I"m dreaming of a White Christmas!

Ok.. so I was complaining earlier about us not having snow for christmas. I should've knocked on wood- cause seriously, we're at about 10 inches right now and it's STILL COMING.

I was planning on heading up to Idaho today with the kids for the break, but doesn't look like that's going to happen. :(

Rick and I shoveled the driveway about an hour ago, and there's already another inch covering what we just fixed. lol

So..... I'm thinking the parents should come down here because this is where the snow is- right? lol

My Friend Carol:

So, there's this online forum I"ve been a part of for the past 4-5 years. It's a scrapbooking forum and whats nice is that I get to make lots of friends that way.

One of these friends is Carol. She's in Vegas and had we not been on this board, I never would have met this wonderful lady. She is seriously my sistah from anothah mothah. lol (that.. and she's like one of the BEST scrappers I know)

Come to find out- she has family that lives close (ish) to me and she comes up here to visit every so often, so last time she was up, she set time aside to come hang out with me.

The cool thing is that we've "known" each other for about 2 years and this was the first time we've actually met in person.

We had SO MUCH FUN. we stayed up late to scrapbook adn talk- and after she left, Rick said "You guys were laughing like you've known each other forever!" lol

well---- you just can't beat TRUE BFF's right? ;)-

So... here's our fun times recorded. I had to throw in our SAD attempt at self portraits. I think we probably attempted our self portrait session for a good 45 minutes because we just couldn't stop laughing.

Love you Carol!!!

Little Helper

I had a "fun" thing happen a while ago, and thought I'd share.

We had a lock on our fridge because of our monster 2 yr old. Then the kids broke it. Hence... no more lock. Hence... we have a 2 yr old who thinks he's king because he can get in there whenever he wants.

So i'm working the other day and I come down the stairs and this is what I see.

I turn around and I go "JAYCE! What did you do?!"

And he gives me this look:

Then I say "Jayce... this is a no-no. We don't get drinks by ourself."

He then gives me this look:

So then I have to say "Jayce, you go sit in time-out while I clean this up"

He does as he's told... he knows he's in trouble. But in all honesty- I'm trying SO HARD not to laugh the whole time.

So I clean up and I see this on the stairs:

Obviously- he's a little peeved that I keep shoving the camera in his face at a time of obvious embarrassment.

After all was said and done, I took a pic of him sitting at the table, because guess what? Take a CLOSE look at his face- particularly his nose, mouth, and chin.

Notice it? Yup.. he was thirsty, and even though the koolaid was on the floor, it wasn't going to stop him from getting his drink.

I forgot to mention that when I walked into the kitchen first thing, I see him on his hand and knees, little butt up in the air, slurping away like there's no tomorrow.

Yup... that's my kiddo.

Interior Re-Decorating

Ok.. so since moving here to Utah, I've gotten into trouble. I've discovered this thing called DECORATING YOUR HOUSE. yah.

SO what do I do? I've stalked up and I typically find a few new things a month that I just HAVE to have. ANd the result..... A HOUSE I LOVE TO BE IN!

Yes... it's true. I no longer resemble the starving students look. (not that that's bad)

ANd no... I'm not trying to keep up with the Joneses. I just happened to find something I love to do, that I didn't know was there.

So I've done some re-arranging, some re-decorating, and I've put up the Christmas decor. Here's the results:

Before Kitchen:

After Kitchen:

Don't mind the messy table. Pretend that looks all purdy-like too :)

Before Living Room:

After Living Room:

I forgot to take a before picture with this wall (DANGIT)- but it used to be about 20 different sized frames filled with random pictures spread all over the wall. Now it's just this:

ANd now.. here's all my Christmas stuff!! Pretty huh?

Yay for christmas time- LOVE this time of year!

snow snow snow snow SNOW

This is one of my most favorite snow/winter pics of all time. And the reason I post:
IT'S A FRIGGIN BLIZZARD OUT MY DOOR!!!
Just thought ya'll might get a kick out of it. At least my kids will. lol

Wanna win a REDICULOUS scrappy prize?

check this baby out


yup... that beauty right there- YOU CAN WIN IT! ok- so I know Angela, the owner of The Button Farm... she AMAZING. and actually.. that's a huge understatement. She comes up with some of the best ideas- she's incredibly talented and creative. If you want a chance to win this bad baby- hop on over to my contest blog and sign up- then post a scrappy project and you will be entered to win it. you can post ocne a day- so the more you post, the better your chances.
And I'll one up the chances... if you send someone over to the SPOT blog and they sign up, I'll give you an extra entry. (leave a comment here that you recommended someone)
And you KNOW i'd rather give this cute patootie thing to one of my adoring readers ;)-
So check out Angelas site and then hop on over to the SPOT blog and start participating. Contest ends Nov. 30!!

