IKEA furniture upgrade

Now I said in my Friday Flower Fix post that today was going to be a busy day. And it has been.

On Monday, my DH and I went to IKEA to look at some new bedroom furniture for Jayla. Originally, her room was the guest room. But when she came along 5 years ago, that room became hers. Now that we've gotten the basement finished, we've gotten our guestroom back. So, we moved Jayla's furniture to that room and bought her something new. Anyway, back to Monday. We looked at a full sized bed and some dressers just to see if that's what we wanted and to make sure it was in stock. It was...YAY!!! But we couldn't actually buy it until today...BOO!!!

Backing up a bit, I've asked a few people what they thought about the quality of furniture from IKEA and I received both big praises and some, "It's ok's". So I decided that I'd let DH make the final decision. That way, if it turned out to be crappy, it wouldn't be my fault...hee hee.

Ok, so today, we run to IKEA and purchase a full sized bed, mattress and 2 dressers. We get everything loaded in the van and headed home. Fortunately, my dad is in town visiting from New York, so he helped my DH put everything together. Oh my goodness you guys...it's beautiful!! I simply love it!!! AND...they got it all put together before Jayla got home from school. She was SO surprised and couldn't help jumping on her new "low profile" bed.

Whatcha think??

Here's my husband and my dad working together on the bed. Ya know, this is quite a site for me. I mean, they put Jayla's bicycle together a few years ago...but that was pretty much a no brainer. But to see them reading instructions and working on FURNITURE together was just special to me. I am so blessed to have a husband who loves and gets along with his in-laws. Me and his mom are the same way. Except we've never put furniture together before...lol.

Here they are putting one of the dressers together.

And finally, the room is complete. Isn't it adorable? I just love it. DH actually picked out the dressers...he really liked the frosted fronts and how "different" they looked. I think it looks great and adds to the brightness and openess of the room.

Ok, that's it. I just had to share. Have a great weekend.

Friday Flower Fix

I know it's Thursday night and I'm posting the "Friday Flower Fix". But tomorrow is going to be a CRAZY day, and I know I won't have time to do it.

Good thing is, we all get to enjoy the beauty a few hours longer than usual.

Tulips

"Every flower is a soul blossoming out to nature."

Enjoy and have a beautiful weekend.

Spring Questionnaire

Happy Tuesday everyone!

During my daily blog reading today, I came across a few questions on Susie Q's site. For the record, her site is so fun and it just makes you happy when you read it. Anyway, she had some questions on there today about Spring. So I took it upon myself to answer them. I'm sure my answers won't be as elaborate as hers, but here goes:

What is your favorite part of Spring?
Hmmm, now this answer COULD go on forever. But I'll try to be brief. I'd have to say that one of my favorite parts of Spring are the flowers. I simply LOVE flowers and all the colors are so vibrant and refreshing. I'm not much of a gardener, actually I can say that I HATE yardwork! But I love flowers in the yard. I just want them to "BE" there. I don't want to have to plant them myself :-). I always tease my family and neighbors and tell them that I'm just going to go and buy some silk flowers and plop them in my yard. When the colors start to fade, I'll just yank them up, throw 'em in the trash and plop some more down...LOL. But I've been told that I'd live a long and lonely life if I EVER did that. I don't see the problem! But ANYWAY. Another favorite part of Spring is soccer. I love to watch the kids play soccer. There's something really special about sitting out there in the fresh air,cheering on your kids, chatting with friends and drinking a big ole Dr. Pepper. I've always vowed that I'd never succumb to the stereotypical SAHM. But I admit it, I have...I am a SOCCER MOM!!! (in both the Spring and the Fall) and I LOVE it!

What is your least favorite part of Spring?
Bugs, pollen and puddles from all the rain.

