = )

GREAT DAY!

this is a great day. so scrapinstyletv.com launched today. just an AMAZING site. if you have not been over there yet. go go now go as fast as your browser will take you. the site is already 900 members strong and they only opened for business at midnight so that's like less than a day. WHAT THE HECK IS THAT ABOUT! I'm over there and I'm like loving it. i mean really just loving it over there. so many talented artist, so much inspiration. everyone i hold as an influence on my work, they are all over there. and guess what Kristina Contes put me in her favorite artist list. i think i might of had a brain aneurysm when i got the pm that i had been added to her list. and then like a crazy person sends her a "stalker fan mail thank you for adding me" note. I'm sure she thinks I'm crazy now. but she was nice and that makes me like her even more. anyway that was my super awesome great day news.

Hold on to your hats, this is gonna be a long one.

First off, my new favorite snack! Yummy! A cookie that is {semi} good for you! Who would have thought. I just love this company {Kashi}. They have so much good coming out right know and this is one of my favorites. these cookies are just what the picture looks like GOOD! GOOD! GOOD! I like my cookies with a hot chi latte {Tazo organic chai, not that fake Oregon chai mix stuff}. I've included the back of the box so you guys can see what kind of goodness your missing, if you have not tried these yet. =)

Next up Sunday night dinner. I love Sunday night dinner it's the only night a week i get to eat Justin food.
So here we have a modified Coq Au Vin(chicken braised in wine, but instead of braising, we browned everything then cooked it in a pressure cooker so we could eat in 30min rather than 3 hours) with garlic smashed potatoes all in a blue cheese cream sauce with crumbed danish blue cheese on top and tempura battered asparagus and squash blossoms(squash blossoms were fresh from our garden). To drink a 2002 Chateau Valrose, decanted for a half day. This meal was just amazing even with mushrooms and chicken necks in with the chicken (two of my NOT favorites) Justin is a gobbler when he likes something, he was so cute licking his plate (a habit I'm not sure he knows he has), he ate two full plate to my one! not me i ate slowly so i could get the full taste of my food along with my wine. I tasted the wine a few times before eating and a liked it very much as a dryer red (not horribly dry but you know that earthy, dirty, leathery taste that makes your mouth feel like the dentist swabbed your mouth with the special dentist cotton, and this may be a just me thing, but if you under stand what that meant right on sister!)
but once I started eating, oh my gosh this wine paired with blue cheese, AMAZING! I know it was the blue cheese, it's the one flavor in this dish that would linger, and then to taste the wine you got this candied fruit flavor, like grown up Kool Aid.
Now if your a super awesome wine person, I know, I know, I'm not very good with my descriptors yet, but I'm trying so don't be a wine asshole and make fun of me. I'm still working on my pallat. But it's tough to get the gumption to eat dirt or smell cat piss. OK so I'm so, so, so, so in love with my new-to-me couch. and NO DOGS ARE ALLOWED ON MY NEW COUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My very awesome mother-in-law(along with maw-maw and Nicky, Olivia, AND Cindy-who I'm sure came partly to check up on me and my cleaning skills because it only take two to bring the couch in, but luckily I have been cleaning for the past two days) brought it over to me today, it was the one she had up stairs in the office but she found one with a sleeper in it so Livy would have a bed when maw-maw or papa comes to visit. So now it's mine= ). I always liked it better that the one we had. It's dark green really but to me it always looks charcoal grey or soft black even in this picture,(when i look at really close it looks like a charcoal grey and leaf green weave, but the charcoal may be a really dark olive?I'm not really sure). Anyway, It's not really a smaller couch, but less bulky one, so it takes up less area and suits the long narrow living space in our house better. anyway after everyone left i took a trip to wally world {yuck i know, but today was not the day to go an hour to target, and i need stuff from there anyway for the garden} and found those righteous fern print pillows for $7each, picked up the solid brown chenille ones too for $9.95each{?} had the little green ones and the throw blanket. When I got it all set up. I just had to sit back and smile. It's such a great look for less than $40 bucks. Now I just need to get an area rug (I have my eye on an apple green shag one I saw at Lowe's, I'll have to spurge when I get paid again) and paint then i think I'll be a bit happier with my whole look.
So, now on to my plan to keep the dogs off the couch. I took the seat cushions from the old couch and gave then to the dogs as beds. So far they are very happy with this arrangement and I've had very little resistance when I have had to tell them to get off the couch and go lay on their beds. Tater is especially happy about his new bed and has not been off it for more than a few minutes all evening. I want to sew some new covers for the cushions to make then look a bit nicer. anyway i guess that's about it for tonight. I'm tired of typing and I'm sure your tired of reading. and really i don't have much more to say. so bye.

My family

they mean the world to me. {I} got some pictures back from Easter and i just wanted to post some of my favorites. all photos taken by me. all photos take with Nikon N80, yes film. so ha! to the haters for who questioned me for buying a film SLR over a digital one! it was harder to learn but so much more gratifying when i finally got it right.
p.s. for the film rockstars out there, i know their still not perfect pictures but you should see what I came from in only four months with my camera(before this i was a point and shoot girl).