Telling Stories

25ish Random things about me...

This has been going around on Facebook, so I had to add it to my blog. :) It's just sooo interesting, ya know. (Yeah. Right.) I love reading these things so if you do one, let me know, ok? :)

1.I was once an extra in the Howard Stern movie “Private Parts.” Incidentally, I never saw the movie.

2.Two things I always wished I could do: sing and dance. I still do a mean lip sync with my hairbrush… somehow, it’s not the same.

3.I love music that is marketed towards much, much younger people. Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne (only the ‘clean’ versions), Miley Cyrus… only the upbeat songs that make me want to dance around the house with my kids.

4.I regularly dance around the house with my kids. Especially to the song “Let My Love Open the Door” by Pete Townshend. In fact, I can’t hear that song without dancing. Ask Adam. (Please also refer to #2 for a clear picture of how good of a dancer I am. Not. Very.)

5.I was bit by the theatre bug around age 8-9 when I saw the musical “Grease” at Dixon High School. I thought the golf cart as “Greased Lightning” was the stinking coolest thing ever.

6.My first production on stage (outside of school) was “OIiver”. I played one of Fagin’s boys.

7.One of the most life-changing experiences of my life was when I spent a summer in New York at Circle in the Square Theatre School. I reeeaaaalllly discovered a lot about myself out there. And I fell in love with that city.

8.I took theatre classes from the daughter of the old lady who sat on the bus stop bench with Tom Hanks in “Forrest Gump.”

9.My first alcoholic drink was a few sips of a wine cooler in college. It was like the week before I turned 21 and I really didn’t like it. Never was much of a drinker, but I made one heck of a designated driver!

10.I always thought I would be an actress. Never a writer. Never a pastor. And certainly not a wife and mom at age 24.

11.I’ve been a Christian all my life. I “asked Jesus into my heart at age 5” and have asked every year since just to make sure He knows I was serious the first time.

12.I hate going to the post office. I absolutely dread it with every fiber of my being. Most. Annoying. Place. Ever.

13.I can’t touch butter. If, when I’m baking, I accidentally touch butter, I nearly gag and have to immediately wash my hands. I have hated the way butter smells since I was a kid—a condition worsened when my dog ate an entire stick off the kitchen table. I’m going to be sick just thinking about it. Where’s the bucket?

14.I get VERY anxious in social situations. I much prefer one on one conversations than large parties or gatherings. I would never describe myself as “outgoing.”

15.I have always read magazines, but only in the past 3-4 years have I rediscovered my love for books. Now I try to be reading one all the time.

16.Probably my all-time favorite story of all-time is “Anne of Green Gables.”

17.I still listen to the soundtrack from “The Piano” when I’m writing or working. (Thanks to Jessica who introduced me to it in college. Remember that laptop you had, Jess? You named him Delbert. Hahaha.)

18.I met my husband my sophomore year of college when he dated many of the girls on my floor. I was the ARA so I was especially un-impressed with this guy… until…

19.I re-met him in my sorority house the following year, after his meeting with God the summer before. He was playing the piano and I was shocked to discover that guy from the year before actually had talent.

20.My first “date” with Adam wasn’t really a “date.” We went to Perkins at around 9 p.m. and stayed till 7:30 the next morning. At the end of that night, I think I knew everything there was to know about him. We’ve been inseparable ever since.

21.When we went to the hospital to have our third baby, we had decided on the name “Gray.” During labor, Adam changed his mind back to one of my earlier picks and we ended up with a “Sam.” It suits him.

22.I was the prom queen in high school. Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I just admitted that. Hahaha

23.In second grade, as a desperate plea for attention I faked my eye exam and ended up with glasses. Bad move, Courtney… as the many disturbing bad-glasses photos show.

24.I’ve never been overseas. The farthest away I’ve been is Alaska and I think everyone should go. Incidentally, I don’t know if I’ll ever make it overseas… I’ve developed a fear of flying in my old age.

25.My dream is to live on a couple acres surrounded by trees and a lake and all kinds of big, fat beautiful flowers where I can hide away and write all day.

26.I met Al Pacino in New York. He was doing a two-man show at Circle in the Square. He’s really short. My favorite thing was watching the people who hung around trying to get an autograph from him. He never gave them. One time during movement class, I turned around and he was standing there watching our class. Talk about unnerving.

27.I saw Danny Devito in line at “Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk.” Struck me as odd he had to give his name at will call. Like they don’t know who he is. (Oh, and he is very, very short.)

