cruzin, originally uploaded by jendera.

Again, I’m a bad blogger. BUT, I got a lot of stuff done and a few major projects out of the way this week, so things should slow down now and I will have more time to keep this updated.

Mr. UPS delivered our new Sleep Number bed on Monday. I got it all set up so that Denny wouldn’t have to do it when he got home. Let me tell you, I had sore muscles in places I didn’t even know I had muscles. UGH. The first night I couldn’t sleep. Last night Denny kept me awake so I went elsewhere for snore free sleeping. Tonight I’m going to try again. I think part of my problem is that it has been so long since he has slept in the bed that I need to get used to him being there again. No more sleeping right in the middle for me. Hopefully this bed helps with all his back problems. He has been having real trouble with it lately.

I just finished a really cute canvas project today. It is a pretty big one, and if I have time tomorrow I’ll take a photo so that I can share it. It will be on display at Little Scrapbox for a class promotion starting when I drop it off on Saturday. Anyway, it came out cute. I’ll have to take a look at it again tomorrow and see if I want to add anything else. You know how that goes. I have to step away sometimes and then go in for a second look!

The layout I posted today I finished last Friday at Little Scrapbox. Ethan had an early school day that day so I took him up there around 2pm to “Crop” and told him we could stay till he was ready. Turns out we didn’t leave until 10:30PM and that was only because neither of us liked what was on television! He had such a great time and was totally into his “work” the entire time. He helped me load up the car and asked if he could come back again on Sunday, lol. His spring break is coming up soon, so I told him we could go back them. He doesn’t get much alone time with me anymore, and I really enjoy him, and apparently he enjoys my company too. He got a call that morning asking if he wanted to go over a friends in the afternoon. Believe it or not, he said no, because he wanted to go with me. That was a nice feeling. In a few years I’m sure that won’t be the case, but I will enjoy it while it lasts.

Ok I’m off. I might start another project here before I wrap up for the evening. I’m not a big television watcher and I make it a point not to sit in bed before it is time to go to bed, so I try to keep busy.

Night-o
~j

  

   grin, originally uploaded by jendera.

Well last week it was near 70 degrees, today… it is snowing, pretty hard I might add. So here I am, listening to the washer doing the usual loads of laundry and trying to update my blog. I’m a multi-tasker. Some people have it and some people don’t. I guess I really like doing a million things at once. Keeps me busy, makes the day go by fast (almost too fast) and I feel accomplished when I’m moving at the speed of light. My shrink says this isn’t so healthy, and maybe it isn’t, but it makes me feel good, so why fight it??

As I sit here my little robots are cleaning my floors. Michelle suggested that we name all the robots. Silly girl. Of course now that I think about it, “Go fetch me Pedro please” sounds a heck of a lot better than “Go get me the Green Robot Vacuum please.” So maybe she is on to something. In the spirit of McShell (my new nickname for Michelle) I crown my Sage Roomba, Pedro. My Roomba Red, well, I’m not sure I have a name that is really fitting of its personality. Roomba Red is a bit moody and does what he wants, so I’ll have to work on a fitting name.

I’ve been a loyal Roomba fan for a couple years now, and I can’t say enough good things about it. I told Denny when I was pregnant with Shelby that if there were going to be three kids here for me to care for than I needed a Robot Vacuum for at least one level of the house. (Yes, you read right, I asked for a vacuum.) Well, my mom got me the Roomba Red. (Thanks again Mom.) I’ve been a Roomba fan since. Just added Pedro to the cleaning team last week and he is doing a good job. So far I can’t complain about his work ethic.

What did you do this weekend?? (You can see where this is going I’m sure.) I cropped at Little Scrapbox with McShell, McJeannie and McAmy. We spent the afternoon laughing so hard that I thought I might need to seek emergency treatment. I tried to win McShell a Cricut, but instead I came home with a new Making Memories Runway Roller Tote and shoulder Tote bag in green. The fact that it was green was totally lost on me until Sunday some time when I realized that I won it on St. Patricks Day. DUH!

