CREDITS:

Digital scrap items in the header, layouts and sidebar are by Miss Mint at PeppermintCreative.com or Jen Wilson at JenWilsonDesigns.com

Thursday, July 3, 2008

JW Chat Tonight!

Jen Wilson is having another chat tonight at 9 pm EST (8 pm CST or "Texas Time" as we call it!) for the new Flip & Flirty PINK beach line release!!!

Last week she gave away 3 gift cards and everyone who participated got a coupon code to get the Photoshop Actions or Lightroom Presets for free. I don't know what she has planned for tonight but Jen is VERY generous and there is always something (gift card, freebie, coupon code) given away to at least one chat participant for free. So come join us tonight if you're up for it!

http://www.jenwilsondesigns.com/creativedoor.html

Note: The chat room is set up to where you can enter any username (your name) and ANY password (use Jen) to enter.

There are lots of people that log in and just read along. (The CT banter is pretty funny!) Feel free to do the same! See you at 8! (9 EST!)

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Things That Make Me Laugh

Life with a toddler is nuts! I still take lots of pictures to scrap with and as I have been looking through them, I find so many that are just hilarious! Here are some from our everyday life:



One day last week Aiden really got in to these goggles! They are the "safety glasses" that came with the play chain saw Aunt Emily & Uncle Jeremy gave Aiden the Christmas I was pregnant with him.



He would want me to put them on and then he would just go play!



He'd had them on so long, it left a mark! Oh, I should probably explain the horribly messy shirt. This was right after dinner the same day that he discovered EVERYTHING could be dribbled out of his mouth forcefully. He was about to go in the tub any ways...until he saw the goggles and wanted them again!



I took these pictures of my little refigerator raider this morning. Stinker! Right for the eggs!



That's french onion veggie dip he has in his hand. If my fridge looks empty it's because many of the contents are on the floor behind him.



Here's the little blue eyed cutie enjoying the sugar cookies we made....



....and running off with the frosting tub!



He seems to really like frosting! (Hehe, I love that sucked-in belly! He was trying to vacuum the frosing out of the bottom of the tub that he couldn't reach!)



Spitting out ALL his cough medicine the doctor prescribed him when he had croup two weeks ago. I couldn't help but laugh aloud and grab the camera! Love that face!



He knows he's a riot! Notice he's also removed his shorts and you can see the band-aid where he got his steroid shot. This kid is a mess!

On Saturday I stumbled across a copy of Playful Parenting by Lawrence Cohen at our local library and was so excited! I have wanted to read it and have had it sitting in my Amazon shopping cart to add on to the next order I place. I'm only a chapter in but it is an incredibly awesome book. It's how to use play to connect with your children and avoid being angry or having fights over the little things, like whining, dawdling & tantrums, that don't really need serious discipline. He's got some great suggestions but really, he encourages parents to just get on the floor and play. It's worked well for us lately. Thanks, Bri, for being so supportive. I know you have seen how much happier Aiden is in the evenings and I'm surprised that somehow all the housework is getting done and still leaving time for my hobbies, even WITH all the playing we do! I love that Aiden doesn't seem upset when I have to go back to my chores. He knows that all he has to do is let out that special squeal-giggle of his and I know he wants to play another round of chase! (Chase always ends with him running at me, arms up for a huge hug. I love it!) I'm proud of myself for learning to drop what I am doing so I can play. It's made me a little less sad about how fast he's growing and made me feel a little less guilty for all the other things I have going on while these precious days are ticking away.

Okay, back to the mayhem I go!

Monday, June 30, 2008

The Cost of Time

I think I just did enough volunteer work and acts of kindness in the last three weeks to get me past the pearly gates of Heaven! LOL! These last few weeks have been very hard on me. If you've been around me, maybe you've noticed that I have been slightly more moody and lost my "spark". I was mad at myself for not respecting my own time and allowing myself to do too much. At 27 I have finally reached that point where I realize I am a creative, talented person and my time is worth more than pennies per hour. (I can hear Brian cheering!)

With that said, I am posting a list of what I now charge for all of my services. I have been too nice and inconvenienced the man I love for too long by being gone in the evenings, letting the house go and coming home with nothing to show for what I have been doing. I'll always volunteer but I won't do near as much for free as I did in the month of June. I don't want anyone reading this to feel bad if you've ever asked me to do something. There's nothing I love more than being helpful and generous with my talents and my time. But I have a lot of hobbies that I share and with the new part-time business venture I have begun working on, I have to manage my time better. This is just to ensure that I begin respecting my own time and getting paid for some of the 18 hours I am awake, since I am doing something every second!

