That's a Spicy Meatball!

Today my hubby and I went on a double date with our dear friends Tim and Theresa. We had a delicious lunch at Buca de Beppo. Theresa and I had never been there before so we decided that we wanted to try it out. It has been years since my hubby and I have double dated so this was especially fun for us.

If you have never been there before, Buca is a very cool place. For your first time visit, the host gives you a tour of the restaurant, starting with the kitchen. (never had that happen before). They even have a special table in the kitchen for special guests. Each of the dining areas are decorated with a theme. Like the Pope room, or like us, we got to sit in the Cardinal room. There are tons of pictures hanging on every wall. The food was very delicious and they serve it family style so you get to try a little bit of everything.

As we were leaving Theresa and I slipped off to the ladies room, as ladies do and we were surprised to see that the ladies room had a charm all of it's own. It was decorated like a old fashioned powder room. I couldn't help myself and snapped a few pictures of the old fashioned bra and girdle that were hanging on the wall. How clever! The lady that came in the bathroom when I was taking photos must have thought that I was nuts taking pictures in the bathroom, but hey, that is what scrappers do right!

We had a wonderful lunch and can't wait to do it again!

When we got home I got back to work on the layouts I am working on for the Junkie Design Team. They are all finished up and now I am working on some cards. I can't wait to post pictures of the layouts, so stay tuned.

The weekend is flying by and it's back to work on Monday. But for now I leave you with some old fashioned underwear! Ciao!

Happy Thanksgiving...oops!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It was spent with friends and family, sharing good food, warm conversation and lots of love. One of my best friends Wendy, her husband John, her sister Liz and their beautiful baby girl Catherine came to dinner. My nephew Jon came from Dallas too so with all of us that made 10. It was a great time. The turkey, stuffing, cranberries, mashed potatos, and candied yams were delish! Now ask me about the green bean casserole. Go ahead. Ask. How was it? Well gee, I couldn't tell you. It never made it out of the microwave! Yep, long after the guests were gone, the mess was cleaned and the house was quiet did I remember the green bean casserole. "Hmmmm, I don't remember having the green bean casserole" I thought. Well lo and behold, it was still in the microwave. I had totally forgotten to take it out and put it on the table. There was so much going at the last minute that it slipped my mind. I was even thinking the whole time that there was something missing. Oh well, guess what we will be having for dinner tomorrow? Yep you guessed it; green bean casserole. With leftover, turkey of course!

Many blessing to you and yours.
Hugs,
Heidi

Our First Meeting

Last night was the first Design Team Meeting. All the gals there were very sweet, energetic and in high creative gear. It was great to finally meet all the ladies and to put faces to names. Turns out, there were two ladies that I already knew; Rhonda and Rene'. It was great to see them again. Everyone was so nice and came from all different parts of Houston. What a creative group of ladies.

I confess that I had a bit of a rocky start at first. After having been at work all day and in left brain mode it took me a while to shift gears and go into right brain creative mode. It took me about 30 minutes or so but I finally found my groove and was able create.

The project Beth had for us was tons of fun. We got to make some really cute Christmas Ornaments for the Junkie Christmas Tree. Beth had a bunch of great stuff for us to work with. Paints, acrylic, chipboard, paper, buttons, bling, ribbon, glitter papers, decorative trim, styrofoam balls and die cuts. It was so much fun to just play and to see everyone working their own distinctive mojo. The results were awesome! Drats! My camera died before I could take more pictures. (note to self.....bring better camera with full battery to next meeting)

Our assignments are going to be a great challenge. Beth and Lisa hand selected items for each of us; so each of our packages were very different. We will be creating two 12 x 12 layouts using some great papers and embellishments. Acrylic, fabric and paper ribbons, flowers, and chipboard will be so much fun to work with and will stretch our imaginations.

Our assignments are due December 1st; whew, it is going to be a quick turn around. It's a good thing I am off the rest of the week! I would show you the papers and embellishments, but shhhhhhhhh it's a secret! You will have to wait for the final products. I will keep you posted on my progress though!

Until next time.

Heidi

He is Faithful

Well this evening is our first Junkie Design Team meeting and I don’t mind telling you I am a bit nervous. When I begin to feel like this oft times I take out my Bible, pray, and ask God to lead me to a scripture that would bring me Peace; then I open up my Bible to a random page and begin reading. It has never failed that the most perfect scripture is there waiting for me. Today was no exception. God never lets me down.

Today’s scripture was I Timothy 4:14-16.

I Timothy 4:14-16

14 Do not neglect the gift which is in you, [that special inward endowment] which was directly imparted to you [by the Holy Spirit] by prophetic utterance when the elders laid their hands upon you [at your ordination].
15 Practice and cultivate and meditate upon these duties; throw yourself wholly into them [as your ministry]. so that your progress may be evident to everybody.
16 Look well to yourself [to your own personality] and to [your] teaching; persevere in these things [hold to them] for by doing so you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

You know I have always felt that Scrapbooking and Paper Arts was one of my gifts; my ministry. It is something that has led me to some of the most wonderful relationships and people I have ever met, some of the most challenging lessons to be learned and some of the most rewarding experiences of my life. This gift has always put me in a place where I can experience the love of Christ and share His word.

