Go to www.ScrappersBliss.com to see the new Scenic Route papers being released at CHA! Scrapper's Bliss placed the "very first order" and will be getting it as soon as it ships. They are taking pre-orders, so run... don't walk! Woo Hoo! I can't wait to get my hands on that North Shore line!!!!

I was tagged again by my friend, Peg with a whole different quiz. The rules for this particular tagging are as follows: Remove the blog name in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add yourself to the bottom slot.
1. Beth
2. Deanna
3. Ruth
4. Peg
5. Karen

Then you get to select five people to pass the love on to.
1. Andrea
2. Sandra
3. Shannon
4. Dr. Nichole
5. Birgit

Now, on to the questions!

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Oh, I really don’t want to answer this one, but I will. In 1996 I was trapped in a miserable marriage to an alchoholic/drug addict. We hung out at tattoo shops and beaches on the weekends. I was living in a depressing old house in Redondo Beach, but the one joy I had was my wonderful Rottweiler, Kekoa. She was an amazingly sweet creature and she was fiercely protective of me and loved me unconditionally (at least someone did). I was a size 5 and had long blonde hair and I looked great in low-rise jeans and I could still wear a bikini, but I was very unhappy and had no self respect. (side note: I left him a year later. YAY!!)

What were you doing one year ago?
My wonderful husband, Drew and I had just moved into our current home in Orange County, California and we were in the middle of some major remodeling. Our boys were almost 2 & almost 4 and they were a major handful. I was at my wits end most days, but I was happy to my core. (I still am.) I was taking photography classes and I was on two scrapbooking design teams. Life was good!

Five snacks you enjoy: (in no particular order, as all snacks are created equal.)
I love chocolate, Yoplait yogurt, any ice cream, cinnamon toast crunch cereal bars, cheese logs & crackers. I have been trying to cut back on my snacking lately, but it is so hard.

Five songs, to which you KNOW all the lyrics:
Star Spangled Banner, Unforgettable (Nat King Cole), American Pie (Don Mclean), King Of The Road (Roger Miller), Knock Me A Kiss (Louis Jordan)

Five things you would do, if you were a millionaire:
Move to Seattle or North Carolina, buy some really prime real estate for our children (maybe Dana Point, CA or Aspen, CO), give to our favorite charities (this includes family), buy Drew a great sports car and travel! (maybe some cosmetic surgery for me too)

Five bad habits:
I don’t fold laundry right away, Starbucks!, I eat too much, spend too much time on computer, too much TV in the evenings

Five things you like doing:
I like going on dates with my handsome husband, scrapbooking, hanging out with my friends on scrapbooking websites like www.ScrappersBliss.com & www.TwoPeasInABucket.com, taking long bubble baths with a good book and eating!!!!!

Five things you would never wear, buy, or get new again:
I will probably never wear patent leather pants, mini skirts or belly baring tops again because I can’t get away with it anymore, a string bikini for the same reasons, sexy stripper heels because let’s face it… I just don’t have anything cool enough to wear with them anymore.

Five favorite toys:
My Canon Digital Rebel, iBook G4 laptop, sidekick, scrap supplies, Audi A6

Labels: tagged

I was tagged by both Andrea and Molly to answer this questionnaire. So here we go….

Four Jobs You Have Had In Your Life:
1. I worked in a small coffee house back in the early 90’s. Loved the social atmosphere and coffee perks (no pun intended). I made the best iced mochas around!
2. I was the bookkeeper for a Japanese snack food manufacturer. They sold Wacky Snackies (I’m serious) at the time. They were actually very good. Now they sell Crunch Master Twists, which are basically the same product in a new shape.
3. I worked for Imperial Bank’s Gaming Division for a couple of years. They used to send me to Las Vegas for trade shows a lot, which is really cool when you’re 23 years old! Hated the job, loved the trips and can’t complain too much because this is where I met my husband.
4. At my last job, before becoming a stay at home mother, I was the Executive Secretary to the CFO of Imperial Bank before Comerica bought them out. I loved being carpooling with my husband and I still miss wearing pretty high heels every day.

Four Movies You Would Watch Over And Over:
1. Sound of Music is one that I never get tired of. It’s a seasonal favorite around this house.
2. Meet Me in St. Louis is one of my very favorite Judy Garland movies. I cry every single time she is dancing around the Christmas tree with her grandfather and comes out the other side with her true love. I’m such a sap!
3. Little Women is a classic that I watch every time it comes on too.
4. Rocky Horror Picture Show is one that just never gets old for me. I used to go to the midnight showings when I was in high school and it was such a wild time. Loved the boys in drag!

Four Places You Have Lived:
1. My family moved to Torrance, California the summer before I started third grade. It was a nice, safe place to grow up. Nothing special about it.
2. My first apartment was in South Redondo Beach. The place was called the Tiki Apartments and that was a very cool place to live at the time. It was a short walk to the beach from there too. I lived all over Redondo Beach for the next 9 years.
3. I moved to 2nd Street in Long Beach when I left Redondo. I loved living in this mostly gay neighborhood that was two blocks from the ocean. It was clean, safe and the people were so nice. I actually had a little, tiny, itsy-bitsy place that I lovingly refer to as “my compartment” because it was too small to call an apartment. I loved it because it was the first time I had ever lived alone in my life. It was really great to have so much freedom. Drew lived two blocks away and we used to walk over to visit each other. Good times!
4. We had a fantastic 1919 California Bungalow in the historical district of Whittier for a year. It was the third house built on the first street and the street was extra wide for horse drawn carriages. Very cool! It had hardwood floors and beautiful built ins with beveled and leaded glass. It even had an enormous wrap-around porch. We loved this house, but old houses and asthma don’t mix so we had to leave it behind.
5. Yes, I am adding extra here because I have to mention our gorgeous home in Murrieta. We had a beautiful, brand new home built while I was pregnant with our first son. It had a very large kitchen with tons of cabinets and a huge island. There were enough rooms to have a separate playroom, an office and my own scraproom. It was even on a cul de sac. Too bad it forced Drew into a 2-hour each way commute. We moved to Anaheim Hills in 2004 so we could have more family time. I think I will always miss that house. (see photos)