Here's the price list:

Photoshop Help: $8 per hour, evenings only.
Or please see the $82 Online Photoshop Class at Kingwood College if you'd enjoy learning everything photoshop has to offer at your own pace.

Baby Bracelets for Friends, Local pick-up (6 inches & smaller): $6
Re-size Baby Bracelets: $2 per bracelet
Binky Clips: DISCONTINUED.
SMALL Dangle Earrings for Friends: $12
Regular-Sized Dangle Earrings for Friends: $16
Other Adult Jewelry for Friends: Depends on what you want. The rule of you setting your own budget still applies. (ie: if you want to spend $12, I can make you a bracelet that uses mostly glass. If you want to spend $25 I can make you a bracelet with gemstone & Swarovski crystals.)

Vinyl Lettering (Premade Designs): My set price for each design. Most will be $10-$40 if I sell them at all. Hint: I may be designing vinyl lettering but not cutting it on my machine!
"Just a Small Name" Vinyl Lettering: $3 per name or $15 for an 8.5x15 inch sheet with as many names as will fit (Fonts ONLY. No photoshop designs.)
"Just One Word" Vinyl Lettering: $10 per word. ALL will be 15 inches or shorter in length. (Fonts ONLY. No photoshop designs, no added flourishes.)
Custom Vinyl Lettering Designs: Not offered. I will change my mind for a $50 design fee in addition to $10 per foot.

*Please note that all vinyl lettering names will be approximate sizes only. My craft cutter does not give me the option of sizing the letters exactly. It's always just a guess and more often than not things come out a little larger than expected.

Babysitting: $20 per hour. (Unless you and I have already arranged a trade.) I can't work while I babysit so I need to be paid the same amount per hour for it to be worth my time. Josie this does not apply to you. Aiden NEEDS to see Olivia once a week! He loves her. I'll pay you to bring her over! ;)

I know these prices are steep but compared to what I will be earning with my part-time photoshop work, I will no longer be able to spend time doing other things unless I am being compensated equally as well for my time away from the computer. Now I can't wait to show all my friends and family what I have been working on - SOON!!!

Sunday, June 29, 2008

July 4th Goodies, a LO & Our Stay-Cation

We're hanging out around here for July 4th. I recently saw this referred to as a "stay-cation", where you stay at home and look for fun local things to do. With the price of gas the way it is, that sounds fine to me!

Jen is making my weekend much more enjoyable with some brand new kits. Even better, she has them marked down to a DOLLAR through Saturday!



And since they're so cheap, why not pick up the Canada Day pack? The solids alone are worth the price!



Here is a layout I did, using both kits and a few Peppermint Creative items, of Aiden enjoying some patriotic sugar cookies that we made:



Yesterday I cut Aiden's name in white vinyl and used a 2 inch circle punch to cut a circle out of some blue sample vinyl Oracal sent me. I put his name in white over the blue circle on a small silver galvanized bucket I found at Wal-Mart to make him a little July 4th treat pail. It's super cute and I can't wait to fill it with some goodies. I need to send Brian to the fireworks stand to pick up some sparklers....

I think the thing Brian and I are most looking forward to this weekend is that his cousin Melissa and her family are moving to Houston! They bought a house out in Katy but I am soooooo excited that Aiden will have cousins living in town! (Although we are very lucky to have John & Cherise just minutes up the road. Technically our children are cousin-in-laws, with Cherise's brother being married to Brian's sister. It gets confusing.) I'm excited to see Zach & Melissa more often and have a "reason" to drive out to all the fun shops in Katy.

Sometime this week I think it would be fun to head up to Moorehead Blueberry Farm in Porter. If you've never been, you can check out their website here. Their blueberries are delicious but I read they haven't had enough rain to yield the giant clusters of ripe berries I remember from years previous. I really should get out there before the season is over. I've been craving blueberry muffins! LOL!

Tay's Totally Cheating Blueberry Muffins:

1 box white cake mix
Blueberries (1 pint or more)

Mix up cake mix according to box directions. When the batter is smooth, stir in washed blueberries by hand. Pour into muffin cups. Bake as directed for cupcakes & smear the warm tops with butter before serving. Sooooo good! These taste almost like the Betty Crocker blueberry muffin box mix but for a third of the price!