Friday night I went shopping with Amy and Michelle. It was Amy’s idea and I thought she had big spending plans. She spent a disappointing $19.00 and I ended the evening $70.00 lighter. However for the money I purchased my new best friend - Magpie. I got a white Magpie Storage Unit with the little tins that go inside. I need one more, but the store was out of them, so I’ll have to order one someplace. I do want to mention that they were 33% off!! How could I pass that up?? Anyway, it sure is cute, and you can’t go wrong with storage for the most part.

I’ll be releasing a new class list tomorrow on my blog, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Ok that is enough gabbing for now, I hear Pedro calling. Enjoy today’s layout. I thought it was going to be a little “too much” but I really like how it turned out. All the embellishments are layers on 3D Foam Squares (Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L). A challenge for today… take a layout, and go overboard with one type of embellishment and go where it takes you!

~j

  

   Denny at Wheel to Wheel, originally uploaded by jendera.

Well I’m a BAD BAD Blogger! It has been a long time between posts, and I need to get back on track. Sorry I’ve been so absent lately!! Before I know it the day is over and I’m on to the next one.

Autorama is over. Thank goodness for that. Things have slowed down a bit for Denny now. The month of March is always crazy, but he had a lot of high profile projects going on this year so it was even more crazy than in years past. We’ve given Denny a new nickname around here… Mr. Hollywood. He has been in the Detroit News (either online or in print) at least 3 times in the last week or two. Then the first part of the day on Saturday, the filming crew for Hot Rod TV spent time doing an interview with him about the CARS Inc. ‘57 Chevy, and then they took some time to go over to the ‘57 he had built privately for a customer. So that was cool for him, and we are all very proud and excited.

So with Autorama comes awards. The only car I really cared too much about was the ‘57 Chevy Denny built privately. I didn’t get into the other one too much. Maybe that because that build only took about 7 weeks… yes, you read that right… and the one he built here took about two years. Anyway, so the car took 2nd in it’s class, best garage built vehicle, and best paint. The car was also one of the top thirty of the Riddler contenders. So, again, we are all very proud of him.

Now an update on all things scrapbook related, lol. I’ve been spending a lot of time cropping at Little Scrapbox. The store is great, the staff is great, and the product selection is good too. They just got in the newest Basic Grey, Bo Bunny, Fancy Pants, Karen Foster, and American Crafts. There are probably more that I’m forgetting, but what can I say, my brain can only hold just so much. I know that within the next week or so they should be getting in a boat load of new Bazzill colors.

I can say enough good things about Little Scrapbox, really! That store is all about keeping a scrapbooker inspired. They now have displays above the product display racks that show a layout using store products and then a supply list. It looks totally fab, and seems to keep people interested and full of inspiration. On that note, I’m a bit bias because I’m the lucky one that gets to design them all. How lucky am I? If you are interested in seeing the layouts, and don’t want to do all the work to create them, you can purchase them as kits at littlescrapbox.com. They are available both as a regular kit, and assembled. How cool is that???

Amy and I are headed out on a shopping adventure this evening. I’m really just tagging along, and I don’t PLAN to buy anything really. I’ll just be providing moral support, lol. I’m not certain what stores we plan to hit, but I’d guess just about any scrapbook store within reasonable distance is game. I’m looking forward to it, Amy is great and I don’t get to see her too often, so I’m excited about it.

I have a 12 hour crop tomorrow. Michelle, Jeannie and Amy will be joining me. I have a mission tomorrow to get several things done, so we’ll see if I can do it. I was totally NOT productive at the last 12 hour crop. In my defense I was only there for half of the time, but still, it was SAD.

Well my little Dylan calls, so I’m off. Have a great Friday!!

~j

     

   img_4314, originally uploaded by jendera.