What is the most severe weather event you've ever experienced?
Fortunately, I've not experienced really severe weather...thank God! I do remember, though, when we use to live in an apartment, a really bad tornado blew through our complex. After it was over, me and my DH, went outside to "inspect" the damage. Not sure what we thought we could do. But it was fun. Sorry, it wasn't "fun"...maybe a little exciting. Our crazy selves stood by the sliding glass door (NOTE: we are aware that this was a dumb idea) and watched tree branches and roof top shingles blow by. Talk about cool!! lol Oh, and then last April, a really bad storm came through and a HUGE tree branch punctured a hole in the side of our house. Now THAT was scary! It happened at like, 4:00 in the morning. Fortunately, it came through a closet in our playroom and no one was in there. Not to mention, me and DH were the only ones who heard the loud noise it made.

Daylight Savings Time (DST) began last Sunday, 3 weeks earlier than in previous years. How do you feel about DST? Love it, hate it, could care less?
Well, personally, I don't see the need for it. I can't quite understand why we do it or what purpose it serves. However, I could actually care less. It seems to really affect people, with regards to sleep. But it doesn't really phase me, I don't really notice the difference in the hour change, one way or the other.

Well, that's it. That was interesting. Feel free to answer them yourselves, I'd love to know what your favorite and not so favorite things about Spring are. Have a happy day!

New Layouts

Hello everyone.

I haven't posted any of my layouts on here lately, as I haven't been too impressed with them. However, I thought I'd share a few anyway...who knows, SOMEbody might like 'em :-).

Anyway, here they are:

"Miss Thang"

Supplies: DCWV Neutrals Stack (Cardstock), Robins Nest DD Orchid Stones, English III Presto BT (Computer font), Scanned floral design from Jayla's jeans

"Markell"

Supplies: Hobby Lobby Textures & Provo Craft Crafters Block II (Cardstock), Photo corners, holders, flowers and letters from Roots Scrapbooking, Barbara Hand (Computer font), Quote from EK Success: The Write Words

"Pretty Girl"

Supplies: My Minds Eye "Everyday Tango" stack (Patterned paper), cardstock from Michaels, EK Success 'Feminine" Simply Classic Inspirables (chipboard stickers), EK Success clear circles, MAMBI Curly alphabets and "GIRL" cut from Cricut (George font). Handcut & "popped" flower accents.

Thanks for looking.

Something new for YOU...

Happy Sunday everyone. I hope you all had a great weekend, and assuming you had some good weather, hope you were able to get outside and enjoy it.

As you see in my title, I've got something new for all of my readers. But before I explain, I'd like to give my dear, special friend, Gina my sincerest thanks for helping me with this. Last week, Gina sent me a really awesome poem, that I'm gonna share in a just a moment. I don't think she was aware that I absolutely LOVE poems, quotes & sayings. I use them TONS in my scrapbooking. And now, I'd like to start using them in my blogging.

I've shared a couple over the past month or so, and I gotten some really good feedback from you about them. So I'm getting the feeling that I'm not the only one who is inspired by the written word.

SOOOO, now, for the something new. Beginning today, I will share a new poem, quote or saying at the beginning of every week. I'm shooting for either Sundays or Mondays...you know, just to get your week off to a good start. Gina and I tried to come up with a "name" for my new blog addition....she even threw out some great ideas for me. However, the more I thought about it, the more I kept coming back to the name of my blog...Be Inspired. With that in mind, I have come up with (drum roll please)...............Inspired to Inspire! So, be on the look out every week for that title.

As long as I've known Gina, she has continued to be an inspiration to me and my family. I miss her so much and I'm still very sad that she doesn't live here in GA anymore. But if everything works out, she and her lovely family may be moving back here. I can't wait! So, again, Gina, I thank you for your friendship, your continued support and especially for your love. Special friends like you are hard to come by. This new weekly posting will always be dedicated to you...as you have "Inspired me to inspire" others. Love you girl!!!

Now, without further delay, here's the first poem I'd like to share with you. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ANYWAY

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered; Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends & true enemies; Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, they may cheat you; Be forthright anyway.

