Come On Spring

I cannot believe how fast February flew by. March is finally here and that means SPRING is on it's way! It has been a long and hard winter here in Western PA. Sometimes, it felt like it would never get warm or we would never see the sun. Well, the sun is out, but it is still very cold.

One of the special things about February is it is my son's birthday. This year Jacob turned 13 (I now officially have two teenage boys!) and we had a really great time. He wanted to go to Outback for dinner to get a Blooming Onion (yum). For his birthday he asked everyone for cash and gift certificates. He had a fun time collecting all the money and shopping on Amazon. He just bought a new Kinex for his XBox. I like it when a video games makes them move instead of just sitting around. The great thing is he can play with his friends on-line. So here is a new digi page of his birthday:

This layout was created in Jessica Sprague's latest Digi in Deeper class. I am a bit behind, but slowly but surely catching up. Going to work on my Mouse Paper Scissors class today.

To help celebrate that spring is on it's way, Creative Charms has two new specials this month. Both the Deal of the  Month and the Kit of the month are in great shades of green. These just make me feel happy and light.

March's Kit of the Month is only $14.99 and full of great butterflies, flowers and of course bling. This kit is also being given away on the Creative Charms' blog. Be sure to go and leave a comment on the post Happy March to be entered to win.

The Deal of the Month is $6.99 and is full of fun flowers in a variety of textures and of course more bling.

One last thing. I have found two blogs that are giving away some really great gifts. On TodaysMama they are giving away an iMac and on Ali Edwards blog she is giving away a Canon Rebel XS 10.1 MP Digital SLR! Both giveaways are sponsored by Just Ask. Just Ask is one of the testing companies for BRCA. This is a valuable test to make it possible for women to know if they are carrying a specific gene that causes breast and ovarian cancer. Right now if you like their page, they are giving away up to $25,000 to help women get the test.

I received this test last year because I have a very strong family history of ovarian cancer. I already lost two aunts to the disease and another that is fighting it right now. Luckily, I do not carry the gene but we are unsure if that was the cause of my aunts' cancer. They live in Japan where the test is currently very very expensive and not covered. Here with insurance it was over $500 and that does not include the genetic counseling that is required. So, I take all precautions to live a healthy life, get my annual check ups and do self exams. As my friend Chris says (who is a recent survivor of breast cancer) "Feel your boobies" :)

Well, Hello There...

Wow, wasn't that blog hop with K Andrew a ton of fun? I know I had a great time hopping across the country. I also got a lot of new followers (bonus). So, I thought I would start out with an introduction.

Hello, my name is Midori and I am a stay at home mom of two teen age boys. My oldest is 16 and my youngest just turned 13 (we tell him he is only 12.1 - not allowed to become a teen). I am married to my high school sweetheart for over 18 years. We still act like teenagers as we have date night every Friday night. I am a lucky girl (shhh I am not getting older). We also have a great border collie Rocky (named after the blue Power Ranger) who is now 8. We now reside just east of Pittsburgh. I say reside as we are transplants of the beautiful state of Washington via South Carolina.

My Family :)

Now, I know I said I am a stay at home mom and my boys are my first priority but I also teach scrapbooking classes at my local store (Art-Tech Supplies) and any retreats that find their way into the area. I am also the Education Coordinator and E-Commerce Coordinator for Creative Charms. It is a wonderful embellishment company and I am having a ton of fun working with the design teams and running the websites/blogs/facebook accounts.

Now for some scrappy stuff. I am just dying to get back to my scrap table, but have been unable to due to a few health issues that will be resolved soon. Thank goodness for laptops. I have been taking some great digi scrapping classes over at Jessica Sprague's site. Her classes are so great and I have learned a lot. Photoshop has come a long way since I learned how to use it for work waayyy back in 1996. It is a lot easier to use and therefore a lot more fun. Right now I am taking the final class Digi: in Deeper. Here is the latest project:

The goal of this assignment was to work in a "Grungy" style, break up a circle into different mats and also to fill a font using a brush. We also learned how to make our own brushes using a stripe generator. This class is just way too cool.

On Monday, we start a new class Mouse, Paper, Scissors and it is a hybrid class. Just got my goodie box and I am so excited to start sharing the projects with you all.

One more thing. Want to be a guaranteed winner? Go to Creative Charms' Facebook page and "Like" them. Then send a self addressed and stamped (44 cents) business envelope to Creative Charms (PO Box 186; Wexford, PA 15090) and they will send you something blingy back! This is to celebrate the 1,000+ "Like"s on Facebook. Everyone WINS how great is that. Just make sure your envelope is post marked before Saturday, February 19th.

Have a great week!