Heidi Sonboul

Love on Display Giveaway

2012-01-25T04:00:00.000-08:00

As promised, here is a Lovey Dovey giveaway for this month. I meant to get it on the blog yesterday, but CHA is taking up a lot of my time. If you haven't heard... I have my very own collection this year. You can see it here I'm so nervous about sharing it and I hope you all will love it. I almost feel like my crafty heart is on the chopping block. So be gentle with it. K?!

I took a couple of close-ups of the loot. This is not my normal giveaway because normally it's scrappy stuff. I thought I would mix it up this time and do things for our upcoming Valentine's Day. Wait... do we Americans only celebrate this holiday? Am I a blonde for asking this? haha. I've never thought about this before. Hmmm...

-1 Cute Cup

-A Heart Filled With Marshmallows

-Hot Cocoa

-Sweet Tooth Reese's

-Something To Get Clean With

-Two Pencils

-An Adorable Notepad

-1 Teal-licious Mail Box

-Smelly Good Strawberry Lotion

-Something Pretty For Your Nails

Now simply leave a comment here and on February 1st I'll announce the winner.

Tasty love

2012-01-23T04:00:00.000-08:00

I was at Costo the other day and I came across this in the ravioli aisle and I knew it would be a big hit with my guys. It was about $6-7 and you get a lot for your money, which makes this mama happy.

It takes just minutes to cook and oh my llama it's yummy.

You've gotta try them.

Oh and one fun thing to share.

Cosmo Cricket contacted me the other day and asked for me to help with CHA booth work. I so enjoying helping with these assignments, mainly because I get to work with all the collections early :)

This is one of the 8 I created. More will be posted here and at Cosmo :)

This is their new Evangeline collection.

And that is all for today.

Tomorrow I will have a fun Giveaway for you. Make sure to stop by for it.

Happy week everyone.

click...click... take another picture

2012-01-21T04:00:00.000-08:00

How to make your flowers last longer

2012-01-19T04:00:00.000-08:00

I kinda love flowers in our home and I buy them at random for myself.

It's simple really, I like pretty things in our home. Plus they smell good

and in a house filled with boys I welcome good smells. haha

Flowers can cost a lot and most of us gals get them for Valentine's Day.

I thought today I would share how I make my flowers last really long. Like... over 10 days long

When picking flowers, make sure you pick the flowers with no opened petals. This means that they are fresh and you are off to a good start. Make sure that the flowers are stiff and very little-to-no aged spots.

When you get them home, trim the stems and put them into "warm" fresh water (warm not hot. The warm water allows the flowers to suck up the water). All flowers come with flower food. You do not need to use the whole pack at once. I sprinkle in just a little of it and I make sure to take off any leaves that will be in the water. Leaves make the water dirty faster.

Every morning I pour out the old water and give them fresh water with more flower food.

When first putting my flowers in the vase, I take 4 short stems and create a X in the vase. This will allow you to arrange them the way you like and they will stay in place.

Last, when you put them out to enjoy make sure to pick off any petals that are starting to fall off. It makes them look better.

Like I said, this will allow your flowers to last for over 10 days.

Let me know how this goes for you this Valentine's Day

P.S. Next week I'll have a fun Valentine's Day give away. Keep a look out for it.

Triangles in home decor? Oh my!

2012-01-18T08:33:00.000-08:00

30 Days of lovin' Countdown

2012-01-16T04:00:00.000-08:00

Hello Monday :)

I'm in love with love
and Valentine's Day is officially 30 days away.
I've got a ton of fun things planned and I'm planning on posting them here each day.
Just like this card I made for American Crafts.
It was really easy to make and perfect to make from scraps.

One last thing.

I've decided to make a new playlist of some "lovey dovey" music that I again "love".

It will be up from now until Feb 15th :)

I hope you enjoy it.

Wild hair and a toothy smile.

2012-01-14T04:00:00.000-08:00

Can you see the resemblance?
From the wild hair, to the toothy smile...
This is my son and man does he ever look like me.

I was talking to Mr. Sonboul the other day and said
"I'm going to put our pics side by side (of me at 4 and him at 4)".
Right away it was obvious that this little guy and I could be twins.
And the best part is...
he got my personality too :)
I love you Senor Calvin!

Now here is another layout I just made :)

As I put the finishing touches on it and sat back, I loved it so much and I think this is my new

fav. It's kinda weird too, because I never use paint like this.

Supplies: Studio Calico Nov Kit

Thanks for visiting again.

Now I'm off to shop in Down Town LA for the upcoming

CHA Winter Show.

I'm so excited to be showing my collection there.

It's a dream come true!!!

What make a successful mother?

2012-01-13T04:00:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago I was approached by a friend (while at church) and she said "Your name has been nominated for PTA Vice President and after you serve a year in that role, we would like for you to be our next PTA President (at Bradley and Calvin's school)". After the shock wore off my face I thought to myself "wait... when did I put that out in the universe that I "Heidi Sonboul" wanted to be the next PTA President?!" I know that I speak up when I think things are wrong and I have gotten to know almost EVERY child on the playground, because this is our 3rd year there. I'm just confused... I guess.

I feel like I'm always running and didn't I just do a post the other day about controlling the speed of my life? Let's say that I jump on this ride... let's say that I take this role, what then? Will I still have time to workout and shower? Feeling confuse as to what I should do

I called my sister Tammy and she said
"RUN... and talk to Penny (my other sister)".
Then I called mom and she said
"RUN... and talk to Penny".
(Back story on penny: she has been a PTA President and she has said "it's a LOT of work"!)
So I call Penny and she says
"Heidi...it's so much work! However, if there was ever a mom that could do it...it would be you".

Wait what??? Now I'm even more confused! All I needed was one more person that is a "mother" to give me the RUN talk and I was going to pass. After I got off the phone with her, I thought a lot about what she said and in my heart I know that this is what I should be doing with my life. Pushing and leading along even when I'm beat and overbooked. I feel that's why I went through so much as a child and understand so much about life as an adult. That's why I'm loud and not afraid to speak up for what's right. I know that being a PTA President won't solve the worlds issues, but it will allow me to reach those that are local...even if I must skip a show or two (let's hope that doesn't happen).

I have no idea if I will win this race I'm about to start, but dang it... I'm going to give it all I've got. I want the best for my boys and the school they go to. I have a lot of GOOD ideas and I'm not afraid to use them. So with confidence and courage I'm taking this role. Pray for me people... that I won't fall from exhaustion!
Pray for my that I will accomplish my to do list in life.

what would Macgyver's Mother do?

2012-01-12T01:00:00.000-08:00

I know just about every mom thinks this thought at least once. I've had it happen about two times now. I guess in 3 years that's not too bad. Ya know how it goes, you head to the store to buy a few things and then forget to get those little bags for lunches.

The other morning it was a mad rush around our home (getting ready for school) and I realized as I was making sandwiches... "OH NO, I'm out of sandwich bags?". I stopped and thought, what would Macgyver's Mother do? And as clear as a bell, I came up with a life saving moment (well at least a lunch packing life saving moment).

It's that simple. In two seconds you have a pocket sandwich and chip bag.

PS My boys thought this was so much fun for lunch.

I love tags oh my!

2012-01-11T04:00:00.000-08:00

Every few months I like to try and switch up my scrappy style a little. I know that the editors at scrapbook magazines like it and it keeps scrapbooking fun for me. Over this past 2 weeks I've been scrapbooking for myself a lot (which is a breath of fresh air) and I'm digging on what I've come across. I've been finding big inspiration from Stephanie Dagan and her bright take on pattern papers and tags. I'm in LOVE with TAGS! There are so many tag punches out there and I want to buy them all ;)

Anyways, I sat down with my Studio Calico Nov kit the other day and I came up with this fall layout.
Notice the tags? Plus I've been trying to keep it clean with texture. I wove this paper and I love the fall look it has. I know that a fall layout on my blog is kinda out of season, but I loved these photos and wanted to make sure that I scrapped them.

So there it is, the new scrappy me :)

What do you think?

P to the S- I'll be back next week for my Weight Loss Wednesdays. Just so you know.

Paper Hearts - Yet Another Fun Valentine's DIY

2012-01-10T04:00:00.000-08:00

I'm having the best time celebrating Valentine's Day this year. I'm kinds getting a jump on it and I'm celebrating it in January. Who knows maybe I'll do this every year.

Valentine's Day is a big deal in my family, because it's Dad's Birthday.

This year we are planning something special for him. Shh... don't tell him

That post will come later, but for now let's have a crafty post.

I was up really late the other day and I came across this frame. I took out the glass and placed this happy polka dot paper in it. Then I printed up on white cardstock "Love One Another - Year Round" and matted it on a vintage blue cardstock. I am diggin on Blue and pink for Valentine's Day this year, so much!

Once I had that all in place I started to cut out a lot of little hearts from Oh Happy Day. I used pop dots to give the hearts a 3D effect. When placing down my hearts I formed them in the shape of a big heart.

Cutting tiny hearts was taking too long... so I used these little ladies I found at my local craft store.

There you have it. It's that easy.

Time: 35

Cost:

Frame $1.oo

Paper $3.oo

Little Heats: $3.oo

Ground Total = $7.oo

Is it because it looks like boogers?

2012-01-09T01:00:00.000-08:00

What is it about little boys and slime?
Is it because it looks like boogers?
Is it because it wiggles and it feels gross?
Being that I'm a mommy to two boys, slime has become a part of my life.
I've heard every booger joke there is
and I've even found the slime left in the oddest places (it's totally hard to clean up too).
Like on top of the toilet (I'm guessing this is because they washed their hands and forgot it haha).
So, again I ask... What is it about little boys and slime?

One more thing before I go...

I have a layout to share just for fun.

I made it from my Studio Calico November Kit

I used a lot of tags on this layout and I'm diggin on my eyelets again. I used them on my tags. Makes me happy.

Have a great day everyone...talk to you tomorrow.

Tomorrow I have another Valentine's Day post.

Bye

DIY Valentine's Day- Heart Treat Box

2012-01-07T01:57:00.001-08:00

I love pretty much any holiday and I love finding new things to make for them.
Valentine's Day is around the corner and the other day I got to thinking about. I thought that "I should try and make a mini heart treat box" (cause that's what I do in my free time). I sat down with my new collection ;) and using just TWO pieces of paper. I was able to make this adorable box and after all... what's Valentine's Day without a box of Chocolates?!
So let's get started

This whole thing took about 40 minutes to make. Most Heart boxes cost a pretty penny ($12-20) and I made this for the cost of Adhesive and two 12X12 sheets of paper.
Total Cost: under $3.oo

Next week I'll show you how I fill it with home made treats.

Is there any question where I get my personality from?

2012-01-06T01:00:00.000-08:00

I'm

loud

talkative

teaser

prankster

an off the wall commenter

making up my own words
and

very goofy kinda lady.

I've been like this my whole life and I love to laugh and make others laugh. I just find the greatest joy in it. The other day Mom asked me to take pictures of her and dad and in almost every shot I got...

and finally I got this shot.

Mom couldn't see what he was doing most of the time, but dad and I had a great time laughing from it all.

So I guess, this is where I get it from. Thanks dad for passing down a piece of you.

I love that I'm just like you and so do the boys :)

I failed...

2012-01-04T04:00:00.000-08:00

At project 365 in 2011

Well... I wouldn't say that "I failed", but I will say that I didn't take photos everyday.
I love taking pictures, but somedays were a little hairy and overly busy.
I have no idea if I will 100% complete this new year of 365 photos, but in my head I will ride into the sunset on Dec. 31st with all my photos taken and numbered.

Ya know this year is not really 365? Being that it's Leap Year it's really 366. Oh crap, an extra day to worry about?! lol. Fingers TIGHTLY crossed that this will be the year for me and my camera. To get this party started I have 3 photos to share. I don't think I'll post about this every week, but I'll see. I guess it depends on my mood as always.

I got two yahtzees on each game this night (it was a late game night). I was on a roll and taking Mr. Sonboul down! If you notice too, whenever I miss something or get a 0 I draw a little ninja. I'm not sure why I started this, but I thought it was funny and odd enough to fit my personality.

Also, I have a layout to share today.

I used all American Crafts in the paper goods department and used my Martha Stewart butterfly and daisy punch. I used vellum to create the daisy and butterflies. I loved the light airy feel to them.

One last thing before I go.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for your kind words and loving thoughts.

I was so nervous to share my collection and as a crafter it's the most vulnerable way to put yourself out there.

When creating the collection Mr. Sonboul and I must have changed things around a million times. Then finally I felt like it was me. A girl who loves bright and happy things and who just wants to dream big and laugh.

I'm on cloud nine today and it's because of all of you.

From that warm and fuzzy place in my heart... Gracias!

Here it is...my new collection Oh Happy Day

2012-01-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

I'm so thrilled to be sharing this collection and am so grateful for the opportunity that GCD Studios gave me to design it. Please do share your thoughts, because I love hearing from you all.

First a layout

The "circles into square" idea came from the sweet and talented Davinie Fiero

The 12X12 pad and it also comes in a 8X8

Emily Rose

Myra's Pearls

Hailey

Chloe

Alicia

Savannah

Meagan

Mariah

Priscila

Abbie's Sunshine

Andrea

Amber's Avenue

Chipboard Letters

White Rimmed Brads

White Rimmed Paper Clips

Border Strips

3D Chipboard Stickers

Die Cut Tags

Slow down... an important message

2012-01-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

I think we often forget to slow down

and just enjoy the loveliness of life.

I found this wonderful message and wanted to share it today.

I often talk to my sisters and we all say "but where do I cut back?"

We are go getters and doers in our family

and because of this we always take on too much.

With this new year I plan to slow down more and to enjoy my life.

It's going so fast and I will teach myself to control the speed of it.

After all, slow and steady wins the race.

A redo on WLW

2012-01-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

Month one was AMAZING for my weight loss goals and as you have heard... I lost 17lbs.
Month two was a bust. However I didn't eat hog wild (well... at least until the end of Dec), but there was a good reasons for a "not so productive" month. Mr. Sonboul finished P90X and wow his results were having me ripping his clothes off (I know TMI, but it's true) haha. The Monday after he finished P90X, his back started acting up. It then lead to him being in a lot of pain. We were supposed to start Insanity together that weekend and so I wanted to wait for him to get better. WELL, he never really got better. His poor back got worse and worse and on Dec 23 we went to take family photos. We were at the end of our photo shoot and then this happened.

It's the exact moment his back went out. It's sad that I have a photo of it (I was trying to get the lighting right at this moment), but you can see the pain on his face. We went home and when checking his back, I could feel his spine was swollen in the middle of his back (which is not a good thing at all). Lucky us, my Dad's chiropractor was able to come down and see him on Christmas eve. The nicest man ever! He was on vacation and took the time to see Mr. Sonobul. He did an x-ray and holy cow was his spine in bad shape.

After a few adjustments it helped him so much. We spent Christmas eve and day with him icing his back and taking it easy. He now has a two months commitment filled with check ups and adjustments. Needless to say, month two was a bust. I gained a little weight, but honestly I'm okay with it. It's life and I made it through Christmas without gaining a "ton of weight" or even all of it back.

Today I'm restarting and will go from there. Good luck to all of you starting your new years healthy goals. Stick to it and focus on eating the right portions for your body. I'm 100% sure it's why I made it through Thanksgiving and most of December. Today I got up and worked out and here is the evidence.

Talk to you all tomorrow
~H

OH and happy 12 12 day (1-2-12) haha. We are going to do 12 fun things today as a family.

Do you like my party hat?

2012-01-01T17:41:00.000-08:00

Having kids makes it really hard to celebrate New Years as the rest of the world does. This year for the first time I promised the boys they could stay up for it, which is a BIG commitment for me. Our boys are ALWAYS in bed at 7pm and are asleep at 7:30/8pm. I told them that I would let this take place..."IF" they helped us clean the house from 8am-5pm. Once we had them agreeing (I don't know what kid wouldn't ;) haha) we went to work on this list. I admit it... this was a little "Cinderella-ish" , but they make 80% of the mess in this home so darn it... they are helping!

Now you can tell that I'm a bit of a spaz about cleaning and I like to be organized. I find that it helps get more things done, instead of losing out on projects in between. I know this makes me look like I get high off of 409. I promise I don't. I just love things cleaned for the new year. I'm happy to say that we got most of the stuff on this list done. The others I can finish tomorrow and throughout this new week. Anyways, enough about cleaning.

The boys loved being able to stay up and Bradley was so excited to hear about leap year. I started to think that Calvin was going to give out at 9pm, but having a late dinner helped him get to 11:30pm. That last 30mins was all dancing like mad people-teaching the boys how to do the worm, playing games (Blokus - our new favorite game) and making noise. As soon as the ball went down, the boys headed off to bed. They fell asleep so fast that it has to be a record for them.

Tomorrow we will watch the Rose Parade and eat a yummy breakfast.

Alrighty, that is it for today. I hope you all had a great night and kissed the person you loved. We did this with the 4 of us :)

It was actually really sweet and I wish I got a picture of it. Maybe next year.

Tomorrow I'll be back with a new layout using American Crafts ;)

It's a post about my revamped scrappy style.

See you then

The End

Make your bed with some magic :)

2011-12-31T09:32:00.000-08:00

Today... we are cleaning for the new year.
As you can see a few posts back, we have had an amazing year. Lucky ducks we are.
Today as we clean, I'll have this video in my head. It's so magical and it's what I want for our home this coming year. Happy New Year everyone and thanks for your support with my new and first collection.
~H

Hello Twenty Twelve and the possibilities

2011-12-30T00:00:00.000-08:00

With a new year ahead of me and the possibilities of limitless fun, I look
forward to checking these things off my list.

I plan to also be more consistent with blogging ;)
And maybe if I train myself, I'll get to blogging every day.
Yes, there will be crafty posts like normal with a dash of
my day to day life. fun right?
And just in case you forgot what I look like, here I am with straight hair.
It's crazy how much longer my hair is when it's straightened.

Oh, one more things before I go.
I can FINALLY SHARE MY BIG SHINY AND BRIGHT NEWS...
After last year's winter CHA 2011 show, I was given the opportunity to
design my very own collection.
After a lot of crafty blood, sweat (ew) and yes even tears
Mr. Sonboul and I crossed the finish line and completed...

The full collection will be shown over at GCD Studios blog on

Jan 6th 2011

and I'll also be showing it here the next day :)

Here's to a GREAT new year and yes the endless possibilities

of my life in 2012.

What do you think of the sneak peek???

A lick on the cheek

2011-12-29T05:00:00.000-08:00

It's true... I licked his cheek and with 10 years of Marriage notched into our belt, we are still in love. I think this is because we are OVERLY passionate people. When we fight... we fight! When we love... we love! Like all marriages it took time to be 100% supportive of each other and I still feel that there is room to learn, but this man is mine and dang I love him. I love that he understands my loud yet silly side and that I get his quite yet passionate side. I love his distinguished grey hairs coming in and his kissable lips. I love that he wears clothes that "I" think he looks Mr. Hottie Body in and that he tells me "Your eyes are beautiful".

Swoon... I'm still in love 10 years, 7 months and 10 days later and even when we get really mad at each other for silly little things, this guy has my heart.

And here is a layout I made about it. I used the November Studio Calico Kit

An untouched pile of leaves

2011-12-28T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here in Southern Cali finding an untouched pile of leave is a little unheard of. Most people have gardeners that come by and clean them all up and being that our trees are almost all bare, most of the leaves are gone. The boys didn't really get the chance to play in the leaves this fall. When we went out to take family photos the other day and we came across these untouched leaves, the boys were in heaven. It was the biggest pile of leaves all down this small alley.

I guess because most people wouldn't ever go that way, we were the lucky birds to find it (when looking for old brick walls to take photos at). Now... I know this is the lamest blog post ever, but as I watched the boys playing in the leaves my heart cherished each and every toss of fun.

I mean... can you tell we are city people?! haha
Me going nuts-o over leaves.

Well, regardless I loved it and so did they. Yet another Magical childhood moment checked off the list :)

Oh parenting, you are so much fun!

A Marvelous 365

2011-12-27T05:00:00.000-08:00

Two words

2011-12-26T22:18:00.000-08:00

Food Poisoning!

I have it and it's killing me!
That is all...sad face.
~H

HO! HO! HO!

2011-12-23T22:57:00.000-08:00

Finally!

We finally have a family Christmas card and photos to share :)

It's been a wild month and Mr. Sonboul's back went out on him this last week,

poor guy.

We finally got our Christmas tree decorated, but as we were

about to put the star on.... the bulb on the star went out!

Am I surprised??? haha not really.

It's kinda how this month has gone.

However, I've laughed through it all and these new photos have

truly cheered me up. So, I thought I would share a few more of my favorites

from the photo shoot I did with our family.

Oh, and as you can see... I'm a blond again.

I love this one of Bradley

Bradley took this one of Mr.Sonboul and I :)

And last...

A photo I want to have on Canvas.

I love these 3 so much and they have richly blessed my life.

Merry Christmas everyone.

A love this quote by Elder Russell M. Nelson

2011-12-18T11:49:00.000-08:00

I've taken a few days off from blogging.

It's been a busy week and things haven't gone as they have been planned.

We still don't have our Christmas tree decorated and that really bothers me!

I'm home today from church and I found this wonderful

video on LDS.org

It's a beautiful message that cheered me up. My favorite quote from it was...

Sometimes I really forget to do this.

I now look forward to start a new week and to push

past the yuckiness of last week

WLW- Week 5- My Friemy is visiting!

2011-12-14T09:50:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

Today there is no video.

This is more so, because I've been really busy. My weight loss is moving along slowly this week and I think it's because my "friend" is visiting.

Question....

Why do women call their period's their "friend"?

My period is NOT my friend! She visits when I don't have time for her and she is a pain in my back and legs. Maybe we should call her our FRIEMY.

Can I get an Amen?!

This coming Saturday Mr. Sonboul and I are starting Insanity together. I love fast paced workouts and so this might be my ticket to another 20-40lbs off my body. Finger crossed.

It's take 60 days to complete it and
when you finish the program you get a T-shirt.
I want that darn T-shirt! haha
Can you tell I'm competitive?!

Did anyone watch the biggest loser last night?

I did and it was very inspiring. I love watching other Fassy people losing weight
and finding success! Go Jen for winning the $100,000.
I would like to think that if I went on that show I would win the money.

Costco is now carrying the body bug and you can find it here

Get it for Christmas and I promise you'll love it as much as I do!
I lost 17lbs from using it :)

Next week I'll have a video and you won't want to miss it
Until then
...The End...

The wisdom of Zoltar

2011-12-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

On the last night of summer break we visited the Santa Monica Pier. As we wrapped up the fun experience and where heading back to the car, I saw this gem out of the corner of my eye. Mr. Sonboul dug in his pockets and gave the money to Bradley. Bradley really didn't know what it was until we said "He is a fortune reader", to which he became very interested in it.

The money sucked in and out came this

Know, I don't believe in Fortune telling, but I think it's fun to try at least once. When Jason and I got this card we just laughed. Bradley is such a talker and I loved that it said "Yes my friend, your greatest fault is that you talk too much". haha

This was a fun and magical end to our summer, just like in the Movie BIG.

Date Night with a pool shark!

2011-12-12T05:00:00.000-08:00

One thing I really love about this time of year is Mr. Sonboul's Christmas work party. This year it was at Dave & Busters and we had a blast. We love playing pool and as always Mr. Sonboul played like a shark and won every dang game! That punk! haha

I've never been to Dave & Busters before, but it was a lot of fun. It was a nice break and alone time with my man. They had a yummy dinner for his work group and dessert...which I didn't touch thank you very much! I feel like my willpower is getting better with food and I'm able to say no thanks.

As we drove home we talk and listened to some favorite tunes. Overall... I love date nights and I really want to make sure with this new year that we go on them more often :)

Oh my letters

2011-12-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

In the scrapbook world alphabet letters are like the chocolate sauce on ice cream and the embellishments are the sprinkles. Without them ice cream and scrapbooking just aren't as much fun.

Being that I love letter stickers so much I thought I would do a fast tutorial on them. It cost almost nothing and all you need are your letters, scissors and colored cardstock scraps.

Then add them to your layout. I backed mine with foam tape and placed them onto a word bubble, because it's oh so cute! And here is the layout:

I just love aqua blue, a crisp white and cherry red together. It's so vintage looking and it went well with these photos of Bradley (on his 8th birthday-dinner at Ruby's). Last here is a close up of all the photos.

Year of Gratitude 365- week 1

2011-12-09T08:25:00.000-08:00

Good day Friday.

Yesterday was a long day of visiting with the boys teachers. Parent-teacher conference, so I was unable to get this post up. However, here I am now with my week 1 of 365. If you want to learn more about this challenge click here.

This card was on My Little Show Box yesterday. You can see it here with my other work.

I hope that you play along with this challenge. It's so fun and it will help you find the odds and ends of gratitude in your life, in a fun and fresh way. If you couldn't start in Dec... I'll have a big start up for Jan 1st 2012. Oh one more thing before I go. My crafty BFF Emilie Ahern has created these adorable HOT DRINK COZIES . They make the best holiday gifts. Make such you check them out here in her shop.

Have a great weekend everyone, because I know I will. We are finally getting our Christmas tree and going out to dinner with family this weekend. Plus we might even see that new movie Arthur's Christmas. Anyone have anything good to say about this movie???

WLW- Week 4 and GREAT NEWS!

2011-12-07T05:00:00.000-08:00

HELLO and good morning to you all!

I'm in the best mood and after you watch this video I think you'll know why

(Remember turn the music off at the bottom)

And action....

Can you believe that, even with that lame 1 pound week loss (during week 3)

I lost 17lbs in one month.

Here is the nutritional info for Golden Spoon and their store locations

Really try it if you can.

On Monday, Dec 5th I started my 2nd month.

I'm feeling stronger and healthier then ever.

I'm so happy I started when I did and that I didn't wait for the

new year. That way by the time New Years Eve hits

I'll be way ahead of the game and hopefully fitting into something like these dreams come true

look one, look two, look three, look four (I found it on Pinterest sorry no link)

So until next week, keep up the good work everyone
and push through those holiday food trials.
I know you can do it!

Douglas VS Noble

2011-12-05T05:00:00.000-08:00

Every year our family has gotten a douglas fir tree for Christmas and this is the first year I "think" we will be getting a Noble. I honestly can't stand how messy the douglas firs can be and I'm hopping that the Noble is much better AND CLEANER.

Here is a picture of our tree last year. You can tell that we go for the biggest tree :) It's how we roll

And here is how I used the photo. Make sure to check out Basic Grey to see what this layout is for :)

How about you? Do you like a Douglas or a Noble? Or do you just get a fake one?
This has been a discussion in our home for the last week. HELP!

Fabric Poinsettia Flower Tutorial

2011-12-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

I can't think of Christmas without thinking about poinsettia flowers. I love their vibrant rich color so much and almost everyone buys them for the season. This got me thinking about the structure of the flower and wondering if I could make one to wear this Christmas season.

Let's get started with the step by steps...which are pretty easy!
Supplies needed:
scissors, 1/4 yard of red fabric (felt), hot glue and my step by steps ;)

First Cut out a 4 inch long scallop fabric strip and 15 petals in each of these sizes.

The photos kinda say it all, but just in case you wanted a write up for it.

Step 1:
using hot glue put a thin bead of glue on the strip of fabric and start to roll up the strip. Do this for about 1.5 inches

Step 2:
Make another bead of glue and this time bunch and roll. This will make the scallop look like the center of a flower. Finished rolling all the strip.

Step 3:
Take all the small and medium petals and put a bead of glue on the end, in the middle of the petal.

Step 4:
Pinch the petal in half, gluing it together.

Step 5:
On the other side of the petals, add a bead of glue at the end, on the sides of the petal. Then pinch it together. This will make a "W" in the fabric.

Step 6:
Once you have pinched all the small and medium petals, glue on all the small petals to the center of the flower first. Make sure to push them close together.

Step 7:
Using the small petals again, go around the flower in a circle. Make sure the flower looks balanced.

Step 8:
Using all the Medium petals glue on the first row and then the second row, just like you did with the small petals.

Step 9:
Now take the largest petals (do not glue pinch these) and glue to the flower. This will give a nice lean look in the back. Cut a 1.5 inch circle and fill in the middle spot to level out the back.

Step 10:
Last, cut a large 3 inch circle and glue it to the back of the flower. This will complete the look and all you need now is a pin or hair clip.

Total time to make: 35 mins
Total cost: .50cents (if you use felt)

Now, here is the finished look on my winter church coat

The Year of Gratitude Project-365

2011-12-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

This past few days I've been really thinking about Thanksgiving and all the things I'm really grateful for and the thought that kept coming to my mind was "We should be grateful for every day!".
I think it's wonderful that we take a day to celebrate gratitude, but when I think of my boys I want to teach them to be grateful for every day and every thing. Yes...even the trials in their lives.

All these thoughts running around in my head continued into the late hours of the day and while I laid in my bed. Then it came to me..."I will create a Crafty Year of Gratitude Project-365". Now I know Oprah did a "journal thingie" a few years ago, but Mine will be all crafty with photos and dates and pattern papers-Oh my.

I would love for you to join me on this year of thankfulness and gratitude. I plan on starting on Dec. 1. 2011 and will end it on Nov.30. 2012. If you are reading this post past the 1st of Dec...no worries. It's never too late. Simply start your date from then and go for 365 days. I think we can all use a little more gratitude in our lives and this will be a fun breath of fresh air :)

Now, you can make your own template or you can use mine. Here is what it looks like. Then on every Thursday I will post my weeks worth of photos cards. Please do play along, because I would love to share your cards and gratitude's on my blog.

Click here to download it

I'm so excited about this and I hope you are too! Here is my very first card and next week on Thursday I will post more.

Also I found this CUTE storage bin from Joann's Craft store for $12.50. It was $24.99 and I got it 50% off. I love good deals like this. Here is the link to it on Joann's online site

Over all, I hope you join me on this journey. It's going to be a fun crafty challenge.

from 3 and onto 4 - Weight Loss Wednesday

2011-11-29T05:00:00.001-08:00

Ah yes, another week is done. I'm now on my last week of my first month. Remember to turn my music off at the bottom of my blog before watching the video. One more thing before you watch this...apparently I said "And, But and Oh" way too much haha. So please excuse the repetitiveness of it ;)

Now onto the winner

Congrats to Mary Jenkins

You said:

Mary Ann Jenkins said...

I love the colors in the Peppermint Twist collection!! It has my favorite color of green :)
Super cute calendar, love all the cute little pieces and embellies you added!

November 24, 2011 4:44 PM

One last thing before I go. I posted about this a little yesterday and promised more info about it today. It's my new challenge and in my video I gave a peek at the photo card I will be using each day for the next 365 days. I hope you find interest in this and will want to play along, but regardless I will be doing it :)

Tomorrow I will tell you all about it and will give you the image for the card. I will also share my very first photo card for 12/1/11 and what I'm grateful for in this year of gratitude.
See you all then and good luck with this week and being a healthier you!

I wish...I wish for this list

2011-11-29T05:00:00.000-08:00

Today I also thought I'd share this layout that was over on the Basic Grey blog on Thanksgiving day. I hope you find inspiration from it.

Also have you see the newest collection by Basic Grey? It's so perfect for Valentine's Day. Check it out here It's called kissing Booth. Isn't that such a cute name for a collection? :)

And have a nice day
~H

PS
Make sure to stop by tomorrow for the winner of the give away, my weight loss Wednesday video and to see what crafty project I'm up to know

Thoughts On Black Friday And An Ear Infection

2011-11-27T17:45:00.000-08:00

(A sign outside of our Target)

Most people think that they have to line up at midnight to get the good stuff, but I'm going to let you in on a secret. When I was younger I worked at Target and a few other stores and plus all the years of doing black Friday I've learned a few things.

1) you can just order your sales items online, but that can lead to the site crashing and them selling out.

2) You can stand in line on Thanksgiving night and wait in the cold and deal with the pushing and shoving.

3) or you can do what I did this year. Wait until 4 am and then go. By this time the stores have slowed down and the next big rush doesn't come until 6am. The employees at 4am bring out more of the items that "seem" to be all gone (they do this for safety reasons) and you will still be able to get the items on sale.

I got up with my niece Abbie and headed to Target. We walked in, there was tons of new palettes filled with all the items I wanted to buy on sale :), and when we got to the check out I walked right up and cashed out. In fact the cashiers where begging us to come to them. If you are a Black Friday shopper like me... try this next year and you will see how amazing it is to shop at 4am.

Abbie took this fassy pic of me

Later we met up with my Sister-in-law Leslie...whom I just love! She is so funny and a joy to hang out with. I took this photo of her as she was leaving. She also got everything on her list :)

On Thanksgiving day I took this picture of the boys. It's amazing that this year it really feels like fall in California. I think it's because we have been dipping down into the 40's and the trees are finally doing their thing and changing in color. On Thanksgiving morning I went out for a brisk walk to burn calories and I was pretty much the only one out there. The leaves were blowing around on the ground and crunching under my feet and the air was super crisp. Oh we also got in a game or two or Ultimate Frisbee and tennis. Haha can you tell we are trying to be healthy.

Now onto the ear issue...yes I need a tissue! :)

About 2 weeks ago I had a cold and it settled behind my eardrum. This has happened before and I lost my hearing in my ear for a few days. I didn't really notice my ear was bothering me because I had a big time allergic reaction to laundry soap. I am really allergic to it! So from Tuesday-Saturday I was taking Benadryl. Well, on Saturday the hives and swelling stopped and so I cut down on the meds only to find out that my ear had a BIG OL' nasty infection. By Saturday night I felt like someone was ramming a stick in my ear. Luckily I got a hold of my Doc and I'm now talking a prescription for it. So... this thanksgiving I thought of two more things I'm really grateful for... Benadryl and Doctors on call.

And to end this post, here is a layout I made using all Basic Grey products. This pictures was taken last year in the snow. Yet another one of our traditions.

Black Friday with Silhouette and a We R Memory Keepers Give away.

2011-11-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

About a 2 weeks ago almost every Scrapbook company shared how they used the new Advent Calendar from silhouette. There was American Crafts, Basic Grey, Bella Blvd., October Afternoon, My Minds Eye and way more!

Well, Silhouette decided to keep the party going and have some pretty awesome deals for Black friday, but first I wanted to share the Advent Calendar I did for We R Memory Keepers.

And here are the details/close ups. When you buy this Advent Calendar it comes with a coupon for the boxes and as you can see they are adorable. Plus you can use these boxes later on for party favors and small gift boxes.

Now check out these sweet deals.

Black Friday Sale

Gear up for the best Black Friday sale this year - Friday, Nov. 25 through Monday, Nov. 28, save 30% on everything* at silhouetteamerica.com. Get a new CAMEO tote for just $70 (normally $99.99), or a starter kit for $28 (normally $39.99). Best of all you don't have to wait in any lines or camp out in a tent. Just be sure to visit silhouetteamerica.com before the end of the day on Nov. 28 (MST) and use the promo code BLACK during checkout to save 30% off your entire order*.

* Offer excludes Silhouette CAMEO™, download cards, and gift cards. Promotion valid 11/25/2011 12:00 AM through 11/28/2011 11:59 PM only at silhouetteamerica.com. 30% off sale only includes physical products purchased at silhouetteamerica.com while supplies last.

50¢ Shapes

The 50¢ shape sale is back in the Silhouette Online Store. Over 19,000 designs (including fonts and printable patterns) will be just 50¢ ea. from Friday, Nov. 25 through Monday, Nov. 28. Whether you have a subscription to the Online Store or just like to dabble every once in a while, you'll get more for your money this Black Friday through Cyber Monday from the comfort of your own home. And to make the deal even sweeter, there will be new designs added to the store on Friday, Saturday, and Monday, so come back each day to find out what's new. For even better savings, sign up for a subscription to the Silhouette Online Store. For just $9.99 per month you'll get $25 of credit to spend on downloadable designs - and at 50¢ each, you'll really stretch your dollar.

50¢ shapes available for download only through the Silhouette Online Store or at silhouetteonlinestore.com. Offer not valid for other websites, subscriptions, or physical products. Promotion valid 11/25/2011 12:00 AM through 11/28/2011 11:59 PM only.

Now leave a comment here and 1 person will win this new collection from We R Memory Keepers Peppermint twist (click to see the full collection). It's the cute collection I worked with for the Advent Calendar.

Happy Thanks Giving everyone.
PS Head over to Basic Grey's blog to see a layout I did and what I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving :)

What gives you motivation?

2011-11-23T05:00:00.000-08:00

It's safe to say that motivation gives us a big boost in losing weight! In fact I love working out and seeing someone go by in the size I desire to be. That just makes me want to work out harder. I know I'm a dork, but it totally works for me.

Anyways, here is my newest video all about motivation.

Check out these two blogs. I talked about them in the video:

Emily Jones is amazingly beautiful, in great shape for having 4 kiddos and her home is to die for. She truly has been inspiring me lately.

Drew at Fit 2 fat 2 fit is amazingly motivating! When you see his before and after photo of eating crappy for 6 months it's shocking! Seeing what fast food can do in 6 months has really helped my walk away from a lot of it! Just check out this photo

6 months people...6 months!

Good luck this week to all of you and remember to find your inspiration. Use it this Thanksgiving Day.

60 degrees and I'm freezing!