Claiming Ignorance

I have a lot of changes on the agenda for my household and myself. I have all these big plans of things that are going to be different from now on. I've talked about some of them before... but a couple of the main things I want to change include:

1. Put systems in place to deal with the bills and paperwork

2. Get rid of the clutter

3. Cook more and healthier

4. Stay up with the housework and make my house a home.

5. Exercise regularly and eat healthy

I won't even bother to call them New Year's resolutions because they really aren't. They just happen to have fallen heavy on my shoulders in January.

Last night, Adam and I were watching our DVR'd episode of HOUSE. Wilson brings this big stuffed bird over to Cuddy who has just become a foster mom. First of all, someone should tell Wilson that the bird is waaaay too big and a little gaudy, but he's the guy we all loved and lost in Dead Poets Society so he can pretty much do whatever he wants.

In his speech to her, he said something that struck me as so true. He talked about these crazy expectations we as women put on ourselves to get soooo much stuff done. She said, "What do you suggest I do?" He said, "Act like a man. Get help."

Hm. Now there's a novel idea. I've always thought I'm a disorganized person and that's just the way it is. I've explained all the reasons why I'm a terrible cook and gone on to give the many, many reasons why it's nearly impossible to eat healthy and exercise daily. Or even every other day. I NEVER thought of any of these as excuses. Always 'just the way I am.'

Enter Adam.

 

As part of my new plan, I've asked Adam for help. He keeps me accountable. He's the only person in my life I really trust to encourage me, yes, but also to call me out on my excuses.

And so he's done.

He said to me, as I was lamenting all the reasons I couldn't achieve Goals 1-5 up there... "You know, you really can't claim ignorance. It's just like with everything else you do. Go figure it out."

Hm. I hadn't thought of it that way. If I spent some TIME planning meals, planning to tackle bits of the house one at a time, planning to succeed, then maybe, just maybe, I could talk myself out of being a disorganized, non-cooking, packrat. ??

So, this weekend, in addition to cooking healthy meals for the past four nights and really only messing one up, I tackled this:

 

That's the top half of my "coat closet." Here's the bottom half....

 

And that, my friends is the glorious BOTTOM of the closet.

Let me tell you something about myself. I HATE SHOES. and... I HATE HANGERS. Anyone who knows me knows about my little 'fights' with these inanimate objects. The results are never pretty. And usually, quite embarrassing. Anyway, ever since we moved in, this has been one of my catch-all places in the house. I hate it. I hate looking at it. So... Friday, while Adam was home and keeping the kids occupied. I tackled it. You wouldn't believe the bag of stuff I am taking to Good Will. I also cleaned out all the kids clothes and our clothes as well, which was a massive load on its own. (I did that in two days time last week, nothing too overwhelming. Baby steps.)

Anyway. Here's the "After."

 

Adam, knowing my contempt for all objects that might possibly fall on my head, handled the games. While we were up there, we found a brand new Canon zoom lens. Yeah. Who knew? See what happens when you finally de-clutter? Geesh!

 

Now, I have to say, that while this bottom section doesn't look particularly pristine, it is waaay better... and I threw out LOTS of shoes! That middle thing there is my bread maker which I use a LOT... and later I moved it to the pantry. AFTER I cleaned that out.

Now, I took Wilson's advice (though I hadn't heard it yet at this point) and enlisted some help. My mom. Master of all things homey. Ridiculous really how she ended up with a daughter who seems completely challenged in the HOME arena... but I'm learning.

So, we tackled the pantry together. I forgot to take a before picture, but here's the after:

 

See, breadmaker there on the floor. You wouldn't believe all the stuff I threw away.

Speaking of which. Next, came time to tackle my kitchen counter. I don't know about you... but seriously. If I had a little more counter space, I'd probably cook all the time. I feel claustrophobic in my kitchen thanks to all the papers... and moms, don't you LOVE all the school papers that come home?? It's INSANE! Anyway, this is the beginning of the process:

 

Everything ON the counter was stacked over under that cupboard to the right of the sink. So, part of my mom's help was to suggest getting a desk or a small piece of furniture JUSt for bills and paperwork. I'm about to go clean up the kitchen, so I'll take a picture after I do to show you how it came out. In the meantime, look at all the crud I threw away:

 

Oh, geesh, that's not even half of it. I had magazines and tons more papers, but you get the point.

