With all of the new stuff coming out at CHA, I have challenged myself to use up some of my stash! I have to make room for new stuff from my favorite manufacturers....like Fancy Pants, Maya Road, Cosmo Cricket and My Mind's Eye....just to name a few. So here are several layouts that I have completed since Saturday. I am making somewhat of a dent in my stash, but I have a lot of stash!

The Monkeys

11 Random Things About Me

I am very scared of the dark and large bodies of water......

Most people can't tell if I am serious or if I am joking.....

If I could do anything in the world, I would be a homicide detective....

If I could have any wish it would be, not for money or fame, it would be that I never had started smoking and that I could sing....

Chris and I dated for only 4 months before we got married.....

I am at a loss when it comes to the color pink...just ask Leah/Lou....

I hit my parents house with their truck and my mom sitting in the passenger seat when I was 15 and then was knocked into a house when a pickup truck sideswiped me when I was 18.....

I got married to my first husband the day after my 18th birthday and Matt was born two months before my 19th birthday.....(and divorced a few months before my 21st birthday)

I am hooked on Dominic Dunn's Power Privilege and Justice on CourtTV....

I bite my fingernails.....

I love Eddie Izzard (a british comedian) ....

If My Pets Could Talk......

Some Fun Weekend Projects

Rain Rain go away......

Yep, it's raining and sleeting here today. Thanks goodness it's not the 8 inches of snow and ice they were predicting. I am ready for Spring Thaw. My yard looks like a very big flat ice cube.

I have been scrapping....what a surprise! Isn't that what I do everyday....Scrapbooking completely satisfies my paper fetish that I have had since I was little. Give me paper, scissors and glue and I will be one happy camper and can entertain myself for hours.

Here are a couple of my latest....

Something different.....

Thought that I would try something different.... It's a little different then my "norm", but I kinda like it. Might have to do some more!

Finally Some Good Light....

Well, enough light to take some pics of my February 'Nook' Projects.... This February kit from My Scrapbook Nook is full of Basic Grey Blush papers, Maya Road Chipboard Hearts, SEI buttons and beautiful ribbons.

Home Bound.....

Well, the weather men for once got it right. It is sleeting again today. Yesterday we got at least 1 inch of ice. Yipee. Stuck in the house this weekend. Which I don't mind, I have soooo much stuff to do.

Yesterday was an adventure at Wal-Mart. I think everyone was expecting power outages (which the news people were really hyping up) and everyone was going nuts. We get to WalMart, because silly me decided not to Thursday evening, and there were people everywhere, and I think there was a invitation sent out by Wal-Mart to all the freaking rude people of the surrounding area! And they all showed up. People can be really rude! It amazes me. Chris and I divided and conquered and made it out of there alive and under $200. ~Whew~. I don't plan on getting out for the rest of the weekend!

I am hoping for some good light so I can take some pics of some new layouts I have been working on for My Scrapbook Nook's February Kit. Hopefully I will be able to post some later today or tomorrow.

Happy Saturday everyone...Stay warm!

Look what my big Sis is working on......

My sister has really gotten into wood burning. And I have to say...very loudly....SHE IS DOING SOME GREAT WORK. This is her latest project..I think it is still a work in progress. I am totally amazed, it is beautiful!

Give me a wood burning tool and I would burn my house down! I will stick to scissors and glue! :o)

February My Scrapbook Nook Kit

Got my kit yesterday! OMG, it is awesome. Basic Grey Blush is beautiful. I struggle with the color pink, but I don't think I am going to have any problems with this! Leah has done a great job putting together this kit. Check it out.

Wowzers! December's SGK Kit is awesome!!!

I finally got my December's Kit from Scrappy Giraffe and it was soooo worth the wait. Kat's kits RAWK and I love everything about this kit. Fancy Pants Clair de Lune paper, Gin-X coaster letters, Basic Grey undressed Holiday Chipboard, Fancy Pants Holiday Rubons, LilyCricket's Cream & Sugar Ribbon....and more. I couldn't wait to start working on LO's that I have completed four.

