After almost 2 years...

I decide to write again. So much for the title of my blog containing the word "daily." That is a joke, for sure.

I don't have anything amazing to write, but as a writing teacher, I think I should be writing something other than comments on other people's writing. So here I am.

Today is a quiet day so far. Kevin had to go to work (yes, on a Saturday). Evie Catherine is at Aunt Faye's meeting her new puppy, Shug. Cater is playing outside, and Sigler is playing inside. I am watching College Gameday on ESPN and relaxing. I cleaned the entire house on Wednesday, so I don't have anything pressing to do...

Yep, I am boring today. :)

getting ready now...

i am finally getting ready for my trip to paris! i bought a new suitcase today because kevin took our only big rolling one. i've begun to make lists, etc. it is weird to pack without kevin here--he is such a big help to me when i am packing! :)

i also wrote a letter to my family telling them who we chose as guardians if something should happen to us. we have been so bad because we haven't done a will or formal guardianship papers yet. but you can bet your bottom dollar we will be doing it once we get back. this has been a wake-up call for me. i know chances are that we will be just fine, but flying over an ocean makes me nervous!!

otherwise, i have been grading like crazy and trying to get work done so that i don't worry about it while in france!

on a more scrap-related note, little dreamer designs is having a sale, and i have a little paypal, so i am going shopping! :)

have a great night!

an inside, quiet day...

we are having an inside afternoon today. cater was so tired in church that we left early, and he cried after we left and told me he was soooo tired. he hasn't complained that i have confined him to the house, which is how i knew he needs some rest. so, we are having in inside, quiet day watching national treasure 2. 

yesterday actually turned into an okay day.  i got a lot accomplished--i vacuumed the house, swept the kitchen, cleaned the kitchen, washed sheets & towels, and picked up a lot of clutter.  the kids were pretty good, too, in spite of how grumpy i was from lack of sleep.  

then last night they went to church for parent's night out, and i had a mani/pedi/brow wax & ate at panera.  it was nice to have some time alone, and it helped me to get excited about my trip! :)

kevin sent a picture of his sightseeing yesterday.   here he is, riding a camel to the pyramids:

i cried when i saw it at first because i was jealous, but then i realized i am being a spoiled brat--seriously, listen to me complaining because i just get to go to paris. please, i need to get over myself!! kevin says egypt is a strange place--he has a whole new understanding of "third world" now...i hope to get there someday to see for myself. but i am glad he i okay, and i cannot wait to meet him in paris!

it is gonna be a great day...

yep, it sure is. it is 6:25am. the baby woke up at 4:30am, and he sleeps in our room, so there was no putting him back and going back to sleep. he is still awake. and to make matters worse, he woke up his sister at 5:30am. so, here i sit, so tired i can barely type, with two very hyper awake children. and this is a disaster for the rest of day. my kids do not handle lack of sleep well. heck, i am not handling it very well lately either...

and kevin is in cairo, egypt on business. i am trying so hard not to cry about it. not because i miss him, which i do, but because egypt is the one place in the world i have always wanted to go, and i couldn't go. basically, because it is a muslim country, women really aren't safe going out without a male relative/escort. he is only getting one sightseeing day and then is working the rest of the time. and so it wasn't worth the money for the trip if all i would do is sit in the hotel. it just sucks. there is a 7 hour time difference, which means that as i sit here with two babies awake wayyy too early on a saturday morning, kevin is out sightseeing. the thing is this: he cares nothing about seeing any of it. nothing. i am so jealous i almost can't stand it...he travels a lot and i am used to feeling sad that i can't be with him. but it really does bother me that he gets to travel the country and the world and have all of these experiences without me. he eats lovely food and sees amazing things. and i stay here and cart children around while he travels to place like hawaii and egypt. sigh...

i know i should be so excited that i am meeting him in paris in 5 days, and i am. i have never been overseas, and i know it will be so much fun! but between paris and egypt, i'd have chosen egypt every time.... and tomorrow when he is working, i'll be excited about my trip to paris. today i am just sad...

on a different note, i actually scrapped a page:



i don't love it or anything, it is purely functional scrapping, and it was good to know i hadn't forgotten how! :)

i need to go and get breakfast for these little munchkins...

back at it again...

and so much has changed since i last blogged.

