Oops, I forgot...

Beverly added some page kits and Saints and LSU mini calendars to the etsy site. Sandy's flowers are absolutely beautiful, plus she has some vintage papers for scrapbooking and cardmaking. I know Sandy created a custom cover for a friend's Clip It Up. You may want to ask her about it. You can find her blog on the right side of my blog.

That's all for my PSA....

Decorating tips from....

Bass Pro Shop???? You wouldn't think that Ironman would take pictures of the men's restroom of the restaurant inside Bass Pro Shop in Alabama.... But he DID!! And worse, he still had pics of the Denham restroom and sent me both bathrooms to compare the decor. Apparently, he would like either a room or a patio decorated in this "island Caribbean" decor...

The Alabama Bass Pro Shop's restroom is better than Denham Springs... The lights appear to be hung from ACTUAL trees.... Seriously, this is amazing bathroom artwork....





The Denham Springs restroom is sub par in comparison... Clearly, either the artist did not have a clear vision of the project, or the Denham store cheaped out on bathroom artwork....



I told Ironman as soon as we have a home either on an island or in the Caribbean, he can have as many rooms as he wants decorated like the mensroom at Bass Pro!

Silly me! I left the camera in the car when we went into Bass Pro. Not thinking it was a camera worthy "event". Clearly I was proven wrong when Annie Oakley Avery stepped up to the shooting game.





Since I am on the topic of men's bizarre behavior... Indulge me.. I have a little story to tell....

Before Christmas, I visited a friend (she will remain nameless to protect the guilty husband). She was baking DEE-licious cookies. She knew from the get go, I would be NO HELP in cookie production, I'm way better at cookie tasting. But I didn't want to be a total slacker, so to help somewhat, I cleaned out her pantry. You have to understand - I LOVE cleaning out refrigerators and pantries. The contents are usually astounding. I clean out Ashley's fridge about every other month. If I didn't do this, she would have macaroni and cheese from 2008 and not to mention the expired food she moved from the post-Katrina apartment! I digress...

So let me itemize some of my favorite ditties found in said friend's pantry...

4 partially used bags of powdered sugar - NOTE: buy powdered sugar, put it into a plastic canister... don't buy again until canister is empty...


Expired items dating back to 2005 - NOTE: When the Thanksgiving food drive rolls around at school - this is the perfect time to send those random unused unexpired items...


5 bags of candy, trail mix and other "hunting" food - completely open and brick hard from the "elements" - NOTE: Hunting food is NOT allowed in the house after the "hunt"

And now for the absolute blue ribbon winner.....

Cans and cans of SPAM!!! Not expired, and apparently a staple, not for innocent friend, but for hunter husband for Sunday morning breakfasts... So since I had to leave those dreaded cans in place, at least now gathered together and stacked neatly... I have to share a special SPAM recipe found in Robert Fulghum's "Uh-Oh"...


Fulghum credits "The White Trash Cookbook" for this one...

RACK OF SPAM

Butterfly a SPAM loaf (try not to vomit a little in your mouth)
This means slice it is sections without cutting all the way through...

Then bend the SPAM open so you can stick pieces of pineapple between them (the pineapple is better if it was found in the back of the fridge and has grown "hair")

For garnish, top it off with peanut butter and a few maraschino cherries

Stick in microwave for around 4 minutes

Eat with saltines and milk - right out of the carton
(I know everyone is copying this right now for your recipe boxes...)

So "hunter man" enjoy next Sunday morning...

If you are still with me, thank you, and I'll get on to "prettier" things...


MY stop yesterday was to a lss in Montgomery called Distinctive Scrapbooks.
http://www.dscraps.com/
I was enthralled with the work of Cathia LaForge, a Belgium scrapbooker spending a year in AL. She will be teaching at DS and their were samples of her layouts. I was in love! If I were closer, I would take all of her classes! I poked around the internet and although I couldn't find a blog, I did find 2 of her layouts on the Prima site...






And here is a 30x30 canvas she created (although I do love the colors on Lacey Champagne's canvas even better (http://laceylynn.wordpress.com/page/2/):




If anyone is a better blog stalker than me (um.... Angel...), please let me know if you find her blog, email, home addy, whatever...