What you spent years building, they may destroy overnight; Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous and scorn, Be joyous anyway.

The good you do today, they often will forget tomorrow; Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it will never be enough; Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; it was never between you and them, ANYWAY!

~~~~

Be Inspired...I am! Have a great week.

Friday Flower Fix

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant."

Have a beautiful weekend!

Addictions...does everyone have them?

I know when most people hear the word addition, they immediately think about drugs or alcohol or something of the like. But that's not always the case. I'd like to think that I don't have any addictions, but my family and friends think otherwise.

What am I addicted to, you ask? Again, I say nothing. But if I had to make an educated guess, I'd have to say that I'm very FOND of the following: (don't you love my play on words? lol)

I'm really fond of: (in no particular order, of course)
~Scrapbooking
~Sleeping
~Shopping (with or without coupons)
~Dr. Pepper
~Chick Fil A
~My computer
~Blogging
~Dr. Pepper :-)

Ok, ok...now that's just enough! Sheesh! Now the average person wouldn't call these addictions, would you??? Those are just things that I REALLY, really enjoy and can almost live without...lol.
I'm sure I could think of a few other things, if I really put my mind to it. But why bother?

However, there is one that I "stumbled" upon earlier this week that I didn't realize I had...and I trully mean stumbled. MAGAZINES...now who would admit to something so silly? I guess I would. Just look at this small mountain of magazines. The worst part about this is, these are ONLY the ones from my "bedside reading stack". I have about 2 - 3 more stacks like this in my scrap area. And not to mention, I just recently got rid of my 2005 issues...so there's another mountain (or two).

I admit it, I LOVE magazines. Between me and my mother in law, we get just about every magazine that's in print. But my scrapbook ones, are my all time favs. I don't subscribe to any of them at the moment...but I can't stop myself from checking out the reading section everytime I go to the store. It's kind of embarassing when my 5 year old says, "Hey mom, you have THOSE already!" It's crazy, I tell you!

And just in case you're wondering, I DO go back through them from time to time just to see if I missed something. When I purge my old issues, I go back through one more time and rip out anything that may be of interest later. So there is a method to the madness!

Ok, so what's YOUR addiction? I know you've got one...or two. Let's talk about it. You know, that's the first step to recovery, is acknowledging that there's a problem. :-)

What a FUN weekend!

Hello everyone. I hope you all are having a great weekend. Today has been a lazy, relaxing day for me. And I'm loving it.

Yesterday, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. But in a good way. Let's see, where should I begin?

Well, yesterday, was opening season for soccer. And outside of the frigid wind, it was a beautiful opening day. Jayla played first and was all bundled up in her soccer gear. THIS year, we opted to go with black tights to be worn under her shorts and a long sleeve shirt under her jersey. For the life of me, I can't figure out why the U6 teams get new uniforms EVERY season. The standard colors for this league are red, black & white. But this year, they've changed it up on us. Aside from the white jersey for "away" games. They now have navy blue shirts (with red & white writing) for "home" games instead of red. Now, when I went to pick up Jayla's new uniform, I was a little shocked. We happen to be good friends with the guy who runs the league. So I pulled him aside and told him that if in fact, navy WAS going to be the new color, that Jayla wouldn't be able to play when she was the "home" team. He asked why and I told him that no daughter of mine is going to be wearing a navy shirt with black shorts!!! LOL. Believe me, it looked AWFUL together. He just laughed at me and told me not to worry, the red shorts and socks would be in later this week. Whew...that was close...lol.

Anyway, the Cheetahs did really well. And, let Jayla tell it, she scored her normal amount of goals...50! Hee Hee. She's too much! Fortunately, they don't keep score at this playing level. So I won't say rather they won or lost. But again, let Jayla tell it, they WON and it was a close one, even with her 50 goals! Gotta love 5 year olds.