Four TV Shows You Love To Watch:
1. Lost is an amazing show and the writers deserve every award available for weaving such a complicated tale. My favorite character is Sawyer, because let’s face it… Josh Holloway is freakin’ HOT!
2. Gray’s Anatomy is one we never miss. Love the unique characters, but McDreamy needs to make up his mind!
3. The Office cracks me up! The characters are hilarious and they never fail to make me laugh out loud.
4. My Name is Earl. Yes, I could have said Desperate Housewives or Oprah because I love those too, but I’m picking Earl. The concept of this show is different than anything else out there. I love it!

Four Places You Have Been To On Vacation:
1. I had a interesting trip to the French Quarter in New Orleans back when I was young, skinny and wild. No, I didn’t flash anyone! Be serious. Love that town and have high hopes for it’s future.
2. Maui is just paradise on earth. There are colors in nature there that you just won’t find anywhere on the mainland. It’s something special and everyone should go at least once in their life.
3. San Francisco will always hold very fond memories for me. I took Drew there for his birthday before we were married and we stayed in a “haunted” mansion. We explored Alcatraz island and the wharf. We went to Ghiradelli Square and china town. We just enjoyed being together so much.
4. Lake Tahoe, Nevada is where we eloped. We were married on the shore of the lake in April. It was about 25 degrees out and we wore snow clothes. We stayed at a spa hotel that was once owned by Frank Sinatra and has a legend of being haunted by Marilyn Monroe. We went sledding and took advantage of the spa services every day. We ate a lot too! (see photo)

Four Websites You Visit Daily:
1. www.scrappersbliss.com (I am proud to be an original Bliss Girl!)
2. www.twopeasinabucket.com (I hang out in the Pub a lot.)
3. I like to visit the blogs of various friends.
4. Yahoo news. I need to know what’s going on and I hate discussing politics and stuff with others, so I just check here.

Four Of Your Favorite Foods:
1. Ragin Cajun in Hermosa Beach makes the BEST jambalaya, gumbo, hush puppies and pecan pie in the world. I adore this restaurant and no other Cajun places will satisfy me. Well, there was a place in New Orleans that I loved, but I don’t know if it’s there anymore. L
2. I really love a good filet mignon. Some of my favorite steak dinners have been from 555 East in Long Beach, Lou & Mickey’s in San Diego, Chat Noir in Costa Mesa and you certainly can’t go wrong with Fleming’s or Ruth’s Chris. YUM!
3. I have a serious sweet tooth. I love chocolate (especially dark chocolate), caramels, pies, cakes, cookies and ice cream. Oh, do I love ice cream! Crème Brule and Tiramisu reign supreme on my dessert list.
4. Coffee is a real passion of mine. I love good coffee. Starbucks is my second home, ya know!

Four Places You Would Rather Be Right Now:
1. I wouldn’t mind being on the first day or a ten day spa vacation in the mountains or on a beach. I love being massaged well, sitting in hot tubs and just being quiet.
2. I would love to be gliding along in a gondola in Venice, Italy wih my handsome husband at my side.
3. I would love to be having lunch at Club 33 while spending the day at Disneyland and California Adventure with my husband and children.
4. More than anything else, I would love to be sitting here watching my Dad play with my children. I sure do miss my Dad.

Labels: tagged

Just posting a quick note to let you know that I have already been tagged THREE freakin' times today! I will do my best to follow through on those three, but make no promises to any future taggers. I don't have enough time to do them all tonight, but I'll try to get started tomorrow. Have mercy!

Labels: tagged

Gosh! The holidays were nuts, but fun! Drew gave me an Audi A6 and scuba lessons for christmas. So excited about both!! The kids had a great time and Santa fulfilled many of their wishes (but not all). Drew and I don't like to spoil them too much. We don't think it's good for them to get every single thing they want, but we hit the big ones. Drew had a week off of work and we had a lot of fun just hanging out as a family. New Years Eve was spent quietly at home, as usual. We like it that way. I have to admit that a few of the christmas decorations are still up. Most are down, but the big garlands on my entertainment center, fireplace and banister need to be untied and packed up. I just hate that job, so I've been finding excuses not to do it. Today is the day!!

I started the year on a high note! I was asked to join the Design Team for www.ScrappersBliss.com! I wasn't sure that I wanted to do the DT thing again, but Andrea (the owner) is just so cool and the perks were just right. I felt good about where this site was headed, so I signed up! I did a little whispering in Andrea's ear about some people she should consider for her team and I'm sure glad I did. This is one spectacular Design Team she has gathered and to be perfectly honest, I am a little intimidated to be on the same team with some of these great artists. I think it will push me to try a little harder though, so I am excited! The Bliss Girls are headed to CHA Las Veags at the end of the month. Can't wait!!!

ETA: This layout was inspired by my friend, Stephanie (karlslove).

Labels: Christmas