I only allowed the car to be unpacked into the garage. I am leisurely washing clothes and putting things away IN THE CORRECT PLACE - such a strange concept after vacation! It was so nice to wake up in our own house this morning... I think I hear the dryer... Better get back to it...

Day Three: Atlanta...

I hope your day is filled with touching stingrays, painted faces, a Coke and a smile and a few sassy poses to finish the day! At least that's how we spent our day!

We are packed up - "Samford and Son" style. Heading back home. Of course Ironman has a stop planned at Bass Pro Shop in Alabama (and I'm hoping for a scrapbook store stop too!)

The best "conversations" emerge during an eleven hour car ride... I'll keep you posted!

Snow Cuties...

We may be taking a snow vacation every year!!!

The weather is here... Wish you were great...

I always wanted to say that... And seriously, it's 34 degrees here in SNOW Mountain, GA. The eleven hour car ride (including a bathroom stop, two food stops and a gas stop - for the car...), was actually very calm. When I say that, let's remember, I took extra medication, so Ironman may have a different point of view. I also remember a TON of giggles!



I do remember Ironman saying, "Chill Out" more than a few dozen times... and he wasn't talking to me...

I have to share the Morganisms from the 11 hour car ride.

Morgan: Where are we stopping for lunch?
Me: Mississippi
Morgan: Do they speak English there?
This led to a little lesson about the English language in America. I'm sure she didn't listen to a thing I said....

Another one...

Morgan: Are we going to Walmart? I'm HUNGRY!
Shane: (exasperated...) When was the last time you ate a meal at Walmart????

Here are a few pictures from our first day at Stone Mountain...

The girls at the front gate...



and yes, I've been asked a dozen times today if they are twins... It always amazes me... And No, I didn't dress them in the same shirts - that was their decision...

A really nice man in a USM sweatshirt took this picture with a very wooden Santa. Gotta love a USM fan....



Just chillin' with the penquins...



some elves that escaped...



Avery resting on the Snow Angel's throne... Good thing she wasn't around, but she would probably understand how tough it is to be a princess...



Ya know what I REALLY love about this vacation??? Unlimited internet in our room - perfect!

Hope your hands are warm and your feet under the covers....

The last ditch effort to get on the "gOOd" list...

xoxoxo to you too!

The All About Me Album is finished....

Just in the knick of time! My year long class was so much fun. So many women took two hours a month and scrapbooked about themselves. These albums will be wonderful additions to their collections. If you would like to do a similar album about yourself, feel free to see the subjects we explored. Most of the Basic Grey paper and embellishments are still available at Scrapbook and Co. Enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/heather.laughing/AllAboutMeAlbum?authkey=Gv1sRgCIG5zLD6o8HvXg&feat=directlink

Happy Holidays - I hope Santa finds your house!

from our nut house to yours...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

The football fan...

or maybe I should say the "cheerleader fan"...

the "twirler" fan...

Super Excited with Daddy on the Sidelines...

and Rockin' Out to "Apple Bottom Jeans"...

So full of energy... The funniest part... Avery fell asleep on the drive home...She woke up when we pulled into the driveway - WIDE awake.... and she said,"Well, THAT didn't take very long". Shane and I are still laughing!

35 RoCkS!!!

Two surprise parties in one year!!! I've never even had one before! My All About Me Class threw me a birthday party last night in lieu of our last class - too bad I was up from 2am to 5am trying to prepare for the class... had I known...

I've never been showered with so many fantastic gifts! Here's my loot from the class...

Oh, and that paper plate in the background - does NOT signify that I am 40! (thank you very much Angie!) But seriously, it's too cute NOT to scrapbook! The class probably bought them to taunt me because they know I would never buy paper plates that expensive!

I debuted my January layout class last night. I'm NOT promising a monthly layout class - that's too much pressure! And I didn't have high hopes for this one, so I only have six spots. Mary W, Terri B, Teri R and Bobbie W snagged the first four seats last night. Let me know if you want one of the last two spots. I'm showing it here before putting it on the store blog. The layout is PaCKeD with cool products, the cost is $22 and it is scheduled for Wednesday, January 13 - Happy New Year to Us!

