Oh Where Oh Where Has My Little Dog Been?!

We have a Jack Russell Terror ( not a typo! LOL). Last night while I was scrapbooking with Laura, I put Zippity out, as usual to have her dinner. When I went to let her in, she wasn't there. I saw the frayed end of her leash and knew she had chewed through it and taken off! *UGH*
Here it is, 11pm, my kids are fast asleep in bed and Laura had JUST left. My husband was working last night so I was home alone. No one to watch the girls for me while I fumbled around outside in the mud, looking for my little dog.
I knew she was out of ear shot. She ALWAYS come tearing across the yard when she's outside and comes right away when I call her. Last night, I called and called. Whistled, clapped, squeaked her toys and even shook the treat can. (heck that works on TV, right?!) My ears received nothing but silence in return. I walked around the house calling out in every direction and finally gave up around 1:45AM. I got to bed around 2AM but, for obvious reasons, could NOT sleep. I tossed and turned, 1/2 asleep, 1/2 awake listening for any tell-tale sign of her return.
6.10AM. M'Kayla bursts in my room, "Mommy, I hear a dog barking" she said (mind you, she knew nothing about Zippity's Houdini act from last night). I got up, and we scurried downstairs and there, peering at me from behind the glass doors in the kitchen was a little MUDDY dog! ZIPPITY!!!
She was SO happy to see me that she burst in when I opened the door and tracked in mud! I grabbed her and we gave her lots of praise. LOTS OF PRAISE! I gave her a once-over for ticks and cuts, boo-boos etc. We then tossed her in the bathtub for a scrubbing. Usually she LOATHES the bathtub. This time she hardly made even so much as a fuss. She was exhaused from her 'night out' and promptly fell asleep after being brushed and blow dryed. With the nervous energy from the stressful, sleepless night, I created this layout about her ordeal and our joyful reunion!

Has Spring Sprung?

SPRING SPRING SPRING SPRING SPRING!!!


I know that Spring has Sprung when my girls are outside running wild, playing in their sandbox, on their swingset and with their sidewalk chalk!! I am never far away poised with my camera and waiting for that perfect shot!
I'm all for Spring! The blooms, the longer evenings, the wild play outside that brings my girls to complete exhaustion!! They sleep later in the mornings, which is a blessing to me.
My favorite thing about Spring is the enthusiastic joy that it brings my family as we spend more time outside, together, laughing, playing and just enjoying each other's company.



So, CHEERS to the arrival of Spring, sunny play-filled days and togetherness!!

Scrapbooking Forums

I love scrapbooking forums. I love them so much that I frequent about 70 of them. Each forum has something to offer. Some have absolutely fantastic galleries, some have hot-jumpin' message boards and others have fabulous tutorials and classes. I love to find a board that has a great mix of all of those things. Sadly, that's not usually the way it works!
Scrapbooking yahoo groups tend to be built by a closer knit group of people who usually know each other.

Here are a few of my favourite scrapbooking forums:

The Untamed Scrapper

Time To Scrap

Scrappin' Mojo

My favourite scrapbooking yahoo group is:
Scrapbrats


I'm always on the lookout for new scrapbooking forums to check out.. got any suggestions?!

**National Scrapbook Day 20 Layouts in a Day Cyber Crop **

National Scrapbook Day 20 Layouts in a Day Cyber Crop
http://www.theuntamedscrapper.com

May 5th - 3 - PM EST
MARK YOUR CALENDAR!!!!
Join us from f3pm to 7pm eastern time for some party fun and a wonderfully exciting way to create 20 layouts in a day. You'll be given the supply lists in advance so come ready to crop your little heart out !!

All layouts uploaded to The Untamed Scrapper gallery within 24 hours of the crop (7pm Eastern Sunday, May 6th) will be eligible for a Grand Prize!!

You must be a registered member (registration is FREE) of The Untamed Scrapper forums (http://www.theuntamedscrapper.com) to participate. Keep watching the forums for more details the closer the day comes!

We can't wait to see you there !!

{Scrappin' Mojo Blog Challenge - VACATION}

"Well, dh and I have been talking about our summer plans. So, today's blog inspiration is VACATION. You can tell about your best, your worst, your favorite place to visit, even a dream destination, etc.
I can't wait to vacation with you!"
_________________
-Shelley

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ahh.. such a nice topic for such a cold, winter day!!
The most awesome vacation I've ever been on was our Honeymoon . It was 4 weeks of pure, uncharted FUN, FUN, FUN!!!
Our trip started with an 11 day work-related visit to Jerusalem, Israel with my inlaws! Can you believe it? Since my husband and father in law were both presenting at a conference there, we all started our honeymoon together. Most people would NEVER even entertain the thought of bringing their inlaws on their HONEYMOON or any other vacation for that matter! I just so happen to be one of the few who are lucky enough to call my inlaws my best friends!! We went to the Jerusalem Zoo, to Masada, to the Dead Sea and to the different sections of Jerusalem including the now, forbidden, Arab Quarter. Walking there was like time-warping to another era........ unlike anything I have ever seen!
-Arab Quarter Merchant in Jerusalem-

The Jerusalem Zoo is such a fabulous zoo. The animals there have very large habitats and lots of room to roam. The enclosures are modern, huge and make seeing the animals very easy to the visitors.
-Jerusalem Zoo-

The road to Masada was a long, long trip! The terrain changed from city to desert very quickly as we drove along in the tour bus. Once we got there, I was amazed at the size of the mountains. They don't look so huge and majestic as they do when you are standing atop of them, looking DOWN!! Below you see the Roman camp as viewed from the top of Masada. Unfortunately ou can't get any sense of the depth or height on a photograph......



The vacation was magical to say the least! Tomorrow I will post the European part of our Honeymoon starting with England!

My Little Scrapper!

My oldest daughter recently turned 5. She has always loved the fact that I scrapbook. She finds joy in telling everyone she meets that 'My mommy is a scrapbooker and I'm a scrapbooker too!" I have recently purchased a table for both of my girls (Ellie is 3) but Mackie seems to think that it's all hers!

I bought a few pairs of fancy-edged scissors, a 6x6 scrapbook, some stickers and gave her a bunch of cardstock scraps (no no.. no Bazzill!) and set her loose!


A girl can't scrap without her favorite alien action figure (*ACK*) I have no idea why she even befriended this nasty looking alien thing but it's among her top 10 favorite toys (and it's not even hers, it's something that Daddy had in the basement!)


After a long, hard day of scrappin', here's the final result! Hahahahahaha!!!