It’s done! It came down to the wire but both cars Denny was doing for AutoRama are finished! For those of you interested, the 57 Chevy he was doing with Wheel to Wheel and CARS Inc. was in the Detroit News Yesterday with photos of him and I’m told there are more on the website. The 57 Chevy he was working on for a personal customer at home, well it was loaded up in the trailer yesterday and hauled away, off to AutoRama. I have to admit, I got a bit teary eyed when it started up and was driven up the ramp. I got the news late yesterday afternoon and the judges had been buy and the car is a Riddler contender, again a bit teary eyed, lol. Thats the top honor at AutoRama, so we’ll see how the judging goes. I’m so excitied for Denny, and so very proud of him. This is a big moment for him that has been a long time coming.

Today is all about AutoRama setup, and the show runs from Friday to Sunday, so come Monday… well normal breathing will resume! I’ll be glad when it is all said and done.

Another positive thing has happened around here. My Grandma finished her Chemo treatment last week for Colon Cancer. If she feels up to it my Mom and I are taking her to lunch to celebrate. She will still have her Leukemia treatment to deal with, but that is something she has been handling for years, and not so much a big deal I guess. So I’m happy about that, really really happy.

On that note, it is STILL a busy time here and with all the car festivities yesterday I’m really behind with work, so I better get to it.

Have a great day! I hope someone out there gets some scrappin’ done today, cuz I doubt I will!

~j

  

   on the move, originally uploaded by jendera.

Ok, so I know its been some time since I’ve blogged. In my defense, it has been really crazy around here! Seriously. Denny has been working crazy hours. Between working at his actual job, and working on one particular customers car here at home, well he has become a stranger around here to say the least. All of this is in preparation for AutoRama. He has two cars going to the show and it is getting down to the wire. Hopefully next week life will get back to normal. Ethan actaully asked me last week “Is Daddy on vacation?” because he hadn’t seen him around the house. Poor Denny is beat, I’m beat, everyone is wearing down. The show starts on the 9th and runs through the 11th. Ahh, then I’m planning a day of rest!!

So let’s see what I have done since I last blogged… Hmmm, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time with my kids. I’ve played Legos, GeoTrax, Club Penguin, Dollhouse, read Froggy Goes to School about 75 times, and who knows what else. Frankly, it is all a blur. Denny came home from work around 3 or so on Saturday and told me to get the heck out of here and I went with Michelle to Little Scrapbox to crop. I think it is possible that I was the most unproductive person there, with Michelle running a close second. I got one page totally finished, which I left there for display. The second page I need to journal, and the third, well, uhh, it’s close to done I guess, but I working on it for a few minutes yesterday, so that’s cheating! The rest of the time I talked, to adults.

Speaking of Little Scrapbox, I’ve got a couple classes coming up, and if you can’t make it there (for you non-locals), a class kit is always available. Just contact either myself or Little Scrapbox and they can hook you up. Also for those of you that aren’t local, the Little Scrapbox website has a good sale going on now, so check it out.

I colored my hair back to its original color this morning, or womthing close to it. I needed a change. It is still wet now, so we’ll see how it came out when I get around to styling it.

I think that about covers it from my spot on the globe. Thanks to everyone for posting the comments, I love to see what people have to say. And Hello to you too Christie, I thought about you on your birthday. Don’t be such a stranger would ya. My drawing was a flop obviously, lol, so Donna, the one of two people that actually posted on the 26th… email me your snail mail addy and I’ll get something out to you. Jeannie, well I’ll get with you when I see you next!

Happy Monday!!

~j

    

   sledding, originally uploaded by jendera.

I did this layout the other day. The large snowflakes are cut with an ex-acto knife out of a KI Memories print. I’m not a big fan of ex-acto knives in general, one to many accidents that ended up with me bleeding I’m sure has a lot to do with that one. But, I thought it would look cool, and I think it does. On that note, I don’t plan to do it again at any point in the near future.