2011-11-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

I realize that 60 degrees is such a wussy number to get cold in, but California is normally much warmer at this time of year and if it's already in the LOW 60's I'm worried about December and January. haha

I've been wrapping myself in sweaters and thick warm scarves trying to keep warm. We also just bought the boys new fall/winter coats at Old Navy. They have such great deals right now and you should check it out. Jason's jacket was $22, Bradley's was $12, and Calvin's $15 (Not shown)

Anyways, I wanted to share this video being that I've been wearing scarves lately and it's super fun

Wasn't that neat??! So pull out your scarves and try something new from this video.

Crazy Hair Day part 3

2011-11-19T22:02:00.000-08:00

I must say that I truly look forward to this time of year, when Bradley's school (and now also Calvin's school) does crazy hair day. I get into it a little too much and it leads me into funny situations. This year I was thinking and thinking how in the world am I going to top last year, because lets be honest that was over the top crazy hair! So the boys and I took a trip to Michael's and after walking through the feather aisle I thought... let's GLUE feathers in your hair. I myself thought... "glue? am I going too far this year?", but the boys liked the idea and so we rolled with it.

While doing the test drive I was really nervous, because Elmers glue was only working so-so. Later that day I went and looked for a spray adhesive and once again thank you scrapbook world I found a non permanent adhesive. The morning arrived and I woke up early with the boys to make sure that we had enough time to get everything in their hair.

1st - put Elmers glue in the boys hair
2nd- layered on the first layer of feather trying to cover all their hair
3rd- used the spray adhesive only on the feathers and then I layered on more feathers
4rd- more spray and layered on more feathers
5th- Hot glued on eyeballs made from foam balls with paint. By the time their hair was covered the hot glue stuck to the feather and not their hair

And now... here it is. Over all it took me about an hour to do both of the boys hair and they looked so darn cute. Calvin loved being in on the fun this year and as always he made the best faces in his photos.

NOW...which is your favorite Crazy hair day year? I loved seeing all of these side by side :)

I can't wait until next year, because I have another good idea ;)

Mini Topiary

2011-11-18T11:22:00.000-08:00

I love things that are small and so I came up with this idea for Thanks Giving... instead of the normal place cards.

Total cost: $3.oo

Time to make: 1 hr

Thanks for stopping by

Something new

2011-11-16T12:26:00.000-08:00

Good day everyone!
Today for my Weight Loss Wednesdays I'm starting something new and here it is.... (turn off music at the bottom of my blog) (PS... ummm sorry for the funny face on the video link haha).

I also forgot to mention don't get the body bug wet. No swimming or showers with it. Here is my progress with it from Monday.

Like I said this thing is awesome and you should totally look into getting one. Here is the link for it and remember when you get it, if the band doesn't feel comfy get the next size up.
Body Bug and bigger arm band

Thanks again for all your support and here is a layout just for fun.

I used lots of American Crafts :)

Tomorrow I have something fun to share about Thanks Giving. See you all then.

Fall Count Down

2011-11-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

I made this a couple of weeks ago for October and for the American Crafts blog. It can be used for any time of year...holidays, birthdays, Back to school, summer break or even Disneyland trips. All you need is just a few supplies.

Total cost: $8.oo

The Halloween costumes that took me 27.5 hours to make

2011-11-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

If you know me, you'll know that I LOVE themes and get a little obsessed with getting them perfect. WELL a few months ago I decided I really wanted the boys to dress up like the 3 musketeers for Halloween. About 3 weeks ago we took a trip to Joann's fabric store and I let the boys pick out all the fabric and colors. Cost: about $140.oo

With a stressful week or two, I had to keep putting them off. I'll tell you, I have never been as busy as I was the last two weeks of October. Everything hit at once and I had no choice but to put certain things off and that's not my style at all!

Anyways, on Saturday (oct.29th) day around 2pm I started to finally cut out the costumes. It took 7 hours. This is because I bought 1 pattern and had to resize it for Bradley and then Calvin, plus the cape alone had 10 pieces to it. Then from 10pm-4am I sewed and sewed throughout the night. I went to sleep at 5am and got back up at 8am {3 hours later}. I sewed and sewed and sewed until 9pm that Sunday night (yes, I even missed church to finish them on time). When the last item was sewn and the boys tried them all on... I just about cried from joy.

I made sure to take pictures and here they are. The costumes that took 27.5 hours and yes... they were made with perfection! I made sure of it.

Here is Calvin-

Here is Bradley-

Here is Mr. Sonboul {looking foxy}-

And here are my 3 musketeers-

Now... what to make them next year??? I promise I'll never learn my lesson, because seeing them in these makes me want to do it again and again! I had some time to scrapbook and so I made this layout using these cute photos of my 3 heroes.

Yep- I used a lot of American Crafts :)

The end....until next year!

The day after I turned 30

2011-11-01T13:19:00.000-07:00

Let me start with yesturday made up for this last weeks LONG and drama filled 7 days of trials!
Without going into to many details, Mr. Sonboul and I got in 3 disagreements, we had our other car get towed { I know right?!}, my sweet nephew was rushed to the emergancy room for an appendicitis, the boys were being extra naughty and fitting a tons and almost everthing got under my skin. Normally NOTHING gets under my skin because I had a really ruff upbringing being the last of 6 kids and living in the "ghetto". Anyways, seeing last week leave was very welcomed and most of my plans didn't pan out :(

However, life goes on and so Mr. Sonboul and I are redoing it on this week. Mr. Sonboul will be turning 37 on Nov 10th and we are doing up this week.

Being that I already bought some of my gift I'm counting from there.
1) Pomplamoose concert
2) Got out car out of the pound
3) Found my key :)
4) 1 large mirror
5) 1 beautiful blue bowl
6) 1 stand for the bowl
7) 1 chunky candle holder
8) 1 large glass hurricane
9) 2 gorgeous pillows
10) 1 mint condition typewriter
11) Got my eyebrows waxed
12) Bought this Q&A book
13) Saw that Emilie Ahern "my sister by friendship adoption" ;) {I love you em} Did a blog jack
14) Was given these GORGOUSE skate

15) Was give this Beautiful necklace
16) 1 pie, balloons, flowers, my favorite homemade Spanish rice and a birthday hat from my BFF Mira {She's the sweetest}
17) Mom and Dad took the boys and I out to lunch/dinner at my favorite restaurant
18) Breakfast in bed from the boys
19) and later today a relaxing pedicure
20) 1 black Vintage phone for our home

So, starting today I'll finish up my other 10 items and start Mr. Sonboul's 37 birthday items. Thanks to everyone that wished me a happy birthday on Facebook, called, emailed me and left a comment on my blog.

My 30 years young heart is so full!
~H

THIS is a Blog-Jack!

2011-10-31T08:37:00.000-07:00

Hello friends, this is Emilie Ahern.

And today is Heidi Sonboul's birthday and that means it's time for a Blog Jack!

Yes, she gave me her password a few months back so I could re-design her blog and I kept it...for just such an occasion as her birthday (or if we had a big fight and I decided to destroy her blog)...either way.

And in honor of such a fabulous person's birthday I give you...

30 things I love about Heidi on her 30th Birthday...

01. You are a hilarious
02. You have a BAD MOMMY competition with me
03. You are honest, even when it sucks to be honest
04. You make me remember how great grilled cheese sandwiches are
05. You have insanely cool hair
06. You are daring and fearless
07. You make birthdays INSANELY FUN!
08. You love holidays
09. You grew up in the ghetto and it shows: "Hold my earrings!"
10. You are creative like crazy
11. You are not afraid to be you
12. You supported me through the Tinkering Ink nightmare.
13. You let me stay with you for Summer CHA's
14. Our "Napoleon Dynamite" tour through Idaho
15. Bringing the phrase "Dang Gina!" back into my life.
16. You take happy fat-girl before pictures
17. You are a great Mom
18. I can call you crying my eyes out
19. You know all of my secrets
20. You do funny voices and accents. "Alayna...is John there?"
21. You told me about your biggest secret when I needed it
22. You are a supportive wife
23. You make me laugh until it hurts
24. You can sew like nobody's business
25. You can apologize when you screwed up
26. You are one of the loudest girls I know
27. Your love of shoes and amazing fashion sense
28. We can sing at the top of our lungs in the car
29. The very first year you knew me you sent me birthday flowers
30. You are a Sister to me

Now it's your turn:
What is something YOU love about Heidi?

Happy Birthday...to ME

2011-10-31T08:01:00.000-07:00

It's been a LOOOOOOONG week. A lot of things didn't go as planned, but I survived them... Thank Heavens! Now I'm off to two Halloween parties for the boy's school :)

...WOOHOO...

I can't believe I'm 30!

The 10 day count down!

2011-10-23T00:55:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone...
I can't believe it is finally here. On Friday night I started my "10 days count down" to me turning 30. I feel like I just turned 29 and the year apparently has come and gone. I'm so excited to turn 30 and am looking forward to my adult hood ;) Over this next few days I will be gifting myself with 30 gifts. Some are very small and some are a little bigger. I told you all that I love birthdays and I'm obsessed with themes.

DAY

This last weekend {Friday night} we went to a concert for the pomplamoose band and it was amazing. This was gift #1

They ended the show with this ditty {turn my music off before listening}.

After the concert was done and we walked back to our car... OUR CAR WAS GONE! WHAT, SOMEONE STOLE OUR CAR??? The funny thing is that I could only think about the boy's car seats being taken and us getting home too late for my mom and dad. After we/I calmed down we finally saw a sign WAAAAAY out of sight and behind a tree...which leads me to my next 3 gifts.

I've never been in a taxi and being that it was a new experience I made it gift # two. I asked the taxi driver if he was going to kill us and Mr. Sonboul laughed at me. When we got to the car pound it cost us $185.oo to get our car out {that's how they roll in Beverly Hills}. I made this gift # three. When the guys at the pound took me to our Honda I realized my keys where GONE {I though "You've got to be kidding me"}! Thank heavens Mr. Sonboul had his keys on him. We then drove back over to the concert where our car was towed. Earlier in the night when I called the tow number I sat down at the curb and that is where they were sitting in the street! That was Gift #four. I have never been so happy to see my keys.

Over all this first night coat us WAY to much, but Mr. Sonboul and I made the most of it and made friends with the taxi and car pound guys. I had them all laughing. Total cost of this night = $325.oo

DAY

After getting some good sleep {from getting home at 2am} I went out shopping by myself on Saturday {being that Sunday is our no shopping day}. It was nice to be alone for a little bit. I went to Home Goods and found 1 large mirror, 1 beautiful blue bowl, 1 stand for the bowl, 1 chunky candle stick holder, 1 large glass hurricane, and 2 gorgeous pillows. That's a grand total of 11 gifts. I'll be posting pictures later when I have them all in our home :) with our new sofa and chair. woohoo I love pretty things for our home.

It has been a packed two day of fun ups and downs, but over all a step in the right direction. Today Sunday, we will spend it relaxing with the boys, playing legos with them and Monday will be day 3.

Mr. Sonboul,
Thanks for making our date night fun and trying to make the most of all the craziness. I'll never forget that night! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH and thanks for marrying me. Can you believe you'll be married to a 30 year old?! haha

Kindergarten Update

2011-10-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

Wow!

This kid is loving school and is doing great {even after him running away}. I feel so relieved that he loves his fun teacher. I think it's because she reminds me a lot of myself, my sister Tammy and how I parent him. Phew... we lucked out there! He is still the same spirited kid and so O decided to do a progress reward chat. It's pretty simple. If he comes home with a stamp... he gets a smiley face on the chart. When he reaches the reward... he get the prize.

Remember those photos I posted of his first day? Well guess what... I scrapped them and here they are. I made this layout for a Basic Grey challenge.

I used their delightful Oxford collection and I'm so in love with these nerdy glasses. Mr. Sonboul has a pair just like them, but in black and I will be so sad when he gets lasik eye surgery someday {this will take place for him next year}.

I know that he would never agree to keeping them and would much rather have the Lasik surgery. I can totally understand. I'm just saying that I love nerdy glasses. Point and case!

Two goofy girls and an antique shop

2011-10-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying I love Donna Salazar! She makes me laugh so hard and she is one talented crafty lady. She and I live pretty close to each other and so we decided to have a crafty date and visited a local antique shop called The French General.

It's one of those places that allows you to spend hours in it and we did just that. They have 100's of glass jars {in color order} that will have you drooling. It's a must visit in the LA area!

Donna, thanks for being a true friend and making me laugh until it hurts!

Weight loss Wednesdays Week 3

2011-10-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

This week has been an emotional journey.
I had many crazy deadlines, at the end of last week the school lost Calvin ( I told you he was spirited ) and we almost took a vacation to Arizona.