Anyway, my real point is this... if something is completely overwhelming you right now, the thing to do is to muster up the courage to tackle it. To beat it. To figure out a way to take control of it. My house was beating me down. Big time. I was KO'd in the first round. I'd decided I couldn't do it. So I decided to start with the things that drove me the craziest. Trying to jam clothes in the drawers. The clothes in my closet that were totally out of style. The papers on my kitchen counter that had no business hanging around.

And I bit off little bites. Now I feel like I can continue. And the scrapbook room is next. Big purge coming!! It's time to set up the office I need... not this clutter-monster!

ANyway. That's that. Check out my Weight Loss Blog later for some receipes. :) I might've overcooked the pork tenderloin, but I could tell, if I were a better cook, the recipe was GOOD!! :)

And I do plan to master it. I bought another tenderloin this weekend. I'll figure it out!!

Turning a corner...

I distinctly remember the day I learned the concept of letting "Jesus take the wheel." It was 1999 and Adam and I were directing the show "Darn Yankees". One of the best theatrical experiences I've had to this day. We'd already directed a few things and felt like we had a good timeline on how to get things done, but as with most of our plans, nothing really went the way we wanted it to. Things weren't coming along as quickly as we were hoping.

I was a walking ball of stress.

In addition to directing the show, I was working at the local newspaper, so that kept me busy during the day. In addition to that, there was a lot of outside drama surrounding this production, things that I would now ignore, but at 23 or however old I was, felt compelled to dwell on.

I was a walking ball of stress.

So one night, I was driving home after rehearsal and I was on the curvy road heading out of town and I was praying. I had done everything in my power to make that show happen. I had stayed late, painted sets, approved costumes, directed actors. I had publicized, written articles, secured advertising, sold ads for the program. I had sold tickets and basically overworked myself into a frazzled mess, only asking for help from the people I knew had to love me--my family.

And never once did I ask God for His help.

On that road, it was like God was sitting in the passenger seat and He said to me, "Ok, are you ready to let me help you now?" Just like that, a wave of relief washed over me. God hadn't abandoned me and I wasn't going to completely fail. I did have help... I just needed to ask.

Long story short, the show came off without a hitch and really, really ended up being amazing. We had so much fun and have so many good memories from that show. And I still credit that crazy experience as the one that taught me to rely on God.

Which brings me to this. I have been struggling with being healthy for years. It's like God gives us these bodies and we use them however we want. We abuse them and put things in them that are just NOT GOOD for us. But we blow it off assuming that everyone else is eating/drinking/smoking this stuff... why shouldn't we?

In high school, I developed an eating disorder. I hardly ever ate. Maybe an apple a day. Maybe. And a McDonald's Coke. Or I would only eat on the weekends. I never got bone-thin, so I hid it pretty well. It was like I ate just enough to sustain me and not alarm anyone. This went on for about 7-8 years... until I started to first realize God made my body and I was treating it like garbage.

My mind shift made a huge difference, but I still think there's a lot of issues maybe I haven't completely dealt with. But that's not why I'm writing this. I actually don't know why I'm writing this except to say... God doesn't want us to be unhealthy. And maybe you're like me and you've been doing it alone or trying diets that don't work or obsessing over not eating or whatever it is. Maybe you've exhausted all your own resources just like I had that night in my car... and you are at the end of your rope. Maybe you now realize you can't do it on your own.

Do you know how often I pray about my health and weight loss? Probably never. I pray about everything else. My kids, house, writing, husband. I never pray about getting healthy because I ASSUME this is all my fault that I'm still holding onto this 25 lbs. and I seriously should have had it off by now... but I really believe, after lots of prayer the past few days... that God wants us healthy. And he wants to help us get healthy.

He wants us strong and active and not bound by any addictions, food, drugs or otherwise. He wants us to push forward and make changes... to turn the corner as my husband says. He is ready and waiting if we just ask him for help. But instead, we rely on South Beach and Atkin's and yes... even Weight Watchers. Now, I'm not saying those things are bad... but are they just band-aids for what we really need to be dealing with?

In my case, I'm thinking maybe so. I'm thinking it's time to accept and love myself the way God made me and to take care of what I've been given--to be a good steward of my time, my money AND MY BODY. I never thought of it that way... but isn't that what He wants us to do?

My faith is so closely tied in with every aspect of my life, and yet in my health quest, God has been pretty much shut out. It's time to turn the corner.

So, part of what I'm doing is going organic.

The other night, we had some broccoli with our chicken and I kid you not, I could taste the chemicals on it. It was so gross. Ethan looked at me and said, "This tastes weird."

Yeah, buddy, it sure does.

A friend of mind told me about this farm here in Illinois that delivers organic produce, meat, cheese, dairy, eggs, just about everything you can imagine, right to your door. I imagine back in the day they didn't have all these chemicals on their foods. They probably didn't get sick very often either. I want to eat 'cleaner.'

Will this be a challenge? You bet your tootsies. I have no idea what I'm doing. And I'm a terrible cook, though Adam and I are talking about taking a cooking class together. Ok, I'm talking about it TO Adam. Ok, I mentioned it once and he said he would go. lol (I'm holding him to that!) So, I am clueless, but I plan to learn. I plan to figure it out...

I want my life--body, mind and spirit... to all glorify God. One little baby step at a time, I can make some major changes...

I need to turn this corner and close the book on my food hang-ups. And I'm going to ask God to join me every step of the way.

More winners! Yay!

I am so excited to finally be back to normal. Well, semi-normal. I'm giving my "normal" an overhaul, so I'm not quite sure what it's looking like.

First things first. Winners.

Adam wasn't satisfied giving away ONE CD. He wants to give away FIVE. I say, "Woohoo! More fun for me!"

So. One winner gets the CD's and the scrap-goodness and four others are going to win CD's! If you don't have wee ones or aren't involved at church, you can always give them away. :)

K. So. Big Grand Prize Winner!!!

I am praying my post doesn't end up all funk-tified again. Good grief. Someone actually commented to thank me for making them look tech savvy. lol Seriously not my intention, but I am hurting for intelligence in the computer world. I really need to change my blog header (do you see three children up there?) but I'm afraid! I don't remember how! gravy.

Anyway. My winners!! :)

Grand Prize Winner!!! Lisa J. She was our third comment! Lisa, you get the BLUE scrapbooking awesomeness and also copies of Adam's CD's!! I'm going to try and send everyone at least Yellow and Blue... :) But you will for sure be getting BLUE!! I'm so excited because I really think kids are loving these things. It's kind of funny this little in-house project that Adam started for our Faith Kids is something that kids anywhere can and do love! (And lots of parents are thanking him that these songs are not annoying. I would so much rather hear these than Spongebob's rendition of the Krusty Krab song.)

Ok... winners of the CD's... :) I used a random number generator and came up with four additional numbers... 12, 27, 24 and 30. :)

Kelly Lautenbach! (I'm excited because I really like Kelly and her blog and her itkitstudio.) And I'm totally jealous that she has bagel friends to go eat with and talk about scrapgoodness and plan weddings and all that jazz. :) So, Kelly, I know you have worked with kids in church... maybe they will love this as much as we do!!

Ok, other winners... this is fun because lots of these are my facebook friends. I love facebook. I'm an addict.

Jeanne! Jeanne has this GREAT etsy shop. She actually has all her adorable kids' clothes on clearance right now... makes me wish I could sew. Jeanne and I haven't seen each other in YEARS but we went to the same grade school. Her sweet sister Amy was in my class, so I'm excited I get to send these to you!! You were number 27! :)  

Ok, another winner of these CD's... Rachel Giallongo. :) Rachel and I don't know each other, but I know she's a scrapbooker and also one of my facebook friends. I love facebook. Have I mentioned I'm an addict?

My final winner is ERICA, but sadly, I don't have a last name or an email so Erica if this was your comment:

Hey! The CD's sound great. Can't wait to hear them...(heading over to itunes now!)

Posted by: Erica | January 14, 2009 at 01:48 PM

Then it's you I'm looking for!!!

So, yes, if you are one of my amazing winners, please email me today at courtney r walsh [at] gmail [dot]com. Take out spaces obviously. :) Trying to avoid more spammers. I get the worst spam. ugh. So, email me your address and we'll get them in the mail!! I can't wait for you to hear them!!

I have much more to say, but part of my change of the 'normal routine' is to get out from behind the computer more. I am sure you understand. :)

So. I am off to fold laundry, work out and hopefully make some progress in this house of mine!

Wish me luck!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

I don't even watch Dancing with the Stars, but I heard that was a phrase coined by that one guy on that show. lol My brain functions at an even lower level past 8 p.m. so you'll have to forgive me.

*ETA I apologize for the ridiculous way this post turned out. I am obviously completely tech savvy. I'm sure the FBI will be wanting to hire me to help with their computers... you know they're looking for people, don't you?

But I have drawn a very lucky winner. Yay. Rounds of applause all around.

The random number generator chose number 44:

See?