Dreamin'

....of a white christmas... lol

yah- i think something snapped in me this year and I actually WANT snow. call me crazy.

but anywho-

my job has ended (and i'm totally sad) and now I have to move on to something else (which I don't want to do). anyone have something they need done? lol

I just had to post these- i've been working hard on my digi business and I'm DYING that I don't have the $ to start up a physical paper company. if I did, I'd be ALL OVER IT. but that's the goal... someday.

in the mean time- a way good friend of mine- Carol Monson- prints out my papers and uses them... she does an amazing job. I had to share her projects- for your eye candy pleasure :)

SO CUTE right? I'm so inspired- I'm gonna print them up myself and scrap today. Yes- you heard right folks... I WILL BE SCRAPPING TODAY. (you can all shut your jaw dropping mouths now) lol

I'll totally take pics of what I came up with too- cause heaven knows.. it's been how long since I plast posted a project of my own? lol

Holy Schmoly!

Ok.. you might be sick of it.. and so am I.. believe me. lol

BUT- my WEBSITE IS DONE!!!!

took a lot of long hours and hard work and I absolutely LOVE it. So if you are inclined to check it out, please do.

Lollipop Press Website


In other news:
we had a pretty lame Halloween. and knowing my feelings on the holiday, i didn't really care.. but the kids did. :(
It was POURING. like... DOWNPOUR, can't go outside without getting drenched after 5 seconds.
so we couldn't trick or treat. instead... we got pizza and Krisy Kreme doughnuts and had a halloween party while watching Hocus Pocus.
then on Sunday, we did our own little trick or treating in our house. Rick and I stood behind the bedroom doors and the kids dressed up and went from door to door. they had fun. And the haven't complained about not going REAL trick or treating.. so i think we're good.

just looking forward to the holidays now! CRAZY that it's just around the corner!

Freebie Post!

Over on the Lollipop Blog :) for those who are digi minded...lol

And let me say- I can't WAIT for it to be the holiday season!!! And in honor of my friend Autumn... I'm already listening to Donny Osmond :0)- lol

Toodles!

Gold Canyon Give-Away!!!

So uh... head over to Leah's blog and you'll find a FANTASTIC give-away of gold canyon product. Play along... cause seriously- I'd love one of my blog peeps to win ;)-

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

How are ya?

I know I've been horrible with updating the blog- so how are ya? haven't heard from my peeps in awhile. :)

Oh... to all my Savannah friends-
CKC is coming to Jacksonville next year!!! It's Sept 9-10. I'm hoping to be there- would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see you!!!
So who's coming?!

Halloween up to my EARS

So I hate this holiday. Seriously.
I didn't mind it so much until 2 years ago and it's progressively getting worse.

Issues:
Trick or treaters. Do parents not teach their kids how to be respectful and have manners? Kids show up to my door, hold out their bags and Don't say a thing. Right. Like i'm gonna hand over a handful of candy without you saying anything? sheesh.
Then they get some, turn around and leave, WITHOUT SAYING THANK YOU! So I yell after them.. "YOU'RE WELCOME!"

THEN... they have guts to show up at my door AGAIN, play stupid, and expect to get more treats. um.. not gonna happen.

And then kids over the age of 12... really? You have nothing better to do with your time then go mooch off of other people and get free candy without even dressing up because its "not cool"? please. If you show up at my door not dressed up, and over the age of 12.. YOU AREN"T GETTING A DANG THING.

so... I put on a happy face, plan my son's halloween party for his school class, get my kids things to dress up in every year, take them trick or treating-teaching them manners along the way, and when they get home, they have candy they are thankful for and it's over.

Now I can get on with more pleasant things in my life...

*Off my soap box now lol*

My website is up!!

Ok.. well... the first one anyway. lol

You can now officially order candles from me online and have them shipped directly to you!
If you want- check it out and place an order...they are the perfect gift!

And if you have any questions about any of the product, let me know.

You can also host a "book party" where I will send you catalogs and you get orders and when you turn them in, you will recieve the hostess rewards as if you had a physical party. If you are interested in doing this and earning FREE candles, email me.

Just go click on my candle picture in the sidebar and happy shopping!!!

WOW...

So i've had a struggle the past couple weeks trying to balance my new working life. I know it's something I"m supposed to be doing (and i LOVE LOVE LOVE it btw), but it's always hard to justify spending time away from my kids.

Right now in our lives, It's about working hard and sacrificing A LOT to do what we know we're supposed to be doing- which is getting out of debt.

But today marks my first day of our store opening and I get to officially start my job in sales once again. the past 2 weeks have been hard labor getting the store ready and I'm so happy that I was part of it. I work with wonderful ladies who are friggin' hilarious and I know this is gonna be a fun ride. (just wish I was able to have it be MY store..lol)

anyway- just checkin' in to let you know all the craziness. And Lollipop Press is taking off!! The website will go live sometime in the next week and I'm so excited!! it's looking fabulous and I'm also working on the 2 new lines for November!!!

Here's a page I did with the Shaded Chic line, just because I needed a break from designing and just wanted to play :)

My Newest Endeavor!

Ok.. so I mentioned I was up to something a while ago. Here it is!!! Some of you may be surprised.. others- not so much. lol
But I can't tell you how friggin excited I am about this one. It's the closest thing to a dream come true that I think I'm gonna get for a while.