Needless to say... I put on weight this week. I know that ups and downs are normal and I know that this is part of the journey, but it still sucks. This is me being honestly raw and I think that most women truly struggle with this. I think it's because we long to be perfect in other's eyes and it's sometimes why it allows us to be nasty or cattyto each other. I long for that Christ like love for all my fellow sisters. Whether she's over 200lbs, whether she's a better crafter than I, or whether she 's mean and nasty. I want to see the good in everyone and I feel that this raw honesty allows me to step closer to it.

I have many beautiful things hanging in my closet (that are sizes reachable 14-16's), but I realize that those will not truly fix my stress of Calvin, PTA, Church callings, being a good family member, an amazing wife, a better mother, Bradley and the homework from 3rd grade and so much more. It's in those stressful moments where I have to fight the food addiction.
I told Mr. Sonboul that "I think food is fun". All my best childhood memories had food involved in them. Birthday parties, family holidays, traditions and trips. It's just what we did and do! My boys are amazingly healthy, I made sure of that...but now to pull myself up to where I want to be in sooo hard and a struggle.

Remember that bodybugg I wanted? After being out and about the other day, I came home to it sitting on my door step. My dear and sweet sister Penny bought it for me for a birthday gift ( my birthday is on Oct 31st ) . Hands down... it's the best gift ever and I feel even more loved knowing that she has faith in me and knows that I can do this. You see, it's that Christ like love that I want to circle myself around. Those are the people that will lift me and the food will soon just become the fuel . The energy to fully savormy life here on earth. I feel like I'm rambling on and I'm most likely putting myself out there way toomuch, but I am looking to be 100% honest in all areas of my life. Again people, I love myself I just also love food ;) IDo not feel bad for those pounds I put on, because I will take them back off... it was just a rough week and I allowed myself to be human. And... being human is a beautiful thing!
Lesson learned this week:

1. Remember to breathe if Calvin runs away from the teacher {Thank heavens a friend found him on the school grounds}.
2. My Mr. Sonboul loves me so much.
3. My boys are my everything and I want to be their most important example in life.
4. Continue to circle myself with amazing family and friends.
5. My sister believes in me and that gives me strength
6. Just because I take the ice cream out of the home... I'll still find other things to snack on
7. Sunny days help me make healthy choices {maybe it's because I picture myself in a vintage swimsuit}
8. Don't give up and keep going!
9. Honesty is truly the best policy and helps me to get stress out so I can focus.

Action photos

2011-10-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

I love action shots of the boys. While enjoying our back to school dinner tradition, I caught this small moment in time. Sure poppers are nowhere near the newest thing on the block, but when you slow down time and capture the moment... the surprise on the poppers face is so worth it.

Take a look at photo number one- It's the face of build up. haha I love this face

Photo number two and three is seeing it pop and the face of joy

Then the last photo is coming down from the excitement

If you ever get the chance... take action photos. They are so worth it and it helps document a child's personality. I decided to scrapbook these photos using Garden Cafe from American Crafts. Using bold prints gives it a masculine feel, which allowed me to use a small touch of flowers and scallops.

One last thing...

Keep a look out for this coming post. It's a good one if you live in an apartment and are always looks for new ways to use your small space well.

An addition to our family and home

2011-10-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

We went out yesterday and I had no idea that I would find the sofa set I've always wanted. I have been eyeing this set from Pottery Barn for over a year now and while visiting a local furniture store, there she was... just waiting for our family. It's sooo comfy and looks JUST like the one at Pottery Barn. The set from PB is around $4000.00 and we found ours for just under a $1000.00 WOOHOO!

I know it's light in color, but it's a fabric that will allow us to keep it clean with the boys and wipe away any grossness! PLUS we bought the cleaning warranty, so that way if there is a stain I can't get out...someone will come and get it out for me :) Can I get an amen on that?!

With this new addition to our home, I think it's time our home gets a face lift. I found this room on Pinterest and I pulled the colors from it. Our front room will be something like these colors and patterns. I love the cool colors with the warm colors. Now I have to decide if I'm going to paint our apartment. Once you've lived in a renting home for more then 3 years, you are no longer responsible for the paint and it can not be taken from your deposit. We have been here for 2 years and plan to be here for another 2... so we are good there, but do I want to deal with the hassle of painting??? Hmmmm... thoughts???

Weight loss Wednesdays Week 2

2011-10-05T09:51:00.000-07:00

This week has been H...A...R...D! But I've done my very best to stick with it all. I have stocked our refrigerator with healthy things and have focused on having Breakfast. So for this week I have a few favorite things to share

1) Ice Cream is my 2nd drug of choice and recently we started visiting our local Frozen Yogart shop. This is a life saver for me. It's way less calories and is sooo yummy! I get a small bowl and it's a lot for 150 Calories. We visit Gold Spoon.

2) So that I don't use up my starches in the morning, I've become a BIG fan of smoothies in the morning. The fiber keeps me full and it's really good. Here is how I make them

-1 cup of milk

-5 strawberry's {frozen from costco}

-1 Banana

-1 Fat free raspberry yogart

-Blind it all together. I give 1/2 of it to the boys and the other 1/2 is 1 full cup. That full cup is 180 Calories.

3) We live a few blocks from school and walking the boys to and from really helps burn more calories. The boys get out at 2 different times so I walk about a mile when I walk back and forth 6 times :)

4) I lost another 2 lbs.

5) This is now on my wish list. It's about $150. and you wear it non stop. It tracks EVERYTHING. Mileage, Activity, Calories oh my! It's nice knowing how good/active one can be in a day. This kinda stuff helps me push harder :)

14 loads of laundry

2011-09-30T17:32:00.000-07:00

Is sitting on our love set. I love having a clean home for General Conference and it looks like that won't happen 100% this year. Everything else is cleaned in our home, but that darn laundry! It's all clean and just needs to be folded, but I've been so busy this week playing catch up in a lot of places.

Maybe we can fold it as a family while we listen/watch conference. Will you be watching it? Here is a link to it. There are some of the most amazing and inspiring uplifting talks given at General Conference. Which means having a clean home makes me enjoy it so much more.

Among my crazy day I made this layout for American Crafts.

Supplies: American Crafts Night Fall Collection

Using their Fall Leaves 35530 paper, I cut out each leaf to create this cute little fall tree :)
Simply layer the leaves until you are happy and cut a trunk out of brown cardstock.

I hope you all enjoy General Conference and a nice weekend.

Weight loss Wednesdays

2011-09-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

Day 1- Sept 20th
I'm not regretting chatting with my sister last night (because we had a great/funny talk about Fassy), but I am regretting how late I stayed up. Tonight I will for sure go to sleep at 10pm and not 11:47pm. I mean, who wants to workout when you are half asleep?! Today I started my workout with Kathy Smith... I love her and have for years!

Day 2- Sept 21st
Today I got up and worked out really hard. Super sweaty...which I love. I want to see the progress and I guess sweat= progress for me. I got up a little later then normal, but I got in my workout and a shower. We just bearly made it to school, but I felt great. Putting myself first is so hard sometimes, but I know it's worth it and super important. Especially when others depend on me.

Day 3-Sept 22nd
Today was a ruff day. I found out some sad news and I wanted to eat past 7pm soooo bad. I talked to Mr. Sonboul and he made me feel much better! Thanks for that lover! I wish that food didn't comfert me. I wish that starch wasn't was drug of chose!

Day 4-Sept 23rd
Bummer... I missed my workout today, but I didn't eat past 7pm. Today was just long and I packed in so many different "to do list" items. I felt like super mom, but just in a size 18 haha. I have a new plan. I'm going to restart my 90 days for this coming Monday. I feel weird that not starting my 90days on a Monday. I know this is an excuse, but it is what it is. This week has been so busy and even though I'm sure most weeks will be busy for me... I'm not going to stress myself out about being to perfect in the beginning. My goals for the rest of the week are to not eat past 7pm and to go to bed at 10pm. Those two habits will help me concore my food and workout issues.

Day 5-Sept 24th
I thought a lot about yesterday and I'm still bummed that I missed my workout. I also didn't work out today, but I was VERY active. We spent the day REALLY cleaning our home. Ya know, taking things out of our closets and building shelves {Shelves story coming later}. I'm hopeful for Monday and feeling like I can stick to my new schedule.

Day 6-Sept 25th
I'm feeling uplifted this morning. Yes it's cloudy outside and yes the boys have colds, but that's alright. Tomorrow is Monday and I'm looking forward to my Day 1 of 90 days...again haha. Today is going to be a hard day for food because I didn't go shopping on Saturday. We are out of a lot of stuff, so I guess I'll stick with salads and a veggie burger. I'm realizing how important it is to have the right items stocked in a home, in order to eat right.

Day 1-Sept 26th
Alrighty... today I got up and worked out. I pushed myself to feel the "burn" and I must say ... yes... I felt the burn! After a long day today... and tons of school work from the boys, I can't wait for my head to hit my pillow. I have a ton of DVR shows I'm longing to watch {because I LOVE fall tv time}, but I think I'm going to put sleep first. Especially because I don't want to restart my 90 days again, due to the lack of sleep.
Goal for today: bed by 9:30pm

Day 2-Sept 27th
As I was working out this morning, I was also telling the boys to eat breakfast and then get dressed. It was a full morning of getting the boys ready and trying to finish my workout on time, to make sure I got my shower in for the day. I am 100% certain this is why mothers are overweight. Even in our downtime, we are trying to get stuff done. It's much easier to put the workout aside and help them get dressed and put food on the table. After all, if it were up to children we would never be on time to anything. I think that this morning has opened my eyes to the fact that we MUST demand this time to better ourselves. This doesn't mean going out partying with the girls all night, but it does mean that we are not a "bad mommy" if we make our health a priority. I know that this journey will not be easy and that there will be mornings when I want to give up. The truth is I'm more tired of giving up on my goals, because I'm trying to find their matching sock or homework that THEY didn't put away properly. I love being a mommy, but does that mean I have to compromise my health? I know that thinking got me into this size 18. That is the monster in my head telling me to eat to feel better, so I can get everything done. It's such backwards thinking. WE need to be healthy to get everything done. How can we truly take care of others, when we don't take care of ourselves?
Just a thought.

Day 3-Sept 28th
It's day 3 of my 90 days and holy smokes does my bum hurt. I pushed through the pain and was covered in sweat. Later when coming home {after dropping the boys off at school}, I walked up the stairs to our apartments. When I got to the 5th step my bum was on fire. It seems that the squats are working and there are some changes going on in the bum region. I can't wait to put on a size 16 and I can't wait to take you all shopping with me for some new jeans.

Weight lost this week: 3.5 lbs

Classroom Crafting Field Trip

2011-09-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

This year I have "3 new years goals". I blogged about this a while back and I thought I would give an update on this.

I've been working on #2 and #3 for a while now, but this week I will conquer #1...Learn how to knit...or at least try to learn. Today, I am taking you on a field trip with me. Today, I will buy my supplies and I will attempt to make these for fall. Their is something so chic about these punk fingerless gloves

I have no idea if I will be successful, but I'm going to give them a shot.

Here we go...

I went to my local Michael's craft store and found all kinds of supplies. It's funny how nice the people are in the knitting aisles. There were about 5 sweet grandma's hanging out there, talking about yarn. I love color, so I thought I would pick my yarn first. My good buddy told me to get a normal yarn and nothing crazy with texture while I learn. She said "it will make it easier to see what you're doing".

Next I walked over to the needles. I had no idea which was better...wood??? plastic??? so I bought both. I'll let you know later which one I liked more.

Here I am picking my yarn

Thanks for coming along and I hope you enjoyed this little time out with Heidi {me}.

Fingers crossed this project will turn out well.
Now I'm off to Youtube to watch the how to videos

Hello Fall

2011-09-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

As always... I'm obviously obsessed with check lists and so I have created yet another one for this fall. Hey, what can I say...I'm a creature of habits and I'm a-o-k with it.

1) See the leaves change
2) Play in the leaves/leaf fight
3) Make an apple pie
4) Make my mom's German strudel
5) Go to a farmers market
6) Make 5 different soups
7) Drink warm apple cider
8) Help mom cook for Thanks Giving
9) Carve pumpkins
10) Find the perfect fall boots
11) Find the perfect fall sweater
12) buy something orange
13) celebrate my 30th birthday woot...woot!
14) celebrate Mr. Sonboul's 37th birthday
15) Make Halloween costumes {for the boys}
16) Go trick or treating with the boys
17) Go to a concert
18) Do a Halloween craft with the boys
19) Do a Thanks Giving craft with the boys
20) Take a family fall photo
21) Build a fire and snuggle
22) Go on a hayride
23) Eat an apples
24) Make Chili
25) Watch Hocus Pocus
26) Eat a soft pretzels
27) Take a road trip
28) See our newest nephew be blessed
29) Go black Friday shopping
30) Make something cute for the boys teachers
31) Scare someone and laugh
32) Have a game night with friends
33) Have a girls night out
34) Buy sunflowers for our home
35) Make pumpkin bread
36) Go to a Halloween party
37) Buy a new scarf
38) Take someone home made braked goods
39) Listen to General Conference
40) Watch the sun set at the beach
41) Bake the pumpkin seeds
42) Try not to gain any weight this fall!
43) Stay in jammies all day long- as a family
44) Go to a foot ball game
45) Make a scrapbook fall album
46) Buy Fall Candles
47) Go to a pumpkin patch
48) Make a wish on a wish bone
49) Color my hair dark brown- done
50) Read fall books to the boys

As you can see I've done #49. I just like having dark hair in the fall. Maybe it makes me feel mysterious...maybe it's because my eyes look really blue...maybe it makes me feel smarter?! Whatever it is... I just like it and that's reason enough!
Here are a few more photos from the photo shoot.

