My Summer's Gone????

Back to reality. Kids are back in school. They started on Monday. Now it’s homework and projects as well as picking them up and shuffling them off to their different activities. Nay is on the Dance Team again this year and Niah is now on the Gymnastics team so I’ll be spread pretty thin this year. But I don’t mind because I love the routine. It looks like 2 trips to Orlando this year. One trip for each child’s activity and tons of completions and performances. There are also some additional, very exciting things going on for them this year that I can’t discuss right now. But trust me I’m one proud Mommy. And with all of this they have to make sure all school work in on point because of course that comes first.

Since my summer is over I thought it would be great to share some of my favorite photos from this summer.

Evening walks

Nay being Nay

Just love this pic of my little man.

Niah on her Birthday

Busch Gardens with friends.

4th of July

My Uncle visited from France.

The first dress I sewed.

Niah and my niece on our trip to Jamaica.

My cousin, My Mom and Myself in Jamaica

The family at our end of summer party.

Before I go don't forget to check out Dirty Scraps They have an awesome challenge up and the ladies have posted some wonderful layouts for inspirations. They are all stunning and very mind-grabbing.

Check out the layout I did with the Nikki Sivils prizes offered from one of our prior challenges.

Did some creating with the Tallyscrapper July kit. Love IT!!!! Still recovering from a wonderful fun-filled weekend. I will be back later on in the week. Have a wonderful week.

10 Randoms Things About ME

10 Random Things About ME

1. Yellow is my favorite color.

2. I haven’t watched a TV series since Lost.

3. I’m back on my P90x workout routine.

4. E.O.S. lip balm is the best.

5. I love being different.

6. Fossil Acrylic clear watch is my next must have.

7. Still haven’t finished the last book in the Twilight series. I’m holding on. LOL

8. I love to cloud watch with my son. That’s our special thing.

9. Nail polish and Makeup are my obsessions.

10. I really have to get more organized.

Here are some pics from Jamaica ( My favs cause of course I took hundreds of pics)

Creative Juices Flowing

Back from a wonderful weekend in Jamaica with my family. The purpose of the trip was a memorial for my Grandmother who died 2 years ago. We added her head stone to her grave and added flowers. It was a small and beautiful ceremony that I know she would have loved. I will posted picture soon.

GOOD NEWS:  I came home to such wonderful news. I have been selected as one of the newest design team member of Dirty Scraps . I'm so excited I can't even contain myself. I feel so blessed to be apart of such a talent group of women.

Before I leave here are a couple Pages I did before I left for challenges currently up at TallyScrapper ... Head on over there. There are some great challenges up right now. Great for getting those creative juices flowing. I also have a photography challenge up over there as well. Click here to post your photo.

I'm officially Dirty...LOL

I WON!!!!! yes I won this month's challenge over at Dirty Scraps. I'm so excited I don't know what to say. My creative juices are just rolling lately. It also helps that there is so much amazing talent and inspiration over at Dirty Scraps. Check out my winning layout.

Lesson Learned ....

The other day I was in deed thought about a friend of mine. We're not really close but when we see each other we talk and laugh and crack jokes. We are connected through facebook so I occasionally see what's going on based on status updates. Every time I see him he's smiling and joking and really enjoying life. He's had some medical problems for a while now but most of the time when you see him you would never know. He never lets it get him down. I love his spirit and his character and wish I could be more like that. Cause honestly there is no reason complaining and crying over things we can't change. Or complaining about something that we make no attempt to change. Anyways I saw him the other day and commented on a depressing status update he had on his wall (which was very out of character for him). He explained that things were more serious than first thought but that he had taken a step back to recharge and go at it again. And as usual he was cracking jokes, laughing and radiating with that beautiful spirit I'm always so envious of.

We could all learn something from his view on life. Enjoy life to the fullest and when you feel like you can't take anymore:  step back, recharge and go at it again.

I'm not preaching or anything just wanted to share.

Saturday Afternoon Movie And Niah's New Dress

OK I went and saw Eclipse...Loved it. I am very happy with the new director. He did a wonderful job of staying as true to the book as possible. Now that I was able to see the story on the big screen it makes my heart hurt for Jacob even more. I love his spunk and his drive but I feel bad that he has to be in love with someone that is obviously in love with someone else. Currently slowly reading Breaking Dawn. Heard that they will be splitting this one into 2 movies. Good more to look forward to.