 

HEATHER PATTERSON is that very lucky winner. Heather's post:

How adorable and the perfect addition to any page!

Posted by: Heather Patterson | January 06, 2009 at 06:22 PM

...came in at number 44. Now, I'm hoping the email is on there so she can claim her prize... Heather, email me at courtney r walsh [at] gmail [dot] com (no spaces)... and I'll hook you up with your awesome prize.

Now, since everyone was sooo awesome in playing along, I want to do another giveaway!

This time, something non-scrap related. My husband, children's pastor extraordinairre is actually a musician... I mean, that's what he went to school for. Funny how God moves ya around, isn't it? Well, he's written lots of these memory verse songs to go along with his sermons on Sunday mornings. He started it just as a way to get the kids to remember their Bible verses. Who knew it would actually work?

So, I'm giving away all three CD's to one lucky winner (trust me, you will like them. They are a blast!) You can hear them on itunes, just type in Faith Kids Yellow and you'll find them. :) ETA: TO MAKE THIS ESPECIALLY FUN ... AND TO ADD THE SCRAPBOOKING BACK INTO IT... I AM ALSO GOING TO THROW IN SOME BLUE SCRAPBOOKING SUPPLIES. LOTS OF THEM. WHATEVER I CAN FIND. (AND TRUST ME, I WILL FIND LOTS OF STUFF!)

So the winner of this drawing will get the three CD's and a load of BLUE scrappy goodness. (Think all forms of blues.... lots of different blues.) :) It will be yummy, I promise!

The covers look like this:

Oh, shoot. I can't show you. My external hard drive is not hooked up. Bummer. I will have to figure out a way to post that.

   

Ooh! I did it! Yay!

Then there's Yellow and Red. You get the idea. Anyways, the CD's are put out for kids under the age of 12, but I have had lots of parents actually tell me they enjoy them. In fact, I got an email tonight that said:"my daughter listens to them non-stop, and the tunes are SO catchy and not annoying like most other 'kid' music CDs."

Yay!

Ok, now I can't figure out how to get back to normal black type. Am I seriously this challenged?

Apparently so.

Anyway, tell all your friends. And you don't have to be a Christian to enjoy these, they are actually pretty funny CD's... my husband has a pretty good sense of humor. This is him, by the way:

 

 Wow, that's really not a good photo of that layout, is it? That's what happens when you finish scrapbooking assignments late at night the night before your deadline. whoops. Ok, here's a better picture:

 

I happen to think he's quite handsome. Many say he looks like Jim Carrey. I think he looks like Adam. He's mighty talented, that fella.

So leave me a comment by Wednesday. I'll tell you that I'm going to draw a name on Thursday and I will try, doggone it, I will try... but if I space out because I'm buried in a pile... or six piles... of laundry, please do not run the other way or consider me to be NOT a woman of my word. I am just horribly spaz-tastic right now, but I'm doing my best. Will help when Sam stops teething.

Yes, leave me a comment on this post and I will draw on THURSDAY, January 15th. :) You will not be disappointed, trust me!! You might have a couple of these songs stuck in your head, but it's ok. You'll like 'em!

Off to watch Star Wars Clone Wars with my husband.

(And if you believe that I'm actually going to do that you don't know me yet. ha.)

Happy Sunday! And Congrats to HEATHER! :)

 

My weight loss blog & other things...

I forgot to post on here that I've been updating my weight loss blog again starting this month. I got away from it and realized it is part of what helps keep me accountable, so I'm back on to lose my 25 blasted pounds. I would call it baby weight, but it's not. I'm pretty much back to my pre-baby weight. When we decided to have another baby, I sort of stopped paying attention, knowing I was going to have to lose it all over again anyway. I really, really wish I hadn't done that.

Anyway. This post is about the Virtual Belly Flattener. How else could I look like this?

 

Anyway. It's an interesting little tool to kick your butt in gear, I think.

In other news, Tania's class giveaway will be in just a couple more days so if you want to be entered, make sure to leave a comment on the post below. I'm going to do another giveaway and then another--one right after the other, just for fun. Because I feel like a little fun in my otherwise humdrum life.

:)

A few weeks ago, a friend and I were emailing back and forth pictures of where we work most days. It was so fun to see her house and her garden and then picture that spot where she sits to write her books or check her emails. I thought it was so much fun since I've met this friend but never seen where she lives. And really just to humor myself I'm going to post photos of where I work and where I live. And if you have decorating tips, you can give them to me. :) (Though we've sort of decided to do our room next, and I'm not showing you that. ha. Talk about a mess.)