One last thing. Make sure to check out the Basic Grey blog. I have a layout posting there this week. Here is a sneak peek of it.

A new uses for the cropadile in your home

2011-09-25T12:11:00.000-07:00

We all love our privacy and when our apartment blinds break... I can't stand waiting for the manager to come and fix them. The other day I had an epiphany... "If the We R Memory Keepers cropadile can go through hard plastic, I bet it will go through the blind's plastic!!!"

AND GUESS WHAT... IT TOTALLY CAN! So here is how you can fix your blinds with just a few easy steps.

Here is the broken side. I think the boys broke this one with a ball.

Step 1) Flip the blind around, so you are holding the end
Step 2) Find the middle of the blind
Step 3) Punch 3-4 holes making a rectangle shape
Step 4) Put back in place with the other blinds.

Whalaa... you now have a fast way to fix your blinds! Don't you just love fast fixer uppers?!
Thanks We R Memory Keepers for making such a GREAT tool for scrapping and our "home repairs".

My niece won the teen talent contest! woohoo!

2011-09-22T18:05:00.000-07:00

A few months back my niece Abbie said to me "Hey Aunt Heidi, I think I really want to enter this scrapbook contest. Do you have any advise?" She and I put out heads together and she created 3 beautiful projects. She spent hours getting them just right and off they went to the contest.

Last month while I was at Sea World she called me telling me she made it into the top 10 girls. I screamed like a crazy lady and got a lot of funny looks from the Sea World visitors. But I could care less because I was so proud of her. When everyone started voting... we crossed our fingers and hoped she would have enough votes.

Well... guess what, I can say with pride... My beautiful Niece had the most votes and WON! Her prize is delicious and her layout will be published in Creaking Keepsakes. I'm so happy to have another true crafter in my family!

Great job Abbie... you deserved it, because I know HOW HARD you worked on it!

{Photo from CHA}

~H

Link to Creating Keepsakes Blog
PS Abbie now has a blog. It can be seen here

My Fassy Pictures- weight loss-day 1

2011-09-19T21:02:00.000-07:00

First let me start by saying that when I committed to taking a picture of myself...I knew I wanted to avoid this...

I mean... these people look so sad and depressed. I get it, the fat is weighing them down, but come on people we can do better then a photo like this! I put Mr. Sonboul behind the camera and here is what I came up with.

I love me and regardless of being fat, I'm not a frumpy person... I'm a Fassy kinda gal. I want this weight loss journey to be fun and I thought my photos will be the perfect starting point.

So here is what works for me.
1) I work out everyday for at least 40 minutes (time will increase as I loose more weight) 6 days a week. Sunday is my day off
2) I DON'T eat past 7pm. This is a hard one... but it allows your body to burn off your food before bed.
3) Drink a ton of water, no soda
4) I can have a sweet treat, but for the next two days I can't and I have to make sure I burn it off in my workouts. That way it's almost better to avoid them.
5) Eat well balanced meals, try and avoid fast food.
6) Eat before I go to friends homes. That way I don't eat after 7pm
7) I workout in the early AM hours with Jason, so I don't put it off
8) I'm in bed at 10pm

Alright... any questions?
I hope you all enjoy this journey with me and thanks for all the support. I have decided that Wednesday's will be my weight loss Wednesdays. So you can count on a post those days. Next week I will talk about what I eat and maybe even a few recipes. Again thanks for the support!

~H

90 days here I come-my weight loss plan

2011-09-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, as I sat in church I started to think about my diet and health goals. As mentioned from yesterday, I've been struggling with my emotional eating this past 2 weeks (from stressfulness), which has made it really hard to stay on track. I think it really started because we took vacation time and then school started, but with all excuses to the side... I stopped working out with Mr. Sonboul in the mornings.

Now I have a bit of a dilemma... Mr. Sonboul is getting foxy hot and dripping with muscles. Holy crap right?! I can't be fat and frumpy and let him pass me up (I'm way too competitive to let that happen!). He just started P90X and wow! In just 2 weeks I see major changes in him. I have NO desire to do P90 or X, so I've been working out to step and cardio aerobic DVDs. My method is "keep the fat moving" haha.

When I'm on the ball and working out, I see big changes (so I'm not worried about that). I'm more so whining because I've decided to restart my 90 days. I was at almost 60 days in July and then I restarted and was at about 20days... and now today I'll be at day 1. boohoo!

So, today I restart my healthy goals AGAIN! Darn you chocolate... Darn you late night burritos... Darn you whole grain wheat bread that's suppose to be better for me.... when I'd rather it be the white crappy welfare bread! I don't look forward to rebuilding the muscles with soreness and I don't look forward to the detoxing. Nope... I really don't. But I am grateful for my body and I long to see my butt in a size 8 again. Goodbye meals after 7pm. Goodbye chocolate. Goodbye bad habits.

Now, this 90 days is going to suck. There is no hiding it, but I just don't want to wait for the new year to get started again. I am planning on documenting it on here. yep for the world to see. which is rare for me. I just don't take full body shots without an above angle. So tomorrow, I will share with all of you my full body shot in hopes of a little extra motivation. I'm keeping my weight to myself, but I'll share as the number ticks down.

So far I've lost 35lbs. and at the end of my 90 days I'm shooting for losing another 50lbs.
Alright, enough chatting about it and I'm off to workout. Tomorrow I'll post a picture... Lord help me to have the will and strength to post it haha. I'll also be posting how I lose the weight and other tips that really works/worked for me.

See you all tomorrow
~H

Randomness on a sunny Sunday

2011-09-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

1. Four years ago I took these photos and I still LOVE them.

2. I had a hard time not eating emotionally this week. I was super busy with school for the boys and helping Anna Griffin get ready for an upcoming HSN show.

3. I held my best friend's new baby today. I love him so much. He makes my desire for a 3rd child hurt even more.

4. I'm looking forward to taking the sacrament today and listening to the talks.

5. I miss singing and I have no idea how I let that slip away. Yesterday while singing, Jason said "I love when you sing" and it made me long for more singing time.

6. I love being mean to bratty teenagers. It's just how I roll.

7. I wear my favorite sandles until their have holes in them.

8. I am 1 month and 14 days from turning 30 and I'm looking forward to it.

9. Thanks everyone for visiting my blog yesterday. I read every comment

10. I love to wear stripes which means I LOVE this look! My best friend also loves stripes, so I know she would love this look too.

PS this girl is too skinny. I'm just saying.

It's blog hop time!

2011-09-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Man... it's been an amazing week. My boys started school and we have now completed 1 week. Plus I signed on to be the room mom for both of the boy's classes. Anyway, now on to the scrappy stuff.... American Crafts scrappy stuff

I was so sad to see summer go, so I decided to scrap just one more summer favorite photo. I love large photos and so I printed this one. Yep- it's large. Then to add texture, I added in tons of flowers and other fun embellishments. I actually cut all these flowers out from American Crafts Day Dreams collection (35600) and pop dotted them :)

I'm in love with these letters! I just love the stitching on it.
And... here is a close up of the layout. This frame is from Amy Tangerine (35560) paper and I just cut out the middle. Doesn't it give it a cute frame look?

Supplies: Paper: Day Dreams collection (35600); Garden Cafe (35537); Amy Tangerine (35560); (35550): Embellishments: Nightfall Paper flowers (72015);(72016); Stickers: Amy Tangerine (42213); Thickers: Amy Tangerine (53247)

Thanks for visiting! Now hop on over to Jamie

My exciting news

2011-09-16T08:28:00.000-07:00

I got a phone call at the end of last week, asking if I would join the Basic Grey team. "Holy Smokes" I thought!
I've always loved BG and their pattern papers. So, this DT call was something I would never pass up.
I feel so over joyed to be on this talented team and look forward to getting to know them all.

To check out the team Click here

Woohoo!

Texture in titles

2011-09-15T11:46:00.000-07:00

This layout was published in a Creaking Keepsakes magazine and I thought I'd share it today. It was used for a "texture in titles" article.

Here is a close up of the title and you can see that the title is woven.

I hope you love the texture. I'm planning on doing a tutorial for this soon, so keep a look out for it.

If you love music.....

2011-09-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

This band is a must!
I found them on C.Jane run's blog ....Which by the way this is a must see blog post for Mormon ladies haha! It's too funny {topic: modesty}. Thanks Shemaine for sending it over to me.

So listen/watch this video and then check out their other songs. I looked for them on playlist, but I could find them... so if you do let me know. Make sure you turn off my music at the bottom of the blog... so you can hear it better.
AND enjoy.

and this one too :)

PS they are called Jack and White

Do you need help crossing the street?

2011-09-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

The moment he has been waiting for is finally here. Bradley is now a Cub Scout.
Seeing him in this shirt makes me a little teary eyed. He looks so grown up to me and too cute with that sweet smile of his. He loved every moment of the meeting and was so excited to find out that next week... they will be riding bikes for 1 mile. Man, they know how to hook in boys haha.

The End

School is in

2011-09-09T16:51:00.000-07:00

A table set for four

2011-09-07T05:53:00.001-07:00

It took the whole day to set it all up, but when I was done and the food was smelling delicious... it was all worth it. As I was setting it all up, all our neighbors keep asking me "what are you doing up there?" "What's that for?" I let a few of them come over and see what we were doing and here is what they saw. Our Fancy Back To School family dinner.

A table set for four using our fine china and wedding serving set, way too many decorations (or maybe not enough decorations ;), yummy food and a school themed party.

What was on the menu

-Roast Beef
-Mashed Potatoes
-Carrots
-Watermelon
-Salad
-Chocolate Cream Pie
-Martinellis

Here is Calvin devouring the watermelon with his chubby cheeks

I think the best part of all of it was when Mr. Sonboul came home. He said "wow...this looks so nice" and my heart went a happy bump,bump. Don't you just love it when your family appreciates your hard work?!

We all sat down, said a prayer and the feast began.

I just love nie nie for inspiring this new family tradition! As we sat around the table talking and enjoying each other's company, my heart was full and felt so blessed. When dinner was done and the pie was eaten up, Mr. Sonboul talked to the boys about our word/theme for this school year. The word we chose was

and here he is doing an object lesson for the theme

For sure you will hear me talking about that throughout this new school year. Tonight we find our who Bradley's and Calvin's teachers are. I'm excited to see who is in their class and what room they'll be in. I'm excited to see Bradley high 5 his friends and Calvin's big smile when we show him his room.

Then came the party poppers....which the boys loved!

And last... Daddy gave the boys a father blessing for the new school year. The blessing were beautiful and they brought me peace. Thanks Mr.S for doing that part and being a worthy Priesthood holding in our home.

Yes, I think this is a tradition that we will keep forever. Yes... I really think so.

Love grows in the silly moments

2011-09-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

While visiting the Santa Monica Pier I took these pictures of the boys. Silly pictures truly warm my mommy heart and lifts my soul. Mr. Sonboul is such a fun guy and vacation does him some good. You can see how relaxed he feels here and how could you not love this larger B&W photo?! Puppy kisses and all! Plus his rugged beard makes me giggle and blush.

Here is a scrappy close up of these delightful buttons by Basic Grey. MAN I love their buttons! By grouping them together they become their own embellishment.

Yesterday was Labor day and we truly labored this day (said Mr. Sonboul haha). We spent the majority of the day cleaning our home and getting it ready for the new school year. I always feel more productive in a clean home, so this is vital in order to survive PTA mommyhood.

New backpacks have been bought, haircuts have been given, and new school clothes hang in the closet awaiting the big day. I'm super nervous sending Calvin to school because he is VERY spirited and VERY much so like me. Let's just say that I gave my teachers a run for their paychecks. Can you see why I'm nervous?