i got pregnant, unexpectedly. i had given up entirely, it seems, but when i had given up is when it happened. it is when it always happens for me--i give infertiles a bad name! :) but in april, i gave birth to a very beautiful, healthy little boy. he is 4 1/2 months old now, and our family is complete. i feel a peace about it that i never ever thought i'd feel.

i haven't scrapped in ages, either. i was sick the whole 9 months i was pregnant, and i quit all of my CTs. i have done only a couple of pages since he was born, but i am ready, i think to go back to it...

i checked DST for the first time in ages, and i was featured in the August 2008 edition of the newsletter. amazing to me that i am still getting picked up for publishing after all this time! :)

otherwise, i am going to try to start writing again and scrapping, in my spare time (whenever that is!)!

difficult decisions...

well, i made 3 hard scrapping-related decisions today. first of all, i am not going to try out for the little dreamer designs CT. this is huge--i LOVE michelle coleman's work, and i have been waiting for her to do a call. now, my chances of making it were slim at best, but i don't feel like i have the time to devote right now, and i had to be honest about that. also, i resigned two of my other CTs....again, very hard decisions. i have tremendous respect for both designers, but i needed to cut down. i am only waiting to hear about one CT call: weeds & wildflowers. they posted on their blog that the announcement will be sunday, and if i am lucky enough (again, i will say it once again, snowball's chance) to get that, i will take it. but i have vowed not to apply for any more CTs for a while. i realized this week that it has been a long time since i scrapped for me, for pleasure, and i feel like i will have a little more time to do that now...as my friend trish said today, "yep, you are like me. you tend to make hobbies into jobs." she is exactly right! :) i hate to let people down, and i hate to quit anything, but i feel like i am making the right decision for me.

on top of that, i am pretty sure i have a sinus infection. stuffy head, general fatigue, aching face and teeth. i am taking some antihistamine/decongestants, and i am hoping to avoid a trip to the doctor and antibiotics...

i'll be around more later--hope you all had a good day!

almost done!

i am almost done with school for this year, and i can taste summer already! my students are taking an exam right now; i have to give another exam at 2pm, then on saturday i give my last exam, and then it is SUMMER!!!! can't even begin to tell you how excited i am! it has been a difficult year for me, and i am totally burnt out. i need the summer to recharge and reconnect to my kids.

dh and i had a wonderful weekend. the kids went to my inlaws, and although we each had a ton of work to do, we really enjoyed ourselves. we ate out on friday night, saturday night, and sunday morning. saturday night was my birthday, so we went to "our" restaurant and i ate my favorite meal! then sunday afternoon we ate a late lunch at marble slab creamery. basically we acted like we used to before we had children. we slept late and did things on our own clock. we went to target and wandered around. we talked about everything and nothing. it was heavenly. truly. i didn't realize how much we really needed some time for just us.

we also decided that if i am not pregnant this cycle of clomid (my 4th), we are going to take a break. we want to take the kids to disney for christmas (can you imagine all the cool scrapping??), and we decided that if we haven't conceived by the first of next year, we will start IF treatment again and do IUI. i feel mixed about it. it is hard to stop IF treatment, but it doesn't mean we'll stop trying on our own. and i must admit that the prospect of having a break from the meds is super appealing. emotionally i am a wreck, and i know a lot of that has to do with the way the meds are messing with my hormones...either way, at least dh and i are on the same page, and that means the world to me.

ON TO SOME GOOD STUFF:

first of all, saraamarie has asked me to stay on as a full time CT member! i had so much fun being a guest this past month, and i am rocked to get the opportunity to stay on! she has some really great things coming up, so check back to see previews!

second, wendyzine at ES has asked me to do a guest CT gig for the month of may! she just released a neat new collab kit:



i have also joined kathryn wilson's CT--she is a new designer, and she will be selling her designs at dragonflaire studios. i think her designs are really neat and fresh, and i feel like she has great things ahead of her! :)

and OMG!! did you see that michelle coleman at little dreamer designs is having a CT call???? i am going to take a stab at it, although i think my chances are about as good as that of a snowball in the deepest bowels of hell! LOL but a girl has to try, right? i mean, her designs are to die for, and i am a huge huge fan!

speaking of, here is my latest layout:



i used weeds & wildflowers "going west sampler" and kathy moore's "essentials stamped alpha" for the layout. it is for the w&w ct call--again, snowball's chance--a girl has to try, right? i just love the depth to their papers and their elements ROCK!

i hope all of you have a great hump day!