It’s Monday. I’m not a big fan of Monday, and any Monday that occurs during the winter, well I like those even less. LOL It is cold out today, and as of early this morning the roads were a mess I’m told. I’ll find out soon enough. I need to take Ethan to school and then I have an appointment with the eye doctor. Woo Hoo Speaking of Ethan, holy cow did he wake up in a mood today. Maybe the Monday this is heriditary.

Who watched the Oscars last night? I watched for maybe an hour. I saw the Al Gore “thing” where he hinted around about his “intentions.” Never knew the guy had an inner comic. I enjoyed the parts that I saw, and some of the gawd awful dresses that went along wtih it. For the most part the ladies seemed to make pretty good dress choices this year. Reese Witherspoon always looks fantastic, and this year was no different. On the opposite end of that spectrum, uhh, Jennifer Lopez. That kinda scared me.

Well I’m off, kids to dress, places to go. But before I go… In an effort to see WHO is reading this, and keeping up with posts I’ve decided to do a little RAK.  Post a comment here and add your name (first only please) and an email where I can contact you.  I’ll put all the emails in a bowl and let each one of my kids pick a winner.  Each once choosen will get a little goody from me in the mail.  I’ll email you for your snail mail addy.

Cheers to Monday. Ack

~j

    

   my girl, originally uploaded by jendera.

I got out last night with Michelle and went to crop. If you don’t know Michelle, well, you’re missing out. She is such a good friend. I mean a really good friend. The kind that is always there when you need them, the kind you tell anything and everything to. She humors me and makes me feel like I’m right, even when I’m probably not. She is the kind of friend that you laugh with until it hurts. We had a moment like that on the way home last night. I’d tell you what was so funny, but odds are you wouldn’t get the joke anyway. *wink* Frankly, some things are only funny when the other person laughs, and you really are only laughing cuz they are laughing and you just can’t stop. LOL, happens a lot with Michelle. Anyway, thanks for always being my friend Michelle! I love ya. If I were a “hugger” I’d give ya one.

So I’m excited for Denny today. If you’ve been reading this you know that he has been filming a lot lately for different shows at work. There is one in particular that airs little snippits online and they release a new one every couple weeks or something like that. They posted a new one the other day and Denny has a little interview in it. The kids and I watched it this morning and we were all sitting in front of the computer cheering him on. We are all very proud of him. He has come a long way since the first day I met him. He never really saw himself as anything special and certainly not talented at what he does. No matter what anyone told him, it just didn’t sink it. I think after the last couple years though, maybe somewhere deep down inside he knows he has a little something special about it. At least I hope that feeling is in there somewhere! Anyway, I wanted to share the clip with all of you. You can see it here http://www.lsxtv.com/. He is the first interview.

That’s all for today. Enjoy your Sunday!!

~j

    

   remember that movie?, originally uploaded by jendera.

I’ve been hearing that a lot lately. I went through some old boxes and found a bunch of photos I had either started scrapping or was meaning to get around to. Anyway, a lot of them were ones from when Ethan was little (2-3 years old). You know that age when they still have the baby pudge in the face, and that crease around the wrists. Then they get older and it all thins out. That baby pudge was in a lot of the photos I found. I miss the pudge!

The layout I’m posting today covers the first time Ethan went to the movies. My parents took him, and dispite the displeased look on his face, the kid really did enjoy himself. I bet you’re impressed that I still have all the ticket stubs from that day. Heck, I’m impressed myself!

I’ve got a headache today, but hopefully I can get out with Michelle later. We haven’t been able to hang out much lately. Seems like everything else we have to do gets in the way. Really she is probably more busy than I am, but my free time really revolves around Denny lately with him working so hard. He came home around 9 last night I think (the kids and I went to bed at 8). Keep in mind that his day starts at 4:30 in the morning so he gets to work around 5. I feel bad for him working so hard to get these cars done. It is hard on both of us really. Me here with the kids and him there with the cars, lol. I don’t think I’ve been able to talk to him since Wednesday when I really saw him last. He has an appointment with the eye doctor today at 2pm, so I should see him then. That’s pathetic isn’t it?