So, my fingers are crossed that this first week goes well. The best part about back to school day is that Mr. Sonboul and I get to go on a date that day since he takes the day off as a tradition. Tonight, we are also starting a new tradition thanks to a very inspiring person... nie nie. I'll post pictures of this tomorrow and who knows... maybe more love will grow from this new "silly moment" tradition :)

embracing our last few days of summer

2011-09-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

Why does summer go so fast? Most mothers are dying by now to get their kids back in school, but for me... this is a sad time. I love spending every moment with my boys. Sure they fight like most siblings do, but when I've broken up the small fights we are spending time together and building confident children who are crazy loved by their mommy and daddy.

This summer has been pack with parties, activities and this last week Mr. Sonboul and I took off time from work. We headed down to sea world to visit our Sea World friends and yes... it was very enchanting :)

The next day we played until the sun went down at Legoland. My sister and her kids came along with us this day. We ate ice cream, laughed way too much and I almost threw up on those darn spinney rides. However, like a lady I composed myself haha!

To explain these pictures... I challenge my nieces and nephew to the bucket. At Legoland there is this big ol' bucket and every 5 minutes it dumps. It has so much water in it, that it almost hurts when it hits you and when it does... you look like you've jumped in a pool.

The next morning was Thursday and we enjoyed the pool at our hotel. My white legs got some sun and the boys swam like fishies.

Friday we went bowling and Calvin apparently is the worlds next bowling champion. I swear he wasn't even trying and he knock down almost every pin on every turn.

Later that same day we went to visit the firemen and lucky us we got a tour of the place.

Saturday was filled with riding bikes, the Santa Monica pier, funnel cake, and a grand ferris wheel. It was as magical as it sounds. Perfect weather and powder sugar covered faces

I also finally took pictures of my new bike. I heart this thing so much! Jason had it custom made for me. We added gears to it, a white seat, white handles, a white basket and a vintage lady I call Eleanor.

Sunday was a down day with building a cool lego set and a yummy dinner on the balcony.
Lego set we built

And Monday, our last day was spent in Pasadena at the Huntington Botanical Gardens. The day was warm and our boys took advantage of the water haha.

My favorite thing out of everything... Spending time with my family and taking in life.

It was a perfect week with my hot hubby and adorable boys. So, congratulations... you made it to the end of this post. I hope you enjoyed it.

SUMMER 2011 ROCKED!

Swoon

2011-09-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

September makes me excited for fall. I find myself checking out the new fall fashions and wishing that California had true fall colors. It's the only thing I don't like about our state... well, at least where we are. We never get to see all the trees change color.

My mom grew up in the south, so she found two trees that change color. I think it's why we visit her so much in the fall haha.

1 A new church dress

2 Pink Paislee and this new collection

3 My new Canon 7D- This thing is amazing!

4 My new fall hills

5 This beautiful new top

6 Yummy Chipboard from Crate Paper

Giddy Up Hobba Nobbers

2011-08-31T02:49:00.000-07:00

What would Calvin be without his Hobbes?
When we decided to name our little Calvin, I was on the hunt for the perfect Hobbes!
When Calvin was about 6 months old, I was walking through Target and FINALLY there he was, waiting for us to take him home (I think he was about $12).

Calvin feel in love with him and would often fall asleep on him. Now that Calvin is 5, he loves his Hobba Nobbers more than ever (It's what he calls him). On this day, he was running up and down the hall in our home like crazy. When I turned around to see what he was doing, I realized he was giving him a piggy back ride.

ummm... how cute is this?!
It makes me so happy that we found this perfect fit for him :)
Who knows how long this love will last. Who knows if Hobbes will start to fall apart, because this little boy loved him so. All I know is....Oh how wondering simple joys are!

come hop along

2011-08-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

I was so happy when Tessa Buys asked me to help celebrate her turning the big 30! In about 2 months I will also be turning 30, so this "age celebration" was near and dear to my heart. Tessa is such a sweet person and I have enjoyed getting to know her while she serves on this year's GCD Studios DT. She is super talented and makes the CUTEST flowers for her Etsy shop. Her shop is called Precocious Paper . Her shop is filled with adorable flowers you just have to check out!

She sent me some and asked each of the girls helping with the hop to make a layout. I received these cute fall flowers and went right to work. I used some Basic Grey, because it matches perfectly and here is my layout.

Now hop on over to Tessa and don't forget to use this lovely code. The code is good for free shipping. International buyers- Please make at least a $5.00 purchase, but there is no minimum for US orders. The code is good through September 5th.

CODE: HSBBHFREE

Tessa also has some great prizes, so makes sure you leave a comment throughout the hop and she will pick a random winner from my blog and the other girl's blogs. Her are the prizes

- $20.00 credit awarded to a Precocious Paper blog follower

- $20.00 credit awarded to a Precocious Paper Facebook page follower

- Grand Prize: September, October, November and December Samplers

Good luck to everyone and HAPPY Birthday Tessa!!!!

~H

P.S. This layout is about my darling niece Alicia. She is the cutest thing and I love her style! I love you Alicia!

PLEASE Vote :)

2011-08-26T08:11:00.000-07:00

Hey friends and family!

I normally never ask for people to vote for stuff, but about a month ago my sweet little niece Abbie Nichols entered into a teen talent contest for CK and SHE PLACED IN THE TOP 11 FINALIST!
She now needs your votes and you can vote as many times as you want. If you each vote 3 times... it will better her chances.
Here is the link

http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/contests/teen-talent-search-2011.html

and here is what her layout looks like :)

I think she is #10 out of the 11. Thanks for supporting her!

Who will crack first???

2011-08-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

When Calvin was a baby, he was the hardest baby to put to sleep. Now, I'm really good with babies and some friends even call me the baby whisperer. In fact... I was a nanny for a few years as a young adult. So kids are my thing. Now, when we had Calvin he decided to give us a run for my perfect track record. He would stay awake as long as he could. I tried letting him cry it out. I tried keeping him awake in the day time more. I tried everything...full tummies, but nothing worked for this kid.

He would stay up until almost midnight/1 am every time and it had us in almost tears. Jason had to go to school and work full time, so this kid was my case to crack. The only time he would go to sleep was if you kept rocking him. One night Jason came home from school and told me I could go to bed. I was so sleep deprived that I went for this offer.

About 2 hours later I notice Jason wasn't in bed and when I went into the front room I saw this. A good determined father. In fact if you look at the blanket it was tied behind Jason's back to keep Calvin in his lap. lol

This is proof that we have a great daddy and a wild child on our hands and that they wore each other out. I have no idea who cracked first... I just know that they both finally got sleep.

A little game of croquet

2011-08-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

I must start by saying I'm a little old fashioned and I love old school games. On our perfect 4th of July day (a month ago) I brought along our croquet set. I grew up playing this game with my siblings in our backyard... so I knew it would be a hit. First Jason, the boys and I played a game and then the news of it spread like wildfire.

Out of all the games/rounds... my favorite game was the last one. Scott, Rob, Emily and Jonathan had all of us laughing so hard. It almost turned into a pool game, as Jonathan and Scott goofed around and laid their heads on the grass. It was a fantastic idea that got everyone outside and laughing... and I will take credit for it... thank you very much :) lol

Thanks to my family for making it so much fun and all the new favorite memories I have!

Now, here are my last of the 4th of July photos. Sorry for being a little slow on these family. I've been a little busy with summer.

Anyways, on that perfect day we all also enjoyed the pool (I got a little sunburn even after loading on the sunscreen) and splashing around in the pool. OH, I did hate those water spray guns, because the kids kept spraying me in the face. Well, okay I didn't hate them "too much"... because I got my mom with one while she sat next to the pool side :)

Early in the morning, we went to the parade. I loved it and enjoyed all the red, white and blue! Because we live in Cali, we have a lot of hula dancers at most of our church parties and holiday activities. I think the hula dancers were my favorites and the boys loved the jets.

It was a PERFECT summer day and I loved every moment with my family.

Life is good and I wish summer would stay a little longer.

Nothing like Nana's

2011-08-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

A few months ago this layout was picked up by Creating Keepsakes for their Aug 2011 issue.

This whole article is about Grandmothers, which I thought was so cute and fresh. I mean, how often do you scrapbook your grandmother or grandfather? In fact this whole issue was pretty darn good and I have another layout in it at the very end.

So here is the layout. As you can see I hand cut a mini house that looks just like my mom and dad's home. I love this home, because I grew up there! Now that I have children my boys love it and think it is so magical...because it is!

I love that photo of mom teaching Calvin how to play croquet. I took these photos on a night we had dinner with them. I love having dinner there, because my mom makes the best food. Plus, she was my biggest supporter of me becoming a vegetarian. Thanks again mom for not making me eat meat. That alone buys you big time points with me ;)

Here are all the small details, which I just love to pile on a layout. I heart the little embellishments on a layout and feel they are the finishing touches to a perfect pages.

To see this layout and the other layout, make sure to pick up the Creating Keepsake Aug 2011 issue.

OH for the love...let's go fly a kite

2011-08-19T05:00:00.001-07:00

So we bought this kite a while ago for the boy's pirate party and it was more so for the decor of the party. Well, for the past 3 years we have tried to fly this kite way too many times and Jason will not give up on it. We even took it to the beach on a windy day and...

Sonboul family-0% /Kite-100%

I WANT TO SET THIS THING ON FIRE! lol

FLY KITE, FLY! Just once, please I'm begging you!

My big exciting news :)

2011-08-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

So, last Friday I was contacted by American Crafts asking me to join their 2011-2012 team :)

After 4 years of trying out I have been added to the team. I'm so overjoyed about this, because I heart their goodies! My box came today and it was packed with ALL the new collections and embellishments which just had me almost fainting!

I SO LOOK FORWARD to this new year and working with such a great team. Some of the girls on the team are good friends and I can't wait to get to know all the new girls.

If you haven't seen who made it, you can check it out here

Today I also have this layout to share. I used my July Studio Calico Kit of the month, which I just loved. I think it's because it was so boy heavy! Which you know makes me a happy mommy of boys :)

I posted these photos a while back and they are of Bradley and Jason playing catch at the park. Oh I used my sew easy from We R Memory Keepers to create that stitched circle. Oh and that wood heart is from GCD Studios.

and here is a close up of the layout

Well, that is it for today. I feel so blessed and I can't believe that I Heidi Marie... am an American Crafts TEAM MEMBER! WOOHOO! This is a total dream come true.

August Studio AE from Technique Tuesday Blog Hop

2011-08-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

Good day everyone!

I'm so excited to be guesting over at Technique Tuesday this month and I was so jazzed to get this new stamp set to work with :)

It'a called "This One" and it covers all the fun thoughtful moments you would think of. I had the best time with these stamps and I love how it added that little extra oomph to my layout!

Last week on the Technique Tuesday blog you saw this layout

and today I have this layout to share.

This photo is of my mother and her two step-sisters. I love this photo so much and these stamps really helped it have a finished clean look. All the papers are from Cosmo Cricket (just in case you wanted to know).

Now make sure you visit these other blogs. They have some great stuff to see!

Ali

Laura

Nichol

Sharyn

Jaime

Teri

P.S.

You'll also want to stop by the Technique Tuesday blog http://techniquetuesday.typepad.comand tell Technique Tuesday what kinds ofStudio AE stamp sets you'd like to see in the future. We'll pick someone whocomments on the Technique Tuesday blog to win the Perspectives by Ali Edwardsstamp set. http://www.techniquetuesday.com/Ali-Edwards-Designs/Persp.html
All comments must be made by midnight PST on August 12th.
Tune into the Technique Tuesday blog http://techniquetuesday.typepad.com/ on August 13th to see if you are one of the lucky winners.

One last thing. Make sure you leave a comments along the way, because TT will pick two winners from the teams blogs :) Good luck everyone!

checking it off

2011-08-08T07:56:00.000-07:00

So, we've checke off more stuff from our summer list. We watched all the old Harry Potter movies(they are so good) and Jason and I are going on a date this week to watch the last one. I'm so excited about that date!

Calvin had a little party, We had cousin Spencer Spend the night for almost a whole week (6 days), we've made more smoothies then I can count-yum! AND we played in a bouncer at Shemaine Smith's daughter's birthday party.

This next week and the 4th week of this month we have so many fun things planned. We will be crossing off most of the rest of these items :) WOOHOO summer! I can't believe it's almost over and that Bradley goes back to school in less then a month. However, I look forward to school shopping and new fall clothes.

OH plus, I've lost 5 more lbs and to celebrate it...these beauties are on the way to me.

these are all from Old Navy :)

These creamy tons make me very happy!

Hangman

2011-08-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

I love finding little activity travel sets for my boys and Michael's has a GREAT section in the kids craft section. I found this AWESOME hangman set for about $12.00 and my boys just love it. They also have tons of other fun things. If you have a Michael's by you, you need to check them out. These keep my boys busy whereever we go, which keeps the peace. The tiles are on elastic strings, so you can flip them around. Sure you can use papers to play hangman, but using this will allow you to go green and the boys love flipping the tiles.