Ok, so here is our living room. Our main living space--at least until we find time to finish the basement. There are many things that drive me nuts about this room. Mostly the lack of color. I don't think our house will feel like home unitl I get the nerve to paint.

 

 

That picture, which I've posted before is my favorite thing in the room. I love it. Obviously I have many colors to choose from right there, but I think I've got cold feet. And a baby. I can imagine the damage he could do with wet paint. I'd basically have to ship him off somewhere for a couple days to get any painting done around here.

 

Ok, that's the toy room. Also needs paint. I found a rug at Target I may buy, but who knows, it's sort of a hodge podge right now. Just realized I have no pictures of the entertainment center and bookshelves. They would be on the left of this picture. Really need pillows that match in this room. Sigh. I'll add that to the list.

 

That's what the corner usually looks like. messy.

Oh, I did find one of the bookshelves:

 

Intermixed with toys and play things which sadly attempt to keep Sam from crying or screaming at me daily. It rarely works.

Ok, then our entry way... Still working on this too. I want some rugs, but not the frilly looking kind. I need something fun and cute.

   

When the Christmas decorations get packed away, everything is going to look so bare. :(

Now, onto my office/scrap space. I moved in our front room temporarily because we don't have a finished basement yet. Now that I've been here, I'm thinking I might stay. (If I can convince Adam). Thing is... the natural light is amazing up here and this way, I am right in the mix of everything. I can hear everything all the time. So while it may require a good purge, I think I'm going to make it work in this room.

 

Here's a closer look at the clutter:

 

 

Ahhh, there's the real clutter. Chatterbox stuff at the left along with all the layouts from my last book and an unopened box of The Busy Scrapper. The the right, some giveaway stuff and my old computer which we wanted to set up for the kids but find we really have nowhere to put it. ugh.

So that's where I function all day everyday. I rarely leave unless I have to. Then I realize I haven't left in three days and I get a little stir crazy, so I venture out to Target or somewhere really exciting like that.

:) I love to see what people have done with their homes and where they nest. Helps me gather ideas for our house, which clearly hasn't really been touched in the way of decorating.

It's on my to-do list.

For now, I'm off. Don't forget to leave a comment so you can be entered in the drawing! :)

Happy Thursday!

A COOOLIO giveaway!!

Ok, I am sooo behind, but I have to tell you about this awesome giveaway my sweet friend Tania Willis has offered to do via my blog. Yeah, you can click on her name and it'll take you to her blog.

Okay, so Tania is a hugely talented scrapbooker friend of mine that I had the pleasure of hanging out with at a CHA ... gosh... two years ago? Anyway, the time I got to talk with her was probably my favorite time of the whole show because she's just so sweet and down to earth.

This is Tania:

 

Cute, isn't she? Doesn't she just look like someone you'd want to hang out with over popcorn and chick flicks?

Me too.

Ok. Not my point. My point is... Tania is teaching this fabulous class over at Debbie Hodge's website. Debbie is this fabulous writer friend I had the pleasure of working with at Memory Makers.

Click HERE to find out more about the class...

Ok. (Pardon me while I ignore my horribly starving, growling stomach.)

The class is called Embellishments: Beautifully Handmade and here's a little sneak peek.

 

HOw stinkin' cute is that? Now, I have to confess that scrapbooking has been pretty far down on my to do list, but I really, really want to get back in the swing of it. I have all these plans for layouts and projects I want to create for my house--especially Sophia's room... but here I sit, not doing anything. So... I am going to take Tania's class. If there's homework, I can't guarantee that I'll get it done on time, but I need a swift kick to get me back in gear.

Plus, it looks sooo cute! (Do you think she can teach me to do that paper pieced monkey that's shown on Debbie's website? SOOO cute!)

Anyway. Thanks to the joy of my procrastination, I realize the class starts very soon. January 13th. So we don't have much time to give this puppy away. (Not a real puppy, mind you. I don't think I could mail you one of those.) Let's keep everything technical and virtual.

Here's the deal. You leave me a comment by... hm... what's today, the 6th? Ok. You leave me a comment by Friday, January 9th. After midnight on January 9th the contest is closed. Then on Saturday, I will draw one lucky winner in plenty of time to be prepared for the class to start on Tuesday, the 13th. Sound good? All you have to do is leave a little note and we're good to go!

Come 'on, you know you wanna! Even non-scrappers should enter... I mean, what a great way to get introduced to the wonderful world of memory preservation!?

:) See ya soon!