Happy Saturday!

~j

  

   swinger, originally uploaded by jendera.

So what is the big deal over Hobby Lobby?? I had several people on message boards I particpate on tell me how fantastic Hobby Lobby is. Anyway, I checke dout Hobby Lobby this morning and was dissapointed. I guess if you were a general crafter, they do have a lot that would interest you. Scrapbookers, well I think if you were going to a “big box” store, Hobby Lobby isn’t the one I’d suggest. JoAnns or Michaels really has a better selection in my opinion.

I cropped last night at Little Scrapbox, (yes, it is my new favorite place to be lately), and had a good time. I got a wonderful complement from Deb @ the Scrapbox, and whomever sent her my way, I thank you for your comments also. It is so nice to be recognized! Its been awhile since I taught on a regular basis, so the nice comments were something that really meant a lot to me. Somebody still thinks I have talent, lol, maybe I’m not all washed up. *grins* So Deb, if you’ll have me, I’d love to get on board, just say the word.

I finished four layouts last night. I have to be honest and tell you that I’m really only happy with two of them, maybe three (I’m on the fence). I just didn’t have my mojo last night. *wink* It may be that I’m just exhausted. Shelby has been up a lot over the last few nights and Denny has been working a lot both here on a customers car and one at work. Both cars have to be done for AutoRama which starts on March 8th. One of the cars is a tribute I guess to the 50th Anniversary of the ‘57 Chevy. Anyway, so a filming crew has been following Denny around for this documentary type show that is going to show the build. Denny was a bit freaked out the first few days, but he seems to be over it now, and really getting into his celeberity status, lol. I guess this one airs on ESPN2 on June 30th. So tune in if you can, I’m thinking Denny will be displaying a bit of his goofy side, so it should be entertaining for those of us not into the whole car scene. He has a couple other shows in the works, so I’ll keep you posted on that. You didn’t know I was married to a famous car guy did ya? lol

My plans for today… well I have a project I plan to work on and the usual stuff that has to be done. The dreaded laundry, which is really a daily activity and the hum of the dryer is something I’m so used to hearing that I think I might be lost without it. Other than that, uhh, what day is it, oh Friday… hmm no good TV for me on Friday night and I’d like to get to bed early, so maybe thats in the cards.

Happy Friday!!

~j

  

   ice cream, originally uploaded by jendera.

Well yesterday I went to Target to pick some stuff up and ended up buying myself a pack of new socks, and my feet are very happy! Yes, that may sound odd, but it isn’t too often I buy myself things, especially clothes, thus the excited feet. The only people around here that get new things usually are my kids and my hubby. Why? Well, I think that 7 years ago (when I had Ethan) I stopped being Jen and started being a mom, and then a wife. So that defines me now, mom and wife… That being said, those two roles come first for me instead of me, which is how I think it should be for the most part. I agree I need to go out more, alone, without kids in tow. A seat alone in a Starbucks someplace with a good book or magazine sounds wonderful actually, and I don’t know when I did that last.

Anyway, today is Thursday, and Grey’s is on. I don’t know whats going to happen. I can’t see them killing off Mer, but I guess anything is possible. There are a lot of spoliers posted all over the place, and who knows what the source of the info is, but none of them have an end for Mer in the cards.

I did hear yesterday that there is possibly something in the works to create a spin off with Addison. Spinoffs never seem to work out, so I hope she stays where she is. Plus, the show without her just wouldn’t have the same dynamic.

With Thursday comes cropping with Jeannie at Little Scrapbox. I’m excited about that. Jeannie is fun, she makes me laugh and I always have a good time with her. I have no clue what I’ll be working on, and I had planned to give her an idea so we could pack accordingly. We try to share tools and stuff so we don’t have to carry duplicates. But as usual, I’m clueless, and probably won’t know until I get there.

I spent a chunk of yesterday working on an album for a client. Thats going well and I hope to get it done next week. Wish me luck!

~j