Once again I am humbled by His Goodness and faithfulness. I feel that His Hand will be upon this next year’s journey and that it will be one of the best experiences of my life.

Humbled

So I stopped by The Junkie today so that I could see the layouts of the other design team members and I have to tell you, I was totally blown away. The layouts were so awesome. I feel so blessed to have been chosen for the design team and to have the privilege of working with what has to be the most talented scrappers in this area. The details and creativity on the layouts were absolutely amazing. All I can say is WOW! I am so excited to be a part of this and I can't wait until our first meeting on Monday. This is definitely going to be challenging, but I know it is going to be a blast!

Heidi

Design Team Entry

Now that the Scrapbook Junkie has announced the new Design Team, I am able to post my winning layout. I have uploaded it to my slideshow. I hope that you like it.

TGIF!

Friday, my most favorite day of the week. A day that is spent in anticipation of two glorious days of all things unwork. Wait is that a word? What I mean is that I get to forget about the office, leave all my quirky co-workers behind and concentrate on the fun stuff; like housework, laundry, mom, kids, dogs, doorbells, dishwashers, vacuums, errand, honey-do's that honey hasn't done and stolen scrapbook moments. Yep, that is pretty much my life. Nothing too exciting. Just everyday goodness. While some might say I live a pretty boring life, I wouldn't trade it for the world. Yes, sometimes it is a rut, but hey, it's my rut and it's comfortable. Sometimes I get bored and happen upon a little excitement, like this webite I recently heard about called Year Book Yourself. The Pioneer Woman's blog featured it. Hey, I am easily entertained, what can I say.

I always wanted to be a blonde!
This one looks like my oldest son. Kinda cute huh!
I don't even want to go there folks.
If only I had tried this in high school, I might have had a prom date. Shucks.



Hugs for now.
Heidi

OMG! OMG!

I CAN NOT BELIEVE IT!!! I got the call today from Beth at the Scrapbook Junkie and I have been selected for the 2009 Scrapbook Junkie Design Team! I am so excited! Can you tell by all the !!!!’s in my sentences?

Our first meeting is Monday. We will be working on a group project and it is then that I will receive my first assignment. Hmmmm, I wonder what it will be. There are so many really cool papers and embellishments out there now; my head is reeling with excitement. This opportunity will surely stretch my creativity in areas that have been lying dormant for a few years now. Maybe now I will have opportunities to play with all the cool stuff that I have been hording for I don't know how long.

The Scrapbook Junkie is this really wonderful scrapbook store just south of Houston. Beth, the owner, has THE BEST selection of scrapbooking goodies. She is a wonderful lady, with a huge heart and she and her staff treats their customers the way customers should be treated. Everytime I go into the store I feel welcomed and valued. It’s like getting a great big hug every time I go in. I just love how the store is well organized, clean, bright and stocked with the latest and greatest product. Hands down, The Scrapbook Junkie Is my most favorite store in town; even more so now that I am a member of their design team LOL.

Until next time,
Doing the Happy Dance Heidi

Out Of My Comfort Zone

Well I did something this weekend that I never thought I would do. I submitted an entry for a design team at my local scrapbook store. I don’t know if it is the fear of rejection or the fear of actually getting picked that has been holding me back all these years, but I finally did it. My next door neighbor and I have become scrapping buddies and she and I decided to both try out together.

I will find out this coming week if I get picked. I am okay if it goes either way. A part of me is really hoping that I do get picked; the other part of me is a bit apprehensive. You see I work full time and have two teenage boys that keep me pretty busy and I am a little worried about the commitment. When I am not working, on call for work, running between football practices (which is coming to a close for the year), attending band events, toting kids between sleepovers, doctor’s appointments, and errands, I am at home fighting with my mother that lives with us, catching up on laundry, cleaning up after kids and dogs, fighting with my mother, cooking, organizing scrapbook supplies, fighting with my mother, refereeing two rowdy boys, oh and fighting with my mother…..well you get the picture. So that leaves very little precious time to scrapbook and hang out with my favorite next door scrapping neighbor. Add on a design team commitment and life should get really interesting. But I am up for the challenge.

It has been about 3 years now since I taught rubber stamping classes and that was a serious commitment. I had a love hate relationship with teaching…loved the teaching, hated the prep-time, loved the stamping, hated the drama at the shop I worked for, but sometimes I miss it. I miss all the new techniques and staying up with the latest trends. I think being on a design team would be a great way to get back up to speed with all the latest and greatest scrapbooking/rubber-stamping techniques and get my creative juices flowing again. I miss that artsy, creative feeling.

So wish me luck and if I get picked, you will be hearing more from me in days to come. Part of the commitment is to keep a blog. So keep your fingers crossed.

Heidi