Markell and the Stingrays played later in the day. As I've mentioned in the past, Markell literally runs away when he sees me with the camera. So I didn't get any pix of him. However, the team photographer, got some. And as soon as she says they're available, I'll post one of him.

Last season, Markell didn't play. But he was SO excited to get back in uniform and on the field. He looked AWESOME! Unfortunately, he didn't score, but he did help his team win 5 to 4. And the good thing about this win is, this particular team is the ONLY team that beat the Stingrays last season. So that was awesome to start the season with a win to this team. Not to mention, it sure pumps the boys up. So stay tuned for a picture of #14!!! He ROCKS!!!

NOW...after our game, we stayed at the field and watched the next game. Just so happens, one of the teams that played after us, is who we're playing this coming weekend. After watching that game, several of us decided to go grab a bite to eat. About 14 of us (including kids) went to a local Mexican restaurant. I'm STILL full!

Then, after dinner, we decided to catch a movie. Now, for those of you who know me, you know that I don't go to movies that often. So I was really excited about this part of the evening. One of the mothers took the little girls to see Astronaut Farmer with Billy Bob Thornton. From what I'm told, it wasn't that great. Jayla slept through it. But the rest of us went to see Wild Hogs. Talk about FUNNY! Oh my goodness, I think we laughed the entire movie. "Bobby" (Martin Lawrence) was very funny. It was great to see him playing in a movie such as this. Very unexpected but it fit him well. "Dudley" (William H. Macy) was HILARIOUS! He's normally in such serious roles. But this was a perfect fit for him. "Doug" (Tim Allen)...what can you say about him? He's a MESS! I loved his part too. Very funny. And last but not least, "Woody" (John Travolta) was OFF THE CHAIN! I don't think I've ever seen him play a part this funny. I mean, he can be a funny guy, but not like this. Love it!!

So if you don't get to go see another movie this Spring, try to see this one. It's very worth it and it's so much fun!!! Two thumbs up (I've always wanted to say that)

Ok, that's all I have for today. Hey, be nice...I can hear you all saying, "sheesh, it's about TIME!!" lol I just had a fun weekend and wanted to share with you.

Anyway, enjoy the rest of your weekend and I'm sure I'll be seeing you around soon!

Friday Flower Fix

"May your flowers display a beautiful palette as they worship the sun and all that nature offers."

Isn't this called a Star Gazer Lilly? Yep, I think it is. Yay me! lol

Have a beautiful weekend!!!

Reading material....

Fellow blogger, BEM, had some fun questions on her blog today. She took "a DAY off" (actually 2) from blogging, just to read blogs. I don't know how many of you have ever been to her blog, but she has a LONG list of links. lol. Ya know, I'm pretty impressed. But I just couldn't imagine reading ALL of those everyday. Don't get me wrong, I love to read other people's blogs...but I think I'd get a little overwhelmed with that many. As a matter of fact, I KNOW I'd get overwhelmed...as I've read ALL of her links before!

NEway...here's the questions I told you about.

1. How did you acquire your list of blogs that you read?
Well, I kinda do the same thing that BEM does. But I don't link EVERY person who's left me a comment. However, if someone leaves me several comments (and nice ones at that), that tells me that they read my blog quite often. So I guess that makes them "worthy" of being linked :-).
And then there are some, the I just find very interesting and/or funny, so I just add them too.

2. Do you read peoples blogs who don't read yours?
Yes, I do. And being that BEM has literally HUNDREDS of blogs linked on hers, I read those occassionallly too :-). Actually, that's where I got some of my links from. But not just hers, other peoples too. You know, kind of a "word of mouth" thing. I'm networking...yeah, that's what I'm doing :-).

3. Do you read your entire list daily?
Being that I don't have but a select few on my list, yes, I do read them daily. And several times a day, I might add. But now that BEM has told me about bloglines, I may not have to do that anymore. Thanks!

4. Do you eat crackers in bed?
Silly girl!!! Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.

Happy Reading!!!