Also for today, I have a layout to share. I used my Studio Calico kits to create it. I finally had time to scrap these photos of Jason and Calvin, which makes me happy. I stuck with teals and corals for this layout, which come from their shirts. I also kept the layout kinda simple and used big layers. This makes the layout look full.

This layout took me 45 mins to make and here is a closeup of the layout. lol I've been saving this Polaroid chipboard camera from Cosmo Cricket forever and I finally used it here. It makes me happy!

Do you ever save things forever... looking for the perfect time to use them?

noodles are so fun!

2011-08-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

On this delightful and perfect summer day, I took the boys out to eat. It was a little mini date. we went to the Olive Garden and the boys decided to get pasta...yum!

Calvin is overjoyed whenever spaghetti noodles are placed in front of him. So I took this opportunity to take photos of it. It's so funny watching him suck down each noodle and he makes the craziest eyes with each and every noodle eaten. Bradley also decided to get in on the act and we heard constant giggles from the tables surrounding us. Most of the people in the restaurant were people on their lunch breaks, so I think we were the only kids/family in there. I feel so blessed that I get to work from home and spend these little silly moments with my boys in the daytime.

Life is beautiful and watching these boys suck up these noodles makes me realizes that "noodle lunch dates" really do make a difference in a child's life. I was also lucky to have my mom at home with me. I loved summertime with her because we would paint our home, sew, garden and bake. One of my favorite childhood memories was when we would play in the sprinklers outside and when we were done, mom had warm towels and root beer floats waiting for us.

Thanks Mom! Thanks for all the fun home baked birthday cakes and parties. For teaching me how to sew at the age of 6. For sewing my wedding dress and prom dress. For teaching me to be a good person and to serve others. For balancing 6 kids and not forgetting me. For making dinner for us every night and that it always tasted so good. I love you mom.

I love Buttons

2011-08-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

I have been collecting buttons from a young age. I'm not sure why, but I just have. I think it's because they all look so different and their shapes and sizes are so fun to look at. I can remember taking buttons from my moms sewing button jar... which was an old large glass mayonnaise jar.

At the last Winter CHA show, Crate Paper gave buttons a face lift. They designed these cute buttons (that I used for my layout) and I'm sooo in love with them. Now because of them, many scrapbooking companies are taking a better interest in buttons and are making many more cute buttons for ME to play with. lol I say it as if they had me in mind :)

Here is a close up of the buttons from Crate Paper

Another Company I love that makes delightful buttons is American crafts. I heart those suckers!!! Here are my top Favorite Company buttons.

In fact here is a layout I did a while back with more buttons on it. Buttons are so playful on a layout and I love how they can add just the right amount of color. I like to think of them as "little dots of color".

Well, that's it for today. Thanks for visiting and I hope you are inspired to use buttons on your next layout.

craft projects for kids

2011-08-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

Because of the summer box, I picked up 2 of these model airplane sets. I thought they would be really fun for the boys to build. After Bradley picked his and we started to assemble it, holy smokes... these where not a walk in the park. There were so many pieces and terrible instructions. So, With my hot glue gun in hand and Bradley by my side... we did our best to make this plane.

haha after we were done, there were many extra piece left over. However, the plan "LOOKED" completed so we called it painting time.

Bradley picked his Favorite colors and went to work. Being that this would be hanging in his room, I made sure he took his time and made it looks nice. Oh and if you are ever in the need of a quick art poncho, use a trash bag and cut 3 holes in it. One for the head and two for the arms.

Here is the finished plane

Total coat of this project:

Plane- $1.00

Paint- $3.00

His Special Day

2011-08-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that this day came and went so fast. For 8 years we have been dreaming of the day that Bradley would be baptized. In the Hospital holding my little peanut butter I thought... "Someday you'll get baptized, go on a mission, and get married". Then in a blink of an eye this first big moment in Bradley's life was here.

With their white clothes on and all our loved ones there, we watched my little man get baptized. It was such a beautiful baptism. Nana spoke on the baptism and I spoke on the gift of the Holy Ghost. I cried almost the whole time, because the spirit was so strong in the room. Then before we knew it Jason dipped him lovingly into the water. When Bradley came up, Jason embraced him with a fatherly hug before getting out of the water.

After this amazing moment we all headed into another room for a luncheon. We were able to celebrate with family and friends, which was the icing on the cake.

Bradley looks adorable in his new suit :)

Her are 3 of my nieces who I love and adore!

And here are the 4 of us. It was the most perfect day and I felt so stress free. Later that night Jason said "Who has the Holy Ghost???!" and Bradley said "I DO!" hehe

Bradley, we love you so much and are so proud of you. You are such an amazing boy and I know that you will do amazing things with your life. Thanks for loving Daddy and I so much! Remember that the Holy Ghost is your best friend and will always guide you to the right path if you just listen to his still small voice.

~Mommy+Daddy

Soda Science

2011-07-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

This has been on my list for some time now. We've seen it on Youtube and on America's Funniest Home Videos again and again. So I headed to the store with the boys (on the first day of Summer Break) and we bought Mentos and Root Beer.

We had a bunch of teachers watching us as we got it all set up. I had the boys wear trash bags with holes in them (for their heads and arms). This was me "Trying to keep them clean". Then on the count of three the boys dropped the Mentos in the soda. It's crazy how fast they react to each other and here is a photo of Spencer running back.

Bradley decided to pick his up... OH BOY!

and Calvin wanted to do it again and again.

When they were all done, we broke out into a soda fight (Thank heavens for the trash bag covers!) and the boys just loved this Soda Science Experiment. I do have a bit of a tip for all of you wanting to do this. The more Mentos you put in, the better it sprays. I would suggest using a whole pack of Mentos per liter of soda. This cost us about $6 for all 3 of them and it was worth every penny.

YOU'VE GOT TO DO THIS WITH YOUR KIDS THIS SUMMER!

My boys are still talking about and I think we might do it again in Sept.

The 25 days of Christmas

2011-07-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

I know that Christmas is months away, but I wanted to take a minute to share this project I made for We R Memory Keepers. It's a kit that has directions for a Christmas tree and I was asked to try and make it into something else. So I decided to make a little home. The 25 days were counted out in the boxes and there was the perfect amount for the walls and day 25 is the chimney.

So here is the Front and back and the sides also have 3X3 rows.

I made the roof from Cardstock and then cut a hole for the 25th box. I really wanted the house to have icicles, so I pulled out my hot glue gun and allowed the glue to drip... VERY SLOWLY down. I also blew cool air on it, to slow it down.

When I was done, it looked like this.

So, even though Christmas is a ways away, made this little house will inspire you to create one of your own. Thanks for looking

We R's cute Christmas line

2011-07-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

I just have a real fast post for today. Here is a layout and a card I made for the We R Memory Keepers CHA Summer booth. I just joined their DT and I'm so excited about it. They make the cutest stuff and the team is sooo delightful!
Here is their 2011 team

Thanks for looking and tomorrow I'll share the House I made with this same collection
~H

Just call them Spy detectives

2011-07-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, the summer box is by far my favorite thing I've ever done for my boys! It has kep them out of trouble and kept them getting along. This box has kept our home clean and the boys happy to help with the cleaning. Click on the link to the side for the summer box and how I set it up.

A few weeks ago, Bradley pulled this 10 point bag and in it was a spy detective kit. Here are a few pictures of him opening it up.

In the bag

1-note page

1-Chief badge

1 pencil

1-mini Flash light

1-Magnifying glass

1-pair of Sunglasses

Then I hid little clues all over the house. I made him write down the clues on the note pad and then write down where he thought he needed to go next. This was SUCH a big hit with them and Calvin will get the chance to pull it sometime this summer. At the end of the hunt, the last clue led them to the freezer. That is where he found the missing treasure... which was Ice Cream. This was a hot day, so it was perfect timing that he pulled this bag.

Dreyer's makes these cute mini ice cream cups and they come in the best flavors. I believe they were about $1.50 for each one.

I hope this idea will have you creating a spy detective kit. You're kids will love it and will want to do it again and again.

1...2...3...4...5 years of Calvin

2011-07-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

Somehow he grew into a 5 year old. I'm so happy I've taken pictures along the way. I'm so happy I caught all the funny faces, the silly moments so that way I will never forget what a handful my spunky Calvin is. I tell Jason all the time "I can't get mad at him because he is just like me!"

No is never an answer and he will fight you on it to the death. lol

However he is also the cutest thing and I love his fiesty ways! I love his passionate hugs and how chubby snugalicious he is. So here are 5 years of my favorite Calvin photos. Happy 5th Birthday Calvin. WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Isn't he so CUTE folks! We think so!!! Tomorrow, I'll post pictures of what we did and what he got :)

Hello Summer Breake

2011-07-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

Each and every day has been pretty magical around the Sonboul home... well except the re-piping of our building where we live. lol However, other than that... I've filled our days with activities, family, mini trips and starting this next week we will visit the beach once a week for some well desired sun.

Today I have this CUTE photo to share of the first day of Summer. I packed this day with tons of fun stuff that they will never forget. We picked up Spencer (Bradley and Calvin's cousin) and went to get some yummy doughnuts. Calvin LOVES milk, so I was able to take this picture. My boys love visiting Krispy Kreme because you can watch how the doughnuts are made. We all agree and our favorite part is when the cooked doughnuts go through the waterfall of icing.

Whenever I visit a place, I make sure to take a few detail photos. This allows me to have more photos to tell the story and because I love a lot of photos on a layout... I'm a happy camper. So I was able to scrapbook these photos and here is what the layout looks like.

I used fun bright colors in my papers. This give a sunny day feeling. I believe that the right colors can complete a layout perfectly. For example, you should never use black, green and white for a pool/water themed layout. I think most people understand this concept, because I normally see blues and white for pool/water layouts. For this layout I took the blues from the set in the photos and the sea foam green from Calvin's Hat that says "doughnut".

And here are all the happy colors from my layout. I love the blend of cools and warms. Plus here is a close up of the embellishments I used. American Crafts makes some pretty cute stuff and I just love these bows!

So, the point is... Heidi Loves summer and our family is enjoying lazy days!

Summer check list

2011-07-13T05:00:00.000-07:00

Our summer so far has been fantastic! It's been filled with everyday fun and a clean home.

Yesterday on 7/11 we visited Seven Eleven. They were giving away free Slurpee's to everyone to celebrate the date. The boys just love it because they had a new flavor.

So far our summer check list is coming along GREAT!

This week we plan to check off

-Watch all the Harry Potter Movies (We start on Monday and we have now watch 2)

-Go to the beach (this is will happen tomorrow)
-Visit the Huntington Botanical Gardens (Friday)

-1 Date with Jason (go on a bike ride to dinner)

-Jump in a bounce House (Saturday at a party)

Oh yes... We LOVE you Summer!

4 more months

2011-07-12T07:38:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that in 4 more months I'm turning 30!

I've spent this last year reevaluating everything in my life. I've been cutting out stress and taking the time to enjoy life. So far, it's been an amazing journey and I've learned so much about myself.

A long time ago I heard Oprah say "The 20's are spent on partying and exploring. The 30's are spent trying to figure out "who you are" and the 40's... you stop caring about what others might say and are finally comfortable in your skin".

When I heard that I thought... WHY do I have to wait until I'm 40? that's nonsense! I want to have it together at 30!!!!

I'm 4 months from being 30 and I feel more confident in myself and I can honestly say I love me :) To celebrate my last 4 months of being in my 20's, I made this quick layout. lol I'm not sure why I used this picture, but I loved it. I took it one day while painting mustaches on the boys and I. The journaling says

"My 30th birthday is just around the corner... just 4 months away. I can't believe how fast my 29th year is going and so far my check list is coming along great!

One) Be silly and play with my boys more

Two) Be a better friend and lover :)

Three) Embrace what I can't change and just roll with it

Four) NEVER put myself down and always believe in myself

Five) Take time to breath and find peace

Six) Enjoy every moment of life.

Seven) Express gratitude, Joy and happy thoughts

Eight) It's okay to have a bad day

Nine) Smile always and make the most of it"

(Kit by Studio Calico)

I guess you can do this at point in your life, but I highly recommend reevaluating life often. It will help you cut down on stress and will make you a better person. Which can never be a bad thing ;)

Here's to 4 more months!

Row your boat

2011-07-09T10:49:00.000-07:00

With some free time on my hands, I got to scrapbook these photo from Bradley's birthday.

I used the July GCD kit of the month and for more info on the kit can be

found here

Thanks for looking and have a great weekend.