Also, today I got an email from ScrapStreet and they have selected me for Feburary's ScrapStreet Magazine Discovery Drive article. They requested 4 of my LO's and a bio! I am soooo excited. 2007 has been awesome so far and we are only 6 days into it!

Today is my 37th birthday and Chris and Matt are cooking me dinner. They are grilling Rib-Eye steaks and fixing baked potatoes. They got me a German Chocolate cake too. Yummy! It's been a great day!

Busy...Busy...Busy....Did I mention Busy????

It is going to be one crazy busy day today and tomorrow. My boss is back from vacation and ready to get 2007 started! I have so much going on here at work as well as at home. I finally got all my pics printed out from the Holiday's. So I will hopefully get my Christmas Art Journal completed this weekend. I have a couple of LO's I have to get started for a contest I am entering...plus start working on more Valentines Cards. Busy weekend...but I love it!

Chris bought himself another model...I think he has got 4 models started and waiting to be finished up. So he is going to be busy too. I have no idea what Matt is going to be doing this weekend. I am betting that he is going to have band practice sometime this weekend. If not, then he will be practicing at the house all weekend. For those of you who don't know, my DS Matt plays the drums. It's amazing what you can "tune out" after awhile. I have taken naps while he has practiced in his bedroom, which is right off our bedroom. But I have fallen asleep at Rock Concerts before too....I can sleep anywhere!

Happy Thursday to everyone!

Two Posts in One Day.....

It has been one heck of a day. I received a call from Leah at My Scrapbook Nook and I have been selected as one of their Design Team Members! I am so excited. I will be working with an amazingly talented group of ladies (two of which are on the Scrappy Giraffe Design Team and one was a Scrappy Giraffe DT). I have a lot to learn from these ladies and I am so excited and honored to be selected!

Check out this awesome sneek peek for February's kit! I can't wait to get my hands on this and start playing! Check out My Scrapbook Nook and if you sign up for these amazing kits, mention my name! You never know what kind of RAK you will get from me!

The Joys of......

Yesterday was an awwwwfullll day. The company I work for has gone Tobacco Free, meaning no smoking or dipping on their property. Mind you, we have all known for almost a year that this was going to happen, so it comes as no surprise to me that I handled it very badly! I am having a real issue quitting smoking...a terrible habit I have had for 21 years now. So now, since there is no smoking at work I am basically going without from 5 am until 3:30 pm (unless I leave for lunch)...makes for a very cranky Tam. I was so mad yesterday because of the way I was feeling...very jittery and anxious. Totally sucks! Quitting is NOT going to be easy, especially since I am having such a hard time just cutting back. Good gravy, what a perdicament I have gotten myself into (21 years in the making)...what was I thinking way back when...when I decided, "Hey, I think I will smoke!" What an idiot that 16 year old teenager (miss know-it-all) was - and still is (not a miss know-it-all anymore - I don't know crap!)

A dear friend of mine (my photographer, Leesa) called me when I was in Arkansas this past weekend to tell me that her father had a heart attack. He died on the table, but the doctors worked very hard to get him back. It was a very scary situation, and he is not out of the woods yet. But I am glad to say, that he is doing much better and hopefully, they will decide soon on how to handle his blockage issues.

My best friend went to court yesterday. She is going through a horrible divorce. It did not go well for her, but this is just "round one" and now we all know for a fact that her soon to be ex-husband will lie in open court. We suspected he would, and now it is confirmed. After talking to her for a while, I recieved a phone call from another very dear friend and she told me that she was in the hospital while I was gone to visit my parents in Arkansas. Her blood pressure has shot up (and stayed there) and now her kidneys are failing. She is only 27 years old!!!!

So last night, I went to bed, prayed and cried for my friends. Yesterday was not a good day! But today will be better!

OMG - I am going to be Published!!

I just found out today that I am going to be published. I have never been published before, so I am not going to say who, where, or what layout yet. However, the when is in February! I am so excited. This is the first contest I have ever entered. I have made the finalist round (and all finalists will be published), so now I am waiting and nail biting to see if my LO is going to make the cover! More details as soon as I can post them!