Here's a layout I did with one of my Girls Loft kits - can't remember which one now, but I cut the flowers along the bottom out of the patterned paper and popped them up on pop dots. I used the Tiny Attacher to staple on the ric rac flower "stems" and I was off! The one new tool you MUST have is Tim Holtz's Tiny Attacher! I use it on EvEry layout - make sure it's on Santa's list :)

A few months ago I moved into my very own scrapbook room - or as my sister Ashley calls it - the disaster area! After fifteen furniture moves, a massive purge of supplies, and hours of "organization"... I can now show you three VERY LIMITED views of the room. Just so you understand, any areas not photographed would still be considered disaster areas. But if I continue to make one section a week photo ready - here's the key - without dumping stuff into the previously photographed areas, I may have a pleasant room one day. We can all dream...

Morgan's first grade play is tonight and then we are finally celebrating the Ironman's birthday. Morgan is convinced the cake is for HER and I just keep reminding her that it's ALSO for Daddy's birthday... Ah, six year old girls...

Our "B&B" night...

St. Francisville was wonderful as usual, even if it was drizzly and foggy. I found a new store called Grandmother's Buttons. It is housed in an old bank building and the old bank vault houses a mini button museum. It was so cool. The rest of the store was filled with funny gift items, but I could have spent half the day reading about the history of buttons... but Ironman was with me, so that wasn't happening....

Whenever we stay at a B&B we try to find one with a separate cottage. Less chance of hearing a neighboring guest having a coughing attack... or whatever else may be creating a disturbance...

Ironman booked the cottage at The Cottage Plantation. The grounds were very pretty. I just loved these red berries with the weather vane in the background

Now, imagine this with me. Four poster beds with fluffy down comforters, a fridge filled with sweet treats or maybe some cheese and wine, large mahogany armoires, a cozy sitting area nestled around a wood burning fireplace, a porch with rustic wooden rockers for lazy afternoons... Now turn your attention to...

Exhibit A

and...
Exhibit B

So I was a little shocked when I walked in, but hey, it was quiet and the bed was comfy. What's more important? I dare not make a disparaging remark, Ironman may not book anymore overnight getaways...

But Ironman addressed the elephant in the room as we were leaving for dinner. He said, "So this is what a cabin would look like if we went camping, and instead of a tent, we stayed in a cabin..."

So there, I finally went "camping" with Shane - just in time for his birthday tomorrow! Everyday is an adventure as long as you can laugh!

It's been so long, and I have so much catching up to do...

I celebrated my thirty-something birthday this week. Shane with the help of friends, Ashley and Jen pulled off a COMPLETE SURPRISE party. Last week was one of those terrible ones - in a funk, nothing going right, wanting to crawl up in bed and go to sleep - BUT instead of the fetal position, Shane had me prepped for Back to Back Shaw parties. A casual one at Walk Ons on Friday and the fancy Christmas party on Saturday. Ashley bought me clothes for the fancy party. I was so uninterested in the party at Walk Ons that I dragged my feet getting dressed and made us over a half hour late. I walk into this...

TOTALLY GOT ME!!!! My mood changed in a flash! Here are the girls:

Notice Denise touching my sister... Ashley does not allow ANYONE to touch her - my Mom even has to warn her before giving her a hug. The touching was just a theme throughout the night...

I got a beautiful picture frame from the girls, and everything else on my wish list from Shane,
Ashley, Jen and Mom, but I was most surprised about...

That's right... Leopard Rain Boots... I don't have to try to steal Denise's anymore - she bought me my very own. So when you see a cool chic walking down the street in these cool kicks - it's probably me!

After drinks and dinner at Walk Ons... We - oh yes - 8 adults - headed to Laser Tag! OMG - it was SO frazzlin fun! Of course most of us needed oxygen after each game, but it was a blast.

Melanie got a little carried away with her Shane lovin... But, I can't blame her... He's the best... And he doesn't seem to mind at all...

Luckily Shane planned the shin dig BEFORE my actual birthday on the 8th. On Monday night, I came down with some violent, awful, terrible virus. I was down for two and a half days. So NOT what I planned for my birthday!

Luckily, today, I was able to "redo" my birthday with a scrapbooking day with Melanie and Denise at Scrapbook and Co. I didn't create all of these today, but here are the latest...

That about wraps it up. Shane and I are heading to St. Francisville tomorrow for a little R&R. If you hear my mom crying for help, take pity on her. My girls are slightly high maintenance!

Enjoy your weekend!