So hold on to your hats (or panties or whatever you have on lol) and check out my new scrapbook company!

Lollipop Press

Tell all your friends about it and send them to the site. Thank you for all the love and support!
toodles!

I've started up again!

Ok- so I sold Gold Canyon Candles when I lived in GA. LOVED IT.

Then all that moving crap happened and life got in the way and I had to stop for a few years.

but now.... I'm at it again!!! I'm so excited too! And the reason I had to kick myself into gear was because I had FINALLY run out of all my fall/christmas/winter scented candles and heaven knows it would be the biggest tragedy to not have them. lol

so here it is folks- if you want any candles/body products/home products, let me know and I can place an order for you and have it shipped the day after the order is placed!

you can check out the product HERE. but make sure you don't order from the website. find what you want, email me and I"ll place the order for you :) (btw....their home cleaning products are TO DIE FOR. seriously- you wo'nt find anything better or anything that SMELLS better!)

So excited! Placed my first order and have my first 2 parties planned! If you want to throw a party as well- let me know and I'll schedule you in!

YAY!

Update:

Ok... I know I freely admit my slacker-ness everytime I blog.. because I'm obviously horrible and keeping up with it. BUT.. i'm determined to start back up again and get going. so mark my words- I'll keep posting.

just a fast catch up- both my boys had birthdays in June, had fun at each. they got lots of good things to play with outside (since we now have a yard and all). Kayleb even got a bike- ask me if he knows how to ride it yet... yah. nope. lol

so here's Kaylebs bday- turned 7.

Then Jayce turned 2 just a week and a half later (and yes... complete with cheesy grin):

and then we had a fun fourth of July- celebrated with a BBQ with friends and did some small fireworks in the driveway. and of course I had to play with the camera and get these AWESOME pics of the sparklers and fireworks.

fun right?

and then- I FINALLY got my Etsy shop up and running!! If you're my friend on FB, you've prob. seen some posts.. but if you haven't seen what my latest escapade is- check it out here.

and if THAT isn't enough, I do have my latest scheme in the works. this one makes me more excited than anything i've done so far. And I know.. ya'll are probably thinking I'm crazy for doing so much. let me explain:

see... Utah is craft central. I see, I love, I learn. Problem is... EVERYONE AND THEIR DOG DOES TOO!!! So I love my photorgaphy, everyone here does it. I love the beading, everyone here does it. I love the crocheting, everyone here does it. So what on this planet CAN I do here that I can possibly succeed in that no one else does? well... there in lies my next scheme!! :D

you'll see soon enough- hopefully within a week. And it's not totally new, but def. exciting. so stay tuned!! - and I promise.. I'll be updating a lot and such, I have too much to show and tell :)

toodles!

Hey peeps!

So I just updated my photography blog... check it out :)

(click on the photography button to your left lol)

Recovered!

Yes- the snow melted (that same day of course) and left a mess to clean up. But it's over and now it's FINALLY warm and sunny! Went and got a new pool for the kids yesterday and spent most of the day outside- it was amazing. :)

BUT.. my biggest thing to tell you now is I have opened an Etsy shop! And this was totally not part of my "plan"... I was making things because I liked to and wanted too... but I got so many compliments and people asking if they could buy them, i decided I should just go ahead with it.

so without further adeu.... my etsy shop! www.jolibello.etsy.com

check it out! Let me know wht you think... spread the word... I have a massive box full of goodies I need to sell and they are friggin adorable anyway ;)-

toodles!

SOOOOO Wrong!

Man- I have a lot to catch ya'll up on.. but for now- you'll have to put up with the crazy adventure of today. See.... we woke up to....SNOW. yes- snow. around 8 am- we had about 2 inches and it was snowing pretty heavy. Then it kept coming. RIck had to use a broom to get the snow off the car- cause it was that really heavy, wet snow.

so it kept coming and coming- until it stopped around 11ish. by then, the damage had been done. I saw neighbors outside using whatever they could to get snow off the trees, to no avail. Even our trees were taking a good hit. I went out twice and my awesome neighbor out once- to get snow off my apple tree- so it was spared.. but my rose bush and willow tree were not.

Thought I'd show you the pics- cause seriously.... I've never seen anything like this in real life. our poor neighbor down the street had their tree land on their house, and their next door neighbor had their tree land on their car. CRAZY. Luckily- it's all melting. no snow on the roads and we're down to about 2 inches left on the grass- we ended up with about 4-5 inches easy. Like I said... SO WRONG!!! lol

I'll catch you up on things as the days go by... there's been a lot going on! toodles:)

Looking out my front window (about 8:30am):

Ny Neighbor across the street:

Neighbor just down the street:

House on the way to kids' school- it USED to be a standing tree:

House across the street from my kids' school:

My Willow tree- this branch we'll have to finish off:

The casulties of the willow tree:

More willow tree casulties- luckily this didn't hurt our next door neighbors dog who is RIGHT behind that fence:

My rose bush- usually it stands a little higher than my window: