30 Days and Counting.......

It's official one more time! I will be running my third USAF Marathon next month, September 19th! The countdown is 30 days! YIKES! This year will be a little different than last year in the fact that both my daughters will be there AND so will Logan! YEAH Logan! Here's my plan for finishing this year, I plan to stop at the end just before the finish line to grab Logan and carry him across the finish line with me! I thought that would be fun, well sort of LOL! Someday that will be his show and tell story! LOL! Hopefully it will all go as planned! LOL! I'll also be doing a 5k the night before, walking, with my Dad (who did it last year) Breanna, Jessica and Logan too! I submitted the story as a "human interest" story to the Marathon magazine too! We'll see if they pick it up! I mean, how many families, 4 generations worth, will be walking the USAF 5K ya know?! I'll keep ya posted!
Wish me luck and pray for my endurance! This year It's been a battle to train but I'm going to do it! LOL! I'm a stubborn person! LOL!

Until next time....

Logan Loves His Bella

Okay, when the Grandchildren come this cute you just can't resist! Check out the video of Logan telling me what he wants for Christmas! Funny thing....none of it sounds like DVD's or sweaters from Old Navy....HUH! LOL! Enjoy! I sure did, I mean DO!

Logan's chatting about his Christmas list here!

Thanks for pacifying me!! Now, do I get him EVERYTHING?! LOL!

Until next time....

Just For Fun......

I am SO lost right now....my baby is at cheer camp until Friday! What's a Mom to do when her kids are all out of the house?! I convinced my DH of taking me out to eat and then shopping...we bought Breanna a jumbo cupcake pan! I miss that girl! Just for fun I ordered some tee shirts for Breanna and I. A friend from work has her own screen printing business and did these AWESOME tee shirts for us! Take a look at them;

Me and Bre...!


Since he's usually behind the camera taking pictures of me and Bre, I thought I'd drag him out for a photo op to share too! Here's me and my "Sweet Handsome Love"! P.S. No "Hale Duo" shirt for him....apparently men shouldn't wear pink tee shirts....HAH!



I did these shirts as a surprise for Breanna and let me tell you, she was over the moon with it! Score more points for Momma!!

Americana 5K

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July! Mine started off great! Me, My daughter, and her boy...friend went to a 5k race first thing! I was pretty excited to go since they were going with me! My DH doesn't "roll out of bed" for anything less than a 10k and trust me here, I won't invite him anymore! LOL! Why?! Last time he found it within himself to go with me....he won! Well, for his age group anyway and overall was 4th! What a show off! LOL! See my competition here?! I just go to cross the finish line AND, of course, get the tee shirt! LOL! I still don't get why these were pink this year though! UGH! I wanted a patriotic one! ! Oh well, next time! Here are some fun pictures we took before the race.

3 soon to be finishers!


Me and my girl! Who was #302 I wonder?!


I think she likes this boy....what do you think?! Don't tell him I said so but he's a very nice boy!



It was a good race though even with the strollers (some double wides even) and the animals that were allowed! Now, on to the next one - YEAH!!

Until next time!

Happy 4th of July!

I hope you all have awesome plans for the day! Mine will consist of a morning race with my daughter, her boy....friend and a friend from work!

Happy 4th of July everyone from me AND Logan LOL!



Until next time....

Happy Bee Day!

Today was my youngest child's 16th birthday! My gosh time has flown by! I remember her first moment and where is she now?! At the movies with a BOY! UGH! My baby!! I tried to teach her boys are bad, stay away, join the convent! Seriously! LOL! I even dressed her up as a Nun for her first Halloween - she won cutest baby in the costume contest but, well, my plan obviously failed!
This child is the one who ALWAYS leaves me love notes, all over the place! I love surprises and still every one of them surprise me because I'm not expecting it! Now, she's into making BIG cards for different occasions and for Easter my card was a GIANT posterboard! LOL! So, anyway I decided to play her "big card" game and make her one for her birthday! I used some AWESOME Bee stamps that I ordered just to make her this card! See she's my "little b" and her Dad is my "Big B" - get it "B's"! LOL! Aaahh yeah, ahem, so here's my card;



I got the stamps from a company called "Alota Rubber Stamps" and let me tell you, Helene, the lady I corresponded with about these stamps - AWESOME! The stamps?! AWESOME! I went a little crazy and ordered 3 bee stamps but I also got one of their "grab bags" - the cheaper one if you want to know. I am here to say I am THRILLED to pieces over the stamps in that bag! I got GOBS of GREAT stamps that I could see no reason to not buy individually! Great deal, trust me! LOL! Okay so, I made this with SU cardstock, some awesome pink glittery paper I found at my LSS, and I colored it with my Koh-I-Nor pencils and Gamsol! I had these tiny little pom poms that were PERFECT for the bee's party hats and I thought little tiny rhinestones would be CUTE for their little noses too! I put Stickles on their wings too! My girl has to have her bling so I gave her as much as I could! LOL!

Well I'll leave you with a few pictures of her as she grew up, I swear she was just born yesterday.....












My baby graduates in 2 years....the tears are already trying to flow.....

Until next time....

Miss Me?!!

I've been getting these interesting emails, and today a text asking "when are you updating your blog"! LOL! It's nice to know you guys care and that I was missed! So.... where was I?! I started my new job last week and boy did I hit the ground running! Trying to figure things out, get to know people, I also have been given the job of editing all documents prior to submitting them to the 4 Star <-- now that makes me nervous! I also had 2 runs on Wednesday and the second one was in the rain. Guess what my reward was for that one?! I got a nice, nasty chest cold that just sucked the life out of me! I know, pretty picture right?! I had pneumonia really bad once so chest colds make me nervous!I went to work and did nothing else! LOL! I'm all better now though and here I am!
Our Father's Day celebration today was rather low key as we all took naps, together, like little monkeys in the bed! It was probably a rather hilarious site if you had been that fly on the wall too! I won the award for sleeping the longest....yeah me! So when we got up, I made dinner and boy was it good tonight! Mmmm! We had roast chicken & red bell pepper sauce over wheat noodles, a green salad and some Ghiradelli brownies! I don't understand the hype over these brownies though, they're not all that good - ugh! I prefer Betty Crocker ones with chocolate frosting if I have to eat some! LOL! Then again, I'm not a chocolate eater!
Okay so the best part of Father's day here?! We gave Brian a card/album we made using some of the BoBunny products we picked up at our LSS! Have you seen the album's made where each page is a letter?! I think at Marko's you can get them with the individual letters to spell out anything! Ooooh the possibilities there! This one came as a kit and turned out SO frigging cute! Here's some pictures!

Outside/closed


First 2 inner pages


Close up of the squirrel...yeah...long story but he liked it!


Next couple of pages...


The back...


The "giver" & her Daddy!


This book should have only taken me a couple of hours but it took me days! I could only do a little bit at a time for the obvious reasons! LOL! Brian really liked the final product too so, in the end, that's all the really mattered!

Until next time....

I hope you like it!

Weekend Fun...

Oooh this was a fun weekend! I love company and my DH's sister and her family came to visit! I love these guys - they are the COOLEST! No, before you ask they don't read my blog so I'm not trying to rack up any points here so it must be true right?! We haven't seen them since before we moved to Ohio back in August so it was awesome to have them stay even for the night. We had lost time to make up for so we managed to celebrate birthdays, visit, go shopping, eat out, eat at home twice, go see the USAF Museum (the boys LOVED the airplanes!) and I just loved having them here! Needless to say I'm a little tired today, not to mention 4 mile runs each day and today's was midday so I came home with a little souvenir - sunburn! YEAH me! I start my new job tomorrow and am a little nervous so relaxing was good this weekend! So, keeping this post "craft related" I thought I'd share my one claim to fame! In addition to my addiction to paper crafting I also have an addiction to sewing. I've sewn forever, for myself and family. I've taught quilting and once made costumes for a play company. I've been a pattern tester for a couple of ladies and my sample work is published in their books. My biggest, to me anyway, is having my work hang in a museum! I had my good camera with me this weekend and got a good shot of my contribution to the Air Force's 50th Anniversary quilt! I get tickled when I look up and say "I did that"!

Here's a picture of the block;


My sister-in-law and I in front of the quilt to show how big it is;


Our Godson Kyle and his cake (handsome guy isn't he?! Obviously I need help in cake decorating...)


Our nephew Luke and his cake (cutest little guy ever - love those eyes!)


Now if only they lived closer, there was more time to visit......Christmas is SO far away!!

Ready to Ride.....

Well after he learns to walk perhaps! LOL! Who is the cutest cowboy ever...at least in his "Bella's" eyes?! Why Logan of course! My daughter went to a yard sale and found a cowboy hat tiny enough to fit this handsome fella and then took pictures to show me! It's like falling in love all over again with every picture! Here he is in all his adorableness.....



So...since he is SO cute in his cowboy hat you know I couldn't resist a cowboy stamp when I saw it right?! Well Bella, the stamp company, has these adorable little turtle stamps now and one just so happened to be a...yep! A cowboy! LOL!



I colored the image using my Koh-I-Nor pencils, that have had some Prisma's migrate in, and my Gamsol. I think that is getting to be my favorite coloring technique! The shape I'm sure you can tell is cut with the Nestabilities. I used my JustRite stamps for the word "Howdy" but the block was so big and the square so small it was hard to line it up so, close enough had to do! I also used hemp twine to make the "lasso"! Every cowboy needs one right?! I think he used it to lasso my heart! Just love this little guy - can you tell?!!

I'm off now to do my daily run, the marathon is still a couple of months off but I still gotta maintain my girlish figure! If I don't watch it my DH won't either! LOL!

Well I hope you liked my card for today!

Until next time....

Hooray For Friday!

I'm so glad it's Friday! This time for more then the obvious that it's the beginning of the weekend too! My running/crafting/future mother-in-law to my youngest (I say that with a big grin!) is coming to visit today! YEAH! I'm probably way over excited I know but, well, not many share ALL of my passions like she does! We ran together in Virginia, we both craft, her 9 year old son wants to marry my daughter (we're talking mad love affair here!) and our husbands get along rather well too! Oooh and she's a shoe lover, shopper too! Now if I die and get to stand in front of that door of "reincarnation" and they give me a choice well, it'll be tough to turn down being a "fly on the wall(you know what I mean! LOL!) I'd come back as her since her job is a dream job for me! Travel is one thing I LOVE to do and her job takes her everywhere! She is on the Com team for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and they're in town right now!

Here's a few pics to share...travelling doesn't allow her to update her blog but you can find it on my sidebar as "Mom Who Scraps"

St Patricks Day run in DC (I beat her too he he he!)


Relaxing after an awesome Easter meal!


Nathan and his future wife, Breanna (look at his awesome grin!)


So guess what we'll be doing tonight?! We'll be locked up in my craft room having a blast as she brought her Bella's! LOL! Oh, I just thought of this Bella stamping out Bella's! Ha ha ha! Go ahead, laugh....it's Friday and time to be a little silly!

Until next time....

Young, Hip and Available.....

Yes girls, I am pimping out my baby brother-in-law here! LOL! Not without his permission though! LOL! This is the one who just graduated with his doctorate too! Can you believe how tall he is?! Neither of us have shoes on (inside the house = big no no!) and he's not even standing up straight! LOL! I'm not exactly short at 5'5" So......he's a Doctor....employed and handsome! LOL!



Now on to more "hip and available"! Have you tried the newest in stamping yet?! I'm talking digital designs! Check out my card I made using one of the digital designs from "Lindsay's Stamp Stuff". I went bright on this one since it sort of told me it needed something bright! Then again I could have used more country type colors too but....I couldn't have used my Copic markers then! LOL! I'm still working on my inventory of those expensive rascals - slowly! LOL! Take a look and tell me what you think;



I printed out 4 of these to one sheet of paper so I'll always have extras for when I need a fast card! So if you're tempted to try some of these digital designs check out Lindsay's blog to see her freebies! Of course to purchase your own don't forget she has an awesome selection in her store "Lindsay's Stamp Stuff" for you to choose from! These types of designs are such a great idea! I hope you try some soon! Good luck with those tough choices! LOL!

Until next time....

Running For Fun......

Wooosh it was a warm Saturday morning here in Ohio and I LOVE IT! My first timed race was this morning. "Healthy Minds 5K", proceeds going back the to kids. I tend to run a lot of these smaller races just for the fun of it but I figure if I am I want the proceeds to go to a good cause! I don't have a "before" pic but here's an "after" pic;



I can say I finished, didn't do as good as I wanted but better then expected! I ran a total of 6 miles and walked 2 more since I tend to park a ways away for a little extra exercise and not to mention I'm sort of anal about my car and don't want door dings! Oooh how's that for a run on sentence?! Well I spared you the shots of me showing my legs.....talk about your "glow in the dark" skin! LOL! Well it's a busy Saturday with lots of stuff going on! I just finished planting some flowers, cleaning my car (anyone have good hints for cleaning microfiber seats besides a lint brush?!!) and now need to clean house, run to the shoe guy, run here........run there..... you get the picture! LOL! It's all about running today!


Until next time....

Celebrate Memorial Day

Since it's Memorial Day weekend I thought I'd share pictures of some of the veterans in my family, that I have pictures of that is! Here's a shot of my siblings and I. My Dad served in the Coast Guard as well but, obviously isn't in uniform either!



My Dad


My Son


My Handsome Love and Us!


There are other family members who have served, including my Grandfathers and I have lots of friends that have, and are serving right now. One of my friends from work even left this weekend to serve a tour over there! I started adding him to our church prayer book this weekend!

Thanks to every Veteran and Active Duty person out there! You're the best!

Until next time....

Fast Post - Good News!!

It's been another crazy week in my world! Started off with the normal catching up, final good bye's to my boss (one of them) getting the room set up for the new guy coming in, a midday/midweek race, appointments, blah, blah, blah! The usual rigmarole filtered in there and you get the picture! LOL! The good news is I achieved a personal goal! YEAH me! I tried to get a job as a civilian here on base but was unsuccessful for many reasons so I chose to go contractor to see how that worked! I still wanted that civilian position for ease of job hunting at other bases and retirement potential! Well.....I put in for one, actually a Colonel who retired and took another position saw me and said "I need you....(work related!!) ...please apply for this position"! Well, I did and.....I was told Wednesday "you've been selected..."! YEAH!! So I have been spending my evenings with paperwork of a different kind! I am personally sick of writing my name and social but it's worth it in the long run right?! So starting on June 8 I will be "Executive Assistant to the Director and Deputy Director of Nuclear Surety" - YEAH!! Now, back to our regularly scheduled program.......

Until next time....

Pursuit of Paper....

Well, not "OUR" kind of paper, more along the lines of sheepskin, but this weekend we're heading to see my husband's baby brother graduate from college with a doctorate's degree! My goodness is that dedication to a dream or what?! I find it simply amazing in the sense that I've known this brother since he was 8 years old and hardly taller then my shoulders! Now, here he is 6'7" (yes really!)and now a "doctor"! WOW! So, this accomplishment means his favorite crafting sister-in-law has to make him a "WOW" card right?! Well, here's what I chose to make;



I think it packs a little "wow" factor! LOL! I simply used the "Spring Card" technique from Splitcoast Stampers, altered it to fit my needs and VOILA! CARD! Yeah!! I made the tassel using simple embroider floss that I had laying around - easy peasy! The "Celebrate" stamp is from Queen Kat Designs and is one of her "Congratulations" stamp set! What I like about this particular one is the font! It's very readable and "fun" too!
Well I hear alarms going off in the house so that means the family is waking up and we're getting on the road here soon! See you on Sunday!

Until next time....

Time....

Did anyone see my weekend? I could almost swear it was here! I mean I wake up and it's Saturday...blink and it's Monday morning and time to get ready for work! UGH! What happened to my time off?! LOL! I did accomplish quite a bit and manage to entertain some company as well - a bit! I cleaned house, took Breanna to gymnatsics, went to a mall in Cincinatti, ran 4 miles on the trail (more races coming soon!) ran crazy errands, got ready for company and I also made some of the best beef stroganoff - mmmmmm good stuff! I've used this Better Homes & Gardens recipe for years and my family always liked it - beef stroganoff at least they let me think they did! LOL! So what did I do this weekend?! I managed to complete a 24 page 8x8 scrapbook for my boss who we found out about 2 weeks ago was leaving - this week or next week! Nothing like short notice there! He's been a good boss to me, challenging but I am a better assistant under his tutelage (whoa - that's deep! LOL!) I'll post pictures later of the different pages but they're really not that elaborate and is why I was able to finish it! Since I don't have those pictures yet how about I show you another butterfly card I made using one of Melissa's butterfly stamps from The Rubber Cafe!



I used my large swirly butterfly stamp and embossed it! I wasn't going for that marbly ink look but using an old versamark ink pad and fresh pink ink and voila! Happy accident! YEAH! I used mostly SU items here except the DP and darn if I can remember what it is! I can look it up but it may take a bit to dig my way through the mess I made in my room trying to accomplish that book! LOL!

Well, Monday starts too soon!

Until next time....

It's All About Logan .....

First time Bella + 1st visit with new baby + camera = LOTS of pictures...KWIM?! LOL! So what's a girl to do when she has so many pictures (last count was close to 300,anyone want to see the sneeze yet?! LOL!)?!!
I think I have Loganitis BAD! LOL! Well, here's a picture of what a girl should do;



On one of my many "red tag hunting expeditions" at Target I lucked across this photo album for less than $2 (I know, crazy right?!!). This was a good year plus ago and, at the time, I had no clue what I was going to do with it! In it's original life it was a plain Kraft color with black dots. I used SU cardstock, JoAnn designer paper pack later, SU "All in the Family" baby (stamped using my thingamajig) and colored with Copics. Have you caved to the Copics fever yet?! I went so far as buying them but am still sort of intimidated with them so have only done small projects! Soon though I will get my Copics class and I can't wait! Anyway, back to the book, I'll be leaving this one at work as I have another to put in my tote bag that I bring just about everywhere. I'll post that picture another day! In the meantime, let me ask Logan what he thinks of his new photo album.......Logan?
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I'm thinking he likes it too! LOL!

Thanks for pacifying me AGAIN!!

Until next time....

Onesies

I'm sure by now you can tell I'm infatuated with a new little guy in my life! I think while I was gone I took like 400+ pictures of him and his family! I even got a sneeze play by play using the "sports mode" on my camera! Let me know if you're interested....no?! That's okay! LOL! So with a new baby you have to have new baby stuff right?! Well how cute are these little onesies here;







Ooopsie...how did this cute onesie sneak in here..... ;)






The stamps I used for the 3 with words are from JustRite Stamps. It's part of their new collection. There are quite a few more in this box but if you go to Melissa's store "The Rubber Cafe" you can see the set and all it has to offer. For $13.95 plus shipping it's a great deal! Go check it out! The star is from her exclusive "Rubber Cafe" collection and is one of those that is a cube with multiple designs on one block. I like this kind because of it being just one stamp and I only have to store one! When you have a ton of stamps the more condensed...the better! Not only is this star perfect for shouting out to the world your new star has arrived like I did here but, don't forget Memorial day and the 4th of July are coming! Wouldn't this stamp be perfect for decorating for those cookouts?! Possibilities are endless here! If you like my onesie card and want to make one for yourself, I must tell you that the pattern came from Lauren Meader, My Time My Stampendence, , an amazingly talented lady! I hope you like my interpretation! Oh and that gorgeous baby....one of a kind!

Until next time....

New Love Affair!

I'm baaaack! LOL! I am home from visiting my new Grand baby in Missouri! I just can't express how adorable this little guy is! OMG! Without further ado.....here's Logan!



Logan and his favorite Bella!



I think I'm in love! LOL!

Thanks for humoring me...

Until next time....

Meet Logan

He's here!!! Logan Greggory Hall entered the world last night at 8:18! Jessica did really well and is still doing well! Dad, on the other hand, was zonked out pretty much every time I talked to her! I guess it was rough for him! LOL! Men! My phone rang off the hook last night! Did you know you can sleep on a phone and not realize it?! I don't recommend it though...first time it rings you're pretty much peeling yourself off the ceiling! LOL!Here's a photo uploaded from my phone, it isn't that good but, trust me, I will have better pictures to share soon!



It's still unreal to me that I'm a Grandparent but, hey, what can I say other then he sure is a cutey!

Until next time....