Finished a cute little dress for Niah that she wore to the movie. She made me feel so good because she was so proud of it. I let her pick the fabric which made her even more excited about the dress. She wanted it down to her ankles but I decide it would be better mid-calf. I'm just so happy she likes it enough to brag that her Mommy made it for her. LOL

Good News and Eclipse

Well let's see .... Today was a good day. I just found out I made the Tallyscrapper Design Team.... Yay Me!!!! This is wonderful news. I went back to Tally for some well needed scrapbooking inspiration. I decided it would be fun to enter the design team contest and I can't believe I made it. You know what that mean???? I've got the motivation and inspiration I need to get me scrapping again. Check out the layouts I entered:

Looking forward to seeing Eclipse at the IMAX on Saturday. Can you imagine seeing Taylor Lautner shirtless on that huge IMAX screen. Call me a cougar if you want but I know a good looking guy when I see one. When I first started reading these books. I was TeamEdward all the way. But I am currently on the last book Breaking Dawn and I will tell you that I have grandually switched sides. Jacob has my heart now and I think he has gotten the wrong end of the deal. So it's TeamJacob for me all the way. For those of you who have seen Eclipse already I hope you enjoyed it and for those who haven't What are you waiting for.

((hug))

Shawna

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Father's day was wonderful. The kids and I let Daddy sleep all day witch if you know our family you would know that Daddy is the one always up early. He's been working so hard lately I'm sure it was a well deserved rest. We all went out to dinner at a little spot we found that's not to far from our house call Smitty's. It's a little Mom and Pop diner that serves BBQ. Here is a picture of the kids with Daddy.

If you don't know by now, I bought a sewing machine. A Brother's and it's all computerized and fancy. My first project is a skirt for work. I started the skirt on Sunday and I'm slowly working on it. I'm moving slow because I have never used a sewing machine before so I'm reading the manual and the instructions on the pattern both at the same time. I'm excited to say so far it's going well. The only thing was after I put the pieces together and tried it I realized I had to add another piece cause it would have been a little tight on the hips. So today I hope to work on the waist and the zipper. I want to be finished by Friday but we will see how that goes. If all goes well then my next project will be a dress for Niah. She wants a maxi dress that goes down to her ankle. Maybe I should just try a skirt for her first. Anyways here is a sneak peak at my skirt.

Proud Mommy

I know I'm always saying how proud I am of my kids but really I am so proud of them. Every time I think I can't get any prouder, they do something else. This weekend Nay had a performance. The Live In Color Dance Collective (from America's Best Dance Crew) had a showcase on Saturday and he was part of it. It was a fabulous show and of course my baby ripped it. I wanted to video tape but they were not allowing it, so I will have to purchase a DVD when they become available. How happy I am to have my own little Live In Color Kid. Oh I didn't get any pictures of him in his costume... I know I suck. But here is a picture of us after the show when I took my little star out to dinner.

No More Babies

Niah turned 8 yesterday. My little preemie is now a big girl. So hard to believe. All she wanted was an Ipod Touch for her special day. We made it happen and you would have sworn she hit gold. Her words at the end of the day were " This day was like a dream". LOL Doesn't take much to please her. Ipod and Olive Gardens with her bday buddy. My cousin Suzie who's bday is the following day made my baby girl a happy camper.

Wednesday starts summer. They are so excited. I have already got our reading lists together and purchases the workbooks we will be completing this summer so I'm ready to go as well.

That's all for now TTYL

NYX Cosmetics... My new love

I have been on a makeup kick for over a year now. All kinds of makeup but mostly eyeshadows and lipglosses. I use to be mainly a MAC cosmetics girl but lately I've been trying different brands some more expensive and some way less expensive. I have stumble onto a brand by the name of NYX cosmetics. They are sold in Ulta and Cherry Culture. I'm not sure who else sells them. I love them. Their eyeshadows are highly pigments. The color payoff is equivalent to MAC if not better. Also they have a wide range of colors to choose from. And their lipglosses are great and a plus ... they have a fruity smell to them. The other day Cherry Culture had a sale on NYX products ... 25% off. You know I jumped on that. I haven't used everything I bought but what I have used I love. If you haven't tried their products yet, I would suggest you give them a try. You won't be sorry.  I ended up purchasing $40 worth of stuff and got free shipping. Yay me!!!! Here is a photo of everything I bought.

Let me just say before I go, I am in no way affiliated with or am sponsored by NYX cosmetics or Cherry Culture. I just wanted to share my new found love.